Update on us, our lives, ministry opportunities, etc.

Hey Everyone! Sorry we haven't updated this in a while! Anyway, here is what is going on....

I (Shauna) got laid off from my job in June. Shane and I have been praying about what I should do now, and here's how it looks: I am still doing the housewife thing and I LOVE it. I spend my days cleaning, doing laundry, cooking, practicing cake decorating, and I think I'm about to take up sewing and learn to make my own clothes. So, I really want to be the 50's kind of mother/wife. Both my parents (and Shane's) worked full time when we were growing up, and it was hard on us (they rarely were able to go to my games, concerts, award ceremonies, etc, and not to mention how hard it was finding a ride from someone else home every day!), and we don't want that for our kids. Don't get me wrong, I love my parents and feel like they were the best they could be! I want to cook my family amazing dinners, help them with homework, and I'm even toying with the idea of homeschooling them. All this to say that I think I'm going to take this year and build up my home economic skills and get ready for my kids to come into the world (don't worry, I'm not pregnant yet!).

Shane is still working at Hunter Street as a teacher and worship leader for Route 56. As all of you know, we had a financial scare (if you will) this summer, and we found ourselves getting worried again when 20 out of 40 of Shane's students dropped before the fall semester started! Nevertheless, God had been showing us and bulding our faith in His provision. Shane started teaching at First Baptist Pelham on Fridays, and it seems to be making up most of what he is losing financially at Hunter Street (plus it's closer to our home!). Either way, we are surviving and growing in our Faith. Let me just say that we do not want the American dream. We want to be neither rich, nor poor. We want to have enough to live on, and give extra to others in need. Pray that God would continue to hold us accountable to this.

We mentioned in a previous blog that we had to postpone our trip to Israel. E3 has applied the funds we received to the '10 trip. The exact dates have not been determined yet, but I will let you know as I receive updates. Thank you all for your prayers and those who gave. I will be sending out a letter soon with more details.

All of you faithful blog readers also know that we are praying about what ministry(s) we are to be involved with. We are still praying about missions, but we have some local ministry updates:

The first update we have is about something we started up this month we are calling, "Worship Jam" The way it works is we have people come over to have dinner (me and my friend Liv cook), then we hang out in the living room and worship in song together. Those who play bring their guitars, drums, shakers, etc) and we just leave it open to whomever wants to choose and lead a song. Anyway, it is going really well. The first night we had 4 or 5 of us, and this last Sunday we had 11 and 2 kids! We are doing it every other Sunday night, and all are welcome! Shane will have to tell you all more about this in a different blog, but we are toying around with starting a house church, and it might come out of the Worship Jam.

The second ministry we may be involved with is through First Baptist Pelham. We have been attending a small group with them, and they are about to kick off a twenty something ministry. They are looking/praying about a building (right across from our house) that would work well for this. This will basically be a place where anyone in their 20's and 30's can come and hang out, worship, and even each lunch at a coffee shop inside. If all works out, Shane and I will be helping this ministry. I love to cook/bake so I hope to help with the coffee shop. Shane is volunteering to lead worship, and offer to teach Theology, Bible Studies, and maybe Hermeneutics? Anyway, nothing has happened with this yet, but all of us in the small group are excited and ready to help!

That is all the updates we have now. Look for a blog in the near future about the house church idea and thoughts on Christian community. Thank you again for your continued prayers and support!
-Shauna

God Provides

I have never really been one to trust in God's provision. I know. I know. That sounds awful. I believe in it and when I look back over the last few years of my life I can definitely see that God has been working out some cool things. But to trust in it? I mean really trust in it? To wholeheartedly believe that there is no way apart from God for something to happen and actually believe that He will do it? Sure, I believe in that for salvation. But to believe that God actually takes care of physical needs? I can't say I've ever really been to that point. Until now.

This blog has been an amazing opportunity for us to share our thoughts on trying to live as Jesus did, our prayers, our needs, our day to day life, etc. But over the past week God has really outdone himself. Twice in the past week we have been given large checks. We have been praying for God's provision and to really see the Christian community at work and we have seen it! We really struggled with Israel and whether or not God wanted us to go. We knew that we needed to go somewhere and do something, but weren't quite sure what it was. We signed up for Israel knowing that if God wanted us to go then He would provide the money. The money wasn't there and we took that as a sign that God did not want us to go. But then we had a few days of soul searching. We are willing to be used and open to what God lays before us. Why is He not using us? If he owns the cattle on a thousand hills why could He not come up with $7000 for us to go to Israel? Maybe He doesn't want to use us. Maybe we misread His intentions...

