Mission Orlando (Day 1 and 2)

Disclaimer: In my last post I said I would try and update daily about the work we were doing in Orlando, FL; however, the hotel we stayed at did not have a strong wi-fi connection that I could use. 

On July 5th a group of 15 from Rose Hill Church of Christ departed for a week of mission work in Orlando, FL. We didn't know what to expect when we arrived but we just knew that God had called us to GO and we went. For our group it was mostly first timers who had not done mission work before but had a desire to go do the Lord's work. For the rest of us, we trusted in God to see us through.

Orlando, Florida is a 6 hour trip from Columbus, GA. So, with stopping time and lunch we made the trip in around 8 hours arriving at our hotel at 5:00pm after leaving at 9am. We got settled into our rooms, cleaned up, and headed out to supper at Joe's Crab Shack for the evening.

After supper, we came back to the hotel for our nightly devotional together. Each night one of our young men who was on the trip shared some devotional thoughts from their heart. On the first night, I shared with them about how we were called to be messengers of God like Isaiah when he answered God, "Here am I, send me." (Isaiah 6) Each one of us made a commitment to be a part of the mission team because we heard God's call and wanted to be messengers of His word. Each one of us, in our own way, said. "Here am I, send me!" We talked about how we should expect the unexpected and to be flexible that not everything will go according to our plan, but God's plan. He would not give to us more than we could handle during our mission trip. It was interesting to listen to the first-timers talk about their expectations and why they chose to be a part of the mission team. Most of them did not know what to expect when it came to the children we would meet and the community we would work in this past week. They all said they wanted to do mission work because they had a desire to help other people. It was an uplifting evening just getting to talk about the week and what was in store for us. Bottom line: We knew that we were there to spread the love of Christ in everything that we were going to be doing.

Each morning our mission team members met with their prayer partners (who would also be their door-knocking partners) and this began Sunday morning as we prepared for the day. I asked them to talk with their partner about specific things that needed to be prayed for, how they were feeling about the day, expectations, etc. I believe most of our team embraced this time with their partner to share in prayer to begin each day. Most of the time this was done during breakfast, so they had some added time together.

On Sunday morning we worshipped with the Maingate Church of Christ which meets in one of the ballrooms provided by the Baymont Inn and Suites-Celebration. This service is overseen by the elders of Concord Street Church of Christ. Each week they have a guest preacher come in and speak, as well as, teach a bible class. The compensation for their time is a free week stay at the Baymont Inn.

The plan originally was to worship with Concord Street since we would be working with them during the week; however, on Wednesday I got a call saying the preacher for the Maingate service backed out and they were needing someone to fill-in and could I do it. So, I said of course! and I am glad that I did. I saw a family that I knew from Rossville, GA, met the parents of a youth minister in North Alabama that I knew, and met two ladies from Bermuda who wants to take Joy and I around the island when we visit their on our cruise next month. If that wasn't cool enough, the song leader that morning was baptized at Rose Hill Church of Christ many years ago! It's truly a small world but it helped us to see that no matter where you come from that as long as you belong to the body of Christ we are a family doing God's work from everywhere.

After services and bible study, we loaded up to eat lunch and head to Concord Street Church of Christ. When we arrived at Concord Street we were met by Dan and his son, Daniel, to discuss the afternoon door-knocking and the week's activities. We also met Bertha who would be helping to provide the meals to us during the week.

Door-knocking pushed our group out of their comfort zones, the chatty and outgoing people became the quiet and shy. Dan had gone over some tips to door-knocking, so that we wouldn't make people mad or let them think we were the police just by how we knocked. It was a great experience watching our kids and even adults grow through this experience. We knocked every door in the Lake Mann community, so they would know about the bible school we would be putting on Monday-Wednesday in their community.

After door-knocking we headed back to the hotel for some relaxing time before traveling to Downtown Disney to eat at Rainforest Cafe. On the way home from dinner, we had our devotional for the evening on the bus. Neiman Etheridge shared with us from his heart about how God has created us all in His image. We all may look different on the outside, we may not share things in common, but we all were created in the image of God. This was something we all needed to hear as we began our work sharing God to a community who was very much different than we are.

It was a wonderful first two days and I already knew God was planning some amazing things for us!

