Hi...my name is...

Hi...my name is Chris and it's been almost two weeks since my last blog. I just thought I would introduce myself again. This past week was slammed! We had two VBS's going all week. One in the morning and one in the evening. This was slightly complicated by some type of bug that was going around wiping out several of us at different points throughout the week. Yesterday was Father's Day and our VBS closing program during the morning service. This is all taking into account the usual...every week stuff that we come across. Wednesday we leave for IL and the triennial General Conference meetings. With just today and tomorrow to finish getting ready we are ON THE MOVE. I will be trying to keep the blog updated while we're gone with tidbits from the conference. Keep checking back for updates.

tired and still

If you are interested in what our day looked like yesterday you can read about it on Allison's blog. She did an awesome post about our day. http://www.sidestreet-allison.blogspot.com/ Title "Yesterday".

Today I'm a little tired. I didn't sleep all that great last night. Now it's the middle of the afternoon and there is so much more to be done. However, today I've come across two things that have forced me to slow down a little. One was a blog by a pastor here in Florida who shared how he and his wife experienced pregnancy for 14 days before losing the baby. He talked about how for 14 days he was a dad and how that has spurred him on to a deeper love for God and for others. 14 days changed the way he viewed everything.

The second thing was my preparation for Wed. night Bible study. We're going to look at Psalm 46. In that chapter is a verse that God plants in front of my face from time to time. "Be still, and know that I am God..." (vs.10). Wow! So I'm going to sit here for a little bit and be still. Then I'm going to go pick up my daughter and spend some time with her.

First video blog

Communion

This Sunday we are celebrating communion in our morning service. It always blows my mind to think of all that Christ did for us on the cross. To think He willing died so that I might have life. I don't deserve it but He did it anyway. My prayer is that anytime you celebrate communion you will have a fresh AWE concerning God's grace and forgiveness. Wow!!!! What a savior!

New Music

Today I came across some new music and thought I would share some of what I found. So far I've only listened to 2 or 3 songs from each CD but here it goes.

POD-(When Angels and Serpents Dance)- For those who like to rock this is definitely worth checking out.

tenth avenue north-(Over and Underneath)-These guys were a pleasant surprise. After their hit "Love is Here" they have a few others that are ipod worthy.

Hawk Nelson-(...is my friend)-I can see why our middle school girls liked these guys at the Revolve tour...but don't get me wrong...their good.

Toby Mac-(Alive and Transported)-The first song just wore me out. I don't see how one person can have enough energy for a show with this much power and intensity. Toby Mac does it again.

Delirious-(Kingdom of Comfort)-The inside cover reads..."Save me from the Kingdom of Comfort where I am king from my unhealthy lust of material things". Wow!

There you go...I know these are not in depth reviews but oh well. Thanks for checking out the blog. I appreciate each and every one of you.

Mommy's home!!!

Allison made it back from Iowa last night. Her plane landed @ 10pm so I wasn't sure what type of greeting Natalie was going to give. However, as soon as I said we are going to pick up mommy Natalie woke up, her eyes lit up and she was the happiest child in the world. She gave Allison a huge hug and kiss when she came down the concourse. Thank you to everyone in Iowa and Missouri for sending mommy home to us. Yeahhhhh!!!!

Pic of the week

How much fun can you have at a birthday party?...LOTS!

Milestones

Today marks two milestones for me. It was one year ago on this date that I participated in my first official Sunday as the co-pastor at WJACC. This year has flown by. Natalie has grown by leaps and bounds. We have been home owners for over a year now. It doesn't seem possible that we have been in Florida for that long. We have had some new challenges this year and have grown a lot through them all. I learn more about my wife all the time and constantly impressed by her. I can't wait to see what God has ahead for us as a family and the ministry at WJACC.

The second milestone is the fact that my counter on this blog has hit 1000. I haven't had the counter on the page that long. That blows my mind. Thank you to everyone who has participated with comments and/or simply read this page. I am honored that you would spend time seeing what I might have to say. Hopefully I'm becoming a better blogger than when I first started a couple of years ago.

When I woke up this morning I had no idea what today would hold. It was just a regular day. It's fun to see what God can do with a "regular" day.

Thursday morning stuff

Here are some random bullets for this morning.

• Tonight the WJACC softball team begins the post-season tournament. 7:50 @ Ringhaver park. Everone come out and cheer for our team.
• This Sunday I have the opportunity to give the message at New Life Community (AC) Church. I am excited to travel to downtown Jacksonville again to share God's Word. Please remember me in your prayers and this church that we will all see God in a fresh way this Sunday.
• Also, pray for the service here at WJACC as Logan shares what God has laid on his heart.
• This morning I had what we believe to be cyst removed from my forehead. Now I have one of the largest bandages in the world covering a large part of my forehead. This is the second time since the beginning of April that I've had to have my head cut on so please pray that this is the last one.
• VBS is just around the corner. June 9th-13th. We're excited to see what God is going to do that week.
• Allison and I will be teaching a SS class at General Conference in June. This will be the first time we have actually done a tag-team type of teaching. We are pumped about the possibilities.
• My head is still a little numb from earlier so there is a real possibility none of this makes since.
• If you get the chance I put new pics on myspace. Let me know what you think.

board suggestion

So I shared with the church board how in a moment of brilliance I dumped coffee on the church laptop and it was no longer running efficiently. The suggestion from the board was to start using cups with lids. The words "sippy cup" were used. Oh well, one of these days I'll get to eat at the big people table. :-)

A Day of Love

Today we partnered with several other churches in an effort to reach out to an inner city community here in Jacksonville. We gave away clothes, food, drinks, and sno-cones. We had inflatable games for the kids, free blood pressure checks for the adults and plenty of music for everyone. The day was all about investing into the community and encouraging the residents there. I had the opportunity to meet some awesome new friends and reconnect with some that I've known for a little while now. Pastor Moses, his family, and his friends are being exactly what God has called them to be...a light to a dark world.

I had the chance to meet some of the guys at Journey church. Check them out here. http://www.journeychurch.org/ They are doing some cool things in their journey with God.

Today was a good day. It wasn't about who got credit for what. It wasn't about who was in charge. It wasn't even about how much WE were doing. It was all about Loving God and Loving People. It was about seeing God supply more than enough of everything so that nobody went without. It was about being open to pray with someone who was discouraged. It was about making sure the kids were safe on the huge inflatable slide. It was about knowing that the loudest sermon we could preach was serving an all you can eat meal to a man who could (and did) seriously take full advantage of that opportunity. :-) It was about God. It was about people made by God.

Today was a good day.

Mix CD's

Last night I burned 3 mix Cd's for the outreach downtown tomorrow. That's over 200 minutes of music. Over 3 1/2 hours of music praising God from a variety of styles. Gospel choirs, rap, hip hop, motown, and even Kirk Franklin who is a category all by himself. I'll try to post the play lists soon. This is going to be OFF THE CHAIN!!!!!!!

Remembering things

Ministry can be an exciting adventure. This weekend will be a prime example. Saturday we are participating in a clothing giveaway/outreach event in downtown Jacksonville. We are just one of five churches working together to encourage this neighborhood. I'm curious to see all the ways God will reveal Himself on that day. Sunday is Mother's Day and I am pumped about the message. We will be looking at Hannah and the struggle she had in I Samuel 1. We are also having two baby dedications Sunday. That ROCKS!!!!

But even though things are happening and God is moving and we are trying our best to follow Him...it is easy to get distracted from my core purpose as a believer and a pastor. Yesterday, I revisited a book I've had for a long time. "The Disciple-making Pastor" by Bill Hull. That's it. I am commissioned to go and make disciples.

It's not that outreach and preaching are bad things but if the goal is anything but the gospel and making disciples then they become just something else to "do". Jesus called us to "be" disciple-makers.