I think that God is preparing us. I don't think we're ready now for whatever God is calling us for, but He is shaping us and molding us into the people we need to be (more on this in a later blog). How do I know that God has not forsaken us and still has a plan, even though the funds for Israel weren't there? We have been struggling with bills this summer. With me not teaching until August and Shauna getting laid off we didn't have the money that we needed and we had to trust God. God has given us more in the past week through generous friends, extra students, etc., than we were able to raise for Israel! But maybe you're reading into things Shane. Can  you really discern all of that about God just because of money?

The money is a side factor. It really is. There are a million ways that God could have taken care of our bills this summer. Should I put stock in myself? I've had more summer students than ever! And I picked up a side job at a warehouse downtown three days a week! But we were still left needing. God choose to take care of us by leaving us to depend on Him and others. It's a very uncomfortable place to be, but God has shown me much in a very short period of time. 

Here are a few highlights:

1) We are SO unworthy of all of this. I look at people that are needier than we are. I see people that love God more than we do. I hear of people that are serving God more than we ever dreamed. Yet God is taking care of us. People are choosing to support us. There's no way to explain people giving a flip about Shauna and I except for God. We're just normal people trying to figure out what it means to follow God and love people. And honestly? We stink at it. But we press onward knowing that for some reason God is keeping our heads above water.

2) We have been very flippant with our money in the past. Our flippancy (wow spellcheck didn't pick that up, I guess it really is a word!) with our money has not caused our current status, but being where we currently are and looking carefully about how our money has been spent has really gotten us thinking. We horde stuff and spend money on stupid things. We're not alone. You probably do it too. But we're rethinking that. We're starting to sell off a lot of our stuff (starting with DVDs, Musical Stuff, and my car) and making sure that we are wise about future purchases. 

3) We are also thinking about our income, especially after seeing people give away their money to support us. This is what we are called to do. We are fighting hard to get our bills down and increase our incomes not so that we can have more, but so we can give more. We are saving lots of money on food because Shauna is cooking every day. We've cut out superfluous spending. We're selling things to pay off our debts. Why? Because we believe that we have been given much so that we can give to others. But wait a minute.  You don't have anything right now. You're depending on God for your bills. Exactly. We are trusting that God has brought us here to show us something and that He will lead us out of it stronger and more fully equipped to bring glory to Him.

 

So to those who haven given and prayed for us, we thank you. God has used you to meet our physical needs. But more than that, He has used you in ways that go far beyond the physical needs that we have. He has used you to be an example to us as to what we are supposed to be and what loving God looks like. We pray that we can be examples to others in this way. 

-shane

P.S. Feel free to leave comments on our blogs!

Christian Ignorance

So, i was having a conversation on facebook this evening about God, theology, philosophy...you know, all the fun stuff. Towards the end of it I realized what I was really up against: Christian Ignorance. No, the people I was talking to weren't ignorant. But, I think they may have thought that I was. Not because of anything I said. Simply because I am a follower of Christ. Which made me think...what the heck is wrong with us?

I think that most Christians today are viewed as shallow, ignorant, stubborn. Honestly? I agree with the view. Two things should jump out of that list: ignorant and stubborn. We are very certain today about the very little that we know and will argue to the death thinking that we are somehow furthering the cause of Christ. I can't be certain, but sometimes I think that biblical illiteracy is higher now than it was in the dark ages before the reformation. When did blind faith become such a highly regarded token of Christendom? I think the church fathers and reformers would shudder at the vast amount of knowledge that is available to American Christians and the small amount of Bible and Theology that the average Christian knows. 

In a desperate attempt to 'win as many souls for Christ' as we could, we watered down the Gospel to a point where it consists of a simple prayer and trusting in Jesus. What about repentance? What about surrender? This goes from children's ministry to Sr. ministry to worship services. We are afraid to offend people and we are afraid to turn people away. The amazing thing about the gospel and the cross is that it is both beautiful and offensive. And it MUST be both. Have we forgotten Luke 18 and the rich young ruler? Jesus cared enough about the man to tell him the Truth and not alter the truth to 'win him to the kingdom'. Imagine the good that an energetic, rich, religious ruler could have done for Jesus' cause! We often think in similar terms. May we speak the Truth as Jesus has, not to turn people away but to show them true love. 

