Jachin is a pastor’s son. That means at some point in his life he will have to be called down for talking in church from the stage and that everyone always knows most of the embarrassing moments in his life!
It also means that he will be given a mic and required to sing at his father’s whim. A few months ago Jachin came to praise band practice and impromptu we sang “Here I Am To Worship” and the whole band joined in. Amy Nichols thought it was cute and took this picture.
This last weekend was the first College Ministry Trip that Jachin went on with me. We loaded up the charter bus on Friday and headed up to Ames, IA. So, how did Jachin do on a bus full of college students for Twenty+ hours over 48 hours and attending his second college football game?
First I need to give some background information, Cody is a college student at OU from Tulsa, OK. He is a great guy. He just got into Med School (congratulations, Cody) and he is a leader in our college ministry. None of this matters.... to Jachin. Jachin likes Cody because Cody came over and played Star Wars Lego II with him. This gesture has created my son’s first man-crush. He thinks Cody is the coolest. Jachin asked if Cody was going on the trip, and became giddy when I said yes.
On the way to the church to load up for the trip on Friday, Jachin asked if he could sit with Cody on the bus. I told him that he could play with Cody every ‘once in a while’, but that he couldn’t be with him the whole time. We got on the road to Ames around 1pm and about 1:20 (we had made it from Norman to Edmond) Jachin turned and asked, “Is it every ‘once in a while’ yet?” Jachin wanted to play with Cody!
The bus trips were full of Jachin asking to play with Cody, Cody graciously hanging out with a five year old, and Jachin playing SuperMario cart on Cody’s Nintendo DS (guess what is on the Christmas/Birthday list now!) and Jachin sprawling out to sleep over our two seats leaving his dad standing in the aisle.
My favorite part of the trip happened about an hour before kick-off. We were at the stadium early and watched the teams warm-up. We took some pics with OU’s pig-horse and then the place-kickers started to kick FGs into the stands. Jachin and I started to shag some of the kicks and then he would throw them down to the trainers on the field. We had a blast.
OU on the other hand, did not have a blast once the game started. This was supposed to be a rout and we were down 0-7 at half. Jachin watched the game, cheered for OU (He loves kick-offs “OOOOOOOOOOOOOO U!”) and of course, made a friend with the drunk ISU fan sitting across the aisle!
‘Chris’ had obviously started ‘enjoying’ the game a while before kick-off. I was leary, but Jachin was as friendly as ever. Chris ended up being really nice (whether that was artificially induced or natural, we may never know) and when asked by his Papa what happened on the trip, Jachin’s reply was, “I met a new friend (Chris). He was from Iowa State.”
Choose what you may from RoadTrip 2007. Cody is much cooler and more fun than dad -or- There are some really nice people who are Iowa State fans. I will personally remember shagging FGs with my son and praying that he will stop catching the ball like his mom.
Andy
I have been halfway researching the AIDS epidemic for the past year. It is fascinating how a virus can change entire countries. I try to read books that are aimed at Christian responses to this crisis. The AIDS Crisis What we can do by Deborah Dortzbach & W. Meredith Long is a unique book that lists facts while capturing your heart. They present the prejudices that we have against people with this illness. It is nice to read a book that stretches you, and makes you reexamine the assumptions you live by. I have had the attitude for so many years that they get what they deserve. Is that what I think of all sin? I surely have never wanted what I deserve. I want mercy. I have mercy. And then there is the issue of the innocent--faithful wives and children. What do they deserve?
Now just because you reexamine doesn’t mean you change your beliefs, but it is refreshing to know that you have consciously decided to gauge your life by those principles. Should we as Christians proclaim that sin is sin? Yes. But we should be proclaiming that their is freedom from sin just as loudly. I think we tend to forget that part because we want to feel better than everyone else.
Why should we mess with other people’s sin when we don’t have our own under control? You always gain more love for people the more you learn about them. I think is the main point of God calling on us to “visit the orphan.” How can you physically see their plight without becoming moved and compelled to action. It allows you to change your actions along with your heart. So when I confront my ignorance in any area, I gain perspective. And when I seek out the mind of Christ, I gain His perspective and love. And God’s perspective always involves action.
So that is the main point I am taking away from this book. The Church should be acting, not ignoring problems. How that plays out is different for every ministry. But something should be done to show Christ’s love to these hopeless and shunned people. We need to give them hope. Now your passion may not be AIDS, but what is? What people are you loving and showing hope to? Are you ignoring those around you? Are you too comfortable? I have been for so many years. I thought smiling at people was being kind. Loving people is hard work. And I have to have constant reminders to propel me out of my temporary relapses of selfishness.
So here is my own reminder to myself. Look outside your paradigm for needs. When you find them, don’t just read about it, do something. While you are at it, don’t just do something, love....
because needs are people, and people require love.
