Hp held hostage

No, the computer saga is not over. I won't use the company name, but let's just say I will never purchase another computer from the "worst buy" store. But I actually have a few minutes in front of another computer, so let me share something with you that we touched on in service last night. In a recent edition of the Metro Voice there is an article concerning a pastor and one of the largest churches in the nation. He and his church literally created a new paradigm of how to grow a church many years ago. It was based on being "seeker friendly". However, a recent research study report from within in his church has discovered that they have failed. Not at church attendance but in producing disciples of Jesus Christ. Here are a few quotes from the pastor "We made a mistake. What we should have done when people crossed the line of faith and became Christians, we should have started telling people and teaching people that they have to take responsibility to become self feeders." A separate quote from the author of the article says "The mention of sin, salvation, and sanctification were taboo and replaced by starbucks clones, strategy and sensitivity. One of the saddest aspects of this article to me is that too many pastors are wandering "now what do I do?" Who's program do I follow now? With all do respect, how about seeking God, studying His word and following his voice for your church? Just a thought.

My dad taught me a lesson along time ago; don't divert too far one way or another. Plow a straight line. In the church world we continue to swing the pendilum of how to to do church from one extreme to the other. We went through many years of walling ourselves in the church and making living a Christian life unattainable for almost everyone. That is unless you dressed a certain way and addressed everyone as brother or sister. And out of that we produced generations of religious people who lost touch with God's mission.

Then we completely swung the other way. Now we don't want to preach about sin because it might offend someone. We desperately try to make our services resemble Hollywood so people will feel comfortable. We cut out altar calls because of peoples schedules.

So now we have reaped a harvest of people that rarely

read their bible, (unless we put the words on our screens on Sundays), they don't know how to pray, and then we push them into ministry positions and we wander what they are replicating.

We have no one to blame but ourselves. We have failed people. The church that God builds is the one that stays the course. The church that stays relevant without compromising God's Word. If we don't become enabler's we are becoming the very obstacles to people that Christ warned against.

Where's my typewriter?

I apologize for being so long in posting, but if you have not heard my computer is in the shop being repaired. That is my six week old computer is being repaired. Please pray for my patience. I hope to be back up and running in a few days.

I don't have all my thoughts neatly compiled on this subject, but let me give you just the appetizer. This morning I took our boys to school and these negative thoughts began running through my mind. It's Monday (and for pastors Mondays are supposed to be recovery days from all that Sunday entails.) I'm tired and I don't feel good. I've got several big bills to pay this week. I have so much to get done in the next few days, and on and on and on. All of the sudden Godspoke to my heart and said it doesn't have to be that way. We talk about it all the time, but the enemy is so subtle in his approach to creeping into our thought life and attitudes. Our patterns in our thought life are so important. They can literally determine the outcome of an entire day. So I made up my mind at that moment I am not giving up this day to that outlook. And God just helped remind me about all of His blessings in my life and how many times He has brought me through weeks just like this one. So let's maximize what we get out of today by keeping our thoughts based on who Jesus is and what He can do.

Co-habitation

Everybody knows, whether you watch Judge Judy or not, the current trend is instead of getting married, to live together. The politically correct vonacular would be "co-habitation". It's real easy as a Christian to get on a soap box and point out the obvious sin in shacking up together. Scripture clearly explains the devestating effect of immorality on a human life. However, take a look at another level of co-habitation. Many Christians are attempting to cohabitate in their relationship with Christ. We would never verbalize it, but often our lack of committment to the relationship expresss it. Our actions say things like "I want to have all the benefits of a relationship, but I want to leave my options open." "I want to know He's always there for me, but sometimes I want to explore my options." Sorry, to burst the selfish balloon, but it don't work that way. We serve a jealous God, who will have no part of a shared relationship. He wants our full, undivided committment. We cannot play games and indulge our desires, and then come home expecting God to be waiting up for us. Jesus said He will return for a blood washed BRIDE, not a co-habitant.

kids fest

Don't forget, no service tonight. Everyone is invited to Paradise Park at I-470 and Colbern rd. in Lee's Summit for Kids Fest.

