Is That In The Bible?
Thanks to the internet there has been an explosion of different prospectives on your favorite movies. My personal favorite is the new plot summary for Finding Nemo - “The protagonist’s wife is murdered by a serial killer while his son is left physically disabled. After his son is kidnapped, the man must travel thousands of miles with the help of a mentally unstable woman in order to get him back.” Of course, there are many others that just completely change the whole mood of a movie. The most depressing for me is about the Lord of the Rings trilogy - “Nine hours of men returning jewelry.” There are dozens of these plot lines explained badly out there, and I always laugh at them.
So then I thought, how would this work with Bible stories. David and Goliath - teenage boy, cheats in single combat and then chops off the head of his defeated opponent. He proceeds to break the rules of the agreement by chasing down his enemies stabbing them in the back all while holding the decapitated head of a giant. Gideon, the story of a scared farmer who reluctantly obeys God, raises an army, down sizes that army twice, and then proceeds to trick the worlds biggest army into killing itself. Jesus was basically on a three-year backpacking trip with 12 outcasts who didn’t quite understand what was going on. John the Baptist is killed because of a striptease.
There is a reason that this is usually called explain a movie (Bible) plot badly. These descriptions leave out some of the most important things, especially the Bible examples. They leave out the most important component of the story, God. Gideon isn’t about how Gideon tricks the big bad army into killing themselves but about how God can use the least important person possible who has the least credentials to do his will. But even though these bad explanations aren’t the points of the story, they help us do something we often are bad at - read the Bible like it’s our first time.
There’s this well-known parable called the parable of the sower. This guy is throwing seeds around. Some seeds land on good soil, some land on a path, on rocky soil, or among the thorns. Jesus goes on to explain what happens to the seeds that fall on the various soils and let’s just say it only turns out good for the seed that falls on the good soil. As a kid, I heard this parable all the time, and the message was usually “be the good soil” so I thought I was the good soil. But then Francis Chan wrote a book called Crazy Love where he used this parable to say “don’t assume you are the good soil”. It blew my mind. I had read that story so many times and knew the punchline that I forgot to put myself into the story; I never thought about if I was good soil or not. More than likely most of us fall into the weedy soil, we have some roots, we are growing, but we are constantly fighting to grow in our faith journeys because of all the distractions (weeds). We have to deal with. We love Jesus, but we also love football. We love the church, but we want to spend time at the beach. We would love to give 10% of our income to the church, but the new iPhone just came out.
So read the Bible as you’ve never read it before. Put yourself into the stories, and then put yourself into a different character’s place in the story and see if that changes anything for you. Try to picture exactly what is going on and place it within the larger context of what is going on. Learn to read the Bible for all it’s worth.
What?
We all have seasons of change. Some we plan on and others that we do not plan on and we adapt. Many of you know that my wife and I are in a season of change in geography. Moving from the hustle and bustle of Orlando to Navarre with all the pieces, which have to fall into place. We have not moved in 20 years so you can imagine the chaos of packing. A friend of mine said everyone should move once every ten years to get rid of the stuff you don’t need. We feel very blessed to be moving here, and through everything, God’s hand is guiding us.
There is a huge amount of trust associated with this change in season. Vicki and I love to fish, and we are excited to be in an area where we can explore new bodies of water to cast our lines.
Jesus is standing on the shore after the disciples have had a long night of fishing but no catch.
“Early in the morning, Jesus stood on the shore, but the disciples did not realize that it was Jesus. He called out to them, “Friends, haven’t you any fish?” “No,” they answered. He said, “Throw your net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish. ”
If you have spent any time fishing in a boat and you have been anchored in a current or with the wind blowing you always throw your line or nets with the wind. So your line will stay tight. This is what the disciples have been doing throwing the nets with the wind. When Jesus said throw your net on the right side of the boat, which would go against all rules in fishing. “When they did, they were unable to haul the net in because of the large number of fish.”
How many times in your life have you been casting a net and come up empty? Then there is God saying try it my way. You might lean your head to a 45-degree angle and say WHAT? Which I am sure the disciples were saying the same thing. But they trusted Jesus and the nets were full of an abundance of fish. We all have that moment when we say “you want me to do what?” Trusting God will align you with God’s desires and not yours.
