Peer Presure

I am jumping on the word press bandwagon, well sort of. I am planning to blog on word press, if all goes well I will be deleting this site Jan. 1. The new site is http://gwberry.wordpress.com/

Honest Disagreement

Sunday night was business meeting before services. There was one thing that was a little controversial that came up. There was discussion, disagreement and the church voted. Not everyone got their way but it did not divide. People hear seem to OK with not getting their own way, but trust the vote of the Body as a whole. Can't really explain it other than there was unity even in disagreement. Weird but good, I pray that the same loving spirit would always be here.

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brothers to dwell together in unity!

Psalms 133:1 (NASB95)

CH-BOLC 2007-002

Here is a video someone from this summer's CH-BOLC made. It might give you a look at some of what we did.

A Lesson From Abraham

A lesson from Abraham:

and being fully assured that what God had promised, He (Abraham)was able also to perform. Romans 4:21 (NASB95)

Could the reason that we as Christians do not preform (ergazomai - to work, labor) be that we are not fully assured of God's promises? I can't say amen, I'll just say OUCH!

Great Message on Humility

I have a hard time with humility. In my mind I often think: "if everyone else would think like me, act like me and listen to me, this place would be so much better off" It really sounds stupid when I write it down. This place would be some kinda screwed up if everyone was like me. But even though I mess up many times that shouldn't stop me from becoming more and more like Christ! (Ephesians 4:17-24)I have to let God take me over so I can continually be transformed (Romans 12:1-2) and not say I am who I am and everyone else must just deal with it. But so many times I act more like me and less like Christ. When I disagree with someone what makes it hurt is that I want to be listened to and agreed with. If change in individuals is to happen the change must come from God through His Word and power and conviction of the Holy Spirit, not from my ability to talk louder or smarter than the one that I think needs change. My pride hurts but I should be upset when God is opposed not when I am. Here is a link to a sermon by Mark Driscoll, pastor of Mars Hill Church, while I do not agree with Driscoll about everything this message is great and I needed it more than I thought. http://www.marshillchurch.org/sermonseries/philippians/preview.aspx Select: 11-04-07 Rebels Guide to Joy in Humility. It is a little over an hour long but it is worth it.
So with that I ask forgiveness from those who have found me arrogant and prideful. I am sorry.

But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, "GOD IS OPPOSED TOT HE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE."

James 4:6 (NASB)

I do not want to oppose you God, please forgive me of my pride. I need your grace more than I need myself.

Pics just in from trunk or treat

Noah getting ready for the crowd!
Same pic I just cant erase it
Just 3 cowpokes from Texas
The family wagon decorated up

We had alot of church members decorate their vehicles and hand out tons of candy,

Be Amazed This CHRISTmas

That is the sermon series that we will start this coming Sunday. How unamazed have we become at the story of the Incarnation? Other things amaze us; technology, athletes, entertainers, etc. But how do these things compare with the amazing story of God putting on flesh and dwelling among us? They don't, but we do forget the fact that CHRISTmas is amazing. We will begin with: Bring Back the Wonder a Look at the Incarnation Matthew 1:23.

Then the proconsul believed when he saw what had happened, being amazed at the teaching of the Lord. Acts 13:12 (NASB95)

Great Day at Faith

We had a great day today at Faith. No announcements, no wasted time it was great. The Praise Team did a fantastic job, at 10:45 they started right in to worship, I hope to be able to put a sample on the web soon! Then we worship through Word, we have started seeing the whole service as worship(worship through music, through Word, through prayer, commitment and worship through giving) with no order of service. It is very liberating to consider everything we do worship. That way it allows us to do away with somethings that just don't matter. Our text was Ezra 9:1-5 and 10:1-3. The theme was being a true God-follower. In Ezra the Hebrews had been led back home, were unified in purpose, and had the foundations of God's Word given to them. Now when it had come to light that they had disobeyed God by intermarrying (its not a color thing its a belief thing) what would they do? I see the Church itself in this state, what will we do? The Hebrews gave up their wives and children to be obedient to God? So we asked ourselves today is God worth our obedience? Will we give up those things that keep us from being obedient.? Many times no we rely on the compassion and love of God to cover our disobedience. The reason? We have made Jesus a slot machine instead of King. If we recognize Jesus as King we will obey Him with reverence and awe and love, not for what He can get us. After the service we ate and then sang. A great day at Faith!