God help me

God help me today.
-Help me to not take myself too seriously.
-Help me to admit my mistakes and learn from them.
-Help me to appreciate the life you have given me.
-Help me to live life today with tomorrow in mind.
-Help me to have a willingness to learn.
-Help me to grow in your wisdom.
-Help me to add value to someone else's life.
-Help me to choose what I say carefully.
-Help me to be a better husband and father.
God help me today so at the end of the day, I can say with full confidence I am better off than I was when I opened my eyes this morning.

Moment of truth

I have been somewhat hesitant about this subject, but I feel like it needs to be opened. For the last nearly 20 years of my life I have watched friends and those I knew only by names, walk away from church and eventually God. These are people that were raised in our Assembly of God churches, most of them by Christian parents. But somewhere along the line, something was missing, because they continue to step away from a relationship with Christ. It's like a continual epidemic. What happened? I think I have some insight because I have first hand knowledge. I grew up in church with the best parents. I was surrounded by Christianity. But when high school hit and then college came, I began to walk away from what seemed like too much of what was talked about but never lived out. Then there came a day in my adult life that I had drifted so far away from God that I believe he sent out possibly one of his last life preservers. And it was at that moment I believe for the first time that I put God on the throne of my life. You see I said the prayer and ask Jesus into my heart at the age of eight. And the stats keep telling us we have to reach them at a younger and younger age. But I believe in every persons life there comes a moment when the gaunlet is thrown down and you will either embrace a growing life with Christ or pull the plug. There is a reason why the Bible tells us when someone comes to Christ and knows the truth, then walks away, it would be better if they had never known. It is because of the suttle hardening of your heart towards the things of God. God will not allow his grace to be made a mockery of. My heart splits wide open whenever I think of those that I knew so well that have turned their lives over to the world. I know that some of them read this blog. So let me be as plain and to the point as I can. There is no amount of talking, preaching, or sobbing that can convince you to run to God. You can either choose to have your moment of truth now and stop the games or you can have your moment of truth when you kneel at the feet of Jesus to receive judgement. It's your call.

The student from Englewood is safe and back home now. Thank you for your prayers.

prayer request

I received an urgent prayer request this morning from Pastor Brad at Englewood. A high school girl that attends Englewoood school and is also a member of the youth group and their worship team, disappered last night. Shen went to Independence Center and has never come home. Please pray for her right now.

If you missed the Extreme Makeover video or would like to view it again, here is the link...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rj9oWXx7j6o

No loners

On Saturday I had the privelage to speak to some of our guys at the prayer breakfast. I want to give you the condensed version so you can give it some thought this week at work. Here's the question...Do people come to you? At work, in your family, among your friends; do people come to you to ask your opinion, to ask for prayer, for insight, etc. If they do, why do they? If they don't, why not? When Jesus walked the earth, people always came to him. And don't play the "well he's God card". Everything he has, he offers to you. So people should be coming to you, because of what is inside you. And it's not a pride thing, just the opposite. Who should the world be going to looking for life help and direction? But it is also possible that people may be coming to you for the wrong thing. People do it all the time. Are they coming to you to be fed a healthy diet or do you feed the disease they already have? Gossip, poor atttitudes, bitterness, rebellion...
So this week, just think about it...can a healthy Christian really be a loner?

What a Day!

Sunday was just too awesome! First, we were able to hear some great insight from the ladies conference that took place last week. The ladies who shared really gave us some insight into what a powerful conference it really was. (I am trying to get my wife to sit down and share some more on this blog about the conference) Then we watched the video that Jordan Mills and Pastor Chris prepared from Extreme Makeover. It was incredible to see the transformation in a 3 minute time period. My only complaint was somehow the shot of Ron falling through the floor with a sledgehammer, ended up on the cutting room floor. We also honored some of the people that went above and beyond to make makeover a success. And the icing on the cake was an incredible Bears victory over the Green Bay Packers! Sorry Chiefs fans.

