I had to spend the better part of a week in St Louis this last month for my job. I was excited when a buddy of mine who works in Lexington called me up and asked if we could be roommates while we were there. We have a lot of things in common. We started out at the exact same time and we both work with young people in our churches. We also have a lot of things not so much in common. I was born and raised in South Carolina and I have been here my entire life. He was born and raised in the country of Moldova, which used to be part of the former Soviet Union, and he has been in South Carolina a little over 2 years.
We talk a pretty good bit and the reason he wanted to room with me was because we have our faith in common. Too make a long story short, neither of us frequent the bar or other places of the night where most of our companions can be found.
One night we were in our room talking and he asked me in his thick Russian accent, “man what is up with Joe.” Joe is a guy we’ve got to know over the last year who talks about going to church all the time, prays before every meal, and in fact just got back from a two week mission trip he said because he works with the youth in his church also. Joe also drinks quite a bit, tells some very grotesque stories, and no exaggeration cannot complete a sentence without using an infamous four letter word. I honestly don’t even think he realizes how much he swears. I replied to my friend and said, “brother, I don’t have any idea.” And then he asked me the question that I could only answer in my head as an unfortunate yes.
He said to me, “is that what being a Christian in America is all about?”
It’s sad when people can’t tell where the world ends and where the church starts. Christians are supposed to be different. We’re not better than anyone but we are to be set apart, not conforming to the ways of this world.
You know what the number one problem I see with students is? They all just want to fit in. That is a huge problem in this world we live in. You cannot belong to this world and belong to God at the same time. Calling yourself a Christian is a common thing today, actually living the life is very uncommon.
Be uncommon.
Until next time I leave you with one of my favorite quotes: “Christianity over the past two thousand years has moved from a tribe of renegades to a religion of conformists.”
Keith
(From my July Newsletter article)
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Saturday, July 17, 2010
My Seventh Blog
I'm amazed at how many people don't get that their rebellion is nothing more than conformity.
Jesus hung out with sinners and went places that no religious leader of the time or anyone else for that matter would go. Here's the catch though, Jesus changed the people He was with...not the other way around.
Jesus was a true rebel, but His rebellion was in not conforming.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abVdgbV6f14
Jesus hung out with sinners and went places that no religious leader of the time or anyone else for that matter would go. Here's the catch though, Jesus changed the people He was with...not the other way around.
Jesus was a true rebel, but His rebellion was in not conforming.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abVdgbV6f14
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
My Sixth Blog
Saw this quote today and I really liked it...
"If I try to use human influence strategies and tactics of how to get other people to do what I want, to work better, to be more motivated, to like me , while my character is fundamentally flawed, marked by duplicity or insincerity, then, in the long run, I cannot be successful. My duplicity will breed distrust. It simply makes no difference how good the rhetoric ; if there is little or no trust, there is no foundation of permanent success."
"If I try to use human influence strategies and tactics of how to get other people to do what I want, to work better, to be more motivated, to like me , while my character is fundamentally flawed, marked by duplicity or insincerity, then, in the long run, I cannot be successful. My duplicity will breed distrust. It simply makes no difference how good the rhetoric ; if there is little or no trust, there is no foundation of permanent success."
Thursday, May 20, 2010
My Fifth Blog
I'm looking forward to going to Camp McCall tomorrow and Saturday! I love going up there each year for the Men's retreat. I put a team together for the three on three basketball tournament for tomorrow night. My team won the gold medal a couple of years ago...we beat the camp staff which was all young college boys in much better shape than me and my team. But we played smarter and I'll take brains over brawn most any day (The one exception being women.) Anyway I want my gold medal back. I almost beat a couple of young college kids at Fike a few months ago in a game of 21, so I'm feeling pretty good!
In the meantime I won the gold medal in Baggo when I wasn't in the Bball tournament, but I was the youngest person playing in that tournament I think because that was mostly out of shape older men with ear hair and stuff.
The one thing I don't look forward to is sleeping in a room full of men. That is never fun. The smell won't be so bad because those bunk houses are so open, but the noise is unreal!!! I almost put a pillow over my music minister's head one year and I seriously think God would've looked the other way had I followed through on that. I have no idea how women put up with men at night.
