House Call

World-renowned physicians Dr. Isaac and Dr. Ethan made an emergency visit to 816 N. Hoskins Avenue to perform surgery.  Their specialized medical team of Puppy, Curious George, Little Georgie and Clifford the Big Red Dog served as assistants.  The patient was treated and everyone seems to be well.  The doctors then returned to John Hopkins University Hospital.

 Dr. Ethan had a few words for his medical team after they nearly lost his mi-mi (aka his blanket).

West KY High School Basketball

Last Friday night, I got to see something I have not seen in years.  I watched a western KY high school basketball game. 

Maple Trail led a conference in Carlisle County, KY, at Bethlehem Baptist Church.  We were 25 miles SW of Paducah.  Deep west KY, 15 minutes from Missouri.  We drove down Friday to get setup and prepared. 

Since we had some free time, we decided to go see the Carlisle County Comets take on the Mayfield High School Cardinals in the semi-finals of the All Class A Regionals.  It was like stepping back into my past.

My high school, Hancock Co., was a Class A school.  Every year, we would watch and cheer as our beloved Hornets would compete for a trip to Eastern KY University’s McBrayer Area  for the All Class A Finals.  One year, I remember going and playing in the Pep band.  I think we finished second that year.

But now as an adult, seeing these young men, mostly 16 & 17 year olds, play their hearts out was inspiring.  In Carlisle County, there is no football team.  The school is too small.  Basketball is all they got.  You see ball hoops in nearly every driveway.  Much like football in other parts of the country (namely Texas), basketball is like a religion in west KY.

These young men dove on the hard court, banged around inside, and sprinted as hard as they could back and forth.  The rosters on these teams are not huge, so getting a breather is a luxury.  But you could see in their eyes, they loved every minute.

As I watched, I thought a lot about life, ministry, and teaching.  These young men will be college students in a couple years.  Some could even be in my classes at CU.  I thought about my boys and wondered what role sports will play in their lives, if any.  I watched the parents who dressed up, cheered, screamed, and had sacrificed thousands of dollars so their sons could play basketball.  Will we sacrifice that much?  Ten years from now, we shall see.

Basketball is a way of life in west KY.  It was great getting to remember what that felt like.

Living Grace – Final Week

I finished my three month stint at Living Grace Church yesterday.  It was a great day.  I truly believe God spoke.  It was an honor to get to know and love this church family.  If you would like to listen to my final message, you can listen here:  http://podcast.livinggracechurch.com/

Living Grace Week 11

Next to last week at Living Grace Church.  On Sunday, January 18th, Living Grace Church called Pastor Phillip Kelley to be their next senior pastor.  I could not be more happy for this church.  Pastor Phillip loves God, loves the Gospel, loves his family, loves the Word of God, and loves God’s people.  The five essentials for being a great pastor.  I wish him and Living Grace Church glorious success in expanding God’s kingdom in central KY.

I started a two-week series this week called My Social Networks.  You can hear the first message called Ignoring a Friend Request taken from Matthew 18:15-17 at http://podcast.livinggracechurch.com or on iTunes.  Next week will be Joining the Wrong Group from Titus 3:8-11.

MLK & the Inauguration

Memorial Pool

Back in October, Jennifer and I got to visit, and experience, the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Museum in Atlanta, GA.  Needless to say, we were moved to tears to hear his speeches, learn of his life, and consider the aspirations of this American hero.

And then yesterday, to see President Barack Obama take the oath of office.  Witnessing history in the making.  I felt like part of Dr. King’s dream had come true.  I felt the promised land that Dr. King preached where white children could play with black children and man would be judged by the character of his heart, not the color of his skin was coming to pass.

I am not a Democrat.  I am a socially conservative republican.  I didn’t vote for President Obama.  But I could not have been more proud to see him become our 44th president. 

It was a day I will always remember.  Like the Challenger explosion in 1986, the attacks on Sept. 11th and now the first black president taking the oath of office.  Two events of historic tragedy; one event of pure triumph.  I am proud to be an American.

KBC Deacon-Pastor Retreat Press

Nice article and press release of the annual Kentucky Baptist Convention Deacons-Pastor-Spouse Retreat.  I have the honor of leading two breakout sessions called: 

For the Rookies:  First Year Deacon Ministry
Stop, Drop, & Roll:  Deacons Dealing with Conflict

http://www.kybaptist.org/kbc/welcome.nsf/pages/dps2009pr

Semester No. 2 Begins

I start classes again today.  Actually, I substitute taught a grad class last night for a colleague, but that really doesn’t count.  Another great semester lies ahead.

I am really excited about this new batch of courses.  I have Teaching for Life Change, Spiritual Formation, 2 Religion in Life classes in person and 1 RNL online.

I have been looking forward to the Teaching for Life Change class since before I came to CU.  This class stokes my passion for training Christian teachers how to teach God’s word and God’s people.  I can’t wait.  This is my bread-n-butter class.

Spiritual Formation is a small group experience with a limited number of students.  We will study spiritual gifts, spiritual disciplines and how one goes about fostering a renewed heart for God.  It should be a great time getting to know students on a very personal level.

