A little resource for those of you that wonder about textual issues!
Monday, January 24, 2011
Vlog for the day
This ended up sounding a little self-focused, but I wanted to share that so much had changed since the move and since breaking my daily habits. I still struggle every day with putting Michael Porto to the side and taking up my cross- several times each day. But since the move I am finding that it is much easier to deny myself because my prayer time, devotional time, Word time, and other like time things have increased.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
The Big Move
I have been asked by a few people (really just a few) to share my thoughts and experiences as a new youth pastor in the ministry. I think I might enjoy doing that, so I have decided to try to keep up a fairly regular blog. If you look at my posting past you will see that that aspect of blogging has been a little difficult for me (as I'm sure it is with most people). But I believe that I had better start somewhere at the beginning.
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Ok, that might be a little too early in the beginning. Five years ago I felt the call to become a pastor, specifically a youth pastor. I enrolled in Bible college and graduated 4 years later- bringing the total to 8 years of undergrad work. (Lots of people go to college for 8 years and they aren't all doctors.) I began the search for a church around this time in 2010. I sent my resume out and waited for God to lead us somewhere. We heard back from a few churches and had one in particular that took some interest in us. We visited them in April. Things fell through and then we didn't hear anything from another church for another 3 months. People had told us that churches move slowly and we were ready to wait, but we were just about to have a baby and we really wanted Libby to stay home. Instead, I became the stay at home parent and Libby went back to work.
We heard from a church that had contacted us during the summer again in September and they wanted us tome come out and visit them. So we booked a flight and Libby, Naomi, and I flew out to MA to visit the church. We had a wonderful time visiting and were asked to come out again to be presented to the congregation as a candidate for the position. The congregation voted on us that weekend, we accepted the position, and in 5 weeks I was driving across the country with my brother-in-law in the other car. (Libby and Naomi flew out for the sake of time and sanity).
I'd like to focus on that drive for the rest of the post. My brother-in-law and I had always had a little bit of a problem getting along. I'm not sure if it was my constant jokes, my putting down the brand of vehicles he drove, my arrogant behavior, my judging, or some other personality flaw that got in the way. But I never felt all that happy to be around him. God, through Libby and a few very important others, encouraged me to change my behavior and demeanor. Around this time, my brother-in-law really caught on fire for God. There were things about him that used to bother me that seemed to fade away. He was prayerful and loving and kind. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't as though he wasn't this way before he caught on fire- he was. But when God broke down the walls I had erected, it became significantly easier for me to see the good in him that was Christ working in his life. I was always looking for the bad and I always found it. (I even saw it when it wasn't there!) Just like me and him (my brother-in-law) all of us are evil. There isn't a redeeming thing about us. Then in steps Jesus and changes people to be more like Him. I was always looking for the bad and because all people are bad, I was continually finding it. Spend any amount of time around a believer and you will observe wrong and sin- its a fact of life. But what is most important is what happens to that wrong and sin.
Back to the story.
I needed some way to transport both of my vehicles to MA, while still having Libby and Naomi fly out. My brother-in-law volunteered. After all the times I had picked on him, joked harshly with him, judged him wrongly, and second guessed his motives, he jumped wright in and volunteered to spend 22 hours with me in a car. He already travels quite a bit for his work and here he was, willing to spend more time away from his family to serve Christ on my behalf. I was blown away.
I have tried to convey my thanks to him. I hope he is aware of it.
Christ working in people to make them more like Him is a beautiful thing. It is unbelievable. There is no reason that my brother-in-law should have volunteered to help out aside from some personal gain. But where is the personal gain in this? Nowhere. I believe that he did this because the Spirit of God allowed him to see past my faults and wrongs and love Christ in me and love me because he (my brother-in-law was first loved by Christ.
Romans 5:8- But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
2 Corinthians 5:19- Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
Ephesians 5:2- And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
God is awesome!
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
Ok, that might be a little too early in the beginning. Five years ago I felt the call to become a pastor, specifically a youth pastor. I enrolled in Bible college and graduated 4 years later- bringing the total to 8 years of undergrad work. (Lots of people go to college for 8 years and they aren't all doctors.) I began the search for a church around this time in 2010. I sent my resume out and waited for God to lead us somewhere. We heard back from a few churches and had one in particular that took some interest in us. We visited them in April. Things fell through and then we didn't hear anything from another church for another 3 months. People had told us that churches move slowly and we were ready to wait, but we were just about to have a baby and we really wanted Libby to stay home. Instead, I became the stay at home parent and Libby went back to work.
We heard from a church that had contacted us during the summer again in September and they wanted us tome come out and visit them. So we booked a flight and Libby, Naomi, and I flew out to MA to visit the church. We had a wonderful time visiting and were asked to come out again to be presented to the congregation as a candidate for the position. The congregation voted on us that weekend, we accepted the position, and in 5 weeks I was driving across the country with my brother-in-law in the other car. (Libby and Naomi flew out for the sake of time and sanity).
I'd like to focus on that drive for the rest of the post. My brother-in-law and I had always had a little bit of a problem getting along. I'm not sure if it was my constant jokes, my putting down the brand of vehicles he drove, my arrogant behavior, my judging, or some other personality flaw that got in the way. But I never felt all that happy to be around him. God, through Libby and a few very important others, encouraged me to change my behavior and demeanor. Around this time, my brother-in-law really caught on fire for God. There were things about him that used to bother me that seemed to fade away. He was prayerful and loving and kind. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't as though he wasn't this way before he caught on fire- he was. But when God broke down the walls I had erected, it became significantly easier for me to see the good in him that was Christ working in his life. I was always looking for the bad and I always found it. (I even saw it when it wasn't there!) Just like me and him (my brother-in-law) all of us are evil. There isn't a redeeming thing about us. Then in steps Jesus and changes people to be more like Him. I was always looking for the bad and because all people are bad, I was continually finding it. Spend any amount of time around a believer and you will observe wrong and sin- its a fact of life. But what is most important is what happens to that wrong and sin.
Back to the story.
I needed some way to transport both of my vehicles to MA, while still having Libby and Naomi fly out. My brother-in-law volunteered. After all the times I had picked on him, joked harshly with him, judged him wrongly, and second guessed his motives, he jumped wright in and volunteered to spend 22 hours with me in a car. He already travels quite a bit for his work and here he was, willing to spend more time away from his family to serve Christ on my behalf. I was blown away.
I have tried to convey my thanks to him. I hope he is aware of it.
Christ working in people to make them more like Him is a beautiful thing. It is unbelievable. There is no reason that my brother-in-law should have volunteered to help out aside from some personal gain. But where is the personal gain in this? Nowhere. I believe that he did this because the Spirit of God allowed him to see past my faults and wrongs and love Christ in me and love me because he (my brother-in-law was first loved by Christ.
Romans 5:8- But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
2 Corinthians 5:19- Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
Ephesians 5:2- And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
God is awesome!
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