I'm reminded of a prayer one of my mentors shared with me two years ago, "God make me into the man who people already see me to be." Hearing him say this deepened my respect for him. Obviously he doesn't feel that he is the man I see him to be, the humility he has is something I strive to live with.
I read last week in Proverbs a verse that reminded me so much of what I strive to be. "Many a man proclaims his own loyalty, but who can find a trustworthy man? A righteous man who walks in his integrity -- how blessed are his sons after him." Proverbs 20.6-7.
I want to be a trustworthy man, not a man who simply claims to be loyal, but a man who lives with integrity, who walks in righteousness, who sets an example with his actions.
I was watching Gladiator a few weeks ago and finally realized how much of a man Maximus is. The Emperor of Rome, the most powerful person in the world, has just killed his father in order to secure his position as emperor. Maximus knows that the former emperor was killed, despite the reports that he died of natural causes. In the scene the new emperor says to him, "Your emperor asks for your loyalty Maximus. Take my hand, I only offer it once." Maximus turns, stares him down, and without saying a word walks out.
As I watched that I was like, "God give me the guts to do that, more than that give me an opportunity to do something like that." I think that is the type of man who every man desires to be like, we might not all admit it, but deep down I think that is who we are as men.
I hear people say things about me, and I have the same response as my mentor, "God make me that man, the one they already see."
Monday, June 28, 2010
Sunday, June 20, 2010
The Men who built me up
Yesterday a friend asked me who the most influential person in my life was, my answer, I honestly can't pick just one. I mentioned the five women who I wrote about on Mother's Day, and today, Father's Day, I want to honor the men who made me who I am, and am becoming.
Theodore Roosevelt has a quote that I absolutely love, and it's a quote I've read a lot over the last few months.
"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."
People have tried to tear me down, they have been critical, watching for me to stumble, waiting for me to make a mistake, and honestly it happens, more often than I'd like most likely. But the thing that I'm reminded of is that their opinion doesn't matter. The boys who try and tear me down can never succeed because there are nothing compared to the men who built me up.
There are far too many and they have done way too much for me to name the things they have done for me, so this will be a simple list of names, but they are the names of men I hold in very high esteem.
Dad
Gramps
My Mentors:
Jeremy Thompson
Doug Boquist
Brad Taylor
Rick Duncan
Brian Howell
My Professors:
Terrell Sanders
Bruce Petersen
Doug Matthews
Rick Williamson
Alex Varughese
John Nielson
Bruce Oldham
Other Men:
Matt Koons
Terry McConnell
Deke Gunsolley
Scott Peterson
Travis Keller
My Brothers:
Aaron Ballard
Zach Stalnaker
Joe Pittenger
Donny Widney
Jeremy Wachtel
Matt Freeman
Kenny Harris
Tyrome Turner
Mike Rodden
Steb Stott
I wouldn't be who I am without you. You have all taught me, guided me, and stood by me no matter what. I love you all so much. Thank you for building me into who I am.
Theodore Roosevelt has a quote that I absolutely love, and it's a quote I've read a lot over the last few months.
"It is not the critic who counts: not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error or shortcoming, but who knows the great enthusiasms, the great devotions, who spends himself for a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows, in the end, the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least he fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who knew neither victory nor defeat."
People have tried to tear me down, they have been critical, watching for me to stumble, waiting for me to make a mistake, and honestly it happens, more often than I'd like most likely. But the thing that I'm reminded of is that their opinion doesn't matter. The boys who try and tear me down can never succeed because there are nothing compared to the men who built me up.
There are far too many and they have done way too much for me to name the things they have done for me, so this will be a simple list of names, but they are the names of men I hold in very high esteem.
Dad
Gramps
My Mentors:
Jeremy Thompson
Doug Boquist
Brad Taylor
Rick Duncan
Brian Howell
My Professors:
Terrell Sanders
Bruce Petersen
Doug Matthews
Rick Williamson
Alex Varughese
John Nielson
Bruce Oldham
Other Men:
Matt Koons
Terry McConnell
Deke Gunsolley
Scott Peterson
Travis Keller
My Brothers:
Aaron Ballard
Zach Stalnaker
Joe Pittenger
Donny Widney
Jeremy Wachtel
Matt Freeman
Kenny Harris
Tyrome Turner
Mike Rodden
Steb Stott
I wouldn't be who I am without you. You have all taught me, guided me, and stood by me no matter what. I love you all so much. Thank you for building me into who I am.
