foster-whiddons everywhere!

Intentional Friendship

2009-07-11T22:47:00.004-04:00

My life is becoming more and more focused as I learn to walk in God's purposes for me. I believe with increasing confidence that the major purpose for my life is to be a disciple of Christ and help others learn to be disciples, also... learning to love God, hear his voice and obey him. In our postmodern, post-Christian, highly relational culture, I am certain that we will fail to reproduce as disciples unless we learn to have authentic, intentional friendships. That's what true Christian community is about - friends learning to together to live like Jesus.

On that note, here are some principles that are developing in me as I learn to lead my friends to follow Christ more closely:

1) Maximize this season. We all know that friendships wax and wane with the seasons of life. Several friendships remain precious throughout the years, few are maintained and many are lost altogether. Be friends with people for the sake of being friends, not for the sake of spiritual conquest. However, develop the discipline of submitting your friendships to the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Ask God, "What friend have you given me for this season with whom I'm supposed to take a disciple's journey?" There should be urgency in this prayer because God opens doors for influence that will eventually close. Make the most of the season you have because it will not last forever... and you do not want to find yourself on the other side of it holding regrets.

2) Be an authentic friend. This goes back to my previous statement, "Be friends with people for the sake of being friends, not for the sake of spiritual conquest." No one wants to feel like a spiritual project. There is a certain level of boldness, accountability and power that come from authentic friendship... you earn the right to be heard and you work hard to develop a safe space within which you can deal with tough issues. Ask yourself this question: "If this person refused to let me lead him in discipleship, would I still want a friendship with him?" If the answer is negative, don't pursue discipleship.

3) Establish an end date. We've all had friendships that explode for weeks or months but somehow fade. Upon discovery of this new kinship, you do lunch several times a week, go on double dates with your spouses, call one another just to catch up, etc. This kind of intimacy is not perpetual and we shouldn't expect it to be so. It is a sad fact of friendships, however, that when this season of close comradeship passes, we sometimes feel as if we've suffered a romantic break-up! The same will be true of the discipling season in your friendship. If you're going to meet together once a week for Bible study, set an end date... three months out, six months, maybe a year. Acknowledge that it's not realistic in life for a weekly meeting to last perpetually. Say it up front so that when the end comes, it doesn't feel like rejection. Also, because seasons and relationships change, there is an urgent need to meet consistently and make the most of each meeting. Say so up front. For me, it usually sounds something like, "I really want to give myself to our disciple's journey but I only have so much time. Can we make it a priority to meet together once a week at such & such day and time for six months and miss very, very little? We don't have much time so we need to make the most of it..."

4) Choose a few and invest well. Having a short end date allows you to prioritize the way you invest in your friends. For instance, you may hear God tell you to walk closely with Jon for a season. Because you know it will only be for six months and you have invited him to take the disciple's journey for that season, you can feel good about making him a priority in that time frame. In fact, you may only want to walk with him and one or two other guys during that season because you know you cannot invest well in more than two or three men. Set your goals - mine are to help my friends become spiritually active, personally responsible and intentionally multiplying disciples who hear God's voice and obey. Because these are the goals that I believe God has given me, I choose to work with only a few at a time so I can see this happen. I want to pray for them consistently, meet often and really share life for a little while. I would rather give myself away to a few for a season and see them develop well than meet with many, barely get them on the right track and drag the process out longer than it should take.

I am definitely still in process as a disciple and may look back years from now and disagree with some of these principles. However, at this point I feel strongly about them. I hope they help you as you seek to follow Christ and live in such a way that others can follow you.

We Need More Children!

2009-07-01T07:30:00.002-04:00

Before you report me to the government and reserve a room for me at the mental hospital, let me clarify... Vanessa and I most DEFINITELY do not need more biological children! I'm talking about children in a spiritual sense. I read a passage from Matthew this morning, and 11:25-27 caught my attention. These verses tend to be overshadowed by the following two, which begin, "Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden..." You can probably finish that passage by memory (or at least get close).

In v25-27, Jesus says, "I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by the Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."

In the preceding paragraphs, Jesus chides the religious establishment for being so pompous and full of themselves that they totally missed their own Messiah. I imagine he then steps back, looks in the faces of his friends (disciples) and, with all their hard-knock stories in mind, praises his Father for the divine genius, full of irony and grace, that chose to reveal the Kingdom of Heaven to the world's rejected. This reminds me of another passage I read this morning from Isaiah 55, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." (v8f)

Here's the punchline... we are surrounded by people who think they know God but are not experiencing any sort of real, life-changing relationship with him. If we took a poll on a typical Sunday morning and asked the question, "When was the last time you heard God speak to you?", what do you think the response would be? God reveals himself on a daily basis to those who are willing to look and listen for him. Another word from Isaiah 55 - "Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near."

I want to be a child to which God reveals himself. I pray that God would raise up more men and women who are humble, teachable and childlike so he can show himself to the world through them. Who are the unlikely, rejected or timid people around us that God has chosen to give divine boldness as he reveals himself to them... all because they "naively" believe that he will do so?

May God also raise up spiritual parents who will take personal responsibility for nurturing the faith of these children, helping them become spiritually active, personally responsible and intentionally multiplying disciples of Christ.

A Psalm and a Prayer for President-Elect Obama

2008-11-12T16:21:00.000-05:00

Psalm 12

1Save, O LORD, for the godly one is gone;
for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.
2Everyone utters lies to his neighbor;
with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
3May the LORD cut off all flattering lips,
the tongue that makes great boasts,
4those who say, "With our tongue we will prevail,
our lips are with us; who is master over us?"

5"Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan,
I will now arise," says the LORD;
"I will place him in the safety for which he longs."
6 The words of the LORD are pure words,
like silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
purified seven times.

7You, O LORD, will keep them;
you will guard us from this generation forever.
8On every side the wicked prowl,
as vileness is exalted among the children of man.

Let me make clear what I do and don't mean by posting this Psalm. I am not saying that President Bush is "the godly one" in v1. Bush is a professing Christian but so is Obama. I had great hopes in 2000 about the administration of a bold "born-again" Christian but my disappointment began just after 9/11 when he shifted the focus on the War on Terror from bin Laden to Hussein. What I do see in this Psalm that is very pertinent is the cry of a people who are surrounded by leaders who are deceitful and do not hold to their word. This is infectious on both sides of the aisle. I also see the need for our leaders to be concerned with the poor and needy. May Obama seek the LORD and find true integrity with his words. I personally pray that he can't do everything he has promised in his campaign; regardless, may the LORD develop in him the discipline to let his "yes" be "yes" and his "no" be "no" in the midst of a wishy-washy Washington culture. May Obama lead the charge to find truly long-term successful ways to help enable to the poor and needy to find firm footing in this life. May the LORD give him wisdom to be faithful to the Christian call to the less fortunate in a way that gives help that will last while also being financially responsible on a federal level. May God mold and form Obama to be a man of integrity and vision who is able to unite a country and uphold morality. God, I am not asking for a leader who will legislate Christianity... I am asking for one who will do what is right.

An Open Ear

2008-11-10T08:52:00.003-05:00

Psalm 40:6-8

I have been thinking a lot recently about the correlation between hearing God and obeying him. In John 10:3-5, Jesus says that those who belong to him are able to hear his voice and follow him. In Greek, the word for "I hear" is akouw and the word for "I obey" is hupakouw; I plan on doing a study on these two words, but without any research it's apparent from the surface that to obey has a dependency on or at least a relation to being able to hear. When my daughter doesn't obey something I told her to do, it's not unusual for her to say, "I didn't hear you."

In Psalm 40, the psalmist emphasizes that God ultimately doesn't seek religious sacrifices from his followers but obedience. God has given the writer "an open ear," meaning that he is able to hear God's commandments, and in v8 he describes the condition of his heart before God by saying, "I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart."

The disciple's life isn't easy, but it doesn't have to be complicated. That's why I describe it as "the simple life." It's not easy to follow God in obedience - there are times that it may cost us greatly. However, the tools that are necessary to follow Christ in obedience and power are not complicated. One of the most important things a disciple needs is an open ear, the ability to hear God's voice - in his Word, through prayer, in daily circumstances, etc - and then obey. The open ear is part of the "intimacy" side of the discipleship coin (one side is intimacy, the other is influence). When a disciple is unable to hear God's voice, his attempts at obedience revolve around what other people have told him/her that God desires and it all degenerates into lifeless religion. However, as the disciples cultivates the ability to listen to God and obey him, his journey with Christ comes alive and immediately supersedes religious obligations.

Do you have an open ear to hear God? Why are you doing the "Christian" things you do? Has God told you to do them? Is there something God has directed you to do - even a long time ago - that has been left undone? Obey him. How do you cultivate an open ear? It's not easy, but it's not complicated! For beginners, understand the truth (with boldness!) that if you have said "Yes!" to Christ, his Spirit lives in you and, by his direction, you CAN hear his voice. Here's the real question: are you listening? Like my daughter, we often have selective hearing because we're afraid that Christ may ask us to do something we don't want to do. The more we try to ignore the Spirit's voice, the more closed our ear becomes. The more we attempt to hear God, the more open it will be. Amazingly simple!

Practical Ways Intimacy can Lead to Influence

2008-06-22T00:09:00.002-04:00

These are the practical steps that I outlined in my message on how our intimacy with God can begin to intersect our daily lives and lead to influence. This is the Great Commandment leading to the Great Commission!

1) Cell Phone Intercession. Use the contact list in your cell phone as a digital prayer list. When you're in line at Wal-Mart or waiting for your ticket after lunch, find someone in your address book to pray for! If you're technically minded, you can create a quick text that simply says, "I prayed for you today" (or "I prayed 4 U 2day" :) and send it to whomever you prayed for!

2) Say the Blessing! No, not "God is great, God is good..." When you are at a family or social gathering and it's time for someone to pray over the food, volunteer to do the honors and use the time to pray a blessing over those who are present. If you're at lunch with a friend, ask him/her what you can pray for on his/her behalf and then spend some time in prayer for them during the blessing. You can even do it if you're eating alone - think of someone who could use a prayer and lift him/her up as you ask God to bless the food. Most of us pray every time we eat... let's make the "blessing" a real blessing for someone else!

3) Leverage Existing Influence. You probably already have someone in your life over whom you hold some amount of influence already. Use that influence to pray for them. Not sure what I mean? For instance, I teach nine music students. As their teacher, I have a weekly time where I can pray for them at the beginning of the lesson. I use my influence as teacher as an opportunity to intercede for them. Maybe you're an employer, a supervisor, a parent, a carpool driver, or a friend. God wants to use your existing influence to impact others for the Kingdom.

4) nineFifteen Prayer & other Prayer Meetings at the Prayer Chapel. If you attend Heritage Church, I encourage you to attend some of the prayer meetings that are already happening all around us. You can meet with me and about 6-10 other folks every Sunday morning at 9:15AM in the Cry Room in the corner of the sanctuary for our nineFifteen Prayer. We pray for the speaker for that Sunday and then go and pray over every chair in the sanctuary. We're always done in time for LifeTouch at 9:30AM. If you can't make it on Sunday mornings, call the front office of the church (891-321) and ask Mrs. Patti to tell you what prayer meetings are scheduled in the Prayer Chapel (there are at least two every week). These are great opportunities to get away in a great atmosphere for prayer and reflection and simply talk with God. If you would rather pray privately, Mrs. Patti can schedule a time for you to pray alone or with a few friends. She'll give you all the instructions you need to use the Prayer Chapel.

