Wordle

I ran across a cool website the other day. It takes groups of words (according to the number of usages) and makes sweet designs . This picture is an expression of the words from this blog. Check it out. Click on the picture to get a better look.

So you want to be a leader

I was in New Orleans last week attending a workshop. The class was worship leadership and I learned a lot. But the biggest thing I learned did not happen in the class room. On Monday night, I took advantage of the free supper being offered in the cafeteria. Due to the one hour break we had between class sessions, there were a ton of people cruising through the chow line. As I sat at the table with a couple of friends, I watched as a guy stood in front of the trash cans and took people's trays. As the time passed, this same gentleman started making the rounds throughout the room, taking trays from the tables and depositing them in the trash. He continued his efforts for well over an hour. In fact, he was working hard enough to work up a noticeable lather. And to top it all off, he was doing it while smiling like it was the greatest day of his life.

I realize that it is not unusual to see someone helping in this way. The fascinating aspect of this story is not the what, but the who. The guy taking people's trash was the President of the Seminary. I repeat, the PRESIDENT of the Seminary! There were over 300 students visiting the campus as a part of the Red Carpet week. With this many folks visiting the campus, you would expect the President to be shaking hands, visiting, and speaking from a stage. Instead, the top leader of my Seminary was handling the trash.

It was incredible to watch people try to refuse his offer, and him respond with, "It's not a problem. Trash is my specialty." I am not a rocket scientist, but I am sure that a guy with multiple degrees that runs a seminary has other specialties.

My first dinner in New Orleans last week was very impacting for me. It was a tremendous reminder of what God has called Christians to do. We are here to serve others. Leaders are expected to humble themselves and serve others. Jesus continually met the needs of others. And when the situation called for it, He did the job no one else wanted to do. I would imagine people would want to wash feet as much as they would want to handle other people's trash.

I have never been more proud to be apart of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary than when I saw my President serving others through trash duty.

Do you know what it means....

The past two weeks away from school has been fantastic. I've played golf with Coach Hoffman. I've been to two Braves games. Watched a ton of baseball and basketball. But the time has come to get back on the wagon.

So I leave at 4:30 Monday morning for New Orleans. A week long workshop kicks off my Summer o' school.

Let's do this!

The importance of looking foolish

I have been re-reading through "In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day" by Mark Batterson. This morning I was reading about how Christians need to be ok with looking foolish. His argument was that many times Christians do do what God calls us to do because we are fearful that we 'll look foolish or uniformed.

The truth is that often what God calls us to do will look foolish to the world. He went through a pretty extensive list of people in the Bible who looked foolish to the people around them. He started with Moses, Sarai, Joshua, moved to Peter when he stepped out of the boat and finished with Jesus hanging on a cross.

Aren't you glad Jesus was willing to look foolish.

Golfing

Today was great day!

I spent the morning hiking at Ocmulgee park with the Kusnyer and the afternoon golfing with Coach. I'm about to eat some chicken fingers for dinner and watch the NBA playoffs.

Life is fantastic right now.

Summer Reading

Are you looking for something good to read while sitting poolside. I have just the thing for you. A Christian fiction work called " Indivisible" by Kristen Heitzmann.

This book is a story that follows the life of Police Chief Jonah Westfall. The reader follows Westfall as he seeks to solve a mystery not only in his work but also his personal. If you enjoy a psychological thriller, this is for you.

Below I have posted the necessary links for you to pick up a copy.

http://waterbrookmultnomah.com/catalog.php?isbn=9781400073092

http://www.amazon.com/Indivisible-Novel-Kristen-Heitzmann/dp/140007309X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1273867641&sr=8-1

Finally

Monday signaled the end of my crazy semester.
I am excited for the Summer and the adventures that will surely ensue.