Finishing Well

Tonight I am speaking to my students from Philippians 2:21-27. In this passage, Paul engages himself in debate as to whether it would be better for him to go on and be with Jesus now or stay in the world so that he can continue the work for Christ that he was called to do. He believes being with Jesus would be awesome but at the same time he knows that he's still needed on earth to help grow the church and proclaim the gospel.

One thing that I could never debate was that the apostle Paul finished well the work that God called him to do. His legacy is incredible (2/3 of the New Testament was penned by him) and he was the original and still greatest church planter missionary. Although I never personally knew the apostle Paul I am greatly impacted by his life and work for the gospel of Christ.

There is another Paul that kindles within me fond memories. His name is Paul Barclay and just this past weekend he died of a heart attack at the young age of 53. Paul was a lifelong Young Life volunteer and even though I wasn't active in Young Life while in high school, I saw Paul pretty much everywhere I went. As I checked out his obituary page I noticed that there was a guestbook that people could sign, so I checked out some of the comments that many had left for his wife Lynn and his sons John and PJ. What struck me from reading those comments was just how much of a mark this man left on students throughout the years. One man commented that there were perhaps hundreds of high school kids who have come to faith in Christ because of the faithful witness of Paul Barclay. Wow! What a way to be remembered!

I want to finish well. I don't care if someone dedicates a plaque in my honor or names a church pew after me when I'm gone. What I do desire is that my life will have mattered for the gospel of Jesus Christ and that I have taken every opportunity I can to love people for the sake of the gospel.

Screaming like you mean it

Pandora Internet Radio and VH1 Classic are two of God's latest gifts to me. If you don't believe me then type in "David Crowder Band" on Pandora or turn to channel 76 in the Winston-Salem area and catch The Who tribute concert. Unbelievable stuff!

As a kid growing up in the 1970's and as a teenager in the 1980's, music forged a big part of my identity. I wasn't necessarily musically gifted but I loved to listen to music and sing it when no one else was around. My very first concert experience was when I saw The Police on their Synchronicity tour in 1984 and my view of live music has never been the same. Since then I have been able to witness acts ranging the spectrum from Bruce Springsteen to George Strait to Hootie and the Blowfish to Steven Curtis Chapman to 311. Being part of a mass of humanity taking in live music was almost intoxicating to the music lover in me.

The other day when I was working out in my basement I had Pandora on my iPhone going when a live song from a 1990's band came on. When it was time for the chorus of the song to be sung, the singer yelled into the microphone that it was the audience's turn to sing. Without missing a beat thousands of voices screamed the chorus to this song at the top of their lungs and in on-key unison. It was a really cool sound.

All of this got me wondering about something. Do I desire to worship God with that same kind of fervor that I used to have when I attended live concerts? I have fond memories of the many bands and singers that I had the chance to witness, yet none of those concert events left me permanently changed. The t-shirts wore out over time and the saved ticket stubs became tattered. Yet my God and my King has not changed throughout eternity and my salvation in Christ is no less profound and exciting than it was on the day that I surrendered my life to Him.

King David is well known for "dancing with all his might before the Lord" in worship and adoration. The thrill of being in the presence of God and the joy of his salvation overcame David and he did what came natural. Too often I find that myself, and most Christians that I know, are afraid to allow the God in us to bust out and make a scene. Instead we strive for a contrived reverence that looks and acts a lot more civilized than our secular counterparts.

Perhaps it's time that we let loose and shout at the top of our lungs at how great is our God. And we might even need to make some time to dance about it.

Love and marriage

I had the privilege of preaching yesterday at the church where I serve since the senior pastor was out of town. Preaching and teaching is what I enjoy and feel called to the most, so I never turn down the opportunity to do so.

The passage I preached from was Ephesians 5:22-33, which is the apostle Paul's instructions from God to husbands and wives. In these verses, the wives are instructed to submit to their husbands as to the Lord and the husbands are exhorted to love their wives as Christ loved the church and as they would their own bodies. Admittedly, a lot of people get hung up on the "wives submit" part and miss the rest of the message, but it's so important to read and understand "the rest of the story."

