Better is Open Rebuke...

“Better is open rebuke than hidden love. 

Faithful are the wounds of a friend; 

profuse are the kisses of an enemy.” 

- Proverbs 27:5-6 (ESV)

Steph and I had a wonderful time with our pastor and our good friend, Justin Hyde, in Denver, CO this past week for the Acts 29 Boot Camp.  It was an encouraging time of meeting fellow church planters, learning from seasoned pastors, and enjoying quality time with Steph and Justin.

Our assessment for membership into the Acts 29 Network was Friday morning.  There are tons of rumors and stories about how grown men are made to cry, arguments that almost get to the point of throwing punches ensue, etc.  However, this was not our experience at all.

We met with three sincere Acts 29 Pastors who truly appeared to have our best interest at heart.  They confronted me seriously about my favorite sin, busyness.  They led Steph and I through a series of probing questions helping me to see how my busyness effects/affects my own heart, my wife, my daughter, and my little seedling of a church.  I hate my sin...

Now, I could see how some grown men might be made to cry by this experience, but I was so overwhelmed with gratitude, that Steph and I left the process eternally grateful to God for people who did not measure success the same way the world does and cared more for our hearts, our marriage, our daughter, etc., than our "success".

Part of my busyness has been due to necessity, as in, providing for my family.  However, part of it has been motivated by my lack of faith in God's continued ability and desire to provide for all of our needs.  I live in a constant tension of living by faith, not wanting to be lazy, and needing to provide for my family.  The assessors helped me to identify my need for growth, maturity, and most of all, transformation in this area of my life.

There is much more to be discovered on this subject, but suffice it to say right now that we need your prayers.

Please be praying for:

1. Continued godly sorrow that leads to repentance.
2. Someone to buy our house so that we can get settled in Magnolia/The Woodlands.
3. Discernment about what needs to go from our lives, what needs to be added, etc.
4. More discipline in our lives.
5. God to continue to bless our new little community.

Lastly, if you are in the process of planting a church at any stage, I highly recommend you look into partnership with the Acts 29 Network if you align with their vision and doctrinal distinctions.

Book Recommended to me:

Inspired...

My bride recently had a landmark birthday and since then has been blogging on a daily basis.  I realized that I missed blogging.  However, I thought I missed it because of my own vanity, i.e. liking people to read my grand ideas and then leave a comment, etc.  To be honest, though, that's not it.  Steph has like 4 times the amount of readers I do, and often I write and receive no comments.  I'm okay with that.

This will continue to be my personal blog, which will be a culmination of my life with God, my family, as a pastor, as an entrepreneur, etc.  If you are looking for my pastoral blog, you can go here.

Looking forward to writing more frequently.  You're welcome to join the ride!

Proverbs 18:22

"He who finds a wife

finds a good thing

and obtains favor from the Lord."

- Proverbs 18:22

Steph and I have been married 9 years today. I love her more everyday and thank God for blessing me with an amazing, God-fearing, humble, and hilarious wife! We have so much fun together.

We are on our little anniversary get-away. Yesterday we went shopping in the Rice Village and used some of our gift cards to buy me some new clothes. We had a blast! Then we went to see a movie and finished the night by enjoying some Maggiano's. This morning we got up and went for a couple's massage. It rocked. Now we are enjoying some time at our favorite coffee shop and then going to The Melting Pot tonight.

For 9 years, here's 9 things I love about my wife:

1. She loves Jesus. Not superficially, but consequentially.
2. She's easy to look at.
3. By some miracle she loves me.
4. She's a phenomenal mother.
5. Her laugh. If I can get a belly laugh from her, then I know what I said was REALLY funny.
6. Her desire to disciple women and her faithful perseverance in doing so.
7. Her passion for orphans.
8. Her authenticity.
9. She's my best friend.

I pray that as we move into our 10th year that we will continue to spur one another on to love and good deeds. Here's to many more.

