The World As Best As I Remember It

Drumroll please...

2005-09-12T06:39:00.000-07:00

Well you've probably wondering where I've been for the past few days (humor me). Well, I've been working on a little project. I've decided to start a new blog. Really, it's the same blog (as far as content goes) but moved to a different location, given a serious face lift and some new features. Why am I moving? Well, I'll talk a bit about that on my new blog, but for now, just take a deep breath and trust me. Nothing will change, I promise. Well, except for the web address. If you have any bookmarks or blogroll links to this blog, please make the appropriate changes so people won't get confused or irritated when they have to redirect themselves from this blog. Because as of now, The World As Best As I Remember It is signing off.

Now, please direct yourselves to the new and improved blog of Chris Merritt at...

BrewingThoughts.com

Oh my gosh

2005-09-07T12:53:00.000-07:00

I think my heart just skipped a beat. I need counseling.

Church Visiting Series Finale

2005-09-06T06:45:00.000-07:00

I should probably say that I'm not entirely sure that we're done with church visiting, but it sure feels like it. Let me explain a little bit. I'm aware that we haven't visited very many churches (only 5). And of those churches, we were only seriously looking at 4 of them. Now, in my mind, this is an answered prayer. I didn't want to spend all too long finding a church. It's hard to go to a church that you don't know and somehow gauge if you should sign up and join. It's fun to see how other people worship and how they do certain things, but it can also be frustrating to never find that church that you fit in with.

But we all knew that God wouldn't let that happen right? I must confess, I wasn't sure. I wasn't sure that we were going to find a church that had a powerful working vision, a tight community, and a good theology (not to mention good music/worship/preaching). I admit that I was a bit skeptical that we would find the "perfect" church. After all, there are no perfect churches.

But of course, God came through for us and we think we have found the right church for us. Enter Providence Church, a new plant that launched this past March and is located in Frisco/Little Elm. This is the church I posted about in my last episode of Church Visiting. It's a plant of The Village Church, located in Dallas. Now it's not a plant in the sense that it's an identical "daughter church" of The Village, with duplicate vision, theology, and purpose. It's actually very unique in those respects, yet it's receiving some sort of financial support from The Village.

The pastor is Barry Keldie, who was previously on staff at The Village and has had a desire to start a church for years. He is close friends with Michael Armstrong, whom he teamed up with to plant this church. Michael had probably been the most influential person in the formation of my musical worship style and philosophy of worship, so I'm obviously more than comfortable with his leadership. We also have our friends, the Bradshaws, who are actively involved and are excited to have some good friends to connect with. We've gone out to eat a few times these past couple of weeks and it's been nice to have some friends to hang out with.

We visited again Saturday night, with the mindset of prayerful consideration towards this church and God's will for us. Afterwards, we felt a good deal of confirmation in our hearts. The pastor, Barry preached an amazing message in regards to the hurricane disaster and the correct theological response. His thoughts echoed a lot of what I've discussed here, denying the idea that God had nothing to do with it, but also denying the idea that God was actively judging a geographical location for the spiritual sins of people. He was really "bringin' the Word" on this, examining Scripture in a responsible fashion, and sharing some solid theology. He had people crying on this one and God did some really cool things at that service.

So why do we feel led here as opposed to other churches? First of all, we trust the leadership. This may sound like a small thing, but if there's one thing that I've been taught about in the building of a biblical, effective church, it lies in it's leadership. There's nothing more frustrating than mediocre leaders and pastors who aren't passionate. The people leading this church are hardcore, bad-to-the-bone church builders who have a great deal of wisdom and that's something I value a great deal. There are other things that make this an easy decision too. Worship is great, and there's a good chance I can get involved at a fairly deep level (I'll know more on this next week). The preaching is amazing. We have friends there who are trying to start a small group. The church is still on the ground floor, so we get another chance at being a part of something great and being there in the beginning stages. We believe God can use us a great deal here. After all, we've already been through a lot of what they are just about to go through and we are more than passionate about helping emerging churches "emerge".

So, there is still much to be written about this, but I'll call it quits for now. I'll find out in the coming weeks what sort of opportunities might be available to us to volunteer and serve, when and how we will join, etc. and I'll make sure and keep everyone posted on it.

In other news, I just had a great cup of java. As noted in my sidebar, I'm drinking French Roast and this morning I finally did the math and decided to brew this morning with my french press. I'm a genius! That was some good coffee.

I also finally sat down and dug into Blue Like Jazz by Don Miller yesterday. I know I'm way behind the trend on reading this (Miller's new book is already out), but I never had the cash to buy it until recently. Man, this is a good book. I admit that I underestimated how much I would like it. I thought it was just going to be blunt, honest thoughts on faith that I could really identify with, but man, this guy can write. His language and imagery is amazing and he has a beautiful way with words. I'm enjoying it quite a bit.

Now I gotta go look for a job. How much fun is that?

New Orleans Before and After

2005-09-01T14:58:00.000-07:00

This is a link to some "before and after" satellite photography of the New Orleans area.

What Caused Katrina?

2005-09-01T06:02:00.000-07:00

I have a confession to make. Up until yesterday I had completely underestimated the devastation left behind by Hurricane Katrina. I guess this is because after it hit Florida as a tropical storm, I thought it was pretty much over. I figured it would just die down. But it didn't. It got stronger and stronger and finally made a right turn for the coast. Even then, I figured the damage was probably typical of what I had already seen this year in Florida. But finally I turned on the Today Show yesterday and I saw for myself how bad it really was. New Orleans has essentially drowned and it will probably be underwater for a couple of months at least. It looks like the whole area has virtually been "rinsed" off the map. It's unbelievable how many people are probably dead, and those who have survived are starving, thirsty, and homeless. No running water, no electricity, no plumbing. I would go on, but you can probably get this kind of stuff at any given time in the media.

But I do have a commentary on the subject. It seems that already, in the midst of this tragedy, people are trying to act like they actually know how and why Katrina did what it did. Why do people have this urge to explain the unexplainable? Why do we want to answer questions that we have no authority of answering?

For instance, I've already been bombarded by the media with the issue of global warming and how it relates to this disaster. People have been jumping up and down in excitement because they have another natural disaster on their hands that they can politicize for the sake of their agenda on global warming. Do they really want me to believe that we caused this? Is there really something we could have done or not done to prevent an act of God such as this? There are a lot of people out there on TV saying "yes" and it amazes me. First of all, it amazes me how many people take global warming to be a fact of life when it is actually just a theory at best. There is virtually no consistent scientific evidence out there that proves global warming. Let me clarify something here, though. When I say global warming, I mean it in the sense that the activists mean it. Sure, the earth has it's warming cycles, as well as cooling cycles---that's scientific. What I refuse to believe is that human activity (burning fuel, pollution, etc.) has some sort of effect on the global temperature and weather patterns. There is no consistent evidence for this. For every theoretical study suggesting this, there is just as much or more studies disproving it. In fact, if global warming was taking place, we should actually have fewer hurricanes.

I guess what really gets on my nerves is the trend these days of blaming people for things that we have no control over. People want to blame human activity for melting ice caps and severe weather. They want to blame Bush for high gas prices. They want to blame America for everything that's going wrong in the world. Why does the white American Christian male have to be the bad guy for everything?

I know this is getting to be quite a rant, but it just ticks me off when unjust blame is cast because people feel the need to cast blame. Katrina was the awesome finger of God that destroyed an entire region and thousands of people's lives. Why did it happen? Why does God create tsunamis and tornadoes and earthquakes? I don't know. But I'm ok with that. I understand a lot of people aren't and they don't share my beliefs and views on these matters, but that doesn't make me wrong. Heck, I don't care if I'm wrong as long as I'm proven wrong. So, for now, let's just accept that such disasters do exist and instead of casting blame, let's just pray for those who are suffering and look hopefully towards the future.

Back From Hiatus

2005-08-30T08:59:00.000-07:00

Well, if you are on a daily frequency of checking this blog, then you know that it's been almost a week since my last post. I try to post on Mon, Wed, and Fri, but last Friday I had absolutely nothing to talk about, so I thought I would spare everyone the boredom of reading about what I was doing that day and what's on the menu for lunch.
I was supposed to post yesterday about how I opted for watching the Cowboys and skipping church last weekend, but I woke up Monday morning to a dead hard drive. And I'm talking dead. I've been anticipating this for some time now, due to some sporadic crashes and failed boot ups. I self-diagnosed the problem when I noticed that my computer crashes were preceded by a "clicking" and "scuffing" noise emitting from my hard drive chamber, plus, when my reboot failed, I was greeted by a message stating that my Operating System could not be found on the drive. As the crashes and noises became more frequent, I began to back up my personal files and make a list of software downloads that I would need if a new hard drive were to be installed. I thought it would last a little longer, but sure enough, Monday morning arrived with a black screen and some incoherent code on the top left corner.

So, I went off to CompUSA yesterday to pick up a new hard drive and spent the majority of my day replacing the drive and reinstalling Windows, drivers/apps, and the rest of my software. Although it felt like a very slow process, I am quite impressed with the fact that as of this morning, my computer is not only restored and running like a dream, but that all of my software and customizations have been restored to the point that it's almost as if nothing happened. A complete hard drive replacement and data restoration in just one working day....pretty good.

The good news is that I'm happy with the job I did, the new hard drive is bigger and faster, and it cost me less than a $100. Not bad, considering the severity of the issue. I guess the lesson is having good backups of your data.

I'll post about other stuff that's going on some other time, but for now, I need to catch up on some other blogs and listen to the current podcast of Metro and Lefty.

Funny Stuff

2005-08-24T06:26:00.000-07:00

In case you haven't heard about this site, Lark News is a satirical newsletter poking all kinds of fun at church culture. The stories are hilarious and even the "advertisements" crack me up. Make sure and check your daily horoscope and FAQs. And don't forget to check out the t-shirts for sale! Check it out!

Church Visiting Episode 4

2005-08-22T06:02:00.000-07:00

Well, let me give you a quick rundown of what we ended up doing Sunday: We were able to sleep in a bit, then we got up and made pancakes. After that, we put our coffee in travel mugs, then we went out and drove around town for about an hour. When we returned home, we went swimming for a while, then we went to the mall, had some lunch, and then finally returned home for the rest of the Law & Order:SVU marathon on USA.

What a great day that was. Rest, relaxation, and coffee. But I guess you're wondering about church. Oh, we went....Saturday night. Man, I could get used to Saturday night church. If anything, it made my Sunday the most definitive "day of rest" that I can remember having. Unfortunately, the church that we visited is only meeting on Saturday temporarily. Too bad. Because now I'm a fan of Saturday night church.

So let's talk about this church. I found out about it via The Ooze again, but as soon as I saw the website, I realized that I knew more about it than I thought. I knew we had friends there, plus I knew the worship pastor. It's a new church start and it's not far from home. So, it was obviously something we wanted to check out. But I should mention again that this church's website was impressive. Something that I'm learning is that I can figure out what kind of DNA a church has, just by perusing their "Recommended Reading" list. Now, not all church websites have this, but I've found that's it's extremely helpful. I understand that this can be "judging a book by it's cover" (pardon the humor), but hey, when you want to know as much about a church's identity/DNA as possible without having to use a Sunday to visit it, it can be very useful. It's going to save me time if I can rule out church possibilities because I can see that they're beginning a year-long study on The Purpose Driven Life, or have a small group reading The Prayer of Jabez. This may be judgmental, but I'm ok with that, alright?

So we went to church Saturday. They meet on Saturday because they are currently meeting in another church's facility. We were greeted at the door, received out "handout", and we immediately found our friends there. We stood around and caught up on things, while I perused the church's "core values" as described in the handout. From what I could tell, this was going to be a good experience. The service began with worship music, led by someone I know and respect as a worship leader. I can't tell you how comforted I was to know that the guy leading worship was not only talented and passionate, but that he had a great theology and understanding of worship and of church. It's just nice to know that the person leading this congregation wasn't just a musician---he was a pastor.

After one song, the lead pastor got up and greeted the crowd and invited us to greet each other. Then we continued to sing. The music was great, with a full band, tastefully and reverently done. Song selection was very good (this is probably due to the fact that my taste in worship songs has been partially shaped by this worship leader).

After the music, we were seated and the pastor began his sermon. For one thing, I was glad that the pastor was actually going to preach, because we got ripped off in that area with some other churches we visited. It turns out that this pastor has been going through 1 John and he picked up where he left off last week. It was also really comforting to know that this pastor preaches via exposition. If anything, it communicated to me that this guy was at least devoted to the Bible. He did a great job preaching. He's a great communicator, very dynamic, a little like a college pastor. This doesn't bother me, but it's just how I would describe him. He knew his Bible, and obviously studied a great deal in preparing the sermon. He was biblical, funny, and passionate. I did noticed a few teary eyes towards the end, and I don't think it was just "over-emotional" people. I think God was really convicting His people through this message.

At the end, they took communion, making us 4 and 4 on communion and visits. This church takes communion every week, which I am learning is pretty common among the newer churches I've looked at. They also offered juice and wine, so you could have your beverage of choice to compliment your breadcrumb.

At the end, I was able to chat with the worship pastor some and visit again with our friends. We hung around a while, until we were almost the last to leave. I was hoping to meet the pastor, but I never had the opportunity. Well, actually he found his way into our "mingle bubble", but he never introduced himself and neither did I.

The congregation was fairly even for a church like this. Several young college types, but mostly young couples and young families. There were plenty of children (I was told that they launched with 20 kids, plus some infants) and they obviously had some sort of children's program. The people were very nice and we felt pretty comfortable, considering we were visiting. This is probably due to our friends there. As a matter of fact, we were invited to dinner afterwards. We went to a local Tex-Mex restaurant with about ten people, including the pastor and his wife. Unfortunately again, they sat on the other end of the long table and they never said hi. This was a little disappointing, but not enough to really bother me.

At the end of the night, Katy and I talked and we both felt pretty good about this church. I don't think we're going to stop looking, but I think this church definitely moves to the front of the pack. I guess I just wish I could sit down with the pastor for two hours and talk about who they are and who we are, but I know that's a luxury we are used to having and that is not so common in other churches. We'll look into it more....I'll visit with our friends more and hopefully get together with the worship pastor sometime.

Conclusion: Great church. Great worship. Great preaching. Great community. Definitely worth a closer look. But you never know---something better might be around the corner next week!

You Gotta Read This

2005-08-17T12:53:00.000-07:00

Well, I blame Walt for my lack of productivity for the last 24 hours or so. Since I received my package of books yesterday afternoon in the mail, I have been submerged in the text and the ideas of this book, Post-Rapture Radio by Russell Rathbun. Walt picked this up about a month ago and ever since he has been urging others to read it, just so he could have someone to talk to about it. Unfortunately, our move to Plano delayed my ability to pick this up sooner, but I've easily made up for lost time by finishing it in a little more than a day.

Now I don't have the time to go over everything, but I can offer my recommendation, if it's of any value. To me, it's offensive, hilarious, and intimate. This book hits really close to home for me, and I bet it would for you too. If you have any skepticism regarding contemporary Christian culture and it's church, then you should read this book. But be careful, because as soon as you think you've got the edge on the issues, he'll come after you (and depending on who you are, you might get your feelings hurt or get offended and defensive). Like Walt said in his review, "No one is safe".

Church Visiting Episode 3

2005-08-15T09:41:00.000-07:00

Ok, let me just say that the church Katy and I visited yesterday was the first church I have actually been very interested in. Episode 1 was sort of a shot in the barrel, where we didn't know what to expect. Episode 2 was sort unplanned and the church wasn't even on my list to go to. So let's just say that I was excited and anxious going into the weekend about visiting a church that actually looked like something we would be really interested in.

I found the church by way of an online emerging church network, so even at the first steps, I knew we were headed in a good direction. The second indication was the website. I can't express enough how important the website is for churches in this day and age. I have a ton of thoughts on this issue alone, but I'll get to that stuff some other day. But for now, I want to point out that this church had a very good website. Not because it had a bunch of information (because it didn't), but because it had the essential content presented very clearly and it communicated what kind of church it was. It didn't explain everything, but it communicated enough to interest me a good deal. The site just had a great look to it and was clear and informative.

The third indication that this was a cool church was the fact that it met in the Arts Center, located in the historic district of Plano. An adequate analogy for my Abilene friends would be the Grace Museum. To me, it just sounded like a cool location, and it was clearly a new and emerging church. So we went.

We got there a few minutes early (10:55 am), but we noticed that the congregation was already standing and singing, so we had to slip in the back. The room was pretty darn cool: it was a large art gallery with hardwood floors, 30ft open ceiling, and blank white walls. I almost took a picture on my phone, but I figured that would look wierd. After the song they were singing was over, the pastor went up and prayed and then everybody got their things and mingled and exited the room. It was at this moment that I realized that they had not started early, but that their 9am service had just concluded. That means they just had a two-hour service. This is definitely different than the 45-50 min services I'm used to.

So we stayed, sat down and perused the church's "handout". It was more like a newsletter format, including an article about the return of their mission team from India and info about their small group meetings. Then a guy came up to us and introduced himself. He was about our age and he had recently moved with his wife to the area from Florida. We had some good small talk (as good as member vs. visitor small talk can get) and he left. In only a couple of minutes, the second service started.

