Old Friends

At the same time Mission Project Leaders are in Gainesville, GA training for work all over the country, two squads of World Racers are training about an hour and a half from here.

A PILE of World Race Alums are helping facilitate the training.  I was really thankful to be able to see some of them and spend a few minutes with them at their training site.  They are training the June and July World Race Squads…check them out at www.adventures.org  … theywill be proclaiming the Kingdom of God all over the world.

Me and sweet BriEllyn.

And here's Bri and her precious little girl, Adelyn.

A few buds: Brian Alonzo (far left) led a Squad to Ukraine last year.

Sean Smith (4th from left) was a few months behind us on C Squad.

Dennis Ho (5th) came through Ukraine last year.

My friend Jimmy McCarty (3rd from R).

Jerry Goode- WR Leadership (far R)

My friend Tangi Holmes- a fellow Mississippi State Grad and WR Alum

My Arkansas buddy Rusty Jackson. 

And there were more...and they were all as important to me and fun to see as the ones above.  There were kids from A,B,C and I think D Squads hanging around that I knew from when I was on the Race...and there were several kids I met that traveled through Ukraine (3 Squads) last year.

So...it was a nice reunion.

Surgery without the Anesthetic

Training Camp at AIM Headquarters.  Oh, the memories! 

I’ve spent the weekend here in North Georgia with about 40 really diverse, spiritually attuned and hungry Mission Project Leaders and Staff.  The AIM DNA is alive and well.  I’ve been reminded of a lot of things- things I needed to be reminded about like:

·         my Identity in Christ.

·         the Authority Christ has delegated to me.

·         releasing sins that entangle me and surrendering them at the Cross.

·         peeling back the lies of satan about me and revealing the Truth of God about me.

This thought occurred to me earlier today: This is all good for me but it’s a heck of a lot harder than just being a good Baptist church attender.

Here’s what I mean:  I’ve been a member of one Church or another since I was a teenager.  I’ve sat under several Pastors.  I’ve been to ALL the conferences and camps- most of them were great.  I’ve heard about and learned about Identity and Authority and Surrender, etc … but I don’t know if I’ve ever been confronted with all that the way I am when I’m playing in AIM’s backyard.

Here- it’s not an academic proposition, it’s not a sermon aimed “at” me- what is it?  It’s a challenge to me to respond.  It’s an expectation that I’m going to respond.  I’m not left to walk an aisle at the end of the sermon nor am I left to ponder what I’m going to do with all this new information.  There’s space- right then and there- to deal with it.  There’s someone right then and there ready to process it with me and pray with me and pray over me.  That kind of action leads to transformation.  Information alone does not equal transformation and that’s mostly what I’ve experienced in most “church” contexts.

And it’s painful as heck and a lot harder than being a passive pew sitter.  It’s surgery without the anesthetic.  I spend part of the time wanting it and part of the time looking for a chair to hide under but you can’t hide from the Holy Spirit and in a room of 40 people experiencing the same thing, well, you can’t hide from them either. 

So you deal with it.  You confess your sins, not just to God but to somebody in the room.  You renounce the lies you’ve believed about yourself and repent- you change your mind and heart and begin to believe the truth.  You accept help from the community and you offer your hand and head and heart.  You wash feet and you get cleansed.  You experience brokenness, and healing, and community and communion and deeper faith.  And you face the realization that you may need to go through it all again tomorrow.  But the community will be there to help you do it because we weren’t designed to do it alone.

Recently Read and/or Reading

The New Testament- The Church I attended while in Kyiv promoted NT60- a challenge to read the New Testament in 60 days (works out to about 5 chapters a day) back in January and February.  I did it.  Then I did it again.  And I’m working on it again. 

Clancy- I’ve been on a Tom Clancy kick for a few months.  Actually, I’ve been on an “anything Russian/Ukrainian” spy novel kick and most of Clancy’s stuff at least touches on that.  I’ve read Patriot Games, Clear and Present Danger, Hunt For Red October, The Cardinal of the Kremlin, and The Sum of All Fears in the last several months.  I bought most of the ones I haven’t read yet at a Thrift Store a few weeks ago for a Buck apiece.

Winds of War, Herman Wouk- Epic story leading up to World War 2.  I’ve been on a thrift store kick for a few months too and I picked up a hard-cover First Edition for a couple Bucks.

The Russia House, John Le Carre- Another Russian/British/American Spy Novel…also a thrift store find.

What The Dog Saw, Malcolm Gladwell- This guy connects dots better than just about anyone- it’s a book I’ve picked at for a few months.

