August 2012
1 post
A Pastor’s Guide to Bath Salts and Synthetic...
What are K2 and Bath Salts?
When we talk about synthetic cannabis, many times the terms K2 or K4 are used. These terms are actually just two brand names of products containing synthetic cannabis. Mad Hatter, Bayou Blaster Redoux, Demon Free Ritual Potpourri and Darkness are just a few more of the brand names. These brands, and the hundreds like them, usually contain some sort of...
July 2012
2 posts
In the Eye of the Beholder
1 Corinthians 10:31 Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.
In the top desk drawer of my office I have six baseball cards. There’s a 1959 Sandy Koufax, a 1953Al Kaline, a 1964 Pete Rose, a 1966 Jim Palmer, a 1965 Steve Carlton and a 1968 Johnny Bench rookie card. During the early 90’s baseball cards were highly valued, but today, not so...
Unmasking Moses
***I am currently writing some curriculum for Hyphen small groups. This is my first attempt at such a format, so I wanted to share the first lesson and get some feedback. If you read this and would like to share your thoughts, please email me at avejoepastor@gmail.com. If you like this lesson, and would be interested in purchasing the series, it should be available in time for our national Hyphen...
March 2012
2 posts
The Battle Between Your Ears
***NOTE: I am not a Greek scholar nor a cat person. However neither one of these things stopped me from writing this essay. Enjoy.***
Last week I spent some time meditating on 2 Corinthians 10:3-5. This passage of scripture is familiar to a lot of Christians, especially to Pentecostals. Verse 4 is one of those good old fashioned, foam at the mouth, whip everyone into a frenzy, screaming verses....
Joseph who?
I had a random thought on the way to work this morning. In preparation for some Hyphen stuff that I’m doing, I’ve been revisiting some resources about the cultural gap in churches. With this information in the back of my mind, I set out on my commute. Somewhere about the halfway mark, Exodus 1:8 popped into my head. Ok, so I had to look up the chapter and verse but the guts of the...
February 2012
5 posts
References for Relationship and Religion
I wanted to give the resources that I used for my last blog post. If nothing else, it gives me a chance to practice listing references in APA style. They are as follows:
Bender, T. (1982). Community and social change in America. Baltimore, MD: John Hopkins University Press.
Putnam, R.D. (2001). Bowling alone: The collapse and revival of American community. New York, NY: Touchstone Books by Simon...
Relationship and Religion (part 4)
*part 4 of 4
Behaviors such as: church attendance, tithing, obedience to authority and sacrifice are not only vital, they are biblical. Yet as we see this generation take its place as church leaders, these are the things that are being laid by the wayside. Pastors are fighting to engage a group that claims to love Jesus, but have disengaged from the church. In addition to this, in 2009 the Barna...
Relationship and Religion (part 3)
*part 3 of 4
At its heart, the church is first and foremost a community. If we look at the end of Acts 2, we see that the early church lived a communal lifestyle. They ate together, prayed together, worshiped together and they supported each other financially. During this time God worked great miracles among them, and they church grew, but it doesn’t take long for this rapid growth to create...
Relationship and Religion (part 2)
*This is part 2 of 4
Everyone, at some level, functions as a member of both communities and societies. You go to school (society), but you have your group of friends (community). You work a job (society), so that you can feed your family (community). It doesn’t matter if you grew up in the great depression or if you are now growing up in the great recession, you belong to both...
Relationship and Religion (part 1)
This is a lengthy essay that I’ve been working on, so I’m going to post it one page at a time. I’d like to point out that I am in no way a sociologist, and if any real sociologists read this, please have mercy on me. Thank you.
There has been a video making its rounds on Facebook for the past couple of weeks. It’s about having a relationship and not religion....
January 2012
2 posts
Hagios
Next Friday marks a new chapter in my life and the life of my church. We are starting a new outreach program that we’re calling Hagios. My desire is to reach the community of Carbondale, and so far the success has been minimal. A few months ago, while in prayer, I felt an urging to do something different, and the idea for Hagios was born.
Really it’s not that complicated. We...
October 2011
1 post
Renaming Ai
When I started this blog, it was with the intention that I would share the struggles and triumphs that I was experiencing in my ministry. It was my hope that someone else might read my blog and be encouraged by the knowledge that they weren’t the only ones going through these things. In other words, I would tell the truth instead of the twitterized version of life. I don’t know if this goal has...
