Douglas Young

Haylee and her rabbit project...

When I was younger, my intention was to teach Agriculture. I got an AgEd degree to prove it. A semester of student teaching at a prominent South Texas high school, though, broke me of that. Fortunately, I was a part of TAMUK’s livestock judging team and my coach got me an interview with IBP Inc.  I took a job as a buyer for them in Central Iowa, but I worked with them for only a year. The opportunities for advancement were limited, and that year Iowa was the coldest place on the planet, so we moved back to Texas and I changed courses, completely.

I never thought I would experience the life of my original Agriculture track again, but coming to the NMCCH has changed that. Here we have our own working farm and farm manager, Rick Daniell. We also have our own 4-H chapter, Shooting Stars 4-H, and many of the kids here have opportunities to work their own 4-H projects. It is a wonderful chance for them to learn, grow and show.

This week is fair week in Roosevelt County, NM. I’ve been blessed with occasions, over the last couple of weeks, to help Rick and the kids get their projects ready for show. I’ve also been able to watch my own kids show their rabbits. I would have never thought, given the last 13 years of my life, that I would again be living a fair life. Washing pigs. Clipping sheep. Coaching kids to show pigs. I’m living a fair life.

The fair life is tiring. It means you might be up at 4 am, at the fairgrounds all day, and not home till 11 pm. But it’s rewarding. The smiles on a face when the judge pens a child’s pig. Even consoling a child who’s devastated about not placing has its benefits. Those are real teachable moments, and possibly, some of the best teachable moments given the circumstances. Hard realities of life are learned when you live a fair life. You feel robbed, at times. Other times, you are elated. Still other times you feel defeated. These are all real and raw experiences.

Cory Long sheers sheep...

I am proud of our kids, both my own kids and the home kids. They’ve done well and that’s what matters the most. I suppose its right to say that I owe a “Thank You” to the NMCCH because coming here has allowed me the opportunity to put a BS degree to good use, putting me back in touch with what it means to live a fair life.

My friend, Bobby Cohoon, has Unity Month going on at his blog. Bobby asked me to be a guest writer for him. My post has been up since last evening.

Bobby, thanks for the invitation to be a guest writer at Here in the Real World!

Doug

I have a week off in my MACR program and for us here at the NMCC, summer is officially coming to an end. School for some, here, begins tomorrow. The county fair is next week, so that will add some serious spice to our lives. Nevertheless, there has been considerable inquiry into what life is like working with a children’s home. I plan on taking some time and letting you know what the summer has been like for us here.

I am also going to pick up where I left off with a post entitled, AGAPE. On the 19th, I am offering a guest post for my friend, Bobby Cohoon, on his blog, Here in the Real World.

So now that I am settling in here, I hope to resurrect this blog a bit!

What could have made John the Baptist question the Messiahship of Jesus? Something was at work, but what was it? I believe the answer lies within Matthew 11:6: “And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”

The key word is “offended.” Contextually, it is clear to me that Jesus is speaking of John, here. But why would John be offended by Jesus? The to this question is elsewhere.

John had some sharp opinions about Jesus that were expressed through his preaching ministry. In the following passage, I’ve emboldened some words and phrases that give indication to John’s perceptions about the ministry of Jesus.

Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree that does not bear fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. I baptize you with water for repentance, but he who is coming after me…He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor and gather his wheat into the barn, but the chaff he will burn with unquenchable fire.

(Matthew 3:10-12).

John was speaking to Pharisees and Sadducees who’d come to him. “Even now” seems to suggest that the judgment of which he speaks, he believes to be imminen, and that the Pharisees would not escape it. His conception of Jesus’ ministry is that he would be carrying his “winnowing fork,” chucking people into everlasting and unquenchable fire. But was this so?

The story of Jesus and Nicodemus (John 3) casts Jesus in a much different light than  what John the Baptist preached. Jesus is conversing with a Pharisee- not just a Pharisee, but a ruler of the Pharisees- yet Jesus says nothing about judgment, being cut down or unquenchable fire. He simply says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (v. 3). I don’t sense, at all, that Jesus is trying to scare him. In fact, he goes out of his way to not scare him.

It is easy to forget that the words of John 3:16 were offered, still, in the context of Jesus and Nicodemus. But they were. I’m inclined, though, to think that verse 17 is more profound than verse 16, especially, given expectations about Jesus during his earthly ministry. Brace yourself here…“For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

John believed Jesus was coming to the world to condemn it, but Jesus, essentially, said: “No, that is not why the Father sent me.” In fact, he stated in no uncertain terms that he didn’t come to condemn the world! The conclusion: John had expectations of Jesus that Jesus didn’t live up to! That is why, I believe, John has reservations about Jesus.

