jude25

What would it be like without the Holy Spirit?

2009-06-10T08:32:00.003-04:00

Last week I was broken in several ways from the Advance conference held here in Durham. One of the strongest came from Matt Chandler. Before he dove into his sermon, he was frightened by the thought of a conference without the work of God's Spirit. He stopped and asked us as a body to pray for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. This is huge.

I don't know about you, but it is very easy for me to chart out a plan in ministry, set some goals, spread the vision, but somehow bypass the Holy Spirit in the process. I don't think plans and goals and vision are bad things, but they are useless without the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. Conferences are a waste of money if the Holy Spirit doesn't work. Churches are dead if the Holy Spirit doesn't show up. Ministries are lifeless without the work of his Spirit. Marriages are harsh and bitter without him. My life is cold and empty without him.

So, this is an urge and a reminder to beg for the Holy Spirit. I've said it before and I'll say it again, I want things to happen in my life and ministry that cannot be explained through human exertion. I want God to move in people when a sermon sucks. I want God to break us open when the song is off key. I want God to devastate my heart when I drive through my neighborhood. I want those far from God to become filled with life. I want my marriage to be beautiful and miraculous. Ultimately, I want God to have the glory in my life and ministry. I want to point back to him every time I'm asked why things are the way they are. I don't want to look back and see what my hands have done. Rather, I want to look back and see God working in and around and through these weak hands.

"Religious" People

2009-05-31T21:43:00.002-04:00

This morning my pastor spent some time going through a portion of Scripture from Matthew chapter 23. Basically, the chapter is a discourse Jesus has with the "religious" people of his day. If you don't know, Jesus and religious people didn't get along very well. Actually, they murdered him. Shortly after Jesus rebukes the religious people in chapter 23, they begin to organize their plot to have Jesus arrested and put to death. Here is a summary my pastor gave called "6 Timeless Characteristics of Religion." And just so you know, "religious" people are found in every religion, and they are characterized as follows.

1. Religious people are obsessed with recognition.

Religious people want to be praised by others, seen by others, and recognized by others. Their religious action is propelled by motives of self-glory.

2. Religious people substitute religious ritual for knowing God.

Rather than seeking a personal relationship with God, religious people are more concerned with their rituals. They mistakenly think the ritual is they're relationship with God.

3. Religious people elevate secondary traditions above love for God.

They become extremely unbalanced on what is important. They make minor issues central and neglect the weightier matters of justice, mercy and faithfulness. They care more about the outward appearance than the inward reality. They focus on buildings, clothes, music styles and order of services instead of life change.

4. Religious people elevate religious ritual over a love for others.

Unfortunately, in North Carolina, there are more churches than homeless people. I realize not all homeless people desire another lifestyle, but is Southern Christianity focused on the right things? I'm afraid not. It's unfortunate...and I am to blame.

5. Religious people are more aware of the sins of others than they are of their own sins.

6. Religious people think we're talking about someone else.

You probably have been thinking of all the religious people you would like to receive stoning, but before we throw the first stone, we're probably more religious than we think. It's true. I'm more religious than I think. You are more religious than you think. I thank God He allows me to see my religiosity, and doesn't let me walk blindly.

Twitter

2009-05-07T13:44:00.003-04:00

After I reasoned to never be a part of something called, "twitter," I must admit, I'm totally hooked to this new social networking phenomenon. Although it started in 2006, I just found out about this new networking tool. At first I was skeptical and considered it to be immensely egocentric (in which it can be), but I decided to use it rather to find links, books, blogs, and to stay connected with my community of peeps. Today, I'm actually sick at home, and my two small group leaders have used Twitter to encourage and pray for me. That's awesome!

Basically, Twitter is similar to Facebook status updates, telling people what your doing, think, reading, etc. You can only write up to 140 character per "tweet" to inform people, so that makes it concise and short. You choose who you would like to follow, and others choose whether or not they would like to follow you. It's a brilliant concept already used by our church, small group, staff, and other ministry networks. On the left side of my page, you can read my latest "tweets."

If you aren't on Twitter, jump on board. I'm sure you'll love it!

Advance 09

2009-04-21T22:33:00.003-04:00

I'm proud to tell you about an incredible conference coming to Durham, North Carolina, June 4-6, 2009. Advance 09 is designed to spark a resurgence of the local church, especially here in the South. It's all about God's gift to his people - the Church. Among the incredible line up of speakers includes my pastor, J.D. Greear, from the Summit Church. Then others include John Piper, Mark Driscoll, Matt Chandler, Ed Stetzer, Daniel Akin (my seminary president), Eric Mason, Brian Chapel and Tyler Jones. You definitely need to check out this short trailer and register at Advance 09. You can also follow Advance 09 on Twitter.

