Senior Lip Sync - Fixed Audio & Video

This past Sunday night at my church, Gracespring Bible Church, we had the 5th Annual High School Lip Sync. Beth and I love lip syncs and so do our small groups. We lead a group of seniors and for their senior year we combine the girls and the guys. Since their junior year, the girls have wanted to do the song, Lonely Goat Herder from The Sound of Music. The guys were not as excited when they heard, but then we told them we needed to build a giant puppet box. Power tools, hammers, and building stuff always brings guys together.


So after months of rehearsals, costume searching at Goodwill and Sal Val(Salvation Army), and even blood...careful Miah, we were ready to go.


Here's how it all turned out:

You can buy The Lonely Goat Herder from iTunes here. 

We ended up winning both the Judges and People's Choice! It was an awesome way to end the high school lip sync careers of our small groups. Beth and I have a deep love for our groups and we are thrilled to be heading into college ministry with them at gracespring.

What Praying with a Dying Woman Made Me Think About.

Have you ever held the hand of someone who knows they’re dying?

A few days ago, I had the incredible privilege to take communion and pray with a dying woman, named Jane(not her real name, but we'll call her that). Jane has had an incurable disease for over five years. She has planned her own funeral. She has picked out all the songs, the slideshow, who is speaking, who’s NOT speaking, and where it will be. She has written poems she wants read when she’s gone and she has even had to put her own dog down in anticipation of not being on this earth anymore.

                            

When I was sitting with Jane, another pastor was mentoring me through this process, I couldn’t help but wonder what that must be like, to know that you are dying. Within months, you will most likely be dead. I honestly can't handle that thought right now, not because I fear death...I fear the unknown.

We spent a good half hour or so talking with her about how she was doing and the funeral plans. Then as we approached the time to leave, we knelt down to pray for and with her. The pastor I was withed asked the woman and I to both pray during this time of coming before God. I was amazed and shaken by her prayer.

The only phrase I remember before she got to choked up to continue was, “Lord, you are my light and my shining star.”

I was amazed at the hope she had even in the face of death and I was shaken by how much I connected with her emotions regarding the end of her life here on earth. She believes in Christ and she knows she is heading home. She only referred to her funeral as either a ‘home-going’ or ‘celebration of life’. Yet, the reality of the situation was forcing her to place all her hope and fear in Christ. Her words expressed her love and gratitude for Christ and her tears expressed her uncertainty in death.

Even Christ asked the Father if there was a way around Him having to die.

“Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” 43 Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him. 44 He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood. 

- Luke 22:42-43

The Father never created us to die. He never wanted that. But, even something as scary, uncertain, and dark as death has been redeemed. The broken body and shed blood of Christ has brought the hope that Jane displayed.

When you think about death, is there any hope? If not, I would love to tell you about the hope I have.  

Another Example of Why I Do, What I Do

I love my job. It has been a dream of mine to be a full-time youth pastor since I was a junior in high school. I have wanted this job because I had a youth pastor who God used to help transform and shape my life. God used him to teach me how to follow Christ, love others, and serve with all my heart. This combination of things has redefined who I am forever. I want to be used like that. I want to open myself up to God to be used to point others to Him. This past week I was reminded of all of this.

A few weeks ago students at Impact spent 30 minutes or so diving into God’s Word on their own. They were given a piece of paper that outlined a journey through God’s Word that would help them know the truth of following God vs. following culture.

After 30 minutes, we sang a song and then I felt the Holy Spirit telling me to ask anybody if they wanted to commit their life to Christ. I was so excited to see 6 hands go up! One hand in particular caught my attention. It was a girl who comes regularly, but I knew very little about her or her family.

After Impact I went up and hugged her and asked her what had happened. Why did she decide to commit her life to Christ. She replied, “It just clicked tonight. Something was different.”

THAT’S IT! That’s what I long for God to do! I long for Him to use me to help others realize the awesome relationship they can have with Him! So I went out and bought her a devotion book, a worship CD, wrote her an encouragement note, and a family in the church who had already been praying for her(AWESOME!) bought her a Bible with her name on it.

Three days after giving her this gift bag, I received this note(image on the right):

This is one reason why I love Christ, this is why I love the power of the gospel, this is why I pour my heart and soul into the small group leaders and students of Impact, this is why I pray and ask others to pray for Impact, this is why I do what I do. To see a student get it, receive it, live it, and be fulfilled by it. Only Jesus can do it. I love getting to be a part of it.

