The CHURCH...it has meant a lot to America!

This is an article that was written by my Great Grandpa Errol (my mom's father's father) on March 9, 1949. Since the scan of the article did not come out clearly, I will include below the text of the article.

"The Church on the corner or the steeple we may see in the distance verifies a life lived and stands as evidence in any given community that there are those who sense the power and influence of the Master's teachings. Are you one who senses this influence and shares in it, or are you engrossed in individual enterprises and find little time or need of the church? Is your life dominated by materialistic, selfish, and egotistical motives or are you concerned about the misfortunes and joys of others? The church can fulfill the same purpose for each of us that a governor does to an engine-the church can help regulate lives and relieve the strain of modern living and afford the opportunity to take inventory and to evaluate the moral and spiritual values and the purpose of living.

You say you are not interested: Would you want to live in a community where the Church was not present? Do you accept your share of the responsibility for the Church's support and maintenance? Some give of their time, others give their financial support-there are many ways you may serve. Do you, like some, stay away because you judge yourself better than some who affiliate with the church, who have made positive commitments and perhaps errors?

The church's influence is determined by the going and coming of those who frequent its doors and the leavening influence of many inspired lives as they radiate out in any community. To some the church may mean the difference between being a beast or a human being, between hating and loving, between being a burden and a useful citizen of society. The church is a monument to the faith of a community in the way of life as taught by the Great Teacher and Example, Jesus.

By Errol G. Myers, Trustee, Friends Memorial Church"

I thought that it was really interesting that my Great Grandpa assumes that the church makes an impact in its surrounding community and culture. That is not the norm for today's American church. Oh how our churches today need to do the same. America needs churches that will make huge ripples in their communities, their cities, and our nation like we've had in the past. I believe that the American church needs to step out again in faith to form the cultural centers of American communities. How does the church do this? By serving others unconditionally in our nation's cities and communities. Perhaps, when the church starts transforming the culture, we will see a culture that involves radical repentance and awakening in our nation. Who knows what God has in store for the churches in America. But, I think the church has a bright future!

Christ and His Bride, the Body of Christ

Over the past couple years, God has been changing my heart, my thoughts, and my passions about His bride. It wasn't that I disliked the church or had become disenfranchised with the church like some, it was just that I did not have a great love for her. I enjoyed going to ecumenical Bible studies (Breakaway, Passion Conferences, etc.) almost just as much as I enjoyed going to church. Churches I found, were often wrapped around the axle about issues like church politics, and church growth, and were not actually doing the things that the LORD commanded. Over a period of a few years, I also saw many of the pastors and church leaders of the churches that I attended fall into marital unfaithfulness. Church, I realized, was messy business...

But, then God started to change my heart for the church. He used verses like Ephesians 5: 25 - 28, "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish." I began to see that Christ's love for the church, His bride was so great. It really astounded me how much Christ could love such an imperfect bride!

I saw that not only did He purify the church, but He also provided the framework and the stability for the church, namely Himself. Peter was preaching in Acts (3:14) he said to the Jews, "But you denied the Holy and Righteous One, and asked for a murderer to be granted to you, and you killed the Author of life, whom God raised from dead." Jesus is the "Author of life," both physical and spiritual life! He is holy and righteous. When He gave His life on the Cross, He was laying down His life, a perfect life, for His bride. He pursued and is still pursuing His church as the perfect bridegroom. John put it like this (1 John 4:10), "In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." Christ has already given Himself in every way to His church by providing justification and sanctification for her sin and by offering a personal relationship with Him.

Christ also continues to build up His bride by His Spirit. In Acts 8, it was the very Spirit of Christ that instructed Philip to share the Gospel with the Ethiopian Eunuch. It was also the Spirit of Christ that brought the Gospel to Europe in Acts 16, when Christ would not allow Paul to preach the Gospel in Asia and then led him to Macedonia. So not only is Christ the very foundation of His Church (1 Corinthians 3), He is also the one who builds her up.

If that were not enough, Jesus provides comfort for His church while she faces the trials of this world. In Acts 7:55 when Stephen was being stoned, Luke said that "... he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God." In Acts 18, Christ appeared to Paul in a dream and instructed him, "Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people."

I believe that we, the church, have the same comfort given us today when we face various trials. Jesus said, "I am with you always, to the end of the age" in Matthew 28 when He gave His Great Commission. I think that this is a promise, that we as the church, can take to heart. We have nothing to fear, because as believers, Christ has promised that we have with us the very Spirit of Him that saved our souls. There is no reason, then if you are a believer to pray that Christ "would be with you" for He has already promised us that...and that should provide great comfort for His church!

