Forever Settled: The Greg Griffey Story

At some point we all leave home. We begin our own lives, chart our own paths, and develop our own thoughts that more times than not differ greatly from those who raised us. Still, no matter how far we go, there remains the fact that you can always go home. But what if while away, your home were to leave you? This is the question third year student Greg Griffey seeks to answer as he considers the theological future of Appalachia.

Born and raised in the southwestern corner of Virginia, Greg grew up in the Independent Baptist tradition which he refers to as “bluegrass gospel” remembering that in these appalachian churches, “a call to ministry was a call to preach.” So when at the age of 20 during a Wednesday evening prayer meeting Greg made his calling into vocational ministry public, his pastor immediately asked him to preach the next Sunday. By the age of 25 Greg had already secured a very successful career in Appalachian baptist life. He had been a pastor, youth pastor, and even hosted a weekly radio program showcasing his preaching titled “Forever Settled.” While anyone meeting Greg today understands just how appropriate such a title is, at the age of 25, Greg was becoming more and more unsettled.

While on the radio, Greg was also serving as a youth pastor at a Southern Baptist Church. Always concerned for justice, Greg began to write opinionated responses to the local newspaper dealing with a wide range of social issues. When his prophetic boldness led him to the topic of homosexuality, Greg not only found himself out of a job but “the baptist who saw and affirmed my call were now telling me not to come back.”

So Greg left, came to Wake Div, and began to discern just what he wanted out of life. Today Greg is on path to become a hospice chaplain and is in process of becoming ordained by the United Church of Christ. While away however, Greg has begun to discern the special place he has in his heart for Appalachia and has considered a return to his roots but fears that perhaps the region has changed. Greg notes that historically the geography of appalachia has shaped its theology but with the rise of strip mining, technology, and corporate commercialism, the land and theology he loves might be slipping away. Ironically, Greg longs to save the same small churches and theology that rejected him years earlier and has even devoted his third year project to exploring such themes. He is tentatively titling his work Faith to Move Mountains: How Geography Shapes Theology in Appalachia and claims as home changes “I’m called to change with it but I still grieve the loss.”

We all leave home for a reason but what do we do when home begins to leave us? Greg Griffey is “forever settled” on finding out.

For more on Greg and to read his thoughts, check out his blog at religiomusings.wordpress.com

Image of Chatham Hill Church, Southwestern Virginia, Greg Griffey

Pew Survey Discovers Serious Flaw In Religious Education

Perhaps you have heard the news. A recent study by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life has revealed that American Christians, whether they be Evangelical, Mainline, or Catholic, have less knowledge of basic religious concepts than American Atheist, Jews, and Mormons. The survey asked 32 questions related to the core teachings, history, and key figures of the major world religions with atheists and agnostics getting an average of 20.9 questions correct, while White Evangelical Protestants (the highest scoring Christian group) answering only an average of 17.6 questions correct.

In addition to these general findings, the survey also revealed information on specific religious knowledge held by most Americans. For example, 89% of Americans know that public school teachers cannot lead classroom prayer, while only 23% know that the Bible can be read in public classrooms as a source of literature. Also, 82% of Americans know that Mother Teresa was Catholic, however, only 16% know that salvation through faith alone is traditionally a Protestant and not Catholic teaching. 72% of Americans see Moses as the leader of the Exodus, while only 8% even knew that the medieval philosopher Maimonides was Jewish. That one got me too...

The reality is that as people of faith, this survey should disturb us and serve as a wake up call for how we address religious education in our communities. In our increasingly global and pluralistic age, Bible stories told from a flannel board or movies depicting the blonde-haired and blue-eyed British Jesus will no longer cut it. Our churches must begin to rethink how they go about communicating the basic elements of our faith and their peculiar teachings that might make up their denominational identity. However, as the Pew survey has shown, not only do American Christians have little knowledge of their own faith, but they comprehend the faith of others even less. Because if this, we must begin to see Sunday school, or whatever form education might take, to no longer be limited to simply instruction on the Christian faith. Knowledge of world religions, their basic teachings and practices must become a serious aspect of Christian education in the local church if we are to maintain any relevance in the 21st century.

A sample quiz that mirrors the one used in this survey can be taken online at www. pewforum.com.

Article originally published in the tablet

Raleigh to Winston-Salem with Shane Claiborne

Long story short, yesterday my colleagues and myself had the privilege of driving neo-monastic and founder of The Simple Way Shane Claiborne from a conference we were all attending in Raleigh to a speaking engagement at Wake Forest University. Now I have always admired Shane however when I learned that we would be spending a little time with him, I was a little uneasy.

