jesus

One powerful picture.

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I use my phone for so much. But this morning, my phone gut-punched me. Stopped me right in my tracks. Your phone probably presents “featured photos” to you on a regular basis. Well, today’s photo was…well…let me try and explain.

First, here’s the photo (It was taken on Sunday, September 8, 2019, at 11:42 am in Goshen, VA, at Young Life Rockbridge Camp, at the end of another amazing middle school retreat called “Modgnik”. It’s our group photo of middle schoolers and adult leaders who love them):

I don’t know how to explain how this photo makes me feel, but I’m going to try.

I gotta start with the front row, far left. That’s Ally Weaver. Right now, Ally is standing with (or dancing with, or having lunch with) Jesus. We hired Ally to join our student ministry team. When we hired her we knew about her past battles with brain cancer. But during her short time with Southside Students, it came back with a vengeance and ultimately was what took her home. Just seeing her makes me so happy and so sad all at the same time.

Let’s go to the opposite corner. Look upper right, the dude just to my left and the woman directly to his left. That’s Chase and Alaina Van Syckle. They both grew up in our student ministry. I’ve known them for nearly as long as I’ve lived in Virginia, since 2004 and definitely since their own middle school years. And here they are as husband and wife, leading middle schoolers on this retreat. I watch them continuously pour into young people. Just last month, Chase and Alaina became parents as they welcomed their own young person to the world, Ezra Van Syckle.

Okay, go with me to upper left corner, and look at the second dude in on the top row. The one grinning from ear to ear. That’s Hayden. Here he is as a middle schooler. But today, Hayden (now 19) serves as our Minister for Student Worship & Outreach. I’ve watched this young man flourish in his own sense of self and his very real calling God has clearly placed on his life. I love Hayden with all my heart. And now to walk together on staff with a former students is so cool.

Right in front of Hayden is JJ. JJ (Jeremy) currently lives with his parents in Paraguay, South America. Jeremy is leveraging every skill and ability he has for the gospel. He’s learned guitar, and excels at sports, and loves technology, and has grown so much in his passion for Jesus and even though he wasn’t the decision maker in his family moving as missionaries to Paraguay, he has laid himself fully on the altar as a living sacrifice so that Jesus can use his life to tell the story of God’s love. It’s beautiful to watch.

Next to Ally is Ray, another one of our amazing youth leaders. Much like Hayden, Ray has also been brought on staff in order to serve as Minister for Student Growth and Serving. Ray is one of those youth leaders that this youth pastor would love to clone and have an army of. Since this photo was taken, Ray has grown tremendously in his love for Jesus and his love for people. He’s currently in school, learning all he can about theology, Bible learning, and hermeneutics to name a few. But if you know Ray, he’s not doing any of that to impress anyone. He’s doing it simply because he hears Jesus’ voice calling. And like Ray does, he’s answering.

I’d rather not dwell on this next one, but go with me to the fifth person from the left in the top row. That’s Carson Lacy. God, help me here. Carson was tragically killed in an accident at work just this past year. Carson was the embodiment of the expression “zest for life.” Carson was always smiling, always hilarious, and always welcoming every person, no matter who they were. Even in middle school, he was just so much fun to be around. He was a people magnet. And I hate that he’s not here for you to know. I hate it so much. I hate it for his parents and siblings and grandparents. I pray for them often. When Carson was in high school (a few years after this photo), I once mentioned that I always wanted to learn how to weld and Carson heard that and quickly came up to me to tell me he’d be glad to teach me. When I see Carson again, I’m gonna take him up on that offer.

To Carson’s right is Riley. Riley and Carson were super close. Just a couple days ago after not seeing Riley (now a young adult) for quite a long time, he reached out to me to ask about our Young Adult Community Group. Understandably, Riley is wrestling with losing his friend Carson, and quite frankly, as everyone does, needs spiritual community in order to help the healing process. I’m excited to get reconnected with my friend Riley.

