The Fields are White for Harvest

Video

2007-05-09T10:05:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I just don't want to be serious. But sometimes I don't have a choice. We are in a world that forces you to take a stance if you want to make a difference. This video illustrates what I mean. This girl is a fighter who stands for leaving the world a better place than she found it. Someone so committed to a particular world-view that she is willing to give it all to defend what she believes. I hope you enjoy it. Fight the good fight: Sparta!

T

Interfaith Social Services

2007-04-13T08:15:00.000-05:00

So I had a meeting yesterday with Laura, the head of a volunteer organization here in Quincy called Interfaith Social Services. It was awesome. I want so badly to get out of working at Lowe's and into working full-time for the Kingdom of God. This wouldn't be a job, but rather a volunteer opportunity. This seems like an awesome organization with arms stretching into almost every aspect of the local Quincy community. They have people literally from every faith in the local area represented within their volunteer base. That can be good or bad. It is important to me to give credit where credit is due. I want people I help in any way to know that I am doing it as a Christian servant for God...not just "because I'm a good or nice guy." It can be a little more complicated and difficult to get that across when there are people from various backgrounds doing the same good things along with me. I know that between me and God, God is still glorified in the end, but I still want those being served to have the fullest opportunity to experience God and come into a relationship with him. That's a tight rope I think I will be walking all my life: On one side you want to "push" the knowledge of God onto someone, and on the other side you must give people appropriate time and space.

I know that some people feel that you don't have to be "working full-time" for God to really be serving God full-time. I agree. However, God has been making it very clear to me for many years that the more traditional "full-time" ministry is in the cards for me at some point. I don't know exactly what for or fashion or time-line I'm talking about, but it is quite possible that this new connection to Interfaith Social Services may offer me some level of opportunity to get involved doing full-time ministry. I don't know if it will be at a church, school, community organization, or something else I haven't thought of yet...who knows what the future holds (God...duh). Not me. The challenge is to live for God and be a faithful, appreciative ambassador for him every step of the way...whether you like the path or not.

T

Sick

2007-04-04T09:06:00.000-05:00

So, I've been sick for about a week...but almost better now. I am such a dummy when it comes to being sick. I was actually getting sick for about 3 days before I would verbally acknowledge it to anyone. It's like I truly believed that if I could just not allow it to affect me and ignore it... maybe it would loose interest in me. It would see me as too strong of an adversary and, hanging it's head in defeat, the sickness would move along to some other unsuspecting weaker vessel. But alas, a pale-faced, sweat dripped salesman with snot dribbling from his nose will never be very effective at selling refrigerators.

Luckily I am getting better just in time to pass this fun illness on to my unsuspecting wife. So, between her swatting at me every time I pass by her for making her sick, I am trying to bring her back to 100%.

Men and women are very different when they get sick. Men become like pathetic 5 year olds who can't so much as sit up to accept the food they are being served. It doesn't matter if you are a 90 lb. computer geek or a 350 lb construction worker. Sickness is the great equalizer for men. Women, on the other hand, become vicious. It's like they want to be taken care of and served just like the man, but then they eventually build up a resentment toward you for your inadequate service. You may have just cooked something wrong, or served them the wrong flavor tea. But, you definitely have to be on egg-shells when the women are sick... Not so much for the men. But, boy are we pathetic.

*DISCLAIMER*
This is my professional (no-so-much) analysis of sickness. However, still being doped up, I reserve the right to take back any of it that may get me in trouble at a later date.

T

Steve Harvey...

2007-03-24T08:32:00.000-05:00

Well, I've never watched Steve Harvey... He's never really piqued my interest before. But I must admit that this was pretty inspiring. Now I liked what he said, and I liked the audience immediate shift into "church" mode. But to me, the best part of this whole clip is Steve Harvey's face at the very end. Wow, it really made me ask "what happened to him before he went on that night?" Anyway, enjoy it.

And now for something completely different...

