Our own Cake Boss experience

Holly and I were asked by my family to make a "snazzy desert" for my family's Easter get-together this year. I wasn't sure what we were going to do, but... I finally thought of something great. One of our favorite shows is Cake Boss, we love Buddy and we love watching the cakes he makes. So, taking inspiration from him, we decided to make our own Cake!

So, we set about to make a larger-than-life Easter cake! The day started off with a delicious breakfast, courtesy of her parentals. Then, we made our way to Hobby Lobby and Crafts 2000 for Cake building supplies. After that, we traveled across the way to Wal Mart. Let me explain something to you... don't ever go to Wal Mart on the first Saturday of the month. No matter what you need, it's NOT worth it. We made our way through Wal Mart for the couple things we needed, and eventually went home to get started.

I should interject here that I ended up making my way into the ghetto Kroger on the South Side of Springfield... twice. But, that's okay. So, we started making our cake. We used a home made recipe from Holly's grandma. We were using 9x13 pans, and we were making a double-decker cake. So, we had to make a triple batch of the recipe. It started off with sugar and crisco (Yep, it's going to be a healthy cake!) We creamed the two ingredients, making a huge bowl of a heart attack!

We finished the recipe, adding flour, egg whites, milk... and some other stuff. We made the two cakes, and then let them cool. We cut them down, and started the process of stacking them. Let me add, that at this point, we have surpassed my previous experience with cake making. Usually I just use a box and make a cake, then I ice it. We were cutting the cakes and stacking them with a layer of icing in the middle.


So, this of course, is what the cake looked like after we stacked them. We used Holly's grandma's icing recipe as well. We've watched so much Cake Boss that we knew what to do next. We needed to dirty ice it and put it fondant on it! However, one problem, fondant is nasty. Neither of us like the taste, so, we decided to go without the fondant. So, we had our icing plan, but had to decide where to go next...


Cereal Treats! What's a Cake Boss cake without some Rice Krispie Treats? So, for our Easter-themed cake ala Buddy, we wanted to make a tomb of Rice Krispie Treats. So, we melted the butter and cooked the marshmallows into it. Then dumped that hot mixture into the rice krispies. Yeah, this wasn't easy. Those aren't easy to make! At this point, the pictures are going to continue as I switch gears on this post.


We continued our production of this cake. As I did, I started to get a little worried. You know, my family is awesome, but they are not Christians. They do not follow Jesus, and I'm not sure that they fully "get" Easter. So, I'm worried that the idea of an empty tomb cave will be somewhat lost on them. But, I thought about things, and I couldn't resist the chance to make a cake that was about the real Easter!


So, the proverbial icing on the cake had to be something else besides the empty tomb. I decided to take another page from the Cake Boss book and use modeling chocolate. Well, there's one problem, neither Holly nor I had any idea what modeling chocolate was or where you could buy it. We thought maybe it was like fondant that you could just buy and then use. Turns out, that's not the case. You have to make modeling chocolate!


The biggest task of this cake boss extravaganza for me was to make a modeling chocolate figure to put on the cake. This meant, however that I first had to learn hot to make modeling chocolate. We learned how, and I set to work making a small Jesus figure to put with our empty tomb. The simple fact is that an empty tomb could mean any number of things. You could argue that the disciples stole the body. Or you could argue any number of things.

However, don't forget that Jesus literally rose from the dead, and not in some sort of zombie movie fashion. He literally came back from the dead and was alive. The Bible tells us that lots and lots of people had a chance to see him after his resurrection. Jesus walked away from the tomb, and because He was able to overcome the grave, we don't have to completely be held hostage by the power of death.


I'll be honest, there's a decent chance that this cake is considered kitsch. Christian kitsch, even. I suppose it might be, but Holly and I had a great time today making a cake, doing something that I knew she'd love doing. So, after buying ingredients and spending an entire day working on this cake, we're thrilled about how it looks. We can't wait to show it off to my family for Easter, and I'm excited to maybe get to explain who that goofy guy with a purple snake around his neck is. Thanks for reading, hope you enjoy the images and the story as much as we enjoyed making it.

The Importance of Being Evangelical

I learned a few things in my first year of ministry. Some of them were things I want to carry on with me, and some things I learned were how not to do things. I would argue that neither lesson was any more valuable than the other, with one major exception.

I had spent an evening talking about servant evangelism and how we should be servants to those around us. I spent a lot of that evening talking about feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and making sure that we were doing our part to love our neighbors. I had just finished reading one of Shane Claiborne’s books and was really “feeling it.”

I felt really good about the message that night, my teens had really seemed to receive it well. They were, at least in my opinion, completely tracking with what I was saying. I was letting them know that it was our job to make sure that we were taking care of the people around us. It was one of few moments in that first year I really felt like the ministry was going well.

