In an hour I go to the hospital for my second brain surgery and it feels super surreal to write that. I wanted to post a quick blog before I go to say thank you to everyone who is praying and who has been supporting us. We can feel your love and the community surrounding us!
I spent this past week with 30+ students from Gator Wesley touring around the state of Florida doing our Spring Tour – singing, dancing, rocking out, reading scripture and so much more. There’s a song that they sing in one of the sets (and I love the mash up that they do) called “Set a Fire” by United Pursuit Band and one of the lines says, “There’s no place I’d rather be…but here in Your love…” I’ve felt that from each of you.
Campus ministry is this crazy special place where things intersect – struggles, fears, hopes, dreams, silly Vine videos, lots of laughter, and experiences that both challenge and inspire. The students this week have inspired the heck out of me. I’ve been ministered to in their music and their passion and their faith, and even more than that in their zest for life! There weren’t many stops during this tour where I didn’t feel moved in some way and though I couldn’t figure out how to share that with them without becoming a blubbering hot mess, I want to let them know how special this week was for me. Even the trampolines. And the cold water of the spring when knocked off a raft.
Two of the songs that they’ve been singing are two favorites of mine that I’ve been holding dear over the past few weeks. They didn’t know that when they picked the songs how much they have been resonating with me and yet again, I know that God is weaving all of this together in mighty ways. The first is Meredith Andrews’ “Not for a Moment.”
These have been the songs of my heart. Worship taps into a place that breaks down the barriers that we place. It digs in between the walls that we’ve built to protect ourselves and the layers of stress and muck that this world provides. May the scales on our hearts and our eyes be removed that we may see God more clearly and know God more fully, as God draws us to God’s self. I know that no matter what happens today, I know that I am God’s and God is ever in the midst working things together for good.
Y’all have humbled me speechless with all of your texts, facebook messages, tweets, and cards and I hope that each of you feels the love, hugs, fist pumps, and high fives that we have for you! Thanks for being on this journey with me.
Yesterday the online Upper Room’s focus verse was Ephesians 1:13, “When you had heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and had believed in [Christ, you] were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit.” What an appropriate text the day after Ash Wednesday as we boldly navigate this Lenten journey.
I love how the Holy Spirit shows up in the unexpected. Actually, sometimes I’m most surprised when the Holy Spirit shows up in the obvious places. Like a worship service. Dinner. Even a board meeting. Tonight we had our Wesley Board Meeting and our fellowship dinner and program night, followed by a joint prayer/worship service with BCM (Baptist Collegiate Ministry) and CRU (Campus Crusade).
I admit that I started off the day pretty well. One of the students even said I looked more rested and alive today. (Pretty good praise for a Thursday.) But by the afternoon as the students went to enjoy a game of sand volleyball by Winthrop Lake, my sinus infection had turned into a monster of a headache and I was just D for Done.
I can’t say that the headache went away or that everything went exactly smoothly and perfectly but I could definitely feel the presence of God as Jon talked about his calling into ministry and we as a board got to send him with our approval to the District Committee on Ministry to be a certified candidate. I could tangibly hear and see the wonder of this special community as students shared over dinner, relaxed, hung out and chatted everywhere, and generally looked like they were right at home. And then as we began to make our way to the Winthrop Amphitheater for a joint prayer service with BCM and CRU – none of us knowing exactly what this would be like – but coming along anyway – I was struck in wonder by the beautiful night sky, a chance to worship with fellow believers on campus, and an opportunity to not be the one in charge, but a participant.
You see we were marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit. Even with our sinus headaches, our thank God it’s Thursdays, and our exhaustion, God still shows up, guiding and leading us in the midst. It’s not just something that’s a maybe – it’s a promise.
Where did God show up for you today? Was it when things were going super smooth or a little rocky?
Some folks have asked about the “What We Believe” that we say every week in The Journey worship service. It’s posted below. Share or use as you will.
