Definition and Declaration of Faith

I just listened to a pretty amazing sermon by the Reverend Dr. Abraham Waya on the issue of what it means to be a disciple of Christ. As I've never truly discussed this, and as it's a fairly important topic to me, I've decided to post an account of my definition and declaration of faith.

I am a Christian, in the sense that I am a follower of Christ and His teachings. I dislike labels, but I'd rather be called a follower of Christ than a follower of Christian religion. I believe that Jesus Christ died, for my sins and the sins of the world, and was raised back to life. I believe that Jesus was the son of God, and as such, wholly mortal and wholly divine. My life is dedicated to learning, serving, and spreading the Word of God in as much depth and in as many ways possible. This is what I believe and it is who I am.

I am a scholar, in the sense that I am actively interested in learning and exploring God's Word.

I am a follower, in the sense that I willingly submit to and obey my God's commands, directives, and teachings.

I am a teacher in that I believe it is my duty and my calling as a follower of Christ to spread my testimony and the news of God's gifts of salvation and love to the world.

I am a leader, in the sense that I try to the best of my ability to lead and assist others in their walk with God.

I am a musician, in that I attempt to bring others into the presence of God through musical worship.

I am a warrior, because believe it or not, every human being on this planet is knowingly or unknowingly engaged in active spiritual warfare every minute of every day.

I am a servant, in the sense that I serve others out of a love for them and for God.

But more than all these things, I am a man. A simple, fragile human being, easily shaken and easily distracted. My wish and my fervent hope is that this declaration will not only aid me in further strengthening my roots in my own faith, but help bring others to a more complete knowledge of Christ.

If you have questions, I'm always more than ready to share how God has impacted my life, and I'm always up for honest, open dialogue and discussion.

The Big 150

I just wanted to write a quick blog post about the community in which I live, the Willimantic Camp Meeting Association, or WCMA. Today is 'Opening Sunday' here, which traditionally is the first Sunday of what is known as 'Camp Meeting Week', a 7-day series of prayer meetings, Bible studies, and sermons, punctuated by pot-lucks and times of fellowship. It's something that many people here look forward to all year round. This Sunday however, holds special meaning as it is the WCMA's 150th anniversary. That's truly an astonishing achievement. Not only is the Campgrounds an amazing Christian organization, it's a wonderful community and a truly beautiful place to live. I've lived here my entire life and I've come to feel very blessed to have been so privileged to be able to reside in such an unique community of believers. So, to everyone at the WCMA, thank you and congratulations on 150 years of fellowship, faith and service. And if you're in the Windham/Willimantic area (or even if you aren't) please stop by sometime this week and help us celebrate our 150th anniversary! Details are right here.

From Pleasure to Pain

In C.S. Lewis' book, "The Problem of Pain" he writes, "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world." I know, growing up in a Christian school environment, I heard this quote a lot (especially in Mr. Dietrich's class). But it never really hit me until a little while ago. Here are a few thoughts on this topic.

"God whispers to us in our pleasures": God delights in what gives us joy, (within reason. God has designed certain things to give us pleasure, such as music, food, sex, etc. But taken outside of the boundaries of God's law, they become a perversion, and He doesn't enjoy that. But that's a post for another time). When we follow Him and take joy in our world and each other, we can hear a dim echo of God's voice in us.

"(God) ...speaks to us in our conscience": if God is whispering to us when we are pleased and obeying Him, he raises His voice a little when we're not listening very well. When we stray off the path, when we begin to swerve away from what God has planned for us, He uses our conscience, (an inner moral guide) to speak to us and say "This is wrong, don't do that." Yet if we continue off this path, eventually we will encounter pain.

Now, pain is not necessarily a bad thing. It's your body's natural reaction to an intrusion or injury. Physical pain can be helpful in determining what's going wrong with your body. For example, if you accidentally cut yourself, you'll begin to feel pain, telling you that you've hurt a certain part of your body. Yet there are many kinds of pain, physical, emotional, even spiritual anguish. Pain is a reminder that things are not as they should be. An angry break-up, watching a friend destroy their life, even a broken arm: all these different kinds of pain are warnings that something is wrong, that things are out of the natural order of life and need to be put back to the way God desires them to be. God shouts to us in our pain. He's trying to tell us, "Hey! I love you! Come back to me." And we need to listen to that.

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Snatches of poetry... "A Midsummer's Day Dream"

The neighbors must think me insane.

Seeing this boy of a man stretching his inelegant frame upon the dusty ground,
Savoring the sweet summer scent
Of freshly mown grass.
Arms spread wide, embracing the earth and sky,
Eyes open, soaring into that same ocean of endless azure
Framed only by the eternal evergeens now freed from their long winter solstice.
A few wisps of cotton seek asylum together, drifting lazily along cool blue streams as I
lay,
Fingers dug deep into the arid earth, juxtaposed 'twixt verdant blades and miniscule
remnants of some long forgotten mountain.
Headphones blaring,
A tuneless cacophony of white noise, accentuated only by the quiet chirping of a few downy sparrows.
The hot dirt and gentle breezes vie for my sensory attention as I
rest
uncaring
While snatches of poetry and verse run rampant through my mind.