Front row, center is Cassie (holding the green bottle). Cassie graduates high school this year. I’m so so so proud of how Cassie has loved her friends and boldly lived her faith on her high school campus. God has used her life powerfully to impact the lives of so many other teenagers. Cassie even invited me a few times throughout her high school years to come to her school and speak at the FCA club she helps lead. I don’t know if you know this, but for a youth pastor to be invited by one of your students to interact with their “world” at high school…well, that’s a HUGE deal. I love Cassie so dearly and can’t wait to see what God does with this young woman after high school. I also know that Cassie loved Carson dearly as well and that losing Carson created a huge wound in her heart. But Cassie has leaned on God’s love to help her heal. I’m so proud of her for that.

Far right, second row up is Ali. Ali is an amazing blessing to me today. Since middle school Ali has continued to grow in her own faith and walk with Jesus. Ali continues to reach out to her friends and high school campus so that more people can know how loved they are. I was so encouraged to learn a while back that Ali regularly hosts a devotional bible study in her home BEFORE school! Do you know how teenagers don’t generally like to get up any earlier than absolutely necessary? Ali has been gathering with other teenage girls for the purpose of sharing what God is doing in her life and encouraging them in their own faith. How amazing is that???

Yep, I could go through many more of these young people and tell you about more of them. But I hope I’ve given you enough to see why, when I saw this photo this morning, I just had to stop and process my thoughts about it. As a pastor to young people, I can certainly forget all the history I’ve lived through and the lives I’ve been impacted and shaped by. So the gut-punch was actually a good thing.

While I don’t know the specifics of every middle schooler in this photo in terms of where they are today in their faith walk with Jesus (different factors have taken some of them further from me than I’d like), I can say without hesitation that I love each of them and continue to pray for all of them. I haven’t shared about all the ones I could have, but rest assured that seeing this photo has brought me a deep sense of joy, emotion, and reminders that God is willing to use even me in the lives of others.

And for that I’m so very grateful.

The Stick God Carries

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You’ve likely heard the twenty-third psalm at some point in your life. Probably at a funeral. For some reason, it’s one of the greatest hits at funerals. Probably because it has the words “…valley of the shadow of death…” so we figure a funeral is a good place to put it.

It’s not that that’s not appropriate or true, but to relegate this powerful chapter to a spot at the end of life really does miss the point of what the psalmist is saying (singing) throughout this amazing chapter. And today I want to center in an often-overlooked and beautiful truth found tucked in the lines of these verses.

Here’s all of verse 4 of Psalm 23 (read the whole chapter sometime):

“Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.”

David (the author) was a shepherd himself, so he was well acquainted with the usefulness of the shepherd’s staff. A shepherd without a staff was…well…a ridiculous thought. Shepherds needed a staff like a baker needs a bowl, a policeman needs a pistol, a plumber needs a wrench, or a seamstress needs a needle. Absolutely essential.

But what you may not know is that the shepherd’s staff was used in two different ways. In order to understand this, we simply need to think about the love of the shepherd for the sheep of his flock.

Let’s look again at this line in verse 4: “your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”

So what is the shepherd carrying? Is it a rod, or is it a staff? The answer is yes. The stick the shepherd carried played two important roles: to protect and to correct. And so it is with the Good Shepherd. And so it is with God’s shepherding heart toward you right now.

The staff that a shepherd carried was used to protect his flock from predators. The length of the staff was useful in warding off whatever came the way of the flock. The shepherd would poke, swing, jab, and possibly even throw–whatever needed to be done to keep the enemy of the flock from having any way to get near to them.

Right now, in the heavenly realm, God the shepherd is warding off the attacks of the enemy. You, at times, might catch a glimpse of these protective movements, but I’d dare say that most of them are invisible to you and me. David’s acknowledgement of how God protects him ought to be a point at which we also acknowledge that God is at work in our lives, too. The business end of that staff is thwarting the attacks of your enemy on your behalf. The “rod” part of the staff was what we would normally understand as the end lowest to the ground; that end that touches the ground and would be nearest to any danger.

