Counting the Cost…….

Politics Of Jesus

 

John Howard Yoder’s book “Politics Of Jesus” reveals to it’s readers a way of life that is revolutionary in the socio-political realm, while also showing what it looks like for an individual to live in that realm.  All of his arguments flow from the messianic ethic that is seen in Jesus Christ’s birth, life, death and resurrection.  As I reading through this book, one small section laid itself on my heart and broke me down in way’s that I have never been broken before.  Yoder walks through a few parables in the chapter of Luke, to show what the Kingdom Coming looks like. 

 

            The first thing Yoder writes about is Luke 14:26.  “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters-yes, even his own life-he cannot be my disciple.”  To bother if the word hate should be taken seriously or not is missing the point.  The point according to Yoder, “is rather that in a society characterized by a very stable, religiously under girded family ties, Jesus is here calling into being a community of voluntary commitment, willing for the sake of its calling to take upon the hostility of the given society” (37) The alternative is seen in the next two parables that Jesus tells the large crowds who have been following him.

 

            The first parable is of the person who wanted to build a tower.  Jesus say’s in Luke that he will first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it.  Because if he lay’s down the foundation, but is unable to complete it, then everyone will begin to ridicule him.  He started to build without realizing what it would truly cost him, and now he is not able to finish.

 

            The second parable is of the king who is about to go to war with another King.  Jesus says in Luke that he will first consider whether he is able to oppose the one coming against him that has 20,000 men with the 10,000 men that he has(which could be an illusion to the hostility we will face in the world?).  Jesus tells that the king will send a delegation to the other king to make peace.  He then ends the parable by saying that anyone of us that doesn’t give up everything we have, cannot be his disciple.

 

            Many people have tried to construct the gospel in a way that is very attractive to everyone.  Yoder feels at the heart of his teachings is something different.  Yes, Jesus is moving away from the crowds.  But once again, according to Yoder, that is not the point.  “What matters is the quality of the life to which the disciple is called.  The answer is that to be a disciple is to share in that style of life of which the cross is the culmination” (38)  The way of the cross isn’t ascent.  It doesn’t give you popularity, prosperity, health or wealth.  The way of the cross is a path of descent as Jesus let’s his disciples know in the Last Supper account.  The cross is living a life of servant hood.  It is a life of simplicity, brokenness, and persecution. 

 

            Jesus in the midst of these parables leaves us with a choice.  He simply states in Luke 14:27, “And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”    “The disciples cross is not a metaphor for self-mortification or even generally for innocent suffering.  But he is saying if you follow me, your fate will be like mine, the fate of a revolutionary.  You cannot follow me without facing that fate. (38)”  Once you do this, you will have some sociological traits as a disciple that are on a crash course with the society around you.  You will have a visible structure fellowship, a sober decision guaranteeing that the cost of commitment to the fellowship has been consciously accepted, and a clearly defined life-style distinct from the crowd (39).  You will not be set apart because of arbitrary rules, but by the unique normal quality of humanness of which the community you are involved in is committed to.

 

After reading through these parables, and this small section of Yoder’s book, I was left broken in my need for Jesus and with some questions on my own life. 

 

1.  Have I truly counted the cost of being a disciple of Christ?

2.  If I had truly counted the cost of following Christ, would I have made the decision to become a true authentic follower of Him?

3.  Are there any areas of my life that I need to rethink and “count the cost” in my life right now?

 

1.  Have I truly counted the cost of being a disciple of Christ?

            In a place of brutal openness, I can honestly say that I have not truly counted the cost of being a true disciple of Christ.  I think back over my journey so far and a couple of key moments stick out to me.  My first confession that “Jesus is Lord” was made due to the fact that I didn’t want to go to hell if I died on a rollercoaster the next day.  Sure, there were certain things I have and haven’t done because I considered myself a “Christian”.  But, there hasn’t been a point where I have sat down and figured how my life would truly change if I was serious about following Jesus and living to the potential he has called me to live.  I know if I were to do this, there would be many things in my life that I would have to do, that would challenge me in ways that I have never been challenged, and honestly, I am not sure if I am ready for that.

