A Sweet 16 Years of Marriage to a Beautiful Lady

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On July 12, 1997, I married my best friend. That day still brings back so many wonderful memories. I remember looking at my bride, all dressed in white and beautiful, ready to walk down the aisle with her father. The moments we exchanged vows seemed like a blur, even if I stumbled over the words we wrote for each other. I remember the limo driver, who’s lack of knowledge of where to take us struck fear in the hearts of a newlywed couple. I remember the hotel employee, whom somehow was convinced by my sister and cousin to use a master key to open our hotel door (!) and give us a special delivery on our honeymoon night, while we were occupying the room. I remember the honeymoon to the Bahamas, where the ride to the zoo on an empty bus made us wonder what we were doing! The photo here was from the zoo. My bride is as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. I’m so grateful for 16 years of marriage to my best friend. Things haven’t been perfect, and there has been much grace and forgiveness through it all that we’ve given to one another. I look forward to many more wonderful years together my love. Happy anniversary!

A Time For New Beginnings

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Took this photo on Easter Sunday. I love Easter for all of the meaning surrounding it. The resurrection of Christ, the celebration of the church for this moment and new life available to any who trust in Christ, the beautiful weather where I live, and the tradition of dressing up for Easter. It’s small compared to the other larger encompassing ideas surrounding the Resurrection, but it provides a nice photo op and a reminder that new life is possible in Christ. A new start is available to the one far from God. A renewed commitment leading to a changed lifestyle and pressing more towards the goal of heaven in Christ Jesus. Change is easy on the outside, but the greater change occurs within, when Christ resurrects that which is dead and brings to life. One day the believer will be clothed in immortality as Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 15 “When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: ‘Death has been swallowed up in victory.'”

Spent Another Late Night Over Pancakes…

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Took the guys small group out to our favorite place to hang out—IHOP. Much can be said of just being dudes and hanging out for just a while. We did a brief Bible study where the guys read some and we talked and asked questions and just tried to take in what God was saying to us. We prayed for our waitress Samantha and left a tip Jesus would want us to leave.  No matter where we are in life, it’s moments like this that remind me why I’m doing life together with some of the greatest students in the world.

A Peculiar Movement of God – Passion 2013 And Beyond

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I’ve just returned from a meeting of 65,000 college students and high school seniors, all focused on one purpose: the glory of Christ. There were other common threads in the Passion 2013 gathering, such as bold teaching of the Word of God, powerful worship that glorified Christ through deep, theological lyrics, the salvation of many who had come with groups, unexpectedly changed forever, and the gathering of many to authentic community in an unprecedented way. Could this be the spark of a greater awakening of God in our culture? Passion has been going on since 1996, and countless thousands have experienced this event. God has blessed the event in many ways. College students still come to this event even after 16 years, seeking renewal and greater purpose for their world.

The young of many previous generations in world history have been central in bringing about spiritual reform to society.  Jonathan Edwards marked several biblical principles that provide boundaries for what he saw as a true spiritual movement for which God was behind. These principles included the stirring of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of young people leading to the greater glorification of Jesus,  conviction and repentance of sin, a greater hunger for understanding the Word of God, working against Satan’s kingdom and its devices, leading people to be convicted of the truth, and a greater love for God and man.

Acts 17:6 which states, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also” describes such a movement of God, when people were passionate for Jesus they were making an impact in their community. They changed the world.  Acts 4:20 states, “For we cannot but speak of what have seen and heard.”  Peter and John were moved by the power of the Holy Spirit to proclaim the good news of Jesus. Revival was upon the world, brought by the indwelling Holy Spirit to move ordinary men to share the gospel. But they couldn’t be kept quiet.

Many, if not all, of us who went to Passion this year came back wonderfully changed. We encountered bold teaching that convicted our hearts, and worship that moved us to a more intimate relationship with Jesus. We want to tell the world about who Jesus is! We all hopefully come to a realization at times that we may need a readjustment in our walks. A re-charging of the batteries. A spiritual kick in the pants. Our college students and seniors are fired up, as am I.  God would you continue this work for your renown, for your fame? May the name of Jesus be lifted up and many brought to repentance.

God Used A Country Song…

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Sitting across from a high school student at one of his favorite Mexican Restaurants, I’m keenly aware that he and I are both there because of a long line of people, places, events, prayers, and trust.  Our conversation waxes and wanes of life, relationships, and family. On the way home he shares with me a (country) song on his phone. It cries of the pain of longing for more time with children by divorced parents. Good song that I had never heard, but it provided a window into the soul of a young man who could readily identify with that kind of pain. Such a moment required trust, for which I’m honored to have received from a good friend.

I love mentoring students. One of the young men I mentor has lived through many wins and defeats over our time together. Watching him connect with God through the gut-wrenching moments of life would inspire the most timid of men.

Such relationships come at a price. A return seen on the investment of time, emotion, resources, and ultimately giving of oneself to see another become a more devoted follower of Jesus doesn’t come overnight, within a week, month or even a year’s time. Getting another to conform to our mold of living is hardly the goal.

Producing disciples never meant having cookie-cutter processes of spiritual growth. So the expectation of having results within a specified time frame betrays the very ideas Jesus lived out with his closest of friends. Please understand, Jesus liked results. He called many new disciples blessed for growing in knowledge that former prophets and kings only longed for in their day. Jesus however spent much time getting to know his disciples and forming a lasting relationship with them.