On the way home from church that Wednesday night, I called one of my adults to chat about the evening. I still do this; I like to hear what other people thought about the time with the youth and make sure that we are all on the same page.
We were not on the same page that evening.

I spoke with my friend, and he told me that the message was good, but he asked me a very important question. He said, “why?” Why should we feed the hungry? Why should we clothe the naked? In the grand scheme of things, what does it matter if we love our neighbors?

I prepared my verbal assault as he was talking. “What do you mean WHY? Jesus told us to love our neighbors.”

I could tell he was wrapping up his critique, and so I was ready to jump in, but he stopped me dead in my tracks. He said, “If they don’t know Jesus, then what difference does it make if they feed the hungry?”

This doesn’t happen to me often, but I was completely speechless.

He was right; I had neglected to tell them that they had to know Christ before any of this was worth anything. If we feed the hungry, but don’t know Christ, then we’re still in the same boat as someone who doesn’t know Christ and doesn’t feed the hungry.

This challenge from my friend was an absolute wake up call for me. Did I stop preaching a social gospel? Absolutely not. I still believe that we need to feed the hungry. I still believe that we need to clothe the naked. I still believe that we need to make sure to do our part to love our neighbors. However, even more than that, I believe that we need to lead people to Christ.

Since that moment, the Sinner’s Prayer has become an integral part of my ministry. I don’t do much without including it. I cannot imagine calling myself an Evangelical and not preaching people to Christ. How can we call ourselves Evangelicals when we don’t present the Sinner’s Prayer every single chance that get?

Hero

A number of years ago, Michael Tait, the frontman for the Newsboys wrote and starred in a Rock Opera called “Hero.” I confess, I’ve never seen or heard Hero. Confession number two: I have no real desire to either.

I watched the first three seasons of the TV Show Heroes. I always enjoyed it, but I quit watching it. I’m not 100% sure why.

The anthem of the summer, for me, was Skillet’s single “Hero.” I still love smashing the drums while I listen to that song. It’s a sweet song, and I thoroughly enjoy turning it up as loud as I can.

I have a tattoo of Superman’s logo on my right arm. He’s the ultimate hero.

In fact, while I was sitting here writing this, my friend walked into my office and started talking to me about VBS this year… It’s called “Hero Headquarters.”

Here’s the simple truth, everyone wants a hero. Those who don’t want a hero want to be a hero. We buy shirts with other people’s names on them. We have posters of heroes from movies. We go see movies about heroes (Iron Man 2 comes out in a couple months).

I am feeling saturated with the idea of heroes. But I have a problem. My heroes all seem to let me down.

For one reason or another, I find myself wanting more when I really get to understand my hero.

My original hero was Dan Marino, and he got so broken down and bad at the end of his career that I could hardly stand to watch him.

I started watching baseball in college and loved Andy Pettite. Then he admits to using performance enhancing drugs.

And so-on and so-forth.

My heroes always seem to let me down.

I find myself screaming with John Cooper, “I need a hero! Save me now!”

I went for a run yesterday, praying to God to help me understand why I face this problem with my heroes. Why can nobody seem to live up to the mantle of Hero?

Then it came to me.

We are, inherently, flawed. We, as humans, are not worthy of being heroes. We do not deserve to be revered. We do not deserve to be followed and mimicked like a hero. So, what am I supposed to do with that information? If we aren’t supposed to have heroes here, then why do we have heroes?

The reality is that there’s only one hero. It’s not Dan Marino. It’s not Jim Tressel. It’s not Andy Pettite or Derek Jeter. It isn’t Dave Ramsey and it’s not Rush Limbaugh. It’s not Barack Obama and it’s not Sarah Palin. It’s not your mom and it’s not your dad.

There is only one hero, his name is Jesus.

“Lord, help me to realize that you’re the only true hero. You’ll never let me down.”

Can you or can't you?

Sorry, I missed last week! I'll catch back up on the series I am working on for Tuesdays. So, here's a special Monday post that has no relevance to the series I've been working on!

I've been doing my daily devotions through Oswald Chambers' magnificent daily guide called My Utmost for His Highest. If you've never picked this book up, I highly encourage it. He's a brilliant thinker and he really challenges me sometimes. Today was one of those occasions. There's a sentence right in the middle of the reading that got me thinking.

He says, " If we have received the Holy Spirit, God expects the work of the Holy Spirit to be manifested in us."

He prefaces this statement with a paragraph about the servant saying to his Master, "I can't" and "You expect more than you give me the power to do!"

Aren't you glad that it's not like that with God? In my ministry here at High Street, I'm realizing that I am trying something that is big! I realize that God has called me to do something huge.