I am called to "be" a disciple-making pastor. What does that look like? We'll visit that one a little later.

3 words

Lemon-Berry Slush....YUMMMMMOOO!!!!!

prayer

"She was deeply distressed and prayed to the LORD and wept bitterly. " (I Samuel 1:10)

Sometimes we get caught thinking of prayer as just a peaceful activity. We talk about the calmness of prayer, the security of prayer, and even the "peace that passeth understanding." However, sometimes we just need to cry out to God from the very core of our being. Sometimes God allows us to get to this point so that we will actually surrender all to Him.

Hannah was in a miserable situation. She had a supportive husband which was great but she needed her awesome God even more. So in her distress she prayed and "wept bitterly" in her prayer. She gave her situation over to God and concluded that He was in fact her only source of hope.

Sometimes we just need to let all of our frustration, our anxiety, our distress out to God. He's a big god. He can handle it.

computers?...what an age we live in

Well, it is official...coffee and computers do not mix when placed together in an unnatural way. Let's just say that the little arrow on my screen is now frozen and will not respond. So...until I can get it fixed I need to be a little creative with how I access other's computers. If you check here for regular updates I apologize. I am working on being more consistent (it is a goal for this year). Thank you for all of your prayers and support. Please pray for pastors everywhere. I see so many that are either depressed, discouraged, dismayed, disheartened, or just plain down. I may right more on this topic later but for now please lift up all pastors in your prayers.

Monday morning bullets

Here are some "bullets" from yesterday's message.

• " If you always tell the truth you never have to remember what you said.”
• Truth is an essential element of worship.
• If we say God is good and holy then the best way to worship Him is with honest truth.
• Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.-John 8:32
• Freedom means we have the opportunity to love God/love people.
• Freedom means we can explore the character of God without fear of rejection.
• Freedom means we can explore who we are without fear that what we find will be insignificant.
• Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
• Jesus IS truth. If truth is insignificant then Jesus is insignificant. That is not the case so truth must be a significant part of our lives today.

Just a few points from the message that I thought I would share here.

Family

Today I am struck from all sides by the importance of family. It started this morning when my wife reminded me that tomorrow is going to be a fun "family" day. We have both intentionally blocked out tomorrow so that we can all do something together as a family. Then on my way to the office I left messages for two people out in the mid-west that we consider to be a part of our "family". I was then working on my sermon for Sunday and received a phone call from a friend letting me know that they will not make it to Bible study tonight because they have had a crazy week and need to spend some "family" time together.

There are so many families that are satisfied with just cruising along and slowly drift away from each other. It is encouraging to see families that are making intentional moves towards each other. It's not always easy and I know I'm not always the best at it but having a family is so special we all need to constantly ask ourselves..."what moves am I making towards my family?" How many, different, way have I told my spouse I love her/him? How many times has my child/children had my undivided attention lately?

I am constantly trying my best to improve as a pastor. I am always trying to learn new things. I always want to grow as a leader and a pastor. But if my family crumbles then ministry will instantly seem very empty. Please pray for your family and mine that we will all be intentional about building strong families.

Duffy Robbins

Last week Logan, Randy, and I had the opportunity to sit in on an all day workshop led by Duffy Robbins. The whole idea of our time together was to answer the question..."How do we more effectively communicate the gospel?" While Duffy was specifically referring to speaker with youth, much of what he said pertained to adults as well. Here are some bullet points I took from the conference.

• who you are is more important than what you say
• profanity tends to shut people down
• "My heart was filled with love, my eyes with tears, my mouth with arguments"-John Wesley
• It's not what we say but what they hear.
• The more concrete the illustration the more weight it carries.
• Repetition can be a good thing.
• The average American watches 21.8 seconds of a 30 second ad online.

Natalie pics

I just wanted to add a couple of Natalie pics to my blog before Allison put them on her's...teeheehee...

FIA

Wow! What a day we had yesterday! God did so many cool things as we reached out to the community yesterday. As you saw in my previous post we had many jobs to do at the ballpark and everyone tackled them with energy and excitement. God supplied people who were willing to cover the nursery so others could work. God provided cold drinks for everyone at just the right time. God allowed us to make some connections with some of the coaches from the ballpark. God worked out a minor problem we had with some of the paint. God made sure we had plenty of supplies. God helped people connect with each other in a new way that they had not been able to do on Sunday mornings previously. God supplied plenty of great attitudes all the way around and showed us what He can accomplish by allowing us to follow Him as a group.

I just want to say thank you to everyone who participated in the ballpark clean up yesterday. Thank you for allowing God to work through you to make an impact on this community. Thank you for being the church outside of the "church" walls. Thank you for just being you.

Faith in Action

I am excited about this Sunday. As a church we are going next door to the city ballparks and cleaning them up the best we can. We are going to rake, pick up trash, paint over graffiti, clean bathrooms, and whatever else we can think of. The goal is to love our community with God's unconditional love. We're not trying to get people to recognize what a "good" church we are. We're not trying to convince people they are going to hell. We are simply trying to love the community around us. If we can't impact the place right next to us then how in the world can we expect to impact someone far off?



If you are a member of WJACC here are a few tasks and supplies we need.

Task-blow out leaves and debris from under the stands and from around each structure (concession stands, etc.) rake and bag
Tools needed: blowers (most likely gas powered), rakes
Task-paint bleachers, picnic tables, graffiti marks, etc.
Tools needed: paint brushes/rollers, paint pans
Task-clean bathrooms
Tools needed: sponges, rags, paper towels, brooms
Task-brush and paint parking pylons
Tools needed: wire brushes, paint brushes/rollers, paint pans
Task-pick up trash around park
Tools needed: hands

If you can help with any of these tasks and/or have any supplies that we can use please feel free to let me know.
This is going to be a great day of working as a body to reach into the community. Thank you to everyone who has already responded and is excited too.

forgiveness

Lately I have had more than one person ask me about Christ's forgiveness. It seems like some really struggle with whether or not they are forgiven for acts of sin committed after they believe in Jesus as their savior. What follows is the response I gave to one person recently.

At the core of Christ’s forgiveness is the issue of “identity”. In I Corinthians 6:9-11 the Apostle Paul is talking to the church at Corinth-the believers. As he describes those who “will not inherit the kingdom of God” he is reminding them that they are no longer these things. They are “new creatures” (II Corinthians 5:17) with new identities. They are no longer defined by their sin but rather are cleaned up and made right with God (vs.11). Then Paul spends the rest of the chapter encouraging them to “flee from sexual immorality” (vs. 18) and “honor God with your body” (vs. 20). In other words, act like who you are-let your actions/deeds fall in line with your identity in Christ.

Now you also mentioned Christ dying once for all sin (Romans 6:10; Hebrews 7:27). Hebrews 10:10 tells us that by His will “we have been made holy (pure, clean) through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Once you are made clean that cleansing lasts. At the time of Christ’s sacrifice all of our sins were future sins. Yet His sacrifice was sufficient to cover even these. There is nothing that I can see in scripture that tells me that sin I commit after knowing Christ is not covered by that same sacrifice.
The Apostle Paul spends a great deal of time encouraging the believers to leave sinful acts and grasp their true identity in Christ. He does this with the knowledge that even he struggles against sinful desires (Romans 7:15). As Paul tries to do what is good and right he knows that he can not fix himself but can only find his freedom in Christ (Romans 7:24-8:2).

I know this is a lot all at once but there are a few more scriptures that come to mind.

If you feel there is something in your life to confess to God then as you do so He is faithful and just to forgive (I John 1:9).

What does God do with that sin when He forgives? He forgets it. (Isaiah 43:25; Jeremiah 31:34; Hebrews 8:12 and 10:17)

When does God forgive? Right now. (II Corinthians 6:2)

I do not see anywhere in scripture where someone successfully “cleansed” themselves. If this were possible then verses like Galatians 2:21 would not exist or at the very least mean nothing.

