proclaim the grace of God

What I Don't Deserve

2009-07-07T15:28:00.006-05:00

Pretty much everything in my life would fall into the category of "things I don't deserve." Health. Provision. Love. Friendship. Respect. Safety. Freedom. Grace. Opportunity. Ability. And those are just the big ones. There are plenty of little things that happen every day which would also fall into that category. Free soda at work. My own office with a nice chair. A short commute. A sprinkler system at home. Hot water. Air conditioning. Ice cream. Friends with access to free Astros tickets. My cell phone.

But not everything falls into that category for I often get things I do deserve. For example, I tend to make more commitments than I have time for and that generally gets me in trouble. It brings a degree of stress. It brings feeling overwhelmed. It brings disappointment when I break my promises. Every one of those would fall into the "things I deserve" category. I'm also a "bull in a china cabinet." I've been known to break a dish when I rush to put the dishes away or gore my yard as I try to mow around a part that should be edged. So, broken dishes or a patchy lawn would also fall into the category of "things I deserve." But those aren't as fun to talk about or think about. Let me return to my first thought.

That is the category of "things I don't deserve." As this Tuesday comes to a close I was reminded of two of the greatest things I have that I don't deserve. I was reminded of the joy they bring me. I was reminded of the grace they extend. I was reminded of the acceptance they apply. I was reminded of the understanding they share. I was reminded that no matter what others say, think, or feel that I am received gladly for who I am.

What a joy to have these two in the "things I don't deserve" category!

This Week at Redeemer

2009-04-21T21:52:00.000-05:00

I think it’s safe to say that most American Christians prefer a comfortable, familiar, and safe way of life. They want to belong to a church where they can easily relate and fit in. Most of their closest friends are people just like them. They live in similar neighborhoods and they drive similar cars. They probably listen to the same type of music and eat the same type of foods. Not that these things are wrong in and of themselves, but what if we see more than this in the pages of Scripture? What if we see radically different groups of people, with nothing in common apart from faith in Christ, fellowshipping with one another? There’s no doubt this interaction would be hard. There would be language barriers. Culture differences. Food distinctions. Yes, there would be many hurdles to overcome. But I submit to you that the church Jesus built was made to worship the God who shows no partiality, and should not be the culturally homogeneous organization in which we would feel comfortable.

Last week we saw God use separate visions to bring two men having little in common together for a purpose. An angel spoke to Cornelius in the first vision and instructed him to send for Peter. Thirty-five miles away and moments later Peter falls into a trance and sees a great sheet descending filled with all types of animals, reptiles, and birds. He recognizes the items in this sheet to be unclean. Things he confidently knew he was to abstain from. So imagine the confusion he felt when he hears, “What God has made clean, do not call common.” God had been at work in Peter for some time preparing to shatter his understanding of who’s acceptable to God. He had been living with a tanner and now he has seen an incredible vision and heads to the home of a Gentile centurion.

Have you ever considered the significance of being located near such crossroads as US 90A and the Sam Houston Toll Road? At Redeemer, we find ourselves with access to both the inner city and the suburbs, making possible interactions with diverse people groups not much different than what we find in our current study in Acts. Could God be up to something in this regard with Redeemer?

In this week’s sermon, I will be considering, “Barriers Shattered by the Gospel,” from Acts 10:23-43. As we continue on in the narrative we are going to see Peter understand more fully that God shows no partiality. It doesn’t matter what country you’re born in. It doesn’t matter what color your skin is. It doesn’t matter what type of food you eat or what type of clothes you wear. Friends, when you look at different ethnicities of people what standard do you use? Do you write off certain people thinking God wouldn’t save those types of people? What standard do you use as you relate to others? Do you extend the same forgiveness to others that God gives to us? Do you extend the same unconditional love that God lavishes on us? I urge you to consider all the people you are around and whom God might have placed on your sheet and declared, “Clean!” Join us this Sunday as we celebrate the gospel of Jesus Christ that makes seemingly impossible situations possible!

This Week at Redeemer

2009-03-18T14:25:00.002-05:00

In Derek Webb's song Lover he describes the marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19:9) and the great delight the children of God will have eating and drinking in the presence of the King.

"Because I am My beloved's and My beloved's Mine;
So, you bring all your history and I'll bring the bread and wine,
Then we'll have us a party where all the drinks are on Me.
And as surely as the rising sun you will be set free."

It will be a marvelous celebration as all the redeemed from every tongue and tribe and people and nation join to worship the Lamb who was slain. We will gather with the Passover Lamb who lived a life of sinless obedience for 33 years under the Law. We will feast with the Suffering Servant who transferred His righteousness to our account. We will experience a meal like no other. And what makes this meal even more remarkable are the words of Jesus stating that he will not eat of the Passover meal until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God (Luke 22:16). So even though Jesus commands His disciples to continue this sacrament in remembrance of Him, our Savior will wait to eat the meal again until all His children have been ransomed. Every time we participate in the Lord's Supper we remember our Crime Bearer and the victory that He provided. And we look forward to one day joining our Lord for the greatest party imaginable.

This week Travis Cardwell will be considering, "Treasuring Christ at His Table," from 1 Corinthians 11:18-34. There is no hiding the fact that the Lord's Supper has prompted various questions and misunderstandings throughout history. What exactly takes place at the Lord's Supper? Who is allowed to participate in this sacrament? What does it mean to eat and drink in an unworthy manner? How often should we celebrate this meal? The Lord's Supper is a beautiful sacrament that is meant to remind Christians of what Christ accomplished on the cross. It is no light matter. Join us this week and we ponder this ordinance and celebrate the cross of Christ.

I love my wife so much I left her half a brownie

2009-02-02T11:46:00.003-06:00

Okay – I know that is not the most compelling lead in on how one loves his wife, so give me a minute and I think you’ll understand.

But, before going on it will be helpful to have a couple of background details first. Anyone who knows even a small amount about me knows that I love sweets. Desserts are as important to me at the main course. Having a dessert isn’t necessarily a nice treat for me every now and then. It is a regular, the meal has ended, now what do I find to satisfy my craving for sweets sort of thing. Heck, when I go to Jason’s Deli I indulge in an ice cream cone prior to the arrival of my food and then one after the regular meal is finished. So hopefully I have been clear – I love desserts.

The other thing you need to know is Stephenie and I just began sticking to a budget at the start of the year. We haven’t been terrible spenders with mounting debt, but we do know we spend some money frivolously and we just want to be good stewards. Stephenie deserves most of the credit with this one and after finishing our first month I was pleasantly surprised with how things went. One of the areas that I have been seeking to improve on is spending money at lunch. It’s far too easy for me to blow through $20-25 per week on eating out only to have nothing to show for it. So, part of our new budget included me packing a lunch more. That area went really well in January, but I don’t want to pretend like it was super easy. I don’t enjoy a cold sandwich at my desk as much as I enjoy a deli sandwich or a burrito bowl. Packing a lunch takes more effort. More discipline. And since it’s more of a “sacrifice,” I probably even feel a slight sense of accomplishment by forgoing the restaurants for the brown bag option.

Now back to the brownie. As I began packing my lunch this morning I grabbed all of the usual things. Sandwich. Chips. Yogurt. Apple. Breakfast bar. I then began putting them in my lunch sack and all of a sudden it caught my eye. The pan of brownies. You see, last night we had a few friends over for the Super Bowl and Stephenie made this combination chocolate chip cookie/brownie thing and it was great. I didn’t know we had any left, but as I saw the pan I quickly went over to grab one, but as I pulled back the aluminum foil I realized there wasn’t a bunch left. It fact, all that was in the pan was what I would consider “less than one” brownie. I began grabbing a zip lock bag to haul off my prize possession, but then it hit me. I’m taking the last one. Sure, Stephenie probably wouldn’t care. She was glad I was taking my lunch. No big deal. But the more I thought about it the more I realized how selfish I was. I wanted Stephenie to be able to enjoy a little bit of a treat today so I grabbed a knife, cut it in half, and placed my two-bite brownie in the bag and joyfully drove to work.

I actually have a strong feeling that my mini half-brownie will taste better today than a whole one. Man, I love my wife.

Acceptable Murder?

2009-01-14T16:29:00.001-06:00

Although September 11, 2001 is over seven years behind us many of the images from that day remain fresh on my mind. The fact that so many lives were lost through the terrorist strikes seemed unreal. Over 3,000 Americans lost their lives that day. I remember how astonished I was over the total loss. Newspapers, newscasts, magazines, and internet articles all gasped over the massive loss of life. Millions grieved the human casualties. The government knew it must act fast. We needed to wage war on these terrorists. These lives were unfairly taken.

What's even more astonishing than the loss of lives on September 11 is the fact that 3,753 abortions occur in America every day. More deaths due to abortion occur in the United States each day than all those who died on 9-11. There are 1.37 million abortions in the United States every year. Why is the media not in a frenzy over this? Have our hearts and minds become dull to this atrocity? Do people really believe that the unborn are just a "fetus" and not a human? What does God's Word have to say in regards to abortion? David proclaims, "For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made." (Psalm 139:13-14) The Bible is clear. God is the Author of creation and life begins upon conception. Those who take the lives of the unborn are not merely having an "abortion" they are murdering a human without a voice.

Join us this Sunday as we consider "Acceptable Murder?", as I preach on Psalm 139:13-16 along with other texts. From the moment of conception a unique strand of DNA that has never existed is formed. Friends, do you see what is at stake here? Thousands of lives are being taken away each day. How can we respond and love the unborn and their mothers? How can we help rescue those who are being taken away to death? We are called to love our neighbors as ourselves. We can honor this command by opening our mouths for the mute and seeking to teach others the truth about the unborn. Even though it may appear that our government is swaying further away from protecting the unborn we serve a God who can do more in one minute than all the legislation of a lifetime.

Acts 7 Preview

2009-01-07T16:01:00.001-06:00

From those at the Tower of Babel to Napoleon Bonaparte to Adolf Hitler, people from each generation have risen up and sought to make a name for themselves. Individual agendas and plans are plotted and then ushered forth. Some of these dreams might even appear to be successful for a period of time. After all, the French appeared invincible as Napoleon dominated central Europe. But things changed dramatically as Napoleon tried to invade Russia and then he was finally defeated in the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. His plan had failed. His dream was over. He would spend the next six years of his life under British supervision until he died. Every time man seeks to establish his own plan it always fails.

God, however, and His plans never fail. God's purposes are unstoppable and no one can stay His hand. His counsel always stands. There is never a time when He doesn't accomplish His purpose. C.H. Spurgeon describes those who attempt to thwart God's purposes by saying: "Their persecutions, slanders, falsehoods, are like puff-balls flung against a granite wall." At the time Moses was born the king of Egypt sought to murder him along with all the Hebrew infants. The one that God would use to deliver a nation was at risk of losing his life before he was able to crawl! Later Moses would be rejected by the very men that he was called to deliver. Is this beginning to sound familiar? God eventually uses Moses to deliver his people from the hands of the Pharaoh and His plans prevail!

Join us this week as we consider "Israel's Rescue" as Travis Cardwell preaches from Acts 7:17-34. As we continue our series, The Church Unstoppable, we witness Stephen's continued defense before the council of Jerusalem. He has brilliantly countered their false charges against him related to God and now he moves on to deal with their charges related to Moses. Stephen continues to prove to them that they are the ones who are rejecting God. God's church will not be stopped! Friends, the economy may look bleak, nations may rise up against us, or your health might falter, but don't allow any crisis in life to deter you from the rock that is the providence of God. He will accomplish His purpose and He will sustain us. He is our Deliverer!

Piper Quote

2009-01-06T12:13:00.000-06:00

Here is a quote from a Romans 8:1-4 sermon that I was listening to from John Piper that greatly encouraged me. He is giving a picture of the last judgment and what it means for Christians who now have no condemnation because of Jesus Christ.

"Who's going to bring any successful case? Who's going to be a successful prosecuting attorney against you at the last judgment? Answer - NOBODY! Why? Because you haven't committed any crimes? . . . Wrong. Because there was a Crime Bearer . . . a Sin Bearer . . . Jesus Christ, the Righteous who took it all. And that prosecuting attorney - whether it be your own conscience or the devil or the record of your sins will fail! Because the blood of Jesus will be brought forward and the righteousness of Christ will be presented in that courtroom and a verdict will be delivered . . . NOT GUILTY, Righteous!"

Thankful for our Crime Bearer!

Update: Ross King House Show - Meadows Place Community Center

2008-12-02T09:37:00.007-06:00

I would strongly encourage anyone in the Houston/Sugar Land area to come to Meadows Place Community Center this Friday at 7:30 for a Ross King show. Due to the 40 degree weather we have moved this to an indoor venue. The Community Center is located at 11924 Amblewood, Stafford, TX 77477.

Ross has done two house shows for our church in the past year and both were a great time. Actually, both were fantastic. At our church we have been encouraging our people to go and I want to echo that to anyone that reads this in the next few days. So, once more . . . come join us for a fantastic time of song and testimony.

Ross King is a pastor as well as a songwriter whose songs are loaded with biblical truth and God-honoring lyrics. Ross is a faithful follower of Jesus Christ and a true blessing to be around. He has been leading worship through music for over 15 years and helping pastor a church for the last 10 years.

If you have any questions please contact Travis Cardwell or myself.

