I really can't believe it's been 7 months since I've blogged...amazing how time flies.
Over these last 7 months I've had so many ups and only a few downs (but those few have nearly been disastrous) that I feel as if I'm five times wiser and five years older at the same time.
All of this is good, though. God has meant every little bit of this for good (Genesis 50:20). God has been filling holes in my life left and right. It is funny how many blind spots I realized I had (I still have more that need to be pointed out, I'm sure). It's also ironic how the people who point out those shortcomings have two things going for them: 1) They are the closest to you and 2) They can tick you off faster than anyone else.
As I said, it's all for good.
One of the biggest blind spots I know I have fixed is something I believe most of the churches in our area need to fix. I had an issue with thinking that I or the adult leaders within the student ministry were solely responsible for ushering more students into the church from our community and schools. All the while I overlooked the natural, promotion-generating group of students that we had coming all the time.
I wanted to get students to connect to FPC (and then hopefully to Jesus) so they could grow in their faith and then continue the cycle of reaching their friends but adults can't do it all. We can't go to every sporting event, every lunch and band, rotc or cheerleading competition, but our collection of students CAN!
One night it hit me! At the last church I served, I bent myself backwards trying to keep as many relationships with as many students as I possibly could. I maxed out at around 20-25 with no adult leaders to help me. Here at Forest Park I have 17 (yes seventeen) adult leaders. So I did a little a math. If 25 is my max then I need to restructure some things in order to reach 100+ students in Elizabeth City. (By the way, we ain't stopping at 100! There's well over 4,000 students in this area!)
My main focus must be on those 17 adult leaders and 6-8 students. Those 25 people should get the vision from me that I can't do this alone, I need them, FPC needs them! The lives of literally thousands of students hang in the balance!
If those 25 resound that message to just 5 other students then we could experience explosive growth!
So this is how it looks TJ inspires -> Adult & Student leaders (25) inspires -> our active students (75) who reach out to -> unreached students (4,000)
This is the only way I can see Elizabeth City's students being reached effectively across the board. Got a better way that I'm missing PLEASE TELL ME:)
So, if you're one of the 25 or 75, listen to me...YOU ARE INDISPENSABLE! We need you to help us reach outside the walls of FPC. Don't you know that God & the angels have a party every time someone puts their faith in Jesus? (Luke 15:7) Make that happen more often because God likes to party, too:)
This is what real Christ-followers do, they reach out! It's not about us, it's about them and giving God the glory for it! When you hear, "don't come alone" that means you're up. You students are in all the places that adults can't go to all the time, YOU'RE THERE!
Do you really think we have Sunday Sports, the JumpOFF and THE BRINK only for students who are already Christians?
Prove your faith, what have you REALLY got to lose? They have everything to gain if they come to Christ! You students hold the power. I may be the Student Pastor but I can't do much without you!
Do what you gotta do to spread the love of Christ, bring them into our family and we'll do our best to present Jesus in the clearest, most honest and biblical way we possibly can.
So in the future, in whatever you come to, no matter how often, DON'T COME ALONE!
-tj
December 3, 2010
May 3, 2010
Why Sit & Wait?
Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.
- psalm 27:14
Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways...
- psalm 37:7
I wait for you, O LORD; you will answer, O Lord my God.
- psalm 38:15
I don't know about you but I have a difficult time waiting for the better things in life. Don't get me wrong, I'm definitely content with my home, car, clothes, job, etc. I'm talking about the things that don't come with a monetary price tag yet are so time-relative and tricky to interpret with certainty.
Tall tales in the schoolyard and the fantasy flicks in Hollywood lead you to assume that there is only one person that could ever be right for you. When in grad school, I doubted that assumption heavily. California girls are quite dreamy, btw. Having such independent women was something that didn't exist much in NE NC. I think that thinking was nothing more than a fad. FAD = for attention deficits, I believe.
However, the older I get the more I find out that the right one may not be an assumption but it may be a waiting game.
When you hear "waiting game" it doesn't sit too well, eh? The negative connotation of sulking it out until God dishes out is not appealing. I've never been good at praying and then waiting. Instead of waiting I would compare myself, and how I pursue the things I desire, to the shepherd in the parable of the lost sheep (check Luke 15). I can have all the things in the world but if there is something out there and it's within my reach and there's a cost, I'm gonna go for it.
I'll be humbled one way or another. I'll either learn that the one I'm pursuing is not what I thought it was or that I will humbled in what God has given me. Learning or giving God thanks; its a win-win.
However, I think too many people "sit and wait." There is definitely a time and place for that mindset, though. Prayer is not the least you can do, it should be the first thing ALWAYS. The opposite of the go-get-em mindset is to exclude that crucial first step (which I've done more often than not).
If you're gonna sit, might as well pray while you wait, right?
I want to make the "waiting game" fun for you as you read this. Think of it this way, when a team bows out early from a tournament one of the first things said is "next year." True. They'll have to wait, preserver to get back to the same situation, work harder, be tough, trust that you're time is coming. There is no sitting. Nowhere in any of those Psalms is the waiting game stationary throughout, there's only a pause at the beginning.
When the goal is clear, you go for it, relying on God who gave you the vision for what you wanted. And you know if its from Him if the communication is clear and the prayer is genuine.
So don't "sit and wait." Live life, take the chances, you'll only find out that you've missed out on something if you simply watch from a distance.
Live life and your faith out proactively. If our salvation is free then there will be many other things that many will strive for but few will find (things money can't buy). This weekend has assured me that sitting is dangerous and causes letdowns, pain and unfulfilled expectations. I could've sat back and trusted that God can do all things, therefore, I must do nothing. What faulty logic! In that case why doesn't God give the poor food and money? Oh yeah, that's because we have it all!
