Courtesy of the Mountaineers being on prime time TV this Thanksgiving weekend, I got to watch parts or all of 1 football game and two basketball games.  For those of you who don’t know, I went to West Virginia University, and I bleed blue and gold, as well as orange and black (Baltimore Orioles) and burgundy and gold (Washington Redskins).  Now, I don’t mean literally, but figuratively.

Anyways, the Mountaineers football team beat the #9 Pittsburgh Panthers in the 102nd Backyard Brawl.  Though the consequences weren’t as great, it was good to see these seniors get some retribution on this team after the 2007 WVU loss (also my final home game as a student).  Some of you may know my dislike for the coaching staff, but if this game turns it around for Stewart and crew, then great.  I hope a man of his integrity could get the chance to be the head coach of a perennial top ten team.  But I don’t want to see my Mountaineers fall from that level just because of bad coaching decisions (clock management and play calling) and an inability to recruit and start the most talented players possible.  Stew’s a great man, no doubt, but he and the rest of the offensive staff changed too many things too quickly.  To those that think this win vaults us back up to the top, Rutgers still has a great chance to beat us this weekend.

The basketball team, however, I have no reservations about.  Last year, most players in the starting lineup were still learning how to play basketball.  This year, Truck Bryant, Devin Ebanks and Kevin Jones look stellar.  They know what coach Bob Huggins wants out of them.  Even though Ebanks hasn’t started yet this season, a starting lineup of Truck, DaSean Butler, Devin Ebanks, Kevin Jones and Wellington Smith is very likely going forward.  Casey Mitchell, a juco transfer from the Miami area, is a skilled shooter and will provide a boost off the bench, and Joe Mazulla allows the team to have two great point guards on the court at once, and at least one at all times.  Butler’s versatility is also amazing.  He is easily a first or second team All American this year if he continues on like he currently is.

In winning the 76 Classic to start the season, I think they have showed themselves better than their No. 8 ranking, but the voters will understand better once this team gets into the Big East schedule.  They have at least 8 players that are starting lineup-worthy.  I see big things for this team this season, especially when they get Deniz Kilicili back from his ridiculous 20-game suspension.

Thanksgiving was a great time.  Got to see my family, eat great food, and spend a half-day out in the woods letting the deer walk by as I slept in my chair.  The plane rides allowed me to study Greek and get some reading done, and it was just relaxing and fulfilling to spend a relaxing weekend with my wife.  I’m excited for our trip to Charleston, WV for Bethany’s cousin’s wedding and an early Christmas, and then for New Years weekend when my sister and brother-in-law come in for the weekend.

Before that, though, the road ahead with school is looking a little daunting with the paper deadline approaching and finals week looming.  Not really looking forward to the long nights ahead.

While we are on the topic of large churches, such as North Point, I figured I’d throw out a question while waiting on the laundry to finish up.

In class today, we were talking about how church for most people has become a place that one chooses because it best fits them, not because that church is what they need.  In a big city like Orlando, someone can basically visit churches with a shopping list of “must-haves” and find a church that meets all those requirements.  I don’t really have an issue with this, other than with people who “church hop” all over the place because they are too picky about everything.

My issue, which was shared by others in my class, is that when one church fits into the shopping cart of so many people that it grows and grows and grows, and even though this church has good preaching and good outreach and good worship, how can that church discipline its members? Now, if you don’t understand what that is, here is my brief definition:

Church discipline is needed when a member of that church, whether pastor or Easter attendee, falls into a state or season of desiring sin.  This discipline is to be administered by those in the church according to the Scriptures in Matthew 18:15-20.

I would hope that most believers think that the discipline of individual members of a church is necessary at times (due to our sinful state), but with a church so big, I imagine that there can be plenty of members living in a carnal manner, with no one there to really discipline them and bring them back into the fold.