Nowhere in the Bible is this idea of spousal submission akin to a slave-master relationship. Ephesians 5 clearly states that the idea of submitting is done out of love, just as we submit to Jesus as our authority. And the husband isn't off the hook at all. He's commanded to love his wife as Christ loves the church, and just in case you don't how great that love is, Jesus died for the church. If all of this plays out in God's design, what woman wouldn't want to submit to the leadership of a husband who was willing to sacrifice everything for her?

The problem is that this model of marriage doesn't seem all that common anymore. Women aren't innocent bystanders in all of this but I truly believe that guys bear the brunt of responsibility. I've observed the same tired scenario time and again where the husband believes that his wife exists to serve his needs and if there's anything left over then she can have it. This concept is far from being biblical. Proverbs 31:10-31 reveals a woman who is more than just an excellent housewife; she is a shrewd and industrious entrepreneur beyond the walls of the house. Marriage isn't give-and-take. Instead, it's give-and-give.

Coming from a man whose wife enjoys a successful nursing career outside of the home, I can truly appreciate the contributions that she makes beyond just caring for our kids and our home (of which she does an exceptional job). And please understand that since I live in the same house with the same kids, I share in the same amount of responsibility of raising my children and keeping my home in order that she does. I take seriously my role as leader in the home and I strive daily to be a man that my wife will be proud to follow as her husband. As a wise pastor once told me, the most successful marriages are the ones that operate not on the principle of 50/50, but on the the idea of 100/100 where both husband and wife are giving maximum effort.

It applies to me too

I'm not one who typically makes confessionals sitting behind the keyboard of a computer. But I must admit that this morning I was moved by a passage of Scripture that I have read countless times.

Philippians 2:1-11 has long been a favorite biblical text of mine. In it, an incredible description of humility is framed in the example of Christ. As I was studying it this morning, I did what I usually do - I thought of ways that I could preach it or takes notes in such a way that it could be taught to others. Then, out of nowhere, it was if God hit me right in the heart. How was I being taught by this?

Jesus chose not to claim His right as God and willfully came to earth to become a servant for all mankind and as a result died that I might live. As I contemplated this reality I had to ask myself if I was a servant. Sadly, I couldn't think of many ways that my life pointed to servanthood. I'm not saying that I see myself as an overbearing, boorish type of guy who only wants to have his own needs met, but when I look beyond the surface of who I am I see someone who is incredibly selfish. I tend to work very hard within my schedule of work and family to make sure that I get to do the things that I want to do as often as I want to do them. As a minister I do serve other people but if I wasn't in that role would I still do it as often as I do?

On a practical level my mind has been spinning all morning on just how I can live this life of service that will honor God and bring the most glory to Christ. My prayer to God has been for Him to empty me of myself and grant to me the vision and ability to be humble and selfless on His behalf. It's not about me being a better person or winning accolades for my service. Instead it's about me becoming more like Christ and living the same life of sacrifice that He did.

Book Review: "The Unlikely Disciple"

I just finished (finally) Kevin Roose's book The Unlikely Disciple: A Sinner's Semester at America's Holiest University (Kindle Edition). I've been working through it for over a month now, not because it's a boring read (it is rather fascinating) but probably because I try to read too many books at once and I also have it on the Kindle for iPhone, which means I'm too busy playing with other applications to read.

There are lots of guys in the evangelical world who have reviewed this book and I don't intend to tread on their thoughts. For me, this book was noteworthy for both good and bad reasons. First, the good.

Kevin Roose, who in the book is a 19-year-old college sophomore at Brown University, decides to transfer to Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA, in order to "infiltrate" their world. He had an earlier experience with some Liberty students that piqued his interest and, against the advice of his family and secular friends, he dives headfirst into the 2007 spring semester there. I was impressed with Roose's even-handedness with all that he saw and experienced at Liberty. He admittedly went in with a biased mindset against evangelical believers but was able to lay that aside to truly get to know the students and the faculty at Liberty. True, he was deceiving everyone there by pretending to be an evangelical himself (his weekend indoctrination into evangelical Christianity prior to transferring included everything from C. S. Lewis to Veggie Tales) yet it didn't take him long to realize that the students at Liberty were, for the most part, not too much different than regular college students, minus the party scene.

