I Have the Best Church Ever

Every year I watch “It’s a Wonderful Life” at Christmas.

And every year I cry.

You see, at the end of that movie there’s a scene where the whole town comes out to help George Baily.  They know that he is in trouble, the Building and Loan he manages has misplaced $8,000 and George is prison bound.  His wife, Mary, rallies the townspeople to help.  They quickly raise more than enough to pay the debt and give George and Mary a very merry Christmas.  And it was his life, the impact he made on others, that made them want to help him when he was in need.

And so this Christmas, like I always do, I watched “It’s a Wonderful Life”

And this Christmas, like I always do, I cried at the film’s final scene.

But this year I cried a little bit extra.

The reason I cry is not because of the scene itself, it’s the desire that I would live a life like that.  That I would make an impact in other people’s lives, however small, that they might be stirred to action if I needed them.

And this year I did.

My in-laws were in a car accident on their way to visit us, and they have been here recovering for over two weeks.  My mother-in-law had such a severe head wound that two surgeries were required, one has happened and another is pending.  And while they both have good jobs, neither one has any kind of medical insurance.  Our family needed help.

And our extended family, our church, rushed into action.  They were able to meet physical, emotional, and financial needs in our time of crisis.  They were there to offer support, meals, and even money to help get my in-laws through this difficult time.  Our family will be forever grateful to our church.

So as I watched that scene this year, I knew that my wife and I were loved and cared for.  I knew that our lives made a difference to someone else’s because so many others were willing to make a difference in ours.

Thank you, and may God bless us all this New Year!

Something's Missing

To my single friends: I’m sorry. I know that you live like this every day, I know that this is your world, and before I begin complaining about having to be by myself for a whole weekend, I just want to tell you that I know that I have no right to whine.

That being said, I’m so glad this weekend is over. I have been bachin’ it since Friday with my wife and daughter off in Austin. They had a good time with family and getting to pursue hobbies, while I was here alone. I mean, I had plenty of things to do, and I got to eat what I want, but it’s not the same. The last time my wife was out of town, I noted that the house just seemed darker when she was gone. The place isn’t the same. I don’t like sleeping in our bed without her. When my girls are not here, something is missing.

The church is supposed to be a family, that’s the way the Bible describes it. And yet all too often there are family members that aren’t there, and that means that something is missing. Some of us think about church the way I think about the gym, I know I’m supposed to go and I enjoy it once I get there, but I will take any excuse to get out of it. The thing is, when I’m not at the gym, it doesn’t miss me. On the other hand, he church (the group of believers, not the building) does miss me. And if you are a part of that group of believers and you have been away from your family, the church, we miss you too.

Growth Goals

We tallied our attendance for the spring semester in both Sunday School and Wednesday night, and were happy with what we found. We didn’t quite make our ten percent growth goals, but we are up in both areas, and the trends we are seeing are very good. More and more people were coming to church as the months progressed. In the past, those numbers have gotten worse, but this year we got even stronger.

I am really excited about what I see God doing at Calvary, both in the whole church and especially in the youth group that I am blessed to work with every day. I have seen us grow in number this year, but also I have seen us grow together as a family and deeper in our faith in God. I’ve gotten to meet some new faces this year, and to see some old friends mature in their faith. We’ve been through some hardships, and we’ve had some good laughs. All in all, it has been a great year.

As this school year comes to a close I can’t help but see the way God has blessed it and worked in our group this year. I am so thankful for each student, parent, volunteer, and staff member that makes what I get to do every day possible. I love you all, and I can’t wait to see what God does this summer and into the future!

Bad Day/Good Day

Yesterday was not a very good day. It started at 2:30 in the morning when my daughter decided to wake up and throw a fit on and off for about two hours before finally going back to sleep. Then at work I had a mishap while restringing my acoustic guitar and the tuning peg broke. So that meant that the guitar I needed for worship last night was broken by 10 am. Then I had to call a friend and apologize for a bonehead move I had made earlier in the week. He forgave me, which was good, but it still kinda ruined my morning knowing I had hurt his feelings. Then I missed a signing ceremony for one of my students who is going to play college football because I had to get everything set up for Wednesday night. Then, the video that I had spent all day Tuesday working on, didn’t work right. It took me three tries, and finally we got something on the screen, even though it wasn’t quite what I had originally wanted. And to top it all off, during our OASIS service we lost one of our speakers.

It seemed like everything I touched got ruined yesterday. I have days like this from time to time, and it seems like more often than not they happen on Wednesdays, the day of our biggest youth event of the week. Sometimes I feel like Satan is trying to rob my excitement and joy about what I get to do each week, and more often than not, when I have one of these terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days, I let him.

What God has been teaching me in recent months is to not let the things that happen to me change my attitude, but to choose my attitude based on His love for me. It is God’s grace that has set me free, and my attitude should reflect that no matter my circumstances. Last night we had a great worship service, despite all the issues, and I got to talk to some students afterward who told me how much what I had said meant to them.

So sure, everything went wrong, but students grew in their faith. Sounds like a great day to me!

