LiveFirstBlogLater

I am Luke Barnes, hear me blog.

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A Charge to Me

The following words are from one of my best friends Travis Pickell.  Travis took time out of his busy schedule as a Ph.D. student, husband, and wife to two young girls in order to bless me with this charge.  As I often tell my students, surround yourself with people who you aspire to be like.  I aspire to be like Travis.

"Luke, dear friend and brother, it gives me great pleasure to be here to encourage and exhort you as this congregation acknowledges and affirms the call that God has placed upon you.  Before I give you a charge, I offer you a reminder by way of these words from Colossians, chapter 3.  “You have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”  The reminder is this: Christ is your life. This is the truth about you that is deeper and truer than any other truth. Your job is to live into this truth, but you do not establish this truth. It is before all else, established “before the foundation of the world” (Eph 1:4). This is your bedrock: Christ is your life.  This, of course, means that many other things are not your life. If Christ is your life you cannot be defined by what you are against, whether cultural or theological. Your life is not defined by ministry success or failure, nor is it defined by your image or reputation. The “Church” is not your life. If you try to build your life and ministry on any other foundation than the one established for you in Christ, you will become a walking contradiction, and your witness will ultimately ring false. In light of this fact, I offer the following charge:  First: May you never forget your first love (Rev 2:4). I remember when the Lord captured your heart for the first time. I can recall the fervency of your spiritual life, the intensity of the feelings you had. In many ways, before I ever even believed in God I learned from you what it meant to love God. And though faith cannot live on emotion alone, I urge you to cultivate a holy affection. Keep a close eye on your heart. Pursue the things that increase your affection for God and guard yourself from what deadens intimacy with God. Guard yourself from envy, from pride, and above all, from cynicism. And when you feel far from God, may you yearn for God with a holy longing.   Second: May gratitude saturate your life and ministry (1 Thes 5:16). It has been said that "Grace evokes gratitude like the voice an echo. Gratitude follows grace like thunder lightning." Gratitude is an expression of faith, and, as such, will be a vital contribution to your proclamation of the gospel. Gratitude is also an expression of humility. Luke, you must know that I considered charging you to be humble in your ministry, but I decided against it. I was once warned to be cautious about praying, “God, make me humble,” for God’s humbling may come to us as “a severe mercy.” And, frankly, I’m not sure whether it is ethical to pray a prayer for someone else that you fear to pray for yourself. Additionally, as dangerous as pride is, I realized that it is counterproductive to strive for humility directly: if you succeeded in becoming humble you might be tempted to be proud of the accomplishment! But when Paul is dealing with a prideful Corinthian congregation, he points them back to the reality of grace: “What do you have that you have not received?” (1 Cor 4:7), he tells them. Christ is your life: to live in light of that fact is to be grateful.    Finally: May you see every person as an object of Christ’s love (John 3:16; Col 1:20, 1 Tim 2:4). In the midst of ministry programs, daily responsibilities, and big-picture strategies, it is so easy to lose sight of the fact that each and every person you meet has immeasurable worth and dignity as an object of Christ’s love. We all know people who are difficult, annoying, or otherwise forgettable: Christ is their life, too. Do not forget that it is individual people that Christ came to save. Each kid in your youth group, each congregant, each community member and neighbor, even each enemy: Christ is their life. In giving them attention while you are with them you witness to Jesus’s love for them. This sort of attention does not come naturally, and it must be cultivated. It is not easy, but God will help you.  Luke, I am proud of you. I affirm your calling. I am excited to see what God will do in your ministry here. Never forget that Christ is your life. God bless you, my friend." 

Travis Pickell, M.Div. Ph.D. Candidate, Religious Studies Theology, Ethics, & Culture University of Virginia

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2015...focus on the 5!

If you have known me for a while, then you might know that I am a man of extremes.  It is often all or nothing with me.  I have an addictive personality and it is vital for me to be "addicted" to things that are good for me.  