My love for the church has grown in response to the love that Christ has for His church. I can echo with St. Augustine, "The church is a whore, but she's my mother." Sure the church is going to have outward deficiencies in this present age, but before Christ, because of His blood, she is a spotless Bride, and I believe that we should love her in this manner. We should do everything within our capacity to move the Church towards further sanctification in this world by defending her against falsehood and sin, and lifting up the Glories of Christ (which is the Gospel) to all people!

Leonards = Warrior Poets

The first Sunday that I was in Pensacola this past February, I went to church and providentially winded up being a little late because I could not find the church's location. As I entered the church, I noticed a well dressed man with an athletic build bringing his daughter and little boys into the church (Trina was home sick this Sunday). When he heard me coming behind him he turned around and said inquisitively in an aggressive, challenging manner, "What are you doing here?" and I shot right back, "I found this church on the internet." He just stared at me and slowly nodded his head. Right then and there, I knew there was something special about who I would later find out to be Todd Leonard. I could tell by the way he carried himself and his intense gaze that this man was a natural born leader. I could tell he was a Man's Man... Trust me, as a Marine officer, I work with some of the bravest, hardest men that you'll find on the face of the planet. I know how to spot them. But Todd had something more than just being a natural leader. After the service ended, as I was meeting and shaking hands, I asked the couple in front of me who the "well dressed guy with all the kids was on the back pew." They responded, "That's Todd Leonard, he's working through his Masters at RTS and is head of the men's ministry, Men for Modern Reformation." In my mind, I was thinking, "Of course he is. That makes perfect sense." So I walked over to Todd and formally introduced myself and we exchanged phone numbers. 

I later found out through people in the church that Todd had been an Army Infantry Officer in the 90's and before that, had been Pensacola High's starting Quarterback (Emmett Smith played for their rival school, and Todd led Pensacola to victory when they played against each other his senior year).

Two Sundays later, I saw Trina for the first time. She was with two of Todd's kids, so I knew that this must be his wife (although, I think I would have guessed that she was Todd's wife without the kids just by the way she dressed {classy like Todd}, and the way she carried herself. Before Todd could come in the room with the other boys, she introduced herself to me and told me that Todd had told her about me. She invited me to come over to their house the next Friday to hang out with them after the church's Good Friday service. I was excited about finally getting the opportunity to hang with Todd.

On the drive out the next Friday to the Leonard house, I had no idea what to expect. I think that you can tell a lot about people by how they keep their house. I was expecting with all the young boys that Todd and Trina had, that their house would probably be a disaster. Nothing could have been further from the truth. As I pulled up their drive, it was like I was entering a plantation drive. To say that the grounds were well kept would be an understatement. Everything was in pristine condition. The two story white house with the white fence looked like a scene from the cover of Southern Living. I was impressed. Then, when I came into the house, I was even more surprised to see it spotless...but boys were running everywhere. I quickly found myself engaged in a wrestling match for my life (I think Jacob was legitimately trying to hurt me...but I wasn't about to let that happen) with all those boys (this would be a common theme with my time with the Leonards). Every time I entered the house, I was greeted with threats, and shouts of "Mr. Grant is here! Let's Fight!" I loved it!

That night after the Good Friday service, we ate dinner at Chili's and then went back to the Leonard house and shared stories. As Todd, Trina, Faith (the Leonard's oldest daughter), and I talked, God began to do something amazing in our lives. He knit our hearts together in ways that we could never have imagined. Over the next two months, Todd became like a Father/Brother to me and Trina like my second mom. Their children, Faith, Zach, Jacob, Jackson, and Gabriel were like my own brothers and sister. From that Easter weekend until I left Pensacola, we spent every minute of our free time together. 

I learned so much from watching Todd and Trina and their children. I always knew that children were a blessing from the Lord (Psalm 127:3-5), but for some reason the actual working out of that blessing had escaped me until I saw it first hand with the Leonards. The other thing Todd taught me was the importance of fulfilling the Creation Mandate given to us in Genesis 1:28. I learned about taking dominion over the realms the God places me in. I saw Todd and Trina work to do that in everything they did, and it was inspiring. More than anything though, I learned that God is full of surprises and that we never know what blessings He has for us in relationship waiting just right around the corner.

So when I left Pensacola on May 27, we all had tears in our eyes. I hated having to leave. Little did I know that in August I was going to come back to the states and have a glorious reunion with the Leonards! The first picture above was taken right before I left Pensacola. The second picture was taken at a Cajun restaurant in Natchitoches, Louisiana during our reunion in August.

In the spirit of everything Leonard, this weekend the Leonard family is running a triathlon together (the three younger boys are going to watch)! They have been training together as a family for the past two months. I am praying that they all do well...Todd, don't let Trina pass you on the run!

Forever Young...is that a good thing? The Hebrews wouldn't think so.

