Hitched: What a Guy Wants…
For the first night of the new series Hitched, Tim asked all of the guys to write down the one thing they were looking for in a girl. The few of you that left your name and number have been entered into the eHarmony database and should be expecting your matches soon (just kidding). Here are some of the guys’ funny and serious responses…
A voice that is dark…like tinted glass
cook, clean, look good at all times
An untamed passion for Christ
Strong stable relationship with God and compliments me in my weaknesses
net worth after taxes
good taste in men (me)
A sparkling white smile, one that has the cartoon type smile to it
Understanding that I will hurt you and not mean to, that I will get frustrated and take it out on you, that I will try to be there for but I will fail often, that I will get jealous…but…I will always love you
Some “Rooftop Moments” from our students…
Have you ever had a “rooftop moment”? You know, the moment in your mind where you think you have it made, have it all figured out, you are perfectly content with your life, your world, your friends, everything. It’s a dangerous moment to have. Why? Because somehow you think you earned/deserved/worked hard for that rooftop moment. You left God out of your accomplishment, your raise, your promotion, your role as a leader…and did not give Him the credit. It’s not about you…it’s not about us…it’s about God. In Daniel 4: 29-30, King Nebuchadnezzar had a big rooftop moment that eventually cost him. Recently, we asked some of our students what their “rooftop moments” were. Here are their responses.
My rooftop moment was when….....
“I had gotten an internship with something that’s hard to do and I thought it was all because I did the work and I bragged about it to everyone. But then I lost it because that person left. I apologized to God and realized he can take anything away. Two days ago I was told I could probably keep my internship and the first thing I did was thank the Lord and asked for help to be humble about it. I absolutely love the walk and every week it opens my heart more and more to Christ.”
“I tweeted a quote out of a book I’m reading out of pride. The content of the tweet totally pertained to the sin I was committing. I am so foolish.”
“At work when someone told me I’m good at what I do…I have taken credit for it, like I have the talent, that I deserve my salary, and that I have earned my position of leadership. The truth is that it is all a gift of God, not of myself - so that none should boast.”
“My whole life of legalism. I was trapped in thinking that my “good” lifestyle choices were enough to make me holy. But only through Christ’s love and redemption am I anything but wretched, my good works mere ‘rags’.”
“High school popularity and recognition by those above me in the church. Putting my position on my own talent and not on the Lord’s grace and blessings.”
“Recently, I got a new job. The job is great. I got it right out of school and I had been asking God if this is the job for me. Once I figured that this is currently where God wanted me, I got a pretty big head. Like, ‘look at this job and how great it is.’ But really, the job is a gift and now that I realize that, the job got better.”
“My rooftop moment this week was when someone complimented me on my humbleness…what a joke.”
“Reading a UT-wide email that praised my leadership accomplishments.”
“Thinking that because I have a college degree, I deserve a certain salary, benefits, position.”
“I became a nanny for a Hindu family and I thought I would be the one to save them.”
“I took advantage of the fact that my schooling was paid for when really that is a huge priviledge and gift from God.”
“When I was in high school, I went on a mission trip. And on the trip, my “goal” was to bring at least one kid to Christ. At the end of the week, I actually got to lead a kid to Christ and thought it was all because of me. But it was really a priviledge through God.”
“When I was voted on the Homecoming Court in high school, I had a rooftop moment.”
“Going downtown to handout cheeseburgers and feeling like I am doing a “good” work for someone who “needs Jesus.” In reality, I need Jesus just as much and am no better.”
The Walk Staff’s - Make or Break Moments
My make or break moment was deciding to join a group of friends to serve the homeless community in downtown Knoxville. I pray this does not give off the image of self-glory because that is something I never seek. Being able to serve by giving food, water, clothing or any other basic need to that community has changed the way I love and thank God, as well as how I view my blessings. My perspective of the things I “own” has changed, my love for God and the gratitude for His blessings has increased. If I had avoided the furnace by not joining that group of guys my attitude of service would be weaker, my gratitude for everything God has blessed me with would be weaker, I would not be at the level of sanctification I am today…even though it’s a very long way from where I believe God wants us to be.
- Clark Davidson
When I was 19 years old I had to make one of the hardest decisions of my life. I was far from God and a month away from moving to Nashville to pursue music. It had been my dream for most of my life and I was finally going to pursue my greatest desire but there was one problem. I knew that God had called me into the ministry.
It was make or break.
