My Graduation from Liberty University

As I wrote about yesterday, I graduated from Liberty University on May 12, 2012. The ceremony was incredible, much better than I could have possibly imagined. I was overwhelmed by the excitement of the day and amazed at how great our God is.

Here are just a few of the highlights from the day:

• The wonderful staff and students at Liberty took great care of us. Tina and I were given a ride from the car to the stadium so Tina wouldn't have to walk.
• I made a new friend, a pastor from Resurgence in Evansville, Indiana.
• The music was incredible. I could have listened to it all day.
• Luis Palau shared how "earth-shattering" salvation is. Amazing!
• Truett Cathy, the founder of Chick-Fil-A, was awarded an honorary doctorate.
• The student body and families gave a rousing standing ovation to the military students.
• Mitt Romney gave a very rousing, inspiring speech. This is not an endorsement of the candidate, simply an observation.
• My wife is excited about the possibility of our boys attending LU in the future.

I am blessed to have attended Liberty University. God has done amazing things in Lynchburg and the ripples from that can be felt around the world.

A Story of God's Faithfulness at Liberty University

On Saturday, May 12, 2012, I graduated from Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary. I had the privilege and honor to attend the graduation (more on that to come). Because Tina is getting ready to have our fourth baby, I paid a little extra to get her a special seat at the ceremony. While I was sitting in the heat, Tina had the opportunity to be in the air-conditioning with fruit and muffins (no bitterness here).

While she was watching the ceremony, Tina met a woman who was at the graduation to watch her son be awarded his degree. She was also a graduate of Liberty University in 1974. While they were talking, Tina asked her if it was different being there as a mom instead of as a graduate. The woman told Tina that the most special part of the day was seeing her son graduate, knowing that where we were sitting in the football stadium had once been a pile of dirt. She and her classmates used to come to the empty lot and pray that God would do amazing things on that piece of property. Today, Liberty University is the largest Christian University in America, with over 14,000 graduates this year.

God had answered her prayers. I was blessed to be a part of God's answer to this woman's prayer. Just imagine the impact that your prayers can and will have on future generations.

Goodbye, Maurice Sendak

       As many of you have probably heard, Maurice Sendak passed away yesterday. Mr. Sendak was a children's author, most famous for Where the Wild Things Are. He wrote many other books, some good, some bad, but none more powerful than Wild Things.

I am writing this because my son loves the work of Maurice Sendak. For the longest time, he had me read Where the Wild Things Are every night before bed. We read it so many times that he memorized the book. There was even a time when we borrowed the cartoon from the library and he watched it over and over. We played a game where I would start to recite the book (I had it memorized too) and he would finish the lines.

Mr. Sendak died as a result of complications from a stroke. I heard several interviews from him on NPR and I caught a very sad line. He was talking about a friend who believed in Heaven and hell and life after death. Mr. Sendak then went on to talk about how life was so hard for unbelievers like himself. It made me sad because I knew, from his own admission, that Maurice Sendak did not know Jesus and had not had his sins forgiven. That thought brought tears to my eyes.

Mr. Sendak, I want to thank you for the joy that your books brought to my little boy. I want to thank you for the wonderful memories that you have allowed me to have with my son as a result of your books. And I pray, that somewhere along your journey through life, someone shared the Gospel with you and you made a decision to accept the gift of salvation, even though you claimed otherwise. Mr. Sendak, you will be missed.

Book Review - Dug Down Deep by Joshua Harris

If I can be honest, I had little knowledge of Joshua Harris. My limited interaction with him was watching a group of students read I Kissed Dating Goodbye when I was in college. The mean-spirited part of me joked that they kissed dating goodbye because they weren’t going to get kissed anyway, so it was no big loss. I was vaguely aware of other books that he had written and I knew that he had a church relatively close to where I live, but that was it.

I had the opportunity to read Dug Down Deep: Building Your Life on Truths That Last and I am very glad that I did. This book is a combination of autobiography and entry-level theology text. Harris shares a number of stories from his life growing up and shows how each of these events led to him digging and building his life on the elements of the Christian faith. Given the “celebrity” status that Harris has, you would think that he either lived a completely perfect Christian life or that he was a reprobate sinner who experienced a miraculous conversion. Neither is the case. Harris had a fairly typical Christian life growing up, one that was, unfortunately, void of much doctrinal training. Throughout the text, he shares how he came to understand that doctrine was not dry and boring or a weapon to bludgeon others with. It was the key way that we come to know and experience God.

As I was reading the book, I found myself constantly stopping to share quotes from it on Facebook and Twitter. As I said above, it is an introduction to systematic theology, barely scratching the surface on a number of the elements. The ones that are covered include Jesus, the Bible, the Holy Spirit, salvation, and the Church. And while it is an entry-level book, there is enough meat to satisfy the reader and cause him to be hungry for the "meatier" texts that Harris references throughout.

Joshua Harris is an incredible writer. I found myself devouring the book and looking forward to when I could sit down to read it again. As a youth pastor, I am now contemplating how I can incorporate the ideas from the book into our weekly youth group Bible study. At the bare minimum, this book will definitely be found on the top of a recommended reading list.