That's a whole other blog post, anyway...
Go after the one, especially if everything else is secure! If God is your refuge then what do you have to fear? I strive to run the race of life with God, taking his hand-offs as if doing a relay. I don't want to be on the sidelines saying "I wish." No more will I do that.
If you catch me doing so, slap me, you have my permission:)
- psalm 27:14
Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways...
- psalm 37:7
I wait for you, O LORD; you will answer, O Lord my God.
- psalm 38:15
I don't know about you but I have a difficult time waiting for the better things in life. Don't get me wrong, I'm definitely content with my home, car, clothes, job, etc. I'm talking about the things that don't come with a monetary price tag yet are so time-relative and tricky to interpret with certainty.
Tall tales in the schoolyard and the fantasy flicks in Hollywood lead you to assume that there is only one person that could ever be right for you. When in grad school, I doubted that assumption heavily. California girls are quite dreamy, btw. Having such independent women was something that didn't exist much in NE NC. I think that thinking was nothing more than a fad. FAD = for attention deficits, I believe.
However, the older I get the more I find out that the right one may not be an assumption but it may be a waiting game.
When you hear "waiting game" it doesn't sit too well, eh? The negative connotation of sulking it out until God dishes out is not appealing. I've never been good at praying and then waiting. Instead of waiting I would compare myself, and how I pursue the things I desire, to the shepherd in the parable of the lost sheep (check Luke 15). I can have all the things in the world but if there is something out there and it's within my reach and there's a cost, I'm gonna go for it.
I'll be humbled one way or another. I'll either learn that the one I'm pursuing is not what I thought it was or that I will humbled in what God has given me. Learning or giving God thanks; its a win-win.
However, I think too many people "sit and wait." There is definitely a time and place for that mindset, though. Prayer is not the least you can do, it should be the first thing ALWAYS. The opposite of the go-get-em mindset is to exclude that crucial first step (which I've done more often than not).
If you're gonna sit, might as well pray while you wait, right?
I want to make the "waiting game" fun for you as you read this. Think of it this way, when a team bows out early from a tournament one of the first things said is "next year." True. They'll have to wait, preserver to get back to the same situation, work harder, be tough, trust that you're time is coming. There is no sitting. Nowhere in any of those Psalms is the waiting game stationary throughout, there's only a pause at the beginning.
When the goal is clear, you go for it, relying on God who gave you the vision for what you wanted. And you know if its from Him if the communication is clear and the prayer is genuine.
So don't "sit and wait." Live life, take the chances, you'll only find out that you've missed out on something if you simply watch from a distance.
Live life and your faith out proactively. If our salvation is free then there will be many other things that many will strive for but few will find (things money can't buy). This weekend has assured me that sitting is dangerous and causes letdowns, pain and unfulfilled expectations. I could've sat back and trusted that God can do all things, therefore, I must do nothing. What faulty logic! In that case why doesn't God give the poor food and money? Oh yeah, that's because we have it all!
That's a whole other blog post, anyway...
Go after the one, especially if everything else is secure! If God is your refuge then what do you have to fear? I strive to run the race of life with God, taking his hand-offs as if doing a relay. I don't want to be on the sidelines saying "I wish." No more will I do that.
If you catch me doing so, slap me, you have my permission:)
April 8, 2010
A Rocky Road to where I am (abridged)
Over the last couple of weeks I've been reminiscing about how I came to put my faith in Jesus Christ! I thought blogging about it would be the best avenue because I shouldn't just share the "hope I have" (1 Peter 3:15) with just one person, but with as many who will listen, right? I'll leave out a lot of details, but I hope you hear my heart and know that I am where I am and I am what I am because of God (the great I AM).
Anyway, the story really begins back in 1990. My family had just moved from Edenton to Hertford. I had always been in private school (from preschool to 4th grade), so when we moved I not only lost my friends but also I had to adapt to a new social climate at school. Put it this way, I had never been to school with anyone who was black (then again, I grew up in a trailer park where none of my friends were white). So, I finally got some appropriate & complete racial mixture going on in my life:)
When we moved into our new home, I was immediately asked by a Sunday school teacher of the local church to come on Sunday mornings. Even though I wasn't very interested, my parents decided that it was the best thing for me to do. Think of it, I could meet friends and learn some good morals, too (a definite win-win).
Now my parents were both raised in jaded, religious, pseudo-faith (more like superstitious) families. My father was raised by ultra-conservative, Jehovah's Witness parents. My grandfather actually had quite an influence in building the only Kingdom Hall in Edenton. My grandfather was a good man, don't get me wrong at all. He preached to me, encouraged me to read my Bible. However, what he had in passion and being stern was only defeated by his penchant for discipline. There was no non-sense, little compassion and a lot of rules. It's funny that on his deathbed, one of his sons (my uncle) threatened him without compassion to sign over his estate lest he be put in a nursing home.
Funny thing is, my dad was the black sheep of the family, per se. He was the only grown child that chose NOT to go to the Kingdom Hall (like saying going to church) after moving out. I remember at my grandfather's wake my uncle telling my father that the reason why my grandfather wasn't in heaven was because he refused to come to KH. To them, my father sealed his damnation. It was cruel, sounded so superstitious and I wanted nothing of it.
Now my mom's lot was no better, in fact, it was worse. Let's just say that her parents would "consider" themselves believers but probably were anything but for the majority of their lives, which were spent either at work or in a smoky, drunken stupor at a bar or at home. I hope my family forgives the bluntness to which I'm describing this, but it's true. My grandfather was an angry drunk, the belligerent type. If dinner wasn't ready when he got home (he was a mechanic, meaning he could drink on the job) he would lash out at the nearest person. Most of the time it was my grandmother. A few times it was my mom.
