Rantings of a Redemmed Sinner

It doesn't always have to be perfect

Well here I am almost a week removed from the Nashville NYWC and I had a very profound and meannothing at all to do with large crowds or loud music. While I do love those things and am able to find God in them sometimes, I was in a small country church tonight. Part of my job involves going around to churches and sometimes preaching. I preached this morning at this same church. I preached about the birth of John the Baptist and how we need to remeber his birth because it points to the birth of CHrist. And that we need to be like John the Baptist and be pointing people to Christ. But tonight I went back to give one of my canned messages that I have devloped. We sang one song from the high tech hymnals and then the deacon got up front and asked if there was any special music. What proceeded to happen was at the same time excrutiating and wonderful. People who in a normal church would not be allowed anywhere near the mic because that had the pitch and tome of an alley cat , were allowed to come up front and sing from their hearts to the God that had loved them and who cared for them. I was truly blessed by these people who humbled themselves to share with others what God was doing in their life. Now I can not say that when they started singing that I was excited. As a matter of fact I was extremely scared and annoyed. How dare these people who could not sing get up front and asssail my ear drums with this horrible screaching. Then a thought came to my mind. It was almost as if i heard someone saying "these people are doing what I commended them to do. they are making a joyful noise to the Lord. Who are you to question them." All of a sudden I was overcoem with joy and wonder at what God was doing in this people. I almost just ended the service when the last person was done but then I was getting paid to preach. I felt guilty about bringing some canned message but then my Sunday nap would have been interruppeted my finalizing my evening sermon and I would not have been able o twatch football. All of this brings me back to the fact that wneh it is all said and done i am still just a sinner who has been saved by grace. Thankfully God's grace knows no end.

Let's try this again

Well, this will be the second time that I have tried the blogging. The last time I tried it was on Xanga and I just did not get into it. That was probably because my wife wanted me to do it so I didn’t really have an interest in doing it. Maybe since I have to pay for it this time it will be different. Also I am really looking forward doing it this time. After the Nashville NYWC, I started reading several blogs done by several people who were at the convention. It has been fun seeing what God is doing in other people's lives. It has also been good to just see glimpses into the lives of people who God is working on. Since this is my inaugural post I figured that I should tell you a little bit about myself. I am in my early thirties and have a wonderful wife. We also have a 19 month old son who surprises me, frustrates me, and gives me joy every day. Most of the time is the joy and wonder that I get from watching him explore and learn his world. I am amazed as I watch him realize things for the first time. You can almost see it in his eyes. Why have I lost the wonder? When did I become so jaded that I missed the wonder in everything that God created?

You would thing that since I manage a Christian camp that I would be more attuned to nature and to God's creation. But it seems that sometimes I am more concerned about fixing this thing or doing that thing to take the time to really appreciate what God has entrusted to me.

I have only been at my present job for about seven months and so this weekend was the first time that my family was able to come down and see the camp. This has allowed me to see things from a new set of eyes not tainted by the politics of working within a denomination. Not having to worry about who I get to come speak at a retreat but it will upset some small little subgroup that has a very loud voice. Why do we let those few who choose to be negative and to not see what God is doing run everything. I knew that this job had some level of politics involved but I don’t want to play. What should I do? How do I engage in the politics and yet not forget the kids and what God has called me to do? Can I do both?

I know that God has called us here for this time. This last weekend at the NYWC God gave my wife, my sister-in-law, and me a shared vision for where the camp needs to head. Some of this vision came after I sat in Mike King's seminar about the youth worker as spiritual guide. I had been trying to tell my wife the vision but she just kept talking about the ADD seminar that she went to and how much it helped her. Then all of a sudden she had this create idea to create sacred space around the camp. I had not been able to tell her my ideas without her all of a sudden coming up with the same vision. Now we just have to start slowly and try and find some sacred places around the camp. Please pray for us as we start doing this.