This Side of the Story

The actual title should be "God's Story in Me." I'm sitting in North Alabama typing this entry. Yes, for my whopping SECOND entry of the year, it's the first in our new home of Decatur. God called us down here to be a part of the ministry at Westmeade Baptist Church in the student ministry area. It has been quite an adjustment, no doubt! To go from something so familiar and comfortable full of loving friends and church family and arrive in a new place full of unfamiliar faces and unwritten stories has been a remarkable/scary/intimidating/ thing for us (my wife and I). Even after being here for about six or seven weeks, I'm still working on finding that comfortable/familiar feeling. But honestly, I really miss my friends and family in Florence, SC...and that's ok! I was a part of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Florence, SC for seven years, eight months, and four days! I do not see it possible to spend that amount of time in one location with a certain group of people and NOT miss them once you leave (except for prison...I don't think you would miss that place or group of people. Don't know, never been). I am proud to have been a part of EBC. I was beyond blessed to be considered a part of that family. I KNOW it was God's Plan for me to be a part of EBC for that period of time. 'How do you know it was God's plan?' you may ask, and I'm more than obliged to answer, so here's my answer on how I know it was God's Plan: David Wike. Here's another answer for the positive: Ed Self. Need more? How about Anita Shively, Pam Gaddy, Tory & Jess, King's Men, Wallace Fulmer, Phillip Kennedy, Andi Hill, Bill Watkins, Edwin Blue, Big Dawg, R&V Lee, Lotts, Big Papa & Nee-Nee, Scott Raynor, McCabes, BMB, Dean, Jimmy Norton, and dozens and dozens of more names. Dozens. And I intentionally saved the best for last: anyone and anything that ever had anything to do with CRASH!! THAT'S how I know it was God's plan! All these reasons God used to show me HIM. As a matter of fact, I'm listening to a David Wike sermon as I type this. God LIVES in the hearts and lives of these people and showed me more of who I need to be through them. He taught me who I was created to be by showing me the Him that's in these people that I lack in my walk. So, yeah, when you walk with the Lord through a garden that became home, you're going to miss it when you go to a new patch of grass and dirt, with the task before you to start a new garden. It's going to be hard and take lots of work. It's easy just to stay in the familiar, but when you know it's God, you can't stay. So when you know it's God (and God never has to give you a reason for what HE is up to) who is calling you to do something, how can you explain that to the people you're leaving? It hurts to try and tell someone you're leaving and can't explain why...not because you're holding out on them, but because you yourself don't know why. It's God's calling, who am I to reason or justify? Of course, throughout the course of human history this has held true, man tries to mentally contain the answer to the 'why' question. More times than not, man has been wrong. I've been told that we left to get closer to family because we have children now. My response to that is this: if we wanted to get closer to family because of our children, we would've left 4 years ago when Claire was born...and we would've been acting out of our desires, not God's calling. I've heard we left to go to a bigger church. False. Westmeade has fewer total members than EBC. Attendance is practically exactly the same (literally, within 10-20 people on average). And again, 'bigger' is a human term of measurement having nothing to do with God. Then there's the humanistic definition of value: he's getting paid a lot more. Seriously?!? Do we cheapen God's call enough to put a price tag on it?? Again, false. We came to Alabama because God called us to go to Alabama. It was hard. It still is. We were sad. We still have our sad times. And we miss our Florentines like crazy chocolate. But God is... And He called us to HIS service. Not for proximity to family. Not for church size. Not for budget numbers. Not for convenience. Not to appeal to our logic. And certainly not because He owes us an explanation. He called us...so here we are. He calls us everyday. To go. To be. To love. To live. There is no excuse. There is no reason up front. There is only the promise: God is. Isaiah 6:8-10 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” He said, “Go and tell this people: “‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’ Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.” Love you all...now let's go.

Jaxon Frank

Two days shy of a year since my last post. Who (other than God) would've known I'd be sitting in a hospital room celebrating my son's birthday! My wife is incredible, my daughter is wonderfully ready to be a sister, and my son is now my third miracle--serving as proof that God is real, He is loving, He is Creator, and He is merciful and graceful to THIS undeserving simpleton that just can't get it right. Indeed: Praise God, from whom all blessings flow! Praise Him, all creatures here below! Praise Him above, ye heavenly hosts! Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost! Amen. Welcome to the world, Jax. I love you so much, but nothing like the unfailing love of God through Christ.

Sportscenter, Here I Come!!!

So I think God has given me some direction. Let's take a look back at where we've come from before we get to where we're going, shall we???

God called me to ministry within the local church to train & equip teenagers to know God through a relationship enabled by Jesus Christ and led by the Holy Spirit DAILY. That's where I'm at. I always wondered where God would send me next. I mean, let's be real, my days working with teenagers were limited from the beginning. Not many teenagers really get hyped for a 57-year-old youth minister!!! So, I've always wondered what God wants me to do when He calls me out of student (teenage) ministry.

That's where we've been.

I think this is where we're headed:

The call to work with teenagers will shift at some point, and once again, when I ask "What's next?" God gives me answers that only make sense in reverse (Mongoose). Today, I believe God has given me that direction.