Mark 3:14 states that Jesus picked 12 guys so that they could be with him  and that they could be sent out to preach (My loose paraphrase, emphasis mine). The relationships that Jesus nurtured teemed with purpose, hope and vision. Jesus saw something amazing in the people he chose to be around. This reminds me of the great task we are called to with students that God has placed in our path either through our intentionality in building a bridge to them, or a divine encounter with a teen seeking more from the questions that often go unanswered.  Who has God placed in your path?

The Light of the Gospel

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Today was probably one of the best days we’ve had so far on our vision trip in Moldova. We were in the city of Chisnau and each pastor was assigned to go preach to a church. Our church was the Good Shepherd Church on the outskirts of town, led by Pastor Jurga. His wife, Oxana, led the worship and singing. It was a very young and family oriented church. We were so welcomed by this church. They took us out to lunch and we enjoyed authentic Moldovan cuisine.

We had some difficulties with the flights, but hopefully they will work out. We have been debriefed at the Baptist Union, going over some final details about partnering with churches. After the district briefing, we went  to do a bit of shopping, and that was fun! Seeing the smiling (sometimes laughing) faces of the supermarket employees, I had a blast buying some things from the clerk!

Next we traveled to our dinner and heard from some very grateful pastors and leaders in Moldova. In a sense, we were the ones learning from them. We have taken in so much information about the needs and desires of the Moldovan churches here, that it is at times overwhelming. However, God is so amazing in that He has presented some unique needs that I believe our church could assist with.

One pastor shared of how in 1975, if 24 of us would have tried to criss-cross the country seeing churches and pastors, we would have been prevented from doing so by the Communist Government, or worse. Now, the door has swung wide open for the light of the gospel to shine forth in Moldova. The exciting thing is that churches from North Carolina have a wonderful opportunity set before them. Joy fills my heart in seeing the wonderful Christ likeness of the Moldovan pastors. The humility, the vision, their hearts to see their fellow countrymen come to saving faith, is just so motivating and inspiring. It makes me think of my own attitude towards those who need Christ in my own country.

Lots to share with our church back home. So grateful for their prayers and support.

A few thoughts from my friend Gerald…

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Im also traveling with 20 other pastors and lay leaders on this Moldovan Vision Trip. Two other people, Gerald Marney and Dick Pressler from our church are also with me. Below is a guest post from Gerald. Enjoy! 

Today we are going to Balti, which is a region north in Moldova. Today we’re listening to how we can look for ways to help churches disciple others that we are going to. We are looking for what their plan is to expand their church and what or how they are doing this. The drive today is a long one. We prayed before we left for John McIntyre’s kids and Derik’s uncle who has stage four cancer. The driver is driving so fast! The first place we went to meet 20 pastors who were sharing their vision with us and what they are doing. We had lunch there and the second place we went to was a large 500 member baptist church. They are building a place where families can bury their dead and not have to leave them out for three days. They then took us to see a summer camp for kids. It seemed really neat there. They had a cafeteria, bath house, climbing wall, game room and a place to sleep. The camp has about 18 staff and it is located on the river. We then went to the retirement home which is very large and they showed us around there. They have bed rooms and there is also a kitchen there. We also went to a church next to the retirement home, as it was getting late, and briefly stayed there. That church has about 150 members in it. The church got started 90 years ago and they have had three pastors there so far. We went back to the place we had lunch and ate dinner there. It then took us three hours to get home! The part of the north we visited has six cities and about 100 villages. 

An Eye Opener

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The little girl in the photo was in class at a Christian school hosted by one of the churches that we visited the second day. Note her cross that she was coloring. All these kids were smiling at all of us, probably thinking, “who are all these guys with coats on??” They were happy to see new faces, as was the teacher. She was also telling of the needs of the school. The church rents out a space within the school to teach the children lessons ranging from regular topics to focused bible teaching. The goal is to reach the parents by reaching the children. It breaks your heart to see the children and the conditions of the school. No heat. The school was probably a chilly 55 degrees. After awhile that can get cold. Nearly every building we went into had no heat, perhaps a standard in most areas of Moldova due to the high cost of heating a building there. Again the most important thing about this school, was the singular focus of the church to bring parents to Christ. It wasn’t education. It was reaching the parents through a vehicle such as education.

ImageNearly every meal we have sat down to has been an incredible spread and wonderful show of Moldovan hospitality. The pastors are truly glad we have come to visit. We have been so welcomed by everyone there. The food is all what you’d find grown or raised. Nothing store bought. Tomatores, cucumbers, fruits, vegetables, grape juice, milk, cheeses. Truly an honor to eat with these pastors!

One thing that we’ve kept hearing is that the pastors are in need of encouragement due to the large numbers leaving their churches .It’s not what you’d typically think. Many of the pastors have incredible hearts and great vision for reaching their community. Moldovans are simply leaving the country for work. There are few jobs in Moldova. Of a population of 3 million, some estimates put the loss of population at 1 million, which is staggering. Farmers are having to sell their cattle because the recent drought caused the vineyards to produce 90% under their previous output.

They are leaving behind families, and elderly parents. Many of the middle aged population is leaving behind young adults to fend for themselves. This is a crisis in Moldovan Churches. Without people, it is hard to carry out ministry on a scale envisioned. Pray for the Moldovan churches, and that people would put down roots and commit to to rebuild Moldova.