The room wasn't large, only seating about 50 people comfortably (in folding chairs). They had their own sound system, laptop, and projector that they brought via trailer that I saw parked outside. The worship guy looked around my age, led by acoustic guitar, and was accompanied by a female vocalist. He sang some pretty good songs, some of which were obviously originals of his. He had a great voice, and so did she. His guitar sounded great and so did the sound system (I know most of you don't care about this stuff, but I do, so cut me some slack).

Now, for those of you at Crosspoint, you already know that this is an almost identical description of what a Sunday service looks like for you. And honestly, I felt good about it. I know I'm not looking for another Crosspoint, but my initial reaction was obviously positive. This was the style I was used to (and frankly, I helped formulate). So for once, I wasn't disappointed in my initial reaction.

They seemed to be in a similar life-stage as Crosspoint, too. They had about 40-45 people in the first service and about 30-35 in the second service. The demographic was diverse: a pretty even combination of college-age, young couples, young families, and families with teenagers.

Ok, back to the service. After singing only a couple of songs, we were seated and the pastor begun. We were again disappointed by the fact that the pastor wasn't going to preach, but instead share about the mission trip he just took with his team to India. He shared for about 45 min, mainly telling funny stories, but throwing in a few "God-moments". He also showed a video from the trip that was difficult to view on the screen due to a very bright room and a weak video projector (again, my Crosspoint comparison resounds). He then let a few team members share. About 4-5 people went up and told a "God-moment" story or testimony.

All in all, I liked the pastor. He looked about 30-ish, married, kids, etc. He was a good communicator, but he was obviously "a talker". He did seem like a guy who loved his Bible and could teach out of it with authority. He had a good sense of humor, but I could tell he was very serious about this church and about this mission trip. Basically, I'm trying to say that he didn't seem as immature as I fear some guys who go out and start churches are.

The service concluded with a couple more songs (in conjunction with offering and communion, which consisted of people walking to the front as they feel led, dropping their offering in a basket, the tearing off a piece of bread and dipping it in juice, then returning to their seats).

As people mingled their way out, I almost went to say hey to the pastor, but he looked busy, talking with other folks, so we just went ahead and left. Heck, it was almost 1:30 and we wanted to eat!

So, my concluding thoughts are as follows: This is basically a cool church. Cool enough for us to take a closer look at and visit again. We won't go back next week probably (there are still several other churches to check out), but I definitely want to hear the pastor preach, learn more, etc. During the service, part of me hoped that maybe the worship guy is about to move or something, but I guess that's just wishful thinking.

Other points of interest: the pastor has a blog, where he mostly exhales on what he's reading currently. The worship guy is also big into writing novels and screenplays. They have a community group on "Film and Theology". Their website also has sections for book reviews, online sermon audio, and recommended reading lists. Good stuff!

This Morning

2005-08-12T06:07:00.000-07:00

Well I don't have any hot topics to deal with this morning, so I thought I would just write about what's going on this weekend.

Today I'm pretty much taking care of the domestics. Since Katy has the career right now, I'm taking care of the other stuff, such as: laundry, dishes, cleaning, and vacuuming. I don't mind doing this sort of work...it's a little therapeutic for me, plus, I know Katy appreciates that sort of thing, so I can chalk up some points in the "helping out" category (it's always important to keep score in a marriage).

Katy and I are also going to my niece's first birthday party tomorrow afternoon. She's turned out to be quite the cutie-pie, but what in the world do you get a one-year-old for her birthday? Monogramed diapers? A year's supply of Cheerios? Let's face it--Finley's not going to know what the heck is going on anyways. I'm reminded of an old bit Jerry Seinfeld used to do, comparing a person's first birthday and last birthday. You're oblivious to what's going on, your family invites people over and tell you they're your friends, etc. I have to agree on this observation. But I'm sure we'll have a blast.

The only thing is, we need to get back home by 8pm so I don't miss the Cowboys game. I know these pre-season usually aren't very exciting, but I'm hoping to get to see my long lost cousin play a few downs. Now that I've moved to the metroplex, I feel the obligation (and desire) to purify my loyalty and devotion to the Dallas teams. I've always liked the Cowboys, Rangers, Mavericks, and Stars, but living in Abilene caused me to be a little wish-washy in team spirit. Especially when all my friends were Spurs fanatics. So, now that I've relocated, I'm pretty excited about watching the Cowboys again, getting to see every Ranger game that I want (though there's not much to see right now), and eagerly awaiting the next Mavericks and Stars seasons. Heck, I'm just glad hockey's back. I know most everybody thinks it's a ridiculously dumb sport, but ever since I went to my first Stars game at Reunion Arena, I've been a fan. I guess that's what it takes. And I haven't even been to the American Airlines Center yet! I can't wait to go see the Mavs and Stars there! And I suppose I'll get out to see the Rangers before they go off into the post-season and self-destruct.

The only other thing I'm planning on doing this weekend is test driving another church. I'm going to try for a really good one this week, so make sure and check back on Monday for Episode 3 of Church Visiting. Peace out.

Worship Stuff

2005-08-10T07:41:00.000-07:00

I wanted to pick back up on a conversation I had on this blog back in April on worship songs. I guess the reason for doing this is because I'm trying to discipline myself a bit in the songwriting and music categories these days. I've been brainstorming a bit on what sorts of things need to happen in the world of worship music in order to be relevant yet biblical to the emerging culture.

One of the things I've noticed is how the intent of modern worship music is to connect with the younger and emerging congregations, but it looks to me that, while doing a pretty good job musically, the lyrical portion of most of these songs is just as guilty of cultural irrelevance as many would argue old hymns are. Now, I love me some hymns, but if we're talking about connecting to emerging cultures, I think it's important to inject some more comprehensible language in our worship. Yet, even the most edgy and modern worship songs out there are still drenched with words like, "holy", "worship", "exalt", "blessed", "majesty", and "magnify"....all words that still would be difficult to translate if you were an outsider, or even an insider! I mean, how many times do we actually offer some conscious meditation on these words and what they mean? How many times do we actaully think about what "I exalt You" means in laymans terms? Isn't it reasonable to say that we need worship lyrics that you can fully comprehend right off the bat, in order to fully engage in the worship we are offering to God?

Now, I understand that it would be hasty to think that all worship music should be relevant in language to outsiders and lost people, after all, worship music is primarily intended for believers and many believers appreciate and connect to the more traditional vocabulary (I know I do when I actually think about what those words mean). So, again, I think there is a need for the greatly sought after concept of balance. I hate this word. I hate it because it forces me to realize there is no perfect system, no perfect answers, no perfect songs. We can only balance out the things we know are good but still imperfect.

So, the question remains---is there a need for "relevant songwriting" that offers more universal vocabulary in order that more people can engage in worship? Or should we expect that when a person is converted, they will begin to appreciate and understand the churchy language that we find ourselves using so often? Is worship only for believers? Can a lost person worship? I'd love to hear some thoughts!

New Phone Number

2005-08-08T08:54:00.000-07:00

Ok, I just came back from the Cingular store and I now have a new cell phone number. We don't have a land line, so our cell phones will now be the only way of contacting us. Here's all of our new info:

Chris and Katy Merritt
4640 Hedgcoxe Rd. Apt. 125
Plano, TX 75024

Chris' Cell (972)762-3719
Katy's Cell (972)762-3124

Chris' Email chriscmerritt@yahoo.com
Katy's Email katymerritt@comcast.net

Church Visiting Episode 2

2005-08-08T05:32:00.000-07:00

Well I wish I could say that we visited an awesome church this weekend, but I can't. This is fine with me though, because I knew beforehand that it wasn't going to be incredible. So why go? Well, basically because we had Katy's mom visiting us and we wanted to just do the most convenient thing, which turned out to be attending the church right across the intersection from our apartment complex.

Now, I didn't say that the experience wasn't amusing or interesting. After all, the church across the street happens to be Presbyterian. I haven't attended a Presbyterian church since the couple of years my family were members of one when we lived in California. I was only in 2nd and 3rd grade (I don't know how old I was exactly) so I don't remember a ton, but I do remember that it wasn't a typical Presbyterian church. It was a California church...our pastor enjoyed surfing, etc.

But let's talk about where we went yesterday. It was definitely different than my other church in California. This church was PCA, which I believe is the more doctrinally sound partition of the Presbyterian denomination. This church was semi-high church I guess. The pastor and ministers wore robes, the service was highly liturgical, heavily saturated with responsive readings, hymns, formal, scripted prayers, and standing during the reading of God's Word. This was all very refreshing for me to observe and participate in. I'm definitely not used to worshipping that way, but I think it's probably healthy for me to see and understand how much of the rest of the world worship.

I should probably mention that I hadn't had my morning coffee, and I miscalculated the fact that they didn't serve donuts and coffee here, so I found myself yawning a good deal and feeling how bloodshot my eyes were. I think I would've dozed off if it weren't for the responsive readings and constant standing and sitting.

Now the pastor of this church was quite a character in my opinion. He was a chubby, jolly fellow, thirty-something years old and obviously very animated. He read the scriptures and readings with a great deal of passion, but I couldn't deny some evidence of artificial enthusiasm. I think he was passionate about what he was reading and preaching about, but it seemed to me that he was "turning it up a notch" for the sake of engaging the congregation.

His sermon was both good and bad. First, it was good in the sense that it was biblical, expositive for the most part, and theologically sound. The aspect about it that bothered me the most was the form of his presentation. Now, I know some of us have taken preaching classes, so you understand what I'm talking about when I say that he manuscripted his sermon. This is not at all a bad method in my mind--I have manuscripted several of my own sermons and I find it effective if you can engage your audience. But this guy didn't. He was dynamic and passionate in his preaching, but because of the language in his sermon, it felt like it was indeed a sermon on paper. He never made any personal references, mentioned himself in the first person, or mentioned the congregation he was preaching to. It was very "third person" feeling---very high church feeling.

All I could think about during the sermon and the other parts of the service was the word "relevance". The liturgy was great for someone like me, who knows about liturgy, responsive readings, old hymns, and biblical language, but I couldn't help but think how painful it would be for someone who has never attended church or picked up a Bible or hymnal. If I were a lost person, with an apprehension about church, I would absolutely hate this experience. I could maybe understand that this is how they worship and everything, but it's definitely not comfortable for someone from the outside. It makes me wonder how they win people to Christ besides the children that are brought up in the church. How do they grow, besides receiving new members from other Presbyterian churches, etc.? They very well may be winning lost souls and growing---in fact, they just moved into the building we were meeting in. But I can't help but speculate that someone from outside the church would be uncomfortable here and probably misunderstand much about the Christian faith.

I forgot to mention how communion went! Now I don't know if they do communion every week, but we were lucky enough to participate in this ordinance two weeks in a row now. They did the Lord's Supper in a very typical fashion, passing the plates of crackers and juice. The crackers were just those big square saltine things, broken up into pieces. I thought they were ok, but could've used some salt like real saltines. When the juice came around, I noticed that the mini cups were two colors. Most of them were clear, like normal, but some were pink. I was confused about this at first, but I would understand in a moment. I didn't see anyone take a pink one, so in a moment of conformity, I grabbed a clear one like everyone else. As soon as I passed the tray down the row, I detected a familiar, but not all too familiar scent. This juice was not Welch's. As soon as I began to wonder if my beloved Welch's might have been contained in those pink mini cups, the pastor instructed us to drink and I had to quickly put down what was easily one of the foulest beverages I have ever tasted. After detecting the burn of the beverage going down my chest, I decided that this had to be the worst wine they could get their hands on. Katy later noted that they maybe wanted to use the worst wine they could find in order to remind us of the bitterness of Christ's sacrifice. Now, most everyone knows that I don't drink. Not at all. I don't drink wine, beer, champagne, margaritas, nothing. I have some convictions on the matter, but the honest truth is that I don't like the stuff. Of what I have smelled and sipped, it has all been foul---and I don't intend to acquire a taste for something I don't even desire to drink. With all that said, it should be noted that this is just another experience that confirms my taste preferences along with my convictions. This stuff was nasty. I couldn't wait to go to lunch and get that stuff off of my breath. Oh, how I wish I picked the pink cup! This is what I mean about someone from the outside feeling lost in this church service. You just have to be Presbyterian to know this kind of stuff! You have to let us wine-haters know which cup has the sweet nectar that is Welch's!

So after it's all said and done, I guess the analysis would be that this is not a fit. Irrelevant liturgy, disconnecting preaching, and foul wine adds up to a church not cut out for Katy and I. So, next week will be another church, another visit, and another installment of Church Visiting.

Getting in Tune

2005-08-03T06:28:00.000-07:00

I don't really know why I picked this photo and title for this post. I guess it's because it's a good metaphor for how I've been feeling this week. I just feel like my life has been out of tune for the past couple of months and I'm trying to find harmony again. Everythings still out-of-whack and I'm trying to make all kinds of adjustments. This is all just part of the transition, but now that I think about it a little more, I think you could use this "out of tune" metaphor for a lot of people in my stage of life. I know a lot of people like me, who really aren't sure why God has them in a particular position, who want to know what's going on, what their destination is. We tend to think that everything has to "be in tune" before we can actually make some progress in our lives. For me, the things that are still out of tune are income and church. Now, it's not like I haven't been in this situation before (ex. my entire adult life up to this point), but now that God has actually given us a few answered prayers and planted us in a new place and everything, I feel like I should follow up on all of this. So, I've been looking for a job and for a church this week, hoping that God will knock these two birds down with one stone.

In other news, my life is also out-of-whack this week because the A/C went out on the Jeep, not to mention it needed some other serious maintenance, so I'm stuck at the apartment without a ride. I guess God is trying to give us a good dose of reality, now that we're settled in. No worries, though (sort of). I know God will help us out here and help me find some work and he'll point us to the right church. I have discovered a couple of really cool emerging churches out here, though. I'm really pumped up about checking them out this weekend. I also came across some new house church plants that are in the area that are intriguing, so that's on the horizon.

Well, I'd better stop rambling before I make this post too long for some people. I wouldn't want to make anybody bored.

Church Visiting Episode 1

2005-08-01T06:31:00.000-07:00

Ok, now that we're settled in, I'm going to do my best to use this blog to inform, embellish, and illustrate what life is like out here in Plano. I will attempt to cover every genre, such as horror (traffic, "big-city-folk", and job interviews), drama (missing Abilene, Crosspoint, friends, etc.), fantasy (starting churches, self-employment and entrepreneurial dreams), and of course comedy, which will mostly fall under the subcategories of satire and sarcasm (visiting churches). I'm not sure if I will be able to justly represent sci-fi, but you never know.

Today will be my first installment of our adventures in church visiting. I'm going to try my hardest not to be too rough or condescending, but I'm telling you right now....that's going to be very hard to do, considering where I'm coming from.

First, as someone who has his finger on the pulse of the emerging and missional movements, it is difficult to repress the impulse to "write-off" entire groups, denominations, and structures before even taking a look at most of the churches around here. Katy and I have been very spoiled for the last two and a half years and as a result we have become a little snobbish about what a church should look like, what the vision should be, what the worship should be like, etc. And especially that last part about worship. Considering the fact that I've been leading worship at my local church on a regular basis for the past 10 years or so, worship music will be an extremely sensitive issue for me.

First of all, I'm not ready at all to say that full-time worship ministry is not what I should be doing. In fact, if this past Sunday has done anything, it has encouraged me to remain in worship ministry as much as I can. So, the very idea of me standing in the congregation every Sunday is heartbreaking. It's been nice these past couple of weeks, but I'm not sure how much longer I can do it. There will be much to blog about in the future.

Secondly, the fact that I am so passionate about worship and music and church ministry makes me extremely analytical when I am sitting in a Sunday service. I am constantly comparing my own worship preferences to what I am observing, thinking to myself what I would change, what I would do, what I don't like. You have no idea how tough this is. Again, I will blog a lot about this too.

Also, I am also extremely passionate about church period. So in a situation where I am supposed to be a little analytical because I am looking for a good church to plug my life into, I find myself in analysis overdrive. I take notes about every single detail. Website, facility, bulletin, logo, vocabulary, instruments, powerpoint graphics, atmosphere. And in case you didn't notice, these are all things that I was in charge of at Crosspoint. These are the things that I care about. I'm also taking notes about the more central things like worship, preaching, people, etc. It's just that I make an analysis of way too many things, thus the percentage of negative opinions increases.

Ok, enough explanation. I'm sure I will have more to say about this stuff on the future "Church Visiting" posts. For now, let's talk about yesterday's visit. By the way, the names of the churches we visit will be kept secret on order to protect the innocent and the ignorant. Hey, I don't want any members of the churches I visit to read this blog and bug me with hateful and defensive comments. I get to do the hating here. My blog. Deal with it. But out of the kindness of my heart, I will choose not to name names. If you really want to know, call me and I just might tell you.