 

2.  If I had truly counted the cost of following Christ, would I have made the decision to become a true authentic follower of Him?

            After processing through this question, as much as it pains me to say, I’m not sure if I would have made the decision.  There are so many things that I have held onto for so long that hinder me being a true disciple of Christ.  These range from things I am entitled to, to being selfish in the world, to not wanting to become a servant.  It is much easier to live a life of complacency and ignorance.  If I had truly thought this question through, I might have found a life living for my own selfish desires “better” than living a life of descent.

 

3.  Are there any areas of my life that I need to rethink and “count the cost” in my life right now?

            This question has been breaking me down ever since I have started to process through it.  In my life, there are numerous areas that I live outside the realm of the Kingdom in order to please myself.  One of the ways that I need to “count the cost” is in my relationships.  For the longest time, I was unbelievably selfish in my relationships, sucking anything and everything I could out of the person for my own selfish gain.  I also have this “unique” gift of knowing what to say, when to say it, and how to say it.  This is used mostly to manipulate the other person to do what I think is best for them, or me.  It is also used to bring praise, affirmation and worth to myself, instead of God.  Another area of my life I need to “count the cost” is living comfortably.  As I’ve started to take the message of the gospel seriously, I’ve realized that my life needs to be simplified in a way that I don’t treasure any of my possessions, and I live in such a way that I freely am able to give my time, money and possessions to others as they need it.  As Paul states in 1 Corinthians 4, we are to be at the “end of the procession”.  I am not entitled to a nice house, a nice car, or lots of money.  I am entitled to the love of Christ.  Another area that I need to count the cost is in the “pleasures” I have found in the past.  I have realized that I cannot go out and drink like I used to.  There is no possible way for me to be a true disciple, and go out and get drunk on the weekends.  It gets in the way of any chance to advance the gospel I can’t spend my money on useless things, when it could be used towards participating in the Kingdom.  These are just a few things that I’m sure will turn into more as I continue to reflect and pray through this question.

 

            As my friend always says, “What is the next right best step?”  That is a good question.  Clearly, I am not living to the potential I am called to live to right now.  I believe the next right best step would be to figure out what taking up my cross looks like, and do it.  My act of taking up my cross, should not be done without fully praying through and processing the three questions that I tried to answer above.  As my time is coming to a close at Solidarity, I have an idea of what “taking up my cross” would look like here, and at home.

 

            Taking up my cross while at Solidarity consists of a few different things.  One, I believe it is doing the things that I absolutely hate to do.  This ranges from writing emails, to researching a grant, to putting time in at the office.  These are things that are necessary for my growth, and to participate well in the Kingdom.  Another way of taking up my cross is to stop trying to be the “cool” intern.  And instead, use every situation possible to advance the gospel.  Instead of disregarding activities as fun things to do with the kids, I need to be a light unto the darkness so the kids I am spending time with will want to know who this Jesus guy is that I claim to follow.  Also, I believe taking up my cross is a matter of becoming a servant in every relationship I have with people on staff.  In everything I do, I should look to serve the staff as a follower of Christ.

 

            Taking up my cross looks strikingly similar at home.  For one, I cannot live a complacent comfortable life.  I need to put myself in situations where I am desperate for Jesus.  Situations where the only thing I have to rely on is the Holy Spirit guiding me through it.  Another way I believe I can take up my cross at home is my relationships with friends and family.  I need to not look to simply having fun in every situation, but use every situation to advance the gospel.  When a situation presents itself with a choice, I need to take the choice that will let me be the hands and feet of Jesus in a broken world.  Lastly, taking up my cross at home consists of spending time daily in prayer and scripture.  Instead of filling myself with meaningless video games, internet, and TV, I need to spend that time with Jesus and be filled up by the Holy Spirit. 