“In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.” - Jesus Christ

Where have you seen God at work lately? Have you had the privilege of leading someone to Christ? 

I would love to hear about it.

My Valentine & Some Thoughts for Single Guys

My wife Beth is the most incredible person I know. She possess a heart for the Lord and a passion for people that truly inspires me. She is bold, caring, and supportive. She loves me for who I am, not what I've done. She models to younger and older women alike what it means to serve others. She has organized several major service projects including a house being painted, she has spent the last four years pouring her heart and soul into her small group girls, and that whole time she was actively supporting me as I embrace the whirlwind that is full-time ministry.  When Proverbs 31 talks about the character of a Godly woman, it describes Beth. 

I am blessed to be her husband, best friend, and Settlers of Catan archenemy. I love laughing, crying, and living life together. 

A few of my thoughts for single (young or slightly less young) guys:

Wait for that one-in-a-million-girl. I always describe Beth as one-in-a-million. They're out there. Girls who place a high value on themselves and their hearts. They don't spend time chasing things of this world. They care about their relationship with God and others.

When you find her, pursue her like crazy! Beth worked at Biggby(local coffee shop) during high school and I spent some much time(and money) going in their while she was working. It was the perfect plan. She had to talk to me and I knew right where she would be for 4 hours. That sounded way creepier than I wanted it to, but you get the point. Pursue her with passion and genuine care. 

Don't take someone else's word for it. I always heard everybody say that Bethany Alia was an amazing girl with a deep love for God. I trusted those people, but I wanted to find out for myself. I wanted to find out what she was like when we weren't at church. What kind of decisions did she make? Who were her friends? What was her reputation at school? Work? Home? Get to know a girl before you enter into a dating relationship with her.

Who is your valentine today? 

Have you told them how much they mean to you?

PG-13 Bible Pt. 3: Mo Money, Mo Problems

So far this chapter has been one of extremes. We see an entire group of people excluded from the assembly of God and a man’s entire closet full of stuff is thrown out into the courtyard. All of this has been done to be obedient to God. In the midst of these extremes and extravagant decisions, happens something that would be even harder to confront than the first two.

It starts in verse 10. “I also discovered that the Levites had not been given their prescribed portions of food, so they and the singers who were to conduct the worship services had all returned to work their fields.

Basically what’s happening so far is that the people aren’t tithing. If you want to read a great article by Tim Keller (love him!) about money, how all we have belongs to God and how important being generous is, go here.

Once Nehemiah realizes what’s going on, he immediately springs to action just like every other time their is disobedience towards God.

“I immediately confronted the leaders and demanded, “Why has the Temple of God been neglected?” Then I called all the Levites back again and restored them to their proper duties. And once more all the people of Judah began bringing their tithes of grain, new wine, and olive oil to the Temple storerooms.”

He has to confront people about MONEY and does so immediately! To me this shows the deep love Nehemiah has for the nation of Israel. All of us have had times in our life where we were not tithing like we are suppose to. But, nothing is more connected to our hearts than money. It’s mentioned 20x times more than sex in the Bible. Nehemiah realizes this and doesn’t want to see the nation of Israel lose sight of who and what’s important.

Do you view your money as your own? How does this affect your heart?

Do you view your wealth as a true gift and blessing from God? How does this affect your heart?

PG-13 Bible Pt. 2: NOT IN MY HOUSE!

Blue Man Tobias

The second crazy thing to happen in Nehemiah 13 reminds me of a story from Jesus’ life.

Nehemiah walks into the temple after returning back to Jerusalem and he learns that the supervisor of the temple, Eliashib,(we shall call him, Ellis) has given an empty room to a Ammonite man who is an enemy of Jerusalem named, Tobiah(Tobias, for obvious Arrested Development reasons). In Nehemiah we see Tobias opposing the rebuilding of the walls in chapter four and six.

Quick note about Ammonites: The Bible explains the origins of the Ammonite people from the incestuous event between Lot and his daughters following the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah. Both daughters had children and the Moabites and Ammonites were decendents of the unions. (gotbible.blogspot.com)

Now Ellis and Tobias were related, second cousins let’s say. So I can imagine Tobias walking into the temple and strolling into Ellis’ office and saying, “Hey cuz, You know that extra storeroom off the back porch of the temple. I’m gonna need it for...personal reasons.”

Ellis, not wanting to betray or disappoint family, gives in. He let’s Tobias, a known enemy of Jerusalem put up shop in the temple.

