Whatever Takes Us Away

"Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in diffferent kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one just as he determines." (1 Corinthians 12:7-11)

I've found a Bible podcast on iTunes recently and have been listening to 1 Corinthians chapters 1 through 15 for a couple days now. I have read and re-read this passage and even have it highlighted in my Bible, but hearing it a couple days ago opened my eyes to something . . .

I have known that there are reasons for different denominations among the church and have somewhat understood this in the past, but for some reason this passage of scripture really made it clear to me. Each denomination has its own way of doing things, its own special missions and ministries and I think this helps to clarify why we have these denominations. The Holy Spirit gives each of us different gifts, talents and abilities - in a quantity that matches our level of faith - and we in turn usually gravitate towards those of like mind, talents and abilities. Some of the more Pentacostal churches I've attended usually had more people with the gift of speaking in tongues, and to a certain degreee, interpreting those tongues. Other churches seem to have large numbers of people that see visions and are able to prophesy.

The passage goes on to talk about how the body (both the physical & the church) is made of many different parts. Not one of them makes a body, but all together they make the body complete. "If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be?" (1 Cor. 12:17) As many different denominations we are all parts and pieces of the body of Christ, not just one makes up the whole.



As the whole body of Christ, we, the different denominations need to start working more with instead of against each other. If you have a friend, co-worker or family member that attends a different church, good, encourage that person to continue (granted that church is one that believes in Christ Jesus, and Him crucified and risen). Don't try to say that your church is better. Don't try to explain why that church is wrong. Your church isn't better and their church isn't wrong, but rather, build each other up and learn the small, distinct differences in your churches; understand them and embrace them. Talk about the good things in each other's churches. When we focus on the negative we force ourselves back into divisions. (I wrote about divisions among the church back in February (Judge not . . . divide not)) and have been seeking more guidance in this since that post. 1 Corinthians Chapter 3 talks more about divisions among the believers, take a few minutes to read it, then fast forward to chapter 12 and read about the spiritual gifts and the body.

We are one in Christ, let us act that way.

The weekend went very well. Got a few things accomplished around the house, mowed the grass and headed towards the parent's house to help out there (and to rally my Dad up for some fishing). So, around 5:00 we headed towards the lake. By 5:15 we were in the boat, Dad, Jake and myself, as we pushed off across the water. Within minutes of slowing I killed the motor and reeled in the first fish of the day, a decent crappie worthy of keeping. Just moments after that another, and another and another. Dad was getting a little frustrated as he was tending to the fish, trying to keep them on the stringer (forgot the basket & the bucket). So, I halted my casting for a few minutes and watched Jake and Dad as they cast. Finally, I wasn't the only one retrieving fish from the lake. Dad caught a few and put them on the stringer, I started fishing again. By this time there were six good sized fish to take home and Dad landed another one. Somehow, and I wasn't watching until too late, Dad got another one and as he was reaching for the stringer it fell. He was devastated, the work, the time (a mere 30 minutes or so) just gone. He took the fish he still had on his line, strung it up and we continued. Mind you, we threw a few small ones back, bass, catfish, blue gill and we still ended up taking home 17 fish! We caught 31 fish in about two and a half hours. A day well spent.

Sunday morning went pretty well, church, lunch with Mom & Dad and then we headed back to church for Youth Group. We struggled to keep focus (the teens as well as Tina and I), but we managed to work on some new songs and began preping for the Youth service. Afterwards we packed everything and everyone up and headed back to my parents' house for a fish fry.

Between Tina, my Dad and I we ate every bit of fish we had caught the day before. It was very tasty and I look forward to having more days like that throughout the summer.

Head for home, get kids to bed, relax, right?

Wrong. Very wrong.

In Luke, Chapter 10 you'll find the parable of the Good Samaritan. I'm sure many of you know this story, but I'll go ahead and paraphrase. Man gets mugged on his way to Jericho, left on the side of the road. A priest walks by see the man laying there, goes around him. So to, a Levite (set aside for God's work) sees and goes around the man. Then, a Samaritan came along the road, took the beaten man and cared for his needs, paid for him to have a place to stay and recover and was willing to come back and pay for any extra expenses. That's a pretty nice guy if you ask me, helping a complete stranger.

Now, after our return to the house Sunday evening Tina checked to see if we'd missed any calls as I got the kids ready for bed. Not knowing what was going on or who she was talking too I continued my task, got the kids tucked in and then found her sitting on the stairs, crying, still talking on the phone.

