Sunday, January 6, 2008

Is "freakin" allowed from the pulpit?

Is "freakin" even a word? I tried to look it up in my handy online dictionary and lets just say it wasn't there. I am going to make up a definition for the word. My definition is: stupendous, extraordinary, breath-taking...so on and so on.

Ok, so I created my own interpretation...but this I know for sure. My Pastor used this word twice from the pulpit today (once each service). If you know Pastor Dave this is actually a shocker to hear from him. Yet, it sure fit nicely.

Today we kicked off a new series called, New Year's Revolution. You can go here to listen to the message. It should be posted sometime this week.

All I can say is...WOW! It was awesome. I was excited, scared and nervous all at the same time. I was telling a friend this week that I was tired of being a boring Christian. I wanted God to do something crazy in my life that could only be accomplished through Him. My friend asked me if I knew how crazy that sounded. Before I had a chance to give some great theologically based answer about seeking God....he stopped me and explained.

When we open ourselves up to God, and ask Him to do something crazy in our lives, do you know what happens? He does. When I say crazy....I mean crazy. I often think that when we pray a prayer and tell God to use us in a way that only He can be glorified, we tend to have preconceived ideas about what that might be, or what we would like it to be; neither of which is what God may have in mind.

One minute we could be going to work, the next serving as a missionary in Roatan or pastoring a church plant in Iowa. God's plans are so much bigger than our own. I don't think any amount of planning can prepare us for what God may do, if we open up the door and give him permission to pull us through.

After my friend explained what he meant, I thought for a moment. Then it hit me. Yes, I am crazy. That is what I have been looking for. That is what I want for my life and for the life of my family: for God to do something so crazy that it makes sense, and it can only come from Him.

So yes, that is exciting, and scary and definitely makes me nervous.

As Pastor Dave put it, "I don't want to be a nice glowing night light...I want to be a 'freakin' nuclear explosion glowing for God"

How about you?

2 comments:

Dave said...

I definitely think "freakin" is allowed to be used from the pulpit. In fact, I think it was used originally in the Old Testament where David said, "that is one freakin' big giant I have to kill with my slingshot." It is often mistranslated, but the original Hebrew is most correctly translated as "freakin."

Jason Hicks said...

I only had a Greek translation. I did a Greek to Hebrew study comparison, and sure enough...David did say "that is one freakin' big giant"...thanks for that clarification Pastor Dave!