BFIT - Resources for Intimacy

2008-06-21T23:45:00.007-04:00

On June 22nd I preached the fourth sermon of our BFIT series. Intimacy was my topic and below I have posted several resources that I mentioned from stage.

I first read Richard Foster's book "Celebration of Discipline" as a ministry student at Emmanuel College. I remember reading it while working at the cash register at our local Chinese restaurant... and it significantly impacted me! (I'm glad its effects outlasted those of the food!) This book has become a Christian classic and I highly recommend putting it in your library.

I picked up Bob Sorge's book "Secrets of the Secret Place" at a prayer conference in Tallahassee several years ago and have picked it up again and again for use in my devotional time with the LORD. This book is written in very short chapters that fall into larger sections, which make it easy to read, put down and come back to again. The short chapters also make this book a great companion to your devotional Bible reading. Remember - Bob Sorge is coming to Heritage in September and you can pick up this book and others by him when he is with us. If you wait until he comes, more of the proceeds will most likely benefit him directly.

In the first draft of my message I included quotes from A.W. Tozer's book "Knowledge of the Holy," but upon further editing chose to take them out due to time and focus. However, I highly recommend this book - it's one of the most impacting books I've ever read. Don't let it's short length fool you; this little gem is CHOCKED FULL of insight into the person of God. It can be read a chapter a day as a supplement to devotional Bible reading, but I promise you that each chapter will have to be reread in order to even begin to soak in its truth. I also recommend Tozer's "Pursuit of God."

One final book I would like to suggest (but did not mention in my message) is "Ordering Your Private World" by Gordon McDonald. This author writes with conviction about the need to put the part of our lives that others cannot see in order. This book is a little longer than the Tozer or Sorge books, but it's not difficult to read.

You can order any of these books by visiting http://www.amazon.com or other online book retailers.

Just for fun, I have embedded the YouTube video of Tim Hawkins' bit on praying for junk food. You can go to YouTube and search under his name for several other clips of his material from his DVD "Full Range of Motion."

The Beautiful Sound of a Tuned-Up Church

2008-04-01T08:09:00.004-04:00

I recently acquired a 20-year old pickup truck and a friend of mine helped me do a pretty thorough tune-up on it. As I tried to explain the process to my wife, I realized that we basically addressed three systems that make the engine work: fuel, fire and air. We replaced the fuel injectors so the right amount of fuel would be steadily supplied to the piston chambers. We replaced the distributor button & cap, the spark plug wires and the spark plugs so that fire could get to the piston chambers successfully. Finally, we replaced the air filter so that the combustion from the meeting of the fuel and fire has its full effect - fire without air is just a weak flash in the pan! Once all these elements were meeting in the right place, the engine began to run beautifully! The sound of a well-tuned motor is strangely satisfying, especially after doing so much work to make it run the way it is designed.

As I've thought about this process I see a spiritual application (it's amazing how God will speak through vehicles!) We have begun to see a move of God at our church on Sunday mornings over the past few weeks - people are praying, the Spirit is moving and people are aligning their lives with God (between 15-30 people have been meeting the pastor after the service every week in response to his invitation to salvation or prayer!) I see the church reflected in my pickup's motor. The community within the church is the piston chamber - when the right elements converge in this place, a reaction should happen that causes the kingdom of God to move. A life that realizes its need for God is the fuel that causes divine momentum. The Word of God and worship of him is the fire that causes an experience with the Lord and sets a life ablaze. The Holy Spirit is the air that is necessary for the spark to have its full force - without Him the reaction is just a "warm fuzzy" feeling that doesn't translate into changed lives. These are the elements that make the kingdom of God move!

As Christians and members of the body, we must make it our mission to bring these three elements together. Too often we focus on one (usually the fire) but neglect our responsibility to proactively seek out lives in need of Christ (fuel) or the movement of the Holy Spirit (air). When this happens, the church sputters and skips and lurches like a motor in desperate need of a tune-up. However, when all of these elements regularly meet, we listen to the roar of the Church's motor as it becomes beautifully mobile, advancing the kingdom of our God and seeing lives changed. It is a wonderful sound!

Jesus, help me do my part to bring fuel, fire and air together in all that I do as a Christian, father, husband and minister. Mobilize your church to make a difference!

Obedience & My Version of God's Will

2008-03-31T07:53:00.004-04:00

I'm reading Judges 1-2 this morning. The Israelites have lost both Moses and Joshua and are about to embark upon a season of revolving leadership that eventually culminates in their demand for a king, rejecting pure theocracy for a more culturally acceptable system of government.

In these first two chapters, I am reminded of the importance of obedience. In their conquest of the land of Canaan, several of the tribes failed to drive out the inhabitants of the land and cleanse their new dwelling of false gods and evil influence. Yahweh intended for them to take complete habitation of the land, establishing his kingdom not just as the predominant religion, but as the only one.

The disobedience of the tribes reminds me of my own life. I'm not an advocate of "Christian culture" to become the only valid culture in the US; I don't know that an essentially state-sponsored Christian religion is the best method for the kingdom of God to impact the world. This method has failed miserably time and time again in other countries over the centuries. However, I am more concerned about the advancement of the kingdom of God in my own life and in my sphere of influence. Am I being obedient to the commands that God has whispered to my heart in times of clarity? Or do I, like the Israelites, fall to compromise when I am in the midst of following Christ? When faced with decisions (should I kill this "king" or simply subdue him?) and my spiritual horizon is overcast, will I do what I heard God command? Or will I settle for my version of God's will?

My prayer today is that the Holy Spirit would 1) help me remember what God has commanded me to do, 2) reveal to me the "kings" and "inhabitants" that are already established in my life and 3) give me the strength to be completely obedient, refusing to resort to my version of God's will.

Judges 1-2

Goodwill Goldmine #1

2008-03-23T22:33:00.004-04:00

Vanessa and I made a little trip out of state this weekend. Now that she has started eBaying children's books, it's a prerequisite when we go out of town that we stop at a Goodwill. If I have ever been glad to go to a thrift store, it was this time! This Goodwill had THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS of used CDs. As I shuffled through their shelves of unorganized discs, I found about thirty albums that are on my "To Buy" list... and there was one set of shelves I didn't even touch! Unfortunately, my conscience would only allow me to buy eight (and one of them turned out to be a DVD). I will be back as soon as I am able. In the meantime, here is my first "Goodwill Goldmine" mix.

1. Bullet the Blue Sky - U2
2. Dry the Rain - The Beta Band
3. Rattled by the Rush - Pavement
4. What's the Frequency, Kenneth? - R.E.M.
5. Even Flow - Pearl Jam
6. Squares - The Beta Band
7. Ballad in Plain Red - Derek Webb
8. Drive - R.E.M.
9. Grounded - Pavement
10. Jeremy - Pearl Jam
11. I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - U2
12. Everybody Hurts - R.E.M.
13. I Repent - Derek Webb
14. Man on the Moon - R.E.M.

By the way - I am not revealing the location of my very special budget CD source! Sorry!

(I obviously do not listen to only Christian music. I am a mild audiophile and love music of all sorts, especially artists whose work have provided a soundtrack for my generation, my life personally and especially my faith. The vast majority of the music I listen to is 100% clean, but every so often a song will have a distasteful word in it. I have wrestled with the place of "secular" music in my life for years and have come to believe that whether or not a Christian should listen to it is a personal decision that has to be made with a person's maturity and ease of influence in mind. There was a time in the development of my faith when I needed to set non-Christian music and its influence aside. However, I'm not a kid anymore and my faith is founded. When I listen to music made by non-Christian artists, I try to understand their view of a world that is not Christ-centered; I believe it helps me keep from becoming blind to the state of the world around me. I love good music and I enjoy posting my playlists, but they are compiled with my tastes and personal standards in mind, not those of younger Christians.)

Me Last!

2008-03-15T23:14:00.003-04:00

My almost three-year-old daughter has a habit that, even at her young age, strikes a wrong chord in me. It surfaced again today as we walked up the steps to my mom's house; in the long line of Foster-Whiddons, I was last and Zoe was just in front of me. As we made our way onto the porch, my little girl picked up her pace and told me repeatedly and emphatically, "Me first! Me first! Me first!" In classic parental reverse-psychology, I responded, "Fine! I want to be last! You can't be last! That's my spot!"

My own statement reminded me of a message I heard recently at the Creative Church Conference (C3) at Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas. Brian Houston, the pastor of Hillsong Church in Australia, delivered a sermon in which he described what it was like to be the pastor of Darlene Zschech, one of the most recognized worship leaders in the world. He illustrated his point by proclaiming that when they go on trips together, people want a picture with Darlene and he is the guy who ends up holding the camera! Pastor Houston's challenge to a building full of ambitious leaders stuck with me - practice being last.

Being last does not come easily to mankind; it definitely is not at the top of my list of personal goals. However, I want to be like Christ, and Philippians 2:5-8 describes how my attitude should look in order to reflect his:

Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Oh Jesus, help me learn to be glad to be last. Help me lay down my pride and place others above myself. Let "Me last!" be the cry of my heart!

Feeling Unhealthy?

2008-03-13T08:29:00.006-04:00

Do you ever feel unhealthy? When you've eaten too much junk food, when you're on your third soda and it's only 11:30AM, when you haven't raised your heart rate past a mild trot in weeks? Unhealthy is not a good feeling - it hints of current shame and impending doom.

I often feel spiritually unhealthy. My heart burns for the devotional life, for spiritual disciplines, for discipleship. How can you be spiritually unhealthy when you love such things? Several reasons:

1) A loss of focus on the Teacher. All the things that make spiritual growth happen can become ends in themselves. The disciple has to remember that his journey is about one person - Jesus. If he works hard, learns a lot and grows immensely but is no closer to Jesus, the journey is in vain. Why am I doing what I'm doing? Why am I a Christian to begin with? I need to get close to Jesus, apart from my official position in ministry.

2) A lack of obedience. As the disciple learns to follow Jesus, the Teacher will ask him to do things that are uncomfortable. He will be stretched beyond the aspects of discipleship toward which he is naturally bent. If he naturally leans toward evangelism, the Lord may ask him to learn to study. If he leans toward private disciplines, the Lord may ask him to evangelize. God will lead toward specific conversations, influences, relationships, etc. It is too easy for the follower to dismiss and forget about the thing the Spirit has shown him to do and pursue other holy discipleship endeavors, sedating his conscience with easier good works. What has God directed me to do that I have left incomplete? When the LORD left his final instructions with his friends, he told them to make disciples and teach them to OBEY his Word. I need to obey.

3) A lessened influence in the world. Christians have a bad habit that is destroying the influence of the Church - the longer we are believers and the more involved we become in our local church, the more removed we become from the unbelieving world around us. This is a tragedy. This trend does not model Jesus' life and ministry at all. The LORD did attend synagogue and have conversations with the religious community, but he was frequently accompanied by the "seeking" unchurched. Seclusion in the Christian ghetto does little for the advancement of the kingdom of God; it encourages an us-verses-them mentality and our hearts no longer bleed for the lost and hurting. The Christian subculture feels safe for the believer but is death to the purposes of God in the earth. Am I having significant, caring conversations with those who are far from God? Do I have friends who are unbelievers? If not, I am convinced that I am not really following Jesus and I am living in disobedience and sin.

If my life is suffering from these diseases, I will live with a sense of current shame and impending spiritual doom & failure. We are called by Christ to live lives of eternal impact - am I having the impact I'm supposed to have? Am I a significant player in the kingdom of heaven, a notable character in God's story of redemption today? I want to be healthy.

