New Year

So, my plan is to write more frequently than every 11 months, moving forward. I want to use this resource as a way to communicate with those I am ministering to and to those that want to know what I am thinking about. Lets see how this goes.

What are we missing here

Well there has been a little more content here as of late. But that does not say much. I am still very delinquent when it comes to journalling. I have a lot that I want to get down and I know how helpful it can be. However, I am so easily distracted. I always get side-tracked with something.

So what to start with today. Maybe I will start with a topic we covered in our SIL this past Tuesday. The way the presenter (Adrian) mentioned it was as accountability amongst Christian leaders. though our conversation quickly moved beyond just leaders.

We talked about how leaders stay accountable to each other, what kind of groups they were in, or should be in. Also we talked about how a church is to be accountable, especially when it is a non-denominational one. Then this moved into more of a discussion on discipleship.

We discussed how, for the most part the Church in America, has dropped the ball. How do we do discipleship and how should we? There is a great need to develop good discipleship programs and reform what we are doing. And we said that accountability needs to be a part of discipleship and not a separate thing.

It is easy to be in a group, and yet not be honest. Often when we are in an accountability group we only see the guys during that meeting. That is a problem with many of the groups (i.e. small groups, growth groups, life-stage group, accountability) that we are in. We don't real do life together. We are stretched too thin with all that we are doing and with all the people we are in contact with. With modern convieniences we are able to stay in touch with family and friends all over the country and world. We can reconnect with college friends, high school friends and even old neighbors. But when do we go deep with people. Where is that place we open ourselves up.

Even when we do move into talking about discipleship we still run into that same problem. Then relationship tends not to have enough depth. We meet with that person on a bi-weekly or maybe weekly basis, but what else. Jesus lived with his disciples. They saw how he interacted in the real world. How he confronted people and responded to them. They saw him pray, preach, and care for people. I heard that in China, often new believers live with a family for the first year or so, so that they can be grounded in their walk.

This idea of being involved deeply in someone's life, discipling them benefits more than just the one being discipled. It causes you, the one doing the discipling to check yourself and be conscience of what you are doing and not doing. You are aware that someone is watching you, and that helps you. And you are more aware of what you are learning in the Bible, cause you are sharing that. The Great Commission says, "teach all that I have taught you." If we are not learning then how do we teach? If we are not being given, then how to we give? We have got to be about discipling, and it has to go much more deeply than just checking in with someone to see if they are or are not doing some thing. Discipleship is what we need, not accountability.

We all need to be in at least 3 relationships. We need to be connected to someone further along in their walk that is discipling us. Then we need to be in a relationship with someone our equal, to be accountable to and to bounce ideas off of. Then we need someone we are discipling, someone that needs to be brought along in their walk. There needs to be a relationship with someone above, below, and beside us.

But how do we as a church foster this and encourage this too happen. Do we have lists of people willing and capable to disciple others? If someone comes to us and asks for this are we ready? We need to be. And then we need to realize most people won't ask for this, so we let them know of their need and place them in those relationships. Sheep need a shepherd

Tomorrow

Always tomorrow. But I will write tomorrow.

Saying Goodbye

Well, I am sitting here just minutes away from leaving for Iowa. We are heading to Des Moines today to see Uncle Bill and say farewell. He is suffering from COPD, and they say he will only get worse and most likely won't make it past Easter. It is odd saying goodbye, cause I feel I have just gotten to know him a bit. I mean, him and my dad were estranged for most of my life and only recently (last few years) been on good terms. I have been able to golf with them a couple of times the past few years and been over to his house once I think.

Though I have not seen or even gotten to know Uncle Bill all that much, it is odd having an uncle that is about to die. Even if he is 15 years older, he is my dad's brother. It makes me think of some day loosing my parents and that day is much sooner than I want to realize. We just need to make the most of the time we have with our parents cause some day they won't be there.

I haven't had that much time to think about all of this, and I know it will be weird being there this weekend, but we are mostly going for my dad. It will be hard for him and has been. I have heard my dad cry a few times on the phone and that is very odd for him. He hardly shows emotion like that. It will be a sobering weekend and a fast turn around for us as I have to be back for work on Sunday.

Humbled

Wow, I feel like a duffus right now. I head up the men's ministry at my church (Arlington Countryside Church) and we just had our weekly morning meeting. We are going through the teaching series by Rob Bell called "Nooma" and this morning we did the 5th video called Noise. He talks about the amount of noise in our life and how that can be tied to our inability to hear God. I think it is so true, and I always preach on the need to get away, slow down, and find times of Silence and Solitude. But do I do it? No. I know the benefits of journaling and reflecting. But do I do it? No. How long has it been since I journaled? Well on here, since October of last year. I say that I know this all to be true, then why don't I do it? I say that I want to hear God, but I don't create an environment for Him to speak to me.

But I am trying. I am making an effort. A feeble effort but it is a start. I have a mentor who I am accountable to. I have asked him to check up on me when we meet and to make sure I am doing some of the things that I say I want to do.

1. I will spend at least one day a week out in God's creation and away from chaos.

2. I will spend at least four days a week journaling my thoughts and prayers.

3. I plan to read Scriptures and at least two other texts that explain the discipline of fasting.

4. I plan to have at least 2 or 3 times were I spend a day fasting in the next semester.

5. I want to commit some passages of Scripture to memory as I have the Word with.

I wrote these cause I had to. Well I am in an SIL (Spiritual Integration Lab) at school and we had to write a Spiritual disciplines paper. I say I had to, but I think I needed that. At times we need to be told what we should do, and then learn to enjoy it.

So hopefully I will be on here on a more regular basis. But I think that a lot of my more intimate postings will be in my hand written journal and away from view of others. (Maybe a later post on the transparency of a lot of bloggers and the positives and negatives of that is due.)

Gotta start somewhere

Alright, it is time to begin this adventure of an online journal. I am not sure where this trip will take me or who will end up coming along, but it is time to begin. I know how hard it is to reflect for some and I am one of those. But at the same time, I know the value of putting down our feelings, and our thought. The importance of stopping and taking some time to reflect on where we have been and where we are going. And, I believe this to be even more difficult for guys.

There have been times when I have journaled and journaled somewhat frequently. These too our often the times when I am most at peace and feel most connected to God. I know there is a connection and I long to get back there. This journaling coupled with more time spent diving into things of God (ie. The Bible, other blogs, books, magazines, and websites) will help to draw me closer to Him. However, I know that this on its own will not be as affective for me, if I am not connect to a group of guys that I can share with. I hope that it is more than just an online community that may form.