Musings, Questions, and other Ramblings

God the Master Artist

2011-08-14T22:00:00.006-04:00

This is the sermon that I preached Sunday, August 14, 2011 at Chapel in the Pine Presbyterian Church in Hoover, AL.

Genesis 45:1-15

I am not sure if it is the fact that one of my favorite classes at Columbia was an Old Testament exegesis class where the Joseph novella was our primary focus or that this story constantly draws me back, showing me something new, or opening my eyes to something I hadn’t seen before. Regardless of the reason, this story of one of the fathers of our faith is one that I love to return to time and time again. And this morning’s text is the dramatic conclusion to the long Joseph story.

The story of Joseph is pretty well known to most of us much to the thanks of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber and their masterpiece, Joseph And The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. And yet the story we find in the Book of Genesis is considerably grittier and darker then its Broadway counterpart. In the Genesis account we don’t find many beautiful or funny songs sung to catchy tones. The Joseph story we find in Genesis is complex and messy. There is a very human and real feeling running throughout this long story. The Joseph story is a story that begins with betrayal and ends with an unexpected reconciliation. And between these two events are ups and downs, and twists and turns. That draws us in each time we hear it. The story captivates us because from time to time we can see ourselves in it.

In the story of Joseph we are brought into an already messy and dysfunctional family. A family where dysfunction has been the name of the game for generations going all the way back to its beginnings in Abraham and Sarah. It was Abraham and Sarah who after years of travel found themselves having to lie from time to time to protect themselves. And this elderly couple eventually had a son who Abraham nearly sacrificed, but that’s a better fate then being cast out with your mother as was the case for Ishmael and his mother Hagar. The trouble did not end their I am afraid, for when Isaac became an old man, his youngest son Jacob, Joseph’s father, stole his older brother Esau’s birthright with the help of his mother Rebekah. And Jacob the trickster was tricked by his father-in-law Laban into marring his daughter Leah, not Rachel as he had hoped to. But after seven more years of indentured servitude, Laban allowed Jacob to marry Rachel, Joseph’s mother.

And so it is not surprising that Joseph’s brothers, knowing their family’s story and being sick of playing second fiddle to their father Jacob’s favorite son, take matters into their own hands. And they throw the arrogant boy Joseph into a pit and plan to kill him. The brothers instead choose to make some money off this pain of brother by selling him into slavery. And it is this act that sets in motion a chain of events that takes Joseph from a pit of despair to head of house, back to a pit of despair to finally to a seat second only to Pharaoh in Egypt. A painful journey that makes the once arrogant boy Joseph unrecognizable to his brothers some years later.

In our text this morning, the brothers find themselves once more standing before Joseph unbeknownst to them. They had come to Egypt in search of grains to help them to survive a famine, only to be detained as spies. And Joseph taking advantage of his position of power sends all but one of the brothers back to Canaan to fetch their youngest brother Benjamin. And now exhausted from their journey all of the sons of Jacob are standing in the same place. Joseph clears the room of everyone but his brothers. A feeling of uncertainty hangs in the air. And he begins to weep; to weep so loudly that everyone who had been sent out could hear, as well as those in Pharaoh’s house. And in this long awaited moment, Joseph finally reveals to his brothers that it is he, their brother, standing before them. I am sure that the realization of this must have hit them like a ton of bricks, as one commentator put it . And as the realization washed over Joseph’s brothers they must have begun to tremble with fear as they remember their shameful act.

And yet their fear is met not with retribution but with an overwhelmingly powerful act of forgiveness. Joseph, having stepped back and taking a long look at his life must have seen something greater then himself and his suffering. And in his speech to his awe-struck brothers he reveals a profound faith. Joseph assures his brothers that God had been at work through his whole life saying, “for God sent me before you to preserve life.” And Joseph’s since of God’s divine hand in his life is so strong that he repeats this sentiment again and then frames his brothers shameful act of selling him into slavery in such a way that nearly removes any guilt from them. Joseph says to his brothers in verse eight, “So it was not you who sent me here, but God.” It is in Joseph’s threefold mention of God’s acts of working in, through and under the actions of the brothers that Walter Brueggemann sees as “the key speech in the entire Joseph narrative.” Brueggemann says, “This speech completely redefines the situation for all parties. Now the guilty fear of the brother is superseded. The grief of the father is resolved…The revengeful cunning of the successful brother is superseded… The guilt of the brothers, the grief of the father, and the revenge of Joseph are all used as means for this disclosure of the hidden call of God.” And it would be nice and tidy and neat to see the suffering of Joseph as simply the means for God to accomplish the saving of a whole people as well as God’s chosen family.

But I wonder if that is what Joseph is really saying here. Does Joseph believe that God had simply planned out all of these events with the end result being the saving of many people and a joyous reunion where Joseph would be the one who saves the whole family? Commentator Kathryn Huey urges us to stop here for a moment and reflect, saying, “As much as we appreciate Joseph's deep and positive faith, and as much as we see the purpose of the long Joseph story as explaining how the Israelites went to Egypt, we might want to linger a bit on his theological reflection on God's will.” And I believe it would be a mistake to read into this text a God who had planned this from the very beginning, making Joseph’s brothers sell him into slavery so that God may accomplish the saving of God chosen family and thousands of others through the painful journey of one. Reading the text this way removes human freedom and we become nothing more then puppets. And Joseph’s powerful outpouring of love and forgiveness looses its edge and becomes less meaningful.

No, I believe Joseph’s claim about God in his speech to his brothers goes much deeper then saying that God has been manipulating the events of his whole life. Joseph’s claim about God is a claim about God’s actions and presence in his life. A claim that is far more mysterious and complex then can be reduced to a simple formula. It is a claim that acknowledges the messiness of Joseph’s life and that God has been, is, and will be present with him in the messiness of his life. Joseph’s words show God not to be a puppeteer, controlling all the events but instead describe an artist whose sees a bigger picture then we are able. An artist who, as Barbara Brown Taylor says, “Nothing is too bent to be used – not even tragedies, not even bad decisions, not even plain human meanness.”

“I think that's why I'm attracted to this image of God as master artist who continues to paint with the colors she is given, to mold and to shape even when he doesn't have all the right tools” my friend Carrie said me this week as we talked about this text. She continued by saying, “The most beautiful part though is that if we're made in the image of God we are artists too, and have the same ability to create with what we are given. Which means we have the choice to dump black paint all over the canvas and walk away if we want. Yet Joseph doesn't.”

Joseph in an act of overwhelming tenderness and love begins to make beauty out of an ugly act committed against him so many years ago. He chooses to pick the paintbrush and paint with the colors he has. Here before our eyes is Joseph, who was shown no mercy by his brothers, forgiving them, loving them, and now making plans to provide for them. For him or our God nothing was to bent or broken to be used.

This act of forgiveness could not have been easy for Joseph. As we look back through this story, we know that Joseph has had his chances to get retribution on his brothers. And yet Joseph, in this moment, sets aside his desire for retribution in favor of reconciliation. And I believe that Joseph’s choice to seek this path overwhelms and surprises even him, because he breaks down in tears, and he becomes overwhelmed by the chance to start again with his brothers, to be reunited with his father, and to share the good fortune he has experienced in Egypt with his long lost family. It is this realization that hits Joseph like a ton of brinks and brings him to tears. The possibility of creating a more beautiful masterpiece with his brothers could not be contained and came bursting forth, pouring out of Joseph as tears of joy.

I believe coming back to this text time and time again will always challenge us. Because Joseph’s outpouring of love is so grand on his brothers who were so easily willing to give him up into slavery that it unsettles us. We wonder if we could act as Joseph did, seeking reconciliation over retribution, forgiveness over vengeance, love over hate. And would we be able to see the masterpiece that is being created before our eyes and assist our master artist? Or would throw black pain on the canvas and walk away?

