Category Archives: Ministry

Ministry, Music

Mystery Man, Mystery Sound

Director Cameron Crowe always chooses the best music to accompany his films so I always try and get the soundtracks. It never fails that I find a new artist or band by listening to Crowe’s choices. I fell in love with Jeff Buckley after hearing Last Goodbye on the Vanilla Sky soundtrack and Springsteen’s Secret Garden from Jerry Maguire always chills me out when I’m stressed.

Now I have been drawn into a music mystery because of a Crowe soundtrack.

I first heard Washington Phillips last fall when I purchased the Elizabethtown Vol 2 soundtrack. The grainy, old recording of What Are They Doing In Heaven Today was a simple yet profound track. Phillips voice, while extremely nasal, is strikingly original and comforting. I liked the song yet I never really thought anything about more Phillips or the strange sound of his instrument. That is until this morning.

While listening to the Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan, I again heard that distinct voice and that strange instrument. The theme this week was the Bible and Bob played Phillips’ Denomination Blues.

You can go to the college
You can go to the school
But if you ain’t got Jesus
You’re an educated fool

After the song Bob said that there were two rumors about Washington Phillips.

1) He died in a metal institution or
2) He died at the age of 74 by the result of a fall off some stairs

“Believe what you will,” Dylan said.

“Very Interesting,” I thought. Other than that song off of Elizabethtown, I had never heard of him. After lunch I hopped onto the information super highway to check out a bit more about this Washington Phillips.

What I found only added to the mystery of what Dylan said concerning the confusion of Phillips’ death.

Washington Phillips The world only has 18 Washington Phillips songs. Most of them are self contained sermons. I downloaded the album, The Keys to the Kingdom, from iTunes today and have been blown away at the depth of lyric in these songs. He even preaches some mini-sermons before playing a few of the songs. Good stuff.

Nobody knows where he came from. He just sort of arrived on the Gospel music scene in the late ’20s and before 1929 was over he had left it.

The biggest mystery of all though has to do with his distinct sound. There is a great debate as to what kind of instrument he played. Some say it was a zither. Most a dolcenea. Still others believe that Phillips made the instrument himself. Nobody knows. There is a photo from 1928 that show him holding what seems to be two fretless zithers but the debates go on.

The whole things is pretty interesting. Too bad more people haven’t heard of Phillips.

I would recomend the following Washington Phillips songs for you add to your music libraries: (iTunes links)
Lift Him Up That’s All
What Are They Doing In Heaven Today
I’m Born to Preach the Gospel

I hope you will check him out. I promise you it will be worth your time. He won’t win any awards for his voice. Then again, neither would Woody Guthrie or Dylan. The beauty though is in the heart.

Ministry

Labor Day

As you can see (unless your reading this in RSS) I am trying out a new theme. We’ll give it a few days and see how it goes. So far, I’m kinda digging it.

I hope everyone has a great Labor Day Weekend. I, however, will not be taking the weekend off. It looks to be a full weekend for youth ministry.

Tonight I have a lock-in. Sunday a fireworks/cookout. Monday another cookout.

I will probably be wiped come Tuesday. But I hope you all get some rest and relaxation.

Peace.

Ministry, The Word

Ocho

This Sunday I preached on Exodus 20:15:”You Shall Not Steal.” These are my notes on the 8th Commandment. Enjoy!

Faith In God’s Provision
Near the end of my junior year in high school, my church youth group got together with a handful of other youth ministries in the Dallas area and we all took a trip down to Disney World together. It was, without a doubt, one of the greatest trips I have ever taken. I loved hanging out with my friends and making brand new ones. Every night we had a devotional together at different places around the park. One night they closed the theatre and we met in the Hall of Presidents for our evening worship time. It was great!

On our last night there, my youth minister took the juniors and seniors out to dinner at Planet Hollywood to discuss our leadership and his expectations for us. It was a great night and we had some much fun together. We were laughing and carrying all the way back to the hotel. All of that changed the second we stepped off the bus.One of the other youth ministers was waiting for Brad, my youth minister.