TOMS Shoes on AT&T

2009-04-16T11:34:00.005-04:00

Blake Mycoskie, Chief Shoe Giver of TOMS Shoes, was featured in an AT&T commercial as part of AT&T’s latest ad campaign. Blake, a Christian, developed TOMS Shoes to be a shoe company that exists to provide shoes for children across the globe who don't have shoes. For every pair of shoes they sell, they give one pair to a child in need, literally One for One. I personally own a pair myself (and have an iPhone through At&T!!). They also have a cool look to them. I didn't know AT&T was going to be featuring TOMS until I saw the first commercial whiling viewing the Masters Golf Tournament this past weekend. I was blown away.

Filming for the commercial began in early February 2009. Using a variety of locations, shooting stretched over several weeks and two continents. The result is a commercial that captures the essence of TOMS.

Since its beginning in 2006, TOMS Shoes has given 140,000 pairs of shoes to children in Argentina, Ethiopia, and South Africa. TOMS plans to give 300,000 pairs of shoes to children in need in 2009.

First aired during the Masters golf tournament, and slated to run over 12 weeks, the AT&T ad with Blake will allow TOMS Shoes to reach hundreds of millions of people. TOMS’ simple One for One movement should inspire viewers, which will allow TOMS to give even more shoes to children in need around the world.

Make your next shoe purchase be TOMS!

Lunch with a successful church planter

2009-04-02T09:15:00.002-04:00

On Tuesday I met with David Cox, someone I would consider to be a successful church planter. After several years of ministry, David planted a church here in Raleigh at the age of 34. He remained at this church for 7 years and watched the church grow to 700 people. The church is still thriving and keeps a regular attendance upwards of 1,400 people 12 years later. While numbers aren't the main criteria for a healthy church, I do believe a healthy church should grow.

Here are some random insights I viciously scribbled in my journal from our time together. I hope you enjoy.

• “God is absolutely faithful and completely unpredictable”

• Say “no” to the sheep when you know what is best…they are sheep; don’t be a pushover

• The people who come to a church plant are often seeking control and power

• Wait at least 1 year before adding elders

• A church plant is less defined during the beginning, and as you define the church, you will loose people who don’t like where you are going

• Be balanced in all the purposes of the church and keep prayer as the vital foundation upon which all the purposes stand

• 1 pastor can only manage up to 100 people, so equip and empower others to do ministry; let go and let them run with it; meet with a gifted person 1 on 1, inspire them with a vision for a specific ministry, and let them go for it

• 3 vital roles of the pastor—Preach the Word, Pray, & Lead…only the pastor can do these things, and if he doesn’t, no one will

• Don’t target a particular demographic, but target the purposes of the church; if you are doing your purposes, they will attract all ages

• Don’t plant a church because you think it will be cool or interesting; only plant if you know God is leading you to do so

My Commitments in Marriage

2009-03-25T18:58:00.004-04:00

I'm a list guy. I like to write things down, make notes and journal. So, I've made a list of my commitments in marriage to Ashley and to God. Here it is for what it's worth...I think it's pretty awesome. Let me know if you have ideas of things I should add.

1. Love Jesus

2. Have a job and keep it

3. Leave Mom & Dad—Genesis 2 & Ephesians 5

4. Become one with Ashley & never leave her—Genesis 2:18-25; Matthew 19:6; 1 Corinthians 7:10

5. Ashley is God’s daughter, so treat her as you should

6. Ashley is Bill’s daughter, so take care of her

7. Be a one-woman man—1 Timothy 3:2; 1 Corinthians 7:2
--a. Keep my eyes off other girls & pornography
--b. Keep my mind devoted to Ashley

8. Love Ashley as Jesus has loved me and the church and gave himself up for it—Ephesians 5:25-; Colossians 3:19

9. Disciple Ashley—Ephesians 5:26-27

10. Honor Ashley—1 Peter 3:7
--a. Physically
--b. Emotionally
--c. Verbally
--d. Financially
--e. Practically
--f. Parentally
--g. Spiritually

11. Serve Ashley as if I were serving Jesus—Colossians 3:23-24
--a. Practically with tasks
--b. Sexually—1 Corinthians 7:3-5

12. Lead Ashley
--a. God holds me accountable for my family—Genesis 3; 1 Timothy 3:4-5
--b. I am the head of Ashley—Ephesians 5:23

13. Provide for Ashley-1 Timothy 5:8

14. Protect Ashley

15. Follow Jesus example, not Adam’s

16. Don’t be a coward or a chauvinist, be a godly man

Pitfalls in Church Planting

2009-03-23T08:36:00.002-04:00

No, I'm not an expert on church planting, but I'm learning as much as I can so that I will be well prepared one day to be a church planter and hopefully spark a church planting movement. However, some say Ed Stetzer is an expert on church planting. Ed is a great friend to our pastor and our church, he is the president of Lifeway Research, he has been involved with church planting for years and years. At the Summit, we have a church planting training program called SendRDU. Our pastor, J.D., has a God-sized vision to plant 1,000 churches through the Summit before he retires (which he has already scheduled in 2038...or something like that). Stetzer spoke for SendRDU last Tuesday at our monthly Missional Church Forum about Pitfalls in Church Planting. Here are his main points and the take-aways.

