causal agents

So, this morning i had an incredible opportunity to have coffee with my Theology prof, Dr. Ken Keathley (I hope he is cool w/me speaking of him; disclaimer: he is in no way responsible for the information published on this blog). anyway, He's the man! i met with him to discuss the providence of God and God's will(s). most of the time we spent together revolved around the truth that God has created humans as causal agents. this is part of our having been made in God's image, the imago Dei. "causal agents" is understood to mean that humans have the capacity to cause something. God made humans as "mini-creators" so to speak. not that we are part deity, but rather, we have the opportunity to cause things. for this reason, we are held responsible for the decisions and choices we make.
this has huge ramifications. we are always under the lordship and sovereignty of God. however, this does not mean (from my knowledge) that God has determined and fixed every event that ever happens. He is sovereign over every event, but He has given man the ability to cause an event (this does not take away from God's sovereignty). this is why God is not the author of sin. Man is accountable for his actions, and we cannot blame God for the events, good or bad, that happen each day. if we are causal agents, then we have great responsibility in this world. we are not just puppets in a show, but we are people who truly have a part in making history. as followers of Jesus, we have the opportunity and responsibility to display the grace and redemption of God by the way we live, in the choices we make, and the actions we show. we can live in a way that matters for eternity. we can live out the gospel. we can demonstrate and show the world where true happiness, fulfillment, and hope come from. that is a beautiful thing!
-for His glory

authenticity

last night as i went to bed, i had a conversation with God, and i realized it is very easy to fake faith. it's easy to go to church services, smile, raise your hands every now and then, attend small group, say the right things to other Christians, and the like. however, when you talk to God, he knows exactly whats going through your head. he knows if you're legit or putting up a facade. he knows if you're faking it. he knows if your trying to get religious on him. he knows if there is any faith behind your words. sometimes i think it's easier to be fake than have faith. thats a struggle for me. often i remember a familiar passage in Hebrews that is quite debasing, but also encouraging... "without faith it is impossible to please God. for he who draws near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who diligently seek him." my mom often quotes a phrase for random life situations (not faith situations) that we enjoy saying and laughing about. she says, "fake it 'till you make it." this does work sometimes with people, but fortunately it never works with God. don't fake it. ask and plead for faith.

duke divinity school

right now i'm sitting in an Old Testament class at duke divinity school. one of my new friends, Tony, is finishing his Master of Theological Studies here. i'm quite blown away by the beauty of the campus, because of the impressive architecture. i'm out of class for "easter recess" at my seminary (Southeastern), so i'm chilling over here today in a few classes with Tony because i'm a theological junkie. today has been excellent to visit Duke.

anyways, getting to the good stuff, i'm more and more convinced that our view of Scripture determines how we view life, theology, God, history, ministry, and Jesus. this is so so very important for the church. right now, i hold Scripture as highest authority for my life, theology, ministry and view of Christ. it determines and defines me. i don't determine it. why? because i believe it is the very word of God, that is truthful and authoritative for all of life and practice. this is huge for your worldview and philosophy of ministry. hold firm to scritpure. hold firm to scripture.

God is smarter than i

i know this seems like an obvious statement, but we don't always act like it. God is ultimately smarter, wiser, and more knowledgeable than me in every area of my life. he's the one who came up with the whole idea, and he's knows better how everything works together, way more than i do. SO...all this to say, when we find in Scripture that God has a plan or method of doing something in our lives, he's right. it doesn't matter what it's about, his way is so much smarter than my way. it's not that he's a mean God who doesn't want for us to be happy, but rather the extreme opposite. God's design and plan for us is so that we will be ultimately happy and fulfilled and satisfied in Him. His way, in the end and now, is the most satisfying, pleasing, and happy way to do things. history is a testimony to this and your life should be. when i desire to do something that doesn't please God or fit with Scripture, it will ultimately be to my dissatisfaction and ruin. however, when we follow Scripture and God's desires for our life, we will be "blessed" the Psalms say...ultimately filled with joy and satisfaction in every area of our lives- dating relationships, marriage, finances, time, school, family, work, entertainment, church, etc.

