Sometimes I Just Want to Close My Eyes

I was driving down the road the other day to a large department store in Central, and I always pass this one church that tends to have very harsh signs. One sign said, "No Halloween here we love Jesus not Satan!" another said "We won't be watching the superbowl tonight! We're having church!"

Both of these events could have been used to bring people into the church. How about you have a superbowl party watch the game and invite people? Can't you have church while watching the game? Has church really been categorized by preaching from the pulpit and hymn singing only? How said is this?!

At any rate, from time to time I catch things on the sign where I just want to close my eyes. However, as you will see in the photos below there are times when it is obvious that a Church is being mislead and desperately needs to encounter Jesus before they decide to preach His Gospel.



I'm not advocating Calvinism. As a matter of fact, I would never preach five point Calvinist theology. However, I love my brothers and sisters who are Calvinist... because I know that they are first Christian. What I would like to point out is that it is important that when the rubber meets the road we are united as the body of Christ in ministry.

For a good laugh, a scratch on the head, or possibly an immediate rise in blood pressure please scroll down and to read the other side of the sign.
"If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. " Mark 3:25

What do you think?

Future Posts

It's been a while since I really sat down and posted. Within the next few weeks I hope to have a few more topics. Soon to come:

"Passionate for the Christ"
"Called by God"
"Setting an Example: The importance of Integrity"

Questions

I've always been very competitive. It seems like even when I was a child I always wanted to either win the race or steal a base. I always wanted to win, and I never wanted to wait to do it.

People have asked me for advice and I use to try to give them the answers. “Oh, you should do blah blah blah and everything will work out.” Then I find out there is more to the picture and my advice was about as effective as the Clemson offensive line against Virginia Tech. I had to learn to see the whole picture. I had to learn to analyze situations and assess it according to Scripture rather than by my own rational.

I have had to learn to sometimes say, “I’m not sure what the right answer is.” To be honest, sometimes there is no right answer… sometimes there is no answer at all. My dad and I have this saying, “Don’t bother to ask a question that you know there isn’t an answer to.”

Kids always ask great questions:

Q: Why is the world round?

A: God likes tether balls and wanted one of His own.

Q: Why did God make the sky blue?

A: Because He knew one day the Tar Heels would be the same color and He likes them.

Then they ask harder questions:

Q: Why do people get cancer?

Q: Why are there children in Africa with AIDS?

Q: Why don’t they have clean water in Zimbabwe?

These are all questions with an answer. We live in a fallen world. We live in a world that has been corrupted by sin. When sin entered the Garden of Eden things would never be the same again. Since that day the world has experienced violence, famines, natural disasters, and separation from God.

Q: What is the solution?

A: Christ Jesus.

It is only through Christ that the world may be reconciled with its Creator.

The time has come to stop asking why… and start asking… how?

How can I help children with AIDS in Africa?

How can I provide clean water in Zimbabwe?

How can you help?

What will you do?

Why are you waiting?

----------------------------
Here are a few links to provide answers:
http://www.worldvision.org/get_involved.nsf/child/hope_home
http://www.umcsc.org/africa/africainitiative.html

Quality Time with Family

Yes, my parents have a 360. No, I do not have one. Yes they have Halo 3. No, I don't have it. Yes, I am visiting them often.

SYATP

Yesterday, September 26, wasn't about the new release of Halo 3, or about the coldest morning since last winter, it was See You at the Pole. Now I realize that there are some of you that are reading this that were asleep at 7am. However, there were approximately 100 local high school students that rolled out of bed an hour early to stand at their flag pole and pray.

It was good to see the youth gathering together unified as the body of Christ. There were no adults leading the prayer. No youth pastors that were leading the songs. Everything was done by the student body.

It is exciting to see that there are so many youth that are willing to make a sacrifice for God. It might only be an hour of sleep, but it was an hour of warm, cozy sleep. These students went from their warm bed to a cold air and dew soaked grass to pray for their schools as a united student body... as a united part of the body of Christ.