His treatment of Jerry Falwell (who died right as his semester was ending and prompted him to stick around an extra week to go to the funeral) surprised even himself. It turns out that Roose was the last person to interview Rev. Falwell via the print media before his death (an assignment that he was granted the privilege of writing for the school newspaper) and his experience was so positive that it bothered him. He, along with most of those outside of evangelical circles and many within, have long vilified Falwell and, while Roose did not agree at all with what Falwell stood for, he still admired him for his unwavering faith and steadiness.

Finally, Kevin Roose made many real friends at Liberty and even to this day they still keep in touch even though he deliberately deceived them for several months. He learned about prayer and it fascinated him so much that it is a practice that he still participates in several times a week. The sincere commitment to Christ that many of these students possessed truly impressed him and his "faith meter" was raised several notches as a result (although he did not "convert" and is still not sure if he believes that there is a God).

Now for the bad. As one whose life has not been changed by Jesus Christ, Kevin Roose struggles to put into words the experiences that he had while at Liberty and therefore often dumbs them down to psychology. For instance, while attending a large baptism service for Liberty students, he was greatly moved at the excitement and fervor that was being generated in the room. Feeling caught up in the excitement himself, he was able to chalk it up to some group psychological phenomenon that large groups of people were able to generate within their belief system. He did not consider the power and work of the Holy Spirit because he knows no such power.

Another negative aspect of Roose's book is his treatment of sex and homosexuality. He seems fascinated by the desire of Liberty students' desires to stay sexually pure before marriage and goes to great lengths to chronicle those few students that he was in contact with who were lax in their moral standards. It never occurred to him that sexual purity was not a matter of just saying no to sexual immorality but rather it's a response of all of us to God, who is holy and desires our own holiness as an act of worship. In regard to homosexuality, Roose was exposed to daily doses of gay bashing and the word "fag" was thrown around like it was a kid's toy. This stung him deeply since he has an aunt who is gay, yet even though the crude language he encountered was inexcusable, Roose was rather caustic in his dismissal of those who viewed homosexuality as a sin. To him, if you declare homosexuality as a sin then you are evil in your thinking and dangerous in your religion.

In the end Kevin Roose transfers back to Brown University and resumes the life that he left behind. He did carry with him some of his habits of prayer and many fond memories of his experiences with the Liberty community, but overall his life was not radically changed. He simply cannot reconcile that there is a belief among Christians that the only path to salvation is through Jesus Christ and so he rejects that view. Overall, the book is well written and is very fair toward Liberty University and its students. For those who are believers who wish to read this book, it will have moments in it that will serve to remind us of Whom it is that we serve and that there are parts of our belief systems (i.e., how we treat those who are not like us and who are lost) that could use a little cleaning up.

A great day!

One of the privileges I've had as a father has been baptizing my oldest daughter Chandler last year. My second daughter Reynolds, who is 18 months younger than Chandler, has been asking questions about Jesus since that time but hasn't really expressed an understanding of what it means to be a follower of Christ.

Today, Reynolds was riding her Razr scooter in haphazard manner that she usually does when the inevitable finally happened - she wiped out. To make it worse she was wearing a dress and the road rash is all up and down her left leg. Thank the Lord she didn't split her head open.

Once things settled down and she was good and cleaned up, she looked at me and said that she wanted me to baptize her but not until her leg got better. I asked her what she thought baptism meant and she asked me to explain because she wasn't exactly sure. When I told her it was a public profession of salvation, she wanted to know what it meant to be saved. I then walked her through the gospel - we are sinners, Jesus died to forgive us of our sins and rose to conquer death, and we respond to that great loving sacrifice by surrendering our lives to Him - all of which she understood and was ready to make a reality in her life.