Kingdom come... in me!

2008-03-12T08:34:00.003-04:00

I want to live my life with an awareness of God, listening to his Spirit and in consistent conversation with him throughout the day. I want to be obedient to do the tasks he lays on my heart and spiritually awake, praying as people and situations pass through my thoughts. I want to be easily moved to worship in the context of "normal" life, seeing God at work all around me.

This is what I call "walking in the Spirit." I want it.

I want to move in the gifts of the Spirit that I know I have. I want to learn the gifts of which I am not yet aware that I have. But more than this, I want to exhibit the fruit of the Holy Spirit and live in obedience to God. I want to do the hard things that the LORD asks of me, the things that scare me to my core and seem completely unpleasant, the things that come with no fanfare or emotional gratification. I want to walk the way Jesus walked, operating under the direction of his Spirit, being led by his yoke and pulling it with him at my side.

I don't want ordinary life. I don't want ordinary Christianity. I want Jesus and his kingdom at work in me. "Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

You've Got It - Now Use It!

2008-03-11T07:50:00.002-04:00

I'm selling my 98 Nissan Altima and in attempt to utilize it's full resale potential, I've been taking care of some repairs. There are only a few and most of them are minor, but one issue drew my attention more than others - the air conditioner. For just over a year I have been without AC. I suffered through one sweltering south Georgia summer with no relief, afraid to take my car to the mechanic with this issue. I have heard all the horror stories about AC repair and two different mechanics speculated that my repair would top the $1000 mark. So I suffered.

However, I mentioned my AC issue and its symptoms to a friend of mine a few months ago (a fellow pastor with lots of car repair experience). He made a recommendation that gave my frugal heart hope. "It sounds like you may just have a belt that has broken. Start there - hopefully that'll fix it." A few days after his advice a popped my hood, located by condenser and, sure enough, there sat three pulleys longing for a belt to turn them! I did not need the AC at the time (it was winter), but yesterday I went to the auto parts store, purchased my $10 belt and engaged the air conditioning system that has been sitting under my hood for over a year - unused, full of potential to improve my driving life!

I see a spiritual lesson in my idle air conditioner. As Christians, we have the Holy Spirit living within us. The Spirit is referred to as "wind" or "breath" in biblical Greek, and just like my AC he is ready and waiting to fill our lives with a breeze that re-energizes us and improves the journey of life. In fact, the Spirit of God does much more than make life better - he teaches us, draws us into the Holy of Holies with the Father, comforts us in our dark times and corrects us in our fallen state, forming us into the image of Christ. Such potential just waiting to be engaged!

Why do we suffer, trying to live the Christian life without him? Often we are afraid of the cost. We have heard others' stories of following God and we don't know if we can pay the price. Or perhaps life is good in this season and we don't feel that we need the Holy Spirit; a more desperate time is coming and we'll deal with our need at that time.

How can we engage the Spirit of God? There are so many simple ways! Don't assume it will be a difficult process - start with the easy stuff. Take time to pray... for yourself, for others. for the Kingdom of Heaven on earth. Study and meditate on the Word. Serve others. Share Christ with those who are far from him. Be obedient to the tasks the Lord lays on your heart. Ask God to give you more of his Spirit, without preconceptions of what his giving will look like. We have a wonderful Father who desires to give us good gifts - especially his own Spirit!

I'm reminded of an old dugout cheer - "You've got it, now use it!" We have the Holy Spirit waiting under the hood to be engaged; let's use what we've been given! We need not suffer any more!

The Ten Virgins - Preparation by Intimacy

2008-02-27T07:37:00.003-05:00

I'm reading through Matthew 25 - it and the surrounding chapters give us Jesus' teachings on his impending return. In this chapter I see three sections that teach us how to be prepared for Christ's parousia; the first is preparation by intimacy.

All ten virgins brought lamps to light the way for the coming of the bridegroom. However, five brought oil only for the expected amount of time that it would take for the procession to occur, while the other five realized that the bridegroom could be delayed (this could be a long process) and prepared by bringing extra oil. In the darkness of the delayed return, the foolish five ran out of oil and the wise five had enough.

When we choose to be disciples we do not really know how long, hard and lonely the road may be that Christ calls us to travel. Many followers fall away in the dark hours before they reach some intended destination. Why? Because they did not prepare for those hard times. I want to be like the five wise virgins who went about their duties in the wedding party with careful preparation. How can I be prepared to finish well? How can I be ready to weather the dark nights of this faith journey? I have to build within my life a habit of drawing near to God, learning to hear his voice and being filled by his Spirit. I cannot wait until my lamp runs out in the middle of the night to try and acquire oil; I must learn to stock up on a regular basis, knowing that I can easily run out. I cannot rely on my own strength to take me through the hard times; I must rely on the Holy Spirit, and learning to do so is quite a process!

I do not want to burn only when others are looking and run out when the journey becomes unexpectedly long - Jesus, teach me to gather the oil I need for the long haul!

Matthew 25:1-13

New Playlist: The Indie Rock Sing-Along

2008-02-06T07:35:00.000-05:00

Nothing is as sweet as an indie rock tune sung at the top of your lungs at every red light between home and work... here are 30 of my favorites. They're not the most polished tunes, just the most singable!

1. Tournament of Hearts - The Weakerthans
2. Cruel - Farewell Flight
3. Elephant - Page France
4. And We All Return to Our Roots - The Forecast
5. Promise - Pedro the Lion
6. Cannon-Fire Orange - Poor Old Lu
7. Underwater - Switchfoot
8. When I Learn to Sing - Starflyer 59
9. Tow Truck/Vacancy/Chicane Cardigan Smile - Blenderhead
10. When They Really Get to Know You They Will Run - Pedro the Lion
11. Smooth Death - Danielson Famile
12. A Friend I Had - Aaron Sprinkle
13. Young Businessmens Psykick Makeout - Soul-Junk
14. Simple Green - The Merbabies
15. Taxidermy - Sappo
16. Joy I Had Was Joy I Sold - Poor Old Lu
17. Glorietta - Mourning September
18. Coin-Laundry Loser - Twothirtyeight
19. At This Particular Moment In Time - PlayRadioPlay!
20. Chem 6A - Switchfoot
21. Simple Economics - Pedro the Lion
22. Freak Show - Pep Squad
23. Plea from a Cat Named Virtue - The Weakerthans
24. Ring True - Poor Old Lu
25. Stars and Stripes Forever, Baby - Veterans Radio
26. Haunted Church - Rose Blossom Punch
27. Aside - The Weakerthans
28. Jesus - Page France
29. Twenty-Four - Switchfoot
30. Skin - Vigilantes of Love

OK... so some of the songs drifted out of purist indie rock territory. Their singability factor justifies such departure! Also, "Stars and Stripes Forever, Baby!" isn't the easiest to sing along with, but it's an INCREDIBLE indie rock song... one of my all-time favorites. I won't mention that I played guitar in Veterans Radio (oops... did I write that out loud?) I didn't play on that recording, though.

Graduate Already! (The Church, the Holy Spirit and the Disciple)

2008-01-29T06:58:00.000-05:00

As my understanding of discipleship and the simple life is developing, I feel the leading and providence of the Holy Spirit to certain resources, passages of Scripture and discussions with friends. Over the last week I came across a Messianic Jewish website called RabbiYeshua.com that gives some great insight into first century discipleship. I also came across an article by a fellow named Robert Brow on the role of the Holy Spirit as teacher or rabbi in the life of a Christian disciple. Both of these resources were very insightful, pointing my thoughts down the road of first-century discipleship as a context for understanding our mandate to follow Christ today. (However, I know very little about either of these sources and do not endorse or necessarily recommend them.)

A few days ago I searched for "Celebration of Discipline" on iTunes and found it in audiobook format and also discovered a sermon by its author, Richard Foster, given at a chapel service at Seattle Pacific University in the late 70s shortly after the book was written. The message was INCREDIBLE (I do highly recommend getting it - it's under the podcast section of the iTunes store). I began to search the digital library of SPU chapel services and found a message by Rob Wall entitled "Scripture and Jesus," given recently. In this message, Rob teaches from John 13 & 14 and gives great insight into the disciples' struggle to understand Jesus' impending departure and the gift of the Holy Spirit as an indwelling teacher (or rabbi).

I wrote all of that to give the back-story to my current thoughts and to assign credit where it is due. Now on to my thoughts...

What is the role of the church and the Holy Spirit in the life of a modern-day disciple? Rob Wall painted a gripping picture of the anxiety that Jesus' disciples must have felt when he announced his leaving; they were to become disciples without a rabbi, learners without a teacher. They had given their whole lives to follow one man, sacrificing their reputations and laying aside the normal responsibilities of life to align themselves with this radical teacher. What were they to do without him? Who would be the rabbi for this group of orphaned students?

Jesus had a plan! "I will not leave you as orphans..." Our Savior needed to leave so that the next stage of their discipleship could begin. Until this time, they followed a physical person in attempts to garner wisdom from him and live life as much like him as possible. Their three years of following Jesus were riddled with frustrating moments for their rabbi; often he would say things like, "How much longer do I have to put up with you?" or "How long have I been with you and you still do not know me?" The disciples were trying their best to follow Christ but had not developed "eyes to see and ears to hear" what God was doing in his kingdom. Rarely one of them would have moments of revelation; when Peter identified Jesus as the Son of God, the Savior replied "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven!" Jesus was eager to initiate his disciples into their next stage of learning because they would receive a new, much needed type of instruction - learning from a teacher within. Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit who would remind them of all he said and lead them into all truth. This teacher would take them to places they had yet to go (and would not be able to go) following an earthly rabbi. This was the beginning of the best...

Believers today long for the opportunity to follow Christ as the disciples did. "If I could spend three years with Jesus I would really get things right!" There is a stage of discipleship that requires a season of following an earthly teacher and, in Jesus' absence, the Body of Christ fills that role. Christians rightly look to the church (local and universal) to lead them in learning about God and all things spiritual. However, we make a grave mistake when we see the church as our primary source of spiritual learning. Jesus intended for the twelve to graduate to a new level of discipleship and he intends the same for us today. There comes a time when we must wean ourselves off of the church as our substitute rabbi and lean primarily on the indwelling Teacher that Christ died to provide.

This concept can be frightening for both the disciple and the church leader. What might happen? Will people stop attending services? Will error creep in as people seek to find truth "on their own"? Yes, these things will happen to some (hopefully slight) degree. However, the power of Spirit-led discipleship is explosive! Imagine an army of Christ-followers who are united as a body but dependent primarily on the Holy Spirit (not the pastor) to lead them into truth! Imagine the impact as we follow Christ in pursuit of the lost, listening to his Spirit and living by his Word!

What role does the church play in helping disciples graduate to the next level? That's another post...

John 13:36-14:31

The Ministry of Philip

2008-01-26T01:23:00.000-05:00

"The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, 'Follow me.' Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, 'We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.' Nathanael said to him, 'Can anything good come out of Nazareth?' Philip said to him, 'Come and see.'" John 1:43-46

I feel like I am called to the ministry of Philip. After meeting Jesus and being called as his disciple, Philip found Nathaniel to share the news of Jesus. He not only "evangelized" but also urged Nathaniel to come and see Christ for himself. Philip did not attempt to become Nathaniel's teacher but, instead, wanted to personally introduce him to Jesus so that he could "taste and see" the Lord's goodness first-hand.

