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...

It's a Wonderful Life (part 1)

So I got a chance to speak last night at Epicenter, which is our Wednesday night High School service and if you have 30 minutes:

http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/11198675

Word Pictures

This past week something hit me. It isn't anything deep theologically, or a new insight on how the church should handle something. In fact, it's pretty simple and I'm just surprised that I never noticed it before...

I'm a BIG David Crowder Band fan. I have all of their albums. I love the creativity they use in their music. I love the fact that they can come up with over 15 amazing songs on a album that just glorify God for who he is. I love the messages found in their songs.

I was listening to the Church Music album for about the 290,778th time this week when this epiphany hit me. In the song "How He Loves", the band attempts to describe how awe-inspiring, how vast, how incomparable, how great God's love is for us. Crazy right? The band paints a picture that our mind and our words can identify with to describe the love of God. Now, as much credit as the band and the original author of the song deserve for this, they don't even begin to scratch the surface of comprehending the love of God.

So I had an idea. I don't know how this will play out, but that's why I love a blog. I can just give it a try. I decided I wanted to go line by line of this song and just dive into what the words are saying. Last time I listened to this song, I had to stop singing because I realized what I was saying. When I really thought about how His grace is an ocean that I'm sinking in...it blew me away.

You've probably heard the song a million times by now, but I challenge you to focus on the words of this song and I hope you grasp how amazing His love is for us, a sinful people.

"HOW HE LOVES"

He is jealous for me: God is jealous for me. The Creator of the universe wants me. ME. A filthy, horrible sinner undeserving of love or mercy. I AM wants me. He wants to gather me into His arms. He wants to hold me, provide for me and protect me. He wants to make me His child. He wants to be my Abba Father. Right from the beginning of this song, we since the desire that God has for us to come to Him through faith. The rest of the song just spells out how strong that desire is...
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree:,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy. We are all familiar with hurricanes. Those huge tropical storms with winds exceeding 100 miles an hour and extreme force. We are all familiar with trees. We've all climbed them as kids, sat beneath their shade on a picnic, or carved our initials in them. Put the two pictures together. Every time a news station is covering a hurricane, the cameraman ALWAYS gets a shot of a tree bending over from the force of the wind so much that you think it's going to snap. THAT is an intense picture of God's love for us. God's love is a hurricane and His wind is mercy that has so much power behind it, that we can't help but to give way to it's strength. This is one of my favorite pictures of this song. It's so vivid. Another interesting thing about a hurricane: you can see the effects of the storm even after it stops. All we have to do is open our eyes and look around us to see the effects of God's love and mercy. It's everywhere. You can't miss it.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory: This was me a week ago. I had sung this song a thousand times and I never stopped to meditate on the words. Then it me. All of a sudden. I realized just how incalculable God's love is. All of the afflictions of life just vanished in the background of His glory. All the stress from school? Gone. Stress about daily responsibilities? Gone. Stress about what the future holds? Gone. Everything else that I thought mattered in that moment? Gone. All of my afflictions were eclipsed by His glory.
And I realise just how beautiful You are: When was the last time you stopped and thought about how beautiful God is? I understand that a lot of times we use that term to describe (at least in my life) how attractive a girl is. I looked up the term "beautiful" and this is what I found: having qualities that give great pleasure or satisfaction to see, hear, think about or feel; excellent of it's kind; wonderful, very pleasing; satisfying; wonderful; fantastic; extraordinary; incredible. When was the last time we thought about how beautiful God is? When was the last time that we took great pleasure in just thinking about Him??
And how great Your affections are for me: This is where it gets good...

And oh, how He loves us so,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all

Yeah, He loves us,
Oh! how He loves us,

Oh! how He loves us,
Oh! how He loves. : Wow. There is nothing deep theologically about the chorus. It's just a simple phrase repeated over and over. Oh! How He loves us. In my personal translation (although it doesn't fit with the timing of the song): WOW! I CAN'T EVEN BEGIN TO FATHOM HOW MUCH THE ALPHA AND THE OMEGA LOVES ME!!! THIS IS CRAZY!! THE ALMIGHTY GOD LOVES ME!!! HELLO?!?!? DOES ANYONE ELSE SEE HOW RIDICULOUSLY AWESOME IT IS THAT THE ONE TRUE GOD WHO IS SITTING ON HIS THRONE IN HEAVEN LOVES A SMALL AND INSIGNIFICANT PIECE OF DUST IN THIS GIGANTIC UNIVERSE LIKE ME?!?!?! OH! HOW HE LOVES US!!!!!!!!!

We are His portion and He is our prize: Portion literally means "part of a whole." WE are HIS portion. All he wants is for us to be made complete through Him. To be made whole. That's His desire. That ALL men come to Him. And HE is our prize. Not escaping hell. Not a lavish mansion in heaven. Not streets of gold. Those aren't the prizes of salvation. A relationship with the God we have been describing throughout this entire song. THAT is our prize. HE is our prize. I'm fine with that.
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes: I love this line. So many times we feel like God is sitting on His throne keeping track of all our wrongs and that in turn determines how He views and feels about us. Is God disappointed in sin? Absolutely. But just like the story of the prodigal son in Luke 15, God just wants us to come home. His grace literally draws us into redemption. REDEMPTION. The strongest sense of freedom we can think of. I love how the song says that grace is in His eyes. We literally have to face God, repent of our sin, and acknowledge the fact that we need saving. Then by the grace in His eyes, He draws us into redemption. Freedom. Safety. Home.
If His grace is an ocean, we're all sinking: This is my favorite line in the song. It's so epic. The music builds at this point and it's just awesome. Grace is getting what we don't deserve. As sinful people, we don't deserve His love, His mercy, His blessings, His desire to have a relationship with us. Yet, God is gracious. Basically, if you relate God's grace to an ocean and you were forced to swim the entire length of the ocean, we all know that you would drown. It's impossible to explore and navigate the entirety of that ocean. So it is with God's grace. It's an ocean. Sinking may be a terrible and deadly thing to do in a literal ocean, but in the ocean of God's grace, it the best and most refreshing thing you can do.
And Heaven meets earth like an unforseen kiss: Seriously. When was the last time we just basked in the beauty of God's creation?? When was the last time we looked at pictures from the Hubble Telescope and just marveled at the vastness of God's universe? When we just stop thinking about ourselves and see the majesty of God's creation coming together like a passionate, loving kiss, it should leave us speechless.
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest: I love this picture. A heart turning, and wrestling violently with this realization. The realization of just how great God's love is. This picture makes me think of an epic battle raging inside of us to truly comprehend the beauty of God's love. It's a battle that will continue until we are standing face to face with Him.
I don't have time to maintain these regrets
When I think about, the way He loves us: Why worry? Why stress? Nothing in this life is that important. Not school. Not relationships. Not money. Not power. Not authority. I'll tell you what I'm going to do today. I'm going to bask in the love of my Father and just soak it up.

What about you?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCunuL58odQ

Fruitless Discussion

1 Timothy 1:5-7

"But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. For some men, straying from THESE things, have turned aside to fruitless discussion, wanting to be teachers of the Law, even though they do not understand either what they are saying or the matters about which they make confident assertions."

I was sitting in a large and very slick leather chair at the local watering-hole, known as Dunkin Donuts, yesterday morning when I ran across this passage in my quiet time. It caught me a little off-guard, in a sense, because it dealt with something that I've been hearing a lot about in the past month. I'm not talking about how bad Tennessee's football program is this year...I'm talking about fruitless discussions. Ok....I guess Tennessee can be thrown into that one too.

My point is this: over the past two months or so I have talked to students, answered questions in my Sunday School class and mentoring group, had conversations with Sunday School teachers, and discussions with other believers about a certain topic of doctrine. I won't go into detail about what the doctrine is or what my views are on the topic, because that is not what I want this post to be about.

I have realized through all of these conversations that "The Topic" leads to frustration, hurt feelings (in some cases), more questions and doubts, and ultimately fruitless discussion. The Bible has verses that back up each side of the coin so to say, but honestly, we as Christians can get so caught up into this particular topic that it affects how we interact with the lost world and with each other. It leads into fruitless conversations. I'm not saying that this topic is bad by any means! I'm just saying that there is a time and place for Christians to discuss it and talk about it, but all too often someone will throw the topic out in the middle of a conversation to start a debate. THAT is when it becomes fruitless.