Acts 4:1-22 Preview

2008-09-10T14:02:00.000-05:00

Travel back in time with me to the mid-1600’s. To do that we have to imagine an era without the internet, cell phones, cars, or alarm clocks. To organize a function or gather a group the primary means of communication would be word of mouth. Now see a crowd of 1,200 people gathered at 7:00am listening to a man preach after one day’s notice! Those that gathered had come to listen to a man whose trade was metalworking or that of a “tinker.” This man had only received an education of the poor to read and write. He had received no formal higher education, but he poured over the Scriptures after his conversion. This man was John Bunyan and his influence as a lay preacher extended well beyond his time on earth. Now what can cause an uneducated, ordinary man to preach and pray in a way that makes others stand and wonder? John Bunyan was used mightily by God because he radically followed Christ - empowered by the Spirit of God and committed to the Word.

As we come to Acts 4 this Sunday we see the priests, Sadducess, scribes, and rulers astonished by the boldness of “uneducated, common men.” There was nothing special about Peter and John to the religious elite of the day, yet God had filled them with the Holy Spirit and they were performing amazing signs and speaking boldly about the risen Christ. Thousands of people were trusting in the Messiah and the religious elite had to squelch this movement. So how do the uneducated, common men respond to the ruler’s threat to stop speaking or teaching in the name of Jesus? Do they back down and get out of harm’s way? Do they conform to the wisdom of the world’s elite? Absolutely not! Peter and John say they “cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard.” These average, uneducated men have received true Wisdom and are emboldened to proclaim the life-giving news of Jesus Christ. God’s Church cannot be stopped!

Join us this week as we think on these things as Travis preaches on “Disturbing the Peace” from Acts 4:1-22. Do you feel unqualified or ill-equipped because you don’t have a seminary education or know all the answers to questions people might ask? Does it seem far fetched for God to use your ordinary life? Or do you feel qualified because you have a Bible degree or seminary education? Friends, education and studies apart from the Spirit’s power are futile. God uses many who are weak and ordinary to do great things. Just as God used (and is still using!) John Bunyan and Peter and John, let me encourage you commit to His Word and to allow the Spirit of God to work in your life and have His way.

Thanking God that He chooses the weak things of the world to shame the wise!

Astros 5 back!

2008-09-08T22:48:00.003-05:00

Mark Saccomanno hit a pinch hit homerun during his first big league at bat to help the Astros inch closer to the Wild Card. Mark is a fellow Klein Forest Golden Eagle (he was two years behind me) and he then went on to play ball at Baylor. Congrats to Mark and the Astros on the big win! Congrats to Mark on earning the Fox SW player of the game, too!

You can read about it more here.

Go Astros!

Sermons

2008-08-21T18:52:00.003-05:00

Travis Cardwell has been preaching through the book of Acts at our church and it has been so encouraging to dive into this book. All of his sermons have been tasty meals for my soul and I would encourage you to go here to check them out.

If you only have time to listen to one sermon check out his most recent sermon on Acts 2:37-41 entitled "How Can I Be Saved?" Travis lays down the full Gospel message which is powerful, truthful, confrontational, and full of life and hope. Whether you are not clear on the Gospel or it is something you rejoice in a lot this sermon is worth your time.

Eight = Phelps

2008-08-19T20:15:00.007-05:00

Like most of America I was scrambling to get in front of my TV to watch Michael Phelps increase his net worth in gold over this past week. I'll be honest before the 2008 Beijing Olympics I had no idea who this guys was. I saw the initial "Quest for 8" before the games began and was semi-intrigued and as I read more articles the excitement started to grow. But I also thought to myself, "Eight gold medals is quite a task . . . I don't know about this." I started to faintly believe in the possibility more after he won the 400-meter IM in world-record time. The next race was the "already an ESPN classic" 4x100 free relay in which the French had already began to talk smack. Now being a former smack talker (or should I say "an occasional" . . . maybe you should ask this guy) these types of things really get me going. I was now locked in. The race began and as it looked like they were going to lose I started getting a little frustrated. Then Jason Lezak did his "that can only happen in a Disney movie" move and came back in the final leg for an amazing victory. By this point I was sold. I was on the Michael Phelps bandwagon. He had to win all eight. He did win all eight.

Thus in honor of Michael Phelps winning eight gold medals I would like to start a trend that we replace the word "eight" with "Phelps." It's pretty easy actually. All you do is say "Phelps" when you normally would say "eight." Nothing more. Nothing less. For example, when I begin to teach my son Will to count I will say "one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, Phelps, nine, ten."

You with me. Hey, he won Phelps gold medals. That is one more than the seven that Spitz won.

Here are some other examples to help get you going:

I knew I was about to lose in pool as Brandon lined up to hit the Phelps ball in the corner pocket.
"Hey Caleb, that spider has Phelps legs!"
Lenny really showed his age when he talked about how he used to enjoy listening to his Phelps-track.
I was a bit disappointed at the gym yesterday when I could only do Phelps pull-ups.
The Astros are leading the Brewers 5-2 in the Phelps inning.
My son Will was born two weeks ago on the Phelps 1, 200Phelps. (Yes, Phelps can replace anything in the "eight realm". So August (the 8th month) becomes Phelps, too)
Ten lords a'leaping, nine ladies dancing, Phelps maids a'milking . . .
That truck is pretty stout. It must have a V-Phelps.
I love drinking orange juice or grape juice, but it's painful to drink a VPhelps.
Hunter felt a twinge of frustration as he looked on the lineup card and saw he was batting Phelps.
Stephenie and I love watching the O'Reilly Factor on channel thirty Phelps.
Jason Kates once devoured Phelps donuts and Phelps cokes in less than Phelps minutes.
If you want to learn a little about Lane Frost go watch Phelps Seconds.
Travis Cardwell really set the tone for our series on Acts as he preached on Acts 1:Phelps.
Jim Hamilton reads about Phelps books a day. He is a genius.
David Hamilton set a modern day record by having Phelps different jobs the one year he lived in Houston!

On a side note, I'm aiming to post a more serious blog later this week. My co-laborer and good friend, Travis, encouraged this blog so if you are disappointed with my content please let him know. In the mean time, go about your day and let's help replace "eight" with "Phelps!

Unless you played baseball at Klein Forest in the mid-90's you will have no interest in this blog . . .

2008-08-11T10:51:00.003-05:00

My good friend Jim "I hit the ball harder than Josh Hamilton" Russell sent me an email prediction that I wrote in early 2007 this morning and I thought, "hey, I spent a lot of time on that email and I need a new blog" so here goes. There had been some emails going back and forth between my High School buddies and I in regards to our annual alumni baseball game back then and what follows is my prediction on what was at the time an upcoming game.

For the homerun derby Jim Russell will rip a few to the fence before finally getting one over. His one homerun looks to stand as the rest of the guys fail to reach the warning track. (Yes, Matt Mertins included) As Brett Murphey takes his ten cuts he gets a little frustrated that his first eight cuts result in popping up straight into the batters cage the hangs over his head. He feels a little better as he rips the next one over the scoreboard to tie Jim, but gets a little cocky and completely misses the next pitch. Brandon Clarke forgets to take his ten swings because he is too busy arguing with Jim Kretlow that Mitt Romney is a better Republican candidate than John McCain. No one really challenges Jim's of Brett's total of one homerun, until Mike Lateur strolls to the plate and hits the first two pitches out of the park. Mike refuses his other eight cuts and proceeds to Mrs. Rutchi to collect his $20 gift certificate to Mr. Subz. (He's happy until the next day when he realizes Mr. Subz closed in 1997) As the game begins Brandon and Brett get into an argument about who gets to bat first only to realize that Matt Mertins has snuck behind him and is already in the batters box. It doesn't seem to matter because Jim Kretlow strikes out Matt, Brandon, and Brett in the first frame on nine pitches. Jim Russell throws a water cooler in disgust, partially due to the fact that no one got on and he's in the clean-spot and partially because Jeff Sanford has still not shown up. Mertins strolls to the mound and pumps in some 68 mph heaters and surprisingly gets out of the inning with no runs scored. Coach Ray then announces the winner of the first door prize, a $20 gift certificate to Pancho's, and a 2005 graduate gladly accepts the prize. Jim Russell tears down a shelf in the dugout in disgust. As the second inning begins Brett Murphey decides to strip down to just his sliding shorts and heads to the booth and promptly turns on the PA system. He remains there the rest of the game. Jim Russell hits Kretlow's first pitch over the right field wall and as he enters the dugout he breaks his TPX over his knee as the excitement overcomes him. Valerie Murphey captures the moment on her digital camera as she hangs from the backstop with one arm. Wayne Horak then steps to the plate and hits a shot to third where Brian Horak fields the groundball and fires one to first where Patrick Horak makes a nice scoop. Mr. Horak is sitting in his lawn chair over by the chain link fence and he nods his head a few times in approval of all three of his sons. Ed Bailey then steps to the plate and smashes one up the middle, but as he rounds first he pulls up limping. He calls for a pinch runner and heads to the dugout with an icepack. He remains laid up on the bench for the remainder of the game. Brandon Clarke asks for a replacement because he has now entered into a conversation with one of the High School players (whose required to be there) about his pursuit of one of the vacancies in the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The High School student doesn't know what to say as Brandon discusses President Bush's conservative dominance in the 4th Circuit so Brandon switches the conversation to how good of a college ball player he was until he blew out his knee. Not too much happens in the game except for Jim Russell hitting homeruns and breaking things. The game ends and everyone proceeds to eat sloppy joes, homemade cookies, and fritos and Coach Ray continues to hand out gear and uniforms from the 70's.

William Samuel has arrived!

2008-08-05T09:20:00.009-05:00

William Samuel Newhouse aka Will arrived on August 1, 2008 weighing in at 7 lbs. and 3 oz and is 21.5 inches long. Stephenie was a true champ and did a great job on the delivery and has been taking great strides to the Mother of the Year award already. We thank God for this precious gift and praise Him for his mercy!

What is the Main Purpose?

2008-06-10T10:32:00.006-05:00

I'll never forget what Blake Wilson said as I was sitting in one of his classes at the College of Biblical Studies sometime in the Fall of 2004. At the time I was currently working through my M-DIV at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, but at the recommendation of my good friend David Joseph, I was also auditing a class at CBS. A Biblical View of Sex was the name of the class. How is that for a recommended class at a Bible College? I was also a part-time youth minister at the time and it's a pretty wise move to get that sort of teaching into your youth's ever-changing, hormone-raging, identity-searching mind. This class recognized that most youth are losing the battle against lust and that some youth have been damaged by sexual molestation and it's critical for us to point them to Jesus and to show them what God's Word says about such things. This is heavy stuff and I would recommend that class highly. Anyhow, that is for another time, but before one of our classes Blake asked a real simple question. He said, "Guys, what is the main purpose of all of these classes you are taking?"

After a minute or two the scholarly Bible students began to answer. "So we can finish our degree." "So we can be trained to be a youth pastor." "So we know the right answers to give people." "This degree will help me get a job." I guess all of those are okay answers and have a certain measure of truth behind them, but it was clear that Blake had something else in mind.

He replied, "Doc, the main purpose of these classes are to grow you in Christ-likeness. That is it."

He went on to read through various passages of Scripture, but it was very clear that the number one reason any Christian takes a Bible class or reads a book on theology or attends a Bible Study was to promote a life that looked more like Christ's and less like the world. Man, I was so glad that I was sitting there that evening.

I was on the downhill of my 91 hour degree plan at SWBTS and I had definitely been guilty of studying for a test so that I could make a good grade or memorizing various terms or people or dates so that I could join in on the latest theological discussion and sound half-way intelligent. Where were the days when I used to read the Bible and seek to apply those truths to my life? Where were the days when I would memorize Scripture so that I could have God's Word stored inside of me so that the lies and lusts of the world could be cut in two? Where were the days when I would spend long periods of time in prayer confessing my sins, praying for the lost, and praising God for who He is?

Blake didn't spend the whole class on that reminder, but I was so glad that he mentioned those things and it allowed me to refocus and rethink and realign my heart and mind to that reality.

Okay you ask, that was almost four years ago . . . what brings that up now? Well, first of all, I bring this up because I think I need to hear this over and over. It is still easy for me to get caught up in other things that take away from some of the core things I should be focused on. For example, it was my turn to read Scripture in church this past Sunday and I put a lot of focus on pronouncing the words correctly, reading clearly, etc. and less attention on allowing that Word to get inside of me and mold me. I should be reading through the texts and praying to God and asking for Him to teach me those truths rather than preparing for the reading as if I have a speech to give to the rotary club. Father, have mercy on me a sinner.

I've been thinking a lot these past few days and I want to be a man that is faithful to what God has called me to. I want to be a man who prays often. I want to read and meditate on God's Word and allow myself to be refined by it rather then thinking of application to other people's lives first. I want to walk in humility. I want to be kind and compassionate to others. I want to hold firmly to the truth. I want to speak the truth. I want to walk blamelessly.

I was reading Luke 1 this morning and was reminded of how often God uses people who are righteous in God's sight and live without blame according to the commandments of God. This is how Zechariah and Elizabeth are described and as they are faithful to where God has called them, He then uses them in an extraordinary way.

The second reason I write this is because I want to encourage others to pursue such things. I think it is a tendency of many people to want recognition and to see their ideas and suggestions ushered forward. We want to dive into the tough passages of Scripture and show everyone why we are right and they are wrong. We want to be called upon when a situation arises. We want to be included in leadership positions. We want to post long blogs and have everyone read them and comment on how great we are.

