Social work is great. That statement is an all-encompassing statement that includes actions from Dr. Prevette’s line of work (child development) to merely passing out humanitarian supplies in an Internally Displaced Person’s (IDP) camp in Northern Uganda. Yet, as great as social work is, that is not our ultimate mission as followers of Christ. Yes, Jesus Christ does call us to feed and clothe the orphans and widows; as James put it in the book of James, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (James 1:27). However, notice what he said; “Religion that God our Father accepts. . .” Webster defines religion as ‘a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith.’ I believe that our religion, that what we practice and show the world, should be to love others; as Christ put it, “I give you a new commandment: that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13: 34-35). The world should know us by our love for one another. Oh how far we are from that!
Congruently, Christ’s final words to us as His followers are found in Matthew 28:19: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Nowhere in this statement does it say ‘Go and feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and help the sick.’ Christ also said that we would be “. . . [His] witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8). Upon further study of this passage, we find that our ‘Jerusalem’ can be interpreted as our local area, for example Lakeland. ‘Judea and Samaria’ imply those who are like us (Judea – other Jews, just like the disciples) and those who are different from us (Samaria – non-Jews, others who are not like us). To us, this would be Florida and the United States. Lastly, He says ‘. . . and to the ends of the earth.’ That would most certainly be the remaining nations of the world, from Canada to Chile, from England to Australia and everywhere in between. To be His witness would imply that we go and share with others that which He has done in our life, so that they too may be able to have a similar experience.
So then, since Christ did not give us the formula to be perfect Christians (if there’s even such a thing) by saying ‘2-parts works, 1/2-part faith and 1-part evangelism’, where do we ‘draw the line’ (so to speak) on works and evangelism? Is it possible to have one without the other? Is it possible to have too much of one and not enough of the other? Certainly so! I quote James again, “As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead.” (James 2:26) As James says earlier in that chapter, one cannot claim to have faith yet not show it through their actions. As Christ explains Judgment Day in Matthew 25, He tells us what God will tell the faithful: “Well done, my good and faithful servant.” This statement most certainly implies action; He’s not going to say ‘Well thoughtful, well theorized, or well talked about my good and faithful servant.’ No, it will be a ‘Well done’.
Nevertheless, I feel there comes a point when Christians can get so wrapped up in trying to bring about social justice in the world that they miss the whole point of being a follower of Christ and being in the world – to share Christ with the lost. Our primary goal should be to win hearts (and souls) for the Kingdom of God, whether that is through social change or simple evangelism.
As Christ said to His disciples after Mary poured expensive perfume on Jesus’ feet, “You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.” (John 12:8). This statement is so true; there have been poor since before Christ walked this Earth and there will be poor until the day this Earth ends. Thus, no matter how much social change you attempt to bring, you can never completely solve the social problems mankind faces. There will continue to be social injustices all over the world. Innocent lives will continue to be lost and atrocities will continue to occur. And we can continue to go in and rebuild hospitals, schools, homes, and churches once they have been destroyed by civil war or social unrest; but they will only be destroyed again. However, the only way to stop this vicious cycle is to change the hearts of men who cause these evil things to occur.
For example, simply building more orphanages will continue to house the growing population of orphans and give those beautiful children a place to live and a meal to eat. However, simply building orphanages will not solve the problem; it merely treats the symptoms of the problem. If you have a disease, clearly you would want to stop the symptoms of that disease; however, your main goal should be to completely eradicate that disease from your system so you can get back to full health once again. Instead, if you will change the hearts of the men who cause these children to be orphans, you will certainly see the orphan population decline. There is no rhetoric, logic, or any argument in the world that can change a man’s heart. The only way that can occur is by the power of God. Thus, my reasoning on how to bring about the greatest amount of social change is this: share Christ with those who do not have a personal relationship with Him. That is the most radical social, political, economic, emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual change you can bring to a community. Jesus is the answer to all of life’s dilemmas.
With that said, yes I still support social change via physical means (build hospitals, pass out clothes, give out meals) because that is our faith in action, however the greatest way to bring about the biggest amount of social change (and bring others into a relationship with God) is by winning souls for the Kingdom. That should still continue to be our primary objective. As one of my favorite quotes by Oswald J Smith goes:
“We talk of the Second Coming of Christ, yet half the world has never heard of the first.”
Monday, December 1, 2008
Sunday, November 23, 2008
Orlando International Airport (MCO)
As I am sitting in the Orlando International Airport awaiting my flight to Atlanta, I’ve begun to just slow down, unwind, and observe. For the past ten hours or so, my mind has been racing with everything that I needed to have accomplished before I departed Lakeland and all the things I needed to do in my travels to the airport. It’s difficult to accurately describe all that was going through my mind, but let me say it was a lot. Although I’ve traveled alone on multiple occasions, I still have yet to find it as fun as traveling with someone. There’s just a sense of companionship when traveling with another. There’s also a greater sense of security. As I sit watching hundreds of people walk this concourse, I can’t help but to think about relationships.
Relationships are the basic building blocks of societies, cultures, and mankind in general. That’s just simply the way we were created. We have an innate desire to build relationships with others. As I’ve had the opportunity to sit here alone for awhile, I’ve had the time to be able to reflect on the past several months of my first semester in college and all the relationships I’ve built thus far. I thank God so much for the strong born-again peers I have in my life at Southeastern. I’ve built many new relationships that I treasure dearly. As I think about one of my closer guy friends in particular, the verse that keeps coming to mind is “Iron sharpens iron.” How true this statement is! Although Jonathan and I have just recently drawn closer to each other, I find a connection with him. There’s something about his presence that I truly enjoy. I pray for him like a brother. He has such a heart for people and God, it’s amazing. I know one day he will become a pastor, I can just see it in him. He is always challenging me in my relationship with God by the things he says and does. Although we are the same age, I really feel God has given me him as an example of moving to the next step in my relationship with Him. Jonathan and I consider each other our accountability partners and I love just spending time with him. On the flip side of the coin, there’s one relationship in particular that I have that I will be glad when it’s over. I hate to say it, but that’s how I honestly feel. This guy, let’s call him “Bob”, and I became close friends towards the beginning of the semester. We hung out constantly and just spent a lot of time together. I grew to really enjoy his friendship until I started to really get to know him. Although he is a PK, his walk with God is not close at all. Of course, I understood perfectly well that since he’s been in church all his life, he’s probably seen it all; the fakes, the phonies, the hypocrisy, everything. However, I thought that since we had become such good friends, I could influence him to draw closer to God. That wasn’t the only issue. His personality is the complete opposite of mine – he is extremely unorganized, spontaneous, unchallenged and unfocused. How we became close so quickly I still don’t know. Our relationship reached its peak sometime in mid-October and then it just went downhill from there. I found him CONSTANTLY complaining about school, the policies, rules, work, food, everything. I really hated that a lot. I found myself trying to minister to him, but those who constantly complain are never enjoyable to be around so I find myself continually distancing myself from him. There are of course so many more factors that I’m not going to go in to, but now I find us further apart then we were close. He will be attending a different school next semester, so I will just continue to keep him in my prayers.
So, I think I’ll go back to ‘people watching’ and wonder who they are, what their story is, and where they’re going. This week’s prayer request: that I would be more relational. Blessings.