Monday, June 14, 2010
Random Simplicity at 2:30 am
Whenever I'm tired and talking, either to myself or other people, strange random things come out of my mouth.
Last week I was driving home around 2:30 am, and I was replaying a conversation in my mind. During the conversation I had said something to the effect of "And that's why God made sharpies." Like I said, random things come out of my mouth. From there I just started talking to myself about other random things God had made: Zip lock bags, duct tape, orangutans, purple. And then a profound thought hit me, God made purple!
God made purple, more than that, God made color, He invented it. In His infinitely creative mind God thought up color and made it exist. Then I thought of other things, sounds, God made sound, things make noise, and each thing sounds a little different. God made scents, and each thing has its own unique fragrance. God made flavor, and then He gave texture to things. And all of these weren't things He discovered, He made them.
That thought just amazes me. But something even more incredible than that is this; God did not simply make these incredible things, He also gave us the ability to experience and enjoy them.
He made eyes to see the amazing assortment of colors that fill the world. Each individual hue and shade, the slight variations in blues and reds, greens and yellows, oranges and purples, they are all incredible.
He made ears to hear the incredible sounds of creation. The wind moving through the branches, birds singing, water falling over rocks, laughter, music.
He made a nose to smell. The fragrance of flowers, the scent of rain in the air, food cooking, herbs and spices, fruit, all of it is incredible.
He made a tongue to taste. Thanksgiving is the thing that comes to mind here, and Christmas. Breakfast.
He made skin with the ability to feel. The warmth of the sun on your face, the coolness of water flowing around your feet, grass as you walk barefoot.
These are just a few, the ones that immediately come to mind, and each one of us would have something different, but they are all incredible. I'm amazed by the creativity of God, but also by His love. He didn't create a dull black and white silent movie of a world, He filled it with these incredible sensations. But more than that, He gave us the ability to experience and enjoy them.
I'm grateful for 2:30 am random simplicity, it really makes me appreciate so much.
Last week I was driving home around 2:30 am, and I was replaying a conversation in my mind. During the conversation I had said something to the effect of "And that's why God made sharpies." Like I said, random things come out of my mouth. From there I just started talking to myself about other random things God had made: Zip lock bags, duct tape, orangutans, purple. And then a profound thought hit me, God made purple!
God made purple, more than that, God made color, He invented it. In His infinitely creative mind God thought up color and made it exist. Then I thought of other things, sounds, God made sound, things make noise, and each thing sounds a little different. God made scents, and each thing has its own unique fragrance. God made flavor, and then He gave texture to things. And all of these weren't things He discovered, He made them.
That thought just amazes me. But something even more incredible than that is this; God did not simply make these incredible things, He also gave us the ability to experience and enjoy them.
He made eyes to see the amazing assortment of colors that fill the world. Each individual hue and shade, the slight variations in blues and reds, greens and yellows, oranges and purples, they are all incredible.
He made ears to hear the incredible sounds of creation. The wind moving through the branches, birds singing, water falling over rocks, laughter, music.
He made a nose to smell. The fragrance of flowers, the scent of rain in the air, food cooking, herbs and spices, fruit, all of it is incredible.
He made a tongue to taste. Thanksgiving is the thing that comes to mind here, and Christmas. Breakfast.
He made skin with the ability to feel. The warmth of the sun on your face, the coolness of water flowing around your feet, grass as you walk barefoot.
These are just a few, the ones that immediately come to mind, and each one of us would have something different, but they are all incredible. I'm amazed by the creativity of God, but also by His love. He didn't create a dull black and white silent movie of a world, He filled it with these incredible sensations. But more than that, He gave us the ability to experience and enjoy them.
