insignificant events with huge implications

HEY, thanks for taking time to check out my blog. hopefully you will check back often and leave many comments. I heard Rob Bell say lately that everything is spritual, and the more you ponder that thought the more you realize how true it is. So many events in our everyday lives seem insignificant, but the way we handle those events have huge implications towards our relationship with Christ. Most of the things I write are not deep, actually they are very simple, so simple we miss them everyday. Anyways…….I hope to here feedback from you.

I have posted some previous blogs from my myspace account for you to check out. Good Luck.

Jason

I hate shopping, I hate spending money on clothes even more. If you know me you know that my fashion resembles my spending. My biggest thing is buying shoes. Nothing gripes me more than droping a couple of 20 dollar bills for a pair of shoes. There might not be a more overpriced item in our country than shoes. (except maybe airport food. 1 burger, large fry, and small drink = 13.25)

Anyway, I have become an excellent bargain shoe shopper over the years. It’s really quite simple. I will give you my secret. You just buy the ugly shoes. They are alway on the sale rack, and they are stacked high because no one will touch them. Those are the shoes with 3 or 4 mark down stickers. They started at 79.99 but now you can grab them for  a steal of 9.99. That’s my kind of shoe 9.99. And I get my money’s worth out of them too. I won’t buy new ones until my bair feet have actually broken through the sole and touching the ground.

All this rambling because I recently had to by a new pair of shoes. I immediatly walked in and found one of the shoe carnival employees. He asked if he could help me, and I responded, “I’m looking for a good pair of basketball shoes for about $30″ he kind of laughed and led me back to “cheap shoe” section. He begin giving me some options none of which I was interested in. These were some of the ugliest shoes you have ever seen. White with neon green, and yellow….you get the picture. I politely said that I would keep looking. As I was walking around passing the $150 shoes my mind couldn’t help but ponder about Jesus and his infatuation with picking down and out people. Jesus was constantly having dinner, and talking with the “9.99 rack” his choice for disciples was even more ridiculous. FISHERMEN! what a bunch of smelly losers. I wasn’t there but I can imagine when Jesus said come follow me Peter probably laced up some of those neon purple converses that I looked at.

The point being, while I was strolling through shoe carnival I just kind of smerked as I thought about our infatuation with cool, hot, and popular things. I think we all have a little but of Junior High in us. Nobody wants to be caught dead in the Wal-Mart shoes. Nobody wants to be friends with the guy who doesn’t shower everyday, or the guy who wears the same outfit to church every week. For most of us we overspend on all our relationships because the shoes on the clearance rack are just “ugly.” Jesus loved converse evidentally because there are a bunch sitting on the sale rack.

It’s that time of year again, when all the guys lace em up and go out on the court and try to prove to everyone that they were a high school star. I am coaching our church team this year, and I have reached the age (and weight) where my mind knows what it wants to do, but my body just isn’t fast enough to get there.

I have 2 things that I love about Church Basketball:The first thing I love is that no other sport like basketball can bring out the thug in all the white boys in town. It is so funny to see, how even the biggest redneck when it comes to basketball, gets out the baggy shorts, cutoff shirts, expensive shoes, and wears his headphones while he is walking into the gym. Doing the nod head thing, and talking in the “street cred” accent that lets us know “he’s got game” Don’t get me wrong I am a recovering “thug” I am slowly working my way back, as a matter of fact for our first game I tucked in my shirt, and didn’t sag my shorts, I WAS STYLING!

The second thing that makes me laugh about church league basketball is how competitive and angry everyone gets so fast. Leave it to men to prove there manhood with a ball right? Sometimes in all my years experience I have wanted to crawl under the bleachers and hide the name of my church on the front of my jersey. It’s pretty emabaressing! Not to make it spiritual, but I kind of get the feeling these are the type of things the disciples did on their off days with Jesus. It wasn’t basketball but maybe it was “rock throwing contests” or “arm wrestling” I can just see Peter after losing in semifinals on the arm wrestling tournament getting up in Thomas’s face and in that “I got game” accent saying, ” What? you want some of this? I got plenty come get it!” And Jesus is over on another rock just kind of laughing. Maybe it was at those points when he would sit them down and say, things like, “If you want to be the greatest, you must be the least among all of you.” Jesus never seemed to be into proving his manhood, as a matter of fact when it was called into question, while he was being beaten, and they asked him to respond, HE SAID NOTHING! Jesus would defiantly get some good laughs at the church basetkball league. After it was all over he would probably try to catch the refs before thery left, and apologize to them, saying that he was not associated with the guys who were playing in the gym. But I’m sure Jesus understands, I mean after all we are trying to score the most points, and he knows how important that is. Oh yea, one last thing, My favorite line is after someone gets beat by about 30 points, and they say, “Dude, those guys don’t even attend that church” I love that one.

