These last two nights of talking about NLCF’s Campus Engage Groups with new and old people has been so much fun!
I am blessed to even be able to be a part of this church and in leadership with SO many gifted and loving people. The fact that I am privileged to help pastor within this community is a blessing that I don’t deserve in myself, but that I gratefully receive.
Just drink this musical amazingness in!
and I have a complicated relationship. There are things about them that I respect and appreciate, and things that I wish they 
would do differently. I have no doubt that many in the Gospel Coalition would say the same about me. Also, the Gospel Coalition is just that, a coalition. A group of pastors, theologians and writers that are attempting to communicate a certain perspective about God, faith and our world. So there is a range of thought that needs to be implicitly understood.
What I appreciate is their commitment to teaching the scriptures and training people in them. This is a scripture focused coalition. That is a very good thing. I also appreciate their commitment to explaining the truth about what the death and resurrection of Jesus meant when it happened, and what it means for us today. I mean, Jesus is at the center of God the Father and God the Spirit’s plan for our world. That focus is a good thing. Had that not occurred, there would be no hope for us.
So, while I might follow those same scriptures out and draw different conclusions in some instances than they would; and might articulate some of my views differently than they would, I appreciate their presence at the table. If you are interested in more specifics about where I would differ, just ask…
And I love this . It is simple, straightforward, and needed. Often it is easier to condemn the whole church thing than to see the beauty that is mixed up in the mess. Certainly our highly cynical culture can lean that way. I am encouraged by the bible’s honest account of the mess that the early church was as well! God in his sovereignty has chosen to allow us freedom to sort out many pieces of of how the Spirit interacts with different cultures over time. Sometimes we take more freedom than we are granted and other times we hold on to a way of doing life with God that is just that… a way. It makes me appreciate Mark Galli’s book about the church even more. He titled it . How true, no?
Many thanks to n for reminding us of the beauty!
We are very excited to have started up a new series on the Campus Side called Covenant and Kingdom… Take a look…
from on .
In mid-July my family and I went to Ukraine. I had been there before, but that was 18 years ago. At the time, I had just graduated from Va. Tech and was fully expecting that my career path of getting my PhD in Child Clinical Psychology was the right one. While I was walking down a street in front of some of the non-descript apartments in Kiev, God starting showing me a different path.
So Kiev has always been close to my heart.
But this time, I was nervous about the trip. How would we as a family respond? Noah is 15, Seth is 13 and Emma is 12. There are truly great kids, but I was worried that they might not respond well. The lack of hot water, A/C, internet and normalcy. Honestly I was pretty worried that we would take this very expensive trip and nothing would happen in their souls.
As I have been reflecting on our two weeks in Vorzel, working with some wonderful Ukrainian orphans, I am once again reminded how weak pockets of my faith in God can be.
While we were there, we had the chance to do some very hard physical work. One of our jobs was to dig out a bike path for the kids. This isn’t just so they can have something fun to do, although that would be enough. In Ukraine, a healthy kid has a better shot at being adopted. And if they aren’t adopted by age 16, they are released from the system. If they don’t have anywhere to go, the mortality rate for these kids runs at about 80%. Alcohol, drugs, street violence, starvation and trafficking take a horrific toll on them.
So a bike track can actually turn around their life.
We took shovels and dug out a square that was about 30 yards on each leg and was four feet wide. Then we took gravel (more on that later) and filled in part of our track, built forms and then poured who knows how many tons of cememt.
There were clusters of days that I never stopped sweating. There were times when I didn’t think that we would get everything done. It has honestly been a long time since I worked that physically hard.
What I learned, or perhaps more accurately, a small part of what I learned, was that our kids are even more amazing than I gave them credit for, and that God is much more prepared to work in their souls than I gave him credit for.
They worked so hard, they played with the orphans when they were allowed to, they fully participated. They saw how much harder life in Ukraine is than what we face. God started doing something just like he said he would.
And I realized that he did all that in the face of my nervousness. He is so much more willing to honor his word than I am to sometimes believe it.
I won’t forget that soon.
No need to add any thoughts.
from a man I have had the privilege of seeing live those words out. The fact that he is so well known and so widely read seems to have not caused him to love the acclaim. Thanks to for the post.