I'm grateful for 2:30 am random simplicity, it really makes me appreciate so much.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
D-Day
Today is D-Day, 66 years ago today Allied troops stormed the beaches of Northern France, and won the decisive battle of WWII. When the troops took the beach the road to Berlin had been paved, and victory was certain. But the war wasn't over. There were still battles to fight. D-Day was essential, but without V-Day, D-Day was pointless.
In college I had a class, Doctrine of Christian Holiness, and in this class my professor talked about D-Day. How does it tie to Holiness? Just as D-Day was the turning point of the war, the Cross was the turning point of history. The cross was the decisive battle that assured victory. The cross paved the way back to the throne of God. But with out the empty tomb, the cross is pointless. No Easter, then who cares about Good Friday?
I remember just after the class ended for the semester I was in Washington DC at the WWII memorial. There I saw a quote from General Eisenhower, "You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. I have full confidence in your courage and devotion to duty and skill in battle." That quote made me think a lot.
This man, a general they looked up to and respected, has just expressed his full confidence in there ability not only to take the beach, but also his faith in their courage to do it. God says the same thing to us.
On D-Day we see three types of soldiers. There is the one who gets shot as soon as the gate on the boat drops. Then there is the soldier who fights part way up the beach but during the battle is killed. The final soldier is the one everyone wants to be, this is the one who storms the beach, fights to the cliffs, makes it up, and stands in victory at the end. No one wants to be the guy that dies the moment the firing starts, no one wants to be the first to fall, but because of the sacrifice that this one makes, the one who stands in victory at the end is able to make it.
In the Christian walk we face Normandy throughout life. Sometimes we fall first, other times we stand victorious at the end. But that isn't up to us. We don't control how far we make it. The only choice we have is whether or not we get on the boat. And the thing with it is, that's enough.
John 21.20-22 "Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; the one who also had leaned back on His bosom at the supper and said, 'Lord, who is the one who betrays You?' So Peter seeing him said to Jesus, 'Lord, and what about this man?' Jesus said to him, "If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!"
I think about the armed forces, and at times, I find myself wishing I'd have enlisted and tried to become a Navy SEAL, right out of high school I'd have had a chance to do it. But I look, and I know that God didn't intend for me to go down that path. Instead I'm fighting in a different war. A war where the outcome and my achievement in it is not up to me. The choice I need to make is whether or not I'm going to get on the boat. As long as I do that, then I'm in the will of God, and the rest is up to him.
Will you join me on the boat headed to the beach? Can we all let go of our desire to stand victorious and surrender to God's control?
Thank you to those who stormed the beaches of Normandy, your courage and sacrifice are not forgotten.
In college I had a class, Doctrine of Christian Holiness, and in this class my professor talked about D-Day. How does it tie to Holiness? Just as D-Day was the turning point of the war, the Cross was the turning point of history. The cross was the decisive battle that assured victory. The cross paved the way back to the throne of God. But with out the empty tomb, the cross is pointless. No Easter, then who cares about Good Friday?
I remember just after the class ended for the semester I was in Washington DC at the WWII memorial. There I saw a quote from General Eisenhower, "You are about to embark upon the Great Crusade, toward which we have striven these many months. The eyes of the world are upon you. I have full confidence in your courage and devotion to duty and skill in battle." That quote made me think a lot.
This man, a general they looked up to and respected, has just expressed his full confidence in there ability not only to take the beach, but also his faith in their courage to do it. God says the same thing to us.
On D-Day we see three types of soldiers. There is the one who gets shot as soon as the gate on the boat drops. Then there is the soldier who fights part way up the beach but during the battle is killed. The final soldier is the one everyone wants to be, this is the one who storms the beach, fights to the cliffs, makes it up, and stands in victory at the end. No one wants to be the guy that dies the moment the firing starts, no one wants to be the first to fall, but because of the sacrifice that this one makes, the one who stands in victory at the end is able to make it.
In the Christian walk we face Normandy throughout life. Sometimes we fall first, other times we stand victorious at the end. But that isn't up to us. We don't control how far we make it. The only choice we have is whether or not we get on the boat. And the thing with it is, that's enough.
