I often get the burdensome privilege (yes) to speak to people, young and old, about things they are struggling with. Temptation to act in a way that they believe to be wrong - which, by definition, means it is wrong... but that's for another day. I am qualified to speak to people about such things only because I too am tempted constantly; as Paul said, "I'm the biggest sinner of them all"
The most common temptation for males of any age, any weight, any profession, any family life, any ____, any anything, is lust. It can be severe lust that manifests itself in extramarital or premarital sexual affairs, it can haunt through pornography, it can force eyes to wander, or it can control ones thoughts just inside their own head.
I once was counseling a young man about his troubles with lust while assisted by an older and much wiser gentlemen. When the young man asked when the temptation would go away, the other gentleman who was with me simply said "it wont." He went on to add "I am tempted everyday. Sometimes in a big way, sometimes simply in my own head, but the temptation is always there. It's a constant battle, a constant struggle"
Our advice to the young man (and our advice to each other and to ourselves) was to avoid, deflect, and be resolved before hand - though being resolved beforehand is essential, it is also rarely enough.
What do you struggle with? If we're honest, the lists are long. Thankfully we serve a God who loves unconditionally. A God who knew us intimately and bought us anyway. A God who doesn't sit on a throne unsympathetically looking down with judgement, but one who has experienced temptation himself and who knows our struggles and knows our faults, failures, and short comings and calls us "saints" and "holy". We serve a God who showers grace through the blood of his own son, his son who fully know us.
We must remember a few key things about temptation, of any kind:
Jesus Was tempted. Not that Jesus scoffed off the absurdity of it, but that he (his human nature) was tempted. That's number 1.
Number 2 is that Jesus did not act on his temptation - though he was tempted, Jesus did not "follow through", so-to-speak.
3: Jesus was tempted (see number 1) And Jesus never sinned (I believe this to be 100% literal and emphatically true), ergo temptation, on its own, is not sin (/sigh of relief).
4. Jesus 'defeated' his temptation and his tempter (the same temptations and same tempter that we have) not by using (even his) his own words, not by rationalization or attempting clever logic, not by asking for clarification on the particulars or classification on the "how bad" scale, no, he responded with Scripture. God's Holy word, and scripture only.
Temptation is a part of life. It simply is, and anyone who tells you it's not just gave in to the temptation to lie....
Build one another up. Support one another. Pray for one another.
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Thursday, October 13, 2011
Thursday, October 6, 2011
"Preacher Perfect"?
This past weekend a group of us went up to VA to camp out for a couple of nights and bike the Virginia Creeper trail. My great uncle Hunter grew up in Abingdon, and I can always remember this because he would tell everyone that he was born at the place "where Paul was struck blind"... on the road to Damascus. We humored him ;)
Numbers wise, all agree it was a huge success... weather wise... it depends on who you ask. It was cold. Really cold. On top of the cold, it rained the entire time we were there except for the moments when it would break up the monotony of rain with sleet or snow (breathtakingly beautiful snow at over 6,000 ft - although somewhat diminished when you're riding down hill into it on a bicycle).
Everyone truly did have a great time: the kids played on God's playground like it was the greatest thing in the world; Emily cried one time the entire trip, and that was when we were packing up to leave and she wanted to stay and camp "for a long time".
There are tons of things that make this a great trip every year: beautiful scenery, camping out a couple of nights, biking the creeper (I cringe every time I call it "biking" seen as how for 75% of the 17 miles you don't even need pedals just brakes), roasting s'mores over the campfire, and (a personal favorite) zero cell phone coverage for 3 days. However, none of those things truly "make" the trip. The trip is made by the people that go. I found myself surrounded by family every where I looked - true friends, true family, brothers and sisters in Christ who are all there just because we all love spending time together; it really wouldn't matter where or how we were doing it.
And that's what struck me. See, this whole "preacher" thing is kind of new to me, so I don't always know the 'rules'. One of the things I was a bit surprised (somewhat sadly understanding) to find out is that many ministers avoid such get togethers, trips, and "non-sanctioned/non-structured" Church activities out of fear of people seeing their humanity. They have anxiety over people seeing their faults, seeing them "mess up", hearing them speak casually -- finding out they are human.
