Newfound respect for Amare

If you really know me, you'll know that I'm a huge NBA fan. GO MAVS!!

Anyway, I was reading through one of my favorite sites, hoopshype.com and came across a little ditty on Amare Stoudemire.  Amare is definitely one of the best big men in the Western Conference.

Last year, only two games after the trade deadline passed (which Amare was rumored to be on the trading block, but never was traded), he was poked in the eye so hard that he suffered a detached retina that put him out for the remainder of the season.

This is the interesting part.  After having surgery, Amare went through rehab.  He was required to look downward, towards the floor for 12 hours straight!  I seriously think that 22 hours on the site was a typo, but if not, that's even more interesting...or torturous.

During his rehab time he read half the Bible! Impressive! Not only to do it, but to tell a reporter that you did so.  So, even for that little info, I will cheer a little more for the Suns and Amare Stoudemire next year:)

The Lord's Prayer: A Prayer of Selflessness

If you're ever gonna teach anyone how to pray why not use the Lord's Prayer as your basis, right?

I did and I'm not going to go through the whole message over a blog but there was one common theme that ran through the prayer that was a little groundbreaking for me, even though I have literally read or recited that prayer at least a hundred times or more. Here's the NIV's take on Jesus' teaching moment:

"Our Father in heaven,
   hallowed be your name,   (ok stop yawning already and focus)
 your kingdom come,
   your will be done
  on earth as it is in heaven."

Here's where it got interesting for me.  Peep the words I make bold. As I read this prayer with what felt like new eyes and a new mind, the parenthesis explain my thoughts.

" Give us today our daily bread."
 This is more than just asking for and then "blessing" our food, as if it would be less good for you if you didn't "bless" it.  It is God that needs to be blessed by our prayer and thanked for His Earth producing the food that it does for us.  And it is us that needs to pray for the whole world to get the food they need.  And if we would pray for that, I'm positively sure that God would convict us actually to something about it.


 "Forgive us our debts..." 
We are so ego-centric about our mistakes.  So much so that many of us stop giving or serving others just because we're sulking in our sins that no one else but God knows about.  How stupid is that? God chooses to forget.  Your sin doesn't linger with Him and if there's not a physical consequence for your action, don't make it a psychological one! How about taking the time to pray for God to reveal to someone else their sin for a change? Most of the time we either do nothing about others behavior or are so vocal that we come off as judgmental, arrogant Bible-bashers.  Humans are such extreme beings, either we're apathetic (or ignorant) or come on way too strong and that's particularly true of Christ-followers.


"...as we also have forgiven our debtors."
How often do we do this, really?  We usually forgive because we forget (someone else has already ticked us off) not because we literally have chosen to forget because we have forgiven. 



"And lead us not into temptation,
 but deliver us from evil."
Here again we usually focus so much on ourselves and our struggles or addictions that we fail, 99% of the time, to pray for the struggles of other people.  This statement can have corporate connotations, as well.  (imagine a local church, as a whole, praying this line) This statement also does not suggest only that people may sin but that Satan may spring on them for no apparent reason.  We shouldn't pray for someone just because they screwed up, or have the propensity to, but also pray for the vulnerable ones out there; the ones with low self-esteem, with no family, with mental deficiencies, etc.


For yours is the Kingdom
and the power and glory. Amen.

Thank you Jesus for reminding me today that my prayer life is not even closely all about only me.  In fact, it's more about all of us!

Think about it...how often (if you pray often) do you say something that goes like this...

"God thank you for this and this...
Sorry about this and that.
Help me to get or do this.
Amen."

You've been enlightened.  Get that prayer hierarchy worked out:)

Outdated Christian Lingo

Since my second job is at a Christian bookstore here in Elizabeth City, I hear a huge amount of outdated Christian lingo and cliches every single day...

I'm pretty sure I'm thinking about all of this because 90s style Michael W. Smith is playing on the house system right now.....uhhhhhhhh....

Its funny how people who have grown up and/or grown old in the church that talk with a deep-seeded Christianese dialect to their English actually think to themselves in amazement, "I just can't relate to kids today." Oh I have those same thoughts, too, don't get me wrong.

This is an example of how I really can't relate to kids these days. Yesterday I was heading back home from Williamsburg when the dj from 100.5 asked her callers to give her euphemisms that they and their lovers used to imply for wanting sex while in the company of others, you know, like a password. The topic didn't shock me, really, until the third caller called and said a version of this:

"Me and my boyfriend once heard our youth pastor, who was giving us a sex-talk at our church, say that he once turned down his wife's advance for sex (never heard a man do that, honestly) because he wanted to play Scrabble. So, from that point, since that teen couple were sexually active used the euphemism, "Let's go play Scrabble..."

