Leaving a Legacy by Greg Creek

My wife and I recently bought a new washer and dryer. A riveting open, I know. But for us, this was a big deal! This is the first time we’ve purchased a new set. We’ve owned used ones but, with a newborn and a dying dryer, we thought it was time. So, the delivery guys came and deposited them in all their pictured glory. One tiny problem – the dryer cord was too short to reach the plug! We ended up with a very expensive washer weight. 

It was 8:45pm, and the delivery guys had quite a day. I told them I could get the cord and put it in without any problems. They seemed skeptical, but in my head I was thinking, “Seriously, it’s just four little screws.” It was then I was reminded once again of the wonderful gift my grandfather had given me. 

My grandfather was an electrician for many years. Around the time he retired, my parents bought a new home, which included three rental mobile homes on the property as well. A myriad of electrical projects were spread all over the four residences, and my grandfather offered to come help. Upon his arrival, he quickly enlisted me to help him with all that needed to be done. 

Throughout those weeks, we replaced light fixtures, installed ceiling fans, ran new lights, replaced and installed new receptacles, and a bunch of other stuff I’m probably forgetting this many years later. But at 12 years old, this was pretty cool to be given an opportunity to participate. 

My grandfather didn’t just have me around as a tool fetcher. He was actually teaching me how to do things; I was the one doing the work. He would show me how to do something and then walk me through as he was doing it to make sure I got it. Then, he would turn the next one over to me. Project after project, I started learning more and more. 

My grandfather invested in me and taught me some really valuable parts of a trade. I will forever have that knowledge with me. In each of us, we have something valuable we can teach others. Maybe it is a trade like electrical work or plumbing, or maybe it’s a musical skill. It might even be something less tangible like having an upbeat attitude or teaching the importance of honesty. Whatever it is, I invite you to invest in someone. I invite you to so enrich the lives of those around you that you will forever be remembered. I invite you to make a difference. 

Greg Creek

One Of "Those" Weekends by Greg Creek

This weekend was one of “those” weekends. As a minister, “those” weekends come around more often than not. They’re the weekends where events coalesce to form a perfect storm. The events spill from one to the next, sometimes overlapping until the day ends in a sudden halt where I’m so tired the bed sounds incredible, and so wired I have to unwind before I can go.

Lest anyone think I’m complaining, please know these weekends are amazing – especially this time of year. As a youth pastor, these end-of-year events aren’t typically meetings or planning sessions. These events are the culmination of a year or multiple years’ work. They are a showcase of talent or a sendoff into the next exciting journey in life.

Friday night I found myself celebrating the lives of nine high school students. The journeys they have been on are quite astounding and, hearing of their plans for next year, I can’t wait for updates. But it wasn’t just those nine students and their families.  People from the larger church body were present as well. I was able to hear funny and inspiring stories about these students. I was given access to years of memories and laughs by people readily willing to share with me.

Saturday, I spent the morning hanging out with my church, playing a piano made out of bananas. Crazy sounding, I know, but totally awesome and fun.

The afternoon, I shifted gears to celebrate the retirement of a teacher who has been in the profession for 39 years, most of them at one school. As more and more people kept pouring into the school to celebrate this man’s career, it was amazing to see all the lives that had been impacted by this educator. I was again allowed entry into a remarkable place of stories, recollections, and terrible yearbook photos.

In a few hours, I was rapt in awe as two of my students performed their end-of-year recital and then celebrated with a graduating high school senior.

This is my job, or at least the profound side of it. I am allowed entry into the accomplishments, joys, and successes of my students. This weekend was one of “those” weekends . . . and it was awesome!

Greg Creek

What Does My God Look Like? by Greg Creek

It’s been a little over a week since my son was born. As our first child, my wife, Gina, and I are just relishing every minute, including the late nights! Everyone is assuming this blog will be about my child, and it is, but most of it is not, which will make sense soon.

           

I have been struggling with how to teach my child about God. More specifically, I am struggling with the God I will portray to my child. What is my God like? What does my God look like to others? And, of course, how will my God look to my son? Talk is cheap. What do my actions say about my relationship with God?

One morning, while still at the hospital, I was ruminating on this with a newborn in my lap and mom catching up on some sleep. As I thought about the previous couple of days, what overwhelmed my heart was how much support we received from our friends and family.

The previous day was long, as most days are with a newborn, and we really needed some sleep. One of our friends offered to stay for a little bit to spend time with little Gideon while we got some late-night sleep. This was at the end of a day in which people showed up all day with gifts, food, Advil, and offers of anything we needed. I knew that, whatever I said, they would have gone to get it.

As the memories from the previous days and the support we received flooded my brain, I realized that maybe what I was experiencing was a very concrete way to show my son a picture of God. For me, it was this amazing “ah-hah!” moment when I realized all these people were the hands and feet of God, and that was how I could show God to my son.

The concept of people being God’s hands and feet is something of which many Christians are aware. It is something that I remember being taught as a small child. In Matthew’s Gospel in the Bible, Jesus is recorded in 5:16 as saying “Let your light shine before others that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.” (NIV) Yet here I was as an adult, feeling like I was discovering this for the first time—God’s concrete attributes are something that we point to in others. It is not something we can try and define and explain and theologize, but a person to whom we point and say, “Here’s what Jesus looks like.”

This experience is a direct result of my son, but I don’t think it is unique to me or to a new arrival. You may be having a similar experience as well. Perhaps you are struggling to find ways for Jesus to be more real to you, your children, or your friends.

