Who will take the Rose?

I was listening to Matt Chandler (you want this guy on your podcast-he is solid) yesterday and he gave an illustration that struck me so vividly and I felt compelled to share with you today.

He spoke of sitting in a worship service not too long ago and listening to a preacher who preached a message on the subject of sex and purity.  The preacher held up a rose in front of the congregation and told everyone that he wanted them to smell his rose, so he threw it out in the congregation and told everyone to pass it around and savor it.  He then began to preach a less than average, un-biblical message on sex.  He threw out statements like, “you don’t wont syphilis do you?  Everybody’s smiling and having a good time at the party until they realize you’ve got herpes.”  He then proceeds to degrade the issue and asks for his rose back, which by this time is broken into pieces and the beautiful rose petals are scattered everywhere.  He then holds up the broken rose and shouts, “who would want this?”  Matt says, that everything within him wanted to stand up and say, “JESUS WANTS THE ROSE.”  Isn’t that the beauty of the Cross?  Isn’t that the Gospel?  Isn’t that the benchmark of our faith?  Couple things are resonating within me from this illustration.

• No one leans against the Cross and says, “come get you some of this.”  I’m sure the content of what the preacher was preaching had truth within it.  But truth without love is nothing more than legalism, which is quite detrimental to the Gospel.  The Gospel shouts, “he made him who knew no sin to become sin for US, so that WE might become the righteousness of God.”  No one gets to lean on the cross.  That’s not the message of the Gospel.  The message of the Gospel is that we all need the Cross and there is room for every one of us.  If you think you’ve arrived you’ve missed the message of the Cross-you’ve misunderstood the Gospel.  Jesus wants the filthy, dirty, unsavoring, unholy, unrighteous, and less than worthy rose.  That’s the Gospel.

 

• Have we esteemed second-rate traditional issues over the heart of the Gospel?  I’m not talking about justifying a lifestyle of sin through the message of the Gospel.  The Scriptures are replete with the expectation of living a life that honors the Sacrifice of the Cross as well as rebuke for continuing to live a lifestyle that is disobedient to the Gospel.  However, the message of the Gospel is one of Grace and love, not a  checklist of self-righteous deeds.  Do we make people stumble over our preferences to get to the Cross?  If we are, then we are bringing  extra-biblical ideologies into the Gospel message and that is nothing more than heresy.  Jesus wants the rose JUST AS IT IS.  The church of Ephesus was praised for their good deeds, for their endurance and courage to faithfully preach the Gospel, and their knowledge of the Truth.  But they were rebuked for one important element: they lost their love.  God help us to live and speak the reality of the Gospel.  Jesus died for the rose just as it is.

Celebrate Love

Today I am celebrating my awesome wife.  I think when it comes to fairy tale stories no one even comes close to what Trista and I have.  Some would say we started dating at the age of 3, which is pretty close but in fact our journey began at the ages of 12 & 10.  From Tuesday night Christian skating (don’t laugh too hard), Berea High football games, to youth group and Cades Cove (another laughable moment for Trista and I) you will find a love that is inseparable. 

One of the greatest moments I hold very dear to my heart is the day I asked Trista to marry me.  May of 2003, at Folly Beach (Charleston, SC) with a crop plane and about 1,000 people I’ve never met, I asked my best friend to marry me.  We just celebrated our fifth anniversary and I can honestly say that I love my wife more today than I ever have.  I want to give you a few things about Trista that I absolutley adore.

1. My Best Friend-Can you read someone’s mind?  Can you have a conversation with someone without saying a word?  Pretty freaky I know, but Trista and I are so much alike it’s scary.  All she needs to do is take a look at me and she knows exactly what I’m thinking and how I feel about a situation.  Whether, its yelling at the TV while watching Clemson football, sitting in a tree stand, cleaning fish, watching a scary movie, or just spending time together, there is no one on planet earth that I would rather be with than my wife.  I’m in love with my best friend! 
2. Amazing Mother-My love for Trista has grown deeply through her love for our son, Patrick.  Just to watch her teach him how to pray, devote her entire schedule to his deepest needs, and love him unconditionally is indescribable for me as a husband and father.  I cannot wait until the day that Patrick fully understands just how much he is loved and cared for by an amazing mother who I believe will receive countless rewards from our Heavenly Father because of her Proverbs 31 characteristics.
3. Faithful Follower-Almost 10 years ago I surrendered my life to full-time ministry.  I knew that the moment I surrendered to the call God placed on my life that Trista would support me no matter what.  I still talk about being  a missionary to Africa one day and she says, “when do we pack our bags?”  I feel sorry for anyone in ministry that does not have the faithful support of their spouse.  I will go on record and say that no one is invested in ministry as much as my wife.  No one loves the students God has called me to as much as my wife.  No one connects as much with the students God has called me to as much as my wife.  No one plans and prepares for the students God has called me to more than my wife.  It’s not something I expect from her, it’s something that she absolutely loves to do.  You see, almost ten years ago when I surrendered to ministry God gave me someone who felt called as well.  He blessed me with someone who wanted to impact people with the life changing message of the Gospel.  He blessed me with someone who wants to faithfully follow Him.