A wonderful example… Peace, Jim
So, here you are! You are about to begin what will likely prove to be one of the most defining seasons of your life.
I very clearly remember my first days at Va. Tech. My dad and I arrived at Pritchard Hall with all the stuff I was bringing in the back of our Honda Accord. My clothes, a radio (I know, I know, I am old), some milk crates to store things in and a blue steamers truck for a “coffee table”.
I guess, being an alum of Tech, and now having been on staff with New Life Christian Fellowship for the past 16 years, I might like to offer a few words from one who has been there.
First, make good friends. Friends that will help you to be the person you want to be. Not ones that will make it harder.
Second, make good decisions. You now have access to a level of freedom you likely have never experienced before. I let that freedom blow me up for a while. Don’t make my mistakes. I generated an illustrious GPA of 1.75 my first semester. I fought that for the rest of my time here at Tech. Even making a 3.96 my last semester didn’t fully correct it.
Third, find a group quickly that will help you walk closely with God. This is one of the most centrally important things you will do. There is a big debate about whether secular universiteis like Tech are out to crush your faith. I don’t think they are. Now I did have some professors who were very outspoken in their disdain for a lively faith in Jesus…
But you are mistaken if you think you won’t have your faith strongly challenged while you are here. That challenge will at times seem like it is coming from everywhere. Having a group that will allow you to process those questions you are getting honestly, that will help you to hear the voice of God, that will help you to really live out your faith… Well, it is a necessity.
Fourth, but certainly not least, let God be close to you. Talk with him, listen to him, worship him, learn more about him, and follow him.
We would love to walk through this time with you. Again, check us out on the web and feel free to stop by our 11am or our 7.07pm services!
Peace, Jim
I haven’t joined in the jokes about Kim Jong Il’s death. By all accounts he was a terrible leader-according to many accounts truly awful-but I don’t relish the death of anyone.
But, I read about his mythical athletic prowess, and it is of course laughable. Many North Koreans cite these stats! Certainly it is impossible to know if they truly believe his monikers are accurate – “Best Leader Who Realized Human Wisdom,” “Master of Literature, Arts, and Architecture,” “Humankind’s Greatest Musical Genius,” “World’s Greatest Writer,” and “Greatest Man Who Ever Lived.” – or they were just coerced. Few really know, as informational transfer is so restricted.
We at least know that the Humankind’s Greatest Musical Genius is wrong. Nickleback gets that one.
No? Who then, Creed?
Sorry, back on track here… It is so easy to look into another culture and see how they misconstrue reality…how they miss the point. It made me stop and reflect a bit about how we do the same. Things that seem self-evident to us can be very easily seen through by others. Cultural nuances that we are blind to. It makes me want to be very deeply rooted and carefully reflective. It makes me want to be sure that I am among people who will help me to make sure I see myself and the world the way that God would have me.
Sure, I would never say I shot 5 (or 11) holes in one in a single day. But what other lies might I be very willing to tell myself? Makes me think of a Proverb that says, “Wounds from a friend can be trusted, but an enemy multiplies kisses.”
Let’s pray, for the sake of the South Korean people, that Kim Jong Un will do better.
So, the inevitable piece of news. Westboro Baptist Church is coming to Blacksburg
today to protest in front of Cassell Coliseum today just before the of Officer Deriek Crouse. Notice no hotlink to Westboro’s site?
A bully in middle school taught me why.
There was a kid who lived near me (I won’t name a name as I am always surprised to see who reads this) who loved to mess with me. It kind of became his thing. I was a small kid with… ladies prepare yourselves… a bad haircut, bifocals, braces with headgear… That’s right. Add to that an almost complete lack of coordination, and a very smart mouth that often moved a bit faster than my brain.
Needless to say, I talked myself into a lot of situations.
This guy, who was much bigger, decided I would be his bullying muse for the year. I tried to fight back – verbally, physically. I tried being nice. Nothing would work.
Then I decided to simply render his insults irrelevant. He would make a comment and I’d say “not bad.” He would shove me when he walked by and I would say “nice form.” The first thing that did is it calmed me down. The next thing it did was it removed the audience he loved to get by messing with me.
I took his audience away.
