New Church and What I Am Learning

Ok, I have more time to formulate my thoughts! Yay! The Church in Senatobia, MS went smoothly. I truly believe that this church will change and not just fade away in an emotional high. I can't wait to be in that area again in 2012 to see how they are doing. We will be about 30 min or so away so they may com up for a visit! I'm very excited!

On our way up to Michigan, we got to stop in Morton again and we got to stay with our host families that we had there. It was such a blessing to stay with them! I can safely say, while all my host families are awesome, Morton just stood out! I loved it.

On the way up to Adrian Michigan, I rode in the Big Rig (Named Oden) with our truck driver Blake. We got some new equipment for this upcoming church. Last time the pastor was apart of a Life Action conference, they were in their legalistic "Suit and tie/always wear a skirt" stages. Our Revivalist wanted to change their mind set. So we picked up a couple TV's to put on stage to make us look even more contemporary.

And man is this church contemporary. It is a newer church, with a pastor has this church as his first head pastoring position. This church either came from or converted from a Catholic background. In a sense I guess I shouldn't be surprised but this church seems very.... shallow. But as I said, I'm not surprised. A lot of this congregation are lost. I started this Summit (or "the pursuit" as we are calling it at this church) I really doubted the potential of a "Major God Movement". Wow, that was the wrong thing to think. As I come further along in my walk with God the more I realize that I have such a legalistic and prideful heart! Why shouldn't God come? What was I expecting? Am I really basing my "hopes for the church" purely based on host homes and atmosphere?... I was. Jesus Himself did not (purely) come to seek the ones that were "doing ok" or the ones with sound doctrine, or even the ones that were "deep". He came to save that lost, the shallow, the sinners. The ones that will be sitting in all of these chairs surrounding me tonight. I've come to a realization that a revival probably won't start in a church that "has it all together". It will probably start in one like this. A church ready and willing to be broken.

God, forgive my for my incompetent view of Your sovereignty, Your power, Your grace, and Your mercy.

Side Notes:

My host family is awesome. They are water skiers through and through. They live on a lake. It would be fun to go out with them on the lake, but maybe when it's not 25 degrees outside. I am staying with 3 other guys (Matt, Trevor, and Justin), It is a big house so we each get our own room! THANK YOU LORD!!!... *cough, I mean, it is a blessing.

A side side note:

This is more for me to look back on and keep track of

(I will get in more depth later)

The most important real life applicable things I've gotten from each Summit

Rocky Mt., NC - Grace
Morton, IL - Faith
Senatobia, MS - Humility (even in serving those you really don't want to serve)
Adrian, Michigan - The importance of the Word and God in every day life

That concludes today's segment, TTFN

Be sure to check out my newest installment - The Mind of Caleb
It's just stuff I though that was neat and that host families have shown me on the internet. It's so I don't loose track of them so I can show other people also

http://caleb-morton2.blogspot.com/

Senatobia, Mississippi

This one ma be a bit short because I'm packing and am tired so yah :D

This summit was awesome! I had a great host family! It was a full house but it went over splendidly! I roomed with Josh Caton, Joel Purvis, and myself. We had an awesome time getting to know our host family! We played basketball, super smash bros., went go karting, played board games, etc. It was a lot of fun!!!

As for the church, they were very open from the start. It was quite the opposite from the start of our previous church in Morton when we started out. The church seemed very open and accepting of the message. I believe that God will do great things in this church if they will pick up the rope and tow their share. This is a new church so we were allowed to be a little more relaxed in things like music. We got to be a little more contemporary :).

Welp that was the month of october summed up in a couple paragraphs. This could prove useful for college...  

hahaha :D

Welp, ttfn!

My Short Sermon on Bitterness...

I want to share with you what God has been putting on my heart. This is what I have come out of and what I’ve been going through this past month or so. There’s a poem that I’d like to start with before we begin. The poem is called the Prodigal Son. The story has meant a lot to me in my life and has really grown to be my life’s verse. But listen here…

The Prodigal Son

by James Weldon Johnson

Young man—

Young man—

Your arm’s too short to box with God.

But Jesus spake in a parable, and he said:

A certain man had two sons.

Jesus didn’t give this man a name,

But his name is God Almighty.

And Jesus didn’t call these sons by name,

But ev’ry young man,

Ev’rywhere,

Is one of these two sons.

And the younger son said to his father,

He said: Father, divide up the property,

And give me my portion now.

And the father with tears in his eyes said: Son,

Don’t leave your father’s house.

But the boy was stubborn in his head,

And haughty in his heart,

And he took his share of his father’s goods,

And went into a far-off country.