Victory Over Darkness, Neil Anderson- I read this about once a year just to be reminded who I am.

The Mean Streets of L.A., Roger Walker- Roger is a missionary friend currently in Thailand.  I got to read the manuscript.  It’s due to be published later this year.

Adopted for Life, Dr. Russell Moore- I went to Seminary with Russ; we were both Youth Minister’s in the same town.  This is probably a good intro to the Theology of Adoption for the Church.

Radical, David Platt- Just got it today and will dig into it this week…expecting it to be better than Francis Chan’s Crazy Love (which I read last Fall).

The Starfish Manifesto, Wolfgang Simson- This is an online thing that’s floating around…it’s free.  The subtitle is “A Prophetic Roadmap for an Apostolic Journey”.

Missions Dilemma, Steve Saint- AMAZING and challenging DVD and book about the good and bad of missions.

Priceless, Tom Davis- Tom is a friend and this is his 2^nd novel (following Scared).  It’s out June 1 so I’ll have to have someone bring me a copy to Haiti.

20000 Leagues Under The Sea, Jules Verne- Another thrift store find…will go to Haiti with me.

Passion Ukraine 2010

This blog is in no way meant to toot my horn.  It’s about praising God for a precious opportunity and being glad to be a part of it.  There are several elements to this tale:

Exhibit A) When I was a Student Minster I was a “early adopter”- that is, I liked the “cutting edge” stuff…gadgets, music, camps and conferences.  If it was new, I was usually in on it.  Louie Giglio took his Baylor University Campus Ministry nationwide with the 1st Passion event in 1997…reaching and mobilizing an entire generation to make God’s Glory and Fame preeminent.  I took my first group of students to a Passion event in 1999.

Exhibit B) In 2004 I led an amazing group of students from my church on a week-long mission trip to Odessa, Ukraine.  I loved it!  These three “kids” were no small part of that. 

I enjoyed and loved every kid I met that week . . . but there’s always a few that really capture your heart, and these 2 sisters and their brother captured mine.

Exhibit C) 2008 afforded me two INCREDIBLE experiences while visiting Ukraine (for the 3^rd time). 

(1) I re-connected with my “kids” again and 

(2) I volunteered at the 1^st ever Passion World Tour event held in Kyiv.

Exhibit D) In 2009 I met some new friends in Ukraine- College students who were Interpreters for the Camp I served.  Amazing students every one! They attend college in Odessa.  I spent my Thanksgiving break last year in Odessa visiting them and my “kids” and I had the privilege of introducing them…hoping that the introduction would lead to some opportunities for my college friends to love and minister to my favorite kids in Odessa.

Exhibit E) Passion is returning to Ukraine next week, May 10.  It will be a phenomenal event.  As soon as I heard about it last year I started scheming of a way to get my friends in Odessa- particularly the kids- to the Passion event.  I really hoped I would be there myself.  But alas, it is not to be.

However- I just found out that my college friends invited my “kids” to go and they are all going.  I wish I could be there with them.  I wish I could make the train trip with them and see their faces when Louie preaches or Chris Tomlin sings “God of this City” in Russian.  I wish I could hang-out with them in Kyiv.

But I’m really happy they are going.  I’m so glad I made the introductions. 

Pray for them this week if you think about it.  Pray that the Holy Spirit captivates the hearts of my “kids”.   Pray that Passion sparks a movement- an awakening- among college aged kids in Ukraine and throughout Eastern Europe.  

Finding a Church is Tough

I've been home now for about 5 months.  The first several weeks included Christmas and New Year's and just generally trying to get around to see everyone.  Things have settled down a bit since the beginning of the year but still... I receive my mail and spend most weekends at my Dad's house in Mize.  I'm living with my friend Stik during the week while we're working.

Finding a "Base" is a challenge in itself.

Back in January I visited a friend's church south of Jackson.  It's probably a great church.  An interesting mixture of small and country and progressive.  I've only been there one time so I can't really go beyond first impressions.

I visited a church in Jackson that I really like a lot.  Lot's of college students.  Sweet acoustic coffee-shop worship.  Solid teaching and preaching.  Believe it or not it felt almost "too young" for me.  I mean, I love students and I'm generally more comfortable with them than I am with people my own age or older.  But I couldn't help but feel like I've got stuff going on in my life that's well beyond where most of them are.

