It’s funny sometimes how when we feel like God is going to do something huge in our life, we want it to happen right then. We get all worked up and start playing out different scenarios in our minds as if it were happening tomorrow. I am not sure about the we part, but I do that. I’ve always done it. When the possibility of something comes up, I jump on it without much thought. The purchase of a car, house, marriage (just kidding honey!), jobs, church stuff…anything. I was on my way into the office this morning and I was reminded of how we need to be patient sometimes. Let God finish his work right where I’m at and THEN take that next step. Psalm 46:10 says we need to be still and know that he is God…i don’t believe that means i stop dead in my tracks forever, but I do stop to remind myself that he is the one in control, not me…I take a moment to recognize his will for my life and the vision he has provided me…..by having that vision, I’m able to “get back on track” when i step off the path of God controlling me to “me controlling me”….so this morning was good for me, I was able to stop and recognize that God is continuing to work through me right where I’m at, although I think big changes are on the horizon!
Archive for October, 2007
Investments
we often think about that word and relate it money stuff……i was driving home this afternoon from taking my kids to get a pumpkin (yes, i know we are late getting one this year….we kinda forgot about it i guess) and I realized two of the most important investments that I am ever going to make….first is my family….God has called me to be husband and a dad…I have a responsibility to invest in my family and be the spiritual leader that God wants me to be for them…..this afternoon was awesome hanging out with my wife and kids….seems silly to think you can have so much fun just picking out a pumpkin but lunch and the pumpkin patch with my family is something i would choose to do over anything…..i love my kids and wife and i’m glad God chose me to be the one who is in their lives……the second investment that i can make is in the lives of other people….God has called me into ministry and to be a servant…..I have the awesome privilege of serving people and teaching them about our Lord…i love looking to other pastors who are doing well and are in thriving churches and i try and learn from them…i try to soak up what they do so that i can pick up some things…..i don’t try and be someone i’m not, but God gave me brains so i figure i’ll use them and try to learn from other peoples mistakes…i admire pastors to exemplify leadership (1 corinthians 11:1) and aren’t afraid to make a few ripples in the water…i admire pastors who “get it” and lead their people into understanding the importance of investing into other people….in the church world, one way we do that is by getting involved in the community….if we never get involved with anyone outside the four walls of our buildings, we aren’t going to grow…..I love how people sit sometimes and wonder why we aren’t growing when the answer is right in front of them…..we can’t sit on our butts and expect the people to come to us…..we have to go into the community and build relationships, show people we are genuine, show people that we live out what we believe….Acts 1:8 says that we would be the Lord’s witnesses both in our surrounding area and eventually to the uttermost parts of the earth….that requires movement, not sitting on our tails……
that’s just a couple of investments that i can make and those are extremely important to me…..what investments can you make
A cool song
so there is this band, Pocket Full of Rocks and they have a song called “Let The Worshipers Arise.”—just the name is awesome, what a command, what an encouragement, what a great thing we need to be doing…….i love the first line of this song where it talks about God drawing a line in the sand and us saying we want to be on his side, holding his hand…..the song goes on to talk about surrendering our all to him, King Jesus…Let the worshipers arise…this is why we were created, to worship our maker…sometimes we get busy and don’t make time for God….at the drop of a hat we will make time for anything else, except for the one who allows us to do the other stuff in the first place….no i’m not talking about how you should be attending church, that’s between you and the Lord…..we just need to arise…..we need to let his kingdom live in us and change lives, starting with ours from the inside out…..i don’t know where you are today, but i hope you arise, and worship the living GOD! check this song out at www.myspace.com/pocketfullofrocks
What to Say?
hey, i have no idea what to tell you about the past couple of days…..first—let’s just get it out of the way, yes I know that UGA beat Florida…..every DAWG has it’s day….saturday was yours…leave me alone about it….go bother a UF fan, and leave us Tech people alone…..anyway, i just wanted to encourage you guys with a piece of scripture…Exodus 14:14—this has been a staple for me recently in a few things i have been dealing with…can’t go into great detail but hopefully God will speak to you through that scripture as well….I was reading a consultant’s blog today about a church plant that he had visited and one comment that he made kinda struck me…..he said “you can tell they expect guests.” It seems strange to say that struck me because at church we always say we want to reach new people but this caught my attention because i want to know, are we prepared for them? do we really expect them? or do we just say we hope they come but deep down, we are satisfied with who already attends? i think our actions speak volumes when it comes to this and how we conduct a “service” answers this question….so, whatever church you are a part of, I hope you are expecting guests—-people that need to move from ordinary to extraordinary through the power of Jesus Christ!
