The Soul Surfer – Girl Loses Her Arm, But Gains So Much More

This Sunday we took the students of One Community Church to see Soul Surfer; The Inspiring True Story of Bethany Hamilton. All I have to say is WOW! What a story! It’s the true story of Bethany Hamilton, who at the age of 13 was an aspiring pro surfer with her entire life and career in front of her when it was derailed by a shark attack…, which ended in her losing an arm. Like most of you I heard the story on the news 6 or 7 years ago and thought, “Wow, that’s too bad, and that girl is really brave getting back in the water with those Sharks”… but this movie tells you the reason why she was ABLE to get back in the water.

This girl Bethany Hamilton is amazing… and the God who inspires her to do what she does is even more amazing. When I encounter people who against all odds have fought back to chase their dreams and find peace in the midst of the difficult moments in life, my ears perk up and want to know why! The movie makes it clear and so do the countless interviews she has given through the years… she believes God gave her a love for surfing and the ability to speak to nations through this gift, and she was not going to let something like losing an arm stop that… WHAT!!! She felt this way before the accident, and in some mysterious way, losing her arm made her more certain that God would be glorified through her surfing! A lot of people would let a broken board or a lost tournament stop them, but this girl wasn’t going to let losing her entire arm get in the way of achieving what she believed God wanted for her life.

There’s a scene that sums up the entire story of Bethany’s climb back to the top. Its only a month after losing her arm and she has decided that its time to get back into the water and surf again. There she is standing with her family and best friend looking out into the waves crashing and rolling into the shore, and her best friend asks, “Aren’t you afraid?” Bethany keeps staring into the oceans symphony of crashing waves and beauty and simply responds, “I’m more afraid of not surfing!” If you didn’t just get a million chills down your spine, wait until you see the movie (I hope this doesn’t ruin it for you) because this was one of the many moments I found myself tearing up (OK crying) and inspired by this young ladies outlook on life.

Even though she was in the midst of the biggest tragedy of her life, she was able to get up to a 30,000-foot level and get some perspective on what was going on. Like most teens she could be struggling with her body image (she did have only one arm), who could blame her if she would have morned the fact that just a few weeks before this terrible accident she was on her way to becoming a pro surfer with sponsors salivating at the chance to sign her… but the only thing Bethany could think about was getting back in that water and back up on that surf board, because she knew God was asking her to… for His Fame Alone! This is the reason she is still surfing today, to bring God glory! What an awe-inspiring story… The Soul Surfer!

If you find yourself standing on the beach, looking into the water, and wondering if you will ever surf again… I challenge you to go see the movie, look up the real documentary about Bethany Hamilton and let God speak to you through her story, and see if maybe He is asking you to get back into the water for His Fame Alone. It might not be the water, for you it might be a relationship that you have given up on, or maybe you have been running from God because its just so much easier to run that to face the hurts and fears… whatever your surfboard is… I promise, if you get a hold of what Bethany has you will live to see your surfboard another day!

I think I’m going to have to go see that movie again… I was grateful for the reminder of why I got back in the water after losing Micah. Believe me I wanted to quite, but God had other plans… His Fame Alone!

Grace and Peace

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What I Learned At The LDS General Conference

Got Hugs?

Last weekend I spent part of my Saturday in Downtown Salt Lake City hugging total strangers. That’s right, I stood on a downtown corner with a sign in my hand that said “Got Hugs?” and total strangers came up to me and thanked me for doing it, while others said “you guys are great!”

Myles and Shanda had signs too… as a family (Myles counted and beat us all) we gave out 100’s of hugs to people attending the semi-annual LDS General Conference. The conference is attended by over 100,000 Mormon faithful to hear the leaders of the church speak about where the church is going… each year updates are given on membership, temples that are being built around the world, and the future of the LDS Church. The conference center in Salt Lake City is a site to see with over 21,000 seats.