When I invited her to talk to God about it in prayer, she said that she just wanted me to do it with her and not mommy since mommy "isn't a preacher or anything like that." Thankfully she acquiesced when I told her that it was okay for anyone to lead another person to Christ and they didn't have to be a preacher. Kellie and I then had the joy of praying with our daughter and hearing her tell God that she loved Him, how she knew that she was a sinner, how she believed in Jesus and his forgiveness through His death on the cross, and how she was ready to open up her heart to Him in surrender. When we were finished praying I asked her where Jesus was right now and without hesitation she told me the He was living inside of her heart. Praise God!

Catching up

Kellie and I are in the process of intentionally finding a new home. I say "intentionally" because we've been window shopping for years but now we are getting serious about it. The parsonage where we live has been great (especially the low rent) but we've outgrown it by a couple of kids and it's time for more space. We are wanting to stay in the area where I minister and it's been challenging finding those properties that aren't buried too deep in the woods (we would like to have neighbors) or aren't outrageously priced.

One thing that we have learned over the years is that we have to be ready financially to be where we want to be. If there are too many credit card bills, medical bills, school bills, etc., then that will hurt how much we can borrow and how much we can afford each month for our mortgage. Over the past year or so we've worked diligently to get those areas in order and we have taken a pretty big chunk off of what we owe (who knew that having 4 kids would be so expensive?). Our hope and prayer is that we can catch up on where we need to be when it does come time to officially purchase that new home. We may not get everything done before we purchase, but we can knock off a lot before we do.

There are times in my life when I want to draw closer to God but feel as if I need to catch up more on my personal issues first. I convince myself I need to pray more, read my Bible more, kick those bad habits, be more diligent in my own ministry to those that I serve and to the lost, etc. But unlike buying a house, how can I possibly measure if I've "knocked off enough" of the spiritual rust so that I can be closer to God? God doesn't need me to work up to a certain level so that I can draw closer to Him. James 4:8 reminds me of this: "Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you."

God is ready to meet us right where we are. Yes, we need to be diligent in our spiritual disciplines, but He's ready right now no matter how hot or cold we are. Buying a home takes time and careful planning. But the time is now for us to turn to our God who is waiting to embrace us and make us more like Christ.

My Family

I love my family. A lot. So much that I think about them all the time. My wife is simply incredible and I don't like being away from her for extended periods of time, although sometimes I have to because of the ministry God has given to me. My 4 kids are unbelievable and I can't wait to see them in the morning and when I get in from work. There are many times when I'm working and I get the uncontrollable urge to go home so that I can be with my family. And that's not too difficult since I live about 50 feet from my office.

I'm pretty sure that God loves me in a way that makes my love for my family pale in comparison. After all, He gave up what He loved the most just so that I could be with Him. And then there are the times when I run away from Him and treat Him like dirt, yet He still welcomes me back into His presence with open arms and unconditional love. In fact, He runs to me before I can even make a move. My heavenly Father is absolutely incredible! I'm part of the best family ever.

We've made what is beautiful dirty

I've been reading through the book of Ezekiel and there is a lot of stuff in it that reminds me of what's in the book of Jeremiah, Isaiah, etc. That's not a bad thing, it just keeps me on my toes to make sure I don't miss anything "new." Yesterday, I read Ezekiel chapter 16 and discovered something that really grabbed my attention.

The whole of Ezekiel 16 is a parable of God and His adulterous wife. Of course, God isn't married in the sense that we know marriage but in a spiritual sense Israel was His bride. He cared for Israel, nurtured and provided for Israel, and was incredibly patient with her. But Israel spent many centuries spurning God's love and basically committing adultery against God. The picture God paints of Israel's unfaithfulness is that of her being not only an adulteress but a prostitute, giving herself away to strange men for pleasure.

It strikes me that when God wanted to describe the devastating sin of Israel He used a reference to sexual immorality to do so. Not murder or stealing or coveting, but lust and adultery and fornication. When God wished to relay the depth of Israel's sin He did so by comparing it to an institution that He established from the very beginning of mankind that man in turn has tainted and perverted beyond belief.