We believe in God, our Creator and Loving Parent, who shapes and molds us calling us forth to new life and new beginnings. We believe in Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer, who walks with us through life’s journeys showing us the way, the truth and the life. We believe in the Holy Spirit, our Advocate and Comforter, who blows peace, strength, and perseverance over our lives. We believe that our faith is not merely a set of words or hollow sayings, but that it is life-giving and life-changing bringing God’s kingdom to earth. Amen.
I’m sitting in my office this morning not really knowing where to start. There are preparations that need to happen for our Fall Break trip next week to New York for a human trafficking seminar, the protest we’re going to tomorrow, CROP Walk next week and the next, and Hunger and Homeless Awareness Week. I am feeling discouraged and frustrated and tired and I have to admit, a little angry.
Angry? Do you ask? No idea. Maybe it’s all the layers and layers of things that have been heavy on my heart. Maybe it’s feeling like it is always one step forward and two steps back. Maybe it’s being tired of constantly being pulled in different directions and feeling like I’m having to absolutely fight tooth and nail for so much. Or maybe I’m just melodramatic. Could be.
The text I’m preaching this Sunday is Jeremiah 29:1, 4-7 where Jeremiah is writing the remaining elders and all the other folks in exile. It’s an encouraging text in my mind because it shows yet again that even as the people are in exile, God is with them. They face the consequences of being in exile but God encourages them not to just sit and wait and do nothing but be miserable, but to settle in there and not just put roots there but to pray for this place and these people that they have been exiled to live with.
I also find it fascinating that this passage comes before the oft-quoted verse 11 – “For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope.” It continues on to verse 14 speaking of God’s faithfulness even in the midst of the present circumstance or consequence.
Everywhere I look there is an answer to prayer whether it be for my health or for our new air conditioner or the improvement with Enoch’s speech delay or the countless people stepping up to help Wesley. There are blessings all over the place and I am thankful. But that doesn’t mean that I’m not human and discouraged and frustrated and angry at times.
The awesome thing about our God is that we can be angry. We can be frustrated to be in exile. We can be sad or yell or whatever. And as Romans 8 on my bulletin board says, “the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words. And God, who searches the heart, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes….”
A friend posted this video on my facebook wall the other day and I LOVE it. We can get bogged down by the overwhelming to do list, the people that just aren’t happy with anything, the neverending demands for our time and attention, and our stark insecurities and inabilities but it all boils down to God’s love. All of the petty who likes me or agrees with me this week or am I in the cool crowd or not or the I’m just doing the best I can. God’s love is that thing that to me answers all the questions that roll around in my brain. All of the fears. The what ifs. The wish I could have done better with thats.
Isaiah 41:10 says, “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
So Sunday I preached the Luke 10:25-37 text which is commonly known as the Good Samaritan text. I remember learning about the Good Samaritan in Sunday School with the felt board and little characters at Wesley Chapel. When you’re a kid though you don’t get the inside info of the beginning piece of the lawyer asking Jesus “What do I need for eternal life?” or the back and forth of the conversation, and I totally don’t remember getting the big deal of this being a person from Samaria being the one to help. All I know as a child was that this person was hurt on the road and needed help and yet these two people that were supposed to be the godly ones kept walking past while this other guy actually stopped, helped and supported the hurt person. Pretty simple lesson right? You want to be the one that stops and helps and not the don’t make eye contact, keep hurrying along people.
We watch The Bachelorette every Monday night. Yes I know that is trashy television, some believe it’s scripted, they almost always break up, it’s contrived, etc., etc. But I still love the show and when you can fast forward the yucky parts including most of the rose ceremony – it ain’t half bad. Anyway, right after The Bachelorette they have this insane show that gets on my absolute nerves called True Beauty. The whole premise is that these contestants think they’re trying to win a chance to be “The Face of Vegas” and they do all these challenges and everything, but the real contest is all these hidden cameras shooting them and showing what they’re really made of. You see, they’re supposed to have beauty not just on the outside but on the inside as well. So it records if they’ll cheat to get ahead or if they’re trash talking behind someone’s back or if they, just like the Good Samaritan, help those in need right in front of them or they just keep walking. We didn’t end up watching the whole show because we wanted to catch up on some Leverage, but we caught the last 5 minutes where the poor girl was eliminated because she did cheat at the challenges, she did trash talk and she didn’t bother to help a mother trying to take care of her child and load luggage into her car, while the other contestant did.
