atlanta theologica // alex gallimore

Transition

2011-03-30T22:26:00.002-04:00

I think I need something new...a new setting or place to be more creative while sharing my thoughts and the ideas of others. For the next few weeks, months, or whenever, I will be trying out things over at tumblr. Not sure I'll stay there but I'm giving it the old college..eh...grad school try. Let me know what you think...

http://alexgallimore.tumblr.com/

Bobby Franklin Does Not Speak For Jesus

2011-02-26T13:03:00.002-05:00

I am currently working on an open letter to Georgia State Representative Bobby Franklin (R-Marietta) in response to his recently proposed legislation. If passed these bills will criminalize miscarriages, cut federal funding for abortions involving rape or incest, and will allow (even encourage) parishioners to carry guns inside houses of worship. I will post my response to Franklin soon. Until then, read about his stupidity...

Franklin on Miscarriages

On Rape

Guns in Church

Spring Semester Booklist

2011-01-12T17:17:00.001-05:00

After my Egyptian pilgrimage (more to come on that) I am finding myself revived and ready for the new semester. I am really excited about my classes this term not only for the subject matter but also the booklist. I thought then that I should share what I will be reading with the world and extend an invitation to discus these texts with anyone who has read them or would like to read them with me.

Urban Ministry

Sabbath in the City: Sustaining Urban Pastoral Excellence, Brian Stone and Claire Wolfteich
Doing Justice: Congregations and Community Organizing, Dennis Jacobsen
Tattoos on the Heart: The Power of Boundless Compassion, Gregory Boyle
The Word on the Street: Performing the Scriptures in the Urban Context, Stanley Saunders
Cry of the Prophet, Chittister

Classics of Christian Devotion

Revelations of Divine Love, Julian of Norwich
Testament of Devotion, Thomas Kelly
Imitation of Christ, Richard Kempis
Contemplative Prayer, Thomas Merton
Cost of Discipleship, Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Anthology of Christian Mysticism, Harvey Egan
Evelyn Underhill: Essential Writings
Practice of the Presence of God, Brother Lawrence

Ethics

Readings in Christian Ethics, Philip Wogaman

Theology

Theology for the Community of God, Stanley Genz
God--The World’s Future, Ted Peters
Night, Elie Wiesel
Exclusion and Embrace: A Theological Exploration of Identity, Otherness, and Reconciliation, Miroslav Volf
Jesus the Liberator, Jon Sobrino

Feel free to come along on the journey!

Forever Settled: The Greg Griffey Story

2010-11-05T18:10:00.006-04:00

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

2010-10-18T18:34:00.003-04:00

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

2010-09-10T18:07:00.007-04:00

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

2010-07-28T15:08:00.000-04:00

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

2010-07-23T17:31:00.000-04:00

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

2010-07-22T14:08:00.000-04:00

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

2010-07-21T09:45:00.002-04:00

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

2010-07-20T16:06:00.003-04:00

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

2010-06-11T16:24:00.002-04:00

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

2010-06-03T15:26:00.003-04:00

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

2010-03-15T21:18:00.004-04:00

“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

2010-03-04T17:04:00.000-05:00

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?

2010-02-02T10:45:00.003-05:00

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

2010-01-31T00:34:00.002-05:00

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

2010-01-28T20:56:00.003-05:00

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

2010-01-12T15:49:00.002-05:00

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

Christmas Isn't Over!

2009-12-30T11:00:00.003-05:00

When I was a kid, I remember our Christmas decorations were always put away just a few days after Christmas. My mother’s birthday is December 28th and it has always been her wish that she not celebrate her day under the lights of Christmas. Mama is not anti-Christmas or anti-Jesus or any thing like that, she simply wants to prevent her birthday from becoming an after thought to the biggest holiday of the year. While her logic is sound, I remember being so disappointed as a kid when I would wake up to a seemingly empty house and reminded that after a six-week build up, Christmas was over.

Now that I am married, I am so happy that I have a wife with a birthday in the middle of summer who loves Christmas and the decorations as much as I do. Christmas was five days ago and we have continued to watch our favorite holiday movies, listen to the music, and enjoy our decorations. This typically goes on in our home until a few days after New Years at which point we reluctantly pack up and wait for next year. Just last night, Allison asked if it would be weird to keep some of the decorations up through winter and after a little thought, I said no.

The corporate consumerism that has become our favorite holiday begins to call us as early as September to get into their definition of the Christmas spirit. This usually consists of our fill of shopping, big crowds, and tons of stress. We are met with sales, jolly music, and sights that are simply irresistible and only add to our excitement as we look forward to December 25th. In all of this, Christmas comes, and simply ends. Every year I stay up until midnight on Christmas day and try to soak up every last bit of Christmas I possibly can by watching movies and listening to music. The second the clock strikes 12am, the movies and music stop and Christmas is over. But its not!

Christmas ends on December 26th for corporate America and those who subscribe to this style of celebrating because at that point, there is no longer anything in it for them. The money has been spent, the presents are opened, its time to stop. But for those of us who truly understand the meaning of the day, Christmas didn’t end at midnight; it was just beginning!

Christ has come, advent is over, the savior is here, let’s celebrate! Why don’t we let the Christmas music play just a bit longer and help remind a world that has forgotten of the hope we have because of the incarnation. Let all the Christmas movies continue to remind us of true love and good will to men. Keep your decorations for just a few more days at let the lights guide you into a better understand of the light of the world. Keep celebrating.

Even as I look at the liturgical calendar I am reminded that historically, Christmas is celebrated until the first Sunday of the New Year, which is appropriately called The 2nd Sunday of Christmas. Even as late as January 6th, the Epiphany of Our Lord gives us reason to continue celebrating as it is attributed to the visitation of the wise men so we should at least leave our nativity scenes on our mantles.

I say all of this not because I am a redneck and too lazy to take down our lights and tree and not just because I am overly sentimental; I just don’t want to see us buy into the corporate lie that Christmas is over. As Christians, our celebration should have only just begun.

In closing, I’m not saying leave your decorations up all year. I too, probably after a few weeks will give in and tell Allison its time to pack up. I am a classy guy and am appalled of Christmas trees in February, which just happens to be the month of my birthday. So while I do not say leave your stuff up all year, maybe wait just a bit longer before moving on this year. Let the truth of the holiday sink it just a little more. Be silly and listen to Christmas music a few days into January. Watch that favorite movie one more time. Remember that Christ has come, and is here, and we can celebrate Christmas in our hearts throughout the year.

