Papas Who Shaped Me

1.  Father God.  He formed me perfectly in my mother's womb.  He is shaping me into Jesus' image.  He disciplines me unto fruitfulness.  His love washes over me like mighty floods filling my dry broken places.

2.  Bobby Joe Cartwright.  I called him "Pop".  The man who stayed faithful to God and his family no matter the costs.  He really shaped me into the man I am.  He was open and honest about the opposite sex.  We fished together.  He always disciplined me in love.  We connected at the heart.  Our talks together had substance.  Not a perfect man, but a real man.  He was tenacious and stalwart in holding to the truth of the Scriptures.  This is probably his greatest legacy that was left to me, well besides the extremely sexy body that I have (smiles).  I am a carbon copy of him: pointy elbows, knobby knees, flat thumbs, small cantalope-sized belly, poofy hair, and winning smile.  I miss you Pop.  I'll see you in heaven one day.

3.  Other men who mentored and spiritually fathered me.  I have a rich tapestry of men who shaped my spiritual life and masculinity as well.  Bob Billups (High School), Allan Thompson (College), Bob Garrett (Seminary), Jose Garcia (Argentine Papi), Tim Ahlen (Dallas Baptist Association), Mike Steele, Dan Hubbell, Robert Fitts, Papa Tom Wymore, and Neil Cole.  May each of these men have many more spiritual sons.

I realize that I stand on the shoulders of great men who took time with me, talked, mentored, prayed, even cried with me.  I pray that I have faithfully given away what I have received to the sons I am privileged to have.  To my 6 year old son Brennan:  all I have is yours!  To my spiritual sons from the past to the present: to see you thrive in Jesus is my great desire.

Pre-Communion Jitters

Tonight I lead Awakening Canada in holy communion.  Holy communion?  Yeah, just saying "the Lord's supper" cheapens it for me.  The celebration itself is unique in that it is reserved for those who walk in intimate holy communion with the Vine, Jesus Christ.  It is one of the highest expressions of worship and adoration that the Church can offer.  It connects us to the past in remembrance of His incarnation and sacrifice.  It connects us to the future when we will sit with Him in the cosummation time of the marriage feast of the Lamb in heaven.

These things, and many others besides, give me pre-communion jitters.  The holiness of it all gives me pause and raises my awareness of my ungodliness apart from the finished work of Christ on the cross. 

To add to the awe factor, I often lead in the celebration.  As a fellow priest with my brothers and sisters, I often have the honor of facilitating this act of worship.  How can this honor be bestowed upon one who often soils the name of Christ with his inconsistent inner life and outward walk?  Grace.  Mercy.  That's how. 

Pray for me tonight as I break the bread, the symbol of our blessed Savior's body, and pour the fruit of the vine, the symbol of our blessed Lord's shed blood. May we encounter Him in a fresh way through this celebratory act of extravagant worship.

Romantic Notions

I am a romantic by nature.  I am a poet.  I am a musician.  I am an author.  I am a lover of people.  I am enraptured by God's grandeur in nature.  I am a romantic, but not a hopeless romantic.

I am learning to submit each romantic notion to the ultimate Romantic.  Jesus truly, deeply loves each person.  His will is to connect as the Vine to each branch that has been grafted into Him by faith.  This connection produces a love for all that He loves.  This love is the essence of all other fruit that comes from our union with Him. 

Because of Jesus, I do not apologize for admiring a beautiful work of art.  Because of my Creator, I will bask in the sun, smell the salty sea air and smile.  Because of the cross, I find God's perspective of beauty in the most tragic of situations.  Romantic notions that are fueled by the Ultimate Romancer have the power to change the world.

Circle the Wagons

In the Old West when wagon trains stopped for the night or were attacked by indians they would hear the wagon master yell, "Circle the wagons."  It was a defensive maneuver that protected the stuff, livestock and people of the wagon train. 

Over the past few days the phrase kept coming to mind.  I clued in that it was the Lord speaking and He was telling me to call all those that I shepherd to circle the wagons of our lives together to hear from Him.  It is a time of preparation for the coming attacks of the enemy.  He is forwarning us and allowing a time of preparation.

Our culture is continually pushing Christians to the margin.  By the way, historically we thrive on the margins.  Our enemy is catching Christians who are lone rangers and scalping them.  Our government entities local, state, and federal are increasingly hostile to God's purposes and His people.  This is no alarmist call.  This is not a call to abandon our cultural connections to cloister away in isolation until Jesus comes back.  It is a call to a season of preparation for the upcoming battles.  It is a time for wisdom to prevail as we gather around the fire of Jesus to listen to His voice through the lives of one another. 

This will only be for a season as our Wagon Master will call for us to break camp and continue the journey through the valley of the shadow of death that is the world in which we live.  After this season of pausing we will be better able to engage our culture and regain our prophetic voice.  We will continue to be a prophetic picket line engaging our enemy in skirmishes for the glory of God and the advancement of His Kingdom purposes.  Call together those with whom you are in community and hear God together.  He is speaking and is ready for our response.  Don't continue in autopilot.  Our obedience in this season sets us up for His glorious blessing in the next.

Contentment

Have had some agitation.  It has been mostly financial.  As I have pressed into Jesus it has begun to dissipate.  Not gone yet, but slowly evaporating.  He is my Source, my Provider.  He has proven faithful time and again.  It is a grand experiment to become content in Him.  He has never left me unfulfilled. 

Are you content with Jesus alone?