A friend of mine Pastor Steve Hambrick once told me while he was preaching a sermon, he heard a voice say “Do 10 Push-ups now” WHAT? He thought to himself. He said he continued the sermon and heard the same voice say “Do 10 Push-ups now” So not to be disobedient he did ten push-ups in the middle of his sermon. At the end of the service, a woman came up to him crying tears of joy. She had been trying to get her husband to church for ten years, and he came that day. The husband told her the only way he would come back to church is if the pastor started doing push-ups in the middle of his sermon.
“You never know what God will ask you to do; he is asking you to trust in him. Regardless of your circumstances, take the time to align yourself with God. “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
The last thing Jesus said be for he ascended into heaven is “I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS” This reassurance that God is with us always. It is up to us to be intentional to be still in God’s presence.
This is the season of change for Vicki and me, and we are trusting God, and we are aligning ourselves up to his wishes and desires. Whatever your circumstances take the initiative and ask God for his guidance and his direction.
Mike Conrad serves as our Worship Director. When he's not preparing for worship or playing an instrument, he enjoys spending time with his wife boating and fishing. Learn more about Mike here.
The Dip
If you have walked around our campus during the last few weeks, you have probably noticed that we have a lot of remodeling going on. A commercial kitchen is close to being finished; work has even been done in the Youth House. A larger workroom in Hildreth has been created, which can also be used as a Sunday School room. The stage in Hildreth has been turned into a new Conference Room. We are replacing the carpet upstairs in Taylor Hall. We have stuff scattered all over the place and office life has been quite chaotic! Our special kitchen crew has been trying to keep up with having to cook in multiple buildings during the transition. Despite all the transitions, mess, chaos, and confusion, it is truly exciting to see things coming together! When everything is done, we should be able to do a greater extent of ministry and do it even better. However, if you were just to look at the last few weeks, you might think we were taking a step backward.
I’m sure there is a better name for this phenomenon, but I’ve always heard it called 'The Dip'. Tiger Woods went through the dip when he changed his swing after winning the US Amateur at TPC Sawgrass. We see it in businesses all the time. We are seeing it in our church at the moment through this remodeling process. It seems like it is everywhere, yet we don’t think about it in our spiritual lives. You might have heard about the mountain-top experiences and the valleys and how your spiritual walk is more like a roller coaster than a straight line, but one of the things we don’t talk about a lot in the church is the waves of doubt and questions that you might experience.
James Fowler was a theology professor at Emory and wrote a book called “Stage of Faith” in 1981. In that book, he describes the seven stages of faith (he starts at zero) and how one transition from one stage to the next. When I first heard about the stages, I was surprised to learn about stage four, the Individual-Reflective stage. During this stage of faith, people ask the hard questions. They start to move away from believing in God just because their parents or friends do and they start to examine what they believe themselves. A lot of times this involves severe doubts, maybe even questioning if God is real. It is hard and full of struggles and insecurities.
Some people would think that this is losing the faith or taking a big backslide. In reality, this dip is a springboard for the biggest growth area of your spiritual walk. Stage five is described as “The individual resolves conflicts from previous stages by a complex understanding of a multidimensional, interdependent "truth" that cannot be explained by any particular statement.” The big take away is that just because you start to ask questions and wonder what it is you really believe and why isn’t a bad thing. It’s actually the next necessary step and means you are really growing in your faith, not taking step backwards.
If you haven’t been there yet, don’t judge others who are really starting to wrestle with the hard questions. Faith is never as easy as we think it is. And If you have already gone through this stage, seek out those people who are currently going through it and help them along. Be a support for them and encourage them. Point them to resources and people that helped you through the stage. And if you are currently going through this stage, know that you are still on the faith journey. You are not “losing your faith”, but rather gaining an even more beautiful complex faith. Don’t keep it all to yourself, and don’t be afraid to talk to those people you trust about your questions. You are loved by God and by so many people you don’t even realize, so you are not alone. You are not the first person to have questions and doubts, and you won’t be the last. This is a stage of faith, you can get through it and come out better than you started.
Understanding Worship
God takes great delight in you
The Bible says,” He is a God who is passionate about his relationship with you” (Exodus 34:13) It also says God “Rejoices over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17) We understand loving God and singing to God, but we don’t usually think about God loving us passionately, or about him singing over us. How does that reality make you feel? God wants us to respond in Worship.
In English the word “Worship” means to “greatly love, admire and respect somebody or something in acts of prayer and devotion; to declare the worth of someone or something” When we worship God, we declare his worth. What is God worth to you? The worth of God is both endless and endlessly rewarding.