I think this great man said it best…

“I will honour Christmas in my heart, and try to keep it all the year. I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future. The spirits of all three shall strive within me. I will not shut out the lessons that they teach.” - Ebenezer Scrooge

Merry Christmas! Happy New Year! Merry 2nd Sunday of Christmas!

ACG

Advent 4 Animals

2009-12-22T11:53:00.001-05:00

This week I have struggled to find the words needed to conclude my writings on the Advent season as I had originally hoped for a triumphal climax that paints the perfect picture of Christ’s coming. I think this struggle has been due to the fact that, as least at the time, there wasn’t really anything triumphal about Christ’s entrance into this world. The King of Kings spent his first night on this earth in an unsanitary manger among dirty filthy animals. Doesn’t exactly shout “prepare ye the way of the Lord” now does it? I thought then that it might be appropriate on this last week of advent, with Christmas only three days away, to hear a message from those who were present at Jesus’ birth; the animals. The following is the best Christmas message I think I have ever heard, and it came from animals only yesterday.

About a foot of snow blanketed Winston-Salem, North Carolina and its surrounding areas this past weekend taking me closer than I have ever been to a white Christmas. Unlike what I am used to back home in Atlanta, salt and plow trucks were immediately on the scene clearing the roads to maintain a steady traffic flow. The snow didn’t keep us from our routines; it just slowed us down a little and gave us a chance to think. Although I am on break from my studies, I have still ventured to campus every morning to check my mailbox and pick up a copy of the New York Times. Yesterday, as I walked under the archway at Reynolda Hall and directed my movement towards Wait Chapel, I noticed that the campus wasn’t as empty as I had expected. Sure, classes are over, students are all home for the holidays, but there was a life happening at Wake Forest despite the break and the foot of snow.

A chipmunk scurried across the path in front of me, squirrels were out gathering nuts, and I saw the reddest of cardinals dancing as he seemed to decorate his nest. I was amazed because I became immediately aware of the fact that throughout the school year, as I am focused on my own stressful world filled with chaos, there is yet another world literally under my nose that operates in perfect harmony. Yesterday, as I watched these woodland creatures as they went about their respective winter tasks, I felt more in the Christmas spirit than I think I ever have. It was as if these animals knew more than I that Christmas was only a few days away, and they were preparing for the coming of our Lord. As I watched the animals simply living their lives as they were designed, I could have sworn I heard them proclaim “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”

And that is the best Christmas message I think I have ever heard. Those animals, not too much unlike the animals that might have been present at Jesus’ birth, were preparing for Christmas, and glorifying their heavenly father simply by doing what they were created to do. Instantly, I thought to myself that this just might be the reason Jesus came after all: to free us and allow us to become ourselves as we were created so that we could truly worship and glorify God.

I am no Saint Francis, but this Christmas I am reminded of the words of Saint Irenaeus who declared, “the glory of God is a heart fully alive.” Christ has made us alive, and provided us the freedom to be ourselves; this is what we celebrate at Christmas.

In closing, and with Christmas only days away, I hope we will allow Christ to lead us to become the people we want to become. I hope we will chose to lives of passion and happiness. I hope we will all be as we were made, proclaiming now until we see Jesus face-to-face “Glory to God in the highest.” The animals do…

-Alex

A New Entourage: Advent Week 3

2009-12-16T11:24:00.003-05:00

It was just another night. For these men however, unlike the shepherds mentioned in my previous post, this was just another night in the comfort of their lavish royal tower or cozy observatory. They were the educated, well respected, and according to some early traditions even royal men who interpreted through the presences of a star that something great and out of the ordinary was about to take place.

Here it seems appropriate to take a step back and ask whom exactly these guys were. In Matthew 2, they are called “wise men from the East” which would indicate that they were perhaps astrologers, scholarly and religious scientist who were believed to be able to make futuristic predictions based on the stars. Some early Christian traditions claim that these “wise men” were actually kings, which would be in keeping with the prophecies that declared the messiah would be worshiped by kings (see Isaiah 60:3, Psalm 72:10, and Psalm 68:29). Regardless of who these guys were, we can rest assured that they were “merry gentlemen” and men of high society who were thought very highly of in their ancient culture. Actually, the “wise men” possessed pretty much the opposite social position of the shepherds who were the unclean and unwanted outcasts. Everyone liked these wise men or kings, and they knew it.

So before we look at the account found in Matthew, lets paint this picture. The wise men, or kings—we’ll just call them Maji, were a big deal. These guys were accustomed to being praised by others, looked up to for their knowledge, and lived lives of privilege. It really doesn’t matter if they were or were not kings because either way the Maji would have had a place in the royal courts throughout the known world and when they traveled, it would have been with their own entourage of supporters and protectors supplying them with countless words of affirmation. Imagine that then as we look to the book of Matthew. These guys are a big deal, and they roll deep.

“When they had heard the king, they set out; and there, ahead of them, went the star that they had seen at its rising, until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw that the star had stopped, they were overwhelmed with joy. On entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother; and they knelt down and paid him homage. Then, opening their treasure chests, they offered him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh” (Matthew 2:9-11 NRSV).

What I love about this story is the immediate transformation that seems to have come over the Maji when they met Jesus. Again, these guys were a big deal, and the entourage they brought along with them would be the first to say so. While they were typically on the receiving end of praise and adoration, all this changed at the presence of Jesus as Matthew tells us they “knelt down and paid him homage.” In this moment, the Maji forgot all about their own identities, their social standing, or their entourage, and they instantly became the entourage of Jesus. They laid all of their worth on him, and found something bigger.

We really don’t know what happened to the Maji. Luke tells us the shepherds, upon leaving the baby Jesus, “returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen” (Luke 2:20). While we’re not sure, I think we can probably say the same about the Maji. Both groups, coming from two completely different backgrounds, experienced the same thing at the manger. Some were rich and respected while the others were poor and unwanted. Both exchanged their identities at the manger for that of Jesus’. It seems from that point on, nothing else mattered.

I think a lot of us can relate to the stories of the Maji and the shepherds. Some of us come from great backgrounds and life for us has been a piece of cake. For others, like the shepherds, life seems to have dealt you a bad hand. The good news of the gospel is this: when we encounter the living God through Jesus, all things are made new. Our lives are literally exchanged for his, and his past becomes our past and his future is ours too. We come to the manger with our own entourage, perhaps good or bad. At Christmas, the season we celebrate the birth of Christ, we rejoice for he has taken our life and entourage, and replaced it with his own. Glory to God in the Highest!