I pray that you would join me in growing in Christ-likeness and in walking in a manner worthy of the Lord. Let's be Christians that do all things for the glory of God. Let be people that hold firm to sound doctrine. Let's be people that our humble, teachable, loving, gracious, full of mercy, and sacrificial. Let's be people that study the Bible and allow it to shape the way we think. Let's be people that pray often. Let's be more concerned about God's glory than cutting corners.

Let me encourage you to listen to Blake's words the next time you pick up a book or take a class or read the Bible or listen to a sermon.

The main purpose of those things are to grow you in Christ-likeness. That is it.

A Man of Humility

2008-05-12T16:32:00.005-05:00

My good friend and pastor, Jim Hamilton, has accepted a position at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky and I want to point anyone who comes here to read an article on him. There are so many honoring and true statements said about him that I won't brag on him too much here, but please go to this link to read about him joining the staff at Southern.

I was blessed to have had Jim as both a professor at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and as a pastor at Baptist Church of the Redeemer over the past five years. (I guess I should include the blessing that it was to have him marry my wife and I almost two years ago!)

Outside of being the smartest guy that I have ever been around, Jim is someone who really cares about the glory of God and believes in the power of the Gospel. God has used Jim to encourage so many young pastors to base their ministries on the Word of God. He has a vision to start healthy, biblical churches and strengthen churches that are in decline. Jim is a great father and husband and he is definitely a Hebrews 13:7 man. I could go on and on, but what I really want to say is that Jim is a man of humility. Jim is always asking for ways in which he can better serve the body and he receives correction with joy. I hope to imitate so much of who this man is, but I truly hope I can walk in humility as he has. What a blessing for Houston to have been able to cross paths with this man and his family and we wish him many blessings as he heads to where God has called him.

Blessings to you, Dr. Hamilton. I am so thankful for who you are.

My Valentine

2008-02-15T12:19:00.004-06:00

1 Peter 3:1-6

"Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, when they see your respectful and pure conduct. Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.

Stephenie and I have been married for about 1 year and 7 months and I'm so thankful that she is a 1 Peter 3 girl. Stephenie exhibits v.5 and she truly puts her hopes in God and His promises. She doesn't put her hopes in her clothes or in her job or in anything that we have materially. Her hope is in God and that allows us to keep so much of this life in perspective. That my friends is the kind of wife that each husband needs.

She also does such a good job on concentrating her efforts on inner beauty rather than outer beauty. She doesn't run to the store after each paycheck seeking to buy new clothes. She doesn't spend her free time tanning or always having to to get her nails done. She definitely has a beautiful heart that is gentle and quiet and so attractive to me. Now I must say Stephenie is smoking hot in the outer beauty catagory, too. She looks wonderful whether we are getting dressed up and going out or whether we are both doing work around the house. That is a great added bonus, but I truly believe that her gentle, quiet spirit makes her even more attractive than she already is.

I'm thankful for the Valentine Day that we shared yesterday and I was reminded how much I loved having a 1 Peter 3 wife. She didn't expect or ask for flowers (Though I took her a small arrangement at school). She didn't expect a fancy dinner (We did buy some steaks and we both prepared the meal). She didn't expect jewelry or any fancy gift (We just hung out and talked for awhile with the TV off . . . although we did sneak in a little Supernatural). We had a great time yesterday and I just thought it would be appropriate to brag on Stephenie and rejoice for this wonderful gift from God.

Also, I had that other picture of Travis up with "his" shirt off and I think it's time for a new picture!

Blessings to all and to the wife of my youth . . . I love you more than Roger Clemens love his reputation . . .

Marathon Runner

2008-01-17T12:29:00.000-06:00

Here's my tribute, along with the help of Jason Kates, to Travis Cardwell on successfully finishing the Houston Marathon last week.

26.2 miles ain't no joke, so congratulate him for his status of elitism.

Good job, T-card!

Colossians 1:1-20

2008-01-11T12:45:00.000-06:00

My good friends and pastors, Travis Cardwell and Jim Hamilton, have graciously allowed me to have about 6 weeks to preach through Colossians and I'm really exited about it. Both of those guys are truly gifted preachers and it's always a treat to be under their preaching. Anyhow, you can go here to listen to the first sermon I preached if you are interested.

If you don't want to listen to it then pick up your Bible and read through and meditate on richness of God's truth in Colossians. The Gospel is really clear as well as the supremacy of Christ. May you rejoice in what He has done.

Blessings.

Broken Cup

2008-01-02T08:27:00.000-06:00

One of Stephenie's favorite artists is Sandra McCracken and on her latest cd, Gravity Love, she has a song called "Broken Cup" which I've really enjoyed listening to. Sandra is the wife of Derek Webb, another of our favorite artists.

Here are the lyrics for those interested.

Looks for autumn, looks for spring
They’re gonna make you look, just like a magazine
Fickle fashion, we are bought and sold
By next season, she leaves you in the cold

And maybe all I want is nothing you can sell
In pills and magazines
Turn the pages, pour the water
I can’t seem to get enough …like a broken cup

Empty pockets, empty dream
All the promises that spill from the glowing screen
Wealth and riches on little plastic cards
All you ever wanted, with a low APR

Maybe all I want, is nothing you can sell
In pills and magazines,
Turn the pages, pour the water
Cause I can’t seem to get enough like a broken cup

And you can ask, you can spin, or you can weave the lies right in
I’ve had enough gonna wash my hands clean, of this 21st century…

Some light reading, stop light ahead
Give me something that will last longer than that
Story like Shakespeare was meant to stick around
And sitcom romance just wears me out.

Posters by Jason Kates

2007-12-18T15:18:00.000-06:00

A gift from my good friend Jason Kates . . . these are the kind of friends each person needs.

The Gospel and Personal Evangelism

2007-10-15T09:29:00.000-05:00

Stephenie and I were blessed by our good friend and pastor, Jim Hamilton, with Mark Dever's new book The Gospel and Personal Evangelism. Mark Dever is the senior pastor at Capitol Hill Baptist Church and is involved with 9Marks ministry.

The Gospel and Personal Evangelism seeks to answers the following questions: Who should we evangelize? How should we evangelize? What is evangelism? and Why should we evangelize? Mark Dever delivers a great, easy-to-read, convicting, and challenging book. I know that I have failed miserably at sharing the gospel so many times and I hope to cultivate a life that seeks to share the gospel on a daily basis. There are so many biblical and practical truths in this book and I'm thankful for this unexpected gift.

Go pick up a copy of The Gospel and Personal Evangelism and allow these truths to help form a lifestyle of seeking to share the gospel on a regular basis.

Light of the World

2007-10-06T23:01:00.001-05:00

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Non Religious Me

2007-10-06T22:57:00.000-05:00

Photo and video editing at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Taste of Ross King House Show

2007-10-06T10:22:00.000-05:00

Our good friend Ross King and the multi-talented Craig Weaver played at our house this past Thursday and it was great evening. For those of you not familiar with Ross see my September 15th post and then click on one of the links and buy a CD. If you have an opportunity to attend one of his House Shows, make sure to attend, for it was a treat being there. It really was a rich evening and I wish we had the whole thing on video to share, but here's a sneak peek for those who will be attending a house show in the future. Here is "You Can" which was his 2nd "last" song.

Enjoy.

PS-My good friend Travis recorded two more songs and hopefully those will be up shortly.

It's time for another Astros post . . .

2007-09-17T13:32:00.000-05:00

Okay, so the Astros are definitely not making the play-offs this year, but I still find it fitting to blog on them from time to time.

This past Friday, Stephenie and I, were taken to the Astros game by our good friends Joe and Jill and we had a couple of added bonuses to our normal day at the ballpark. The first one occured in the 6th inning when a couple of Astros Promoters sat down next to us and begin passing out boxes of "Bubba Burgers" to our row. They told us that our row has won Bubba Burgers and that we would be on the big screen at the Juice Box when the inning ended. Well, the inning ended and sure enough their was my big goofy head next to my lovely wife and the rest of our row. There weren't actually any burgers in the box, but there was a free T-shirt and a voucher for 6 patties.

The second bonus came at the end of the game. The International Federation of Competitive Eating was hosting the first ever kolache eating contest. We saw the living legend, Joey Chestnut, win the contest by consuming 56 kolaches in 8 minutes. It was impressive. The announcer did a nice job hyping up the contest. Hey, you must be good if you can get people excited about kolache consumption.

Oh, back to the game. The Astros lost 4-3, but we had a great time nonetheless.

Ross King: Perhaps I've Said Too Much

2007-09-15T23:12:00.000-05:00

Ross King has just released his latest CD and I would encourage anyone reading this to go buy it here. (While you are there buy an extra copy or two for a friend or neighbor)

Ross is a Spirit-filled follower of Jesus who happens to write some of the greatest songs I have heard. This album touches on many of the dangers of lifeless, rote Christianity and confronts the American version of Christianity that looks quite different then what one sees in the life of Jesus. There are also some beautiful songs about his wife (Staci) and kids (Sam and Jude).

The music and lyrics are a true treat and carefully listen and digest the songs slowly. There is so much honesty, wisdom, humility, conviction, love, and God-honoring things said on this album. I think a big part of this album is Ross talking about how many people in the church are enslaved to traditions and programs and his message is one of freedom. It's a call to embrace the vibrant, Spirit-filled life and to it's a plea for Christians to truly love one another. It's also a cry for the Church to be a place that is safe and a place where honestly and authenticity occurs.

OK, I'm beginning to tell too much and my summary is not doing much justice. Go buy the CD and begin the journey.

God and Hollywood

2007-08-14T23:22:00.000-05:00

Stephenie and I just returned from an extended weekend trip to Los Angeles and it was a fantastic time. The main purpose for going to L.A. was to visit our close friends Bill & Mindy Magsig whom are church planters in Hollywood. I've known Bill for over twenty years and he is a true Christ follower who desires God to save many in this town. L.A. has seen a huge growth in Scientology and Self-Actualization and many other false religions, not to mention the rampant worldliness. His church is seeking to be Christ-centered and they are hoping to share the Gospel through their lives and ministry and to reach many of the unchurched and lost in L.A.

The Magsigs live in West Hollywood and in that area 70% of the people are homosexual. 90% of the people in L.A. are trying to make it in Hollywood. The town is a revolving door that sees an influx of people that generally stay only a few years because they don't necessarily "hit it big." As we were driving to the airport we saw a billboard that said, "Life is short. Have an affair." It then listed a website that one could go to to pursue this endeavor. I could say more, but the bottom line is this is indeed a town that needs revival.

Please pray for the Magsigs and this town. Pray that God would raise up godly people to partner side by side with them. Pray for them to stay encouraged for God to break the hearts of these people and draw the lost to him.

On a side note, as Stephenie and I rode out to L.A. on Friday, we had the opportunity of meeting a wonderful Christian, named Paul who sat next to us. As we chatted with Paul, he told us his story how he came to L.A. from England and how bad the church situation was in England. He shared that he would show up to an old, beautiful church in his town and he would be one of about 8 people there, yet he was the only one under 80. As he went through customs in L.A. a gentleman invited him to a church in Valencia, CA and he and his family have been thriving there this last year. Paul talked with passion and share his desire to lead his family and to seek opportunities in his work to share the Gospel message.

It was encouraging to meet a complete stranger yet make an instant connect through the unity of the Spirit.

All in all, through this trip I'm more reminded and burdened with realizing how vital it is to plant Christ-centered, Bible-saturated, Spirit-led churches to reach the many that have not crossed over from death to life.

May God raise up many men to lead these churches and to revitalize dead churches from Houston to L.A. to England all for his glory.

Psalm 19

2007-07-20T19:51:00.000-05:00

I preach about twice a year and on July 15th I preached at our church so for those interested check it out.

My sermon was based on Psalm 19 so click out this link if you want to see what David says about creation and God's commands and what that means. I was a little nervous so please excuse the speed and any other non-smoothness that was there.

Much thanks to my good friends Travis Cardwell and Jim Hamilton who labor at preaching much more than I and have been a great encouragement to me and have modeled expository exultation to me week after week. Listen to their sermons and delight in our Sovereign King.

Blessings.

Congratulations Mr. 3000!

2007-06-28T23:42:00.000-05:00

I am a huge baseball fan and also a huge Astros fan. That being said, I am a huge Craig Biggio fan. He has been a treat to watch over the past 20 years and he has given me many fond memories over the years.

He reached 3,000 hits tonight and I wanted to give him a brief space to say thanks and congratulations. (I do have tickets for tomorrow's game and I was hoping he would get to 3,000 when I was there, but I can't help but enjoy this moment tonight)

Congratulations Craig and thanks for playing the game the way it should be played! Thanks for your hustle and loyalty to Houston.

Weekly Emails

2007-05-16T01:12:00.000-05:00

My good friend Travis Cardwell sends out weekly emails for our church and I would encourage you to click on this link and check it out.

Travis is a guy who desires to help point people to the all satisfying Savior and his blog will encourage your soul.

Plus, you can stop your subscription to any of those cheesy internet devotional emails and you can enjoy some meat that will strengthen you.

