It Still Is The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

I don't often have blogs of this nature but I think the occasion calls for one. Two blogs ago, I wrote a hypothetical asking would any of us care as much if all we had for Christmas was honoring the birth of Christ. I think if many of us were honest with ourselves, the answer would probably be "No." Since that blog, I've been thinking a lot about that. Asking myself if the birth of Jesus was enough for Christmas. I sat in my office today awaiting my firm's Christmas luncheon, while having "O Holy Night" play on my music player and really just felt in awe. I really feel like God is wanting me (as well as all of us) to get to that point where He is enough. Not to take away gifts or Christmas music and specials, but for us to look to Him for our excitement and joy more so than looking forward to waking up to an X-Box under a tree. As I sat there, I really felt like God was pulling me there, just thinking about what Christmas really means. It wasn't just the birth of a baby. It wasn't just the birth of a man. It wasn't even just the birth of the Son of God.

It was the birth of

• Redemption
• Freedom
• 2nd Chances
• Peace
• Joy
• Hope
• Healing
• Purpose
• Starting over
• Forgiveness
• Love
• Never being alone
• Victory
• Triumph
• Strength
• Deliverance
• Life

I know that tomorrow morning, there's going to be exchanging gifts and spending time with the people I love and I'm excited for that. It's something I look forward to every year along with everything else Christmas has to offer. But nearly 2000 years ago, long before I ever existed, a man was born so that He could die for me, and the whole time, He had me in mind. That is what Christmas is about and that's why Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year.

Merry Christmas!

Where Are You When We Need You, Fozzy Bear?

A couple of days ago, I was watching Home Improvement on TV Land for the first time in many years. Naturally it was one of the many Christmas episodes where Tim is trying to win the neighborhood lighting contests and finds funny ways to decorate his house but always loses to the proctologist that lives across the street. I sat there and watched this and started to miss the days when the great ABC primetime shows had their Christmas specials. Pretty much all them had at least one episode where little Timmy stops believing in Santa and at the end, Santa shows up to visit but the whole family believes its like Uncle Bob or somebody pretending to be Santa but the kid doesn't know it. Then after Santa leaves, Uncle Bob enters the room and the family's like "If you're here, then who was that?" and the final scene is little Timmy looking out the window as Santa leaves and then we all feel good about ourselves. I believe I even remember Santa coming to visit Carl Winslow and pretending to be homeless, all so he can restore Carl's Christmas spirit. Those were the days......

And the movies! Man do I miss the sweet Christmas movies of old. Great ones like the classic, A Christmas Story. I mean, it's so good, TBS plays it for 24 hours every Christmas and you better believe my TV never leaves TBS on Christmas day! Or how about A Charlie Brown Christmas, I remember when I couldn't go a day without hearing that creepy choir of kids singing Christmas songs! What about when the Griswolds celebrated Christmas?! How about when that wacky Tim Allen turned into Santa Claus? And how can we forget the endless plethora of Muppet Christmas Movies. My family was always a big on Muppet movies so you bet that we just about them all. Muppet Family Christmas (You had the Sesame Street gang, the Muppets, and the Fraggles all putting aside their differences to make a sweet movie), A Muppet Christmas Carol, Emmet Otter's Jug Band Christmas (life-changing movie), and The Christmas Toy (Basically Toy Story but with puppets......and just a bit creepier) were what kept me entertained as tiny Adam Davis. And of course, who could forget the timeless classic that has been dubbed as our generation's It's A Wonderful Life. That's right my friends, you know very well what I'm talking about. I'm talking about when that lovable Ernest rescued Santa and Christmas from certain doom in the timeless classic, Ernest Saves Christmas. I mean, what else could possibly top that movie?! Few Christmas movies are as inspiring as Ernest (alright, I'll give you The Nativity Story but that's it).

What happened to our Christmas entertainment? It seemed like every Christmas there was a sweet movie to watch or special that was on. Sure, there's some exceptions now but it's nothing like it used to be. I mean, now you have Christmas movies involving Billy Bob Thorton getting drunk and doing lewd things and quite frankly, that doesn't quite put me in the Christmas spirit. I used to love the last TGIF before Christmas because you knew you were getting some sweet Christmas specials that were certain to warm your heart. We don't really have those warm specials anymore. Some shows have some funny (and accurate) Christmas episodes portraying office Christmas parties like The Office but it's nothing meant to fill you with Christmas cheer. I mean, where are the cheesy animated TV Christmas specials brought to you by McDonald's or Coca-Cola?! Where the heck are the Muppets during the Christmas season?! Have the political correctness police have them all in hiding and the only Christmas movies we have have to be rated R or have to have some sort of Romantic-Comedy twist to it?! You tell me.

Oh, how I hope those days return....

A Now, A Lesson In Hate

Throughout mankind, the world has known evil. They have known evil groups, individuals, and leaders simply driven by their hate. It can be a hate of a religious group, ethnicity, or nation, but one thing is for certain, they want to see the things they don't like eliminated. Such people as:

Adolf Hitler

Joseph Stalin

The Ku Klux Klan

Mahmoud Ahmadenijad

Baby Jesus?

If you read my last blog, you know that I love Christmas traditions. I mean, Jesus is the reason for the season but I also like to enjoy the other traditions like giving gifts, carols, egg nog, etc. But there's one tradition, I'm not a huge fan of and that's having to listen to a bunch of whiners complain about it's wrong and intolerant to tell people to have a "Merry Christmas." That Christmas displays "offends" them because they choose not to celebrate Christmas. This year, atheist groups have put up billboards and taken up ads on buses to spread their message of "Reason's Greetings" and how wrong it is of Christians and secular Christmas fans to try and force our "agenda" of holiday cheer. I was watching the news the other morning and this guy from one of these atheist groups was complaining about how too long Christians have been forcing Christmas on "normal human beings" (I guess, we're the freaks of the race) and spreading the "hate-speech" of Christmas by forcing people to honor a "dictator born a couple thousand years ago." Is it just me or are the anti-Christmas groups even angrier and more obnoxious than before?

Christmas is a federal holiday, meaning that the President Grant signed it in that on December 25th, the country would take the day celebrate an individual that greatly impacted our nation. It's why we have President's Day, MLK Day, Veteran's Day, and yes even Christmas. Our country was founded on Judeo-Christian values and the teachings of Jesus have greatly influenced our laws and the Constitution. Not to mention, this country was founded as a Christian nation (oh, now that's just intolerant). The morality that this country was founded on and has sustained us for over 200 years and has motivated the founding fathers, civil rights activisits, and numerous leaders comes back to the life and teachings of Jesus and because of radical judges and legislators trying to rewrite and redefine the Constitution, Jesus is getting the "he-h0" out of our government and now that includes Christmas. Am I saying you have to celebrate Christmas? No. You have the right to do as you please on December 25th, but don't be a jerk to the majority of Americans that choose to just because "it's not fair that everyone else gets to have a deep holiday and I don't." Me telling you "Merry Christmas" is not me spreading hate speech, it's me wishing you a "Merry" Christmas. Hoping that you have a good Christmas with family and friends. I'm sorry if nativity scenes, Christmas trees, and the baby Jesus offends you so much, but you know what? No one is forcing you to celebrate Christmas! If you're really that offended by a Christmas display in Wal-Mart and the sight of a plastic baby just hurts you so bad (because we all know that someone who's entire life was preaching love and redemption is too intolerant to have a holiday), then don't go to Wal-Mart and quit trying to ruin my shopping experience.

I just don't get people like this. I mean, we've always had atheists and people of other religions in this country for quite some time and no one seemed to be all up in arms about Christmas before. No one's religious freedom is being compromised. No one's being forced at gunpoint to go to church and confess Jesus as lord. They're just being wished a Merry Christmas. Seriously, think about the logic behind this nonsense. These particular atheists are upset because of a holiday that celebrates a God that they don't believe in. So basically they're offended by this God they see as fictional. But if this God doesn't exist, how the heck can he offend you?! I mean, what else offends you? Leprechauns? Unicorns? Sasquatch? What? I mean, I'd hate to offend you with more stuff that you don't believe in. I know the "hate-speech" of the tooth fairy leaving a quarter under your pillow hurts you so deep, so I'd really hate to hurt your feelings any more by hoping you have a great Christmas day where we honor the man that actually existed and gave his life for all mankind.

