The Cross

This morning I was preparing for our Easter services and decided to go ahead and move the cross out of storage to the sanctuary. I really didn't expect it to be so difficult.

There were several crosses in our storage shed across the street. One was tall, and pretty flimsy looking, another was just small. The one that looked most life-sized was thick and splintered - it looked most like what my perception of the cross must have been like.

The cross was awkward to carry. It may have been 70-80 pounds, not light by any means, but doable. I looked at it for a few seconds trying to figure out how to maneuver it without getting more splinters in my hands and arms than I had to.

I carried the cross about 15 feet to the back of my truck. At first I thought about all the people who saw me from North Main. What did they think about the guy carrying the cross? Then my mind jumped to something completely different. I started thinking about the few times in my life that I felt like I gave everything to someone or a group of people only to find myself completely rejected and shunned by them. As I hoisted the cross in the back of my truck I thought about my own sin, how too many times in my life I've treated Jesus the same cruel way some others had treated me.

My thoughts then turned to Matthew 16:24 where Jesus tells me I have to take up my cross and follow Him. I've been trying to wrap my mind around that for a while, but today I grasped it a little bit more. It involved a lot of effort in carrying a cross - even if it was just for 15 feet. It involved getting splinters that will be annoying for a couple of days to come. It also involved some sympathizing with the emotional pain Jesus went through as he "endured the cross, scorning it's shame."

I don't in any way want to compare what took me 15 minutes this morning to what Jesus did for us on the cross. But I feel like this morning I've been reminded in a very tactile (even though miniscule) way of what Jesus went through for me.

When I got back to the church Daryl, a new employee of North Side, ran up to help me carry the cross to the sanctuary. Yes, the wonderful thing is that Jesus does not ask us to carry the cross alone.

Our first Brazil meeting for 2009 (and some other stuff)

I'm sitting in my office right now, listening to the youth choir sing some Toby Mac stuff, and trying to prepare for the Reality study tonight. I figure if I'm going to keep up with Van on this blog thing I better start writing.

Let me just say I loved today. I love leading worship in the 9:40 service.  It gets pretty intense in there sometimes and I really feel the presence of God. I just hope for all of us that the way we worship in the church building translates into how we live our everyday lives. 

Tonight we had our initial meeting for all interested in the Brazil mission trip. Man, I was encouraged! We had 25 in attendance and several people who have already expressed interest were not there. 16 who were there had never been to Brazil before.  As I've prayed for this trip my desire has been that the people who go will be able to come back and communicate that excitement of what God is doing there in Brazil.  And that our church can develop that passion for what God is doing beyond our nation's borders.  North Side has an incredible missions presence in our community and nation, but I'm praying that God would also give us a heart and desire to reach the nations for Christ. I see this happening, and I praise God for the people He is bringing together to be a part of this adventure.

So, if you're reading this, please take a moment to pray for Jundiai, Brazil and the Christian Missionary Community Church there. Such amazing things happened last year, and even more will happen this year.

Now I've gotta go teach some high schoolers about experiencing God. This crisis of belief stuff is challenging - but that'll have to be in another blog.

I'm not dead yet

I know all both of my blog readers have really missed hearing from me lately. I guess since they linked my blog to the church website I've felt like I've had to make my blogs more spiritual and wise. This blog might be a little spiritual, but problaby not wise at all.

Last week we started a contemporary service at 9:40 on Sundays. I was really nervous as we approached February 22. 20 minutes or less to transition to the contemporary worship service and then 20 minutes or less to transition back to the blended service. I was honestly surprised that the first time around could go without a glitch. I praise God for that, and thank the many volunteers who made it as smooth as it was. I pray that we never become lazy and pretend for once that we really know what we're doing.

This past Sunday was good too - Van really brought it! I must admit I was tired after leading 3 services. I really admire Gary for being able to do that for two years, and I'm looking forward to having him back this week. And Van gets to keep preaching three times every week - even in the new sanctuary. Not too bad for an old man. (I say that with complete respect).