2007-03-23T15:48:00.000-05:00

So, let me preface anything here by saying that I am writing in a virtual fit of frustrated rage! (I'm sure you're intimidated.) I have held the view for a while that the testicular fortitude of the American society (especially the American man) is on its way out the door. Much of this due to political correctness, and other ridiculous concepts gone to extremes. This however, I am not interested in debating here. What I am more concerned with is the impact these changes will have on my children and future generations. Over an over I read stories like this and I am disgusted with wussification of the American man.

This story is about a man in Westboro, MA who gets angry at a kid at a skating rink and so how does this man resolve his problem? A 40+ year old man attacks: kicks, punches, yells at a 10 year old kid. He beats the fire out of this 10 year old in front of an ice skating rink full of adults. I am ENRAGED by this. But apparently no one else was. While this disgusting atrocity was being publicly committed NOT A SINGLE PERSON stepped forward to help. All these pathetic excuses for men (and women for that matter) sat there and watched this all happen. There is no excuse. There is no justification. Nothing you can say, no variable will ever make the decision to permit this beating, the right decision.

It would be one thing if this were a single isolated event, but it's not. Far from it. I could scour the Internet and find story after story of horrible crimes taking place in front of even hundreds of people who do nothing. What is this all about? Are we really so pathetically egocentric, so disturbingly pragmatic and concerned with our own well-being and safety that we are not willing to, for one moment, take a chance. And yes, I acknowledge that it is a chance. Sometimes a large chance, sometimes not much of a chance. In the case of the man at skating rink, he had no weapon and looked like a strung out meth. addict (I know meth addicts...I lived in Arkansas) . He was not intimidating.

So I ask myself, and I ask you, what would happen if you were in the same situation? I'd like to think that I would charge at that guy in an instant. I would throw him on his back and make sure (through whatever means necessary) he didn't move until police arrived. I might be arrested. That's OK. I may end up with a record. That's OK. I may have saved the life of a small child who was being abused; that is well worth a police record.

Now, I am certainly not a very physically imposing man. I am 5'7 and 160...how's that for scary. So I am definitely not pulling the "macho man" card here. If I am to be honest with you, the only card I AM pulling is the Christian card.

I don't know exactly how Christ would handle that situation. Whether or not Christ would throw the guy off and beat him within an inch of his pathetic existence is beyond me. But I know that Christ loved more fully and more completely than anyone else could ever do. I assume that means some kind of mercy for the bottom-feeder of a man I want jailed indefinitely. I'd like to think that with plenty of time to think and decide, that I would make the exact right Christ-like decision. However, when I'm in the moment and I see something like that taking place my base instinct will tell me this must be stopped and Christ would want it stopped. Beyond that, I still have room to grow as a Christian. But I know that I would honor God with my decision and strive to always intervene. What would you do?

Post-modernism... Let's Talk

2007-03-16T16:22:00.000-05:00

*Thank you Steph. and Kaitlin for inviting me and Meghan to the rally/worship. Unfortunately, I am working throughout this entire weekend. I do want to get over there again while your family is there since you guys were on a vacation last time I came by. I appreciate your invite.*

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I'd like to take a few minutes to look at this whole concept of post modernism. I must be honest, there are a lot of people in the world with a lot more knowledge than I have on this topic. I have done a little reading and research, but the majority of my knowledge in the area comes from discussion and experience with people who may hold postmodern views.

I'd like to start by saying that trying to have an educated discussion about what the definition of post modernism is will inevitably lead you into a frenzied twitching spell. As you discuss it, one of two things will happen. Either you will end up in a circular discussion where you feel like you are on a merry-go-round (the wit and intellectualism of the post modern person you are trying to understand will determine just how dizzying an experience that will be). Or, possibly the slightly preferred of the two, in an attempt to keep the conversation moving forward and not in a circular pattern, you find yourself and the person you are talking to repeating phrases like "well, 'X' is right for you, but 'Y' is true for me," or "Let's just say we can both be right."