God wants you to be a worshiper
Buddy Owens, a musician at Saddleback Church in California, describes it this way: Our acts of worship are responses to what God has already done. We praise him because he has revealed his glory to us. We give out of bounty he has given us. We repent, not to earn forgiveness, but because he has already offered forgiveness. God’s died for us while were sinners. God’s friendship is the reward for worship.
Jesus taught us to worship
He Prayed - Mark 1:35
He taught - Mark 1:39
He preached - Mark 1:38
He was baptized - Mark 1:9
He gave - Mark 12:17
He resisted temptation - Luke 4:1-2
He fasted - Matthew 4:2
He sang - Matthew 26:30
He praised the Father - Matthew 11:25
I try to make sure everyone feels welcome and comfortable at our worship services. At times I will invite anyone who would like to dance in the isles to do so, or dance in the pews, or sing, clap or just worship quietly. It doesn’t matter how you act or how you dress. God is interested in your heart.
Worship is more than just singing some songs
There is no “Christian” style of music. None. At first, that idea confused me. There is no Christian music, just Christian lyrics. Melodies are neutral; lyrics make it Christian. So the style of music that is used in worship is not relevant. Worship is what is important, not the style. While each of us certainly prefers one musical style to another, there is no “biblical” musical style. God loves music: he loves us more.
Finally, we begin our personal relationship with God through faith and grace. Through faith, we believe, and we trust God with our life, surrendering our will to his. At the very core of worship is surrender. Rick Warren states “Surrender is not the best way to live, It’s the only way." We make it our goal to please God. (2 Corinthians 5:9)
The next time you are in worship, be a worshipper. Come with humility and thankfulness. Express your worship boldly, raise your hands, sing joyfully, pray, read scripture, offer yourself to God so the reward of your worship will be God’s friendship. In heaven, we will all worship God forever. This is just the exhibition season. Start being a worshipper.
“That the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father”
Mike Conrad serves as our Worship Director. When he's not preparing for worship or playing an instrument, he enjoys spending time with his wife boating and fishing. Learn more about Mike here.
Dinner Matters
Logistically it was one of the worst trips I’ve ever been on. A third of the students got sick, one of them even projectile vomited on other students, the wind broke tent poles, sand was everywhere, the boat ride took twice as long as expected, it was miserable half the weekend, and students can’t wait to go back. I’m serious about it being a miserable trip, you can ask just about anyone who went on our fall retreat last year, and they will tell you that the conditions weren’t wonderful and that just about anything that could go wrong did. However, you will likely find lots of joy and laughter from them when they talk about it. You’ll hear some of them talking about being the best fire makers, or about that time two girls moved an entire palm tree half a mile for firewood, or when they tried to teach people how to cast nets. And they might complain about the lack of a bathroom, but they are legitimately excited about going on this trip again in a few weeks.
A little over a year ago, a video started going around asking the question of parents and their kids “If you could invite anyone to dinner, who would it be?”. Here’s the video for you to watch yourself, it only takes about two minutes and is well worth the watch:
You might be just as surprised by the kid's answers as I was. In fact, I was pretty sure that this video was staged or they interviewed multiple families and only showed the few that fit the video’s theme. But even if they did (which I don’t think they did) studies are coming out that support the fact that kids want to eat meals with their family. I remember all the “eat more meals together at the family table” ads that were on TV a few years ago and thought they were just weird. But everything I see now says that kids want that experience, they want conversations (WHAT?!?), and they do cherish that time together (even if they act like they hate it).
It doesn’t matter how bad of a cook you are, or even if everything goes horribly wrong, kids want that shared experience with you. I remember as a kid ordering pizza once a week and watching TGIF on tv. Step by Step, Family Matters, and Boy Meets World are still intertwined in my memory with family time that if I ever see them come on tv, I instantly think of Friday nights with my family. I can still point out exactly when in the movie Aladdin my mom had to step away for a bit so we used this really fancy thing on the VCR that marked where we were so that we could continue to watch the movie and then rewind it to that specific spot for her to not miss anything.
Why do I remember that? I have no idea, just like I have no idea why I remember half the stuff I thought was really insignificant as a kid but have become the things that are stuck with me forever. Spend time together, even if it’s just watching tv. Be active in their lives and let them be active in your life. Eat dinner with your kids, because even though it seems like it doesn’t make a difference, it is one of the biggest things you can do.