I know this is not an exhaustive statement on Christ's forgiveness but it is a starting point. My prayer is that more and more people will experience the freedom that is available in Christ Jesus...not to gain a "license to sin" but in order to live the abundant life Christ freely offers (John 10:10).

The weekend that was...

Wow!!! What a weekend! From Thursday night ‘til Sunday morning God supplied everything we needed to celebrate the death and resurrection of Jesus. This weekend two of our elders shared what God had laid on their hearts and they both did an outstanding job. Scott shared with us on Thursday night as we celebrated with a communion service and foot-washing. He shared how we should be focused on serving each other and how that love and service should reach out to the community. As Scott talked about Jesus washing the feet of the disciples he mentioned several times how here in America we don’t usually come across too many “dirty” feet as we have so many paved roads and we all wear shoes. As I started washing the feet of others I soon realized that Scott was right. The feet I was supposedly “washing” were already pretty clean.

Then it happened. One of the kids from the “neighborhood” came up and asked if she could have her feet washed also. As I poured water over her feet I saw the amount of dirt and filth falling into the basin. As I wiped her feet down I noticed the towel I was using turning black from the grime. All I could think was even here in America with our paved streets and shoes to wear ther e are some who need a simple act of love. It reminded me there is never a moment when we don’t need a Savior. All of us. The nicely dressed. The ones in rags. The church people who know how to “behave” in church and the ones who simply know that if they come on a Wednesday night they will get a free meal and a chance to play some ball.

But it did not end there. He came up and asked me if he could wash my feet. Someone I have intentionally invested in. Someone I have made it a goal to serve. This person who I have tried to pour into was now pouring what he had into me. In a moment he was Jesus to me. He was serving me. He was investing in me. I can not even begin to describe how overwhelming it was to have someone you are intentionally discipling turn around and disciple you in just a moment.
But that was just Thursday.

Sunday morning we had our Sunrise Service at the church. I’ll be honest I was not looking forward to it. We did not get much sleep Saturday night and then I got up at 5 am to get to the church on time. I know some of you get up at 5 am all the time but I do not. In any case, as we were setting things up outside for the service all I could think about was how I could get out of being at the Sunrise Service next year. What excuse could I come up with…mmmmmmm. Then another one of our elders, Paul, shared the message God had laid on his heart. Wow!!! All I can say is…it’s all about God. It’s all about what God is doing and what God wants and what God is providing. It’s not about us…all we need to do is obey and watch what God does. If you were there and were not encouraged and motivated in some way to view Jesus as not only your Savior but your Lord then you didn’t listen to the same message I did.

The regularly scheduled worship service was packed. We had chairs lining each aisle and an extra cluster in the front. God used Allison to write a beautiful service as we walked through the 7 statement Jesus made on the cross. As we observed the death of Jesus we ended that time celebrating His resurrection from the grave leading into the baptism of 15 individuals. Wow!!!
To say it was a good weekend doesn’t really seem to do it justice. God is good. He always has been and always will be. However your weekend looked God is always deserving of praise because He is God and we are not. I encourage all of you to praise Him in some way today. Don’t wait.

Maundy Thursday, Easter

Tonight we are celebrating Maundy Thursday. I just got back from setting the sanctuary up for this special service and I am pumped. Scott, one of our elders, is going to be sharing from God's Word and opening his heart tonight. I am very curious to see what all God does tonight and this weekend. Sunday morning Paul, another one of our elders, is going to be sharing at the Sunrise service. If you show up sleepy I'm sure Paul can wake you up. Afterwards, we get to eat some good breakfast here at the church and then go into our regular morning service. I say regular but it will be anything but.... Come help us celebrate Resurrection Sunday and bring a friend!!! I might even wear a tie for this one.

All time great question

I was on ragamuffinsoul.com this morning and came across one of the greatest questions I have ever read or heard. It was asked by a fairly new believer and it makes so much sense it's scary...here it is.

"Um…I have a question. Why do Christians spend over a month celebrating Christmas with parties, music, decorations, songs, and presents, then only a day celebrating Easter? I mean, isn’t Easter the reason we have our faith in the first place? Shouldn’t we be having Easter parties? It seems kind of backwards to me."

See...I told you...scary...

Correction

After rereading that last post I might have given the impression that the service this week was somewhat blah. Make no mistake when God moves...nothing is ever "blah". God rocks my world!!!!

Sunday night iritation

Tonight is Sunday night. I woke up. Got dressed. Went to church. It being Palm Sunday we had some extra music in the service with more musicians than we normally have. I was ready. We had a good service. God did some cool things in the service. Afterwards we had an easter egg hunt for the kids. Natalie had been in training for a month waiting for this moment. She was fantastic. My little girl ROCKS!!!! We left. Went to help a family in need. Went home. Etc. Etc. Etc...Overall a pretty good Sunday.

WARNING...what follows is a rant...yep that's it...a big fat rant. Tonight I had the chance to check out some of my favorite blogs and some new ones also. As I was scanning the www I soon realized there are some people who feel like it is their job to criticize and tear down other churches and other pastors for no valid reason at all! WHAT IS THE POINT IN THAT!!!!!! We have enough churches who are treating their pastors like dog food and as if that's not enough you have others who feel it is their job to criticize people they don't even know. Oh and did I mention there are people dying without Jesus every day and THAT'S NOT OK!!!!!

The level of stupidity that fills this world is astounding. Just a little something I felt like getting off my chest tonight.

Sunday night reflections

This morning EVERYONE was dragging. I have to admit I was having trouble finding my rhythm in the sermon. There was very little response from the congregation during the message. I usually play off of the responses I get whether it's verbal or non-verbal. Today I got very little. I guess the time change hit all of us a little. But some days are like that. Even though we were dragging God still showed up and He was glorified.

However...our practice for next Sunday was awesome!!!! Palm Sunday is going to be OFF THE CHAIN!!!!!! I am so excited about next week I can't even describe it. The next two Sundays are going to rock the planet. I encourage all of WJACC to come and bring a friend...or two...or three...or many...

Tonight...sleep.

Daylight savings

Just a reminder for everyone!!! This weekend is the time change for daylight savings. Set your clocks one hour forward Saturday night.

passion part #2

The idea that follows comes from Maxwell's book that I mentioned before. This is how he explained the relationship between passion and priorities.

People who have passion but no priorities are like those who are in a cabin on a cold winter day and light a bunch of small candles that don't give much light and don't really give off much heat. People who have priorities but no passion behind them are like ones who stack the fire place with wood but never light the fire. However, if someone puts their passion and priorities in line with each other then you have a fire place ablaze with plenty of wood giving off plenty of light and heat for the whole cabin.

So what does your fireplace look like today?

passion part #1

One of my most recent reads is John Maxwell's book "Talent is never Enough". One of the chapters emphasizes the need for passion in conjunction with talent. Maxwell offers three questions to help find where your passion lies.
What do you sing about?
What do you cry about?
What do you dream about?
My question is, "what do you feel so strongly about that it results in singing, crying, and dreaming?"

I have a dear friend that describes passion as "something you do and you lose track of time doing it."

If there is something that initiates song, tears, and dreams all within the same day...that's a full day.

How many "full" days have you had lately?

process

Making disciples is a process. Reaching out to the lost is a vital part of the process. If we never reach out then we become nothing more than a glorified club. However, if all we ever do is reach out and never teach and build up the ones God has put in front of us then our outreach becomes shallow and superficial. The third step in the process is to prepare people to go out and reach those God has put in their path. Sometimes we have noble intentions but never disciple people to walk with Jesus and to share their walk with others. Everyone is at a different place in the process and that's ok. What's important to know is that there is always someone who knows a little more that you can learn from and there is always someone you can help along the way as well.