Rev. Casey Cease, M.Div

Erica's Baptism

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
(Matthew 28:19-20 ESV)

This past Sunday I had the joy of baptizing one of our college students here in Brenham. I met Erica last year when I was leading a college Bible study in one of our students apartments. She was sweet and seemed to be interested in spiritual things. The more Stephanie and I got to know her, the more we fell in love with this little sister in Christ.

Erica came to live in our garage apartment this school year and has been such a blessing to have around. Steph, Braelyn, and I have shared wonderful times with her and have been able to watch first-hand as the Lord continues to mature her. Steph and Erica have been in a discipleship relationship that has been beneficial I'm sure for both of them.

We love you, Erica and are SO proud of you!

New Testament in a Month

Now that I am done with seminary, I have the freedom to read WHATEVER I want to. I cannot begin to express how excited I am about this! However, one of the first things I want to do is get back into the Word more intentionally and more deeply. Not that I was not encouraged to study the Scriptures in seminary, but now I can read them with the sole purpose of enjoying God and preparing my heart and mind for ministry. Should be the same, but in my mind and heart it is different. If I'm off on this, please pray for me.

Early in my seminary experience I had the privilege of taking several classes with Dr. Rodney Woo (Pastor of Wilcrest Baptist Church). This man is the epitome of a perfect combination of scholarship and a pastoral heart. There is much I have learned from him, both in content and by his example that I am eternally grateful for.

I still remember the day in class when he was sitting on the edge of the table with his intense stare and he said, "Gentlemen, if you are going to preach the Bible, you had better know it!" This statement hit me like a ton of bricks. I mean, on one hand this statement seems to be obvious, but as this pastor-scholar sat there with the fire of God in his eyes, I realized that he was not talking about 'knowing' it, but to KNOW it.

One thing I loved about being in his classes was that when he brought correction or exhortation, he always provided a way forward. On this occasion he told us how he stays sharp in the Word. He shared with us that He read through the New Testament each month for 9 months out of the year and then took 3 months to read through the Old Testament. At first, I thought this was impossible, that it would take too much time. However, Dr. Woo shared that it only took about 30 minutes-a-day and that he would just read. No note taking, no word studies, he would just read it and enjoy it as it was. He then challenged us to try it.

By God's grace, I was able to do this several times. This experience helped me to see the grand picture of God's redemptive story through the entirety of the Scriptures. Unfortunately, it has been quite a while since I have enjoyed this discipline and am now resolved to re-institute this life-giving exercise.

If any of you out there would like to give it a try, here's the schedule:

1. Mt. 1-10
2. Mt. 11-20
3. Mt. 21-28
4. Mk. 1-8
5. Mk. 9-16
6. Lk. 1-8
7. Lk. 9-16
8. Lk. 17-24
9. Jn. 1-7
10. Jn. 8-14
11. Jn. 15-21
12. Acts 1-10
13. Acts 11-20
14. Acts 21-28
15. Romans 1-8
16. Romans 9-16
17. 1 Cor. 1-8
18. 1 Cor. 9-16
19. 2 Cor.
20. Galatians – Ephesians
21. Philippians – Colossians
22. 1 & 2 Thess.
23. 1 & 2 Tim.
24. Titus – Philemon – Heb. 1-3
25. Heb. 4-13
26. James
27. 1 & 2 Peter
28. 1-2-3 John / Jude
29. Rev. 1-11
30. Rev. 12-22

Let me know if you're going to give it a shot. I'd love to hear about your experience!

As Promised - I am Commenting... Pt. 1

“The purpose in a man’s heart is like deep water, but a man of understanding will draw it out.”
(Proverbs 20:5 ESV)

A few months ago I blogged briefly about an article in Christianity Today™ that discussed an accusation against SWBTS (Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary) accusing them of a ploy to fire Calvinists from their staff. I posted a link to this interesting article, which you can read here.

To be honest, I would not be surprised either way. Not to dishonor the president of SWBTS, nor to dishonor the other parties involved, but I have been involved in church-life long enough to not really get surprised about much. As far as I know, Dr. Patterson is an Arminian, and if there is a competitive thing going on with Southern, then I could see a possible motivation. But, I don't know. However, I must be careful to not quickly judge the situation with limited knowledge about what all is going on.

