a really dirty confession…

I moved into (the greatest school on earth) Kansas State University in August of 1998, in Marlatt Hall (room 456, not that you really care). It was an amazing time in my life and I quickly lost my ever-loving mind, but that’s a post for another day. When we finished battling the crowds and getting setup in my dorm room I remember putting on a set of white patterned sheets on the extra-long twin bed we had in the room and I proceeded to not change those sheets or wash them all semester (I apologize for those who just threw up a little bit in your mouth)! i can assure you that i do not keep that practice today and look back on it as a purely rebellious and sick practice of an 18 year old boy.

Throughout the semester I actually thought about washing/changing them but I figured I took my showers at night, so how dirty could they really be (sickening isn’t it)? Besides, changing them would take a lot of time and energy. No one really ever saw my sheets, so it was not a big deal, right?

Can you EVEN begin to imagine how gross those things were? Just take a second and think about it…

If you are not a teenage boy then you know that it was and is gross! Do you think that it was wise not to change the sheets? i do not either. However, I see so many people do that every Sunday in churches and I feel the same way. We will show up every week, listen to a sermon, and then go home. Sometimes you may think, “wow, I should do something about what I heard today.” But often times they decide against it because doing so would take a lot of work; after all, who is ever really going to see the area of their life that needs to be changed? I watched it this weekend as I preached and asked people to respond. I see it in peoples eyes but we seem to be more scared to respond to the Father. When God deals with an area of our lives He isn’t doing so because He has nothing better to do but rather He’s doing so for our own good, yet we fight so hard against His work. WHY?

If He is wanting to change something, then that something needs to be changed. I am learning more and more as a follower of Christ. He is constantly changing me, my thoughts and my attitude by making me more aware of who He is. Becoming more aware of who He is really does make me want to be more like Him and in order for that to happen I have got to “change the sheets” when He clearly points out things in my life that cannot continue the way they are going.

Will you change the sheets of your [life’s] bed?

So where do you stand?

“It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would strongly be tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.”

– “The Weight of Glory” by C.S. Lewis

Today read Luke 15, it will not take that long. No seriously do it now and then finish the post… I’ll wait….

What is so unique about this chapter is that it is the only time in the Scriptures that Jesus told three (3) parables simultaneously about the same exact subject. Here are some similarities in all three stories, lets see if you caught them

Something was lost. As a matter of fact we live in a world that is lost and without hope because they do not know Christ. This should cause us as much if not more concern that the characters at the center of each of the parables.
A passive attitude was NOT taken towards what was lost. In fact, in two of the three stories an all out search took place, and in the third the father was watching for his lost son to come home which in the original language is not passive but an active looking. As followers of Jesus what is important to Him must be important to us, yet the exact opposite seems to be true. We are content to be passive towards people who are far from God yet happy to celebrate our Fathers apparent active searching and beckoning for our souls. Many days it makes me wonder to what kingdom may of us are called given the passivity in our lives.
When what was lost was found a party/celebration took place. When people receive Christ the church should absolutely lose their minds! It bothers me to no end that someone can walk down the aisle in a church with soft music playing in the background like funeral parlor. They are submitting there life to Christ, let’s CELEBRATE!!!! Someone literally crossed over from death to life! If heaven rejoices when someone meets Jesus then we, as His followers, must learn to do the same.

If we are truly found people then we will find people. There really is a Heaven and there really is a Hell and people really do go to one or the other! We can’t make excuses any longer, we have to be willing to do whatever it takes to reach these people and tell them about Jesus. If you choose not to say anything about the message you have been given then you are passively saying, “Go to Hell!” It would much more honest if you went all Westboro on them and told them to there face. I know it seems harsh but it’s the truth and I think we should face it.

So where do you stand?

Passively watching the world sink into Hell or actively seeking [along with the Father] those who would come to Him?

A humble explanation

There are many times in life when God will humble you, this was one of them.

Our Memorial Day was shaping up, marinated rib-eyes, some landscaping, general nothingness and then my mom called. As a child we would make the trip to Columbia, MO almost every year. Honestly, I never truly grasped the complete reason but I always looked forward to staying in the Drury Inn, swimming, and causing general trouble all around. Some years my parents would attend a ball and dance the night away, others we would visit my mothers friends and acquaintances in the area. Every year we would make our way over to Memorial cemetery and place flowers on two graves; Alton (A.J.) and Julia Patton my grandparents. Unfortunately, they passed on before I was born so all I know of them are based in stories from my mom. This year we passed on this tradition to my children and it was humbling to say the least. Though they may not grasp what has happened a baton was passed and a new generation was given responsibility to understand and remember.

