A Christian On Foot

Prayer

2009-08-18T21:39:00.001-04:00

Prayer we are always told is one of the most essential components of a Christian's life. We are encouraged in sermons, bible studies and conversations with other Christians to pray often. But what I rarely seem to get is an answer on how to pray or what it means to pray or at least an answer that satisfies me. Sometimes I get the reply its just talking to God or they will say its a 2-way street and you need to make sure you are listening to him too. This doesn't seem to help me any. What listening to God look like? I have never experienced him speaking audibly, although I have asked him to many times. Am I supposed to sit in silence? If so do I try shut down my thoughts and my mind or should I expect God to speak through my thoughts and if he speaks through my thoughts how do I distinguish him speaking from my own will and selfish thoughts. If I am supposed to sit in silence and try to shutdown my mind then how does God speak to me if not through a thought? I feel like this is pretty key and prayer shouldn't be this hard for me to figure out. Any thoughts would be much appreciated.

Surrender

2009-08-12T15:34:00.000-04:00

Surrender or surrendering was a word I heard at nearly every church event growing up. I have gone to the altar and tearfully surrendered different things countless times. I have earnestly told God that I am surrendering certain areas and all of my life to him. After hearing tons of sermons, sunday school lessons and even a couple of college lectures on surrendering I still don't think I have grasped what it means. How do you surrender something that a portion of you doesn't want to surrender. Do you just think or pray really hard that you won't want to hold on to that area or thing anymore? I can completely mean that I hate something with the majority of who I am, but that doesn't change how the minority of me feels about it. And these questions have to do with both sinful things and things that aren't really sinful but need to be let go of too. I am starting to wonder if I have ever actually surrendered anything. If I have it would seem like I would not be struggling with the same things I struggled with in 6th grade. And when you talk to people most of the time all you get is comments like "just give it all to Jesus" or other emotional phrases that don't give me any real direction. If I say anymore on this I will just start repeating myself. There will probably be a post on prayer soon.

CAMP ECCO!!!

2009-08-12T15:15:00.000-04:00

I finally have internet access so I can fulfill my promise of some new posts. This is the first of those promised posts. I got the chance to go to an Evangelical Congregational Church Children's Camp. It took pretty much the whole summer for my friend to pressure me into going, but I'm very happy that I caved. I was a counselor along with another guy named Chris (a guy who is pastoring 2 churches one EC and another Church or Christ) of 12 guys from 3rd-6th grade. I loved it. I have been a counselor before when I was in highschool but I must have matured some since then because I felt much more at ease this time. I got to pray with 2 kids from my cabin as they made recommittments to Christ. The whole week reaffirmed that ministry is what I'm meant to be doing.

Posts are coming soon!

2009-08-01T23:34:00.000-04:00

Sorry I've done so little blogging, but there will be a few coming shortly hopefully depending on my internet access and how the creative juices flow. (but mainly internet access because I'll post one even if I think it sounds stupid and boring)

Response to a Friend

2009-06-15T11:20:00.000-04:00

My friend Justin posted a few questions on his blog but my answer got too long and so I decided to move it to a post rather than clog up his post. Here is his questions and my attempt at an answer.

What role does/should the bible play in our lives?

How much authority should we give the bible?

Is the Bible fallible? How do you define fallibility?

Why are you a Christian?

All I know is that I find the Bible meaningful because
1. It tells me what my identity. I can trace my faith back to the people that are recorded in it.
2. I can relate to many of the emotions and characters expressed within it.
3.It has challenged and encouraged me many times.

This all being said, I don't think all parts of it should have the same weight or role within our life. The Gospels should have a bigger impact on our ethics than Song of Solomon or Revelation.

Maybe I am making a double standard, but this is the order of which I give Scripture authority (In descending order) The Gospels, Rest of the New Testament. OT.

There is definitely a human element in the Bible and so I think it is fallible. Fallible in the sense that not all places or names may be right. Fallible in the sense that Paul clearly states that parts of his letters are his own opinion and therefore not necessarily correct. It is also fallible in the sense that it is usually a theological narrative and so it can't always give us scientific and historical data. I am still working out in my mind to what extent the bible is fallible and infallible.

Why am I a Christian? It is the only thing I have heard that truly gives any type of hope. I want to say that its the only thing that makes sense to me, but if I'm honest it doesn't always make sense to me. I'd also like to say that I have a peace in my heart and Christ constantly talks to me, but that would be a lie. A peaceful emotion is usually pretty fleeting and I am usually asking Jesus to talk to me or at least acknowledge that I'm speaking to him, but I rarely get a response. Despite all this I can't escape it. I've tried a couple of times and I was miserable. I keep coming back because I still get choked and sometimes outright cry when I read about the cross or take communion. I still get chills when I read about Pentecost and the things the early followers did even simple "non-miraculous" things like sharing their possessions. I can't help but cling to the glimpses of and short bursts of hope I find in Christianity.

Sorry about the length. I'd like to hear your answers to the questions though.

Glimpses of the Kingdom

2009-06-01T00:23:00.000-04:00

I've been intrigued the past semester or so with the term kingdom (as in the Kingdom of God or Kingdom of Heaven). It conjures up a lot of images and ideas, but I was having trouble really understanding what this kingdom is. What is it? Why am I wanting to further it? What does it look like?

I still don't know if I've nailed it down, but I think the past week I've been getting glimpses. This Kingdom is different than other kingdoms. It doesn't rely on glorious and bloody battles to further itself. It can be seen advancing in subtle and dynamic ways. It can be seen in someone opening a door for a guy having a hard time coming out of a store with his bike, or sitting on a porch talking and sharing concerns and hope and jokes with each other. It can be seen in people sharing their food with each other without conditions. It creeps further still in conversations iniated by a book cover with a line from the Sermon on the Mount on it that makes someone say "I didn't know Jesus said that..." It can be seen in a group of people pushing a car that ran out of gas across a busy a street to a gas station for an elderly man with heart problems. It can be seen in a cop seeing them do this and coming up behind them with his lights so they don't get hit by cars. And a man being a peacemaker and defusing what could be a heated situation. The Kingdom can be seen in people devoting themselves to the Apostles' teaching, to the breaking of bread and to prayer (I had get a Pentecost reference in there plus Dr. Sanders pounded this verse into us in the Fall).

I don't think its possible to give a detailed blueprint of what the Kingdom of God is; I think that's why Jesus had to resort to parables, ...The Kingdom of God is like:

A mustard seed

A man sowing seeds

A pearl of great worth

Yeast mixed in dough

A weed bursting through pavement?

Current Favorite Song

2009-05-17T16:38:00.000-04:00

I love this song so much that I have been suggesting everyone I know listen to it. I myself have been listening to it a lot. In fact there are some afternoons that I just play it over and over. I don't actually own it so I go to youtube and play it there. I find that it calms me, challenges me, and encourages me and just reminds me in general that I am loved. You should listen to it.

Summer Reading List

2009-05-16T01:58:00.000-04:00

Since it is almost summer, I will no longer have assigned reading and read for pleasure. So I am in the process of making a summer reading list and am wanting some more ideas. So if you don't mind give me some books you think are must-reads. Whatever genre; Fiction, Theology, history, biography or whatever else.

What is Holiness?

2009-04-20T20:39:00.000-04:00

I was going to post this question in about a week so it would seem as if I was a good blogger and actually making posts on a regular basis, but I want some answers from you people and don't really want to wait. So here is the question (if you haven't figured it out from the title):

What is Holiness (how would you define it?). Is it attainable by us? If so how do we attain it? If not what is the point of the Christian walk?

I have been struggling with these questions and could use some input.

Music

2009-04-20T09:55:00.000-04:00

Sorry it has been so long since I've posted anything, but I just haven't been inspired to write anything. But now I have 2 ideas on the same day. I'm only going to do one so I can save the other one for another post so it looks like I'm being steady in posting. I am pretty clever sometimes.

I have been listening to a lot of different music lately. Here is a sampling.

Sufjan Stevens- As a friend commented, "Sufjan= master of all things chill and musical.

Half-Handed Cloud- This band has a very unique sound that almost sounds kiddy. I love them though and have had the song We Don't Know How it Grows stuck in my head all the time.

Brother IZ- You have probably heard his cover of Somewhere Over the Rainbow/What a Wonderful World.

The Who- Their music just has so much emotion. (especially Love, Reign O'er Me)Plus its rebellious and I used to be pretty rebellious.