The other end of the staff was what we normally think of as the “crook” or the “hook”. It was very common for shepherd staff to have this bend in them for the sake of placing around the neck of a wayward sheep that starts to wander while the flock is moving along. It might also be used when a flock is feeding on a grassy place and a sheep isn’t paying much attention to the fact that they’re wandering off and into dangerous places. At those times, the shepherd’s hook was useful in corralling a sheep back in the direction of security. This would be the end of the stick that we’d imagine was closer to the shepherd’s head and shoulders, always ready for deployment in the direction of a sheep who’s headed into a direction different than what the shepherd desires.

So, sheep….what abaaaht you? (Sorry, I couldn’t resist.) Where do you see God’s protection in your life? Where do you see God’s desire for correction in your life? Can you recognize that God is working on your behalf to only allow into your life what would bring Him glory and what would ultimately be for your good growth? Can you recognize that God is lovingly corralling your heart toward His? Can you hear and recognize the voice of our Shepherd? Jesus Himself told us that those who know Him know, recognize, and follow His voice. Are you listening? Are you wandering? Are you pulling away? Are you trusting?

I’d love to hear your thoughts about this shepherd’s stick God carries for our good. Feel free to comment or reach out via email. As always, I’m grateful for anyone/everyone who takes the time to read these posts.

Redemptive Doubt

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Anyone who believes anything also doubts. Doubt is just a part of the package in this human experience. In terms of spiritual health, doubt plays a rather important part in helping growth and maturity happen. That’s what I want to kick around with you this time.

Doubt in your life had a genesis, a starting point…so where would you say it began? As we grow into pre-adolescence, our adolescent years, our young adulthood, and then into our older adult selves, doubt comes along for the ride.

The developmental process of the brain invariably impacts spiritual processing. It can’t not. As we learn and as our synnapses make stronger connections and forge new paths in our brain, we wrestle and struggle with things that we perhaps once held as absolute truth. Expressions like “What if…”, “I wonder…” and “Maybe not…” are peppered into our once-confirmed ideas of truth and reality.

What I’d like to do is to lay out a few of the places where we see doubt play a part in the Gospel story. And believe me, it definitely does. Let me take you first to the Mount of Olives where Jesus met with his disciples for the very last time before ascending into the clouds.

Read that again. Notice verse 17. We’re told, “They worshiped Him; but some doubted.” Hold up. This is the now risen Jesus. This is the man they have watched for three years, day in and day out. This is the man who they all saw walk on water. They watched Him raise people from the dead. They carried the baskets of leftovers from the miraculous feeding of the 5,000 men (and then another 4,000 soon after). This is the man they heard night and day teaching with “power and authority”. This is their Rabbi that they heard predict His own death on a cross, watched (and ran away from) His arrest, and saw Him being nailed to a Roman cross of crucifixion. This is the man they’ve spend forty or so days with post-resurrection. What do you mean “but some doubted”?!?

But that’s not even the most interesting part. What is astounding to me is that Jesus went full speed ahead on commissioning this group of disciples to carry out what we now refer to as “The Great Commission” found in Matt. 28:19-20. What I’m pointing out is that Jesus handed over the carrying on of His Kingdom on earth to a mixed-bag group of believers AND doubters. He could have (and maybe should have) said, “I’m not going anywhere until you can all prove to me that this Gospel is deeply rooted in your heart; that there’s not one shred of doubt within any of you, because the mission–MY MISSION–is far too important to just leave to a bunch of people who are still wondering if I’m the Son of God or not.”

So if you’re struggling with doubt, or ever have, you’re in the best company. The very disciples who Jesus spoke with face-to-face also wrestled with their own doubts. And yet, here we are. Anyone who claims to follow Jesus today can trace their spiritual lineage to one of those disciples on that mountain, staring up into the clouds while the man some of them doubted was God literally ascended into the sky.

