Nicaragua

We started meetings for summer mission trips last week and I am so excited about my trip that it is all I can think about. I cannot wait to go back this year and be Jesus to people who have never seen him. My prayer is that I can truly be the hands and feet of Christ and carry out his calling for this time to the best of my abilities. I decided that in my attempts to communicate what a life changing and eye-opening experience global missions can be, I would share some of my journal entries from last years trip to Managua.

Day 1
I am spoiled. I have everything I need, many things I don’t, most of the things I want, yet still I want more. I beg and plead and eventually I get my way and then I move on to the next thing to conquer. I am an American. I eat until I am full, I spend until it’s gone and I still want. Then this happened. You called me. You sent me here. I made excuses. I don’t have the money (it was provided) I don’t have the time, (MY ministry takes all of it… You provided). With my excuses spent, again I must use all of my resources excuses included, I concede. And suddenly as if time stood still until the moment I gave in and then sped up again to make up for what was lost I am here. And true to my nature my question is what’s in it for me? Where are my blessings, where are the spiritual rewards, rain them down, the one you have waited for has hit the mission field, I am still spoiled. But for some reason, the God who loves the true worshippers also loves fair-weather me. Despite myself, he loves me.  Despite the fact that I take take take, he hears me. He notices my sorrows and takes note of my pain, and despite the fact that I am ugly and messed up, dirty and greedy, selfish and unkind, he adores me. He loves me with such fervency and tenacity, that despite the fact that I am saying the words describing this love, I can never comprehend it’s full measure. But it is because of this love I become responsible to it. I have a job, a mission, and a purpose and that is not to sell a product. Not to feed a hungry person, not to clean a beach, but to be an institution for change. To be a radical, to make an impact. If this is not my mission I have wasted my time and God’s money. I have wasted airlines gas and honey roasted peanuts, I have wasted resources that could have been used to institute change. So why am I here? Step one: Admit there is a problem. I have been spoiled and am therefore wasteful. Step 2: Resolve to solve it. I must take my mission seriously, Live out loud, become a radical, an institution of change, a catalyst. Then Step 3: Watch the world change.

Over the rest of that week I watched as my team and I changed people’s worlds. Through us, because we were willing to be used by God, He gave  gave hope to the hopeless, rest to the restless and redemption to the lost. We watched the scales fall away from people’s eyes. We watched as the lies they had been told about their value were rebuked. We watched a family who’s hope was completely gone find joy in knowing that God loved them. I am so ready to go back.

How will YOU impact the World this year?

Transformation

I guess God has been pounding into my head this whole change the World thing. He’s been speaking so clearly that i actually think i can do it. Well I don’t think I can do it but I think it can be done and that I can be a part of it.

The question on my heart right now is this, “What would I do to transform my community if nothing were impossible?” The first thing that comes to mind is PROVIDE. Give the hungry food, give the naked clothes, give the hopeless hope.

Now that that is clear… how do I actually do that. I don’t know the answer to that yet but, I know what I have to do. By the end of this year, 2009, I want to know that I have made an impact. I want to know that the ministry that God has placed me over has impacted one person, one family, one community and ultimately this World we live in.

I don’t know how I am going to do that but I know that as i focus on the impossible task that God has given me, I will move on the possible and allow him to take care of the rest.

The Desert

“This is my prayer in the desert, When all that’s within me feels dry. This is my prayer in my hunger and need, My God is the God who provides.” -Desert Song, Brooke Fraser

