Unveiled Faces

Some missionaries need your help

2009-07-29T08:28:00.005-05:00

As a follow-up to my previous post, I want to ask for your help.

The Lord has blessed me by placing me in an office whose job it is to promote what God is doing in people's lives around the world. One of our recent assignments was to create promotional resources for an offering that will help send missionaries to unreached people groups all over the world. It will also help keep many missionaries on the field.

The International Mission Board (IMB) is one of the largest missionary sending agencies in the world. The only way it is able to send missionaries is through the giving of Christians like you and me.

At Christmas time every year, an offering called the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering is taken up in churches across America. Last year, that offering fell $30 million short. This shortfall has resulted in the suspension of critical missionary endeavors and the reduction of full-time missionaries they can send. There are missionaries who are called by God, trained and ready to go, but the funding is not there to send them.

The "Christmas in August" offering is a grassroots movement to make up at least a portion of the $30 million. It's simply a call for people to give whatever they can during August to make it possible for more missionaries to bring the Gospel to people all over the world.

You can visit www.swbts.edu/christmasinaugust for more details. The video above is available for free on the site so anyone can download it and use it in their churches, on their web site, or to send out as an e-mail. There are also other free resources available on the site and instructions on how you can give.

We have a critical mission, and it will take all of us to make it a success. For those willing to help I would ask that you consider which of the following would be appropriate for you:

1. Contact your pastor and ask him to raise an offering at the church during August.

2. Make sure the Mission’s Committee at your local church knows about the effort.

3. Send an e-mail to all of your friends making sure they know about the offering and the available resources.

4. Download the video and post it on your church’s website, your personal website, or anywhere else you can to raise awareness.

5. Pray that God would use this to heighten awareness of our missionary endeavors bringing unity and revival.

6. Skip lunch one Sunday after church to pray and fast. Then give the money you would have spent to the Christmas in August offering.

7. Give whatever God lays on your heart to support our missionary endeavors.

Romans 10:14-15

¹⁴How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? ¹⁵And how are they to preach unless they are sent?

Christmas In August

2009-07-21T10:41:00.004-05:00

There are 6.5 billion people inhabiting planet earth. Of those, 1.6 billion have never heard the name of Jesus.

At the same time, Southern Baptists gave $12 billion in 2008 to buildings, missions and budgets. Of that $12 billion, only 2.5% of that went to the IMB for international missions.

In 2008, the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for international missions fell short of its goal by nearly $30 million, resulting in the suspension of crucial missionary endeavors and a reduction in the number of full-time missionary appointments.

SBC President Johnny Hunt and others have challenged Southern Baptists to rally around the Great Commission and take up a Christmas in August offering. The Christmas in August offering is a special emphasis designed to draw awareness to last year’s missions giving shortfall and to ask churches to make a special effort to give in August as well as December this year to recover the deficit.

Southwestern Seminary has created and launched several videos and other free promotional resources to support local churches in partnering together for this unique offering.

What is the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering?
Southern Baptist churches collect the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for the sole purpose of supporting international missions. Every penny of the offering goes to the International Mission Board’s overseas budget, thus supporting our missionaries and their work.

How to Give to the IMB Lottie Moon Christmas in August Offering
Churches and individuals can give to the Christmas in August offering just like they do for the annual Lottie Moon Christmas offering.
IMB encourages Southern Baptists to give through their local churches to the Cooperative Program and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. IMB does, however, offer an online option for those who want to make a gift now.

If you would rather give by check or money order, make it payable to IMB and reference the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering in the memo section. Send to:

Development Office
International Mission Board
3806 Monument Ave
PO Box 6767
Richmond, VA 23230-0767

Explaining Christ's Death to a 4-year-old

2009-04-10T22:54:00.002-05:00

Tonight after our church's Good Friday service, I took the opportunity to explain Jesus' final days on earth to Will and Blake. Will seemed riveted as I started with Jesus' final meal with his friends, washing their feet and celebrating the Passover. I had to give a quick explanation of Passover, but that didn't faze him.

We then talked about Jesus going to the mountain to pray and Judas' betrayal, followed by Peter's denial. I shared with them how Jesus stood trial and how the people wanted a murderer released and Jesus killed. Will said, "But Jesus never did anything wrong."

I explained how men beat Jesus with sticks and whips and pressed a crown of thorns, like a hat made of needles, onto his head. They nailed him to the cross, pounding large nails through his wrists. We talked about the thieves on either side and the response of the soldier at the foot of the cross. I ended with Jesus' death, hoping to leave some suspense about what happened next.

I asked Will if he had any questions. He said, "What did they do with Jesus' dead body?" I gave him a teaser, saying we are going to look at that tomorrow. Then, Will said excitedly, "But then Jesus rose from the dead!" His enthusiasm united with mine as I gave him a high-five for the resurrection and told him that's what Easter is all about.

Explaining Christ's death to a 4-year-old is both sobering and exhilarating. It was sobering to talk about death with him because you don't know how a 4-yr-old will take it. It was exhilarating because he was zeroed in on the message. I'm praying for Will that the Spirit would continue to draw him to the day of salvation. In our family prayer time tonight, we thanked Jesus for His death/resurrection and prayed that people would hear that message this weekend and yield their lives to the Savior.

What about you? Where do you stand on the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus? Have you put your trust in Him? Are you following Him? (for more info, click on the "2 Ways to Live" button to the right)

Are you regularly joining with other believers to celebrate Jesus and unite with them in fulfilling His commands? Jesus died for individuals and for the church (Rom. 5:8 & Eph. 5:25). We must obey him personally and in with a local body of believers.

"... and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised."

2 Corinthians 5:15

Songs of a Pious Heart

2008-12-21T18:31:00.003-06:00

Blake Hicks, a good friend of mine, has just released his new album, titled "Songs of a Pious Heart." The album was birthed out of reading St. Augustine's "Confessions," and I would call it a mix of ancient thought with a modern sound. I've been listening to the album for a week or so, and I have been truly blessed by his songs. I'm not just saying all of this because he's my friend, either.

Blake's the kind of guy I would fight in the spiritual trenches with anyday. His heart for the Gospel and sincere transparency are evident within his lyrics and his life.

Please go to Blake's website: www.blakehicksmusic.com, or find him on Facebook, to listen to some of the songs. This guy is so humble and genuine, that he's actually making his songs available for free on noisetrade.com so that others can be blessed by it. He didn't ask me to say this, but you need to listen to the songs, and then if you like the music, purchase the album, either through his site or iTunes or Amazon. At $10, it might just be the best Christmas gift or stocking stuffer you've ever purchased, and it has eternal value. It will also help support Blake, his wife, and two boys.

How do we avoid Christmas consumerism?

2008-12-06T15:25:00.003-06:00

I want to start off this post with a humorous video:

One quick note about the video: the X in X-mas actually stands for the Greek letter "chi" which is a symbolic letter for Christ, so I get why people have called it X-mas.

But, like many Christians, I struggle with knowing just how much to embrace the holiday season. Nostalgia and excitement draw me into the "Christmas spirit" that our culture promotes as the goal of the Chrismas season. But how do I make sure this isn't my goal? I believe it's fine to enjoy the festivities, the parties, the music, and the decorations of the holiday season, but I also know that it's a challenge not to let this become all that Christmas is.

How do I lead my family in making Jesus the centerpiece of Christmas without jettisoning some of the fun things associated with it? Maybe it's impossible. Maybe I should follow suit with some who reject all the things like the festivities, the parties, the music, and the decorations.

As I was typing all of this, Will came up and gave me a huge hug and told me I was a great daddy. I took the opportunity to ask him what Christmas was all about. Unprompted, he said, "It's about Jesus' birthday." I guess I might be doing some things right after all. But, I will continue to strive to keep this on the forefront of our minds. Here's some thing we've been doing with this in mind:

- Each night, we read from the Bible and focus on an aspect of Advent. With the kids so young, I generally have to modify it, but they really seem to be picking it up.

- We don't do Santa. I know this sounds horrible for some, and my kid might be the one who blows it for your kid. I even know that I grew up believing in Santa Claus and it didn't destroy my faith in the long run. We basically tell the boys that he's pretend, just like Elmo or Bob the Builder, and that mommy and daddy are the ones who give the presents. We also tell them that there are some boys and girls who think he's real, and we will let their mommies and daddies tell them when they think it's the right time. The underlying principle for me is that I don't want to blur the line between reality/make believe to the point that my kids question the reality of Jesus Christ.

So, here's the question: What do you and your family do at Christmas to keep Christ on the forefront of your affections for the season? Post a comment or two and share how your family does it.

Vietnam Video

2008-11-30T21:07:00.003-06:00

Here's a video about our team's work in Vietnam. One of our guys put this together while we were cooped up in the hotel during some of the flooding.

Thanksgiving - What question should we ask?

2008-11-17T21:50:00.007-06:00

In a little more than a week, the United States will indulge in the national holiday called Thanksgiving. I, personally, love Thanksgiving and consider it possibly the best holiday of the year.

I know what you're thinking...what about Christmas? Don't get me wrong, I love Christmas, and I consider it and Easter to be the most significant holidays of the year. My problems with the holiday called Christmas is that it has become over-commercialized, including in Christian circles, as we have commercialized the over-commercialization of Christmas. (For example, I've seen "Jesus is the Reason for the Season" plastered on everything from bumper stickers to throw pillows.) But, this is all for a separate blog post, so I'll get back to Thanksgiving.

The most common question surrounding Thanksgiving is "What are you thankful for?" I would contend that this is the wrong question to ask. We should be asking, rather, "Who are you thankful to?" As with many originally religious holidays, society has watered it down. While the Pilgrims expressed thankfulness to the LORD on that first Thanksgiving for giving them life and the necessities of life, we now express thankfulness for the things we have (much of which is above and beyond the necessities of life). As is common with humans, we've turned our thanfulness inward. We focus on what we have over Who gave it to us. In this context it's nothing for a Buddhist or an atheist or a Wiccan to celebrate Thanksgiving.

Psalm 24:1 says, "The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it." My prayer is that we would recognize that everything we have belongs to the LORD and that we are merely stewards of it ... that we would recognize the Giver over the gifts. Who knows, maybe when we start doing that at Thanksgiving, the meaning of Christmas will take on a clearer meaning as well.

Now for a confession...I have realized that the primary reasons I love Thanksgiving are selfish reasons. I love hanging out with my family, overloading on incredible food, and watching NFL football. Sure, we say a prayer of Thanksgiving, but I don't usually dedicate the day to expressing my gratitude to God. The Bible says I should live everyday this way.

LORD, forgive me for failing to recognize You as the Giver of all things with my thoughts, my actions, and my words. Remind me each day in Your Word how blessed I am to know You and walk with You. Not only are You the reason for Christmas, but You're the reason for Thanksgiving and every day!

Breaking the Silence

2008-11-11T22:20:00.003-06:00

Well, I took a hiatus from posting on my blog for a while. In the post below this, I put some videos showing what I've been doing. I've been very busy, but here's a quick rundown of what I've been doing and where I've been:

August: 2008 Black Hills Motorcycle Rally in Sturgis, SD
I went with the seminary to South Dakota to minister and share the Gospel with bikers from around the world. We had an incredible time and saw lives changed for eternity.

September/October: Hurricane Ike Disaster Relief in Southeast Texas
When Hurricane Ike hit shore in late September, the storm surge flooded large parts of Southeast Texas, where I was raised. My parents had 6 feet of water in their house and lost pretty much everything they had. Additionally, my dad's church had 3 feet of water inside, forcing them to have church services in the parking lot.

I have organized and led several teams down to help with the disaster relief. We helped tear out walls and flooring in houses and treated them for mold. We will be sending more teams in the future to help with the rebuilding process as well.

October/November: Trip to Hanoi, Vietnam
I went with my church to Vietnam to provide humanitarian aid and complete service projects in the region. When we got there, it began raining heavily and didn't stop until we left 10 days later. The massive rains caused the worst flooding in nearly 30 years in Hanoi, claiming the lives of at least 89 people. This threw our original plans into a tailspin and kept us from completing many projects, so we regrouped and were able to complete service projects at a couple of orphanages in the area, helping them clean up in the aftermath. We saw a someone become a new family member and will hopefully see another one soon. As one guy says, "The Kingdom of God runs on the rails of relationships."

Family Update
Everyone is doing well. Will is 4 1/2 and Blake is 2 1/2. Will is going to pre-school two days a week and continues to amaze us with how quick he learns things. Blake is talking up a storm and is proving to have a much different temperament than his brother. He is generally a jovial kid, but we've seen our share of terrible two meltdowns. Mostly, he loves to laugh and is very athletic. Amy has been taking classes for early childhood education in the church at seminary and is enjoying it. We're planning on going to Florida to see my grandmother for Thanksgiving and then trying to lay low for a while after all the travel these past couple of months.

If you want to see some of what I do at work, visit www.swbts.edu/campusnews.

Two Videos that show what I've been up to...

2008-11-11T22:11:00.003-06:00

I have two videos for you to watch to show you what I've been up to this semester. The first one is a Veteran's Day interview I did at the seminary. You can send people the link www.swbts.edu/jaredvineyard to share the Gospel. At the end of the video, there is a link to a Gospel presentation. Don't say I didn't make it easy for you...you have no excuse.:)

The second video is a recap of a Hurricane Ike Disaster Relief trip I led to my hometown. My parents' house had 6 feet of standing water and their church had 3 feet of water inside them. Our seminary has led several teams down and look to continue to do what we can to get people back on their feet and show them the love of Christ.

Prison Ministry Shoutout

2008-09-09T22:12:00.002-05:00

I'd like to take this post to give kudos to some friends of ours in Colorado who have walked in obedience to the Lord. Gwen, Stacey, and Nancy, along with a few other women, felt led by the Lord to do some prison ministry. They didn't have a great plan or clever gimmick. They just wanted to love some ladies and offer them true freedom in Jesus Christ. There's a YouTube video that kind of tells their story (see below). I want to commend these ladies for stepping out in faith on this. The church needs more believers like these who seek the Lord's direction for opportunities to minister and heed His call with humble obedience.

Check out the video:

The Irrelevancy of Inerrancy

2008-07-25T12:07:00.003-05:00

On my lunch break, I thought I'd give you a glimpse of what I've been reading lately. I'm currently reading Why We're Not Emergent (By Two Guys Who Should Be) by Kevin DeYoung and Ted Kluck. It's an honest look at the emerging/emergent church movement and offers some keen insight into the concerns this movement raises.

