Commit to the Messiah or imaginary jesus

2nd sermon of my life was on Sunday and it was a great experience.  Several honest thoughts came out that were not part of my notes or manuscript.  Apparently, the Holy Spirit guides this whole process after all…

Basically, it goes like this, we either commit ourselves to Jesus Christ 100% or we’re placing other idols before Him… There really is no other way to say it.  Those things are kids, spouse, boyfriend, girlfriend, sports, drugs, food, work, cars, internet, facebook, television, iphone, crackberry, whatever.   Christians are required to be disciples.  Disciples must be committed 100% to grow into true followers of Christ.  We are stagnant spiritually if we do not commit 100%.

If we think anything less than 100% is ok for us, then we believe in an imaginary jesus who is not biblical.  That jesus will eventually destroy us.  That jesus will not be there when we’re hurting.  That jesus will not carry us through hard times.  That jesus can’t give us grace.  That jesus did not give all for us.  That jesus does not love us.  The imaginary jesus tells us it’s ok to miss the summer from church for our kids travel sports.  The imaginary jesus tells us that it’s ok if we get drunk on Friday night.  The imaginary jesus will tell us to go after that promotion in lieu of being the spiritual leader for our family.

Watch the video first (requires facebook, i think):

Video Intro

Then the message:

The Well- Disciple Week 2: Commitment

Andy and Kyle did a great job of recapping the day.

Facts:  I am not an excellent orator.  I have a lot of improvement to do in that area.  I have faith that God knows what He’s doing when He uses me for things like this.  God is in control.  I am not, other than submitting to be obedient.

For reference, here is the scripture that was covered in the message:

Luke 14:25-26

1 John 3:15

1 John 4:20

Matthew 28:16-20

Matthew 7:21-23

James 4:17

2 Timothy 3:16-17

A day of Victory

Today was a day of victory for several people at The Well.  Today, 18 people were baptized.  Some were dunked and some were sprinkled (sounds like a trip to dunkin donuts).  Andy stated the point and fact that in baptism it’s not the amount of water that makes a difference; it’s the fact that we admit that we’re sinners and we submit to salvation in Jesus Christ alone.  And yes, I did make a “Step Brothers” reference in the announcements when I said that some people have called me “the songbird of my generation”.  I watched the movie the night before.  Kyle and the guys led another awesome time of worship.  Just a powerful service all around.

Twice, in Luke 15, Jesus says that heaven rejoices when one sinner repents and proclaims the gospel.  Today, the angles in heaven rejoiced and partied like no other earthly party could compare.  Today was a day of victory.  Today was a day of proof and truth that God is doing some amazing things through the people of The Well and that Jesus Christ is alive and moving in Cartersville.  Today, we punched satan in the throat and told him, “It’s over.  God’s kingdom begins for me today, right here.”

In addition to the baptisms, many people committed to become members of The Well.  These people are aware of the responsibilities membership involves and this commitment is a huge statement to the lengths they will go for Jesus.

Just a great day in C’ville.

Old Books and Big Great Gran

I’m making adjustments and I don’t really have time to read books, but when Gran found out I was going to preach back in May, she sent me some of my great grandmother’s old, christian themed books along with a note of encouragement.  One book is a kind of study guide on the book of John titled, “The Gospel of John (A Study Guide)”, by Herschel H. Hobbs, published in 1965.  My great grandmother’s name, Elizabeth Besinger, is written on the inside cover.  Several pages have text highlighted or underlined revealing scripture and points that were important or had significance to “Big Great Gran”.  I can hear her voice reading along with me as I scan through the pages studying for my next sermon (whenever it comes), but, more importantly, while I get to absorb this spiritual moment with God and her.  My Big Great Gran lived a christian life that is deserving of it’s own book.  Even the local press and people of the town she lived in, Abbeville, South Carolina, called her the “Mother Theresa of Abbeville”.  The things God did through her for the community around her were nothing short of amazing.