Let’s look at another example of doubt in the Gospels and what we can learn…

I won’t launch into a deep-dive exegesis of this passage as I have done in the past. I’ll just point you to this particular verse that comes at the end of the account where we’re told about Jesus’ very first public miracle–one that he was actually completely reluctant to perform. But alas, Mary gave us the very first historical record we have of a Mom pulling the “Mom Card”. We find verse 11 at the tail end of this passage about this wedding in Cana. Notice what it says: “And his disciples believed in Him.”

What were they doing before the water-to-wine miracle? Can we rightly infer that there was less than “belief” in Jesus before that first miracle? It seems they were still kind of “kicking the tires” of this alleged Messiah before that point. Seems like perhaps some of them were not completely sold out in terms of their faith in Jesus.

Okay, one more…

I think Thomas gets way too much heat for this statement. Let’s be real. Dude was only saying what everyone else was thinking. You probably have a friend like that. And what you like about that friend is that you never have to guess where they stand on stuff. Thomas was adamant about his faith. He wasn’t just gonna roll over and put faith where facts go. Nah man, nah. Not Thomas.

But look at where “Doubting Thomas” ended up. Some 3,000 miles away from that mountain where Jesus left him, we find Thomas carrying the Gospel message to the people of India and Turkey, and eventually we find Thomas meeting the end of a spear as a martyr for the Gospel message and the very Jesus that he insisted on seeing for himself. Thomas grew into full faith because he was willing to be real about his doubts.

So even if you’ve got doubt in your story, you’ve got usefulness in God’s story.

Doubts play a redemptive role in our faith. Doubts give us the opportunity to have our convictions tested and proven. Doubts indicate places where we can dig in, ask questions, and find that Jesus really is who He said He was all along. Don’t downplay doubts. Doubts aren’t the enemy of faith, but they can be the paralyzer of growth if left unexplored. Let your doubts show you where to dig next.

Fresh Start(s)

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We all have situations, relationships, or even seasons of time of our lives that we’d go back and do differently, if we could. Think about what situation or season that might be for you.

What is it about that situation that you look back on critically that would cause you to question how you handled it? Was it the outcome? Was it your attitude throughout? Is it that you now know things that you didn’t know then and therefore couldn’t act on? Was it something else altogether?

As a follower of Jesus and a pastor to boot, I am pretty consistently haunted (that word sounds ghoulish or negative, but stick with me while I hash it out) by the question: Is what/who the Church is today consistent with the desire of God’s heart for those who represent Him on earth?

I can almost hear you from here. I believe that we would collectively release a resounding “No.” as the Church universal. We all know that who we are and what we’re doing and the silly ways we can get sidetracked, making some non-essentials into the hill(s) we die on–well, it’s embarrassing.

So here at this moment in the history of the Church, we desire to and will, with God’s guidance and power, usher in a new start. And this new start will leave no thing untouched and unaffected, except for the Gospel itself. We step forward with no grip on what was in terms of tradition, preconceptions, personal preferences, or rhythms that at one point started with fervor yet have deteriorated into rote and nearly meaningless religion or even religious monotony.

The prophet Isaiah spoke these words that I fear apply to far too many church-goers: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.
Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.” (29:13)

For those who don’t know, just this month I have officially started a new pastoral role at the local church I have served at for over twenty years. Along with being Pastor to Young Adults, I am now also Director of Discipleship. You better believe that the question “Are we even making disciples at all?” is at the top of the long list of questions that I’m asking in this new role.

Lest you think that question is too dire or drips with doubt, let me assure you that the question is exactly as it should be: teetering on the edge of being an indictment. Unless we ask this question as the Church, we are in full danger of neglecting and failing at literally the ONE THING Jesus told us to be about before He ascended into heaven where He, like us, awaits His return.

Just as this question must be asked on a wide-spread level, it must also be asked on the personal level. There will be no greater anguish than for us to reach the end of our time and realize that we completely missed the point. Regardless of the pain involved, we must face the question. I’m doing that in my local ministry context as a pastor, and I’m also doing it in my own heart as a person.

