Eddie Walker

The fire here in So. Cal is pretty out of control...Thank God my mother's place did not go up in smoke...Apparently she could see the fire come from over the top of the hill from her front yard...Escondido is littered with ash and the air is hardly breathable...My heart breaks for all of those people that have lost their homes...For many of them I am sure it seems as though they have lost their lives and identities....Con (Sp?) artists are already emerging...The common ploy is that they are a representative for a non-profit organization that is seeking donations for those that need to repair their homes and continue their lives...I find this to be the real tragedy...The depth of our sinful nature shall never cease to amaze me. Yesterday I got an opportunity to talk to Palmer, Matt, and Aaron. These three gentleman will be my new room mates in the course of the next week... I am pretty excited. I only have two more days of work...What a blessing... God is good may we continue to praise Him throughout all aspects of our lives...tragedy, despair, the mundane, and the exciting.

posted by Unknown @ 3:56 PM 0 comments

I leave sunny So. Cal in 8 days....I am very excited, yet there is a tinge of trepidation....Nevertheless, I am continually being affirmed that the Lord is directing me in this radical new endeavour. Yesterday I was afforded the wonderful opportunity to meet with two of my former classmates from California Baptist University. It was a tremendous opportunity to discuss community and house churches. I had a great time...however, it was very surreal...I was the "expert" concerning these issues. (An irony that continues to escape me.) My only hope is that God was speaking through me to speak into the lives and future ministry of Dan and Derek. Thank all of you for your prayers and support... Please don't stop praying... The Lord works in mysterious ways and I believe that we continually forget how powerful prayer truly is. Last week I got to see my grandfather in the hospital. He is doing much better though I am worried that loneliness might take over in the upcoming months. On Wed. Jason and I were able to go to the Harambe Center and learn a great deal from Rudy and his associates. I learned a great deal from these individuals concerning community and the impact that the Church can have on its surrounding community. I only have five days left at Palomar Hospital... I am very excited that the end of one experience is drawing near in order to birth new one's. Two points of advice that I have for everyone as I feel God has been speaking to me directly concerning these issues (1) Don't allow Culture to dictate how we read God's Word, take much of what Christ says at face value (2) Pray radically, think radically, and live radically...because our God is a radical God.

posted by Unknown @ 1:59 PM 0 comments

In line with what Jason Evans wrote on his blog... I am simply left to wonder...Did those from anitiquity (Or the Eastern part of the World) have a better handle on God being an active participant of their daily lives. In some way have we allowed a Western Ideal of a scientific mind to perculate into our faith based lives that has hindered us from recognizing God in all aspects of our lives?

posted by Unknown @ 2:57 PM 0 comments

I found out this last week that my grandfather has congestive heart failure. This is really bad news to say the least. However, my point-of-view on this issue has led me to be at complete peace with this. The man is really old and has lived well. My only disappointment in all of this is that I did not get to know him better. Anyways, I thought of something that I consider to be rather ironic in the modern day Protestant church. (Warning: This is not an attack). As far as I know, (so correct me if I am wrong), the Reformation, in part, dealt with the issue of the priest dispensing spiritual goods and services to a congregation that did not have the opportunity to read and understand God's Word. Therefore, the priest had a monopoly on what he could and would dispense to his congregation. Luther felt that it was necessary for the congregates to have an opportunity to dive into God's Word on their own. This would provide the congregate a chance for spiritual growth with out the intermediate of the priest. In our Modern day Protestant church I see a parallel with the Catholic system that it was "protesting" against. Here in our churches, we have a pastor that stands behind the pulpit dispensing spiritual goods and services to its congregates. A sea of congregates that still don't read God's Word. Unfortunately, this is a result of laziness, busyness, whatever, rather than a lack of opportunity. Just a little irony that I noticed. Anyways, in talking with Jason Evans this week I reached a new little epiphany concerning a blessing that seems to be inherent when living in community. We were discussing leadership roles and different giftings with which God has blessed us. When living in community it seems as though there is less of an opportunity for a figure-head to emerge amidst God's people. (Again this is not an attack) However, within the Modern day institutional church a figure head is present and seems to take much of the glory for the direction and vision of the church. This can occur without it being intentional. I believe this to be a result of one man standing at the pulpit talking week after week. It only follows that the congregation will look to that individual as one that is spiritually elite. Within that breeds a congregation that feels spiritually inept unless they are in some sort of leadership role. (This is a great generalization). I simply use this to demonstrate the great strength of living as a community of believers. I have noticed within the community that I reside, that there is little to no opportunity for one individual to emerge as the figure head. This is because as we live life together we get a much better opportunity to experience an array of giftings with which God has blessed each of us. When we don't live life as a community we miss out on all that God wants to reveal to us concerning His creative nature within each of our individual lives. As a result of living in community I realize many of my weaknesses as a believer (I think that this occurs for all those living in community, again a generalization) and this birth's a humility within God's people that is truly amazing. I think that too often believer's have a narrow scope of how God works and the variety of ways that He can work through us. I was raised in a church that sought out God's movement in people's lives through a few ways...teaching, preaching, evangelism, etc. These are the traditional ways in which I was taught to see the fruits of the Spirit. I was shown four fruits and learned them well...apple, orange, peach, and avocado. When I was shown a grape I did not know what it was, when I was shown a banana I tossed it aside. Concerning personal events in my life... I have had many Cathartic Burning Rituals... this consists of me throwing all of my old homework from junior high (I have been saving this stuff for no particular reason, I think my Mom told me once that I would want to keep this crap). This has been really healthy for me... I want to minimize all of my possessions before moving to Ohio. Besides I am nostalgic to a fault. I want to seldom reflect on the days of my life because God keeps me occupied with gladness of heart. (That last line is my modification of Ecclesiastes 5:20 so that it applies specifically to me). P.S. I write these blogs in haste and I seldom (pretty much never proofread), if clarification is needed please post a comment and I will write specifically to that issue. Thanks all.

