Redemption

So, some things God and I went through today:

1. At Pentecost, when the Disciples received the Holy Spirit and began speaking in tongues, it was just another sign that Christ’s kingdom had come and God was reversing the curse of sin.
- View it this way: shortly after the fall of man (“shortly”, as in a few chapters in Genesis, not, “a few weeks later”), mankind was working on the Tower of Babel, and they all spoke one language. Well, God caused them to have different languages, confusing them and punishing them for their sin of idolatry (they were “god” in their minds, and, apparently, God, wasn’t). Well, Pentecost comes, and now the disciples speak all languages to all people, now creating a time that all people are linguistically unified, thanks to the Holy Spirit! Go GOD!

2. According to T.D. Alexander, in his book From Paradise to the Promised Land, he states that in the Ten Commandments, the “Do Not Commit Adultery” command only applied to married women.  Interesting.  Not sure I agree, but I don’t know any different, academically.  BUT, what Alexander didn’t say, but I just thought, makes his assessment make sense… the commands aren’t to make you feel small, insignificant, God’s way of telling you how bad you are… they are to show you that God is holy but is redemptive.  He is a God of love (that’s part 1).  Part two, specifically for this command under Alexander’s point of view: compare Christ to the Church and this command.  Christ is the Groom/Married Man, the Church is the Bride/Married Woman.  How often has the groom (Christ) betrayed the Church?  NOW, how often has the bride (Church) betrayed Christ?  YEAH… sad, but true.

3. Slippery slope effect of becoming the world.  Please understand I am not saying we should not become all things to all people… I am saying we should not try to assimilate all traits of non-christians.  My biggest kick is money… I am a big advocate of being debt free, especially since majority of the US is in debt (not to mention our government, as well).  According to some shaky information, roughly 90% of Americans are in debt (self included).  To me, that means there is little difference between Christians and non-Christians in how we approach our finances (also says a lot about what we treasure…).

- quick Jewish history lesson: after Cyrus brought the Israelites out of “exile”, the Jews were in the homeland, but still under foreign authority.  Fast forward to Alexander the Great’s conquest and Hellenistic indoctrination and you get the Hellenistic Jews (check out the New Testament references on this).  WELL, Aniochus IV takes control of Ptolemy’s domain (which includes Israel).  This guy is awful… he goes into the temple, takes the gold alter, lamp stand and anything else valuable.  The worst part about Aniochus IV doing this is the fact that the High Priest was complicit in this act (he was on board with the whole thing).  Not as bad as his complicit actions, the High Priest’s name was Jason (non-Jewish name… its Hellenistic).

– I tell you the story to say this, Christians, not just in finances, but other areas (self included), are like Jason.  We’ve let go of our identity, allowed Satan to permeate areas of our life and we just conformed instead of pushing back.  Following Christ is not regularly easy, but it is better.  Come on Church, search inside and break down the things that Satan has gifted you.

Love you!

Aaron

I’m back, sort of

I know, I know… its been ages since I made a post.  Tons of stuff things have happened since I last blogged: bank got robbed, moved to Louisville, Ky, enrolled in Seminary (Southern Baptist Theological Seminary), working in a dining hall, far removed from family… and this all took place in under a week.

Currently, I’m studying for an MDiv with a concentration in Leadership… fun stuff.

Fun news, my son, Eli, is using sign language, regularly.  Lisa, hopefully, will start work soon in the Jefferson County School System.

For more fun stuff, Cumnock Baptist Church is reaching a breakpoint in its attendance.  The church, currently, can only hold, max capacity, 96 people.  This past Sunday, attendance was 68, and that is also the current average (which is quickly rising).  Church Rule of Attendance states that once a church reaches 80% capacity (90% in suburban areas, 70% in rural), attendance will plateau and could fall.  WELL, 70% of 96 is 67.2 (personally, I’ve never really seen .2 of a person, but they could exist).  For all you non-math gurus, 68 > 67.2.  So, something needs to be done.  How awesome a problem is this?!  Debate is underway to either create a second service or add more rows in the meantime.

- It’s odd not being a part of Cumnock Baptist Church.  We are currently looking for a new church home and have visited 4 churches, all different in their styles, some good, some not-so-good.  But, Cumnock, you guys have been, and are, fantastic.  I see great potential and many up-and-coming potential leaders.  Don’t sit on your hands and let this moment pass.  It appears that God is moving in the community, but Scripture also points out that if we don’t allow the Spirit to move us, he will move on.  PLEASE don’t let the Spirit move on.  Diligently pray for God’s guidance.  Ask for wisdom, humility, flexibility… ask that God open your heart and reveal any hidden sin.  Don’t be like Achan in Joshua 7:16-26 and sin, then try to hide it from God.  It will not only hurt you, but the community as a whole, too.

