Nerds for Jesus

Nerds for Jesus

For the past couple of summers I have explained to people what I am doing for the summer.   I tell people that I volunteer my time with the nerdiest group of people.  They laugh but I have their interest.  I then explain that I volunteer with a Bible quiz ministry and friends who are both Christian and non-Christian are impressed.  This ministry is more than a quiz game.  It encompasses friendships that lasts a lifetime, and for some of us, it is a church outside of the four walls of the churches we attend.

Teenagers all over America study a certain text for the entire school year and memorize it word for word.  Some memorize it better than others, but they know more than most people on staff in churches.   If this ministry were just about memorizing and knowledge, it wouldn’t be great.  It is so much more than that, and maybe that is what has it thriving in the last few years.

Before I entered my freshmen year of high school, I made a commitment.  I would no longer be invisible at school and church.  I would find a way to the beer parties, (Of course I thought I would not drink…um, yeah, that wouldn’t have lasted long.) and become part of the popular crowd at school and church, seeing how many of my church friends participated in those beer parties.  That summer at church camp, a girl encouraged me to join a Bible quiz team.  I wasn’t sold until she said that this is a ministry in which we get to travel.  That sold me.  The travelling got me in, but the friendships that I made and still have to this day thirty years later and the knowledge and understanding of the Bible are what held me in this ministry, in the church, and in the faith of Christ. 

This last week I observed teenagers serving others not to get accolades, but because they wanted to have others see Jesus.  Even the team that won Nationals, went around and cleaned all the classrooms we used for the week to burn off nervous energy before playing in the championship game.  For that, I’m extremely grateful because it was one less thing that the volunteers had to do when everyone left.  These young people are passionate, gracious, kind, and goofy.  They are teenagers, so I know some of their coaches will question how they survive, but in the end, they can see the fruit of all their hard work. 

People in this ministry may enjoy studying, reading, and memorizing, but they really enjoy God’s presence most.  I heard it in their prayers. In their prayers, they just talked to God. I observed it in their friendships, conversations, and service. When you are in God’s Word, His word resonates in all aspects of your life.  They have embodied Psalm 119:11, “Your Word I have treasured in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”  With an understanding of God’s Word, they are able to conquer mountains that stand in their way.  It is my hope and prayer that they will know and see that any mountain can be conquered with God.

In the world of business, the nerds rule the world.  Maybe, in the church, it is the same.  If more leaders in the church could know and understand what these young people know and understand in the Bible, maybe our churches would not be struggling today to gain respect.  We can learn from young people.  They teach me all the time.  These young people have humility, grace, faith, and strive to learn more about the Bible.  These aspects would guide our churches to be strong and healthy. Nerds need to lead our churches. Congratulations to all of the teams of the 2017-2018 season of National Bible Bowl.  May we all be nerds and study the Word of God so that it is not misused.  Maybe it isn’t nerdy, but it is worthy.  Maybe we all need to serve and show God’s grace no matter what our occupation or our role in life.  Maybe just maybe, the church can look at who is invisible and see the visibility of Christ.

Travelling is an Adventure

Travelling Is An Adventure

Normal people travel and have absolutely no glitches.  They have obviously never travelled with me.  In youth ministry, the countless times the church van left us at our camp in the mountains or in the desert created stories forever.   Along with the fact that I once almost flew the Bible Bowl quiz team to the wrong city, my students learned quickly that if they travel with me, we would not travel in a straight line. Travelling teaches us lessons and if we take the time to learn, it can be life changing.

I always try to do something that the locals would do…visit Wal-Mart.  The truth is I always forget something that Wal-Mart can provide, which is ironic because I do not pack light.  As I walk through stores and observe the items and customers, I realize that people have different cultural ways but the same pursuit in life.  We all want the best.  We all want to present our best to others, even when our best might be questionable to others around us. Sometimes, we all just want to get to the cashier before the lady with the cart full of stuff does. 

They tell us on mission trips to eat the food means you have accepted the culture of the people, so I always try to eat what is unique to that part of the area.  Food can be adventurous, even in America.  When we stay with what is comfortable, we miss out on what can teach us a new way of life.

