I still get nervous...

I'm not afraid to admit it--I still get nervous every time I speak. I've been standing in front of people now for nearly 10 years, if you go back to high school when I frequently spoke at youth rally's, devotionals, church services, and FCA meetings. I've been preaching full-time for nearly 5 years. Yet, whether it is at my home church, youth rally's, other churches, retreats, lectureships, or church camps--I still get a feeling in my stomach. It's not the kind of nervousness that makes my knees shake or my hands sweat. Instead, it is a nervousness that comes from the responsibility that I have been given to stand before hungry people in order to declare a word from the Lord. It is a realization that I have been given responsibility to speak words into dark places, complacent hearts, desperate situations, "ruined" lives, hurting families, and broken spirits. I am called upon every week to speak pastorally and prophetically. Hungry and thirsty people come anticipating a word that will point them to something greater.

This nervousness gives birth to passion and excitement. This is my calling. This is my job. This is what I love to do.

I hope that feeling of responsibility never leaves me. If it does, I need to find another job.

Healthy Politics

Is that an oxymoron? Does "healthy politics" belong in the same category as jumbo shrimp and organized government?

I try to keep my distance from politics, only wanting to stay close enough to know what is going on. Here is my question:

What are the 3 issues that are most important to you going into the 2008 election?

Please be nice. :)

I will post my 3 in the morning.

Follow Me!!!

These two words are inviting, yet terrifying. They are spoken with sincerity, yet they are a cause for great discomfort. These two words are at the essence of Christianity. More than "accepting Jesus" or "believing in Jesus"--these two words implore us to enter into the Christ- life. When Jesus calls people, he invites them by saying, "Follow Me!" In other words, "Watch me. Be me. Live in me. Do what I do. Say what I say."
It is interesting that the disciples show up in nearly every story in Luke's gospel, but Jesus doesn't ask them to do anything until Luke 9. For a few chapters, they are there watching what Jesus does. Then, he calls them to action.

Here is what I want to see happen--I want to see people take Jesus seriously.

There is a guy that I am mentoring/discipl-ing/befriending right now. He is on a journey of becoming a passionate Christ-follower. Here is his problem--he knows Jesus too well. Unlike many people who want Jesus for his blood--(Dallas Willard's image) meaning that they want Jesus because he is a ticket to heaven--my friend sees Jesus as one that changes existence; he calls people to a new life. Transformation, sacrifice, and compassion are at the heart of the Jesus-life. My friend has a better understanding of Jesus than many decade-long-church-goers do.

When we take Jesus seriously...well...you fill in the blank _______________.

Thanksgiving without Football

Can it be done? Can you enjoy a Thanksgiving holiday without watching a minute of football?

Okay, so I exceeded 1 minute of football over the past few days. I have easily surpassed 20+hours, but aren't Thanksgiving and Football joined in holy matrimony? Didn't the pilgrims get off of the ships with a pigskin in one hand?

Don't get me wrong--Thanksgiving is about feasting with family, but it sure is good to sit back with the fam and watch men battle it out on the gridiron.

Thanksgiving

I have mixed emotions today, and here is why--Thanksgiving is a time to be with family, or so we say.
-So, tomorrow, families will gather from miles away and they will share a meal. Some families will experience great joy because relationships have been cultivated. Other families will experience tension and chaos because bitterness has seeped in, abuse (physically, emotionally, and/or verbal) has taken place, or an absent father has tainted relationships. Therefore, I pray for this to be a season of reconciliation, forgiveness, and cultivation.
-Tomorrow, many of us will eat until we can't eat anymore--turkey, ham, brisket, potatoes, stuffing, rolls, etc. However, I also realize that many of my friends here in Houston will be without a meal tomorrow. I went to lunch yesterday with Kevin--mid-30's, has spent a few years in prison, can't find a job, lives with his mom, has 44 tattoos--he won't have a big meal. Many people throughout this nation won't. I can't help but remember them.
-Tomorrow, I will sit with my wife's family. However, I know that many people are experiencing their first Thanksgiving without a dad, mom, brother, sister, child, grandmother, or grandpa. My heart goes out to them. I pray for comfort and an overwhelming sense of God's abiding presence.