"Here Am I, Send Me"

On Saturday a group of 15 from Rose Hill Church of Christ will be leaving for Orlando, Florida on a mission trip. Our team consists of adults and students who have committed themselves to allowing God to do amazing things through them in the inner-city community of Orlando. Over the week we will meet interesting people, teach kids about God's love, bond as a group, work together to serve others, and much more. We will come back with many stories to tell and an experience that will be life-changing for our mission team.

I am reminded of Isaiah 6 when He begins writing about a vision he has of God and the holiness of God. He speaks as if he is unworthy to see this vision as Isaiah is a "man of unclean lips" (v. 6). However, a Seraphim touches Isaiah's lip with a burning coal thus taking his guilt away for seeing this vision. This all precedes a particular moment in the Old Testament that I think is prominent, even for us today. Verse 8 says, "And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” Isaiah hears God's calling. Isaiah understands God is in need of someone who will deliver a message to His people.

God is still in need of people to deliver His message. Only the message is now about His son and the good news of Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection. God is still calling out for people to take His message into all parts of the world, so that with God's message people will be saved (Matt. 28:19, Mark 16:15). How are you answering God's call for messengers?

For the group of 15 going to Orlando, we heard God's call and answered by taking the gospel to Orlando, Florida. Each night I hope to be able to write and tell about all the wonderful things happening each day. To get updates about our trip, please subscribe to this blog and I will post updates daily (or as much as time will allow).

Thank you for your prayers and support this next week! Thank you for the continued love and encouragement as we seek to do God's will and to glorify His name in Orlando, FL.

Goodbyes are the Hardest

This past Sunday night we honored our graduating seniors at Rose Hill Church of Christ. This has been a special class to me. I got to watch them over the last year go through many different victories and struggles, mountains and valley, but through it all most experienced growth; growth in Christ, growth in maturity, and growth in friendships.

I think, for a youth minister, there is always going to be some of your students that you wished you had more time with and that's true with this class. I have some students who are on the verge of really breaking out and realizing what God is calling them to do. I pray daily that this growth will continue and they will continue to see God's call in each of their lives.

Over the last year, we have laughed, cried, argued, and pretty much every emotion in between. If there is an emotion, we experienced. We strived to be a family who felt safe to share with one another our victories and defeats, our struggles and our praises. We aren't quite there, but I am sure that the foundation that this class has built will be the start of something great within our ministry.

While it's always hard to say goodbye, it is time to move on to the next chapter of their life. I will watch anxiously as God continues to guide them along the way, while I pray everyday that we have created a faith in them that is at the core of who they are and sticks through their college years when times get tougher and new responsibilities come their way.

As we congratulate our graduating seniors and welcome our incoming students, I would like to end this blog post with some of my favorite memories over the last year:

- Making a Harlem shake video using JJ's jeep for light in the darkness
- Going to Burger King on Wednesday nights and staying until they kicked us out (closing time)
- Getting 25 or more pies to the face at VBS because y'all reached a goal
- All the random moments and thing that kept me on my toes
- The walking dead parties and tour! (and adding more dead fans with each watch party)
- Watching you guys serve our community whether it was feeding the homeless, passing out socks, washing cars, or painting a shed
-Finding the tombstone while re-painting Ms. Hurst's shed (and knowing Paul would want a picture with it)
- The many trips and the bonding time that came along with it!

We've had so many great times together and still have time this summer to make even more memories. While the time is drawing near, for our seniors to move on, I look forward to the difference that they can still make within our ministry this summer. It's never too late to make an impact!

 

"Don't cry because it's over... smile because it happened"

The Holiness of God (Part 2)

God's Transcendent Majesty

First let’s read Isaiah 6:1-8 together 

In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord seated on a high and lofty throne, and His robe filled the temple. 2 Seraphim were standing above Him; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 

3 And one called to another: Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts; His glory fills the whole earth.

4 The foundations of the doorways shook at the sound of their voices, and the temple was filled with smoke. 5 Then I said: Woe is me for I am ruined because I am a man of unclean lips and live among a people of unclean lips, and because my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts. 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a glowing coal that he had taken from the altar with tongs. 7 He touched my mouth with it and said: Now that this has touched your lips, your wickedness is removed and your sin is atoned for. 

8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying: Who should I send? Who will go for Us? I said: Here I am. Send me.

