You, God, and someone else

I have recently been considering the whole "Holy Anger" and what it means to us as Christians. The more I have sat down and pondered upon it, and gave some research into it, i have found that we have a tendency to use the term incorrectly. I have been placed in situations over the past few years where I have to seek after Godly advice. The problem with this is the very fact that I have to turn to someone who could end up being placed in a situation themselves. To leave out names, my most recent adventure left me in a spot of feeling that God had indeed nothing to give me. I felt it was time to move on. And the more i dove into the word and spent time in God's presence, I felt it was confirmed. The problem was, when I openly announced this, I was then greeted by what was labeled as "Holy Anger."

The situation left a big tear in a decent relationship, and almost certainly left me to ponder over a single question. "Did God lead me into a place where He would abandon me?" The anger I faced left me feeling like I was a failure and made the biggest mistake of my life. However, as I look back on it, I have since come to the conclusion that I was not abandoned, and even more so, that I did not encounter Holy Anger, but rather just anger. Why would I say that? Because the anger I saw during that time was not backed by any scripture.

Your emotions tie into the way you see things. It's human nature, and one that is hard to climb over. When you feel anger in a situation, your advice that you give in that situation ends up being nothing more than poison. Too many times we get into these mentalities that if we simply use scripture, it will over-speak our emotions. That's never the case. Emotions carry with them a great current within ourselves and it does end up overflowing out of our mouths. The anger I faced did so much damage that it left me in a position of wondering if God lead me down the wrong paths. Essentially I began to question my very faith if it was real. The person who spoke to me never meant for their words to come across that way, but they did just the same. We need to keep that in our minds as we speak to each other. Scripture doesn't cover our emotions, but rather amplify their damage. Had I been told that they were just angry with me, and they not attempted to speak into my life with scripture, their words and outcome may have been greatly different.

In conclusion, we need to understand that our emotions can be damaging to someone else and we need to keep them in check.

Redskin Preseason Rant.

Well, since my other blog locked me out, I guess i'll transfer everything to this one, which isn't much used right now. Sadly, this entry will be nothing more than a rant that will offend certain people. Namely Redskins fans.

To start off, I spent the last football season in Wisconsin/Michigan. My choice of games watched were limited. Since I had family that rooted for the Lions, I choose to watch their games when I could. It was horrible to watch, as I could find every fault with the team, until one game when the Lions had no choice but to put Drew Stanton in as their starter. That game held the most impressive QB work I've ever seen out of the Lions. It's such a shame that he won't ever be more than a backup for anyone. But then again... Matt Cassel broke that ideology when he was traded out of New England to go to Kansas City as the starter. If at this point, you're thinking that those cases have nothing to do with the Redskins, then maybe you should take the wool off your eyes. As it stands, we now have multiple QB's signed to backup money, yet get to live out their second season that was originally promised to most of them. Or perhaps maybe you would prefer us to bring in another McNabb? Let's be honest, no big name QB's actually have a chance to do well in Washington until our O-line is fixed: And it's not.

I'm also pretty sure that most of the Redskin roster could come under fire for bad play and not living up to their contracts, yet let us look at an angle that none of you really want to. Graham Gano, currently the Redskins kicker: Currently beating out Shane Graham. Most thought his rookie season last year was worth dropping him for. (Yes, I don't count four kicks from two seasons before to actually be worth adding to the mix of his career.) But let us consider this, why is he under fire again? Because he was relied upon WAY TOO MUCH because we had an offense that couldn't put the same numbers up as him? From Field Goals alone, Gano put up 72 points for the Redskins alone. Shall I add the extra points? That puts him up to 100 points last year. That's more points then anyone else on the Redskin roster! Yes, he wasn't as consistent as we'd like to see him be, but it was far better then the rest of the squad! Hell, Trent Williams last year was horrible. Why isn't anyone ranting to have his butt kicked off the roster? Shall I go down the list of those that had similar years? I doubt anyone would really want to read me tearing into someone like Chris Cooley who dropped more then 5 easily catchable balls!

And for all of those who want to see Mike Shanahan fired, I only have one thing to say. Really? The man is still attempting to purge the load of crap that was on our team from prior coaches. I won't make a judgement on the man until after next season when it should be all of his actual guys playing on the field. In short, I feel that many Redskin fans are simply put, not worth having an opinion, especially one that is full of double standards. If you hold one player to the fire for something, they all must be placed there.

Long Pilgrimage

Well, it's been about four months and I'm now on the way out. I'll soon be in Michigan waiting out the storms. Hopefully, a job will pan out for me with a church in Holland and if not, I'll wait up in the north for a bit longer until I make a pilgrimage back to Maryland. I had really prayed for it all to work out, but it just didn't. I know this isn't something great to read after all the good and amazing stuff, but it is what it is and I have to honor what God called me to.

Justified.

