| |
|
 Jesus
has been shaped and reshaped into many different forms over the years
by a lot of different people. For some people, Jesus has been reshaped
into the form of a rabbit's foot, pulled out of their pocket any time
they get into trouble or need some kind of special luck.  For
other people, Jesus has been shaped into a utilitarian genie who must
jump at every whim when they rub the magic lamp. To still other people,
Jesus has become a life insurance policy that they signed some time
ago when they raised their hand or came forward for an altar call at
a worship celebration. Unfortunately, many times God is changed more
than we are changed. It's a shame to know that our faith won't impact
the world. If our faith doesn't turn us upside down, how will our faith
ever turn the world upside down?
 The
events of this past month have made me focus on what's really important
in life. It's caused me to evaluate my core beliefs in who God is and
what I believe God to be. In fact, the events of this past month have
brought America back to God. We've seen it through community prayers.
We've seen churches at record attendance with standing room only. Often
when tragedy comes to our lives, it brings us back to our beginning
- our very first call. It has helped me realize how it is that I got
here. Why I'm here and where I'm going.
Maybe
I should back up just a moment and introduce myself to you. For those
of you who don't know, my name is Andy. I have been given the privilege
of overseeing the student ministry here at Ginghamsburg Church and I'm
very excited about that. My wife, Kellie, and our 11-month-old son are
in Charleston, South Carolina, still. I miss them very much but hopefully
they will be joining me very soon. I come by way of Charleston by way
of southern California where I grew up and spent most of my life and
here I am now in Tipp City, Ohio. And excited to be here, believe it
or not.
My wife
and I love working with teenagers, with students. But we love even more
to see God's hand move in student's lives to the point where they would
turn away from following the pressures of their peers and authentically
follow the call of God. There is nothing more exciting to me than to
see a young person's life radically changed by the call of Jesus Christ.
Together with the leadership of Ginghamsburg Church, my wife and I,
after a lot of prayer, believe that this is the right place and the
right time for us to be here. We're excited about the future of the
student ministry here and I believe that there is an awesome new horizon
for the youth here. I don't say that because I think that we have something
awesome to bring to the table. I say that because I believe God's dream
for the youth of this church has yet to be realized - that we have just
scratched the surface. |
