Judaho!

Okay, so this title is a bit ridiculous, but perfect for the posting nonetheless. Here's why. If I'm honest with myself, it has definitely been a hard transition moving here. Here not being Washington, or Olympia. Here being away from my church family. Of course Capital Christian Center will always have this huge place in my heart. And to be honest, I have conceded defeat and accepted the fact that I'm away...on my own. And although no one wants to simply survive...but people want to be able to say that their thriving; I have without a doubt just been surviving life. Leaving Capital Christian Center without much notice, and without direction really beat me down. Just as I surrendered and was excited about being in full-time ministry, it was taken right out from underneathe me. But isn't that how God works? At least that's how he does in my life. He never lets me get too comfortable. I strongly believe that God will one day call me back to Idaho, but right now, God is taking me on a journey. And tonight was yet another pit stop.

I asked my roommate if he would like to go to church with me tonight at City Church in Belltowne. Both of us working retail leaves us with very little chance to attend church Sunday mornings. He agreed; and we were off. I went into today with great expectancy. It reminded me of my previous life. A life where I was excited and energized to go to church...to be poured into...to experience an unbelieveable annointing. We got there with a few minutes to spare before prayer. Of course, looking for a church that is going to "replace" another is somewhat ludacris. And City Church does not replace any other church. But it definitely brought new life to me. It gave me such a breath of fresh air. That Holy Spirit annointing that I had been hungering for.

Tonight, Judah spoke on Job 14:7-9 and 2 Corinthians 2:14-15. It was simply amazing. The title of the message was either "The Scent of Grace" or "This Bud's For You". Whichever title you prefer. In his own comedic way, he talked about the scent of the church. What would others say it was? "Have you tried Adherence...by Jesus?" He then related Corinth to some of the undenaible similarities to America. Pastor Judah really challenged the YPers to spread the scent of Christ. We are not victims...we are victors. Paul references in 2 Corinthians a common practice done in biblical times. Romans would return from a raid of some sort and would carry out an impromptu victory parade. They would take their captives and they would parade down the streets with them. There would be no announcement to let the people know that a parade was starting, but they would carry incense with them, and when the people smelled it; they would flock to the streets...to the smell of victory. For some, this was a smell of victory; and for others a scent of defeat. The fragrance was not diffused if they returned home defeated. If we are to carry out the scent of the Church, we need to live victorious lives! So many people in our culture live dissensitized. Be a Mary Kay provider...take God's message...God's grace...God's scent to your community.

I left inspired tonight. I left enriched. So many visions of the future...of hope were stirred within me. If I can't worship in the House in Idaho...I'll settle for Judaho.

Truth Will Win Out

I have been more and more confirmed in my suspicions with my views of parenting. I dont' ascribe to know much about parenting at all, since I am not one yet. However, working with today's youth, it seems like there are a lot of issues surrounding their well-being. I think that people from all different backgrounds would agree that today's youth deal with more things than generations in the past. More and more teenage pregnancies are occurring, and the scary thing is that many of them are intentional. The divorce rate is going up. Pornography is at the fingertips of any kid at school, home, and friends' houses. Not to mention all of the influences that are tugging at them from all directions. There are those old cartoons where you see Donald Duck with an Angel Donald on one shoulder and a Devilish Donald on the other. Today, there aren't just two choices...there are tons of fictitious characters that represent choices.

Many parents subscribe to the method of hide and seek. This is quite ironic because as children, we play peek-a-boo and hide and seek, and learn to seek after what is hidden from us. And yet, I've seen many, many parents attempt to resurface this strategy and hide the world from their children. And yet, if they are ever to find the truth, they will continue to "seek" until they do. In the Christian community, so many people see questions as such a negative thing. I believe that Jesus came as THE way and THE truth. Their is no subjectivity to it. But the only way to find truth is to ask questions. To question. To seek. Stubborn people are always the ones that claim to be open-minded and accepting, but the fact is, you're stubborn if you aren't willing to find the truth. And the only way to do that is to question. Is the fear that we don't know the answer, and perhaps won't know it? Or that we will find the answer and see that we have or will go down the "wrong" path? But one important thing to remember is, without a question there is not faith.

It's all very simple. Seeking God is seeking truth. And seeking truth is done by asking questions. Don't be afraid. Truth will win out.

Innocent Until Proven Guilty

Did God create guilt? I know that some people have theologically deduced that many things such as guilt came into existence during the fall of man. Hence the phrase "their eyes were opened." So one can then reason that guilt is all a matter of perspective. Is this so? I've often wondered what, if any, reason God had to create the possibility of failing. Why did God allow Satan to take on the persona of the serpant? Why did God create a rule in which He knew could/would be broken? Why have the Tree of Good and Evil? And what do all of these questions ratify and influence us today?

I know that it can seem incredibly frivolitious to conclude that guilt is nothing more than perspective. But is it that insane to think we can't disappoint God? If you ascribe to the belief that God knows all; He is ominiscent...then isn't it plausible to think that every time we make a mistake, in God's eyes, we're just one step closer to over-coming. He knows the end result. He knows how many times we'll fall before we are free. I think this reasoning could lead you to say that God is excited when we mess up because He sees we're that much closer. It likes when a parent sees their kid wobble on their bike, and fall. And this happens time and time again. But if as a parent, you knew without a shadow of a doubt how many times it would take for your child to conquer bike-riding, wouldn't at least a little part of you be excited that they are one step closer to getting it? You'd tell them to get back on that bike...to not be discouraged. What does God tell us? Feel guilty for stumbling?

I'm not ready to say that this is actually what I believe, because if you hold true to the concept that God really does know how many times it takes before you succeed, you can run into some sticky places. This reasoning also can't be used as an excuse to make yourself feel good. God is still a "no excuses" god. But can we conclude that God didn't create guilt?

Genesis

For just over a month, I have been blogging on a different site. It has been fun, and will continue to be the destination in which I blog about the random thoughts that I have daily. But I have begun to feel like I don't have an outlet for deeper discussion. The solution was easy...start another blog.

As I have been meeting with a couple different book clubs, and delving into theological discussions, I have discovered my inner "nerd". I want to learn and be challenged. Perhaps all of the deadlines you're strapped to in college trained me to use discussion and writing as an outlet for learning and confirming. The plan is to post notes, questions, and thoughts about the various discussions and books. Right now I am reading "The Shack" by William P. Young and "Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church" by D.A. Carson. I hope you enjoy the blog...and if not, I will.