So, what do we do? I think we have to make Christianity hard again. And by hard I mean Biblical. Jesus has some very bold commands about being a Christian and being a disciple. We have regarded these as optional. What happened to, "Deny yourself. Take up your cross and follow me."? I think that we must challenge people with these hard truths about surrender and repentance. I think that people are looking to be pushed for something deeper. I know that our youth culture is. Won't we lose and offend people? Yep. Jesus did.

-shane

Christian Community

God has given each of us gifts. Some are teachers. Some evangelists. Some have the gift of hospitality. Some are leaders. These are spiritual gifts. We use these in Christian community to edify other believers and glorify God. But what about our other gifts? What if we used those to build up people and glorify God. 

I've had this thought for a long time, and I couldn't sleep tonight because it popped back into my head. This isn't original. At least, I don't think it is. Here's the concept. Each of us has certain talents and abilities. REAL, practical talents and abilities. Here's an example using fictional characters:

Bill is a mechanic. 

Susan cuts hair. 

Frank is a carpenter and general handyman. 

Jill is an excellent cook. 

Laura can sew. 

Brian is good for some manual labor. 

Etc, etc....

So, what if we start using these talents to help each other out? What if Laura's car breaks down? Bill helps her out. Frank needs a haircut. Susan steps in to save the day. Bill needs his backyard cleared out and a fence built. Frank and Brian tag team and get the job done.

You can think of it sort of like a huge barter system if you like. The idea is that everyone has something tangible to contribute and through these tangible contributions we can meet a lot of the needs that we have and help each other out. But what if we take it a step farther?

Luke is an elderly man that can no longer take care of his yard. Brian and a few other guys come to help him out. Luke has nothing to offer, but we are able to meet his needs just to show him the love of Christ and that people actually care in this world in a real, tangible way. Jesus often met peoples physical needs before addressing their spiritual needs. Why do we so often try to shove the gospel down people's throats while they are hurting with physical needs?

So here is my proposal: I would like to try to put together some sort of community. A list of people that are willing to help each other out. After we get a list of people willing to help, we can start to compile a list of needs (both within our community and outward). If you would be willing to try something like this, please let me know! Leave a comment here or email us at shaneandshauna@ymail.com. Once it gets going I'll composite some sort of listing or website and we can all get together for some food and hang out.

Shauna and I will start. Shauna may add some stuff later, but we can:

-Cook, Bake

-Clean (inside homes, yardwork, etc.)

-manual labor (any sort of work that doesn't require a 'specialty')

-teach music 

-teach bible/theology

-organization (filing, sorting through things..)

I really hope that this takes off and that we can be used. I think one of the cries of our generation is a need to be used and to be a part of something bigger than yourself. I don't think we are as selfish and self-centered as most parts of this culture would lead us to believe. We want to make a change. Make a difference. Help people and do something different. Looking forward to seeing where this goes!

-shane

We spent the majority of last week fasting and praying over Israel, our finances, and life in general. I'm not sure if it's just part of being in your twenties or if we're at some odd point in our lives right now, but we constantly find ourselves questioning everything about our lives and trying to decide if there is more out there. We've been married for two years and we've still got a lot to figure out about life. Although we didn't accomplish all that I had hoped through fasting/praying, we did come a long way. I had hoped for us to draw closer to God and for this to be some, big pivotal moment in our lives. It wasn't, but Shauna started journaling her prayers and I've prayed more than I've prayed in a long time. We also drew closer together through this united effort and have begun to break a long running food addiction. So, did we accomplish everything we hoped? Nope. But here are some things that did happen:

1) We prayed for God to make it clear whether or not we are supposed to go to Israel. Specifically, we prayed for $3000 in our e3 account by today. We knew that this was an impossibly big number and that only God could bring about something that colossal. We did not receive $3000 in our account, but we got an email from an e3 staff member on Thursday that provided us a way out of the trip. So, we have decided to postpone our trip. We do not know where or when we are going, but the money that was donated is in an e3 account with our name on it to be used for a future trip. Our friend, Robert Hope, is leading e3 trips every few months so we are looking forward to partnering with him in the future. 

2) We paid our July rent. This may seem like a given for some people, but money has been tight here. With Shauna not working and summer lessons being so flexible, for the first time we have found ourselves worrying about our bills. We honestly didn't have the money for rent yet, somehow, it turned up. While we appreciate the people that donated through this blog, your donations are going to our e3 account and not our bills. Money is going to be tight until mid-August when teaching picks back up, but we are learning a lot by having to trust God for the money. 