The title of this blog post is a subheading from a section of the book that talks about the emergent church's view of the Bible. In a nutshell, they tend to view the Bible as a means through which God speaks, but not necessarily the inerrant Word of God. In Brian McLaren's A New Kind of Christian, he uses a character named Neo (very original character name, huh?) to argue for a postmodern understanding of the Bible, one without propositional truth (something that is true or false). Many emergent leaders may themselves hold to a more orthodox view of Scripture, but to pander to their postmodern audience, they like to use vague language and posit questions about its authority and inspiration. To this, DeYoung says:

"I'm not sure what the emerging church believes about the Bible. And this concerns me. Burned-out evangelicals who go emergent and talk squishy about the Bible may still basically treat the Bible as if it were completely true and authoritative. This would be a fortuitous inconsistency. But what happens in the second generation? What happens when an erstwhile church planter with a few Neo books under his belt starts doing church with a radical skepticism about the authority of the Bible and forms a people by musing on about how his community affirms the Bible (in part?), therefore making it "welcome" in their conversation? We can wax eloquent about the beauty of the story and how the Scriptures read us, but unless people are convinced that the Bible is authoritative, true, inspired, and the very words of God, over time they will read it less frequently, know it less fully, and trust it less surely."

I concur.

Missional Senior Citizens

2008-07-16T23:20:00.002-05:00

On our trip home from New Mexico today, I encountered a divine appointment. You see, we decided to keep pressing on past noon and wait until 2:00 to eat lunch...partially because of a late breakfast and partially because there were zero towns for about an hour and a half. Nonetheless, the small town of Brownfield, TX was the location where God's providence and our hunger met...and it was at Burger King of all places.

When we walked in, I noticed a group of about 25-30 chronologically advanced men and women sitting throughout the tables. It looked like a Jr. High dance, the men were huddled on one side at a couple of tables, and the women were huddled on the other side. Imagine my surprise when I saw a couple of long tables displaying some homemade desserts in the middle of the eating area. I knew then that something was up.

We ordered our food and sat down at a table away from the festivities, and as we were eating, one of the ladies came by and told us that once all the senior citizens had gotten a chance to get desserts, we could help ourselves to some as well. Amy asked her what they were doing, and she said, "Well, I'm a Christian and I just love people. I organize this monthly birthday party for senior citizens, and the owner of the Burger King lets us do it here." She said she paid for everything out of her own pocket, which I imagine was a stretch, seeing as she was probably on a fixed income.

As I sat and watched these senior citizens talk and laugh and pass out birthday cards to those who were having birthdays in July, a smile came across my face. Then, I noticed other people in the eating area who were not a part of the party going and getting some desserts as well, including a police officer and what appeared to be a homeless man. This lady's generosity spilled over to her generation as well as the community around her.

She might not think all of it was that big of a deal, but I saw a missional senior citizen shining the light of Christ into that Burger King. She used the context of a birthday party to open up doors of relationship in a fast food restaurant. The church was being taken into the marketplace. I would give anything to have individuals from the senior generation leading out in love in my church when we plant. In a day where most churches just plan trips to Branson for their 55+ Sunday School classes, this lady was mobilizing the aged for the Kingdom. As the psalmist says, "One generation will declare Your glory to the next."

Oh, by the way, the peach cobbler and banana pudding were incredible!

Wii...we're off to New Mexico

2008-07-11T23:42:00.002-05:00

A real quick post here to brag on my wife. Amy has been amazing the past couple of days. She has cleaned the house, washed clothes, packed and prepared for our trip to New Mexico. She baked me a double-decker chocolate birthday cake with fresh strawberries in the middle, and she put the Survivor TV show logo on top of the cake. She organized a birthday party for me with some friends tonight since we'll be gone next week on my birthday. She cooked dinner for the party, including some awesome chicken enchiladas. She managed to keep Will from telling me what my birthday present was (which is remarkable) and ended up giving me a Wii game system for my birthday!!! I was blown away...it was a total surprise. Sorry, fellas, she's all mine, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Well, we're headed out early tomorrow morning to Ruidoso, NM to visit with family.
We're also planning on stopping by Carlsbad Caverns while we're there.

Exporting the Prosperity Gospel

2008-07-06T23:40:00.002-05:00

Take a look at this video. The voiceover is John Piper, pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, MN. If you've never heard of him or read his stuff, he is a prophetic voice in Christianity today. He's authored many books, and I would highly recommend them. Here's 3 I would recommend for every Christian to read:

Don't Waste Your Life
When I Don't Desire God
Let the Nations Be Glad

Cowtown Collier Brand

2008-07-03T23:34:00.004-05:00

This is our new family brand, courtesy of my good friend and co-worker Blake Hicks. We're getting family T-shirts made for me, Amy, and the boys. I guess when we move to Colorado, we'll return to being the "Colorado Colliers" and have to change the logo to mountains or something, but until then, this is what we'll use. By the way, the nickname for Fort Worth (where we live) is Cowtown because it was a major city along the western cattle drives. Thus the term "family brand" instead of "family crest."

Personal Applications of the Trinity, Part 3

2008-06-28T16:04:00.002-05:00

In this final installment, we'll take a look at the Holy Spirit. Ware remarks about the Holy Spirit: "Amazingly, even though the Spirit has identically the same nature as the Father and the Son, even though he is fully and equally God, yet he willingly accepts this behind-the-scenes position in nearly everything that the Triune God does. In creation, redemption, and consummation, he willingly accepts the role of supporter, helper, sustainer, and equipper, and in all these respects he forsakes the spotlight.

Ware also offers this in regard to the Spirit's roll in the inspiration of Scripture: "It is because the Spirit moved the hearts and minds of the writers of Scripture so that when they wrote what they wanted to write--that is, they wrote the truths that were on their hearts, with the words, grammar, and syntax that they chose to use--the Spirit was working in them so that what they wrote was simultaneously their word and God's Word."

Ware also points out that no matter what, the Spirit always points the attention to the Son.

Personal Applications of the Trinity:

Ware says, "There is something in all of us that wants to be seen and to receive the credit for what we've done. To accept the behind-the-scenes position where no one may know and notice the service we have rendered is difficult indeed. To work sacrificially, all for the purpose of pointing constantly to another, and for the honor he might receive, can be extremely hard to accept. But this is the way of the Spirit, and this is the power that is at work in us, to help us to serve to the honor of Christ, that he may receive all the glory." I can see that this type of sacrificial anonymity is extremely difficult in a work environment, especially in our success-driven society. Some may ask, "If no one notices our accomplishments, how can we move up the ladder of success?" Whose praise are we looking for?
The Spirit's humility is a "beautiful example of willingness to accept the behind-the-scenes place for the sake of advancing the common mission, unified purpose, all for the glory of another.
In the Spirit's role as "third-fiddle," notice that he joyfully and willingly embraces it. There is no resentment. As we assume this type of mentality, let us be wary of attitudes of resentment or getting a martyr complex.

Personal Applications of the Trinity, Part 2

2008-06-25T23:23:00.004-05:00

Continuing the series on personal applications we can draw from the doctrine of the Trinity, today we turn our eyes to the Son, Jesus.

While eternally identical in nature with the Father and Spirit, the Son is also eternally submissive to the authority of the Father. He seeks to do the will of the Father and glorify the Father. He humbled himself, even to death on the cross, in order to demonstrate his love for the Father through costly obedience.

Understanding the coexistence of full divinity and full humanity within Jesus is difficult. For example, if Jesus is God, why did he say that only the Father knew the hour of the second coming? Ware explains it this way: "It seems that the answer must be that Jesus Christ, as a man, accepted the limitations of his human existence, including the limited knowledge that goes with living life as a finite human being. In his divine nature, he retained omniscience, but in the consciousness of Jesus, the God-man, he accepted a restricted knowledge so that he would have to trust his heavenly Father."

Said another way, Jesus humbled himself by "pocketing" some of his divine attributes in the incarnation. He did not get rid of them; he willingly suppressed his freedom and right to use them. It seems odd to me that people who have trouble with Jesus not displaying omniscience do not have a problem with him not displaying omnipresence while here on earth.

In his incarnation and earthly mission, the Son submitted himself to the Spirit to fulfill his role as the Spirit-anointed Messiah. Some might offer the rebuttal to the above paragraph that Jesus knew what the Pharisees were thinking and details about the life of the woman at the well. It was through the Holy Spirit, and Christ's dependence on him, that Jesus knew these things. Just as the Spirit revealed unknown things to others in the Bible, such as Nathan (2 Samuel 12) and Peter (Acts 5:1-11), the Spirit revealed these things to Jesus. While the incarnate Son submitted to the authority of the Spirit, the eternal Son holds authority over the Spirit.

So, how can we apply Jesus' example of costly obedience and humble submission. Ware offers these tidbits:

In reference to Jesus' submission to the authority of the Father: "Rather than despising authority, or even rather than yielding to authority with a grumbling and begrudging spirit, we learn from Jesus what true submission looks like."
In reference to Jesus' submission to the authority of the Spirit during the incarnation: "Marvel at the submission of the incarnate Son to the Spirit over whom he, in his eternal existence as God, had rights of authority."
In reference to the amazing harmony of authority and submission within the Trinity: "Relations of authority and submission, lived out in unity and harmony--this is the model set for us by the Trinity, as expressed so beautifully in the life and ministry of Jesus." We should live out our relationships of authority/submission (i.e. husband/wife; employer/employee; father/child; pastor/congregation) in unity and harmony. The Trinity never displays resentment or selfish ambition in their roles and relationship with one another.

Personal Applications of the Trinity, Part 1

2008-06-22T21:52:00.005-05:00

For my Systematic Theology class, I've been reading "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit" by Bruce Ware. It's a book about the relationships, roles, and relevance of the Persons of the Trinity. Most people see understanding the Trinity as impossible, so they choose to avoid thinking about it. If God thought it important to present Himself in Scripture as one God in 3 persons, it stands to reason that it should be important for us to understand it the best we can. We'll never wrap our minds completely around the concept, but there are valuable applications for our own relationships when we begin to study the relationships between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. One overarching premise to keep in mind: "Each Person is equal in essence as each possesses fully the identically same, eternal divine nature, yet each is also an eternal and distinct personal expression of the one undivided divine nature."

Over the next few posts, I'd like to point out some of the applications Ware talks about in his book. I realize it will be difficult to compress all of what Ware says in a couple of blog entries, but I'll do my best. I apologize in advance for any confusion.

Personal applications from the relationship of the Father to his Son and Holy Spirit:

The Father has authority over the Son and the Spirit, and he exercises this authority by doing much of His work through the Son and the Spirit. To exercise authority with wisdom, goodness, care, and thoroughness, and not in self-serving ways, is to be like our heavenly Father.
We learn from the Father what true fatherhood is really like. Like the Father, earthly fathers should cultivate an atmosphere of respect for their authority while also being lavish, generous, and even extravagant in their care, love, provision and protection for their children. Additionally, men and women who have been affected by abuse can learn afresh from our heavenly Father just what true fatherhood is.
It's amazing how God chooses to delegate his work to the Son, the Spirit, and even humans to accomplish His purposes, and he rejoices over them when it's done. "The Father shares his work, and with the Son, he shares his glory (e.g. John 17:5). It is as if the Father says, 'Shine the spotlight on my Son, and praise and honor his name.'" In light of this, those who are in authority over others should seek to find ways to spotlight those under them. "May God grant us hearts, like our Father's, that seek ways to share the 'best' of the work so that others may have the joy of such a rich participation in things that truly matter."
"While the Father shines the spotlight on the Son, surely also the Son longs with every breath and in every deed to give honor and glory to His Father. In like fashion, those of us who are "put in the spotlight by another in authority over (us), should, like Jesus, reflect back (our) honor on the one(s) who have granted (us) the privilege and the training for (our) particular ministry."

In summary, Ware offers this: "While those in authority need to be more like the Father, who lavishes favor on others by calling them to participate in his work, often putting the spotlight on them for their labors of love, those under authority need to be more like the Son, who gratefully and obediently embraces the work given him by his Father, and gives highest honor to the Father for all that is accomplished. What a revolution would take place in our homes and churches if such reciprocal honoring of one another took place, all the while maintaining clearly the lines of authority that exist, by God's good purpose and wise design."

Summer is here!

2008-06-14T19:05:00.002-05:00

Okay...I know it's been a while since I last wrote, but I have been traveling (out of state twice), working (cranking out another magazine) and doing school (finishing the semester, doing a 2-week I-term, and taking a summer school class), so it's been pretty busy. Here' s a recap of what I've been up to:

Colorado:

Amy and the kids and I went to Colorado to see friends and family as well as make continued church planting connections. We're not going to be out of school for another year and a half or so, but we wanted to keep the relationships we've built going.

Being in Colorado was like being home again. The weather was beautiful and we had an incredible time with the people there. I was going to take the boys up into the mountains on Memorial Day, but the rain kept us from going. I gathered some info about the area we're looking at planting in. I met a couple of church planters in the area. I have to say that I feel completely inadequate to take on this task. God reminded me that Gideon felt the same way. There's a lot of areas I still need to let God work on in my life before we start, so pray for me as we prepare.

Indianapolis:

I went to the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) annual meeting in Indianapolis last week. People ask me how it was, and I guess you could say it was as good as a giant business meeting can be with some additional highlights mixed in. There were no knock-down-drag-out fights, and there seemed to be a constant theme of seeking reconciliation and revival. Now comes the time where we see if anyone was listening and will be obedient.

While there, I got to see a pre-screening of the upcoming movie "Fireproof," which is made by the same people who made "Facing the Giants." The acting was a thousand times better than "Facing the Giants" and the story line was incredible. It's about a fire-fighter (played by Kirk Cameron, but in a role like you've never seen him before) whose marriage is spiraling towards divorce. Along the way, he takes a challenge from his father to try to salvage the marriage and becomes a Christian in the process. There is a clear presentation of the Gospel, and I would highly recommend this to anyone. It comes out in September, but you can check out a trailer at http://www.fireproofthemovie.com/.

What's Next

As for the rest of the summer, we'll be going to New Mexico in July to visit Amy's mom's side of the family. Will, Blake, and I have birthdays in July, so we'll do birthday parties and everything. In August, I'll be going to Sturgis, South Dakota with the seminary to do some evangelism & ministry at the biker rally...I'm taking motorcycle classes before I go so I will have my license and be able to ride while I'm there. I know what you're thinking...Keith and Harleys don't mix well...who knows, I may come back with tatoos and lots of leather.

Bold enough to wear this shirt?

2008-05-23T21:52:00.002-05:00

This is what happens when it's the Friday before Memorial Day and almost 5:00 at work. This is me in my new cow shirt standing in front of one bad western dude, B.H. Carroll. Carroll once sprinted across an open field during the Civil War just to engage an enemy in hand-to-hand combat. I wonder if he would be bold enough to wear this shirt.

The shirt is courtesy of the "Helping Hands House" on campus, where students can get free hand-me-down clothes. I imagine this shirt was donated by the estate of a former rodeo clown. Amy helps work at the HHH, and the clothes are generally really nice...I have some really nice shirts from there. But, she just couldn't pass this one up.

Well, we're headed up to Colorado to spend Memorial Day weekend with some close friends and family. I'll put a new pic up upon our return so you don't have to look at this hideous attire.

