The Answer

I know when you first saw the title of my blog you thought I was going to write an in-depth article on Allen Iverson, the former basketball player. But if I were to write about Iverson, I would title it, "Practice?" Or maybe you thought I was going to write about our nation's debt problem and my 7-step solution to recover 60% of our losses. Perhaps for you "The Answer" was going to be a blog post about a dieting program for those of us who still like to eat our sweets. Unfortunately none of the above will be discussed here, but I'm going to be talking about Batman and Robin...you know...scholarly stuff.

My whole life I have always felt like the second person. I've felt like a back-up. Being the oldest child in my family, I'm supposed to be pretty outgoing and have a lot of leadership qualities, but I'm not that way. In fact, my brother, who is one year younger than me, possesses all of those qualities. In high school, I was literally the back-up. I was second string quarterback my entire varsity career.

When I was in college, I lived in a dorm on a floor with about 30 other guys. It was great part of my life that I'll never forget. I loved those guys! One time some of us guys were hanging out in someone's dorm room, and the question came up, "If we lived in the wild west, what would each guy on the floor be?" For instance, we decided that Eric would have been the sheriff. Robert would have been the cool barber that everyone knew but didn't want to get on his bad side because he always held a razor so close to your neck. When I asked who I would be, they all laughed and agreed that I would be the boy in town that always wanted to join the fight but was always told no because I was too young.

Another time my buddies and I were talking about what each guy on our dorm floor would be if they were a superhero. Some guys were superman others were spiderman or the Green Lantern. I piped up and said i would be Batman, but they also didn't agree and said I would be Robin instead...I would be the sidekick. I've always felt like I should be the sidekick or the back-up, but to be honest with you I hated it. I wanted to be the star. I wanted to be the sheriff. I wanted to be the answer.

I think I have taken the same mentality into ministry. Because of how people have always viewed me as the sidekick, I have wanted to do better and be better. I've wanted to be the student minister that was fun and outgoing. I wanted to preach great sermons and be so good relationally with students that they would come flocking to me. I wanted to be their answer.

A couple of weeks ago we took our high school students to Panama City, Florida for a week-long conference. It was great. We stayed at a hotel right on the beach, got a tan (well I got pretty sunburnt), and learned about some godly men and women in the Bible. Christine and I were in charge of a small group of students the whole week. Basically, we were with them for about an hour each morning. That time was a time to get to know our students and to be able to teach them some different stuff. As the week progressed, I started to get really frustrated because we hadn't seen any fruit from our students. They would all just nod their heads in group and talk every once in a while. Don't get me wrong, our students were amazing, but for some reason I didn't feel like it was clicking with them. Right away I concluded that I was doing a horrible job at teaching them or not pouring into them enough...I wasn't being the answer.

On the second to last night, we had worship on the beach. It was dark outside and you could see hundreds of stars in the night sky. There was a couple playing guitar and singing worship songs, and it was just an awesome time to worship God. When Christine and I went down to the beach we just walked. After a while I started letting everything come out. I told her all about how I felt like I failed the students and that I wasn't enough. Christine did what she always does...she listened to me and then encouraged me. She reminded me that I am not the answer to the student's problems. I am not the answer. I let that sink in for a while...and to be honest...I felt like I was set free. For a long time I always tried to be the the funniest guy or the most welcoming guy thinking that if a student didn't connect it was my fault...all of the burden was on my shoulders.

I sat there in the sand next to Christine just talking about how we aren't the answer. Yes, God chooses to use us, but we can't expect to be the answer to all the students problems because we will come up short every time. Because I've always dealt with the problem of being second or being the sidekick, I started to tell myself that I needed to be THE one, but what I didn't know is that I was trying to take the place of the One.