Now, this other minister was just a bear of a man. He had a huge barrel chest and a deep voice that sounded like a snorting bull. Rumor had it that this minister had permission to spank the kids in his youth group. Scary!!! We’ll call this guy John.
John immediately jumps in Brad’s face and says, “Well, what are you going to do about it? I’ve taken care of my kids. What are you going to do with yours?”

We are completely taken aback. Brad has no idea what he’s talking about and yet John continues asking him what he plans to do about his students. I do not want to get spanked so I am riveted by what is going on here. John finally explains the situation and the color leaves Brad’s face.

Two freshman boys from John’s church and one from our church were caught shoplifting from the Parks. They had been spending the entire week stealing pencils, pins, snow globes, note pads, you name it. They were caught when one of the boys stole a stuffed animal and gave it to a girl. She found out how they got it and turned them into one of the adults. John ends by telling Brad that he has already told his boys to pack for home and wants to know what Brad is going to do.

Brad decides that he needs to talk to the kid from our group and asks John to come along. Brad says, “Well, I guess we need to play good cop/bad cop.” John immediate response is, “I’ll play the BAD COP!”
Brad calls the kid down to his room as John rearranges the furniture so that a lone chair sits beneath the lamp interrogation style.

The kid from our church was named Jason and was one of those quiet kids. He shuffled down to Brad’s room and took his seat under the lamp. Brad tried to make a little small talk with him by asking him about he his week had gone.

“Well,” Jason said, “I enjoyed MGM more than the Magic Kin…”

John yells, “Cut the crap kid! Tell us why you were stealing!!!”

Oh my! Lt. Sipowitz was gentler bad cop.

Meanwhile, my friends and I have retired back to our hotel room in complete disbelief at what had happened. Everybody is talking about it and everyone is anxious to know what is going on. Then we get a bright idea.

Let’s prank call Brad as someone from Disney wanting to take care of the situation. I volunteer for the job and I dial the front desk. I told the operator that I wanted to leave a voice message but I didn’t want the phone to ring. They said no problem.

After the beep I left this message:
(In my best Mickey Mouse voice)“Uh, ha ha. Hey Brad, this is Mickey. I hope you had a great week at he park but I heard that a few of your kids were caught stealing… (completely enraged Mickey Mouse) I DON’T LIKE IT! YOU BETTER BELIEVE THAT I’M GONNA COME DOWN THERE WITH MY DOG PLUTO AND WE’RE GONNA TEAR THEM APART!! ARRRGGHH!”

Now, we thought that it was hilarious! We were, in our minds, comedic geniuses. Needless to say, Brad’s wife, who got the message first, did not think that it was funny. After Brad had finished “interrogating the witness” and informing him and his parents that he would be going home, he came directly to our room. He knew exactly who had made the call!

The next morning the kids were on a plane home and Brad took about 4 bags full of stole merchandise back to Disney. He explained what had happened and the Disney officials wanted to arrest those kids right then and there. They were a little miffed that they had been sent home. It was a huge deal.

When faced with this problem of stealing everyone involved approached the situation completely different.

The boys saw something they wanted and just took it.
Jason and Disney wanted to swing the hammer down.
Brad wanted to work though the situation.
I wanted to make light of the situation.
Others there that week completely distanced themselves from those guys.
Everyone chose a different course of action when dealing with this problem.

I have no doubt that each and everyone of us has had to deal head with the problem of theft or cheating in some form or another. Maybe your child has walked out of the store with some candy or a small toy. Maybe you were that child at one point in your life. Maybe your brother or sister shoplifted and received punishment for it. Maybe your wallet was stolen, your home burglarized. You have felt the vulnerability that came from someone violating your private property. Maybe even this week something came up at work. Maybe there was an opportunity for you to change a decimal point in your favor or there was a chance for you get a head quickly by some grey area. Our society is dogged by theft and dishonesty and often those of us who have chosen to follow Jesus Christ fall victim to these choices.