Relationships are the basic building blocks of societies, cultures, and mankind in general. That’s just simply the way we were created. We have an innate desire to build relationships with others. As I’ve had the opportunity to sit here alone for awhile, I’ve had the time to be able to reflect on the past several months of my first semester in college and all the relationships I’ve built thus far. I thank God so much for the strong born-again peers I have in my life at Southeastern. I’ve built many new relationships that I treasure dearly. As I think about one of my closer guy friends in particular, the verse that keeps coming to mind is “Iron sharpens iron.” How true this statement is! Although Jonathan and I have just recently drawn closer to each other, I find a connection with him. There’s something about his presence that I truly enjoy. I pray for him like a brother. He has such a heart for people and God, it’s amazing. I know one day he will become a pastor, I can just see it in him. He is always challenging me in my relationship with God by the things he says and does. Although we are the same age, I really feel God has given me him as an example of moving to the next step in my relationship with Him. Jonathan and I consider each other our accountability partners and I love just spending time with him. On the flip side of the coin, there’s one relationship in particular that I have that I will be glad when it’s over. I hate to say it, but that’s how I honestly feel. This guy, let’s call him “Bob”, and I became close friends towards the beginning of the semester. We hung out constantly and just spent a lot of time together. I grew to really enjoy his friendship until I started to really get to know him. Although he is a PK, his walk with God is not close at all. Of course, I understood perfectly well that since he’s been in church all his life, he’s probably seen it all; the fakes, the phonies, the hypocrisy, everything. However, I thought that since we had become such good friends, I could influence him to draw closer to God. That wasn’t the only issue. His personality is the complete opposite of mine – he is extremely unorganized, spontaneous, unchallenged and unfocused. How we became close so quickly I still don’t know. Our relationship reached its peak sometime in mid-October and then it just went downhill from there. I found him CONSTANTLY complaining about school, the policies, rules, work, food, everything. I really hated that a lot. I found myself trying to minister to him, but those who constantly complain are never enjoyable to be around so I find myself continually distancing myself from him. There are of course so many more factors that I’m not going to go in to, but now I find us further apart then we were close. He will be attending a different school next semester, so I will just continue to keep him in my prayers.
So, I think I’ll go back to ‘people watching’ and wonder who they are, what their story is, and where they’re going. This week’s prayer request: that I would be more relational. Blessings.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Daniel 11:32
On my last post, Margie shared a verse that directly tied into what I had planned on writing about in this blog.
She shared Daniel 11:32b. It says, ". . . but the people who know their God shall prove themselves strong and do exploits for God." (depending upon what translation you read).
This morning in my Fundamentals of Speech class, the lesson was on arguments and identifying the different types of arguments. After a 45 minutes lecture from the teacher, he began to go around the room and call on people. He would ask, "How do you know God exists?" A response would be given (usually lame at best) and then he would argue back (usually fallacies) and the class had to identify what type of arguement the professor was using.
What really got me thinking was the responses (or lack there of) of many of the students when asked this most basic question. I heard some of the lamest, most ridiculous responses. Several guys just merely stuttered out a 'well creation didn't happen by chance.' Certainly that's true, but to someone who doesn't even believe in the existence of God, I just don't see that argument going very far. Another guy when called on simply sat there. As the professor tried prodding him along, he almost burst into tears! The room sat in silence for about 2 minutes, yet he couldn't think of even ONE reason as to why/how God exists. Seriously!?! How do you call yourself a Christian?
I think I gave Professor Lewis a harder time then he expected, because he reverted to character defamation and just ridiculousness. For example, he said God does not exist because if all of creation is beautiful (stated earlier) then my existence proves God is false (i.e. he called me ugly). All jokes aside though, there shouldn't have been only 1 student in a class of 40 (at a Christian University nonetheless!) who could actually stand up to that question. Certainly there are harder questions then that! As I began to listen to others falter, I begged the question: can you really call yourself born-again if you can't even defend your own faith? Granted, I know the Bible says that to be saved, you have to believe Christ died for your sins. It certainly doesn't say you have to be able to hold a theological discussion on how/why you know God exists (fortunately for many Christians), but shouldn't you be able to?!? It just bothers me that such a high percentage couldn't think of anything to respond with; even just the basic plan of salvation would have worked!!
Anyway, hopefully this has encouraged many of them to dig deeper into what they believe and why. I'm just so thankful for the four years I spent in the IB program at Hampton High. Without that rigorousness in thinking critically (and for yourself) and without my parent's guidance at the dinner table each night that I came home with those types of questions, I probably would have been in the same boat as many of my classmates.
". . . but the people who know their God shall prove themselves strong and do exploits for God."
So, does God exist?
She shared Daniel 11:32b. It says, ". . . but the people who know their God shall prove themselves strong and do exploits for God." (depending upon what translation you read).
This morning in my Fundamentals of Speech class, the lesson was on arguments and identifying the different types of arguments. After a 45 minutes lecture from the teacher, he began to go around the room and call on people. He would ask, "How do you know God exists?" A response would be given (usually lame at best) and then he would argue back (usually fallacies) and the class had to identify what type of arguement the professor was using.
What really got me thinking was the responses (or lack there of) of many of the students when asked this most basic question. I heard some of the lamest, most ridiculous responses. Several guys just merely stuttered out a 'well creation didn't happen by chance.' Certainly that's true, but to someone who doesn't even believe in the existence of God, I just don't see that argument going very far. Another guy when called on simply sat there. As the professor tried prodding him along, he almost burst into tears! The room sat in silence for about 2 minutes, yet he couldn't think of even ONE reason as to why/how God exists. Seriously!?! How do you call yourself a Christian?
I think I gave Professor Lewis a harder time then he expected, because he reverted to character defamation and just ridiculousness. For example, he said God does not exist because if all of creation is beautiful (stated earlier) then my existence proves God is false (i.e. he called me ugly). All jokes aside though, there shouldn't have been only 1 student in a class of 40 (at a Christian University nonetheless!) who could actually stand up to that question. Certainly there are harder questions then that! As I began to listen to others falter, I begged the question: can you really call yourself born-again if you can't even defend your own faith? Granted, I know the Bible says that to be saved, you have to believe Christ died for your sins. It certainly doesn't say you have to be able to hold a theological discussion on how/why you know God exists (fortunately for many Christians), but shouldn't you be able to?!? It just bothers me that such a high percentage couldn't think of anything to respond with; even just the basic plan of salvation would have worked!!
Anyway, hopefully this has encouraged many of them to dig deeper into what they believe and why. I'm just so thankful for the four years I spent in the IB program at Hampton High. Without that rigorousness in thinking critically (and for yourself) and without my parent's guidance at the dinner table each night that I came home with those types of questions, I probably would have been in the same boat as many of my classmates.
". . . but the people who know their God shall prove themselves strong and do exploits for God."
So, does God exist?
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Discernment
A current prayer request that I have: discernment.
I was recently reading about discernment in regards to the Biblical perspective on the matter. Here's a little bit of what I read that I found helpful, "Understanding [discernment] is a moral and spiritual issue, not an intellectual one. Although the mind is involved, to understand spiritual realities one must be open and responsive to God . . . the essence of wisdom and understanding is to grasp spiritual realities and use them in distinguishing how to act in practical life situations."
