Soiled Saints

been a busy week. I’m behind in a lot of ways, and a chronic time-waster. So that’s even more behind….

While I’m not completely sure that Paul had the following in mind when he wrote the term “sorrowful yet rejoicing” in the Scriptures, I acutely became aware of this idea during the past week of life.

Due to circumstances I wasn’t able to join Fellowship as they went to camp (July 25-29) in Oklahoma. As it turns out, they filled all slots but one….44 out of 45 people.

Isn’t it ironic…..

I had meetings most of the day Saturday and preached on Sunday. Since i knew I wouldn’t be able to go with Fellowship, I accepted a camp speaking privilege with D-Camp (Discovery) at Forest Glen Retreat Center in Huntsville.

D-Camp is a conglomeration of Chinese-Asian churches in the Houston area. Imagine 150 Asian Jr. highers with 30 counselors. I had the privilege of communicating to them this past week.

Tuesday night was a night that took me back to the night God broke through and broke my heart over my sin.

Weeping, prayers, repentance… (and God saw fit to use the pacemaker in that process!)

All of it was in the air.

And at the same time…..hundreds of miles away….God was working powerfully in and through FBC at the Oklahoma location they were stationed at.

I rejoiced at seeing God move. Yet….I was sorrowful that I wasn’t with FBC to see Him move in them.

But I rejoiced at seeing what God did at D-camp. So very much. One of the top five ministry highlights of my whole life.

Yet………FBC.

When I thought about FBC…..yet….D-camp.

Can one be sorrowful yet rejoicing?

I’m banking on it.

I’ll never forget D-Camp. It changed me in ways I’m just now beginning to process. I’ll never forget what was told to me about what happened at Student Life with FBC.

I just wish I could have been at both.

Yet, I was precisely where I should have been.

God is good.

Rejoice.
Jason

Mike politely but firmly kicked me “out of the nest” and into the world of full-time vocational ministry in June 1998.  I landed in Norfolk, Virginia, where I met some wonderful people that you’ll be hearing about at some point in the future.  People like, Rob, Boo, the Evans family, and more.

But, in March 2000, after returning from my second pilgrimage to the mecca known as Willow Creek, I knew that my time at the church I was serving at was coming to a close.  While people there mostly were great, and there was a desire to see God do some things, there was also some roadblocks that I knew just would not come down.

So, after prayer and counsel, I began to put out feelers for another ministry opportunity.  Enter Mike.

He told me that Fellowship Bible, his former place of service, was looking for a youth pastor.  But they had something I’d grown distasteful of…………….elders.  (which is supremely and richly ironic if you consider that I’m now both an elder at my church………and the chairman…..yeah I said that…..)

I grew a bit defensive.  At that point and time, the word “elder” was a swear word in my book.  Mike carefully and skillfully coaxed me into giving my resume anyway.

My resume was the first one FBC received, actually arriving……before the youth minister was finished in his service there (WOOPS….)

Mike put in a great word for me, and was very influential in my being hired/called to FBC, where I had the privilege of serving the past 8 some-odd years.

While my next post will share a wrap-up of what I’ve learned from Mike over the last 20 years, I can say that I owe Mike a deal of gratitude; a great deal of gratitiude for he helped me not with one job, or even two jobs……………. Mike has helped me with basically every ministry job I’ve received since 1997.

Which is also richly ironic……….since he makes his living as a recruiter…

Mike’s on facebook.  Be his friend.  You’ll be glad you did.

Jason

Warning:  Rant about to ensue……

-I hate it when people are at a green light and are stopped……not because they have the hazards on…not because they are stalled….but because they are smoking/eating/putting on makeup/texting/ ……anything BUT paying attention to driving their car which weighs a LOT more than their cigarette-burger-makeup-cell phone.    To me, it’s straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel…putting more emphasis on a small thing while putting the larger things in a place of peril.  Which is why I have quit talking/texting on my cell phone while either driving or riding in my car.

-I hate it when people make a mockery of the faith by their misinformed opinions….. without doing research…  Sometimes, Christians, who mean well, do the most harm by promoting and exporting emails, and statements that have no logic, fact, or grounding in reality. Like the “if you love Jesus you’ll pass this onto 10 people” or the “Proctor and Gamble promotes Satan” that even FIVE YEARS after it’s been proven to be false, I still get at least 1 or 2 a year in the ole’ email file.  Like the rash of Obama emails right after the election.  Hey, he is OUR president, whether you love him, hate him, think he’s the third coming of Jesus or the first coming of the devil.  We are to pray FOR him, not PREY on him.  Disagree with his policies?  Sure go ahead.  But geez…..stop it with the Obama hate-mail.  All it does is paint an unflattering portrait of people who say they love Jesus.  And stop it with the “I heard this company does that and promotes this.”  99% of the time, they are rumors, and you are just playing into the stereotype of “Christians are ignorant” that some of us are trying to live down every day.