Work it family!  God is about to do more amazing things, IF you will allow yourselves to be moved by God!

Racism and Interracial Relationships

My wife, Lisa, and I had the opportunity to talk about racism with the youth group last week (each week, we try to discuss some topic that relates with everyday life… this past week, racism).  To our surprise (happy surprise, not “oh no…” surprise), they jumped right into the discussion and asked question upon question and interjected thought after thought.  To be honest, the ideas and queries were getting so rapid that I was about to get lost in the conversation (thankfully, I have an awesome wife who can help rein things in (teacher-mode)).

Obvious question we posed, “is racism wrong?”

Obvious answer: YES

It them stemmed into various points of stereotypes and how that can be racism (when you go to the chinese restaurant, do you find yourself talking to each other in fake, terrible, chinese accents?  Or, when you think of a cab driver, you think of _______).  Stereotyping is, really, nothing more than a form degrading a person based on another person with similar attributes actions.

The discussion was so meaty that it carried over into this week’s lesson.  We discussed interracial relationships and whether or not that was fine.

**I would like to note that I have friends on both sides of this debate, any many are sincere, and not haughty about their beliefs on this (some, not so kind-hearted in their approach).

There was a comparison to having different animals being together (you don’t see a horse and duck together) to people of different skin color (but you do see interracial relationships/marriages).

*Simple explanation to this was that comparing two different animals versus two skin colors is different.  In biology, a white man from england and a black woman from Nigeria (if the terms “white” and “black” offend you, I’m sorry… they shouldn’t, but if they do, I’m sorry (look at a census, sometime.  “Caucasian” is not used anymore… instead “white, non-Hispanic” is the new term.  Also, the terms are more to point out the “differences” not the “actual skin color”) are still, essentially, the same.  They are the same, especially, when compared to a horse’s dna structure to a duck’s.  It is not fair to compare the two situations.

We then turned that discussion to what the Bible says in how we approach people.  1 Corinthians 9 talks about how Paul became all things to all people that he might win some.  Look to the parable of the Good Samaritan helping a Jew.  Look to what Christ did on the cross.  Look at what God did to Nineveh in Jonah.  Moses’ marriage (his wife was not a Jew) to Zipporah, an Ethiopian.

All of these were done out of love.  Paul became all things because he loved God and did not see color/race/ethnicity.  God spared Nineveh, not because of their color/heritage/ethnicity, but because of God’s love for them (non-jews).  The Good Samaritan helped the Jew out of love for his fellow man.  Christ died on the cross for ALL of our sins (whether you are from China, India, Mexico, England, Sudan, USA or anywhere in between) because of his love for us.  Moses loved Zipporah, so he married her.

I think it is safe to say, racism is just the supposition that one race is better than another.  IF the Bible says that there neither male nor female, greek or jew, slave nor free… (which it does) then aren’t we all equal before God?  Then we know racism is wrong.

Well, if we are all equal before God, can’t we, if we are attracted to someone who is “different”, can’t we have a relationship with them?  Or if we couldn’t marry someone of a different skin color, are we still pressing racism in another fashion?

 

For more talks, look to JD’s blog on this. www.jdgreear.com

July 1st and June 25th posts.

America’s Idol

Yesterday evening, Lisa and I were discussing Matthew 6:24, which says, “No one can serve two master; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other.  You cannot serve God and wealth.

If you’ve attended church at least half a dozen times, you’ve probably heard that passage quoted.  Dave Ramsey likes to evoke this passage when he talks about having debt, and that it is a bad thing (I agree).  I hear pastors talk about the love of money being your master, or your idol, and that you can’t have two masters.  I have a slightly different question to ask regarding this passage: With regards to “wealth”, as the NASV translates it (NIV translates the word into “money” instead of “wealth”), does this passage focus on money or God being something/someone you adore?

I’m not trying to offend people by implying you do not adore God.  What I am trying to point out is that this is from a master/servant point of view.  Do servants always like their master?  No.  Is someone’s idol something or someone they love?  Not always.  Is it possible that someone’s idol is an addiction?  Possibly.

Well then, my thoughts came to this: just because you don’t “worship” money because you can’t get enough of it, doesn’t mean it isn’t your master.  If you spend the majority of your time focused on money, good or bad, it is your master.

Typical baptist church business meeting: little to no time spent on any issue, except matters involving money (this is not to say that money matters aren’t important… I just think that they are out of proportion to their actual spiritual importance).

