Mission of Ministry

The missions trip is ending, and we are nearing sweet home Chicago as I type. Reflection time…

As I think back on the trip, I recognize that I didn’t grow as much as I had hoped throughout the course of this past week. I’m not saying that God didn’t work in my life, but it wasn’t like I had expected. He did teach me a humbling lesson regarding ministry. I feel like I now have a much better idea of what ministry is like and how it should look.

I would like to split this blog into two parts by looking at what ministry is and what it is not.

Ministry is a selfless act that places the target group ahead of one’s own needs, concerns, and overall welfare. Christ was the ultimate servant, and if His ministry isn’t a perfect example, then I don’t know what is. His ministry was all about how He could help people. How to serve people. How to love people. He didn’t grow as much in His ministry as His followers did.

I can resonate with that now that after this trip.

After spending a week seeking God’s lessons in my life, I realized that my lesson was a lack of lesson. That is, I learned this lesson of what being a minister truly looks like. I didn’t grow much on the trip, but the students did. And that’s really all that matters.

Really.

Ministry is all about giving of oneself to better another’s faith. Whether it’s sacrificing pride, time, or lots of sweat in the Arizona heat, ministers sacrifice for others. I spent the majority of my week trying to plan out ways to best allow for a positive experience for these student, nd, through the grace of God, the students were changed. But this kept me from being able to grow a lot personally because I was helping students in their growth.

That being said, ministry is not about fame. It’s not about fortune. It’s not about how many people are in the crowd, how many souls I can tally up in my conversion count, how many churches want me to work for them.

It’s about Christ.

It’s about others.

I used to, and still do, look forward to leading large worship sets for large crowds. I dream of speaking to huge audiences and becoming this famous Christ follower who tours the globe leading worship and teaching others. I love teaching, because I get to speak in front of people. Let’s be honest, I love attention.

But that’s not what ministry is about.

I spent the week refocusing my priorities, my motives, and my reasoning. I’m trying to put into practice this idea of service. Of selflessness. Of love. No more alternative motives, no more selfish desires, and no more pride.

I’ve been in a ministry of making a name for myself.

I’m going into a ministry of making a name for God.

Diversty

Yeah, that's right.

A blog on diversity.

To all of my fellow TCC Students, I'm sorry if this seems absurd to you, but I think it's worth checking this out.

To continue, I want to apologize to anyone who may start to be offended by this blog. Please read it all the way through before you have a problem with it. Then, please feel encouraged to comment/contact me if you still would like to discuss it.

For those of you who don't know, diversity is a hot topic on my college campus. The higher-ups, teachers, spiritual leaders, and student clubs all love the idea of diversity.

That being said, it has become an odd feeling of fakeness. Diversity is so encouraged that it almost feels forced and unnatural. I fear that it turns some students off to the idea, including myself.

That being said, I can honestly say that I have experienced a truely diverse setting, and it is pheonomenal. Honestly.

Out here in Phoenix, there are Hispanic people. Black people. Barundi people. White people. Vietnamese people. And they all come together under one church building.

It's so amazing to see what God had intended for us when He called us to come together as one body. It's so awesome to see the continued communication and worship despite cultural differences.

But it's close to bed time, and I just found out I am probably going to get swine flu soon. Awesome....

Mid Trip Blog

Today marks day four of the missions trip to Phoenix, Arizona...

Craziness....

As I sit in the room with a few of the students on this trip, I am currently hearing arguments regarding who has smellier feet, who ate the gum, and I just pulled a mutilated baby doll out of a kiddie pool.

The VBS kids that we are working with are pretty awesome, but pretty energetic. We've run into a few problems. Unplugged two toilets (which overflowed and leaked downstairs), sent one VBS kid home. And Mr. McHale just found the doll's head under his mattress....awesome.

But I seriously love the trip God's let me go on.

He has taught me to be humble. To serve. To love.

Mostly, he has taught me to just relax and trust that He will work everything out. We were not at all prepared for the first day of VBS, but God made it work....through the amazing members of our youth group.

But seriously, despite all of the things that we've had to do on this trip so far, God has kept us pretty much on top of things. I'm learning to place my absolute trust in Him, because He is always working and always knows whats going on. Even when nobody else does...

Especially when no one else does.

God's encouraging me through the growth in these students as well. I've seen them open up and really discuss how God has been teaching them. It's awesome to see how they are letting God work in their lives. He's been working in my life too.

Yesterday, while I was working with one of the VBS kids, I thought about how much work we are putting into this camp. Then I thought about how much work God invests in us. I mean, God literally spends each and every day shaping and molding us to be the ultimate servants for Him.

What's more, is that everyday I wake up, God loves me. I picture God holding a meeting with His gang and saying; "Alright people, how can we make Brian love me more today?" Seriously, the guy upstairs absolutely loves me.

And you.

I think He has a special heart for children...including the older children known as the WF Youth Group. I feel so blessed to be a part of this ministry. To be a part of these kids spiritual development. To be a part of their lives. Sure, I may not be the greatest youth leader (my students will definitely testify to that), but God still uses me for this special project.

