All Things New

Lately at Redeemer , we've been talking about conflict and how to resolve it. Like God often  does, He is immediately putting what I've been learning to the test. Though I'm happy to  report some success in conflict resolution, I must confess that I've just as often failed in  that area (story of my life). In light of recent experiences, I've decided to look at conflict  and what the Bible says about it.  First, what is conflict? The Oxford English Dictionary (yes, I'm an English major) defines  "conflict" as: a prolonged struggle and as the clashing or variance of opposed principles,  statements, arguments, etc.  As a verb, "to conflict"is defined as to contend, strive, or  struggle with . Okay, that's a good starting place. So people have conflict when their ideas  or actions differ. Based on the definitions, in order to be in conflict with someone, you must  have some idea of their arguments and must be in ...

Days are fleeting. Relationships are messy. Time is scarce. The heart is deceitful. Grace is deceptively simple and undeniably difficult. Mistakes are made. Bodies are weary. Pride creeps in, along with doubt. Longings arise. The unexpected becomes the norm. The norm surprises you. Peace is in sight but out of reach. Everything is ordered yet chaotic.  Life. God is good, but sometimes I run out of words. So I turn to His. Hope this refreshes your soul as much as it did mine.  Psalm 51:10-12, 15-17 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from your presence, & take not your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit...O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth with declare your praise. For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it; you will not be pleased with a burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O Go...

Jesus plus Nothing equals Everything That's the title of the sermon series we are embarking on at Redeemer as we study through the book of Galatians. (If you're in town on Sunday mornings at 10:30, you should come check it out for yourself. And yes, that was a shameless plug.)  At first glance, I want to cheer at the title: Yeah! Jesus is everything we need! Of course! Woooohoooo! But then I look at passages like Luke 15:11-32, & I have to come face to face with what I really think about that equation.  Luke tells the parable of the prodigal son. My pastor, being the Tim Keller fanboy that he is, suggested that I read Keller's book The Prodigal God . (Kind of a cruel suggestion of reading material for someone who struggles with the grace concept...but that's another story...) Basically, the book expounds on the story of the prodigal son and makes the suggestion that there are, in fact, two  prodigal sons in the story. Everyone knows about the younger son. ...

This summer, I had the opportunity to serve at my church ( Redeemer Church ) as a summer missionary along with three other students. We spent the summer working to expand Redeemer’s ministry into Norman and to get to know the community better. We began the summer by partnering with a church in the city ( Christ Community ) and learning in their context. Throughout the summer, we hosted adventure clubs and block parties in apartment complexes & neighborhoods with the intent of building relationships and meeting needs. We also hosted a free soccer camp for kids.   Aside from our weekly training, our group finished out the summer with a trip to the SEND Conference in Atlanta, a church planting conference hosted by the North American Mission Board. Though a lot of our time was spent working with children, this was not an easy summer . Not by a long shot. Rewarding, yes. Challenging – certainly. But definitely not easy. Here are three things I learned this summer. 1) Peop...

I am all about getting results and getting them quickly. When I take an exam, I want my grade posted an hour later. When I begin a task, I can't think of anything else until I finish it. When I learn something new, I want to immediately implement it in my life. Likewise, if I notice a failure in someone else, I want them to immediately correct it in their life. :) I'm not exactly known as a patient person.  This often translates into the way I view ministry, as well. I don't like to wait around for things to change or for God to move. I don't understand when I pour my heart and soul into an event to have it seemingly fail, or when I spend so much time and energy walking through the gospel with someone just to have them take two steps back.  But, like He usually does, God has been using this summer to turn my view upside-down.  Most college students are pretty mobile. We are in a college town for 4 years, then most of us move on to a new thing. Even within th...

Time for my year in review! Normal people usually do this kind of thing right around New Year's, but for college kids, the year is measured by the school calendar. Since the close of my year a few days ago, a lot has been on my mind. It's been a huge blessing to sit down and remember just what happened over the last year. My Type A brain likes to keep things organized, so it's even been fun to put numbers into the past year to see how far I've come.  Year by Numbers 2 - sisters that I missed every single day 3 - number of amazing roommates gained 3 - number of jobs held at one time  4 - days it took to read the Hunger Games trilogy 7 - intramural games played 12 - siblings gained through "adopt-a-college-kid" 15 - hours of the longest flight I was on 21 - the age I turned in August  26 - the number of Pandora stations listened to 26 - days spent at home 27 - days spent outside of the U.S.  28 - people in my apartment for the OU vs. FSU watch part...

Are we too righteous?  The obvious answer to that question is, "No stinkin way." But I'm coming at this one from a different angle. By asking, "Are we too righteous?", I'm really asking, "Do we show ourselves in such a light that people perceive us as righteous and good?" In other words, do we pretty ourselves up enough that people can't really see our mistakes?  Because that, in itself, is a mistake. Doesn't shining up our reputation make us just like the Pharisees? They were always covering up their selfish desires by what appeared to be holiness. But they were just as messed up as the so-called sinners that they were so concerned about. Jesus called them out in Matthew 23:3-4 " For they preach, but do not practice.   They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear,   and lay them on people's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger..." (Read all of Matthew 23 to get a good sense of what J...