Fire at will

Do we blame the devil or not? Often times as Christians we have a tendancy to give the enemy way too much credit. Many times what is going wrong in our lives has to do with unwise choices we have made. However, there is no doubt in my mind when you are in the center of God's will, satan will intentionally and relentlessly throw his arsonal in your path to divert you away from God's plan and purpose. This week, in the ministry of TPC is a great example. We just came off an incredible week of the makeover project where people inside the church and outside were impacted. Then this week is the women's conference. In other words we stirred up a hornet's nest. Myself and several other people just that I know of personally, have been bombarded with missles from the enemy. It's been rough. But I want you to know, I couldn't be happier or more excited! No, seriously! As the body of Christ we are advancing forcefully and the devil can't stand it. I never will be able to be in a church that is not smack dab on the front lines. This is where the action is. Don't ever retreat, keep firing!

makeover '07

WOW! UNBELIEVABLE! INCREDIBLE! I could go on and on with words trying to describe the last 7 days. There is nothing that compares to the week of extreme makeover. The challenge seemed too big. But we prayed and you did it. With God's favor, strength and wisdom, you did it. There is freedom when you exchange your religious garments for serving clothes. The true test of having a servants heart is when you don't mind it when people treat you like a servant. As a church we preached 7 messages in 7 days on servanthood through this makeover to a community. A neighborhood was inspired, we were blessed, and Wanda is exstatic. We capped it off with a service yesterday where God was present to honor your faithfulness. I'm proud of you. I can't wait for the next challenge.

Makeover day 4

Makeover week is in full swing. Some of the guys have been putting in 8-12 hour days already. Everyday God has given us some of those timely miracles we needed. Everytime we have come up against an obstacle (including the snake) He has removed it for us. There is no greater sight than the Word of God in action. Keeep up the prayers!

What's lies beneath?

A big thank you to everyone that came out for demo night yesterday at the makeover house. It was a combination of sweat, dust, a little blood, and alot of laughs. A special thank you to Ron Frasier for providing us with the highlight for the 2007 makeover bloopers tape. There were a couple of places in the floor that we tore into and discovered that water damage had been going on for so long it had actually rotted some of the supporting floor joyces. Many times the superficial problems in our own lives that we pass off and ignore lead to deep rooted problems. The longer we let them go, the higher the costs and the more destructive the damage. It will most likely be painful, a little costly, and time consuming, but don't alow the destrucutive things in your life to rot the last few remaining things that are holding you up. Pay a little now or alot later. Continue to keep the makeover project and workers in your prayers.

Step lightly

I am reading through a couple of new books in my study time. One of them has such a great illustration in it, that we are going through and discussing it on Wed. nights. It uses the correlation between satan's tactics and the effects of landmines. In the enemy's cunning tactics to keep us from becoming the person of Christ we were created to be; he will put landmines of temptation and sin in our path. Landmines such as jealousy, pride, sexual impurity, etc. And if we are not listening closely to the voice of the Spirit of God, we can step on one of those landmines. If we do, the impact not only injures us but it effects our family, our relationships, and can even damage our personal testimony. The good news is we have a guide. Whenever we find ourselves in a minefield, God always has a way mapped out for us: "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. but when you are tempted, He will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." So today, when you find yourself in a spiritual battle, watch out for those landmines.

Don't stop pointing

Just about everyone, at some point in their childhood, has had their mother or father say that familiar phrase to them. "Don't point, it's not polite." And if your parent was really on top of it they'd follow it up by saying "Besides you've got three fingers pointing back at you." Let's look at at pointing this way...Everytime you attempt to point someone to Christ, rememeber from that moment on they are looking back at you to see what Christ is all about. Are we perfect? No. Is it fair? Probably not. Is it a serious truth? Absolutely. "Let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven." (Matt. 5:16) Two questions for you:
1. Did you purposely help point someone to Christ today?
2. When they look back at you, can they see you living it out?

Sunday recap

We had a really great day yesterday at TPC. Thank you to everyone who stayed for the luncheon to help support the women's conference. It was a huge success! You know it went well when they're scraping the bottom of the pans for more food. In our study yesterday we discovered it really is possible to go beyond happy and actually live with a full tank of joy even during the rough spots of life. Try putting it into action this week. Remember no matter what, no one and no situation can steal your joy unless you hand it over. Anything God given can't be earthly taken away. Finally, please continue to remember the Extreme Makeover project in your daily prayers. Have an awesome week!

