If you have happened upon this blog, and it’s out of date, do not fear!!!  We’ve only moved to make improvements for your sake!!  Check out the blog at it’s new location at http://aaronreddin.com

Thanks!! 

Aaron

Greetings all!!  The domain http://aaronreddin.com is currently being moved so that I can host the blog and keep the domain in the same location.  Therefore, you may experience some issues with it over the next couple days, but please don’t run away!  It will be fixed soon!

Fun news!  My application was approved to become a Book Review Blogger for Thomas Nelson! 

I’m pretty excited!  I really hope that my book will be on the list of books one day too though! 

Anyway, the first book I will be reviewing for them is Faith and Pop Culture.  It’s an 8 week small group study, by Christianity Today. 

Be looking for the review in the next couple of weeks!! 

If there are other books that are published by Thomas Nelson that you would like to see a review on, please feel free to suggest it!!

Thanks everyone!

…..NOT an addict.  I’m NOT a meth addict.  I’m NOT an alcoholic.  I’m NOT a grateful believer who struggles with meth addiction.  I’m also NOT a grateful believer that struggles with alcoholism. 

          I’m not even a believer.  Well, I don’t believe in whatever the people who say that they are these things, believes in. 

          Don’t get me wrong, I AM a believer.  I’m just not an addicted believer.  I don’t have to be.  Neither do you. 

          I wonder, on a given night, how many churches have people sitting around saying these things about themselves.  I wonder, on a given lunch hour, how many rooms are filled with people who are sitting in their despair.  Rolling around in their hopelessness.

“And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded.” Matthew 10:42

At the Union Rescue Mission, we are beginning a summer bottled water drive!!! 

In the winter months we go out on the streets and do what we call “Operation Rescue”.  We pass out blankets, coats, hot food, gloves, socks and any other beneficial items we may have.  We try to bring people in off the streets if they will come, but if not then we meet tangible needs (love of Christ) and move along. 

This summer we want to do the same thing.  Only coats will be of no use!!! 

That’s why we are doing a bottled water drive!  Our goal is to pass out a minimum of 5,000 bottles of water to the homeless population of Central Arkansas.  Considering that the homeless population of Little Rock exceeds 2,000, this is a relatively small amount of water.  But remember that the goal is a MINIMUM of 5,000. 

If you are interested in helping, please contact me at aaron@urmission.org. 

Thanks!!!!

I want to digress a little, to the very first of these “Can I go there??” posts. 

In the first one, I addressed the need for young people to rid themselves of timidity when it comes to teaching older people. 

I used a piece of scripture out of Titus 2 to drive home my point that young people have plenty to offer.  In a moment I will give you a another segment of scripture that will do the same. 

Do they have the same amount of experience as their predecessors?  No.  But what they do have is different experience, which produces different knowledge, and different skill. 

Given the amount of young people who are adaptable (4 out of 5 claim to be, according to the book unChristian by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons), compared to the vast majority of the older population, it’s no surprise that the thoughts and ideas of young people are rarely welcomed as a credible. 

I know that sounds harsh, but please tell me I’m wrong if you can.  It’s a very obvious common tendency for young people to be shut out, or totally ignored on matters that people of their parents or grandparents age would find to me “serious” topics. 

If you don’t include young people in your discussions and ask their opinions and viewpoints, then don’t judge the “way they are living”!!

The fact remains that God wants young people to lead!  Yes he does!  YES, he does!!!

“Teach these things and insist that everyone learn them.  Don’t let anyone think less of you because you are young.  Be an example to all believers in what you say, ain the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity.  Until I get there, focus on reading the Scriptures to the church, encouraging the believers, and teaching them.”  1 Timothy 4:11-13

Hear me young people!!!  LEAD…..AND TEACH!!!!!

In my post “Can I go there??”, I addressed the fact that young people ARE obligated to educate and teach the generations before us. 

The post even addressed Titus 2:3, which is saying to teach older women what he knows.  I’m sure this was quite a task for him.  After all, what guy knows how to teach an older woman??  But this was the directive. 

There was a point though.  This was NOT an attempt to give Titus a “step up” on the women.  There was another reason; a much more significant reason. 