I thank God that He gives us discernment and understanding in our time of questioning and testing.
I was recently reading about discernment in regards to the Biblical perspective on the matter. Here's a little bit of what I read that I found helpful, "Understanding [discernment] is a moral and spiritual issue, not an intellectual one. Although the mind is involved, to understand spiritual realities one must be open and responsive to God . . . the essence of wisdom and understanding is to grasp spiritual realities and use them in distinguishing how to act in practical life situations."
I thank God that He gives us discernment and understanding in our time of questioning and testing.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Saturday Morning
To what extent do we as Christians condone physical confrontation?
Over the weekend, there was some boiling over of tensions. Saturday morning at 3am was pretty crazy in the dorm, particularly in my hall. I would like to attribute some of the problem to the hour of the day that the confrontation occurred, however I don't believe that reason alone can be used as the scapegoat.
So how do we go from being a “Loving Pentecostal Community” (as stated in the Southeastern Mission Statement) to having to settle a situation that got way out of hand?
I’ve been mulling over this issue for the past 3 days. I think that I’ve come to the conclusion that had Christ been placed first in this situation, I believe it could have been peacefully resolved. So then, why wasn’t Christ first here? Maybe He’s not as firmly rooted in either party’s heart? Or perhaps neither party adheres to the Biblical principles of conflict? Christ specifically said ‘turn the other cheek’. To me, that means if you’re wronged, you don’t seek vengeance but instead remember that your Father in Heaven will vindicate you. Just an interesting note, maybe you have different view?
Anyway, on a lighter note, I’ve been involved in a local church now for the past 6-7 weeks, so I think I’ve found the church for me down here. It’s much smaller then Bethel, it averages about 300-400 members a Sunday, but I love it nevertheless. I look forward to partnering with them both prayerfully and financially as I move to the mission field. I look forward to coming home. I’ll be in VA from Nov. 21-30 for Thanksgiving break. It will be nice to catch up with everyone back home and see how the church is. I look forward to all the changes that have occurred in Hampton. Have a blessed week and keep in touch.
Over the weekend, there was some boiling over of tensions. Saturday morning at 3am was pretty crazy in the dorm, particularly in my hall. I would like to attribute some of the problem to the hour of the day that the confrontation occurred, however I don't believe that reason alone can be used as the scapegoat.
So how do we go from being a “Loving Pentecostal Community” (as stated in the Southeastern Mission Statement) to having to settle a situation that got way out of hand?
I’ve been mulling over this issue for the past 3 days. I think that I’ve come to the conclusion that had Christ been placed first in this situation, I believe it could have been peacefully resolved. So then, why wasn’t Christ first here? Maybe He’s not as firmly rooted in either party’s heart? Or perhaps neither party adheres to the Biblical principles of conflict? Christ specifically said ‘turn the other cheek’. To me, that means if you’re wronged, you don’t seek vengeance but instead remember that your Father in Heaven will vindicate you. Just an interesting note, maybe you have different view?
Anyway, on a lighter note, I’ve been involved in a local church now for the past 6-7 weeks, so I think I’ve found the church for me down here. It’s much smaller then Bethel, it averages about 300-400 members a Sunday, but I love it nevertheless. I look forward to partnering with them both prayerfully and financially as I move to the mission field. I look forward to coming home. I’ll be in VA from Nov. 21-30 for Thanksgiving break. It will be nice to catch up with everyone back home and see how the church is. I look forward to all the changes that have occurred in Hampton. Have a blessed week and keep in touch.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Sarah Palin - Road to Victory Rally
Today I attended the Sarah Palin Road to Victory Rally in Polk City, FL. It was about 30 min from campus, so it was not a long drive. I woke up at 7am and myself and a few friends left at 8am for the rally. The doors opened at 9am, so we wanted to get there a little early. We waited in line for an hour (830-930) then stood for 2 hours waiting for it to start. It lasted 1 hour total. So we were standing on our feet for 4 hours, then sat in the car in the parking lot for 1.5 hours waiting in line to leave. All in all, it was definitely worth it! It was at the regional airport (not in use) so there was limitless parking on the grass and the rally was held in the plane hangar. I really enjoyed it! It's the only political rally I've been to, other than President Bush's first Inauguration at the White House in 2000, but that's not a rally.
Sarah Palin did a great job. John McCain was actually in my hometown while I was at the Palin rally, so I thought that was pretty cool. I came within 4 body widths of Sarah Palin! So close! Here are some of the day's snaps: (click on picture to enlarge)
Waiting for the rally ro start....you can see the stage in the center left of the picture.
Florida Governor Charlie Crist with Governor/Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin
Look at all the Secret Service. I was within 4 body widths of her!
So close!
Great Speaker!
Todd Palin (on stage), Sarah Palin's husband.
Sarah Palin did a great job. John McCain was actually in my hometown while I was at the Palin rally, so I thought that was pretty cool. I came within 4 body widths of Sarah Palin! So close! Here are some of the day's snaps: (click on picture to enlarge)
Waiting for the rally ro start....you can see the stage in the center left of the picture.
Florida Governor Charlie Crist with Governor/Vice Presidential Candidate Sarah Palin
Look at all the Secret Service. I was within 4 body widths of her!
So close!
Great Speaker!
Todd Palin (on stage), Sarah Palin's husband.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Susan Sebyala
Last night, Susan Sebyala joined the Sebyala clan! She is Pastor Steven and Sara's fourth child - Samuel, Sandra, Sara, and Susan. I am so excited to meet her when I return to UG! I will be sure to post pictures once I get them and any more information. I was able to talk to Sara, though she was still in the Hospital so I didn't want to keep her. Pastor Steven doesn't return to UG until the end of November, so he'll get to meet her when she's one month old.
Blessings.
Blessings.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
The Line
Where do we draw the line between 'being in the world' and 'being of the world'? I've come to realize over the past 3 months here in college that this issue of drawing the line is a major issue in my generation. If you were to come down here to visit me, I could point out all sorts of people who take all sorts of different opinions with 'the line', some more liberal with its placement, others more conservative with it and others just "lukewarm" in their stance on the issue.
One thing I notice about much of my generation is for their desire to be real in a world of superficiality. This is good, but can often lead to problems. For example: the other week during my Mid-Term group service project, one of the team members dropped several curse words in casual conversation. We were all in the car when she used them. When she said them, it got silent for a second or two and someone piped up, 'Did you just curse?'. Everyone had heard the words that she seemed to have used with no apparent regard for their meaning. Her response to the obvious quesiton was, 'What? I'm just being real.' No one really wanted to bring up a big theological debate on our way to feed the homeless, so the answer was taken at face value and left at that.
However, upon reflection on it, was she really being "real"? What a terrible excuse for an assumed born-again believer to use. She felt she was better able to connect with the world if she spoke like they did. Now granted, the f-bomb was never dropped but that still does not grant her amnesty in my book. As it says in James 3:9-12:
"With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who are made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water."
Clearly Paul is calling us to refrain from using such vocabulary. All I can do is pray for her and keep myself from falling prey to this mindset. As stated earlier, 'being real' is certainly a characteristic of my generation that is positive yet on the same hand can be our downfall. We're so into trying to be real for Christ that we can become compromised and do the Kingdom no good.