Unfortunately, this is nothing new. The children of God have always seemed to struggle with this commandment. Probably the most significant section of scripture that deals with stealing Joshua chapter 6 and 7.

The people of Israel are about to take down the city of Jericho in the most unorthodox fashion ever recorded on military history. They are to march around the city and blow on some trumpets. God tells them that they are to dedicate everything to him. Destroy everything- man, woman, animal, building, bridge, tent- and dedicate every treasure found to the LORD.

The people agree. They march. The walls fall. And the city is theirs.

However, one guy, Achen, decides to five finger discount some things that catch his eye. He takes some treasure and hides it. It’s some small insignificant treasure. God won’t miss it. It isn’t hurting anybody. Or so he thinks.

After Jericho, the people of Israel head to Ai. Some spies go up and say, “this is going to be easy. Just give us a few thousand men to fight. It isn’t worth everyone’s trouble. These men head into battle and get defeated. Joshua rips his clothes falls on his face and weeps to God.

“You were going to be with us! You are supposed to defeat our enemies. What’s the deal?!?!?!”

Joshua 7:10-12
The LORD said to Joshua, “Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.

So Joshua tells the people to get together for a “Come to Yahweh Meeting.” The Lord whittles all the tribes down to clans. The clans down to families. And then finally the families down to Achen.

Joshua 7:19-22
Then Joshua said to Achan, “My son, give glory to the LORD, the God of Israel, and honor him. Tell me what you have done; do not hide it from me.”

Achan replied, “It is true! I have sinned against the LORD, the God of Israel. This is what I have done: When I saw in the plunder a beautiful robe from Babylonia, two hundred shekels of silver and a bar of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. They are hidden in the ground inside my tent, with the silver underneath.”

So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent, and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver underneath. They took the things from the tent, brought them to Joshua and all the Israelites and spread them out before the LORD.

Then just like the kids at Disney World, Achen and his family were sent home!

Seriously, there was a huge punishment. Achen and his family were stoned, their animals and belongings were burned. It was a bad deal.

Over the last few weeks we have been studying through Exodus 20 looking at the commandments that God gave his people. We have looked at murder, taking the Lord’s name in vein, and maintaining a Sabbath attitude.

Now today as we look at stealing and cheating I realize that God is reminding us that we ought not to trade the important for the immediate.

When it comes to our anger it is immediately easy to cut someone down, physically or emotional, than it is to walk away.
When it comes to those who have affairs it is immediately easy to crawl into bed with someone else than it is to do the important thing and work diligently on their marriage.
We all know how easy it is to blurt or whatever comes to mind when we hit our hand with a hammer.

We have become slaves to the immediate. God wants us to live in the freedom of the important.

Now we come to Exodus 20 verse 15:

You shall not steal.

It seems that stealing is everywhere in our society.

In business, look at Enron. To be the best they had to cheat. They stole millions from their employees and hard working men and women. They weren’t the only company to do it either. Enron has become the Kleenex, Q-tip or Coke of corporate fraud. The brand name of corporate thievery if you will. Healthsouth, Tyco, and dozens of other companies have done the exact same thing. The experts call it “cooking the books” or “fraud.” I call it stealing.

Students, I would be willing to bet that every student in here has cheated or copied someone else’s work. I didn’t do a lot of cheating but one time I drew an entire map of Europe on my desk for a geography quiz. That’s huge!!! Maybe you’ve just glanced over for a second or it was just one fill in the blank. It doesn’t matter if its one answer or a whole essay from the Internet. It’s stealing.

I know that this is a sensitive subject but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention stealing movies, music, and computer programs over the Internet. If you don’t pay for it, it isn’t yours. It is a big deal.