This Sunday will be the best sermon I've preached yet. Some of you WJACCers may not even recognize me.

mission

I am on a mission America!!!! This weekend I traveled to West Virginia with two other men and my 19 month old daughter. We were literally 3 men and a baby. Every restaraunt and gas station we stopped at did NOT have a baby changing station in the men's bathroom. It is 2008 and I had to change my baby in the parking lot on several occasions because some places refuse to think that a man would actually change a diaper. I'm not going to leave my baby sitting in poop and pee. That's nasty and stupid. What about all of the single dads out there? They get no consideration at all. Their lives are hard enough and we're just going to make it that much more difficult for them by saying there's no place to change your innocent baby. Here's my challenge. Every time you think about it check and see if there are changing stations in the public places you visit. Restaraunts, gas stations, libraries, etc. If there is not one talk with a manager and suggest they put one in. This is a no brainer. With all of our resourses you would think we could do something about something so simple. Let's take a step together in the fight against stupidity.

I'm Chris Hall and I approved this message.

BIg Ski 2008

This past weekend was awesome! I had the privilege of hanging out with over 350 teenagers and adult youth coaches in Princeton, WV at the “Big Ski” retreat. Here are some highlights from the weekend…

1) Getting to the ski slopes first thing in the morning before the crowd makes it worth waking up!

2) Traveling more at night than by day will increase the possibility that your 19 month old daughter will sleep.

3) When approaching the top of the ski lift it is crucial that you raise the tips of your skis and slide to the edge of your seat!

4) It is possible to fall down while standing still.

5) Camp Dixie’s praise team rocks.

6) VH1 has some very stupid programming!!!! “Flavor of Love”??????? seriously!!!

7) God can use a very tired, very sore individual to preach His word. As long as God shows up and does the real work anything is possible.

8) My favorite highlight of the weekend…the kingdom of God is a little bit larger after this weekend. I’m not sure how many made a decision to follow Christ but I do know of at least one and that makes it all worth it!!!!!!!!!!!!!

9) Ps…I called the Giants win in the super bowl…

2 reasons to celebrate

Yesterday 2 things happened that initiated some serious joy in my heart this morning.
1) Yesterday we handed out a list of ministries that we at WJACC are involved in. We invited everyone to prayerfully consider what areas of ministry they would like to be involved in. At the end of the service we offered a time where individuals could place these forms they filled out on the altar as an act of worship. The response was awesome!

Today we have been pouring through the sheets and I am pumped about what God may be doing next. Please pray for us as leaders that we attempt to help people plug into where they may be used to build the Kingdom of God.

2)The second thing that happened...well...you can read about it on Allison's blog here...http://www.sidestreet-allison.blogspot.com/
Read the event of a lifetime...

Monday morning thoughts

We saw God do some cool things yesterday in the worship service. At first we were curious how it was all going to work out. Our music coordinator was sick, our coordinator of technology was out of town. Things were not going as planned before the service. However, as He is in the custom of doing, God showed up in a very real way.

People were submitting to God and what He wanted to do in their lives. Even though things didn't go exactly as WE planned everything went just as GOD planned and it was good.

Next Sunday we are attempting something that I personally have never tried. Logan and I are going to tag team the message next week. That's right...two preachers...one message...one Jesus. It should be very cool. We'll see what God does next Sunday. I'm pumped to think of the possibilities.

Children of the World

I just wanted to remind everyone that we are not having dinner or service tonight (Wed.) at WJACC. However, we are hosting the children's choir "Children of the World" tomorrow night at 7pm. This is going to be a great evening for everyone. We will be serving dinner at 6pm so everone come out and enjoy this exciting performance.

re-post

Here is a post I actually wrote in December but left in draft form and never published. Sorry about the delay but here it is...

The past is a funny thing. It is a beast that can be tamed but when let loose to run wild can be a crippling force in our lives.

Case in point...a few years ago my Granny passed away on Christmas day. She had been sick for quite a while. She was in her 90's. Her death did not catch any of us by surprise but it was still very difficult when it happened. We had a beautiful funeral service for her and celebrated her life with friends and family. However, the next year the thought was how will we celebrate Christmas knowing this is the day the enemy of death had the chance to show its face again. We made the decision that yesterday's sadness will not stop today's celebration. Afterall, this is the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus.

Without Jesus my granny's life would have been a waste. However, she knew Jesus. Jesus knew her and she lived a full and purposeful life. Sometimes we just need to make up our minds and ask ourselves how long are we going to allow something in the past to impede the present or the future.

I can't change the past. The future isn't here yet. Today is the only oppotunity I have to make any decisions.

The Kingdom

It's all about THE Kingdom!!!! Tuesday I had the privilege of sitting under the teaching of one of my mentors/disciplers. This is one guy who has always been so dead on with his teaching. It's not just me either. Others make statements all the time about this man and use terms like "forward-thinking", "progressive", "real", "with it", "permission giving". Taking all of this into consideration what did he remind me of yesterday?...it's all about THE Kingdom!!!!

The more we focus on the Kingdom of God the smaller a lot of our worries and concerns seem to be. When we begin to love the lost more than our personal preferences we are better able to see God more clearly. Who is it that God is putting in your path today that does not know Him? Let's be intentional about the Kingdom and see what God is doing.

Britney Spears?

Seriously???!!!! The other night the lead story on the news was the breakdown of Britney Spears. We saw video of her being placed in an ambulance. We received a step by step breakdown of how she got to this point. We heard how her family is reacting to this situation. We also heard how this will effect her children. If I had paid attention I would have learned more about Britney Spears' mental health than I could ever use to help improve my life over the next million years or so.

This was the lead story. Surely there wasn't anything going on in the world this week. Surely nothing of any significance was happening in our nation or world.

I did hear something about a bunch of people getting all dressed up and debating different ideas concerning the future of our country. Someone said something about donkeys and elephants. I think they were in New Hampshire maybe? But that couldn't be real important compared to a self-destructing pop star. Could it?

Holidays and 2008

In the past 2 weeks we have celebrated Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. We've had Christmas parties. We've opened gifts. We flew to Iowa. We participated in the wedding of two friends. We worshiped Sunday morning with friends we haven't seen for a while. We had two baby dedications. One of the babies stuck his pacifier in my mouth as I was praying. We celebrated New Year's. Bemoaned the fact that West Virginia is not in the championship game. We flew back to Florida...celebrating the warmth the closer we got. Finally we are home and I am back in the office.

Here are some of my goals for 2008...

1. Continuing to improve as a blogger. This is still all fairly new to me but I'm excited to think of the possibilities here.
2. Study more of the Holy Spirit. It dawned on me recently how little we talk about the Holy Spirit despite the fact that the HS is a powerful force that will not be stopped.
3. Read at least one book in each of the following areas. Marriage/relationships. Parenting. Leadership. Discipleship. Evangelism. Church health/growth. Personal growth. Business. Preaching.
4. Lose the weight I promised my wife I would lose if we moved to Florida.
5. Work on my relationship with Allison.
6. Work on my relationship with Natalie.
7. Write more letters.

I know a lot of people make resolutions this time each year but these are some personal goals that I have set for myself. After all, without goals then what am I reaching for?

I pray that above all else we will see God a little more clearly in 2008!

Christmas Gold

Christmas Gold

Psalm 45:13All glorious is the princess within her chamber ; her gown is interwoven with gold.

Matthew 2:11On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold and of incense and of myrrh.



Gold is the color of royalty. In a split second gold can make the common into something regal…something to be noticed and appreciated. The moment we see the color gold we recognize a certain value or worth. Gold will not be ignored. It stands on its own and tells the world, “I am valuable.”

