I can remember watching the first Avengers movie with my son and a scene that stuck with me was when S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Phil Coulson tells Loki that he will fail in his pursuits because he lacks conviction. Soon after, we see Loki grow angry and just as he’s going to make his point, is shot.

At the end of 2015, my son and I went to go watch the new Star Wars movie and I was stoked because I can be a nerd. In a scene where Kylo Ren hears disturbing news about his men not being able to catch some of the resistance, he becomes enraged and destroys an entire room with his light-saber.

Here’s my point: both characters throw fits; giant adult-sized fits.

Superhero movies have a great iron as the good guy has conviction and a broken past and while they struggle, they move forward in their convictions to save the day. Men, today, lack conviction. Conviction is a firmly held belief that requires action and that seems to be something of the past unfortunately.

ADVANCING THROUGH CONVICTION

The Bible is full of men who were real, had a crazy background, yet held convictions. In fact, one of the central themes in the Bible is that God chooses ordinary men and does extraordinary things through them to further the advance of His kingdom.

The Lord calls the drunk, the adulterer, the proud, and the weak and does a mighty work through them (fully knowing they’ll jack up) and gives men two big roles: fulfillment and responsibility.

If we look to Adam, Noah, and Abraham we see that in addition to a family, God gives them jobs. And as quickly as they’re blessed, they fail. However, in their failure, we see God covering them in grace and reassuring them of their faith and call as men.

These men were counted as righteous, not because they were awesome but because of their relationship (what we covered last week) with God and their conviction. Superheros are no longer on the big screen, but sit at at the dinner table; innovate and advance; cultivate and create; work and strive.

My prayer is that we stop looking to fictional characters for hope and look toward the One who’s given us a purpose through real men who went before us, failed like us, and helped advance the Gospel of Christ for the sake of His glory and not their own.

Men, conviction is a belief that requires action not passivity.

There is an epidemic going around. It’s contagious and attractive. We have a man problem where men are lacking in the everyday: family, work, and culture. Currently, we have so many boys walking around with a lost identity of manhood that it’s causing more harm than good despite innovations and advances in technologies, degrees earned, jobs obtained, and marriages celebrated.

Over 90% of crimes are committed by men; the divorce rate in marriages are exponential; adolescence is a prolonged (and encouraged) pastime stretching from the ages of 18 to early 30’s. 

Where did we go wrong? Is Manhood simply something that once was and it no longer applies to who we are today?

In this first installment, we place ourselves at the beginning: creation and identity.

CREATION

In Genesis 1:27, God said “Let Us make man in our image, according to our likeness.” The word image means “to be like; to resemble.” Man was created so that he would represent and glorify the One who created him in addition to carrying the responsibility given to Him (Genesis 2:15).

Simply, God hooked man (Adam) up with a job and a beautiful wife (Eve); calling him to cultivate the land and to be fruitful with his wife. Then, something happened. Man sinned. While Eve may have been the one who first ate of the forbidden fruit, it was Adam (who was was next to her) that dropped the ball by doing nothing to protect his wife. The lack of action by Adam would have implications for generations upon generations.

As our culture and technology continually evolve, the amount of ideologies and thoughts on what it means to be a man become further lost. What does is mean to be a man?  

We have boys who are  graduating college, starting a family, sleeping around, or obtaining loads of power and believe it is efforts like these that define men and while many of these aspirations (including several others) are not necessarily bad, they are not what make men. Rather, it is our relationship with the Lord that make men, gives purpose, and most importantly identity. 

IDENTITY

Before getting hooked up, man was first called into a relationship with God. At the centerpiece of creation, God was extremely intentional about having a relationship because it would be the driving force behind what it meant to be made in God’s image!

Our identity as men can only be found in the person and work of Jesus; understanding this will bring relationship, clarity, and acceptance. Acceptance is one of the biggest driving factors behind the decisions being made by boys today. The problem behind boys seeking acceptance is that it will ever be enough.

Let us look to the One who is enough; the One who restores us back to the Father. Men, we do not have time for excuses any more and we must take responsibility for our actions- up front and not passively. You don’t have to be alone, but you do have to step up.

It has almost been four weeks since the passing of my friend's son, Dylan. These past several weeks have kept my wife and I on high alert so that we could best serve Victoria (Dylan's mom) and her family, encourage and grieve together, and handle our daily responsibilities. Recently, I have been given the opportunity to reflect on this season and the best way to summarize everything is by making much of community and God's sovereignty. 

