Aspens.

Aspen trees are beautiful. When we ski in Southern Colorado the Aspen always amazes me. I was reading National Geographic the other day and learned that Aspen trees share their root system. When you see a group of Aspens together you are looking at one tree with several different "shoots" from that one tree. Trees establish their roots and then other sprout off of that original root. They are totally connected though autonomous trees. The Aspen may well be one of the best representation of what the church is supposed to be; interconnected, feeding off of the same nutrients, reaching up and reaching out. Christianity is not the religion of the "Marlboro man." When Jesus spoke he used imagery around him to convey teachings on the kingdom. He used imagery from nature to describe the future church. The church is living. It is not an institution and should not be treated as such. Are we Aspens? Connected? Reaching up? Reaching out? Surviving together? Or are we individuals who live our own lives and do our own things and make the church part of our identity? We are saved for a purpose and our connection to each other helps define that purpose. We are saved to reach to the Father for our growth and reach out to fertile soil in the hopes that they too will become one of us.

5 signs your a redneck preacher!

These are five signs that you are a redneck preacher. I am not too sure why I know these but here goes.
1. The only shoes you have to wear with a suit are boots.
2. People tell you jokes about rednecks and you think they are gossiping about your family.
3. You think that the first day of deer season is the beginning of lint.
4. People are shocked when they find out you went to college.
5. You are the preacher for the Central Church of Christ in Tulia.

"Because I know you"

My wife is a wonderful person and very godly influence over my life. We were talking yesterday about how scripture points us to the character of God through examples, teachings and the historical development of His relationship with His people. Though it may be difficult to understand what God wants from us in all situations the point is to learn a character that can guide us through the whole of life. To break the Word into fragments to prove points and defend positions we had before we even read the text is both dangerous and idolatrous. The most important thing is loving God and others, around these two things God has operated with us through time. My wife said something like this; "though we have not seen each other in all situations and know how each one will act in those given situations as time passes, and we know each other more, we learn what turns the other on or off and what makes them happy, excited, etc." Same with God. We come to know Him as we come into a deeper relationship with Him. It is cyclical. We know Him, we know what He wants, we know Him and on it goes. Get to know the Lord of the Word and living the Word will fall into place.

Encouraged!

The last weeks Jennifer and I have been thinking about future. What we would do, where we would like to do it etc. I get very frustrated with systems that bow to the whim of the loudest and most obnoxious voice. I had mentioned earlier that I was thinking about taking a job offer in Amarillo while Jennifer finishes school. During this time I would do some more grad school and work toward teaching at the collegiate level, which is Jennifer's plan right now. I guess if I am honest I don't think I do a very good job at being a minister. Much of what I say about the system and those things that bother me stem from my own insecurity about what I do. I just didn't think that preaching was what I needed to do. But today was a day that I will never forget. Fridays are kinda lazy for me. I mess around the house, work on Sunday's sermon a little bit, pick the High School kids up for lunch and eat with them and then just hang out with my wife. I came early today and one of the women in the kitchen encouraged me to keep doing what I am doing. I don't think she knows how much it meant to have someone notice. I walked out of the room and through my tears thanked God for making it clear. I am not digging for anything here I just want to say that I really appreciate encouragement, and I hope that I will learn to encourage others, God knows we all need it.

13You must encourage one another each day. And you must keep on while there is still a time that can be called "today." If you don't, then sin may fool some of you and make you stubborn. (CEV)