Decompressing

2008-05-05T21:24:00.003-05:00

Two more days and I'll be done with the spring semester! I will be preaching on Wednesday for my last class, and then I have a whole 5 days off until my Maymester begins next Monday!

God has been good to us (as usual). Here's some picks of Will's first fishing trip. Pictured are Will giving a big thumbs up and the proud daddy and his boy showing off their gigantic bass. It's actually much bigger in person...the camera takes off 10 lbs. on fish. We caught two whoppers on the day, so we were pretty pleased. A huge thanks to Uncle Bebo (Brent) and Aunt Patti for buying Will the fishing rod and for taking us to Patti's parents house to fish. They made this once-in-a-lifetime father/son experience happen.

Facebook + Flair = Community???

2008-04-20T21:03:00.003-05:00

I've recently joined the wonderful world of Facebook due to the influence of some of my coworkers. I never was into the whole myspace thing, and wasn't sure Facebook would be any different. But, I actually really enjoy it (check out my flair!)

For those saying "Face what?" I'll give you a quick rundown. According to the site, "Facebook is a social utility that connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around them. People use Facebook to keep up with friends, upload an unlimited number of photos, share links and videos, and learn more about the people they meet."

A friend of mine, who is a church planter in Colorado, was also recently introduced to Facebook and posed the question: "Should the church use the internet as a community building resource?"

The internet has made life so much different in our culture. I think the church would be ignorant not to utilize this effective communication tool, but I do have a couple of cautions.

Our culture today is starving for genuine, authentic relationships. Community is what people want. Sites like Facebook offer a form of pseudo-community. Yeah, I can go visit a friend's page and hear about what movies they like, what their relationship status is, and what their highest score on Oregon Trail is (yes, you can play that too on Facebook). But, do I really know them?

I know a lot of trivial facts about them, but no matter how much I look at that page and post messages on their wall, there will be no authentic relationship. You can never replace physical presence in a relationship building scenario. God has designed us to live in community, and I believe this includes hanging out with each other...in person. Notice that the Bible says, "Where two or more are gathered together..." Now, I'm not saying this verse is about Facebook, but it assumes face to face contact...not just email or snail mail or pony express or pigeon delivery. Paul wrote letters to churches, but he always mentioned his longing to see them face to face.

Some couples spend more time texting one another or viewing each other's Facebook to get to know one another than they do sitting on the couch and talking.

As we utilized growing technology to stay somewhat connected, let us not give up meeting together in person. Technologies that are supposed to make life easier have only made life busier and more disconnected. It might require radical measures...such as inviting a neighbor over for dinner at your house (much more conducive for relationship building than a restaurant) or detoxing from the cell phone/internet slavemaster and sitting on the couch with your wife.

Now, I'm going to stop blogging and go sit on the couch with my wife. :)

Doing an experiment...afraid?

2008-04-05T23:29:00.003-05:00

I've been thinking a lot about evangelism lately. The problem is that it's all I've done. I haven't shared the incredible news about Jesus with anyone in a while. Sure, there are tons of excuses...I've been really busy...I live, work, and go to school in a Christian environment...I forgot to wear my lucky socks. In a recent interview I was doing, a man said to me, "Do you want to know why people don't tell others about Jesus? One reason, FEAR." It's not that we don't care about people, although that could be a possible factor. It's not because we want people to go to hell (hopefully). We are afraid. We're afraid we'll look like a looney. We're afraid they may blow us off. We're afraid they may ask a question we don't know the answer to. We're afraid we'll lead them astray. We're afraid they might get confrontational. We're afraid.

Maybe FEAR should be the one reason we should share Jesus with others. Another wise man said: "The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil" (Eccl. 12:13-14). Seems to me that one of His commandments is to make disciples.

Take a moment to be honest and answer the poll in the right-hand column. I'm doing an experiment to see how many people actually share their faith. (Note: you can go in and change your vote, so if you share with someone, come back and change it).

Random yet providential

2008-03-22T23:08:00.004-05:00

I got a random request the other day. My dad, who is a pastor in Southeast Texas, called me on Wednesday night and said a lady (Lucy) in his church requested prayer for a little baby who was in the hospital. The baby is the grandson of Lucy's friend. His name is Dillon, and his parents live in Ft. Worth. Lucy asked my dad if he could find someone in Ft. Worth to visit them in the hospital and pray with them. My dad called me and asked if I could find someone to go. He didn't have much information for me other than the names of the parents, grandparents and child.

At first, I was thrown off a bit. I didn't want to show up at the hospital as some weird, random guy. What if they told me to go away? Nonetheless, the Lord really pressed on my heart that I needed to go, so Amy and I got some neighbors to watch the boys and we went to the hospital after work on Thursday. My dad had called earlier in the day and told me that Dillon, who is only 8 week old, had meningitis and was in ICU.

When we arrived, we got the room number, and went to see the family. I introduced us and explained how we found out about them being in the hospital. They were very receptive to our visit and told us how everything was going. Dillon had started running fever on Monday (St. Patrick's Day) so they took him to the doctor. After running some tests, they found out he had bacterial meningitis caused from the E.coli bacteria. If you don't know, if not caught quickly and treated quickly, this can be fatal. Providentially, the parents, Derrick and Destin, had caught it early and the doctors were able to treat Dillon and rid his body of the E.coli. They had even moved him out of the ICU because he was doing better. Then, as he was sleeping in his mother's arms, he seized up and became stiff. They readmitted him into the ICU and checked to see if he had had a seizure, which fortunately he had not. When we arrived, he was still heavily sedated because they had done an MRI, and he had an IV running through the top of his head and a breathing tube in his mouth. As a father of two, seeing that precious little baby on that bed was humbling. They said that when he woke up, they would be removing the breathing tube, and it sounds like things are turning up for him. They were also going to check to see if there was any damage to the brain tissue by him seizing up. After visiting with the family for a while, we had prayer with them.

I'd like to ask you to say a prayer for Dillon, Derrick, and Destin. Please pray for continued healing and a strong recovery for Dillon. Pray for Derrick and Destin as they walk through all of this. When I talked with them, it doesn't seem like they have a church family to walk through this with them, so please pray that they will find one of those too. I really appreciate this, and I know they do too.

Inside the mind of my 3-year-old son

2008-03-16T21:46:00.002-05:00

For a class Amy is taking on developing the spiritual lives of children, she had to interview a preschooler. She interviewed Will, and I'm amazed at his answers...some of which are more theologically correct than they first appear. As you read them, remember that he had no prompting and was just answering off the top of his head. These are also direct quotes. Here's the Q & A session:

Q: What is your favorite game?
A: Thomas the train

Q: Do you like to play outside? What do you like to do when you are outside?
A: Yes; paint, play ball, go on my bike

Q: Who is Jesus?
A: God; a preacher

Q: Who is God?
A: He gives me everything I need and houses

Q: What does God look like?
A: Jesus

Q: What do you like to do at church?
A: treasure chest; play; Celebration Zone; worship God

Q: Do you go to Sunday School? What do you do in Sunday School?
A: Yes; color, read stories which are one page

Q: Tell me about your Sunday School teacher.
A: I love them. They teach me how to do things that are right.

Q: What is your favorite thing to do with your dad?
A: Wrestle

Q: What is your favorite thing to do with your mom?
A: Jumping on the bed

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

2008-03-03T21:50:00.003-06:00

I was allowed to be part of a private screening for an upcoming move called Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed. It's a docu-drama featuring Ben Stein (Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Win Ben Stein's Money, etc), and they showed it to a select crowd today at the seminary. One of our professors, Bill Dembski - an expert on ID, was interviewed for the movie.

In the movie, Stein interviews scientists from both sides of the Darwinism vs. Intelligent Design debate. His main premise is to find out why Intelligent Design (ID) proponents are discriminated against and why some of them have been fired or discredited for their adherence to ID. It's a powerful film, and I strongly encourage everyone to go see it opening weekend: April 18. The more people who go see it the opening weekend, the longer it will run in theaters for more people to see it. It's been likened to a "Trojan horse of truth dropped in the middle of popular culture."

What I really liked about the film is that it discussed the consequences to the idea of Darwinism: the loss of the sanctity of life. If evolution is true, then life has no purpose or meaning, and, therefore, the killing fields of Cambodia and the Holocaust cannot be considered evil. Abortion, euthanasia, eugenics, etc. are all simply part of the survival of the fittest.

To view the trailer, go to http://expelledthemovie.com/playground.php. You will not be disappointed.

Let the Addiction Begin...again

2008-03-01T23:51:00.008-06:00

It's that time of year again...Six Flags opened today! Amy, Will, Blake, and I arrived a few minutes after the gates opened and had a blast! I've been working a lot of extra hours lately, so this was a great day to spend with family...and the weather was awesome - 75 degrees and sunny!

Season passes are one of mankind's finest achievements. I know God is maturing me when we didn't ride one adult ride all day, and I loved every minute.

Will did the parachute drop (see picture) for the first time, which I wasn't sure he'd be up for. He liked it so much, he had to take mommy on it the second time! He also gave high-fives to some of the characters walking around the park, which is a huge step for him. When we left, he was even talking about taking pictures with them next time. I was really proud of him today...he overcame his fear of a big ride and scary individuals dressed up like cartoon characters. He only has an inch and a half more to grow and he can ride the Titan (70-mph steel rollercoaster with an intense drop)!

Lastly, we got a free photo. Now this may not sound like a big deal, but have you seen what they charge for one of these? We rode the log ride (a favorite of ours because all of us, including Blake, can ride it together). They take your picuture as you go down the big drop. (I hammed it up a bit for the camera b/c I know where it takes the picture) Afterwards, we were looking at the picture on the screen at the booth, and the lady running it said it was a great shot. She offered us a free photo if she could use it as a display at the booth. I signed a legal waiver, which I hope doesn't come back to haunt me, and we walked away with a perfect end to a wonderful day.

Hermeneutical Hip-Hop

2008-02-09T21:12:00.000-06:00

I wrote an article recently about a fellow student who mixes solid theology with hip-hop. You can read the article here: www.swbts.edu/gospel_hiphop.

You can also watch the companion video that my good friend Adam Covington made:

Surrendered Preaching

2008-02-09T20:37:00.000-06:00

In my "Intro to Preaching Class," we read a book by my professor, Steven Smith. This guy can really preach, so I was excited to take his class. He's an expository preacher who thinks boring preaching is a sin (to which I fully agree). His book isn't published yet, but it should be. He talks about how the preacher must surrender to four things:

God: "The preacher who is not disgusted with flesh, scared of God, with a healthy fear of His judgment, will allow the medium (persuasive speech) to be the primary message."
The text: "Expository preaching is teaching people to read Scripture and motivating them to live it" (Paige Patterson).
The audience: "The preacher learns to see in the dark, taking the light to those who cannot see."
The task of great preaching: The preacher is responsible to clearly communicate the message of the text to his audience. He is not seeking to be validated or highly esteemed in his preaching. He is simply concerned with helping people understand and follow God.

I wrote this honest evaluation after reading the book:

Why do I enjoy preaching and teaching? Most of the time, it is because I derive some self-worth and value from appearing knowledgeable. I want people's approval. Lord, forgive me for seeking value in a place where I should be hidden. I surrender to You, Your Word, those you want me to teach, and the incredible task of communicating effectively.

All to Jesus I surrender. All to Him I freely give.

I will ever love and trust Him. In His presence daily live.

I surrender all. I surrender all.

All to Thee, my blessed Savior. I surrender ALL.

Standing Next to Hitler?

2008-01-27T21:29:00.000-06:00

For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

(Philippians 2:9-11, NASB)

Our church celebrated the opening of its new sanctuary this morning, and the worship was incredible. During the musical part of our worship, a song based on the verse above was sung. As I sang, I got a picture in my mind of being in that mass of people on judgment day.

I don't know if everyone will be mixed together or if they'll be separated into believers and non-believers, but according to this verse, regardless of their earthly decisions, they will fall facedown in front of Jesus on that day. Then I thought, "What if I were standing next to Hitler on that day?" I would be facedown, overjoyed in the presence of the Lord, but he would be facedown in indescribable anguish over forsaking the real King. Part of me hurt for him. Then my mind shifted from Hitler to others in this world who are lost and without hope on that day. Instead of joyfully bowing in honor of the King, the sheer magnitude of the realization of their depravity will double them over.

Makes me want to tell them about Jesus. How about you? It makes me ache for the thousands of people in Colorado who worship the creation but not the Creator. It may not be literal tree-hugging...it could just be hiking on Sundays because it makes them feel spiritual. Regardless, when the mountains melt like wax before Him upon His return, the object of their worship will be made known.

Let's not be selfish. One day, your neighbor will bow...will it be the first time? One day, that stranger you ignored will bow...will it be in joy or anguish? One day, those whom you've despised and rejected will bow...will they shed tears of gratefulness or tears of terror? Think you can't tell them about Jesus? Think they'll never come to faith in Him?

My Savior, He can move the mountains

My God is mighty to save

He is mighty to save

Forever, the author of salvation

He rose and conquered the grave

Jesus conquered the grave

Shine your light and let the whole world see

Your singing for the glory of the risen King

Promotion + Vietnam + Interactive Bible Reading

2008-01-22T22:50:00.000-06:00

Three quick updates about life here with the Cowtown Colliers:

I got a promotion last week. I'm now the Associate Director of News and Information. Basically, I will be responsible for managing the writers and building relationships with media personnel to get our stories out. I'll still write and edit, and I'm really excited about the opportunity. Please pray for wisdom, creativity, and time management as I take on this new task.
My Vietnam trip will probably get rescheduled to May. God raised the money for me to go in the fastest time anyone's raised it before, but no one else was able to raise the money in time. I asked our leader if we wanted to wait until May so more people could go. It looks like that will be when we go, but I'll keep you posted. It actually works out better for me schedule wise.
If you don't have a regular Bible reading plan, I'm in the rotation with three other writers for our church's online Interactive Bible Reading (click to check it out). You can post comments about what God's showing you and everything.

Future Photographer

2008-01-22T22:43:00.001-06:00

So the grandmothers were in town this past weekend. Amy's mom let Will go wild with her digital camera. Here's some of the "abstract" photos he shot:

Shred and Re-organize

2008-01-13T16:03:00.000-06:00

Last night, Amy and I spent several hours re-organizing our file cabinet. We shredded old bills and forms with personal information. We also cleaned out folders of unneccessary items.

In church this morning, we were singing a song which said, "Come, Lord Jesus, Come." I realized that sometimes I'm satisfied with living my life, and I'm not always anticipating the return of Jesus.

As I began to repent of this, the Holy Spirit reminded me of the reorganizing and shredding from last night. He said He wanted to do the same in me internally. I began to confess sin and ask that he shred it and reorganize my life and priorities.

