God created this world.  He created the plants, animals, humans, dirt, water… obviously I could go on forever.  But God did not just create these pieces of nature that we see, God created potential.  He created man, and the ability to form families, societies, government, economy, culture… again the list could go on.  And when God created all of this, or the framework for it, he called it good, because it was.  It was very good.  And as we know, Adam and Eve messed up.  As representatives for all of us, they dropped the ball and allowed evil and sin to come in and tarnish this awesome creation.  Thus, nature, man, and all of these systems have been altered.  We have been stained and ruined.  So God decides to show grace and mercy and love and offer his own son, himself being God, as a sacrifice to reconcile us back to himself.

So now we have this chance to be redeemed, bought back, taken out of the altered, ruined state of sin and returned to righteous in the eyes of God.  In other words, we are given the chance to be made good through the work of Christ, and as God intended us to be at the moment of creation.  So we can be redeemed, what does that mean, though?  It means a lot of things, but one that we often overlook is that it means we have a responsibility of godly stewardship over all creation.  Once restored, we cannot ignore that God’s original command to mankind was to rule over creation, to take care of this good and once perfect planet.  That doesn’t just mean we need to be ‘green.’  It means we need to work to redeem creation for the glory of God.  It means we must seek to claim back these systems of family, government, economy, culture, etc for the glory of the Lord.  And we should be excited about that.  God created things good, for his glory and for our joy.  The more we work to claim creation for God’s glory, the more true joy we have, and the more able we are to worship our Creator.  While this task seems incredibly daunting and impossible, (and on our own it definitely is) we must not be afraid of it.  We are not called to rid the world of sin, because we can’t do that, but we are called to live Christ-like lives, and in doing that, change our own interactions with creation to model those of Christ.  In doing that, pieces will be redeemed for his glory.  We will start to see the godly potential in all of creation as we attempt to understand God’s plan for it.

Sin is obviously still a ruling presence in this world, but our task of stewardship remains.  God has given us his son in order that we may be redeemed.  We must then be faithful, obedient stewards, working to regain creation for Him, stripping it of the sinful stain that has tarnished it.  In all this we must remember, it is not our work, but the work and power of Christ that accomplishes this, and one day, his creation will be forever restored to perfection, beauty, and complete joy, and as faithful Christians, we will get to take part in that. We will experience that creation, as it was intended, for all eternity.

Most Christians know that we are supposed to be joyful in all circumstances.  That applies to the best day, when everything is just spectacular, but it applies equally to the worst days, weeks, months, and years of our lives.  Again, most Christians who have spent any amount of time in church or reading the Bible know this, and so did I, but still God used this simple idea to change my perspective.  He did this by making me examine the source of my joy…

Naturally, this is what I look like when I have true joy

If my joy is found in my job, it will fail when I have a bad day at work.  If it is based on my family, it will flee as soon as my wife and I get into a fight.  If my joy is built on pursuing a dream, it will die when that dream does not come to fruition, or happens in a time frame I’m not ready for.  You get the point.  If our joy is built upon anything except Jesus Christ, it is not real joy, and it will inevitably fade away.  Too often we trick ourselves into thinking we are finding our joy in Christ, when in reality, we are finding it in the things we claim to do for Him.  In other words, our joy must be based in Him, not in our efforts.

Don’t get me wrong, we are certainly supposed to find happiness in the blessings God has given us.  I delight in the fact that he has given me an amazing wife and two beautiful children, and they are incredibly important to me.  I feel good when I do my job well.  I enjoy pursuing my dream, and will continue to do so, knowing it is God-given.  But on the days when I’m away from My family, when my job is getting to me, and when I feel as though I will never achieve my dreams, do I find joy in the fact that Christ has saved me from utter brokenness, and has called me to be a part of sharing that salvation with others, or do I slip into darkness, anger or sadness?

Let us search our hearts, tear down the idols that are bringing us a false sense of joy, and replace them with Jesus, the only source of true, unending joy.

Music is powerful.  Many of us believe that, and can identify with it.  I cannot even count the amount of times I have heard someone say “this song changed my life,” or something to that effect.  Jesus, however, is far more powerful than music.  His ability to change lives goes far beyond, and lasts infinitely longer, than the power of a song, or band, or album (He is, after all, the creator of music.)  That is why I love seeing passionate disciples of Christ, using their musical abilities to reach hurting, lost and lonely people.

Exiting the Fall is a band made up of these kinds of disciples.  They are not a band who makes awesome music and also happens to love Jesus.  They are a group of guys who love Jesus and because of that, they seek to obey his call and minister through their musical gifts… they also happen to make freakin’ awesome music.  From listening to their songs, and reading about their purpose for making music, you can see their passion shining through.  I have seen a lot of ‘Christian Bands’ push Christ to the back as they seek to make music, and it is refreshing and exciting to see Christ be put center stage.