I've notice as well that when the mentioning of the topic turns into a debate on "the topic", everyone becomes an expert. Honestly, we can talk until we are blue in the face about it, but we will never have the definitive answer. Only God knows. During these conversations we tend to push God to the side and try to figure it all out through our limited human knowledge. I love the quote from a Paul Newman movie that says "You oughta stop playin' God, 'cause you're no good at it, and the position's taken!"

I think this is why Paul is so passionate in this chapter to his son Timothy. He warns Timothy about these men who have a passion for teaching, even though they don't understand what they want to teach. They get caught up in fruitless discussion. Paul basically points out that there is really only one thing that matters when you boil it down to the end. We are filthy sinners in need of salvation, and God graciously offers it freely to us. His abundant grace and salvation is offered to all and He exhibits perfect patience in order that more may come to accept His offer.

1 Timothy 1:12-16

"I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has strengthened me, because He considered me faithful, putting me into service, even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord was more than abundant with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus. It is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all. Yet for this reason I found mercy, so that in me as the foremost, Jesus Christ might demonstrate His perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in Him for eternal life.

THAT is what matters. Not the fruitless discussions. Not the debates. Not the judgmental looks or remarks because someone stands on one side of the issue. It's ALL about Jesus. It's all about taking the gospel to the sick and sinful. To those who need it the most. I used to be that way. I just rejoice that I'm no longer in that group.

But my job is to share it. To share the simplicity of the gospel message.

Pure.

Simple.

Video message from Josh

I know it's been a while. That's my fault.

I wanted to do something special to make up for the time I've missed.

Remember my buddy Josh from the previous post? Of course you do.

I recorded his testimony to show at Epicenter and he said I could put it on my blog.

It's too big for Blogger to handle, so you'll have to jump to Youtube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2irdFb_YFA

A Pittsburgh-like Passion

I know. It's crazy, but true. I'm actually posting twice this week. Yesterday was more of a comical tirade on something I had noticed and I actually got many positive reviews on the post...even from the female gender. Just goes to show that I will never fully understand the female mind :)

Today's post, on the other hand, will be much more serious. If you follow me on twitter (twitter.com/crawdaddy87), you may have noticed over the past few days that I have spent a lot of time talking with a good friend of mine who, sadly, I had been out of contact with for a while. His story is so encouraging to me. We talked for about an hour and a half last night just about everything that God was doing in our lives and where He was leading us. I can't help but catch my friend's passion. Today, I'm going to introduce you to my boy Josh. I'm going to leave his last name out just to respect his privacy (you'll see why later) but I had to share how much his friendship means to me.

Josh grew up in the hood. On the streets. He had a family, but not the traditional family that most of us enjoy. His family was the guys he rolled with day in and day out on the streets of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Josh's dad, brother and sister were and still are deeply involved in the drug scene. Josh grew up in a broken home and lived a life of survival and violence.

The one bright spot in Josh's life was baseball. Josh was an outstanding pitcher whose dream was to reach the big leagues. Then Josh's career took a turn for the worse. He basically threw out his shoulder and had to have surgery. Over the next few months, because of his injury, he lost his scholarship and couldn't play baseball at the school anymore. Unknown to him at the time, this was the beginning of the "turning point" in his life. Josh started looking for any school that would offer a kid recovering from arm surgery a baseball scholarship.

Enter Liberty University.

I remember meeting Josh the first night of my sophmore year (Fall '06). Josh had no idea what he was getting into at LU. He had no idea that it was a Christian school with rules. He showed up to play ball. Needless to say, I can remember Josh standing against the back wall of our first Hall Meeting at Liberty. My good friend Preston was going over the Liberty Way and some things to expect throughout the year, and Josh, with a baseball cap pulled down over his face, was cussing and cutting up in the back. He didn't care. That night after our meeting, I met with Preston and we decided that Josh was going to be our mission field for the year. We knew that God brought him to LU for a reason and that God put him on our dorm for a reason. We knew it was going to be a battle, but our hearts broke for Josh.

We took Josh out to eat. We made sure we talked to him everyday. We invited him to church. We found out that he loved playing NCAA football on the PS2. So the three of us started a dynasty together. We would spend hours on the PS2 just hanging out, talking and ministering to Josh. Josh, once he realized that we were genuinely caring for him, started going to church with us. Josh started asking questions. Then halfway through the first semester, it happened. I clearly remember coming back to the dorm after a day of classes and Josh just walked out of Preston's room. He had a big smile on his face and he said "I did it bro. I just got saved." I went nuts. God blew my mind.

From that point on, Josh was always the first one ready for church. He was now vocal in small groups. He had a desire to study his Bible and learn. HE HAD PASSION. Josh was only at Liberty for that one year. He moved back to Pittsburgh. This week as I've been talking with Josh, I couldn't help but praise God for that one year. All it took was a few months of some guys loving on him and sharing Jesus with him, and his life changed completely.

Josh and I had kept in touch through facebook throughout the years. I would pray for him anytime that I thought about him. I honestly haven't seen Josh since he left Liberty after that year. Since that time Josh has gotten a full-time job in Pittsburgh. He started dating a girl. They got engaged. From the outside looking in, his life was going great.

Josh and I have talked the past 3 days in a row. I've asked Josh what his life has been like since he got saved, and left Liberty. Here's the general rundown (while still maintaining his privacy): his family hated him for getting saved, he got kicked out of his house, he was threatened because of his faith, he's basically been persecuted for his faith. His dad is dying from cancer. He broke things off with his fiance. He's ridiculed at work for his beliefs.

I told him, "Josh, it sounds like you have had your fair share of storms." His response? "Dude. God's got a plan. Yeah things look dark but it's nothing that God won't bring me through. He's in control."

PASSION. FAITH. SURRENDER. These words describe my good friend.

You know what Josh wants more than anything in the world? His family and friends to come to Christ. Ever since he got saved, Josh has been the most outspoken guy I know concerning Jesus. He's constantly sharing Christ with his family. He wants to see his dad get saved. He wants to see his brother and sister turn their lives around and find new life in Christ. He wants his fiance to go on a mission trip. He wants to reach his atheistic friend. He's know as "The Preacher" at his job. AND HE LOVES IT. AND HE LOVES JESUS. Those were his exact words to me last night: "Bro...I just love jesus!"

Wow. That's the passion we all need. I told Josh that he truly embodies Jesus' command in Matthew 5:14-16. "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; not does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, ut on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is heaven."

Josh has challenged me. I told him this last night. Josh has been saved for less than 5 years yet he has more passion for Christ by himself than some churches have altogether. Josh is in a DARK city. There are no churches near where he lives. He doesn't have a fellowhsip of believers to gather with. All he has is his Bible and his relationship with his Savior. But he's a light. And he's not ashamed. I told him that when I get a full time job as a Youth Pastor next year, I'm bringing him in to speak to my students. I'm not kidding.

I want to be more like my boy Josh. I want to embody that level of passion. I want that Pittsburgh-like Passion. Sometimes, I just simply take it for granted. I think I have passion because I work at a church, I speak at FCA, or because I mentor students. Sadly, and honestly, my passion doesn't compare to Josh's.

But that's gonna change.

We all need people in our lives to challenge us. To motivate us. To encourage us. Josh has been a God-send to me. His friendship is invaluable. I'm blessed to know him and call him friend.

For some reason, I've been putting the lyrics to songs at the end of my posts recently. Today is no different. This song, sums it up:

Give Me Your Eyes
By: Brandon Heath

Look down from a broken sky
Traced out by the city lights
My world from a mile high
Best seat in the house tonight

Touch down on the cold black top
Hold on for the sudden stop
Breathe in the familiar shock
Of confusion and chaos

All those people going nowhere
Why have I never cared

Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the brokenhearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see

Step out on a busy street
See a girl and our eyes meet
Does her best to smile at me
To hide whats underneath

There's a man just to her right
Black suit and a bright red tie
Too ashamed to tell his wife
He's out of work, he's buying time

Give me your eyes for just one second
Give me your eyes so I can see
Everything that I keep missing
Give me your love for humanity
Give me your arms for the brokenhearted
The ones that are far beyond my reach
Give me your heart for the ones forgotten
Give me your eyes so I can see

I've been here a million times
A couple of million eyes
Just move and pass me by
I swear that I never thought that I was wrong
I need a second glance
Give me a second chance
To see the way you've seen the people all along

(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P5AkNqLuVgY&ob=av2n)

The Less Than Manly Christian Store

What's this??
A post on THURSDAY???
Aaron are you feeling alright?

