Howdy.
We have came to the end of lecture phase of CPx. I keep rubbing my head and neck like I have whiplash. The last three months went very quickly. This week is all prep for the individual teams dispersing to different places of outreach. First aid training, communication coaching, leadership classes, team strategy and bonding meetings are the order of the day...week. We have where we are going to be staying as a team all worked out but it's a matter of when we will be able to move in there. It's a house in Cape Town not too far from where we will be loving on people. The teams will be departing on or around the 25th and 26th this month. We may not be able to move into the house until May 1st. We'll see, no big deal, we'll get there sooner or later.

I've noticed something interesting things in recent months. Thought I'd talk it out here.

I'm sure this will be no revelation to you, my good reader but it has been highlighted to me. The people who "make it" in ministry or leadership or fill-in-the-blank really are the people who are teachable; they are willing to learn and change. Often that means knowing what it is to be obedient to authority. That also seems to mean that these people receive correction of a bad attitude etc well. I don't mean that they have to like discipline and correction but they....accept the words given as motivated by and given in love. If love is not at the heart of what is being spoken but what is being spoken is non the less true they see it as a chance to grow in both giving grace for the offended party and correcting and (where applicable) apologizing for what where they were wrong. (Hope there's enough qualifiers in that sentence.)
People who refuse to be taught don't make it. They don't get to where they want to be even if they've the finest intentions. And they wonder why. It really hurts me to see people insist on they're own way of doing things or thinking when they are being (lovingly) told and retold that the way they are going is not good. *I would like to take a time out and state that I am speaking of Christ followers when I speak of people being corrected and doing the confronting.*
It is my assertion that this is pride. Pride mixed with ignorance perhaps. Well, pride, ignorance and stubbornness maybe.

Papa Floyd talked to the men about humility this past Sunday. I loved it. He spoke on it from the context of the life of King David. In general Papa Floyd said that humility: -is a door way to healing, -the greatest of virtues, -frees us from bitterness, -goes against instinctive "flesh" nature, -allows us to see God's perspective on things among other things. I David Floyd made four points on humility. 1) It was in humility that David learned to forgive, 2) In humility David learned to repent, 3) He learned to repent and 4) in humility David learned true freedom. David forgave Saul for trying to kill him. Think about it, the anointed future king of Israel forgiving the current king trying to kill him, humility. He wouldn't even kill Saul when he had the perfect opportunity. He did cut the edge of the king's cloak and was convicted over even that. Floyd said "how often have I not 'killed' someone but 'cut some of their cloak off' just to show this person 'see how close I got to you' and then had to repent about it?" I realized I've done the same thing. In humility David repented of the mess he made with Bathsheba and her husband. That was dieing to self to be sure. David was not proud to ask God why He let his son die and removed him from power for a season due to his big fail with Bathsheba - he mourned (in humility.) David loved the law of God. Not in a weird "religious" way but he loved it because it was freedom to him. Floyd used Psalm 19 and 119 as examples. Remember Jesus had not come, lived, died and rose again yet so there was only "the law" and sacrifice to atone for sin and David was committed to it.

This brings me to my big point. Love is what it is all about and it goes hand in hand with obedience and humility. You can't have obedience without love, John 14:15 If you love me, keep my commandments (Jesus speaking, NLT.) And there must be humility - a laying down of your own ideas/rights/etc - somewhere in the mix if you are to obey someone or something. So, it seems to me that humility is a love response. We put ourselves aside to serve our friends, our mates because we love them. 1 John 2:4-5 If someone claims, "I know God," but doesn't obey God's commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God's word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. (NLT)

This brings me to an interesting conclusion that I've been kicking around in my head completely separately the last week or so. And that is this: obedience to the voice of God no matter the cost. "Yes" no matter the cost. I know that Christians always want to be obedient to God and so on and so forth but sometimes we end that commitment when the call deviates from the American Dream. I'm not satisfied with that. I've known too many people, seen too many people, hear too many stories, been with too many speakers here at CPx and felt the consuming love of God too much to not respond. Pride destroys people, humility brings them to good places, people and situations. Let it be said of me that I didn't have a pride problem, I did what God said, served people and loved God and others.

Another long blog devoid of any photos. I'll see what I can do for next time. I'm excited about this week, I may be able to have a sit down with Floyd to bounce ideas off of him about Japan!