i took a one-week class in january about ministering to families with teens, and the majority of the research we discussed makes it clear that there is a problem.

the problems we often assume with teens and religion, however, were debunked by the data we reviewed. it would seem that we typically think large numbers of teens are drawn to "foreign" religions or even atheism/agnosticism, but, according to the numbers, this is pretty rare. the overwhelming trend is that students claim beliefs that are in line with their parents. practice and fervor aside, ideals seem almost hereditary. an interesting side note to this trend is that teens, for the most part, don't believe their parents have that much influence over their ideology. teens like to claim individualism in thought, but conversely, largely all held true to their parents' beliefs.

this may not be news to you, but it seems to fly in the face of popular opinion. another debunked idea was that teens don't want anything to do with adults, specifically their parents. research actually showed that teens desire more interaction with their parents and trusted adults.

when looking at ministry to teens and teens who have walked away from the church, it is often speculated that their is a huge turning point or event that "burns" the student and turns them off to church. this was the minority reason for teens leaving the church. the most common reason was basically a lack of a reason... not a beef with the church.

another eye opener was the fact that MOST self-proclaimed "religious" teens who were active in churches could not articulate their faith and most didn't hold strongly to crucial tenets of the faith (salvation in Christ alone, reality of hell, etc.). personal spiritual disciplines were also lacking. some of the skew here is because of the vague label "religious," but the numbers were representative of many churched students.

this is a reader's digest version of everything we looked at and talked about, but it led to some great discussions on the role of families in shaping their teens' faith walks and how churches should go about ministering to teens.

i know the old adage kept coming to my mind when considering student ministry: "what you win them with is what you win them to." i couldn't help but think that if students couldn't give a specific reason for leaving the church, it's because they weren't given a specific reason for staying in the church.

if a church/ministry ONLY meets teens' (or any age group's) emotional or social needs, the dependence on church goes away when the emotional/social needs change.

i think this is one of the main reasons we see such a huge drop-off from high school church attenders to college church attenders. people are able to fulfill those emotional/social needs outside of church and no longer see a need to go. OR they continue to look for adult ministries that will entertain them like when they were younger and can't find them, so they leave.

(another big factor is genuine conversion, but that is a topic that demands more time/space than i am committing to in this post!)

what we need (and i think we're seeing in many cases) are churches that will convey the importance of doctrine and gospel life-change to people of all ages. that way, believers will see and cultivate a need for community life with a local church body. this need travels with you across geographical distances and withstands the natural maturation process from child to senior citizen.

this need in believers coupled with churches that foster that need will keep people plugged in (by the power of the Holy Spirit, of course!).

there is also MUCH to be considered from the parenting/family aspect of all of this, but i'm much less experienced in that area and have not given it as much thought.

i'd love to hear from any current/former "church teens" or parents of churched teens on this subject.



(most of the discussion was based on research conducted by the National Study of Youth and Religion.)

further along, but not there yet.

can't help but think of the gospel in relation to mlk's dream. complete and final reconciliation will only come through christ...

revelation 21:1-5

1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth ; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, 4 and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes ; and there will no longer be any death ; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain ; the first things have passed away." 5 And He who sits on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new."

the church should be leading the way in achieving mlk's dream...

merry christmas! (this post might be a little scatter-brained, but cut me slack. it is christmas, after all...)

something that hit me the other day when contemplating the christmas account in luke 2, was the reaction to Jesus' birth.

luke 2:8 In the same region there were some shepherds staying out in the fields and keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terribly frightened. 10 But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid ; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people ; 11 for today in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 "This will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." 13 And suddenly there appeared with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, 14 "Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased." 15 When the angels had gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds began saying to one another, "Let us go straight to Bethlehem then, and see this thing that has happened which the Lord has made known to us." 16 So they came in a hurry and found their way to Mary and Joseph, and the baby as He lay in the manger. 17 When they had seen this, they made known the statement which had been told them about this Child. 18 And all who heard it wondered at the things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 But Mary treasured all these things, pondering them in her heart. 20 The shepherds went back, glorifying and praising God for all that they had heard and seen, just as had been told them.