So in thinking about the Good Samaritan I think about True Beauty. If our lives were recorded every day what would the verdict be for us? Would we have true beauty or would we cheat, trash talk, and keep walking when there’s an obvious need that we could do something about? Lord only knows. Literally. I mean you’ve been waiting in a line at a red light with the other cars and someone’s trying to raise money for the Humane Society or the local Fire Department or some other group. Do you readily give or do you do like I sometimes do and suddenly you get very busy changing the radio station, digging in your purse, or texting someone on your phone. Do not make eye contact.
What I like about this text is that it’s not just about the story. It starts off with that eternal life question and then it digs deep into the law – straight from Deuteronomy 6:4-9, “Hear O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind the as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.” And the other law follows – to love your neighbor as yourself.
On Sunday I took a blue sharpie marker and wrote on my palm the word “LOVE” for the children’s sermon. There’s just something about those words in Deuteronomy about writing this as a sign on your hand or an emblem on your forehead. Some of us might think wait a sec I don’t want to toot my horn and put all this stuff out there like I’m somehow better than other folk. Or maybe it’s like many a pastor including me that has said I don’t want to put anything on my car – fish, bumper sticker, or clergy sticker – because I sure don’t drive like I should. If we wrote something on our hand or on our forehead reminding us to love God and love neighbor – would that help remind us? would that make us pause before we look away? would that make us see the world a little differently?
The new Senior Pastor at St. John’s said some wise words the other day. If the church isn’t going to really welcome people, we might as well take welcome off the door. That’s made me think a lot. We just took down our two welcome signs at Wesley so that we could paint and add some new ones. It definitely makes you think. If we’re not going to live it, we sure as heck better not say we do. That’s a challenge to each of us.
What would they show on your True Beauty? None of us get it right all the time, but I’d like to think we’re at least striving towards it with God’s grace. What situations challenge you to show love? patience? grace?
I played Michael Buble’s Feeling Good a couple months ago at church. Can’t remember the text at this point but it was about the swagger. There’s a certain swagger to Michael Buble and this song and I think there’s often a certain swagger to the new day that was created in the resurrection. When Easter came -” it really was a new dawn, a new day, a new life.” Not that I’m actually picturing Jesus swaggering. Can’t imagine him in a rat pack hat. Not even “Buddy Jesus” a la Dogma. But there is a certain swagger to this new day that has been created. A day where we have hope. A day where we aren’t just talking in metaphors and imagery, but we are God’s people here on earth trying to live into the already and not yet of God’s kingdom now. Among us.
That is a powerful thing. We’re not just all hanging out down here and doing the best we can for the heck of it. We’ve been charged with bringing God’s kingdom to earth – that’s pretty weighty and scary and awesome and humbling. It’s a new day – “There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or fre, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus.” (Galations 3:28) No more do we have to bow down to classism or sexism or racism or whatever else. No more do we have to just assume things are going to go on being and doing as they always have. No more do we have to wait for someone else to stand up and make a difference. It’s a new day for each of us. It’s a new time for each of us. It’s a new opportunity for each of us to really know each other and meet needs and get connected and become community.
Shane Claiborne’s article about inter-dependence day said it much better then I could so here’s a link http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shane-claiborne/this-july-4th-lets-celebr_b_633710.html. In thinking about college campuses and what gets someone through the door of a campus ministry – what gets folks to seek community – what makes that connection – I can’t help but look towards the fall semester. I know that having that community around you is vital in college life. Having fellow journeyers with you is essential and I can’t fathom not having that support. But how in a world where everyone feels connected (hello facebook, twitter, myspace, whatever the latest trend is) do you actually show the importance of real relationships and the vital news that we as a community, as a body of believers can make real change in the world?
