To Drink or Not To Drink?

As I was reading a very interesting book that will have its own blogs of thoughts and reflections it just struck me that I should write this. Whatever it turns into here's your warning this is completely spontaneous. I am on the eve of finishing my clearing process and thus leaving a place that has been my domicile (I still refuse to call it home) for the last 13 months in a country I have called my residence for 2 years. I suppose this warrants some amount of reflection. It might even help the fact me accept the fact that I actually am leaving.

The first thought that comes to mind started around June or July of 2005. When I first saw there was the strong chance I was going to be stationed in Germany I immediately thought about what I could do to make a meaningful, apparent and bold statement of faith through my lifestyle while residing in a foreign country. At that time I was still trying to learn how to move past the spiritual separation I experienced upon leaving home while finding a livable medium in which I was not a “holy rolling judgmental Christian” but was not one of the crowd either. The idea and reality that it was normal for young adults to go out on a weekend basis if not more often and completely give themselves up to such worldly living was still a bit of a lifestyle shock to me. I never attended a gathering prior to the military where my peers were drinking and… yea. All of it.

As I reflect upon those months in Arizona and saw what people did with the freedom they had, even as limited as it was; I know my response had be something drastic. Germany is famous for their beer. I was still unsure how to respond to the offers of alcohol. While at Arizona, I was under 21 and had the weak reason by social standards but an easy one as to why I did not drink. I wanted to follow the law. I knew going to Germany where the legal age if you want to call it that was 18, and I was 21 upon arrival, the excuse that got me through several months would not hold up in the regular Army. Talking to reclassing soldiers (those getting a new job & training) the stories of Germany were not very encouraging to me and my desire to remain faithful throughout the duration of my service.

It was during those months that I had made a commitment to God that I will not willingly or knowingly consume an alcoholic beverage while on my overseas tour. I wouldn't call it a covenant because it was something I wanted to lay before God as a sacrifice; I was not expecting anything in return. I can think of two close calls which I might have compromised myself and my commitment, one was eating cake that had rum in it that I found out upon chewing it that there was a small presence of rum not cooked out of the cake. The other was when I popped my first whole German chocolate candy in my mouth; it was filled with something that I didn't like that was alcoholic. Following that experience I learned how to read the ingredients on the back of chocolates. It is rather difficult to find non-alcoholic assorted chocolates. I must say with brutal honesty that this was not easy to complete. This was reflected upon in What did I get myself into?

The first year was by far the most difficult. It probably didn't help that I spent the majority of my free time playing WoW in the barracks hallway on the weekends which I would see the habits of the second floor population. Actually, I kind of prided myself at times that at certain points I simply by smelling the drink I could tell people what they had put in it. My unit put serious effort trying to get me to drink. On one humorous point, the easiest way to get lots of free alcohol is to tell people you don't drink. There were also days that had taken their toll on my spirit. Between work or personal stress, I am certain if it was not for my commitment to abstain I would have drank myself to the clear point of sin. In that respect I think I can somewhat empathize with people that do drink to escape the problems of the day. I think there has been a several occasions that it was through people's curiosity about my decision that I was able to share Christ with them. It was astonishing to me how many found such a simple action as to abstain was seen a drastic move. Throughout this challenge, I must also keep my pride in check. It was not by my power that this commitment was fulfilled.

Like many of my decisions of abstinence, after several months of practicing a grander idea came to mind about what could be gained from such experience. Hopefully, I can speak as one who has experience about alcohol and peer pressure. Living in a country which beer is more normal than water, at an appropriate age, and appropriate places, I have had every justification to partake. Except that I wanted to lay before God a part of my life that I had not used until I committed it to them (remember the Trinity). There is a part of me that hopes these years of experience will encourage a high school student or college student how to address the prevalence of alcohol in today's culture and how it meshes or conflicts with our relationship with Christ. I don't pretend to have a mask that it doesn't bother me that many of my peers drink alcohol, I know there are plenty of scriptural examples that show it is not the act of drinking that is sin in anyway. After all, Jesus' first public miracle was making good wine. I know this is a question that every person must answer for him or herself. For me, for this period of time, it was a choice not to drink.