However, I do have this to say. Christians have got to stop making sweeping generalizations about people who are identified as 'Arminian' or 'Calvinist'. This is a dangerous and un-loving habit. One of my good friends and mentors was once asked how to best deal with a certain group of believers in his church and he responded, "It's not how we deal with this group or that, the question we should be asking is how we serve one another in love." Amen.

For instance, I know people who would call themselves "Reformed", but they are more Lutheran Reformed soteriologically (salvation), but Dispensationalist in their hermeneutic (bible study method) and eschatology (belief about the end times). This seems inconsistent with our little labels doesn't it? The same is true for the terms 'Emergent' vs. 'Emerging'. They are both different in meaning and what they stand for. However, if one is identified as 'Emergent', this doesn't automatically mean that they deny the Virgin birth of Jesus, etc.

All this to say, I think IF there was a hunt out to get the Calvinists professors at SWBTS out of the faculty I would be very sad. I would be equally sad if the same was happening towards Arminian professors. IF this were the case, then I would be concerned for the seminary. In my time at the Houston campus of SWBTS I was blessed to have Arminian, Calvinist, and Calminian™ (I made it up) professors. It helped to balance me out. To be honest, I entered into seminary with some pretty firm theological convictions that have remained, but have been refined by these awesome, Godly men. I give thanks to God for my time at SWBTS and pray that they will continue to provide a broad-scope of theological views that are within the bounds of orthodoxy and baptistic theology.

My prayer is that this whole thing at the seminary was a huge exaggeration or misunderstanding. However, there is a chance that this is not the case, and if so, I pray that the Lord would offer correction in His kindness.

Lord, help us to be a people who are known by the way that we love one another. (John 13:35)

I got sucked in to playing 'dress up'...

My BFFEAE

I will still blog here too...

Some friends have wondered if I will continue to blog on this blog as well, the answer is, "Absolutely." The new 40 Pounds of Purpose Blog is specifically for that project. There will naturally be some cross-pollinating, but I will be blogging about life in its entirety (holistically, actually, which is a pre-modern term before it was a postmodern term...).

I have some cool stuff I'd like to share with you, but it's late and I have to be up at 5am to drive to Seminary. Things you could be praying about:

1. 40 Pounds of Purpose
2. Writing a curriculum called: The Naked Truth, but it will actually be The Whole Naked Truth. If you don't understand the content, then you can ask your momma. I may actually make this into a book, too. We'll see.
3. I have another book idea that I am just in the beginning stages of outlining.
4. Wrapping up the final 6 weeks of seminary.
5. I just have to have 5, so I am putting this one here. :-)

Started a New Blog: 40 Pounds of Purpose

40 Pounds of Purpose - Days 1 & 2

There is something that I have been struggling with for the past 2 1/2 years. It's totally an acceptable sin/struggle, even in the most conservative circles, and it is not a new struggle for me. However, I have finally had enough. "I have what the doctors call a little bit of a weight problem." - Tommy Boy.

In the fall of 2002, my good friend Joel Engle gave me a talking to about my weight. He was very kind and willing to walk with me through repentance (and getting off my lazy rump) and got me started on a 'new way of life' (see Galatians 6:1-2). I lost over 30 lbs and was in the best shape of my life. Although my travel schedule continued to increase, I was able to stick to the diet/workout schedule pretty well and maintained a healthy body.

Then in June 2006, our sweet daughter Braelyn arrived. I had done pretty good during the pregnancy (as did Steph), but after B arrived, there were many late nights. Around this time we had discovered TV shows on DVD and I had (re)discovered Goldfish crackers. Many late nights up with the baby we would watch TV shows and I would chomp down on Goldfish crackers. I wish I could blame the entirety of my current predicament on Goldfish crackers, because that would be pretty cool, but that's just where it began.