So how do you bring someone like this to Christ? Christ either did or didn't live, either was or wasn't resurrected, Christianity either is or isn't true. This is obvious, but the problem is that to a truly post-modern thinker one answer is as good as another. Or worse yet, they are both true or both false AND at the same time! Your truth and evidence about Christ's life, death, and resurrection are just as valid as the non-believers evidence (or more often emotions and feelings) that Christ didn't die and rise from the dead.

Here is the main problem. As long as you are willing to believe that you are right and I believe I am right and our answers are mutually exclusive of one another, I would say one of us is wrong. The post-modern would not. This philosophy (I say philosophy because it is not a belief system) allows a person to, in good conscience, deny what humanity has known to be truth since the beginning of time. All we have to learn from are our senses (except for what God provides outside of that, but a post-modern person is no where near ready to try to take that one on).

This leads us into belief systems. Your belief system allows you to make decisions throughout your day. Most of humanity has always existed within the same developing belief system (This doesn't include morality, but rather questions of logic and physics, math, science, etc). But now we have post modernism claiming to have a "new" way to understand belief and truth. The post modern person may believe that the bat you swinging at him isn't there, but when you swing it, he'll still make the decision to duck. Why? If it's not there, what's the problem? Well, obviously they still function in the same belief system as everyone else and they know that the Louisville Slugger won't disappear just because they believe it should.

All post-modernism allows a person to do is to call upon a philosophy that will give them an excuse to live the life they want to live and make the decisions they want to make with minimum criticism from society and a clear conscience.

If your belief system breaks down under everyday scrutiny, what good is it too you? I realize that there is much more to it. Post-modernism comes into play in politics, business, relationships, etc. This philosophy is designed to help us all get along, understand and respect each other. It is political correctness gone mad. It is the daily life equivalent of the CEO's kiss up "Yes-man." No matter what you say, it's right. My point is that it is of no TRUE value in any arena of life. It may make everyone get along and play nicely, but you still haven't dealt with any root causes of problems.

So, how do you bring someone like this to Christ? Well, I don't know for sure. I haven't yet had the luxury yet, although I'm in the middle of a "work in progress." This is what I'm convinced of so far.

1. You cannot logically deduce with this type of person. Logic is, at best, of secondary importance.
2. You cannot preach to this person. If you are challenging them, they easily disregard it.
3. You have to genuinely care about the person. This is of utmost importance. You cannot just be looking for a convert. a) They will see through that. b) you will not last long enough if that is your only motivation.

Right now (subject to change), I think the best way to bring a post-modern to Christ is by letting him tell you what he believes. Then have him let you tell him what you believe. You are no better or worse. You then live out what you believe in your daily life. You let Christ do the changing of hearts. You must be constantly ready to answer and defend what you believe. When he/she is finally willing to experience worship, it must be real. Not, some liturgical tradition without meaning. I believe that through this experience a post modern person will over a period of time "choose" to give up much of his post modern mindset in favor of something concrete, and permanent in their life. They will be seeking something real, honest, and passionate to fill the void they have just created in their life. When God presents this opportunity, make sure you are willing to fill it appropriately with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

T

This is a link to Shirley Maclaine a sort of celebrity "Advocate" for the New-Age/Post-Modern movement.

Good Debate

2007-03-13T11:34:00.000-05:00

This post is a reply to some of the comments posted from my prior post. Feel free to read those comments if you feel somewhat lost... :)

Thanks for replies. I'd like to respond to some of the statements to continue the conversation. While I agree that time will not always fix a prideful heart, it is important to remember that during that time what is really going on is God is trying with all his might to get into the heart and life of the non-believer. I am simply saying that it will take longer for some than it will for others. There is nothing to be added to the formula, but time. I would agree, there must be some form of submission on the part of the the non-believer for change to occur.