celebration and worship! this might seem like an obvious reaction to jesus' birth, but you have to realize that we look at it backwards through history. we see the ascension, resurrection, cross, miracles, ministry, etc. and most likely celebrate Jesus' birth in light of what He went on to do.

the angels and the shepherds and mary and joseph did not worship and celebrate in light of Christ's finished work. they worshiped in anticipation of it. they celebrated God's faithfulness in the incarnation, but we have the finished resume to prompt us.

i wondered how much of our worship is based on what God has already done, while those in the christmas account are worshiping mostly for what God will do.

have we reduced christmas to simply another day honoring a man who did noble things like presidents day or mlk day? these are holidays instituted, after the fact, in light of what men did . "christmas" was instituted in light of what a man would go on to do.

yes, He went on to do AMAZING things that should be worshiped and celebrated. but the wonder of God's faithfulness coming to fruition sparked the praise at Jesus' birth with anticipation of fulfillment, not completion of it.

i have to confess, i don't think i worship or celebrate with anticipation as much as i do in retrospect for work accomplished. while the Bible often speaks of future truth as if already accomplished, i think many believers (myself included) suffer from a "wait and see" mentality. we believe in the second coming, but because it's "not yet" our worship is slightly muted.

however, the believers in luke 2, i think, believe in the salvation that baby Jesus would grow up to secure.

no sermon on the mount. no miracles. no cross. no empty tomb. just a swaddled infant, but a promise unfolding! and worship and exultation!

because, in one sense, He didn't have to come to earth as a man. but He did if men were to be saved...

Galatians 4:4 But when the fullness of the time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the Law, 5 so that He might redeem those who were under the Law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.

Hebrews 2:17 Therefore, He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people.

we obviously don't have the opportunity to celebrate christmas with the same mentality as it was celebrated in luke 2, but we can learn a thing or two about hope and anticipation in God's faithfulness. and we can certainly keep celebrating christmas in light of what was accomplished! just don't forget to worship God for what has yet to unfold!

Hebrews 10:23 "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful;"

as of a week ago, i have completed 56 hours of my master's degree with southwestern baptist theological seminary.

that's actually a little over halfway, but before this semester i was just under halfway. it seems like it was a long time ago that i took my first class (new testament II with dr. woo) in the spring of 2009. and it feels like it will be a long time before i finish, but i know i've come a good ways.

i've seen a couple of friends graduate already and more (including my amazing fiancée) will graduate before me in the next year. i know i shouldn't get distracted by what others are doing, but they are natural reminders of my future (distant) graduation.

i'm VERY grateful for those who have supported my education, as it would have been impossible without them. i'm also grateful for the new friends i've made and the godly professors that have invested in me over the last few years. and i'm grateful for a church that allows me to pursue further education as another aspect of my call to ministry.

i know i haven't worked my hardest at all times and i know, at times, that in balancing work/ministry, school and the rest of life that i've deprived some aspect in favor of another. still, i hope and pray that kingdom work has increased along the way. i know that i've grown and been blessed and will keep trying to figure out the balancing of those commitments as life goes on.

in the meantime, i'll try not to focus on the distance between now and graduation! one. semester. at. a. time.

i know it's been out for a little while, now. but i'm glad they came out with a sequel. no sophomore slump, here, either!





here's the original:

A: a shepherd boy and horseshoes.

Q: name two things that can prove the sovereignty of God.


just wanted to share a few thoughts on God's sovereignty. some cool reminders have popped up recently, so i thought i'd write them down.

the first reminder that caught my attention was an aside of sorts spoken by matt chandler at a conference in maine last month. it caught my attention because it was a fresh take on a passage i have heard quoted NUMEROUS times in my life. i know that a healthy caution should be employed when anyone has a "fresh take" on scripture, but i see much truth and insight in what matt said. he referred to the story of esther, specifically mordecai's famous "such a time as this" line in esther 4:14. instead of taking the oft-used angle of "if you don't do this, it won't happen" or "if not you, who? if not now, when?" as a means of motivating people to action, matt talked about how God's sovereign plans will be executed because they are up to Him, not us. mordecai even emphasized this thinking in the same verse ("relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place").