Creating works of art gets messy be it painting, sculpting or throwing clay. Paint gets spilled, clay gets on us, and before we know it we are covered with the stains of creating. And as we create, the clay or paint, metal or wood doesn’t always do what we want it to do, or take the shape we had hoped for. So we as the artist work with it, continuing to mold it, to shape it, to change color or brush stroke until it takes a form we want. And there are times when our soon to be masterpiece doesn’t take the shape we had hoped for, or what was in our mind’s eye is not what we see on the canvas before us. So we change our vision and go in a new direction, creating something brand new.

Our lives are much like this. As hard as we may try to keep our lives tidy and organized, we quickly find that our lives despite our best efforts become messy. We find that things don’t always work out the way we had hoped they would, or loved ones plans take precedent over ours. But we continue to work with what we have, molding and shaping, mixing colors and shapes until we step back and see the masterpiece that has become our life. And as we look closer at those places that we thought were twisted and mangled beyond use, we find divine fingerprints covering them. Because we chose not to throw those pieces out or cover them with black paint and walk away but hand them over to the divine master artist who transforms all of our ugly and broken pieces into something beautiful.

Hallelujah and Amen.

Citations -
- Brueggemann, Walter. Genesis . (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1982.) p346.
- Matthews Huey, Kathryn . "August 14, 2011 | Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A (Ninth Sunday after Pentecost - Proper 15)." The United Church of Christ | No Matter Who You Are Or Where You Are On Life's Journey, You're Welcome Here . N.p., n.d. Web. 8 Aug. 2011. .
- Taylor, Barbara Brown. "Listening to Your Life." Gospel Medicine. Cambridge, Mass.: Cowley Publications, 1995.

Stepping out of the Boat

2011-08-07T20:41:00.005-04:00

This sermon was preached August 7, 2011 at Chapel in the Pines Presbyterian Church, Hoover, AL

Scripture Texts -
Romans 8:18-25 Matthew 14:22-33

“The adage that ‘all we have to fear is fear itself’ is wrong.” Lee Griffith writes in his most recent book. He continues saying “What we have to fear is contentment. Do not fear becoming a malcontent. Fear becoming complacent."[1] I heard this quote several weeks ago while during a devotional time for the leadership of a youth conference and it convicted and challenged me in ways that I could not have expected. For most of my life fear was something to overcome. For those who know me well and especially those who knew me in high school and college, knew that I had bit of a risk taker. I enjoyed doing things that got my heart beating fast and got my adrenaline going. Pushing my self past any fear, be it heights, rapids, jumping off of cliffs into water, playing on high ropes courses, climbing mountains, or speeding through the hills of the Appalachian Mountains on a bike were all activities that I found great joy in. This drive to push past my fears, led me to choose a minor that afforded me ample opportunities to do these things and do some of these activities at higher heights. For me pushing past my fears became common and somewhat normal and comfortable, to the point of wanting to work in this field and encourage others to push past their own fears.

And yet hearing Lee Griffith’s quote and thinking about my life I began to see places and times where taking risks or stepping out in faith is the least likely thing for me to do. There are places in my life where I would rather play it safe and not take a chance. I would rather stay inside my comfort zone, my place of known safety then venture out into the unknown and unsure. I would rather keep to myself then risk reaching out, where I might possibly loose myself, my identity or be hurt by another person. And I am sure I am not alone in this. I feel quite confident that most of us would rather play it safe then risk. And that which needs to be confronted from time to time in our lives is not our fears but our own complacency.

And when we look at our gospel text this morning, I wonder if Matthew is challenging us, as people of faith, to play it safe, or to open our eyes and see the world that is breaking in all around us and to follow our Lord. And in this text, I believe, we are being called to examine our own lives, and address those places of complacency that we would rather not move from.

As I mentioned before our Gospel text is situated directly after Jesus’ miracle of the feeding the five thousand with a mere five loaves and two fish. This miracle of multiplying simple and small gifts of the earth to feed a multitude must have baffled the minds of the disciples as well as those gathered. Here on the shores of Sea of Galilee, was one like them in every way but yet taught with authority and reached out to those whom no one wanted to help. For the disciples Jesus’ ability defied their abilities and even their imagination. His teaching challenged their known world and ways of seeing and interacting with it. The lines between what was seen as within human ability and powers limited only to the divine were beginning to blur for the disciples. A new world was breaking in all around them and disrupting their lives, their plans, and their vision of what they thought the world was.

And before the disciples could get a handle on what they had just seen, these awe struck followers of Jesus are told to get into a boat and go ahead to the other side. The Gospel writer goes on to say that Jesus then dismissed the crowds and went to a mountain to pray by himself, seeking the solitude he had sought after hearing the news of the execution of his cousin John the Baptizer. And as Jesus prayed, his disciples, men who had grown up by the sea, working in boats much like the one they were in, were being battered by the wind and waves of a storm. And for these disciples and those early Christians listening to this story, the sea, the storm, and nighttime all carried with them a since of foreboding were trouble, chaos, and even demonic powers could be present. And so it is not all to surprising that as Jesus comes walking toward the battered boat on sea that he finds the disciples crying out in fear and terror. A common response found in scripture of those who encounter God. And yet Jesus’ response to his terrified, and exhausted disciples is simply, ‘Take heart, it is I; do not be afraid.’

The middle clause of Jesus’ words of reassurance, “it is I,” can be literally translated to “I am” from the Greek. This use of “I am” should ring bells in our ears. It is the divine name God revealed to Moses. So at one level Jesus is reassuring his weary disciples that it is the one they know and have travel with coming to them on the sea and yet on another the Gospel writer wants to make it clear that the “I am,” The God of Abraham and Sarah; of Isaac and Rebekah; of Jacob and Rachel and Leah is present with the them in the midst of the storm. These are words of reassurance that we all wish to hear in the midst of storms that bring great terror.

Upon hearing his Lord’s words of reassurance, it is Peter as we could have only expected, who calls out to Jesus, asking if he can come and join him on the sea. Jesus invites Peter to step out of the relative safety of the boat, and do something he may never have imaged or dreamed of. And oddly enough Peter steps out of the boat and begins to walk toward Jesus on the stormy sea. Breaking all laws of physics, and what conventional wisdom teaches; shocking everyone in the boat, and possibly even Peter himself. One of my seminary professors, Stan Saunders said of this text, “Matthew is continuing not only to demonstrate the dimensions of Jesus’ identity and divine power, but to suggest that the same power is available to other human beings as well.”[2] The lines between what is possible and impossible, what is of this earth and what is of divine ability, what is real and what can only be imagined have been blurred so greatly, that one cannot be distinguished from the other. And in this blurring of worlds we see Peter walking on water.

The world we are living in is filled with storm after storm. And many of us feel as though we have been tossed to and fro and believe that the wind is against us. For the past few weeks we have been inundated with the chaos of the possibility of our nation defaulting and being unable to pay its bills, and sending our nation deeper into recession. And yet as this crisis was narrowly averted the divisions and divisiveness that were played out during this debate remain front and center overshadowing a weak economy and growing rates of unemployment. And the storms that rage are not limited to our political world; we can look within our own denomination at the stormy seas of change that have been brewing this summer. Changes to ordination standards are making it possible for those who have previously been bared from following their call are now finding a new openness for leadership within our church. And it is this change that has prompted some of our brother and sister in Christ to depart from our denomination, or to withhold their resources in an angry protest. And to add to these turbulent seas our denomination has also changed its Book of Order, an act that has forced churches and Presbyteries to reexamine how they function and operate, a not always pleasant or welcomed duty. And within this particular church the leaving of a beloved pastor creates uncertain days of searching for someone new to shepherd and guide this community. We each could add to this list of storms. Storms that are raging in the lives of our families, in our own lives. And on and on the list could go.

