Shift

Goodbye Blogger

2008-03-27T09:23:00.000-07:00

Blogger,

You were my first, but the time has come for me to leave to a better and much easier to use place to blog. Perhaps one day you will change, but until then I'll be with WordPress. Check me out at http://hankbrooks.wordpress.com .

Hank

Wesleyan Invasion

2008-03-14T20:44:00.000-07:00

So there has been a new Wesleyan invasion on my blog links. Make sure you check'm out:

Dustin Wilson - Youth pastor at Welcome Wesleyan Church in Seneca
Jon Brady - Youth pastor of The Core Youth at Smith Chapel Wesleyan Church
Nathan George - Youth pastor at Pickens View Wesleyan Church

Thanks Cody, I snagged all the links through you.

Are you sure?

2008-03-06T13:21:00.000-08:00

I remember my first real experience with Dr. Gibbs. I was sitting in the front row to left side of the room at Spartanburg Methodist. I was in a chair that hardly had an armrest and creaked every time I moved. Obviously these desks had been there since the college was established in 1911. I have to say, they complemented the radiators very well. At any rate, the conversation began:

Gibbs: "Is the Bible inerrant?"

No one answered. I mean it was an awfully deep first question for a morning 9:25 class. For the first time in my college career I raised my home schooled hand in a classroom that contained more than just me.

"Yes," I replied, "I believe it is."

Gibbs: "Do you mind if I press you on that?"

I had no idea what he meant. "Sure," I replied.

For the rest of the class I remember arguing over this issue until Gibbs eventually asked me:

"Are you sure that is what you believe?"

I paused. I realized that I had no answer. I was stumbling over my words. I had never thought of why I believed the things that I believed. Here I was an all-knowing freshmen, and Gibbs is working on defending his doctoral dissertation on Clement of Rome at the University of Wales! I have to admit my first impression of Dr. Gibbs was that he was the kind of professor drank diesel fuel as he ate freshmen like me for breakfast. Luckily, Dr. Gibbs was playing devil's advocate and helped me immensely to go deeper in my journey of faith. Thanks Dr. Gibbs.

I was reminded of this time in my life as I read the opening of the Gospel of Luke.

Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us,
just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning,

(this is the part that hit me)

I too decided to write an orderly account for, most excellent Theophilus,
so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.
Luke 1:3-4

Theophilus (which means "friend of God"), has a special place in Luke's heart. Luke wanted to make sure that among all of the other people writing about the things that took place while Christ was present on Earth that he put out "an orderly account for, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught."

Each Theophilus needs a Luke to help him or her to go deeper in the faith. I pray that each of us will take the time to thank the Lukes that are in our lives, so that we may grow as a close friend of God.

I know that I'm blessed to have so many people like Luke in my life. So many people have helped me, and more importantly people are continuing to help me. I'm also blessed to have so many people in my life that are like Theophilus, friends of God. I'm changing my listing on the right to read "friends of God" instead of just "friends". Make sure that check out the links.

On a side note, I talked to Whit today and I have to admit I'm pretty jealous. She's traveling overseas and has seen some pretty awesome stuff like Corinth, the Pyramids in Egypt, the Parthenon and Pella. Of course I had to ask her what her favorite part about Greece was and here was her answer:

Being where Paul was. I have to say though, as many monuments and statues as there are to see here... parthenon, mars hill, temples... nothing to me beats the views I see. God's work to me is more interesting than man's.

Good answer Whit! G'nite everyone.