Let’s define Transcendent Majesty

i. Transcendent = all surpassing, above and beyond anything else
ii. Majesty = includes all of God’s power and authority, royalty, dignity, and splendor.
iii. Transcendent Majesty speaks of the infinite power, authority, royalty, dignity, and splendor that is God’s

Isaiah gives us three descriptive phrases in these verses when talking about God.

                                                                         i.     He is sitting upon a throne

                                                                       ii.     He is high and lifted up

                                                                      iii.    The train of his robe fills the temple

                     

                    God’s Throne

                                                               i.      The throne is symbolic of His reign and ruler ship.

                                                             ii.      God absolutely rules over all His creation in both heaven and earth. A sparrow cannot fall to the ground apart from His will. (Matt. 10:29). We cannot carry out the plans we make apart from His will (James 4:13-15). However, God does according to His will among those in Heaven and those who inhabit Earth (Daniel 4:35).

                                                            iii.   Due to God’s authority as creator, God has the right to set the rules of conduct for His moral creatures, enforce those rules, and act as the supreme judge of all moral beings, rewarding good and punishing evil.

 “High and Lifted up”

                                                               i.      This expression speaks of His supreme exaltation – the glorious display of God’s royalty, splendor, and glory.

 "The train of His robe fills the temple"

                                                               i.      This accentuates his royalty and splendor.

                                                             ii.      With bridal gowns today, the train is the apex (or focal point) of the dress, indicating to some degree the beauty and expensiveness of the dress.  The robe given to a King or Queen always includes a train, the length of it to display the royalty and splendor of the person being crowned. When Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain was crowned in 1953, her train was thirty-six feet long. It was made of velvet and trimmed in fur and was so heavy it had to be carried by six maids of honor, walking behind her.

                                                             iii.      A train shows royalty. God’s robe was so long it filled the temple, an expression intended to convey to us the infinite royalty, splendor, dignity, and majesty of God.

One of the earliest recorded references to the holiness of God occurs in the song of Moses after the Israelites had crossed the Red Sea and had seen God down the Egyptian army in the sea. In Exodus 15:11 you see them singing, “Who is like you, O Lord, among the Gods? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in glorious deeds, doing wonders?”

 “Majestic in Holiness”

                                                               i.      In the episode of the Red Sea, this is a reference to God’s power and authority. Specifically the power to deliver the Israelite people from the pursuit of the mighty Egyptian army.

                                                             ii.      Consider the power of God in parting the Red Sea. He caused the waters to part and stand up like concrete walls and made the sea bottom as dry land for the Israelites to walk on (Exodus 14:21-29). And then through His same power, God released the parted waters to resume their normal course so the entire Egyptian army was drowned in the midst of the sea. No wonder the Israelites sang, “Who is like you, O Lord, among the Gods?” (Exodus 15:11)

Our God is holy and majestic. Isaiah's vision is a starting point to looking at the holiness of God and his transcendent majesty. He is also infinite in his moral purity and we will look at that subject in the next blog post.

The Holiness of God (Part 1)

Why do we use italics or boldface when typing? To indicate emphasis and to highlight something you believe to be important, to draw attention to that particular phrase or wording.

In the Hebrew language, they would repeat words to indicate emphasis much like we do when we place words in italics or bold lettering. Jesus used this device, “Truly, Truly I say to you” (John 3:3; 5:24)

The bible, however, repeats itself three times when describing God and His holiness. “Holy, Holy, Holy”. When a repetition of three occurs in the Hebrew language, it indicates the highest degree of that word. We could say, the infiniteness of God’s holiness is described by giving it the highest degree.

What is infinite?

The distance to the known edge of the universe is said to be about 13 billion light-years away. In miles – 78,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (21 zeros!!)…. Seventy-Eight billion, trillion miles. That is an exceedingly vast distance, but it is not an infinite distance. Not even Buzz Lightyear can travel to infinity and beyond!

Infinite means without limits and immeasurable. Only God is infinite, and He is infinite in all His glorious attributes. Only his holiness is given the threefold ascription “holy,holy,holy”. 

We never read of God being “wise, wise, wise” or “powerful, powerful, powerful” Although he is wise and powerful and his attributes are infinite, God wanted, it seems, to magnify his holiness in a unique way.