In His power, I'm wanting to grow stronger and more intentional in my walk with the Lord. As I anxiously await the final coming of the Kingdom at the end of days, I will live in the Kingdom that is now at hand (Mark 1:15)

Humility Begins with Gratefulness

2008-01-06T14:26:00.000-06:00

Last night as I was laying down in bed and praying, the Holy Spirit started convicting me of arrogance and pride issues. It's not the first time I've been faced with this aspect of my own depravity, so I repented and started talking to God about why I keep falling into this sin trap.

I walk around with a lot of insecurities, as I imagine almost everyone does. The ways humans deal with their insecurities vary, and my way is to try to overcompensate through humor and sarcasm. I'll say something that sounds arrogant in a humorous way in an effort to try to display some type of self-confidence.

In church today, several of the songs we sang spoke of thankfulness, gratefulness, and surrender. It felt as though God were saying, "Humility begins with gratefulness." When I recognize that everything I have is a gift from my King, then I recognize that self-confidence is not all that important. God-confidence is most important. If I rely on myself and begin to think I'm responsible for my accomplishments, pride begins to swell. When I recognize I'm an unworthy servant who has been adopted into the King's family, I will boast in His richness and grace.

Psalm 34:2 "My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad."

Galatians 6:14 "But far be it from me to boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whichthe world has been crucified to me, and I to the world."

Here's some lyrics from a song we sang today:
I will boast in the Lord my God
I will boast in the one who's worthy
He's worthy!
I will make my boast in Christ alone

Vietnam

2008-01-03T21:50:00.000-06:00

Many of you already know that I am planning on taking a 10-day trip to Vietnam with my church planting internship in March. I wasn't sure if I would be able to raise the funds to go, and I also had some problems with my passport. On both, God came through with flying colors!!!

The passport was more of a timing issue. Because I'm going to Vietnam with a religious group, the Visa process takes a little longer. I called the US Passport Agency because my passport wasn't going to arrive for up to 3 weeks, and they said they would put in a request to expedite my passport, but we all know how fast the government can be. Within a couple of days, my passport was in my mailbox!

As for funds, I had to raise $3,000 to go on the trip. I sent out letters to friends and family at the beginning of December and after 3 weeks, I have nearly all of the money! For those of you who gave money, I greatly appreciate it, and please know that your investment has Kingdom rewards.

In each of these areas, God proved both His faithfulness and His plan for me to go to Vietnam. Our church has been working in Vietnam for 12 years now, providing development projects such as water filtration systems, special education training for teachers, and, soon, computer labs for underprivileged schools. I have been part of the team working on the computer labs, which will provide poor children computer skills to help them get jobs.

Please continue to pray for us as we prepare for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Pray also for Amy and the boys as they will be without me for 10 days (and I without them).

Merry Christmas

2007-12-24T13:08:00.000-06:00

We want to wish all of you a merry and meaningful Christmas. I pray that the Savior would be singular in your affections this holy day. May He outshine the gifts and time with family. May he not be a trite reference.

Celebrate the King with me! See him as Matthew, as the King of kings...whom Magi (intellectuals) seek and bow down to. He's the prophesied one; the hope of the nations. He's the Jewish Messiah, desending from Abraham, fulfilling the covenants. He's worshipped by men from the East, representing the nations who will bow at His feet. A jealous king slaughtered children as Jesus' family escaped to Egypt, echoing back to the Exodus, when a crazed Pharoah heard the cries of mourning families as the Israelites escaped from Egypt. He is Immanuel, "God with us."

See him as Luke, as the Good Shepherd...whom shepherds praised and heralded in the streets. He's the champion of the lowly...from an unsuspecting teenage girl to those lowly shepherds. When you hear that He was wrapped in cloths in the manger, think forward to Him being wrapped in cloths after His crucifixion...and remember that those grave cloths were cast aside as He rose in triumphant victory over death! Hear the angelic proclamation, "Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news (gospel) of great joy which will be for all people." Jews and Gentiles alike are included (Luke 2:32).

Done with school...sort of

2007-12-12T22:52:00.000-06:00

The fall semester ended today, and I feel like a free man. I'm looking forward to a couple of weeks without tests and papers. In fact, I'm really anxious about wasting this time.

I'll still be working, which will require a lot of focus and energy over the next two months. We're working on the upcoming seminary magazine, and it's a doozy. It will be our Centennial edition since the school celebrates 100 years in 2008, so it is a REALLY big deal. It's cool to read biographies about some of the presidents, but the whole project is a daunting task. It should have been started months ago, but I've come to grips with the fact that I cannot change that. Please pray for me and our team as we try to tell the legacy of an institution who challenges and trains men and women to bring the radically transforming person of Jesus Christ to a blind and hurting world. Pray for clarity, efficiency, joy, and sanity. Pray that we will be Christlike in the crunch-time and give grace to one another as anxiety rears its head. Pray that Christ will be exalted above the institution. Thanks for praying (even if, like I sometimes do, you prayed this prayer just now because you're afraid you'll forget to later).

I'm hoping to use the break to catch up on a lot of reading for my church planting internship, pray a lot about our future in church planting, spend time w/ the fam, and tell people about Jesus. Please pray for boldness and obedience in sharing Christ with strangers and/or family. I hope to blog a little more also...so stay tuned!

Long Time, No Speak

2007-11-18T18:03:00.000-06:00

As you can imagine, the busyness of the semester has stifled my blogging, but I'm trying to get back in the saddle. I'll be working on a paper this week, and that should be the last major assignment before finals begin on Dec. 7. I've meant to post several times but just never seemed to get around to it. Here's a month's worth of things I've been thinking about:

- A new resolution (and it's not even New Year's yet): In church today, I was convicted that passion for God and effectively reaching people with the Gospel will not just magically appear in my life; I must be intentionally committed to spiritual disciplines. My spiritual disciplines have been lacking, and it's no wonder I often feel disconnected from the presence and power of God. I'm surrounded by religiosity at work, school, and church, but it's easy to neglect moments with the Savior here and there in this type of environment.

- Deconstructing Churchianity: There's a gazillion books out there telling people how to do church better. Is it a new model or just resurrecting an ancient one? Should it be a come-and-see church or a go-and-tell church? Have we put so much emphasis on the church that we've reduced it to a building or an organization?

The church is the body of Christ...the people of God. When we focus on the life of the disciple, church takes on a whole new look. I heard recently that in America, we have more mega-churches (congregations of 2,000+) than ever before, but we have fewer people going to church. When we replace Christian maturity with church models, we get faulty people running faulty organizations. Just think, the corporate model of church that we saw in the last decade (pastors functioning as CEO's) has dealt us the same fate as many large corporations: leaders who scandalously fall from grace. This happens when they focus on running the organization instead of personally growing as a disciple. You can see why I'm making the above resolution.

It would be easy to blame it on the fallen leaders, but a less publicized epidemic is with those in the pew (or stadium seating, if you're in a mega-church). My brother told me that a lady at his work actually said this about a co-worker who claims to be a Christian: "She says she is a Christian, but if that's what being a Christian looks like, I don't want any part of it." I'm growing convinced that discipleship generally happens better through a mentor-style relationship than a lecture-style.

- Reaching Generations and the Nations: I think this might be the slogan of our church in the future. Psalm 145 says that one generation will declare the glory of the Lord to another generation. I don't want to be a segregated church, ethnically or chronologically. Paul's charge in Titus 2 captures this perfectly. How do we accomplish a mult-generational, multi-national church? We must make disciples in our "Jerusalem, Samaria, and the utter-most parts of the world."

- Challenges from my dad and others: My mom and dad have been in town a couple of times recently. I love my dad's heart and perspective on ministry. He's old-school in many ways, but that's not always a bad thing. He's not easily caught up in current trends and is a shining example of someone passionate to see those outside the family of God becoming part of our family. He always knows the right questions to ask me that make me think more about future ministry. Thanks, dad!

- Christmas vs. Consumermas: I'm working on an article for our student paper on fighting the gospel of consumerism that's preached during the holidays. There's a humorous take on this in limited-release movie that will soon be out called "What Would Jesus Buy?" It's not a Christian movie, but it's made by the same guy who did "Super-size Me" and is a documentary on how Americans treat Christmas. I'm trying to figure out how to raise my kids to see that Christmas is more than a gift-giving holiday and even more than a holiday for family time. These are good things, and we'll engage in both, but I want my kids, and myself, to recognize the celebration of Emmanuel, God with us, as the central theme of the holiday. Amy and I are trying to find ways that the gifts given to our children and the time spent as a family point to this reality.

- Pictures to share: Working in the communications office at school has its perks, including being able to get a good deal on a photo-shoot with a talented photographer. Kathleen Murray, a photographer in our office, spent some time with our family on the seminary campus and got a lot of great photos. Here's some of the best ones:

The Write Stuff

2007-10-18T23:25:00.000-05:00

As you well know, I'm a writer at the seminary. People often ask me about the job, so I thought I'd give you some insight. Most of the time I think the title sounds more glamorous than the job really is. People hear "writer" and they get the idea that I'm some novelist who pumps out brilliant text. In reality, I mostly pump out news releases, write articles for the student newsletters and magazines, and write "copy" for advertisements/marketing material. Even though I'm not writing something with Fabio on the cover, I enjoy it.

At any rate, the job is going very well. I work with some incredibly talented people (makes me feel kinda out of place at times). They're also a lot of fun to work with, which makes the stressful moments a little more manageable. Some things are more interesting to write than others, but that's to be expected. One of my most exciting articles to write was about a Navy chaplain and the 9 salvations his ship saw while on a 7 1/2 month tour in Iraq. (see article and companion video to the article at http://www.swbts.edu/email/20071005.html)

The job feels like a good fit. They keep giving me writing assignments, so that must be a good sign. :) You can always check out what I write if you'd like. Our newest edition of the seminary magazine just came out (my first magazine), and you can read it online at http://www.swbts.edu/swnews/. You can also read news releases at http://www.swbts.edu/pressreleases/releases.cfm.

Continue to pray for us. Working, schooling, internship, etc. eats up a lot of time and energy. I struggle with not having the time I want with Amy and the kids and time to reflect and process what I'm learning. At the same time, I don't want to be in school for 5 years, so I must press on. Pray that I will be efficient with my time and keep my priorities where they should be.

Planting Pontifications and more

2007-10-08T23:59:00.000-05:00

As I'm in the mode of church planting these days, things run through my mind off and on. I want to share some of my thoughts lately...really more for myself so I can look back on this in the future to see what God was doing in me...but maybe also for someone else out there. Pardon these ramblings:

God continues to strengthen in Amy and I a desire to return to NW Denver. Every time we hear anything about Denver or Colorado, we grin from ear to ear. For example, how about those Colorado Rockies?? (the baseball team, not the landscape, although they are quite nice as well)

I'm getting seminary credit for the internship I'm doing through our church. As part of the credit, I also have to have a support group of peers who I talk about ministry with. So, I invited a couple of my close friends and their families over for dinner last night. They asked us some really good questions about church planting, such as "How do you plant a church?" We shared our experiences and what we would keep or do differently if we had a chance to do it all over again. It was a really refreshing time because I tend to make greater strides and keener insights when I dialogue about things out loud with people. It's like things that have been sporadically bouncing around in my brain begin to link together in words and sentences, and they suddenly make more sense. I'm looking forward to future meetings like these.

I've been struck lately with a deep concern about the current trend towards church planting. Please don't misunderstand me, I will be the first to say that church planting is one of the most effective forms of evangelism we have today and it's one of the most needed things. I am 100% for church planting. My concern lies in the underlying trendiness associated with church planting (which I'll now start referring to as CP to prevent carpal tunnel). CP is the really cool thing to do now. It's being pushed in most evangelical denominations and for good reasons. There are a lot of young men and women who are jumping into CP with a desire for the glory of God but no foundation. They think (like I did at one time) that it's better to jump right into ministry and not waste time with training and/or seminary.

The danger in this is that many people, enamored by the opportunity to start something exciting in a new place and thinking they won't have to deal with people set in their ways at an existing church, press on towards CP without being called by God to do it. In effect, God may want them to revitalize an existing church, and yet they forsake that calling because it seems uninspiring or boring. I reject the notion that some CP "experts" have that says that we should just let dying churches die b/c it's easier to plant a new one in their place. God, forgive us if we ignore the work You've begun when You want to do more.

So, back to my concern...I'm afraid that scores of people will chase the trendy ministry of CP without counting the cost and in the long run end up costing the Church a double-whammy: abandoning existing churches and burning out and never doing ministry again. CP is extremely hard work, but it is also some of the most joyous work when it's what God has called you to do. This is why I have waffled so much with whether God is calling me to do it. I don't want to do it b/c it's trendy or adventurous. If I do that, you can buy my plane ticket back home for 2-3 years from now when I fizzle from trying to do something in my own power.

We need church planters! We need teams of individuals to lay it on the line and engage communities with no visible church presence for the sake of the Gospel. We need blue collar and white collar workers to transfer jobs or venture into new careers so they can move with a team to plant a church. CP teams do not need to be made solely of vocational ministers. Our views of discipleship have got to change. We have a lecture-style mentality of discipleship which says, "Just buy a couple more devotional books or participate in another Bible study, and you'll be a stronger Christian." My Korean friends are showing me the biblical model of mentorship-discipling. Jesus didn't set up a university to train disciples...He said, "Come, follow me."

I issue a challenge for you to pray right now about the possibility of CP, whether that be from a prayer or financial support aspect or whether that be from a participation aspect. Too bad we think church planters have to be young. Oh, to see middle-aged and senior adults leveraging their spiritual maturity and life experiences for the Kingdom of God instead of trying to figure out a way to spend their remaining years in self-satisfaction. But, in all of this, we must count the cost. (By the way, this is not a plea for you to join us in CP, although we welcome anyone who God calls along side of us. God may be calling you in a completely different direction, and you need to follow that calling).

In addition to the call, I believe church planters must be equipped not just with strategy and networking skills, but also with pastoral skills and preaching skills. It's disheartening for me when I read CP books that never teach church planters how to effectively and creatively preach the Word of God or how to relate it to someone who is struggling with certain issues in his life. They'll tell you how to plan events, reach out to the community, or cast vision, but I haven't read much about how to teach the biblically illiterate in your mission field how to read and understand the Bible. Fortunately, I'm getting great training in how to do some of these things, but like I mentioned before, many church planters skip the training because they're anxious to get their hands dirty. Maybe God will allow me to help train others in some way.

Lastly, here's some facts I heard the last week or so. The U.S. currently has approx. 500,000 international students in its colleges and universities. 70 % of these students have never been invited to an American's house. 80% have never been invited to an American church. Oh what a global mission field awaits us out our back door! It's government-funded missions, and you don't have to leave the country. The mission field is coming to us. Won't you consider seeing how you can befriend an international student or two? They are lonely. They are struggling with the language barrier. They want friendships. They need Jesus. Are you daring enough to at least ask God what you should do about this?