And with all of these storms that are raging in our lives, it would be easy to stay within our own personal boats or to stay within our own community and weather these storms. Because that would be the safe thing to do, it would be more comfortable, there would be little risk involved for us. And we could ride this storm out and face another day.

But again this text, I believe, does not allow us to stay complacent and comfortable. It challenges us to see our God at work where we would not have expected and to go and join helping to open the eyes and hearts to the Kingdom that is breaking in all around us. Our text this morning is not urging us to overcome our fears, but to confront the places of complacency and apathy in our lives.

Matthew leaves no room for the naïveté that all will be fine if we but follow, if we but get out of the boat, if we just confront our own complacency and apathy. For as soon as Peter realizes what he is doing and the magnitude of the storm around him confronts him once more, he begins to sink. He comes crashing back into this world once more not being able to sustain the needed vision to remain fully in the world that Jesus is ushering in. And as Peter sinks into the stormy sea he cries out for salvation, to which Jesus quickly grabs his floundering disciple, pulls him up, and says to him, “you of little faith, why did you doubt?”

Peter’s act of doubting and sinking into the sea remind us of the two worlds in which we are apart of, the world as we see and the world that we eagerly await to break fully into ours. A world that the Apostle Paul believes does not compare with the suffering we may face in this life. We await a world where walking on water is possible, and death and decay no longer hold sway over our lives, where there is enough food for everyone and all can find shelter from the elements. Yet like Peter we struggle to see this hoped for world breaking in all around us. The reality of the stormy sea challenged Peter’s vision and forced his mind to come back to a world where walking on water was impossible, and the boundaries between what was within human ability and those powers limited only to the divine were back in focus. We know Peter’s doubting well, because it is our doubt. We find ourselves standing between worlds, a world that we eagerly await and a world we see filled with storms that seem to strong and are pushing us to stay in our places of comfort and known safety, fearing that venturing out will cost us more then our lives.

And yet for us, as those who have tasted the first fruits, and have the Spirit of God moving within each and everyone of us, we are filled with hope. For it is the Spirit that helps us to confront our own doubts, and compelling us to leave our places of comfort, and relative safety, and step out in faith. We are given eyes to see the world as God sees it, and see a world that is breaking in every day all around us, and blurring the lines between what we know is possible, and what is only possible through the divine. And though the storms may overwhelm us at times, and give us reason to doubt, it is that same Spirit that reminds us that our Savior is there, and is able to catch us in our weakness, and will yet love us still.

Hallelujah and Amen.

[1] Griffith, Lee. God is subversive: peacemaking in a time of empire. (Grand Rapids, Mich.: William B. Eerdmans Pub., 2011.)

[2] Saunders, Stanley P. Preaching the Gospel of Matthew: Proclaiming God's Presence. (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox, 2010) p.147.

Uncertain Days that lay ahead -Sermon for Final Assessment

2011-03-26T14:46:00.005-04:00

Below, you will find the sermon that I am preaching for my final assessment meeting. For those who are not Presbyterian, this is the final stage before I am able to begin to "seek a call."

Any comments that would help strengthen this sermon would be appreciated.

Prayer of Illumination,

Oh Holy God, who calls to stay awake, strengthen our willing spirit and our weak flesh. Arouse us from the comfort of our slumbers with your Word. Prepare our hearts that we may follow you into the uncertainty of the days to come. Open our ears and eyes that we may hear your Word afresh this day. Amen

Our reading this morning is from The Gospel of Mark. I will be reading from the fourteenth chapter beginning with verse 32. Listen now to hear God’s Word to us…

32 They went to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I pray.’ ³³He took with him Peter and James and John, and began to be distressed and agitated. ³⁴And he said to them, ‘I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and keep awake.’ ³⁵And going a little farther, he threw himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. ³⁶He said, ‘Abba,^* Father, for you all things are possible; remove this cup from me; yet, not what I want, but what you want.’ ³⁷He came and found them sleeping; and he said to Peter, ‘Simon, are you asleep? Could you not keep awake one hour? ³⁸Keep awake and pray that you may not come into the time of trial;^* the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.’ ³⁹And again he went away and prayed, saying the same words. ⁴⁰And once more he came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were very heavy; and they did not know what to say to him. ⁴¹He came a third time and said to them, ‘Are you still sleeping and taking your rest? Enough! The hour has come; the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴²Get up, let us be going. See, my betrayer is at hand.’

This is the Word of the Lord,

Thanks be to God.

As many of you have heard there is a little letter that has been floating around the Presbyterian Church for a number of weeks now. And there have been lots of conversations as well as numerous responses. This letter, which has become commonly known as the “Deathly Ill Church” letter, expresses in no uncertain terms that the PC(USA) is deathly ill. Years of decline and years of votes over contentious issues have led the writers to declare that this portion of the body of Christ is deathly ill.

As one might have suspected this letter has sparked a great deal of discussion and debate. Some have come out speaking in favor and yet others in opposition to the letter. The amounts of responses and conversations have become so great that one could easily become overwhelmed by the topic. And for some the sheer magnitude, diversity, and the highly charged emotions have proven to be to great. The letter has elicited in fear in some, and yet in others, it has become a call to arms, a time to speak out and take a stand. A number of friends at school have spoken of worries about what this will mean for the Church they are heading into and questioning if their gifts and talents will be better served elsewhere.

The response it has elicited in me, however, has been one of questioning. I have wondered what dose it mean to be the church in this age? How do we remain faithful to God in the face of uncertain days that lay ahead?

But beyond the questions that this letter raised within me, I believe that the letter has begun to stir a sleeping church. Calling us to wake up. We all have known for a while now that our church, the Presbyterian Church USA, and many other mainline churches like us, have been experiencing unprecedented decline in membership, shrinking budgets and a diminished place in society. But why did this letter, stating these facts, elicit such a strong response? Are large membership numbers, a big budget and status within society signs of God’s favor upon us, and symptoms of a healthy church? And the declining numbers, budgets and diminished role with society as symptoms of a deathly ill church?

I must state that I do not agree with the conclusions that the "Deathly Ill Church" Letter draws. I agree that the church is in decline, but I do not agree that the PC(USA) is deathly ill. I would argue that in some places the Presbyterian Church has been comfortably asleep. We have grown comfortable, believing that our influence, which we once held in society just a few decades before, would last forever. And as time has changed and membership numbers have declined as well as an increase in the rate of pastor burn out have become such commonplace realities that we just accept it as the way things are. And we look at the monuments of our glorious past, and dream of the “good old days.” We, like the disciples, have fallen asleep and are not fully aware of the importance of this hour.

As we come to our text today in Mark the disciples and Jesus are approaching the final days of Jesus life and earthly ministry. Unbeknownst to the disciples this is the final night in which they will be with this wandering Rabbi. As part of Passover, the disciples have traveled with Jesus to Jerusalem. They witnessed the triumphant entry into the city, with Jesus riding upon a colt, and the crowds shouting praises to him. The disciples were with Jesus when he cleansed the temple by driving “out those selling and those buying in the temple” and watched as he overturned the moneychangers’ tables. And He foretells of the temple as well as his telling of Jesus’ own death. But on this final night Jesus, having already shared a meal with his friends breaking bread and blessing the cup do they come “to a place called Gethsemane.”

Having traveled from the Mount of Olives, the disciples find themselves standing in Gethsemane. Jesus taking Peter, James and John a little further away reveals the deep distress that Jesus is feeling as his hour approaches. We should not be surprised that it is these three who Jesus reveals this too. Peter, James and John serve an important role in Mark’s Gospel. As it was these three who have been witnesses to the transfiguration and the raising of Jairus daughter from the dead. So we can assume that Peter, James and John had become comfortable witnessing some peculiar events. And yet now they are witnessing something completely different then they have seen before. They see Jesus, the same man who was transfigured on the mountain, who has the power to calm seas and raise people form the dead, nearly overcome with anguish. He tells them, “I am deeply grieved, even to death.” And all he asks of his friends is to “remain here, and keep awake.” And yet they can’t. Three times Jesus comes back from praying to find his closest disciples sleeping, and implores them two different times to keep awake. But their eyes “were very heavy” and they continued to fall asleep.