For the past two business meetings (sorry church folk, dirty laundry coming out), much time and energy has gone into the debating the need for a credit card (not a debit card… a credit card).  Comments have been made for and against the need for a credit card.  Tempers flew and things were muttered under people’s breaths.  In the end, the “fors” outweighed the “againsts” (or “ayes” and “nays” for you old school peeps), barely.

By itself, it is just one meeting with one issue.  Sadly, though, this is not just one meeting.  The meetings focus, predominantly, on money issues and stress the urgency of “needing” more money for {insert your cause}.

At the crux of these issues is one, dire, unspoken, spiritual issue: trust in God.  Is God not all-powerful?  Is God not all-knowing?  What does Philippians 4:19 state?  And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.  What does Proverbs 3:5 state?  Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding.

If you don’t see which side I stand on, I was with the “againsts” or “nays”.  I believe God can and will supply for our needs.  Just because majority of Americans have credit cards does not mean God’s house or Christians should.  We are to be “in the world, not of the world” – John 15:19

David and the Ark of the Covenant

My wife, last night during Wednesday Nite Bible Study, did a fantastic job talking about King David’s emotions in II Samuel 6.

6:5 -  David is celebrating (jubilant, happy, etc)

6:8 – David is angry

6:9 – David is afraid

6:10 – hopeless?

6:11 & 12 – David is Jealous

6:14 – David is happy, again.

6:21 & 22 – David has righteous indignation

Great job, Lisa!  I love you!

Also, looking through this passage, I find some interesting notes (all this is from the NLT):

6:3 – ark is placed on a new cart – uh oh.  We give the Philistines a break because they did not have relationship with God to understand that you do not transport the ark of the Lord on a cart.  But, the Israelites should have known better… there are two poles that the priests slide through holes on each side of the ark that they use to carry the ark. 

Maybe it is just me, but maybe this is an indication of their relationship with God.  They were supposed to carry the ark, not let it ride.  To me, they are being lazy with their relationship with God.  Ever try to be half-hearted with your spouse/mate/”boo” and expect them to just fawn over you?  If you have, what was the response?  A side-to-side head action from her, snapping her fingers at you, “I don’t THINK so!” response… oh yeah.

6:6-8 – Uzzah dies because he touches the ark and David gets ticked off at God.  Always a good thing to blame someone else for your mistake.  David, as the leader, should have ensured that the ark was transported properly so that everything would go well.  But no.  David gets mad at God for David’s mistake (sin)… like Adam getting mad at God for Adam and Eve’s mistake (sin)

6:13-14, 17-18 – David sacrifices an ox, a fattened calf, burnt offerings and peace offerings to God.  AND, he is also wearing a priestly tunic.  AND he blesses the people (this one is a little grey to me).  You may be thinking, “hey, Aaron, how is this a bad thing?  David is showing respect/reverence to God.”  Very true… except that is not his job.  He is King, not a priest.  God was very strict about whom could be a priest (Levites), David was of the tribe of Judah.  So, two strikes against him… not in his lineage, nor in his title.

To further my issue earlier, David is mad at God and David is the one violating the commands, not God (David is known as “a man after God’s own heart”, take courage everyone… David messed up as big as any other person, yet God considered David as a man after God’s own heart).

6:16 – David’s wife (one of a few) Michal fusses at David for his crazy dancing (not because he was a bad dancer… it was more of the fact that a king should not behave this way).  In short, David’s response is, I didn’t do it for anybody here, I danced for God.  Fantastic response from David… you can show reverence for God and dance/at-a-fool at the same time.

Different piece to notice about that conversation between Michal and David: why do you think, other than “kings should dance insanely”, Michal was upset with David?  **THIS IS PURELY OPINION**  I think it was a clear indication of Michal’s relationship with God vs David’s relationship with God.  Have you ever been to church and heard people criticize the way someone worships?  Is the criticizer’s faith as strong or as deep as “crazy worshiper”?  According to Paul the apostle, no.  So, Michal’s relationship with God was not that good, if it even really existed… thus, she criticized what she could not even understand.

I’ll close with this: following David’s lead, the closer you get to God, the crazier things you find yourself doing for God.

Baby Steps: Part 2

I keep meaning to create a VIMEO account for people to see the awesomeness that is my son!
Sunday was the first time I saw my son take a step.  That was during Sunday School.  Well, I guess he felt that that was not good enough for him, so he decided to take 4 steps back-to-back just a little while later.