While Dylan's passing was tragic and hundreds of thousands of people were impacted by his life and condition, as I look back I can clearly see God at work in the lives of Dylan's friends and family and in His own people. In fact, I believe that because of Victoria's faithfulness, the Lord chose to not only save Dylan and bring him to Himself, but also use Dylan in order to reveal Himself to hundreds, two specifically. 

C O M M U N I T Y 

Almost a month before Dylan's accident, Victoria came to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ at a Women's Retreat. Throughout this time, Victoria had been in community with other women and hearing more about the gospel when it all clicked. Victoria submitted her to life to the Risen King and almost immediately became a missionary mom to Dylan.

Then, tragedy struck as Dylan suffered an accident that resulted in the Lord calling him home. I wept with Victoria, with my family, and in solitude over Dylan's passing. However, I needed to look at what God was doing in the midst of all of this to find some comfort.

While Dylan was in the hospital in addition to the time after his funeral service, I saw the church come together in radical prayer, support, and care in a way that I had never seen before. People were setting their schedules and work aside to minister to Victoria's family in tears, service, and comfort. I saw the church reflect compassion in its truest form: a time of suffering.

I saw the community group my wife and I lead step up in a way that brings me to tears. Our house was cared for while we were out of town, people stepped in and led on Friday nights and put in extra hours on Sunday and during the week to make sure things were taken care of. And no matter the hour or need, I saw our group step in to serve. 

It was an outer working of discipleship; giving their lives to Victoria because her and her family had become dear to them (1 Thessalonians 2:8). It was an overflow of compassion by weeping alongside of Victoria (Romans 12:15). It was God's absolute sovereignty because Victoria's daughter and her boyfriend experienced a care that was honorable, genuine, and compassionate from a people that were reminded that they were God's people and had received mercy (1 Peter 2:10-12). 

The Donate Life flag outside of Driscoll's Children's Hospital. Dylan impacted 100 other kids' lives through his donation.

Dylan (in the paintball mask) at Seth's Nerf War party last year.

The Legacy Wall: The numerous kids who donated their organs (including Dylan) to save others kids in need of life.

Tons of cars! Our community group convoy after helping move Victoria's belongings while she stayed with family.

H I S • S O V E R E I G N T Y 

I know I turned into a preacher on that last paragraph, but if you would allow me to continue. This is the paramount to my observation! As our community, the church loved Victoria's family through Dylan's accident, God was at work in the lives of Victoria's daughter, Bethany and her boyfriend, Mando. 

Two months ago, these two individuals did not know who Jesus was and now have come to a saving knowledge of Jesus! And while I really wish Dylan was here because I miss his questions, I can see the work that Jesus was doing through Dylan to rescue his big sister. I knew that Dylan's loss would be a giant ripple effect in the lives of many; a ripple we can trace all the way back to Victoria being faithful, even while young in the faith. In His sovereignty Jesus would save Victoria to save Dylan in order to use Dylan to save Bethany, Mando, and for hundreds of people to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. 

WHAT!? 

I miss Dylan. He was such a joy to me and my family. I cannot wait to see him one day so we can talk about the sports I don't know and play X-Box.

I do not know why Jesus chose to call Dylan home so soon, but I do know that (1) if Dylan had a choice, he wouldn't want to come back and (2) I know that Christ is sovereign even when we don't understand and by seeing and getting to be a part of these evidences of grace, I can embrace His sovereignty in order to keep moving forward in faith; in the person and work of Jesus Christ alone.

"The authority once given to Scripture is now ascribed to the appointment calendar." - Eugene Peterson

I have allowed myself to be called a pastor not by the authority of Scripture, but by how busy I have allowed myself to become. I am saddened that as I think through my weeks, they typically begin with an overview of calendared events and meetings. I would love to tell you that my days begin in communion with my Lord; intimacy with the Savior; a broken-ness of my sin that leads me to a place of repentance; bringing me to my knees in worship of who Jesus is and what He has done. But they don't always begin this way. 

Christ, in HIs mercy, has allowed me to be one of the pastors at Logos Community Church and while it continues to be a great honor and humbling experience, it is very easy to fall victim to meetings and schedules. While meetings and schedules are inevitable, I must remind myself that my primary call as pastor is to shepherd the flock the Lord has entrusted me with. 

"Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock that the Holy Spirit has appointed you to as overseers, to shepherd the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood." (Acts 20:28). 

How heavy is that?! My central responsibility is to the flock God has appointed me to, not church wide communication or community group strategy. And while areas like communication and strategy have their place, they should not govern my life; they should not be my initial thoughts for the week. My growth should come from a place where I am filled with "the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding so that I may walk worthy of the Lord." (Colassians 1:9)

My desire is simple: to see people meet Jesus. This desire will only be made possible by making the calendar secondary, if not tertiary. I wish to be a pastor who is busy because the Lord has brought me to my knees in prayer over my sin and the weight of those I have been appointed to. I wish to be a pastor who is utterly in love with God's Word that I am immersed in what God is revealing to me; a pastor who, first, proclaims God's Word. I wish to be a pastor who embraces slowness by being still and knowing that Jesus is Lord.

I think I have communicated my wishful thinking enough, so the question becomes, what do I do? 

The best place to start is with Jesus. He knew what it looked like to be busy, but didn't allow the calendar to lead him, but was intentional about resting to get away in prayer and rest in solitude. Luke 5:16 records that Jesus "often withdrew to deserted places and prayed." If I am to be healthy and brave in order to lead those entrusted to me, then I must begin with intentionality and the worship of Jesus. 

May this be the start of realignment to the care of the flock God has appointed me to shepherd. 

This picture was taken a little over a year ago in my backyard after my son's Nerf War party where his posse of friends gathered around and shot one another for 6 hours. It was probably one of the coolest events to see in my life. But as fun as this day was, I'm not here to tell you about the gnarly shots or how the adults won several of the games due to our key strategy: climbing trees.

You'll notice there's one child in particular who stands out from the rest: Dylan (the one with the paintball mask, in case you hadn't figured it out). Dylan had the hot hand on the afternoon of Nerf War. Dylan is also one of my son's best friends. Lately, Dylan has been coming over to the house more; knocking out homework, helping Seth with chores, and hanging out. He's an absolute pleasure to be around. He definitely takes after his mom, Victoria. 

Yesterday afternoon, Dylan suffered a great accident in Port Isabel. And while I rather not get into all of the details of the story, Dylan suffered severe head trauma and is currently being treated in a hospital in Corpus Christi. Many of our friends and family have gathered in prayer and support and the beauty of community has been seeing people rise up to serve in addition to seeing God clearly at work throughout this incident.

Upon Dylan's accident, a retired respiratory therapist was on-site to administer CPR, one of the Valley's best neurosurgeons was on staff at the local hospital for Dylan, and with hurricane weather still diminishing the skies cleared up for an EVAC team from San Antonio to fly in to safely transport Dylan out to Corpus, and I watched Victoria hold fast to what she knows to be true about Jesus in order to be at Dylan's side. These are clear evidences of God's grace. The most common verse in the bible is God telling us that He will not leave or forsake us and while this incident is difficult, His word proves true. 

I'm writing this because Dylan's accident is very personal for me. I have had the honor of hanging out with this young man and his quirky personality is one of his greatest qualities. I was able to spend some time alone with Dylan yesterday in the hospital and though he was unresponsive, I prayed over him, had a few laughs, and shed many tears. Dylan means a great deal to me and I know that Jesus will be glorified throughout all of this, despite the outcome. I suppose, I felt I needed to write this to encourage you on a few things: (1) Please pray for Dylan and Victoria. Victoria loves Jesus, is a wonderful mom, hard working, and is a joy to be around. Dylan is funny, quirky, enjoys Pop-Tarts (not toasted), and is extremely bright and very attentive. (2) Consider donating funds to support this family during this time. Funds can be allocated for lodging, food, gas, and other expenses. Below is a link should you be moved to give. (3) Share this post wherever you can. 

At some point I know that Dylan will read this and my final thoughts:

Dylan, as you have been a part of our lives and have grown closer to Seth this year as a friend and brother, I have grown closer to you, seeing you as a son. I want you to know that I love you dearly and despite anything that may come our way, I am here. Dylan, one of my favorite verses in the Bible is when God tells Joshua (farmer turned warrior), "I will not leave you or forsake you. Be strong and courageous (Joshua 1:9)."

Be strong and courageous, son.

If you would like to give, please visit the following link: Dylan and Victoria