When God created the world He looked at what He had done and called it good. Through man’s rebellion the dark stain of sin made creation somewhat plain and ordinary at best. God refused to leave what He had called good to be left helpless. He sent His son Jesus to provide the sacrificial blood that would make His loved ones royalty.

It was not a foolish man who brought the baby Jesus a gift of gold. It was a wise man who by his gift recognized a baby born to an unwed mother as king.

Many people search for treasures of gold and never find them. This Christmas let the color gold remind you of the treasure of life that is found in our savior Jesus Christ.

Christmas White

It is the Christmas season. I know I haven't written much lately and it won't get much better until January. However, here is the last Sunday's advent devotion and I will post this Sunday's soon. Thanks for reading.


Christmas White

Isaiah 1:18
18 "Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.

2 Corinthians 5:17

17Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!
White is often thought of as the color of purity and innocence. These are two of the most fitting words to use in describing Baby Jesus. He was and is pure. He grew up and lived a sinless life. His innocence allowed Him to be the perfect sacrifice for the sin of the world. He did what none of us could ever do. Wipe our own sin away.

The color white reminds us that God thinks we are worth His time. He thinks enough of us to clean up our cluttered hearts and make us pure because He is pure. We are allowed to start all over just like a blank sheet of paper waiting for adventures to be written on its surface.

Sometimes we may be tempted to think of the blankness of the color white. White may seem a little boring and dull but remember it is the background of white that allows the other colors to show up best. When God forgives us we have a new background of life so that all of our experiences may be the best they can be because we are forgiven.

This Christmas let us celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior who makes the color white an exciting part of our walk with Him.

Christmas Green

Isaiah 7:14
Deuteronomy 31:8

The Color Green reminds us of life throughout the Christmas season. The Christmas trees, the holly, mistletoe, and ivy allow us to fill our homes with some of God’s creation, reminding us that He is with us.

The green of Christmas tells us the giver of life himself is here. This season we celebrate the physical birth of Immanuel…God with us. God promises throughout His scriptures that He will never leave us or forsake us.

The fragrance of evergreen permeates each corner of our homes. Imagine the ability of the Holy Spirit to invade every corner of our lives.

As we walk through the Christmas season allow the presence of the color green to remind you of the presence of a loving God who wants to fill you with life and life abundantly.

what was...not what is

The past is a funny thing. It is a beast that can be tamed but when let loose to run wild can be a crippling force in our lives.



Case in point...a few years ago my Granny passed away on Christmas day. She had been sick for quite a while. She was in her 90's. Her death did not catch any of us by surprise but it was still very difficult when it happened. We had a beautiful funeral service for her and celebrated her life with friends and family. However, the next year the thought was how will we celebrate Christmas knowing this is the day the enemy of death had the chance to show its face again. We made the decision that yesterday's sadness will not stop today's celebration. Afterall, this is the day we celebrate the birth of Jesus.



Without Jesus my granny's life would have been a waste. However, she knew Jesus. Jesus knew her and she lived a full and purposeful life. Sometimes we just need to make up our minds and ask ourselves how long are we going to allow something in the past to impede the present or the future.



I can't change the past. The future isn't here yet. Today is the only oppotunity I have to make any decisions.

Brunswick

We just had a great experience in Brunswick, GA this weekend. I was asked to come speak at the AC Church there on Friday night and Sunday morning. Both services were AWESOME! I believe there is a growing excitement there to reach out to those God is putting in their path and that gets me pumped up!

Saturday we took Natalie to the Christmas parade downtown. She kinda got into it but I think she still may be a little too young to truly appreciate it. We had the chance to reconnect with old high school friends all weekend. Most of whom I haven't seen since we graduated. Allison loved that part of the weekend as she continuously tried to get stories out of people about my high school days.

Overall it was a great weekend. Keep praying for the Brunswick AC Church as they continue to seek God's guidance in the direction they should go.

Christmas Red

This year I'm trying something different and a little risky for our Advent Wreath devotions for WJACC. I am writing them myself. The theme this year is "The Colors of Christmas". Here is the first one we used yesterday.

Christmas would not be the same without the color "red". Holly berries, Santa's red suit, Rudolph the Red-nosed reindeer, red-velvet cake, even the "Home Sweet Home" candles from Yankee Candle Company fill the holiday season with brightness and cheer. There is no overlooking the color red. It is bold and it is intense.

Imagine the red in Mary's cheeks when discovering she was chosen to carry the Messiah. The excitement she felt must have been overwhelming. To be the one to carry the Christ child in her womb meant she was also carrying within her God's plan of hope and salvation for the world.

The color red is so often linked with blood and sacrifice. Christmas celebrates the birth of the only one whose sacrifice made a difference for the entire world. The sacrifice of Jesus continues to make a difference today for all who believe.

The color red reminds us of hope. Reminds us of salvation. Reminds us that no matter how intense our sin may be Jesus' sacrifice can and does still cover it with forgiveness and grace.

Let the red of Christmas remind us all of hope and the salvation found in the Son of God.

Good Day

At the moment I am sitting at my in-laws house in West Virginia. The air is cool but not cold. The leaves that remain on the trees are a variety of colors. There are family and friends that are happy to see us and I have just finished a great cup of coffee with "gingerbread" holiday creamer. Today is a good day. It is a chance to take a moment and breathe. A chance to watch Allison and Natalie's Aunt Sarah attempt to take Natalie's holiday picture. A chance to watch some college basketball. A chance to do a little reading. A chance to blog. A chance to just "be". Today is a good day.

Holiday season

It's official...we are in the midst of craziness. The holiday season is here. Mall parking lots are beginning to fill a little more quickly. I can almost smell turkey as I sit here typing...and I haven't blogged for two weeks. For those of you who read my blog regularly I apologize. If you didn't even notice then "welcome back":-)

I had the chance to meet my brother's fiance this week. The two of them seem like a great match for each other. Just the fact that they are both willing to register at Bass Pro Shop says so much. Stacy is a sweetheart and I look forward to calling her "sister".

On a completely different note...
This Sunday morning we are going to look at a topic that is not uncommon for the Sunday before Thanksgiving. *sarcastic grin placed here* We are going to tackle the monster of "FEAR". What are we afraid of and why? Sometimes it's easy to recognize fear in the big things. Death, Divorce, Sickness, Depression, Parenting...etc. But what about the things that sneak up on us? What about fear of expectations (ours or others)? What about fear that someone else will do something wrong? What about fear of disappointing God? What about fear of messing things up?

The more I think about fear the more I can hear Jesus tell me..."My GRACE is bigger than your fear." Wow!!!!

I invite you all to be here at WJACC this Sunday to celebrate the Grace of Jesus.

Monday randomness

We had a good "Homecoming" here at WJACC yesterday. "Calvary's Voice" did a great job with their portion of the service. I don't tend to be much of a southern gospel fan but they were pretty good. If you like southern gospel then you should check them out.

The food yesterday was awesome! I love church pot-luck dinners!

I think the time change this weekend was for everyone but us. Between Natalie and the dogs we really didn't see much of that "extra" hour of sleep Saturday night. Oh well...maybe next year.

Two times this past week I saw two different people make decisions concerning other people that they felt God was leading them in. They didn't necessarily know all of the "why" behind it but they made the decision anyway. Both times God made it very evident that was the right way to go. The fruit of this decernment showed that these individuals are listening to God and what He has to say. These are people who show true leadership. The one most crucial characteristic you must have as a leader is to listen to God.

We have entered the holiday season and I am feeling the anticipation right now. Holidays mean parties and food. These are a few of my favorite things...yeah!!!!