**I also want to point out that my son in his 10.5month old linguistic skills blurted out, several times, something that sounded like “what’s that?”  It was an AHH-mazing experience.

Well, that evening, my son was put on display for the youth, again, and he did not disappoint.

Hopefully, tonight, I will have my vimeo account created and activated to let the world see my son walk!

Neccessity or Convenience?

There is an undercurrent flowing that has long since become the tidal wave of normalcy for quite some time now… the need for credit.  I hear this all the time: at work, at my parent’s home, friends, and even at church.  There is, in a tangent, a difference between “good” and “bad” debt… debt is debt.  It is never good.

There are two people that I highly admire and, I believe, have the ability to help turn society towards the right direction: Dave Ramsey and Mike Huckabee.

Dave Ramsey is a phenomenal business man who associates himself with the likes of Crown Ministries, Zig Ziglar, and John Maxwell.  So, in short, you get a motivational speaker who teaches you how to be financially fit and lead others in doing so.

Mike Huckabee: former Arkansas Governor, 2008 Republican Presidential nominee runner-up (and much better candidate for the party than the eventual nominee).  His approach to politics, to me, is one of common sense and focusing all observations through the lens of Christ.

I mention these two role models in that they both tell people to not place them on pedestals, and yet, I have.  Well, yesterday, I was watching “Huckabee” with my wife when Governor Huckabee had guests on show focusing on Credit Cards and their need for them and financial advisers helping people out of debt.  I thought to myself, “man, this is going to be awesome!  He has some financial adviser, ‘could it be Dave?!’, helping people get out of debt!!!”  Turns out, Mike takes a poll of the audience: “who here has a credit card?”  Entire audience’s hands go up.  “Who here has four credit cards or more?”  Not as many people, but still a good number.  “How many used their credit cards within the past 24 hours?”  Most hands were up.  “Not sure how you would’ve gotten through Manhattan without them”  as he chuckles.

Then, the two students he has, in regards to credit cards, follow with their stories.

Girl: If I didn’t have my credit card, I wouldn’t have been able to pay for books…

Mike: So you NEEDED the credit card?

Girl: Yes

 

Boy: I need a card to pay the rest of my expenses for college…

Mike: So, you need a credit card and can’t get one?

Boy: Right.

 

Financial Adviser: “Good debt… {blah blah blah}”

Mike: {nodding in agreement}

 

I have found my flaw in Mike Huckabee, and it hurt me.  My wife and I would have been an outcasts in the audience.  We have no credit cards (much less, 4 cards), we have both traveled north and south (NY: twice (me); Fl: twice (both), SC: both, once, Tx: once (both)) anddid not NEED a credit card to get around.  I HAD a credit card in college and was dumb enough to use it, though I had cash.  My wife HAD a David’s Bridal card which she paid off before the interest even took effect (she used it to get not only her wedding gown, but ALL of her bridesmaids dresses at once before they were sold out).  We do not recommend anyone doing this.  When we traveled, we PLANNED for the trip.  We BUDGETED (gasp) for the event.  We set aside money in case something went wrong on the trip.

Now, I’ll give Mike this… when he talks about policies, he almost ALWAYS references his spiritual beliefs in how he supports his policies.  He never went that route with the credit cards

Dave Ramsey, on the other hand, has no credit cards and his financial advice always stems from Scripture.  I admire that.

Please understand me, I would still vote for Mike Huckabee for President (Huckabee 2012… WOOHOO!!!), I just feel he made a mistake (not that I am perfect, by any means).

Credit is what has crippled this country, not irresponsible lending… credit, period.

But, Aaron, look throughout the American culture, credit has helped this economy thrive.

Has it?  Really?  One of the biggest reasons our markets have spiked throughout history is due to easier access to borrowing money.  Then, when banks get too stretched, they rein in the lending and markets fall.  BUT, look at companies that don’t borrow and see what they’re values have done… grown.  Not drastically, like other businesses, but slowly and steadily, gone up and up.

I was part of a team in college that competed nationwide in running a business.  Our team took one small loan at the beginning (pre-Dave Ramsey), but then paid it off and, from then on, operated cash free.  Our team finished 2nd in the school (among 16 teams) and was in the 6-8% in the country among over 2600 teams.

Business can, and should operate debt free (“leveraging” is the PC term).  Individuals should do the same.

Talk to a rich person sometime… ask them how they became rich.  I’m willing to bet they don’t say that using the Am Ex card made them the millionaire they are today…

“It’s the Economy, Stupid”

Depressing note: when that comment was made, I was only about 9 years old (Bush/Clinton election cycle).