God says of himself in Isaiah 40:15,17: “Behold the nations are like a drop from a bucket and are accounted as the dust on the scales… All the nations are as nothing before him, they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness”

God is saying that if you combined all the power and might of all the great nations and empires throughout history and compare it to God’s power and might it would be nothing and full of emptiness. He also says that we could multiply that combined power and might 1,000 times and it would be to God no more than a 1 single drop from a bucket. God is infinite, He has no limits and God is immeasurable. And this is the way we should understand the infinite holiness of God.

What does the Bible mean when it speaks of the holiness of God?

Hebrew word for Holy – Qadosh: defined as separate. It signifies God’s separation from His creation including His complete separation of/from sin.

Isaiah’s vision of God, as recorded in Isaiah 6:1-8, is the classic passage of Scripture on the holiness of God, and it will help us gain insight into the holiness of God and the implication of that holiness for us today.

"In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2 Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one called to another and said:  “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” 4 And the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 And I said: “Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away, and your sin atoned for.”8 And I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” Then I said, “Here I am! Send me.” - Isaiah 6:1-8

Next blog: I will continue talking about the holiness of God and His transcendent majesty. 

Partners 4 Africa Mission Trip

My wife and I are making plans to travel with the mission team from Rose Hill Church of Christ in July, 2015 to Zimbabwe where we will partner with Dorian Flynn and Partners 4 Africa to accomplish many tasks such as door knocking, feeding orphans, conducting a bible school for kids, participating in worship, helping with the new medical clinic in Zimbabwe and much more! We are looking forward to this opportunity to spend 14 days in Zimbabwe spreading the gospel to the people who live there. Joy and I have been praying for an opportunity like this because we have a heart and desire for mission work. However, mission work comes at a price and we pray that you will partner with us in helping to take the gospel to Africa through making donations.

First let me tell you a little about Partners 4 Africa Ministry:

Partners 4 Africa does wonderful mission work in Africa through their M.O.M project where they feed 700 children on a weekly basis. They are also building wells that provide safe drinking water to the community. So far, Partners 4 Africa have drilled over 30 wells with most of them located near a church building to provide water for baptisms. Another project that we are involved in at Rose Hill that benefits Partners 4 Africa is the Banana Box Ministry. Each year banana boxes are packed with clothing and textbooks to be sent to Africa. This year we sent 507 boxes to Africa which is part of the 4,000 total that will be sent from other sponsoring congregations. 

We would love to see all these good works in action and to meet the families and children that we minister to from Columbus, GA while leaving a lasting impression in Africa by the good works we will do while we are in Zimbabwe.

In order to be a part of this great opportunity, We will need to raise close to $5,000 to cover airfare, lodging, transportation, medical shots, and other expenses during the 14 days we will be in Africa along with 10 others from our mission team. I believe God has called us to be a part of the mission team. To make a donation please visit: http://www.gofundme.com/8cpvvo  

Thank you in advance for your prayers and donation. You will not only be investing in our mission team, but you will be investing in the lives of the people of Africa. 


To find more information about Partners 4 Africa visit www.partners4africa.com.

To know more about Rose Hill Church of Christ visit www.rosehillchurch.com.

Church for

This video has been circulating through social media over the last few weeks. Today, I had a moment to actually stop for a minute, watch this video, and soak in the message of what it was saying. At the heart of it is a powerful message about the Church for ALL people! The church of misfits who all are common through Christ.

At the beginning, it really keys in on the silly arguments and squabbles we get into over the name on the sign. Is it a big C or little c? Do we put "meets here"? Do we put Church of Christ first followed by the name of the city? We get too focused on the name on the sign when our focus should be on the name at the center of everything we do... Christ.

I would like to think that our sign would read Rose Hill Church for Sinners, for Broken People, for ALL. We are truly a bunch who loves and supports one another and at the core of what we do we realize that first we are sinners saved through Jesus Christ, that we have a building full of broken people who are hurting and who need that love, so we show it to them. Last, that we truly are a church for ALL people no matter who you are, no matter what you look like, no matter what your past is, that we are all accepting of one another because we have a common bond that can never be broken through Jesus Christ.

In the end, isn't that what matters, Who we are the church for and the church of? For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ (Matthew 25:35-40)