The Holy Spirit, a New Hat, and Three Screaming Saudi Arabians

So.

Sharing on Saturday night.

Epic.

Let me explain. So it all starts with a call to be creative. This week's scheduled sharing time was on the verge of a rain out, so we all decided to be creative - go to the mall, inside places, Walmart, just whatever.

Be creative.

Yup.

So Johnny Packs (in a Boston accent - and short for Parkinson) and I went to Coastal Edge, a surf shop. I needed to buy a hat, so we figured why not be creative there.

So we start talking to a guy who works there about hats. We are getting to know him, trying to think about transitioning into spiritual stuff, but then the ultimate distraction hits him...

Pretty girl co-worker.

So there he goes. We get over it and start to talk to another guy who doesn't seem interested in us at all, but he finds me a solid hat and we start over toward the cash register. I ask him a little bit about his life and he opens up right away, talking about his parent's divorce and such. I sympathized and told him that hard times had befallen my family at one point too.

Then I said, "And I know this sounds kind of weird, but the only reason my family is still a family is because of Jesus."

He then proceeds to show us a tattoo of a fist on his leg that has trees coming up out of the knuckles and a waterfall from the thumb. It was sweet.

So we got his number and are gonna hang out and meet his brother and stuff like that.

Next we ran in to Jeff (distracted guy) on the way out. He was on his way to Wendy's, so we naturally got ourselves an invite and go to know him a little more. Short story is, we got his number too, gave him a Knowing God Personally and I think we really made some kind of an impact.

Then we headed to the boardwalk. We talked to some dude, and it was good. His name was out of the game Zelda - no joke - and it was short and sweet.

Then it happened. As we were walking back, we realized that a four-person family bike screamed past us at breakneck speeds and was screaming for us to get on the bike with them.

If that is not a divine appointment, I have no idea what is...

So of course we ran after it, jumped on while it was moving, started pedaling, and met our three new Saudi Arabian friends.

The short version (because the library is closing in 6 minutes) is that we spent the next hour with them, chatting, biking, and hanging out, took a bunch of pictures, exchanged phone numbers, and made some really good new friends.

We are SUPER pumped about getting to know them better and keeping this relationship up.

Anyway, the Holy Spirit is wonderful. So outstandingly beyond our explanation. Listen to Him. He knows what He is doing.

Let's Jam yo.

John and I, since the day we found out that I play guitar and he plays drums, have been trying to plan a night of playing music on the boardwalk.

Last night it finally happened. Almost a month later than we had hoped, we went out last night at about 11 o’clock to play worship and “see what happens”.

We got out there and sat down about 20 feet away from a street preacher. We figured it would be a good place to try out. So we sat down, pulled out the guitar and djembe, and started to jam.

About 17 seconds later, a guy walked up and sat down on the next bench down. He said something to the effect of, “I don’t support that guy’s religion, but I support music. Keep playin’.”

Brandon didn’t know what kind of music we play…

So we played. Our goal was worship, so we did just that. We drew a small crowd, they tried to give us money, we said no, we played more, and we chatted it up for a while. After a while of chatting and playing, Brandon started talking more and he told us he played too and such. I handed it over to him for a bit, and we all had a fine time.

Then Brandon asked us if we wanted to go to Wendy’s with him and some friends. We figured that would fall under the “see what happens” category, so we joined.

When we got to Wendy’s, we were tired. It was around midnight, which is bedtime, but we were determined what God had in store for this night.

For a while we kept chatting. We played the explorer role and just asked a lot of questions, trying to figure out more about him.

Then came time for a transition.

“So, Brandon, what did you think about that guy earlier?”

Simple, leading, a good topic, and apparently exactly what God wanted to use to begin the most amazing night on project yet.

Brandon told us how he was an intellectual guy. He loved to argue, and he hated when people forced things on other people. So we met him where he was at, and started down the intellectual, logical path. We talked about how the guy on the street was just doing something he was hugely passionate about, and how if the message was love, that meant he was being passionate about extreme love. What was so bad about that?

He didn’t like the method, which was understandable. He said it was radical.

Names like Martin Luther King, Jr., Ghandi, Jesus, Stalin, John Lennon, and a bunch of others came to mind. We told him that the only people that made an impact on the world (good or bad) were radical.

For a long time we talked. In fact, we talked for the next two hours. But slowly but surely his heart came through.

He said he was intellectual, logical, and argumentative. But when we saturated our conversation with the gospel, and when we passionately described how God has saved and transformed us personally, we saw that he wasn’t those things. He was hurting, ashamed, and scared to come back to Jesus.