John 21.20-22 "Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them; the one who also had leaned back on His bosom at the supper and said, 'Lord, who is the one who betrays You?' So Peter seeing him said to Jesus, 'Lord, and what about this man?' Jesus said to him, "If I want him to remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!"
I think about the armed forces, and at times, I find myself wishing I'd have enlisted and tried to become a Navy SEAL, right out of high school I'd have had a chance to do it. But I look, and I know that God didn't intend for me to go down that path. Instead I'm fighting in a different war. A war where the outcome and my achievement in it is not up to me. The choice I need to make is whether or not I'm going to get on the boat. As long as I do that, then I'm in the will of God, and the rest is up to him.
Will you join me on the boat headed to the beach? Can we all let go of our desire to stand victorious and surrender to God's control?
Thank you to those who stormed the beaches of Normandy, your courage and sacrifice are not forgotten.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Out of the Valley
The past few months have been rough. There have been a ton of things going on in ministry, at church, in life, and personally. It's been a struggle, and most days I hadn't had much energy. Motivation was low, passions became apathetic, each day was a struggle, but very few people knew.
Sunday was incredible. This past weekend the youth group I work with did 30 hour famine. It was a great weekend. Sunday I team preached with a teen from the church. We did Luke 8.40-56, The healing of the bleeding woman, and the raising of Jairus' daughter. I told the story through the eyes of Jairus in the past tense, and she did the story of the woman in the present tense. It was amazing.
That who service was incredible, after the sermon I shared about our famine, about the 25,000 children who will die today, but I didn't focus on the despair, because Jesus doesn't. Everything in the service pointed to hope and to life. The sermon we preached started in despair, but moved to hope and then to life. All of the music focused on hope.
Monday came, I sent my weekly text to my brothers, and one asked how he could pray for me. My response, "Pray for the valley I'm probably about to go through." My thinking was that I had just experienced an incredible move of God during church the previous day. But talking to a youth pastor friend that evening I shared that comment with her and she said, "No Bill, you just got out of the valley."
The entire service was filled with hope, but not just a hope I was telling people about, a hope I was trying to bring to 25,000 children, it was a hope that I was supposed to experience. It was about life that I was supposed to live.
Over the last few days life has been good. I have passion and energy again, things are working out, and I see God moving. Sometimes it takes the valleys to help us see where God is using us, and how he is working in our lives. Sometimes it takes the valley to help you move on from something you thought was perfect, sometimes it takes the valley to show you that God really does know what is best.
But the thing is the valley doesn't last forever. And even when everything seems to fall apart, I can remember that I am a little boy in my Daddy's arms. And there is nothing a Daddy loves more than holding his child.
Sunday was incredible. This past weekend the youth group I work with did 30 hour famine. It was a great weekend. Sunday I team preached with a teen from the church. We did Luke 8.40-56, The healing of the bleeding woman, and the raising of Jairus' daughter. I told the story through the eyes of Jairus in the past tense, and she did the story of the woman in the present tense. It was amazing.
That who service was incredible, after the sermon I shared about our famine, about the 25,000 children who will die today, but I didn't focus on the despair, because Jesus doesn't. Everything in the service pointed to hope and to life. The sermon we preached started in despair, but moved to hope and then to life. All of the music focused on hope.
Monday came, I sent my weekly text to my brothers, and one asked how he could pray for me. My response, "Pray for the valley I'm probably about to go through." My thinking was that I had just experienced an incredible move of God during church the previous day. But talking to a youth pastor friend that evening I shared that comment with her and she said, "No Bill, you just got out of the valley."
The entire service was filled with hope, but not just a hope I was telling people about, a hope I was trying to bring to 25,000 children, it was a hope that I was supposed to experience. It was about life that I was supposed to live.
Over the last few days life has been good. I have passion and energy again, things are working out, and I see God moving. Sometimes it takes the valleys to help us see where God is using us, and how he is working in our lives. Sometimes it takes the valley to help you move on from something you thought was perfect, sometimes it takes the valley to show you that God really does know what is best.
But the thing is the valley doesn't last forever. And even when everything seems to fall apart, I can remember that I am a little boy in my Daddy's arms. And there is nothing a Daddy loves more than holding his child.
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