Why Community?

Bailey asked me to do a write up about Why LifeGroups for a pamphlet we are making, but I don’t think this will make it. I like it anyways so I figured I’d post it.

If you just look around the world around you it is evident that people have innate desire within themselves for community. There are major cities that have multimillions of people living together hoping for people to accept them for who they are.

 

Even from the onset of civilization God knew it was not good for man to be alone, so he created another human for community to be realized. But sin has locked the door on our hearts to real authentic community, we hide who we really are and portray an image of who we think people want us to be, so that we can be accepted.

 

Knowing Christ changes all of this. We accept the fact that we have faults, but put no weight in them at all because Christ has victory. We are free. We can be who we are, we can be real with other people who will love us as we are, and push us to become the people that God desires us to be.

Deadsies.

seanbrereton.wordpress.com is dead.

it will no longer update.

go here, where i will keep blogging at.

Hulu

Check out Hulu. It is put on by NBC and Fox and lets you watch movies and TV for free legally. There are commercials but it is a dece site.

Apparently Missed It.

So I submitted a blog article to Relevant Magazine’s website a while back. It made it into the God section on April 3rd. I just found out about it being posted today from Brandon.

Here it is.

PS. You’ve already read it.

Again?

            I need your help.

            I’ve reflected on college and wishing that I could do it all over again with a major that I enjoy, leading to a career I’d enjoy. I’m debating not letting that chance get away. I’ve done the course math and I could take four classes this summer, six in the fall, six in the spring, and then five the following fall and graduate with another major (on top of my English one) in December of 2009.

            I’m really debating it. I’m going to be praying about it. I would love for you to be praying about it as well. Also leave your opinions. Is about $20,000 of debt and an extra year of school worth it? Let me know. Comment.

Mistakes and Moving Forward.

            One of the lesser pleasures of life is this: coming to the end of something and realizing that you messed up, that you messed around. It happens to me too much, and I need to learn from regret.

            If I were able to do college all over again I would do so with out a thought, and I would do so entirely differently. I would not major in English. I would major in something in the Journalism school, or perhaps Art Studio. I wish that I would have enjoyed my classes and enjoyed learning.

            I think that one of the reasons I haven’t enjoyed school is because I’ve made it about a degree. I took classes because I was supposed to take them and not because I wanted to learn the knowledge and principles they offered. I regret this. I am going to leave college barely smarter (if at all) than when I got here, all because I didn’t make college about learning.

            Apart from that I’ve done college very selfishly. My parents made sacrifices to try to insure that I did not graduate college in debt, but I fear that may not be the case. I have taken a generous gift in an entirely ungrateful way, and I owe them an apology. They’ve paid for food, rent, three summer school classes (to keep my scholarships) and leftover tuition.

            The problem is that I viewed all of this as something that was owed to me. My parents had to pay for tuition, car insurance, food, rent, books, etc. because they were my parents. They didn’t have to. They did because they wanted to help me. Instead of appreciating their generosity I have undermined it, goofing off and not doing the work I should have been. So when it comes down to it I let them down. I didn’t respect the gifts that they were giving me, and now I’ll probably be losing them.

            In all this I think that it will be good for me in the long run. I will try to appreciate things that are given to me. I won’t view things as owed to me. If I can get a loan I will take school more seriously (if only I had done this earlier). A semester off working would hopefully teach me to have a work ethic and me to be fiscally responsible. Working at school/jobs/etc should be a joy because God has blessed me with opportunity, something that not a lot of people get.

            For taking everything lightly I apologize, to my parents, and to God, who has blessed me with everything (including my parents) and me not taking it like I should have. I’m sorry.

Westboro Baptist Got RickRoll’d

I really want this.

I want this camera really badly. I want it for my birthday, graduation and Christmas all combined. Do things work like this?

Graduate School.

I would go to graduate school for writing.

Jesus scares me. Literally.

            To be honest about everything, Jesus scares the crap out of me. I mean the main thing behind following Jesus is dying to myself and living the live that He calls me to. Dying to yourself is such a huge task. It means taking everything I have, everything I want in life, and scraping it all for the hopes of something better.

            I have a dream life. We all do. I want to have a wife, kids, a dog, the works. What if Jesus wants me to be single? No kids, no dog, no home. no white picket fence. Shoot, maybe even no regular job. This seems like my life would almost be a failure, and it could, if God calls me to other things.

            I think God calls people to make money (to spend for the purpose of others), to have wives, kids, and throw barbeques and the what not, and I would love that calling. In fact lately I’ve realized that I want these things so bad I haven’t even been consulting God on whether he wants me to have them or not.

            Following Jesus even gets scarier than not having the stuff you want. He can tell you to do things that would be considered freakin’ nuts by others. What if God calls me to move to the projects in NYC and try to love gang members, but not just one gang, all the rival gangs. That’s dangerous. One of my best friends is called to the Middle East to help the underground church there, where it is illegal to follow Jesus. That’s nuts. But he trusts God’s plan. I want to do that.

            But I hold back. If I really wanted to seek God’s will for my life it would be more than a passing thought. It would be consuming my mind, and my actions. I would pray a lot, fast a lot, talk to others, read the Bible and spend time listening, waiting for God to give me that bit of information. But I don’t. I’m too scared.

            What if I am called to death? Or to be tortured? Or to be homeless to love the homeless? Where did my American dream go? I guess that will have to die with me, because I am intent on letting Jesus live my life for me. He’s better at it.