Ready and Willing, Lord, Here am I.
Gotta Testify!
Last Sunday one of REstore's own, David McDaniel was ordained as a minister. David is a special person and his family, friends, co-workers and members of the 2bc body came to show support and lay hands on a man who God will surely use to bring Himself glory and bring help and healing in our hurting world.
After being nominated for ordination and confirmed by the church members present, David was given the opportunity to present his testimony. He comes from a long line of Christians active in the church and community-at-large. He has been educated in the faith and has also had the opportunity to apply his knowledge at a chaplain residency at Baptist Hospital for the last year. He is excited for the future and his heart's desire is to be a pastor, helping those in need and investing in the body of believers. Then came the laying of hands. Everyone was invited to lay hands on David and Erin as they set out on their new adventure in Kansas City. James and I were a little nervous about what to say during the laying of hands so we decided that we would ask the Carberry's to join us. The four of us together came up with a four-part cheer in which each of us spoke a syllable of "Con-Grat-U-La-tions!" We even practiced! But our plans were abandoned when we reached the front of the line. Instead we hugged and wished them well. It was a bittersweet moment. I'm sad that we didn't get to spend more time with them. I hope in the future David and Erin remember this time and feel blessed and encouraged.
David and Erin, we are praying for you and we hope that you come back to visit us often. We know that God has great things in store for your lives and your marriage! You always have a place at 2bc-Downtown Little Rock! Also, don't be surprised if we call you next time we're in KC and invite you to go get some burnt ends!
Travel Blog
1000 Islands, Canada
The only kind of blog I've ever written is a travel blog... Last week, Andrew & I took a nice little vacation to spend time with the Carberrys and William and Mary alumni.
We started off just north of Lake Ontario in Consecron, Canada. His cousin graduated high school so the extended family celebrated by getting house boats and cruising the St. Lawrence visiting the "1000 Islands." My official job was the navigator, which is more difficult than it may sound when there are islands everywhere that all look basically the same from the boat! We docked to swim, go hiking, cook dinner, and drink wine. We stayed on a different island every night. Boldt Castle was an interesting day trip. It's an old castle on the US side of the riverway that was never finished because Mr. Boldt was building it for his wife, who died at age 45 during the construction. Now it represents lost love...
From Canada we headed down to Williamsburg, Virginia for a gorgeous wedding of Andrew's college teammate. He and his college sweetheart got married under a large oak tree next to the Chickahominy River at a private location called "Pigs Point." They wrote their own vows and one of the lines really stuck with me and Andrew. They vowed to "be my best self for you." Being a gemini, I am the first to admit that I often have dueling personalities. I am working towards being my best self at all times!
This weekend we're headed to Knoxville, Tennessee. We are looking forward to being home on a Sunday again to go to 2BC!
The Dilemma
Ironically, many times as Christians, we find ourselves avoiding judgment on the hardest and most divisive moral decisions. It could be in a spirit of unity or maybe a result of the "absolute" stance many take on claiming the only moral compass. Essentially if the wrong decision is made that must mean the compass is off and therefore the faith is wrong. I would say that the reading of the compass was done poorly, but that's another blog post.
One of the biggest moral quandaries that I often hear posed is "Given the opportunity, would you kill Hitler (or you could insert an villain here)?"
A simple math equation seems to be justifiable logic.
Trade one life to save thousands of others. So kill him.
Another way of looking at it is that we have essentially given up on a person.
This person (Hitler or whoever) cannot turn their life around so for the benefit of the world, we'll end their life.
Of course there is the judgment and justice aspect of it too.
Hitler was responsible for the death of millions so he gets what's coming. He dies.
Then there's honoring life.
As terrible of a person as Hitler is, he's still God's creation. We let him live.
The idea of repentance comes in.
Hitler has free will to choose God. If we kill him before he chooses we're playing God.
I'm sure there are millions of other justifications for such an action.
This is a hard question.
