On Saturday January 12th from 9-3 at Central Baptist Church author Chandra Peele will be sharing biblical strategies for staying pure in today’s culture. I am pumped because we can spread the message of biblical purity to a ton of kids. There are lifelong consequences by not understanding and following God’s plan for dating and relationships. Don’t miss it.
DisplaceMe Update
Here is a link updating the outcome of our efforts at DisplaceMe. I love that little things done with a heart to serve God can change the world. This generation of youth has the potential to rock the world we live in. Keep it up. Speaking for those who can’t speak for themselves is always a good thing.
An Update with a Side of Thank You
Friends. Dear, dear friends.
The year is almost over. With 2008 just around the corner, we have so much to look forward to and be excited about. And while it’s important to think about the days ahead, it’s just as important to stop and look back on everything that’s been accomplished. The progress that’s been made in northern Uganda is incredible. Night commuting has all but ceased. Peace talks are underway and in the final two stages. The U.S. has appointed Senior Diplomat Tim Shortley to focus on conflict resolution in the region. Uganda’s President Museveni has given the LRA a deadline of January 31 to come to a peace deal.
This crisis is finally getting more and more of the attention it needs and deserves, and you are a huge part of that. Take a minute and watch this brief video update from Jason, Bobby, and Laren to get a better look at what you’ve helped accomplish. We can’t say thank you enough.
We’ll see you in the new year.
Happy Christmas,
Your IC Family
No Stings Attached-Just Getting Warmed Up
This Saturday our No Strings Attached Service Ministry is going to participate in a meaningful service project. We are going to make blankets for the people in 1 nursing home here in Luling and for our widows. This has the potential to leave a mark on all of us. Anytime we have served others it has changed me but this time is special. I haven’t been in a nursing home in about 10 years since my grandparents passed away. It is something that I do not feel gifted in. This time, gift or no gift, God is calling me to help. I don’t feel comfortable there. I think a lot of the problem is just unfamiliarity. I also think I don’t want to allow myself to acknowledge that there are so many people that need comfort and companionship. I am so excited because people of all ages are pitching in for this project. It is going to be awesome.
KISS-Keep It Simple Stupid
I love studying about the history of the church. I know you can call me a nerd later. There are a few things that have fascinated me this week.
- The spread of Christianity through the world was amazing. God used a handful of faithful people to turn the world on its head. It exploded like a weed, or the mustard plant he talked to the disciples about. It spread south into Africa, north and west to Europe and east as far as India. All this growth in the life time of the apostles.
- He called people from all types of backgrounds to join His redemptive mission to reach all cultures.
- It takes courage and perseverance to impact the world like that. If you read about how these apostles died, it wasn’t pleasant. They faced death everywhere they went. They believed in the message so completely they were killed for it. The more the followers were persecuted…the more it grew.
- After they established the churches, everyone thought they had the answer about everything. The nature of Christ…was he man, was he God. The laws: did Jesus abolish them or do we still have to follow them. Arguments broke out, people were martyred for the views, cut off from the church. In all of their learning, they forgot the KISS principle.
Here’s the point. Theology, bible study, and scripture are all important but I feel Christ has been asking me this question over and over lately Mark 8:27-29. Until you answer this and come into a life changing encounter with Christ we are just studying for a test that we can’t pass. When he has transformed us then…He will use us to change the culture.
Great Love is Coming
Great Love is coming. I can’t tell you more about this right now. This event could have the biggest impact on your life so far. I’m serious. This event will absolutely change the way you live. Keep posted for details. I cannot wait to tell you more about it.
Our girls are priceless
Gena and the junior high and high school girls are starting a book club Wednesday called Priceless. It is written by author Chandra Peele. I am pumped because we are getting to the point where we can address some of the issues that our youth are facing. I am so glad that we can help reinforce the message that our girls are worth more than they can imagine. It seems like generation of teenage girls have been selling themselves short and settling for ungodly relationships and guys who have no idea how to be a man of God. Our girls are priceless and I hope they can catch a glimpse of that through this time of fellowship and discussion.
Systemtic Theology…from a 2 year old revisited
It appears as though Ben is more of a theologian than I thought. I got all of the details from his sermon upon reading my latest post to my wife. He actually said…"Jesus…put stars… up high…in sky…we can see him." He is nodding his head vigorously as though everyone should know this. Nodding his head again, he patted the ground and said ""Jesus…come sit grass…Ben."
Systemtic Theology…from a 2 year old
The bible tells us that God created the foolish things of the world to shame the wise. I love studying the bible. Love it. I could spend hours a day learning about languages, history and culture. As my knowledge grows so does my understanding of how truly ignorant I am. Here is the proof of that. Last night Benjamin, my self professed 2 year old "Little Man", told me something about Jesus that we could all learn from. He told me that Jesus created the stars. Will work out the details later on the specifics. Gena agreed and then Ben sat down in the grass and patted the ground next to him and said, "Jesus…visit people." Amazing, a 2 year old understands that God has created the universe and and that he is pursuing each of us. He wants to sit down with each of us and really be in true fellowship. He didn’t exactly use those words but the simple message he spoke is helping me to refocus. Often, we are the ones who do not take the time to look at the stars and sit down on the grass and say, "Jesus, thank you, come and stay a while." Thanks Ben.
Be Patient
We have been working our way through Genesis and it has been awesome. I know…who would have thought. Genesis? Awesome? The one thing that has hit me is that we really don’t have much faith in God and that we are really just a little impatient. It is so clear in looking at the first 3 chapters that God already has a plan for us and it is all about relationships and trust. We can trust the God who created the world by speaking to follow through on His Word. We see that from the beginning of creation that he meant for us to spend our time loving him and loving others. He meant for us to serve each other in our relationships. Especially dating and marriage. We often get tired of waiting and take things in our own hands. My prayer for our youth is that they would be patient and fall madly in love with God.
