Relative Truths

Ok, so it has been a long week, and it continues to getlonger.  I might be able to getinto a better cohort for the dmin program, so I am pretty pumped aboutthat.  I won my kswiss match thisweek, and I am 3-0.  A much betterstart than last year when I finished 2-5. I am still behind the leader, but because he has played one more matchthan me.  I play him next week withfirst place on the line.  I did a weddingrenewal at Jason and Angie West’s house. That was a special experience. I am watching the NBA draft wondering if the Hawks can get ChauncyBillups making them a player in the East. Anyway, I don’t have a lot of truths, but here are a few thoughts…

Enjoy little things. I know we all get crazy busy in life, but enjoy the little things.  A 5 minute conversation with a friend,seeing a family member you love, reading a new blog (www.evansgarden.blogspot.com), etc.  There are so many blessings in this worldthat God provides.  Enjoy them.

Don’t give up. I could get into a great cohort at Bethel and I am excited aboutit.  My big b David told me tocontact the professor of the cohort that was past due.  He put me in contact with someone else thattold me about another cohort. Thanks David for reminding me to ask, and to not give up until it is allover.

Never put a memory card in your pocket.  You never know when you will miss it.

Hope that you all have had great weeks.  I know that there has been tragedy andwork.  Be encouraged.  The truth is that God has great plansfor you, and in the end will give you the strength to carry on.  After all, if God will bring you to it,then God will bring you through it. Believe that. 

Ok, I know it has been awhile since I last posted.  I was going to post last Thursday about my tennis match (I won) and about how lonely I felt since Alex was gone and everyone else was at LAP.  Well, most of you know that we had a tragedy in our church.  One of our really involved kids was killed in a car wreck Wednesday.  The rest of the week was pretty consumed with that and a wedding I officiated (congrats to Angela and Kyle).  Anyway, I have really struggled to find something to post.  I was having some quiet time yesterday and today.  I guess I have a few things that have come to mind.

When you love someone, make sure you tell them every time you say goodbye.  I don’t mean to be mushy or whipped (I know Allen will make fun of this), but I am serious.  You are never guaranteed anything else.  Make sure people (spouses, boyfriend/girlfriends, fiancées, parents, kids, etc) know how you feel.  

When God is calling you to something, respond.  I felt called to look at a doctoral program months ago.  I waited until last week to start pursuing it, and I might have missed out on the program that I really like.  Respond today, do not wait.  God has something mighty for you, let it happen.

Don’t be afraid to compromise.  It works in marriages, it works in business, and it works in life.  Help people see your point, and don’t be afraid to see theirs.  The only place it doesn’t work is with your faith.  Don’t compromise on that.

That is all I have for now.  I will do another posting tomorrow.  Until then, keep the Browns in your prayers and never forget the truth of God’s eternal kingdom and the reality that you are in it.

Ok, so Rebekah and I went bike riding on Saturday.  I have been running between 2 and 3 miles for weeks now, so I thought riding the bike would be a piece of cake.  Could I have been any more wrong?!?  Less than a mile into the ride, my quads were on fire.  I wanted to turn around and walk the bike home.  However, Rebekah wouldn’t let me quit.  In all, we probably rode about 3 miles.  Several times, she had to keep yelling to me to keep going and not quit.  When we finished, I felt great.  Yes, my quads hurt, but I was glad I didn’t give-up.  Now, I look forward to future Saturday bike rides, knowing it will get easier.  The truth I realized is this: sometimes we think something will be so easy; find out it is hard and want to quit.  I think that happens when we decide to follow Jesus.  It seems so easy and it will be awesome.  I mean, grace is free, right?  However, when we follow Jesus, and allow ourselves to be transformed into God’s great image, it becomes hard because that image is so counter to this world.  We struggle to fit into a world that is often the exact opposite of what God desires.  This can be so hard, that we want to quit.  Well, trust me, if you keep following, and allow yourself to be transformed, it will be worth it.  Not only that, but you will long to be more like Christ and the person God intended you to be.  Truth one, don’t give up.  It might hurt and be hard, but in the end, following Jesus is the best course.  Truth two, if not for Rebekah I would have quit.  Be the voice that calls to others to keep going.  If we can support each other as followers of our Savior, then we can make some amazing things happen.  That’s the truth, believe that.  God bless.