Mostly I've visited another near Jackson.  I've been there 6 or 7 weeks in a row.  The preaching is solid and practical.  I like the Pastor.  The worship style suits me- mostly.  Despite the fact I've been there for 2 months and wear a name tag every week I really don't know anyone there yet.  They don't do Sunday School and it's pretty impractical for me to connect with a Men's Group that meets on Tuesday nights.  My feeling is that they try so hard to be accepting and not-pushy/pressuring that they actually don't do a very good job of assimilating newcomers.  That's a balance that most churches struggle with I think.  No one wants to feel uncomfortable ("I see we have a visitor this morning, stand up and tell us about yourself!") but no one wants to be invisible either.

So what am I looking for?  A safe place.  A place I can be known.  I don't want to feel like I have to be guarded about anything.  Those places are rare.  I've always heard that Christians are bad about shooting their wounded.  I wonder if being ignored might be worse than being shot.  I guess they used to say back in the 60's "Don't trust no one" or something to that effect.  I increasingly don't trust leaders without a limp.

Of course I want to serve.  I want to play a part in the Kingdom and I don't care if my role goes mostly unnoticed (which is not the same as being ignored).

For a long time I served on a church staff.  I had input into "how" we "did" church.  I chimed in on all those inane things like whether the announcements were first, in the middle or at the end. I had some input about our worship style.  I wonder how many times I counseled students to "worship/grow where you're planted" which is sort of a euphemism for "it doesn't matter whether it appeals to you or not- if you can't "worship and grow" there must be something wrong with your attitude."

But here I am: I have a choice.  I mean, I'll go wherever the Lord leads me but until He says "here" or "there" then I guess I get to look around.  And maybe I have an attitude too.  As long as I'm looking around I'm pretty much gonna eliminate places where I hear a lot of piano and organ music or places where the preacher yells a lot or places where there's an expectation to dress my best because it's the "Lord's Day" or the "Lord's House" (as if the other days aren't His and that temporary structure of brick and wood is His dwelling).

I've worshiped in a lot of places in a lot of different ways over the last few years.  None of those places were perfect because each place was populated with imperfect people.  So I'm not looking for perfection and I don't think it's all about me and what I like or don't like.  But I am looking for a community of fellow journey-ers who know they haven't got it figured out yet.  That's where I want to be.

It's Alive!

This is my 1981 Jeep CJ 5.  Codename: Bubba

I've owned it (or is it the other way around?) for about 9 years.  It was one of those "sweet" deals- bought it from an old farmer that only drove it around the farm (really) who bought it from an Attorney that only used it at the Hunting Camp in the winter (really).  Or not.  Who knows?  It was in pretty good shape when I got it and it had relatively low miles.

Since then I've near 'bout rebuilt it from the ground up.

Wheels.  Check.

Tires.  Check.

Rebuilt and highly modified motor.  Check.

Bodywork, Paint Prep and Paint Job.  Check.

Custom homemade Dashpanel.  Check.

New Transmission.  Check.

Rebuilt Axles.  Check.

Upgraded Suspension.  Check.

New Seats.  Check.

Winch.  Check.

Replace Wiring.  Check.

But I heard a "Car Guy" on a radio show make a really smart statement a few weeks ago: "Never get emotionally attached to a vehicle".  

I've let so many "things" go over the last few years.  I'm one of the most unencumbered people I know in terms of owning "stuff".  In fact, I'm still divesting myself of stuff.

Well.  Bubba ain't for sale per se.  But when or if the time comes- if letting him go is what I need to do in order to be where God wants me to be, then I'm committed to "not being too emotionally attached" to him.

But I gotta say... on days like today... mid-70's and mostly sunny... top off and running good... it don't get much better.

Charting the Course

I'm not entirely sure why I'm doing this.  Seemed like a good idea at the time.  Accountability.  Motivation.  Seemed like a "New Year's Resolution" kind of thing to do.

I downloaded LiveJournal 2- obviously, it's Journaling Software.  I really don't like to write.  It hurts my hands and even I can't read my own writing but I can type all day long.  So, a journal I can type instead of write works better for me.  The software is password protected and does all the dating and formatting and linking pretty much automatically.  Included with the software is the "Pulse Graph", which allows me to create any number of categories that I can "graph" on a daily basis.

For example:

• How many minutes per day I'm on the internet
• How many Push-Ups and Sit-Ups I do every night
• 1-10 scale of how "Close I feel to God"
• 1-10 scale of my mood.
• 1-10 scale of how "tempted" I feel for the day

And a few more.  Here's a glimpse of my life for the 1st Quarter of 2010.

Here's how close to God I've felt.

Here's my Mood interposed over how close I've felt to God.

And finally...time per day spent in prayer interposed with my mood...














Thoughts?  Insights?  How can I really use this stuff?