The start of a new school year seems to come faster and faster every year. As much as I hated to go back to school when I was growing up, the Summers seemed to last forever. They say the older you get, the faster time flies. I do not know about that, but the relative value of three months does decrease!
We are excited about back to school time this year because there are so many opportunities out there and we are working hard to take advantage of them by seeking out what God would have us do this Fall.
First, we are working with churches to try and schedule as many volunteer workshops as possible for the Fall semester. That means that we will be contacting many of our old friends to try and solidify dates as well as meeting many new guys and developing relationships with them.
Second, we are also planning our Lead ’07 Area-wide back-to-school events. Last year, we were able to hold Lead events from August until December. We are prayerful that we will be able to impact new churches and students thought these events this year.
Third, we are getting ready for our favorite and most successful support-raising event of the year, the Legacy Ministries Dove Shoot at Cedarcrest Farms in Faunsdale, Alabama. This will be our third year to do this event and it just gets bigger and better every year. We are looking for ward to being with some old friends and meeting many new one as we enjoy a day of good fellowship, good food and (Lord willing) a ton of birds.
Finally, we are always working on building partnerships with ministers, churches and ministries. There have been many interesting and exciting possibilities come our way this Summer and we are looking forward to seeing how God will use some of them to impact Legacy.
We are thankful to those of you who prayerfully and financially support us. The Summer months are always hard, but your faithfulness is a blessing to us and to the Kingdom of Christ through Legacy Ministries.
I am particularly thankful to those of you who prayed for Rayanne and baby Zachariah during their stays in the hospital. They are both healthy, home and happy. The Lord is exceedingly good!
Monday, July 30, 2007
Friday, July 27, 2007
Who Am I?
Then King David went in and sat before the LORD and said, "Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my house, that you have brought me thus far? And yet this was a small thing in your eyes, O Lord GOD. You have spoken also of your servant’s house for a great while to come, and this is instruction for mankind, O Lord GOD! And what more can David say to you? For you know your servant, O Lord GOD! Because of your promise, and according to your own heart, you have brought about all this greatness, to make your servant know it. Therefore you are great, O LORD God. For there is none like you, and there is no God besides you, according to all that we have heard with our ears.
2 Samuel 7:18-22
Who am I?
In searching out the will of God and desiring to know God, it is important to stop and gain perspective by just counting your blessings. A thankful heart and a humble spirit are where God confirms what He has done, what He is doing, and what He is going to do.
Who am I that you have protected me? I have not been destroyed.
Who am I that you have provided for me? I have not been hungry or without shelter.
Who am I that you have cared for me? I have been warm in winter and coll in summer. I have been loved and have loved. I have been encouraged by parents and inspired by children.
Who am I?
I have been created in your image. I have been called by your name. I have been made new and if you stand with me, none can stand against me.
Who am I?
Where was I when you created the heavens and the earth? Where was I when you flung our the stars and called them by name?
Yet, you have a purpose and a plan for my life. There is the image of your Son that I am being conformed to, and from death to life I am being transformed. From glory unto glory, for you are magnificent in all the universe. Your mercy and grace are of great renown. Your justice is above all rule. You are Truth and are in every sense HOLY!
Who am I?
Monday, July 23, 2007
Is Anybody Listening?
Today is one of those days when I am tempted to write something outrageous, just to see if anyone responds.
I really do not know what it is I want to say. I am a person who gives his life away to lead and teach others. Not for my own beneift, but to help people move form where they are to where God wants them to be. I am comitted to helping other people fulfill their purpose and become what God has created and called them to be. Most of what I have found is that nobody cares.
It is sad, but I think that is the general attitude among most people. You offer to give yourself away to help others and they say, "don't bother." You try to help people change and become something great and they respond, "I do not want to change." Being special or extraordinary is out of style. People seem to desire the least common denominator.
I have beleived in a single principle all of my life: Life is not about how little you can get away with, but about how much you can do. It is not about how much you can get away with, but about what is the best that you can do.
In a world that says, "I want to live as close to the bottom as I can without feeling like a looser," I want to scream, "take hold of that for which you were created!" We really must stop settling for less than the best. We must stop accepting cheap imitations of purpose and delight and desire the greater things.
What is a little power but no control? What is pride that is shamefully gained? What is fame on the backs of others? What is fortune that is passing away? What are we doing? What difference are we making?
Though it is my greatest desire to make a difference, my pain is that I am making none.
I really do not know what it is I want to say. I am a person who gives his life away to lead and teach others. Not for my own beneift, but to help people move form where they are to where God wants them to be. I am comitted to helping other people fulfill their purpose and become what God has created and called them to be. Most of what I have found is that nobody cares.
It is sad, but I think that is the general attitude among most people. You offer to give yourself away to help others and they say, "don't bother." You try to help people change and become something great and they respond, "I do not want to change." Being special or extraordinary is out of style. People seem to desire the least common denominator.
I have beleived in a single principle all of my life: Life is not about how little you can get away with, but about how much you can do. It is not about how much you can get away with, but about what is the best that you can do.
