In
The Same Chair 12.06.08
Ok, so I have to share something with you guys. This is so big
that I'm actually taking time to write it amid the myriad of
hours of homework I'm doing in my last week at EBC this semester.
I almost had a double-digit number of papers to write, but despite
that, and the carpal tunnel that I've developed because of that,
I'm typing through the pain and my bloody fingertips to share
this apex moment in my semester. I've had such a problem finding
time to serve and hang out with people this semester. But last
night was the first time I was able to spend with the homeless.
Cornerstone houses homeless people one night a week during the
winter and I got to go spend the night with them. But here's
what blew my mind. I had no idea that over the last month or
so I've been sitting in class in the same place that housed people
later that night. It was such a cool life moment to be able to
sit in a chair one day learning about God and then sit in that
same chair a night later next to someone without a home. I really
think that says a lot about Cornerstone and a lot about where
church should be. Think about that.
This should be it for me this semester and subsequently the
year. After finals I'm hopping on a plane back home to 'Bama.
It's been a great semester. May the peace and love of Christ
be with you all.
"Barbeque"
11.18.08
I feel like God has given me an opportunity by writing these
blogs. I feel like I've been offered a platform by EBC to speak
truth into the lives of everyone who reads these words. So I
feel an obligation to address something that has burdened both
my heart and my digestive system since I've been in Simi Valley.
Here is what grips my stomach in massive hunger pangs: Barbequing
and Grilling or two totally different things. I can't tell you
how often I've been disappointed since I've been here by the
misuse of these two terms. As you might remember, I'm from the
South. In fact, my hometown has a world famous barbeque restaurant.
I'm not even joking. It's not the generic title that everyone
tries to put on their restaurant. The sauce from this place is
even sold out here at specialty grill stores! (Check it out if
you're interested: http://www.bigbobgibsonbbq.com/)
So, I know what I'm talking about. Let me help you to avoid looking
like an outsider (or "city folk" as they like to call
it where I came from) if you ever visit the South or the home
of anyone who pursues a life of discovering how to pull the fullness
of flavor out of meat.
I'm constantly getting invitations to "Barbeques,"
only to have my taste buds disappointed to find hamburgers and
hot dogs. Hamburgers, hot dogs, and steaks fall under the category
of "Grilling." Grilling (especially in reference to steaks) can
be an art form as well. But grilling is by no means barbequing.
Barbequing involves meat being cooked slowly at low temperatures.
Examples of which include, but are not limited to: ribs, brisket,
chicken, turkey, pulled pork, or barbequed pork loin. Barbequing
implies a process of slow cooking without direct heat. You can
do this on a charcoal grill by displacing the charcoal, or you
can do it properly through something like a smoker. A person
skilled in the art of barbequing can take anything to a whole...’notha...lev-el.
For instance, you have ribs; and then you have Apple Cider Ribs
that have been smoked with hickory wood for the last six hours.
I hope this has been helpful. Remember, if you're going to
invite people over for hamburgers and hotdogs please, please
just say, "Hey we are grilling out this weekend." And if you're
going to spend most of the day skillfully engaging a rack of
ribs until the flavor and tenderness is just right, that's when
you invite people over for a barbeque.
Community
11.01.08
I'm
in Huntsville, Alabama (Correction, I'm now in Atlanta. I only
got halfway finished writing this before my flight boarded) getting
ready to walk onto an airplane back to LAX and all I can think
about is how fortunate I am for being a part of the community
at EBC. I had a death in the family and quickly had to fly back
home. And as much as I've missed my family and friends, I was
surprised at how much I started to miss my roommates and friends
that I've met in the past four months. I really feel extremely
blessed to be a part of the community at EBC and at Cornerstone.
I had a friend of mine from back home in Bama come and visit
me and the one thing that he was blown away with the most is
how quickly you fit in with people here. I've only lived in my
apartment for a few months, but we already feel like brothers.
The more and more I experience legitimate community and see its
effects, the more I believe that community is one of the most
essential elements to bring people to Christ. It's so attractive.