Nehemiah returns and find this out and he goes biserk! He walks straight into Tobias’ room and begins throwing stuff out! Boxes, crates, pottery, clothes, a chicken, three sheep, and a brown goat. It’s chaos! As it should be.

Flash forward 500 years or so, we see Jesus walk into the temple and chaos ensues.

“Jesus made a whip from some ropes and chased them all out of the Temple. He drove out the sheep and cattle, scattered the money changers’ coins over the floor, and turned over their tables. Then, going over to the people who sold doves, he told them, “Get these things out of here. Stop turning my Father’s house into a marketplace!” Then his disciples remembered this prophecy from the Scriptures: “Passion for God’s house will consume me.” ” - John 2

HE MADE A WHIP! THAT’S A WEAPON! Jesus uses a weapon to clear the temple for the sake of the Father. Nehemiah uses his bare hands to throw the evil out of the temple.

Two things stand out to me about all of this.

1. Nehemiah’s actions are comparable to Christ and in my mind they are justified and affirmed. If you have any doubt about whether or not Nehemiah’s reaction was correct, simply look at Christ’s reaction. Very similar in my mind. Remember this for the rest of the chapter, because Nehemiah goes psycho pretty soon.

2. Passion for God should consume us. Now, righteous anger is hard to achieve. Our sinful nature kicks in so quickly with anger, but I do believe there are times in life where we must stand up for what we believe and do so unashamed and with passion.


Do you agree with the connection between Jesus and Nehemiah?

How should we handle situations where non-believers are abusing the name of the Father?

Would Jesus Demand Ellen be Fired?

Let me preface this post by saying I don't have all the answers and I do not know exactly what Jesus would do in this situation. But, I do know that the love of Christ extends to every individual on the face of the earth because of the shed blood of Christ.


I woke up this morning, ate my vegetarian breakfast, called AppleCare to get a replacement iPhone, and then opened up by my computer to see what was happening on Facebook. Two things caught my eye.

First, the Susan G. Komen Foundation had a 100% increase in donations because it cut ties with Planned Parenthood and then proceeded to reverse its decision and fund Planned Parenthood again because of letters from 22 Democrat Senators. I have so many questions about this that I don't even know where to begin.

Second, One Million Moms, a part of the American Family Association (AFA), sent a letter to JCPenny (JCP) asking them to fire Ellen Degeneres because she is openly gay. They claim she does not represent the traditional family model that the majority of families who shop at JCP represents and therefore most families will stop shopping at JCP because of it. You can read more about the details here.

When I first read this, I was honestly torn. Let me state a few things I believe about homosexuality.

• I DO NOT BELIEVE HAVING SAME-SEX ATTRACTIONS IS A SIN. Like any other temptation, the sin lies within the thoughts and actions we choose. i.e. Being attracted to a male or female is not a sin, however, lusting is.
• I have the same love for the gay and lesbian community that I have for everyone else who has been created by God.
• I believe the establishment of marriage set up by the Creator God, that I believe in, is very important to the holistic health of society.
• I believe that the practice of homosexuality is a sin along with any other action that goes against the natural order in which God created the world.
• I believe this natural order has been wounded and broken due to the entering of sin and disobedience into the world.
• I do believe that people could be born gay because of the brokenness in our world. I believe we are all born with different levels of tendencies towards certain unnatural desires regarding sexuality, eating, substances, etc.

With all of that being said, the reason I am torn is because I know the heart behind the One Million Moms letter to JCP is well-intended. But, that's no excuse.

The AFA is an openly Christian organization. I wholeheartedly believe in standing up for what's right, but I can't help but believe that this stance is going to cause more harm than good amongst the gay and lesbian community towards Christianity. The language OMM uses seems condescending, not loving and truth-filled: "Funny that JC Penney thinks hiring an open homosexual spokesperson will help their business when most of their customers are traditional families. More sales will be lost than gained unless they replace their spokesperson quickly." (http://onemillionmoms.com/IssueDetail.asp?id=436)
The message of Jesus Christ is first and foremost love. Love that includes grace, forgiveness, mercy, hope and purpose; but also judgement, discipline, and truth. You can't have one part of love without the other.

1 John 3: 18-19
Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. (biblegateway.com)

For a Christian group like OMM to make a stance that seems arrogant and prideful towards one lesbian, to me doesn't seem like the love of Christ at work. Like I said before, standing up for what you believe is essential, but we must learn to communicate it in a loving way as well. If we (disciples of Christ) can not learn to communicate the love that we have received and undeservedly get to experience on a daily basis, we will always be a stumbling block for those seeking to find the love, hope, salvation, and purpose that is found within our Creator.