The plane! The plane!

I am not exactly sure of all the reasons as to why so much of my thinking recently centers around being "real". One of the reasons, I am fairly sure about, is that I grew up in the midst of many pastors and spiritual giants being exposed for some pretty horrific things going on in their lives. Yet every week up until they had to come clean, they were still out there preaching the word of God like everything was peachy. I saw so much of that early on, that it actually was a one of the obstacles that delayed me for so long from acknowledging and embracing my call into the ministry. And I really believe one of the reasons that it happened to so many was the fact that they refused to live in and deal with reality. Often times we get our head so far in the clouds talking about vision and what we want to happen, that we jump off the reality ship and start living on fantasy island. Proverbs 28:19 says "He who works his land will have abundant food, but the one who chases fantasies will have his fill of poverty." If I am jobless, and I just keep telling anyone that will listen that one day I am going to land that dream job that pays 100k, and refuse to go work another job, I am foolish. We just talked about it last night. God may one day help you land that job. But I certainly do not see any way that he is going to bless you with that until reality is embraced and We're willing to work at the low paying job with all of our heart first. Paul never tried to cover up the fact he was in prison. He embraced his circumstances, his reality if you will, and allowed God to receive glory through it. Not every plane that flies by is our ticket to fantasy island. Let's work hard where we are and allow God to land the right plane in our life.

Why not call it like it is?

From day one of becoming the pastor at TPC I have purposely attempted to create an atmosphere of openness and transparency. In other words, no church hide and seek with what is really going on. So with that in mind, let me share with you some things I shared with the staff today...56-7 will always stay with me because it was the score of the worst football game I was ever a part of and it happened my freshman year in high school. I will never forget that horrible feeling of knowing I could have done a much better job helping my team that day. Most coaches will tell you remember the feeling, but you have to just chalk it up as a loss and go on. So let me get to the point quicker; I felt like yesterday as church we had one really great score as a team when 2 people gave their hearts to the Lord for the first time. It is always worth that. But the rest of the game was a struggle and it starts with me. As the quarterback yesterday, I owe you an apology. Some things had happened and I allowed it to affect my attitude and there is no excuse for that. Sitting in a chair yesterday, probably no one would ever have known. But I had to ask God for forgiveness and I ask for yours as well. I want to encourage you as well with this...Prior to yesterday we have had some just phenominal services. The hunger and desire for more of God has been very apparent. So let's be very careful and not just hold on to that but let it grow. Intensify your passion for Christ by increasing your devotion time and purposely impacting someone elses life. Don't slow the train, push harder. You're awesome!

I SMELL GAS!

I thought that might get your attention. No, I am not going to gross you out. Those were the words I said to Mindy when we turned in last night. ( I guess I really better explain quick now) God protected us again last night. We opened up the house due to the cool weather and because of that I was able to smell the large natural gas leak coming from our meter. The gas company spent several hours repairing it. So thankfully all that was lost last night was several hours of sleep. Thank you God for the countless time.

Had enough sheep comparisons?

Last night we took the kids to see the circus; The Greatest Show on Earth. I have never been a big fan of the circus, probably because I usually associate them with carnivals. And carnivals have always left a bad taste in my mouth. I wasn't crazy about the ticket prices or paying $5 for a coke if you wanted one. (This was a great opportunity to show my kids how to drink out of the faucet in the restrooms. Just kidding.) However, everybody had a great time and it it was pretty entertaining. During one of the acts, God showed me something really simple but right on. While the elephants were performing at the commands of their trainers, the announcer made a comment that stuck with me. He said these elephants are only performing movements that they would do in the wild. I had to laugh a little. I am no expert on elephants, but I seriously doubt if in the jungles of Asia there are a herd of elephants standing on their trunks and doing ballerina spins on small stools. But then God showed me this; those elephants are acting just like we have at times. How often do we compromise and act just the way the rest of the world tells us we should. In Christ we are mighty in power just like those 4 ton elephants. But we find ourselves trying to perform for the world. It is unnatural for those elephants to act that way, and it is just as unnatural for we as Christians to be cowering to the crack of the whip of the world. I wanted to run down to the floor and scream at those elephants to take off those costumes and start acting like elephants. And I believe often times the Spirit of God cries out to us to take off the ridiculous masks and start walking in the authority of Jesus Christ.

