Author: Wick

Ahh…back at the ole “Alma Mater”. Hmm…just a sec, I’m gonna find out what that means….

Wow….”soul mother”. Who would’ve though? Apparently, it’s used due to the thinking that the school has “fed” and “cared for” me like a sort of large educational mother. I suppose that’s befitting. Perhaps this is why once in a while I feel the urge to return and visit my soul mother. I miss her and her feeding and caring ways. She is one big momma.

Anyways, yes, I’m currently chillin’ out, maxin’, relaxin’ all cool at Olivet Nazarene University. Home of the Tigers, and theologically challenging (right?) chapel services. I’ve brought my current leadership team of 6 teens (phenomenal students, perhaps not realizing their own potential just yet) to participate in a Discipleship Training event put on by Cross-style Ministries and Jeremiah Bolich. So far so good. We arrived late last night, but just in time for some worship and to hear Jeremiah speak. God has definitely given him a gift for communicating biblical concepts and themes to the mind of a teenager. After the service, we went to register, hung out a bit as a group, then the girls left us and we played some foosball. (I kick butt)

Looking forward to today. I don’t know which one of my desires is greater, honestly. For these teens to realize that no matter where they come from, they have INCREDIBLE potential. Or, my desire for them to fall COMPLETELY for God,giving Him all. But no sooner do I realize both desires before I realize they’re not at all in conflict. One in the same….God, take these teens…..unveil Yourself to them. They’ll give themselves completely, for there’s no other adequate reaction to the unveiling of Christ. Then, their potential will be completely in YOU. Oh jeez, this is gonna be a good weekend.

Something I recommend for all of the 2 people who might read this. http://www.sojo.net Check out that website. If you’re anything like me, your political, economic, global, and humanitarian education doesn’t go beyond a mission trip every year. THIS IS BAD. God calls us to so much more. Theirs’ is a great website to start caring about things beyond when the next church potluck is. Read it…join it….live it. And if you’re looking for a good read that will take you out of any box u’ve found yourself in…..

“A Generous Orthodoxy” by Brian McLaren.

Out for now…peace.

A poem from the mind of Chadwick Anderson…

Neener Neener.

I’m an adult now, neener neener.
The world that once became meaner and meaner.
Has now become something I run and control.
I no longer fear, I no longer pay tolls.

You kids that have to play and eat your veggies.
Would be jealous to know I haven’t eaten broccoli in weeks.
And I only shower whenever I WANT to shower.
Which actually ends up being every day. (thanks puberty)

I’m making a lot more money these days.
Neener neener. Bet you wish you had my paycheck.
Boy, if I made this kinda money a long time ago.
I would own every ninja turtles toy ever made.

But then, with more money, more bills.
And instead of my vegetables, pills.
Instead of cartoons, I watch news.
And foods what I get, not what I choose.

Work is when I wake up, ’til I sleep.
I don’t ever need to count sheep.
I bet you’re still jealous though
That I can wear flipflops in snow.
Neener neener.

I can do whatever I want, you see.
And nobody controls what I do, but me.
Well, except God, my boss, and nature
And life, and schedules, and money, and,
and, and, and, and…neener neener?

Despite of how adult life may seem,
It’s still worth pursuing, and dreaming a dream
No matter the money, the schedules, the work
The bosses, the quotas, and everyone’s quirks

Serving God…
It’s life. and itt’s good. really….really good.

Neener neener neener.

ps. I’m just pretending to be an adult.

I’m sure I’m not the only person involved in ministry who realizes things CONSTANTLY about his/her own life while preparing for a sermon/lesson/talk/whatever. When “Paul” writes to “Timothy” in 2 Timothy, he talks in verse 12 about having believed AND entrusted a deposit to God. Something we talked/studied all the time a few years back…Christ spoke a lot about things being complete, and not yet…at the same time. This is also true with our lives as Christians.
But how many times I sit back comfortably, almost as if I’ve “achieved” it finally? My life sighs with relief as I coast without even thinking on my “faith wheels”. I pray, I read about God. I even speak about God. But am I working on my faith? Not usually. Am I asking myself the questions that freak me out? Not often enough. Do I still feel like God loves me? Heck yeah.
But it’s not a living faith if I’m not daily living towards learning more, discovering more, etc. Asking the questions that freak me out…here are a few:
1. Imagining what it will be like when I die. (Heaven, Hell, flames, absence of God, and little lizard looking guys with horns,right?)
2. Will I know my wife after this life? Will it matter? I like to believe so.
3. When the Kingdom comes, how much will our pride of what we thought it would be like get in the way of us enjoying it?
4. What will these “new bodies” Paul talks about be like?
5. How does the spiritual realm interact with the physical that we think we know so well?
ETC…

Meanwhile, I just saw Abraham Lincoln come into Panera and get some coffee and a bagel. This would have shocked and surprised me, had I not lived in IL long enough to know a little bit about this crazy state. These people actually believe that they have some huge connection to the President, because he grew up here. I think that believed connection may have actually been strong enough to pull his spirit here into our physical world just long enough for him to experience the joys of Panera…and then off to Lincoln-afterlife again.

Will Illinoisians think of me in a hundred years? Will I go on to do great things in this world, and they’ll all think of me, build libraries and statues of me standing on swine? Will they say “he was our child”? I hope if someday, I’m chillin’ in the afterlife, and some sort of strong emotional connection calls me back into existence……I hope I’m conveniently close to a Panera like Abe was today. Maybe even a little banner overhead, “Welcome Back, Wick…Have some free coffee”. Abe had to pay for his….psshh. And they call themselves Lincoln-lovers.

Anyways….God…Paul….Timothy…..Lincoln…..these are some of the characters I’m chewing on this morning.:) I hope you’re having a great weekend.:)