Brandon had been a Christian for the first part of his life. But when everything around him started to go downhill, he abandoned his faith. He got into things that hurt him, and he began to put distance between himself and the grace that awaited him in the cross. Brandon knew that he had denied and rejected Christ and said that if he could not be a good enough Christian, he shouldn’t be a Christian at all.

This is where the gospel of grace attacked and disarmed all of the shame, guilt, and failure that Brandon had begun to identify himself with. We told him about Paul, the chief of sinners, who killed Christians before becoming the coolest of them all. We told him about Peter, who stared Jesus in the face and shouted curses while denying ever knowing him. We told him about ourselves, who deny Christ consistently because of our lust after the things of this world. We told him that not one of us is good enough Christian.

The we preached Grace, Love, and Forgiveness.

“You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our sins into the depths of the sea.” Micah 7:19

“For it is by GRACE you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.” Ephesians 2: 8-9

God’s love does not depend on anything but His faithfulness. He chooses to love us according to His greatness and His majesty, not our ability or readiness.

We told Brandon that God wanted him to come back home. That he was choosing to love him in the face of all of his sin and worthlessness. That he did the same for John and I. That all he had to do was unwrap the gift of grace and experience love and forgiveness.

Trust Christ, and He will make you whole.

Brandon ended up re-dedicating himself to Christ last night around 2:30.

Praise God.

One of the coolest things was the moon. While walking to his car after he had made this decision, he looked at the moon. For some reason, it was blood red. He was amazed when he saw it, and he had us look. I said, simply, “The precious blood of Christ. That moon is for you tonight.”

He was ecstatic. He then said the one thing that would freak him out (in an amazed kind of way) was if the moon turned back white later that night, by the time he got home.

So we parted ways and exchanged numbers and are going to make sure to keep in touch plenty.

John and I walked home and praise God, wondering how we could be used for such a work of glory.

As we walked back we looked at the moon. It was already white.

White as snow.

What we do...

I just realized that I have never have posted a schedule and description of the stuff we do here...

So.

First, cool news. In 6 days, the staff leaves. The project is run by students. Holy Crap.

A couple of days ago we got our new staff positions. I will be the ministry teams director along with a girl named Megan Adams. We are a part of the 6 person Executive Team, and we are in charge of all the teams that run the more specific events.

Gonna be sweet.

So anyway, this is what a week looks like.

Sunday

Church

Free Time

Servant Team Meetings (in which Megan and I meet with the leaders of the ministry teams like the prayer and vision team, weekly meeting team, community team, outreach team, and so on to cast vision for what we will do, the themes of everything, and making sure they are doing ok in general)

Exec Team meeting/Ministry Team meetings

Monday

Work

Equipping time (training in evangelism) and Men's/Women's Times (vulnerable times in which we encourage each other in the safety of split genders...

Tuesday

Work

Action Groups (Bible Studies)

Wednesday

Work

Date Night with Jesus (scheduled extended quiet time), heading straight into...

Prayer and Praise night (a project people only night in which we pray a lot together and have times of sharing and worship that is INCREDIBLY recharging and refreshing)

Thursday

Work

Pac. Ave. (weekly meeting that is open to the public - more outreach centered, fun, upbeat, challenging - very cool)

Friday

Work

FREE NIGHT! praise God...

Saturday

Work

Scheduled outreach time at night on the boardwalk/beach

During the week, we don't work Sunday and then one other day. We also share a lot in our free time, and meet with some specific people for "peer discipleship". And sometimes relax and just hang out...

It's crazy awesome. And sometimes just crazy.

Killing the Giants

This last week was called Killing the Giants week.

It was meant to stretch our faith by shooting for ridiculous goals of faith and action in the area of evangelism.

For example, by the grace and power of God...

In 7 days and 2 hours, we initiated spiritual conversations with 2,296 people.

In 7 days and 2 hours, we shared to Gospel of Christ with 868 people.

In 7 days and 2 hours, 67 people decided to trust Jesus for their lives.

In 7 days and 2 hours, brothers, friends, parents, co-workers, and other personal giants in our lives were faced and walls of fear and timidity were torn down.

God is good.

The definition of evangelism, as defined by Campus Crusade for Christ is...

Taking the initiative to share Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit and leaving the results to God.

So that is what we do. We initiate broadly, talk with a little less, share with a little less, and see a little less trust in Him. But it all starts with sewing broadly.

Say 1% of the people you talk to come to know Christ. That is 100 conversations and 1 name written in Heaven. Better get talkin, huh?

The cool part is, too, that any conversation about Christ is useful because God is there, and He is the one working in people's hearts.

If someone accepts Christ, it is a success.

If someone hates Jesus and you talk to them about why, and are persecuted heavily, it is a success.

If someone is uninterested and you talk to them, it is a success.

Taking the initiative is all we are called to do, so let's do it. God handles the rest.