I apologize for the absolute randomness of this blog....it really goes everywhere and doesnt' really say a whole lot. I suppose that's what happens when one forces a blog.

Airplanes and iPods

Authors, pastors, and speakers alike all seem to have great stories from their airplane trips. I am currently en route to Phoenix, Arizona on a high school missions trip as a leader. I decided it was time I pretended to be cool and write an airplane blog. I figured I would give it a shot hoping that while I sit here something inspiring might hit me.

…Nothing.

The only thing I’ve noticed on this trip besides the guy watching Dark Knight across the aisle (too bad he stopped right before the best part), and the old man who just spilled drink all over himself, is the amazing amount of iPod headphones I’ve seen.

From this simple observation I’ve deduced two things:

I should buy stock in Apple and start to cash in on this phenomenon.

And I concluded that this is why community seems to be so difficult sometimes. Ever since we entered the terminal (after the insane security check point with 25 students), the headphones have been in and all the air drumming, foot tapping, and head bobbing that goes with it hasn't stopped.

The great thing is that a lot of the students still conversed and bonded through the headphones, but it makes one wonder how much attention we pay to the outside world. Sure they hear each others’ words, but are they really listening?

As many may know, I love my iPod and walk around campus with it quite often. It’s great because I get to listen to music, but it serves a dual purpose. With an iPod in, I don’t have to be friendly. I don’t have to talk to people. And I don’t look like a loser when eating by myself in the cafeteria.

My iPod has become my security blanket.

Sure, I still talk to people while I’m listening (like waitresses, clerks, and other iPod-ians), but I’m really only listening to the iPod. It becomes a bit difficult to listen to really important things…like God, when I close myself into this nice little “me cocoon” and shut out the world.

So how does the iPod change a person? They become this empty shell, void of communication, walking through their day. It’s amazing how much difference those little white ear-buds can make.

Well, that’s enough of this high-altitude post…Dark Knight has started back up….

Mosquitoes

I was out slack lining today, and I wondered to myself; "Self, why are these mosquitoes here? What purpose could they possibly serve?" These pesky insects seem to be completely worthless to the human race.

Almost...

One can claim, and many of my companions do, that the reason God created mosquitoes so that we can have the wonderful Jurassic Park series. Nice. Personally, I don't really think it's worth it, because after the first one, the rest are pretty useless, but I digress.

But seriously, why did God create such a menace? My understanding of God is that everything is done according to His will. Whether He orchestrates it or allows it to happen, everything goes by our Sovereign God in heaven. So here are a few possible explanations:

It was a joke between Him and the angels....

Some guy prayed for a miracle in a time of financial crisis, so God created a need for this cat's only source of income....Bug spray....

Some of us (myself included) do a swatting dance to avoid bites which can look pretty ridiculous....and very entertaining....

I can't really even begin to speculate as to why God does what He does, I just know that He knows what He's doing, and I need to trust that. Even if it means I need to suffer my entire life just so children of America can watch dinosaurs eat people....

The Prodigal Son (Part III)

The story of the Prodigal son (Luke 15) is a great passage of scripture, because it is so relevant to so many people today. How many of us take God's love and run with it? How many of us abuse the wonderful gift we have and not return the gift of love back to Christ? How many of us were lost but now found?

I know I was.

I think I still am.

The way I see it, there are two parts to the story of the Prodigal Son. The first part is where the son is basically a jerk and says; "Hey pops...gimme my inheritance so I can go party it up and find some girls!" He then proceeds to hop on his camel and ride off in search of college babes, spending as much money as he possibly can. After he's blown it all on cards and booze, an economic crisis hits.

Hoh boy...

So he comes running back to his father. (I've always wondered if the father intentionally gave him the money knowing full well that his son would come back and learn a lesson) The father accepts him with loving arms and even throws a party for him. He totally forgets about his sins and accepts him.

Awesome.

Here's where the part three comes in (Yeah, I didn't write a part one or two...sorry if you looked for it). I wondered today if the Prodigal Son returned to his old state of not really caring for his father. While he still greatly appreciates the forgiveness his dad gave him, he doesn't really live like it. I wondered if the son continued to abuse and be unappreciative of the gift.

So the point I'm getting at after all this talk is this...is that I feel like I'm stuck in part iii of this story. Even though I know God gave me my freedom knowing what it would do to me and our relationship...Even though I know that God lovingly accepted me back again...Even though God loves me no matter what I've done...

I still don't return the love.

I still struggle with the faith.

I still struggle to pray for more than five minutes a day...pretty sad huh?

Sure there are times when I'm really excited for what God has done for me. For what God is doing in me. And for what God is going to do for me. But most of the time I feel like I just don't care.

Why am I telling you all this? To be honest, I don't really know. Partially because I wanted to be honest with people. Partially because I wanted to let everyone know that I struggle. Partially to encourage those who may struggle with similar things, because they aren't alone.

I think it's good to struggle, because it helps us grow. When we fight certain things, we ask questions, search ourselves, and search God. In the end, we come to know ourselves, our community, and our God better than we did before.

We shouldn't be afraid to admit our struggles. Face our trials. And ask for help.

Christians aren't proud....

We're humble.