The Joy of Being a Big Brother

A Recap of Two Overwhelming Weeks #1

WOW! WOW! WOW! As vague and as overused as that word can be, in my case, it's an accurate description of the last two weeks in my life and the life of my family. On Wednesday the 20^th of October, my family and I embarked on a trip to Texas for a week and a half of instruction from God's Word on a number of topics. What you are about to read is a young man's attempt to summarize one of the greatest two weeks of his life. Are you ready? Good, because I'm not sure I can even come close to describing even a fraction of what my family and I have enjoyed. However, I hope what is written here respects the knowledge of men much wiser than I and gives you a glimpse into the work God is doing.

Before I begin, I'd like to say that the time my family spent traveling together was a blessed time. On the way to Texas we made a few notable stops. The first was in Montgomery, Alabama. In addition to acquainting ourselves with the capital of the State, we were excited to tour the first White House of the Confederacy where President Jefferson Davis resided during the spring of 1861. We also stopped at the gulf coast and saw the home at which Jefferson Davis remained for the last 12 years of his life. The large house quietly sits across from the beach of the beautiful gulf coast, thereby providing a good excuse for us to sink our feet into the sand for just a few minutes before continuing to Louisiana where we had a fantastic dinner and a refreshing, encouraging, memorable time of fellowship with some friends that evening.

Day 1 – Semper Reformanda Conference Houston, TX

“As men we are called to counter our age. Many people have been infected with an American gospel and not the real gospel” - Paul Washer.

Mr. Washer is a fallen man, just like you and I, whom God has raised up for this particular time in history. Nathaniel Darnell describes him best as “A modern-day Jonathan Edwards.” At a time when much of the church has given the gospel an American, narcissistic, prosperity, packaged, pray and your done twist that is infecting the church and the culture, God is using this man in a mighty way to bring men and women back to Sola Scriptura! Back to the real gospel. Not the version that we have made up in an attempt broaden its appeal. Our flesh wants a gospel that's packaged and easy. A gospel that entails no risk.

But Mr. Washer stated “Train your young men that it is a good thing to die.” Young men, how many of us can truly say that we are ready to die for the gospel? If a man walked through the doors of your church and pointed a gun at your head and said “Renounce Christ or die!” What would you do? We don't even realize that our nation has grown hostile toward Christianity. The days of no persecution in this land will soon be over. The day is soon coming when it will be unlawful to proclaim the gospel. Will you or I be among those who fall captive to the fear of man above the fear of Almighty God?

Another point Mr. Washer stressed is the issue of dominion. For those of you familiar with the debate, good. For those of you unfamiliar with it, I suggest doing some research. Many claim that it is our duty to take dominion by transforming culture. Let me pause here momentarily, I whole heartedly agree that we should be taking dominion, but allow me to define that. I believe taking dominion is this:

“And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." - Genesis 1:26

“You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet.” - Psalm 8:6

Dominion is ruling over that which God has commanded us to rule over. Every thing on this earth has been placed under the feet of man. However, pantheists would have you believe that animals are every bit as human as man. Hence, they promote the worship of the creature and not the creator and reject any man who claims that the animals are subordinate to him.

Some argue that taking dominion is accomplished by taking the reigns of culture and turning it back to God. Though well intentioned, our efforts will be in vain if we forget the most important thing: “We take dominion by preaching Christ, not by transforming culture.” - Paul Washer. It is Christ that transforms culture, not the efforts of fallen man. It should not be our goal to get the cart before the horse.

As Mr. Washer progressed through his message, which, as we were later told, was only the introduction to a message time would not allow him to present until the next day, he spoke of a grave danger to homeschool families: Making family an idol. We can teach our children to become intellectually brilliant, but if we forget to preach Christ then we are no better than the pagan institutions. When speaking to this issue Paul Washer passionately stated, “Men, give yourself to your family, but do not make your family an idol!” We cannot become so at ease with our family that we forget our duty. Our duty is to wield the sword. Our duty is to struggle just as Christ struggled. How I wish you could have heard the power with which this man proclaimed the truth. How I wish you could have heard his passion and utter love for Christ. As he spoke of the importance of struggling, Mr. Washer said “what joy it is when the sword sticks to your hand because you've been swinging it all day.” now yelling, “Gentlemen! This is what you were made for!” Though exhausting, we don't stop swinging until the gospel goes out to all the world.

