The Truth Is...

The truth is, the truth actually frightens me.

A Work of Art

God, provide a way

God, open a door

God, make a strait path

God, make a clear sky

God, Make calm seas

My soul aches for change.

My mind yearns for control.

My heart pains for peace.

God, with your spirit calm the seas.

God, with your wisdom humble your servant.

God, with your healing make me whole.

You, Father, are the artist.

You, Lord, are the instrument.

You, Spirit, are the music.

Together, You have made a masterpiece.

Question:

How often do you truly feel like you are opposed by the truth?

Psalm 37: 4-7

"Delight yourself in the LORD

and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the LORD;

trust in him and he will do this:

He will make your righteousness shine

like the dawn

the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

Be still before the LORD and wait

patiently for him;

do not fret when men succeed in their ways

when they carry out their wicked schemes."

I fear that I have not "delighted myself in the Lord" as I should have. I fear that I have not been obedient to his call. I feel like I have been running from something, but I cannot put a name on what it is I am running from. I need more time. I need more energy. I need a mustard seed...

There is a silver lining...

GOD IS STILL GOD...AND I AM NOT!

"The Body"

1 Corinthians 12: 12-13 - "The Body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many they form one body. So it is with Christ. For we are all baptized by one Spirit into one body-whether Jews or Greeks, Slave or Free-and we were all given the one Spirit to drink."


In America, it is very difficult for us to understand what it means to actually be ruled by a King. We, as a Democratic Republic (not a true democracy) are governed by a set of guidelines that allow us a choice in the workings of those who govern.

In God's Kingdom, there is no such thing as a Democratic vote. As Jesus Christ is the head of our "body," the decisions he makes are the decisions that stand.

However, we do have a choice to make. It is the same choice as the one set before us in the Garden of Eden. Do we chose to allow God to lead us? Or do we choose to be completely autonomous from God?

When we chose to be autonomous, we choose to enter into a slavery that will eat us alive. When we focus on our selves, and focus on the things that "we" want, we will end up in a bad place. Look at our American values. You can argue all day long that the founding fathers based our moral code on Christian values, but whether or not they did or they didn't, the very idea that EVERY man or woman can make their own destiny is counter to the way that Christ set out for us.

I do not claim to say that we live in a great country of freedom from oppression (for now) or that I do not love this great country of ours, however, when it comes to my Christian beliefs, my allegiance lies to the one true God. The Triune God. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

On the flip side of the coin, when we chose to allow God to reign over our lives, our decisions become clear. When we accept the calling that God has for us, doors open. Other than marrying my wife, the two easiest decisions I have ever made were to come to Fredericksburg, and to start seminary. For years I had struggled with my calling, but now I understand that these are the places that I need to be.

When we think about the Body of Christ, it is key to understand that WE are not the head of that body. When Paul is describing the body, he uses the analogies of the hands, the feet, the eyes and ears. All essential parts to the body. However, earlier on in Jesus' teachings, we read that if your hand causes you to sin, chop it off...or if you eye causes you to sin gouge it out. OUCH! The body can live without a hand, and without an eye, but the body cannot survive without Jesus Christ.

So it is with this thought that I leave you. Think about the ONE decision you really have to make. Think about the consequences of both sides (EVERY decision has consequences).

Who is the head of your life?

Bryan

Rock the Desert

How often do you get to say that you were able to worship God underneath the stars in the middle of the desert in Texas? If you're me...you can only say you have done it once.

This past weekend, I was able to take 11 of my students and two of my adults (1 parent) on a 5.5 hour journey into the heart of the Permian Basin. We left as close to 8:00 as we could...about 8:10...and made our way through west Texas. We arrived in Midland and went straight to First United Methodist Church of Midland. FUMC Midland is very nice and their staff are very hospitable. As a youth group, we had the whole basement to ourselves. They had a game room, as well as Sunday School rooms which doubled as our bedrooms for the two nights.

After getting settled and looking around for things to do...we pulled out the sandwich stuff and made sandwiches for lunch. We figured we would save a little money by doing this, and it seemed to work out quite nicely. Once we were fed, we began to pack the van with our equipment for the day. Chairs and coolers.

After fighting our way through traffic we made our way to the spot we would call "Home Base" for the concert. Bands were already playing and people were already getting crazy. A couple of my students and I went to the front of the concert area, and rocked out with Kutless. That is a very talented and down to earth group. That was alot of fun. They were my favorite band the whole weekend.

The rest of the day was good and fun, but nothing really stood out to me to talk about.

The next day was pretty similar to the Friday until Chris Tomlin came out to lead us in Worship. I though that was amazing. Here he is, pretty famous for writing songs to worship God, and here we were being lead in worship. Not just listening to a concert. This concept is not new to me, however, it was just a fantastic experience. God was truly present there.

Being out and exposed to the elements of the desert, I believe I got a piece of how wonderful and spectacular God is. How, Indescribable, and incredible he is. I know that I desire to fall to my knees and humbly proclaim that He is Amazing God.