Goodbye

2008-03-03T12:07:00.000-08:00

As my close friends know I hate saying goodbye to friends. However, there are times when you just have to say goodbye. There are those times when you know you will see that friend for the last time. It's painful, but you know you will get through it with some time. I am at one of those crossroads now. Rex is leaving. Yes Rex. Some of you might not know him, or perhaps some of you just never took the time to ask his name. I'm sure that you have all seen him, and now he is leaving. And to be quite honest, no one will miss him more than me. However, it'll be good to see him leave. It's his time, and I am at peace with him leaving. So here's to you Rex.... my little RX.The good part is that I am able to replace him and not feel guilty. So, with the money that I will make off of the Mazda I have the opportunity to buy something else with lower payments and better gas mileage! Each car has a clean carfax, is listed by a dealer, has cruise control, is a 4 cylinder engine (unless indicated), and is listed for under $4900 (except one). So here are the prospects thus far:

2001 Ford Escape 2WD, Unlisted Mileage, 5 speed

2001 Mazda Tribute 2WD, Unlisted Mileage, Automatic

2000 Nissan Xterra XE 2WD, 163k miles, Automatic, V6

2003 Chevy Cavalier, 79k miles, 5 Speed

2000 Mazda 626 LX, 83k miles, Automatic

1999 Nissan Altima, 56k miles, Automatic
2000 VW Jetta GL, 120k miles, Automatic

2001 VW Jetta GLS, 119k, Automatic

If you have a warning or a favorite let me know.

The "F" word

2008-02-28T12:30:00.000-08:00

That's right... the flu. According to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control (DHEC) the flu is now considered widespread in South Carolina. They have also reported that the cases are rapidly increasing. Great news for all those living in SC. I wish someone had told me that the flu would be this bad. Now I'm having to experience it for myself.

I haven't been this sick in a while. It seems to be ok as long as I'm doped up on tylenol, orange juice, and chicken noodle soup. Well, that is until I stand up. Then it's like I've just stepped on a roller coaster that only goes in circles. Kristie has been great. She's been making sure that I'm still among the living and is trying her best to keep me here. She has told me numerous times about the children at the daycare and how they have been sick. The other day she was not feeling well and was running a slight fever (99.5), but overall was feeling ok. One of her kids walked up and asked her if she was dying. She got on his level and asked the little boy to feel her head. After hitting her in the five head like Benny Hen the little boy looked at her and said, "Miss Kwistie, I fink uwr dying." Another little girl walked up and said, "Wet me see." This little girl knew exactly what she was doing. She took her hand and grabbed Kristie by the top of the head with a grip tight enough to lift Kristie off the ground and said, "Miss Kwistie, uwr not diwing." I'm glad to see that Kristie has consulted the experts.

Needless to say that when I asked Kristie to check my four head to see if I was running a fever she replied, "Mr. Hunk, I fink uwr dying."

Pondering a Quote

2008-02-26T11:55:00.001-08:00

"No one has ever been saved by good works, and no one has ever been saved without them."

-John Wesley

The Good, the Bad, and Getting Ugly

2008-02-15T05:35:00.000-08:00

So the BUMC Youth recently went to the Springmaid Spiritual Life Retreat. Overall it went really well. I broke 2 toes, earned a nasty bruise, and was tackled numerous times during football on the beach. The speaker was pretty good. He talked about surrendering your life over to God fully. No strings attached. The food, well it was cafeteria food. The rooms were nice. I slept on the floor. To be honest I liked it that way. One night Sam sat up screaming "Dad! Dad! Dad!" Which was followed up by Sean sitting up and nearly killing Sam. The funny part is that Sam has no recollection of any of this.

We had some beautiful shots of the sunrises as well.

On the bus ride a few of the youth helped to develop a list that they want to send to Xibit for "Pimp my Church Bus." It would be complete with:

Stained glass window tint
Air purification system (and odor neutralizer) <-- my idea

Hardwood floors

12 Xbox 360s

Full reclining seats

A 42" plasma tv mounted on the ceiling

Personal headsets

Ipod touches mounted into the seats

"Bible" holders that would really only be used for laptops

Rims with the Itchus in them

Black paint job

6" Lift Kit (to be closer to heaven)

A sunroof the length of the ceiling

Ten 12" subs (one for each commandment)

Bin for preheated blankets and pillows

Outlets at each seat

The actual list was nearly 3 pages handwritten. They also added a navigation system, a soundproof driving area, and a LCD monitor for backing up all for the driver.