-I hate it when  people criticize one sin while committing another that’s JUST AS HEINOUS….for example…people who disdain drinking (not technically a sin) while shovelling their fourth plate of potato salad (heavy on potato, light on salad) thinking that they’re having salad so they can eat more.  “Did you hear that brother or sister so-and-so were out drinking with brother-sister such-and-such?  Yes….we need to pray about that…”  All while eating an entire plate of brownies after a whole pizza and washing it down with a 2 liter of Coke.  “But I’m not drinking Jason!!”  No, you’re just being a glutton……which last time I checked, was a sin too.  Yeah, that’s right, I’m calling out the gluttons.  AND I AM ONE SO I’M CALLING ME OUT TOO.

-While I have no problems (most of the time) with others being late, I HATE BEING LATE to appointments.  It shows most of the time a complete lack of planning and organization.

I hate it when I commit any of the above things I say I hate, for it proves that hypocrisy still has a footing in my heart.  I HATE MY SIN.  I yearn and long for the day when sin would not look as filling and appetizing and heart-satisfying as it presently does to me.  One day, perhaps I’ll hate my sin enough to actually STOP doing it….like being selfish towards Mandy, or not wanting to go the extra mile for people, or actually like phone calls instead of wondering how many minutes this person will eat up of my monthly allotment.

Most of all, I hate it the most when I sin in an area that I thought I had victory.  Like yesterday.  Mandy and I have been saying sweet things, encouraging things for quite a while now.  I thought we were on a roll…until I stopped it with a barrage of short replies to an issue.  I had vowed, prayed, cried out to God for the courage to stop……And now….I have to start all over.

There is grace:  At least there is some hatred of my sin.  There’s an awareness there that I am in need of grace.  The Gospel.  Christ’s transforming work.  I need it.  I must have it.  I don’t hate that.

I guess it’s good to be a ‘hater’ at times.

Jason

NEXT:  Back to Cahill.  Rant over.

Sometimes, injustice happens in our world. (This sentence was brought to you by the letter “duh.”)

Such a thing happened to my good friend Mike in early 1997. Despite evidence that they canned the wrong man, the church Mike was serving as youth pastor asked him to leave in a completely non-Christian way.

At nearly the same time, KCC was saying goodbye to Allen, also in a way that I consider to be not of God. Mike needed a job, and KCC needed a youth pastor…..because I wasn’t ready at all.

So Mike became the interim youth pastor at KCC in March 1997, and I became his year-round, full-time intern.

For the first six months (heck, probably a year) he was there, Mike had to deal with a bunch of grieving students and their parents IN ADDITION to people who were glad he was back. So in one hand, Mike had a support system, but was met with suspicion from the hardcore leaders.

I don’t know how he made it through those times. Especially with the care, grace, and skill like he did. He heard it all: “You aren’t Allen.” “We hate programs.” “You are going to turn this into the Jeff Chandler show 2.0.”

See, a lot of the leaders were very loyal to Allen, and rightly so. They were wounded by the way Allen’s departure went down, and it probably wouldn’t matter if it was Jesus Christ himself, whomever would be next in that role would have to climb a steep wall of distrust and suspicion.

Yet, Mike met every eye, every word, every charge with nothing but grace and patience.

He also had, I’m sorry to say, to meet that with me as well. We met at a Whataburger late one night to see if we could work together. How arrogant I was looking back on that meeting!!! Could I work with Mike? What was I thinking?

Over the next 12 months, Mike would become one of my closest friends, as he gave me the grace to express my wounds with stuff at church, and my fears with the future.

He would grow me, challenge me (Ask me about the time I video’d myself speaking and had to watch it…..absolute torture.), listen to me, lead me, and most of all……love me.

Mike got me ready to fly….and I did in June 1998. By December 1997, we both knew it was time to leave the nest of KCC.

But our journey together wouldn’t end. Far from it.

Jason

NEXT: 2000 was the most pivotal year of my life thanks to Mike, and if you ever need a reference…….

Preaching through a book of the Bible (verse by verse) is both tougher and easier than verse-with verse, or passage centered preaching.

The ease is: Well,you know where you’re going the next week and the week after that.

The hardness: There’s a lot packed into a little. Last week we had 4 verses of text yet I think I went longer than 40 minutes.

This week we had 5 verses and I went 45 minutes.

And I cut. Not a lot, but I did cut.

Any whoo….just a comment or two about the differences in preaching. As Matt Chandler eloquently stated, “I’m not against topical preaching as long as it’s done exegetically.”

Today we looked at the lists of qualifications of an elder-leader for the burgeoning church in the isle of Crete.

