"The Catalyst" by Linkin Park, Part 1

Linkin Park is not, nor has ever been a Christian band. In the album booklet for A Thousand Suns, they state, "the imagery personified herein is neither dogma nor political premeditation." All interpretations of this song are not exactly, to my knowledge, the same as the band's interpretations. They are mine as a professed Christian, as God has used this music to impact me. I sincerely hope and pray that the same will be true for you.

GOD CAN USE ABSOLUTELY ANYTHING FOR HIS GLORY.

A few years ago while younger in my Christian faith, I threw out all my secular CDs, feeling strongly that it was from God and that I had to get rid of every evil thing I owned. The music I listened to represented years of depression, sorrow and regret. Linkin Park, one of my favorite bands, was part of that music collection. However about two years ago, as my faith gained stability, I found myself led by the Holy Spirit to go back to listening to them again. Linkin Park's music used to aid me into welcoming thoughts of hopelessness, but lately I have found some of their songs literally bringing me to my knees.

The nice thing about Linkin Park's lyrical content in their music is that it is incredibly vague. They never use names, or describe specific situations, but purposefully make their lyrics as broad and general as possible. Anything specific is described using poetic imagery and symbolism, which allows any listener to interpret what they say for themselves.

In their song "The Catalyst", there is a lot of beautiful poetic imagery, which shows definite maturity for Chester Bennington and Mike Shinoda (the band's singers). The song has simple lyrics, many of them sung repeatedly, like a chant.

God bless us everyone, we're a broken people living under loaded gun,
and it can't be outfought, it can't be outrun, it can't be outmatched, it can't be outrun.
NO!

The band took a very bold step in this song, using the words "God" and "sins". People today, even in churches, don't like saying the word "sin". The same goes with the word "God." They oftentimes instead use words like "Higher Power" or "force". Even some Christian artists nowadays won't use those words in their lyrics, but Linkin Park flat out calls them as they are!

This verse emphasizes brokenness and hopelessness. In using "us", it shows that this is a whole group of people, probably society in general. This verse very accurately represents our world today. The words, "living under loaded gun" stress that these people are under the authority of evil and are being broken by it and are completely and utterly hopeless. They can't fight, they can't run, because they can't even match up to the incredible size of their oppressor. Romans 3:23 says, "All have sinned", and Jesus says, "Truly, truly I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin" (John 8:34).

The words, "God bless us everyone", I don't think emphasize the fact that they are crying out to God, but I think they have more of a sarcastic tone to them. God has NOT blessed them. The people in this song are in pain. They don't feel blessed, they feel cursed! I think they do want blessing, and may even think that they have it or deserve it. Romans 6:23 says, "For the wages of sin is death." A wage is something you earn. Sin blinds us, deceives us and ultimately kills us.

And when I close my eyes tonight to symphonies of blinding light,
(God bless us everyone, we're a broken people living under loaded gun)
Like memories in cold decay, transmissions echoing away,
Far from a world of you and I, where oceans bleed into the sky.

The words here stress a hope for something more. The speaker portrayed in this DREAMS of a world filled with light, bliss and harmony. The light is even blinding. In the Bible, when certain people saw God, they saw blinding light. Paul was literally blinded by it when God showed up to him. The speaker longs for something bigger than they are. However, when the speaker opens his eyes in the morning after dreaming, he is back in this dark world he is trapped in. Whether we're Christian or not, we've all felt this way before. That bigger thing is the God of the Universe.

The old world is only a memory, one in "cold decay". Every memory progressively loses more of its luster as its "transmissions echo away." This was probably just how Adam felt during the ticking days after he was excommunicated from Eden. Adam was alive 930 years (Genesis 5:5). That is a lot of reflection time! He had no more face to face interaction with God. No more peace, and no more harmony. He became just like God (Gen. 3:5), and I'm sure he completely regretted it.

This is the state of humanity today. Once freely able to seek and serve the God who loves us, now in bondage by the sin that consumed us.

"The Catalyst" is written by Linkin Park, copyright 2010 Universal Music.

The Breaker's Commission

Life
Love
Forgiveness
Acceptance

Stripping demons right off my back
trying to leech life off of me
GET OFF ME
and feel my father's fury oppressor!

One day you'll feel the full blast of His vengeance, Beelzebub
but for now I'll
love.

Cause I've got strength.

He blew courage in my backbone
now I'll stand straight and militant
lining up in Jehovah's Battalion
knowing you can't challenge Him
so we march forward
Swift as eagles set like talons
ready to grip souls from your grasp
slick snake in the grass
my Lord
sees you and vengeance is
His.