This really addresses what Chris is mentioning as well. Hopefully, "time", i.e. God working in the non-believer's heart, will chip away at the pride and other barriers to God. I really agree with you Chris, that we come to Christ with some level of pride. I would argue that it is never fully gone, or we would be in fullness committed to God. Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to be a reality for humans in our fallen state.

In regards to having the right information. There is a stark difference between gnosticism, and a general belief that you have to be knowledgeable about what you are doing in Christ. Hosea 4:5-7 speaks to Israel being destroyed through lack of knowledge. There are always right and wrong things concerning God, Christ, and Christianity. We must know what these things are in order to please God, and even to know who God is. The whole message of the Old Testament is God saying "you will acknowledge me for who I am really am." Romans 10:13-15 specifically addresses what I mean by knowledge. If people are to believe they must be taught (correctly). That is a grave responsibility. This is what I mean by having the right knowledge. Just as the Apostles didn't know right away who Christ was, they were in the process of learning and Christ was in the process of teaching until they ultimately got it. We can't leave people in ignorance, we have a responsibility to teach.

There are propositions that are often put forth for someone looking at the possibility of taking on Christianity. However, they shouldn't necessarily lead to believing in God just to get to Heaven (although for some, fear can be an effective motivator to start with). This is a problem of poor theological teaching, not so much a problem with the idea of propositions.

It seems that people's brains not functioning the same as they used to is a bit of cover-up.. What I mean is that facts are facts, they are always true. I will give you that people often regard relativism as much more valuable than anything absolute. But this in and of itself is a problem of egocentrism and pride. So there is a much deeper problem within society today that is covered by this idea of post-modernity. But at it's core it is nothing more than the height individual arrogance. Granted, many do not see it this way, and this would be very challenging to people who believe it. But, regardless, what it teaches by definition is the utmost arrogance. This of course is not what you dump on someone as you are trying to show them Christ, but at the same time you must know the enemy (pride, not the person).

While you are correct, I may not be able to take you back in time and show you Christ rising, you must keep in perspective what evidence really is. It isn't always something that answers every question. Rather it is something to help you make a decision, one way or another. It builds a case. Given the overwhelming evidence concerning Christianity, it lends itself to being the most thought-out, rational, choice for a non-believer to make. Furthermore their experiential time as a Christian will further commit them to Christ as he will change their life.

Anyway, great discussion. I hope we can keep it up. I usually won't post my replies to comments, but this one was unusually long and fun.

Knowledge, Understanding, Truth, Denial

2007-03-12T10:19:00.000-05:00

I've been doing a lot of reading lately on my days off. I have come to a couple conclusions. I have a tendency to over-simplify things, so sometimes I need to be set straight. Feel free to comment and do just that.

I have recently been overwhelmed with the incredible amount of evidence that's out there concerning Christ and the resurrection, the disciples and their willingness to die, and the physical scriptures themselves. There are many logical (and mostly, unquestionable) conclusions that can be drawn from that evidence that should inevitably point whoever the learner is to Christ. Now, I admit, this is my given. I won't argue this here, as this is a huge amount of evidence that can't be explained in this forum. However, feel free to comment or email me and ask specific questions.

The conclusions I have come to are kind of shaped like this. If we, as Christians, and therefore ambassadors for the Christian faith, were willing to immerse ourselves in the concrete information about Christ that we are surrounded in, then we would be able to increase our effectiveness for God and in turn truly change the world for Christ. Duh! What does this mean though...that's what I want to look into.

The Bible is the foundation of the Christian faith. You cannot know how to live as a Christian without knowledge of the Bible. No one argues with this. The problem arises when you are dealing with someone who does not recognize the Bible as authoritative. Clearly you have to venture outside the words of the Bible to first get someone to the point at which they actually give any credence to the words and claims within our holy scriptures.

