NoahDMitchell.com

I am a workaholic. I always have been, but I pray I won’t always be one. I’m always on the go, I’m always giving my time. Always. I was like that in High school, college, and now. I’ve always told myself that in the next stage of my life, I will slow down. I will take time for myself. I will be healthy. That hasn’t happen. One of my friends who has known me since college said to me “Noah I worry that you wont ever slow down.” He said that, and I agreed. As I turn 25, one of my goals is to slow down. To not be so busy and to not always be on the go! I love my job. I love my kids. I love what I do. I don’t ever want to loose that.

I don’t really know what the point of this blog is. Perhaps I am just putting into writing what has been going on in my head. There is such a crazy balance between good ministry and unhealthy living. I don’t even claim to have found that balance…

        So the other day I was driving from Columbus Ohio to Arkansas when I had an interesting encounter. I’ve made that drive several times in my life and though it’s long, it’s a pleasant drive. As I left Columbus I drove for several hours and then I decided to stop and get gas and such. I usually have my set stops that I stop at (As I said, I have made this trip a lot) but decided that I wasn’t going to make it to my normal stop. So, I reluctantly existed to what seemed like a very small town. I don’t usually do this because… 

        As I made my way to the only gas station at this stop, I pretty much knew that I shouldn’t have existed here. I’m usually pretty careful about where I stop, but I had to get gas. Anyways, I get out of my car and go inside and as I am walking inside, two white guys are walking out. As they pass me, one ask the other guy who let the ni**er in their town. I of course heard this and my initial reaction was shock. Isn’t the year 2007 and aren’t we way pass this garbage. I turned around and made eye contact with the guy who had just called me a ni**er and for a second I didn’t say anything. He froze and was unsure of what I was going to do. (I was too actually) After a moment, I simple said this “If I didn’t love the Lord, you would be in a lot of trouble right now.” I turned and walked into the gas station paid for my gas, and left.

          Now, you may be thinking that I handled that pretty well, but honestly I was very very very upset. I wanted to bust that guy right in his mouth. Now I know that I am supposed to be loving and Christ like, but I honestly wanted to knock that guy out. That’s the truth. 

          As a black man, I experience racism all the time. I can’t even tell you how many times I get followed in stores or looked at weird or just discriminated against in general. My first year in Siloam, I was pulled over 14 times for “routine traffic stops.” I was even recently pulled over and the cop spent 10 minutes making sure that the car I was driving was actually mine. (He actually asked me if I had stolen the car. This is after I showed him my insurance and registration) So, I am not naïve enough to think that racism is completely gone. I know that’s not true. But it’s been a while since I’ve experienced such hateful and blatant racism. It should be noted that I have spent the last 6 years living in places like Siloam Springs and Pea Ridge Arkansas. Not exactly the “black people” capital of the world.  

          This post is both to vent about my experience but also to ring the alarms that racism in America still exist. Hopefully this isn’t like some new and revolutionary idea to you! It should be noted that racism is not just towards black Americans. The truth is that we all have a little prejudice in us. (yes, even black people do!) We all do. I pray that we are all actively pursuing ways to rid ourselves of our prejudices. We are all God’s children and shouldn’t treat each other differently. Yes, we are all unique. Yes, there are cultural differences. Yes, God created both the uniqueness and cultural differences. No, that doesn’t mean that any race, people group, or person is any better or more special in the eyes of God.  

          I don’t have this racism thing figured out. If I did, I would write a book that would make me a millionaire because it’s a problem that has existed throughout all of mankind. I do know that I long for the day when I don’t have to worry about which town or place I stop to get gas. I long for the day when I don’t have to think about my color as an issue. I long for the day when people are known for who they are not what color they are. I long for the day when Blacks and Whites and Latins and Asians and Hispanics and Whoever can worship God together with vigor and passion for the only true and living God. Man, I long for heaven.

Let me start this post by saying I am very happy with my life. I am very content with where God has me and I generally love life. However, this whole single business sometimes gets one down in the dumps. I really should write when I am in such a state, but here I am. Though there are some wonderful things about being single, there are some things that get annoying and frustrating. I must say that most of those things stem from comments from other people. It should be noted that these comments aren’t meant to be negative, they just get old real quick. Here’s my list of questions/comments that sometimes get on my nerves! (things that sometimes drive me crazy)

1. When someone asks me “Is there a lady in your life.” I know that people mean well when they say that, but for some reason, when I hear this, I just want to scream. I don’t know, I just do.