But for now I retaliate
propelled by a Holy Mandate to heal
cause I know how bad it hurts

Full of madness at first
but now
gladness bursts at the seams of our beings
cause we overflow with the oil of joy.

The Ointment of the anointed
mending any torn soul
Healing any
broken bone
He is
here.

He was there
He is peace
He is faithful

Lyrics by For Today, Copyright 2010 Facedown Records, stanzas and capitalization done by me.

It's Not Just About the Money....

It's not just about the money. How about I say it again....

IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT THE MONEY!

So many times it can be easy for me and many others I call to get in that mindset. However that's not JUST what it's about.

Before I get into what it is about, please note the word "JUST". That word is important because it means that it IS about money. Let's not think I'm forgetting about the money here. This summer in order to be fully supported, I need to raise many more thousands of dollars. Ministry shouldn't JUST be about money, however, every human being has to live, and living is much easier when the bills are paid. No, I'm not talking about a loan for my new Lexus. Not to mention it kind of increases your witness a bit more. I wouldn't want to mentor a student when I'm $20,000 in debt and on the run from the IRS.

Here is what fundraising is about:

1. Seeing God's provision - OVER and OVER again I have seen it. There were tons of accounts in the Bible when God provided for a ministry. Sometimes it involved Paul getting a job, other times it involved Elijah asking a widow for support (which amazingly saved her life! 1 Kings 7:8-16). In my own life I have seen it: people randomly giving me checks, gift cards for groceries, Bibles, study resources, and much more. Fundraising makes you realize one very important thing: EVERYTHING belongs to God and He gives it freely to those He loves.

2. Worship to God - Worship is not just composed of singing songs and raising hands. The big question I leave people with when I meet with them is this: "Would you please pray about supporting me?" Though the check they write is payable to "The Navigators", who REALLY gets the money is God. It's an offering to Him (see Philippians 4:17-18). Then God takes that offering and in turn blesses both the giver and the receiver. Isn't it amazing? When I ask someone to partner with me in financial support, in a way I am asking them if they would like to be blessed by God. That's why I say to them, "Whatever you decide is between you and God, not between you and me." EVERYTHING belongs to God, and as a privilege as children of God we can offer things back to Him for the furthering of His Kingdom. That's what people who partner with me will be doing!

3. Treasures in Heaven - What are those? Do we have a Lexus in Heaven waiting for us? (again with the Lexus!) If we give $20 next Sunday, does that mean $40 is waiting for us there? I doubt it. One of the exciting things we will get to experience one day is what actually happened with the seeds we sowed. What happened with that homeless guy I talked with about Jesus? Or in this case...How did I bless this ministry? Seeing the lives impacted for Jesus as a result of my giving has been exciting. I literally SHOUTED FOR JOY this past year when a missionary I supported helped lead a German girl to Jesus. My money went to that! If it wasn't for my pledge, she wouldn't be there showing that German girl the way to Jesus. THAT is Treasure in Heaven!

So give freely. Give sacrificially. Who knows who you'll be blessing? God does. You give to Him and He blesses you, the missionary you give to, and the LIVES that missionary invests in.

I needed to write this for myself as a friendly reminder. Thanks for reading!

God bless you,

Steve

"Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit. I have received full payment, and more. I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God. And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:17-19 ESV)

Why Have You Forsaken Me?

My God, my God why have You forsaken me? Why are You so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? O my God I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night but find no rest." -the words of a broken man.

The excerpt, of course, is the first two verses of Psalm 22. Recently, God put it on my heart to study this psalm.

At a prayer meeting one time, I heard a woman pray, "God, we're not supposed to cry. You hate it when we cry. You command us to rejoice!"

God commands us to rejoice?! If so, what does "rejoicing" look like? Is "rejoicing" walking around forcing a happy smile when inside we feel miserable and want to bawl our eyes out? Many people I know think that. When I heard that woman pray that, my heart broke. I got angry! Who told her that lie?! It was like she was saying that God is this gestapo that comes to you as you're bawling your eyes out and says, "Rejoice! What's wrong with you?! Suck it up, buttercup!" And yes, I know what Philippians 4:4 says, but is it actually just a command?

We can think it is! When we go to church we almost can feel guilty about showing our true emotions sometimes. I've felt this way especially in ministry.
People walk up to me and ask, "Hey Steve, how's it going?"
First words out of my mouth: "Good!" I force a smile at them.

There were times when I said that and I felt horrible! I had a sleepless night, a stressful week, a stubborn student in ministry not listening to me, financial woes, car problems, the list has gone on. Why didn't I just tell them?! I would have times of prayer with God in the midst of times like this: "Dear God, thank you for today..." when in reality I was not feeling that! So why didn't I tell Him that?! WHY?!

