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Life atop the water

6 May

The words and actions of Jesus have once again intersected with my present reality and thoughts in such a way that I want to record publicly.  This all kinda gelled together last night during our 20-somethings gathering’s discussion on the 6th chapter of John.  In this chapter, Jesus walks on water out to the disciples in the middle of strong weather.  For someone who has never experienced God by faith, this account is fairly far-fetched.

But for those of us that have been given the grace of noticing God’s redemptive work in our lives and all creation even, the fact that Jesus walks on water should be nothing.  Perhaps the greatest miracle in life is the warming of human hearts, whose fires are prone to be stifled by the worries and troubles of this world.

When Jesus calls his 12 closest disciples (students, followers, life-coachees), he asks these two brothers who were fishing to leave what they were doing and follow Him.  He says something peculiar: “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”

So I am trying to learn the art of fly fishing.  The interesting thing about fly fishing is that you try and “match the hatch” or use flies that look like the ones that are hatching from the river or that are landing on it.  Sometimes when you pick our which fly you want, it may not look exactly like the fly you want.  However, from the fish’s perspective it may look exactly what you need.

So the glorious moment comes when fish strike the fly.  The rise to the surface to grab it, sometimes breaking the plane of the top of the water.  In the most dramatic and exciting cases they will leap completely out of the water.  Glorious.

Sometimes when God’s grace is presented to people, we think that it will happen like when we are fishing on top of the water, expecting people to be completely hungry for God’s grace and jump out of their lives into a new life in faith.  When that happens, it is glorious.  However, when the world is a muddy river, the best and prettiest fly on top of the water will not always be seen.

However, Simon Peter and Andrew were fishing with nets on the sea of Galilee.  It seems that Jesus’ and the disciples way of fishing meant going deep into the unknown with nets.  Like the days after Pentecost when the “Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved”, it seems that results come from when people imitate Jesus, who risked everything to dive into our world to save us from our sins, and then risked everything again by putting a handful of broken people in charge of taking God’s message, love, grace to the world and forming His people, the Church.  Wow.

Now with the power that raised Christ from the dead working in us, may we seek to do his will.  Let us who have been walking on top of the water by faith consider holding onto life on top of the water something to keep for ourselves.  Let us dive deep into the unknown and dare to love people where they are and show them the top of the water, being pulled up with them in the inescapable clutches of God grace.

May the Lord’s will be done,

CWillZ

Trading Flip Flops for Boots

1 May

Its official.  I’m staying in Montana.  Today I finally traded in my Texas Driver’s License even though I haven’t “lived” there since August of 2007.  I just had not had sufficient motivation to switch it.  But here in Montana, fishing licenses are much cheaper if you are a resident.  What I didn’t know is that you have to be able to prove that you have lived here 6 months before you can get a Montana Resident fishing/hunting license, so I ended up paying full price for a non-resident license to fish.  Oh well. Any state where it’s easier to get a driver’s license than a fishing license pretty much has its priorities in check.  Right?

I’ve been here in Montana for a little over a week.  After a week, I feel that I have made the right choice and am looking forward to being here for at least a year (the length of my initial commitment).  My work here will be a slightly different ball of wax.  There is a parable Jesus tells about leaving 99 sheep to go after 1 which is lost.  I have done that and more.  Right now I am working with two students, and the youth group I was involved with until recently was pretty large.  It’s weird but good.  I really miss my flock, but I am starting to see true value in the place where I am and have already seen God use me in cool ways here, even if I haven’t worn my flip flops since I have gotten here.

So, for all of you have been praying, thank you.

I’m also happy to say that I am applying to George Fox Evangelical Seminary and hope to complete an M.A. in Ministry Leadership.  I’m sure there will be much more about this program as I become more and more involved in it.

May the Lord’s will be done,

CWillZ

VW Vanagon Breaks Down in Rural Montana

26 Apr

I recently accepted a position at Christian Outdoor Leadership Training (COLT) and have moved to Takrio, Montana just outside of Missoula.

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Mom and I next to my VW Vanagon Syncro

Before leaving my friends, family, students, and church in Columbus, I purchased a VW Vanagon Syncro.  My mom accompanied me on the trip across country.  We were in the middle of the third full day of driving when my mom made the first special request to stop for anything the entire trip.  We got off the interstate in rural eastern Montana and found a restaurant/bar where she could use the restroom.  From the looks of things I thought there may have been 500 people in the town.

We pulled out of the parking lot to get back on the intestate and the engine cut out.  We happened to be at the top of a long hill, and there was hope for a gas station at the bottom so we coasted down hill and barely pulled into the local gas station.  I did some tinkering and concluded that the problem was my fuel pump.

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My Syncro with its family members in Worden, MT

A local offered to give me a ride to the mechanic in the town.  When we arrived I was told that the mechanic would not be available until late that afternoon.  Drat.  Plan B was the mechanic at the gas station in the neighboring town (which was about a half mile away across the highway).  After about 20 minutes of phone calls and talking, one of the townspeople remembered that there was a guy in town that only worked on Volkswagens.  Really??

