For You Are With Me

Pastor Johnny is a very wise man. Over the past few weeks, he has been preaching through Psalm 23 in our Sunday night services. He made a statement last night that summed up exactly how I felt about the mission trip to Ireland we just took with our High School students.

Pastor Johnny was focusing on verse 4 last night which says "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil." He went on to talk about how that idea of "death" can also be viewed as "darkness." Pastor Johnny said something along the lines of "In verse 3 we saw that God leads us in the paths of righteousness which sometimes means you have to go through a valley of darkness (verse 4). They are intertwined. Sometimes being in a valley of darkness is right where He wants us to be in order to lead us through it to show us that He is with us." That's not word for word...but you get the idea. We all face dark times in our lives, but we have to understand that it is all part of God's plan for us and we are right where we belong. In His grip.

This idea of being in a time of darkness yet being exactly where God wants us perfectly summed up our Ireland trip. Let me explain...

This was BY FAR the most difficult and challenging mission trip I have ever been a part of. Ireland is a very cold and dark country when it comes to the gospel. It's honestly very depressing. I can't tell you how many people I talked to that were either apathetic to the gospel, or felt like they lived a good enough life that IF there was a God then He wouldn't send them to hell, or they just cursed us out and walked away. Heart-wrenching.

Here are some memories that immediately stick out to me:

1. Mark. I spent an hour talking to him with another student on our team. We stopped Mark on the street and asked him where we could get a good cup of coffee and then after talking to him for a few minutes we started to share the gospel with him. Mark asked questions. He listened. He soaked in everything we were saying. You could see the wheels turning in his head. It all made sense. At the end of our conversation he told us that he needed to think about some things before he could make a decision. I prayed with him right there on the street. I presented the gospel again in my prayer. I yearned for Mark to just surrender. After praying with Mark, we found out that we made him 30 minutes late for his class. We offered to buy him lunch and continue talking to him but he had to go. His parting words to us? "Don't worry about making me late. I really needed to hear this. Thank you." I'm still praying for him.

2. Michael. I met Michael through one of our other leaders. Ryan had met him a few days before and he went back and talked to him each day. Michael sells magazines on a street corner. Outside a Catholic church. His best friend? One of the priests from the church. When we asked him about it, he said that he is friends with the priest because the priest doesn't judge him but takes the time to get to know him. I spent about an hour talking to Michael on that street. He told me about his family. He gave me the history of Cork, Ireland. He explained his hesitancy toward religion and the church. His feelings are mirrored by thousands in Ireland. I'm still praying for him.

3. Mormons. I spent an hour (along with a few other people) talking to two Mormon missionaries. It was a tiring conversation. We tried to reason with them as lovingly as we could while still "confronting" them on their unbiblical views. They eventually got fed up and walked away from us. I'm still praying for them.

4. Pro-Homo. I can't, for the life of me, remember this guy's name. It's killing me. A student introduced him to me on the street. We were talking for a few minutes and then he asked me point blank what we believed regarding homosexuality. I explained to him what the Bible said about the issue. I stated very clearly that God sees it as sin, and that God is a forgiving God and the sacrifice of Jesus is enough to cover all sins. He told me that he wasn't gay but that his best friend was bi-sexual. He then continued to inform me that he believes his friend was born that way, that homosexuality isn't a choice, and that God has no right to judge him for that. I then went through the creation story with him showing him how God created human beings as male and female. I showed him how when man sinned and sin entered the world, it perverted things that God had created, even mankind's sexual desires (Romans 1). I then asked him a simple question. "You said your friend is bi-sexual. So that means he CHOOSES if he would rather sleep with a guy or a girl right? Isn't that a choice? His choice?" I honestly said this as lovingly as I could. He got pretty defensive and snapped back "You just want to change him!" I calmly and simply replied "Yes." I then told him "God is a God of life-change. I was a sinner. I was lost. I was headed for eternity in hell. I realized that I couldn't make it through this life on my own. I realized that I needed to make a change. When I surrendered my life to Christ, my entire life changed. It is about change. Every single person who is a Christian has experienced change. A change from death to life." Our conversation continued for a few more minutes and ended shortly after. I saw him later that day talking with some other students in our group. I'm still praying for him.

