Moving On Up

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Taking A Break From Blogging

Well guys, in order to better be a minister, I am re-evaluating my time and getting out of the office more. I am taking an indefinite time away from blogging...i won't quit and will get back into it later but I must devote more time to my family, and church. For a while there I was staying at my desk all day searching for new blogs, posting on mine and checking on comments I left on others. I'm not a professional blogger and I have nothing really I want to post right now anyways. For my regular readers, I will comment on your blog to let you know I'm back! Thanks Guys (and Gals)

The Fear Of Giants

I heard a quote from the writings of the Chinese Martyr, Watchman Nee yesterday...He stated that: "Giants will never destroy you...the fear of giants is what will destroy you!"

When I heard that quote I immediately felt like it was written for me alone. Sometimes I feel afraid to even face the problems in life and they end up destroying me anyways. Don't be like the Israelites in the desert when they got to the promised land...they were afraid of the huge giants that occupied the land. You know the rest of the story after that.

I'm Sore

If you look at my very revealing picture to the right...you probably aren't thinking...man, that guy is sexy! Well that picture was taken around Christmas time in '07 and I tipped the scales at 245 lbs. With Some inspiration from NBC's The Biggest Loser show, watching American Gladiators, and secretly wishing I had the fierceness of Batista from WWE...I began working out and exercising regularly since January. I am now down to 213 lbs. as of Tuesday and my clothes are starting to fall off me. Maybe I'll change that picture to a much leaner version of me...maybe I'll keep it up for a while to motivate me even more...In the meantime, I am very sore from my new workout routines I've started upon joining a gym here in town instead of using the cheesy equipment our apartment complex has.

Random Thoughts for Friday

I will continue my series on Ecclesiastes next week for those of you who have enjoyed it. Thank you readers for commenting.



Everyone please continue praying for Dan and Beck as their newborn girl Lauren Nicole is facing serious health problems. Check out Dan's Blog for more information.



There's a Gas Thief in my neighborhood! Last week I had noticed something strange in that when I parked my car at night I had a little over 1\2 a tank of gas. The next morning I was down a 1\4 tank. I thought my gauge was messing with me and dismissed the problem. Yesterday...My wife had me fill up her car and I know she had more than a 1\4 tank in it earlier but it was down to nothing! When I popped open the gas flap...the cap was completely screwed off and hanging! Gas Thief! This was a problem for people in the early 70's when their was a shortage...Gas Syphoners became rampant. Well I purchased locking gas caps for both of our cars for 15 bucks a pop (cheaper than the gas they stole) and I encourage, no warn you to do the same!



I'm looking forward to getting soaking wet and raising money this weekend at our youth group's car-wash.

Life Is Meaningless! Or Is It? #2

The passage which has struck the most fear into me is found in Ecclesiastes 5:1-7 click here to read. I believe church goers are living out the wrongs that v.1 talks about. Do you go to church to "listen" or to "offer sacrifices" to idols? Idols aren't just stone figures or golden calfs...they can be the love of money, power, gossip, deception, etc. V.2 speaks of the importance of being real with God in prayer and worship. God doesn't want fancy speeches to him or our outward expressions of showiness...He wants true worship and to that, it means to let our words be few and as it says in v.7, to stand in awe of God!

Life Is Meaningless! Or Is It?

For My 100th post here on my blog I begin a series from the book of Ecclesiastes. I decided to do this because last night during my normal Bible reading time, I was compelled to read through the whole book at one time! Ecclesiastes was the next book in my reading straight through the scriptures and even though I have read it before, studied it in classes, etc. it never has opened my eyes more than it did last night! As we notice the decline of Christianity in our society, evil overtaking our politics and schools, families being destroyed by sinful desires, and the economy declining due to bad decisions...the reasons why are in this book!

Ecclesiastes was written by "The Teacher" who is general considered to be Solomon, the son of David. When you look at his life, his decisions, his sins, you can know he has authority on speaking on making wise decisions and placing the priority of earthly materials in life. Here are a few verses that popped out at me and bit me like a snake last night.