“Arise, shine; for your light has come,
And the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.
Nations shall come to your light,
And kings to the brightness of your dawn.” – Isaiah 60:1-3

“I have been crucified with Christ.
My ego is no longer central.
It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you.
Or have your good opinion.
And I am no longer driven to impress God.
Christ lives in me.” – Galatians 2:20-21, The Message

ACG

For All People: The Second Week of Advent 2009

2009-12-08T22:22:00.003-05:00

It was just another day. They simply got up, perhaps some without sleeping at all, and tended their flock. It was, without a doubt, just another day.

But I can’t help but wonder about that night. Maybe the air was just a bit fresher as the shepherds kept watch. Perhaps the sky was a little clearer, with more stars in the sky that boasted a bright, full winters moon. What if it was that night,, as they went about their daily tasks, they were, for the first time, content, their bones did not hurt, and their muscles were not sore? What if this night was so ordinary, it was different?

This night was different indeed, and while the following events would prove this fact, it was just another night in the fields, a silent night, and all was well.

It wasn’t easy to be a shepherd in the 1st century, and as someone that grew up surrounded by cow pastures, I know that line of work hasn’t gotten any easier. For those living 2000 years ago however, your line of work, what you touched, and how you spent your time had a huge effect on how you were seen in the community. Shepherds were considered unclean. They spent most of their time around animals, and many scholars hold that they were not even allowed to sleep inside the protection of the city walls. Needless to say, this wasn’t an easy life. If you were considered unclean by a community in 1st century Palestine, this meant that you were also religiously, and ritually unclean which would have probably kept these shepherds from any kind of active life around the Temple and thus unable to follow all of their Jewish law.

We can imagine how they must have felt about themselves. They were, in the truest since of the word, outcasts. How might this understanding of their own identities affect the way these shepherds thought about God? I mean, if they were unclean, and unwanted by men, why would the perfect God of the covenant want anything to do with them? In the minds of these shepherds, they were unwanted and left out by both men and God. Again, this was just another typical day, or was it?

“In that region there were shepherds living in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. Then an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, ‘Do not be afraid; for see—I am bringing you good news of great joy for ALL the people: to YOU is born this day in the city of David a savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign for you: you will find a child wrapped in bands of cloth and lying in a manger.’ And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those whom he favors’” (Luke 2:8-14 NRSV).

We all know what happened next. They immediately departed for the city of David, Bethlehem, just as the angels had told them. What must have been going through their minds at this point? Think about it, they were shepherds, unclean, and unwanted outcasts. If what they angels said were true, everything they once thought of themselves must be wrong. Even more important, if this good news was for all people, and a savior had actually been born to them, then perhaps the feelings that they once thought God had for them were wrong as well.

As modern readers, we have the privilege of history for we know what happened. The angels were right, there was a savior, and he was for all people. This savior, Jesus, had come, to save those from oppression and even to save their oppressors. He came to save the lowest shepherd and the highest king. He came to be all things to all people, to meet them where they were, and redeem even the darkest, most ordinary night.

I’m not sure where you are as we move into the middle of this second week of advent. Maybe you feel a bit unwanted, or even unclean and believe that God overlooked you. Perhaps your misery is simply the ordinariness of the everyday life in which you live. Regardless of where you are, or where you have been, today, in the city of David, a savior is born to you, his law is love, and his gospel is peace for all people, even you. He has come to make all things new.

“Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.” – Matthew 11:28-30, The Message

It came upon a midnight clear,
That glorious song of old,
When all was calm and all was bright,
For this, truly, would be, a silent night.

ACG

The First Week Of Advent 2009

2009-11-30T14:59:00.002-05:00

I remember when I first learned of the season of Advent, I thought it was a rather pointless observance. I was 17, a senior in high school, working in a Christian bookstore and was amaze at the sudden emergence of Advent calendars throughout our shop. Growing up in a Protestant community that had almost completely removed itself from the liturgical calendar, the need to “expectantly await the arrival of the Messiah” struck me as dimwitted and perhaps even a bit heretical. I would remind my fellow workers that Jesus had already come, dwelled in out hearts, and the thought that we must wait for his first coming was wrong for he was already here.

When I got to college, I was mentored by a man who came from a much more liturgical tradition and his words of wisdom blended with my own study of the Church and I began to have a change of heart about Advent as well as the liturgical calendar. Since yesterday marked the beginning of Advent, I thought it would be appropriate to share a bit about what this season has come to mean to me along with a what I hope will be an encouraging note.

Advent - the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event.

We all know the story. Mary, a virgin, engaged to a faithful man named Joseph, is visited by an angel and told that she is to give birth to the son God. This son is to be named Jesus, “for He will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21) and he will be called “Immanuel, God with us” (1:23).

For those of us raised in Christian homes, we have been taught our whole lives that our sins are forgiven, and that God is always with us. For those living in 1st century Palestine, this was something new. If the message given to Mary were true, this meant that every aspect of life was about to change. Gone would be the bondage to keep the Law and the days of animal and personal sacrifice. The need for temples made by men would be drastically changed along with the understanding of an individual’s identity. If Jesus truly was the Son of God, really could take away all sin, and even dwelt among men, everything would change.

I think that this is the heart of Advent that I have come to love this time of year. Yes, maybe I was right all those years ago that Jesus had already come and that he was already here. While perhaps Advent simply serves as a reminder to this truth, I think all of us might still say that there are areas of our lives that we wish would be completely changed. The economy is still in the gutter, and so are out morals, as according to Britney, “living in sin is the new thing.” What else? Are there places in your life right now where you desperately wish Jesus, the Messiah, would come and completely change? Finances? Marriage? Work? Everything?

I think the answer to all of these questions is yes. Jesus has come, we have been redeemed, set free, and his very presence dwells in us. He has come, and is still here. At the same time, life goes on around us, and we get caught up in it. I know several people who have no idea how they will financially make it through the holidays, others that are facing divorce and many more that hate their jobs.

This Advent season, we need a reminder that God is with us, and is still in the business of changing everything. Get excited! He has come, and is coming, closer, and closer, and closer.

O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel 
That mourns in lonely exile here 
Until the Son of God appear 
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel 
Shall come to thee, O Israel

“For nothing will be impossible with God” - Gabriel to Mary (Luke 1:37)

“Grace changes everything” - Josh Bayne

grace and peace,

ACG

The Lost Coin

2009-10-30T23:54:00.002-04:00

So I have this routine. Every morning, I wake up, put on my robe and slippers, and pour a cup of coffee and a bowl of cereal. I then proceed to spend the next 15 minutes or so watching Headline News with Robin Meade who if I may say is not at all bad to look at as she welcomes me to her show with her famous line “morning sunshine.” It’s a good routine and I’m happy.