it was an invitation for esther to, as matt says, "come and play." how humbling and encouraging that we get to take part in what God has planned! yes, we should be motivated to action by this thinking, but the emphasis is on God controlling the results, not us.

a much less significant reminder of God's sovereignty, that i "have" to mention because i put it in the title, occurred at our annual cys fall retreat. we were playing horseshoes and when i would toss a shoe that seemed like it was going to hug the stinking pole, it would crazily bounce off of the ground at some ridiculous angle and land several feet away. i needed my uncle phil's magic touch, apparently. anyway, it was laughable and made me comment, "if you don't believe in the sovereignty of God, play horseshoes."

fast forward to a couple of weeks ago. we are going through 1 samuel on sunday mornings and the account of david's anointing came up. i was reading in the preaching the word commentary series (which i have found a great teaching resource, btw) and came across another "fresh perspective" on a familiar passage.

this perspective is a bolder statement and, remember, i am not a hebrew scholar (or any kind of scholar, for that matter). the commentary on 1 samuel 16:7 mentioned that the phrase "the Lord looks at the heart" could better be translated "the Lord sees according to the heart," meaning God sees with His heart, not His eyes.

this translation would then also affect the meaning of "a man after His own heart" in 1 samuel 13:14. rather than taking this to mean that david has a heart like God's, it means that God has set His heart on david. to support this perspective, in 2 samuel 7:21, david prays that God has "according to [His] own heart" accomplished great things. apparently, the phrase "according to your own heart" is the same expression that is used in 1 samuel 13:14.

mind you, this was all presented in a commentary, i didn't come up with it!

it struck me as greatly encouraging, though! david being chosen for God's purposes was based on david's place in God's heart more so than God's place in david's heart! how much more secure and unwavering and faithful is God's heart than man's!

the Lord invited esther and david to "come and play," and He invites us, as well! and, praise God, the results of His purposes rest confidently on His will and ability, not ours!

we waver. we retreat. we balk. God doesn't.

i'm not a betting man, but considering God's will and mine, i'd go "all in" on the Almighty.

take heart, believers. God's purposes and plans for you are set in His heart!

it may be a bit of a leap. but this:






reminds me of this:

i obviously haven't spent the last month blogging... but i still refuse to throw in the towel on this thing.

much has been happening in "my" world (school, church/ministry, etc.) but the most noteworthy is that i got engaged!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

my now fiancée, danielle, has been jokingly busting my chops for some time about never dedicating an entire blog post to her. so, in more than one way, this post has been a long time coming!

i can't believe, after so many years of singleness, i'm going to get married! and to someone so amazing, at that. danielle is beautiful, inside and out. she's funny, smart and passionate about life and the Gospel. she loves Christ and ministry and is a great student and teacher of God's Word. her smile lights up a room and her laugh lights up my heart. i could, and probably should keep going, but i'll save more praises for a later time.

danielle and i have been dating for almost a year now and have been friends for a few more than that. this may come across as crazy, but when i decided to date her, i decided to marry her (if she and her parents would have me!). this decision was reached after coming through some less than ideal circumstances and poor decisions on my part. some of those decisions deeply hurt danielle and others and, while i can't change the past that i am still sorry for, i am extremely grateful for the grace and forgiveness i've been shown.

fast forward to the past couple of months: danielle and i had been discussing marriage and what kind of timeline might be unfolding before us, so because we are rarely in the same town, i knew when she would probably be expecting a proposal.

i also know she likes surprises, so i was left with the task of figuring out how to surprise her while we're in the same town... which naturally led me to a plan that would put us in the same town when she wasn't expecting to be.

so, i arranged to go up to dallas and propose the night before she was supposed to come to houston for her fall break. a lot of things had to fall together for this to happen, namely, obtaining the ring! i won't go into details about that, but i didn't have the ring in hand until TWO days before i flew to dallas to propose...