In a world that says, "I want to live as close to the bottom as I can without feeling like a looser," I want to scream, "take hold of that for which you were created!" We really must stop settling for less than the best. We must stop accepting cheap imitations of purpose and delight and desire the greater things.
What is a little power but no control? What is pride that is shamefully gained? What is fame on the backs of others? What is fortune that is passing away? What are we doing? What difference are we making?
Though it is my greatest desire to make a difference, my pain is that I am making none.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
The Kingdom of Christ
Today, I have just finished reading one of the most complicated and difficult to read books that I have read since I have been out of school. I has proven to be one of the most challenging and beneficial books I have ever read. The Kingdom of Christ, by my former classmate Russ Moore, is a great look at the history of evangelicalism, its growing consensus on Kingdom theology, its current challenges, and how that all plays into evangelical interaction in the public square. The book is challenging and informative for every believer in forming a consistent eschatology, soteriology, ecclesiology and sociopolitical engagement.
I have included the introduction below in order to give a better idea of what the book is about. Also, you can check out my reading list at the bottom of the page to see what else I have been reading this year.
From the very beginning of the contemporary evangelical movement, conservative Protestants have bickered and splintered over Kingdom questions. Is it future or present? Is it spiritual or material? Is it the church or the world— or neither or both? Is it to be found in evangelizing the lost or in reclaiming the culture? After a half-century of searching the Scriptures, however, a quiet consensus is emerging about the Kingdom of God—a consensus that offers possibilities for evangelical theology to correct some longstanding errors and missteps. To some degree, the Kingdom confusion among evangelicals was a byproduct of the theological health of the movement—it being protected from liberalism, after all, by the divergent streams of dispensationalism and covenant theology. Now, evangelicals have the opportunity to stop polarizing around the Kingdom question—marching off into partisan camps at war over the prophecy charts at the back of our Bibles.
This book takes a look at the Kingdom through the prism of evangelical political action, but that is not because the Kingdom is a tool to equip evangelicals for politics. It is not even because evangelical politics is all that important, in the larger scheme of things. Instead, it is because the failure of evangelical politics points us to something far more important that underlies it—the failure of evangelical theology. It was the capitulation to the political regime of Nazi Germany that convinced Karl Barth that "German Christianity" had forgotten Christ. In the same way, it was the "uneasy conscience " of a socially and politically disengaged fundamentalism that prompted theologian Carl Henry to question whether evangelicals had an adequate doctrine of the Kingdom of God. For Henry and his colleagues, the problem was not that fundamentalists were apolitical—the problem was why they were apolitical. Their isolationism sprung from competing and unbiblical views of the Kingdom of God—views that would compromise their witness at almost every other point. And so evangelical thought revealed the Kingdom crisis in evangelical theology. The same can be said of the theologically anemic (and often missiologically embarrassing) attempts at "Religious Right" and "Religious Left" activism since Henry's day. Could it be that evangelicals are seen as a political "constituency" because about all we have to offer the watching culture is politics? Could it be that the eclipse of Jesus in evangelical politics is a symptom of the eclipse of Jesus in evangelicalism itself?
This book calls evangelical Christians to shape our identity by our convictions about the Kingdorm of God in Christ. The new perspective on the Kingdom of God can define evangelical theology along the lines of the central themes of the Old and New Testament canon. In the end, a renewed focus on the Kingdom is essential if evangelicals are ever going to grapple with the evangel of a crucified, resurrected, and enthroned Messiah. As such, American evangelicalism ought to become both more and less political. Evangelical theology will not serve an activist agenda to be an identity caucus in someone's political party. But evangelical theology will remind Christians that the call to Christ is not a call to "go to heaven when you die," but instead a call to be "joint-heirs" (KJV) with the Messiah who will inherit an all-encompassing Kingdom. This means that the most important political reality of all is not the local voter precinct or the White House reception room, but the creaky pews of the local congregation. A renewed Kingdgm theology can remind evangelical churches that they are the rulers of the universe—but not yet (1 Cor. 6:3). This means that evangelicals can see the Kingdom of God as something more than the terminus point on the prophecy chart; something more than a crocheted sentiment hanging on the kitchen wall. It means that evangelicals can confront the Caesars of this age with a truth that once caused riots in the streets—there is "another king" (Acts 17:7). It means that we can remind ourselves that the only perspective on the Kingdom of Christ that matters ultimately is quite old. And that perspective has already been addressed over the waters of the Jordan and in the caverns of a garden tomb, and will be repeated once more before a watching cosmos: "Jesus is Lord" (Phil 2-9-11).
I have included the introduction below in order to give a better idea of what the book is about. Also, you can check out my reading list at the bottom of the page to see what else I have been reading this year.