I'm sure this stirred the pot some. Post a comment or two if you'd like. There's lots here to hash out.

3 Minute Testimony

2007-09-15T22:05:00.000-05:00

In my contemporary evangelism class at school, we had to write a 3-minute testimony about our life before Christ, our conversion experience, and what has happened since. We were challenged not to use "churchy" words. Here's mine:

I grew up in a religious family. We went to church all the time, and most people would say I was a good kid. The problem was that I was an addict. No, I wasn’t an addict to drugs or alcohol. I was addicted to something more hidden: selfishness and rebellion against God. I wanted to do things my own way. I had a big problem with telling the truth. I would tell lies to cover up my actions and to try to make myself look good. I believed God existed, and I thought I was good enough to go to heaven when I died. I went through all the religious rituals, but nothing changed in my life.

Over time, I learned that I couldn’t be good enough on my own. Even one lie was breaking God’s law, which made me an enemy of God. This breaking of God’s law, which God calls sin, separated me from God and deserved punishment. I couldn’t outweigh my sin with good deeds. I realized that Jesus took my punishment and offered me forgiveness for my sins and a new life. If I accepted Jesus’ payment for my sins, renounced my sinful ways and committed my life to him, I could have a relationship with God and the assurance that I would live with Him forever. So, one night at church, I repented and committed my life to Jesus.

When I became a Christian, my life was forever changed. I didn’t enjoy sin anymore, and I wanted to please God. I started reading my Bible, and it started making more sense to me. Life wasn’t perfect, and neither was I, but I had hope and a genuine joy in my life that I had never experienced. I’ve gotten to know God better, and I have discovered His plans for my life. I have the sense of purpose and satisfaction that everyone’s looking for. I love Jesus and will do anything He tells me to do. Have you ever had an experience like this?

>>>>>New Poll>>>>>

2007-09-01T14:25:00.000-05:00

Check out the newest poll to the right>>>>>>>>>

Overdrive

2007-09-01T13:28:00.000-05:00

Well, things are in overdrive. This was the first full week for school, and I started my new job on Tuesday. I like the new job; the office environment is great. I get along with everyone. This week was more of an "easing into the cold water" (see pic of Blake in ice cold river water) week, but I'm pretty sure they're going to push me in next week. My biggest concern is time management, so if you have a couple of moments right now, will you say a prayer for me and my family? Thanks. It's just going to take discipline and flexibility.

I've been challenged lately in my walk with the Lord. As I've been reading from the book of Matthew and some other books for my church planting internship, I've realized that I've been trying to live the spiritual life apart from the Spirit. It has hit me like a brick wall. You'd think I wouldn't be this dumb...after all, spiritual has the word spirit in it! I've been frustrated over the past couple of years with not being consistent in my walk and not experiencing the power of the Lord. It's like I've been running on empty for so long, and I haven't noticed that the plug came out of the socket. The Bible tells us that where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is power, freedom, boldness, and wisdom. Without the Spirit, we're no better off than those who don't walk with the Lord. Without the Spirit, my eyes are dull to the Bible...with the Spirit, the Bible becomes vibrant. I've wondered why when a preacher or my professor explains a passage, it explodes with life and depth that I've never seen. It's because they're walking in the Spirit, and the Spirit breaths life into Word. I heard a message the other day, and the preacher explained that in the Bible, Spirit and Word are inseparable. They're as inseparable as breath and speech. (See Gen. 1:2-3; Ps. 33:6; Luke 4:18; John 3:34; 2 Tim. 3:16). "When the word of God is expounded, the Spirit speaks." (R. Kent Hughes)

Here's some pics from our trip to New Mexico:

Summer Update/Big changes in store...

2007-08-18T18:26:00.000-05:00

It's been a while since my last post, and boy have we been busy! Here's a brief summary of what we've been up to and some pics along the way:

New Mexico

The day after Blake's birthday, we headed out for a road trip to New Mexico with Amy's mom, dad, and nephew. It was a great trip. FYI, don't go 73 in a 65 in Texas when you're 5 miles from the New Mexico border...just ask my father-in-law. :) In New Mexico, we stayed in Ruidoso, which is a mountain town, and all of Amy's aunts, uncles, cousins from her mom's side got together. We rented a big house right off the river. Will, Blake, and I were adventurous and played in the river. The water was pretty cold, which Will hated, but Blake dove right in...literally!

Will's Birthday/Class Reunion

We returned from the New Mexico Trip on Tuesday, and on Friday, we drove down to Beaumont to see family. That Friday was Will's birthday, so we had a party. There's a lot of birthdays on my side of the family in July & August, so we had a joint birthday celebration (see picture below of everyone blowing out candles...we missed you, Jay). I had my 12-year class reunion...I know it's stupid, and I don't know why my class is this weird. Basically, they missed the 5-year, so they had a 7-year instead, and so now the tradition continues. I'd like to pontificate about life and reminiscing with friends, but I wouldn't have a lot to say. It was nice to see people I haven't seen in 12 years. Some have changed, most have not. I realized that it only takes about 5-7 minutes to get updated on some one's story since high school. Maybe if I would have gone to the bar that night w/ everyone I would have heard more, but a family picnic for a couple of hours suited me just fine. I only have a handful of people from high school that I even remotely keep up with, so it's not that big of a deal.

Family in town

The following week, my oldest brother and his family came up. We hit Six Flags twice and went to the Star Wars exhibit at the Fort Worth Museum. It's so cool to see our kids playing together (see pic below). Also, this weekend, my parents came up to see us. Dad and I went to the bookstore to get some stuff for school and my upcoming church planting internship. We also went to Six Flags last night. Storms rolled in right as we were getting there, so all the rides were shut down, which was disappointing. We decided to go eat dinner and see if the storm would blow over, and it did. The park was practically empty, so my younger brother, dad, and I got to ride all the rides we wanted...multiple times. Will also got to ride a lot of rides w/ his Meme (my mom)...thanks mom for enduring the Mini Mine Train 7 times in a row!

Will's Birthday Party

Last weekend, we had Will's birthday party...2 weeks after his birthday. See the picture below of his cake...Amy did this. We had the party at the seminary rec center and had a pool party. The cake is an ocean scene, complete with graham cracker island and lounging teddy grahams. It was a hit, and Will loved his "Water Party".

New Job

Last but not least, I'm changing jobs! Crazy, I know. It happened really quickly, but it will be a huge blessing. I wasn't really looking for a job, and I got an email from the seminary. They were looking for people to work in their Communications Department. Long story short, I sent my resume, submitted a sample of my writing, interviewed, and a week later, I had a new job. I'll be a Senior Writer, which means I'll write press releases, marketing materials, news articles, etc. for the seminary. It lines up with my bachelor's degree, and I love writing. Through the job, all my tuition will be paid for, and I'll get full medical benefits for me and my family. I'll have to work 40 hours per week instead of the 30 I was working at Sylvan, but it will be worth it as far as I can see. I start on August 28th, just after school starts. I'm excited and nervous at the same time. It's a great opportunity that God has provided, so we'll see where it goes. It was a very difficult decision because I love working for Sylvan, but it was the best decision for my family. Please pray for me and my family as we all make the new adjustments.

Happy Birthday Blake!

2007-07-19T22:21:00.000-05:00

Today is Blake's 1st birthday. We are so blessed to have such a healthy and energetic child. He's a mover and shaker, and we are praying that God would use this for His Kingdom. Here's a couple of recent pics of the family and Blake's birthday. Enjoy!

Vote Now!

2007-07-08T14:22:00.000-05:00

Check out my new poll to the right. The first one just asks what you'd like to see more of on the blog. You can choose more than one.

One more week of being in my 20's

2007-07-07T20:33:00.000-05:00

I can't believe I turn 30 next Sunday! I'm as old as Star Wars! I love birthdays. I'm not one of those people who dread them or are afraid to tell people their age. Maybe this will change as I get older, but I doubt it. I think you can look at birthdays in a few of ways: just a number, a dreaded event, or a milestone. I prefer the last one.

Turning 30 is a pretty big milestone for me. First, I can't believe I've actually been alive for 30 years. It seems so long. I know I'm getting old these days because I love to reminisce. I like to think about my childhood: the crazy things we used to do, the family vacations, the what-if's. I like to think about my teen years: awkwardness around girls, wishing I would have put more effort in being good at basketball, God really working on my heart. I like to think about college: getting my first job, surrendering to God's call to ministry, growing tremendously in my relationship with God, and meeting the only woman for me!

I think about when I got married...this August will make 8 years: scraping by on nearly no pay, working through our differences, praying about future ministry. I think about moving to Colorado: growing closer to Amy, meeting new friends, trying new things in ministry, and the excitement of sharing Christ. I think about having our first child: the thrill/fear about being a new dad, the late nights, and the 30 minute prep time to go anywhere. I think about moving back to Texas to attend seminary: being sad to leave a ministry/people/state I love and not knowing if we'd ever be back, wondering if I would be able to balance school, work, and family effectively, and the "light and momentary troubles" when we arrived. I think about having our second child: wondering if I could handle 2 of them, return to late nights, and the hour prep time to go anywhere.

Overall, I have been really blessed these past 30 years. God has been more than good to me and my family. I love my family and extended family. I feel like I'm still a work in progress for the Lord's work. I'm learning things all the time. I guess you could say I'm growing up.

I want to thank some of you out there who've invested in my life. I am bound to miss someone, so I'm not going to make an exhaustive list. Please don't take it personally.

My parents: for pointing me to Jesus and supporting my obedience to the Lord's call
Dad the missionary- thanks for showing me a heart for missions (both here and abroad). I still want to go on an overseas mission trip with you. You can minister with me anytime.
Mom the prayer warrior- thanks for being willing to show genuine emotion when God moves in mighty ways. You're a prayer warrior. You rely on God for everything. You sacrifice for the good of others...and it doesn't go unnoticed.

My brothers: a lot of people don't get along with their siblings, but you guys are my best friends. You each offer unique perspectives that challenge and encourage me.
Jeff the wise- I can count on you for anything. You're rock solid, man. I hope to learn more about the outdoors from you so I can pass them along to my kids.
Jay the theologian - I miss the days we got to spend more time together in college. You challenge me to not waste my life. Most of the time when we have deep conversations, I find myself disagreeing initially but later on realizing that you're wise beyond your years.
Brent the creative - You're one of my best friends. We've been through a lot. There's no one I'd rather do ministry with than you. You wear your heart on your sleeve, and I admire that tremendously. I love every opportunity we get to laugh, debate fantasy football, and worship together.

My wife: Amy the Amazing - Words can't describe what you mean to me. You have supported me in every new adventure...moving to Colorado...quitting my job at RadioShack...moving back to Texas...the possibility of church planting. You challenge me to lead our family for the glory of God. I look forward to continuing to raise our kids together, celebrating future anniversaries, and partnering with you in ministry. I love you!

My discipler: Jeff Hazleton - you showed me that the Christian life is more than just Sundays. You helped me develop a quiet time and held me accountable to maintain it.

My mentor: Weston Nichols - I was a young 20-yr old punk when you met me. We grew together in ministry in Bridge City, and God allowed me the opportunity to minister again with you in Colorado. Thanks for showing me what vision looks like in a ministry. You challenged me to pursue excellence but also to make relationships important.

My extended family: Joe & Susie - I consider myself your son. You guys bring so much fun to our lives, and we love spending time with you. We can count on you for anything.

My friends: so many to name, so I'll just make this one general so I don't forget anyone. You guys accept me for my quirkiness. You sometimes laugh at my jokes. Even if I haven't seen you for a long time, it seems like we always pick up right where we left off. I know I could call you, and at a moment's notice, you would do everything in your power to help me. I've prayed with you, laughed with you, cried with you, and been shaped by you.

All of you have held the chisel and helped shape me into who I am today. Keep chiseling away!

Can you hear the stars speaking?

2007-06-26T22:57:00.000-05:00

Here's an excerpt from my journal today after reading Matthew 2:1-12 (The Visit of the Magi):

Amazing! Some of the first people to find Jesus and worship Him were scientists! The magi, according to a footnote in my Bible, were "a caste of wise men specializing in astronomy, astrology, and natural science." They saw the star of the King of the Jews and followed it. Scientists today look for the origin of the universe through the stars. The magi found the Origin of the Universe through observing the stars. I'm stunned by the thought that when God made the stars, He knew even then that their rotations would be synced to His divine, redemptive plan. Genesis 1:14 says He made the stars, sun, and moon to "be for signs and seasons and for days and years."

A theologian once said there are two ways to magnify something: like a microscope or a telescope. A microscope takes something that is small and magnifies it to make it look bigger than it really is. A telescope takes something incredibly big and brings it into a closer view. Christians should magnify God like a telescope with their lives. We should allow others to see Christ in us and bring him into a closer view.

Thanks Tony

2007-06-18T20:24:00.000-05:00

God is awesome. In my last post, I mentioned struggles w/ sharing my faith. God plopped an opportunity right in my lap yesterday.

I was at Six Flags for Father's Day with a friend of mine. We were in line for the Shockwave (double-loop, classic roller-coaster). Just as I was about to get on, I heard someone behind me say, "Excuse me, sir." I turned around, and a guy said, "I saw you have a shirt that says you believe in Jesus." I did have a Christian t-shirt on...remarkably, I only have one of these, and I don't wear it very often. Anyhow, he then shot straight with me and asked, "Why do you believe in Jesus?" I was literally getting on the ride when all this transpired, and I did not want to give him a trite answer. I responded with, "I'd love to tell you why. Would you like to talk about it after you get off the ride?" He agreed, so we got on the ride. It actually worked out well, because it gave me a little time to organize my thoughts to respond to his question.

We waited at the bottom of the steps for him. When he came down, I shared with him why I believe in Jesus. Here's a brief synopsis of what I told him:

First, I believe in Jesus because I believe in God. By believing in God, I realize that I am a sinful person and I've broken God's laws. Even on my best days, I've broken His laws. If I just look at the ten commandments, I immediately see that I have broken his commandments agains lying, stealing, and putting him first in my life. God says that the punishment for breaking even one of his laws once is death and eternity in hell. Therefore, I am hopelessly destined for punishment because of my sin. The great thing about God is that he provides a way for my sin to be forgiven and for relationship with him to be restored. John 3:16 tells us that God loved us so much that he gave his son, Jesus, that whoever believes in him will not receive God's just punishment but will instead receive eternal life, and John 17:3 says that eternal life is knowing God, which denotes a relationship. God requires a perfect sacrifice to pay the penalty of my sin, and Jesus became a man, lived a perfect life, and died as the sacrifice for my sin...and yours too. I need a savior, and Jesus is the only one who can save me. That's why I believe in Jesus.

He responded with a couple more questions, but as we talked I sensed that I was talking with another believer who was just testing me, and I was right. He was recently licensed and ordained for prison ministry. He said, "The bible tells us to always be ready to give a reason for the hope we have in Jesus, so I just wanted to make sure you were ready. You did a great job. God bless you."

