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Who Wrote the Bible? // What’s in the Bible?

Jeremy

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September 11, 2015

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Who wrote the Bible?

Good question, right?

Well, some kids in the video gave some possible answers to that question. Here are some of their thoughts:

lots of people who love Jesus
only one
maybe two people
nobody
lots of writers
the disciples, apostles
God made the Bible
Nehemiah
David
Moses
prophets and apostles
some people who listened to God and write down what he says

Did God write the Bible?

Not necessarily. The Bible is referred to as “God’s Word.” It means that it is inspired by God, but not actually written by him. To be inspired means to breathe or blow into.

In essence, inspiration means:

God breathed into people the ideas and thoughts he wanted them to write about.
(Pastor Paul)

God inspired humans to write and they chose the words. In other words, the Bible is God’s truth communicated through people’s words.

Who were the people who God used to write the books of the Bible?

Moses wrote the Torah or Pentateuch, which are the 5 books of the Bible
Ezra wrote 1 & 2 Chronicles, Ezra and Nehemiah
David authored most of the Psalms
Solomon wrote Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Songs
The major and minor prophets were written by the men those books are named for
Jeremiah probably wrote Lamentations
The Gospels were written by Matthew, Mark, Luke and John
Acts was also written by Luke
John also wrote 1, 2 and 3 John as well as what he saw in the Revelation
James, the brother of Jesus, wrote James
The disciple Peter wrote 1 and 2 Peter
Paul wrote most of the epistles in the NT from Romans thru Philemon

What about the books we don’t know who the author is?

We don’t know.

How can we trust them if we don’t know who wrote them?

We don’t trust the Bible because we know who wrote them. We trust them because they’re in the Bible. We believe God not only inspired the authors, but also the process by which they made it into the Bible. (Phil Vischer)

So how did the process of canonization work and how can we trust it? That’s for next time.

source What’s in the Bible? Curriculum Unit 1 Week 2

What is the Bible? // What’s in the Bible?

Jeremy

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September 4, 2015

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What is the Bible?

Perhaps science can answer this question… According to Doctor Schniffenhousen, the Bible is 3 things:

Paper: made from wood.
Ink: derived from black carbon and oil.
Leather wrapper: made from a cow.

Tongue-in-cheek: Perhaps science cannot answer this question :).

“Never ask a scientist to do a Sunday school teacher’s job.”
(Sunday school lady)

The Bible is book and it isn’t a book. It has words and pages and chapters just like other books, but it’s actually a collection of books. There are 66 books in the Bible to be exact.

There are books of history, poetry, letters, and apocalyptic books about the end of the world. The Bible was written by more than 40 people and over the span of 1600 years.

How does one story, the story of God and what He’s done for us, play out across different books? (Buck Denver)

How is the Bible put together?

One can tell how the Bible is organized by looking at the table of contents. The Bible is divided into two sections:

The Old Testament (OT), which has 39 books (in Protestant Bibles), 46 books (in Catholic Bibles), and 50 books (in Orthodox Bibles).
The New Testament (NT), which has 27.

Why do different Bibles have different number of books? Shouldn’t they all be the same?

Pirate Pete rephrases the question:

“What happened in the middle (between Jesus and us)?”

In 400 AD, a man named Jerome tried to translate the OT from the original Hebrew language of the TaNaKH into Latin. The translation the church had used up to this point was from a Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible (OT) called the Septuagint. The Septuagint was the OT used by Jews and Christians who spoke Greek.

The Septuagint had about 15 extra books of Jewish history added to it that had also been translated from Hebrew to Greek. They were interesting books of Jewish history, but were not a part of the original Hebrew Bible.

When Jerome set out to write the Latin translation he only included a few of the extra books (with a note that said they weren’t as important as the official books of the Jewish Bible).

When Martin Luther and the other Reformers translated the Bible into the common language of the day (German and English), they put those extra books into a section called the Apocrypha. Eventually those books got dropped and weren’t included in Protestant Bibles, but were still included in Catholic and Orthodox Bibles. Hence the different numbers of books.

Are there different numbers of books in the New Testament? Nope. Everyone agrees on that number.

Each section is broken up into four sections.

