Becoming Greek

Iron sharpens Iron

When I was a Jr in college I felt the Lord calling me to give my summer away, I gave it up and ended up in N. Ireland. Since that summer Andrew has been a continual individual to sharpen my life. Today I was privileged to watch Mark and Andrew exchange ideas. I almost just felt out of my league as these guys shared ideas, but in a sense I knew I was in the middle of the league I was supposed to be in. After an incredible day of learning I received a phone call from Dick Foth who wanted to catch a few minutes with Andrew before he flew home. So tomorrow we will be connection with a guy I admire tremendously. I have not connected with Dick since I had him speak at my CBC leadership retreat when I was the SGA president my Sr year. I have had a week with people that are in a league of their own.

All this to say.... You have to get around sharp people in this thing called life. Quality is drawn to quality, and you must find individuals you can learn from.... And as an emerging leader you have to get around people who are a step ahead of you. The temptation is to think you are a big fish in a small pond, rather than viewing yourself as a small fish in a massive pond. To many leaders struggle with identity and insecurity. It disallows them to maximize their potential; often times because they cannot see it in themselves.

I have tried the past few years to surround my life with those who are miles ahead of me. This week I was barraged by Dave, Andrew, Brian, Mark, and Dick. These are the weeks that stretch leadership in a person. These are the weeks that sharpen Iron. These are the weeks that have a hand in changing Greece.

Washington DC

Needless to say I have had a really interesting 40 hours in our nations capitol with a couple of Irish boys. My good friend Andrew McCourt and Brian Sommerville have been giving me a run for my money here in the city. Andrew is getting ready to purchase some property and start a coffee house in Derry, NI. It is really unique that God has breathed a similar dream in our hearts in separate countries, to reach entirely different people groups. One of the most successful coffee shops run by a church is National Community Churches Ebenezers Coffee Shop. We have a huge privilege to meet with Mark Batterson tomorrow and talk ideas. I think my head will explode stuck listening to Mark and Andrew. These are truly some movers and shakers of our time.

Today was a sight seeing day for Andrew and Brian, and it was "Baltic" here in DC. We walked, metro-ed, ran, walked, froze, and thawed out a few times. It was fun to see the sights of the city with these guys. The white house lawn was full with the Boston Red Sox, but other than that the sights were pretty light with traffic. We even think we saw the outline of Robert E Lee in the statue of Lincoln in the back of his hair (see urban legends). I snapped this picture at the Vietnam memorial as we watched a family stencil out a name of a loved one.

I love the community that we have had today, from the random moments at the diner with a waiter named Jeremy. To our new friend Dave Donaldson who is doing big things for God. In a round about way it just seems that we are walking in his favor. We have visited the coffee house twice, and each time the burden grows for Ireland and Greece.

Keep us in your prayers, and I am excited to see what tomorrow will bring.

Highway 15

I am going to be using Highway 15 a lot this week. My friend from Ireland, Andrew McCourt is visiting the DC area. I am picking him up at the airport tonight, and then we have a couple of key meetings that I will get to be a part of while he is in the country. It will be short visit, but I am glad I will get to see him. The bummer part is that I have to take a couple trips down 15 to DC..... I will let you know later in the week some of the great things that happen!!!

Tucker

This weekend I had a service at a great church in Boynton, PA. For those of you who are not familiar with the location, it is on the boarder of Maryland and highway 219. The church is very healthy and is very missions minded. I had a bonus this weekend because my buddy Tucker came with me for the service. We cruised down Saturday night, and spend the night in a historic hotel in Grantsville, MD. We had a lot of laughs and enjoyed a little college hoops. Tucker surprised me when I saw the missions board at Cornerstone A/G. He was related to three missionaries that the church supports. As our conversations continues I found that Tucker is related to a ton of people that I know.....

On our way back we visited the flight 93 memorial, and had a chance to hear a lady telling the stories of the passengers. It was weird that I was able to visit the memorial twice in a week, but the weather was much better yesterday so I could soak a lot more in. I enjoy great friendships, and it was a huge blessing to have a road-trip with Tucker. He is a great guy, and am glad we have a friendship.

Mac's Haircut

After much wait and wonder, Mac has visited the barber. Last week he finally got his first haircut. He is no longer a longhaired boy, that is sporting a semi-mullet. He is now a cut young man, who is looking to spend some time on the cover of GQ.... What a cute kid!!!

