The Journey Begins

One of the greatest things we can do is journey with others as we pursue a more intimate relationship with Christ.  A great perk of being a Student Ministry Pastor is being able to journey with students as a vocation.

This year as a student ministry we are going to intentionally do this year together.  We are going to go through the joys together, through the pain together; we will laugh and cry together; we will challenge each other; we will grow together.  So here we go...

The month we are engaging in the topic of Grace.  What does grace actually mean?  Does it mean what we think it means?  In researching and studying the topic of Grace I came face to face with the late great Dietrich Boenhoeffer.  He had a lot to say about grace and categorized the topic of grace in to two different things - cheap grace, and costly grace.  The cheap grace we get and it is the grace most of us operate within.  But, costly grace takes lost of work, lots of humility, and lots of change.

Cheap grace is the acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour; we punch our ticket to Heaven, thank God, and keep living the way we always have.  Some may say that is not true acceptance, but nonetheless, it is cheap grace. Costly grace is something different.  It is yes acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, but it changes us.  When we truly accept the grace Jesus Christ has given us we can't help BUT change.  This change costs something.  Maybe it is our pride, or reputation; maybe it is our family; maybe it is those we thought were our closest friends.  At the end of the day True Grace costs something.

So, here we are, embarking on a journey of True Grace or as Boenhoeffer says, Costly Grace.

How are we accepting grace in our lives?  Are we saying on a regular basis, "I need God" or are we simply living as if we have it together?

The journey begins.  Let's be open and honest with our lives more than ever before.  Unless we are honest with our lives, there is no room for change.

Let me know your thoughts.

Help...

Help. It's a word that is used by some and hardly ever by others. Sometimes it is used in dire situations and other times it is used when it seems like no help is actually needed.

I was sitting in The Rooster Cafe (Broadview Ave., across from Riverdale Park), my favorite place to read and get current on youth, church, and neighborhood culture, on Wednesday afternoon and a woman just simply says 'excuse me'.

She had been sitting a couple seats away for pretty much the same amount of time that I had been sitting, but at some point she needed help. She was trying to open up a small container of Tylenol. Why? I don't know. I hope it's not for a headache because she should just stop drinking coffee, but that's besides the point. She simply said 'excuse me, but could you help get this open for me?' I of course obliged and helped, got it open, and she was able to take her Tylenol.

Immediately I thought about how I don't like asking for help. I believe I can do it all and if I can't, I will learn, so I can (yes I am working on this area of my life. I am not the greatest, I know).

Why don't I ask for help? Why do we as a people fear asking for help? Why is it so important for us to be able to do everything by ourselves?

This question intrigues me as I will be leading a conversation at church this Sunday surrounding this topic.

Is it so bad to ask for help when we don't know how to do something?

Maybe it is just me, but it seems like we need to just ask for help more often.

Maybe in asking for help we will find great strength.
Maybe in asking for help we will actually find out how to do something properly.
Maybe in asking for help we will beat down our pride, learn that we don't know it all, and that it is ok.
Maybe in asking for help we will learn that we need people more than we think we do.

Just my thoughts. Let me know what you think...even if it is just you Megan (my wife).




PS. Sorry for being lame in not posting much. I am getting back into it.

The Sun

The Sun. This morning I woke up and it was bright. I walked down the street and it was bright. I made my way to the Starbucks down the street from my house squinting because it was bright. I look up in the sky and there is barely any cloud formations.

Sitting in Starbucks I noticed something though. There are a lot of people that don't like the sun: they close the blinds in the store, or find a place out of the sun, or even more put on some sunglasses. For some reason this has intrigued me this morning.

Why is it that a lot of us don't like the sun?

It's an intriguing question isn't it?

For me, this morning, I am basking in the beauty and the magnificence of that sun. If you have time, go outside and experience such a wonderful creation that God made a long time ago. God separated light from dark and said it was good.

Let's enjoy the light for God created it.


Let me know your thoughts.