Two times this week I have heard the same reporter sharing news from Washington that apparently the recession that has recently plagued the American economy has technically ended. Now this is great news, so please do not take my next words as overly cynical, however, for most of us, if not all of us, times are still pretty tough. I was reminded of this just the other day when I heard someone making a note of all the “rescue” themed worship songs that have come out in the past few months; times are hard, and we desperately need to be rescued.

One day this week, shortly after I learned that the recession had ended, I stumbled onto one of Jesus’ parables and saw it in a way that I never had before. In Luke 15, Jesus tells a small crowd a story about a woman who had ten silver coins and lost one of them. Immediately, I thought about how I might feel today if I had lost any amount of money, regardless of how small. I would imagine that we would all do exactly what Jesus says this woman did, “light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she found it” (Luke 15:8 NRSV). Once the woman found her lost coin, Jesus tells us that she called out into the town inviting everyone to come and rejoice with her for finding her what she had lost. Jesus tells his group, that the same happens in heaven when one comes to God.

This story struck me this week because it seems so translatable to our economic situations today. If we lost something that provided for our lively hood, we would not rest until we had found it. Immediately I heard the Holy Spirit calling out through the words of Jesus that we are the lively hoods of God. Our heavenly Father loves us so much that when one of us are lost, or confused, or not living up to our full potential, the economy of heaven suffers. At this point, God, in his unquenchable love for us begins a thorough rescue and pursuit of us until we are united again with him.

This parable is uttered in almost the same breath as that of the lost sheep, which growing going to Sunday school was always used to reveal the heart of God for his flock. But for now, the idea that God needs us as his coin in which he accomplishes his work in this world reveals just how important we are to Him.

So today, are you lost? Confused? Not living up to your fullest potentials? Trust in the One who loves you so much that He has budgeted his entire kingdom on your worth and will not more forward until your path is found in Him.

“He is jealous for me,
Loves like a hurricane, I am a tree,
Bending beneath the weight of his wind and mercy.
Yeah, He loves us.” -John Mark Mcmillan

“Rejoice with Me, for I have found the coin that I had lost” (Luke 15:9) –Abba, Father, God

ACG

A of M on Loyalty

2009-10-26T18:29:00.004-04:00

Good words from one of my favorite blogs, The Art of Manliness on what it means to be loyal. How do you think we could apply some of these ideas to how we do Church, raise leaders, or communicate our visions, values and models?

A Confession

2009-10-23T19:15:00.006-04:00

I was reminded just the other day that I have been slacking in my writing and that I need to finish what I started. I agree.

I have every intention of completing my theological doctrine statement that I began in September. Next, I will address exactly what it means to do or study theology and offer relevant ways that it can play out in our culture. First things first however, I think I need to say a little bit about Jesus...

He is exactly Who and What He said He was as written in the New Testament accounts. Lets start there.

Peace and Grace be with you.

God: The Mysterious Mystery

2009-09-14T21:30:00.001-04:00

I think the best example I can give for God is the absolute powerlessness I feel when I attempt to describe Him. I can share with you my experiences, but I believe that even the experiences of billions fall short of glory that is his Wholly and Holy Otherness. I am always moved by the position of St. Thomas Aquinas, who, in the "Summa Theologica," declared God to be the immovable first mover who places all other things into motion. His substance, or lack thereof, cannot be comprehended through even the most perfect reason of mankind. He is rather simply the mysterious mystery that gives all things their being. This may seem to support the claims of the watch and the watchmaker who once his creation was complete, stepped away to allow it to run its course however may it never be. I do not believe that God’s creation process is complete and that He is still in fact very active in the process. To further articulate this, I will refer to a statement presented by a community that I was once a member of and who’s position on God I still embrace.

“We believe that the very nature of God is love. In the beginning God created out of nothing the world and all things, manifesting the glory of His power, wisdom and goodness. By His providence He is operating throughout history to fulfill His redemptive purposes - concerning Himself mercifully in the affairs of men - hearing and answering prayer, and saving from sin and death all who come to Him by faith in Jesus. The scriptures introduce us to the triune nature of God as God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. God has chosen to reveal Himself to humanity in these distinct persons, none being more or less God than the others. WE BELIEVE in this three-fold revelation of God's being. WE BELIEVE that this holy mystery is meant both as an example of how humanity, though full of individuals, shall someday be fully one through God's redemption, as well as how God's expression of Himself to us shows his desire and ability to provide for every need of the human soul. The essence of the Trinity doctrine is that the unity of the one God is complex, yet solidly real. Genesis 1:1, 26; I Chronicles 29: 11, 12; Deuteronomy 6:4; Psalms 90:2; I Peter 1:2” (Midtown Church, Atlanta, Georgia).

While these thoughts lead in the direction of a Trinitarian God, (which is where we will eventually end up) lets for now simply consider them in light of God’s very existence. He is Wholly Other and His substance is not like our own. While I chose to use masculinity to describe Him, I also hold that He transcends all things including our desperate attempts to place everything into a category. Just as much as He is transcendent, he is also incredibly close and desires intimacy with us.

This is my feelings toward the nature of the Godhead, three-in-one in which we derive our concepts of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Perhaps these would be the appropriate topics to discuss next. What do you think?

Creeds, Doctrines, and Anthems

2009-09-14T13:29:00.001-04:00

It has been a while since I last made contact so here is a quick update. Allison and I have been in Winston-Salem, NC since the middle of August where I am attending graduate school/seminary at Wake Forest University Divinity School. It has been a busy month and we still are not completely settled however we are embracing this as an adventure that will lead us further down the road that is the Christian life.

Just the other day, someone commented on my blog (crazy right?) and asked what I think of Wake Forest after my short time here. Obviously, if you have read some of my previous post, I have tended to lean in a direction that most people at Wake do not however I do still believe that this is where God would have me for this season. Truth be told, I do have some theological issues with some of the things that go one at Wake which is why I have decided to devote the next several weeks or months to what I would consider my own positions on these issues. With that said, I will limit my thoughts to Christianity, Christ following, and the issues that I think are essential to these ends. There will be very little energy spent on politics although I do still believe that the Church can and should be a driving force is the area regardless of our affiliations and that political activism has its place in following Christ.

So here we go, in the great traditions of the early Church father who have gone before us, we too, will attempt to write creeds, doctrines, and anthems for our own 21st century. As I embark on this journey, please know that I desperately need you to come alongside and join in the discussions. If at any point, you agree, disagree, or feel inspired by the Holy Spirit (who is very much still living and active in our day) please post your comments. While I will do my best to not directly attack my school, one thing that should be addressed is the lack of confrontation and general “acceptedness” of all things. While I believe in tolerance, I also believe in truth.

