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Impacts and Observations From T4G

If you follow me on social media you probably already know that I got the opportunity to go to a pastor’s conference from the 12th of April to the 14th called Together for the Gospel (T4G). It was a truly astounding experience that included getting to meet Dr. John Piper, learning more about the Reformation, and having new desires when it comes to topics like theology. If you have read my ‘About Me’ page at the top of the blog, you would know I said this is not some teenager’s ‘glorified diary’, so I’m going to stick to that. I will not give you a play-by-play of what I did or saw but instead, I hope to achieve two things:      1) Pull back the curtain a little bit on what these conferences are like           With the schooling opportunity, I have this year (Online at Wilson Hill Academy), I have opportunities others may not and one of those is getting to go to conventions. I hope to show a little of what they are like because I know I find interest and know that is also the case with some of you.    2) Share some very valuable lessons I learned This post is not going to dive into the sermons of Dr. John Piper, Dr. Mark Dever, and others, this post is going to lessons I learned from observing the atmosphere and generality of the conference. One of the biggest impacts the conference had on me was the change of role models. Going into the conference, if you had asked me who two of my biggest role models are (other than my dad, of course), chances are I would have told you something like ‘Steph Curry’ or ‘Dak Prescott’. However, that is no longer the case. Getting to watch and listen to the likes of Matt Chandler, Dr. Ligon Duncan, Dr. John Piper, David Platt, and others made me realize these are the guys I want to be like. Not because they are famous, but because they are very wise and well-educated. Because of the way they have studied God’s Word. In my opinion, the youth of America would instill a lot more hope in adults if we looked to imitate great theologians. Sure, I still pull hard for Steph Curry, and I really want to see Dak Prescott do well but when it comes to copying one’s every move, we should be looking to those who God has chosen to speak through. When you start to look up to someone, you start to imitate them, you begin the desire to do what they do, talk like they do, like what they do. One of the things that I really noticed was my deepened love for theology. Theology and philosophy have always had a place in my heart but during that conference, I found a very deep love for understanding theological and philosophical ideas and worldviews. The reader will hopefully notice my topics will begin to get deeper and deeper into challenging thoughts and concepts that I will explore and then state what this may look like for teens. Remember, while a majority of my audience are adults for the time being, this blog is really geared to discover what life looks like through the worldview and eyes of a Christian teen with other teenagers. This not only helps a fellow teenager understand these concepts but also gives adults a look at where we are coming from. Along with this newfound love for theology, I learned the importance and meaning of another I’ve begun to love: hymns. The church I’m raised in is a contemporary Baptist church, so the most I’ve really been exposed to hymns are during Summer trips to my grandparents’ church in Mendenhall, Mississippi, which is a traditional Baptist church. This has played a big role in my views on hymns which are not my favorite. In case you haven’t noticed, there is a little bit of a pattern forming here. At the conference, the music sung is all hymns. I’ll admit, I didn’t realize how much of an impact this would have on me. Picture yourself in a college basketball arena with 10,000 other people singing worship to God just for being God (if you can’t, don’t worry, the videos are on my Twitter ). I had heard about it and it didn’t really hit me until about halfway through the second day but when it did, wow. There were times when you just had to stop singing because it was so overwhelming. That night, some of the theologians had a panel about it and I started to realize that hymns are an important aspect of worship. The main focus of this conference was the Reformation which makes sense considering it’s a Protestant conference. As a result of this  focus, my understanding of the reformation grew much deeper in the sense of different reasons for the reformation, some of which I had never known or considered, ways martyrs acted as they were killed, and even some specific martyrs’ stories. This has given me the interest to know more about these martyrs and the Reformation, itself, through books such as Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. All of these new desires motivate a central action: reading. I have always loved reading but not in the way that it does now. I no longer just want to read an interesting thriller, but want to read a theologically centered book, an autobiography, or even Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. I feel we, as teenagers, should start filling our spare time with content that is beneficial and Gospel-centered. I did not feel as strongly about this going into the conference, but now, after seeing people like Dr. Albert Mohler and Dr. John Piper, I see how much reading good content can affect you. This may sound boring but I challenge you to try it; this goes for adults, too! I will have book reviews and free contest. giveaways (one very soon) on books that I have read and liked. I want to grow in my understanding of who God is and hope you join me. Overall, the conference was a great experience and I would recommend checking with your pastor of your church if there are any conferences that are available for the congregation to go on. I hope I have given some insight on what these conferences are like both through my blog and Social Media. Have a good day! (Check out the content below)

 