I love Michael Buble’s song because of it’s implications for our Christian walk, but I also love it for this coming school year because we’re doing some things a little bit different at Winthrop Wesley. Change is scary people. Let me tell you. I love how we’ve done things. I love the students that have been here and are here. A campus minister friend of mine shared an image that a campus minister shared with him about what campus ministry is like. It’s like building sand castles in the sand. As soon as you have a really good looking castle, the waves come and wash it away. There are pros and cons with that – our “congregation” changes roughly every 4 years and even with students you’ll get the “but we’ve never done it that way before even if it’s been 2 years instead of 30.” This past year we had a large group of seniors graduate and with some changes to Winthrop’s schedule and with the opening of the new Student Center, the Student Leadership Team and I thought this might be time to make a change.
So we are. We’re going to mix up our meeting times, we (meaning the lovely Jonathan and Marissa) have painted some of our space, we’re going to do small groups differently and who knows what else differently. Can’t wait for God to show us how this is going to look because it’s a scary thing stepping out and not doing the same thing that you’ve always done. The familiar and the natural rhythm can’t be underestimated, but when you know it’s time, you know it’s time.
The main thing we’re doing differently this year is that we’re going to have a mission focus. We will continue all of our work with social justice in terms of Hunger and Homeless Awareness Week, CROP Walk, and the Potato Drop…it wouldn’t be Wesley if we didn’t have that as our backbone. But we’re going to spend this year with a focus on Human Trafficking. I’ve been hearing about this for a couple years now and it is something that has captured my heart. There is so much information out there and so many different organizations and books and people lifting up this issue it’s unbelievable if you start digging around and yet we’re not hearing about this from the media. It’s not something commonly talked about. That is frustrating. So this year we’re going to learn about human trafficking and then we’re going to do something to help combat the problem any way we can. This means inviting speakers in. This means reading books and educating ourselves. This means we’re going to New York City over Fall Break to the Church Center Building and are going to do a United Methodist Seminar with the amazing folks that coordinate the Seminar Program there.
A song and story that has captured our vision for this is from the band Bluetree and the song is “God of this City.” If you watch no video I ever post on this thing, watch this one. Seriously. It is powerful and he can say it a lot better than I can write it. It is powerful coming out of the mouths of these Irish folk asking each of us – what are we doing to combat these things (hunger, homelessness, child soldiers, human trafficking) in our world? If this is a new day, what are we doing to show a hurting world the God that loves them and is very much alive?
You’re God of this city, you’re the King of these people, you’re the Lord of this nation, you are…
You’re the Light in this darkness, you’re the Hope to the hopeless, you’re the Peace to the restless, you are…
For there is none like our God, there is none like You, God!
Greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done in this city!
Greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done here.
You’re the Lord of creation, The creator of all things you’re the King above all kings, you are…
You’re the Strength in the weakness, You are Love to the broken, You’re the Joy in the sadness, you are…
For there is none like our God, there is none like you, God!
Greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done in this city!
Where glory shines from hearts alive with praise for You and love for You in this city.
Greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done in this city!
Greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done here.
For there is none like our God, there is none like you, God!
Greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done in this city!
Where glory shines from hearts alive with praise for You and love for You in this city.
Greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done in this city!
Greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still to be done here.
So I’m trying to have a little church up in here. No I’m not singing loud and freaking out any nurses, don’t worry. But a friend sent this Louie Giglio video to me last week and I remember one of my students this semester telling me about this amazing thing called Laminin that’s like the rebar of the body. I like the image of the rebar because that’s what holds just about everything together in Nicaragua and it’s great, sturdy, strong stuff. I don’t know how much of this whole laminin thing is true and I’m not always one to send out mass forwards and things like this, but I do think that it’s again so super cool and neat how amazingly intricate our bodies are and that there is a master Creator and Physician that builds us up from the inside out and holds us close. Does that mean that this Creator God of ours loves those that don’t get well or get the answers they’d like to have any less? Heck no. But it does mean that the cross of Christ is ever before us calling us forth to new life and new beginnings and new realities each step of the way. Maybe a cheesy video but very cool nonetheless. How Great is Our God! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_e4zgJXPpI4
RT @bobgoff: We never really fall from God's grace; when we trip,we usually just stumble into more of it. @lovedoes1 week ago
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