Below is an excerpt from my piece for Dmergent.  Click the link to read the entire article.

The church I currently serve just had their Youth Sunday. Youth Sunday is a time when the youth of the church (usually the middle school and high schoolers) “take over” the church service and lead the community in worship. Growing up this was always a great experience. Whether it was reading the scripture, serving communion or reading a homily, it was a change of pace from the ordinary worship experience week in and week out. As a youth group we would pick the scripture, the theme and made decision on how the message would be structured. We had a say in how the worship would look, we chose the songs and liturgy that spoke to us; for one Sunday, our understanding of who God was, how God had touched our lives and what it meant to be a follower of Christ was made evident in the community around us.

After some discussion the youth settled on the theme of “Molded,” (based on Isaiah 64) specifically speaking to how the church and God has shaped and molded them into the person they are today. This was just what the community needed to hear. In church as well as in life we can fall into routines and ruts which cause us to miss the movement of God around us. We can be so focused on the next thing that we fail to see what the Divine is doing right under our noses. It takes an outside perspective, a new hearing, a reorientation of our mind and spirits to realign ourselves to God. This particular Youth Sunday did just that for the church.

To continue reading the article, check out Dmergent.org

In Christ,

Rev. Evan

Found at the Longview Public Library, Longview, TX

Found at the Longview Public Library, Longview, TX

Found at the Longview Public Library, Longview, TX

There is an old saying, “No one has ever gone bankrupt trying to predict the end of the world.”

Were you there when they crucified my Lord? (Were you there?)
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?
O! Sometimes it causes me to tremble! tremble! tremble!
Were you there when they crucified my Lord?

Were you there when they nailed him to the cross? (Were you there?)
Were you there when they nailed him to the cross?
O! Sometimes it causes me to tremble! tremble! tremble!
Were you there when they nailed him to the cross?

Were you there when they pierced him in the side? (Were you there?)
Were you there when they pierced him in the side?
O! Sometimes it causes me to tremble! tremble! tremble!
Were you there when they pierced him in the side?

Were you there when the sun refused to shine? (Were you there?)
Were you there when the sun refused to shine?
O! Sometimes it causes me to tremble! tremble! tremble!
Were you there when the sun refused to shine?

Today is an act of remembrance. Just as one era is ending, a new one is beginning. The Disciples have been on a journey with Christ for a while now, during this time of following they have witnessed the many miracles of Jesus Christ, heard the teachings of Christ, and have seen, felt and been witness to the torment, the questioning, the funny looks, the rejection. But through it all, even their own failures, their own questions and their own funny looks, the twelve disciples found themselves sitting with Christ at the table celebrating the Passover meal.

This day for them would be one that they would not forget. Many of them will teach others about this day and spread the good news of the gospel which was made evident through the coming of the Messiah, Jesus the Christ. The symbolism, the sheer importance, the monumental theological, Messianic statement they would enact on that very night was probably not even on their mind, but through this day, this service, this institution, the Church finds itself centered on the humble, selfless act of Jesus the Christ. This one act with simple elements of bread and wine unites all of Christianity with the notion that Christ will come again.

Even with his betrayal by one of his followers staring him in his face Christ took time to share a meal and give a final teaching.

Today is a day that we are called to eat, drink and remember the life, ministry, death and glorious resurrection of Jesus the Christ.

In Christ,

Rev. Evan

God of this holy journey and of us all, remind us of our humanity.  Remind us that we are fallible human beings that at times can have the greatest of intentions and thoughts, but still come up short, still fail you daily.  This week where we shout ‘Hosannah!’, ‘Save Us!’, ‘Blessed is one who comes in the name of God’, we join the crowd on the road, waving our branches, throwing down our coats, lifting up our voice to the heavens proclaiming the wonderment of your Son Jesus the Christ.  We hear their voices, we feel the excitement, this is the time we have been waiting for, this is the time people have longed for, this is the time Christ would enter his Kingdom and glory.

Throughout our spiritual journey we have longed to return to this moment many times; forgetting what lies ahead rather staying in the holy presence and grandeur of the coming Messiah of God.  Our hearts swell, our soul is revived and minds rest in the comfort of Jesus the Christ is coming to make all things new.

Through this Lenten season, O God, we have searched ourselves to know that in the light of our sin, greed, lust and fear we have given into temptations that pull us away, yet you continue to be the source of all life and light.

We have strayed away so that we might venture our on our path and find avenues more pleasing, more exciting and more like the world around us and not the realm you call us to create, yet you continue to be the source of all life and light.

Forgive us God for our sins and transgressions; remind us of your unfailing love daily and constantly.

As we enter this Holy Week of the Church calendar, mold our hearts and focus it on the passion of Christ and the journey to the cross.  May the words we hear, the scriptures we read, the songs we sing be a mediative, reflection and worshipful experience.  Help us not to get too caught up in the moment to miss your presence around us.

May we put away all that inhibit us to worship, reflect, love and praise you this day and forever more.

Thank you for being the God always with us, in front of us, behind us, beside us and before us.  May our souls cry out like the rocks of the earth.

May we not loose our way as we continue toward the cross.

We pray this in the name of the one who comes on our behalf, Jesus the Christ.

Amen.

Holy Week Prayer 2016 by Rev. Evan M. Dolive is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at www.evandolive.com/disclaimer.

Casey Gerald from Dallas, Texas, educated at Yale and Harvard Business School examines the question: “What do you do when your firmly held beliefs turn out not to be true?”  In this TED talk Gerald examines what he calls the Gospel of Doubt; could this be something that Christianity need to think about more?

The gospel of doubt does not ask that you stop believing, it asks that you believe a new thing: that it is possible not to believe. It is possible the answers we have are wrong, it is possible the questions themselves are wrong. Yes, the gospel of doubt means that it is possible that we, on this stage, in this room, are wrong. Because it raises the question, “Why?” With all the power that we hold in our hands, why are people still suffering so bad?

On this date in 1836, 59 Texans signed the Texas Declaration of Independence thus seperating themselves from Mexico and creating the Republic of Texas.

To the rest of the nation it just another Wednesday.

To the 26+ million Texans, it is a state holiday.

Happy Texas Independence Day!

In Christ,

Rev. Evan

My thanks to @FigTreeTweets for this; I am truly touched.

In Christ,

Rev. Evan

THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR YOUR SUPPORT!!!!