Wesley Live! 11-11-08!

Last night we recorded our worship service. Feel free to download (right-click).

Part 1 (before the message): Part 1

Part 2 (ministry time): Part 2

Enjoy!

Things continue to be amazing

So the engaged life is treating me well and I am having a great time being back from China for over a month now and back in the swing of things at Wesley. We have had some great happenings in the past couple weeks, and I am very priviledged to be a part of it all.

On October 30th Last week we had an amazing worship gathering on Campus at UCF called Prayer Knight (not what I would have named it but, whatever). It was hosted by All the Christian campus ministries at UCF and I helped put it together as the Wesley representitive at all the meetings. The event was a set up in the big ballroom on campus and the whole room was divided into stations, where students could interact and experiance prayer and worship in differen’t ways. Wesley hosted the World Map station and the Self-guided prayer corner. At the map station we played this video I created to guide students in prayer for the world:

I spent the beginning part of the night praying for the Holy Spirit to come and reveal himself to all the students. However as I continued to pray, I found the Lord correcting me. I wanted him to come and just wreck all of us, reveal himself and have us fall on our faces. Then I felt him saying ‘how much greater is it when I don’t force myself, when people apart from my direct presence come and worship me.’ I spent the majority of the rest of the night just watching others participate in the stations and in prayer, and It was really encouraging, and it did bring him Glory. overall the night was great and talking to people afterwords I know it was very well recieved.

Another great event happend this last weekend and that was the Homecoming Tailgate at UCF. Wesley had free chicken and we gave it away all day that day to students on campus. We also had the amazing “UCF College Gameday” at out tent, hosted by another intern and some students. We posted the auido from the program online at Wesley’s main page. It was very funny actually once they got warmed up, so check that out.

I also got some more pictures back from China this week, here is a couple for your viewing pleasure:

This is a Nosu women whom we were able to chat with for a little bit while she was out in the field. The women all wear really cool traditional clothing. Very Brightly colored, and often times very large hats.

Getting passed as we head up the mountain.

This guy followed us up the trail for a bit, he was very nice, but he did have a gun, so we were weary. Anyways, turns out we were going up the trail towards his house so he was just following us cause he had to.

Here is some more, including one of the chicken I ate.

Beautiful valley, unfortunately we were headed up those mountains in the distance.

Back from China and Engaged!

I have returned safe and sound, home to the United States.  The great news is that everyone has returned injury free and without any Chinese criminal record. Hurray! The trip was an amazing adventure and while throughout the trip I said “I am never coming back,” I find myself excited to return in the spring (hopefully). a bullet summary, cause I like bullet summaries.

• The Hiking was ridiculously more hard than I imagined, but still doable.
• The food in the cities and in the mountains was some of the best food I have ever had outside of the states.
• The people were incredibly nice and hospitable, to the point where I was disappointed in my own American culture.
• Our China contact was simultaneously the coolest person I have ever met and the most annoying. But he was okay with it cause he knew that China had made him ‘weird.’
• I got scared, more scared than I have ever been before.
• I had amazing fun, communicating in ways other than language.
• I was stretched, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
• Hopefully we make it back in the Spring.

I will just tell one story for now. One the first day of our first hike we hiked from 9:00am to 7:00pm. And the first day was tough. Because we were still getting used to the altitude (above 8000 feet), we were winded the entire time while hiking. We could stop and catch our breath, but the speed at which you lost it again made it almost not worth it. At first, since it had been raining the day before) we hiked through mud that was just discouraging. Our boots became heavy and we all became covered, but eventually the Mud road ended and we picked up speed. In the afternoon we were followed for a while be a friend Chinese mountain farmer, but eventually we passed his house and he just sat down and watched us till we could not see him anymore. He tried to invite us in for tea, but we had to get higher up the mountain before tea breaks (mostly because the people we actually wanted to take tea breaks with didn’t live that low).

It was at this point that we missed the trail we were so supposed to follow and so instead we ended up going around and up a mountain on its left side rather than its right. For a while the trail became very steep and we had to break often. But eventually we reached the top, hoping to encounter the trail we were supposed to be on. Only to realize the trail we should be on is straight down the other side.  So the moral of this part of a story is don’t go over a mountain when you could have gone around. Anyway, we continued and found the right trail at about 5:30pm. We continued our hike and at around 7:00pm we came to our first Nosu House.