A Realtor's Worst Nightmare

2007-05-16T00:08:00.000-05:00

Stephenie and I have been looking for our first home since January and I must say it is not always a fun process. We first started looking in one part of town. We found a house, made an offer, but did not receive an acceptance. OK, no problem. Let's keep looking. We spent the next three weekends looking at several homes all built in the last few years. It seemed like every home we liked had a major hang up. Bad location. Too far from my job. Built right next to some commercial developments. Built right next to a busy road. OK, you get the point.

After all of those appointments we switched gears. We all of a sudden began to look at houses located 20 miles away from that part of town. Not only was this a completely different part of town, but we began to look at houses half the size and 40 years older. Yeah, big change. In this particular neighborhood we made two offers on two separate houses both of went bust. Our issues changed a bit. Foundation problems. Aluminum wiring. Outdated fixtures.

We then went to a slightly different location. As we were in the middle of making an offering on a house we saw another house and switched to make an offer on that one. The house we are going for is 37 years old and hearing the inspection report was not a ton of fun.

During this whole process we have made offers on four houses, backed out of two, and changed our minds about as often as Bill O'Reilly talks about boycotting France. I have told Stephenie multiple times, "I don't think I would like being our realtor!" We are a moving target with ever changing wants in a house and unable to commit. Now, I know our realtor gets a nice pay day when we do close on the house, but I'm sure our realtor has had easier clients. (Did I mention that I have called our realtor with questions on multiple occasions at 9:30 p.m.?)

All of this being said I have been thinking a lot about a different home. I have been thinking about an everlasting, all victorious, God-exalting, and Christ savoring home. This whole home buying process and caused me to think about "a better country, a heavenly one." Maybe I need to realize that our homes on earth are temporary and imperfect. They will always break down and need repairs from time to time. There will always be a closer home to my work. There will always be a bigger home. There will always be a nicer home. There will always be a home with less problems than mine. I think that I have fallen too much in love with the things of this world. I need to be like Abraham in Hebrews 11:10 whom it is said, "he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God." I need to focus on the city that God has prepared and remember that I am a "stranger and exile on the earth." Heaven will never need updates or repairs. We will never desire another home than Heaven. Now, I'm not advocating becoming consumed with heaven, I just think it's biblical and helpful for us to cultivate an eternal perspective.

Blessings to those who read this and let us "seek the things above, where Christ is exalted at the right hand of God."

Valentine Day Songs

2007-02-22T21:39:00.000-06:00

For the previous two years I have written some Valentine Day poems for my bride and a good friend of mine, Michael Middleton, has tweaked the words (even written a chorus for "Once Again") and written the music and helped create two wonderful songs.

A third one has been written and is in the works of becoming the next #1 Billboard song in the nation, but until we finish that I thought I would leave you a link to check out the first two songs.

The first song was called "VDay Poem" and the follow-up smash hit the next year was "Once Again." If you know the history with Stephenie and I, "Once Again" will make more sense, but if you don't, listen to it anyway and let Michael know he can really sing and he plays a mean guitar. He's a stud athlete, too. He has a third song "Valentine Day Curse", which he wrote and produced before I met him, but check out his songs on his site.

Anyhow, I love Stephenie and feel free to check out Michael's site and listen to the jams at Michael's site.

The Gospel Blimp

2007-02-10T08:20:00.000-06:00

The Gospel Blimp and other Modern Parables by Joseph Bayly was loaned to me by my good friend Travis Cardwell and it was a treat to read.

The Gospel Blimp shows the journey of some well-intentioned Christians who devise a plan to reach all of their lost neighbors for Christ. The whole idea of creating a blimp to spread the Good News emerged as a group of friends pondered how they could communicate the gospel to the next door neighbors.

The problems begin quickly as this mass-evangelistic campaign seems to do nothing but annoy all the people in the town. (Maybe some people reading this can relate!) The Gospel Blimp is accompanied with a PA system and "firebombs", which are gospel tracts that are dropped all over the town. The Christians on Gospel Blimp Committee become consumed with the means of the Gospel message and in turn do more damage than good. I'll stop summarizing there because I don't want to ruin this for any potential readers.

Anyhow, this parable is stark reminder of how important it is for us to engage in personal evangelism. I have been a part of ministries that have labored to distribute hundreds of gospel tracts and while God does use some of these labors, it would be a grave mistake for us to ignore those God has placed at our places of work and in our neighborhoods. We need to open our eyes to the folks God has placed in our lives and be faithful to the Gospel message. We need to love these people and be conduits of grace and truth.

Go buy The Gospel Blimp and other Modern Parables and let it beat you up for awhile. It will convict and encourage you.

Multiple Choice Prayers

2007-02-10T07:41:00.000-06:00

As I was praying this morning I found myself having to make a quick adjustment. My wife and I have a couple of major prayer requests right now and I found myself praying for Option A or Option B. Do you see where I am going with this? God might grant Option A to my wife and I or He may not. Same goes for Option B. But is that it? If I only pray for Option A or Option B we really limit God and neatly package Him in a box. What about Option C or Option D? What about none of the above?

One of our major prayer requests is purchasing our first home. As we make this decision we have been targeting different parts of the greater metropolitan Houston area and my prayer was "God, do you want us in the ABC part or the XYZ part?" (I'll leave the locations anonymous for now because that isn't crucial for this blog, plus you might go make a higher offer on the house we are hoping for!) My point is God may want my wife and I to stay put in our apartment or he may have somewhere for us outside of Houston or outside of Texas or outside of the United States. It may not be either the ABC part or the XYZ part. I want to gladly accept that if that is the case.

My new prayer became "God, do you want us in the ABC part or the XYZ part or somewhere completely different than we are praying or maybe we need to stay put?" We should always echo Christ's prayer before he was crucified on the cross. "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done." (Luke 22:42)

Let us pray in this manner. Not our will, but may God's will be done in ALL our decisions and prayers.

Soulspeak

2006-08-02T13:11:00.000-05:00

Ross King just released another record titled Soulspeak. This CD has spent a lot of time in my CD player and I can't say enough good stuff about it. Go buy it here. This CD came out while I was on my honeymoon this July and it was nice to have something to look forward to upon having to leave Montego Bay with my wonderful bride. (If money and job responsibility weren't involved, Stephenie and I would still be honeymooning!)

Ross is a man who speaks truth through his life and through his songs. His songs really cause the listener to contemplate the greatness of our Triune God. Go buy it here.

Immaculate

2006-08-02T12:57:00.000-05:00

Every day I am emailed a "word of the day" from Merriam-Webster and this was the one for August 2nd.

immaculate \ih-MAK-yuh-lut\ adjective 1 : having no stain or blemish : pure 2 : containing no flaw or error

I think that this is a word that we should ascribe to Jesus Christ. I know Christians use certain words to describe the Messiah's complete perfection, but this is one that I haven't used much. When I read the "word of the day", I couldn't help but think about Jesus. He is immaculate.

Hopefully this is a word that can be included in our prayers and statements and thoughts when we think about Jesus.

Graduation!

2006-05-08T12:53:00.000-05:00

Grandma and me

Mr. and Mrs. Newhouse (shortly) Travis (The Teacher) and me (The Funny Guy)

May 6, 2006. I finally graduated from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary this Saturday with my Masters of Divinity and it was a great day. Here I am with my bride-to-be Stephenie. Hats off to her for all of her encouragement and patience over the past three years. (It took me 4 1/2 years, but she only had to endure 3 of those!)

I'll try to wrap up some final "church dress" thoughts in a day or so with another blog. Thanks for everyone's input. With school being done, I should have more time for this.

Michael, me, and Ben (The Roomies)

Me and Richmond (Trouble is lurking)

Me and Brandon (Another Roomie)

Church Dress

2006-04-12T16:49:00.000-05:00

There are bigger issues that plague the church, but I feel compelled to do a small blog on church dress. It seems that people who get real dressed up tend to look down on people that dress more casually. Sometimes the folks that dress casually write off the folks that dress up as old school. Whether your promote formal dress or casual dress, everyone needs to examine their heart and move away from the external, outer shell that really doesn't matter.

In one of my classes at school the issue of church dress was discussed and I was shocked to hear how many people adamently defend dressing up in a formal fashion for church. We talked about the importance of dressing up for church. The reasons to dress up included: respect for God, setting the example for the culture, reverance, and honor to name a few. After spending some time on this the clarifying statement was made that "at the end of the day this stuff doesn't matter" because the real issue in the heart of a person. I completely agree with that last statement, but I wondered why we spent over an hour on "stuff that doesn't matter" to briefly say that dress is a heart issue. Students voiced their frustrations to people dressing down at church and it seemed as if the resounding theme was "Let us, as church leaders, dress appropriately aka a nice suit."

I am under the belief that wearing a suit or more formal clothes is not anymore respectful or honoring to God. The Bible is clear that God is concerned on the dealings of our hearts rather then our outside appearance. "For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart." -1 Samuel 16:7 Peter's advice to women is a call not to worry about the outside appearance. "Do not let your adorning be external--the braiding of hair, the wearing of gold, or the putting on of clothing but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious."-1 Peter 3:3-4

We have much bigger issues at stake then the clothes people wear. I think we become very Pharisaic when we equate spirituality to nice clothes and a clean outer appearance. Many people that are dressed up nicely look the part, but their lives could be very messy and full of sin. Jesus was not concerned with the outer appearance. In fact, it seems that those who are poor have more blessings than those who are rich. It really bothers me when Christians look down on those who dress casual.

I also want to include that the whole concept of church is not the hour you meet on Sunday mornings. Church takes place when believers gather together. I can have church with other Christians when they come over on Tuesday night and we eat and fellowship together. Why do we not dress up for these occasions?

I am Billy when I wear jeans and a knit shirt. It's not tacky or sloppy. It is me. When I throw on real nice clothes I feel like I need to go to my job at the bank or a fancy dinner. If I am to be genuine and myself, then I feel that casual clothes is a better "outer appearance" for me.

Here is a quote from a friend, Ross King, who expresses his freedom in Christ on church dress:

"I’M DONE dressing up for church. Same idea as the Sunday School thing. It’s my experience that when people dress up, they usually act like someone other than themselves. Business meetings, funerals, prom; who is ever completely themselves at such gatherings? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying we should try to prove some point by rebelling against nice clothes. I don’t dress like a slob when I go to church, because I don’t dress like a slob any other time that I’m in public. I dress like myself. I’m a pastor, so I try to look decent in case anybody expects that from a pastor. I don’t want it to be an issue for someone, but I won’t be a slave to unknown expectations, either. (That last sentence will be important throughout this entire dialogue.) It’s a balance. The point is that I think it’s time for us to find a healthy tension between being ourselves and being respectful of the traditions of others. And for me, the former gets more weight than the latter. As for you, if you like to dress up, and you think it’s a form of worship for you, go for it. For me, dressing up at church makes me feel false. And I’ve done way too much “false” at church. I’m done."

Let us re-examine the things that we tend to emphasize and deal with real issues.

Blessings to all!

Opening Day 2006

2006-04-04T00:07:00.001-05:00

Well, the Astros beat the Marlins 1-0 tonight to start off their season after winning the National League Division. This is a snapshot of their entire last season. Great pitching, little offense, yet getting the victory. I'm looking forward to another great season. Baseball is fun. Go Astros!

Walk the Line

2006-03-31T22:32:00.000-06:00

I watched Walk the Line this week and want to highly suggest it to anyone who has not seen it. Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon are nails in the movie. They both delivered great performances and both deserved Oscars. Walk the Line portrays the life of Johnny Cash and it is a must see. I'm not going to say anything more. Go watch the movie. Hats off to Joaquin and Reese for doing their own singing!

Unreliable Signs of Grace

2006-03-18T14:57:00.001-06:00

Jonathan Edwards wrote a book called Religious Affections, an insightful manual on spiritual discernment many years ago. Gerald McDermott wrote a book which used Religious Affections, as a guide called Seeing God. In Seeing God: Jonathan Edwards and Spiritual Discernment, McDermott identifies twelve unreliable signs of true spirituality and twelve reliable signs of true spirituality. I am going to blog on the unreliable signs briefly. Listed below are the unreliable sings.

The Unreliable Signs of Grace are:

Intense religious affections
Many religious affections at the same time
A certain sequence in the affection
Affections not produced by the self
Scriptures coming miraculously to mind
Physical manifestations of the affections
Much or eloquent talk about God and religion
Frequent and passionate praise for God
The appearance of love
Zealous or time-consuming devotion to religious activities
Being convinced that one is saved
Others bring convinced that one is saved

These are all helpful and McDermott adequately goes into more depth, but what I want to briefly do is list perhaps a few more unreliable signs that we can think about today. Some of these can be placed under McDermott's catagories, but that's for you to determine!

More unreliable signs:

Listens to KSBJ (or any local Christian-music radio station)
Does not eat meat on Fridays (JK-"Lent is spring training for Christmas")
The use of Scripture out of context to prove a point
Wearing a necklace with a cross on it
Giving money to the church or a good cause
Being a Cub Scout leader or staying involved in "Save the Redwoods League" (or any community service deal)
Being clean-cut and wearing Polos and Khakis
A person who refuses to drink, dance, or smoke a cigar "because those things are wrong"
A person who always prays first during the time a group gathers (or a person who always has something to say or add to the conversation)
Any guy who says he doesn't struggle with lust

Let us be people who live the truth daily and not just give a good outward appearance of it.

