things I don't understand

Here are a couple of things that do not make sense to me.

1) Why do people leave witness tracts on the urinal in the men's bathroom? To be honest I've never seen a piece of paper stuck in a urinal pipe or sitting up on top and thought "hey I think that might have something to do with eternity and life and might be something I should consider taking home."

2) Why do some people leave a witness tract on the table at a restaurant and leave either a lousy tip or no tip at all? I can tell you from personal experience that the wait staff at your local restaurant are not busting their tails to serve you so that they may gather more reading material.

Here's the thing...tracts NEVER take the place of personal conversations so unless you are will to sit down with someone and walk them through the message of a witness track then please just keep it in your pocket. To leave it in the bathroom or to leave it with little to no tip communicates just how little you think about the message inside of it.

There, that feels a little better.

PS. Christians...please!!!! I beg you! Stop leaving lousy tips when you go out to eat. It's ridiculous the reputation we have. We should be known for our generosity. Not our stenginous!!!

There, that feels even better.

Dying to Live and Radical

I just finished ordering two books that I anticipate making an impact on a lot of my teaching and preaching coming up.

The first book is by a friend of mine, Clayton King. His book "Dying to Live" looks to be a call of total surrender to Jesus Christ with everything we have.

The second is one that was recommend to me just today. "Radical" seems to be carrying the same message as Clayton's book but throught the voice of David Platt, a pastor in Alabama.

I can't wait to get my hands on both of these. Below is a short video clip of Clayton's thoughts behind the book. Enjoy.

Grace quote

Check out this quote from Watchman Nee!

"Praise God, the blood of Christ not only washes all our sins away but at the same time it bears witness for us before God. In the face of such a witness, He can never cast us away. Christ has died and been raised from among the dead. Who then can accuse us? We do praise and thank our God." (from the book Grace for Grace)

Amen and amen!

Today's Prayer

I read this prayer today and wanted to share it here...

"Therefore, let us desire nothing else,
Let us wish for nothing else,
Let nothing else please us and cause us delight,
Except our Creator and Redeemer and Savior, the one true God,
Who is the Fullness of Good, all good, every good,
The true and supreme good,
Who alone is Good, merciful, and gentle, delectable and sweet,
Who alone is holy and just and true, holy and right,
Who alone is kind, innocent, pure,
From Whom and through Whom and in Whom is all pardon,
All grace, all glory of all the penitent and the just,
Of all the blessed who rejoice together in heaven.
Therefore, let nothing hinder us, nothing separate us,
Or nothing come between us."

Author unknown

Happy Birthday Natalie!!!

4 years ago you entered my life. Before that day I never really liked the word "princess". However over the last four years that's exactly what you have become to me. My princess. I pray that as you grow in wisdom, discernment, strength, and beauty that one day God will supply that proper prince that will love you unconditionally. I love you baby girl! Happy Birthday!!!! Enjoy.

the burnout question- pt. 3

4. Improper view of family.

The one can be a very touchy subject. However, I think it's fair to say that if your family becomes "expendable" when compared to ministry then you are very likely to burnout on both. I've heard several pastors state the following phrase so I'm not sure who to credit it to. "Don't sacrifice your family on the altar of ministry!"

If you are passionate about ministry and yet neglect your family then the price is too high and I have a tough time seeing a scriptural directive instructing us to follow such a path.

5. Improper view of rest.

Have you heard or said one of these?
"I'll sleep when I'm dead."
"I'll rest when Jesus comes."
"Just let me do one more thing and then I'll go to bed."
"I don't have time to take a day off/vacation."

All of these are lies straight from the pit of hell. God did not design us to go with out breaks. He intentionally made us and then commanded us to take a break every seven days (at the bare minimum). Without rest we have no energy to give our passions the attention they need and deserve, much less anything else in our lives.

So there you have it. Five things that can lead us to burnout doing something we are passionate about. This is obviously not an exhaustive list but I hope it helps in some way.

The key is a balanced life and the only one who can grant complete balance for each person is God Himself. So start today in seeking direction from Him and pause a moment to listen to what His Spirit is telling you right now.

the burnout question- pt. 2

2. Improper view of others.

How we view other people can dramatically affect our ability to pursue our passions without burning out.

Have you ever seen someone and dreaded talking with them because you know the conversation will take more effort than you want to give at the moment? Or have you ever look at someone only to see what you can get from them? There are millions of ways we look at each other all the time that have nothing to do with love. God's love allows us the ability to see each other in such a unique way. We see others as valuable, important, and worth our time and effort.