Sex was created by God and it has always been designed for the confines of marriage. Yet for thousands of years now sex has been sold, bought, put on public display, and has manipulated, warped, maimed, and humiliated millions upon millions of people. Pornography is big business and almost every week we hear of another high profile leader who has fallen to adultery or some other sexual sin. In short, we have made ugly what God intended to be beautiful.

This warped view of sex is everywhere. Marriages are being destroyed by adultery and pornography, premarital relationships are being rocked and destroyed by premarital sex, children are being preyed upon by pedophiles with twisted minds, and even the most devout men and women can't turn in any direction without being inundated with some sort of sexual image. The message of sex is so powerful that it can sell almost anything.

As I teach my students and my own children what God's truth says about sex, I do so with great urgency. We do not belong to ourselves; we belong to God (1 Corinthians 6:12-20). Sex is not some toy or possession to be given away. Too often young men and women use it as a means of expressing what they believe is love, but what they really are doing is giving away what they can't possible gain back. When these couples break up, the result of what they've sacrificed for each other makes it even more devastating.

Sex is a beautiful gift from God. When we see it from God's perspective then it's not dirty or perverted. We must all fight back when our culture and our world tries to convince us that sex is casual and dispensable. May we all seek the Lord's strength and wisdom as we not only strive for our own personal purity but as we teach these same principles to our children.

A new motivation

I had a wonderful time with my students and adult volunteers in Huntington, WV, at World Changers this past week. I went to my very first World Changers in Memphis back in 1993 and over the years I've participated in at least 10 projects. If you don't know what World Changers is all about, I'll do my best to briefly fill you in.

World Changers is a branch of the North American Mission Board (NAMB) of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC). It is a series of weekly mission opportunities (usually during the summer) where students and adult volunteers convene in cities both nationally and globally to do mission work. There are construction projects that I take my students on but there are also projects geared toward reaching the community via VBS-style techniques and community outreach. Youth groups come together, work crews of usually between 10-15 people are formed with students from the various youth groups, and houses are painted/roofed/sided/etc., for an entire week. The cities that host World Changers help to select the houses or other buildings that need help and they also front much of the money needed to fund the projects.

It is usually very hot and tiring work and we are usually housed in a local school for the week where we sleep on air mattresses on cramped classroom floors and cram into locker room showers to get clean. Each day begins early on the job site and each night ends with worship as a large group. Without a doubt, World Changers is my all-time favorite student mission project because not only do we get to share the gospel of Jesus Christ in the community with our words but we also get to demonstrate it with our hands.

One of the aspects of this week that I treasure is the change that takes place in the lives of those who participate, myself included. Away from the distractions of home, we find that God has a more direct route to our hearts. As we serve in communities that are different than ours, we see a different perspective on poverty and hurt and our hearts grow heavy with that burden. God begins to give us a new vision for those at home whom we may have overlooked because we couldn't see beyond ourselves and we go home motivated to find ways to help beyond our own sphere of comfort. Simply put, we come home different.

Will everyone come home motivated for Christ? No. Among those who do how long with that last? I have no idea. But the important aspect of going on mission is that once change takes place in the heart, then the heart is permanently changed. Even if a student makes a commitment and then seems to forget it weeks later, that experience is still etched in his heart for eternity. My goal is not to recreate a World Changers experience every week for the students that I serve but rather I strive to draw them every day to a deeper commitment to Jesus Christ. World Changers helps me to do just that and it also moves me toward a deeper level of commitment and renewal as well.

Calling them out

I have attended a one-of-a-kind church sevice in West Virginia this morning (no, there was no snake handling or anything like that). Instead, the preacher started the service by quoting Matthew 5:23-24 where it says we must go to those who we are odds with before we present our gifts at the altar. He went on to say that he had trouble praying this morning because of an ongoing conflict with another person. Nothing wrong with that, right?

