Somewhere we lost the plot...

I don't usually transcribe something I speak on in the church, usually it's just a stream of consciousness type of thing. However, I'm gonna do just that which I rarely do. :D This is the first part of a message I brought before the fellowship last Sunday. I don't know if I will choose to post any more parts of it or not. It might depend on if anyone wants to hear it, ha. Anyway, here goes. I hope it blesses any who read it.

We all have plans. Some are big, some are small, but we have them to get through our day. Even on days when we are being "spontaneous" we still have plans. We have a plan to get up, get dressed (or not) and do whatever might lead to our "spontaneous day". God is no different. God has plans. He's always had them. From the moment He created Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden there was a plan... we'll call it "Plan A". And then we all know what happened... the fall. The fall brought sin into our flesh and caused us to deviate from "Plan A". (Now, just for clarification. Yes I believe God is all powerful and all knowing. Yes I believe we have free will. Yes I believe God knows what we will choose before we choose, but we still have free will. I'm not going into that particular theological thread on this post. Just a heads up. :D ) Because of sin we can no longer move ahead in "Plan A". Now God could have cut us off there and been totally justified. Adam and Eve blew it. God could have allowed us to be stuck in our new position. But He did not. God put into motion "Plan B". Here is a very brief overview of "Plan B". God gave the law to show our sin, and God gave the sacrificial system to give a way to even approach Him. The key to the system was the shedding of blood as atonement for the sin. However, the sacrifice of animals could not erase our sin, it could only cover it for a time. Then God sent Jesus to die for us, thus satisfying the blood debt we owed. And because it was a perfect sacrifice and then Christ rose from the grave conquering sin and death, we can now ask forgiveness and rejoin "Plan A". "We rejoin 'Plan A'?" some might ask. To forgive is to what? To act as though the offense never occurred. If the offense of the fall had never occurred, then we would still be on "Plan A". So if God forgives us of that sin, we go back to "Plan A". And getting back on "Plan A" leads us to Heaven right? Heaven is the point of the plan right? I say no.

NO?!?!? And before anyone starts chasing me with pitchforks and torches, just hear me out. If Heaven is the point of the plan, why bother starting with Eden? Is the Garden of Eden the same as Heaven? Scripture tells us that Heaven has streets of Gold and mansions and a gate made out of a giant pearl... did Eden have that? Doesn't seem to according to scripture? Remember if there had been no fall and no sin we would have stayed on the course of "Plan A" and if there was no need to go to heaven since there was no sin, can we really say Heaven is the point of the plan?

One of the problems with "American Christianity" is that we've set Heaven as THE point of the plan. It can pretty much be traced back to our puritan backgrounds and the revival of Jonathan Edwards, for example. Now I am NOT bashing Jonathan Edwards and I thank God for his willingness to preach scripture. There is truth in "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God" but I fear it was not taken with balance. Yes it is true that if a person does not repent he or she will spend eternity in Hell. However, people ran with the "turn or burn" message and created a lot of what I call "Fire Insurance" Christians. They aren't really interested in God or finding out about Him. They just don't want to go to Hell. So if they get saved, they don't have to go to Hell.... Fire insurance.

We all have insurances in our lives... whether fire, health, auto, etc. Let me ask you this. How often do you think about your insurance in your day to day life? Most of us only think of it when it's needed (i.e. there is a fire, car accident, etc.) or when we have to pay the premiums. On those days you have to pay the premium, how fondly do you think upon your insurance salesman? If you are like me you tend to have those whispers in your mind that say "Well, we've never had a fire... we might not EVER have a fire... if I never have a fire am I just tossing away money that I could use for groceries or diapers or our missions trip this summer... is it really worth paying in the end? on a chance of something POSSIBLY going wrong?" It can easily lead to a bit of resentment. I am paying good money on something that may never occur. I don't play the lotto cause it's throwing money away at chance... is my insurance any different???

Unfortunately, many people who come to God as "Fire Insurance" begin to view Him the same way. "Well, I've never SEEN Hell... No one I know has SEEN it... who's to say there is a Hell... why do I keep paying (don't do this, don't do that) on something that MIGHT be there... wouldn't I be happier doing my own thing anyway?... and if getting out of Hell and going to Heaven is the point anyway, why doesn't God just 'poof' me outta here when I got saved?" I contend that Heaven is not THE point to the plan. But if that's so... then what IS the point of "Plan A"?

OK, I'm done for this post. I probably will post the next part, but I haven't decided yet. In the meantime if you actually read all that, I commend you... cause I am long-winded. I'd love to get thoughts/view/comments/questions/disagreements. Send em all my way. Hope and pray you are blessed by this. LATAH!

Drumroll please...