Think of Me

The reason Francis Chan and Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley decided not to build a multi-million $ facility. Makes me think of what I have squandered that could have made an eternal difference.

QUOTE ON PRAYER

To pray is to change. Prayer is the central avenue God uses to transform us. If we are unwilling to change, we will abandon prayer as a noticeable characteristic in our lives. The closer we come to the heartbeat of God the more we see our need and the more desire to be conformed of Christ.
Richard Foster "Celebration of Discipline"
Acts 6:4 (ESV) "But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”

Lord teach me to pray!

Life Lesson3 from Ezra Part 3

Tomorrow we will continue to look into the book of Ezra. Tomorrow's sermon will be from chapter 7 verses 6-10. And we will discus what it was that made, "the hand of the LORD his God rest upon him (Ezra)". The answer is, because Ezra had determined in his heart to study the law of the Lord, obey [it], and teach [its] statutes and ordinances in Israel. Ezra 7:10 (HCSB)
We will be discussing being people of the book. I am trying not to have 3 points to focus on but instead have one focus point with applications to the focus point. Too many times I have great points but stung together I miss teaching what the Scripture actually says. Andy Stanley's book Communicating for Change has had me thinking about this for the past year. I believe it will make a greater impact on our people because while we have the most knowledgeable church members around we often lack application of that knowledge and sharing of that knowledge. And I am guilty more than anyone!

For the Scripture says, "WHOEVER BELIEVES IN HIM WILL NOT BE DISAPPOINTED." Romans 10:11 (NASB95)

Questions Answered

A few months ago I asked the question, "Why is Sampson in Hebrew 11?". It is nothing earth shaking or faith breaking, I would just like to know. So last night for our adult bible study I with the help of the class went through and tried to answer this question. There are around 30 or so adults in this class so I was worried about how it would go over. I have done many different things on Sunday and Wednesday night but nothing like this. On Wednesday nights we have been going over the daily devotional times of people in the bible. So this would be a good hands on approach on how to study the Bible. for far to long my DQT's end up being read a few verses read a paragraph on what Oswald Chambers thinks about it and pray. But is that really spending time with God? Not always. So we read from 6 different bible translations, two commentaries/sermons and talked the aspects of the story out. It was extremely interesting and helpful because it took delving into the Word on a different level. Asking questions, reading before after and during, looking at background and times. Yes it was very rich. The answer is ............... I had it written down but I don't want to take the blessing of reading the Word from you. See Hebrews 11 and Judges 13-16 for answers, ENJOY!
This is my comfort in my affliction, That Your word has revived me. Psalms 119:50 (NASB95)

Life Lessons in Ezra

We finished our second sermon on Ezra yesterday. Ezra ia a rich book about renewal and to go through it properly would take forever. But instead I am going over 4 practical applications from it. here are the first 2.
Week 1 Ezra 1- Who God Uses
If God will us a King who thinks he is god, can't God use us?
Week 2 Ezra 3- Unity
Unity in Purpose
Unity in Work
Unity in Courage
Unity in Worship
I will fill you in on the next 2 later this week. Hope you all have a blessed day!

Yet many of the priests and Levites and heads of fathers' households, the old men who had seen the first temple, wept with a loud voice when the foundation of this house was laid before their eyes, while many shouted aloud for joy, 13 so that the people could not distinguish the sound of the shout of joy from the sound of the weeping of the people, for the people shouted with a loud shout, and the sound was heard far away. Ezra 3:12-13 (NASB95)

Back Home

Well I survived Ft. Jackson once again thanks to Rich Hagan and 1st platoon! This trip was good for me because of the camaraderie and shared passion for Christ in this class. But needless to say I am glad to be home in Texas. Started a series on Ezra yesterday and started teaching Evangelism 101 last night. Both services were great especially yesterday morning, the praise team did awesome! Hopefully now we can settle in and start visiting every home in New Boston!
Blessings

PHASE 1

I am now at Ft. Jackson for the completion of phase 1 training. I only have until Friday to be here but I am tired and I miss the family. Tomorrow is a KILLER run day, so pray for rain! It has been a good phase with a good class. I have learned allot at this school about myself and about ministry. We had a Dr. from the Marine Collage come speak to us about Islam and the Iraqi people. She is a very conservative Christian and had spent time with the Iraqi people. We can translate the Koran however we want to just as Muslim interpret the Bible however they want to. But the reality is that a Muslim who goes by the Koran will not be a terrorist. They will just be wrong! What we have in Iraq is a group of people who just check the box. Do we not do the same as Christians? We can check the box and say we are Christians but do we really go by the book? Is there something we do that is contrary to who we say we are? If so why do we do it? For what reason? And is that reason good enough? It is time that I take a deep look at myself and not people around me. I pray that I will be more than a box checker.

