social justice: action vs caution

In the past few days there has been a lot of talk about Kony2012, a movement and campaign by the guys at Invisible Children to stop the ruthless killing, kidnapping, and terror brought about by Joseph Kony.

The new short film documenting the inception, direction, and aim of the campaign has sparked a firestorm of support, conversation, awareness, and concerns about IC's practices.

The two things I have latched onto the most are the movement (wanting to take part and make a difference) and the sudden outcry or "nay-sayers" that caution taking part in such a movement because of the practices of IC (which may be completely justified).

Here is my two cents (for what little it's worth):
I love the motivation behind the idea: give a voice to the children and families suffering from a cruel man's reign by bringing awareness in hopes governments will aid the situation to bring about justice.
I'll all about it.

This organization is not a perfect one though, nor are the people running it.  They may spend too much money paying themselves, making new films to raise awareness, and even use strategy that is less than ideal, BUT they are driving a movement that is making a difference.  Even if that difference is simply raising awareness among a generation searching be be change in an unjust world, they are making it happen.

I have seen the IC movement inspire more college students to become proactive in trying to make the world better than most organizations I know of.  While they are not perfect by any means, they are making things happen.

I do think there should be accountability for organizations that take people's money, but I dare say doing something, even if its not done perfectly, is better than not doing anything.

God demands that we stand up for those that cannot muster a voice for themselves.  He doesn't say we'll be great at it all the time, He simply calls us into action the best we can.

He has told you, O man, what is good;
    and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
    and to walk humbly with your God?
                             Micah 6:8



-peace

0 to 13.1: What I learned from my first Half Marathon

On January 29, 2012 I ran my first Half Marathon, the ING in Miami as a member of Team World Vision.
I've never been a "runner". I prefer real sports where there is a decisive winner...not to mention that I am not genetically inclined to running long distances.

Despite these factors, I signed up with Team World Vision to raise money for clean water projects in Haiti.
It was definitely a good decision.  I learned from the experience, made some new friends, and our team raised a lot of money for projects in Haiti (around $45, 000).

Here is what I learned from the race:

If you're going to run a race, join a team.
Running alone is the worst.  You lose motivation, you get bored, and you have accountability.

If you join a team, join one that shares at least some of your schedule.
My team trained during times I couldn't join them, so I missed out on a lot of help from them.

Vaseline is your friend, use liberally.
I had always wondered what the directions for Vaseline meant when they state "apply as needed"...application will be needed before and after runs.

Music.
It helps take your mind off the distance and challenge and can help drive you.
May I suggest the song "All the Things I've done" by the Killers as a solid power song?

Nip-guards.

Good shoes help.
I don't like buying things, but good running shoes help tremendously.

The race itself is a great time for prayer.
I asked for songs from friends to add to my race playlist and prayed for them when their song came up (or when a song I already had on my playlist came up)

The race is a study in butts.
You will be behind people the entire time (pun intended).  Unless you face skyward, you will be starring at more butts than you ever wanted to. Big butts, small butts, nice butts, not-so-nice butts.  All kinds.  Fear not if you have a problem with a mind that wanders when confronted with butts, there is more on your mind (like survival and breathing) than anything inappropriate.

Hydrate.
Race day and during training.

Don't use running as an excuse to eat terribly.
Use it as an excuse to better yourself and your body throughout.

Do it for something bigger than yourself.
Raise money for something you're passionate about.  It'll make the race more of a mission for you, rather than just an activity.  World Vision is a fine organization if I do say so myself.

-peace.

touchdown jesus: my love of football's place in life

Make no mistake about it: I love college football.  More than that, I love Arkansas Razorback football.  (yes I did say, and mean, "love", as in "having deep affection for")

Besides growing up being indoctrinated to love no other sports team other than ones from the University of Arkansas by way of an entire family system that ran on the highs and lows of seasons in the Fall, it is hard to say why I love Arkansas football so much.  The Hogs have never actually done anything for me, outside of giving me emotional highs and lows throughout the years along with great memories of times shared with friends in and around games.  On the contrary, they have actually given me plenty of reason to not follow them so intensely.  I have lived through more heartbreaking games and seasons than not, yet like the main character in a bad Lifetime movie, I find myself returning to my emotionally abusive love time and time again.

With no tangible reason, I simply love Arkansas football....perhaps too much.

Yet, even with this strong, unrelenting love for the team, I do not find my identity in being a Razorback fan.  There are plenty of people that identify me with the team, as being a fan, much like I am identified as being a rabid Jack Johnson fan.  While I am ok with this, and see no problem socially or even theologically with people being able to identify you with something you enjoy, it remains to not be who I am.

I find my identity in Christ...alone.