 

            Throughout all of this, I have realized my desperate need for Jesus’ healing power in my life.  There are so many areas of brokenness that continue to filter through in so many different aspects.  Without the hope of Christ in my life, I am left with nothing to live for.  I pray that as I begin to meditate on this, and I begin to meditate on the redemptive work of the cross, Christ’s light will shine through the areas of brokenness.  I pray that I will truly count the cost of being a disciple and take up my own cross.    I pray that in doing all of this, people will want to know more about the Jesus that I follow.  I pray that while doing all of this, it would reflect praise and glory back to God.

Politics Of Jesus, Chapter 1

Part of my internship is reading three books and reflecting for three to five pages on how they are going to affect my life in the Kingdom.  I decided to fully engage myself I would write a summary of each chapter, and reflect on each chapter.  Right now I am reading The Politics of Jesus, by John Howard Yoder.

The first chapter of this book Yoder writes about “the possibility of messianic ethic”.  He starts out explaining a study that makes the claim that Jesus is according to biblical witness, “a model of radical political action”.  Yoder claims that this is all the study does, makes claims; “to let the Jesus story so speak that the person concerned with social ethics, as accustomed as such a person is to a set of standard ways to assume Jesus not to be relevant to social issues, or at least not relevant immediately, can hear”.  His study is going to bridge the gap between NT studies and contemporary social ethics, with an emphasis on the problems of power and revolution.  This is a very tricky gap because of the many forms of theology and sociology he has to work through.  Also, he is risking because of the “biblical realism” (Reading scripture as a whole in church, instead of depending on one person’s interpretations) that has become more prevalent in our culture today.  Instead he is bringing Jesus of the Gospels into union with the present day.

The naïve approach that many people take today is making a connection between Jesus’ life and teaching, and what it means to follow in his steps.  This is where the first defense of using him as an ethical basis comes in.  He simply is not socially relevant.  Yoder states this and six other things to say why Jesus is not the norm, when it comes to mainstream ethics in our culture.  In order to refute these arguments and show an ethical basis in Jesus’ life and teaching, we must fully explain the arguments.

1. The survival of a society, as a value in itself, takes on a weight which Jesus did not give it.
2. Jesus was in a small village sociology, he did not speak to complex organizations, institutions, etc.
3. Christians accept responsibilities that were inconceivable to Jesus.
4. Jesus dealt with spiritual and not social matters, with the existential not concrete.
5. The will of God cannot be identified with any one ethical answer, or given human value since they are all finite entities.
6. Death of Jesus is ethically immaterial.  Justification is not a matter of proper behavior, just a divine miracle.

Since Jesus is not the norm, what other norm is there?  Yoder explains that we will obtain guidance from common sense and the nature of things.  We will see what is relevant and base our ethical decisions off of that.  According to Yoder, “we will study the realities around us, not by hearing a proclamation from God, that we discern the right.”  If this was true, then the Jewish and Roman authorities must have greatly misunderstood Jesus.

This misunderstanding was “put into place” by Paul correcting the tendency by putting so much emphasis on grace, and less on works, so ethical matters from Jesus’ teaching could not be taken seriously.  Another misunderstanding “put into place” by Paul was the “social radicality of Jesus himself”.  Paul wrote that we need to be in subordination to institutions of society (even subordination of woman and slavery), accept the divinely sanctioned govt., and that we were to make a basis of ethics that Jesus made no unique contribution.

Yoder ask a couple of simple questions about this.  If there is no Christian ethic, but only natural ethics held by everyone, does this abandon what Christians apply ethics?  Why not to all other truth as well?  What becomes of the meaning of incarnation if Jesus is not normatively human?  Is this not another form of Gnosticism?

In order to do this, Yoder states that He is going to read the Gospel with the question always in the back of his head, “Is there here a social ethic?”  He is going to do two things by doing this.  First, he is going to take Jesus and his ministry and show the direct correlations for social ethics.  Second, he will show how Jesus is not only relevant, but normal for contemporary social ethics.  He is going to do this by concentrating on the Gospel of Luke, which usually is taken to be in direct opposition of social ethics from Jesus’ teachings.  Within this, he will be focusing more on the events than the teachings more at the outlines then the substance.

