Wednesday

Today was awesome.  I not only got to do some brainstorming/planning, but I also got to lead my small group again.  I think we might meet on Monday nights at C-F-A to hang out and talk.  That would be awesome.  During the brainstorming session I helped Allen come up with some ideas for service projects to do around Anderson for the home group service day.  Allen and I think a lot alike and work well together.  We talked about our styles of work and how I believe that I am an adaptive worker.  I can be chameleon-like and pick up on styles of personality and work habits.  I don’t know if this comes from being a middle child, or from my personality type not being strong in any direction, but is relatively balanced in every temperament.

The service tonight was really good.  I think that there were plenty of places where the students were lost because there were some moments that went by too quickly.  But, that is why we have small groups.  To go deeper and explain messages to students during the event.  After the event, however, the small group is to be a way to connect with students and keep them coming back to the ministry.  It is a way for students to work through their faith and issues in their lives.  I hope that I will be around this ministry long enough to have moments like that with my guys.

After the service tonight, I was invited to go have dinner with one of the families that volunteers with the ministry.  We had a healthy lasagna (whole wheat noodles, low-fat cheese, artichokes, spinach and sun-dried tomatoes).  Very yummy.  Tim and Paula helped me talk through some options for where to look for work.  I really hope that I can find something soon.  I will miss the people and ministry terribly, but not my will but God’s.  Tough to say.

Church

Today was interesting. Back on Wednesday I helped record audio for a voice-over where I read the parable of the talents, which was to open the main service today. It only aired during the first service because the style did not match that of Joe’s. He preached about… finances. Surprise, surprise. Joe always brings the heat when he talks about money. He talked about honoring God with all that he has given me. God not only cares about the 10% that he asks us for, but also the 90% we are to continue to manage for him. Everything in the world belongs to God, so we might as well honor him with it. Joe’s passion is contagious, and I really appreciate the genuine care he displays for all of the people that come to receive counseling from him. I also received two free meals today. Plus one for tomorrow if you count leftovers. God has been so good to me lately with people offering to purchase meals for me. Praise Him! Also, God has given me a little direction recently and I intend to talk with Jake tomorrow at the office about that direction.

Hopefully I will be able to have lunch with some of my small group guys tomorrow. They have the day off of school for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

Speaking of which, I admire the persistence and vision of that man. Say what you want about his reputation or his tactics, he is undeniably one of the most influential men of the twentieth century in America. I can only hope that through social change, and spiritual change (mostly) that his dream of people loving others regardless of how the look, speak or live will come to a sort of Jesus-centered fruition.

Church

Today was awesome. I was able to hang out with some friends that I had not been around in a few years. I see them most Sundays, and they usually invite me to go to lunch with them, but I am usually always broke or have something else come up. I feel bad every time, but this time I had no excuse because one of the guys offered to pay for my meal. I got to have a BBQ chicken pizza on Gable. It was awesome. I had only been to Schlotzsky’s one other time and can’t remember what I had that time. Man, it was good to hang out with them. I was also able to invite the girl that I encouraged at the coffee meeting. As it turns out, we had talked during one of the services, and I thought it would be cool to invite her to come along, since we were leaving at the same time.

I finished the book about a lion in a pit on a snowy day and it was awesome. I have a tendency to look for errors in text and point them out to myself, so when I see them, the author loses a little bit of credibility. However, the message of this book was so well timed that I gave little thought to the errors in the copy, even though one was in the last sentence on the last page. I really enjoyed the challenges that this book presented. I think that the author tried too hard to use big words when writing, and the stuck out like sore thumbs in the text. If you are going to use words like “modus operandi” make sure that the rest of the paragraph, much less, the rest of the sentence matches the intelligence and diction. It seemed like he was trying to speak colloquially, but seem intelligent at the same time. I don’t like when these styles clash in written work. If you have something for everyone to read, write it that way. If you want to write something that college graduates will understand and appreciate, write it that way.

Back to the service. It was really well put. The main challenge was to not separate yourself from other Christians. We need to be real, reminded, accountable and encouraged. The main point was that people have a real impact on the things we believe and the way we behave. I thought it was very challenging and very practical. It looked at Peter and John in Acts 4 and how their community (small group of friends) helped them overcome the setback of the religious leaders trying to hold them back. At the end of the service, Perry asked everyone to try out home groups for at least 6 weeks. I can’t wait to see the difference in the community based on the changes that will occur during the 6 week period. There will be a community service day in the middle of the series, and I think a tremendous amount of help will be given out. Anderson will never be the same after that happens. My home group is going through Judges right now, and we will try to finish before we get to February. The first week of February is when the 6 week series starts for all groups. I have never lead a group based on DVD lessons, but it should be good. I think that it will be a relief from having to come up with everything needed to lead a night. I also think that my group will multiply out when I move. I will probably pitch the idea to the guys this week.

Well, I guess that is about it for today.

Today

So, I am pretty excited about what is going to go down at my church.  Today the pastor spoke about spending time with God as a habit.  He challenged everyone to make at least ten minutes a day to purposely seek God.  If even ten percent of the people who attended the services and will watch online and hear it on podcast take up that challenge, only God knows what will happen.  Literally.  Only God knows.  I believe that there is a revolution taking place among people who follow Jesus.  I also believe that there is a very fine line that is walked by everyone who is trying to advance the revolution.  There are actually many fine lines, but they all have tremendous consequences for falling to one side or the other.  The way to the Kingdom is narrow, hence the fine lines.  Leaders can fall to a too conservative mindset, or one that is too liberal.  Both approaches to doctrine are exclusive and overbearing.  Leaders can also fall to a too many projects or too little investment pit as well.  There needs to be enough of the leader in the ministry to allow people to see them as attainable/approachable without having to bear the weight of the people.  They should only be expected to carry the vision and the burden of the calling of God.  They should never be expected to solve everyone’s problems and spoon feed them what God has been trying to tell them for years.  Another line the leader could fall from divides egotism/narcissism and self-pity.  Leaders can swing from focusing on themselves as the best thing around and letting people know it to facing a rejection/failure and focusing on themselves in a negative and detrimental manner.  I must spend more time praying for my leaders that God would keep them from falling off the lines they walk.