     How easy is it for us as Christians to get hurt, tuck our tails and hide under the covers and ask God why? We are so easily wounded when people say mean things to us or we put ourselves out there for something we believe in only to find that others aren’t as passionate as we are. I have found myself in one of those deserts now. I continue to meet challenges that I feel are holding me back from what God has called me to, and it is discouraging. For me, it’s very easy to Hide. I would rather just stay hurt than push through knowing that God has a plan. I forget that my God is the God. I forget that he will provide, i forget that he has a plan and that his plan is perfect. The truth remains however, that he is God, He does have a plan and he does provide.
     The funny thing is I have these moments where God reminds me that he is big and I am small and I forget that the same that applies to me applies to everyone. Our nation finds itself in the desert. The economy has gone down, the housing market is falling, the effects of both have been felt by everyone from builders, to CEO’s, to automakers. We have all found ourselves in this desert  and many have decided to fold. To tuck our tails and run, forgetting that God has a plan and a purpose for all of this, and, that that plan is perfect. Perfectly thought up, perfectly drawn out, perfectly timed, and it will be perfectly carried out by him. 
      So, desert or harvest I chose to remain focused on him, to remain confident in the God that I serve, to continue to strive to be all He has called me to be, to love him and his people to the best of my ability and ultimately to serve him with my entire life. 

“All of my life, in every season You are still God, I have a reason to sing. I have a reason to worship.

Blog Silence

I hate not being able to sleep. It happens to me every now and again. I will be sleeping like a baby for a month or two and then i can’t sleep at all for like a week. Some influential people around me say that that is the best time to pray and ask God what he is trying to show you. I agree with them, but the problem is, how do i get my brain to shut up long enough to listen. I am trying so hard to figure out what God is trying to say but my mind won’t stop racing. I keep thinking about all these “what if,” and “maybe I should,” thoughts and I can’t get them to turn off. Sometimes I feel like as a person involved in ministry that God chooses the times when I am most distracted to try and tell me something. I feel like he wants to teach me how to focus, he wants to show me what is standing in the way. I wish I knew how to handle it but honestly I haven’t figured it out yet. So this idea of getting back into blogging has now provided me with one more significant distraction, so I am going to stop for now and try to focus. Hopefully I will be back with something else soon.

…and then I met this girl…

You know, I’ve heard alot of testimonies. Alot of them start sort of like this, “I was always in church as a kid, doing what my parents asked of me, never got into much trouble. Eventually I got a little older, AND THEN I MET THIS GIRL…” (side note before you get to far in to this, many testimonies also go and then I met this guy as I am aware that guys too can be quite the negative influence.) I wish I had a quarter for everytime someones testimony started like that, I mean it seems like that is everyones story, especially in youth ministry. I hear it from students, parents, leaders, everyone. Now, I know where your mind has wandered to this is only negative, well my testimony goes a little different. It goes, I stayed in trouble, always doing the wrong thing, and then i met this girl. So I’m not sitting here saying we should all quit dating and become monks or nuns depending on whats appropriate for you but I am saying to be careful who that guy or that girl is. I may never claim to be the wisest man but I do know this, 1 Corinthians 15:33 says “Bad company corrupts good character.” I don’t care who you are bad company corrupts good character. I know that many times I went out into “The World” with the noblest of intentions only to come home that night with regrets. I have found that for me it is difficult to hang with the wrong company. Girls, if the guy is high fiving his friends because he just got a few more points, chances are he’s aiming to do the same with you. Guys, unfortunately the girls are doing the same thing. BE CAREFUL. The Bible says to be in the world not of the world and to flee from sexual immorality, not just avoid it, but to literally run away screaming like an idiot to some other remote corner of the universe. So lets change the stories, lets go with and then I met this guy, his name was Jesus, and my life never took another turn.

Wise men seek wisdom

So I have to speak this weekend on the pursuit of Wisdom. To me this seemed like it would be a tough task considering I am not in the habbit of accusing myself to be wise. So I decided to look it up in the dictionary. To my surprise I found one of the definitions to be “wisdom, bible wisdom of Solomon.” Ok, I knoew that Solomon was a wise man but wise enough to be part of wisdoms definition? I got curious. I looked at 2 Chronicles 1 and just got blown away with Solomons story. I found myself asking why? Why did he ask God for wisdom, I mean if God says have whatever you want my first thoughts go straight to wealth, influence, and other things that benefit me directly. Even my most noble of requests would have been to be better at ministry so more people would come. But not this guy. Solomon asked only for the wisdom top lead God’s people, and in asking for that God blessed him with wisdom, power, and wealth that no king had ever been given before or would ever be given again. How did he know that what he most needed was wisdom? It’s because wise men seek wisdom. I want to be like this, I want to be wise enough to know that i need to constanly seek wisdom. Hopefully I can be that. I have begun reading books and seeking out people who are better at the things i want to develop. So lets wise up and seek wisdom in our areas of ministry. If we are to be instruments in furthering the kingdom of heaven we must be continually growing closer to him.

