For too many reasons to explain right now, I’ve been absent from blogging the last few months.  I’ve been wondering, “has anyone even noticed?”  I mean, with so much stuff being written every day and seemingly less and less time available to just casually “browse the web,” who would notice, much less even care, if another blog just sort of fell by the wayside?

Here’s why I’m going to resume blogging; not to find validation from the words and thoughts of others; not to market myself in a world that seems to fall further into a narcissism-of-words and infatuation with self; not to set myself against others by pointing out their faults so as to attempt to make myself look better.  I’m going to resume blogging because God is still speaking, through me, through you, through the world around us.  And I forget all too easily.  There’s a purpose in writing things down, in capturing thoughts, in making marks.  We’re a forgetful people in a busy world that is constantly distracting us from the One True Voice that can give life.

I look forward to jumping back in…

“Live freely, animated and motivated by God’s Spirit.” _Galatians 5:16 (msg)

Last night I wrapped up a 4-night speaking tour that I thoroughly enjoyed and that almost thoroughly exhausted me. I love having the opportunity to speak to new audiences about ideas and thoughts I’ve been wrestling with for a while, and being able to serve Christ in such a way is nothing less than a privilege.

I’ve also been enjoying a period of time off from teaching each Sunday at Awaken, having my friend Ken Chester leading us through a 6-week journey through the Chronicles of Jesus. This has given me time to recharge my creative batteries a bit and to focus on some of the details and check the pulse of our vision at Awaken. I have to say that I continue to grow in my admiration for people who are able to keep the creativity flowing on a regular basis, who have guarded themselves well against the crash-and-burn that comes with a sudden loss of creative energy by learning how to pace themselves day to day. I’m still learning.

As I take some time to refuel on this little creative hiatus, I came across a question a few weeks ago in some of my readings that I thought to be quite interesting. It was a creative exercise where I was asked to list 3 “champions” of my creative-self and 3 “enemies.” What I was able to see was how the ‘champions’ I listed all shared a common theme…people who believed in me, who recognized a raw talent and spoke to an area I desperately needed and desired to hear their affirmation (and by the way, I cheated…I couldn’t limit it to 3).

The ‘enemies’ of my creativity were identified as individuals or organizations who have wanted me to ’stay inside the lines,’ to color neatly, predictably, just like others around me. Now, I guess my mom can bear witness to this little fact better than anyone…the fact that I’ve never been able to color inside the lines very well. I still can’t do it well today. Maybe it’s from my figgedy hands that always like to tap on something. Maybe it’s my lack of patience with creating certain things. Maybe it’s what I inherited from my dad who has the handwriting of a doctor. I don’t know. Nonetheless, I don’t color within the lines well and never have.

It’s interesting to see how this has become such a definitive of my journey so far and how it continues to be. I remember my public speaking professor in college telling me several times that I didn’t have a good voice for speaking, that I was boring…all topped off with a “C” for the class. Could it be that I just wasn’t that interested in what I was speaking about? Could it be that there’s a better communicator in all of us than we realize…it’s just that we don’t get to talk about the things we enjoy often enough? Maybe…

When it has come to the ‘champions’ of my creativity, they’ve all been people who’ve seen the value in how I color and the potential of what my coloring could become. People who believed in me, who continue to do so.

Besides, I’m convinced that it’s not those who color inside the lines who necessarily make the greatest marks on the things around them.

Living freely, animated and motivated by God’s Spirit today…

…never to resurface. A reflection on forgiveness from the worship team at Awaken…

I’m so excited to have my friend and one of my mentors, Ken Chester, teaching this month at Sunday Worship Gatherings. We’ve been working on this teaching series for several weeks now - we’re calling The Chronicles of Jesus - where Ken will be unpacking several different identifying marks of Jesus, beginning with Jesus, The Saving One, and continuing throughout the month with different aspects built around the phrase, Jesus, The ______ One.

Now, I have to share a little secret of Ken’s and how he’s been not only preparing for this series, but how he tends to prepare different thought he writes on daily. While at the downtown YMCA, Ken has told countless stories of fresh encounters with God through both solitude and conversations with others…in the steam-room. Interesting. Which raises the question, “what has God been trying to say to you while your sitting in your local sauna?”

Anyway, I’m praying - along with Ken - that visits to the steam-room this month will be rich, deep, Holy Spirit filled…that God would flood Ken’s heart and mind with fresh thoughts on how to retell an ancient and personal account of the person, purpose and plan of Jesus…The Chronicles of Jesus.

One of the ways I celebrated my “31st” last week was by traveling down to Wilson, NC to speak at an area youth event, organized by one of my former youth students, Auston Jones (who I’m so proud of for having the courage to step out and go after something like this for his high-school senior project) and one of my best friends, Stephen Combs, who is the Worship/Youth Pastor at Wilson Community Church. The event drew students from 9 counties and was focused toward challenging teenagers toward a life of sexual abstinence and spiritual freedom. I was honored to be invited as the speaker for the evening and to rejoin so many of my friends in Wilson. (Special thanks to my friends at WAYnet (Wilson Area Youth Network) for sponsoring the event)

It was especially exciting to have my dad with me - although I have to admit I was nervous when he told me he wanted to go with me. I made sure he was aware that I would be talking to a few hundred teenagers about SEX and that I might say some things that would cause him to feel a bit uncomfortable…but he went anyway, and I’m so glad he did!

