Judge and Jury

I use to believe that God could convict the guilty and not sentence them, then I had this thought is it God who sentences a person or the person himself? I’m wrestling with the subject of repentance and forgiveness which I believe is connected with the subject of conviction and sentencing.

Growing up I would always watch movies that had protagonist and an Antagonist very clearly to, movies like Indiana Jones and the early Batman movies. It was in these films as an 7,8, and 9 year old I learned what evil was and I learned what Good was. What’s even more compelling now is looking back and seeing the fate that the evil one chose, he chose his own sentence, his own death and so on, all there downfalls was pride he would much rather believe that the lie that he was righteous than to let go and repent of his own actions we all still want to be right don’t we? We want to believe in our own realities and our own characters around us, we want to believe that we are the best father, son, co worker, boss and pastor in the world and everyone else is trying to play catch up with us. Then something interesting happens when we fall into our own human nature.

At some point your going to slip up and make a mistake and sometimes these mistakes affect the lives of so many people that an intervention is called for, it’s the moment where you come home one night and your whole family is waiting to talk to you about something. This puts you in a very interesting and compromising situation doesn’t it? You can hand over all that is wrong and seek reconciliation or you can take on a harder grip and run away or even worse ignore the issue at hand, we all want to avoid things don’t we? This reminds me of the story of Pharaoh, he had a choice he could let God’s people go or he could be a stubborn old Mule, this becomes his path as we read in Exodus. His heart becomes hardened and he ends up killing himself in the process, not by suicide but by stupidity and ignorance.

God is calling us into a life that is free, when we are caught he is inviting us into a life that is so much more free than the one we have created. May God reveal this to you on this day, may you see that Jesus is about freedom. It’s all about becoming free and not hardening your heart.

Grace and Peace be with you.

Calling All Peacemakers

On a Monday Morning like this one you have more questions than answers, questions like why does Cancer exist? Why is there no peace on earth it seems at times? Or why do I hate the holiday’s especially when this is the holiday where we should be celebrating the life of sacrifice some 2,000 years ago. On most Mondays I wake up a day after the busiest day of the week for me, brew some coffee and get started on the new week. Today however I’m trying to figure out how I can be a better peacemaker.

Last night at the X where I Pastor we talked about bringing peace on this earth, how can this be when we have troops in Afganistan heading out a week before Xmas? Or when we cant give proper health care in our own country and Insurrance Company’s can turn you down for proper coverage because they won’t make money on you? I have to admit that all the above anger me that is when I turn into my flesh, but isn’t there another way? Cant there be peace in the midst of all this hell that seems to exist on this earth? What would it look like if we were a movement of peacmakers, we brought peace to our surroundings and those who need it most?

For me this becomes personal, for those of you who know me well you know I don’t have a great relationship with my father and most of that comes because of moral failure. This post is not about exposing my Father’s nakedness though because I think there is a deeper question to ask here, this is about tuning into an energy beyond my own and seeking a better way, perhaps a way of peace and Love. I will be spending 5 days over Xmas with my dad and I have to prepare my heart for that environment, I have to be ready to be a peacemaker rather than a War Mongler but that’s not going to be easy is it?

Whether you are dealing with illness or strained relationships, or maybe your like me and you can’t figure our why we live in a country that is so fast to bomb and make War? Whatever it is you know like me that we need to bring peace in all circumstances, we need to be peacemakers because Christ himself was a peacemaker. When Christ came to change the world he did something very interesting, in past the world was changed and revolutionized by the sword and chariots and not much has changed to today has it? Rather he came and lived a life of peace and sacrifice, he didn’t use a sword he didn’t say an angry word to the Ceaser rather he sacrificed his own life and gave us the example for what a peacemaker is and does. How can we be peacemakers? You can be a Peacemaker by listening, by being quick to listen and slow to speak and judge may we do these things and be these kinds of people especially at this time of year.

This world will not change until we embrace God’s call to be Peacemakers, he is calling all Peacemakers because whenever something significant happens it’s through peace. Look at Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Mother Theresa, and what about Jesus. He is calling us out from comfort into a life of revolution and significance, he is calling us to be peacemakers. He is calling ALL PEACEMAKERS!

WONT YOU JOIN HIM?