We find ourselves giving differing importance to certain moral values. We honor all life and all creation. We honor repentance and free will (well at least this Christian believes in free will). And we honor God's authority of judgment.
May 1, 2011
I came home late to see that President Obama was to give an announcement to the world about the death of Osama bin Laden. It was a pretty crazy time for me on a moral and intellectual level. I'm not afraid to admit that I prayed for Osama and the world to find peace a few times. But I'm not saying I considered him a friend or empathized too much. But just from my experiences as a person, I know that no one person is all bad and no one person is all good. However when the death was announced, I must admit I had a sense of excitement mixed with relief. It was a pretty confusing time for me. Probably because I don't think I've resolved for myself whether or not I would or even could pull the trigger and be at peace with my fellow man and with God.
I'm not bashing the Navy Seal that did pull the trigger. I'm not bashing Obama for making the decision. I'm just stating that it's a complicated decision for me. It's hard to see how death breeds peace. But it's also hard to live out a life that is apathetic to mass murder.
I've read a few blogs and that gave opinions one way or the other from a Christian perspective. So I guess that displays the turmoil that surrounds this issue.
Here are some things that I would say that this issue has taught me fairly conclusively.
- If you're absolutely sure about your stance on this issue, good for you. But if you can't see how other people are confused or don't share your view, then you should evaluate that.
- I'm not God. I'm not bin Laden. I'm not President Obama. I have a hard time casting judgment on someone's motives or actions. But I know we can't live in a world without consequence.
- I'm glad to exist in a community that doesn't condemn or condone, but rather offers guidance. If you polled most of the folks that I go to church (Second Baptist) with you would undoubtedly see our diversity responses to the decision. But you probably wouldn't see too much condemnation of differing opinions. Rather you'd see guidance toward Christ-like-ness (that's a nice made up word).
- I think we honor the struggle that we have as humans in resolving these issues. Sometimes the good stuff isn’t the answer, it’s the struggle. Don’t short cut to the answer, honor the struggle.
So I hope this post provokes thought and not judgment. I hope you can seek to see things in the shoes of other people. I hope you can learn to challenge yourself in new ways. And I hope we can find some peace so we have fewer decisions that involve mortal consequences.
A random fact or two…
It is May 5th, 2011 and I am already tired of all the speculation concerning the 2012 Presidential election. However, being the data-nerd that I am I find the research leading up to the election fascinating.
The most interesting thing I've read in awhile comes out the Pew Research Center. They conducted massive surveys of over 3,000 people and used the information to develop a political typology report. They asked questions about government performance, religion, business, foreign policy, race and many other subjects.
Using all this data they determined there were 9 distinct political groups in American 2011: staunch conservatives, main street republicans, libertarians, disaffecteds, post-moderns, new coalition democrats, hard-pressed democrats, solid liberals and bystanders. They even developed a short quiz so you can see which group you most align with.
I love the random tidbits of data.
- 2 out of 10 of solid liberals watch The Daily Show on a regular basis.
- Libertarians have a low church attendance rates.
- 57% of staunch republicans own guns.
- 63% of post-moderns use social-networking
Take the quiz yourself!
Garden’s Blooming!
Ok so not so much yet, but it's gonna happen soon.
There are plans in the works to develop an awesome (and small) garden on the lot at 8th and Scott.
One of the things that we as Americans are losing is the connection between the food we eat and where it comes from. I can't profess to be an authority on bridging the connection, but that's part of the reason I'm a part of the group that will be participating in the garden. We'll learn about strategies that come with growing certain foods, when they're in season, what are helpful and harmful fertilizers and insect deterrents.
Another cool part of the garden will be partnering with people in the community that we may not normally interact with. The garden will hopefully help us build relationships with each other.
We're going to use raised beds that look something like this...
We plan to build the garden and plant on April 23. Regular maintenance will happen through the summer and assigned to group participants.
