Inauguration Day, January 20, 2009

What a day, what a day! Kimberly and I had the blessing of getting today off because we had a "snow storm" blow through town. Its great - whenever the temperature drops just below freezing and its raining or looks like it will rain, the entire Midlands shuts down. I guess it minimizes the number of idiots out on the road. I made all the necessary phone calls last night - letting the folks who work for me know they had a day off and that we'll not be opening the Family Life Center today - what are people going to do for exercise? Maybe they'll just double-up on Wednesday.

So, we slept until around 6:45 or 7:00 - yes, this is sleeping in for us these days. I came out to the living room where Kimberly had the news on to see what the weather report had to say. You could just see the weather guys salivating over this healthy dose of foul weather! We ate a great warm breakfast thanks to my "storm panic" run to the Pig last night. That is also a fun adventure - going to a grocery store with storm on the way. We made a list to get just a couple of things, the essentials, you know: Milk, bread, bacon, and cinnamon rolls - what would life be like without Pillsbury Cinnamon Rolls? I hope I never find out!

We watched NBC's coverage of everything Obama this morning - they waited outside their home for over an hour waiting on them to get in the car to take them across the street to church. What would we do if Brokaw missed them sliding in the backseat?

We left the coverage for a while and turned it back on around 10:30 to watch the festivities. I really did watch with amazement - I told Kimberly how much I love the pomp and circumstance of this day. Watching the first ladies ride together; past presidents hug each other and talk; Pres. Bush and Pres.-elect Obama being cordial with each other.

Rick Warren gave the invocation and we both thought he did a great job. Many probably did not like him calling on the name of Jesus, but they had to know he'd do it. I thought he was pretty inclusive throughout the prayer - I don't feel like he compromised himself or his faith . Some may disagree, but you have to work through that on your own. When I was training to be a chaplain in the Navy, we were encouraged to be ecumenical in our prayers, but we were told that praying in Jesus' name or someone else's name was our issue. If we chose to pray in Jesus' name, we should know that people of different faiths may decide that you were someone they would not feel comfortable asking for counsel and prayer support - I digress.

Then she came out - Aretha, in one of the gaudiest hats I've ever seen. Now, I'm an Aretha fan (You better think, think, think...think about what your tryin' to do to me!) and she sounded great - but the big bow was a bit of a distraction to me.

After the swearing in, we were intent on hearing President Obama's first speech to America. It was just over eighteen minutes long. He started a little nervous, but he knew it was his shining moment. He was very presidential and inspiring. I think its going to be an interesting couple of months as he gets his feet wet and the American people begin to determine his style of leadership. I encouraged our college students, regardless of how they voted in November, to remember that we need to pray for President Obama daily.

So, following the ceremonies, Kimberly and I went into the nursery where we are feverishly trying to finish it before Maddie gets here. I put together our last two pieces of furniture this week and we needed to decide where they were going to sit in the room. Men, put those little slide guys under the legs of your furniture and just agree to move the pieces wherever your wife wants them. You'll probably end up close to where you started, but that's okay. Its a process. Its a small room and with a crib, a dresser, and a chest of drawers, it is full - oh yeah, there is a glider rocker w/ottoman in there, too! I'll work on posting a couple of pictures here shortly.

We are excited - Maddie is less than two months from being born (we think!). The room's ready. We're registered at the hospital. We're taking "birthing" classes - gone are the days of sitting on the floor being a breathing coach! That's another story for another blog.

This has been a pretty good inauguration day - I didn't expect to have the day off, so I've got some work to do at home tonight. Happy 21st Birthday, Alana. I'm sure its one you will remember for quite some time.

Blessings!
Jerry

Book I'm currently reading - It: How Churches and Leaders Can Get It and Keep It

A book has been passed around through our office these past couple of weeks. My Sr pastor read it and then was passed to the 2nd in Command. How I was chosen to be the third to read it, I don't understand. Its a book by Craig Groeschel, founder of LifeChurch and teh title is IT: How Churches and Leaders Can Get It and Keep It. His basic premise is that some churches have it and some don't. When you do have it, you know it and when you don't, you know that, too.





The main thrust is Groeschel's sharing of seven things churches with it all share in common:

• vision


• Divine focus


• Unmistakable comaraderie


• Innovative minds


• Willingness to fall short - being willing to make mistakes or fail


• hearts focused outward


• Kingdom-mindedness

I'm about halfway through the book - its not a terribly difficult read, but very thought provoking. I finished the section on vision deciding, "I really need to get a better understanding of what vision really is." We've been through the exercise of writing vision statements for my areas of ministry, but this is so much more. Groaschel suggests answering the following questions:

1. Why does your organization exist? (If you can't answer this clearly, I'll bet you an overpriced latte that there are a few things your organization should stop doing immediately.)


