1st – Dakota learned how to push his foot on the motorized jeep – He still has not figured out how to steer, but hey. . . . let’s not get lost in the details

2nd – we put together Dakota’s “new” toddler, firetruck bed – thank goodness for Craig’s list. We actually found the bed down in Louisville, KY – where Ang.’s sister (Nichole) lives. . . . So, her sister picked it up, and then Ang met her in Indianapolis this past weekend (for an already planned “sister get together”) – So it worked out perfectly – Thanks God, you really didn’t need to do that. . . . but. . . I love it when you do stuff like that .

I always try to pray before I teach every class, just to invite the holy spirit to hang out with me and the students. . . because I don’t want to waste time or miss an opportunity for there to be supernature things happening. Every now and then – something awesome happens. . . and I know it is the Holy Spirit doing His thing

 

So, I have been teaching Adolescent Growth and Development for 3 years now. . . I have helped out at the youth group at GCC for going on 7 years now. . . I have had countless encounters with students – trips, camps, teaching them, etc. . . ., but something has always gotten to me, you want to know what it is?. . . . . . . what was Jesus like as a Teenager? The bible doesn’t give us much – only 1 verse:

(No, I have not read this book) So, we know that he grew in “wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man” – growing in favor with God. . . no problem,. . . .  but what about with man??? Really, . . .  he grew in stature with Man???? What does that mean?? I know what it means in the junior highs and high schools around here – is it the same?? THEN IT HAPPENED – Holy Spirit time . . . . . . . . . . I asked my students in my class these questions: - was Jesus popular?, was he Prom King?, was he in the who’s who of Nazareth?, did he flirt with girls – if so how far, did he get frustrated with a zit?? Difficult questions right?? . . . . why so difficult? . . . . . NOT just because we don’t know the answer, but, I would argue that . . . . . . . . . the difficulty comes because it is the perfect mirror of what you think is right/wrong for a teenager to do. . . . . . it reveals all of your biases – all of our legalistic tendencies, b/c if Jesus didn’t sin. . . . then he did nothing wrong. . . . is it wrong to get frustrated with a zit, and to worry about what everyone is thinking when you walk into school???

Furthermore. . . hang with me here. . . . some students said, well, I think Jesus wouldn’t have gotten upset because He would have a different perspective that it’s not that big of a deal. . . . . really, . . . b/c if he was fully man – fully a teenager – then one of THE biggest characteristics of these years is that EVERYTHING is a big deal – so if he never felt that . . . . does that mean somehow he was not fully a teenager?. . . . . . . . ? . . . . . ? – it’s about this time that I saw my students’ minds’ turn into Jello. . . . . . so, I ended class by saying. . . so what do you think God is up to by not telling us the details of what Jesus did as a teen? . . . . . . They got up slowly, . . . . and as they regained motor control they slowly. . . . made it out the door. . . . and I praised God for visiting my class last Thursday .

So, . . . . . . . . what do you think????

I love doing this in class. . . . “So, are R-rated movies evil?” . . . . “Is secular music evil?”. . . . . . . “how much of hanging out with the wrong crowd is being a light in a dark world  compared to following into their ways?” —- why do I love to do this??? because. . . . . . it helps students see how RIDICULOUS these types of yes/no questions are – there are not black and white answers, there is soooooo much gray.  In fact there is an actual term in speech theory to define this mistake – “the either/or fallacy”. Once they get that. . . . we discuss how those that are unchurched often think that those in the church have clear cut, black/white answers for everything – without thinking about them too much or wavering on them (or else you would not be strong Christian right?!) – thus, since they, as a non-christian still want to talk about it, try and figure it out, and discuss the gray issues – they feel completely unwelcome. . . . . . I have heard many of them tell me – well, I guess church is not for me then. . . , because I don’t have this one (sex, stem cell research, abortion, homosexuality, etc…) figured out yet – I’m interested, but no one in there (i.e., the church) ever talks about these things. . . . things I really want to figure out. . .

