Please rise

I was sitting in a court room yesterday waiting to see if a former employee of the company I work for would show up and plead the charges brought against him. While I was sitting in the court room I realized that I had never been in a court of law before, not even for my divorce.

The best words I can find to describe the time I spent in that court room was spiritual, but also a little saddening.

The things that I thought was sad was watching people being lead in bound one to another wearing a striped jump suit with chains on their hands and feet. People there to either proclaim their innocence or admit their guilt. People that most likely had a choice, but felt like they had none. People that thought maybe this will make my pain go away. People that didn’t give a crap and didn’t care who they hurt. People that committed a crime or has been falsely accused. People hanging their hopes either on a lawyer they paid or one that was appointed to them.

It was really a thought provoking experience for me.

I got an opportunity to witness to the lady that was sitting next to me and talk about what she was being accused of. I won’t go into the details of her case but the bottom line is she is hurting and is seeking comfort. I am praying she finds that comfort.

 The spiritual aspect of my court room experience was one of questions like, I wonder what God’s court room will look like? How many of the people in here that stand accused know that no matter what they have done they can be forgiven?

Oh and the guy didn’t show up….

buddha

Me and one of the guys I work with were at a local service station today and he made a comment to me that just grated every bit of me.

His comment was, “I can’t understand what they are saying in there it sounds like a bunch of ducks quacking”.

“They’re Vietnamese”, I responded.

He said “ya whatever, I just can’t understand them”.

I agree you can’t understand them.

The conversation goes on and he tells me that “they have some kinda Buddha shrine set-up in there and I don’t much care for that, but hey that’s for them, it ain’t for me.”

I almost responded ” hey it ain’t your store, it’s their belief and their culture.”

How many times have we seen an idol or shrine set up to a false god and we just say, “hey that’s for them, not for me”?

Or how many times have you wanted to defend someone because of their beliefs?

I don’t believe in attacking anyone because of how the believe.

But I do know for fact that we are to share the Gospel of Jesus, with everyone…..even Buddhist.

Are you excited?

I am a refugee of sorts.

Contemplating if I should even say what I am thinking right now…..

I am a refugee from boring church.

Is that wrong of me to say?

Ok, before anyone gets there panties (or manties if your a dude) in a bunch let me explain.

My church FREAKIN ROCKS!!!!!

Sad reality, not everyone that goes to a church, or has attended a church, or will attend a church can say that. I am not church bashing so hold your e-mails for just a sec um-k? Um -k. People get bored with church. Period. Whether it is the music the sermon or Sunday school. Going off on a tangent here, who ever thought up Sunday school? When I was in school I didn’t like it, why would I want to go on a Sunday? I mean, really? Back on topic, people get bored, they aren’t excited, does that mean they aren’t excited in their salvation, ya that could be a reason, but I think a bigger reason people get bored is because church can be boring. Oh is that taboo to say?

Here’s the deal, Jesus is Lord, without Jesus there is no church. The scripture tells us that he is the head of the church. So why would we want to tell people about Jesus in a way that most people would think is boring? No, not everyone thinks their church is boring, but there are some that are sitting in the pews at the First Bapticostal Methodoligistic Holiness Church of Our Lady in the Clouds Christ Episcolated Calvin Luther Assembly that might, next time when you catch yourself thinking about what buffet your going to head to for lunch look around you and see how many people aren’t paying attention either. If you love Jesus and truly believe that he is the savior of the world and that if you don’t have salvation you are going to hell wouldn’t you be jumping up and down trying to compel people to come to Christ? Would you tell people about Jesus in a way that would put them to sleep? Bore them? In a language that they can’t understand? Sing songs about deer panting for a drink of water? Or would you rather tell them in a way they could understand. In a way that would excite them.

Are you excited about your church? Can you honestly say that when you get up on Sunday that you are excited to hear the word of God from the man that is anointed by God to bring it to you?

I ask you all this for one reason. To pray.