There is a connection that is drawn between the image of the sleeping disciples and Jesus’ final parable about the return of the Son of Man. In Mark 13, we hear Jesus tell a parable about a master of the house who leaves for a journey. He places his slaves in charge of the household with tasks to take care of. He commands the doorkeeper to keep watch or keep awake, more accurately. Saying, “For you do not know when the master of the house will come.” It would be a terrible situation when “he may find you asleep when he comes suddenly.” So Jesus tells those gathered, “Keep awake.” Jesus is not urging those gathered to remain strong in the face of persecution but to be prepared, to keep awake, and to be vigilant.

It is clear within this parable that the master of the household is Jesus, and the slaves are the disciples and followers of Christ, and in turn you and I. And the disciples in Gethsemane were so comfortable, so use to witnessing things that Jesus did that they could not recognize the importance of this moment. They saw their master he was with them. Did they really need to keep awake? So they fell asleep, not once but three times. Jesus knew the importance of this hour and tried to convey it to his friends, but they were not yet ready to drink the cup that Jesus would drink from. A cup that Jesus prayed God would remove from him, but knew it was God’s will to drink of it. And it is the same cup that Jesus gave to his friends assuring them that it was the cup of a new covenant sealed in Jesus’ own blood. A cup that Jesus asked James and John if they were ready to take and be baptized in a baptism like Jesus’ own. And yet at this moment the disciples were not ready to drink of that cup. They were not prepared. They wished to remain asleep.

It would be too easy to condemn the disciples for their weakness, for not being prepared at that hour in this hour. But the disciples did drink of the cup. They were awoken and did encounter of the resurrected Jesus. As witnesses to God’s power over death, they were assured of the covenant sealed in Christ’s blood and they went to work, accomplishing the task they had been given knowing that their hour would come and that they too would have to drink of the cup.

It is clear that there are uncertain days that lay ahead for the Presbyterian Church. Each day we move closer and closer to the passage of amending our ordination standards, and on those very same days churches wrestle with whether to stay or leave. And in both cases people feel as though they are being faithful. I believe strongly that things will change within the Presbyterian Church USA. We will see churches that will feel that they must separate from us as we welcome in those who have been bared from fully following their call. This will open us to hearing God’s Word a new and following Jesus down paths that we never knew before. And the question remains is, are we going to wake up and face the uncertain days that lay ahead or are we going to remain sleeping. We, like the disciples, have a choice. We can remain asleep or we can wake up and face the hour that is here and drink the cup, or doze off back to sleep.

The wonderful thing that I failed to mention earlier about the passage was that no matter how many times the disciples were caught sleeping, Jesus never gave up on them. He returned time and again to wake them, stir them from their slumbers, remind them of their duty, to remain awake and pray. And he knew “indeed the spirit is willing and the flesh is weak.” And the same is true with the church. Jesus has not given up on us. Though we may be asleep at times, Jesus returns and awakes us, calling us to get up, to keep awake and pray, to take the cup, and reminds us of the work that is to be done.

Uncertain days lay before us. Unlike the disciples, we know what lies before Jesus in the Gospel, Golgotha and the cross. And yet three days later we know the tomb will be found empty. For we know the promise is true because of the witness of the sleepy disciples who Jesus never gave up on. So we have work to do friends. The master of the household has not returned, so we must remain awake and do the work that we have been given even in these uncertain days.

Hallelujah and Amen

Let's Try This Once More... Reflecting on a Sunday

2011-03-06T18:50:00.008-05:00

As Lent is quickly approaching and as I continue to think about my vocation and how to live it out following seminary, I have returned once more to this blog. A place that when I began it was intended to be a space for me to reflect and ponder things that I had been exploring in classes or in the world. But quickly this blog became neglected and forgotten, as evident by an almost two year lapse in posting. But as I see my vocation not as one who preaches but as one who is called to teach and write, I feel I must begin to practice writing, reflecting and sharing.

So it is that my goal is to begin to write here once more. Posting whatever comes through my head and exploring ideas. So here goes...

It is Sunday evening and I have been reflecting all day on worship this morning. My Wife Ame and I have been attending Central Presbyterian Church in Atlanta while I have been in seminary. It is a worshiping community that we have come to deeply love and are nurtured there. We have found it refreshing and challenging that the church as a community takes stands on what is happening outside of the doors of this beautiful downtown church. This active stance on Social Justice was evident this morning during worship as a member of the congregation got up to talk about the church's plans for Lent. The church is planning to focus the congregation's attention to social issues within the community of Atlanta. As the member described the church's devotional guide and how it could move the community to take actions to resolve the issues facing the community, she was moved to tears as she asked, "how can we be a people of faith and not find solutions to AIDS, homelessness, poverty and inequality?" (Those are not exactly her words but what I got from her words.) And as I sat and listen to this woman stand behind the table of our Lord, I was moved nearly to tears as I reflected on the brokenness of our world and our apathy and failure to do more.

Matthew 5:6-9
6‘Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
7 ‘Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy.
8 ‘Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
9 ‘Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

Before I could throw myself a deeper pitty party it was time to pass the collection plate. I noticed a little boy in the row in front of me who I could see was eagerly awaiting the collection plate to come down his row. And as the plate reached him, he took it from his dad and took a couple of steps and passed it to the gentleman seated near him. And as this young child quickly ran back to his dad, I noticed a huge grin on his face. And a since of joy washed over me. This young child was so eager to just touch the plate that held the money that would help fund the mission of this church that he could hardly contain it. You could see that this mattered deeply to this boy and in that moment I saw how the church was to be, a little child with such excitement to just touch the mission work of the church.

It was just moments later as the congregation was taking communion by intinction, I saw a little girl who moving quicker then her parents was headed up to the front. She looked over her shoulder for her parents who were quickly in tow, giving a look of "hurry up." Again the excitement of this young child was a blessing. Again I thought, "This is how we should be. We should have an eager anticipation as we approach the table."

Matthew 19:14
"but Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them; for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs."

So challenged with the Kingdom of God breaking but not complete I go into this next week. Fed at the table and challenged to act.

Earth Day Video

2009-04-22T15:37:00.002-04:00

This video is about the creation of a ground sculpture in Lilburn GA. The sculpture used soon to be recycled aluminum cans. Several school particpated. It is really pretty cool.

Speaking of God...

2009-02-13T10:49:00.006-05:00

This week I had my first preaching experience in Seminary. We were told that we would be doing a five minute "sermon" about a passage of our choosing and we were to just speak about what it says to us about God and what it says to our community of faith. Below is what I wrote, I am sure that what is below is not exactly like what I said, but it gives the idea.

Matthew 20:1-16

The Labourers in the Vineyard
‘For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire labourers for his vineyard. ²After agreeing with the labourers for the usual daily wage, he sent them into his vineyard. ³When he went out about nine o’clock, he saw others standing idle in the market-place; ⁴and he said to them, “You also go into the vineyard, and I will pay you whatever is right.” So they went. ⁵When he went out again about noon and about three o’clock, he did the same. ⁶And about five o’clock he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, “Why are you standing here idle all day?” ⁷They said to him, “Because no one has hired us.” He said to them, “You also go into the vineyard.” ⁸When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his manager, “Call the labourers and give them their pay, beginning with the last and then going to the first.” ⁹When those hired about five o’clock came, each of them received the usual daily wage. ¹⁰Now when the first came, they thought they would receive more; but each of them also received the usual daily wage. ¹¹And when they received it, they grumbled against the landowner, ¹²saying, “These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the day and the scorching heat.” ¹³But he replied to one of them, “Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? ¹⁴Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. ¹⁵Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?” ¹⁶So the last will be first, and the first will be last.’ - scripture from oremus Bible Browser

Upon hearing about this assignment I knew exactly what text I was going to us. My mind immediately jumped to God speaking to Job in the whirlwind, I know it’s an odd text, but it helps to keep my ego in check. But the passage I just read has been nagging me all week. It just seems to keep popping into my head. This all started when I read a sermon by Barbra Brown Taylor on this passage. I read it and thought, “oh how nice.” But I began to think about this passage and the more I thought about it the more is began to get angry. I began to sympathize with the workers who had been there all day. I began to feel like one of them, spending all day breaking my back in the sun only to get the same payment as those who worked only an hour. I began understand their frustration and anger towards the landowner. I mean, I have worked hard. I have spent my time volunteering, going on mission trips, for crying out loud I worked with middle school youth, and now I am here at seminary. I think a lot of us can relate. We are all good people; I mean we are here are we not?