I tell my students all the time. . . . . you have limited opportunities in your life to influence people, so you MUST prepare for them. Take time to learn, discuss, be aware of the details of these issues like the differences between stem research from fetuses compared to nonfetus stem cell research. . . . why?? Because when someone comes to you. . . a supposed “Christian” . . . to discuss these things, how you feel about it. . . you will have two options. . . (1). Sorry, I really don’t know much about that – I think it is wrong, but. . . . WRONG ANSWER!!! – the conversation dies, because you have no knowledge of the details, and likely they will not be coming back again. . . . . or. . . . (2) Yeah, this is a difficult issue to wrestle with isn’t it – let’s talk about some of the details that are out there and see what we can figure out. . . . YES!!!!

Have a great day everybody!

Ok, so every year in block we do a day long service project (all Bethel freshman are required to do a certain number of community service hours), and each of the last three years we have gone to Christian camp called Sunshine Cove, in Union, MI. So, we all jumped on the bus at 7:45 am (which is waaaayyy to early for most college students) – and headed off.

We spend the morning doing service projects, and since it was raining we ended cleaning out all of the cabins:

This first group seemed to have some sort of “gang” thing going on, and when given the chance started flashing some signs:

The second group decided to display their top 5 items that they found under the beds in the cabins they cleaned – note. . . . #1 is a $20!!

My group went on from there to clean the main dining commons area followed by scrubbing down all of the life – preservers. . . .it was right about then that part of the other group of students came yelling out of one of the buildings yelling. ..  . . . “bees!!!!”. . . . . now, I will be honest,. . . . for a split second I thought they were pulling off the Tommy Boy  scene, but then I realized very quickly that they were serious, and they were running right towards us!!!!!. . . . . . I said – “don’t come near us!!!”, but as one of the guys turned. . . . . I saw like 10 yellowjackets on his back – - – so I ran over to him and just started swatting them with my hand – killing them. . . . then some of the poor ladies had them in their hair, around their hair-ties. . . etc…. – it was bad. . .

Now, these were not honeybees – but, when the chaos stopped and we had added the last bee to the pile of carcuses - I made sure there were no allergic reactions. . . Praise God . . . none. Then we got some ice on the stings and I started making the baking soda with water paste to put on them (Yeah!! for Cub Scouts’ training!). Some of them got stung up to 10 times – here is a picture of some of the wounds:

- Isn’t it amazing that wonderful memories can come out of some of the worst moments. . . . when we are surrounded by friends. . . why?? Because they make the best stories – We went on to have a great time in the afternoon.  We did a challenge course together (the tires, below, was one of the items, played games and just hung out:

                 

The students also challenge me to kick the ceiling in the chapel area that we were at. . . I successfully had already kicked the wood beam in the ceiling, but here is me attempt at the ceiling itself:

video

I am a closet ninja

Yesterday morning John started off with the statement “live for the cause – don’t make your job your end goal”  - I have long been a proponent of looking through our jobs into the higher cause of bringing God’s kingdom to Earth. Sometimes this is hard though, as routine sets in, or one of our friends or colleagues just seems to be better/happier/more satisfied/more influential/more talented/more liked/more respected then we are. . . it makes us feel less than, doesn’t it. . . even when it comes to sharing our faith. . .

Something to remember:

John 6:44 – For no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws them to me, and at the last day I will raise them up.

In some ways then. . . the pressure is off – you don’t have to be super “soul-winner” guy (you know, the guy who can go up to anyone anywhere and convert them to Christ). . . no. . . . you just need to be who you are – God, not you, is the one who is drawing them in – - – - now this is not an excuse to slack off, . . . no. . . we just need to be who we are. You may feel like you are unqualified. . . well, . . . here are the qualifications Acts 4:13 – you need to have been with Jesus. . . that’s it. . . that’s it. . . no seminary. . . no bible or ministry major. . . – have you been with Jesus?. . . . then go and be a witness -

Like dominos leading up to someone coming to know Christ – we do not know which domino we are – there may be hundreds of dominos before someone realizes the love of Jesus.  We may be number 112 -, sure, super-sould-winner guy is the last domino, but who should get the credit. . . . super soul-winner guy - NO – only God, He is the only one that has been drawing them near Jesus for who knows how long. So, be who you were created to be, and don’t be ashamed of that role.