Sports Analyst.

And if you want specifics, it's probably got something to do with the NFL. That's right, I'll be breaking down games, previewing the draft, reporting on the latest trades and league rumors, position battles, and all kinds of fun stuff!! Maybe the 2 of you that read this blog (one being mom) might be wondering how I came to this conclusion. Allow me to tell you: I feel that God wants my next position He calls me to is one where my opinion is valued. Think about it: these sports guys report what happened and spend the majority of their time telling you what THEY THINK about the move/game/trade/pick/decision. And that's what they get paid for!! AWESOME!!!!

In my current role, I am blessed to serve with an incredible staff of Spirit led, Christ-following, God Lovers that enrich my life daily through Christ in them. I am also blessed to walk alongside some incredible teenagers that are passionately humbled by the love of the Father. And these people make life INCREDIBLE! The students, the staff, adults who love Christ and follow His leading in their lives inspire me HOURLY with their lives, words, actions, attitudes, joys, sorrows, and beauty.

Granted, not every student and adult here fit into that category. This excites me!! It tells me that my job is not complete.

But given the opportunity to involve my passion with my opinion (as it comes out of my mouth in the form of grammar and understanding of Scripture), the current environment is not exactly conducive to such. This truth is proven repeatedly, and evidenced by many people that wouldn't waste their time with such a petty blog!! And that's ok. The problem is where the results of my opinion affects my family and own ability to worship. See, in most churches, people (who may or may not be followers of Christ, depending on their fruit) bring their AGENDAS to God's house and people and expect them to take priority over God's Word. Unfortunately, I have been one of these people before. It's a sickening feeling that will not go away without a bloodbath (that's "Washed in the Blood of the Lamb" for those of you not following me...mom). And when something is said from a microphone that is not in-line with their AGENDA, be it personal or large-scale, things can get ugly. Quick.

I mean, shouldn't ministers just 'stick to the script'? And 'the script' looks something like this: Preach a message that occasionally steps on my toes; be there when I want something spiritual; visit me or anyone I care about in the hospital with 3 hours of being admitted; adjust your life and schedule to mold to my desires or AGENDA; smile at me all the time; tell at least one joke a week; do what you can to promote ME personally; make me look important in the eyes of those who sit in the pew with me (I am more important, y'know); wear what I deem acceptable without me telling you what that looks like; work for as little as possible so I don't HAVE to tithe if something else is more worthy of my money (after all, since I tithe, you work for ME!); don't make me uncomfortable; don't ask me to do anything, someone younger can do that (don't you know I have a job and family...duh!); pray for my happiness all day long; answer the phone whenever I call; don't take a vacation because I might need you...for something; say what I've always heard and mostly believe; and other than these, leave me alone.

So if that's the script I'm supposed to stick to, then I believe I'd rather read from a teleprompter...about sports.

IMPORTANT: For both of my readers, I'm not about to get out of ministry or leave the church or quit my position here to pursue a career in sports analyst or anything else!! This article was a semi-satire to voice my displeasure with those church-goers that do not value Christ at work in their lives or the desires of the Holy Spirit to lead them into the Incredible we were all created for. My heart breaks, but I know my Redeemer lives!! And that in the end He will stand upon the Earth! (Shouts, J-O-B!!!) Now, let's shed our agendas and be about Christ in our lives with a servant's heart to show others how to be set free from their own!!!

In Dreams...

Coming Soon

Victorious Failure

Everyone wants to succeed. I mean think about it. Everyone wants to:

-Throw/Catch the winning touchdown
-Star in the biggest blockbuster ever
-Win a famous award
-Write & perform the greatest song ever
-Capture the heart of the most beautiful person ever...and make everyone else jealous
-Win the title
-Write the next NY Times Bestseller
-Or whatever else you're into, you want to be recognized as the best.

And I personally don't think anything is wrong with that. I love it. I hope that whatever you do, you strive to be the best and give it all you can with all your heart and never quit or give up. Now, keep in mind, the only way to be the best is to recognize what is better than you, then discover how and allow that to challenge and grow you. In brief, the best way to be the greatest is to be the most observant when it comes to your worst.

But first you must admit and accept that you are not the best. It would probably help you to know that you're more than likely not in the Top 10 either! As a matter of fact, the greatest way to improve is to stress your faults and weaknesses with the mindset of turning them into your strengths.

Winston Churchill once said, "Success is moving from failure to failure without any loss of enthusiasm." What I love about this statement is that achievement is never mentioned or glorified. He talks about a repetitive failure.