I am very happy that I got to spend another weekend with my students. I have some pretty crazy kids...but I loved every minute of it.

So until, another time, and another place...Don't forget to look up in to the stars and look into the eyes of God and worship Him. All weight will be lifted off of your shoulders and God will carry you home.

In the name of the Father, the Son and Holy Spirit,

Amen

B-Rog

Church Under The Bridge

Church Under the Bridge

This past weekend, I and 4 other people from our church drove an hour and a half to Austin, Texas where we were able to take part in a ministry outreach program known as “Church Under the Bridge (C.U.B.).” Out of those of us who went, there were two of us that had never experienced C.U.B. before. For me, this trip was way out of my comfort zone.

When we arrived at the park and ride area underneath the Interstate 35 bridge between 6^th and 7^th streets, I was amazed to see the amount of people that were gathering. Some were very helpful in telling us where to go for the service and others kept to themselves. One of the ladies noticed our big white van with the words “Fredericksburg United Methodist Church” on the side and assumed we were there for the service. So she, very kindly, pointed us in the direction of where we were supposed to go. I didn’t know much about this lady, but she looked older and very acquainted with the area.

We finally parked the van and proceeded to put our stuff away in the van, and at this point, I am feeling a little nervous. I had to jump back in the van to get something out, and did so quickly. However, when I jumped out of the van, the key (which was in my pocket) fell out into the seat. Not knowing that it fell out, I locked the doors and walked away. As we began to move further away from the van, I check my pockets one more time, and realized I did not have the key to the van in my possession. Normally this would freak me out, but for some reason, I stayed calm and we continued on our way. We had to call “Pop-A-Lock” to come down and open the van, which took all of 30 seconds.

After the van was taken care of, we were able to continue working. When we met up with the worship leaders, they prayed over our group and sent us to our stations. Eli and I went to the prayer tent, and Michelle, Misael and Cody went to the serving line to hand out drinks. While I was in the prayer tent, I had some amazing experiences. It’s not every day that I am able to pray over people. To see people being blessed and being comforted by the words that God had placed in my mouth to say was pretty spectacular. This experience, even though mostly good, is something that I don’t think I could do on a regular basis. I know that God has it placed on my heart to feed his sheep.

A lot of these people that we minister to are hurting. In fact, the majority are. However, when they are prayed for, or someone takes the time to talk with them and be with them, even for a short while, the love of Christ transforms them and gives them hope for a future.

Matthew 25: 40

⁴⁰"The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.'

God is amazing! Christ has Risen! Let’s share what that means and how exciting that is with the rest of the world!!!!

Writing

Well, it has been a total of 5 weeks since I have started on this journey known as full time youth ministry. My mother would argue with me and say that I have been doing youth ministry for years now, and to some extent she may be right. However, until the 14th of June, 2009, I have never been paid for it...at least in monetary value.

I have been sitting here for the last 15 minutes listening to some music (Idina Menzel - Just a calming and soothing voice) trying to figure out what I want to write about. I hate times like this. My heart for some reason wants to write something, but my mind just can't push the words out. I feel as though my heart is full of amazing ideas and thoughts (interesting concept; the heart having thoughts...) but I am conflicted. So I figured I would just start writing things down, and figured something would come out.

It is hard to believe that it has been 5 weeks. God has blessed me with some great students. Not to mention, there are some amazing people that work here with me at the church. They are very encouraging and thoughtful.

Last week was the best week so far. I got to go to U.M.A.R.M.Y. It was an interesting experience. Having never been to a U.M.A.R.M.Y. I wasn't sure what to expect. God was definitely present there during the week. I will be honest, I was somewhat frustrated with some of the logistics, as well as I wasn't on a work team, but I know that I was right where I was supposed to be for the week. I worked on program staff and we got to go to all the job sites and see the kids in action. As far as I'm concerned that is one of the best jobs in camp.

We get to plan how worship will look as well as just hang out with the kids. That was the major focus for me this week. It was so awesome to be able to spend some time with my guys and girls. I learned so much about ministry this last week. (I know mom..."I told you so.")

Ministry is so much more about relationships than anything else. If you think about it, that is what God wants with us; a relationship. He doesn't care about how much we do or don't know. I think the most amazing thing about God is He is so mysterious and wonderful. He has everything under control and just wants us to Love Him and Love each other. It's so simple and yet God is so complicated. So much so, it hurts to think about it sometimes. Other times it's just plain funny.

God amazes me with His ability to take a situation and make it something that we can learn from. Not to mention if we just let go of our pride and our selfishness things just so happen to work themselves out. Now, that doesn't mean it's all up to chance. What I mean by that is God just wants to know that we are fully invested in our relationship with Him.

So the point I am trying to convey is that God is FANTASTIC! Better yet....GOD IS!

Just remember that I love you because God loves me. With out God, there is no love, and without Love there is no life.

IN CHRIST!