If you want to participate, let me (Jesse) know and we'll get you in on it. We'll have a meeting to discuss the garden with the group on April 10. Attend if you can, but if you can't just let me know.
Holla!
Picture from the Poteet Class
Here's an artistic representation of the view of a breakfast snack in the Poteet Sunday School class.
The Poteet Sunday School class is by far the most awesome class ever invented. We've wrapped up our discussion on "Women in the Bible" and are moving on toward our discussion of the formation of the Cannon. In case you didn't know, the books contained in the Bible are different for many different faiths. Also the Bible was formed by men centuries ago, and is still influenced by translation and interpretation. We're going to talk about it. The discussion should be pretty good.
The Poteet class gets things going around 9:00-9:15 on the 3rd floor in the back of Second Baptist on Sundays. Come if you'd like to check it out. That's Jon Poteet in the pic. He leads our class.
$4.00 Gasoline
Something folks have been talking about lately is the possibility of $4 gasoline in our very near future. I'm not really a fan of paying more money for things, but I'm wondering if this is really such a bad thing for us as Americans/ citizens of the world. I think we all know that we need to stop polluting so much, and charging more money for gasoline is a good way to do that.
When I hear people talk about our energy future and global warming issues (they're intrinsically connected) I get really frustrated when people talk about the solution being a technology of the future. We have some simple strategies that we can do to address these problems and they essentially all point back to reduction and efficiency. Driving more efficient vehicles, tempering your thermostat and programing it properly, turning off equipment when not being used, carpooling, biking or walking for short distance travel, using high efficiency lighting and various other methods are simple ways of addressing global stewardship and energy reduction.
I just want to challenge you to look for ways reduce your energy consumption. Don't wait on others for the solution that comes from a magic wand. We can't live the way we are living right now. Let's, as Christians, set an example of stewardship and energy waste.
Burlington Mosque Factory
So a recent bit of news that's time has passed that had a lot of debate was the "Ground Zero Mosque" that is to be located a few blocks from "Ground Zero" in NYC where an old Burlington Coat Factory is or used to be.
Proposed Ground Zero Mosque (thanks Wikipedia)
I can totally see how people can get emotionally charged about anything related to "Ground Zero" or "Freedom of Religion". I'm not going to try and debate that. But there is something that this whole "discussion" is making me keenly aware of...
It seems to me that the guys that are trying to build this facility have no ties to the folks involved with 9-11, but they are catching a lot of flack for those events. If there is some association between the folks building the mosque and the 9-11 guys, let's arrest them. But as far as I can tell no one has been arrested yet.
I'm thinking how I can relate for the association I get with some folks out there that do stuff in the name of Christianity or as a Baptist that I have to deal with. It's easy to throw a blanket stereotype over groups and make assumptions.
Hate Pic 1
Hate Pic 2
Pictured above are some folks that hold a belief that I don't associate myself with. And I'm betting they wouldn't agree to some of my views, but we both claim to hold the title of "Christian." And I'd give you odds that they probably claim to be "Baptist" as well. But that's an extreme example of some beliefs that I don't want to associate myself with.
I don't hate America. I don't hate people that identify themselves as homosexual. I don't hate Muslims. I don't hate other Baptists. I don't hate soldiers.
What I do want is for us to be considerate of who we accuse of what. And the consequences of what we're doing.
Just some simple thoughts.
Open Mic Night is Coming! – Feb 5th
We are having an Open Mic Night. I hope you're practicing and gearing up for the big event!!! If you're interested in performing let me (Jesse: senatorjesse (at)gmail.com) know.
Qualifying acts include but are not limited to...
- Reciting cool stuff that you created like a limerick, haiku or sonnet.
- Reciting some cool stuff that someone else created like a passage from a book, blog or play.
- Playing some instrumental music on a harpsichord, drumkit or air guitar.
- Singing a song written by someone else like "Have You Forgotten", "TiK ToK" or "Golddigger".
- Singing a song written by yourself.
- Tell a fun joke.