August 2011
1 post
Cross-cultural Christianity through John 4:24
It has been awhile since I’ve updated my blog. I do offer my sincerest apologies to the legion of faithful readers that have been anxiously awaiting a new installment.
What inspired me to put carpals to keyboard, on this fine day, is a thought that came to me while I was preaching last night. I was preaching on John 4:24, in which Jesus told the woman at the well, that they that worshiped God must...
May 2011
2 posts
Jesus’ Rabbi
Psalm 1:1 Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
I have been doing some studying lately about the ancient Hebrew educational system, and when I say studying, I mean I googled it and looked at the first site that didn’t seem to be shady enough to give me a virus.
In the ensuing twenty...
The Other Side of the Stone
*This is the written form of the message that I preached to my church this Easter. It is probably a little more coherent than the actual message, and I got to add all of things that I wish I’d said! This isn’t the 20 page monster blog that I have been working on. That may end up being a 180 page book! Enjoy.
Mark 15:42 And when evening had come, since it was the day of Preparation, that is, the...
April 2011
5 posts
“In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in...”
– Psalm 4:8
Sanctuary
The last couple of weeks have been a blur for me. Last week I had the pleasure of being the Illinois Youth Convention committee chair. It is a duty that I dearly love, but it does require a significant amount time and energy.
We got home from IYC late Saturday afternoon, and immediately began getting for our Easter service and the family dinner that we were hosting afterwards. My wife was cooking...
Olly Olly Oxen Free
I don’t want to burst the dreams of the in-betweens and the drama queens, but the plan of the man with scars on his hands is for us to have dirt under our nails.
Talking to postmodern leavers
One of the books that I am currently reading is Generation Ex-Christian, Why young adults are leaving the faith…and how to bring them back, by Drew Dyck. I highly recommend this book to all pastors and young adult leaders.
In one passage, the author discusses some lessons he’s learned in talking to postmodern leavers. These are young adults that have grown up Christian, but have left...
“A person must court a virgin differently than a divorcee. One welcomes the...”
– C.S. Lewis
March 2011
4 posts
My healing
I have debated about whether or not to post this for a while, but I feel that being transparent is important and maybe this might help someone.
This fall I was healed (Praise the Lord), but not from a physical ailment, but from a spiritual condition. And to make matters worse, I didn’t even know I was sick.
It all started at the Hyphen tour stop in...
Playing the Game of Life
Have you ever wondered why people make the decisions that they do? Have you ever stepped back and looked at your own life, and thought, what in the world am I doing? What makes some people sever their relationship with God and the church, while others can overcome obstacles and keep going? As I was getting ready for our Nexus conference this year, I was mulling...
“First they ignore you. Then they laugh at you. Then they fight you. Then you...”
– Gandhi
Nexus
With the 2011 edition of Nexus behind us, it is time to reflect on what God has done. This year’s event was filled with emotion, fellowship and the Holy Ghost. Although I was very excited with the attendance this year, I know there are many more young adults in our region who could benefit from the boost that a conference like this can provide.
One of most common questions that I...
December 2010
1 post
Being a catalyst is stupid.
It has been a long while since I wrote a blog post. You will have to forgive me; I have been busy (and forgetful). But to make it up to you, I will break my silence with some science, and a little bit of a rant.
It is one of my pet peeves when preachers use scientific terms in a spiritual context and they totally misuse them. There is one term that seems to be...
November 2010
1 post
My apology
Dear Bro Coltharp,
I am sorry that I haven’t updated my blog since 2008! I will do better. Thanks for being a great Distrcit Superintendent.
Sincerely,
Joel Gray
June 2010
3 posts
Chicago trip
Chicago was awesome! I didn’t realize how much I missed the city. We would like to take another group in the fall. If anyone is interested, it only cost us about $25 per person for food and lodging. The amazing deal was courtesy of Jared and his hook-ups at Hyatt. Next time we want to take the train, so that will add a little more to the cost.
I was blessed to preach at a young adult...
Collaboration
Last weekend my wife and I got to participate in an extraordinary event. We took a group of young adults to Chicago for the weekend. At first glance this may not seem like that big of a deal, but when you factor in the fact that none of these students were from my church, and that they represented a cross section of eight churches in Southern Illinois, it takes on a higher level of significance.