If you know me, you know I have a soft spot in my heart for the finer things in life. I can often be spotted in a bow-tie or a pair of designer jeans and I knowing I was about to meet someone that has literally “sold everything and given to the poor” I was feeling very vulnerable. Honestly, I think I was expecting a speech about the rich young ruler who couldn’t enter the kingdom of heaven because he unable to part with all his stuff. Needless to say I was worried...

Shane blew me away. I’m not sure I have ever met a more gracious, authentic, or humane human in my entire life. We drove Shane (and got him lost) in my pastor’s new Volvo sedan and our pastoral staff was well dressed in clothes that were hardly used. Shane was dressed in clothes that his community had made themselves and had dreadlocks halfway down to his waist. As we got 20 minutes outside of Greensboro I finally broke. I told him as plainly as I could that he was Shane Claiborne and that I might not ever get the chance to talk to him one-on-one again and that if he didn’t mind I would like to ask him a few fairly serious questions. Shane didn’t mind and this was the first thing I asked.

In doing what you do, is there anything that you have discovered that is distinctly human that can be applied in any geographical area to any particular group of people?

Shane’s answer was so simple. I did not no if I should laugh or sit in awe. I chose the latter. Shane said that all his community is trying to do is love and be good neighbors. According to Shane everything else they do stems from this. Sounds pretty cliche right? I mean did this guy seriously just have the audacity to tell me to love and be a good neighbor?

For some reason Shane’s response to my question hit me in a way that I can’t quite explain. For the first time, this concept was real. I truly felt as if Jesus himself had just spoken this word to be and the reality is that if Jesus we’re physically walking the halls of Wake Forest today he would probably look a lot like Shane. Love and be a good neighbor.

“Love others as much as you love yourself.” This was another challenge from Shane. I love myself a lot. After talking to Shane, I felt that I have spent a great deal of my life loving me way more than I love others. He tells me this as I had just left a family vacation in which I ravished the Ralph Lauren, Brooks Brothers, and J. Crew outlet malls. The application was simple, do for others not what you would have them do for you but rather what you already do for yourself.

So today I give you the same challenge that I have been given. Love. Love others as much as you love yourself and be a good neighbor knowing that everyone is your neighbor. Even if you feel that someone is 90% wrong, this still means that they are 10% right and that 10% can be a powerful thing when leveraged (another Shaneism).

So may you love and be a good neighbor.

What are practical ways we can all do this?

Center

Christ be the center of our lives
Be the place we fix our eyes
Be the center of our lives

You’re the center of the universe
Everything was made in You Jesus
Breath of every living thing
Everyone was made for You

You hold everything together
You hold everything together

Christ be the center of our lives
Be the place we fix our eyes
Be the center of our lives

We lift our eyes to heaven
We wrap our lives around your life
We lift our eyes to heaven, to You

God wants to be at the center if everything we do. He wants to be the reason for everything that we do. Is God currently at the center of your life?

What do you think keeps you from allowing God to truly be the center of your life? Take a moment and ask God to reveal the things in your life that you place at the center of your life instead of Him.

Reflect on the lyrics of “Center” by Charlie Hall. Consider asking God to become the center of your life and the reason for everything that you do.

If you decide to do this, you must truly be willing to let go of your own life and let God rule.

Are you willing to let God have all of your life whatever the cost?

Read: Jeremiah 29:11-13

God has an amazing plan for your life but you must remember that it is God’s plan and not your own. Do you trust God enough to seek His plan for your life? If so, you have cut the cords, raised the sail, and are beginning the epic voyage of follow Jesus.

Pray and ask God to forgive you for placing other things at the center of your life. Ask God to reveal His plan for your life and that he gives you the courage to trust Him and to let Him be the center of your life.

Healing Is In Your Hands

No mountain, no valley
No gain or loss we know
Could keep us from Your love

No sickness, no secret
No chain is strong enough
To keep us from Your love
To keep us from Your love

How high, how wide
No matter where I am
Healing is in Your hands
How deep, how strong
Now by Your grace I stand
Healing is in Your hands

Our present, our future
Our past is in Your hands
We’re covered by Your blood
We’re covered by Your blood

How high, how wide
No matter where I am
Healing is in Your hands
How deep, how strong
Now by Your grace I stand
Healing is in Your hands

In all things, we know that
We are more than conquerors
You keep us by Your love


We don’t have any say so in the kind of life we are born into. The world tells us that we pretty much have to play the hand we’re dealt and make the best of it. Through Jesus however, life can be everything we dream of.

