I began a new small group this month with a group of collegians I’ve never regularly met with in a small group context. Though we’ve only just begun to meet, I have high hopes for how the Lord will use the group to help us in learning what it means to love Him more. We decided to spend this week emailing one another a list of things we are thankful for. I’m always encouraged when I read these short lists from other friends’ blogs. Gratitude is good and appropriate because God always provides over-abundantly. Here is a slightly revised form of my list.
1. My Wife. Plain and simple, I love Tina. She is the freaking bomb. She is my best friend, my most reliable and consistent source of prayer, and a darn good cook. Solomon wasn’t lying when he said, “An excellent wife is the crown of her husband” (Prov. 18:22). Brothers, find someone who is attractive, someone who is funny, but most importantly, find someone who loves the Lord and you’ll never regret it.
2. T4G. Thankful that I get to travel across the country and hear from such gifted and able men of God. I went to the last Together for the Gospel conference 2 years ago and it was a huge blessing. I had a chance to visit the Louisville Bat Factory (the day before the conference), chatted with Tim Challies as we waited in the registration line for attendees with a surname beginning with “Ch”, and bought Dr. Mohler a cup of coffee (grande, black). I’m not sure what’s waiting for me this time around but I’m grateful that I can go along with the staff too since we don’t spend as much time together as we’d like. The free books won’t hurt either!
3. College Group. I’m so grateful for the youthful exuberance, excitement, and teachability in our group. We have grown numerically and it has been tough at times to keep up with the changing dynamics but I can’t imagine a better situation for a young pastor such as myself. And best of all, I think we are still improving the ministry that God has set before us so I’m thankful for the potential for real fruit-bearing that I see among the collegians.
4. My Macbook. PC’s suck.
5. The 2010 MLB season. Most prefer basketball but baseball is my favorite sport because I was bred in it as a young child. Baseball cards, going to the stadium, playing softball, are all things that immediately bring me back to my childhood and I really do believe it’s one of the Lord’s evidences of common grace that He provides recreational games for our exercise and entertainment. Now the Angels need to start picking it up!
6. My Bible and the DA Carson reading plan. This is my first time going through the reading plan which usually consists of 2 OT passages and 2 NT passages. It’s been a good experience being exposed to so many different parts of Scripture simultaneously. I’m deepening in my appreciation for the scope of God’s redemptive plan and how it finds its apex in Christ. He is gracious indeed and always has been.
7. My small group. I’m excited for the new group and thankful that every week, I can find accountability and strength through our times of fellowship. Though we’ve only met a few times, I’m already thankful for how they are spurring me on to pray and to love God more.
8. My apartment. It’s really nice. We got awesome amenities even if we hardly use them! I even like the smallest details of our place like the tightly-knit carpet that minimizes dust (and the need for vacuuming). I’m sad I have to move next month but being able to live here for the past year is a product of God’s unmerited kindness to me.
9. Email. I hate talking on the phone and text messages don’t provide enough characters to communicate anything substantial. Proper use of email is a rare bastion of efficiency in the digital age.
10. Sanctification. God is changing me. I know I get in the way and slow the pace of progress far too often but I’m thankful that He’s staying patient and making me more like Jesus. The road to my growth unto Christ-likeness remains rocky at times but I know He’s pruning me in important ways. Praise the Spirit for His patience.
1) If in the last week, I’ve appeared to look at you condescendingly or stare you down with my small, not-so-beady eyes, it’s because my right eye keeps twitching and I’m trying to compensate for it. If you’ve seen this look from me prior to this past week, then you probably said or did something foolish.
2) I registered for Goodreads this past weekend and have begun perusing through the virtual shelves of others. Books are our friends and other people’s books offer opportunities to make more friends. Register and add me. By the way, if you’ve borrowed a book from me, I want it back. Now.
3) A lot of people are getting married and engaged. This is good because it shows that my friends are normal.
4) As my buddy Daniel Su would say, Philippians and Hebrews are “crazy”. I’ve been stirred up quite a bit to love the Savior more as a result of our times through these books on Sundays and weekdays. I am very thankful for all the reminders of God’s grace to me in Christ.
5) 24 needs to end. This season has been deplorable, save for one fairly unexpected twist in this week’s episode. Bauer Hour should be so much better than this.
Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman: Written over 20 years ago, it might be labelled “ancient” by contemporary standards, but that only serves to reinforce the book’s basic premise. It’s actually quite easy to argue that in the digital age of cellphones, Facebook, Youtube, texting, and instant messaging, Postman is actually more relevant today. College students especially need to begin considering how their constant exposure to the overload of tech-based communication is severely impairing their abilities to think, reason, articulate, and sustain attention required to form and expound a coherent worldview. At least to think about it long enough to get through this book (and this list for that matter!).