Ok, so I didn’t have time to blog yesterday after Annual Conference ended.  Friday was the last day of elections and we approved the budget.  The clergy came through in the clutch and finished all the ballots by the time of adjournment.  The budget took a little longer than normal.  Part of that was because of an amendment (that I co-signed) asking that the 391,000 cut in the Church Development budget be restored.  After a lot of debate, the money was returned.  I learned a few truths from that process:

 One, when you believe in something, work to make it happen.  A few people believed that Church Development needed that money.  We worked at it, and the money was returned. 

 Two, I find it ironic when someone says they support church development, but wanted the budget cut.  If we can give money to decaying projects, we should be able to give money to a project that expands the kingdom into an unchurched world.

 Andrew was appointed to the church.  He is now clergy.  While being clergy doesn’t make you any better at bringing people to Christ I was so proud of him and how far he has come.  Just wait, he will be the best minister this conference has ever seen, no matter where he chooses to serve.

 My youth delegates rock!  Kelly and Caitlyn were awesome, and they will be fantastic leaders in the church.  No matter what type of ministry they pursue, God is going to be glorified, and I see a lot of souls come to Christ.  I thank God for them and the commitment they have to God. 

 I guess that is about all from Conference.  I might have some more random thoughts about it later.  Stay tuned.  Do you have any truths that have occurred to you?  Let me hear them.  God bless.

Ok, so I just wanted to put a quick blog post.  We are half-way through Wednesday.  It has been a long day.  I woke up at 5:30 to run the 5K.  I did it!  For any of you that think a 5K is no big deal, you don't know me.  I hate to run.  I mean hate it.  Like, think of the worse thing you can imagine (pen in your eye, thumb screws, Michael Bolton's entire catalog) and running is worse for me.  But I need to be better about my health, so I did it.  My time wasn't great, but I did it.  My brother and BFF Andrew (who have not trained at all for it) had way better times than me and I have been running for weeks, but I did it.  The truth I realized is if you feel like you need to do something, in the words of Allen, DO IT.  If you are feeling called to a life of ministry or service, DO IT.  If you still haven't given your life to Christ, to quote Alex, DO IT.  Don't let an excuse keep you from doing something you feel called to.  That's what's true.  God bless.

Ok, today was our second day at Annual Conference.  It was an interesting day.  One task this year is to elect delegates to General and Jurisdictional Conferences.  After two failed attempts, the clergy finally took a vote that counted (for the record I cannot vote on delegates until I am ordained, so it can get boring).  No one was elected.  The Lay are almost done with their delegates to General, and we don’t have anyone yet!  Oh well, what can you do?  I don’t know what truths I have for today, so I will just reflect on what I did.

I had lunch with Alex, Andrew, Kelly, Caitlyn, and three other youth delegates.  I have really enjoyed getting to know Kelly and Caitlyn.  I know the church is in good hands because they aren’t the future, they are the present.  They are getting involved and making an impact now and they are young.  I am excited about the ministries they will have, and I wonder if I will be able to get them to come to my church when I get to start one…

Do everything you can excellently.  If you can only do it halfway, don’t.  If you need to save money, wait.  Just make sure anything you do, especially if it is for the glory of God, do it the best way possible.  Trust me it makes a world of different.

I have the 5K tomorrow.  I am looking forward to it because running is so not me.  Even when I was in good shape in high school, and could run with ease, I hated to do it.  I look forward to proving to myself that I can do that.  I guess you never know what you can do until you push yourself.  If you settle for what you think you can do, you will never achieve what you think is impossible.  Transformation occurs in the impossible actions of people.  Let God use you in a great way, and see what amazing things can happen (ok, I got all of that from a 5K, deep huh?).

Anyway, I guess that is enough for tonight.  I pray you are having a great week and never doubt the truth of God’s unending grace.

Ok, so for any of you that check my blog regularly, I am sorry that I haven’t posted in awhile.  It has been a crazy weekend.  Anyway, I am at our Annual Conference in Athens, GA (closest you can get to heaven here on earth).  I thought I would do some reflecting on the day each night.  Here goes…

Be genuine.  There are a lot of people that I enjoy seeing at Conference.  There are a lot of ministers in this conference, as well as lay people, that I really enjoy catching up with.  However, I notice, and am guilty, of lots of fake laughs when seeing people you don’t really care to see.  Be genuine.  Seek out people just to see how they are and not because you want to be seen.  

