School and life has been crazy of late. It is my senior year and the time I have spent at Ozark has went by like a blur. I have met some great people and have had some memories that I will take with me for the rest of my life. Some serious, like the time spent with guys in the dorm talking about issues. And some....not so serious, like thinking of new ways to beat 3rd floor in a game of halo. Either way, I love all you guys who have been a part of my life. And I am excited to see what is to come in the future.
But this blog goes out to my homies from Muskogee. I spent the summer as a intern at Boulevard Christian Church in the "gee". I was blessed to be under such a great staff. Mike Havens might just be the best youth minister I have ever worked with. He is kind, caring, and loves youth ministry. He gave me freedom and also taught me so much in the process, and for that, I am thankful. Some of my summer was spent with the high schoolers-- loved staying up late talking and making videos. I also see some of those "high schoolers" prowling around Ozark's campus now. Jessica and Courtney, I am very proud of you for all that you have done and wanting to do with your life. The Blumenberg sisters kept showing me what faithful Christianity looks like...thanks for that.
Summer would not have been the same with out my boys. WAY to many of you to name here, but please know that you guys have a special place in my heart (IN A MANLY WAY!). You guys are leaders and I am very honored to have been apart of you guys lives in some way.
Most of my summer was spent working with the Junior Highers. WOW, is the first word that comes to mind. When I tell people I love working with that age group, they give me a funny look and normally say something like "You are very special and crazy for working with those kids"....and i have no idea why! I mean, if you have ever worked with a junior higher than you know how much fun it really is! They always keep you on your toes, and love being crazy...what is there not to like?!
I had fun with you guys just playing four square before "Chaos" started. You guys are the first thing I talked about when I mention my summer in Muskogee. Having Alex help me plan for Wednesday Nights, or taking a trip to Tulsa for Lazer Tag were the best parts of my summer...you guys rock.
I guess I am randomly writing this blog about Muskogee, because....well...I miss it!! Doesn't get much better than getting up every morning and going to an office that is full of amazing people. Than either going home to great host family like the Roberts (Which ALWAYS came with a home cooked meal ready and waiting for me), or spending the evening hanging out with people who love Jesus. This is a short blog, and nothing really much to say except, "I miss you, and hope to see you soon!"
Much love to all my homies in the GEE
Monday, September 20, 2010
Saturday, July 17, 2010
WORSHIP > me
Tonight was a fun night....Some of the guys from Boulevard held a worship service at one of the churches in town. They held this for a couple reasons--to raise money for active water....to bring some youth groups together... and to worship!
It was crazy timing, because I was thinking about writing a blog about worship and the whole night's theme was surrounded with the idea of worship. Worship is a funny word. It's also a scary word...and an awesome word...and a tough word..Worship brings so much to the table, but I wonder if sometimes we don't truly understand what it means to worship.
Ever since I started going to church, worship was always a word described for the singing in church. Being a guy that was never gifted (actually cursed) with singing ability, I never was that into "worship" time. But good thing worship is so much more than singing. It's bigger. and stronger. and more powerful. Worship is a lifestyle-not a specific time at church. I would be willing to bet that if we told God we worshiped before the lesson/sermon, and than maybe a little bit before we left church, he would be upset. Upset might be the wrong word, how about...depressingly nauseous to think that his bride, the church, only "worshiped" on sundays. But thankfuly, my ignorance of what worship really meant cleared up.
God calls all creation to give him glory, to praise him, to...worship him. I wrote my massive exegetical over a passage in Romans 12. The first verse really captures for me what it means to worship... "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, this is your spiritual act of WORSHIP."
(insert punch to the gut here)....ouch. I can still feel that one. According to Paul, and to the Holy Spirit, worship is not just limited to singing, or what we do while at church, but we actualy worship with out entire lives. I remember meeting with Zus, a proffesor at OCC, and we were talking about my passage and he said, "you know what the problem is with a living sacrifice? It's always trying to crawl off the altar." (insert another punch to Jim's gut)....of course we can honor God with our lips, but are our actions so far from him that he cannot even recognize who we are? (thank you Isaiah). And final thought on worship, is...what are we worshiping? Are we worshipping ourselves? (oh man, I hope not). Are we worshiping a God who is so far away that when we udder his name we don't even feel any emotion? (scary thought) OR are we worshiping the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for the goodness brought into live? The same God who created the world, who was with Moses, Gideon, Elijah, and Jeremiah lives in us. The same God who brought Christ back from the grave..That same God is exactly who we are worshipping everyday with every action that we decide to do. That means who we are when we are with beleivers, or non beleivers, but also what we do when we are all alone. The decesions we make, actions we carry out, and thoughts that we ponder, all show our lives as worshippers of God.
My guess is that if you are not to good at this "worship" thing, maybe its beacuse, you really don't know who God is. Because if we grow to know God, experience God, and pursue God, then worship will automatically happen. He is good, and that is a great reason for us as the church to worship.
It was crazy timing, because I was thinking about writing a blog about worship and the whole night's theme was surrounded with the idea of worship. Worship is a funny word. It's also a scary word...and an awesome word...and a tough word..Worship brings so much to the table, but I wonder if sometimes we don't truly understand what it means to worship.
Ever since I started going to church, worship was always a word described for the singing in church. Being a guy that was never gifted (actually cursed) with singing ability, I never was that into "worship" time. But good thing worship is so much more than singing. It's bigger. and stronger. and more powerful. Worship is a lifestyle-not a specific time at church. I would be willing to bet that if we told God we worshiped before the lesson/sermon, and than maybe a little bit before we left church, he would be upset. Upset might be the wrong word, how about...depressingly nauseous to think that his bride, the church, only "worshiped" on sundays. But thankfuly, my ignorance of what worship really meant cleared up.
God calls all creation to give him glory, to praise him, to...worship him. I wrote my massive exegetical over a passage in Romans 12. The first verse really captures for me what it means to worship... "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God, this is your spiritual act of WORSHIP."
(insert punch to the gut here)....ouch. I can still feel that one. According to Paul, and to the Holy Spirit, worship is not just limited to singing, or what we do while at church, but we actualy worship with out entire lives. I remember meeting with Zus, a proffesor at OCC, and we were talking about my passage and he said, "you know what the problem is with a living sacrifice? It's always trying to crawl off the altar." (insert another punch to Jim's gut)....of course we can honor God with our lips, but are our actions so far from him that he cannot even recognize who we are? (thank you Isaiah). And final thought on worship, is...what are we worshiping? Are we worshipping ourselves? (oh man, I hope not). Are we worshiping a God who is so far away that when we udder his name we don't even feel any emotion? (scary thought) OR are we worshiping the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for the goodness brought into live? The same God who created the world, who was with Moses, Gideon, Elijah, and Jeremiah lives in us. The same God who brought Christ back from the grave..That same God is exactly who we are worshipping everyday with every action that we decide to do. That means who we are when we are with beleivers, or non beleivers, but also what we do when we are all alone. The decesions we make, actions we carry out, and thoughts that we ponder, all show our lives as worshippers of God.
My guess is that if you are not to good at this "worship" thing, maybe its beacuse, you really don't know who God is. Because if we grow to know God, experience God, and pursue God, then worship will automatically happen. He is good, and that is a great reason for us as the church to worship.
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