When to stay and Fight

Recently I joined the Anglican church. I had numerous seminary friends ask questions and express concerns over some of the widespread liberalism that has taken root in the episcopal (american anglican) church. I wholeheartedly echo those concerns. Orthodox anglicanism is a beautiful expression of distinct christianity with a high view of scripture being the inerrant authoritative word of God, a proper view on the person and work of Christ and a dedication to missions. Right now the episcopalian church (in some dioceses) has moved away from that. The press will tell you homosexuality is at the root of the controversy. It isn't. What lies at the heart of the issue is the authority and inerrancy of the bible. If the bible is authoritative, then we can't ordain homosexuals. But I'm not here to argue the authority of scripture right now. There are conservative, orthodox episcopalians. We are in the minority, but we do exist. The question for us right now is do I stay? The priest in charge of the church I'm going to had a long discussion with me about this before I ever took the job. He is a flaming conservative who loves dts and the reformers. What he said made me rethink my role in the situation. He said if all the conservatives leave, then who will fight for the Gospel in the church? That made me think about some of the stupid things we are willing to go to war for in the church. (Carpet, video screens, coffee, music, I could go on) if we are willing to go to war for all of this ansilary crap, why am I scared to stand up and fight for the thing that matters most? It could eventually cost me a job, but I'd rather lose that than my witness. This is one anglican who is not going to run from the fight. We have to get our view of scripture right as a denomination. We have to repent of our pride and humbly return to where we started, following in the steps of the disciple chasing Jesus Christ. I'm not leaving till they kick me out. I'm going to humbly cling to the truth of the Gospel and authority of the bible, while praying that my life makes a difference in the big picture of the direction of the church. I hope I'm not the only one.

Blessings in Disguise

We have all had a boss we don't like. That gets awkward in ministry because if you work for a church then you have to like everyone, right? I've been lucky to have worked in 6 different churches before Christ Church, and in those six places, there was one guy I worked for who seemed to have it in for me from day one. Most conflict arises from unmet expectations, and I didn't meet his for what a pastor should be. I wasn't good enough for him and he made it clear. I would get irritated because he would be less than truthful with me at times, indirectly devalue me, my work and my ideas publicly, and on at least one occasion I was told about, ridiculed me in my absence. I picked up on his distaste and sinfully and wrongfully made the situation worse by being a jerk in my own indirect (sometimes not so indirect) way, and was an equal transgressor in the whole thing, and in no way a victim. Even so, the situation was the darkest, most discouraging season of ministry I have ever experienced. BUT, had God not led me there, I would not be as close to as equipped as I am to do ministry. Although our personalities clashed, my difficult boss is one of the most talented guys I've ever been around, and not just in a ministry context. He is freak show smart, and the most organized person I've ever seen. Basically, all the things I'm bad at he is incredible with. I learned more about how to plan and structure a ministry by watching this guy for a year then I did in six years of formal ministry education. I'm not a strategic, linear thinker, suck at math and don't like details. God has given me a position where I need to manage a large ministry and do some of the things I'm not good at. Before I worked for this guy I didn't know how to do that, after, I did. (at least a little better) As I begin working on some structure/orginization aspects of my new ministry, I'm using some of the same phrases he did. I read my plans and hear his voice in the words on the page. I learned the most about how to do ministry from the guy I liked the least (seriously, the least by a lot). Now that I'm removed from the situation and look back on it without my immature anger and pride blinding me, I'm thankful for this man God put in my life because I'm using the things I learned from him to spread the gospel.

I'm at a seamtresses shop, my life is different

Kayleighs getting her dress taken in and I'm blogging. I played my last game with the hockey team last night, and I was reminded of all I'm leaving. I started to play on the hockey team when I was 19 and a sophomore in college. Now I'm 24 and getting married. Its a special group of guys I've been privilaged to play with.

I'm not married, and I'm not alone in Bed right now

That's right, and what's more there is a female next to me......a 10 pound siamese cat named annabelle. My cohort in youth ministry at incarnation is out of pocket for the next 10 days so I'm house sitting for her as she has been kind to let kayleighs cats crash at her place until we move (long story involving housing policy at uta) and as I blog via sidekick, annabelle joined me in the sack. Big changes are happening. Kayleigh and I wed July 8th in Austin, then we move out to greenville. While we are excited to move, we will miss the wonderful Church we are leaving. While something as simple as housesitting, or opening your home up to a friends pets in need seems simple and small, it underscores a larger value of community found at Incarnation. There are a lot of bad things to say about a church nestled in the Park Cities, and a lot of them are deserved, but I have been both suprised and encouraged by the willingness to share and sacrifice I've seen modeled by the people I worship with. They are generous with their time, money and homes, transparent and accountable with eachother (for the most part) and truly seek to have a biblical community that loves and shapes its members towards the person of God. This week prepping for our mission trips, helping and being helped by fellow members has reminded me of the importance of strong community, and how God has worked in the community at Incarnation.

SO Busy!

When I look at the last month, it's amazing how busy i've been, especially considering that I don't think I have that much going on right now. The main two things keeping me busy have been planning our move to Greenville and Writing our summer curriculum for an in depth Ephesians Study. The Ephesians study has been a great experience for me. Aside from the fact that I enjoy teaching the bible, the curriculum development has been especially challenging. I'm putting in about 8 hours of study a week on the section that is covered. That probably isn't enough, but it's all I have time for. That being said, I'm getting to read through commentaries, use Bible Works as well as a large bit of NT stuff from Seminary in a real ministry setting. It's way more fun to study and create for a ministry than for a class. The challenge has been to avoid getting caught in the numerous textual/grammatical issues presented in the text to the point that the message is lost. I want to challenge our students with a deep look at the book, but not to the point of overwhelming them and losing the focus of the text. The move...it's coming along. We'll be off to South Carolina mid-July. I've also got a wedding update, but I'll save that for later in the week.