By his grace, God placed me in “Babylon” and during that time he surrounded me with specific people that encouraged me to get in the Word and find my refuge in God. A month away from pursuing my dream yet knowing that I was running from my calling, I made the tough decision to surrender my dream and give my whole life to God. Just a couple of weeks later I had moved from California to Virginia to study the Bible at Liberty University. Best decision of my life!
- Brad Damas
What if you’re right in the middle of a make or break moment? I could say all along what I would do…but now I can’t be so sure. I graduate in May and I have two job opportunities: one is doing what I know God has called me to do and another is accepting a job that will offer all the benefits and pay any recent graduate would get googly-eyed over. On top of it all, this job will pay for my Master’s Degree. Do I go with the choice that requires obedience without a locked in retirement plan, or the cushy comfort of a lifetime of financial and job security? My attempts to dodge the discomfort of not knowing what will happen if I accept the job God is leading me toward, is furnace avoidance…plain and simple. Will I reject His principles and latch on to the ‘blessings,’ or act on His principles and leave the paid-in-full graduate degree behind? The world tells me to play it safe, God is asking me to play with fire. Sound easy? It’s not.
- Callie Dunlap
Baptisms: Testimonies and Pics
The Walk: Baptism 11.09.09 from patrick murphy-racey on Vimeo.
Making a Difference
Check out this article about the trip to Haiti on the news web site of the School of Journalism and Electronic Media | University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Baptisms: November 18, 2009
Baptisms at The Walk from Sevier Heights Baptist Church on Vimeo.
The Walk November 18, 2009
Beautiful Feet: Haiti
Shoes for Haiti from Sevier Heights Baptist Church on Vimeo.
I get feelings of joy, followed closely by tears and hurt for the 130+ kids that changed my view on what I thought living on nothing was. Seeing the orphanage and the kids the first night broke my heart. A place called home for them could fit into a classroom at UT, which by the way was a major step up from the nightclub they were in before. It showed me all the things I take for granted; food, clean water, changes of clothes, a place to sleep, people who believe and show me they love me, the list is endless. But these kids are orphans. They literally have almost nothing. Most of them don’t have or know their parents. You know the people who embarrass and annoy us, but love us unconditionally. Yeah these kids don’t get that opportunity. Children are made for families, they shouldn’t have to do life on their own. But One Vision has a plan to change all that. And I am so pumped that God gave me the opportunity to be apart of it. Just the small chance to hold a little girl until she finally falls asleep, or watch a blind boy get to play duck-duck goose with a million dollar smile on his face while he is running. Or to see kids get so excited for a chance just to cling onto you even though neither of you understand a word each other is saying. Or even getting challenged to a soccer match by the #1 and #2 teams of Haiti. Whatever it was, I know that in two days I experienced enough to know that Gods plan for me involves Haiti, and I can’t wait.
- Taylor Hobbs
This trip has changed my life forever. I jumped on at the last minute knowing God had something huge in store for me but I never could have imagined how much he would change me in just a weekend. The first night we stopped by the orphanage for about 15 minutes and in that amount of time I knew I would never be the same. I was overwhelmed by the conditions that these kids were living in. It’s not right. Children should not have to grow up this way. One moment that I will never forget is getting to see the little boy whose picture we used for the post-it note project. All I could do was scoop him into my arms and hold him. It was a surreal moment. I was so overwhelmed with love for this little boy and he didn’t even know me. When we showed him his picture made out of post-its, his face was priceless. I will never forget it. It’s so hard to come back here and explain the trip to those who haven’t experienced it. Words cannot really describe. All I know is that I will never be the same.
- Rachel Landrith
I literally can’t explain the trips to you in words. It was incredible. I feel like the biggest thing God showed me through Haiti was how much the kids don’t have any love. As soon as we got there, all the kids would flock to you and hang on you and if they couldn’t grab your hand they would cling to your clothes or at least touch your arm. They simply couldn’t get enough love. They couldn’t even really understand our love for them because they haven’t ever been loved. What breaks my heart the most is, if they can’t understand our love, how are they going to see how great the love of God is?
- Gillian Gaskins
I will have to say that this trip to Haiti was life-changing. The whole trip was a great experience in itself, but there was definitely a moment that I will always remember. I was sitting down holding a little boy named Palo and he wrapped his arms around my neck and put his head on my chest. Honestly, my first thought hoped the boy would get off of me because the stench was so bad and we were both dripping in sweat. It was in that moment when the Lord really spoke to me. I felt like he was saying, “Brad, who do you think you are? Even though this little boy is dirty and smelly, I love him just as much as I love you. He is my child, just as you are. Love on him like he was your own.” The coolest thing is that there is a picture that one of the girls took on the trip that captures the moment! It’s so neat to be apart of something so much bigger than myself. I pray that The Walk can continue to be the hands and feet of Jesus in Haiti in years to come.