Well, I've been meaning to get another post up for a while, but as of recently, handling building the Youth Ministry, the administration, and working with Campus Life, I have turned into a full time job. Spending close to 50 hours a week on so many related ministry jobs, God has been stretching me and growing me so much. I'm not sure I'd be able to take on another job without snapping me in two. Money is still a concern, but I'm doing my best to remain faithful in the task that God has called me to do, even if it is only for a year. I would go out and seek a more accessible job, but those are only secular jobs, and after spending so many years in that world while God called me to ministry, I feel as if I would taint or ruin my purpose if I did. I have been reading through the book of Acts recently, and came to a conclusion... Paul is a leader of the Church, not a leader of a church. Because of this, in confirms for me that this idea of a "tent makers" job isn't really something that is for those whom are serving within a church, unless they plan to be temporary. It may come off as rude, but Paul himself declares such a thing in 1 Cor. 9:1-18. I feel justified in saying that I will not work another secular job while God has me in ministry that He meant to be permanent. But, it's something that I may be a bit bitter on, so I will not continue to speak on such a thing.

So many good things are going on with Elevate right now, as God has provided us with a chance to move weekly with our building. This would bring a new set of challenges, as it would require me to put even more time into preparing for such a thing. But if it's God's will, whom am I to deny it? Students within Campus Life and Elevate are proving themselves to be fond of having me around, and dare I say it, enjoying my presence. With this will bring a heartache if God only has me out here for a year, as a lot have expressed interest in me remaining longer than a year. Whether I stay or leave, I can say for certain is that God has affirmed me to be here day in and day out. I wouldn't trade a single day to have money that could make life easier.

I can say for a fact that I do not know what my future holds for me. However, I can also say that I know God has ministry ahead for me, whether it be here with Redeemer Midwest, or another church elsewhere. I will remain obedient to His calling that He has given me until He calls me no longer to such a place.

God is Great!

Well, it's been almost a long month since I last posted an update. Lots of things have changed and been active since then.

Red October is no longer on Oct. 22nd, but instead on Oct.24th at Imagine Kenosha. Imagine Kenosha is also the new home of Elevate Wisconsin, which to start off will meet every other week until January. In January, I will be making an assessment of Elevate to decide whether or not it's worth moving to a weekly thing. This was a big break through for Elevate here, as it went from being non-existent, to having a steady place to call home after just three months! Because of this, my life has been very busy with setting up policies, procedures, and other administration stuff that is needed to launch a youth ministry. Red October is a key point, as many have been invited to come out to it, and not just our church students.

I have also been slowly preparing messages for Elevate around a theme based off of passion. If God is with me in the preparation process and the delivery process, it should direct students to have a passion for reading their bible and their relationship with Jesus Christ. I'm starting off with the "Passion of Adventure" showing them the sort of adventures God has taken His people through because they decided to follow Him. I will be ending with the "Passion of Christ." No, I will not be showing the movie to them, but it will be talking about his actions at the cross. This will be delivered around Christmas time, so I'm hoping it can hit close to home with them and have them really look at why we celebrate Christmas.

My money situation really hasn't improved too much. I haven't heard anything from the main campus on whether or not they can even do anything from me. I have been very patient with them, but I know that I also have to start building an influx soon, so I have talked with the Campus Life director out here and he may be able to help me. If his plan can work, he can set me up as a part-time intern in which I will get paid $6000.00 for the school year, (September through May.) and on top of that, set me up to receive gifts from others and have it written off as tax deductible. This would help me out, if only slightly. I am trusting in God to provide for me right now, and it is hard at times. Prayer for me is always welcomed!

I know this was a long break in between, but it was really only a month, and look at all the good things that God has done with such a short time! Keep me in your prayers, and I will update this as often as God moves!

Breathing Room

Well, I had my first event with Elevate Wisconsin on Sunday, "Burger King on Bobby." It turned out really well then what I thought it would. I had eight signed up and I took eight, just not the full eight that signed up originally. They enjoyed it very much, even had a lot of them carry on the the "after party" with music and Halo played in the basement of the Mills' House. For the most part, the rowdy bunch that I had kept it to a minimum for the most part. They all enjoyed it very much, and it continued on to an event that I never panned on going to, but since the majority of them wanted to go, I decided to take them.

Propaganda, a hip-hop/rap artist was performing at Immanuel Baptist Church, and since I know the Youth Pastor there, I took my few students to the event to enjoy it. (Pastor Andy invited all of the youth groups in the area.) I ended up enjoying it a bit more then the students did. Pastor Andy loved seeing me there, and I enjoyed seeing his youth group at work.

I had the chance to tell them about who I am, where I come from, and what my plans are for Elevate Wisconsin in the coming years. They all seemed to take to me, but I don't have my hopes up yet. I have spent a lot of time talking to them to figure out more about them and what I'm getting myself into. I can't wait to see what God will do here in the next few months. They are all excited for the next upcoming event which will be October 22nd. "Red October." I hope to have graphics for it soon.

Settling In

So, I've been hard at work as I've been planning two events for the Youth here in Kenosha County. Two events have already been lined up. Burger King on Bobby. (This is more of a chance for all of them to meet and get to know me.) The other will be more of a Party of sorts. (Plans are still being made, as I still uncover my budget for it.) I have also begun to work with Osmar of Campus life here in attempts to get to know students better. Osmar has been dedicated to helping me out. My plans are to now reach out to those that I do know well by going to them during their lunch periods at school.

Surprisingly, I found that despite being such a small church, there is a massive amount of talent within. Three of the students that I know all have such strong suits in either dancing, drawing, or singing. I may have to try to find a way to push them to use their talents.