As we approached a woman saw us, ran inside and came out with the Man. We said hello in Nosu and immediately a smile came across his face and he began to motion quickly for us to come inside. Before we had even said anything besides hello, he had our packs off, seats (squared logs) pulled up around the fire in his house and tea in the pot. As we sat around the fire we pulled out a present for him and showed him how to use it, and because he could read he immediately was thankful. He tried to offer me cigarettes and alcohol, but I told him, via extreme coughing and hand motions, that I didn’t smoke and liquor made me sick. They thought I was hilarious. We continued trying to communicate, making all sorts of gestures and even pulling out some paper and drawing pictures.  We found out the man was 35, his wife was 25, the worker who lived with them was 20, and that their son was 3.  We learned their names but, they were pretty hard to say and even harder to remember.  He talked about how he built this house.  We talked about how we were going to hike over those (pointing) mountains. Eventually they ended up killing a chicken for us, in front of us.  And without going into to much detail, I will just say that his wife was grossed out while he did it.  The great news is that they didn’t make us eat any crazy organs, although they were in the serving bowl, and the chicken tasted pretty good (a little chewy, this was not a fat American chicken). He ended up inviting us to spend the night and after we had dinner they sat around and watched us go to sleep. Which was very creepy, but our Chinese contact had told us that they would do it. The reason they watched us, and they watched us do a lot of things that normally people don’t watch other people do, was because it was more than likely that they had only encountered maybe one white person before if any, so they were just curious.

In the morning he cooked us a delicious hash brown like breakfast and gave us some more tips for hiking across the mountains. Then they thanked us again and waved goodbye as we headed out on our second day of hiking.

Also in other news, like the title says, I am now engaged to one miss Loi Husbands. She is an amazing girl who has captured my heart with her way of life and her smoking hot bod (yea thats right). I can not wait to see what the future holds for us.

Embracing Missional Thinking

I wrote this article on missional thinking for the Wesley Alumni Letter. I am co-leading a team of students here at UCF in learning about how to live a missional lifestyle. Check it out:

The goal for our community groups is to create an environment where people can embrace life. They are a critical part of Wesley and changed my life and the lives of many who attend Wesley.  However the catch is that people have to come to community group (and Wesley) to get in on the life. And the Truth is that the vast majority of college students never make it out.

This year at Wesley we have invited some of our leadership to be involved in a new way, the missional track. They are no longer required to lead a community group like all the rest of our leaders. So the question is, what do they do? Firstly our missional team is looking to Christ for a model. Philippians 2 reads:

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.

The big word is incarnation, which is what this passage is speaking about. God became man. He went from one place to another. The missional team is experimenting in this same thinking. We are looking to go from one place to another.  We are church goers who are trying to become… something else. For some of us we are becoming like freshman again. Heading into the freshman dorms and spending time with them, hearing their stories and sharing our own. For others we are becoming activists and joining passionate students on campus at UCF who you will not run into at church (I promise). Others still are becoming other things to other people. 1st Corinthians 9 reads:

Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

The truth is, we are still learning what to do. We all are wrestling with what it means for our hearts to become like another. It is something more than just trying to be like them, which is a huge pitfall for us. Its something far more spiritual to really become like another.  However, we are learning and growing and so we are winning.  Our hope in doing this is the same as Paul; that we could share the great gift that God has given us, the love of Christ, with a person, a group, or even a whole community.

Blogging is hard / More China Info

Alright so despite previous promises and desires; I have not written something new on here in more than a month.  A month is a long time and a lot has happened. I also have been very busy (lame excuses). School has started, my internship with Wesley has begun, I went to Alabama for a week, I am continuing to prepare for my trip to China ( I leave in a week), I joined the Mission Society and I have been teaching myself Motion (computer program).

You have heard this before but, I am going to start blogging more often.  So people supporting me can read about what all I am doing, and so I can process all the stuff I am doing and learning, while living here in Orlando.