1. Lack of Preparation
Guys who typically have the drive of a normal church planter aren't the most prepared. Preparation needs to happen most in the area of spiritual preparation. Church planting is not the greatest environment for the leader to be fed spiritually.

2. Stressful Family Relationships
Planting a church magnifies and creates family issues. You are not the only church planter. Because of the work, your family is also planting the church. Both spouses must be enthusiastic about the work. Disaster happens when one is enthusiastic and one is willing. Willing won't keep you in church planting.

3. Inadequate Training
Read at least 10 books on church planting before you start. Don't fall in love with a strategy or method. Fall in love with your city, and then develop the best strategy and method to reach that city.

4. Lack of Accountability
Planters normally have more skill than maturity. It is crucial to have several mature mentors to be your guides.

5. Unrealistic Expectations
The average North American successful church plant is averaging 100 people after 4 years. This is a realistic expectation. This doesn't mean you shouldn't dream big, but keep your dreams from turning into number goals. Sometime numbers goals may be helpful, but often they are detrimental.

6. Broken Partnerships
Unfortunately, "mother churches" pull back from the plant because of unmet expectations. Don't plant a church because you think there are no good churches. Plant through a healthy church who can partner with you. Don't do it alone.

Sex

2009-03-11T12:39:00.002-04:00

If you're wondering, no, I'm not an expert when it comes to sex. I'm engaged and getting married on July 25th. So, ask me in a few months if you need advice. Yeh, I'm a Christian who practices chastity before marriage. Anyways, I heard a great talk a few weeks ago by Mark Driscoll to 800 UNC college students concerning 3 ways our culture views sex.

1. Sex is god.

This is the predominant view of sex in our culture. We spiritually bow down to sex and worship it. It is our highest value and treasure. We long for it and serve it, and we allow it to consume our mind. We present our bodies to it and make sacrifices for it. Ultimately, it is our god. Americans spend more money on the sex industry than Major League Baseball, Basketball and Football combined. This is quite unfortunate.

2. Sex is gross.

This is the predominant view of sex among most conservative Christians and others. We don't talk about it. We sweep it under the rug and hope nobody brings it up. When it is brought up, we are told it is wicked and ungodly. It is nasty and naughty. It is what the pagans practice. This is also unfortunate.

3. Sex is a gift.

This last view is the proper and right view of sex. It understands that sex is one of the greatest gifts God has given to his creation. It is to be enjoyed and practiced. It is God's design to fill the earth with his people. It is a beautiful thing, a good thing. However, like most things in life, we unfortunately take a "good" thing and turn it into a "god" thing. Sex is supposed to glorify God. We should marvel at the knowledge and goodness of God when we think of sex. Therefore, let's keep sex in it's proper place where God designed it. He designed sex to be practiced between one man and one woman for life in the confines in marriage. This isn't because God is a mean and restrictive God. He designed it this way because this is the way it brings most satisfaction and fulfillment. When we exchange God's design for our own, we always miss the mark and ruin a good thing. He cares for us. He loves us. He wants the best for us. He is wiser than we are, and we should follow his plan and creation. This is where satisfaction, joy and fulfillment come in life.

Believe, Part 2

2009-03-05T08:10:00.003-05:00

I wanted to share with you a few statements or anthems our church is standing on during "Believe" (the Mission Expansion Project; you can find part 1 here). It has been awesome to see our church invigorated and inspired to be a part of the mission of God for our city. Here we go:

1. "I don't want to build a monument with my life...I want to birth a movement."

2. "All that is necessary to complete the mission of God in the world is already in the hands of his church."

3. "The value you place on something is shown by what you'll give up for it."

4. "Throughout the Bible and throughout history, God shows off his power when people believe."

5. "Buildings are tools. People are our mission."

6. "I don't know what God is going to do, but I'll tell you what he won't do: he won't get up in the morning and check the stock market to determine which of his marvelous works he can afford to accomplish."

7. "God's people act differently in a time of recession because they know they have Jesus today and tomorrow."

It's official, I'm engaged!

2009-02-26T08:30:00.005-05:00

As of last night, at 8:00pm, I am officially engaged! Wow! Here's how it went down...

Ashley is ridiculously hard to surprise because she is most brilliant when it comes to gaining secret information. So, I pulled out all the stops...including a few lies (you have to do what you have to do). For the past several months, she knows I've been writing and composing a special song for her. Every few weeks I told her it is coming along little by little, trying to build some excitement. Since she has been expecting a proposal for the past few weeks, I told her I didn't have the ring, I haven't talked with her Dad, but I would play her the song to tide her over until the proposal (I talked to her Dad the previous day and picked up the ring yesterday). Well, yesterday I told her the song was ready, and since I was trying to surprise her, I couldn't have the ring on me because she feels my pockets often, hoping to find the ring box. Knowing I would sing her song to her downstairs, I previously hid the ring in the game drawer of her entertainment system. Well, the song moved her to tears (it was the bomb), and to make sure she was totally surprised, I asked, "Ok. Now can we watch 24?" She said, "What? Are you serious?" Then I said, "Or we can play a game," as I moved towards the game drawer. She recommended a game, but then I turned around and said, "I have something better." She was blown away and couldn't believe what was happening! I dropped to one knee and asked for her to marry me. She immediately said "Yes!"