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Randy of Randy's Bugworks

So we called him and got directions.  He ended up having the exact part I needed.  What were the odds? As we pulled up, we could see the sea of VWs this guy had.  I thought I was in VW heaven.  This is the man who lives the dream, Randy of Randy’s Bugworks:

I am getting settled out here but am really missing everyone back home. Especially my students.  I love you guys. Please keep praying for me as I start something new. I’ll be sure to keep in touch as this adventure called life continues to unfold.

May the Lord’s will be done,

CWillZ

Chuck Colson, Greg Boyd, and Shane Claiborne all in one room

9 Apr

Krista Tippet and Zondervan recently teamed up to host a discussion with Charles Colson, Greg Boyd, and Shane Clairborne about Evangelicals and politics.  There is great input from all three, exploring the tensions that I like to  flesh out with my friends like Neil, Adam, Jennifer, Scott, Ben, Dauthan, Bryant, my small group, and others.  Here is a small taste:

The full versions are available(web stream or MP3 download) on the Speaking of Faith site and on iTunes for free.

A few of my thoughts:

1) I want to be like all 3 of these men when I grow up.  Each has been very faithful with what God has given them.

2) I felt a little bad for Chuck Colson because I think he didn’t get a chance to speak as much.  Maybe that isn’t true, but I really wanted him to say more.

3) Notice there are honest and somewhat should-be abrupt disagreements between these men (the most obvious being Shane’s blatant anti-military stance), but it is clear  that these guys are on the same team.  Hopefully the core group of people that follow each of them agree on that.

4) Greg’s story about mixing nationalism and faith really hits home with me.  It bothers me deeply that many Christians I know’s view of Christ is inseperably entangled in Americana.  See this post.

5) Where are the women? Momma T!

6)Where are the minorities? Discussion about Dr.King does happen quite a bit in the session, which is a starting point for the necessary inclusion of minority voices.

7) Colson is a tough old man and I love his fatherly tone when he suggests that others need to have the courage “take a political stance” and go from there.

8) There seems to be a big tension between Augustinian thought and Jesus thought, or at least the expressions from those who emphasize one over the other.

Which one of these men would you vote for if all three were running for president?

May the Lord’s will be done,

CWillZ

The emerging church as its proponents and critics see it

3 Apr

I was recommended this video.  It’s a panel hosted by some of the editors over at Chrisitanity Today.  The panel members include both critics, participants, and young unassociated listeners of/to the emerging/Emergent church movement.  I encourage you to watch the whole thing and not just parts, as each panelist shares a unique part of their stories at different times.  It is 88 min long, so take the time if you have a strong opinion or listen to a leader who has chosen to take either a pro/against stance on the Emerging conversation:

A few questions I ask about this:

Where are the women/non white males?

What is the difference between philosophical postmodernism and cultural postmodernism?

What if the panel started with each member sharing the gospel?

What is the frustration really about? It seems to me that it all boils down to someone being personally disaffected in some way with other Christians in the past.

This quote was read towards the end, and I also had read the article and thought it was an awesome response (Mark Galli, CT, “On the Lasting Evangelical Survival”)

What I will do, to my dying day, is work with anyone who knows he was lost but now is found, whose Bible is worn because she repeatedly looks there for God to speak, who finds the Cross the most meaningful of symbols, for whom the Resurrection is not just a doctrine but a power, and who wants nothing more than to find new and creative ways to share the evangel of Jesus in word and deed. I’ll work with these people no matter what scholars decide to call them.

AMEN!

May the Lord’s will be done,

CWillZ

The First Line is Always the Hardest

1 Apr

Not talking about cocaine.  Sorry.

I haven’t blogged in a bit.  It’s hard to get back in the habit.

Update:

1) there is some cool discussion happening over at Adam’s blog with ex-christians and a few of us youth pastory types.

2) We have seen several students begin to follow Christ recently!

3) I’ve been fishing, either with tremendous success or tremendous failure.

4) Tatango is sweet.

5) I started writing a book.  If you are the type of person that thinks about the direction of the American church/the holisitic Gospel/evangelism as social justice and social justice as evangelism, you should talk to me as I write.

6) I’ve been teaching a high school small group on Genesis, reading up on interpretations of Revelation, and letting Jesus ruin my life as I know it by reading Luke-Acts.

7) I’ve discovered the glory that is “The Bible Experience” by Zondervan.  They hired a bunch of celebrities to read the Bible….finally I have a better way of hearing it as the story I should hear it as. It’s fresh, legit, and true; Word (of mouth) of God.

That’s the Q&D. I’ll posting.

May the Lord’s will be done,

CWilLZ

Student Loan Saga: Perkins Payoff Milestone!

4 Mar

Today I made another student loan payment. As I look at the amount I am paying versus the amount left to pay on the laons, I have one word to desribe how I feel about it.

Woof.

So I was encouraged to find this letter in the pile of stuff I hadn’t read yet:

Perkins Payoff Letter

Yeah!