Don’t get me wrong, you will not see these songs making the playlist for Sunday morning worship.  But that’s good, because that is not their purpose.  What you will see is a whole mess of lost and hurting people going to shows, listening to the songs, meeting the band, and seeing the love of Christ through all of that… and that is what the gospel is all about.  It is about bringing the message of God’s love, grace, and salvation to people who, without it, have no hope.

So if you are still reading, here is my point, and my plea.  These guys are trying to raise money to release a new EP.  They are pretty darn close, but still need a little more help.  I would urge you to pray and consider donating.  I don’t really know the band, and I have nothing to gain from this, but I want to see God glorified.  I view it simply as supporting missions, just perhaps in a more unique way than we are used to.  It may sound strange to solicit help this way, and I pray I do not come across pushy or ill-motivated, but God has for some reason really put this on my mind and heart.  Here is the website.

Even if you can’t or don’t want to donate, at least listen to their music, cause their new song is amazing!

Being in Christian school from Kindergarten through my senior year of college, I have a heard quite a few theological debates, and some have gotten quite heated.  Some were flat out ridiculous and sinful, but others were beneficial, healthy, and great examples of “iron sharpening iron.”

just a photo of me studying theology earlier today

However, after about 15 years of hearing it, I had a tendency to see intense theological study as superfluous.  I knew too many people who would rather argue predestination with other Christians than share the life-changing message of the Gospel.  As a result, I tended to stay in the if-we-would-simply-live-like-Christ-everything-would-get-better mentality.  And I knew many others who felt this way.  Somehow, in thinking like that, I missed the importance of correct theology and studying scripture deeply in order to firmly know what I believe (as if living like Christ means we don’t need to study theology.)  It was a classic overreaction.

So while reading through Galatians 1:6-10 recently, God re-revealed to me the importance of studying theology.  Paul says “If any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you have received, he is to be accursed!”  He actually says twice in a row!  It is of the utmost importance that we truly understand the ins and outs of the Gospel.  Our theology must be correct, or our witness will be leading people astray, and we will be accursed.  Now obviously none of us our perfect, and therefore none of us can have perfect theology.  However, we can all be striving to understand better each day who God is, What he has done, and what he is doing.  We can all be doing our best to purify our theology, and our understanding of God, and nailing down the truth of those close-handed issues which are essential to our faith.

Disagreements will continue to happen, denominations will continue to exist,and debates will rage on.  But this by no stretch of the imagination means that we should stop studying and doing our best to understand the pieces of our faith, and the character of our God.

A lot of people nowadays have mentors they have never met.  Leaders of big movements and pastors of huge churches all use twitter, they all blog, they all write books.  It easier than ever to stay informed on their teachings.  This can be a huge blessing and a wonderfully beneficial tool.  I would be following about half as many people if I got rid of all the big names I follow on twitter.  But there is a definite danger here.

We cannot easily approach these mentors with our questions, doubts, mistakes, and achievements.  Having a real life human being who is wiser than you, and willing to take the time to teach and disciple you is something that no tweet can replace.  Relationships with those who have been there and done that are so key.  So while it is important to take advantage of resources, and learn from those leaders who have made themselves available through technology, we must also seek to learn from relationships, real mentors, and the old generations of our own local churches. 

What do you think are some of the advantages/disadvantages of these two types of mentors?

Now I am starting to get it.  Three years ago, when my professor said that to me, he was actually speaking about me.  At that time, I was ready to be a Youth Pastor, but cared very little about being a follower of Christ.  I certainly would never admit to that, but my personal life screamed it out rather clearly.  Looking back, my classes were filled with people living the same way.  We had dreams of what we  could do to change the church and make it more biblical, and what we could do minister to teens and change their lives, the only problem was, we could not have cared less about what God was doing, or even who He was.  There are two somewhat scary questions that this brings to mind, now that God has graciously saved me and opened my eyes:

How many people have actually gone into ministry selfishly?  How many people are out there ministering off of pride and selfish ambition while leading godless lives? And how many people are they leading astray?  It is sad and scary, and places a heavy burden on those who are actually seeking the glory of God.  God is still sovereign, and can use anything to draw men unto himself, but we must be careful to preach and share out of a love for God and others, not ourselves.

How many ‘Christians’ are deceiving themselves?  Scripture says that many will say on that  day “Lord, we did all these things in Your name.” and God will say “Away from me, I never knew you.”  While I was training to become a youth pastor, I deceived myself into thinking I was an obedient Christian, but in reality, I was a selfish sinner.  We must be always testing ourselves, purifying our minds and hearts, and focusing on the glory of God and the cross of Christ.  It is far too easy to deceive yourself.