Have no fear. Everything is well. I just felt..."compelled" to write about a certain topic that I feel needs to be addressed today. It's a topic that has been haunting me for years even though I didn't recognize it until this week. It's something that I've actually avoided, subconsciously, for quite a while. This subject will most likely lose me some points with the ladies. This monstrosity? It's known as The Overly-Feminine, No-Man-Card-To-Be-Found store.
That's right. I'm talking about:

FAMILY CHRISTIAN BOOKSTORE.

Now. Before you get all upset and rush at me like a Florida Marlins 1st base coach over the fact that I just insulted the most popular Christian bookstore on the planet, hear me out.
I was talking with one of the students in our ministry this week and as we passed the store, we came to the conclusion that we just didn't feel like a man when we enter that store. If we need anything from there, we order online and hope nobody sees the package with the store logo sitting on our front step.
Guys, when was the last time you went into that store and came out feeling like a man? I mean, seriously. You can't help but walk into that store and feel multiple man cards being sucked away from you. AND IT'S A CHRISTIAN STORE!!

This store is full of Thomas Kinkade landscapes with random verses from Psalms scrolled out in gold ink, candles with "Bible-themed" scents, there are roughly 38 women's books to every 1 man-themed book, feminite bookmarks, cheesy thank you cards, feel-good verses on candy, and overpriced pictures of a calm and comforting Jesus, fuzzy-wuzzy lambs, or a calm and comforting Jesus holding a fuzzy-wuzzy lamb. Now, yes sometimes we need Jesus to be our Prince of Peace and our refuge in the tough times...

But where are the landscapes of bloody battlefields??? I want Thomas Kinkade to paint a epic portrayal of Gideon and his band of brothers slaughtering fools on the battlefield. I want a picture of Samson ripping a lion in half with his bare hands. I want a picture of Benaiah running an Egyptian through the gut with a spear! I want a picture of David chopping off Goliath's mug with Psalm 58:10 written below it. (For the record that verse says: "The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance;He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.") Where are these portrayals?? I'd drop dolla dolla bills like they were hot on a picture of the Battle of Armageddon!

Candles that smell like the "Lillies of the Field?" No thanks. I'll take some MAN-dles. I want candles that smell like a Hittite blacksmith shop. I want candles that smell like the Sea of Galilee. I want to enjoy a nice soak after a long day while reading some C.S. Lewis as the scents of "Israelite Campground" fill my nostrils.

Books? Come on. Depending on the store, the Men's section (like legitiamte books) is confined to one shelf. There are tons of books for men that I would like to see on the shelf. I want more books from guys like Cliff Graham (http://knowthecovering.blogspot.com/) and stuff from Jon Acuff (stuffchristianslike.net). Books that challenge men to stand up and be men. Especially for men who aren't in "full-time ministry." There are tons of books for pastors and church leaders. What about the other men??

Seriously? A bookmark with a lazy river and a peaceful verse on it? No thanks. Give me a book mark in the shape of sword or a battle axe or the jawbone of a donkey. I'd laminate that sucker.

Ok. Now obviously this is meant to be a more humouros take on this tragedy I see in the Christian book store. Ladies need their trinkets and such from this store. Obviously the ladies tend to decorate more of the house so I can see how they would want some more peaceful decorations. But men, it's time to stand up. You need to gear up your man-cave in the Biblical way! The ladies have over run that store! So grab your mammoth swords in the likeness of Eleazar, grow out your beards, gird up your loins and make a stand!!

My Stand

What comes to your mind when you hear the word "SURRENDER"??

Some people may think of war, or the example of someone like General Lee surrendering to Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox. Others may think of someone hoisting a white flag to signal defeat. For those who are children of the late-70's and early-80's, you may think of a song by the band Cheap Trick. There are countless images or ideas that pop into our mind when we hear the term "surrender.

The idea of total surrender is something that God has been bringing to light in my life recently. This idea of surrendering to God goes hand in hand with my last post on contentment. Total surrender to God. Total surrender to His will for my life. What does that mean? What does that look like? Does that affect me now?

Before I go any further, I want to clarify one thing. Those examples and images at the beginning of this post are completely different from the idea of surrender in the sense that I'm talking about today. Those first examples of surrender occur when there is no other choice available. Lee surrendered to Grant because he was out of options. People wave the white flag and surrender because there is nowhere left to run or hide. That type of surrender is a last-ditch effort for survival. That type of surrender is a choice made out of fear for self-preservation, and and it's the absolute last choice you want to make. Do you really think that Lee wanted to surrender to Grant? Absolutely not. I guarantee you that he wanted to win that war. He surrendered because he was out of options. He surrendered because his back was against the wall. He surrendered in order to spare his life and the lives of his men. It was the absolute last choice that he would ever consider making.

Now flip it around. When we surrender to God, it should be the foremost decision we make. Surrendering to God isn't a last-ditch effort for survival. Surrendering to God is not deciding to make that choice when you've exhausted all other options and the only thing left is crying out to God. Honestly, that is a picture of a proud man being humbled, not surrender. Surrendering to God, and His will for our lives looks like this: "I wish to lie low before God, as in the dust; that I might be nothing and that God might be all." -(Jonathan Edwards). Surrendering is a conscience choice that we make. A choice to deny ourselves and do what God has called us to do because we desire to be used by Him. I think that is what Paul was getting at when he said:

"For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all that I may win more. To the Jews, I became as a Jew, so that I might win Jews; to those who are under the Law, as under the Law though not myself being under the Law, so that I might win those who are under the Law; to those who are without law, as without law, though not being without the law of God but under the law of Christ, so that I might win those who are without the law. To the weak, I became weak, that I might win the weak; I have become all things to all men, so that by all means I may save some. I do ALL things for the sake of the gospel, so that I may become a fellow partaker of it." - 1 Corinthians 9:19-23

Paul understood what it meant to surrender to God. He knew that his mission was to deny his wants and desires and spread the gospel to any and all who ears to hear. He didn't care what the situation was, or what the cultural background, or who he was talking to. All he cared about was sharing the truth of Christ. Why??? Because he had surrendered.

Surrendering to God is realizing that it is not about us, but rather it is all about Him. Surrendering to God is voluntarily taking your hands off the steering wheel of life and surrendering COMPLETE control to Him. It's humbling yourself before an Almighty God. Surrender is knowing who is control of your life, and then actually obeying Him.

To use the example of a student that I mentor: Surrendering to God is obedience to the call that He has put on your life. Surrender is obeying God by pursuing a life in ministry even when your parents want you to do something completely different. Surrendering to God is physically seen by those around you, as you TRUSTING God.

I want to end this post with a song. This song has been playing in my head for weeks as I've been digesting this topic of surrender. I love this song and I almost started crying when Matt Tillman sang this the other night at Epicenter. That's a vulnerable statement but I can honestly say it because it's the cry of my heart. I earnestly desire to abandon my own desires and completely surrender to "the One who gave it all." Pay attention to the words of this song and check out the video link for youtube at the end.

"The Stand" -Hillsong United

You stood before creation
Eternity within your hands
You spoke the earth into motion
My soul now to stand

You stood before my failure
Carried the cross for my shame
My sin weighed upon your shoulders
My soul now to stand

So what can I say?
What can I do?
But offer this heart O God
COMPLETELY to you

So I'll walk upon salvation
Your spirit alive in me
This life to declare your promise
My soul now to stand

So what can I say?
What can I do?
But offer this heart O God
COMPLETELY to you

So I'll stand
With arms high and heart abandoned
In awe of the One who gave it all

So I'll stand
My soul Lord, to you SURRENDERED
ALL I AM IS YOURS!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HkGLbKV26zo

Contentment In Christ

Contentment. That's an interesting word. It's honestly the term that best describes my life right now, and I'll explain that later. It's a word that Paul uses in Philippians 4:10-13.

"But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."