Where do you go? Well, don't be dismayed. If what you have chosen to live your life for is unable to stand up to the strictest scrutiny, then it may not be worth living for. Lucky for you, you aren't wrong. Christianity is true, and it is right and it is this truth that the world needs to hear for their own sake.

I challenge you to read books on archaeology of the Holy Land. Read books on the integrity of scriptures over thousands of years. Read books dealing with ancient extra-biblical sources that support what you believe. I am not saying be one-sided. Feel free to seek out books that slam the Bible. Books that seek to poke holes in archaeological findings, etc. Learn to recognize the shortcomings in both their research and conclusions. Feel free to look into the fact that the standards Bible is held up to by non-believing scientists and researchers is absurdly higher than any other document in history...as it should be. The problem they are running into is that over and over it still stands up to the scrutiny when it is looked at honestly and without ulterior motives.

What is important is to know your enemy. Know the "problems" people have with Christianity and understand where they are coming from. If you can't do that, then you are falling short of what Paul calls us to do in 2 Timothy 4:1-5. We must be ready in and out of season to give an account for WHY we believe what we believe. For too long the "everyday Christian" has been numb. Giving patented answers that have no real depth. They show no real understanding of God and show no real concern for the death and eternal separation from God that those around us are going to feel and know when they die.

Who has been called to stop this? Who has been called to very literally save the world. WE HAVE. YOU HAVE. Yes, I know ultimately, Christ has. But he calls us to live like him and to offer the rest of the world the same gift that he has already offered you! Read it, it's in there, I promise (Matthew 28:18-20).

Now, there are two types of people in the world as far as I am concerned (I told you I like to to simplify). Those people who are willing to read the Bible honestly to see what it has to say and are willing to listen to all the evidence you can lay out and make an honest decision about their own life, and those people who are just the opposite. The person who reads the Bible looking for problems and will not really care about any of your answers because they will allow them self the luxury of denial as long as they see problems that in their mind are insurmountable within scripture. This is a heart problem. This person is prideful, and unwilling to admit that there is something bigger than them self in the world (there can always be many other things compounding this).

Now if you have the general knowledge needed to answer questions, and you have an understanding the principles it teaches, then you can provide truth and that first person will be open and he will find God and God will change his life. However, the same is true for the second kind of person. The only difference is the variable of time.

For both types of people the formula is the same.

Formula 1:
Relationship + Love + Knowledge + Time = Acceptance of God's mercy through Christ

Formula2:
Relationship + Love + Knowledge + Time + Time + Time = Acceptance of God's mercy through Christ

It's all a questions of time.

So, this is the challenge. You are called. You have a purpose and a mission in your life as a Christian. You may not go through your day, even a single day, without remembering what your mission is. This lifestyle will cause you great discomfort as you will have to sacrifice your time, energy, old lifestyle, etc. to truly live out what Christ expects of you. In practice, this will be different for each person. The results will be the same: the growth of the kingdom of God and those people who are willing to acknowledge their own submission to the true and living Yahweh God.

The question you have to answer is: Do I truly believe in what I claim to live for, do I fear the wrath of eternal separation from God enough to truly invest myself in this lifestyle I am called to live.

Remember, it's all a question of time...so answer the question: Do you have the time?

Sorry, my Bad

2007-03-12T09:26:00.000-05:00

So, blogger switched over to this new gmail based system and I was unable to access my blogger account...so I thought. Of course, when I finally let Meghan look at it she was able to get me back into it in a little over 30 seconds. So, anyway...I'm back in and we'll get back into the swing of things here.

T

Do we Take it for Granted?

2006-12-11T19:44:00.000-05:00

Have you ever heard a youth minister talk about his "rough past" and how he can "understand where you're coming from because he was there himself?" Well, this is a common line for youth ministers. I am not really interested in discussing it's validity, but there is often a place for that kind of language. Saying things like that allows a person to attempt to create at least an illusion of common ground between them self and whoever they are talking to.

