PRIME Pics JUNE-JULY

VBS "love the lord you God with all you heart, with all you soul with all your mind with all your strength." I improvised on the Strength motion.
 I got sniped. I close my eyes for two seconds and this is how they treat me


VBS set
Aldi had $0.50 bread so the pastor and I grabbed it to give to people for Neighbor to Neighbor.

Posing for a redo. Water balloon fight.

The Cast of the Eyelashes

John 1:17, Grace or Law

Over the past week our church has had a Vacation Bible School. God gave us over 30 on and off throughout the week. Out of all the nights Monday was the hardest. We had had several things not quite work out the way I was hoping. To top it off, it was the first time that the church had put one on in several years.

Afterward, I had several of my volunteers come up to me and were very critical of my decisions. At the time I fought for how I had it. When I couldn't take it anymore I left the conversation and went to take care of things outside and think through what had happened. I eventually came to the conclusion that my volunteers were right and I made the changes for the next night and we kept going.

The following morning the head pastor led a devotional on the following passage.

John 1:16-18
English Standard Version (ESV)
16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.
17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
18 No one has ever seen God; the only God,[b] who is at the Father's side,[c] he has made him known.

he focused more on verse 17 than the other two. He stated that there are two ends of a pendulum for leaders. Those who lead by the law, and those who lead by grace.

Those who land in the law side of the extreme will be very hard to budge from what is "written in stone." They will continue to abide by the law that Moses gave tot he Israelite people. These people will also try to follow every small detail to a T.

Those who lead by grace extreme will be overbearing in the way of letting people off too easily. It is very easy for people to walk all over them. While they are showing the grace that Jesus gave us, these people will be almost too relaxed in their actions to see real problems.

We must them find the right balance between the two. there will be times when we have to follow the rules of life and the ministry and yet there are times when we need to show grace and be flexible with the rules and be able to rearrange different aspects of our beliefs.

This is one of those things that I have been thinking about over the last few weeks. I have had to continually fight against evil that is trying to find its way into the church and separate it into bits and pieces. This cannot happen at all costs.

Continue to pray for me as I am on PRIME. The biggest thing for now is done and over with, now starts the second half and the longer half of the internship.

A constant reminder... or is it?

I am second.

The newest reminder to put God first in our lives and that we are to come second in our relationships with Him. I proudly wear a bracelet similar to the one on the right as a reminder of this truth.

I wake up in the morning put it on and go about my day with this constant reminder around my arm to put this truth to practice in everyday life. However some things that have occurred over the past week are making me wonder if I need to take it off for awhile.

Like all things that come like this if you wear it long enough, your body will go through a process habituation. It is much the same as a baby who gets tired of a toy once they have played with it for so long. It moves on to something else. By taking it off it may trigger a reaction to figure out where the bracelet is and thus cause the instant reminder that the bracelet was made for.

Tonight at Wednesday worship God convicted me of something. It was that I was not giving Him my best. I had been working on the Vacation Bible School set and decorations that had ended for the day about half an hour before the evening service was to begin. Instead of changing clothes before worship I came in the old painting clothes I had been wearing. While this was going I noticed that I had not been giving this over to God and that I was starting to sway in the way of pushing God to the side and forgetting that it is all in his hands.

I am failing to put God first.

As simple as that. I am failing to put God first. Without him I can do nothing.

Please be praying that as VBS comes NEXT WEEK that we will all put God First in all that we do.

Also be praying that I would not get stressed out about this and let God work out the details. I have to make some major decisions in the upcoming days that I really don't want to have to make.

Peace be with you

Alan

Red Sea Project

The video is something I made to show the parting of the Red Sea in Exodus 14.

Here are the basics. Pharaoh has just released the people of Israel from slavery to go into the land God has given them. Pharaoh then changes his mind and starts to chase the Israelites as they head toward the Red Sea. The people begin to complain to Moses that it would have been better for them to die as slaves than face the slow and painful death that was sure to come if the Egyptians caught up with them. Moses prayed to God and God gave the answer. God parted the Red Sea just long enough for the Israelites to get across, then as the Egyptians are following God crashes the Sea down on the Egyptians that were "never to be seen again." I can only imagine that this part would look like an Indiana Jones stunt as the last of Israel is running as the water begins to crash the water around the "evil villain."

Over the past week I have had several experiences that will not easily be forgotten.

Friday, I was coming "home" (for those of you who don't know I am living in the church) from grocery shopping with the pastor and his wife, we stop for gas and the gas station had just lost power. So we continue on and as we get closer to the church, we see smoke coming from above the tree line at the church. As we get to the church, we thank God it was not the church that was burning, but the telephone pole outside the church. A car had over-corrected coming around the curve by the church and snapped the telephone pole in two. Now, the not so awesome part is that of all the telephone pole along our road, the car had to hit the one with the transformer for the main power line causing a blackout on the hottest day of June recorded in our area.

Friday night, the biggest storm of the summer so far, rolled through the area. By the grace of God the church did not lose power, but several people in the congregation did. We did lose internet for awhile, but that was nothing compared to others.

Through all of this, at times I want to throw my hands up and quit. Let the church deal with the responsibilities that I have been given. I am doing stuff that I never dreamed I would be doing, like arranging for bounce houses for VBS, helping with a makeshift food pantry each 4th Tuesday of the month, or just simply running a sound board (okay there is nothing simple about that,) you get the picture.

It is times like these where I feel like crashing under the pressure and stress, complaining to God, not seeing his plan for how things are to happen.

I need to start a Red Sea Project. It works like this. Whenever you feel down, like you can't do something, pray and seek God. God will provide an answer, whether it's a big as the Red Sea parting or a small bop on the lead with snorkeling gear, God will provide.

