Bible Study: Often Encouraged, Rarely Discussed (Part 1)

How does one shape oneself into the sort of person God calls us to be? I think this is a good question with which to start this whole show. The answer depends greatly upon who you ask. Some people will say it comes from reaching out to the poor and hungry with humanitarian efforts in the name of Christ. Others will say the key is spending hours on end studying the Bible, reading great theologians, and praying. Still others will emphasize rigorous self-enforcement of the moral standard set before us by God. All these people have a point. They’re all right to a certain extent. They’re all missing something, though; they’ve forgotten that the individual cannot shape himself into the sort of person God calls us to be; only God is capable of that.

“Well, then, that puts me in a jam”, we are inclined to think upon realizing this. “I’m completely powerless”. Well, no. Certainly, God is the only being capable of making us into the people he wishes us to be; but we must let Him do it. We must allow Him to be a part of us. But how, exactly, do we go about doing this? I said before that all three of our radical groups from paragraph one are missing the influence of God. Might I also suggest that the people who encourage extreme Bible study are closest to having that influence?

This, perhaps, goes against what you may think; you may be more inclined to say that the humanitarians are closest. This is my first reaction too; here is the reason for my statement, though: the humanitarians are trying to build relationships with Christ without a foundation. They are terribly likely to confuse the true teachings of Christ with their own opinions. They are, in fact, rather unlikely to understand exactly why they are doing all these nice things for others. They are, without realizing it, practicing their own little works-based religion, which in reality has nothing to do with Christianity.

Now, let us take a look at the theologians, the people who are essentially addicted to Bible study. Do they not have the most thorough knowledge of the teachings of Christ? The most basic grasp of what He wants from us? Do they not, most easily put, have the road map for being a Christian? Indeed, they do. They have a solid foundation on which to build a relationship with Christ. Their problem is that they are either too frightened or too ignorant or too lazy to look up from their books and realize that they must get up, go out, and apply all the things they know in their heads to their lives.

Keeping this in mind, I must warn you: Bible study, though it is the most basic, important foundation of Christianity, can become a dangerous pitfall if it is practiced to the extreme. This does not make it any less the foundation, though. If you want to grow as a Christian; if you want to hear the voice of God; if you want to make the decisions that Christ would make, there is no getting around it: you must begin with Bible study.

At this point, many of us begin to feel very uncomfortable. We do not wish to spend any more time in this confusing ancient book than we need to. We wish it had more adjectives, said things more clearly, and sounded more as though it had been written by creatively inclined people. Some of us may even fear that we do not possess the intellect to properly understand it. To make matters worse, the actual process of studying the Bible is rarely if ever discussed in church; we are told to swim, but not shown how. Well, I say all these fears are nonsense. Bible study can be rewarding, exciting, and yes, even enjoyable. Next time, we will look at the specifics.

You've Never Been THIS Embarassed

The article below is a true story of something that recently happened in the greater Cincinnati area. So maybe you had a bad day this week, but probably notas bad of a day as this poor lady

Woman Wearing Cow Suit Charged With Disorderly Conduct

-- A woman is accused of being disorderly in public -- while wearing a cow suit.

A police report filed about the incident said ******** ***** allegedly chased children in her neighborhood while wearing the suit on Monday evening.

***** also urinated on a neighbor's front porch, the report said, and was warned by officers to go home and stay there.

***** was charged with disorderly conduct after an officer found her causing traffic problems on a local parkway.

The officer's report stated that ***** was verbally abusive to him on the trip to jail and smelled of alcohol.

The report did not speculate as to why ***** was wearing the cow suit.

Perfunctory Diatribe:The Intro

Now that I’ve lured you onto Parkside’s student ministry web site, you’d probably like to know what you’re doing here. This is certainly a fair thing to be wondering, and better than wondering something like I wonder if I could have beaten Bloons Tower Defense II in the time I’ve spent on Parkside’s student ministry website. At any rate, I will, in fact, tell you what you are doing here.

It’s sort of a new concept, so let me give you a brief overview of what’s going on, what I’m doing with this, and what I hope to accomplish. First and most obviously, you are reading my blog. The idea for a student-written blog was first divinely handed to me on a stone tablet by The Lord Almighty back in July, when Matt Robinson was pushing me to actively work toward my goal of becoming a minister. Part of the reason I’m doing this is to polish my preaching skills, basically. But, if I were only practicing, I would do it for a mirror, not for people.

You who are reading this are the bigger reason for this project. You are, for the most part, peers of mine. If you’re like me, you probably go through the majority of your day’s jumping through state-funded flaming educational hoops wishing you were somewhere else doing something else. Whether we realize it or not (and we often don’t), this is a huge problem. We’re told all the time by our church leaders that we have a huge opportunity to witness and glorify God in our high schools, that there are literally thousands of people around us every day who need to meet Jesus. But how much do we really think about that concept? If you’re like me, probably a grand total of seconds per day.