Reality check

My wife and I have this same discussion many times. It is about the difference between being optimistic and being a realist. Sometimes when I say something she says I am being a pessimist. But I maintain, no I am just stating fact. So this morning I heard a pastor on the radio that really helped me clarify this issue. He said you as a Christian don't need to be a pessimist or an optimist, you need to be a realist. Why? Because until we are willing to fess up to how things really are with us, we'll never get what we need to fix the problems of life. Yes we are to live a life of faithful expectations in Jesus Christ; absolutely. Speaking those things that are not as though they are is putting our faith into action. But it is not denying the reality of right now. Peter told Christ he would never deny him. But Peter was not being realistic about his spiritual maturity and eventually he had to come to grips with it so he could continue to grow. If I am driving down the road and have a flat tire, I can deny that reality as much as I want. But if I don't stop and change it, I am going to suffer much more damage. If we never admitted to God we are sinners in need of a Savior, we would never receive salvation. If you want to change your life for the better, be humble enough to admit your reality and then ask God for the solution. There are only three reasons I know of that cause us to deny our reality: pride, insecurity, and fear.

Our new arrivals: Tires and babies

First of all, I want to sincerely thank all the guys and the wives that came together to purchase a new set of tires for my truck. When I received the call last week and was told what you had done, my heart was overwhelmed. My old truck drives like a sports car now (well maybe a 3/4 ton sports car). I am so blessed to not only be your pastor but to have you as friends as well.
Secondly, congratulations to Tim and Jessie on the arrival of their daughter Lydia Paige. She is a 7 lb. 12 oz. beautiful miracle. Mom, baby and daddy are all doing terrific.

Ch, Ch, Ch, Changes

My sons are going to become teenager in just about a month. I have already begun to notice some suttle changes in them. Not so much the physical changes like the dramatic Peter Brady voice over, or a major need for deoderant. But the 7th. grade discussions on how was your day are leaning towards involving more girl names and less about trading finger skateboards. There is one change I have noticed that may cost me 10 years less of my life, and that is their lack of focused listening. For the first 12 years of life, they very rarely missed a beat when they were given instructions to do something. Now, they are dangerously close to the realm of selective listening. After the incident today, code name "dishwasher", I tried to explain to them that when you fail to listen to all the instructions, it not only affects you, but it affects people around you. That fact will always blow up in our face when it comes to listening to God's voice in our own lives. Christians, especially pastors, many times have this tendancy to convince ourselves that due to our "spiritual maturity" we already know what God would say in certain situations. So we begin to tune more of His voice out and put more of our spin on our decisons and thought process. However, when we use selctive hearing with God's voice it is always going to affect more than just our own lives. Listen to God's voice in your life and don't get in a hurry to walk away with only part of His instructions.

computer fritz

Sorry, My computer has been on the fritz. Please check back with us this afternoon and we should be back up and running.

Don't worry, be happy

I have felt myself being anxious about alot of things lately. So God brought me back to Phil. 4 where Paul instructs us to be anxious about nothing. I wasn't making much progress until I looked the verse up in another version; the Message. "Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life." That's powerful stuff. In todays vanacular, it would be "chill out in the faith."
Don't worry, be happy really can work when you allow God's peace and strength to calm your apprehension. The anxiousness comes in when we become impatient with God and force our own hand.

The clapper

Clap on, Clap off. It is awesome to watch a piece of modern technology help illustrate the word of God. That is what the "clapper" did today. We had a great service this morning; in worship, many visitors, but most importantly were the people that walked the isle to give their heart to God. The youth ministry did a terrific job of preparing our fellowship tonight. There's no substitute for root beer floats and great conversation. I hope you have a great week and don't forget next Sunday will be our Extreme Makeover revealing for 2007. You won't want to miss it!