We have heard this phrase, “the last will be first and first will be last” so often that we have forgotten how radically counter-cultural it is. It is not capitalism. I mean if we are going to get the same reward in the end as those who come to the vineyard in the eleventh hour, then why work all day? Why not use the system to our advantage? Only the good die young right? Is this not what this passage is saying?

Throughout the week, Matt and Anna have driven home that it is God who is to be the center of our preaching not ourselves. So looking at this passage that way, I stop looking at in the since of my understanding of what is fair, I stop looking at what I do, what have done, and what I left undone, and I stop worrying about where I am in the line, am I somewhere near the front or in the middle and the reward of others. And shockingly I begin to feel free. The things I have done that I shouldn’t have and the things I left undone begin to matter a little less, I stop comparing myself to others and what they have done or not done. For this passage has very little to do with what I have done and yet everything to do with what God has done. This radical grace that is given so freely to everyone is so great but yet so simple. This passage gives us freedom to live. It gives us freedom not worry about where we are in line, what reward others are getting and how it compares to ours, our payment dose not depend on what we do. We have been set free to live in grace that has nothing to do with us and everything to do with God. Hallelujah and Amen

Image by Habub3

Looking Back and Moving Forward

2009-01-02T12:41:00.000-05:00

2008 has come and gone! 2008 was a wild year of change both personally and politically for our country. I have read several articles talking about what a year 2008 was for the sports world. The Celtics win the NBA title, The New York Giants beat the seemingly unbeatable New England Patriots, The 2008 Summer Olympic Games with their amazing stories, Micheal Phelps, Kansas - Memphis in the NCAA basketball Championships, Racco and Tiger at the US Open, and on and on we could go about the amazing year in sports we can go. Outside of the sports world, it was also a crazy year. We saw the US slip into a resession, Barak Obama was elected president, and on and on we could go (I am not a huge news junkie and can not remember all the things that have happened this past year).

It has been a great year of change for me as well. In the Spring of the year I left my job as a youth director to follow God's calling on my life to becoming a Minister of Word and Sacrament by attending Seminary. I relocated from East Tennessee, a place I have lived for the better part of seven years, to a place I had only visited, Atlanta. I also asked my girlfriend of two years to merry me and begin a life together. I have also survived the two semesters of seminary (summer Greek school being the most difficult). And now I look ahead to what 2009 holds.

2009 is looking to be a wonderful year of more change, more growing and being challenged, as well as the coming joy of getting married and beginning my life together with my soon to be wife!

Disney, Brick Walls, and Realizing your Childhood Dreams

2008-12-23T23:11:00.004-05:00

For me to say that a book is revolutionary, or has the power to impact lives for the betterment of humankind is shocking. First I don't read much, other than class books, and I generally tend to read more fiction than non-fiction. But this book, The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch with Jeffery Zaslow kept popping up on my radar. It was mentioned in a sermon I had heard, it was all over the shelves of bookstores and it has been talked about all over the place. With a car trip to Memphis coming up, I downloaded the audio book from iTunes (I know it may be cheating but I read slow and well I was driving... not a good call to read and drive). I first must say this book and the actual lecture the book is roughly based on are wonderful. The book is a expanded version of what was covered in Pausch's "Last Lecture" at Carnegie Mellon University where he was a professor of Computer Science. I know I a few months late in picking this book up, I am glad I did. The book covers a great deal of topics and lessons that we all can learn from.

The book breaks down into several sections. It opens with Pausch talking about his childhood dreams and how he was able to achieve almost all of them, not becoming an NFL player being the only one. He weaves these stories together not for his own glory, but to move the theme of the book to where a majority of the writing is devoted, Helping others achieve their dreams and ideals to live by. I must admit I love stories. I love to hear people tell stories to teach lessons, and Pausch does a wonderful job of weaving his stories with lessons for life that all people can take and should apply to life.

The main lesson I took from this book was to live life. To find your passion and go after it. Pausch says we have a choice to make in life, we can either be a tigger or an eeyore (not the exact quote just the essence of it). We can not change the cards we are delt just the way was play them (again another quote from Pausch). This is something we all need to be remined of.

The Last Lecture can be found at "The Last Lecture"
A page on CMU's website - Randy Pausch's Last Lecture

A final thought, Pausch in the book talks about the movie The Natural and it's final scene. The hero, Roy Hobbs played by Robert Redford with a battered body, his magical bat shattered. Stands at the plate with the world watching and hits a final home run, winning the game, exploding the lights, crushing the dreams of the evil team owner, and walking off into the fabled sunset with the women of his dreams and their son. Pausch's book is that dream realized.

Advent Conspiracy

2008-12-18T10:39:00.003-05:00

This is a video I saw on someone else's blog and really liked it... here is the Advent Conspiracy's webpage!

Here or There?

2008-12-10T08:54:00.006-05:00

When I was little I remember watching Sesame Street. I was not the biggest fan of the show, but as I have gotten older I have grown to appreciate the show more and more. So in one of my seminary classes our professor used a lesson from Sesame Street in her lecture. The lesson was about the difference between "here" and "there." Simple enough right? Wherever you are, you are "here" and you can move towards "there" but whenever you think you have arrived there your prospective changes and you are just "here." Here and there change according to your prospective. So the lesson from Kermit and Grover about "here" and "there" surprised me when it was used to talk about the book of Ecclesiastes and it's implications for Qohelet's world and our own.
For the writer of Ecclesiastes, Qohelet (the Hebrew name), was living in a rapidly changing world. Qohelet's world was rapidly being changed by the changing economic structure of the time. The Persian's were in power and Darius was beginning to use coin money, people were being charged taxes, and the economy was shifting from a barter system to a cash system. Everything was getting a monetary value. This rapidly changing world was impacting how the people viewed the things around them. With everything having a monetary value, one can begin to move to a place where everything can be bought or sold at the right price. In this system there becomes a widening gap between the rich and the poor. Everything was changing. Into this world the writer of Ecclesiastes begins to write.

Qohelet sees his audience as anxious, fretting, hoarding, preoccupied with gaining money. However, Qohelet sees this as vanity, for when we die, which is the only thing we can be certain of, all we have worked for will be gone. It is like chasing after the wind. It is like the Sesame Stree lesson, people are always trying to go "there" but when they arrive "there" has moved further away... To this world, Qohelet urges people to enjoy what they have, for all will go away when we die.

7 Go, eat your bread with enjoyment, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has long ago approved what you do. ⁸Let your garments always be white; do not let oil be lacking on your head. ⁹Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that are given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and in your toil at which you toil under the sun. ¹⁰Whatever your hand finds to do, do with your might; for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.
Ecclesiastes 9:7-10

For Qohelet God is so transcendent that we are unable to grasp the understanding of the mind of God. The only thing we can understand is what is here in front of us. God will provide, and we are to enjoy life at every chance we get, for nothing is guarantee. It is a gift from God that we eat drink and take pleasure in what we do. For seeking after wealth, "All was vanity and a chasing after the wind, and there was nothing to be gained under the sun." (Ecclesiastes 2:11)

What is the Gospel?