This is where it starts to get curious. On one hand I am experiencing a sense of accomplishment and joy because through God's strength I remained true to my commitment. I am preparing to return to the states, now a full fledged legal adult at 23, I am in a similar situation to ponder, upon the completion of this commitment do I want to try an alcoholic beverage? In complete honesty this question has come to mind several times and I have not made any solidly committed decision, which I think I will before I get on the airplane this week. While I am very curious what some drinks taste like, I don't think that curiosity is enough to possibly tempt myself or become vulnerable alcohol or the possible abuse of it an extremely active issue in the military. I don't know why I am delaying a committed decision so much; it is not like I spent months in agony or meditation for the first commitment. For the sake of continuing to submit myself to God's will, to make myself open and always alert to what I might be shown, I here and now extend my commitment to the duration of my enlistment.

Epilogue: I had my first drink with a friend from Germany back at home. God brought us together that our friendship could continue. I was the designated driver for him from time to time in Germany and in one of our conversations I agreed to have a drink with him if it was reasonable. Even in my civilian years there have been numerous occasions which I have abstained from alcohol. Whenever I work at Hume, no drinking is included in the contract. When I was in student leadership at William Jessup, no drinking. When I deployed to Afghanistan as a civilian, no drinking. When I was an undergraduate at Biola, no drinking. Through these experiences, especially not being able to drink as a 28 year old undergraduate I was able to recognize the heart of submission to authorities I have voluntarily accepted. Integrity ought to be worth more than a light buzz.

Slovakia Service Project 2007

I am still in the awestruck having gotten back so recently. I do want to write this while it is still so fresh in my mind. I had the privilege to spend this last week in Slovakia. The short version, I spent a week hanging out with some high school guys while building a playground and playing with some Slovakian children.

I refrain from speaking of this as a mission trip for the same reasons I mentioned in Prague Mission. Where do I start? Wow, to be in the presence of God’s creation, to be actively doing his work, it is so refreshing and recharging. To scream “Alive” at the top of my lungs is still an understatement.

Let’s start from the beginning. That goes back to November or so when I was working with Club Beyond, that is the military youth ministry, on post. Fast forward to the more recent months, where I have been very much so out of the loop what has been happening in Club Beyond. Most of the activities are on a different post, thus I am unable to attend and/or the meetings occur during duty hours.

It was I think in February that I got curious about what was happening with Club on Illesheim, so I shot and email over to the community directors. I mentioned Slovakia and at the time I was not needed, that was a bit of a downer but I am very used to bad news. About a week later it turned out that they did need me. The approvals went through and voila, I was going.

We left around midnight on Easter for a 15-18 hour bus ride (depending on how you count it), not a big deal. Being a choir tour veteran I have spent many a Spring Break on a bus. I was introduced with my four guys and Cotton, the other male leader. So yea, sleep on a bus, especially on the way over is usually something to be desired. After we get to the “village” it was a small camp that turned out to have communities from all over Europe of Club Beyond and Malachi (the other youth ministry program). I think there was between 700-1000 military teens altogether. We were split up according to work sites, which I could not spell my work site. The only thing it rhymed with would sound obscene.

Once we all got settled in our rooms, the first day it was just hanging out. There was an artificial soccer field next to the cabins and a basketball/volleyball court on the camp as well. The first day was the only one we had more than a couple hours of free time. After dinner we’d get on the buses to go to Club (youth group meeting). Then we’d bus back to the cabins for cabin time and sleep.

A typical day I’d get up around 0630, make breakfast for myself and the guys, get to the leader’s meeting. The meeting was about 30 minutes. From there gather all the things and make sure everyone was on the bus. We’d get to the site work all day and get back to the camp around 1630ish. Construction wasn’t the only thing we worked on, we also did VBS for the little kids, our students would lead Club for the Slovakian middle schoolers and we played with the kids sporadically throughout the days. That is all the basic what’s I can think of so you can get an idea of what I got to do.