Ya know what? I'm sick of this politically correct nonsense that we've allowed to be trampled on us by people who just need to stop whining and realize that this country was founded as a nation Under God, not beside God, not with God, not above God, but Under God. This whole concept of "Separation of Church and State" that is NOT in the Constitution, but was in a letter from Thomas Jefferson to Ben Franklin to make sure the government does not favor one denomination is completely ridiculous and is taking us down a dangerous path. So if you don't want to celebrate Christmas, God Bless America, that is your right and I celebrate the fact that you have that right, but don't try to violate my right to celebrate because your backbone is so weak that you can't take someone wishing you a Merry Christmas!

Again, as intolerant as it is, Merry Christmas! I don't say that because I'm "intolerant" or I hate people, I say it because I love my God and I love what this day means and I actually want your Christmas to be "Merry." I honestly want all of you to have a blessed holiday this year....unless of course, the word "blessed" is also another form of hate-speech.

Sorry for the rant. I try to avoid blogs with this particular tone to them, but this has gotten flat-out ridiculous. I love my country, I love people, but I love my God much more and right now only one of them is getting it right and it's not my country or people.

What if it Wasn't the Most Wonderful Time of the Year?

Things are starting to look like Christmas at my house and I couldn't be happier. The tree is up, the lights are on, my Christmas moose sits on the TV in my room, my house is stocked with Sparkling Apple Cider (or as I like to call it, Sparkling Christmas Joy), and the DVD player is stocked with a variety of Muppet Christmas movies! Too many times, Christmas takes me by surprise. It doesn't really hit me until I've seen Christmas Vacation for the 32nd time on TBS that I start to realize I got some shopping to do. So this year, I made sure to prep myself. I made a Christmas playlist on my iPod (with 12 whole songs!), bought my first Christmas CD in....well, forever, and read my first Christmas book in sometime, The Christmas Sweater.

Heck, even at Trailhead, we're getting in the spirit. We're decorating in the best of Christmas ways, but I'll let Pastor Josh blog about that when he's able to do so, we have an awesome outreach at the local homeless shelter in a couple of weeks that I'm pretty excited about, and we had an event for the Elon students where we watched Elf. I mean, sure it was basically just the staff there, but we enjoyed the movie all the same! Finals can put a damper on starting the Christmas season early, I guess. But anyway, as I sit here and marvel at all things Christmas and what makes this time of the year great, I can't help but ask myself this question:

What if there was no "Christmas season?"

Now, I know what you're thinking. Ah man, this is probably going to be another "You should feel bad for enjoying anything not Jesus-related on Christmas, and you should hate yourself because you got an X-Box for Christmas and little Billy in Uzbekistan didn't, and capitalism is pure evil" type Christmas blog. Don't worry this is not one of those blogs. Yes, often times the true meaning of Christmas is overshadowed but that does not mean it's all "of the devil." It just means we shouldn't lose focus of Jesus, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Anyway, originally, Christmas had two purposes. 1. To celebrate the birth of Christ (duh) and 2. To make an alternative to pagan festivals at the end of the year that involved activities that would even be considered inappropriate for the good folks at Cinemax. Jesus was actually born around September/October of 7 or 2 BC and believe it or not, not December 25th, 0 AD so I guess that means that that snow covered nativity scene isn't the most historically accurate depiction of that night.

So I asked myself the other day this hypothetical question. Let's just say we knew for a fact that Jesus' birthday was on September 27th. So already, we can kiss the whole "white Christmas" dream goodbye and don't even think about singing "Baby, It's Cold Outside" while snuggling with that special someone by a roaring fire. Let's just say there was no Christmas. Instead, it's Jesus Christ's Birthday. Christians would be allowed to get off work to observe this day, and maybe there'll even be a JCB church service or whatever but nothing out of the ordinary. No Christmas tree, no presents, no carols, no Sparkling Apple Cider, no Ernest Saves Christmas, no Christmas moose, no egg nog, no Frosty, no Rudolph, and you didn't care that this little tree made some block-head's Christmas. All we had was this day to observe the birth of Christ. Just JCB Day. Not JCB Season, just the day. Would we care? Would we get amped up for JCB Day like I do for Christmas season? I mean, cause I'll be honest, the day after Thanksgiving, all my mind is focused on is Christmas. I mean, it is The most wonderful time of the year, but let's say that we don't have these traditions, carols, gift cards, and Christmas specials. Would we really give a rip about Jesus' birthday as much as we do Christmas day? If the only purpose of Jesus' Birthday was just to have one day to honor the birth of Jesus and reflect on the significance of His birth and nothing else, would it be that big of a deal to us? For instance, I used to look forward to Martin Luther King day because I got off school but to be honest, I never took that day to sit down and reflect on the significance of what MLK did to impact America's culture, society, and way of thinking. Is that how we would treat JCB Day? Would it just be a day to get out of school and off work and maybe enjoy a sale here or two at your local department store?

When I first asked myself that question, I couldn't really honestly say yes. I mean, I'm sure I would take time to reflect on Jesus, but I wouldn't be excited for a month about it and spend the whole day just in awe of Jesus' birth. I can't imagine being a kid and not being able to sleep on JCB Eve because a couple of thousand years ago, Jesus was born on that very day.

As cheesy as we've made it sound year after year, Jesus is the reason for the season. Now, I'm not about to campaign to have all things Christmas go away, like Santa, presents, and "Jingle Bells." I love the Christmas season and everything that comes with it. Instead, I'm proposing that we highlight why Christmas is even significant to history, both the world's and ours. Not just the cute plastic baby Jesus in front of the local church, but the Son of the living God who's whole purpose in life was to teach love and life and then die in the worst of ways just so we may have the opportunity to get things right with God.

I'm proposing that we remember why we even have Christmas and treat it in such a way that if everything about Christmas was taken away, we would get just as amped just to simply reflect and honor the birth of that baby 2000 years ago. Again, I think everything that comes with the Christmas season is great as long as it doesn't take over the true meaning of Christmas:

The Birth of Redemption

Merry Christmas!

Wait for the Lord

and keep his way.

He will exalt you to inherit the land...

Psalm 37:34

More Than Just Some Pilgrims and a Dead Bird

Thanksgiving is one of those holidays that seems more like an appetizer to another holiday. I mean, admit it, when Thanksgiving comes, you think "It's now Christmas time!" I mean, we look forward to Thanksgiving because basically it's our one day of the year where the whole purpose of the day is simply to eat a lot and no one will judge you for it. Sure, there's something about pilgrims, Indians (Native Americans for the politically correct crowd), a big boat, and some rock, but none of that's important. We just eat and finally feel free to bring out the Charlie Brown Christmas CD (or if you're in my family, Kenny G's Christmas CD, because you can't celebrate the birth of our savior without Kenny). It's amazing how much we really take this day for granted. We really lose sight of the significance of this day and what we should do other than just eating. Thanksgiving is about being thankful and it's about family and friends. Not only that, but it's about helping others be thankful for their Thanksgiving.

Yesterday, instead of having a regular service, Trailhead Church decided to bless others with a Thanksgiving that may have not have had a Thanksgiving at all. First off, I was so thankful to see all the people come out. I would be lying if I said I expected so many, so shame on me. Kudos to all that came and chose to help others and spend some time with other church members. Also, a big kudos to Jodi for being such a huge help at finding these families! So we met at the Ramada Inn and prepared the baskets with food, devotions (Santa Biblias for our Spanish speaking friends), and then we split up into our groups and headed out to deliver the baskets. My group (Ashley, Hillary, Joe, and myself) had the convenience of having our people be relatively close to each other. Unfortunately, we didn't have the convenience of speaking the same language (hence, the Santa Biblias). But lucky for us, Ashley could speak a good deal of Spanish and they could speak enough English for us to deliver the food and pray with them.

Even though there was a language barrier between us, it was obvious to see that they were thankful to be blessed with a Thanksgiving. How grateful they were to have people pray with them and deliver them a simple meal that we take for granted once a year. I can't remember a time where I didn't have a Thanksgiving. I can't remember a time where it was an option to not have a Thanksgiving because we lacked. To look in these peoples' eyes and see their thankfulness that someone would take the time just to pray with them and to deliver them a large meal, shows me that they weren't expecting to have anything like that this year.

This isn't about our generosity as people. This is about showing people God. The only reason we were able to purchase these meals was because God gave us the funds to do so and the only reason we did it was because the Holy Spirit directed us to do this. God is the great provider and this Thanksgiving, He wanted to provide for these people and show them Him through us. He also wanted to show me what I take for granted. Thanksgiving is more than just a meal. It's more than just a gluttony fest and it's more than just a trailer for Christmas. It's about being thankful. Thankful for a God that provides for us. Thankful for a God that sets us free from things we didn't deserve to be set free from. Thankful for a past redeemed, a present that makes sense, and a future that's secure. Thankful for great friends and family in my life that I see God work through everyday. Thankful that God gave those families the opportunity to sit down with each other and enjoy a large meal together and be thankful themselves.

