Something Funny!

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Kairos Church Experience

For several weeks I have been thinking about new church development, and what the emerging church looks like. So this Sunday, Ame and I went to Kairos church. This was a wonderful experience for us both. Both Ame and I have had our share of church experiences. We both grow up in vary active churches, that are still growing. We also have attended together two churches I have worked for. The thing that ties all of these churches together is their traditional format. They all have their own buildings, some of these churches were established in some cases as cities developed around them. All of these churches have a since of roots, and history. So attending a new church development was something exciting and held a sense of uncertainty of what to expect.

There were several things I noticed about this church. The first and most notable, there was some serious sincerity in everyone we meet from the Thomas one of the Pastors, to everyone we sat near and got to meet. During Thomas' sermon, he shared a very personal story about his and his father's relationship. It was so honest and open, and yet so refreshing. This sincerity was so amazing and left an impact on both Ame and me.

One of the other aspects of the service that was striking was how many young couples where there. There were more young couples - like early 30's and under, newly weds. For the two of us, who have been attending a church where our closest friends had a middle school aged son. So sitting in a church with a lot of young couples was exciting. And showed that there are young people out there who were looking for a community of faith to be a part of, and actively involved in.

The service itself could best be described as a what my experiences as a youth during youth group meetings. I don't mean this to say that it was overly simplified, or kiddish. There was no pretension, there was a great amount of openness. The service itself lasted roughly two hours. Neither Ame nor I realized this until we got in the car to head home. We both were amazed by this.

The sermon itself was challenging. The idea of not shying away from confrontation, and being willing to share my faith with others was challenging to me. I have no problem in being confrontational, it doesn't bother me. But the idea of sharing my faith has always been something I have struggled with. I am not sure if it is that I am overly Presbyterian and really cringe at the thought or word of EVANGELISM. So I have struggled with finding where that will fit into my life of faith and vocation as someone moving towards ordained ministry.

After this service I have begun asking questions about the church. Can this energy and excitement transfer over to the more "traditional" churches? How can this transfer to established churches? Are these churches willing to embrace the ideas about worship and community that are coming from these emerging churches? What will happen to these emerging churches as they become established churches?

There are many more questions and I am afraid I do not have any of the answers! We shall see as I will explore some of these ideas!

The Transfiguration

When he took the three disciples
to the mountainside to pray,
his countenance was modified, his clothing was aflame.
Two men appeared: Moses and Elijah came;
they were at his side.
The prophecy, the legislation spoke of whenever he would die.

Then there came a word
of what he should accomplish on the day.
Then Peter spoke, to make of them a tabernacle place.
A cloud appeared in glory as an accolade.
They fell on the ground.
A voice arrived, the voice of God,
the face of God, covered in a cloud.

What he said to them,
the voice of God: the most beloved son.
Consider what he says to you, consider what's to come.
The prophecy was put to death,
was put to death, and so will the Son.
And keep your word, disguise the vision 'till the time has come.

Lost in the cloud, a voice. Have no fear! We draw near!
Lost in the cloud, a sign. Son of man! Turn your ear.
Lost in the cloud, a voice. Lamb of God! We draw near!
Lost in the cloud, a sign. Son of man! Son of God!

Lyrics found at http://www.lyricsdownload.com/

It's Not Easy Being Green

With this week being reading week at school, and being a procrastinator, I was reading Lester Brown's book Plan B 3.0. This is a wonderful book for those wanting information about the situation that our environment is in, what are some of the contributing factors are.

This book has gotten me thinking about how much of an impact I am making on this earth. This book also has convicted me of things in which I use to do but no longer due. I am going to challenge myself to do my part in limiting my impact on the earth... So here are a few things I am going to do (I already do a fair amount; recycle, turn lights off, use Compact Fluorescent Bulbs, drive a fuel efficient vehicle, etc.)

1. Live lower on the food chain - Plan B points out how much energy and resources are needed in feeding, watering, adding weight to cows, then slaughtering, packaging and transporting the meat to the market. So lowering ourselves on the food chain, helps lessen your impact.

2. Drive less - I live in a wonderful location in Atlanta. I live less then two miles from the seminary, a few blocks away from a grocery store, and even a shorter distance from a Farmers Market. So it is possible for me to drive less. Driving less does more then help the environment, it goes a long way in benefiting my own person well being.

3. Use less water - pretty obvious way to save money, but it also goes a long way in adding water that is added to the swearers and becomes waste water in which it may contaminated and useless for human consumption.

So here we go, lets see how this goes.