I know he will probably never read this blog or see me again, but THANKS TONY for being obedient to God and challenging me. It was just what I needed... an opportunity to share my faith and "get back in the saddle" of evangelism.

So, how would you answer the question if someone asked you? By the way, rarely will you get this question point blank from a non-Christian. You must initiate conversation and find opportunities to be a witness.

Life's Ponderings

2007-06-12T18:05:00.000-05:00

Life sometimes races at warp speed these days. I'm taking a Christian Ethics class, and it's really more philosophy than anything else. We're reading Aristotle, Aquinas, Kierkegaard, etc. The class is quite boring at times...if my mind wanders for a minute, I'm lost for about 20 minutes. Anyhow, I guess it's got me into a reflective mindset lately.

I've been wrestling lately with the complete inadequacy of me. I know that may sound hard to believe, but it's really been pounding me lately. I feel like God may be calling us to plant a church, but I look at the qualities and disciplines often associated with successful church planting, and I come up bankrupt. I don't have an entrepreneurial mindset like most church planters...ambitious go-getters who love to start things from scratch. My personal evangelism is non-existent...an important need if you're starting a church in an unchurched area. I really struggle with consistent times of prayer and bible study...essential in staying fresh and focused on the mission field.

I'm 0 for 3 on the Big 3. It makes me question if God's really calling us to church planting at times. It seems like all I'm hanging onto at times is the notion that God's calling us to do it. Wait a minute! Isn't that the trump card? If I truly feel God has called us to this endeavor, then I must trust that he will equip us to be successful.

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness.

2 Peter 1:3

Sometimes I feel like the "chief among sinners", but I was recently encouraged by the reason Paul gave for God's mercy in his life through Jesus Christ. Paul said it was so Christ could display his "unlimited patience" (1 Timothy 1:12-17). I need that!

Jesus, I'm walking in Your grace and unlimited patience. Forgive me for ignoring you and being disobedient in my testimony of you to others. I have not arrived yet, and I can't change myself. Holy Spirit, please change me. I submit to You. Grant me discipline to talk with you and meditate on your word daily. Give me boldness and a desire to invite others to embrace You as their King.

"Create in me a clean heart, O God,

And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Do not cast me away from Your presence

And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation

And sustain me with a willing spirit.

Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,

And sinners will be converted to You."

Psalm 51:10-13

Update/Prayer requests

2007-05-19T16:04:00.000-05:00

Life is always moving and changing. In a week, we'll be moving into a townhome on campus. This will be nice for several reasons:

I'll be closer to school (I'll even walk to class if the weather is nice).
The rent will be cheaper!
We won't have to deal with upstairs neighbors (probably my #1 benefit...no more domestic violence disputes or stereos with bass boost cranked to 11 at 1:00am).
We'll be next door to some close friends of ours and also be able to meet some more people in the same life-stage as us.
We'll be closer to church.
I'll be 5 minutes closer to work.

Of course, there are some down-sides:

We won't have lost neighbors (at least as far as we know) to invest in
The area of town isn't as nice and as easily accessible to things (we lived across the street from a Super Wal-mart and w/in a 5 mile radius of restaurants, stores, and a mall)
We'll be right next to a very active train track. Will is afraid of trains, so we're not sure how he'll adjust.

We'll have the same phone numbers, but our email addresses will change and will no longer be ___@sbcglobal.net. Just email me to get our new ones (I don't feel safe posting them b/c I don't want more email spam than I already get). I can also get you our new mailing address if you're interested.

Now for the family update:

Keith - I'm currently taking a May-mester (2 week course through the end of May), and I'll be taking a summer class in the month of June. I plan on taking July and the first part of August off of school to rest and spend time w/ family. My co-workers have graciously agreed to let me work just 4 days a week during that time, which I hope to use wisely. In the fall, I'll be back in the full swing of school, and I'll also be involved in a Church Planter Internship through my church, which we're excited about. Amy will be part of it as well.

Amy - Amy is planning for our move and looking forward to possibly going to Ruidoso, NM in the summer with her mom (I might go if it's in July). In the fall, she'll be busy with the Church Planter Internship, leading a group in MOPS (which she's very excited about), and continuing to stay home with the boys. She is an incredible woman, and I am blessed by God for being allowed to share my life with her. I couldn't ask for a better teammate on this journey. I love you, Amy!!!!!!

Will - Will continues to absorb things like a sponge. He has a photographic memory and can identify things he's only seen once or twice months down the road. We're trying to put this to good use and teach him sight words to help him towards reading. He knows all his letter sounds and a couple of sight words like pizza! He's still adjusting to a little brother and has his good times and bad times. We love to hear them giggle together, and I know they'll be good friends one day. Will loves to sing, and his favorite songs are from the David Crowder Band...he loves the "Holy Song" and "Shout Aloud", which are not the real names of the songs, but we know what he means. His summer will be filled with seeing cousins and going to Six Flags!

Blake - Blake is very active! He is a mixture between an eagle and a monkey. His eagle qualities include eyeing a crumb on the carpet from across the room and scampering (swooping) across the room to pick it up and eat it. His monkey qualities include climbing on and over everything and being silly. We love his active spirit, and I don't think Will is going to know what to do once Blake is fully mobile. Mischief is always in Blake's eyes, and I think Will is going to receive payback for all the times he's taken a toy or pushed Blake. Blake is taking 2 steps before falling now, and I'm sure he'll be walking soon.

Prayer Requests:

Keith - stay on top of his Greek over the summer so next semester will go smoothly.
Keith - continue to make time alone with God in prayer and bible study a priority
Amy - patience and wisdom with the boys each day
Amy - a growing heart for the Lord and the lost
Will - continued adjustment to a little brother and the new home
Will - he would come to know Jesus at an early age and be used mightily for the Kingdom
Blake - adjusting to a new home
Blake - he would come to know Jesus at an early age and be used mightily for the Kingdom

SIX FLAGS!!!

2007-05-05T13:06:00.000-05:00

Daddy and his riding buddy.

Will and Blake on the swings.

Blake waiting for big brother.

Will's favorite ride.

Hallelujah Nuns

2007-04-16T21:12:00.001-05:00

Check this out! Maybe when we plant a church, these guys can come do a special music for us!

Lighten Up...Sucka!

2007-04-16T20:52:00.000-05:00

Can you tell my research paper is over? I'm not out of the woods yet, but I feel free again.

My brother & sister-in-law sent me this great photo. It was designed by my Scottish pal, Greg "Braveheart" Shepherd. According to Greg, everything about Scotland is accurate in the movie Braveheart....just ask him. (Actually, if he could, Greg would be strangling me right now). It was originally a picture of our church staff in Colorado...(left to right) Keith "Fly Guy" Collier, Weston "How Much for One Rib?" Nichols (our pastor), and my brother Brent "Huggy Bear" Collier (Worship Pastor)

Don't Waste Your Life!

2007-04-14T23:27:00.000-05:00

A startling command, huh? To be able to accomplish such a feat, it's probably important to know what types of things lead to a wasted life. Pop quiz: what comes to mind when you think of someone wasting their life? Let me toss out a couple of popular answers: addictions (drug, alcholics, workaholics, etc.), selfish pursuits, laziness, undisciplined, poor decision making...

No one wants to come to the end of their life and realize that they've wasted it on things that do not matter. So, what really matters in life? I think far too often, we in the Church get the answer only partially right. Most Christians would say that being a Christian and "living for God" is what really matters in life. This is undeniably true, but the "living for God" is where I think many often short-change themselves and actually end up wasting their lives. Living for the glory of God means living for something more than yourself. It means more than having a comfortable life, enjoying time with your family, working hard at your job, and being involved with a local church. I would say that the majority of our culture does this, and they're not Christians, and they're wasting their lives.

What makes you as a Christian any different than your co-workers or family members that don't know Jesus. I felt the wind knocked out of me when I read these words by the author of the book pictured above: "Even sinners work hard, avoid gross sin, watch TV at night, and do fun stuff on the weekend. What more are you doing than the others?" If my goals are the same as theirs, why would they want Jesus?

I'm hoping to re-read this book this summer. I have a link to a website that has short videos and a blog to help people hash out what it means to live an unwasted life. I challenge you to visit the website or read the book or gather some friends and do a study on it as a small group. I guarantee it won't be a waste of your time...or your life!

Parenting with Kingdom Purpose

2007-04-06T00:26:00.000-05:00

I've been reading this book for one of my classes, and it's sparked some really challenging thoughts/ideas. The book talks about raising your children in a way that helps them cut through the muck of modern life and live lives for the Kingdom of God. Have you ever noticed how much Jesus talked about the Kingdom?

Out of this reading, many ideas have arisen for me. Here's a couple of them:

Start a bank account for missions - this can be for individual mission trips for each of your kids or family mission trips. How you spend your money is a strong indicator of what you are truly passionate about.
Buy your kids a map/globe - use it to give them a more global perspective about what God is doing in the world. I subscribe to the free magazine Voice of the Martyrs, and they send out a World Prayer Map that shows countries where persecution for the gospel is high. We often pray for an individual country when we pray for our meal.
Take your kids with you when you do ministry - visit someone in the hospital, pray with someone, share your faith, etc. By the way, this is not just what pastors should be doing...the Bible is clear that pastors and teachers are called to "prepare God's people for works of service."
Instead of buying each other gifts at Christmas, buy worthwhile items for families in need.
Make the Kingdom a priority in your personal life. The faith of the young will typically mirror that of the key adults in their lives. Most kids raised in "Christian" homes end up rejecting the faith or going through the motions because they saw how their parent's really demonstrated their faith. A guy in class today made a profound statement..."Hypocrisy is most clearly seen through the eyes of a 15-year old." Genuine modeling from my parents is what has spoken the most to me.

Let's brainstorm...what other ways can you encourage Kingdom living in your home? Maybe your children are already grown...it's not too late to model it. I know I'm still learning from my parents. If you don't have kids yet, how can you make the Kingdom a priority in your life. Who else in your life can you model Kingdom living for? What does it really mean to be Kingdom minded? Jesus talks a lot about it...why don't you ask him?

"4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates."

Deut. 6:4-9

Anonymous???

2007-04-01T00:02:00.000-05:00

Alright, wise-guy...or wise-girl...whoever you are! Someone posted a comment to my last blog entry, but they didn't sign it. I'm assuming it's in response to my challenge at the end of the blog entry. It read as follows:

Anonymous said...
I'm in! Let's go! YEE-HAA!

Someone either accidentally forgot to put their name on the comment (which defaults to Anonymous) or they intentionally left it off. If it's the latter, then I can deduce that:

1. this person either doesn't want to make the full commitment yet

or

2. this person knows it would drive me crazy not knowing who it is, and they just want to mess with me.

Now, I have to go into Sherlock Holmes mode to try to figure out who this might be. Let's dissect the statement. First, it's short statements, so it must be someone who is extremely busy or who is a person of few words. Next, it says "I'm in", so I would guess it's the statement of an individual rather than a family. Finally, there's the YEE-HAA! I'd have to say it's not a person from Texas, not b/c we wouldn't use this word, but more importantly, we all know it's spelled YEE-HAW (like the hit show Hee-Haw!). I have my guesses, but I don't want to call anyone out.

Whoever you are, don't be yellow! Step up to the plate! :)

Editorial note:

I realize that this blog entry may cause others to post anonymous comments, but I plead with you not to do so. With the stress from school and work right now, I might lose it.

Spring Break

2007-03-21T19:15:00.000-05:00

Well, last week was Spring Break, and we had an awesome time in Colorado! We got to connect with friends and family, and I even got a day in of skiing. It was a fun-filled week, and the boys did well with traveling, staying at different people's houses, and meeting a lot of strange people who talked to them as if they knew them but who the boys didn't recognize.

Update on the family...

Will continues to amaze me with his insights and humor. Watch out Comedy Central, this kid is clever and funny and doesn't use any profanity in his humor. He's gradually becoming a daddy's boy much to mommy's horror. He loves for me to tell him stories, especially "Go Jesus" stories and The Adventures of Will the Wild-Hearted and Blake the Brave (with cameos from Daddy the Daring and Mommy the Marvelous). What are these stories you might ask??? Anytime we tell a biblical story about Jesus or something Jesus is doing present day, we always end with the cheer "Go Jesus!" with all the enthusiasm we can. Will just can't get enough of this Jesus who does amazing things, and daddy is always happy to tell him more "Go Jesus" stories and even to talk with Jesus together. The Will and Blake Adventures are ones I just make up, and they usually involve rugged, manly adventures like wrestling bears in the mountains or fly-fishing (two things I know very little about, but Will doesn't know this yet...shhhhh). I'm getting him ready for life in Colorado...more about this below. Another cool thing Will is starting to pick up on is who God is. It's remarkably difficult to explain God to someone who has no frame of reference and the vocabulary of a 2 yr old. We're doing our best

Blake is going to be our adrenaline-junkie. He is crawling and climbing as fast as he can. The other night, he pulled himself up to standing in his crib all by himself. He's starting to smile and laugh more, and he loves to tackle Will. I don't think Will is quite ready for the hurricane that's about to come through once Blake can walk/run.

Amy is continuing to be a wonderful mom and wife. She takes great care of the boys (including the big one). She is involved with MOPS and just started a class for Seminary Wives that has assignments and homework, so she's excited about that. She goes the extra mile and is very understanding about my school load. We had a great week last week just being together. She's wanting to get involved in the ministry to special needs children at our church, which will allow her to use her special education experience to minister to kids in a Christian environment.

I am heading into a 3-week cave that involves book reviews, tests, and research papers on top of my normal studies. I'm reading Jonathan Edward's "Treatise on Religious Affections", and it's great. If you don't know who he is, he was one of the most popular preachers during the Great Awakening. He's probably most popularly known for his sermon "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God", which was completely misunderstood and taught poorly in my high school English class. "Religious Affections" is primarily based on the premise that if you truly receive the gospel, you cannot be unaffected by it. It discusses what true and false religious affections are as well. I highly recommend it for those, like me, who struggle at times with apathy in the Christian life. One way to jump start your affections is to read the Gospels (and you might even let out a "Go Jesus!" when you realize that people don't rise from the dead everyday!!!) Outside of school, I'm looking into a church planter internship at our church. I'll give more info later when I have it myself.

About preparing for Colorado...

God is continuing to give us a heart for the Denver Metro Area, and last week confirmed our desire to hear the name of Jesus on the lips of the unchurched in that area. Church planting seems to be our path for now, and I met w/ the regional director of church planting in the area. It was also very encouraging to hear friends and family who live there who are completely supportive of us returning to do ministry there. Hopefully some of them will join us in reaching out to the community and seeing lostness reduced and lives radically transformed. We're still about 2 yrs out, but we're going to continue praying and seeking God on his direction.