Now for the rant. Yes, I'm going there. Yes, I hope people read it. Yes, there is a letter being sent to the conference office. The speaker we had was good, however, he was not the speaker advertised nor were we told why the scheduled speaker wasn't there. No one at the conference level had a clue what was going on when I called. They played "Crank That" at the dance. I realize my Wesleyan friends are gasping... I did too. Overall, it was very unorganized except for when the youth leaders had control of their groups during breakout sessions and free times. For the most part events were ran by youth. Now, this can work, but I don't remember seeing a youth pastor or for that matter a full time pastor ever taking the stage to direct the services.

All this brings me to this point:

I feel like youth ministry is being used as nothing more than a stepping stone to ordination. This is my holy discontent.

I've seen what great work the Wesleyan Church has done with youth ministry. Just look at Set Apart and the youth camps at Table Rock Wesleyan Camp. There are just over 50 Wesleyan Churches in South Carolina. There are 992 United Methodist Charges in South Carolina, and some of those charges contain two or three churches. Someone please explain to me why the SC Wesleyan Church is doing so much better than the UMCs in the area of youth ministry? I understand that this is not a competition between denominations, but lets look at the numbers. Which denomination values their youth? Which denomination is using their resources wisely? Which denomination seems to think that youth won't catch on that they are catching the short end of the stick?

I understand that from church to church the emphasis may differ, but as a whole we (UMC in SC) are doing a poor job. Salkehatchie is doing great, but it was not a conference idea. It was lay and clergy lead, and evolved to a great ministry. (If you haven't seen the salk video check it out).

To the SC Wesleyan District and the Wesleyan Church as a whole: Thank you for taking youth ministry seriously as a denomination. Please continue to work hard for the glory of God in this area.

To the SC Methodist Conference: Stop playing around. If we expect to see our denomination flourish instead of flounder we need to get in gear and move. If we continue to sit idle we can expect to see a decline in youth and a further decline in membership.

For Lent....

2008-02-07T21:54:00.000-08:00

I've decided not to give up anything. Instead, each day I am going to:

Write in my journal
Pray for the people that I don't quite get along with
Wear a tie at least once a week

I'm looking forward to seeing what happens during Lent this year.

Weddings and Worry

2008-01-30T11:51:00.001-08:00

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
-Philippians 4: 6-7

You know, with the planning of a wedding comes a lot of stress. And I’ll be honest it’s more stress for Kristie than for me. I’m sure that many of you (youth or not) have had deadlines to meet, limited time and limited resources. It seems that the more Kristie and I worry about the wedding the worse things look. However, we have discovered a way to relieve some of the stress. First, we had to give things over to God. We had to come to the realization that no matter what happens or how it looks at the end of our wedding day we will be married, and that’s all that really matters. Second, we had to stop looking at empty checklists and had to start attacking the list piece by piece. Trying to plan the entire wedding at once is impossible, but trying to accomplish a handful of goals each week is much simpler.

In life it’s easy to become overwhelmed. This is partly because we fall into a do-it-yourself way of thinking. We want to be independent. We want things done our own way. In order to we have the abundant life (John 10:10) that Christ offers us we have to get out of the do-it-yourself way of thinking and get into the rely-on-God way of thinking. As Christians, if we are going to make God number one on our list of importance then we have to become dependant on Him in our day to day living and stop worrying about the things in this world that won’t last.

Saints, Sin, and Salvation

2008-01-25T14:00:00.001-08:00

"Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary use words."

-St. Francis of Assisi

Some have said that this piece of advice is useless. That we must use words in order to effectively communicate the Gospel. I beg to differ.