Hmmm....that blows my mind. Must have been a great talk that night. Looks like the youth pastor's point got across.

Anyway, here's a few words or phrases that I don't understand why we use outside the church:

1) Praise - The more I hear it in the church, the more I hear the word 'thanks' outside. As soon as someone uses praise, they are immediately tagged Christian, which means they have substituted other common words for Christianese terms, such as steadfast for patience, for example.

• Normal English = "Thanks!"
• Christianese = "Praise be to you!"
  

2) Cool, dude - You might hear someone who's a parent say this and I usually say to myself, "they're trying at least." Other instances you may hear that same parent say, "that's the bomb," "boom shock-a-lock-a" or "awesome!" Not that I would wanna hear my mom say, "TJ, I got love for you," "what's poppin'" or "let's get crunk!" Talk like yourself minus the Old English and outdated pop slang and you'll be fine!

3) Thee, thou, thine - Speaking of Old English, I really hope this is a no-brainer. Of course no one uses it in common conversations as their own words, but I am a firm believer in ABKJ (Anything but King James). I mean, let's be honest, there are plenty of reasons for me to hold this.

• A) No one, including Jesus himself, spoke Old English. And now churches adhere to having only the KJV for two reasons. One of them is to appease the older generation that has always had it. I doubt, with every fiber of my being, that Jesus would've spoken his words only so the Pharisees and religious leaders could understand him. When he spoke, he was not only authoritative and powerful but he was ultra-practical!
• B) The KJV is the most outdated commonly-used translation of the Bible. Did you know that of all translations (NIV, New Living, New American Standard, The Message, even the New King James just to name a few) the King James is the only translation that does not include the Dead Sea Scrolls. You might be saying, "So?" Well the scrolls that were discovered in the 1940s are the oldest copies of biblical books that we've ever found. All the other translations incorporated these texts, but not the King James. So, the KJV is the Bible version of the game 'telephone' that would rather keep all the changes that had occurred through scribes' interpretations rather than to have the words that are closer to what the biblical writers actually said. Or than to have gramma read a different version of Psalm 100.

I'm trying my best to not be that weird talking, Bible bashing Christian. I actually think that using normal language (yes even slang) to speak the truths of Scripture is much harder and MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE!!

Try it sometime or you can notice the disconnect that occurs when you quote the KJV to an unchurched teenager...your choice...

This is why we do what we do...

Last night 29:11 (our college & young adult small group at Forest Park Church) met at my house for the start of a new series in the book 'Ask Me Anything,' which I highly recommend. This book is a collection of actual conversations that J. Budziszewski, a professor at Texas University, has had with his students on topics such as Science/Reason vs Faith, Homosexuality (actually a tense argument he recorded with a homosexual), Cohabiting, Just War vs Pacifism, Abortion & Stem Cells.

The best thing about this book is that he doesn't give politically-correct or only Bible-based reasoning. He's ultra-practical and makes a lot of sense.

Last night we talked the assumption many non-Christians believe that we are "uneducated and easily misled." If that we're true, I would believe that statement right away. It was and will be, by far, the most philosophical and abstract conversation we'll have regarding this book. It was even challenging for me to stay on top of it and I WAS LEADING IT!!

Anyway, without going into all the specifics here is what the bottom line was. You can, and DEFINITELY SHOULD, use reasoning and skepticism to test everything within the Christian faith (what books you read, what advice you take, which pastors you learn under, etc). You can test the faith and yourself without testing God.

Take the story of "doubting Thomas" for example. Thomas wasn't there in the room when Jesus first appeared to all of the disciples so when they saw him next they told him that they had seen Jesus resurrected! Thomas didn't believe them. He told them that he would have to see and put his fingers in the nail holes and the spear hole in Jesus' side before he did.

Jesus appeared again, this time in front of them all, and without chiding, ridiculing or belittling his doubt, he asked Thomas to see and touch as he requested and then he said, "NOW STOP DOUBTING! And blessed are those that believe without seeing (the answer right in front of their face)!"

GK Chesterson said, "Merely having an open mind is nothing. The object of opening the mind, as of opening the mouth, is to shut it again on something solid."

But, when you have been sufficiently answered or if you feel as if you have confirmation about an answer you've been seeking or praying about for a while DROP IT! Accept it by faith and move on!

Doubt is fine, even encouraged in my opinion! But once you get an answer, be appeased!
But when nothing but doubt spouts from your mouth, then that's a problem because you can become a hindrance to others who are seeking real answers.

But in the church is where doubt belongs, not where all the religious skeptics and atheists are lying in the wings! It is within the family of God where skepticisms should be discussed. But, isn't it funny that people feel as if its the last place that they should. Yeah, Jesus never said, "Come to me all who have it all together...."