I am going to Tamil Nadu, India in late December early January

- you will hear a lot more about this, but one thing that related to John’s message is this. . . . . . our “justice” team is the first of its kind – we are going over to partner with International Justice Mission – help free children in bonded slavery (brick Kilns) and forced prostitution. Here’s the deal – - we are pioneers. . . . . and because of that. . . we may be the 2nd domino of 2000 dominos leading to Christ – we may not see massive conversions or anything like that. . . . . in fact, we may be going simply to come back and tell the next group – “hey, don’t do this, this, this, and this” – we don’t know. . . . . . . . . . . . . . that’s ok. . . . . . if the 2nd domino wasn’t there – the chain to Christ would be broken. . . . . . . we are going to be servants of the Living God, to be used as He sees fit – what an honor it is to be a domino for the cause.

I love Frank Caliendo – here are a couple of recent bits from him from a local news station – GREAT STUFF – watch and enjoy

 

VIDEO 1

VIDEO 2

In my psychology classes I often talk about how one of the ways I like to define psychology is through three different levels of interactions.

1. Interactions with your self

2. Interactions with your peers, friends, and family – people close to you

3. Interactions with your culture, community or nation as a whole.

John talked this morning about how we are at war, and that we are living in occupied territory. He spoke in depth about the lives being lived in France during WW2 when they were occupied for years waiting for the allies to come. During this time people chose one of three paths (A) Collaborators – they blended in with the Nazi regime, maybe even supporting them, marrying into it, etc… (B) Neutrals – they really did not support the Nazis but they didn’t do anything to fight against it either – just tried to be quiet, and not cause any trouble. . . (C) The Resistance – they did anything and everything they could to stand up to the Nazis – from little boys learning german so they could be spies as they shined the shoes of German soldiers, to old ladies who turned street signs different directions so that the Nazis would waste gas and time, to men popping up from man-hole covers as snipers. . . little things. . . big things. . .

You see, the first group, collaborators didn’t believe liberation was coming. . . the neutrals hoped it would, but didn’t think it was that big a deal, certainly not big enough to risk your life for. . . but that last group KNEW that it was coming, and wanted to do everything they could to bring it quickly – so the oppression would stop. . . . . . . . . . . sound familiar?? Read Revelation 12, it talks about a celestial war that began long before we arrived here on Earth. . . this war goes on – Chapter 12 continues by describing the Christmas story as the ultimate story of being born into occupied territory. . . and as the war ends in Chapter 19 – there is a white rider on a white horse with the name of KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS that finally, strikes down the injustices and liberates the oppressed. . .

Where am I?. . . . Where are you?. . . Where is the war that is raging within myself, my friends/peers/family, and with my culture/nation?? . . . . more importantly. . . each of those levels. . . am I a collaborator – where no difference can be seen between me and the enemy, . . . or am I a neutral, where it is just not a priority – not worth the risk. . . . or am I part of the resistance – passionately loving others, showing grace, and doing everything I can to bring liberation (God’s Kingdom) to the hurt and broken in this world??

One last thought from John’s message this morning. . . he said - don’t give God your leftovers. . . . . He is not your dog – - -

- – OUCH, . . . yeah that one slapped me a little bit - - the resistence is worth it my friends. . .

Every Fall at Bethel College, we have something called Spiritual Emphasis Week, where a speaker comes in and preaches every morning and every night throughout the whole week, – lots of services. . . thus, the name. . . I’m glad your getting this . . . Anyways, the speaker this year is John Vermilya from Kingdom Building Ministries. Though I am not attending the services at night, I thought I would give you summaries of the services throughout the week.

