Two of my colleagues here at Bethel have recently passed on. . . . One in particular that I knew fairly well. Though I am not grieving like her family, it is strange not seeing her around, and I miss the example of love, strength, and humility that she came to embody. I am posting this video in the honor of those who have lost someone close to them recently:
You guys have already heard me talk a lot about my block class. . . because I really do care so much for my students. . . .
. . . . and I get to have a lot of fun!
Yesterday, I saw the first real signs of the transition from High school to College. . . you know. . . . when the students start saying things like “man, why did we do all of the stupid stuff in high school. . . . who cares what other people think!” – I love this part, because they are beginning to realize their place in the adult world – as they are. . . . not what their friends think they should be. . . . but their own man or woman. . .
Anyways, they had their first speech yesterday in Speech class (the other half of block), and it was on wisdom they had gained thus far in life. . . . . so, I wanted to share just some tidbits of their wisdom 
God taught me how to love, and not judge others through the stinging pain of insults and judgements that others rained down on me
wisdom is not just knowing you are gifted, but knowing how to use your gift for good
wisdom does not just happen overnight – it takes proper trainging, time, and the ability to learn from mistakes
I knew what I wanted to do, but didn’t know the steps. . . . . but I believed that Bethel could get me there
I had always been a Christian as long as I could remember. . . . or so I thought. . . . until I felt loved and accepted for the first time
wisdom is the ability to see the big picture of the present and future, but also the past. . . looking back and seeing God’s hand move
worry doesn’t empty tomorrow of sorrow, but it empties today of strength
which do you have. . . . reasons or excuses?
Praise God. . . . today was just another reason why I love my job:
8:00-8:30 – got to have my quiet time at work
8:30-9:00 – prep for class
9-10 – Lifespan Development class
10 – 10:01 – Got to introduce my good friend Seth Maust at Chapel for 5-star afterschool program – amazing!!!
10:20 – Drove 2 minutes to Gates Chevrolet to meet up with a guy, from Berrien Springs – happen to be coming Mishawaka today to get his car fixed!, who is selling me his King size bed frame for $25 – yeah, I search Craig’s list last night! Thank you God and Craig’s list (like a perpetual garage sale!!)
11-noon – General Psychology class – amazing students, great youtube videos of cochlear implants
noon-1:00 – lunch and got to discuss some things with colleagues
1-2:15 – had flag football practice, yes you read correctly. . . faculty ARE allowed to play in intramurals – of course, our first game is Thurs. at 10:40 pm – - way past my bedtime!
2:30-3:15 – had a meeting with my TA about life after Bethel, and the research she has been doing as we try and figure out how to start up my non-for-profit organization
3:20-3:30 – talked to my wife, who has been feeling very ill lately 
– we thought we were through with the first trimester
3:30-4 – met with one of my mentee’s Jim Ralstin. . . . . amazing man of God – one of the most mature servant hearts I have ever seen at his age
4-4:20 – met with my new mentee and friend Cam Brundage. . . He is a young man who really wants to chase God with all of his heart – I am honored to be a part of helping him on the journey
4:21 – home to help my wife get over to Bethel on time to teach her night class and also get the kids fed and ready for Journey classes at GCC. . . . that is, until my son threw up. . . .early bedtime then. . .
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????
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:
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.
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