Right now, I have China on my mind. Last week I met up with the other people who are going with me on the trip and getting to talk to them about the trip was very valuable. The best part was getting to see some pictures from the last time one of the girls went to China.  Where we are going actually looks a lot like California.  Foothills/mountains with lots of low bushes and trees.  Just seeing the pictures took away a lot of the tension that was building in my mind about what this trip was going to be. I also saw some pictures of the people there which was equally great, because I was able to put some faces to the people I have been thinking about the past couple weeks.

I also have found out some important and some interesting facts:

1. We will be hiking via GPS, and we will be hiking straight through rather than there and back. So we will dropped off by public bus on one road and then approximately 4-5 days later emerge on another road (hopefully close to a bus station).
2. We are going to be eating a lot of hiking food, but the local people are also very into feeding visitors so I look forward to lots of rice and potatoes. I however look less forward too large chunks of fat (which is considered the best food gift to welcome visitors).
3. While we are not hiking we will be staying with a western family that lives in the region.
4. Just over 30 years ago the Nosu people still practiced slavery. With ‘black’ Nosu enslaving ‘white’ Nosu. to a westerner and even to most Chinese people the difference between black and white Nosu is almost impossible to distinguish. Because this is so recent there is still tension between the two and they do not live near one another.
5. The Nosu villages are more often than not run by a ‘Bemu’ who plays a witch doctor type roll in the village. Using magic to bless and curse people in the village, and performing rituals for the entire village. Sometimes the Bemu play a lesser role and are more like the other people in the village. However, in some villages they can be a little over zealous and be involved spiritually with the village on a daily basis.
6. The weather will most likely be rainy, but at least nice and cool during the day.
7. It may get to around freezing at night (Don’t worry I have a sleeping bag rated for this).
8. The Nosu often wear very brightly colored hats!

All in all, I am extremely excited to be going. I leave in one week and will return on October 6th. Please keep me in your prayers both now and while I am gone.

To Do

This morning the Lord was sharing something with me I needed to be reminded of.  Lately I have had a lot of things to do, little things piling up into huge stacks.  On my best day I get a lot of stuff done and then do my own thing the rest of the day. On my worst days I get nothing done. This has left me feeling frustrated and useless.  This morning however the Lord was sharing with me his heart and how this is not how he views me.  Lately I have been living like a man who does things for God.  Like if I don’t get through at least 5 things I need to do I have failed in some way.  Like my life’s joy comes from the completion of things, rather than his abundant love.  I have lived in a way that says “I do things so that I might feel whole at the end of the day.” Instead the Lord is reminding me that I have been made whole by his love and by no other means.  I should not do things to feel some form of completeness but rather do things out of the completeness he has already given me.  It is confusing cause both ways look the same from the outside. So that when we look at a great servant we think, “Oh jeez, I really need to get off my butt and do something.” When in reality they have not served out of their own strength but rather in response to the strength given to them by the Father.  One way will leave us realizing that even on our good days we have not done anything worthy enough, and lead us into sadness. The other way will allow us to know wholeness and and do things out of a life filled with Joy.

I am still wrestling with application but I will figure it out.

Questions with Answers

When Jesus walked this earth he met with people that other people refused to be with. The dying, the destitute, the weak, the low, the tax collectors, the prostitutes, the lepers, the outcast, the broken. People that needed love, and when he showed them love they were surprised, taken aback, struck with his willingness, his desire for them. I don’t imagine that it is easy to do what he did, but it at least seems simple.

Yet I am sitting here wondering, how do I do this? Is it really that simple? Who are the people with in my reach who need love? Who would be surprised by love?  How do i find them?  How do I reach them.  How do I love them?  How do I become one of them?

It seems like in our society, people with attributes like these are hard to find. Because these attributes are not profitable, they are not attributes people tend to magnify, instead they are hidden and disguised. We are supposed to be “perfect.” Part of me knows that everyone has these attributes inside them, they are just hidden inside us and disguised. But another part of me feels like there has got to be people who can’t hide it anymore, who are exposed, broken and in need of love. Unconditional, unrestrained, unstoppable love.