Thanks for your prayers and support as I continue to press on. The Lord has certainly kept me these past months and has seen me through time and time again. I look forward to coming home in December to visit and catch up with everyone back home. Blessings.
One thing I notice about much of my generation is for their desire to be real in a world of superficiality. This is good, but can often lead to problems. For example: the other week during my Mid-Term group service project, one of the team members dropped several curse words in casual conversation. We were all in the car when she used them. When she said them, it got silent for a second or two and someone piped up, 'Did you just curse?'. Everyone had heard the words that she seemed to have used with no apparent regard for their meaning. Her response to the obvious quesiton was, 'What? I'm just being real.' No one really wanted to bring up a big theological debate on our way to feed the homeless, so the answer was taken at face value and left at that.
However, upon reflection on it, was she really being "real"? What a terrible excuse for an assumed born-again believer to use. She felt she was better able to connect with the world if she spoke like they did. Now granted, the f-bomb was never dropped but that still does not grant her amnesty in my book. As it says in James 3:9-12:
"With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who are made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring? My brothers, can a fig tree bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Neither can a salt spring produce fresh water."
Clearly Paul is calling us to refrain from using such vocabulary. All I can do is pray for her and keep myself from falling prey to this mindset. As stated earlier, 'being real' is certainly a characteristic of my generation that is positive yet on the same hand can be our downfall. We're so into trying to be real for Christ that we can become compromised and do the Kingdom no good.
Thanks for your prayers and support as I continue to press on. The Lord has certainly kept me these past months and has seen me through time and time again. I look forward to coming home in December to visit and catch up with everyone back home. Blessings.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
But God, it's just five bucks!
Several weeks ago, the professor of my Missionary Life & Work class announced amongst cheers and praises of my fellow classmates that he would not be giving a Midterm Exam. As we were murmuring amongst ourselves, he lifted his hands to quiet our excitment. "In the traditional sense..." he added. With perplexity overcoming each of us, he explained his plan to us: We would not have a Midterm Exam that consisted of questions of studied course material or reflective essays of applied missiology principles. No, our Midterm Exam was to break into groups of 10 students and plan and execute a minimum 6 hour community service project here in Lakeland. "What joy..." I thought, "Exactly what I need to add to my schedule." My group picked a project to do and set a date to meet to nail down the specifics. For the project, we would visit a local park and clean it up as well as feed the local homeless population. Our meeting was set for Wednesday (Oct 8) after chapel.
As I sat in Chapel on Wednesday (Oct 8), the speaker called the ushers forward to take an offering. For those of you who don't know, every chapel, an offering is taken (we have chapel 3 times a week). All offerings taken during Chapel services are put 100% into missions, both foreign and domestic. For the past several weeks, I have been faithful in putting $1 into offering every chapel. However that day was different. As the speaker prayed over the offering, I pulled my wallet out. I didn't have a dollar to put into the offering. The only bill I had in my wallet was a $5. As the offering plate quickly made its way to my row, I had to decide what I wanted to do. As I saw the offering plate start at the end of my row, I put my wallet away, with nothing in my hand. That $5 bill was all I had for the next week or so (I live life on a budget, thank you). I felt I had given God enough these past several weeks in the mission offerings. Besides, it was just five bucks.
After chapel ended, I went to the Cafe to meet with my Mid-Term project group. We met for roughly 45 minutes, nailing down a set schedule for the day that we would do our project, writing out job descriptions of each group member, and so on. Then, at the end of the meeting as everyone was leaving, the group leader said "Oh wait! I almost forgot! I need $5 from every member so I can go buy all the supplies we need for the day." I rolled my eyes and gave a huge sigh. "You've got to be kidding me!" I thought. I begrudgingly pulled out my wallet once again, looked at my $5 bill and reluctantly slapped it into her hands. As I walked out of the cafe, I looked up into the sky and said "I guess You were gonna get it either way, weren't You?!"
That following Saturday, the group and I met and did our outreach. We worked for several hours at a local ministry called Lighthouse Ministries and then left and drove to a park where we passed out food to the homeless and picked up all the trash in the park. As I began to reflect on that day and all we did, I think sacrificing $5 was the least I could have done for those homeless men and hurting youth we touched that day. I found myself needing to repent. And wouldn't you know it, by the end of that day I had received $25 from various sources. Here I was complaining about having to give up $5 for something that would impact the community and instead God teaches me a lesson and blesses me in the end. What an efficient and humorous God we serve.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Relationships
Next week marks my 2 month "anniversary" living the college life. Of the many lessons the Lord has been teaching me these past weeks, one of them has been about relationships. I wouldn't neceassarily call it teaching as I would 'hands-on review of what I was taught last year'. I've found myself being reminded of some difficult lessons I already learned about making and maintaining friendships. It's always nice when God helps you brush up on such basic principles as love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, goodness, faithfullness, and self-control by putting people in your life to see if those 'principles' are present and active. After spending 2 months with the same people, everyone here on campus is finally getting into a routine/schedule and opening up more. You start to get to know people better, you draw closer together or further apart and as time wears on, you need more of the fruit of the Spirit in your relationships. Fatigue and stress start to bombard the bonds and ties of friendships, like little mice slowly gnawning await at the tiny spindles of an enormous rope. It's in those times of fatigue, stress, and hurt that we must approach each other from the 'Tree of Life' (Pastor Glenn - Bethel Temple 8/3/08 sermon) and chase out the 'foxes in our gardens' in order to preserve our relations.
I've seen not just mine but so many relationships (friends, roommates, etc.) that have come under strain and pressure these past few weeks. As the realization and stress of 'long-term commitement' sets in, everyone can allow their flesh to get in the way of their friendships. If you would like a specific prayer point for me, pray that I would have the strength to die to my flesh in the context of relationships and that I would better be the hands and feet of Jesus here at Southeastern.
Anyway, for those of you who don't know, I've determined that my roommate and I are practically polar opposites in everything; from musical tastes to ideologies to life styles to our viewpoints on Christian topics. I thought I'd include some photos from SEU in this blog!
My side of the room...
My roommate's side of the room...
I've seen not just mine but so many relationships (friends, roommates, etc.) that have come under strain and pressure these past few weeks. As the realization and stress of 'long-term commitement' sets in, everyone can allow their flesh to get in the way of their friendships. If you would like a specific prayer point for me, pray that I would have the strength to die to my flesh in the context of relationships and that I would better be the hands and feet of Jesus here at Southeastern.
Anyway, for those of you who don't know, I've determined that my roommate and I are practically polar opposites in everything; from musical tastes to ideologies to life styles to our viewpoints on Christian topics. I thought I'd include some photos from SEU in this blog!
My side of the room...
My roommate's side of the room...
Monday, September 29, 2008
Preparation by Rejection
It's been far too long since I last posted, but lately things have just been so hectic! My days and weeks fly by. Lately, I've been getting rather bogged down with some pretty silly (to say the least) 'homework' and despite the bulk of it being due all on one day (how lame!), this Wednesday, I'm praying I will get a nice break for the rest of the week, at least until next week.