It truly was the most incredible feeling ever. I'm not gonna lie...I was pretty nervous, not because I thought she would deny, but because you only get one chance to make it right, and I wanted to blow her away. Mission successful!

Believe

2009-02-23T08:13:00.005-05:00

As of February, my church has just begun a 3 year Mission Expansion Project for current facilities development, new campuses in RDU, and a permanent broadcast campus. We're calling it BELIEVE based on Ephesians 3:20-21,

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

Ultimately, our church is truly experiencing a movement of God. For some reason, God has decided to take our proverbial "five loaves and two fish" and multiply them into something miraculous. We are making a huge impact in our city, tons of people are experiencing Jesus, the gospel is advancing, the broken are being healed, the skeptics are becoming followers, the poor are being clothed and fed, and the church is being inspired to seek first the kingdom above all other things (additionally, in six years we have planted four churches, three new campuses, and currently have 40 members who are serving as international church planters). It is awesome! I love my church! If you want to hear what the media is saying, you can catch this story covered by NBC 17 here. They were at our main campus in Brier Creek two Sundays ago to see what our "Day of Hope" was all about.

The next blog post will include some of the major statements our church is rallying behind. They are powerful.

Hanging out with Mark Driscoll

2009-02-12T16:53:00.003-05:00

Last Thursday I had the opportunity to spend some time with my pastor, who lined up a speaking engagement at UNC for Mark Driscoll. Driscoll was in town for the Acts 29 Boot Camp and the 20/20 Collegiate Conference at Southeastern Seminary. He is one of the best communicators and pastors I've ever heard. His church, Mars Hill Church, is thriving in the least churched city in America, Seattle. He has written several books, he speaks hundreds of times a year, he founded the Acts 29 Movement and The Resurgence, he has a great wife and five children.

Fortunately, I was able to hang out with Mark for a couple hours Thursday evening. He is wicked smart, hilarious, encouraging and humble. Here are a two insights I'll share with you from my time with him:

1. His church has grown from the size of a small group to 8,000 people in 12 years. There has been a 40% conversion growth, which is incredible for any church. When I asked him to elaborate on this he said, "Honestly, I know this may sound cliche, but it has all happened because of the grace of God." I also asked him if this only happened during the Sunday services, to which he immediately replied, "It happens all the time. Our people are great about building relationships with Non-Christians. They hang out, eat together, and follow up with people who visit our church."

2. Right before Mark went on stage to speak to 750 college students, I asked, "So, what goes on in your mind before you preach?" He said, "Nothing really. Right now I'm thinking about my kids. If you get nervous before you speak, you've already bummed out. Truthfully, you just have to have some balls and say what you know to say...especially to college kids."

You should get his podcast and visit his website. I would highly recommend every book Driscoll has authored. I've read most of them, and they have been transforming for my life and ministry. Seriously, you want to follow this guy!

More Pics

2009-02-10T12:53:00.003-05:00

Here are a few pics from the massive St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City. I cannot imagine the worth of this place. While Catholics fall under the umbrella of Christianity, there are some obvious differences in how Protestants read the Scriptures and implement them. The highlight of my pictures was from a statue of St. Jude. I'm not completely sure if this guy is identical with the Biblical author, but I had to take a picture and post it on the blog because this is where the blog name comes, Jude 25. It reads, "to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen."

New York City

2009-02-04T18:27:00.006-05:00

Last week I spent three days in New York City on Manhattan Island with my lovely girlfriend. Fortunately, her Alma Mada, App State, has a cheap place for alumni to stay when visiting the city. It's a cool little pad on 24th Street and Park Avenue, and the layout is similar to a hostile. Thanks ASU!

If you've ever been to New York City, you relate when I say...I was completely blown away by the size of the buildings, the crowds of people, the fast pace society, and the cultural melting pot of endless nationalities. The city is incredible. We visited Times Square, the Empire State Building, Battery Park, Pier 17, Wall Street, Central Park (with a carriage ride), the Late Show with David Letterman (we were promoted to the 2nd row because of Ashley's enthusiasm!!), Rupert's Deli, the Broadway show "Wicked," the American Museum of Natural History, the Plaza Hotel, FAO Schwarz (Yes, we played on the big piano), Trump Towers, The Rockefeller Center, St. Patrick's Cathedral, China Town, Little Italy, Macy's, and much more. Ashley was awesome. From the moment I gave her the go-ahead for the trip, she already had our agenda planned for the entire three days, including meals. She's the bomb.

There was so much insight I learned from our visit. One, Ashley and I were in the minority most of the time, especially in the subway. It was quite humbling to be out of our comfort zone. Two, you have to make mad cash to live in Manhattan! Three, it is ridiculously cold in January. Four, always bring running shoes because you walk endlessly. Five, Jesus created and loves every single person in this city. He has made them to know him, to glorify him, and to live a joyful life of abundance through him. He is the God of this city. It was a great visit, and you should definitely check it out sometime while you are still in good shape.

