Happy Birthday, World!

According to Jewish tradition, on this day 5,770 years ago God created the earth.  He created time as we know it and began it with this date of Tishrei 1st.  The Torah would call this holy day Yom Teruah, literally the "Day of Blowing," which is most commonly translated as "Feast of Trumpets."  But the day would eventually become called Rosh HaShanah (lit. "head of the year").  Today it is commonly known as the Jewish New Year.

It is a sacred duty to remember & reflect on God's wonderous act of creation.  Though God knows no beginning or end (He is the "first and the last"), He gave us a beginning.  And our parents Adam & Eve pretty much messed that up, didn't they?  Yet what did God do?  He gave them a new beginning through atonement by the shedding of innocent blood to make them coverings for their body.  The biblical Day of Atonement comes just 10 days after Rosh HaShanah, so as we ponder our need for new beginnings, we have an opportunity to prepare ourselves for one.

Here's to New Beginnings!

Hillel for Dummies

Hillel the Great had 7 rules for how to understand the Bible.  These rules basicly help us to know how to read it by pointing out the literary techniques used by the authors.  In short, minus their Hebrew titles, they are:

1. Light & Heavy:  Some verses give a light statement followed by a heavy one.
   "If A is true, how much more so is B!"
2. Similar Sayings: One passage illuminates another through a common phrase.
   "A and B must be related!"
3. One Foundation: A conclusion can be reached based on one supporting verse.
   "B is true because it follows A"
4. Two Foundations: A conclusion can be reached based on two supporting verses.
   "C is true because it follows A&B"
5. Wide & Narrow: A general statement gets clarified with a specific one.
   "B makes A more clear"
6. The Equalizer: A third verse explains/resolves two conflicting ones.
   "C makes A=B"
7. Context: The surrounding verses affect the meaning of the one in question.
   "Don't take A out of the alphabet"

Our first question in reading the Scriptures should never be, "what does this mean to me?"  The first thing we should ask is, "What did this mean to the original audience?"  Hillel's rules help us to do just that.

"Princess and the Kiss" Rite of Passage

On Saturday, Aug. 22nd, I had the privilege of serving as Master of Ceremonies for the Princess and the Kiss graduation at Ellendale Baptist Church.  But more than just a graduation, this rite of passage for young girls was a purity ceremony in which they pledged to keep themselves pure for marriage.  I had done this once before for a class of girls at Bellevue Baptist.  In both ceremonies I spoke about the

Hebraic concepts of headship and covering as well as the ancient Hebrew wedding customs as it would relate to their pledge of purity.  It was an emotional time with both parents and tweens sharing hugs and tears, everyone recognizing that their little girls were growing up.  These types of ceremonies are becoming more prevalent within the Body of Christ.  On a similar note, our oldest daughter Sarah (who just turned 12) began confirmation studies with me.  This will continue for the next year when she will have a confirmation ceremony.  But more about that later :) !

My Muddy Weekend

I feel just like the hyper-Calvinist who (after accidently falling down a flight of stairs) said, "Whew!  I'm sure glad I got that over with!"

If you're not chuckling, just know that hyper-Calvinists believe that everything is pre-ordained, even your stupid mistakes.  Ha ha.

After a long neglect, for which I feel pretty stupid, I finally dug down in my yard and repaired a broken water pipe that had flooded my front yard turning part of it into one big muddy mess.

Do you think that God can use our mistakes and muddy messes to teach us?  Click the following link to read my brief story.

Discipleship Conference October 16-17

2009 Men's Summit Promo from Downline Ministries on Vimeo.

Here's a video about the Downline Summit, a men's discipleship conference here in Memphis next month.  I'm planning to attend, as the subject is right up the alley of where we feel God is taking us.  Hope to see you there!  One of my favorite authors is one of the guest speakers.

Ministry Commissioning

Sunday, June 28, 2009 was a special day for our family this summer.  We officially received a commission as home missionaries with Ripe for Harvest World Outreach of Mesa, Arizona.  This missions agency has ministries all over the world who have a wide range of specialties.  Some are traditional missionaries, while some serve in education, technology, or other areas. 

My family's purpose will be outreach, education, and discipleship with the overall aim to raise up a new church here in the Mid-South.  Utilizing small home groups, we hope to develop a network of house churches throughout this region.  Sounds like a huge goal?  It is!  We are looking for people to partner with us in this vision, so if you are interested please let us know.  I also will be posting more information through the blogsite soon.  So check back often!