Dear Christian Leaders

Dear Christian leaders,

This is a letter to the spiritual authority of today from the leaders of tomorrow. It is a plea of young adults to the college professors, youth pastors, mentors, and authority figures in Christian schools, churches, and colleges.

We want you to know that we are trying.
Many times hopeful, zealous young people have been dampened by lifeless rules and harsh condemnation. Rules are good and necessary, we understand that. But our Jesus, you see, He taught that rules were never to outweigh love. We want to be guided by you. Not through demerits, warnings, or threats - empty or otherwise, but rather, through the Word of God, through the example you've been called to be. Teach us to love righteousness by being righteous. Encourage us to be holy by portraying holiness. Educate us in the Word by being in the Word.

Bible college and Christian school is not boot camp. It is a training ground for future pastors, missionaries, and Christian servants. No one applies for a Christian school expecting to be belittled, yelled at, and treated poorly. We are saved by the same blood you are and loved by the same Saviour. It's so very hard for us to respect someone who treats us as ignorant, unworthy, unwanted children but most of the time...we really do try.

Now, we understand we make mistakes. We break rules and make stupid choices and sometimes we need to accept consequences. There's no justification for wrong doings but remember there is always glory in mercy.

A Christian education should not begin with a burning desire to serve God and end with a heavy heart laced with bitterness, discouragement, and lack of useful knowledge. Instead, it should give us an incentive to do even more for Christ than we ever intended.

We ask that you teach us how to share the Word through our speech, actions, and lives. Show us how to live as Jesus lived and how to love people as He loved. Those are the things we so desperately long to see in you. Oh, and please, please, please, don't attempt to teach us these through a textbook while seated on an ivory tower you have built for yourself.

We are (sometimes) smarter than you give us credit for. Just as you see clearly our flaws, we see yours too. Please, don't get upset with us for staying up after "lights out" when you sit in the pews with a sour face and refuse to sing the hymns during worship service.

One more small thing, we hate this urge to somehow prove you wrong because you have assumed we know nothing. Could you consider, just once, accepting that maybe, just maybe, we have something to teach you too?

We are grateful for your sacrifice and this isn't a rant, but rather, some thoughts to share. After all, we may someday be in your position and will need the same reminders.

Keep pressing on for Christ.

Sincerely,

The Christian Leaders of Tomorrow

P.S. - This has just been heavy on my heart for a very long time. Hopefully no offense is taken by the rather directness of this post and it is in no way meant to be disrespectful. It is meant to only be an encouragement.

"Only holy Christians are useful Christians; and the preaching of Christ’s truth must be backed up by the consistent living of Christ’s followers if it is to have its due effect upon the hearts and lives of the ungodly." - C.H.Spurgeon

The Death of a Cricket

"Hey guys, look at this cricket!"

As soon as the words left my mouth, I knew I had made a terrible mistake.

To the horror of the cricket, little feet rushed over. A thorough inspection and corresponding oohs and ahhs were in immediate order. The jumping bug was then assaulted by not one, not two, but seven preschoolers. Unfortunately, there was no merciful stomping upon said cricket. Instead, the creature was given a chance to try swimming in the nearest puddle of rain water, smothered between "sharing" exchanges, and given a "house" that consisted of fourteen hands worth of soggy mulch.

The last I saw of the poor cricket, it was missing a leg and scrambling for the nearest escape.

Of course, if I had chosen not to say anything, the cricket could have continued on his merry way without ever having been literally torn to shreds.

How true the same idea rings for the Christian. We are so quick to draw attention to others. To point a finger at the wrongs of the unbeliever, or worse, at the flaws of a brother or sister in Christ. A casual mention of sin in another brings against them swift and heavy condemnation by anyone who will side with us. The gossip chain of a "did you hear about so-and-so" spreads until the wounded soul goes limping away out of sight.