This Thanksgiving, I'm going to have the privilege of sitting down with my family and enjoying a large meal with them, but I'll think about those families that probably understood very little what any of us had to say (except for Ashley) and think about them sitting around eating this huge meal and enjoying the time they have with their family and I know that they'll look at that moment and they'll see God.

Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go visit you? The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

Matthew 25: 37-40

Giving to God is not just about giving your money in the offering, giving your time in prayer, and giving your all in worship. It's also about the giving of yourself to others through love and giving them something to be thankful for.

Do You Hear What I Hear? I Sure Hope Not!

I really like Christmas music, but I very rarely purchase it. The main reason why is because it just doesn't seem practical to buy music you'll listen to for a month and a half and then pack it up until next year. I want my music to be all year round my friends! So I've pretty much depended on everyone else for my Christmas tunes...until now.

Every year, compilation CDs are put out called X-Whatever the year is (plus an X Worship CD). This year, they put out X-Christmas, so after I debated over whether or not I should purchase it, I went ahead and hit that Buy Now button on iTunes. I mean, it had Thousand Foot Krutch doing "Jingle Bell Rock" so it had to be a winner, right? I mean, if I'm going to kick off my Christmas season, I might as well do it with some sweet music.

It's not that bad. It has some winners and some "not-so" winners, but all in all, I enjoy it. I mean, it has SDS doing "Do You Hear What I Hear?" and a sweet metal performance of "Carol of the Bells" by August Burns Red, but there's this one song that just about ruined my first yule-tide purchase of the year. Hawk Nelson did "Gloria." Do I really need to go further? They made the song "Gloria" (basically taking the Gloria, In excelsis deo part from "Angels We Heard On High") about "The girl of my dreams." How lame is that?! You can't just take an age-old Christmas carol about the birth of Jesus and make it some cheesy "Hi, I'm 15 and I really want a girlfriend for Christmas" song! I'm listening to this and all I can do is just sit in horror over this horrible rendition of this song. I mean, if you like Hawk Nelson, that's fine, I'm not trashing them as a band, but come on! "Angels We Heard on High?!" You're going to make that song into that! What's next?! Turning "O Holy Night" into a techno dance song about global warming?! Turning "Silent Night" into a power-ballad about having your heart broken at prom?!

Where are you when we need you, claymation Christmas specials? You knew how to kick off the Christmas season right!

Well, even though that may have put a small blemish on my Christmas season, I can't let it ruin it. There's so much to look forward to when it comes to celebrating the birth of our savior! Carols, Christmas food, candy canes, decorations, trees, church signs that say "Jesus is the reason for the season," and oh the list goes on! Here's to a Merry Christmas and an awesome Trailhead Christmas service!

And I Feel Fine

So I haven't really written a blog on my thoughts on the election and everyone should probably count that as a blessing. I'm a little hesitant to blog about political stuff now that there are people that read my blog. As a person that works in ministry, I find it important to focus on the issues but not politicians and I don't want to alienate people that may vote differently than I do for whatever reason. I do believe that there is a lack of people educating themselves on how they vote on both sides of the aisle. I think many people just base all of their info off of how biased media, bumper stickers, e-mail forwards, or what Paris Hilton says about who they should vote for as opposed to actually researching. I mean, I know it's tough because it involves something called effort but it is important to educate yourself.

Anyhow, I do have some thoughts on the election that I want to blog about. The first thing is probably the most obvious: President-elect Barack Obama. The majority of evangelicals in this country did not vote for Obama. I believe it was somewhere around 74% were expected to not vote for him. One major reason for this, is because of Obama's strong pro-choice record. Now, I could write a whole blog on the abortion issue but I won't do that today. Just know that I am very much pro-life and I find it difficult to see how anyone could be otherwise, regardless if they have religious convictions or not. So needless to say, about 74% of evangelicals and other McCain supporters were quite disappointed at this election's outcome. Nevertheless, Barack Obama is going to be our next president whether you like it or not. Now, I've heard many say "Well, he's not my president!" Yes, he is. The only way he won't be your president, is if you move to another country (just in case you didn't know, Canada already has universal health care and gay marriage so conservatives probably should not threaten moving there). The man won a fair election, so therefore he is the next American president. I'm not saying you have to like it, but it is the facts.

Paul wrote in Romans 13 that we are to submit to the governing bodies. That the only reason that they are in power is because God granted them the ability to have that power, therefore we are to do what is good before them without compromising what is good before God. What this shows us is that regardless of who is in office, God is still in control and God is still in power and whoever the president is has to answer to God for what they did with the power that God allowed them to have. So regardless of your voting preference, it is your duty to do the same thing for Obama that you should do for anyone else elected. You should pray for him (1 Timothy 2:2). Pray that God gives him wisdom and conviction. Pray that he would change his heart on the abortion issue (Mitt Romney did, why can't he?) and pray that he would successfully lead us through these difficult times. Pray that he would appoint Supreme Court justices with wisdom and conviction that will uphold morality and wisdom in this country. Back him up when he's right and speak out when he's wrong, but hoping the man will fall on his face gets us nowhere as a nation and gets you nowhere as a Christian. Doing that is a form of vengeance and it is fueled by bitterness, anger, and hatred (and I don't remember those being listed as a fruit of the spirit in Galatians 5). So pray for him. Pray that he succeeds. Not because you voted for him but because you want what's best for your country. That doesn't mean you have to vote for him in 2012, but it does mean that you have to respect the authority that God has allowed him to have. He has to answer to God with what he does with it.

The other thing is Prop 8. Prop 8 was voted on in California and if it passed it would define marriage as a union between one man and one woman, and would basically ban same-sex marriage in the state. I was actually surprised to see it pass. I mean, let's face it, California is the capitol of "free-thinking" and "free-love." To see them vote to ban gay marriage, while Massachusetts and Connecticut vote to allow it, was quite a shock to me and apparently many California residents because many began to riot. This led to other nationwide protests at churches. I just read this morning where a group of protesters called Bash Back! stormed a large church in Michigan and began throwing condoms around, putting up profane banners, performing lewd acts in the pulpit of the church, and attempting to provoke a violent reaction from church members so they could videotape it. Amazingly, they did not receive such a reaction from the members, so kudos to the church for their amazing patience.

Now, I strongly believe that God set up marriage to be a union between one man and one woman, therefore I supported Prop 8. I do not hate homosexuals and I do believe they should have the same rights we all have. They shouldn't be alienated from the rest of the society or treated differently and we as the church should let them know that we love them. So they should have the right to protection, the right to the legal system, the right to receive education, and the right to seek success. If you were to deny them this, then you would have to do the same to everyone that has inappropriate thoughts, lies, or does not forgive others. So therefore, gays should have the right to marry as well. Now many of you probably were shocked by that last sentence and thought I just contradicted myself but I did not. Marriage is the union between a man and a woman and gays have that right to marry someone of the opposite sex because that's what marriage is. You see, the issue over gay marriage is not whether or not gays should marry, the issue is whether or not we have the right to take a God-given institution and warp and twist it to how others see fit and that is what's wrong with the term, "gay marriage." "Gay marriage" is a contradiction in itself, much like "hate-filled Christian." The words simply do not belong together even though some like to put the phrases together.

So why is it that groups that promote "tolerance" respond with such hate? Why the violence? Why the profanity? I thought this whole concept of "tolerance" was to accept (and I guess agree with) other's opinions even if we didn't necessarily like it. Well, the people of California have spoken. Where's the "tolerance" for their beliefs? Where' s the "tolerance" for how the church believes? In this world of tolerance and "let's all hold hands and sing kum-bay-ya," why is it that the church has received the label of "hate-mongers?" I guess, this whole concept of "tolerance" doesn't apply to everyone.

