quiet? yea I know…

Ive recently been re-inspired to post on this blog again after a long hiatus. The reason for the lack of activity is mostly due to the fact that I couldn’t really be bothered. That and I personally was in a season of reflection so I therefore stopped…the most the world got out of me would be the occasional pot stirring status update on Facebook =D.

Whats new?

I guess the only update worth mentioning is that I am now the youth minister/co-ordinator/worker for a local church in Pendle hill. You can expect that most of the upcoming posts will be coming out of my experiances in this new post of mine…till then I must be off to bed, have a long day of work and then youth at night =D.

Love and hope to ya.

22 Years

The ‘Rabbit Hole’…

 

A journey I began 3 years ago that I like to call the ‘Rabbit hole’

Thinking outside the box…God is bigger then our four walls =D

 

Something to chew on =D

Amen…

 

For those of you who have been reading since the beginning, then you’ll know that this isn’t the first time I’ve posted this poem on my blog. I myself am currently facing some of my own demons as i have asked my self questions such as; why do i do what i do?; should i even be doing this?…being reminded of this poem has been a timely thing as it is indicative of my own recent conversations with God…

Amen

By: Adrien Plass

When I became a Christian I said, Lord, now fill me in,
Tell me what I’ll suffer in this world of shame and sin.
He said, Your body may be killed, and left to rot and stink,
Do you still want to follow me? I said, Amen! – I think.
I think Amen, Amen I think, I think I say Amen,
I’m not completely sure, can you just run through that again?
You say my body may be killed and left to rot and stink,
Well, yes, that sounds terrific, Lord, I say Amen – I think.
But , Lord, there must be other ways to follow you, I said,
I really would prefer to end up dying in my bed.
Well, yes, he said, you could put up with sneers and scorn and spit,
Do you still want to follow me? I said, Amen! – a bit.
A bit Amen, Amen a bit, a bit I say Amen,
I’m not completely sure, can you just run through that again?
You say I could put up with sneers and also scorn and spit,
Well, yes, I’ve made my mind up, and I say Amen! – a bit.
Well I sat back and thought a while, then tried a different ploy,
Now, Lord, I said, the Good Book says that Christians live in joy.
That’s true, he said, you need the joy to bear the pain and sorrow,
So do you still want to follow me? I said, Amen! – tomorrow.
Tomorrow, Lord, I’ll say it then, that’s when I’ll say Amen,
I need to get it clear, can I just run through that again?
You said I will need the joy, to bear the pain and sorrow,
Well, yes, I think I’ve got it straight, I’ll say, Amen – tomorrow.
He said, Look, I’m not asking you to spend an hour with me,
A quick salvation sandwich and a cup of sanctity,
The cost is you, not half of you, but every single bit.
Now tell me, will you follow me? I said, Amen! – I quit.
I’m very sorry, Lord, I said, I’d like to follow you,
But I don’t think religion is a manly thing to do.
He said, Forget religion then, and think about my Son,
And tell me if you’re man enough to do what he has done.
Are you man enough to see the need, and man enough to go,
Man enough to care for those whom no one wants to know,
Man enough to say the thing that people hate to hear,
To battle through Gethsemane in loneliness and fear.
And listen! Are you man enough to stand it at the end,
The moment of betrayal by the kisses of a friend,
Are you man enough to hold your tongue, and man enough to cry,
When the nails break your body – are you man enough to die?
Man enough to take the pain, and wear it like a crown,
Man enough to love the world and turn it upside down,
Are you man enough to follow me, I ask you once again.
I said, Oh Lord, I’m frightened, but I also said Amen.
Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen,
I said, Oh Lord, I’m frightened, but I also said, Amen.

Observations: random thoughts

It’s always fun to observe the cultures of youth groups that I visit and compare. And to be honest, there aren’t that many differences. There may be slight intricate details that differ, but over all, youthgroups are all the same despite denomination, enthnicity and demographic.

Though there is one youth group that I know in particular, very well infact, that does not fit this mould. And it’s this youth group that suprises me everytime. With most youthgroups, I know what to expect when I walk through their doors. With these guys, I always need to brace myself and hope for the best haha.

What im about to write is just a brief summary of my opinions and observations. So feel free to disagree, critque and/or discard it.

Discipleship on your average Friday night youth group would look like this:

-Games
-Stand up for musical worship
-Pray
-Sit down for anouncements
-Games
-Pray
-Listen to person talk for 30mins
-Pray
-Stand up for musical worship
-Pray
-End night

A night with said youthgroup:

-sit down on a few coutches and talk over random topics from homosexuality to family guy.
-drive to laser tag while having a conversation that switches from Jesus to giving stupid nick names to passengers in the car.
-play laser tag and just have stupid fun and watch as your youth kids hit on others and try to pick up.
-eat McDonals and talk about life, Jesus, amine, stories with randoms from another youth whom you don’t know.
-drive home while talking about Jesus and nipples.
-drinking Chinese tea and talking about yamcha, Jesus, gospel of Mark and crappy Asian milk.

This youth group may not fit the usual mold, but I see un-churched kids who genuinly want to follow and learn about Jesus and the bible. And yet many of us find it a struggle to keep kids coming to youth on friday nights and making sure they stay there…discipleship? Or just the maintenance of a baby sitting program?

Grace…un-merited or ill-merited favour?

I recently listened to a sermon by ‘Mark Driscoll’ talking about ‘grace’ and was somewhat surprised by what he had said. I had always been told that grace was ‘un-merited’ favour but then he (Driscoll) said something i had not heard before but had always known in the back of my head. That the grace that God extends to us is in fact not ‘un-merited’ but actually ‘ill-merited’. Favour that we are not just un-deserving of but ill-deserving of. Because of sin, Lecrae puts it this way:

“See, I never knew I offended God, I just knew I really wasn’t trying to live for God
And my sins all cost me, Yeah pretty costly
I couldn’t blame the hood for the death sin bought me
All that I could do was blame myself and realize there was no way I could change myself
So I trusted Christ with my lustful life”

What’s funny is that there have been people in my life that have frustrated me, people whom id consider ‘ill-deserving’ of my favor. And for some reason, these people have been popping up in my head recently.To the point where i was at boiling point, but then God being the smart ass that he is reminded me of the story of the prophet Hosea…If you aren’t aware of his story then you should read up on him in the Old Testament =D. I am right now and ill try my best to fill you in as i journey through the story of this amazing prophet…

Love and hope to you

LegoMan =D