Acts 2 is one of my favorite chapters in the entire Bible specifically
for this reason. Now I just want to share with you a little taste
of community EBC style!
So...Mark Beuving, the Dean of Students, is the coolest. I know
his job is to be our friend, but I can't tell that it's his job
title. We laugh. We cry. We exchange recycled jokes from "The
Office." Recently, Mark, being the genius of a man he is, deciphered
where the location they shoot "The Office" is at from a few random
sentences he heard on a bonus feature. After he went, he gave
me the directions and the following happened. Enjoy:
'EK 10.01.08
Hi! Welcome back. No, I don't need your money... OK, a hug will
work. Thanks! So, how have you been? That's good. Uh-huh... Yeah...
I saw that too! I know! I couldn't stop laughing either. Hahaha...
How have I been? Great. I'm loving it here at EBC. But, I have
to be honest. Six classes will never happen again. Next, semester
I'm only going to take four so I can have time to have a job.
There is a lot of homework here at EBC...but in a good way.
Regardless, I'm having a lot of fun in my classes and with my
roomies.
However, I feel like I need to take a second to respond
lovingly in a careful, gentle and humble loving, and loving way
to my roommate Dan's blog. But the simple fact is that his help
can ruin your college experience. Let me do you a favor now and
tell you that the most essential piece of information for a college
student is NOT where the nearest Taco Bell is. If your goal
for college is frequent trips to the bathroom, then by all means
enjoy your Taco Bell. I've never had a meal at Taco Bell stay
in my body longer than 30 minutes. Let me provide you with an
illustration. Say you have a test in your Greek class. You have
two hours to take it and you decide to grab some Taco Bell before
hand. You're 30 minutes into your test when all of a sudden you
are moved...and not by the Holy Spirit, but by your body screaming
to get rid of what it doesn't even consider to be food.
Now instead of parsing nouns or deciphering which pluperfect
verbs are augmented, you can't stop thinking that the preposition
'EK in Greek means "out of." That's what Taco Bell can do for
your future.
I'm just here to tell you that In-n-Out is cheap
too and will not wreck your day. Plus, there are Taco Bell's
everywhere. In-n-Out is a place people have to travel from around
the world to eat at. I'm from the East Coast and, trust me, there
are PLENTY of Taco Bells out there (Why do you think people
in the South still have outhouses?). There, however, is not a
single In-n-Out. And plus, In-n-Out has a secret menu! The only
thing you can get on the menu at Taco Bell that they don't tell
you about is E-Coli. Oh, and did I mention that In-n-Out has
Bible verses on their products?
So, I'll let you decide.
Simi
Valley Sojourner 09.01.08
Hi! I'm Matt. Nice to meet you. Oh... Thank you... You too.
I am
a newbie at Eternity Bible College (EBC to the cool kids). I
only ask one thing while you read my blog. I see that my profile
shows that I'm from Alabama, but I don't have a very strong accent.
I admit that I do have one, but it's subtle. So, as you read
this, please don't make me sound like Larry the Cable Guy. Now
that we are stereotype free we can get to know each other...
but in a totally one-sided way. I'll start with how I ended up
at EBC.
I've only been a Christian for about three years now and
I didn't grow up in church. I was saved halfway through college
and the one thing that I always found frustrating was how little
time I was able to spend studying God's word in-depth. So I decided
a little over a year ago to devote two years after college to
do just that. I love living my faith, but I wanted to get to
know God more completely through His word. So I started to look
for a college, and I was so disappointed by how much it costs
to learn about God! I almost considered not going, just so I
wouldn't support a system that thinks it's fine to pay so much
to study the Bible. Fortunately, God had other plans. I was at
a leadership conference in the fall of last year when I heard
about EBC and their vision of an affordable Christian education.
As I looked into EBC, and Cornerstone, my desire to come here
only grew. I'm so thankful that God has brought me to such a
healthy and challenging environment. After only a week of class,
I've met a lot of great people and learned a ton about God's
word. I'm so excited to see how the next two years will play
out.
That's it for now. I can't wait to share more soon!