Who do you serve?

So have you ever had those moments in your life where you have found it to be easier to serve something else? Something that wasn't your father in heaven? Now I'm not talking about serving another God as much as serving something that is visible, maybe it's an I pod, maybe you play too much Golf, maybe you put friends or work above your own family, whatever it is you see what I'm saying here. There is this story in 1 Kings 18 about Elijah going up to Mount Carmel, he goes there because they are serving other god's and Elijah decides to challenge King Ahab to a duel of sorts. So they go up on the mountain and they find out who the true God is, he tells them you call out to your god's and I will call out to my God. Let's see what happens.

Elijah first's asks them to choose a bull but to call out to the bale's to light it on fire, they dance around it, they call out from morning till night but nothing happens. It says that later on Elijah begins to taunt them, he says things like maybe he's on vacation or busy, shout louder, or perhaps he is deep in thought. When he says deep in thought it actually translates on the toilet, so Elijah is basically saying that your god is on the toilet, great stuff. So here is an account of the first ever trash talker in human history and it's Elijah, if he was around today he'd be that annoying guy in your fantasy league who is always talking smack even when he losses ever week. Let's see what happens after this.

So Elijah build an altar and makes a trench around it, he then orders them to fill four jars of water and fill this trench. They do this a couple of times, when the trench was overflowing Elijah went to pray to the LORD and asked him to reveal himself to them on this mountain. then all of a sudden God sent fire down around them and it burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the trench, it also dried up the water that was there. He did this so that there hearts might turn back to him and that they may come back to the one true God.

How many times do we live this story in our own lives? We find ourself worshiping something else because it looks better, it's easier, or maybe it makes you happier and after all God wants you to be happy right? NO! God is more concerned with your joy and your holiness than your happiness. You see God wants to reveal himself to you today just like he revealed himself to Elijah on Mount Carmel, come this weekend to one of our services and allow God to reveal himself to you as we study this narrative more in depth. I hope to see you there.
Grace and Peace,
Clayton Wheeler

Online Church

So I've been having this conversation over the past few months about a common trend I've begun to see amongst today's larger churches, it's the issue of starting online Campuses.  It started about a year ago when I became familiar with the concept when I logged on to lifechurch.tv  Pastor Craig Croschel, and yes I probably miss spelled his name but you know who I'm talking about.  I should tell you early on that this is more of a discussion and a pole than it is a blog, I'll share with you some of the conclusions I've come to but most importantly I want you to share your views and your thoughts on this.  

For those of you who are not familiar with the online campus concept let me get you up to speed.  A online campus is another satellite of a larger church, it's suppose to reach those who wouldn't want to walk into a church building or face the whole concept of being face to face with the local body of believers.  Supposedly you log on into a live service at one of the other satellite campuses and basically watch the whole service, Music, preaching the whole thing.  After this you are put into what you could call a chat room format of a small group where you interact with people who have just watched what you watched at the same time.  It's basically church for people who don't want to wake up and interact with people, it's great for the ubber introverts or those 40 year old men living in there parents basement playing the latest version of Gears of War, or should I even say World of Warcraft.  Sorry if sarcasm afends you I tend to be kind of sarcastic.  So the question that arises is this, is it real?  and is it Biblical?

First of all is it real?  I tend to believe that the holy spirit can convict you in any setting, this is because I believe we are the church more than we just go to church.  What concerns me about this is really my second question.  Is it Biblcal?  Now I am definitely one for using technology for the betterment of the Kingdom but is this going too far, I understand that your worshiping but what keeps one from logging on checking off that they are present, but then they can walk away and make themselves feel good because they went to church or did they.  I mean are they feeding themselves on a daily basis without the accountability of an actual face to face community (Church/Small group) ?  I was even watching a video on this this past week where they were having a problem with the small groups they have, aka there chat rooms/small groups.  Another question about the whole biblical issue is this, who is handling the Church discipline?  In order to be a biblical church from what I've studied in the NT, is that there has to be an eldership or a group of godly men who discipline and disciple those who are in sin and need correction.  So as you can see I have my doubts about online church, but I'm not the only one.  Mark Driscol raised a lot of the same concerns at the recent Advance conference in North Carolina and I have come to have the same concerns, in my opinion it's a bad idea, it feels to fake and the last thing we need in today's church is more people who are fake.  You know those people who think church is all about them being happy and becoming a better you now!  All were doing I fear is catering to those who just want to be safe, safe christianity is an oki moron if you ask me.  We need to be interacting with people in a community on a daily basis, and there is something about being in a room filled with people praising and worshiping the same God side by side.  Before I go any further and if you want to do more research on this before you make up your mind, here are the churches I know of for sure who are doing this if you want to check them out.  Central Christian Church Las Vegas, Lifechurchtv Edmond Oklahoma, North Point Community Church Alphareta Georgia.  Check them out and tell me what you think, I really want to hear your opinions from both sides that is.  

