“Where its goin down”
By Keith Goad October 20, 2008
Last night was full of noteworthy quotes. The one in my title from new member Jason Arnold needs to be implemented by our PR committee.
I wanted to compliment Riley Byers, aka Scooter, aka Rilo, aka Gloves, aka Texas Toast, aka Big Mac, on his devotion last night. This means I want to publicly tell him how good it was and give a few side notes. First, I appreciated how he modeled a great balance between passion, personal conviction, and contemplation. Second, he had very practical ways we can love each other in the church. The moral of the story was “BE PROACTIVE.” Toby Mac has rightfully said, “love is a verb.” I am not sure what inactive love would look like, but it seems like our sinful natures desire to passively receive it or only exercise it when it is convenient. If Christ is a model of how we are to love by laying down his life, well…that says enough.
Third, Riley challenged folk to stick around after graduation and have dreams for the church. This was excellent and I whole-heartedly stand behind it. I do have another strategy that one could adopt though. You can simply take longer to finish school and free yourself up to be more involved in ministry now. Too many students, and I was the worst, take too many classes while working full-time and trying to care for families. I flew through the MDiv and missed out on some great opportunities for friendships and ministries at 3abc. It was only at the end of the MDiv and as I have stuck around longer that I have truly put the time in to be blessed by the church. So, as students are preparing to register for classes while looking at their 3 year plan, be in prayer about taking one class off for four semesters and taking an additional semester. If you are wondering what you might do with all your free time, just ask an elder.