The Old Testament has:

Torah or the Pentateuch (five books): Genesis—Deuteronomy
Historical books: Joshua—Esther
Wisdom literature: Job—Song of Songs
Prophets (Major and Minor): Isaiah—Malachi

The New Testament has:

Gospels: Matthew—John (the story of Jesus)
Acts of the Apostles (early days of the church and Paul’s missionary trips)
Epistles (letters): Romans—Jude
Revelation (apocalyptic book from John)

The word testament comes from the Latin word, testamentum, which means: oath or covenant (promise). So the Old and New Testaments can also be called the old and new promise.

Who is making these big promises in the Bible and what are they promising?

The Bible is the story of God and what He’s done for us” (Brother Louie and Chuckwagon).

Summary

The Bible is a collection of books divided into two sections or promises that God made to humans, how He kept that promise, and what it means to us today (how it helps us understand our world.

Why did God have to make these promises?

And what did He promise?

And why should you care?

Tune in next week: Who wrote the Bible?

source What’s in the Bible? Curriculum Unit 1 Week 1

Is Donating Food to Non-Profits In Order to Feed the Hungry a Liability?

Uncategorized

Jeremy

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July 31, 2015

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Is Donating Food to Non-Profits In Order to Feed the Hungry a Liability?

John Oliver on “Last Week Tonight” did a piece on food waste.

Oliver referenced grocery stores throwing away food instead of donating it. The reason they don’t donate is because they are afraid of getting sued, cite liability as an issue, and call it a “health and safety issue.” The host made a humorous reference to the hungry having high-powered lawyers!

Oliver also cited a US law called the “Bill Emerson Good Samaritan Food Donation Act” (October 1, 1996) that protects businesses from liability when they donate food to non-profits. Last Week Tonight researched the common misconception that businesses can get sued for donating food to non-profits and it has never happened (as of June 2013 and the University of Arkansas School of Law “Food Recovery: A Legal Guide”)!

“…a thorough search of filings and review of reported decisions did not turn up a single case that involved food donation-related liability…”

I wonder if businesses are just unaware of this law, or they don’t want to be the guinea pig for testing this law in the courts?

For several years, hwcYouth Wednesday night Youth group used to receive day-old bakery items for $1 from a couple of local businesses in Hayward. That practice stopped at the beginning of last year because the businesses claimed a “health and safety issue.” I have also heard the same thing has happened with the Hayward Community Food Shelf (Hayward’s local food pantry). Local grocery stores stopped donating food to the this food shelf for liability-related issues.

Which begs the question:

If a United States Law exists (since 1996) that protects businesses from liability when donating food in good faith, why are businesses not donating food to non-profit organizations? Is it ignorance of the law? Or is it fear of liability?

I don’t know… but somehow we should fix this. There is too much perfectly good food getting thrown in dumpsters when there are folks who are hungry!

source YouTube

Children, Youth and Family Discipleship // Seminar

Ministry

Jeremy

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July 1, 2015

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Children, Youth and Family Discipleship // Seminar

The Wisconsin District of the Wesleyan Church added a few new elements to their annual conference. One of them was a couple of breakout session opportunities. They offered four workshops, with four different presenters and gave attendants the option of going to two of them.

I was asked to be one of the presenters and my workshop was focused on “Children, Youth and Family Discipleship.”

I promised those who attended my breakout session that I would post all the material online. Here it is:

Notes (PDF, 605kb)
PowerPoint (PowerPoint, 7.10mb)
Image Slides (.zip, 704kb)

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A Monologue from Joseph on the Birth of Jesus

Theology

Jeremy

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May 29, 2015

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A Monologue from Joseph on the Birth of Jesus

Share Joseph’s perspective on the birth of Jesus (from Matthew 1:18-23).

Dress up in a Bible costume and pretend to be Joseph.

Hi. My name is Joseph. You’ve seen me in all the Christmas plays and movies because I am Mary’s husband (Jesus’ mother). But that’s getting ahead of ourselves.

I was betrothed to an amazing young lady. Her name was Mary. She was so awesome! I was so excited to get to spend the rest of my life with such a wonderful and kind young woman. Things were going so well. I was preparing the home we were going to live in. Mary was preparing herself for marriage. Everything was going according to plan.