Longhorn and the Word

i've been working at Longhorn Steakhouse for the past 7 weeks in order to have a job and pay the bills. however, there is a greater purpose in me working here. God has called me, in whatever i find myself to be doing, to live for the name of Jesus (Col. 3:17). so, this has been fleshing itself out in my work environment with my co-workers. there are probably about 35-45 servers (waiters) including myself that i work with, and there are probably about 30 other cooks, hosts, managers, etc... . I believe God's desire for the world is to make His name great everywhere. so, i am the personal agent/vehicle of God's mission (to use weird Christian language) at Longhorn Steakhouse to make His name great. to my knowledge there are only 3-4 believers at my workplace.
so, i've been firstly, loving my co-workers and placing their well-being above my own. as i love them, we become friends and they enjoy talking with me about religion and morality. i haven't stood up on a booth yet with my Bible yelling at them to repent, but i have had a couple incredible situations arise. here is one:
for the sake of not embarrassing my co-worker friend if he ever reads this blog, "Jack" is a host at our restaurant. he recently moved down from New York. he has some Catholic background, but i'm not sure about the object of his faith. so, the other day i had my theology textbook and my Bible with me at work so i could do some school reading during the breaks. well, we began to get busy and Jack asked to move my books out of the way so he could sit people at that table. i said "of course." a few minutes later he came back to me and asked if he could read my bible while he was at the host stand. i was amazed and shocked, and i told him "of course" again. so, he read the scriptures during that entire lunch shift. incredible. then, that evening we were both working again, and he asked to read my bible again. so, i went back out to my car and grabbed it so he could read it during that evening shift. wow. since, we've had several conversations about life and religion, and hopefully i'll be able to bless his life with the message of the gospel. you can pray for him. i believe he just quit his job b/c of some other issues, but pray that our relationship will continue.

are there really seekers?

(i'm back guys...both of you, and back with something pretty sweet today)

over the past couple decades (to my knowledge) there has been a great deal of thought and conversation given to The Seeker Movement. ultimately my perception of this phenomenon is that churches want to be sensitive to the unbelievers, "seekers," who are in the world, so they make their corporate worship services and strategies more open to the unbeliever who is seeking God. this also has been a debate of different degrees of the seeker position such as seeker sensitive, seeker targeted, seeker intelligible, seeker resistant, and the list probably goes on way further than i care to know. however, i don't want to talk about which of these seeker movements is correct, but rather, i'm questioning the whole idea of a seeker...and i don't have it dogmatically figured out, and that isn't my ultimate goal.

this is my perception of what a "seeker" is: a person who is without a relationship with Jesus, unsaved, unregenerate, lost, depraved, an unbeliever...but this person is "seeking" the idea of God in life and the world. they are searching to find God.

what i'm questioning is this: does this kind of person truly exist? what started this whole discussion in my mind is Romans 1 & 2 & 3. Paul lays out a theology that all humans have knowledge of God, that he exists and is the creator of the universe (they can percieve this in nature and the human makeup and conscience/moral law within us), but he says we've all turned away from that knowledge and supressed it, and in so doing worshiped the created thing instead of the Creator. we have rejected the knowledge of God, resisted it, and turned our backs on it and him. me, you, everyone (...before God saves us). then in Romans 3 (vs. 10-), Paul quotes Psalm 14 and says God has looked down from heaven, and there is no one that does good, no one that understands, and no one that seeks God...all have turned aside and become worthless. notice there is "no one" who seeks God, an all-inclusive statement about mankind. so, is there really a person out there that is unregenerate who is seeking after God. if there isn't, there are some intersting implications.

let me know what you think. i am familiar with the Etheopian eunich and Dorcas in the book of Acts, but i think those may be different situations.

blog praise

today i want to just rest a minute and use my marvelous blog to praise God.
lately, i've been going through a serious, radical transition in my life, and things are crazy!!! seriously, they are crazy! within a couple weeks i've moved to a new city, moved into a new appartment, got a new roommate, started a new school semester, joined a new church body, got a new smokin hot girlfriend, and started a new job. so, i'm beat, a little stressed, finances are really slim, and it feels as if i'm spinning in circles sometimes. however, i'm completely content with God's provision and wisdom He's given over the past few months to arrive at this wonderful place. i'm so stoked about the new opportunities each day to form new relationships, serve people, live the gospel, and learn new stuff about God and scripture. so, in the midst of all this chaos...I give a great big SHOUT OUT to our awesome Creator God for being so dang good to His children. God, i love You b/c You loved me first.