Couples, when you value your job or career or hobby over the one you promised to cherish over everything else. Isn’t that cheating your spouse.

All of these things place the immediate in front of the important. It is always easier to serve our selves than it is to serve someone else completely.

Everyone, believer or unbeliever, knows that stealing is wrong. Taking something that isn’t yours is a basic belief that everyone knows.

However, there is another problem that occurs when we, believers, steal. It is a fundamental problem that lies at the very heart of our faith.

Let me just boil this whole problem with stealing and cheating down to it’s essence:

When we choose to steal or cheat our way forward we are telling God, “You cannot provide for me. I guess I have to do something for myself.”

That’s the bottom line. It all comes down to your faith in God. Not what you say about you faith but how you truly live your faith out. It doesn’t matter if we steal time or TVs, answers on a test or music on the internet. It is a huge issue for those of us who serve the Lord. Do your actions betray your words. It’s that simple.

When we choose to steal or cheat our way forward we are telling God, “You cannot provide for me. I guess I have to do something for myself.”

So, What now?

We need to be reminded that God has provided for us in the past and he will continue to provided for us well into the future as long as we are dedicating everything to him.

Colossians 3:15   
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

Colossians 4:2   
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.

Many of us have forgotten what peace looks like. We have become so engrossed in our own lives and the immediacy of our wants that the word “peace” holds no meaning for us. Contentment seems like something more for the Beav’ than for you and me.

We live in a world of over abundance. We continue consuming without a thought much less a thanks for what we have.

We need to spend a little time with our Father.

As I looked through scripture, I couldn’t find an instance where Jesus directly spoke about stealing. If it’s in there, I couldn’t find it.

However, Luke 19 tells us about a man who came in contact with Jesus who apparently was a thief.

Luke 19:1-10
Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. A man was there by the name of Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector and was wealthy. He wanted to see who Jesus was, but because he was short he could not see over the crowd. So he ran ahead and climbed a sycamore–fig tree to see him, since Jesus was coming that way.

When Jesus reached the spot, he looked up and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.” So he came down at once and welcomed him gladly.

All the people saw this and began to mutter, “He has gone to be the guest of a sinner.”

But Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, “Look, Lord! Here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount.”

Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”

Zacchaeus spent an afternoon with Jesus and was reminded of the joy of being a child of God. Maybe we need to spent a little quality time in order to remind us of our own blessings.

Hebrews 12:28   
Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe.

If you are a believer, you will inherit a kingdom that far outweighs every paper clip, flat screen, dollar bill, party song, everything. Don’t be an Achen!!!

God has promised you that you will be taken care of. He is with you. Why jeopardize that to add to you already vast assortment of toys?

Our world is full of cheaters, thieves, and people who are looking to serve only themselves. Too often we as Christians point and shake our fingers at the world with one hand while we reach and grab with our other.

Imagine what would happen if we were know as a people of great thankfulness and joy. Imagine what our community would look like if we became this type of body. Giving not taking. Selfless not selfish.

Maybe today, you want to dedicate your life to God. You are tired of consuming the things of this world and you want to be consumed by the Father that provides for us all.

Or maybe you just need to be reminded of the blessings you already have.

Stealing isn’t just wrong. It strips God of his role as Father and provider for your life. Never, never trade the immediate for the important.

Books, Leadership, Ministry, Music

Stand Up

2 Comments

I’ve been awfully music heavy the last few days so I wanted to shake it up a little and catch everyone up on what’s been going on in my busy life.

I updated the links page with some of my favorite blogs.

I just finished my first summer at my new church. By the gace of God, I believe that it was a success. I have about 30 awesome teens who enjoying being together and who have a great habit of inviting their friends. The summer went by very, very quickly. I actually started on May 30th and before I knew it – August had arrived. I am currently trying to put together the fall calendar and I have a lock-in and a big cookout on the horizon. This week I’m visiting my students at school and getting achance to meet more of their friends. Today’s visit was a lot of fun. I love being a Youth Minister.