I experienced this when I was in college and went to a church of about 3500.  I went in to church, sat with some friends, left, and went about my way until next Sunday.  There wasn’t really any effort by the church, other than programs that I had to motivate myself to join, to come alongside me and walk beside me, and I think this was because there were just so many people that went there that most just had their circle of friends and didn’t venture outside of that circle.

At smaller churches, this problem is eliminated.  but those smaller churches apparently aren’t reaching the lost quite as successfully as the big mega-churches are (or they at least aren’t as good at convincing believers to switch churches).  So where does accountability in mega-churches come in to play?  Can that church be such a community where each individual member in that church can be disciplined for their sin, if needed?

My initial answer to that question is no, but I would like to hear your answer as well.

This past weekend, my wife and I drove up to Hotlanta (which turned out not being all that hot) for a cousin’s wedding.  It was great hanging out with family and the wedding itself was great.  Definitely worth the trip.

Sunday morning, we went with my Aunt and Uncle to North Point Community Church, where Andy Stanley is senior pastor.  We were lucky to catch him on the first week of a new sermon series, titled An Unexpected Christmas.  I had never been to a church of this size before, and I figure most people haven’t, so I wanted to share my experience with the rest of the world (or at least with those of you who actually spend your 15 minutes of free time to read this).

We pulled up into a lot that wasn’t actually on campus.  A shuttle bus runs from this lot to the church, which was only a 5-8 minute walk away.  It was raining, windy and cold, and we barely missed the bus, so we just ended up walking.  Upon seeing the building, I was pretty amazed.  The place is huge.  An estimated 12,500 regularly attend over 3 services.

We get into the building, and as people are stashing their umbrellas outside the doors, I wonder if they will ever find the right one.  We are a couple minutes late, and the band is already on stage getting ready to start the service.  We sit down, and are told by the worship leader that we will only be singing one song that morning, and that we should make the most of it.  The music starts.

It basically feels like I am at a concert and not at a church service.  I don’t have a problem with the volume, but there are about 4 cameramen (2 stationary in the back and 2 mobile walking around the stage) filming this one song set.  The 2 screens display amazing quality video, and the lighting effects bounce displays off the crowd and the back walls and ceiling.

Its actually quite distracting.  As the song ends, a married couple (that was ironically at the wedding the night before) is baptized, and the worship leader ends the first portion of the service in prayer.  Those two events don’t actually happen in the room I am in.  Instead, they are few into the room I am in live from the main worship room.  I’m guessing that when North Point built their main campus building, they didn’t see their attendance exceeding the space they had designated in that main worship hall.

At the end of the prayer, a skit starts.  Well, not exactly a skit, but a movie.  If I could find a link to this video, I would provide it.  But let’s just say that the people involved in this “skit” aren’t exactly amateurs.  The skit is funny, and ends at a good point.  A screen spanning nearly the entire length of the stage scrolls down, and Andy Stanley appears on stage.  Both stages are decorated exactly the same, which I’m guessing is to take away any distraction that might be had.

Andy’s sermon is phenomenal.  He speaks on the “guest list” that Jesus has invited to celebrate Christmas, and the main text is the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew.  The main point is that Jesus did not come to save the righteous, but rather the sinners.  When the sermon becomes available on iTunes or whatever, you should listen.

At the end of Andy’s sermon, he dismisses the assembly.  I have my relatives give us a tour of the building, and the outer size does not do the building justice.  The kids Sunday school areas are just about as awesome as they could be, and there are plenty of Christmas decorations already up.  The resource centers are very nice and contain books, cds, coffee and several other items.  We are given a free welcome pack and sermon CD by a volunteer, and then we wait for the shuttle to take us back to the car.

Overall, it was a good experience.  There are a few things that I have to be critical about, however.  The worship music is made into a show, and I’m someone that is pretty lax when it comes to that.  My personal worshiping experience was distracted from God, and I was more in awe of/annoyed by the things going on around me.  Also, the fact that there was only 1 song was also disappointing.  I understand that time was needed for the baptism and for the movie/skit, but accommodations should be made in order for God’s people to worship Him in song.

