Honestly, it’s been a pretty tough couple of weeks. But God has sure been good to me through it all.

He is molding and shaping and refining me more every day.

He is reminding me whose I am and whose approval I seek.

He is teaching me what happens to prophetic voices.

He is showing me that I have a lot of growth to do before I am ready to speak for him on a weekly basis.

It’s been tough. But really good. Isn’t it funny how that works?

Off to Nashville in the morning with 12 high schoolers and 3 fellow chaperones. We will be working with the Nashville Inner City Ministry there and hoping to live out our youth group motto of “helping the kingdom of God break out in new places.”

Prayers are appreciated. Be blessed my friends.

What if I greeted every person I met with the love and compassion of Jesus?

What would have to change in my day?
What would I have to do with my formal schedule and completely booked planner?
What kind of attitude would I have to have?
What kind of words would I speak?
What would happen to my neatly outlined budget?
What kind of prayers would I pray?

What if?

It has been quite a busy last few weeks for me, Stacey, and the ccoc youth group.  But it has been a good last couple of weeks.

We had a great time at Camp of the Hills and I was blessed by seeing our kids step up to the challenge of not just being there but being there with the sole purpose of loving the kids in their proximity as much as possible.  I am immeasurably blessed that we have kids in the youth group that have bought into the vision and dream of making this world more than just about them and of being committed to making the world a better place. In short, I love having kids that really want to “help the kingdom of God break out in new places” (our youth group motto). Thank you for that inspiration Jesus!

And yesterday we had a great trip down to Schlitterbahn.  Even poison ivy and 101′ temperatures couldn’t quell the fun we had being together all day.  I am so grateful to have a group that gets along and enjoys spending time with one another.  It was one of only 3 or 4 times in the last 10 months that we have done something just for us but even in that I appreciate the Christian community of love and concern that is forming between our kids.  They are not just kids who go to the same church; they are becoming one.  Praise God!

Thanks for hanging in there with my inconsistency…

After a week of serving with our youth group at Camp of the Hills, we are blessed. Exhausted but blessed.

More to come tomorrow.

Sorry for the week plus hiatus after what had been a pretty consistent couple of months of blogging.  Stacey and I went to NYC last weekend for a short vacation and had a great time.  There are several things I want to write about our trip there and some other things so I will get back on track in the next couple of days.  Thanks for still checking in.

Blessings.

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-and all the more as you see the day approaching…remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you stood your ground in a great contest in the face of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You sympathized with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions.” Hebrews 10:24-25; 32-34

This will be the text I preach from at church on June 1st. My question has been, and will continue to be, “what must we start doing at church to be a changed people when we leave?”

How would you answer that question?

Stacey and I attend a small group Bible study on Sunday nights. It is a group that is young (ranging in age from 18-30), educated (several are still in college, one recent graduate with a PhD), middle to upper class, and white. In short, it is a fairly typical glimpse into a group of Generation X’ers from the church of Christ. At least from the outside looking in.

Now our group has had good discussion and Bible study throughout the year. As with anything, some nights have gone better than others. But this past Sunday we shared 20-30 minutes of conversation that was downright explosive. In the best way possible.

The right questions were being asked. Cliche answers were left out of the conversation. Tough scenarios were laid out as necessary possibilities to Christ following in this world. Accountability was invited. Status quo was scoffed at. It was really good stuff. It was dangerous for everyone there. And I think it’s in those dangerous moments that we get a glimpse of the kingdom of God.

There was NOTHING easy, safe, clean, insulated, or cliche about the life that Jesus lived. He was a radical, poor, homeless vagabond. He lived in constant danger. Physically, politically, and socially. That was his life.

And it has to be ours if we take Jesus seriously. And it all starts with dangerous conversations.

“The predominant atmosphere of the [Lord's] supper in the contemporary church is an altar mentality. The church usually approaches the supper with penance and confession of sin. We come to the ‘altar’ with our guilt and remorse, or we come to the ‘altar’ with deep introspection. We are encouraged to think about the death of Christ, especially its pain and gore…No one talks while they eat and drink. No one looks up but everyone prays with a bowed head, and certainly no one looks anyone else in the eye…We still use the language of “table,” but we practice it as an altar.

But the table metaphor is more than figurative language.  It was a real table as Christians gathered for a meal where they shared themselves and their food in the presence of the living host. The table, as a meal, was an interactive event where people talked with each other and “fellowshipped” each other. They not only shared food, but they shared their lives. Rather than private introspection, the table was a public, expressive and communal event.  Rather than approached in penance, sorrow and remorse, people experienced the table with joy and peace. Table was more about eating and drinking with the risen Lord than it was a gruesome remembrance of the death of Christ…The table celebrates victory.” 

From John Mark Hick’s Come To The Table.

I was deeply blessed by our graduation banquet last night at church.   I had been so busy trying to get every detail together that I probably forgot what the night was really about: three young men, all headed in different directions in life, each being sent off into the world with the blessing and support of our church family.

The part of our evening that touched me the most was the hour that dozens of people stood up and spoke words of love, faith, courage, hope, passion, and blessing to our graduates.  It was a powerful reminder of the importance of community. It was authentic, genuine, and spirit filled. It was good.  It was God.