F3N

There's nothing like Friday Family Fun Night. F3N was created a few years ago in our family and I am so glad we did. We had a great time together last night. Children need stability about as much as they need anything else in their lives. They need to know that there are times where they have your complete attention and that you have made them your top priority after your relationship with Christ. If you don't make it a constant on the calendar, there is always something that is going to steal your time from making it happen. You cannot go back and make up for time you gave away. It doesn't have to be a money blowing night where you give them whatever they want. You cannot buy their love or respect. Just give your family one night a week where your willing to shut down everything else. Now come tomorrow ready to minister and worship the God of the universe!

Sleep Number Stones

The Bible records a story about Jacob that really struck me funny. It says he stopped one night to catch some sleep. And when he laid down to sleep, listen to this, he took a stone that was by him and put it under his head. Then he went to sleep and had an incredible dream where God spoke to him and set his future into motion. I had to laugh , a rock for a pillow? Are you kidding me? I have camped out a lot in my life. I have had to use rolled up coats for pillows; backpacks, even at times I had nothing to put my head on. But I can honestly say, I never once considered sliding a rock under my head for a pillow. What is that sleep number; negative 75? But the story goes onto say that when Jacob woke up he he said, how awesome is this place! He even concecrated the rock. Most of us would have woke up complaining about how bad our neck hurts and if God was going to bless us so much, why did we have a rock for a pillow? Here's the lesson; if we will get our focus off of our circumstances and allow God to pour into our lives, all of our temporary hardships will seem insignificant compared to the proimises of God.
The bonus material can be found in Matthew 21:44

Power of Prayer

For whatever reason I tuned into part of the democratic debate. I missed the actual phrasing of the question, but it was obvious they were asked to give their views on the power of prayer. Besides the entertainment of watching them squirm, there was one answer given by three of them that caught my attention. They said they believe in the power of prayer for comfort and peace but prayer cannot stop bad things from happening. If you go back to the example that Jesus left for us on how we should pray, you'll see a perfect example of how prayer can stop bad things from happening. "Lead us not into temptation". God gives us the ability to say no to tempatation which can stop many destructive things from entering our lives. In a broader sense, prayers have blocked untimely deaths through healing, protected lives when we did not even know it, kept marriages from divorce and the list goes on. God promises he will raise a standard against the enemy. He is a shield around us. Becasue of the world we live in, we will all have to deal with some terrible things in our life time. But there are countless times God can keep us safe simply by touching His heart through the power of prayer.

Coping with stress

A few weeks ago in my class on Sunday we learned some principles for coping with stress. There is one by Rick Warren that is so on target, I want to share it with you. The principle is this: Know whom you're trying to please. Jesus did. Here's what he said in John 5:30: "By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgement is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me." Listen, you can't please everybody, because by the time one group becomes pleased with you, another group gets upset with you.
When you don't know whom you're trying to please, you cave into thre things:
1. Criticism - because you are concerned what others will think of you.
2. Competition - because you worry about whether somebody else is getting ahead of you.
3. Conflict - because you are threatened when anyone disagrees with you.
Matt. 6:33 helps us understand that if I focus on pleasing God, it will simplify my life.
We love to blame our stress on other people and obligations. "You made me" "I have to"
Hardly anybody makes us do anything, so usually we can't blame other people for our stress. We are not victims unless we allow ourselves to be pressured by others peoples demands.

Weeeks! Wrong, I meant days.

Sorry, out of town for a few weeks. Be back with you on Monday.

The Power of Too

Words are powerful. They have power of life and death. The word TOO is a double edged sword. Today's Party at the Point community outreach was a perfect example. It was too hot. There was too much work to do. It would have been too easy just to stay home. But the flip side is just as powerful. There were too many people from our community that came needing someone to share the love of God with them. Turning Point has people who care too much to stay home. You are too awesome!
Despite the intense heat, everyone that signed up to help (except one sickness) came through like a champion. The success of today is a direct result of your effort and attitude combined with the strength and faithfulness of God. I want you to know as your pastor; I am proud of you. I am in awe of your continual attitude of serving. I am humbled to be able to share life with you.
Thank you.