I love to teach and I enjoy preaching, but I feel that my calling is to urge others to meet Jesus personally, to experience him for themselves and to answer the call to discipleship by which I myself am challenged. I am learning who God wants me to be - a disciple-maker in the model of Philip.

John 1:43-46

Ready to Learn (The Simple Life)

2008-01-21T23:30:00.000-05:00

"Seeing the crowds, [Jesus] went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying..."

Jesus served in the role of rabbi in his Jewish culture. Rabbi means "great one" or "teacher"; Jesus is most definitely the supreme fulfillment of both of these titles! A rabbi called to himself a handful of disciples or "learners" who would follow him for a season, setting aside other interests or commitments in order to learn from the teacher. For this group of disciples, daily life would become a classroom in which they learned spiritual truths as the rabbi lead and taught them on a continual basis.

A rabbi would sometimes draw a crowd interested in hearing his presentation of truth. When the teacher wanted to address a large crowd, he would find a location where the large number of people could see and hear him well. As a signal that official teaching was about to begin, he would sit down. This was a more formal method of presenting truth than the "live and learn from me" format in which his closest disciples engaged. This is the model we see in "The Sermon on the Mount."

As disciples taught by the Holy Spirit, we experience both teaching environments: the classroom of life and the formal teaching time. As we walk through our daily routines we need to practice the presence of God, listening to the Holy Spirit, having "eyes to see and ears to hear" in every situation so as to glean the truth of God in the classroom of the normal. However, we also need to make an effort to approach Jesus in a formal sense, to seek him out for the purpose of putting aside the mundane duties of life to sit and listen to what the teacher has to say.

When Jesus saw the crowd forming to hear from him, when he became aware that the people were ready to learn, he sat down and began teaching. Today Jesus is looking for those who would seek him out as a rabbi, those who would gather at his feet and give him undivided attention. What can I do to show Christ that I want to learn from him? How can I posture myself so Jesus will "open his mouth" and teach me?

Some type of formal time with Jesus is necessary for the simple life to flourish. What should it look like? This formal teaching time has been referred to in the Christian community as "quiet time." However, this moniker carries connotations of quickie, tip-of-the-hat devotional readings and prayers that don't really posture us well to receive from Christ. Here are some suggestions I offer from my own struggle to develop this discipline in my life:

1) Make a daily appointment.
Like the children of Israel gathering manna every morning, we must gather fresh strength and truth from Christ on a daily basis. We cannot go for days without posturing ourselves to learn from God and expect our spiritual lives to be fresh and growing; we will become rotten and full of worms!

2) Find an environment that you enjoy that is free of distractions.
What is your favorite alone spot? I vacillate between the table in my backyard (during warmer times of the year) and the counter in my kitchen. My recliner does not lend itself well to a learning posture; it's more specifically designed for a sleeping posture!

3) Choose disciplines to practice.
Try different disciplines in different seasons - solitude, fasting, journaling, silence, worship, study, meditation, etc. Find a good book on spiritual disciplines and experiment. Incorporate the practice of a discipline in your time with God. Some disciplines may become regular elements in your time with God (I journal almost continually), while others will gain your attention for a while only to fade off for months and return to the surface at a later date.

4) Pray.
Regardless of which disciplines we are experimenting with, we must pray at all times. Prayer is less of a spiritual discipline and more of a survival tool! We must be in constant dialogue with God. Talk to him! However, don't forget that prayer is as much about using your spiritual ears as it is your mouth!

5) Change it up.
If your time with God becomes uninteresting or less fruitful, try something different. Read from a section of the Bible that you don't frequently go to. Find a new location for your learning time. Try a different time of day. Change your routine; if you normally start with prayer, begin instead with journaling or worship.

Matthew 5:1-2

RECOMMENDED SPIRITUAL DISCIPLINES RESOURCES

Celebration of Discipline by Richard Foster

Ordering Your Private World by Gordon MacDonald

The Practice of the Presence of God by Brother Lawrence

Secrets of the Secret Place by Bob Sorge

What is a disciple? (The Simple Life)

2008-01-20T00:15:00.000-05:00

Tonight my family had a discussion during Bible study about discipleship. I asked Lexie, "What is a disciple?" I absolutely loved her answer! She replied, "A disciple is someone who loves God. Jesus teaches a disciple to live like him."

In The Great Commission, Jesus presents us with a clear responsibility to go and make disciples. This process has two parts; 1) baptize them in the name of the Trinity and 2) teach them to obey his teachings. In other words, we are to help others cross the line from darkness to light, from death to life and then to help them learn to walk with Christ in daily life.

How am I a disciple? How am I following Christ? Am I learning from Jesus to live like him? Am I teaching others to do the same? I love Jesus, but I want to learn more from him about following in his steps. I want to learn to grow in faith and engage the world the way that he does. I definitely want to learn to live like Jesus. I want to be a disciple.

The Simple Life

2008-01-19T23:57:00.000-05:00

For years I have heard God speak the word "simple" to my heart and I have understood it to be an invitation to a lifestyle of intimacy with God and influence in a world that needs him. I feel a distinct call to be a disciple and to lead others down the path of following Christ in daily life. As I work to become more obedient as a disciple and work to teach my family and others to do the same, I will take note of thoughts and experiences with the hope to eventually publish it in some sort of book. The title of the book will most likely be "The Simple Life" and the premise would be "Following God is not easy, but it doesn't have to be complicated." I don't have a clear outline for this project; just a general direction.

Eyes to See (Matthew 18)

2008-01-18T23:57:00.000-05:00

As we read through scripture our minds break the passages into bite-sized chunks and remember them by particularly poignant or colorful content. However, God has arranged his Word with incredible wisdom to teach us through over-arching themes and lessons. Matthew 16 contains one such lesson.

This chapter contains four sections that all point toward the same idea: we need eyes to see what God is doing in his kingdom. The Pharisees and Sadducees have aligned themselves to eliminate Jesus and approach him with a request for a miraculous sign. Jesus responds, "You don't have eyes to see who I am!" Jesus asks his disciples how others identify him, following with a pointed question; "Do you have eyes to see who I am?" When Jesus outlines the events of his death, Peter rebukes him and the Lord responds, "You don't have eyes to see what the Father is doing in his kingdom!" And finally, Jesus challenges his disciples, saying "If you want to follow me, you cannot see things with an earthly perspective. You need eyes to see what it takes to make it in the Kingdom of Heaven!"

My heart is drawn to Jesus' warning to avoid the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees. These two Jewish sects held vehemently to opposed views on particulars of their faith. Each group had become so sternly focused on non-essential tenants of Judaism that they were completely unaware that Yahweh was standing in flesh before them. I'm sure their obsession with their favorite religious details started innocently enough. However, the leaven of the non-essentials grew in each sect to the point that their members' identities were built on these distinctives.

In the same way, the Church and we as individual Christians need to be very careful to avoid the leaven of the non-essentials. Sadly, it seems that we may have already become victim to it on a corporate level. By nature, denominations are what they are because of non-essential differences. Why do I describe them as non-essentials? Because the only true essentials in Christianity do not allow for any variance. If you don't hold to the essentials, you're not practicing true Christianity! The essentials are a precious few beliefs (i.e. salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone), whereas there exists a myriad of non-essentials from which Christians choose their favorites to align by (i.e. "once saved, always saved" or speaking in tongues). As a Church, we have divided ourselves and become so focused on non-essentials that we often completely miss what God is doing in his kingdom. This is an ailment that the Body of Christ desperately needs to see healed by the Holy Spirit in order to regain her health, intimacy with God and "saltiness" in the earth.

Jesus, give us wisdom to distinguish between essentials and non-essentials. Help us have eyes to see what you are doing in your kingdom, unobstructed by things that don't matter!

"Unity in essentials. Liberty in non-essentials. In all things charity."

Matthew 16

Object Lesson #2 - Tool Shed Demolition

2007-12-29T23:12:00.000-05:00

I spent several hours today demolishing an old tool shed in the bottom of our back yard. The building was old and leaky and had become a haven for pests. The demolition process was painstaking and frustrating, taking it apart piece-by-piece, salvaging the good material and tossing the useless into a pile to burn or discard.

Recently Alan Wright (author of "Shame Off You") returned to our church for a mini-conference. During a lunch appointment with the staff, he spoke about an unhealthy or ungodly paradigm as a "house of thoughts" that has been built in a person's life, a way of thinking that has developed. God combined my tool shed and Alan's house of thoughts to communicate a truth to me. From time to time I may find a house of negative thoughts constructed in the bottom of my mind/heart/psyche of which I wasn't fully aware. How did it get there? When was it built? What is it made of? This house resembles my shed, providing sanctuary for unwelcome squatters in an otherwise modestly healthy environment. Though it is leaky and old, this house will not be demolished easily. No, God takes me by the hand and begins the slow process of deconstructing this house piece by piece. He is a master at finding the good material in my negative situations and redeeming it for his purposes. He also pulls out every rotten board and rusty panel to discard. Oh, how I wish he would back his heavenly Hemi to my shed, hook up a chain and pull it all down in one quick tug! Instead, the demolition of my "shed of thoughts" takes time (a lot of it), painful work and patience. However, when it's all done, my heart is healthier for the process.

Object Lesson #1 - Dirty High Chair

2007-12-29T22:58:00.000-05:00

Two object lessons came to mind as I was going about my daily stuff today; one involves a dirty high chair and, the other, an old tool shed in the process of being demolished.

DIRTY HIGH CHAIR

We all have pet peeves, certain things that must be a particular way for all to be right with the world. One of mine is Holton's high chair after a meal. Of course, our one-year-old makes a glorious mess when he feeds himself. In the process of cleaning the kitchen, Vanessa usually leaves the chair as the last project and often ends up called away by more urgent needs before she gets to it, thus leaving it dirty longer than I would like. When I see the high chair in a mess, it makes me feel sick. I can't handle it. I want it clean before the food dries and I most DEFINITELY don't want anyone to see it in such a state. Initially I would fuss about the dirty high chair. However, I have found that if I want the high chair cleaned immediately after a meal, it works best if I am the one to clean in.

We all see areas in life that need work - in our marriages, jobs, churches, etc. These are real needs that we are keenly aware of and they need to be addressed, but for some reason no one else is making an effort to fix them! Could it be that God has opened your eyes to that particular need? Others may not see it so clearly or feel the urgency of addressing the problem, but God has gifted you to be aware of it. You have "eyes to see and ears to hear." With that awareness comes responsibility. It may be your job to wave the flag for the need you see, but most likely it is your calling to actually do something about it. Don't wait around for others to see the need, criticize them when they don't and move on to another marriage/job/church when the need remains unmet. You see the need, you meet it. It could be divinely appointed that you're the right person for the job!

Pursuing the Withdrawing Lord (Matthew 14:13-21)

2007-12-19T22:53:00.000-05:00

In order to withdraw and deal with his own pain, Jesus left his ministry to the masses. However, "when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns." The crowds were in such need of Jesus that, even when he withdrew his presence, they chased him. As he traveled by boat to a desolate place, the crowds beat him there on foot around the shore of the lake. What did the crowds hear that motivated them to follow? Did they hear about Jesus' reaction to John's death? Were they trying to comfort their leader? Or did they simply want more of his presence and touch? Regardless, they would not be deterred when the presence of God withdrew. They did not stand around and bemoan the lack of God's touch - they chased him!

"When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick." Jesus was moved by the pursuing crowd. Like the judge with the persistent widow or the sleeping tenant with his midnight visitor, Jesus responded to tenacity.