I still love Thanksgiving. I love:
-Family
-Laughing
-Food
-Cowboys
-Huskers vs. Colorado
-UT vs. ATM

Have a blessed Thanksgiving.

Disturbing Passages

What is the most bizarre, or disturbing, passage that you find in Scripture?

Next to the sermon series on Luke that I preached last fall, I've never had more fun preaching than I am right now working through Genesis. This is a fascinating book, but it is filled with some shocking stories.

Yesterday, I preached the 2nd half of Genesis 25. Two words sum this text up--Jerry Springer. -The baby blessing is bizarre--it comes before the birth and states that "two nations are in the womb." Not exactly what a woman wants to hear.
-Jacob (heel-grabber) is holding the heal of Esau (little baby afro)--an image of what their relationship will be like.
-They have competing interests--Esau shops at Lowe's and Home Depot; Jacob likes Bed Bath and Beyond and Hobby Lobby.
-And last but not least, the parents choose favorites.

WOW!!! Simply stated, an overarching theme of Genesis 25-25 (The Jacob narrative) is this--God is faithful even in the midst of evil and deception. God can still do good with evil.

What about you? Shocking stories?
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Props to my Cowboys. Looking great!!!

Letter to ESPN

Dear ESPN,
I write to you today expressing my appreciation, which will be followed by two major concerns. You and I have been close now for over a decade. One of the loneliest eras of my life was living without Sportscenter as a newlywed for 10 months. I would wake up hearing the sound, "Da-da-na...da-da-na!!! That dry spell was broken on my first Valentine's Day as a married man. I came home from work to find the DISH truck in my front yard. My wife surprised me with something more than DISH Network, she supplied me with you--ESPN, ESPNews, and ESPN2. There have been moments that she has regretted that gracious gift, yet we have compromised so that I can only watch one Sportscenter show; I used to watch the re-runs. I feel compelled to quickly state the reasons I continue to pay $45 a month for sports:
1) Highlights and recaps.
2) Around the Horn and PTI. These guys have become my friends.
3) Your commercials are second to none.

Thank you for being you.

However, I also write with 2 major concerns and 2 requests. I cannot take anymore of pAy-Rod! Will you please quit making him the highlight of every evening, every show, and every homepage? His face keeps staring at me every time I click on http://www.espn.com/. If his face isn't there, an article is near by. I write on behalf of the majority of the American people--we don't like this guy. His stunt to opt out of his contract during the final game of the World Series was ardently nefarious. It was absolutely appalling. He defies what baseball is about. Baseball is about passion, family, and teamwork. He is about himself, money, and...money. Don't get me wrong, he can play the game, but he doesn't deserve the playing time that you are giving him. My friends on Around the Horn and PTI need to find other things to talk about. We all know how the conversations will go by now. Talk about golf, tennis, or even the recreational sport of Nascar for crying out loud, just get rid of the talk about the greediest person in sports. What's worse, a cheating man taking hold of the homerun crown, or a money hungry, selfish, egotistical, out-of-position 3rd baseman? Umm...

Secondly, citizens of the world agree with me that we can't take another trial. As much as we are appalled by how much playing time pAy-Rod, Paris, Spears, and Lohan get, we can't handle another OJ trial. Please send your legal experts to places where true oppression and liberation needs to take place. Give us reports of how Boys and Girls Clubs are giving people in poverty a chance to play sports. Give us reports of how soccer brings joy to media-less neighborhoods. Just please, no more OJ!

Thank you for considering my requests.

A Sports fan for Life,
Josh Ross

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Also want to give a shout out to my boy BST. Happy B-Day bro!