Sam Prellwitz

Seeing Jesus walking on the water, Peter yells out to him, "If it's you Jesus, then tell me to come out to you." Jesus tells him to c0me. Peter gets out of the boat and walk to Jesus, but just before he reaches Him, he sees the waves and the wind and begins to sink. Crying out for help, Jesus reaches out his hand to save him. (Matthew 24) Together in a house, praying by the instruction of Jesus, the disciples waited for the Holy Spirit. In a moment, it was present and divided up tongues of fire that rested over each of them and gave them the ability to speak in tongues that none of them had known. They stepped outside to a crowd that had assembled after hearing the commotion and sound of the Holy Spirit descending. When everyone thought that the disciples were drunk, because the were speaking in different tongues, Peter stepped out to speak to the masses.  About 3000 heard and believed what Peter said that day. (Acts 2) Peter always tried. He always rose up to participate...

There are moments when only a few words are needed. In those moments: Don't over-saturate the needed words with meaningless words.  

The first 'People are People' post lacked something. I wrote, "Despite what I sometimes think, people are people everywhere and always and to believe otherwise robs them of their humanity." and "To portray perfection or believe it’s found in some other man or woman denies the reality that we are broken people in need of more than what we, ourselves possess." The question I've pondered since writing those lines is this: what, exactly, does thinking someone is perfect, rob of their humanity? Why is it not a compliment? Because praising the illusion of perfection gives a person the superficial entitlement to it. And when said person owns your praise, believing themselves to be perfect they establish for themselves the expectation of perfection, which they can never achieve. You've set a trap for them. They are destined to fail the expectation of perfection and their eventual fall will be nasty one because of it. Hollywood stars, business professionals, ...

It's really a terrible thing, this image I conjure up of the lives that people I admire live. I imagine their careers as the perfectly blended concoction of fashionable projects and altruistic goals that I suspect are accompanied by sizable checks in their checking account. . These people I admire, I imagine that their nights are filled with lavishly prepared dinners and expensive wines or choice beers with the perfect bit of witty conversation to compliment the refined flavors of their food. They move effortlessly from dinner parties to nights out on the town to the quintessential evening at home; they're romantic and thoughtful with their spouse in each of these passing moments. Everything they say is intelligent and everything they do is thoughtfully done. They, indeed, live the perfect life in the image my mind creates for them. Surely these people I admire would love to live in my head, but the trouble is they do not. And I've done their humanity a disservice by believ...

Refined by Marriage part 4 You will often hear someone say, "don't take yourself so seriously." It's great advice, but I think it can extend past just ourselves. What's the point of being married to someone if you can't laugh with them? What's the point of living in a house, having a dog, having kids, or filling your life up with a whole lot of stuff, if you're not going to take the time to enjoy the blessing of good company. Never take the dishes, the laundry, or the not-so-clean house so seriously that you can't have some fun. Never take your work so seriously that you can't let it go in exchange for some time to enjoy with your spouse. In the story of Mary and Martha, Mary chose to sit at Jesus' feet and Martha busied herself taking care of the house and the food. (Luke 10) Martha asked Jesus to tell Mary what she should be doing, but He refused saying he wouldn't take what she had found away from her. A good marriage chooses to let ...

Refined by Marriage Part 3 There's feeding and walking the dog, mowing the lawn, washing the dishes, watering the garden, doing the laundry, sweeping, vacuuming, painting, and an incredible number of other projects that fill our married days. None of these things are in themselves difficult, but all of these tasks added together can seem daunting. Each of these tasks can add a level of stress and frustration to marriage, especially if you argue over who does what or what equals 'acceptably clean'. There's a certain amount of honest communication that needs to take place to ensure these things get done. Unless those discussions are had and responsibilities are assigned in the appropriate way things will get messy and quickly. And nobody wants messy in their marriage - whether it's an emotional mess or an actual mess. These always seem like such small, insignificant things, but here's the reality: If you can't take care of the small stuff, then the big stuff g...

Refined by Marriage Part 2 In Luke, chapter 10 Jesus tells the story of the Good Samaritan. He tells the story in response to a lawyer who asked Jesus, 'Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" Jesus, in his typical fashion responds to the lawyer's question with an additional question. Jesus asks the lawyer, "What is written in the Law? How do you read it?" The lawyer responds to the question, saying that you should love God with everything you have and love your neighbor as yourself. The Lawyer then asks who his neighbor is, which is the question that evokes the good Samaritan story. If you haven't read it, I recommend you do. It's a great and challenging story, especially when you consider how much the Jewish people of the time despised Samaritans. What does this have to do with Marriage? The simple answer is everything. It is easy for a young, love-struck couple to look past the faults of their spouse in the early days of marriage, which seem...