5. I got the chance to preach on Wednesday night while we were there in Cork. Our team presented a drama, led some worship, and we had a student share her testimony as well. God blessed that night. All glory goes to Him for this next statement. I was told later that night that 5 people gave their lives to Christ after the service. THAT was humbling. God is at work...even in a dark city like Cork.

6. Students. Our students blew me away. They were pretty discouraged after the first day of ministry because of the hard hearts of the people of Ireland. However, with each passing day, the students grew closer to God and to each other. They grew bolder and more confident in their faith. They weren't scared to stop random people on the street or sit next to someone on a park bench and share their faith. I got the privilege of walking around with various students and listen to them share the gospel with those they came in contact with. God used these students to do an amazing thing last week. I think this will be a spiritual marker in many of their lives.

Ireland needs the gospel. DESPERATELY. They told us that less than 1% of the country has a relationship with Jesus Christ. That's crazy. I started off by talking about Pastor Johnny's sermon. We were in a dark place. Ireland. However, I firmly believe that is exactly where God wanted us that week. That really stood out to me last night. God is pretty good at slapping me in the face with His truth.

He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake,

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for YOU ARE WITH ME.

Psalm 23:3-4

Pre-Ireland Video

WATER

The last 10 days with my mentoring group have been incredible. We met last Wednesday night (3/9) for the first time in a while. Normally we meet on Sunday evenings before church but the last 3 weeks we couldn't meet because of mission trip meetings. So almost a month had passed since our last meeting and I desperately wanted to meet with the guys so we decided to get some food after Epicenter.

We went to Arbys and just started talking. I had to apologize to the group for my lack of leadership over the past month and I told them that I took full responsibility for us not meeting. Come to find out, each of the guys was in the middle of a rough week (which made me feel even WORSE). We talked through a number of different situations from quiet time struggles to parents and being bold in their faith at school. After talking through a few things, Trenton said he had something he wanted to share...

That night at Epicenter a message was given about the hypocritical lifestyle we can so easily fall into where we say we love Jesus at church but we don't prove it throughout the week. Trenton realized that night that he had never really surrendered his life to Christ. He's grown up in church his whole life and his dad is even one of the pastors on staff at the church, and he always thought he was "safe." Trenton gave his life to Christ last Wednesday night which we were all excited about. We spent the next little bit celebrating with him in Arbys. He told me before he left that night that he wanted to get baptized as soon as possible.

This week at epicenter we baptized Trenton and one other student. It was awesome.

In the past year, I have had the privilege of seeing 2 guys that I mentor get baptized. Not by my poking or prodding, but because they knew that it was the first step of obedience and that they needed to publicly declare their life change.

I can't tell you how awesome it is to see someone who you invest time and energy into do something like that. I get so excited yet at the same time I'm extremely humbled that God allows me to be a part of the students' lives.

Romans 6:3-5

Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection

Together

Welp. Remember the last time I posted something? About a month ago....where I said I was going to be more consistent with the blog? Isn't it nice to know that somethings never change? Am I asking way too many questions to start off blog post? Whatever...

Ok, so this post is going to be a little different than my usual deal. Over the last three weeks, we have been doing a series at Epicenter called "Together." The first week we combined all middle and high school parents together with their parents in the chapel to hear Dr. Johnny Hunt speak about the need for gospel-centered families. The second week found us listening to Pastor Rick Young teach students important things that they needed to understand about their parents. Last night, Pastor Matt spoke on what parents need to know about their students. It was a great message and you can find it at this link: http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/12739842.

If you don't have 45 minutes to watch it, I'm going to give you a very abbreviated run down of what happened. About four weeks ago we put a piece of paper on every chair in the Warehouse and had the students write down (anonymously) things that they wish their parents knew about them. We took those things and broke them down into categories and Matt discussed these categories last night. These are actual things that students in Woodstock, Georgia wrote down.