Think back to the passage in Romans we read yesterday. Nothing can separate us from the love of God. Nothing we have ever done or ever will do can change that!

Reflect on the lyrics of “Healing Is In Your Hands” by Christy Nockels. Probably the most amazing aspect of a relationship with God is the healing and freedom that He provides. When we decide to accept and follow Jesus, the bible teaches that at that very moment, we are healed.

Read: Isaiah 53 and carefully reflect on verses 5-6.

This passage is a prophecy about Jesus. It speaks to the truth of what happens to the person that has accepted Jesus as their savior. See, God loves us so much that He sent Jesus, His own son, to die on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins. Even more than that, this passage says that by that same act we have been healed, set free, and made new!

Read 2 Corinthians 5:17

We have been made new! We have been set free! Whatever you have done, when you accept Christ, it is washed clean!

Pray and thank God for the gift of Jesus. Thank Him for the healing and freedom that comes from accepting Jesus as your savior. Ask God to give you a deeper understanding of what this means.

How He Loves Us

He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
When all of a sudden,
I am unaware of these afflictions eclipsed by glory,
And I realise just how beautiful You are,
And how great Your affections are for me.

And oh, how He loves us so,
Oh how He loves us,
How He loves us all

Yeah, He loves us,
Oh! how He loves us,
Oh! how He loves us,
Oh! how He loves.

We are His portion and He is our prize,
Drawn to redemption by the grace in His eyes,
If grace is an ocean, we’re all sinking.
And Heaven meets earth like an unforseen kiss,
And my heart turns violently inside of my chest,
I don’t have time to maintain these regrets,
When I think about, the way...

Reflect on the lyrics of “How He loves Us” by The David Crowder Band. Do you always feel like God loves you this much? Yesterday we learned how much God longs to spend quality and intimate time with us each and every day. Still, it is sometimes easy to feel like God is far away and not too concerned with our issues here on earth. When we feel this way, its good to be reminded just how God feels
Continued on next page…

Read: Psalm 139

In this Psalm we learn that God already knows everything about us. He made us and he is “intimately acquainted with our ways.” We also learn that regardless of where we go in life, God is still there seeking and pursuing us. Why does God do this? Because He loves us! The Message translation of the Bible puts it this way.

“I am an open book to you; even from a distance, you know what I’m thinking. You know when I leave and when I get back; I’m never out of your sight. You know everything I’m going to say before I start the first sentence. I look behind me and you’re there, then up ahead and you’re there, too—your reassuring presence, coming and going. This is too much, too wonderful—I can’t take it all in.”

But how great is God’s love for us? Read Romans 8:35-39 and let it assure today of your heavenly Father’s love for you.

Pray and thank God for His love for you. Ask Him to continue to reveal Himself to you along with the great plan He has for you. Ask that as you continue to seek Him, He will continue to make His love more and more real in your life.

Sacred Space

Last week I wrote 5 devotions for our beach retreat. This is the first...

"Sacred Space"

Listen to song here

Where I find a quiet place.
It's where my soul finds sacred space.
It's where my knees touch the ground.
It's where peace is found.

In You, Jesus.

It's where my heart is purified;
the only place I feel alive.
It's where my Father beckons me.
It's where this child is meant to be.

It's where I run.
It's where I hide.
It's where You hold me safe inside.
It's where I live.
It's where I breathe.
It's where I look upon Your beauty.
It's where I fall.
It's where I rest.
It's where I find You loved me best.

It's where I tremble with Holy fear.
It's where my questions disappear.
It's where my feet begin to dance.
When I realize where I am.
I'm in You, Jesus.

What do you do when you need a break? Is there anywhere you go or anyone that you talk to when you are sad, disappointed or angry. Who do you share your deepest secrets and desires with? If something great happens, who is the first person you tell? Who or what is it in life that holds you together?

The bible tells us that this is who God wants to be for us. God wants us to share everything with him. God wants us to talk to him all the time. God wants us to tell him when we’re happy or excited and when we’re sad or angry. God wants to be our friends (see John 14-15)!

Do you have this kind of relationship with God?

When was the last time you spent time alone with God? We’re not talking about Sunday morning or a little prayer before you go to sleep. When was the last time you spent quality time alone with God?

Read: Isaiah 26:7-9

Does your soul yearn for God in the evening? Does your spirit long for God in the morning? Is God’s name and glory the desire of your heart? Why do you think the prophet Isaiah would write such words?

Read: Colossians 1:15-17

Isaiah knew that God had created everything even himself. Isaiah knew that if he was ever going figure life out and make it trough he would have to spend time with the one that hold all things together.

