You are currently browsing the monthly archive for January 2007.
As I type this I’m sitting in the library at God’s Bible School in Cincinnati, Ohio. Last night I had my first class, Urban Church Planting. I really enjoyed it. I know some of the guys in class with me. Danny Gilly, who grew up in Shoals, is in both of my classes. He and I go back a long way. His family was friends with my grandpa Grove, who was from Shoals. Shane Craycraft is also in the class with me. We attended UBC together about 11 years ago. Jack Hart is also in my class. He and I know each other from Pilgrim Camp. We’ve also worked together at a camp. He served as youth evangelist and my wife and I served as song evangelist.
My other class is at 8:30 AM, it’s called Church Educational Program. I think I’m really going to like this one a lot. Both classes stress discipleship, which is something I’m a big proponent of. What’s discipleship? In a paper I presented at Bus Convention last year I said, “Discipleship is equipping Christians to multiply themselves through ministry to others.” I like that, if I say so myself.
I’m really enjoying myself. The students are friendly (for the most part), the food is good (they have an ice cream machine), and I have wireless Internet in my room and in the library. Cool huh? Not only that, but there’s an awesome Italian restaurant not far from here that I plan on going to before the week is out (www.campanellos.com). And I hope to go to Jungle Jim’s. It’s a humongous international grocery store. I need to stock up on some good olive oil; imported San Marzano canned tomatoes, imported parmesan/reggiano cheese, prosciutto (Italian ham), and some pancetta (Italian bacon). I can’t wait! Besides, they have free cheese samples!!!
Did I mention that my first class ends at 10:30 and my next one isn’t until 6:00? Right now I’m bored out of my skull. I can’t get You Tube because it’s blocked, my homework is all done, and I just finished my Bus Convention paper for 2007. It’s going to be a long week. I think I’ll go take a nap.
God treats me so good that sometimes I feel like I’m his only child. I just wanted to thank the Lord for answering my prayer. I received student aid! It paid for about 60% of my school bill. Then my wonderful mother gave me some money to apply towards the bill. (Thanks mom! I guess you never thought you’d still be helping on my school bill in 2007 did you?) Then, my church told me they would help me as well. What an awesome church! I love my church so much sometimes I feel like I need to be paying them for letting me work there! Hopefully they won’t take me up on that.
The first of the year I started a prayer journal where I can jot down prayer needs and things like that. In the back of the journal is a place where I can write down the date that I specially prayed something, and then write down the date God answered my prayer. So far this year God had answered 4 of my prayer needs! One of them someone got saved! I tell you what, serving Jesus is the greatest life of all!
I came across this today while studying for my Acts class. It was in The Acts of the Apostles by Charles Carter & Ralph Earle.
St. Thomas Aquinas paid a visit to Pope Innocent IV in Rome. Upon entering, Thomas saw the Pope before a large cache of gold. Innocent smugly said, “We can no longer say with Peter, ‘Siver and gold have I none,” can we?”
Thomas replied, “Neither can we say, ‘Rise up and walk.’”
Makes you think doesn’t it?
I really can’t believe I’m doing it. I’m going back to school! My heart and soul will always belong to Union Bible College, but I just couldn’t pass up the opportunity God’s Bible School is offering me. I’m taking 4 classes (6 credit hours) and only have to show up on campus for a week in January and another week in March. I have assignments that I have to do each week and E-mail to the professors. Another plus is that with an accredited college I can receive financial aid. Which, by the way, is still pending. Please help me pray that I’ll get financial aid otherwise my children will starve.
One of the great regrets of my life is that I didn’t try harder when I was in college. I made good grades, but I skipped class a lot and that really (I found out the hard way) hurts your overall grade. Now I didn’t skip class because I was out partying. I skipped class because I was out preaching. Seriously, I probably skipped more Monday classes than any other day. I was out all day Sunday singing or preaching in another state or 100 miles away. I would get back about 2:00 AM and when the 5:00 alarm went off I made a stupid decision: I shut it off and went back to bed. I find it a little ironic that when I was younger I was doing everything in my power to get out of school, and now I’m doing everything to get back in school.
