Calling the Audible

I'm excited for football season to kick off soon. I'm not an avid player/watcher, but I enjoy watching a game here and there (and being a Chief's fan, I'm not used to looking for a win too often). One of my favorite parts to watch on the field is when an audible's called. The play that was made in the huddle is no longer the plan, and everyone on the field is adjusting to fit the new settings.

These last several weeks, I've been reading through 1st and 2nd Samuel. It had been a while since I had gone through these books, but I felt like going through the story of Saul and David. I'm at a point in my life where my roles are changing. At church, I was brought on to lead our ministries from birth through college, and I've been struggling to figure out how to meet all of the needs within this broad range of learning-styles and needs.

This morning, I was reading 2 Samuel 21 about David going to battle against the Philistines. In this passage, David was fighting alongside his warriors, but he became tired and was almost killed by a giant. One of his warriors rushed in and killed the giant, but the reality was evident: David wasn't fit for battle any more.

As I read this passage, I'm reminded that we each have different roles in each of the seasons of our lives. David was no longer a shepherd boy, whose role was to guard livestock. He wasn't a battle-hardened warrior any longer either. Now, it was his time to step back from the front lines and lead in a new role.

Looking at my own future, I wonder how I'll respond to the different roles before me. Will I come to a point where my entire identity lies in leading in battle? Will I lock myself into a role that I can no longer fill? I pray that God prepares me for those transitions in life, and that I can graciously step out of one role and into another.

And I think that's the beauty of it- that we don't step into death or nothingness when we leave a role. We step into another purpose. One that we couldn't fulfill at any other point in our lives.

I ask for you to pray with me/for me that God will show me His direction in this role, and that I will be willing to listen to His voice and follow His plan the moment He calls the audible.

Refresh

It's been quite a while! I'm amazed how quickly life can overtake us. The last few months I've been working my tail off: bouncing from meeting to meeting, from job to job, from moment to moment, and I've been convicted about how I spend the time I do have for myself. As I was reflecting on how my days, weeks and months have panned out, I couldn't help but think about all of the time I've wasted, all of the opportunities I've missed, all of the hearts I've overlooked.

Then the excuses come in. Look at how busy you are! You're juggling a full-time job, a life of ministry and a family. You should take every free moment you have for yourself. You deserve it.

I'm amazed at how convincing those arguments can be.
I'm ashamed at how easily they have swayed me.

I've come to the point where the accepted is no longer acceptable. Where the truth must destroy the lies.

My heart's laziness is thrown out on the table. Even though there aren't many opportunities for it to develop, the core has been hardened by my own selfishness.

And ministry isn't a convenient occurrence. It doesn't happen on my time-frame. It can't flourish when it has to fit in from 6:00-8:00 on Tuesdays.

It is a life.

I'm trying to wake up with that realization. That today is another chance to build the Kingdom. As my mind refreshes with this revelation, I can feel my heart soften. I can see my relationships begin to grow again.

I realize this is more of a "Confessions" post, but I wanted to get this out there. Maybe you will be encouraged and challenged. I hope you will continue to hold me accountable and encourage me when you see me fall.

Let's do this together.

Where is the love?

So, I've been thinking a lot lately... (I know- SHOCKER!!!). Anyway, I've been considering what we, as Christians, can say and do to make a difference in people's lives. Unfortunately, it is becoming more and more rare for people to get out of their comfort zones and reach people where they're at.


These thoughts have been focused around an event that has been creeping its way to Southwest Baptist University (my alma mater). SBU's been targeted by a gay-rights group, and today this group showed up on the campus's doorstep. Literally for weeks, I've been praying about how we should approach this situation, and whether or not I should be on campus while everything was going down. Fortunately or unfortunately, I wasn't able to be at SBU today. But I feel, on our part (Southern Hills Baptist Church) we made quite an impact!

I've been convicted that an argument or debate is the least effective way to reach people. As soon as the debate begins, the ears close and the words fly. The only way my mind could be changed about an issue so key to someone's life as this is for them to prove their beliefs through their actions. Very rarely could a word alter any of my opinions, let alone a core belief!

As I said, I've been praying for weeks about how we should approach this situation as Christians, and it's amazing to see how God's plan can make a difference! My prayers kept coming back with the message: "Love". I knew right away that we weren't to engage them in debates or try to force them into a logic-based decision.