A Christmas Without Christ

I am so excited about our Christmas at Calvary that is happening this week. Marty and I have written the script, a show called “A Christmas Without Christ.” In the show we meet a young family in the middle of the current economic recession, trying to make it through Christmas. The wife, Sara wants Christ to be a part of their Christmas celebration, but her husband, Michael, wants nothing to do with Jesus. He says that as far as his Christmas is concerned “Jesus isn’t invited.”

The next thing he knows, he’s in a world where Jesus has nothing to do with Christmas, in fact there is no Christmas at all. The holiday that he’s been looking forward to has been changed to “Nothingmas,” and everything around him is different. Will he be able to see how Christ changes everything when he experiences a Christmas without Christ?

You can all return from the edge of your seat, I know my teaser has you counting the hours until Wednesday night. Really, though, I am very excited to be a part of our church and a part of Christmas at Calvary this year. I hope you will come out to see it. I think you will enjoy not only the humor, but also the powerful message of hope, that Jesus can change everything.

Mine! Mine! Mine!

My daughter has learned a new word: mine! She says it all the time, referring to things that are hers, or things that she thinks are hers, or to just about anything she picked up ever. If it’s within arms reach, then it is “mine.” It could be yesterdays sippy cup full of curdling milk that she left under the couch that her mother and I are desperately trying to pry from her hands before she takes a sip, but if we even get close to her we hear a resounding cry of “mine.”

We are all selfish, that is part of our nature. We are born that way (anyone who believes otherwise should just meet my daughter). But when it comes to living in a community together (family, team, job, you name it) selfishness only gets us so far.

What we long for is a sense of togetherness, a sense of unity. I think that selfishness is the opposite of unity. I know our first thought would be that disunity is the opposite of unity, and I suppose technically it is, but I also think that when we look out only for ourselves we lose the opportunity to look for what is best for the group as a whole. We cannot be unified if we are selfish.

For more thoughts on “Togetherness” check out OASIS at 6:30 Wednesday night the 10th in the Youth Room of Calvary Baptist Church.

Making the Impact Last

What an AWESOME week! Having Team Impact here from Wednesday to Sunday, we got so see some awesome things. I went to seven school assemblies and five main events at our church, and let me tell you, it never got old. When he bent that steel bar by gripping it in his teeth, I don’t care how many times I saw that it was still cool.

And the really cool thing was that at each of the main events, they got to talk about Jesus. We had thousands of people attend over the course of five nights, and 204 people made some kind of decision for Christ, either for salvation or to recommit. We saw kids, teenagers, and adults make decisions, and we saw people turn away from sinful lifestyles and turn to Jesus.

And with all that excitement, it’s important to keep focused on where we are going. The moment of salvation is an exciting one, and vitally important, but it is only the beginning. So many people define their faith based solely on that moment, but there is so much more. Paul tells us in Galatians 6:15 It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation. What he means here is that some momentary decision is nothing compared to the transformational power that Jesus extends into our lives. He doesn’t want us merely to accept the fact that Jesus died for us, God wants us to live in such a way that it changes everything about us. As we move forward from a great week, it is important that we challenge ourselves to continue to go deeper in our faith. It’s time to exchange the excitement we feel for devotion to Christ.

Too Busy for God

Ok, so I finally got this thing figured out again. I had trouble logging in, and then my schedule didn’t allow me to fix that login issue for a while. I know you were worried, but now you can return from the edge of your seat and relax knowing that I am still alive.

And yet, with all those days of absence from my blog, I have nothing particularly interesting to say. No deep lessons that have been stored up. No clever commentary on social issues or current events. No witty stories from my life.

In fact, over the last week, things have been pretty painful around here. I attended my third funeral in a week today. Here at the church, we’ve all been working overtime to get ready for the fall kickoff. There are lots of things to do, lots of people to hug, and lots of work to be done.

And I noticed, in the middle of all this work, that my focus on God was slipping. I was worshipping my job instead of my God. I was mourning with others, but I wasn’t turning that into anything good through Christ. I’ve been so busy and so focused on the job at hand, that I lost track of Who I’m really doing this job for.

I fully intend to continue blogging, I really enjoy it. But I’m not doing it for me, and I’m certainly not doing it for the 2 people who read it. I’m doing it for God because that’s what all of this is supposed to be about in the first place.

Modern Art

My mom is an art teacher, so I thought this video was cool. Follow this link http://www.break.com/index/paintball-pop-art-marilyn-monroe.html and then read on.

Pretty awesome, right? I like the comment below the video about Andy Warhol and Jackson Pollock. I think it’s amazing how those guys have that kind of precession. The planning that went into that had to be intense as well. No doubt, this is the kind of modern art I really appreciate because it’s more than just art, it’s a spectacle and a very intriguing process that’s never been done before.

In the video, each person had a vital role to play, but the were only able to produce a small part of the picture alone. Just like the guy who adds the beauty mark at the end, the picture is not complete without that mark, but with only that mark the picture is just a mess.

As I was watching this I was thinking about life and church (like I often tend to do). If we are followers of Christ, then we have a place in His church. No one person can do it all, but without everyone’s help the church cannot be what God intended. Christ’s plan for the church is truly a masterpiece, but it only works if everyone plays their part. Never feel like you’re not important, because you just may be that beauty mark. If you’re trying to do everything alone, then it’s just a mess, but if you’re working in tandem with a group of believers you have the opportunity to be a part of something beautiful.