so, i had made arrangements with my friend to pick me up from the airport while she was in class/at work. the morning of, i find out my flight is canceled! yep, of ALL the HOURLY flights from houston to dallas, mine was the only one that got canceled! and they only offered me two alternative flights, one of which wouldn't work. so, stress level got turned up a few notches. this new flight wouldn't allow my friend to pick me up and i didn't know if her roommates (i had them on back-up notice) would be available either. PLUS, if danielle got the crazy idea of skipping her thursday night class (which she never does) and coming home early, she potentially wouldn't be in town when i got there! because i started to worry about this scenario earlier in the week, i had her roommates come up with an outing that danielle could look forward to after her class and would stay in town for.

ok, so the flight worked out fine and the plan was underway. danielle was scheduled to be in class until 7:45 p.m. at which point i would be waiting for her at the bottom of the hill she usually walks down. i knew the jig would be up as soon as she saw me, so i didn't plan some extravagant scavenger hunt or drawn out process. i just didn't want the element of surprise to be lost (even though it almost was).* instead i would just walk her over to a nearby pond and propose there. her roommates were LIFE SAVERS in that they made "the spot" look AMAZING. see for yourself:



anyway, i'm waiting at the hill she's supposed to come walking down and she keeps not coming! eventually her roommates, who have been guarding the spot, call me and say she had to go to the computer lab for class and would be coming a different way. "no problem," i thought. "except it's not as visually stunning as me waiting at the bottom of a hill." probably better this way, though, so danielle wouldn't risk falling down the stairs trying to get to me. (i don't say this like i'm so desirable she'd recklessly charge at me, but because she has admitted to me that she has fallen up and down the steps of this hill before, ha!)

so i head over to her town home and wait for her there. moments later she comes walking up. awkwardly, there is a really bright light behind her, so i'm not sure it's her until she's pretty close. because of this, i was standing there trying to look happy if it was her but not creepy if it wasn't! she's less than comfortable because she's in high heeled boots (i think that's what they're called) that she got dolled up in for her girls' night out and just walked the entire campus, basically.

she takes a moment to drop off her stuff (and change her shoes) and then comes back out. when we started dating last fall, i got really intentional about pursuing her after being close friends for a long time. danielle asked me back then what made me decide to do so and i told her that maybe i'd tell her someday.

so that's how i started the conversation as we walked over to "the spot." i said "you asked me how i came to that decision, and tonight i want to tell you." i also played make you feel my love by adele on my handy dandy smart phone. i knew she loved this song and thought it would crank up the romance of the moment, heh.

so we're walking and i'm going through my "planned-but-not-scripted" proposal. we arrive at "the spot" but i start to get in my head about it (shocker to you that know me, i'm sure!) because the music is still playing. i'm thinking, "i can't stop talking before the song ends and i can't let the song end while i still have a ton to say!" so, some of the filler may not have been my most heartfelt sentiments, but alas!

the main idea i wanted to express to her was how i knew i wanted to marry her. they say, "when you know, you know." but to me that only made sense when i chose to commit. it was more like, "when you commit, you know." or "when you know, you commit." because i had such a peace and strong desire to commit to danielle, i knew. and i wanted her to know how i felt about committing to her, hopefully leaving no doubt in her mind about where i stood on spending forever with her.

so when the song eventually ended, i made it official by getting on a knee, presenting the ring and asking danielle if she'd marry me.

she said, "yes." in case you were wondering!



we then headed over to celebrate with her roomies, briefly, before heading to dinner at hattie's. we both made some crucial phone calls on the way, to let some folks know (i had to send a group text because my phone was dying.) then, the next day, i had surprise number two set up! danielle's bestest of best friends, marie, came down from oklahoma to celebrate with her! i knew this was a huge event that they'd want to celebrate and another surprise i could give danielle, so i'm glad it worked out! another friend was supposed to join us, but had to be somewhere else for a family emergency.

that night we all went to the state fair and had some engagement pictures taken by the great megan fortner.

saturday, we finally headed home to houston where we could celebrate with family! i definitely rearranged danielle's plans for fall break, but i don't think she minded too much.