Engagement

2006-03-18T14:57:00.000-06:00

On February 18, 2006 I went from having a "girlfriend" to a "fiancé" and we are planning on getting married on July 1, 2006. It's not far away, but I'm thrilled to begin the journey of marriage with my wonderful girl, Stephenie Nicole Morrison. My good friend Travis Cardwell (who regularly updates his blog for those who want a steady diet of good blogs) has been on me for not blogging in months, so hopefully this will begin a stream of consistent blogs and keep him quiet for a few days. Anyhow, for those interested here's the story how we met:

Back in April of 2003, I was sitting in my "Romans" class next to Amanda "Matchmaker" Jones, formerly known as Amanda Yates (no relation to Andrea), who had just gotten married herself a month earlier. Either she felt like playing the role of Cupid or she just saw a wonderful hunk who she thought would match up with her best friend Stephenie. However it worked out, she asked me if I would be interested in meeting her best friend Stephenie. Like a typical guy, my mind began thinking, "Oh great, this girl thinks I'm nice and she wants to set me up with her best friend who is probably "sweet", but there may be a reason why she is single." I hesitated and thought "probably not." I found out later that Stephenie was not too keen on the idea of a "blind-date" earlier. After a little persuasion from Amanda to both Stephenie and I, we all agreed on a group date, so Amanda and her husband Nick and Stephenie met me the following Saturday(4/26) at Cafe Adobe.
We agreed to meet in front of the restaraunt and as the three of them walked up my eyes were immediately focused on Stephenie. Ok, I give it to her. Amanda was right. Stephenie WAS cute. I immediately fell in love with her smile and as we ate dinner I continued to like who this girl was more and more. Dinner was all that we had planned, but appartently Stephenie was digging me, too. She suggested that we play a little minature golf. Now I didn't find this out until about a year later, but it's worth noting. Since Amanda and Nick were newlyweds, the budget was a little tight. Minature golf wasn't part of their budget, so Stephenie secretly told them SHE would pay for their golf, since they were her ride. Well, the plan worked and I paid for ours and she paid for the Jones'. Golf went great and we continued to laugh and enjoy getting to know more about one another. I also was very aware of the fact that her parent's had a lake house and I could come up and water ski sometime. (she told me that 3 times!) Anyhow, Stephenie beat me in golf and if anyone knows me, I definitely DID NOT let her win to be nice. She beat me. Plain and simple.
I drove away that night on a high of hoping I could see her again shortly. I got her number from Amanda the following Tuesday in class and did my best to not call her too early. OK, class ended at 9:00 and Stephenie's phone was ringing by 9:02. The rest is history. Life is good, but I'm thrilled to journey with her for the rest of it and don't ever laugh at blind dates. The only one I was ever on landed me one I couldn't let go of.

Book Review: Fool's Gold by John MacArthur

2005-11-27T23:56:00.000-06:00

I just got back from a two day drive from Phoenix, Arizona to Houston, Texas and thought I would share a few thoughts on a great book I read on the journey called Fool's Gold. It is a great book about biblical discernment and I needed to hear it. If you are like me, all too often I accept things without deeply probing them and examining them to see if they are true and biblical. That must be changed. MacArthur and some general contributors look at aspects of discernment from individual to the church to the bookstore. Beware if you are a Purpose-Driven Life or Wild at Heart fan! This book does a great job of looking at all aspects of discernment in light of the Bread of Life. Let us carefully discern our books, churches, and lives and seek to be biblical.

(Here is an except from a paper I am working on for class)

Fool’s Gold is a book that defines the principles of biblical discernment that Christians are to use as a foundation for their worship. John MacArthur is the general editor of this book and along with the other contributors many contemporary Christian issues are addressed. False teaching has plagued the church since its birth and this trend continues today. For worship to occur in “spirit and in truth” we must base every part of our worship on the Bible. Fool’s Gold looks at biblical discernment in the age of open-mindedness, the local bookstore, the local church, and a Christian’s daily life.

The first part of Fool’s Gold deals with the “blind acceptance” that many Christians embrace as they accept anything that falls under a “Christian category” as truth. MacArthur reminds us that Christians need to discriminate between truth and fabrication. In today’s post-modern culture the idea of discrimination or discernment have taken negative connotations. Biblical views on homosexuality and wives submitting to their husbands have fallen behind what is deemed politically correct. MacArthur argues that Scripture commands Christians to be discerning as he quotes Paul in 1 Thessalonians 5:21-22: “test everything; hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil.” All that we do in worship should be examined in light of doctrinal discernment. Every aspect from the songs that we sing to the time of invitation should be biblical.

Expository preaching is the first area that MacArthur addresses in regards to doctrinal discernment. He questions why many preachers have “exchanged the full counsel of God for doctrinally shallow, seeker-friendly ‘talks’” (Fool’s Gold, 35). When messages that are full of warm and cute moral ideas replace God’s eternal truth, the results are destructive. MacArthur states that many of the negative effects include usurping the authority of God over the soul, removing the lordship of Christ from His church, breeding a congregation that is weak and indifferent to the glory of God, and robbing people of their only true source of help.

The next section in Fool’s Gold deals with practicing discernment in the local bookstore. Best-sellers such as The Purpose-Driven Life and Wild at Heart are among the books that are addressed. Many churches have used these books for their Sunday School classes and even their main services. Other literature that Fool’s Gold critiques is the new perspective on Paul and popular Bible-zines which are targeted at teenage boys and girls.

Rick Warren is the author of the best-selling book The Purpose-Driven Life. Warren claims his book will guide the reader on a forty day journey which will show them the purpose of their existence. The Purpose-Driven Life surveys many key Christian themes and is saturated with Scripture in a highly readable format, but it is chalked with many pitfalls. Many churches have gone through Warren’s 40-days of purpose and it is vital for those who have read it to look at his book with a biblical perspective. One of the biggest problems with The Purpose-Driven Life is the casual approach to Scripture that it embraces. Although this book frequently quotes the Bible it often does so inaccurately. Another problem with Warren’s book is his incomplete approach to theology. Key doctrines such as God’s wrath, the complete gospel message, and the doctrine of God are incomplete. Since Warren presents an unbalanced view of God’s character, he does not completely represent who God is. A third problem with The Purpose Driven Life is the inflated position of prominence many have given it. Many pastors have replaced the teaching of the Scripture with The Purpose Driven Life and Warren’s book has been embraced as it was the Bible. Due to all of these deficiencies The Purpose Driven Life should be read discerningly.

Phil Johnson addresses N. T. Wright’s popular book What Saint Paul Really Said, which states that the Apostle Paul’s teaching has been misinterpreted by New Testament scholars for hundreds of years. Wright advocates a new view on the doctrine of justification which pertains to ecclesiology more properly than soteriology. The doctrine of justification is the linchpin of Christianity. Wright feels that Luther and Calvin have misunderstood the main issue of the doctrine of justification. Wright feels the “justification is more of a corporate issue rather than a personal one” (Fool’s Gold, 69). Wright also believes that God’s righteousness cannot be imputed to sinners. Overall, Wright’s new perspective on Paul should be shattered as we allow Scripture to frame our understanding of the doctrine of justification. For the church to accurately worship God it must dismiss false teachings and remain true to the Bible.

Daniel Gillespie deals with John Eldredge’s Wild at Heart which addresses masculinity among Christian men. Gillespie complements Eldredge for identifying a real problem in urging men to discover their true masculinity, but he feels that “Eldredge’s arguments are directly opposed to the biblical teaching on the subject” (Fool’s Gold, 81). One problem with Wild at Heart is an insufficient view of Scripture. Eldredge makes references to movies, poems, and other books just as much as the Bible. Gillespie states “with more than sixty references to film and movie characters, Eldredge inundates his readers with Hollywood’s portrait of masculinity” (Fool’s Gold, 81). A second flaw with Wild at Heart is an inadequate portrayal of who God is. Eldredge focuses on certain divine attributes of God such as God’s justice, wrath, and power, but fails to mention God’s mercy. Wild at Heart has been used in many men’s Bible studies at churches, but for men to find the truth on masculinity, they should look no further than the Bible and use discernment when reading Wild at Heart.

The third section of Fool’s Gold deals with practicing discernment in one’s local church. Contemporary worship music and alter calls are among those issues addressed. MacArthur specifically looks at praise choruses which many congregations sing each Sunday. Praise choruses are shorter verses which generally have no didactic purpose. MacArthur has no problem with simple, personal praise songs, but feels that it will be a great loss if the classic Christian hymnody is lost out of utter neglect. Colossians 3:16 commands us to “teach and admonish one another in . . . psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.” It is right and biblical for songs to biblically proclaim God’s Word. Churches should embrace hymns and contemporary songs that honor God.

Public invitations and alter calls are examined next as Carey Hardy cautions Christians to consider the Bible in these regards. Alter calls came into prominence in the 1830’s and churches must embrace a biblical view in these endeavors. One concern is the modern invitation seems to lack true biblical support. Jesus never spoke in terms of a “one-time decision” but rather urged His followers to follow Him unconditionally for all of their lives. Other problems alter calls bring is the risk of giving false assurance to the unconverted, fooling people that “walking an aisle” actually saves, and they often are based on emotional manipulation rather than biblical conviction.

The final section of the book urges Christians to pursue discernment in their daily lives. It is important for all Christians to know when they should take stands for their convictions. When Christians embrace a high view of God, the Bible and the Gospel, they will know which hills they should die on. For Christians to develop biblical discernment it is vital for them to desire wisdom, pray for discernment, obey the truth, depend on the Holy Spirit, and study the scriptures. In order to grow into mature Christians the biblical truth of discerning good from evil is a must for everyone.

Astros in 6!

2005-10-19T16:14:00.000-05:00

This is a pre-Game 6 blog for those Astros. We have Roy O pitching tonight, so I predicting a win. I am confident. Lidge is still Lights Out. He'll be back. Read Billy Wagner's comments on him from ESPN:

Wagner isn't as worried about Lidge's psyche as he is about the psyche of those around him -- and whether the Astros would be tempted to walk Pujols next time around.
"I hope they allow him to go out and face that guy the next time," Wagner said. "He might give up another home run -- but I doubt it. In fact, I'd take that to the bank.
"This kid is destined for greatness," said Billy Wagner. "If they stay with him, and he's on teams that get him to the playoffs, he's the next Mariano Rivera, without a doubt. Ever see the hitters' faces when they come up to hit against him? They're just hoping to find one ball they might put in play. He needs to remember that now."

Astros will win 5-1. Get ready Chicago!

A little bit of rambling

2005-10-17T17:51:00.000-05:00

I try to pull off being a pretty structured guy, hence, my blogs usually have one main point followed my various subpoints, but the truth be known, my life is not always all that pretty. My days have been flying by over the past six weeks filled with many things that aren't always connected or structured, so here goes. This blog will serve a few purposes:

1) I have not done much blogging over the last six weeks, so this will allow for a little reflection
2) I want to talk about a bunch of things - the Astros, things I'm learning in school, my own struggles, etc.- so instead of having five or six blogs, I can be lazy and just have one!
3) Hopefully through whatever it said God can get more glory and you all can see how worthless I am.
4) My good friends Jason Kates and Travis Cardwell are kicking my tail in blog outputs, so I must step it up!

The Astros
For anyone tired of hearing about the good guys, I'm sorry. This is just exciting. It is fun to root these guys on and I feel confident about a trip to the World Series and a World Series ring. These guys epitomize what a team really is. If you look at all of the games, no one person stands out. The big names, Roger Clemens and Roy Oswalt, along with the lesser known names, Chris Burke, Mike Lamb, Chad Qualls, etc. are all doing their part. Sports have become a god in our culture and that is very dangerous ground, but there are still positives that can be gleaned from the sporting world. Just as 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12 talk about the church as a body and each member being important, the Astros are a great analogy to this body. They simply would not be in this position has ANY member not done his part. We should be encouraged and seek to use our gifts for the benefit of the church.

SWBTS
I am in my last year (God-willing) of seminary and it has been a great and terrible four years. I have learned a lot. Met some true friends and great professors. I have also become worn out and very cold at times. I have to be honest. I usually read the Bible LESS and pray LESS during my school semesters. It doesn't make sense, but it just happens. I end up reading a bunch of books really fast and writing a few papers really fast and hoping that some of it sticks. God has grown me during this time, but I continually need His grace. Not all days or weeks are bad, often I leave a class encouraged and fired up or I read a book that really challenges my faith. It has just been a mixture of good and bad.

I am taking a Systematic Theology class and this was said today. "Theology is not about making true statements, it's about changing us!" Yes, we need to make true statements, but the truth needs to be applied in our life. I have become good at making good grades in school and learning some right things to say, but it is not always lived out in my life. The goal of seminary, time in the Word, Church, books, a beautiful sunset, or whatever should make us more like Christ. That is it. (I needed to hear that daily)

Updates
This will be a brief section on all that is going on with my family and me, for those interested.

My sister and her husband(Becky and Brent) are expecting twins around April 15, 2006!
My brother (Mike) is engaged to his fiancee Megan and they are getting hitched November 19, 2005 in North Carolina.
My older brother (Herb) is a professor in York, England. He knows everything there is to know about Economics, so direct those questions to him!
My parents just bought a new house about 3 miles down Champions Forest drive.
My dad retired a few months ago! Congrats Dad!
I am back with my girlfriend, Stephenie, and working at Texas State Bank and finishing school at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. I also play softball and flag football when allowed!