I am not trying to compel you to come to my church. What I am trying to compel you to do is pray. Pray for your church, or for yourself. If your not excited about your church it is probably because your church isn’t exciting. I was talking to a friend of mine yesterday about church. He serves in his church but would love to come to ours full time, and ya know I would love to have him at our church full time. That is a selfish thought and it convicted me. What I should be praying for is his church to be excited. You see I’m pretty sure this guy is excited in his salvation or he wouldn’t be helping our church set-up on Sunday morning and them leaving to go and serve at his church. I want his church to be excited so he won’t have to look for a church that is.

hands and feet

What does community service mean to you?

Does it mean wearing an orange jump suit and picking up trash on the side of the road?

Talking to a group of students about the dangers of drug use because a judge told you to?

Going to a homeless shelter and serving people on the soup line?

Giving someone your last five dollars so they could get a cup of coffee and sandwich or *gasp* a bottle of cheap booze?

Praying with a person that is hurting, the world has come down on there shoulders and they are on the edge of jumping off a bridge, swallowing a bottle of pills or cursing God?

Painting a local charity organization’s thrift store?

Buying groceries for a family that has hit a rough patch and just needs a little help getting through it?

What does being the hands and feet of Jesus mean to you?

mission, military, ministry

I am learning a few lessons this week in regards to leadership. I am not an expert on leadership and I don’t believe there is an expert in this subject. I will also contend that being great at something does not make you an expert. With that being said I will start in on how I suck.

Lesson #1: “Mission before men” does not apply when working in the ministry.

• Your mission is men.
• If you cannot communicate your mission effectively how do you expect your men to carry it out.
• Your mission is personal, so are your men.
• Your men do not change to your standards you have to be willing change to theirs, so long as it doesn’t compromise the mission.

Ok now let me give a few explanations. When I was in the military there was two schools of thought in leadership. The first mentality is “You place your mission before your men”. The second mentality is “Your men are the most important thing”.

The ideal mentality is to find a perfect harmony with both thoughts. I can say that I never met one leader that found that harmony while I was serving. Most of the leaders I knew had a “mission before men” mentality. To be perfectly honest I prefer that. That was the way I was taught to lead. You complete your mission no matter what the cost, what you are working for is the “Greater Good”, you may have to make sacrifices. I never charged any machine gun nests while I was in the military, I was a power lineman. Not a lot of machine guns or Iraqis to deal with when you are changing out street light bulbs, looking back I didn’t have a lot of friends either. But the streets were well lit and there were very few power outages on my watch, mission accomplished.

Working as a volunteer leader at my church is making me totally relearn and change how I lead. I am having to learn that the mission is men, or mankind if you will, and that includes the men that work side by side with you in your mission. Communication is always the biggest key to carrying out any mission, but  leading people in the ministry it is how you communicate what your mission is. You can bark orders and they will be carried out. You can ask someone to do something for you and there is a better than 99% chance that it will get done, but the person you asked will feel better about what they are doing as opposed to having a “task master” barking at them. Your mission is a personal mission because you are working for your personal Savior. The people you serve with are just like you, screwed up mutts that love Jesus, get to know them. Be willing to change how you do things to accomplish your mission. Being nicer to someone does not compromise your mission, getting personal with someone does not compromise your mission, you will accomplish your mission with greater success and fewer sacrifices by changing how you do things sometimes. Leaders are in control of the things around them, the people around them and themselves.

Unfortunately I suck at all these things. This past week at church I got into a disagreement with one of my very best friends. The disagreement got heated enough that he left so he could cool off. The disagreement essentially centered around my leadership style and communication. I won’t go any further into the whys but the whole thing really set me back on my heels and has made me think long and hard about how I do things. My friend and I have already reconciled like most men do, I let him punch me just as hard as he could in the arm and I got to ride his bicycle. Bottom line is I needed that from him to show me where I fail. Thanks buddy, I’m sorry.

Living in the world….but not of it

Show of hands of the people that have to “explain” their church to people.

Ok you can lower your hands.

I have had, to borrow a phrase from Pete Wilson, intense fellowship with several people that go to a more traditional church about how and why we do church the way we do.