3) I (shane) have been listening to a lot of David Platt sermons via podcast lately. (What else am I going to do in a warehouse all day?) I've really been convicted of a lot of things, but our finances have been one of them. We don't live lavish lives. We don't have a big house, fancy cars, or really nice things. All in all we lead a pretty simple live. But as I started looking around at how much surplus we have and don't use, I have really been convicted as to how we spend our money and the resources that God has entrusted to us. For one, we have decided to set a cap on our income and give the rest of it away. For instance, if we decide that we can live on $3000 per month then we will live on $36,000/year. Anything over that will be given away. One thing that is hindering us in this is our debts. We were really good about credit cards for a long time, but through it all away over a few dumb purchases of things that we 'needed'. So, we decided to start selling off things to pay off our debt and free up our finances. In the near future, we plan to sell my (shane) car, our Wii, a bunch of DVD/VHS, guitars, music gear, clothes, etc. We have decided to live simply and not live above our means. To roughly paraphrase Platt, maybe God has given us unsurpassed wealth in this country not to lead lavish life styles but to lead the world in unsurpassed giving. You can expect to hear more from us about this.

4) It is hard to have a relationship with God. It really takes work! Like I said earlier, I'm not sure if this is part of being in your twenties or something bigger, but I'm really not satisfied with the nominal Christianity that I see and live. I want something different. I want something real. We don't really know what that looks like, but we're working to figure it out. From talking to various people, I know that we aren't alone in this pursuit. Somewhere buried under all the WWJD bracelets and Christian self-help books is a real God and we are looking for Him. We struggle and fall a lot more than we succeed, but I hope that forward motion and desire counts for something. Lately it feels like we're constantly on the verge of something, but never quite there.

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We got some slack from a few people about 'panhandling' and asking for money through our previous blogs. Let me clear something up. This is a blog. The goal is for us to tell whoever is listening about what is going on in our lives. Right now, this is what is going on in our lives. We are trying to figure life out the best that we can. Part of missions is raising support and building a team of people that believe in what you are doing, whether they support you financially or not. A blog has been a great way to keep people updated on that. Our lives are dedicated to ministry and missions and we're still trying to figure out exactly how that works and what that looks like. I make no apologies for asking people to support (through finances, prayer, or otherwise) our ministry efforts if they believe in what we are doing. As for our bills, we are being honest about where we are right now. We aren't looking for handouts. We work hard and support other friends and missionaries. One of the things I have been really considering, thinking, and praying about is community. Somehow we have lost that over the past few years and everyone is looking out for numero uno. As Christians we cannot live this way and say that we are following Christ. We are united. 

The moral? Support us. Don't support us. Doesn't matter. But support SOMETHING. Believe in something bigger than yourself. Believe that maybe there is something more important than what's in your checking account, what kind of car you drive, and how big your house is. As we begin looking into our finances more we will update you with some ministries, missionaries, and people we feel are worth supporting. Right now, check out Robert Hope. He and his family are missionaries with e3 and we are proud to support them. He was in our wedding and I've been in a band with him for a few years. He's a gifted musician and worship leader and a great speaker and youth pastor. God is definitely using him and his family. I believe in him and what he and his family are doing: http://big-berto.blogspot.com/

-shane

Day 3: Seeking God's direction

Today is the final day of our fast. On Tuesday, we prayed that God would provide for our finances. Our income this month is significantly less than our bills, so we begged (and are still asking) God to provide the funds to pay our bills. We asked God to provide us with $900 in our checking account to pay rent today, and He did! Shane is also expecting a check today from one of his students, which will go towards our car payment. We still need another $150 to pay our car bill, and money to pay our utilities, debt, and rent for August. We were convicted yesterday by the amount of stuff we have around our house that isn't what we need or use, but is worth money. We decided we are going to go through everything, and sell what we don't need and give it to "the poor". We are asking God to give us what we need, and that we would be willing to give away whatever extra income He provides. 