This coming Sunday I’m going to “the Dance.” That’s right, I’m stepping into the pulpit for Sunday morning worship assembly. It’s the big game! We have been going through Exodus 20 taking a fresh look at the Ten Commandments. I’ll be covering v. 15:

Thou shalt not steal.

I know a little bit about stealing. When I was a little elementary kid, I used to put gum on the end of wire hangers and steal quarters, nickels, and dimes out of the high school student’s lockers at my school for sodas. I might mention that this Sunday. Maybe.

Btw, I think the Ten Commandments sound a lot better in the King’s English but that’s just me.

Some books that you need to read right now:

Some albums that you need to hear right now:

I’ll leave you with this:

On your journey as a believer, questions automatically arise. Who am I and what is my calling? Am I called to be a deacon? Am I called to be a pastor? Am I called to be an evangelist, a fireman, or a retail salesperson? Am I called into counseling, sports medicine, or intercession? Paul let’s us know that those questions are good starting points for a young believer, but as you mature in your faith, the callings that once consumed you begin to diminish, and the sumreme calling to one thing becomes ever clearer. Whether you are annointed or not is no longer the motivaing drive of a mature individual. The motivating thing becomes: Am I tender toward the Lord? Am I moved when he comes near me? Instead of being consumed with numbers and results, ask yourself: Do I hunger for Him like I used to? Is my gaze still focused and my eyes still pure? Is my heart expanding in the understanding of this Man, Jesus? Paul’s exhortation is clear. As you mature in your faith, your pursuit of Jesus becomes more and more consuming.

Dwaye Roberts, One Thing

May you begin to ask yourself the deeper questions.

Peace,
Micheal

Ministry

Lucado Is a Quaker Now? (Updated)

6 Comments

Update: To be fair, early this morning Emergent No issued an apology for anything that they may have said, not just about Lucado but the entire Emergent movement, that came across as mean spirited. Ok, well it isn’t exactly an apology and you have to wait for it until well into the post but it is a great start. If you would like to read that post you can find it here. I didn’t know that I held that much sway!!! 🙂

Original Post:
Due to my background, I have heard all kinds of critisim directed toward Max Lucado. I heard that he isn’t a good speaker. I heard people complain about his writing. I heard that he doesn’t believe in baptism. You name it, I’ve heard it. Now, the negative nancies over at Emergent No have accused Lucado of being a Quaker.

I’m not here to be a cheerleader for Lucado. I have enjoyed his insight into Scripture and as a young Christian he helped me focus my life on the Savior. For that I am thankful and will always be thankful. Countless numbers of people can say the same thing.

I am more dismayed by the Emergent No people who love to ring their “It’s the end of Christianity as we know it!!!” bell. The owners of the blog consistently turn off the comment feature thus defeating the community conversation that they pretend to have. I read their blog like I slow down when their is an accident on the highway. I crane my neck to see what the hullabaloo is all about. Emergent No is one of the great alarmist websites out there today right next to AV1611.0rg and Steath Bible.

Here is what Denise has to say about Lucado’s new book.

From the Lightouse blog: “Cure for the Common Life, by author Max Lucado, is a book about “living in your sweet spot.” Lucado tells readers in chapter one to “[h]eed that inner music,” and quoting mystic Martin Buber from his book, The Way of Man (a book on Jewish mysticism), Lucado tells readers they each have a “divine spark.” Buber had panentheistic affinities as he embraced the teachings of Hasidism (Jewish mysticism) and believed that this divine spark that Lucado refers to is in every human being and every part of creation. Through Lucado’s book he quotes other mystics and contemplatives: Saint Thomas Aquinas,Thomas Merton, Eugene Peterson and Richard Foster.”

