If God loves us, why so much pain?

This is one of the major questions that we as Christians need to be ready to answer. It's one that most of us don't really ever think about, at least if you grew up in the church like I did. When bad things happen to us, somebody simply says, it's God's will, don't worry about it anymore.

I have been reading a book by Steven James called "Story". In this book, James states his premise that most of us have been exposed to the crucifixion story so much that we have become callous to it. However, he compares our experience with the story of the crucifixion to coming into a movie during the climax and ending. We know how the story ends, but we don't know all the details from the rest of the story that make it so meaningful. In his book, James' goal is to expose the reader to the whole story, the beginning, the body, the climax, and the ending.

In his discussion of the fall of man, he points out how God intended our lives to be. Perfect interaction with God is what we were destined for. Then sin entered the picture and several relationships were broken. James calls the imperfect characteristics of our world thorns and this is what he says, "The thorns weren't a bully-God's way of getting back at those who wouldn't listen to him, they were simply a reminder of who we are. Their prick reminds us who we became on that day when our first parents charted a course away from God and shipwrecked us here on this imperfect island of The Way Things Are."

These thorns hurt, thorns like cancer, old age, bad relationships, shattered dreams, broken trust, but they also remind us that we still have a rose. Isn't that a beautiful thought! These thorns remind us that we have a rose and there is hope for the future. The thorns remind us that we need God and he loves us. If there were no thorns, then why would we strive for a place without them? And if there were no thorns, we would know that God does not really care for us because all he would be is a facilitator to put us on earth to live life, and then to die, never really desiring to seek something better.

We have seen those moments in life that are absolute harmony. God allows those moments to let us desire that harmony all the time. Just remember, when things are going horribly, and it seems like there is no light at the end of the tunnel, there is a rose that is attached to the thorns and it gives us hope.

Sometimes I need to rethink

I am always thinking about ministry since that is what I do. Last year, I was faced with a question that stumped me and it has made me debate in my mind over and over again, constantly going from one side to the other. The question concerns my minstry (and any other youth worker's ministry for that matter) and the effectiveness of it.
The question is this, "If Christianity is about denying self (Mark 8:34) how can we ask these teenagers and children to deny the person that they have not even found?" This question causes me to understand why so few of our churched teenagers have remained faithful to Christ. We bring them into the church and nearly force them to "get baptized" (or in denominations other than my own "to accept Jesus into their heart") at an early age by either guilting them into it or just expecting it. The children want to do what is expected of them and their soft hearts are easily broken so that they feel guilty for what they have done. Then, they act and are baptized. However, they have no idea that what Christ expects of them is to deny themselves and follow him. They then become this pseudo Christian who goes on mission trips, goes to camp and service projects and Bible studies, etc. During all this "Christian" stuff they are finding out who they are. The sad thing is that what they have truly become is not even what they think they are. They think that they are an active Christian. What they have become, however, thanks to our jazzed up view of youth ministry, is a Christian parasite. Looking for what they can get out of Christianity. They are always looking for the next big thing to inspire them, the most awesome music, the amazing worship experience and on and on. They will be let down eventually because that is how life is. It is not perfect. When they are let down they have to stop and review their Christianity. And often this means that they say to themselves, "this is not working, I guess I'll try something else that does." Then they leave.

I am not saying that all teenagers leave. Some, when forced to review their Christianity, realize what has happened and thanks to God touching their hearts, they shift gears and go the right way. But many leave.

The reason I bring these dismal thoughts up is because last week at camp I saw that teenagers can be broken into true denial of self. We had 5 baptisms (4 boys and one girl). These kids did not have their parents breathing down their necks. They did have lessons all week focusing on what it means to be baptized into Christ but I don't believe there was as much pressure as there is at some camps. There was not a continual barrage of guilting lessons about how bad they should feel for sinning. There were lessons on the amazing life that is only found in Christ. These kids were not baptized after calls to come forward, or after class, they were baptized after long periods of time for them to think. The middle of the night, rest time, or any other random times when there was not much going on. And I saw their faces. Tears streaming down and broken hearts and attitudes. These were not young children. They were mostly between 15 and 17 years of age (one may have been 14). This gives me hope for my ministry. It helps me to realize that kids can become Chistians by the hand of God on them and that he can bring them into true self-denial. We, however, as adults, preachers, youth ministers, teachers, etc. who work and talk with teenagers, need to take seriously the responsibility that God has called us to and make sure that we do not prematurely dunk kids in the water. Parasites are not what we need in the church. We need members who will deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Christ.