U2- I have mixed feeling about U2, Some of their music is sweet and other stuff is stupid (like Elevation), but other stuff I like a lot and I listened to a lot during some hard times this Winter (like Stuck in a Moment)

I have been listening to a lot of new artists and borrowing music from friends. So I will ask my blogging friends: What are you listening to? Give me some new artists or songs that are amazing.

The Heart of the Empire a.k.a. Washington D.C

2009-03-20T20:38:00.000-04:00

Tomorrow at 8AM I will be leaving from Mount Vernon, Ohio and going to a city I have never been to. If you know me very well at all or if you've read some of my posts you have probably picked up on the fact that I am not a very patriotic person. Actually I am not patriotic at all. I am not sure what in my life changed me from the kid saying the Pledge of Allegiance and playing patriotic songs one note at a time on the piano, but I have come to believe that patriotism for me isn't compatible with my faith in Christ. I think at first it was my coming to understand that following Jesus is leaving violence. Because of this the militarism of the U.S. (though the people in the military have good motives and many are people of faith) gradually made me question what my loyalties as a Christian were to the nation I live in is. I have come to see myself as a citizen of the Kingdom of God and though I owe a certain amount of respect to those in authority over me and should do my best to obey their laws as long as they do not hinder my faith, I am no longer a citizen of this world and just can not muster feelings of patriotism anymore and actually feel a lot of tension when it comes to the U.S.

So it will be interesting being in the capital this spring break. I am looking forward to serving the church that we will be going to and whatever ministering that they have planned for us to do. But the fusion of quasi-Christianity and Nationalism will be frustrating to me.

Be Perfect as Your Heavenly Father is Perfect

2009-03-06T13:13:00.000-05:00

I am in the class Life and Teachings of Jesus this semester. Part of this class is participating in an online discussion board. The topic at the moment is Jesus and nonviolence. While looking at the Sermon on the Mount to try to give a reason that I feel Jesus was non-violent and taught non-violence I noticed something that struck me. I have grown up in The Church of the Nazarene so I have grown up hearing the verse that says "Be Perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect." What I don't think I have ever noticed before is this comes as an ending to Jesus discussing turning the other cheek, loving and praying for our enemies and those who persecute us. I don't really know what the significance of that is yet as I'm still kind of digesting it, but it seems like it should be a significant thing. Maybe its too strong to say that the essence of perfection is not to make sure you don't cuss or watch questionable movies and TV shows but is to love in the fashion that Jesus taught and portrayed for us. Unfortunately in my mind that isn't any easier for me. I think if I was just given a list of things not to do I could maybe attain that goal, but it seems much loftier to try to love my enemies and pray for people who persecute me. I didn't realize how much crap I talk about people until this Lent where I am trying to give up saying negative things about people. I am failing miserably at this. I used to think I was pretty good at loving my enemies but I'm not even good at loving people who irk me. I guess its a good thing that I'm aware of this all now, but I'm not real sure how to move forward from awareness. If I tried to write much more it would just turn into rambling so I'm going to stop typing now.

Endorsements

2009-02-23T09:33:00.000-05:00

I am not sure how many fellow students actually read my blog, but I would like to publically and officially endorse some candidates that are running for positions on SGA.

Justin Nowicki who is running for SGA President.

Ryan Stagg who is running for VP of Academic stuff

Brian Miller who is running for VP of Christian Life/Chaplain.

I consider all three of these guys good friends of mine. All three have shared their vision for what they want to do if elected and I am excited about things that could happen if they are elected. Now that this blog has officially endorsed these guys they will pretty much win hands down, but you should still vote for them.

Gospel

2009-02-18T22:29:00.001-05:00

I pose to you, my dear bloggling friend, a question. I am not sure what has spawned this question in my mind or even when exactly. Maybe talking with a friend and trying to figure out what exactly I'm passionate about. Maybe sitting in Life and Teachings of Jesus. Maybe while translating a passage from koine greek I saw the word euangelion (gospel). Whatever/whenever it is/was this question has been gnawing at me. Maybe the Holy Spirit's involved, I'm not sure, but here it is.

What is the Gospel? What is this good news that we are supposed to be about? I know entire books have been written on this topic, but I'd prefer to hear some ideas from some friends on here. If someone was to come up and ask you "What is the gospel?" what would you say to them?

Greek 2: The First of Many Complaints

2009-02-04T05:33:00.001-05:00

...So I am about to start my second semester of Greek. I hate to be negative about a class that is for my major, but I am really dreading it. I wish I had a reason other than “It’s hard” for why I don’t want to take another semester of it, but mainly that is why. I don’t enjoy going to a class where I am miserable the whole time and leave everyday feeling as though I will probably fail and my mind fried. I also hate to be negative about a class with such a cool prof. as Dr. Williamson. When he gets off on little tangents I love it. I understand its importance for me though. The New Testament is written in Greek and as a pastor it is important for me to be able to read the New Testament. I just wish someone would take the time to translate it to English.

Here's to Frank Capra!

2009-02-03T04:25:00.000-05:00

Maybe I'll start a series of "Here's to...." series, but I'm not making promises since often when I make promises on this blog I fail to keep them and that looks bad. Besides I will probably be accused of stealing the idea from Travis Keller's "Peace to... " series.

When people think of great directors they often think of Spielsburg or Scorsese, but that is only because they forget about Capra. Frank Capra is the director of classic films like It's a Wonderful Life, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (Gary Cooper beats Adam Sandler any day) and many many others. He was born in 1897 he was an Italian-American. In his career he was nominated 6 times for an academy award.

He is probably my favorite director. He directed my favorite movie You Can't Take it With You. The reason I think Frank Capra is so great is because, as I discussed with a friend via texting tonight, his movies restore my faith in humanity. In many of his films you see people coming through for people. His movies take jabs at the rich and powerful and uplift the underdogs and down trodden. If you haven't had the chance to see one of his movies let me know and you are welcome to borrow one of the many that I own or even better yet we can watch them together (Very few people are interested in watching old movies). Frank Capra has inspired and challenged me better than a lot of sermons do on numerous occaisions and if I had to write who would I like to most meet and he hadn't died in 1991 I think I might pick him. I would like to apologize for the cheesiness of this next line, but it kind of sounds like something you might here in an old movie. Here's to Frank Capra!

An Apology

2009-02-02T02:28:00.001-05:00

I would like to apologize for how much space there has been between posts on this blog for a while. I have probably lost all my readers so there is probably no one to read the apology, but just in case there is, I am sorry. Now for excuses. I guess I don't really have any excuses. I just haven't had a lot of deep thoughts lately. I have been distracted by things that are "less spiritual" and really haven't thought about things related to the Church or theology. This is probably bad since I am a pastoral ministry major, but I can't really help it. I will give you a quick idea about the things I've been thinking about and doing during January.

I played Gotcha twice and lost once
I preached my 3rd sermon in chapel (you can listen to it if you click the link on the previous post)
I've been playing a lot of rock band
I have really gotten into The Who
I've been thinking about girls quite a bit. (Don't ask questions.)
I was in an accident and lost my glasses and got new ones. (Everyone was fine)
Assassin's Creed has been played (not beaten yet)
Psychology has been passed (at least I assume so)
I have almost finished reading Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (the last time was freshman year of highschool I think)
A bunch of friends aren't coming back for the Spring
Lost started back up again

I have just not been interested in things I'm usually very interested in. Don't worry I am not an atheist or anything. Maybe things will change in the Spring. I am taking a class called Life and Teachings of Jesus, so maybe that will get me thinking about things and inspire some interesting posts. For my blogging friends I have been reading your blogs. I've enjoyed commenting on your thoughts more than coming up with my own.

Laziness

2009-01-17T16:50:00.001-05:00

Well I suppose I am a pretty lazy blogger because I am not even taking the time to write a new post. Instead I am linking my school's chapel podcasts. I am not pressuring you or anything, but if you are interested I preached the sermon in chapel on Tuesday Jan. 13 and it is now up on their site. Maybe someday soon I will tell you how it feels to be 21 and not having a hangover, but I'm not promising anything.

http://www.mvnu.edu/podcast/podlist.asp

The Most Impacting Event of 2008

2009-01-01T03:18:00.000-05:00

(Picture of the team in front of a picture of paraguay in the dining hall at Betania)

I wasn't going to do the cliche thing of writing a post about the New Year or the Old Year but, I just read the letter I wrote to myself while in Paraguay that I just got this week in the mail. I am going to allow you to read this letter (minus a couple of sections because they are a little too personal). It is less of a letter to me and more of a prayer to God. At least it isn't a list right?