Everyone had questions throughout the study, which was refreshing. Six of the 9 of us went out to eat at 3 Amigos and about 20 minutes after arriving I got a text saying that Amanda had just accepted Christ!

That's what I meant by 'we' in the title of this blog. Even though she probably was thinking through what I had said, it was Katrina that ultimately led her to Jesus!

That makes everything, all the studying, the stress, the planning most definitely worth it!

My Dance Moves

Yes, they are limited but I sure look funny doing 'em.

Check out this little number called "My Sunday Routine" to the tune of Just Dance by Lady Gaga:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MqJ6dGFiYZ8

This was "performed" at THE BRINK, the Student Ministry at Forest Park Church on Wednesday nights.

Feel free to diss my moves, I'm not easily offended:)

No One Over 30 Review

It's been a week since we've returned from Asheville on our first annual No One Over 30 summer trip.

It is cleverly named No One Over 30 simply because no one, chaperone nor student, was over the age of 30 (or 28, because I was the oldest).

Instead of giving you a long summary of what happened and didn't happen, I'm going to give out grades for different aspects of the trip (with a little commentary, of course).

Students: A
All the chaperones were blown away with how little all the students complained and were willing to change plans on the fly...and there was a lot of that on this trip. I actually had one 23-year old chaperone say, "I only came because TJ begged me to. And I thought the kids were going to be really annoying, but I was wrong. They were great!" I was also given compliments by employees of different businesses regarding our students' manners. Kudos to you, BRINK family!! The only reason why you didn't get an A+ was because of the ocassional flatulence in the packed vans. :)

Chaperones: B+
Our oldest chaperone (other than me) was 26 and the youngest was 18. For most of them it was their first time being a volunteer with no one else looking over their shoulder. The chaperones jumped right in and had fun at every stage of the trip with the students. They definitely brought the youthful energy from that I wanted. I only have a few criticisms. Most of the complaints I fielded came from volunteers, not students. The chaperones also tended to clump together. It was evident when I had six of the 12 riding in the van I drove. But Myraida and Andrew were exceptional. Like they had parental instincts turned on all the time. But hey, for the first time, without much training from me, all the others did excellent!!

Our host families: B+
If you went on the trip, you might be questioning this grade. Let me explain. This grade is for the families that housed all the students, not for the ones that didn't or for Beverly Hills Baptist as a whole. BIG THANKS TO the Greene's, Kiser's, Caldwell's, Lee's, Ann Kellington and Annabelle White!! Once the housing situation was finally settled (on the third night) the trip went much more smoothly. Some houses were a little crowded but it was good! Other families totally pampered our students and refused to be reimbursed, oh my goodness what a blessing:) Most of these households will definitely be asked to house us next year!

The grade would've been an A if things were like they were from Friday on at the beginning.

Beverly Hills Baptist: C
I was sorely disappointed in some of the feedback I heard from certain students and chaperones. The one that continually stuck out was, "We felt excluded." Out of nearly 300 people who attend BHBC, we had the hardest time finding room for 39 students. The first two nights 15 girls were staying at one house with only floor space to sleep on and only one bathroom! Even though the pastor & youth pastor asked for host families for nearly a month, flashing a sign up sheet all the time, NO ONE SIGNED UP!!! I later learned all but one of the families were last-minute additions!

On Wednesday night, our band was unable to play because there wasn't an amplifier or a drum set upstairs. The youth from BHBC were told NOT to come and join us for a message, music and fun so we pretty much had OUR meeting in THEIR church....weird. Jared (from BHBC) decided to join us anyway, for which I'm very, very thankful. And he was the only student from BHBC that ended up connecting with our students very well (Jeffrey, you did too). Other than that, our groups were in the same rooms but completely separate from one another.

We felt like a burden, not brothers and sisters to Beverly Hills.


After reading this maybe you'll understand why I answer the way I do when people ask, "How was the trip?" I'll definitely say "good" or "great" but I know that it could've been better. This trip gave me a very strong confirmation that at Forest Park Church is where I am meant to be. I love this church and I love our students and volunteers! I am completely committed to seeing our church reach so many more than other churches that are afraid to change and progress (notice I didn't say compromise and disregard traditions).

Once again, thank you Jessica, Kaylin, Chelsea, Ashley, Myraida, Amanda, Jasmine, Leanna, Ryan, Jordan and Andrew! Thanks to you students who made the trip totally worth it! Thanks to our host families! I owe you all:)

We definitely will go back to Asheville because we had so much fun on the hikes, at Sliding Rock, Fun Depot and the waterfalls. I'm already making plans for next year's trip! Check out Turtleback Falls on Google Images, for example!! It's gonna be even better!! I wonder how many we can bring then?
60? 70?

Dude, I'm pumped just thinking about it!