Here’s the rub: Have you ever played “the floor is lava”? It’s a childhood game (there’s actually a television game show for adults based on the same premise) wherein as long as you’re up off the floor, you’re safe. But let one little pinky toe touch the ground, and you’re burned up and out of the game.

In a way, we are all playing this game spiritually. We’re locked in and fearful of moving freely because we have grown so accustomed to what has been that what could be seems more terrifying than exhilarating.

But what would a fresh start in your spiritual walk with Jesus look like? What would cracking open and discarding the shell of religious activity look like? What would introducing zeal and fervor look like? What would a life set ablaze with the power of the Holy Spirit look like? What does a neglect of all silly and shallow distractions in favor of a full-bodied, full-life surrender and pursuit of Kingdom purposes look like? What does a day-to-day existence that embraces and insists on making disciples look like? What does it look like to consider your vocation and career not the point of it all, but the fuel and context in which God is calling you to make more disciples?

God helping me as a person and as a pastor, and God helping us as a local church and as the Church universal, there is a fresh start emerging. We are putting away those stale traditions that have eased us into ambivalence toward the Mission, and we are welcoming God’s refining gaze to guide us into the new approach to disciple-making that our world today calls for.

A Kingdom of Questions

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Read the gospels. Jesus asked far more questions than He provided answers. The critical role questions play in our faith development and in the discipleship and disciple-making path, cannot be overstated.

I’ve been a pastor to teenagers and young people for over three decades. I have always (and will always) seek to cultivate an environment where questions are celebrated rather than suppressed. The cancer that eats away at young faith in a young person’s life is not doubt, but the absence of any genuine place to process those doubts. Church, shame on us if we do not allow, invite, and encourage the hard questions being asked.

It is a distinctly American thing for us to uphold a facade that would portray us as well-answered, put-together people; even followers of Jesus do this. Perhaps unwittingly, this desire to be seen as stable in faith causes the erosion of an atmosphere where questions are explored.

In essence, we’ve hung a “Closed” sign on the laboratory door.

How now do we reverse this reality?

First, we confess what should be obvious. That not one of us–from pauper to Pope–has every answer to every question of faith, God, spirituality, the Bible, or how to live the gospel effectively and redemptively.

And that confession should cultivate humility. Even while there are those with understandings and experiences that afford them the role of sherpa in others’ lives, there still remains a deep humility that drives every person to the posture of a student. This mindset reflects the expression we get from theologian Gerhardus Vos: that we do live in an “already and not yet” reality of God’s Kingdom.

Next step, we articulate the gut-level questions we have. Yours will be different than mine. And when we do that, we reject pithy, theoretical responses that try to put a bandaid over a gaping hole. “What kind of a God would watch a 22-month-old toddler get out a backdoor of their caretaker’s home unnoticed, make their way across several neighbors’ yards, and then watch them fall into a small decorative yard pond and drown?” That’s just ONE of my questions.

Write down every question about pain, faith, God’s character, scripture, heaven, hell, doubt–anything your heart is holding onto.

Lastly, utilize that list of questions (as ever-expanding as it may be) into your personal map toward growth. Seek. Explore. Ask. Wonder. Take the next hill. Cultivate a heart that embraces “I don’t know” just as readily as it embraces “I am convinced.”

Early in Jesus’ public ministry He began to call disciples to follow Him. This caught the attention of a couple of John’s disciples who would-be followers of Jesus. But first a couple questions needed to be exchanged…

Jesus (seeing them following): “What do you want?”

Two disciples (one of them was Andrew): “Where are you staying?”

If you’ll notice, every relationship begins with questions. The fallacy is that healthy relationships don’t have or need questions. That somehow we no longer have need for wonder or exploration once we know someone. I’d submit to you that the opposite is actually true. The more you know someone, the more we should: 1) rest in confidence of knowing and being known and 2) seek to know more because that confidence creates a safe place where more questions are welcomed.