Then Religion in Life.  Both in-person classes are full.   I have revamped the curriculum since last semester.  I am pumped and ready to tweek this gen. ed. courses for the maximum impact on student’s lives and souls.  We will have a good ride together.

Thank you all your prayers as God continues to shape this new ministry path He has set me on.

Living Grace Week 10

With two weeks to go, I am already starting to miss being at Living Grace Church.  I have really enjoyed being with this church.  But God has worked in providinga new pastor and leader for LGC.  Mr. Phillip Kelley will come this Sunday evening for a final meeting with the congregation and hopefully a vote of affirmation to become the new senior pastor.

But I have two weeks left to go, so this week we are beginning new series called My Social Networks.  We are going to be looking at how Christians should relate to one another.  Social networking, such as Facebook and MySpace, are all the craze.  But how should Christians network with each other?  How should we treat our brothers and sisters in Christ socially.

This week’s message is called “Ignorning a Friend Request.”  If you have Facebook, you know exactly what I am talking about.  We will be looking at Matthew 18:15-17 where Jesus teaches us how to accept a friend’s request for reconciliation.

Finding Balance in Worship

Written for the CU Worship Arts Blog.  www.cuworshiparts.com

A thirsty Jesus.  A Samaritan woman.  A hot afternoon.  A deep well.  And a conversation about worship.  Which part of this picture does not fit? 

John chapter 4 has always perplexed me.  Despite the cultural issues of a Jewish man talking to a Samaritan woman.  Despite the woman’s romantic affairs (multiple failed marriages and currently shaking up) talking privately to a single, handsome stranger.  Despite the fact that Jesus, who is really thirsty (display of his humanity), asks a woman for water, another cultural indiscretion, does so in broad daylight without any hesitation.  Despite all these things, how in the world could the conversation turn to worship?  Of all things…worship. 

That makes absolutely no sense to me.  I say it again, I am perplexed.  But in that conversation Jesus explains that true worship, the kind of worship God’s seeks and accepts, must contain two elements.  It must include both the spirit and the truth.  Since God is spirit, those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth (John 4:23-24). 

Did you get that?  Worship MUST contain both SPIRIT and TRUTH.  There must be a balanced inclusion of both elements.  Neither can be neglected.  Both are essential.  Both are required elements for true worship.

When I look at the church landscape of America, I find most churches focus on one or the other.  Either they are spirit-led or they are truth-filled.  Going to extremes in either element is dangerous; neglect of either is regrettable. 

If worshippers focus entirely on the spirit, they are led toward hyper emotionalism and a hysterical frenzy.  Likewise, if all they seek is worship filled with unadulterated truth, the outcome is intellectual head knowledge and Bible trivia facts.

Conversely, too little spirit in worship results in cold, passionless, dry worship which is neither transformational nor inspiring.  Yet too little truth in worship leads to ignorance and harmful damage to the glorious Gospel revealed in Christ Jesus, the incarnate Word.

Jesus instructed the woman, and us, to find a proper balance between the spirit and truth.  You got to have both.  If either is element is missing, you don’t have worship God approves.  You have something terribly wrong.

Reflect on the last worship service you attended.  How would you rate it on a spirit scale?  How would you rate it on a truth scale?  My guess is that you probably have a high score in one and a low score in the other.  Friends, that was not biblical worship.  Unless you have high marks on BOTH scales, you didn’t worship, you had a service.

Fun with Video

I can’t stop myself.  This is too much fun.

Putt Putt

Christmas 2008

Maple Trail Events

Maple Trail Ministry Consultants (the consulting firm Jennifer and I lead) is gearing up for a pretty busy spring semester with several opportunities to equip and train leaders all over the state of Kentucky.  Here is a brief overview of where Maple Trail will be this spring.

January 24 – Bethlehem Baptist Church, Cunningham, KY – Shane & Brandon Carrier will be leading a Bible Study Teacher Training for children, youth, and adult teachers.

February 6-7 – KBC Deacons-Pastors-Spouses Retreat – Lexington, KY – Shane will be leading two breakout sessions.

February 15 – March 15 - Columbia Baptist Church, Columbia, KY - Stewardship emphasis – Shane, Jennifer, Phillip Brunner and Andrew Dyer will be helping CBC grow in their stewardship efforts using a variety of ministry strategies.

March 6-7 – Blackford Bapt. Assoc. Youth DiscipleNow Weekend – Shane will be preaching the main sessions and training the youth ministers and leaders in ministry workshops.

March 8 – Lewisport Bapt. Church – Shane will be preaching at his home church to help celebrate their 150th year anniversary.  Too much fun.

May 18-19 – KBC Youth Minister’s Retreat – Shane will be training youth pastors from around the state in the changing youth ministry paradigms.

April 26 – Campbellsville Baptist Church – Shane will be preaching during the morning worship services.

May 24 – July 7 – Main Street Bapt. Church, Alexandria, KY – Shane will be preaching 7 weeks as Pastor Bob Franklin, my former pastor and boss,  is on sabbatical.  It will be great to go back home to one of the greatest churches in America.  I can’t wait.

To read more about these events, please go to www.mapletrail.org.