So back to the "Love" message. I couldn't get Christ's words out of my mind in Matthew 22:34-40. In this passage, He describes all of the Law in two commands: Love God and Love Others!

Apparently God had been putting similar ideas into Rayden's head. He and Cameron (our Youth Minister) were preparing to give this group water bottles (since they were standing outside most of the afternoon) and offer our beliefs through service and love. From what Cameron said, the group was taken aback with this offer. They had been expecting harsh treatment and instead received love.

Now, only God knows what impact our actions made in the lives of these people, but I'm continuing to pray for them because I too was living in sin before Christ became my Lord. So here we go, placing another rung in the ladder.

Reality Check

Part 1:

I was just reading Mark 9:38-41 (look it up), and that got me thinking. How sad is it where Christianity has come? Sure, there are lots of good and wonderful things Christians are doing throughout the world, but as a corporate body- we have fallen far short of the goal! I have no idea how many "denominations" exist in Christianity, and I'm not really sure I want to. Even within the title "Baptist" there are a ton of subgroups: Missionary Baptist, Northern Baptist, Southern Baptist, Berean Baptist... and I began thinking about what caused all of these rifts.

I haven't gotten a chance to look at the history books to see where these Christian subgroups divided, but I'm almost positive I've got the answer: SELFISHNESS!

That word/idea/mindset/lifestyle is the destructor of Christianity. Within selfishness, we find the root of church splits, spiritual barrenness, and "fill-in-the-blank". We've all seen and experienced selfishness, whether it's coming from the outside or in. Recently, I've seen people at my church struggle, well- you might be able to say "flourish" instead, with the sin of selfishness. And honestly, there have been times where I have been battling selfishness.

This week, I've seen where Christianity needs to head. Right to where my students' hearts are! My college students were given several opportunities this week to drive this selfish attitude into the ground. We began this week's activities with two prayer walks around Bolivar, and closed yesterday with a service-based scavenger hunt. And I tell ya- my students are on fire!!! Our intent for this week has been to open the eyes of our college students to the huge need in Bolivar. We wanted to be very intentional in how we presented Bolivar to the students, and it has payed off! Our eyes have been opened to the need right around the corner, and we are preparing the students to take the message out on their own- without our prodding! We have seen the need in Bolivar, and are ready to address those needs.

The First Rung

This seems like a first date, although I've been fortunate to only have one of those! But it's a strange feeling: I'm not really sure what to say and I hope I don't have any spinach stuck in my teeth!

Haha, ice breaker! Well, I guess I should welcome everyone to my blog... I'll start off by explaining the purpose of this blog and the meaning behind the name.

This blog is a way for me to express my heart and vision when I'm not always able to see them come to actuality. I know God has something huge planned for Bolivar, MO. I have been praying for months on end, and there is an overwhelming passion building up inside me that must be expressed.

I love this town! There was a time where I never thought I'd say those words, but God has a funny way of developing passions and relationships. He placed Bolivar on my heart, and I've come to love it as my home. My wife, Mary (you'll hear a lot about her throughout my posts), and I are currently in the process of purchasing a home in Bolivar and beginning our family here- sorry Moms!

This blog is an outlet for me to process ideas and a way to get feedback from you on how I can be more effective in these missions.

Now, on to the title of the blog: Ladder Builder. This comes from an amazing analogy I heard from Tommy Sparger, pastor of NorthPoint Church (Springfield, MO). You can check them out at northpointnow.org. Tommy is a man with a vision: "It's all about changed lives!" Anyways, he came on stage one morning with a ladder. He compared this ladder to our Christian journey and said that the church has specialized in climbing the ladder, while removing rungs behind them. While the church sits on top, they ask why no one else has followed.

We have made the church a country-club.

Christ never intended for us to complicate His message or His mission. He said to "love God and love others" (Luke 10:26-28 paraphrase). I am being convicted that my purpose it to rebuild the rungs- to create accessible and desirable ways for the unreached and overlooked, whether that's on SBU's campus or in a trailer park outside of town.

I am excited (actually- beyond excited) to see what God's putting together! My pastor, Rayden Hollis: createahungrychurch.blogspot.com, has an amazing vision for our church- Southern Hills Baptist Church! And we are ready for some action...

So I'm preparing the materials, gathering my tools, and setting out to rebuild a broken ladder!