As we entered the graveyard my daughter immediately began asking questions:

What is this place? A place where people who have died are buried.
Why were they buried? It’s a tradition that we practice that reflects God when He buried his servants (Deuteronomy 34:6) and one day these bodies will be resurrected to be with Jesus [if they loved and followed Him] (1 Corinthians 15:42)!
Will Jesus have to learn all of our names? No, babydoll He already knows them. As a matter of fact he knew your name before mommy and daddy did.
So will you be buried here? Well we will be buried, but where we do not know yet.

To be honest I was not prepared for the questions being volleyed our way but I was really impressed with the inquisitiveness of my daughter. What was humbling was simply thinking of your own mortality. When we think of death we think of everyone else, them if you may. When you are answering these types of questions while walking through a cemetery you begin to think about your death, legacy, destination, children, ect and if you have any sense you hopefully and quickly will be humbled to realized how small and insignificant you really are.

I think this is why we do not travel his road much, we become overwhelmed in reality, yet there were were. Trudging through the mud and water searching for 2 coffins that represent our history and legacies while realizing that our fate would be the same all too soon.

I know that this post is not the upbeat post you may have come to expect but I just wanted to give a dose of reality. Thank you so much for reading!

Manhood in the 21st Century

This is a version of a talk that I gave at an Apples of Gold Banquet at Concord…

It’s not easy being a man . . .

Think about it:

Who gets alerted when the spider needs to be killed or the weeds whacked? The man.
Who gets awoken out of a dead sleep when it’s time to fix a leaky roof, plunge a clogged toilet, wet vac a flooded basement, or stop a ninja from burglarizing the house? The man.
Who gets called and asked how to work the universal remote so not to miss recording a crappy romantic “dramedy” (dramatic comedy, that is) which he will later be forced to watch under the threat of perpetual married celibacy?
And that one time that people thought I cried in public, but I can assure you, those were not tears, they were beads of sweat from having to do the hard part during delivery

That’s right, I am a MAN. Now that I have my brothers attention and to any sisters in Christ who are creeping on this blog obviously written just for men, allow me to speak realistically and sincerely for a minute. The world has given us a truly jacked up vision of true “manhood.” We live in an age where men get applauded simply for showing up inside a church, sticking around to be the father, getting married, or for not being addicted to pornography. Let’s be honest praising someone for these things is just ridiculous.

Fathers Pursuing Christ see their children as a blessing from God: Never give in to the notion that your children are anything but a blessing from God.
Fathers Pursuing Christ understand that their children are born with a bent toward evil: Children are born in total depravity. All the potential for sin of every kind is already present in seed form in every child. Parental tolerance, passivity and lack of involvement will allow the seed to germinate.
Fathers Pursuing Christ believe the Gospel is the Good News for Children: Leading your children to Jesus is a long-term, full-time duty given to parents. Genuine faith is prompted by God’s work in the heart of a child and assured by the Holy Spirit.
Fathers Pursuing Christ train their children to honor and obey: This principle of obeying parents lays the foundation for every other principle about how we should treat our fellow human beings. It also lays the foundation for how one is to obey the Heavenly Father.
Fathers Pursuing Christ practice and demonstrate submission:
- Father submits to Christ
- Family submits to father
- Father submits to wife’s needs
- Wife submits to Christ
- Wife submits to the leadership of the husband as granted by God
- Children submit to parent’s authority
- Parents submit to children’s needs
Fathers Pursuing Christ love their wives: Love is the summarizing duty of fathers. Leadership flows from love. Love is sacrificial, Love is purifying, Love is caring, Love is Enduring.

P.S. Confession: Yes, I have wept publicly on those and many more occasions – and so did Jesus, so back off (John 11:35).

“I am Black and I am Gay…”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpLGdX6lr4w]
… was the statement made by Jason Collins a gay NBA player through Sports illustrated. The news quickly turned from Tim Tebow’s release to the impact of this and it’s implications in today’s sports. Honestly, I did not really plan to comment, but that all changed after watching Chris Broussard’s commentary for ESPN (please see the full interview above).