I love the wording that Paul uses here. The first thing that stands out to me is that being content is a learned trait. Paul says that he has "learned to be content." To me, logically, that suggests that there must have been a time (or times) in his life where he was faced with undesireable circumstances. We see this clearly in Paul's "resume" found in 2 Corinthians 11:16-31. Contentment isn't just a light-switch that you just turn on. It's a process. You have to go through some rough times, times of uncertainty, and times where you are on the polar opposite spectrum of contentment. But through this process, you learn what it means to be content. You learn what it means to be grateful for the things that God has blessed you with whether they are big or small. You learn to be content in whatever circumstances you are in.

Philippians 4:13 is a very popular verse, especially among athletes. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. "I can outrun everyone in this race through Christ who strengthens me. I can shoot better, jump higher, bench more, tackle better, or win more games through Christ who strengthens me." "I can ask this girl out and she will say yes because I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." It's almost like a mantra for immediate success in most people's mind. However, I think Paul's intention for this verse was different when you consider the context. Paul just got finished talking about how he has learned to be content even when he was suffering and then he says "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Ultimately, Paul is saying that he can "accept" anything that comes his way. Why? Because he has learned what it means to be content in Christ. He knows that God is going to take care of him and provide for him, so why should he worry? He understood contentment.

I'm at a weird place right now. What's weird is that my life is going faster than a middle school girl's heart rate at the sight of Justin Bieber, yet, I'm happy. I'm content. I see some friends starting new chapters in their life (which excites me), and I see some friends revisiting old "adventures" (which worries me) and I can barely wrap my mind around the fact that I start my last year of seminary in 10 days. Yet, I'm content. This past year has been an interesting one for me, full of whirlwind events, changes and decisions. I've had some rough times, and some great times. Within this last year, I've been at the "bottom of the barrel", on "top of my game" and just about everywhere in the middle. Yet, I've learned to be content.

Trust me, I'm not boasting or bragging. I'm just saying that I believe my God is a big God, and I've got nothing to worry about. I think Job said it best:

"As for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last He will take His stand on the earth. Even after my skin is destroyed, yet from my flesh I shall see God; whom I myself shall behold and whom my eyes will see and not another. My heart faints within me!" -Job 19

The Creator of the universe is the God I serve. Wherever He leads me, whatever circumstances I go through, I know who my Shield and Strong Tower is. Why should I worry when I can be content?

Just another example of God's faithfulness

Ok. So I realized that I promised to post something new on my blog every week...the week before I left for vacation. That is my excuse for being absent last week. Judge me all you want.

A lot has been happening in my life recently. As I just mentioned, I got a chance to go back to Lynchburg last week for a little R&R. It was a very busy week full of seeing close friends, mentors, family members, and water park rides. I've always thanked God for blessing me with awesome friends and family but I never realized how much I under-valued them until this week. You don't fully grasp how much people mean to you until you go 6 months without seeing them and then you are forced to see them all in a span of 5 days. It's tough. I wanted to see so many people, but I knew I had to choose who I got to see in those few short days. During that crazy week, I realized how much God has blessed me with in the area of relationships. Yes, I got to spend more time with certain people, but I was truly blown away with the faithfullness of my friends. I'm not downplaying the importance of other people in my life, I'm just pointing out that seeing and spending time with the people that love and care about me was a breath of fresh air in my (honestly) weary life. It was just what I needed, and God knew it. Just another example of God's faithfulness.

For those of you that have been following my blog/life recently, you know that I've been looking for a car. Well, the day has arrived. Sorta. My dad thinks he has a car lined up for me as long as all the paperwork and transfer with the DMV goes well. This is a HUGE praise. Hopefully within the next few weeks, I will be driving a car that should last me a good while. This is just another example of God's faithfulness.

Things at the church are crazy! After some downtime post-camp, things have kicked back up as public schools started back today. This is going to be a hectic week as we prepare for some changes. This upcoming weekend is our Promotion Sunday where we bump everyone up a grade, introduce new teachers, welcome the new freshman, and basically pull our hair out as we try to place around 500 kids in the right classes. On top of that, we are attempting to feed breakfast to about 400 students this week at various local schools. We are in the process of teaming up with some local Chick-Fil-A's, McDonalds, and Publix to offer breakfast this Thursday and Friday to local high school students as they finish their first week back at school. It's going to be awesome!
Sticking with the internship update, I'm very excited to announce that I have been offered an extension on my current internship. I had a meeting with Matt about 2 weeks ago where he asked me to continue my internship and stay an extra 6 months. Now, instead of ending in December, I will conclude my internship at the end of June 2011. I've prayed about it and talked with my parents about it, and we feel like this is what God wants me to do. When my internship ends, I will have my Master's Degree finished (May) and a more complete resume as I look for a full-time job in Student Ministries. Just another example of God's faithfulness.

So basically to sum it up. My life is crazy. I have no idea where I'm going to end up. But God was, is and will continue to be FAITHFUL. I'm just going to rest in that fact now...

"He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler." - Psalm 91:4

"But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, says my soul, therefore I will hope in him." - Lamentations 3:21-24

Lions and chopped up hearts

So I know it's been a while since I've posted something. I admit that I've been slacking and I am going to change that. Hopefully, I'll be posting at least once a week now. I know...you are so excited that you can barely contain it. It's ok. Let out that scream of pure, undefiled joy. I'll wait...

Feel better? Good. Because here is what God taught me this week.

This past week, I had the opportunity to attend Student Leadership University 101 with a few students from our ministry. I've been to this event before and it is always challenging but there was something this week that really stuck out to me. It wasn't the roller coasters. It wasn't Sea World. It wasn't the AWESOME list of suggested books to read. It wasn't the straight-forward and humorous sessions led by Dr. Jay Strack, Brent Crowe or Chuck Allen. It was a quote in our workbook, that we didn't even discuss.
Now, I love SLU. I'm a big fan and I plan on taking my students to it when I "grow up" and get a full-time job. Also, in their defense, they have a TON of information to cover and I understand that they can't cover it all. But I happened to be flipping the pages when I saw the following quote on a page discussing "quiet times."

"My dear Jesus, my Savior, is so deeply written in my heart, that I feel confident, that if my heart were to be cut open and chopped to pieces, the name of Jesus would be found written on every piece." -St. Ignatius of Antioch

Wow.

After I read this, I immediately asked myself, "Can I honestly say that?" Can I honestly say that my relationship with Jesus Christ, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Creator, the Alpha and Omega, I AM Himself, is so deeply written on my heart that I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that if I were to die for Him and you opened me up and chopped my heart into tiny pieces...you would find the name of Jesus Christ on every little piece? Can I, the same guy who slept in this morning because I was a little "tired" instead of getting up at a reasonable hour to spend time with Savior, honestly say that?? Can I, a man that is prone to wander and leave the God I love say that?? I'm ashamed to say "no."
Why not? Because I'm prideful. I care more about what people think (in some areas) rather than totally surrendering to the One who surrendered everything for me.

Obviously, as you can tell, this quote deeply convicted me. St. Ignatius was not saying that we need to be perfect, but rather that every single thing we say, do and think should SCREAM the name of Jesus. There should be no doubt whom our allegiance lies with. I want to make a difference for my King. I want that to be said of me, not for my own edification but rather for His glory. I'm honestly not there yet. But this was a proper kick to the seat of my pants that I need to get it together. Will people say that of me after I die? Will that be said of me if I get the honor of dying for the One who died for me? I'm not perfect, but this is my desire.

I find it interesting, and maybe even slightly ironic, that St. Ignatius was martyred for his faith by being eaten alive by lions in the Roman Colosseum. He was torn to shreds. He was ripped open by lions. His heart may have even been exposed after his body had been mutilated by the lions. Yet he died with the name of Jesus on his lips. On his heart. There was no denying whose side he was on. I pray it's the same for me.

What are we waiting for?

Seriously???

It amazes me that people will stand in line for hours just to get a new iphone. They will stand in line and camp out for days when a new Chick-Fil-A opens up (nothing but love for you CFA!!!). I remember guys at Liberty who would sneak out after curfew just to get a new video game, and then play it until 5AM (GUILTY). That's called devotion. Those people are willing to do whatever it takes and wait as long as necessary to get something that makes them happy. To get something that "satisfies" a desire.

Why aren't we lining up to take the gospel to the nations??? Why aren't we willing to do whatever it takes and wait in line as long as necessary to sign up to get on a plane so that we can take the good news of Jesus Christ to the world? Why aren't we dropping everything around us to take the truth to the unreached? Jesus Christ is the only thing that can satisfy that desire, that need, that hole in our lives, and we are content with just sitting in the comfort of the "American Dream."

