Spotlights and Supply Watchers

The other day I read 1 Samuel 30 and God rocked my world with it. If you get a chance, check it out, but here’s some quick background so you know where I’m coming from.

The Amalekites invade Ziklag, the city where David’s family lived along with the families of David’s 600 mighty men, while David and his men are away from home. When David gets back to Ziklag, he discovers that his city has been sacked and every woman and child has been taken, including his own wives. Overtaken with vengeance, David and his men quickly begin tracking the assailants through the desert. Through a series of providential events, David’s men locate their enemy, make a thorough annihilation of them, and safely recover every woman and child.

Early on though, 200 of David’s men decide that they need to stay back and guard the supplies while the other 400 take on the Amalekites. As you can imagine, the 400 who defeated the enemy begin feeling like the other 200 don’t deserve to partake in the spoils of their victory, because they weren’t on the front lines. “To the victor go the spoils” becomes the mentality of David’s men, and the 200 were undeserving—so they presumed. But I love David’s response in verses 23-24:

"My brothers, you must not do this with what the LORD has given us. He protected us and handed over to us the raiders who came against us. Who can agree to your proposal? The share of the one who goes into battle is to be the same as the share of the one who remains with the supplies. They will share equally."

The point is not who was on the front lines, the point is what team they were on. The job of the 200 men to guard the supplies was just as important as the 400 who advanced against their enemy. The mentality of much of 21^st century Christianity is exactly this—the front line mentality. The problem is, God hasn’t gifted all of us to be in the spotlight. God didn’t design his body to all perform the same function. The job of the powerpoint clicker in the back of a dark sanctuary is just as important as the job of the worship leader who gets the colored lights and the glaring eyes. The job of the parking lot attendant is just as important as the one who stands to deliver the Word of God. The job of the poop-wiper in the nursery is just as important as those who lead the people of God from a stage or spotlight. I love how Paul put it in Romans 10:4-6.

“Now as we have many parts in one body, and all the parts do not have the same function, in the same way we who are many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another. According to the grace given to us, we have different gifts.”

It’s all about the grace of God given to us—undeserving sinners who have been redeemed by a God who loves to give gifts to His children. And He gives them liberally, but not identically. So, let us not presume that any of us have any greater gifts or more important gifts than anyone else in the body of Christ. It’s true, some of us are called to the front lines, but others of us are called to guard the supplies.

Give Yourself Away

It was a great day back at Southbrook Church.  Pastor Rob Singleton preached the fifth part of a six-part series called, "One Month to Live" and gave a strong challenge to live a life of no regrets.  Next week, Clayton King will finish up the series followed by baptisms in Southbrook's outdoor baptismal pool.  

That band was rockin'.  Nick Camereon, Andy Cherry, Steven Chapman and Trenton Starnes bring the house down every time.  

We played:

1. Let the Praises Ring (Lincoln Brewster)

2. Awesome is the Lord Most High (Chris Tomlin)

3. Sweetly Broken (Jeremy Riddle)

4. Rise (Robbie Seay Band - I love this tune.  Just learned it this week as it was a perfect fit for the series at SB.  But I know I'll be doing it again.  It challenges the people of God with these words,  "Slow down, be still.  Let go, we will.  Be here, be now.  Slow down, be still.  Breathe in, refill, Be here, be now.  If you choose to love, know that the call is to give all you are, is to give yourself away.  Rise, rise, people of love rise. People of love rise. Give yourself away."

It's a challenging song to sing in terms of its theological implications (not to mention the musical challenge).  I try to personalize and internalize every song I sing or lead so that it's not just a bunch of words rolling off my tongue. But rather, it's something that I've ruminated on over and over, chewed on, processed, prayed over and internalized. It's challenging to do, especially with a song like this. But it's just one way that I "preach the Gospel to myself everyday" (Jerry Bridges).

Epic

I recently finished Epic by John Eldridge. It's definitely classic-Eldridge. If you've read anything else by him, you know how he writes. A bit too touchy-feely for me, though he's certainly a creative writer and crafts a story very well. Though it only takes about an hour to read, he said in 120 pages what he could have said in about 10. It would have made for a great series of blog posts, but nonetheless a quick and good read. For gathering a basic understanding of the Christian journey and the Christian worldview, this is a good resource. For people who relate emotionally with epic films like "Lord of the Rings" and "Braveheart", the analogous connections Eldridge makes to the Christian journey will likely strike a chord.