“Similarly, teach the older women to live in a way that honors God.  They must not slander others or be heavy drinkers.  Instead, they should teach others what is good.  These older women must train the younger women to love their husbands and their children, to live wisely and be pure, to work in their homes, to do good, and to be submissive to their husbands……”  Titus 2:3-5

Paul had much bigger plans here than making this some sort of power tug-o-war!   He was training Titus to become the man of God that he was destined to be.  But part of leading the life of the man/woman that you are destined to live, is leading others!! 

Once Titus was leading the way he was being taught, he was taught to teach!  Teach those that will teach those, that will teach those, that will teach!!!!

Get it?  Yeah, good stuff. 

I hate it when I see or hear women buy into this idea that they are LESS than men.  Women, your roll is just as important in everything that happens!!! 

If you don’t teach what you have learned, then there are millions of young ladies out there that will never be the women that they could have been. 

Here’s the whole point……

WOMEN, THE WORLD NEEDS YOU TO TEACH WHAT YOU KNOW!!!!!!

“….Then they will not bring shame on the word of God.”  Titus 2:5

Here is a video from THV’s story on our coat drive from this past winter.  The quality of the video isn’t their fault, it’s mine!  Don’t blame THV!!!

I spend the majority of my time ministering to men who are generally older than I am.  Most of the men in our programs are somewhere between, oh say, 35 and 50 years of age.  And to be honest I love that.  I relate more with the generation before me than I do the one I “belong” to. 

It’s even rare that I have a man that is unwilling to learn from me because of my age.  Even then, I won’t let up. 

That’s part of the reason that I decided to go there with this post.  I know a lot of guys who are young and full of life and love, but are timid when it comes to giving leadership to groups of people that are a few more years along. 

Here is the way I look at it:  If you are not teachable enough to be taught by a young person, then you aren’t teachable at all!!

You’ve heard it said that the moment we think we know everything, it’s over. 

God goes so far as to charge the youth with the responsibility of teaching the older men and women. 

Take for instance this passage:

“Teach the older men to exercise self-control, to be worthy of respect, and live wisely.  They must have sound faith and be filled with love and patience.”  Titus 2:2

Teach the older men it says.  Take what you know, and help them learn it for themselves it says.  You have something that they don’t, it says.  Give it to them.  Teach it to them. 

“Similarly, teach the older women to live in a way that honors God…..” Titus 2:3

We pick up here and the instruction is to teach the older women.  How in the world can a younger man teach an older woman anything???

This is a bold piece of direction!!!

But it’s critical!  If you have the ability to “live in a way that honors God”, then you have something that not everyone does. 

If you know what honors God, then you have something that not everyone does. 

The catch is that if you have that thing, that not everyone else does, you have to give it away!!!!

I’m speaking to my generation here; don’t be afraid to teach!!! 

Be bold, men and women of God!  Don’t let fear of others keep you from fulfilling the call that God has placed on your life! 

You know things about the Word, about God himself that others may not know!  Don’t keep it to yourself!  Honor God by taking the revelations that he has given you, and teaching them to everyone.  Teach them to those that are older AND younger than you.  People of the same sex, and people of the opposite.  People that are mature in their faith, and those who are in the freshness of new faith. 

Don’t back down, and don’t be affraid!  TEACH!!!!!

I have a confession to make.  I was wrong.  I was way wrong. 
Turns out that I may have to eat some of the words that I have so adamantly spoken for so long.  Yep, that’s right. 
Turns out that I might just have to accept the fact that addictions are diseases. 
Wow, I know.  Never thought you’d hear that from me, huh?

Well, this is what my new found “thinking” is based on……
Dictionary.com defines a disease like this:

–noun
1.  a disordered or incorrectly functioning organ, part, structure, or system of the body resulting from the effect of genetic or developmental errors, infection, poisons, nutritional deficiency or imbalance, toxicity, or unfavorable environmental factors; illness; sickness; ailment.

2.  any abnormal condition in a plant that interferes with its vital physiological processes, caused by pathogenic microorganisms, parasites, unfavorable environmental, genetic, or nutritional factors, etc.

3.  any harmful, depraved, or morbid condition, as of the mind or society

Seems as though the “definition” of disease is much different than the idea that most of us have bouncing around in our heads.  What do you think of when you think of a disease?

I can almost bet that you wouldn’t take your own words and explain it as “a disordered or incorrectly functioning organ, part, structure, or system of the body resulting from the effect of genetic or developmental errors, infection, poisons, nutritional deficiency or imbalance, toxicity, or unfavorable environmental factors; illness; sickness; ailment”!

