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Foolish Things

August 23, 2011 in Blog, Christianity with 0 Comments

But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. -1 Corinthians 1:27 (NIV)

I’m a nerd. I’m willing to admit it. See, this is one of my favorite verses in the entire Bible. I love the message it brings to us about broken lives and about the good news of Christ. On Sunday afternoon, instead of taking a longer nap, I decided to wake up and do a word study on the word “foolish” in this verse. Told you I was a nerd.

Regardless, what I found when I dug into this verse a little was fascinating. The word translated foolish in this verse is the Greek word mōros. Yes, it is one of the roots from which we get our word moron. While it can be used to carry a meaning of a dull or stupid person, it also carries a deeper meaning.

Mōros carries a meaning of “morally worthless, a scoundrel… mōros scorns [a man's] heart and character.”

The fools Paul is referring to in 1 Corinthians aren’t unintelligent people. They are morally repugnant people. Scoundrels. The opposite of those human logic would dictate the God of the universe would choose. He has a whole world at His disposal and he chooses the “morally worthless?”

I’m glad God chose me, a morally worthless scoundrel, to be part of his Kingdom. To share in his good news. To take his message out. I’m glad he chose you too. Welcome to the club, you fool.

Listen to Your Country #kidmin

June 21, 2011 in Christianity, Everything, Ministry with 0 Comments

 

I just got done watching the movie Invictus for the first time. And I must say, it was an amazing movie. Probably one of the best movies I’ve seen this year. It’s about the true story of Nelson Mandela using the game of rugby to unite the incredibly divided nation of South Africa in the mid-1990s. Before going any farther, watch the video above for a reference point.

As the South African rugby team enters the last 7 minutes of extra time, the score is all tied up. The team captain, François Pienaar (played by Matt Damon) calls his team into a huddle. The entire crowd of 63,000 South Africans breaks into a song of support for their team. And not only those 63,000, but millions of South Africans all over the country. In the huddle, François says to his team, “Do you hear? Listen to your country! Seven minutes. Seven minutes!”

I won’t ruin the end of the movie for you, but I will say that hearing the voices of their nation completely changes the way the South African team plays. Hearing the support of their entire nation transformed them.

If you didn’t know, I’m interning this summer with Kenny Conley and Cathy Harwick at Gateway Church in Austin, TX. As I’ve been hanging out with them and talking ministry, I’ve come to understand how truly important it is to have the voices of the entire church cheering on volunteers. It’s one thing to have the coach (kids’ pastor) and your teammates cheering you on. It’s something else entirely to have the voices of your entire church behind you! It’s vitally important for you, as the leader of the kids ministry, or any ministry for that matter, to communicate to your church how important it is for your church to encourage your volunteers and let them know how vitally important what they do is to the body! It’ll completely transform the way your team plays. Cheer them on!

Jesus Calling

June 8, 2011 in Blog, Christianity with 1 Comment

My girlfriend and I recently started working through a devotional called Jesus Calling: Enjoying Peace in His Presence. Before I left for the summer, I wanted to find a devotional book that we could go through together. This was the one I found that wasn’t just a “happy” devotional. It’s totally based on Scripture, and for just being two paragraphs, it’s really great. It’s written as if it were Jesus speaking to you. I just started it last Saturday, and below is the entry from that day. It really meant a lot to me, and I wanted to share it with you.

Welcome challenging times as opportunities to trust Me. You have Me beside you and My Spirit within you, so no set of circumstances is too much for you to handle. When the path before you is dotted with difficulties, beware of measuring your strength against those challenges. That calculation is certain to riddle you with anxiety. Without Me, you wouldn’t make it past the first hurdle!

The way to walk through demanding days is to grip My hand tightly and stay in close communication with Me. Let your thoughts and spoken words be richly flavored with trust and thankfulness. Regardless of the days problems, I can keep you in perfect Peace as you stay close to Me.

Sometimes the greatest truths are the ones that should be the most obvious. We can’t make it through a day on our own. The way to walk is to grip His hand. Be trusting and thankful today. See things change.

One Drop #kidmin

April 10, 2011 in Blog, Christianity, Everything, Ministry with 1 Comment

 

Single boat sailing in a vast ocean

Image from Flickr user Jo Ingate.

This morning in kidmin at Liberty (my church) was awesome. We were using week 3 of the God to the Rescue Easter curriculum, available absolutely free online. It’s really great stuff. Most importantly, the kids connected really well with the message and had a lot of fun. We did some wild and crazy stuff like the Licorice Race (look it up in the Kommunity at KidzMatter.com!) and Human Horseshoes. I tried to greet as many of the kids as I could personally and ask them how their week was going. It was just overall a really great morning.

After the service though, I began to think: there are so many kids that come in and out of those doors every week, and hundreds more just in our community that are unreached. It’s kind of overwhelming to think about. To think: how can I possibly impact the lives of all of those kids? I felt like the lonely sailboat in the middle of the huge ocean that you see above.

But then I realized: I’m not called to impact all of those kids. That’s not my mission. My mission, as a servant of God, is to put what little I have to offer into His hands and let Him do the work. My call is to put the one drop of influence I have to offer into the lives of the kids I minister to. My one drop sometimes seems insignificant in the context of an ocean. But it’s not. My drop, and your drop, and the drop of the dozens if not hundreds of other believers that will minister to these kids at some point in their lives accumulate. And not under our own power. He brings the people into the lives of these kids that they need at that time to be their “drop.”

The next time you’re sitting around and questioning: can I really make a difference? Remember this: you’re just a drop. You’re a meaningful, God-inspired, God-fueled drop. And He can’t wait to use your drop to make a change in the world.

He’s not here.

April 4, 2011 in Blog, Christianity with 0 Comments

I love this song. Plain and simple. I’ve loved it for a while now. I had a new experience with it last night, however. Something stuck out to me like never before. I was singing this song in church and everything was going as normal. But when I got to the line that says, “The angel made it clear, he told them have no fear, He’s not here, He’s not here…,” I had this sudden moment of realization. A “duh” moment in my faith. I’m pretty sure I almost screamed the “He’s not here” parts of that line out of sheer excitement.

I realized for the first time the power of the angel’s words in Matthew 28 verses 5 and 6: “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen…” Can you imagine the sheer shock that must have overcome these women? “He’s not here, he’s risen!” What a crazy statement! The Savior of the world, who just days earlier had been beaten beyond recognition of a man, was now restored and risen again. In his life, we could have life too.

HE’S NOT HERE! He’s living and moving and transforming all around us. He’s not here. He is risen. That’s good news.

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