There are seasons in the Christian life where the presence and activity of God are almost tangible. However, there are seasons in between these experiences when God seems all but absent - if it weren't for his promise that he would never leave or forsake us, we would be certain he was an absentee landlord or distant clockmaker! When Jesus withdrew, he did not do so because he was tired of the crowd, displeased with the people or unconcerned with the details of their lives. In our seasons when God seems distant, we tend to interpret his aloofness in many ways, and rightly so! We must take inventory of our lives when the Spirit doesn't seem to be moving. However, there are times that God withdraws and, like a father playing Hide-and-Seek with his children, he longs to be chased after and found. He is not playing a divine version of "hard to get," but he does at times withdraw so that his children will exercise their spiritual muscles and chase him.

Jesus, help me to pursue you in the times when you feel distant. Help me to meet you where you are going.

Matthew 14:13-21
Luke 18:1-8
Luke 11:5-10

Ministry in Desolate Places (Matthew 14:13-21)

2007-12-19T11:00:00.000-05:00

I was caught recently by two events in Matthew 14 - the death of John the Baptist and the feeding of the five thousand. They are in the same chapter but, in my recollection of them, I did not realize the connection between the two. From this chapter I gleaned two major lessons that have ministered to me in the past few weeks. One is "Ministry in Desolate Places" and the other is "Pursuing the Withdrawing Lord."

Jesus' response to the death of his friend, cousin and ministry partner colors the feeding in such a human way. When we think of our Savior's expressions of human emotion, a certain few events come to mind - the death of Lazarus, his weeping over Jerusalem and the Garden of Gethsemane. However, Jesus was also deeply moved by the death of John. When he got the news, the scripture says, "he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself." The blow of such tragedy effected Jesus and he felt the need to get alone and deal with it. The emotional pain that Jesus was feeling was represented by his withdrawal to "a desolate place." Jesus was in a desolate place on the inside, so he retreated to a desolate place physically in order to mourn.

The crowds followed Jesus (see "Pursuing the Withdrawing Lord") and, when Jesus saw them, "he had compassion on them and healed their sick." As the day grew late, the disciples came to Jesus and said, "This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves." Jesus was moved by the needs of the people in their sickness; the disciples were now moved by the needs of the people in their hunger. Notice the phrase "desolate place" coming up again. The disciples saw the need but felt ill-equipped to supply it. However, Jesus' response challenged them - "They need not go away; you give them something to eat." When the disciples protested that they had only meager supplies (obviously not enough for such an incredible need), Jesus said "Bring them here to me." And we know the rest of the story...

We are surrounded by people in desolate places; pain abounds in our world. Two things from this passage are incredibly encouraging when facing the reality of our current desolation.

1) Jesus finds himself in desolate places. He is not immune to our pain but, instead, "in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin." He did not simply mimic humanity; he was (and is) completely human in every way. "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses..."

2) Jesus will use what little we have to minister to others in their desolation, even when we are there ourselves. Like we often do, the disciples felt dramatically unprepared to meet the needs of the masses. However, their supply didn't determine their ability; their Savior did! Certainly the disciples were also hungry, feeling their own needs in this desolate place. However, when they gave their supply to Jesus, he was able to minister to the crowds.

As we find ourselves in desolate places, let us be encouraged that Jesus is with us in our desolation and he longs to use us to minister to others in the same place. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."

Matthew 14:13-21
Hebrews 4:14-16
2 Corinthians 1:3-4

New Layout

2007-12-19T01:06:00.000-05:00

I just spent a couple of hours designing a new layout for this blog. This post is a test to see if new entries will work correctly.

Advent Devotion Excerpt - Love

2007-12-17T22:15:00.000-05:00

This is my submission for Heritage Church's 2007 Advent Devotional. Hope you enjoy!

This year in Heritage Youth we are studying the gospel of Matthew chapter by chapter. We ended out 2007 with the theme "On A Mission from God," and we recently discussed Matthew 12:1-8. As I studied this passage and let its truth settle in my heart, I became very passionate about the simplicity of the life God longs for humanity to live. We all desire a sense of purpose, an assurance that our days have impact and meaning. However, in our attempt to live "On A Mission from God," well-meaning Christians work themselves into a frenzied busyness and often burn out, all in an attempt to please the Lord. I'm positive this isn't God's plan for us; he promised us abundant life, not flash-in-the-pan faith.

As you read today's passage, you probably wondered, "how does this have anything to do with love or Christmas?" It's all in the details! Jesus and his disciples are walking though a grain field on the Sabbath, fulfilling the ultimate "Mission from Go," the one around which all of human history revolves. These guys are literally in route to save the world! While doing something that seemed insignificant, the religious "giants" of the time approach Jesus and lambast his disciples for "doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath." The Pharisees were indicting them for "harvesting" on the holy day. I love Jesus' response - "I tell you, something (someone) greater than the temple is here." This statement alone makes me want to jump out of my skin! He goes on to quote from Hosea 6:5-6, "I desire mercy, and not sacrifice."

The Pharisees' approach to God could be compared to an awkward first date. Do you remember how it feels? The guy think he knows who his date is, feels that he may like her a bit more than the rest of the girls and hopes beyond hopes that the feeling is reciprocated. That's how he ended up on this knee-knocking night on the town in the first place! From his limited knowledge of this girl he has done everything he can think of to please and impress her - detailed the car, ironed his clothes, put on cologne, bought flowers and made reservations at the most expensive restaurant his wallet could handle! "Love" makes a guy do crazy things! How disastrous and disheartening would it be if, after all he'd done, his date comes to the door in a T-shirt and jeans, informs him that she's allergic to most pollen-producing plants and would rather eat at Wendy's than the downtown bistro! He thought he was in love but found that he really didn't know his girl at all!

The Pharisees were certain they knew what God wanted from them and had spent years perfecting their religious process to make him smile down on them. However, when they met God face-to-face in a grain field they were unable to recognize the divine spark behind his eyes. The Pharisees were sure they were on a mission from God, but in fact they were just doing "church stuff" and had missed God altogether. Jesus was on a mission from God too (for real), but his agenda and actions were totally different from the established religious community. He was chided for hanging with sinners, befriending immoral women, breaking religious rules & traditions and claiming authority to forgive sins. How could two missions, both aiming to fulfill God's will, look so different?

All the Pharisees wanted to do was please God, but they had not taken the time to find out what God really wanted from them. They became so passionate about their mission that they lost contact with their Maker. When detailing the Great Commandment, Jesus instructed us to 1) love God with all we are and 2) love our neighbor as ourselves. These are two sides of the same coin, but one comes before the other. We must love God first and love his people (and his mission) second. If we become zealous for God's work and forget to seek God's heart, we will become modern-day Pharisees and we will - let me emphasize, WE WILL - miss God when he shows up on the scene.

This Christmas season, remember that God's mission is all about love - loving God first and loving people as a result. In the hurriedness of the season, in the hustle of well-intentioned life in a happening church, remember that there is one who is greater than shopping, food, family, church, charity or presents. Don't forget to seek his heart in this season that reveals it to us so clearly. There are a lot of good things we can do during this time of the year, but let's take the time to be with God instead of just doing good.

The man doesn't choose the mix; the mix chooses the man.

2007-12-17T00:46:00.000-05:00

That's the title of my newest iTunes playlist. I love it, so I thought I'd share it with you:

1) Junkyard Hello Dear Wind - Page France
2) Mouth Like a Magazine - Showbread
3) Destruction, Destruction - Farewell Flight
4) Wake Up Early - Starflyer 59
5) Perfect Obligation - The Myriad
6) Compliment Each Other like Colors - PlayRadioPlay!
7) The Cure for Pain - Jon Foreman
8) With Love from Me to You - Watashi Wa
9) Big Trucks - Pedro the Lion
10) One Hundred Percent - The Forecast
11) Photobooth - Death Cab for Cutie
12) You Feel Like - Denison Marrs
13) Every Gun Makes Its Own Tomb - The Forecast
14) We Are Nowhere and It's Now - Bright Eyes
15) Call It in the Air - Discover America
16) On Standby - Farewell Flight
17) Trouble Is - Jars of Clay
18) Sovereignty - The Merbabies
19) Crash - Michael Knott
20) I Am Always the One Who Calls - Pedro the Lion
21) Confines of Gravity - PlayRadioPlay!
22) Par Avion - Rose Blossom Punch
23) Dead by Dawn - Showbread
24) Sturdy Jive - Soul-Junk
25) Underneath - Starflyer 59

Relentless Pursuit

2007-10-23T22:24:00.000-04:00

(12/04/03 journal entry)

It is impossible to have clean hands and pure hearts unless we are actively involved in seeking the face of God. The only way to worship is to worship every day - if we become slack or hit-and-miss with our pursuit of God, we become soiled by the dirt of everyday living and it becomes difficult to enter into the presence of God. The natural pull of depravity draws us away from God and his holiness into the mud of "normal" life. The Christian life that seeks God has to fight to do so. I want to have the character of the company of God's people that seek him - not that of those who just know him. There is so much more and I want it.

Psalm 24:3-6

Fill My Vision

2007-10-13T23:52:00.001-04:00

(12/04/03 journal entry)

I have allowed my vision - the vision of my heart - to be filled with many things other than God. In a way, I've allowed my focus to shift off of God; or maybe I've not zoomed in on him as I should. As he's taken up less of my vision, other things have crept into the margins. Peripheral things don't like to stay in the peripheral - they fight to gain my attention. So, this morning I've done a lot of confessing and putting down my idols.

My prayer is for God to completely fill my vision. That's worship - when our hearts zoom in so closely on God that everything else is pushed out of the picture. As I write, I'm looking out of the window watching the sun rise over the beautiful Rocky mountains. Vanessa and I will leave in a few minutes to see the Grand Canyon. These things are so huge and so wonderful that my eyes can't really see all the majesty they really possess. My Father, the great Creator that designed both the sunrise and the Grand Canyon, is so much more majestic than what he has created. Lord Jesus, fill my vision until everything else is pushed out of the picture.

Daily Grind Faith

2007-10-13T23:49:00.000-04:00

(10/27/03 journal entry)

The nature of healthy Christianity is very simple. It is not glamorous, flashy or trendy. What brings depth and growth? Prayer. Bible study. Time with God. Day-to-day ministry. Visiting the sick. Witnessing to the lost. None of this is revolutionary, but when it happens in the life of a believer, the result is a spiritual revolution. The kingdom of God is SO upside-down! The last is first and the meek inherit the earth!

I desire a simple relationship with God that is real and that is characterized by the fruit and power of the Holy Spirit. I want a daily-grind faith that produces results.

The Cross

2007-10-13T23:44:00.000-04:00

(10/15/03 journal entry)

Nothing holds the power that is contained in the cross. Nothing compares to the change it causes, the freedom it brings, or all that it reveals about God. He has chosen to hinge all of history and our understanding of Deity on this one thing: Christ and him crucified. So many spiritual chasings draw our attention but only one thing brings true change.

Paul was fixated on the cross. When I went to the Southern Baptist Pastors' Conference in Jacksonville a few years ago, I was struck by the centrality of the cross in the messages delivered by these great pastors. I need the cross to be central in my own life. I need the dying to self that it encourages, the grace that it provides and the freedom from sin that it promises.

There is something deep and hidden in the cross that is incredibly appealing - always more to be revealed. Lord, show me the cross anew today.