 
And I will go ahead right now and make a wager that you wouldn’t come close to calling it “any harmful, depraved, or morbid condition, as of the mind or society”. 
What comes to mind when we think of a disease?  Things like cancer?  MS?  AIDS?  Swine Flu?
Exactly.  But in the context of the real life definition, it stands that an addiction IS a “harmful, depraved, or morbid condition, as of the mind or society”. 
I stand corrected.  But I will only admit fault in my interpretation of the wording.  So what if it’s a disease.  So what!
I will still not give in to this ridiculous idea that this disease is non-curable.  I will never accept that.  Call me a narrow minded idiot, but I ain’t buyin’ it!!

I will go ahead and intoduce this terminology into my vocab, but NEVER will I tell someone that they have a disease that can not be overcome. 
It makes me so furious that this is what we are giving people today. 

HOPELESSNESS!!!
My mother just overcame breast cancer.  If that’s not a disease then I still don’t know what one is!  She doesn’t have it anymore!  It’s gone.
Call me a koo-koo Christian, but I know people who have tested negative for HIV after carrying it for years!  Nope, no more disease there!!! 
How about our board chair’s wife, who was immediately relieved of the effects of a lifetime of diabetes?  In one second she went from a hard-core diabetic to NEVER having to take insulin again.  She dropped over 50 lbs, and was able to wear normal shoes in a matter of weeks.  Isn’t diabetes a disease?
I thought so.  Oh wait, then there is myself.  YEARS of addiction to methamphetamines.  YEARS!!  Yes I even had physical withdrawals if I went without it.  Almost died a few times. 
7  years later, I HAVE NO DISEASE!!!!!!
Hope.  Stop killing it church. 
Stop stripping young believers of faith in the power of Jesus.  STOP!!!!!

Tonight I got to hang out with the men of our church, The River.   Man I love these dudes.  It’s nice to have a group of men that you can get around and just be you. 

We sat out on the deck of a little hole in the wall pizza place in Little Rock and talked for a few hours.  I haven’t had a single conversation stir this much thought in me for quite some time. 

Shane, our Lead Pastor, took us into the depths of a dissection of discipleship.  Let me go ahead and tell you that I was encouraged, challenged, and motivated at the same time. 

What is discipleship?  What does it take?  How do you do it?  How does it happen?  What’s the best way?  What does it mean to be a disciple?  What’s the difference in being a disciple and a convert?

Whoa…..the funny thing is, all I could come back to in my heart was the same thing that I took away from Dave Ramsey’s Town Hall for Hope.  Two words. 

Personal responsibility.  I know this is a mixed up post, but just keep going with me here. 

I absolutely love to make people think.  I love to make any one’s gears turn. 

My typical approach is to challenge the way that we as leaders, handle our ministries.  Taking on the way we do things, or the motivations behind our methods.  I’m very comfortable giving a direct, and pointed charge.  Believe it or not, it’s as much for me as it is for you.  I have to challenge myself when others aren’t challenging me. 

Today I have a different kind of charge.  I don’t want to charge leaders.  I want to charge those who are following a leader.  So, yes that would be leaders as well.  I know, it’s twisted.  Profound. 

We are all following someone.  No matter what office you hold or what title you have on your card, you have a leader.  Maybe even multiple leaders. 

But let me grab a definition for us here…..

Dictionary.com explains a “leader” as “a guiding or directing head”.

Guiding, or directing. 

To guide someone is to show them a way, not to do things for the follower. 

We have to discipline ourselves to take personal responsibility for ourselves, our needs, and our lives. 

We have to stop expecting others to do for us, what we should be doing for ourselves. 

I’m so guilty of this.  I have a ton of work to do on this in my life.  How can we hold anyone else accountable if we aren’t even accountable to ourselves? 

If we don’t take personal responsibility for our recovery, money, growth, education, relationships, quality of life, spirituality, or anything else for that matter then we have no one to blame but ourselves for the status quo that we live in. 

status quo…….

Also called status in quo.

Origin:
1825–35; < L status quō lit., state in which

Dictionary.com

http://theantidrug.com

It happens almost daily.  There have even been days that it has happened numerous times.  Each time it happens, I’m left in awe. 

The startling thing about it is the source of the skepticism.  People who should know better. 