Right now I'm listening to Mama Cass songs. Make your own kind of music is a great song!!! I like it a lot :)
I am so excited about our VBS Fun Day! We need lots of volunteers and it's gonna be a lot of hard work but it will pay off!! God is awesome :) I may not always enjoy church or agree with everything and get frustrated at those who want to be confined by tradition, but God put me there for a reason and I'm excited that there is work to do and to be helping do it!! June 12th is gonna be EPIC in the life of WFB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
In the meantime I won the gold medal in Baggo when I wasn't in the Bball tournament, but I was the youngest person playing in that tournament I think because that was mostly out of shape older men with ear hair and stuff.
The one thing I don't look forward to is sleeping in a room full of men. That is never fun. The smell won't be so bad because those bunk houses are so open, but the noise is unreal!!! I almost put a pillow over my music minister's head one year and I seriously think God would've looked the other way had I followed through on that. I have no idea how women put up with men at night.
Right now I'm listening to Mama Cass songs. Make your own kind of music is a great song!!! I like it a lot :)
I am so excited about our VBS Fun Day! We need lots of volunteers and it's gonna be a lot of hard work but it will pay off!! God is awesome :) I may not always enjoy church or agree with everything and get frustrated at those who want to be confined by tradition, but God put me there for a reason and I'm excited that there is work to do and to be helping do it!! June 12th is gonna be EPIC in the life of WFB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thursday, April 29, 2010
My Fourth Blog
This is my article this month for the church newsletter:
A recent article in the USA Today started out like this: “Most young adults today don't pray, don't worship and don't read the Bible, a major survey by a Christian research firm shows. If the trends continue, the Millennial generation will see churches closing as quickly as GM dealerships.”
This group surveyed 1,200 18- to 29-year-olds. Some of the results are as follows:
· 65% rarely or never pray with others, and 38% almost never pray by themselves either
· 65% rarely or never attend worship services
· 67% don't read the Bible
· Only 50% think that Jesus is the only way to get to Heaven
Among the 50% who do know that Jesus is the only way to Heaven:
· 68% did not mention faith, religion or spirituality when asked what was "really important in life."
· 50% do not attend church at least weekly
· 36% rarely or never read the Bible
And maybe the most disturbing stat of all: Only 15% of all 18- to 29-year-olds appear to be “deeply committed” Christians in study, prayer, worship, and action.
A 2007 study showed that 7 out of 10 Protestants ages 18 to 30, both evangelical and mainline, who went to church regularly in high school said they quit attending by age 23. And 34% of those had not returned, even sporadically, by age 30.
If these numbers don’t scare you then go back and read them again!! And do you think that the numbers behind the Millennial generation are going to improve???
One thing I see in these numbers however is opportunity. If a hundred young people stood before us and we could say that if they all died that 75 to 85 of them would end up in hell then we have much work to do church. We get mad at one another over having to stand during the singing of a song, or because the music might be too upbeat or fast, or because the way we’ve always done it is being discussed and potentially tweaked a little. I say instead of getting mad at each other, let’s get mad at Satan. He has captured an entire generation and has his sights set on many many more.
I’ll tell you one thing our church needs more than anything else, and that is more lost people. For some reason we’ve starting expecting the lost to get right outside the doors of the church and then welcome them in. That’s not right.
We are family. And one of the greatest days of my life happened in January of 2009 when my family grew by one. My favorite services are when one of our students gets baptized. The opportunity is ours to grow our family. The directive has been given to us by Jesus Himself in the Great Commission. So the question is, what will we do with this man called Jesus?
Until Next Time,
Keith
Source: Lifeway Christian Resources
A recent article in the USA Today started out like this: “Most young adults today don't pray, don't worship and don't read the Bible, a major survey by a Christian research firm shows. If the trends continue, the Millennial generation will see churches closing as quickly as GM dealerships.”
This group surveyed 1,200 18- to 29-year-olds. Some of the results are as follows:
· 65% rarely or never pray with others, and 38% almost never pray by themselves either
· 65% rarely or never attend worship services
· 67% don't read the Bible
· Only 50% think that Jesus is the only way to get to Heaven
Among the 50% who do know that Jesus is the only way to Heaven:
· 68% did not mention faith, religion or spirituality when asked what was "really important in life."