Do not let anyone look down on you because you are young,
but set an example for believers in speech,
in life,
in love,
and in purity.
-1 Timothy 4:12

Water

I'm not sure what it is, but recently I have this desire to go and enjoy a lake, river, or even a small pond.

As I've reflected, I think back to the times when Christ went away to have time alone near the water. In Mark, Jesus teaches by the lake, and is even found sleeping while in a boat. There is something about the peace that comes with being on the water. It's like... you are standing on the edge of adventure.

What is on the other side?

Will I make it to the other side?

What will it be like once I get in the water?

I find myself asking these questions in my day to day living. Where will God lead me in ministry? What does the next semester of ministry hold? What does the next week hold!? I'm not sure, but I know that it won't be a boring journey. As a matter of fact, I know it will be exciting. My prayer is that God will teach me while I am pursuing His vision, that He will guide me, and that I will be successful reaching the other side.

Convicted

It was a night at Sonic with some friends. We'd just left the Junior/Senior banquet and were searching for ice cream. So there we are... a group of about six sitting on the benches outside of Sonic with our floats, tots, and shakes... dressed to kill.

As always, someone drives into the parking lot going way too fast when they scrape the bottom of their car on the speed bump. We all laughed. (1) Because it was funny, and (2) I've done it before. As the car came around the drive through, I noticed that a piece of the weather stripping under the car had been pried loose under the front bumper. As I took a closer look, I noticed that it was actually dragging on the road. I asked a friend, "Do you think I should tell them?" After all, (not that I look down on women drivers) but it was a car full of girls. And, in my experience, most girls aren't car literate (as a matter of fact most guys only act like they are). And, with as loud as I know a group of girls can get... I was wondering if they would even hear the scrapping of the plastic before it came loose and hit another car or got caught in their tire.

As this car of girls is sitting at a red light in Clemson, I am wondering, "Should I run into the intersection to tell these girls (who will probably laugh at me.. or even mace me) that they have a four foot piece of plastic dragging under their car?" Comments began being made by my friends "They'll be fine", "It's no big deal", and I began to reason that they were right. But one comment stood out:

"If God is telling you to tell them, then you better do it. Otherwise, you'll think about it all night because you ignored it."

That's all it took. I ran across the parking lot, signaled them to roll down their window, the light turned green, I only had a moment, but I got it out "You've knocked a piece loose on the bottom of your car!!" They looked at me like I was crazy. After all, I was in the middle of a street, holding up traffic on a Friday night in Clemson, and to top it all off... I'm wearing a suit at the Sonic drive-in.

It doesn't matter how silly I looked or felt. I slept great that night. I knew that even though it was something small, I had done what God expected me to do. I mean, if I had knocked a part loose on my car I would hope that someone would tell me. I only did what I would expect of someone else, but that's what we're suppose to do. There are times when I have ignored that voice that says "Go," and I have wrestled with God for that decision for sleepless, agonizing hours of asking "What if?"

Don't ignore God. When we speak to Him, He listens. Now it's our turn. Listen. Respond.

What I've Done

Watch the video and think about the words.

"Let mercy come and wash away all I've done."

Waiting

The theme of this summer has been very clear to me: waiting. I've been waiting on dates for activities. I've been waiting for Kristie to come back. I've been waiting for payday. I had to wait at the drive through today for nearly 30 minutes. As a matter of fact, I am waiting on a phone call and numerous e-mails right now. It seems that there are a lot of things in life that I have to wait for in order to get the result I desire. And there are times that the result we want never comes. So what is worth waiting for?

I've noticed that many people seem to want things immediately. I've done it today. If I could have found a way to get out of that drive through today I would have done it. The food might have been fast, but the line certainly was not. Was it really worth waiting for? Not really. I mean, I spent more in gas trying to run the air than I did on the value menu.