So, here I am, 2 1/2 years later, 30 years old, 238 lbs, high-cholesterol, pre-diabetic, and borderline blood pressure. Not good. Something has got to change, so with the help of my dear wife, and the encouragement of some close friends, I am going to aggressively (Lord willing and Lord helping) attack this sin problem. Now, I am only a mild glutton (and for that I repent), but the deeper sin is entitlement.

Entitlement (a caveat of pride) is a wicked vice. It can manifest in many ways including times that I feel like I have been working hard, so why not comfort myself with some tasty treats? Or, I am feeling sorry for myself. Or, I am happy and wanting to celebrate (apparently I have a LOT to be happy about!). I have this Oprah-esque hidden belief that I 'deserve' all these good things in abundance. However, if these things are so good, then why am I finding myself at a fork in the road with 2 options. Option 1 - eat, drink, and be merry, but understanding that my close friends and family will have to explain to my dear daughter that, "Daddy just loved food and himself more than you and Mommy." Or, I can commit to being different, truly humbling myself, pulling an old word out of storage, "No", and humbling myself to specific forms of accountability.

Now, some of you, I'm sure are wondering why in the world I would post this? Is this a gross illustration of pride (I guess it can work in the direction of starving for humiliation, but that's not my pride-of-choice)? Or perhaps I just am starving for attention? No. As I get older I'm more of an introvert, especially as I have been learning to, "sit down on the inside" (Thanks, Neil). Then what gives?

It's really quite simple. I recall talking to an old friend of mine who has trouble with his weight/health and he told me the reason he went to Weight Watchers™ was because he was forced to humiliate himself once a weak by stepping on a scale in front of a group of other people. That was his last ditch effort, because everything else (done in the dark), didn't seem to help. Also, I need your help, but let me start with what I don't need from everyone on the face of the planet. I know there is a huge risk in doing this, but it's worth a shot.

What I don't need from you:

1. Uninvited accountability partners. There are several people I have talked to or intend on talking to later this week about this struggle. They will have the right to speak into my life. So, if I have not asked for this delicate help, then I don't expect you to run up and slap a cheeseburger out of my hand or ask me how many calories are in such-and-such. There will be days that I will have a treat or two, which will be determined by me and my dear wife.

2. Fat jokes are not funny. I'm pretty laid back with most things, but it has gotten old having people pat my belly and make jokes about Blue Bell, etc. Thank you, I know you mean well, but seriously, I am very much aware that I have gained weight. It's just hurtful. I'm a tough man, and if you've said something stupid (which I honestly don't recall the who's and what's) no need to apologize, just be aware.

3. Denial of my weight struggle. Now, if I were 165 pounds and 6 feet tall and was talking about aggressively losing weight, then I definitely would need a talking to. However, if a person has 2 eyes and believes in science, then it is apparent that some radical changes need to take place. So, please don't try to say, "You don't look that fat..." I mean, I can handle it, but seriously, not very helpful.

4. Tons of diet plans. If I ask for tips on here, please feel free to share. But, I have become diet-schizo trying to incorporate everyone elses diets into my life. I can't handle all of that. I've lost weight before, I know what my body responds to, so thanks, but not necessary. I like tips like, "Green Tea is a great substitute for coffee!" That's helpful, but, "Do this diet and you'll lose 85 pounds in 2 weeks!" - Not helpful.

5. Brussels Sprouts. I do not care how good they are for me. No.

How you can help:

1. Pray. Please pray. I know how cliche it may seem, but I cannot do this on my own, nor do I want to strain my marriage by having Steph have to 'force' me towards anything. I need the Lord's help.

2. Gift cards to HEB, Wal-Mart, GNC. Not really, but my family and I are committing to eat much 'cleaner' and I know the supplements that help my body function appropriately, so any love in that regards would be great. :-)

3. Join me. This is a bummer to do alone. I'd love for some of my friends out in the blogosphere to join me in committing to living healthier.