- Brad Damas
You know, this seems to be the million dollar question, “Lacey, how was your trip to Haiti?” If words could describe how my heart aches and yet is joyful when the question is asked, it would make my life easier. Unfortunately, words don’t cut it. When I thought about this trip prior to actually going, the fact that these kids were orphans did not hit me. Orphans… no family. No love. No one saying I believe in you. When we got there this concept that my heart could not take hold of was made real. All these kids wanted from me was to be held. They wanted to be loved. They didn’t want words. There was a moment that will never escape my heart, and I thank God that it won’t. We were at church and it was about 110 degrees. I was sitting in the back of the room, unable to understand anything they were saying, holding a tiny baby boy. He was too feeble to hold his head up, too weak to cry. As I stared into his face for nearly 2 hours, I imagined starring straight into the face of my Jesus. My heart broke. There is no one who makes this child their priority, no one who has hopes and dreams for him. I felt the Lord saying to me “Lacey, this right here is the reason I need you. I need you to hope and dream and love my people as I love you.” As I prayed over him, and as my tears wet his face, I knew my life would never be the same.
- Lacey Jenkins
Beautiful Feet
“The Walk” 10.28.09 from patrick murphy-racey on Vimeo.
Poverty. Do you know what it is? I thought I did. I’ve learned fast that I don’t. How could I? I’m comfortable. I have all the food I need, clothes to wear, family to take care of me, a warm bed to sleep in at night. I lay my head down every night with a full stomach, not ever thinking about where my next meal will come from. I take for granted breakfast will be waiting for me in the morning. But why do I deserve all of this when 30,000 children die every day because of poverty related reasons? 30,000. Kids. My reflex is to offer money. You know, the usual thing. The easy thing. That’s enough…isn’t it? In Luke 6 we learned that what’s easy isn’t always what God’s asking us to do. Even those who don’t know Christ will blindly throw money at the problem. Give and forget. But God has asked us to do something bigger, something that may sting a little. As college students, we don’t have a lot of money to give up. What we do have are the shoes on our feet. Do we care enough to literally give up our own shoes? I gave not for myself and not so other people could see me doing it. I gave my shoes because sacrificing something, anything was better than staying comfortable. When I gave, I looked in God’s direction. When I’m focused on reflecting Him, sacrifice loses its sting. Bare feet became beautiful. Men, women, kids in Haiti won’t have the ache of a sharp rock jabbing their heel or a splinter stabbing at a toe anymore. You decided giving up a pair of shoes and being a little uncomfortable for one night was okay because it meant someone else would be more comfortable for months if not years to come. Our shoes are going to an orphanage in Haiti, an orphanage without a back wall. We can rebuild that wall. Not with our hands, but with our attention. These kids living in this orphanage have been ignored most their lives, where’s the justice? Justice for these kids is a safe place to live, a home with four walls. Remember the statement from Bishop John? “It’s possible to do justice without worshipping God, but it’s impossible to worship God without doing justice.” So I’ll give my three dollars. But I’m not giving to some blind cause just to make myself feel better. No. I’m giving for justice. Justice for those 30,000 kids. It has to stop and it starts with us. Is the message sticking yet?
A Note from Tyler
From August 2003 until the summer of 2009 I had the opportunity to serve as the worship leader for The WALK. Over those years Tim and I constantly talked about what a revival would look like and prayed that it would begin with the College Ministry at Sevier Heights. The only word Tim and I could come up with to describe revival is “unexplainable”. On September 16th, 2009 I believe I caught a glimpse of the unexplainable and will remember that moment for the rest of my life. I was attending the WALK one last time before my family and I moved to Morristown, Tennessee to be on staff at Arrowhead Church. As I was standing there, watching hundreds of college students worship God, I was reminded of where the WALK began. It all started with the vision of a leader who had the desire to change the way people view church. Thank you, Tim Miller and College Staff, for being a picture of Jesus Christ to so many.
Tyler Rhoton
“Dear God” by Calvin
Dear God from Sevier Heights Baptist Church on Vimeo.
Calvin’s Poem on prayer, “Dear God.”
This poem is about my realization of how important prayer is to my daily life. I have come to think that perhaps God does not want us repeating the same generic prayers over and over because they become so stagnant and don’t come from the heart. They end up being empty words that mean absolutely nothing. The Lord deserves our best so where better place to start than honesty in prayer?!
