Feel Free to Comment!

Hey folks. Just wanted to remind those of you who read this that I would love to hear your thoughts on anything that I post. One of the reasons I created this blog is to create conversation--not just publish my thoughts. I want to know what you think too. So comment away! Thanks.

Pray for Christians in India!

Christians in India are facing intense persecution--so much so that it caught the eye of the New York Times. Christians are being forced to convert to Hinduism under threat of destruction of their property and even death. The violence recently escalated after the killing of a Hindu swami known for encouraging people to choose Hinduism over Christianity. It is the Christians that bear the unfair response to the death of this Hindu leader.

Read the article here

My heart grieves for my Indian brothers and sisters in Christ. My life is so easy as an American Christian, for which I am thankful, but often that leads me to forget about the millions of Christians around the world who follow Christ at the risk of their own lives. I never want to become apathetic to this reality, even if I don't live a life even remotely as taxing as theirs. I am part of their lives just as much as they are part of mine as we are all part of the Body of Christ.

God Almighty, hear the cries of your children in India as they unfairly treated, abused, and killed for following you! Be the Mighty Protector of your children in India! Move upon the hearts of their enemies to turn from this evil. Bring light and freedom into this country riddled with darkness and bondage. May Psalm 91 ring true for your people there. Be their refuge and their shield against the attacks of the evil one.

When Ministry Holds up a Mirror

God saw fit to place me into a place of awesome influence when He placed me in the lives of these students. Now, if I leave it at that I could comfortably stand back, admire this season of my life, smile and continue on as if it were just one of the millions of details that makes up my current existence. But God doesn't leave it at that. He had to go and have James write that infernal verse "With great power comes great responsibility" ...... oh wait... that was what Uncle Ben told Peter Parker as he died..... sorry.... geek moment....... Ahh! Here's what I was looking for: James 3:1 says,

"Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness."

So that throws a wrench into my comfort as a teacher! here I am minding my own business and God gently clears his throat and says, "Hey bro. You know that stuff you told the youth group that they should be doing.... don't you think that you should do it too? Just a thought." Of course He is right. And it is in these moments that you realize that ministry isn't just for the people you minister to. It is also a powerful tool for God to hold up as a mirror every once in a while to see if you are willing to Spirit driven heart surgery when your heart doesn't line up with His (even if your words do).

Thank God that his grace continues to work in the lives of those we call ministers (which should basically be everyone claiming to be a Christian right?). As much as it hurts my pride, my free time, or my ideas, I am very thankful that God holds up that mirror. If I am someone that any number of people in this world will look at expecting to see Christ exemplified, I better be willing to take a look at myself daily to make sure I don't have something embarrassing hanging from my nose or something ugly coming out of my mouth. (Yeah... you get the point).

Don't pirate music... get paid to listen

Now, instead of trading free tunes in the dark alleyways of the internet, music junkies can now get paid a cut of the money used to legally buy it online. What ever happened to the true music fans that actually support their favorite artists with their hard earned cash? The end result being they get to enjoy the art and know that they had a part in keeping it alive. Now we have to get paid as an incentive not to pirate music? Give me a break. Pretty soon we are going to be upset that restaurants aren't paying us to eat their food or that film production companies aren't paying us to see their films. What do you think? Read the article at share your thoughts.

http://www.newsvine.com/_news/2008/09/03/1820387-new-music-site-gives-fans-a-cut-of-tune-sales

Faith in Christ Break Down

No, my faith is not breaking down! This is about breaking faith in Christ down into its fundamental pieces in order to better understand it.

In youth group we are starting a series on apologetics. We want to explore the fundamentals of our faith and discuss how we know it is true and how we can share it understandably with others. To begin the series we are having the group share what they think are the foundations of Christianity. So I pose the same question to you:

If you had to highlight the ten most important foundations/doctrines/truths of Christianity, what would you say they were? Of course, there are not only ten indispensable truths in all of Christianity, but I would be interested to see what you would highlight as your "Top Ten."

Responses?

I'm Invisible... Can You See Me?

Apparently we are not far off from being able to literally use invisibility cloaks (all my Harry Potter fans make some noise!). Scientists have discovered how to bend light "the wrong way" to create invisibility. This is pretty hard to imagine or even to believe but this article seems pretty legit. It blows my mind that this is not just science fiction anymore. Check it out. Tell me what you think. Could society ever responsibly use technology like this?

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article4499914.ece

All Hail the One True God of Metal!

The following is my own paraphrase of Psalm 150. It was an assignment given to me at our first staff meeting with Pastor Dan. We had to rewrite a psalm of our choice in words that would speak to us so I chose to write mine in the vernacular of a hardcore/metal show. It was because of this that Pastor Dan bestowed upon me the greatest nickname I have ever received: Metalbrook. I don't know why I hadn't thought of that name earlier.

Psalm 150: All Hail the One True God of Metal!

1) Praise the one from whom darkness flees!
Raise your fists and open hands
and pump them towards the sky!
2) This breakdown is for Him,
the One who whose hand crushes evil,
brings justice, spreads wonders!
3) Crank the amps till your ears ring
and blast the low end like thunder to God Almighty!
4) Make a circle in the pit
and throwdown like it was your last chance.
He gave you that breath that you're out of.
5) Let the double kick blast beats shake the ceiling;
the cymbals shatter the windows!
He likes it loud.
6) Scream the chorus, voices ringing, throats sung raw.
If you can breath,
you better scream these words to Him
for He is worthy!