Why is this? As with any good problem, there are a number of reasons, and we’ll be looking at them together throughout the year. One basic underlying issue, though, is that we don’t let God have enough of our focus (much more detail about that next time). My hope is that my messages will provide us as students with some help focusing more on God.

Now, as this is a blog specifically for our teenage students, I also want to focus specifically on making the material applicable for all of us. I want you to be able to read it, think about it, and apply it directly to your life right now as a student. It’s easy to tell yourself that life starts when you’re done with school, but that’s a dangerous way to think. You may be the only chance for some of your friends to meet Jesus; they can’t afford to wait for our lives to start. In this blog, I’ll be covering a wide variety of topics intended to challenge us to think about our faith, about how we’re living our lives, and about what we need to do to better serve God. I have a number of topics in mind already, but I am always willing to listen to suggestions. If you want to see a specific issue addressed, make s ure to let me know. I’m planning tentatively to update monthly, but it’s going to come down to how much I can handle- I’d like to keep this up weekly or biweekly if my schedule allows.

-Michael Shaw

*In an effort to restore the original meaning of the word “gentlemen”, I will be using it only in reference to land-owners from now on. Also, I will be using asterisks to mark places where I have more to say about land ownership or Christian spirituality, but feel it unnecessary to mention it in my main text. You can take it or leave it, depending on whether or not you enjoy chasing rabbits (figuratively, that is—I do not know a single person who does not enjoy chasing literal rabbits).

CIY and VBS

Just a couple videos for your enjoyment. Sorry about the poor quality.

Justin and Megan Sing "Angel" at CIY


If you get a chance check out what that song is about. It's a sad story that really happened. It is just a reminder of how important it is to be there for your friends and families.

On a lighter note:

Fun+Dry Ice= VBS


Jared Hudson and I lucked out helping with that. Man that was sweet!

Graduate Recognition

This is the video we showed on Sunday to recognize our graduates and their accomplishments. Way to Go class of 2008!

Counterfeit Money

Can you tell a fake when you see it? Here is a website that the Secret Service offers to help people spot fake money. Here is another link about a guy who actually created a counterfeit bank that fooled a lot of people and stole around 650,000 cash money. That is a pretty serious fake. I think most of us though would like to think we are pretty good at spotting a fake.

At Rēl Community on Sunday Night we will be having conversations about Authentic Faith. Not the counterfeit stuff. Haven't we all met people who know how to put a good church face on, but when the cards are down they don't resemble a Christian at all? Or people who are good at pretending that everything is alright, but we all know that things are really a mess.

It is safe to say that all of us are fake in one way or another. Who really doesn't spend part of their day 'acting' like someone they are not. I'll admit that I do it. What is important though is to realize that and be honest about it. Do we have a faith that is real? Or is our faith just another one of our masks that we wear every now and again to fool people?

The Untippable Chair

So check this out. A teacher in London by the name of Tom Wates quit his job to design a chair. He said he was sick and tired of students leaning back in their chairs. He decided he wanted to design a chair that made it impossible to tip back any further than 5cm. I don't think it looks that scary to me. In fact it looks like a chair. Still the idea of a teacher quitting his job to keep you from tipping back in your chair is VERY scary.

CIY Believe Day 1

Alright the first day has been great. We had a safe trip and got front row seats for our first few sessions. We met up the Ben Orcutt at one of the local parks before Believe today too. It was a lot of fun. Some of us even walked to the IHOP by our hotel tonight mmmmmm pancakes at 12am. Thanks for all of your prayers for us here. Keep it up! Here are some pictures enjoy!

Update from Brittany Orcutt in the Dominican Republic

Brittany emailed us an update on how things are going and how we can be praying for her. She is doing some pretty exciting stuff. Whenever you can take a second to pray for her, and the people that she is serving.

Well today I stuck my finger in a hernia! It was great! There is a medical team here from Louisville that is doing 27 surgeries over the next couple of days. They came Sunday and it is been busy ever since. I was able to scrub in to one of the surgeries, which means that I was completely sterile so I could touch the patient and everything. I was able to see the hernia and put my finger in it. I also got to hold things and cut things. It was so exciting and has made me more confident about choosing nursing. Tomorrow I think I will scrub in for a hernia of a 5 month old, and a gull bladder removal! We are working at the medical clinic next to the church, where I started working. The staff is letting us use some of the recovery rooms and the surgical room. Some of the patients have been from the church and the surrounding community and a few from Santo Domingo. But for those who live close we have been able to give them information about the church and start planting seeds. So it feels wonderful to be fulfilling physical along with spiritual needs.

Before the American team came I was working at a rehabilitation clinic and a hospital. I loved working at the rehab center, all the employees are so great and really love their jobs. They do physical therapy for children and adults. Some come in with birth defects and some have had accidents. There are a wide range of people so it is really fun to work with them. I have learned a lot of stretches and ways to work the muscles. In the hospital I have been observing some of the same things as in the clinic. But after my experience with the American team I will hopefully be able to do more. I am learning more about IVs and may put one in tomorrow. It is a lot easier to learn how to do things in English then it is in Spanish. So this group came just in time! It has been great working along side of them.