There are some days where I leave this place and feel like saying to God, "You expect more than you give me the power to do!"

It's on those days that I fall on my face before my Master and beg for his forgiveness, because I am positive that I am absolutely wrong.

Today is a good day for me. I've been extremely encouraged in the past week by the people around me. If you're working around a youth pastor, let me tell you, there is a lot of value in encouraging that person. She will thrive on your encouragements. Take some time this week to send her an encouraging note, letting her know that you appreciate what she's doing with the youth in your church.

So, in light of the fact that I'm having a good day, let me tell you, it's clear to me that the things that are happening here at High Street are because of God. I usually take the blame for failures, but give all the praise to God after a success.

Right now, I feel successful.

Back to the original statement from Chambers. Have you received the Holy Spirit? Does your life manifest Holy Spirit-work? The Holy Spirit is a power-bringing entity.

If you have received the Holy Spirit, you have no right to say to God, "I can't." Because, with the Holy Spirit, you can. If you feel like you can't, ask God to remind you of who He is, and just how big He is. You won't be disappointed!

Day By Day

In my pursuit of God, I search for Holiness. Because of my neurosis, I live my life in the fear of falling apart. I live my life in a constant state of unease and worry. I am constantly worrying that my failures are going to keep me from Heaven.

I do continue to wrestle with whether I think perfection is attainable in this life. Jesus called the woman caught in adultery to “Go and sin no more.” Why would he call her to that if it was an impossible goal? He didn’t say, “Okay, go, try your hardest not to sin anymore!”

The early church fathers also believed that it was possible to not sin. The earliest Christian works are ripe with calls to perfection. They believed that after baptism, people would stop sinning.

Let’s be honest, it is much easier to be a Christian when we don’t believe that we have to be perfect. Is this why we have such a difficulty with Christian Perfection?

And you can see why I am crippled with fear. I don’t understand.

Here’s what I do understand. I am fully aware of the fact that I am supposed to give everything I have to God. I’ve always made these commitments to God. The most popular one for me is, “I’ll commit to reading my Bible every day for the rest of my life!”

I’m so sincere. I really want to read my Bible and practice intimacy with God. But I always fail.

Seriously, I have yet to make it through that commitment.

So, what’s my problem? Am I not holy enough? Am I not perfect enough? Have I not been Entirely Sanctified?

Perhaps it’s a daily commitment to God.

Lord, I commit to practicing intimacy with you, today.

Tomorrow, I’ll make a similar commitment.

Is that what holiness is?

Maybe they were right when they said that the three things to pray daily were to see God more clearly, to love God more dearly and to follow Him more nearly. Perhaps that’s true holiness, doing it each and every day.

These three things, I do pray, day-by-day.

What if I stumble?

I’ll start this post off with an incredibly honest statement of fact.

I live my entire life in fear.

You read correctly. I, a child of the King of Kings, live my life in fear. Oh, don’t get me wrong, the Lord is my rock and my salvation. I believe the Lord when he tells me I have nothing to be afraid of. Well, I try to believe anyway. But if I were to be completely honest with myself, I would have to admit that I live my life in fear.

So, this begs the question, what am I afraid of?

I wish it were something simple. I wish I could say that I was afraid of heights or spiders. You know, those are things that are easy to be afraid of.

John Wesley is credited with reviving and/or authoring what we call the Doctrine of Assurance. To put it simply, Wesley believed that we could be absolutely assured of our salvation. I do feel assured that my salvation has been found in God. I’m not afraid of that.

I am crippled by the fear that I’m not good enough.

I realize that the reality of the situation is that none of us can ever be good enough to reach God. I understand that. But, because of my denominational background, I’m stricken with this absolute need to be perfect. The entire belief system of my Church is that of “holiness unto the Lord. “ I’ve been taught for years that holiness is perfection and perfection is holiness. We’d have debates in theology classes about whether or not it is possible for a person to not sin.

Well, if it’s possible to not sin, then why do I find myself doing it? I’m terrified of what happens when I slip up. I’m terrified that when I mess up, it’s going to be the last time.

What happens if I stumble? What happens when I fall?

I’m crippled by the fear of the knowledge that I am not good enough.

I find myself asking, will the love continue, when my walk becomes a crawl? What if I stumble; and what if I fall?

Jesus Freak

To the best of my knowledge, the label of Jesus Freak was really popular before my time. A certain Christian band (I am in mourning for what I perceive to be the eternal loss of hope for a reunion and will therefore not utter the name of this band) popularized this phrase for a new generation of people.

I honestly don’t know what it used to mean, but I can promise that I’ve used it as a badge of honor throughout most of my life as a Christ-Follower.