IAT's

I am currently reading the book Blink during my run around the state this week. It is a fascinating read about our ability to asses a situation in the blink of an eye. It talks about our cognitive state in which our brain can compute endless data in a moment. I have enjoyed the read, and today did a little bit of the homework to see how I naturally respond to people groups. In the book be talks about tests called IAT's. These test use instant reactions to reveal how you instantaneously feel about people groups, gender, race, disability, or even weight. I took the test this morning and was disappointed in myself. I realized that it is very easy to have preference to things that are "like you".

As an individual who is going abroad I realized how programmed we are through our media and entertainment. I also realized how difficult it is to know a culture without spending time with them. As my good friend Andrew says "the problem most people have is that they do not have enough stamps in their passports'.

I have been sharing a lot recently about Eastern cultures and people, and found it interesting how I feel in my cognitive brain. I plan to take the tests a few more times, and will continue to work on any bias that I might have. I truly feel that we are all created equal, and that I do not have a preference.... But is that what is in your cognitive brain? I realized today that I need to work a little harder in this area. I am not a racist or bigot in any way. But it is easy to have a preference, and that is what this test will identify.

Take the IAT Test that is hosted by Harvard University. I bet the test will surprise you as well....

I would like to hear some comments about your experience taking an IAT.

Flight 93

When I was traveling to my Sunday Night service I came across a sign that perked my attention. Flight 93 - 3 miles. There was an arrow pointing down a rural road. I was about two miles from my service, and thought I would take the detour. I basically drove to the middle of an insignificant field in the middle of rural PA. I was overcome by the feelings that I felt that day on 9/11. I have had multiple experiences at ground zero in New York, and felt the same felling. You get this pit in the middle of your stomach thinking about how such a tragic thing could happen. You feel helpless, and always seem to walk away moved by the moment.

These memorials are simple reminders of the lives that were lost in that terrible day, and in the middle of that field in rural PA stands a memorial that gets far less traffic than ground zero. Yet, it is significant in so many ways. These earthly tokens remind us to never take things for granted. We live in a great country, and are very blessed. Every once and a while it is nice to have a reminder of all those things..... So we pray for our troops, and ask God to touch the families that are still feeling the loss of their loved ones...

Valentine Advice

You know when you get a voicemail sometimes, but your phone never rings.... I hate when you just miss a call because the phone company did not have enough signal or whatever. The kind of voicemail that you get 10 seconds after the phone should have rang...... Normally not a big deal, but today I missed a phone call from one of my favorite people in all the world.... Andrew McCourt. The thing about Andrew is that he lives in Ireland and I don't have a good international plan. So I had to listen to his voicemail knowing I would have to wait another day or two for him to call. He is coming to visit Washington DC the end of this month and so we are trying to get a few details organized.

His voicemail's are always highly entertaining in his classic Irish accent. He bantered on about me missing the call, but had some good advice for us all. The devil does not take off Valentines day and so we shouldn't take it off either.... Words to cherish and live by...

Going to the Bullpen

Tonight I was supposed to be speaking in Altoona. I was looking forward to it because one of my friends Phil Luciano lives there and we were going to hang at his house tonight. But with the ice storm today they wanted me to re-schedule. I was thinking I would have the night off, and go over to River of God church where one of my friends is the youth pastor. I texted him to see if service tonight was still on, but found out he was really sick. So he asked if I could fill in tonight for him. I would bend over backwards for Jimmy Banks, and so I jumped at the opportunity to help him out. Turns out the River of God youth are turning to the bullpen tonight. I better get warmed up and ready to go tonight....

Cold out in Western PA

Over the weekend we had two really great services in Roaring Springs and New Castle. Our AM service was in Roaring Springs and we loved the church. While we were in youth ministry we became friends with their youth pastors. Since our time in youth ministry they have transitioned in the church to worship ministry. They did an incredible job, and it was really nice to re-connect. They have a vibrant church, and the best bulletins we have seen so far.

We then drove across the rest of PA in horrible weather to make it to New Castle PA. The New Castle church is a influential church in the district. And for you CLA folk it is Mark Myers (Charity Myers husband) parents. They took such good care of us, but it was cold. The only thing I would have changed would have been the weather. Even Brady and Mac were upset with the cold temperatures. It was such a great experience for us to rub shoulders with these churches. We are so blessed to be able to minister in these great churches.