It's Not All Good

     I led my last Bible study last night at Lamar University (weep, weep).
     Cliche, I know, but it was a sad and joyful occasion.
     Sad because I said goodbye to some awesome students who have been so faithful to WONE Ministry over the past three years. Sad because I said goodbye to a ministry that fed me, even as I helped feed them. Thanks to Jonathan, Whitney, Marissa, Katie, Marcus, Courtney, and so many other students who poured themselves into this ministry and helped St. Andrews get a Presbyterian presence (for the first time in 20-25 years) at LU.
     It was a joyful occasion because the ministry, under Julie's direction, is headed in the right direction. We started off as Israelites wandering in the desert, moving from building to building looking for a home. We have now found a home in the Communications Lounge for our Monday night Bible study, and are doing a variety of fellowship and missions activities that take us out into the world.
     It's pretty cool to take a big picture look at this ministry since we started back in fall of 2007.
     When it came time to crack open our Bibles last night, we spent 30 minutes on half of one verse -- Romans 12:2a ("Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds.")
     The take-home message:
     1. World -- not all good; not all bad. Go with the flow on the good stuff; swim upstream against the bad.
     2. Be Changed -- The only way we can keep from "going with the flow" is to be changed time and time again by the power of the Holy Spirit. Transformation is not a one-time deal, when we accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior, but a lifetime process.
     3. Renew Your Mind -- Some of us renew our thinking about the patterns of this world by taking a run, taking a nap, attending Bible study, nurturing genuine Christian friendships (where there is accountability), and prayer. We need to find our style, and our unique ways of renewing our minds, or we will not be able to make it up-stream.
     I see so many tie-ins for me personally, as I wrestle with the "Consumer Project." There are so many consumer demands that we face on a daily basis: Buy this, eat that, drink this, take this medicine, drive that, own this, wear that, etc....
     If I do not renew my mind, I will be swept away by every cultural current and unable to judge between what is good for me (and my family, and my congregation, and my neighbors, and Creation) and what things I need to let pass by. We can't do it all and shouldn't do it all. Or in other words: "It's not all good."
     Now that's good stuff!
     Blessings!