We've seen the fruit of this world's "love, truth, and tolerance." It responds in hate, violence, brokenness, and the destruction of an institution given to us by God. True tolerance is loving someone regardless of who they are or what they've done, but at the same time, rejoicing in the truth of Jesus. It's a truth that accepts the person but not their sin, whether it be homosexuality or telling a "little fib." It's a truth that does not compromise to relativism and allows itself to bend with time despite criticism. It's a truth that removes a person from a destructive path and instead sets them on a rock that cannot be shaken and it is true Christ-centered love that will put people on it. God called us to love like Him. Unconditionally and without compromising absolute truth. We need to stand firm and stand in love because our country does depend on it. I learned in my Drugs and Crime class that the only way to eliminate a drug problem is eliminate the demand. That same concept applies to many moral issues we as a society face today. You want to see abortions drop dramatically? Don't put your hope in legislation (we've seen how well that works), instead put your hope in a God that can change hearts and minds to where abortion is not even seen as an option. You want to see a demand for gay marriage go down? Show people the gospel and let the Holy Spirit convict and change people. Because I have news for you, overturning Roe v. Wade is important but it won't heal the brokenness that causes women to consider an abortion and it won't stop "back-alley" abortions from taking place. I'm also glad it passed but Prop 8 and anything like it won't end people's desire to engage in homosexual behavior. Only the changing power of God through the redemption given to us by Jesus and the power of His Holy Spirit can do such things and it's important that we choose to show homosexuals this through love and not obnoxious and hate-filled slander that has made people like Fred Phelps famous (you may remember Phelps from his "church's" website: http://www.godhatesfags.com/).

Whoever the president is doesn't affect my light and whoever the president is doesn't ruin God's plans. So if your guy didn't get in, big deal. God is still God and He's the only ruler that you should ever put your faith in and the Holy Spirit should be what guides your steps everyday. It's a dying world we live in and no piece of legislation or political figure can fix that. If it would, Jesus would have said "Therefore go, and establish a government ran by people bound to screw up everything up that will change hearts and minds by transforming a bill into a law."

Instead, he gave us that responsibility (Matthew 28:17-20). Love is what will change things and God is love.

Almost Over

Election Day is finally here. This is where all of the campaigning, all the advertising, all of the bashing, and all of the wondering comes to an end (at least until the next four years). I've been thinking, this has really been one of the craziest elections ever. I mean, think back to the primaries. We knew for sure that it was going to be Giulani v. Clinton, then Thompson v. Clinton, then Huckabee v. Clinton, then Huckabee v. Obama, then Romney v. Clinton, the McCain v. Clinton or Obama, and finally McCain v. Obama. Now it's about 8 hours from being over.

Anyone that really knows me, knows that I'm very opinionated when it comes to politics. I'm not like a jerk or anything about it but I know what I believe and why I believe it, but I think it's important that we all educate ourselves on politics, especially Christians. We need to go beyond basing our decisions on how Maw Maw and Paw Paw voted, who celebrities endorse (I personally don't make a decision without first consulting Miley Cyrus' blog), catchy bumper sticker slogans, or what our friends do. We need to take the time to actually care. Don't just go by the hype, but research it out. We live in very important and dangerous times and we need to know the character and the policies of those that are running because our future as a country will depend greatly on who we choose.

Now I'm not trying to tell you that it is your Christian obligation to vote a certain way, but I am saying that it is your Christian obligation to seek wisdom and take an active and not a passive stance in the place you reside. Now, will the next president completely ruin God's will and plans? Absolutely not. God already knows who's going to win. He even knew it before America was formed. So don't worry, God's not surprised by anything and regardless of who's president, he's still God, but that's no excuse to allow yourself to go to sleep and be ignorant.

Jesus '08

Why I Hate Halloween

I'm going to be honest. I'm like the scrooge of Halloween. I am not a fan at all of this holiday. I love every other holiday (Valentine's Day is conditional on the circumstances: please revert back to "The Life of a Single Twenty-Something"), but I just never look forward to Halloween. It's not because of religious reasons. I don't think because you put on a scary mask and ask strangers for candy is of the devil or anything (kind of creepy once you write it out, though). I mean, Halloween gives churches a great opportunity to reach out to the community with Fall Festivals and such, but that's really all this crappy holiday has going for it.

Now, you're probably asking yourself "Why so hostile towards Halloween? It brings joy to so many people? Have you not seen Ernest Scared Stupid?" Yes, I have seen that movie and it changed my life, but that's beside the point. Here's just a few reasons why I think this holiday sucks.

1. It used to be fun
Remember being a small child and you would dress up every Halloween. You'd go to school where they had some sort of party and you'd show off your costume to everyone. You'd probably watch a movie, eat some cookies, drink some punch, and then go home for a night of trick-or-treating, where you would go door to door with your little plastic jack-o-lantern container (a pillow case when you got smart about it) and cap it all off with an all night sugar-fest. I remember the mountain of candy. I remember being introduced to candy I've never seen before. Like Sugar Babies! They were basically sugar coated in liquid sugar! I remember how big my eyes got when I saw the tiny boxes of Milk Duds! Life was good and all was well with the world. I still remember the costumes I wore. There was Wolverine, Raphael the Ninja Turtle, a pirate with a sweet hook made out of a clothes hanger (that one got confiscated at school), a pirate with a scary pirate skeleton mask, and finally, just a kid with a scary pirate skeleton mask. Oh the creative juices were flowing that Halloween! How glorious of time it was! I can still hear the eloquent poetry that was inspired by this holiday:

Trick or Treat

Smell my feet

Give me something good to eat

Welp, not anymore! There are no more parties with sugar cookies and punch where I can show off my sweet costume to everyone! There is no plastic jack-o-lantern container to put my candy in! No sugar babies! No milk duds! There is nothing! I can't dress up in some cheap plastic costume from K-Mart and demand that my neighbors give me candy or I'll make them smell my feet. Well, I can but not without them having me arrested.

2. Stupid kids and their shenanigans
This is what normally went through my head when Halloween came around: "Oh boy, I wonder how much candy I'm going to get on Halloween!" Now, it's more along the lines of: "Ah man, I hope no one does anything to my car on Halloween." I never did quite get that.

"Hey we're too old to go trick-or-treating, what should we do? Oh, I have an idea, how about we terrorize the neighborhood! It is Halloween after all."

This mentality would make no sense on any other holiday. Can you imagine?

"We're Jewish so we don't celebrate Easter, what should we do? Oh, I know, let's shave the neighbor's dog!"

I don't want to have to wake up the day after Halloween dreading what I'm going to find in my front yard. I don't want to see an omellette of eggs on my car and I certainly don't want my dog shaved! I thought we outlawed terrorism a long time ago! Now because kids are too old to get a sugar high, it's acceptable for them to do the work of Al-Quaeda?!

3. Horror Movies
Halloween is the time that every possible horror movie you can think of makes it to the big screen. From the newest gore genre flick that's primary goal is to make you puke to the revising of old beloved characters. Such blockbusters as Alien vs. Predator, Freddy vs. Jason, Bride of Chucky, Jason Goes to Disney, When Chucky Met Sally, Saw XXVI, Freddy and the Bandit, and the classic, 3 Villains and a Baby. The sad thing is, people actually get excited for these movies. You always have a friend that's like "Oh my gosh, they're making a new Jason movie and it's rumored that there's going to be a cameo from that freaky girl from The Ring! It's going to be so awesome!" They completely take up all the release dates of October, so my selection of new movies to see are limited (as if I have time to go to movies but you get the picture).

So call me a pessimist but I speak from the heart. I love all sorts of holidays! I can't wait for Thanksgiving! I can't wait for Christmas! Halloween just has too many negatives for me to enjoy! It used to be sweet, but now, it's just a day that I have nothing to look forward to but spending money on candy to give out and living in fear of what someone's going to do to my front lawn. But at least it only comes once a year........

Perfectly Safe

Alright, so I haven't gotten around to putting Part 2 of my little blog series and I'm not going to now. I'll just sort of redo the last entry a little bit. I know everyone is so disappointed (I'm not even really sure if anyone actually reads this anymore) but I just have to write this. This doesn't really have anything to do with Trailhead or some random bizarre thing that happened to me. I just want to write.

Warning: This blog is actually serious. I know, I've been a little serious when it comes to blogs recently, but serious times call for serious blogs.