One quick story.  Big Great Gran was visiting us during Christmas break back in 1992.  I was a Sophomore playing varsity basketball, so I was the “kid” on the team.  Big Great Gran with my Aunt, I believe, stopped by one of our practices we had before Christmas.  She was standing against the rail near the court while we scrimmaged.  I drove from the top of the key and hit a jumper from the left elbow.  As soon as the ball went through, Big Great Gran shouts, “Yea, Suga!”  Play stopped for a second while the guys and coached laughed.  I’ll never forget it.  It was a nickname that stuck for the rest of the season, “Suga”.

As I read through these books, I think about 80 years from now and what kind of discipleship legacy I will leave for my children, grand children, and great grandchildren.  Will they be able to open up old books of mine and hear my voice as they read through the marked up and highlighted pages?  Will they be reminded of the spritual leader I was for the family?  Will they be able to say that God accomplised all that He wanted to with me in my time here on Earth?

“You don’t have time to tink”

I took this video during our mission trip to Andros Island, Bahamas.  On this particular morning, I had gotten up early to see the sunrise and pray for a while and read some scripture before we left for the day’s work site at 8AM.  A few hundred yards down the beach, there was this guy fishing.  He was in this same spot every morning I went out there early, so I’m guessing this was his daily routine.  He would catch bait fish early and then take that to fish the deeper waters.

After he finished, he walked by and stopped to chat for a minute.  It was a pretty cool conversation.  He said he lived in the USA for a little, but was originally from Andros.  While living in the States, his father, back in Andros, died, so he had to come back home to handle family affairs.  While home, he said he realized the blessings he on Andros and that God was calling him back home……..  His home on Andros was a shack by American standards, but he had lived in America and he considers it a “blessing” to be on Andros.

About 2:30 into the video, he says something to the effect that we get so busy in the big city, that we “don’t have time to tink”.  No better words could describe how most of us live.

Anyway, some folks from the mission team wanted to see the video, so here it is……. Oh, if anyone knows how to get in touch with Edwin Hawkins, please let his management know that there’s a guy on Andros Island that would like to speak to him.

 

Washable markers??? Why??

Temporary prison tats are fun….  Sharpie = bad… Washable marker = good.

 

Burson #4 Is a boy!!

Well, that what the ultrasound says, at least… So, after 4 the score is tied, 2-2. All the measurements and vitals are good and on track according to the doctor… All that’s left now is the waiting.

 
Here’s the video.. Since I was using the flip video camera, the footage is shaky and pixelated, but Brooke’s reaction is awesome….

 

 

My manatee mating experience..

The details aren’t as freaky as the headline.  Today we ate breakfast and chilled out on the balcony for a little while.  After a few minutes, we noticed a crowd of folks on the shoreline and a couple of Venice’s finest walking toward the mob.  Yeah, we couldn’t just sit there, so the Burson posse mounted up and “followed the fire truck” as we call it toward the crowd on the beach.  Cameras in hand, of course.

We got there to find 7 to 8 manatee that appeared to be beached and trying to get back out into the ocean.  The guys that were already there made the assumption that it was a momma and her kids, or whatever you call non-adult manatee, and momma was stuck and the kids were panicking.  They were trashing around and rolling around on top of each other and in the midst of the chaos, several of us were trying to push them into the surf.  These big fat sea cows with no legs don’t really move with pushing, by the way. 

After a few minutes of failed attempts of pushing the mass of manatee back out to sea, the cops on hand got a radio call from some maritime patrol group that the manatee were not in distress, but were actually mating.  It sounded like this, “Hey!  (inaudible) says to leave them alone… They’re mating.”  Dang, I went from animal world hero to sea mammal pervert.  Yeah, I touched several manatees, one female and a few different males, who were in the middle of nookie.  For the record, this manatee mating is violent.  For those that don’t know, manatee feel like rough, wet leather, but have the gift of persuasion.

Anyway, some video is here:

 

Kids love simple things sometimes

While on vacation, we decided to make a 1 day stop in Ocala, Florida to celebrate the 4th of July at Silver Springs.  That means a stay at a hotel room on July 3rd.  Now, we’ve been on vacation before, but I guess we usually stay in condos on or near the beach.  This hotel is different for the kids.  It’s not near the ocean, so I guess it’s unlike anything they’ve ever done before.