Ecc. 1:18 For with much wisdom comes much sorrow; the more knowledge, the more grief. I can relate to this being in the ministry. It seems it is best not to know everything about everything! The more you know, the more responsibility you have to deal with issues..."the more grief" as Solomon said.

Ecc. 2:24 A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too I see is from the hand of God. I have often heard about people who once they retired from working after 50+ years have gone into depression and have died! They lost the one thing that kept them going and "satisfied" The key to having satisfaction after retirement is to not stop working for the Lord!

Hard To Get Along With Someone?

We all have that someone at work, school, church, family, etc. that we just have a hard time loving and getting along with! What do you do with them? Click Here for the answer! You may not like it.

Wisdom From A Cracker Jacks Box

I always seem to find significance in the small things in life. I enjoyed a snack of Cracker Jacks yesterday, it had been a while and someone left some in the Fellowship Hall here at church so I grabbed them. Anyways...It was the prize inside that struck my interest. When I was a kid, the prize was actually a toy of some sort or maybe even a temporary tattoo, but all I got was a piece of paper with a picture on it that you are supposed to tape on your pencil as a "topper"

being rather irritated (I mean, who uses pencils anymore?) I was going to toss it all when I noticed some writing on the back of the prize wrapper about pencils. It says:

"Fun Fact" - A typical pencil can write 45,000 words or draw a continuous line for 35 miles! Having that information to me was more valuable than the pencil topper itself. I have a tendency to ponder on the meaning of ordinary things (see the oyster cracker post) so I came up with a spiritual comparisons on the Christian life and pencils.

1. I rarely use pencils...Christians rarely use God, the Bible, Prayer, Faith, etc.

2. Pencils need to be sharpened to work properly...Spiritual disciplines sharpen our lives to

help us fight the battle as is mentioned in Ephesians 6:10-20.

3. A good feature about pencils is that you can erase mistakes...God erases our sins when we

repent and ask forgiveness, bringing us back into right fellowship with Him.

Just as the fact that pencil can draw a line about 35 miles shows...it has to continually be pressed down and moving, keeping it s sharpness, and not quit working. Paul addressed this idea of perseverance in 1 Corinthian 9: 19-27 by using a race illustration. A runner must keep himself in training for the race, run with all the intention of winning the prize, and to win means he must finish. Are you quitting your race? Is your spiritual life dull and need sharpening? Almost all pencils get thrown away before their usefulness is over. We as Christians should not quit running this race in life, "keep on keeping on" as they say!

Starbucks Will Be Closed Today...Yeah!

I just read today that Starbucks will be closing for three hours today. (Click Here for the story) to retrain their employees, oh wait "baristas" how to make coffee. Starbucks needs more than three hours to learn how to make good coffee! Maybe they should roast their own beans in their shop so it is as fresh as it can be! My favorite coffee shop of all time in Dothan, Al. did this and they (Dakota's) kept me going through my college years. JavaMoon Coffee here in Bradenton,Fl. does this as well and as their slogan says..."There are many stars but only one moon...may JavaMoon buck the stars out of the sky"

Support your local Coffee Shop!

Reverend Willy

It's official...I'm now the Reverend William G. Blackrick! O.k. now that the excitement is over, you can just call me Bill.

I'm Up Before the Firing Squad Today!

Tomorrow Evening at 6:00 p.m. I will be taking the next step in my ministry and becoming ordained. Many have chosen to be ordained before entering college and their first "jobs" at a church but I chose to wait. I had never been approached with being ordained by any of the churches I had been a part of and I feel it is the duty of the church to recognize, nominate and ordain someone. I've always felt that if I was the one to bring it up or ask to be ordained it would be selfish.
Today is my ordination counsel here at church. I'll be sharing with other pastors, deacons of the church, and others about my testimony, call to ministry, education goals, theological beliefs (which is the part I'm worried about answering...I know what I believe, but some of my views aren't the traditional Southern Baptist's), and whatever else they decide to hurl my way.
When someone gets ordained there is a orientation of praise, recognition of achievement, etc. and I don't want that. Yes I will have the "REV." before my name from now on, but it's a prefix I don't want to flaunt around like some in the media light do. Anyways...I hope I come out alive!