The church we visited yesterday was our first choice because it was among the churches I looked up that had a decent website. It had good information on the site and I picked up on some good vocabulary in their core values, such as "biblical teaching", "intentional relationships", "engaging the world", and "authentic worship". Pretty good stuff, huh? It looked good on my computer screen, so we checked it out.

First of all, we got a little jipped because the pastor wasn't preaching that morning. Instead, one of the missionaries the church supported made a presentation along with sharing a message with a Japanese pastor who he had been working with in the field. That part was actually pretty interesting. It was cool to hear about what God is doing in Japan, one of the darkest parts of the world. Still, it was disappointing to not be able to hear the pastor do his thing. He did lead in communion at the end of the service, though. The crackers were pretty good: crunchy, not too salty, but buttery. The juice was good, but the shot glasses were smaller than I was used to...not quite enough to wash down that cracker.

I'm not gonna lie, worship was painful for me. I could hardly take it. There was a band, but not the good or talented kind. First of all, there is no paid music minister or worship pastor, just a volunteer forty-ish fella who was obviously not musically trained. Here's the basic layout: He led the singing, but not really because three women and another guy stood right next to him, singing...kinda like and ensemble. The musicians consisted of a grand piano player, keyboardist (sweet), some high school kid playing acoustic guitar, drums, trombone, saxaphone, and french horn I think. Needless to say, it was a pretty mushy sounding band. Plus, they had a lot of trouble staying together, reading each other, etc. They did some decent songs, but with that kind of sound, it just didn't sound right at all. Not to mention that the "leader" kept inserting these cheesy anecdotes in between the songs that sounded a bit formulated, although they could have very well been sincere. As a result, just five songs that would take me less than 20 minutes to lead through lasted about 40, standing the whole time. He said we were free to sit whenever we needed to, but then he would say before each song that he felt it was a "standing up song" or something, so everyone kept standing.

From what I saw and heard of the pastor, he seemed like I good and genuine guy, but he also came off a bit cheesy due to a evening DJ type of voice. I kept waiting for him to introduce a soft rock song from the early nineties, dedicated from boyfriend to girlfriend. This isn't the type of voice I want to hear when the Word is being preached.

Now I know I'm being really picky, but hey, church is a big deal to me, so everything matters. Most of my complaints about "cheesiness" is almost entirely due to my paradigm of Crosspoint I'm sure. Crosspoint has no tolerance for that kind of nonsense, so I can detect the slightest aroma of cheese in most other churches.

So I guess I should say "thanks" and "no thanks" to the Crosspoint crew for making me so finely tuned to every aspect of church, but I know that I'm equally to blame and I was already a cynic, even before Crosspoint was around. So, I think it's safe to say that this church was not a fit. I realize that I will end up in a pit of frustration and disappointment if I go out every week expecting to find another Crosspoint out there. There can never be another Crosspoint; every church is different. But I think it's ok to have expectations and standards, even if they are high and specific. I know God will bring us to the right place and let us know if we need to sacrifice a preference or two.

I know this is a long post, but first of all I had to preface myself a whole lot just this once, so the future posts will be shorter. Secondly, I'll only be posting once a week on this topic, assuming I will visit a church just once a week. Alrighty then, that's all for this episode, but post a comment if you like and tune in next week!

Thoughts on Arriving Pt. 2

2005-07-26T17:21:00.000-07:00

Well, the dust has settled and almost everything is in place. The only things that are left to do are the things that I'm not good at or desire to be good at---decorating. Things like hanging pictures and paintings, placing quaint little items around the apartment like candles, potpourri, and vases. I try to stick to the basics: furniture, appliances (coffeepot), books, tv, computer, and stereo. These are the things I need to live my life normally. I don't feel funny when there is a blank wall over the couch or when the coffee table has just a couple of magazines and a coaster. Sure, all the decorative touches are nice and make our place feel "homey", but I do not require "homeyness" in order to retain my sanity. No email, no Weather Channel, and no blog browsing could really cramp my style.
I guess we all have our sources of comfort. Mine are coffee, a wireless network, and a good movie. For others is could be anything from a cell phone to a painting on a wall. I enjoy my comforts a little too much I think. This has to be true because I for the few days we were having cable trouble, my life revolved around cable. When my wireless router went out, I immediately went out to get another router. It's pretty pathetic really, but I bet it wouldn't take you five seconds to think of what comfort you couldn't live with out. Sure, we could all come up with some pretty strong arguments for needing certain things. I could say that my cell phone and internet connection keep me connected with people (or better yet "keep me in touch with those whom I love"). The fact is, is that life can go on without the comforts that this world has sold us out to. I've been suckered into a lot of things. Things like Saturday morning cartoons, Star Trek, Nikes, pagers, Doc Martens, G-Shocks, iPods, Martin guitars, Starbucks, and the list could go on. What have you sold out to? It may surprise you what sorts of things make you feel good and comfy.

Thoughts on Arriving Pt. 1

2005-07-22T18:55:00.000-07:00

Ahhh, I am finally reunited with cyberspace. It was a long week, but I managed to take the time I normally use for blogging and browsing and preoccupy myself with unpacking countless boxes and making numerous runs to Wal-Mart and Super Target (that's right...I said SuperTarget). The new place is beginning to look a bit like home, but there is still much to be done. Like watch TV!
We had the cable guy come out yesterday and it was supposed to be a quick, easy installation. Way wrong, man. First of all, he didn't have all the equipment he needed, so he had to leave and come back. Then he realized he didn't have something else. So he left again and came back. Then he plugged it in, but it didn't work. Then it did, but not quite. He promised to return with a new cable box this morning. He didn't. He called and said they didn't have the box I needed at the warehouse and he needed to go to some other jobs, so I should call customer service and have them send somebody else with a new unit. I called and they dismissed my problem by classifiying it as a global software issue they were having and said it will be up and running soon. Later, I called again and they actually listened and dealt with my issue. They will send somebody out on Monday. What a pain. Is cable worth all this? Well, it's not worth the installation fee I paid, so I had them refund it to me.
But at least the internet is working. Sort of. I finally got that hooked up today, but in the proccess, I found out my wireless router is kaput. So, I ran out and got another one and hooked it up. It works, but Windows doesn't know it works. At this moment, Windows says I'm not connected to any network at all, but here I am, blogging away. Weird stuff. Also, my internet connection cuts in and out for some reason. I'll be happy if I can get this posted at all. Not to mention that my computer has been acting very peculiar lately. Problems booting up, spontaneous shutting down, slowing down, etc. These are all very terminal symptoms, so I am eager to have a stable internet connection so I can troubleshoot the problems online. Too bad my warranty expired last month.
I know this seems all very negative, but in fact, Katy and I are having a blast in our new town...unpacking, settling in, relaxing. I'll get into all that another time. Right now I need to get off this thing (I've been working on the internet/router situation for hours) and kick back and watch a movie with my wife.
By the way, were headed back to Abilene already. We'll leave tomorrow and return Sunday. See you at Crosspoint!

Thoughts on Leaving Pt. 2

2005-07-14T06:30:00.000-07:00

Well, things are seriously packed up now. Right now I'm sitting at my desk will a wall of boxes surrounding me. It's a bit unnerving, but we've covered that already.
So, everybody we run into is asking me "what I'm gonna do". I don't mind, but I guess from my perspective its enough to have God provide a great job for Katy and a place to live without having to worry about another unanswered prayer. Now, don't get me wrong--as soon as we get unpacked and Katy starts her job, I'm going to start my "job" of finding a job. The thing is, is that I'm not even thinking about that stuff right now. I'm just focused on the boxes in my life right now. I have to get the boxes out of here and out to Plano in two days and there are still a bunch of boxes to be packed. I wish I had just one box like the guy in this picture. Man, that would be easy. So what if I don't know what I'm going to do? God has provided a great deal for us these past few weeks. Why should I worry that He's going to stop?
But, as long as we're visiting the subject, let's talk about what I'll do. The way I see it, there are a few options: A)I go find a regular job that I will hopefully enjoy and make money at. B) I can look for a church that could hire me full-time. C) I can look for a church to hire me part-time. D) Both A and C. E) I could try to launch some sort of business and/or ministry in order to pursue the things I really enjoy, but not make any money at it for a while. F)Both C and E. G) Both A and E.
Ok, so those are more than a few options...but they have all crossed my mind. The most responsible thing to do in most people's eyes is to just go find a good job and forget about any dreams of running your own business or ministry. But I also have other friends who think entrepreneurship is the only way to fly. And there are people who think I should still be a worship leader full-time. So, does anybody have a vote? This might be your only chance to play God, so play responsibly.

Missional Questions for Scripture

2005-07-11T18:28:00.000-07:00

I thought these were some pretty useful questions for integrating into my personal Bible study. I must admit, I have always looked at "being missional" as something strictly outward in practice, but this has helped me understand that it's not only possible, but essential to anchor this mindset in how we read our Bibles, how we pray, etc. if we want to make it a reality in our outward lives. Are there any other ideas or good questions regarding this?

Thoughts on Leaving Pt. 1

2005-07-08T07:56:00.000-07:00

Well, when a transition like this comes so quickly, it's a little difficult to gather your thoughts. Not that I haven't been thinking things these past few weeks, but I haven't been able to really meditate on everything very well. But I'm attempting to right now.
Let's start with what I'll be leaving behind....Abilene. This town has been difficult to leave, and I don't mean that like you think I mean it. I love Abilene and I have never had the desire that many other have to "get out any way you can". Actually, I have caught myself making a strong case to others for staying in Abilene as long as you can. It's a great community, not too big, not too small, we have a great group of friends here, we definitely have a unique and visionary church that is destined for the future here. There's a great culture here of a young, emerging generation that I feel called to minister to.
In fact, if you were to ask me anytime from my last year of college to yesterday if job and money issues weren't issues at all, would I still stay in Abilene, my answer would be a solid "yes". Why would I want to leave? I have an amazing opportunity serving at the most cutting edge and purposeful church in West Texas. We have a great group of friends. We have family here. We enjoy life here. It would be much easier to just stay put and live life here rather than start all over again and move to a completely new environment where we have much less of those things (as of yet). But, job and money issues are in fact issues and they have forced us to be open to God about other doors he might want to open, and He has opened a door. So who am I to turn down an answer to a two year old prayer just because it isn't exactly as convenient as it could be? How arrogant would it be to receive an amazing opportunity for Katy and to turn it down because it doesn't provide us with the comfort that we are used to? And how ignorant would it be for us to think that God cannot provide the things that we cherish here in another place? Can God not provide friends in Plano? Can He not provide a community of believers that share a similar vision as ours? Could it be that God could actually provide those things and more? I think I've underestimated the providence of God through all of this. I'm often concerned more with what God isn't doing and what He might not do rather than what He is doing and what He could do. So I guess I need to make more of a conscious effort to think more optimistically when I begin to worry about things like who will replace me at Crosspoint, what I'll be missing there, how I will find a good job, finding a church, and meeting friends. I think God is only beginning to surprise me here. This is only the first step down another road, just another part of the journey. There will be much more to come.

Boxes Everywhere

2005-07-06T13:40:00.000-07:00

Well, the packing is in full swing now and the apartment is a complete mess. Now, if any of you know me at all, you know that I don't like a mess. I don't have a certifiable disorder or anything--- I just like things sqaured away. So, having everything everywhere and in boxes is a little uncomfortable for me. Everything is just a lttle too chaotic and crowded. But the good news is, is that it will be over soon, yet in the same day that we will move out, we will move into our new place and the chaos will resume again. So I guess moving is a little stressful for me. I'm already tired of packing, wrapping, stuffing, taping, stacking, labeling, and lifting. But I just have to keep my head up and keep after it. The only thing that is helping me cope with it all is the temporary addiction to Curb Your Enthusiasm, a show by Larry David (creator of Seinfeld) that we've been renting for the past week. The show is on HBO, so naturally some of the subject matter and language is rough, but overall it is a hilarious show.
Ok, the blogging break is over and I need to get back to packing, but I will keep the "transition log" as active as I can for the next week or so. Peace out.

Found a Place

2005-06-29T17:26:00.000-07:00

Well, Katy and I just got back from the Plex and thankfully, we have found an apartment that we both love and also close to Katy's workplace. The complex is called AMLI at Deerfield (Fallow floorplan) and it's in Plano. Also, it's available now, so all we have to do is pack it up and head out. We think that moving on July 16th will give us ample time to pack and unpack before Katy has to start her job on August 1st. I'll make sure to post our new contact info here and send out an email. So far, I guess, things are moving smoothly. The only thing I'm dreading is loading and unloading the truck on moving day. If anybody wants to do Katy and I a HUGE solid, this would be the time to do it. It would be SUCH a blessing to have some help both in Abilene and Plano. Anyways, I'll keep you posted on what's going on for these next couple of weeks.

Fastening Seatbelts...

2005-06-23T15:56:00.000-07:00

Well, it's actually happening. Something that I honestly wasn't sure would ever happen...leaving Abilene. I came to this town a single guy, transferring schools, scared, optimistic, and clueless. Now, 4 years later, after I've gotten nice and settled in, I'm going somewhere new again, only this time married and finished with school...but still scared, optimistic, and clueless.
So what's been going on? Well, I'll tell you. Hope for the Heart has offered Katy a great job as their Copy Editor/Proofreader for their counseling materials and books. The ministry is located in North Dallas and they would like Katy to start by August 1st. We have been praying about this for almost two weeks and feel that this is the direction God wants us to go as opposed to my job offer in Austin or our state of unemployment in Abilene. This has not, however, been an easy decision. God has made a home for Katy and I out of this town (a town I never thought I'd stay in any longer than I have to) and we have grown to love life here. We have had friends come and go, but we have stayed for as long as we have because of several things: God has clearly worked a great deal in our lives here and is continuing to do amazing things here. The more specific way I have seen this has been through our church. Katy and I are founding members of Crosspoint and I have been serving in worship there for about 2 and a half years...more than half as long as I've lived here. Crosspoint has been the central root of our identity here and has been apart of completely transforming my perspective on ministry, church, and faith. If it weren't for Crosspoint, we would have left Abilene long ago, probably. Crosspoint has given both Katy and I a great deal of joy. We have great friends, a great community, and we share an amazing passion for reaching the emerging generations of the world. To be honest, the scariest part of this transition is the fear that we will not find another band of brothers and sisters like we have here. Something this unique, this visionary, this great is going to be hard to find. In fact, our experience here has caused Katy and I to consider and begin praying about starting a church of our own someday. I say "someday" because obviously we are primarily concerned now about jobs, where to live, and where to plant ourselves. Starting a church sounds amazing to me, but I don't want to rush what God is doing in our lives. He's the one with the plan and He's the one with the timeline. Heck, it took two years for Him to prepare us for this.
Ok, so there's a lot going through my head right now, but I'm trying to focus on the task at hand....after all, this is going to be the toughest transition for us to date. So I guess temporarily this blog will be more of a "transition journal" of sorts. I'll keep everybody posted on what's happening (I hope) through this venue, so stay tuned!

Dawn of Decision

2005-06-16T19:46:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time, but there has been a great deal going on in my life. I'll give you a quick run down. For the past month or so, work at Reliant has been unproductive and unstable, so I finally decided to leave the job before things crashed and burned. I turned in my things last Friday and I feel like a huge weight has been lifted. But of course, more weight was there to be dropped on me. First of all, a couple of weeks ago I interviewed for a job in Austin at FaithHighway. The same afternoon that I quit my job at Reliant, FaithHighway contacted me and offered me the job. Now, at this point, you're probably thinking that this is answered prayer and an easy decision. Oh, how wrong you would be. I haven't told you about the job interview Katy had this past Monday in Dallas for a job at Hope for the Heart. The interview went well, and we both feel like we should go that direction as opposed to Austin. We simply have to wait to hear from them. The question is, should Katy not get the job, should I take the job in Austin? The job sounds pretty good, consulting churches and ministries in building websites. There's decent pay, benefits, and a good work environment. There's really nothing wrong with the job as far as I can tell. I just don't think I am as excited about it as I should be.
Now to Katy's job scenario. Again, the pay is decent, benefits, environment, etc. But actually, it seems like a really good fit for her and she is excited about it as well. We also feel like Dallas is a better fit than Austin, based on proximity to friends and family. We just haven't heard from them yet and my offer in Austin is wearing thin probably.
So, the basic layout looks like this: If Katy is offered the job, we think God wants us to take it. If Katy is not offered it, we are unsure if we should go to Austin, go to Dallas anyway, or stay put and keep looking.
So, I apologize for not posting through all of this, but I'll stay on top of things from now on. If you have any thoughts, let me know....I'm always eager to hear my friends' perspectives.