As for the rest of the service, I had no issues, other than I didn’t know which video screen I should look at while Andy was speaking.  There were two screens on either side on the main screen, and I noticed myself switching between each one and not being able to focus on just one.

As far as the rest of the church and its decorations, I didn’t really have that much of a problem, except that there was no resource that I could find that showed who the other pastors of the church are.  I cannot find anything online either, other than the main campus has 101 full- and part-time employees.  I know thats a lot of web space to dedicate to 100+ people, but I think it is necessary for visitors and members to know who is leading their church.  Of the other mega-churches that I checked out last night on the internet, most have at least some staff-bios available.  I imagine more information is made available in membership classes, but it just bugs me that I can’t find out that information now.

Other than that, great church, great sermon.  Their programs are very good and the teaching at the church is solid.  North Point and its three campuses in the North Georgia region are doing great things for God’s kingdom, and I hope that they continue to grow.

Lately I’ve been reading The Reason for God by Tim Keller, which is a book on modern apologetics.  He discusses seven issues and questions concerning the Christian faith that he has encountered during his walk and through planting a church in one of the most progressive and intelligible cities in the world, New York City.

Today at the gym, I listened to a sermon by John Piper, concerning John 3:16.  It is a great sermon, and I am excited to listen to the second part, in which he discusses God’s love and what that means for the people of the world.

One thing that has stood out to me in Keller’s book is that at the beginning, he said that no matter who you are or how long you have been a Christian, you are going to have your doubts.  He says that with these doubts, it is best to research and learn the differing views on your doubt, and then to pick a position.  Hopefully, you end up with a God-glorifying view on the subject, and this past experience could help you in the future if you know someone else dealing with the same issue.

It was kinda hard listening intently to the entire sermon as I was struggling to lift at the gym, but the question that Piper asked was essentially this:  What is your reasoning behind accepting Christ in your life?  When you were 6 was your receiving Christ basically a ticket out of hell?  Did you have an emotional conversion that lacked an intelligent discussion about why you should be a Christian or what it means to follow Christ, and you are now about as far from God as you were before your conversion experience?  Or did you view God as someone that could fix the bad things in your life?  There are many other things that could be said here.

But if you reason for Christ in your life is an “excuse” on one level or another, then you aren’t treating the Triune God a great deal of respect.  It’s like your furnace has broken, so you hire someone to fix it and after the initial “Hello” you send him to the basement and don’t talk to him until he leaves.

The excuse can change througout your life too.  It definitely has in mine when I haven’t given God the adoration he deserves.  He became a man, went through hell just to die, then actually went to hell, and then rose from the dead just so I (and you) could spend an eternity with Him.  He did this because He loved His creation that much.  Usually when I create something, and it breaks or doesn’t turn out the way the instructions said it should, I throw it away.

And that is exactly what we deserve.  But God doesn’t do that.

So, what’s your reason for not loving and adoring God the way that He loves and adores you, His creation that has turned its back on Him countless times?

So here I am, sitting in my apartment again.  Only this time I’m married, not just engaged.  Bethany and I got married 13 days ago on July 11th, and life has been pretty different ever since.  I went home about two weeks prior to that so that I would have significant hang-out time with my parents before I got married and came back to Orlando.  I thought that I would at least blog once or twice, but I was having so much fun that blogging became an afterthought…   So for an update of the past two weeks (and I will probably write a few blogs about the different happenings as I reflect on them):

I flew home, happy to be done with work at Chick fil A for a month.  Don’t get me wrong, it is a great place to work and I enjoy my coworkers, but there is a reason I want to be a pastor.  So I told mom, “No chicken for at least a week or so.”  And she politely made beef or pork or something else almost every night.  So I was at home, chillin with the ‘rents for a little while.  Greatly enjoyed my time.