How on earth are people supposed to find hope, if the very people that preach about God are the same ones that deny his power?  If people understand that their only hope is in God, and then they are made to believe that he can’t really do what he says he can…….

Do you know how many people try to convince me that you can never be completely “cured” of an addiction?  Do you know how many try to sell me the idea of “once an addict, always an addict”? 

I’ll go ahead and let you know.  A lot. 

Funny thing is, I’M NOT BUYING IT!!!!

I’ve had wonderful Christian people argue this to me to the point of their anger.  All the while I just have to send them back to scripture, and the evidence of CHANGED LIVES. 

Jesus didn’t just come to make things a little easier.  He came to rescue us from sin and death. 

How can we dare to tell people there is hope in Christ, if we shut down their hope of ever overcoming their addictions??

Here is what the God of HOPE, and the God of DELIVERANCE has to say about strongholds, addictions, and bondage.  Luke 4:18-21          

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.”  He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!”

Modern medicine says that addiction is a disease.  That it is even hereditary.  Ok so what if it is!?!?

Who believes addiction is a disease?

Great! 

Psalms 103:2,3    Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me.   He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases.

Not might heal them.  But HEALS them!!!!

Matthew 8:17  This fulfilled the word of the Lord through the prophet Isaiah, who said, “He took our sicknesses and removed our diseases.”

Exodus 15:16 I am the Lord, who heals you

Here is a novel idea church……lets show people the REAL God.  The one who loves us where we are, but loves us too much to keep us there. 

Let’s give people the same hope that Jesus came to give.  The hope that says, “YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY ANY LONGER!!!!”  Praise God for hope.  Let’s give it back to those we have stolen it from.

This is a video that THV did with me at Christmas ‘08.  They are such an amazing bunch of people!!!  Yeah I know I’m a little behind, since it’s now April! 

There’s no way around it.  You have to love a blog post that begins with these words….did you know…..that Old Faithful isn’t the largest geyser in Yellowstone?  It doesn’t even have the greatest height.  So what’s the big deal with it?  Obviously it got it’s name from somewhere!  That bad boy is right on the money.  You can count on it.  Regular and dependable.  And when it comes through, living up to it’s name, it points straight to the most dependable of all. 

I can’t even tell you how many times I have turned my back to the God who has shown me mercy upon mercy.  I done it knowingly and sometimes unknowingly.  Both situations suck.  There is nothing like “coming to” one day and realizing how far you are from God’s will. 

The great thing about God is that he never turned his back on me.  Even when I would turn and run away from him, or even stomp away like a teenager who just got their keys taken away.

Even today, I’m totally convinced that God is chasing after me vigorously.  Even when I try to turn my back on him.  Even when I’m mad at him.  Yes, that’s right, I get mad at God sometimes.  Guess what, he can handle it.  That’s part of being in a relationship with real living God.  I’m not him, and I can’t always understand him. 

Regardless, God is God.  2 Timothy 2:13 NLT says this, “If we are unfaithful, he remains faithful, for he cannot deny who his is.”

Dang!!  Even when I’m not even faithful to the God who I have placed my faith in, he still remains true to me.  He remains a holy and just supreme being. 

I wish I could give back to him the kind of faithfulness that he holds for me.  What a BIG God!!!!

 Before I make my brief point, I have 3 questions I want you to answer to yourself and keep those answers in mind.   Ready?

1.  How many books have you read?

2.  How many books do you own?

3.  How many of those books are “self-help” books?  You know, the ones about how to improve some aspect of your life…..

OK, I know I said 3 questions but I’m throwing another in…..

4.  How many of those books are about how you can help OTHERS?

Yeah, I know, it hurt me too when the question was asked of me. 

You see, there’s one thing that we seem to have mixed up about Jesus.  He wasn’t all that interested in teaching us how to improve our own lives.  He was more concerned with us letting HIM improve our lives, so that we would improve the lives of OTHERS!

Romans 12:13 NLT says it this way, “When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them.  Always be eager to practice hospitality.” 

You see, you will hear so many things today that are great but I just wonder sometimes about the priorities of God.  One such thing is that churches will commonly strive to be “relevant” so that people will come to the church; having a “cool” church to that the unchurched will show up.  Those who make this a priority are very dedicated to this cause and hey, that’s great.  I’m not saying that’s an unworthy priority by any means whatsoever.  Please don’t think that. 