*most of my wow factor was tied up in the element of surprise, so i was pretty nervous about preserving it. danielle and i usually exchange emails from work, but i knew on the day of the proposal i'd have to email her from my phone. only thing is, my phone emails don't have the same signature as my office computer emails. i didn't want this to look fishy that day, SO i started emailing danielle from my phone on monday of that week. BUT danielle didn't notice it early in the week and only noticed on the day of!!! she was already looking for the proposal, i guess, and her senses were heightened! apparently, she thought maybe i was coming into town to surprise her and kept going back and forth about it. it wasn't until her roommate texted her right before the proposal with "I'M HUUUNNNGGRRYYYY!!!!" that danielle was finally convinced i wasn't coming to dallas to propose! that's how dangerously the surprise hung in the balance and that's how easily the crisis was averted. my days of forethought were futile, ha!

this post and subsequent discussion reminded me of this:

i definitely think they should reenact this scene in the new movie.

i'm not talking about archie and edith, but there are a lot of us acting like meat heads.

i know i don't post often enough and i really don't know why i'm not compelled to write more often. i do know that one of the reasons that i'm ok with not having a super popular and highly commented on blog is the "discussions" that seem to arise.

maybe i'm too squeamish, but when i see tremendous brouhahas erupt like the current soul surfer back-and-forth happening at the thinklings, i get a bad taste in my mouth for blog "conversations." i'm not necessarily trying to argue for or against the merit of blogs and subsequent comment discussions (i do blog, obviously... occasionally) but the tone and fervor of some of the disagreements disheartens me.

assumed Christian brothers and sisters up at arms and going off half-cocked by not reading the entire thread or by honing in on one little phrase here or there (often out of context). it smacks of division and barriers and walls.

again, maybe i'm too sensitive and it's all just good healthy discussion, but it doesn't always feel like it. it feels like us versus them. i know i'm not the first person to think these thoughts, and there are much smarter and stronger people than i who have committed to writing and discussing via this medium. and they obviously have little to no problem with its nuances and consequences. but i'm still a little gun shy about it.

i've been burdened recently with the convenience of "clique-ation" that can be found in modern american churches. we have options to worship where we like and, even within those walls, with only those Christians we want to be around. let us not forget, believers, we are all one body and one family in Christ. when we build walls and avoid our fellow brothers and sisters due to any difference of opinion or preference, we make it easier to lose sight of the unity we are supposed to foster.

i see a lot of Christian blog conversations lining up with that multi-camp mentality. is there a way to disagree heartily and maintain unity? over some things, yes. i, personally, am not very good at it. but it doesn't look like i'm the only one.

peter writes that we are to "fervently" (strenuously) love one another and we are to be "hospitable" (loving towards strangers) (1 Peter 4:8-9). new testament believers didn't have the luxuries that we do to pick and choose which worship center had the most comfy chairs or which young marrieds shared their affinity for coldplay. their unity was in Christ and by the Holy Spirit. and peter acknowledges that it takes effort to cultivate the unity we're supposed to portray. is it wrong to gravitate towards like-minded believers? no. but it is wrong to lose sight of all the other believers around us. and it is definitely wrong to set them in our minds as adversaries. remember that by our love for one another (Christians loving Christians), the world will know that we are Christ's disciples (John 13:35).

i'm just hoping more believers will consider what the world knows them for, even if only based on our interactions with fellow Christians.

and if i might suggest, pick your battles. and continue discussions and disagreements with grace, patience and love. (reading more thoroughly doesn't hurt, either!)

a couple of sundays ago, our pastor preached from a passage in haggai which contained this verse:

'But now take courage, Zerubbabel,' declares the LORD, 'take courage also, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all you people of the land take courage,' declares the LORD, 'and work; for I am with you,' declares the LORD of hosts.' Haggai 2:4


what struck me the most was "and work; for I am with you." the passage in context is an exhortation to the discouraged builders trying to bring the temple back to its former days of glory. what they're working on doesn't compare to the past, but God promises a better future. and during their doubt and discouragement, God tells them to keep working and promises His presence.

this reminded me of the great commission in matthew 28:

"Go therefore and make disciples...and lo, I am with you always" Matthew 28:19-20


which also got me thinking about God speaking to moses in exodus 4:

"You are to speak to [Aaron] and put the words in his mouth; and I, even I, will be with your mouth and his mouth, and I will teach you what you are to do." Exodus 4:15


in these passages, God/Christ tasks his people with a great mission and the trump card He equips them with to leave them without excuse is His own presence. every excuse we can come up with is a weakness in ourselves or someone else or the perceived strength of our opposition. God eliminates these "obstacles" by reminding us that He is with us. and if we're walking in obedience to Him, we'll remember that there is no greater power than that.

remember that, brothers and sisters. take heart, be strong and continue the work He has called you to. because our God is "with us!" not simply "for us."


"These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world." John 16:33

for anyone anticipating something of real value, i apologize! but i often sing the chorus to this song (because i know a lot of daves) and no one ever knows what i'm referencing! i finally found it the other day, so you can all be "enlightened!"

i've been trying to remember the last time i did NOT go to summer camp with my church. i know i've been every summer since my senior year of high school (1997) and probably more since moving to houston in 1991. (IF i've been to camp every summer since '92 (my first full summer in houston when i won the JAM Camp Ping Pong Tournament), this will by my 20th year of camp with HNW!) i'm big on streaks, so i like to think on such things.

pretty sure i don't hold the world record, but i feel like that's a lot of years of camp with the same church. i've seen several campsites, hung many lights, prepared many playlists, reffed all kinds of goofy games, competed in some epic volleyball tournaments, seen more rules videos than anyone should and applied more sunscreen than some life guards!

year after year, students load up on buses with varying motives and expectations of the next few days. some just getting away to have fun, some hoping to learn and grow, some being forced by their parents, some seeking encouragement because their parents couldn't care less...

various themes and team names keep cheers like "s-u-s-h-i! we'll throw wasabi in your eye!" and "chic-ohhhh, chic-o stick!" and "the fainting goats will faint on you" and "fuzzzzzzzy, wuzzzzzzzzy" and "JAWAS!" ringing in my head...

i've seen "steal the bacon" turn mild mannered students into recreation gladiators. (i've also seen "steal the bacon" send students to the nurse.)

i've been blessed to serve with countless lay leaders who valued ministering to students so much that they'd take a week of vacation, some apart from their families, to lose sleep and sweat it out while teaching, encouraging, correcting and loving on others.

i've been encouraged and challenged by numerous speakers, worship leaders and a handful of student pastors. i've worked alongside more interns than i want to try to count right now!

no matter who i served with, where we traveled to, how many/few students attended or what the theme was, EVERY year has had good times and God times. so thankful for the opportunities God has blessed me with!

(i realize these things are true for any long time youth worker or student pastor, but this is my blog and my mom told me the other day that i needed to post something, ha.)

God has recently been impressing upon me that Christian community is so much more than Christians being together and having good, clean Christian fun (in the name of Jesus, of course.) that's definitely part of it, and it's a part that i think believers have just about perfected.

BUT Christian community has to be something that non-Christians can't do. not so believers can take pride in the exclusivity of it, but because they are to grow "into the fullness of Christ" and "spur one another on to good works." our unity comes from the Holy Spirit, not just from our similar interests.

if the extent of my Christian fellowship can be fully experienced by a non-Christian, it isn't the fulfillment of Christian fellowship. we have to be intentional about this. getting lazy in this arena is what leads to cliques within the church, Christian bubbles that lose perspective on the lost world around them and stagnate Christians who think they're participating fully in community/fellowship but are really just staying out of trouble.

a true biblical perspective on fellowship and community won't allow us to think we can only hang out with people just like us. a passion for Christ and His Church is evidenced by a willingness to get to know people that aren't in our demographic, people who don't DVR the same shows as us, people who are too old to know what DVR is, people who aren't yet married, people who are formerly married, people whose family tree isn't rooted in north america, people that we wouldn't have eaten lunch with in high school, etc.

if we allow consumerism to drive our fellowship, we only perpetuate the idea that church is about us and what we can get out of it, taking what we like and avoiding what we don't. i'm pretty sure heaven isn't segregated.