Do you know what “according to plan” means? Well, the plan means that you get betrothed (you all call it getting engaged). Then you get ready for marriage. Then you have a week-long marriage celebration. Then you and your wife become one. You move into the house the man has been preparing. Then, God-willing, children come along. Children, after all, are a sign of God’s favor and blessing on a marriage.

That was the plan: betrothal, preparation, marriage, and children. First one down and Mary and I are working on the second part: preparation.

Then the plan got wrecked. Oh man did it get wrecked. I discovered that Mary was pregnant. That’s not the right order of the plan. Then she told me that the Holy Spirit was responsible for her pregnancy. Yeah right. God miraculously made you have a baby. Yeah, sure. That’s a convenient excuse for being pregnant before marriage…blame it on God.

I was so devastated. And yet, I loved Mary. I didn’t want to break the betrothal publicly, but I had to break it off…it was the right thing to do. So instead of publically break it off with Mary, I had it in mind to do it privately. This is the tension of love and justice. I didn’t want to, but I had to.

Then the most incredible, wild, and strange thing happened: I was visited by an angel of the Lord in a dream. Yeah, if someone were to tell me that, I wouldn’t believe them either (kind of like how I didn’t believe Mary). Here’s what the angel said:

“Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name of Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

So Mary was right all along! I felt horrible with the way I had treated her. It took God Himself to tell me what was really going on. Jesus. The Savior of our people. Wow.

So I did the only thing I knew to do. I obeyed. Even though it was very scandalous and lots of people talked, I married Mary and when the baby was born, I named him Jesus. Jesus, that little baby would become the one God would use to save our people, and the world, or our sins. To rescue us. To forgive us. Pretty amazing story, huh? Yep, if I were you, I’d have difficulty believing it, too. It takes great faith to believe something that you can’t see. Trust me, I know!

Intentional Leaders Imitate Jesus

Ministry

Jeremy

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May 27, 2015

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I’ve been thinking a lot lately about discipleship and ministry and life.

It all started a few years back when one of my colleagues in ministry, Pastor Loretta Sunderland, and I were looking over the fruit of the youth ministry we both so zealously engaged in over the years and we didn’t see much of it. Sure there were the exceptions to the rule and the few that had more grounding at home or with other mentors, but by and large, we didn’t see much fruit in the lives of the students we were graduating from high school and beyond. This was disconcerting for us because we both thought we were doing a great job at having an engaging and meaningful Youth group on Wednesday nights and a lot of fun activities beyond youth group nights. But it wasn’t happening.

So we started to think about how to disciple a core group of students who were hungry all while maintaining the status quo with the normal youth group on Wednesdays. This strategy ultimately failed because we ended up creating two separate Youth groups: one for the good kids and one for the bad kids! One for the spiritual ones (in-reach) and another for the hopefully spiritual ones (out-reach). This was not good because the out-reach group needed the disciples of Jesus to be around them, but the in-reach group didn’t want to go to the out-reach group and felt secure and comfortable in their own group.

So lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about what discipleship looks like and how to go about engaging both groups (spiritual and non-spiritual). One thing that has helped the last couple of years (especially this year) was a spoken expectation on Wednesday nights that if you are hungry for the things of God then this is a welcome place for you to feast on Jesus or at least sample what Jesus Christ has to offer. We have since lost the ones who came JUST for fun or JUST to hang out with their friends. We do have fun, but that’s because everyone who comes to Youth now is either really hungry, or at the very least, a little curious about what this Christianity thing is all about.

Unknowingly, we have created an environment for both spiritually-minded and seekers alike (both the in-reach and the out-reach) to engage in the things of God without having to create two different groups with two different aims.

After all, why would a seeker want a group just for them? If a seeker is just around a bunch of other seekers, how will he or she ever get a real picture of what they are looking for if the audience is all seekers and not actively engaged disciples of Jesus? If, however, a group of actively engaged disciples of Jesus are learning how to follow Christ and are doing it according to how Jesus modeled it, then seekers who are actually seeking should feel entirely comfortable and challenged to be in a group of growing disciples rather than an environment catered just to them.

At least that’s what we’ve experienced this year at Youth. We have focused on growing disciples of Jesus and have a wide-open posture of welcoming anyone in who is hungry to learn more about God (no matter where they are on the spectrum of Christianity: dead, infant, child, young adult, or parent).