Then came my bachelor party weekend.  Most guys just go out on the town and get wasted and forget that they are even getting married soon.  That’s not really my style.  I may drink, but I don’t intentionally get blasted.  Instead, me and 10 other guys went to New River Gorge National Park in southern West Virginia for a weekend in the woods.  We ate very well, since my dad is an exceptional cook (steaks, chili, corn on the cob, just to name a few items).  Drank some good beer, smoked some cigars, and lit lots of fireworks (even though they are illegal in West Virginia and very illegal in national parks).  But the highlight of the weekend was playing paintball.

We went to a course where we rented all the equipment and then proceeded to shoot the crap out of each other.  I even got to wear an orange shirt with a target on it, compliments of Dan Painter, in order to make me an easier target to see and shoot at.  At the end, we played two interesting (and painful) games.  The first was the Bergens versus everyone else, which equaled out to 8 vs 2.  Not very good odds.  As the game went on, I ran out of paint and ran off the course, leaving my dad to bite the bullet and get hammered by everyone else.  Well, Mike Bergen is one crazy man.  He took the hits like a champ and went down firing, hitting them nearly as many times as he was hit.  I think we counted about 20 welts on his body afterwards.  The last game was called “Civil War.”  It was 4 vs 3, and each team stood about 15 yards apart.  The other team shot first, and I got hit three times in the chest.  Then, when my team was supposed to shoot, my 3 teammates turned and shot me from close range, as I turned and also shot back at them.  Too bad my gun jammed, leaving me defenseless again.  So I proceeded to run away as fast as I could, yet again.

Now, you might see me as a wimp, but getting shot close range several times isn’t something I would consider “joyful,” especially when I can’t fight back.

On our way back, several of us proceeded to shower at a nearby waterfall, which dumped 60 degree water on us.  very cold, but also very refreshing.  Then came more fireworks (which deserve their own blog post).  And then came the rain.

From late Saturday night until we left Sunday morning, it rained.  And I’m not talking about sprinkles and scattered showers.  I mean constant, our campsite was basically flooded in the morning rain.  Everything was soaking wet in the morning, and as we were packing up everything, we just got even more wet.  So that was fun.  Dad and I had planned on a 15 mile float trip down the river, but that was before the water level rose, making the rapids a bit too dangerous for two inexperienced guys in their own boat.

All in all it was a great weekend.  Then I got married, went on a honeymoon trip to Cancun (of which I will provide more details on later), and have started to move Bethany into our tiny apartment that I will be ecstatic to move out of in October.  Her parents are currently on their way with a truck full of her stuff, and as of now I am not sure where we are going to put any of it.  I imagine both of us will be throwing many things away and giving many more things to charity in the next week or two.

Hopefully I haven’t forgotten how to do everything at The Bird already, I go back to work next Wednesday.  She starts work and I start classes again on August 3rd.

So why am I posting late?  Well, a few things have me all excited and energetic.  First, I got off work at 10:30 and have energy from that. (And I burned myself pretty good tonight.  Hopefully, when I am finished working at the bird, the burn marks will form into a sweet tattoo.  I doubt this, but I can still hope.)   Second, I actually got 9 hours of sleep last night.  Third, I just finished up listening to a sermon series on Repentance by Matt Chandler.  And fourth, I got a fever, and the only cure is a blog post.

So why am I so excited about the sermon series on repentance?  Well, I have a hard time doing it.  Whenever I sin, my first reaction is to hide it.  Hide it from whomever I can and for as long as I can.  Doesn’t matter who it is.  And then, BAM!  Everyone finds out.  Shame, shame, guilt, guilt.  That’s all that results from hiding my sin from everyone.

But guilt and shame are good things, right?  Well, yes and no.  Depends if it is good (godly guilt) or bad worldly guilt).

Worldly guilt goes something like this:  I can do better.  Try harder.  It is my fault, no one else’s, and if I do it again, I’m just going to get rid of my computer.  Take away the temptation.  If I’m not tempted, I can’t sin.