that's not to say that Bible studies and groups formed around affinities and demographics have no place in the church. but if you allow yourself to develop the attitude that you don't need/want to be around people who are not like you... red flag!

i've said it before and i'll say it again: the Holy Spirit can't not get along with Himself. if you refuse to pursue diversity in the church, you're not walking by the Spirit.

as usual, i don't speak as someone who has mastered this, but i recognize the need for it in my life. and church, i hope you do, too.

doesn't quite carry the same vibe as "school's out for summer," but i have a mini-mester next week. regardless, my spring 2011 semester is officially over. there's always a nice sense of relief when the last final is submitted. good, bad or ugly, it's out of my hands now.

even with the relief of another semester being in the books, it isn't very encouraging to think about how many more semesters i have until graduation.

what WAS encouraging about this semester was getting to know my professors better. my good friend, james, and i continued to take most of the same classes and spent most mondays eating lunch with different profs. this semester really differed from the usual "just come to class, then go home" semesters of the past. i also got to know more classmates, which is another blessing from the experience.

so, unless something crazy happened that i'm not aware of, i have completed 41 hours in five semesters. i've signed up to take six more this summer and will most likely take 9-10 in the fall. your prayers are appreciated!

was just listening to the incomparable keith green while working on a paper and this song came on:

it always takes me back and rekindles fond memories... so grateful for the heritage of faith in my family.

so, i had the opportunity to preach in my church's second service this past sunday (if interested, message audio can be found here). thanks to all who prayed for me, offered kind words, etc. i really appreciate it.

at the beginning i mention being "wrecked" by the song that preceded the message. i had almost lost it singing this song in the early service and was overcome during the second go-round. the aspect of "victory won" (PAST TENSE) was a big part of what i was about to speak on and i just couldn't help it. and then i had to get up and speak. ha

anyway, here's the song:




hope it blesses you as it did me.

i recently returned from a mission trip to honduras. it was a great week and i was blessed, as always, to be a part of God's kingdom work.

i enjoy ministry in general so i knew i would enjoy the trip. when it comes to missions i'm open to hardships, discomfort, etc. going in, though i've never experienced REAL persecution or suffering, so my "openness" hasn't really been tested. regardless, i try to keep the right perspective and remember why i'm there and what i signed up for.

our trip was multifaceted. we had a couple of pastors teaching a Bible institute where pastors were being trained, a handful of women holding a women's conference, a couple doing a marriage/parenting conference and a big group doing general street/park evangelism. i was on the general evangelism team (and got to preach in a few churches!). we got to minister in the local park, a couple of schools, the mall, a colonia (lower class neighborhood) and in local churches. it was really cool seeing people work in their areas of giftedness (teaching children, singing, playing guitar, serving, etc.) across cultural lines. and it was cool seeing people step up into areas that weren't as comfortable for them (public speaking, FTW!).

there were two main things that stand out to me the most from this trip. the first thing that i was impacted by was seeing first-time mission trippers fall in love with ministry/missions. there was a pair of teenage siblings with us on their first trip and while it was definitely a learning/growing/stretching process for them, they both were fired up to go on another trip by the end of the week.

the second thing that stood out to me was the need to continue ministry in places like honduras, even though they are "reached" nations. i had an inner tension with me on this trip because of a conversation i had with a good friend (and missionary) several months ago. when i told him we were going to honduras he basically said, "everyone goes to honduras. why don't you come serve where i am? it's staunchly muslim and really lacking for missionaries."

his comments really stuck with me. he's right in many senses. we saw several missions groups at the airport, on the plane and even in the town we were serving in! honduras is well reached in comparison to many places in the world. i found myself wondering if our work was really that impacting.

here's why i believe it was: because honduras is well reached, not only has the gospel been proclaimed widely there, but FALSE gospels have been proclaimed widely there. we saw mormon churches and seventh day adventist churches, etc. so i believe it's still crucial to proclaim the true gospel in honduras. and i think the pastor training our team did is invaluable so that they can make disciples with a clearer understanding of biblical truth.