Preaching

Preaching is a tiring job. At this point in my maturity level, I seem to be good for one sermon a day. Yesterday the preacher at my church was not here and I had not preached recently so it was my turn as the youth minister. I am not trying to be a hot head or anything, but my morning sermon was really good and I had many comments on it. But afterwards, my mind felt blown. I was emotionally spent. I tried to get ready for the evening sermon and my mind was gone. My evening sermon was not good. ANd when I think back to it, probably the main reason is that it was not bathed in prayer as my morning sermon had been. I was also not very prepared for it. So my conclusion is this: From now on, only agree to one sermon a week so that there is time to prepare and pray for it. More than that with all of my other responsibilities is too much and it robs the congregation of what they could hear from someone else. Maybe there will come a day when I am able to handle more, but today is not it.

Sometimes the Human race is disappointing

Yesterday was a very frustrating day. It started out OK because Jen and I went fishing. She was fishing for Crappie and I was fishing for Bass. She caught a whole lot more than I did (around 10, we kept 7) and I caught one good size bass which was kind of exciting. Well, I have as of late decided to put my fish into a bucket of water because the last few times I have gone fishing, a snake has latched on to one of my fish. Anyway, so I put my bass in the bucket along with three of Jen's crappie. I walked off and continued fishing until a heard a dreadful noise. Thump...flap, flap, flap...splash! That's right, you guessed it, my big bass had escaped from the bucket and back into the water. That was pretty frustrating... but it was OK because Jen had caught some fish.

Jen and I headed home around 8 because it was getting too hot to do anymore fishing. So I was sitting there eating my breakfast when the doorbell rang. I get up and get the door expecting it to be someone from my church. It was not who I expected. It's the Sheriff. My heart suddenly leaps into my throat thinking of all the times I have accidentally, and only slightly purposefully broken the law.

Luckily, he was not there because I had broken the law, at least not in Oklahoma. He was there to serve me a court order and inform me that I was being sued.

Three and a half years ago, on December 30, 2002, I was heading back to OC and got caught in a blizzard in Limon, CO. A semi jack-knifed about a mile in front of me and stopped traffic. I was going about 30 miles per hour when I saw the break lights directly ahead of me. I began to pull my vehicle onto the shoulder trying to avoid hitting somebody. But a woman had parked her car there. Needless to say, I slammed on the breaks, but to no avail. I rear ended her and it was of course my fault. Luckily, the police officer did not give me a ticket because there were so many accidents that day.

For those of you who do not know (I did not know until yesterday), you cannot sue somebody for injuries in an automobile accident once three years have passed. This woman filed her suit on December 30, 2005, exactly three years after the accident. I was livid. I jumped around and yelled for a while until I realized that was not getting me anywhere. To make a long story short, I called my insurance company from the time of the accident and their lawyers are going to take care of it.

But this whole ordeal makes me disappointed in the human race. It is obvious that this woman was not seriously hurt in the accident. For one thing, they took me to Limon to call my parents. We were all checked over EMT's on an ambulance. There were no injuries to any of them. Plus, if they were actually injured seriously, they would have made a claim many months earlier than the last day to get anything out of it. Why are people like this? They use the extra long arm of our legal system to twist arms of people they will never have to be in the presence of.

The only thing that gives me peace in all of this is that God knows the truth. He knows whether they are actually injured in such a way that they do need monitary help or whether they are just misusing our legal system and trying to get something for nothing. God is the judge and I put it into his hands.

May 22nd on the mission trip

In the Warehouse

We arrived in Pascagoula last night. I was not sure what to expect on our way down. I thought we would be staying with church members. Where we were staying was quite a shock! The preacher called it a warehouse (I found out later that the reason it was called a warehouse is because a bunch of donations were stored in the rest of the building). It is a three room bulding with bunk beds and very dirty, probably from all the workers staying there.

Last night we also met one of the carpentars that we would be working with. I can't remember his name (it's James) but I do remember his story. He came down here 2 months ago, got attached to the place and is now living in the church building. He was hit by a truck while on the job and he is currently working with his lawyers to get workmans comp for all the time that he was not able to work and his current condition. He wants to stay and work for about three more years. He was also recently baptized and he asked the preacher why he had to put on a body bag (the baptismal clothes). Did I mention he was from Michigan? He has that nazily Michigan tone.

Also, when we arrived there was another group staying in the "warehouse" from Wichita Falls, Texas. They are leaving this morning and we will then have the one shower and two toilets to ourselves.

Pascagoula MS

Mission trips seem to have a way of changing your outlook on life a little. As I mentioned in a previous post, I was planning on taking my youth group down to Pascagoula, MS which was hit by Hurricane Katrina. When I looked around and saw the devestation that these people had lived with it made me realize that I have it relatively easy. I also look at the Central Church of Christ which is bringing relief to all the people down there. Their volunteers work tirelessly. In my opinion the guy who is in the leadership position, David, has been endowed with special strength from God. He told me that last month he decided to start taking one day off a month. What, are you kidding me? I am worried about my 1 and a half days off every week and after 8 months of 12 to 14 hour days, he finally decided to take a day off?