Though I've been so busy with work and just life in general, I try to remind myself daily as to why I'm here: to grow deeper in a relationship with Him and prepare for my destiny. However at times I feel I'm not able to spend as much time as I want with the Lord because of my ridiculous schedule, but I know this is only preparing me for life after college and teaching me to better manage my time.
Last week I found out I received another scholarship! I started school down here with a remaining balance of roughly $3000 and was unsure as to where the money was going to come from. Although God had told me last year that He would fully provide for my college expenses, one gets a little nervous when you're 4 weeks into school and still owe $3000 with no payment plan set up or loan taken out to cover the balance. The scholarship I received last week was from a scholarship organization that had sent me a rejection letter back in July. They wrote me last week to tell me that additional funds had become available and that I had been reconsidered and selected to receive the scholarship, which was $3000. I love how God works, even though in our eyes it seems late or ill-timed, it's always on His time which is always on time.
Last year during my senior year in high school, I applied to nearly 50 scholarships. I heard back from about 15 of them, 12 of them telling me I was not selected. The rest, I never heard from. Oddly enough, I kept every rejection letter as a way of reminding myself of what God promised - that He would provide fully. As I sat in my Missionary Life & Work class last week, Dr. Prevette was discussing connecting with churches and their members and fundraising in general. As I sat there listening to him tell experiences he had gone through as a full-time missionary in raising support among churches and how often many churches would never reply to his calls or how he would be denied financial support, the Lord took my mind back to the folder of rejection letters I had sitting in my desk in my room and whispered to me: As I'm providing for you, I'm teaching you to learn to press on in the face of rejection so that you will not put your trust in getting financial support from churches, but instead put your trust in Me who will provide all your needs. After that realization, I thanked the Lord for all those rejection letters as they were a way of preparing me to trust in the Lord to provide for me as I move to the mission field and ask for financial support from back home.
I thank God for all my supporters and support base who pray for me, think about me, and financially support me when I go overseas. They are an integral part of my ministry and without their support, I know I would not be where I am today. I pray that they would continue to remain open to how the Lord leads and that in turn they would be greatly blessed.
Have a blessed week in the Lord.
Though I've been so busy with work and just life in general, I try to remind myself daily as to why I'm here: to grow deeper in a relationship with Him and prepare for my destiny. However at times I feel I'm not able to spend as much time as I want with the Lord because of my ridiculous schedule, but I know this is only preparing me for life after college and teaching me to better manage my time.
Last week I found out I received another scholarship! I started school down here with a remaining balance of roughly $3000 and was unsure as to where the money was going to come from. Although God had told me last year that He would fully provide for my college expenses, one gets a little nervous when you're 4 weeks into school and still owe $3000 with no payment plan set up or loan taken out to cover the balance. The scholarship I received last week was from a scholarship organization that had sent me a rejection letter back in July. They wrote me last week to tell me that additional funds had become available and that I had been reconsidered and selected to receive the scholarship, which was $3000. I love how God works, even though in our eyes it seems late or ill-timed, it's always on His time which is always on time.
Last year during my senior year in high school, I applied to nearly 50 scholarships. I heard back from about 15 of them, 12 of them telling me I was not selected. The rest, I never heard from. Oddly enough, I kept every rejection letter as a way of reminding myself of what God promised - that He would provide fully. As I sat in my Missionary Life & Work class last week, Dr. Prevette was discussing connecting with churches and their members and fundraising in general. As I sat there listening to him tell experiences he had gone through as a full-time missionary in raising support among churches and how often many churches would never reply to his calls or how he would be denied financial support, the Lord took my mind back to the folder of rejection letters I had sitting in my desk in my room and whispered to me: As I'm providing for you, I'm teaching you to learn to press on in the face of rejection so that you will not put your trust in getting financial support from churches, but instead put your trust in Me who will provide all your needs. After that realization, I thanked the Lord for all those rejection letters as they were a way of preparing me to trust in the Lord to provide for me as I move to the mission field and ask for financial support from back home.
I thank God for all my supporters and support base who pray for me, think about me, and financially support me when I go overseas. They are an integral part of my ministry and without their support, I know I would not be where I am today. I pray that they would continue to remain open to how the Lord leads and that in turn they would be greatly blessed.
Have a blessed week in the Lord.
Friday, September 19, 2008
What a week!
Lately, life has been a blur. The weeks seem to pass like days, and the days like hours. This week, instead of going to the regular chapel in Bush Chapel, I went to an alternative chapel called Tyrannus Hall which is located in the new Graves building in a lecture hall. I really enjoy going to this intense Bible study; a different Religion Department Professor will speak for an entire week on a specific passage or principle in the Bible. I love delving deeper into what I've already read and seeing sybolisms or other meanings I hadn't thought of. It's like peeling an onion - you can just take it for it's outer worth and leave it like that and still enjoy it as an onion, or you can continue to peel back the layers and learn more and more. No matter the layer you're on, the Word of God is always so amazing.
I want to talk on one thing that has perturbed me this week: the average Christian's view of economics. All week everyone on campus has been talking about the 'greatest economic crash since the Great Depression' that took place over last weekend. Firstly, the majority of these people talking about it don't understand what happened or why it happened. This crisis has been building for the past year now in the housing market. Families took out Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARM) to buy houses they couldn't afford. Then after a year when the interest rate on the loan went up, they couldn't pay back the loan and had to sell short or get foreclosed on. The banks who owned all these loans sold them to major insurance companies like AIG, Lehman Bros, Merrill Lynch, etc. Thus, when this massive group of people couldn't pay back the loan to the bank, the problem stemmed all the way up to the top and caused this housing bubble to burst. Economists predicted months ago that this would happen. Granted, in the history of the U.S. housing market, never have homes depreciated in value so much at such a rate and in looking at the numbers it very well may have been the greatest crash on Wall St. since the GD, HOWEVER (and there's always a however), that's certainly NOT cause for panic. Firstly, this is a free market; this is the beauty of capitalism! Any regular market has its ups and downs, obviously some higher than others, that's natural. Secondly, turn off the sensationalized media! The only way they sell papers is by blowing up the problem greater than what it truly is; this is true in the vast majority of all news stories. Instead of getting your information from the news, ask an expert, perhaps an economics professor or someone that can clearly explain the situation without bias. Thirdly, the world is not coming to an end merely because a major financial institution is having problems. People keep screaming, "It's the end times!". It's been the "end times" for the past 2,000 years! No man knows when Christ will return, so stop worrying about it and putting fear into others and do the last order Christ gave us: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." (Matt. 28:19)
I want to talk on one thing that has perturbed me this week: the average Christian's view of economics. All week everyone on campus has been talking about the 'greatest economic crash since the Great Depression' that took place over last weekend. Firstly, the majority of these people talking about it don't understand what happened or why it happened. This crisis has been building for the past year now in the housing market. Families took out Adjustable Rate Mortgages (ARM) to buy houses they couldn't afford. Then after a year when the interest rate on the loan went up, they couldn't pay back the loan and had to sell short or get foreclosed on. The banks who owned all these loans sold them to major insurance companies like AIG, Lehman Bros, Merrill Lynch, etc. Thus, when this massive group of people couldn't pay back the loan to the bank, the problem stemmed all the way up to the top and caused this housing bubble to burst. Economists predicted months ago that this would happen. Granted, in the history of the U.S. housing market, never have homes depreciated in value so much at such a rate and in looking at the numbers it very well may have been the greatest crash on Wall St. since the GD, HOWEVER (and there's always a however), that's certainly NOT cause for panic. Firstly, this is a free market; this is the beauty of capitalism! Any regular market has its ups and downs, obviously some higher than others, that's natural. Secondly, turn off the sensationalized media! The only way they sell papers is by blowing up the problem greater than what it truly is; this is true in the vast majority of all news stories. Instead of getting your information from the news, ask an expert, perhaps an economics professor or someone that can clearly explain the situation without bias. Thirdly, the world is not coming to an end merely because a major financial institution is having problems. People keep screaming, "It's the end times!". It's been the "end times" for the past 2,000 years! No man knows when Christ will return, so stop worrying about it and putting fear into others and do the last order Christ gave us: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." (Matt. 28:19)
Anyway today I had an awesome English class. For those of you who don't know, I sit on the FIRST row. It's rather difficult to sit on the first row of an English class at 7am, but I think that is what helps keep me awake at times. Being here in Florida, I often like to remove my flip flops (only in sanitary areas though!) and I did so for this class, resting one foot on top of the other on one of my flip flops. We were assigned a reading to annotate in class and so I started reading. Then my professor, Mrs. Crutchfield, asked to see my Bible. I had no idea why, it was strange because she had just been reading out of her own Bible sitting on her desk! She looked up a verse and handed my Bible back to me, pointed at a verse and said that as she looked down at my feet, God reminded her of a verse He had given her for me; she said He had kept reminding her and that He would't let her forget. I sat down in my chair and read the verse she had pointed to. The verse was Isaiah 52:7; it says:
"How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, 'Your God reigns!'"