SPIRITUAL COMFORT -- A CLOSER LOOK AT BATTLEFIELD CHAPLAINS

1st Texas Sunday

Yesterday was my first Sunday at Faith as a resident Texan. Numbers were up from 115 to 154 in morning worship and from the low 70s to 88 in Sunday School. I know when a pastor first comes to town numbers go up because people want to see what tricks the new monkey can do. But it doesn't matter to me, just happy to be here. I can't describe Faith other than to say there is freedom here. Freedom to preach and be heard, freedom to shout, raise your hands, clap or worship anyway that you are led. This is a very different Baptist church to say the least. I have come to a point were I don't feel obligated to try the newest thing to make the church better, this church will make me better. Shouldn't that be the goal of a church with a new/young pastor; make him better so that he can lead better? I am glad it is this way in New Boston. For those of you who say "wait till the honeymoon is over" stop hating and start praying, it will do both you and me some good!

Here he is! Austin Berry

Big Brother Noah and Austin

Blackhawk Ride

Went on my first blackhawk ride yesterday. It was awesome until they seemed to try to make me sick. And they succeeded, I didn't puke but I felt bad until we landed. When we landed I felt great but the last 15 minuets were rough! Finishing packing for the big move this weekend. We are excited about finally living with our Church family. We has a representative from Samaritans Purse come and speak about Operation Christmas Child. This is a great opportunity to touch children's lives with the Gospel in places most of us will never physically be able to visit. The whole church is behind it and it will be great to see what God will accomplish through this worthwhile ministry.

"Revolutionary" Ideas

Getting ready for the move to Texas and looking forward to it. We spent last weekend with our new Church family and really enjoyed it. God has led me to take a simple revolutionary approach to leading Faith.

1. Love Him
2. Love Them

Easy to say but harder to do, but we will work on those two things untill we get it right. My guess is that it will take awhile to perfect maybe even for the rest of our lives.

Military ministry still goes well. Had over 10 profess Christ as Savior during Wednesday's service. And I led a young soldier from the Bronx to Christ later that day. Said he was a Baptist by denomination but he was ready NOW to his faith in Christ, so he did.

"The LORD is my portion," says my soul, "Therefore I have hope in Him." The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the person who seeks Him. Lamentations 3:24-25

Addition to the Kingdom

Had the pleasure of leading another young soldier to Christ this morning. My orders are up Sept. 30 and I will be heading to New Boston Texas soon after to pastor Faith Baptist Church. God has really blessed allowing me to minister to troops the last couple of months. I pray that this will energize me for Faith as we prepare to enlarge the Kingdom of God together. I have personally been able to lead 26 people to Christ this month. Is Iraq in the future? Possibly, probably, but until then I thank God for the oppertunity to pastor Faith.

John Austin Berry

7lbs 12 oz, 20 1/4 inches long. Pictures to follow.

John Austin Berry

I would like to introduce the newest Berry, John Austin. He was born at 1:44pm and weighed 7lbs 12 ozs and was 20 1/4 inches long. He is named after his papa John and my cousin Jack Austin Stotts. Pictues will follow. God is gggggooooooooooooooooodddddddddddddddd!

John Austin Berry

And now introducing the newest Berry, John Austin. Austin was born at 1:44 pm and weighed 7lbs 12oz and 20 1/4 inches long. We named him John Austin after his papa John and my cousin Jack Austin Stotts. Pictures will follow! God is goooooooooooood!

Awesome as pasketti

We had 5 more proffesions of faith today! Needeless to say it has been an awesome week. I pray that these young men and women will grow in their walk with Christ and that the Holy Spirit will lead them to Bible teaching churches that will affectively disciple them. Also a catholic student I counciled with a few weeks back lead one of his squad mates to Christ Monday. It is awesome to see God move among these young soilders.
Habakkuk 1:5 (NLT) 5 The Lord replied, “Look around at the nations; look and be amazed! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it.

17 professions this morning!

