Colorado Connections

We just returned from an awesome vacation in Steamboat Springs, CO. As I mentioned in an earlier blog, a   wonderful family in our church blessed us with accommodations at one of Steamboat's premier properties: The Sheraton Steamboat Villas with ski-in, ski-out access and plush amenities. Several friends from the church joined our family and my sister Holane's family for a terrific time skiing, tubing, dog sledding, eating, hanging out and playing Spades!

After our dates had been scheduled, I discovered that Shawn was planning a midwest tour for Master's Commission that brought them as far as Denver - 3 1/2 hours from Steamboat Springs the very weekend we would arrive for vacation! (That had to be God!) I got on the internet and found a great Assembly of God church in Steamboat Springs and called to see if they would be interested in hosting the team at one of their services. I knew God was in it when the receptionist picked up and said, "Jeff Ables? I'm from Franklin!" (She is from my friend Brad Bullock's church and knows our church very well.) She put me in touch with the pastor and it turns out he is a Master's Commission alumni who loves the program and understands the whole touring/promotion process. He invited our students to perform their production at his Wednesday night youth service and it was incredible! They put the MC students up at the church for three days and let them enjoy the exciting attractions that Steamboat has to offer. The youth group at the church responded in mass the night XMC performed and I feel like I've made a life-long friend in Pastor Troy Lewis from Steamboat Christian Center! What a thrilling experience it was to get to introduce the XMC team to one of my favorite places on earth!

Another highlight on the trip was watching my nephew Jeremy propose to his girl friend Stephanie! He had arranged with the staff of one of the restaurants on the mountain to have their outdoor camera (which provides live steaming on the Steamboat website) to have it focused on the place he proposed, which allowed many of their friends and family to watch it happen live around the country! The good news is she said "yes!" Now that's a Colorado connection!

Our vacation reminded me of how wonderful the connections God gives us are! Our connection with the family in our church who blessed us with our condo, the connection with that family and others who accompanied us on the trip, the connection with Pastor Troy and our new friends at SCC, the connection made between Jeremy and Stephanie through their engagement: Thank God for the way He connects us! (Especially in Colorado!)

No excuses!

Divine Connections

One of the primary things I believe about God is He is a relational Creator. He proves that over and over in so many ways. The longer I live, the more I see a connection between my past and my present (and even my future) that demonstrates His relational nature.

This past week we attended the National Master's Commission Conference in Fort Worth, TX. It's the first national MC Conference we've attended since 1999, the year we moved back to Lafayette. Most of you know Robin is in our Master's Commission program this year and our team always attends the conference. The national director, Lloyd Zeigler is a good friend who has been after me for some time to attend the national conference again. After all, our program in Lafayette was the very first program launched outside of the original program that Lloyd led in Phoenix, AZ. Today there are hundreds of programs world-wide! Sunday, after our last service, Donna, Chase and I loaded up and headed to Texas! It was a great conference! It was so inspiring to worship with over eight hundred young people so on fire for God! John Bevere was the keynote speaker this year and man did he ever bring it! Our guys performed their Christian Commitment stomp routine and brought the house down!

One of the highlights of the trip was God once again proving His relational nature to me. The host church for the conference has a Master's Commission program led by a young lady named Crystal Bernard. She also serves on the the board of MCIN (Master's Commissional International Network). Crystal is the daughter of a man named Glen Johnson, who I worked with at the old Howard Brother's distribution center back in the early 1980's. (For those of you who don't know ancient history, Howard Brothers was the Walmart of it's day.) I worked their on their loading docks and Glen often checked in the merchandise I unloaded. I was a backslidden Pentecostal preacher's kid, Glen was a fiery young Christian who shared Christ with me every day until I finally committed my heart to Christ! Now, thirty years later, I meet his daughter serving on the board of a network of Master's Commission programs of which we were the very first! You've got to love those divine connections!

Just My Opinion

Opinions are just that: Opinions. They exist because of our unique perspectives, likes and dislikes - But at the end of the day they're nothing more than a product of our own bias. That's why they should never be regarded higher than love. What difference does it make if we don't see eye-to-eye? We may not have the same opinion about something, but that doesn't make me right and you wrong - We just have differing opinions! I don't have to take that personally and act as though an opinion is more important than our friendship!

If this were a matter of principal, if there could be cited some chapter or verse, then I would be obligated to hold to my convictions and allow Christ to bring the sword that He promised would divide us. But for the sake of a mere opinion? Never!

We love to weigh in. We love to offer our opinion! Yet when we insist on our right to opine, we often forfeit the trust of so many we might otherwise influence for Christ. Is it worth that? Throw that up on the scales of justice and determine whether weighing in with your opinion is really the right thing to do! I say it is not! But of course, that's just my opinion.