from the pastors at nvcf

i never wanted to be an actor.

most people, at some point in their life, want to be a fireman, and astronaut, a policeman, a doctor, or an actor. when i began to play the drums in the 7th grade, i had imagined myself, while practicing in our garage, on stage in front of screaming fans rocking out with my band. i wanted to be in a rock band, in fact i still do, from time to time.

today, obviously, the name “albert alcorn” is not lit in bright lights anywhere, but in the back of my mind, i still wonder what life would be like on the road, hauling instruments to cites nationwide, playing music, and basically “living the life.” but i find that life had giving me all kinds of curve balls. if you know anything about me, you know that i have tried to move out of the bay area three times since i have graduated high school and have, both attempted and successfully, changed jobs a few times*.

now when i say “curve balls,” i am simply proposing that God is in control of my life, and there have been times i have listened and times i haven’t. and when i haven’t listened, the curve balls seem to come faster, harder and more unexpectedly, and most times ending up not quite how i would i have liked. but when i listen, something very different happens, things work out.

when your and God’s desire align, we can live out our live with purpose, not simply warming an animal carcass.

i have been hanging with some high schoolers from milpitas high for the last couple of weeks. to clarify, these, to the best of my knowledge, are “unchurched” students. this is assumption is based solely on their outward actions. anywho… i say this to imply there might not be a difference between those of us who have decided to model our life after this Jesus and those who have not.

i am not saying we should all carry around labels with our beliefs, ideas and background on them, and saying “God bless you!” to everybody you meet, but what i am trying to get at is: God gives us dreams (rock star), we can choose to follow those dream with him guiding or not (the severity at which a curve ball hits you in the face), and we are faced with a choice (as steven curtis chapman*** would rock out to: what about the change, what about the difference?).

some of us who call ourselves “Christ-followers” have never had any kind of “life-changing” encounter with Jesus. i am in no way judging your spiritual journey, but i would like to ask the question: “if we call ourselves “Christians,” or those who follow Christ, this implies a change from our old ways. Jesus, over and over, speaks of leaving the old things behind to follow him. now most of us don’t want to give away our comfortable lifestyles, myself included, but, how can we call ourselves “Christ-followers” if we are not really following Christ? if we cannot obey one of the the first things he asks of us, we are off to a pretty rough start.

i am the first to admit that my Jesus journey has been a pretty wild ride, to say the least. but i have experienced the power of Jesus’ healing love, and even though i mess up, pretty much all the time, i find, in the hard times, i can grab onto that love that saved me in the first place.

if we have not let Jesus change us, what do we have to grab onto in the hard times? TV, bad relationships, drugs, sex, alcohol, boyfriends, girlfriends, books, pornography, gossiping, depression, seclusion, music? all of the aforemetioned things are purely temporary “solutions.” say what you will about that position, but i have not spoken with one person who has fallen victim to one of life’s many vices, that has not regretted it to some degree and has realized that what they were seeking could not be filled by hours in front of a computer screen, the 8000 text messages you send to your friends, the “mistakes” you’ve made in the “going to far” arena, or the feeling you feel for a very short time while subjecting your body to natural and unnatural “situation enhancers” (drugs).

i never wanted to be an actor.

i do not like to be in front of people “acting,” and for some odd reason, God has placed me on a position in which i am front of large groups on a weekly basis and he has given me the incredible joy of being able to rock out on the drums and various other instruments, and help others learn along the way, and i yearn to be in front of people sharing that gift and giving credit to God for it, but there is a difference.

i never wanted to be an actor.

i love movies. i would consider myself a “movie buff” second only to deb timberlake**. and one of the things that separates a good movie and bad movie is how one can identify with one of the main characters, and this is usually portrayed through this character being authentic. one of the things i strive for in my speaking, in my playing, and in my life is authenticity. i have realized i do not like to “act” is because i am immediately faced with feelings of conviction about not being true to myself. i am not saying all actors are defying God’s will for his/her lives, some people have incredible gifts, say dustin hoffman in “i heart hukabees”. but i can’t act. i can’t do it. i feel odd, awkward, and out of place, as if i need more reasons to be that way. but God has been teaching me this concept of “genuine living”, and because i love being in front of large group, being a terrible actor is a reminder, from God to me, to not let myself be fooled into thinking i should be doing anything differently than what God has in store for me. i should be pursuing the dreams God has put in my heart. you should pursuing the dreams God has put on your heart, not the ones your parents expect you to have, not the ones you think you “should” have, not the ones installed in your brain by today’s media-heavy world, and not the false expectations you build up in yourself. God has given you and i all the gifts and talents we need to accomplish the things he has for us right now, and the more we obey, the more he begins to really lead our life.

like my friend doug fields says: “you can ACT at worship once a week, or you can ACTUALLY worship 24/7.” the choice us ours.

so yes, since i have been off the speaking rotation for a while do to my recent jet-setting, i do have some thoughts for you, the reader…

what dreams has God given you? what have you done to pursue them, and what have you done to pursue them with God? does your life really reflect your letting God take over? will you let God take over?

-A

*my first job was a “cart attendant” at spring valley golf course in the foothills behind milpitas, ca and today i am the youth pastor for theHOUSE student ministries at north valley christian fellowship.

**the answer to your questions: yes this is keith’s mom from a previous post. yes she is related to justin. and yes she is awesome and has an dog.

***i have a knack for picking up tunes from 80s and 90s christian rock stars/bands: petra, amy grant, michael w. smith, stevin curtis chapman, dc talk just to name a few, when christian music was at it’s “best” and most awesome, but more awesome now as they fall into the “retro” category.