If you live by the cheeseburger...

Someone smart once said, "If you live by the sword you die by the sword."

In a sentence, this sums up life in a nutshell really. Whatever you focus on in life is what ultimately results in your demise. For some people that is "the sword." They live by violence and they die by violence.

Others live for food (like the cheeseburger) and they die from greasy cholesterol filled hearts that can't pump enough blood through their diseased arteries (now that's descriptive). Believe me, if you live by the cheeseburger you will die by the cheeseburger.

Most people who really despise AIM may have put way too much stock in it to begin with. Missionaries who hate foreigners probably had too high an expectation of the people. Teenagers who loathe their youth ministers may have held those same men in a position that they could never have reached.

If you live by the sword, you die by the sword. We all have to live by something. We all have to find passion somewhere. Our jobs, our education, our experiences, our loved ones. We need something to be focused on. The catch is, whatever we focus on is what will ultimately kill us.

If you live by AIM, you die by AIM.

Might I suggest living for Jesus? After all, he is the only thing/one in this world who demonstrated an ability to conquer death. We all need something to be passionate about. Be passionate about Jesus. If you live by Jesus you will never die, because he is the resurrection and the life.

-Chris Johnson

Tulsa Workshop / AIMapalooza '11

Calling all A-cubed,

I want to personally invite everyone to the Tulsa Workshop, which is coming up this week, March 23-26. Many wonderful and powerful speakers will be here, all considering the topic, “Let the Chains Fall Away”. They will focus on finding freedom from those things that hold us back from being what Christ created us to be. You can find the entire schedule at www.tulsaworkshop.org.

As an alumnus, though, my favorite part of Workshop is what happens on Friday night beginning after the evening keynote (around 9). All AIM alumni are invited to be part of what we call, AIMapalooza. We will meet at the Memorial Drive Church of Christ building (747 S. Memorial Dr.) in the “Rainbow Room”, which is a large area downstairs. AIMapalooza is a very casual event where 40-70 of us eat and drink (whatever items that we all bring - check the event page), sing, and visit, visit, visit. We officially wrap up around 11:30, but you can stay as long as the conversation lasts. It is such an encouraging event and this year we are thrilled to share with you a few of the things we’ve been working on with the AIM Alumni Association (A-Cubed). This group is a grass roots effort to help AIM graduates come off the field with more support, information and encouragement so that their transitions can be smoother and healthier for them spiritually and emotionally. This August we plan to launch a new effort to offer some concrete help that will be a great blessing to returning AIMers. Come and find out how you can be a part of this work-in-progress!

So, grab a snack or a drink and plan on joining us Friday, March 25 around 9pm for AIMapalooza. If you have any questions, just let AIM Alum know. We can’t wait to see you!

PS - Bring your non-AIM spouses/family. All are invited to share in our annual reunion! You are their ticket in. :)

-Jason Thornton

Christ's power is not dependent on my adequacy

“Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to fall, and I am not indignant? "If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness.”

When I look at the life of Paul, it becomes evident that he has gone through some incredibly challenging ordeals during his Christian walk. Whipped. Beaten. Stoned. Shipwrecked. In near constant danger. It would seem that these things would be a hindrance on Paul. These are the very things that were meant to hold him back from living a faithful life devoted to Christ. And yet God still uses him. A key principle that comes up again and again in Paul’s writing that I need to embrace is that Christ’s power is not measured by my adequacy as a person.

In Philippians 3, Paul brings up a list of his qualifications as a righteous person. I can’t help but see myself bringing up all sorts of things that I would put confidence in. My background, both national and familial. How I carry out my righteous duties. How much I give to be a good old Christian. And yet, Paul totally flips the situation on its head by saying that all of those things that made him so good are worthless compared to knowing Christ. Now, my brain knows the truth in this, but my pride kind of gets in the way here. You see, it is oftentimes like a little kid at a birthday party that is not theirs. A kid who is so desperate for attention that they totally lose focus of what this is all about. My pride screams out “Hey! Hey! Look at me! Look at all these things I can do! Look at how great I am! LOOK AT ME.” The point of it is, all of the things that I would have confidence in are counted as sewage in comparison with having a relationship with Christ. And so all of my abilities and qualifications have become impotent in contrast with what it means to know Christ. And yet Christ is still using me. What it comes down to is not that my talents are of no use, but it is all about what they are trying to accomplish. I must use my gifts not for selfish ambition, but rather to honor and glorify Christ in my life. But if that is how I am to look at my strengths, how in the world am I to look at my shortcomings?

