Last night I had the chance to see Hillsong London lead worship at Celebration Church here in Jacksonville. It was an awesome experience. At one point one of the guys in the band played a simple version of the chorus to "Look to the Cross". Sometimes the most powerful moments of praise are the simplest. Here's the lyrics...
"I look to the cross
Lord let me see Your love anew
'cause there I find peace
there I find peace again."
Have a peace-full day!
Monday, March 29, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Leadership Lesson of the week
Check out these thoughts from former NFL quarterback Steve Young on accountability. It does make you think.
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Art of Imagination
Last week I had the opportunity to participate in a National Church Leaders conference in Dowling Park, FL. It was a great conference full of challenges that I took a lot from.
Throughout the conference we enjoyed an artist that came in and painted beautiful pictures during the general sessions and main seminars. The subject of these paintings were the topics the speakers were addressing.
During our breaks I had several conversations with other pastors and leaders about the paintings. Here are some of the statements I heard.
"What does that painting mean?"
"Just tell me what it means."
"What does he think it means?"
I found myself becoming somewhat irritated by some of these statements and questions. At first I couldn't explain why but then it hit me. Everyone seemed to what to be given the meaning that one person had rather than stretching their imaginations to interpret each painting.
I find myself in the same predicament sometimes as a pastor. At times people are merely satisfied with whatever the pastor thinks about God rather than seeking, searching, and experiencing God for themselves.
This is not a statement to lessen the role of pastor in the local church. However, if the pastor is always spoon feeding who HE knows God to be and people are not searching the scriptures for themselves then they are missing out on a lot of the adventure and experience of God in their own walk with Him.
So here is a simple exercise to try and get your imagination jump started this morning.
I John 4:8 tells us that "God is Love."
How many ways can you describe God's love?
Take a moment and write down as many things as you can.
Then take a break. Come back to it later and see if you can add anything.
Then ask a friend to do the same thing and compare notes.
I'd be very curious to see if God doesn't spark your imagination some.
Throughout the conference we enjoyed an artist that came in and painted beautiful pictures during the general sessions and main seminars. The subject of these paintings were the topics the speakers were addressing.
During our breaks I had several conversations with other pastors and leaders about the paintings. Here are some of the statements I heard.
"What does that painting mean?"
"Just tell me what it means."
"What does he think it means?"
I found myself becoming somewhat irritated by some of these statements and questions. At first I couldn't explain why but then it hit me. Everyone seemed to what to be given the meaning that one person had rather than stretching their imaginations to interpret each painting.
I find myself in the same predicament sometimes as a pastor. At times people are merely satisfied with whatever the pastor thinks about God rather than seeking, searching, and experiencing God for themselves.
This is not a statement to lessen the role of pastor in the local church. However, if the pastor is always spoon feeding who HE knows God to be and people are not searching the scriptures for themselves then they are missing out on a lot of the adventure and experience of God in their own walk with Him.
So here is a simple exercise to try and get your imagination jump started this morning.
I John 4:8 tells us that "God is Love."
How many ways can you describe God's love?
Take a moment and write down as many things as you can.
Then take a break. Come back to it later and see if you can add anything.
Then ask a friend to do the same thing and compare notes.
I'd be very curious to see if God doesn't spark your imagination some.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Psalm 33:11
Just a glimpse into one of my devotional times recently.
"The counsel of the Lord stands forever.
The plans of His heart from generation to generation."
What God accomplishes lasts for an eternity. If God does it then it will last. His plans pass through generations of lives.
One of the greatest things I can do is remind the next generation of God's plans. Remind them that if they want to see something last forever then learn to rely on and trust God's plans, not our own.
Lord,
Please help me be a part of passing the news of Your greatness on to the next generation.
Amen.
"The counsel of the Lord stands forever.
The plans of His heart from generation to generation."
What God accomplishes lasts for an eternity. If God does it then it will last. His plans pass through generations of lives.
One of the greatest things I can do is remind the next generation of God's plans. Remind them that if they want to see something last forever then learn to rely on and trust God's plans, not our own.
Lord,
Please help me be a part of passing the news of Your greatness on to the next generation.
Amen.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Spring and 300
2 Things for today:
#1-Remember, we spring forward this weekend so don't forget to reset your clocks!
#2-The last entry I posted was #300 for this blog. Wow! That's somewhat of a milestone for me. Thanks to everyone who takes a moment to read my blog from time to time. You are appreciated.