Though it is sad to think about, and somewhat shocking at first blush, when you really become honest with the reality of the situation, you sadly have to see their point, even if you don't agree (as I do not). People want their preachers to be perfect, they want their ministers to speak in iambic pentameter, they want them to never say anything they shouldn't, never get frustrated, never have to discipline a child, never be... real.
Too often, people want their ministers to be honest about themselves, but not too honest, and when the first date goggles wear off, there's often trouble in paradise.
To me, I would go on these trips no matter what - I've always gone on them and I love them. But now, in thinking about it that way, I want to always make a conscientious decision to go so that I guarantee people will get to see me mess up (it doesn't take long, certainly doesn't take a whole trip, in fact, if you have 30 minutes for lunch we could probably settle it there). Seriously - I don't ever want to become so removed that people forget that I'm human, that I'm a sinner, that I'm a wholly imperfect being created by the only perfect being so knows me, sees my faults, forgave me, forgives me, and graciously loves me unconditionally.
Do you expect Christians to be perfect?
Are you afraid, as a Christina, that people will see you not being perfect?
Numbers wise, all agree it was a huge success... weather wise... it depends on who you ask. It was cold. Really cold. On top of the cold, it rained the entire time we were there except for the moments when it would break up the monotony of rain with sleet or snow (breathtakingly beautiful snow at over 6,000 ft - although somewhat diminished when you're riding down hill into it on a bicycle).
Everyone truly did have a great time: the kids played on God's playground like it was the greatest thing in the world; Emily cried one time the entire trip, and that was when we were packing up to leave and she wanted to stay and camp "for a long time".
There are tons of things that make this a great trip every year: beautiful scenery, camping out a couple of nights, biking the creeper (I cringe every time I call it "biking" seen as how for 75% of the 17 miles you don't even need pedals just brakes), roasting s'mores over the campfire, and (a personal favorite) zero cell phone coverage for 3 days. However, none of those things truly "make" the trip. The trip is made by the people that go. I found myself surrounded by family every where I looked - true friends, true family, brothers and sisters in Christ who are all there just because we all love spending time together; it really wouldn't matter where or how we were doing it.
And that's what struck me. See, this whole "preacher" thing is kind of new to me, so I don't always know the 'rules'. One of the things I was a bit surprised (somewhat sadly understanding) to find out is that many ministers avoid such get togethers, trips, and "non-sanctioned/non-structured" Church activities out of fear of people seeing their humanity. They have anxiety over people seeing their faults, seeing them "mess up", hearing them speak casually -- finding out they are human.
Though it is sad to think about, and somewhat shocking at first blush, when you really become honest with the reality of the situation, you sadly have to see their point, even if you don't agree (as I do not). People want their preachers to be perfect, they want their ministers to speak in iambic pentameter, they want them to never say anything they shouldn't, never get frustrated, never have to discipline a child, never be... real.
Too often, people want their ministers to be honest about themselves, but not too honest, and when the first date goggles wear off, there's often trouble in paradise.
To me, I would go on these trips no matter what - I've always gone on them and I love them. But now, in thinking about it that way, I want to always make a conscientious decision to go so that I guarantee people will get to see me mess up (it doesn't take long, certainly doesn't take a whole trip, in fact, if you have 30 minutes for lunch we could probably settle it there). Seriously - I don't ever want to become so removed that people forget that I'm human, that I'm a sinner, that I'm a wholly imperfect being created by the only perfect being so knows me, sees my faults, forgave me, forgives me, and graciously loves me unconditionally.
Do you expect Christians to be perfect?
Are you afraid, as a Christina, that people will see you not being perfect?
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
Malachi
A couple of Sunday's ago I was fortunate to be able to preach for a very unfortunate Dr. Curtis McClane who had fallen very ill to the Tennessee Fall cocktail of allergies/bronchitis/pneumonia... thing
The sermon came from what many (myself included) would see as an odd source... Malachi.
Malachi is a very short book, but it has a lot of great lessons and its place holds great historical (and spiritual) significance; the last book of the Old Testament. You see, for years and years (centuries), God had communicated with His people verbally - through the words of His prophets. Additionally, God had also used dreams, visions, pillars of fire, hands on the wall, a burning bush, etc.
Then, after a long period of silence, in stepped Malachi. Malachi, right out of the gate, cold turkey, began to call the post-exile Israelites out on all their short comings, misgivings, and blatant misuse of God's temple (that they had finally rebuilt). Then, with a few moments of hope and reminders of promises made, God goes into a divine silence. 400 years of it. For 400 years, God leaves us with the words of Malachi and allows them to "sink in" over 400 years of divine silent treatment. What's the significance of this silence? Why would God do that? What were His last words that He left us with?