I’m back in school to finish my college education because I was lazy, undisciplined, and really thought I knew it all when I was younger. One thing I like to tell young preachers is, “Prepare now, and preach later.” God will open up doors for you to preach in Bible School, but don’t lose your main focus. A call to preach is also a call to prepare. Otherwise you’ll end up like me: 33 years old, with a family, busier in the ministry than you’ve ever been, but with a growing need of more education. I realized 3 months into my first church I didn’t know near as much as I thought I did.
Needless to say, I’m nervous, excited, and very, very scared. I haven’t written a term paper in 10 years! As a matter of fact, I haven’t written even anything scholarly for a long, long time. Please help me pray that God will use this to enrich and edify my ministry. This is not some “ego thing”. I’ m not going back to school just so I can point to some diploma on a wall, but I feel that God has opened the doors for me and I want to follow Him.
I’ll never forget the fall of 2003. It was the year my beloved Chicago Cubs won the Central division and advanced to the playoffs. They won the division by only one game. It was a tight race down to the last day of the season. They were playing the Pittsburg Pirates and needed to win the game to clinch the division. Normally I would have been glued to the radio, listening intently. The only problem was the game was on a Sunday. Now I have no religious convictions about listening to games on Sunday, at least not yet. But I do have some convictions about skipping church to listen to a game and church was just about to start as the game was getting close to an end.
Before I left for church I popped a tape into the tape deck, turned to 720 AM and pushed the record button. I didn’t want to miss the ending. To my delight I got to hear the last of the game sitting in the church parking lot and I didn’t miss church, just the 5:30 prayer meeting. But I was praying in the car, uh…for the Cubs at least.
I’ll never forget that moment before the game ended. I was white knuckled; trying to listen above the static; glued to the radio; oblivious to anything or anybody; on the edge of my seat. Then I heard Ron Santo start to scream, “Cubs win! Cubs win! Cubs win! They did it! All riiiiiiiiiiiiiiight!” Needless to say I went to church a happy camper, I even ran the aisles. (Not really, but you get the idea.)
Later that night I popped the tape in and listened to the ending again. But this time I was totally relaxed. My stomach wasn’t churning; there was no anxiety or nervousness. Do you want to know why? Because I already knew the outcome. Knowing the game had a positive outcome transformed my anxiety.
As disciples of Jesus Christ in the midst of a sin-darkened world, sometimes it’s easy to feel like the underdogs. The uncertainties of life keep us on the edge of our seats, wondering about the outcome—wondering what will happen next in our lives. But let me encourage you, as Christians, we already know the outcome! We’ve read the back of the book and we know that we are the winners. Being a Christian is a win win situation! I love it!
And believe it or not that gives me a greater joy. Greater than any playoff game, greater than any division championship, greater, even, than a Chicago Cub World Series victory because I have a feeling I’m going to see Jesus before that ever happens.
This was in my e-mail box this morning. It’s a leadership newsletter I receive once a month from Stan Toler (www.stantoler.com):
Billy Graham reflected on his life with an unusual observation. He said if he had it to do over again, he would spend more time in prayer and Bible study. His remarks weren’t as much about his devotions as they were about his stewardship.
The New Year isn’t just about new beginnings; it’s also about new priorities … putting first things first, from the very first. Time, talent, treasure: In word or deed you will establish the “most important” in each of these areas.
How about some stewardship resolutions?
“I will make time for God.”
Work on your devotions. Add an inspirational book to your Bible reading. Vary your devotional time with music listening, prayer walking, or journaling.
“I will make time for my family.”
Make marriage and family a calendar priority.
“I will make time for myself.”
When you neglect DOWN time, you’ll be more apt to get UP-set. Find a stress reliever and incorporate it into your planning. It’s just what the Great Physician ordered (Mark 6:31).
“I will make time for improvement.”
Schedule vocation-related reading, seminars, or classes. We haven’t arrived until we discover we have a long way to go!
Stewardship includes the wise use of God’s resources … including spirit, soul, and body. Spiritual gain is even better than weight loss!
1. Spend more time with my family and less time on the computer.
2. Help around the house more often without being hinted at and before full blown nagging begins.
3. Stay in touch more with my cousins and uncles, great aunts, and of course, Aunt Patty. 
4. Learn to play the guitar. (I’m making a lot of progress but I want to be good enough to play and sing in church).
5. Continue my education.
6. Lose 20 lbs.
7. Exercise more.
8. Eat more fruit and veggies.
9. Read less fiction and more ministry related books.
10. Preach more to people’s needs and less of what I think they ought to be hearing.