God First

2005-05-31T07:02:00.000-07:00

Well I picked up Oswald Chambers this morning and found some good insight for where I am in life right now. In case you haven't figured it out by now, Katy and I have been at a crossroads for almost two years now. We are both finished with school (we think) and have yet to figure out what to do about jobs, careers, and where to live. These past months I have exhausted myself asking God what he wants us to do, where we should go, and to provide a way for us to do it. As of today, we're still in a fog, but Chambers reminded me again this morning that these questions are not necessary. He submits that we should put God's needs first, not ours. I agree with this, but sometimes it is difficult to walk that line because I so deeply want to meet God's needs, to do God's will, so it often it appears that when I ask God about His will, I am asking Him about my needs. Does that make sense? I need to know God's need.
Now, normally I would just remind myself that it is not my job to know what to do about God's specific will for my life, but that can be very difficult to avoid when the pressure is on to make some decisions and make them quickly.
So, is it wrong to ask God about this stuff? Heck no, but beware of frustration, because He may or may not give you an answer yet. God's been telling me to wait for almost two years now and my circumstances are telling me to make a decision now.
I am here on this earth to do one thing---follow God. I have been created to obey God and offer Him my life in service to Him. There are other things I am called to as well; Katy also has a calling. There are a few essential things that I know I need to do in my life, and as a wise friend once told me, "If you can't do what you are called to do where you are, why stay? If you can do what you are called to do where you are, why leave?"
Now, there are several problems that arise when I try to apply this principle to my situation, but I believe the principle's integrity remains, so I must keep trying. I must always make sure I am doing those essential things to which I am called. That is obedience. That is what God wants. I know at least that much.

Church Sign of the Week

2005-05-27T07:36:00.000-07:00

Now this falls somewhere between ignorance and disgust. This (not only stupid but also innappropriate) sign has actually made some national news and as a result, the pastor who came up with this jewel has apologized and said he was unaware that the Qur'an was so highly valued and "that devoted Muslims view it more highly than many in the U.S. view the Bible". These guys just keep making it harder to show Christ to our world, don't you think?

Just Posting

2005-05-25T19:46:00.000-07:00

Well I don't have a good topic to post about, but I'm posting anyway since it's been so long. My fellow bloggers have taken all the good topics recently. Boyd pretty much obsessed over the Mavs and Steve Nash during the Suns/Mavs series, so I have nothing much to add. Shawn has had a pretty good mix of Spurs fever, church talk, and marathon training.
As for me, nothing going on in my life has been interesting enough to mention. Among the minutia, I have recently aquired the third volume, yet fourth season of Seinfeld. The show is so hard to find on TV, so I must resort to getting every season on DVD for the sake of preserving the show.
I'm also trying to find a good desktop enhancement for my computer. If some of you are wondering what that is, check out SmartBarXP, which has been what I've been using for the past several months. It's basically an enhanced toolbar that goes on the side of your screen where you can access your favorite programs with one click, your outlook calender, tasks, and email, weather, CPU and RAM stats, and about a ton of other things in one compact space. It's just nice to have if you feel like your desktop is cluttered and accessing you start menu is a big pain. Now, SmartBar is really cool and you can download it here, but it has a few bugs that are getting to me, so I'm looking for something else. I've found SpyderBar, which is similar and very cool, but it lacks the convenient access to my most used programs. Now, I'm also jealous of the new Mac OS Tiger because of the nifty Dashboard feature, which involves enhancing your desktop with widgets, which are individual little programs that show you info like weather, stats, iTunes, and a bunch of other stuff. It's really cool and I found the Windows equivalent (or as close as you can get to it) called DesktopX. It's a little more difficult to manipulate than Mac (of course), but it's essentially the same thing. It does lack one thing.....access to programs! I know this sounds petty, but you have no idea how nice it is to have a small, organized group of icons that you can click on to launch you favorite apps. The start menu is simply unreasonable once you've experienced this feature. So what to do.......well, I found the answer and it's called getStarted, which is simply an invisible bar that goes on the side of your screen that contains the shortcuts to whatever folders or programs you like. Mission accomplished! Except that the SpyderBar doesn't look good with getStarted, so I would have to use the widgets instead from DesktopX.
Now I know I lost a lot of you a long time ago and I'm suprised your still reading, but that's what happens when I start to blog with nothing in mind to talk about. If you wanna spiff up your desktop, check this stuff out and if you know of any other cool toys, let me know. Peace out!

Ok, I'm Sorry!

2005-05-13T11:56:00.000-07:00

892052-001
Originally uploaded by chriscmerritt.

Ok, ok. I know it's been weeks since I've posted last, but hey--sometimes it's hard to juggle everything sometimes. Work has been rough, so I'm looking for work now that I will actually enjoy. Katy just graduated with her Masters in English, so that has been happening. Church has been going great, so that part is good. But basically, I'm just trying to keep up with everything, and for the past few weeks, I had to let the blog go for a while. But hopefully, I'll be posting more regularly in the future. Not that life will get any easier (I do need another job....real bad), but I think I have a handle on things right now. Katy has been a big encouragement lately and I'm just trying to be patient.
So what's been happening with me these days? Well, besides what I just mentioned, I've just finished reading State of Fear by Michael Crichton. I haven't read him (or any fiction) since jr. high and it was great! This was a really good book. Big thrills, twists, action...a real page-turner. Go out and pick it up, though it's not yet out in paperback.
I'm trying to find the time to go see Kingdom of Heaven. I've really been looking foward to it, but i've heard mixed reviews. I'm just wanting to stop hearing other opinions and go see it myself.
Well I better get back to the job hunt. If anybody has some ideas or leads, let me know! Peace out.

Church Signs

2005-04-21T08:09:00.000-07:00

get_saved
Originally uploaded by chriscmerritt.

I found a website where you can generate your own catchy church sign. This sign is not generated at all, actually.....completely authentic. It's one my favorites. I like the simplistic nature of it. Heck, it's only eight words and it effectively communicates the answer to the pressing question of "What will happen when I die?". I think it's concise and clear.There are also links to several books that offer hundreds of "suggestions" for church signs. So if you're looking for a witty, clever quip to communicate something about salvation, grace, the love of God, or anything else, take a look around and see if you find something you like.

Overdone Stuff in Worship Songs

2005-04-18T08:11:00.000-07:00

Since I'm a worship pastor, you would think that I would make a post on worship stuff once in a while. Well, If you've been thinking that, then today is your lucky day! But not so lucky, because I'm just going to cut and paste a portion of Ross King's journal for you to read instead of offering any original insight. Now, for those of you who don't know Ross King, he's a pretty popular worship leader around Texas, but is mainly based in College Station, doing Breakaway, pastoring a church, and aministrating a studio. Now, Ross is probably not on my short list of favorite worship leaders, but he certainly should be because he probably knows more about worship, theology, and faith than all the other worship guys out there combined. He's just extremely insightful, mature, and wise, so for that he deserves some big props. I ran across an old journal post from his website this morning and thought he had some funny, but very true thoughts about over-used words and phrases in today's worship songs.

WORDS AND PHRASES THAT PROBABLY SHOULD NOT BE INCLUDED IN ANY NEW SONGS, AT LEAST FOR AWHILE:

“Seek Your face” – we’ve ridden this pony to death. It’s quite an abstract idea, really, and given that this phrase may have some implications that are rather disturbing (see Exodus 32-34), it’s time to hang it up anyway. Let’s try something like, “find out who You really are” or “discover Your true identity” or “know You as You desire to be known” or “see You as You are.” While we’re at it, we can stop rhyming “face” with “grace.” It’s been done. Plenty.

“Bow down” – this is a great thing to actually do, but most of the time we’re playing guitar when we say it, so it’s extremely difficult to model it. Let’s try something like, “give You my body” or “make myself low” or “lower myself for You.” Let’s try finding a biblical way to explore the necessity of shame (as an emotion, not as state of being) and lowliness and grief in the life of the disciple. That’s the point of “bow down.” We’ve just forgotten that, I think.

“Worship” and/or “praise” – in a few years, these words will once again mean what they are supposed to mean. Until then, people will quite often think that they refer to the specific, immediate, musical thing that happens when cool guys with goatees sing songs. Let’s try words like “applaud,” “discover,” “value,” “enjoy,” “appreciate,” “relish,” “bask,” etc.

“You are good” and/or “I stand in awe” – these are good phrases, and they’re certainly true, but let’s kick it up a notch. Lots of stuff is “good,” and “awe” just gets lost in the tragic flood of “awesome” over-usage. Let’s use words like “unbeatable,” “immeasurable,” “pleasure,” “delightful,” “fabulous,” “tremendous,” and “delicious.” Let’s say phrases like, “You always win” and “I’m ruined by Your greatness.”

“Reign” – as long as we live in a democracy (in this country and in most of our churches), we will have an exceptionally hard time connecting with this phrase. Let’s say what we really mean. How about “in charge,” “master,” or even “boss,”? Let’s try “You will not be shaken” or “You cannot be stopped” or “no one can push You around.” Does anyone have the guts to say something like, “You cause me to…”?

“Rain” – this analogy has been beaten to a bloody pulp. As a matter of fact, it would probably be ok for us to leave out the idea of anything “falling on us” for a couple of years at least.

Instead of saying “fill me,” let’s try something like “thank You for filling me.”

“Holy” – of course it’s a very biblical phrase, but I think we forgot it’s implication a long time ago. How about “completely unique,” “matchless,” “without peer,” “unlike anything else,” or “incomparable”? That’s really what it means, so let’s just say it, and leave no room for the de-sensitized Christian brain to miss it.

“Worthy” – again, it’s biblical, but let’s give this idea some meaning. Somebody write a song with words like “valuable,” or “noble” or “priceless.”

“Resound” – huh? This word is completely useless in any communicational context except for church. We like it because it rhymes with “bow down” and “renown” and “all around.”

“Dance” – I’m not against dancing, but this one just seems like the “poor man’s easy route to false excitement.” If we talk enough about dancing, maybe people will actually dance. Then we’ll be that band that was “so good, they had my kids dancing!” If we’re really interested in seeing congregations get excited, let’s sing songs about Him coming again. If this doesn’t make them dance, I’m pretty sure dancing isn’t what we want.

“Exalt” – what does this word mean, exactly? This is the first word/phrase in a sub-category that I don’t really have time to get into. That category might be called “things we never say unless we’re talking in church” (like ‘resound’). Maybe we should think about trying something like “make much of” or “admire” or “highly esteem.”

“Renown” – this is really an excellent word, and I applaud the Passion/OneDay machine for re-introducing us to it, but like we always do when something is cool, we may have already sucked the life out of it. I like “fame” and “famous” and it’s getting used a lot, which is good, I think. How about phrases like “very important “or “reputation” or “reputed” or “everyone knows about You”? When’s the last time we used the word “renown” outside of a church gathering?

“In one accord” – what does this even mean, exactly? Again, we’d never say this in a conversation, so I have a hard time believing that it represents something genuine and heartflet when we say it in a statement to the Lord. It just sounds silly and contrived and convenient, if you ask me. How about “all of us agree” or “we are unified”?

”I cry” or “we cry” – why do we feel a need to always describe our communication with God as “crying?” Any other time that we say “cry” we mean “shed tears.” I suspect that this is just another one of our attempts to insert drama into the all-too-boring Christianity that most of us exist in.

I just thought this really rings true these days. I get so fed up sometimes because I can't find any original, solid worship songs out there. Maybe I should try writing more. Anyways, I gotta go. Have a great day!

Genesis 6, 7, & 8 (The Flood)

2005-04-14T08:04:00.000-07:00

Noah releasing the white dove (mosaic)
Originally uploaded by chriscmerritt.

Now, we all know this story. God is displeased with mankind's corruption, so he saves the only righteous man on earth along with his family and some animals from a worldwide catastrophe. So is there anything else we can learn from this story besides what we were taught in Sunday School as children. Well I don't know about anybody else, but I learned a great deal these past few days. First of all, it was interesting to compare and contrast the other "flood story" traditions from other cultures and civilizations (there are four other major flood stories authored). Another interesting comparision is that of the deliverance of Noah and his family versus the deliverance of Israel from Egypt. Considering Moses as the author of the Flood story, plus the fact that he was under the guidance of God, it's easy to see how these two stories are intentionaly portrayed to resemble each other. Once again, I am struck with how often and how masterfully the characters and stories of the Bible are intertwined and connected. What is the theme of Adam and Eve? Salvation. What is the theme of Noah and the Flood? Salvation. What is the theme of the Exodus? Salvation. Over and over and over, God is telling us His story. The scriptures are beautifully redundant in communicating the story of salvation, with the pinnacle being found at a cross and an empty tomb. And the amazing thing is, the story isn't even over! We know the rest of the story of course, but we actually get to live out the rest of this epic. In fact, it's our resposibility and priviledge to not only tell the story, but to write the rest of it. What an amazing God we have.

This Morning

2005-04-11T08:03:00.000-07:00

Morning
Originally uploaded by chriscmerritt.

This morning I am drinking a fine cup of coffee. It's probably the best pot of coffee I've ever made. Anyways, spring is definately here and that's a good and a bad thing. Good thing: weather is fabulous, suitable for rolling down the windows while driving, relaxing on the front porch, and taking your dog to the park. Bad thing: summer's melting heat and humidity is soon to follow, making the nature of my job seem unbearable, reminding me that I should find some other job, making me wonder about the future, causing brief anxiety.
But other than that, it's a beautiful morning and I'm excited about this week. No reason....I am just looking foward to it. How's that for a positive outlook on life!

Genesis 6:9-10

2005-04-07T08:10:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love the pure simplicity of the depiction of Noah in verse 9;

Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God.

"Noah walked with God." Is that not a beautiful phrase describing a holy man? If nothing else could be said about me, I would hope that when I die, just those four words could be said of me. I hope I would live a life worthy of those words.
Noah is depicted here as the redeemed Adam. It's interesting to note the connection: He is the sole survivor and successor to Adam; both 'walk' with God; both are the recipients of the promissory blessing; both are caretakers of the lower creatures; both father three sons; both are workers of the soil; both sin through the fruit of a tree; and both father a wicked son who is under a curse.
As I try my best to study this Bible of mine on a consistent basis, the thing that impresses me the most about it is how beautifully and poetically the stories and characters and words are woven. It's no accident that there are such similarities between Noah and Adam. It is by pure, inerrant design that God weaves together this book in such supernatural fashion. No man could have written these books, these stories, these letters. Only the hand of God could have written a book so masterfully. This isn't a book of funny coincidences, interesting thoughts, and clever symbolism. It is a masterpiece and it continues to amaze me every time I have the guts to dig into it.

What's a Missional Church?

2005-04-04T08:03:00.000-07:00

People ask me all the time about Crosspoint and what kind of church it is. Now, there are about a hundred things that I could say to respond to that question, but I guess the best word to describe us these days is "missional". Then, immediately the second question comes: "What's a missional church?"
I'm always a little disappointed with myself after I respond with examples of other churches, new ideas and concepts, and vague descriptions. Why is it that I have so much trouble explaining what a missional church is without sounding cheesy or idealistic? I could say that a missional church is focused on developing missional Christians, but still, an explanation is required again. I could say that a missional church is not concerned with buildings, programs, or numbers, but instead on reaching our world for Christ, on serving others, on serving God. But doesn't all that sound like something every church would want to say about themselves? As my friend John said in one of his sermons, "Doesn't every church want to be an Acts 2:42 church?" The answer is yes.
So how can we, who are passionate about the missional movement, clearly and adequately describe what "missional" means without it sounding like just another attempt at Acts 2:42? I'm currently reading a book on missional churches and for your information, it's a great book. But again, when people ask me about it, I fumble around with my synopsis. All I can say is that it communicates what I have been passionate about for the past few years. I think the book also clearly defines what a missional church is (which is great), but if you ask me to find where in the book the author does that, I won't be able to find it. The definition just lies within the pages somewhere. In fact, the pages are dripping with this idea, this concept of being missional. I just can't come up with a clear, concise regurgitation.
So, if any of you reading this think you can come up with a statement describing and defining the missional church, I want to challenge you to do so by posting the statement as a comment here. But lets just make a few rules: No cheesiness or idealistic themes - I've already got that stuff. No complicated concepts - something every Christian (even non-Christian) can understand. Nothing too long - 4 to 5 sentences tops....one sentence would be great! So if you think you've got it, hit me up! I'd love to hear your ideas!

Genesis 6:1-4

2005-03-28T07:33:00.000-08:00

Ok, I've arrived at the most disputed passage of the Bible, Genesis 6:1-4. Theologians and commentators have differed over this passage for a long time (regarding the identity of the sons of God in v.2), and there are smart guys on both sides of it. Technically, my commentary presents three sides, or views. I would try to explain it myself, but I think I'd be better off letting Dr. Constable outline it all:

There are three major views about the identity of the sons of God.
1. They were fallen angels who married women. Arguments in favor of this view follow with responses.
a. The term "sons of God" as it occurs here in Hebrew refers only to angels in the Old Testament (Job 1:6; 2:1; 38:7; et al.). Response. Angels do not reproduce (Matt. 22:30).
b. 2 Peter 2:4-5 and Jude 6-7 appear to identify angels with this incident. Response. There are no other references to angels in the context here in Genesis. These New Testament passages probably refer to the fall of Satan.
c. If God could impregnate Mary, spirit beings may be able to do the same thing to human women. Response. Spirit beings cannot do everything that God can do.
2. They were godly Sethites who married ungodly women. Arguments in favor of this view follow with responses.
a. The Old Testament often refers to the godly as God's sons (e.g., Exod. 4:22). Response. This would have to be an exception to the technical use of "sons of God" as a reference to angels in the Old Testament.
b. Moses had already established the concept of a godly line in Genesis (4:26).
c. Sonship based on election is common in the Old Testament.
d. Warnings against marriages between believers and unbelievers are common in the Pentateuch.
3. They were dynastic rulers who married women. Fallen angels (demons) may have indwelt or at least controlled them. Arguments in favor of this view and responses follow.
a. Ancient Near Eastern literature often called kings sons of gods.
b. The Old Testament refers to administrators (e.g., judges) as gods. Response. Scripture never regards them as descendants of deities as pagan ancient Near Eastern literature does.
c. This story is similar to Babylonian antediluvian stories.

