Tis the Season

Read my new blog on the Caldwells Patch. The focus of this new blog is to encourage people who live in the West Essex region. http://caldwells.patch.com/blog_posts/tis-the-season-370fe603 (copy & paste the link)

Prove It!

We spend a great deal of proving ourselves in life. It begins in the elementary years with proving our smarts or our strength and in Jr. High our social skills. Unfortunately we don’t all excel in all these areas, quite honestly I don’t know excelled in any. It’s okay, I can laugh now about social awkwardness and struggling with algebra (boy am I thankful for the girl who sat in front of me, that’s another story). However, the fun of proving ourselves follows us into college and our career. After years of academics we have to prove we can actually survive in the real world. Every time we receive a new job we must prove our abilities to new co-workers and bosses. I won’t even venture to talk about proving ourselves as capable parents because that is a lifelong challenge. It seems as though proving ourselves is a relentless task, but one of extreme value. You see, our greatest heroes, those we admire achieve that status in our minds because they often overcome the most trying of circumstances. Think about the many political losses of Abraham Lincoln, or the impossibility of the colonists facing off against the greatest army in the world. On a less serious note, I love to watch my football team come back from behind and snag a win in the most clutch game of the season. We love the underdog because everyone says he should loose, yet he rises to occasion and proves everyone wrong. It’s like growing in concrete or planting a church. Today, refuse to give up, instead believe you have what it takes like a plant growing in concrete you will be triumphant and your dreams will spring to life!

The Dissenter

All my life I have been a rigid rule follower afraid of authorities with the fear offending or inconveniencing people. This worked well for much of my Christian life. I went to Christian school for my elementary years. When I was in public High School I surrounded myself by a wonderfully active and large youth group. I was a good kid, living up to the standards of my mainly Christian world. Going to Bible College and then entering ministry in a large church I was patted on the back for being a ‘good’. Then, God called me elsewhere. God had called me to plant a church, in Northern New Jersey where I was no longer sheltered by a Christian sub-culture. Confronted by this new found world, I realized that I was no longer running with the majority, but now I was the minority, I was the radical that is offensive to the public. My thoughts of Jesus as Savior were highly insulting to some. My passion to see this message delivered to others was viewed as intrusive. So what to do? There I was the rigid rule follower afraid of offending, being rejected or being told I was wrong. This quandary beckoned the question, who is my God? My Lord? My Master? Is it society, or is it the One who I have pledged allegiance to all these years. It feels like ‘growing in concrete’ when the pressures of society, inner struggles and even other churches seek to restrict. We must dig down deep under the surface of the concrete and find soil which is conducive with supporting spiritual life. I have no fear sharing about a new diet that brings greater health to my family or a financial opportunity. Likewise, I cannot be ashamed that the One who changed my life came to earth so that man and God could be reconciled. I have been forgiven, set free and brought to a place of abundant life so it would be inconsiderate for me to keep such good news to myself.