But I've also know ministers (more accurately college students studying to become ministers) who have said things like "if I could just experience _____ I would be able to better understand how... non-believers, teenagers, felons, Africans, Atheists, (insert appropriate ministry here) think." There is this idea that by experiencing something firsthand you will be better equipped to comprehend it and combat it. I see some truth to this. Obviously, there are plenty of fallacies as well. But, I have to say that tonight I caught myself fumbling around with that line of thought.

As I sat at Starbucks tonight (tall chai latte in skim with just a pinch of cinnamon...in case you were wondering) I was looking around and praying. I was praying to better understand what it is that my new peers in Quincy want. I mean specifically. I just want to go up to the guy who looks to be half-way studying and sit down and start asking him: "what would you want from a church if you had to be a member of it?" "What are the most important principles to you in your life right now?" "What are the long-term personal goals you have for your life?"

I want to know these things because I want to cater to the people I am trying to reach out to. And I have to be honest with you, I'm not usually sure how to. So that's why I wonder if we take our Christianity for granted. I would never say that I wish I weren't a Christian. But, at the same time, I feel a bit at a loss when I try to comprehend the non-Christian perspective...what they are searching for, what they want. I mean, I've never really been a non-Christian.

Now, I am not a specifics and technicality kind of guy. I generally believe that people are looking for the same thing. And that applies most importantly to their search for Christ. However, that whole nature VS. nurture debate comes into play here. Though by nature we are all searching for the same thing, we have been nurtured by our environment to avoid or search for our nature in different ways. It is this nurture that I want to appeal to. This is what Paul meant when he said "[he] became all things to all people." He didn't change the message, just the presentation.

So tonight, sitting at Starbucks, I found myself essentially asking "how do I present the Gospel to the nurture that is the Quincy population?" Before coming up here I knew (just like those reading are thinking) the general answer: relational evangelism. You get to know people on an intimate personal level and earn your way into the right to talk to them about God and their intimate views on life. This is still the right answer...so I believe. However, that is a generality. At present I (we of the Boston Metro Church) are faced with the quandary of HOW. How do we initiate these relationships. This is a very closed off population. In the south I could (and probably would) just walk up to a person by them self in Starbucks and start a conversation (which a friendship could result from). But, up North I am faced with the fact that this sort of behavior would make a person extremely uncomfortable.

Work has not yet proven to be a very fertile ground for relationship building (at least not retail). Everyone is permanently stressed and in a state of complaining. Thus far this has pretty much kept people from being interested when I've tried to direct a conversation to something more significant than the jerk in the shelving aisle who wants 15 wire shelves but into 6" increments.

Right now there is a possibility that I may receive some sponsoring from a church allowing me to work at least part-time if not full-time for the church work up here. Right now this sounds like a good idea because one of the best way I currently see of meeting the "nurture" of Quincy and beginning to form relationships is through spending regular time with secular volunteer organizations that focus on social justice. Here I can work in a laid back environment with people who are like-minded in their belief that we must live a sacrificial life for those around us. I would then just be redirecting the "why" of what they are already doing. Instead of sacrificing to make them self "feel right" or for their political beliefs or whatever else, they would be doing it out of reverence and commitment to God. Anyway, it sounds like it has potential...what do you think?

Give me your feedback. Especially if you are not up here with us. An outsiders perspective is a valuable asset to any large-scale endeavor. Anyway, these are my thoughts...