Ute Trail Ranch

This is a cool promotional video I found today on YouTube of a camp I use to work for! It is pretty excting to see that several years removed from my time there the camp is still doing the wilderness program and impacting lives. I know my life was profoundly changed by my trips out there as a youth as well as my time as a guide! Check out there webpage for more information, Sky Ranch Ute Trail Colorado.
I promise you will not be disapointed!

and the procrastination begins

So this week is reading week at school, and the only major thing I have to do this week is an Old Testament Mid-Term. I have tried my hardest to spend time studying for this exam but I have found it difficult to force myself to study. I have never been real good at studying, in fact in college, I spent a whooping three total hours studying for my comprehensive exams. This is compared to my roommate who studied every night for two to three hours from the beginning of the semester until the day of the his comps. And the even more frustrating part, from my roommates perspective and some others in my major, I actually did well on my comps (I believe I got a B). So I really have no drive to study hard. I have been able to coast through school, as my mother loves to remind me.

It is funny the things I do in order to procrastinate from studying... I have made the efforts to go to the library, and attempt to look over my notes, this is generally interrupted by a passing friend or the urge to play games online, and read several different news papers online! I have even stooped to reading materials for other classes.

A new friend of mine, who also shares in the joy of being a procrastinator, calls it the walk and sprint model. You walk, do the minimal amount of work in the day to day part of school, then as major events; tests, papers, presentations, sermons, loom on the horizon you wait until the last possible moment to begin. And just like sprinting to the end of a race, you finish, exhausted and regretting not pacing yourself.

So here I sit, writing a blog entry, thinking about studying, watching the time fly by.

Being Enchanted Again

Yesterday I was blessed to hear a wonderful speaker talking about becoming enchanted again with God. And these ideas have been rolling around in my head for most of the past two days, which is not a great thing when you have classes you need to be paying attention in. The speaker opened with a story I will share below from a C.S. Lewis book.

This idea of being enchanted by God, has stirred something deep within me. It may have just been that I now have more words to express what I see and feel and hope for the church. OR it may have also ignited something deep with in and brought it to a full fire in my heart. This might be an interesting reflection... since I do not know where it is going or where I want it to go.

I remember as a child, being outdoors and being totally awestruck and amazed at the Rocky Mountains, the snow, the changing of the seasons, the workings of the human body, the list could go on and on. And as I grew and took science classes I was shown why things happened in the universe. Yes I did enjoy science and all these things that brought wonder to my young mind enriched my time in science classes. It also has diminished the awe that I was able to see. When I saw the snow falling, I know that snow is a form of precipitation of falling crystalline water ice. Or how the Rocky Mountains were formed. All of these things I found wonder in as a child were explained in simple, rational and scientific ways.

I remember one of the first times I went backpacking in Colorado, I was standing on the top of Cannibal Plateau. It was around sunrise, and you could see for miles. I was blown away at how small I felt. I was also amazed that God spoke and made all of this. I was awestruck! It was wonderful.

In C.S. Lewis' classic series The Chronicles of Narnia there is a scene in the Prince Caspian book. The young Prince Caspian was told of the days of old Narnia, which had fallen silent. The young Prince began talking with his uncle the King and retelling these wonderful stories. His uncle responded by saying this... "'stop that noise,' said his uncle, taking Caspian by the shoulders and giving him a shake. 'Stop it, And never let me catch you talking - or - thinking either - about all those silly stories again."

I have seen the modern world attempt to explain everything, never being fully comfortable with the idea of mystery. And the church has gone along with this movement. We as a church have attempted to explain everything in simple answers for all to understand. But when it comes to mystery we have ignored it or have said, "stop that noise, stop talking or thinking about those silly stories."

I feel this has done a great disservice to us all. We have allowed rationalism to rule, not God. When we do this I feel that we stifle the spirit, we reason away or attempt to explain all that God is doing, and we do not just stand back in awe. Do not get me wrong, Science and reason are wonderful and for me are sparked by the experience of wonder and awe. Science and Reason have their place in our world, an important place. But we also need to step back from time to time and just be in awe. Be enchanted by what God has done, is doing and will do. Find time to be in awe and spend time in the wonderful.

A Greener Church

What role dose the church play in caring for the earth? Should the church care about global warming?

For all of my life I have loved the outdoors. I have loved hiking, backpacking, cycling, fly fishing, and just spending time outside. I have enjoyed the outdoors so much that it impacted my selection of a major, Environmental Studies, and Minor, Outdoor Recreation, in college. It even impacted my first steps into ministry. I spent two summers in college working as a backpacking guide at Christian camp in southern Colorado. For me God's creation has played an important role in my life of faith. But I have always struggled with how I could connect faith and environmental preservation...

While serving a church as their youth director, members of the church, being moved by Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth began an environmental ministry team. Though I was never sure what their main goal was, I did see that they were working diligently towards something.