i know my missionary friend doesn't think we should ever stop preaching anywhere, so this IS NOT A COUNTERPOINT TO HIS STATEMENTS. but his thoughts stuck with me and i wrestled with them. and i think we do need to send more missionaries to under-reached muslim countries. but it's ok to keep sending them to honduras, too!

our church has taken the month of march to discuss stewardship, based on randy alcorn's book. all of the sunday morning classes are studying the same principles and the sunday sermons are on texts that point to different stewardship principles, as well.

part of this emphasis included a challenge from our pastor to illustrate the parable of the talents.

i'd really appreciate it if you'd take a few minutes to check out the college and young singles ministry's treasure principle site. and if you give, you can even register for the chance to win a prize!

thanks!

fyi, this post was sort of inspired by this post. so you may want to read it before moving on, but you don't have to.

just hear me out. i'm not hating on bieber in the sense of "i hate his music and teeny-bopper culture." i don't have strong issues with those who are fans of his, really, either. what i don't like (and i'm not calling shrode out on this, i'm just reminded of it by his post) is people trying to tout bieber as a good Christian influence amidst a sin-filled environment. (from what i read, shrode was hopeful that bieber could stand for something other than the world and that bieber came from a faithful family that he was rooting for to direct justin in the right direction.)

this has probably been addressed at stuff Christians like, but i know that Christians like to root for famous/successful Christians. heck, i praised tony dungy and kurt warner on this very blog for the confusing contentment they've demonstrated in their post-nfl lives.

on a minor level, the danger here is promoting a celebrity as Christian in such a way that they become models in the faith when they shouldn't be. on a an extreme level, the danger is following a "Christian" celebrity so that we can label our idol worship as something much more tame, like "support."

back to what spurred this line of thinking... in the thinklings post referenced above, bieber's faith-walk was wondered about and certain evidences were given in hopes that he might be a believer who is working hard at keeping his nose clean and sending out good clean, positive vibes. (i really hope i'm not misstating or misquoting anyone.)

in the comments, someone mentioned that bieber's rolling stone cover was already a sign that he was headed for or already on a slippery slope. i went looking for said photo because i had seen things of bieber on SNL that already concerned me. i really didn't think he was a Christian role model, anyway, based on the fact that he's a secular artist. shamefully, it's the cynic in me that doubts a believer who is serious about their faith can really be wildly successful in the entertainment industry.* to me, you have to sell out to some extent to be THAT successful. at the very least they aren't characterized by their faith in Christ. i could be wrong. please remind me of examples where i am.

anyway, what i found on rolling stone's site was not the cover photo in question, but a picture of bieber flipping the bird to some paparazzo. granted, this does not mean he isn't a believer. but it is evidence that we should be extremely careful in promoting any human as a role model who isn't characterized by imitating Christ.

i don't doubt that bieber is talented. i don't doubt that his music is positive. i don't doubt that he's a generally good kid. BUT what that all adds up to is as eternally significant as charlie sheen's recent tirades. beyond that, it might even be more dangerous than sheen's "words of wisdom" because bieber is safe, cuddly and encouraging. sadly, anything short of Christ just makes for a safe, cuddled and encouraged journey to hell (unless you side with rob bell (oooooh, booyah, didn't see THAT coming did you? obligatory rob bell reference: check.)) basically, #tigerblood is just as God glorifying as #bieberfever.

so, to sum up: i don't mind if you're a bieber fan. i really don't. shoot, continue to pray for him, hope he stays out of trouble, etc. but please don't try to champion him as a Christian role model or put him on a pedestal. it's ok to enjoy secular music, really it is. as long as we don't glory in it and don't idolize those who represent it. and whatever we do, we dare not label it as "Christian" so we can embrace, stomach and parade our worship of anything/anyone other than Christ.

looking for role models? look for this attitude: "Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ." 1 Corinthians 11:1

wondering what to worship/promote: "Some boast in chariots and some in horses, But we will boast in the name of the LORD, our God." Psalm 20:7

"But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." Galatians 6:14




*i believe pro athletes are different because their profession/success is based more on their athletic ability than their image or message/brand.