Yesterday as my friends and fellow officers were descending 3 Peaks in Japan (pictures will be posted soon), one of them made the comment, "Our economy and our entertainment industry completely revolve around adolescent girls." The more I thought about this, the more I realized that it is true to an extent. It's not just adolescent girls though, it's the young in general. Americans idolize youthfulness and the younger generation so much that, it is not uncommon for Americans to enter a "mid-life" crisis at age 40 wishing they could be young again. Now even more absurd than the "mid-life" crisis is the "quarter-life" crisis which some people in my generation, "the twenty-somethings," are supposedly encountering. Even if you have not experienced something as ridiculous as a "quarter-life" crisis, the fact remains that in general, we (evangelical Christians included) have made much of what it means to be young instead of looking forward to and admiring what it will be like to be the older generation.

This is how the Hebrew culture worked. The younger generations placed the oldest generation on a pedestal. The oldest generation was the one that had fought the fight and proven themselves faithful to God in the face of obstacles and trials. They had wisdom to give because they had lived life and had by the grace of God, overcome it's challenges. They knew God better because they had known Him longer. They were the ones who were responsible for passing down the stories of God to the younger generations. The Hebrews did not believe that youth had much to offer besides physical strength. Proverbs 20:29 says, "The glory of young men is their strength, gray hair the splendor of the old." The pinnacle of one's life was not twenty-five, instead the pinnacle was when one could pass on wisdom gained from a fruitful life to the younger generations. The old were not cast aside to live out the rest of their days in a nursing home, so that their kids could selfishly live out their youthful pleasures. Instead, the old were kept close-by and revered. Their job was to teach the younger generations the things of God.

I put these pictures up of my grandparents because they have been a great example to me of what it means to follow Christ in this generation. I seek their advice regularly. I not only look up to them, but also look forward to being in their shoes one day!

I'll end this with Job 12:12 "Wisdom is with the aged, and understanding in length of days."

Culture Comparison

Sorry I haven't posted in the past month. I was at the beautiful Fort Polk for a month in Louisiana doing a training exercise (I hope you can catch the sarcasm). On the bright side, I was able to meet with my family at our tree farm, which ironically was only about an hour and 15 minutes from the base.

For the past two months, I have been doing a study on the Hebrew culture during the Biblical era. I think understanding the context in which the Hebrews wrote our Bible is vital to understanding and living out God's desires for our lives. Much of the material for the next few posts comes from Marvin Wilson's book, Our Father Abraham. The rest simply comes from observations I've made studying the Word.

The Hebrews lived a very active lifestyle. They walked everywhere they went. They worked hard at their profession 6 days a week (not just 5). They were up at sunrise and worked until sunset.  Because of this lifestyle pattern, they  were very observant and close to God's creation. They saw God's hand in creating everything and appreciated it. Check out the imagery that David uses to describe aspects of creation in Psalms 19 and 23. We on the other hand, sometimes go days without appreciating a single thing God has created. Part of the reason for this is simply because we live in urban centers that are far away from the nearest beach, or mountain slope. But another aspect of it is because we are not intentional about trying to observe what God has created. When I lived in Pensacola I would get up early every morning and run. I would try to time it so that I would catch the sunrise right when I was finishing up my run. Then, at night, I would drive to Pensacola beach and catch the sunset with a good book. It's hard to put into words how these experiences uplifted my heart and affections for God. Seeing the beauty He created draws us to worship Him! I think you will get a real sense for this when you read through the Psalms. 

Here's some things that I do to try and appreciate what God has made:

1. Run during sunrises and sunsets

2. Look up at the stars on clear nights

3. Visit the beach and mountains every opportunity I get

4. Swim in a cold glacier lake (at our lakehouse)

5. Appreciate God's work in the details. He made all the intricate colors and designs we see in nature.

6. Never pass up the opportunity to visit a National Park (Teddy would be proud)

7. Drive with the windows down on a crisp, fall day

8. Sit outside for at least 30 minutes each day (especially after a long run)

9. Travel to places I've never visited before

Why I still do class-sets

For those of you not privileged enough to be a Fightin' Texas Aggie, a class-set is the number, which corresponds with your class year, of push-ups (any physically exhausting exercise will work really) you have to do. For example, if you graduated from Texas A&M in 1963, a class set would be 63 push-ups. However, since I graduated in 2007, I have the bawlsey number of 107. You might be wondering, "When does someone have to do a class set?" And that's a good question...the answer is: whenever an upperclassman tells you. I love it (I even loved it as a fish)! Ironically, since I graduated I have continued to do class-sets when I work out. Here's why:

11. 107 of anything is challenging and makes for a great workout 

10. It makes me recall all the places on Texas A&M's campus where I was made to push, and any thought about Texas A&M brings back the fondest of memories...