What a verse John 3:16 is! So simple, yet so powerful. This morning I preached on John 3:16 to 147 people at the Post Chapel at Camp Robinson. 17 of those who were there made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior this morning! The worship was mediocre, the preaching was average at best but the Holy Spirit was as powerful as ever. It is amazing that God would allow me to take part in His Kingdom work, and I thank Him for it. Many of these people will leave in the next few weeks, I pray that they will find a Bible teaching Church in their hometown to grow in.

Strong Tower

Check this Chaplain's video out!

Beat Down

Went bike ridin with Scotty Howard and Jonathan Johnson today. I felt like a 4 year old riden a bike for the first time. After two long breaks and one flat tire we rode about three miles. It was a very humbling experiance but one that gave me the bug for mountain bike riding. Next Saturday we are going to compete in an Adventure Race that consists of a 3-5 mile run, 12-15 mile bike and 2-3 mile canoe. Pray for me that I wont have a heart attack! My plan is to just finish.
Have been studying Hebrews 11:32-33. When we study the lives of Gideon, Sampson, Barak, and Jepthah what did they really do? Sure they did some great things, each one won great victories for the Lord. However, they also fell short in many ways. It is an interesting study on why these men are in the Faith Hall of Fame. I will post my observations soon.
God Bless

Sea of Faces Video

Great Idea for a Youth Group or any group. What do ya think

GAS CHAMBER

I know it is a little late but I found a picture of SGT Fox as he exits the gas chamber. WHAT ARE YOUR QUESTIONS?.......GOOD! (a Foxism)

Fruitful Ministry

This week has been a fruitful one for the Kingdom. God has allowed me to witness to and see three young men accept Christ as Savior. One was a former follower of a cult which will remain anonamous, one a Jehovah's Witness and another did not have any religious affiliation. They all had questions about God, forgiveness and grace. Chaplain Millers sermon Sunday truly touched the hearts of these young men. It is amazing to see God work on these young men, I thank Him for letting me be a part of His kingdom work. There is a slot for about 20 other Chaplains in Arkansas. I pray God will convict men to take these positions!
Romans 10:13 (NASB95) for "WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED."

Over Half- Way. Am I smart now?

I received notice that I have earned a Master of Art in Religion from Liberty Theological Seminary. That means I am have a little over 30 hrs until I finish my Masters of Divinity. A MDiv is required for me to be a chaplain in the National Guard. Does the Masters degree make me smarter or more of an authority than anyone else? No it means that I can write a research paper and that the government has spent thousands of dollars to make sure I am dedicated enough to be a chaplain for soldiers. It is a pain but I am glad of the prerequisites. Too many times we ,or I to be exact, like to be something for nothing. I am an expert because of this or I deserve this because of that. But in reality it takes determination, dedication and action to earn the right to be heard and respected.

I just finished reading A Long Way Gone: Memoirs of a Boy Soldier by Ishmael Beah. My sister Mandi Jo gave me this book and it is a eye opener to how spoiled we are in the US. This book is an account of an 12 year old (Beah) who is caught up in the Sierra Leone civil war. What this young man and others in his country went through have been a reality for so many African children. I do not doubt God, His goodness, mercy, or love, but sometimes I wonder why them? Why not us? Will the US end up like Sierra Leon or Rwanda if we are continue to "do what is right in our own eyes". How could these countries leadership commit genocide and call it freedom? I question mankind, we will put on concerts call it EarthAid make movies about global warning but what is mainstream America really doing? What is Christian America doing? We seem to be rediscovering things. How to do Church; How to do Evangelism; How to Confront Culture? And we say the answer is in our own opinions, KJV only or anything but the KJV. Hymns from the blue book only or Praise songs only. Ties or no ties, cell groups or Sunday School, Baptist on a church sign or not, close or closed communion, doctrine or no-doctrine, theology or self help? In the grand scheme of things does it matter. Is Rob Bell more in tune than Jerry Falwell than Billy Graham than Mordecai Ham than John Wesley than Jonathan Edwards than Martin Luther than Paul than Isaiah than Moses than Abraham? Do we really think that we are so smart and spiritual as men in this generation that finally after thousands of years we yes we have evolved into super spiritual geniuses? Or is the truth so simple, so pure, so available that we tend to overlook it? I think I do. Jesus equates faith as being childlike. He went to the poor diseased and sinners. His Gospel was laid out to the ordinary man in a way that could be understood and lived by servants, slaves, handicapped to the soldier, Pharisee and politician. as Charlie Brown would say AAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH.

To see it on paper makes my heart hurt more. It makes me consider my own motives are they convictions from God or opinions that take me away from the task at hand? DO you have the answer?

