pursuing the living God
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Rocked.
April 4, 2012
Our church has been having nightly Holy Week services this week. As I have been sitting through these services I have been challenged so much about my philosophy of youth ministry. While these services were not about youth ministry specifically, I believe that God has been pruning me as a youth pastor this week.
Working at a larger church has been a blast. There have been so many resources and wisdom avalable to me in my time here so far. We had a lock in back in February and we had 225 teens attend! It was crazy! There is an awesome student center, a cafe with great coffee, and we have a high quality worship service.
All of these things are good. As a youth pastor I can put on some pretty amazing events, I can book a great concert, and I can draw kids to the building.
All of that to say this: My biggest regret, in my short 3 years of youth ministry, is not being rocked enough by the cross.
I can do a lot of BIG events, I can be a fun guy to be around….BUT….if I am not continually pointing students to the awe factor of the cross, I am not doing my job.
Events don’t change people, I don’t change people. The cross changes people.
This week I have been rocked by the cross. Have you?
No place I would rather be…..but here in your love! So set a fire down in my soul, that I can’t contain, that I can’t control….I want more of you God.
Do we say this enough?? Let this song be our prayer together today!
Set A Fire
November 9, 2011
The Day A Cat Took Away My Faith by Mandisa
November 8, 2011
I stole this post from Mandisa (a christian musician). She posted this on her blog and I thought it was a great article:
Yesterday, October 31, I posted a picture of myself dressed up as a cat on Facebook and Twitter. Wow! I wasn’t prepared for what happened next!
First of all, let me say that this blog is not about whether Halloween should be celebrated as a Christian. There have been PLENTY of discussions about that. Let me also say that last night, October 31, I didn’t go trick-or-treating, nor did I dress up. I sat at home in my pajamas and watched The Sing Off (Go Afro Blue,Pentatonix & Delilah!), and the premiere of Rock Center. It was quite a night.
But in 1984, when I was 8, I DID go trick-or-treating and I DID dress up…as a cat. Hence the photo I posted…from 27 years ago. I found it in my old pictures. I thought it was cute. So I posted it. The end.
I thought I’d get comments like “Too cute”, “Meow” & “Adorable”. And I did! But I also got comments like this one, “We should NOT celebrate halloween. I now question Mandisa.”
What?! I stood on national television and forgave Simon Cowell citing that “Jesus died so that all of my sins could be forgiven so I can extend that same grace to you”. I boldly sang the gospel song “Shackles (Praise You)” in front of 30 million viewers! And every weekend I stand on a stage singing all about Jesus being my Lord and Savior before thousands of attendees! But in 1984 my mom dressed me up as a cat and we asked my neighbors for candy so THAT makes someone question my walk with God? Argggg!
It came to my attention that Mark Hall, of the Christian band Casting Crowns, posted a picture of himself as The Incredible Hulk on his Facebook yesterday and over 3,000 comments followed. One of the commenters said they would not be able to listen to his music anymore. Really? I wonder which lyric is being brought into question? Is it “Seek justice, love mercy, walk humbly with your God” or “Living He loved me, dying He saved me and buried He carried my sins far away. Rising He justified freely forever. One day He’s coming, oh,glorious day“! Or is the great offense of being a green comic book character really why this person cannot listen to such God-edifying music anymore? (It should also be noted that Mark later said that “[Hulk] was not a Halloween costume. I found it in storage today and put it on for this picture. Also we had fall festival at our church tonight and reached around 4000 people”…and then some people took issue with his church having a fall festival!
Again, I’ll remind you that this blog is not about whether or not Halloween should be celebrated as a Christian. This is a disputable matter among Christians…hence all the disputes.
What this blog IS about is how we as Christians treat our fellow Christians. It’s fine if you choose not to celebrate Halloween. But to question someone else’s faith because they do is exactly what Paul wrote of in Romans 14 (below). In that day, the disputable matters were whether or not to eat meat sacrificed to idols or to treat certain days as more sacred than others. But Paul knew that Christians would not always agree on some issues in life. With many different walks of life & backgrounds, it’s inevitable. However, the temptation to pass judgment upon the life or testimony of other individuals is clearly warned against. Not only does doing so break down unity among the body of Christ, it is also a bad witness to non-Christians. I shudder to think of what my non-Christian Facebook friends thought as they read some of the comments that were left. Ugh. I’m guessing they weren’t impressed by the kindness and respect 1 Peter 3 says we should display before non-believers.