I was amazed to watch how God moved that evening and was blown away that He would invite me into such an awesome opportunity. The main point of my talk for the evening was to communicate to students God’s heart for them; not to talk to them about a whole bunch of stuff that God is against, but instead to paint a picture of all He’s for - our lives, our futures, our best interest, a better life than we or anyone else could ever dream up for ourselves. You see, I believe if we could ever really believe that God truly has our best interest at heart that it would radically draw us into a life of repentance and purity. But like the first man and first woman, somewhere in the midst of life, we believe God is holding out on us and we simply aren’t going to wait on Him for a better future. So my desire was for these kids to hear God’s heart for them, perhaps getting a fresh perspective on who He truly is and to know that He is for us.

At the end of my talk, I had two students from Fike High School approach me who just wanted to say how much they enjoyed the talk. One of them indicated that he was an atheist, and though he didn’t believe the same way I did, how refreshing it was to hear a different perspective on God. I was later told that he and his friend were asking middle-schoolers around them to be quiet so they could hear what was being said. Wow. I’m praying God will ultimately capture these guys hearts and that His word would be ’sealed’ and grown like a seed deep within them… Amazing.

Perhaps the most amazing part of the evening was what I heard the following day - that 103 students had indicated they desired to live a life of sexual abstinence and that 41 students had accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives as well! I was and still am blown away…especially with the fact that I didn’t really give an invitation or a call-to-commitment at the end of my talk! For me, it was just a refreshing reminder that when we allow God room to work, what amazing things He can truly accomplish through us! For those of you who know me, I do everything I can to downplay numbers, but as my friend Frank Bishoff would say, every person counts as one in God’s kingdom…and for that I’m thankful.

The night before I spoke, I asked my brothers at Awaken to pray over me for the empowering and anointing of God’s Spirit, not so that I would be successful as a speaker, but so that God heart and His voice would be heard loud, simple and clear through me. Thanks, brothers! I certainly feel that prayer was answered in a powerful way.

There are few things in life that could give me such satisfaction, and I couldn’t think of a better way to spend my birthday…

• Please continue to pray for the students who made decisions that evening and for the adults and youth workers who care so much for them, that they’d have the wisdom and courage to follow-up with them.
• Also, send Auston Jones a word of encouragement by clicking here…
• See another posting of this event at GaryCombs.org (Thankful for Partnership)
  

Last week was an amazing week for me, and perhaps one of the best birthdays I’ve ever had. On Friday evening (May 9th) several of our friends from around Greensboro dropped in to celebrate with me over some grilled BBQ chicken-tenders and some delicious side-dishes.

Now, everyone was specifically asked not to bring gifts (a few folks decided to break the rules, but how could I be angry about that?), so I really wasn’t expecting to receive anything; only to enjoy the company of the folks who have poured life into me in so many ways and who have allowed me the privilege of their friendships and the opportunity to journey with them in life. (By the way, thanks to all of you who came and even to those of you who just couldn’t make it…I love you all).

Near the end of our evening together, after getting to cut into one of the most beautiful cakes I’ve ever laid eyes on (a UNC cake that was pretty darn delicious, too!), Molly handed me a bag that contained a gift that was being given on behalf of everyone there and people who couldn’t be there. I reached in and pulled out a black leather journal, my initials engraved on the front, containing page after page of words of encouragement from friends all around. I was totally surprised and overwhelmed at the same time! I couldn’t help but to browse through the pages, where Molly pasted sentence after sentence of words written by people who have meant so much to me over the years. That evening after everyone left, Molly and I sat around the fire-pit while I read every single entry, my eyes flooded with tears, my heart filled with laughter and my mind replaying memory after memory. It made me want to call every single person that night just to say thank you.

So, if I haven’t told you personally already…THANK YOU!

I can’t begin to put into words you how much a gift like this means to me…what an amazing wife I have and for how awesome she is for pulling this together and how much I appreciate her hard work and her creativity just to remind me of my value to her, to Christ and to others…how much my relationships mean to me…how rich and life-giving each word on the pages of this journal truly are…

…how much I wish each person I know could have a gift like this.

Already today so many of you (my family and friends) have called to bless me as I celebrate my “31st.” I looked at Molly this morning in bed and asked her how it felt to be married to someone in their “thirty-somethings.” She doesn’t seem to mind - and besides, how lucky am I to be married to such a young chick now? My girls (Molly and Julia) surprised me with a few gifts this morning, and both of my ‘moms’ sang “happy birthday” to me over the phone. What an awesome morning!

Anyway, thanks to each of you…for your friendships, and for the joy, encouragement and strength I draw from each of you. Out of my need for Christ, I need you in my life. Know how much of a blessing you are to me today - each of you! My friend, Peter Kim, and I were talking yesterday about the amazing gift of having people in your life who not only depend on you, but who you also depend on - a term known as interdependence. What a hope Christ has given us to look at one another in humility and love and say, “I need you and having you in my life makes things okay!” Thanks for being that for me as I hope to pour the same back into you…

Tonight, I will be traveling to Wilson to speak to some teenagers there about navigating through sexuality and God’s plan to move them toward His dream for their lives. I would so appreciate your prayers over this time…that God’s heart would be heard in a clear and simple way tonight through me, and that He would restore hope and bring healing to the kids who are desperate for it, and strength to those who feel like they’re a fish swimming upstream…

Blessings, life and peace today…

Here’s a video my friend Jeff Harris sent me. This is what Julia and I watch on Saturday mornings together. Does this cause you to reminisce?