God doesn’t want us to spend time with Him and worship Him because he wants to check up on all our fun. God wants to be our friend and walk through this life with us. God wants to guide us and show us the right paths to take and right choices to make. He loves us and wants to show it! This is why Isaiah could declare that he longed for God and that God was his joy.

Read over the lyrics of Sacred Space by Steve Fee. God wants to be this for us and so much more. Will you let today be the day that you begin spending regular, quality time with God?

Read: Psalm 27 and let it be your prayer this morning. Ask God to forgive you for not spending enough time with Him. Let God remind you how much He loves you. Ask God to give you a desire for His glory.

An Epic Voyage

Last week the students of Piney Grove Baptist Church and myself were on a beach retreat in Garden City, SC. Not only was this trip blast, but it was also an amazing time of worship and renewal. During this week, many students decided to recommit themselves to the life Christ has called them too and two accepted this life for the first time. On Friday morning, I even had to privilege of baptizing one of these students in the Atlantic Ocean. Needless to say, this was a very successful trip and was something that I will never forget.

For the next few days, would like to share a little bit about the week by posting my message notes from the week. Our theme was "An Epic Voyage" and bottom line is that following Christ is the invitation to embark on just that, an epic voyage. Below is the title message.

Why An Epic Voyage?

Epic - a long poem narrating the deeds and adventures of heroic or legendary figures. A grand, romantic, monumental, and adventurous story.

I love stories! Whether they are in books, movies, or told by someone, stories shape the world in which we live. What kind of epic stories have you heard? What are your favorites?

The Odyssey. The Iliad. The Canterbury Tales. The Lord of The Rings. The Chronicles of Narnia. Harry Potter. Dare I say...Twilight...?

Voyage - a long journey involving travel by sea or in space. Traveling in or through the unknown, mysterious, or chaotic. An expedition, pilgrimage, or quest.

Think about the ocean. Its chaotic. Its unknown. Its violent and its beautiful. It draws people. It draws rugged sailors and sunbathers. It calls out to us. We want to be in it while at the same time we’re all a little scared of it.

The thing about a voyage however is that in order to have one, we must embrace and embark into the chaos. In every epic story, the main character is forced to do just this.

When Odysseus left his home little did he know that he was embarking on a chaotic yet heroic journey that would last many years. When Frodo agreed to protect and carry the ring to the fires of Mordor, he was beginning an epic and uncertain voyage. The same can be said of Lucy the first time she traveled through the wardrobe into Narnia and of Harry the first time the boarded the Hogwarts express.

All these characters have one thing is common: when their fate and calling was before them, they said yes regardless of the cost. Their future was unknown, they had no idea what they would be called on to do. They simply embarked on an epic voyage into the unknown, mysterious, and chaotic trusting that they were joining their lives with something much greater than themselves.

I believe that the day we decide to follow Jesus Christ, we decided to embark on the same type of epic voyage. That is what Christianity should be all about. Discovering the God given courage to follow Christ in an epic, romantic, monumental, and adventurous way. This is the type of Christianity that the Bible speaks of and I believe that it is the same that we are called to live today.

The Bible is God’s epic. It’s God’s epic story in and through and to humanity. The Bible is full of stories of people that chose to say yes to something greater than themselves and encounter the greatness of God in their lives.

Do you feel the greatness of God in your life? Do you feel like your commitment to follow Jesus has been an epic voyage? Have you ever even said yes to such a calling?

I think it is easy to keep our Christian lives pretty safe and calm. We go to church, go to small group, go on a mission trip, and we think that means we’ve got it all together. Sadly, this is the case with most of Christianity. This goes on while God is calling each and every one of us to lay down our comfortable lives, take up our own cross, and follow him at all cost. Each and every day God stands at the foot of our beds calling for us to journey with Him on an epic voyage of life in and through him.

We need to recapture what it means live an epic Christianity.

Before we can do this, we have to make a serious and courageous decision. We have to let ourselves go. We have to allow ourselves to be vulnerable. We have to lay down our own ideas about life, and God, and following Jesus and allow God to truly reveal Himself to us.

This can be scary, but its the first step in truly following God. Let the image of the ocean and a boat be your guide. We are the boat, and God is ocean and the wind and anything else that can have an impact on a vessel. If you want to embark on an epic voyage, you must first cut the cords that bind your boat to the dock.