Can You Get "Moon-Burned"?

As I am writing this, the moon is very bright and full outside! For those of you actually got to see the lunar eclipse last night you are lucky (too cloudy in Florida to see) I was out enjoying life and walking around my apartment complex which I do when I want to think about things...I noticed the moon. Have you ever just stopped and stared at that thing? I ended up laying on the hood of my car and did nothing but stare into the brightness of the full moon. It's amazing that you can actually see the craters and spots from earth with the naked eye. I'm no expert on the moon but I do know that we only see one side of the moon ever due to its rotation timing with the earth's. This idea got me thinking about how Christians show only one side of their lives to people around them.

Christians seem to always get stereotyped as being hypocrites and such by society and there are many many many of them that deserve that title. Christians try to only show their better side when they are with people...who wants to show their dark side anyways right? It's easy to hide our problems, sins, and ugliness deep inside ourselves and act as if everything were perfect and bright, like the moon is right now. The truth is, we are human and we all have a dark side which we hide from others. Is this being genuine? There are so many passages in the Bible that deal with this kind of thing...what are your favorites?

Someone Against The Church of Scientology

I heard a rather interesting interview on a non-Christian talk show on the radio the other day. John Duignan was very involved in the Church of Scientology and has claimed to have successfully escaped from its life-controlling snare. It would be worth your time to read what he has to say on his blog by clicking here.

Also, click here for an interesting wikipedia article on this matter. Have a good weekend everyone!

Psalms, Hymns, and Contemporary Music!

In Ephesians 5:19-21, there is a great doctrine for worship music in churches. Many times I am approached by someone reminding me about a particular style of music they like to sing in church. I have blogged about this topic before, but it is a never-ending battle I deal with so I'll mention it again. We come to worship to worship God, not fulfill our fleshly desires. What! wanting to sing only gospel or hymns is a fleshly desire? Absolutely. It is commanded in Scripture to sing to the Lord all types of song which glorify Him. I am one of the few worship leaders who actually incorporate a true blended style of worship in the services. I feel there is great doctrine and theology in the hymns we sing, I also feel there are great contemporary songs which are based on Scripture too. I have been studying the book of Psalms recently and have read it in an entirely new way then ever before. Since Psalms was the "hymnal" back in the day, I have been reading the texts while trying to come up with a tune to go with it. Some are harder than others. It is easy just to sing familiar tunes that have already been put to them like Third Day's version of Psalm 36. if you've never tried this before I encourage you to, it has really made me enjoy the Psalms even more.
Anyways...the verses in Ephesians give the importance of using all types of songs for worship. It could be translated today as being "singing old gospel songs, hymns, and praise music! While studying hymnology in school, I learned that some of the hymns we sing today are from old tavern tunes in which the church set the words to to help people learn them. That's always been funny to me. Do you agree that wanting to sing only one type of music because it is what YOU prefer is a fleshly desire?

Dull Men's Monthly

Did you know that February is "National Bird Feeding Month" ?

Thanks Dull Men! click there link below for some good humor

I Just Didn't Feel It

Yesterday (Sunday) was very odd for me in church. I just didn't feel anything! As a worship leader I should be the first person to be in the spirit of worship but I just wasn't. Why? I have no idea and believe me, the possible reasons kept running through my mind all through the singing, prayers, and sermon. I addressed this with Jessica on the way home from church and she thought the service was great! Was the problem with me? Was the problem with the congregation? I decided to post this personal problem because others I know have done this before. Who cares if I felt something! Worship isn't about what I feel (at least true worship) Any comments?