Money and Sex

Yesterday's service went well. Recently it hit me that while couples may fight about sex and money those are two topics we hear so little about at church. I know we tend to address these things in the contexts of other "broader" issues like stewardship, relationships, or something else. However, the question in my head lately is "why". Why not hit these topics head on? What does the B-I-B-L-E say about sex and money? Yesterday we tackled money head on. We not only hit the well known passages like "give to Caesar what is Caesar's...etc" but also passages where Jesus tells the pharisees what He thinks about their tithing but forgetting things like justice and faithfulness. Now I think I've started something with this "head's on" approach. I guess I better get to work on the "sex" sermon next.

Leadership revisited

I want to thank everyone for their responses to my leadership question. Some left comments here on the blog while other called to discuss the question. Either way some productive conversations have spun off this. I want to encourage everyone to continue exploring this issue.
Here are a few bullet points that have crossed my mind lately in this discussion.

• What is the difference between church leadership and ministry leadership?
• Can a ministry leader learn certain techniques and people skills from a business leader? (and vice versa)
• Can a business actually be a ministry? If so, what is the goal of the business?

I hope these things do not muddy the waters any but rather help spur on more thinking.

On a completely different note. Natalie's pictures that were taken at daycare a few weeks ago will be in today and tomorrow. I have not seen them yet but I'm sure one will find its way onto the blog somehow. She's talking more and more every day and recently she has discovered that shrill scream that little kids can project. Isn't life grand. :-)

leadership

Here is a question that has come up recently. What, if any, is the difference between business leadership and ministry leadership? I don't want to influence anyone's response with my own comments at this point. I know what my opinion is but I really would like some feedback from others. Feel free to make a comment here, e-mail me (theodude@juno.com) or just give me a call. I'm looking forward to your responses.

Starbucks Jesus

Do you believe in him? Do you put your life behind your belief? Those are the two questions going through my mind lately. If I say I truly believe in Jesus do my choices reflect that belief? Am I satisfied with simply believing in comfort or am I comfortably uncomfortable following Jesus whereever He is going? Afterall, Jesus is limitless in His creativity. Just when we think He can't surprise us anymore He does. So what does that look like in every day life? I believe it begins with a willingness to ask "what if" type questions. (check out Allison's "what if " entry)http://www.sidestreet-allison.blogspot.com/

As we ask what if questions we begin to see the places where the only thing we have to hold on to is Jesus Himself and we really the discover the work that He is doing in, around, and through you. The work that is performed to impact others.

This Sunday we will explore this a little further in the sermon "Starbucks Jesus".

C3

Yesterday I had the chance to attend the Creative Church Conference led by Ed Young Jr. here in Jacksonville. It was AWESOME! Ed is a great communicator and has really inspired me over the past several years to think more creatively about church, preaching, and ministry as a whole. Here are a few bullet points I took from the day.

• God is all about creativity-He is the Creator.


• Church should be comfortably uncomfortable.


• Leaders take people where they need to be not always where they want to be.


• Don't be afraid to ask hard questions and be ready to listen, listen, listen.


• Surround yourself with the right "T.H.E.Y"-Tough, Honest, Encouraging, Yielded to God.


• My favorite line was....be consistently inconsistent. (As far as methodology...in other words don't be predictable...the gospel never changes)

It was a great experience and I highly recommend the C3 conference for anyone who is considering it.

Eric, exercise, wisdom, etc.

*This weekend we had the chance to see Eric in concert here in FL. Allison and I got to go backstage and visit with him for a few minutes. It was great to catch up with Eric for a little bit. It's always great to see someone realize their dreams. If you like your Country music "rockin" then Eric is your man. Check out his link below to see when he's in concert near you.

*My month of September started out as the "month of exercise". It was quickly derailed by an ear infection and various other ailments. So, I'm going to try to exercise every day for the month of October. Hopefully I will stay well.

*Today was a good day at church. Our Sunday School class is attempting to answer the question "what does God say about wisdom?". Today was a really good discussion that will actually be continued next week. Good stuff. Who knows how long this train of thought will go?

*Since Florida lost yesterday there were a lot of sad people in church today but that's ok. Since FSU won there were also several very happy people as well. It all balances out.

*Tomorrow I'm going to see Ed Young Jr. at the C3 conference here in Jax. It should be awesome.

*Everyone pray for Natalie. She had an allergic reaction to her antibiotics this week. See Allison's blog for pics.

Monday Morning

As I continue through ministry I am more and more convinced that a lot of our frustrations come from poor communication or simply a lack of clarification. People spend a lot of time making wrong assumptions about issues or things said when a simple question could go a long way towards clearing up the confusion. Of course in order to ask clarifying questions one must admit that they did not understand in the first place. No one wants to come across as ignorant. We all what to look smarter than we probably are. Therefore, we do not ask questions...we make assumptions...and continue to live in the ignorance that leads to frustration. Does any of this make sense to you or should I try to clarify further? :-)

realness and unpredictability

So last night I asked some friends a question that I've heard others address several times already. "If you were in charge how would church be different?" The answers were all good, honest responses. As I thought back over the answers later on I realized that 2 major themes came out. 1-a desire for realness in relationships 2-a desire for unpredictability. If God is so unpredictable why should our worship be? Also the need for intentional involvement.
The trick seems to be that even if we say we want these things we don't always recognize how to bring them about...or more to the point...observe God bringing them about. So if we know the "who" of church and worship is the next question...how? Maybe...maybe not. Anyone have further thoughts on this rambling?

Gator Tasor

So many of you have heard the story of the student at the University of Florida who while questioning John Kerry on election procedures was led by police away from the microphone. He was then arrested for disturbing the peace and in the midst of the whole incident was tasored by campus police. Today students are still protesting the actions of the campus police calling the tasoring "unnecessary". This story has brought up many questions this week about free speech, police actions, and other issues. Here is my one question.

Why was John Kerry in Florida in the first place? Just asking. It seems like trouble follows him everywhere.

Worship

Sorry I haven't written in a little while. Last week was an adventure of illness. To get Allison's view point click over to her blog. I am better now and almost up to full strength.

Yesterday we celebrated "Youth Sunday" and the kids did a great job with the service. There was drama, new songs, a great message, and variety in the service. This coming Sunday frightens me. Here is why. I know once some people see the big, monster-sized pulpit back in the middle of the stage they will be relieved. I also know that when we sing more than one hymn in the service some will feel comforted. I also know that when some see the drums off the stage there will be a sense of thankfulness and curiosity as to how long they will be gone.

What frightens me about all of these things is you could change pulpit for drums, hymns for chorus', and again drums for pulpit respectfully and get similar reactions from a whole different group of people.

It really doesn't matter what the object is. The focus is not worship. Some may try to explain that it is about worship but it's not. Worship is more than something tangible. Worship is more than songs. Worship is more than actions. Worship is more than Sunday morning service.

Your worship looks different than mine because your relationship with God is different than mine. Our worship is not dependant on things. Our worship is dependant on our relationship. That is why this Sunday I am going to preach using the monster-sized pulpit that is difficult to use and hard to get around. Even though it's not ideal for me it will not keep me from the whole reason I will be in the church building with the church family on Sunday morning.

WORSHIP.

Treadmills and listening

I did want to check in with everyone about the exercise quest. I have managed to stay with it so far. (By the Grace of God) Last night I got home late from a meeting but still found the motivation to get on the treadmill. I did sleep better last night but it was a short night as I had to calm my system down after the treadmill workout. Tonight we have a softball game so that will definitely count as exercise for the day.

Last night Allison shared an interesting story with me that came from a person she met yesterday. This person was well known for being a good listener. The reason being is this. If you and someone else both have something to say and you listen to that other person then you benefit. You get to walk away knowing what you knew before and what the other person knew. So you get to know twice as much. The other person loses out because they only walk away knowing what they knew before. Fascinating stuff, don't you think?