I wasn't told these details about my mom's upbringing until I was about 16. And it furthered my suspicion, or complete doubt, that religion does anything good at all. Armed with the stories that come through the childhood of my parents, you could see why I naturally was indifferent to church. But, ironically, my parents forced me to go when we moved to Hertford in '90.
(Fast forward eight years of just going to church and nothing coming of it. A lot of groggy services I made it through.)
When I was a senior in high school I considered myself many things. I had gone through middle school being the one who was teased and picked on. I was a little chubby, talked a lot (still do), didn't know when to shut up and came from one of the worst parts of Hertford (Holiday Island). But I knew the power of words so I didn't pick on anyone for pure pleasure, most of the time.
I stayed involved in so many things, because the last thing I wanted was to go home with nothing to do. So I played varsity basketball, ran track and cross-country, played sax in the marching band and made as many friends as possible. I dated three girls my senior year. The first two were superficial, but the last one nearly killed me, but nevertheless changed my life.
For about five months I dated this girl who was so full of life, vibrant, caring, funny, gorgeous, you name it. Not to mention she was in band and a cheerleader:) She and her family were super involved in church (and so was I, not gratefully though). So it seemed like a great fit. I wasn't the chubby, unpopular kid anymore. I had lots of friends, pretty popular and quite athletic.
Through her I became more involved in FCA at school and we had a lot of deep conversations about the faith of Christianity, not the religions of the churches, ya know? She challenged me in so many ways that I thought that not only Jesus was the one who could love me no matter what, I thought she could do the same! Even though she was only 15 (I was 18 at the time), I thought we were destined to be, you know, together forever.
Wow, did that blow up in my face...
Towards the end of our relationship, after hours of conversation about the Bible, about Christ, about the state of the world and the way that it should be instead of the way that it was, I found out she was secretly having a crush/relationship with my cousin!
The summer of 1999 was hell to me. I was confused. I begged her to reconsider with no success. I had so much hope stored up in that relationship that I didn't know if having a relationship with Jesus was worth it because I didn't know if it was fake, too. I moped, sulked, cried, contemplated suicide more than I ever had or ever would.
My first year at ECSU was marred by it. I failed basic Algebra (due to absences, mind you) and got poor grades in Biology and lab. I ended the first year with a 1.6 GPA.
What really made the whole situation worse was that the majority of my friends were still in high school. I wasn't afforded the opportunity to go away to college directly from high school like so many others. So I went back to high school sporting events and such. Bad idea, eh? Yes, I would see my ex often...
However, I found comfort in the one thing I was still good at. Since my ex wasn't a runner, I could go to cross-country meets without seeing her. All my friends knew about it, so they didn't bring it up. So I would run every day in practice, not only with the team at ECSU but with the team at Perquimans. It was torturous on my body (as I was running 8+ miles/day), but therapeutic for my soul. I had friends on that team who loved God with everything in them, including Coach Mendez.
Little do they know, they inspired me to give God one more chance. I felt the Spirit that was in the conversations that me and "she" had. I began to read the Bible during my 2nd year of ESCU. And I read...and I read...and I read. I would bring an old pew Bible with me to every class and read it whenever I could. In some way I can't explain, my life became about discovering who God is and what He wants from me. For too long it was about discovering who I was and what I wanted to do and it lead me nowhere!
I had worth issues with myself. I didn't question if God actually existed, I questioned if He cared about me or anything that happened to me. And every time I did I found out that I was reaping the consequences of holding no one except myself an important. As soon as I discovered that it wasn't my opinion of myself that counted but of the One who created me that did, things changed.
I rushed and got baptized. Started to go to church because I wanted to. I transferred from ECSU and dropped what I always wanted to do, which was to have sports in my life, be a PE teacher, coach. I gave it all up (with my scholarship) to go to Montreat to study the Bible more.
I learned that the message of God's love, grace and the purpose of Christ's life, death and resurrection was not dependent on the messenger that gave it (even though my first ex nearly ruined it). I trusted God, not knowing much and understanding very little about why He cares. But when I looked upon the life of Jesus, I KNOW he does! Who cares about the why? Everyone just wants to ask why? God loves what He creates, even though we can be so self-destructive!
Even though I would have a rough time working at my first church, I pressed on. Even though my emotions would teeter because of stress my faith never would because God was immovable. I could only point to the fact that God was guiding my steps and His Spirit was calming me constantly from within to "make all things possible" (Mark 10:27). A kid like me could be raised by parents who went through what they did, be someone who despised religion and hated himself to a person who is rarely if ever shaken by humanity's evil (greed, slander, racism, whatever).
I am not perfect, not even close. Ya'll know me. I say "that's what she said" too much and tend to get heated too quickly still. But with God's perfect love, I'm alright with who I am. This isn't the end, this isn't who I will always be. God loves me in spite of me sometimes. Now that I have a purpose, that I'm pointing people to someone who is bigger, better, more loving, caring, powerful than I am THAT'S ALL THAT MATTERS! It was believing that I could handle anything that broke me. It was thinking that I could do anything if I had the drive, will power, etc proved to me I was weak.
It was me that proved God was real! No one could give me hope by saying, "I'm sorry" like Christ could because he "knows." He came off his throne in heaven just to know what it was like to be a man. That's the kind of God I want to know, love and serve. Forget all the other ones that want my obedience and for me to become godly because they said so. Gimme the One that reaches down into the pit to pull me up because I (or no one for that matter) cannot pull myself up by my bootstraps.