2. What can your organization be best in the world at? (Borrowing from Jim Collins in Good to Great.)


3. If you could do only one thing, what would it be?


4. If you left your organization tomorrow, what would you hope would continue forever?


5. What breaks your heart, keeps you awake at night, wrecks you? (pp.44-45)

He spent the main part of this chapter just talking about the power of a clear vision. This is my current prayer - God, in the work which You have called me to in this moment, do people know what I am about? Do they know where we are headed, not just in our college ministry or in recreation-related ministry, but where is our church going? Am I aware of the vision we have as a church? If someone asked me, "What is Lexington Baptist about?," what would I tell them? Our pastor has said he's identified three things that make us who we are (since he's been here): Worship, missions, and prayer.

Is collegiate ministry here working towards this vision?

This feels like its going to be a multi-part work in progress - mostly for my own personal benefit, but look forward to interaction with anyone who reads. I'm ready to ask myself hard questions and struggle through discovering answers. God is already using this book to challenge me. Do I have IT? Have I lost IT?

Infertility Update

July 2008

Many of you are a little familiar with our journey of infertility, so we wanted to take just a moment and send an update...In June, Kimberly and I traveled to Charleston for our final round of infertility treatment. Knowing this was the last medical option with which we were comfortable, things have been a little emotional. A few weeks ago, as we awaited results from our treatment, Kimberly began experiencing some pain. After a day of grieving what we thought was coming, she decided to take a pregnancy test to "get it over with." The thought was to go ahead and find out that we were not pregnant, so that we could move on and seriously begin pursuing adoption. Instead, she called me at the office and said, "Um, Jerry, I am not sure, but I took a pregnancy test and well, I think, uh, that um, well…it might be positive." I asked her about false positives on the tests and we decided not to talk about it anymore that day - yeah, fat chance. The following day was the day we were to touch base with the doctors—so sometime around midnight, we prayed together and tried to go to sleep. About 2:00 AM, Kimberly got out of bed and laid on the couch - she couldn't sleep. Shocker!! At 4:15 AM, I realized she was not in bed and walked into the living room and said, "take the test."

About 8 hours later, after positive tests, a doctor’s visit and much anticipation, we received a phone call from Charleston with the news we’ve hoped to hear for over 2 years now…we are pregnant. We have laughed; we have prayed; we have cried. And here we are. We went to Charleston Monday and watched the miracle of life in a tiny heartbeat. Kimberly and I sit in utter amazement of our Lord and His goodness. He says in Matthew 11:28-30, "Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light." God is good all the time. We just don't always know what is happening in the heavens. We have left it all in the Lord's hands and trust Him each step of the way. We know that He allows rain and storms to come into our lives, but He does it to prove how big He is and how much He desires to comfort us.

The journey of infertility has been a long and painful one. About 2 years ago, Kimberly’s doctor began to suspect that there were some hormonal issues preventing us from having children. After working with us for about a year, that doctor referred us to some specialists in Charleston. In the world of infertility, there are just a few options of treatment. Some of them involved some aspects that made us both uncomfortable. Once we had narrowed down the options available, we were not left with a whole lot of routes to take. Months of medications and hormone-altering treatments, combined with the anger we both experienced in the valley of what seemed like unanswered prayer, has led to an emotional roller-coaster that has lasted, literally, for several years. Through it all, we have continued to sing…around the first of the year, Kimberly sent out an update including the lyrics to an old hymn recently updated by Chris Tomlin. The words remain the cry of our hearts: “How can I keep from singing Your praise? How can I ever say enough? How amazing is Your love! How can I keep from shouting Your name? I know I am loved by the King, and it makes my heart want to sing.”

Again, we rejoice at God's goodness and His love for us at all times. Thank you for being rope holders with us in this process. We pray now that this child carries to full term and is healthy. Mark your calendars for March 9, 2009. There will be a quite a celebration in the Freeman house…sometime around that day.

We love you all very much!

Blessings!

Jerry and Kimberly

Has it really been that long??

I guess its kind of a good thing that I am really the only person who writes and reads this blog. Maybe if I were more consistent with updates people would check it out more.

I was reading this afternoon for my QT and read about David and Bathsheba (2 Sam 11-12). Honestly, what a crazy story this is. Maybe its because I am older now, but I am troubled more and more as I read about David being a "man after God's own heart" to reading about the great struggle he had with his sexuality. Ever since he came in contact with King Saul, he took on several wives and concubine. Maybe that is the way it was done back then, but it was still not God's plan.

So, David sleeps with this woman and gets news that she is pregnant and he immediately starts trying to figure out how to cover his tracks. Bathsheba's husband, Uriah, was an honorable man. He met with David one-on-one and was told by David to return to his home - to rest from his journey (meaning, "Please go home and sleep with your wife!"). Uriah denied himself for the good of his men. David was foiled. What does he do next? He sends him to the front line of battle with the intent on making sure he was killed.

Is that not dirty? Wow! News came back to David that Uriah, in fact, did die in battle - but David showed no remorse. He waited as long as he had to in order to give Bathsheba time to mourn her husband, then took her as his wife.