Elders should at least be:

-Above reproach: this is the minimum standard. You shouldn’t be seeing these guys on the news for a crime.

-husband of one wife: a one-woman man.

-kids who are believers: not acting cross-purposes to the gospel.

-Above reproach 2.0: Paul added a “must” with this one. This isn’t Sears we’re managing. This is the church.

They Should Not be:

-Arrogant: not willing to consider others.
-Quick-tempered: Anger as a default position.
-Violent: think UFC
-Drunkard: addicted to alcohol.

We looked at the two views: Complete abstinence or complete discretion. Each side has their arsenal of verses and can play Bible chess forever. Whatever side you take: don’t get drunk.

And for those who are thinking pastors shouldn’t drink: then neither should you.

and for those who strain out the gnat of drinking while swallowing the camel of gluttony….consider Proverbs where it says that the drunkard and the glutton meet the same fate.

-greedy for gain: Think Prosperity Gospel.

Elders should be:
-Hospitable: opening their hearts and lives to others.
-lovers of Good: Promoting the welfare of the Gospel.
-Upright
-Holy
-Self-controlled
-Disciplined: controlling bad desires with the desire for the Gospel to go forth.

Elders will:
-hold fast to the trustworthy word: God never lies (vs. 2) and can be trusted.
-teach
-rebuke.

the big idea is: we need to, even if we aren’t going for the office of elder, live, lead and be led by the list of character building and qualifications in Titus 1.

-While we can’t cross these areas off of our “to-do” or “to-be” lists, we can grow in these areas because of the cross.

-After all….who embodies these qualities more than Jesus?

-through our growth in Him, we can be embodying these things in greater degrees. Through self-trying? We’ll fall flat on our faces.

Jason

After Mike went back to school to crank out the degree, he went to a church in Pearland called Fellowship Bible Church (ring any bells?) and volunteered with the student ministry there.

During that time, he became their youth pastor, and in August 1992, he and Christa got married to the surprise of …….absolutely no one:)!!!

For three years, Mike by God’s grace grew and strengthened the students as God grew him, he grew others.

In 1995, Mike and Christa left FBC for Pekin (Peak-en), Illinois.  While their time there was brief, their influence and their lifestyle impacted many.  And……….their first child, Chandler, was born in March 1996 while in Illinois.

Mike and I largely didn’t see each other a whole lot during the 1992-6 time frame.  However, our lives would intersect in a major way come March 1997.

And in the next post, I’ll explain how.

Jason

I met Mike Cahill, a lanky, fresh-out-of-high school guy in the summer of 1987. Mike just graduated, and I was just about to start hell…err…high school.

Mike was going off to Sam Houston for college, but had the love of his love finishing up her senior year of high school, one Christa Chambless.

When I met Mike, he was a rabid Christian music fan, and asked me if I had heard of many of the artists I mentioned in my last blog post. I had not, having been weaned and grown on a steady diet of Southern rock, disco (hey…pipe down, my older sister was a teenager during the …ahem…glory days of the movement), and 80’s trends like the beginnings of mainstream rap, new wave, and glam rock.

We became friends in spite of our gargantuan age difference (after all he’s….40!!! And I’m 4 count ‘em FOUR years younger….and I’ll always be) and stages in life.

For much of my freshman year, I became friends with Christa. She was and is a very cool person, with a combination of sarcastic wit and a large heart that would both welcome the wayward AND set them straight in a heartbeat. ‘Tis a combination that has, is, and will serve her well.

During my sophomore and junior years of high school, Mike and I would run into each other on a irregular basis. Still, he would not fail to ask me how I was doing in my walk and would quiz me about music. While those conversations would probably not be on his “remembrance radar” they were indelible to my later growth as a believer.

During the latter part of my Jr. year in high school, Mike came to work at KCC as the youth intern under Jeff Chandler. I was pleased, for I had a built-in excuse to hang with Mike, and he was paid to hang out with nerds like me.

At Panama City 1990, Mike was the intern I’d go to to talk about stuff. He became a go-to guy in lieu of Jeff, not because Jeff wasn’t capable or caring. Just…well…Jeff was busy.

After my repentance/conversion, my friendship with Mike meant more to me than ever. He and Christa had broken up, tried other relationships, and smartened up to what all of us already knew (because WE were their Holy Spirit…..): they were (pre) destined to be together!!

During my senior year of high school, God challenged, grew, stretched, and loved me greatly. And He used Mike so often in that process.

The funny thing is, those usings of Mike were more informal that not. It was in the “hang-out” times where I gleaned and learned most from him. I don’t recall being in a small group of his, or directly under his authority, but I do know this: Being a regular part of Mike’s life during that time saw him and his love of Jesus “rub off” on me in more ways than I knew at the time.