Yesterday, we sought God about our mission trip to Israel. We asked Him to make it known to us if we are to go. By doing so, we asked Him to provide us with $3000 in our E3 account by Sunday. Shane has been talking with the Administrative Assistant with E3 about that what if's. We were freaked out a couple of weeks ago because she said whatever money we didn't raise, we would have to give her a credit card to pay for the remainder of the trip. Well, at that point we only had $500 in our account and we need just under $8000! Yesterday, she emailed us saying that she could get a refund for our tickets already purchased, if we cancelled with her today. I emailed her back asking for her to wait until Monday for my response so we can see if anything happens between now and then. The good thing about E3 though is if you back out of a trip, whatever funds you have raised can be used for another E3 trip that year. So, we are praying that God would make CLEAR to us if we are to leave for Israel in three weeks. If not, we are asking Him to show us which mission trip we are to go on. There is also another team going to Israel this time next year that we could possibly join. Please pray that God would show us what to do! I have to admit that I am pretty discouraged by the thought of not going to Israel this year. Shane and I tried to go on a different mission trip to Mexico last year, but also didn't raise enough funds. The real crappy part of that is we had to call everyone that did give and ask if they wanted us to mail their checks back or destroy them. Those that wrote us checks for Mexico have not supported us for Israel. What will that mean for the next mission trip we try to go on? 

Today, we are praying for God's direction in our lives. We had discussed the possibility of becoming missionaries, but really don't know what God wants. We both went to Bible College because we knew we wanted to devote our lives to ministry. We do know that being at Hunter Street Baptist is where God wants us right now, but with it being such a HUGE church, we are having difficulty fitting in. Shane is set up and doing well leading worship for Route 56, but I haven't found my place there yet. We are praying that we would find the right Sunday School class, and be able to minister there together. We are also seeking to get more involved with the kids in Route 56. On another note, I am no longer working, and Shane is teaching private lessons full time. Shane and I both desire for me to be a stay at home mom, but we weren't planning that for another year or two. We are asking God to show me what I am to do in the meantime. I do enjoy being the Betty Crocker wife, and my spiritual gift is Hospitality, so we are praying I find more opportunities to use that. Shane just needs to know what he is to become. He is taking classes with Berkley and Liberty University this year, seeking out a Master's in Theological Studies or Worship Ministries. With Berkley, he is taking classes to make him a better teacher. We just need to be comfortable with where God has us right now, and that He will direct us and form us into whom He wants us to be. 

Please continue to pray for us. If you wish to donate for our trip or toward or July bills, you can click on the "donate" button on the right, enter the amount, your credit card number, and submit. We are very thankful and grateful to those of you whom have given to us already. Thank you for loving us, your support, and prayers. May God bless you have you have blessed us. 

Day 2 of Fasting and Praying...

To recap, Shane and I fasted yesterday over our finances. We asked God to provide us with $900 in our checking account tomorrow for rent, and $3000 in our E3 account by Sunday for Israel. Last night we received a check for $100 for Israel, and $20 for our bills. Praise God! 

Today we are praying that God would make it clear if we are to go to Israel. We want Him to either make that door WIDE open, or SLAM it shut! I'm feeling like He wants us to go, since we received more money for it yesterday, so we are planning a couple of fundraisers. I am going to throw a tea party in Mid July. I'm not sure if I will be charging a certain amount at the door, or will just ask for donations, but if I could get 60 women in my home (I have enough room for all the tables) to pay $10 each, there's $600! Shane is doing a fundraiser for men and its going to be a poker tournament. We were thinking we would have everyone start off playing in groups of four, and the winner of each table plays in the final round. We were going to charge $10 or $15 per person to play, which would all go to our trip. We will have a gift card at the end for the winner. 

Either way, we need God to confirm we are going to Israel, and He is going to have to provide the money. Shane and I don't even have enough to pay our bills, so if we meet our goal, it will only be because of God, and Him working through you all. 

Please continue to pray for our finances and Israel. Pray we would have $900 in our account by Thursday to pay for rent, and that God would provide the money needed to pay the rest of our bills, as well as provide us with gas and groceries. Please also pray with us that we would have $3000 (half of the money needed) in our E3 account for Israel by Sunday.

If  you would like to make a donation toward Israel or our bills, you can click on the paypal link on your right, enter the amount you wish to donate, credit card number, and hit submit. If you would like to mail us a check, our address is: 

421 Mid Ridge Lane

Pelham, AL 35124

Thank you all again for your continued prayers and support! 

Fasting and Praying over Israel and July Bills...

Today is the due date to pay for our mission trip to Israel, and we only have about $900 raised (we need $7,400). They have already purchased our plane tickets, and said if we couldn't raise enough support, that we can give them a credit card to pay for the remainder due. Needless to say, Shane and I are worried. Our credit cards are maxed out, so even if we wanted to dig ourselves deeper into debt, we couldn't. We still believe God can provide the remainder of the money needed either through others who donate, or even by magically having it appear under our kitchen sink.