Confessions

Part of the reason the blogs have slowed is because I have become really lazy. My school work has been placed on the back burner, regular work outs and running have just about ceased, and daily prayer and Bible Study have all slowed down. Maybe this is the wrong place to have public confession, but I sure don't want people thinking that because I blog on spiritual things that I have it all down. I need God's grace daily and lately I have been sputtering around living selfishly. What satisfies Billy temporarily. I don't want to stay in this state, so hopefully I can repent and seek to walk in the Spirit as much as possible. God is wholly good and His glory is always worth more than my selfish endeavors. I want to give God my whole life - body, money, thoughts, time, affections, goals, etc. He deserves them, so my prayer is to agree with Paul that nothing good, outside of Christ, is in me, and I need more grace, more God, and less Billy.

Blessings to all in this journey together . . .

Astros win the NLDS!

2005-10-10T16:21:00.000-05:00

Need I say anything more? That was indeed the greatest game I have ever watched. I had the honor of going to the previous game (Saturday's 7-2 win) with my girlfriend Stephenie and we had a blast. I am not as bad as Jimmy Fallon in Fever Pitch, but I have been faithfully cheering on the Astros for 20 years and these last two years have been great. I love these guys and let's knock out the Cards this time! Look for us this Saturday as we sit in the upperdeck this time to watch game three!

Sorry for the delay in posts. Work and school have kept me busy. I'll post something else soon. Thanks to whoever still visits this site! blessings. . .

To do what Jesus would do, means we must know Jesus

2005-09-09T05:38:00.000-05:00

Remember the whole WWJD trend that swept the Christian subculture around 10 years ago? What Would Jesus Do. The WWJD that I remember were woven bracelets that people (not just Christians . . . I imagine that some of our fellow WWJDers were still in need of a Savior!) simply wore around their wrists as a reminder to live as Jesus would. Perhaps they were intended to provoke spiritual questions from strangers. Here is a quote from a WWJD website. "Do you have a desire to share the Hope our Savior offers with others? What Would Jesus Do?... Jesus boldly proclaimed the Good News. Our wearable messages offer you the opportunity to boldly proclaim the Good News!"

I am not sure exactly what these little bracelets sought to accomplish, but I think our skewed view of Jesus translates into a skewed understanding of attempting to do what Jesus would. Hang with me, I am hoping to pull this all together shortly. Side note: I am not trying to discourage anyone who wore one of these bracelets or still wears one. I faithfully wore a WWJD bracelet in college for a few semesters and felt naked without it on. I just want to encourage everyone to study their Bibles to examine the life of Christ. Too many misconceptions of our Messiah have been passed on. If we don't know the real Jesus we can't do what Jesus would do. Plain and simple. That being said, let us attempt to look at some of the characteristics and attributes of Jesus and seek to live in that manner.

1. Grace: All throughout the Gospels you see Jesus welcoming nonreligious people and speaking words that they could understand. In John 2, He demonstrates his first act of grace by turning water into wine. In John 8, Jesus offered grace and forgiveness to the woman caught in adultery and sends her home. We need to stop holding past failures against people. Revenge is not something we earn because someone did us wrong. Just as grace is given to us not based on anything we have done, we need to extend this grace to others. Next time you see that "idiot driver" trying to drive as far down the "Right turn only" lane only to merge at the last second, let them over. Stop reminding loved ones of their past mistakes. When we extend grace we do what Jesus would do.

2. Truth: Just as Jesus was graceful to the woman in John 8, he was also truthful. "Go and sin no more." He didn't tell her not to worry about her sins. Jesus affirmed truth by telling her she needed to repent. Jesus is the Truth. (John 14:6) We are told to walk in the truth (3 John 1:3), love the truth and believe the truth (2 Thess. 2:10, 12). When we share Christ with others we must share the WHOLE truth. We need to tell people that God is love, but if we stop there we have told a dangerous half-truth. People feel that God is obligated to save them. We need to tell people that God is a just judge, too. God will punish those who do not repent and continue to persist in sin. The words we say must be truthful. When we lie we speak the Devil's language. God has given us truth for our benefit. He knows what is best for us and and to know the Truth we must meditate over the Bible. Truth is not subjective. In John 17:17, Jesus said God's word is truth, so we would be foolish not to adamently affirm the Scriptures.

3. Anger: Remember when Jesus went into the temple and overturned the tables of the money-changers? (John 2) In Matthew 23, Jesus calls the Pharisees "hypocrites", "blind fools", "whitewashed tombs", and "brood of vipers." I think it is OK for us to get angry and upset when we see churches and ministries belittling God. What about people who aim to make money off the church? There are plenty of those folks around and it should cause your blood pressure to rise. We must remember Ephesians 4:26 and not allow the anger to produce sin, but a quick look at most Christian retail stores or "Health and Wealth Prosperity Gospels" should cause a righteous indignation to well up inside of us.

4. Suffering: "Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered." (Heb. 5:8) Jesus made himself nothing and humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death. He was ridiculed by his family. He was not accepted in his hometown. The religious leaders hated him. He was crucified on a cross. Jesus embraced much suffering in life. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15:19 that his lifestyle as a follower of Christ is foolish and pitiable if there is no resurrection. It Philippians 3, Paul says that whatever gain he had, he counted as loss for the sake of Christ. He says that he suffered the loss of all things, but counts them as rubbish in order to gain Christ and share in his sufferings. Suffering deepens our hope of the resurrection. Suffering will show others the superior worth of Christ. Following Jesus is a painful journey at times, but suffering will allow us to be weaned from this world, which will cause us to lean on Christ all the more.

5. Hang out with non-Christians: In Luke 5, Jesus feasted with the tax collectors and sinners. In John 4, Jesus engaged in a conversation with a Samaritan woman who had a bit of a sleeping around problem. Luke tells us in Chapter 19 of his gospel that Jesus came to seek and save the lost. After Jesus calls Matthew (Matt. 9:9-13) he responds to the Pharisees by telling them that he has come to call sinners, not the righteous. How many non-Christian friends do you have? I'm not advocating leaving your Christian friends. We need other called believers to encourage and exhort us. But we can't forget about those who are perishing. Interact with non-Christians. Go out to lunch with co-workers. We need to spend some time with the lost and share the Gospel with them.

6. Empathize with people: In John 11, after Lazarus has died, both Martha and Mary approach Jesus and say, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." Jesus responded by being deeply moved and greatly troubled and with weeping. Notice he did not say, "Martha, don't worry . . . Lazarus is in a better place now." Jesus is God. He could have told her exactly which mansion Lazarus was in up in Heaven. But look at what Jesus did. He shared in Martha and Mary's loss. We always look for the right things to say. We often over-spiritualize situations. Let us weep with others as they weep and rejoice with them as they are honored. (1 Corinth. 12:26)

7. Love people: Jesus loved his people. Jesus wept for those who had unrepentent hearts. Jesus had a real love that was evident through Him healing the sick, blind, lame, and paralyzed. In Matthew 15, Jesus had compassion on the crowd of 4,000 plus and multiplied the loaves to feed the people. As His disciples rebuked the little children from coming to Him, Jesus welcomed them. We need to love our families and friends and church more. We need to love those who are lost. We need to open our homes. We need to open our wallets. Jesus loved people with words and with his life. To be like Him we must to the same.

This is not an exhaustive list of all of our Savior's attributes. Just a sample of a few character traits that we should gladly embrace. Let's show the world the real Jesus. Let us examine the Bible daily and seek to be more like Christ. Blessings to you this weekend!

Preaching God vs. Telling Jokes

2005-08-31T17:08:00.000-05:00

I don't claim everything there is to know about preaching, but I am definitely strong in my convictions on how it should be done. My convictions are hopefully coming from the Bible. And hopefully the Bible is being preached. (I should note here: "hopefully the Bible is being preached accurately!) More often than not, the preaching in churches today is not based on the Bible. There are hints and mixtures of some spiritual truths, but many pastors today are preaching "feel good" sermons about how one can be a better co-worker or leader or lover or profiteer.

On Saturday I attended a little concert at a church followed by some teaching. The music part was right on and what followed with the preaching was "right off." The guy speaking was a well-known Christian preacher who I had heard was "incredible." The whole idea of church celebrities is wrong(and a current blog I am in the middle of writing), but I know that it exists to some degree. I had heard this guy's name before and everything I heard was how good of a preacher he was. As he began to maim John 8, I began to get really upset. Fortunately the people I were sitting with agreed with his decimation of the text and I was able to find some counsel with my peers.

As this guy taught he would read the text and then proceed with a series of jokes and funny voices. Outside of my little outcast pew, the entire church roared with laughter and hung on every word this man said. Somehow I ended up on the e-mail list for this church (you know how churches love that contact information!) and this is a portion of his e-mail in regards to the preacher's teaching which I received the following day: "If you missed hearing God speak through this guy.....wooooooo....blessing missed! It was an honor to do something like this and man I hope we can do this again real soon."

This preacher actually spent more time on his joke telling and comical voices than he did on the teaching of the Truth. Not to mention not one of us could figure out what he was trying to say. I know he is not the only guy doing this and that is why this is so troubling to me. Last year I heard a deacon at a church in Austin make this comment: "I have a friend who looks just like Arnold Schwarzenegger and who is so funny . . . he would be PERFECT as a Youth Pastor!" Huh? You see, we are so far away from Christ-centered, to God be the glory, biblical preaching that funny teachers who make cool sound effects are labeled as "great teachers."

When people walk away from a funny sermon how have we honored God? No conviction of sin arises. No humiliation before the Sovereign King takes place. No praise to God is given. The jokes are re-told and the "funny preacher" gets invited back next year.

In The Supremacy of God in Preaching by John Piper, he notes that the goal of all preaching is to glorify God. Got that? Glorify God. Not show off your oratory skills. Not pretend you are at Showtime at the Apollo. Not imitate silly voices. Glorify God. "Is this what people take away from worship nowadays-a sense of God? A note of sovereign grace, a theme of panoramic glory, the grand object of God's infinite Being? Do they enter for one hour in the week - not an excessive expectation - into an atmosphere of the holiness of God, which leaves its aroma upon their lives all week long?" (p. 25)

People need to know that our God reigns and that he is storing up terrible wrath and judgment for those who do not repent and call on the name of Jesus for mercy. Cottom Mather says that the goal of the preacher is to "restore the throne and dominion of God in the souls of men." God acts for His sake first. We need to gladly submit to His authority for this brings glory to our King. The gospel is glorious for God is glorified as sinners are set free.

Our preaching must reflect the glory of God, grounded by the cross of Christ, and empowered by the Holy Spirit. Let us stop laughing at the corny jokes and seek to make the preaching of the Word return to God being glorified.

"For my own sake, for my own sake, I do it, for how should my name be profaned? My glory I will not give to another."
-Isaiah 48:11

Blood: Water Mission

2005-08-31T10:17:00.000-05:00

At the Derek Webb concert that my friends and I went to on Saturday evening, D.Webb spoke about a real need in Africa in regards to the HIV/AIDS crisis. Blood: Water Mission is trying to build 1,000 wells in 1,000 African communities to promote clean blood and clean water. Right now, some of the women have to walk over 10 miles to the nearest well and the water that they are bringing back is not clean water. Derek said that a lot of the people are "carrying back their own death certificates" due to the lack of good wells.

Around 6,500 people die daily. I know with the aftermath of Katrina a lot of people want to help with the efforts in Mississippi and Louisiana. I am not discouraging that, I just hope that we can open our eyes and have a worldview. We are not special, elite people because we live in America. If we had friends and family living in Africa we would be pumping our money to help out without thinking twice. I just want to alert those of you who don't know about this need. The bottom line is we need to love these people as ourselves. One dollar will provide water for one African for an entire year. We have no problem spending $5 on Starbuck's or $2 on a cherry limeaid. Water is plentiful hear. We often spend $1 on a bottled water at a restaurant. It's staggering to me to think that water will last one meal, while $1 to Blood:Water Mission will last one person water for a whole year. Do the math. Let us be good stewards to all that God has given us.

Here is the website: http://www.bloodwatermission.org

Blessings to all. Get involved. Participate in the Gospel.

Pictures

2005-08-26T17:13:00.000-05:00

My profile picture has been changed do to the pleadings of a few people. (Sorry, I thought it was OK) The new one is up and hopefully this will appease the few disgruntled readers! Check out "the futility of sports" blog. I added a non-banker, away-from-school, just-broke-up-a-fight picture. This was my choice for the profile, but it too was shot down. It's just vintage Billy. Blessings to all this weekend!

God's Infinite Greatness

2005-08-26T08:02:00.000-05:00

"Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!"
-Romans 11:33 (ESV)

Hopefully I am one of the few people who struggle with finding true and fresh expressions as I pray to God. I know that in our prayers we are to ascribe praise to God, but most of my expressions are ones that I have been saying for years. "God, I praise you for your grace." "You are the Victorious King!" and "You are sovereign" and "Glory to you for your love and justice." and "You are the Alpha and Omega." (to name a few) These are not false or unbiblical expressions, but they are limited. God is much more then the phrases that I ascribe to Him.

