Is, Was, and Always Will Be

I wrote this post for two reasons: To share how God's hand has worked in my life and to encourage you to look back on your story and see the hand of God. When we share how God has moved in our lives he is glorified.

I recently interviewed for a youth ministry position in Texas. In preparation for the interview, the head of the search committee asked me to prepare to tell my story in ten to fifteen minutes. His intention was to give the committee a chance to get to know me on a personal level, but the fortunate byproduct was that in preparation for the interview, I had the chance to look back on my life and see how God has blessed me over the years. It left me with a sense of gratefulness and awe- his hand in my life can be clearly seen and has made all the difference.

In college God revealed to me my passion for ministry. Through mentors, experiences and divine appointments, he hammered out some of my kinks and forced me to adapt and mature. Mission trips and youth internships were a tool he used to break down false ideas I held about what life in Christ should look like. All the while, he was uniquely gifting me for service in his kingdom.

Also in college I met my wife, built perfectly for me as sure as Eve was made for Adam. There are billions of women in the world, but none better suited for me, who shares my passions and whose personality is just the type to keep me on track. Kris is especially blessed with an ear for the Spirit and a compulsion to follow where it leads. I wish that I had the connection with the Spirit that she has, but at least I can be married to someone with this gift. Our union is the work of God.

Tim Frizzell invited me to Crieve Hall church right out of college. This, again, was the work of God. Nowhere else could our young marriage have grown so well. God used Tim as a mentor to show me, who grew up fatherless, what it meant to be a minister and a Christian man. Also in Nashville, Kris and I saw our relationship pass through the fire. In our first year of marriage, Kris suffered from intense depression that rocked our relationship. There was a time that was very dark and difficult for both of us. At 21/22 years of age, we had to grow up fast. In hindsight, this crucible was a blessing from God. We emerged from that time of darkness knowing that our marriage would last a lifetime. After a year of marriage, we had been through more together than many marriages face in ten years. I'm convinced that this was a time of preparation that strengthened us for the future.

Another divine appointment occurred when I was introduced to Church Planting Movements in 2008. Until then, I didn't understand what true discipleship was about. Until then, I didn't understand what it meant to be radically obedient to God. Through CPM, God convicted me of things in his Word that I had never seen before. It fundamentally changed my life. If it hadn't been for my exposure to CPM, I would be a completely different man, and a much less obedient man. I also wouldn't have gone to China.

The Spirit tugged at Kris more than it tugged at me to go to China. If it hadn't been for her, I think we would have stayed in Memphis. But the Spirit wouldn't let her stay in the States. God wanted us there for a specific purpose, and he overcame impossible odds to get us jobs teaching in Hangzhou.

Our experience in China proved to be another time of training for me and Kris. Through our experience, God taught us what missional living looks like. He continued to teach us how to be a husband and a wife. He showed us that reaching the lost is his mission, and all we need to do is show up. We learned the value of community, fellowship, accountability, and complete obedience to God. In the midst of our schooling, God used us to draw the lost out of darkness into light.

Now in Texas, God has revealed another way in which he has been pushing our raft down the river of life. When we were in Memphis, Kris really struggled with finding a meaningful job. In her first two years out of college, she had worked at a clothing store, a sweet shop, and a bank, contributing little to society and scorning her seemingly worthless college degree. We were devastated when she applied and interviewed for her dream job in Memphis but was rejected. How could God deny her what she wanted to do for his glory? Now, two years later and maybe ten years more mature, Kris has been hired for the same dream job she was denied in Memphis. God's response to our prayers two years ago was not "No," but, "Not now." If Kris had gotten that job, we would never have gone to China.

So here I sit, post-interview, waiting to hear back from the search committee. I don't know if I'll get the job. Will this be the one, or will I continue the search? With joy in my heart, I can honestly say I don't care, as long as his will is done. How could I look back on my life and not trust that God will choose the very best future? With or without this job, I will rejoice, because he who crafted my past already has the future mapped out. Praise God for that.

How has God blessed your journey? Take the time to look back on your life with an eye for the hand of God. Then share your story with someone for the praise of his glory.

David Goes to the Dentist

Well, we're back. And things couldn't be weirder.

Evidently culture shock is a two-way street. We've been in America for a week now and every day we have encountered things that make us feel like we got stuck somewhere between the Twilight Zone and the Bermuda Triangle. I thought I'd share some of those vertigo moments.

1. When we first got home, Kris' mom made me a sandwich. That sandwich had more meat on it than I would've eaten in a full week in China. She asked if I wanted milk to drink. I said, "Yes, thank you. Just a small glass." When I saw my glass of milk on the table a moment later, it was huge. I wasn't sure I could lift it to my mouth. I thought Debbie had surely given me her biggest glass, but I looked in the cabinet later and saw that she had indeed given me the small glass. It only seemed enormous because all of our vessels in China resembles glass thimbles.

2. When Kris thought of home, she thought of Annie. When I thought of home, I thought about food. Buffalo Wild Wings, Las Palmas, Lasagna, Fajitas, etc. The irony is that for the first five days or so back in the States, I couldn't eat a thing! My stomach was in knots all day every day and when my fleeting appetite appeared, I was only able to eat a small child's portion.

3. After my tumtum healed, we made it to Rosa's, a very fine Mexican restaurant in North Richland Hills. After forking out 20 bucks (140 yuan?!) for two dinners, I set down my fajita nachos on the table and went to the fixins counter for salsa and pico. I was amazed when I saw a huge vat of sour cream and an unlimited supply of individual Ranch dressing packets. My immediate instinct was to fill my pockets with Ranch dressing. In China, this was gold! Here, you just ask and they'll pour it directly in your pie hole.