My sermon focused on Malachi 1:6-2:9, Mostly all focused on what I believe to be the most important lines of Malachi (and what God wanted us to consider during those 400 years): Malachi 1:8-10
The sermon may be seen below:
http://highlandviewchurch.org/zVideo/_sermon.htm
The sermon came from what many (myself included) would see as an odd source... Malachi.
Malachi is a very short book, but it has a lot of great lessons and its place holds great historical (and spiritual) significance; the last book of the Old Testament. You see, for years and years (centuries), God had communicated with His people verbally - through the words of His prophets. Additionally, God had also used dreams, visions, pillars of fire, hands on the wall, a burning bush, etc.
Then, after a long period of silence, in stepped Malachi. Malachi, right out of the gate, cold turkey, began to call the post-exile Israelites out on all their short comings, misgivings, and blatant misuse of God's temple (that they had finally rebuilt). Then, with a few moments of hope and reminders of promises made, God goes into a divine silence. 400 years of it. For 400 years, God leaves us with the words of Malachi and allows them to "sink in" over 400 years of divine silent treatment. What's the significance of this silence? Why would God do that? What were His last words that He left us with?
My sermon focused on Malachi 1:6-2:9, Mostly all focused on what I believe to be the most important lines of Malachi (and what God wanted us to consider during those 400 years): Malachi 1:8-10
The sermon may be seen below:
http://highlandviewchurch.org/zVideo/_sermon.htm
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Faith in who?
As more and more we hear of church splits, people "losing their faith", groups folding and falling apart, and teenagers walking away from 'church', I find myself asking - what is our faith in?
Think about marriage for a minute. What's your faith in, in regards to your spouse? Is it in that person, their soul, their very being, who history tells you they really are, or is your faith propped up on who they are treating you in this instant? If it's the latter, then you should already be perusing the yellow pages for a good divorce lawyer. If you are married, you know that marriage is not now, has not been, will not ever be, Can Not ever be based on "feelings" and present emotion. If we only stayed married when it felt good, none of us would make it past the first year.
Transition that same line of thought to the church (the CHURCH - not that brick building with crosses that you go into on Sunday mornings - the PEOPLE the body of believers who are joined together by the 1 overlying all consuming truth that Jesus Christ is LORD, the Son of God, the Savior of the world). What's your faith in there? Is it, like marriage should be, based on the promises of your bride/groom (through better or worse, richer or poorer, till death), which is Christ himself, is it held up upon what history tells you about God and his enduring faithfulness as proven and repeated line after line of the 66 books in our Bible?
Or... is it based on the faith of the failing marriages? The faith in the present, the emotion, the "feeling"?
If your "faith" is held up by the assurance that your preacher will never preach a sermon that you will disagree with or that will stomp on your toes, you're in trouble (as an aside - if your preacher never preaches a sermon that stomps on your toes then you need to find a new preacher because they're not doing their job). If your faith is propped up on that building, it will crumble, if it's supported solely by your Edlers then it will fall, if it's held up solely on the premise of your ministers never faltering moral compass, then you will be disappointed, if your faith is based only on me, then you will be devastated.
True "faith" can be grounded ONLY on The Rock, God, the Great I AM, He who was, is, and forever will be, and HIS promises. Not your preacher's promises, not your pastor's promises, not your steering committee's promises, not your elder's promises, Certainly not my promises - Only God's promises.
And if your faith is held up on Christ alone, then when your preacher fails you, when your church abandons you, when I fall flat, when your Elder's crumble, then you stand. You stand firm on the Rock which you were planted on, because that Rock didn't crumble, though others around you may have (and they will).
People are devastated, churches split, people walk away, faith is lost only when that faith was propped up on the wrong thing - anything or anyone other than Christ the King.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
and............ we're back
Good morning everyone! What a summer!
As my first summer in youth ministry I learned a lot, for 1 thing, I learned how (not) to plan things, and how planning a 12 weeks back to back might take a toll... It was a complete Blast, but we freely admit that it's nice to see the summer come to a close, see the kids back in school, and look forward to new exciting ventures for the fall.