As I sat in my chair I continually felt as though I was being ground to powder. Over and over again I was humbled before my God. Repeatedly, I thought myself unfit for the monumental task before me. And then Mr. Washer spoke directly to me “Our problem is not that we are too weak, but that we are too strong.” He continued with this paraphrased statement, “Oh that God would break us into pieces that we might look like stained glass windows.” Being ground to dust before God is perhaps one of the greatest things a godly man can and should allow God to do to him, for it destroys pride and lays us open and bare before the Lord, thereby making us vessels even more prepared for the master's work. After every man in the room was sufficiently trampled over and under by the truth this man was so vigorously proclaiming, we were all reminded that it is only by the work of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit that our duty can be fulfilled.

Mr. Washer continued by admonishing men to go to God in the watch hours of the night and not let go of Him until He blesses them. Understanding full well that we are not the ones trying to drag God to do something and God is not dragging us to do something, He is calling us to Himself. Men, we must cultivate a powerful prayer life. Many of us are able to read Scripture for hours at a time, but the fact of the matter is, our flesh hates prayer, and don't think your adversary won't milk that! We must fight hard to spend time in prayer. Mr. Washer said there is absolutely no reason why a man can not spend at least an hour in prayer every day. Absolutely no excuse. And I'm not speaking of an hour spread throughout the day, I'm speaking of rolling out of bed, hitting your knees and staying on your knees for an hour beseeching the throne of our omnipotent God! This is in addition to remaining in constant communion and fellowship with Him throughout the day. How many days have gone by in which I have not spent such time in prayer. We must be men who are strong enough to stand up for truth, resist temptations, and cast visions, yet weak enough to fall to our knees before our sovereign God. We must be weak that His strength might be made manifest to all who witness our lives in action.

Our Next speaker, who is a current elder at GfBC, was a man by the name of David Shiflet. What I admired about this man's session is a very important fact that much of the church has forgotten: “I Will build my church.” - Matthew 16:18.

With this point in mind, Mr. Shiflet exposited Exodus chapter 30, demonstrating that God has prescribed to man a few timeless principles for worship:

1. God Appoints the Workers, not us

God appoints men from wherever he choses, no matter their background; whether they're seminary graduates or not.

2. God has Given us a Pattern, Each of us is Accountable to God

3. God has Called Them By His Name

4. God Equips Them for the Work

5. God Constrains the Workers

God says, “This is what I want done, nothing more and nothing less.” The problem is that in our sinful flesh we have a desire to build something in our image. We'd rather reject the plan of God because we think, “I'm not doing enough.” “There's got to be a way to do this better.” “There's got to be a better way to more effectively reach this group of people.” Hence, we begin innovating. We begin creating our own ideas of how God is to be worshiped. We create programs that are not prescribed in Scripture and in the process we reject God's plan for how He is to be worshiped.

As Mr. Shiflet said, “Our job is not to innovate and get creative in the church. We are to do all that He has commanded.” Not bigger, badder, cooler, etc...Our Holy, Righteous God has prescribed how he desires to be worshiped, is it not time that we conduct worship on His terms and not ours? “When we begin to do other things” Mr. Shiflet said, “we neglect what God has sacredly charged us to do...when we begin to innovate, we look at ourselves and see how great we are.” “Look at that program I came up with...that's pretty cool!” Our job is not to be confused with the jurisdictional job of the state.

The first day of the Semper Reformanda Conference came to a close after the conclusion of these two messages. However, this was just an appetizer for the feast of truth we were about to receive the following day.

Day 2 is coming soon!