The band at the evening Club meetings was 330 Plan, who happened to share the common bond of Hume with me. That connection was a nice reminder of great cloud of witnesses there are, especially when I was not expecting it. I had a nice little chat with them Saturday night to catch up on a little bit of what I have been missing back in California and in Hume. How I long to return there soon. By the way, I am about 95% certain I am reenlisting for 2 years (I am really only adding 3-4 months of time to my contract) this month. I am reenlisting to better set myself up for a transition into the civilian life.

There were some fine differences that I found interesting about this mission. I think in many ways it was much better than any camp I have been to before. The emphasis to live out Christ’s love to the Slovakian children while living the same love to our students was encouraging. On the humanitarian level, this project was incredible and made a difference in several towns. It was like mixing a short term mission with summer camp. I hope to find programs like that stateside to encourage people to support.

As far as the camp talks/sermons they were good, I had that sense of inclusiveness that is one of those sticky parts about gov’t sponsored ministry sorta… In order for Club Beyond to operate on military posts the leadership cannot discourage anyone’s current faith no matter what it may be. One of the humorous moments, I was talking with one of my guys, based on a guess of what the lessons would be like, and I called every single one. For those Hume veterans out there I think you know what I mean: Introduction to theme, Present Gospel, Purity or something of those sorts, Rededication, How to stay with it as the rough theme of each night’s message.

One of my thoughts concerning the method of teaching was how it correlated to non-Christian students in the course of a week. It seemed outdated or inappropriate for our current culture. For a truly evangelistic theme camp there are major places of the mind that I think contributes too many people getting the mountain top experience and then sliding down often as much as they climbed up in the following weeks upon experiencing God.

My first objection is to present the Gospel so early. The leaders should be living it throughout the week, at day two the leader and the students are still building trust and getting to know them. There are certain philosophical factors that I think are important to address before getting to the Gospel at such a place that it can be readily accepted. This is exemplified by the order in which most apologetic books address faith. I think the order in which the Gospel ought to be presented in terms of sermons/talks should be something like: Existence of Truth and Absolutes must be established; Showing how it is possible to know the Truth; The Bible is the Word of God; Then present the Gospel. I explain deeper why I think it is so important in Semantics or More.

I think under the current scheme of messages there is an oversight on the part of the mind. Given the course of a week a person’s heart in that environment can change drastically, however, I think that for it to be real it must also resonate in the mind, because like all matters of the heart emotions can be unpredictable and erratic. I do not think that is a healthy foundation for faith. The heart is often what starts to move people towards action. I think it is the mind that continues that action when the heart gets discouraged. This leads me to my second objection.

I was very pleased to find out there were no altar calls and there was not going to be one in the duration of the week. I know it sounds awfully anti-evangelistic to but opposed to altar calls but allow me to explain my reservations. I think it is best put forth with this event.

When I was working at Hume, Chris Brown was speaking. I have never heard a speaker with such talent for making scripture come alive the way he does. If you are interested here and here for sermons archives. Anyways, on the Gospel decision night, he spoke on the Prodigal Son. Upon closing the message he ended it with a prayer and invited students to stay and pray in the chapel and just “do business with God.” I had never seen such a high percentage of students stay, I can say with confidence easily 800 of the 1000 students in that chapel stayed that night.

The next day at a staff bible study he mentioned that he’d received complaints from counselors for leaving them hanging and not presenting the gospel or having an altar call. He responded with “At the place I had them, I could’ve prayed to the Easter Bunny and they’d have done it.” To phrase it in such a way, to show the care and concern not for a prayer but a true decision spoke worlds to me. Christianity is not a business, too often we forget that and measure success in the church with commitment cards or attendance increases. I have been to too many camps and choir tours to lead more students to a prayer when they don’t understand the gravity of.