The “divine spark” sounds like what the Quakers teach:

“At the very centre of the Quaker faith lies the concept of the Inner Light. This principle states that in every human soul there is implanted a certain element of God’s own Spirit and divine energy. This element, known to early Friends as “that of God in everyone”, “the seed of Christ”, or “the seed of Light”, means to Friends, in the words of John 1:9, “the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world”.”

“The fundamental belief of Friends is that there is that of God in every person. This core belief shapes all of Friends’ faith and practice. Because we believe that every person has access to the Light Within, we seek to follow the Spirit as it is revealed in our own experience, rather than dogma, and our worship grows out of silent waiting for the awareness of truth. Because we believe in the Divine Spark in all persons, we are called to seek nonviolence and social justice. This is exemplified in Friends’ conscientious objection to war, and our historical role in the US antislavery movement. –The Oxford Ohio Friends (Quakers).

The quote from the Ohio Quakers sounds just like the Contemplative Spiritualists. Do a web search on “divine spark” and see the massive amount of pagan websites that come up.

Ken Silva of Apprising Ministries has an article on the Quakers which mentions a “divine spark.” Richard Foster is a Quaker, so this is no surprise that it has come into professing Christianity via Foster and Dallas Willard (also influenced by not only Foster, but Quaker founder, George Fox).

Apparently Lucado is also on the “Be Still” dvd as well.

Watch out for Max Lucado. Check your church libraries to see if they carry his books. Alert your pastors and anyone you know that likes him. He’s another huge author that has apparently gone Contemplative. This error is infiltrating many areas, creeping in under the radar often times, and we need to be watching carefully, be on guard, so that we can stay away from false teachers and their teaching, and cling to only what is good and Scriptural and Christ-honoring.

That last paragraph is my favorite. Chicken Little Er, Emergent No has yet again come to the rescue. Thanks guys.

All sarcasm aside, I believe that using phrases like “inner music” and “Divine spark” acctually speak to men and women who are looking for some sort of spirituality in their life. I bet that type of approach would be greeted with open arms at your local Hot Topic. This language is something that they are looking to understand. I can guarantee that Lucado, Foster, and Peterson do not subscribe to some sort of humanistic ideal. That isn’t their goal. Their goal is to bring as many people as possible into a relationship with Jesus Christ. I guarantee it.

Is using those words any different from Paul quoting pagan poets in Acts 17? I don’t think so.

Leadership, Ministry

Redeeming the Time

Right now, I am totally being blessed by a number of podcasts that I have been listening too. Instead of driving around listning to mindless chatter and even more mindless songs (“London Bridge”- uhg. I didn’t think it could get any worse than “My Humps” but I was proven wrong) I have been redeeming my time spent behind the wheel by listening to some quailty training.

We all have to drive or ride to work. Why not make the most of your time.

Books, Ministry, Religion, Resources, Review, The Word, Theology

New Testament and the People of God 1

Even though we haven’t We have now officially kicked off the group read. I have completed the first chapter of Wright’s The New Testament and the People of God and, as expected, was blown away. Just a hint of the gold that I have been busy mining:

The New Testament has not been around as long as the land of Israel, but in other ways there are remarkable parallels. It is a small book, smaller than anybody else’s holy book, small enough to be read through in a day or two. But it has had an importance belied by its slim appearance. It has again and again been a battleground for warring armies. Sometimes they have come to plunder its treasures for their own use, or to annex bits of its territory as part of a larger empire in need of a few extra strategic mountains, especially holy ones. Sometimes they have come to fight their private battles of neutral territory, finding in the debates about a book or a passage a convenient place to stage a war which is really between two world views or philosophies, themselves comparatively unrelated to the New Testament and its concerns. There are many places whose fragile beauty has been trampled by heavy-footed exegetes in search of a Greek root, a quick sermon, or a political slogan. And yet it has remained a powerful and evocative book, full of delicacy and majesty, tears and laughter. This book is a book of wisdom for all peoples, but we have made it a den of scholarship, or of a narrow, hard and exclusive piety. (3-4)
What ought to be done with this strange and powerful little book? A volume of Shakespeare may be used to prop up a table leg, or it may be used as the basis for a philosophical theory. It is not difficult, though, to see that using it as the foundation for dramatic productions of the plays themselves carries more authenticity than either of these. There is a general appropriateness about using Shakespeare as a basis of plays, which justifies itself without much more argument. (5-6)