I've noticed this a lot now that I'm nearly done with David Platt's book "Radical." You NEED to pick it up. It's a convicting slap in the face. One of the most brutal things that stuck out to me is this: God loves the world. (Duh.) BUT when we say that we have a heart for America and that we are comfortable just supporting missionaries to other nations, just as long as we aren't the ones going. When we admit this, we are admitting to 5% of God's heart...and we are proud of it. SHAME. ON. US.

Now, I'm not bashing the iphone. Heck, if I was blessed with one, I'd use it until it fell apart. I'm not bashing Chick-Fil-A. I love that place! They are a great company with amazing principles that they live by and they are a great example of how Christianity and the corporate world can be "unstoppable." I'm not bashing video games. Sometimes you need to relax and take out some bad guys. I'm just pointing out that our priorities are majorly screwed up. And I'll be the first to admit that I'm guilty of it myself. Whether it's taking the focus off of God and putting it on myself, my desires, my relationships, or my own will. I make mistakes. I sin. The good news is that I've heard the good news. What about the others? What about those in jungles and villages and deserts?

Where do we sign up? Where do we wait in line for hours on end? That's where I want to be...

Leaving for camp!

Hey everyone!
I'll be gone for the next two weeks at summer camp. Please pray. I'll update after I get back.

This week: High School in Cocoa Beach

Next week: Middle School in Cocoa Beach

America's Greatest (yet sadly fictional) Hero...EVER.

Well. I promised this post...and now it's here. After countless hours spent in my sweatpants and after many, many bowls of triple chocolate chunk ice cream...I am now ready to embrace my greatest fear as the reality that it has become.

24 is over.

It's done. Jack Bauer will no longer protect America on Monday nights in the way that he deems best. He will no longer be a rogue agent who gets a shot of adrenaline every time he disobeys a direct order. My Monday nights from here on out will just be another boring night.

Instead of writing about the series finale and how much I'll miss it and all that other stuff, I decided to basically give out awards for the entire series. So without any further ado, The 24 Awards According to Aaron Crawford:

Greatest Hero: Really??? You have to think about this? Next award.

Greatest Hero not named 'Jack Bauer': This is a tough one for me. There are three in the running for this award. Curtis, Chase, and Tony. Curtis will win an award later so I'm knocking him out of this conversation even though I think he was a great character. Chase is a great guy with a lot of potential that only lasted one season. Sadly, one season wasn't enough for Chase to actually shine. He's a great guy but one season isn't enough to compare to Tony's six. Yes, Tony made some mistakes, and for a while we thought he was terrorist, but seriously...he was the greatest second-place agent anyone could ask for.

Best President: This is yet another no-brainer in my opinion. David THE-FREAKING-MAN Palmer. I wasn't sure how much I was going to like David Palmer when we are first introduced to him in Season One, but he is, by far, the best President this show ever had. All the presidents after him were a bunch of weak, easily-swayed, morons. Not David Palmer. Not Mr. Allstate. No, he knew what he was doing. Was he perfect? Not by a long shot. Did he take responsibility for his actions and actually stand up for what he believed in? You better believe it. His death would forever shake the foundation of Jack's world and send him spiraling down a path of despair and pain. His assassination was one of the most unexpected deaths ever...yet it leads me to the next award.

Worst President: Charles Logan. What a rotten, weasel of a man. Seriously, this guy had his hand in just about every bad thing that happened on the show since he was introduced. He was involved in the deaths of President Palmer, Michelle Dessler, and even in the last season with President Hassan. He tried to kill Jack himself on multiple occasions. I couldn't help but wish that he would die every time he appeared on screen. I literally jumped up and down when I saw Jack with a sniper rifle trained on his head in the series finale. I thought one of my wishes was going to come true! It would have...had it not been for stupid Chloe O'Brian. I was disappointed that Logan tried to commit suicide but...what do you expect from a weasel like him? I hated that guy.

Character that the show killed off WAY too early: This was another toss up that I really had to think about. Yes, there are plenty of characters who get killed off early, but only a few make a lasting impact with us as the viewer. Two of these characters are Edgar "The Penguin with a Lisp" Stiles and Curtis "The Man" Manning. This award could go to either character but I have to make a choice. I loved Edgar. He was awesome and I was glad to see someone as smart as Chloe in the tech region. Sadly, he died from a poisonous gas being pumped into CTU. It was a sad day seeing Edgar gasp for breath as the silent clock ended the episode. Curtis on the other hand was just a beast of a field agent. Curtis was a leader and a talented shooter and fighter. He always thought through the situations and to his credit (and death) he stood up for what he believed in. He was one of the best. I was not happy when they killed him off at the hands of Jack Bauer. I felt like he got the shaft just because the writers were trying to instill some "shock factor" at the beginning of a new season. Curtis, you didn't deserve that. That's why you edge out Edgar for this award.

Character that the show took way too long to kill off: Nina Myers. Now, she did present a lot of good material for the show. However, I felt like the writers were dragging her out and allowing her to live just for the sake of drama. Sure she killed Terri at the end of Season One which is the catalyst for all of Jack's actions for the remainder of the series, but she always seemed to escape. She was a professional survivor...that is until Jack Bauer had enough.

Character I couldn't stand from minute one: If you know me personally, then this is a no-brainer as well. Chloe O'Brian. Ugh. I don't even know what to say. I can't think of very many positive things about Chloe. Yes, she stuck by Jack's side all those years and helped him out when nobody else would...but that still doesn't gain her any respect in my book. Ever since I first heard her shrill voice with her sarcastically blunt and annoying attitude, I prayed that she would die. Even though the writers teased us with this situation a few times...she never bit the bullet. You're lucky Chloe. I would have killed you off by some random freak accident in the IT room at CTU. Ugh.

Favorite Leading Lady in Jack's life: Other than Terri, there was really only one other Lady in Jack's life. Yes, he had the pleasure and company of a number of women but only one stood out among the rest. Her name is Audrey Raines. Audrey and Jack had some ups and downs. Things were going great until Jack had to make a decision to ultimately ended Audrey's ex-husband's life. Shortly after, Jack "ceased to exist" and Audrey was forced to move on. Months later, Jack returns from the dead and tries to pick things back up with Audrey. After another season of misery Jack is captured by the Chinese...only to have Audrey scour the globe searching for the man that she loves. Sadly, this ends in her torture and eventual brain-washing at the hands of said Chinese. Jack's ladies never seemed to go out on a happy note. They always ended up dead or in serious injury. But here's to you Audrey. You stood head and shoulders above the rest.

Best Terrorist: This one is tough. I loved the story behind Season Three so I'm going to choose that one as the best. Not only are you dealing with the Salazar's and their Heroine Empire with a little Nina Myers thrown in the mix but you also have ex-MI6 agent Stephen Saunders to deal with. His personal history with Jack mixed in with Jack trying to overcome a drug addiction made this a very intense season.

Best Jack Bauer kill: Man. There are so many and I can't choose...so since Jack Bauer wins the award anyway, I'm just going to list some of my favorites. "The Axe", "The Jugular Snack", "The Hang 'Em High With A Chain", "The Scissors", "The Gutting", "The One Man vs. Russian Secret Service", "The Empty An Entire Clip In A Fool Because They Deserve It" (many occasions), "Neck Snapping Goodness" (many occasions) etc. Basically all of them.

Best Jack Bauer quote: Jack has had many good quotes. Quotes that strike fear into the hearts of terrorists about to be tortured. However, the one I've never forgotten comes at a t time when Jack is at the end of his rope. Audrey is lying in her bed like a vegetable as her father yells and blames Jack for what has happened. Jack wants to take Audrey with him to provide and protect for her despite her father's arguments. After Jack is pushed away he says, "In case you've forgotten, I'm really good at disappearing. And if you try sending someone after us...I'll kill him. I'm pretty good at that too." Talk about chills running down someone's spine.

Jack, you will never be forgotten. Thank you for all that you've done for our country. I freely admit that I have had and always will have a "man-crush" on you. You da man.

Thoughts?? Comments?? What are your picks??

Look who's back...back again

Well...it's been a while hasn't it? Missed me? Didn't think so.

This post is really just a post to fill you in on my life over this past month. Things have gotten so crazy here and I deeply apologize to my loyal 7 followers for not keeping up with this more closely. I will try harder from now on.