They love this hotel thing.  They’re acting like a bunch of high school kids who are pseudo-adults for a night eating at a fancy restaraunt for homecoming.  Sure, it’s only for one night, but maybe the folks in the lobby with think they’re superstars that get to do this kind of thing all the time.

Brady did lock us out though.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NDJ3u8cGlm8

The Well’s Andros Island Mission Trip – 2009

Last week, a team of 14 people from The Well went on a mission trip to Andros Island in the Bahamas.  We stayed in a small town called Stanyard Creek… Actually, we stayed right here.  In this house.  We did plumbing work, yard work, roof repair on 3 homes and taught VBS for the neighborhood kids everyday at 3pm.  Too much happened to really summarize in one post what God did for us and the people He connected to us in our time there, so I’m going to add a section to the blog that kind of summarizes each day.  There are tons of pictures to look at here and I have about 6 hours of video footage I need to sort through and get posted to the web.

Real quick though, it was my first mission trip.  I feel bad that I never went on one sooner.  I’ve wasted a lot of time in my life on stupid stuff and I wish I could go back and force my 18 year-old self to go on a foreign mission trip away from the comforts of the United States.  If you’re considering going on a mission trip, but money is your issue, then you don’t have an issue.  I didn’t have the money either.  None of the 14 people that went had the money, but God made it happen.  Letters, fund raisers, hosting parent’s night outs, garage sales, etc.  Quit making excuses and get uncomfortable in some area of your life for God.  If you physically can’t go, support someone that can.  Your support is just as important as being there in person.

“But we’ve got people here…..”

Yep and God is bigger than the tiny man-made borders and lines on a map we’ve layed on His creation.  That whole Great Commission thing seems like all the justification anyone would need in being faithful to God and traveling on mission to Andros Island, or Peru, or Mexico, or Arizona, or Russia, or Cartersville, Georgia.

I don’t know when I’ll get to go again, but I look forward to the mission trips that I get to take with my wife and the ones I get to take with my kids when they are 13.

You want me to do what?

This post could be 10,000 words and is a couple of weeks late, but I’ll keep it short. I preached my first sermon a couple of Sundays ago at The Well. Why? For sometime now, God has been calling me to just move forward for Him. How far and in what direction? I don’t really know. It started in late 2005 when I agreed to help setup once-a-month at The Church of The Way in Lawrenceville. The Way is the real deal with awesome servants and awesome staff.  Their commitment and the fact that they were real people had a huge impact on me.

Not long after, we moved to Cartersville in August of 2006. We didn’t have a church home and drove back and forth to Lawrenceville for a while for church. In late 2007 I was put in contact with this church planting dude, Andy Postell.

 
We talked to Andy about the new church he was starting in Cartersville and we were interested. After prayer and still knowing I didn’t have what it takes, we committed to help Andy and his wife start the church anyway. The church eventually got a name, “The Well”, and more people joined up to help start the church. The Well has now been meeting weekly since October of 2008 and moved from having Sunday services at Cartersville Main Street Library to Excel Christian Academy on March 1, 2009.

Everytime I’ve moved for God, He’s asked me to keep trying something else. As if I were “warm”, but not there yet. Then, Andy asked if I would preach one Sunday while he was on vacation. So, against my better judgement and knowing my lack of ability, I agreed to follow God’s call again, not knowing what would happen.

The link below is what happened and God said, “ooo… you’re getting warmer”. This my first sermon.  Before May 31, 2009, I hadn’t ever prayed aloud to more than 20 people at one time and I had only done that once at a family gathering. Until May 31, 2009, I had never given any type of speech in front of more than 20 people that lasted longer than 15 minutes and I had to only do that for a couple of college classes. Some things I say don’t come out the way I planned them to, my oratory skills need lots of work, my knowledge of scripture isn’t the best, and, at times, I talk too fast and jumble my words. In other words, I preach like a guy who has never been trained to preach and one who has never preached before.

Click on the May 31, 2009 message. Please, I want to hear your feedback, whatever it is.
http://www.discoverthewell.org/sermons.php?pageType=main&pageID=39&pageName=%2FListen%2F