There comes a time,

There comes a time

When ev’ry young man looks out from his father’s house,

Longing for that far-off country.

And the young man journeyed on his way,

And he said to himself as he travelled along:

This sure is an easy road,

Nothing like the rough furrows behind my father’s plow.

Young man—

Young man—

Smooth and easy is the road

That leads to hell and destruction.

Down grade all the way,

The further you travel, the faster you go.

No need to trudge and sweat and toil,

Just slip and slide and slip and slide

Till you bang up against hell’s iron gate.

And the younger son kept travelling along,

Till at night-time he came to a city.

And the city was bright in the night-time like day,

The streets all crowded with people,

Brass bands and string bands a-playing,

And ev’rywhere the young man turned

There was singing and laughing and dancing.

And he stopped a passer-by and he said:

Tell me what city is this?

And the passer-by laughed and said: Don’t you know?

This is Babylon, Babylon,

That great city of Babylon.

Come on, my friend, and go along with me.

And the young man joined the crowd.

Young man—

Young man—

You’re never lonesome in Babylon.

You can always join a crowd in Babylon.

Young man—

Young man—

You can never be alone in Babylon,

Alone with your Jesus in Babylon.

You can never find a place, a lonesome place,

A lonesome place to go down on your knees,

And talk with your God, in Babylon.

You’re always in a crowd in Babylon.

And the young man went with his new-found friend,

And bought himself some brand new clothes,

And he spent his days in the drinking dens,

Swallowing the fires of hell.

And he spent his nights in the gambling dens,

Throwing dice with the devil for his soul.

And he met up with the women of Babylon.

Oh, the women of Babylon!

Dressed in yellow and purple and scarlet,

Loaded with rings and earrings and bracelets,

Their lips like a honeycomb dripping with honey,

Perfumed and sweet-smelling like a jasmine flower;

And the jasmine smell of the Babylon women

Got in his nostrils and went to his head,

And he wasted his substance in riotous living,

In the evening, in the black and dark of night,

With the sweet-sinning women of Babylon.

And they stripped him of his money,

And they stripped him of his clothes,

And they left him broke and ragged

In the streets of Babylon.

Then the young man joined another crowd—

The beggars and lepers of Babylon.

And he went to feeding swine,

And he was hungrier than the hogs;

He got down on his belly in the mire and mud

And ate the husks with the hogs.

And not a hog was too low to turn up his nose

At the man in the mire of Babylon.

Then the young man came to himself—

He came to himself and said:

In my father’s house are many mansions,

Ev’ry servant in his house has bread to eat,

Ev’ry servant in his house has a place to sleep;

I will arise and go to my father.

And his father saw him afar off,

And he ran up the road to meet him.

He put clean clothes upon his back,

And a golden chain around his neck,

He made a feast and killed the fatted calf,

And invited the neighbors in.

Oh-o-oh, sinner,

When you’re mingling with the crowd in Babylon—

Drinking the wine of Babylon—

Running with the women of Babylon—

You forget about God, and you laugh at Death.

Today you’ve got the strength of a bull in your neck

And the strength of a bear in your arms,

But some o’ these days, some o’ these days,

You’ll have a hand-to-hand struggle with bony Death,

And Death is bound to win.

Young man, come away from Babylon,

That hell-border city of Babylon.

Leave the dancing and gambling of Babylon,

The wine and whiskey of Babylon,

The hot-mouthed women of Babylon;

Fall down on your knees,

And say in your heart:

I will arise and go to my Father.

At some point in your life we have all come to this point where Satan gets the absolute best of us. We find ourselves in a place we never thought we would be, in the realization that we are depraved and are in desperate need of Him. But take notice to what the poem says, each of us is one of these sons. Please turn to Luke 15. (read Luke 15).

Each one of us is or has been one of these two sons. The first son who left his Father’s home and the bitter son back home. We closely look at the passage and find that the prodigal son was the kid who may have grown up in all the right circles, been to all the Sunday school lessons and got saved at every vbs. But despite all of this, he leaves. Just as God is a God of believing we have our own choices, he allows us to leave. Luke 15:11-16. We go into sin and yes it tastes good for a season. You go into it, everything is fun and games, then one day you realize that all of these things that you are giving to the world, you are not getting back. Until you are left with nothing. We find ourselves unrecognizable. But we have our Father, who recognizes us from afar. Who runs out to us, kisses us, puts the best clothing on us even though we smell and look rotten and smell like pigs. He welcomes us back with open arms. When Jesus is telling these parables, he is among the tax collectors and the people back then would just see as scum. But, in a sense, they were all prodigals. You see, in today’s world we have those sons. We have the Good old boys turned to drugs, alcohol, fortification, homosexuality, or whatever. But we see those come to the point when they can’t get any lower and they find themselves with the pigs. They then say in their hearts, “I will arise and go to my Father”.