We are also worried about our bills for July. As some of you know, Shauna was laid off from her job at SMI. We felt confident the money would be provided when we first heard the news, because Shane had 20 students signed up for summer lessons, and he is making extra income at The Wish Collection. We are worried now though because some of Shane's students dropped, and we have used most of his teaching money already for June bills, food, and gas. If we go to Israel, we will only have $200 or $300 of income. If we don't go, $400. 

Here is what we need and are believing God for: 

1. $900 to be in our account Thursday to pay July's rent. 

2. $300.77 to be in our account by July 8th to pay Shauna's car bill. 

3. about $550 to pay for the bills due in the middle of the month (credit cards, utilities, etc.).

4. $950 in our account before August 1st to pay for Shauna's student loans, and August rent.

5. we would be provided with Groceries and money for gas. 

 

Therefore we are doing a 3 day fast starting today. Today, we are asking God to provide us with the money to pay all of our bills, as well as enough money to buy groceries and gas so Shane can get to work everyday. Tomorrow, we will be asking God to show us if He wants us to go to Israel or not. We are asking that if he does, we will have over $3000 in our E3 account by Sunday. On Thursday, we are basically asking God to confirm we are in His will, and also show us if He wants us to go on another missions trip in the fall. 

We would like people to fast and pray with us and for us, if possible. Please let us know if you are interested. If you feel God is asking you to donate to our Israel trip or to donate/ provide money for our bills click the DONATE button on the right side of our page.

Thank you for your prayers. We will update you as God updates us ;-). 

"And He said to them, 'Which of you who has a friend who will go to him at midnight and say to him, 'Friend, lend me three loaves, for a friend of mine has arrived on a journey, and I have nothing to set before him'; and he will answer from within, 'Do not bother me; the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed. I cannot get up and give you anything'? I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs. And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you fill find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks, it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!'" 

-Luke 11: 5-13

Thoughts on Evangelism

I have taken evangelism classes, been through evangelism training, seminars, etc, and always come out feeling like I just got a new sales pitch or that I had to become someone that I am not. Evangelism is not about taking the message and wrapping it in a new shell. It is about realizing that there is more than just ‘a message’. When I think of evangelism the first thoughts to my mind are still negative and entail tracts, door-to-door evangelism, and cookie-cutter ‘presentations’ of the gospel. What bothered me the most about these is that it seemed to be making something simple hard and then repackaging it as something simple. I really believe that if God had intended for us to use a sales pitch approach to evangelism then he would have outlined it in Scripture. What we are given in Scripture is the command to go, tell, teach, and make disciples. What we are not given is how. Evangelism is really quite simple: learn God and His word and tell others about it. What we have done is made it overly complex. There are far too many methodologies about how to do such a simple task. As Americans we love methods. Anything that we can complete in 4 easy steps is something we must try. But, once again, God has not given us a method. Evangelism, like worship, should flow from a heart that is dedicated to God. If we truly love God, our natural response will be to worship Him (tell God about how great He is) and to evangelize (tell others about how great He is).

This shocking revelation came to me about midway through the semester. I thought that my problem was that I hadn’t found the right methodology. Or maybe I wasn’t the right kind of person. A lot of evangelists have big personalities. Maybe I needed to be more bold and exciting. In truth, my problem lies within me. Instead of seeking God and letting evangelism and worship flow from that, I have sought methodologies and mentors to show me how to evangelize and worship. If my goal is to learn how to properly evangelize or how to properly lead worship, I will fail. If my goal is to seek after God, then I will succeed in both evangelism and worship because they will flow naturally from a heart that is desperate for God.  Honestly, this is something I am still sorting through. God can use all types of people and methodologies. He can (and has) used nonbelievers, and even an ass, to communicate. But, am I really offering God my best? What good is it if I learn how to tell people about Jesus but don’t really love Jesus myself?

There is a constant struggle within me to do what is good and what is evil (which Paul so aptly describes in Romans). How can I evangelize? How will I incorporate it into my daily life? By being real with people, both believers and nonbelievers. What has turned me off about the evangelistic methods that I have seen is that they are dishonest (at least for me). I would never talk to people in such a matter of fact way or use the format that is often used. Over the past eight weeks I have had the opportunity to share the gospel with several people. It has been years since I have really talked to someone about God because I have felt that I am inadequate for the task or too hypocritical. But as I look as Scripture, I see that God uses the broken, the weak, and sometimes even those who were diametrically opposed to Him. It is when we come before God realizing that we, in fact, have nothing to offer that he can truly use us for His glory and His purpose.  What irritates me about the methodologies is that each one supposes to be the ‘best’ method or the ‘biblical model’. As I read through the book of Acts I see very different teaching/preaching styles but the same message. There is no ‘best’ method. The ‘best’ method is what works for you and the person that you are talking with at that particular time.