Disciplines of a Godly Man by R. Kent Hughes: Particularly in the crucial formative years of student life, collegians need to lay a foundation of discipline that will reap immense rewards for the years following their graduations. The typical college student’s lifestyle cannot be maintained for long before negative ramifications follow in virtually every area of life. Disciplines such as consistent Bible intake and steady, faithful prayer, should be cultivated with an aim toward godliness. Note: There are plenty of other good books that talk about spiritual disciplines (e.g., Don Whitney’s Spiritual Disciplines of the Christian Life; Jerry Bridges’ Disciplines of Grace).
Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis: A classic and must-read for every Christian. But specifically for college students who should learn how to respond to the many unbelievers they’re likely to encounter during their education (1Pet. 3:15). Though the packaging changes with time, the questions aimed at believers have always been the same. It’s true that there have been more recent good books written on apologetics by the likes of Tim Keller and Ravi Zacharias but it’s my humble opinion that Lewis stands alone in his wit and insight. G.K. Chesterton and Blaise Pascal are also close kindred spirits to Lewis that I’ve found helpful.
The Structure of Scientific Revolutions by Thomas Kuhn: First exposed to this book in a Philosophy of Science course recommended by a friend far smarter than me, this isn’t the easiest bit of reading. However, those brave enough to tackle the book will be rewarded. Science rules on the college campus. It’s unquestioned, incontrovertible, and without challenger in its authority. Naturalism is every thinking man’s religion, so the intellectual pundits say. Kuhn contests the supposed “natural” progression of scientific knowledge, arguing that less “scientific” factors such as money and society have bigger roles to play than our objective empiricism would like to believe.
Stop Dating the Church by Joshua Harris: Collegians need this badly. And not just those who are endlessly church-hopping but even for those who have signed up as members of particular congregations but whose active participation in church life is still oftentimes found wanting.
Just came back from Thanksgiving Communion & Potluck. I’m in a particularly grateful mood. Thankful for:
1) My wife. She’s beautiful, serving, humble, kind, gentle, prayerful, gracious, and absolutely remarkable. Everything I’m not.
2) Berean Community Church. A church family in the truest sense. A place of instruction, encouragement, fellowship, laughter, food, and sharpening. Not perfect but wholly beneficial to me.
3) Pastor Peter & the Elders of BCC. Pastor Peter has been a father to me in bringing me up in the fear and admonition of the Lord, a mother to me in his patient nurture of my growth as a pastor and more importantly, as a Christian man. The elders are exemplary in their faithfulness to the church and to their own homes. They are concrete examples of godly leadership.
4) College Ministry. They allow me to extend my adolescence and not feel bad about it. They’re enthusiastic, teachable, and continually maturing; all qualities that a disciple should never outgrow.
5) Jesus. He saved me when I was dead in my trespasses, hopelessly lost, and a child of wrath. He humbled Himself to the point of death, even death on a Cross. He ransomed me and gladly welcomed me as a fellow brother in the house of God. He was raised for my justification. He is supremely worthy of worship, all-sufficient in His saving work, and gracious in His continuing intercession. I’m grateful He sent His Spirit to illuminate both heart and mind to learn more about who He is. I’m thankful that He is patient with me in the ongoing struggle to become more like Him. I love Him.
School’s not technically in session for me but for all those that I’ve been called to minister to (i.e., collegians). I enjoy summer vacation as the next guy but I’ve looked forward to the start of this school year for a number of reasons. And here’s a representative sampling of a few:
1) Seeing old faces and catching up.
An interesting thing that God has been doing is leading a lot of people who are originally from NorCal in becoming a part of the college group. This is great except during the summer when everyone goes home for 3 months. Many people that have become familiar friends over the course of the school year are now suddenly zapped from my day-to-day life. But now that it’s late September, it’s good to see many of them back with us in SoCal, which is where I know they’d rather be, so I guess we’re all winners here.
2) Getting busy with ministry again.
Though I got a few weeks to regroup after subbing in for P. Peter during his sabbatical, I’m eager to dive into what the Lord has for me to do this year in the college group. Ever since graduating from seminary, I’ve grown in my heart for teaching, counseling, and shepherding. Nowadays, something seems off if there’s any hiatus from the normal routine of ministry. The start of the school year provides the regular ministry setting that I’ve grown accustomed to and thankful for.
3) Teaching to more than 10 people at Friday night Bible study.