- Admit to the worst thing you've ever done.
- Explain the economic crisis.
- Chopping through wooden planks.
- Setting personal eating records.
- Other...
The possibilities are endless.
So let me know if you have a solo thing, duet or choral performance. Also share this info with friends that might not otherwise get it. OMN is open to all!! We'll be in the City Year space above the Clinton Museum Store. BYOB, but we'll try and have some sippin syrup as well.
Start at 6:30PM
Check out the Event on Facebook!!!
http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=128805787185468
Richard Ball – God’s Call On My Life…
The following is a post from our good friend Richard Ball. He has a really cool blog that you can find here.
I can't sleep. It is 1am and I have to teach in the morning and I cannot sleep. You see, I have been thinking about my calling. In the fall of 1997, God called me to be involved in pastoral ministry it wasn't some voice or anything, it was that feeling that you get when you know that God is calling you to do something specific (I promise that I am not crazy). Mine was a calling that preachers tend to call it "surrender to the ministry." So, I went to school to become a Youth Minister. Graduated in 5 years from Ouachita Baptist with a degree in Biblical Studies. Through the years of college, I had steadily been involved in various church activities and held all sorts of church titles, thinking that I was building experience.
I leave the church where I was at doing all sorts of things because I moved to Little Rock and married the most beautiful girl in the world. She was about to take a job at a school and shortly thereafter, I got a job teaching in the same school. I had thought that God had called me to bi-vocational ministry, because the church where I was at didn’t pay because they couldn’t. All the while I still felt God calling me to church ministry. I was gonna have it all.
Shortly after taking my job at the school with my lovely wife, I discover that there is a church opening for a Youth Pastor. Thinking that this was the hand of God, I immediately threw my name in the ring. And I got the job! Things were amazing! So, I thought. What followed was a 9 month period of fighting, defending my job, pain, and heartache. Every two weeks I was defending my job and every other month I was having to deal with issues that were already dealt with in the previous month. I was lied about, undermined, and literally ambushed. One time I went to meet a parent and a couple of kids to discuss some of their concerns. I walked into the room to find that there were about three deacons and 8 parents with the entire youth all looking at me, voicing their “concerns.” I felt like I was about to be shot. Then the church ran into some financial problems and stated that me, and the children’s minister could no longer be paid. The constant lack of leadership and in-fighting in the church which seemed to be directed constantly at me began to take its toll, and in June of that year, I left the church. Crushed, feeling that God is not calling me to ministry in a traditional church.
A year or so later, I become Chapel Pastor at my school. Finally, I thought, this is what God wanted me to do. To be a non-traditional pastor, and for 3 years, I was doing what I felt God calling me to do. This was the beginning of new things. But, after 3 years, it was time for me to step down. And it seemed that God was silent. I would pray for what to do next, and he would not respond. But then he started guiding me to something that I felt He was not calling me to do. Over this past year, I have gotten to do pulpit supply (fill in for a vacant preacher) and speak at a revival. I’ve gotten to be involved in some amazing ministries (creating a CBF of Arkansas group page, blogging for you guys and girls from time to time, making connections, etc.), as well as give help to a new pastor, and wanting to work with him to help grow his church. But through it all, God has shown me that He is directing me back to pastoral ministry.
And this is where it gets kind of frustrating. I don’t really know where to begin. I’m looking at schools to pursue graduate work, but I don’t know where to connect to get my name out there to churches. At times I feel that God is holding back and I feel that I’m ready. But I don’t want to rush it, but I want to know! So this is where I’m at-God calling me to be a pastor but not knowing where to go or what to do.
Have you ever felt God call you to do something specific, and you’re not sure where to begin? Do you ever get frustrated with God? Impatient? If you don’t mind, leave a comment and let me know whether I’m crazy, or that I’m not the only one who feels this way sometimes. Also, please pray for me as God guides my footsteps that I will have understanding when God doesn't move as fast as I want.