4. Healthy Food Options. I never want a guest to plan a meal around me, by any means. That is why I have not made specific food requests in my ministry agreements (even though my Doc was trying to make me do so). However, if you are going to have pizza, please have salad. There are days that I will still eat pizza, but I love pizza, and need to watch my intake. Or, if all else fails, just let me know ahead of time that you are going to have unhealthy food and I'll get something to eat on my own. Totally cool.

5. Encouragement. When I said previously that I did not want uninvited accountability partners, this does not mean at all that you cannot ask me how it is going or encourage me. I just need to have some healthy boundaries.

Now for the Days 1 & 2 Summaries:

DAY 1: I had committed last week that this Monday (March 16) I would begin eating better and working out. To be honest, I like to work out, it just takes so much time, of which I am often limited. However, as I was driving home yesterday afternoon, I realized that I had sprouted, bloomed, or whatever you want to call it. I actually had MAN-BOOBS! Frustrated, yet determined, I walked in the house, barely said 'Hello' to my wife and declared that I would be going to the gym. She could tell that I was feeling upset and asked what was wrong and I declared, "I HAVE MAN-BOOBS!" Apparently, she thought that was funny, and in hindsight, I suppose that astute observation (and truthful statement) could be a bit humorous. However, I didn't think it funny at the time, but appreciated her light-hearted response.

So, I went to the gym, worked my upper-body and then did 20 minutes of cardio (just walking, after lifting I lacked the energy to run with all this extra weight). I ate well yesterday, and Steph has been a big help. Also, I have been drinking a lot of Green Tea, I hear it's good for you and a healthy alternative to coffee.

Day 2: Today has been a good day so far. I drank a lot of water yesterday, so I have been a freqeuent guest to our 1-bathroom and at times to our backyard (hey, we live in the country!). I had some Fiber-One™ Cereal this morning and Green Tea. Went to the gym and did 30 minutes on the elliptical machine. Am blogging now, drinking green tea, and about to go have lunch. Weighed in at the gym today and I'm still 238 lbs. As much as I was going tinkle, I had thought that I could have dropped a pound of water weight or something. No dice... Steph reminded me today, "It didn't take one day to put the weight on, so it's not going to come off in a day either." True. Encouraging and discouraging.

Well, I'm off for now. I started another blog to follow this journey and to offer public humiliation/encouragement. 40poundsofpurpose.blogspot.com .

When the One You Love is ADHD and/or Depressed

One of the toughest things for those who love and support someone struggling with ADHD and/or depression, but have not endured it themselves, is the inability to truly comprehend what it’s like. With ADHD a common question is, “Can’t you just make yourself focus?” This often leads to, “He can focus on things he likes: music, movies, video games, etc.” --> Which inevitably leads to some pretty acute feelings of bitterness if you are not careful.

However, once you realize that as annoying as it is for you, it is torturous for him. You may notice in the next few weeks (while in the beginning stages of taking his meds) that he may be irritable and quite a ‘jerk’, which unfortunately is one of the consequences of taking a stimulant to help you concentrate. I had a friend almost dump his girlfriend (who is now his wife), because he started taking medicine and “didn’t care”... It may not have that affect on him, but just something to be mindful of. This also doesn’t mean that you just let him treat you poorly, but hopefully it will help you take it a little less personally.

When a person is struggling with depression, I think it prudent to encourage them towards activity and help them to identify the positive things going on. If their life is just totally in the dumps, then I encourage them that it really can’t get any worse! ;-) However, you have to treat it like a marathon and not a sprint. Baby-steps are sometimes best when walking with someone with depression. Hopefully it passes in the matter of a week or two.

The issue of becoming overwhelmed by school is one I remember very well. Especially when I wasn’t totally certain about what I wanted to do. It seemed pointless and tiresome, especially the courses that ‘didn’t apply’ to what I wanted to do. Compound that with the struggle of paying attention, then it becomes quite normal to start feeling ‘stupid’ or just want to quit. For me, I had to get to the point where I began to learn to love to learn, and realized that college was a means to an end for me, not the end of it all. Some re-thinking and other times just pushing ahead (when I didn’t feel like it) helped me to get through my undergrad program and Lord-willing through with my masters this May.