So to my dear friends, brothers and sisters in Christ, traditionalist and artist, “study to show thyself approved.” For our first topic, we will start at the beginning and look at one who has no beginning, God. Coming very soon!

The Real Hope and Change

2009-08-13T16:28:00.002-04:00

Everything is about to change. We leave for Wake in two days. Will post a big update on Monday. Stay tuned and get excited!

The Unwritten South

2009-07-29T12:27:00.002-04:00

I am a hopeless romantic, this is no secret. What is probably even more widely known is my unquenchable love for the south and nostalgia for its old traditions and customs. Because of these facts and in light of our current political condition, I thought I would share my latest find.

In May my mother gave me a book she found at the Circa History Guild in Roswell, GA. Its title, "The Unwritten South" published in 1903 about 40 years after the American Civil War. Here, it is important to point out that throughout mankind’s existence; the victors have dictated what would later become history. Because of this you have no idea how excited I was to find a book written by a southerner who waited 40 years to make his case in fear that he would be categorized as a poor fellow who would not give up the fight.

Long Story short, Mr. Stonebraker looks to the original words of the U.S. Constitution and its emphasis on the rights of individual states to govern themselves. He then offers a series of brilliant arguments claiming that this was the true Southern cause during the 1860s.

I thought it appropriate to write on this today as we are again facing a regime that has one goal, complete control by a central government. It is most certainly time to stand and demand your constitutional right to self govern as a responsible American. Today, this is not a North-South issue, or a Red-Blue issue but rather something for all Americans who treasure freedom.

The Books Of Summer 2009

2009-07-16T14:51:00.001-04:00

Thought I would let everyone know what I have been reading this summer as I think they are all worth their respective cover price. You will notice that I try to offer myself a balance between works of literature and titles found in the leadership/Christian living section of your bookstore. I believe that God uses culture, whether written, filmed or painted to communicate his truth to us. Everyone has a story, and when we read others, even if they are fiction, there is always something new to learn and experience. Leadership works, then guide me to places where I can use and exhibit the awakenings experienced in the arts. Without the two, one runs the risk of becoming either an overly idealistic dreamer or an inflexible theorist.

This Side of Paradise – F. Scott Fitzgerald
Fitzgerald’s classic look into the major American paradigm shift we call the Jazz Age. Surprisingly enough, Fitzgerald wrote This Side of Paradise towards the end of WWI which places it several years before the time many attribute to the Jazz Age and before The Great Gatsby. For all you emerging culturist out there, Fitzgerald was in touch with the heartbeat of his time period way before the masses.

The Principle of the Path – Andy Stanley
Newest addition to the Stanley Canon. Simply put, for a desired destination, there is an appropriate route. As I have thought about this concept, I am yet to find an area of my life where it cannot be applied. It has helped me a great deal lately as Allison have been in a season of decision making that does not always follow popular opinion. Stanley writes of lessons learned, the importance of knowing where you want to go in life and the greater importance of seeking mentors to help get you there. Great talks by Andy Stanley on this idea and others can also be found on itunes.

The Beardless Warriors – Richard Matheson
In The Beardless Warriors, one of my favorite authors, Richard Matheson (notables include I Am Legend, Somewhere in Time, and What Dreams May Come) writes his war account as an eight-teen-year old replacement in the 87th infantry at the end of WWII. Although this is a work of fiction, it was inspired by Matheson’s own experiences and chronicles the lives of young men and how they stand, or in some cases fall when the odds are stack against them. A great look into leadership and the truth that it takes a team and a bit of suffering to accomplish anything of any great value.

Organic Leadership – Neil Cole
A Follow-up to Organic Church and Search and Rescue, Cole, offers the subtitle of “Leading Naturally Right Where You Are.” Just began this work this week but I’m really looking forward to diving in and learning form this guy. He offer’s analogies from pop-culture and epic tales and seems to have a very good understand of our position and identity in Christ which I appreciate and find refreshing.

I’m still on the look out for a few more books to read before I begin graduate school later in August. I am open to any recommendations.

Futures: What's Next?

2009-07-07T11:51:00.000-04:00

First, allow me to be perfectly clear. I am Atlanta. I was born just outside the city and have been the forth generation to live on my family’s land. I simply cannot put into words the love and devotion I have for my hometown and the entire State of Georgia. I truly believe that I have been blessed to live in the greatest city of the greatest state in the union. There is no place like home.

Pride for my family’s long history in the Atlanta area has placed a desire in me to never leave. In a way, I want to wake up everyday and work the land just like those who have gone before me and spend my evenings roaming Peachtree Street. These feelings however are at a crossroad with a passion to live somewhere else and experience other points of view. While I am one of those who can truly claim to have a heart for Atlanta and Georgia, I know that I will never have anything to offer my home if all I know is Atlanta and Georgia. I must let this passion for travel and learning lead me to new experiences that will provide me with the toolbox to return to Atlanta as a leader that can bring innovative change. For this reason, I have made a difficult decision.

In the fall of 2009, Allison and I will be moving to Winston-Salem, NC so I can attend graduate school at Wake Forest University. I have chosen Wake because I feel that it will provide me with a theological education that will both comfort and challenge my own. I also feel that Wake will give me opportunities for domestic and international travel and will allow the chance to study theology in the academic context of a university and the various disciplines I long to see blended with theology.

If you know anything about me, you know that I am passionate about awakening people to the grace of God through Jesus Christ and I believe that this awakening happens at life’s most complex intersections, those between the secular and spiritual, church and state, politics and business, literature and theology. After much thought and prayer, I feel that Wake Forest will be the best place for me to explore these intersections.

President Emeritus Father Hesburgh of The University of Notre Dame once said that “the university is where the Church does its thinking.” I pray that my time at Wake Forest is just that. I see this as a chance to engage the academic and Church community and return to something that has not existed in hundreds of years: the church as an inspiration to the university, and the university an inspiration to the church. We’re all in this together!

Please know that this move will no be easy for me and Allison and I will need your prayers and support. I love my home more than anyone will ever understand. I love the humid summer nights and the sun as it sets over the fields. I love Atlanta in the winter and watching the braves in October. I know however that this move is needed for many reasons and pray that God uses to transform my own life and through time Atlanta as well. I pray that He leads me back to this place.

Alpha Mu Forem!

Upside Down Flag

2009-07-03T15:30:00.000-04:00

It would be difficult to write on liturgy, art, and culture without eventually commenting on politics as liturgy + art + culture almost always = politics. So here is to what I am sure will become a hot topic.