...
April 2010
10 posts
“Conflict is the gadfly of thought. It stirs us to observation and memory. It...”
– John Dewey
Postive Persecution
In a recent study by the Barna Group, it was found that younger generations of Americans (those between the ages of18 and 44) are more accepting of Pentecostal and Charismatic beliefs than older generations. Younger generations also believe in the Holy Spirit at higher rates. These results reflect the increased spirituality of younger generations.
While these numbers are...
“If you’re not part of the solution, you’re part of the problem.”
– African Proverb
*
As a footnote to my previous post, I would like to relate that the surprises continued through Sunday. We had three first time visitors. Thank you Jesus!
Surprise, Suprise, Suprise
I love surprises. I don’t want to know what my Christmas presents are. I don’t want to be tipped off when there is a surprise party planned in my honor (although that’s only happened once). But I have to say, I love it most when people surprise me.
This past Saturday we had a men’s work day at the church. Now, we have a beautiful church. It is in is surrounded by...
Regret comes in many hues...
Yesterday I received a phone call from a young man that had once attended my church. The number came up as a private number (usually the sign of a telemarketer), so I didn’t answer it and let it go to voicemail. It was only after I checked the voicemail that I realized who the caller was. He called using Skype, and the connection wasn’t good, but through the static and pauses I...
Kilgore
Once upon a time, in a beautiful jungle there lived a monkey named Kilgore. Kilgore was a fun little monkey. He was happy-go-lucky, and for the most part the other animals liked him. Most importantly, though, Kilgore loved God.
Kilgore was content to spend his days swinging from tree to tree, trying to do his best to serve his fellow jungle dwellers, and tell them about...
WatchI am very proud of this event. IYC is hard work, but it is worth every second. And on a side note, Nate Roemer is a creative genius.
Our timeless God.
This is an essay that I wrote some time ago, while I was going trough a God and Science phase. On the off chance that any real physicists read this, I only ask that you be kind. Thanks.
According to Einstein’s general theory of relativity time and space are mutable. They change based on the perspective of the observer. Time can be faster or slower depending on the position and the movement of the...
March 2010
10 posts
Gaining traction
After a flurry of posts, it feels like it has been forever since I even thought about writing anything. The weekend was crazy busy. I went to another young adult service in Highland. I preached in Carbondale, and did all of my pastorly duties. I was feeling pretty good about myself. My message was tight. The preaching at the young adult service had given me some fresh revelations. I was doing...
“Outside of dog, a book is man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, its too dark...”
– Groucho Marx
I'm proud to be a bivocational, micro-church...
God has blessed me with a flexible job, and for that I am extremely grateful. Unfortunately this flexibility seems to be stretched to its limits at times. Today for example I had to take off of work for four hours to preside over the installation of an ADT security system.
If you go beyond the obvious thought of how sad it is that a church needs a security system,...
“There is a God shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by...”
– Blaise Pascal
The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge
Romans 1:20 says “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead. This verse clearly tells us that the natural world should reveal to us the character of God. If we were honest, most of us would admit to admiring a sunset or some other beautiful sight of nature, and thinking about...
WatchThis is a video from TED.com. In a room full of atheists, some very hostile to Christianity, the bible still stands. Don’t be afraid to combine intelligence and faith! Don’t be afraid to combine God and education! Proverbs 1:7 says that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge”. What would happen if people filled with the Spirit of God embraced education, as a...
This is a longer version of the clip of my...
“Matthew 9:37.”What a huge harvest!” he said to his disciples....”
– The Message
Irons in the fire
I’ve always been told that it is a sign of maturity to know when to say no. I’ve never been accused of being mature.
In the past week, I hosted a young adult conference at my church, attended a sectional conference, got voted in for a third term as the sectional youth director, was asked to teach at a Purpose Institute in the fall, preached three times, had one prayer meeting,...
4 tags
The First Post!
I am starting this blog, because I want to share what the life of the pastor of a small church is all about. I pastor a small church (think less than 40). I have a wonderful wife and kids (think two kids, less than 8). I have a secular job (think Monday through Friday, 8:30 - 5:00). And I have a lot of other ministry pursuits. (think, I am a glutton for punishment).
I have three goals for this...