Now let me end with this, I just want to let you know that I still think highly of these pastors listed above I just don't agree with this new trend that they are embracing.  So Jud Wilihite, Craig Groschel and Andy Stanley are still great communicators who speak the gospel well and I look forward to hearing and reading form them in the future.

Grace and Peace,

Clayton Wheeler

Shine like Stars

If you could be anyone in the world, even if it was just for the day who would it be?  This question came to my attention in the midst of my study this week, we are all obsessed with being some one else so being the serious guy I am I answered this question.  I would want to be a Rock Star more specifically an Indie Rock Star like Ben Gibbard, I'd love to know what it's like to write music and perform in front of thousands and see your video's on MTV and to most importantly have a stage in which I can influence the World.  As I was studying I began to wonder is this really a far fetched idea?  Maybe so or maybe God put this in my head to wrestle with?

I was studying Philippians 2 for my message this week, in that chapter it talks about Shining like Stars and it caught my attention real quick.  What does it look like to shine like stars and what does God mean when he says that we shine like stars?  I understand that he wants us to live differently from the world and to be an influence but maybe that means more than even we can imagine?

This brought me to my senior year of High School, during that year Switchfoot had just released a new single entitled "Stars"  Now listen to this lyric that I resonated with this week.  "When I look at the stars, I see someone else."  You see there is this idea that we walk around everyday doing the mundane and not really loving what it is that we do or who we are as humans, but nevertheless when we look at the stars we see someone else.  Maybe this someone else is the absolute best version of our real selves, that person who really can move mountains, it's that person who truly best resembles our heavenly father.  

You see I believe that Shining like stars looks like this, it's when a Rock Star visits Etheopia and sees a world in poverty and AIDS and says I must do something about this, you see he looked at the Stars and he saw someone else and it changed his life forever.  It's when a Woman learns about Sex trade in Southeast Asia and decides to build a place of refuge and restoration for these girls, she looked at the Stars.  It's when a man who invented the internet saw a world that had been abused environmentally and decided that something had to change, he looked at the Stars.  It's when a man watches a disaster on the Nightly news and notices that the Church isn't there and decides that something must be done so he forms an organization like IDES, he looked at the Stars.  

You see God wants us to change the world, he wants us to look at the Stars and see someone else.  The very Someone he originally intended for you and I to be.

So may you look at the Stars and see someone else, and may you begin to live a life that is different because you truly have become that someone else.

Grace and Peace be with,

Clayton Wheeler.

Is it Trendy or is it Conviction?

Yesterday as some of you might know I was in Cincinnati for Warped tour, now I've been going to Warped tour for about three years now and it's always one of the highlights of my summer.  First of all you get to see over 40 amazing bands for less than 40 bucks, you get to be a part of a community that at least as a pastor you don't really get to meet otherwise it's absolutely great.  Every year there is a huge area of booths most of them are to sell band merch but others are there too for instance, invisible children was there, there is always an Environmental awarness booth as well and TWLOHA is always there making a difference in students lives.  If that weren't enough there is always the cause that a Band is behind that they preach from the stage, some might talk about the War others will support some sort of orphanage, and still others a group like TWLOHA.  Now here is what I love and what I'm concerned about when it comes to this wave that I'm seeing.