In the past we have engaged with curriculum, but it hasn’t produced disciples.

This year, however, I am noticing that we (all because of the Holy Spirit’s work) are encouraging and exhorting disciples of Jesus to engage in Jesus-centered spirituality as well as live it out. We are actually seeing the fruit of Gospel growth in both qualitative and quantitative ways (not the quantity our group used to be, we have less than half of the numbers we used to run).

We are learning what it means to have a plan, but not be limited by a curriculum or a certain structure (or expectation of what that structure even needs to be). In essence, we are learning what it means to make disciples in the same way Jesus did: asking hungry people to follow Him, studying the text Jesus knew so well, and engage in this kind of Jesus-like life together in community and on mission for Him.

This takes intention on our part as leaders. After all, if we’re not growing in the LORD ourselves, then how can we possibly ask students to follow Jesus with any integrity.

So that’s what we’re doing at Youth group at Hayward Wesleyan Church:

We are trying to imitate Jesus ourselves and lead students to do the same all in a highly relational environment!

Reflections on Being a Kids Camp Counselor

Jeremy

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May 20, 2015

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Reflections on Being a Kids Camp Counselor

For the last several years, I have directed a Kids Camp. I ran all the operations, led the staff, tried to keep everyone safe, and managed the environment and expectations of all those involved. No small task.

This past year, however, I demoted myself. Because I’m in graduate school I needed to step back from a few responsibilities, so I tendered my Kids Camp Director resignation. I’m still involved with Kids Camp, but I’m now just a counselor.

That’s a funny way of saying it: “just” a counselor (there’s no “just” about it!). Being a cabin counselor and not the whole camp director anymore gave me some incredible perspective on what it takes to engage with 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade students for 5 days and 4 nights.

Here are a few of the things I learned as a former-director and fresh cabin counselor:

Giving the campers time to read their Bibles is so important. Kids Camp, after all, is a Bible camp. We are not just a fun summer experience of spending a week away from one’s parents and having fun (although we do spend a week away from parents and we do really want to have fun!). Stepping away from the culture has a way of quieting kids’ hearts and minds where they are really searching and asking great questions. Normal culture is so loud that it is difficult for children, parents and adults alike to hear the voice and direction of God. I was amazed at the hunger of my campers when I gave them time to read their Bibles. They couldn’t get enough of it. They wanted more. And as they read their Bibles they began to ask all sorts of good questions! It was amazing!!

Counselors need to have a delicate balance between being firm and compassionate with their campers. What we need to always remember is these are kids who are without their Mom and Dad for 5 days. They need guidance and a whole lot of room to be a kid. Sure they need to be managed. Sure they need to be safe. Sure I needed to be the adult at various times to prevent kids from falling through the exposed rafters in the ceiling (they loved to climb on those!). But kids are kids. My constant “be careful” or “stop doing that” might be appropriate in small doses, but I found myself saying those things more often than I realized I did. I backed off a little and let them be kids. And they still survived. Also, I didn’t realize how important being compassionate and tender would be with my group of 3rd grade boys. I thought they’d be able to function more maturely than they actually could. And not only did I need to be tender, but I had to strike a delicate balance between tenderness and firmness. It was fun!

Counselors are immersed all day long with their cabin of campers. It can be real tiring. Moments of reprieve in the day are welcome. During the school year, when children have a day off of school for something, spending the whole day with your children can be tiring. Imagine doing that for 5 straight days with a group of 9 kids! Each day is exhausting. Having moments where I wasn’t in charge and could take a break was helpful.

Having a positive attitude and outlook on things is good. If the counselor is complaining or in general has a bad attitude, his/her campers will reflect that same attitude. The kids look to the counselor to see how to live life at camp. They take their cues from the closest adult to them. If the counselor participates, then the campers participate. If the counselor sits down during the singing and doesn’t engage, then his/her students will sit down and not engage. I never realized the extent of the influence a counselor’s attitude had on the student’s’ experience at camp.

The Cottonmouth Children’s Book Series

Jeremy

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May 19, 2015

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Tim Keller shares an applicable story related to substitutionary atonement (fitting for a children’s book review, right?!):

What if you and a friend were walking alongside of a river and your friend looked over at you and said: “I want to show you how much I love you,” and this friend throws him/herself into the river and drowns… could this act be an expression of sacrificial love? No! It doesn’t make any sense. I could tell my friend that I loved them through words and actions, not one of suicide.

