So after a glorious game on Saturday my Gamecocks finally managed to get a win over Clemson after losing the last 4 straight games to them. I was and am so happy and now have bragging rights until next year. Over the years I have developed a strong burning dislike towards Clemson in general, not just their football team but the entire school, and anyone who goes there. It's a rivalry so obviously we don't like each other, but after the game I thought about why I don't like Clemson so much.
The reason I learned is their FANS. For the past four years all I've been hearing about is how bad we are and how many times we have lost to them. There are countless people who think Clemson was actually built by God himself. Some of the things I've heard and the way that some of the fans have acted towards me have led me to strongly dislike Clemson.
So I got to thinking more about it and I thought about many Clemson fans and families who are truly awesome people who I love a lot. I don't dislike them at all, and they've never done anything to put out a bad Clemson vibe to me. Then I thought some more and realized that there are probably fewer Clemson fans that I don't like then ones that I actually do, and it really isn't all that bad of a place.
About a handful of people ruined Clemson for me. It didn't take much, and everytime someone said something dumb I thought, "Oh, boy another stupid Clemson fan". In reality though it's the people who aren't really Die Hard about Clemson that ruin it. If they really cared about their school they wouldn't be dissing everyone else and being jerks about it, they would just be pleased with their school and try and put off a good vibe to others so that they would be attracted to it.
It got me to realize that there are tons of times where I have said some dumb things and possibly ruined Jesus for some people. There are countless times where I have been very hypocritical, and I finally realize how much it can affect someone who doesn't know Jesus. Their entire perception of who God is, and who I say God is can be changed by a simple mistake. It's really challenging. Now I don't think I'll ever be perfect but I certainly want to make the best effort possible to reflect who God really is and love people and live what I profess.
I know I've done a poor job, but my heart and my prayer is that not only me but we as a church can strive to not be hypocrites but to follow Christ with all that we have and with all that he has equipped us with.
Monday, November 27, 2006
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Jumping Off
So the other night an amazing man that has been truly blessed by God, Adrian DesPres, spoke at Ignite and I think at least 10 of the high school students accepted Christ, and a number more rededicated themselves to serving Christ. IT WAS AWESOME!!! I'm still blown away any time people do that. It's truly what I live for, it brings heaven on earth, it makes me want to dance really stupidly around the room. I can't even begin to tell people how freakin cool it is that they made that decision.
Adrian does an offering of Christ in a very scary, bold way. It's probably my favorite way. He says with ALL eyes open and EVERYONE looking around I want you to STAND and then come up in front of everyone. If you realize that you need Jesus then nothing should be able to hold you back, but sitting in that chair the thought of knowing that you've fooled people for so long and not wanting people to know, or that maybe you're really cool group of friends will think you are a freak, or maybe you are trying to tell yourself that you can do it later at a more convenient time.
I can remember when I was a punk freshman and I was going to do a rededication at a big rally. All of those thoughts raced through my mind, but I just knew that I had to go up there and get right with Jesus right there right now. Honestly it's the scariest thing I've ever done, to decide to follow this Jesus guy with everything even though I know he was crucified for being God's son and the Savior of man. I could be an outcast forever, be hated, called a hypocrite for misrepresenting him, but it's worth it and I knew that and after getting sweaty hands, butterflies in my stomach, and trying not to make eye contact with my friends or anyone I knew, I stood up...
It reminds me of doing something else crazy like when I visited my dad in Missouri many years ago. We went to a nearby creek where there was this really cool spot that you could climb up to the road and then run off and jump down about 30 feet into the creek. I was probably about 12 at the time and I watched my dad do it and I thought wow that is the coolest thing ever, I want to do that. So I climbed and climbed and then realized that I was going to be up pretty high. I get to the top and look down and saw that a rock was sticking out pretty far under me so I would have to get a very good running start and just jump. I backed up on the road and remember that I was TERRIFIED. I didn't want to show my dad I was scared though because I thought he was so brave, and cool, but he knew I was scared so he talked me through it and then he jumped so he could wait for me at the bottom. He knew I could do it though, there is no way my dad would just let me jump to my death. So there I am, just me and the road and a huge jump ahead. I kept going to the edge and thinking WOW!, I could break a leg or my neck or just flat out die, what if I don't jump far enough?. Finally my dad talked me into it, and backed up to the road again and counted. ONE: oh crap I'm gonna die, TWO: my heart is racing and my legs are shaking and I've got butterflies in my stomach and I hope no one is watching, THREE: I ran and I jumped. There was a huge splash and when I was under water, instantly I changed from being totally scared and almost wetting myself to being extremely happy. It was totatlly worth it, and I wished everyone could see it and I wished that everyone could jump with me and see how cool it is.