I have been enlightened through my reading on several areas. My wife and I have recently felt a call to missions. “We want to go to the ends of the earth,” we say, “Surely God will be able to use us there!” But we ignore the problems, the hurting, and the needs all around us. Oscar Thompson’s book, Concentric Circles of Concern really challenged me on this premise. If I can not make a difference in the lives of those closest to me, in the time and place that I am now, how can I expect to make a difference in other people’s lives in a foreign country? Why would I expect Person X (a total stranger) to listen to me when I haven’t told my own family about the Gospel? I have been encouraged to start close to home and work my way out, much like Jesus initially commanded. This begins with my family and then finding other opportunities that are in front of my face before I go trotting across the globe to tell others about Jesus. What if ‘to the ends of the earth’ is actually my hometown? What if the people that need to hear about Jesus the most are my own family and not some distant tribe in Africa? Will I still want to answer the call?

I also gained a lot from the basic understanding of Salvation described by McRainey. Surely, I thought, there must be more to salvation than belief and a simple prayer.  I knew there was more but could not adequately find the words to describe it. Salvation is encompassed in three things: believe/trust, repentance, and surrender. To be saved, I must believe that Jesus is and will do what He said. I must turn from my sinful ways and I must surrender my will to God’s will. This is what salvation means and the absence of this realization is one of the reasons for my lack of witness. I even learned something from Fay. While l disagree wholeheartedly with his systematic and simple approach to evangelism, he did realize that asking questions is important. When we beat people over the head with a message they won’t listen and will leave with distaste for what we preach. Even if the message is good, if our delivery is bad than we can expect nothing. When we allow people to talk, when we ask probing questions that cause people to challenge what they believe, then we are getting somewhere. Through asking thought provoking questions we allow a persons mind to work and for the Holy Spirit to do a work within them.

So, how do I go about evangelism for the rest of my life? To be honest, I don’t know. I know that right now I have to start with my family. My parents need Jesus more than anyone I know, yet I am much more eager to fly across the world and share with people that I have never met. If there is anything that I have learned from learning it is that the more learning I do, the more questions I have. I seldom walk away from a book, lecture, or class with more answers than questions. I have posed a lot of questions in my reflection of evangelism. The task that now lies ahead of me is to continue looking for answers. Along the way, I will tell people about Jesus. Tell them about this journey that I am on. Explain that I don’t have all of the answers, but I’m looking. I can share what I have experienced. I can share what I have learned. I can share my pain, my love, my joy, and my sorrow. Through my honest reflection of my journey towards God, I pray that the people I meet will be inclined to begin asking questions themselves and begin their own journey towards God. 

Shane's Bio Part 1

I figure that in order for you to care about where I'm going you have to know where I've been.

I grew up in Luling, LA (a suburb of New Orleans). I have two younger sisters. Angie is 21 and is getting married in June. She's at L.A. Tech getting a degree in Primary Education. Dana is 18 and is working on becoming a Certified Nursing Assistant. It's interesting that we've all chosen career paths that help people to get better, learn, and grow. I don't get to see them much, but I'm hoping that as we get older I can hang out with them more. 

My parents divorced when I was 7. I didn't have the greatest childhood, but from adversity comes strength. My parents did the best they could and I love them for it. It's only now that I'm starting to see the humanity and depravity that lives inside of all of us. My parents are great people that made some really bad decisions for a while. As I look inside myself, I can see the same qualities. It's very easy to fall into path where you never thought you be, just by making a few bad decisions. Look at the life of David the King. He went from lust, to adultery, to murder. I think selfishness plays a part, but such is humanity in its fallen state.

I was one of those smart kids through school: the ones with all the 'potential' but are too lazy (or bored) to do anything with it. God has decided to repay the favor by giving me tons of students that are VERY similar to me. Touche' God. Around my freshmen year of high school, two awesome things happened. I found God and I found music. I had known both of these before (I had grown up Catholic and played sax in band for quite some time), but they both became more real to me and became a driving force and catalyst for the next stage in my life. 