The Impotency of Man, the Potency of Prayer

2007-10-13T23:28:00.000-04:00

(05/28/03 journal entry)

There is a place where you understand with incredible clarity your own inability to achieve anything of eternal significance without the imposing guidance of the Holy Spirit. Maybe it comes through God's teaching in the area of pride and humility. Maybe it comes from trying over and over again to make spiritual things happen without the power of the Holy Spirit and watching those attempts flop again and again. Regardless of where it comes from, it is a sobering mindset to possess, understanding that any attempt of my own to cause a movement of the Spirit in someone else will just end up fumbled and will turn incredibly ugly; knowing that the most valuable, powerful and effective thing I can do for someone else is to constantly bring them to God in prayer. The act that seems the most boring and impotent is the very thing that causes the most change in the spiritual realm.

The Sweet Leaning

2007-10-13T23:21:00.000-04:00

(02/01/03 journal entry)

The right relationship between myself and Jesus requires that I rest in his sufficiency. It's not a requirement in the sense of duty - it's a requirement that comes from my own deficiency; if I don't lean on Jesus, there's no other way.

The right relationship that places me leaning on him for my life, my wisdom, my righteousness, my sanctification, my redemption, my everything is a love relationship of the sweetest and most intimate kind. Apart from this "leaning," my Christian life becomes dry drudgery, completely devoid of any real life. The joy and grace of the experience of walking with God starts and continues to the end with "trusting him alone."

1 Corinthians 1:30-31

A Deficiency of Grace and Joy

2007-10-13T23:13:00.000-04:00

(01/28/03 journal entry)

My Christian walk has been a very serious journey since its first days, but I'm afraid somewhere along the way I've either convinced myself or allowed the devil to convince me that to take Jesus seriously means that I have to strive for perfection.

Striving for perfection has done a great job of robbing my life of two very important Christian prizes - grace and joy. I don't give myself any slack - how can God? Surely he holds me to a higher standard that I hold for myself. Constant striving for perfection coupled with a deficiency of grace has made my life worrisome; my burdens are not light because I won't let them be and the weight of them kills my joy.

Lord Jesus, allow me to listen to your Spirit - stop striving for perfection and start striving for you. Not striving to make myself who you are because that is impossible; simply striving to know you, to love you, to be with you. Let my Christian walk stop being focused on the Christian and start being focused on Christ.

A Person, Not a Cause

2007-10-13T23:03:00.000-04:00

(01/24/03 journal entry)

I am praying to experience the dynamic Christian life that I know is available. I want to live the adventure of faith, I want to become inseparable from Jesus. I want the power of his Spirit moving daily in my life. I want to experience joy and peace that passes all understanding. I want to live with power to be a witness. I want to know Jesus in the most personal, intimate way. I want to be proactive and aggressive in my pursuit after Jesus. I want to pray for hours early in the morning and for hours late into the night. I want to live a life that is constantly sowing the Word of God because I am always talking about him. I want Jesus to be the consuming thought in my mind, the driving force in my life.

I am convinced more and more that the key to the abandoned, fulfilled, dynamic Christian life lies in devotion to the person of Jesus. Oswald Chambers says, "It is not enough to give mental assent to the fact that God has redeemed the world, nor even to know that the Holy Spirit can make all that Jesus did a reality in my life. I must have the foundation of a personal relationship with him... there would be nothing [in Paul's life] without a personal relationship. Paul was devoted to a Person, not a cause."

It is imperative that I live in devotion to the person of Jesus, not just a cause. It is imperative that I keep calling my youth to devotion to the person of Jesus, not just his cause.

The Walk of True Faith

2007-10-13T22:43:00.000-04:00

(01/21/03 journal entry)

We tend to begin the walk of faith with lots of excitement, intimacy and expectation. God leads us through all kinds of amazing things - often very hard things - and we follow with zeal and pledge dedication with our mouths and hearts because the sensation of his amazing work is so fresh, not realizing the path we are choosing to follow.

After the hard days have passed and God allows us to settle for a time in a place he has promised us, a place of blessing, the sensation of blessing is more overwhelming than the remembered sensation of God's hand and we quickly begin to start carving new idols in our lives. It is then that the zeal that we called faith is shown to be what it is - a reaction to a sensation, when true faith is actually a commitment to believe in the absence of sensation.

Lord Jesus, it is true that we become like the things we worship. May we become steadfast and faithful by worshiping you instead of worthless by focusing our lives on worthless things.

Jeremiah 2:2,5

Guiding Nudges

2007-10-13T22:37:00.000-04:00

(12/15/02 journal entry)

It is a tricky thing to determine where God is leading when. I am beginning to think that God directs us in our thoughts and prayers toward certain people or activities, gives us an inspired nudge by the Holy Spirit and in many ways leaves us to choose to believe what he has said and act on it accordingly. He may remind us of what he has said - he usually lets these guiding thoughts pass our minds several times and this repetition is a sign that he is in it. But in the middle of daily life it's easy to let his nudging get shifted beneath a "to-do" list and we forget in what areas he has pointed. It would be good for us to keep a running list of God's guiding nudges to refer to often so we can stay on track.

Intimacy & Influence

2007-10-13T22:23:00.000-04:00

(11/30/02 journal entry)

The will of God for the life of any believer is summed up in two words - intimacy and influence. Jesus said the primary call of God in our lives is the one to personal intimacy with him. God passionately seeks us and invites us to experience him deeply. The secondary call is that to influence other people for the Kingdom of Christ. Though we need to be deliberate in our attempts to influence others, our focus should always be first on loving the Lord our God with everything we are - then loving our neighbor as ourselves will come naturally.

Fighting Immobile Faith

2007-10-10T10:21:00.000-04:00

I'm teaching on Matthew 8 & 9 this week and next and have had my attention caught by a singular subterranian theme in these chapters. This coming Sunday night I will be speaking to the teenagers on spiritual paralysis and the need to walk with God and grow. As I re-read chapter 8 today in preparation for Bible study tonight, I am struck by the sickness of the centurion's servant - the officer says he "is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly." This led me to think about how spiritual paralysis causes us to suffer and become sick. It reminded me of the analogy of fresh and stagnant water. We are not only called to walk close to God but also to walk out our faith in the world. If our Christianity is immobile and practiced only within the confines of the church or the subculture of faith, we will become like the Dead Sea, devoid of life because of a lack of outlet for what we contain. Worse yet, we may become like a stagnant pond, its contents a breeding ground for disease and parasites.

Finally, as I read verses 18-22, I realized that Jesus addressed two different priorities that could, if not properly arranged, immobilize a believer... stability and family. If faced with an opportunity to follow Jesus radically, people will often be thwarted by the fear of 1) sacrificing perceived stability or 2) the opinions of or duty to family.

When the scribe boldly offered, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go," Jesus quickly made clear that the cost of following him is the death of worldly stability. "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." Most people come to a place in life where stability is a major priority; a home of your own, a steady job, a sense of assurance that things are in order. A lack of stability can cause fear or insecurity to develop in children as they mature and can take a significant toll on relationships (specifically a marriage). Jesus is not belittling stability - he is challenged the place in which we find it. Does my stability lie in my circumstances? My house that can be destroyed in hours by a catastrophe? A job that takes years to develop but can be deemed dispensable in one board meeting? Jesus is not claiming that stability is bad, he's pulling back the veil to help us see reality - what we call stability is essentially building our sanity on a foundation of sand, putting our hopes in a house of cards. Jesus calls for an eternal perspective and sobriety. Do not be fooled by the appearance of temporal stability; instead, choose to build your hopes on the foundation that will not shift or crack, the Son of Man.

When one of his disciples offered to follow him after he had buried his dad, he most likely wasn't asking to return to a deceased father in a casket, waiting for the graveside rites. Instead, he was asking permission to follow Jesus after his father had grown old and died and he was free of his obligation as a son. Jesus' response is offensive to almost any reader: "Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead." Family is very important and we are called by God to honor our parents. However, our allegiance to Jesus as the King of Heaven cannot be supplanted by any other affinity, even that of our own families. Are families bad? Does Jesus expect us to cut ties with our siblings and parents? No. However, he is challenging our priorities. Will we allow the opinions of our families to keep us from radically following Jesus? Will I let my duty to my family mutate into an unhealthy codependance that knocks Jesus out of the throne in my life? It cannot be so in the life of one who wants to follow Jesus.

I'm seeing that God is very concerned with healing our spiritual paralysis. He wants us to walk with him and grow, to walk our faith in the world and influence others, and to have our priorities in the right places so we can be free to follow well. "Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising its shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." Hebrews 12:1-2

Holton, Reese & Zoe

2007-10-10T00:36:00.000-04:00

Holton at 9 months

2007-10-10T00:30:00.000-04:00

A resolution... well, not really and a little early

2006-12-28T08:52:00.000-05:00

Yep... I'm at it again. I've started running & watching my diet. But this one is different... my lifestyle change will succeed and I will get back to a healthy weight! Why will this one work when my last 4 attempts didn't? Let's take a brief stroll through Eric's recent past...

When I moved to Emmanuel College in 1997 I weighed 200 lbs. My freshman year I began playing racquetball and started losing a little weight, but I struggled to control my diet, especially when it came to drinking sodas. My junior year I moved off campus, exempted out of the cafeteria meal plan, started working at a Chinese restaurant, started running with my roommate and riding a bike because my car's transmission went out. Because I was broke I either ate canned vegetables, tuna, ramen noodles or hot dogs because they were cheap (lots of canned veggies) or hot & sour soup and plain fried rice at the restaurant because they'd let me eat it for free when I was working. Needless to say, I lost a LOT of weight... when I graduated college in 2001 I weighed 155 lbs!

When I started working and had a little more expendable income I ate better and began to put on a little weight, but I was conscious of it and continued running regularly in the neighborhood in which I lived. By the time I was married in November of 2003 I weighed 170 lbs... and I was concerned about it! The downhill slide started on our honeymoon when I "let myself go" and drank Cokes by the gallon. When I got home I found it very difficult to change that habit.

During my single post-college years I kept the habit of eating lots of canned veggies. Sadly, that menu didn't fly with my new wife and daughter. They ate lots more junk food that I was accustomed to and didn't really have weight problems (unlike myself). After we moved away from my old running grounds into what is now our home, Vanessa didn't want me to run near our house because in the 90s a man was hit by a car when running on our road. As you can probably tell, I'm not a horribly self-disciplined person; if eating right and exercising is going to be a part of my life, I have to be able to get in a groove with it VERY easily or I won't stick with it. The family wasn't jiving with a healthier diet and I wasn't running... and the weight began to climb QUICKLY.

I tried several times to get back into a routine but they didn't "stick," primarily for two reasons: 1) I was the only one in my family trying to keep up a healthy diet (if my family is drinking sodas it's almost impossible for me to resist) and 2) running was very inconvenient. I needed to be able to come home from work, change clothes and hit the road!

So... what has changed? First off, now that we have three kids, Vanessa and I are making a "healthy family" commitment. We are a soda-free family now and we are eating smaller portions of food and including more fruits and vegetables (HUGE development for my family!) Also, I now have a running route close to our house that takes me down a side dirt road and keeps me off the main road for the most part. Vanessa feels OK with me running this route as long as I'm not listening to my iPod so I can be very aware of traffic. I'm also getting my run in immediately after work before dusk settles in so I'm easily visible (the guy who was hit was running in the morning... I think pretty early, at or before sunrise).

The Foster-Whiddons are going healthy! I'm very excited about this change and feel that it will in fact stick - doing this as a team makes it much easier for us all to be committed and make it happen. This is for my health and the health of the kids!

Zoe holding "brother." Noah (cousin) in foreground.