What if, however, you and a friend were walking alongside the same river and you happen to fall in… and your friend jumped into the raging waters and saved your life, but in the process he/she ended up being succumbed to the water? Even without words, but in action, it could be said that this friend truly loved you.

Keller sums up this story by identifying the important principle at work: You have to be in trouble for someone to die for you as an expression of love. Otherwise it’s a waste of a life. In other words, Jesus didn’t just die to demonstrate his love to us for no reason. Jesus died on the cross because humanity was in trouble! We are in danger! When we look at it from that angle, we can begin to understand how deeply Jesus loved us and how great the Father heart of God is for humanity.

C.S. Fritz’s three-part Cottonmouth series illustrates in allegorical detail such a story of sacrificial love.

Somewhat cryptically, the audience learns that Frederick Cottonmouth has lost his parents to the river and it has been two years. Freddie encounters a black egg and eventually meets a monster by the name of Tug with whom he enjoys an incredible series of pictorial adventures. The audience is introduced to the antagonist in the story, a rat named Menson who deceives Freddie into doing something that he promised Tug he would never do. Frederick Cottonmouth’s act of betrayal causes him to be sick. He is told that he is going to suffer and die. In an act of sacrificial love, Tug allows himself to be taken by the river in order to take Freddie’s pain away. This is the story of the first book, Cottonmouth and the River.

The second installment finds a both a gift and a mission that Tug bestows to Freddie. Compelled by Tug’s sacrifice, young Frederick Cottonmouth embarks on an adventure to find the girl with two-colored eyes and The Great Blue. This is the story of the second book, Cottonmouth and the Great Gift.

The third and final installment starts in a deep hole and a sort of entrance to The Great Blue. Young Frederick Cottonmouth must trust in his relationship with Tug and Yellowthroat to succeed in delivering the black egg to the girl with two-colored eyes in The Great Blue. In order to be successful, Menson and his constant deception must be encountered. What will Freddie do? This the basic plot-line of the third book, Cottonmouth and the End.

I read these three books to my two daughters (currently ages 6 and 8). They were mesmerized by the tale of Frederick Cottonmouth and his friend, Tug. Each book carried incredible connections for them with Scripture and they found themselves wondering with hopeful anticipation how the series would end. We didn’t read these stories to them in succession in one sitting, rather we read the first book one night, the second book the following night, and we didn’t read the third book until a few days later. When the second book ended, the girls screamed: “What?! Read the next one, Dad, please!” The Cottonmouth and the Great Gift ends on a great cliffhanger (or a hole hanger). It made them thirsty for more.

I asked my girls what they liked about the books and they loved the adventures of Freddie and especially the descriptions of Tug. My oldest kept making connections to the story of the Bible and Tug’s seemingly allusion to a Savior-figure. As a parent, I really like it when literature has a depth and an interpretive element to it. The Cottonmouth series does a phenomenal job of leaving things open for interpretation.

Personally, while I was reading these books to my kids, I found myself confused and disoriented at times. Some events, situations, and characters weren’t developed as much as they could have been. But that could be up for interpretation as well. I found myself lost as to why certain things were happening the way they were happening without much explanation. It didn’t seem to bother my kids, though. A fanciful world of intrigue and adventure doesn’t have to make sense to a child, and much was left to one’s imagination.

One last thought: This series has a sort of mystery to it that borders on being somewhat scary. I found myself looking over at my girls as I read these stories at bedtime when it was getting dark to make sure they were okay. This trilogy references things that are scary and dark, things that are ominous and dangerous. It wasn’t at all inappropriate, but if children are easily scared, it might be a good idea for one to read it before it is read to their children. A discerning parent/caregiver is the best one to screen any kind of literature or media because they have a heart for developing their children in healthy and appropriately challenging ways.

C.S. Fritz pulls off an amazing three-part children’s series that engages with all the senses and leaves children on the edge of their pillow as they wonder what Freddie will do with Tug’s instructions and Yellowthroat’s direction.

The King.

Jeremy

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May 12, 2015

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The fourth chapter of the book Echoes of His Presence is about kingship.