· 50% do not attend church at least weekly
· 36% rarely or never read the Bible
And maybe the most disturbing stat of all: Only 15% of all 18- to 29-year-olds appear to be “deeply committed” Christians in study, prayer, worship, and action.
A 2007 study showed that 7 out of 10 Protestants ages 18 to 30, both evangelical and mainline, who went to church regularly in high school said they quit attending by age 23. And 34% of those had not returned, even sporadically, by age 30.
If these numbers don’t scare you then go back and read them again!! And do you think that the numbers behind the Millennial generation are going to improve???
One thing I see in these numbers however is opportunity. If a hundred young people stood before us and we could say that if they all died that 75 to 85 of them would end up in hell then we have much work to do church. We get mad at one another over having to stand during the singing of a song, or because the music might be too upbeat or fast, or because the way we’ve always done it is being discussed and potentially tweaked a little. I say instead of getting mad at each other, let’s get mad at Satan. He has captured an entire generation and has his sights set on many many more.
I’ll tell you one thing our church needs more than anything else, and that is more lost people. For some reason we’ve starting expecting the lost to get right outside the doors of the church and then welcome them in. That’s not right.
We are family. And one of the greatest days of my life happened in January of 2009 when my family grew by one. My favorite services are when one of our students gets baptized. The opportunity is ours to grow our family. The directive has been given to us by Jesus Himself in the Great Commission. So the question is, what will we do with this man called Jesus?
Until Next Time,
Keith
Source: Lifeway Christian Resources
Thursday, April 22, 2010
My Third Blog
3.14159265358979323846264338327950288419716939937510582097494459230
So I just typed that from memory. I don't know if it is right or not but that is...let's see...65 places I think. You see my calculus teacher back at West-Oak during my senior year of 1995 had a pi poster on his wall and for some reason I memorized it to 75 places during the course of the year. During lecture time perhaps.
And if the above is indeed correct, then by my logic I still can recite it to 65 out of those original 75 that I remembered, which means that I am only 14% dumber than when I graduated high school 15 years ago!! So that is roughly 1% dumber each year which means that I have until 2095 until I am completely brain dead!!!!
I'm excited :)
So I just typed that from memory. I don't know if it is right or not but that is...let's see...65 places I think. You see my calculus teacher back at West-Oak during my senior year of 1995 had a pi poster on his wall and for some reason I memorized it to 75 places during the course of the year. During lecture time perhaps.
And if the above is indeed correct, then by my logic I still can recite it to 65 out of those original 75 that I remembered, which means that I am only 14% dumber than when I graduated high school 15 years ago!! So that is roughly 1% dumber each year which means that I have until 2095 until I am completely brain dead!!!!
I'm excited :)
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
My Second Blog
Sometimes I wake up at like 3 AM and my mind is just going on a lesson I wanna teach, a sermon I wanna preach, an article I wanna write, or just some kind of randomness that God is putting on my brain or in my heart. I don't know why God wants to wake me up then but it's a cool kinda cruel when He does :)
Some random randomness:
*I think people who wear jeans and flip flops to church are dressed more like Jesus than those in a three piece suit
*What do you do when someone comes out of the bathroom and you know they didn't wash their hands and then reach out to shake yours? Cause that happened to me today :( Why didn't I pick my nose or scratch something and then extend my hand back?? Hindsight is so 20/20.
*People are so scared of change...what scares me is everything staying the same
*I hate that alcohol has become such an accepted norm for so many Christians. I have never seen than stuff do anything but destroy.
*I got a netflix disc today that let's you watch movies and TV on the Wii!! But my Wii is broke so I gotta send it to the repair shop. Who knew there was such a place :) Or that I could watch actual TV shows through my Wii on my TV!!
*What I just wrote makes me think we might just have a little too much technology today.
*I need to figure out how to put my Edward Jones picture on my blog!! I need to be seen not just heard.
There used to be a lunch lady at West-Oak and she was kinda lazy so I'd keep a 5 dollar bill in my wallet and every so often I'd go and just purchase a chocolate milk which cost a quarter and she wouldn't wanna make change so she always gave it to me for free. Maybe she was just nice, but I really think it was lazy.
