well… much has happened since I last wrote an entry. I officially started school a week ago monday and it is going well so far. Let’s just say that may junior class (there is no freshman class, just 3 classes: juniors, middlers, and seniors) are not the type of kids i may hang out with on a regular basis, at least from first impressions. that can always change. here is my impression: these students seem to lack any presence of the holy spirit or at least lack the empowering of it. they all seem to know a lot about their faiths but living it does not seem to be real priority on campus; maybe their way of living out the faith is just different then mine. maybe there is a lot of behind the scenes ministry they do, especially in the rhelm of a servant ministry in the inner-city. they also just have yet to come off as “cool.” i guess i have heard so many pastors talk about these lifelong friends they made in seminary and i got my hopes up, but just didn’t hit it off with anyone. oh well.

i am beginning to understand why greek is the language that god chose to use to write the new testament. it is a rather poetic and interpretable language. with only 1/3 the vocabulary of any other language, much can be left to interpretation and context, which is important. people have had a history of taking verses out of context and using them for their own gain but through the goggles of greek translation, one must put those verses into context. i hear hebrew is very different, but one can totally still see why god would use hebrew. interesting…

my job has been rather interesting so far. when i was brought into the job, my boss/bosses seemed to hint that worship would be an integral part of my ministry. i am now just playing second fiddle to the worship intern now, who is leaving in less than a month. he is definitely of different style than me and not sure how well that works together. i definitely have a different style than Josh Doody or Graham Buck, but somehow those two guys meshed well with how i play… which is basically just strumming fast and pretending you know how to play guitar. at least those two have skill. i also have felt the burden of the unorganized setup at the church. tonight i had a lead a lesson that i was not adaquately prepared for mostly because i found out about it at the last minute. there seems to be a momentary lack of interest in the youth group which I hope will change come next fall. i have a clean slate to work with and would love to see all the kids really have a heart for the lord. that is my prayer.

i know i have not been deep in while… just give me a little time to meditate on some of my thoughts… i’ll be there.

Thought for the day: How does it make you feel knowing that it is likely that we will see Jeffrey Dahmer, the cannibalistic, mass murderer, in heaven with us? Read Matthew 20:1-16 for a real kick in the pants.

At the request of Brian (which Brian, I do not know) I am going to make a good attempt to update my blog more regularly. I will divide today’s into sections

Atlanta Ministry: Peachtree and Passion

I have had time to settle in Atlanta and applied for a job at Peachtree Presbyterian Church. For the past two weeks, they have given me the opportunity to lead worship for their youth groups, which are 100+ each. It has been a great experience. Although I was getting frustrated with the CRU worship band, I do miss it. I will get to work with the senior highs on a weekly basis with decent pay… what more could I ask for. The other monday, my girlfriend, her friends, and me all attended Passion On The Hill, a ministry of Lou Giglio and Passion. We met at a church called “Church of the Apostles” which is right on I-75 and is the largest and most intimidating structure in the city. The worship band was the David Crowder Band, which I was looking forward to seeing. I had a heard some of their songs on Mp3 and liked what I heard. I was thrown for a bit of a surprise when they started just really playing ROCK worship. I guess it’s personal preference, but I really feel god’s presence in the more mellow and laid-back songs, which they really didn’t play. The loud songs are great for openers and to get people to come in and start the process of focusing away from worldly things and on the present meeting. There was this one girl who was dancing rather oddly. I have been to many phish concerts in my day and have seen many girls on X dancing the same exact way. I still don’t know whether it was more of show or just the spirit leading her, but it was rather distracting. I really always try to keep an open mind about the different ways people can worship, but this was just a little weird. Lou Giglio gave a talk about the coming together of various denominations and campus ministries, and it was an incredible talk. I’ve always heard great things about the man and now I had the up-close chance to witness him. I stayed after and prayed for a while, very content that I was finally getting some of that spiritual food I so desperately needed.

Guy Time and the Lack Thereof

I never really got into male comraderie until this senior year of college. I’ve always been very content hanging out with the current girlfriend or my female friends, but senior year I had a chance to really make some guy connections. Having bowling night or grabbing a bite to eat or just lounging around my house, I had a chance to really make some great guy friends (C, J, A, you guys know who you are). My girlfriend, in her many wedding hints, asked me who I would have as groomsmen at the beginning of last year and I really didn’t know, which depressed me. But now I have a much better idea. To bring this up-to-date, I really am missing guy-time. I haven’t had any venue where I can make new guy friends since school doesn’t start for another week. I enjoy hanging out with Mandy and her roommates, but I also need guy friends to just shoot-the-breeze with. There’s a form of sarcastic edification that only guys can give eachother. Hopefully once school starts this will change.