When I found out about 9 years ago about what Bono was doing for AIDS relief in Africa and world poverty I thought it was great, I said now here's a guy who truly gets what being a Christian is all about for he his a brother in Christ to me.  He takes the passage of the least of these to heart he notices the fact that Jesus spends more time talking about the poor than almost anything else in scripture, you would think that this is an important and very central part of the Biblical narrative.  What you began to see after Bono and Mother Teresa was this, every celebrity and in turn many members of a young generation begin to get behind cause after cause after cause.  I love seeing this, I love seeing people get passionate about wanting a greener earth, I love seeing the fact that God does not want war and murder in any context is not human, I love seeing them get behind helping out girls who have been trafficked in other country's, I love seeing them help girls who have become addicted to self injury, I love them being concerned for the poor, the widow, the Orphan just like Christ called us too.  But here's what has begun to concern me about this and it's one word Genuine.

Are they genuinely concerned or is it popular, let's say that Bono never took a stance on world poverty that there was no oprah or any other celebrity saying that this is wrong and we must do something about it?  Would we still be bothered by these social issues?  I hope so but I don't know if we would, this concerns me cause the Gospel without conviction is heresy!  I believe that Bono is convicted, I believe a lot of the people I saw yesterday are convicted, I believe my friend Tyler with Love can't be BAHT is convicted, I believe my uncle Rick with IDES is convicted in fact I know those people are convicted but what about you?  Are you convicted, this is what I want to know cause this is important, if you think that Christianity is all about going to Church and Bible study and Small group but you have no concern for the poor, the Widow, or the Orphan then I question if you got the message in the first place.  All I want to address here is a bringing back to the drawing page, where we begin to be concerned about the things of Christ not because of Bono, not because of some other band but because Christ commands and invites us into a life that can change the World.  GOD BELIEVES WE CAN CHANGE THE WORLD!

So may God convict you out of his word to look after the Widow, the Poor, and the Orphan and may we embrace a Life that changes this world through the Gospel that we claim.

Grace and Peace,

C-DUB

An update for Florida.

Hey guys, it's been awhile since I've posted and I apologize it's been a really busy summer and I'm just now beginning to catch my breath, for those Youth Pastors out there you know what I'm saying here. Anyway this past week I was called out on not posting by a dear friend of mine and decided it was time to post something new, in particularly to those of you down in Florida who have been asking me questions about how the internship is going. So I thought I'd use this post to just share some about my life up here, how it's going, and to share some of what I've been learning these past few months.

When I got here I didn't know how I'd adjust or what life would look like, the biggest question I had was who would I live with and would we mesh well or not. All of that was put aside when I met Judy and Justin who have become like Parents to me, They are both locals who have pretty much lived here there whole lives. Justin owns a plumbing business in town and was an elder here at Northview until about a year and a half ago, he loves to play Church softball, loves to hunt, and loves a good evangelistical sermon. Judy is your classic house wife who takes care of things on the home front, she is also very out spoken in other words your not gonna run all over her at all she can hold her own, I really loves this about them. Needless to say I live in an upstairs room in there home and interact with there family whenever I can, 2 of there three kids live here in town which means the house is joyful with the sounds of anywhere from 7 to 10 grandkids at a time, it's great I absolutely love seeing good family's interact with each other.

People ask me if I miss Florida at all, now usually I don't know how to answer that so I'll say this. I miss certain people but to be honest I've been to busy to really dwell on that, plus too many people have made this place feel like home for me to really miss it. Not a day goes by however that I don't think of most of you, every morning I wake up and I look forward to what I get to do, I really love my job and I love those I get to work with both staff and volunteers. What's weird is here I am doing ministry full time and no longer in the class room for the moment, the thing I fear most is struggling back into the last year of classes, I really love doing ministry everyday full time. I get to preach, I get to disciple, and I get to interact with fellow pastors in the area I love it. I will miss not doing ministry full time when I return, so in this I ask for accountability and encouragement to finish, it's important and I know for a fact that I still have more studying to do in order to be as effective as I need to be in the local Church. Terry Allcorn says that there is something to be said about finishing a degree, Terry is correct, Mike Baker told me that it's important to be able to show churches that I did the work and I have a Bible College degree. But let me tell you something there is a different type of education out here than there is in the classroom, it's just as important but different so I encourage all of you to be aware of this. Don't expect Bible College to prepare you for everything, the best education out there for someone who wants to be in ministry full time is this, learn to fail try things and find out if you like it or not and when you fail try try again, please don't fear this practice. Also learn from those who are older than you, those who have been there before and know what's it's like to be fresh out of school, I have about 10 of these type of influences in my life that I can go to at any given time this is important!