Instructing (and learning) the Scriptures on Friday night shouldn’t really be affected by the number of people who attend any given Bible study but I must confess that it’s nice knowing that I’m preparing a study that will benefit more souls as a result of people coming back down for the start of school. But with that said, I will miss having a more expansive list of post-Bible study dinner options to choose from because of the smaller and more manageable group size during summer break. I guess McDonald’s and Jack-in-the-Box aren’t so bad though.
4) Meeting new freshmen.
Wide-eyed, lost, and generally confused, I love seeing the transformation that God does in young people’s minds and hearts over the course of the school year. They present both a challenge and an opportunity and I’ve already been given a chance to meet several of them. Now hopefully we can come up with enough people to give them all rides to church on Fridays and Sundays. Sophomores, where are your cars???
5) Being filled with abundant opportunities to evangelize.
What I’m most excited about with the start of another fall quarter is the opportunity to share my faith with young people and exhorting people in our college group to live as purposeful evangelists. The university campus remains the gathering place for an eclectic mix of people, where ideologies, political opinions, and religious faiths oftentimes intersect and clash. Amid this chaotic brew is the common denominator of unbelief. Christians were once dying people who were saved by the gift of God’s grace to us in Christ (cf. Eph. 2:1-7). As people who glory and delight in the Gospel, is there any greater privilege than to be called to carry that message to the remotest parts of the world, beginning here with the strangers sitting next to us in the lecture halls and classrooms? Is there any greater Savior to proclaim? Is there any greater love to speak of?
(HT: Zach Nielsen)
(Note: I can’t speak to the accuracy of Pastor Mark Driscoll’s comments regarding the filthy sponge but there is historical precedent, and the basic point remains unchanged)
As I near the end of playing pinch hitter for Pastor Peter during his August sabbatical, I’ve grown appreciative about the unique opportunities that this month brought to me. It’s an immense privilege for a young buck like myself to be handed the reins of the church for a month and though it’s not as dramatic or revolutionary as I hope to make it seem, there are some valuable things that I’ve learned to be grateful for during the past few weeks.
1) Staying busy during the normal lull of the summer break.
As soon as the school year ended and summer vacation began, what was a group of 50 collegians suddenly shrank to a number barely hovering over 10. We had 15 seniors graduate and still await the wide-eyed, incoming freshmen. In the meantime, summer vacation for the collegians in recent years has become a bit of a break for me also, if only for the fewer people I’m able to meet. Preparing and preaching Sunday messages and teaching Bible study twice each week allowed all that extra time afforded from summer vacation to be put into good use. God probably knew I’d be selfish and lazy otherwise so He allowed me to retain some level of utility during this month.
2) BAM Bible Study.
For all the years I’ve been pastoring at Berean full-time (count: 1.5 years) I’ve never taught BAM in a weekly Bible study context. It’s the largest group in the church and comprised mostly by my own peers. BAM is growing in rapid pace but God is supplying people within the ministry to help with the development. As much as I love the dynamic of working with collegians, being with the BAMers reminded me of the huge potential that mobile, single, working Christians can have for kingdom work. And besides, as BAM meets on Wednesday nights, I could use them as a “warm up” for College Bible study on Fridays. 
3) A renewed appreciation of the grit and hard work that ministry requires.
Every career has its challenges. Vocational ministry is no different. Sometimes living in my insulated, college-group bubble means that I forget the difficulties associated with “normal” ministry. However, the last few weeks reminded me that while busyness doesn’t necessarily equate to fruitfulness, the work of helping to shepherd the church is ongoing, unending, exciting, frustrating, and rewarding all at the same time.
4) Multiple chances to sharpen my abilities in the craft, science, and art of preaching.
Preaching is not my natural area of strength and I don’t feel particularly suited for it but as there isn’t any such thing as a non-teaching pastor, I’ve learned to accept it as a responsibility to work on. P. Peter and the elders have been gracious enough to extend preaching opportunities to me in the past but those were primarily topical sermons in lieu of the normal preaching schedule. But as I was able to preach for 5 consecutive weeks and continue through our series in Colossians, I gained valuable experience in expositional, systematic preaching and teaching. There will always be more gifted men but I’m glad that God gave me a chance to improve my own abilities in this area of my calling during the past month.
5) Giving P. Peter a well-deserved rest.
God has gifted Berean with P. Peter. He is a man of conviction, integrity, passion, and joy. He loves Jesus, his family, and the church and this sabbatical was more than warranted in light of all his years of tireless work. The “break” was also in God’s sovereign timing since P. Peter needed to be freed to attend to other duties that required his attention during the past month. Being in his shoes in a limited capacity for a short time served as a reminder that I, and others in our church, should heed what’s written in Hebrews:
Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith…Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. (13:7,17)
Anyways, I think it’s time that I get a sabbatical now. 