As I found out, her mother had fallen in the shower and broke her lower leg, separated her ankle from her calf. Papa Bill was at work when this happened so she crawled out of the shower, called 911 and crawled to the door when they arrived. She had also called Tina's sister.

I love Debbie as I would my own sister, but as she is one who deals with being Bi-Polar I sometimes struggle to find in myself the capacity to love her as a Christian. When she received the phone call from her mother she was too busy cooking a souffle and would send her husband, Dean. Tina's mom was devastated and hung up the phone.

After the visit to the emergency room Tina's Dad called again to see if they could help get Mom in the house when they got there. Again, they were too busy shopping and having dinner; so a group of elderly people helped get Anna inside once she returned home (they live in a senior community).

As of last night Debbie had still yet to even pay her own mother a visit or check on her. I pain inside as we are nearly on opposite ends of the continent. 2700 miles separate us and Tina's folks and I hope there can be a change in that in the not-too-distant future.

Anna will go in Thursday for surgery to have everything put back together and get the "ankle bones connected to the leg bones" and pray that all goes well with that. She seems to be in good spirits despite everything.

Pray also for Tina and I as we struggle to understand how somone, family member, stanger, anyone, could act in such a way. Pray that we find peace and understanding and are able to deal with Debbie in a Christian manner when the time comes.

"Which of these three do you think was the neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?" The expert of the law replied, "The one who had mercy on him." Jesus told him, "Go and do likewise." (Luke 10:36-37 NIV)

I'll keep this post short. There's a lot on my mind and I don't really have the proper amount of time to get it all out in a concise manner right now.

Keep Tina and her family in prayer, her mother broke her lower leg the other day.

Keep the youth group and I in prayer as we are working on putting together a Praise & Worship service coming in a few weeks.

I'll give better updates shortly. Until then . . .

I need to say thanks to our friends at Kingsway Fellowship for having our group at their Life Change event yesterday. It was a good learning experience, a good time of fellowship, and a good time of worship. I'm always excited about seeing what other area churches are doing, especially when it comes to youth things - and judging by what we saw, they've really got it going on there! I was really moved to know that the worship band for the day was all youth lead; it was an awesome experience and I'm glad we were a part of it. Equally moving were the speakers throughout the day. I think we all agreed that Pastor Chris Wallis was pretty good, and the kids in the group thought he was pretty funny to boot. Likewise, they enjoyed listening to Terra Schaeffer. That woman has some serious passion about what she does, and it shows. A good speaker and a great woman of God. All in all, we had a great time and look forward to being a part of it again next year.



Sadly we had to leave a little early and didn't get to see Josh Bates perform. However, we did get to see Britt Nicole (2nd time this year - WinterJam) and she did an amazing job. Prior to her taking the stage there was an alter call and many of the teens there got up and went forward, nailing something they've been bearing to a cross (metaphorically and physically nailing). During this time Tina and I had the opportunity to pray for and pray with some of those that came forward, and to our amazement, Britt Nicole was doing the same thing; going around and praying with the teens that came forward. That was a truly awesome thing to see. Here you have a nationally recognized singer, getting down and into the thick of things, praying with these young people. You see people like that on stage, on TV, hear them on the radio and think they don't get down to business when it comes to church things, people things, real life things. But there she was, doing what seemed to be what God wanted her to do at that time, pray with those that needed it. Thanks!

I can't say that everyone we took had a life changing time, but I do know that they all had some kind of God encounter - some that didn't expect it, and some that did. Again, I say thanks to our wonderful hosts at Kingsway Fellowship and to Pastor Darrell.

We are past Easter now. We have worshiped and learned more about our Risen Savior, and now we move forward. This Saturday we will be heading over to nearby Batavia for a youth conference. Our friends at King's Way Fellowship were nice enough to extend the invitation and we've responded. If you haven't talked to Tina or I about this conference, please let either of us know ASAP (Friday at the latest).

Also upcoming will be the start of NHUMC's Youth Sunday School. This Sunday morning @ 9:15 in the Youth Room. Bring yourself, your Bible, and whatever manner of breakfast drink you most prefer - I know not all of you drink coffee, so I won't be in charge of drinks.

In line with that, the Youth Group will be meeting every Sunday evening from now on - unless otherwise noted. Check the church website for updated events, times and places (look for link to church calendar). As soon as we get the materials we'll be starting the Rise Up cirriculum (it goes along with ATF/Battlecry) so start bringing friends and family.

Lastly, thanks to those of you that showed up last Saturday. Despite the cold weather we still got some things accomplished! Special thanks to Blueberry Boy of Stix in the Sneaux! You're awesome!