Philippians 2 changed my life. Check it out:
5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Need I say more? Worship what (not just who) you want, but Christ my God is who I worship because He gives all so that I may just KNOW of him. He stoops down so that we may humble ourselves. He forgives so that we may be gracious. He loves all so that I may love Him. God doesn't exist because of humanity's need for a crutch, humanity exists because of Him!
It took me a while to figure that out, years in fact. A lot of prayer, reading and discussion. But once you "taste and see that [God] is good" (Psalm 34:8) nothing's gonna keep you down. That's the hope I'm talking about! That's the hope I have in Jesus Christ!
Anyway, the story really begins back in 1990. My family had just moved from Edenton to Hertford. I had always been in private school (from preschool to 4th grade), so when we moved I not only lost my friends but also I had to adapt to a new social climate at school. Put it this way, I had never been to school with anyone who was black (then again, I grew up in a trailer park where none of my friends were white). So, I finally got some appropriate & complete racial mixture going on in my life:)
When we moved into our new home, I was immediately asked by a Sunday school teacher of the local church to come on Sunday mornings. Even though I wasn't very interested, my parents decided that it was the best thing for me to do. Think of it, I could meet friends and learn some good morals, too (a definite win-win).
Now my parents were both raised in jaded, religious, pseudo-faith (more like superstitious) families. My father was raised by ultra-conservative, Jehovah's Witness parents. My grandfather actually had quite an influence in building the only Kingdom Hall in Edenton. My grandfather was a good man, don't get me wrong at all. He preached to me, encouraged me to read my Bible. However, what he had in passion and being stern was only defeated by his penchant for discipline. There was no non-sense, little compassion and a lot of rules. It's funny that on his deathbed, one of his sons (my uncle) threatened him without compassion to sign over his estate lest he be put in a nursing home.
Funny thing is, my dad was the black sheep of the family, per se. He was the only grown child that chose NOT to go to the Kingdom Hall (like saying going to church) after moving out. I remember at my grandfather's wake my uncle telling my father that the reason why my grandfather wasn't in heaven was because he refused to come to KH. To them, my father sealed his damnation. It was cruel, sounded so superstitious and I wanted nothing of it.
Now my mom's lot was no better, in fact, it was worse. Let's just say that her parents would "consider" themselves believers but probably were anything but for the majority of their lives, which were spent either at work or in a smoky, drunken stupor at a bar or at home. I hope my family forgives the bluntness to which I'm describing this, but it's true. My grandfather was an angry drunk, the belligerent type. If dinner wasn't ready when he got home (he was a mechanic, meaning he could drink on the job) he would lash out at the nearest person. Most of the time it was my grandmother. A few times it was my mom.
I wasn't told these details about my mom's upbringing until I was about 16. And it furthered my suspicion, or complete doubt, that religion does anything good at all. Armed with the stories that come through the childhood of my parents, you could see why I naturally was indifferent to church. But, ironically, my parents forced me to go when we moved to Hertford in '90.
(Fast forward eight years of just going to church and nothing coming of it. A lot of groggy services I made it through.)
When I was a senior in high school I considered myself many things. I had gone through middle school being the one who was teased and picked on. I was a little chubby, talked a lot (still do), didn't know when to shut up and came from one of the worst parts of Hertford (Holiday Island). But I knew the power of words so I didn't pick on anyone for pure pleasure, most of the time.
I stayed involved in so many things, because the last thing I wanted was to go home with nothing to do. So I played varsity basketball, ran track and cross-country, played sax in the marching band and made as many friends as possible. I dated three girls my senior year. The first two were superficial, but the last one nearly killed me, but nevertheless changed my life.
For about five months I dated this girl who was so full of life, vibrant, caring, funny, gorgeous, you name it. Not to mention she was in band and a cheerleader:) She and her family were super involved in church (and so was I, not gratefully though). So it seemed like a great fit. I wasn't the chubby, unpopular kid anymore. I had lots of friends, pretty popular and quite athletic.
Through her I became more involved in FCA at school and we had a lot of deep conversations about the faith of Christianity, not the religions of the churches, ya know? She challenged me in so many ways that I thought that not only Jesus was the one who could love me no matter what, I thought she could do the same! Even though she was only 15 (I was 18 at the time), I thought we were destined to be, you know, together forever.
Wow, did that blow up in my face...
Towards the end of our relationship, after hours of conversation about the Bible, about Christ, about the state of the world and the way that it should be instead of the way that it was, I found out she was secretly having a crush/relationship with my cousin!
The summer of 1999 was hell to me. I was confused. I begged her to reconsider with no success. I had so much hope stored up in that relationship that I didn't know if having a relationship with Jesus was worth it because I didn't know if it was fake, too. I moped, sulked, cried, contemplated suicide more than I ever had or ever would.
My first year at ECSU was marred by it. I failed basic Algebra (due to absences, mind you) and got poor grades in Biology and lab. I ended the first year with a 1.6 GPA.
What really made the whole situation worse was that the majority of my friends were still in high school. I wasn't afforded the opportunity to go away to college directly from high school like so many others. So I went back to high school sporting events and such. Bad idea, eh? Yes, I would see my ex often...
However, I found comfort in the one thing I was still good at. Since my ex wasn't a runner, I could go to cross-country meets without seeing her. All my friends knew about it, so they didn't bring it up. So I would run every day in practice, not only with the team at ECSU but with the team at Perquimans. It was torturous on my body (as I was running 8+ miles/day), but therapeutic for my soul. I had friends on that team who loved God with everything in them, including Coach Mendez.