Did Jesus recognize this? I think so. I’m convinced that this is why Jesus said to John’s messengers, “And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” John was offended that Jesus didn’t live up to his expectations. So he question him.

John fell into the trap of doing what so many of us do…casting Jesus in our own light instead of seeing him for who he really is. If you see Jesus as American, Republican, and/or White, you are guilty of making Jesus into who you want him to be. The inevitable conclusion will be that you will formulate expectations of him that he’ll never live up to. In the end, you’ll be let down.

John’s doubts weren’t the end of him. He died a martyr’s death as a kingdom servant. Our questions aren’t the end of us, either. They are crucial to our development. Jesus could handle John’s question and he can handle ours, as well. He didn’t get mad at John for asking, nor will he be upset with us. Our questions are opportunities to grow and he will show us what we need to see and give us what we need.

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him” (James 1:5).

“There’s no such thing as a stupid question!”

We’ve been told this is true but many of us are not compelled to believe it. And it’s not that we don’t believe the statement, in principle, to be true. We just don’t believe that those who often utter these words always mean it. I’m not convinced we should, either.

Ask a few questions and you’ll get vilified. Put some things to the test (1 Thess. 5:21) and you’ll quickly assume a label you didn’t ask for. Why? Because you asked a few questions?

For those of you who’ve got some questions but haven’t asked them because you’ve come to believe that asking them comes with a price, I want to remind you of John the Baptist. On one occasion, he asked a question of utmost importance. To be honest, I can’t believe he asked it at all. But he did, and my consideration of the question he asked has helped me over the years. I hope it helps you, too.

John is in prison. He’s literally going to lose his head. So he sends messengers to Jesus to ask… “Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?” (Matthew 11:3). This wasn’t a harmless question. It was a question upon which everything that would come would hinge. We might ask it like this…”Are you really the Christ?”

Now remember, John is blood kin to Jesus. They are cousins. John’s time in his mother’s womb bore supernatural distinction. John is foreshadowed in the Old Testament scriptures (Isaiah 40; Malachi 3 & 4). He even baptized Jesus (Matthew 3). John the Baptist is no small player in the scheme of things. But in prison, amid the doom and gloom of what was before him, he doubts.

And it was John who was doubting, not his messengers. I’ve found some who’ve given treatment to this story who found it inconceivable that John would possess such doubts, so they surmised that John is not one with the questions, but rather the messengers are the uncertain ones. Jesus eliminates this possibility when he sends them back, encouraging them to “Go and tell John what you hear and see” (Matthew 11:4).

Given his role, and who he is, how could he ask such a question?

It must have infuriated Jesus, right? Nope. Not one bit. And that is what makes me marvel.

I know some people who if they were in Jesus’ shoes would have responded….

Who’ve you been listening to?

Who’ve you been reading?

John has fallen off the deep end. Mark him and stay with us.

But Jesus says none of that! He says, “Go and tell John what you hear and see.” This is an effort to affirm and shore him up, not write him off. And that is the difference between Jesus and a lot of people today!

In fact, Jesus actually does the unthinkable when the messengers leave. In verses 8ff, Jesus actually commends John for who he is and what he has done. Wow.

You may have some questions for which you are searching for an answer. It’s OK. Before God, you’ll not get crucified for asking them. But before you ask them, think about who you are asking. Find someone you trust. Find someone with the heart of love. Find someone who deals with the things that matter most. But ask the questions. You are doing yourself any good by not asking them. God can take them. He’s been doing it for a long time.

Later this week, I am going to posit some thoughts about why John the Baptist was in doubt. I’ll focus on Matthew 11:6. John does something that a lot of us have done.

Thanks for reading!

Read my guest post for Chris Gallagher at The Preacher’s Pen.

Chris is a gifted minister for whom I have great appreciation. Thanks for the invitation, my friend!

A simple conversation one evening generated something that still leaves me in awe. It was the evening before Thanksgiving 2009. Family had gathered at my sister’s house in Beeville, TX. Someone, I think it was my niece, Courtney, asked a question about love. Not the generic, common love that pervades the world. Not the kind of love expressed on a wedding day that shed after the honeymoon. She was inquiring about something deeper, something more profound, something enduring.

Now I’m no expert on this subject.  I wasn’t taught this when I was younger. Principles were later taught to me, but rarely, if ever, had I seen then born out in life. Love was something of a mystery, maybe, something more akin to what could be found in a Utopian world. But here? Not so much.