God is doing great things here. I pray that we don't become satisfied in looking back at what He has already done, but that we look forward with a sense of eager expectancy and willingness to Go where He leads.

Brasil!

Tomorrow I leave for Brazil. We are going to the city of Jundiai to help plant three house churches. You can bet I will be going to the churrascaria and drinking lot of Guarana. For all 3 of you who might read my blog, you can keep up with what we are doing on our church website. www.nsbcweatherford.com. You should find a Brazil link on there were we will provide updates of what we are doing.

Me of Little Faith

I wish I could look at small things and see how big they can be.  Yesterday we had our first "Saturday Kids Extravaganza" at a local apartment complex.  (I know the name is cheesy, but I had about 5 minutes to come up with it).  We were originally told that there were 200 kids at the complex that were in need of assistance.  That number seemed to go down each time I spoke with the people there. And in the first hour there were about 8 kids that showed up.  In the end we maybe had 30 kids come through, less than I had expected.

But I was very humbled and surprised by the excitement that our college students showed for the whole thing.  What I thought was a flop they saw as God moving in the hearts of children and parents. I guess I'm looking for the earthquake while God is whispering trying to get my attention.

So here is a list of successes that I saw from Saturday:

• the kid who took home all the extra lunches and said that because of that his family would have lunch and dinner.
• the kids who listened attentively to the Bible story.
• the kids who asked us when we were coming back.
• the workers who were able to share with the moms of the children
• the North Side college group's first mission project!
• the senior adults helping us make sandwiches
• Greenwood's participation - they're group's first mission project?

This is some good stuff!  I can't wait 'till next time.

NO BIKE FOR ME

I'm really glad I didn't buy a bike for the Ride:Well tour.  I committed to riding in the Dallas leg of the cross country bike ride a few months ago but never got around to finding a bike. I wasn't really comfortable asking anyone if I could borrow theirs and I feel like I don't know enough about bikes to know a good on one ebay or craig's list. I thought I would buy a new one, but when it came down to it it didn't seem like the best idea.

Today I feel like that was one of the best financial decisions I've ever made.  A friend offered to loan me his mountain bike which isn't really ideal for the road. Thats what I rode and it killed me for about 7 miles.  Then a friend I was riding with got a flat and we sat on the side of the road for an hour waiting for someone to give us a spare tube.  Several people drove up promising to get us help, but in the end the race was almost over and we were stuck on mile 7 with no real help in sight. So we walked to the nearest rest stop and hitched a ride to the finish line.

There is a lot better things you can do with your money than buying a bike you would only ride for 7 miles.  I know, I probably would have ridden it at other times, but it might have been more out of guilt for spending that much money. So I got to donate some of the money to Blood:Water Mission and the rest will probably go toward bills. I just pray the next time I'm feeling impulsive and want to buy something expensive and fleeting I'll spend my money on something more worth while - like building wells in Africa or giving it to the church or some organization that does cancer research. And for me that means staying away from Best Buy.

FRESH

That's right. I've entitled this blog fresh. A word that I seldom use unless I'm talking about food. But I've been saying it a lot lately - trying to describe the current spiritual state of my surroundings.

According to dictionary.com fresh is an adjective that means "newly made or obtained." What God is doing in my life and the lives of many around me is new.

A friend of mine shared a verse with me last year that I thought was really cool, but never really came to life until recently - and it has come up alot. Isaiah 43:18,19: Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.

God is doing a new thing around me and it's exciting to see. Talking to people and overhearing other people's conversations - it's a common feeling around here. At the same time it's very uncertain, and a little scary because I know that when God works He will work in a new way, and it won't be what any of us expect, and it won't be easy.

So why fresh? Because it's alive! When I hear the word new I think of an object to be posessed. But using the word fresh helps me know that what God is doing lives and breathes. It will grow and move. And though it might be a painful process it will be sweet in the end.