“If you yourself do not cut the lines that tie you to the dock, God will have to use a storm to sever them and to send you out to sea. Put everything in your life afloat upon God, going out to sea on the great swelling tide of His purpose, and your eyes will be opened. If you believe in Jesus, you are not to spend all your time in the calm waters just inside the harbor, full of joy, but always tied to the dock. You have to get out past the harbor into the great depths of God, and begin to know things for yourself— begin to have spiritual discernment.” -Oswald Chambers

The lines that bind us to the dock can be a lot of things. Maybe its sin. It could be our plans, how we want our lives to go. It could be money, a relationship, and job. It could be our attitudes or bad feelings towards others. It could be fear. Whatever it is that keeps us tied to the dock, we must untie it if we are truly going to experience the greatness of God in our lives.

God loves us and has amazing plans for each of us. But we can’t get there if we’re still tied to the dock.

May you be brave enough to cut the cords that bind you to the dock, allow yourself to float out into the vastness of God’s grace and for the first time become serious about simply saying yes when Jesus says “Follow Me.”

Will you yourself to embark on an epic voyage?

Waka Waka

After fours years of waiting, the World Cup has returned. I love this event and everything that it stands for. Sportsmanship, Unity, Peace. For me, there is something amazing about the fact that competing in the same tournament is North Korea, South Korea, and the United States. There is something special about watching countries from the third world run with (and often beat) the wealthy, civilized empires of the West. What I love about the World Cup is that for one month all that matters is sport and the spirit of competition. As the tournament progresses I plan to offer a greater summary of why I believe in events such as the World Cup along with how I think they could contribute to global peace and how the Church should follow suit. For now, lets just enjoy the game and the festivities of the beginning. Lets also pray that the Yanks come marching in and beat the Brits tomorrow! Ole!

These are my projected winners of the group stage with the 1 seeds listed first:

Group A: France , Uruguay // nothing too surprising here

Group B: Argentina , Greece // this might be the group from hell and the hardest to advance out of. I pick Argentina as the favorite and would like to see Greece give their people something to take their minds of the current economical and political instability

Group C: England , USA // After upsetting (via tie) the Brits this Saturday, the Americans move on.

Group D: Australia, Germany // I do believe that both Germany and Australia will advance from this group. Placing Australia in the higher seed might be a stretch...

Group E: Netherlands, Cameroon // Netherlands are a given, Cameroon wins a couple nail bitters and squeaks in.

Group F: Italy, Slovakia // Predictable.

Group G: Brazil, Ivory Coast // Would love to see Portugal and Ivory Coast advance however its difficult to bet against the best team in the World. IC is my long shot Cinderella in this and injuries might prevent their advancement however what a great story that would be!

Group H: Spain, Switzerland // Spain is sick and the Swiss are as efficient and organized as ever. What more could we expect from the country that made Calvinism legit...?

So what are your picks? Who will advance from the group stage? Who will win the 2010 World Cup?

Out of Chaos

I think it is only human to try and avoid chaos. We are all, in some way control freaks. We tend to like things if they are nice and neat and have a clear ending or at least a clear path to take in order to reach an ending. We consider such things that are certain to be good and those that are uncertain or messy to be bad and to be avoid at all cost. I think this is probably why self help books are such a big hit. It would seem appropriate the give most self help books a sub title something like “how to avoid chaos” or “how to beat chaos” or “how to emerge out of chaos”

The reality is that no matter how much we try to avoid chaos in this life, we fail. Chaos is all around us. How often do we hear stories of those who eat right and workout everyday only to get cancer anyway. Or maybe that couple that are great stewards of their money and save responsibly only to get hit with heavy medical cost when the baby is born, have the car breakdown and the basement flood all in the same month. Even the noble efforts of humanitarian organizations often seem to be in vain as injustice in this world continues to rage and every battle won marks the beginning thousands more. How are we to live in such a world? How do we reconcile the chaos that is a fact in this life with the idea of a loving God that we read about in the bible?

I have been fascinated with what we can learn about God in just the first few verses of Genesis. We have already discuss that “in the beginning there was God.” God was before all things and is the source of everything that we see. What blows me away is the next thing we learn. “God created.” Isn’t that amazing!?

What blows me away about the image of God creating the heavens and the earth is that until this moment in history, everything was chaos. It is out of the chaos that God decided to open his month and create everything that we see. God is in the business of bringing order out of chaos. When things seem out of control and life seems to be “formless and void,” I think that it is in that same moment that God is diligently working to bring about a new creation out of the chaos.

As leaders we are often looked at as those with all the answers or those that have risen above chaos. I think that while we have often been entrusted with a great deal of vision or direction, we should lead in a way that reveals God is continually taking the chaos of all our lives or the lives of our organizations and bringing his perfect order. Anytime we think we have risen above the chaos we should watch out, because it is often in the midst of chaos that God is speaking and guiding us down the right path.