Refined by Marriage - Part 1 It holds a shallow meaning today, mostly as a result of the way hollywood movies portray it. We typically find husbands or husbands-to-be tempted by beautiful women. When the man resists, staying true to his wife of fiance, a warm feeling seeps into our brains and we smile. We're led to believe that this man is committed to his wife. The trouble is that, that's a poor and unrealistic view of commitment and it has little to do with what being married or committed to someone actually means. A man can never cheat on his wife and at the same time hardly be committed to her. A marriage purifies and refines a man or a woman when their commitment to their spouse results in empathy and selflessness. It's in the reality that we all carry a significant degree of this ugly selfishness with us most of our single lives. When we get married we find the need to refine that ugliness into something good and better. When each decision and each action directly aff...

The next four days will feature a short series discussing the refining qualities of marriage. There are likely few things that refine a person more. In fact, the union between the church and Jesus is symbolically labeled a marriage. The love and joy found in that marriage should give us an indication of the deeply rooted sense in which marriage can form us as men and women. Personally, I have become well aware, even in this first year of the refining qualities of this commitment I've made to my wife. And not in the typical sense of bickering, etc. It has been in the challenges of life that marriage has forced us to rely heavily on each other, deepening our love and at the same time refining our own selves. More to come.

There's a guy in the bible who can't walk. We get the idea that he's been sitting on a mat for quite some time. On a day when Jesus is in town, teaching inside a packed house, some of this man's friends attempt to bring him before Jesus. They anticipate that Jesus will make the man capable of walking again. When they get to the house they find it too full to enter, so they cut a hole in the roof of the building and lower their friend down on his mat. Inside the house, he finds himself right in front of Jesus. Impressed, Jesus did something out of the ordinary. Jesus told this man his sins were forgiven. The religious guys in the crowd found this offensive. They didn't think Jesus had the right to do something like this. Knowing this, Jesus said, " 4 ...Why do you have such evil thoughts in your hearts?  5  Is it easier to say ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up and walk’?  6  So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive si...

I often have the best of intentions. I crawl into bed in the evening with mountains of good intentions for the coming day. The problem is, when I wake up, they hardly seem to matter. Because good intentions are easy, but making them actions is not. Personally, I'm great at lying to myself. I drape a curtain over my own eyes made of the plans of good that I make. Then, in the comfort of feeling altogether good about myself, I forget the intention that gave me the feeling in the first place. Good intentions are indeed good, but they are much better when paired with the appropriate action.

2 Corinthians 5

Is rarely what I need. But sometimes my soul, small as it is, sees itself for what it is: a creation of an unfathomably tremendous God. It's in those rare moments that what I want is the only thing that I need: to be a follower of something bigger and more beautiful than any of us - to be a follower of Jesus. Part of getting dirty and living gritty is knowing who we are. It's knowing how small we are in relation to the God we follow.

They talk about it all the time in Cross-Country, you run better when you run in a pack. I'm not sure what it is about running in a pack that makes a difference precisely, but I know it works. Recently, I got the chance to run with a bunch of guys who now run for the collegiate cross-country team that I ran for - Wabash College. The team now consists of 29 guys and man are they ever good (much better than when I ran for the team). This morning I got to run, even if it was only for a few minutes, in that pack of almost 30 guys. It was awesome. There was a tremendous force about it. Even though we weren't at top speed, I felt how intimidating we must have been. Picture a group of 30 men, running in a close formation down the trail. Intimidating for sure. I've alway heard that Christian men should have other men in their lives who they meet with regularly to talk about life together. I think that's great. Keeping each other accountable to the hard work of living out your f...

Muddy, grass stained, and sweaty; it feels good to get dirty. There's something raw and real about it that makes you feel careless and free, which is why I prefer taking trails to roads any day. It's more of an adventure this way. The Christian life isn't much different. It craves adventure the same way. The scars and the bruises are battle wounds we're proud of - proud to have overcome. The other good part about getting dirty - getting clean. Few things are more glorious than a steamy shower after a cold and muddy adventure. Here's the day's thought - don't sit in your dirt. Love the adventure, show off the scars and battle wounds you get from living life, but make sure you remember how good it is to be clean and new.

I would put it to words if I could; a statement of beliefs for every 20 something everywhere. We're a diverse breed though, so I really can't do so as well as maybe I should. I imagine that this has always been the case. I imagine that any attempt to characterize a generation has always and will always fail to fully measure up to reality. And yet there are so many books written for this very purpose - to understand the next generation, to get a good look inside their congested heads. The reality is this: There shouldn't be a new manifesto for each and every generation because we're all very  much the same. The sooner we get over our need to be individuals separate from anything else and realize our need to be individuals that are part of something bigger than ourselves, the sooner we'll understand that the message of Jesus is the manifesto for us all. The 20 something doesn't need a new version.  

You can't compete every day. Not every day will be your best. Sometimes you're in a state that requires rest and recuperation. There was 5k in town that I would have loved to run, but I couldn't. My foot's been bothering me lately and even though it's better than it was, it's still not healed. So instead of risking a worse injury and running the race, I watched from the sidelines. Knowing when to 'sit this one out' is a tremendous sign of wisdom. FYI: I wanted to run. My wife was the wise one... sometimes seeking wise counsel is a first step toward wisdom...

