Blog

In the midst of a global pandemic, our entire lives are drastically changing. Our family was planning a move, buying and selling homes, moving to a new state, starting new careers. It’s all stressful…….in today’s climate, it is stupid stressful. Certainly, your family has SOMETHING too. Our kids have a firsthand view to see how we manage this season and the inherent stresses involved in it. While it’s educational for them, it is also a little scary for us. We’re trying to be prayerful and we’re asking God to guide our decisions, but it’s hard to be patient.

All those verses about taking courage and trusting in the Lord? We are leaning hard on them, trying to live them out moment to moment and seeing them played out again and again. Yet, it’s still hard. Owning that it is hard, I think, is okay and probably even good.

In my daily Bible readings, I keep seeing things like:

“When I am afraid, I will trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid.” Psalm 56:3-4 

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”  2 Timothy 1:7 

“For I am the LORD, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.”  Isaiah 41:13 

Then, just a few days ago, as I was making dinner, I was starkly reminded of how Jesus might be seeing my prayer life in this season. It wasn’t pretty. As I was chopping veggies, Langdon, our 8 year old, came into the kitchen and started asking questions about the move: Where will we live? When does school start? Will we live close to Grandma and Grandpa? What is my teacher’s name? What will our house look like? Will I have my own room? Are we going to have a tractor? You get the picture.

Right about the time I ran out of answers (and patience) Jesus gently reminded me that I have been asking HIM a lot of questions too. I suddenly realized that my prayer life has been a lot about me and not very focused on Him.

I came to the realization that I wanted the destination without the journey. I was so focused on being able to look back in a year and say, “look what God did in our lives last year,” but in truth, I wanted to skip that year entirely. I wanted to skip the unknown, the waiting, the patience and get right to the praise. Surely someone can relate!

Ironically, my 8 year old, brought into clear focus that living for God is living in the moment. I am asking God more and more to meet me in the every day. To straighten the road before us and make the next step obvious:        

“In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:6

And to trust in the plans He has for us:

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11

Being reminded that God wants to make a testimony of our lives and our faith, that this will be a season that we point back to again and again is powerful. We look forward to the day when we can say, “Look what God did in our lives during that year.” It will be awesome. But it won’t have any meaning unless we walk through it WITH Him. 

Dear Friends,

As a police officer I have been asked a lot lately about the political climate towards police in our nation. I would like to sit down at a table with an activist against police.

 I would start by asking them about their personal experiences so I could better understand where they are coming from. Once they were done telling their story I would apologize and recognize yes, racism still sadly exists and yes, there are some officers that abuse their power. I, as well as my fellow officers, despise officers that abuse their power. Not just because what they are doing is a complete contradiction to what we swore an oath to protect against but also because one bad officer paints all of us in a negative light. I would then ask if I could share my story and it would go something like this:

I became a police officer because I did not like people being treated unjustly. In my 12-year career I have been blessed to be part of helping a lot of people. I have never shot anyone although I have pointed my gun at many people. I have never had a complaint filed against me by the public or been accused of using excessive force. I look at each call as an opportunity to treat someone as I would want an officer to treat my loved ones.

My attitude and my file may not reflect an officer with a dramatic career of accomplishments, but I know I have made a difference. From making a makeshift tourniquet to stop the bleeding of a suicidal woman, providing CPR to a teen who overdosed, to carrying a woman who had been shot up the street to paramedics. I’ve had a man thank me at court for arresting him and explaining to him the jail process. I’ve had the opportunity to pray with those who just lost a loved one. I’ve had countless opportunities to encourage the victims of domestic violence that they are “fearfully and wonderfully made” and are to be treated as such. I have responded to help where a fellow officer had been shot and had to wait to hear the news that he died. I have traveled to New Jersey for another officer’s funeral to show support to that community. I have been spit in the mouth by a man with Hepatitis C. I have had opportunities to encourage my fellow officers so they do not lose hope that their good works, that don’t make the news, are for naught.

This career does not come without its costs. When an officer is shot while I’m on shift, my wife has turned on the porch light fully expecting a command officer to come with the bad news. After seeing innocent children murdered, I have experienced symptoms of PTSD. When the protests started and the anti-police sentiment was in every headline the paranoia seeped in, ensuring I took a different route home each day and watch that no one was following me. I feel judged by the uniform I wear but I am not given a chance to be judged by my character.

Even with these negative consequences of the career I would still choose it all over again.

You may say I’m one of the good ones like I’m rare, but if you came on a ride along with me or any of my fellow officers you would see I am actually the norm. For all the events I listed above- I was not alone. Alongside me was another officer equally prepared to help and make a difference for good.

I would choose this career again because I know I am still making a difference. I can hold my head up high knowing I am one of the majorities of good officers that impact people’s lives for good every day. There will always be a cost to those who stand against evil. After our conversation we still may not see eye to eye but even if that is the case, I will keep my oath and show up for you every time that you call.  I will be ready to help you on your very worst day.