While running errands this afternoon, my wife and I noticed a gentleman flying an American flag upside down. At first, my wife, whose father is a retired naval captain was incredibly offended as we are approaching the day in which we celebrate our Independence, and are also, though we often forget, at war. After thinking about this upside down flag for a moment, I realized that this guy was making probably the most patriotic statement possible. Allow me to explain…

THE FLAG CODE
Title 36, U.S.C., Chapter 10
As amended by P.L. 344, 94th Congress
Approved July 7, 1976

§ 176. Respect for flag: No disrespect should be shown to the flag of the United States of America; the flag should not be dipped to any person or thing. Regimental colors, State flags, and organization or institutional flags are to be dipped as a mark of honor.

(a) The flag should never be displayed with the union down, except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property.

Regardless of your political leanings, we are currently living in a world in which the lines between governmental power and individual freedom are blurry at best. Over the past few months we have experienced outrageous spending of tax payer dollars in the form of bailouts and pork projects by a regime determined to exercise its agenda in spite of public opinion. We are moving daily in a direction of social democracy which is ironically not democratic at all but quite the opposite of what our founding fathers intended. We are nearing times of “dire distress” and “extreme danger to (free) life or property.”

I love this country. And I have nothing but respect and reverence for the men and women who have fought and are fighting to ensure our freedom. I know what this country once was and what we can still become again. Because of that, tomorrow, July 4th 2009, I will fly my flag with the Union upright. On July 5th, I might just join the ranks of the brave gentleman I saw today and begin to make the first of many calls of distress.

What do you think?

FYI – for more information on the relations between liturgy, art, and politics, check out Cambridge theologian Catherine Pickstock and University of Nottingham’s John Milbank. *not sure they would agree with this post*

Billy Graham and The World's Oldest Man

2009-06-25T22:31:00.001-04:00

Many of you might be surprised to know that Billy Graham actually is not the world’s oldest man…maybe the world’s oldest evangelist…wait no…Oral Roberts was born in January of 1918 and Graham in November of the same year. Crazy, what was it about 1918? Hopefully another inspired year of the last century will turn out to be 1986.

Anyways…My grandmother is a huge Billy Graham fan. Tonight, at her house, I noticed two articles from Graham hanging on her refrigerator door. Now I must confess that I did not read the articles however the very titles struck me in a unique way…Crazy how God does that.

Article 1: Only Christ Can Open the Doors to Heaven

No real news there. For those of us inside of Christian culture, the understanding of Jesus as the only way to an eternal heaven is no shocker. What is a shocker is how we consider this eternal heaven as something in the future. To be eternal is to be timeless. If something is out of time there can be no beginning nor ending. What’s crazy is that this is exactly what Christ has already invited us to experience. When we accept his life as our own, we also accept his history, which is eternal, having no beginning or end. The key then to mastering our little piece of heaven on earth is not our job, our accomplishments, our education, our spouse or leadership abilities but Christ. Only he can open the doors to heaven both today and tomorrow.

With that said…

Article 2: God Cares How We Use Our Time

This was like a slap in the face. I can be really lazy. In my current stage of life, I spend more time talking about and planning for what I’m going to do that I never really seem to do anything. This week I read a BBC article about the world’s oldest man, the UK’s Henry Allingham, 113. 113 years old…seriously? Here are a few of his stats: His life has touched 3 centuries, been ruled by 6 monarchs and has seen 5 generations past his own all in addition to being a WWI survivor.. I began to think about Mr. Allingham’s extraordinary life and wondered what I could accomplish in 113 years. I know it is a popular philosophy to live life like you are dying but what if you actually lived until you were 113. For some, this might allow for some extra years of college however what if someone spent 113 perfecting his or her craft. Think of the wealth of knowledge you could leave to well…five generations! Maybe, if only for a day, lets dream about what we could accomplish if we all had 113 years and perhaps even begin to strive for that goal.

Live long and prosper...

i'm alive part 2: a new beginning

2009-06-23T23:19:00.004-04:00

I just reread my last post from 11.23.2009. Looking back it seems almost prophetic as exactly two months after the post, my wife Allison and I were in a terrible car accident that took the life of the young intoxicated driver that struck us. Although I was reminded of my life that January morning, I was also left feeling dead for many months to come. This pattern has continued until recently where I now find myself facing new possibilities, new inspirations, and even the chance at a new life. While I have failed to maintain several blogs, my mind finds itself flushed with words and I feel the need to allow them to overflow into this blog. Perhaps this will be what motivates me to finally begin that successful blog everyone is urging me to write. I also know that there is a chance that I will like a bottle-rocket launch in a stroke of brilliance only to come to a quick and abrupt stop. There is also a very good chance that I will wake up tomorrow having lost my inspiration in my dreams and wait another 6 months to acknowledge the blogging world. Regardless of the future, this is my part 2 and my chance of a new beginning. We'll call this one atlanta theologica.

I'm Alive

2008-11-23T23:58:00.002-05:00

I'm Alive. Just thought I would let the blogging world know. Sometimes its good to remind yourself and others of this simple, over looked fact. What better truth to celebrate during a Thanksgiving holiday than the truth that each and everyone of us has life. Perhaps this is where things could turn spiritual and I could talk about my life in Christ however I will save that for another time...probably two months from now at my current pace. For now, I live, and that will have to be enough.

34 days

2008-09-15T19:29:00.003-04:00

34 days. thats how long it has been since my last post. i must admit, i've been kinda jadded by the blogging world; especially the church blogging world. i'm not the kind of guy that sticks to a set schedule (obviously). for me, blogging is something that helps me clear my head, re-focus my thoughts and if i'm lucky, maybe have a positive effect on someones life. because i can't stick to a routine, blogging and the new religion of twitter just are not things that get me going. this weekend, i hung out with come of my cool friends who are very much a part of the first twitter church in the clogging community. they can keep a schedule. not only are they active in their post, they faithfully read the posts of others. so while i was playing with a friends iphone (b/c i'm a not a tech geek either and don't have my own) i noticed some of his twitter prophets. while reading the post of some of the pastors he reads, i almost busted at the seams with laughter. some of the things these guys say...or yell. later there was a conversation about a group of pastors yelling at another pastor beacuse of something he said, did, or didn't do. for a second, i wasn't sure if i was reading a pastor's blog or a script for mtv's "the hills."

anyways, i'm not attacking this new phenomenon, just saying that its not always for me and i quickly grow weary of it. maybe i'm too lazy, but for now lets just say i'm too busy. i will post when i post and that will have to be enough. if i wrote something daily, i would probably sound like spencer myself...