(more pics in the future)

Missional Networks

2009-02-03T12:13:00.000-05:00

A huge goal for me is to be constantly engaged with the unchurched community around me. For years it seemed as if I only had relationships with people in a Christian bubble. It was not my plan to be this way, and I find it very unfortunate and sad that this was my reality. What is even more discouraging is the process of escaping this context. I was so far removed that it took approximately an entire year to feel like I had made a complete escape. When I look at Jesus’ life, he poured time into two main networks. First, he was constantly teaching and training his disciples, growing them and developing them to be leaders for his mission. And second, he was hanging out with the social misfits, prostitutes, and crooks of his day, namely, the unchurched crowd. So, here is a list of the networks I see for developing relationships with those who are unchurched. I have not mastered this list, and I don’t know most of my neighbors by name, but I’m constantly trying to engage people in these areas.

1. Family—often the first place to begin is your immediate and distant family. While this is sometimes a hard group to reach because of past experiences or fear of pushing family away, you likely already have a relationship with these people.

2. Neighborhood—unfortunately we live in an individualistic society, and this may be an obstacle for your area, but this is a huge place to develop relationships with the unchurched.

a. Meet your neighbors
b. Invite them over for dinner and parties
c. Participate in Neighborhood functions (block parties)
d. Use the holidays. Meet people at Halloween; give gifts (cookies and food) at Christmas
e. Volunteer with the HOA (Home Owners Association)

3. Workplace—this is probably your best network for reaching unchurched people. You spend upwards of 40-60 hours a week with these people month after month after month

a. Attend work parties
b. Bless your office with breakfast or lunch occasionally
c. Engage in conversations when people seem interested
d. Invite your co-workers over for dinner, parties, baby showers, wedding showers, ball games, etc…
e. Be intentional on business trips to spark conversations in the car or plane

4. School/Education—get to know your classmates and professors

a. Invite your classmates to parties and functions
b. Volunteer at your school
c. Bless your class in a creative way

5. Social Ministry—bless those in your city who are marginalized and in poverty; engage with rescue missions and programs who bless the poor

6. Community Programs—volunteer to serve when your city has a marathon or fundraiser

7. Sports Leagues—if you or your children are active in sports, use these opportunities to be a part of a city league; engage with others players and parents and invite them to hang out at parties and such

8. Recreation/Entertainment—wherever you find yourself every day in the community, be intentional about knowing people where you regularly go; try to visit the same places regularly so you get to know the people

a. Coffee shop
b. Restaurants
c. Movie theatre
d. Gas station
e. Grocery store
9. Online Relationships
a. Facebook
b. Twitter
c. Myspace

Thoughts on Preaching

2009-01-25T14:53:00.002-05:00

Here are some random cool thoughts that came into my head while I was listening to someone preach today. These thoughts are not directly correlated or in contrast with the person speaking, but my mind wondered while I was listening. Also, this is not an attempt to create an exhaustive philosophy of preaching.

1. Preach in a way that inspires people with a vision of what their lives could look like if they follow Jesus. Paint a picture of following Jesus for a college student leveraging his life for what matters most in this world. Paint a picture of following Jesus for a dad leading his suburban household, a single mom of three kids, a business owner, a grandparent, a high school student and a stay at home mom. Let them see what could be. While there is an important element of rebuke and revealing idolatry in preaching, don't forget the monumental value of inspiring people with vision.

2. Preach in a way that exposes American Christianity to global Christianity. Talk about what Christians face in Turkey, Afghanistan, China and India. Talk about what it means to take up your cross and suffer in a Muslim country. Talk about what it means to be a true church community in communist China. Talk about what it means to support other believers in the bush of Central Africa. Talk about what it means to be a Christian businessperson in London. Let's expose the local church to the universal church. Hopefully, this will breed humility, encourage thankfulness, and crucify apathy for our audience.

That's all I got for today.

Mastering Scripture...or being Mastered by Scripture

2009-01-22T22:51:00.002-05:00

Right now I'm journeying through the Gospels, studying the life of Jesus and his ministry. My beginning premise/idea was to master the gospels. I wanted to have an acute knowledge and understanding of every piece and detail of these books. I wanted to be well versed about Jesus' mission and his teachings. Ultimately, I wanted to do this so others would recognize my knowledge of Scripture. Doesn't this seem like a great idea? Not really. Immediately after I set out on this ambitious journey, I listened to D.A. Carson. I was humbled. It was a God thing. He said our goal for Scripture shouldn't be to master it, but rather to let it master us. Wow. I was struck down in my motivation for studying Scripture. Fortunately I was humbled and God desired to restructure my approach to his revelation. So, I am no longer trying to master the Gospels, but rather let them master me. I want them to proceed from my mind and penetrate the core of my will, soul & heart. I don't just want to know a bunch of stuff about the Gospels, but rather I want the Gospels to know me and own me at the core of who I am. This, I believe, is a much better approach.

