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

It's been nearly a month since I returned from my trip to California. The experience was friendly, the weather was stellar, and returning to Texas was a relief. During our time, we visited San Diego which was exciting because I wanted to see what the border culture was like in another state.

I had a great time in San Diego, visiting several coffee shops, friends, and observing the people in their city. However, I soon felt that, to me, it lacked identity. I felt as if San Diego was a city that housed so much diversity that it would be difficult for one to properly identify. I don't think it is a bad thing at all, but different. 

Thirty minutes south of San Diego rests San Ysidro, CA. A city located on the U.S./Mexico border. As we drove in, advertisements that were once in English transition over to Spanish and a city that is broad in its culture and diversity is now immensely populated and influenced by one culture. 

Living on the Texas/Mexico border, San Ysidro was not a culture shock. In fact, that's not the point of this post rather, interestingly the border town culture, where the United States and Mexico combine, started and ended in San Isidro. In the Rio Grande Valley, the city of Hidalgo is the gatekeeper of the culmination of the two countries, eloquently combining culture and tradition that stretches to the outskirts of Falfurrias, TX and beyond. 

I was surprised to see a border town's culture start and end in the same location. I suppose California is diverse enough to be identified as a state housing much diversity. Or maybe California is a state that has worked hard at keeping the border at bay.

I suppose, I am also looking for clarity regarding the culture of our state. After living in central and north Texas and spending time in west Texas, it is apparent that the Hispanic population has great influence in their cities. I am not saying Texas is better, but what makes our people different than others? 

Is it pride versus a lack of support or awareness? Does it even matter? California played a significant role during the time of the civil rights movement, was the success baton passed on to other states? 

Raza, what, if anything, are we missing? 

 In case you haven't caught on, the Valley is a beautiful culmination of the United States and Mexico; both nations collide and form what we call a border town. Border Towns have their own rules and the community is united under commonality. 

I understand the Valley is different and it has its quirks and to outsiders, these quirks can come across as inconvenient and frustrating, at times. However, my attempt is not to persuade you to accept the Valley or Border Towns, but to help you understand the culture. I want to begin with one central message: dialects.

While it sounds like something made up, I can assure you, "Tex-Mex" is a legitimate dialect. Below are brief examples of dialects that many have a misunderstanding of and here is my attempt to help bring it all together. 

CHICANO ENGLISH

It's not uncommon to travel to southern California and hear Mexican-Americans (or people of Mexican heritage) refer to themselves as Chicanos. Similar to the Valley, California's border towns provide a unique sense of culture and language. While we have a lot in common, the choice of words for certain things are different. 

Tacos are burritos while in Texas a burrito is fried or an enormous tortilla filled with meat, rice, beans, and cheese; a taco is a soft tortilla wrapped in a delicious delicacy. Additionally, in SoCal, fajitas is carne asada, but in Texas carne asada refers to meat that is grilled over fire; fajitas is a type of meat. 

My wife is from California and we have this argument often. 

In any case, California and Texas share common interests, but it's simply communicated differently- this includes slang. 

POCHO

"Pocho" refers to broken Spanish. It's taking words from the English language and making them sound Spanish. It can be hilarious. It can be insulting. But at the end of the day, if you walk into a barrio and do not speak Pocho, but formal Spanish, you might as well be a rich white boy from Harvard- you're not welcomed. 

Words in Pocho include "lonche" which means "lunch," "chorts" which mean "shorts (yes, the kind you wear," or "tochar" meaning "to touch." Get it? Pocho. 

I could give this large sociological excerpt on Pocho, but this is a blog, not a journal. 

SPANGLISH

This is a serious debate for many because often it can be confused for Tex-Mex or Chicano English, but quite frankly, it isn't. 

Spanglish is its own dialect and it refers to the unity of two languages in order to paint one picture. In short, starting a sentence in English is the beginning of a thought and what brings color and life to that thought, idea, or conversation is finishing it in proper Spanish.

"The people needed to be led; they needed orgullo, animo."

TEX-MEX

Tex-Mex is very similar to Pocho, much like many forms of Chicano English. In fact, the separation in both dialects is geographical location. If Pocho is broken Spanish, then Tex-Mex is broken Spanglish.

For example: 

"I'm going to the store." | "Voy a ir a la tienda." | "Voy 'pa la store."

"Why?" | "¿Porque?" | "Por why?"

"Stop." | "Alto." | "Estop." 

Additionally, whistling is a form of communication. How one whistles will determine their feelings or thoughts. If one whistles before finishing their sentence, it is because the whistle conveys the remainder of the thought or feeling. Whistling is also used to grab one's attention (No you're not a dog, get over yourself. If you think that, then you take yourself way to seriously). 

CONCLUSION

I wish to end by saying that this brief introduction into border language is an attempt to help you (or make you laugh) understand border culture. Please, do not be offended when you step on border soil and the majority population doesn't speak English, it's an insult when you speak louder or display irritation. 

Remember, this is a country of immigrants with a ridiculous amount of cultures, dialects, and beliefs. And, no where in the constitution or declaration does it state that English is the official language of the United States. It's the most common, estuped.