Simple Truth Re-learned.

It has been a LONG TIME.

A true testament to how busy life has been...

anyway.

Let me begin with the most important truth EVER that I had somehow forgotten along the way…

It all started last Monday, almost two weeks ago (actually it started before the creation of time, but that’s another story - I came in last Monday). We had a men’s time on a private beach and did a bunch of different physical things and team building things. They were really intense and awesome. But that was just the beginning.

We then moved into a time of walking. We all were adorned with our own personal hindrance. One of us was tied to his feet. Others were taped to 2x4’s. Several were tied to cinderblocks. I was blindfolded.

At first I was very confused as to why I was blindfolded. I wasn't sure if it would be ultra hard or maybe less burdensome than all the others. I mean, it wasn't a cinderblock...

I learned a couple things from this.

First, it was ultra hard. The whole point was that these hindrances were meant to represent the unchecked and un-dealt with sin in our lives. And let me tell you, it worked.

For one thing, unchecked sin proved to be completely incapacitating. I was unable to function, unable to help others, unable to be of any use at all in any way.

Although God can use us whenever He wants, and He is in control, we miss out on nearly everything when we choose to WALK in sin. We will always sin, but walking in sin brings death.

"Then, after desire is conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to DEATH." James 1: 15

Number one - Sin is the absolute worst thing in the world and is poison in every sense of the world.

Another thing was that I could NOTHING by myself. Walking on a beach blindfolded and alone would have either run me into a tree, the ground, or the water, none of which are good options. I absolutely depended on my brothers to guide me.

Number two - without community, the Christian life is next to impossible.

God designed us to be relational, as He is. We need our brothers and sisters to urge us in the right direction, because in times of trial, the Christ in our brother's heart is stronger than the Christ in our own heart (Dietrich Boenhoeffer quote, not me...).

Next, I learned that God WANTS us out of sin. Not because He is yelling at us to follow His rules better, or that He is cranky and wants us all to live His way or the Highway, but because He knows that His way is the BEST WAY POSSIBLE.

He created us to live a certain way. We messed that up. Therefore, we know it is wrong. We are not ok with all the hurt in the world. So living well means living the way God intended us to - to fit into the original design and plan.

Number 3 - He desires goodness for us because it is best for us.

So all of this was wonderful. There are a few more things that have played into this lately, and it is all going to be in this one post. Split it up if you have to... it may get lengthy.

Psalm 18: 1-19

David says this psalm after being delivered from his powerful enemy, King Saul.

You should read it so I don't have to post it...

Let's follow the general direction of this psalm.

1. David Loves God because God saved him.

2. David was at the point of death, and desperately cried to the Lord for deliverance.

3. GOD IS ANGRY. He proceeds to shake the earth, expose the valleys of the sea and foundations of the earth, blow fire from his mouth, soar on the wings of the wind, route the enemy with hailstones and lightning, and thunder from Heaven. That is terrifying.

He was angry because His servant, His child, was in trouble.

4. "He rescued me because He delighted in me."

God is willing, and will, do anything to save us. HE DELIGHTS IN US!!!

Somewhere along the way, I had forgotten this. Sometimes I feel like a hammer. Something in the toolbox that you did really want to buy, but now just use when you want other stuff. I felt as if all that mattered to God in regard to me was my effectiveness in bringing others into His kingdom. What I forgot was that I am not a hammer. I am a child, an adopted son, FOREVERMORE. God loves me just as much as anyone else, and continues to save me on a daily basis, because for some reason that is beyond my understanding, my God delights in me.

The funny thing is, after I finished writing this all down, making a mark in the ground to remember this beautiful truth… I sneezed. And it wasn’t a dry one either – not at all.

I was immediately brought to Guatemala. I started to think about the little kids Lauren is caring for and loving right now. They are funny, cute, snotty, and not the most lovable sometimes. Sometimes, they are just gross little kids.

But, it is amazing how we can see through all of that when we truly love someone. I don’t know this feeling yet, but I believe it is like the love of a parent. Absolutely no matter what a child does, however snotty and gross he is, you just have a love that wipes that all away in an instant.

What I never want to forget is that God has this love for me. He is Father. Through all the stuff, good and bad, God is my good Father who delights in me.

Along with this, a quick note on God's will. What do you think of when that term is thrown out there?

An almighty plan?

A mysterious schedule for us to keep on track with?

Something hidden and secret that God throws at us whenever He decides to?

1 Thessalonians 4: 3a

"It is God's will that you should be sanctified."

You ever look for twenty minutes for the keys that you are actually hanging on your belt loop?

Or the hat that is on your head?

Or God' will that you believe to be hidden in the depths of prayer and meditation and Godliness?

...Have you checked on your belt loop yet?