Adrian does an offering of Christ in a very scary, bold way. It's probably my favorite way. He says with ALL eyes open and EVERYONE looking around I want you to STAND and then come up in front of everyone. If you realize that you need Jesus then nothing should be able to hold you back, but sitting in that chair the thought of knowing that you've fooled people for so long and not wanting people to know, or that maybe you're really cool group of friends will think you are a freak, or maybe you are trying to tell yourself that you can do it later at a more convenient time.
I can remember when I was a punk freshman and I was going to do a rededication at a big rally. All of those thoughts raced through my mind, but I just knew that I had to go up there and get right with Jesus right there right now. Honestly it's the scariest thing I've ever done, to decide to follow this Jesus guy with everything even though I know he was crucified for being God's son and the Savior of man. I could be an outcast forever, be hated, called a hypocrite for misrepresenting him, but it's worth it and I knew that and after getting sweaty hands, butterflies in my stomach, and trying not to make eye contact with my friends or anyone I knew, I stood up...
It reminds me of doing something else crazy like when I visited my dad in Missouri many years ago. We went to a nearby creek where there was this really cool spot that you could climb up to the road and then run off and jump down about 30 feet into the creek. I was probably about 12 at the time and I watched my dad do it and I thought wow that is the coolest thing ever, I want to do that. So I climbed and climbed and then realized that I was going to be up pretty high. I get to the top and look down and saw that a rock was sticking out pretty far under me so I would have to get a very good running start and just jump. I backed up on the road and remember that I was TERRIFIED. I didn't want to show my dad I was scared though because I thought he was so brave, and cool, but he knew I was scared so he talked me through it and then he jumped so he could wait for me at the bottom. He knew I could do it though, there is no way my dad would just let me jump to my death. So there I am, just me and the road and a huge jump ahead. I kept going to the edge and thinking WOW!, I could break a leg or my neck or just flat out die, what if I don't jump far enough?. Finally my dad talked me into it, and backed up to the road again and counted. ONE: oh crap I'm gonna die, TWO: my heart is racing and my legs are shaking and I've got butterflies in my stomach and I hope no one is watching, THREE: I ran and I jumped. There was a huge splash and when I was under water, instantly I changed from being totally scared and almost wetting myself to being extremely happy. It was totatlly worth it, and I wished everyone could see it and I wished that everyone could jump with me and see how cool it is.
Saturday, November 18, 2006
Double O
James Bond makes me very happy. Last weekend my brother asked me if this Friday (tonight) I wanted to go see a movie with him. I said of course because I wanted to get some time to spend with my bro since it's been a good long while since we have done so. I said "hey why don't we go catch the new James Bond movie Casino Royale?" and he was a little skeptical at first because it's a new Bond.
I don't know how they do it, but it's almost as if Pierce Brosnan, Sean Connery, etc; were never the real Bond. The new actor was just as ravishing, intelligent, and dangerous as those other guys and well he is what you expect from James Bond. It was just a great, manly, brother-bonding movie to go see. There was action, poker, cool cars, plot twists, and ladies which are all some of my favorite things.
I love my brother a lot. I really do, but sometimes it's hard to find similarities between us, or actually I think I just try and make it too hard. Tonight was a very refreshing night to be able to see we both are manly guys who like things like James Bond movies and that we have a lot in common. After the movie we opened up and shared a little bit about what God is doing in our lives, talked a little about women, and then we came back to the house and grabbed some Ale 81 and Cheerwine and went and played good ole College football (I absolutely slaughtered Clemson :) ) and then now I am calling it night.
I am just really thankful that God has blessed me with a cool brother, and I'm glad that we can both hang out and just have a dude's night. James Bond, you have saved the day again my friend.
I don't know how they do it, but it's almost as if Pierce Brosnan, Sean Connery, etc; were never the real Bond. The new actor was just as ravishing, intelligent, and dangerous as those other guys and well he is what you expect from James Bond. It was just a great, manly, brother-bonding movie to go see. There was action, poker, cool cars, plot twists, and ladies which are all some of my favorite things.
I love my brother a lot. I really do, but sometimes it's hard to find similarities between us, or actually I think I just try and make it too hard. Tonight was a very refreshing night to be able to see we both are manly guys who like things like James Bond movies and that we have a lot in common. After the movie we opened up and shared a little bit about what God is doing in our lives, talked a little about women, and then we came back to the house and grabbed some Ale 81 and Cheerwine and went and played good ole College football (I absolutely slaughtered Clemson :) ) and then now I am calling it night.