Here's what happened next. The pastor called out this man he was at odds with by name (I'm pretty sure this man wasn't in the church) and told the grievance he had against him. According to the pastor, this man didn't believe the pastor was "preaching gospel". He then asked the deacons in the church if they believed him or the other man and if they did believe that he was not "preaching gospel" then they should remove him from he pulpit right then and there. To firm up his stand, he asked those deacons who were willing to stand with him to stand up as a show of support. I'm fairly certain none of the deacons would have had the courage to keep their seats even if they didn't support the pastor. Finally, the pastor announced that tonight they would have a "town hall style" church meeting after the service to discuss the issue and take any necessary action, even if it meant removing him as their pastor. If they chose to do that, then he would gladly leave.

The looks on the students faces was of disbelief and amazement. Talk about a "welcome to our church" kind of introduction. The rest of the service was a time of rattling off the sins of the world with a tone that was less than inviting. I'm just not so sure that this is what God has in mind for worship when His people gather together.

Taking time off

I'm on the road right now heading up to Huntington, WV, for World Changers. We're taking 69 students and adults with us to join about 300 others to do construction work on the homes of the less fortunate. Not only will I probably not be blogging (for all 3 of you who read this) much if any this week, I'll also be missing my family like crazy. So, I covet your prayers this week and if you get a chance, check up on my family this week.

The Center of it All

If you've never carefully read Ephesians 1:3-14, then I recommend that you make a pot of coffee and carve out some time alone to take it all in. These 12 amazing verses are literally pregnant with spiritual truth and in the original Greek they were all one long sentence (try reading it all out loud without taking a breath). A guy could preach for weeks on these verses alone.

As I was reading these verses this morning I was simply struck with the depth of what the believer in Christ receives from God as a result of being "in Christ." One area that sticks out for me is the role that Jesus plays in God's will for the entire universe, that it is God's plan to bring everything together in Christ. Everything. Both on earth and in the heavens. All things brought together in Christ.

This means simply that, according to God, Jesus is the center of all that is. He is the hub of the wheel, the ultimate point of reference, the only correct answer on a test with an infinite number of questions. Jesus is "it." Jesus and God work together in this, for God has sent His Son Jesus to earth and in turn Jesus points everyone to God. Apart from Jesus there can be no knowledge of God's blessings or His plan for our lives. It begins and ends with Jesus.

So what can I accomplish in my life apart from Jesus? Nothing! Though I may be successful with a kickin' job and some sweet possessions, without Christ at the center all I have is stuff that will rust and depreciate one day. Even though I may be satisfied with my relationships and family and the status that I have achieved for myself, I will be way off center if I don't have Christ.

In God's incredible wisdom for His creation everything points to Christ. One can look to nature or science or man himself for eternal answers, but he won't find them because they aren't there. Jesus is the central figure of all eternity and everything points to Him as the center of it all. The question I ask of myself and of you is this: "In what direction do we find ourselves looking?"

Rejecting good counsel

1 Kings is a pretty cool Old Testament book. In it, you get the story of Israel from King David's last days onward. David's son, Solomon, is thought of as being perhaps the wisest king to ever reign, yet political wisdom doesn't always lead to personal wisdom.

King Solomon loved women. He loved them so much that he had 700 wives and 300 concubines. Imagine trying to keep all of those women happy! Polygamy wasn't that big of a deal back in those days but this was extreme, and to make it even worse Solomon chose to intermarry with women from several different pagan nations, violating a command that God had set in order centuries earlier (Deuteronomy 7). As a result, Solomon began to worship the false gods that his wives worshiped and the kingdom began to slip through his hands.

Fast forward to Solomon's son Rehoboam. He was named king after Solomon's death and he had a decision to make: Did he correct some of the evils that his father had done or did he dig the hole even deeper? Rehoboam consulted with the elders who had previously counseled his father, and they advised him to be a servant to the people instead of demanding to always be served. That way the people would love him and in turn serve him forever. Then Rehoboam asked his buddies what he should do. They told him to ditch the advice of the elders and bring the hammer down all he wanted on the people. After all, he was king and he could do what he wanted.