As Moses transferred leadership from himself to Joshua in Deuteronomy 31, he gives these words:

So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the LORD your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.

Take the challenge. Ask God for guidance and He will show you the way.

SIDE NOTE: If you are in the Portsmouth Ohio area July 16-20 and have kids in grades k-6, we would love it if you would join us for VBS from 6-8:30 each night!!

The church's/my address is

Grace Baptist Church
8186 N. State Route 139
Minford OH 45653

Also if you would like join me on Facebook go here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/331157436941506/

"Temple of the Holy Spirit, to make you fit," well sort of...

Flashback moment to early college in the video below. 

This group consists of four artists from the US, Indonesia and Kenya, each of whom were contestants on their country's form of American Idol. They came to Huntington University and offered one of the most memorable worship experiences I had ever had. To see more of this group find Global Disciples on YouTube. 

Okay now that the shout out is done, I can focus more on the words starting with the chorus

I Walked and Walked Here, there,

For any one who knows my situation, knows that I don't have my driver's licence while on PRIME, and after being down here for a little over a month I have realized that the best mode of transportation is on foot when a motorized vehicle is not available. If I got a bike I am unsure of how long I would last on the roads with all the hills and the twists and turns. The pastor here keeps making a joke every time we pass the house that I was going to stay in originally. There is no doubt in my mind that there would not be a PRIME student here in Minford.

I Searched and Searched Here, There

While down here I keep searching to find the right balance between God time, me time and work time, since I live in the church itself. I am also trying to find the right balance between taking and giving responsibility. When I find it, it will not be too soon.

I turned around, here there

I am also finding that I am needing to just turn around and find God in areas where I I never thought he would be there. As you may have read in previous posts there are numerous creeks and other natural areas scattered throughout the area and I have been exploring little by little. Everywhere I look I am finding new mercies and awesomeness everywhere I go.

There's no one, there's no one quite like Him

How wonderful that we can say this about our God.

It is my prayer for you as you read this that the Holy Spirit would fill you and make you lift you hands high in worship, that he would fill you and make you fit in His image and purpose for your life.

God Bless

Alan

The Wise Man built his house upon the ... Hey where'd the rock go?

By now you should all have the last word "rock" in your head. However, like the title, Where did the rock go?

Over the past few weeks I have had some interesting experiences dealing with rocks.

Last Thursday, I went with the pastor and his family out creeking (aka cricking if you are from around the area). The basics are you go to a local creek and go exploring, whether that include jumping in or just exploring the shoreline. Anyway we found a waterhole that was perfect for swimming, I was going barefoot and thought I had found a sturdy river rock in which to launch myself into the water hole. This rock was completely submerged under water with only a small amount above the surface. Well let's just say that looks can be convincing from above as when I step on it I fall and whack my head on the only part of the rock out of the water. 

Just one of the many reasons to ask where did the rock go?

In the Bible there are many references to rocks. One of them is Peter of whom Jesus said he would build his church. Another is in the parable of the wise and the foolish man. In both instances there needed to be something to make a firm foundation otherwise they would come crashing down when hard times came.

So who moved the rock?

I have to say on that day at the creek, no one moved that rock it is still there and will continue to be for years to come. What did move, however, was me.

There have been times when it feels like I am standing in sinking sand and am drowning in the amount of work I have to pull off to get done in a certain amount of time (VBS in a month for example). What is happening is not that the rock is moving, but my priorities are shifting from God to my work. That is where the real trouble comes.

If you take the leadership that Peter had away from the church you no longer have the church, period. Rome would have wiped out the Christians eventually and we would not be here today. But God helped Peter to become the great leader that he became and God did indeed build the church on Peter's leadership.

When I take my eyes off Jesus and what he is doing in my ministry setting I begin to slip or sink to take things back to Peter. However, the main goal is to have Jesus exulted and to remain unified at Grace Baptist Church. It is here that the Rock must stay, otherwise we will be asking "Where did the rock go?" and by that time it will be too late to save the crumbling walls.




Please be praying for me as I serve that I would not let the Rock leave my sight as I begin to plan for the summer.

Who knew feeding sheep was so hard?

Okay let's admit I am really not good at this blogging stuff. If you have read what was down below in the other posts you would know this.

However, I have been given a gift for serving people and I thank God for this opportunity to server in Minford Ohio.

In John 21 Jesus is speaking to Peter and there is the whole "Do you love me?" deal. While that may be important and all I don't want to focus on that right now. I really want to focus on the answers. The ones that deal with sheep.

I have recently been challenged to view the time I spend on social media to tend and feed the sheep around me. Ministry is moving very quickly to the digital realm of Facebook, Twitter and blogging. Go figure. Anyway, we are being watched every minute. There are people looking on my profile on Facebook that I never would have dreamed would be. Scary enough they are members of the congregation. My flock that God has given me to minister to has suddenly taken on a whole new meaning. My flock is no longer those I see on Sunday, they are the complete strangers I meet on the street, they are those who view my profile online, they are those who many could classify as outcasts.

Just this past week my mentor walks into the church and yells for me to get some shoes on we're going somewhere. I get in the vehicle and he tells me we are going to install an air conditioning unit in a family's home who the mother has cancer for the forth time and there is nothing more the doctors can do. There are three sons all younger than me. Their air conditioner had been stolen in the night while they were in the hospital with mom. After leaving the house I realized that my flock is going to grow while I am down here. What can I say to this family who doesn't know Christ and has basically given up all hope. I whispered a prayer for the family and left the house.

My flock is growing by the minute. My eyes are being opened to what God has for me here. Be praying that there will be change and that God will move in a mighty way in the town of Minford.