2006-12-16T13:50:00.000-05:00

Lexie holding "brother."

2006-12-16T13:48:00.000-05:00

Say hello to your family, Holton!

2006-12-16T13:47:00.000-05:00

Holton is here!!!

2006-12-16T13:45:00.000-05:00

Eric: "Are we sure we want another kid?" Vanessa: "I'll pretend you didn't say that!"

2006-12-16T13:43:00.001-05:00

One step farther but not in the OR yet! Can't wait!!!

2006-12-16T13:43:00.000-05:00

Waiting with Papa Cheese, Lexie & Zoe before going into the OR.

2006-12-16T13:41:00.000-05:00

Vanessa before Holton's arrival.

2006-12-16T13:38:00.000-05:00

Surprised by God!

2006-12-06T21:52:00.000-05:00

It's awesome when God seems to show up unannounced! I just finished a meeting with about 10 of our youth ministry's 16 student leaders - we call them "apprentices." We worshiped for a while then talked about this semester in youth ministry. They were so much fun to be with; I have really been disconnected from actually working with teens and being with these kids tonight was a major "shot-in-the-arm" for me. I am more encouraged in my ministry from these short hours with them than I have been by all my own self-talk and the kind bolstering words of my friends. This has been a very tough season in youth ministry for me but I think I just had another small breakthrough!

personal life vs. ministry - CLARITY!

2006-11-09T09:56:00.000-05:00

i love moments of clarity! it's a great feeling when my heart has been searching so desperately for the answer to a relentless, frustrating question and finally breaks through the clouds to get some perspective.

this seems to be a season of "firsts" in my life... like i'm entering a whole new territory in the adult world. for instance, i'm making new steps out of the early, immature territory of young faith & ministry into a place where my pursuit of God, dedication to family and ministry to others happen on a more aware, intentional level.

what does this mean for me today that has brought so much clarity? i struggle with frustration that other people do not pursue God the way I wish they would, do not even care to pursue God or seem critical of me for my pursuit of God. it seems that today i have realized that i have been trying to impose my personal journey on others - those i work with, those i love, those i minister to - and my attempt to make them be what i want to be (definately not what i am) has put me on a path that ends with bitterness toward them.

i feel like i have found freedom! my heart wants to sing! suddenly my personal life is personal again and i can run after God as hard as i want, however i want and not feel the pressure to impose my personal pursuit on other people! i can love & minister to teenagers where they are, i can love & serve along my church members where they are, and i can enjoy God's movement throughout the Church (universal, not local) without feeling like everyone's journey should take them down those same paths! PRAISE GOD!!! thanks you, Lord, for divine perspective, for a glimpse at the eternal horizon, for washing my blind eyes so i can see for a moment!

i feel free again to do youth ministry well and not feel that it should mirror my personal pursuit of God. why should every 6th-12th grader in my ministry have to think about the same things i'm thinking about, be challenged by God in the same way i'm challenged? geez - i'm 27, a father of three, a husband who's trying to keep a soft heart before God... is an 8th grade girl's journey of faith going to need the revelation that God gives for my personal benefit? there may be some teens who could benefit from my personal journey right now, but that's a small minority.

the waters of my heart are being stirred right now...

still amazed by "first love"

2006-11-08T08:32:00.000-05:00

i read a book recently entitled "in the name of jesus" by henri nouwen. in this book he refers to God's unconditional love for us, his love that seeks us before we are concerned with him as God's "first love."

everywhere i turn i'm reading things that remind me of God's incredible love for us as we are. this is not a sloppy love that gives credence to half-hearted christianity, but rather a burning love for us that, when encountered, sets our hearts ablaze, also. you cannot know the truth of God's "first love" and not immediately desire to know this God more. i believe anyone who hears the message of God's love and says to himself, "yeah, i know - 'jesus loves me.' nothing new here..." hasn't really heard the message of "first love."

here are some quotes that apply:

from "secrets of the secret place" by bob sorge... "[God] doesn't enjoy you any less because you struggle. he knows your weakness. he sees your failures, but yet he owns you as his child and enjoys you even when you fall! he loves it when you pick yourself up and keep stepping forward again into his arms. how comforting to know we can bring the entire package of our inadequacies and shortcomings into his presence and know that he lovingly embraces us and delights in us! he enjoys us at every stage of the maturity process."

psalm 8:4-5 NLT "what are mortals that you should think of us, mere humans that you should care for us? for you made us only a little lower than God and you crowned us with glory and honor."

on the calendar

2006-11-07T23:09:00.000-05:00

the baby is a boy (we've known that for quite some time). holton will be born via c-section on december 12. we're very excited - saw his face today in a sonogram.

our youth ministry is rockin' along right now. check out the website at www.heritageyouth.org. i didn't design the site, but i did design most of the backgrounds and buddy icons on the downloads page.

we bought my mother-in-law's old house and are remodeling it. new roof, new vinyl siding, and i've taken an old sunroom, sheetrocked it and turned it into a classroom for our family. why do we need a classroom? because vanessa is homeschooling lexie!

that's all for now... see you in four months! (hopefully sooner since we have DSL at our house now.)

late night video editing

2006-06-10T13:28:00.000-04:00

my first night learning to edit videos in imovie. creativity makes you give up precious things... like sleep.

zoe's first year

2006-06-10T13:10:00.000-04:00

zoe turned one year old on april 13th. it's been a great year with zoe kate... there's no way i could have known how life would change when she entered it... and there's no way i can imagine life without her. looking forward to the next one!

the empire strikes back

2006-05-16T18:28:00.000-04:00

the blogosphere is always the last to know... two weeks ago (no, maybe three) vanessa and i found out we are expecting again! yep, we're having our third child and the world's second naturally-born foster-whiddon! lexie and i are hoping it's a boy, but i love my girls, so if the estrogen level rises in our family i guess i'll be OK with it! if it's a boy, his name will be holton daniel and if it's a girl, she'll be karis olivia.

vanessa's nauseous and moody... the first trimester was bad last time, too... but we'll make it through. at this point we're saying that this will be our last addition to the empire... a full set of foster-whiddons it is!

enlargment of the heart

2006-04-25T10:12:00.000-04:00

no... not the medical condition... the spiritual one! God is really doing a lot in me right now... he's giving me so much clarity regarding my personal purpose in life. everywhere i turn i hear God speaking the same message - "i called you to love you first and for you to serve me second! seek me, not ministry!" it sounds so simple... it's just the great commandment and great commission in their proper order, but Jesus is drawing me to such a deeper place of purposeful intimacy and it is revolutionary for me. i'm amazed at what God is doing.

i'm mentoring a couple of high school guys right now... jesse underwood and adam eubanks. jesse is in 9th grade and is a guitarist/singer/songwriter. adam is in 10th grade and he is a bassist. both of the guys are in a worship band called "crossing 47"... which is INCREDIBLE. jesse and adam have such phenomenal hearts for God; they love to pray and worship and are becoming passionate in their pursuit of Jesus. i'm supposed to be mentoring them but they really encourage me! i meet once a week individually with each of them; we also attend our tuesday morning "youth prayer" meeting at 6:30AM in the youth worship center at our church and the monthly "school of prayer" that happens on the last monday evening of the month.

my request of Jesus is this - "show me your heart. i want to really know what's in your heart toward me." i know academically that God loves me, but i want to walk in his passion every day of my life because i know that i cannot love him unless i am experiencing his love for me... and i desparately want to love Jesus more.

bands i've been listening to

2006-04-14T09:59:00.000-04:00

mutemath, mainstay, misty edwards, cool hand luke (jim deserves a "thanks!" for this one). bands i've resurrected from the library recently - rose blossom punch, starflyer 59, denison marrs. it's amazing how musical tastes grow... there are bands i used to LOVE that i can hardly listen to now... over time i've become more critical and i notice the flat pitches and weak songwriting... NOT THAT I CAN DO BETTER, just that i know better. bands i've stumbled across online - half-handed cloud (heard about him first at c-stone '01)... i like his simplistic style... he's "in" with danielson and soul-junk (surprise, surprise!) and reminds me of some of the indie-pop bands from athens like "of montreal" (not necessarily a recommendation... just a comparison).

quarterly post - part 2

2006-04-14T09:40:00.000-04:00

sorry... i cut the last one short... i was filling in for the receptionist for a few minutes at her desk and she came back before i was finished. now i'm in our video guy's office duplicating the promo DVDs that will mail out today for our O.N.E. weekend event. this year's theme is "simple 06" and our tagline is "following jesus isn't easy, but it doesn't have to be complicated." we'll be talking about having a heart-level, love relationship with God that goes beyond the christian "list" that we all tend to gravitate toward. it's going beyond duties and getting to desperate love... can you tell i'm excited about this?!

quarterly update :)

2006-04-14T09:08:00.000-04:00

thought i'd check in and post... to let you know that i'm still alive, if anybody even takes time to look at my blog (seeing that it's never updated!)

yesterday was zoe's first birthday. i'll try to get a picture posted here... we had some taken with a photographer in town. if you're from moultrie, you might remember her... her married name is carrie viohl (maiden name - carrie fleetwood). if you went to school at emmanuel when i did you may know her brother, clint fleetwood (married anna fountain). i was very impressed with her professionalism and the quality of her photos. check her website out at www.carrieviohl.com. on the main page, scroll down until you see "lexie and zoe". they're SO BEAUTIFUL!!!

things at church are busy (as usual). we're preparing for easter sunday this sunday, churchwide picnic next sunday, our annual O.N.E. weekend for teens two weeks after that, graduation sunday after that, camp @ the beach after that... then we get a break! i love my job, though... my family is learning to live at peace in the middle of all of this. it's a big adjustment but we're making it.

salvation makes a subtle sound (unless you turn the gain up REALLY high)

2005-10-17T08:54:00.000-04:00

so here's the deal... i don't have internet access at my house right now. vanessa and i traded our home phone line for two cell phones and we don't have cable or direct tv, so we don't currently have access to cable internet or whatever, so anything i write i have to do it from work. and just in case anybody from church is reading, i'm doing all my blogging BEFORE OR AFTER work from my office. despite what you've heard, youth pastors don't always surf the net under the guise of "sermon research"!

the most exciting thing happening in moultrie right now... the old crew is reconveining in mo-town! buddy (illian) and scott (turner) have been in town for a while, but recently clint (knight) moved back and now jonap (jonathan napier) is considering relocating his clan to "the city of southern living"! a little history lesson... jonap, clint and i played together from about '94 until about '99 in a band called "joshua generation." the only former member that's not around is jim fountain, who is still settled somewhere around hartwell, ga (last i heard). buddy and scott were friends of ours in high school who had a great rock band called "stinkbomb" that they converted to a christian rock band named "j.a.r." joshgen and j.a.r. played LOTS of shows together over the years and we often swapped members back and forth under special situations.

so the next natural question... is a new band in the works? we don't really know. we all got together last saturday night to play for a couple of hours (we were only missing buddy). it was, well... INCREDIBLE!!! i absolutely LOVE playing with these guys... there's nothing that can take the place of friendships that were forged through years of music and countless hours of hanging out. that kind of connection comes through the music. i'm excited... i don't know what will happen, if anything, but it's incredible to be with such great friends again. jim, we miss you!

yes, i'm still here

2005-10-12T17:30:00.000-04:00

sorry for the lack of posting... jonap constantly reminds me that i'm a horrible blogger. in fact, he actually had to leave michigan and visit moultrie to convince me to lose my lazy blogging habits and post. so, for all of you who might happen to swing by with faint but jaded hopes that something new would be here... i'm back! (at least for now... no promises!)

reading: recently i've read through matthew 5-7 (olivet discourse), joel, hebrews... i'm usually reading psalms, but recently i've gone back to proverbs for devotional reading.

listening to: switchfoot "nothing is sound," sarah brendel "sarah brendel," merchant band "merchant band"

this one's for fawn...