Anyone out there who is reading this...I am making a formal challenge to you to pray now about if God would have you join us in the future in Colorado. You may not be a "minister" or have any ministry experience, and that's totally fine. God is calling people of all backgrounds and abilities to join Him in his global purposes. Maybe he's calling you to use your vocation to do missions? Sound crazy? Businessmen, teachers, plumbers, secretaries, real estate agents, salespeople, students, factory workers, engineers, entrepreneurs, etc. all over are leveraging their occupation to help start churches all over this planet. They are using getting jobs in their field in areas that need churches so they can be actively involved in church planting. New churches need people who are working in the community, building relationships, investing in the ministry, and sharing their faith. I hope you'll at least ask God if He wants to use you in this way, even if it sounds unrealistic. It's a whole new way of doing missions, at least as far as I've ever heard. We'd love for you to be part of our team...what do you think?

Sow what!

2007-03-02T22:03:00.000-06:00

"I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience testifies with me in the Holy Spirit, that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh...Brethren, my heart's desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation." (Romans 9:1-3, 10:1)

This passage showed up several times in several ways last week for me. Isn't it incredible how God knows how hard-headed and deaf-eared we can be that He shows us things over and over until we listen? I knew God was trying to get my attention.

Evangelism. This word evokes so many reactions. What's yours? For me, I think "Ouch!" This is an area I struggle in. Some people are faith-sharing machines it seems...not me. It would be easy to say I don't have the "spiritual gift" of evangelism, but this is mostly a cop-out for disobedience. Jesus told us to make disciples, and that will probably be difficult if we're not sharing our faith.

I'm kind of an "all or nothing" type person. If I can't do something right, I don't want to do it at all. This fleshes itself out in areas like home improvement projects. When we lived in Colorado, Amy wanted to do things to our townhome like paint or put tile down in the kitchen. Not ever having done this, I was petrified to mess it up. I'm a perfectionist, and if I put one tile down crooked, I would have to see it every day, and that's not a chance I was willing to take. I had a chance to do some tiling with a friend at his house who knew what he was doing, and after months of "encouragement", Amy finally convinced me that we could do it. I consented, and we bought the tile and supplies. It turned out to not be as difficult as I thought, and now I look back on it and think, "Sure, I'd do it again. It's not that hard."

I think this mentality permeates my faith-sharing as well. If I can't share all of the gospel in one sitting, I may never get to see that person again, so I'm hesitant to even start a conversation. I'm realizing that it's not about an all-or-nothing deal. God puts us in positions with friends, family, acquaintances, and perfect strangers and just wants us to share whatever we can in the time we have with them. This is a relief for me. I am not always responsible to cultivate, plant, water, weed, and harvest. I'm just responsible to be available to do the stage of where the person is at that day on their journey to saving faith. One person may need some cultivating; another may need some watering; and still another may be ready for harvest.

Now, back to the scripture above. I know that in order for me to be sensitive to the moments God gives me, I need to have a desire to see people put their faith in Jesus. I'm praying for this desire because it's not natural. God tells us that he will supply all our needs according to his glorious riches...maybe he's not just talking about our financial needs. I need to hurt for the lost people around me, whether I know them well or not. Paul was at the point where he was willing to trade places and give up eternity w/ Jesus just to see his fellow Israelites come to faith in Christ. Wow! I'm not there yet.

Like Amy and the tile, I'm also asking God to keep putting people in my life to "encourage" me to be sharing my faith. I'm also asking Him for a mentor in this area...someone I can watch in action and work alongside in the faith.

Tell the world that Jesus lives. Tell the world that. Tell the world that.
Tell the world that He died for them. Tell the world that He lives again.

We'll tell, we'll tell, we'll tell the world about You.
We'll tell, we'll tell, we'll tell the world about You.

One Challenging Week

2007-02-16T21:02:00.000-06:00

It's been a challenging week to say the least. Last Sunday morning, my dad called and told me my grandmother passed away. This was my mom's mom, and we lost my grandfather over Christmas, so my mom has lost both parents in a very short amount of time. My grandmother was in advanced stages of Alzheimer's, and she really hasn't been herself for the past 5-10 yrs. The great news is that she is free now. She was a Christian, and it's encouraging to know that she no longer has a frail body and weak mind. Thank you, Jesus.

Just as we were trying to get everything ready to travel to the funeral, Blake got a stomach bug. As a precaution, I made the trip on my own and Amy stayed with the boys. Subsequently, Blake shared the virus with Amy and Will. I returned late Wednesday night, and I was supposed to have a Greek test on Wed., but my professor let me do it today instead. I was far from ready for the test but gave it my best anyhow. I'm just glad this week is over and as of yet, I'm not sick.

Exciting news for us...we're taking a trip to Colorado! Over spring break, we're going to drive up and spend a week with friends and family. I'm completely psyched about this trip. I'm going to get to ski with one of my best friends(see picture) and reconnect w/ people we haven't seen in 7 months. Woo Hoo!!

One more thing...

2007-02-03T21:54:00.001-06:00

I just read this...after my initial post. Amy and I are now attending Northwood Church, and this interview is of the pastor, Bob Roberts Jr. http://www.christianvisionproject.com/2007/01/we_arent_about_weekends.html

Soul-Winner or Disciple Maker?

2007-02-03T19:43:00.000-06:00

Heard a good message in chapel at seminary the other day (to view, go to http://www.swbts.edu/events/chapel_archive.cfm and click on Feb. 1, 2007 Chapel video - you can skip to the message which is probably about 30-40 minutes into the video). The pastor talked about the difference between soul-winners and disciple-makers. A soul-winner shares the gospel but doesn't carry on with the new believer once they've become a Christ-follower. (I like the idea of using the word Christ-follower rather than Christian b/c 51% of Americans say they are "Christians" but I imagine a much lower percentage are actually Christ-followers...more about this below).

Jesus, in the Great Commission, called us to make disciples, not win converts. A disciple-maker doesn't just encourage a new believer to go to a class to learn more about the faith or invite them to church with them or get them involved in a program, although these are definitely important steps. A disciple-maker comes alongside the new believer and gets integrally involved with their growth in the faith. I've known a lot of good soul-winners who are terrible disciple-makers, but I don't know that I've known any true disciple-makers who aren't also good soul-winners. I'm tooling around these days with new lingo, not really b/c I want to coin a phrase or pick up the latest fad but more because I think words/terms capture thoughts and using new terms helps us focus on the meaning rather than blindly ignore it b/c we've heard it so many times. Instead of soul-winner, I propose faith-sharer. Who knows, I may change to a different one down the road but this one will work for now. A disciple-maker is a faith-sharer who knows it's a hard road to walk helping a new Christ-follower adjust to new life in Christ and begin to grow. A disciple-maker echoes the words of Paul, "We proclaim Him, admonishing every man and teaching every man with all wisdom, so that we may present every man complete in Christ." (Colossians 1:28) To say it another way, a disciple-maker works to present new Christ-followers to Jesus as "ready for service".

Now back to the lingo shift to Christ-follower instead of Christian. My brother and I have talked recently about the debate that's existed called the "Lordship Salvation" debate. Basically, some people say that when you can accept Jesus as Savior (forgiver of sin) and that you grow towards making Him Lord (master). I side with what I would consider the biblical position that you can't have Jesus as Savior if you don't allow Him to be Lord. We do not have an a la carte Jesus. Romans 10:9 makes it clear that we must "confess Him as Lord". I was talking to my dad about all of this, and for those who don't know, he was a 41-year old deacon in a Baptist church when he became a Christ-follower as a sponsor at youth camp. Before that, he would have said he was a Christian and others around him would have probably said the same. He realized that he wasn't a Christian and had never allowed Jesus to come in, declare Him righteous, and take control of His life. This conversation causes us to consider ourselves, doesn't it (see 2 Peter 1:1-11 for why this is a good thing)?

If you've made it this far through my ponderings, I congratulate you. So where does all this lead me on a practical level...church planting, of course. As God continues to work on me about the possibility of planting a church after seminary, I want to make sure that wherever He places me, I'll be a disciple-maker. Disciple-making churches typically aren't mega-churches b/c they do the hard work of making disciples rather than record a bunch of baptisms and never see the vast majority of those who were baptized do anything more than casually attend church...if that. Now, this is not to say that if you have a mega-church, then it is not a disciple-making church. (For more on this, watch the video I've mentioned above) I will say, though, that when you start challenging people to become true Christ-followers, this may sift out some who were just buying into a good idea and didn't want to go to hell. If they have no intentions of allowing Jesus to be Savior and Lord, then they will probably bail. Jesus experienced this as well. As he called people to step up to the plate, many walked away. Look at Luke 9:57-62 (notice they call Him Lord) and John 6:60-68. Such is the straight and narrow, I guess. Few walk it, but those who do, they discover the true treasure, Jesus Christ.

Praise be to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. I hope this will prompt you to check out Scripture and bring you lasting joy in Christ.

13 inches of snow in Texas!

2007-01-17T17:10:00.000-06:00

Do you believe it? Take that, DENVER!!!!! 13 inches of snow (even longer...I mean "deeper" in some areas)! Just kidding, but it did snow today, which in Texas means that everything shuts down, so I didn't have to go to work. School starts tomorrow, so hopefully it will be safer to drive.

Krispy Kreme & Flux Capacitors

2007-01-13T14:12:00.000-06:00

We had a good time together yesterday, and I thought I'd share some photos. As you can see in the first pic, Will got his first opportunity to go to Krispy Kreme Donuts by our house. He loved watching the donut life-cycle (especially the part where the donuts are flipped over to cook the other side). Blake's getting bigger. He's rolling from front-to-back and back-to-front. We have to be careful now because if you're not watching, he'll roll across the room before you know it. He loves to watch and laugh at Will, and Will loves to oblige. This Thursday starts the Spring Semester at Seminary, and it already looks like a lot of reading (maybe more than last semester).

We're getting an ice storm today, which stinks. It's kind of a slap in the face to go on top of the 3 weeks of fresh snow in Denver that I'm jealous of. Even though I know God brought us here in his timing, I wish I could have been there for the incredible sledding and skiing we could have enjoyed. When I kept hearing the news reports about the snow in Denver, all I could think was "Fresh Powder"!

I've read many people's blogs lately, and it seems a lot of them are talking about resolutions. For me, I don't need a resolution, I need a revolution. (Kind of catchy, huh) My life's been in a state of flux lately, and I feel very confused. I want my relationship with God to grow deeper, but honestly, I don't always want to put forth the effort to see it happen. It's like wanting a really good meal and having all the ingredients but being too lazy to get up and make it, so you end up eating grilled cheese and spaghettio's instead. I'm working through this, and a very powerful book (in addition to the Bible) that I've read on the subject has been helpful. It's called "When I Don't Desire God" and it talks about fighting for joy. I highly recommend this book by John Piper. If you've read Piper before, you know that his stuff can be weighty, but to use another analogy, you can't be a body-builder if all you do is workout with fluffy pillows. (I should start collecting these Keithisms...okay, maybe not) Anyhow, I write all this to encourage those of you out there who may be struggling as well. Keep trying. Don't give up.

I've been reading the book of Job. Maybe these verses can tie all this rambling together.

Job's state of flux (Job 29:4): "Oh, for the days when I was in my prime, when God's intimate friendship blessed my house,"

Elihu's encouragement (Job 36:15-16): "But those who suffer he delivers in their suffering; he speaks to them in their affliction. He is wooing you from the jaws of distress to a spacious place free from restriction,"

Job's final words (Job 42:5): "My ears had heard of you but now my eyes have seen you."

Blessed!

2007-01-03T15:24:00.000-06:00

Ain't God incredible?! He has supremely blessed us and our family. A week before Christmas, Keith's 93-year old grandfather passed away. We weren't planning on going down to SouthEast Texas for Christmas but changed our plans due to the circumstances. My grandfather was not a Christian despite numerous attempts to share the Good News with him. We are saddened that he chose to forfeit the grace that could have been his (read Jonah 2:8). It was hard not to correct people when they tried to comfort us with phrases such as "He's in a better place" or "He's not suffering any more" because just the opposite is true. I know they meant well, but the reality is that he showed no signs of embracing Jesus. Now, I will say that I don't know his heart, and he may have trusted in Jesus in the final moments, but evidence points to the contrary.

You might be thinking, "How can he say God is incredible and then talk about someone dying without Jesus?" The reason I can say that God is incredible is that in spite of grieving over the loss of my grandfather, God allowed all of my family to be together for Christmas, which hasn't happened in years. God knew when my grandfather's final moments would be and how much my mom would be needing her family around her during the holidays after a long, exhausting year, so he orchestrated the events to coincide. A guy by the name of David Crowder once said that when His divinity meets our humanity, it's a beautiful collision.

We had a great Christmas, and I want to thank God for making it happen. The picture above is amazing as well. Who would have thought that you could get 16 out of 17 individuals (including kids and a dog) to look at the camera and smile at the same time. My nephew Tex is the only one not looking, but I have to give him credit...he was consistent...he wasn't looking at the camera in any of the attempts to get this picture to turn out right. I guess he's just making his mark. :)

School starts in 2 weeks. Better start reviewing that Greek. For those curious, I pulled off A's for the first semester!

Oh, to be a Kid Again!

2006-12-13T15:50:00.000-06:00

Amy celebrated her 30th birthday this past Sunday. I decided to theme her birthday, so it was "Oh, to be a kid again". I bought some candy from the mall candy store that was representative of our childhood...remember pop rocks, ring pops, wax lips, fun dip, gummy bears, and pixi stixs? She wanted a chocolate chip cookie instead of a cake for her birthday, so I got her a Strawberry Shortcake cookie made at Wal-Mart (which is nearly half the price of Great American Cookie Company). I also gave her a fake newspaper with events from the year she was born. We were going to go to Chuck E. Cheese, but she shot that one down. I also gave her nice things. She got some jewelry, and Will and Blake gave her a gift certificate for an hour massage at massage envy. Amy's parents came up for the weekend, so we hung out with them and put up our Christmas tree. We took Amy to lunch at Mimi's Cafe, which was awesome, as usual.

In other news, I finished my last final today. I'm out of school for a month, so that should be relaxing. I'd like to do some leisure reading during the break, but I'm not sure how much I'll get done. I took Amy to see Handel's Messiah last night, and it was pretty good. Blake is rolling over, and Will continues to do well at potty training.

State Fair, Research Papers, and Fried Oreos

2006-11-17T16:36:00.000-06:00

Well, it's been quite some time since our last conversation. Sorry. In that time, we went to the Texas State Fair. We ate fried oreos and fried snickers, and the oreos won out. I even got the recipe online to make them at home, and they're awesome. I missed out on the fried cheescake, but I think it will just give me a reason to go again next year. Overall, we had a good time.