So how do I find them? Are they all around me and I need to love till they realize it? Are they hidden?  Are they waiting? Are they ready? Am I ready?

“These thoughts they propel me on.”

this is from ihop prayer room again.

Catching Up: Summer Wesley Happenings

Alright well, I started this blog thing and after a enthusiastic start I got busy (lazy) and have not posted since. Anyways, let me catch up.

A couple of weeks ago Michael and I were asked to do Wesley for a Tuesday cause Andy was out of town. So we decided to have a prayer night but with a little talk thing at the beginning, and an open mic. This was my first time speaking at Wesley and I was pretty nervous but I felt prepared. I went into it feeling confident, and came out feeling like “glad that was over.” Michael told me afterwards that I was kinda rushed and it felt like I was just making points off a list, which I kinda was.  I felt the same way, like some aspect was missing.  But, at the same time I felt really confident that what was said was from the Lord.  Andy said something interesting last week when I ran into him while he was preparing his talk for that week. He was talking about how it was hard for him to think of stuff because he was still adjusting to his new home. As I was thinking “Why don’t you just preach the truth,” he said “I know I can always just preach truth, but I am struggling with context.” I think what was missing from my talk (besides a little more charisma) was some context. Anyways, long story short: It was good, but not great, I look forward to the next opportunity.

After I spoke, we went striaght into worship and prayer. We also had an open mic. About the only part of my talk that I think went really well happened right at the beginning as Michael and Danny started playing. I read from 1st Corinthians 14.26:

“What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.”

We all have something to give when we gather for worship, that is not for ourselves but for all of us. After that they just played songs and we had an extra mic up there for whoever to do whatever. After a while some students started going up and talking and it was great. I was really excited to see people getting up and sharing what God was doing. 

Things like this hit the idea of a church gathering on the head.  They provide a grounds in which the people of God are in control instead of “leaders.” I want to see something even more fluid develop where there really is no plan or control from a central place, but rather the community has greater influence. Where there is just the understanding that, when we gather together things will happen.  A place where we understand that any person regardless of experience, talent, etc. is capable of standing before the community and sharing something that will have impact. During the open mic, the most profound things were not said by leaders they were said by normal people. While I think, and understand that a leadership is extremely important in church community. I also know and believe that in the Kingdom of God, there is no pyramid of roles (Director > Staff > Leadership > Students). In the Kingdom we are all priests, we are all equal because we all are standing before him. There will always be leaders of course becuase often someone must speak for the community or represent the community, but that does not change that fact that leaders or not we are all of one equality when we live by the spirit. 1st Peter 2.9:

“But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.”

This Thursday we are having and open mic again. It is going to be good.

Galatians 2.20

I heard this today and it is one of my favorite verses. This is from the IHOP Prayer Room, preformed by Steven Reyes. If you have never heard of the International House of Prayer, definitely check it out. Anyways this is awesome and I wanted to share it.

A pearl of great cost

I woke up this morning at 8:00 am with these thoughts running through my head, like I was giving some sort of imaginary speech. However that being said it is something I have thought about before.

The great mystery of God is not that so many people love him. That is plain and universal enough. Because if someone does accept that God exists in any fashion, its really easy to respect, fear, be amazed by and even love something like that.  It’s easy to understand why small weak and fractured people (all of us) would love something so big and powerful.

What is harder to understand, what is a greater mystery is that some how this God, who is everything, some how he loves us. Not just a little bit mind you, he loves us. The mystery is not that the weak would choose to love the strong, but that the strong would choose to love the weak. Even that the strong would love them enough to give everything of himself to them.

Matthew 13.45-46: “The kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.”

I read this verse a long time ago and thought it meant when we learn who Jesus is, we would sell everything we have to get him. I still believe that. However, when I was listening to the prayer room in Kansas city the other day, they showed it to me a new way.  This time the merchant was God looking for us, and when he found us he gave away everything of himself so that he could buy us. Because when he sees us in all our weak abilities, frail minds, and fractured ways; we are like a pearl of great cost, worth everything to him. He would stop at nothing to win us. He would give his own life to save us.