“Out of the wreck I will rise.” This declaration given by Oswald Chambers should serve as a reminder to all of us that regardless of how crazy and chaotic our lives may get, we will always rise with our lives and visions renewed when we trust that in that very moment God is at work. Now I’m not advocating that we lead recklessly and intentionally place those in our care into chaos or even that we seek out chaos. I’m not suggesting that we stop attending our leadership seminars or sell our personal development books (I enjoy and actively participate in both of these activities). What I am suggesting is that we recklessly abandon ourselves to God and maintain a relationship with him that acknowledges chaos as one of the means in which he does his work.

A potter uses cold, sloppy, messy clay to create her masterpiece. Sometimes, if we are to find our way, vision, or direction in this live, we must first become lost. We must embrace the chaos trusting that where chaos is present, God will bring his order.


“The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving on the surface of the waters. Then God said...” - Genesis 1:2-3

“Whoever looses his life for my sake will find it” -Jesus (Matthew 16:25b)

“Every now and then I get a little lost
My strings all get tangled, my wires all get crossed
Every now and then I'm right up on the edge
Dangling my toes out over the ledge
I just thank God you're here
'Cause when I'm a bullet shot out of a gun
'Cause when I'm a firecracker comin' undone
Or when I'm a fugitive ready to run, all wild-eyed and crazy
No matter where my reckless soul takes me
Jesus you save me”
-Kenny Chesney (Jesus added)

image: "Chaos at the Heart of Orion" www.nasa.gov images of the day.


ACG

1:1:1a

“In the beginning God...”

In the beginning, there was God. This is a fact that I tend to overlook a lot however I believe whole heartedly that it should be the first thing we think about before we try to do anything. It is so crucial before we begin any new task, attempt to tell any great story or establish any personal ethos that we understand that everything has a beginning and that it is always preceded by the existence of God. In the beginning there was God...Period!

God is before all things. He is before our successes and he is before our failures. When life was formless a void, he was there and while very few of us live life like this, he is still here today in the midst of our own chaos and uncertainty.

Everything finds its being in and through him. This too is a crucial fact that must be understood if we are to truly understand ourselves and our place in this world. There is a God, and everything that is comes from him. If we are to understand our own being, our origins, our nature, and our future, we must first begin with the source and beginning of it all, God.

Wow! This message comes to us from just the first four words in the Bible. It almost seems that when the author of Genesis became caught up in the presence of holy spirit, the first thing that came to mind was the first thing itself, God. Nothing about feelings, or theology, or church government, just God. What if we were all willing to put everything else on the shelf for a little while each day and focus on our own beginnings? What if we were constantly reminded that while we are writing our our story, we all share a common beginning and history, God. His story is our story. His history is our history. God then, God now, God tomorrow. God.

He Never Lets Go

This week, I cannot help but be reminded of the unmerited yet unconditional love, grace, and providence God. One year ago today I visited The Divinity School at Wake Forest University for the first time. I remember that trip like it was yesterday. I arrived the night before, checked into my hotel room, and proceeded to perform my ritual of walking the campus of the prospective school that I was visiting. This night was cold. Snow was still on the ground and as I drove onto campus, I saw Wait Chapel glowing like a beacon of possibilities. I walked up to the doors of the building and to my surprise, they were unlocked. I walked in through the rotunda and up the dimly lit stairs. I rambled my way through the maze that I now simply know as the second floor and as I descended down the opposite dimly lit staircase, I heard music. This music was different from that which I heard coming from the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, much newer. The music was also not like that I was accustomed to hearing during my progressive Sunday morning church service, it was older. Come to think of it, this music was not new or old, it was just music. I will never know who or what was producing the sounds that I could ringing from Davis Chapel, but I’m pretty sure that it was at that moment that I knew I would end up at Wake. After a stroll through the glory that is Wait Chapel at night, a walk around the quad, and quick look at the library, I returned to my car, and went back to the hotel.

The next day, though not nearly as spiritual was every bit as exciting. That morning I sat in an interview with Dr. Bill Leonard, Dean of the Divinity School. As we talked, I remember wondering what it would be like to attend a school like Wake. Little did I know that less than a year later, Dr. Leonard and I would meet weekly to discuss historical and emerging church happenings while drinking wine. I had lunch on campus in the Magnolia Room. Not quite the elitism of a gothic Ivy League dinning hall but every bit as classy. I remember I enjoyed the way this Baptist “did lunch” much more than some of the New England schools that I had visited. These people knew how to eat, and they knew how to do it on linen table cloths. That afternoon, I sat in the same church history lecture that I sat in today, Dean Leonard’s classic talk on the early 16th Baptist and how he considers himself to be on. Knowing my own love hate relationship with my own Baptist heritage, I felt that I too could be a 16th century Baptist. Too new to be institutionalized with a clear link to the past. I think that just about sums me up.