Take a look at II Corinthians 12. Paul is going through his discourse on his thorn in the flesh. He goes on to say how this is a daily battle for him. How he is struggling with this hardship every single day. How he has pleaded with God to take this burden away from him. And yet what is God’s response?

“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

Again, what would be a hindrance becomes the very thing that spurs Paul on. When I am weak, then I am strong. God uses the things that Satan throws in order to hold back and uses them to display his power. So it doesn’t really matter about how great I am at something or how weak I am as a person; Christ’s power is at work regardless.

What does this say about me? That I am unimportant? That I have nothing to offer? By no means! God takes the talents I have and uses them for his glory, instead of my own. And my weaknesses? God is at work there as well equally if not more so. For the astounding thing about God’s power is that he not only amplifies what is good about me, he also transforms that which would render me incapable and makes me able. Despite my flaws and shortcomings, Christ’s power is still ever present in my life to carry out the ministry of grace that he established on the cross.

-John McCoy

AIM Unplugged

Do any of you know an AIM student who came off the field and experienced some of the worst moments of their lives? How about this: have you ever heard an AIMer tell of their field experience and while they told you it occurred to you that they felt like a failure and had no idea how to get beyond it?

As I have often said before, I love AIM. I and many of my family have been transformed by the power of Christ in the context of the AIM program. I would love for my kids to be AIMers. But when I think of my kids returning from the field and not having adequate support to make that transition, it is heart-breaking and, I believe, avoidable. The question with any problem, though, is who will step up and do something about it?

What if we had a time to draw together an open discussion on how to help AIMers when they return from the field? What if we had a mutually understood plan of action that we could all participate in that would be a significant blessing to any returning AIM student that wanted help? What if you could be a part of it and it didn’t matter if you lived in Oregon or Ohio or Ontario or Oceola (I assume that is a city somewhere – I needed it to complete my O quad-fecta)?

Chris Johnson(AIM 95) and I have been joined by some amazing alumni who are of the same mind. Most obvious to us is that we don’t have all the solutions, but what God has given us we want to offer, and we believe you have something to offer as well.

Following in the footsteps of our other musically-named events, this coming Monday and Tuesday night AIM Alum is launching its first “AIM Unplugged”. AIM Unplugged is not about a bunch of flash or show, but rather an invitation to all alumni in a particular area to sit down and have an open and honest discussion about what we’ve experienced and how we can come together to bring our God-given gifts, passions and abilities to make a difference in the lives of the next generation of AIMers.

This coming Monday and Tuesday we are going to be in Lubbock, Texas . (You might have heard of that place?) ON MONDAY(6PM) WE WANT TO MEET WITH THE PRESENT AIM STAFF AND ASSISTANTS BECAUSE WE WANT TO HEAR FROM THOSE WHO ARE CLOSEST TO THE PRESENT GROUP OF STUDENTS AND LEARN FROM THEIR VANTAGE POINT. THEN ON TUESDAY(6PM) WE WANT TO MEET WITH ALL OTHER AIM ALUMNI TO GAIN FROM THEIR PERSPECTIVE. We are still watching for what God will do with this, but we are seeking His guidance with you because we believe this is an extremely worthy cause. We don’t know where else God will lead us to have similar events, but we are confident that if it is His idea, He will make it happen.

IF YOU ARE AN ALUMNUS IN THE LUBBOCK AREA, please make plans to join us next Tuesday night at the Sunset church building in the Hospitality Room (Blue Room). In AIM tradition bring your brown bag and we will eat together and share what we have been thinking and allow God to join it with what you have been thinking and we will see what God does with it. Cannot wait to see you there!