He kicked it off yesterday with this running theme. . . God is a missionary God, He is constantly in pursuit of His people and overall creation. From Noah to Enoch to Abraham to David and to countless prophets throughout the old testament, God is desperately seeking to save the lost – his creation. Then, God made a decision to finish it once and for all, He sent his son to pay the debt that we, as sinners, owed God for our rebellion. Like a relay race. . . the baton was passed to Jesus. . . and JC did His thing for 33 years, until he said “it is finished” on the cross – what was finished?? – his leg of the race – He did his part. . . and passed the baton onto the Holy Spirit. At Pentecost the H.S. came into the disciples in amazing ways with amazing power, and thousands came to know Christ. . .

You know. . . John fortells in the book of Revelation chapter 7 the end of this world as we know it with visions of every tribe, every tongue, every nation worshiping God. How do we get there from here??. . . . . . Believe it or not. . . The Holy Spirit is passing the baton to us. . . we are the anchor leg. . . we are the ones called to finish the race. . .

We all have a decision to make – will we pick up the baton and run the anchor leg of this race to Revelation 7. . . or. . . . Just like the U.S. 4X100 track team (frustrating to watch at the Olympics!!) - will we drop the baton -it’s easy to do. . . We can be in the blocks – waiting for our moment to be passed the baton. . . we have prepared. . . we have gone to church for years. . . maybe even studied our Bible, spent time with God. . . the Holy Spirit is ready to give us the baton – - and what happens. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . too often we say things like well, that’s not my “GIFTING” . . . I don’t know how to do THAT!. . . no, I don’t feel ready. . . I have other plans. . . I’m too busy. . . I don’t want to think about that right now. . . him/her/that group of people to love, really? no, thanks, that’s too uncomfortable – what will people think?. . . . . . . . . we drop the baton, or worse yet, we don’t even attempt to grab it in the first place. . .

Listen, the good news is. . . everyday. . . countless times a day. . . the Holy Spirit is trying to pass a baton to us. . . let’s grab it today and TAKE OFF for the turn as fast as we can – we have a race to run. . . I’m ready!

  

Service times:

Tues. 9:30am, 8pm

Weds. 10am, 8pm

Thurs.11am, 8pm

Friday 10am

WATCH THEM HERE

I realized something this weekend. . . I sure am glad that God can still do His thing – even when I’m clueless to what is going on around me. Let me give you the background on this.  Let’s just say that I did not have the best Saturday - I was battling the familiar tension between needing to be productive around the house/get “projects” done, and being a good father/husband by spending quality time with my wife and family. . . as many of you know – this is a difficult balance, especially when the “projects” are taking longer than expected, and self-imposed expectations of time and quality are not being met.

Along with this, I was not happy with my message that I was going to be giving on Sunday night to the youth group (GSM) – it just seemed too lukewarm – too informational, not enough passion. Needless to say I was not in a great spot. . . then, as I am trying to get the pool cover onto our deck to dry out for the winter – I got a splinter. . . . I do not like splinters. . . especially when it is UNDER MY FINGERNAIL – OUCH!! – yes, it is still in there, and yes it still hurts. . .

I usually do some praying before going to church on Sat. night, just to make sure that I and my family are open to God and the Holy Spirit, because I never want to miss anything that God is doing. . . well, . . . I didn’t do that Sat. night, I even forgot that it was baptism Sunday (we only have one massive baptism every year at our church) . . . Church was really good – the music set was good, our senior pastor, Mark Beeson, delivered the Gospel really well (see it here), and there was an invitation to come forward to accept Christ as your personal LORD and savior.