blur

2008-08-12T22:34:00.002-04:00

we're back in atlanta which is bitter sweet. we love our home but miss our kids. two uncles died this week. one, my great uncle who was a father figure to my mom and another who i did not know well but my father did. another great uncle is very ill and is not far from the end. i might have to help get him back to florida this week. we are all very sad. the past few days have been a blur. more to come when i can get to it.

hit or miss

2008-08-04T10:06:00.003-04:00

so i have been rather hit or miss with this blog over the summer. while i set out to write twice a week it seems that my plans have become every other week. whatever, nothings ritual and while my blog may not be at the top of anyone's roll, its what i have needed.

today is my last monday in here in muscle shoals, alabama. God has really worked in amazing ways this summer. i count it an honor to have been apart of what he has done through this ministry and look forward to great things ahead. with that said i am ready to come home to atlanta. i am ready to finish school, and i am ready to get back into my normal routine. while this summer has been a lot of work, it was also a God given break from our crazy fast-paced schedule we call our life. for this, i am thankful. while i am ready to come home, i woke up said this morning. last night i dreamed about our last day here and it was so hard to say goodbye. i hope that when the day comes we have the strength and the grace to depart with smiling faces and happy hearts.

RECAP:
last night we watched the last part of "hope for when life hurts the most" by louie giglio. the second part went over much better as the kids really grasped the message. i even worked in the the famous quote from the movie forest gump "
shit happens."

not quite sure what were going to do this wednesday night. we have watched nooma 1-5 and think about doing something different. i might show the bullhorn nooma...any ideas?

friday night is going to be awesome. local musician shane baker (www.myspace.com/shanebakermusic) and his band are coming for a back to school concert/worship event. were showing the francis chan "just stop and think" video which should be perfect for the night. we have encouraged kids to invite 10 people and to bring at least 1. please pray that this is a success and that lives are changed.

saturday night is our goodbye party...

sunday night is our last night is alabama. i am speaking on reaching for the stars and fulfilling all of your wildest dreams. we're also using a canvas for some artistis expression time. shane baker will be back to lead worship.

please pray for us as this is our last week and want to go out it a bang. pray that God uses us to rock this town for his glory. also, pray for our future after muscle shoals. if you know us and know our situation, you know what i mean.

by grace,

alex

sunday night emotional basketcase

2008-07-21T12:01:00.002-04:00

so last night was awkward. everything from the gathering to the pool party afterward was weird. first, i made to mistake of changing my sunday night gathering plans right before the service started. we had planned to show the second part of louie giglio's message hope for when life hurts the most. for the most part, our kids have enjoyed this video series however many of our older students were out of town this week so when i saw that most of those there were in middle school, i changed the plan. this was a big mistake on my part and began the awkwardness. i decided to just have a time for sharing and field any questions the kids might have about christianity or following christ. for the most part, there was silence.

the night rebounded a little when two visitors came in 15min late. knowing that it was then too late to play hope(45min long) i decided to pop in francis chan's mini video "just stop and think." this is a 15min non-threatening presentation of the gospel that went over very well in the group. even our guest who I’m pretty sure were not believers were receptive and participated in the discussion to follow. while there was still a bit of silence in the overall post-viewing discussion, the night ended well.

after the gathering we went to a pool party at the chairman of the personnel committee's house. this started out great until the guy got a little weird. once he got me alone, he rather abruptly told me that our services would not be needed after august 10th and that the church has decided to "go in a different direction." now let me say this, august 10th was a date that i gave when allison and i accepted this position and i had not planned on staying past this date. it is kinda sad though to know that you do not even have that option. i mean, we fell in love with these kids and really feel like we built a little something while we have been here. it is hard to walk away from a project in the middle of its creation. it will be tough to watch someone else come in a change things back to the 1980's southern baptist way of doing youth ministry. i fear that this church will let its student fall through the cracks as they seek someone from the inside to lead the group until they hire a fulltime pastor.

allison and i both know that we are not a long time fit for this church, really, we've about hit our end as it is. but to watch how this church treats its next generation makes me sick. they don't want a leader to challenge them, they want a babysitter. i know every youth pastor says this about every youth group but i have never met such a great group of kids. the leadership in the group is amazing. they need mentors not entertainers. this group could change their town with the right encouragement and leadership.

please pray that allison and i are able to leave with grace. i know that a good leader knows when he is not in charge and keeps his mouth shut but its really hard for us. we love these kids and this town and believe this church could radically change both if they wanted to. pray for a revolution. pray that they don't go backwards. pray that we can trust the work we have done to God.

alex

trees and cookies: the purpose of life

2008-07-17T12:54:00.003-04:00

last night we showed the rob bell nooma titled trees (003). it has been really cool to watch the students as they break out of their traditional church models and begin to experience real christianity. at the beginning of the summer, these videos really freaked the kids out and now they are begging for more.

our post-viewing conversation went in the direction of what one should do with their life in order to be used by God. there were many traditional answers like read our bibles, go to church and "witness" to others but for the most part, it seems that these answers were no longer good enough. these students are ready for a change. they are tired of the same answers and they are sick of doing things the same way. they want something real. senseing this, i followed the spirit and took a chance. we then changed directions and offered this as the meaning of life. to live.

pretend that God created each of us like one bakes cookies. we all come from the same dough and we're made up of the same stuff yet God gives each of us something different. i think traditional christianity would claim that God has a cookie cutter that is the christian mold. he takes the dough, and makes all christians look and act a certian way and if someone doesn't look or act this way, they must not be a true christian. i think this is one of the greatest tragedies in christianity today, the idea that we all have to fit into some kid of pre-cut mold or box. the reality is this, God has zillions of cookie cutters, and we each get our own. while we all come from the same stuff, God makes us all different and gives us different passions and gifts. the point of the christian life and life in general then is to seek and listen to God, for He will show us our passions. once we know our passion, what makes us happiest, we can give it all we got knowing that God is glorified in us when we are doing what we were created to do. God gets glory when we live life as our own unique person created by one mold which was broken after God created us. know one else can be you in this world, let your life shine with glory.

BIG UPDATE!!!