I attempted to take a Sabbath today. I did a little work in the morning, but once that was accomplished I sat down to relax. Funny how quickly an unsettled feeling can creep into a day of rest. Like sprinkles changing the color of concrete, it happens before you know it. There are certain things that I can do to numb those unsettled feelings. Most of those things are quick and superficial fixes. I think I tried most of them today. Most of the fixes have more to do with myself than anything else. I wonder what will make me feel more relaxed. Then I realize - a Sabbath has very little to do with me and very much to do with God. How you spend the day isn't important, who you worship is.  

It's 5 till 6PM and I still haven't written anything today. I promised myself only a few days ago that I would blog every day for thirty days - something I picked up from the blog 'new ways forward'. It sounded like a great idea till today when I have only 20 minutes till I head out on a date with my wife - something far more important than blogging. So as I thought and fretted about whether or not I would get anything written I realized that it's days like today that it's ok to cheat a little. What do I mean by cheating a little? I mean taking just a few minutes to type out what it is you're doing  - simple observations of why I've chosen to write and why I should or shouldn't continue to do so. Basically I'm allowing today to be a day for gaining perspective. Which is exactly why I'm enjoying writing every day. Something about writing allows you to look at what you're doing slowly enough to see the flaws and the opportunities you would ...

I ran a half marathon a few months ago. It was my second time running this particular race. The year before I won the race with a time of 1 hour and 25 minutes. It's not a very big half marathon, but it's local, inexpensive, and fun. When I ran the race a few months ago I got into a rhythm with another runner whom I had never run with before. We were moving along at a pretty good clip, running some six-minute miles and feeling smooth and good. This was while the wind was at our backs. At the half-way point of the race you do a 180 degree turn-around. It was at this point in the race that we understood better why we were running so well. As we turned around we collided with a wall of wind, stripping us of our speed and making it much more difficult to run. My running mate for the previous seven miles hit the wall of wind harder than I did; he was moving slower as a result. This presented me with a choice: Do I continue to run hard, dropping my competitor, or do I wait for him? W...

Philippians 3:12 "I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection. But I press on to possess that perfection for which Christ Jesus first possessed me." I believe it was a guy by the name of Abelard who wrote a book on the ethics of Christianity. In it, he states that intention matters more than action, which sounds like a nice idea. Intend to do what is right and it's all good. Doesn't it give you a nice sense of security? Unfortunately it isn't quite as quaint or nice as it sounds. It can get much more thick and ugly than that. Paul suffered terrible amounts for the good news of Jesus. He again and again states that suffering is what refines us into more devoted servants to Jesus. I think we can safely say that if Paul had not reached perfection after suffering as much as he did, even if that perfection is confined only to his intention to do what is right, then we are likely even further from that perf...

It drives everything these days. For better or for worse. It's the ego of those who lead us. We rally around individuals with dynamic and exciting personalities.  We pin our hope on large egos. And in doing so we pin ourselves into a corner. Jesus once took a coin and asked whose picture was on it. Caesar was the response. He then told those listening to give to Caesar what belongs to him and to give to God what belongs to God. Our pride. Our ego. It can either free people to follow God or confine people to following ourselves. We know what the right decision is, but it's easy to say and hard to do. It's what's wrong with politics and many Churches. It's the question: Who am I pointing to? Who is (s)he pointing to? Are we following a man or following God? Are we leading people to ourselves or to Jesus?  

There are days when speed bumps seem a lot more like road blocks. Typically this is the case when we're carrying a heavy and fragile load. We find ourselves afraid that even the smallest bump could send everything crashing. And that is when we have to ask the question. Why is our load so heavy? Why are we carrying so many fragile things? Why are we concerned about so many petty things? Jesus did not free us from the weight of making it on our own so that we could continue to worry about all those petty things. Let those petty things crash. Take stock of what you carry and let go of what you don't need to. Turn the road blocks back into speed bumps. It's easier to rise to the challenge when you have a lighter load.      

Days turn into weeks and weeks into months and in the grind of enduring each allotment of time is found a feeling of despair. Despair over lost time and lost words. Words are the guts of ideas, they're the things that, when we're honest, force us to wrestle with needed change. It's been months since I've written anything for the sheer joy and challenge of doing so. And I'm afraid that the lack of writing has been for all the wrong reasons - the selfish and proud ones - I worry that what I write isn't any good. But in that process of worrying... Ideas have wasted away for the lack of well crafted sentences. Like not sharing a photo with a friend because it wasn't taken from the best vantage point or with the best camera, I've been embarrassed to share my work. Which is dumb. So... As we move forward: Please pardon my poor word choice, improper grammar, or inadequately expressed idea. I'll simply write and share it with you here. Why? Because I enjoy t...