Living Stones

Tonight we finished up a 3-night meeting at Living Stones Ministries in Clifton Forge, VA. It was a great week. My Dad brought the Word every night, and he definitely "preached the paint off the walls" as they say in preacher-talk. Leading worship for this group was every worship leader's dream. There was absolutely no prodding necessary. These people worshiped their guts out and praised God with everything inside of them. The church exploded with the Spirit. A marriage was restored on Monday night and three souls were saved Sunday morning. Thank you, Jesus.

For Those With No Back Story

It was a great day back at Parkwood Baptist Church in Gastonia, NC. Pastor Brian Lowe, the youth pastor, brought a very powerful message from Acts 17 about sharing Christ within the culture He has placed us. He pointed out some interesting things about how Paul contextualized the Gospel. When he would preach to Jews and religious folks, he would use the Old Testament as a foundation upon which to build a case for Christ being the Messiah (vv. 2-3). This was possible because the Jews had context in which to place Paul's teaching. They knew the back story. However, when he shared Christ with Gentiles the back story was missing. They had absolutely no context for the OT. So, Paul started with their culture and then pointed them to Christ. He started with something familiar, something that connected (vv. 22-28).

Brian challenged us not to be discouraged by the post-Christian culture in which we live, but rather to find inroads to the hearts of people through the culture while remaining faithful to Christ and His Word. And that's the challenge for you and me. We shouldn't be scared of our culture. We shouldn't run from it. We shouldn't cower before it. We must love people as Christ loves people, and loving people means that we speak the truth to them.

On another note, the worship team did a phenomenal job leading with me, and it's always a pleasure for Tasha and I to be there. I brought my friend Steven Chapman (not to be confused with the contemporary Christian artist by the same name - no relation that I know of, although that would be pretty sweet - anybody remember "The Great Adventure"? - wow, I think I definitely just lost cool points for that one) to fill in on drums and he did an amazing job, as always. Thanks Steven.

We played:
1. Let it Rise
2. O Worship the King
3. Indescribable
4. Amazing Grace/My Chains are Gone
5. He is Exalted
6. Mighty to Save

How Tragedy Brings Glory to God

Yesterday marked the 1-year anniversary of the Virginia Tech tragedy. Having grown up thirty minutes from Blacksburg, VA it hit close to home for me last year. One of my friends, Matthew Church, was supposed to be in the class where Cho opened fire, but he slept through his alarm and missed class.

Continue to pray for the families that experienced loss in ways beyond what I could ever fathom or imagine.

Though I would never pretend to have all the answers to life's tragedies, I'm thankful that there is a God who understands. He understands how it feels to lose His only Son to tragedy, to the wicked, murderous hand of psychotic executioners, much like Cho. Still, when tragedy strikes close to home it begs the question, "How could God possibly allow something like this to happen?" So, many choose to discount the idea of a loving, all-powerful God as nothing more than a fairytale or children's bedtime story. Where is God when disaster comes? Where is God when Katrina lands a deadly blow? Where is God when a tsunami wipes out enough people to populate several countries? Same place He's always been.

But the critics cry foul and choose instead to deny God--a copout, simplistic approach, to be brutally honest. The Bible calls them fools. At the risk of sounding trite and simplistic myself, I like the Psalmist's approach. In Psalm 148:7-8 the writer explains that life's disasters actually give testimony to the greatness of God. He says,

"Praise the Lord from the earth, you great sea creatures and all the depths.
Fire and hail, snow and clouds, stormy wind, fulfilling His word."

How could California wild fires and Hurricane Katrinas be good things? They fulfill His word. Somehow in the providence of God, they fulfill His word. They give testimony to His greatness. They praise Him through and by disaster. I don't know how exactly, but they do. They praise Him over all the earth. They bring attention to His greatness. They act as neon signs that read, "Look at God! Look how amazing He is!" And somehow in the midst of the flickering, fluorescent catastrophe of events, God's power is put on display. He receives more glory and more praise than He would have otherwise.

