Get Out of Your World!

That's the phrase that I have heard so many times. And as I sit here thinking and praying about my future in Japan that phrase repeats itself. There is some uncertainty to my life in Japan. I don't have an exact date yet, I don't know what school I will be teaching at, or even where I will be living.

The selfish part of me wants it to be near where I have friends. Yet that phrase get out of your world interrupts my thoughts. Now, I feel must define what I'm talking about here. Get out, for me is a calling that I feel should be enacted into all of our lives. Far to many times people live in their own little bubble. They see the same people, eat the same foods, go to the same places. That's just not for me! I can't just stay and be still, especially as a Christian. Christ never commanded us to sit and wait around for Him to come back. He said go! Get out there, get dirty, mess things up!

So, that's my plan. To get out. And honestly I don't know where I will be teaching in Japan. But where ever it is I pray that this Ohio born, Texas raised, Detroit hardened, Amish town living man can make a difference.

Higgins

Of All The Accomplishments Of Man…

Look around the world that we live in. Take just 1 minute, I’ll wait. If what you are looking at is made by a human then what you are seeing is amazing!

We have found a way to harness the power of electricity to light our houses. Indoor plumbing has saved millions of lives by cutting down on our contact with waste. We have heating in our houses to keep us warm when for thousands of years people had open fires in their houses.

Take the complicated. Medicines that keep us healthy. Doctors that can operate on a patient thousands of miles away via a robot.

Yet, of all the accomplishments of man…it seems like replacing the toilet paper on the roll is HARDEST THING TO DO!!!

I MEAN COME ON! WE PUT A MAN ON THE MOON!!!!!!

 

“Part Time” Ministry

There is a fundamental disconnect between the church and the people they hire. I’m not saying there is a problem with the people they hire. I’m saying that there is a problem with which the way they view those they hire.

There is no such thing as a part time pastor, or part time youth pastor. It honestly is a…well I’ll be blunt, it’s a way for churches to hire someone and pay them at half the rate and half the benefits (or none at all) of a full time employee. I’m hesitant to call it a scam but it is borderline.

A youth pastor or whatever you want to call it that is paid based on half time is a joke. I say this because the work of a minister cannot be based on  time. What’s worse is that it’s a slap in the face to say that a youth pastor only works half the time that anyone else in the church works.

As a pastor your work is never done and cannot be measured in hours or checked off in a list of things to do (yes you can have a job description of expectations) . My problem is that churches get away with paying minsters half and knowingly work them for usually more than 40 hours.

I’m not sure why or when we allowed this to happen. Some churches get it right, yet others tend to only see youth pastors an a non essential piece to the ministry puzzle.

Think about it…being a pastor is a 24/7 job…and churches take advantage of it…just saying.

Higgins  

I just don’t understand

I am very apprehensive about writing this post. My reasoning is not to offend or anger but merely an attempt for me to digest what is going on in my head.

I pose this question. Why have we made teenagers think that their sexuality is something they need to have figured out by their teens years?

That might make zero sense but hear me out. I feel like we have two paradigms here. One saying that you have to find who you are and that’s who you are going to be for the rest of your life. And another saying you have to do it as soon as possible!

I don’t feel like I’m totally out of touch with this subject. I work with teens every week and see the pressure they face. The bullying, hate, betrayal, and hurt they go through.

I just don’t understand. Why  we as a society are forcing these kids to be gay, straight, or whatever? I remember when I was 14 and in school. I’m sure there were kids in my school that were gay, there were also kids that were straight. (And I grew up in Texas!) No one that I can ever remember made a big deal out of either. When did this shift happen where all of a sudden these kids (because they are just kids!) have to defend themselves for a lifestyle choice at 14?

I just don’t get it. These kids (gay or straight) need to be loved. They need to be shown that at 14 things don’t make sense. Shoot, at 29 things don’t even make sense! Kids need to be shown that bullying isn’t cool and isn’t right.

In the end you have to see where this is heading. My posts rarely don’t include something Biblical. This post will be no different. We desperately need to show the love of Christ to the bully as well as the kid being bullied. That’s all I got, that’s the only answer I can find for all of this.

This is the reason I am so thankful to be a part of a ministry that says, come in and be loved. Let’s talk about life and lets find a better way to do it. Let’s not force decisions that are going to affect our lives at 14 alone.

Be Blessed

Higgins

*Edit I don’t claim to be an expert on anything. I write for that exact purpose. These are my thoughts unedited as the pour out of my head. Disagree or agree with me that’s ok. This is just one man’s view of the world around him.  

So long sweet summer…

Every have one of those days...no weeks...no summers, where things just don't go your way? But, before you think this is some kind of 'whoa is me post' i should clarify that most of this feeling is my doing.

Now, i had no idea that i was going to held up at gun point, lose my job, and attend counseling each week for ptsd. That i really had no way of controlling. Nor could i control the way that i was treated at gamestop because of what happened.

There were however elements of the summer that i was able to control. Yet when it came down to it i let my desire for what i wanted to happen over ride what God wanted to happen for my summer. Whether you believe it or not I do think that God has some sort of plan for my life. Unfortunately i think that this summer i wanted what i wanted for my summer instead.

The entire summer was not a total waste. During July i was able to teach an amazing group of kids from Spain. During my time with them i was reminded by how much i love teaching. Which i needed a reminder of.

I also got to go to Washington DC for the first time with some really great friends. I love being able to surround myself with all that history. I was also able to spend some time (not as much as i would have liked) with a friend that I met while i was teaching in Japan 3 years ago.

As i sit here and write this i am finding it extremely hard to say that i had a bad summer. If anything it was not what i wanted it to be...but turns out that might not be so much of a bad thing after all.

This Crazy World.

I know that we live in crazy times. People are under ridiculous amounts of stress from work, families, and life. Everywhere you turn there is something else popping up and making life just a little worse.

Then you find yourself in South Carolina buying a fake ipad in a McDonald's parking lot. That is if you are Ashley McDowell. You see Ashley was approached by two men (one even had gold teeth supposedly) in the parking lot of her local McDonald’s and was asked if she wanted to buy an Ipad.

Now, I don’t know Ashley nor do I feel OK with calling her stupid. But I can say this. If someone offers to sell you anything in any parking lot odds are it’s stolen, fake, or someone is going to kill you. Common sense will tell you this.

My problem isn’t that she was duped into to buying a fake ipad for 180 bucks. My problem is that now the police are trying to find the men that sold her the ‘ipad’ (which was nothing more than a piece of wood painted black with stickers on it).

Why didn’t they just lock up Ashley? Clearly she is more a threat to society then these two men are. OK, OK, I know that she probably thought she was getting a ‘sweet deal!’ But, honestly when are we going to start punishing the stupid? Next thing you know McDonalds will get sued because someone doesn’t realize their coffee is hot…oh wait!

Higgins

Actual Photo!

New Design

I have updated my blog with a new design. I liked the old one but sometimes you just need to change things up. Not everything is best is left unchanged.

Also, I will start this new design off right tomorrow with a new post. I really wanted to do something last week with music but things fell through. Which oddly enough has been a running theme this summer.

So with that, stay safe out there. This hurricane has left my area but it's just moving up the coast.

Higgins