Unlike the Hogs, who have nothing for me, Jesus has done everything for me.  My team constantly practices, trains, and plays as if I were nonexistent.  They have done this for years and will continue to do so.  I could go up to any of the players and not be known in the slightest by any of them.  This is not, however, the same case for Christ.  He has, and continues to do, everything with me in mind.  If it wasn't enough that He gave His own life as payment for all that I've done that falls short of God's glory, He continues to seek me out with His unchanging and unconditional love day after day, loving me as if I were the only one in existence.  Now that's something to get excited about.

While I do reserve much of what little emotional energy I have to go towards football in the Fall, that is not because I love Jesus any less or place football any higher.  For me, it is simply because I place only a fraction of my spiritual life within the confines of emotion.  I see God speak to and through me in many different ways that are not emotional.  I often find emotions to be tricky and a bit deceiving, not to mention I don't emote much in general.  That is not to say that those that find emotional release and comfort in their relationship with God are less "together".  That's just my style.

So, as I find myself reluctantly coming to the latter part of another college football season, I do have a distaste for the drought of entertainment in my life that I enjoy living vicariously through my team but know that at this time of year, as with every time of year, I look to Christ as my strength, guide, power, and fulfillment.  Football teams come and go, players have good days and bad, things of this world (even football teams) ultimately disappoint.  But, it is the love that God continues to so graciously shower me with, despite my best efforts falling short of being worthy of Him, that sustains me.

I truly believe there will be football in heaven.  There has to be...its just so good!


btw: sorry for the Jesus-juke


-peace

mama never mentioned there being days like this

Throughout Christendom singles are taught to conduct themselves in a certain manner that, if done correctly, will allow them the joys of relationship bliss that God not only condones but also blesses.  Interestingly this advice is often given by people that are married and no longer relate to the struggles and pitfalls of navigating the world of “finding someone” and is often taught as if the audience has never heard any idea on how to date someone.

While there is no set formula that guarantees success, there are plenty of rules that are looked upon as the gold standard by which someone is to find a mate.  Often these rules are good ones such as “seek God first and someone will come along that falls into place with your Godly desires”, “search for character over physical attributes”, or “be modest, pure, and above reproach”.  These rules are, in fact, good ones to live and conduct oneself by, but what happens when they don’t’ “work”?

I’ve read the books, listened to the sermons, sought Godly council-the whole 9 yards- in efforts to prepare myself to be the man God would have meet, date, and ultimately marry the woman God has for me.  I’ve followed the rules and guidelines set forth by scripture in many cases to the T.  Yet, at the end of the day, and subsequently end of every relationship, I find myself alone wondering what went wrong.  There is always the classic “it’s not you, its me” routine that I get, but it just feels like that doesn’t suffice.  In most of the relationships I’ve been in I’ve done what was required of me by the book and come away empty handed.

Here is how my typical relationship goes:

Meet a girl I find attractive

Talk to her to get to know her

Ask her out

Go on a few dates

Meet her friends and maybe family

Steer clear of physical contact that would lead to sin

Keep a very open line of communication about my intensions and where the relationship is going

Pray regularly about doing the right thing in all aspects of the relationship

Seek advice from friends and Godly council

Go on a few more dates

Get dumped

So what do we do with the idea of a relationship not working even when we do all the right things?

To be honest, I don’t know.

The easy answer, that isn’t so easy to accept, is to trust God in His timing and ultimate plan.  We do not have infinite knowledge and intellect…He does.  He knows what’s best for us in everything, even relationships.

At times I wish I had done something wrong in relationships so I could look at the situation and say “this is what I need to fix”, fix it, and be ready to go into a relationship with everything worked out.  That’s not how these things work though.  Sometimes it just isn’t right.  The timing may be bad, the other person may not be ready for a relationship, or God is trying to teach you something else entirely.

There are those moments of doubt and being nothing but perplexed by the situation of things not working out, but that does not mean God has given up on the whole thing.  Perhaps the best practical way we can go about it is continuing to do what is right in God’s sight and know that He will reward the effort some day in one way or another.

So for those fellow warriors still in the confusing battle that is “lack there of”…hold on!

It is always too early to quit.

__________________________________________________________________________________

Please note that this, in no way, is a knock on anyone that subscribes to a certain idea, book, or philosophy on dating.  Nor is this a dig at anyone of the girls that have dumped me along the way.  Instead, it is just me attempting to shed some light on what I see as a frustrating aspect of the life of a single person in a Christian context.

peace.

God speaking to me...this time about relationships

God can speak to us in so many ways.  That alone is impressive.  It is even more impressive that God speaks to us in ways that hone in with our personalities.  Lately gone has been speaking to me through means of my intellect more so than through experiences.  A perfect example of this is how much I feel I've learned recently about relationships and the actions God calls me to in those regards, and I'm not even in a relationship.