I just want to get my thoughts out. Not too many people know what my favorite worship song is. Many believe it is "Sweep Me Away" but that is incorrect. That just happened to me favorite song the Flood Band did back in the day (before I started my solo project: "The Adam Davis Experience"), but actually my favorite worship song is a song by Skillet called "Angels Fall Down" off their Ardent Worship Live album from back in the day. It's on their new live CD/DVD (amazing btw) and it's good.......but nowhere near as good as the original. The original version is about 7 minutes long and starts with a duet between John and Korey Cooper with only piano accompaniment. The lyrics go something like this:

I saw angels fall down

At the glory of the Lord

And as I raise my hands I see

I saw angels fall down

At the glory of the Lord

And as I hit the ground I see

And I fall down

Afraid and shaking here

And I fall down

I'm perfectly safe right here

I saw angels fall down

At the glory of the Lord

The hurt and the broken find rest here

I saw angels fall down

At the beauty of the Lord

And as I kneel I cry to know him

And I fall down

Afraid and shaking here

And I fall down

I'm perfectly safe in here

Then after that (about two and a half minutes) they start into basically just an instrumental part that builds up with just a "lyric-less" worship. The reason I love this song is because what it makes me think of and just that place it takes me. Even after listening to this song for almost 5 years, it still puts me in this place. The lyrics just make me think of safety. It makes me realize that no matter how things in life can be, no matter how weathered you may be from any storm, no matter what hurt or pain clings to you, you are perfectly safe in the presence of God. I just love how these lyrics remind me of that and the feel of the instrumental part just makes me think of this overwhelming power that just covers you in this place of brokenness, in this place where you can come to find rest, to be healed, to find that safety. To come to that place where you can just fall down before Jesus and find that peace, find that safety, and find that rest.

I know this blog was a little out of the ordinary, but I just wanted to write that. That amazing things happen in the presence of God. When you come to him with a broken spirit and just fall before him and let his safety overwhelm you.

That's all.

My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken

Psalm 62: 1-2

Finding Rest In Lame Horror Movies

I am not a particular fan of horror movies. Especially the horror movies of today, which are basically pornography with gore, but earlier this year, I was invited to go see this movie, "Shutter" with some friends (don't worry it was PG-13). If you don't know what the movie's about, well I pretty much forgot most of the plot (as you can tell, this movie had a big impact on me). All I know is that it stars Joshua Jackson (so dreamy) of "Dawson's Creek" fame and he just got married and somehow this ghost woman that he made mad that died is haunting him and his new wife and blah, blah, blah, this movie sucked, alright?

So you may be asking, "Adam, if this movie sucked, then why blog about it? I mean, 'Forrest Gump' was a great movie and you blogged about it, but why 'Shutter?'" Well, I'll tell you. In this movie, Jackson's character basically did some things that led this woman to kill herself, thus, why she's haunting him (apparently, women get pretty mad when you inadvertently kill them. Who knew?) Throughout the movie, Jackson complains of having neck pain and his hunched over quite a bit. At some point, he goes to the doctor and he ends up weighing the weight of two people. You find out at the end of the movie that it's because the woman that killed herself's ghost has been hanging on his neck the whole time. Long story short, we last see him in a mental institution, hunched over with her on top of his back.

So we find at the end of the movie, that Jackson's physical pain and the weight he'd felt on his shoulders was this woman. Do we smell a metaphor coming? Yes we do. Many times in our lives, we put this huge weight on our shoulders and we don't even really realize it. We yoke ourselves with the weight of decisions, regret, and fear and this is carried around on our shoulders, haunting us (nice word usage, right?). It's natural for us to carry these things around. I mean, we face decisions, fear, and unfortunately regret almost on a daily basis, but what happens is we let them pile up to where we're hunched over with unnecessary weight.

Since the fall of man, mankind has been prone to this kind of lifestyle and that's because mankind as a whole has not had an alternative. Well, Jesus offered a very radical alternative to this. One of my favorite scriptures is one we've all heard over and over again:

Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. - Matthew 11:28-30

Jesus offers us something different. Jesus offers us rest. When you carry around a large weight for so long, you need rest. You need to feel the weight no longer holding you down. You need peace. Jesus is offering to remove our weight and take on his. It's a not a yoke of decisions to make on your own, a yoke of regret, or a yoke of fear, but it is a yoke of peace, joy, and a yoke that leads you on the path that you're supposed to go on.

This yoke that he offers us is far different than our own yokes we take on. This yoke leads to God and it's a yoke that does not weigh you down and it is not a yoke that burdens you. The first yoke, will lead to destruction. Often times, we see this as hell, but we as Christians often forget how many times we take off the yoke Jesus offers, and put on our own and then we find ourselves in crappy situations due to poor and irrational decision making and we wonder how exactly we got there. It's because we were motivated out of fear, impatience, restlessness, worry, greed, pride, or selfishness and God is not in these qualities, therefore God's not in the decisions motivated by it.

I was originally going to make this a two part deal, but I think I'll hold off the rest for some time in the future. Just know that God is in control and it's God that leads the path to peace and prosperity. Everything else leads to chaos and destruction.

I've noticed that since the launch of Trailhead Church, it feels like I'm just living weekend to weekend. My week just goes by like it was nothing and then the weekend's here. It's as if every Monday, somebody activates my flux capacitor and it's Friday. Will this change when I'm actually living in Burlington? Will I still go weekend to weekend or will it slow down as I'm able to be more active in weekly stuff and evening services? I don't know, I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

Anyway, on another note, I'm looking forward to Sunday. I'm really believing that we're going to have a great turnout this weekend and see some new faces. I like the Ramada but I can't wait until we have our own building down the road. Then, there's no more setting up and tearing down, and no more having to clean up after wedding receptions and having to enjoy the smell of dried booze at 7:30 in the morning.

It's hard to believe that these are someday going to be the moments of nostalgia (wow, that sounded like something straight out of an Alanis Morissette song). That someday we're going to look back in awe of where we started compared to where we're at. When we look in our sanctuary and think back to the Ramada or when we finally finish decorating our children's sanctuary and think back to that to that little cubbie hole in the back of the convention center. I mean, you never know who's going to walk in next at the Ramada Center. Quite possibly, one of the most influential people in our church's history may have their first Sunday with us this Sunday. We don't even know it, but elders, pastors, and missionaries could be just now coming. I can't wait for that day where we just look back.

Church Planting Through The Eyes of Forrest Gump

I have been spoiled my entire Christian life. Anytime I've gotten involved with a ministry, that ministry or church has been established in terms of a name or financial resources. Church planting is a whole new ball game. Especially when it's planting in a completely new city where you have no contacts or some sort of established name to fall back on.

Trailhead has had it somewhat easy compared to other church plants. I mean, (completely through the favor of God), we have been able to have these financial resources to buy amazing equipment and provide amazing marketing and outreach before we even had one seat filled! So sure enough, we were extremely excited to get this thing underway. What started in a meeting some time ago was now manifesting from vision to reality. I mean, we knew we were going to grow into a mega church within the first month. I mean, it only makes sense that since we have been blessed with so much, that we would have at least 5000 people the first service! Right?

Not quite. Now, I would first like to say that at Trailhead, we have been blessed with some awesome people coming into our doors. We have been so thankful for the smiling faces and amazing personalities that we have been able to worship and become friends with, but we haven't exactly broke the 5000 mark yet. One service we had about 30 people (granted, about 20 of them were people visiting from the West Virginia), one service we had 12, one service we had 20, and one service we had about 7. One thing that I can say about this is that regardless if you have 5000 or 5 people there, the exact same God of the 5000 is there with the 5 and He has showed up every Sunday to meet with us in amazing ways. I can honestly say that I have yet to have had any disappointment in any service (except of course, I didn't get to feed any babies yesterday and that's just too adorable), but we know that God does have bigger plans for us in terms of growth.

Let's get one thing straight, numbers are important! It's true! I know it may not seem to be the most humble thing in the word to say but seeking to have a high number is important in ministry. Not so you can have have a high number for the sake of having a high number, but because you have a high number of people coming to Christ and/or growing into a deeper relationship with God and I think we can all agree that having 1000 people on fire for God is better than 10.

So (to get to the point), I was thinking yesterday while I was having a bit of prayer time before service started and I got to thinking about Forrest Gump. I know, I'm sure others on staff were probably thinking of something deeper and more spiritual than that, but for some reason my mind went to Forrest.

Unless you are Hillary Chaney, I'm sure you've seen this movie. Well anyway, you probably remember when Forrest became a shrimp boat captain to honor his friend, Bubba and Lieutenant Dan came out to be his first mate. Well, they had the shrimp boat, they had the crew, and they had the sea...therefore, they should immediately be set for life! Just throw over the nets and wait for the shrimp! Not exactly......

One time they would have about three, another time they would have five, then they had a toilet seat, then an army helmet, and this trend continued. Needless to say, they weren't exactly pulling in major amounts of shrimp. Forrest then gets the notion that they should pray and the next scene cuts to Forrest singing in a choir at a small African-American church with Lieutenant Dan drinking from his flask in the back. Then, the movie cuts back to the boat where they pull up......nothing, and Lieutenant Dan says to Forrest "Where is this God of yours?" and Forrest replies with the famous narrative, "It's funny that he said that, because right then, God showed up."