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Minor Deceptions

     With the elections and primaries among us, understanding what we think is very important. A lot of times what we think, especially if we are undecided or not confident in our decisions, is swayed by what people around us think. This can be good and bad depending on the people and the decision itself. But what if we don’t actually know what other people think? Even though we may think what other people know and what the majority is, as the article below explains, we can very easily be wrong. As you read the article, keep in mind that this doesn’t just apply to politics, but can be applied to many different scenarios which range from silly questions like ‘Are baseball caps trendy?’ to very serious topics like ‘Is homosexuality Biblical?’ Next time you are on the fence for any topic, remember we can easily be swayed to the minority vote simply because it looks like the majority vote. Link: What Are People Really Thinking? .
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Worshiping Your Way Out of Despair

An article recently published in the Gathering Chattanooga's Roadsigns.
    Have you ever just been so frustrated or that you just want to hide in the corner and cry? Maybe not even to that extreme, maybe it’s where you just aren’t feeling God; you need a break. You aren’t alone because I am willing to bet that everyone has had these experiences. We are about to take a look at a man who was, “after God’s own heart,” and had this experience.
 
     David was a man who wrote everything down. His thoughts and feelings of good times and bad can be found in the book of Psalm. Psalm 77 is an example of one of those bad times. Psalm 77:3, "When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate, my spirit faints.” He is at the point where he feels God may have given up on him. We see more of this in verses 7-10,
 
“Will the Lord spurn forever,
and never again be favorable?
8 Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
Are his promises at an end for all time?
9 Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has he in anger shut up his compassion?”
 
     Now he is doubting God’s faithfulness. He is in complete and total despair; the devil is using this feeling he has to lead him away from what he had earlier proclaimed in Psalm 52:1,
 
“Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man?
The steadfast love of God endures all day.”
 
     How then do we get out of this despair? This feeling of hopelessness? Let’s see what David did:
 
11 "I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
12 I will ponder all your work,
and meditate on your mighty deeds.
13 Your way, O God, is holy.
What god is great like our God?
14 You are the God who works wonders;
you have made known your might among the peoples.
15 You with your arm redeemed your people,
the children of Jacob and Joseph.”
 
     David combats this with worship. He “remember(s) the deeds of the Lord.” He calls upon God’s faithfulness in the past to change his attitude in the present. That’s how we get out of these times; we remind ourselves of all God has done. Do you think David just did this because he felt like it? No, look what the verse says, “I will remember the deeds of the Lord,” he made himself remember. Then what happens? He starts to build and build as he remembers what the Lord did. As you read this, you can start to see the change in attitude, it gets stronger and stronger until he reaches the climax in verse 20: “You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron." He got out of his despair by making himself worship.
    
     Why do we need to? We already saw how the devil attacked David in his thinking when he was down, but let’s look at 2 Timothy 4:1-2, "I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by his appearing and his kingdom: (2) preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching.” “In season and out of season.” We always need to be ready. We are called to preach the Word to all the nations and how can we do that if we are not, ourselves, spending time with God?
     
     In conclusion, we are going to find ourselves in those times of despair; we need to get out of them. How? By worshiping God and acknowledging all the great things He has done in the past. Why? Because Satan attacks when we are not constantly spending time with God and we can’t tell others of the Good News if we are not currently experiencing it ourselves. God Bless.
 
 
 
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Risen

     One of the series included in my blog is going to be book and movie reviews. These reviews are created with parents and maturing Christian teens in mind.
 
     Yesterday, my family and I went to see the movie Risen in theaters. In case you weren’t aware, Risen is about a Roman soldier who is tasked with the job of hunting down the missing body of Christ, which the Romans are sure was stolen from the tomb by His disciples. The movie is a great action film and gives you a really good look at what the resurrection looked like to a non-believer. It actually picks right up where the Passion leaves off. Before this, I had never actually thought of what the Romans would have done to ensure peace after Jesus was raised from the dead.
 
     Not only is it a great action and adrenaline-pumping movie, but it also holds quite accurate with Scripture. I think they did a great job with aligning it to Truth apart from a few minor details, such as the linen cloths not being folded up. There were a few gory scenes especially in the beginning which is why it is rated PG-13. My parents said, however, that it is not as gory as the Passion (a movie that I refuse to watch simply for that reason). It had a good and intriguing l story to it that I hope and believe will draw even non-believers to it.
 
     In conclusion, Risen is a movie that I would definitely recommend. It gives a good look at the resurrection that you might not have thought of before. It is accurate and in alignment with what Scripture says which is always a plus. I would suggest parental guidance for kids the age of about 10 and under simply because of certain scenes such as the breaking of the criminals’ legs. We had my eight-year-old brother with us but needed to cover his eyes at certain points. All-in-all, I would say that it is a good, family-friendly(ish), thought-provoking movie. Go check it out and let me know your thoughts and opinions on it.  Thanks.
 