On the other hand we have the second son. You see we not only have the prodigal, but we also have the faithful – the prodigal son’s brother. He comes to the point where He thinks that he should reap some of his sewing. Why should little brother receive blessing when he has gone off, squandered his inheritance, pretty much spit on the family name by defiling it in the big city. Why should he get the party, the fatted calf, the attention, when I’ve been doing my father’s will all this time? I’ve never once went against you and you haven’t given to me as much as a single goat. Where’s my celebration? My brother, Your son, has defiled your name! He stood in the church saying Lord, He went to the Christian concerts and sang Lord, He went to the food drives in Your name and still made ruin of your image by doing these things! Tell me Father why! This doesn’t make sense! Has my labor been in vain? And the Father responds Son, you are always with me. All that I have will be yours. That which was lost is now found.

Don’t be bitter when sinners sin. Don’t get worked up if a lost individual tries to mock you and/or defile your name. That’s just it, their lost. Some of us have family member who were involved in some addiction or sexual impurity. Some of us our dads ran off when we were young. Maybe mom just wasn’t there. Sometimes we wish that they were dead we get so angry. But we see the Lord work in their lives and suddenly, on one fateful Sunday, they get saved. Maybe they were the person that gets saved every revival or conference. But it is not right that we get defensive or skeptical. We have to trust that God has done something great. You can fool others about bitterness but you can’t fool your heart.

Who knows, maybe it’s yourself. You can’t forgive yourself for what you’ve done. Instead of surrendering it you harbor your sin against yourself because you don’t think you even should be forgiven. In this you become both sons. The first son, the part of you that seeks redemption, and the second son, the part of you that won’t let it die. That won’t open it’s hands enough to let it go. You can’t fool God. Prov. 14:10 - The heart knows its own bitterness, and no stranger shares its joy.

So I guess what I’m trying to so through this is, forgive. Don’t be bitter. Don’t believe the lies that we hear so much from the world and from the devil. My first phrase when I was a kid still applies today. “Repent you sinner”. Repent and forgive. Confess and be forgiven.

"Why Captain America?"

The question was proposed to me, "Caleb, why do you like Captain America so much?"

"Well he doesn't even have super powers."

This is true. But you have to look past the powers and see what makes a hero a hero. It's what they stand for. It's what they believe in. Captain America stands for truth, justice, doing the right thing... he stands for being a hero! People have perverted what is means to be an American. Despite what this country used to be or is currently, Captain America believes that, wether this is or isn't the best country in the world; we can be the best people. I know that sounds a little cheesy but hang with me.

There are "darker" heroes such as Batman, Deadpool, and especially the Punisher. While I'm not downing them at all, they seem to miss the mark as "pure" heroes. You have the Punisher on one hand who would consider killing someone rather than bringing him to justice, but Captain America would do the right thing if it killed him.

"But isn't he vulnerable with nothing but a shield?"

It's because of the fact that he is vulnerable that makes him awesome. You have super heroes like Superman that are impervious to just about everything, but Captain America takes a risk in saving a life. In other "Super Scenarios" the super hero must be thrown into an epic battle with some random, over-powered, super villain in order for the audience to get the sense that the hero is in danger. But on the other hand you have Capt. America. He is vulnerable, only having a shield. But despite being susceptible to things like bullets, gravity, and the occasional explosion, he still puts his life on the line. Just like my heroes in real life. The ones that choose to go into harms way to protect and to serve what we as Americans believe in.

Side note. I love the fact tat he has a shield instead of something like a sword or a hammer. It's a symbol of protection. While it can be used for combat, that is it's main purpose is to defend.

The Bottom Line...

The bottom line is that I am a patriot. Ever since I was a little kid I have been all about "red, white, and blue". Heck, I even picked my favorite NFL team based off of those facts when I was 7. When I think of a hero, Superman, Batman, Spiderman, or even Captain America don't come to mind. I think of the Army, the Navy, the Marines, etc. I think of soldiers! The ones laying down their lives each day to do the things we are too afraid to do. The brave protectors... the everyday super-heros. So yes, I will stop at memorials of those fallen in the line of duty and pay my respects. I will be thankful for them every day. I will look up to our veterans. I will put my hand over my heart and sing the National Anthem as loud as I can because I am proud to be an American. No matter how hard the world will try to make me ashamed, no matter how many times they attack, no matter how many times they try to tell me otherwise... I am proud to be an American and to live in a country where people die to protect these beliefs. So why is Captain America so special to me?