9. I think about pushing through the songs at the 50 yard line on Kyle Field at the beginning of Midnight Yell and looking over and seeing my family and Aggie buddies watching and praying for me. By the way, an Aggie buddy is a lot better than a friend.

8. I think about all the ol' Ags who taught me to have pride in my class (My fathers, Marty and Mike Holmes, My grandparents the Abbotts who don't even have a class but were Parents of the Year, Cliff Dugosh, Col. Biondi, Col. Lowe, Jimmy Tyree, David Lawhorn, etc.)

7. Because it helps me think about all my Aggie upperclassmen  who talked (and sometimes yelled) at and to me for hundreds of hours as a pushed (I loved it...)(Kevin James, Will Whitehurst, Keaton Askew, Patrick Hebert probably made me push the most) - Gig'em ...My older brothers...

6. Because it brings to mind all my fish buddies, my brothers, from E-2, with whom I did thousands of class-sets (Garcia, Chapman, Geyer, Cummins, Prochaska, Howell, Irwin, Griffin, Lukefahr, Hoover, Storbeck, Richards, etc)

5. I also remember doing thousands of class-sets across from my Junior Yell Leader buddy Tyler Wellborn..."I hear that Junior Yell boys can do 12 more"

4. For my Aggie buddies who are serving our country (Ben Grimme, John Anderson, Stanton Gardenhire, Tyler Vaughn, Ryan Fuege, Paxton Miller, Joe Lukefahr, Keaton Askew, Conner Prochaska, Trey Simko, etc.)

3. In honor of all the Aggies that I know that gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country (Clay Kennedy, Kelly Castleberry, etc.) and those who have given much (Dan Moran, etc.)

2. In honor of my father, Preston Abbott, and in memory of my father, Kelly Castleberry, and my friend, David Gilbert, all of to whom I dedicated every Midnight Yell Practice and Football game.

1. It leads me back to worship God, because I have seen His hand so clearly in my life. What else can I do but thank Him and acknowledge His goodness? Every good thing is from Him (James 1:17).

Planes, Trains, and Automobiles...my journey to Japan

 If I would have known how long and arduous this trip was going to be, I think I would have tried to get more sleep the night before I left. Needless to say, it was a killer of a trip! I got to Midland International Airport at about 0730 on Saturday morning June 28. My flight left to go to Dallas at 0940 and arrived at DFW at about 1115. I then had to book it over to the next terminal to catch the 1230 flight to Tokyo. This flight was a good 13 hour flight...don't worry Mom, I got up and walked around every few hours to avoid the "blood clots." When I finally got to Narita airport in Tokyo, it was already Sunday afternoon because we had crossed the International Date Line. I think I got to Tokyo at about 1300 in the afternoon. Somehow, I figured out pretty quickly after getting through customs that my connecting flight was not in the same terminal, so I took the bus over to Terminal 2. When I went to get my boarding pass in the next terminal, I was told that the plane would not be able to carry my bags. They said that they would ship them to me about a week later, but I needed them a lot sooner than that...So I opted to take a flight out of  the neighboring Tokyo airport, Haneda. To get there I had to take a hour long bus ride through the city of Tokyo, which was pretty cool except for the fact that at this point, I could hardly keep from passing out (I couldn't sleep on my flight to Tokyo). I boarded the plane at about 1900 (7PM for you non-military folks) to go to Hiroshima. It was so cool...instead of people scanning their boarding passes, many of the passengers had the bar code that is on their "would-be boarding pass" uploaded on their cell phones...so they just held their cell phones up to the scanner and then got on the plane. Wow! 

The flight to Hiroshima was a good two hour flight. I slept the entire two hours. By the time I reached Hiroshima and had retrieved my bags, it was about 2130 Sunday night and I was completely exhausted...but my journey was far from over. I then boarded a bus and took another hour long bus ride to the Hiroshima train station. After hauling my two 50 pound suitcases up and down a myriad of long stairwells, I finally reached my train stop. After boarding the train, I managed to stay awake the 45 minutes it took to reach Iwakuni only because I was afraid of missing my stop. Upon reaching Iwakuni, I was able to take a taxi to the base. By the time I secured my room (they game me the wrong room - it turns out that the room they gave me was a shelter room used to house wives and children that have suffered domestic abuse) it was 0045 AM. I finally just crashed in my bed...

God was good. Many times I did not know where to go or who I needed to talk to, and every time that I prayed and asked Him what I needed to do, He provided guidance. It was really pretty amazing. There's no way I could have figured out all of this on my own... really cool!

PREPARING FOR MY TRAVELS

Hello Family and Friends. I hope this finds you well. I started this as an effort to keep track of my travels and experiences for your reading pleasure. In between stories, I'll throw in some thoughts and convictions about what I am learning about God and people.