4. Free refills on milk at IHOP.

5. Our worship in Hangzhou involved a very intimate number of eight to ten people who knew each other very well. This was not the case at Legacy church this morning. In a room of 800+, I felt like one of those chickens in a coop struggling to get the corn on the conveyor belt. This church culture is going to take some getting used to.

The moral of the story is that God did just what I asked him to do while we were in China. He changed me. Though there are friends and family members who will expect me to be the same person I was ten months ago, I am not that guy. Time has changed me, China and its people have changed me, God has changed me. I'll never see the world the same way again. I praise God for that.

Homeward Bound

Can you believe it's time to come home? The van is coming to pick us up and take us to the airport in four hours. There were times this year when time moved like molasses, but now it seems like this year was much less viscous.

I want to thank all of you who followed this blog regularly all year. Your comments here and through other mediums has been encouraging. I really think this blog was a good outlet for me to see the spiritual formation God has been working on in me and I'm thankful you took the time to read along. You who followed this blog as well as Kris' have as intimate a connection with our experience as anyone. Thank you for the prayers you offered on our behalf and on behalf of the people we mentioned here.

I'm not sure of my plans for this space after our return to the States, but I hope to continue posting once we get settled. Thanks again for reading and participating in the mission of God.

Cambodia to Laos

There are so many things to report and not enough time at the moment. The team just landed in Laos after three days in Cambodia. We'll be here in Luang Probang for the next 48 hours or so. Although we've encountered a lot of obstacles and spiritual warfare, we have been blessed with safety and God's Spirit has put us where we needed to be when we needed to be there. We count it a blessing to encounter difficulty, becasue Satan's attempts to foil our plans only confirms that God is doing an important work. In future blog posts, you'll read all about frog attacks, airport misques, frustrations and successes. But I guess this post will serve as a teaser.

We're safe and happy in Laos for now. Pray that our hearts are open as God's Spirit blows us wherever he wishes. Love to you.

Going Dark

Kris and I will be out of touch for the next ten days or so. We're finally going on the survey trip with our mission team. This trip has been on the calendar for two years now, so it's hard to believe it's finally here! I hope you'll join us as we pray for God's guidance as we visit Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand. May God's Spirit work and reveal the place and the people he has prepared for us to reach. Only he knows where his glory can be revealed the most.

If you're unfamiliar with our team, Kris has provided and introduction in her blog.

We'll provide a recap when we return on the 16th. Blessings!

Goodbye, Students

A few weeks ago, one of my students told me that she was moving to Italy to be with her mother. I was shocked that she was leaving and felt a twinge in my heart. I realized then that it was going to be very difficult to leave my 200 students at the end of next month.

So I decided to make a video. It has two functions, really. First, it is a goodbye present for my students. I'm going to play it for them on the last day of class. Second, it is an opportunity for you to see some of the students you have been praying for. Not just nameless people "over there" in China, these are real people, real souls. Only a few of the students you'll see in the video know God. Many of them believe in "Science" or Buddha. If not, they believe in nothing at all. Please continue to pray that we'll make a difference in their lives in the final weeks.

Although these words are serious, the video is not. Enjoy!

Murder at HNU?

This post would be more fun to compose on a manual typewriter from another decade.

News of an unsolved mystery has permeated our quiet campus in the heart of Hangzhou. I will lay out for you the facts that I have confirmed involving this enigma. As the mystery as of yet remains unsolved, you can draw whatever conclusion you see fit.

Last Thursday, I was meeting with Nick, a Chinese believer, by the reflecting pool on our campus. He told me that it was widely whispered that someone had fallen to their death from a third story window in building five, and there was suspected foul play.

Later that day, Kris and I were to appear on a Chinese game show that was being filmed in building five. When we arrived that afternoon, the area was being guarded and there were picketers with signs and unhappy faces. We learned from our Chinese friend Chen Shu that the gentleman who fell to his death had flunked out of school, so it was likely that he had committed suicide. However, it was suspicious that his online account was cleaned out and there was blood found in the boy's bed.

More intriguing facts came in the next day: Evidently, the boy was found in his underwear, not fully clothed. Also, there might have been a knife wound on his person.

In spite of this evidence, the position of Hangzhou Normal University is that this boy's death was a suicide, not a homicide.

So here are my thoughts:

A. There are many, many buildings on campus that have ten floors. Even building five has six floors. Why would someone intending to kill himself jump from the third floor? You could be paralyzed or die a painful death this way, especially since all the crime dramas on TV say that suicides always jump feet first. I would go for a taller building. And how do they know he jumped/fell from floor three? Maybe that was the only open window?

B. There was blood in his bed and he had a knife wound. This could be explained away, but to me it screams foul-play.

C. The boy was in his underwear. Again, this doesn't jive with suicide. You would think that a person would want to maintain some dignity and wear modest clothing.

D. The online account was emptied. Where did this money go? Who withdrew from the account? Perhaps this is the party responsible for his death?

I need more evidence to prove my theory, but it seems likely to me that this boy was killed in his bed while sleeping in his underwear on the third floor of building five. Then, to make it look like suicide, the killer carried him to the nearby window and threw him out. That's much easier than carrying a heavy body all the was up to a higher floor, where suicide would be more believable.

The school has to save face now that one of it's students has died on its campus, so it is in their interest to mark it a suicide. For me, though, the jury is still out. What do you think?