The Prodigal’s Song
“The Prodigal’s Song” from Sevier Heights Baptist Church on Vimeo.
“The Prodigal’s Song” written by Brad Damas.
The story behind “The Prodigal’s Song”…
As a worship leader and songwriter, my natural form of communication and expressing myself is through music. Yours might be through art, design, dancing, etc. In fact, some of my greatest times with the Lord have been with my guitar in hand. That is just the way I was wired, and I’m okay with that.
During a quiet time about six months ago, the Lord led me to Luke 15:11-31 and brought to my attention how my life resembled The Prodigal Son. In my high school and early college years, I ran away from God and tried to live life on my own. Just like the Prodigal Son, I was tired, completely broken, and in need of my Father. As I began to look at my past, I was (and still am) amazed that the same God, who I completely disowned and ran from, felt compassion toward me and that his arms were opened wide when I decided to come back home to him. I was so overwhelmed by the thought that God would still offer his love and redemption to me after all the pain that I put him through, that I quickly grabbed a pen and piece of paper and picked up my guitar. And this is the song that poured out.
Every time I perform this song, I am reminded of how much God truly loves me. My prayer is that this song will speak that same message to each and every person who may listen to this.
Brad Damas | Matthew 16:25
Check out the lyrics
Dirty Laundry
The Walk 9.02.09 “Dirty Laundry” from patrick murphy-racey on Vimeo.
Come as you are… but don’t stay the same!!
We had another phenomenal week at The Walk. Great worship, awesome message, fun times of fellowship, and delicious food… it couldn’t get much better!! Join us next week at 9pm at Sevier Heights as Brad and the band lead us in worship and Tim continues the “Dirty Laundry” series.
Our Podcast
If you subscribe to our podcast via iTunes, you may have noticed it’s bit frazzled (er, outdated). That’s because, due to some technical issues, we had to start from scratch and create a new podcast. So if you’d like the most up-to-date downloads from The Walk, you’ll need to resubscribe. No worries. The easiest way to do that is to click on the “Podcast” link anywhere on our website.
Sin Smothered in Cheese
Sin Smothered in Cheese from Sevier Heights Baptist Church on Vimeo.
Poem by Calvin
As Tim mentioned at the first Walk, our goal as a ministry is to reflect Jesus Christ in everything we do by changing the way you view church. Through all the lights, cameras, music, free food, and fellowship, we always want the ultimate focus to be on Jesus. As a ministry team, we wanted to come up with creative ways to reflect Jesus from different perspectives throughout the semester.
Calvin Smith, a theatre major from Memphis at UT, wrote Sin Smothered in Cheese. Many of you heard his piece performed a little differently by Tracey Halter at the first Walk of the semester at the amphitheater. Calvin was originally going to perform but had other obligations so Tracey graciously stepped in and totally rocked out. Calvin is full of talent and he is writing another poem to perform at the end of the month during Tim’s series on Prayer. We are looking forward to him being involved in the ministry and can’t wait to see what he comes up with next! You won’t want to miss it!!
Check Out the First Walk
The Walk 8.26.09 from patrick murphy-racey on Vimeo.
On Wednesday August 26, The Walk kicked off the fall semester. The first Walk met at World’s Fair Park at the Amphitheater in downtown Knoxville, where they fed 1000+ college students free Chick-Fil-A and Rita’s Italian Ice. As you can tell the turnout was amazing with a majority of students packing the area around the Ampitheater well before the festivities began.
Beginning a week before, the University of Tennessee campus was filled with posters inviting everyone to the first Walk of the semester. Then starting two days before the Walk many volunteers helped with a campus blitz, handing out 2000 cookies. In addition to the cookies the student volunteers wore shirts to follow the countdown theme of the posters and cookies. All of this spurred great curiosity and many of the curious ones showed up to the Ampitheater to see what all this was about…mission accomplished!
This being the third time The Walk has been at the Ampitheater, Tim, the college pastor, wanted to spice things up to keep in line with his motto for The Walk, “Changing the way you view church.” After the worship and message, Tracey Halter came to the stage and presented a dramatic monologue written by UT theater student, Calvin Smith. The monologue copied Tim’s picture of presenting Jesus as love, but in a dramatic fashion. The audience stood motionless, obviously moved by Tracey’s words.
A quick thanks goes out to all of the volunteers that helped whether you are a student or not. All of the staff with The Walk greatly appreciated your help and we look forward to a great semester with all of you and with those that attend The Walk as well. God did amazing work Wednesday and we are anticipating even greater work to come.