I look at the huge effort that is made by all these groups coming into MS and New Orleans to bring relief to the suffering. Are people who don't know Christ not in a similar plight? They are facing eternal death! This is a disaster of catastrophic proportions and we sit in our living room and watch TV so that we can watch our favorite show, or (in my case) try to go fishing once a week, or golf, etc. Lord, forgive us for our selfish lifestyles in the U.S.

I started a journal the first night and kept it until the second night. AFter that, I was too pooped out to pick up a pen when I got back to where we were staying. I will put some of those entries in future posts.

Some stuff

I am about to take 6 of my teenagers on a mission trip to Pascagoula, MS. I know what you are thinking, isn't there a song about that place? If you are asking that question, yes, there is a song set in Pascagoula. It's the Mississippi squirrel song by Ray Stephens. A guy in my church asked me if we could bring home a whole boxfull of those squirrels (if you are not familiar with the song, the squirrel causes a revival in the small church).
Next week we will be traveling about 2000 miles. On our way back from Pascagoula, we will stop by Galveston, TX and visit the sights at Moody Gardens. Then travel back to Cordell. It will be a long trip and there will be a lot of time on the road, but I know God will bless it. If you are reading this before and during May 21-27, please pray for our trip. I'm sure I will get tons of pictures while we are there, so look for them in future posts.
I hope that you will also pray for my sister as she is not doing very well physically. She has gone to many doctors, but none of them have been able to help with her condition (they don't really know what it is).
I hope that you will pray for my parents also because they are moving back to Colorado to work at Mountain States Children's home. It is a challenging, and sometimes non-rewarding work, but they will be blessed for what they do.

...

Well, I haven't posted on here for a while. Tons is going on. I am working on a mission trip, and Cordell Christian Camp. It is going to be an awesome summer. I love the summers in youth ministry but at the same time I somewhat dread them. They are so busy and take up so much time that there is just not hardly any personal time.

Something I have been thinking about a lot lately is the fact that it is so hard to get teenagers to be committed to Christ. There is such a line to walk in this area. I don't want to pressure them to become Christians, thereby causing them to prematurely committ their lives to Christ, but at the same time I want them to feel the burden that Christ has put on them to committ to him. I guess that all I can do is ask God to touch their hearts and ask him to give me wisdom as I lead these teenagers.

Beautiful

God has been blessing our church immensely. On Monday we had a Valentine's banquet. We had a ton of people show up and they all had a great time. The policy was that the men would do everything. They cooked, served, and cleaned up. It was quite a surprise to our ladies that we were actually able to function in the kitchen. (Hopefully they won't start expecting anything:) We also had entertainment from one of our newer members, Alvin, who has an interesting talent. He is a magician. He wowed everybody with his deft hands and quick witt! During his show he grew a following of men. You can see Ronnie in the back smiling. It was a wonderful night.
There have been amazing things going on with the youth group also. I took seven kids to Altus last weekend for a youth rally. We all had such a great time. The fellowship was wonderful, and I truly enjoyed just hanging out with my teens without having any responsibility.
We are also doing the Relay for Life in May. Last night we got started on all of our fundraising ideas. The teens are so excited about it all. We delegated responsibilities last night and are starting the raising of money to support cancer victims. It is turning into such an amazing bonding experience for everyone and it is really getting everybody involved, especially the girls.
The ski trip is shaping up well, and it looks like we are going to have a great group in March. WE might even have as many as 40 people coming from a church of 100. To me that is amazing.

Sometimes I just wish I could go away

Man, I feel so much better. I just finished a book review that has been hanging over my head all day long. I didn't do as good as I could have on it. There is just way to much to do and never enough time to do it. LIke last week, I had to preach two sermons (my preacher was gone), plus teach a class, plus study for a test, plus have two different Bible studies with kids. Plus read for my second class, plus working on a paper topic, plus work on my mission trip that fell through, etc. I could go on and on. I am just going to be so happy when I am done with graduate school and when some volunteers here in Cordell have been cultivated. Maybe I'll be a little bit less busy. I love my job, but there are some days when I just want to get out for a while and breathe.

So much to do, so little time

Picture of several of my kids on a Christmas outing to see lights and a movie (Chronicles of Narnia)

I have not posted on here in quite some time. I want to try to start posting on here every Monday, but we'll see how that goes. So much has gone on in the last couple months. I went to my in-laws house for Christmas, then I went to my parents house also. I went to NCYM (National Conference on Youth Ministries) in Nashville, TN in the first week of January. On top of all that I had youth activities and homework.

Last night was the Super Bowl. I really didn't have a team that I was going for. I wanted the Steelers to win because they beat my Broncos. And if they are going to get beat, I want them to get beat by the champions. But I also kind of wanted the Seahawks to win also because they were a team nobody expected to be in the Super Bowl. It was a decent game, nothing real exciting, but by no means a blowout.

Well, it's time to get a little work done in preparation for the men's meeting and homework for tomorrow.