JonathanBowles.com

Just a quick one.  A few thoughts and a few hot/not so hots.

The 10th anniversary services at Celebration Church were absolutely amazing.  I’m so blessed to be a part of what God is doing here.  10 years ago, one family stepped out on faith and here we are 10 years later-A church that is literally touching the world! Take a look at these real quick…

Lots of great things coming up in XL and for CSM Interns.  ALSO, I’m going to Africa!  Dec 2-16th I will be leading the team from Celebration Church on a great trip to our campus in Xai Xai, Mozambique.  We’d love to have you join us.  Email missions@celebrationchurchtx.com for more info.

That’s all for now….here’s what’s up:

***HOT***

CSM Interns, the Kansas City Chiefs, Big Bang Theory, that wild YP roundtable, a festive October full of great events at Celebration Church, Kirby Bowles, the Wall Street movies (Sheen over Shia every time!) my dungeon (garage turned workout room), the Bowles’ reunited in ATX, black coffee, DVR, the Big Shamrock (Shaquille O’Neal), upcoming travels, “A Fighter’s Heart”, and NT Survey.

***NOT SO HOT***

No Red Sox playing ball late into the Fall, AC issues, muscle soreness, Dehler’s foot brace, car issues, a Jessica Perez-less office at Celebration Church, cats, not getting any comments on your blog, the lack of photo/video documentation of intern/XL life, and the Denver Airport.

What you think about Jesus is really important.

Obviously, what you think about Him in relation to salvation is eternally important.  C.S. Lewis’ “trilemma” sums that decision up very well…He is either a LIAR, a LUNATIC, or He is LORD.  Hopefully you’ve already made that decision and you’ve decided correctly. (Hint: He’s not a crazy fibber.)

But for the Believer, you have to take it further than just, Jesus is Lord.  What is your Lord like?  That’s going to make a difference in how you walk out your faith and how you communicate it to others.

Often times Jesus is depicted like this…

One of my mentors, Dr. James Clark referred to this kind of art as showing Jesus as a “transvestite with a headache.”

A while back, a bunch of scientific types got together at Popular Mechanics and said that Jesus probably looked like this:

Jesus was…Confused?  Jesus….cast a blank stare?

The Book of Revelation talks about eyes blazing with fire, a sword coming out of His mouth, crowns, names written on His body (Jesus has tattoos!?!?!?).  Some much to consider…

Its more than just physical appearance.  Its about personality, nature, attitude, methods.  How do you interpret HIM from what we read in the Scriptures? Its what Jesus Himself asked Peter, “Who do you say that I am?”.

So that’s the question…I’m not gonna tell you what I think right now.  I want to hear from you.  Leave a comment.  Who do you say that He is?  Don’t be super spiritual and save your cliches.  He’s your LORD, but what is He like?

JB

Ladies and Gentleman:

Gene Simmons got to meet me.

I was excited. (Notice small vein popping out on my forehead)

So was he. (Notice expression of ecstatic joy)

Last time I posted something, interns was about to start…  OH, IT STARTED! We’ve been in the midst of a FLOOD of intern craziness, literally.

This is my 6th year working with interns and this is the 3rd time in 6 years that our year has started out with a natural disaster of some sort.  Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Hurricane Gustav in 2008, and now in Texas in 2010, Tropical Depression Hermine!  Who knew Central Texas could get blasted with this much water!?  Bootcamp should have been a clue, it rained ALL DAY!  Interns were being “initiated” out in Burnet from 10am to 10pm and it POURED rain the entire time!

Early the next morning my phone rings and its one of our High School Interns saying that a ton of her friends got flooded out of their houses and lost everything!  Celebration Church & the new interns sprung into action bright and early Wednesday morning and never looked back.  Dozens of people all over the region lost everything, many of which have no insurance for this kind of disaster.  For the next 5 days, our new interns along with the wonderful servant leaders from Celebration worked HARD to show the love of God to all those in need.  From morning til night, we worked for, prayed for, talked to, and fed anybody and everybody that was in need.

The flood waters have receded and people are putting their lives back together but there has truly been a spark of life and true momentum that has ignited in the hearts of 100′s of people in our church to be ACTIVE in meeting the needs of people.  I am in no way making light of the suffering of those who lost everything, but this was a great way to start our intern year and probably the thing our church needed to kick us to the next level of action in serving those around us.  All things work together for our good…people’s lives were changed…the victims were blessed and we were strengthened to move forward.

I’m so proud of our new class of interns.  I have so enjoyed our first few classes together.  Good times.  Anyway, things are back to “normal” now, so expect frequent updates and look forward to the new CSM website complete with intern blogs (can’t wait for you to hear from these guys…they’re nuts.)

I’ll leave you with a few pictures from this past week:

Remember Karey Cannon?? The intern that got in a terrible wreck last year. Well, he's fine now and got a new Jetta a month ago... There it is now!

When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him. – Isa 59:19

JB

I’m like a kid on Christmas Eve.  Expectant.  Anxious.  Nervous.  Happy.  Restless.

CSM Year 2 starts tomorrow at 9am.

Everyone’s moved in.  The parents have said goodbye.  A group of strangers are introducing themselves to each other.  Nobody has any idea what exactly they signed up for.  Neither do I.

This will be my 6th class of interns to work with and to this day, I still don’t have it figured out.  You can’t figure it out.  Each year the young people are different, the atmosphere is different, and undoubtedly I’m different (hopefully for the better, THANK GOD!).  So as much as I’d love for tomorrow to be business as usual, it won’t be.  Each year, each young person is a gift and no two are alike.  It’s like Christmas, I’ve got no idea what we’re gonna “open up” tomorrow. HEAVEN HELP US!!  If you’ve ever worked with interns, you know what those first day are like.

I’ve been blessed to work with 600+ young people in an internship context and tonight, that’s who’s on my mind.  The great men and women of God that I was fortunate enough to know on that level.  I’m thinking about what they were like on the first day, at bootcamp, meeting all the new people.  I’m thinking about the CRAZY things that happen when interns live in dorms together (I love Jake Vanderwaal & Neil Goodson, the dynamic “you did WHAT?” duo).  I’m thinking about the way each one encountered God in a way they never had before.  I’m thinking of the tears, the laughter, the talks, the sit-downs, the road trips (Daniel Fernandez’s Lafayette excursion exceeds them all), the “non-relationships”, the left over green room food, and the Christmas cards.  I’m remembering the goodness of God in their lives and believing that God will do the same in the lives of our next class here in Austin.

Some interns quit, some get dismissed, some excel, some don’t think they’ll make it & end up surprised by how great they can be, and some just float through and “finish.”  I love working with interns.  I’m really proud of alot of them.  I consider some of them now my best friends.  I even married one! After she graduated of course.

All that to say, tomorrow is going to be a good day.  CSM 2010-2011, you’ve got a lot to look forward to and I’m really glad you’re here.  Merry Christmas.  I know I’m gonna get what I asked for!

JB