After reading it, I was unsure as to what to say. After class, she stopped me and said "God has great plans for your life, He's going to use you in great ways." So you know, I have not yet told her anything about my trips to Africa or AHM. I was just speechless after it all. In thinking on it, this was God's way of encouraging me to press on and reminding me of what lay ahead. As I continue to press foward, the path ahead seems to grow more difficult. Have you ever just thought on such things as fate? Destiny? Purpose? I think a lot about destiny, it's something that's always floating around up there. Where am I going? What am I becoming? What will I do? Though I already have a good idea on the next step in my life, anything past that is a mystery. Whatever it is, I look forward to it with full anticipation that I will conquer it victoriously.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Reflections on a Revolution
Of the four books I am to read for my Missionary Life and Work class, I am currently focusing on one in particular. It is The Shaping of Things to Come: Innovation and Mission for the 21st-Century Church by Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch. I’m primarily focusing on this book because I have a 3 page critique about it due in around 2 weeks; and you certainly can’t write a critique on a book you haven’t read. Anyway, this book is basically stating that the current state of the Western church is insufficient in meeting the needs (all aspects) of today’s culture/society. They have gone through the history of Christianity and identified “wrong turns” and have picked apart the Christendom era as the essential reason for the church being the way it is: a time in history (particularly in Europe) in which Christianity became infused into the culture/way of living and thus became a mindset in living life and not a relationship with Christ. It makes sense. Then they identified the 3 core flaws of today’s church: that it’s attractional, dualistic, and hierarchial. In chapter 3 there was one particular quote that really stuck out to me; it went as follows: “The way forward is not to tinker with its [the church’s] external features (i.e. worship service times, preaching times, seating capacity, etc.) but to rebirth a new movement on different ground.” I agree to a degree.
The way forward for the Church is certainly not to revamp the building structure or sing more contemporary worship songs. No, the way forward is a fundamental change in the DNA of the church. Western churches (in general) have become far too complacent with reaching others for Christ, in being a light in the community, and in ministering to the spiritual needs of today’s society. We can see in the general population just how unpopular church is becoming. Why? Because the church cannot relate with those not in the church. I believe Jesus identified with all types of persons, both “religious and non-religious”, and was able to confront both about their relationship with God in such a way that they understood. That’s what the Western church needs to be able to do.
The 3 fundamental flaws presented in the book were interesting yet accurate. Firstly they say the church has become “attractional”, taking a “come-to-us stance” which of course is unbiblical. Secondly, the church has become dualistic: “We talk routinely about the ‘world out there’. What else can that mean other than that we, the church people, are ‘in here’?” (Good point). Thirdly, the church is hierarchial, “…deeply indebted to what we see as an overly religious, bureaucratic, top-down model of leadership, as opposed to one that is more structured around grassroots agendas.” I agree with them that hierarchial leadership can hinder goals of an organization and can impose bureaucracy; our governmental system is the perfect example. I believe it can happen in ‘religious organizations’ also, however, I split ways with the authors when they present a solution to this problem. They focus on a radical revolution and in a round-about way suggest the church return to how it was in Acts, to almost an underground movement. They call on the Western church to literally break into factionalized “sub-communities” (Christians own coffee shops, shoe stores, etc.) and slowly infiltrate the community for Christ by building relationships with the locals. It’s as if they don’t want to ‘step on toes’ by not openly sharing their faith. I fully understand the importance of LIVING a Christ-centered life, but there comes a point where actions only go so far and you must TELL them about salvation and how Christ died and was resurrected for them. Anyway, obviously that’s just a few of the thoughts I have on the book. Now I have to go write a 3-page critique.
In an e-mail I sent out last week to my support base, I talked about ‘divisions’ within the body here at Southeastern by exploring a few of the arguments that commonly occur on campus. Though this happens (and I’m sure it happens on any Christian campus in the nation) it in no way hinders a conducive academic or spiritual environment. In fact, the Southeastern campus in no way stifles growth. It is a wonderful environment that has stimulated so much growth within me even just in this past month.
Anyway, here is a quote that I found inspirational from an incredible man. I often have to remind myself of this “principle” as I frequently find myself sharing my dreams/visions with others, only to have them criticized or belittled.
You can have anything you want -- if you want it badly enough. You can be anything you want to be, do anything you set out to accomplish if you hold to that desire with singleness of purpose.- Abraham Lincoln
The way forward for the Church is certainly not to revamp the building structure or sing more contemporary worship songs. No, the way forward is a fundamental change in the DNA of the church. Western churches (in general) have become far too complacent with reaching others for Christ, in being a light in the community, and in ministering to the spiritual needs of today’s society. We can see in the general population just how unpopular church is becoming. Why? Because the church cannot relate with those not in the church. I believe Jesus identified with all types of persons, both “religious and non-religious”, and was able to confront both about their relationship with God in such a way that they understood. That’s what the Western church needs to be able to do.
The 3 fundamental flaws presented in the book were interesting yet accurate. Firstly they say the church has become “attractional”, taking a “come-to-us stance” which of course is unbiblical. Secondly, the church has become dualistic: “We talk routinely about the ‘world out there’. What else can that mean other than that we, the church people, are ‘in here’?” (Good point). Thirdly, the church is hierarchial, “…deeply indebted to what we see as an overly religious, bureaucratic, top-down model of leadership, as opposed to one that is more structured around grassroots agendas.” I agree with them that hierarchial leadership can hinder goals of an organization and can impose bureaucracy; our governmental system is the perfect example. I believe it can happen in ‘religious organizations’ also, however, I split ways with the authors when they present a solution to this problem. They focus on a radical revolution and in a round-about way suggest the church return to how it was in Acts, to almost an underground movement. They call on the Western church to literally break into factionalized “sub-communities” (Christians own coffee shops, shoe stores, etc.) and slowly infiltrate the community for Christ by building relationships with the locals. It’s as if they don’t want to ‘step on toes’ by not openly sharing their faith. I fully understand the importance of LIVING a Christ-centered life, but there comes a point where actions only go so far and you must TELL them about salvation and how Christ died and was resurrected for them. Anyway, obviously that’s just a few of the thoughts I have on the book. Now I have to go write a 3-page critique.