Today, I want to publically tell my wife how madly in love I am with her.  Trista, I want you to know how grateful I am that you are in my life and without you I wouldn’t be half the man that I am today.  Today, I want to celebrate my immense love for you.  Much love, BABE!!!

Celebrate Influence

Today I am celebrating the life of my spiritual mentor, Guy Roberts.  God blessed me with the incredible opportunity to be able to sit under his ministry for almost seven years.  There is absolutely no way that words could ever do adequate justice to what he means to me as a Christian man, husband, father, minister, and friend.  Today I want to publically give praise to God for the life and influence of Guy Roberts.  What are some things that I cherish most about him?

Passion, Passion, Passion, and more Passion-For those of you who know Guy Roberts, you know exactly what this statement means.  When it comes to life, ministry, preaching the Word, family, and friends you know that he is passionate.  After almost 30 years of ministry you would think contentment would begin to set in.  You would think distractions such as apathy and futility would take over.  But that’s not what you find.  Every conversation that I have is always fueled with passion.  Passion to do more, to preach more, to be in center of God’s will, to be all that he can for the people God has called him to, to just be passionate.  I hope that of all the major lessons I’ve learned from Guy Roberts that I will never get to the point in my life and ministry that all I want to do is just make it to the finish line.  I want to run as fast and hard as I can all the way home.  I hope that one day I can be as passionate about Jesus Christ as Guy Roberts?  Who do you have in your life that compels you to sit at the feet of Jesus? 

Study to Live, Not to Preach-One of the greatest struggles of preaching and teaching the Word of God is solely diving into the Scriptures for someone else, rather than for yourself.  If you are not intentional about feeding on God’s Word for you, then you won’t have much to give.  Someone said, “If there is mist in the pulpit, there is fog in the pews.”  The great tragedy in many of our pulpits today is that many people in the pew are hungry because the person behind the podium is starving himself.  I will never forget the first night I really had a chance to sit down with Guy Roberts and talk about ministry.  The greatest principle he gave me that night over dinner was, “study to live, not to preach.”  The greatest truth I could ever preach to a congregation of people is the truth that I personally have received, struggled with, digested, applied, and lived out for myself.  If I am living off the truth of God’s Word then I will never stand behind any podium without something of substance and value for the people.  Do you have anyone who creates a hunger and thirst in you for God’s Word?       

A man who is TOO BIG to come down off his platform and serve is too small to be on that platform-Most of you probably already have a list of individuals who you know of that fit into this category.  If ministry was only about preaching His Word to a certain group of people, then we probably wouldn’t have so many guys abandoning the Call of God.  At the heart of ministry from a biblical perspective is servant hood.  John 13 depicts this great truth.  Jesus humbles himself and washes the disciples feet to show them his heart for servant hood.  When it comes to ministry the truth still remains, “People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.”  Over 6 years of ministry with Guy Roberts, I can honestly say that I have never seen someone who is more passionate and concerned about the church out of the pulpit as he is while he is in the pulpit.  Can you identify anyone in your life that models servant hood?

Today, I thank God for testimony and example of Guy Roberts.  I am most grateful, for I know that God placed him in my path as someone who can lead me into the image of who God wants me to be–like his Son.  I will forever stand on the shoulders of this man as my spiritual giant.  Who is yours?        

Back At It

Where have I been?  I wish I had more time to devote to fleshing out my thoughts, which I absolutely love to do.  Between spending time with my family, being dedicated to the ministry God has called me to, and working on my Master’s degree–time is of the essence.  I have much on my heart that I want to share with you guys.  As I try to balance the priorities in my life I hope that I will be able to devote more time to putting my thoughts into words. 

Over the next couple of weeks I will be sharing some thoughts on Celebration–Influence, Love, and Family.  Be sure to check it out.  

This is also an exciting time of year for me, “FOOTBALL IS HERE!”  Fall is in the air, which means tail-gating and smash-mouth football.  This is an exciting time to be a Tiger fan.  I haven’t drank the purple kool-aid when it comes to Dabo being our saving grace, but there are some things about him that I love.  He is passionate, you can’t argue with that.  He is a straight shooter.  What you see is what you get.  He is going to put the best 11 players on the field, guaranteed.  His job depends on it.  We have all learned by now that contracts mean absolutely nothing.  Bubble screens will not be our go to play, and when it’s 3rd and 15, we won’t throw the ball 5 yards and pray for a miracle.   

This is an exciting time to be a Tiger also because of the unknown.  Who knows what Parker is going to do?  Who knows if the offensive line is any better?  Who knows if CJ spiller will have a break-out year?  Who knows if our defense will be as good as they say they are?  I do know that I’m ready for some ribs from sticky fingers, the sea of orange, death valley, Howard’s rock, tiger rag, the HILL, and new possibilities.  

It’s opening week (Middle Tennessee).  I expect there to be a lot of mistakes early on, perhaps due to the hype and the nervousness.  I think reality will settle in quick.  I’m going to take the Tigers by 17.