1. When you haven’t seen a relative in like a few months and they ask, “So, are you married yet?” I sometimes want to reply “Yes I picked a random girl, and in the last month we dated and got married.” No, I am not married, I wasn’t even dating anyone the last time you saw me!

1. One of my favorites: “So Noah, are there any plans to get married anytime soon?” HAHAHAHAHAHA Yes, actually, I have that in my day planner for around December. Yes, I have actually had several people ask me this.

1. Here’s another good one: “You’re such a quality guy, I can’t believe you don’t have a woman.” I often don’t know what to say to such a comment. I guess the two are connected. I don’t have a woman so does that mean I am not a quality guy? I’m not the greatest thing since sliced bread or anything but, I’m a decent guy. I’m no Osama or Sadam or David Koresh (If you know who David Koresh is, you probably think it’s funny that I put him in the same list as Sadam Hussem and Osama Bin Laden.) Being a good guy has nothing to do with it. God has me where I am for a reason, and I don’t know that reason and to be quite frank, I don’t care.

I don’t know why I am venting about this issue right now. Perhaps it’s because in the last 48 hours, each of these questions or statements have been said to me at least once. I guess me being single is a bigger deal to other people than it is for me. At least on most days…

(I have no idea what that picture has to do with anything)

I am SOOO bad at this online writing thing. My friends (mostly just Kelly) harass (and I use that word in a nice sort of way J) me about being a week old. I think being a week old is pretty good. It’s better than being a month old. (Or a year old, which I accomplished when I had a xanga) Anyways, it is definitely time to do a little writing, so here’s what’s going on in Noah’s little world.

At my Church, we are making a few transitions that I think are going to be really good. First, we are revamping and evaluating the way we do Sunday school. We’ve created a clear purpose and are beginning the process to evaluate how we are doing. Simultaneously, we’re beginning to start some in home small groups. This really really excites me. As the Discipleship guy, I am really excited about seeing our discipleship efforts expand beyond Sunday school. So, I’ve been busily working on these two projects and it has been truly a joy. I have found that I am incredible passionate about discipleship. This isn’t a completely new revelation, but my fire just gets lit when I think about people experiencing life change that makes them more like Christ. Isn’t that what it’s all about: becoming more like Christ daily!

We’re starting some leadership training for small group leaders this weekend and I am both excited and nervous. I’ve taught a lot of classes and been responsible for a lot of things, but this is new territory for me. I know that God has been in the midst of this whole process and I know He will continue to be here. So I have some questions: (Yeah, interaction time!!!) You can answer all, none, or whichever ones you want! J

1. What do you think about Small groups in homes?
2. How has your Sunday school experience been?
3. What are some strengths and weakness of both?
4. If you could only attend one, which do you think would help YOU the most (this is NOT a loaded question. We are keeping both. J)

On a personal note, I am feeling really busy. I am looking forward to Labor Day weekend. I will be playing a lot of golf! Even though I have been incredible busy, I feel like God is teaching me a lot of things. I know that I have to rely on Him more. As many of you know, I tend to try to take care of everything by myself, but God continually teaches me that I HAVE to rely on Him. This is a good thing. Well, I have some things that have to get done soon, so I will write later. I will do everything I can to make sure it’s before this time next week! Until next time, do something good for yourself and somebody else! Peace!

It’s been far too long since I last wrote. So much has happened and I feel like I should catch up on things, but honestly, I dont feel like it. So, I will just talk about a few things that are going on in my life. I am finishing up my last masters degree class and I am very excited about that. My final paper is due on Tuesday and then Noah will both be done with school and have a masters degree. That’s a pretty cool combination!

Me, Pastor Al and Mrs. Suzanne had the privelege of going to a leadership conference this past weekend. I want to spend the majority of this post talking about a few things that I got from that conference. Actually, I am going to spend most of my time talking about this one thing. John Ortberg, who happens to be one of my favorite speakers now, did a session entitled  A leaders greatest fear: A Shadow Mission. What he dealt with was the idea that we all have missions. We all have visions and goals, but we have to be aware and guard against what he calls a shadow mission.

A shadow mission is your good mission hijacked by self conceit, pride and ego. A shadow mission are those things that we silently and personally struggle against and with. It could be pride, sexual addiction, apathy, etc. It has the capability of destroying our main mission and purpose in life if we aren’t careful. He did a beuatiful job of walking through the story found in Esther and I wont even try to relive that moment for you. It was however, amazing.