I just finished reading a chapter on "The Knowability of God" from Wayne Grudem's Systematic Theology and was reminded that although we can know God truly we will never be at a point where God will be understood fully or exhaustively. At first that sort of disappointed me, but Grudem rightly described this doctrine of God's incomprehensibility and my disappointment turned to joy. "It means that we will never be able to know 'too much' about God, for we will never run out of things to learn about him, and we will thus never tire in delighting in the discovery of more and more of his excellence and of the greatness of his works."

If God could be figured out completely and fully then we might pursue other "gods" or objects of affection after we thought that we exhausted everything there is to know about God. Since we can never know too much about God we should joyfully examine the Bible and study often for the remainder of our lives. It is exciting to me that I can discover more truth about God and the greatness of all that He has done and will continue to do.

This relates to our songs that we sing, too. Earlier this week I wrote a "Reading Report" for a class I am currently taking in regards to a current issue on worship leadership. The article I picked was from Ross King's journal http://www.rosskingmusic.com and in it Ross urges worship leaders to stimulate their minds and write phrases and expressions that we really mean. He feels that through the repetition of always saying the same things we are losing the power of the words we are saying. "The real problem is that we are all-too-satisfied with the tiny little parts of God that we've been talking about for years, instead of constantly searching the Scriptures (and the mysterious Spirit inside of us!), looking for the attributes that we may have missed or misunderstood."

His journal, along with Grudem's book have encouraged me to search the Bible and seek to be fresh and biblical in my expressions to God. Let us never be misled into thinking we have figured God out completely. God's understanding is beyond measure and his greatness is unsearchable. Let us agree with Paul in Romans 11:33 who cannot contain his praise for God after writing some of the richest chapters in the Bible in regards to the history of God's great plan of redemption.

Glory to our great, immeasurable King!

What We Say Matters

2005-08-18T17:32:00.000-05:00

This blog is inspired by a message I read from John Piper in Life as a Vapor sometime at the end of 2004. In chapter 4 of this little devotional book, Piper writes a meditation on James 4:13-16.

Come now, you who say, "Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit"-- yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. ought to say, "If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that." As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil. (ESV)

Piper notes how James thought and spoke of God. The way that James viewed life was shaped by his views on God. How we think and how we speak should be good indicators about how we view life and God.

"It not only matters that you have a right view of life when you make your plans (because you are like a vapor), but it also matters that you have a right view of God as you make your plans. And it matters that you give expression of this true view of God. "You ought to say- say!-'If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.'" (Piper, 30-31)

I think the phrase "if the Lord wills" should be incorporated into our vocabulary more. When someone asks me when I'll be done with school, I try to reply with the words, "May 2006, Lord willing." All of us need to truly think about the words we say and aim to be biblical in the way we speak. We don't need to stop planning rather we need to set our minds and our conversations on the Lord as we plan.

Being concerned about what we say will also cut some common expressions that we say daily. There are a number of expressions I wish we would stop saying. "When God closes one door, He opens another." This is a comforting statement, but we have killed this one. Quote Romans 8:28 when someone is going through a tough time. Everyone (non-Christians included) knows the closed door comment. Bumper stickers such as "My boss is a Jewish carpenter" or "God is my co-pilot" bother me too. Isn't Jesus much more than a Jewish carpenter?

Those are all somewhat debatable so I would like to close this blog with a focus on the phrase "Good luck." This should be removed from all of our expressions. God is in complete control. He is sovereign. He knows everything about everyone all the time. Nothing catches Him off guard. His plan and purpose prevail. God has infinite wisdom and knowledge. There is no such thing as luck.

Everything happens according to God's plan. Luck does not exist or take place. Let us be biblical in the way we speak and include, "Lord willing" into our conversations and drop "Good luck."

The Aftermath of Sarcasm

2005-08-13T12:31:00.000-05:00

"Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. "

-Ephesians 4:29 (ESV)

I have had an itch to write a book on sarcasm for the last five years, but if I am really honest with myself I know that I probably will never write a book. So thanks to this blogging craze I can sort of write a mini version of it here. Before I begin I must admit that I have been (and still am to some extent) a very sarcastic person. That is not said in a boasting manner, rather a disappointed, perplexed manner. I believe that sarcasm is killing our society and I want to leave Camp Sarcastic and begin loving people by speaking words of hope, edification, and encouragement. It is a struggle of mine, so as I type this I am typing in hope of becoming this person, so bear with me as you read.

The Ephesians 4:29 verse listed above was the first Bible verse I ever wrote on a yellow sticky note and placed next to my computer in college. I put in there with good intent, but after a few days it went from being a reminder to myself to just kind of blending in with the rest of my desk. It's novelty quickly wore off. The reason I was trying to get Ephesians 4:29 into my heart and applied in my life was that I was constantly getting myself in trouble through funny, sarcastic comments that I had become so good at. Instead of building someone up I found it easier to go for a laugh usually at that person's expense.

About four years later, I started volunteering with a youth ministry called Student Venture and I began to notice just how prevalent sarcasm was. I would sit in a student's home before we would get started with a Bible Study and just listen to the students talk to one another. The way the students spoke to each other shocked me. They were all friends, but they were so destructive and sarcastic in the way they spoke to each other. I used to think if a new High School student who was interested in checking Christianity out came to one of the Bible Studies that the individual would probably never come back. It reminded me of Gandhi when he said, "Jesus I like – it's his followers I can't stand." Gandhi saw the way that Christians treated one another and was turned off by their conduct. How many non-believers have we Christians discouraged in their journey of faith? Didn't Jesus say love should be the distinguishing mark of us being Christ-followers, not sarcasm? "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:34-35)

I don't want to limit this model of Christian conduct to High School students. Adults are just as bad. I was an outsider looking in with the High School students, but as I began to listen closer to my conversations with friends I suddenly realized that we were doing the same thing. Often today when you began to make fun of a person and are full of sarcasm in your conversations, it more or less corresponds to you and that person being "really good friends." When you reach that level it means "you are one of us" or "I love you." This sarcastic, destructive version of love is hardly the love that Jesus commanded us to share with "our neighbors."

TV has probably done a good job of demonstrating to us how to be funny and sarcastic. Popular shows such as Friends, Everybody Loves Raymond, Seinfeld, and The Simpsons (just to name a few . . . I'm not picking on these shows and I don't watch a whole lot of TV, but these serve as examples) are built around certain main characters who are very sarcastic and funny in the way they speak to each other. We watch these shows and laugh with them, but that is not where it stops. You see, it is funny to see someone get picked on with witty, sarcastic comments. We talk and act just as they do. With our family and friends we have replaced genuine edification with insults and sarcasm.

The words that we say can either build someone up or tear someone down. We must begin speaking words of loving that strengthen people. It is OK to joke around at times and have a little fun, but that should always be done in love. If we seek to build others up I'm pretty positive that our words would be radically different. It is good to always pause before the words come out of our mouth and say, "Is this going to build them up or tear them down?"

Maybe you are saying, "Come on, Billy, you are being too harsh." If you think that listen to the words of Jesus in Matthew 12:36, "But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken." One day we will have to stand before King Jesus and give an account for every word we have spoken. I am not condemning anyone, Jesus paid our debt on the cross, but I do want to honor Him and seek to bring Him glory and those do not take place when we cut people down all the time.

My prayer for myself and all followers of Christ is that we would begin to encourage each other and stop being so sarcastic and destructive with the words we say. There are plenty of things in this world that bring us down - a bad day at work, a broken relationship, an illness, our own insecurities, unexpected problems, etc. - and the last thing we need is to hear sarcastic, cruel words from the few people who truly love us.

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers." -Galatians 6:9-10

Do we really trust in the power of the cross?

2005-08-09T23:44:00.000-05:00

"For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power."
-1 Corinthians 1:17 (ESV)

As Paul begins his epistle to the church in Corinth he immediately sets Jesus Christ as the focus to whom the people are to look to. Jesus Christ is mentioned 15 times in the first 17 verses. Paul makes it evident that Christ is to be the example to follow. He is the One whom we place our trust in. He is the One whom we are to call on in our time of need.

As simple and straightforward as that sounds, in today's culture we often seek to make Jesus and the gospel more entertaining. We try to bring in a celebrity or eloquent speaker who will be able to make the gospel sound more interesting. When a professional athlete comes to speak at a church or a notable celebrity attends a Christian banquet, we use these icons as bait to add a little hot sauce to a gospel which is what we think "bland." Looking at what Paul said in 1 Corinthians would quickly show us that we have deviated from the gospel Paul proclaimed.

Paul set himself apart from the Greek orators of his day who were skilled with impressive rhetoric and style. Paul rightly states that his preaching did not rely on eloquence. His message was simply the cross of Christ. Later in chapter 2 Paul states his "speech and message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God." (v.4-5) Paul's boast was in the cross alone. Paul trusted in the power of the gospel, not his cleverness.

This tells me that if we seek to add some spice to the gospel through cleverness of speech or notoriety of the speaker, than we are not trusting in the power of the cross. What Jesus did on the cross must simply not be enough. A quick look around at most youth ministries would show that the cross is boring, so we must add some fun, trendy activities that will keep our kids coming. This to me is troubling. It really bothers me when we promote games, food, and special music over the Good News. Fliers taped on church doors and passed out to curious bystanders promote all the other goodies in big, bold text and somewhere near the bottom is a small line stating the gospel will be given. Why is the gospel not the center piece in all our events? Do hamburgers and washed up, retired athletes actually save anyone?

A few people may say, "God has given them a platform." I have bought into that one for a long time, but I'm really starting to become weary. In 1 Corinthians 1:26-27, Paul states that the Corinthian believers were not wise according to worldy standards, nor powerful, nor noble, but that God choose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. Peter and John were described as uneducated and common men in Acts 4:13. All throughout the Bible you see God using "nobodies." Shouldn't that still be the case today? I am not knocking all famous people who truly love Christ, rather the notion of finding a speaker for your special event based on their celebrity status.

I challenge all of us (me included) to pull our stock from the additives we have placed alongside the cross. The cross is the center of the gospel which is the "power of God for salvation for everyone who believes." (Romans 1:16) Let us lift high the cross and stop emptying it of it's power.

Side note: I am hoping to do a few more blogs soon, one on sarcasm and one on God's sovereignty, so check back in the next few days for some other thoughts I've been contemplating. I decided to stick with the 1 Corinthians theme for this blog in honor of my good friend Jason Kates who actually reads these posts. Oh yeah, he won our semi-final coed softball game for us on Saturday. If you know him buy him a Dr. Pepper or something.

Identity in Christ

2005-08-03T12:12:00.000-05:00

"For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. We are fools for Christ's sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless, when persecuted, we endure; when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still like the scum of the world, the refuse of all thing . . . I urge you, then, be imitators of me."
-1 Corinthians 4:8-13; 16 (ESV)

As I am reading 1 Corinthians, I am reminded that the apostle Paul found his sole identity in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 1:21, Gal. 6:14, Acts 20:24, 1 Cor. 2:2) Through placing his identity in Christ Jesus he was able to be content in any and every circumstance. (Phil. 4:11-13) Maybe that doesn't astonish you. Read 2 Corinthians 11. Paul received 39 lashes from the Jews five times, three times he was beaten with rods, stoned once, shipwrecked three times, faced constant danger, and he often went without sleep, food and drink to name a few.

It is just amazing to me to hear Paul boast in becoming the scum of the world and not to complain about being poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless or held in disrepute. A look at many of our churches today definitely reveals that our identity is not even in the same hemisphere as Paul's. We love our nice homes. We love our fashionable clothes. We certainly love to eat. Isn't eating out after church expected? We must live in a safe neighborhood and send our children to safe schools. To Paul, being a follower of Christ was definitely not safe.

I find it strange how Paul's identity in Christ caused him to be reviled and persecuted, while our "identity" in Christ often brings us pats on the back and invitations to hang out at Christian parties. I can't think of the last time that I was truly reviled for being a follower of Christ. When was the last time a group of Christians in America was referred to as the scum of the world? The difference between Paul's identity in Christ and our modern subculture's identity in Christ is that Paul really had his identity in Christ. Our identity is often found in our jobs, friends, accolades, prestige, and individual accomplishments. When our relationships grow weary or when we don't get the promotion is when our lives began to spin out of control. We need to embrace an eternal perspective and view all those things as they are. They are really insignificant in light of Christ. When He becomes our identity those hiccups will not throw our lives off course.

A lifelong struggle for me has been allowing Christ to be my one identity. Ross and Staci King wrote a song about Christ being our identity and security that we sang in church the other week. Ross talked about the struggle it is to truly make Christ our identity, but it is to be a pursuit that we embrace. Personally, I have allowed sports, success, and friends to be my identity. When I perform well I receive temporary praise that makes me feel good for a short period of time. When my cell phone is ringing and people are inviting me to hang out I really feel good. When I get a job promotion or hear nice things being said about me it really changes my mood. I'm not on a mission to stop us from encouraging one another or to put an end to some of the pleasures in life, but I just want those to be so small and insignificant as compared to who Christ is in my life.

Let us embrace Christ as our one identity. Let us be willing to give up safety and comfort for the sake of Christ. A life that finds it's identity in Christ will be radically different from the worlds. I think the reason that so many Christians live in a manner that is pretty similar to non-Christians should cause us to do some rethinking. We must live in a way that causes others to see Christ as our one identity and security. This is not a simple 7-step plan that will allow us to be good to go in six weeks, but a lifelong journey where we die to ourselves everyday. May God grant us the grace and power to live this way.