YES trials can mold us and shape us and YES God can use them, but sometimes what we forget is that GOD is NOT just LORD, but our LOVING FATHER! You know what His tone is in saying the words, "Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice?" It is this: He gently puts His hand on our shoulder, looks at us with the most compassionate eyes imaginable as we are bitter and weeping and says, "I'm your Dad, I love you, and I'll get you through this. Rejoice!"

I'm not going to lie, but when I think about that, it brings tears to my eyes.

Because we've all had times in our lives when we've felt horrible! David WAS feeling horrible as he was writing this and yet it is in the Bible as one of the most popular psalms. One of the main examples, of course was that through the poetic imagery he was using, he was describing Jesus on the cross. When he wrote the words, "they have pierced my hands and feet" (v. 16), historically speaking crucifixion wasn't even invented yet as a form of execution. So what does that mean?

God used this broken man, that's what it means. David was just expressing his heart to God, but GOD was using HIM to explain to the WORLD that ultimately THIS WILL BE JESUS.

Jesus,
the God of the universe who became a man.
A broken man of sorrows,
bearing the wrath we deserve.
He
was
forsaken.
David felt forsaken,
Jesus was forsaken.
We feel forsaken,
Jesus was forsaken.

And because of that, in Christ we are NEVER forsaken. Toward the end of that psalm, David's tone changed to words of PURE PRAISE to God. We are supposed to praise and rejoice in God, yes! If I sounded like I was contradicting myself, I was not. We are supposed to and He does command it, BUT God at the same time allows us to come to Him as real people! We can come broken, bitter, and weeping and God does not condemn us, but embraces us as a loving Father embraces His son who just fell off a bike and is crying over a scraped knee. I don't know about you, but that God deserves to be rejoiced over.

So let's come to Him!

Who Are You?

The following blog I wrote in reflection the evening after attending a workshop called "How the Gospel Changes Obedience", led by a man named Bill Tell at my latest EDGE Summit in Colorado Springs.

"What do you do?"

That is the question that many people (including myself) ask someone in small talk when they want to know him or her better. In America today, we base a lot of our identity by what we do. Usually in the case of ministering to college students I ask them, "What is your major?"

We in society then base who that person is by what kind of career they have. If they are a businessman in a fortune 500 company then they must be really important. If they're a janitor or someone who works the night shift at a retail store stocking shelves, then they must be a lowlife druggie or something.

At times some of us may even say, "Here's my card..." On it it says our business position, company name and contact information, making us look much more official.

We even do this in the context of Christianity: "I'm a pastor, a missionary, an evangelist, a theologian, an apologist, a Navigator, etc."

In his letter to the Ephesian church, Paul immediately began by telling these people who they were in Jesus:

In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. (Ephesians 1:5-10)

Why did he do this? BECAUSE IT WAS IMPORTANT!

As Christians, this mindset of letting what we do define who we are is not the mindset we should have at all! In Jesus Christ, our new life starts with a new identity being given to us, not by what we've earned, but just because of His grace and mercy. Therefore, we will never be defined in God's eyes by what we do. He doesn't see me as a campus missionary working for The Navigators in the EDGE Corps program. He sees me as HIS SON!

No matter what I do, what career I have, I will always be known in God's eyes as His son. There is no good thing I can do that will make Him love me more, nor is there any bad thing I can do that will make Him love me less.

There is nothing I can do to get God closer to me. I could fast for 40 days, read the Bible countless times all the way through, and spend hours on end in prayer, and it will not get God any closer to me. Now these things are amazing and as a Christian should not be forsaken, but I have unlimited access to God, not because of how much time I spend with Him, but because of His Son dying on a cross to pay the price for my sins. Because of that, I can freely come to Him as I am.

This therefore makes things like giving generously, praying, reading the Bible, and loving your neighbor not duties that I should perform to become "a better Christian", but instead they are privileges that I now naturally want to do because God's power has made me a new person in Christ Jesus.

So in conclusion...WE ARE WHO WE ARE NOT BECAUSE OF WHAT WE DO, BUT BECAUSE OF WHAT GOD DID IN US! We therefore will naturally live according to our new identity in Christ Jesus.

Rapport

Something I learned a lot about ministering is that establishing rapport is really important for those you're ministering to. People nowadays really don't get as much out of "hit and run evangelism" as they used to. Especially in college, something that people really crave is relationships.