In an e-mail I sent out last week to my support base, I talked about ‘divisions’ within the body here at Southeastern by exploring a few of the arguments that commonly occur on campus. Though this happens (and I’m sure it happens on any Christian campus in the nation) it in no way hinders a conducive academic or spiritual environment. In fact, the Southeastern campus in no way stifles growth. It is a wonderful environment that has stimulated so much growth within me even just in this past month.
Anyway, here is a quote that I found inspirational from an incredible man. I often have to remind myself of this “principle” as I frequently find myself sharing my dreams/visions with others, only to have them criticized or belittled.
You can have anything you want -- if you want it badly enough. You can be anything you want to be, do anything you set out to accomplish if you hold to that desire with singleness of purpose.- Abraham Lincoln
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Class Blog
For one of my classes (Christ, Culture and the University) I have to write 12 blogs over the semester as a pass/fail requirement. So, I figured I could include the blogs (with the mandatory question) into my personal blog.
~If you could be anyone alive or dead who would you wish to be - who (besides Jesus) do you most admire?~
The above question would normally cause most people to take a moment to ponder a genuine response. Yet, when I first read the question, several (2-3) individuals immediately came to my mind. Although several different individuals came to mind, all have similar characteristics. Each lives their Christian faith on a daily basis, strong men of faith, and are great men of God. They directly or indirectly influence my life and play a role in shaping my faith. However, of the men that came to mind that I most admire, I feel Smith Wigglesworth is most worthy of the title "Most Admired".
Smith Wigglesworth, often referred to as ‘the Apostle of Faith,’ was one of the pioneers of the Pentecostal revival that occurred a century ago.Without human refinement and education he was able to tap into the infinite resources of God to bring divine grace to multitudes.
Thousands came to Christian faith in his meetings, hundreds were healed of serious illnesses and diseases as supernatural signs followed his ministry. [source: http://www.smithwigglesworth.com/]
Thousands came to Christian faith in his meetings, hundreds were healed of serious illnesses and diseases as supernatural signs followed his ministry. [source: http://www.smithwigglesworth.com/]
The above statement from the official Smith Wigglesworth website is a general but accurate summary of Mr. Wigglesworth. He was such an amazing man and has both direct and indirect influences on today's Pentecostal movement. As a high school freshman, I attended a weekly LIFE Group for high school guys through my youth group. In the 8 months I spent in this group, we did an in-depth study of the life and works of Smith Wigglesworth. What an intriguing man! Even just his life (minus his ministry) shows just how close a relationship he had with God. He was such a strong man of faith and that is certainly something I admire about him.
His ministry brought millions to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and healed and set free just a many. One story in particular that I remember from my LIFE group was this: One day as Smith Wigglesworth was walking down the street in front of a funeral home, God spoke to him and told him to go inside. He listened to God and walked in, walking to the back room where a corpse laid on a table awaiting final preparation for the funeral (the mortician had stepped out of the room). God told him to bring the body back to life. So he stood the corpse up in a corner of the room and commanded life back into the body. Immediately the corpse came back to life. Then, the mortician walked back into the room. MAN I would have loved to have seen his face when he saw Wigglesworth with his resurrected client!
This is just one story of thousands. Wigglesworth's audacity and ability to hear and listen to God are just a few things that make him so admirable to me. His international ministry nearly a century ago (in my opinion) is the foundation of today's Pentecostal movement around the globe. His spiritual repercussions will never be known in full until we get to heaven. Setting his ministry aside, to me his most admirable quality (and reason for why I would want "to be" him) his just the simple fact of his deep relationship and connection with God. He had such a deep understanding and connection with God, it just blows my mind to even think that it's humanly possible. And yet I'm positive that even Wigglesworth's relationship with God only begins to scratch the surface of what we as humans can even begin to comprehend about the maker of the Universe. WOW! It just blows my mind away, that even the spiritually strongest person known to mankind merely knows the "basics" of God.
Smith Wigglesworth is certainly the one (aside from Jesus, of course) to model one's Christian walk after. I look forward to having that deep a connection with God in my life. Mr. Wigglesworth is truly one to aspire to as a Christian. In some way, I like to think I'm on the path to living a life like that of Wigglesworth; through my trips and workings in Uganda/East Africa I have seen fruitful harvests in salvation (approximately 10,000+ direct salvations in the past 5 years), thousands healed of every disease (from lameness to HIV/AIDS), and the setting free of captives (from sin to demonic possession). Granted, I only play a small part in these things and certainly don't have as deep a relationship with God as Wigglesworth, but I still like to think I'm on my way. In all things though, I pray God would continually have His way with my life and that I would always give Him the glory. Smith Wigglesworth is one of a handful of humans who I try to model my life after.
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Core Essentials
This past week has flown by! Over the weekend, my roommate's parents were in town and took me out to lunch at a local Mexican restaurant. On Sunday, they invited me to go to church with them. So out of politeness, I went with them to First Presbyterian Church.
Disclaimer: I feel I need to be more "open-minded" about other denominations in the sense that since I intend on becoming a full-time missionary, I'm sure I will be asked to speak at a number of different denominations. However, I have no intention of regularly attending/becoming a member of a church that is not Spirit-filled.
Anyway, today in chapel we had a guest speaker because Dr. Rutland was out-of-town. One of the religion professors, Dr. Bill Hackett, spoke today on getting back to the basics. He spoke from Mark 12:28-31 and how Jesus talked about the 2 greatest commandments: to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and also to love our neighbor. Our heart, soul, mind, and strength are our basic components. He of course went into depth about this topic, which I don't want to do, but he was able to put it in such a way that I could so easily relate to.
My classes are going well. I am really enjoying my Missionary Life and Work class. The focus of this class is on the practical applications of preparing and living abroad as a missionary. I have, in my opinion, an excessive amount of work in this class (essays, journal entries, book readings, research papers, and practical projects) however, it's all about being a missionary so I fully enjoy the work (just not the work load!). As oddly as it is, I took several classes in high school that required a lot more from me than a few of my classes this semester. There's a few that I even feel are a breeze this semester. Nevertheless, I'm still focusing on doing ALL homework in all my classes. I've met lots of people and have made some very good friends and many good contacts; lots of International Business Majors (always good to know!) and many Pastoral Leadership Majors. All essential to building a missionary network.
Thanks for all your prayers and support. I look forward to hearing from you and how you're doing.
In Him,
Jesse
Disclaimer: I feel I need to be more "open-minded" about other denominations in the sense that since I intend on becoming a full-time missionary, I'm sure I will be asked to speak at a number of different denominations. However, I have no intention of regularly attending/becoming a member of a church that is not Spirit-filled.
