Java Dust

God is still there...

2009-10-14T12:29:00.001-07:00

Let me make an observation: there are many who are hurting right now. Some of these people are a part of Corinth, others are just in our local community. Some are hurting financially and wondering where the next meal//job is going to come from. Some are struggling with what they perceive as a “dark” season of testing and trial. Others are wrestling with doubt about who they are and what God wants them to do//be and whether or not He is even listening anymore. Others are just scared or feel all alone.

Perhaps a word that they need to hear is that God is still God regardless of anything else that goes on: God is still there… in the midst of your doubt, in the midst of your pain, in the midst of your trial, and when you feel scared and all alone…God is still there.

Which is why I’m really excited about our next sermon series, starting October 25. We are going to wrestle with some of these questions and look at what God offers as answers. Sometimes, we will like what He says…. other times we might not.

I hope that you’ll plan to be a part of this with us and that if you have a friend//family member who needs to hear words of comfort, that you’ll bring them along too.

Adam

Reflections on the Past

2009-07-28T13:30:00.000-07:00

With Homecoming being this past week and all, I've been thinking about the past quite a bit. The past is intriguing to me. Understanding history or learning from the past - mistakes and successes - is an act of reflection that is well worth the time. It is from our past that we learn and move ahead. Knowing where we've been allows us to know where we are going.

What’s interesting about the past, though, is how paralyzing it can be. The past can be haunting, no? We can be haunted by our failures or of the failures who have gone on before us. Looking back at choices I have made in the past that I'm not proud of can be crippling to me and put me into a state of despair. I'm sure many of you have made choices that you have made in the past that you wish you had not and in moments of weakness, you remember these things and it drags you down.

But have you ever considered that we can also be haunted by our past successes as well? We look back at how well something turned out for us in the past and we long for that feeling again. We can walk around humming Bruce Springsteen's "Glory Days" because that's where we want to live - in the past, because the past is safe because it is only a memory. We end up haunted by those things that used to be so great and we fail to see that there are many more successes (and failures) ahead of us as we live life to the fullest.

What we need is a healthy dose of forgetfulness - that we would learn to forget those times where we failed and to forget those times when we succeeded. Then we will be able to live lives that reflect the words of Paul in Philippians 3, "But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." If we are clinging on to the past in our lives - whether it be our failures or successes - we will never be able to fully "press on toward the goal" that God has called us to.

Marked-up

2009-07-22T13:44:00.001-07:00

I am practicing a new discipline right now. I have committed myself to reading through the whole Bible over the next 40 days. I have never tried anything this big before and it is a challenge to make the time to do this.But here is where the new discipline comes in: I am not reading with a pen in hand.

That might not sound like a lot to you, but you need to know that I love reading and I love highlighters and pens. Generally, when I read I have one or the other with me and any time I find something that I think will work well in a sermon or is a great leadership principle, I highlight or underline it to make it easy to find later.When I read my Bible, I generally do the same thing. Highlighting key verses or writing notes in my margins of sermon ideas or key themes that can be taught. I am addicted to this style of reading.

When I decided to take on this 40 day challenge, I decided to do it without a pen or marker near by. Instead of scouring the Bible looking for ways to teach others, I need the Bible to scour me. Instead of looking for the next great series to preach, I needed God to just wash over me and do a great work in my life.

I am just a little way in to this challenge, but it has been an exciting time. The story of God is unfolding before my eyes as I turn the pages. Although the pages are remaining untouched, the same cannot be said of me.

~ Adam

Quick Thought

2009-07-16T08:43:00.000-07:00

I came across this phrase the other day and I really like it (Batterson, again): Divine Appointments.

The idea is, how many times during the day are there appointments that we have with people that have been set in motion by God? They are conversations or run-ins with people that God has placed before me or you and He is doing it so we can make Him famous in some way. The problem is that I can get so focused on what I'm doing (whether it is important or not) that I miss the opportunity or I don't recognize it until an hour later.

So here's my prayer of late: That I would see divine appointments AS they happen and not AFTER they happen.

- Adam

"You pray too much..."?!?

2009-07-15T07:30:00.000-07:00

“You spend too much time praying.”

I read this the other day. It was a criticism labeled against a preacher (I don’t even know where he was from) by one of the leaders in his church! Can you imagine? As one of my friends responded to him, “I wish someone would accuse ME of praying too much!”

When it comes to our spiritual lives, most of us are probably not praying anywhere near enough to be accused of praying too much. In fact, most of us could probably be accused of just the opposite, “You spend too little time praying.” But, it did make me wonder, “Is it really possible to pray too much?”

Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to, “pray without ceasing.” That’s a fairly direct statement - don’t stop praying. There is something inspiring about being around someone who lives this out. Being around someone who is in a constant mode of communication with God is an awesome experience and it motivates you to do the same. So, on the one hand, I don’t believe it is possible to pray too much. But, there is another hand: When we use prayer as an excuse to not take action on what God has called us to do.

You know, there are some things we just don’t have to pray about. We don’t have to pray about whether or not we should love someone, whether or not we should give, whether or not we should share our faith. We know the answers to these things - it’s YES - Get to it! But sometimes, we find ourselves praying for these things because we want to drag our feet in doing what we know God wants us to do.

Other times, we find ourselves praying for people’s needs instead of meeting their needs. If a friend comes to you and asks you to pray for them to find a computer for school and you have an extra computer - don’t pray that they would find a computer, give them the computer and pray for them to use it well. Don’t allow prayer to become an excuse for not acting.

“You spend too much time praying.”

I want people to say that about me because they know that I’m praying for others, for my enemies, for my family, for the work of God to be evident in me, for those divine appointments that only God can provide, or simply because I just love listening to Jesus. But what I don’t want to be said about me is that I spend too much time praying about the things that I should already be moving on or using prayer as an excuse for paralysis. Be a praying person, but be a praying person who moves.

~ Adam

Twitter

2009-07-07T10:39:00.000-07:00

If you are interested in following me on Twitter, you can do so at twitter.com/adamturner Here you can find all of the mundane and interesting things that are going on or random thoughts that roll through my brain - if you dare!

Get your feet wet

2009-07-07T10:36:00.000-07:00

For my personal reading, I started to read a book called, Wild Goose Chase by Mark Batterson. In it, he made an interesting observation that caught my attention. He was writing about how in the book of Joshua (chapter 3), God speaks to Joshua and instructs him to have the priests who are carrying the Ark of the Covenant to walk to the water’s edge of the Jordan River and then to go stand in the river. When the priests reached the Jordan and they waded into the waters, God dammed up the river and made it possible for the priests to stand on firm, dry ground and they and the whole nation crossed the river on dry ground. Here’s the question that was posed: do you think the priests wanted God to dam up the river first? Do you think that the priests were thinking, “If God would do this first, then my feet wouldn’t get wet.” In other words, did the priests want God to act first and then they would follow?

Now, we don’t know what thoughts ran through the minds of the priests and whether or not this is what they wanted from God. I can tell you, however, that when I look at my life and the lives of those around me, that this line of thinking is exactly where we find ourselves more often than not. We find ourselves saying, “God, you move first, then I will move.” We want God to provide the sign before we move forward. We want God to provide the miracle before we act in faith. Why? Batterson answers this succinctly, “So our faith doesn’t require any faith!” Stop and think about that for a second. Many times in our lives, we find ourselves asking God to do something that is miraculous or so unmistakably clear and the reason is that we don’t want to have to have a faith that requires faith. Yet it seems like in life that more often than not it is signs follow faith rather than faith following signs.

A friend’s church decided that instead of waiting on their building to sell so they could move and build, that they would move out of the land-trapped facility they were in. They had tried to sell the building for a couple of years and never could and their growth suffered because of it. After the decision to move out and rent a bigger space, guess what happened? That’s right, the building sold.

How many stories do you know that follow this pattern? Signs follow faith.

When we step out in faith, God is honored and signs follow. Maybe it isn’t the day of, the month of, or the year of, but when we step out in faith, signs will follow. When we step into the water, the river will dry up and not before.

Here’s my question, “Are we/you/I standing at the edge of the water, waiting for it to dry up?” If we are, maybe it is time to step in and get our feet wet and see what follows.

Small Victories?

2009-03-25T12:22:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, you just have to look in the right places to find what you are looking for.

While I have been despairing over a lack of "growth" at the church right now or even a gray cloud that seems to be lurking, I have to confess that I've missed it. I've missed victories. I've missed the chance to celebrate heart change going on. I've missed seeing others "picking up what I've been laying down."

We have a small group who has decided to take a meal to a mom who is suffering from cancer and MS and has a teenage daughter who is causing heartache. We have a small group member who has adopted a Compassion child. Someone else has contacted a potential missionary and is looking for ways to encourage and support them. This group is also planning to have an appreciation BBQ for the fire department, EMT's, and their families. Another group committed to going to a homeless shelter to serve a meal together. Others committed to reading Scripture and praying for one another daily.

It's easy to get discouraged when the nickels and noses aren't adding up the way you want them to. It's easy to become discouraged if you continually compare yourself to others. The truth is, however, that there is enough going on to keep you going - even if it is just the realization that God called us to be faithful.