So, what are you to do?

1. Encourage him to make good choices when it comes to diet and sleep. The reality is, he needs to take better care of himself. I believe if he would take better care of himself, back off the caffeine and alcohol, eat healthier, and get plenty of sleep that he will see an improvement with his ADHD, Depression, and health in general.
   
   
2. Don’t mother him. That is an improper role for you to take as a girlfriend or a wife. This doesn’t mean you’re a cold, mean woman, but it does mean that you don’t just stand by and let him stay where he is. However, there is that balance of girlfriend / boyfriend encouragement. It’s a little easier if you were his wife, but you are not, so that’s tough.
   
   
3. Help him to set more realistic goals. I.E. - instead of thinking about a PhD or even graduation (if it is far off), help him set an academic goal for the week. If he can start experiencing some small victories, it will boost his confidence and help him to become more proactive.
   
   
4. Help him learn how to become more organized. Rod Brace helped me a lot with that, it might be worth visiting his website and reading some of his articles. It really reduces stress.
   
   
5. Remember, feeling overwhelmed and thus shutting down likely brings about most of his depression. One can only sustain high levels of stress for so long. So, like they say about how to eat an elephant, you need to remind him it is one bite at a time. Therefore, you need to help him identify the bites that he needs to take and empower/encourage him to take those ‘bites’.

**DISCLAIMER: I am not a licensed professional in dealing with these issues. These are some tips based upon my experiences with these struggles.**

A Refreshing Drink

My soul has a been a bit dry lately. While I know that the Living Water has been given to me, and I'll never be thirsty again (see John 4), I believe that all followers of Christ have seasons when they are busy pouring out more than they are 'taking in'. I take full responsibility. It isn't as if God is running short of Himself. Afterall, he is eternal and infinite. The honest truth is, the last few months I had been far too busy and far too over-committed. It's my fault, and by God's grace He has placed people in my life (especially my wonderful bride) to wave the red flag and encourage me to slow down.

Over the break I had some good down-time and I'm feeling ready to take on the last semester of seminary. Also, over the last few weeks my 'tanks' have been refilled and I'm once again ready to charge Hell with a water pistol, as it were. However, there are times when we need a little encouragement, and it comes in many different shapes in forms. One of these great encouragements to me is the album Cannons by Phil Wickham. I just purchased it the other day, but God has been using it in a great way to stir my passions once again for Him. I thank God, and I thank Mr. Wickham.

Just a friendly reminder (to myself included) that our hope isn't in music, speakers, preachers, books, friends, pastors, etc. Our hope is in Jesus Christ. When discerning the benefit of a 'resource' we must always answer the question, "Does this stir my passions for God?" and/or "Does this encourage me towards Christ?" If we just feel 'spiritual' with no specific direction, then we are setting ourselves up for great disappointment at best, and idolatry at worst.

So, if you have $7.99 laying around you can go to Amazon.com and download the MP3 album and enjoy. His first self-titled album Phil Wickham is also great.

Our Mini "Vay-cay"

Steph and I are currently sitting in one of our favorite coffee shops in the country, Brasil, down on Westheimer in Houston. We have taken a 2-night 'vay-cay' to spend sometime investing in our relationship, celebrating our anniversary, and re-charging our batteries before my final semester in seminary. Our goals are: shop with Christmas money, eat well, sleep, eat, sleep, drink coffee, read, blog, shop, shop, eat, etc.

Since I travel quite a bit, I have learned that you can find great deals on Priceline.com and in the past we have gotten some sweet deals. So, as we were planning our little escape I went on Priceline and I put in $75/night for the Galleria area. To my pleasant surprise, we got a room at the InterContinental Hotel near the Galleria!!! Too good to be true?


I was amazed! Feeling proud (borderline arrogant) I boasted to my bride of our win and I shared my victory with my friends. It's a beautiful, high-end, 4-star hotel, and we got it for $75/night!!! How in the world could an expensive, plush, hotel afford to put commoners like us in its beautiful rooms for $75/night. However, when we got into our room, we figured it out.