2008-12-05T17:34:00.010-05:00

This is a paper I turned in for an Evangelism class I am taking. I enjoyed writing it and was pretty impressed with the result...

The question of, “What is the Gospel?” is a challenging questions with no simple answer. Attempts to answer the question oversimplify and reduce the gospel, limiting the gospel’s vast mystery and possibly attempting to control the gospel to fit our cultural needs. The gospel effects people, it works in people and through people. This makes the gospel personal, giving the gospel its complexity and vastness. For each person the gospel may mean something different. For those who are oppressed the gospel is freedom, for the hurt and broken the gospel is healing and wholeness, for the lonely the gospel is comfort, for some the gospel is life, for others is it the belief that there is something bigger than themselves at work in the world. My simple definition is the gospel is God’s loving work, beginning at creation, carried through the people of Israel, shown fully in the life, teachings, death and resurrection and ascension of Jesus, God’s son, now expressed by the church, Christ’s followers empowered by the Holy Spirit. This work is for the restoration of creation, the bringing in of the Kingdom of God, bringing all of creation into right relations with each other, and God our creator from the bringing of time through the ends of the ages.

My working definition of what is the gospel comes from my encounters with the gospel. Like many people of the Old Testament their encounters with God are described by God’s actions. It is easier to describe God by God’s actions. We are able to see the results of God’s actions, and can easily describe these actions. For me the gospel is much the same. For the gospel is the good news of God’s redeeming love through Jesus. It is God who created the world and all that is in it. Yet humans having been created in God’s image wanted to be like God and ate the fruit from the tree of knowledge separating us from God. God removed humanity from the Garden of Eden. However God never gave up on creation, God called Abraham and Sarah to be the beginnings of a great nation who is called to be a blessing to all peoples of the earth. God continued to work in and through these people, giving them land, an identity reminding them of their purpose, being a blessing to the world. Yet every time the people forgot, God would raise up a leader to call them back to God.

God’s love for God’s creation is fully expressed through the life, teachings, death and resurrection of Jesus. God, still loving what God created, comes in the likeness of a human being, Jesus. Jesus comes to fulfill what God has spoken through the prophets and begin to bring God’s creation back to a right relationship with their creator. Through Jesus’ life and teachings we are invited to be apart of God’s kingdom on earth; a kingdom where love abounds, where justice flows like a mighty river, where our identity comes not from what we have or what we do but from who created us. This kingdom of God is in conflict with the culture that surrounds it. Jesus’ calling for a new and better way of life lead him to be tried, convicted and executed for challenging the culture, for pushing the cultural norms. Jesus teachings went against what the world was calling for. Jesus was calling for people to love their enemies, to walk an extra mile with those who were ruling over them, challenging the status quo, and celebrating the small and lowly, calling the first to be last and last to be first. Jesus was calling for a world flipped on its head. This radical living brings healing to broken, food for the hungry, love to the unloved, communion for the outsiders, hope for the hopeless, and comfort for the afflicted. It brings peace not with the sword but with acts of love. It is not just for the downcast, afflicted, marginalized or left out but it is for all people. It is this upside down world where God has invited creation to join God and to be in communion with the Creator.

It is through the God’s ultimate expression of love, the resurrection of Jesus from death to life, that we are able to truly see and experience God. Jesus bore all that afflicted humanity, setting us free from those things that hold us down, and bringing us back to being who God created us to be. We have been set free from the bondage our self-centeredness has placed us in and our culture has reinforced in us. We are free to bring the good news to all people, to help restore creation. Following Jesus’ resurrection, his followers were called and empowered by the Holy Spirit to continue Jesus mission. This mission goes all the way back to Abraham and Sarah’s call to be a blessing to all people, and is expressed in the sharing of the good news of what God is doing in the world in and through God’s people. It is through this work of restoration and love in which believers, empowered by the Holy Spirit, become the hands and feet of Jesus, continually working to bring in God’s kingdom. It is through our fumbling and bumbling encounters with those around us, we can begin to piece together what God is doing in the world.

Part of gospel is engrafting ourselves into this story of God in the world, and continuing it, and adding our own flavor to it. The gospel is the good news that God is at work in this world. It is through God’s love of God’s creation that we are able to be freed through the life, teachings, death and resurrection of Jesus. This is good news that we are free to love and care for those around us because we have first been loved by our Creator.

Thanksgiving Break

2008-12-01T20:04:00.007-05:00

This past week was Thanksgiving, which brought about several things, a long drive to Memphis and back, no school, time with the parents, and the idea that I would be able to get some work done.

When I was in college I use to love to drive. Several times I can remember spending 10 to 12 hours driving to and from school to spend roughly the same amount or less time in at home. But now I dread the drive home. Yes it is a little longer of a drive these days which makes it even harder to get motivated to drive. And also this year I was to be driving alone, since my fiancee and I had decided to do holidays separate for the last year. So looking to drive from Atlanta to Memphis was not something I was looking forward too. So I cheated and downloaded an audio book from iTunes, Blue Like Jazz. I had read this book a few years ago but needed to re-read it for myself as well for a class. (I will also write a blog post about my thoughts and reactions to this book.) So with a audio book on my ipod I was ready to tackle my 6 1/2 hour drive across the south.

With a book to listen to it was truly a nice trip. I was able to listen to the book, pause and think about what the author had said. It also gave me a bit of time to do some reflecting on the year thus far. The drive to Memphis was all in all a wonderful time. My time in Memphis was also a wonderful time. I enjoy spending time with my family, it was nice to hang out with them and talk about life.

One thing that got me thinking while I was in Memphis was cleaning out my old room at my parents house. For someone who is somewhat of a pack rat, and doesn't like to clean, this was a something I was not looking forward to. But I forced myself to go through the mounds of stuff that had accumulated in my room for the 7 years I lived there during middle and high school and the one summer spent there during college. It was funny how my room had shifted from my room to the place where my old stuff resided. It was fun to go through some of my stuff I had forgotten about and find treasures from my past. As I was cleaning I came across a box of notes from high school from various girls and friends. After looking through many of them I realized where a great deal of my time in high school was spent... reading, writing and passing notes. Also part of my job of cleaning my room was removing all the pictures I had placed on the walls. One of my walls was devoted to pictures of my friends, the places we had gone and the things we had done. It was nice to look through those pictures. It brought up so many good memories, and made me wonder where some of these people are now. Once all was cleaned and removed, I spent my last night in "my room." Yes, I know it will always be my old room, but with new paint and new furniture (my parents hope), it will have been transformed into a "new" room for me. I am reminded that there is nothing constant in this world but change.

So all in all it was a wonderful break, not to short and not to long. It was a wonderful time to reflect and look back, and make ready for the coming of a new year with all new challenges.

Thanksgiving Humor

2008-11-27T20:36:00.002-05:00

Class with Peter Rollins

2008-11-26T11:01:00.002-05:00

This week one of my classes had a guest lecturer, we were privileged to have Peter Rollins come and speak to our class. Peter Rollins is an Emergent Philosopher, co-organizer of an Emerging Church Movement collective called Ikon. He is also the author of several books, How (Not) to Speak of God, The Fidelity of Betrayal: Towards a Church Beyond Belief, and most recent The Orthodox Heretic and Other Impossible Tales. Oh yea he is also from Belfast Ireland.

So Peter came to our class this week while he is on tour speaking about his new book. So our class had the privilege to have him as our guest. It was pretty apparent from the beginning of the class that Peter is truly an Emergent Philosopher. He told us his style of speaking was like shooting a machine gun. So here are some thoughts and responses to things I took from this lecture.