I no longer have the excuse of recently getting married, starting a new job, or moving.  My life is not as hectic as it was a year ago...and yet I find myself slipping into laziness and gluttony.  Therefore, I have chosen the number 5 to represent my goals for this year.  I am sharing these goals with you for a few reasons:

1.  To help keep myself accountable.

2.  To offer encouragement for those who read this.

3.  To provide some insight.

Before you create goals for yourself, the first question you must answer is "why."  I am setting these goals because I am a huge believer in the intricate link between emotional/mental, physical, and spiritual health.  I know personally, that when one of these areas is slipping, then often all components of my health tend to take a turn for the worse.  Also, any goal that you create should be difficult to reach, but it must be attainable and measurable.  That is why I have chosen the following goals.

1.  Run 500 miles this year.

2.  Do 15,000 push-ups and 15,000 sit-ups.  

3.  Lose 15 pounds.

4.  Read 5 books outside of work.

5.  Pray five times daily (even for a moment).

6.  Continue meeting with my counselor at least 5 times every 3 months.

7.  This goal is the last one and perhaps the hardest to attain.  It is not one that I wish to share publicly, but it will be one that helps me spiritually, physically, and financially.  

It is important to note that these are MY goals.  I chose them because they fit my personal desires for health and well-being.  Don't try to talk me out of them and I promise not to try and talk you into them.  

Luke 2:52 - And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man. 

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No Ceiling

150!  150 students on our church campus this past Sunday afternoon/evening.  This both terrifies me and brings me an abundance of joy.  I am terrified because there does not seem to be an end to this growth in sight.  I am joyful because there does not seem to be an end to this growth in sight.

We are simply functioning as a glorified teenage social club unless we communicate what the Church has to offer that nobody else does.  We have the Bridegroom who laid down His life while we were still slaves to sin!  

I would be lying if I said that I didn't want these students to have fun, but I want much more for them than having the time of their life.  I want them to have eternal, abundant, and grace-soaked life.  

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What do they want?

Being a youth pastor has lots of perks.  If you don't believe me, then ask my wife.  But teenagers are fickle creatures.  I find myself wanting to be liked, but not for my own glory.  I want them to like me because I want them to get plugged in.  I want them to realize that Christianity can be authentic and appealing.  I want them to know the truth of the gospel of grace.

When I was a student, my youth pastor called me the "Andrew" of our group because the disciple Andrew was known for bringing people to Christ.  I don't know if any of my current students have recognized their gifts as "bringers."  I try to make it easy for them.

We are having a fall kick off event on Sunday, September 7.  There will be paintball, a skate ramp, human foosball, 1000 Chick-Fil-A chicken nuggets, and more.  If they can't bring their friends to this, then what can they bring them to?  

What do they want?  To be left alone or challenged?  Fun or seriousness?  Freedom in Christ or freedom from Christ? 

I guess they are just like me.  Always wanting something, just not exactly sure what.

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Teenage Jesus and the Jerks

It turns out that there is a semi-famous band with this name.  It was the first thing that popped up when I searched for "Teenage Jesus" on Google.  I expected to find some sort of apocryphal gospel mentioned on the first page.  I was wrong.  

My curiosity with the teenage Jesus has been spurred as of recent because of my ongoing work with that particular age demographic.  Infant Jesus and 30-year-old man Jesus (with a dash of 12-year-old boy wonder Jesus) are not entirely identifiable with middle school and high school students.  Should I be concerned?  I think not.

What adult really identifies with Jesus, the perfect Son of God?  To say that we understand him and relate to him seems naive at best and blasphemous at worst.  Yet, we are in fact made in the image of God and therefore we have God-likeness in each of us.  But Jesus' life is more about God identifying with us, then us identifying with him.  We see his humanity shine through as he weeps, get frustrated, and looks for a way out.  We "get this" only from our sin-stained perspective.  We do not know what these seemingly human responses look like from a whole and holy perspective.  

Teenage Jesus was fully human AND fully God.  Did he have acne?  Did he flirt with girls?  Did he have a distorted self-image? Maybe, most likely not, and definitely not.  Was he self-assured?  Was he filled with the Spirit?  Did teenage Jesus love today's teenagers and come to die for them? YES.  A hard teenager to relate to, but not a hard one to love.  Thanks be to God!