In Proverbs 16 we are told that a wise persons’s heart makes their speech wise and more persuasive. I have learned over the years to tame my mouth -most of the time. Sometimes that means overlooking a wrong, other times to speak against it. Both of those pieces of wisdom are given to us in Proverbs and both are right.
But I think of this response as neither overlooking or speaking against.
I think Proverbs 26.4,5 shares the tension we walk in…
4 When arguing with fools, don’t answer their foolish arguments, or you will become as foolish as they are. 5 When arguing with fools, be sure to answer their foolish arguments, or they will become wise in their own estimation.
Both are true. When you understand the proverbial wisdom nature of, well, Proverbs, then you see these aren’t in contradiction. They are both right. Wisdom therefore, needs to guide us into which one we invoke. I think, today, verse four.
People have tried for years to speak wisdom and truth into these folks’ lives. I tried when they last came to Tech. I spoke with Shirley Phelps-Roper, unsurprisingly to no avail. They want the audience, they are somehow energized by the counter-protests. Their revenue stream is dependent on getting big numbers of web-hits, drawing big crowds. So, now, like my middle school bully, let’s move past them.
Let them come.
Ignore them.
With the prayer-filled hope that they will just fade away.
Jesus Ween. Let it sink in. Jesus Ween. 
Here is the from Tamara Gignac of the . Please know, it isn’t the heart of what Paul Ade is doing that is the problem as much as the cheese factor of the naming.
CALGARY — Tiny ghosts and goblins hoping for sugary snacks may find something odd in their loot bags this Halloween: a bible.
A Calgary pastor is promoting Jesus Ween, a faith-based alternative to the traditional holiday fare of candy and spooky garb.
Instead of chocolate bars and gummy bears, he’s asking people to shun demonic costumes and instead dole out pocket-sized bibles or other “Christian gifts.”
The idea has caught on in communities across North America, according to Jesus Ween creator Paul Ade. He’s hoping it will bring a new perspective to an otherwise pagan festival, he said.
“I do not associate myself with ghosts, demons, Satan and witches. These are things I want to get rid of,” he said.
“If it’s OK for a child to know about demons, it should also be OK for a child to know about Jesus.”
Jesus Ween has attracted international attention, with media reports circulating as far away as Britain.
The Calgary man’s efforts to reinvent Halloween even prompted parody south of the border, with recent gags from U.S. pop culture satirist Stephen Colbert and late-night television host Jimmy Kimmel. (more…)
Whew… As they say where I grew up, it has been a bit of a while.
They would be right. My last posts were in the buildup to my sabbatical in May. It does beg the question, how has the cyber-world managed without having me dropping quality content a couple of times a week? 🙂
I’m back. And I have been reflecting on my reflecting.
Last February marked the start of my 15th year with [nlcf]. Last April I turned 40. Last August, Emma, our youngest started at Blacksburg Middle School and our oldest, Noah, started High School. In September I developed my first knee issue.
Many things that remind me that I am getting older. Don’t get me wrong, overall I like getting older. I like the wisdom that God is giving me as I walk through life. I love the experiences that I am acquiring, love seeing our kids get older and take on new challenges, inlcuding the always overlooked middle child, Seth (I should know, I was a middle too). If I have to grow older, God has given me the greatest woman that I could ever hope for to grow old with.
But, it begs the question, if 15 years, likely 1/3 of my work life is already in the books, is there anything that God would like to say that I haven’t been willing to hear, able to hear, ready to hear? In Romans, Paul was led by God to write a very simple statement that is quite a bit more complex to live out than it seems.
“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is — his good, pleasing and perfect will.”
Rom 12.2
Seems fairly straightforward, no? But that was just my question to God. Am I being more conformed to the pattern of this world, or more conformed to the pattern of the kingdom of God? It would seem the difference would be obvious, but it isn’t, at least not to me.
I really wasn’t sure about any of these things. But I knew God was walking me into a time where he could bring much or all of that into clarity. Sometimes its great to get answers, and other times, the scariest thing God could do is give us a strait-forward answer to our question.
Over the next few weeks I’ll share some of the thoughts I came across. I don’t claim that they will all help anyone else. My hope is that they will, but the main purpose of this is to reflect on my reflection.
Peace, Jim