I am just really thankful that God has blessed me with a cool brother, and I'm glad that we can both hang out and just have a dude's night. James Bond, you have saved the day again my friend.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
What?
So as I have written before I'm taking this class called Terrorism and Counter Terrorism or PoliSci 391. During the first few weeks of this class, it was strictly a lecture class and no one really spoke up. But lately people have had the urge to speak their mind which is totally cool. I like hearing what people think, especially non-christians because I think it can help understand what they need, and how Christ can be presented to them.
We were discussing religion, particularly Islam, and how it has become sort of the "poster" religion for terrorism. One guy then said that not all Muslims are terrorists but that all terrorists are Muslims... That probably wasn't the best thing to say on this particular day or maybe any day, and of course a huge debate then started. It got to the point that one guy actually said this.
"Well I think that we should do away with Religion all together. It's not just Islams or Jews. If you look at the Christians they are killing Jews in Palestine and have done some of the most horrible things in the name of Christianity. If we just did away with religion then people wouldn't be as hateful and have such radical beliefs. The world would be better off without having to deal with religion."
Instantly in my mind two things happened.
1. I got that really defensive feeling, my adrenaline started rushing, and I thought to myself "What the crap?".
2. I was also heart-broken at that the exact same moment. I couldn't believe that some how along the way when it came to Jesus, all he could think about is "wow those people who say they love Jesus are just as bad, if not worse, than any other group".
Too often we steer off of the path of love. A lot of the time we as christians have good intentions, and do some great things but we leave that key ingredient out. Love should be the driving force behind everything we do. We shouldn't be out there just doing good things for the sake of doing good things.
Paul puts it this way to the Corinthians "if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing." (1 Cor 13:2-3).
You see people aren't impressed with what we do if it is for self gain, becuase as Paul says in the long run by doing those great things you gain NOTHING. Eveyone has good morals these days. The difference is and should be that we Love people in everything. When you develop relationships and take time with people, rather than just helping them out in the moment you can see a change and an impact.
We were discussing religion, particularly Islam, and how it has become sort of the "poster" religion for terrorism. One guy then said that not all Muslims are terrorists but that all terrorists are Muslims... That probably wasn't the best thing to say on this particular day or maybe any day, and of course a huge debate then started. It got to the point that one guy actually said this.
"Well I think that we should do away with Religion all together. It's not just Islams or Jews. If you look at the Christians they are killing Jews in Palestine and have done some of the most horrible things in the name of Christianity. If we just did away with religion then people wouldn't be as hateful and have such radical beliefs. The world would be better off without having to deal with religion."
Instantly in my mind two things happened.
1. I got that really defensive feeling, my adrenaline started rushing, and I thought to myself "What the crap?".
2. I was also heart-broken at that the exact same moment. I couldn't believe that some how along the way when it came to Jesus, all he could think about is "wow those people who say they love Jesus are just as bad, if not worse, than any other group".
Too often we steer off of the path of love. A lot of the time we as christians have good intentions, and do some great things but we leave that key ingredient out. Love should be the driving force behind everything we do. We shouldn't be out there just doing good things for the sake of doing good things.
Paul puts it this way to the Corinthians "if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing." (1 Cor 13:2-3).
You see people aren't impressed with what we do if it is for self gain, becuase as Paul says in the long run by doing those great things you gain NOTHING. Eveyone has good morals these days. The difference is and should be that we Love people in everything. When you develop relationships and take time with people, rather than just helping them out in the moment you can see a change and an impact.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
3:50 AM
Sunday morning, after about 3 and half hours of sleep I woke up after Trevor said my name. Somehow I shot up from bed and said "uh-oh what time is it?"
"3:50", said Trevor.
"DANG!!! we're late," I said that but we really weren't late, I have no idea actually why that was my response. We waited for Nick, loaded up, and headed back to Lexington. The weekend in Indiana was incredible! I got to hang out with Nick and Trevor for like the first time in forever and a guy named Zach from Kentucky who was cool as mess. Four guys hangin' out talkin about random stories from our past was exactly what I needed. We laughed non-stop from Thursday to Sunday, and just got to fellowship drinking Ale 81's the whole time.
Trevor's family was so cool, it seemed like a second home to me. My prayers were answered about the people of Indiana, I wanted them to be able to engage in the worship and get something out of it, and I also wanted God to show me what was going on outside of my Lexington, South Carolina bubble. I really felt like worship went well both nights, and I could feel the holy spirit. For the first time in my life I got to play music for people that I had never seen before, and I even spoke about what God had done through my life by being involved with Small Groups.