As a result of Rehoboam rejecting the wise counsel of the elders, the people turned on him and the kingdom of Israel was divided in two. The advice we receive from those who are older than us won't necessarily always be the best, but we should always listen to it. Those who have come before us have seen more, heard more, and experienced more than we have. Even if they are not updated with today's technology or knowledge of culture, they still understand people. You can be yourself and reflect your own distinct style while still heeding the good counsel of men and women who have "been there, done that" and learned from their mistakes so that you don't have to make the same ones.

Post-Beach Bummer

Coming home from the beach is always tough for me. In my humble opinion, there is no greater part of God's creation that the coast. Even though we were surrounded by 8 very active kids all week, being at the beach was very soothing and helped me to clear my mind for a few days. Now that I'm home, I'm missing the coast and I am already scheming on how to get back down there before summer is over. The desire to go back is strong and the memories of the week are still fresh with me.

Oh how I wish that my desire for God was always that strong. Looking back on those moments of intense spiritual encounter, I can remember wishing that I would never be far from that experience. Yet our faith lies not in the experience but rather in the exercise. Reading the Bible more, attending more conferences and seminars, or investing more time in church volunteering are all good things, but they won't reconnect me (or you) back to an experience. What we must do is seek after the very face of Christ.

It's kind of like treating a cold where all we do is manage the symptoms, not the core issue. Our relationship with Christ is always the core issue. Are we seeking to please Him, emulate His life, live for His glory? I will always experience the beach vacation blues yet I hope to never be far from my Lord.

Fishermen (and woman) in the making

A Little Break

This week at the beach with family and friends has been great but it hasn't exactly been restful. Most of the kids are up by 6:45 each morning and they make sure that we know it. And since Kellie and I have a room on the main level, we hear the herd as they stage their assault up the stairs. Good coffee helps with that, but it would be nice if they would sleep a little longer.

Our days have been packed with kids playing (sometimes nicely, sometimes not), beach time (usually too much sun), lots and lots of food (man, do I need to work out), and great fellowship with our friends who are here with us. By the end of the day, we are spent as are the kids. It's been lots of fun but not all that relaxing.

So this morning, as Emme is taking her morning nap, my beautiful wife Kellie has taken our other 3 kids to the beach while I remain here at the house in the solitude. I've read some, listened to a couple of sermons on podcast, answered some emails, done a little bit of church work, and just enjoyed being alone. I love people and I love being around them, but I'm one of those guys who needs some alone time here and there to be able to function properly.

Now that I've had some "me time", I'm ready to reconnect with the crew and hit the beach!

Beach bum

We're raising a beach bum and have no qualms about it.

Day 4 at the beach and it still isn't getting old

I never get tired of this

I flat out love the beach. Looking out the window at the ocean right now, I honestly believe that I would never get tired of this. I'm sure that there are plenty of beach locals who would willingly share how average the beach experience is to them, but as one who only comes once or twice a year I just can't see it.

In all of my years of ministry experience I have watched people, especially young people, fall in love with Jesus for the first time. The excitement in their eyes and voices, the passion in their words, the enthusiasm to "take Jesus back home with them" (as if He could fit in their suitcases) are all really cool to witness. I've been there before as well, feeling as if "Jesus and me" were going to change the world one pagan at a time.

Then the bottom drops out. Suddenly, your experience with Christ becomes average at best until your next "spiritual vacation" takes place. You see other people excited about their faith and you think, "They'll get over it eventually and come back to reality." But why does it have to be that way?

I have an emotional response when I come to the beach and it lasts for awhile. When I come home the thrill of the vacation wears off over time until my next vacation is close at hand and I begin to feel the heebie-jeebies all over again. We do the same with Jesus, don't we? Even if we were to move to the beach we would find ourselves complacent if we saw the coast as just an average place to live.

Jesus is never just average. "Casual Christian" is an oxymoron that doesn't make sense in the mind of God. Following after Christ is a choice that you have to make. The feelings will wear off before long so it's up to you and me to intentionally love Jesus with every fiber of our being. I hope I never get tired of Jesus.

Kellie celebrating her birthday at Joe's Crab Shack

An even prettier beach view

Chandler wanted to pose before going out for the night.

Beautiful beach balcony view

Happy birthday to my beautiful wife

Oh Yeah, Part 3