People who get witnessed to by a Christian can sometimes get upset not necessarily because of the Gospel being presented, but how it is presented. With a lot of people, especially here in New England, if they hear "Christian" they immediately think "a preacher with an agenda out to convert me." Of course we should pray for their salvation, and aim to share the Good News with them, but we shouldn't just look at these people as just "targets to preach to." These are people made in the image and likeness of God! Shouldn't we at the very least love them?

How do we love them? By getting to know them! Their goals, dreams, hobbies, struggles, favorite music, etc. Actually be friends with them. Do things with them like dinner, coffee, ultimate frisbee game, playing cards, hiking, and much more. We as humans, especially men, enjoy bonding by doing things together. They like talking while their hands are busy.

The misconception that many people have about Christianity is that it takes away your personality. People can think that when they come to Christ, they become "mindless Jesus zombies" whose only objective is to just go around converting everyone in sight. As Christians, we have personalities, so lets let them show! Share with them your hobbies, your favorite ice cream flavor, your life goals, etc.

Jesus did "hit and run" evangelism quite often during his ministry, so I am not in any way saying it doesn't work. He would heal someone and that would be His only interaction with them. However, Jesus' main evangelism was with the twelve men who followed Him around. I'm sure His conversations with them weren't just about deep spiritual issues and life lessons. People actually had senses of humor and actually had fun back then. I mean Jesus was invited to parties! Those were other opportunities He used...socializing with the people there and getting to know them. I mean, why wouldn't He? It would be the loving thing to do, right?

I did this a lot with a group of students at Eastern who played pool almost daily in the Student Center Cafe. I would hang out with them, mingle, and get to know them. It has been said, "People don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." How very true this is.

This process is much slower than a typical "hit and run" evangelism, but so much more worth it! Because you may not just gain a conversion, but a friend. It can also open the door for discipleship and follow-up. If they give their lives to Jesus, you'll probably be one of the first people they run to for advice.

Reflections on Last Wednesday (3/30)

Photo: Students socializing in the Student Center at ECSU. This is where a majority of my time is spent ministering to students, including where I met students for follow-up last Wednesday.

Last Wednesday was an amazing experience. For YEARS 180 Christian Fellowship, the club at Eastern I work with has been trying to implement successful follow-up. Ever since Spring 2006, when we had the band/ministry Holyfire (now the band is called Out Of Hiding) do an outreach concert at Eastern. Roughly 20 people made a profession of Christ that night at the concert and NONE of them were followed up successfully. The club tried again almost every year, doing an outreach event to freshmen, calling it the Hoozamadingie. In the event, they handed out spiritual interest surveys, and once again failed to follow-up with ANY of the students who were interested in knowing more. If Dawson Trotman, the founder of The Navigators, were alive today and working at ECSU, he would be one unhappy man.

A few weeks ago, we tried once again setting up a table and handing out surveys to students. We had hundreds filled out, some good conversations, and 19 students responded saying they wanted follow-up. This time I started making phone calls and sending out e-mails, just praying for a breakthrough. Out of the 19 students who replied, ONLY FOUR said they wanted to actually meet up in a group setting and discuss their questions, issues, etc. with God, Jesus, the Bible, Rebecca Black (if you don't know who she is...good) and much more.

We decided to meet last Wednesday at 6:00pm over pizza. If I were one of the students, I would be incredibly confused and nervous meeting a total stranger in the Student Center, especially to talk about the Bible. However, contrary to popular belief, FIVE students bravely wandered into the Student Center looking for a guy in a black hoodie with a box of pizza. One student called out sick, promising he would be there next week and another student brought two friends. That makes SIX people total for the group! The group meeting went VERY well, and the students felt comfortable sharing their questions and expressed interest in wanting to explore the scriptures in future weeks to see who Jesus actually is! So for the first time EVER (at least from what I remember) successful Christian follow-up was finally implemented at ECSU.

What I heard about behind the scenes before, during, and after the meeting though was probably even more exciting! TONS of people, more than I even know, were praying fervently for these students. My e-mail box got blown up by lots of responses from people. My church had a prayer meeting that night, and THEY were praying (they usually gather to pray and such on Wednesdays...it wasn't just for me!). The pastor at my parents church had a STRONG burden to pray that night for me at a Bible study he was leading that night. I heard later that another local church in town actually sent out the news in their congregational prayer chain and they were interceding for me. It was so exciting, and I think for the first time in my life, I can actually say that I FELT prayer. I felt a "Holy Spirit supercharge" all day long. It was so exciting to see the prayers of saints WORK right before my eyes!

So if you prayed Wednesday....THANK YOU! If you're praying right now....THANK YOU! Your prayers are NOT in vain. God hears you, and I thank you so much for your support!

Stay tuned and please continue praying!