Also, as previously discussed, with the crazy summer being just that, I knew I would take the summer off from this blog out of necessity, and I appreciate everyone's patience with that and I am now excited to get it kicked back up again.
That said, let's get the questions and topic ideas back flowing and I'll be glad, as always, to use your input, ideas, and insights to direct the posts.
Today, I want to share some thoughts on 9/11 +10.
We all know where we were on that day. Erin and I had been married 1 month. She was working at Sander's Market (the gas station hang out for the thriving metropolis of Linden, TN) and I was at the Post Office in Linden. At the Post Office, people would come in talking about a plane accident in disjointed confused stories that lacked any realism, and with no TV or radio in said Post Office, that was about all the facts one could glean. I left the post office, went home, turned on the TV and couldn't believe what I was watching: 'how in the world could a plane get so messed up that it crashed straight into the World Trade Center... that's the worst luck I've ever heard of...' and then it happened. Standing there pondering the odds of a plane failing and crashing exactly into the tower, the second plane hit. I literally sank to the floor with the weight of the realization that had just struck the millions of other people watching this same sight and for the rest of the day I sat. I sat right there in floor of our house in Linden watching the images with tear filled eyes and disbelief.
Who, how, why, HERE!? All those people... with the risk of sounding cliche... the Humanity of it was simply overwhelming.
On that day, September 11, 2001, our world changed. We saw pain and devastation that our generation had never witnessed outside of the pages of a history book, we saw "terror" (a word reserved for uncivilized third world countries who weren't "one nation under God" and who weren't the untouchable military power of the world) played out in our own backyards, we saw courage that could the greatest authors could not contain with ink and page, we saw life, we saw death, and we truly saw the end of our reality as we knew it.
As we mark the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and the terrible loss of life that came with that day, my mind goes largely to September 12, 2001.
If 9/11 was our darkest hour, then 9/12 was the dawn. 9/12 brought forth life. 9/12 brought forth a day of stories - of survival, of courage, of faith, of LOVE. 9/12 brought a day where as NYC lay (physically) in shambles, the people of NYC, surrounded by the people of this great nation, rose up and reignited the flame under that melting pot and once again created "one nation". 9/12 brought a day where from NYC, to L.A., to Linden, TN, you could not find an American flag in any store - they were all hanging in lawns, strapped to cars and trucks, and hanging from fire engine ladders across the country. 9/12 brought a day where we met our neighbors for the first time (even those we may have lived next door to for 30 years). 9/12 brought a day of Love. We, as a nation, even for just a moment in time, recognized that our selfishness, our vanity, we saw our lives for what they were: consumed in frivolity. And. We. Turned. We turned to our country, we turned to our neighbors, we turned to those we didn't know, to those we had neglected, to those we didn't like just 24 hours before, and we loved on each other as if we really were "under God, indivisible".
on 9/12, this nation and all its inhabitants seized life with a fervor lost and clung to it as if to never lose it again.
Let us remember that day as well.
As my first summer in youth ministry I learned a lot, for 1 thing, I learned how (not) to plan things, and how planning a 12 weeks back to back might take a toll... It was a complete Blast, but we freely admit that it's nice to see the summer come to a close, see the kids back in school, and look forward to new exciting ventures for the fall.
Also, as previously discussed, with the crazy summer being just that, I knew I would take the summer off from this blog out of necessity, and I appreciate everyone's patience with that and I am now excited to get it kicked back up again.
That said, let's get the questions and topic ideas back flowing and I'll be glad, as always, to use your input, ideas, and insights to direct the posts.
Today, I want to share some thoughts on 9/11 +10.
We all know where we were on that day. Erin and I had been married 1 month. She was working at Sander's Market (the gas station hang out for the thriving metropolis of Linden, TN) and I was at the Post Office in Linden. At the Post Office, people would come in talking about a plane accident in disjointed confused stories that lacked any realism, and with no TV or radio in said Post Office, that was about all the facts one could glean. I left the post office, went home, turned on the TV and couldn't believe what I was watching: 'how in the world could a plane get so messed up that it crashed straight into the World Trade Center... that's the worst luck I've ever heard of...' and then it happened. Standing there pondering the odds of a plane failing and crashing exactly into the tower, the second plane hit. I literally sank to the floor with the weight of the realization that had just struck the millions of other people watching this same sight and for the rest of the day I sat. I sat right there in floor of our house in Linden watching the images with tear filled eyes and disbelief.