Recently in messaging back and forth with a certain gentleman who shall be named later on in this blog, I've described him as someone on my "I am who I am in ministry because of" list. Well, I made up that phrase on the spur of the moment, but it's kinda stuck with me for a few days. Just sitting there in the back of my mind on simmer, every once in a while making itself known, but always at the edge of my conscious thought. And then while randomly searching the net for blogs, I've come across a couple that actually had the same prodding from the Spirit and posted a list of such people. So I've decided to follow suit. But as I put more thought into it I've decided to change the phrase from "I am who I am in ministry because of" to "I am who I am as a man of God because of". It's a subtle change, but it really resonated with me. I know that I am called of God to minister in very specific ways, but I also know that my wife and child (and any future children) are swept into that calling as well. *I don't want to get into the "I'm called" and "my wife is called" and "we are called together" dynamic, but yes, I know it is a part of it too* But this is a list of people who have greatly shaped who I am in ministry, family life, and life in general. So here is my non-exhaustive list of "changers of destiny" for me, haha.

Now if you know me personally, you know I'm not one of those icky-sweet, spouting platitude, super spirituals and I do not like cliches, but in every cliche there is truth or else it wouldn't be a cliche ... so before I get to my earthly list I want to say Jesus has GREATLY shaped my ministry and relationship with my wife. I don't just mean the usual "Jesus saved me" type of influence. I mean how He ministered on earth. How He interacted with the religious circles and the "heathens" In the last 2 or 3 years it's radically altered my view of daily ministry. And He loves His church as His bride. Do I love my wife like Jesus loves me? I'll admit it's not easy, but I"m trying. So when I say Jesus has influenced who I am I mean that in a very practical way. Now on to the redeemed humans on this list. :D (and these are in order of appearance in my life, not necessarily ranking of influence)

My Dad
I know it's not a big surprise for someone to claim a parent greatly shaped them, but this is the truth. I grew up a PK (preacher's kid if you didn't know what that stood for, lol) My entire life my dad was a minister. That doesn't mean he was always a preacher in a pulpit. But life was ministry for him. I've seen him change and grow in my almost 30 years. I've seen him have highs and lows. I've seen him have huge successes and never get conceited. I've seen him have huge failures and not get bitter and blame others. I've seen him make mistakes, sometimes totally innocently and always apologize. But not just apologize with an "I'm sorry" but with an "I was wrong" also, which is one of the things I learned. I saw him balance ministry and family time without compromising his zeal for God or the importance it plays in his life. He was steadfast in being a godly man of integrity when attacked even when the natural response was to attack back. My dad modeled compassion, integrity, honesty, perseverance and love every day. I grew up seeing ministry on all sides and sometimes the things I saw in others left me jaded. But in the end I knew that God was real and what true ministry was because I saw my dad live it daily. For that I am truly thankful and hope that someday I can be even a fraction as good a dad and man of God as he is.

Bill Allison
When I really started thinking about why I have these men on this list, thinking of Bill was one of the reasons I changed the title of the list. I've only had the opportunity to sit under Bill's teachings a few times and while I have been greatly affected by them and cherish those times, I think his greatest influence in my life has been in the times we just chat and seeing him interact with his family. If you don't know, Bill has 6 amazing children. They are polite, well educated, their own individuals and love God immensely. And to see the relationship he has with his kids, the amazing team he and Stacy make, and his genuine endless enthusiasm for God is just a blessing. I pray to be in love with God, my wife and my kids as much as Bill. I pray that for a lot of people.

Matt Marquez
I met Matt when I worked at the Boys and Girls club in Springfield, MO. To be honest, if I hadn't had to work around him I don't know that I would have really met him. Matt is his own person. Trying to describe him is like trying to describe a color without having an example in front of you. He's a crazy, hispanic, beatnik, hippie with mad hops. :D and when I started there I was still the white boy from the cornfields of Illinois. Matt showed me how to love God and still be relevant in the lives of kids from rough backgrounds. We worked with kids from low income single parent homes, gang bangers, druggies, all kinds man, but Matt loved em all and wasn't afraid to let em know God loved em too. Matt helped me understand that you come to God as you are, which includes how you talk. When he prayed he often told God that He was a "groovy God" and it wasn't pretentious or contrived, but truly the type of connection Matt had with Him. With Matt, "groovy" was a HIGH compliment. Matt was a pristine example of being real. He doesn't put on a good face just cause he's a "christian". He doesn't underestimate God or cast his faith aside, but he isn't afraid to be honest about how things are going either. I learned that it's ok to be real with people and let them see you for you. He also has 3 very independant daughters and a strong wife. Everyday he modeled how to be a godly loving father and wife. Even though we now live about a thousand miles away, I often think of him as I move forward on this life's path. For that I will always be grateful. (I also refer to Jennifer as "my girl" because of Matt calling his wife "My girl" and she calling him "My boy")

That's my list. I very easily could have included their wives with them. The way Patty (my mom), Stacy (Bill's wife) and Suzi (Matt's wife) respond to their respective husbands is just as much an indication of who these men are. And with each one I see pure love and support both ways. But I chose to stick with one gender for now. I encourage anyone reading this to think about who helped mold you into who you are and who you are trying to be. I also encourage you to let them know if you haven't. I'm emailing each man the part of this post that pertain to him. If you've made it this far, thanks for reading and God bless.

Coming soon...

I'm gonna try and get back in the swing of posting again. Partly because I enjoy it, but also because when I am actively blogging/organizing my thoughts, I tend to be more aware of the little conversations with God and that soft still voice in the midst of the chaos that is my life. So hopefully there will be more to come. Latah.