Over the course of the past several weeks I have had great Godly conversations with several people about their relationships, models of Godly relationships, or what Scripture says about the subject.  These conversations have been ones that truly speak to me despite that fact that I cannot fully relate to every aspect of them because of my standing in the world of "relationships".  In addition to that, I've had one particular old friend that has been posting up a storm on facebook about her single friends needing to contact her to find a mate. While it's been comical at times, she has also taken to blogging about the topic and how she sees many of the struggles and factors that come into play in the dating world.  It is a great read and a source that I think highly of-she's been married for a few years now and has 3 kids with her wonderful husband.

Then, a BCM director friend posted a link to a church's site where they have the audio from a sermon series about relationships and marriage.  It's good stuff. 

Bouncing off of that, I read through 1 Timothy 6:11-12 and was very encouraged and challenged to prepare myself to step up more as a man.  And when I say "prepare myself to step up more as a man" I mean in every aspect of life: relationships, my witness and testimony of Christ's continual work in my life, ministry, finances, and thought.  God does not call me, as a man, to an easy and sidelined existence.  The creator of the universe made me in such a way that I would take hold of every opportunity before me to bring glory to His name in a mighty way.  That goes for how I pursue and treat a women to how I make the most of every opportunity to serve those around me as Christ served.

I also think about how fortunate I have been in my life to be surrounded by great men of God that have given a great example of how to lead, serve, and minister without sacrificing manhood in any way.  I look at men like my hometown pastor Johnny Hutchison, my college roommate and bff Ben Neiser, and my buddy Jace Tubbs who have all modeled how to be a man in service to everyone around them, especially their wives.  I hope to be able to live a servant manhood as they have in all aspects of my life, including marriage.  But, I'm not there yet, so for now I listen and prepare.


-peace

women... part 1 of many i'm sure

As I get older and remain single I learn more about myself, what I want in a relationship, and what God wants for me in both areas along the way.

In many ways I feel I've thrown off the desires to hastily get into any relationship that presents itself just because I long to be in one, but also look for the opportunity to be a man, step up to the plate, and make something happen when it is presented.  This is a fine line that I find very difficult to navigate (making and letting things happen).

One realization I have come to throughout my journeys in knowing and pursuing women is the fact that my "list" of "needs" (that being things and qualities a woman must have for me to consider her a viable option) gets shorter and shorter over time.  When I was in college my list consisted of things so specific, I would have only been able to date a female version of myself.  No one could live up to the criteria.  As of late, while my list has not gotten down to just one or two simple, and of course Godly, things, it is much more manageable.

Ultimately I would love to have someone to come along side of me in every aspect of life; ministry, social outings, random life adventures, and the like whom stands for the same things I do (making Christ's name known, loving others, and enjoying time on this green planet while we have it).  I find all the minor details I used to get worked up over insignificant.  Do I still long deep within me to marry a woman that loves college football as much as me? Yes, of course.  Is that the, or even a, determining factor that makes or breaks a girl for me? No...not any more (it used to be).

I may never find a girl that loves all the same music that I do, shares my affection for all things bacon, or even knows how football "works".

As it says in Proverbs 31:1a
"A wife of noble character, who can find?"

Well I sure haven't found her, but I sure as heck am looking.

In the end God has a plan for my future in this area of life we call "love" and even though it may not look as storybook as I'd like it to, I'm fine with that because He knows these things a lot better than I do. He did create the whole thing after all.


-peace

is my all not enough?

I'm not one of those that has a dramatic testimony as to how Christ came in and dramatically rearranged my life.  I was not turned from a life of killing people, selling and doing drugs, selling my body for money, ripping poor people off, or the like.  Instead, I was ten years old when I became a Christ follower.  I did so not because my life was so much in shambles that He was the only place I could turn for relief.  Instead, I turned to Him because I realized, the best a ten-year-old's understanding manage, that I was a sinner that could do nothing to earn Heaven on my own.

After that point though, I continued to stay on my path of being a "good kid".  To this day, I have never done drugs, consumed alcohol (outside of Nyquil), had sex, or killed anyone.  Yet, even with my list of "I haven'ts" I remain unworthy of His mercy.  I have sacrificed many things, including relationships, countless physical pleasures, material possessions, and a career that would pay decent, all for Him.  With this, it would seem that I'd have a right to proclaim that I have earned some sort of extra favor with God.  I'm a minister for goodness sake after all.  Yet, even with all that I have done it remains a feeble effort at best compared to God's perfection.

"We all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment."
                                                                                                                                   Isaiah 64:6

We, as humans, have a condition of sin that makes living up to God's standard impossible on our own merit.  We are not sinners because we sin, we are sin because we are sinners.  While this is bad news at first glance, a closer look reveals something marvelous: while we are sinners by birth and condition and we continue to offer nothing but filthy rags at the feet of God on our best days of being righteous, because He is so Holy and Good, His Grace and Mercy abound so much that He is able to sustain us and do His work through us.  That is good news my friends.

So, even though I fail miserably and often and on my best day of doing good I still am not able to earn any good things from God, He continues to shower me with blessings and strength...because HE LOVES ME. (and you just as much)

Selah that



-peace