Lord,
Thank you so much for allowing me to come to Paraguay. Thank-you for answering my prayer way backin September when i told you I wanted to do somthing exciting for you and something that would make a difference for you and then the next weekend you sent Michal to Sonfest and she told me to think about comin with her to Paraguay. Thank you for parents who supported me and other friends and family supported me.
Thank you for allowing me to see your people here. I'm repeatedly blessed when i see their faithfullness and love. Thank you for the relationships that you have formed. For getting to know the Traush's better, meeting Benji and Cheryl and Sharon. For Jose, Ramone, Carlos, Analu, Berto and his wife, for Bruno and his wife. For Benides Anni and Vivian. For Edgar and little Edgar and
Lord, you have broken my heart for the people of Paraguay, especially for those in the villages on the river. Lord their lack of a pastor gnaws at me. Lord please call someone to pastor those people, even if that person is me. Bring someone to care for, love, shepherd, disciple, and evangelize them. Lord I also want to be involved even if you don't call me to pastor these people. I want to support the person you do call in anyway I can, through prayers, financially and any other way you lay on my heart.
Lord continue to break my heart for lost, broken, hurting dying people and people without hope. I want to whisper hope to them. Thank you for allowing me to preach your word to the congregation here at Betania.
Lord continue to teach me what it means to follow you. Continue to use these experiences to shape me. Continue to mold me and be patient with my short-comings.

Your Son

(My really sweet signature)

Believe it or not the people without a pastor contine to gnaw at me. I still miss the people I met even though I only knew them for 2 weeks (even before I got this letter). I am still impacted by my experiences there. And I still use pictures I took as backgrounds on my laptop.

A Christian On Foot

2008-12-24T22:44:00.000-05:00

It is December 24th and I know all of you woke up saying "Wow! I can't believe that its been a year since Daniel started his blog!" Well you were right. It was a year ago tonight that I created A Christian On Foot.
I got the inspiration for the name from a line in a book called The Robe. The comment comes from Emperor Tiberius regarding the new cult springing up who are known as the "Christians". He sees the potential for revolution in the radical and loving teaching that they are teaching, but he assumes they will eventually become like all men seeking and grabbing for power and position to make themselves secure. A Christian while he is still poor and on foot is powerful and has the chance to turn the world on its head, but when a Christian becomes prosperous enough to own a horse he will be just like any other man on horseback.
Well as we start another year of dialoguing about everything from music and movies to religion and politics, it is my goal to try to figure out how to view these things as a Christian on foot. I'd like to start this year of posts with my favorite verse of one of my top three christmas songs.

Truly He taught us to love one another His law is love, and His gospel is peace Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother And in His name all oppression shall cease Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we Let all within us praise His holy name Christ is the Lord, O praise His name forever His power and glory ever more proclaim

Worship stuff

2008-12-03T22:18:00.001-05:00

Since starting college last year my preference for worship styles has gone in some weird directions. If the Daniel of my highschool years could hear these preferences he would be horrified. Here are some examples my fellow pastoral ministry majors would probably cringe at them.

Responsive readings, which I used to hate, I have begun to be excited when they are done in a service. Though often they are done with a slow-paced drone, I believe if a pastor taught his congregation what a responsive reading should be they have the potential to be powerful. When else does a congregation as a whole get to proclaim something together?

Hymns. I am starting to enjoy some hymns over contemporary worship music, some of which are cheesy, sound the same as a dozen others, and don't have any depth. This one is on a limited basis. I still find some hymns to be stale (especially when sung by my home congregation), an old style of cheesy which is sometimes worse than new cheesy, and though Dr. Sanders disagrees with me some even have some bad theology, especially on topics such as Heaven.

Communion. I have already written on this one in other posts, but I have come to really long for communion and wish I could have it on a weekly basis. I used to think like many of my fellow Nazarenes that if communion was taken too frequently it would lose its meaning and we would fall into some of the same traps as Roman Catholics. I now wonder how Christians cannot desire to take Communion as often as they can.

The Church Calendar. I am still pretty ignorant on this one, but I have an increasing interest in the lecionary and feast days and am especially upset at the lack of focus on Easter, Pentecost, and Christmas. My home church didn't even mention Pentecost this past year they were too busy focusing on Mother's Day.

Certainties

2008-11-29T18:39:00.000-05:00

I have come to two conclusions, 4 in the morning seems to be when I come to my best conclusions. The first conclusion is that females are not certain about anything and don't really know what they want. This is particularly disturbing because of my second conclusion: Males are not certain about anything and don't really know what they want. It would be okay if one of the two genders were certain about something because then they could say to the other gender "Oh...you're not certain about that, oh well that doesn't matter because I am." So because of both genders not knowing anything for sure both walk around waiting till they become sure of something and who knows if that will ever happen.

It might be okay if it was just genders in general that were unsure of everything, but I am starting to suspect that no one has ever been certain about anything. Maybe people have just decided, since they aren't sure about anything, that this or that was what they were going to be sure about and then go around arguing, being angry at and trying to convince those who aren't sure about that particular thing. Then some people who weren't sure about that thing decided "...well what the heck I wasn't sure about that anyway and he sure seems to be certain about it so I guess I'm sure of it too." Maybe that's all life is, trying to convince other people to be sure of what you have decided to be sure of. I think maybe the less sleep I get the more cynical I become, but I'm not really sure of that so please don't try to convince anyone of the surety of that conjecture.

Movie Code of Ethics

2008-11-02T21:52:00.000-05:00

Because I love movies and take my movie watching seriously and because it seems like a lot of people seem not to know the correct way to watch movies I feel it is neccesary to post a Movie Code of Ethics. This will not be an exaustive resource, but hopefully will help you not to make a fool of yourself or at least not infuriate me while watching a movie.

Universal Code

1. When watching a serious movie/ scene of a movie you do not laugh or make a joke.
2. Silence is usually a good thing while watching a movie. (there are many sub-rules to this rule ther are also exceptions to this rule)
3. If there is someone who has not seen the movie you do not reveal ANYTHING.
4. If there is someone who has not seen the movie you do not quote the lines as they are being said.
5. Actually it is very rarely a good thing to quote the lines as they are being said (it does not impress people)
6. It is usually better if you do not tell people things like "remember that, its important later" or "ooh this is a good part" Most likely the person will realize this without your commentary.
7. When you are at a theater it is not funny to laugh loudly in a mocking way when people laugh at a part you did not think was funny (this makes you a jerk)
8. It does not make you cool to throw stuff at people in front of you when you are at a theater (this also makes you a jerk)
9. When watching a musical it is sometimes permissable to sing along you need to judge your company. It also depends on the quality of your singing voice.

My personal code

1. I will not start a movie in the middle unless I have seen it.
2. I will not start a movie unless I can finish it.
3. I will not watch a series out of order even if I don't need to see the previous ones for it to make sense

Questions

2008-10-01T22:11:00.000-04:00

What does it mean to be a pastor?

What's the value of being ordained?

What if I want to work for some random ministry not affiliated with the Church of the Nazarene?

Why can't I just build THE CHURCH even if its not the COTN?

What would I do if I couldn't pastor?

Is it wrong not to want to work except at ministry?

How does someone who doesn't have it together help other people who don't have it together?

How much should a person agree with a specific denomination's stances on issues before being a member? A pastor?

Why does a 3-hour shift seem to take so long, but a three hour nap is over so quickly?

Why did the people at the Tower of Babel have to be so stupid?

Movie Quote

2008-09-28T02:13:00.000-04:00

I was watching The Shawshank Redemption and something Morgan Freeman's character said struck me.

"Hope is a dangerous thing"

Indeed it is.

Mission Trip Part 3

2008-09-24T21:43:00.000-04:00

Sorry the posts are coming slower now since I’ve gotten into the thick of the semester. Greek is kicking my butt so far, though I am managing to keep my head above water. I am definitely doing better than I was doing last year at this time. When I get the chance I hope to continue to post my thoughts on here. Right now I think I will kind of be going back and forth between some memories and thoughts that are still lingering from my mission trip to Paraguay and my thoughts on some of the sacraments and maybe a random rant or thought occasionally.

While I was in Paraguay I was given the privilege to preach to the people at Mission Betania during their Sunday evening service (they do not have a Sunday morning service). It was my second time ever preaching, the first was about 2 weeks previous and it was definitely my first time ever preaching through an interpreter. I wrote my sermon in my note taking/journaling notebook. The text for the sermon was Ephesians 6:10-17. I talked especially about how we are called to stand (the word stand is used 4 times in a very small portion of this passage). I encouraged those who were in the midst of the battle to take heart and continue standing and I challenged those who had never had the courage to put the armor on and join the battle to reinforce those already on the battlefield.