That night on the beach was great for me, and the next day God showed me how he has a funny sense of humor. The very next morning after the night on the beach, a student in my small group came up to me and said he wanted to get baptized! I sat there and talked to him about it for a while, and then I asked if he wanted to pray. First you need to understand that this student is a great guy! He is a lot of fun and easy to talk to, but he isn't big on praying in front of people (which is a lot of students). When he bowed his head and started talking to God, I sat there in awe. He was praying one of the most heart felt prayers I had ever heard in my life. His prayer was so authentic and so real. And the truth is......it wasn't because of me. It was all because of what God was doing in his life. Later that day I was able to baptize Hayden with his friend Chandler, who first invited Hayden to come to our church.

So am I willing to be a sidekick for the creator of the Universe? Oh yea. God can do everything, and I can do nothing without Him. I am not the answer but He is The Answer.

Freedom isn't Free

Freedom is a great thing. Freedom is being able to do what you want when you want. Of course there are some exceptions. I can't go kill some right now because I have an itching for murder. There are certain laws of the land to keep order and safety for the people. But Freedom...freedom is something people die for. Martin Luther King wanted African Americans to have the same freedom and rights as white people. He ended up being killed for the freedom he so eagerly sought. King Leonidas of Sparta and his 300 men died at Thermopylae to protect the freedom of his people from King Xerxes and the Persian Empire. There is story after story of men and women giving up their life because they want to attain and maintain freedom.

In the United States, the word Freedom is thrown around like a frisbee in a park. Everyone talks about it, but we really don't understand the meaning. We don't feel the significance. I say "WE" because I struggle with this just like anyone else. Now I know there are some people out there who know and feel freedom because they have had a loved one die overseas trying to maintain our freedom, and I want to say a huge thanks! There are also some people who have had a family member or friend die here on our soil because they were upholding our freedom as a policeman or fireman. I think you guys understand freedom a lot more than we do. I tell you all of this because I think Freedom is worth dying for.

Today I'm celebrating Freedom on two levels. First I'm celebrating the United States' Independence day, and our victory over Great Britain to become a Free country! But secondly, and most importantly, I'm celebrating my freedom from death! On July 4th, 1999 I decided to get baptized. I have officially become a Christian for half of my life...12 years, and I can say that I am free because Jesus thought that I was important enough to die for. He thought my Freedom was worth dying for.

Galatians 5:1 says, "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free." Jesus thought it was important enough for us to be free from death and sin that he died for us. I think the next verse is really cool too which says, "Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." Paul is telling us that Jesus has set us free, so don't go back to death and sin (living your old way of life). This sounds crazy to us. Why would anyone go back to being a slave after being free? But we do it everyday. In the Old Testament, the Israelites lived in the land of Egypt for 430 years, and for most of that time they were the Egyptians' slaves. They worked tirelessly for the Pharaoh. It was so bad that the Israelites cried out to God and asked for Freedom. God heard their prayers and sent Moses to set them free. After some time and plagues, the Pharaoh agreed to let the Israelites free. The people of Israel were no longer slaves, but they were free! But after time passes and the Israelites are traveling through the desert we hear them crying out to Moses, "Let us go back to Egypt!!" Tough times had landed on the Israelites, and they were hungry and thirsty, so they wanted to go back into the life of slavery. Crazy! So Paul tell us..."stand firm and do not become slaves again!"

Another passage jumps out to me when I start thinking about freedom and dying. It is Philippians 1:21 which says, "To live is Christ and to die is gain." One of the hardest things to do in a Christian's life is to die everyday to self and to live for Christ. This means saying "no" to your own personal wants and pleasures and saying "yes" to freedom in Christ. And let me tell you something really cool...when you die to to yourself, you gain freedom! You gain a freedom from carrying your burdens all by yourself. You gain a freedom from living this life without a purpose. You gain a freedom from death!!!!! If we die to ourselves on this earth, we get to live free forever with Jesus! Freedom will be worth dying for.

So today as I sit here writing this I am so happy for my freedom as an American Citizen, but I'm reminded of a greater freedom that I have found in Christ. This freedom isn't free...it cost Jesus His life, and it costs us our own personal desires and wants. But I promise that it is worth dying for, because when you die to yourself you can really start to live a life of a freedom. I hope this makes sense for you guys. Love you all and Happy 4th of July!!!!