Lunch with Ed Stetzer

2009-01-15T16:56:00.002-05:00

A few weeks ago I was privileged to have lunch with Ed Stetzer, a pastor, church planter, facts guru, and President of Lifeway Research. He spoke at my church and stayed for a luncheon with several of us who are ascribing to be a part of church planting. Here are a few church planting thoughts I walked away with.

1. 3 People you will invest time: the Leaders, the Lost, & the Leaners. If you are not intentional about your time, the Leaners (those who require counseling and those who require high maintenance because they are not happy about issues in the church) will take up all your time. While they are valuable people, Jesus spent the majority of his time with leaders and the lost.

2. Your wife has veto power to terminate ministry. She will speak truth into you that no one else will.

3. Have a weekly mentor to help steer and hold you accountable.

4. Church planters are normally very gifted and we usually over maximize our capacity to serve.

5. 3 Warning gages in ministry to let you know something is out of balance: your wife, your kids, and your health.

6. Keep your identity on the gospel, not your success or failure as a church planter.

7. The preaching gift is immensely valuable for a church planter.

8. Hold the mission strongly, hold the methods loosely.

9. Go with 20, not 200, so you will be more missional.

10. A team and more $ does not guarrantee success and survivability.

11. Everything rises and falls on leadership.

12. The typical church plant stays below an attendence of 100 for the first four years.

13. Most church planters are bivocational, which is a healthy model. It is easier and better, concerning momentum, to stop being bivocational rather than having to start being bivocational after the church has started.

3 Daily Meditations to Center on the Gospel

2009-01-10T11:20:00.002-05:00

My pastor, who I reference often on this blog, has a routine he practices every morning before he leaves the house (you can find his blog here). I find it remarkably powerful for my own life. While there could be numerous other things on which to meditate each day, these are his main three:

1. "God, because I am in Christ, I know there is nothing I can do today that would make you love me any more than you do right now, and there's nothing I can do to make you love me any less."
*This mindset flows from God's unconditional love of His children. If we are in Christ, our position in God's family is fixed. I don't have to spend my day impressing God, hoping He will see value in me and allow me into heaven. I don't have to perform for Him, hoping He accepts me. He already does.

2. "God, your presence and approval is all I need to have joy today."
*I don't have to spend my day, trying to obtain stuff that will make me happy. No job, no person, and no possession can add to the joy we find in knowing God. Also, if I suffer today and loose something or someone, my joy will be sustained because it rests in God, not my stuff.

3. "God, everything the Gospel tells me about your intentions for my life is TRUE."
*I can rest in the fact that God is on my side. The Scriptures say He is for us, not against us. God desires more for my life than even I do. He wants what is best for me, way more than I do. I can rest assured that today, God's intentions for me are completely good.

So, today is not a Survivor episode. I don't have to show everyone why I should not be thrown off the island...or, I don't have to prove myself to God or anyone else. My acceptance is already established in Christ. I can live my day, knowing that my value as person is secure in Christ.

My glory...or transforming the city?

2009-01-08T13:23:00.003-05:00

I have a strong desire and dream to transform a city or people group with the gospel of Jesus for God's glory. I want to start a movement in a city by planting churches who live out the transforming power of the gospel through radical love, generosity, humility and excellence in every domain of culture. However, sometimes I think this desire, at its core, may be more for my glory than God's. Here is a taunting question posed by my pastor, J.D. Greear. Do I still want my city to be transformed with the gospel, even if God chooses to use someone other than me to lead the process? Do I still want the entire city to reach transformation even if I don't receive any of the glory, even if I don't have a large church because of it, even if I don't get to speak at conferences because of it, even if I don't get to write books about it, even if God chooses to spark the transformation through my death? Wow! I hope my desire and dream is more about God than me. This is very humbling and challenging to my American mind. Hopefully, my life is ultimately more about God's kingdom than my kingdom.

What about you?

Defeater Beliefs

2009-01-07T10:36:00.003-05:00

Most cultures, especially post-modern people in America have defeater beliefs about Christianity. According to Tim Keller, a defeater belief holds to a set of 'common-sense' beliefs that automatically make Christianity seem implausible to people. Some of these include: "Christianity cannot be true because it claims there is only one way to God, and everyone knows there cannot only be one way to God;" another, "Christianity cannot be true because it claims there is a good God, but everyone knows that a good God wouldn't allow the suffering we see in the world;" another, "Christianity cannot be true because the church has been responsible for so much injustice;" another, "Christianity cannot be true because it teaches that a loving God sends people to hell;" another, "Christianity cannot be true because we all know that science has disproved the Bible;" another, "Christianity cannot be true because we all know you can't really trust the Bible. It is archaic and cruel."

It is very important to know the defeater beliefs in your own culture. Why? Not so that you can make more converts, but rather because you help people understand there own worldview and the presuppositions within that worldview don't really hold water. By showing the worldview of Christianity is plausible, you will knock down the walls that keep people from hearing the gospel. Once a person sees the value of a Christian worldview, they are more open to listen to the message of Christianity.