To Shave Or Not To Shave

One thing I lack when I am sick is the desire to shave, or comb my hair. For the last two weeks now, I have been getting over and re-catching the cold. Hopefully now, it will stay gone. I noticed this evening in the mirror that I'm looking a little rough! I guess it's time to dust off the old Norelco and make my face as smooth as a baby's ....ummm, anyways. I remember a time in my childhood when I envied my dad and older brother because they got to shave! I wanted ever so badly to be as cool as them. I was exctatic when I finally was able to shave. I hate it now! Why can't people go around with long beards like in Bible days? How come that fashion trend was lost? Now I must shave to keep an "image" of a civilized human being. After all, who wants a minister with a scruffy face? Did Jesus have a beard? I should shave my whole body...I heard that itches after a few days though so maybe not! I'd like to say "Thanks A Lot" to the person who invented the razor...you really did mankind a lot of good!

True and False Statements

I have gotten a kick out of a philosophical excercise lately. On my office door I tied a piece of paper with this on the front:

THE STATEMENT ON THE BACK OF THIS PAPER IS FALSE!

and this on on the back:

THE STATEMENT ON THE BACK OF THIS PAPER IS TRUE!

it's been entertaining to watch people flip over the paper numerous times trying to ponder it. You should try it too!

Can The Bible Be Trusted?

Last week I was the subject of a post on Alexander The Atheist blog about my comments on the Trinity. It seems that one of the biggest issues that non-believers have is that they feel the Bible can't be trusted, be true, be inerrant, or be accurate. As soon as people discredit the Bible, they can believe whatever they want to, bash Christians for their faith, and hold themselves up to be more enlightened because they don't have "blind faith" in God. My question today is why is it that the Bible is being discredited? Some would say it's full of errors, typos, editing problems, etc. and that statement is somewhat true. There are some grammatical errors and such in the copies we have today! If you are a reader of the Bible you would know this because most Bibles will "warn" you of these issues when you come to them. For example look at Mark 16:9-20. This passage should be in [brackets] since it indicates that some early manuscripts do not contain these verses. Answer this before you start saying that people have added things to the Bible we have today...does this passage contradict anything in scripture? No! Is the subject, events, stories found in other parts of the Bible? Yes! The other Gospels contain accounts of the risen Lord, the Great Commission, and The Ascension. Need more proof?

Doubter's Question: Hasn't the Bible been copied and copied over and over again? How can we trust it to be accurate today?

Answers: Yes the Bible we have today is what it is, copies of copies of copies. I believe that the Word of God is inerrant in its "autographed" original copies. As mentioned above, most scholars will conclude that there are some minor textual problems with the copies we have today. Scholars like Ravi Zacharias, R.C. Sproul, Norman Geisler, and Bruce Metzger point out that no "error" contradicts any, yes ANY theology or doctrine! This shows the infallibilty of the Bible in that what we read today is still truth. Let's get back to the whole copying issue. The Bible has more copies than any other literary work ever. There are over 5,600 early copies and manuscripts of the Greek New Testament. When compared to Homer's Iliad there are only about 650 copies. Homer wrote the Iliad around 800 B.C. and the earliest copies we have date from the 2nd and 3rd century A.D. That's a long time. How come there isn't such a big stink over the copying of the Iliad? What's the earliest manuscript we have of the Bible? We have parts of John's Gospel that date from A.D. 100-150! This is not very long after the life of Christ! In addition to the Greek copies, there are about 8,000 Latin Vulgate translation, copies in Ethiopic, Slavic, and Armenian. The total amount of copies is about 24,000 in existence. This is overwhelming when you compare the Bible to other ancient writings. Since the Bible has more copies of copies than any other writing...what's the problem? If anything else this helps support the Bible's accuracy. For those who have made the claim that the Bible is inaccurate...please tell me which part. I'd be glad to discuss those parts here with you.