The New Testament, I suggest, must be read so as to be understood, read within appropriate contexts, within an acoustic which will allow its full overtones to be heard. It must be read with as little distortion as possible, and with as much sensitivity as possible to its different levels of meaning. It must be read so that the stories, and the Story, which it tells can be heard as stories, not as rambling ways of declaring unstoried ‘ideas.’ It must not be read with the assumption that we already know what it is going to say, and without the arrogance that assumes ‘we’- whichever group that might be- already have ancestral rights over this or that passage, book, or writer. And for full appropriateness, it must be read in such a way as to set in motion the drama which it suggests. (6)

I felt that the first quote was escpecially pionant due to the recent turmoil that has erupted in and around the country of Israel over the recent weeks. Too often our arguing and debates over scripture turns to war almost as quickly as the real thing. Casualties take their toll on both sides of such conflict and leave those still left in the battle with a bitter taste in our mouths. We were not born to kill, it is something that we learn.

Again, I have been amazed at Wright’s ability to write ith both lofty, eloquant, doctarial prose and then everyday, run of the mill conversation. Brilliant.

I can’t wait to acctually begin sharing with the group. hear what others have to say. We have to have the first five chapters read by the end of the month so keep looking for my thoughts and reactions. Great stuff!!!

Ministry, The Word, Theology

Late Night Revelation (Replay)

I posted this back in March under the title The Practical Theology of the Waffle House. Since that time I have revisited it, cleaned it up, and added a few things here and there. I chose to publish this version in the August newsletter for my church.

We are soon headed into Fall which means only one thing here in Texas.

Football.

I sketched this story out on the back of the placemat after a football game last season. My dad is a coach so we went to the Waffle House near his school after the game and I’ve never been the same.

As the season begins, I know that there will be a few late nights and similar opportunities. Just as I was not content with the way this article read back in March I am not content with with reacting the way I did back in October. I am ready to share my plate, my life, and my Jesus with people who are nothing like me. Maybe you are too.

Thanks for letting me get away with replaying this so soon. Here’s to a new season.

It was probably only the second time that I had ever stepped foot
inside one of these restaurants. The air was smokey. To say that the
cliental was shady would be an understatement. I made my way over to
the booth in the corner careful not to touch anything. As I looked
over the menu, I was less than thrilled with the choices. I wasn’t
hungry for any of the items listed but I was with my parents so I felt
that I should at least eat something here instead of walking to the
fast food establishment next door. I ended up ordering a simple
hamburger. After I ordered, I began to glance around the building
looking at the other people there.

I saw an older man sitting at the counter. His face was beaten and
weathered by the elements. He looked homeless. I didn’t see him eat
but I watched him as he drank his coffee. After a cup or two he
lowered his head and walked out into the cold night. As he left, two
young women walked in. The had just come from a high school sporting
event. Their sweat shirts sported the the mother of all swear words in
bright, bold white letters. As they cozied into the booth behind me
all eyes were on them. Whispers became audible insults. The girls just
laughed and went on about their night. Some high schoolers came in
looking for something to eat. They sat down at the counter where the
old man had sat. These people were so different from me.

The more and more I watched them the more convinced I became of the
new belief stirring in my heart. This belief is a simple and radical
idea. It doesn’t sit comfortably with me because it demands a
response. A response to the world and to the people sitting around me
that night.

Jesus would have eaten at the Waffle House.