Now being in ministry full time I was asked about a week ago by a dear friend in Tennessee about what my week looks like, now I don't know why but we in ministry are obsessed with Pastors and how they function throughout the week, I do it too I was listening to a Mark Driscoll interview once when he was asked about his average week, I was glued to my computer listening to him talk about each day and what he does, so here you go this is my average week.

Sunday: This is usually a 10 hour day for me, it starts at me arriving at the church around 7 in the morning, for one hour I look over my sermon to the middle schoolers and get the room set up, from 8 to 9 I interact with people and just be available and visible. From 9 to 10:15 I'm in Middle School X teaching and hanging with Middle School students and sponsors, it's a great time and my favorite part of Sunday morning, at night I do the X High School and afterword usually go get coffee or food with some students. On Monday I come and detox from the long day before with some coffee, this is my heavy devotional day, I listen to sermons read and start studying for my lesson the coming Sunday, I also do production for the up coming Sunday. Tuesday I do all the Discipleship stuff for the coming Sunday, small group questions if it calls for a game then I prepare a Game. On Wed I finish my sermon and send out emails to my sponsors about what they need to know for that Sunday, Thursday is my day off which means I rest, read, study, and Golf whenever I can. Friday is my errand day and my detail day for Sunday. Saturday is a day of study and rest in preparation for Sunday. I try to work about 50 hours a week, this is because I have sponsors who work at least 40 hours if not more a week and then I expect them to come and volunteer for an extra 3 to 4 hours on a weekend. Now if I expect them to put in the time then I should lead by example my self so I've arrived to the 50 hour work week.

I hope this email wasn't boring but informative, I thank all of you for your prayers and look forward to seeing you all before too long.

Grace and Peace,

Clayton Wheeler.

It's like a Shadow

I have this vision that I can't seem to get rid of, I had it in Florida and it still remains with me here in my office in Danville Indiana.  It's not an annoying thing but is something that makes me re evaluate almost everything I do from time to time, I think it's healthy but is it productive?  I feel as though God gives us these questions to make sure we still have a pulse, this is almost always the first thing a nurse will check when you go in to the ER they want to know that your still breathing that you still know how to function as fully human.  Is God the same way with the birth of vision, mystery and wonder?  I believe so and it doesn't bother me at all, what does bother me is when people tend forget that they are alive and ignore these feelings that are clearly God ordained.  So what does this look like, what are these questions of which I speak, here's a few examples.

I don't want to start a capital campaign it's too risky, let's just put that under the rug and burry it?

I don't think Seminary is for me, I'm not smart enough and it's too much work?

Africa why would I go to Africa I wasn't trained to be a missionary?

Plant a Church your crazy God, do you realize how many Church plants fail in the first year?

It's those type of questions we get every single day, there holy yet kind of annoying some days.  By answering one of those questions I find myself here working at a Church in Indiana 2 days away from my hometown, it doesn't bother me but it excites me.  so what are the questions you've been given?  What is it that just tends to follow you wherever you go?  Maybe it's time to answer the Call of God?

Grace and Peace be with you.

C-DUB

The Move day 1

Hey guys, as you all know I set out this morning for my new home, Danville Indiana.  On my first leg of the trip I made a stop in Columbia South Carolina to visit my good friends the Huston's, Kevin is the new Campus Minister at the Shack on the campus of the university of South Carolina, it's seems like a really great place and I can tell that they are really excited about this opportunity to minister here.  

You know as someone who is very young and very early into ministry I already love to see the passion that can run through a person who finds themself in a place that fits there vision, a lot of people find themselves in a place where they never really see themselves and it shows to people like you and me.  People lose there vision and live a life that is filled with no passion, as I drive and get closer to Indiana my anticipation grows as I begin to think about what I will be learning and putting into practice in Student Ministry.  So tomorrow I head on to East Tennessee for my day two stop, Goehners here I come.

Grace and Peace,

Clayton Wheeler.

Much ado about what?