The beauty of America is noted when you drive through areas that you have never seen or have not seen in a while.  I forget how green the rest of America since I live in Southern California and brown land surrounds me.  Sometimes you have to look beyond the rows of trees and remember that it is land where wars were fought and where moonshiners created their own wars within their territories. 

Travelling should be an adventure.  See what others do.  Eat what others eat.  Go without worrying about getting lost.  Enjoy the extra time in an airport with delays. Like the hand written directions that flew out the window (before GPS), trips never go as planned.  Life doesn’t always go as planned.  From my travelling I have learned to trust God and others.  From travelling I have discovered that when plans do not go well, you actually do something better than you imagined.  When life begins to get interrupted and gets messy, I remember all the trips that got interrupted and messy and realize that in the end, it’s those times that we speak of the most.  So, sometimes I need to remember to plan but be flexible and try something new.  It’s the only way to fly. 

The Other Side

The Other Side

In my own readings of the Bible, I’m reading through the Bible this year.  In the book of Job, his friends think they know everything and speak.  They look foolish in the end.  I believe in our society today, especially on social media, we have a difficult time looking on the other side.  I was there too, until I started working in South Central Los Angeles, which is a low-income community with minority families.  My eyes have been open to the other side.

Yesterday, we graduated our sixth class.  I have been there for five of the six graduating classes.  As the senior English teacher, I get to read their personal statements and get a deeper look into their stories.  Graduating from high school for some of them is part of their parents’ “American Dream.”

For many of the students that graduate from my high school in South Central Los Angeles, they are the first in their families to graduate from high school.  I cannot fathom that understanding.  For me, in the communities and era that I grew up, graduating from high school was a given and graduating from college was for the select few.   We are sending 93% of our students to college and four students to the armed forces.  This is a huge accomplishment for this community.

I see the hard work, overcoming the obstacles of having a low education with the basics, and overcoming the labels that others outside of their community put on them.  I don’t live their lives.  I can only see it.  Maybe, if we would begin to see into the lives of others, we would be a bit more understanding.  If we were a bit more understanding, maybe we would be slow to speak and slow to become angry with others and their actions and listen a whole lot more.

To all of the graduates from the class of 2018, congratulations.  Let us all step into each day with open eyes, open ears, and an open heart.  May we speak only when we are wise.  The world is waiting for us to make each day better than the one before.

Love vs. Racism

Love vs. Racism

This last week a television show was cancelled because the star tweeted a racist comment.  Believe it or not, I had Christian friends who defended the person, but would at the same time condemn someone who votes for Democrats.  There is a problem in the church, and instead of being like some of my friends, I’m not running away from the problem.  I want to fix it because it’s easy to run away.  It’s a challenge to stay and begin to do the work that needs to be done. 

Racism.  It’s a dirty word.  If we all look deep within ourselves, we have all had some sort of racist thought, comment, or feeling.  It’s when we admit that we have sin and confess and repent that we can change.  The opposite of racism is love. 

In John 13:34-35, Jesus says, “I give you a new command: Love one another.  Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.”  Look at that last line.  People will know that you are a disciple of Jesus if you love one another.  People will not know you are a disciple of Jesus if you don’t swear, drink alcohol, have sex outside of marriage, steal, murder, lie, gossip, cheat, vote Republican, go to church, etc.  People will only know you are a disciple of Jesus if you love one another.

Love one another.  This is for all Christians.  If you believe that you are better than another person because of your ethnicity, then how do you believe that a perfect God created the universe and people?  You would have to believe in evolution that we were created from imperfect animals to believe that one race is better than another.  I believe that God, who is perfect, created all humans in His image, which means, God is all ethnicities. 

It starts with getting to know others.  It starts with respect.  It starts with not believing everything that is in the media or on the Internet.  It starts in your heart. Change is difficult, but it’s worth it.  Change means growth.  The church will grow when it changes.  Let’s gather together in our churches with a new sense of change and open our doors to others.  Methods may change, but the Gospel will not change.  The Gospel will spread, and then, we might actually see change in the community in which we live. 

Racism.  It’s a dirty word that hurts and divides.  Love.  It’s a word that heals and brings people together.  Love is the only hope for our country.  The love of Jesus is needed in our country right now.  There are so many of us that are His disciples.  Let’s let them know we are Jesus’s disciples by our love. Love always wins.