 “Discipleship is the process of becoming who Jesus would be if he were you.” -Dallas Willard

I’m so far from who Jesus wants me to be right now. I’ve learned a mustard seed of what He would like me to know. However, it is exciting to look back and to see how God has brought me to this place.

 It all started in a small Baptist church where I saw many examples of discipleship. The very first memory that comes to mind is my Sunday school teacher introducing the topic of moral relativism. As I look back, these discussions seemed advanced for young adults. My teacher saw the ugly side of the world as a career judge. I believe her career allowed her to bring this point to life in a very relevant way. I quickly learned the meaning of moral relativism and how it was woven into my faith. This concept cannot be more important as it seems culture tells us every day that moral standards are up to individual interpretation.

There were others of course at that small church with outdated carpet that presented a Biblical standard via other means. Some memories stick out more than others. I recall being involved in a play that demonstrated the seriousness of the decision Christ asks us all to make. There was a Church camp where I really felt like I saw a glimpse of the Lord for the first time and started to learn His Word. There is a faithful woman who has been teaching Sunday school for 25+ years. To this day, she continues to encourage me on my visits home. Finally, I know that many prayers were offered for me and those around me to know God’s truth. I believe prayer may help someone more than anything else when it comes to discipleship.

However, my dad has had one of the largest influences on my life. My dad was always so humble, and I was impressed by this at a young age. This allowed him to see the best in people when I only saw the worst. My dad helped me see how judgmental I could be. I am still sometimes convicted of being judgmental, but it was his discipleship that first made me aware of this. There were other moments dear old Dad spoke wisdom in his own way. My most memorable Dad quote is “There are two things that I never regret: going to church and a good workout”. There have been times when I have not been sure about the workout part.

I have been transformed for the glory of God partly because I grew up with many strong Christian mentors. They prayed for me, taught me, and demonstrated the love of Christ to me. Though teaching Sunday school and leading youth group seems like a normal task within the Church, these cannot be left undone. Parents that disciple their children will always be invaluable.

Discipleship in general must continue for the survival of our Christian faith as it stands today. Without discipleship, we are living our lives with direction only from our selfish ambitions and popular opinion. How would things change if instead Jesus was living our lives? Who would He teach and who would He encourage given our individual circumstances?

When you think of Jesus’ twelve disciples, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? How would you describe them? My answer to this, in simple terms, is twofold: Post-Ascension/Pentecost, mighty men of God. Pre-Ascension/Pentecost… well, let’s just say they remind me a lot of myself as a teenager.

Having grown up in the church, a lot of wonderful people poured into me as my life in Christ developed. However, up until a certain point in my teens, there was a disconnect. As the trail runner, hunter, and competitive shooter I was at the time, I stuck out like a sore thumb among my peers. I had difficulty seeing my place within the church, and sometimes questioned whether I even had one. I had a burgeoning passion for God, but a subset of skills and knowledge that seemingly had no function in the environment of Christian ministry.

This persisted until certain godly men appeared in my life – ones I could relate to. For the first time in my life, I could talk about Minute-of-Angle and the qualifications for eldership with the same person! Laugh though you may, this was a turning point for me. No longer under pressure to suppress the fruits of my masculinity, I began to see, under the Scriptural guidance of these mentors, that my masculinity was quite necessary.

Long story short, this led to a dramatic personal transformation. I had never heard before that I, as a Christian man, was to take responsibility for and lead those around me, but when I did, the Spirit filled me in new way and began to overhaul my life. I can’t take credit for this, but rather point to the Spirit of God leveraging the faithfulness of a couple men who knew their Bibles, happened to speak my language, and made the effort to reach out to me.

The disciples were much like me – good-hearted goofballs with some random skills – even as they were mentored by Christ Himself. However, when Christ’s guidance climaxed with their receipt of the Holy Spirit, the narrative changed from denying the truth in front of a servant girl to mighty speeches that brought thousands to the Lord.

“Boyishness” is often labeled as ADHD before digressing into the behavior of a godless creature that our society labels as “toxic masculinity”, and as with anything repulsive in nature, throwing it away is easier than fixing it. However, the undeniable extra work and frustration involved in pointing a young man to Christ until he’s well-rooted (read Psalm 1) pays impressive dividends. The four components of a rifle cartridge are useless when contained and messy when not. But, when properly assembled and locked into the chamber of a proper instrument where a firing pin can punch the primer and ignite the propellant, cutting-edge performance can be achieved.

In both of MCC’s youth groups, I see spitting images of my teenaged self every week. And, although I care about the girls equally, my focus is to show these guys, in the midst of a society that often despises them, that they are not only necessary, but absolutely critical to the life of healthy churches, families, communities, and countries; that not only does God love them, but also that He has a mission for them.

Discipleship is important to us because it is the critical next-level involvement necessary to cultivate a fireproof dependence on God, and it is a task for the whole church:

“The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also.”  -- 2 Timothy 2:2

We sincerely hope that as our youth get gradually closer to being launched out into the world, you would join us in preparing them. You don’t have to be “cool”; you just need to love God, His Word, and His people. Nothing we do for the Lord is ever useless, and He always multiplies our efforts, even if we never see the results.