This past week and really for about the past year or so I've been coming across blog after blog on these issues, Barack Obama, Gay Marriage, and Abortion.  Now I'm not going to mention each of these in this blog but I will take on the issue of Barack Obama's behavior and early presidential decisions, Gay Marriage, and throw in a little Rick Warren based on what he has recently said about gay marriage.  So in the words of the Joker "And here we go."

On Sunday night I don't know if you heard but the USA pagant was on, miss California was clearly in the lead when it came time for the interview.  Her question came from Perez Hilton a gossip collumnist and yes he is of the same family as the famous hiltons, his question was very much direct and to the point.  "Vermont just passed a law that says it is legal for a gender of the same sex to marry, how do you feel about this issue?"  Now California was a devout Christian and Perez knew this very well, she answered from a personal point of view that she believed that marriage was for a man and a woman only.  Now hows that for your controversial headlines, needless to say her answer would forfet the crown, what kind of world do we live in when we no longer have freedom of religion?  We can no longer speak our own mind?  What's frustrating for me is that most Christians actually care about how the world treats us, now here's what I mean by that.  In the New Testament you here story after story of men like Paul and Peter going to prison because they just wouldn't shut up about there resurrected savior, you see it didn't matter to them what the government said or popular demand they kept on preaching.  All I've been hearing lately from Christians has been "well there taking away our freedom of speech."  That may be true to a point but you have to understand that if you are a disciple of Christ you are not an American, German, Canadian or whatever country you call residents.  You see your residents is in the New Jerusalem with Jesus himself, so it shouldn't matter what happens here as far as freedom goes, if it's truth according to scripture I don't care if it's Hitler or Obama never be afraid to speak the truth of Christ.  It says to count it a blessing whenever you face trials and persecutions of many kinds.  If this verse is true then I think Christ for the persecution that came about Sunday, thank you Jesus and may this be the first of many times in which one of your creation stands up and proclaims your name, maybe it will be like during the stoning of stephen when you stood and clapped for your disciple Stephen when he was being persecuted and yet still preached your word.

Now as far as Obama goes do I think yet that he is the anti Christ, my answer is still the same NO!  Am I concerned with some of his decisions yes, but let's look at something positive that happened this week at the forum.  Barack Obama sought out the president of Venezuala and shook his hand, this has been a man who has had a bad relationship with the US during Bush's administration but after words he said to Obama thanks for the gesture and know that I want to be your friend.  Now I know this is something little but I think we can take some positive away from this.  

Now Rick Warren was quoted as saying this past week that "I'm not anti Gay."  Now what he was saying is that from a political stand point he's not going to be an activist when trying to make Gay Marriage illigal, but know that from a Scriptural Standpoint he is still very much a man who understands God's view on such an issue.  So please don't be too harsh on the man after all countless people have been changed because of his ministry and as his brothers and sisters I think we celebrate that fact.

So may God teach us to be the kind of people who simply wont sit down but will stand up for truth, and may we speak your word even if one day it may cost us our life.  For our residence is not here but up there with you.

Grace and Peace be with you.

C-DUB.

Paradise

Today is that in between day of the resurrection weekend, it's the day where Christ is said to have gone down to hell and defeated Satan and finished the job or was it a sabaath?  I wonder looking back at one of his final words recorded on the cross, he says to the thief that today you will be with me in paradise.  What does this mean?  Last night I spent some time thinking about this phrase and I got this picture of Jesus and the thief spending Saturday together in paradise fulfilling his promise to this unknown man who appears only briefly in the Bible.  

Another thought that came across my head was this, maybe he spent the day with me, and then this new picture arose of me walking with Christ on a Golf Course in paradise with Jesus sipping on some amazing Coffee discussing the significance of what he had just done for me.  Maybe Christ was saying today you will be with me in paradise which perhaps translates into today you will all be with me in paradise, I want to spend time with you I want to have a personal relationship with, I want to partner with you in this thing we call life.  So Christ wants to be with me today in paradise?  What a thought what a creator who would want to be with the sinful person that I am.  so here I stand on the 11th of April waiting for my savior to arise in the hopes that I too may continue to live a life of resurrection so that I too may spend the day in paradise with Christ.  