Like I mentioned I spoke through an interpreter named Vivian. She was very patient with my nervousness and fumbling around. During one part of the sermon I said almost in passing that “We are more than Conquerors.” Vivian thought for a second and told me she didn’t know how to translate conquerors into Spanish. I panicked. I thought and thought to try to find another word for conqueror, but I couldn’t think of anything. One of the guys in my group who had given his testimony earlier in the service whispered up to me “winners” So I told Vivian we are more than winners in Christ and she translated that into Spanish. I think the congregation understood the mix-up because I saw a lot of smiles when she translated that.

At the end of my sermon I prayed for them, that God would strengthen them and continue to work through them and give them vision. Then when I finished and had sat down they surprised me by having me come back up and a couple of other people who were on the team and they extended their arms and prayed over me. I don’t really have any profound thoughts to share with you about this. It is just a very fond memory for me.

The Eucharist

2008-09-10T22:03:00.001-04:00

Sorry for those of you who were following the posts about my mission trip, but I am taking a break (not sure if its temporary or more permanent) from those experiences and bring up some different topics that are on my mind, which are many now that I am back in an academic atmosphere.

My home church is a church where there is not too much value placed on the sacraments. Actually to be honest many of the people might not even know what sacraments are. We do Communion twice a year. Once at Easter as a congregation and once at Christmas as individual families and the pastor. It has been years since our baptismal has been used and when there is a mention of baptism in a sermon it nearly always used as an oppurtunity to warn people that baptism does NOT save you. I can not remember the last time I heard our pastor share the importance of being baptized.

I did not realize until I started attending MVNU and started attending a church in Mount Vernon that takes communion more than twice a year that I yearn for the Lord's Supper. I wish I could fully describe what this sacrament means to me and all the theological and historical things that hit me every time I partake of the body and blood. Though I am still reflecting on it I think if I ever get the oppurtunity to pastor a church we will have communion at the least once a month and more ideally every week. I know many disagree with me for various reasons. I would like to hear some of those disagreements and maybe even some affirmations of this idea. Also I am going to put a poll up about the frequency of performing communion. To end this post I will quote a comment I read on another blog today. "If you think there is something wrong with frequent communion then you need to take it more often"

Mission Trip Part 2: The Faithfullness of the Body of Christ in Paraguay

2008-09-04T11:34:00.001-04:00

Me and my Brother in Christ Jose
First let me apologize for the gap between Part 1 and Part 2. When I wrote part one I clearly underestimated how overwhelming the first few days of class were going to be. I've been trying to memorize the Greek alphabet for the quiz I will be taking later today. But here is the long awaited part two of the series of posts on my mission trip. I can't guarantee when part 3 will be posted, but I will try to do some more posting this weekend. Oh and Michal if you read any of these and I have some facts off please let me know.

The thing I think moved me over and over was just being in the presence of my brothers and sisters in Christ down in Paraguay. I guess I had already been rediscovering the greatness of THE CHURCH, as you might have already known if you read my post on the Body of Christ. But to see my brothers and sisters, to worship with them, to work beside them, and to listen to their stories of how they are being faithful to their calling choked me up numerous times.

One man, who's son had already graduated from the school, told of how him and his wife left Brazil, sold their house and came to Paraguay to Mission Betania because they felt that was what God was calling them to do.

One woman who was at Antequerra, was a widow of a pastor who was ministering there. When he died she and her children continued to stay there and minister. Also Edgar a fishing boat captain helps carry out the ministry to this area. He drove our mission team to the different villages where we did VBS and a free clinic.

I wish I could remember more of the stories that I heard of how God had called these different people and how he had provided for them and the sacrifices they had made for the gospel of hope to be preached. The Church is not just located in the U.S. In fact I think the church is thriving more outside of the U.S.

A couple of my favorite parts of the trip were when I got to go to their church service on Sunday. For the most part I could not understand what they were saying. Every once in a while I would be able to catch a word or a phrase, but despite not being able to understand them or their music I feel the Holy Spirit as we worshiped together. I felt most moved when they as a congregation stretched out their arms toward us and prayed for us. I had several of them come up to me throughout my time there and say that they pray that God will complete his purpose in my life. I'm kind of rambling now, but I was continually astonished at the unity between the American Christians and the Christians there at Mission Betania. I am more and more believing that those who are followers of Christ are brothers and sisters despite anything that might be a division. I should be able to worship, fellowship, pray for, encourage, and work beside anyone who follows Christ, across any theological, national, denominational barrier.

Mission Trip Part One

2008-08-28T15:25:00.000-04:00

A baby cow that almost looks like sheep which made me think of a sheep without a shepherd, which fits with the theme of this post.

As some and probably most of you know I am back from the country of Paraguay. I have told some of you that I will probably be doing a series on the trip. The experiences and lessons I learned while there. The post will probably not describe my trip in chronological order, but I will do my best to help you understand the chronology of the stories I tell.

This first post I want to just describe to you the aspect of the trip that broke my heart. We went to these three villages on the Paraguay River. At one of the three villages there is kind of a church. They hold church on Sundays and a couple of bible studies around. The man who leads the congregation is not a pastor, but a fishing boat captain (who better to be a pastor than a fisherman?). But God really broke my heart for these villages that have no spiritual leaders. Many in the villages are illiterate so even if there were more than just sections of the bible translated into their native tongue of Guarani few would be able to read it. God repeatedly broke my heart for these sheep without a shepherd. I talked with the director of Mission Betania on one of the rides back from one of the villages. He said the only type of discipleship these people get is when a missionary team. We were like the first team to be there since March. As the majority of Paraguayans are Roman Catholic they pay a tax for a priest to come once a year and baptize all the new babies, but besides that there is no one. I asked him if any of the missionary students who are being trained at the main base in Luque were planning on pasturing these villages and he told me that Mission Betania’s main purpose is to train missionaries. Many of the students are affiliated with some denomination so the denominations send them to other places when they finish at the school. So though, he obviously cared very deeply about the people of these villages there was not too much he could do for them. There are those who get saved when mission trip teams come through and do bible schools, but then there is no more discipleship or instruction until another team comes through which could be several months. I was very confused during the time we were up river. I repeatedly prayed to God and asked him if he was calling me to pastor these people. I was very scared that he might be. I was sure to point out to him all the obstacles and problems I could foresee if this was what he was calling me too, but I quickly told him that if he called me and removed the obstacles I would do it willingly. I wrestled with whether this was God’s will for me for a few days. Several of the other team members asked me if I was alright as I was very quiet and kind of stayed on the fringes a couple of days. I finally felt like God was testing me on whether I would really be willing to do this and whether I cared enough about the fact that these people had no one to disciple them, perform the sacraments for them, evangelize, comfort, and pray for them. I know there is a priesthood of all believers, but there is still and vital role of a pastor that these people obviously needed. After praying about it for a few days I felt like God let me know that at least for now he is not calling me to this role for them. However he has not removed the burden he gave me for them. I still feel very strongly that I am to pray that he will call someone to pastor them and that when he does that I am to support him in anyway that I possibly can: financially, prayer, supplies, and whatever other needs he or she has or that God lays on my heart. I also feel like I am to continue to pray in the way that I did when I was questioning whether this was God’s will and say “Lord, please call someone to shepherd these people even if that person is me.” I hope that you will join me in that prayer.

Farewell

2008-08-08T17:38:00.000-04:00

Well, this is my farewell post. Before you use all of your puffs crying it is my farewell post before I leave for my mission trip to Paraguay. I will be leaving from Paulding at 8am tomorrow headed to Indianapolis to catch a plane to Miami then from Miami I will be flying to Asuncion, Paraguay (Asuncion is the capital of Paraguay in case you are a little rusty on your South American geography). I want you to know I was very hurt that the majority of you hate my hair, but partly out of spite and partly out of waiting too long I will not be cutting my hair before my trip. I wish I could give you a good idea of what we will be doing down there, but I don’t have a good picture in my own head of what we’ll be doing. But here are a few things we’ll be doing while we are in the nation of Paraguay:
VBS
Some Construction project (they haven’t told us what yet)
I will be preaching next Sunday through an interpreter

I have a whole suit case full of toothbrushes, toothpaste, and generic pepto bismal and other miscellaneous medical and dental supplies that I will be taking for the mission base. I know it will be hard for you, but I won’t have any way to contact any of you. I won’t have my laptop, cell phone or access to any computer. I will be getting back on the 25th of August and then the next morning I will be on my way back to Mount Vernon where I will get to see many of you guys again. Be praying especially for me for what will be my second sermon ever next Sunday. Also please pray for the entire group that is going that we will be able to minister to the Body of Christ in Paraguay and also to the lost.