Night of Joy, Day of Water, Weekend of Praise

We are still recovering from a full experience this past weekend. "Big Splash" was a full retreat which included 3 services, Night of Joy at Disney World, and we wrapped up the weekend with a trip to Wet and Wild water park on Sunday. Today we are back in the office and it's business as usual (whatever that means)...actually what that means is that I get to drink my coffee from my own mug. As I think back over the weekend I am pondering the whole Night of Joy experience. If I were a member of a "christian" band and I was trying to reach the lost with the gospel would I perform at an event that was marketed towards christians? I really don't know the answer to that question but it does make me curious as to the motivation of some artists to play at such an event. I don't mean that in a condescending way. After all, I have no idea what it's like to be a professional musician. My point is simply that I'm curious and should God ever set it up I would love to have a conversation with one of these artists about that topic.

Never the less, the praise team at the conference sounded awesome! Go CSWT! When you shoot for excellence and lead with heart cool things happen.

Another Blogger...exercise..."Golden Corral" churches

We have another blogger in our midst. Sam Warren has started his own blog. You can find the link in my "links" column. I look forward to reading Sam's thoughts on leadership and other issues.

On the exercise front...yesterday was tough. I had to get some push-ups, crunches, and roll outs in before bedtime. It wasn't much but I'm still on track for my 30 days of exercise. This weekend will be the big challenge during "Big Splash" but I'm still going for it.

I read an article yesterday about churches that are either Starbucks or Waffle House churches. The author was mostly comparing the different styles of services they have. My thought is as long as they are not "Golden Corral" churches then we're alright. "Golden Corral" churches are ones who in their efforts to please everyone with a vast variety of options allow the quality to go down to the point that only a few hard core patrons are the only satisfied ones. Of course that's because they may not know any different.

Tuesday morning thoughts

This was a good holiday weekend. Yesterday Allison and I took Natalie to the park and then to the pool. Natalie is growing so fast it blows my mind sometimes.

The big news this weekend...APPALACHIAN STATE 34-michigan 32!!!!!!! Just in case anyone would like to know michigan WAS ranked #5 in the nation until Saturday. Just wanted to mention that.

This weekend is "Big Splash". Everyone pray for the weekend as we minister to and with over 200 teenagers. The praise team from Suwannee will be there to lead music. Logan is bringing the Word of God. It should be a great weekend.

Don't forget to check out the new poll question.

Day #3

Ok. Yesterday I did some treadmill work and today I got some pool time in with my girls. I know some of you would not consider family time in the pool as exercise but since today is a holiday and we were pretty active I'm counting it. So that makes 3 straight days of exercise so far. Starting is always the easiest part.

Question

"What do you dream of when you dream about the church?" I found this question on a friend's blog recently and it bothers me...mostly because it is a great question. This question challenges me to step out of the comfort of laziness. As much as I try to encourage others to dream and imagine I hate it when I realize there are things that I should be dreaming of more often. Before I can answer this question I first have to ask if I'm dreaming at all.
Do I even challenge my imagination to grow and think big?
Then, am I dreaming about the church or is the church merely my job?
Do I have dreams about the church or am I too caught up in "fixing" things that I view as wrong?
Do I envision positive realities for the church or am I busy critiquing those who critique me?
Before I can begin to answer this question I have to relearn the ability to dream.
Let me try.

What do I dream about when I dream about the church?
I dream of a coffee cart rolling through the sanctuary during the service.
I dream of every person made to feel like we've been waiting for them to get there whether it's their first time or 378th time.
I dream of every child feeling special and loved.
I dream of every adult feeling special and loved.
I dream of toe tapping music that gets stuck in your head.
I dream of friends not just friendly people.
I dream of unity in the midst of diversity.
I dream of a group of people who are not afraid to say "I don't know."
I dream of a group of people who are not afraid to be wrong.
I dream of a group of people who just want to know Jesus and each other better.
I dream of worship that is from and through the heart.
I dream of realness.
I dream of forgiveness.
I dream of second chances.
I dream of vulnerability that leads to courage.
I dream of noise.
I dream of silence.
I dream of expressive praise.
I dream of muffins.
I dream of smiles.
I dream of laughter.
I dream of tears.
I dream of board meetings that are filled with testimony of what God is doing in, around, and through lives.
I dream of love.
I dream of hard core love.
I dream of "no matter what" love.
I dream of God's love.
Maybe I am learning to dream again.
thanks Megan

Day #1

Today I worked in 20 minutes on the treadmill at an incline. So starts the month of exercise.

September-the month of danger!!!!

I have a goal this month. I am going to attempt 30 straight days of exercise. I'm not limiting myself to a specific exercise. The goal is to basically be in motion. It starts today. Of course I am currently on the computer and not the treadmill but I will get there. I will be updating my progress on the blog as a means of accountability. This is dangerous because no one wants to be held accountable for something that may be tough to do.

The second dangerous thing this month...Big Splash. That's right Allison, Natalie, and I are going with our church to the Big Splash retreat in Orlando. That includes night of joy at Disney. Teenagers in an amusement park always means danger for me. They might ask me to do something wild and strange like...I don't know...ride a ride or something.

I'm sure there are other ways this month will be the month of danger. Natalie's diapers are becoming more and more impressive everyday. She can now reach things she couldn't before and she is already counting to three. What will she do by October?

When is church?

Lately we've been asking when should our Sunday morning service be. Should we keep it at 9:30 or should we move it later to 10:30. After taking a poll of the congregation the results came back almost exactly 50/50. With such a close outcome we decided to just leave things as they are and move on to other things.

Here is my thought about this whole process. I don't think it really matters when the service is. If we are not being the church all week how does it matter when the Sunday morning service is? Sunday is not the only time God speaks. It's not the only time people come to Christ. It's not the only time of worship. It's not the only time of repentance, forgiveness, and most importantly grace. The real question is not when should we have church but rather are we being the church all the time.

Come to Church

What is the most likely way someone will come into a church that they have never been to before? Unless the church has an amazing marketing department I'm guessing the answer is "with someone who already goes there". This is not based on any research or statistics. This is just my personal opinion. But if this is true then how important is it for us to build relationships with those God puts in front of us on a daily basis? Not that coming to church is the real, big deal in and of itself. Jesus is. However, this is a place where we look to experience Jesus together with each other. The power of togetherness is amazing.

Just some random Tuesday morning babbling.

Sunday night mind dump

Today we saw 6 people baptized during our morning worship service!!! Five of those were planned. The 6th one was a man who several had been praying for and during the praise set accepted Christ right then and there. WOW!!!!! God is very cool!!!

This week is quickly turning into a busy one. It will be cool to see what God does with this week.

Did anyone know that if you are sandy from the beach all you have to do is sprinkle baby powder on the sand and it will brush clean off? It's true. It really works.

Assuming is a dangerous sport that most everybody in the world participates in. It is so easy to think you know someone or something better than you do. I think that is one of the reasons why humility is so important and something that can only come from God.

Have you ever noticed that the term "young adult" is rarely if ever used anywhere other than church? Then each church has a different definition of what that means.

I wander if we have some ice cream in the freezer. Must go check now.

5 gut check questions

Here are five questions that I found on perrynoble.com. I thought they were interesting questions for all believers but especially leaders. Here they are...with some of my own comments.
#1-Am I listening to the Voice of God? (Am I being still enough to hear?)
#2- Am I taking risks? (I might add...risks towards what God is doing.)
#3- Am I understanding how big God is? (Is that understanding always growing?)
#4- Am I surrounding myself with the right people? (right people=people with the same goals and vision)
#5- Am I giving my best? (people in the Bible always sacrificed their best to God...what's the difference today?)

51!!!

I just realized that last post was my 50th post. Yeah!!!!! What a milestone. Ok maybe I'm the only one celebrating but oh well. :-)

Hebrews

So I've been asked to write 3 devotions on Hebrews 11. As I've been reading this chapter one verse has jumped out at me. Verse 3 reads...