Well, the crew of "The Jenny" was caught in this hurricane. The hurricane was so bad that the only shrimp boat that survived ended up being "The Jenny." Cut to the next scene and Forrest and Lieutenant Dan are pulling up massive nets filled to the top with shrimp and the Bubba Gump Shrimp Corporation would go onto being a multi-million dollar corporation.

Though, we often hear the stories of churches starting out massive, seldom do big things start off that huge. I've heard of mega churches having 1000 their first service and I've heard of mega churches now starting off as a bible study a couple of years prior to launch. Like the crew of "The Jenny," many times we start off with the 5, 7, 20, or the toilet seats, but does that mean that that is the destiny for the future? No way! That just means, that we are starting. That just means it's the beginning and we continue to seek God no matter the size of the church. Then the storm comes. Now the storm can be anything and it can happen in a moment or over a period time. It can be the rain of revival (that's the fun one), it can be a time where the only thing you can do is trust in God to survive (like being caught in a hurricane), or it can be a difficult time where anything preventing you from true growth is destroyed, whether it be ignorance, lack of faith, or your own personal spiritual immaturity (the other shrimp boats). Paul wrote in Romans to rejoice in your sufferings because in your sufferings, in your struggles, and in the time where all you can do is trust, you grow spiritually and you develop the trust and Godly characteristics needed to take yourself, your vision, or that goal to a much higher level. In a way, you are growing up depending on how you respond to the tough times. We're never destined for just a beginning. There's so much more destined for us in our lives and in the life of Trailhead Church, than a few shrimp in the nets. Sometimes you need to have those nets that are filled with only a few shrimp (or even sometimes the toilet seats) to fully appreciate the full nets that are destined to come after the storm and sometimes you need that storm to get you ready for those nets.

I thank God all the time for the people that have came to the church and not only have came but want to be involved. It kinda weirds me out to think about how some of the people walking through those doors of the Ramada Inn may be on staff one day or be elders, deacons, children's church workers, youth leaders, or start their own ministry in the church. I thank God for the small nets and I thank God for every storm regardless of the form it comes in, because that simply preps me and my spirit for the full nets about to come, and we do the same at Trailhead Church because we know that we are being prepped for something much bigger than a beginning.

Kutless = Satan's Poster Boys?

Last Friday, I abstained from more normal routine of "Trailheading" it down south (I know that that was incredibly lame of me to say and I can't believe I said it either. I can't believe that I'm not removing it from my blog right now but I guess I'm just stubborn) and instead put that off for a day and went to a concert in Charleston that I was pretty amped to see. It was the Creation Festival Tour and they had a lot (I mean, a lot) of great bands playing and for $20 you couldn't beat that with a stick! It was headlined by Kutless and even though I don't really care for Kutless, I still found it worth checking out all the groups playing that night. So as soon as I got off work, I picked up a bunch of youth from my church and drove to the Municipal. I had to pick up the tickets at will-call (great seats by the way) and on my way there, who did I see? Oh these guys:

I didn't make this video but I appreciate whoever did for putting it on YouTube. So of course, the many teenagers that were coming to see a plethora of their favorite Christian artists were met by some angry protesters that were infuriated by that "devil rock and roll" music that those kids listen to and found that it was their duty to save their souls by holding up large signs explaining God's judgment and passing out anti-Kutless literature.

Now I'm personally not a huge Kutless fan but wouldn't go to the extent to say that their music will send your soul to hell. I just simply choose to not listen to them. Not because of moral reasons but because of musical preference reasons. Their music is pretty Christ-centered and so was every other artist performing that night, not to mention that the founder of the Creation Festival spoke about winning others for Christ and then two people came forward to receive Jesus in their lives. So what is it about these groups that are so evil? I didn't accept their literature and I'm kind of regretting it right now just so I can see their reasoning because they sure weren't listening to anyone else's (even the lead singer of Kutless that came out to speak with them). It must just be that evil rock music. I mean let's face it, no one has been able to reach this generation musically and get a party going like these guys:

Be sure to check out their new CD, "Chanting With My Homies," which drops early 2009. But anyway, why is it that so many Christians are absolutely terrified of culture? Honestly, why is it we're afraid of taking something used to entertain and taking it and using it for a greater purpose? Why is it so evil to engage and even attempt to set the standards of culture to reach others? It's not compromise. There's nothing in the Bible that says that Christians using different forms of music or entertainment is wrong. In fact, Paul encourages Christians to become like others (without compromising their morality) to reach others (1 Cor. 9:19-21) and the last time I checked, the Bible doesn't declare any type of music immoral.

So I wonder how many people those guys converted and won for Christ. I wonder how many teenagers went home and threw away their Pillar CD's and tore down their KJ-52 poster and replaced it with a poster of the Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir. I wonder how many lives were changed that night because they saw that listening to Christian rock music would send them to hell.

If we allow ourselves to become culturally irrelevant, then we allow our message to appear irrelevant as well. We should be like Paul and become like those we are trying to reach (again, without compromising our morality or putting ourselves in compromising situations. Don't try to reach crackheads by smoking crack.) We need to be taking care of our message of the gospel and making sure it's put in the most appealing of packages and put it in a form where it will be able to reach others. We need to be making those bridges (through inspiration and wisdom from God) from the gospel to the person.

For instance, I don't get why people are so hung up on only using King James in church. The King James Bible was released in 1611. Do you know who the audience was that the KJV was directed to? People that lived in England in 1611! No one talks like they did in 1611 now. Do you know how many more advancements we've made in translating since then? I mean, would you want only medical advice from 1611? Think about it. KJV is great and played a big role in English-speaking Christianity but there are other translations that are far more accurate and contain speech very similar to how we talk like oh, I don't know.......NOW! Again, there's nothing wrong with going with King Jimmy. If that's your preference and you feel you get the most out of it, you go for it, but why do so many put God in a box and make it so that He has to speak to us like in a manner more suited for Henry VIII?
I don't understand why some Christian television programs try to use methods that may have been appealing back in 1994 to reach young people in 2008.
I don't understand why many Christian radio stations somehow think that the only music that will attract and appeal to others searching for more is that of Rich Mullins and Amy Grant from 20+ years ago (I mean, we all knew "Baby, Baby" was going to be what sparked a national revival).
I don't get why so many churches are terrified to talk about controversial issues, yet complain about how so many people live with these issues.

I mean, God bless people for their good intentions but it's time to grab hold of this culture that is using itself to tear down people and use it to make a bridge between them and salvation. God's word is always relative and never changing, but the delivery needs to adjust with time in order to reach the culture that is adjusting along with the time. If we don't, then we limit who we're trying to reach to........well, no one.

I'm making this my prayer: "God, as a minister of your gospel, don't allow me to become irrelevant."

That Ain't My Baby Daddy

So I got home yesterday from work and went to my room to change, turned on the TV, and anticipated watching Seinfeld reruns on TBS. But to my dismay, there was no Seinfeld. Just Everybody Loves Raymond. Can I just say that I hate Everybody Loves Raymond? I never thought it was funny and I think every episode is the exact same thing. So how dare they take the slot of my precious Seinfeld?! So I flipped channels to try and find something else to watch...nothing. Then I reached channel 12 and what was on? The Maury Povich show. So basically these were my options at the time: I could have done something productive and enlightening such as read my bible, pray, or just read a book; or I could watch Maury. I watched Maury. I know, it's a bit pathetic and I shouldn't have watched it I knew I would be supporting trash but I was drawn in. It was like a horrible car wreck. You know that if you look you'll be scarred for life but you can't help but just stare gawkingly.

Of course Maury was doing one of those "You are the father" shows that he's famous for. Basically what happens is the father doesn't want to admit that the baby that looks exactly like him is his so the mother does the only thing a rational human being would do and that is take her dirty laundry on national television. So we are introduced to the mother and then given a video introduction of the father on par with a presidential nominee's video at his party's convention. You can pretty much sum it up with:

Maury, she says that I'm the baby's father, but I ain't his father. She's been with so many men that there ain't no way. My buddy Scooter saw her coming out of my brothers house so I know......You can use your imagination on where it goes from there. Then the father's new girlfriend or mom usually throws in a: Maury she says that Lester is the baby's daddy but he ain't and she best be leaving me alone because we in love (If it was the mom they probably wouldn't say that......or would they?)