From Dr. Constable's Study Notes

So, does anybody out there want to take a shot at identifying who the "sons of God" are? I tend to think that they are fallen angels, according to the first view (by the way, Dr. Constable leans towards the second view). There are a few things that have pushed me to believe the first view. First of all, Tom Nelson has a great sermon that spends some time dealing with this stuff. You can check it out here, but he doesn't get into this issue until about 14 min. into the sermon. He makes the point that before Gen. 11, most references to "sons of God" are references to angels. After that, it is usually a reference to Israel. Also, the connection between this passage and 1 Peter 3:19-20, 2 Peter 2:4-5, and Jude 1:6 seem obvious to me. Of course, I'm no scholar when it comes to these things, so I may be missing something here. It just seems like those NT passages are clearly identifying Genesis 6. Does anybody else have any thoughts on this? It's a great, tough passage, but that's what makes us look hard at our Bibles and that makes us stronger. The minute we begin thinking we know everything that the Bible has to offer, we begin to cheat ourselves out of knowledge and experiencing God.

The Great Debate

2005-03-23T06:37:00.000-08:00

In light of the upcoming celebration of Christ's resurrection, I thought it would be of interest to some of you out there to take a close look at that very thing---the resurrection. There is a school of thought out there that believes that Christ's resurrection from the dead may not have literally taken place. This is actually believed by many who call themselves Christians. Now, I'm sure many of you guys know that I'm a pretty conservative theologian and that I would also consider "Logsdon theology" to be somewhat liberal. I just want you to know that I'm happy (and hopeful) to know that you guys actually believe in Christ's resurrection from the dead. However, this idea is not completely absent from our culture among other theologians.
I would strongly recommend listening to both Part 1 and Part 2 of a great debate between two very smart guys on this very issue. Did Christ actually, physically resurrect from the dead? To me, it's a no brainer, but this debate taught me a great deal about how and why I believe that. For those that enjoy "raising questions" on theological issues, maybe this will give you some answers. Have a great Easter and enjoy The Great Debate!

The Brick Testament

2005-03-21T07:35:00.000-08:00

And in case cheese doesn't "cut it" for you, I've always been a fan of Legos.

A Brie History of Time

2005-03-20T20:52:00.000-08:00

Maybe I've had too much free time or something, but I found if any of you want to brush up on your Bible history, let The Bible According To Cheese help you out!

I'm Just Rambling Here...

2005-03-10T07:24:00.000-08:00

Ok, so it's been a while. I'm not going to bore anybody with excuses, but instead get on with this post. Wait a minute...I really don't have anything to post about. So how about I just talk about what's going through my mind right now. The coffee this morning is good. We're about out, so I assume I will be making a trip to Starbucks today to get some more. I'm trying out a new blend every time around these days. My regular favorites are Yukon, Espresso blend, and Breakfast blend. I want to try the Fair Trade blend and maybe Gold Coast. I hope everyone has noticed that I post what blend I am currently drinking in my sidebar.
So what else is on my mind besides coffee? The future, basically. May is going to be a big turning point for Katy and I. She will have graduated and quit her part-time jobs, so there will finally be nothing holding us down to life in Abilene. I was just telling the guys at work that Abilene has a tendency to "suck" people in, making it harder to leave somehow. Your best bet is to get out as soon as you graduate college, but if that didn't work out for you, like in my situation, then your best chances will come at those time when there isn't anything tying you down like steady jobs, school, kids, etc. So I'm guessing that time is drawing near for us. Yes I do have a job that I enjoy, but it is far from steady. Katy will need a job and Abilene is not the place to find one. The problem lies in the fact that we're broke, so we can't just pick up and leave and find a job later. The provision must be made first, then the move. Some may argue that this is a sign of a lack of faith, but I would argue that it is a recognition of responsibility towards my wife and my family. So, take your pick.
So I guess the big question is just "what do we want to do?" That's the big question indeed. I know what I want to do in the long run, but there are no short term avenues towards that yet. My wife has a bunch of stuff she would like to do, but her main goal is to make sure I'm doing what I want to do. So where does that leave us? Well, nowhere yet. I will continue to pray that God will provide a way for us to get by, whether that be in Abilene or not. Plus, I am praying that we will enjoy what we end up doing and not be in a constant state of unsatisfaction with what He does provide. So the bottom line is preseverence. Work hard, enjoy life.

iLike iTunes

2005-02-21T07:05:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I'm finally submerging myself into the digital abyss of music known as iTunes. I was timid at first, fearing financial poverty, cramped hard drive space, and a library full of "not as good as when I first heard it" music. But I have set those fears aside and begun to explore what iTunes has to offer me. Keep in mind, though, that I still plan on maintaining my current level of musical snobbishness and strict particularity. This means that you won't find me carelessly downloading any Maroon 5, Kelly Clarkson, or Black Eyed Peas singles just because they are catchy tunes (and believe me, Kelly's "Since U Been Gone" IS catchy). I will still require a certain quality of musical genius and/or thoughtful songwriting. I have been tempted by the sirens of pop music before: Yes, I have owned Justin Timberlake's cd before. Yes, I have borrowed a friend's N*SYNC cd for a few weeks. Yes, I have stopped on VH1 or MTV to watch an Usher or J.Lo video. I'm guilty of it all. But I still choose not to give in to these intoxicating sounds of technical post-production magic tricks, but to strive to find true lyrical poetry, simple musical creativity, and beautiful melody. Is that too much to ask? Sure, I've got some classic christian rap in my library, but shouldn't everybody?
Soon, the downloading will commence (at a small, rational rate) and the music will begin to flow. What a gift, don't you think? Rich Mullins once pointed out how peculiar music is. He says that it's one of the biggest things in the world that is completely unnecessary, yet life would be pretty boring without it. Come to think of it, I would really be lost in life if I didn't have music. I'd be out of a job, too.

Genesis 3:4-5

2005-02-10T06:08:00.000-08:00

Now, I discussed last time that I thought it was fair to make an interpretation of verse 3 that implies that those who do not preserve God's word are at a disadvantage should they ever be tempted or questioned about the nature of God. So let's look at the next verse because I found something interesting there too. In verse 4, the serpent immediately undermines the law of God and convinces Eve that God will "surely not" punish her for eating the fruit. In fact, in verse 5 he submits that it would actually be to the benefit of herself and Adam to eat the fruit, so that they might be more wise.
I ran across something in my commentary here that I think is somewhat fascinating. The commentator makes the point that the first doctrine of God that Satan denies in Scripture is the doctrine that God will not punish sin. This is probably the doctrine that Satan currently tries the hardest to get people to disbelieve. I thought about this for a while, and concluded for myself and my personal faith that this is probably accurate. I wonder if there are any differing conclusions out there. Even so, I think it is clear by looking at the ideas of God being expressed in the world today, that punishment of sin is downplayed, denied, or frowned upon. The average unbeliever would say that he/she could not follow a God who punishes. Or let's put it this way: "A loving God would not do such things". This is even prevalent in many Christian circles. Many liberal Christians would typically downplay the standards of faith, the punishment of sin, and the discipline of God and rather "play up" the ideas of grace, forgiveness, and unconditional love. Now I am not, of course, submitting that any of these ideas are unbiblical, but simply that we, as humans like the sound of grace and love, better than the harsh tones of discipline and punishment. Neither is any less true of the nature of God, but there are many who would like to think so. I would even submit that there are many out there who are critical of the idea that God still punishes people. They would say, "Aren't we under the covenant of grace now?" This is a valid point, but grace does not come without a calling to live according to the standards of God, and I know from my life, that God disciplines His children. He disciplines me. We know that the ultimate penalty for sin is death and separation from God and we know that if we are Christians, God has removed that penalty from us and placed it on Christ, but that does not imply that God will not discipline us in other ways. As for me, I am grateful for discipline, because it points me in the right direction when I am too thick-headed to heed the Holy Spirit. Sometimes we just are better off learning the hard way.

Genesis 3:1-3

2005-02-08T06:29:00.000-08:00

Ok, so I have been slowly but surely making my way through the first couple of chapters of Genesis. This morning I started on chapter 3, when sin makes it's entrance into the Garden. There have been two things that have made an impression on me so far. I'll deal with the first thing today, which occurs immediately as the chapter begins when the serpent asks Eve about God's prohibition of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. As Eve responds, she misquotes God by adding that they may not touch the tree. Now this may not be a big deal, but I have to believe that this is significant. So what is significant about it? First of all, Eve wasn't even around when God forbade the eating of this tree's fruit, so either Eve misquoted Adam's relaying of the command or both Adam and Eve misquoted God. Either way, I have to believe that God is trying to communicate here that man did not have a high regard for His word, thus they were in a greater danger of disobeying God. I think often when we don't retain His word precisely, we distort the concept of God, and as a result, we usually make God's word out to be more restrictive than He does. That's the root of legalism! So how important is it to know God's word precisely? Pretty important, considering that this led to the temptation and disobedience of man. Now some of you may think I'm taking this thing way too far, but as for me, I believe we are to do our best to retain the integrity of God's word and be careful not to be careless and distort who He is. I know a music minister who always used to make a big deal about scripture memory and he always stressed that you should memorize Bible passages verbatim. I have always been critical of that position until this morning! So what have I learned so far? First, I have to be more disciplined in scripture memory. Second, I must be careful to maintain scripture's integrity in order to have the clearest possible conception of who God is so that I may know Him better.

What Are We Supposed To Do?!?!

2005-02-03T06:43:00.000-08:00

We had a pretty good small group meeting Tuesday night at our apartment. Our current series at church is about discovering God's dream for our lives, etc, and that has led to a resurgence of some frustrations for several of us. By "us", I mean those of us who aren't quite sure what the heck we're supposed to do as of this moment. We thought we knew there for a while, but something has happened and we are beginning to have some second (third, fourth) thoughts on the matter. I'll use myself as an example: I've always wanted to be a worship leader, and right now I am. The trouble is that I am unable to do that and provide for my marriage as well. So I decided to find other work in order to "provide" while I continue to do what I love and while Katy pursues her education. Up until this point, this plan has hardly worked. First of all, my day job has yet to "provide" enough and secondly, I have completely lost focus in my worship leadership pursuit. So, like many of my friends, I am left feeling like I am loosing time, wondering if I am really doing what is best. Like I said, this was a good conversation on Tuesday, so I'll get to the good part. I think we all agreed on a few things. First, God does not want us to be worried about this stuff--he wants us to enjoy what we are doing and do what we enjoy. Second, the Bible does not ever ask us to seek out our "lifepath", but simply to be obedient where we are. Also, there is no "point of no return" with God. What I mean by this, is that there is not one specific path laid before us (from our perspective) and we are not constantly in danger of detouring ourselves off of that path. This leads me to a point that a mentor encouraged me with a few years ago. He said "God doesn't give destinations---He gives directions." Now this is all good and fine, except when we feel like we don't even have a direction to follow. What then? Well, I'm not totally sure, but my gut tells me that we should just acknowledge the possibility that we aren't supposed to go anywhere yet and we should focus on being excellent in what we are doing now. It's fine to keep your eyes open for something but I don't think we should get obsessed about it. So as for me, I am still desperately looking for a job that provides for Katy and I. I am also trying to focus on getting better at what I do at church because God wants me there right now.
Now I realize that these are not the infallible answers to our questions (heck, I know these things and I am still feeling a little lost) but I think it is safe to say that we worry too much. Way too much. God is not going to leave us behind and just feel sorry that we missed out on His plan. He has a plan and we are right on track with it, so lets stop thinking about it.

Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?.....But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
Matthew 6:26-27,33-34

A Real Treat

2005-02-01T12:22:00.000-08:00

By the way, a kid at the camp I was at was featured doing the entire dance sequence from Napoleon Dynamite exactly as it appears in the movie (with the music). I was both amazed and falling over laughing at the same time. It made my weekend!

Lessons Learned In Michigan

2005-02-01T06:44:00.000-08:00

Well, I think it's safe to say that I haven't been doing a very good job of blogging this year so far. But in my defense, I've been quite busy. In fact, I just returned yesterday from Michigan, where I did a high school winter camp for a youth minister friend of mine. In case you're wondering, the photo above is one I took from the retreat encampment we were at. It is right on the shores of Lake Michigan. It was pretty cold up there; temperatures ranged from the teens to below zero. But the saying is true that you really can't tell after a certain degree.
All in all, it was a great retreat. We had a great group of 100+ kids and there were really serious about meeting with God. More than that, I came away with a few lessons God taught me as well. Basically, I realized that I haven't been challenging myself lately. I haven't done a youth event for quite some time, plus I had to play with a band I had never met before (a punk band at that). These were some good challenges me. The thing about youth events is that you constantly have to work on engaging them in worship and you have to work hard at making worship exciting for them at times and intimate at other times. There is quite a dynamic that has to be covered when you are working with them, and I have spent the last couple of years leading a congregation that I know, that knows me and knows how to worship. I also have gotten too used to playing with people who are worship leaders and know how to follow me as I lead. The band I played with in Michigan (Hyperbole) was a punk band, and actually a very talented band. They picked up the worship music very fast and were great musicians, but they weren't worship leaders, so that made it a challenge for me to lead with them.
Now I know that this is kind of boring, but it's important that I define what I mean by "challenging myself". Those difficulties I faced made for great experience in flexing my leadership abilities. I haven't gotten to do that very much here in Abilene. So basically, God showed me that if I am really serious about serving Him in this capacity, I really need to start developing my skills and gifts more. When I think about it, it's kind of sad that I decided to stop developing as a worship leader at the mere age of 24. There is so much more for me to learn, to work on, to experience. Truthfully, I think I have lost a lot of ground, but the good news is, I have realized it this weekend and can begin to make up for it.
Of course this doesn't just involve my musical and leadership skills, but also my spiritual walk and my vision for what I want to be in the future. On the flight back from Michigan, I took a couple of pages to outline what I want to be, what I want to do, and how I'm going to do it. It was a great exercise and now I am more excited than ever about the future (at the same time, more frustrated about the present). So I have alot of ground to cover and not much time to cover it. Such is life.

Let the wise listen and add to their learning,
and let the discerining get guidance.
Proverbs 1:5

Delight of the Blessed Man via Psalm 1

2005-01-11T06:36:00.000-08:00

Well I'm finally getting back into the swing of things after the holiday hiatus. This morning I've been trying to decide what I want to study for the coming weeks, but I haven't made a decision yet. I think I'm going to go OT for a while, especially since I heard Tommy Nelson say in a sermon last month that he studies OT vs. NT 10 to 1. He made the point that the New Testament doesn't truly come to life unless you look at it through the lens of the Old Testament. There are multitude of connections, references, and allusions in the New Testament and if we are unable to make those connections, then we lose the full value of those NT texts. So, I am pondering the books of the Old Testament, looking for a place to start. I might just start from the most obvious point--Genesis--and just see how far I will go with it
But in the meantime, I figure it would be nice to visit a Psalm. So which one do I pick? Psalm 1, again, makes sense. What I noticed in this comparison between the godly and the wicked was the primary characteristic describing the blessed man in verse 2.

But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.

I find it interesting that the first thing that is used to describe the blessed man is His love and devotion to God's Word. It is not simply love, faith, or hope, but it is specifically his desire for the Bible, if you will. These days I think the opposite considered true. A man is considered godly based on the level of love or compassion he possesses. This is at least true in the circles that surround me. I want to complete this point, but I'm short on time and I want to make another quick point: It is also interesting that it is described as delight to meditate on the Word. It has been a rare occurrence that I have heard someone describe their experience with the Bible in terms of delight (this is certainly true in my own terms). So what can be done to remedy the feeling of obligation when it comes to Bible study? I'm not sure except for the fact that the more we study our Bibles (with integrity) the more we will fall in love with it. Another quick point is the idea that meditation is described here as something besides the setting aside of a few minutes per day for scripture meditation. It is something that involves the penetration of a persons entire day (and night). It involves meditating on God's Word through the daily events of life. This is a level of spirituality that I rarely experience, but I strive to reach those branches of fruit (v.3) . My time is up, but I will post again soon.

