2006 April archive at isaac downing

Archive for April, 2006

28AprSilent.

Every once in a while, you find yourself in a conversation in which you realize that no one is nearly as interested in your thoughts, ideas and theories as you are. You suddenly realize that you are the only one talking, or at least the only one listening. While you have been parading through descriptive words and conjectures, your audience has moved on.
I can’t remember the specific passage of scripture, but for some reason I want to say it was about Hezekiah. There was a time he felt that God pulled away from him. He was involved, engaged and committed, and all of a sudden God stopped speaking. He was stretching his faith. Then again with Gideon (I’m positive this one was Gideon). God sized down his army from 32,000 men to 10,000 …but as many of you know, he didn’t stop there. He finally let him go to battle with some 300 soldiers against an army that the Bible describes as being like "a plague of locusts" to the Israelites. But then right before battle and before discussing the best method of attack and before telling him what he should do next…

God was silent.

…no wisdom… no encouragement… no guidance… just silence.

I am at a crossroads. God has called me outside of my level of comfortability and now I have to grab hold of it…or I have to let it pass. I know can’t stay where I am and go where God wants me to go. God has given me all of the information I need. He has given me the tools to make a decision. But He isn’t making it for me.
In the book Chasing Daylight, it’s referred to as the "second dimension of faith." For Joshua, the second dimension was going INTO the Jordan River before the waters parted, as opposed to standing on the shore and waiting for the path to clear before moving to action, as Moses was able to do.
I doubt that I will be parting the waters and crossing the Illinois River this year. I am fairly certain that I won’t go into battle against an imposing army like the Midianites. But I see two things very clearly. God is taking a breath in this conversation between He and I and He is waiting for me to respond, and that means I will be walking by faith and not by sight.

in Ministry, Twelve Oaks and Worship. 1 Comment

26AprMy Favorite Month.

April is an important month in the timeline that is my life. In April my parents were married. This is an important moment for obvious reasons as I would cease to exist without this part of the timeline. Coming in at a close second, April was the true beginning of my relationship with Christ. And finally, it was the beginning of my life with Rachel. Three years ago today I watched her walk down the aisle, arm in arm with her father. I stood hand in hand and pledged my life to her.

Any married man will tell you in a candid moment of brutal honesty, that we (as males) are not worthy or our wives love and affection. As a general rule of thumb. It isn’t feminism, or sexist or anything… it’s just the truth. She is amazing, and puts up with more than I wish she had to. But she still loves me. And that’s very good news.

Happy anniversary, gorgeous…

Rachel

in Marriage. 1 Comment

19AprWeek in Review.

Easter was exciting. We had quite a few more people than usual. A normal Sunday brings in around 75 people, and I think we had roughly 200 over that. If you compare it as a percentage to any other church, we look amazing! You could tell that these people weren’t used to Twelve Oaks worship.
Our worship service went great. Dwayne Stuber, of Tremont fame, gave the message on–big surprise here…the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ! He hasn’t preached at Twelve Oaks for a few years, so it was nice to see him again and hear him speak. The music also went really well. We were definitely in a zone. The djembe, the bass, the keyboards… great mix, great sound, great intensity…it was just great.

Here’s the set list for the service…

Unchanging (opener)
Holy is the Lord

:: Announcements ::

The Wonderful Cross
Arise
Did You Feel the Mountains Tremble

[special music]

:: sermon :: Dwayne Stuber

You Are I Am

The sound quality was there, the energy from the band was there… but the congregation just didn’t really get into it. Okay, well, first I have to confess that the visitor count I mentioned earlier was a bit inaccurate. At least in regards to unchurched/first-time visitors. Many were from our sister church in Tremont, Northfield Christian Fellowship, to hear Dwayne preach. And we also had some visitors/relatives from Bethany Baptist Church. Being much more conservative churches, they were less inclined to stand, clap, raise their hands or do anything that required some sort of visible motion. So, it was definitely a humbling learning experience for me.
I doubt there was anything I could have done differently to get a more positive response. I am still learning to flow with the congregation and lead them, instead of beating them onto the path I want them to follow. At least I know that God is still working on me.

One of my favorites quotes of all time has been sticking out to me lately…

"Greatness is not determined by where we stand, but in what direction we are heading. Sometimes we must sail with the wind, and sometimes against it. But sail we must and not drift, nor lie at anchor."

~Oliver Wendell Holmes

in Twelve Oaks and Worship. 0 Comments

13Aprstar wars in church.

I am, dare I say, giddy over this.

Seth pointed me here, which in turn led me here.

Just wait until this gets into our churches! I’ll give you a hint: imagine a simulcast presentation on a second campus that isn’t just on the video screens like normal, but is a life-size hologram. Standing, talking and walking in front of you and delivering the message. Unbelievable. Make sure you check out the show reels.

You can’t just read about it. You have to see it.

viZoo

in Web/Tech. 0 Comments

10AprTen Years.

What were you doing exactly ten years ago?

I’ll give you a hint: it was a Wednesday.

More specifically, a Wednesday night.

For me, ten years ago, on April 10, 1996, at approximately 8:15pm, I was kneeling on a gym floor. I sat there after hearing a message that I had heard countless times before. But for some reason… it stuck. The words were the same. The truths were the same. The forgiveness and grace that was offered was the same, but in God’s sovereignty it stuck… And now, I am turning ten years old.
Reaching the double digits in a spiritual journey seems to demand some kind of reflection. So, I am to taking a hard (and somewhat unsettling) look at myself over the past ten years. And what exactly I experienced that night and in the following weeks…

I vividly remember walking into school the next day, and writing notes to my friends in each class to tell them about everything that had happened the night before. I ran up to my teachers (it was a private/Christian school) and told them all about it. I witnessed to friends at school and invited them to my church. I was on fire. Not just in the way I talked; beyond the talking – I was changed.
The first thing I did when I got home ten years and one hour ago, was to tear down the posters on my walls. Throwing down idol after idol, I gave myself up completely. Metallica, Nirvana, Toad the Wet Sprocket. Pearl Jam. Nothing survived beyond my copy of Bride’s album "Scarecrow Messiah" (think if Guns ‘n Roses got saved), and DC Talk’s "Free at Last." There was nothing that I could fathom allowing to stand between me and the joy and freedom I had found.

I am ten.

And now I am in leadership at Twelve Oaks. Honestly, at times, I still feel as though spiritually I am just about to enter adolescence…literally turning ten years old. In a way, that makes me thankful. John Maxwell says, "If you are still impressed by what you accomplished yesterday, you aren’t truly developing that skill to a higher level." So, on one hand, that could be counted as evidence that I am working toward a higher standard, and as a result have never been impressed with my "accomplishments." But more so, it scares me to think that I have the awesome responsibility of leading a body of believers each week in worship and communion with the Almighty God. The very same God that sent fire from the heavens to consume the alter Elijah had set up. The very same God that David danced in passionate praise over. The very same God that created the entire universe… not just this planet, but millions of other planets that we will never see, and millions of stars we will never notice. The same God that created all of that and still took His time working to create you and me, and to do it just right.

While I am typing this, God keeps laying this verse on my heart. It forces me to acknowledge whether I am leading worship and "doing church" out of a selfish ambition for personal recognition and for the success of the church as a club — or if I am passionate about seeing lives changed and broken hearts mended…

"…You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first…" (Revelation 2:3-5 NIV)

Here’s to rekindling old habits.

in Christianity. 0 Comments