In all this, we are not called to be angry and arrogant debaters, but rather, we are called to be filled with two things. One, we should be filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. Two, we should be filled with the message of the gospel. However, these should be joined with a responsible knowledge of our culture. Everywhere we see the apostle Paul going in Scripture, he takes the gospel and the power of the Holy Spirit accompanied with an exegesis of the people. As he approaches different cultures and worldviews, he adapts his message to confront each defeater belief.

Looking back on '08

2008-12-31T10:54:00.009-05:00

Right now I'm sitting at a table in my pj's, sipping on some coffee, looking out the open glass doors of a beach house in Myrtle Beach. It's heavenly. My family is here, my girlfriend is here, and some friends are here.
2008 has been a great year. Even though I've been more broke this year than any other (grad school will do that), it has been beautiful. This year, more than any other, I have tried to see God's grace all around me. The breath I currently breathe is a result of God's grace. My mind, intellect, health, my family, my girlfriend, my education, my friends, my home, my vehicle, my jobs, and my spiritual life are all results of God's grace. The Scriptures tell how God's grace and mercy is new every day. He daily allows mankind to experience life. He is good. He is for us, not against us. He loves us. Even though we live in a world often characterized by evil, crime, destruction, and tragedy, God has not abandoned us. He is with us. How do we know? He had demonstrated to us His immeasurable love through His Son, Jesus. When we did not deserve it, Jesus came and lived the life we should have lived, he died the death we should have died, and he gives to mankind new life connected to God forever.
Today I thank God for richly and abundantly pouring His grace on me. 2008 was beautiful.

Jesus and other gods

2008-08-21T13:21:00.003-04:00

Why should I worship Jesus? (This message comes from Camp Victory Tuesday night)

Well, I'm not sure if you knew it or not, but everybody has a god, and everybody is worshiping something. Even the atheist college student that stays wasted all week has a god. (The next blog post will cover that topic in detail.) So, what is so special about Jesus that I should worship him?

Actually, he is the best God to worship because he is God. I know, that sounds a little crazy and maybe heretical to some of you, but Scripture teaches that Jesus is God the Son, who entered human flesh and history to redeem the fallen race of man. That is why almost 2 billion people on the planet today worship him as God the Son. He is the most famous person who has ever lived. More books have been written about him, more songs sung to him, more artwork painted of him, and more movies have been made about him than any other man or woman who has ever breathed. He has made such a huge impact on the world that our historical calendar is divided into B.C., "before Christ," and A.D., "the year of our Lord." No one has ever matched the life Jesus lived and no one has ever created a following of so many people like Jesus did. Why? Because he is God.

The book of Romans in the New Testament, specifically chapter one, talks about how me and you have turned our backs towards the one true God. Even though we know or knew at one point in time that God was real and powerful, we rejected that thought inside us and made or own god. The author of Romans says "we exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator." You see, we were made to worship the one true living God. When we follow that purpose for which we were created, we become fulfilled and satisfied and happy in Him. However, instead of that plan, we devise our own. We make a god of something or someone and worship and serve it without realizing that our own god cannot fulfill us and satisfy us like we want him/it to. This is the trap of life. This is what Satan is constantly trying to get people to do, and it is detrimental, just has history has shown us.

Instead of worshiping God, we worship our girlfriend or boyfriend or car or house or job or hobby. However, all the things that aren't God dissapoint us. They turn their backs on us and abandon us. They cheat on us and hurt us. They make us feel good for a moment, but they leave us with nothing left. We become empty and broken, unsatisfied and miserable. That is the problem. Ultimately, we make "idols" and "bow down" to them, and it usually takes some desperate broken situations to realize that our idols are worthless.

Therefore, the cure to idols is repentance. Repentance is making a total change of mind which leads to a new direction and lifestyle. We turn our backs to our idols and turn towards the one true God. We turn to Jesus and worship him. We let him become our joy, satisfaction, fulfillment and happiness.

Who or what do you worship? Hopefully it is Jesus.

Jesus & religion

2008-08-17T08:31:00.004-04:00

This post comes from the Wednesday night session at Camp Victory.

When I talk about religion, I'm not talking about it in a good way. This is my meaning of "religion." Religion says I am a good person. Religion says I can be my own salvation. Religion says if I'm good enough I can get to heaven. However, Jesus believed quite differently. Jesus said religious people were like evil snakes. Jesus said religious people were hypocrites. Jesus even said religious people have a hotter section in Hell. And, for some odd reason, religious people didn't like Jesus either. They actually are the ones who murdered him.

Many times we take two approaches to get to God. 1) We try to be a good person and come to God with our hands full of "religious deeds" hoping that God will see how good we are. 2) We realize we are messed up, evil people who have no possibility to stand before a holy God, so our only means to God is Jesus. Because he suffered the penalty for our sins, we don't have to bring "religious stuff" to God, we just have to bring faith in Jesus.