B-ROG

Worship

wor⋅ship

–noun

1.reverent honor and homage paid to God or a sacred personage, or to any object regarded as sacred.

2.formal or ceremonious rendering of such honor and homage: They attended worship this morning.

3.adoring reverence or regard: excessive worship of business success.

4.the object of adoring reverence or regard.

5.(initial capital letter) British. a title of honor used in addressing or mentioning certain magistrates and others of high rank or station (usually prec. by Your, His, or Her).


Here's another word Study for you. What do you think of when you hear the word Worship? When I think of worship, the idea of complete submission to God comes to mind.

I started reading a book last night entitled "To Busy Not to Pray" by Bill Hybels. I haven't read very far, but what I have read really makes sense. In the first chapter he writes about how praying to go goes against all that is human. As human beings we try so hard to "go it alone" and not put our trust in God to allow His power to flow through us. However, when we submit to His amazing power and let it flow through us, the world takes on a different shade. I believe there is a HUGE connection between the two; that is worship and prayer. The idea that a complete submission is involved in both. Like prayer, in order to worship fully we have to push our flesh aside and really allow the spirit to work within us. In order to make the connection with God we MUST die to ourselves and live in and with Christ.

A few months ago, I had a vision while I was worshiping at Life Church in Bryan, TX. It was just a normal Sunday (or so I thought). The idea of waking up early for church on Sunday has never really excited me, and this day wasn't any different (Even if church didn't start until 10:30). I strolled in at my usual time at 10:35 and made my way to my seat next to my friends who were already in the middle of worship. I remember feeling as though I was out of place and I wasn't feeling all that great about it. But I proceeded to file my way in to the middle seat. As the band played a few good songs, I remember thinking to myself: 'I want to try something different." At that moment I started to pray that God give me peace and let me just enjoy the music and worship Him at the same time. To this day, I honestly cannot tell you the name of the song that we were singing, and honestly I don't think it matters. I remember seeing a flash of light and hearing thunder almost immediately afterward. (For those of you who know me, I LOVE THUNDERSTORMS). Then it started to rain. I remember feeling wet as if I were standing in the middle of a torrential downpour in the middle of the sanctuary. And then I heard the music. All at once the sound was concentrated in one direction and so loud and pronounced I was sure people could hear us next door in the H.E.B. I remember feeling like my body was straining as if I were so excited to be where I was. This feeling was so intense I remember starting to cry. God was truly there in that place with me.

When it was over, I remember thinking: "Lets do that again!" The interesting part of that thought is, I truly believe that I will get to do that again. That was the closest view of heaven I think I have ever had and it was phenomenal. God's power and grace all wrapped in one thunderstorm of praise. HALLELUJAH!

So when you think of worship, I hope and pray to God that you get to experience what I have experienced. I hope it means more to you than just a definition and that you are truly blessed by your experience. I know that I will never forget mine.

In Christ!

B-ROG

Church

What do you think of when I say the word "Church?" Does that word scare you? Does it even peak your interest? Chances are, you probably don't even think about it. I know I rarely do. If someone tells me they are going to church, it doesn't even register, and honestly it may not even register in their mind. Why is that? I think it is because "church" is something we take for granted. As "Christian Americans" we are able to go to church whenever we want, for as long as we want, and as often (or little) as we want. A lot of times I fear we don't put very much thought into it. I don't believe that is what Jesus intended.

When the early church started, it was comprised of small groups of individuals who met, broke bread and worshiped the God of Jacob. They discussed their faults and helped to keep each other accountable for their actions. They also praised God together for their blessings and gifts. Many times in the letters that Paul wrote, he made sure that those he was writing to were being held accountable for their sins and reiterated the grace and love that can only come through Christ. When they broke bread together (just like us good Methodists...lol) they not only did so for the nourishment of their bodies, but the nourishment of their souls. During the last supper, Christ made it clear that only though Him and his blood could one gain the salvation needed to be in complete communion/community with God. But Jesus didn't only talk about "breaking bread" during His last meal.

In Matthew 14: 19, Jesus is getting ready to feed the 5,000. At this point the disciples are frustrated and worried that they will not be able to feed such a large crowd. But Jesus refused to let them go hungry.

"And He directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then He gave them to the disciples and the disciples gave them to the people." (Matthew 14:19 NIV)

I believe this part of the Gospel is one of the first instances where the church is sent to action. Jesus not only performed a miracle, but He made it so that all of his disciples were a part of it. Jesus, from the beginning was making it clear that He wanted us involved in His plan.

The idea of Church is not just a praise band, or a choir on a stage every Sunday at 8:30, 9:45, and 11:00 with people "participating" in a worship service. But in all reality it is God people getting their hands dirty and making sure they world can take part in Christ's body. Christ tells us in the Great Commission:
"All authority in heaven has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. (Matthew 28: 18-20 NIV)

Hallelujah!

So...Do you want to go to church? Or do you want to BE the church? It's your decision.

Amen.