My Obnoxious Brag-athon

      I felt a strange urge today. After another long day of planning to get [these set of expectations] accomplished and actually only accomplishing {this set of expectations}, which were completely externally driven by the worldly system called “my boss,” I find myself rushing to get two loads of clothes washed and my Bible studied up on. I see no need to expound on what each of the previous two list compiled of, but I would like to brag for a little while. Upon sitting down at the Chatman’s family dinner table, opening my Bible, turning on my laptop, and rifling through all the things I have not done today I find myself musing that I have not boasted in a while. So hear me out as I get my brag on for a little bit.

      

      Everyone is in shocked giggles at this point thinking, “Jordan? Bragging??” and some of my younger, less sanctified friends might be grabbing stones as we speak (I use to be that guy). That’s okay I still have love for these people. Some of my closer friends (I hope anyway) have caught on at this point, however, and know where this is going. In light of these last few weeks I have a lot to brag about. Looking back on my entire life I would estimate I have even more to brag about.

      

      To who it may concern, I try to be as biblical in my thinking as possible, and so when the thought of boasting comes to mind I have a pretty narrow list of things biblically permissible to brag about. This works out perfectly for me though because the listing of things to boast in (God) has blessed me exceedingly and abundantly all my life, but I am going to focus on what the Lord has laid on my heart this busy Monday night while doing laundry (I swear I am an old man).

     

      2 Corinthians 10:17 quotes Jeremiah from the Old Testament that God has commanded his people, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” Let’s pause and come back to this. Don’t you love the back story? As I was sitting here talking to Mrs. Kate and her son Victor and his friend Shadi (which I prefer to pronounce shotty and in a T-Pain voice when he is not around) I was thinking, “I am not getting my clothes washed, I am not getting my study time in, I am not doing anything productive at ALL!”

     

     After this selfish, mentally composed temper-tantrum, God gave me a “big picture” moment. I realized I had just committed to doing an in depth study of 1 John with two committed growing Christians in Shadi and Vic. My whole day had consisted of being tutored by one of the cutting edge church planters in the nation. We got to go visit some church members from Pillar that just had a baby boy, and be the church to them. We prayed with them, and celebrated their babies birthday! In short, God gave me a peace about my day that, though I did not do MY Christian activities, He was more pleased with His child doing HIS Christian activities, and that activity was being the Church to his body of believers. God was pleased with me investing hours of my day to simply building credible relationships with folks up here, and earning a chance to speak truth with them, and not just shooting truth at them from afar.

     

     As if my mind was not already blown, the Father gave me another step back from the “big picture” previously mentioned and said, “Jordan, I’ve been doing this your entire life. I’m glad we had this moment for me, God, to make this known to you.” Praise you Father. Now let me proceed with my bragging: I left my entire family back home to come up here. God one upped me by giving me at least five families that have accepted me in, fed me, opened up their washer and dryer to me, and took the time to ask the motherly questions I hear back home, “How ya holding up, Jordan? Are you getting enough sleep? We just wanted you to know we are blessed to have you up here for the summer.” If kind-hearted people such as these aren’t God-sends then I don’t know who is. They are something worth bragging about. Going even deeper into family, the Chatman family has been like a home away from home. Vic has been a great friend to me; we got back to back milkshakes at Jo Jo’s, he helped me set up for a huge event I had to organize, and has made himself available to be a buddy in a time when I am in a new place. Mrs. Kate has kept my waist line furious all summer with what feels like a buffet of leftovers and fruit at my disposal. Mr. Alex has been very fatherly with advice, intentional time spent in conversation, and even playing tennis with me. Though these wonderful people could never replace my real family, they sure do a great job of showing me God’s grace.

     

     God is such a show off in my life right now. I was scheduled to lead a Bible study this summer for Pillar. However, this plan was terminated, and to let you in on the secret I am a huge fan of leading Bible studies. To stifle my disappointment God has given me a youth group to lead (heavy wagon there), and three guys already that I get to really disciple this summer and pour into. All three guys are dedicated to learning more about God’s word, and took notice of what God has done in my life. A blessing like that is by far worth bragging about.

      

     For all the blessing I receive, every bit of it is needed. I am far too weak to succeed apart from God stepping in and making something of the sand-castles I hopelessly construct two feet from a rising tide. He always does something infinitely and abundantly more than I could have anticipated. That is what has me on this key board tonight; I simply could not justify doing laundry when there is so much about God that I just have to brag about.

     
     This part of my blog is dedicated to my homeboy Bobby and his hilarious wife Brittany. I want to brag on two things with these two people: 1) God’s work in their life is evident and they are sold out to His calling. 2) They have incredibly gracious to be friends to me since I have been here. They have included me in their plans, saved me a seat when they didn’t have to, and been a perfect example of how easy it is to be the Church to people. To you two, Bobby and Brittany, I give a lot of thanks, and want to brag on God for being a God who supplies, even if it is something as simple as friends. 