Yoder makes the claim that Jesus did not come to teach a way of life, because most of his guidance is unoriginal.  He came as a Savior.  The function of the law isn’t to tell us what we can and can’t do, but bring us to our knees because we cannot do any of it.

As I was reading this, I couldn’t help but think of our culture today and my own interaction within it.  Countless times, instead of being socially responsible and true to what I believed a follower of Christ should do, I went along with was was “acceptable” or “relevant”.  I believed war was alright, because our government was “protecting” us from terrorists.  They were ridding the world of “evil”.  I gossiped because everyone does it, next time take a look when your checking out at all the magazines by you.  It is socially acceptable to Gossip today.  Our church’s think its alright to spend millions of dollars on new buildings and programs, when there are hungry and homeless right next door.  We think its ok to do “everything but” in a relationship.  We think its ok to live a materialistic and consumeristic life.  All of this, are in direct violation of the ethics that Jesus has called us to live by.

Another thing that was revealed to me was  the fact taht Jesus was a model of radical political action through the NT.  It made me wonder why I haven’t faced any sort of opposition from the Govt.  Most of the early disciples and church fathers faced direct opposition from the Governments of their time.  Am I not fully understanding the social-political-ethical life that Jesus is calling me to?

Entitlement, Accomplishment, Busyness…And the anger that drives them all

“The secular or false self is the self which is fabricated, as Thomas Merton says, by social compulsions.  “compulsive” is indeed the best adjective for the false self.  It points to the need for ongoing and increasing affirmation.  Who am i?  I am the one who is liked, praised, admired, disliked, hated or despised.  Whether I am a pianist, a businessman, or a minister, what matters is how I am perceived by my world.  If being busy is a good thing, then I must be busy.  If having money is a sign of real freedom, then I must claim my money.    If knowing many people proves my importance, I will have to make the necessary contacts.  The compulsion manifests itself in the lurking fear of failing and the steady urge to prevent this by gathering more of the same-more work, more money, more friends.  these very compulsions are at the basis of two main enemies of the spiritual life: anger and greed.  They are the inner side of a secular life, the sour fruits of our worldly dependencies.  what else is anger than being an impulsive response to the experience of being deprived?  when my sense of self depends on what others say to me, anger is a quite natural reaction to a critical word.  And when my sense of self depends on what I can acquire, greed flares up when my desires are frustrated.  thus greed and anger are brother and sister of a false self fabricated by the social compuslsions of an unredeemed world.”  -Henri J.M. Nouwen “The way of the heart”

So many thoughts came to me while reading this tonight.  My sense of entitlement that creeps in so often.  My desire from affirmation within everything that I do.  My need to accomplish and produce at a rapid pace.  My need to busy myself into oblivion so I don’t feel worthless.  But more importantly, the anger that I feel when these things aren’t accredited to me.

Countless times, even since I have been in California,  I have felt anger when I things I felt I was entitled to, weren’t given to me.  Or when someone doesn’t affirm me where I felt affirmation was deserved.  Or when I am not able to accomplish at a rate that I feel acceptable for my “self”(or ego).(see past blog post about putting a little girls bike together)

I can only begin to pray through this and start to process.

There are a couple of things that come to mind.

1.  Part of this desire for all of these things comes from my childhood and teenage years.  I was pushed constantly while playing sports that I need to be producing. I had to score on the ice, otherwise our team would lose.  When the pressure was on, and all eyes were watching, I felt the need to produce.  I thrived on the affirmation that I attained throughout all of this.  If there was none, i thought i was entitled to it because of what I had produced.  The same goes on the opposite spectrum.  When I didn’t produce and accomplish, I didn’t gain any affirmation, which drove me to desire to produce more, and accomplish more, so I would feel this false sense of affirmation.

2.  Part of this desire comes from my old job.  If I wasn’t constantly busy, then something was wrong.  I needed to always be doing, always be producing, and always be working at a frantic pace, otherwise there would be some sort of rebuke coming my way.  I was “entitled” to praise from my boss and fellow co-workers because of the work I was able to accomplish in a day.  And if this didn’t happen(which was quite often) I was very angry at them and myself.  Which therefore fueled my desire to accomplish and busy myself even more.