Naming God and Un-Naming God...
No matter how great our theology and understanding of what we thinking God is it is limited and reductionist view. Every time we say God's name we must un-name God. This is an idea we are somewhat exploring in some of our readings. Darrell Guder talk about the idea of reductionism in his book The Continuing Conversion of the Church. Reductionism is a reality and a danger. We want to be able to describe God and in that we will inevitably reduce God to something we can grasp. But in our reduction we run the danger of limiting God. So we need to un-name God every time we name God. I see the importance of celebrating the divine mystery of God, while balancing the a human grasp of the concept of God. God is more wondrous then our concepts of God no matter how good our theology.

The Bible as Art
One of the coolest ideas from this lecture was Rollins idea that the Bible should be viewed as art. Not in the since that it lowers its value, but that different people can take different things from it. The Bible offers more than we can take in. The Bible gives us more and more, and it changes as we change and are impacted by the Bible.

Revelation as Trauma
Rollins said there were three stages of response to revelation from God. He compared these stages to that of trauma. Here are the three stages Rollins gave us...

Incomprehension - When we experience a revelation from God, our first response is just how can this be we are unable to comprehend what is taking place.
Bedazzlement follows once we have accepted the revelation. We stand back in aw of what is taking place after accepting the revelation from God.
Transformation follows once acceptance has taken place and our being in aw is calmed.

There is much more from this lecture, but I am still in the process of thinking through it and figuring our how I feel about it.

Being a Professional but remembering the Joy of being an Amateur

2008-11-21T09:45:00.006-05:00

In one of my classes this week we talked about the dangers and pitfalls one faces when becoming an ordained minister. One of the big ones has to do with how much training it takes to become a minister, we call that training seminary. And in our training we spend three years thinking critically about everything; theology, the Bible, the church, God, Jesus, etc, etc... And with this critical thinking we begin to objectify everything. I know I have fallen into this objectifying of everything and being overly critical about everything, especially the church. And we justify this objectification, or at least I do, by saying we are reading, studying, hearing lectures from scholars, and spending the time in deep critical thought. It is that time that I use to justify my objectification. But this I am finding is a dangerous road to travel down. It is not an authentic lifestyle, it is not the way the one we are called to follow lived.

I have been told one of the best things about becoming ordained is instant creditable. And as one who has been discredited for looking young while working for a church, having that instant creditability was something I was looking for. This creditability comes from the time in seminary. And sometimes this creditability leads us down the road mentioned above, it is an excuse to hide behind, an excuse to objectify the life of faith, a way to reduce faith into something simple and understandable. It hinders us from being who God created us to be.

The idea of being a professional athlete comes to mind for me. A professional athlete is someone who gets paid to do something they love as a job. It is more than what they do, it becomes who they are. I remember as a child that I wanted to be a professional soccer player in Europe. I wanted to spend my days going to training sessions, playing in games, working out in efforts to get just that much better, all because I loved the beautiful game. I wanted my identity to be wrapped around what I did. Of course my life went in a different direction. Don't get me wrong I still love the game, I love it so much that I spend my spare time coaching young players who have similar dreams. But it is that love, the love of the game that drives me now. As I move to being an Ordained Minister I can remember the love that brought me to following God's call on my life, and out of that love remember to walk into my faith, and live authentically not objectively.

a Sabbath Day

2008-11-14T11:33:00.008-05:00

It is funny to think of yourself as a creature of habit. But I know for myself it is a true statement. I am also a person of routines, I go through the same motions everyday no matter what is going on... I wake up around the same time, take the dog for a walk, feed her and make coffee for myself, sit on the couch for a bit and watch Sports Center, drink coffee, take a shower, watch more Sports Center, get dressed, and head out the door. No wonder it takes me so long to get ready in the morning! I also have a weekly routine that has little to no change week to week; classes work study, soccer practice during the week, soccer games on the weekend, and church Sunday... It is a pretty predictable life I lead these days...

What is funny though is that when that routine is broken it totally troughs off my day and my mood (most of the time). But this continuing routine ends up wearing me down. I end up getting moody and ready to blow up. This past week was one of those weeks where I was moving to a place where I was ready to blow up... There must have been something in the air this week because there were a lot of people who were feeling this way. So knowing myself and knowing how I get when I don't break my routine with a day of rest... I took a Sabbath day this week! AND IT WAS WONDERFUL!!!

So this Thursday, I skipped my classes... slept in... did a great deal of reading of blogs... read some from a book... napped... and did not turn my TV on but to watch a movie during lunch. It was a wonderful day. One of the best things about the day was not watching TV... I do watch a lot of TV even if I am not directly watching TV, the TV is still on, just creating noise in the background. Not having the TV on, but for a few minuets, all day on Thursday made the day so peaceful and quite. That was the most noticeable and enjoyable part of my day. It gave me an opportunity to clear my mind and think and process all that had gone on over the past few weeks. It also created space in the day to spend time praying and being in meditation with and on God's word!

After taking this personal Sabbath, I have begun to reflect upon the importance of taking these sabbath days as a pastors. I am also worried about how much time there will be to take these sabbath days to replenish my soul. I know there is more work than hours in the day and there is always something more that cane be done. And I have worked with several pastors who have struggled with taking their days off. And I worry about how can I avoid this, not becoming a workaholic and take care of myself and the relationships in my life, namely with my fiancee (who by the time I am ordained will be my wife)!

My New Favorite Way to Evangelize

2008-11-12T16:52:00.007-05:00

So I have seen this van all over Decatur and East Atlanta! It makes me laugh I must say! Yes there are some things on the van in which I do agree with, but I am not really sure why someone would do this. I wonder if this is their way of sharing the gospel with other people? I also wonder how effective it is? I would have to guess probably not, since I am assuming they drive like most everyone else in this city... very poorly!

When I hear the "e-word" (Evangelism) I cringe, I'm Presbyterian for crying out loud, that word scares us. When people talk about evangelism, the images that pop into my head are those people standing on street corners with a bull horn, shouting at people. I also have images of people walking up to and handing out little pamphlets about God and how life is doomed without God. Those are the images that come up to me, and this van just adds another image for me now.

I must admit that sometimes when I see people doing these forms of evangelism, I am compelled to go and talk to them, much to the embarrassment of my fiancee. For some reason I want to run up and talk to them about God and theology. Maybe I just want to push their buttons and be a jerk. But almost always my fiancee holds me back.

So entering Seminary this year, I had the opportunity to take a class about Evangelism, shocking I know! But the funny thing is it is one of my favorite classes, even more shocking! And here is the kicker... I have come to a place where I see evangelism as being an important part of the life of the church, not in the since of member management and growth. But as an outpouring of what God is doing our lives. I know I will never be the kind of person who will walk up to someone and begin telling them about God and trying to convert them on the spot, I do however feel that I will be able to talk to people and share my life and faith with them, in a non-threatening sort of way, whatever that means.

I am still processing all of this, I am still not too sure what evangelism is going to look like for, maybe it is being a good friend, a nice person in a grocery store, or being a good neighbor, I am thinking there are thousands of possibilities. These are all long term evangelism "strategies," probably more realist and possible for me.

Why the Environmental Movement may be It's Own Worse Nightmare

2008-11-05T12:00:00.000-05:00

I do admit, that I support and believe the work in which environmentalists are doing is important and has the possibility to change the world for the better. However I see some inherent flaws in their approaches. Below you will see the problems I have with the current Environmental Movement as we have it today. I know this will not sit well with some people, and I know I am not alone with thinking these things.

The Problems as I see Them...
1. Excessive use of Science - This may be the biggest problem, the use of science is great for those who understand what it is being used to describe, but for many the science goes in one ear and out the other. It becomes too complex to comprehend. And attempts to reduce the information fails at conveying the information thoroughly and accurately. Or we read conflicting scientific arguments with vastly different numbers. The use of science ends up destroying the credibility in which the environmental movement hopes to gain and use to advance the case for preserving the earth.