Because he's the hero that resembles my heroes!

A Call to Anguish - David Wilkerson

What smells like updog?

(to explain the title you are supposed to say "what's updog" then I say nothing much, what's up with you...for those who get it, you can use it later...anyway...)

Dear friends and family.

I’m so sorry that I haven’t posted in a while, I’ve been really busy and have procrastinated a little bit on my blogging. My bad hahaha. Any way, last summit we were in Rocky Mount North Carolina. It was amazing! In that time God really showed me allot in my life. The more I want God to keep digging in my life the more things are brought into true light. By God’s grace, I am seeking improvement in these areas. God really showed me a moment of giving a taking away while in North Carolina and even carried onto this summit. I volunteered to work at a company picnic on my off day and it turned out to be allot of fun! I was so blessed to get to know the family that I was with for that time while I was working! They were amazing and such a blessing to my life. For working, I was going to receive an amount of money, but, by the end of the day, it ended up tripling! I was just in awe of how God looks out for us as individuals and really pays mind to our needs. But alas, I’m receiving this with open hands. It’s better to be open handed now then God having to pry your finger open later. But as far as taking away, my dog passed away shortly after. It was a very interesting process but I needed it to realize just how much I needed God in the blessings and in the storms. I can fully find me joy and rely on Him no matter what the circumstance.  My host family was absolutely amazing. An older couple, Stanly and Selma, were very gracious hosts. I remember on the bus ride down to NC praying that my first host home would have a motherly/caring environment but at the same time, allow us to have independence with our time. Sure enough, God answered prayer. I couldn’t have asked for a better host home! As we have left NC, the church really seems to have taken what we said to heart. I pray that they continue in God’s grace in each stage of changes that they are going through and for the rest of their lives!

            Right now I am in Morton IL. We are about done with this summit then we head to Mississippi. Morton is an amazing town. It already has had brownie points for sharing its name with me. It’s full of coincidences. For instance, there is a Tennessee Road and a Knoxville Street, their mascot is called the potters named after a pottery that was here. The reason that that is special is because of a story my mom tells me about brokenness and it has to deal with pots, and there’s a couple really crazy stuff. Last church, I sat through the services and drank from the fire hydrant that is Life Action, but this time, I’m on a rotation and get to work with children a lot of the time. Wow, the Children’s Ministers do such a great job in teaching and really bringing things like “Grace” and “Brokenness” to a child’s level. I mean hey, it helped me understand it more hahaha. Our host home, the Phlederers, are awesome. (I like to give reports of my host homes so Mom doesn’t have to worry as much lol). But seriously, they are awesome! Fun side note, a couple days ago we got to make our own blizzards at Dairy Queen! One of the host homes is either the manager or really close to him but either way, we got to go and it was really fun! Back to business, I have a prayer request. Please pray (this includes all churches and congregations in American culture) that they would take off the mask of Pride and self-consciousness. If you don’t know what I mean, listen to the song “Stain Glass Masquerade” by Casting Crowns.

"To God Be The Glory"

            I hope that you’ve enjoyed this entry! But for now I have to get back to it. So, friends and family, TTFN (Ta Ta For Now)

G.I.N.Y - God I Need You

1st Month Is A Doozy!

Oh wow, where to start… First of all I’d like to thank you for reading this. Now that you’re here let me fill you in on the past month.

I wasn’t really expecting to get much out of this first month. But wow, God has a great liking for blind siding and blessing you. The first week was tough. We practiced, and practiced… and practiced. But it was awesome. Turns out, the bass is heavy… go figure. But my shoulder is getting used to it hahaha. Then revival week come. This is where the blind-siding thing comes in. God really showed me some things right up front that I need to work on… some things that really hurt. There was darkness that needed to be brought to light. But in this, the fixing process is beginning. Something tells me that I will learn allot about the grace of God this year.

So far I have been mentally worn, attacked by a sasquatch, and swallowed live goldfish… (if you are wondering, I can tell you later). But enough of my complaining :P. Out of all of this I have been very blessed. I am convinced that I am in the Lord’s Will by being here. God has been so good!

Well, I just saw the movie “Courageous”… and it was awesome. I can’t decide if I like Fireproof or this one better, but they were both awesome. But as for that, I’ll give a more concentrated view on this movie later.

Well friends, know that I am doing well and thank you for the prayers and the support. I love you all, TTFN (Ta Ta for Now).