In its correct form, the Kingdom of God is a Kingdom of questions. Taking a posture of a student hungry to learn, grow, and change more into the image of their first love and Master will also transform our view on worship, including how we gather together. Can you even imagine what it would look like this coming Sunday morning if everyone who was present was a true explorer, an excited participant in their own faith journey, and truly reveling in the wonder of a God who can be known now and yet not fully known?

I have used this analogy before, so forgive me if it’s a repeat for you long-time readers. I view myself as standing on a beach, my feet in the water as the waves lap up on the shore. I’ve got a ladle in my hand, and I’m sipping from it. I understand and am fully okay with the fact that all my life, I will never drink that whole ladle. And I’m at peace knowing there is an ocean of water in front of me that won’t ever be touched by that ladle.

This is how I view my questions and my doubts. I will continue to sip, seek, ask, wonder, and explore. Yet I know that I can’t know the expanse of all of who God is. One of my favorite verses in terms of this peaceful pursuit is Romans 11:33:

“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how unfathomable his ways!” (New English Translation)

Why Church, why have we allowed ourselves to become tidy, buttoned-up, satisfied recipients of the only life-altering truth and yet stopped there? Why have we turned into guardians of truth and not champions of exploration? A young generation is under the impression that there is little to no place for questions in a life of faith. Let’s reverse this as soon as possible.

After all, the words “question” and “quest” share the same Latin root: quaerere. Both mean “to ask/seek.” In other words, every question invites us on a quest. So take those questions, grab the map they create, and move forward in a faith that celebrates question marks as much as exclamation points!

No, Follow ME.

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By the time I was a teenager, I had learned that my human tendency is steeply inclined toward selfishness. Any given decision that was being made was generally decided by asking a simple question: “What’s best for me in this situation?”

Living by this criterion of what was best for me turned out to be–and I don’t say this lightly–the very worst way to live a life. A subsequent truth I’ve learned is that my two shoulders were never meant to bear the load of my own life, my own desires, my own priorities, or my own prerogatives. In other words, I was never meant to be the center of my own life. And neither were you. It’s not surprising, however, that so many people try and make that kind of life work. We try and establish ourselves as the centerpiece, then seek to orient all other details, assets, career decisions, and relationships in a tidy orbit around us. It’s so very common, but just as commonly ill-fated.

I got off-center in June of 1991 at the age of 17. After a disastrously tumultuous season of making absolutely terrible decisions and proving without question that when I’m in charge things go very badly, I was found by Jesus in a field in Altoona, PA. I was shattered and broken in every way when Jesus laid his hand on my shoulder and invited me to be made new and to begin to walk with Him. Essentially His simple invitation was an echo of the invitation He gave to so many people 2,000 or so years ago and has given to millions upon millions since: “Follow me.” And I did. I stood up in that field, and took my first steps of true faith, going for a walk that I’m still on today.

For the past 35 years, I’ve been on a walk with Jesus. That’s probably the best way to describe my life. But I want to tell you about a pitfall that I’ve discovered on this walk I’ve been on. It’s actually something I’d be embarrassed to confess this to you if I had any pride left. But I’ve already told you enough about myself to easily shake off that nonsense. I won’t let pride stop me from sharing something with you that might be helpful, even if it makes me look foolish.

There have been times when I have taken the “Follow me” invitation of Jesus and turned it on Him. There have been times when I’ve allowed my distracted heart or what amounted to a relapse into self-centeredness to actually cause me to turn to Jesus and say, “No, YOU follow ME.”

It happens subtly. In fact, it can happen most easily when I don’t intentionally and aggressively recognize Jesus’ Lordship in my life. When Jesus’ Lordship goes unrecognized, it goes unlived. And guess who is the only other possible throne dweller? Me. So when I don’t actively and daily respond to Jesus’ invitation to follow Him, then I, almost by default, am inviting Him to follow me.