The father comes out and gets in a cussing match with the mom and possibly her parents as well if they decide to come. Then, Maury tells him that he is the father and then steps in to heal the rift between the mother and the father because, gosh darn it Maury is just that kind of guy. I mean, that man cares. Every now and then, they'll have a couple where they're coming on to see if the father really is the father because mommy cheated on him. Those are as equally heart-warming as the others. Also, throughout the show you'll hear random censor bleeps because the audience just loves to randomly throw out there own obscenities as well. So along with some random birthday parties and little league games, the child now has a new video to add to his childhood collection. I wonder if those videos of little league games also has his mom doing lewd dances in his father's face or is that reserved only for special occasions like when the whole world's watching?

So I'm watching this and saying...why? I mean really, why? Why are these people allowed to breed? If they think that their best option is to go on Maury to find out who the kid's dad is, why are they allowed to create life? I mean, I know babies are cute and abstinence is just impossible for anyone to do, but it's time to stop! I understand that sometimes things happen that you wish didn't and God can still turn that into an incredible blessing for you or a family looking to adopt. I know people who have gone through this and end up being very loving parents that never thought it was a good idea to take their whole business in front of the country on some crappy talk show and instead, actually handle it like civilized people. But when you have 15 kids (one of the fathers did) and the best option for you is to go on Maury to find out if you are the baby's daddy, then I think it's time for you to stop breeding. For the sake of the children, it's time for you just to stop. Also why is their a market for this stuff? He does these shows all the time, why is there such a huge market for this? Well, I guess because idiots like me actually watch it. I personally blame TBS for trying to subject people to Everybody Loves Raymond instead of Seinfeld but that's neither here nor there.

I think Child Protective Services should just sit and watch Maury everyday and start taking names and try to give these kids a fighting chance so they don't end up on Maury 20 years later trying to find out who the baby's daddy is. Maybe CPS is actually watching and the fact that I watch keep ratings up and I'm actually doing a good thing by watching this show. You're welcome, America!

Random Fact: I also found out while my dog was laying on my bed with me that when I say in a high pitched voice "That ain't my baby daddy" she will run to the opposite end of the bed and start barking as if it wasn't me doing it. This provided me with about an hour of entertainment.

Grace v. Karma

When you think about it, Karma actually makes perfect sense. You do something bad, something bad happens to you. You do something good...well you get the picture. Our human thinking has embraced this prinicple in our legal system, our schools, and our discipline of our kids. Paul even warned that "you reap what you sow" (Galations 6:8), but there is a fundamental and crucial difference in Christianity and that is grace.

Grace makes absolutely no sense. Grace goes beyond our Karma-like thinking of getting what you deserve. Grace does the impossible. Grace goes beyond justification. Because we cannot justify anything wrong we've ever done so therefore we are a prisoner to our past...until grace comes into the picture. Grace overcomes Karma. Grace does the opposite of what Karma is supposed to do by using justification and instead uses redemption.

Wrongs cannot be "righted." It's impossible. You can't go back in time and stop events from taking place and mistakes being made. So naturally by Karma's standards you are doomed to punishment. Without grace, you are a slave to your failures and condemned to face the consequences. But grace........overcomes Karma and removes the condemnation you were doomed to face.

Grace is not deserved. If it was deserved, it wouldn't be grace. It would be a prize, a reward, something deserved and therefore no one would have it. That's what makes it so unbelievably beautiful. To know that you are not cursed by your failures anymore and you don't even deserve it. How much love does our God have for us to completely wipe away our past records and completely go beyond our world standards to simply forgive and embrace us as His precious children. Grace is so amazing and it is so wonderful and the only reason I have a life now that has some sort of purpose, some sort of meaning, and some sort of fulfillment is because God loves me enough to completely disregard the complete piece of trash I was without any hesitation. If we as Christians wrap ourselves around this concept and around how much God does love us, then we probably wouldn't find it as difficult to share in his character and show that same grace to those that have been complete pieces of trash to us.

"Hatred stirs up dissension, but love covers over all wrongs" (Proverbs 10:12)

I could probably write more on this topic. In fact, I know I have before on some old MySpace blog, or at least I think I did, but I just had some thoughts in my head that I wanted to get down and try and process. So please excuse the randomness of this entry.

You See The Man My Sins Disguise

So I get home yesterday and I go to check the mail. I like to do this first just to see if there's any letters concerning employment, but today there was none. Which is a good thing. Usually when you get a letter from somewhere you applied, it's a "Hey I think you're nice and all but let's just be friends" letter. But there was something else in the mail for me. It was addressed to "Pastor Adam Davis." You wanna talk about being freaked out. I've heard those words used before but now it was in writing...with certification!

That's just weird for me. I mean, if you would have asked me 6 years ago if I would ever be referred to that, I would say you're an idiot and probably throw in a few obscene hand gestures while having the melodic sounds of Limp Bizkit playing in my head (I used to be a fan, I know it's sad). And here I am now. It's just weird for me to hear that. I mean, I'm just now adjusting to having an authoritative position in a church. I mean, you want to talk about major adjustment last Sunday. I mean, who am I? I'm just anti-social loser from a small town that couldn't take it anymore and just decided to go to church one day.

Growing up is so weird.

Dear Dave,

I have one follower of my blog and that follower is a man by the name of Dave deBlecourt. Yet whenever I go to check his blog, he has NO entries. Everyday, this man peers into my mind without even letting me take a glimpse of his.

Why Dave? What are you hiding in there? What don't you want me or the rest of the world to see? Lies? Envy? A love of the music of Mr. Michael Bolton? Or could it be your suprisingly high skill at Salsa dancing? Maybe you're still telling "mom" jokes up there.

You're hiding something and I demand you show it to the world in the only way that is suiting. By posting all sorts of personal information for the whole world to see on some public journal! This is a give and take relationship Dave. So stop spying on me and start sharing!

Note to anyone else: If you see this man, you demand that he starts posting blogs daily! If he fails to comply, then tell him that such consequences will result in written warnings by me. If he then fails to comply...well then I got nothing because that's the only thing I know to do in these situations.

Santa Bin Laden is Coming to Town

I want to apologize for this post in advance. It's extremely quiet at work and I find myself very very sleepy today.

Alright, so I started getting into the whole reading thing recently. I usually read nonfiction but I've developed this interest in Christian fiction after reading The Shack. I just finished this book called Dead Heat by Joel Rosenberg, which was very good, but I didn't realize it when I started that it was the last in a series. So as soon as I finished I walked over to the mall and bought the first book, The Last Jihad. The series is basically an end times political thriller, but unlike Left Behind, which starts at the rapture, this series ends at the rapture and tells of the events leading up to the rapture. Very good, but scary as crap.

Anywho, I noticed that many references are made to NORAD, which is mentioned in many movies as well when the President of the US is involved. NORAD is kind of like a military hub for when it comes to commanding military action on other countries. Well, I decided to Wikipedia NORAD and as I was reading the article, I read about how every Christmas since the 1950's, NORAD will "track" Santa Claus for fun and keep updates for kids on where he's at in the world. Recently they've enabled the online use of satellite imagery to keep track of that jolly fat man. I started thinking, the possibilities would be endless for some great, yet mean practical jokes. Think about it, can you imagine informing kids about the recent reports from NORAD that has the most advanced tracking technology in the world?

Can you imagine, kids waking up on Christmas rushing down the stairs to find an empty tree. Imagine the excuses?

"Well Suzie we watched the satellite feed of Santa but once he got to our house, he just made some obscene gesture and kept going. I guess you shouldn't have been such a little snot this year."

"Well kids it looks as if even Santa is getting in the political spirit this year. Unfortunately for you Santa is a Democrat and since we live in a red state, he decided to pass us up. Bet you wished we lived in California now, don't ya?"

"I'm sorry Billy, I know you were expecting that X-Box this year and I'm sure Santa got it for you. But due to Santa spending a little too much time delivering presents in terrorist training camps, NORAD got nervous and had him shot down. Not only that, but the president ordered a full-scale nuclear strike on the North Pole so it looks like you'll be getting socks from now on."

I'm just sayin'..........

Saved?

Have you ever noticed how much we (Christians) just have a bad habit of butchering the things that define us by simply just making them an aspect of our culture? This is something I've thought about for sometime. I even have a goal to write a book about it entitled Cultural Jesus or Cultural Christianity (I just can't seem to decide) so look for that on bookshelves like sometime within the next few decades. But one thing I've always noticed (no joke, I did a sermon on it three years ago) is how we take for granted this word: Saved.