WHOOA. . . - this caught me off guard, I mean, we only do this once a year and usually there is this big build up, and you feel the spirit moving, . . . and I hadn’t felt that. . . . . I had not felt anything like that. . . I was sooo clueless. . . around 75 people came forward to give their lives to Christ in our one service, but the next day over 427 people came forward at the 11:00 service. . . ARE YOU KIDDING ME!! – - – and that is when God kind of slapped me. . . . . . . . . . you know what Ted, I’m going to do what I’m going to do, I am God, it is your choice whether or not you want to be a part of it. . . I don’t need your permission or readiness to love the hurting. . . heal the broken. . . and rescue my people. . . . . . . . .  in that moment, I had both a sadness that I had missed out, and simultaneously, a feeling of God inviting me to jump on bandwagon, without judgement, and join in the celebration. . . so we did

What a celebration it was – people getting baptized left and right outside the church in four huge pools. . . and guess what. . . I spent some more focused time on Sunday with God, and he helped me discover a completely new message for the students – it never ceases to amaze me how much God is doing around me and wants to do in and through me. . . just a reminder that it is my choice to be prepared, so that I can have eyes to see and ears to hear. . . . . . God, please help me not to miss out on what you planned in, through, and around me today – I really don’t want to miss out again. . .

My wife, Ang, is amazing – I know. . . people may think that I am biased and all because, . . . well, . . . I’m her husband, and that is how I am “obligated” you know, “supposed” to feel. I tell you though that I am not alone, and I am so blessed by her life. She is such an amazing mother of our 3.33 children, a great counselor, and a tremendous teacher. Here are two recent comments from a couple of her students (Ang adjuncts two classes here at Bethel):

I absolutely loved class with Angela last night. Throughout the whole 3 hours I just had an overwhelming sense of: “This is it-this is what I want to spend my life doing” and I walked away feeling so equipped-and that was just after one class! I can’t imagine what I’ll be feeling at the end of the semester. I’m so blessed to be able to learn under her. She’s incredible.

Hey, your wife is really cool. . . what she knows is ridiculous!

I think so too . . .

This is one of my all-time MOST FAVORITE videos – it comes from Godtube, which is like the youtube for Christian I guess – though it does not have nearly the proliferation that youtube does; however, feel free to check it out sometime. OK, now for the video – take a minute, and really breath this in today – this is grace. . . . this is truth!

I student in one of my classes led a devotion yesterday, and part of that devotion was video that really got me going – watch this:

 video

We all make efforts in our work, school, relationships, kids, etc… and sometimes it just feels like one big letdown. . . no positive feedback, no “thank you’s”, no appreciation, nothing. . .

We all have dreams, and if you don’t anymore, well, . . . you used to have dreams. . . – they may never come true, but dream them anyway! There is value in dreaming, and there is worth in striving for something worthwhile – even if it never turns out exactly how you planned. . . there is so much value in living life to the fullest – even if others forget about you the day after you’re gone – - – - do these things, and fulfill your life’s mission to bring Glory to the one who planned them all for you – He loves watching you live, He smiles when you do your thing. . . so do it today – with all that you are!

Sacrifice is a funny word isn’t it – sometimes it makes you feel guilty, sometimes it makes you feel obligated, sometimes it makes you feel relieved, sometimes it makes you feel overwhelmed and exhausted. Why does someone sacrifice something?? There is always a reason. . . is that reason worth the sacrifice – aah, that is the real question isn’t it. . . but how do we decide?

So, I was in video this weekend at church alongside Kristen Baker (who is a great actress – watch it HERE by going to counter 27:37). The video dealt with FAILURE, and what happens when you seem surrounded by failed attempts to achieve something “bigger” – at the expense of one’s family.  .  . Have you ever done this?? I have. . .

When I was finishing up my dissertation at Notre Dame a couple of years ago now, I was really struggling with this issue. . . I knew that I needed to get everything done for my defense, but I was at the point where I was spedning the nights at work coming home for breakfast, take the kids in, and then back to work, 2 hours of sleep a night . . . day after day. . . - not only was I exhausted, but my heart ached for my wife and children, and I thought as I walked the psychology building’s basement halls at 3:00 am. . .  was it worth it?? I was putting such strain on my family. . . and the worst part was, sometimes I felt like I wasn’t getting anywhere at work!!! Have you ever been there?. . . sacrificing time with those closest to you for something else. . .