I am taking this trip down memory lane because I have found myself amazed at the grace of God that is at work in us when we follow our hearts. I needed Wake Div, and not only did God know that, but He gave me the desires of my heart. This week, everything feels just like it did then. From the lecture to the several feet of snow that has fallen this winter, Wake is everything I hoped it would be and more.

There are rainbow stickers on the faculty doors at the divinity school that read, “A Safe Place at Wake.” I remember these stickers being the one problem I had with Wake a year ago. They symbolize the inclusive space that Wake Div is for all people, without any question of their of race, gender, sexuality, or theology. Now regardless of how you feel about that statement (and to be honest I’m still not sure how I feel about it), I too needed a “Safe Place at Wake.” I needed a place to explore my own theological vision and to experience others doing the same. I needed to be in a place where I had the freedom and the safety to be me, without feeling like I had to hide in the shadows or conform to the fundamental background that I come from. I needed a place to spend three years following Jesus, sitting a his feet asking the hard questions. I have found that at Wake, and I feel strongly that it is an expression of the unconditional love, grace, and providence of God.

Now, may you too have the freedom to follow your own heart, and the courage to resist the institutionalization of your soul.


“What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade your soul for?” --Jesus (The Message)

Do You Have What It Takes?

Do you ever ask God to make you into something? To give you a gift or the ability to complete a job that has been put before you? I do this all the time! I am constantly asking God to give me the drive, patience and ability to remain focused on my daily tasks. It usually goes like this…"God, will you motivate me to study my languages?" "God, I really need to finish this book review, would you please give me the ability to do so?" "God, will you give me the words I need to write this message or paper?" And the list goes on.

The good news is, not only will God always give us what we need, He already has. "in everything, you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge…so that you are not lacking in any gift…" (I Corinthians 1:5-7). Oswald Chambers has this to say about it…

"Jesus Christ labored in redemption to redeem the whole world and to place it perfectly whole and restored before the throne of God."

We have been equipped and we lack nothing! God has already given us everything we need to complete not only our most basic everyday tasks, but even the great works He will have us do. This is a truth that I desperately needed to be reminded of this morning as I was asking God to motivate me and give me what I needed to get through the day. His answer was simple, "I already have, you just have to make the decision to use it."

"The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak" (Matthew 26:41)

Memories

Tonight feels a lot like my first two years of college. It's midnight, but instead of heading to bed, i'm awake listening to Ryan Cabrera, writing, and "visioneering" about the future. I have been thinking a lot about this question…you know, the one question that always seems to loom over us every time we reach any particular goal in life…"what's next?" Graduate college, check. Get married, check. Get into graduate school, check. Start a career, check.

At every junction, once we take that next step, we always want to know what's next. Right now I'm reading a book by Edward Wimberly, a professor at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta called "Recalling Our Own Stories." In this work, Wimberly claims that the best way for us to continue to progress in life spiritually and in ministry is to regularly return to "our original motivation for ministry as a means of renewal." Remember the moments, the people, the locations, the music, the books, and the art that shaped your vision, and let them serve as devices for measuring your current direction. In other words, allow yourself, as I am tonight, to become nostalgic.

"Renewing our motivation by reconnecting to our original call allows us to visualize again how God has decisively acted in our lives at crucial junctures. It reminds us that God has been intricately involved in our lives. The routine duties of ministry and life take on new meaning when looked at in light of the call." - Wimberly

Remember the way you were when life was simple and all you had was a vision. Remember the way you felt before things became so busy. Remember the way you looked at your wife before your marriage became overshadowed by bills and routine. Remember.

This is not a new idea, its been around. In the Old Testament, Joshua has the children of Israel pick up stones as they cross the Jordan so that they would not forget all the wonders God had done for them. In the New Testament, Paul writes to Timothy and tells him to kindle afresh the gift of God that is in him. In other words, make new that which you already know or have. Even today, Andy Stanley, in almost all of his books on leadership, encourages us to remain true to our vision and keep it at the forefront of everything we do.