I have been told numerous times that we are wrong because that is worldly and we are called to be better than the world. We shouldn’t be catering to these things because they are not Godly. Movies and rock music is not the way to reach people for Jesus. That we are set apart from these things. Essentially to not be relevant to today’s culture.

Are we called to be separate when we minister to people? Are we told to be an outsider and act above all these things when we witness and tell people the good news of Jesus?

Uh…..no.

In 1 Cor 9:¹⁹ Even though I am a free man with no master, I have become a slave to all people to bring many to Christ. ²⁰ When I was with the Jews, I lived like a Jew to bring the Jews to Christ. When I was with those who follow the Jewish law, I too lived under that law. Even though I am not subject to the law, I did this so I could bring to Christ those who are under the law. ²¹ When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law,^[d] I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ. But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ.

 ²² When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some. ²³ I do everything to spread the Good News and share in its blessings.

I think Paul explains it best, but to sum it up for me, when you live in a culture that doesn’t know Christ it is our job to bring Christ to that culture, using the things of that culture.

Stepping down off my soap box now.

shut up you big baby

I have been looking over the blur that has been the last few days. I have been complaining about how busy I am and how I don’t have time for anything. WAAAHHHH. Shut up you big baby.

I am blessed beyond measure, and I complain? Well the complaint department is now closed. Yes I have been busy, but I asked for it. I asked for God to use me however he wants (I almost typed needs here but God doesn’t need me for anything, he is God). This doesn’t just stop at church, it includes my home life, my work, everything. I want God to use me.

My father use to tell me that there are two types of people out there, those that  &%$#@! about it and those that will do something about it. Well here it is. Buck up, put your big boy pants on and go, fight through the BS and go. Just shut-up and go. There are greater things to be done and it requires sacrifice. Are you willing to sacrifice, for your work, for your family, for your God?

DUI-Booty Shakers-Jesus

DUI, as in driving under the influence.

Booty Shakers, as in a 70′s and 80′s funk cover band.

Jesus, as in the Savior of the world.

How in the world are you going to tie this together Jason?

No, I didn’t get a DUI and want Jesus to be my lawyer, although that would be cool. Not getting a DUI but Jesus being my lawyer. That couldn’t be possible in this circumstance,  Jesus won’t lie, cheat, or chase ambulances. But kind of a side note, how many times have we prayed for Jesus to get us out messes that we created knowing that it was our fault and we chose to get ourselves into it.

Ok, here’s the story. A group of friends from church all decided to go out to a local bar to listen to a band, The Booty Shakers, one of the guys from church plays drums for and to celebrate a friend of ours birthday. Me and a couple of the guys I serve with were standing hanging out around the dart board talking about not drinking to much because we didn’t want a DUI. One of my friends tells us “hey man, you have got the wrong mind set about not getting drunk, you shouldn’t get drunk for fear of God, not a DUI.”

I felt stupid.

It wasn’t his intention to make me feel stupid, he was correcting a sinful train of thought for me and I appreciate that.

My first reason for everything should be Jesus, not fear of _______.

I want to get to the point in my life with everything that Jesus is the first thought, first reason, first…..

Oh and by the way it was a fun night, the Booty Shakers were great, I stopped at two (like always) and Jesus is still Lord!

Soap Box

Ok, gotta get on my soap box. I was listening to the Rick and Bubba Show this morning and they were “phone trolling”, phone trolling is where they try to take the largest amount of calls in the shortest amount of time by limiting your call to 30 seconds. One of the topics brought up by a caller was being homeless. The caller stated one of the reasons the government had to step in was because communities and local churches weren’t doing what they should be doing and helping people out. This caller goes on to say that he would know because he was homeless and went to a church to ask for help and they turned him away. Bubba point blank calls him out on that statement and says the he seriously doubts that was the case, now I agree with Bubba and the way Bubba handled it, very tactful and very truthful.

Ok, stepping up on the box.

They take a few more callers and get to a pastor of 30 years. He wants to comment on what the homeless guy said about going to a church and being refused.