Introduction
The title of this book is, in some ways, awfully misleading. After all, there really is no "new" evangelical perspective about the Kingdom of God. What is true about the Kingdom of Jesus was, in one sense, "new" only when it was announced on the shores of Galilee, whispered in the catacombs of Rome, and shouted in the marketplaces of Ephesus. The Kingdom concept is a mystery older than the creation itself—a mystery that points to God's cosmic purpose to sum up the entire cosmos under the rule of one human King. Jesus of Nazareth (Eph. 1:10). What is "new" is that many evangelicals have stopped arguing about the Kingdom of God—and have started seeking after it.From the very beginning of the contemporary evangelical movement, conservative Protestants have bickered and splintered over Kingdom questions. Is it future or present? Is it spiritual or material? Is it the church or the world— or neither or both? Is it to be found in evangelizing the lost or in reclaiming the culture? After a half-century of searching the Scriptures, however, a quiet consensus is emerging about the Kingdom of God—a consensus that offers possibilities for evangelical theology to correct some longstanding errors and missteps. To some degree, the Kingdom confusion among evangelicals was a byproduct of the theological health of the movement—it being protected from liberalism, after all, by the divergent streams of dispensationalism and covenant theology. Now, evangelicals have the opportunity to stop polarizing around the Kingdom question—marching off into partisan camps at war over the prophecy charts at the back of our Bibles.
This book takes a look at the Kingdom through the prism of evangelical political action, but that is not because the Kingdom is a tool to equip evangelicals for politics. It is not even because evangelical politics is all that important, in the larger scheme of things. Instead, it is because the failure of evangelical politics points us to something far more important that underlies it—the failure of evangelical theology. It was the capitulation to the political regime of Nazi Germany that convinced Karl Barth that "German Christianity" had forgotten Christ. In the same way, it was the "uneasy conscience " of a socially and politically disengaged fundamentalism that prompted theologian Carl Henry to question whether evangelicals had an adequate doctrine of the Kingdom of God. For Henry and his colleagues, the problem was not that fundamentalists were apolitical—the problem was why they were apolitical. Their isolationism sprung from competing and unbiblical views of the Kingdom of God—views that would compromise their witness at almost every other point. And so evangelical thought revealed the Kingdom crisis in evangelical theology. The same can be said of the theologically anemic (and often missiologically embarrassing) attempts at "Religious Right" and "Religious Left" activism since Henry's day. Could it be that evangelicals are seen as a political "constituency" because about all we have to offer the watching culture is politics? Could it be that the eclipse of Jesus in evangelical politics is a symptom of the eclipse of Jesus in evangelicalism itself?
This book calls evangelical Christians to shape our identity by our convictions about the Kingdorm of God in Christ. The new perspective on the Kingdom of God can define evangelical theology along the lines of the central themes of the Old and New Testament canon. In the end, a renewed focus on the Kingdom is essential if evangelicals are ever going to grapple with the evangel of a crucified, resurrected, and enthroned Messiah. As such, American evangelicalism ought to become both more and less political. Evangelical theology will not serve an activist agenda to be an identity caucus in someone's political party. But evangelical theology will remind Christians that the call to Christ is not a call to "go to heaven when you die," but instead a call to be "joint-heirs" (KJV) with the Messiah who will inherit an all-encompassing Kingdom. This means that the most important political reality of all is not the local voter precinct or the White House reception room, but the creaky pews of the local congregation. A renewed Kingdgm theology can remind evangelical churches that they are the rulers of the universe—but not yet (1 Cor. 6:3). This means that evangelicals can see the Kingdom of God as something more than the terminus point on the prophecy chart; something more than a crocheted sentiment hanging on the kitchen wall. It means that evangelicals can confront the Caesars of this age with a truth that once caused riots in the streets—there is "another king" (Acts 17:7). It means that we can remind ourselves that the only perspective on the Kingdom of Christ that matters ultimately is quite old. And that perspective has already been addressed over the waters of the Jordan and in the caverns of a garden tomb, and will be repeated once more before a watching cosmos: "Jesus is Lord" (Phil 2-9-11).
Saturday, July 7, 2007
Camp Baldwin Pictures
Here are some pictures from last week at Camp Baldwin.
One of our mission teams leading a Day Camp on the Beach!
MissionTeam leads Bible Story time!
CAMP FOOD!
Redheads - fake a smile while plotting camp pranks!
Josh Hilliker leads worship for teaching sessions.
"Sharky, Sharky"
WATERSLIDE ACTION!
GOD MOVED AND WORKED IN A MIGHTY WAY IN THE LIVES OF MANY OF THE STUDENTS. There was a visible change in some of the students during the course of the week and God sent back to their respective churches focused, motivated and equipped leaders. 
Sunday, July 1, 2007
Zachariah Stephen Ward
I just thought we were having crazy days! As you can see, I have not posted since June 19 because we left in a rush for the hospital that night about 11:30 pm. Baby Zachariah was born at 2:11 the following morning and he weighed 4 lbs. 7 oz. and was 18 inches long. The baby is still in the hospital in Montgomery, but he is doing well.
Rayanne had a tough night but was able to go home that Saturday. The doctors want Zacharaiah to gain a little weight before they send him home, but we are going to lobby for him to come home on Tuesday.
Please be in prayer for us as we travel back and forth, for our other children who want desperately for things to be "normal again," and for the baby.
Thank you all for your parayers and concern.
Thank God for His timing and the precious gift of life!
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