What I am getting at, is that the priorities that I know God has ingrained in me are more along the lines of being an Acts 4 church.  A selfless church.  A people who aren’t consumed with what we can do to improve our very own lives, but a people who ARE consumed with the needs of others. 

This is the heart of God.  Others.  I believe that with all that I am.  God exemplified selflessness to the extreme.  He modeled the characteristics that He desired to develop in us, so that we would model them to others. 

When we aren’t working for the needs of others, it stands that we might as well work against them.  This is a very bitter one for me to swallow; I’m guilty. 

I want to be an Acts 4 person.  I want to have an Acts 4 marriage.  I want to be a part of an Acts 4 church.  I want to see an Acts 4 world. 

Acts 4:32-35 NLT, “All the believers were united in heart and mind. And they felt that what they owned was not their own, so they shared everything they had. The apostles testified powerfully to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and God’s great blessing was upon them all. There were no needy people among them, because those who owned land or houses would sell them and bring the money to the apostles to give to those in need.“

There are probably several who are unaware of what is going on with me in regards to church.  So I thought I would take a moment to clear the air, and let everyone know what’s going on. 

I have been a member and active participant at New Life Church for the last few years.  I began attending NLC at the Conway campus back sometime around the first of 2006.  When I moved from Conway to Little Rock in 2007, it only made sense to go ahead and begin attending what was then the Maumelle campus.  I was able to be a part of this campus through the building of the new Greater Little Rock campus and spent months there as well. 

I could not have asked for a better church home, especially as I was diving head first into the pool of full-time ministry.  Such a wonderful body of believers, who I had so many opportunities to serve God and serve people with. 

I found myself a few months ago hearing from the Lord that it was time to begin detaching.  So difficult to do when that has been home for so long.  So I did as directed and began opening myself up to where my next place of “residence” might possibly be.  There was NOWHERE in central Arkansas that I could have even thought about going besides NLC. 

A couple of 2 months ago or so, I was introduced to some folks who were walking out on the limb of a new church plant.  I was extrememly intruiged as I heard and read more about their efforts.  But how on earth could God be leading me to leave a thriving church with thousands of members, for a new church plant with only a couple dozen??  To leave a church that had been ranked the 6th fastest growing church in the nation! 

I found that The River Church was exactly in-line with the passions and ministry call that God had placed on my life.  Once I had spent 1 single hour with them, I knew this was it.  I knew that this church, who’s big priority was to be a missional church, was the place God had been preparing me for.  It was clear to me that His desire was for me to jump right in, and take off!!

Though this is an extrememly exciting time for me, my walk, and my ministry; it was so very hard to say goodbye to “home”. 

I set a time to meet with Bobby Hamilton, the GLR campus executive pastor.  He is one of the only people in my life who has completely embraced the call and gifts that God has given me, and fully encouraged me to run with them.  I love this man.  He and his wife, Jill, are two of the most incredible people I know.  Bobby will actually be marrying Lane and I.  There was never any doubt as to who I wanted to marry us, regardless of circumstances. 

As Bobby and I met at Starbucks in Maumelle, a familiar place, I began the meeting with that painful little lump in my throat.  I knew this was not going to be easy.  I should have known the response that I would get from Bobby.  “Man that is so awesome for you!”, he said; “That’s so perfect for you!”.  And then he looked at me like “oh crap that means your leaving”.  What a great man, to give me encouragement and tell me that I was doing the right thing.  He never wavered or had one negative thought about what I was doing. 

Most impressing of all, as the conversation began to drift on to other things such as our wedding, he was absolutely thrilled to be able to marry us.  We won’t be regular NLC’ers but this man was still so gracious that it didn’t matter to him one bit.  That’s amazing to me. 

Yesterday I got a message from Pastor Rick Bezet, senior pastor.  He told me that he had been informed of the news and that he would really miss me.  He only had compliments to offer me, as I was moving on and leaving NLC. 

I know a lot of people who have left churches, and were followed by nothing but hard feelings.  It’s so nice to know that there is a church like NLC who wouldn’t dare treat you that way.  I miss those guys already, but I will see them from time to time. 

As of now though, you can find me doin’ whatever it is I do at The River and at barchurch.  My new “home”.

So, there’s the scoop.  That’s the deal!  Love you all.