Just Two Quick Points

Two quick points of interest I feel most will agree with: Transitions are the worst, and I need around 42 hours in a day rather than 24.

     We’ll come back to that. First off I have to say I am thankful for where I am, what God has me doing, and every detail of it that could be listed. Colossions 3:15 ends with this command after telling Christians to let the peace of Christ rule our hearts, “And be thankful.” I think this command was given because God knows how ill-spirited mankind was going to be about the little nuances in life that can be called “curveballs.” I can lose sight of how blessed I am to be in such a favorable season of life that I will complain about traffic, odd location, living out of a bag, or any number of things that are what I feel C.S. Lewis would refer to as “bloody irritating.”

     

     Okay, generous reader, I’ll be even more specific and be a little vulnerable. Why not? It’s Tuesday night, I’ll give it a spin. Getting from one place to another in an unfamiliar city can be really defeating. Back home, or even in the whole state, I can get around as if on auto-pilot and not really have to think about it. Up here near D.C I have to resort to a GPS daily almost, and constantly watch for road signs and trust iffy directions. Eating becomes a strategic plan of attack instead of relaxation because I don’t know where places are, or if a place I want to eat is around here. Once again, Google maps are recruited, and I think we all can attest that Google often has a mind of its own. Working out is straight up lonely. I don’t mind working out alone, but motivation and conversation are big help. Heck, there are hardly even strangers in the gym. Most of the time, I have the gym to myself (although the gym is pretty legit). Speaking of lonely (I say this half kidding) it is an odd reality not having a friend to call on up here and just say, “Hey bro, NBA Finals are on, pizza at my place?” or “Yeah I know I am an idiot, but can you help me do this real quick?” Of course I have my pastors, but they’re also bosses with families. I almost feel intrusive or incompetent if I just don’t get it done myself. That aspect pans itself out more times than not; as an only child I am use to being alone, and enjoy the quiet. I more times than not just look at myself and say, “Suck it up, Thig,” and move on.

     One more and I’ll stop whining. I’ve had to move since moving up here. A little fun fact about Thig (yes, that is the last time I refer to myself in third person), I am very comparable to a gypsy in my skill of packing up and moving. Kansas’ song “Wayward Son” was written with me in mind. However, one can only move so many times before the “new” wears off of that dog and pony act pretty quick. This is the part in my blog where I transition to how blessed I am. I was living in the basement of our church planting pastor Clint Clifton (@dirtyclint for my twitter fam) for the first week of the internship. Before I go further, I adore their family. All four of their kids are hilarious balls of energy, his wife, Mrs. Jennifer, was perfectly hospitable, and Dirty C, as I like to call him, and I share laughs all the time. He had some family come into town and I was simply to spend a few days at another member of the churches house. Long story short it has worked out that I am just moving in with them for the summer, and it is just tiresome on top of getting all my work done.

Within all of these minor issues, which I turn into Titanic-sinking, glacier sized worries, God has been gracious enough to show me why I can still obey the command, “And be thankful.” The family I moved in, the Chatman’s, have been so helpful, thoughtful, and hospitable to say the least in my transition. I have the entire basement to myself with a good sized bed. Their son, who is a freshman in college, has been a good friend to me. I have seen Mr. Alex, the father of the house, put on a display of some excellent parenting in the face of some tough issues that a father has to face (literally I was caught in the middle of the conversation). Another grace that I have had is the council of two phenomenal, gospel driven pastors. Colby, the teaching pastor, has been a great friend as well as teacher during my stay here. He is very intentional about grooming me and maturing me into a man that is capable of leading a church, and we have enjoyed several laughs along the way (most of which involve some form of slight on my southern draw). Clint has been teaching me the cutting edge techniques involving successful church planting. Flat out, this church is like nothing I have ever seen. They bring a whole new meaning to discipling the members of their church. Speaking of members, almost every member at Pillar Church has opened up their homes, wallets, and time to me in effort to welcome me and make me feel at home. Jack Catalano in particular has been a real pleasure to get to know. He has this Bostonian accent, and real flavor for life that makes everything laughable, and constantly is in prayer to God. I love that guy.

     On top of all these humbling blessings God has pointed out, I have also been blessed by so many prayers, texts, and kind words from back home. Shout out to Katelyn and Billy for the care package! That was the most thoughtful, caring thing anyone could have done. That alone makes me want to run back to exit 116 Statesboro, Georgia and get to work doing ministry with you guys, and I am more than excited about what God has in store for the fall.

All of that said, it is only week 2 of my internship and I see more and more how dependant I will have to be, because only God can keep me energized, satisfied, joyful, and worth anything up here in Dumfries, Virginia. I am His empty vessel ready to be poured out. Keep me lifted up in prayer, ya’ll.