Why eateth your master with publicans and sinners?

After Matthew's call Jesus went home with him to eat. When the pharisees asked why, Jesus gave them a straight answer about their hypocrisy; people who will not recognize that they are sick won't go to the doctor.

Also, we need to see that it was Matthew's party. He had the privilege of inviting who he wanted. He invited his friends. His new friends, Jesus and His disciples and his old friends, the publicans and sinners.

There is, I believe, another reason why Jesus ate with them. Scripture dose not point this out, and I do not claim to speak for the Lord on this matter, but I can't help but feel that Jesus spent time with publicans and sinners because they were more fun to be around.

YIC

William

The Big Upset

I told everyone that Ole Miss would be 3-2 at this point in the season. A lot of folks didn't believe me then, but I think they do now. I said at the start of the year we could beat Vandy and that we would lose to Fla. I guess I showed you all that I know my football.

It matters little in the long run who wins a football game. I know that as well as anyone. Life is, however, a lot more fun if the team you pull for comes out ahead every now and then.

There are those who say the NFL is a better game, but give me a Saturday afternoon with two rivals on the field and I'm happy. College football is the universal game. It is played almost every where, not just in large cities. To see an NFL game from where I live in Mississippi is at least a four or five hour dive to St. Louis or Nashville. A twenty minuet drive will take me to the Liberty Bowl and a University of Memphis game, an hour will take me to Ole Miss, two hours will get me to Mississippi State or Arkansas State. The time it takes to get to an NFL game would give me the choice of Vanderbilt, Middle Tennessee State, Alabama-Birmingham, University of Alabama, and Southern Mississippi. Those are just the 1-A teams that are a day trip for me.

For me a national game should be played nationally. I know that pro-football is played from New England to Los Angles and from Minnesota to New Orleans, but not in Boise, Idaho or South Bend, Indiana.

I wish I could credit who I heard this from but I can't. It is not original with me. The difference between pro and college football is this: I may be a Rams fan but I am a Rebel.
William

The hype around the presidential debate at Ole Miss next week has set me to thinking about a lot of things. I have over the last few years attended games in Oxford regularly, and listened each time to a watered down version of "Dixie" played by The Pride Of The Southland Band. For years, I have held that they should play it right or not play it at all. A few weeks ago something in my heart changed. I am not sure where the change came from but it was for me a fundamental change. This time when the announcer said "Now listen to 'From Dixie With Love'." it became the right song for this time in history. For those who do not know "From Dixie With Love" is a medley number that combines "Dixie" with "The Battle Hymn Of The Republic". I grew up with the old stile "Dixie" being played at Ole Miss games but, on this Saturday, I realized that I grew up in the old stile Dixie.

There are some who would have us do away with "Dixie" altogether, but I can't let go of music that was played during our national championship seasons. The song that lead John Vought , Jake Gibbs and hundreds of others onto the field cannot be written off completely. However we can no longer disregard the feeling that Deuce McAlester, thefamily of Chucky Mullins, and more hundredsof others

If we are going to ask "ARE YOU READY' we must ask are we all ready and we must be ready together.

A statue of a Confederate solder stands near the administration building on the Ole Miss campus. on the opposite side there stands a statue of James Meredith. They are part of our history. Nether can or should be ignored. The statue of the solder is one of a man standing still. The statue of Meredeth is on of a man moving forward. I do not believe that it dishonors our past to see that the future of who we are lies with the one moving forward.

Sleepy Sunday 9-14

We are setting around the house this afternoon slipping off to sleep in front of the T V. We do that a lot on Sunday, and look forward to it. At our house Saturdays are usually hectic, and it is especially so this time of year. We are among that special group of people that are blessed to be Ole Miss football fans. Seven Saturdays in the fall are set apart for a chosen few who understand the importance of being there. I say "few" but it doesn't seem like a few while I'm walking two miles to get back to my car after the game. It is a special place and we have special times there, good friends and true fellowship that, win or lose, make the drive to Oxford worth it. I come away every time with a puzzle in my heart and mind, I have heard that there are people in the world that do not want to be in Oxford, Mississippi on Saturday afternoons in the fall. This I do not understand.