Little do they know, they inspired me to give God one more chance. I felt the Spirit that was in the conversations that me and "she" had. I began to read the Bible during my 2nd year of ESCU. And I read...and I read...and I read. I would bring an old pew Bible with me to every class and read it whenever I could. In some way I can't explain, my life became about discovering who God is and what He wants from me. For too long it was about discovering who I was and what I wanted to do and it lead me nowhere!
I had worth issues with myself. I didn't question if God actually existed, I questioned if He cared about me or anything that happened to me. And every time I did I found out that I was reaping the consequences of holding no one except myself an important. As soon as I discovered that it wasn't my opinion of myself that counted but of the One who created me that did, things changed.
I rushed and got baptized. Started to go to church because I wanted to. I transferred from ECSU and dropped what I always wanted to do, which was to have sports in my life, be a PE teacher, coach. I gave it all up (with my scholarship) to go to Montreat to study the Bible more.
I learned that the message of God's love, grace and the purpose of Christ's life, death and resurrection was not dependent on the messenger that gave it (even though my first ex nearly ruined it). I trusted God, not knowing much and understanding very little about why He cares. But when I looked upon the life of Jesus, I KNOW he does! Who cares about the why? Everyone just wants to ask why? God loves what He creates, even though we can be so self-destructive!
Even though I would have a rough time working at my first church, I pressed on. Even though my emotions would teeter because of stress my faith never would because God was immovable. I could only point to the fact that God was guiding my steps and His Spirit was calming me constantly from within to "make all things possible" (Mark 10:27). A kid like me could be raised by parents who went through what they did, be someone who despised religion and hated himself to a person who is rarely if ever shaken by humanity's evil (greed, slander, racism, whatever).
I am not perfect, not even close. Ya'll know me. I say "that's what she said" too much and tend to get heated too quickly still. But with God's perfect love, I'm alright with who I am. This isn't the end, this isn't who I will always be. God loves me in spite of me sometimes. Now that I have a purpose, that I'm pointing people to someone who is bigger, better, more loving, caring, powerful than I am THAT'S ALL THAT MATTERS! It was believing that I could handle anything that broke me. It was thinking that I could do anything if I had the drive, will power, etc proved to me I was weak.
It was me that proved God was real! No one could give me hope by saying, "I'm sorry" like Christ could because he "knows." He came off his throne in heaven just to know what it was like to be a man. That's the kind of God I want to know, love and serve. Forget all the other ones that want my obedience and for me to become godly because they said so. Gimme the One that reaches down into the pit to pull me up because I (or no one for that matter) cannot pull myself up by my bootstraps.
Philippians 2 changed my life. Check it out:
5Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
6Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
7but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
9Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Need I say more? Worship what (not just who) you want, but Christ my God is who I worship because He gives all so that I may just KNOW of him. He stoops down so that we may humble ourselves. He forgives so that we may be gracious. He loves all so that I may love Him. God doesn't exist because of humanity's need for a crutch, humanity exists because of Him!
It took me a while to figure that out, years in fact. A lot of prayer, reading and discussion. But once you "taste and see that [God] is good" (Psalm 34:8) nothing's gonna keep you down. That's the hope I'm talking about! That's the hope I have in Jesus Christ!
April 5, 2010
Only for church members?
Before I begin to rant about anything I just want to say that I love Evan Neal (and Ashlyn and Camryn and Lana for that matter)! Evan enlightened me of a conversation that he had with a teacher of his right before leaving for spring break Thursday afternoon:
(As he is leaving this teacher's classroom) Evan: "Mrs. (I forgot her name), I hope you have the greatest spring break!"
Teacher: You know what would really make this spring break great? (At this point I was expecting her to reply to Evan's "what's that" with something like not having you hellion kids around or comparable.)
(So, obviously) Evan: What's that?
Teacher: It would be great if ya'll at Forest Park would allow my kids to play on your really nice playground...
Evan: They're welcome to play on it at any time!
Teacher: Really?
Evan: Of course!
Teacher: Are you sure? I thought it was only for church members...?
Evan: No, Mrs. (sorry again), you can bring 'em by at any time!
Teacher: Really?
I was flabbergasted by one HUGE implication in his teacher's question.
God and I both find pleasure when people who have no ties to the church come and play basketball. Bring on the guys with the piercings and tattoos who struggle with foul language on the court. Of course you can challenge them to discipline themselves because of the presence of children, but the worst thing you can do is kick them out!
If you do that, you might as well tell them we don't allow any imperfect, non-Christians on our property. And if you do that, you might as well say that we don't allow any imperfect, non-Christians in our services. Again, I say all this because when moral deficiencies/failures Christians tend to overreact, amen? It happens.
What Scott said yesterday was so true...when someone is obviously screwed up, the common "church" doesn't want anything to do with them. That person might pollute your children, steal something, leave trash or God forbid a cigarette butt.
I take pleasure in seeing that many imperfect people (Christians and seekers, alike) play on those playgrounds, basketball courts, football fields! They have fun here because life is usually a chore to too many people. If we can be a refuge, that's a great thing because our God is, too!
If we don't want that, we might as well take up member dues instead of an "offering," change our "churches" to clubs and our "Christians" to isolationists. But thankfully, FPC is not that place. It is a place where all are welcome. Where the family that wants nothing but a playground to bring their kids to can come without fear of the moral police.
Our playground, our facilities are OUR gifts to OUR community, OUR city! Come enjoy it as we do!
(As he is leaving this teacher's classroom) Evan: "Mrs. (I forgot her name), I hope you have the greatest spring break!"
Teacher: You know what would really make this spring break great? (At this point I was expecting her to reply to Evan's "what's that" with something like not having you hellion kids around or comparable.)
(So, obviously) Evan: What's that?
Teacher: It would be great if ya'll at Forest Park would allow my kids to play on your really nice playground...
Evan: They're welcome to play on it at any time!