Jason

I had the opportunity today to fly on Christmas Eve. I must admit, it wasn’t as hectic as I thought it would be. For some reason Airlines choose to take you all over the country to get you to your final destination. Start in Louisville, layover in San Francisco, connector in Dallas, Arrive in Baton Rouge. (Not exactly true but you get my drift)

There is always a certain point during the pre flight routine where I get upset, and my rebellious side starts rising up. It’s the time when they instruct you to turn off all electronic devices. Now I can understand a cell phone. Maybe it would interfere with the radio frequencies, but why do I have to turn off my ipod. Are you telling me this billion dollar piece of equipment might go down because I have a little praise and worship music playing through my headphones. As the Flight attendants begin to walk the isle, I have to make a quick decision, am I going to hide the iPod, and get it out after they pass, or do I put it up and wait for the seat belt sign to go off before I listen to it. Everytime I am drawn to the thought of obeying authority. I thought today, “I guess it’s not called obeying, if you don’t have a problem with it!” Right? I mean if you agree with someone…. you don’t have to obey it! It’s only in those times when you know that you are right and they are wrong when you have to decide…. am I humble enough to obey something or someone that I disagree with? Today I failed, I hid the iPod and after they passed me by, I put the praise and worship music back in my ears. I’m sure the Lord was pleased with my worship.

Nothing really new here, just more self awareness. I found out that it doesn’t just involve board games, (read the last blog if that doesn’t make since) it involves my eating to. At the Mexican resturaunt Wednesday Night I made sure that the salsa was sitting right in front of me, forcing other people to strain and reach across the table. I was very comfortable with the location of the salsa however…..until somebody dared to move it closer to them, at the point I had no other option, “Excuse me, waiter, can I get some more salsa please!” No reaching for me. In Jason’s world he doesn’t reach!

We all know that we are selfish. Everyone does think of themselves first, some people more than others but we are all wired to think of ourselves. I know this, but it becomes more clear to me at different times. Most recently during a game of monopoly at my house with some students. While setting up the game I had to make a couple of decisions in my mind. First of all I was not going to be the banker because the banker had to do to much stuff. Always making change, and having to keep up with who’s passing go, so no banker for me. Also I noticed that when setting the board on the table I had it tottally closer to me me than everyone else at the table. While some of the students were having to reach across the table for the community chest, I was a very comfortable with the distance that I was from the board.

Lastly, in all of my attempts to make trades with people, in every single one of them I was trying to rip the other person off, and totally benefit myself. Obviously the objective in the game was to win, but I find myself living my life with these same objectives. Convenience, Less work, and Personal Gain. These 3 scenarios seem to always creep into my way of living. It gives meaing to the idea of “If anyone wants to follow me must take up his cross and follow me.” Following is very hard, when trying to live for Convenience, Less Work, and Personal Gain. The teachings of Jesus are inconvenient, hard work, and totally destroy the idea of my gain. Maybe thats why I am so attracted to him. It’s the only message that tells me I’m not the most important.

Walking out to my car today at Kroger I was challenged with the same challenge I get everytime at the Grocery store. Do I return the cart to the door or leave it in the parking spot next to me. I’m that guy who does the very things that make me mad. I can’t stand the person who drives all the way down the lane that is about to end, and then cuts over making me wait longer. But I do it! And when I’m pulling in the grocery store and I think I have spotted a prime front parking spot only to find that there is a cart  that someone left there I get angry and usually scream something stupid (I have some issues I know) If you know me then you know God tends to speak to me through wierd things. But today as I was  about to leave my cart in the spot beside me, I saw the teenage girl worker who was having to go into the parking lot and collect all the carts. And I just felt like she probably cusses under her breath about the idiots who are to lazy to walk there carts back. And I felt Christ challenge me to make life easier for someone else. Maybe it’s just me!

I was sitting at my desk today looking at all the plans for the church and the youth group for the summer and the fall, and got pretty angry with myself. I’m not sure at what point the switch happened but it did happen. Instead of being a pastor I just became a promoter. I find myslef setting up one event to promote the next one. On my list of things to do for wednesdays I have them listed in this order: 1. Call students, 2. Make flyers (for big event) 3. Prepare sermon. I think I got into ministry because I really believed that God had gifted me to present the Gospel in a way that would help people come to a solid relationship with him. I’m not sure If I am doing that yet, but I did just reserve the blowup boxing ring for next wednesday night. Everybody says more events, more events, bigger numbers, and who am I to say that are wrong with my 25 kids, but leading like this sucks. Having to make announcments promising that the next thing we do will “change your life” so make sure you don’t miss it. I promote the fall retreat and the saturday car wash with the same enthusiam, claiming that both is something you don’t want to miss. Kind of like how I promote Sunday School, the one I don’t attend myself. It’s just tough because Jesus was always breaking away when the numbers got to big, now I have never had the numbers to big problem, but I guess there is some magic number in my head where I can change the order of my wednesday to do list, I am just not sure what that number is. I find myslef sometimes sitting in the pew on Sunday mornings thinking Jesus would already be in line at Golden Corral. After worship he decided to leave before the announcments.