YIC

William

Where Have You Been

I guess a lot of you have asked, where has this guy been? And that is a good question. I just wish I had a good answer.
One thing that is true is, I have had to pray about, and rethink, what FCAWAM was to look like. That is, what it is to be. I think the LORD has given me some direction to get started but like Abraham, I am heading to places I'm not sure of. Also, like Abraham, I am finding that no matter where I go, God has already been there.
I have had so many great things to share and God has put so much on my heart but for some reason I've not been able to sit down and write it out. Some reason, I know the reason, if I'm honest about it. It is writers block.
What is writers block? I'm not sure. Some say there is no such thing, but I know better. I know better because I suffer from it. It can be described as a case of debilitating laziness. Laziness that is so deep and pain full that it keeps some of us from taking one finger and pressing one key on a keyboard. So, kind people, you see that if you get no post from me it is not my fault. It is the writers block that holds me back.
I will get regular with my post and keep regular, and I pray that you all will keep me accountable.
Anna and I have had some opportunities to minister and God has shown us some direction and I will be sharing those with you in future posts.
For His Glory
William

TALK WITH FROM THE BRANCH II

I have always believed that one of the enemy's best tricks to render the artist useless to the Kingdom, is pride. This is especially true of the performing artist. Some of us are able to work in obscurity if we so choose. We can hide our faces from the public eye to some degree, and when publicity is necessary, we can point to our work and say, "look at this" or "read this," without drawing to much attention to ourselves. The actor, singer or dancer is not left with this option, he or she must say, "look at me".

How one deals with all this was on my heart this year at camp, as I watched From The Branch share biblical truths from the stage each day. I also watched as they responded to the praise given them by most of the 500 teenagers that were there for the week. I watched with respect and a convicted heart. I came to understand that pride does not have to be a stumbling block for the artist, or any other christian. In my own heart, I know I "halt between" self glorification if I get any attention, and self pity if I don't get what I think is enough. I heard it said recently, that either one begins with self, and anything that begins with self, is rooted in pride.

I put this question to Julia Simpson as she turned from signing one of hundreds of autographs that week. "How do you deal with pride?" She looked puzzled, and I explained that my question was not meant to offend, and explained further. She was talented, attractive, signing autographs all the time, half the boys had a crush on her, and most of the girls wanted to be like her. I told her it seemed like a place Satan could attack. She agreed with me, that it could, but that she didn't know how to answer. I asked her to think about it and I would ask her again. She told me she would, and we parted for a time.

As we were preparing to leave, and after I'd had time to do some thinking myself, I asked Julia if she had thought more on what I'd asked her. She told me that she had, but still did not know how to answer, except that God had given her the grace not to have that problem. I told her that I had done some thinking on it too, and that for the first time in my life, I realized that people could get past these things in their walk with God.

I've heard it said that when Satan fell from heaven, he landed in the choir of an over stuffed singer, who believes the church was founded to be his performance venue. I must confess that in my own life, I tend to strut like Hulk Hogan after Wrestle-mania 3, when I get the slightest complement. I have seen, however, that it does not have to be that way. The Holy Spirit was given in part to help us overcome sin in our lives. Julia and the other members of FROM THE BRANCH taught me that the sin of pride does not have to be a part of the performers repertoire.

YIC

William

A TALK WITH FROM THE BRANCH

One of the great things about attending a church youth camp is getting to know the godly people with whom one comes in contact. This year I was especially blessed by the members of FROM THE BRANCH a drama team made up of Michael Cleveland, one of the founders; Julia Simpson; Dianna Rego and Mitch Beecher. These talented and dedicated Young people chose to spend some of their free time teaching and sharing with a room full of teenagers and one old beatnik.

When asked how they came up with the name FROM THE BRANCH, Michael explained that it came from Luke 19:4, the story of Zacchaeus. As most everyone knows, Zacchaeus was a small man who climbed a tree in order to get a better view of Jesus.

Michael had, expressing what their group is about, expressed what should be the feelings of all Christian artist.It is difficult, at times to find acceptance in churches filled with people who don't understand. They are well meaning folks who do not attempt to be a hindrance to God's work but they they simply do not understand the call that is on the life of the artist. The artist must sometimes go to what appears to be extreme measures to get a view of Jesus. More importantly, the artist ,if he or she is committed, will do what has to be done to give others a view of Jesus.When asked what was the needed most in this type of drama Michael responded,"Good theater is about telling stories. If you don't have a story to tell, you shouldn't write the play." I agree, so many times we are asked to support mediocre work"in the name of the Lord"that probably should never have been produced in the first place.

As we closed out the season some one asked to do next. After several peaces of advice on acting and writing Dianna added,"Make it a matter of prayer , And He will get you where you need to be." I pray that all of us, in any medium,take that advice. If our work is not surrounded by prayer, what gives us the authority to be called Christian artist?