Teacher: Really?
Evan: Of course!
Teacher: Are you sure? I thought it was only for church members...?
Evan: No, Mrs. (sorry again), you can bring 'em by at any time!
Teacher: Really?
I was flabbergasted by one HUGE implication in his teacher's question.
- Only kids who are Christians can...check that...
- Only kids who are Christians of parents who are Christians can...check that...
- Only kids who are Christians of parents who are Christians who attend Forest Park...check that ONE MORE TIME...
- Only kids who are Christians of parents who are Christians who attend AND ARE MEMBERS of Forest Park can play on the playground
- Very few little kids are Christians (don't tell me otherwise, they bite worse than Chihuahuas, cry worse than European soccer players to get their way and hoard more than Exxon Mobile's CEO)
- Do we consider the "our" in our playground to mean those of us who are members of Forest Park or for anyone in "our" community/city? Would a church be greedy enough to think that they build such facilities as a basketball court, playground, etc. only for members of their "club" or faith community?
- If so, what's the point of sharing your faith if you're not going to share any of the physical blessings that God has given to you? You can't change a person's life without enriching it, as well!
- What did that teacher expect to happen if she was on the playground? Would someone come out and ask her, "Ma'am can you show me some documentation proving your family's membership to FPC?" Would she get run off the property?
- What would her kids think of church/Christians/JESUS if this were to actually happen?
God and I both find pleasure when people who have no ties to the church come and play basketball. Bring on the guys with the piercings and tattoos who struggle with foul language on the court. Of course you can challenge them to discipline themselves because of the presence of children, but the worst thing you can do is kick them out!
If you do that, you might as well tell them we don't allow any imperfect, non-Christians on our property. And if you do that, you might as well say that we don't allow any imperfect, non-Christians in our services. Again, I say all this because when moral deficiencies/failures Christians tend to overreact, amen? It happens.
What Scott said yesterday was so true...when someone is obviously screwed up, the common "church" doesn't want anything to do with them. That person might pollute your children, steal something, leave trash or God forbid a cigarette butt.
I take pleasure in seeing that many imperfect people (Christians and seekers, alike) play on those playgrounds, basketball courts, football fields! They have fun here because life is usually a chore to too many people. If we can be a refuge, that's a great thing because our God is, too!
If we don't want that, we might as well take up member dues instead of an "offering," change our "churches" to clubs and our "Christians" to isolationists. But thankfully, FPC is not that place. It is a place where all are welcome. Where the family that wants nothing but a playground to bring their kids to can come without fear of the moral police.
Our playground, our facilities are OUR gifts to OUR community, OUR city! Come enjoy it as we do!
March 15, 2010
Random thoughts & inspirations
Here a few random thoughts from today and the previous weekend:
- Just had an older gentleman come into the store and I overheard him in conversation with a younger woman when he said, "Have you ever heard that Joel Osteen fella? He keeps everything plain & simple. (Here's the kicker) All the other preachers on TV are crooks." If that isn't an ironic statement enough for you, how about this statement coming from a African-American gentlemen that's in his 60s? I ain't making this up! I did want to say, "what about T.D. Jakes or Tony Evans?" Definitely the most ironic statement of the day:)
- I had lunch with a certain college student this afternoon and in the middle of a conversation about whether God is male or female asked such an cute, elementary question. She asked, "what does God look like?" I was dumbfounded and thought to myself, "I can't remember if God was wearing gender specific clothing the last time I saw (him?). Oh yeah, nevermind, I've never seen him." My actual response was a lot less clever. I said, "well Jesus is God and a man, so..."
- Really don't know what happened to my Mavs Saturday night. They were riding a 13-game winning streak into a home matchup against the lowly Knicks. And the last time they met in NY they were without 2 key players, including their starting, all-star point guard Jason Kidd and still they won BY 50!! Easy game, right? Nope, they dropped, no, they didn't even show up in a 34-point loss! See, what had happened was...
- We had 45 students in THE EDGE two Sundays ago! Ya hurrr?
- Just found out that Kutless came out with a new worship album, gotta get that thing in the near future!
- Tribal Wars (Northeastern vs. Everyone Else aka P-Tank, Camden, PQ, etc) is April 14th in the auditorium at Forest Park! These kids ain't ready for this...thank God for release forms:)
- Yesterday in THE EDGE we had part 4 of the Conflict series. This last installment was about Conflict with God. One common theme ran about the room that morning: "Why does God allow natural disasters?" And God totally supplied my response (which was unplanned, btw). I said, "well, the Bible says that the earth groans for the day of the Lord's coming so you gotta think that we aren't the only ones in need of a Savior, the earth longs for Jesus' return, too. Just as we grow older and our sins and mistakes are magnified, the earth grows older and inhabits more people and therefore has the potential to cause more devastation. It may have all started in Genesis with thorns and thistles but now we see tsunamis, cat-5 hurricanes and earthquakes. Sin doesn't just affect humanity."
- Just thought I would let you know that Forest Park will have 1,000 people as a commonplace on Sundays in the future (and it won't stop there). You heard it here first because God is moving and speaking! Holla.......lejah!
- The Unleash conference was fabulous like it always is! It's making me dream all over again! You haven't heard the unfettered truth being preached until you've heard Perry Noble. Check his podcast out on iTunes!
- I'm hungry...and I tend to ball well @ Corinth when I go hungry, watch out ballerzzzz!
- This year is gonna be the year that our college/young adult ministry takes off! I can't wait to share spring break with 14 of my friends from 29:11 (our college/young adult community group) this Thursday-Saturday in Nags Head. FPC covered the cost of the cottage! Yes!