Who, how, why, HERE!? All those people... with the risk of sounding cliche... the Humanity of it was simply overwhelming.
On that day, September 11, 2001, our world changed. We saw pain and devastation that our generation had never witnessed outside of the pages of a history book, we saw "terror" (a word reserved for uncivilized third world countries who weren't "one nation under God" and who weren't the untouchable military power of the world) played out in our own backyards, we saw courage that could the greatest authors could not contain with ink and page, we saw life, we saw death, and we truly saw the end of our reality as we knew it.
As we mark the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and the terrible loss of life that came with that day, my mind goes largely to September 12, 2001.
If 9/11 was our darkest hour, then 9/12 was the dawn. 9/12 brought forth life. 9/12 brought forth a day of stories - of survival, of courage, of faith, of LOVE. 9/12 brought a day where as NYC lay (physically) in shambles, the people of NYC, surrounded by the people of this great nation, rose up and reignited the flame under that melting pot and once again created "one nation". 9/12 brought a day where from NYC, to L.A., to Linden, TN, you could not find an American flag in any store - they were all hanging in lawns, strapped to cars and trucks, and hanging from fire engine ladders across the country. 9/12 brought a day where we met our neighbors for the first time (even those we may have lived next door to for 30 years). 9/12 brought a day of Love. We, as a nation, even for just a moment in time, recognized that our selfishness, our vanity, we saw our lives for what they were: consumed in frivolity. And. We. Turned. We turned to our country, we turned to our neighbors, we turned to those we didn't know, to those we had neglected, to those we didn't like just 24 hours before, and we loved on each other as if we really were "under God, indivisible".
on 9/12, this nation and all its inhabitants seized life with a fervor lost and clung to it as if to never lose it again.
Let us remember that day as well.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
10 years in the making....
This Thursday, August 4th, 2011, marks our 10 year wedding anniversary.
God has protected us, guided us, and kept us and we are closer, stronger, and more in love now then ever before. Thank you, to all of you, for sharing these years (and the next 90 years to come!) with us.
Our 10 year anniversary slide show video:
It's awesome to see these pictures of us married 10 years ago in the very building where we now get to serve!
P.S. it's also funny, as Erin just pointed out, to think about the fact that many of our current youth members were probably sitting in the audience... and would have been 2-8 years old at the time!
God has protected us, guided us, and kept us and we are closer, stronger, and more in love now then ever before. Thank you, to all of you, for sharing these years (and the next 90 years to come!) with us.
Our 10 year anniversary slide show video:
It's awesome to see these pictures of us married 10 years ago in the very building where we now get to serve!
P.S. it's also funny, as Erin just pointed out, to think about the fact that many of our current youth members were probably sitting in the audience... and would have been 2-8 years old at the time!
Monday, August 1, 2011
"They will know you by...."
The Bible, contrary to the world's popular opinion, is not a book of thousands of pages of rules; page after page of "thou shalt"s and "thou shalt not"s. The best summary of the "rules" of the Bible can be summed up as simply (and directly) Love God. Love Others. (L1/L2).
We are called, commanded to love and love in abundance. In fact, Jesus, after first commanding us to love others as we love ourselves (the "Golden Rule"), said love one another "As I have loved you". WOW! Talk about high standards! We aren't even just called to love others as we love ourselves (which we already aren't very good at), we're called to love others (ALL others: strangers, those different then us, those we don't like, those who directly hate us) as Christ loved us... we are commanded to love others like Christ loved the world. Christ, who died on the cross, willingly, Christ who left His eternal throne in Heaven with angels praising him for all of time, to be born into poverty, walk the earth as a lowly man, be tempted by Satan, ridiculed by all, tortured, heart broken, and murdered in cold blood just so that He could have the chance at spending eternity with us - all so we could have the option of Living! THAT'S how we are called to love others!? Yes. Commanded.
And so that "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
And so that "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
that's how we stand out. That's how we are "rebels" in this world, that's how we get noticed, that's what causes other people to look at us and say... "that does not make sense/how they responded to that person is Crazy/how could they respond like that in such a circumstance/They have something that I don't!" and That's how we Point to God.
Christians are not, and should not be known by the crosses on our necks or the fish sticker on our cars-the world should recognize us as different by our deep love, abundant grace, and unending forgiveness for others
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