It was a joy to watch these four gifted people spend so much time sharing and encouraging teenagers. As busy as they were, I never saw one of them fail to take time to talk to one of those kids, or humbly sign an autograph, or listen to a skit idea. They will never know the impact they have had on the lives of so many kids. I am humbled and honored myself to be able to call them my friends

William

CAMP STUFF
This is just a bit of personal stuff. Last week I spent a great time on the Lake of the Ozarks with a bunch of nutty teenagers. I led a small group bible study in the after noon. Did some fishing and was thrown in the lake once myself , but God helped me grow as He always will if we follow his call.
The boys (I mean young men) in my group were great; Jacob Chandler, Grant Holliman, Logan Houston, Joel Jarnagin, Hunter Johnston, Zachary Mahan, Wes Medlock, Samuel Kail, Billy Wilson, Dalton O'Neal, Chandler House, Hudson Chenault, Clayton Ross.
I was helped no end by Jess Jaragin who had planed to be out by the lake with the other college guys setting up the water balloon fight but helped me instead , thanks again Jess.
I'll have more about camp latter, some great things are growing out of it.
William

What This Is About

This morning at Sunday School I was able to one of the things that this site is all about. I saw some of the sketches one of the girls in our youth group did. I won't embarrass her by using her name, but I told her that I didn't know she was an artist. She told me she would like to be. Then I told her she was an artist. I said "You have paper, you have a pencil, you have talent. Don't let anyone ever make you think you are not an artist"

Now I'm sure that a word from me is not much to encourage a young person, I would never put myself on that pedestal, but I also know that a negative word could turn her away from what God's best is for her and I pray every day that I never be one to do that.

I can't now know what God's best plan is for that young lady, but the desire of my heart is that I be one who helps her find what it is. If we as older brothers and sisters in Christ do not do that, if we by our words attitudes or actions cause one of them to miss-step in the search for God's will, we should have a mill stone tied around our neck and be cast into the sea.

For His glory

William

Here is a little something I hacked out a few months ago. Something my pastor Wayne Marshall said in one of his sermons was the inspiration for it.

FIX ME

When there are problems at work

And the boss is a jerk,

Fix me.

When my kids are all geeks,

Or bums, or freaks,

Fix me.

When my home is all strife

With a quarrelsome wife,

Fix me.

When the preacher's a bore

And makes me snore,

Fix me.

When all else is done,

And there's no place to run;

When I'm out of the game,

And there's no one to blame;

When finally at end

I face up to my sin,

Fix me.

The original title of this was "An ode having nothing to do with Jerry Greene, Wayne or Jonathan Hill, Anna Hill, or Wayne Marshall" but that was too long.

YIC

William

There may be some who are trying to understand what this is all about, perhaps I can explain. I grew up under the influence of a lot of people who I call dream takers. Dream takers are those people we all have in our lives, who seem to look forward to telling others why they can't do the things that they want to do. Now, I don't mean those caring people who try to give us a realistic appraisal of the prospects, we all need those people at times. I've spent most of my life being told what I could not do, and being given endless lists of reasons why I couldn't.

One was the guidance counselor in high school, who told me that I couldn't be a history teacher because we already had too many. He then gave me the list of them. He was one, the football coach, the baseball coach, and two other teachers were certified to teach history and that I should do something else. It has taken me forty years to figure out that our school, in truth, had no history teachers at all. We had coaches, counselors and others who were doing a mediocre job in the class room. It had been none of them that had inspired me to want to teach history, but it was one of them who discouraged me from persuing a dream. Looking back I have to ask: With as many stupid people as there are in the world, how could anyone say there are too many teachers?

Another was the local radio station manager. When I dreamed of being a disk jockey and asked him for a job, sweeping the floor, or anything, just to get in and start learning the craft, he laughed in my face.

The worst ones of all were the ones who ridiculed me as a blasphemer when I said that God was calling me to the ministry. They told me that God did not call people like me.

This went on into my adulthood, and continues today. When, as an adult, I finally quit listening to people and started listening to God and did surrender to the ministry, one minister on staff at the church I attended told me that I was not intelligent enough to go to seminary.

If this were only my story, it would not matter much. I do not relate these incidents to gain sympathy or to secure my place among the martyrs. I see young people going through this kind of junk every day. It is sad to see them not being understood by their peers at school, or in their youth groups, but it is an abomination before God when adults, whose responsibility should be to encourage, are the main culprits in destroying a young persons dreams. This then is one reason for being here, to encourage.

What about those of us who are not so young any more? There are times when we need encouragement also. The talented lady whose abusive husband has her beat down to the place where she can't paint. The man whose nagging wife tells her friends he is lazy if he tries to spend a little time alone to write. There are many artist, musicians, actors and writers who have never been given a chance because of the dream takers in there lives now and in the past. It is also for these that we are here.

The Christian artist who has been allowed to shine is blessed. There are many who have had their work seen, heard, or read, and we praise the Lord with them for that. However, many times the artist has no fellowship with others who understand the call that God has placed on their lives. We are faced with resentment of our abilities, accusations of self glorification, and tradition masquerading as conservatism. Many times well meaning but misguided brothers and sisters pressure us to compromise on our art, and fail us when we approach compromise on orthodoxy. It is for fellowship with those Christian artists, and to help our other brothers and sisters understand our calling.

YIC

William

This is the first post on this site. In fact it is the first post for me ever. I'm steping carefuly and seeking Gods will in all of this