His comment was the reason he was probably turned away is because he wasn’t involved or going to a church to begin with and that all he was doing was running to God because times were bad.

Deep breath.

Explode. You have got to freakin kidding me. Did I just hear you say that pastor?

I was in shock.

Rick and Bubba said, “ok, thanks for the call” , I believe they were in shock too.

Doesn’t God want us to turn to him when times are bad in our lives?

If this guy wasn’t attending a church at that time, do you think he will now?

I don’t know the reasons or circumstances of why the earlier caller was turned away, or if he was. I don’t assume to know.

But what if someone that was teetering on the edge, someone that really did have a need, but wasn’t attending a church heard that? What if a person that is unchurched and didn’t know Jesus, but heard that. What if that person had heard that pastor of 30 years say those things. What if they heard him say ” hey we aren’t gonna help you if you don’t know Jesus, or attend a church “. He pretty much told the listening audience that ” hey, you don’t go to church so we don’t want you “.

That 30 second phone call made me very sad. I pray that someone that is hurting or is on that edge of turning to God that may have heard that phone call doesn’t take to heart what that one man said. God open that pastor’s eyes.

That’s my rant for the day. Peace.

at the nudey bar

What is the strangest place you have ever witnessed to someone about Jesus?

I’m not talking about going out as a group beating on people’s doors telling them ‘turneth or burneth’!!!!

Here is a side thought for those of us that have done this; ever notice how much braver we are witnessing to people when we are in a gang but when we get one on one with someone and you hear God telling you ‘tell them about Me’, your scared? Anyway.

The strangest place I have ever witnessed to someone was at the nudey bar.

I wish I could say that I was there as a part of a Christian missionary organization to reach people in the sex industry.

I wasn’t, I was there to have a beer, single, one beer, with my buddies and be their designated driver, and to look at naked women dancing to Metallica.

For those of my now four faithful readers that have never been to the nudey bar, the entertainers (they prefer to be called that and not dancers) if they are not entertaining (dancing) then they are walking around the club trying to get men to buy them drinks (two fold reason for this, one to sell drinks from the bar, the other is to get wasted). The entertainers will come and sit down at your table and try to sell you a lap dance or let you buy them a drink.

I was sitting at a table while my buddies were up at pervert row (the seats around the stage) nursing my one, single beer.Several girls had been to the table trying to get me to buy them a drink or let them dance in my lap and I of course turned them down. I wish I could say it was because of my morals wouldn’t allow me to buy them a drink or buy an entertainment session, but the reality of it is I was short on cash and I was waiting on shift change (that’s code for the girls weren’t that pretty).

This one girl sat down at my table and really didn’t say a whole lot. Just kinda sat there staring into space. I let this go for a few minutes and finally spoke to her.

Hi.

Hey.

You alright?

Ya, I’m ok.

Liar.

That obvious?

Ya.

She proceeded to tell me that her name was Chastity (that was her entertainment name) and spill her guts to me about everything that was going on in her life, her addictions that she was trying to beat, the abuse that she has suffered, the custody battle she was fighting. She wasn’t just having a bad day, she was having a bad life.

I sat and listened for a while and offered her the only advice I could think of at the time.

Let me buy you a drink. What do you want?

Water.

Really?

Ya.

Alright.

At that point I really didn’t know what to say other than, “Jesus loves you”. Her response was not something I would tell Jesus.

I wish I could tell you that I had some life changing conversation with her and that she said the sinners prayer right there in that nudey bar and she went to the dressing room and put her clothes on and walked out of there never to dance to Metallica ever again.

I can’t. I don’t know what happened to her after that. I believe that she thought I was sincere in what I told her about Jesus and how he could help her, she wasn’t buying what I was selling.

I believe one of the reasons why she wasn’t buying is not because of what I was saying, it was were I was in my life and where I was sitting at the time. A table at a nudey bar, looking at naked girls.

Chastity saw in me what I didn’t care to see.

She saw my sin, not my witness.

So where is the strangest place you have ever witnessed to someone?