I have also continued helping with the English lessons and have stayed busy with different church activities. Next week is holy week so I am not sure how much work I will be doing. And on Thursday the teens of the church are going to camp for the Easter weekend. I am looking forward to that a lot. It will be a great time to get to know the church youth better, and a good spiritual growth time for everyone.

If you could pray for the patients that we have worked on, that they will all recover quickly. And that the seeds we have planted will grow and flourish, and that God will begin to work in their lives. Also if you could begin praying for the camp. That it will challenge the youth and that God will grow in them. That they will have complete faith and trust in Him and that God will restore their lives.

Thank you for all your prayers and encouragement and enjoy the snow!!!

Brittany

Vintage Jesus

I was thinking this morning while I sipped my coffee and munched on my Honey Bunches of Oats (Mmm those Honey Bunches). Don't be surprised, I do try to think every now and then. Here is what I was thinking about: Jesus is, without question is THE defining person in the history of the world, and he accomplished that feat before electricity was even discovered.

I know, you are probably saying to yourself, " Matt, you are a genius! How long did it take you to realize that Jesus didn't have an outlet to plug his blender into?" Give me a second though because that is not exactly what I am saying.

Imagine a man who never went to far from his home (Give or take a hundred miles), never wrote a book (Others wrote about him though), never held public office, and his only actual paying job was as a handyman. If you had to guess from my description, you would think that I was describing the guy who works in appliances at Home Depot. That, however is not the guy I am talking about.

Jesus changed the world with nothing else besides His actions, and His dedication to His Father God. Jesus did not need a video podcast to get his message out, he didn't even need a microphone so he could be heard. Jesus did big things in little everyday ways. Without electricity, internet, cell phones, satellite TV, Jesus changed the world. He didn't even have a campaign manager or a speech writer either.

Engaging Our Community

Throughout my life I have had a lot of different neighbors. When I was 8, my family's neighbors had a cat. We would watch the cat while they were away. One time we thought it had been run over by a car so we buried it in their back yard. Shortly after burying it we discovered their cat was still alive and we had just buried a stray in their yard. I'm sure that was an interesting conversation for my dad.
When I was 12 or 13 I would play sports and get into fights with the other boys in my neighborhood. We didn't fight because we were upset. We were just boys who like breaking things. I remember another neighbor I had at that age. I would go over and feed her dogs sometimes. In the winter we would go over to her house to make sure she was alright. My parents told me that it was the right thing to do, and that she appreciated the company. I thought that her house smelt weird.
Neighborhoods are an interesting aspect of society though. You move to an area and after that, you really can't choose your neighbors. Still if the neighbor comes over and asks for a cup of sugar or a couple eggs, you will generally share what you have. In most neighborhoods you also have cookouts or barbecues where everybody gets together for a warm summer evening. It is a community that develops based on location. Some people might stray away from that, but most tend to be pretty good neighbors.
As we spend time about engaging our community around us, it is fun to think back about my old neighbors. You get to be a part of something and enjoy getting to know others too. We get so busy now though, that it might be hard to catch your neighbor at home to ask for a cup of sugar.

It is important to share the awesome love of Jesus with those around us. We are supposed to share it through compassion and service. Maybe that means scheduling time to get to know our neighbors better. It definitely means connecting with them and investing in them. How we are going to do that is left up to us.

Life Changing Transformation

A guy smokes a pack of cigarettes a day for 60 years. One day he goes to the doctor to get a routine physical. The doctor tells him that there is a 99% chance that he will die in a month if he doesn't stop smoking that very day. Unless the guy has a death wish he goes home and immediately throws all of his cigarettes away. Same thing if the doctor had told him that he had high cholesterol he would have gone home and thrown away all of the Crispy Creme Donuts. Those are both pretty big lifestyle changes.

Everyday when you drive to school you go like 25mph over the limit because you are late. Then you get pulled over and get a warning. For the rest of the day you actually drive under the speed limit. At school 5 people told you that they liked the shirt that you wore. The funny thing is that you found the shirt in your basement and only wore it because all of your other close were in the washing machine. After the compliments though it just became your favorite shirt. Lifestyles and fashion tastes can change pretty fast under the right circumstances.

For the month of January we are going to be talking about our personality and lifestyle as a church. We are going to be discussing our Identity as Christ-Followers. This Sunday the focus is Lifechange. Basically, If we believe that Jesus did what he said he could in our lives, then there should be some noticeable changes. 2 Corinthians 3:18 says, "And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." Basically, God is making us into new creations. The transformation should be noticeable too. No one would mistake an axe murderer for a Christian. How do we look different though? What change happened inside of us that is evident to people we come in contact with?

Last night, my wife Alicia and I were talking about this. We talked about how interesting it was that we have committed our lives to Christ, but our lives don't always reflect that committment. Sometimes life change is really noticeable and at other points its not really. That led me to think of another questions as I write my message for this Sunday. What does lifechange look like when its exhibited in all aspects of your life? I'd be interested to hear your thoughts...