How Christians Should Respond to the Supreme Courts Ruling on Gay Marriage!

 

 

 

Just as a stoplight provides direction to traffic Christians in today's world need direction concerning how to properly respond to the Supreme Courts ruling which redefined traditional marriage of a man and a woman to also include same sex marriage. I believe that if believers in Jesus would do these three things it will immensely help the cause of Christ!

 

STOP!

 

Christians need to stop acting surprised or alarmed at the Supreme Courts ruling! Seriously, everyone knew that this type of ruling was coming. Furthermore, we know that the spiritual climate of our day will continue to erode. Stop acting alarmed, surprised, and dumbfounded. This type of reaction is constantly misinterpreted by others. When we act shocked it also implies a sense of "we cannot believe that something bad" is actually coming to pass. Others interpret this as being hateful and close-minded. On top of that it implies that we as Christians are old-fashioned and are not in touch with reality. The first step in leading change is to define reality. When we act shocked or alarmed it sends off signals that we are not in touch with current happenings in our world. Don't give Christians a bad rap in that others think of us as being deluded and out of touch with reality when in fact the opposite is true as many are on the ground level trying to help this situation!

 

YIELD!

 

Instead of trying to change everyone's opinions through social media yield to the only being that can: God. He is and will always be in control. Yield to the God who shows us that we do not have to make decisions based off of fear, but that we can have a spirit of power, of love, and of a sound mind. If you want to have revival within this country draw a circle around yourself and pray for revival to happen first within that circle before it happens anywhere else.

 

GO!

 

The battle to win those who believe homosexuality is ok will not happen within their minds but within their hearts. Go make friends and build relationships with them. Understand that every human being is created in the image of God and deserves love and respect. Realize that it would be unfair of Christians to discriminate against homosexuality while we turn a blind eye to adultery and fornication. All sexual sin is sin. For those who are pro-homosexuality to be convinced that their ways are wrong it will not take a governmental change. What it will take are individual Christians who care for people's souls to love on people with different sin issues. This battle needs to be won one person at a time as Christians do what we are called to do. We are to be known for our love more than anything else!

 

 

A Holy Moment - How My Picture Ended Up On a Student's Dresser - KY Mission Trip '15 Recap

In life there are holy moments when you encounter the presence or goodness of God like never before. These holy moments usually happen unexpectantly or by surprise.

This past week I led a group of teenagers and adults to Victory Mountain Grace Brethren Chapel. The church is located outside of Hyden, KY which happens to be the #1 county for drug abuse in the entire state of KY. This area has seen the EPA shut down most of the coal mines which was the  predominant job. Jobs are few, people are hurting, and hope is low.

The goal of our group was to be a blessing and to instill hope within the people of this area. We would pick up children and teenagers in 15 passenger vans and transport them to the church to love on them and share with them the good news of Jesus every evening.

During one of our van rides a teenager, named Brandon, leaned over and told me that he had a picture with me and some of our other teens from last year's mission trip framed on his dresser. This was my holy moment. I got to thinking that in this poverty stricken area in southern KY that there was a picture of me that was bringing hope to a young man. I was humbled and got teary eyed.

Our group goes down once a year to make a difference but yet we get to come back home to a life of comfort compared to what we encountered. Our trip every year is special to the children and teens that we encounter. For them it is like the Super Bowl. It is the highlight of their year. Now that is special, humbling, and motivating!

When you follow Jesus you never know where life will take you. Who would have thought that a picture of me would be sitting in a teen's bedroom in a trailer situated in the hollers of southern KY? The gospel of God needs to shine in the darkest of places.

Here are some other ways in which our group was able to see God work this past week:
1. We saw one of our own teens rededicate her life to Jesus this week. When you go to be a blessing to others you yourself are blessed.
2. All of our teens shared their testimonies of how God has impacted their lives during our evening outreach programming. This helped our team bond and understand each other better.
3. We saw 10-15 children/teens who had no connection with the church come because we walked around their downtown and invited them to come.
4. We saw the church triple their church attendance on Sunday morning with our group and visitors that we had invited.
5. Our adults workers were moved and impacted. One of them commented during team time: "I now have a renewed faith in the younger generation." Powerful statement.
6. The pastor and his wife were deeply encouraged. They have given their entire lives to the ministry there in KY. We did many work projects, afternoon outreaches, and an evening children/teen program every day.
7. Lastly, we had 18 children/teens who made commitments to follow Jesus during our evening programming. Wow!

 Here is a picture of Brandon, the teen who has a picture hung on his dresser!

Had to get a selfie of us so he could have a new picture to hang up!

  



A picture of our teens with some of the children/teens who made decisions for Jesus this past week!

TEN YEARS from now YOU will say it was WORTH IT!

What if you could FAST FORWARD ten years from now?

If you saw the potential impact you would make would it change how hard you worked TODAY?

 

Anyone working with young people will no doubt get frustrated or discouraged. It's hard and sometimes difficult because you struggle seeing the fruit of your labor.

 

This past weekend I had the opportunity to enjoy the fruit from blood, sweat, and tears strewn over ten years ago. I had the privilege of officiating the wedding of a couple that I had as a Jr. High director when they were in 7th grade. Their relationship lasted over ten years and yet to this day they still saw and remembered me as someone who had left an impact on their life.



I was reminded over and over again this weekend that people matter. Teenagers matter.

 

This weekend not only did I officiate the weeding of a couple whom I invested in and prayed for but I was able to encourage a number of former students. I also had the opportunity to thank and chat with older believers who had helped and invested a lot of time into me while I was in PA.

 

Ten years is an eternity when it comes to youth ministry. A squirrely Junior Higher can become a married adult in ten years. It's a time of great transition and vulnerability. Having Godly adults to invest in teens is critical.

 

Never forget who you are or from where you came from! This will keep you humble and thankful for those that God has placed within your life. In fact, God places people into your life for seasons for a reason and a purpose. This will give you intentionality with your relationships. That means that God has placed specific young people in your path for you to invest into and impact. NEVER TAKE THAT FOR GRANTED!

 

For those of you who work with people, never give up! You are making a difference. Press on. 

 

"Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."

(I Corinthians 15:58)

 

I sure love and miss this group of former Jr. Highers and I am proud of them!

 

Congrats Derek and Hannah! Honored to officiate your wedding.

My time with you will always be special to me.