There will always be things I disagree about with other believers. And that’s ok. But I will try to live my life in a way that shows respect to my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, presents a good witness to non-believers, and honors the Lord.
1Welcome all the Lord’s followers, even those whose faith is weak. Don’t criticize them for having beliefs that are different from yours. 2Some think it is all right to eat anything, while those whose faith is weak will eat only vegetables. 3But you should not criticize others for eating or for not eating. After all, God welcomes everyone. 4What right do you have to criticize someone else’s servants? Only their Lord can decide if they are doing right, and the Lord will make sure that they do right.5Some of the Lord’s followers think one day is more important than another. Others think all days are the same. But each of you should make up your own mind. 6Any followers who count one day more important than another day do it to honor their Lord. And any followers who eat meat give thanks to God, just like the ones who don’t eat meat.
7Whether we live or die, it must be for God, rather than for ourselves. 8Whether we live or die, it must be for the Lord. Alive or dead, we still belong to the Lord. 9This is because Christ died and rose to life, so that he would be the Lord of the dead and of the living. 10Why do you criticize other followers of the Lord? Why do you look down on them? The day is coming when God will judge all of us. 11In the Scriptures God says,
“I swear by my very life
that everyone will kneel down
and praise my name!”
12And so, each of us must give an account to God for what we do.
13We must stop judging others. We must also make up our minds not to upset anyone’s faith.14The Lord Jesus has made it clear to me that God considers all foods fit to eat. But if you think some foods are unfit to eat, then for you they are not fit.
15If you are hurting others by the foods you eat, you are not guided by love. Don’t let your appetite destroy someone Christ died for. 16Don’t let your right to eat bring shame to Christ.17God’s kingdom isn’t about eating and drinking. It is about pleasing God, about living in peace, and about true happiness. All this comes from the Holy Spirit. 18If you serve Christ in this way, you will please God and be respected by people. 19We should try [a] to live at peace and help each other have a strong faith. 20Don’t let your appetite destroy what God has done. All foods are fit to eat, but it is wrong to cause problems for others by what you eat. 21It is best not to eat meat or drink wine or do anything else that causes problems for other followers of the Lord.22What you believe about these things should be kept between you and God. You are fortunate, if your actions don’t make you have doubts. 23But if you do have doubts about what you eat, you are going against your beliefs. And you know that is wrong, because anything you do against your beliefs is sin.
Romans 14 (CEV)
“So God created human beings in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.” Genesis 1:27
I was re-reading Love Without Agenda today and came across this through their study guide.
The question is: Do we try to photoshop humanity?
Beauty
November 7, 2011
The Mind
November 4, 2011
Have you ever thought about the subtle things you do to train your mind? There are little things that we do every day that subconsciously become a part of who we are. This might be anything from the posture we take when we look at our phone, the habits we go through when we start driving, and even how we grocery shop. I haven’t given this a whole lot of thought, but I do believe that we, as humans, have a default mode that subconsciously trains our minds about how we should live and what we should value.
It seems like our minds are made to easily fall into a default mode….or should I say….a comfort zone.
I was talking with someone today who made reference that even in the little things, she tries to mix things up. It appeared like she did this because she never wanted to become to comfortable with what surround her. I think it is easy to go through life with the same patterns: same phone, same house, same way we do church, same…..normal. We develop these patterns that teach us there are certain ways things work, or certain ways I feel comfortable. One thing that I notice I do a lot is when I drive I call someone. Is that because my mind has trained that I always need to be doing something? I can’t be alone?
Think about some of your habits. How do they affect other areas of your life? How are you training your mind? What little things are you doing that have taken over a piece of who you are? These are some of the questions I am reflecting on today, hope you will too.
Love Is A Thread from The Justice Conference on Vimeo.
When I first watched this video I couldn’t help to be reminded about the story of Esther. Esther was a Jew, but she was made queen without other people realizing she was a Jew. Her uncle, Mordecai, was pleading for help because the kingdom was wanting to kill all of the Jews and he said this to Esther:
“Don’t think for one minute that, unlike all the other Jews, you’ll come out of this alive simply because you are in the palace. 14 In fact, if you don’t speak up at this very important time, relief and rescue will appear for the Jews from another place, but you and your family will die. But who knows? Maybe it was for a moment like this that you came to be part of the royal family.”