So this is where I am tonight. I'm trying to remember who I once was, and I'm praying it leads me to who I am going to be. I am trying to remember all those cold Atlanta winter nights 5 years ago with the best friends a guy could ever ask for. Staying up late dreaming of what we might be used to accomplish in this life. I'm thinking of when I first met my wife, it was about this time a year. God hasn't changed, the vision is the same, remember.

Do you Remember?

Life Happens Here

If you have been to my hometown of Atlanta, you know the exact place I am talking about, Atlantic Station. I remember when Atlanta's first live, work, and play property opened, my friends and I were were absolutely inspired by the new locations tagline, "life happens here." We were in college, just beginning our careers, and the many possibilities of 21st century ministry was the topic of every conversation. I remember chatting one night about the new Atlantic Station, it's irresistible location, and the simple truth that life truly happened there. I remember one of us asking, "what if church was that way?" What if every church experience provided an irresistible environment leaving every attender feeling as if they had just experienced real life. Is your church like this? Could you honestly say "at [insert church name here] life happens here?" I think there are many steps that could be taken to create such an environment, but since I am a communicator, I will speak from my own experience.

As a communicator, my number one goal is to challenge my audience to live the life they have always dreamed of. I cannot tell you how many times students and young adults approach me wanting to know what God's will is for their lives and what they can do to make their lives count for something bigger than themselves. I love these moments because it gives me the opportunity to share the best advice that I ever received which I also believe is "God's will" for all of our lives.

"Do what you love, and live inside the means that it provides" one of my father's co-workers once told me. Could it be that easy? I think so! You don't have to bag six figures and you don't have to be a starving artist, you just have to do what you love. I think Saint Irenaeus said it best when he told us "the glory of God is a heart fully alive." I had the privilege of having lunch yesterday with a guy who is putting this concept into practice

Jac is a tobacco chewing, Jesus loving, college freshman who will tell you that he is "eat-up with NASCAR fever." Jac is also in student leadership at our church. The coolest thing about Jac is that he has found passion in life, and he is going after it. For most of his life, Jac's parents pushed him consider a career in business, pushing papers in an office and making lots of money. All that is great, but that's just not Jac. As he was about to graduate high school, Jac decided to take a chance. With his love for stock car racing, Jac decided to attend a local community college with a program in motor sports management and engineering (this is North Carolina). Jac is now training to be a tire carrier for a NASCAR team and the word on the street is, he's gonna make it!

So whats the point? The point is that we must live a life full of passion! Without passion, there is no life. Jac isn't going to make a lot of money working on race cars, but he loves what he does. What an inspiration! As leaders, I truly believe that it is our job to encourage and inspire those inside our spear of influence to follow in Jac's footsteps a live lives of passion. It was after all Jesus himself who said to "love God with all your heart (i.e passion)."

So today my challenge to you is simply to do that which you love. Find a way to use your God-given passions and skills in a way that will challenge and inspire those around you to do the same. I really do believe that is the meaning of life, and that this is exactly what God wants for all of us.

"Don't ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive and then go do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive." - Howard Thurman

ACG

A Poem For The New Year

I am not a poet. I love poetry; I enjoy reading it and have the highest respect for masters of this art however because of this, I cannot ever claim to be a poet. I struggle with rules, rhymes and meter and while I have been educated by two of the finest universities in the South, my grammar often returns to its rural Georgian roots. With all that said, this “poem” came to me while I was driving from Winston-Salem, North Carolina back to Atlanta for a New Year’s Eve party in the city. I found the message to be personally challenging and would like to share it with you. Again, please remember that I am not a poet. I know that these words have probably broken several rules of poetry and that my former literature professors would be outraged. Still, I hope that you hear and enjoy these words and allow them to inspire you to make life in 2010 a little better than in years the past.


2010

New years come as the old years go,
Through the spring, summer, autumn, and snow.
A thousand promises left unkept,
And resolutions all but met.
Millions pray for a slate washed clean,
For all the things they have not seen.
And liberation from the wake,
Of all the risks they did not take.
To make the world a better place,
Perhaps less fallen from their grace.
Our New Year truth shall always be,
We know not our humanity.
Failed this world to show brothers love,
And help one another rise above.
The constant drive to live in hate,
Through constant needs to debate,
All our basic necessities,
To love, and live, and stay happy.
You! Yes you can alter man’s fate!
Answer the call, and do not wait!
For another year come and go,
Now is the time to let love grow.
Out of a past filled with mistake,
And all the choices we failed to make.
Deny thyself and bear his load,
It is a straight and narrow road.
Filled with love and power alike,
Only then will we know what’s right!
Rise and leave where you have been,
The masses stirring; awaken!


Happy New Year!

ACG