Upon entering Seminary this fall, I enrolled into an Ecology class. This class, I had hoped, would among many things re-ignite my passion for the care of the environment, as well as help me connect what I knew about the science and study of the environment, and the language of faith. Though I am still struggling with finding the language of faith, I have been convicted that we as humans play a special role in all of creation. We have the ability to use, abuse, and destroy what God created, with the mentality that in the end we will be boarding a life boat in the sky piloted by Jesus and off we will go to Heaven, leaving the earth and all the problems we have created behind. But I have come to find that this notion is not biblically accurate. The earth plays a special role in the end of time, according to John's Revelation. There is no mention of humanity leaving the earth behind, but that the earth will be renewed and heaven and earth will be one. We even pray that life on earth will be as like life in heaven, "thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

So I do feel strongly that the church, and Christians, should be working to protect the environment. We are called to be stewards of what God has given us, and the earth is included in what God has given us.

As part of this I am taking about Ecology, I am working on a project about what churches can do to be more environmentally friendly. As I do more thinking and researching I will be posting things that churches can do.

Here is the first thing churches can do, and I am sure many already do. This is nothing new I think I learned about this when I was in elementary school... RECYCLE!!!! Recycling does so much to lessen the amount of garbage going into land fills. It also helps us to not have to keep taking from the earth the resources we need. Also buy recycled goods, yes they may cost more in the financial since, but they are so much better on this earth we have been given!

Thinking with the Bible

In one of my class we were had to read Brain McLaren's The Story We Find Ourselves In. This book was a relatively quick read for me, which is saying something for I am the world's slowest reader. There was one quote in this book that has hung with me for the past few days... here it is...

"I guess you could say that the Bible is a book that doesn't try to tell you what to think. Instead, it tries to teach you how to think. It stretches your thinking; it challenges you to think bigger and harder than you ever have. At least that's how it works for me. It not only records ancient conversations among human beings and God, but it also stimulates new ones, never failing to create a community for essential conversations that enrich all of life."

This comment is a little different then what I was taught as a teen in youth group. As a child I was lead to believe that the Bible was a "handbook" for life, a "users manual." The more I have grown in faith as well as experienced life and being exposed to writers like Brian McLaren have shown me that the Bible is so much more then these things I was taught. As I am more then likely going to end up in a form of Christian Education in a church setting, as well as being an ordained minister I need to be reminded not to oversimplify the Bible, or in that matter all aspects of the life of faith.

a God of Action

In an Evangelism class I am taking, we began talking about how to describe God. The more we talked the more we began to notice that it was far easier to describe God by God's actions. God the Creator, God who leads us out of slavery, God who parts the Reed Sea, God who loves us.

We also see this through Jesus. John the Baptists Disciples come to Jesus and ask him if he, Jesus, is the Messiah. Jesus responds by telling them to report all that they have seen back to John the Baptist. Jesus does not openly tell these disciples who he is, he allows his actions to speak for them selves.

Jesus also invites us into this missional activity. We see in Matthew 25, at the judgment of the nations, that feeding, or clothing, or visiting, or caring or welcoming those who are in need is doing these things to Jesus. What a humbling thing that when we go out and help someone it is an act of love shown to God.


There is something about connecting our beliefs to our actions. It is not about being convicted or guilted into helping others it is about being fill by the Spirit and being so filled that you are compelled to acts of Love. I know that I do not always do a good job of this. I talk a big game, but seldom take the time to put what I believe into action. Either fear cripples me or my own laziness holds me back. I feel very humbled by this. And I see a lot of people who do and feel this same way. This disconnect from what we believe and say and what we do is a place where we as Christians are called hypocrites, among other things.

I am reminded by the old hymn of the church, They'll Know We Are Christians By Our Love. The refrain of this hymn is wonderful,

"And they'll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
They will know we are Christians by our love "

What a powerful thing to be known for. This hymn is not saying that we will be known for our sound doctrine, or our political afflictions, or knowledge of the Bible, but we will be known for our LOVE! A Love that God showed us first and then shown fully in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

May we carry this love into the world without fear or expectation of getting anything in return!

The beginning…

Most of today was spent reading others’ blogs, and wrestling with the idea of blogging myself. There were two blog posts that pushed me over the edge into the world of blogging both of which were written by the Moderator of the 218 General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church USA, Bruce Reyes-Chow, Three Ways to Stay Connected. And the one that took it over the top was Blogging as Spiritual Discipline and Pastoral Practice. Both of these posts have given me the urge to begin in this whole blogging thing. After reading the Reyes-Chow’s post about making blogging a spiritual discipline and a pastoral practice, I was convicted to use this blog a place for reflection and a time for introspective looks at my life, God’s Word, and the world around me.

So here I am blogging… not really sure what will come of this and not sure if anyone will ever read it, nor am I worried. So here is a little about me… I am currently a seminary student at Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, GA. I previously worked as a Youth Director in two different churches in East Tennessee. Those who actually read this blog will begin to get glimpse into my life and learn more about me as we go!