None of self and all of Thee

2006-12-05T00:29:00.000-05:00

This was written on 12/4/06

An epiphany! OK, so I haven't acted on any of this yet. As soon as it came to me, I wanted to jot it down. I have been racking my brain. What is wrong....what can we be doing to better offer ourselves to others and bring people in for Christ. How do we stand out from the crowd. All of these kinds of questions. Well, I have a thought...an epiphany. We have been meeting together, BUT there hasn't been a strong outward focus. For lots of reasons...we don't know anyone, we are all working, trying to settle in, etc. SO, anyway, I realized that we are more like a group of 5 friends meeting together and worshipping....well, duh! But we need do seek to be more. What we need to be and need to see ourselves as is a church body, a family, and a single unit. We need to act like it and live like it. It needs to be the priority and the primary focus of our lives. I know this takes time, but this is where we should be. So how do we get there? Well, it starts with one person with the vision. That's how we got up here in the first place: A vision. The problem is that now we have achieved that vision and although we have another vision in writing, we stopped never switched over to start pursuing it once we got up here. We reached the vision we had been working on for three years, but I think we stopped there. So now we must take on this new vision and we need a person to step up and start.

I am striving to serve this church body and act as a spiritual leader and encourager. So I will do it. Simply, nothing fancy, but I have a few ideas. I think a lot of it comes from looking at scripture and thinking “how did the churches in the Bible function?” I'm not talking worship and structure and all that, not theology and or hermeneutics, but how did they interact? From one member to another, how did they work together in order to live out something they believed in so strongly that they would draw in others from around them to want to ask about who and what they were and come experience and be a part of what ever it was??? Well, I think it begins with getting the focus off yourself and spending time, LOTS of time looking at the needs of those around you. Here's the theory. I will focus on “doing for” (doing for others whatever they need), and just trying to meet the little needs I can of those around me. But not so much that I will burn out. I have to prevent that by encouraging the others in the group to do the same thing. As the 5 (8) of us work to meet each other's needs we will grow in our “doing for” and it will become our nature. We will “do for” those outside of the group. This is how we will grow. GET THE FOCUS OFF YOURSELF AND ON TO THOSE AROUND YOU. It starts with one and I have to deal with the emotional/spiritual/etc needs of those in the group before we venture out in any strong fashion. How effective can you possibly be when you are in emotional/spiritual turmoil. I know that I wouldn't be convinced to come join whatever you had to offer unless I could see in your own life that it had something to offer me. Could it be that in its most primal and fundamental state you have to appeal to the selfish side of humanity to bring people to Christ?

I know this may sound obvious, but when you are innundated with all new things and new surrounding and you feel like there is nothing firm or constant in your life, your tendancy is to pull into your shell. You want to seek safety and protection. I think we have all done that a little bit up here. Please pray that we open our shells back up so that maybe we will see that as we serve the needs of those around us, God will provide for our needs.

Now, about that worship thing...

2006-12-05T00:23:00.000-05:00

This was written on 11/21/06

I just got back from the first “real” worship I've had since I've been up here in Quincy. Now we've been meeting at least once a week. But it has been a difficult adjustment for me to connect to this new style of worship. There isn't a regimented design to the worship. No “song leader” or “preacher.” It is very Holy Spirit driven. The problem has been, at least with me, that I'm not used to having to look for the Holy Spirit to lead my worship. I'm used to it being done for me. This was something I thought I'd adapt quickly to. I've done lots of devotionals and even “house church” on Sunday nights with my old program based congregation....but it still presented itself as quite a challenge. Last week I proposed to the group that we need to analyze our worship and see if we are satisfied with the process we are generally using for worship. I didn't get much feedback from anyone. I'm not sure if they weren't having a problem or if maybe they were, but they didn't know how to verbalize it. I'm expecting it was the latter. So anyway, I spent my week rummaging through our past couple months of worship in my head and trying to see if there were changes that needed to be made to our current worshiping style or structure. This “structure” being a very loose structure where really no one had been coming with anything prepared and there was no real avenue presented before starting through which we could better “prepare” or get our minds “set” for worship. We would kind of sit down, sing a little, pray a little, talk a little, and end. Now all of these things are good. But there seemed to be something missing. Scripture talks about this...I'm sure of it... Ahh yes, 1^st Corinthians 14:26-39. This is what I'm looking for. This is what my problem has been. We haven't been doing anything “wrong” really, but we haven't been conducting much of an organized or structured worship.