#1-Remember, we spring forward this weekend so don't forget to reset your clocks!
#2-The last entry I posted was #300 for this blog. Wow! That's somewhat of a milestone for me. Thanks to everyone who takes a moment to read my blog from time to time. You are appreciated.
Tuesday, March 09, 2010
New Blood/Fresh Ideas
We had our monthly Daycare Board and Church Board meetings. We welcomed 4 new people onto the Daycare Board this year and last night was their first meeting. It was, by far, the best one we've had since I've been a part of the ministry here. With new people came new ideas for how to improve the function of the already great daycare. People shared new marketing strategies, helpful personnel approaches, and even some financial aspects that we had not seen or taken before.
As much as I pride myself on trying to look at things in several different ways last night reminded of a very important lessen. Team effort, rightly directed, is a much stronger and more productive force than individual elbow grease.
Some times you have to shake things up a little to get different results. I can not wait to see what God does with the rest of this year.
As much as I pride myself on trying to look at things in several different ways last night reminded of a very important lessen. Team effort, rightly directed, is a much stronger and more productive force than individual elbow grease.
Some times you have to shake things up a little to get different results. I can not wait to see what God does with the rest of this year.
Friday, March 05, 2010
Friday random blog
Here are my two main guitars. Someone once said, "the electric guitar is of the devil." I used to follow that line of reasoning. Now I am more open to the possibilities an electric may bring and am having fun with it. Don't get me wrong I love my acoustic but it's fun to broaden your horizons sometimes.
I've also added a new link over on the right to guitar praise. If you are a musician you may find this site helpful. Enjoy!
PS...yes I do like blue!
Wednesday, March 03, 2010
Elderly woman fights back against attacker
Elderly woman fights back against attacker
Posted using ShareThis
Check out this news story. You might ask why I'm sharing this and that's a fair question. There are two reasons.
#1-Flo is a member of WJACC and we are very thankful that she survived this ordeal.
#2-In a moment when she could justify taking all of the credit and the spotlight she was very diligent about giving God the glory and the praise for protecting her. Wow...what a witness!
Posted using ShareThis
Check out this news story. You might ask why I'm sharing this and that's a fair question. There are two reasons.
#1-Flo is a member of WJACC and we are very thankful that she survived this ordeal.
#2-In a moment when she could justify taking all of the credit and the spotlight she was very diligent about giving God the glory and the praise for protecting her. Wow...what a witness!
Tuesday, March 02, 2010
Proud to be a Pastor
This past Sunday was one of those moments that make you proud to be called "pastor". There is a family here in Jacksonville that is facing several health issues. The daughter has a host of heart issues that she is battling at just 2 or 3 years of age. The mother has recently been diagnosed with MS. They have not been out of the house much because of the daughter's delicate condition. As you can imagine this has kept them from really being an active part in any church. The whole family has a strong faith in Jesus but has not had much of a chance to enjoy the fellowship of the body of Christ on a Sunday morning.
That's where we came in.
Through the connection with one of our church families we had the chance to do something a little outside of the norm. We took our normal Sunday worship service time and relocated to this family's front yard. We had enough people out there to not only praise Jesus together but also to wrap around their house and pray for and with the family.
It was an exciting moment as a pastor to see the "church" be the "church" and have "church" for and with a family who has not been able to fellowship in a long time. Not one person expressed a hesitation in moving the service. Not one person suggested that we do it at another time. At least not that I have heard.
We had the opportunity to worship God in a very practical and encouraging way and we saw God move.
God is the God of all Grace and all Comfort and He gets all the credit for a Sunday morning that we will not soon forget.
That's where we came in.
Through the connection with one of our church families we had the chance to do something a little outside of the norm. We took our normal Sunday worship service time and relocated to this family's front yard. We had enough people out there to not only praise Jesus together but also to wrap around their house and pray for and with the family.
It was an exciting moment as a pastor to see the "church" be the "church" and have "church" for and with a family who has not been able to fellowship in a long time. Not one person expressed a hesitation in moving the service. Not one person suggested that we do it at another time. At least not that I have heard.
We had the opportunity to worship God in a very practical and encouraging way and we saw God move.
God is the God of all Grace and all Comfort and He gets all the credit for a Sunday morning that we will not soon forget.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)