Take a Stand

By now I am sure that everyone knows that Dr. Falwell passed away today. I remember watching the The Old Time Gospel Hour as a kid growing up. I used to love watching it and listening to Dr. Falwell preach. I also remember when he began the Moral Majority. It was that which shaped the face of conservatism in the United States. He is contributed for the renewal of moral values and the voting in of Ronald Reagan (arguably the greatest president we have had in our short history as a country). He is also know for making polarizing statements. He was just one of those guys that you either loved or hated, respected or loathed. There was no middle ground when it came to feelings about him.

That is what drew me to attend Liberty University for two years (the place where I met my AWESOME wife - thanks Dr. Falwell). During my time at Liberty I saw Dr. Falwell as a guy with undying passion for people. I remember meeting him personally and then seeing him later, where he remembered me by name. When he was not traveling, I remember him being on campus a lot. I remember him sitting in the cafeteria eating with students. He attended ball games. He joked with students. I remember racing him in my car down a street in Lynchburg and getting to the stop sign (after him of course), only to see him smile and wave at me.

Many people say that he hated people opposed to his views, but what he hated was sin. I do not believe that he hated people at all. In our country that is a taboo thing. What our society says is that to love someone, you must also be willing to love the sin that they are in.

I got home tonight and watched CNN (I am not usually a CNN watcher) and Larry King was on recapping his history with Jerry. For the most part it was not all that bad. After that Anderson Cooper came on an interviewed a guy who was full of hate. He used all kinds of hateful words and basked in the fact that Dr. Falwell had passed away. At first I was pretty mad, but as I write this, I almost laugh because that was totally fitting. Dr. Falwell would have loved that.

The one thing I gleaned from my time at Liberty was that you need to take a stand. Take a stand when things are not popular. Take a stand when when it would be easier to cave. Say what you want about Dr. Falwell, but I say that he was a man who was dedicated to Christ and His kingdom, his family and his church.

24/7 Update

This week has been our 24/7 prayer emphasis at church. It has been great to see the number of people who have committed to one hour alone with God in prayer.

This morning I went in with one thing in mind and then God changed my plan. I brought my Ipod with me to listen to some music while I was there. One of the albums on my ipod is the Passion of the Christ Soundtrack. I played that and then read the account in Matthew. Needless to say it was pretty powerful. I was extremely tired when I read about the disciples not being able to stay awake for one hour in prayer. How fitting. I made it through the hour without falling asleep, but I realize that there are many times in my life when I have fallen asleep spiritually. Another thing that hit me, was the denial by Peter. I really sympathized with Peter because I too would have done the exact same thing. I would have, because I do now. Not with my words but with my actions

All of this brought to a fresh realization of the love Christ has for me. I cannot believe He has involve me into His plan. Certainly I do not deserve that love. The question then becomes, how can I ever hide that love from others.

Hummingbirds

I have always been amazed by birds in general. My grandfather was a bird watcher. I can remember going to his house as a kid and seeing him with his bird books and binoculars. I guess it is because of that, that I became a bird lover. They all simply amaze me, however, the Hummingbird is the one that really catches my attention. They are truly one of God's great creatures. This past weekend I bought a Hummingbird feeder and set it up on the back patio. I told the girls about it, which made them excited too.

Well, I set it up on Saturday and of course expected the little birds to show up immediately. After all, I knew they would come, because it is in the genetic makeup of our family. When they had not shown up by Saturday night, I was a little discouraged. I looked several times on Sunday afternoon and nothing. By that time, I was thinking I had done something wrong, put it in the wrong spot, etc. So last night we all went to church (Lord's Supper night - always a GREAT TIME), and I had to stop by the store on the way home. I knew when I got home that the first thing I was going to do was to check out the feeder.

When I got home, the girls with great excitement told me that one showed up (Malory was the first one the sight the magnificent creature). At first I was like, don't play that cruel joke on me, then I went outside and sure enough a hummingbird was there (a second one showed up a little later) partaking of the sweet nectar. SUCCESS at last. I am going to Barnes and Noble today to get a book on Hummingbirds so we can identify exactly what type of Hummingbirds we have.

If anyone knows which Hummingbird breeds (do you call them breeds???) grace this area??? If you do let me know.

One Down

Well, our (Team Lightning that is) first Upward Soccer game is in the books. WHAT A BLAST. I had no idea this would be that much fun. The kids were just awesome!!! It went by so fast that I am not sure what all happened.

One thing I did see was a ton of people that I have never seen on the church property. My prayer is that through the fun of sports that many will come to Christ!

Here's to a fun a season.

Upward and Outward

This Saturday we start Upward Soccer games. By we I mean that I am coaching Malory's team this season. At first there were many reservations. I have never played soccer, let alone coached it before, so when asked to do this I was not so sure. Never the less, I am doing it, and having a great time. Last night was our team's second practice and it went GREAT. Upward is a great program that will literally bring hundreds of people to the church who are not connected to Immanuel.

This week in staff meeting we talked a lot about being outward focused. To me that means we are purposeful on reaching those people who are outside the church. Those who are willing to make Christ Lord of their life. I was in a meeting once where someone disagreed with that, saying that our purpose was to build up the body. I guess to me the formula is very simple. You do both. You build up the body so the body goes forth.

Upward is that ministry which accomplishes just that. It gets the church body going forth. My prayer is that we adopt that same mentality church wide. Pastor encouraged people yesterday at our National Day of Prayer meeting to look at lost people as though they were our closest friends, relatives and neighbors. When we do, it gives an urgency in telling those who are lost about Christ.

So let's all go out there!!!! That is where the lost are!!!!