Yesterday, after leaving work I was made aware of ESPN’s “Outside the Lines” and their discussion between two sportswriters: the [openly gay Christian] L.Z. Granderson and [straight Christian] Chris Broussard. The long and short of it is this, Jason Collins still claims to be a Christian even though he is openly gay. ESPN asked Broussard to comment on Collins’ claim that one can be both gay and Christian. Broussard answered the question politely and boldly, and he did so as a Christian here he is in his own words:

Personally, I don’t believe that you can live an openly homosexual lifestyle or an openly, like premarital sex between heterosexuals. If you’re openly living that type of lifestyle, then the Bible says you know them by their fruits. It says that, you know, that’s a sin. If you’re openly living in unrepentant sin, whatever it may be, not just homosexuality, whatever it maybe, I believe that’s walking in open rebellion to God and to Jesus Christ. So I would not characterize that person as a Christian because I don’t think the bible would characterize them as a Christian.

Depending on what side of the debate you find yourself I am sure you know what came next. After Broussard gave is his opinion (which he was asked for), there was an immediate backlash across the internet. Many in the press and on social medai called Broussard’s words “hateful”, while the President decided to call him and congratulate him for “his bravery”. Even ESPN issued a statement saying that it regretted the distraction from Jason Collins’ announcement. I think the criticism of Broussard is completely unwarranted. I want to clarify Broussard did not volunteer these remarks. He was asked by ESPN to comment on Jason Collins’ claim to be a Christian in the context of a [respectful] discussion on the subject and he did. So I would like to add my “amen” to what Chris Broussard had to say. Not that he knows or even cares what I think but this is a conversation that needs to happen and he skillfully defended the faith in a forum that many would falter in, and it was a beautiful thing.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

A quick note to those who are reading this post who may not be Christian,

The Bible does NOT single-out homosexuality as the worst sin, nor does it permit mistreatment of homosexuals and I am not in anyway advocating either of those things here. The Bible does, however, hold forth a stringent standard of sexual morality that we all fall short of (e.g., Matt. 5:28), I being the chief among the sinners. That means that all of us are sinners and that all of us are in desperate need of a Savior.

The good news is that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, both heterosexual and homosexual. He died on the cross and took upon Himself the punishment that we deserved. Then God raised Him from the dead three days later, and He is right now seated at the right hand of God. Now anyone can receive forgiveness and eternal life if they would but repent from their sin and believe in Christ. God’s arm is not too short to save (Isaiah 59:1), and if you would repent and believe, they would reach you as well.

What are your thoughts on Broussard’s comments?

Control is the greatest illusion

I am not a a control freak in the classic since but I know I have issues. Don’t we all? I like to be the one to drive, I like to have my say in the restaurant I go to and when it comes to speed limit signs I follow the ‘spirit’ of the law!

However, as I get closer to finishing my internship here at Concord the Lord has been really reminding me of somethings lately through His Word and a some very godly friends. Do you want to know what it is? If you have not read the title then you are the only one who does not know, control is merely an illusion. Seriously, have you sat back and tried to understand how little control we actually have in the world.

We don’t control the day we are born!
We don’t control who our parents were!
We don’t control where we are born!
We don’t control the color of our skin, eyes and hair.
We don’t control when and where we step into eternity.
We don’t control other drivers on the road (man I wish I could).
We don’t control what other people think about us.
We don’t control our children’s future. (I can try to direct it, but I can’t control it!)
We don’t control the weather.
We don’t control how fast (or slow) the person in front of me is driving.
We don’t control whether or not someone we know and loves prays to receive Christ.
We don’t control the fact that our bodies are breaking down (I heal/repair MUCH slower now than I did at 20!)
We don’t control God by my religious performance.

In fact, if I can control anything then the very thing I can control is so small and insignificant that it would hardly register on the eternal scale in regards to things that actually matter. However, I do not want to write this to discourage you actually quite the opposite. I wrote this because it is literally one of the most encouraging revelations I have ever received in my life. Freedom, TRUE freedom, is understanding how out of control we are and then placing our faith in a God who has NEVER ceased to maintain control over what He has created. God has the amazing ability to use all things for His glory and our good.

So if you feels like you are out of control, it’s because probably are. The more we try to control the more likely we are to live in complete rebellion to the One who is in control, who has all things in His hands and who constantly calls us to surrender to Him so that we can experience the joy of living under His sovereignty rather than having to constantly discover that we have none of our own. If there is an area of your life that is completely out of control, if your whole life is completely out of control, it is most likely the Lord trying to get your attention and get you to surrender.

Control is nothing more than an illusion, we have none, He has it all and in His hand is THE BEST place to be!

a really dirty confession…

So where do you stand?

A humble explanation

Manhood in the 21st Century

“I am Black and I am Gay…”

Control is the greatest illusion

Soma Community Church

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