posted by Unknown @ 5:41 PM 5 comments

Crazy stuff has been happening lately. My grandfather had a minor heart attack over the weekend. It's not all that surprising to me, however, I know that it really scared my Mom. I am scared for my mother because I know that she's not ready for the passing of her father who is going to be 88 on Oct. 31st. For me it's expected that a man of his age is going to have health problems and is going to die within the next few years. However, I suppose that not everyone views death as an inevitable ensuing occurrence. I think that God has been teaching me a great deal these last few weeks. He is teaching me the absolute necessity of community within the Body of Christ. Mark Palmer made a statement a little over a week ago. He said that in order for community to exist people must either live within the same house or within a two minute walk of one another. I totally agree. It is at this point that I am thoroughly convinced that I don't want to live alone ever again. (I never really have but this was a possibility in my mind). I want to either be living with families (even if God blesses me with my own) or living with singles. I think that it is essential that families begin to be intentional in taking on the role of Community builders. I believe that in opening our homes we gain a better Kingdom understanding of what possession really means. I find that our culture has dictated to us that possession is an exclusive ownership over a particular object. However, a Kingdom understanding is that our time here is fleeting and as a result we need to connect with the fact that we must "share" our so called "possessions" knowing that EVERYTHING we have is a Gift of God. God has blessed us so that we might bless others. If God has blessed us with a house it is to bless others through that house. If God has blessed us with a family it is for us to bless others with through our Family. This idea can best be revealed to us through the Abrahamic Covenant in Genesis 12. Anyways, enough about that for now. As far as the specific details of my life, trepidation is rising concerning medical school, unfortunately for me I had a very tumultuous couple of years in the beginning of my college career that has hindered me from having the excellent G.P.A. that my buddy Mark Deaver has (he has a 3.9). Anyways, if all of you could pray for me in this area, that God would put me at peace, that I might rest in the knowledge of his Sovereignty in my life, and that He might bless me with an excellent MCAT score that I might actually get to pick where I go to Med School rather than have to go to a particular school because that's the only one that would have me.

posted by Unknown @ 11:07 AM 0 comments

Tons of stuff has happened within the last week. For the last couple of weeks I felt that God was leading me to go.... I didn't know what that meant until last week when I felt God calling me to go to Columbus, Ohio. So I bought my ticket on Tuesday and am making the appropriate arrangements to leave. I am very excited to see what God has in store and the ways in which He is going to stretch me and grow me. I know already that this will most definitely be culture shock for me, however, I know that God is going to be Glorified. I also got a chance to see Radiohead in concert Last Sunday, It was totally amazing. They are probably some of the greatest musicians I have ever seen. I was thoroughly impressed. Well as far as Ohio is concerned I will be leaving on November 3rd. For those friends of mine that reside in California, now is the time to hang out, for I do not have the slightest ideas as to when I will return. On Thursday, I was discussing with Trey and Christina from the Laguna community about the possibility of traveling to Calcutta. I am not sure what all this means, however, I do believe that God is preparing me for something. I am ecstatic that I only have 4 weeks of work left as well. It's just so crazy that my time here in California is limited as of right now. I have been here most of my life and haven't lived anywhere else since I was 5. Nevertheless, God is amazing and I know that He wants me to place my faith in Him knowing that He will bring me joy no matter where I am. (That little tid bit was brought to my attention by Brooke Evans). Other news... Matt Evans and I had a conversation about the responsibility of couples (married) within the Church to provide a sense of community within the Body of Christ. We were discussing this because of the inherent nature of community that exists in a couple already. This is the new Platform talk for the day....

posted by Unknown @ 3:07 PM 0 comments