So why were we there? My Pastor Charles Hill went down to the conference last year to see what all the fuss was about, and what he found broke his heart. Men standing outside the conference with HUGE signs yelling and screaming at the Mormon folks walking outside of the conference. What did they yell and what do their signs say? Things like, “you turn your women into whores”. “Hey Mormon, how do you suppose Jesus and the Devil are brothers, prove it Mormon.” “Wake up, little Mormons, wake up… Jesus shed his blood for you!” and the hits just keep on coming. There are plenty of videos from previous conferences, you can watch them for yourself on YouTube, check this one out!

But why did we go? The people that are being yelled at, and abused verbally by these so-called “Christians” are our neighbors… they are our teachers, our friends, and most importantly they are PEOPLE who are valued by God! Can you imagine Jesus speaking to the women at the well and yelling this kind of stuff at her? Can you see him treating anyone like this? I think the answer is clear… he would not have anything to do with these men yelling and screaming at people with no other agenda than to upset them with hateful words and provoke a response that only builds their own selfish pride rather than building a bridge to a relationship!

What did I learn from our little visit to the 2011 LDS Conference… I learned that people will respond to someone who is there for the right reasons. If your motive to share Jesus with someone is pure, people will listen… And agree with you or not, they will have no choice but to take what you are saying seriously because you are motivated by LOVE not HATE! When it escalates to yelling and bad mouthing people for their beliefs while dragging their holy book on the ground all you get is a big fat slice of prideful pie… which goes against everything Jesus and his disciples accomplished 2000 years ago. The world was changed by followers of Jesus loving people into a position to see Christ clearly, not by mocking people and challenging their man-hood!

By the way, the Mormons were not the only people who got yelled at by these winners! Yep, they hated us too!

Shocker!

Until the next conference in October…

Grace and Peace

Check out the Christian Post article -http://www.christianpost.com/news/christians-counter-hate-offer-love-to-mormons-49714/

Rob Bell – Love Wins… But What About Heaven and Hell

Reader Beware, you may not like what I say… you may disagree slightly, or you may totally hate it!

Reader Beware… I actually like Rob Bell; regardless if his theology is 100% the same as mine! His ministry and thought-provoking style have helped my wife and I navigate through some very tough times losing a son and consequently some very muddy theological waters. We have come out swimming in a more clear stream of faith in Jesus Christ than ever before… and we both attribute a lot of this to the influence of Rob Bell’s ministry.

This is NOT a review on the book by Rob Bell; Love Wins; A Book About Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived. I just don’t have the time to pour into a chapter-by-chapter review, and others who are far more capable have already done so.

I was disappointed by the hoopla surrounding the book before it came out because so many people used terms like heretic and false prophet to describe Rob Bell before the book even came out… so I decided to give my thoughts on the actual book!

I think there are several compelling arguments in the book, and the most convincing for me is the fact that when we say Jesus came and died to save ME from MY sins and have a relationship with ME… that puts YOU and ME in the center of the Universe and that doesn’t appear to be what God through Jesus intended to accomplish!

In regards to who gets “in” and who is “out” of the heavenly realm, early in the book he mentioned the death of a 15 year-old boy who dies and asks what happens if they consider themselves atheist, playing on the “age of accountability” mantra many churches teach. The questions he raises are valid… did this young man only have a 2-3 year window (nobody knows the exact “age of accountability” because its speculation) to make the right decision? If he didn’t make the right decision once he reaches the appropriate age is that all there is to his life and now he is in hell forever? And then you have people who don’t think there is an “age of accountability” and so even the youngest of children who die are in danger of hell fire if they don’t believe the right thing… is this how God works? Or do we just hope God is kind enough to accept our young children into heaven, and this is something he decided before the foundations of the earth predestines them to heaven? What if the person is handicapped and just doesn’t have the capacity to “choose” Christ… are they off the hook somehow, or will God send them to the Hell they had no ability to choose?

See what I mean… some great questions to consider when deciding what you believe about who is in Heaven and who is in Hell.

I’m just asking you to consider these questions, because this is what I dealt with as a parent who lost a child who was 3 months old… and I’m certain people who have lost 12 year olds who grow up doing what kids do… have been tormented by these questions… I think they are worth asking and exploring!