3.  Part of this desire I believe comes the culture that we are surrounded by.  We need to live at a frantic busy pace to acquire as much money and possessions as possible.  To “get to the top” in the rat race that has become a normal way of life.  On top of this, the constant barrage of media in the forms of movies, television shows, music are sure fire ways to keep our minds off of our brokenness that is prevalent if we just slowed down and rested in God.

I am forced to take a long hard look at myself after reading through this passage.

Is affirmation from the world going to satisfy me?  Or knowing that my identity is found in Christ.  Am I going to be filled up by knowing I am named, loved, affirmed, and adopted in him?  Or am I going to manipulate conversations, produce at a hectic pace, and take a win at all costs attitude to gain praise from people around me?

Where is my sense of entitlement coming from?  The way of the cross isn’t upward, its the path of descent.  To fully follow Jesus Christ, I need to understand this and practice it on a daily basis.  I am reminded of a story I heard the other day of a man who prayed to God for money.  He prayed that he would never have to little money, and never to much.  Just enough to get by.  Why should i feel entitled to comfort in my life?  Why should I feel entitled to opportunities that I don’t fully deserve.  Instead I should be reminded of the “great cloud of witnesses”  that have gone before me, and realize that I am not entitled anything in this world, except the love of Christ.

God didn’t come in the rushing wind, or the earthquakes, he came in the still silence.  Everything in my body screams at me to be busy.  To always be producing.  When I am fully in tune with Christ, I believe that my life will slow down, so I can hear the Holy Spirit directing my every step.

I hate the fact that I feel all of this.  I hate that I get angry when I don’t get the praise or affirmation I think i “deserve”.  I hate the fact that I will try and manipulate conversations or situations to gain this.  I hate that I feel pushed to produce and accomplish, because my worth will come through this.  I hate that I busy myself to the point where I can’t even sit still, let alone hear God’s voice in the still silence.

This is where the redemptive work of the cross comes in.  Jesus overcame, so I don’t have to.  His blood is the only thing that can redeem me.  not by things that I have accomplished or produced, but by simply being in him.  I pray that I would slow down enough to let his love reclaim every aspect of my life.  I pray that I would find my worth knowing I am made in the image of God.  I pray that my affirmation would come only when I stand before my Father at the end of days.  I pray that the cross is big enough to take  a hold of all of this, and Jesus would reclaim all of these area’s of my life.  I pray that once he has reclaimed these areas, to use me as an agent of restoration in a broken world, only to bring praise to him.

9 ball or 8 ball?

I heard an interesting story the other day.  This dad was talking to Donald Miller(author of Blue Like Jazz,among others) about his teenager daughter.  He did not have any good feelings towards the young guy that was dating his daughter.  It’s typical I know, but this was something more.  He knew that if they continued to date, this guy would end up bringing his daughter down a road that wasn’t for her.  So now this father was stuck with the idea he needed to break them up, but didn’t know the best way.  So he asked Donald Miller.

Miller’s reply?  “What kind of story is your daughter living in?”

I can imagine the dad thinking in his head, “What kind of question is this?”  But as he explained more about his daughter, the more he realized this was the question that mattered the most.  You see, his daughter didn’t have much responsibilities.  She took her little brother to school and some boring household chores.  Her boyfriend on the other hand, was offering her a part in something bigger.  A star role in the movie.  A story that she mattered in, a story that she felt loved in.

So now the dad knew what he needed to do after this being revealed to him.  He needed to have his daughter involved in a story bigger than her home, bigger than her bf, bigger than herself.  So he researched and found a village across the ocean in Africa that didn’t have clean drinking water.  He then went home to challenge not only his daughter, but wife and son to do something.  It was unacceptable for a village to not have clean drinking water.  They HAD to do something about it.  He told his daughter she was loved, beautiful, and had so much to offer to the world.  And what do you know, the daughter broke up with the bf a short time later so she could have more time to spend on this project.