Opportunity of a lifetime

I can't believe it! It's hard to imagine that I can even offer this opportunity to you. Before you read any further , get a pen and a piece of paper or just press print now. Are you ready? O.K., here it goes...tomorrow morning beginning at 9:30 you have an opportunity grow in the knowledge and grace of God, to worship the creator of the universe, to experience the presence of a Holy God, and to help someone else encounter the depth of the love of Jesus Christ. And you get to experience all of this with other people in the same place. I know, I can't hardly believe it myself. But it's true! Come with an elevated expectation of what God will and can do. And besides all of that, you have the opportunity to hear from the only pastor in the nation still wishing for his missing front tooth. See you tomorrow!

The Thicket

One of the things I look forward to every year is my week of deer hunting. For me, it has never been about the size or quantity, I absolutely love being outdoors and experiencing it with my friends and family. I have a friend, who I refer to as the deer whisperer, simply because he always seems to know where they are. Last year when I arrived late, he gave specific advice by telling me if I would go and sit in the thicket long enough, the deer would come. It was nearly a five hour wait in a very uncomfortable place. But the thicket paid off in a huge way. There was also a thicket that played a huge role in Abraham's life. You know the story of God telling Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. But at the last second, God stopped him and provided a ram for the sacrifice that was waiting in the thicket. Here is the life lesson; God will always provide if we can follow the example of Abraham. First, he was, completely obedient to God's instructions. Second, when God spoke he listened and it saved the life of his son. Sometimes when God gives us our destination plans, there are turns and stops along the way in order for us to grow. Thirdly, the Word says that "Abraham looked up and there in the thicket he saw a ram." Many times when we are asking God for something, we assume it has to come in a certain package. But I believe if we will look closely, through the trees and obstacles of life, we will see God is continually blessing us with exactly what we need.

K.I.S.S.

Today I had the unfortunate task of taking my cell phone in for repair. I had heard all the horror stories of how long I would have to wait. Unfortunately, all the stories were true. It was two hours I lost out of my day just to find out the phone could not be repaired. The really sad part of the story is I was the first one in the store. Having plenty of time to think and observe, (which helps keep your from focusing on the time) I came to a conclusion of what the I believe was at source of the long wait. The company had completely over complicated the process. In an effort to simplify the process on their end, they had made it a dreadful experience for the customer. But then how often do we do the exact same thing in our own lives? God, in a way that only He could do, has made our manuel for life so simple that anyone can follow it. We are the ones that bring complications to the table. The apostle Paul said, "Everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial." There are alot of great opportunities that come along in life, but that doesn't mean we are to overfill our lives with everything that comes our way. If we could just learn to be consistent in the simple things then we could accomplish much more in life. When we over complicate the process, we end up doing alot more talking than succeeding. The most successful people in life have learned how to simply do one thing but do it consistently and give it everything they have.

Just be you

Last night we had our couples fellowship at Longview Lake. We had a great turn out of about 40 people. Normally when there is a strong wind at a picnic, your easily frustrated in your constant attempt to anchor everything down. But when it is 95 degrees, any small breeze is like a Christmas present. Despite the heat, we had an awesome time. There were many highlights to the night, including a hoola hoop contest won by Pastor Chris (he'll never admit it), a cut throat horse shoe contest, and a sand volleyball tournament that was supposedly won by Tim's team known as the rock angels. But as the night went on, the one thing that stood out the most to me was the fact that everybody was just being themselves. You say well that's no big deal. It is a huge deal, especially among Christians. Many Christians often find themselves living their lives trying to be something they are not. Two quick things to remember: true Christian fellowship can't happen until you allow yourself to relax and just be yourself. It happens when we allow people to see behind our insecurities.Secondly, one of the greatest sources of tension in someone's life can be the continual pressure to be something you're not. You are a super natural creation of the living God. Now let's keep living like it. Have a great day!

never think never

I never gave a second of my thinking to having a blog. It just seemed to me to be something else to steal more of your time. But never think never. A few months ago, in one of those moments when you know beyond any doubt that God is speaking something directly to you, he shocked me again by telling me to begin a blog. I realize by this time in my life, you have to let up on analyzing all the why's and just do it. So here it is in it's birthing stage. Beginnning Monday August 6, this blog will officially kick off for Turning Point Church. It is my prayer that this spot will in someway, at any given time, encourage you, challenge you, elevate your dreams, help you to grow in a relationship with Christ and last but not least give you a good laugh from time to time.