I am a Jesus Freak.
There are times, though, where I struggle. There are times where I hide the fact that I’m a Jesus Freak. I don’t wear T-Shirts with Jesus’ face on it, and I don’t wear a WWJD bracelet, and I don’t have the outline of a fish on my car. So, to let people know that I’m serious about Jesus, I really need to broadcast it with my life.

The saddest thing is that there are times when I know it won’t be the coolest thing to do for people to know where I stand with Jesus. So, I hide him. I use my life as a broadcast tool, and there are times when I am simply broadcasting the wrong message.

Do you ever feel like you’re not broadcasting the right message with your life? Do you even think about the message you’re broadcasting with your life?

My challenge this week is to be aware that you are broadcasting something with your life. That’s the truth all the time. You are always broadcasting something. What are you broadcasting? Are you concerned about popular opinion?

I don’t really care if they label me a Jesus Freak, there ain’t no disguising the truth!

Colored People

I’ve taken some time to talk about preachers that I’m not like, and preachers that I don’t like here in this blog. My pastor made a comment on one of my entries noting that if the kingdom isn’t big enough for those people we don’t like, then it must be a pretty small and closed kingdom. I’ve been thinking about the way the kingdom relates to people who aren’t like us.

There are so many people who aren’t like me. I’m young. I’m not rich. I’m not poor. I drive a car. I’m single. I’m employed. I’m bald. I’m white. I wear glasses. I’m short. I “play the drums.” I’m a youth pastor. I’m a Christian. I’m loud. I’m emotional. I’m a Star Wars Fan. I’m a Yankees fan. I’m a die-hard Cougar. I’m a Miami Dolphins fan. I’m a passionate follower of the Ohio State Buckeyes. I’m also moderately interested in hockey and the NBA.

All that to say, I’m unique.

The fact is there aren’t a lot of people who are like me. There aren’t a lot of people who meet all of those criteria. I am one of a kind. What is really beautiful is that you are completely unique too.

There is room for each of us in the Kingdom of God. There is room for the person who has trouble seeing God in a new way. There is room for the person who struggles with what he really believes. There is room for each of those people. That amazes me!

I’ll admit, sometimes I struggle seeing people the way God does. I see people based on other things. I see race. I see gender. I see clothing. I smell them. I hear their language.

I confess; I don’t always see people for being people. But, I believe that God is teaching me, and I hope he’s teaching you to see people for being people. We are a colored people, and they call us the human race. We’ve got a history so full of mistakes; and we are colored people who depend on a Holy Grace.

So Help Me God

I’ve been talking a lot lately with one of my friends about entire sanctification. We’re both on the side of ordination where we have to articulate sanctification in a certain way, and so we’ve been talking about the way we see entire sanctification and the way the Church of the Nazarene sees it.

We were talking about this yesterday and were talking a bit about our experiences trying to explain and understand the doctrine of entire sanctification. Someone had once criticized my friend for his theology of sanctification.

I’ve been thinking about this since then. My friend was somewhat chastised by a pastor for implying that sanctification was a daily thing. “You mean I need to pray to God to ‘re-sanctify’ every day?” (Loose paraphrase)

I would argue that comment with a great big YES! Maybe I don’t need to be entirely sanctified every day, but I definitely think that we need to pray to God to keep us sanctified every single day.

Jesus implored us to do nothing less than do this each day. “And He was saying to them all, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.’” (Luke 9:23).

Daily.

Every. Single. Day.

We will continue to debate and wrestle with the theology and concept of entire sanctification, and that’s okay. But I do not think that we get to debate on whether or not entire sanctification is a daily process. If I’m not denying myself and picking up my cross every day, then I’m doing it wrong.

My prayer this morning was that God would help me to deny myself today. My prayer was for God to help me bear the weight of the cross today. So, help me God, to put my faith in you.

Angry Preachers

Last year, around the Easter season, I heard a pastor preaching a series of sermons that were based around the question, “Why?” He was providing his flock with reasons to believe in Christ. Most of this stuff would be considered apologetics, which I’m studying currently with my youth group.

I honestly don’t remember a lot about his messages, but I do remember one thing. When he was preaching on this topic, he seemed to be extremely angry. In fact, I remember asking in my notes, “If we’re preaching the good news, then why are we so angry?”

Why do some preachers get so angry?

I always liked what Joe Noonen would say inevitably once during each sermon he preached at MVNU, “I don’t know why I’m yelling, I’m not mad at you.”

I think it’s one thing to get excited and yell a bit during a sermon, especially because we are generally talking about some important stuff. I’m not a big fan of the “angry preacher” though. It reminds me of the Bullhorn Guy that Rob Bell describes so well in the 9th Nooma video.

So, are angry preachers really benefiting the Kingdom? Do you enjoy listening to angry preachers? Is there a place for this type of preaching?