Herod was an Edomite, a descendant of Esau, Jacob (Israel’s) brother. Herod ruled Jacob. Rumors of a Messiah born in Bethlehem were doubtful because an Edomite still ruled over Israel.

“Hadn’t other self-proclaimed messiahs only brought more bloodshed?”

Herod moved from the Herodian to Jericho in the winter.

“These Jews! Every baby boy was a possible messiah. They were obsessed with the subject, forever talking about this messiah of theirs.”

Herod was known for his building projects:

a new Temple for the Jews (and colonnaded courts)
Caesarea’s harbor
palaces at Jericho and Masada
“vast cisterns, aqueducts, pools, baths” (p. 38).
and the Herodian (a mountain built with a fortress on top).

Herod had “devised a trademark design for his building stones… Herod’s stones, they called them” (p. 38). “For the Jew, Esau and Edom were synonyms for evil” (p. 40).

Shepherd’s challenge:

“Will you believe that regardless of how powerful Herod appears to be—regardless of how great his fortresses, how extensive his influence, and how pervasive his evil—he is not the king?

“Will you believe that the descendants of Esau are not in control and that evil has not won the day?

“Will you trust that in God’s plan, what appears to be is not?

“Will you believe that this baby born in a humble manger is the true King, Lord of heaven and earth, through whose weakness the strength of Almighty God will be seen?”

Modern followers of Jesus’ challenge:

“Will you believe that the One who is truly King, seated at God’s right hand in heaven, is the One who appears weak and not strong?

“Will you trust God’s Word and not your own perceptions?”

Ray Vanderlaan does a phenomenal job bringing the first century in Palestine to life for a modern reader in Echoes of His Presence. He also brings a depth of understanding of the Scriptures as to how Jesus would have understood Jesus.

How Do You Respond When Things Are Out of Your Control?

Ministry

Jeremy

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May 7, 2015

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How Do You Respond When Things Are Out of Your Control?

Recently we took our Youth group to a High Ropes Challenge course in the area. There ended up being a miscommunication issue that caused a misunderstanding with the logistics related to everyone in our group being able to actually participate in the challenge course.

For those who manage groups on one side of the coin and an organization that has to plan in order to accommodate those groups, it can be difficult. It was difficult to get an accurate number of how many were actually coming from our Youth group in an ample amount of time for the organization to prepare and have the right amount of staff available. We ended up having more students than they had facilitators to safely take students through the course. We made it work though. In order for 7 of our students to not have to sit out we quickened the pace (more than normal) for the other 3 groups so that these 7 extra students could participate. (There weren’t 7 specific students to blame because how we had students sign up for this event didn’t leave 7 students on the bottom, it was just that the organization had planned for 30 students and we brought 37). This was more our group’s fault and we worked with the camp to see how we could make it happen where everyone could participate.

None of our 37 students were aware of the reshuffling or that there was even an issue. It was something the adults handled and worked out among themselves (this could be a post with a lesson in and of itself).

And it worked… for a little while.

We ended up making 4 total groups. 2 groups had 10 students each, while the other 2 groups had 9 students each (we had an adult leader who jumped in on one group).

The fourth group of 9 consistent of all middle school girls. This was the group that felt, more than any other group, the consequences of our two organizations’ misunderstanding. They had to wait and watch for a while… a lot longer than was ideal… especially for middle school girls… and they got antsy.

At some point in the waiting, I felt it was important to let them in on what happened, apologize to them for it, and create a teaching opportunity our of it.

I gathered the girls together and told them what happened (the Cliff-notes version) and apologized that they were the ones who were suffering the consequences (they were the one who had to wait while all the other groups were moving along nicely).

Then I asked an important question:

“How do you respond to things that happen to you that are out of your control?”

This question was meant to capitalize on the uncomfortable-ness of the moment because something had happened to them that was out of their control. This question sparked a great 5-minute discussion about how they each act when things happen that is out of their control. And they were really honest about their responses! It was great!

What a gift to be able to step outside of yourself and ask why you react the way you do in certain uncomfortable situations. It was great learning moment for them. 5 minutes was just long enough to have a worthwhile discussion and response time and just short enough to keep middle school girls engaged.

