Shoes and Prayer Meetings

I take my shoes off for prayer meetings, mostly (whenever appropriate). You see for me my shoes symbolize my contact with the world, where earth and I meet. At prayer meetings I also empty my pockets of keys, phone, and wallet. These too are ways that I engage with the world, and so I place them in my shoes by the door.

I lay aside these dirty, earthy things and come before God (who is Holy) without them. This is why I think Jesus washing the feet of the disciples is so cool. Jesus washes the filth and grime from the world off of us, to make us clean.

Some Things Every Chi Alpha Needs

• Duct Tape
• Staple Gun & the correct staples for that gun
• Butcher paper
• Paints for butcher paper
• Sound system
• Prayer meetings
• Vision
• PowerPoint capabilities
• A Drummer
• Free Bibles
• Holy Spirit
• Students
• Flier printing abilities
• Graphic designer (for fliers)
• Hammer/Rubber mallet for putting up stakes on campus
• Balloons (helps with tabling)
• Sharpies
• Website
• Photographer
• One on one's
• Internet
• Tools for Mentoring by Joy Schroeder
• Rubber bands, paper clips, and push-pins
• Music stand
• Good core groups/small groups/cell groups/bible studies
• Whiteboard, pens, and art aisle
• Chicken suit or other random animal costume
• People who care about the community
• A Ministry budget

Wasting Talents

We are each given various talents, abilities, and opportunities by God. He is the giver of all such gifts (Jms 1:17) But like the lazy slave can we waste our talents?

The answer is yes. Yes we can.

But is money/talents/works what God wants? Are they an end in and of themselves, or a means to an end?

In Exodus we see the Lord provide for the people of Israel as they are leaving Egypt by allowing them to successfully plunder the Egyptians (Ex 3:21-22) (Ex 12:35-36) . But if we fast forward to Sinai we see the Israelites use the very gold that the Lord provided them with to create the golden calf (Ex 32:1-3). Not only did the Lord bless them with the gold they used to create idols, and thus violate the covenant at its inception, but the wasting of the gold is illustrated in its totality when Moses makes the Israelites drink it. (Ex 32:20)

How broken is the human heart that we can take the very gifts of God and use them to utterly blasphemy His name. Yet in His great love there is forgiveness and reconciliation. But we see demonstrated that sin still has consequences when the gold God provided the Israelites is not restored. It is lost. It is a missed opportunity that will not come again.

I know I need encouragement sometimes to take advantage of the opportunities I have. Praise the Lord for grace. But may we also understand the gravity of sin, and the consequences even of forgiven sin.

Theology

This semester at Sac State I have the privilege of creating and teaching a class on Theology. The aim of the class is to give an overview of the character and nature of God. And such a subject brings up a lot of questions.

Theology (from the Gk: theologia, θεολογία,) is the study of God. It's a pretty big subject. But a cool thing about Theology is that one of its foundational principles is that God is knowable. He can be studied and interacted with. This may seem obvious but how wonderful this is given the alternative, that God is distant and unknowable. Unlike Deism Christianity believes that God is not some far distant creator who made the universe like a clock and is now watching it wind down. We can know God. We can be in relationship with God. God is near and discoverable. This is our hope, the fact that God has made Himself knowable to us.

In Jeremiah 29:12-14 the LORD declares "When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me." What glorious news is this!

Financial Martyrdom

This post is inspired by some profound words of Renee Hammond, and Curt Harlow's big screen TV

As someone who's income is based upon support given by a team of individuals, it is really easy to feel that part of the Call into ministry includes carrying the cross eternal poverty and financial martyrdom. Simply put to be in ministry means you will be poor.

Always.

But this is not true and it's not biblical. Full time vocational ministry is a worth-while career, and it is worth being paid to do. Paul wrote to Timothy, a young pastor, that "the scripture says, 'You shall not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,' and, 'The laborer deserves to be paid'" (1Tim 5:18) quoting from Deuteronomy 25:4 and Jesus' teaching in Luke 10:7. Jesus lived and funded his ministry on support (Luke 8:3). Paul lived on support, and only did tent making when the people were too immature (new) in their faith to properly support him. (1 Cor 9:1-14)

As ministers we should not live or work with this thrifty, cut-corners, cheap poverty mentality. We are not called to be poor. We are called to be good stewards with our resources, but that call is for all followers of Christ. James writes that those who teach will be judged harsher (James 3:1) but is in regards to how we are viewed by others, and does not mean ministers should be poor, but that they should set a good example in how to wisely spend money. A poverty mentality is not beneficial to God's call on our lives.

Honestly we have this concept of ministers being financial martyrs not based on scripture, but our own uneasiness with money and our belief in the American Dream. I have found that our hesitancy is rooted in our insecurity of humbling ourselves and asking others for help; of being dependent on others rather than being autonomous and self-sufficient. But as much as America may preach that message, when we examine God's word He says the exact opposite. Even in the OT (Old Testament) the priests and Levites lived off of the sacrifices of the people offered to the Lord.

So while everything in my flesh tries to discourage and resist, I choose to live on support, to provide for my family on support, and not to be poor.