Love: I Corinth. 13:4-7

2005-08-01T16:07:00.000-05:00

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude.
It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;
It does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
-1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (ESV)

When I was at church yesterday the teaching was directed to "unlearning" certain habits or methods we have embraced as we read, study, meditate on Scripture. Not everything needs to be "unlearned", but some of our dutiful, Bible check-lists, of reading the Bible daily because we feel guilty if we don't, needs to be discarded from the way we study God's Word. I needed to hear what was said and I often fall into the catagory of reading the Bible out of guilt rather than saying with the Psalmist "My soul is consumed with longing for your rules at all times." (Psalm 119:20)

Anyhow, the passage that was focused on was the Great Love Chapter: 1 Corinthians 13. Now, if anyone has been to a good amount of weddings, there is a great chance much of this may even be memorized. Heck, I remember going to a student's home one time and seeing this passage sewn into a little heart-shaped pillow next to the commode. This has definitely been a passage of Scripture that has been glanced over and stamped on every wedding invitation mailed out rather then being a passage which is meditated on, prayed over, and etched into the hearts and lives of followers of Christ.

My testimony: I mess up constantly on just about everything said in that passage. My version of love has always been very self-seeking and I expect absolute, impeccable, unfailing love in return. If you do me wrong, that gives me the opportunity to seek revenge. My level of tolerance has been short and I tend to enjoy keeping a record of right and wrong. That allows me to have some insurance when I sputter later on. Every girl I have dated has been expected to join my group of friends and embrace my world. I'll enter into her world every now and then, but it is much more comfortable and friendly in my world.

I could go on and on, but the bottom line is I'm fed up with "loving" that way. If that is even love. The main thing that God has illuminated to me is that love does not insist on it's own way. I have always found more joy in giving and serving others and my fears and insecurities have probably kept me from radically loving and serving others daily. It is risky to give this sort of love away because you are not guaranteed that love in return. I want to meditate on this passage often and pray that every day I can suffer a violent death to the self-seeking love I have so often embraced. I also want to meditate on this passage so that I can allow this biblical definition of love to "re-shape" the worldly definition of love that I have wrongly believed over the years. I want to challenge everyone who reads this to open up to 1 Corinthians 13 and allow God to speak to you. We all need help in how we love. Marriages would be so much more intimate and joyful if both husband and wife loved this way. God would get more glory.

Venting session: I'm pretty much done with my blog, but I want to add that "love bears, hopes, and endures all things." Life is hard. As humans we continually mess up. We need to be conduits of grace daily. Love does not walk away without a fight. I feel as if I was hosed by someone who didn't want to embrace this aspect of love that I thought we shared. I'm OK with that and it really makes me think that a real "love" never exisited, because real love will put up a fight. We don't deserve God's grace and love. He commands us to forgive as he has forgiven us and I know this is not easy, but we must be gracious and forgiving in our love.

Get to know these folks . . .

2005-07-27T11:24:00.000-05:00

First things first, this may not be the most thought provoking or spiritual blog, but I wanted to give a little background on the friends whom I have listed under my links. I am thankful God has placed these friends in my life and all of them have helped form who I am to some degree. That being said, I would encourage any of you to click on their links and peer a little into their lives. These are all genuine friends who love Jesus and have truly been a blessing in my life.

David Joseph (aka Micro, Fly Guy)
I met David through my involvement with Student Venture a few years ago when he was a senior in High School. Upon graduation, David began interning for Student Venture and taking classes at the College of Biblical Studies. Last summer he began working at Texas State Bank and through God's grace we ended up in the same department. David loves the Bible and is one the rare Christians who actually shares his faith with anyone he meets. Friends, co-workers, couriers, you name it. The Human Resource Department here told us it was OK to read our Bibles on a break, but not to try to "convert" people. Although we know that we don't convert people (God does . . . Salvation belongs to him), keep David in mind because I don't think that will prevent him from sharing the Truth. David has the spiritual gift of teaching and it is always a joy to hear him proclaim the Bread of Life. He also can eat mass quantities of food and is skilled in poetry and break-dancing.

Jim Hamilton (Dr. Hamilton)
I met Jim a few years ago when I started my first semester of Greek and I have been blessed to have him as a professor over the past four semesters. At a time when I thought about leaving SWBTS, God brought Dr. Hamilton to our school and this was a major factor in me continuing my schooling there. Jim has a contagious passion for the supremacy of Messiah Jesus and a true love for the original languages. Some of his prayers include revival for our Southern Baptist Churches and helping train up a generation of pastors who know and teach the whole counsel of God through expository preaching and examination of Hebrew and Greek. He is currently the interim pastor at "Baptist Church of the Redeemer" in Sugarland. He has become a dear friend and mentor and I'm excited about the possibility of joining his church. Anyone who has an opportunity to hear him preach or take a class from would be plain dumb to pass on that opportunity. I consider our seminary blessed to have this man and I consider myself blessed to be his friend. Outside of his love for theological studies, Jim played college baseball and is an avid runner. Him and his wife Jill have a son named Jake.

Travis Cardwell (TBC, TCard)
Travis is an Associate Pastor at First Baptist in Liberty where he lives with his wonderful wife Alicia and their two children, Caraline and Brayton. (I'm hoping to join their family at some point . . . is it legal to adopt an Uncle?) I met Travis four years ago when we began our journey at SWBTS. He has become one of my best friends over this time and I am thankful God has grown this friendship. Travis is commited to the Truth this is evident in his life and ministry. God has done a lot of similar work in both of us in regards to our values and beliefs in theology, church, family, ministry, etc. and we tend to chat quite often. (He even takes phone calls up until midnight . . . not bad for a married guy!) Travis and I are praying for opportunity to do a church plant at some point and he is definitely a guy that I could began that journey with. His wife makes incredible chicken spaghetti and his children are good at answering the phone! The only negative thing about Travis is that he lives in Liberty which is an hour from Houston. (I still forgive him, though)

Ross King
I met Ross and his wife Staci while standing in line to watch Lake Placid about 6 years ago. I had just bought one of his cd's "Big Quiet Truth" a few weeks earlier (my first Christian CD purchase) and they happened to be a few people in front of me and I thought he looked familiar so I said "Are you Ross King?" Six months later I began attending Community Church, where he was one of the pastors and over the past five years our friendship has grown. I appreciate and value every conversation with Ross and his influence on me has been exponential. The way I saw him, Scot Stolz, and Worth Whitley (other pastors at that church) doing church and ministry has had a profound influence on me. Outside of being a pastor Ross travels and leads in worship through music. He has a true gift and a God-given ability to speak real Truth through his music. Ross loves Jesus and all of his songs promote the fame of our King and bleed biblical truth. My friend David and I play his songs for others to hear and the other day we heard a "believer" say "ah, his music is OK, but his music isn't that great." We are pretty positive that this person is not saved. If you ever have the opportunity to hear him play, check it out and buy all of his cd's. He has a great sense of humor and Staci and him have a wonderful son, Samuel.

Nicole Starch
I met Nicole the first time I went to Community Church about six years ago. My brother was with me and her and a friend asked us to go to Fuddruckers after church and we went and had a great time. Ever since then I have continued to build my friendship with Nicole and she has been a wonderful friend. She has given me advice and counsel time and time again and from earlier on I always felt comfortable confiding in her. She has a true passion for following Jesus and for being as authentic as possible. Nicole works at First Baptist Bryan and has just released her debut cd. It is quite possible that I have been anticipating this cd more than anyone else and it has been playing in my car, at my home, and in our office at work. Go buy seven or eight copies and give them everybody you know. Nicole is a dear friend and a humble person. Her only negative trait is returning phone calls. Maybe I can buy her a pager for Christmas . . .

Jason Kates
I met Jason somewhere on the sports fields at 2nd Baptist about four years ago. He is a fierce competitor and we have played flag football, softball, ultimate frisbee, and basketball a little here and there. Much like me, Jason is trying to shake the sports image and have Christ be the defining mark in his life. He has become a great friend this year and I'm thankful that we were able to go beyond the realm of sports and center our friendship on Christ. He is a genuine, sincere person who has a heart for the Lord and for loving others. We are on the dangerous journey of attempting to figure women out and it's been a trying season. Jason and I both desire to be great husbands and dads, so we have had some great conversations. Jason is perhaps the best quarterback in all of flag football and we tend to connect on a few TD's every now and then. Also, we are also hoping we will be brothers-in-law someday.

The Appeal of Authenticity

2005-07-21T12:11:00.000-05:00

I must first give a shout out to my good friend, Travis Cardwell, who is keeping me accountable on maintaining fresh blogs. I appreciate the few of you that read this and hopefully all of our blogs can promote Kingdom-living actions in our lives and thoughts.

Today I have the honor of meeting up with a good friend, my former pastor Worth Whitley and I'm looking forward to our time together. I attended a church called "Community Church" for about 5 years and the pastors and people at the church were truly the most genuine, sincere folks I've ever been around. We would gather and talk and just be honest about our sins and struggles and fears. I have to admit that it was weird at first. After slowly crawling out of my shell of comfort and security in my private life I began to grow and experience real church and real community. I had entered a new world.

That being said, I have come to realize that most people are not authentic. Through my work at the bank, time at SWBTS, time in other churches, time with other friends, and past experiences it is really hard to find genuine people. There are a million people that will shake your hand and smile, but just a handful of people that will really listen to what you have to say. The phrase "How are you doing?" is always to be followed with "Great!" or "Fine." or maybe even "Peachy." (for those of you who try to be a little different, but is that really any different?)

People are attracted to honest, genuine people. Authenticity works. As I have been going through some changes this summer I have found myself leaning on those who I feel are real, sincere people. They care about me. They don't tell me what I want to hear, but what I need to hear. Being honest is much more vunerable. Perhaps that means telling somebody something that is the exact opposite of what they are wanting to hear. It is not easy to say things that might not be taken well. But aren't we commanded to speak the truth in love? If we truly love people then we will speak truth even when it is not popular.

If we want to be effective in ministry we must be authentic. We must admit our sins. Our imperfections. Our fears. Our failures. Has anybody else realized that we are not fooling anyone? When spending time with others we need to learn to listen to what is going on. We need to love and pray for folks. Authenticity breeds more authentic people. Try it, you would be surprised.

Jesus was always authentic. He met people where they were at and loved them and ministered uniquely each time. We need to exchange our cookie-cut molds of fixing things and embrace people for who they are. This is not easy. This will require time. This will require effort. This will require Spirit-led living and strength from our Creator. We need to die to our schedules and plans and stop putting people off or fitting them in. We won't claim to have all the answers. We won't claim to have all the medicines. We won't claim to have what it takes. Living authentic lives will cause us to be exposed and naked and the only boast we will claim will be the grace of God and the crucified Messiah who endured God's wrath.

Let us embrace who we really are. Let us stop trying to outdo one another. Let us stop seeking attention and look to the only One who deserves attention. There is a hurting world who needs a real, authentic Savior. Let us show them our Messiah through genuine love and sincere living. Let us admit that we aren't perfect. We aren't all the ones with the cure. Let us love them by speaking real truth about our real Christ.

the futility of sports

2005-07-06T11:13:00.000-05:00

In the last few months God has really changed my desires and diminished the value that I derive from playing/watching sports. I do want to add a disclaimer that I am not anti-sports nor have a ceased to ever play/compete again, but there has been a significant change in my desires and satisfaction in sports.

A little background: Since the age of 5 , I have always been active playing baseball or soccer or swimming or football or basketball or just about any sport one can think of. Even after the High School days ceased, I stayed active in intramurals throughout my years at A&M. The post-college years continued to stay busy with basketball leagues, softball leagues, and flag football. Needless to say, sports have always defined who I am to some degree. I have been blessed with a hard work ethic and a healthy body and through these I have been successful at most sports which have added to sports defining who I am.

Over the last fours years I have met numerous friends through 2nd Baptist and various softball leagues and what most of these folks know about me is "hey, Billy is a good receiver or Billy is a good softball player." To me that is really sad. My aim in life is to make much of Jesus Christ and to bring glory and fame to God. I don't want to be known for some temporary, man-centered pseudo-glory that comes from winning a meaningless game or winning a championship, cotton T-shirt. I also feel the conviction from Ephesians 5, where Paul exhorts us to make the "best use of our time." I don't want my nights and weekends to be filled with trivialities. Yes, it is OK to play sports once a week or in moderation, but my desire is to spend my evenings and weekends pursuing real relationships and doing Kingdom-building things. Investing my time in the Word, loving others, serving others, and cultivating meaningful relationships to bring glory to God is how I desire to spend my time now. I don't know why it took me 27 years to want to grow up and leave the childhood sports dreams behind, but I am thankful for God's deliverance.

I don't want people to think that I am over-reacting, but sports (tournament softball in particular) have damaged some of my precious relationships and have stolen many valuable hours from me which could have been used for much bigger things. Sports in moderation is OK, but weekend-long tournaments and golfing on every Saturday while the wife is at home are serious sins. They damage relationships and take over lives. They become idols. Matthew 12:34 says "for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks." When I was wrapped up in softball 5 times a week and playing tournament ball, softball was all I talked about.

Let us be consumed by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and fill our conversations with glorious, eternal truths. By meditating on the Word day and night and delighting ourselves in God we will not be able to not talk about our King. I pray others will join me in the surrender of trivial things whether it be sports, TV, video games, etc.