This video was made to promote the Justice Conference in Portland, OR. I really resonated with this video because I feel passionate about justice issues. MY PROBLEM is that sometimes….I wonder about justice issues….then I discover issues that the surround them….but I stop at discovery. The next step that should take place is passion. If Christians do not realize their calling to be involved in what breaks the heart of God, if there is no passion, then nothing will ever get better. Maybe I was made for a moment like this….
where we are going we are not quite sure
if we get there, it will be hard to know
who will join us is a mystery
it could be that we are the only ones who see it.
but we go
our faith compels our feet.
we answer with our actions
we move, motivated by the possibility of something new.
what steps won’t we take to give our lives to something worthy
to be the light of God in some small, tiny, significant way.
we come to this sacred place, set apart for such a time as this, and find that we are not alone. there are others that know what we know.
we dirty our hands and break our backs.
we labor in love and unite in our offerings
In the garment of justice, your love is an irreplaceable thread.
Esther was put in a position for such a time as this, when is your time?
Our time is now.
Love is a thread.
November 2, 2011
“I could see something was developing in him that was beautiful, something I knew nothing about. I’d had no real experience before of seeing Christianity at work like that in a person’s life–at work in a way that was beautiful….and good.” Let Justice Roll Down, John M. Perkins.
As John M. Perkins saw his son, Spencer, be transformed by the love of Christ, he wanted to have what his son was experiencing. After reading this I couldn’t help but think how many people that interact with me have the same thought? Do I embody the true love and transformation of Jesus?
As you go about your day, show people the beautiful….and good….love that is at work within you.
Seeing Christianity.
November 1, 2011
The CD of Life.
October 31, 2011
Yesterday I went to a concert at another local church. It was an awesome time to hang out with some friends and rock out to some awesome music.
One of the bands that was there was a worship band. When they started to play “Inside out” I was thinking about a lot in that song. One thing that I have realized in my worship experience is that the first couple of verses, leading to the bridge, are preparing me for the bridge and all that comes after in that song. For me, the bridge is the climax of the worship experience. I seem to feel most comfortable raising my hands in worship when the bridge takes place and after that is when I really connect with the song.
As I was worshipping I thought of this and I started to focus on my walk with God. If my relationship with God was like a CD full of different songs, which song is taking place? Beyond that, where in the song am I? Have I approached the bridge or am I still being prepped and pruned for what is to take place.
Psalm 33:3 “Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully and shout for joy.”
My favorite thing about God is that we can sing NEW songs! It is not always the same song, we go through different points in our life and then God can shift us past the bridge and into the next song. I am excited to figure out what the next song will look like, but I know that I will play it skillfully and with GREAT JOY.
A song that has been rolling through my playlist lately is Background by Lecrae. This song really hits home because so often we want the glory for the things we accomplish or sacrifice.
John 3:30 says, “He must become greater; I must become less.”
In order to be filled with Christ I first need to empty myself…..I need to play the background.
Background by Lecrae: Verse 1
It’s evident you run the show so let me back down.
You take the leading role, and I’ll play the background.
I know I miss my cues, know I forget my lines
I’m sticking to your script, and I’m reading all your signs.
I don’t need my name in lights.
I don’t need a starring role.
And why gain the whole wide world, if I’m just gon’ loose my soul.
And my ways ain’t purified, I’ll live according to your Word.
I can’t endure this life without your wisdom being heard.
So word to every dancer for a pop star
Cuz we all play the background, but mine’s a rock star.
Yeah. So if you need me I’ll be stage right.
Prayin’ the whole world will start embracing stage fright.
So let me fall back and stop giving my suggestions
Cuz when I follow my obsessions I end up confessing.
That I’m not that impressive, matter fact I’m…………
A trail of star dust leading to the superstar.
My prayer is also that we all learn to give God the glory in all that we do. He is the reason why I live my life. Let us all trade the pursuit of me, me, me in for the pursuit of Christ. Give Him the center stage and fade to the background!