The Body of Christ

2008-08-04T23:19:00.000-04:00

My cousin Apryl messaged me on MSN messenger with a question a friend had asked her. It is a question I think troubles a lot of followers of Christ and even more people looking at us from the outside. Her friend asked her why there are so many denominations. This was my answer except for a few grammatical changes:

The best answer I can give you is that people who believe and follow the same God can have disagreements about things; some pretty petty and some not quite as petty and when those followers allow those disagreements to become the focus or become divisive they feel the need to have a separate denomination. However, if they believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God, that he died on behalf of us for our sins and rose from the dead then they are part of THE CHURCH. The universal body of Christ that can’t be separated by labels men create and use.
That really was the best answer I could give her in a short enough time for her to answer her friend and because the fact that this fact discourages and makes me ask some tough questions at times.

Despite the problems THE CHURCH seems to face, the more I grow in my walk with Christ the more I feel a need to be a part of it. The less I see it for denominations and sects and the more I see its unity. The more I understand Christ and his love for THE CHURCH the less evil I can speak of her. Though I am appreciative of the my heritage within the Church of the Nazarene, find myself in agreement with most of their doctrines and love and have been deeply impacted by many of those within my denomination the more I meet my brothers and sisters of other denominations the more I realize that the divisions of the BODY OF CHRIST are largely inflated and that there is a bond between us that can only be explained as the Holy Spirit. Though we often (we including me) are quite quick to bring up our differences, our failures, and how inadequate THE CHURCH is I love the BRIDE OF CHRIST and am quite proud to be part of THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST.

Christian views on Immigration

2008-07-23T23:48:00.000-04:00

I was jumping from blog to blog this evening, as I quite often do and on Wesleyan/Anglican http://wesleyananglican.blogspot.com/ , which I’ve visited a couple of other times, I ran across a post on the Wesleyan Church’s (the COTN’s sister denomination) statement about Immigration. If you want to take a look at it here it is. http://www.wesleyan.org/gc/blog/positional_letters/?cat=5 . But the main reason for this post is to see what you guys as Christians think about this issue. About laws, “the fence”, their treatment. How should a Christian view this issue and the issues within it?

Patriotism or Idolatry?

2008-07-07T23:51:00.000-04:00

These are some pictures I took Sunday at my church with my mother's camera. When I walked into the sanctuary my stomach and heart sank. I was already aware that we would be singing patriotic songs as well as bringing in the flag during the playing of the National Anthem and we would be saying The Pledge of Allegiance. I dreaded this service. I refused to sing or put my hand on my heart or say the pledge. I wish I could say that I didn't stand or talked to my pastor and tell him that I could not participate. Unfortunatly I am too much of a coward to do that. I stood on the stage and by being silent I gave my approval. I was very ashamed of myself and I have repented of this sin of silence.

I wish I could accurately explain why I feel this idolatry and why I am not patriotic, but unfortunately I do a very poor job. Even if you feel it is healthy for a Christian to be patriotic can you really think that decorating a sanctuary with the American flag is appropriate. To put on a cross the symbol of our Lord's suffering and intense love should have red, white, and blue around it and little stars on it? In a place where we gather to give glory and honor to our God we instead praised our country with songs that on occasion did mention God, but only in passing and only in reference on how great he made America. How can we put little American flags on a communion table!? A place where we partake in communion not only with all saints present, past and future, we commune with our savior. As a person I admire greatly told me once, Christianity is a place of many symbols. Our scripture and our worship are centered around symbols. What impression does putting a flag beside a cross give? As another person I admire greatly said and I repeat now quite often the Church needs to unwrap the flag around the cross. They are not the same thing, the sacrifice Jesus did and the sacrifice people equate with the flag are very different. In my opinion the two should not coexist. I know many will lable me a radical and I am sure the couple of people from my church who read my blog will take great offense to this and if it was ever given to the board they would probably revoke my local pastor's lisence and demand that I leave their church. But to be honest I would not want to live life unless I got to live it radically.

Death natural?

2008-07-06T07:20:00.000-04:00

In the book I am reading (Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright) the author asserts that death was part of God's original plan, but because of sin it was corrupted. I'm not sure if I agree that death was part of the original plan. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Quote from Tortured For Christ

2008-06-24T21:15:00.000-04:00

"I hate the communist system, but I love the men. I hate the sin, but I love the sinner. I love the communists with all my heart. Communists can kill Christians, but they cannont kill their love toward even those who killed them. I have not the slightest bitterness or resentment towards the communists or my torturers." - Richard Wurmbrand in Tortured for Christ

Songs I despise

2008-06-24T02:36:00.000-04:00

While reading a friend's blog I read some lyrics of a song I hate. It inspired me to write a blog about songs I hate. Actually its more of a list. Everybody makes lists of songs they like, but I'm making one of songs I despise (hence the title of the post). They are in no particular order. Please feel free to comment with songs you also despise.

Its My Party by Leslie Gore

I Can Only Imagine (I will have an angry mob outside for that one)

Angels Among Us by Alabama

I've Got Friends in Low Places (I don't know who its by. I'm sure some angry country fan will inform me)

That song from Titanic

You Had a Bad Day by Daniel Powers

Anything by Kenny Rogers

Anything by Josh Turner (I made my mom and sister angry with that one)

(I'm doing my best to restrain myself from listing too many country artist because I pretty much can't stand any of them)

Any of Toby Mac's TruDog songs

Country Gentleman by Family Force Five

I wish I could think of all the other ones but it is nearly 3am so this all I have at the moment

Summer Books

2008-06-21T17:48:00.000-04:00

Well I haven't been doing much this summer. I haven't conformed to society's expectations of me getting a job, though it would be helpful. One thing I've been doing is reading and watching movies. I've read through 1 John, The Big Fisherman (the sequel to The Robe, which is one of my favorites), Schools of Conversion: 12 Marks of a New Monasticism, and I have just started Tortured for Christ by Richard Wurmbrand (the founder of Voice of the Martyrs).
I love 1st John immensely! I don't think I had ever truly read it before now. It seems so much more rich and meaningful. My favorite verse from it is 1 John 3:18 (which I've memorised) "Dear Children, let us not love with word or tongue, but with actions and truth!" (exclamation point added). I love John. I think of a kindly grandfather writing the words. He always addresses us My children.
The Big Fisherman, while not as good as The Robe, was enjoyable. It was techinically supposed to be about Peter, but it was mainly about a half arab-half Jewish girl who meets Jesus.
Then I just finished 12 marks of a New Monasticism. This past year I have been very intrigued by and drawn to New Monasticism. The whole idea of people living in intentional community seems very close to what the Church is called to. Obviously it is not nessecary for salvation and is not the only model that works, but it definitely seems to reflect the church in Acts. I really hope that God will let me be apart of an intentional community. This book is a good source for anyone trying to figure out what New Monasticism is.
Now I'm reading Tortured for Christ by Richard Wurmbrand. He was the founder of Voice of the Martyrs. The book tells of his experience in communist Rumania and its communist prisons.
I'm still deciding between several books to read next so if you have any recomendations please let me know.