Saved is funny word for Christians. We say it all the time with such phrases as "Well, I'm saved so I don't do that," or "Bob went to church and got saved." That's all great but I have one question: saved from what? Saved is a past tense of the verb, save, so therefore something was about to harm you that you needed to be saved from it. But what? Did you save money? Was a bear about to attack you and Jesus ran out of nowhere to stop him?

The dictionary defines save as:

1. To rescue from danger or possible harm, injury, or loss
2. To keep safe, intact, or unhurt; safeguard; preserve

Christian culture defines save as:
1. To have been to the altar and prayed a prayer
2. To go to church
3. To not drink, smoke, cuss, or anything of the sort
4. To listen to bands like Third Day, Caedmon's Call, or this guy below
5. To watch TBN, Daystar, and INSP and to contribute regularly to keep each station on the air

Now I'm not saying that any of these things in the culture definition is bad or necessarily wrong when it comes to your life (so don't worry, you can keep all your Carman albums) but when we make this our definition of the word "saved" we lose appreciation of that word and it's significance to our lives. We start to take for granted this word and that seems to be the root cause of lukewarmness in daily living, in action, and intimate worship and prayer. The Greek word for saved (used in the New Testament) has the same meaning as the word for saved in Hebrew when Israel would be saved from harm by God. So saved means more than becoming part of the Christian culture phenomenon. In fact, it doesn't mean that at all!

Being saved, means exactly the same as it sounds. When you are saved by Jesus, He saves you from something but from what? Well there's more than one.

Hell
This kind of an obvious one. Not exactly that big of a deal. I mean, it's just a place of eternal torment and separation from God so it's not exactly something to get too worked up about. It's just a place and punishment you deserve to be at because of your poor choices and bad judgment and it's only by the grace and mercy of God that you have an opportunity to avoid it. So I wouldn't make that big of a deal out of it.

Death
Not only do you not have to go to hell, but you don't necessarily have to die either. Now I know this sounds for an intro for a bad late-night infomercial but it's true. Because of the fact that Jesus, through the cross saved you from death, means that you can live for eternity as oppose to dieing a horrible death in that place that we shouldn't make a big deal out of. This also means that you can't be killed. If your soul has eternal life dwelling within itself, despite what the flesh may experience or go through, it can't be taken down, regardless of whatever the powers of hell or man may throw at you. But again, no big deal right?

Yourself
I bought a new album off of iTunes and it caused me to buy the book of the same name. It's Save Me From Myself by Brian "Head" Welch (the former guitarist of Korn that got saved). By Head's own account, he was trapped in a world of drugs, depression, and many demons many of us hope we never have. Through his acceptance of Christ and seeking Him, Jesus saved him from his demons and the poor choices he made of the past, hence Save Me From Myself. Through our lives, we have made some really stupid decisions. Some just leave us feeling stupid, some leave us with deep wounds. Some leave us with deep regrets and some leave us with consequences that we can't escape. Bad choices and decisions cannot be changed, but they can be redeemed. I can take back the first 18 years of my life where I fought and welcomed at the same time every loud voice I heard in my head, but Christ redeemed and it saved me from the path that I was on. Maybe you've been saved your whole life and you never really had to have moments of great regret and that's great, but don't forget, Jesus saved you from having to experience that. Through, Christ, you are a new person. A free person. The old man dies and this is so much more than kicking old habits. This is becoming a new person that is clean, that does not have to have the past holding a knife to their throat. Lack of judgment and poor life choices find redemption through Him. This is another thing, that God saves you from, and quite frankly, this one in particular, I'm especially thankful for.

So why is it important to grasp the true meaning of this word? Number one, to grasp what exactly it is that Jesus did for you. To understand what exactly you are saved from. To know what it really is to have an unconditional second chance at life that nobody can take away from you. Number two, when you don't take hold of this definition, you take for granted Christ and that shows in your life. Peter wrote:

For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith, goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.
2 Peter 1: 5-9

Peter knew that those that forgot about what Christ did. That took him for granted and saw him more as a cultural icon as oppose to one's personal savior (meaning someone that saves) that they would become "ineffective and unproductive" and not possess the qualities that God wants to instill in us that separates us from everyone else. The qualities that bring peace and that influences others lives.

Saved is more than just a stamp of approval into the Christian culture club. It is something to be thankful for. It is something to tell others about. It is something that we should show in our daily walk and in our own praise of our Heavenly Father. It is something we should also desire to see in others. Saved? More than just a word.

When Fridays Meant Something

Many questions have plagued mankind for centuries about life. For the most part, I think everyone has tried to make somewhat of an attempt to answer these questions but one question I believe will never be answered and it's one question that keeps me awake at night. Why the heck is this show a hit?!

I mean, honestly! Have you ever sat down and tried to sit through this?! It's incredibly stupid! Yet, most of my generation makes sure to watch this as if they will implode if they miss one episode. Are we really that culturally lacking, where The Hills is our best option at entertainment. The only good thing about the Hills is its usually featured on The Soup to be made fun of. Remember the days of old when we meant something. The days of Full House, Home Improvement and TGIF?! Oh TGIF, where are you and when will you return to save us from ourselves? The days of quality entertainment like Family Matters, Boy Meets World, Step by Step, Dinosaurs, and some other show that usually was cancelled and replaced with another show to be cancelled and replaced. The days where we enthrolled ourselves in the lives of Steve Urkel, Corey Matthews, and a bunch of other obscure characters that I can't think of anymore.

If you're reading this. It's time to start the revolution and bring back the days of old, where primetime television meant something and our culture had some depth to it!

PS: During this blog I tried to find a graphic for TGIF and found nothing! I think the good people at MTV are trying to silence them for their precious Hills!

Just One Big Fractal

So I've been reading "The Shack." Enough said. If you've read this book, more than likely you know of it's incredible ability to make you completely reevaluate your life, your motives, and your thought process. Quite a bit more than what I asked for when purchasing a fiction novel. I find myself reading each chapter, setting the book down and basically repenting. The author even throws in some unbiblical theology, and when I mean "unbiblical," I mean the stuff that's not in the bible, but at the same time, "not not" in the Bible, such as why there's a trinity as oppose to just one being in itself, etc., which is extremely thought-provoking and interesting but at the same time take it for what it is as a possibility. There are some parts you may want to take with a grain of salt but nothing I would consider to be heresy or anything like that. I've never had a book that quite messed me up like this one has and I realize how big of a mess I am and how much I need God and how screwed up my perceptions of a "relationship" with Him have been.

I feel often like I'm in a period of my life where I am in need. I'm in need to go to the next step and I'll be honest, I often feel like I know what's best for me more than God. So instead of having this intimate relationship with God and move and flow with Him, I instead use God as means to obtain what I want. I'll "confess" repeatedly and worry and complain about not having this and that, to where my biggest concern has been the achievement more so than the God. I have been more concerned about obtaining and using God as a means of getting that, then stopping and sitting at the feet of Jesus. Through my "confessions" and "standing and believing" that this will happen, I have gone from blessed servant to failed manipulator. Instead of just trusting and focusing more on the relationship with God that He so desperately wants with me, the relationship that Jesus said to seek first and trust that I will be taken care of, I've sought my own independence while prostituting God to do my "bidding."

Does this change certain circumstances in my life. No. Do I still have certain particular needs to get to the next step. Yes. But God is not a genie where I go and do my thing and when I need or want something I have Him "obey his master," when in reality, I'm not even flowing with God or moving with Him. The purpose of the cross was not for us to obtain financial blessings. It was not even so we can have our needs met. The purpose of the cross was for us to have the opportunity to have the relationship with God that intended for us to have since the dawn of man. When God walked with Adam and talked with Adam. Adam did not worry about getting enough food or shelter because he was too much enthrolled with the relationship he had and he knew that this relationship was with the great provider and by moving and flowing with Him, he could not go wrong. Jesus said to seek first the kingdom of God and all the things that pagans worry about. All of the food, the finances, etc. would come with Him. God will provide and God will guide but in a relationship, not in independence. In independence, man has found the world in the shape it is in today. Sadly, we as Christians can do the same thing but just put the "God" label on it to justify what it is we're doing. We'll "confess" and "believe" outside of the relationship and we'll give a certain amount in hopes that God will return the favor by giving us a yacht. That is not relationship, that is manipulation. We take God off of the throne and put ourselves on it, while making God the servant boy.

This imperfect mess of a man is going to work on his mess.

Man, do I suck.

Never in my life, have I wanted to walk on water so bad.