2008-07-14T11:35:00.005-04:00

so its been almost two weeks since my last post so we're going to have to play catch up. to stary with, we just got back from our middle school camp to atlanta georgia and it was absolutely amazing. my good friend Ryan Fitzgerald was our worship leader and he did a great job! i spoke for the wednesday and friday night session and we had a couple of special guest on thursday. it was encouraging to me to hear that most of our kids rededicated there lives for christ on the nights i spoke. its really cool to see how God can work through you, thats totally His doing and not mine!!! our theme for the week was "renovate" and the message was that God is the author of a grand story, and somewhere along the way, we tried to write our own. in stead of writting us our of His story, God fixed the problem through Jesus and "renovated" our lives. it was awesome to see our kids experience the true grace of God for the first time. the kids were also able to expereince the majesty of the great city of atlanta as we went to whitewater, the world of coke, the cnn center, centennial olympic park and the georgia aquarium. it was truly an exciting trip and the kids did not want to leave.

keep praying for allison and i as we continue to share the grace of God to the students of muscle shoals alabama. we only have 4 weeks left in our original agreement as we are finding ourselves torn between two worlds. one is atlanta, our home and what we believe to be the best city in the world. the other is here in muscle shoals, the sleepy, quiet little town with great people and amazing kids. it will be hard to build something and then have to hand it over to someone else. also, as church politics continue to drive the church's search for a new pastor and youth pastor, it will be difficult to leave these kids without a leader. please pray that God will show us what is right.

alex

indescribable

2008-07-01T09:17:00.002-04:00

sunday night we showed the louie giglio talk "indescribable" for our evening gathering. if you haven't seen the message, i highly recommend it as it is one that has changed the way i see God. the whole point of the message is that God is much greater and we are much smaller than we could ever have imagined. this is not to say however that God does not care about us or that our troubles are not important. the most powerful aspect about louie's talk is that he shares the truth that while not even the universe can contain the majesty and greatness of God, he still chooses to pursue us. while God is above all, he longs to be in community with us. once the message was over, i took the stage for closing thoughts and i which was met with silence. almost every student was looking at the floor or off into a vast void of nothingness. scared to death that they were just bored to death for the past 44min i quickly rambled to find words. perhaps they were not ready for this i thought, maybe it was too long, maybe teenagers just don't yet understand. in the midst of my worries, a girl looked up at me and in the most pure and understanding way said "that was awesome!" what a breath of fresh air, they got it! after that, others entered into the coversation, some cried, others simply sat in awe. it was a really cook experience to see that regardless of one's age, the truth of God's glory and his desire for us is always relevant.

things are going very well for this georgia boy in muscle shoals, alabama. i love the people, i love the little town, and i love the church. i am very glad that God provided this opportunity for allison and i. this are truly exciting times.

revivals and harvest sundays...

2008-06-27T13:15:00.004-04:00

so at our staff meeting yesterday i learned that we are planning both a revival and something that is being called a "harvest sunday." i have to be honest, even as a christ follower, i was quickly turned off. my first problem is the idea of trying to produce a revival. the last time i checked, this is the holy spirit's job. if he chooses to stir the hearts of the church on the given dates that is great however i think its a little stupid to advertise to the community that a revival is coming at a set time and place. not only this, the word revival isn't a biblical word. try to find it, its not there. i think advertising for a revival is about as effective as placing signs all over town telling people to come to out and learn how terrible they are and how much they don't fit in at our church.

our harvest sunday also cracks me up. we are having a "visitation blitz" which is exactly that, visitation. yet another out dated and ineffective attempt to get people to come to church. the harvest sunday is supposed to be the fruits of our visitation blitz however when i asked what the mornign service would look like i was told "just like any other service." guess i had better prepare for another sunday of southern gospel music and irrelevant teaching. if i was unchurched or a none beleiver and was invited to this, it would almost be an insult. if there was ever a time to create a seeker friendly enviroment where everyone in muscle shoals would feel comfortable, this is it...it breaks my heart.

i can't stand to see potential in something that could change the world that refuses to do so. how long as christians will we continue to cater to ourselves, to what we prefere, or to what pays the bills. we have forgotten about those who do not know christ. we have created country club churches that are as exclusive as the golf club down the street. how long will this last? please pray for a change. the spirit is willing but the flesh is ever so weak.

Rain

2008-06-26T13:23:00.004-04:00

last night we played the Rob Bell nooma "rain" at underground 412. the kids really seemed to enjoy the different pace and it was obvious that God used the production to speak to their hearts. it was a great reminder that while storms in this life are a given, we have a God who loves us and always knows the way home. on that note, i need to be a little theological. i really don't believe that God wills bad things to happen to us. i do not think God is a divine being who places hardships in our path to see how we react. God is good. God is love. God does not will evil but instead he redeems it. God uses the storms and evils of life to reveal to the world how much he loves us and how he will never leave our side. i'm not sure where you are in life or how you feel about God right now but chew on this for the day...

"do you think anyone is going to drive a wedge between us and Christ's love for us? there is no way! not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins. none of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. i am absolutely convinced that nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable can get between us and God's love because of the way Jesus has embraced us." -Romans 8:35-39 msg

UPDATE - high school camp and week 1

2008-06-19T12:40:00.002-04:00

well its been a little over a week since i promised a regular updates so here we go...

last week was our high school camp at camp windermere on lake of the ozark, mo. at camp god began to move in our students lives in a powerful way. now we have all been to camps where high emotions and stuffy tradition pressure students to make fake and shallow commitments to christ that are always short lived. this camp was different. for our group, there was no official decision on any kind. there were no cards filled out or numbers sent to nashville (headquarters for the SBC), instead, i feel as if all of our students truly met with god and experienced his grace in a new and powerful way. last week felt real.

last night, we had night where students could share about there camp experience. to my surprise, 3 guys chose to share. its cool to be a part of a group where young guys are the ones standing up and deciding to be leaders. god is up to something here.

keep praying that god works in the lives of the students and members here in muscle shoals. also pray that allison and i have the wisdom and patience to lead this ministry as we are still very much out of our comfort zones especially in the realms of culture and technology.

also, in the future i will post at least every monday and thursday before noon central time. this will let you guys know how our sunday and wednesday night services go.

stay classy blogging world.

alex

a fresh start

2008-06-10T09:10:00.002-04:00

this is the first official post on my blog. for almost two years i have teased the blogging world with various post and sites that always started with a bang yet quickly lost my interest. this will be different. this is a fresh start. this fresh start is not only a metaphor for my blog, but also my life. recently, my wife and i have accepted an interim youth pastor job in muscle shoals, alabama. in case your have not heard of muscle shoals, according ot lynard skynard, this is where they have the swampers. muscle shoals is about ten years behind my home town of atlanta, georgia when it comes to the innovations of post-modern ministry which is why this new project is so interesting. i find myself completely out of my comfort zone and as a post-emergent thinker in a traditional southern baptist church setting. while the methods here may not exaclty be our cup of tea, we have quickly fallen in love with the people and are excited to see how God choses to use our experiences in alabama. on this blog, you will hear much about our work in alabama and out life. while both of these are currently in uncharted territory, i am excited to see what God has planned. i hope you like my blog. check back often. i promise the content to come will be much more thought provoking than than what you find yourself reading now.

alex