I really enjoyed the ordination service tonight.  It was really long, but very powerful.  This is my 11^th annual conference.  My first one, I only stood for one person because I didn’t know anybody being ordained or commissioned.  Tonight, I was able to stand for a lot of people.  It was nice to see friends and classmates get to that point.  Next year, my good friend Alex gets ordained, and then me the next.  I look forward to the day when I can stand for Andrew.  That service gets me fired up and reminds me of why I am in ministry.  Don’t ever forget why you serve God and let that passion keep you going.

Kelly Boyd and Caitlyn Youngblood rock!  I am so proud of them for being youth delegates and they are stepping out and making friends.  They are great servants with hearts for God and I am just honored to be able to do ministry with them.  

Ok, so that’s all for tonight.  I am excited about some things that might come out of this week.  Please keep me, the conference, and the leadership in your prayers.  Hopefully I can have some better stuff tomorrow.  Always know the truth of grace and keep it with you.  

Ok, so I am pretty tired.  I have a k-swiss tennis match in an hour, and I played a match last night to warm up.  Smart guy me ran this morning (I am running a 5K next week, and I need to run everyday), so my legs are just worn out.  Plus, it has been a long day at church.  Not a long day in terms of hours, but long in terms of work.  I was still dealing with the conflict from yesterday.  We resolved it and I believe the will of God has been achieved, but it is tiring to deal with that stuff.  I also have a lot going on with our communication here, so I am a little tired.  However, I have realized a few truths in my tiredness:

I am incredibly blessed.  I am so blessed to be serving where I am with the staff that I work with.  I have a great team, and the other program and support staff here is good.  There are many other ministers my age that would love this appointment, and I thank God for it.  No matter how tired, frustrated, or weary you can be, there is always someone that would rather be where you are.  If we stop looking for the greener grass, we can see the green grass we get to stand on.  I hope you find a blessing where you are.

Stay in the light.  I was running this morning.  I was so hot when I ran in the sun, it was awful.  When I would run in the shade, I would cool off.  It was nice, but then I found myself longing for the warmth and comfort of the sun.  Often times we seek what is cool and comfortable at the moment.  However, when we stay there we long for the security of the light.  I know this may sound cheesy, but strive to walk in warmth and security, knowing that there will be discomfort periodically, but there is always a son that is there with you.

Give props to people.  My brother mentioned me in his blog.  He is a great preacher and a pretty good blogger.  To be mentioned on his board was my first reference.  Thus, I want to reference him as well.  Check him out at www.davidwalters.blog.com.  He is starting a new church and doing well with God's help at it.

I guess that is enough for now.  Don't know if any of these truths are great, so put your own.  Always remember the truth of Christ's grace and may God bless you indeed.

Ok, I know this is not the most creative name, but c'mon, coming up with a creative name everyday would be a lot of pressure, and I don't need anymore.  Today was a busy Tuesday.  We are in the middle of VBX (Vacation Bible eXtreme), and we have like a million (or 300) kids here.  Between that and some pastoral stuff I was dealing with, it was pretty crazy.  I was able to squeeze in some Ninja, so it made it all worth it.  Anyway, here are my truths for today:

Always do the right thing.  It may require you to shift policies around or do extra work, but it pays off.  We are dealing with a situation that has created some hurt feelings, and goes against some notions that I hold very dear.  In the end, we have to do the right thing.  If that means we lose money or have to work harder, so be it.  Never let a policy or convenience keep you from doing what God wants and desires.

Fill forms out when you get them.  If you wait until the last minute, you will probably be late.  I know that is boring, but you never want a late PO or form letter to go out. 

Call someone.  Email is convenient, but sometimes a voice on the phone is the only thing that will do.  Again, boring, but what can I say, it is cloudy outside and I am tired from trying to do the right thing.

Finally, when you are in first place, hang onto a green shell as long as possible.  You never know when you will need it.

 That is all I have for today.  I appreciate those of you that read this and comment.  If you ever think I am off base, let me know.  If you think I am correct, email it to a friend.  Whatever you do, have peace in God.