Some random randomness:
*I think people who wear jeans and flip flops to church are dressed more like Jesus than those in a three piece suit
*What do you do when someone comes out of the bathroom and you know they didn't wash their hands and then reach out to shake yours? Cause that happened to me today :( Why didn't I pick my nose or scratch something and then extend my hand back?? Hindsight is so 20/20.
*People are so scared of change...what scares me is everything staying the same
*I hate that alcohol has become such an accepted norm for so many Christians. I have never seen than stuff do anything but destroy.
*I got a netflix disc today that let's you watch movies and TV on the Wii!! But my Wii is broke so I gotta send it to the repair shop. Who knew there was such a place :) Or that I could watch actual TV shows through my Wii on my TV!!
*What I just wrote makes me think we might just have a little too much technology today.
*I need to figure out how to put my Edward Jones picture on my blog!! I need to be seen not just heard.
There used to be a lunch lady at West-Oak and she was kinda lazy so I'd keep a 5 dollar bill in my wallet and every so often I'd go and just purchase a chocolate milk which cost a quarter and she wouldn't wanna make change so she always gave it to me for free. Maybe she was just nice, but I really think it was lazy.
Saturday, April 17, 2010
My First Blog
I always wanted to create and write a blog but who has time these days? But I keep getting peer pressured into it. So here goes, the only problem is what to write about? My head is so full of so many serious thoughts, especially these last few days, but I honestly don't feel like being serious.
Blogger.com makes me think of that old game Frogger! Cause it rhymes you know :) Loved that game!! I remember playing it on my Atari 2600 when I was a little tyke. Also Pitfall was an awesome game. Going from screen to screen jumping on crocodiles and over sandpits and swinging from ropes and you had to do it all in 20 minutes and only had three lives to get it done in. I only conquered it one time in my life, and that is still a very fond memory for me and proud achievement.
I remember when I got my Atari 2600, because the Atari 7800 was coming out. And then when I finally got my Atari 7800 the first Nintendo was coming out. And then when I got my first Nintendo the Super Nintendo was coming out. Why was I always one step behind everyone else when I was a child??
Man I can type really fast!!
One quick story talking about Nintendo. Me and my buddies Porkchop and Lambchop and Jake were over at Jake's house playing his new 64 bit Nintendo one day while we were in High School. And before you ask, yes I was just getting my Super Nintendo. Anyway we were almost at a new level on a Mario game when Jake gets a call from his grandma needing some help and needing Jake's dad. Jake was like "ok I'll get him for you later I'm a little busy right now" and that was the end of their call. Later that night when we finally came out of his room to go play some Risk I think, Jake's mom came to where we were playing and said "Jake your dad had to take your grandma to the hospital, she is having some heart problems." We all looked at each other like WHOA!!!!!!!!! And that was the day that Nintendo almost killed my buddy Jake's grandma.
And thus ends my first blog...I just hope my Commodore 64 is still working for my second one.
Blogger.com makes me think of that old game Frogger! Cause it rhymes you know :) Loved that game!! I remember playing it on my Atari 2600 when I was a little tyke. Also Pitfall was an awesome game. Going from screen to screen jumping on crocodiles and over sandpits and swinging from ropes and you had to do it all in 20 minutes and only had three lives to get it done in. I only conquered it one time in my life, and that is still a very fond memory for me and proud achievement.
I remember when I got my Atari 2600, because the Atari 7800 was coming out. And then when I finally got my Atari 7800 the first Nintendo was coming out. And then when I got my first Nintendo the Super Nintendo was coming out. Why was I always one step behind everyone else when I was a child??
Man I can type really fast!!
One quick story talking about Nintendo. Me and my buddies Porkchop and Lambchop and Jake were over at Jake's house playing his new 64 bit Nintendo one day while we were in High School. And before you ask, yes I was just getting my Super Nintendo. Anyway we were almost at a new level on a Mario game when Jake gets a call from his grandma needing some help and needing Jake's dad. Jake was like "ok I'll get him for you later I'm a little busy right now" and that was the end of their call. Later that night when we finally came out of his room to go play some Risk I think, Jake's mom came to where we were playing and said "Jake your dad had to take your grandma to the hospital, she is having some heart problems." We all looked at each other like WHOA!!!!!!!!! And that was the day that Nintendo almost killed my buddy Jake's grandma.
And thus ends my first blog...I just hope my Commodore 64 is still working for my second one.
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