However, that’s the wrong way to deal with it.  Because when we think like this, when I have thought like this, I have just become like the pharisees, scribes and religious leaders that Jesus says are whitewashed tombs in Matt 23:25::  beautiful on the outside, but filled with rotting flesh and skeletons on the inside.  Another example: A Cadillac Escalade with jet-black tinted windows and 24 inch polished chrome rims.  First, fill it with all kinds of garbage (leftover food, drinks, paper, leaves, plastic, metal).  Then, wash and clean every square inch of the outside of the Escalade. Wax it.  Put Armor All on the tires and rims.

To everyone else, that Escalade looks great.  But only you and God know whats on the inside.  Disgusting, rotting food.  Maggots.  Corroding, poisonous metal.

You get the point.

But here’s the catch:  The only way that you can clean the inside of that Escalade, or the inside of that whitewashed tomb, is by opening it up.  Roll down those windows, open those doors.  You can’t empty a garbage can by keeping the lid sealed shut.

The only way to learn obedience when it comes to temptation is to be trained in godliness.  Its called discipleship.  Counseling.  Seeking out older men and women or anyone else who has had “success” with obedience to God.  In the same way that you can’t play Beethoven without being trained to do so, you cannot overcome sin and learn to be obedient to God without training.  It might take a week, a year, or a lifetime, but if the goal is to glorify God through being obedient to Him, then going through the training is glorifying God.

That’s not all, though.  Repentance with good guilt requires something else: understanding that your sin hurts God more than anything else in the world.  It hurts Him more than your wife, husband, kids, fiance, friends, brother, sister whatever.  No sin you commit can hurt another person the way that it hurts God.  He suffered on earth, died on the cross, and suffered in Hell for what must have seemed like forever…just so you could be cleansed of your sin and stand in front of Him blameless and set free.

Thank God for his grace and mercy; His forgiveness and salvation.  And thank God for sending people like Matt Chandler to communicate that message of hope.

First off, check out this 13 minute video from Nate Pfiel.  Not sure yet who this guy is exactly, but he does an amazing job explaining salvation and its importance.

Second, I just figured I’d give a quick life update of what has been going on recently.

I finished up my semester at RTS a few weeks ago, and I have really just been working at Chick fil A since then.  I like working there, especially with my co-workers.  I’m thinking about starting up a Bible study through work, but I can’t really commit to anything until August, so I’ll update you more with that when I know.  The past couple days I’ve been looking into Relevant Magazine, which is Orlando based.  I got my degree in Journalism, and I like to write, so you can try to connect the dots.  So we’ll see what happens.

Bethany is on my couch right now, as she is in for the weekend deciding which job she wants to take out of two.  There is one she and I really want, but a few more things have to work out at the hospital for that to happen.  We get married 29 days from today, and that is REALLY exciting, but also really crazy.  Never thought I’d be at this point in life, but here I am.

I will be going home to West Virginia on the 26th, and will return from the honeymoon to Orlando probably around July 22nd or so.  Then I will get back to work soon after, and I will be taking beginners Greek starting August 3rd through the 21st.  Should be fun.  I need to brush up on my Hebrew, and keep saying that I will do it tomorrow, but then “something” always comes up.  Like TV.  Or some other non-important thing.

So, thats what is going on right now and in the foreseeable future.  If anything else happens, I’ll let you know.

A continuation of my Resolved series:  Part 1

5.  Resolved, never to lose one moment of time; but improve it the most profitable way I possibly can.

6.  Resolved, to live with all my might, while I do live.

7.  Resolved, never to do anything that I should be afraid to do if it were the last hour of my life.

Pretty amazing words here.  To sum it all up: don’t do anything that does not bring glory upon God.  Just think about how life would be if every decision was closely examined and questioned with: Will this bring glory upon the Almighty, or will this bring glory upon myself?  Who will be exalted in my decision? God or myself?

These are questions that we should all ask ourselves before making any decisions.  I definitely fail in this regard, whether I am at home, work, school, or anywhere else.