Seriously, though.  All I here is how bad the economy is, nobody can get a job, it will take a miracle to fix this, the sky is falling, etc.

I will admit this, and this only, with this premise that my wife and I are fortunate to have jobs: have times gotten harder (or less easy)?  Yes.  Are things terrible?  If you live in Michigan, California, parts of Florida, Nevada or New Mexico… pretty much.  Elsewhere, not so bad.  Have our (my wife and I) finances hurt?  We’ve scaled back on our “luxuries”.

All in all, not that bad.

I recommend to you to listen to these economists opinion on what has happened in the past recessions, and then I have follow up “work” for you.

Here is the link: How The Government Dealt With Past Recessions

Once you have finished listening, I recommend two things for you:

1.  The World is Flat by Milton Friedman

2. Town Hall for Hope by Dave Ramsey

And, once you finish browsing through Dave’s site, check out Dan Millers site 48 Days if you’re not happy with you current job situation.

Hopefully, this will brighten your day and give you the motivation to be the change needed to fix YOUR economy.

Leadership Skills

Currently, I’m reading The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership: Follow Them and People Will Follow You by John C Maxwell.  In 3 1/2 days, I’ve read 14 of the 21 chapters.  It is a great read!

The last chapter I just read (Chapter 14 for those not listening, err, reading) was “The Law of the Buy-In”.  I found out quickly, this is where most of my failures take place.  It is not that I do not know what my leadership potential could be, it is not that I don’t know what influence I can exert, nor the process of growing as a leader, nor navigating, nor finding the real vs positional leader, nor the foundation of leadership, nor the concept of follow stronger people than me, or attracting good leaders, nor intuition, nor connecting, nor delegation, nor empowerment, nor reproduction (grooming new leaders… not the other reproduction… sheesh, you and your dirty minds).

My mom and I both consider ourselves to be visionaries, of sorts.  A common problem lay in both our arenas… lack of change.  At the risk of shooting myself in the foot, and also negating some of the “lack of problems” that I’ve stated above, I will let you in on a personal issue:  I know the skills listed above, but do not implement them well or to their fullest extent, yet.

The Law of the Buy-In is simple: you may have the greatest vision in the world… and people may love it and buy into it… but, if they do not buy into you, they will never do anything with the vision.

Well, why don’t they buy into you?  Maybe you have failed in the previous concepts I listed earlier.  I think that is where my problem lay.  I have since been working to correct and build upon each of those categories, but doing them after the fact and not starting out that way is more painful than it should have been.

I said I was going to read this book this year, I did not anticipate reading it this week, nor finishing it that fast, but it is a good book.  Those of you reading this, you have GREAT potential, but like a friend of mine said, “potential is useless, until it becomes kinetic” (she was a science major (bio-chem, I think)).

Read this book!!!

Advertising V Outreach

I’m excited.  We are quickly approaching the point where we are going to try and modernize our approach of “doing church”.  I’ve harped that “doing church” is not important when compared to living out the Gospel, but what I’m saying is that we need a way to encounter people on Sundays/Wednesdays (and whatever other days we have church) that meshes with our culture.

The 1950′s format of doing church is great… if you live in the 1950′s.  We’re in the 21st Century, lets meet people with 21st Century technology and styles (but not water down the message).

We’ve finally approved, and received, our first (and 2nd, without us knowing we’d be getting a 2nd) advertising banner!

I’m loving this!  The primary colors do a great job of showing contrast, particularly on US 421 and right in front of our church.  That contrast catches people’s attention and now they can find us so much easier (thanks Dad!).

Step two of the masterful scheme is the website.  Currently, www.cumnockbaptist.org is not flashy, but rather plain.  BUT, great news, I will let you see a preview of what the new site will look like… ignore the fact that our info is not on the site, but just soak in the appearance of it: http://www.joomlatemplateshop.net/joomla-church042/.

I did say this was Advertising, and I didn’t approach Outreach.

“Well, Aaron, don’t websites and banners work as a form of outreach?”

Yes, yes they do.  But, they do not replace outreach.  A sign or a website are much less effective than a warm heart and a growing friendship.  Signs and websites are to SUPPLEMENT the current outreach.  Signs make outreach easier for people to connect your handshake to the building.  Websites are good to answer SOME questions that you were not able to answer at the moment.

Again, I am just so excited that this is where we are (almost).  My wife and I stole, and proudly, a saying we heard when we were members of the Summit Church back in Durham: we want to make it hard for people to go to hell in Sanford.

My prayer is that you feel the same about Sanford (and if you don’t live out here, hopefully you want that for your hometown).