Growing up Catholic, I knew a lot about God but never knew God or that He was possible to be known. I have heard that Catholicism is different in different parts of the country, but in New Orleans it is a cultural thing. You are Catholic, because your mom was catholic. You go to church because it's what you are supposed to do. All in all, the Catholicism that I experienced growing up was very little about God and very much about cultural ties, heritage, and blind ignorant faith. [I'm sure I'll post more on this later, but faith and reason go hand in hand. It does no good to simply say "I just believe" in the face of overwhelming support for something else. I am speaking of Catholicism, but this is true of all Christianity. Jesus is The Truth, right? Augustine said that "All Truth is God's Truth". Therefore, seek Truth and there you will find God. Don't be afraid to look for the answers and ask the tough questions. Blind, ignorant faith does not help you or the cause of Christianity. But I digress...] I left the Catholic church when I was 14. Around this time you are supposed to go through Confirmation, that is a ritual where you confirm that you believe everything that Catholicism stands for. My mom was not happy about me leaving the church, but could understand that I could not openly acknowledge something I did not believe. I did not believe it because I had recently started attending a Bible Church with my best friend Justin Pohlmann. Through him and his family I saw that faith could be real. That there was something to this God that I had heard so much about. I decided to follow Jesus after a retreat where Adrian Dupre, the speaker, gave a very convincing sermon/drama about exactly what Jesus did on the cross and who He did it for. At last I realized that Jesus died for ME. It was personal, and I pledged my life to follow the Man who had given His life for me.

Shortly thereafter, I decided that if I was going to follow Jesus than I needed to truly serve Him. This meant, for me, surrendering to a life of ministry. I wasn't really sure what my calling was, but Justin's mom jokingly (at least I think it was jokingly...hmm) suggested that we should go to Christian clown college. Except we didn't take it as a joke. There really is such a thing. I was ready to spend my life 'Juggling for Jesus'. Luckily, as I mentioned earlier, I also got into music around this same time. 

I picked up the guitar when I was 14. My Dad bought me one from one of his drunken friends. I remember looking at it in awe, and when I got it inside and cleaned it out, inside of the soundhole I found cigarette butts, bear cans, mardi gras beads, even a stuffed animal! As crazy as it was, this was the start of my ministry. I joined a band with Justin, his brother Andrew, and another friend, Ryan Kessler shortly thereafter. We called ourselves Tried by Fire, after a verse in 1 Corinthians. Looking back, I thought that I was really hardcore. I wore JNCOs (which I still have) long after they weren't cool, had an embarrassing amount of 'flame' shirts (We were called tried by FIRE, weren't we?), and had multicolored spiked up hair...and we can't forget the bright yellow Jesus shoes (which I still have). I got made fun of a lot, but I figured that that was the price you pay for being cool. In hindsight, I looked really dumb and deserved to get made fun of. You live you learn, right? 

I played with a few other bands and eventually decided that I should probably look into youth and music ministry. I had a passion for God, a passion for students, and a passion for music. I looked all around the nation for great Christian colleges: Baylor, Colorado Christian, Moody. But God had other plans for me. I wound up in a small Bible college in the town of Birmingham, AL. This was definitely not where I wanted to be, but it was exactly where I needed to be.

To be continued...

-shane

What we're all about

Hey Guys, 

So, we decided to join the blog revolution. Or something like that.

Shauna and I have been praying about missions and wanted a place where we could put our thoughts, prayer requests, etc. This is that place. As of now, there's not much to it. 

A bit of info about us:

I lead worship for Route 56, a preteen ministry, and teach in the Arts Academy at Hunter Street Baptist Church. Shauna is an assistant at Shades Mountain Independent Church. We both have degrees from Southeastern Bible College. I'm working on my M.A. at Liberty University. We've been married for almost 2 years and have an awesome mini-dachshund named Flops. We know that we are called to ministry, but lately have been feeling that this may be overseas. We're not sure if this means that we'll go on one short term trip, a series of short term trips, a longer short term trip (6months-2 years), or spend the rest of our lives somewhere. I do know that we are open.

For some reason I have really had the desire to train pastors and other leaders and work on discipleship. You should know that I've never actually done this. I've never led a youth group, preached, or even taught the Bible formally. I have taught, but all of my teaching experience is in music. So, this is crazy right? Why would I feel called and want to do something that I've never actually done before?

I don't know. I do know that I have a passion for it and that I enjoy talking about Bible and Theology stuff.  I'm not the smartest guy that I've ever met. There are tons of guys that I know that know Theology much better than me. I love to learn and I love to help others learn. I really enjoy taking hard to understand concepts and making them more easily accessible for people. Is that enough?

In the future you can look for bios from Shauna and I as well as regular updates and thoughts as we begin this crazy missions life. 

-shane