My Grandfather

2005-01-10T06:49:00.000-08:00

Well, last night my grandfather (a.k.a. Grampy) died as a result of respiratory problems and low blood pressure. Basically, his body was just ready to call it quits after over 90 years. This was somewhat unexpected. We all saw him at Christmas, thankfully, and he was quite healthy and vibrant, but he has known for the past couple of years that he wasn't going to be around for much longer. He went to the hospital last Thursday because of fluid in his lungs. He seemed to have recovered, but last night he took a turn for the worse. There is a chance that he would have recovered, but this past year he made the resolution that he didn't want extensive measures to be taken if something were to happen. In other words, he was ready to go after almost a century of life. The sadness does not run deep, though. He was a Christian man, who had lived a long, healthy, and full life. He'll leave behind Grammie, his wife of over 60 years and his two daughters, my mom and her sister, Ellen. We'll all miss him at the family get-togethers of course, but his memory will remain and his life will be remembered.
I know this is a sad note to begin this new year with, but I just felt it was important to pay tribute in every respect possible. This should remind us all that our days are numbered and we should waste no time in pursuing that which God has called us to do in our life. So long Grampy, and I'll see you on the other side.

Just Touching Base

2004-12-07T06:44:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I know it's been a while, but the truth is, I've just been too exhausted to blog lately. But I'm gonna give it my best shot this morning. Today will prove to be a test of endurance for me. I will be substituting at a private elementary school this morning for Gym Class. That in itself will be draining, but right after I'm done, I'll get out on the streets to work for Reliant. I don't plan on making a habit of this, but I need to make some money right now for Christmas shopping. Everything else is just fine. People are beginning to filter out of Abilene for the semester break, meanwhile Katy and I are both working. We haven't figured out what we are going to do as far as leaving town goes. Both of our families are doing Christmas on the same day, pretty much, so it will be a challenge to try to get from one city to another in such a tight timeframe. Plus, we gotta figure out what we're going to do with Maverick, since no one will be around in Abilene during the holidays, and we certainly can't afford to board him somewhere. I'm sure we'll work something out though. Well, as usual, time is short, so I must conclude here. Someday I will be able to afford more than a weekly update on this blog, but for today, this is all I can do. Have a great day!

No Time

2004-12-02T06:58:00.000-08:00

Man, I sure do love this weather......typically. But when you are out in it all day and getting windburn on your face and numb fingers and toes, it becomes a little less desirable. But nonetheless, I will get out there again today. And there haven't been any other jobs that have miraculously appeared in Abilene since I've been working for Reliant. So I'm gonna try to get into the substitute teaching thing again (though it didn't work last time), considering it's the holidays, cold and flu season, etc.
So what else? The Christmas study is going really well, but I don't have the time now to discuss it. My life has really been put into overdrive these past few weeks. I have had almost no time for "church work", looking for another job, spending time with Katy, etc. It has really been difficult, but I know that this was what I was asking for when I took this job, so I can't complain. So, like I said, I'm short on time, so I will have to post on my study some other time. In the mean time, check out the game I posted about on my sideblog!

Chilly Morning

2004-11-30T06:48:00.000-08:00

Brrrrrr! I woke up this morning to an apartment that had reached 62 degrees. It got chilly last night and I'm trying to save electricity, so I am refraining from turning on the heat, but tonight might be the breaking point. I'm not sure if it's worth going inside if your home temperature is in the fifties. For that matter, this cold weather has made my job a little more interesting. Actually, it's not interesting at all. I'm out there, freezing, and the people in their homes do not want to open their front door and let all the cold air in. That makes for bad business for me. So, due to the combination of that and the holidays, I am not making very much money right now, so I am going to continue to look for another job (possibly one that is indoors). I'm dropping off a resume today and I will continue to try to do that in the future.
So what else? Well, I've begun my study on the Christmas story. I've decided to begin by listening to a series of sermons by the great Tom Nelson. I have enjoyed listening to him because he usually takes a different angle on the matter. For instance, yesterday he taught out of Luke 11:21-23....not your typical Christmas passage. He preached on how the birth of Christ was not just a miraculous act of grace that took place in a quiet manger, but instead, that it was a military maneuver designed to destroy the enemy. It was a very interesting perspective on a holiday that we tend to label as "peaceful", when in fact it was probably a wretched night for Satan.
I wish I could say more, but I've got places to be, so until next time, turn on the ol' heater!

Chambers And Me

2004-11-24T06:56:00.000-08:00

Well I haven't yet decided what I'm going to study next. I had an idea to do an in-depth study on the birth of Christ, since the timing is right, but until I decide, I've decided to pick up ol' Ozzie Chambers to see what he's got. On today's devotional, he talks about total reliance on God. In the midst of his thoughts, he brings up a pretty good point. How many times have you had a "spiritual awakening" or "God moment" that resulted in you making an ambitious commitment to God? Then, after time passes, you conclude in retrospect that your commitment may have been too ambitious, maybe after talking with a few people about it? I can think of a few times I've done that and I'm sure there are several others that I'm not aware of. Chambers' question was, why are you second guessing yourself about a decision God led you to make. Do you think God didn't lead you to make that decision at all? If you think the Spirit did lead you, then aren't you just putting your reliance on the opinions of man, rather than on God? Now, I'm fully aware of the variables in this scenario: Were emotions high at the time of your commitment? Doesn't the Spirit use others to communicate God's guidance? Couldn't your decision have been devised out of your own will, rather than God's? This all gets very complicated and there is no single solution for every problem, but what it boils down to is whether or not you are actually seeking God when He reveals Himself to You. If not, you leave yourself vulnerable to other influences. If so, then listen and obey. Others will support and encourage you. Just follow God wherever He leads and He will not lead you away from where you need to be. God knows best and He makes no errors, regardless of how lost we are. Just a thought...

Over The Hill At 24

2004-11-23T06:58:00.000-08:00

Today is my birthday. It sure doesn't seem like it though. There's just too much stuff going on right now. I'm trying to make this new job work, wondering if I'm going to be able to pay rent or not. Thanksgiving is this week, so we'll be traveling to see my folks, only to hurry back the next day so I can try to work some more. It's all very busy right now. Hopefully business will be good today and tomorrow, so I won't be in a bad mood and have to worry about facing our families with less than exciting news.
I finished my study of 2 Peter this morning. This was a really good study because I was not only using my standard Bible study tool, Dr. Constable's Study Notes (of Dallas Theol. Seminary) but I also had some study notes from another professor there, Dr. Toussaint, from when I attended a class of his with my buddy, Russell Johnson. 2 Peter is an interesting book. It discusses false teachers, faith, the future, yet the big idea here is simply to grow in Christ, which can be found in the final verse of the book. Again, I am reminded of how we can make the Bible more complicated than it has to be. Sure, this book contains some "hot topics", such as eschatology, inerrancy, homosexuality, false teaching, and even an argument for Arminianism. These are all good and fine topics of discussion and they should be dealt with, concerning the texts, but we should not forget that Peter is just trying to say that we should stand firm in our faith and grow in Christ. Maybe some other day I will post on those other topics, but for now, I am more comforted with the idea that God just wants us to be faithful, to follow Christ, to not be detracted by other things.
So what should I study now? I'm thinking about visiting the OT again, maybe a prophet. If anyone has any ideas or is excited about what they're reading right now, let me know.

The Basics

2004-11-22T07:19:00.000-08:00

This past weekend I led worship for some college students at a weekend retreat for my boy Kevin Boyd. I had a great time, which is interesting because I wasn't all that crazy about doing it in the first place. But Kevin's got a great group of students and I got to spend some high quality time with my youth minister, Dennis Perry. He taught the lessons for this retreat while I did the worship. God showed me something this weekend that I really needed to see. Now, when I got there on Friday, I got to take a peek at Dennis' lesson outlines and topics. To be honest, I thought it was a little elementary. It covered very basic things like temptation, integrity, sin, etc. But by the end of the first lesson I was completely refreshed (and so were the students). I think it's quite possible that people my age spend so much time looking for "deep Bible study", heavy theology, and complex thoughts. Yet we are constantly finding ourselves stuck in a rut. We feel like no matter how "deep" we get, we still feel like we aren't progressing in our spiritual walk. Could it be that we still feel like this because we haven't yet dealt with some basic things like removing sin, overcoming a temptation, and having true integrity in our lives? You see, no matter how hard I try to dig into my Bible, no matter how many great sermons I listen to, no matter how much theology I delve into, I will remain where I am in regards to God if I refuse to listen to His demands regarding sin in my life and my spiritual lifestyle. I think this is a major hurdle for people my age, I think. We think we know our Bible, know our faith, know our salvation, therefore we consume our spiritual effort with looking for something else. We turn to popular books, trendy churches, and even post-modern thought. When the reality of it is, our intimacy with God is measured not by those things, but by very basic ideas. Is there sin in your life that is being overlooked? Do you live a live that resembles Christ to the world? How do you treat others? Do you listen to God as much as you ask God to listen to you? These are the things that bring intimacy to our spiritual life. This is what brings life to the Christian walk. Yet, it is this that is most often overlooked by people my age (including myself). We would much rather find a really good book, talk about what's wrong with the church, or pontificate about philosophy.
This weekend was refreshing. Even in my adult life, my youth minister is still teaching me the things I need to learn. Thank you Dennis.

Rev. Margaret

2004-11-18T06:27:00.000-08:00

Well, this morning I have an appointment to do a Reliant deal. The interesting aspect about this is the fact that my customer is the pastor of Exodus Metropolitan Church, here in Abilene. Now, for those who are unfamiliar with Abilene, or with this breed of church, I should inform you that this is the local gay and lesbian church. This doesn't bother me. In fact I'm looking forward to our meeting. I've met the pastor twice before when she came to speak at a couple of classes I took at Hardin-Simmons. She's nice, but abrasive. Smart, but arrogant. I guess she thinks she has to be all of those things in order for her voice to be heard. I'm fascinated with her theology. It amuses me as much as it frustrates me to ponder how comfortable she is with the idea that homosexuality is not only permissible, but intentional. I should clarify. You see, she believes four basic things to build her theology on: First, she interprets the Bible in such a way that the Old Testament becomes irrelevant when it comes to issues of sin and morality, due to the irrelevance of the old covenant. She also believes that homosexuality comes by nature. Based on her own testimony and those of many others (but not on scripture), she believes that homosexuals are created that way by God, and therefore it is not a sin. She also believes that the sin of Sodom and Gomorrah was not simply homosexuality, but heterosexuals participating in homosexual acts. In her view, homosexuals are permitted to be homosexual, but heterosexuals are not. Her last cornerstone is the belief that the words of Christ are the only fully relevant form of teaching, and therefore, since He does not deal with homosexuality explicitly, it cannot be deemed a sin.
Now, I don't think I have to point out everything that's wrong with this, but it just amazes me how something as basic as the Bible can be twisted and amputated so much in order to make a path for bad theology. Does anybody else have any thoughts on this issue?

Still Nothing Much

2004-11-16T07:23:00.000-08:00

Well the rain has let up a bit here in Abilene, but the forecast says that thunderstorms are on the way. Needless to say, this effects my job. Business has not been very good for the past few days. It hasn't been very good for any of my co-workers, too. Strangely enough, that is a comforting thought to me. I guess it just helps me know that I'm not doing anything wrong (or at least, I'm not the only one doing something wrong). I trust that things will get better, either before or after the rain subsides. All I can do is get out there and try my best, and God will provide what is needed. I'm still looking for another job anyways. I figure that I can't afford to miss any more opportunities. I'm sorry this post is so boring. I'm just tired, I guess. Anyways, I gotta go, but I promise that I will post something worthwhile tomorrow.

Nothing Much

2004-11-15T07:18:00.000-08:00

Well I don't know if it's the change of weather, the new job, or what, but I felt like changing the look around here. I'm pretty pleased, but there are still some bugs I need to work out and some hacks I want to try. If anybody has any tips or ideas, let me know. Well it's another rainy day, but I think I'm gonna feel better about it today. It's hard to be motivated for work when it's a Saturday, so since it's Monday (a real work day) I'll be a little more upbeat. So anyways, I'm not feeling very thoughtful right now. I've been studying 2 Peter for a while now, and it's been great, but I just don't feel like writing down anything right now. Call me lazy, call me selfish, but sometimes I just don't feel like it ok?!?! I also wish I had more time to read up on Preterism so I can talk more with my friend at work and sound like an educated person about the subject. The Cowboys play the Eagles tonight and I'm too scared to watch. How much will they lose by? I say at least 10, but more like 14. Anyways, I'd better head on out, so for now, stay dry! Only crazy people go out in weather like this!

Rainy Day in Abilene

2004-11-13T07:05:00.000-08:00

It's early. It's Saturday. It's raining hard outside. It's 44 degrees outside........and I have to go to work. Now I knew this day would come, just not so soon. Going door to door is really not so horrible when the weather is cool and crisp and dry. But this....this is going to be bad. What's worse, is that the neighborhood I'm in is probably one of the poorest neighborhoods in Abilene and everyone there does NOT want to talk to me, therefore I am not getting very good business there at all. Now, I'm not whining. But after all, I created this blog to record my thoughts and it just so happens that these are my thoughts at this moment. What are my other thoughts? Well, I think it's safe to say that though I am not excited about work today, I am excited about other things in my life. After all, there is much more to life than my day job. Things are actually going very well in the rest of my life. The things I'm passionate about are showing signs of reward and fulfillment, and I can feel that things will be getting even better. I know this is very vague, but my life has been very vague for the past year, so give me a break! Ok, well I'm off to buy an umbrella so I can go out and face the music. May my patience be firm and my feet stay dry!

Eschatology And Strange Beliefs

2004-11-12T06:50:00.000-08:00

Just a little tip for you coffee drinkers out there: If you want a little holiday spice in your favorite coffee blend, just dash a bit of nutmeg and/or cinnamon on top of your grounds before you brew. I'm drinking a cup right now, and I have to say that I thoroughly enjoy it. It's about as close as I can get to the fabulous "Christmas Blend" coffee that Starbucks offers up every year.
Anyways, I don't have anything profound to write this morning. Work yesterday was a little better. I made a few more deals, so I'm a little more motivated today. It's chilly today, so I'll have to bundle up.
One of the guys at work, who was my trainer on my first day in the field has been talking theology with me. He's a really great guy and I enjoy our conversations. He's also posed a really great challenge for me. I get to spend the next few days, weeks, maybe even months researching and debating his theology. You see, he's a preterist, which, from what he's told me so far, means that he believes that the entire book of Revelation has already come to pass. I can't go into all the details right now, but he believes rapture, second coming, judgement, etc have already happened and we are currently living in the full glory of God's kingdom. Now, I'm pretty much a novice when it comes to eschatology, but I do have a pretty firm belief about what will come to pass. Regardless, I'm going to have to do some serious studying if I want to try to straighten my friend out. If any of you out there have a good knowledge about this crazy theology (which I have not heard of previous to this week), let me know if you have any thoughts. Here's a list of a few websites that he gave me that support and advocate this belief. Remember, I do not support these sites in any way (in fact, I haven't even visited them yet). Tell me what you guys think.

www.rapturereadyinsurance.com
www.prophecyrefi.org
www.wordofvictory.com
www.eschatology.org
www.beyondtheendtimes.com
www.preteristcosmos.com
www.audiowebman.org/bbc/index.htm
www.preteristarchive.com

Coffee, Imagination, And A Wardrobe

2004-11-11T07:14:00.000-08:00

The first day of work wasn't so bad. I got my first deal, so that broke the ice, and I have a few people that will give me a deal later probably. I can see how this job may get very depressing. Going door to door, all day, walking constantly, etc. But the support my team gives me helps quite a bit and making one deal can make a lot of frustration go away. So, for now, my prayer is that I will make deals at a steady pace, so I don't get too frustrated.
Katy came up with quite an epiphany Tuesday night. You see, I've begun to read The Chronicles of Narnia again (I've found it to be extremely therapeutic to read children's books every once in a while) and I was telling my friends at Point Teams that I was having trouble understanding some inside humor that C. S. Lewis places in his book, The Lion, The Witch, And The Wardrobe. Every time the narrator mentions one of the children entering the wardrobe into Narnia, he always mentions how silly or foolish it is to shut the door behind you. In every instance that Lucy or Edmund, Peter, or Susan enter Narnia, Lewis is always sure to say "that it is very silly to shut oneself into a wardrobe. I just didn't get the humor here. I'm assuming that this is possibly some English humor, or and inside joke between Lewis himself and the intended audience.
Coincidentally, that evening at Point Teams, we were discussing the benefits and the dangers of an imagination for the Christian. We concluded that God gave us our imaginations, therefore we should use it actively as long as we remain to have a firm grasp on reality. For instance, it is fine and even beneficial at times to imagine what Jesus looked like, physically, just as long as we don't begin to believe that Jesus had to look like that. The Bible doesn't give us a physical description of Christ on purpose. God knows human hearts and knows how we can become fixated in external things, therefore we aren't given a description. But all this is to say that the imagination is still good. We just must remain rooted in truth and reality.
Then Katy made a great connection to my thoughts about the wardrobe. She thought it could be possible that Lewis wanted to symbolize the very truth we were discussing. It is possible that Lewis was communicating that the fantasy world of Narnia was welcome to enter into, just as long as you leave the wardrobe door open to reality. Narnia is filled with both good and evil. It can be wonderful and it can be destructive. The key is knowing that it is not reality. You must always leave the door open and be able to see the upper room of that old house, the real world, where you belong.
Now, I'm not sure that C. S. Lewis had any intention of making this point, but it sure is fun to imagine that he did. After all, English professors all over the world do the same thing, regardless of the author's original intent. So, the point is, use you imagination. It make life a whole lot more interesting.