Yet somehow, instead of feeling remorseful over a distinct lack of love, we feel justified. In the darkest part of ourselves we find a sense of satisfaction in seeing a person who has chosen sin brought to their just dues.
After all, that cricket was nothing more than a filthy pest. A bug who should have been stomped into the dust before it turned into a bigger problem.

I am guilty too. Not only of subjecting a cricket to the unknown cruelties of preschoolers, but for condemning someone in the wrong without extending a solution. Like many, I have pointed out flaws in others before examining my own hidden issues.

After all, my friends, we are but lowly crickets too. Filthy and undeserving of the promise of life. Yet our Saviour looked beyond that fault and saw our need. His salvation brings life renewed and in that life, the potential for righteousness, holiness, and...a love for other sinners.Without first recognizing our own desperate need for His forgiveness and restoring love, we cannot look at others with an honest point of view.

More than anything, our mouths must be guarded. What we say regarding others, and who we say it to for that matter, must be matters of careful consideration. Remember that we are to love others simply because Jesus Christ loves us. Instead of criticizing - intercede, instead of gossip - extend grace, and instead of scorn - offer the blessed news of forgiveness. Friends, keep being molded into something more like Him!

(Oh, and the praying mantis who was discovered by the same preschool class the very next day...may it rest in peace.)





"If I belittle those whom I am called to serve, talk of their weak points in contrast perhaps with what I think of as my strong points; if I adopt a superior attitude, forgetting "Who made thee to differ? And what hast thou that thou hast not received?" then I know nothing of Calvary love." - Amy Carmichael

Things

He asked. I said yes. Soon we'll say "I do."

It is crazy how quickly life can change. Not only am I now planning a wedding, but my  wedding, and still beyond that, preparing to build the rest of my life with the man I love.

What's even more mind-boggling than that is how incredibly good God is to those who are willing to wait for Him. I cannot even begin to bless His name enough for the blessings He has bestowed upon me. 

But along with blessings come lessons too.

Because of the direction the Lord has led us, I've found myself confronted with the same struggles I was dealing with at the beginning of this year. The desire to hold on to earthly things and attachments is being tested full-force.

Things.

While I've never been especially covetous, I am very sentimental. As boxes of belongings need to be sorted through, this sentimental drive has been beating me up. On one shoulder, the small voice of self whispers, "It's okay to be attached to stuff. It's perfectly normal for a bride-to-be to load up her registry with nice things to make a house a home." On the other side, however, is voice of Jesus Christ saying, "Lay not up for yourselves treasures on the earth...but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven." While gritting my teeth, I put another box of "stuff" in the Goodwill pile. Even though most of these things aren't practical, useful, or especially heart-warming, I still hate to get rid of those extra fiction novels or the clothes I may someday fit into.

I understand there are items we need to live and even things that are acceptable to still hold on to. There is nothing wrong with nice things but the problem arises in the power hold they hold over us. In part, the reason so many of my "things" are not coming with me is because Russell and I simply don't have room in my car or in our apartment for frivolous pretties. Yet, I know within me that the Lord is just teaching me a lesson I'll need for later. Sometime the need to pull this lesson off the shelf will arise and whenever the Lord sends us to the mission field, it will be put again to the test. Better learn it now.

The whole reason the Saviour pleads with us as Christians not to put stock in earthly belongings is simply this: "For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

My treasure cannot be found in matching plate sets, white picket fences, or a way of life that culture dictates. Instead, my treasures should be found in memories, people, and experiences and ultimately, those things that bring glory to God. Those are the things that last. There is freedom found in letting go and leaving things behind and turning focus upward and outward.

Thank you all for your support and prayers! I've been wishing for a bit of extra time to sit down a write a blog post and the Lord provided it today!

On December the 8th, I'm going to marry my bestest friend and honestly, the best young man I know. Remember, my friends, that the Lord ALWAYS does exceedingly abundant above what we could ever ask or think!



“Bit by bit treasured keepsakes and souvenirs were being wrested from me. I was being taught to live so that my most treasured mementos took the form of beautiful memories stored in the file of my heart." - Darlene Deibler Rose