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...
Friday, June 25, 2010
Monday, June 7, 2010
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
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
Friday, May 28, 2010
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??
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??
Saturday, May 22, 2010
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.
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.
Friday, April 23, 2010
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."
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."
Friday, April 16, 2010
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
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
Sunday, April 11, 2010
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.
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.
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