So tonight, I decided to come up with some thoughts and with a general idea of the elements that we needed to include in our worship. I just tried to be as intentional as possible with the worship. God deserves that and more. So, I decided these would be the elements: Prayers (to open, intermittent as the need arose, and to close), singing (throughout as a means of thanking and worshiping God, and encouraging one another), intimate discussion about how each of our weeks went (our struggles, opportunities, joys, and pains), the Lord Supper (at whatever seems the most appropriate time during the worship), and Biblical thoughts or guidance (to keep us in the word, encourage and educate us). This was pretty laid back (as you can tell) but it was plenty of structure in order for an effectively orderly worship to take place. If there are people, as I was, sitting during worship thinking “OK, what now?” then they are distracted and no one is going to be able to grow. At the same time, if you structure and organize everything to the minute then you leave no room for the Holy Spirit to lead your worship session. There must be a balance struck between the two and I felt like tonight was the first time we at least got close to that balance. I need to finish by mentioning that the worship is not about me, or you or anyone else but God. So I say all of this with the belief that by looking at where you are in your worship and then looking at how the Bible teaches us to worship you can come to that happy balance where God has created us to be able to best glorify him; and that's what it's all about.

Am I missing something?

2006-12-05T00:20:00.000-05:00

This was written on 11/14/06

How do I get taken seriously when I feel like there is nothing I am doing that stands out from the crowd to identify me, or to jump out and smack someone in the face and say: :Hey, this guy is different, I want to know why!!. Or, he's a Christian, I can tell from XXX...I feel like I don't have that XXX. What is it that I need to change in order to let people see that man of God that I want them to see and know every time they look at me. I do want something instant, but I know it's a process. I can accept that...AS LONG AS I know that I am on the appropriate track that is part of the process. I am trying to work through this in a lot of ways... I keep looking at youth ministry jobs... I keep looking at counseling jobs...I keep looking at any job other than the job I have. But mostly I want a job that connects me directly to God. Maybe that's selfish. God made me with the desire to be intimately close to him all the time. I want to be in his service all the time. It's an indebtedness that I feel to him. And working a job comparatively outside of his kingdom eats away at me for exactly that reason. I can't stand it and I don't know how to fix it. This is the decision I have made for myself and family. To be here in Massachusetts...unable right now to work in the capacity that I feel God wired me for, or at the least that I feel I want to be wired for. So I don't know where this leaves me or where I will end up.. But through it all I know that God is faithful. He's shown me that over and over again, and I know he will provide. I don't know how or when...but I'll just have to wait and see. Just some thoughts for you to ponder. :)

So to begin with...

2006-12-04T23:33:00.000-05:00

Well, I just want to say that I've been keeping a bit of a journal but I didn't start at the beginning...I'll have to fill all that in later. I really want to post what I've got right now so I can at least get going on this thing. But a little background before I begin. We (our group of 8) have been up in Quincy for coming up on 6 months now (well 5 of us right now, the other three arrive in June). We are still adjusting to everything: the high costs to live here, not knowing ANYONE, and people who talk really weird! Anyway, all this is to be adjusted to in time. But enough background. As I stated in my description of the site, this will be a site dedicated to allowing me a place to vent and express my thoughts, confusions, hopes, and frustrations that I have concerning what we are trying to do for God up here. It won't always be happy, but it will always be honest. My hope is that anyone who is planning to make a move to doing domestic missionary work will look at this as a place of insight as to the thoughts that will go through your head as you enter into a completely foreign place with not much more than a vision from God. I will also, at my own discretion, put up background posts that will give you insight into our group's past and what we went through to prepare ourselves as best we could for the mission that lay ahead. Feel free to e-mail me at any time with questions and I will do my best to answer them in a timely manner. Hope you enjoy!

P.S. Sorry for the "not the greatest picture in the world" photo that I am using. I will get something better soon. Although...I do feel a little bit more manly with the beard! ;)