Maybe Paradise isn't really an actual place but maybe it's when you are spending time with your savior wherever you are, maybe that's paradise.  So may you spend this day in paradise with your creator and may you arise a new creation with him.  

Grace and Peace.

C-DUB 

Is it an oil change or is it something else?

Today has been a rough day but also bright in lots of ways too, this morning I had to get my car looked at which turned out to be a continuing sago that will last through Monday ugh.  As I'm sitting in the waiting room I strike up a conversation with this older man from Clearwater, found out he as in town for his son's basketball game and had to get his car looked at as well.  So since we were in the same boat we decided to pass the time by talking to each other.

As I look back on the conversation I can't help but wonder why it happened, I wonder if there was something more spiritually significant going on?  If there was I wonder if I made the test did I do what God wanted me to do, the conversation did go into what I did for a living and what I'm studying to become?  My prayer this day is for him and his family that maybe a seed was planted and that I have more oil changes like this on.

Good?

I was walking down the sidewalk on campus today with one of my friends, we were just talking and shooting the breeze when he said this "Gosh it's already good friday."  Have I totally forgotten about it?  Well it was the first time all week I had given it thought and I am ashamed to say that, I'm busy but should I really be so busy that I forget what the main thing is?  Sometimes I wonder why they call it good friday, I mean what was so great about it?  My savior hung on a cross for some 9 hours for myself and that's suppose to be good?  It makes me scratch my head cause I think there is something more significant going on here, something that I may never be able to understand.

When I read this in scripture I see this picture of the disciples looking from a cowardly distance with no clue as to what's really going on, if you've been in many churches recently you would get the same feeling.  I walk into the foyer and some people are being real but some are being fake.  "How are you doing today?  Fine! "  Or when translated it would say this "I really don't care how your doing but I'm gonna ask anyway and I will have no idea how you responded cause I'm ten feet down the hall."  People just don't get it, they say they understand but they really don't.  It's just like the disciples on the original good friday, they sat and watched while something more significant than they could ever imagine was going on right before there eyes, I mean Peter even denied him.  Whats happened when some people will only attend Church on easter and the only time we even mention the resurrection is on this Sunday, it seems to me that if he really is LOVE then shouldn't we celebrate this event all the time?  Now don't get me wrong I hold this weekend very dear to my heart every year but if your looking for me to make a big deal about it I won't because I want to see us become the Kingdom that celebrates the empty tomb every day, I mean after all it is an empty tomb still isn't it?  Now that's worth celebrating!

Grace and Peace.

C-DUB

HIATOS

It's been over a month since I posted last and so much has been going on, in my head and in my spirit.  Now I don't want to bore with exact detail cause that's not what Confessions is about, but I do want to share some thoughts I've had regarding books, The Church, And family.

I am an avid reader who reads constantly, mostly stuff about Church leadership, Christian living, and Preaching and Teaching.  Now what you didn't see in that list is the Bible, over the past month I have become convicted of the thought that I should be reading my Bible above all other forms of literature.  I have come to believe that if the Church took the Bible as serious as we should then most of the books that I've been reading would not of had to of been written, no Pagan Christianity, no Simple Church, no Velvet Elvis, not even Your better Life now.  Now I'm not saying that any of these books are wrong, in fact I highly reccomend all except that last one I mentioned.  What I am saying is that we should do some damage in the Bible before we go searching elsewhere, we should be Biblicly sound first and foremost.

I have some friends who are giving up on the Church, they think that anything more than 20 people isn't a Church and we should all go to house Churches, let's just say that they all take Pagan Christianity to literally.  This disturbes me cause I feel as though instead of going in the direction of unity this is only gonna cause more division amongst the Church, As a Disciple I beleive that this goes against what God wants for his body.  We need everything the small church, the house church, the midsized church, the mega church, and most importantly we need the Church to be the Church, a body, not a building or some ritual we do once a week.  By the way it has been said by Mark Driscoll in recent messages and books that there will be more mega Churches in the future, contrary to what some emerging types think.  Now I don't know about all of that but my prayer is that we go in the direction of acting instead of arguing!

I said earlier that I would address my family but I feel as though that that's meant for another time and another blog.  Thanks for reading.

Grace and Peace be with you.

C-DUB