This month has been crazier than the last four episodes of 24 and LOST combined! (Also, as mentioned in my first ever post...expect a blog post on the end of 24 next week. I don't think I'm emotionally prepared...) At the very beginning of May, our administrative assistant, Kim, left with her husband to move down to Florida. He got a job working at Disney World and from what I remember, he basically buys the parts for all the mechanical stuff in the parks. That's a big job. So, since that time, Matt, Jamie and myself have split the job of answering phones, collecting camp money, answering phones, talking to parents, answering phones and trying to maintain our sanity while completing our daily work load and answering phones.

A few weeks ago we had our Senior Night/Banquet at the church. It was cool getting to see these seniors graduate as they prepare for the next step. We are also in full swing as we prepare for Summer Camp 2010 in Cocoa Beach. A few of our adult volunteers are basically planning out the entire week for us which is a huge relief for Matt and myself. These leaders deserve an extra crown in heaven. I found out yesterday that I'm on the GOLD TEAM at camp. I know for a fact that I own one yellow shirt (which I'm going to claim as gold from here on out...) which presents me a problem. Why couldn't I have been on the Orange team you ask? That's a great question. I would have rocked that team! Seniority over interns is what I was told :)

My Bible study/discipleship time is going great! I have about six or seven guys who regularly show up to dive into the book of Hebrews every Wednesday night after church. We have been meeting for 5 weeks now and I can see how these guys are desiring to grow in their walks with the Lord. It's very encouraging to me. I even told them this past week that I expect them to eventually start their own discipleship groups after our time is finished. We were talking about the last few verses in Hebrews 5 where the author talks about how the people are still feeding off of milk when instead they should be chewing on some meat and teaching those around them what they know. I challenged my guys to start praying about how they were going to do this. A few of my guys are actually going to be middle school sunday school teachers in the fall which is a great step. I encouraged them to take what they know, continue studying and growing and then turn around and pour into someone younger than themselves. I'm excited to see where God is going to lead them.

Last week was an interesting week, in a good way. Basically the highlights include me electrocuting myself and and my family coming to visit me. I had been asked to help Matt do somethings in his apartment that he is trying to sell. One of those tasks was putting brand new smoke detectors into the ceiling. Now, for the record, I've never done this before. Basically, I got my fingers caught between a few wires as 38,947,000 volts of electricity fired through my entire body. Ok, I'm not sure how many volts it was but I guarantee that I'm low-balling that guess. As I tried to maintain my balance on top of an 8-foot tall ladder while yelling some sort of noise that was meant to be the word "ouch" but rather, came out to be "oouaweeepdsfih", I realized something...My hand was in a lot of pain. For the next few minutes, my hand wouldn't stop shaking and when it finally did, I decided to test myself and see if I had gained any super powers like super-speed (Flash anyone?). Much to my dismay, I'm still just a regular civilian.

My family came and visited me which was a breath of fresh air in my life. They got to meet and eat dinner with the family I am living with here in Georgia, as well as go shopping in Atlanta and attending a Braves baseball game. They got to visit FBCW on Sunday before heading home. This has been a crazy month, but again, I promise to try to stay more up to date with this blog.

Braves and Burdens

As a disclaimer, I have no idea where I'm going with this blog post...but that is the beauty of this thing!

Yesterday was an interesting day for me mainly because I felt burdened almost to the point of being slightly depressed. This is really weird for me, especially following an awesome Wednesday night at Epicenter. I probably felt like that guy I saw at the Braves game last weekend. From what I could gather, sitting 3 feet away from them, this dude came to the Braves game with a girlfriend, got in a "discussion" and then left to power through a very awkward drive home (trust me) with the girl that used to be his girlfriend. He probably entered day one thinking to himself, "This is going to be a great day! Not only did my girlfriend agree to go to a sporting event with me, but..it's a BRAVES GAME!" Poor guy. Never saw it coming. I imagine he awoke the next morning feeling like he should stay in his sweat pants all day and eat nothing but ice cream and wonder if it was all just one big nightmare. This, in a weird way, sums up what I was feeling yesterday. "Allow me to explain...no, no...that would take too long...let me sum up." (80's movie quote...anyone???)

Wednesday night at Epicenter was awesome. I went into Wednesday prepared for the night and anxious to get it started mainly because Matt was out of town and I was basically making sure everything flowed smoothly, nobody went to the ER and the building didn't catch fire. None of that happened...all glory to God! Anyway, we had the CEO and some "top dogs" from the Lifebook (which was mentioned in an earlier post) visit us to see how we were promoting the Lifebook and to just be apart of the service with us. It was great. The worship was awesome and my good friend Dallas (AKA: "Houston" as the faithful readers will recognize...) brought the word and challenged our students to take advantage of the Lifebook and just get out and share the love of Christ with their peers at school. After Epicenter I got to meet with my studly group of guys for discipleship...after I accidentally abandoned one of them in the church parking lot. Seriously, between leaving kids at church and my Honduras stories that the kids refuse to let me live down, I HAVE to be in the running for worst intern ever...haha. The night was just plain awesome. We got to study Hebrews chapter 1 together and dive into the deity of Christ, and what it meant for Him to be fully God and fully man at the same time. For those of you that are stuck on my illustration from the beginning...I haven't forgotten about you.

Thursday morning I woke up and I was just burdened for some friends of mine. I couldn't even figure out why I felt this way after an awesome night. I woke up thinking, "Last night was awesome but today I just feel so heavy that I don't want to move. I just want to sit around all day because I feel so depressed." I hopped on Facebook which is what I normally do right before I head out the door for work. The reason I was so burdened for some friends of mine, and one specifically, was because their facebook status was the first thing I saw on my news feed. This friend of mine, which I have known for probably 18 years or so, has views that are completely opposite of mine in just about every category. I immediately felt burdened for him because I know he is lost and I couldn't help but hear Dallas' words from the night before ringing in my ears. I couldn't help but think, "Man, he's made such bad decisions since going to college. What if I had kept in touch with him through high school? What if I had spent more time with him growing up? Could I have made a difference?" Now, honestly, I haven't talked to this guy since high school and that was 5 years ago. So part of me feels regret and even a little sense of responsibility for not making the most of my time with him. This got me thinking, how many other "friends" do I have on facebook that are in the exact same spot. How many people do I know by name that I have come in contact with, and have not heard the name of Jesus from me? It's straight up terrifying. I've been looking through my list of friends and I see things like "Atheist" and "Faith through evolution" as religious views, I see quotes and activities including things that I don't do, I see lobbying for gay rights and abortions...and I'm burdened. Don't take this the wrong way. I'm NOT condemning them. I didn't send these people a message or post on their wall about how awful they are, or how they are living in sin. No, I literally felt BURDENED for these souls that I claim to be friends with. People I worked with, people I would see at the mall or at sporting events. People I had the chance to share Jesus with. My responsibility.

Now I'm not throwing a pity party for myself or stating how terrible a Christian I am. I am just being real. I had the chance, sometimes many chances, to share Christ. But I didn't. That is on me and nobody else. This is why I have such a passion for student ministry. I see the mistakes I made. I see the opportunities I let slip by and I don't want to see the students of today and tomorrow make those same mistakes. That's why I'm pumped about this Lifebook that is going to be in the hands of every single student in Cherokee county next week. That is why I carry a few extra copies in my car now. That is why I never want to miss another opportunity to share what Christ has done in my life. That is why I'm asking God to give me a chance to talk to some of these friends...even though we haven't talked in 5 years. I'm burdened. I'm burdened and I pray that burden for the lost never fades away. I'm willing to live with it. Are you?

1 Corinthians 15:58 - "Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves FULLY to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor is not in vain."

The End!!