May the Lord’s will be done,

CWillZ

Adam Lehman – The Way of Jesus and the Righteousness Window

3 Mar

Adam is a good friend of mine that is also involved in student ministry. Recently I was visiting him during a small group meeting at his apartment and sneaked some footage of him teaching a lesson that we LOVE!

Nice.

More on the Righteousness Window (shout out to Carl Ellis) here.

May the Lord’s will be done,

CWillZ

Ridin’ Dirty, Bonfires, Making Things New

24 Feb

I recently was talking to a friend who had gotten pulled over by the cops for…

You guessed it.  “Nothing.”  That is how all of stories that start out with “I got pulled over yesterday for,” go.  My favorite part of this person’s story is that he really had not done anything.  You see, a few years ago the officers would have found something, or somethings for which to arrest my friend.  In fact, they did and he has paid and continues to pay significant consequences for his actions.

A year ago I would have doubted the sincerity of his story of being pulled over for no reason, but today I know him well enough to be certain that he would tell me whether or not he actually had done something – and would be hurt if he had.  I have had the privileged of seeing him become a new creation, and been humbled by the work that God continues to do in his heart — and mine, just by having a close seat to the show. Every time we talk I am amazed at the changes he is making in his life, and the insights and love he gains for God.  It fills me with hope.

So when he shared about being cold, humiliated, and frustrated during the time that the boys in blue were searching his car, I sympathized.  The bad part about being a criminal is having people treat you like a criminal, even though there have been major renovations in your life that “they” don’t know about.  After the dogs and officers searched his car, a series of field sobriety tests, seemingly countless questions, a breathalyzer, and inviting the men searching his vehicle to Bible study (I love that) he was free to continue about his business.

He wondered aloud what the significance of this incident might be, and the conversation went like this:

Him: “I don’t know man, it seems like all this stuff happened all at once, and I really feel like it was Satan trying to attack me.”

Me: “That could be it, or it could be a not-so gentle reminder of where you have come from, what God has brought you out of, a reminder to stay on the wagon, ya know?”

Him: “Interesting that you say that.  It’s kinda like a Passover we just studied about. Israel had to do all this stuff so they would remember what God did for them.”

(Background) His mom, whose house he arrived at while we were speaking: “I think it was an attack, plain and simple.”

Me: “Well if it was Satan’s attack, we will use it for good and remember what God has done for us. Also, this is your warning to keep your chin up and stay the course- don’t give up now.”

That is an over-simplified verison of the conversation, but the gist is there.  Isn’t it amazing how we look at problems and difficulties in our lives?

It reminds me of campfire.  Even if a fire is burning hot and high, and you put a peice a plywood over it, it might smother and the flames dwindle.  Sometimes the fire dies out completely. However, if the fire is hot enough and there are enough hot, long burning coals at the base of the fire, it will enentullay rekindle.  And when it rekindles, the plywood that once snuffed the flames out becomes fuel itself.

So did Satan put the plywood on my friend’s fire?

Did God?

We do well to remember the God who warms hearts, rekindles smothered flames, and who uses all things to bring glory to Himself and for the good of those who love Him.

Here is to turning that which smothers us into our holy bonfire!

May the Lord’s will be done,

CWillZ

Jokes, Japan, Coldplay, and Being Spontaneous

15 Feb

It was a typical Tuesday night.  I returned from Life Hurts, God Heals and sat down to read a book.  As a got settled I checked my email, which led to chatting online with friends.  a few hours later I was still chatting and was in a conversation with my friend Jennifer, whom I studied with in Spain.   She now teaches English in Moka, Japan along with some other very fun North Americans.

She told me that one of the teachers here was sick and is in the States to recover, so they were trying to find someone to go to a Coldplay concert with them in Tokyo last Thursday. I joked and said I would be there.

Jennifer knew I was joking but offered generously to help pay for the airfare and my meals while in Japan. I would have a place to sleep because of the teacher who is recouping stateside. It started to seem like a pretty good deal. We started checking prices.  Was this really going to work?

It is a great thing to be young and flexible and be able to be spontaneous with minimal dereliction of duties.

~3:30am Wednesday. I found a ticket I woke up my mom to see if she would be willing to take me to the airport.  She agreed and I went back up to my room to make it final.  I was going to Japan. I bought a ticket for the wrong date (for some reason the website assumed I wanted to make arrangements to travel a month from that day instead of that day – go figure).  I cancelled that ticket and bought the one I needed. I packed my bag in about 45 seconds, ate some breakfast, grabbed my passport, and made my way  to the airport.

~9:00am Wed flight from Indy to Dallas

~12:05pm Wed flight from Dallas to Tokyo

~4:13pm Thursday train 1, train 2, lots of broken English and me being confused

~7:40pm Thursday walked about 200 yards up to the Saitama Super Arena, Jennifer and friends were outside with a tickets. We walked in, grabbed some food, and about 10 minutes later Coldplay started their set.

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Be careful what you joke about.

More stories from my Japanese adventure to come.

Pray for Josiah’s health and continued recovery.

May the Lord’s will be done,

CWillz

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