Calling

As a staff at Seacoast’s Summerville campus we have started studying a bok called Directionally Challenged. The first chapter of this book is about the calling that God has placed on our lives. Our Campus Pastor has asked me to do a write up on why I think I have a call on my life. Here is what I wrote…

How do I know that there is a call on my life? Well a call is an ongoing prompting of God’s spirit, confirmed through scripture, the faith community, intellect and experience, which communicates: These are your roles in my mission. I believe I have seen all of these confirmations alive in my life. I have always felt a drawing towards student ministries. Every time I go to church and try to get involved I was always sent to student ministries. Usually to be in the band or lead break out groups. One day I was asked to speak at Nitro at the Long Point campus. After that weekend, Ernest, Andrew, and several others told me there was a definite calling on my life. So I had been prompted by the spirit (drawn to students) and confirmed through the faith community. So there I was with this new call on my life and like many called people throughout history, I ran. I wanted other things, but God continued to call. So eventually I like Jonah found myself washed up on the shore of Nineveh, aka Seacoast Church, a place I had been to afraid to go to for quite sometime. I tried to get only somewhat involved. My goal was go in get my heaven card punched and get out. Then things started happening and I found myself wanting more. I was met with some opposition, but what call doesn’t bring hardships. I felt like I could never be in the positon I wanted because I was too young. God quickly answered that through scripture. 1 Timothy 4:12 told me not to let anyone look down on me because of my age but to set an example for those around me. So I began to work hard to do just that. I thought I didn’t have enough education or experience but I was guided to the story of Jesus choosing 12 simple fisherman and tax collectors and using them to change the world. So, finally I was out of excuses and found myself answering the call. I love the places that God has taken me on this journey and pray that he continues to call me every day. He continually places visions of impossible things on my heart and tells me to get ready for the ride. This call is not for everyone but I know it is for me.

So what about you? Whats your call?

Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.
1 Peter 4:10

Passion

I guess its time to start blogging again…

So I just watched a DVD called “All of the Above” by Hillsong United and it got me thinking. As christians we are called to live passionate lives for God. On this DVD I saw thousands of people gathered and crying out of there passion for God’s presence. Now I want to know, how do they do that? How does the staff at Hillsong Church attract thousands of people week in and week out and have them there crying out to God. I think it comes from a passion that they have. You see when fueled fire spreads and thats what is happening there. This movement in Australlia that is spreading throughout the world is a result of passion. The Staff at Hillsong Church puts there passion on display every time they step out on the stage. For them it isn’t about the stuff, the sound, the lights, the video screens. Its about living a life of praise before the living God. You see god doesn’t need big TVs or really loud speakers. He doesn’t need Multi-site campuses with extravagent buildings. He needs our passion. He needs us to put our passion on display, to live a life of worship to the creator of the universe out of the overflow of our hearts. I will admit that as a man I want giant video screens and huge speakers and all the stuff. I want to produce a church service that people want to be at, but not at the expense of passion. If the giant video screen is actually a wall that is causing seperation between those who come and God, then lets take it down. If the band is so loud, so polished, and so great that we can’t hear God whisper to our hearts lets take them off of the stage. If the lights cause us to see God as not so bright lets turn them off. The truth is that when its all said and done, when we as ministry leaders or as people in general stand face to face with the creator of the universe, he won’t be asking how good was the light show. He will be asking, what did you do for me with what i gave you there. This is why we see thousands of people in Africa meeting for church under a tree because there isn’t a building big enough. So this is my challenge, “…let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”