I wish my parents knew:

- That ar our age, the most difficult thing to do is "fit in"

- I wish my parents knew they were the most important thing in my life.

- I WANT to be close to my parents

- That I don't know what I would do without them

- They mean a lot to me and I would love to spend more time with them

- I actually like and want to spend more time with my mom

- I need my daddy to love me

- I wish you knew that I am so grateful for you

- My family is everything to me

- I want you to pour into my life

- I am nervous about the future and I need your help to prepare me to survive on my own

- I want your support for my decisions

- I want my parents to know that I love the Lord and I am scared to share with my peers

- I want them to know what scares me

- I want them to ask me about my relationship with God

- I wish we prayed together...I don't know what you're afraid of

- I wish you led me...instead of the other way around

- Listen...THEN give advice

- It's not easy being a Christian at my school

- I'm scared to tell you stuff for fear of being judged

- I know you loved me but I wish you showed it more

- All I ever wanted was to be loved and to have a good friend

- I cut myself nearly everyday

- I have seriously considered suicide

- My mom doesn't know that when I smile...it's all a lie

- I have no self-confidence

- I'm stressed

- We can reach the world even at a young age

- I will do whatever God calls me to do, even if you don't like it

I know that is a lot to take in, but these are the actual cries of students that I come in contact with on a weekly basis. Some of these students come from great homes, and others not so much. Some of these are just simple suggestions, and others are cries of desperation.

I am so thankful for my family. I'm so thankful for parents who love me, who raised me in a Christ-centered family, who forgive me when I make mistakes, for a dad who modeled what it means to be a "man after God's own heart", for a mom who is never ashamed to tell me she loves me and to model what I should look for in a future wife, for a family that is sold-out to do whatever God asks of us even if that means moving halfway around the world to Africa. I'm blessed. I have a picture of the good side of life. It's exactly how I want to lead my family one day. At the same time, hearing these students' hearts breaks mine.

This is nothing new. We are all familiar with broken homes, broken families, abuse, and neglect. My desire is to point students to a relationship with a heavenly Father, to grow daily in my relationship with my Abba Father, and to one day model my earthly father.

Romans 8:15 "The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption tosonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”

New Kids On The Block

Ok...this title may seem a bit misleading. Actually, it's very misleading.

I haven't posted anything on here since before Christmas and that's fine because I'm pretty sure that we get the days of December 25th through January 1st off from blogging. At least that's what the blogger handbook I purchased for $61.74 said...

Either way, this year is (hopefully) going to be filled with more posts from me. The reason? I'll be looking for my first legitimate, full-time, benefits-included, paying job in three years. I'm headed towards the end of my seminary degree from Liberty University online, as well as the end of my 15-month internship here at First Baptist Woodstock. It's like the circle of life. School and internship end in May. Lord willing, a new job in June.

Therefore, I humbly invite you join me on my quest through the first half of 2011. I will not list out resolutions, but I'll do my best to keep you posted on what God is teaching me through the entire process.

With that being said...I'd like you to meet the New Kids On The Block. The NKOTB refers to my new group of high school guys that I will be mentoring with my remaining time here. It's a group of younger guys compared to my last garrison, but they are solid guys. We met for the first time last night as a group and things went extremely well. I even had a very good conversation with one of the guys after our group was finished meeting.
So here they are. I give their names so you can keep them in your prayers and recall them if I happen to use them in a story of some sort.

Jake White: Probably a bigger Tennessee fan than I am. We click. Huge potential.

Preston Coleman: Stud. Plain and simple. Everyone loves him. Huge potential.

Trenton Dorner: The clown of the group. One of the funniest guys I've met who doesn't have a driver's license...yet. Huge Potential.

Matt Willet: He is a beast. He was in that fateful bus, that I drove, which had to travel 9 hours to Florida with no air. Solid guy. Huge Potential.