- THE BRINK will have its one year anniversary party at our first annual HOUSE PARTY @ my house! Can't wait to take all the furniture out of my living and dining room and party like its 2099!
- It's quitin' time here at the bookstore, I'm out!
March 8, 2010
Not Just Any 2 Weeks....
I tweeted last night (which I rarely do) about how I found simple pleasure in just sitting back, watching TV and having nothing pressing on my schedule for the next couple of weeks. Here's what my last 2 weeks have consisted of:
What do you think? Were you a part of the Famine or any of the fundraisers? What was your experience like?
- Doing prep work for the 30-Hour Famine, which includes but is not limited to calling each of the shelters, getting an accurate number of people that we were going to feed, putting together teams of students & volunteers, getting all 50 people to fill out and turn in a release form for the mall, etc.
- Holding a meeting with the Famine participants and making sure all the meals would be prepared by the families of the participants and delivered at the church when we needed them (one parent took it upon herself to feed 95, YES 95 people!)
- Designing an 8-foot banner that would display HOMELESS FOR HAITI and finding money to pay for it (gulp), which after the company printed it they gave us 50% off when they discovered what it was for (PRAISE GOD!)
- Secured my own living quarters (cardboard box) for the Famine, which we stayed out front of the mall
- Answered my phone which either rang or beeped with a text seemingly every 2 minutes
- Plotted directions for every team and made sure each had the schedule and the appropriate amount of meals for each outreach that we went to
- Led a candlelight vigil and a time of worship & prayer with Mark
- Failed to sleep much at all in the high-20s weather we had Friday night
- Drew the 3-5am watch shift for that night
- Succeeded in sleeping from 5:30-8am
- Guided a few teams on the fly on their routes while I was trying to lead my own team
- By the way, I stopped eating at 8pm Friday night and wouldn't eat until 7am Sunday morning
- While we fasted, we served the meals
- At 1pm (this is last Saturday mind you) we started a door-to-door canned food drive for the Food Bank. We raised 1,700 lbs in just 2.5 HOURS! Amazing!
- Took a 20 minute nap in my box
- Had a small interview with the guy at the Daily Advance
- Led Silent Library, if you know you know, if you don't you're missing out. All the games involved food (which was GREAT). But it involved eating gummy bears off someone's face, eating marshmellow fluff from someone's fingers and lastly eating three bottles of Gerber (flavored Carrots, Fruit Yogurt and Lamb, which was easily the worst smelling thing from that day). The prizes were half-eaten bags of chips, cookies, etc.
- Led another time of prayer & worship with Mark
- Drew the 12-2am watch shift, which wasn't better as it sounds because I couldn't wake up my partner who was supposed to stay up with me. I wasn't going to go into his box to get him! No worries because George wasn't asleep.
- Found it really difficult to sleep in the humid low-30s weather (hadn't ate anything in 31 hours)
- Cleaned up all the trash and boxes, took communion (led by Jason)
- Had the best, most classy experience at McDonald's that I've ever had and I only ate a McChicken bisquit (after 36 hours of fasting)
- All 44 of us went to the 8:30 service Sunday morning service and totally blew the place up with our energy, which no one thought we would have:) Take THAT!!
- Went home, took a 1.5 hour nap, came back and started to set up for the Hunger Banquet
- Emcee'd the Hunger Banquet and raised over $1300 dollars
- Cleaned up the auditorium and left around 10pm
- Got up and did some calls for the Benefit Auction, packed and left for Charlotte the next morning
- Saw the Mavs come from behind to beat the Bobcats that night!
- Called more businesses on Tuesday, sent faxes, emails, etc
- Went to the Unleash Conference at Newspring Church (newspring.cc) Wednesday-Friday
- Picked up all the remaining donations for the Auction on Saturday
- Sunday morning, we had the most kids we've ever had in THE EDGE, 46!!!
- I set up the football field at 1:45pm, finished setting up for the Auction at 5pm and had my first meal of the day immediately afterwards
- I described all the items and let the auctioneer do his thing (we raised nearly $3200 by the way)
- Cleaned up and done by 10pm
- And then, I tweeted what I did when I was watching House and having leftover Mexican food:)
What do you think? Were you a part of the Famine or any of the fundraisers? What was your experience like?
February 15, 2010
Quite the exciting day!
Two things happened today that have me excited about the future:)
A) I was notified that a package was delivered to Forest Park with my name on it from Fuller and it read on the outside, DO NOT BEND. Know what it is? Let me give you a hint...it cost me around $60k to get this thing. Das right it's my Master's degree! An insert read, you may now update your resume with your new degree and title. So does that mean I can now call myself Master Long?
B) I think I may have put in motion the biggest spending plan ever to just see a concert. My fav band of all time, The Juliana Theory, who broke up in 2006 (it seriously darkened the first year of seminary for me) is putting on a 6-show reunion/farewell tour this summer. I saw they were going to NY and Pittsburgh, so I naturally tried to get lodging arrangements through friends but the tix sold out before I could do so.
I wasn't planning on going to Chicago or Philly so the other options were San Fran and LA. One of my friends AND die hard TJT fans lives about an hour from there, so I called him up! He was stoked about the tour but he was also going to be in Iran (of all places) in August. So that left LA, which should've been a natural pick anyway since I have so many friends from Fuller still there. So I bought the tickets today (yes, I'm gonna treat someone to the show, don't know who yet though) and I'll buy the plane tickets next week. This'll be about a $500 trip ($75 for the concert, 325 for the airfare and about 100 in spending money) just for a concert.
And, no, I think it's fine! Of course, it mortgages my flexibility for, say, a month and a half but hey, it's an experience I'll never get to do again and I'm single so I'M GONNA DO IT!!! FO SHO!!!