"By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible."

So basically faith tells us that something came from nothing. If something came from something then that something could be proven by physical evidence and faith would be unnecessary. After all man can make something from something else. Only God can trully create from nothingness.

This gives me not only faith but hope as well. When things are at their most stressful our creative God can always provide what is needed to accomplish His will. Even if the only option we see is "nothing".

The flesh tries to tell us that nothingness is equal to hopelessness but God says that nothingness is not an obstacle to Him. What a cool God!!!!

Scott D. into blog world

Scott Dombrosky is officially a blogger now. Check out his site. He's listed under my links.

8 random things

OK. So Allison tagged me for 8 random things. Here they are. At the end I realize that not everyone has a blog to do this but I had to come up with names so here they are.

The Rules:
1. I have to post these rules before I give you the facts.
2. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
3. People who are tagged need to write a post on their own blog (about their eight things) and post these rules. (if you don't have a blog, email me)
4. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
5. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read their blog.

My eight random facts - in no particular order of importance:

1. I believe Sunday afternoons were created for naps.
2. Some of my favorite authors include: Brennan Manning, John Ortberg, and Allison (if she will ever write a book:-)
3. Right now at the office sit the following CD's: Barry White, John Coltrane, Bob Dylan, Black Eyed Peas, Third Day, David Crowder Band, and my Motley Crue CD is somewhere...
4. I love to dance with God.
5. I have no one real favorite book of the Bible. They're all great!
6. Stupid drivers bug the mess out of me. (Jacksonville is a struggle.)
7. Customer service goes a looooooooooooooong way with me.
8. I am an official, self-proclaimed, unpaid restaurant critic.

My 8 people to tag are...Padre, Maw, Brock, Logan, Carole, Danny, Robert, and Heat.
Whew! That wore me out!

My girls rock the planet!

Just wanted to share my family with you. Have a great day!

New blog items and Sunday thoughts

I hope everyone had a great weekend. I made some obvious changes to the blog site. I hope everyone enjoys them. Please feel free to answer the new poll question. I will try to keep fresh questions up there. If anyone has any ideas for poll questions on this site just let me know. I'm open for suggestions.

Today our service went well. We welcomed 3 families into the church! Next week we are having a baptism service! That is AWESOME! I'm not even sure how many we are baptizing but even if it were one that would be worth any and all effort.

Here is my random question for a Sunday night before I go to bed...Is there a difference between "praising" God and "worshiping" God? Any thoughts?

"Bash" remembered

The following is a short piece about the bash for the AC News. God is simply amazing!!!

WJACC held its 2nd annual “Back to School Bash” on August 4. This was a completely free outreach for the community. The following is a breakdown of some of the numbers from the “Bash”. We gave out…
680 back packs filled with school supplies.
Over 200 Bibles
700 hamburgers
800 hotdogs
500 bags of clothing
Those are just a few of the numbers. There were sno-cones, cotton candy, popcorn, a petting zoo, and our praise team played 4 sets of praise songs for the crowd. The only thing we asked was for everyone to have a good time and take what they need. As one of our elders told one person, “This is all free just like God’s love.”
We are still seeing many ways in which this event has made an impact on the community. God is amazing in how He can set something up.

Back to School Bash

Tomorrow is the "Back to School Bash" here at WJACC. Last year we saw around 1500 people come through the church grounds and this year we are expecting even more than that! This year we are also seeing several of the larger churches in Jax do their own bash celebrations on the same day. All of this is getting me pumped up!!! Here's a few reasons why...

1) This is a focused outreach into the community to let them know we are here, we care, and we want to serve them with no strings attached! We are not charging anything. Just come, have a good time, take some school supplies, and even take home a new outfit for school.

2) This is an opportunity to pray for members of our neighborhood. We are going to hand out Bibles and offer to pray for anything and anyone that walks through the door. We are even setting things up so that we can take prayer requests anonymously.

3) I am excited to think of other churches doing the same thing. The more people reaching out the more the message of hope in Christ is getting out into a hopeless world. THAT IS AWESOME!!!

If you are around this weekend and want to help come on out Saturday. We'll find you a spot to slip in. The bash starts at 10am and runs 'til 4pm. We'll need help with set up and clean up too. This is huge but God is even bigger. Praise God!!!

Deep fried baby Jesus

Check out Allison's blog titled "Deep fried baby Jesus". She hits a home run with this one. My wife rocks!!!
www.sidestreet-allison.blogspot.com

Eric Church

September 14, 2007! Eric Church is going to be in Jacksonville, FL! If you like country music you will like Eric. If you do not like country music there is a good chance you will still like Eric. I've known Eric since we were at ASU together and he rocks! If you get the chance check out his stuff. http://www.ericchurch.com

Sunday night thoughts

Today was a good day. I was dragging into church this morning. I didn't sleep good last night and was hurting to find the energy to preach. Then I got a phone call from a friend telling me that God set him up this weekend to share the gospel with a 13 year old girl and she accepted Christ this weekend. That was all I need. I was PUMPED UP! One more in the kingdom. That is AWESOME!

Allison and I had the chance to eat dinner with friends tonight. We had some great conversation and again I got pumped up. I am excited to think that God is up to something in our city and we just might be able to be a part of what HE is doing! WOW! That is nuts.

water walkers

Last Sunday Logan wrapped up his sermon with a reference to Jesus and Peter walking on the water. He talked about Peter's willingness to get out of the boat while the others stayed in the boat where things were more familiar.

This Sunday we are going to look at some common characteristics of "water walkers". What risky step is God calling each of us towards today? The more we step out in faith the clearer vision we tend to have of our Savior and Lord. Take a step towards Him today and just see what happens.

home again

Today I am back at the office and into my normal routine. (whatever that it) Camp last week was great! We saw God do some cool things last week. The way He set up the music and the messages without us getting in the way was an amazing thing to watch.

Pray for Logan and the kids that are going to Honduras this week. Most of them were all at camp last week and have not had much of a chance to rest so keep them in prayer this week.

Natalie has her one year check up tomorrow...that means more shots...pray for all of us tomorrow.

Until next time...

camp

Today is Thursday. We are over half way through this week of Senior Camp at Suwannee. It has been a good week. This has been a great group of campers over all this week. I am always amazed at the creativity and brutal honesty that can come from teenagers. It's also refreshing to see the cravings for God's presence in their lives. Tonight I am speaking on our identity in Christ. Please pray for God's continued work in the lives of the campers and the staff here at camp. Also, pray for Logan. He will be preaching this Sunday at WJACC and after a full week of directing camp he's going to be worn out.

ps. We have had one major tragedy this week. Powell's "ALF" doll has been kidnapped and we are awaiting ransom demands. poor, poor, alf

Strip and get naked

That's the title of this Sunday's message. Strip away the thought that says if you don't act like a christian then you are not one. Let your heart get naked before God and let Him clean you up. Then the things we do will have real meaning and power. We don't do things to make ourselves right. Jesus makes us right and then we get to do the right things. If we get this backwards then we are just asking for trouble, frustration, depression, and burnout just to name a few.

2 weddings and a funeral

So Allison, Natalie, and I got home at about 1am last night. Today I am wiped but glad to be home. We had a great time in Iowa this weekend. It was crammed packed. 2 weddings...2 birthday parties for Natalie...church service in the city park...one funeral...and a whole lot of food...

It was good to visit but I'm glad to be back in my own bed. We are still slam jammin' this week. Tomorrow night we are eating and praising God here at the church @ 6pm. If it is raining we will move inside. Everyone come out and bring a friend. We are going to celebrate the 4th by worshiping GOD! That's a celebration!

Everyone keep in mind who God is putting in your path today!