Casey Disney: Very funny and infectious laugh. Solid baseball player. Huge potential.

Calvin Hoenstine: The youngin'. The other boys are all sophomores, Calvin's a freshman. Crazy kid. Smart kid. Huge potential.

That's it. Those are the newbies. Keep them in your prayers.

Until we meet again...

Hot Lemonade

Today marks day 3 of my sore throat epidemic. It's weird.

I don't feel bad, I don't have a fever, and I'm not puking.

I am, however, talking about 4 octaves lower than normal, creating my own version of "sign language" to communicate with those around me so I don't have to speak, I am addicted to unhealthy amounts of honey-lemon throat lozenges, and I'm drinking Thera Flu which is basically a name the company came up with to disguise hot lemonade and sell it to ignorant consumers. Yum!

You know what else I'm doing??

Listening.

It's crazy. Because of this sore throat/no voice stage that I'm in, I can't really engage in conversations, I can't laugh, I can't sing at the top of my lungs in my car where nobody else can hear me, I can't teach, I can't share my opinions. I have to just sit...and listen.

I have come to realize how hard it is to actually do that. To just sit and listen. I get so caught up in my life and what I'm doing, where I'm going, who I'm meeting, what I'm studying, and listening to the sound of my own voice, that I forget the importance of listening to God, and to those around me.

I think that's why God has blessed me with this ridiculously low voice and sore throat. I feel like He's trying to get my attention. I've been thinking about this quite a bit this weekend. Driving with the music off and just thinking, meditating, LISTENING. Listening to people at church and pulling the ol' "smile and nod routine" since I can't really comment on anything. Making my prayer time more focused on LISTENING to God, rather than bombarding Him with my selfish self.

It's crazy what a sore throat can make you aware of. The Bible uses the term "listen" 371 times.

Deuteronomy 13:4
You shall follow the LORD your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, listen to His voice, serve Him, and cling to Him.

1 Samuel 3:10
Then the LORD came and stood and called as at other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" And Samuel said, "Speak, for Your servant is listening."

Psalm 81:13
Oh that My people would listen to Me, That Israel would walk in My ways!

Jeremiah 11:4
Listen to My voice, and do according to all which I command you; so you shall be My people, and I will be your God,'

Psalm 46:10
“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Shhhhhh!! Just listen. You may be surprised by what is right in front of you.

Debunked discouragement

After my quiet time this morning, I discovered a strong desire to blog. It's like the desire to win, without a trophy for successfully doing so...

There is really just one thing that I want to discuss and I'll keep it short and simple.

This week I was facing a little bit of discouragement, nothing major, but it always shows up towards the end of the semester. It's hard for me to pin-point it exactly, but that's beside the point. I don't know about you, but one of the most encouraging things a Christian can hear is that someone has surrendered their life to Christ. That's exactly what happened with me on Wednesday night. After Epicenter, a student who I will get the privilege of mentoring in January, came up to me to tell me about his friend. His friend had never been to church before because his parents wouldn't let him go. This student had been inviting his friend for months, but to no avail. Finally, his friend's parents allowed him to visit Epicenter last week (the first week of our Christmas series, "It's A Wonderful Life") and in his very first experience with "church", he gave his life to Christ.

When I heard this, everything that I was stressed about and discouraged about just faded away. The only way to explain it is that God never ceases to surprise me with His grace. I was so excited. That conversation had been on my mind for the last few days. This morning during my quiet time, I came across this verse:

1 Thessalonians 3:7-8

"Therefore, brothers, in all our distress and persecution, we were encouraged about you through your faith. For now we live, if you stand firm in the Lord.

Paul was writing this letter to the church in Thessalonica and he mentions earlier in his letter that he was fearful that the church would be led away by false teaching, and he was relieved or encouraged to hear a good report from Timothy about their faith.

Hearing about someone else surrendering their life to Christ? That's hard to beat.

I pray that this is an encouragement for whoever stumbles across this blog today...