One may say, "I know Christ as my savior," but if that person does not live out their convictions day to day then they fail to effectively communicate the Gospel. Any good liar could convince you that they are a straight "A" student. Their report might say that they are, their teachers might say that they are, their degrees and decorations might say that they are, but if you saw them cheating on an exam... would you say that they are? They may have the letter grade, the title if you will, but they do not have the integrity to say I am a straight "A" student and I deserve to be counted among those that wear honors on graduation.

It is important to communicate the Gospel verbally, but it is even more important to communicate it with our daily walk; letting the Spirit of God led us.

People talk sometimes about how they are afraid to share their faith. They are afraid that they might say the wrong (as Bill Hybels calls it) "Christianese" phrase. They are afraid that their words might cause a person to reject Christ. It seems to me that if more people were worried about their actions rather than the right words to say that Christianity might seem more attractive. It is hard to communicate the Gospel... especially if you have never paid God attention and you have never allowed Him to change your life.

Lets get this straight about this word "repent". I'm about to go crazy hearing alter call after alter call where the preacher says, "Come repent of your sins" and never goes on to explain what the word "repent" means.

When you sin you do it for a reason. Simple enough. You do it to get high. You do it because you like the way sex (outside of marriage) feels, or perhaps you feel obligated to do it. You lie so that you don't get caught, or possibly to hurt someone less than if you told the truth. You get drunk because you like the feeling of not being responsible, or maybe it's because you're addicted. You don't pray because you figure God doesn't listen so why talk. Whatever the sin... there is a reason.

Repentance has two parts.

The first part is confession. When you repent you confess your sin. You open up to God and you sorrowfully confess that you have not been living as God desires for you to live. You give Him your fears, pains, sins and you allow yourself to become vulnerable before a God of forgiveness, grace, and change. It doesn't have to be done at an alter, or for that matter a church. You verbally say, "God I am sorry for ____________ and I don't want that in my life anymore. Take it from me."

The second part is change. Remember how people have reasons for sin? This second part of repentance comes when you change your reason... hold on... when God changes your reason. You don't smoke pot because God drives you to make a moral decision to be more like Christ and less like sin. You stop having sex outside of marriage because you love Jesus Christ your Savior more than the one night stand in your bedroom and you know God has a better plan. You stop your drinking to escape responsibility because the Spirit of God that dwells in you is greater than the spirit of sin, strife, and suffering that causes you to drink. You pray because you know that God is more than just a dreamy figure, and you finally realize that He is a life changer that cares about you.

People have their reasons to sin. But when you repent, you have found a reason to live. A reason that satisfies.

Christian Worldview

2008-01-08T22:13:00.001-08:00

What's your theological worldview?
created with QuizFarm.com

You scored as Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan

You are an evangelical in the Wesleyan tradition. You believe that God's grace enables you to choose to believe in him, even though you yourself are totally depraved. The gift of the Holy Spirit gives you assurance of your salvation, and he also enables you to live the life of obedience to which God has called us. You are influenced heavly by John Wesley and the Methodists.

Evangelical Holiness/Wesleyan

93%

Emergent/Postmodern

64%

Fundamentalist

57%

Reformed Evangelical

57%

Roman Catholic

54%

Charismatic/Pentecostal

50%

Classical Liberal

50%

Neo orthodox

43%

Modern Liberal

21%

A Franciscan Benediction

2008-01-04T11:26:00.000-08:00

I saw this on the cover of my friend Russ' ordination bulletin. I thought that it was quite profound and yet very simple.

A Franciscan Benediction

May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships so that you may live deep within your own heart.

May God bless you with anger at injustice , oppression, and exploitation of people so that you may work for justice, freedom, and peace.

May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, starvation, and war so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain into joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim can't be done.

International Wesleyan Youth Convention

2008-01-03T19:40:00.000-08:00

Impressive, extensive, incredible, moving, LOUD, fun, warm, focused, blessed... in the words of my good friend Chad Young, it was by far the most bestest Int'l Youth Convention you'll ever go to in your life... until next year.