Don't get me wrong, people drive me nuts sometimes but if I'm honest with myself it's in those moments that I'm relying more on the flesh than on the Spirit.

3. Improper view of God.

God needs me.
God will only do this if...
God can't...

This one is simple. If you have caught yourself saying or thinking any of the above statements you have fallen into a trap. These statements are not biblical and just plain "ain't true".

If you think God needs you to accomplish anything think again. He may want you. He may choose to use you. He may invite you to play a part in what He is doing. However, to be so bold as to think the God of the universe can not accomplish a task without you is a recipe for disaster.

Not to mention this type of thinking will wear you out FAST!

Two more to come...

the burnout question-pt1

Last week one of, if not THE greatest basketball coaches of all time died at the age of 99. John Wooden (the "Wizard of Westwood") was a man who very few, if any, have anything bad to say about. He was a teacher, thinker, coach and all around good guy who stood for honesty and integrity.I mention Wooden because I think he addressed the issue of burn out in the following way. He always taught his players to seek two things in life. LOVE and BALANCE.It seems to me that when we are lacking in one of these two areas then we are in danger of experiencing what some people would consider "burn out". There are five things that I want to share this week that I believe leads us directly towards a lack of love and balance and thus into the pit of burn out.

1. Improper view of ourselves.

Sometimes we are tempted to think one of two ways. Either we are better than we really are or we are less valuable than we really are. Both ideas cause us to cripple ourselves of our usefulness. If we think we are better then we are so full of pride that it really doesn't matter what is happening around us. If we think less of ourselves then why would we put any effort into life. Afterall, what I do doesn't matter or make a difference at all.

The best way to defeat this is to let God tell you who you really are. It's His power and authority that really accomplishes things anyway. So why not trust in what HE says. As a believer in Christ you are His child, His friend, His sheep, His saint, His ambassador, His beloved...simply put you are HIS.

The next 4 are coming soon...

question about burnout

This morning a great question was brought to my attention.

"If you are passionate about something how can you burnout doing it?"

I had some immediate thoughts about that question but I wanted to throw it out there in blog world to see if anyone else has some thoughts before I offer any.

So how would you respond to that question? Especially as it pertains to ministry.
Let me know.

update-finally

Wow! It has been almost two months since my last blog post. I know some people have probably given up even checking for updates but I have not abandoned the blog.

Micah is now VERY mobile. He is not walking yet but he can get anywhere he wants to. Any day now he will take those first steps that send him into another stage of development and daddy into another stage of activity.

Micah is asleep right now and Sunday's sermon is ready so I'm taking a moment here for a quick update.

My dad's back surgery went well this week. For those who may not know, he had a herniated disc in his back causing pain and then numbness in his back and legs. Immediately after the surgery he experienced feeling in his legs again and the doctor said the rest will return in time. He has at least 6 weeks of recovery ahead of him so please keep my folks in your prayers as they attempt to get settled into a new house in the midst of this recovery.

Natalie has her first dance recital next weekend and she is beside herself with excitement. We can't wait to see her up on stage...(one of her favorite places at church).

Allison is doing well and continues to allow God to work through her at Hospice. Her ability to submit to God's Spirit in her job never ceases to amaze me...even when she's had "enough".

Back in April I had my latest check up at the doctor and had lost 18 lbs since October. I am no longer taking Prilosec and have had fewer problems with allergies. Notice I said fewer...just fewer.

I am setting a goal for myself of blogging at least once a week so everyone check back for more thoughts and things. Thanks to everyone who takes a moment to check in everyone so often.

God Bless!

Friday's thoughts

It's been a full plate lately. There's been all of the Easter activities and services and then this week a lot has fallen on my plate. Add Micah to the mix and it's been none stop action. However, I would not say it's been bad. I know some people who have had an actual "bad" week and I have nothing to complain about.

I say all of this to say I have several blogs in my head ready to come out so keep checking back here for updates.

In the mean time here's a prayer by John Wesley that I came across recently. I hope it helps you draw closer to God in some way.

Grace.

"Oh God, seeing as there is in Christ Jesus
An infinite fullness of all that we can want or desire
May we all receive from him, grace upon grace;
Grace to pardon our sins, and subdue our iniquities;
To justify our persons and to sanctify our souls;
And to complete that holy change, that renewal of our hearts,
Which will enable us to be transformed
Into the blessed image in which you created us.
O make us all acceptable to be partakers
Of the inheritance of your saints in light.
Amen."
-John Wesley

Hillsong London

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!

Leadership Lesson of the week

Check out these thoughts from former NFL quarterback Steve Young on accountability. It does make you think.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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!

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.