Welp...time for another post.
A lot has been happening this week since returning from Honduras. Since returning from the mission field, I have not slept in past 7am and I have not taken any naps. Needless to say, don't try to call me tomorrow.
We had a very motivating night on Wednesday at Epicenter. Matt Lawson brought the heat (it's baseball season...get used to the metaphors). Matt challenged our students, coming off of our mission trip, by asking "What in the WORLD are we doing???" He encouraged the students to start thinking about playing a larger role in the great commission. Matt used Matthew 24:4-14 as his passage. In this passage, Jesus is asked about the end times. Now, Jesus does give us quite a few signs of the end (which I think we tend to get all caught up in) but the last one is the one that should hit the Christians right between the eyes. Jesus talks about famines, wars, earthquakes, and people hating each other. I did some research for Matt to include in his message. Did you know that there have already been 20 earthquakes in 2010 alone? I made a list of all the wars or battles that have occurred since 1990 and it took me a page and a half on Word...single spaced! As Matt said, we can check off everything Jesus says are signs of the end...except one. Verse 14 says "This gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to ALL the nations, and THEN then end will come." We are nowhere close to checking this box off. I encourage you to visit www.joshuaproject.net to get a better idea of how many unreached people groups are out there. Sure all these other things are happening (and Jesus calls them "birth pangs") but man...we are dropping the ball on getting the gospel to the nations! I can't remember who this quote belongs to but "why are we so focused on His second coming, when half the world hasn't even heard of His first?" Oh. Snap. Talk about putting your life into focus.

The reason I'm rambling on about this (other than just coming back from a mission trip) is that our students and students of other youth groups in our area, are combining to spread the gospel of John to over 12,000 students in the Cherokee and Cobb county schools. 12,000!!!! That's incredible! Check out www.thelifebook.com to learn about the process. Basically we are challenging our students to hand out free copies of the book of John to all of their classmates during one week. The response last Wednesday night was awesome. We had tables spread out all over the auditorium with signs for their respective schools over them. The kids flooded to the tables to grab 3, 5, or even 15 copies to pass out to their friends. Start in your backyard...then expand the borders. I can see a fire developing in these kids.

Ok. I hadn't even planned on talking about that but I guess that is the beauty of having a blog! I really wanted to mention a prayer request. After Epicenter on Wednesday nights, I will be meeting with six guys for a mentoring/bible study time. We started meeting this past week and it was great. The six of us have committed to read through the entire New Testament by Christmas. I upped the ante a bit on them by challenging them to read the entire Bible. I told them that I wouldn't challenge them to do it if I wasn't going to do it myself. So, by Christmas, I hope to have read the entire Bible. We downloaded a personal reading plan from www.youversion.com that allows you to edit the dates of your specific plan. Starting next week we will be diving into the book of Hebrews. I gave the guys the option of doing an outside book study or just simply diving head-first with no abandon into the scriptures. They decided as a group that they wanted to study Hebrews. Pray for us as we begin with Chapter One next week. Here are the names of my guys so that you can pray for them regularly:
Justin
Brantley (AKA: B-Rant from a previous post...)
Jacob Y.
Jacob K.
Chase
Nick
Hopefully I will have one more guy join our group. He is currently playing baseball for his high school but the season ends in 2 weeks so hopefully Connor will be joining us as well.

That's about it for me today. This is simply what God has laid on my heart and I'm just writing it down!
I'm headed to my first Braves game of 2010 here in a few hours so I may do a sports blog post tomorrow...keep your eyes open

My Week In Honduras (and how I joined Honduras' most wanted...) PART 2

So this post or Part Dos (see how I inserted a little Spanish??) as I call it, is going to be more random than my first post. I will also explain the "most wanted" part of my title.
There are really four things that I want to convey to my loyal readers today. Apart from the spiritual aspect (see part 1) of the trip, these are the four things that I will most likely remember for the rest of my life:

1.) "Squashing the dreams of 30 kids with one swift kick"
Ok. A disclaimer before I begin: I felt TERRIBLE after the events of these first two stories...which happened on the SAME day at the SAME school. Please don't hate me.
On Wednesday, after we visited the Mayan school, we visited a Spanish-speaking public school. I started "playing" soccer with some of our students and about 30 Honduran kids. Now, you need to know a vital piece of information. We were not playing on a soccer field. We were playing on a concrete basketball court, which doubled as their soccer field, that was surrounded by a ten foot cement wall with barbed and razor wire on top. Now that the stage is set: enter disaster. Someone lobbed a ball to me and I thought I would show off what little soccer skills I actually have by trying a bicycle kick. As you can probably guess, this did not go off as well as I planned. The soccer ball hung in suspended animation as my mind raced ahead of thoughts of a glorious GOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAALLLLLL (watch un-American soccer and you'll get that). Instead, I kicked it over the 10-foot wall of death. Immediately, all 30 kids looked at me with despair in their eyes and yelled "NOOOOOOOOOO!!!" A group of kids took off running towards the gate to retrieve the ONLY soccer ball the school owned. I followed closely behind while dodging rocks that were thrown at me for my sin. (Ok, I made that up). I finally reach the back gate and turn the corner only to find...a steep hill that leads into a ravine that probably went on for two miles. This just keeps getting better. So, now picture me, a 23 year old American who speaks 3 Spanish words trying to communicate with 10 Spanish kids as we search for the lone soccer ball in the midst of bushes and shrubbery at the entrance to the ravine. I tried communicating with the kids through sign language by pointing to my eyes and making a big circle with my hands...only to be met with a mixture of laughter at the stupid American and more murderous looks. After 20 minutes of looking for the soccer ball, I started to dig some money out of my wallet so that I could give it to the principal so that he could buy a new soccer ball. Right as I was doing that, I heard some joyful shouting in the bushes to my left. The kids pulled the ball out of the bushes and ran by me laughing and and saying things which I think were insulting towards me.
I was banned from playing soccer the rest of the day.

2.) "Honduras' Most Wanted"
2 hours later. Same school. Disaster numero dos.
Towards the end of the day, I was sitting on the sideline watching some others play soccer. For the record, I volunteered to sit out so that no more disasters would happen at my hand. That didn't help. I will change the name of the innocents to protect their identity. "Houston" was the goalie for the American team and he noticed a small Honduran boy carrying a very nice backpack. Now, in hindsight, we should have remembered that we were at a school and that all students carry backpacks. We did not process that information. We thought it was the bag of one of our high school students, so "B-Rant" and I basically cornered the kid to get "our" bag back. After "B-Rant" and I physically removed the bag from the kid a small riot broke out. (I may be exaggerating a little bit). "B-Rant" decided to run from the small group of kids that were surrounding him and yelling in Spanish. Not smart. "B-Rant" runs track for his school and he was barely staying ahead of these kids. He yells in a terrified voice, "Aaron!!! Where do I go?!?!?!" Sadly, "B-Rant" ran himself into a corner and was surrounded by the mob. It literally looked like a scene from a horror movie. The one white kid holding a backpack over his head while multiple Honduran kids clawed at him and tried to climb up his body to retrieve their stolen bag. One of our other students, who we will name "Opie Taylor", suggested that we look inside the bag to make sure it was ours before we barricaded ourselves in the bus. Smart kid. We opened it up to find Spanish textbooks and notebook paper. Needless to say, "B-Rant" and I felt AWFUL. We explained what we thought was happening and thankfully, I avoided a second stoning that I was deserving of. However, the school did take our mugshots and they posted our pictures on Honduras' Most Wanted. We are horrible Americans.

3.) "Heaven On Earth"
I found a Dunkin Donuts in Honduras. We stopped there. It was wonderful. See the pic at: http://twitpic.com/1eodrd

4.) "Weird and Useless Info"
I found out that if someone licks your elbow when you aren't looking...you can't feel it. Those were some weird bus rides...

Aaaahhhhh memories.

My Week In Honduras (and how I joined Honduras' most wanted...) PART 1

Wow.

