Bold enough to wear this shirt?

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

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???

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?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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:

1. 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."
2. The text: "Expository preaching is teaching people to read Scripture and motivating them to live it" (Paige Patterson).
3. The audience: "The preacher learns to see in the dark, taking the light to those who cannot see."
4. 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?

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

Three quick updates about life here with the Cowtown Colliers:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.