Top to Bottom Part 1

Its been a pretty good day today. It has been an up and down week for me personally, though. I have no logical explanation as to why I've been so moody over the past couple of days. I've wanted to get out of the house and do something every night but with little to no resources to spark some action.

This got me thinking about the devotion material that I'm producing for our student ministry trip to Asheville coming up on the 29th called Top to Bottom. We're doing a 4-part study on Elijah's stage of life through 1 Kings 18-19. We'll see moments where he's praising God and then other times destraut, asking God, "Where are you?!" He goes from jubilation to depression in a heartbeat and back. This study is to show that Christians are not different in the way that we have highs and lows, just like everyone else. With God all moods are possible. And God can handle it because he created those emotions.

This is where we start...

In 1 Kings 18 God lets him know that there's going to be a drought. He is told to drink from a brook. It gets worse, the brook dries up. Then God has ravens to feed him, but that only lasts for a little while. God tells him to go into the town and ask this widow for food. She has just enough for one meal for him, her and her son, but just like the bread loaves and fish the oil and flour last for much longer than that.

But it gets worse. The son gets really sick and dies. The widow is hysterical and blames Elijah for his death. First he's starving and now being called a killer. Imagine the crap he's feeling. (This is the "bottom" per se). Elijah cries out to God, asking him, "why did you take this woman's son?"

And it's my firm conviction that God doesn't just kill people to make some other people learn their lesson. Did God kill thousands of people in New Orleans to prove a point? Or do we consider the Earth as being a victim of the Fall, too? Oh yeah, the Earth does produce thickets and thorns because of humanity's sin, doesn't it? If the Earth makes thorns because of a couple people's sin, then it will make hurricanes when you multiply sin. Makes sense. Its mighty funny that people want to blame God for humanity's sin!

Did God kill thousands in the World Trade Centers just because New Yorkers are in the center of attention and particularly evil? Or do we consider the relatively small number of radical Islamic extremists to be completely insane? So, it was God's plan for a plane's fuel to incinerate people in a high-rise building before the world's eyes? NO, that was the terrorists' plan! The devil has temporal success, right? But not for long...

Anyway.....sorry to rant. But God hears Elijah's prayer and brings the son back to life. Satan has no victory here because God is the only one that can actually GIVE life. Immediately after that, Elijah must've been on the highest high. All the crap he just went through was worth it because, think about it, it all lead him to be the avenue for healing to this boy. Amazing!

Like life as we know it...Elijah's emotional state was not constant. Check out what happens next when I share with you part II!

Six Steps for Success in Small Groups

Last Monday night at our Student Ministry meeting, a place where all the volunteers and I get together, we had a discussion regarding small group discussion. On Wednesday nights, after a couple of hours of food, activities, contests, music and a thought-provoking, side-splitting message we give our students a 1/2 hour of small group time with 2 volunteers.

I had noticed that the small group time had become stagnant in a few of the groups. Just to give you an idea, this is what we do:

- We have no more than 10 students in one group with 2-3 volunteers
- We split middle school boys and girls up into two separate groups
- The high school groups are co-ed
- Each volunteer has questions that are developed from the night's message
- Discussion is made from the responses to these questions

Even though this seems pretty straightforward, I noticed a few things happening in some of the groups:

- Small group time was becoming more instruction time (students talking less, volunteers more)
- Some groups were dwindling in size (especially the group for middle school boys)
- Some volunteers were uncomfortable with silence, which led them to talk more
- Some volunteers would transform open-ended questions and solicit one-word answers (a discussion killer)

In light of these, I gave a few pointers on how I felt we could effectively engage and inspire our students into discussion. Of course, this formula doesn't work overnight, nor does any. However, I truly know that if these principles are in place coupled with spending any time you can with your students then this will work.

I don't believe for a second that we're failing at Forest Park at anything in particular, but with that said, I know there's always room for improvement. And I totally don't have this all figured out. But I do know that, in our college/young adult ministry, discussion makes or breaks an effective interpersonal & relational ministry.

Even though I gave them in less detail last Monday, here are my "pointers":

1) IT IS THE STUDENTS' TIME The time during the message is OUR time to talk. 90% of our instruction is during that time. The small group is the students' chance to respond, complain, express doubts, have the freedom to say anything. Think of it this way. Would you rather your young believers express doubt in the confines of the church around other believers or outside those confines to ones who, most-likely, will confirm and encourage those doubts? If they can't say anything doubtful in church, then what good are we? It ain't like you have it all together, either...

The remaining 10% should be used to coax students into discussion regarding the message and/OR relevant life and faith issues. Coaxing doesn't mean just reading the question and asking, "what do you think?" and especially not asking questions that have a yes or no answer.