So my fiance Kristie, Amanda, and I traveled down to Orlando to work at the youth convention between the Christmas and New Year holidays. I have to say, it was the best in between holidays week that I have experienced. First of all, it took us 11 hours to get to Orlando. This is because I decided to pick up I-20E in Columbia rather than following I-26 all the way to I-95. Why did I decide to tack on another hour of travel you ask? Because I did not follow my directions? Guilty as charged. At least I had good company. I was wondering why it took 6 hours to get out of South Carolina. For a moment I thought the state had annexed part of Georgia or something!

When we finally arrived that night this is what we pulled up to:

Here is a daytime picture:

Pretty awesome eh? And to those of you at BUMC reading this... Kristie and I stayed in separate rooms, and more importantly the Wesleyan Church picked up our tab... not you... so don't fret over the $475/night or the 9 Escalades parked out front.

The best part is that the convention was the worse part. Honestly, the convention itself was great! Over 7,000 youth gathered together from as far as New Zealand to join together under the common bond of Jesus Christ. It was wonderful to hear the voices of those youth singing praises in worship and to see their hands lifted up as lights ricocheted off of the crowd.

There were numerous bands and speakers. Kutless, Fireflight, Everyday Sunday, and Family Force 5 just to name a few. The worship leader was Steve Fee.

The final day was amazing! Kevin Myers spoke about "getting over it". How sometimes in life we just have to get over things. That sometimes there are things we have to do that we would not care to do. In the book of 1 Samuel, David isn't taken seriously at first. First when Samuel comes to anoint a new king, Jesse doesn't even recognize David as a candidate to become king. Then after the anointing, Jesse sends David to the front lines of the battle against the Philistines. However, Jesse sends David out with bread and cheese to take to his brothers and their commander. Jesse is a lowly pizza delivery boy. But because David got over his pride it showed that he was worthy to one day become king, and to face Goliath.

The music was incredible the last day. Both the worship music by Fee and the concert by Family Force 5 went great. It's a good thing too, because I blew a fuse in the Mazda that took out my radio. the road trip home seemed longer than usual with no radio. A special thanks to Fee and FF5 for getting a few songs stuck in my head... they helped on the trip home.

Two good increases in friendships took place. With Kristie sleeping like a rock in the passenger's seat it was just me and Amanda awake for the ride back to South Kakalaki. Luckily, Amanda did a wonderful job of keeping me awake by engaging me in conversation clear from St. Augustine to Charleston. Another surprise was with my roommate for the week, Kevin. I have to say that I knew Kevin and I would either do great together or we would both kill each other. I am pleased to say that all went well. To be honest, I couldn't have picked a better roommate.

All in all, the convention was not the only place that God reached out to me. He reached out to me in the hotel, in the car, at worship, at the convert, in break out sessions, and in the quiet times of that ride home.

I think that one of the best things about the conference was that among 7,000+ Wesleyans I was treated as a brother. No one looked at me as if I was from another denomination. I was treated as a fellow brother in Christ. This convention was about Christ, not denominational lines. I'm glad to see that the youth understand the big picture. I pray that adults, of all denominations, will see the same picture. 7,000+ Christians gathered in Orlando last week seeking after Christ. That is amazing. I have no doubt that 2008 will be as impressive as those 7,000 teens.

Sometimes I Just Want to Close My Eyes

2007-12-06T11:13:00.000-08:00

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

2007-11-08T11:12:00.000-08:00

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

2007-10-26T05:16:00.000-07:00

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

2007-10-01T08:53:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-27T12:21:00.000-07:00

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

2007-09-10T17:50:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-30T10:45:00.000-07:00

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

2007-08-10T08:19:00.000-07:00

Watch the video and think about the words.

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

Waiting

2007-08-08T11:36:00.000-07:00

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

2007-05-11T10:00:00.000-07:00

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

2007-04-30T22:07:00.000-07:00

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