I would much rather have some deep conversations with students throughout the night (and sometimes early morning as this last week proved) so that they can understand what Christianity is before they commit their lives to it. I think waiting for such decisions is more beneficial to the student also. If and when the decision happens they know what they are getting into. On the eternal scale I think there is more clarity too. They won’t have a question in their mind about some prayer they said some years ago at some camp. To high schoolers I try my best to mentally challenge them for the college/adult world they are soon to enter. One of the ways of doing that is helping them define themselves and their faith. The last thing I want to do is send someone on their way more confused about Christianity or what they believe than when I started.

One thing I learned from this week about youth ministry was patience. When I entered the week I had the mindset that I had one week to forever change their lives, either introduce them to Christ or get them to a mature place in their faith that they can live bold lives. At the leader meeting it was never under emphasized that often the fruits of youth ministry frequently are not seen for years to come, if we ever do get to see them.  As a youth leader I need to be satisfied with doing the most I can do for the time I have with them. I cannot rush them in their spiritual journey and my success or failure is not dependent on what happens in the course of the week. It is also an issue of trust and humility on my part to let God do his thing. It is not I that move the hearts and minds of the students but the Spirit working through me.

All in all it was a week I could not have asked anything more from. I am so recharged and encouraged by this last week it is indescribable. Having such fellowship with other believers is something I miss all too often. There were several times I was strongly lamenting returning back to the barracks in spiritual isolation again. To be able to remove my walls for a week only reminds me of where I am and what I am constantly doing. For those of you praying for me at home I thank you.

People Are Dying - When Is The Time Right?

Maybe I was just aiming for a catchy title to grab attention but we'll see how this one goes. I was pondering this morning from the sermon about the Samaritan Woman. The connection the chaplain made with the scripture and us was to bring the gospel to people. I can't say that is an incredibly original or new message yet it is never to be taken lightly. The Great Commission is a mandate to all of us who claim to be Christians. I don't want to take the approach of merely critiquing the sermon, I think it served its purpose.

The main thought I am pondering and developing is “when should the Gospel be presented?” I love Chaplain Tran's pursuit to encourage people not to be afraid of offending people, I agree with him, in this day and age people want church to be more like a psychiatrist to tell them “it is not their fault” or “they are doing the right thing”. At the same time, is it possible that there is a right and a wrong time to present the gospel? I know we have all seen examples and sometimes been the example how not to present the gospel. What about certain timings though? I am not thinking directly of the situational times such as making a segue while in a potentially compromising situation. More so, are some people ready to hear the gospel in such a way that they may respond and more importantly is it up to us to interpret when that time is?

I am constantly pondering this one; because often times when someone will start to open up I want to hold the topic of conversation that got us to discuss spiritual things. I often sense if I bring up the gospel without leading to it, it becomes preaching. I’ve noticed if you talk with person instead of at them, they are more likely to listen. I recall a message that I did not entirely agree with, the speaker was saying the average person will hear the Gospel seven or eight times before actually committing their life to Christ, on average. I think that attempts to generalize something far too personal and precious like the Gospel. I think it really only takes once, just presented the right way, if that person actually will surrender their life to Christ or not. I am not claiming to be the master of knowing how to deliver the Gospel to each person, I will say that I think there is a very right and wrong way to do it and each time it should be done prayerfully.

One of the many big questions I ponder at night before rolling over to sleep is how I should deliver the Gospel? When is the right time and is my waiting expressing the urgency that I should be acting on because I don’t know when people are going to die. How am I to be urgent and passionate about the Gospel without scaring someone away? The best answer I have come up with so far: Share the gospel through action, through lifestyle. Let them see holiness in how I live that they will praise our Father in Heaven. The hard part is that most people won’t question why I am so different, so they will ask at some point, perhaps that frustration is my impatience. This is why I must constantly be in the position to be ready to give an answer for the hope that I have.