Friday Unload
I know we all say that when Friday comes we are tired because we have had a busy week but man, this week for some reason has seemed especially busy….I was in an elementary school all day tuesday, our churches golf tournament wednesday, lunch seminar in buckhead thursday, lock in at mountasia friday, wedding saturday…..it just continues….and on top of all that, work has to go on…..we all find ourselves busy and we have to find a balance of rest in that…Jesus said he would provide rest to the weary….I don’t know about you, but I’m totally going to take him up on that promise……Alright, so i was reading another pastors blog again today and i found myself saying, “Snap-that’s awesome!” They are dropping 10,000 easter eggs onto a football field this upcoming easter….they are making it a major carnival type thing for the community—TOTALLY FREE—and are having a helicopter drop the eggs….that is awesome..not only a fun way to do it, but the fact that the church has a heart for the community….I’m personally convinced that to move forward as a church and dominate your community, we have to reach out……our heart has to be for those outside our church (not saying we neglect those inside because the bible also talks about taking care of our own but we have to do something outside the four walls of our church—balance)….we must have a desire for the lost and actually show it, not just say it on sunday’s…..i admire churches that have great community involvement and are the first call when people need help solving issues…….we have many examples of churches like this….i once was at a church where a scholarship was created for graduating seniors in honor of the community pastor…..that right there speaks volumes!!! its tough to get to this point, i hope one day we do!
Something Crazy
Something Crazy
I was reading today on another pastor’s blog that they were looking for a church planter…..they are still a new church, about 15 months since their official launch, and are already seeing about 900 ppl in worship each week. They are also baptizing a number of ppl who have discovered that Jesus is real and can even love them, at this church. At any rate, they launched off of Westridge Church in Dallas last year and are looking to Pay It Forward! They want to teach people want they have been taught and what they learned through their mistakes. I totally admire a church who represents what they do….They understand the model that Jesus provided and are seeking to reach out and serve the people…They are focused outwardly, not inwardly all the time. They know it isn’t all about them….they get the big picture! Again, I’m amazed at how they have moved forward over the last 15 months but I know that God had to be in it! No I’m not saying they are the authority or the greatest church ever, but I do say thank you to Oak Leaf Church in Cartersville for doing what you do and allowing God to do it through you! Thanks also for not letting it stop with you, and paying it forward~
also read about a church in NC…they launched 20 months ago and have experienced amazing growth in both new believers and attendance…they are running about 2400 ppl a week right now….they did something amazing this past week…..instead of taking up an offering, they gave one out…..that’s right, take a second to re-read that..you saw it correctly….they passed the plates and asked their members to take out envelopes that contain a range of money from $5-$1000 per envelope…they wanted them to take that money and go do something for other people this week..they gave out approx $40,000 to meet the needs of random people in their area…..something so amazing the newspaper even wrote about it….finally, front page headlines where the church does something good…no scandals or anything negative…..they called it their Bless Back project…..i am glad some churches out there are dreaming bigger….another cool thing, they are starting a capital campaign….and one thing they are doing is tithing on the money that is collected…thats right giving back 10% of all money collected to the community…..one word, WOW!
Picture of Surrender
Picture of Surrender
Psalm 134:2 says, “Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the Lord.” We often see people raise their hands when they are singing songs. Have you ever wondered why people do that? Why causes someone to lift their hands in the sky and sing a song to the Lord? Well Psalm 134 says we should. For me, it’s a picture of surrender. It’s something that someone does to say I’m not asahamed of God, I don’t care how foolish someone might think I look because it’s not about anyone else, except God! My point of view, if you want to raise your hands, then do it. If you want to bounce around and dance, then do it. What’s most important is that you have that encounter, that face to face meeting with the Living God. That you are able to engage with him in worship and that you are allowing him to change you, from the inside out! So maybe next time to gather for corporate worship, or are having a private worship time with God while driving down the road…try raising your hands to the sanctuary…in my opinion, a picture of surrender!
Risk
alright, we have all heard this word….Risk…some of us think about the board game, others think about doing something that makes us a “dare devil”, and others think about all the past hospital visits related to this word….We never often think about the risk that God sometimes ask us to take…..There are many examples in the bible of risk takers and their story of how God uses them but the one I’m focusing on right now is Peter….we all probably know the story about Peter stepping out of the boat and walking on water to Jesus and we all know that he sinks once he takes his eyes off of the Lord….but have we ever thought about how he stepped out of the boat in the first place???the last time i checked, only two people to walk on water…Jesus and Peter…..one interesting thing about this is how Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, if it is you command me to come out there” and Jesus responds, “Come”…and peter doesn’t wait until it’s day, doesn’t wait until he decides he’s ready, doesn’t ask, “Well wait Lord, Are you sure?”….he steps out of the boat…have you ever asked God to do something and he says ok….have you ever asked him to do something in your life and he says ok, come on…..does it ever require you to take a risk….have you asked God to challenge you in your walk with him and he says ok, let’s go…..we can all take the example peter sets and step out of the boat…..we are afraid of the unknown but i can picture God saying, “you can’t see whats right in front of you. you can’t see what I have in store for you but i need you to take that step anyways”..scary isn’t it? i can understand that, but we must take the risk because if God calls you to take it, it will always be worth it! I’ll leave you with some lyrics of a song, “Till I see you face to face and grace amazing takes me home, I’LL TRUST IN YOU! Do you mean that, or are you just giving God your lip service….Take the risk, and Trust in HIM who called you to do it in the first place!