I did a little experiment earlier this week. I've taken different roads to the church in order to see which route is faster. To be accurate, I made sure to do exactly the spend limit each time. You know what? It really doesn't matter that much. I caught every light green on 123 the other day, and then on the shorter and "faster" route I ended up behind a pickup that did 5-10 under the whole trip. I've found out that sometimes it doesn't matter if your car can do 0-60 faster than road-runner, sometimes you just have to wait. I can't force things to come faster, sometimes I just have to wait.

I'm waiting for so many things. I'm finding out that in order to get good results I have to do two things. One, I have to give it my all. I can't let up, and I have to follow through. Two, I have to wait. Sometimes this means that I'll be inconvienced, but it's the nature of life. In this fast paced life, the good things come with time. There are things that I have waited a long time for, and those things are slowly coming together.

A Craving for Substance

Lately, my taste in music has changed. I have become discontent with the average everyday music. I listen to the radio from time to time (yes the radio still exists… the Ipod hasn’t taken over, yet). Anyway, a good friend of mine and I were talking about how his taste in music is like a drug addiction. He started with the gateway stuff and he has now moved to music that is much harder in the Christian rock genre. Through his addiction I have been pulled in to an ever progressing chain of music that actually contains… substance.

Since listening to the group Emery, I have been caught up by the words of the song “Listening to Freddie Mercury.” Go to their webpage (www.emerymusic.com), and in the top right corner you’ll see the play list scrolling. Roll over it and click the song “Listening to Freddie Mercury.”

(You can go here http://www.plyrics.com/lyrics/emery/listeningtofreddiemercury.html to read the lyrics.)

Anyway, I have been craving more and more from the music I listen to. I’m not satisfied with the God-is-wonderful-I-have-no-problems mentality that contemporary Christian radio stations sometimes try to convey through their play lists. I’m tired of people thinking that the Christian life is easy. It isn’t! It’s hard, it is full of struggles, and it is full of changes. If you’re walk with God has become lax and boring then it’s time for an overhaul. The Christian life is about shifting where the Spirit leads. It is because God is in control that “we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” This doesn’t mean that the Christian life is a life free from troubles, but it does mean that a Christian has something firm to stand on when hard times hit.

“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
-Romans 8:38-39

Through the hard times, God is there. Through the good times, God is there. Through the uncertain and ever changing times, God is there.

God is here.

Experiencing a Life Shift

Part of being in the ministry includes:

“The act of making friends,

building relationships,

saying goodbye,

and making new friends.”

-Jeff Roper

How true these words are! Last night was one of the hardest nights that I have experienced in the past year and a half regarding youth ministry. I’ve taken a position at a church as a full time youth pastor. I’m so excited.

Problem is saying hello to one church means saying goodbye to another. And though the new church has a larger facility and an already larger youth group, it hurts to leave the smaller, younger youth group. I have grown close to the youth and the congregation. I have seen such growth in this young group. I know that they will do well, and that they will do a great work for God in their community without me. I know that they have a heart to follow God, not me. Because of their love for God, they will impact many.

I know that it must have hurt Christ to leave his disciples. I imagine that He grew close to more than just the twelve. Paul talks about Timothy, Silas, and Luke; but he also mentions others that are friends he only gets to visit when he goes to certain cities.

In the same way, I feel like I have made friends, both in the youth group and among the adults at the church, but I also have the assurance that leaving one place and going to another is what God wants for me to do. It has been one of the hardest transitions to make. I have even found myself asking early on if this would be the right move. Through much prayer, and numerous conversations with other mentors of The Faith, I have come to the conclusion that this move is the right thing. More so, through the conviction of the Holy Spirit I feel like it would be wrong for me to decline the current opportunity at this other church.

I know that God is not done with either one of the churches, nor is He done with me. I pray, that not only I but both of the churches, will be obedient to what the Spirit whispers in the years to come. May we all be the light used to show the world the love of Christ Jesus.

In His Grip

Hank