I’m not a numbers guy, but I do think it’s interesting that in the recorded gospels, Jesus uttered the words “Follow me” 21 times. And if you know anything about human habits, you’ve likely heard that it is around the 21-day mark that a behavior starts to become a habit. So let me make a suggestion that might seem silly. For the next 21 days, make a statement out loud (as in actually speak it) to Jesus that “I’m following YOU today.” Or feel free to tweak or modify that statement; anything that allows your heart to acknowledge who’s leading and who’s following.

As you go through those 21 days, reach out to me and let me know what you notice about yourself, about Jesus, and about your daily life of following Him.

———————————————————————————————–

BONUS:

On January 5, 2025, the good folks at Southside Church are receiving a 21-day devotional book I’ve written called “Rock Solid Living.” I’d love for you to join in with us, and if you don’t have a church home, I’d love to meet you there each week. I’ve never tried to connect my personal blog to any local church, let alone the one I happen to serve at, but today’s blog post seems like a good opportunity to extend that invitation.

BONUS BONUS:

This audio recording is a time machine of sorts. This is the actual recording of the message I heard in that field in Altoona, PA in 1991. It was at the end of this message that I responded and truly accepted Jesus’ invitation to “Follow me.”

By the numbers….when Creation Festival came to a close in 2023…

115,000 people chose to follow Christ as their Savior. 

 16,000+ people have been water baptized at the festival. 

 2.1 million have attended and worshiped our Creator together. 

 43,000 people have served the festival, many for a decade or more. 

 43,000+ children have been rescued from poverty through Compassion International and other child sponsorship programs.

Why I’m Choosing Love

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If you know me, you know I’m a man in love. Deeply. In. Love.

My wife is, quite simply, the perfect human being for me. I’m convinced that God custom-made this woman to fill in and complement every one of my shortcomings–and there are many. I’m completely and forever in love with her. If you know her, you see clearly that we are a matched set.

Lest you think I’m about to droll on and on, dripping with sap about how much I love my wife, I promise you I am not. I actually want to turn my attention to Jesus, and Him alone. And I invite you to hear the expressions of my thoughts and heart for the man I call my best friend, my Savior, my heart’s affection, and the One I choose to follow/walk with. But before I do, I believe the greatest quality my wife has is that she would absolutely want me to tell you that it’s Jesus who makes our marriage work. He’s it.

But first a quick diversion. My life revolves around ministering with young people. Ever since I was a young person myself, I have known that my life would be aimed at the young generation, and loving them well, showing them Jesus, and being available for them for…well…whatever.

Living rooms, hospital rooms, waiting rooms, courtrooms, backs of squad cars, funerals, jail cells…I’ve been everywhere seeking to love young people well.

In all honesty, I have nothing to offer any young person but Jesus. He is it. I don’t have life hacks, deep wisdom, tricks to help smooth out life’s road, or anything else. I only have and I only offer Jesus.

So you can perhaps imagine my surprise and concern when I recently found that some young people I interact with struggled to articulate much at all about who Jesus is and why they, too, love Him.

Seems like for someone who is in the context of a thriving spiritual community, such a thing should flow naturally. But it seems there’s work to do in this area. Yet, I cannot expect anything from them that I am not able and willing to do myself. So, this blog is about exercising the discipline of articulation. I’m going to articulate to you why I choose to love and more specifically, who I know Jesus to be and why I am now and–God helping me–will for all my days fix my gaze on Jesus.

If anyone from my high school days ever reads these words, I must apologize to you. I did not live as I should have lived in those days. I did not express my faith well; it was there, but it was not on display as it should have been. I hope you’ll forgive me for that. I should have been clearer. This isn’t about my upbringing as a “PK” (pastor’s kid), it isn’t about church attendance, and it isn’t about “religion.” I put no stock in any of those things.

This is about the person of Jesus: who He has been from the beginning, who He revealed Himself to be in the gospel accounts we all have access to, and who He is to me personally right now on a daily basis.

I want to do my best to paint a picture for you. I trust that then you’ll clearly see why I choose to love Him.