I’m fairly convinced that I didn’t come to understand love until I came to understand God. After all, God is love (1 John 4:8). I’m certain he’s the one who’s taught me most about it. He’s the one who’s shown it most definitively.

My own love is shallow and self-centered. My own love has limits. Cross me and most people have found it out. I think that’s why I evaded the subject for so long. But when God is convinced you are ready, he will bring you to your knees to show you that your love isn’t good enough, but His love is.

So back to Thanksgiving 2009… I addressed the question very delicately. My family knows altogether too well my shortcomings. My wife knows altogether too well my failings. So I wasn’t about to bust in there like someone who had the market on this subject, but I gingerly began to express what I’d come to know about AGAPE. AGAPE is Greek for the highest form of love there is.

Our English word love is so general. The Greeks, though, they divided up their concepts of love into various forms. AGAPE, without question, is the strongest form. It is the love that would cause God to take human form and offer himself a ransom for all (John 3:16). AGAPE is other-oriented. AGAPE isn’t about what I can get, its about what I can give.

I also elaborated on the other forms of love, but they weren’t the focus. They were simply incidental so as to set apart AGAPE. Now, though, when I mention “AGAPE” or when my wife and/or sisters utter the word, we all begin to think the same thing. My sister, Jennie, seems to drop it wherever she goes. It’s become a code word for us. No, it’s become even more than that. It is as if God wants us to see that he’s placed it in places we’ve forgotten about, and then wants us to leave it behind wherever we go.

AGAPE gives me chills. It, at times, warms. But it always creates fascination.

More to come later. In fact, I’ll share with you what happened on Thanksgiving Day of 2009 that changed the course of everything that holiday!

I hadn’t felt like I’d traveled backwards in time, and spent moments with someone I didn’t know, like this since I read Donald Miller’s, Blue Like Jazz. I’m serious. No hyperbole here. Sarah Cunningham’s, Picking Dandelions: A Search for Eden Among Life’s Weeds did that for me.

Do you know the feeling of seeing something you know you shouldn’t have? Remember catching mom wrapping Christmas presents and then stashing them away? You saw something you shouldn’t have, but seeing it opened you up to things as they really were. That’s the feeling I’ve derived after reading Picking Dandelion’s. She led me into her world- a world I should not and would not have seen otherwise- to find the truth behind the story that’s been hidden behind the veil for quite some time.

One can’t help but look at the world around him and think: “Something’s not right about all of this.” And one would be right. Things simply aren’t as they ought to be. And yet we pant and search and claw and pursue the thing to make it all right. Often, we are searching for the right thing in all the wrong places.

Part I begins with Sarah’s childhood. I was drawn into her experiences, seeing them open up, unfold and eventually shut. It makes you wonder if the Christianity we teach our children is something that will endure for the long haul. Are there too many holes? Too many voids? Could we be setting them up for major disappointment?

Looking back with the benefit of hindsight, I really wish I couldn’t empathize with her, but I do, and altogether too often at that. Where we are different is that she began picking up on much of it early on. As one who sat in on church business meetings at age 10, she took note of the things that were out of sorts. See saw the good, the bad, and the ugly. Gotta love this line: “It was clear, even to ten-year-old me, that a non-brown shingle would never be allowed to touch the church roof. If it came down to it, elderly men would lie down in front of bulldozers and choir women would chain themselves to the eaves.” This is so typical, but the last sentence of the chapter says it all. After the votes were taken and brown shingles “won by a landslide…we breathed a sigh of relief. Once again we’d narrowly escaped change.”

Part II takes us from adolescence to teenage Sarah. These days offered her new challenges. As most of us can somehow relate, it is the teenage years that cause us to begin to see ourselves in light of how others see us. It constitutes the beginning of a devilish trap that is immensely difficult to escape. And some never do. Identities are being formed and good direction always seems lacking.

Part III takes us into Sarah’s college years, where nothing is easy. But Sarah seemed to see and experience things that created unrest and discontent, but it really didn’t take her in the direction it took some of us. It seemed to do the opposite. Mission trips afforded her opportunities to see what she hadn’t before. I love the last paragraph of Chapter 2. A trip to Chicago left this impression upon her,

The thing that nagged my soul was knowing that some days the warming shelter was too full and we had to turn people away. The people would nod unsurprisingly when we told them to come back later, and they would shuffle away, down the snow-covered road and past the colossal empty churches that ten people attended once a week on Sundays when they made their weekly drive into the city from the suburbs.

More experiences, and eventually marriage, would make for more personal transition. One thing, though, was certain… she was forced to adjust. And that isn’t always easy.

Part IV introduces how the events of 9/11 changed so many things for so many people. Like many of us, one couldn’t help but wonder where God was in the midst of it all.