Anyway, today in chapel we had a guest speaker because Dr. Rutland was out-of-town. One of the religion professors, Dr. Bill Hackett, spoke today on getting back to the basics. He spoke from Mark 12:28-31 and how Jesus talked about the 2 greatest commandments: to love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength and also to love our neighbor. Our heart, soul, mind, and strength are our basic components. He of course went into depth about this topic, which I don't want to do, but he was able to put it in such a way that I could so easily relate to.
My classes are going well. I am really enjoying my Missionary Life and Work class. The focus of this class is on the practical applications of preparing and living abroad as a missionary. I have, in my opinion, an excessive amount of work in this class (essays, journal entries, book readings, research papers, and practical projects) however, it's all about being a missionary so I fully enjoy the work (just not the work load!). As oddly as it is, I took several classes in high school that required a lot more from me than a few of my classes this semester. There's a few that I even feel are a breeze this semester. Nevertheless, I'm still focusing on doing ALL homework in all my classes. I've met lots of people and have made some very good friends and many good contacts; lots of International Business Majors (always good to know!) and many Pastoral Leadership Majors. All essential to building a missionary network.
Thanks for all your prayers and support. I look forward to hearing from you and how you're doing.
In Him,
Jesse
Monday, August 25, 2008
First A+
Well, for me today is a day of great significance: my first college A+! I had a paper due last week (yes, the first week of school!) on Friday. My professor handed them back today at the end of class and I had an A+ on the top! She also made some very flattering comments along the margin. I was beaming with joy all day. What a great way to start off a Monday but more importantly to start off the week!
I have reorganized my room several times this past weekend and I think I have finally reached what I wanted. I love the campus and the weather and I'm slowly adjusting to my roommate. I will be sure to write more later as the homework begins to subside towards the week's end.
I have reorganized my room several times this past weekend and I think I have finally reached what I wanted. I love the campus and the weather and I'm slowly adjusting to my roommate. I will be sure to write more later as the homework begins to subside towards the week's end.
Friday, August 22, 2008
Classes
What a whirlwind week these past 3 days have been for me! With the start of classes on Wednesday, it seems as though everything's just been going, going going! I already had my first college paper assigned on Wednesday, which was due this morning. I really put a lot of time and effort into it and it was only a 2 page paper! I wanted to start things off on the right foot.
I am taking 15 credits this semester, so it's a fairly decent class load. My classes are:
English Composition II
Macroeconomics
Missionary Life and Work
Fundamentals of Speech
Christ, Culture and the University
Every professor has a different story to tell, a different background that defines them, and different teaching styles and habits. I've just been testing the waters so far.
I find myself being deprived of sleep - thus I make up for it in naps during the afternoon. Never before have I done this, but it seems to be working since usually the dorms are rather quiet from the hours of 11am-9pm.
Tomorrow is the SEU BIG GIVE. It's a community outreach that SEU does to the Lakeland community that involves lots of food, music, and a carnival of some sorts. Looking forward to playing my part in the mayhem tomorrow. I've found roughly a dozen churches that seem to be potential candidates for my attendance on Sundays, so I'm going to be "moving around" (something I hate) this first month or two. I'm just believing that the Lord will give me divine appointments with who I need to meet and connect.
So the campus event for today was called "Club Rush". It was an event in which all the campus clubs and organizations set up tables and gave information on what they did. I signed up for the Student Missions Association. I first wanted to know if the purpose of the group was simply to go on the SEU mission trips (which I'm not too interested in doing), but the guy said it wasn't about that at all and that the group's focus was to raise awareness on campus about missions, etc. which I thought would be the ultimate venue for propagating Africa Harvest Mission. So we'll see how it goes and who knows, maybe one day I might just become group president. HA - what a thought.
I am taking 15 credits this semester, so it's a fairly decent class load. My classes are:
English Composition II
Macroeconomics
Missionary Life and Work
Fundamentals of Speech
Christ, Culture and the University
Every professor has a different story to tell, a different background that defines them, and different teaching styles and habits. I've just been testing the waters so far.
I find myself being deprived of sleep - thus I make up for it in naps during the afternoon. Never before have I done this, but it seems to be working since usually the dorms are rather quiet from the hours of 11am-9pm.
Tomorrow is the SEU BIG GIVE. It's a community outreach that SEU does to the Lakeland community that involves lots of food, music, and a carnival of some sorts. Looking forward to playing my part in the mayhem tomorrow. I've found roughly a dozen churches that seem to be potential candidates for my attendance on Sundays, so I'm going to be "moving around" (something I hate) this first month or two. I'm just believing that the Lord will give me divine appointments with who I need to meet and connect.
So the campus event for today was called "Club Rush". It was an event in which all the campus clubs and organizations set up tables and gave information on what they did. I signed up for the Student Missions Association. I first wanted to know if the purpose of the group was simply to go on the SEU mission trips (which I'm not too interested in doing), but the guy said it wasn't about that at all and that the group's focus was to raise awareness on campus about missions, etc. which I thought would be the ultimate venue for propagating Africa Harvest Mission. So we'll see how it goes and who knows, maybe one day I might just become group president. HA - what a thought.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Starting Life
I am now a resident of the State of Florida! It's exciting yet nerve-racking all in one. I moved in my dorm room Saturday morning, checked-in, and registered. Sunday, August 17th, I said bye to my family and also met my new LIFE group, which consists of 9 other freshman guys. I am slowly but surely adusting to college life; I think the biggest adjustment is the night life! I'm not much of a night owl, but everyone else here seems to be.
Classes start tomorrow and I'm looking forward to getting into a regular routine. Today I walked to each of my classes so I shouldn't get lost tomorrow. (At least I hope!) Since Tropical Storm Fay is passing through today, all activities have been cancelled for the day.
Just in these past few days, my walk with the Lord is growing closer. Why? Because I have come to realize that in the midst of everything and everyone around me changing, He is the one stable and certain thing in my life. For He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow; what a wonderful realization when we are so uncertain about our surroundings.
One thing though that has helped in this transition is me being abe to listen to Pastor Glenn's Sunday podcasts. I just finished listening to August 17th's message. What a refreshing time to just sit in my room and listen to someone familiar. I really enjoyed his message, it served as a reminder to continually walk/live in the Spirit. Too often my flesh takes control and I must remind myself of II Cor. 8:5-8. Thanks Pastor Glenn, I apprecite you!
Classes start tomorrow and I'm looking forward to getting into a regular routine. Today I walked to each of my classes so I shouldn't get lost tomorrow. (At least I hope!) Since Tropical Storm Fay is passing through today, all activities have been cancelled for the day.
Just in these past few days, my walk with the Lord is growing closer. Why? Because I have come to realize that in the midst of everything and everyone around me changing, He is the one stable and certain thing in my life. For He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow; what a wonderful realization when we are so uncertain about our surroundings.
One thing though that has helped in this transition is me being abe to listen to Pastor Glenn's Sunday podcasts. I just finished listening to August 17th's message. What a refreshing time to just sit in my room and listen to someone familiar. I really enjoyed his message, it served as a reminder to continually walk/live in the Spirit. Too often my flesh takes control and I must remind myself of II Cor. 8:5-8. Thanks Pastor Glenn, I apprecite you!
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