CharlotteONE 4.15.08

CharlotteONE went amazing last night. It was week two of a three-week series called Xtra Sexual, a series focusing on the Scriptural standard for human sexuality. Dr. Claude Alexander of University Park Baptist Church brought a great message examining the purity of Joseph in the midst of temptation. The band consisted of me and Tasha, Scott Spruill on keys, Andy Cherry on lead guitar, Nate Bryan on drums, Brandon Hiller on bass guitar and Sarah Scott on vocals. Sarah led on "One Pure and Holy Passion" and "None But Jesus" and totally knocked them out of the park. These guys are awesome to play with and one of my favorite bands that we've put together lately.
We played:
1. Joyful, Joyful (Charlie Hall version)
2. Your Grace is Enough (Tomlin)
3. Holy is the Lord (Tomlin)
4. God of This City (new Passion CD)
5. One Pure and Holy Passion (Passion)
6. None But Jesus (Hillsong)

How To Be In The Church Band

I saw this on a friend of mine's blog. Hilarious stuff from Northpoint!

Weddington Community Church

Yesterday we started the day at Weddington Community Church under the direction of Pastor Blake Bouldin. This was our first time at WCC and I don't think it will be our last. They received us well and took great care of us. I had my buddies, Brett Banks and Nathanael Bryan with me. Awesome guys and I love leading with them. We played:

1. Let God Arise (Chris Tomlin)
2. Counting on God (Desperation)
3. Be Thou My Vision/Now and Forever
4. Center (Charlie Hall)
5. Mighty to Save (Hillsong)

One of the Endless Connections Between Sand and Spirituality

My kids are sand dwellers. Some days they closely resemble sand-dwelling, desert lizards because of the absurd length of time they spend in our turtle-shaped sandbox in the backyard. Trying to brush off and discard every grain of sand on their bodies prior to coming indoors is an unfeasible task to say the least. Usually they end up napping in a bed full of tiny grains of sand undetectable to the naked eye, but easily recognizable by the ear, for the grinding sound of what becomes human sandpaper pressing against their mattress with every rise and fall of their chest indicates the presence of the grainy culprits. Tasha and I periodically shake their mattresses free of the chafing-causing little devils only to free them into the depths of the murky bowels of their bedroom carpet—a haven of sorts for bugs and sand. That’s not to say we don’t eventually vacuum it up. But I have my doubts as to the effectiveness of the sucking action. Not so much because of the vacuum cleaner, but because of the condition of the environment in need of sucking. Regardless, sand has become part and parcel of the Via family.

Sand is important in Scripture. It was often used as a word-picture or an analogy to describe many things, perhaps because of its nearly universal recognition. After all, sand was everywhere in the ancient near eastern world. You couldn’t walk out your door without being reminded of that fact. It encircled and surrounded city walls. The desert became a place of escape and solitude. A place of barrenness and waste, except for the presence of sand. The biblical writers understood this connection. God understood this connection. He told Abraham that his descendants would outnumber the stars in the heaven and the sand on the seashore (Gen. 22:17). And Abraham immediately understood the connection. There was no way he could count the grains of sand on every seashore. Absurd! And that was the point.

Neither can we count the thoughts of God toward every person. This is where the connection between the countlessness (a word? is now) of sand and one of the universal, biblical truths it conveys hit home for me today. Psalm 139:17-18 puts is this way:

17How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand
When I awake, I am still with You.

If I should count them, they would outnumber the sand. God’s thoughts toward us outnumber the sand. There’s a bunch of sand in my carpet right now. More than I can count. God’s thoughts outnumber them. There’s a bunch of sand in my sandbox right now (not as much as there used to be). God’s thoughts toward me and you outnumber them. There’s a bunch of sand at Carolina Beach right now. God’s thoughts toward me and you outnumber them. There’s a bunch of sand in the U.S. right now. God’s thoughts toward me and you outnumber them. I think you get the point.

But two things really baffle me about God’s thoughts toward us.

1.They’re precious.

They’re not random thoughts. They’re not evil thoughts. They’re not belittling thoughts. They’re not condemning thoughts. No, they’re precious thoughts. Precious and vast. Vastly precious. Countlessly precious. Endlessly beautiful thoughts. Beautiful thoughts toward me and you. Precious thoughts toward ugly sinners. Beautiful thoughts toward wicked people. Precious thoughts toward the atheist. Precious thoughts toward the agnostic. Precious thoughts toward the pagan. Precious thoughts toward the religious. Precious thoughts toward the white collar, “dignified” sinner. Precious thoughts toward every man and every woman.

2.They exist regardless of what our thoughts toward Him are in return.