Cliche farewell (in list form)

2008-05-15T22:37:00.000-04:00

Well the day that had been looming over me since the end of spring break has finally come. My roommate and I stayed up all night packing and my dad came around 3 and helped me load it all into his van. I guess it’s now time for the cliché blog about all the memories that I made this year. If this was a TV show or a movie there would probably be a montage and cheesy sentimental music that your mom and elevators play. Luckily for me and maybe unfortunately for you the cheesy and sentimental don’t bother me. In fact I’m going to be watching a ton of black and white movies this summer. So here are the memorable things that have happened my freshman year. (In List form) (probably not in correct order) (There where also be lots of parentheses) (I think the plural of parentheses should be parethesi)

· Moved in and left my parents (technically they left me)
· Cut the blue ribbon
· Met Dr. Houck
· Met Dr. Varughese (I didn’t check the spelling this time)
· Met Professor Hawkins (not necessarily an exciting or positive event, but a defining one)
· Met my small group and Jeff my small group leader
· Listened to Dr Gary for the first time
· Went to the altar in the chapel for the first time
· Dr. Houck fixed my bike and drove me and Bennett back to campus
· Jeff took me to the Harbor for the first time
· Break me Week (Probably the most defining week of the school year)
- Met Wes and Kelly
- Met Josh
- Got to know Tyler
- Met a bunch of other passionate people who love God and justice
· Played Harmonica at a chapel with Wes, Kelly, Josh, Tyler, Joe, and Brittney (sorry if I missed someone)
· Was invited by Anthony to go to Westside Church of the Nazarene (which has become my church home at college)
· Met Kevin Peterson
· Went to the High for the first time
· Had my bike stolen
· Recovered my bike
· Was stolen and never found again
· Given a new old bike
· New old bike is stolen and recovered constantly until it was finally taken home
· Snuck out at 2 am on the first snow and evaded Safety (that’s the Naz’s name for security. I just didn’t want you to think I was saying I was trying to evade actual safety)
· Had my first fight with my roommate (on the last night)
· Made up with my roommate
· Went to a prayer event in Delaware, Ohio with Matthew Black
· Started to participate in 24/7 prayer and attend a weekly prayer group (probably the most important spiritual event in my life since I felt the call to ministry)
- Met a ton of godly guys and girls
· Turned 2nd South into a slip and slide
· Snuck out and walked around the square with Dustin

I know there are a ton more memories, but these are the most prevalent in my mind and some of the most important in my life. (This blog looked better in Word) (Sorry for all the parenthesi)

Censorship

2008-05-10T21:26:00.000-04:00

Hey everybody. This is one of my friend John's latest posts on his web comic http://www.neatcomics.co.nr/ They are pretty sweet and I order you to check them out. If you click on the title of this post it will take you to it.

Thought you might need a laugh

2008-05-07T00:12:00.000-04:00

Just thought you might need a laugh
Worst Analogies

He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it. (Joseph Romm, Washington)

She caught your eye like one of those pointy hook latches that used to dangle from screen doors and would fly up whenever you banged the door open again. (Rich Murphy, Fairfax Station)

The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn't. (Russell Beland, Springfield)

McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty Bag filled with vegetable soup. (Paul Sabourin, Silver Spring)

From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you're on vacation in another city and "Jeopardy" comes on at 7 p.m. instead of 7:30 (ed: or vice versa). (Roy Ashley, Washington)

Her hair glistened in the rain like nose hair after a sneeze. (Chuck Smith, Woodbridge)
Her eyes were like two brown circles with big black dots in the center. (Russell Beland, Springfield)

Bob was as perplexed as a hacker who means to access T:flw.quid55328.com\aaakk/ch@ung but gets T:\flw.quidaaakk/ch@ung by mistake (Ken Krattenmaker, Landover Hills)

Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever. (Unknown)

He was as tall as a six-foot-three-inch tree. (Jack Bross, Chevy Chase)

The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease. (Gary F. Hevel, Silver Spring)

Her date was pleasant enough, but she knew that if her life was a movie this guy would be buried in the credits as something like "Second Tall Man." (Russell Beland, Springfield)

Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph. (Jennifer Hart, Arlington)

The politician was gone but unnoticed, like the period after the Dr. on a Dr Pepper can. (Wayne Goode, Madison, Ala.)

They lived in a typical suburban neighborhood with picket fences that resembled Nancy Kerrigan's teeth (Paul Kocak, Syracuse, N.Y.)

John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met. (Russell Beland, Springfield)

The thunder was ominous-sounding, much like the sound of a thin sheet of metal being shaken backstage during the storm scene in a play. (Barbara Fetherolf, Alexandria)

His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free. (Chuck Smith, Woodbridge)

The red brick wall was the color of a brick-red Crayola crayon.

Taken from
http://www.jimgeary.com/faves/joxe/JOXETC02.HTM

Despair and Hope

2008-04-14T01:25:00.000-04:00

I’ve come to a conclusion. Some of you will think it’s pretty profound. Humanity is evil and fallen and wicked. Please try to contain your gasps. Okay I know that’s not profound, but sometimes when we think of evil and humanity being fallen we think of places we are not in contact with. Sometimes we also seem to forget to what extent humanity has fallen. Luckily whenever we seem to forget that the world is completely and utterly evil someone is there to remind us. Here is how I was reminded this week.
A good friend and I were walking back to campus to watch August Rush. We were talking and joking and were looking forward to the movie that neither of us had seen. While we were walking a car slowed to a stop on our right side. A little girl in the backseat smiled and waved at my friend and I. This made us both smile and we both waved back. It is amazing how the simple kind gesture of being smiled at can make you feel. Or just being waved at. That moment of basking in a little girl’s innocence was ended abruptly when the man in the front passenger seat, who I can only assume to be the girl’s father, rolled down the window and shouted at us. “She’s fucking 10 you fucking perverts” Sorry for the curse words, but I wanted you to get the full effect of what he said. My smile quickly turned to despair. Is the world in such a state that when older males wave and smile at a little girl that someone can only assume that you are trying to seduce her? I do not blame the father. He obviously loved his daughter very much and was only responding to the evil that we have all been exposed to our whole lives. Is our view of men so distorted that our minds can only go here? Is there anything good or pure in the world anymore. Is there any hope left?
If it was not for Jesus there would be nothing, but despair. What would be the point? Suicide would seem sensible if it were not for the love and grace of Jesus. There would be no hope. Praise God for being our hope in this obviously hopeless world.

Hebrews 12:12-13

2008-03-28T02:47:00.000-04:00

Hebrews 12:12 and 13

Mighty warrior why do you sit alone and in despair?
Don’t you hear the battle raging?
Have you so easily given up the fight?
Strengthen your feeble arms and pick up that sword I gave you that is rusting from disuse
Your knees are weak from sitting so long
So sit no longer
Stand Firm!
Run to the battle. Does a warrior who knows his general has won the battle retreat in the face of the enemy?
Then why have you waved your white flag so many times?
What are you afraid of?
The enemy has flaming arrows, but you have a shield that can extinguish them
The enemy has lies but you have a helmet that protects you from them
The ground around you is muddy but you have spikes on the bottom of your shoes to help you stand
Nothing can pierce your breastplate
Who can bear the attack of your mighty sword, be they man or devil?
Not only am I sustaining you even in the thick and chaos of battle I have placed soldiers on your left and on you right.
Why then do you isolate yourself?
Why are you hiding alone in the fetal position?
And then you ask me why you keep losing the battle.
*shakes his head*
You kind of have to stand up and fight to win.
So stand up
and stand firm in the truth I have spoken to you.

definitions

2008-03-16T00:51:00.000-04:00

I've always had words that have defined my life and future. I still have these words, but what do you when the definitions of those words are being altered, changed completely or growing? Words like ministry, God, love, worship, family, Christian. Part of me is excited by having a better understanding of these words, but most of me doesn't like the discomfort of figuring out how these new definitions have to be applied through out my life.

Music about reality

2008-03-13T18:44:00.000-04:00

Hey everybody! I have an audio project due tomorrow at midnight. Its on Reality TV. If any of you know any good songs that are about or feature the word reality I would really appreciate it if you commented. Thanks.

Active Grace

2008-03-09T20:15:00.000-04:00

So last night I made a discovery. I realized the reason I like blogging, dialoging, discussing, etc. I think it makes me feel better about not acting on any of the things that I'm talking about. I watched part of Amazing Grace last night. I love movies like it but it also eats at me and makes me feel restless (which I guess is their reason for making it). I want to throw myself into a cause like that. Does anyone else get tired of talking? I want to do something meaningful. Isn't this grace we've been given supposed to spur us to action? I don't know what cause to throw myself into though. I don't know what actions I should be performing. *sigh*

Notes on Brueggemann

2008-03-05T11:44:00.000-05:00

I've never read any of Dr. Brueggemann's books or heard him speak before, but I greatly enjoyed his lecture yesterday. He took up two pages in my notebook (the first person to do that in a while). Here are some note/quotes/questions I jotted down.

They killed Jesus because he out imagined them

Sanity- understanding God's sovereignty.

Human beings are the slowest species to welcome the Kingdom of God because we think we can organize the world on our own terms.

The Enigma of YHWH is preserved in Jesus ex. the four Gospels

That which we bear witness to is always beyond our grasp

Individualism- the great American heresy

Sinai and Acts Community congruent-both had plans to combat poverty

Sacrament vs. Technology?