Josh

A Fantastic Weekend in D.C.

About two weeks ago, my brother Jonathan and I took a weekend trip up to the D.C. area for some encouragement, challenge, and good ol’ brotherly fellowship.

On Saturday we attended our very first Rebelution conference. For those of you unfamiliar with the event, or Alex and Brett Harris’ ministry, I highly recommend going to their website here. In a nutshell, when Alex and Brett were about 16, they became concerned that the young men and women in our culture are conforming to low expectations, immaturity, and irresponsibility that prevents and inhibits them from being all God has called them to be. Their motto? Do Hard Things! In other words, it's time for young men and women to stop viewing themselves as “teenagers,” and start seeing themselves through the light of Scripture. In Scripture, God makes no distinction between adults and “adolescents.” In fact, Scripture teaches “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.” - 1 Corinthians 13:11.

Encouraging young people to rebel against the low expectations of our culture, Alex and Brett challenged everyone at the conference to do hard things. Those things might be huge projects (i.e. Zach Hunter, a 19 year old modern day abolitionist), or something as seemingly small as learning to accept responsibility around our homes by performing what most would deem menial occupations. In either case, young men and women are to rebel against our current youth culture of laziness and unproductiveness, which readily encourages young people to fill their days with frivolity while “sewing their wild oats.” If you, as a young adult, view your youthful life as such, then in the words of Ben Botkin in his family’s documentary Homeschool Dropouts, “I've got two words for you: grow up!” God has called us to so much more! Our young adult life is a God-given time to prepare for everything our sovereign God has purposed for us in the future.

For those of us who have heard this kind of teaching all our lives, it's very easy to become susceptible to a prideful heart and fall down the slippery slope of complacency. Complacency is dangerous, for it arrogantly raises us above others and confidently asserts that we have learned all that is necessary, all we are capable of, or all there is. As a young man inside the homeschool circle, I see many young men and women who graduate high school and then have no desire to further their education. And I'm not necessarily speaking of a college degree. What I'm speaking of is a complete lack of desire to continue stimulating their minds. Many homeschool graduates arrogantly assume they have learned all they need.

I admonish my fellow young adults, don't waste your life! Seek to become avid students of Scripture. Pick a subject you've never thought you were good at, or didn't particularly like, and master it by the grace of God! For me, math has always been a bit of a struggle, but I have a strange attraction to it because it forces me to apply and sharpen my God-given reasoning abilities, and gives me a glimpse into the brilliant mind of our God. This is a subject I'm seeking to master, even though I've graduated.

We should seek to discover what God is calling us to, and humbly submit to his leading. We should seek to understand and be willing to admit when we mistake our will for His perfect will. Then, be prepared for some challenges. God wants us to grasp how we can best utilize our youth to advance the Kingdom of God. As Alex and Brett stated, this starts when we identify sin in our own lives and seek to conquer it by the grace of our faithful Savior. Then, we will be vessels ready for use. Obviously, this doesn’t mean we will be perfect, aside from our Savior, no one was, is, or will be. What this does mean, is that we become young men and women who strive to walk in righteousness. Indeed, this is the evidence of our faith: the Holy Spirit bearing fruit in our lives. If we don't see evidence of the His work, it might be time for a heart check.

I won't attempt to summarize the entire Rebelution conference, because I want you to read the extended version. If you don’t already have it, I recommend that you purchase a copy of Alex and Brett's book Do Hard Things and you'll see what I'm talking about.

Aside from the challenging reminder of the conference, Jonathan and I also were able to spend some special time with our good friend Isaac Harris, who we met on set of Ace Wonder. Isaac's encouragement mixed with his mature, outgoing, fun personality is always very refreshing! Having the opportunity of spending time with him at the conference was a huge highlight for us.

We also discovered our “long lost sister,” (pictured below).