Out of these three (and there are many others that are linked to this same subject), I think the seventh is the most challenging.  Do things now that I wouldn’t be afraid to do as if I knew it were my last hour to breathe.  So, would I be afraid to tell someone about Jesus if it were my last hour?  Would I be afraid to say no to temptation and live for a greater cause if it were my last hour?  Would I contemplate over what to eat or drink?  Would I be afraid to tell my friend to stop sinning, even if he were one of my closest?

Edwards calls us to live in a way that is most glorifying to God.  To live with such vigor that Christ is constantly on our minds and is the goal in all we do.  In order to do this, we must begin with making a routine of thinking deeply about our decisions as they confront us.

More to come, along with a life update.

I’ve been reading the resolutions of Jonathan Edwards over the past couple of months, and I am amazed at many of these simple, deep statements about the common man’s life.  So what I’m going to do is share some of these over the next few weeks and offer some additional advice for today’s Christian, if possible.  Some of these writings are so striking and true, that I probably won’t be able to add anything at all to them.

Just as an intro, Edwards wrote 72 resolutions in 1722 and 1723 as he was beginning preaching in New York City.  They’re basically his mission statement.  I don’t think any church or company these days has a mission statement that long.  Everything is written in an older English, of course, so sometimes it can be hard to understand, and I will try to help as much as I can, but I can’t guarantee anything.  I will also link together certain resolutions that are related, so as not to write so many blog posts on the same topic.

1. Resolved, that I will do whatsoever I think to be most to God’s glory and to my own good, profit, and pleasure, in the whole of my duration, without any condsideration of the time, whether now or never so many myriads of ages hence.  Resolved to do whatever I think to be my duty, and most for the good and advantage of mankind in general.  Resolved to do this, whatever difficulties I meet with, how ever so many and how ever so great.

2.  Resolved, to be continually endeavoring to find out some new invention and contrivance to promote the forementioned things.

When I read these first two resolutions, I think: “What have I been doing with my life?  Did I do everthing to God’s glory while I was at work?  At School?  While driving?  While at my apartment?  Have I even done anything to my own good?”

The answer to this question is almost always an emphatic NO.

Then I think of all the possible circumstances that could have arose had I been more in tune with God in any single moment.  Someone could hear the gospel.  Someone could see the gospel.  I could have helped or encouraged someone.  I could have delighted in God’s creation.  I could have delighted in God.

And what is my duty?  Well, I think that its outlined pretty clearly in the Bible, but do I read it enough to actually know my duty outside of the general: be a good Christian, husband, worker, studier, etc?  Again, emphatic NO.

I would say that these first two resolutions are Edwards’ most important, and none of the other 70 can be fulfilled if these first 2 aren’t followed.

I should be in bed by now.  But I’m not.  I was up at 4:30 am, worked from 5:30 until 11, and promptly took a 3 hour nap.  So now I have energy.  Wonderful.  I could be lazy and watch TV, but I decided to pick up My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers and read the June 2 entry.  Needless to say, I’m convicted.  The entry is titled “Are You Obsessed By Something?”

Yes.  I am.  And I’ll tell you what I’m obsessed over.  Sports, the Baltimore Orioles, Facebook, television, sleep, laziness.  I could go on and on.  But here’s the problem.  I’m not obsessed with God.

But the Psalmist says that we are to be obsessed by God.  The abiding awareness of the Christian life is to be God Himself, not just thoughts about Him.  The total being of our life inside and out is to be absolutely obsessed by the presence of God…we are to “live and move and have our being” in God (Acts 17:28), looking at everything in relation to Him, because our abiding awareness of Him continually pushes itself to the forefront of our lives.

So what do I do now?  How do I turn my obsession with worldly things into a narrow, focused obsession of God and all things Him?

Well, one way is to remove all distractions.  Stop reading about sports.  Cut the cable.  Change my Facebook password to cnewrigna;oij93 or something similar.

But, that would be too easy.  I think it begins with prayer, one of the first things I neglect.  I also downloaded 130 sermons and podcasts on itunes.  My goal is to listen to a couple per day since all I do is work at the chicken kitchen right now.