God is vulnerable? ex. The cross, God is a sovereign that can be impinged upon

and my possibly my favorite: Our society doesn't need any more well-educated conformists

Another Sunday

2008-02-25T12:18:00.001-05:00

I really enjoyed church yesterday. Not only did we not have music, which was actually very refreshing, I think I really needed to hear the sermon. The text was from Matthew 13: 44-46. About the men who sold everything for the hidden treasure and for the pearl of great worth. To be honest I’ve had a hard time understanding these parables (I’m still not sure if I completely do). It seems much deeper than selling everything I own or kneeling at an altar and saying I surrender everything to you. I feel like I actually need to DO something.
The statement was made Sunday night at the prayer group that I go to that we have as much of God as we want; that sometimes we try to blame God and say “why aren’t you pouring out your Spirit?” but in reality we do not have a great enough desire. To be honest again I didn’t like these statements. They kind of made me a little angry. To be honest with you guys for a third time, I’ve been in kind of a dry spell lately. I’ve just felt very disconnected with God. I’ve been pretty miserable because of it. When I pray I’ve just been crying out to God to fix whatever’s wrong between us, if there’s something I need to do to let me know, but he’s been pretty quiet. So the idea that I don’t desire God enough seemed ridiculous to me and irritated me immensely. However, the more I thought about it the more I thought: shouldn’t this desire I have be motivating me to action? The answer obviously is yes. But what does this action look like? What does it mean personally for me to as Kevin put it “sell out”? Do I need to pray and read my bible more (those are always the cliché Sunday school answers), but I feel like it needs to be more, but I can’t seem to figure out what it is. I’m willing to sell out; I just need God to be more clear as to what that means.

Monasticism

2008-02-20T21:29:00.001-05:00

We had to pick a topic for Research Writing a couple of weeks ago. I foolishly picked the topic of monasticism. I mean it sounded really interesting when I decided to do my paper on that and I didn't think it would be too difficult to write on. More specifically my paper is supposed to be on the history of monasticism. I'm feeling pretty overwhelmed by this paper at the moment. I have to have one primary source (an interview) and I have to do an observation. How am I supposed to do an observation????? I looked on the internet and saw there actually are some monasteries not too far from Mansfield, but how would you even go about contacting a monastery? And if you contacted one how likely is it that they would let me come observe them? And even if they did how would I even mangage to make it there without a car? And if I found a ride how would I be able to manage to do all this before Sunday at midnight? I think I'm kind of screwed. I'm begging you guys for some ideas.
Please Help Me!!!!!!!!!!!

Revival

2008-02-04T11:37:00.000-05:00

The church is always talking and praying for revival. I personally have prayed ferverently for it. My question is what is revival? What would it look like in general and more specifically on our campus?

War Flicks

2008-01-28T02:03:00.000-05:00

I just got done watching Black Hawk Down. This is the first time I’ve actually seen this all the way through. One of my favorite genres of movies to watch is war movies. Despite their sometimes overused or poorly written plot lines they are highly entertaining. For a while now however, when I watch them they engrain even harder into my consciousness the futility of war and violence. Despite their efforts to glorify and idealize war and stir within the viewer a sense of pride and patriotism they seem to produce in me more of either a sadness or a frustration, depending on the occasion I watch it. My name on MSN right now is a quote by Gandhi; it says: I object to violence because when it appears to do good the good is only temporary. The evil it does is permanent. This quote really resonates with me. War and violence only produces more war and violence. War is fueled by hate. How can we ever hope to extinguish that hate by performing acts that just engrain that hate deeper with people on both sides of the conflict? I have heard a few people say lately that war is inevitable until Jesus comes back. I would have to probably agree with that. There will also always be sin, and death and injustice. That does not mean we should or need to allow or tolerate these things. If I type much more on this topic at the moment I would probably work myself up to a level of frustration where I would start rambling and this post would end up several pages of incoherency. I would really value comments from people from both viewpoints on these things. Please don’t be afraid of making me angry by leaving comments that disagree with me.

Gotcha

2008-01-24T15:14:00.000-05:00

Well it finally happened. I got out in “Gotcha”. To be fair it was my own fault for letting my guard down and not paying attention on the way to chapel. However, now that I’m out I can bitterly write a post saying all the things inherently wrong with this game. This game does not promote anything valuable or worthwhile. Here are some things it promotes:

Deception: both against your close friends and strangers. People tell bold faced lies, and half truths to trick one another into killing them with a little plastic water gun.

Laziness: people feel compelled to stay in their rooms/Halls as much as possible; I have even seen some skip class and chapel to avoid being got.
Violence: I had friends holding people back by force to allow me to get in and out of places without being shot.

Paranoia: You constantly feel the urge to look over your shoulder to make sure you are not being trailed. You start taking alternate routes everywhere you go so that there is less traffic and less opportunity for a chance encounter with the person who has you. You start entering and exiting from back or side doors to avoid being seen or ambushed. You can’t even go to worship in the chapel without wondering whether you will be attacked

Revenge: Many when they are finally taken out they feel an urge to betray the person who got them out or the person who helped get them out

In conclusion I feel that Gotcha holds none of the values that we as MVNU students and more importantly Christians need to value. But if they have it again next year I’ll be playing.

In Support of War

2008-01-19T22:49:00.000-05:00

I have been under the assumption that Christians are supposed to be Pacifists. Some of you will be thrilled and others will be shocked and angry that I have changed my position on this. Christians are clearly supposed to support war and I now have scripture to back this up. Ephesians 6:12 clearly states my point. We as followers are called to arms and to war against enemies that are real. Some of you will be enraged by next statement. Our enemy is insurgents in Iraq, Saddam Hussein was our enemy, Islamic radicals and the terrorist organizations they produce. Our enemy is also many other governments, including our own at times, that oppress and take advantage of people. “Our struggle is against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world” all of those groups that I just mentioned and many others that I don’t have time to list fall underneath this passage. What we need to realize is what arms we are called to pick up against these “forces of this dark world.” The arms that Christ calls us to is not the M16 or grenades or airstrikes, we are called to use a much more powerful, effective and much more destructive to our enemies. If you just said in your head “Nukes!” you are absolutely WRONG. We are called to pick up the full armor of God (I just saw you roll your eyes); to put on faith and righteousness, truth and the gospel of peace. We are called to use God’s word, both scripture and the truths that he’s spoken to us personally. Lastly we are called to pray in all circumstances bringing all requests to our Father in Heaven. Our temptation is to try control situations with man-made weapons instead of believing in the weapons that God himself gave us and trusting in his sovereignty. We proudly quote verses like Romans 8:1: What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? and Deuteronomy 32:43: Rejoice, O nations, with his people, for he will avenge the blood of his servants; he will take vengeance on his enemies and make atonement for his land and people. (just two of many verses that refer to God’s ability to defend us without our help) But do we truly believe that our God and his weapons are enough? I know some of you will highly disagree with me and I’m glad. I’m looking forward to some dialogue on this issue. Feel free to comment on this post.

The End of an Era

2008-01-17T11:25:00.000-05:00

As of last night at 12 am an era in my life ended. I turned twenty. I am no longer a teenager. I'm still not sure what I think about this. I decided to make a list of things I accomplished or went through in my teenage era and things Iwant to accomplish in my twenties.

Things done during my teenage era:

Started Jr. High
Started High school
Went through puberty
Abandoned my faith
Came back to Christ
Was called to preach
Graduated High school
Was accepted to Mount Vernon Nazarene University
Had a lot of crushes
Formed some of my closest friendships
Worked in a restaurant
Worked in a factory
Involved with the Awakening Great Banquet community
Grandfather died
Became a leader in my local church
Lead my youth group
Became a leader in the church on the district level
Finished my first semester of College
Learned to play the harmonica
Learned to play the guitar
Learned to play the Bass (don't laugh Paul)
Became rich (working in a factory)
Put myself thousands of dollars in debt (student loans)

Things I Would Like to Accomplish in the Next Decade:
To have read every book of the Bible
Preach the word of God (You have no idea how much I long to do this)
To improve in consistently spending time with God
To improve in my prayer life
To have my first girlfriend
To be content until I get a girlfriend (or if I never get one)
Graduate from college
Read War and Peace
Get better at the Harmonica
Be a better brother
Be a better son
Be a better friend
Be a better brother to my brothers and sisters in Christ
Be a better steward over the things God has given me
To be more disciplined and self controlled
Write a book even if it’s never published
Lead at least one person to Christ a year
Have a bible study on Judges for Junior High kids
Have a period of 24/7 prayer in Montpelier, Oh
Get my driver’s license
Finish a crocheting project
Bungee jump and/or sky dive
See more classic movies
Read more
Understand prayer and worship more
To still be following God to wherever he has for me to go

Kudos to Sean

2008-01-15T20:37:00.000-05:00

For those of you who read my blog (If anyone does read my blog that is) I want to direct you to my friend Sean's blog. He told me about his latest post and when I read it I got excited about it. It is a very encouraging post. I hope you'll take the time to read it!

http://joeysaintwombat.blogspot.com/

Action vs. Talk

2008-01-06T18:43:00.000-05:00

If you’re like me you get tired of all the talk and want to see and participate in action. Do you ever feel like you should be doing something, but you just don’t know what that something is. I’ve heard my whole life about revivals and great movements and conversion stories, but I’ve experienced very little of these things. I guess I’m just another one of those frustrated seasons of my life (they seem to cycle in every 3 weeks or so). Is anyone feeling like me? If so let’s figure out something to do!