John 3:16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.

Welcome Home

Check this out, it is a tear jerker.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kerMm0HG1mk

Church Fellowship

Almost done!!!!! I am so ready to be with my wife and son!!!!! We spent last week in the field doing combat exercises. I will post more about those later. It has been a hard 3 weeks for me mentally, physically, and spiritualy. At first my daily devotionals kept me for a week or so but Sunday after Sunday with no connection to the Body of Christ will take it's toll. Humbling to truly understand that I cannot do life alone. Part of our course is to visit every chapel service on base. The first week I went to a service for young soildiers and their families. Great service for new believers or seekers. Last week I went to the Jewish and the Catholic services. This week a Lutheran/Episcopal and Protestant service. The experiance was good and I learned alot intelectually but spiritually these services left me DRY. So today I went to Shandon Baptist Church in Columbia for their contemporary service, needless to say I am FULL. It was refreshing to be fed with likeminded believers. I pray that never again will I take being part of the Body of Christ for granted. GO TO CHURCH we cannot do life by ourselves. To listen to todays service go to www.shandon.org

Gas and Ministry

Well 2 weeks down and I am still alive and kickin or maybe just alive and not so much kickin. Friday was a big day for gas and Winnie the Pooh. Thursday we spent some class time going over our gas masks, how to fit them, and clear them in 9 seconds. Friday morning was the day we checked them out, you see thinking your mask works doesn't compare to knowing it works. So we go into the gas chamber (which was reaaly eirie) evrything is good lookin like darth vader. Then the sergant tapes me on the shoulder and I have to pull up my mask give name rank and ss # and pull it pack down and clear it. Mannnnnnn!!!!!!!!!!it stinks burns and irritates but the mask seals and I can breathe. Then five of us have to take the mask completley off and shout the class motto (TO GOD THE GLORY) for 15 seconds while breathing the CS gas. It was like ridin with Nathan Rogers after a Mexican Buffett. I was cryin, snot was hangin from my nose to my toes and I was doin the Re-run dance trying to shake that stuff off of me, it was hilarious.(someone is putting the pictures on the web) Being able to tell soldiers I know what they went through will mean alot and I WILL go through the chamber with guys in my unit because as a chaplain I must go with the soldiers or my preaching will fall on deaf ears. Our NCO's all went through it with us giving me a greater confidence in their leadership. How important is it for us as ministers to be with people? It was important for God to become man. How much more can we trust Him because He knows what we are going through? We as ministers must be around people and quit just hanging out in our ivory towers!

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:5-11 (NASB95)

Monday

Today was a shorter day. We went on a road march with helmet, body armor, pistol belt and ruck sack and after that some obstacle courses. Needles to say my dogs are doing some major barkin. We have been doing some very sobering things. We have to have our DNA taken to id our body. Also Al Quida wants to capture a chaplain pretty bad and we have to know what to do if that situation occurs. (PRAY THAT IT NEVER DOES) We have also started to learn about IED's and what to do if hit or if those around us are hit. There are many things that we know about but until these things start to be reality they wont affect us much. It makes dependence on God take on a deeper meaning. The need for Him, the desire to stay close to Him seems to be more urgent. Some of the students here will be deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan soon after graduation, Pray for these Godly men and women as they share the Gospel with those fighting for our freedoms!

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24

First Week

Hey, it has been a long week. Days have started at 3:30 and I get to bed about 9, so there has been some adjustment to my quiet times and blogging time. Chaplain Initial Military Training (CIMT) puts the Chaplain through what a new recruit would go through in basic training so that we could say we have been there too. There have been many lessons learned this week. Number One, I am not as young as I once was. Nutrition, rest and lots of water have to be a priority for me to be successful in 100 degree heat. I have been worn out every evening but it is getting better. Number Two, do things the right way no matter how we interpret things the right way is the right way. I passed my push up test but with less than what I expected. That is because I was practicing push ups wrong. I trained and trained by doing push up after push up, but I had the wrong technique. Doing things the right way may be harder and we may try to get by but it will never work out in the long run. A great lesson to apply to ministry. The highlight of the week has been the ropes course and repelling. It is as much fun as the commercials look!

The Beginning

This blog is part diary, part conversation. For the next 30 days I will be in Fort Jackson, South Carolina. I am going to try to keep my family up to date on how the training is going, and will also give me an opportunity to share thoughts with and hear from friends. Well, here it goes....