What an amazing week of seeing God move in the nation of Honduras. There is so much to say and I know I'll forget some things but I'll do my best to recap. By the way, today is a "two-parter" on my blog. This will be the more informational post, while the second post will be more funny stories, random thoughts and happenings etc.
We left bright and early at 4am on Monday morning from Woodstock. After a very lengthy day of traveling, we finally arrived at the Word of Life Honduras Camp around 11pm (1am EST). We took a team of around fifty 9th and 10th graders to Honduras to simply preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. We split our group up into two teams and each team visited schools throughout the day using drama, preaching and conversations to tell others about the good news of Salvation through Christ alone.
Our first full day in Honduras (Tuesday) we performed our drama presentation at a Christian school in the morning. That afternoon, the local Word of Life missionaries took us shopping in the "Valley of Angels." On Wednesday, we visited my two favorite schools of the week. In the morning we visited The Mayan school. This was a bi-lingual school so we were able to talk to the students in English with ease. We saw a good number come to Christ at this school and I had the chance to talk to some of the guys after our presentation. I was simply amazed at how much the students knew about the Bible. Sadly, there is a major Catholic influence in Honduras and nearly every student that I talked to during the week felt like they would never see heaven due to all the sin in their lives. They felt unworthy. They felt like they couldn't earn their way to heaven. These were powerful conversations. I spent a lot of time showing the students that it is not by their works that get them to Heaven, but rather the grace of God. When they realized that a 23 year old guy from America, who has had many more years of sin under his belt, could come to Christ though grace and faith alone, their eyes lit up. It's so hard to explain what I saw in their eyes. They finally understood that the free gift of salvation was available to them, no matter what they've done. To God be ALL the glory. I was reminded of how thankful I am for a God who accepts me, loves me, and made salvation available to me despite my sinful life. What a powerful and humbling thought.
Thursday was just a powerful day all around. We visited 2 schools that day, one in the morning and one in the late afternoon. God moved mightily at those schools and we were so thankful to be a small part of it. That night was probably a defining moment in many of our students lives. Before I explain, I have to give some shout outs to the high school students of First Baptist Woodstock. These guys and girls were so passionate about sharing Christ. They would share with anyone and everyone who would listen. They ignored language barriers and social norms. They exemplified what it means to be "lights in a dark and crooked generation." I was so proud of each and every one of them. In a moment of extreme honesty, I wish I had their passionate attitude about sharing Christ when I was in High School. After visiting the schools we were returning to the camp that night. One of our students needed to use "the facilities." Our driver (shout out to Mauro...the best driver in Honduras) stopped at a gas station so that we could stretch and use the bathroom. What should have been a 10 minute stop...turned into one of the best hours of the week. Gas stations in Honduras are pretty popular places for people to congregate and hang out. Two of our students noticed a lady with a baby sitting outside the door begging for money. These two students pulled their money together, gave it to her and then sat down and shared the gospel with her. This just sparked everything that followed. A few of our students saw this and decided that they would go share the gospel with a small group of guys that were hanging out in the parking lot. The rest of the team got on the bus and started a prayer time for our peers who were sharing Christ. One by one, our students kept getting off the bus to witness to the employees, customers, and even a random traveling Mariachi band! These students understood that just because they left the schools, didn't mean that they could stop being a light for Christ. After an hour of sitting, witnessing and praying at the gas station...God held true to His promise and redeemed a young lady and brought her into His family. How awesome is that?? A revival broke out, not only at the gas station but in the hearts of our students as well, because somebody needed to go number one! God rocks. Simple as that.
Friday was a long day. We stayed at one of the largest (and it might have been the largest) public high school all day long. We performed 5 presentations. We got to speak to 3,000 kids alone on that one day. This was an awesome day for me personally. I saw a group of boys early in the day that I knew I wanted to talk to. After one of the presentations, I grabbed a translator and for the next 45 minutes I had the honor of talking to six young Honduran boys about Jesus Christ. It was a long talk because of the Catholic situation that I mentioned earlier, but I wouldn't trade a minute of it for anything in the world. All glory goes to God for this next sentence. After 45 minutes of talking with them, I was able to lead all six of my new brothers to faith in Christ. Now, I'm not a big crier...but I'm man enough to say that after that long and challenging conversation, I couldn't help but shed some joyful tears. I know I'll never see them again here on earth, but you better believe that I am going to hunt them down and hug each and every one of those guys once I get to heaven!
All in all, God rocked my world this week. He blew me away with something new each day. Throughout the week, our team was able to speak to more than 5,000+ students and we were able to celebrate with around 1,000 new brothers and sisters in Christ. I'm so thankful that God allowed me to play a small part in furthering His kingdom in Honduras.
To God be all the glory, forever and ever...

Season 1. Episode 1. "The Pilot"

Well, to the three of you that have randomly come across this brand new blog, I welcome you with open arms. My name is Aaron Crawford and I have decided to start a blog that will track the random thoughts that venture through my head day after day. You probably have a few questions already, so allow me to read your mind and answer them for you:

What is a "Bondservant" and why is it in your blog's title?
A "bondservant" is a term that has intrigued me for quite a while. The term comes from the ancient Greek word "doulos" and it basically is a term to describe someone who is "devoted to another to the disregard of one's own interests." (Thank you BlueLetterBible). The apostle Paul (though not the only one to do so) uses this term frequently at the beginning of letters that he would write to various churches back in the day. This is most notably seen in Romans 1, Galatians 1, and Philippians 1. Ultimately, Paul is making it abundantly clear to anyone and everyone who he is identified with. He is identifying himself with the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ. The definition that was mentioned earlier even states that a bondservant is so devoted to someone (as in Paul's case, Jesus) that they don't even think about themselves. Paul even says in Philippians 1:21, "For me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Paul was basically saying that as long as he drew breath, people were going to hear about this Savior who radically changed his life and that because he was so dedicated to sharing the good news of Jesus Christ, that even if he died or was killed for this message, he would still come out on top because he knew that his death would lead to eternal life with the one he was devoted to. Ultimately, this is my desire (though I don't live it out as passionately as I should). I want people to know where my allegiance lies. I want people to know that I'm a bondservant. That I give up all my rights, I die to myself, and I live whole-heartedly and completely for my King, my Abba Father. That is why "bondservant" is in the title of my blog.

Why start a blog?
There are a few people out there who are reading this and have the indescribably pleasure of knowing me personally (I promise I'm humble). They also know that I am currently enrolled in Seminary with Liberty University's online program. This should bring a question to your mind. "Aaron," you may say, "why would you start a blog? Don't you write enough in Seminary as it is? Do you really think people will read this?" The answer is relatively simiple. I've discovered over the past year that I actually enjoy writing. Now, I am by no means an author capable of writing epic novels (shameless shout out #1: Here's looking at you Cliff Graham. See www.lionofwar.com as well as his blog: knowthecovering.blogspot.com) but I do enjoy getting my thoughts out on "paper." Honestly, throughout college and so far in seminary, I get much better grades on my papers and presentations than I ever did on tests. Plus, there are no format rules that I must follow in order to get a good grade. So:
This format right here
is an acceptable
way
to write on a blog without getting docked
points.
FREEEEEEEEDOM!!!!! (That's my obligatory "man movie" reference)
Also, I'm currently in the middle of a youth ministry internship in Woodstock, Georgia and the youth pastor that I'm serving with this year has encouraged me to start one, even if the sole purpose is to just practice writing. This is not a mandatory part of my internship but it is something that Matt (shameless shout out #2: you should check out Matt Lawson's blog here: www.revolutionspeaks.wordpress.com) has encouraged me to do. So this is me expanding my horizon. I'm stepping out into the great unkown. As far as people reading it...I have no clue. Hopefully this will be used as a tool for discussion, which leads me to the next question in your mushy brain:

Ok, so what is the purpose of this blog?
The purpose of this blog is to basically fill you in on whatever random thoughts have recently been filling my head. This will not be a daily blog. I don't have the time right now to update and maintain a blog each and every day. It will be more along the lines of me updating my fantasy baseball team, which means I'll do a lot in the beginning stages because I think that I'm going to win it all...and then I will settle down to posting about once or twice a week. I give you fair warning: I have NO idea what this is going to look like. Most days, I will post something serioius such as what God has been teaching me or what He is challenging me with. Other days I may comment on a movie or a TV show (if you gamble, I'd put good money on me posting a blog about the end of 24 in a few months...), sporting events (lets just say...Tennessee Volunteers. Enough said.), or why I think the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (early 90's version) was the best cartoon made...ever. Can I get a "Cow-wa-bunga"??? Who knows? I can promise you this: You may not agree with me (which is completely fine) but I'll be as truthful and as honest as I can be, especially when it comes to anything pertaining to my Risen King, Jesus Christ.
Speaking of that...Monday morning( 4:30 am ) I'm leaving with a group of leaders and about forty 9th and 10th graders for Honduras. We will be there for a week-long mission trip. We will be visiting schools and using drama and open air evangelism to reach the people of Honduras for Jesus Christ. Pleas pray for our young team as they give up their spring break to go minister to and serve those that are less fortunate than themselves. I can't wait to see what God is going to do for His glory and His kingdom next week. I promise to post something after we get back...

Ok. This is officially the end of my first post. I'm not quite sure how to end this...so...

THE END.