There are victories going on all around - sometimes you just have to look for them.

Is it ever okay to covet?

2009-03-23T10:57:00.000-07:00

I'm wrestling with some thoughts today and I'm not for sure what God is trying to reveal to me. I've recently become fairly addicted to Twitter and in that process have started following friends and acquaintances who are involved in ministry all over the nation. What is so cool is how "connected" we are and we can share the victories that God is providing. "7 Baptisms this weekend!" "Just got back from baptizing some new people!" "God is doing amazing things at (fill in the blank)." What I'm struggling with is whether or not it is okay to covet what they are experiencing. I've been at the "preaching" thing for all of 3 months now, following over 8 years of youth ministry, and I have to be honest - I'm not seeing the same "results" my friends are. I'm working my tail off - pouring myself into making sure that what is presented on a weekly basis is good, doing what I can to develop leaders, trying to improve areas that need strengthening up - but I'm not seeing the results yet.

Now, I know that God is always at work and sometimes it just takes longer to see what He is up to - believe me, I know - but it doesn't make it any easier. And I know that God could be just placing me in this season to teach me some humility and dependence on Him - but that doesn't make it any easier, either.

I think that my response has to be one of readiness - ready for the moment that God decides to open the floodgates and then to just on the wave and ride it with all the energy, enthusiasm, and fear that I can. Until that moment comes, though, I'm finding it difficult not to be jealous.

Confessions of a Professional Holy Man

2009-03-19T11:11:00.000-07:00

For my graduate schoolwork at Lincoln Christian Seminary, I’ve been focusing on Roman Catholicism (RC). One of the parts of RC that is intriguing to me is the priesthood. There are several levels of fascination that I have with the priesthood and after reading about it and having the chance to interact with a Priest, I’ve got to say that other than a few theological/doctrinal differences (some are major) and the whole celibacy thing (no thanks), I think I could do it. The reason? I feel like I already am.

Follow my logic: churches today still hire professional holy men to be their ministers. I am employed by a church as a minister. Therefore I am a professional holy man. Sounds kind of cool, I might actually have that put on my new business cards. But really, that is how we are viewed.

Think about it. The RC priest is in charge of making sure the sacraments of the church are carried out. For the RC church there are seven:
1. Anointing of the Sick
2. Baptism
3. Eucharist
4. Marriage
5. Confession/Reconciliation
6. Confirmation
7. Holy Orders (this has to do with ordaining new priests, evangelism, preaching, etc.)

Tell me that this is not what we professional holy men are hired to do. Go ahead, I’ll give you a few moments to come up with an argument… Can’t find one, can you? We’re called in to pray for the sick. We are the ones who handle most of the baptisms – if we don’t baptize them, then we are the ones who “bless” it by talking with the candidate and declare them ready to go. We make sure that communion is there and taken care of (obviously because of the RC doctrine of transubstantiation, this is much different in our realm). We perform the wedding ceremony. We help people with confession and help reconcile relationships. We develop (or at least we should) programs or systems of discipleship to help people along with their faith. And the holy orders? We are the ones who are hired to preach and evangelize – that’s why they pay us the big bucks. I’m already functioning as a priest – without celibacy!

I’m not complaining, either. I just think it’s time to call a duck a duck. The problem comes when we try to fit our model into a biblical system for ministry. I don’t find anywhere in the NT that promotes a priesthood model – unless you count the priesthood of believers (1 Peter 2:9-10). That model seems to present the idea that ALL Christians are priests. That we are a priesthood together, a people of God, who have received mercy, so in turn we show mercy to others. This means that the ordinances or sacraments of the church are at the disposal of all believers. We, as the people of God, are able to pray for the sick. Not because we have a certificate from a Christian bookstore that says we are “ordained” but because we are God’s people. It means that all of us can participate in the affirming the forgiveness of sins to those who are ridden with guilt. Because we know that God DOES forgive them through Jesus. The sins have been dealt with and if there is someone who needs that assurance, we can all give it. We all are able to participate in the Holy Orders of preaching (proclaiming good news) and evangelism. This is not and cannot be only the responsibility of those who are on payroll. That is, unless the church wants to make as small an impact on the world as possible.

If this idea of all Christians being the priesthood is the case (and I see no reason to suggest otherwise) then that means that the practice of hiring professional holy men, needs to cease and an emphasis on allowing those who are gifted in the areas that are necessary to have day-to-day involvement to be hired to help those areas reach their God-given potential and discover their purpose. The responsibility of the achieving the mission set out for us by God, however, does not fall solely on those men (or women). That responsibility falls on all of us because we are a royal priesthood…and celibacy is not required.