Chances are, none of us think about God all the time. And even if we did, our thoughts wouldn’t always be precious. Sometimes they’re shrewd. Sometimes they’re selfish. Sometimes they’re inconsistent. Sometimes they’re irrational. Sometimes they’re jealous. Sometimes they’re utterly hateful and demoralizing. But God’s thoughts are always precious, and they’re always directed toward sinful human beings.

I’m reminded of what Paul said about the love of God in Ephesians 3:17-19.

17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

His love is wide and long and high and deep. That’s why the Psalmist said, “Where can I flee from Your presence? (Ps. 139:7)” He’s everywhere! His love is infinite. His precious thoughts toward me and you are eternal and endless like the sand of the sea (and the sand in my kids’ carpet).

Thank God today for His precious thoughts toward you. Let it move you toward a greater understanding of how wide and long and high and deep is His love.

The Law and the Prophets

I'm totally digging Luke Wood's debut CD The Law and the Prophets. Both musically and lyrically, Luke is refreshingly original and creative. And it's obvious that the man spends time in God's Word. Every song is bathed in Scripture and married to catchy melodies that stick in your head. If you buy any CD this month, get this one! And no one paid me to say that.

Playlists 4-6-08

Parkwood Baptist Church, Gastonia, NC AM:
1. All Hail the Pow'r/Raise Up the Crown (trad. w/ chorus by Chris Tomlin)
2. Blessed Be Your Name (Redman)
3. Be Thou My Vision/Now and Forever (trad. w/ chorus by me - this one will be on the new record, for sure. Hopefully before the year is out.)
4. I Stand Amazed (trad. arr. by Chris Tomlin)
5. Your Grace is Enough

Ridge Church, Matthews, NC PM:
1. I Am Free (Ross Parsley and Desperation)
2. Counting on God (Desperation)
3. Beautiful the Blood (Steve Fee - I love this new one by Steve. Amazing lyrics. Strong, powerful, and refreshingly, theologically sound.)
4. At the Cross (Pocket Full of Rocks)

Flashback Friday: One Day 2000

This is where the love relationship between Tasha and I began to bloom--One Day 2000 in Memphis, TN. One Day was the first gathering of its kind under the vision of Louie Giglio and his Passion Collegiate Conferences. On May 20, 2000, at least 40,000 college students gathered from all around the US with their tents, sleeping bags and Bibles, all for one purpose--to worship the living God of the universe. It was at this conference that Tasha and I realized just how much we had in common. That it wasn't just the music, but we realized that we both wanted to live lives completely sold-out to Jesus Christ. We both wanted to live our lives on purpose for the glory of God. To make our lives count for eternity. And that's exactly what we're trying to do. To raise kids who love Jesus. To encourage men and women in churches all over the southeast not to be satisfied with typical Bible-belt Christianity. To take as many people to heaven with us as possible. We don't have long. This weekend the reality of the frailty of the life has struck me with fresh fervor. We only get one life. Let's make it count.

"Only one life, 'twill soon be passed. Only what's done for Christ will last."

Gene Davis

We're back in Roanoke, VA this weekend. It was a last minute trip. Not the kind that you enjoy making given the circumstances. My great uncle Gene went home to be with the Lord this morning about 2:00 am. Over the last several weeks he really started going downhill in his battle with Alzheimer's disease. Thankfully, he wasn't in any pain when he passed. Gene was a firmly committed follower of Christ most all of his life, and finished his race strong. His wife, my aunt Velma, is now a widow for the second time. Her first husband passed away many years ago, also a strong Christian. Now, Velma faces another tragedy in her life, but one that she bravely faces head-on in the strength of Christ and in the comfort that He brings in times like these.

My Dad was able to be there by Gene's bedside when he slipped into the presence of Christ this morning, all the while reading portions of Scripture (like this verse), praying over him and holding his hand as he made his journey into the courts of his eternal King. Dad will preach the funeral on Saturday and Tasha and I will lead the music. Gene's favorite hymn was "Great is Thy Faithfulness" the same hymn that we had played at our wedding 6 years ago when Tasha walked down the aisle. That hymn never came alive to me more than on that day when I heard that familiar melody played as my beloved bride came walking toward me. Now, it will ring ever truer as the soundtrack to Gene's life--a life lived in faithful commitment to Christ who was and is ever-faithful, even unto death.

In what ways have you seen God's faithfulness in your life lately?

21This I recall to my mind,
Therefore I have hope.
22The LORD'S lovingkindnesses indeed never cease,
For His compassions never fail.
23They are new every morning;
Great is Your faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:21-23)