What do you think?

Is the language OMM uses necessary to communicate their stance?

Does standing up for what they believe in send a louder, more important message to the American culture?

God: Good vs. Great Pt. 2 - Guest Post by Michael Wiltshire

Part two of a great guest post by my good friend, Michael Wiltshire. 
Check out part one if haven't had a chance to yet.


Part Two:


An outstanding example of this may be philosophical theism—a system of thought which popular Calvinist theologian Loraine Boettner (among Calvin, John Piper, and others) uses to assert that God purposefully predetermined every single event that would happen—including all acts of sin and evil—and continues to guide those events in order to maintain the fullest extent of his greatness. To many, such a God cannot truly be good whatsoever—and his greatness, in this light, becomes distorted as well.  Panentheism, on the other hand—which sees God in totally interdependent on the world—is another danger if the pendulum swings too far the in the opposite direction. Maybe more recent evidence a misunderstanding of this paradox is the evangelical uproar started over the release of Love Wins by Rob Bell—a book which in many ways suggests that God’s divine greatness eventually may be overshadowed by his goodness which will win every human soul.

So how does one keep from overemphasizing one aspect of God? Again, there is a critical distinction to be made. God is equally Great and Good—but we cannot let those terms become fused to the point where they are totally interdependent on each other. In my opinion, we must begin to construct theology which allows both aspects to operate simultaneously and harmoniously.  This then requires letting God’s greatness and goodness remain in their paradoxical framework.  And while such a paradox may seem like sloppy theology to some, it is important to remember that speculation outside of what God has clearly revealed to us often may better lead to mysticism than poorly developed doctrine.  We must also consider God as being capable of self-limitation, if he chooses to do so. It’s also worth remembering that while humanity can explore true things about God, we are fallen, and can only work with the truth capable of human comprehension. At the end of the day, our monotheism still requires distinction.

God: Good vs. Great Pt. 1 - Guest Post by Michael Wiltshire

One of my favorite people in the world right now is Michael Wiltshire. He is currently a student at Cornerstone University, a Student Ministries Coordinator at Gracespring Bible Church(where I work), and a true partner in ministry. He wrote a this very well thought out piece on this controversial topic. Please leave your feedback to enhance this discussion. 
Enjoy! 


Peter

God: Great vs. Good

God is great, God is good: let us thank him for our food. Amen. As a kid, this little prayer was one of the quickest ways to get “saying grace” out of the way before a meal. I think most Christians have used it at some point to close-in on the time between them and their dinner. The idea of God being both great and good is a familiar one to most Christians as various hymns and prayers are constructed around it throughout church history. But have we missed an important distinction in our theology of God's love and glory?  

In his book, The Mosaic of Christian Belief, theologian Roger Olsen describes the church’s theological consensus on the matter by explaining, “Our God is both glorious beyond our understanding and perfectly good beyond any creaturely goodness.” God’s greatness is often attached to terms like sovereign, transcendent, and self-glorifying, while his goodness is communicated with words like self-sacrificial, compassionate, and loving.  Christians have sought to do justice in focusing on both descriptions of God by letting their theological framework be built in a way which can contain both sides. Their tendency to hastily join them together often ignores a critical distinction which must be made in order to truly understand and experience God’s greatness and goodness for what they really are.

In most cases, by lumping God’s greatness and goodness together, theologians and their followings have unnecessarily overemphasized one side over the other—and then sometimes tend to outright deny the other side altogether. When Luther saw a weakening of God’s greatness from the Catholic Church, he began to preach of a hidden God who is totally free of creation and may damn any man or women without reason. For Karl Barth, God was known as “he who loves in freedom” (Church Dogmatics 2/1) which would summarize his belief that God’s greatness and goodness are not at all in conflict with each other if we abandon all thoughts of projection—that is, both aspects of God are really one aspect seen by humans at different angels.

Here is our problematic struggle with making sense of a God both Great and Good: If a person begins and ends their theology with one aspect of God, they easily distort the other—and eventually even the one they began with—leading to a theological caricature of God. If one begins their theology with “God is great” they often envision God’s goodness to only be a manifestation of his greatness and vice versa. 


On part 2 we will see examples of how this has been happening. 


What was your first reaction to this?