Then, we get the great scene where God sends Nathan to David to confront him on his sin. You'll have to read the account to get the full effect, but its incredible to me that it took that long to let the guilt that I am sure was eating David alive surface. Confronted with his sin, David confessed to God and repented. The outcome - the child became sick and died. David fasted and prayed the entire time he was sick. Can you imagine what he was praying? We have Psalm 51, which David wrote after the confrontation. I would imagine that this psalm was committed to memory because of how many times David repeated it during this time of prayer and fasting.

"Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from Your presence
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation
And sustain me with a willing spirit.
Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
And sinners will be converted to You."
~~ Psalm 51:10-13

Can we make that our prayer for today? God I confess my sin to you now and ask you to forgive me from my wickedness and unrighteousness. It is my desire to follow you all my days, so create a clean heart within me. Do not cast me from your presence and do not take your Holy Spirit from me!!

Blessings!
Jerry

Finding God in the midst of tragedy

It is so hard to know what to say when tragedy hits as hard as it did at Virginia Tech this week. The news has been saying that this is the worst "shooting spree" in US History. It has been called a college-Columbine, to remind us of the Columbine high school shootings back in 1999.

As a minister to college students, I want you to know that this affects me. Not only am I praying for students who I see on a regular basis here in Lexington, SC, but am now feeling overwhelmed by teh need to pray for students across our nation, but especially in Blacksburg. There are people ready to minister to their needs today, this week, this month. My prayer is that those affected by the shootings, either by losing a loved-one in the crossfire or injured, will seek help and will seek to talk about what is going on.

At a time when our country seems to be dividing itself over issues of race (thanks media for the exhaustive coverage of Don Imus' lapse in judgment) and war, we never seem to be at a loss for tragedy either. However, it is in teh midst of tragedy that we show our strength, resolve, and unity. All the buzz over the last 24+ hours has been related to the students and faculty of VT. This really is an incredible thing to me. The country is united in sympathy and prayer for this seemingly hopeless situation. We did the same thing back on September 11, 2001. Every man, woman, boy, and girl in this country realized that the world is bigger than us.

In Philippians, Paul tells Christians to "not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (4:6-7)." We can ask God anything and we can Him FOR anything. I really love verse 7 as it says the peace of God will guard my heart and my mind. God does not desire for us to suffer. I have peace because I know Him and I know that in teh end, He is supreme. I do not know the spiritual condition of these students who dies this week. God knows.

What is your spiritual condition? Are you ready? Do you have that peace of God that surpasses all comprehension? I'd love to talk to you about it if you don't. If you are a student and you are reading this and are troubled, know that I desire to talk with you. Right now, I am praying for you.

Blessings!
Jerry

Thoughts for the week - 2/14/07

It's Valentine's Day - sorry about that! I am not going to gush all over you with Hallmark greeting cards. In fact, I wanted to share some thoughts with you from our current study we are doing at 737 on Wednesday nights. If you have never studied Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby, you simply have to find the time. It is one of the best studies I've done in my life!

Last week, I discovered that Jesus Christ, Son of God, equal to God, fully man yet fully God, did NOTHING on His own. He only did what He saw His Father do. Let me share some verses with you...

So Jesus answered them and said, “My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me.”
~John 7:16

So Jesus said, “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on my own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me. And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him.”
~John 8:28-29

“If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.”
~John 10:37-38

“For I did not speak on My own initiative, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak. I know that His commandment is eternal life; therefore the things I speak, I speak just as the Father has told Me.”
~John 12:49-50

“Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works.”
~John 14:10

“…for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me.”
~John 17:8

“Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazerene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know – 23this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death. 24But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.”
~Acts 2:22-24

So here we are - all through the book of John, Jesus repeated over and over that He doesn't do anything that He doesn't see God doing. He told the disciples at the beginning of his ministry, in the middle of his ministry and at the very end of his ministry that he does nothing on his own initiative. Then today, I ran across this verse: "But when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak..." (John 16:13). It applies to everyone! Even the Holy Spirit waits on God the Father.

God is the initiator. He is the one who does the work. We should never do anything except that which God told us to do. When you are sharing your faith with a friend, classmate, neighbor, whomever, don't be afraid of rejection. They are not rejecting you. You are only doing what you have seen the Father doing. You are only saying what the Father told you to say. It all happens according to His initiative, not our own.

What a great reality - Jesus did nothing on His own initiative. The Holy Spirit did nothing on His own initiative. You and I should do nothing on our own initiative. My prayer for you is that you recognize God at work around you and to obey when He calls you!

Blessings!

Jerry

My next installment is coming soon!

Hey gang...
Sorry that I have not updated in a few weeks. I am desperately trying to get the next chapter read in the book TWELVE ORDINARY MEN. I promise to post something this week.

To answer a comment - 737 IS NOT ENDING!!! I am taking a much-needed rest for 3 weeks or so. You guys need to study for exams and I need some focus. We will meet THIS WEDNESDAY (Nov. 15), but cannot next week due to the Thanksgiving Eve service at Lexington Baptist Church. I'll get you more details next week (check out our weekly newsletter - if you are not on our e-mail list for the college newsletter, e-mail me at lbccollege@yahoo.com and I will add you!).

Blessings!
Jerry