I was reminded of this story just this weekend.  Gerado is a teen in the neighborhood who I have become close with.  He loves to skate, and play pool.  Our table isn’t the greatest in the Teen Center, OK I’ll be honest, it sucks.  There isn’t a flat spot on it, so every ball rolls to the right side.  The pockets barely hold a ball, the felt is falling apart, and the legs wobble so you can’t ever get it level.  Matt and I were going to revamp it in the next two weeks so the kids would have something playable.  Well Gerado was looking for pool tables on CraigsList for us to maybe buy.  He found a few and wondered if I would email the person myself. I said no for two reasons

1.  I’m lazy and didn’t want to do anything because it was friday.

2.  I wanted to put Gerado in a spot that would be challenging to himself, and involve him in helping out with Solidarity and something bigger than himself.

So I told Gerado to email people and see if they would be interested in donating there pool table, fully realizing most people would say no.  Immediately he asked me for help on writing the emails.  I said no, this is your responsibility.

Well the next day I had 3 calls from Gerado in a matter of 2 hours before 10 am.  He had found someone who was willing to donate a 250 dollar pool table!  We didn’t have a chance to pick it up so we couldn’t get it.  It put him in a funk, but he kept on trying.

When I walked into work today I immediately received a text message from Gerado asking if we can give tax donation forms.  I said yes, why?  He told me to then check my email.

Some guy had a pool table for sale for 1500 dollars.  Gerado did all the work himself and now the guy wants to donate the table to us!  All because of the work that Gerado did!

I know this is a small example of involving the kids in something bigger than themselves.  But it’s here.  And it happens.  And it’s transforming.

It made me take a step back and think about my work within Solidarity, and my work back home in youth ministry.  What kind of story am I inviting the teenagers I work with to be involved in?  If I’m brutally honest, i usually take the attitude of I’ll do it myself, they don’t understand how to do it.  Is that the best way to be an agent of transformation in a teenagers life?  Or is it challenging them to be a part of something bigger than themselves?  Something that has been ongoing since the beginning of time?  A chance to advance the Kingdom Among Us in any which way possible.  This is the generation that has a chance to change the world with the love of Christ.  Challenge them, love them, walk alongside them, pray for them.  They are the story, they are the world changers if given the opportunity.

What kind of story are you living in……………………..

What kind of story are you challenging others to live in……………

I couldn’t put a bike together…………

Last Thursday I had the daunting task of putting a little girls bike together.  Put the seat in, put the handlebars in, put the front wheel on, put the front fender on, and attach the brakes.  Sounds simple right?  I thought the same thing, until it took me 4 hours to not even finish the bike.

4 hours……It took me a good 2  hours to do a simple brake line.  And when it was completed, it broke the first time pressed it.

That’s not even the worst part, the worst part is that I got so upset I had to leave the communitty center and go for a walk.  What?  Just because I couldn’t put a stupid bike together?  Theres gotta be something deeper going on, whcih once i prayed and talked through, realized.

I have this undying need to accomplish, and work, and be productive, and constantly be told I am doing a good.  Part of it, I have realized comes from playing sports as a kid, a big part of it comes from my old job, and some of it comes from our culture.

This made me sick to my stomach……….I need to accomplish and produce to feel satisfaction?  I need to do as much as I can as fast as I can to gain worth?  That is so sick and wrong.

I need to find my worth knowing that I am loved unconditionally no matter how much I do or don’t produce.  I need to find my worth knowing that I am made in the image of God.  I need to find satisfaction in resting in God whenever I can.  I need to find my satisfaction in my identity in Christ.

Not how much I produce or accomplish.

“Be still and know that I am God”

Canadian?

Hey everybody!

I don’t know exactly who is reading this on a consitent basis, but if your one of em…..thanks for joining in on my story!

I’ve had my first two days interning.  So far, so good.  Literally…..soooooooooo good…lame haha.

Monday i worked in the a.s.p.  I have already become close for two guys ryan and jonathan.  They are absolutely amazing.  So full of energy and brightness.  Also there is a little girl name citali who is absolutley amazing.  Couple other guys sonny and cisco(brothers) I have started to get close with, mainly through playing soccer with them.  Sonny likes to think hes way better than me(which is he, im just bigger and push him around), so we talk a lot of crap back and forth.