The 1990-91 school year to this day was one of the highlights of my life. From NightLife (weekly student service) to leader retreats, to DiscipleNow to seeing 200 high school kids jammed into our sanctuary to hear the gospel, that year was a major league impact on me.

But in May 1991, that would take two major league shifts:
-1. I graduated.
-2. Mike left. I had no idea it was coming, but Mike decided to leave the internship to finish up school at the University of Houston-Clear Lake, and move in with his parents to get the degree. I remember our goodbye service to Mike.

I couldn’t hold back the tears. I tried.

Hard.

I tried to “be a man.”

But the tears would win the day. I cried and bawled. And I prayed that Mike would see every tear as an affirmation of his Godly influence in my life.

Did I know I would see him again? Of course. Would I miss him like absolute crazy? Without a doubt.

Little did I know how our lives would crazily intersect over the next decade.

But as I left the church parking lot that Sunday night in May 1991, I knew this: I wouldn’t have been the same Christ-follower without Mike.

I thanked God for Mike.

And I still do.

Jason

NEXT: losing and regaining a sense of touch…. the intern becomes the pastor…and the nerd becomes the intern.

Okay, let’s go back in time for a minute.

How many of you have ever heard of:

-Roby Duke?

-Morgan Cryer?

-Greg X Volz?

-Degarmo & Key?

-Petra?

-Carman?

-White Heart?

My guess is that many reading this have not heard of above folks.  And I’m glad in the case of some, sad in the case of others.  These were some, just some of the late 80’s early 90’s sampling of CCM (contemporary Christian music), and there are TONS more folks I could cite as good or bad examples.

I would have never heard of CCM, and subsequently never met Jesus the way I did under Jeff in 1990 if it wouldn’t have been for Mike Cahill.

I love Mike Cahill.  And he has played such an intricate part in my life and in my faith that I can’t help but tell you about him.

I’m going to do this in three parts.

Part One:  1987-1991

Part Two:  1997-2000

Part Three:  2008

I’ve had the privilege of knowing Mike for 22 years now.  He’s one of my best friends, although I regretfully don’t see him as much as I’d like.

You’ll learn (hopefully) how Mike loves Jesus, his wife, and his boys.  And if for no other reason, men like Mike need to be championed for they are sadly rare in today’s church.

Here’s to you Mike.  I love you.

Jason

Let me say that I had quite the weekend and enjoyed God’s grace through nearly every minute of it.

Friday night I had the privilege of speaking to about 175 Asian students at a Pre-camp rally made up of students from Hosuton area Chinese and Asian churches. Krista was with me, and I got to tell part of our story. We laughed, and cried. It was convicting and fascinating to watch them worship and to participate with them in worship.

Saturday night I had the privilege of speaking at First United Methodist Church of Pearland with their youth weekend. An entirely different crowd, yet again, I saw people with a passion for Jesus. I also got to tell part of Krista’s and mine story.

Sunday morning I had the privilege of preaching at Southway. We began our march through Titus, covering a whopping 4 verses!! The main points were that God can be trusted, for according to Paul, he never lies. Also, surrendered lives leads to settled purpose. Once we tell God we are His, He tells us why we are here.

After a brief 3 hour deacon meeting that was wildly profitable (and I’m being serious), I met up with some old friends to say goodbye to a dear friend. One of the ladies at Fellowship suddenly took ill, and just as sudden, she passed away. Last night was part of her memorial, and I saw some old dear FBC friends as we began the process of saying goodbye to a dear loved one.

The weekend was a full one, full of learning, loving, serving, crying, laughing, and hopefully…….seeing God at work.

Jason

Friday night I had the privilege of speaking to about 175 Asian students at a Pre-camp rally made up of students from Hosuton area Chinese and Asian churches.  Krista was with me, and I got to tell part of our story.  We laughed, and cried.  It was convicting and fascinating to watch them worship and to participate with them in worship.

Saturday night I had the privilege of speaking at First United Methodist Church of Pearland with their youth weekend.  An entirely different crowd, yet again, I saw people with a passion for Jesus.  I also got to tell part of Krista’s and mine story.

Sunday morning I had the privilege of preaching at Southway.  We began our march through Titus, covering a whopping 4 verses!!  The main points were that God can be trusted, for according to Paul, he never lies.  Also, surrendered lives leads to settled purpose.  Once we tell God we are His, He tells us why we are here.

After a brief 3 hour deacon meeting that was wildly profitable (and I’m being serious), I met up with some old friends to say goodbye to a dear friend.  One of the ladies at Fellowship suddenly took ill, and just as sudden, she passed away.  Last night was part of her memorial, and I saw some old dear FBC friends as we began the process of saying goodbye to a dear loved one.

The weekend was a full one,  full of learning, loving, serving, crying, laughing, and hopefully…….seeing God at work.

Jason