2.) BE WILLING TO HUMBLE YOURSELF The 10% of instruction time within a small group discussion is crucial!! You help the students process what they just heard by being transparent, honest and open (all things you want them to be). You can do that by expressing how the message challenges you, makes you think about how you've failed at ____ in the past, how you struggle with ____ continually now, etc.... I don't know exactly why but the culture has changed in the way that being humble and expressing your imperfections has become inspiring and garners respect. I mean, who enjoys a pompous, holier-than-thou anyway, right?

3) BE INTENTIONAL, BUT ALLOW FREEDOM The goal is not mindless chatter but intentional conversation. However, you may have a group of students who seem to never talk. If, on one night, they begin to talk (with you included in the conversation) about a topic that might be a reach from the message, LET THEM TALK!!! It will pay off the next time you meet! The worst thing you can do, with a group that seems to never talk, is to shush them and give the impression that "religious" talk is the only thing you want.

There's no denying that some nights a small group leader will talk more than everyone else, it's fickle that way sometimes. Who knows exactly why they talk sometimes and not others...

4.) BE PATIENT AND COMFORTABLE WITH SILENCE Don't move too quickly from question to question. Too many times I remember being at student meetings being a few seconds away from speaking up, praying aloud, etc but due to the leader's discomfort with silence I was muted at the last second. Don't let that happen! You may mute the one kid who finally surprises you by speaking up!

5.) BE FUNNY, NOT NERVOUS Show me a leader who is nervous and I'll show you two things: the extroverted students who will respond with, "Are you serious? This person is clueless! I'm not talking" and the introverted students who will think, "You think he/she's nervous? I'm now 10x more nervous about saying anything. I'm not talking." All students don't fit snugly into one of these two categories, but most do. What do they have in common? If a leader is nervous, they are less likely to talk.

Be yourself, be genuine. If you are a leader that is concerned about what a student will think about what you have to say, then maybe this ain't your gig...

Laughter will ease the nerves of the introvert and endear you to the extrovert;) Everyone loves to laugh. Try to make that a universal way to keep your students' interest. Do whatever you gotta do! Getting a book of jokes and practicing on your younger siblings, cousins, etc is a good way to start. This book isn't to be recited but to give you ideas about what is funny and what isn't.

Here's an interesting, and nearly universal, truth. If you think about it, it's not that a stretch at all. Everyone wants to hang around with someone that make them laugh. It's what women look for in men and vice versa, the same is true for students in their mentors:)

6.) DON'T SKIP THAT ONE!! The last question that is on the list is definitely the most important question on the handouts. Most discussion guides give the first couple of questions as icebreakers, thought-provokers and questions that reinforce the key phrase of the message. The last question has the meat, the thought that hits you in the gut and keeps it in your mind for the next couple of days. That's the one that if all else fails, bring out all your guns for this one!

I've been there and I still lead discussion groups often. None of these skills are fool-proof as a remedy but I guarantee they will work in the long run.

Invest in yourself so you can effectively endear yourself, facilitate discussion and provoke introspection, life-change and trust in our middle and high school students. By investing in your small group discussion skills, you invest in the lives of those students!

I Could use your opinion...

If you look to the bottom of the page there are two designs I have posted of t-shirts for our student ministry at Forest Park Church called THE BRINK.

The black/white is for the guys and the blue/white is for the girls...

The caption on both shirts says, "you pulled me from the brink and away from the edge," which is the Message's version of Psalm 56:12.

My question to you is....would you buy either one of these shirts and think it's stylish enough to wear for the price of, say, $12 - 15?

If no, why? (other than "Im broke")

Either post your opinions here or email me them at tj@forestparkchurch.com.

Thanks;)

This certain quarter wasn't worth 25 cents...

So most of my friends in Pasadena know this story but it definitely is great enough to share with all my new friends in Elizabeth City.

2 summers ago I walked down to the bank to get some quarters for the laundry room at Fuller. I noticed immediately that I got a roll of brand new, shiny quarters....no biggie, though.

I got home tore into the plastic that was holding my quarters together and noticed something weird about one quarter in particular. The front looked normal a shiny strike of George Washington but the reverse side of the coin was where the action was at.

The reverse side of the coin was COPPER! No lie! I had never seen one before like this.

I kept the quarter and showed it to about everyone who visited me that week. I came moderately close to giving it away to my roommate's grandfather who stopped by and mentioned, "oh I collect coins just like these," with a definite tone of hint-hint in his voice.

I refrained and thank God I did. I went online and researched other coins like mine. Some dealers were selling quarters with a "layer" missing for $350!! Turns out there is a piece of copper sandwiched between two pieces of silver-like metal to make every quarter. Interesting...

I took my quarter to a local dealer to get it appraised. The dealer was pretty excited about seeing a brand new, uncirculated Washington state quarter with this mint defect. Unfortunately, he was unable to specify with certainty that it was uncirculated so we had to send it back to the mint in Denver to get it appraised by the mint itself, which actually cost $70!!