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Watching our Words

    The interview I had with my dad (David Price) gave me a great look into the mind of someone who has had some experience when it comes to living out what it looks like to be a gentleman. The discussion revolved around how important it is for a gentleman (or anyone else for that matter) to watch their words even while joking. I include the part of 'even when joking’ because I think that is such a big part of it. We often forget how easily our words can hurt someone. I came at this topic with Ephesians 4:29 and Ephesians 5:4 in mind. Ephesians 4:29, “Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only what is fit for building up, as it fits that occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.” ONLY what is fit for building up. In other words, the only words that should come out of our mouths are words to encourage and strengthen and equip. This obviously doesn’t only apply to young gentlemen in training but to ALL people.
 
    What about when it comes to joking? As guys especially, we tease and joke with one another and, as my dad pointed out, it can actually bring people closer, but there are many times when it doesn’t. How many times can you think of when what you thought was a joke ended up becoming the start of a fight? Or maybe when you took seriously something someone else said in a joking manner and it ended up putting a gap there? It probably happens more times than you think. My dad made the observation that, “in every relationship we engage in, our words have the potential to build up and make that a strong, lasting relationship or it has the ability to end it quickly.” As we just discussed, ‘joking’ can easily have a negative affect and tear it down. In my follow up, I asked him when joking was appropriate and this was his response, “When I use my words to joke and jest, I’m using my words in a dangerous way...If my intention is to build you up, I’m probably not going to spend too much time joking with you.”
 
    Even when we aren’t joking we can easily hurt someone. My dad explains one of the most common reasons for this: “We live in a world where we say what we think and sometimes we don’t care what they think, but that’s the way broken relationships happen, so I think it’s very important how we watch our words.” The key is that sometimes we are flippant, which was a point my father had previously pointed out, and it all ties together. Generally speaking, bad things happen when we just say what we think. 2 Corinthians 10:5 tells us what we should do: "We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.” The first part is talking about defending the attacks of Satan’s followers, but what does the second part (“and take every thought captive to obey Christ”) mean for us? It quite literally means what it says but the Reformation Study Bible tells us what this looks like: "If every thought, then the whole person—our every idea, motive, desire, and decision—belongs to Christ.” Every part of us is going to belong to Christ and reflect Christ because what we do is based on our thoughts. Naturally, this would imply the tongue would be controlled by Christ, too. The tongue is such an important thing to control because, as James tells us, "If anyone does not stumble in what he says, he is a mature man who is also able to control his own body” (James 3:2 HCSB). I HIGHLY recommend James 3 as it goes into great detail explaining how dangerous the tongue is. If Paul is saying we need to take every thought captive, which means our whole body should be controlled by Christ, and James is saying if someone can control their whole tongue they can control their whole body, what should we do? I would suggest praying to God that He helps us control our tongue and what we say.
 
     What is the consequence if we don’t? Jesus answers this in Mathew 12:36, " I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak.” Every. Careless. Word. This is not just important for a gentleman, but for everyone. We need to not only watch how much we joke, but also how we speak to people in our everyday lives. As my dad said, “Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can break a heart.”
 
     I really enjoyed interviewing my father (David Price) and I will be interviewing more people as this series (Becoming a Gentleman in the 21st Century) continues. Hopefully, my interviewing skills will improve as I go along and you will understand why when you listen to it. However, it is not to focus on me, but my dad’s answers, so keep that in mind. You can check out the full 12-minute interview below along with links to my dad’s blog and The Gathering website.
Thank You.
 
 
 
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Becoming Young Gentlemen in the 21st Century

   Growing up in the 21st Century is tough. With social media dominating our attention, drugs around every corner and porn just a click away (and the lie that none of this is bad for you!), it can be easy to lose sight of how we actually need to act and who we need to be.  – So, who DO we need to be?  –     We need to be bold and ready to stand up for those who can’t stand up for themselves, kind enough to lend a helping hand, considerate enough to see what needs to be done, and smart enough to avoid temptation.  In short, we need to be gentlemen. Graph of Gentleman      ‘Gentleman’. It’s a word that has been tossed around, misused, and forgotten over the years. By looking at this graph, you can see the word ‘gentleman’ is in a low. Even though it seems on it’s on a slight upturn, the cause for this is centered around the word ‘misused’. How it’s misused is something I’m planning on exploring along with many more question I have, including how can youth grow into young gentlemen? That’s exactly what I’m trying to find out myself. That’s why I am doing a blog series on ‘Becoming Young Gentlemen in the 21st Century.’ Answering this will require me interviewing different people who have pursued it in their own lives and have more experience. The whole point of me posting on this blog is so people can see the world through the view of a Christians teenager, topics like these are some of the best ways to see that, so follow and learn with me as I find out what’s involved in becoming a young gentleman in the 21st century.
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The Struggle Of The Seed Pt. 2

