God is crazy good

ok, so God is crazy good. I have possibly the three coolest and nerdiest part time jobs someone like me could have. I am a part time manager at a Gamestop, i am a part time musician (i get to travel with an awesome band from time to time), and i just this past sunday got hired on as a part time youth pastor of a church here right out side of Clinton, MS.

I am super excited about this new position as Youth Pastor. i have been praying and praying that God would put in ministry some where. i have been looking since august last year and have been disappointed time and time again until finally God put me exactly where i need to be right when i need to be there. He is good even when im an idiot, haha.

If you would like to be praying for me in anyway, i am trying to get things rolling really quickly with this church. so, you could pray for wisdom and direction as i begin teaching these youth and working in this new church

An Update

ok, im sorry i have been a slacker (as John Michael so put it). my life as been so crazy busy recently but i will start making more time for blogging again because apparently some people actually read it, haha.

anyways, update on my life. Yesterday was my birthday and my friends are awesome! they threw me a little birthday surprise party at the amazing Waffle House, indeed a great idea. i will start traveling more with the band Burkhalter coming next month, i will blog about those gigs as they come. this Sunday a church about 15 minutes from Clinton will be voting on me as there Youth Pastor, so if you guys wanted to be praying for me in some way you could pray that the Lord's will be done in that. i am so ready to be in ministry and the kids at this church are awesome. i have been hanging out with them for a couple of weeks now and have already grown to love them and want to influence their lives. that's about it for right now but there will be more to come now that i have decided to stop being a blog slacker, haha

You ever have people come into your life and change everything? I feel like a lot of people have done that for me the past couple of years and it sometimes is frustrating and others incredible. I have had people come through and change my way of looking at things, my way of thinking on certain subjects, my way of pursuing, and so much more.

You are probably thinking, "JJ, you must be weak minded and/or easy swayed by those around you". Here is the "Beautiful Problem" (as i am calling it for this blog), i am normally one to be skeptical and test what everyone says. I am not one to just go with something because everyone is doing, and i am not one who believes something just because a person i look up to believes it.

Ok, now you think i am just rambling but here is my thoughts on all of that. When you are living in true God center community with someone where you are actually living life together, sharing ideas and such, is that not when you affect each others lives and those around you? Is that not what God is calling each and every one of us to? Life in community, God centered life changing community!! The past couple of years have been the most ridiculous and hard years of my life but i wouldnt do anything over (here comes the cheesy phrase) because God has used that to make me who i am currently.

We are not perfect creatures, not even close and that is why i challenge you to see how you are affecting those around you and most importantly how those around you are affecting you, because that is true biblical "church" and that is a true biblical lifestyle. If you are not being affected in some way then, are you truly living in God centered community?

The True Problem

Yesterday i had the privilege of playing music all day for the Mississippi Baptist Evangelism Conference. There were some really good guys who spoke and they did not hold back. One guy specifically made comment to something that i have often though about and it was good to know that some else thinks it as well, the comment was this (my version of it anyways);

We think the problem is that the world acts like the world when the true problem is that the Church is not acting like the Church. We say that America would be better if they put prayer back in schools. That is not the problem either because it is the home were prayer needs to be reinstated. Why would you expect a stranger who may or may not be a Christian to pray with your kids when you wont even do it yourself.

When families start acting like families who are in Love with a living God and the Church starts acting like the Bride of Christ and we start living lives worthy of the calling we have received. How amazing would the change in this world be, how far the Kingdom would be advanced, how much Love this world would see. But until that happens, America will continue to live in stagnate religion and will continue to hate the Church more and more. Why would you go live in community (biblical church) with people who do not Love, who are not different than this hurting world, who do not live out the message they sometimes claim?

Back Sliding? Losing Salvation? Never Had it?

There is some debate or "discussion" that surrounds Hebrews 6:4-8. So, I thought I would open it up for my second attempt at discussion on my blog here. Those of you who see this on Facebook and want to add to the discussion, jump over to my blog and join in, jjyount.blogspot.com.

This specific passage is sometimes used as a passage to support the theological thought that one can lose his/her Salvation. It has also been used to support the thought that one can "backslide", what ever that actually means. I will reserve my thoughts for the discuss so as to not lean it in any particular direction, just yet.

Here is the passage;

"For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame. For ground that drinks the rain which often falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is also tilled, receives a blessing from God; but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and it ends up being burned."

Hebrews 6:4-8

alright, What do you guys think? Back Sliding? Lose of Salvation? or Neither? what is the writer trying to say and what does he mean?