I was thinking, "this thing better pay itself off!" Oh it did! I got the quarter back a few weeks later, encased in a nice plastic, retangular case with a hologram seal from the mint on the front. Immediately the dealer went into his little song-and-dance.

He told me, "you know, with this grading I don't think you'll get any more than $300-350 for it. Wanna sell it to me today and not worry about advertising for it?"

I actually thought about it for more than a second...but probably only 2 seconds. I told him, "no thanks."

The dealer didn't stop there because he asked, "well could I, at least, help you take pictures of the coin?"

I asked, "how much?" He said, "only $30." I smiled while I replayed his "only $30" in my head, thinking it was ridiculous! I instantly remembered that a friend of mine right across the street was a photographer in the making.

I left that place soon after and didn't waste any time in asking Matthew (his website is matthewcline.net, btw) to take some shots, which he did graciously and FREE OF CHARGE!!

The next day I put the quarter on Ebay with the starting bid for $200. The next day I got an email from Ebay with an offer from a buyer for $1000!!! I told him that I would wait and see how the auction progressed and that I would get back to him.

That evening I got another email from another buyer who offered $1100!!! I told that person the same thing, knowing that I could get some leverage and get a private auction between these two loaded creatures:)

I emailed them back and forth and finally got a selling price of $1250! Glad pops nor the dealer got the better of me:)

I discovered that out of the hundreds of millions of quarters in the USA, there are only approximately 250 like the one I sold!

So, you might ask, "what did you do with the money?" Ehhh...nothing too exciting actually. I paid my car insurance up for 6 months, my rent for 2 months, went out for sushi and bought an Ipod. It was a good week:)

There's my little, non-monotonous story:) Hope you enjoyed it!

Check out the quarter here --> http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=38272159&albumID=215414&imageID=12765359

The saddest thing I've seen this week so far....

It came to my attention we desperately needed new headphones for the cd demo section in the bookstore, so I offered to run up to Roses to buy a cheapy pair, which I did.

I was at the counter, behind this one gentlemen who didn't particularly smell so fresh so clean, but that's beside the point. I saw this little kid, no more than 2 years old, take his iddy-bitty steps over to a bright yellow and orange squirt gun that was shaped like a pistol.

As his eyes lit up with excitement, he grabbed the package and immediately I saw the index finger on his right hand begin to twitch in anticipation of pulling a trigger. I thought to myself...

"How does a kid that young instinctively know how to pull a trigger and what a gun is?"

Even though I know I played cops and robbers when I was young, I would love and consider my fathering skills acceptable if my 2 year-old would see a gun and say, "what's that? what does it do?" I hope I'm not watching all these shoot-em-ups, having all sorts of guns present around my kids, etc so that they think that guns are made for pointing at people.

Wow, it's like a sport. A sick, twisted, evil-inspired sport that's void of consequences but an avenue to unleash revenge, rage and hatred. It's a modern-day, anything goes, everybody's a player in a gladiator-like sport where anyone can be clipped, whacked, whatever.

This is about as liberal (if that's what you wanna call it) as I get on certain issues, but I don't get the 2nd Amendment. I'd rather have hairy, bear arms than to bear firearms. Statistics show that having a gun in the house prevents less than 10% of all break-ins or attempted murders, anyway. I think gun control is a pro-life issue, actually.

Trust me, this is an issue that even my parents and I disagree on, so I know I'll get some raised eyebrows from my elders. I have no problem with rifles, hunting for sustenance, etc. But I tend to look at it this way...

If you combine the populations of Great Britain, France, Germany, Japan, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark and Australia, you'll get a population roughly the size of the United States. We had over 40,000 gun deaths last year. They had under 200. Do you think it's because Americans are more homicidal by nature? Or do you think it's because those guys have gun control laws?


Thanks Toby;) Enough said!

The funniest thing I said this week so far...

So I went into Walmart in need of a garden hose to help with washing my car and watering the plants out front. I went down this one aisle that had at least 15 different colors, textures and lengths of hoses. As I was befuddled by the amount of choices that were in front of me I uttered this line that I will not soon forget...

"Wow a lot to choose from...I guess it's gonna be hose before bros tonight."

Instantly, I cracked up at myself. And it wasn't until this morning that I felt the strong need to share that with the world!

I hope that each time I use the hose I think of that:)

Life is great!

Hypocrisy

I know I said that my next post would be on more random thoughts, but for the last couple of weeks I've had this present topic in mind.

The topic is how many of us so-called Christian folk feel there is a difference between secular and Christian (or sacred) music. Of course there is a difference between one song that is profanity-laden and one that is giving honor to a higher power of some sort. However, the one thing that really cooks my noodle is that many Christians feel like within a church setting only a certain genre, such as blatantly Christian or pseudo-Christian music should be played.