2. Doomsday Approach -In Lester Brown's newest Plan B book, Plan B 3.0, he is pushing a sense of urgency in making changes to save the world. In this urgency, Brown compares to the United States following the attacks on Pear Harbor. He describes the rapid change the US went through in converting factories to further and advance the war efforts. This push was made possible due to a common enemy, with the environmental issue the enemy is ourselves. Also what is lacking from this doomsday approach is that of signs of our impending demise due to environmental destruction. Going back to Brown's push for urgent change, the devastation of the attacks on Pear Harbor were clearly visible. With concern with the environmental movement, our own impact is not as clear due to the twisting of science. Respiratory problems are explained away, SMOG is visible for a majority of large cities, but it would be an inconvenience to change our ways, and plus all the cool cars, those advertised heavily and viewed by pop-culture as the best, are the ones which pollute the most, in many cases.

3. We need a sign - As mentioned before the results of the attack on Pear Harbor were clear, the attacks on the environment are long term and lasting effects. For years scientist have been predicting that the increase in Global Warming would lead to an increase in stronger and frequent hurricanes. Yet following Hurricane Katrina and the other hurricanes of the summer of 2005, little to nothing was said about the connection between Global Warming and the strength of these storms. This has to do, I feel, to dealing with the great tragedy these storms were.

4. we are our own worse enemy - One of the main problems facing the Environmental movement is that we are our own worse enemy. This is contrasted again with Brown's call to World War II mobilization, at that point there was an enemy and they were easily identified. But now the enemy we face is ourselves. It is our own inability to change our destructive ways. It is also our unwillingness to change these ways which will ultimately hurt the most. The things that will help us to realize we need to change are occurring all around us, but we have explained these signs away or allowed them to be contradicted and then forgotten, or the science has gotten in the way and we have become confused or heard too much of the science and have become apathetic to the problem.

Another area in which we have become our own enemy is by making being Green trendy. It has all of a sudden become cool to be green. Just like during the late '80's and early '90's, when it was cool to wear MC Hammer style parachute pants. Being green has become marketable, and fashionable but in the end it is still a trend, and sadly trends pass. The making of the environmental movement trendy has brought a lot of attention to global warming, our use of coal and petroleum based products, but sadly it has done little in changing out habits or pushing government to require higher fuel-efficiency standards for automobiles as well as change habits that will positively impact the planet. My fear in making the environmental movement trendy is that the message will be lost or reduced.

In my efforts to summarize the short comings of the environmental movement I am sure I overly simplified these ideas, forgotten some, and/or overstated these things I see. For more information about this topic please read Death of Environmentalism. It is the manifesto of two guys seeking to change the way the environmental movement is headed and possibly move it to a place where more can be gained and solutions can be found. As for me, I do not have any sure where to go from here. I have ideas floating in my head but I have yet to flesh them out into some sort of coherent idea from the Christian perspective as well as from personal response.

Playing for Change: Peace Through Music

2008-11-04T09:15:00.005-05:00

I came across this video today, it was posted on the Presbyterian Hunger Facebook page. First off it is a Bob Marley song, one of my favorite musician! So I checked out the website, Playing for Change homepage, and the the more I read the more I was intrigued by this documentary and the work this foundation is doing to bring about peace around the world and connect people with one thing we all share, MUSIC.

Music effects all of us, for Christian communities it is apart of our worship and praise to almighty God. Many people have music played everywhere they go, consider the car radio, CD player, the iPod, and all other digital music devices. Music is all around us. It is apart of us. And it also may be a way to connect us to others throughout the world. Below is the trailer to the Playing for Change: Peace Through Music documentary. Here is their mission statement, found on their web page...

The Playing For Change Foundation (PFCF) is dedicated to connecting the world through music by providing resources (including but not limited to facilities, supplies, and educational programs) to musicians and their communities around the world. PFCF supports projects inspired by the communities featured in the Playing for Change documentary film series.

Playing for Change Blog

Here is one of my favorite songs in the whole world... Bob Marley's One Love, but with an international flair!! This is from a PBS discussion of the Playing for Change documentary.

I'm a Georgia Voter...

2008-11-04T09:02:00.003-05:00

... and I have the sticker and FREE Starbucks to prove it!

I was a little nervous voting in this election, since this is the first time I have voted in a presidential election. But it was pretty painless. I was also a little nervous about how long the lines would be and how much of my day would be spent in line waiting to cast my ballot. The previous election I voted in, I had to drive back to Memphis to vote because I could not get an absentee ballot. So I drove the 5 1/2 hours from Knoxville to Memphis, stood in line for something like 3 hours to vote, which took me a grand total of 10 minuets. This year I was able to vote in Decatur and it took less then 30 minutes to get through the line to vote. So all is well, and all need to vote!

I was excited about the free Starbucks deal! How can you pass that up... FREE COFFEE!! Whatever it takes to get people out to the polls, I am all for.

For Good...

2008-11-01T07:37:00.002-04:00

So I have to admit, I really really like Broadway Musicals. It is something most people do not know about me, but it is very true. Shows like Rent, Wicked, Phantom of the Opera, West Side Story have all been apart of my life, and I been engulfed by them. For Halloween night my fiancee and I went and saw Wicked. This was an amazing show. The stage transported you to the land of Oz, the special effects enhanced the experience, and the story drew you in and left you sitting on the edge of your seat!

One of the closing numbers of the show is, "For Good" and is sung between Glenda and Elphaba (the Wicked Witch of the West). This song plays at the characters' relationship and friendship. These two, who most would suspect are opposites and have little in common, are truly best friends. I know it is hard to believe, for those who have seen The Wizard of Oz, but it is true, according to Wicked. The line of the song in which Elphaba and Glenda sing together is, "Because I knew you I have been changed for good." That song and that line left me thinking about the people in my life that because I have known them I have been changed for good. I could write a list a mile long with names of people who have help to shape my life. Names like, Debbie, Mark, Jerry, Dave, Emily, Barbra and on and on the list would go.

These people have changed my life for good. They were who God created them to be and in living this way they freed and encouraged others to do the same. They also loved without expecting anything in return. I think about my theater teacher in high school, for four years my two best friends and I were absolutely awful. We pushed the limits at every turn and tried to get away with anything. For crying out load we drove a car into the school's theater and turned it around on the stage. Did our teacher notice the tire marks all over the freshly painted black stage? He had to have. Did he say anything or punish us? NO! He did however make a joke about it at the end of the year celebration during our senior year. But this man never once gave up on us, and at his funeral, his wife told one of my friends that our teacher truly loved us. Along with listing names a mile long, I could spend the rest of my life telling stories about these people, about good times and not so good times.

These people have helped me to become the person God created me to be. But how are we, who have been shaped by those around us, to respond in gratitude? I think, and I hope my response will be to pass along the gift these people have given me. Words will never be enough, but actions will be. If by my living into who God has created me to be helps someone be who God has created them to be, then I know I am adding to the God's story which those beloved saints are apart of and have contributed to.

Something Funny!

2008-10-28T14:45:00.002-04:00

Kairos Church Experience

2008-10-27T18:37:00.008-04:00

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

2008-10-26T09:47:00.003-04:00

At Montreat this past spring, I heard this song for a class about using pop-culture in Bible Studies. After the conference I came home and began listening to Sufjan Stevens and really enjoy his music. Many of Sufjan Stevens songs have some religious content, either explicit or implicit. This song inperticular is his interpretation is the events we call the Transfiguration of Jesus found in Matthew, Mark and Luke's Gospels.

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

2008-10-25T16:12:00.004-04:00

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

2008-10-20T20:17:00.005-04:00

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

2008-10-20T19:35:00.005-04:00

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

2008-10-14T21:49:00.007-04:00

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

2008-10-10T21:04:00.000-04:00

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

2008-10-09T19:55:00.004-04:00

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

2008-10-07T21:01:00.009-04:00

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…

2008-10-06T19:22:00.000-04:00

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!