I’d like to invite you to look to others. Just typing the previous sentence is weird because we typically say, “look to Jesus.” But based on the words of Jesus in Matthew, look to the goodness of others, and let God be glorified and made more tangible in our lives.

Greg Creek

           

A Symphony of Unity by Greg Creek

This weekend I experienced an incredible day at church. Interestingly, church was almost over by the time I realized what was happening. It was as I was writing a Facebook post before the last service started that the immensity of the day struck me.

Along with an always incredible core of musicians, we added a “few” friends - a 20 piece orchestra. The orchestra came from a high school where many of our church’s students attend. However, the majority of the students in the orchestra are from churches all over central Florida, and even a few from outside of Florida. It was that realization that showed me how incredible the day was.

Christians have a reputation for being exclusive. Strangely, Christians are even more exclusive, and at times petty, vindictive, and territorial when it comes to dealing with other Christians and other churches. So having all of these people from a variety of churches unified in worship was powerful. As I was writing that Facebook post, I realized what was happening.

None of the represented churches could have done musically on their own what happened that day. It was only as we were unified that amazing and powerful things happened. As I reflect on this, I wonder how much more Christ would be known if we came together more often. What if music and a myriad of other things brought us together to proclaim Christ? What if more things brought us together than kept us apart? I get chills just thinking about it.

Let's put away our petty posturing and unite under the charge that Christ gave us: loving people and deepening our relationship with Him. Let's unite in the symphony of salvation and be a part of something beautiful.

Greg Creek

Adjusting the Focus by Greg Creek

For the last few months I have been teaching a course at Adventist University of Health Sciences in Philosophy of Healthcare, an Interdisciplinary Humanities and Religion course.  We aim to help students develop their philosophy of healthcare for when they are in the workforce. It has been an incredible experience of learning, growing, and struggling to develop my own philosophy as the students and I journey through together.

One of our assignments is a Life Events Timeline. This assignment asks students to highlight ten memories of significance from their life. After identifying those events, the student then spends some time dissecting why they chose those memories, identifying any themes or patterns, and determining if or how those events have changed their philosophy of healthcare.

As this is the first time I have taught this class, I was unprepared for the level of authenticity paired with an almost greater level of pain that has been experienced by my students. They shared with me stories of parents, grandparents, siblings, children, cousins, and close friends that they have lost. They shared with me stories of losing everything they own to fire or finances. They shared with me stories of broken relationships, missed opportunities, and the roadblocks of life. After reading through the lives of over 30 students, I was struck by a few things.

The first is that my class showed up every morning – smiling, happy, and “normal.” (Although, I will say we meet at 8:00 am, so “smiling” and “happy” are relative terms.) If we had never done this assignment, I might not have been able to tell that many of them had experienced such brokenness. No one had a chip on his or her shoulder. No one used class time to rail against anything or anyone. It wasn’t until we took an opportunity to go deeper that the opportunity actually presented itself.

How many relationships are we in that lack a level of appropriate depth? It is so easy to just stroll through life and not acknowledge the brokenness. I have decided to challenge myself to engage with people’s story, to ask the questions that foster knowledge of the good and the bad.

The second thing that struck me is the balance of the events in my students’ lives. Many of my students have experienced some pretty tragic things, and yet those events only received a few spots in their top ten. The other events that practically dominated were the positive, life-changing events of births, graduations, travels, marriages, and so on. Despite all their brokenness and pain, their reasons to laugh and live far outweighed their reasons to be sad.

I tend at times to focus on my mistakes and the bad things. My goal is to work to not commit the same errors again. It ends up being a constant focus on the bad. If you are anything like me, I challenge you to focus on the events that make us laugh and live. Or maybe you’re reading this and thinking, “Living and laughing aren’t a problem for me!” If so, please help the rest of us to follow your lead!

Greg Creek

Unexpected Love by Greg Creek

My wife and I are expecting our first child in a few months. We recently went to the doctor and had the sonogram to find out the gender. We had the results put into an envelope and will be finding out in a few days. By the time you read this, we’ll know.

While it would be easy to go back and edit this so that it’s present tense, that would take away the whole point! I’m so excited! We have a big party planned and will find out with a bunch of friends what gender our baby is going to be.

The question that we get the most regarding gender is whether we have a preference. We don’t. One time someone asked that question, and before I could respond said, “The correct answer is, ‘as long as they’re healthy, it doesn’t matter.’” Here’s the deal: that response doesn’t express how I feel.

I don’t care if my baby is a boy or a girl, healthy or unhealthy, weak or strong, blond or brunette, left-handed or right-handed, short or tall, blue eyes or brown eyes. I’ll love, nay, already love, my baby regardless of the previous attributes or how many fingers or toes they may or may not have.

I know very little about my baby. And yet, I love that little human being. I love that little baby because it belongs to my wife and I. Someone probably just thought to themselves, “Really, that baby belongs to God.” This I know. That is the whole point of this blog.

I know so very little about my baby and yet have an unending love for that little one. Imagine how God feels about each one of us. He has known us before we were even born (Jer. 1:5) and knew us before time even began (Is 46:10). Sure, we disappoint Him. Sure, we are marred by sin. But God doesn’t care! He loves us with an everlasting love (Jer. 31:3)! It’s an unending, invasive, life altering, mess-you-up-in-a-good-way sort of love.

People tell me that my picture of God will change with all the new things I experience with parenting. On the cusp of finding out my baby’s gender, I’m discovering that’s true. God loves me with a ferocious love I’ve never experienced until now.

I don’t know when the next revelation of His love will be shown to me. I’m sure it will come as a surprise. Of all the places to discover His love, I found it in a gender reveal party.

Greg Creek