And So It Begins...

2004-11-09T06:50:00.000-08:00

Well, yesterday I began my training fro my new job. It wasn't torture, but it was a long day. Actually, I think this job could end up being "not horrible". I'm already beginning to strategize on how I can infuse my witness with my work as I interact with people I normally would not be able to interact with. Hopefully I can come up with something that will not conflict with or compromise my work ethic. I really hope I can make it work, because I need something else to drive me with this job besides greed. Unfortunately, my training is firmly rooted in greed. It's a commission job, and the commission is very good, but the result of that is the fact that money is the objective. My success will be measured solely on my performance, on how much money I make. I will have to take an extra measure to protect myself from loving money and making it, and focus my efforts on being excellent in my work and putting value in the people, not the profit. But, as I said, we are being trained to make money the sole motivating factor. So what will motivate me, if not money? Going door to door is not motivating. Even talking with people is not motivating for someone like me. I will have to bend my heart and make other things motivating. Total strangers will have to become valuable to me. Doing a good job at something that doesn't interest me will have to become satisfying to me. Making money will have to mean more to me than happiness. It will have to mean God's provision for Katy and me. It will have to mean savings, not spending. So, needless to say, this will be an interesting month or so. I don't know how long I will be doing this, but regardless, I will have to try very hard at not stumbling, not loving what is only temporary, but loving what is truly of value to God. I must be diligent in following the heart of God in what I do. I hope I don't screw this up. I have a lot of ground to make up for.
So this is my life as of today. Avoiding worldliness as I am being completely submerged into it. This is what is difficult for someone who is only used to working in a church environment. It is easy to guard against fleshly things when you have the church walls protecting you. "Ministry guys" are rookies when it comes to real world experience, I believe. But that doesn't mean it is hopeless. It just means we have to be strong and obedient. I'll start working tomorrow. I'm sure I will continue to keep posting on topics such as these, due to the fact that this job will occupy 80 percent of my life from now on. I'll just take it one day at a time and pray that God will see me through and provide for me and my wife.

Old Testament Lessons in Faith

2004-11-05T20:22:00.000-08:00

My deepest apologies to those who, again, have been eagerly anticipating my drivel for the past week or so. I have been swamped with the passionate goings on of my church as well with the frustrating passion that is my quest for a job. But it appears that this frustration might be on the verge of some sort of transition. I've found a job doing direct marketing and sales for Reliant Energy, which is strictly commission, but I hope and trust that it will be more fruitful than any low-wage salary I could earn elsewhere. Did you know Abilene has the lowest average wage in the state of Texas? Boy, does that ring true.
As I was saying, it seems that the drought might be ending. My quest for God's direction has not, however. I am still thoroughly convinced that there is something else afoot; I simply must endure this period of time and perservere until it comes. And when that time comes, it will be so sweet to taste. Manna is being provided now, but I still long for the land of milk and honey. The wilderness is frightening, but the promise is comforting. The tomorrow I've been praying for will soon arrive in the morning. Prayer has never been to me what it has been to me this past year. I hope I can maintain it's frequency in my life. I thank God for His mercy and provision thus far. I can only boast in what He has done, not what I have done. Though I may not always know what God is doing, may I know that what He is doing is always best. May I live not on explanations, but on promises.

Thoughts for Election Day

2004-11-02T07:49:00.000-08:00

The day has finally arrived. Today will be the day that we will decide who will be the next president----wait, no we won't. Despite our best efforts and intentions, I really believe that tonight will be a huge disappointment. I have no doubt that tonight will be a complete mess and no one will be declared a winner. Why? Well let me just list a few things: it will be a close race, networks will not be projecting winning states, voter fraud will be all over the place (just check out what's going on in Philadelphia this morning), John Kerry will declare victory no matter what happens (or at least he will not concede), lawyers will be flooding the streets-------do you get the picture? The fact is, this tiresome campaign season will not be over tonight. In fact, I believe that it will get a whole lot worse before it gets better. The only way it will be over tonight is if Bush (or Kerry) will undeniably win by taking Florida, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Wisconson, Michigan, etc. The only thing I will be able to do is watch, be patient, and hope that Bush will win.

Church Evolution: Part 4

2004-10-22T07:49:00.000-07:00

So what have we established so far? The church is evolving and many are hesitant (though many are eager). Change should not be feared, but embraced. Why? Because God is relevant, therefore the Church should be as well. But there is a danger: relevance is often misplaced as the guide for the Church, rather than the Gospel and God's directive.
So what can be done to avoid this pitfall. Is it even worth it to change something that has worked for so long, just to have something that can potentially dangerous? It's absolutely worth it because I believe God wants His Church to reach our world, our culture with His Gospel, and if that isn't effectively happening with our beloved past methods of "doing church" then it must change. Plus, we're assuming that there is no danger at all in our former"traditional" system, when there is. I believe it is equally dangerous to embrace tradition as the standard (just as some churches wrongly embrace relevance), rather than God.
So here lies the problem, I believe. God must remain as the supreme authority, rather than methods. The methods must be fluid, always ready for change. God's standards and values do not change, therefore, we must rely on that. We must always filter our methods and decisions through those values God lays out in the Scriptures (never the other way around). Our methods of doing church should never be the filter, but must be the things to be filtered. The Gospel is the standard, therefore should be embraced more than anything. Methods will come and go, so we must not fret when change arrives at our door. Instead, embrace then change in respect to the Gospel.

Church Evolution: Part 3

2004-10-20T07:41:00.000-07:00

I think everyone would agree that the church needs to be relevant. If not, it's probably because you say that God is "beyond" relevance and if the church just focuses on being relevant, then the Gospel is thus reduced. I only see one miscalculation here. I happen to believe that God is relevant. I believe He is more relevant than anything our culture has to offer, more than anything in the world. I believe God is the only thing in the world that is relevant to every single person on earth. Why? Because I believe He created us this way. He made us with souls, with something that longs for purpose, happiness, and belonging. Whether any one person admits that they possess these traits, I believe it is in fact true.
So all of this is to say that the church is not in danger of reducing or "watering-down" the Gospel when it strives for relevance, as long as it's primary objective is the Gospel, not being relevant. Does that make sense?
So what are we afraid of? Why are so many churches so weary of change? I believe there is probably one thing that generally is used to explain this hesitancy. Somehow, we have bought in to the idea that if the church changes "externally" then somehow it will change" internally". Now, I believe there is some truth to that, because I have seen churches that become so immersed in "relevance" that they cease to be a true church body. Their objectives (as I explained earlier) have become altered. They somehow lose focus on the main agenda, which is to cultivate the body of believers and win people to Christ. So if that is the main fault that causes so many churches to stumble, how can we remedy it? Or should we discard the idea of being relevant all together?

Church Evolution: Part 2

2004-10-19T07:44:00.000-07:00

So, when I say that the Church is changing, what does that mean? How is it changing? Why is it changing?
I would venture to guess that the average Christian does not recognize that there is a huge paradigm shift occurring right now. Chances are, they attend a "healthy" church that they have become very accustomed to. Worship includes several hymns, maybe even some contemporary songs, some announcements, special music, a sermon by the pastor, and an offering. This is what I have grown up with and grown to love as well, but there is something happening in the world that will eventually change everything. The Church is changing. How? Well, I'll tell you right away that it's not just about music style. That is only a portion of the big idea behind this great evolution. The big idea is that the Church needs to be culturally relevant, but more importantly, it must be purposeful. The Church needs to be in touch with the world surrounding it instead of ignoring the world in hopes that it will eventually "see the light" of Christianity. The problem has gotten so bad that many local churches are completely devoted to doing things a certain way, but they have no idea why. They just know that that's the way it has always been done. Now, I'm not arguing that there isn't a good reason for some of these "traditions", but it's time we actually took some time to figure out what those reasons are. It's time for local churches to ask themselves "why". Everything must have purpose in order for the Church to be effective. We must not do things simply because we have been doing them for a long time.
Now, I mentioned the idea of "cultural relevance" earlier. What does that mean? Is your church in touch with today's modern/post-modern culture and it's needs? Do you think local churches ,in general, are relevant?

Church Evolution: Part 1

2004-10-18T07:41:00.000-07:00

Wow, has it been this long? Well I apologize if I have kept any of you desperately longing for more introspective pondering for over 13 days. The reason for my absence is a 6 day excursion to the Great Metroplex for a conference. I will take this opportunity now to also apologize beforehand for another absence this coming weekend due to my involvement in a youth worship retreat. I'll try to make up for lost time in these next few days.
I've actually missed blogging! It's interesting how something can become quite therapeutic in daily life and how the absence of that discipline can affect your thought process. Not being able to blog this past week or so has forced me to actually communicate my thoughts with my peers! That's just crazy right there. So thankfully, I can now resume my regiment of being candid with my computer screen.
So what shall I talk about? Well I think the best place to start is to mention how blessed I felt coming out of this conference I attended last week. Not because I won a new Palm Pilot Tungsten E at the raffle giveaway, but because of where I am in my life and in ministry right now. You see, this conference was the Texas Youth Ministry Conclave, where youth ministers from all over come together for seminars, resources, and basically hooking up with all their other youth minister buddies. I had a lot of fun meeting new friends and learning about what's happening in churches across the state and beyond, but one overriding theme was clear when I talked to these people: frustration. Now, I know that this Conclave is the perfect venue for venting about your frustrations because you are among friends in ministryand not just among your staff. All of that aside, I think there was an abnormal amount of frustration among our youth ministers in Texas. Why? Because of one thing: the Church is changing, but their church is not. These ministers are frustrated with the fact that there are finally churches out there that are seeing the light, as far being culturally relevant, but they are stuck working in a box, in the traditional church structure. So what does this mean? Well, I'm gonna spend this week taking a look at the evolution of the church and what it means for us as ministers and laymembers.

Christian Hedonism: Part 3

2004-10-05T07:46:00.000-07:00

I want to conclude my thoughts on Christian Hedonism today. I want to spend more time with it, but I fear that doing so would only bore some of you. So , what is left to say? Well, based on my last post, I think it is safe to say that God wants us to be happy and yet, He is the true thing that makes us the happiest. I don't believe, at this point, that happiness can be distinct, therefore, God is, in fact, the true source of joy, happiness, pleasure, delight, bliss, whatever. So, if this is true, then why do so many people have a problem with the theology of Christian Hedonism? What does Christian Hedonism mean anyways? Well, hedonism typically has some negative connotations, but it essentially means the seeking of pleasure. And if God is our true pleasure, then we are seeking after Him. There is nothing more biblical than that. The problem lies with the fact that so many people in the world (including believers) do not understand that God is their truest pleasure. There's just something lodged in people's brains that says that God shouldn't be about pleasure, but about servanthood and holiness. The truth of the matter is that servanthood and holiness is worthless to God if it is without joy. Let's just take a look at Piper's thesis statement: "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him". If we are truly satisfied in God and God alone, then everything else will pour forth. Holiness, service, love, joyful suffering, discipline, righteousness----all of these things in their pure form can only come through satisfaction in God. Like the old tradition says: "The chief end of man is to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever". It can even be said this way: "The chief end of man s to glorify Him by enjoying Him forever".
Probably the most life-changing words I have ever heard came from John Piper's own mouth when I went to hear him preach once. He made one simple, shattering statement: "Your happiness and God's will are not at odds with each other". This is when it happened for me. This is when I finally understood myself and my duty towards God. Piper also calls it "the duty of delight". Those words still bring a great sense of comfort today. No matter what the struggle, I can always count on the fact that if I follow God, I will be happy---more happy than if I were to pursue anything else. Needless to say, the book Desiring God changed my theology and my life. I would encourage anybody to pick it up and give it a chance.

Christian Hedonsim: Part 2

2004-10-04T07:27:00.000-07:00

I know, I promised that I would post earlier, but this weekend ended up to be kind of busy for me. Regardless of that, I did want to pick up where I left off.
So, is there a difference between joy and happiness? This is something that I'm somewhat uncertain of. I was taught for a long time that there is. For many years I was conflicted about whether or not I could be happy and serve God completely at the same time. Then, some preacher or Sunday School teacher said that there was a difference between happiness and joy. When I heard that, it made me feel all warm and cozy inside because it sounded like my problem was solved. But as time passed, I never saw any evidence of that being true. It just wasn't a reality. I can't think of one moment in my life that I was unhappy, but yet had joy in God. Maybe it's just me, but joy in God has always found a way to translate into happiness as well. This was upsetting, because my perfect, sugar-coated answer that I learned of in junior-high had lost credibility.
So what conclusion can I make of this? Well, if I had to pick two biblical scholars whom I most respect, I would have to choose Tom Nelson and John Piper. This is one of the very few issues they differ on. I have never heard Tommy preach on this, but I have heard him mention that there are distinctions in the Bible between happiness and joy. Yet John Piper preaches on these themes almost every Sunday and he submits that the scriptures are indiscriminate in it's "pleasure language". Now, I am not scholarly enough to do a word study on every "pleasure word" in the Bible, so I want to make a guess for right now. I have to go with Piper on this one based on two things: First, he has centered his life's work around issues such as these, therefore I think he has a better authority than Nelson. Second, as I stated earlier, I have never known any distinction in my life, personally. Now, I know my life has no authority in light of the Bible, but I simply have not discovered that to be true, based on personal experience. I'm interested if anyone has any thoughts or disagreements regarding this issue. As I first stated, I am not completely certain of myself, anyways. It's just a thought...

Christian Hedonism: Part 1

2004-09-30T07:44:00.000-07:00

Is one's happiness and one's duty to God at odds with each other? Does happiness ever conflict with obedience? Should happiness ever conflict with obedience? Is there a difference in happiness and joy to the Christian? Is happiness ever sacrificed for the sake of joy?
Many of you know that these are the meditations of a Christian Hedonist, via John Piper, whom I consider one of the greater theologians of our time. Piper has a huge following due to his "thesis" of sorts, Desiring God, one of my favorites. I read this book over 6 years ago and its still shaping me. Along with his success, though, comes a great deal of backlash. For those of you who don't know, Piper breathes new life into the great theological ideas of Jonathan Edwards by submitting that there is no debate between duty and delight. Many have a problem with this because there has always been an overwhelming assumption that the wages of obedience is happiness. We have always been taught that we must "suffer for Christ". Christian Hedonism suggests that God only requires our happiness. Now that sentence sounds incorrect, but it is when you consider the universal, biblical truth that God makes us happy. I am amazed at how many people cannot grasp this simple, shattering truth. I did not grasp it for a while, but once I did, my theology was completely revolutionized. Now I have a big problem with those churches out there that teach that God just wants our happiness and success in life because they don't teach that God is, in fact, what will make us the most happy. They teach that earthly prosperity is what makes us happy and therefore God is happy. This could not be more wrong. Christian Hedonism simply submits one simple question: What do you believe makes you happy?
I plan to continue writing about this for the next few days because it is a truth that I'm gripping onto very tightly these past few months and I need to help myself through my thoughts and hopefully enthuse others to meditate on these things as well. Many of you deal with this issue simply by drawing a distinction between happiness and joy. Tomorrow I'll write about whether or not I agree that there is a distinction, but for now, stuff this in your pipe and smoke it.

Rules, rules, rules

2004-09-28T07:32:00.000-07:00

I know, I know....it's been way too long since I last posted. The truth is, I've been pretty distracted the past week. For those of you who are in the habit of prayer and can make room on your request list, I would ask that you pray for Katy and I. This week will most likely be a "defining moment" for us and we will need some patience and discernment.
So, besides that, what shall I write about? How disappointed I was in the movie The Forgotten, or how happy I am that the Cowboys won last night, or my concern with the news that Conan O'Brian will take the helm of the Tonight Show in 2009? Those are all fine and good, but what is really yanking my chain is the fact that Thursday's Presidential Debates will not be debates at all, according to the new rules etched out by the Bush and Kerry folks. For those of you who don't know (or care), Bush and Kerry will not be allowed to actually address each other during the debate. They may only address the moderator. Now some of you may think that is a plus for Bush, since Kerry is probably the better debater. But at the risk of that truth being revealed, wouldn't it be more interesting and dynamic to let them go at each other a bit? I think Kerry would be the one who should worry in that scenario because he isn'teven comfortable with his own politics. Another rule of note, that I can't believe the Kerry guys agreed to is the fact that the timing lights will be visible to the viewer. This is suicide for Kerry due to the fact that he has never shown any sign of being familiar with the practice of brevity. So we will see what it will be like with these "Lincoln-Douglas Rules", as Katy has informed me, and hopefully Bush will do well and Kerry will sweat bullets.