    In the first part of this two-part series, we talked about tilling the soil and the time and patience it may take while we are preparing the ground and planting the seed. Once the seed has been planted, or the Gospel has been told, it can be really frustrating (not to say that tilling the soil isn’t frustrating as well). Once they have heard the Gospel, it’s easy to want everything to happen immediately. To expect, even, as soon as they hear the Gospel they are immediately going to accept it, immediately going to change. We think, “All that hard work tilling and now this! I thought this was the easy part!” Unfortunately, it doesn’t always happen immediately. Let’s go back to 1 Corinthians 3:6,
“I [Paul] planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.”

    The way that this is worded leads one to believe this process took time. There is a chain of events we can follow to determine this as fact rather than speculation.  We are going to momentarily be looking in Acts 18, where it explains the founding of the Corinth church.

           Acts 18:1-2 talks about Paul coming across Aquila and Priscilla, “After this, he left Athens and went to Corinth, where he found a Jewish man named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla…” Acts 18:9-11 is when Paul was about to leave to go to the Gentiles, “Then the Lord said to Paul in a night vision, ‘Don’t be afraid, but keep speaking and don’t be silent. For I am with you, and no one will lay a hand to hurt you, because I have many people in this city.’ And he stayed there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.” Paul stays for a year and a half in Corinth. In this time, the Church (in Corinth) is formed. Paul is now leaving Corinth in Acts 18:18, “So Paul, having stayed on for many days, said good-bye to the brothers and sailed away to Syria. Priscilla and Aquila were with him.” Take note that Priscilla and Aquila go with him. Verse 19, “When they reached Ephesus he left them there, but he himself entered the synagogue and engaged in discussion with the Jews.” Paul has now left Priscilla and Aquila in Ephesus while he continues his way. This is where we find Apollos. In verse 24 it reads, “A Jew named Apollos, a native Alexandrian, an eloquent man who was powerful in the use of the Scriptures, arrived in Ephesus” As you keep reading, you will find how Priscilla and Aquila took him in and discipled him giving him more understanding of scripture. He then wanted to go to Ephesus so they took him there. This is where it all comes together: In Ephesus, Apollos ministers over the Ephesus church which is what Paul was talking about in 1 Corinthians 5:6, Continue Reading...

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The Struggle of The Seed Pt. 1

     Sometimes one of the most frustrating things about living out the Great Commission is when we share the Gospel but don’t see it take root. This is something that I, personally, struggle with; I guess this can fall under the prayer for patience. I hate seeing when someone just doesn’t seem to grasp it. They respond with real, genuine thoughts so you know they are processing it, it just feels like, based on (re)actions, the words are falling on deaf ears. So what do we do when this happens? What does the Bible say about it?      One of the things that I constantly have to remind myself of is that it is a marathon, not a sprint. However, another good example is the germination process of a seed. Midterms are over so I’ll do my best to give the basic gist of the analogy. In case you didn’t know, germination is the process of the plant growing from sapling to full bloom. Here is a basic overview according to Study.com,
  “First the seed grows a root to access water underground. Next, the shoots, or growth above ground, begin to appear. The seed sends a shoot towards the surface, where it will grow leaves to harvest energy from the sun. The leaves continue to grow towards the light source in a process called photomorphogenesis. Below is a seed emerging from the ground during germination.”
     There is no need to get any more technical with the process as long as the idea remains. My reference passage is 1 Corinthians 3:5-8,

  “What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. 7 So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. 8 He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor.”
Continue Reading...

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God At Work

“I would try to share the gospel with them, but they are far too sinful to be saved.” Ever heard that? More so, ever thought it? I am willing to bet that at some time that thought has produced itself in your head, even if just ever so briefly- I have. It doesn’t take a scholar to figure out what the Bible says on this and I’m going to give a small example. I was spending time in my Bible tonight when I came across Ezekiel 3:18-21. It reads,

  “If I say to the wicked person: You will surely die, but you do not warn him-you don’t speak out to warn him about his wicked way in order to save his life-that wicked person will die for his iniquity. Yet I will hold you responsible for his blood. 19 But if you warn a wicked person and he does not turn from his wickedness or his wicked way, he will die for his iniquity, but you will have saved your life. 20 Now if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and practices iniquity, and I put a stumbling block in front of him, he will die. If you did not warn him, he will die because of his sin and the righteous acts he did will not be remembered. Yet I will hold you responsible for his blood. 21 But if you warn the righteous person that he should not sin, and he does not sin, he will indeed live because he listened to [your] warning, and you will have saved your life.” (HCSB) Continue Reading...