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Birthday Gifts

My 30th birthday is quickly approaching and I don't feel any different.  Yes I know it's a BIG one, but it is business as usual for me.  I will ask for gifts and I will get SOME of them.  I will also get a few gifts that I didn't ask for and I may or may not like them.  Is this your reality too?

In talking to a new friend yesterday, we began talking about spiritual gifts.  In God's awesomeness he often does things in a similar manner as humans (albeit much grander, pure, and holy).  He is a great gift giver.  Why then don't we ask for spiritual gifts and expect to receive some of them?  Why should we be surprised when we get spiritual gifts that we aren't even asking for (even if we aren't sure that we want them)?  

I like being a Christian with a heavenly Father who treats every day likes it's my birthday.   

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This past weekend Lalia and I had a nerve-racking experience.  As we hustled out the door to our friend's wedding we wondered aloud if we had RSVPed.  What started out as a reason for a chuckle later escalated into something more closely resembling a panic.  We had to craft a plan.  

We would show up to the ceremony and then rush over to the banquet hall where the reception was being held (30 minutes away).  We would run into the dining area and check all of the place settings to see if our names appeared anywhere.  If they were not there, then we would slip off into the night with our tails tucked.

Well, our plan was executed beautifully and we celebrated at table #13 when we found as clear as day "Luke and Lalia Barnes."  We had in fact RSVPed and our place was set and we were welcomed to party with the bridegroom and his bride.

2 Timothy 2:19 tells us that the Lord knows those who are his.  It is sealed.  In fact, it is signed, sealed, and delivered.  If you know Jesus Christ, then you have already RSVPed.  Your place at the table is set and you will be welcomed to party with the bridegroom and his bride.

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The return of the lost son to his ever-loving and gracious father.  We will never know how much God forgives us until we come staggering back home to him.

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Can I get a whiffness?!

It is a joy to be a part of a church staff that prays and meets together weekly.  In my time serving a church in Virginia Beach we met as a staff once a month and it was usually to talk about some sort of new church fad, gimmick, or mantra that we were adopting from the Willow Creek Leadership Summit.  Maybe that has all changed now, but maybe not.

This morning I had the privilege of sharing the staff devotion.

Lalia and I are now obsessed with Moroccan oil (we did not pay for it, it was a gift).  We try to ration it as best we can, but we are infatuated with its fragrance (I don't even care what it makes my hair look like).  

Smell is commonly known as the sense most closely related to memory.  I am sure that decades after our supply of Moroccan oil dries up, when Lalia and I catch a fresh whiff, our minds will immediately bounce back to the first year of our life together as husband and wife.  

Likewise, Scripture calls us the aroma and fragrance of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:15-16).  When people smell us are they enchanted by our scent?  Do people want to experience more of us when we walk by?  Do our churches emit the soothing fragrances of grace, justice, and compassion in our neighborhoods?  

Can I get a WHIFFNESS?!

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Snapchat and the like...

(Click above for the link to an extremely popular blog post)

I am somewhat dumbfounded with the current communication climate with teenagers today.  They are leaving Facebook.  Instagram is fast becoming passe.  Text is spotty at best.  And the Lord knows they don't make phone calls or check their email. 

Many of my students use snapchat.  I don't get it...but I kinda do.  They want to continue finding ways to communicate that adults aren't hip to yet.  To say that snapchat is the evil in the world and should be deleted is like saying the internet needs to be deleted.  So I have two suggestions to overcome this problem of snapchat and the dangers that is poses.

#1 - For God's sake can we please STOP treating the symptoms?!  If it isn't snapchat it's going to be something else.  It isn't until they understand the Gospel of Grace that they will want to change and avoid inappropriate behavior.  

#2 - Get a whole bunch of old fogies like me and their parents on snapchat...wait 3-5 years...and no teens will be using it anymore...guaranteed. 

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I'm back in the youth ministry game.  I guess I should start blogging again.  I will be sharing adventures, heartaches, opinions, tips, and stories of God's relentless pursuit.  