The Christian's Inheritance Part 2

2004-09-22T07:27:00.000-07:00

So....where did I leave off? Well I guess the question I left in the stew was whether or not it is wrong to regard eternal reward as some sort of incentive for holy living. I think my answer begins with a clarification of perspective. If I strive to live a holy life, but have no regard for God except as a Santa Clause of the after life, who only gives presents to those who have been good, then I believe that is wrong. I don't, however, believe it is wrong to strive for reward in heaven if you in fact love God, because those who love God want to glorify God, and that will prevail as the only motive for holy living. You may still strive for those rewards, but only in the light of the fact that those reward are mirrors of God's glory, as I stated in the previous post. The truth is, we are merely practicing for eternity. The present life is just a training period designed to ready us for future service in our Lord's earthly millennial and heavenly eternal kingdoms (Luke 16:1-13; 19:11-27; Rom. 8:16-18). So in light of these truths, let's not feel guilty every time we start wondering about our inheritance. It is already far greater than what we have earned or deserved.

The Christian's Inheritance Part 1 (1 Peter 1:4-5)

2004-09-21T07:32:00.000-07:00

When I think about what I will inherit in heaven, I become somewhat uncomfortable. It is partly due to the fact that I don't know what kind of rewards God will be handing out. I'm sure it will be something unimaginably great, but without something finite to go on for right now, it becomes a little difficult to look forward. The other part is the fact that I may not receive much reward at all for my service here in this life. Now I know that every believer will receive some inheritance and heaven will be the portion of all, but rewards will vary. I know I'm trying my best to be faithful and courageous in my faith, but for some reason I know that I won't be cashing in big time when I arrive at the throne of God. Now the smart ones out there are probably saying right now that it shouldn't matter because we will be laying everything down before God anyways. I believe that's true, but I still want to have a lot to offer, if you will.
Now the question that will really cook this noodle is this: Is it wrong to strive after earning reward in heaven? Now, again I think the thinkers out there will be slow to say "no" to this question. After all, our rewards in heaven are simply symbols of our service to God, giving God the glory, not us. And we will be laying those crowns down at the throne anyways, giving God even more glory. So if our inheritance is simply a mirror of God's glory, then why would it be wrong to strive for those things. After all, the things we would be striving for would be obedience, service, love, holiness, etc. It's not wrong to live for those things, but is it considered selfish to live for God with eternal reward in mind? I'll let that simmer for today and conclude tomorrow, but I'm interested in what anyone thinks about this.

Beware: Calvinisim propaganda contained here

2004-09-20T07:17:00.000-07:00

As promised, I will try to deliver something more substantial than current events and funny websites this morning. And what better way to do that than to let you in on some stuff that I'm learning about in 1 Peter. I just started studying it this morning and already I have had some serious things to talk about. For instance, Peter tends to use a lot of "Calvinspeak" if you will. Now, words like "chosen", "foreknowledge", and "predestined", when encountered in scripture, may cause problems for some, but most likely you have a particular way to interpret such issues. I'm sitting here at my desk very cautioned, because I know that if I venture off into this realm, there is a chance that I will separate myself from several of you who read this based on some of my theological positions. But, thankfully I know I have been blessed with mature enough friends in the faith, that you can handle it, and even embrace it. So I feel that I must indulge myself this morning (probably several mornings) for the sake of not skimming over some very clear biblical truths present in this book, because these issues are not peripheral to faith, but foundational. Now, I realize that calvinism is not central to the plot of 1 Peter, but, as I said, it is foundational to what Peter is trying to communicate, I believe.
As for this morning, I must point out that you cannot move past Peter's first sentence without dealing with predestination. Now, some of you may say that foreknowledge is distinct to predestination and that believers are chosen based on God's foreknowledge of their acceptance of Him. Unfortunately, this is not an idea that is communicated in the Bible. Notice in verse 1 and 2 that choice precedes foreknowledge. Election originates in the eternal will and purpose of God the Father. The foreknowledge ( Acts 2:23) of God refers, of course, to what God knows beforehand. God's foreknowledge has an element of determinism in it because whatever really happens that God knows beforehand exists or takes place because of His sovereign will. Therefore when Peter wrote that God chose according to His foreknowledge he did not mean that God chose the elect because He knew beforehand they would believe the gospel (the Arminian position). God chose them because He determined beforehand that they would believe the gospel (the Calvinist position; Rom. 8:29-30; Eph. 1:3-6; 1 Thess. 1:4; 1 Peter 5:13).
Now, unfortunately I am out of time, but hopefully this will give your think tanks a stir. Are there any other interpretations out there?

The most creative (and funny) blog yet.

2004-09-18T19:14:00.000-07:00

Now, I know that I haven't posted a substantial entry in several days, but I promise I will get to it soon. But for now, I gotta point you guys towards this guy's blog. I would encourage you to take note of the subtitle and read the explanation as well in order to grasp what this thing it's all about. Aside from a little off-color humor and some choice language, I found this to be very funny and very original. Check it out!

CBS Controversy Hits Home!!!

2004-09-16T11:49:00.000-07:00

Well it looks like they found out that the controversial CBS documents could've been faxed in from none other than Abilene, Texas!!!! Well, just as I was fed up with this stuff, a personal twist has caught my interest. Here's the story. It looks like they might have been faxed from the Kinko's here in Abilene--just across the highway from my apartment! Now I wanna go over there and chat with the manager there to see what he thinks!

A new way to pay for college!

2004-09-16T08:30:00.000-07:00

I found this story in the news this morning and I thought it was humorous enough to share.

Fake Parking Tickets

Anybody else tired of this?

2004-09-15T17:24:00.000-07:00

I don't mean to be cynical (although I do think cynicism makes me sound smart), but is anybody else a little tired of the CBS thing? I know it seems like a big deal, but it really is a miniscule issue when it comes to this election I think. Plus, I think there will be very little more closure on the essentials of this issue. For instance, let's take a look at what we know:
- The documents reported on are probably fake: we'll never know for sure
- The information the documents contain (Bush getting pref. treatment, etc.) is most likely true:
I think everybody knew that anyways
- CBS probably practiced some poor journalism due to liberal slant: we all knew that, right?

So what have we learned? I don't think much of anything. We always knew mainstream media is slanted, they just got caught this time. Big deal.

Need to find a good book?

2004-09-14T15:35:00.000-07:00

For those of you out there who are looking for something good to read, let me introduce you to my favorite online bookstore, The Discerning Reader. This is where I like to go when I get tired of thumbing through books, trying to figure out if the author is crazy or not. Well, not crazy I guess, but I've bought a lot of books thinking they were going to be good, but they end up being filled with some poor theology in my opinion. Now, some of you will take a peek at the library in this bookstore and decide that I'm the one with the bad theology, but then you can just go find your own crazy liberal bookstore. Wow, that came off a little harsh, but honestly people, give me a break. Now, I believe in being discerning on your own in order to develop your theology more personally, but frankly, I'm tired of wasting my money on weak books. I want the good stuff! And this bookstore has pretty much covered it, so check it out and make sure and go through their garage sale and find that bargain you've been aching for.

p.s.--I'm sure as the holidays draw nearer I will make my book wishlist widely available so that you can express back your deep appreciation for my revelation of this great resource.

Love and Truth

2004-09-13T07:53:00.000-07:00

I had no intention to make this blog such a pile of spiritual blather and aimless pontification, but it seems that this is what it has become. I originally wanted this to be a funny, interesting, pop-culture-associated bulletin board, but I have yet to give you any reviews for current movies such as Suspect Zero (which I give a C+) or comment on my excitement regarding the return of The Apprentice and Scrubs, my hopes surrounding Joey, or my curiosity concerning Medical Investigation. Maybe those things will emerge in later postings, but for now I must blather on. I know it's my fault, due to the fact that I generally make my posts right after my morning study, but that's the only way I get it done, and as a result, the only thing on my mind right now is something that I learned from the apostle John. No, not John Hunt, but the author of 2 John, my current book of interest. The central theme of 2 John could be classified under "the importance of truth". Now, this letter is considerably short--shorter than this posting, but packed with valuable preaching. What caught my attention this morning in particular was the relationship between love and truth. These two ideas are probably the main key words in this book, so a connection must be made here.
If you had to choose, what is most important to the Christian? Truth or love? What is the most valuable to someone who strives to follow God? Now, actually, I'm just trying to mess your minds. You cannot pick one over the other. They are as inseparable as dissolved Kool-Aid in a glass water. You cannot extract one from the other (I know it a weird illustration, but it's all I could think of right now). It's a waste of time to try to distinguish what is most important, because their value is found within each other. Biblically speaking, love's value is found in truth, and truth's value is found in love. If you believe in the Gospel, the Truth, then you will love. If you love God and His commandments, then you will strive for truth.
Now, love does not have to precede truth or belief in God, but it is certainly the clearest test of truthfulness and your belief in God. Belief and confession of faith can be manufactured, but love is very difficult to counterfeit. I guess the question I've been asking myself this morning is whether or not love is as evident in my life as my belief in God or my affection for truth. Do I love my brothers and sisters as much as I love my Lord. Do I love the lost as much as I love my brothers and sisters? Do I love Christ as much as His truth? These are the questions that shape good Christian character (Eph. 4:15) and I hope to continue to be refined by their answers, no matter how painful they are.

"...But the righteous will live by his faith." Hab. 2:4

2004-09-11T17:20:00.000-07:00

Well, our wedding album arrived today and everything looks really good. If anyone is interested in viewing or buying some exquisite pictures of a simply beautiful couple on their day of marriage, you can take a look at them here and enter "katy" as the password. Katy and I are pleased with Staci's work and this has only inclined me more to adopt photography as some sort of hobby. Now all I need is about a thousand bucks to buy me a good camera (oh, for instance, a Sony DSC-F828 Cybershot Pro) . But until then, I will admire the photos we have and be content with our Sony DSC-U20.
I've concluded my study on Habakkuk. It has been somewhat of an ailment to the pain of my present circumstance. I ceratinly have learned much about patience and faith from this prophet's example.
"Habakkuk was about to 'go under' when he started this
book. Destruction, violence, strife, conflict, injustice, and
wickedness were all he could see. But he cried out to God
and his cry did not go unheeded. The Lord not only
answered his complaint but also provided the confidence
needed to lift him from the quagmire. Habakkuk started in
the pits, but ended on the mountaintop. His journey was not
exactly an easy one, but it was certainly worth it."
I think this book can be a great help to people who are discouraged about their present circumstances and or can see nothing good coming in the future. It helps us adjust our attitude from one of pessimism and even despair to optimism and rejoicing. The crucial issue is whether we will listen to God and believe Him, namely, exercise faith.

The Main Character

2004-09-09T09:05:00.000-07:00

As promised, I have chosen not to be depressed this beautiful morning. Instead, I shall offer up my best thoughts and remain almost Reaganly optimistic. So again, I shall remain in the spiritual vein of things, mainly due to the fact that it is those things which keep me optimistic and hopeful about life.
A bit of inspiration was disentangled from the recesses of my mind last night when I attended college bible study at Crosspoint. One of the central points of John's message was the idea that "life is not a story about you." Now, to many people, this is not something that rings true in their thoughts. Many people live their lives as though they are the main character, when in fact, they are not at all. This is probably due to human nature, fleshly influence, and most definitely modern American Christian culture. The truth of the matter is the fact that God is the main character in your life, whether you like it or not. Simply put, we are submerged in a Christian culture that wants us to believe that God revolves around us. This misconception is too lethal for me to try to tackle right now, so I'll go on to make my point that this needs to be remedied. How? Well it begins by making a conscious effort to shift our perspective. We can do this by spending time with ideas like John communicated last night and by asking ourselves some questions. This brings me back to what struck me last night. About four years ago I received a bulk email from someone I consider a spiritual guru in my home church. The email began with a simple question: "What did God do this week?" That question completely rocked my world. Why? Because it forced me to stop thinking about what I was doing. I think being preoccupied with one's own self can be one of the key roadblocks to spiritual growth and enjoyment. When one begins to stop looking inward and start looking around, there is an entire universe of evidence that God is moving in the world on a day by day, minute by minute basis. The problem is, is that we believe God only begins and ends within our own lives, when the truth of the matter is that we are just a small part in what He is doing in the world.
So, all this is to say, shift your perspective. Change how you think. Look for God, not yourself. When you do that, you'll see yourself and others in the light that we were meant to see them, and God will be given the glory. Peace out!

Is your best ever good enough if God is soveriegn?

2004-09-08T13:38:00.000-07:00

So what do you do when you feel like you have done everything you can and should do in order to find a job, and absolutely nothing is there to reflect those efforts?
This is what has plagued me for the past ten months now and I have yet to overcome it. I have bad days sometimes and I have good days sometimes. I guess you could say today has been a bad day for me. Without getting into the less than interesting details of my quest for employment, it will suffice to say that I have had a tough time finding a job. Whether it is here in Abilene, Dallas, Houston, California, or New Jersey--God has yet to provide a job. Now, for those of you out there who are subconciously saying, "Well you must not be looking hard enough" or, "You're probably too proud to take the jobs that are available", I must submit that not even the local barbecue pit needs a busboy.
So back to the question: What does a Worship Pastor do when doing what he loves to do is not paying off? What does he do when he can't even find a job that he hates? Well I have a few suggestions that I know are essential in times like these, but as I said, God has yet to respond.
Constant and repeated prayer? Having those around me pray as well? Fasting? Constantly contacting eveyone I know in hopes that God will use them to provide? Constantly penetrating every place of employment with my resume? Needless to say, I have checked all of these things off of my list countless times.
So what is the answer? Well, I'll tell you. Keep trying. Keep working as hard as I can to resolve this issue. Pursue everything. Keep praying. Keep asking others to pray. Keep doing exactly what I've been doing. If I've missed anything, let me know.
I'm sorry for this moment of weakness. I struggled whether or not I should use this website to vent about my life, but I figured, if you can't vent on a blog, where can you vent? I don't want you to think that I'm going crazy here. I still go to sleep every night knowing that God does provide and He will provide. I also know he will provide exactly what I need. I also know that He will probably provide something better than I am expecting. I'm just tired of doing the legwork I guess.
Again, I apologize for the depressing monologue, but it's really the only thing on my mind today. I promise to keep it light next time!

Questions vs. Answers

2004-09-07T08:40:00.000-07:00

Well, rather than waiting until I'm inspired (which occurs rarely), I've decided to make a disciplined effort to extract my thoughts on a regular basis and implant them here on this blog in order to be benevolent with that inspiration.
As for today, I only have one sliver of meditation to offer. It would fall into the category of the spiritual, so for those of you who are already bored, or have a tendency to doze off at the utterance of such nouns as "theology", "philosophy", or "orthodoxy", feel free to go about your business.
I ran across something in a commentary of mine as I was studying Habakkuk yesterday morning (yeah, that's right-Habakkuk) and reading about the man who is proud. A proud man is wrapped up in himself, therefore his inwardenss is twisted up, crooked. What was interesting to me is the contrast between straightness and crookedness. If I asked you to imagine a straight stick, everyone would visualize straightness. But if I asked you to imagine a crooked stick, everyone would visualize a different shape of crookedness. A crooked stick may be crooked in a hundred different ways, but there is only one way a straight stick can be straight. Goodness is basically simple, but evil is exceedingly complex. Goodness looks only one way, but evil can take many different forms and shapes.
I think we tend to complicate righteousness way too often. This is not to say that the christian faith is easy, but it is simple. Now I do believe there are issues in life that are difficult to resolve, but when your are dealing with issues of righteousness, I believe it is as simple as a straight line. Those of us who are Christ-followers know what is right and what is wrong. We have that inner voice of God that tells us which is which and when we are too dull to to that voice, we have the written Word to articulate these things as well. I think the only time it gets difficult is when we try to bend the rules, legalistically abuse the scriptures, and use fleshly reasoning rather than listening to God's voice. In other words, if you are following Christ, you know what is righteous and what is not.
Now I'm sure some of you out there have already prepared to advance the theory that I'm a fundamental wacko, and that's fine; I'm sure you will gain a plethera of evidence here from this blog to support that theory. As far as what I think about myself, I believe there are answers to our questions. I also believe that those answers are right in front of us sometimes and we just need to look past everything else and grab ahold of the truth and never let go. I also believe in treasuring those answers that we find. This is not to say that unanswered questions are bad, but that answers are good. We will never have every answer, but there sure are alot of them out there that are just staring us in the face.

My first thought for cyberspace

2004-09-06T15:31:00.000-07:00

Well, this is the maiden voyage in my attempt to be a part of the global community and make up for my pathetic efforts in corresponding with my friends and family abroad. Now, we say that email is so convenient and it makes life so much easier, but we all know that we would never get anything done if we actually kept up with everyone we care about via email. So, in the spirit of lifestyle efficiency, I've decided to create this little nugget of pointless drivel so those of you out there who are dying to get to know me even more can now peruse my more shallow than deep thoughts with the upmost scrutiny.
Hopefully this will evolve into some sort of retrospective quasi-spiritual journal of the information age. This, in turn, could become something of use to me in my spiritual journey (because we all know that this is just worthless if it merely benefits others).
So, now that I am already completely exhausted from composing this less than voluminous entry, I will hope and pray that those of you that have enjoyed your time here will interact and post an insightful and/or humorous message of your own (I know I can count on you, Walt).