It should be noted that a copy of Dug Down Deep: Building Your Life on Truths That Last was provided to me by Waterbrook Multnomah in exchange for a review. I was not required to give it a positive review, even though the book warranted one.

Why I Am Still a Wanna-be Preacher

Some time ago, in the midst of my ministry search, someone asked me if I would still be the Wanna-be Pastor after I found a ministry position. Well, last week, my church officially voted to bring me on staff as the part-time Associate Pastor for Children and Youth. I am now a pastor.

So, am I keeping the name? Yes. I am still going to write as the Wanna-be Pastor, but not for the reason you may think. It is not because I am "branded" that way. While I had hoped to have a successful blog, it has not yet happened and my followers and readership is quite small.

The reason that I will continue to be the Wanna-be Pastor is because I know that I have not "arrived" yet. Just because I now have a position as a pastor does not mean that God is finished with me. There are many areas that I know He will continue to mold and shape me in. My knowledge and understanding of Scripture continues to grow each day. My love for people continues to grow. My ability to communicate continues to improve. My understanding of the human heart and the way that sin has wrecked our abilities to interact with each other continues to get deeper. All in all, I will continue to be the Wanna-be Pastor because I want to be much more for the Lord that I am right now. I want to stay humble and teachable in order to serve Him and the people He has entrusted to me the best that I can.

I may be taking this out of context, but I think 1 Corinthians 13:10 fits the situation perfectly:

but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.

Book Review - The Christian Zombie Killers Handbook by Jeff Kinley

I recently had the opportunity to read The Christian Zombie Killers Handbook: Slaying the Living Dead Within by Jeff Kinley. I firmly believe that this book was written to cash in on the current popularity of zombies, but that does not take away from the serious nature of the book. I am a big fan of The Walking Dead comics by Robert Kirkman, so reading this book was an easy choice.

I will admit that I was not the target demographic for this book. My belief is that this book would be best used by a youth group or college Bible study. However, as a youth pastor, I can see the benefit of the book. The book is broken into two parts. The first part is a fictional story of two brothers who live in a world overrun by zombies. Society is attempting to exist and function as normal, but there are more and more attacks each day. This section of the book is exciting and informative. Unfortunately, as zombie stories must go, it is also filled with tragedy and death. The story is certainly not for the squeamish.

The second part of the book serves an introduction to several theological terms that Christians need to be acquainted with. I am currently working on memorizing Romans 6 and many of the ideas presented by Paul in this chapter were touched on by Kinley in the book. Again, given the “zombie” nature of the book, this is probably not a book for everyone. Kinley uses the zombie motif to his advantage, at times using the grotesque in order to make his point. One particular example deals with taking a trip into the depths of our soul to see the absolute darkness of our sin nature.

Given the graphic nature of the material, I would not recommend this book to everyone. However, the material is too important to be ignored. Usually theological matters are ignored. The Christian Zombie Killers Handbook serves as an excellent tool to introduce some to the devastating effects of sin.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Why I Will Be the Associate Pastor at Charles Town Baptist Church

For those of you who may not have heard, I was recently hired as the Associate Pastor for Children and Youth at Charles Town Baptist Church. My family and I are extremely excited about this opportunity and look forward to all that God is going to do through our new church family. I wanted to take a few minutes and lay out why I am so excited about this new position.

1. It is obvious that God is in this decision. While I don't have enough time or space to lay out all of the details, it was clear from the beginning of the interviewing and hiring process that God was in the decision. The fact that the church is located in my neighborhood comes to mind. We will not have to relocate our family or get acclimated to a new area before we begin ministering. God worked out so many details, little things that played a huge role in the overall decision.
2. The church has already made us part of the family. We have been well-received, even before the final vote was taken. My wife and I have received many encouraging messages and friend requests from people on Facebook. The process of coming on staff was long and, at times, stressful, but everyone was so excited and their love for us was apparent. When the final vote was announced during the service, there was a roar of approval and many, many hugs were exchanged.
3. Pastor Brian is excited about mentoring me. One of the things that my pastor made clear was that he was going to mentor me, especially in how to "maintain" in ministry. He wants me to be a part of the team for a long time and is going to meet with me regularly to make sure that I am taking care of myself and my family in order to stay in ministry for as long as the Lord will have me there.
4. The ministry opportunities are wide open. Charles Town Baptist Church has a strategic plan and a group of individuals that we are working to reach. As a result, we are working to build excellence in those areas, particularly in youth and children's programs. I have the opportunity to work with some great individuals and put in place some programs and plans to reach our community and to impact the surrounding areas as a result.
5. The ministry I will have here will impact the rest of the world. I know that sounds a bit grandiose, but there are a large number of individuals in our community who commute from West Virginia to Washington, D.C. The influence that our ministry has on them will then be carried with them to work in D.C., where they will influence others. One of the great (and not-so-great) things about our area is the transient nature of the people. Many people are here for a short period of time before moving on. Those we minister to in Charles Town will minister to those in Washington D.C. who will then minister to other around the country and the globe.

These are just a few of the many reasons why I am excited to serve at Charles Town Baptist Church. I couldn't be happier to be right where God has placed me.