Part V begins with how a scoliosis prognosis would affect her, but the physical issues she experienced were simply a means for her to begin speaking to spiritual ailments that were really in view. These ailments had only one solution…Confession. Her confession? It was simple…”I hate. I hate, I hate, I hate.”

The remaining parts (VI-IX) are startling realizations about faith and how change happens in one’s life. Her testimony is as compelling a testimony there is, outside of Scripture itself. She lays it out there with potent transparency. Her flaws were many and all needed to be addressed. And she addresses them.

This is God’s great reconciliation project, and all who are willing may participate. It’s not the funnest project in the world, by any means. But in Christ Jesus, God is reconciling the world back to himself (2 Corinthians 5:19). He is in passionate pursuit of us, God help us that we are equally as passionate in our pursuit of Him.

This, I believe, is to a large extent the gist of Picking Dandelions. Things simply aren’t always as they seem. People, well-intentioned people, did what they believed to be right in expressing to my generation how things are and how they ought to be. But being well-intentioned doesn’t make it right. The voids that were left in many of us were in need of being filled, and they would be or will be, in due time. And so we search. We search for Eden among life’s weeds.

The weeds are plenteous, but God sees us through them and we can find Him in their midst. He sees us in our pursuit of Him and he reveals the beauties of what was lost at the fall (Genesis 3) by giving us tastes of His grace. And grace is always sufficient (2 Corinthians 12:9). It keeps us sifting and searching for the real things that matter most.

Thank you, Sarah, for a great book and for letting me be a part of this. But before I close, Sarah has requested my Top 3 recommendations for a “Best of the Best” book list. My three are:

1. The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard
2. The Jesus Way: A Conversation in the Way that Jesus is the Way by Eugene Peterson
3. Primal: A Quest for the Lost Soul of Christianity by Mark Batterson

…is something you take for granted until you start losing it. Another lesson I’m learning here at the New Mexico Christian Children’s Home is that time is precious. It flies by like dust through Eastern New Mexico and the Texas Panhandle.

We are adjusting well to our new surroundings and new labors. We are working now with our second group of kids and we are loving it. We are tired from a trip to Ruidoso, NM, though. We, and a number of other cottage parents, took the kids to Mountain Family Fellowship. It was an amazing weekend.

School is still incredibly demanding. They make for late nights and early mornings.

I’m trying to finish writing a review of Sarah Cunningham’s Picking Dandelions: A Search for Eden Among Life’s Weeds. She’s got a blog tour going. My post goes live on July 15th.

Also got invites from Chris Gallagher and Bobby Cohoon to guest post for their blogs, later this month. I’m excited about it.

I’ve been working on a post entitled, AGAPE, that I can’t seem to finish. That is frustrating. My family is waiting. Please be patient. It is coming soon. Just gotta find more time. LOL

Time is precious. Remember that. Love your wife. Hug your kids. Appreciate your family. Engage your work with passion. Don’t take your time for granted.

It happened almost overnight. Two days ago, Tisha and I went from having three children under our roof to 12. The oldest is 13; the youngest is 18 months. They will stay with us for a week, then a new set of kids will spend the week with us. When House Parents have their week off, we take their kids for them for that week. That’s how it works.

As I type, we have had them for 48 hours. Two days down, five more to go with the kids from Cottage 1.

So what have I learned in those 48 hours? Here are a few things.

1. Kids are desperately seeking validation. These children know there are voids in their lives and they are seeking people to fill those voids. That is what makes this kind of work so rewarding. Adults are filling holes in the hearts of kids and filling them will love, concern, and hope.
2. Patience. I told Tisha the other night, “It will be impossible to strive to be so patient with these kids and that not spill over into becoming more patient with our own kids.” It’s true. I’ve had such unreasonable expectations of my own kids. Patience hasn’t been one of my virtues, and I am certain that God has brought us to this place, not only to help make a difference in the lives of these kids, but to also teach me to be a more patient person. This is something I welcome.
3. Kids want to be engaged on so many levels. Wednesday afternoon I took our whole cottage of 12 kids (mine included) and we had a huge soccer game. Kids from other cottages played as well. It was a blast. But it wasn’t for all of them. Some children had to be engaged on a different level and in a different venue. It’s easy to want to compel kids to conform to things that simply aren’t who they are. Every child is unique and must be considered as such. We are going to have to learn each one and seek to engage them where they desire it.

I am sure that there will be tons more we learn. For those of you who’ve been wondering what children’s home work is like, this is just a taste. More shall come later, but I am going to have to find the time. Time, consequently, is a precious commodity around here.