- Jason Thornton (AIM 92)

Request from Kris Smith

I have a special request for you and need as much help as I can get.

Back in the Fall, Ed Wharton came to talk to Pat and I and let us know that this would be his last AIM class to teach. He said that he is having to wind things down because of just having less energy than when he was younger. For me, this is the end of an era as far as AIM goes. Ed has been one of those teachers for AIM since almost the beginning in the early 70’s (over 35 yrs). Hundreds and hundreds of past AIM students have been blessed by his classes and have probably used what they learned in his class for years afterward.

With that in mind we want to do something special to honor Ed at this upcoming AIM graduation in March (during Camp Adventure). We want to put together a book filled with quotes from previous AIMers with comments about what he and his classes have meant to them.

I would also like to fill it with pictures of Ed through the years with AIMers so if you have ANY pictures of you with Ed or Ed with your class, etc. please send them to the AIM office email at: aim@sibi.cc and try to make them as high resolution as you can.

Because I will have to get this book made and printed, we will need these things as soon as possible, hopefully within the next week so please, please look and see if you have pictures as well as send in a few comments that we can fill this book with for Ed to have in his home and be encouraged by the results of all of those years of teaching AIM students!!

The next challenge is to keep this quiet so Ed doesn’t know and is surprised at Graduation when we present this to him so please don’t put anything on facebook, etc. about it.

So, if your life has been blessed by Ed and his classes, please send us your encouragement for him to include in this book.

-Kris Smith

The Audacity of Hope-lessness

Audacity— n 1. recklessly bold or daring; fearless 2. impudent or presumptuous

I like the word audacity. It’s one of those brutal words. When applied to other people’s behavior, just saying it makes you feel a little outraged. Try it sometime. After you hear something that someone has done that you wouldn’t have done, add “The audacity”. It is linguistic outrage; pure complainers bliss.

Anyway, I have recently encountered a lot of people that will make statements like, “this church will never get it” or “my life is going nowhere”. Maybe you’ve heard yourself say this one: “things will never be as good as they were in Mexico or Ecuador or Scotland or…”. I think we all have had these types of thoughts. It occurred to me recently that when I say this I mean it to be a declaration of my helplessness to do anything about it, but that is really not what I’m saying. What I’m really saying is this, “In my superior wisdom, that comes from all my combined experiences and perceptions, and with my ability to know all things about the future, I declare that ___________________ will never improve. Therefore I am hopeless about it and will stop trying, praying or believing.” When you really think about it, that is truly audacious. It is the audacity of hopelessness.

The thing I believe we often miss when reading the stories of our spiritual ancestors, like Moses or Deborah, is that they were constantly led into situations that seemed hopeless. We, of course, often have God’s bird’s eye view so we don’t perceive it in this way, but from their vantage point it was hopeless. The problem with hopelessness is that once you declare something you stop hoping. I know that is obvious, but hope is the God-given promise that whatever it is that you are focusing on will improve. By declaring hopelessness you dis-invite God from using you to affect that situation. God will still do what He wants, but you cut yourself out of the loop and therefore miss out on the blessing. This is not to say that you have to stay in every bad situation. God sometimes uses bad situations to move us in new directions, but we still need to have hope towards that situation.

Our goal, despite any frustrations we have or circumstances we may find ourselves in, is to anchor ourselves in God’s hope. My prayer for all of us is this: “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” Romans 15:13

- Jason Thornton

By His Wounds We Are Healed

I think that we all carry with us certain wounds that just don't seem to heal. Some wounds are created quickly by people we love, who hurt us in a momentary lapse of judgment. Other wounds are the result of great time and effort, as pain gradually and deeply scars us to our very core. Some wounds we move past and forget. Other wounds we never really get over. However, there is one thing that all wounds have in common. All wounds result in some level of pain.




What if there was someone to heal our wounds? Someone to re-lance them and force them to heal properly. Someone able to remove the infection, restore good feeling, and bring back life again. What would you call such a physician? "Great."

Today we come to him, asking for healing. Today we cast him our burdens and cares. We show him our wounds and we remember. By his wounds, we are healed.

- Chris Johnson