After taking the photo, we all three looked at it and stared in astonishment....we look like brother and sister! Hence, the title “long lost sister.” If you're not convinced at this one, take a look at this one :-)

Sunday, we met up with a really good friend who’s a student at Patrick Henry College and spent the morning worshiping with him. Strangely enough, when the worship service was over, our “long lost sister” was in the midst of those we were worshiping with! Maybe we really are related? ;-)

After a blessed afternoon with our friend, we parted ways, and headed to the heart of D.C. There, we met up with our Dad and observed and assisted him in a business meeting that evening; a meeting which included a traditional Chinese meal. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, fish with heads, squid, hot peppers, tofu, and a host of other things! This was the first time I’ve had the privilege of observing my father in his occupation (his company is such that going within the walls is next to impossible). Being able to assist him was an honor and a joy.

The next day, Dad traded places with us, put on his “Executive Producer” hat, and helped Jonathan and me in our business. We did some early concept/location scouting for a feature film in downtown D.C. (let the speculation begin!). This included a tour of the Capital building and the library of congress, as well as a LOT of walking around the capital grounds, the mall, and the Jefferson Memorial. I'll close this post with some pictures.

Press On!
Josh

Capitol Rotunda (common ground between the House and Senate)

Doorway to the Senate.

Doorway to the House of Representatives (Also, notice the painting of Pocahontas' Baptism).

The Library of Congress

The stairway to the landing overlooking the library itself. Unfortunately, photos are not permitted of the library.

Stairwell at the base of the Capitol Building.

College Revolutionized Update

Greetings everyone. I'm still working on that series of blog posts; don't worry, they're on the way. But I wanted to give you an update on Hedrick Brothers latest production College Revolutionized. Around nine last night, I received an email informing me that our film was not accepted as a semifinalist. Obviously, it's disappointing. After all, no matter what scale your project is, every filmmaker becomes extremely passionate and frankly obsessed with his film that it is sometimes hard to let it go.

With that said, I agree with the judges ultimate decision. Technically, the documentary just wasn't up to par. When Jonathan and I decided to extend the film and shoot for the submission deadline, we only had one week. All glory to God we performed all 3 stages of production in that period of time. I am extremely thankful that God gave us the grace to see it through to completion, but making a movie in a week puts many restraints around what can be accomplished. I believe, technically, the film could have been much better if we had more time. A big thank you goes to Scott Patrick of Blue View Records and to Nicholas! Scott, it's always a blast being in your studio. Thanks for giving hours of your time to help us out at last minute. Nicholas, thanks for being the best Best Boy! I know for a fact that we couldn't have completed filming without you.

I do have some exciting news. I talked with several Ace Wonder buddies last night and I'm pleased to announce that J&J Prodcutions dramatic short film No Time, was accepted as a semi-finalist. Fantastic job on your project Joe and Jerica! I look forward to seeing it on the big screen and pray that God will continue to bless you both in your future endeavors :)

What's next for College Revolutionized? We're working on that right now. In the mean time, enjoy this trailer I put together.

In Christ,

Josh

The One Who Gave the Vision Still Calls...

Burns Family Studios, who brought you Pendragon Sword of His Father, has just made the official announcement that they're currently working on a new project; one I'm very enthused about! Those of you who have seen Pendragon know that what God accomplished through these two families is stunning. The fact that they made the film is a reflection of its primary message: what God purposes you to do, He gives the grace to accomplish.

Hedrick Brothers is blessed to have been befriended by “the Burns guys,” and we're looking for great things from this up-coming film. Pray fervently for them as they enter into a more intensive stage of production, as they work out the details of the story, and the MANY logistics that lead up to production. The official announcement can be found here along with prayer requests and an introduction to the film that will leave you wanting to hear more!

In Christ,

Josh

Peanut Theology

I'm currently working on a series of blog posts to be posted soon, so keep checking back. In the mean time, a friend of mine had a link to this on his gmail status and it was so pertinent to the topic I'll be posting about that I just had to share it with you!

Josh

Ace Wonder Teaser 2

The second teaser trailer for Ace Wonder is online. See it below!