Overcoming Fear on a High Ropes Course

Jeremy

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May 6, 2015

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Recently we took our Youth group to a High Ropes Course in the area. One of the four groups had a student that was having some difficulty with her confidence.

To put it more accurately, she was freaked out!

She made it through the first element and decided that she was sufficiently freaked out enough to want to stop and get down. This ropes course adopts the challenge-by-choice method, so if a student chooses to stop, then they honor that decision. I was close by on the sidelines so I encouraged her to continue, but as I did so, I realized it seemed like her mind was made up.

Knowing this student rather well, I paused and tried a different tactic. I am very familiar with the staff of this ropes course, so this tactic had some merit because of my relationship with the course leader. I looked over at my friend, Larry, and asked him a question just loud enough for this young lady to hear:

“Larry. Has anyone ever fallen off this ropes course?”

“Nope,” Larry replied, quickly realizing what I was doing.

“So she can trust in the equipment?” I asked, again, loud enough for the student to hear.

“Absolutely,” Larry responded.

“Did you hear that [name of student]?” I asked. “Your equipment is sound. You will not fall. Now the only thing holding you back is YOU. You can overcome this fear.”

And then I told her that the final decision was hers and I would support whatever she decided. I stopped talking at this point because I didn’t want to hound her. Plus I wanted to give her room to wrestle with her decision on her own.

About a minute later she shocked me (I thought she was done), and she told the instructor that she wanted to keep going! Even the instructor was surprised! She told me later that she thought the student was done as well. The instructor told the student “good job” for wanting to continue.

I could tell, however, that she was still on the bubble a little, so I had one more piece of advice for her:

“Hey [student’s name], make sure you communicate to your teammates and to your instructor what you need. For example, would you like someone on both sides of you as you go through this next element?”

She nodded her head rapidly.

“Then make sure you tell people what you need.”

And she did! She actually made it through the whole challenge course without any more hesitation. That doesn’t mean she wasn’t sufficiently freaked out, rather, she chose to have faith in something outside of herself (in this case, the equipment) as well as in those she was navigating the ropes course with. In other contexts of her life, it could be the LORD, teachers, coaches, parents, pastors, or maybe a future spouse that she’ll have to trust. Will she bail on them? Maybe. But maybe not. This middle school girl faced an incredible fear in her life that day and instead of quitting and not working through that fear, she chose (with the encouragement and help from others), on her own, to continue. It was a great day for this young girl!

At the end, before she zip-lined down she yelled for my attention:

“Jeremy! I made it!!”

“I know!” I yelled back. “I can see. Good job! I’m proud of you!!”

And I was.

The Good Shepherd.

Jeremy

-

May 5, 2015

1

The third chapter of the book Echoes of His Presence is about shepherding.

“Lead the sheep along the path you want them to follow… don’t walk on one path while they’re on another. Keep a straight path between you and the sheep. If you don’t, they’ll wander off the edge or into danger.”

The market for sheep was located near the Sheep Gate in Jerusalem at the Temple. Dishonest dealers had expanded the Temple market into the Court of the Gentiles.

“They have taken away the Gentiles’ place of prayer.”

Sheep are trusting:

“I could lead them anywhere and they would follow my voice.”

At nightfall:

“…a good shepherd dropped back among the sheep, walking with them down into the valley shadows… they need to see you, to feel you with them… they must hear your voice.”

Shepherds don’t drive sheep they lead them.

“From one moment to the next, the sheep depend on the leading of the shepherd and the sufficiency of the grazing he provides.”

We, like sheep, must trust our shepherd for sufficiency in the moment.

“Not one of us knows for sure that we have what it takes to deal with what will happen to us a few days from now (or even a few minutes from now) anymore than the sheep have the grass to satisfy the hunger of tomorrow… all we have is what’s sufficient for this moment.”

And when it gets dark and life gets scary or we face pain or suffering:

“…the shepherd drops back and walks with them.”

“Jesus, our Passover Lamb, born among the flocks of Bethlehem and visited by the Bethlehem shepherds, understands well what it means to be a strong, faithful shepherd.”

Ray Vanderlaan does a phenomenal job bringing the first century in Palestine to life for a modern reader in Echoes of His Presence. He also brings a depth of understanding of the Scriptures as to how Jesus would have understood Jesus.