It's crazy, because I really do feel like God wants me in ministry but there hasn't been that one moment where I had total assurance that this is what God wanted and not just what I wanted. This weekend though put it all together, and God sort of put everything in front of me to see that I am heading in the right direction. I had been busy with school, and all sorts of stuff that seemed to just keep coming at me, but just being able to be away and relax let me pray and reflect on it all.
I love music, especially Jesus praising music, and getting to play it and listening to it makes me very happy. I can't speak in front of people well unless it's about God. It's weird like that but I'm boring, monotoned, and ridiculously nervous unless I'm talking about Jesus and what he can do. Thinking is one of my favorite things to do. I like to be able to brainstorm on how we christians can be more effective in preaching the Gospel and sharing the radical life changing experiences we have as Christ Followers. The best part of my life is being able to see other people come to Christ, and in this past year I have seen it a good bit and it still amazes me every time. Movie/video making is one of the coolest things I think I've done because it lets everyone know that Christians are fun and funny and can actually use technology. God allows me to wake up at 3:50AM and not say "uh all I want is to sleep I don't care about anything else" but rather I snap up and I'm like "Dang I'm late". I get fired up when it comes to doing things for God. It excites me and this weekend He took me up to Indiana to do his work. All of these seem to be a recipe for Ministry. I have no clue what it will look like but I know that I'm willing to be able to do whatever God wants.
Weekend get-a-ways are the coolest! If I had to sum all of what is up right now I would use the song "Ready Now" by Desperation Band.
"Take my hands, I lift them High, They're yours not mine to do, Do what you will"
"3:50", said Trevor.
"DANG!!! we're late," I said that but we really weren't late, I have no idea actually why that was my response. We waited for Nick, loaded up, and headed back to Lexington. The weekend in Indiana was incredible! I got to hang out with Nick and Trevor for like the first time in forever and a guy named Zach from Kentucky who was cool as mess. Four guys hangin' out talkin about random stories from our past was exactly what I needed. We laughed non-stop from Thursday to Sunday, and just got to fellowship drinking Ale 81's the whole time.
Trevor's family was so cool, it seemed like a second home to me. My prayers were answered about the people of Indiana, I wanted them to be able to engage in the worship and get something out of it, and I also wanted God to show me what was going on outside of my Lexington, South Carolina bubble. I really felt like worship went well both nights, and I could feel the holy spirit. For the first time in my life I got to play music for people that I had never seen before, and I even spoke about what God had done through my life by being involved with Small Groups.
It's crazy, because I really do feel like God wants me in ministry but there hasn't been that one moment where I had total assurance that this is what God wanted and not just what I wanted. This weekend though put it all together, and God sort of put everything in front of me to see that I am heading in the right direction. I had been busy with school, and all sorts of stuff that seemed to just keep coming at me, but just being able to be away and relax let me pray and reflect on it all.
I love music, especially Jesus praising music, and getting to play it and listening to it makes me very happy. I can't speak in front of people well unless it's about God. It's weird like that but I'm boring, monotoned, and ridiculously nervous unless I'm talking about Jesus and what he can do. Thinking is one of my favorite things to do. I like to be able to brainstorm on how we christians can be more effective in preaching the Gospel and sharing the radical life changing experiences we have as Christ Followers. The best part of my life is being able to see other people come to Christ, and in this past year I have seen it a good bit and it still amazes me every time. Movie/video making is one of the coolest things I think I've done because it lets everyone know that Christians are fun and funny and can actually use technology. God allows me to wake up at 3:50AM and not say "uh all I want is to sleep I don't care about anything else" but rather I snap up and I'm like "Dang I'm late". I get fired up when it comes to doing things for God. It excites me and this weekend He took me up to Indiana to do his work. All of these seem to be a recipe for Ministry. I have no clue what it will look like but I know that I'm willing to be able to do whatever God wants.
Weekend get-a-ways are the coolest! If I had to sum all of what is up right now I would use the song "Ready Now" by Desperation Band.
"Take my hands, I lift them High, They're yours not mine to do, Do what you will"
Thursday, November 02, 2006
IN
yeah it's 1 in the morning, and i'm tired as mess but tomorrow brings a new day and a new state for me. It was really cool in small group tonight we talked about prayer. And I felt really dumb, because I hadn't even thought to pray about the people there who I will be attempting to lead worship for. So tonight I have been doing so and I look forward to it even though my guitar skills and worship skills are quite inadequate in comparison to an amazing God. Indiana here I come.
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