I know what some of you may be thinking. The context is different. Within a church you're supposed to be reverent, cordial and appropriate. I agree with all of that. But here's the thing...shouldn't everyone act that way everywhere? So if I'm at the mall, is it okay to be irreverent, rude and inappropriate? The logic just doesn't make much sense.

Let me press on...

If everything has its context then we probably shouldn't listen to Christian music outside the church so we won't offend non-Christians. Instead, we'd rather not play secular music within the church so we won't offend Christians, or worse, God. As if God is pleased with the hate-filled, women-demeaning garbage that gets plastered on most of the airwaves and gets stuck in our heads. The thing is in the church we're on one side (sacred only), but outside we strattle the fence (listen to both) and don't own up to it.

Christians (God help 'em) tend to think that way. Don't offend gramma, uncle Joe or anyone else who might find secular music to be "satanic." Little do they know, their music is a marker of what each and everyone of OUR lives used to be like. And instead of asking the question, "why? and what can we do to comfort/help?" Christians prefer answers that come across like "shut up," "I hate people like that," "don't play that garbage in the 'House of God'".

Since when did a small minority of the earth, the land in which churches sit, become God's "house" and not the whole earth in which he created?

Weird....we make God so small and transpose his love and mercy as being weak.

I, myself, have a lot to learn. But I want to start by asking, praying and giving instead of shutting myself into a bubble that lets hardly anything new in, including God and his revelation, at times.

I believe the vision at Forest Park Church is recognizing that fact and we're in the business of helping and seeking after the lost, those outside the church. We're not in the business of keeping people who have been in the church the whole time chipper. God didn't ask us to keep parishioners happy, but to "go and make disciples."

Staying within our Christian culture and shunning everything else as demonic is ludicrous because non-Christians express themselves through that culture. It's throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Of course this goes for more than music, but for movies, TV shows, books, etc. Isn't it funny that people would get bent if we showed a scene from CSI in church, but those same people will watch it at home with no reservations.

Man, who are the ones that are confused here?

God's reign doesn't begin and end within the walls of a building that we call a church. Any movie, book or music that speaks the truth is God's truth. And there is so much (not all of course) good, honorable, truthful secular stuff out there. Drop the labels and hear the voice of God which is everywhere, especially with those who are lost. Their words are nothing more than hints from God of who needs grace, mercy, love and truth the most.

Remember that....and remind me of that if you please.

My Own Random Thoughts

On a not-so-lazy Tuesday afternoon, here is a list of the things, in no particular order, that has ran through my mind today:

- What is the biggest slip-and-slide that I can make and could we possibly do that out front of the new Albemarle Museum?

- Why can't I get Jamie Foxx's song "Blame it" outta my head?

- Why can't I get Boom Boom Pow outta my head either?

- Would students actually want to play whiffleball on a Wednesday night instead of playing baseball on the Wii? Probably not...

- I don't care what anyone else says, I liked RBC better than MAC-U....if college students come to Elizabeth City thinking they're in Virginia then that's their ignorance:)

- (This is not meant to be racist) Do Mexican parents give beanie babies as gifts or not?

- Don't ever get Lambo doors on your car, it's cool only for the first couple of weeks...

- I've concluded that I burp all the time because I tend to belch most often right after my stomach growls and when I'm full....so that's pretty much all of the time...

- I think the new PC commercials that show these students going into a store to buy a laptop, in which they go over to a Mac and say something atrociously incorrect is deeply troublesome, imo. The must pay their actors really well...

- Am I overly attentive to details or just picky?

- How can anyone justify paying an additional $20-30 a month to surf the web on their cellies when they usually pay $50-60 a month for the phone itself? You know 90% of the kids who have 'em are paying $0 a month, anyway.

- Am I the only one who thinks that Eminem's voice is the second most annoying sound in the world next to Lil Wayne's voice?

- Why are cashews so much more expensive than peanuts?

- Will Britney's kids walk around the house singing her mindless songs like I do...I mean, like I don't....oops....(i did it again) DANG IT!!!

- Why do people simply not check their emails anymore?

- What's so scary about Twitter, everyone? It's easy...

- Everyone should listen to anything done by the musical group Juliana Theory at least once...RIP...

- I'm ready for First Wednesday at Forest Park....its only been 2 months but its felt like longer.

Next blog.....Random College/Student Ministry thoughts....

Up and Downtime

I've noticed that my life is full of ups and downs. Not emotionally speaking but as in time-intensity levels. Like now, I'm sitting in the Christian bookstore (supposed to be working) with absolutely nothing to do. Of course, within the next 10-15 minutes while I'm writing here I will be interrupted and be busy serving our customers, but it is what it is.