Then one night we went out to a fancy restaurant for dinner (ok, so Long John Silver’s), my daughter was 3 at the time and my son was 1. Everything was going great, it felt so good to be together again, maybe this wasn’t having that big a toll on my family , I thought. . . I had to go up to the little kiosk thing to get some tartar sauce, and when I returned, I could tell that my wife had been crying. If you know my wife. . . she doesn’t cry very often. . . so, immediately I wondered what had happened, but things seemed ok. . . so, we just continued on. Later that night, Ang and I were talking and she asked me if I knew what had happened earlier? . . . I told her no, and so she went on to explain that. . . when I left the table to go get more sauce, Elliana (my 3 year old daughter) leaned over to her and with a look of both happiness and confusion she asked “we’re a family tonight mommy?” . . . . . . . . . I broke. . . all of the exhaustion within in me. . . all of my mental fortitude . . . my facade of being strong. . . just broke. . . my spirit took a direct hit. . . and I was defenseless. . . . . . . . . Father , I cried, I never want my children to wonder what “family” means??. . . or to question the priority that they have in my life! . . . What have I done. . .

It is hard to put into words what happened next. . . I had to go back to work, but when I did, I posted a post-it  note on my monitor that said simply “I want to be a family again Daddy, please - Elliana“. . . . . . . that is when my determination and shear will power became an unstoppable force, and I worked as hard as I ever have before or since, . . . in some ways, I think those times were some of my purest worship to God ever in my life - -

- I believe sometimes hardships and sacrifices of time with those closest to you are necessary, but what I have learned is that they should try to be avoided at all costs and if neccessary, always be TEMPORARY. . .

Let’s all look again at our priorities. . . and let’s make sure we make time for those closest to us.

Peace

I have been helping out with the high school youth group at Granger Community Church for 7 years now, and this summer has been one of many transitions. Which is why, I think, that I was so pumped to get this thing started last night. D.C. Curry kicked things off challenging all of the students to think about what they are going to do for the next 2.1 million minutes (that’s 4 years of high school). Just like a match. . . what you do in High School can have the potential to spark something waaaaayyy bigger or it can create a lot of pain and destruction. What are we all going to do with the minutes that have been given to us – in case you had forgotten (like I often do). . . we never get them back -

Seth Bible has been hired to lead us in worship. . . and he totally knocked the ball out of the park, and I am so thankful!! We are very blessed to have someone that is such a great combination of talent, humility, and passion. I can’t wait to experience musical worship this year at a whole new level!

Jeff Myers created an amazing video highlighting all of the events of the summer – it was awesome to see how God can use a group of students who are on fire. . .

The new format of GSM – having a pretty power-packed hour of programming bookended by 30 minutes of social time – gave great connection time before and after the program. I just think the whole thing was a success. . . well not completely. . . but, that is what is pushing us to always strive harder to Bring Up There Down Here.

You might be asking. . . what went wrong?? Don’t get me wrong. . . last night was great, but. . . well, I was thinking about how the Republican Candidate for Vice President, Sarah Palin, has a 17 year old daughter who is 5 months pregnant. Now, according to reports, she IS planning on marrying the father, and keeping the baby, but regardless – I began to wonder if she has a youth group to go to?? Does she have people that will love her for her – not just because she is famous?? I think God just put something inside of me that will not be content until I see students walking through that door who are pregnant, have had abortions, strung out, homeless, friendless. . . hopeless. . . isn’t that what this is really all about?? Where do they have to go?? I pray it is GCC on Sunday nights from 6:30 – 8:30, do you know any teenagers like that?? Please send them our way – - and we will do our best to love them.

Peace be with you all –