At school, I've had mid-terms and 2 research papers (thus the absence of blogs). Amy and the boys have been wonderful as I've had to be studying a lot. I finished my last research paper this week, and now I'm in the home stretch towards finals. Praise God for Thanksgiving break!!!

If you want to see an amazing story of hope, you need to go to www.swbts.edu/events/chapel_schedule.cfm and go to Wednesday, Nov. 15 to view the chapel video. You can watch the music and announcements if you'd like, but the main thing is the pastor who spoke. Just move the video to about 25 minutes into the chapel service. It will change your life.

Lastly, I hope you like this pick of Will. It makes daddy proud that he loves to wear my Dolphins hat. He's pretty good at form tackling, so we're thinking a scholarship is in order...but then again, basketball season is upon us also.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Half way there

2006-10-20T19:27:00.000-05:00

The semester is half over. I had 3 mid-terms this week, and I'm glad they're over. Now it's time to get to work on some research papers.

By the way, this is not Will, but I thought it was a funny picture. We're headed to the Texas State Fair tomorrow!!! Woo Hoo! There's nothing like spending too much money on food and walking around looking at cheap crafts while taking in the wonderful stench of livestock. But, hey, it only comes around once a year! My oldest brother and his family are coming up, so it will be great...not to mention the perfect mid-70-degree weather we'll be enjoying. One other highlight of the fair is that you can get practically anything fried...from oreos to snickers to ice cream to Coke! I'll try to get a few bites and let you know which ones are worth trying. Of the ones I've heard about, fried cheesecake sounds the most tempting.

Life in Cowtown is good. The weather is cooling down. Will continues to master the art of using the potty and continues to be an information sponge. New favorites for him include Buzz Lightyear and Woody. He likes to play cowboy...of which he refers to as Giddy'up, and he likes running through the house yelling "Buzz Lightyear to the Rescue!" Blake celebrated his 3-month birthday yesterday. He's smiling and starting to giggle these days. God has truly blessed us by giving us a child who sleeps really well at night. Thank you, Lord, I know it may not be much on the scale of eternity, but it lets me know that you care about the little details of my life.

God has also blessed us with good friendships. There's a guy named Barry who is in every single one of my classes, and we've become pretty good friends. I call it a divine coincidence. We're able to talk about school, life, family, and ministry. His wife, Karen, and Amy have become friends as well, and they have a little girl, Abigail, who Will loves to play with. Thank you, Lord, for giving us meaningful friendships on this journey.

That's all for now. Maybe I'll post some picks of the fair in my next blog.

Family Pics

2006-10-07T18:19:00.000-05:00

I haven't posted many family pics in a while, so here you go!

Out of the Cave

2006-10-07T00:04:00.000-05:00

I have been buried in a cave here recently, and that cave's name is seminary. I'm so glad for this past week to be over. The short of it...3 papers and a major Greek test. I tell people I've not bit off more than I can chew, but I am having a difficult time swallowing it. The worst part of being so busy w/ work and school--not having time to slow down and be with God. The 2nd worst part is not having time to slow down and be with my family. Amy has been more than wonderful lately. She realizes it's a load and is doing more than most people would in order to help me know it's okay. I'm really struggling in the "quiet time" area with God. I go to chapel 3 days a week, we talk about scripture in class, and I go to church on Sundays. Most people would say, "You've got a lot of God time." Well, I enjoy all of this time, but I also long for simple, quiet moments alone with God to interact with him through his word and prayer. Time seems scarce these days, and I'm getting less sleep than I did any other time in my life, so I'm trying to figure out a way to make time for God. I've tried in the morning, and that's been rather unsuccessful. At night, I'm nodding off. During the day, I go straight from school to work. I'm at a loss. If you're out there reading this, please say a quick prayer for me. Thanks.

On another note, in the midst of my cave experience this week, God has hightened my interest in Church Planting again. It was Church Planters Week at Seminary, and I'm keeping my heart open to what God has in store for us. Some people (like our moms) my get petrified after reading these statements assuming that I'm saying that I am absolutely going into church planting. Rest assured moms, God hasn't said to go yet, but I do warn you that He's done it before and I'll say yes again if He does it again.

Washington DC

2006-09-16T20:31:00.000-05:00

Well, I just got back from a 4 day trip for work in Washington, DC. It was a lot of fun, but I didn't get to do as much sight seeing as I'd hoped. I did learn how to use the metro subway system, which is huge for someone who's never had to use a lot of mass transit. The one main place I went in my "free" time was to the WWII Memorial. It's between the Lincoln & Washington Memorials. My grandfather fought in WWII, and as I was there, I just started thanking God for sparing his life during the war so that I could be here today. I saw people there who were mourning and weeping, but for me, it was rather joyful. God, in his sovereign mercy, allowed my grandfather to live through war, which has at it's center people trying to kill other people.

Also on my trip, through the sessions I attended at Sylvan's Annual Conference, God has begun working on me personally. I've always known many of these things, but I'm seeing more of God's changing power in my life through His grace in them. I have a tendancy to be focused on my ideas of what should and shouldn't be done in life, work, circumstances, etc. This tendency helps me be a quick decision maker and a staunch defender of what I see as right and wrong...which are good things. The flip-side of this personality is one of self-righteousness, arrogance, rigidness, and emotional detachment. This permeates the way I manage people at work, the way I treat family and friends, and how I've "ministered" to others. God's bringing back the balance of mercy, compassion, love and admitting that my way isn't always right. Many of you who know me are probably saying, "Duh!", and so am I. I'm not surprised by these personality traits. We all have tendencies which lead to both positive and negative behaviors. We need to daily submit our weaknesses to our great and glorious God, who through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit made possible by the justification through Jesus Christ, transforms our lives and makes us more like Jesus. God describes himself as a gracious and loving God, slow to anger and abounding in love. My heart is to reflect that in my life as well. Please pray for me.

Biblical Theology

2006-09-04T21:44:00.000-05:00

Now it's time for Theological thoughts with Keith...the part of the blog where Keith comes out and shares a theological thought (this opening line is much funnier if you've ever seen Veggie Tales). I'm starting to see through my classes that the American church is completely dumbed down spiritually and doesn't even know it. The average church attender sees theology as something pastors and academics debate about but having little relevance to their day-to-day lives. If you're one of these people, Satan has duped you just like the rest of us. As I've been sitting in my classes, I'm realizing more and more..."I wish every Christian knew these things." It's not even like American Christians need to attend seminary to get the things I'm getting. My classes are giving information that's publicly available to anyone who wants to look for it. Things like Church History and Introduction to the Old Testament are all over the web (just be careful where you get your information) and yet 90% of Christians don't even feel like it would be beneficial.

My one quick theological encouragement is something that I've known but don't think about regularly. The bible is one book and should be read as such. You may be thinking, "Duh!" but do you view it this way? When you're reading Philippians, are you thinking about it's implications in light of the Old Testament and it's place in God's progressive revelation of Himself? The bible is not a collection of books. It is a book about God's salvation plan in His son Jesus Christ. Every book points to Jesus. Read the first couple chapters of Genesis and you'll see the foreshadowing of Jesus. Read Malachi and see it pointing to Jesus. Read Leviticus, and in the midst of the laws, see Jesus fulfilling and gaining authority over them. The Old Testament is about Jesus. The New Testament is about Jesus. Are you about Jesus?

Tune in next time to hear Keith say..."Is there anyone out there actually reading my ponderings?"

Overwhelmed, Yet Excited

2006-08-27T21:31:00.000-05:00

The title of this blog is the best way to describe my first two days of seminary. The amount of work required (primarily reading) is becoming more of a reality. Yes, I knew it would be hard work and a lot of reading, but now I have to actually do it. Although it's intimidating, I am very excited about what God is going to reveal to me in the process. I don't want to just complete assignments to get a grade to get a degree. I want these assignments to be corridors that open my eyes to see God more fully in the face of Jesus Christ. I'm taking Church History, Biblical Hermeneutics (Interpreting Scripture), Elementary Greek, and Old Testament 1 (Genesis-Esther). This gives me a large sampling of areas where I can be open to God's revelation of Himself. I ask for your continuous prayers on my behalf that I may manage my time well between school, work, family, and personal devotions. And for those who just want to see pictures...here's some of our family. :)

Desensitized

2006-08-12T14:55:00.000-05:00

British terrorist plots. Chinese typhoons. Middle East wars. Indonesian earthquakes. Man-made or geological, destruction and evil are everywhere. It's easy these days to be unfazed by things outside our personal sphere. When I surf the net, I'm much more likely to just scan the news headlines and only read the ones that involve sports. I haven't taken the time to really read the stories about the typhoon or earthquake. When I'm watching TV and something comes on about the fierce battles in the middle east, I usually turn the channel. I hardly watch the news, except to watch the weather forecast, because I see stories about pregnant pharmacy cashiers trying to fight off burglars or daycare workers arrested for forgetting a child in a van during triple-digit temperatures and then dropping his lifeless body off at a local park to make it look like he died from heat exhaustion. These stories shake up my "perfect world". I like to be happy, and if being oblivious to pain and evil is the way I have to get there, I guess that's what I do. I even get desensitized reading the Bible. I've heard the stories many times, but there was definitely some pain going on. Jesus actually promised his followers suffering if they truly followed him. I've subscribed to a free publication called Voice of the Martyrs that talks about Christians being persecuted around our globe. I pray that God would remove my calloused heart and replace it with one that feels the pain and joins Him in His mission to help them see that He is all they need...Even when the typhoon hits...Even when the planes blow up...Even when the building shakes...Even when a loved one dies...Even when the pressures of life feel like they're going to crush you...Even when you feel "happy".

2 Corinthians 1:5 "For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows."

facedown

2006-07-29T22:12:00.000-05:00

I got a new CD recently by Matt Redman entitled "Facedown". He also has written a book by the same name, and I read the introduction to it. The premise of the book is grounded in three biblical examples—Ezekiel 1, Daniel 10 and Revelation 7—which all reveal that the worship going on before the heavenly throne is facedown. I've always been a believer that one's physical expression in worship (i.e. standing, hands raised, kneeling, laying face down, closing eyes, clapping hands, dancing, etc) should mirror the posture of one's heart. I try to incorporate this personally, despite the fact that I was brought up in a tradition where physical expression in corporate worship was rare, if not forbidden. Matt Redman makes a good point that most worship services today tend to be good about celebration (clapping, dancing, etc.) but the modern church has a tendency to avoid calling people to true, face-down awe and wonder. When's the last time you saw a congregation bowed low before the Lord crying for Him to pour out his Spirit on the church and the community? We're looking for a church home right now, and this is something I'm looking for...a church who is willing to strip off the facade and get real before God.

On another note, please be in prayer for me, when you have time. I'm battling some gun-shyness with my faith. For some reason, I'm hesitant to talk about my faith with others. I'm not sure if it's from my experience in a spiritually cold place like Denver or if it's a symptom of a greater spiritual ailment. I appreciate you lifting me up when you're facedown before your Friend and King.

Blake Allen Collier

2006-07-19T21:11:00.000-05:00

"Nursing infants gurgle choruses about you;

toddlers shout the songs that drown out enemy talk,

and silence atheist babble."

Psalm 8:2 (MSG)

Well, our newest addition -- Blake Allen Collier -- arrived today. Amy went in for a regular doctor's visit. She was scheduled for a C-section this Friday, but she was starting to leak some amniotic (not sure if I spelled this right) fluid, so they decided to do it today! This was music to Amy's ears. Blake weighed 8 lbs. 15 oz. and is 19 inches long. Here's a couple of pics.

Happy Birthday

2006-07-15T19:39:00.000-05:00

No, I didn't get this stretch limo in the form of the General Lee for my birthday, although that would be cool. I'm not sure it would actually fit in any of the parking spaces in our apartment, nor would it go over too well with some people...especially if the horn plays "Dixie". This pic is another gift from my brother Jay.

Well, We had a false alarm on the baby front the other night. Amy was having contractions several minutes apart, so we went to the hospital. The contractions subsided, so they sent us home. Earlier this week, we did get our C-section due date moved up, so unless Amy goes into labor, we're set to bring Blake into the world on Friday, July 21...which coincidentally falls exactly between my birthday and Will's birthday (both 6 days apart). I promise to post pictures when it happens.

Today is my birthday, and I have to say I think I might actually be getting more mature. According to Amy, this is the first birthday that I haven't had about 10 things that I wanted as a present. I feel like God's changing my priorities and showing me that I don't really need all those things that our culture says I need. He's showing me that He himself should be what I value more than anything on this planet, including some very good things such as health, family, and friendships. That's not to say I don't value these things, but I'm being made more and more aware of my self-centeredness and how I make gods out of God's gifts and worship them instead of the Giver. I always wondered why my dad never really seemed to want things for his birthday or Christmas or Father's Day. I guess he figured out the same thing...the only thing that offers us true, everlasting joy is Jesus, so other "gifts" just pale in comparison. I do admit, that I love getting gifts, and I hope to receive more in the future, but I have a new outlook on them. First of all, they're not expected, and secondly, I don't see them as something I wouldn't be happy without.

Awesome!

2006-07-10T21:39:00.000-05:00

A shout-out to my brother Jay up in Michigan for giving me this incredible blog-warming gift!

29 years

2006-07-09T17:07:00.000-05:00

This is my first ever blog entry. Many questions swirl in my mind such as "Am I wasting my time doing this?" and "Will anyone care about what I'm writing?" I guess we'll just see...if you read this, please add a comment to the blog so I know I'm not rambling for nothing.

Well, I've come a long way over the past 29 years. My 29th birthday is coming up in a week, and I don't know if it's the birthday or our recent move back to Texas from Colorado that has me reminiscing these days. I've thought about my high school and college years and about the people I've crossed paths with. Some of those friends have recrossed my path since coming back to Texas, and it has been great to reconnect with them. My analytical brain takes me off on weird tangents sometimes, and as I was running back through memories, I thought, "I wonder if anyone I'm remembering ever thinks of me anymore." Kind of a weird thought, but a more veiled form of "Have I made a true, positive impact on people with the nearly 3 decades I've been given with so far?" Some of the people I recollected were people I had a chance to share my faith with who "prayed the prayer" but I didn't see a lot of fruit after that. I wonder if they really became a Christian or just went through the motions. Is there a way for us ever to know if they truly have a relationship with Christ or did they think that saying the prayer was like getting a golden ticket to heaven and they didn't have to do anything else? My prayer for them has been that the Holy Spirit would woo them back to God and either fan the embers of their faith back into flame or light their faith for the very first time through whatever means He sees best.

Hope you're still with me. That got pretty deep, pretty fast. Life has changed a lot in the past month and only looks to change more in the next month or so. Amy will give birth to our 2nd child (Blake Allen Collier) sometime this month, and I will start seminary in August. Our firstborn, Will, turns 2 this month as well. We're trying to get settled into our new home and find a church. I'm sure there will be a lot to blog about, so I'll try to make some time to keep people up to date.