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.