All that to say that God wants us to search our hearts and see what we are truly running after. Have you/me falling off of our main mission and settled for a shadow mission that is without God and without hope? I pray that we will never settle for the things that are unable to truly satisfy us. There is so much more to tell about this conference, but for now, I must finish my paper! Hope all is well and I would be very interested in your thoughts! Peace!

I thought this was appropriate in view of teaching on confession last night. FBC YOUTH DOWNLOAD

{Over at the Faith and Theology blog a meme has been started}

I confess: That I, like many people often feel like I live two lives.

 I confess: I often feel like since I am a pastor, I have to show people only my good sides. I have to keep this image up. (God is SOOOO working on that) 

 I confess: That though I am good at building quick relationships with total strangers, I struggle with building real, deep relationships.

I confess: I sometimes wonder if I am really qualified to do my job, or ministry at all.

I confess: I have seen all the Saw movies. (they are so bad and I am so bad for watching them)

I confess: Sin often doesn’t bother me the way it should

I confess: I want to continue my education, but I think I am way too lazy to get any more degrees (I struggle with what to do in this area)

I confess: Complacency and apathy are two things I often have to fight against.

 I confess: Marriage scares me to death! (well not literally, but you get the point 

I confess: Though marriage scares me, I don’t want to be single the rest of my life!  

I confess: I really like the show Will and Grace (I know, that’s SO weird!) 

I confess: I am addicted to technology and I hate that I often feel there is nothing I can do about that reality. (Even though there is) 

I confess: Sometimes it’s hard for me to see the big picture. 

I confess: I wish I could play the piano really well and I am SO jealous of people who can!

I confess: If I read as much as I wanted, I wouldn’t get any work done ever.   

I confess: I want people to be impressed with my life and accomplishments and when they aren’t I am annoyed.

There are so many more things…but that’s all for now. God is so good! Don’t forget that! Will write again soon!    

I have a new Dog. Scruffy is home and we’re having a great time. As you can see by the pictures, he’s adorable! He’s a Chihuahua, Dachshund [Mix]. He’s only 5 months old, and well, he’s pretty awesome. I will be writing soon to update about retreat and things, but for now, here are some pics of Scruffy or the Scruffinator (as Kip likes to call him).

I don’t really have a clear purpose for this post. I am not even sure why I am writing. As I sit here in my office, however, I am hit with the desire to write, so that’s what I’m doing. Last night in youth group, we talked about the idea of community. We talked about it in view of it being a spiritual discipline, which may sound weird. But I think that it is a discipline in that it is something that we need to actively be pursuing and is hard for us to do. This is very similar to the more traditional disciplines. I was really struck by how attentive and how many light bulbs came on last night. I think everyone (well, mostly everyoneJ) is starting to really get this spiritual discipline stuff. That of course, makes me very happy. 

We leave tomorrow for a retreat at Mt. Sequoyah in Fayetteville. I am pretty excited about that. I think its going to be a very good time, and I am very excited about our corporate worship times. Andrew Bolger, a friend from John Brown, will be our speaker and I am confident that he is going to connect well with the students. He was the Men’s Ministry leader at JBU the last two years and is going to seminary in the fall. Since we have over 15 guys going on this trip (and only 6 girls) I think he’ll connect really well. I am also excited about just hanging out with my kids. Cody Woodward is leading our musical worship time. He has convinced me to sing with him, so it should be fun. I think Mt. Sequoyah is a wonderful place to really experience God in nature. I mean the place is beautiful! (this is not to say you cant experience God in nature in other places…) 

I may be getting a dog. I think I want a small one. I don’t really like big dogs, they sort of creep me out. I mean if it looks like it could eat me, I don’t want it walking around my house, or roaming my yard. I have no shame in admitting that I like small little cuddly dogs. J We’ll see. I tried this dog thing once before and well, it didn’t work out so well as it ran away. Those beagles are smart dogs, or stupid depending on how you look at it. (It found a way to push open my screen door and off it went, never to be seen again…)  

 I don’t think I am reading enough. I wish I had more time to read stuff, but with class, work, and life, reading has taken a back seat. Soon, I pray that won’t be the case. Speaking of class, it’s kicking me pretty hard right now. My major paper is due in a few weeks, and let’s just say I have a lot of work yet to be done. Well I think that’s all for now. I think I actually enjoy this whole blogging/journaling thing. It could work, we shall see. (this really was a random post.)