God's almighty will, His desire for our lives, is that we should be sanctified. Made pure. Made more like Him. Made good in every way.

God's plan, yes is a little more specific, and deserves meditation and understanding and all of that. But we know His goal! It is to make us good, as he intended originally. To allow us to live beautifully in a hurting, misshapen world.

Not so hard to find, all you have to do is stop thinking so hard.

And, how encouraging is that? We are not hammers and screwdrivers, just a part of the goal of writing more names in Heaven. We are meant for intimate relationships with God because he loves us and wants us to be whole and to delight in Him,

as He does in us.

Amen to that.

Go Tell it on the Mountain Yo

We share a lot here.

Not only do we have several schedule times of outreach, we just go for fun a lot of the time.

We do surveys, short films, solarium (a picture survey thing), and a couple of other cool tools that help transition into a presentation of the Gospel/conversation about spiritual things.

Or, there is another method.

I went with one of my roommates, John, a couple days ago and we tried a new method. It goes a bit like this.

"Hey, how you doin' today?"

"I'm alright, how are you?

"I'm great, thanks! Hey, so random question - what do you think about Jesus Christ?"

Can you say awkward?

I can.

Can you say awesome?

I can say that too.

Not only is it simple (yet terrifying a little bit), but it really tells you how a person feels because it kind of freaks them out. No better way to find out that watching their reaction.

Religion and politics. Not supposed to talk about either.

That's a dumb rule.

:)

We talked to a lot of interesting people that day. One guy is going to come to our weekly meeting on Thursday. His name is Feola.

Another group of kids was a little different. Most of them weren't really bothered by us, we had a decent conversation. But one of them...

...absolutely hated us.

He called us f***in' Jesus lovers. Said he would like to stab us (that was kind of a funny moment), told us to go away several times, and tried to make fun of us by saying that Satan saved his life.

I love that guy.

Really though. Absolutely love him.

And we told him that.

He didn't like that at all...

There is something about persecution that is simply beautiful. It makes you seriously question what you are doing. The good thing about questioning that is there is no way out at the moment. So you seek to draw strength from the unlimited power that lives inside of you and WOW does He deliver.

Now I am starting to see why the church EXPLODED when they were being killed and hated , and why the strongest movements are in countries where the Gospel is illegal. I see why in the face of torture and death, humble men and women REFUSE to deny their Savior. It is because of the undeniable worth of the Gospel.

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes." Romans 1:16

I am not ashamed of Christ. By His Grace alone, I stand firm in the love of God, the unlimited power of the Holy Spirit, and the salvation of My Lord Jesus Christ.

My challenge to you. Talk to someone about Jesus today. Be blunt, be awkward, be graceful.

He always delivers.

God does more than answer prayers - He blows them out of the water.

That title may be a little confusing. What I want to say is that when we pray, we often do so in the realm of our limited minds. We don't give him nearly enough credit.

God gives us greater gifts that we can ever imagine, and I have really been coming to learn that lately.

There are three things that I specifically prayed for concerning my job this summer.

1. for it to make me somewhat financially stable. I know I need money so that I can tithe, bless others, and prepare for the future. I want to be responsible.

2. for it to be a good ministry opportunity.

3. For it to teach me the value of work ethic and help me to see that even in the workplace, I serve my King with EVERYTHING I have.

Let me tell you, he didn't answer those. He blew them out of the water.

First of all, and I won't go into too much detail, my job is WAY more than I could have asked for in the way of finances. Honestly, I am going to make more money than I will really know what to do with. PLUS, after talking extensively with one of the staff guys, I am going to create an action plan for how to be a good steward of this blessing. Saving plenty, tithing responsibly and joyfully, and using it to bless others as much as I can.

Second, it is perfect for ministry. Not only do I get to be a witness in the way I work, don't complain, treat customers and bosses, and how I treat the money I get. And, when it isn't busy, all we do is sit there and talk. AWESOME.

Third, the work ethic. I have always treated work as something I had to do to get some money. I complained about it, I did just as much as I needed to do to get by, and I didn't like it. I'll admit it. Already, I am seeing that work is just another way to joyfully do everything to the glory of God. Every car we valet includes running a block in the Virginia heat to or from the valet lot. Most of the day, we never really stop moving. Bell-hopping, doing errands, running for cars, everything. And it is amazing, because I not only know that I have to bust my butt, but I realize that I am WANTING to bust my butt because I do not serve my boss, or the guest at the hotel, I serve an Almighty King that deserves every bit of effort in my body.

I consistently forget that God does not want to answer our prayers - He wants to take them, improve them exponentially, and show us how much MORE He can, and will, do for us than we can ever imagine.

There is no better father than our Father in Heaven, who truly knows how to give His children good gifts.