A) I was notified that a package was delivered to Forest Park with my name on it from Fuller and it read on the outside, DO NOT BEND. Know what it is? Let me give you a hint...it cost me around $60k to get this thing. Das right it's my Master's degree! An insert read, you may now update your resume with your new degree and title. So does that mean I can now call myself Master Long?
B) I think I may have put in motion the biggest spending plan ever to just see a concert. My fav band of all time, The Juliana Theory, who broke up in 2006 (it seriously darkened the first year of seminary for me) is putting on a 6-show reunion/farewell tour this summer. I saw they were going to NY and Pittsburgh, so I naturally tried to get lodging arrangements through friends but the tix sold out before I could do so.
I wasn't planning on going to Chicago or Philly so the other options were San Fran and LA. One of my friends AND die hard TJT fans lives about an hour from there, so I called him up! He was stoked about the tour but he was also going to be in Iran (of all places) in August. So that left LA, which should've been a natural pick anyway since I have so many friends from Fuller still there. So I bought the tickets today (yes, I'm gonna treat someone to the show, don't know who yet though) and I'll buy the plane tickets next week. This'll be about a $500 trip ($75 for the concert, 325 for the airfare and about 100 in spending money) just for a concert.
And, no, I think it's fine! Of course, it mortgages my flexibility for, say, a month and a half but hey, it's an experience I'll never get to do again and I'm single so I'M GONNA DO IT!!! FO SHO!!!
February 8, 2010
Bullet Points
I really can't believe its been more than 3 months since my last post. What have I been doing? It's been more like, what haven't I been doing?
What has transpired since September for TJ:
What has transpired since September for TJ:
- I had a relationship, with a certain magnificent women, in which I thought was going somewhere dissipate
- The Student Ministry at FPC received a gift from God in the form of a young, gifted man named Mark Shortt who has been leading our students in worship
- I had the most amazing Christmas ever...it felt indescribable to able to give my family more gifts than they gave me (they had a troubling financial year, like many others)
- I turned 29 on January 12 (gulp) and Tiffany Gregory (a student at FPC) baked me a cake (wow!)
- ....I got my ears gauged the same evening.
- We've had two consecutive weekends of snow in NC, what is that all about?
- The Student Ministry at FPC now has the most volunteers we've ever had: 18!! (Thank you Jason, Solomon, Marsha, Myraida, George, Chris, Tim, William, Mark, April, Emil, Kaylin, Katrina, Amanda, Daniel, Christian, Ethan and Brian!)
- Mark will be leaving us for Florida (Coast Guard orders) in mid-April so we're in the process of looking for another Student Worship leader
- We just had a crazy Super Bowl party last night!! Parties never go exactly to plan. For instance, 50 RSVP'd for the event and about 75 showed up. Let's just say that food didn't last that long...
- Within a month our students have raised $500 in offerings, they're really stepping up and taking this giving thing seriously!!
- We have 62 students, young adults and volunteers who will be doing the 30-Hour Famine for World Vision February 26-28th! We'll be spending Friday and Saturday night in a cardboard community outside Southgate mall. We'll essentially be homeless for the weekend, without money, cell phones and an extra change of clothes. We will not eat at all Saturday while we deliver to the poorest in EC. We'll break the fast by having a $1 breakfast at McDonald's (in tribute to the 20% of the world who lives on less than $1/day).
- We added two new staff members at Forest Park: Brian Sabin and Tony Klepper, I love and admire the passion and work ethic of both these men of God!
- Sunday, February 28th at 7pm we're having what's called a Hunger Banquet at FPC. I know it sounds like an oxymoron, that's what's cool about it. Tickets are $10 and all proceeds go to World Vision! When you come through the door you draw a country and depending how rich that nation is depends on your amount of food and seating arrangement for the evening. For example, if you draw the USA you'll get a full 3-course meal with a table and chair to enjoy the entertainment. If you draw Ethiopia you'll get just enough food to satiate your hunger (maybe) and you'll have the floor on which to sit. Its a great example of how the world's food is divided between the rich and poor nations! Come out and experience this with us!!
- The following Sunday, March 7th at 7pm (yes the 7th at 7) we're having the World Vision Benefit Auction. We'll have so much great stuff to auction off. Gift cards to local shops, a home theater system, a canoe, leather jacket, ice skating passes, movie tickets and so so so so much more!!! It will be a blast!!
- We're going to Newspring AGAIN for the UNLEASH conference!!!
- I'm going with my buddy Andrew to see the Bobcats and Mavericks in Charlotte on March 1st, so psyched about that. (Interesting side note: in a span of 3 days I will drive to Charlotte, back to EC and then to Anderson for the conference a total of 1,110 miles. Just in case you're still reading this insanely long note I drove from Asheville, NC to Pasadena, CA in just 2 days or 2,285 miles.)
- This is the year that Converge is gonna blow up! What do I mean? You'll see...let's just say it won't be just 29:11 in the future.
- Speaking of 29:11 (our college group), we're getting together this coming weekend to go to the OBX for dinner and a movie. Should be a blast!
- I'm such a perfectionist and borderline OCD that I don't delegate responsibility half as much as I should
- We cannot afford to lose momentum on Wednesday nights (THE BRINK) so we really need the person God has for us to lead our students in worship
- I honestly don't know where all the food for the delivery of meals for 30-Hour Famine will be coming from right yet (gulp)
- I still have a pretty ineffective habit of being a little too impulsive with my words and body language. Instead of rationalizing with a person and letting them in on what I'm thinking, my usual response is, "Come on! What are you thinking? Be considerate of other people!" While that may be true, the delivery and intensity is anything but edifying.
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