Catching Up

2008-08-20T08:02:00.000-07:00

Haven't posted for a while - no reason, just nothing to write. To catch up, I've been reading some really good books lately. There is one called, Leadershift by Don Cousins. It has some very interesting insights into the ways churches do things. It confronts several leadership "heresies" and the one that caught my eye was the one about organizational heresy. It has been far too easy for the church to become an institution instead of a disciple-making, active body of believers. It causes us to create professional Christians to do the work that the church should be doing any way - because it's easier. Easy isn't always the right way, though - in fact, I don't know when it is.

The Dark Knight

2008-07-23T11:24:00.001-07:00

I am about to get to watch the new Batman movie. I'm stoked. Even cooler is that it only cost me $5.25. Real matinée prices. So awesome.

Posted with LifeCast

Story Night

2008-07-21T19:13:00.000-07:00

Tonight's theme/topic was story and it was a huge struggle for me. I just don't feel like a did a good job. I had good stories to tell, but there wasn't a connection with the kids. It's been so long since I preached to Middle School kids - I hope that tonight was my stinker that will be out of the way and we will move on tomorrow night. I'm gonna spend the day refining my "Love" sermon to try and do better. It should be easier because it has a full Scripture text to work with (luke 15). On the positive side, the Know Sweat people are classy people and fun to work with. It will be cool getting to know them over the next few days.

The Summer of Travel Continues...

2008-07-21T08:37:00.000-07:00

I'm writing from a Starbucks in Beckley, West Virginia. I'm up/over here to preach a week at a CIY Know Sweat Conference. Know Sweat is an awesome thing and in my opinion, one of the best things that CIY does. Check it out here It's going to be an interesting week as we go through the book of Luke and dissect the story that we find ourselves in - the story of God's love, justice, and mercy.

I get to stay in the dorms - with no A/C - so I'll probably be at this Starbucks an awful lot. I won't have a whole lot to do this week other than preaching, so I'll probably be posting several times. AT&T Wi-Fi is awesome - Thank you Starbucks for switching!.

Post-Sermon Thoughts

2008-07-13T13:49:00.000-07:00

It always amazes me just how wiped out I am after preaching three times in the morning - I'm a zombie right now. Overall, I think it went fine and I'm sure that there will be more reflection over the next couple of days. The only thing I'm afraid of already is maybe I overloaded the group with information.

This makes me jealous...

2008-07-12T20:07:00.001-07:00

Pre-Sermon Thoughts

2008-07-12T19:34:00.000-07:00

So I just finished my sermon for tomorrow on Luke 18.9-14, the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, and I am just wondering how it will go. It's an interesting parable, and it is one that is misunderstood by many. I think most people think that this is a parable about the right ways to pray before God, but I don't think that's the case. There's something more there and I think it has to do with who's in and who's out. One of the things that Luke has done in "his" section (all from 15-18 is only in Luke) is draw out the way that those who think they are in are in danger of being out. In this parable, Jesus seems to be saying that if we think that we are impressive on our own, we've got another thing coming. If we think that we are "in" because of who we are or what we do, we will not be justified by God in the end. It is only the one who authentically realizes that it's about God and not us that will be justified. It's the ones whom we don't expect.

It's frightening, really, to think that if we who call ourselves "in" could be out if we somehow begin to believe that it is about us.

This could be interesting

2008-07-09T11:10:00.000-07:00

Here's something I came across today. Pretty crazy...I wonder how it will work and where it will be...

Giglio and Tomlin to plant a church in Atlanta

This is pretty cool...

2008-07-08T18:37:00.000-07:00

Here's an awesome video of John Mayer covering Tom Petty's "Free Fallin'" Hope you enjoy.

Resting Thoughts

2008-07-07T21:14:00.001-07:00

Before I go to sleep after a long day of driving, a couple of thoughts:
1. Hospitality is an underrated spiritual gift. It's amazing to meet people who have it and love to use it.
2. It is a small world - you never know who you will meet that thinks that your dad singing in the Gospel Lads is a cool thing.
3. 860 miles is a long drive.

It's cool to be out here and to catch up with old friends and make new ones...

Summer of the road trip continues

2008-07-05T19:31:00.000-07:00

The road trip that is known as summer continues on. We will have driven 5,700 miles by the end of next week. Things I have learned so far:
1. I get grumpy when I am tired
2. Transmissions are expensive
3. Myrtle Beach has the worst roadways, ever
4. Sermons on an iPod help pass the time

N.T. Wright and Stephen Colbert

2008-07-02T14:13:00.000-07:00

For my first post, here are two of my favorite people: N.T. Wright and Stephen Colbert. Watch how the Bishop of Durham holds his own with Colbert. It's a funny clip.