He would have. There is no doubt in my mind. Jesus was the kind of
Savior that would have cozied up to the counter and had some
hash-browns covered and smothered with some guy who was at the end of
his rope. Jesus would have eaten with him, covered the bill, and
changed the man’s life. Maybe it would be with the touch of his hand
or maybe it would have been with just a look or Jesus might have even
spoken a word of encouragement or discipline to the man but the
message would have been clear.

“I am your Savior. I traveled across the universe to be with you. I
know who you are. I know your name. I know where you’ve been. I know
where your going. I want you to abandon your plans and join up with
me. I’ve done all the hard work. All you have to do is say yes.”

Yeah, Jesus would have eaten at the Waffle House.

Matthew 9:10-13 says this:

That night Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to be his dinner
guests, along with his fellow tax collectors and many other notorious
sinners. The Pharisees were indignant. “Why does your teacher eat with
such scum?” they asked his disciples.

When he heard this, Jesus replied, “Healthy people don’t need a
doctor—sick people do.”  Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning
of this Scripture: ‘I want you to be merciful; I don’t want your
sacrifices.’ For I have come to call sinners, not those who think they
are already good enough.”

As followers of this Savior what does that say about where we should
eat and who we should eat with? Think about that the when you eat at
the House or the next time your sitting in the booth at Chicken
Express or whenever you grab a slice of Sbarro in the food court.
Somebody there could benefit from you sharing not only your plate but
your faith as well.

Ministry

Seasons of Ministry

I get back from Missouri on Sunday. That leaves us with only 2 weeks before the end of summer. The time has zoomed by so quickly that I can’t believe that my first summer in almost over. As I look back over the last few months I have been amazed at how privileged I am. My friends like to razz me by saying that I don’t work everyday (Just Sunday and Wednesday) and that don’t work very hard. It is incredibly hard to explain to your friend why you missed their call when you were out on the river with your teens in the middle of a workday.

Such is the life of a youth minister during the summer.

Speaking of, while interning at some of the greatest churches in America (I’m bias) I got a great education on leading and planning a youth ministry during the summer but in August I left and went back to school.

I know how to get ready for May. It’s September-December that I’m focused on (sweating) right now.

Summer = a beast
Fall = ?

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: Youth Ministry programs need to include a Fall/Spring internship as well as a Summer one.

Summer internships include:
Travel, late nights, pool parties, pizza, ministry of prescence, relationship building, road trips

Fall internships could be filled with:
Stuffing envelopes, curriculum development, laminating, working with an administrative assistant, Church Sign 101, emptying the trash, filling in on Sunday morning, cleaning the auditoium/classroom, apologizing to the old people for something the teens did or didn’t do, and what to do with your time now that the kids are gone

Summer internships = life changing and fun

Fall internships = a different kind of grown up fun

Ministry

Let It Rain

LUBBOCK, Texas, July 24 (UPI) — Public officials in Lubbock, Texas, are organizing a day to pray for rain.

“Nobody is going to tell God what to do and what not to do, but we are in a serious drought in West Texas and since he is the man who controls the rain clouds, we’re asking him for his mercy and his help,” Mayor David Miller told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.

The City Council and the Lubbock County commissioners are expected to adopt resolutions this week asking local residents to both pray and fast for rain this Sunday.

So far this year, Lubbock has received about half of its normal 10 inches. In the weeks since June 1, the growing season for cotton, rainfall has been a scant .75 inches, far less than the normal 4.43 inches.

Officials have tried prayers before and say they were answered. In January 2004, after a year of drought, the city and county set aside a Sunday to pray for rain and got the second-wettest year since records have been kept.

After being gone for so long, I had forgotten just how hot it is in Texas. I’m in the Dallas/Ft Worth area and I haven’t seen rain since we arrived (I heard that it rained on the 4th of July but I didn’t see it). Thankfully, my city isn’t under a water restriction but my parent’s is. I cannot imagine what it is like in west Texas.

I am going to join the city of Lubbock in prayer for their city. I hope you will too.

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