What are you doing to make yourself available to God, and not just to ministry itself?

I have a dream that I would live out a godly life as close to perfect as possible, through the power of the Spirit within me.  I have a dream that God can use His church to transform the city of Ambridge into a community of Christians.  I fully understand that God is sovereign, and His plan always wins in the end, but I also understand the power He has, and visions He gives.  I have read stories of miraculous conversions, awakenings, and city-wide transformations all throughout history.  I have experienced first hand the love and power of our great God.  Who am I to say that a great, humanly impossible dream is too impossible for our God?  When we start to view ministry goals as too idealistic, we start to settle for things that are less than godly, and show where our faith really lies.

This is not to say that we never set attainable goals and take small steps, and it is certainly not to say we will not fail.  Sometimes God does things all at once in miraculous ways, sometimes He does them over time through faithful obedience.  Sometimes he chooses to do tings in ways other than what we can imagine.  But the point I am trying to make is this: When you dream according to the will of God, dream big.  Dream big and pursue God to accomplish it.  Yes, set smaller goals within the dream, and yes, pursue wisdom and the help of others, and most certainly understand that we may fail at times… but remember, if you are truly a follower of Christ, THE SPIRIT OF GOD LIVES WITHIN YOU!

Jesus commanded, “Be perfect, as you Father in heaven is perfect.”  He did not say, “I know it seems idealistic, but try hard to be perfect.  It’s okay if you fail, just keep trying your best.”  He set the goal as high as possible.  He knew we would fail, even with the Spirit counseling us we fail, but the “idealistic” goal stands the same.

Pursue perfection, in action, in word, in thought, in life, and in your God-honoring dreams.

God is moving in a powerful way over this town, and He is up to something.  People are rising up and Christians are starting to live out their faith in the community.  God wants this city!  He loves this city!  Let us join together in prayer and action and spread the love and power of God here!  God wants this for all communities, but I feel this sense of urgency, and this weight upon my heart for Ambridge that I cannot ignore.   I see people overcoming violence, poverty, addiction, and sickness, rising up to worship God throughout this town!  Let us begin to pray for that and allow the Spirit to work through us!

I realize a blog may not the best format for this, but it is late, and God is telling me to share this, so I just went for it.

WHAT?!  That is just a crazy thought… But it is exactly what Christ promised and what His work on the cross accomplished.  Sadly, though, it seems it is a truth many Christians go through life without truly acknowledging.  A friend of mine put it this way. “If the Spirit of the living God lives within us, things should happen everywhere we go.  It is the Spirit of God!  If you got hit by a Mack Truck, you would notice, so when you get filled with the Spirit of our God, you should see thing happen.”  Seriously, I think God is a bit more powerful than a semi, and yet how often do I acknowledge his presence and power indwelling me? This leads me to believe that while it is entirely an act of God that we are offered salvation and the indwelling Spirit, we must seek the gifts and power that He offers.  We must live a life that does not quench or hinder the Spirit.

So what does this mean?  It means I need to live by the Spirit.  It means I need to be Christ-like, daily renewing my mind, purifying my life as much as possible.  I need to live worthy of the calling which God has given me, and listen to the Spirit.  It also means I need to earnestly seek and discern the voice of the Spirit within me.  I need to filter out the selfish thoughts and allow the Spirit to speak through me.  It means I must seek the gifts of the Spirit, because with His power, we can do great things.  Don’t get me wrong, God’s Spirit within us does not make all Christians into a bunch of miracle-performing, future-telling superheros, but it certainly enables us to carry a supernatural power into this dying, needy world.  And when that is motivated out of love for God, and love for others, miracles will certainly happen, and lives will certainly be changed by the Spirit.

God calls us to love this world, and in so doing, He will draw people to Himself.  However, He has also given us the power of the Holy Spirit, so that through that love, they will see a power that undeniably must come from God alone.  Again, I am fully aware of the basic nature of this post, but I feel that as a Church, we need to remember the words of Christ in John 16:7.

Back in the day, I usually took the idea of waiting to mean I should just forget about the passion God has given me and wait until something falls into my lap.  Not this time, though.  I have been trying to use this time of waiting to cultivate the vision, passion, and love God has given me.  I am doing my best to remain patient, while learning about my God, and spending time with Him.  I am trying to obey him daily and seize opportunities.  I want to learn about the area to which God is calling me.  Waiting should never be a waste of time; it should be a chance to prepare, seek God, and pursue excellence.   God does not tell everyone to wait, but if he does tell you, see it as a gift; a time in which you can truly prepare yourself for whatever the future may hold.

I am truly beginning to see how awesome it can be to wait.  I am very excited to see what God has in store for me in the future, but even more excited to see what he will teach me in this season!