There is so much to be done around my house in preparation for my housewarming party this coming Sunday night at 7 (you coming?). I think I have figured out why I just plop down and do nothing when I get home. Per Pastor Scott's request I figured up how many hours I'm working throughout the week. Here is what I've discovered:

@ Forest Park Church (including office hours, teaching Sunday mornings, facilitating flag football, 29:11, being a member of the student worship team, contacting our students/volunteers about Wednesday night functions, actually running/setting up for the Wednesday nights, staff meetings, being the point person for construction & remodeling the new Edge Room, etc) I work an average of 43 hours/week

@ Good News Christian Storehouse, I work an average of 20 hours/week

So.....drumroll please.....that's an average of 63 hours a week.

Let it be known right now that I am not saying all of this for anyone's pity, respect or recognition. I just think it's interesting (I like stats) and I actually wouldn't trade my lifestyle for anything:)

So here's the breakdown:
There are 168 hours in a week
I work 63 hours
I sleep 56 hours
I eat 14 hours
I shower/pretty myself 4 hours
I am in the restroom, for other reasons (the length of time depending on the quality of the book that I'm reading) for 3 hours

That leaves me with about 4 hours to myself everyday. And trust me, working at a church is not an occupation you leave at the office. So I usually take it easy in the morning, not rushing at all. And many times I have to stay up late chillin' with different friends that I otherwise wouldn't see because of my schedule.

When I'm home, I'm all about the napping, watching recorded episodes of House & 24 and snacking. I ain't about washing clothes/dishes/my car, mowing the yard, making up my bed, taking out the trash, etc. I say that because all those things will hopefully be done before Sunday evening (all for you that will be there, of course)!

Ah...still, I love my life:) I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'd rather be busy than bored! Amen?

Perspective

For the past six years my life has constantly been in a state of flux. I have grown accustomed to liking it that way, as well. Within those five years I have lived in:

Montreat, NC
Swannanoa, NC
Asheville, NC
Hertford, NC
Manteo, NC
Pasadena, CA (in 3 different apartments, I might add)
Edenton, NC
AND, as of two weeks ago to Elizabeth City!

That's 10 places in six years and I'm a conscientious objector! (in other words, im not in the military)

Wow! Once I recount where I've been and the memories I have accumulated in that time it is overwhelming and a joy to recall at the same time!

One thing I have learned in my life is that keeping still, not pressing forward, not challenging yourself and not being in motion is NOT a good thing!

Let me give you one example of what I mean by this. People, especially within Christian bubbles, circles, whatever tend to think that if you're in a good seeking relationship with God that many things will not change. In fact, most of the things you are taught in the infancy of your faith will always be true because they are above reproach.

My time in seminary shot that to the ground. I ended up rethinking, evaluating and challenging almost everything that I had learned by being a child and student in church. I've learned that as you get closer and closer to God, your perspective changes and not at all for the worse.

Think of it this way. The Bible looks like any book from ten yards away, from ten feet away you can tell it has the nice gold page linings (or silver sometimes, if you wanna be a rebel) so it must be a "holy" book but from 10 INCHES from your face you can read for yourself what God wants you to know. You can know a lot of things about it, but you really, really discover new things when you're wrestling with it yourself.

As I got closer to God, He wasn't just a God that loved me, or the man Jesus who died for me but a constant figure that is not only interested in my every breath but wants to be everywhere with me, talk with me, love me and provide for me at all times!

So, of course, as I have gotten closer to God (through His people & Word, which never work adequately without one another, I might add) I have noticed that He is bigger, loves more and is more while I become smaller and should become less and less concerned about myself. If anything I need to be concerned of how I can lose myself and simply act, think and love like Christ would.

In closing, closeness does not equal clarity. I have more questions but as far as I know I have a more and more powerful and loving God. A God that doesn't want to be separated but wants to be closer to me. That's why Jesus, the man came, so that God would not be up there, but be here with me and anyone else! Even if you don't seek, Christ still seeks you; God is the ultimate stalker....ok, that might've been a little sacreligious.

I ask you this...don't be afraid to ask the questions that no one wants to ask openly. If you truly can't wrap your mind around the Trinity, for example, SAY SO! Who has the totality of that theology figured out anyway? You're not a heretic in my book, you're just a person seeking to be closer and a tad bit more intimate with God. Knowledge is not the key, it's the willingness and humility to say, "hmmm...i ain't got that figured out."

In fact, people who honestly question for the sake of sanity (not for the sake of cynicism) are sorely needed within the church. The doubters bring about new, joyous revelations NOT the ones that think there's nothing to question and everyone to label!

I hope that encourages some and humbles others, because I am constantly humbled everyday by a cast of wise friends, collegues and family members!

Thanks for the eye-time:)