“We are simply forced to fly for refuge to that solid rock of Scripture, and not to believe anything, no matter what, that speaks, commands, or does anything without its authority” – Martin Luther

i appreciate this quote. it’s important to discern what teachings are from god and not from god. i hope to lay down my thoughts more soon… just a little busy.

last crusade meeting…. here’s my speech….

    Have you ever been to a karaoke bar? It can be a painful experience but it’s almost always a lot of fun. When I was in high school, me and some friends of mine used to go on occasion. It was fun when all the guys got up and sang “Unchained Melody” to all the ladies that were with us, in typical Top Gun fashion. It was bearable when some of the girls used to add dance steps while they were trying to sing “I Will Survive.? But it almost cleared the room the one time when the girl I was dating stood up and started belting out “Stand by your man.” It was just more than we could bear! But the great thing about a karaoke bar is that people are willing to jump up and get involved and have fun no matter how much of a fool they make of themselves. And it seems to me that we as believers ought to be like a karaoke for Christ. It ought to be a place where people are so at ease and so comfortable that they are willing to jump to their feet and do things they’ve never thought of doing before. “Hey, I’ll teach that Sunday School class. I’ll work with those children. I’ll go on Summer Project. I’ll start a Real Life group. I’ll go volunteer at Salvation Army. I’ll go on staff with Crusade.” People are so excited and so comfortable that they’ll volunteer to use their gifts in some kind of ministry.
    This lesson has been extremely influential to me over the past few years. Having become a Christian my freshman year of college, I?ve had to really make some major adjustments in my life choices. My sophomore year I was confronted with an open schedule for my summer and a newly planted faith just waiting for the rain to fall. Instead of waiting for that rain, I went out to find the water on my own. I made the decision to step out of my comfort zone and go on Summer Project, despite the interest of my non-Christian friends and family that all wanted me to come home for the summer. The experience was like that of a campfire. I?ve had the kindling burning for a while, but now I was finally putting on the bigger pieces of wood. Soon after, I felt God laying upon my heart the desire for full-time ministry. I had always thought I?d be a doctor? I even finished Organic Chemistry and Vertebrate Anatomy. I was certainly in my comfort zone and ready to head off the med-school. God wanted me somewhere else though. It was like all my friends yelling at me to get up on the Karaoke stage but I was too nervous to agree. I eventually gave in and now I am headed off to seminary in Atlanta, GA starting July, which has been the most invigorating decision in my life.
    There?s a last story I want to tell. 5 year old Johnny was in the kitchen as his mother made supper. She asked him to go into the pantry and get her a can of tomato soup, but he didn?t want to go alone. “It?s dark in there and I?m scared.” She asked again and he persisted. Finally she said, “It?s OK-Jesus will be in there with you.” Johnny walked hesitantly to the door and slowly opened it. He peeked inside, saw it was dark, and started to leave when all at once an idea came, and he said, “Jesus, if you?re in there, would you hand me that can of tomato soup.”
    This is the message that I want to leave to all of you that I have really learned along the way. We often look ahead and see that darkness and are afraid to trust. Where we are is familiar and comfortable… change can bring instability. But just like the mother in the story and the Gospel tells us, it?s OK ? Jesus will be in there with you.

“Men ought to seek with their whole hearts to be filled with the Spirit of God. Without being filled with the Spirit, it is utterly impossible that an individual Christian or a church can ever live or work as God desires.” – Andrew Murray

“Christians are as guilty for not being filled with the Holy Spirit as sinners are for not repenting. They are even more so, for as they have more light, they are so much the more guilty.” – Charles G. Finney

“I believe that it is impossible for any Christian to be effective either in his life or in his service unless he is filled with the Holy Spirit who is God’s only provision of power.” – Henrietta C. Mears

“Read the biographies of God’s men and you will discover that each one sought and obtained the endowment of power from on high. One sermon preached in the anointing is worth a thousand in the energy of the flesh.” – Dr. J. Oswald J. Smith

It’s too bad Christians today are kind of freaked out by the Holy Spirit. too bad…