Here's another one for you: Mister Rogers writes in his memoirs that when he was starting out as a songwriter that he thought he had some great songs. As a matter of fact, he had about 10 or 12 great songs that he believed would be AWESOME for children's listening and entertainment. He writes that he travelled to New York to try and find an audience with someone, ANYONE, who would listen to and produce his songs. While he was in the Big Apple, he actually met and visited with a great singer/songwriter in the area of children's entertainment who had been highly successful in that profession. Of course, Mr. Rogers listened to the wisdom and tales of experience the man had to offer. After a while, Mr. Rogers asked the man if he would give a listen to good ol' Fred's songs. The successful singer/songwriter said, "Sure thing! How many you got?" Mr. Rogers writes that he was very proud when he replied, "About 10 or 12." The veteran writer sympathetically smiled. Mr. Rogers writes that instantly he recognized that it wasn't a good sign. The voice of experience then told him that in order to be great, he needed to have about one-to-two HUNDRED songs before he could consider himself a serious singer/songwriter. While Mr. Rogers was floored and walked away discouraged, he recognized the truth in what the successful man said and recognized his own shortcomings (and embarrassment) of not being prepared to show true dedication to his craft. I believe at some point, Mr. Rogers figured it out and became somewhat successful...but not until he recognized his own failures.

Everyone wants to succeed, but not everyone wants to endure the humiliation of failure. You've heard the stats: the homerun King, Babe Ruth, is also the strikeout king. The King of Touchdown passes (Brett Favre) also leads the NFL Record books with the most number of interceptions thrown. The list goes on and on: Abraham Lincoln, Thomas Edison, Ludwig von Beethoven...all failures, time and time again, who refused to let failure define them, but to shape them.

Now think about this: What if your frequent failure continues because God is trying to show you something? What if God WANTS you to fail? What if the greatest thing you could do for Him at this time in your life...is to FAIL?!? I know, I know -- I can hear you now: "God loves me and wants to see me succeed in all I do blah blah blah, because I blah blah blah..." Whatever. Now think about this: God wants you to bring the best of you to the table. He asks for your commitment, dedication, obedience, love...but where does He say anything about guaranteeing success, or demands you to only show up when you have your stuff together and bring the most success you can accomplish?

No where.

Not once.

Not at all.

He asks for your commitment to Him, not your trophies. He calls for obedience, not awards. He desires your heart...not the worldly definition of your interpretation of success. Look, God doesn't need your skill or success. As a matter of fact, He doesn't need you at all. He gives you the opportunity to be a part of His story, His world, His success! Look in Scripture, apart from Jesus, every person in Scripture is typically there for their FAILURES more than their successes. Call 'em out: David, Abraham, Jacob, Peter, Paul, Jonah, Noah, Samson, Moses...the list goes on and on. Perhaps they're in Scripture to show and teach us of God's GRACE, not man's GREATS. Sure, these guys tasted what could be considered 'success,' but not until God showed up.

So embrace your failures. Accept your shortcomings. Recognize that others are better than you. Understand there's more for you to know and ways to improve. Expect failure!! You know what, EMBRACE failure!! See it as God's invitation and opportunity to bring success into your little world. Claim victory in the areas that you suck at. Allow God to be God, the success, the victory, the completion, the fullness, the right-maker, the problem-solver, and the embodiment of the only victory you can taste. See your failures as the next big way God wants to show up in your life.

Perhaps when we grasp and desire that, we might get one step closer to getting it right.

Let's Face(book) the Facts

Two things that jump out at me dealing with teenagers and the first week of school as evidenced by Facebook:

1) Suddenly, it is of the utmost importance to make Facebook nation painfully aware of your Single relationship status, mainly because with the first week of school I've noticed about 275639113 "Relationship Status Updates" that so-and-so is now in a relationship with somebody new. And this will change again by the NEXT Friday (I'm looking at you, Jr. High). I never knew summer was so lonely...

2) I have already gotten about as many "invites" from random students to join their yearbook cookie bake sale sports team in farmville over facebook. Seriously? Know this: Facebook IS available during summer, and no, we're still not interested in building a farm next to yours. Good luck with the rain season...

"Are we...dipping skinny?"

I love that commercial...

Integrity is an important thing, but to quote a more infamous band who will be playing the HOB without my presence, "you don't know whatcha got 'til it's gone."

Over and over in Seminary we were told to always be aware of "the appearance of evil." In other words, it's not just stay away from bad decisions, but stay away from scenarios that might even RESEMBLE bad decisions. Don't do anything that might lead 'observers' to assume you're compromising Christ in your life.

I'm not the best at it, but it's a consistent thought in my mind. I try to be aware of my integrity, but often times it's when I really botch it up that I'm most painfully aware of it...or lack of it. What compromises integrity? How about lying, cheating, stealing, doing things to sacrifice trust, broken promises, two-faced living, being fake, going back on your word...you get the idea. Like I said, I fall short often...more often than I like to admit, I suppose.

But what happens when me (flawed human being who has ridiculously sacrificed integrity for fun or personal gain on more than one occasion) recognizes a lack of or broken integrity in another's life?? It's not like I have it all together, but to see a brother or sister in Christ who is willingly, consistently, and happily sacrificing and compromising integrity for the sake of pride and personal gain really bothers me to the point of intervention. I want to say something...but is it my place--one who has done it and is guilty of it regularly, but not proud of it??

Disgusting. How can I help someone else see something in their life that I don't enjoy seeing in mine without sacrificing integrity, yet living it out at the same time?

I am flawed.
And I need your help.

Help me out if you have any ideas.

I suppose I need to just lay myself bare at the Feet of those I am unworthy to wash. Lay bare.

So I guess I just need to go out there and try...dipping skinny.

I am so lame.