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The New Reality

I have just created a twitter (follow me @lukebarnsy) and the new reality that I suspected is coming to complete fruition.  We are a society plagued by dualism.  We want to be private, and yet we display our lives for all the world to see.  We want to care about what matters, but we ignore what is real in our lives for shadows on walls (Facebook walls that is).  We want to be humble, but somehow quiet humility has been replaced by a not so subtle braggadocio.  We want to have countless genuine relationships in our lives, but we forego the hard work of establishing them for the quick fix of racking up people who "like" our instagram photos.  I write this in a blog because I want people to read it.  I want people to like the words I have to say and find meaning in them.  I want to raise awareness on a subject of which I am painfully self-aware.  Romans 7:15 - I do not understand what I do.  For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do.  

P.S. Please love me. Please forgive me for having a blog...and a twitter...and a facebook...and an instagram...and a prideful ego.

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Finding vs. Following

I speak from the perspective of a 20-something Christian.  At this stage in life there is a huge pressure to find the will of God for our lives.  This can be labeled a vocation or a calling.  Any way you slice it, it is a daunting and life-shaping task.  How do we go about discerning our calling?  We could read a book.  Take a personality test.  Visit the career center at our schools.  Cast out lots of lines and see which proverbial fish are biting.  Or, we can actively wait.  This means patiently listening for God's whisper while serving his kingdom and being financially, intellectually, and physically responsible.  You see, I believe that the anxiety lies more in the finding than it does in the following.  Once we have discerned our calling most of us will gladly (albeit somewhat timidly) follow God down that path.  Trust that this is the case for you.  You will follow once you find, so don't stop searching.   

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Is diversity more important than unity?

  You’ve seen the college brochures.  Schools boasting about how diverse and progressive they are.  Pictures capturing people of various ethnicities having the time of their lives together.  Therein lies the illusion: the togetherness.  Surely the diversity is there, but what about the unity?  And of course there are institutions, churches, and companies that are both diverse and unified.  I might argue that these places probably don’t need to stage cliché pictures in order to prove something that is happening organically.  The world is a funny place.  Sometimes the more we try to force something to happen, the less likely it will.  I know that we need to shed light on the issue of diversity.  I know that those ethnicities that have been misrepresented need a voice.  I guess what I am trying to communicate is a change in language.  If we are going to boast about diversity in our churches, schools, and companies, then we must also consider whether we are unified.  Unity in diversity, unity and diversity.

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What/Who will be your shelter and refuge?

It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain. Isaiah 4:6

Summer is fast approaching.  Many of us welcome it with open arms.  Childhood nostalgia abounds.  There will be days, though, when we curse the summer.  We will step outside and be hit by a wave of heat that invites us into lethargy and depletion.

Likewise, summer brings with it hurricane season.  Growing up in Virginia Beach there was always an excitement in the air when a hurricane would be charging across the gulf stream towards our city.  For decades we have heard about the dangers of these massive storms, but we have never experienced a direct, crippling hit. 

The same is true of life.  Many of us look forward to the future with open arms and excitement.  And rightfully so.  But what happens when the trials of life are so stifling that they stop us in our tracks?  Where do we go for shelter? Do we even look for shelter to rest or do we just try to work through the heat?  And what happens when the storm comes that we thought never would?  A death, a disease, a test of faith and integrity that could make or break us.

There is something inside of our Western minds that says for us to push through the summer heat and stand in the midst of raging storms.  We busy ourselves, we go on with life.  When this doesn't seem to work we give up.  We become apathetic.  We turn ourselves off.  In moments of weakness we take refuge in the arms of a forbidden lover or activity.  Anything to escape reality.  

The church is challenged to be a shelter and a safe haven.  The church must resist the temptation to be a place of busyness or an escape from reality.  God wants those suffering from the overwhelming heat and relentless storms of life to find shade and shelter in Him.  You can rest. You can admit that life is hard and that you are scared.  And you don't have to do life alone.  What/Who will be your shelter and refuge?  What/Who will be sufficient and strong enough to combat all of the elements?  God and His Church.   

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Blemishes prove our humanity, not our unworthiness.

Father Boyle