You can read other blog posts of mine that go into the granular details of my upbringing and my faith story. There are lots of details you can find in other writings I’ve already posted. So I won’t repeat myself in that regard.

Jesus is the fullness of God, who chose to be constrained to a human frame. God chose to become flesh in order to communicate the greatest love for humanity (that’s all of us) that He possibly could. Jesus came to us because we could never get to Him. The mission of Jesus from the very start has been to come and get us. To rescue us. To redeem us. To adopt us. To draw us back to Him, as He has desired all along.

The person of Jesus is the image of a God who would stop at nothing to have us in a loving relationship with Himself. I love Jesus because He is God, but also because He is a walking, talking, sharing, healing, and reviving God. I live and breathe at this moment because of the presence of God. This is not a poetic or romantic statement, though it is that as well. It is a statement of fact. My conviction is that I am alive because God has desired it. I am breathing and functioning because of His good grace. My whole self is wrapped up in Jesus because Jesus has shown Himself to be the author and sustainer of all I am and all I have.

Going deeper, this God has come to me personally. In the depths of my sin, He came to me in this relentless pursuit that was fueled by His love for me. Though I disregarded His love and chose to live selfishly, still He came for me and came after Me. He found me in my self-inflicted mess and invited me to be whole, to be healed, and to be changed day by day as I walk with Him. I have found no other solid ground to stand on because every other thought and belief system would be based on what I can do, and I confess that I can do nothing good on my own. If you are reading these words and you believe you are fine on your own and do not need Him, then know that while He loves you with an everlasting love, His love also gives each person their own decision to embrace Him or go on without Him. But as for me, I choose Jesus. He looked for me, He found me, He healed me (still is), He transformed me (still is), He adopted me, and He is patient with me.

I talk with Jesus. In this talking, our relationship grows stronger. That’s how relationships work. If you want to grow closer to someone, you talk to them, and you listen to them. I have become convinced that it is this ongoing conversation that gives me a healthy perspective on all other aspects of my life. Likewise, when our conversation wanes, all other aspects of my life begin to become misprioritized and mishandled. Simply put, my conversation with Jesus sets all other things in their proper place.

I choose to love Jesus not because I was given some insider information by virtue of being brought up in a Christian (let alone as a pastor’s) home. It’s not because I went to enough bible studies and learned enough information. It’s not because of some unfair advantage life handed me. No. None of that. I choose to love Jesus because He first loved me. He proved that love by painfully accepting the death that my own sin demanded. He took on my death in my place. What greater love exists than that?

I know Jesus as a friend because He continually shows me more of who He is. I enjoy a familiarity with Jesus because we have walked together for so long, but along with that comfort, there is equal part wonder and curiosity that is built into our friendship. I know that I’ll never know the depths of who Jesus is, and I revel in that mystery. I love Jesus because there is no end to what I can know of Him.

Jesus is the very embodiment of the love of God. I am drawn to belief in Him, to friendship with Him, and to journeying life’s road following Him. I honestly believe that apart from Jesus I could do and would be nothing. Again, if you are living a fine life apart from Him and believe that you are able to continue that, by all means go ahead. As for me, I’m a broken and helpless sinner in desperate need of a Savior. He is the Savior of my world. I know that for me, I am prone to decisions that are selfish and destructive. I need someone greater and higher to be Lord of my life. He is my Lord and He has given me wisdom, peace, and direction. He has saved me from devastating decisions time and again. Left to myself, I’d drive this life into a ditch or off a cliff. With Jesus in control, I have nothing to fear. With Jesus my Lord guiding me, I am free from all anxiety. That’s why I trust Him. That’s why I love Him.

What I want for you is that you would know Him, too. In fact, I’d love nothing more than for you to know Him even more than I do. Whether you or anyone else (and I know millions do) choose to love Him, I simply cannot turn away from Him. I’m far too convinced of His presence, His goodness, His faithfulness, and His grace. This is who Jesus is to me and this is why I choose to love Him.