Youth church was monday night also.  This is a time where the kids in the neihboorhood come to the Solid house(where me and matt live) and we have soem church!  Theres food to eat, hang out time, and a lesson by jason.    Got to play some tenniss that night with adrian who is seriously amazing at whatever he does.  It’s ridiculous.

Tuesday was teen center(which ill be doing the rest of the week)  doin hw, then hanging out with the guys after.

I am quickly falling in love with the community, the people int he community, the staff, and my house.  God has definitly beenn transforming lives in Solidarity and the Community.  I am so happy to be a part of what he is doing.

(Appreantly if your from michigan, that makes you canadian)

Here we go

Today was a good day.  Amazing in fact.

Woke up around 9, read my bible, wrote some stuff down about followin the law and living by faith, and had a few cups of coffee.

Then the fun started.  I decided to take another exploratory treck through fullerton.  Made my way down placentcha(sp?) which is a main road here, went through some crazy industrial park……got lost for like 20 min……….but ended up at chipolte…….so everything turned out great!

As I was headed back to the solid house, I saw gabriel, a guy i met Friday outside skating.  Talked for a bit then him and two of his friends came over adn we played tony hawk project 8 for like 3 hours……..then went to some video game store to playleft 4 dead.  It was great getting to know these guys more and be able to spend a day hanging out!  After that I was able to hang out with a friend sergio.  Then I went to Tommy(solidaritys exec.) and Rachaels daughter ryan’s second birthday party!  She is absolutatley amazing!  Had a great time there, then we went to rock harbor!

I had a message from Steve Carter that I didn’t understand…………..appreantly he was teachign tonight and i didn’t know it.  There was a thign he did with the seventh and eight graders, where he would say turn to a bible passage, they would yell what, he would say it again and they would all yell ok.  This was based on the fact that steve has a fascination with lil jon.

As I was sittinig there listenin to annoucnements……..i had the great idea that i should get the people I came with to yell that at steve!  He thoguht i was goin to the seven andthat we missed each other.  So the time came………..and the foru of us yelled what as soon as he finished saying turn to the passage.

Steve literally stopped in his track, his jaw dropped, looked back at us, and turned around and laughed for at least two minutes straight. He said thanks my friend from michigian is here and  he then in the midst of trying to control his laughter, had to explain how this was somethign they did at the.element back home when he was a pastor there.  This took probably 10 min as every 20 seconds he would put his hands on his knees and laugh hysterically.  he could only say “i am so embarassed” over and overa again, becaus ethe crowd couldn’t stop laughign either.

He then procceed to say “kyle please stand up” and decided to embarass me in front of the congregation.  Overal worth it though as some of the poeple acutally yelled okay after the second time he said it! hahaha

Overall amazing day.  Tomorrow I start the internship.

Please pray that I would find my place within the already existing staff and volunteers.

Please pray that I would easily jump into what God has already been doing through solidarity in the community.

Please pray that I would sleep well so I am fully rested.

I’m here

So I’m in California……………craziness.

I’m going to have to blogs, one to reflect on the books I am reading, and one to have an update on what is happening with me in California.

Yesterday was great, tiring, but great.  I was up at two am michigan time, and didn’t go to bed at 2 am michigan time…..but well worth it.

Kevin picked me up from John Wayne and took me to the community center.  This is where the after school program and teen center are run out of.  I met most of the staff and had my first experience with in and out.  An explosion of goodness is what it was.  A double double and fries.  Next time I think im gonna go for a triple triple…………maybe a quadruple quadruple at the end of thee summer.  haha.

After that I took a nap and then hung otu with the kids in the after school program, and the teen center.  Mainly I played soccer…which im not good at, and halo………..which im not good at.

Today I’ve just been skating around Fullerton and layin low.  Tomorrow Rock harbor then maybe hanging out with steve.

My prayer is that God would show me my place within the staff and volunteers and my place in the community to further his Kingdom.

-Kyle

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