2005-06-11T01:11:00.000-04:00

great things are happening right now; led a series of "dream meetings" with my core youth workers to review the last ministry year and strategize for the next; played Jesus for vacation bible school; finished watching episodes IV, V & VI of "star wars" - aniken is restored, the empire is defeated and the galaxy is safe again.

i'm also very excited about a few new CDs. i'm currently stoked about the new projects from house of heros and kids in the way. as i write i'm listening to "better days" by robbie seay band. i highly recommend it... laid-back, well-written, electric guitar-driven worship. pretty unique.

for those of you in youth ministry, i recommend checking out the CD teaching series "the decades speak" by jeanne mayo. she is an assemblies of God youth pastor who has been at it for 30+ years. this series features 30 life lessons from her three decades of ministry to teens. the principles on these CDs are priceless... not programming ideas or strategies, but true wisdom that gets right to the heart of youth ministry. VERY good stuff! you can order it at www.youthsource.com.

visited with my cousins woody and rachel weeks last sunday. they're in the process of moving to ft. lauderdale, florida as woody begins medical school. vanessa and i hope to take the girls down to visit them for a little family vacation after i get back from student life camp in south padre island, tx. looking forward to camp... charlie hall is the worship leader and erwin mcmanus is the camp pastor, hence the trek to texas!

i want to encourage you guys to spend some serious time enjoying God. over the last year i've allowed myself to get so busy with leading a new youth ministry that i've neglected that to which i know God has called me - a simple life of seeking Him. so much of what mr. oxley said during my years at e.c. comes back to me... it really is all about knowing Jesus. let's push back against the urgent and make time to really be with God... not to prepare a lesson, but to love him. oswald chambers said, "it is much easier to do something than to trust in God; we see the activity and mistake panic for inspiration. that is why we see so few fellow workers with God, yet so many people working for God. we would much rather work for God than believe in him." it is so simple, but it's the key to all of what we're called to be... our lives spent in pursuit of the Pursuer. do i really believe that he is able to take care of my "to-do" list if i'll make seeking him my first priority? what we're doing in ministry is not nearly as important as whether or not we are recklessly abandoned to knowing the person of Jesus Christ. everything else will take care of itself. sorry to sermonize, but this is where my heart is right now.

music & books

2005-05-20T09:13:00.000-04:00

what is everybody reading and listening to these days? here are some of the books and albums that i've really enjoyed over the last year or so:

ALBUMS
"altitude" by yellow second (top of the list - i love it!)

"free to conquer" by subseven

"mmhmm" by relient k

"hide nothing" by further seems forever

"bullet" by mat kearny

"monk & neagle" by monk & neagle

"hymns ancient and modern" by the passion worship movement

i like what i've heard by these bands but haven't actually listened to the whole album: kids in the way (rock & roll!!!), house of heros, the chemistry, 4th avenue jones, disciple (their new stuff sounds great)

BOOKS

"ordering your private world" by gordon mcdonald (top of the list - i've set a goal to read it anually)

"waking the dead" by john eldridge

"building true disciples" by george barna

"your first two years in youth ministry" by doug fields (got started late on this one! :)

"developing the leader within you" by john maxwell

reconnected

2005-05-17T22:27:00.000-04:00

it's healthy to reflect on our lives. we break the timeline of existence into periods marked by major events and it's easy to live so focused on the current period with momentary glances to the immediately previous one that we forget how life looks from the "big picture" perspective. reflection really gives us a glimpse at ourselves from God's view... the whole parade at one time, grand marshall to street sweeper all in the same picture.

i started this blog almost three years to today's date! since that time my life has undergone dramatic (and welcome) changes. in recent days i've found myself in contact with friends (mostly from emmanuel college) with whom i lost contact for a while... some i outright neglected because of the "tyranny of the urgent" in my life. because of my closest long-time friend's blog (jonap... see links), i was reminded that i had an existing blog, too! in fact, so do MANY of the people who meant so much to me during my undergrad career.

reading their thoughts and reviewing my own past blog posts drive the point home... the past is important. it's almost insulting to refer to these friendships with the term "the past"... they are part of the big picture and they influence who i am. they are VERY important. praise God for technology... thanks to this platform, friends distributed from michigan to the ukraine can still influence us in this current period and aren't necessarily resigned to memories simply because of miles. for four years i have missed the relationships that developed at ec and i'm glad to reconnect now. it's good to be back in this incredible community!

I have come that they may have ZOE, and have it to the full! (john 10:10b)

2005-05-17T22:11:00.000-04:00

the first person ever born with the last name foster-whiddon... zoe kate! born april 13, 2005... 7lbs 6oz, 19" long.

an hour or two before zoe's arrival via c-section

2005-05-17T22:05:00.000-04:00

it's the most powerful weapon a foster-whiddon woman can wield (say it again!)... the infamous pout!

april 13th

2005-05-17T22:01:00.000-04:00

about 3AM the morning of zoe's birth... mom's in labor, daddy's showered, and everybody's ready to rush to the hospital! (irony = zoe was born at 6PM that night!!!)

lexie lou

2005-05-17T21:53:00.000-04:00

alexis is 7 years old and will finish the first grade this week. she loves music, baby dolls, and stories. she is the main character in our ongoing bedtime superhero saga, "the adventures of tuna tongue."

the worldwide population of foster-whiddons has doubled

2005-05-17T21:43:00.000-04:00

i married vanessa holton on november 29, 2003. we met when i was serving cool springs free will baptist church as youth pastor... my first ministry assignment after graduating from emmanuel college. vanessa was serving as the youth director at southside baptist church in the same tiny town of norman park. we actually went to the same elementary school as kids, but i never knew her... just her two older sisters!

the foster-whiddon wedding (thanks for the great photo, gina!)

2002-07-19T12:52:00.000-04:00

latest news: A) i just returned from speaking at a week of junior camp at camp caleb in flat gap, kentucky and a week of teen camp at camp echeconnee in lizella, ga and i'm ready to hibernate, B) i finally have a four-track, so i'll begin demo work on new stuff and archiving old stuff shortly, which means there will be posted versions in the somewhat near future, C) a friend, heath mcnease, just released his first studio hip-hop album under the name "verbal essence"... it's indie and very good. i'll post purchasing info as soon as i get it.

jonap once made the comment that a lot of internal dialogue rolls around in my head; he compared it to the narration on "the wonder years." my attempts to sort through current issues and thoughts and determining what God is showing me in it all constitutes most of this dialogue... this is where i am now:

what is "saved"? we usually think of a dramatic conversion experience where a person prays and is dramatically altered by a touch from God. this does happen... to a degree, it happened to me... but this understanding of salvation is so mystical and emotional that it's hard to grasp and even harder to identify in someone's life. my definition of salvation is shifting a lot right now, and i believe it's becoming much more new testament friendly. jim fountain shared a thought with me when we were in high school that really caught me off guard - there is no biblical account of Jesus ever praying the "sinner's prayer" with anybody. in fact, the formula we take people through to "get saved", though it is pieced together from things Jesus and paul said, isn't reflected in the scriptures in any resemblance of its current form.

when Jesus challenged people and led them to God, what did he do? he challenged them to believe. what did abraham do that caused God to consider him righteous? he believed what God told him. what constituted believers in the new testament? those who heard the good news and believed. that looks pretty elemental now that i've typed it out, but its significantly separated from what we call "salvation" today. biblical salvation is simply taking God at his word. it's believing that God is real. it's believing that he is who the bible reveals him to be. it's trust that he'll fulfill his promises. it's turning from a mindset that doubts God and is critical of him to a state of the heart that believes him in accordance with what he has said and what he has done through creation, history, and the cross. this view of salvation may seem very elemental, but i think it's important that we de-mystify it. salvation is simply trusting Jesus.

secondly, kyle mcnease (heath's older brother) and i had a conversation on doubting verses faith the other day that is worth thinking about again. the mindset of our society is extremely relativistic. it's natural to want to grab any thought that comes your way and examine it from every possible angle in order to determine its validity. a problem arises when someone raised in a relativistic culture goes through this examination process: we tend to be VERY hesitant to discard a philosophy because we're afraid that for some person somewhere it may be true. we are convinced that reality changes to accomodate the person experiencing it. it is true that we do experience reality through our own filters of preconcepetions and experience, but that doesn't mean that the fabric of reality shifts because i see something differently than another does. we are looking at the same reality but different aspects of it affect us differently. however, we all strive to see it more clearly, to understand it in truth. many believe there is no "true" way to see reality... but those of us who have chosen to believe Jesus and the bible have, in chosing to believe, forfeited the convenience of harboring a relativistic world view. the Holy Spirit has provided scripture to help us see the fabric of reality more clearly. Jesus came so we can experience reality in truth. in chosing to believe Jesus, we have chosen to reject all others (which reminds me of the awesome husband & wife analogy that God loves so much). faith is a choice, and we need to live in an understanding of the existence of imperical truth.

2002-05-30T13:56:00.000-04:00

i got in yesterday from jonap's wedding. it was a lot of work and a lot of fun.

i'm not sure why i keep coming back and posting to this page. nobody's reading it - in fact, i don't know that anybody other than brittnye, scott, and holmes even know that this website is up. when my head is pregnant with thought, i have to find some way to write it down. i'm not a daily journaler... my writing has more of an event-inspired regularity. by the design of God i'm a writer. so, my head is heavy and i'm here again.

sometimes in the christian life a cloud descends around your ears. it seems that just days before i could see for miles... my direction was clear and my compass was on cue. then, almost overnight, i've become spiritually autistic... locked inside a box of my own thoughts and emotions. in the midst of all that is concerning, i'm praying for that candle-flame of the voice of God to spark and drive the darkness from the room. Jesus, please make it all make sense. Holy Spirit, i need you to speak to me.

2002-05-20T11:46:00.000-04:00

apparently i'm going through a pretty strong writing season. i have several songs that i started but can't seem to get past the first verse and chorus lyrically, but i completed a new song in just a few days last week. it's called :breaking up is hard to do:. like most of the songs i'm writing now, it's written with God as the speaker. also like most of my other new[er] songs, it uses a familiar human situation to help us understand God's love for us - this time it's the pain caused by the breakup of a relationship that was particularly special. i have a feeling that if we could experience God's emotions, ours would prove to be a weak facsimile in comparison.

i've also started rewriting lyrics for the songs :progress:. it may undergo another name change once i'm finished. it's pretty bold... this is what i have so far: raise your head sleeper | wipe the slumber from your eyes | unite with me drunks | unite adulturers | fellow murderers and theives | our love is calling || it's in my head, it's in my ear | all you'd ever hoped that you would hear | but i am just a voice calling out | :the Lord is come | let earth receive her king.:

2002-05-17T13:00:00.000-04:00

it's always encouraging when one of those moments arise when you realize just how much you've grown. teaching middle school kids makes me thankful that God has given me opportunities to be changed and let my worldview expand. i thank God for friends whose influence on my life have been dramatic, even if i don't usually recognize the importance of their impact. i'm glad i'm not who i used to be, and i'm excited to see who i'll become.

2002-05-16T18:04:00.000-04:00

this is were i'll post thoughts on a random basis. -efw