We are on the 5th floor at the end of the building, right next to the workout room. The room itself is beautiful, but once you open the curtains, here is what you see:


It quickly became apparent why they were able to give us the room for $75/night. I was a little bitter about it, but I did ask the guy at the desk to, "give us the best we can get for what we paid for." He was probably thinking, "He he heh, I have a room for you, cheapskate!" However, we are grateful for our time, and don't care about the view. We'll enjoy living like royaltly on a paupers budget for a few days!

More to come, I'm sure.

Happy 8th Anniversary, My Love!

My Soul Mate

---

My Best Friend

---

My Lover
(Don't worry kids, it makes God happy!)

Worth Checking Out: YouVersion.com

Friends, I know I commend a lot of things on this blog to you, but I would strongly encourage you to check out YouVersion.com It is a great way to study the Scriptures both individually and in community (not to take the place of real life community). I hope to start posting on there soon.

My user name on YouVersion.com is: caseycease

Hope to see you on there!

Top of the Morning to You!

I am currently sitting at a Starbucks on Post Oak Blvd and 610 awaiting a 7:30 meeting at a nearby office building. The meeting was organized by my good friend and former board member, Jody Johnston. He asked me if he could arrange this breakfast so that he could invite some colleagues to come and learn more about Transform Ministries and give them the opportunity to support the ministry. I agreed to come and share with the group what God has been doing and how we have seen and experienced the Gospel transform lives through the ministry over the years. More than gaining financial supporters, my prayer is to make some new friends that will faithfully pray for us. If the Lord compels them to give, I wouldn't deny them that joy, however. ;-)

In other news, I have been greatly enjoying my time off from school. Don't get me wrong, I love learning and I love the fellowship I have with my fellow students and the professors, but I needed a break. In hindsight I am glad that I took 12 hours. While my grades may not have been as high as they would have been with 6 hours, I ended up doing pretty well. Plus, Steph and I are both at a place where I need to be done with this (6 year) season of our lives. This revelation (of my impending graduation) often illicits the following question, "What are you going to do next?"

My first response to this question is, "Geez, let a brother catch his breath!" Then I start asking internal questions like, "Do these people think that I haven't been doing anything 'grown-up' over the past 6 years?" This question isn't meant to reflect any sense of discouragement, but more curiosity. Perhaps my being in grad school causes people to think that I can't really do anything serious until after I receive my masters. Or, some people, because of their faith background, are used to 'pastors' not being able to 'pastor' until they get the credentials. Regardless, I understand that most of the time the question, "What's next?" is a natural question, which I don't mind answering.

This, however, begs the question, "What is next?" As of right now, nothing really new, but more time to invest into what I am currently doing; traveling & preaching, running Transform Ministries, Community Pastoring at Christ Church, building websites, helping out at Faith Mission, and leading a discipleship class at Brenham Christian Academy. For now there isn't any desire to look for a 'real job', i.e. a higher paying ministry position at a large church. Instead, I'd rather take the energy currently being budgeted towards my education and poor it into ministry endeavors. The rest is still yet to be revealed (further education, future ministry opps, etc.).

Well, I need to head out to the meeting. Thanks for taking the time to read.

Done At Last!

Well, for the semester anyway. By God's grace I now only have one iTerm (week long intensive course) and the spring semester and then I will have completed my Master of Divinity (Lord Willing)! I've enjoyed my time at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary's J. Dalton Havard School of Theology in Houston, TX. While my degree is technically 'No Concentration', all of my electives (with the exception of one or two) have been Bible. So, I guess my specialization is Bible, which is good, no?

Now that the semester is over, I hope to be blogging again far more frequently. There has been a lot going on that I would like to share, so stay tuned.

For those of you who don't know, I now build websites in partnership with Gutensite. My latest site is for Calvary Baptist of Brenham. Check it out and let me know what you think! Let me know if you would like for me to build you a site!

Braelyn and Me