J-Term Reading List

2008-01-02T21:51:00.000-05:00

Well, break is over and I’m back at good ole MVNU. I had decided even before break that I want to do a lot of reading during J-term. I made a good start at this during break, I finished two books: Red Moon Rising by Pete Grieg and Dave Roberts (which you really ought to read) and Scarlet by Stephen Lawhead(2nd part of a trilogy retelling the story of Robin Hood)
I emailed Professor Beutel a few weeks before the end of break and asked him for some book recommendations concerning war and peace and pacifism or non-violent activism (as I’ve been scolded for using the word pacifist). I decided that I needed to do some research on this topic. I feel at the very core of my being that war is wrong and there is never an excuse for it, but I’m very poor sometimes at defending my position on this. Professor Beutel recommended a few different books and when I got back today I went to the library, and after doing a crossword puzzle with Walter I looked up The Politics of Jesus and What Would You Do both by John H. Yoder. The former I will be starting as soon as I finish this post. Unfortunately, he didn’t give me any books that support the just war theory. I not only want to read things which support the position which I already hold (which would be very easy and I would stay nice and comfortable), but I also want to read some books by people from the opposite opinion, which will challenge my thinking and bring me closer to the truth. So, what I want from you is some good books by intelligent people who believe in the just war theory. The reason I specify intelligent people is because there are a lot of ignorant people out there that support that theory and say ignorant things like “Let’s Nuke ‘em”. So now you have your assignment. J-term is pretty short so get on it.
Aside from that topic, I also want to read A Grief Observed by C.S. Lewis. My Friend Paul (who will be coming to MVNU in the spring) bought me it for Christmas. I also want to find some good books about prayer. I want to really work on my prayer life. So I’m open to suggestions on this topic too.

Praises

2007-12-29T23:40:00.000-05:00

I praise God a ton less than I should. I have so many things to be thankful for that I should continually be on my knees praising my saviour. In this post however, I'm praising God for a few specific things.

Family
Friends who have become Family

1. God has blessed me with a loving and supportive family. My parents and aunts and uncles have always shown me love and supported me. He has also blessed me with cousins who are my best friends. All the way through school my cousing C.J. has been my best friend. I'm so thankful that much of my family is made up of hickish people. Many are uncultured, have worst grammar than me, and cuss, drink, and smoke, but when crisises (sp?) occur they are the first ones to come running.

I don't know if you've ever been a pall-bearer, but if you have I doubt you had as much fun as me. We were laughing the whole ride to and from the cemetary. We cracked jokes, slammed each other (in the way only families can) talked about how Aunt Sarah scared the junk out of us, heard the older cousins talk about gettin wasted and driving drunk. Some people might think these things inappropriate for pall-bearers to be doing on the ride to and from the cemetary to barry their Grandfather. But I'm glad it was like that and not quiet and somber. Why do we have to grieve by sitting silently and crying. Why can't we mourn by having fun together like we would if Grandpa was still with us?

We had a family Christmas party planned for today. We considered cancelling it, what with the funeral and everything, but we decided that we would have it despite it. The older cousins did what they always do, play cards and made fun of each other for stupid mistakes while playing. The little cousing rode around and played together and annoyed the adults and older cousins. The adults sat and talked and even broke out Catchphrase. And we all ate!

2. I have friends that have become family. They helped us play Trading My Sorrows at my Grandpa's funeral. I know I would have given up on life a long time ago if it wasn't for their prayers, hugs, jokes, encouragements, and advice. I thank God for the ones that I've grown up with at Church and for the new ones I've met at college. Both groups have uplifted me in prayer through this time. Some of my friends even drove to the viewing and funeral despite a recent death in their own family. How awesomely loving is that?! I Praise God for both these groups.

I thought of something while I was typing this. Without death life would be meaningless. Without knowing that my time with these people that I love is limited I would take them for granted even more than I already do.

Trading My Sorrows

2007-12-29T23:12:00.001-05:00

The most important thing in my life besides my relationship with God is my relationship with my family and friends who have become my family. It is times like I've had the past week that you realize how much you need the support of these people. At my grandpa's funeral today when one person would break down and cry there would be one or two other people putting their arms around them and hugging them. I don't want to pack everything I want to say about my family and friends who have become family into this post.

I think my Grandpa had one of the coolest funerals I've seen. My Grandma asked the teen praise team (at least half of which is made up of her grandkids) to sing Trading My Sorrows. How many grandmas ask for an upbeat, contemporary, worship song to be sung at their husbands' funerals? It struck me several times how appropriate that song is at a funeral of a Christian man. That's exactly what my Grandpa did, he traded his sorrows, shame, pain, sickness for the joy of the Lord for eternity. It also speaks to those of us who are left behind. We might be saddened or maybe even a little discouraged, but those of us who have Jesus are not beaten. "I am pressed, but not crushed, persecuted not abandoned, struck down, but not destroyed, I am blessed beyond the curse for his promise will endure his joy's gonna be my strength. Though the sorrow may last for the night, joy comes with the morning" Also how awesome is it that we were playing an upbeat song, with electric guitars and drums? Us Christians sometimes forget that funerals are not just about grieving, though that is definitely a part of it, we as believers are celebrating on behalf of one of our brothers that has fought the good fight and endured. My Grandma is a wise lady.

I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day

2007-12-25T21:05:00.000-05:00

My favorite Christmas hymn is I Heard the Bells on Christmas Day. It was written by Henry W. Longfellow in 1865 during the American Civil War. It is important for us to remember that God's will for humanity is peace, not only in our souls which is very important, but also between and man and his neighbor and between the nations. Read the words to this hymn and search your own heart for any conflict that needs resolved between you and someone else.

I heard the bells on Christmas day
Their old familiar carols play,
And wild and sweet the words repeat
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And thought how, as the day had come,
The belfries of all Christendom
Had rolled along th'unbroken song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

Till ringing, singing on its way
The world revolved from night to day,
A voice, a chime, a chant sublime
Of peace on earth, good will to men.

And in despair I bowed my head
“There is no peace on earth,” I said,
“For hate is strong and mocks the song
Of peace on earth, good will to men.”

Then pealed the bells more loud and deep:
“God is not dead, nor doth He sleep;
The wrong shall fail, the right prevail
With peace on earth, good will to men.

Merry Christmas!

My First Post on my Blog!

2007-12-25T00:13:00.000-05:00

Well I finally decided to create a blog. I'm going to do my best to keep it updated and post as often as possible. I'm probably not the greatest writer and you will probably find loads of grammatical errors in this post alone but maybe this blog will make you think a little and spark some dialogue between you and me. That is my hope anyway.

I thought in my first post I should give an explanation to the name of my blog. I thought and thought about it and even did a little praying about what I should name my blog even before I left school for Christmas break. Finally I thought to look on my profile on Facebook to see if I put anything in my profile that would be good. The name A Christian on Foot comes from a quote that struck me in the book The Robe by Lloyd C Douglas.

"it might be interesting to watch this strange thing develop. If it could go on the way it seems to be going now, nothing could stop it. But it won't go on--not like that. It will come to grief, after a while--as soon as it gets into a strong position and is able to dictate terms. Then it will squabble over its offices and spoils, and grow heady with power and territory. The Christian afoot is a formidable fellow, but when he becomes prosperous enough to ride a horse--' Tiberius suddenly broke out in a startling guffaw. 'He! he! he! when he gets a horse! Ho! ho! ho! a Christian on horseback will be just like any other man on horseback! This Jesus army will have to travel on foot--if it expects to accomplish anything"

Emperor Tiberius says this. This is his evaluation of a strange cult following some dead criminal named Jesus. For centuries Christians have abandoned following this man Jesus humbly on foot to arrogantly riding above others on horseback. It is my goal to be a Christian on foot.