In Philippians 3, Paul said the same thing. He gave his own personal story of trying to be a religious person. He even says he was more religious than anyone alive! He then lists out all his religious credentials that he thought made him a good person, but then he said after he met Jesus, he dropped all his religious deeds and counted them as "rubbish" or "dung" or manure. Frankly, this is the same way God looks at our religious stuff..."manure."

Paul used to believe a False Gospel:
"If I obey God, than He will love and accept me."

Then Paul learned the True Gospel from Jesus:
"Because God loves and accepts me, I will obey and follow Him."

Every religion in the world, other than Christianity, believes the False Gospel. They believe that if we are good enough people, then our god will accept us. However, this is drastically different in Christianity. Even when we were terrible evil sinners that hated God, Jesus showed us how much he loved us by giving his life for us.

My pastor, J. D. Greear says this often,
"Nothing I do today will make God love me more or love me less than He already does right now."

God's love for us isn't dependent on our actions or deeds. Rather, God's love is unchanging. On the cross, Jesus demonstrated that God loves us more than we could ever think or imagine.

The only righteousness we have is Jesus. Are you coming to God with hands full of religious stuff, or are you coming to God with faith in Jesus?

(closing disclaimer: this doesn't mean that we don't live holy lives. One of our goals as a believer is to be holy as Jesus was holy. This post today is focused on how we view the love of God and the gospel. Our holy living doesn't get us closer to God, but after salvation, we have a motive and a new desire to be holy.)

Jesus & new life

2008-08-11T17:17:00.002-04:00

This past Thursday night, I spoke on "Jesus & new life" from 2 Corinthians 5. I had no idea what the night would turn into when I first started preparing the message months in advance. I thought the students needed to hear that we become new in Jesus, but I was deeply moved by how many students needed hope and encouragement. Some students were struggling with losses, broken families, being outcasts, not being loved, not being valued, not feeling beautiful or pretty, and not feeling a sense of worth. Thankfully, we find the remedy of all these things in Jesus. He makes us new, He shows us how much we are loved and valued as children of God, He says we are His friends, we are the called, gifted, chosen, and set apart for a specific relationship and calling with God. He takes our hopeless lives and breathes new life in us.

"When we meet Jesus, we become new."
2 Corinthians 5:14-17

What is new about us??
*our heart, our mind, our desires, our goals, our gifting, our calling, our Spirit

Where do we experience this new life in Jesus?
*in the Spirit of God, in the Word of God, and in the People of God

Ladies: Don't ever let anyone tell you that you are not beautiful and valuable! You are incredibly beautiful and valued and loved by God, and He has chosen you, called you and gifted you to be a beautiful daughter of His

Guys: Don't ever let anyone tell you that you aren't good enough, talented enough, big enough, or strong enough to be a successful person! You are loved and valued by God, and He has chosen you, called you, and gifted you to be an awesome leader for him.

When we meet Jesus, we become new.

Jesus & His mission

2008-08-10T14:04:00.002-04:00

For those of us who are Christians, we have been called and invited to Join Jesus in the greatest mission on the planet...His mission. These are the notes from the last night of camp!!!

1. What is Jesus mission?

**the people of God bringing redemption and restoration to all peoples through the gospel.
2 Corinthians 5:16-21; Colossians 3:17-4:1; Mark 12:28-31

2. Why help in Jesus' mission?

**B/c you have experienced the gospel personally.
**B/c Jesus' mission is unstoppable. (Matthew 16:18)
**B/c it is the most satisfying and fulfilling thing you can do with your life.

3. How can I join Jesus and His mission?

Locally-
mow your neighbor's lawn, take your neighbor's trash can to the street and bring it back, rake your neighbor's leaves, serve at the rescue mission, buy your friends a meal, bring drinks and snacks to soccer practice, buy everyone on your ball team or cheer squad a Bible, have an eBay competition selling your junk and give the money to someone who needs it, pray with your pastor at the hospital for sick people.

Globally-
check out Zack Hunter, Toms Shoes, Compassion, Blood:water mission, One Verse, and go on a mission trip

In conclusion, lets use our lives for the greatest story thats ever been told, the one thats still going on and will never end...the story of Jesus and his rescue for all mankind!! His kingdom will never end, ours will be tiny and gone before we know it. Build His!

Camp Victory 2008

2008-08-09T11:26:00.003-04:00

Hey Hey Everybody! What Up!! Yes, you have successfully reached my blog. Congratulations! Go ahead and pat yourself on the back. First of all, I want to give a shout out to God for giving us an awesome week at camp. God is Awesome!! Secondly, thanks to all of you campers who made the week tons of fun. You guys are great! By the way, who won? Marines or Army??

Two Big Things You Need To Know:
1. I want you guys to know that everyday I will be posting a new set of notes on the blog from each of this past week's services.
2. Check the right hand side of my blog for the "Teen" section. Over there I've put several links to websites that you can check out...including my facebook.

To the guys, if you want to know about "X3 Watch," the accountability thing i was talking about this past week, click on the link to your right, and download the program for free.

Now, go get some sleep and worship Jesus!! Make sure you check back tomorrow!!!!

Tonight is the Night

2008-08-04T11:37:00.004-04:00

No, I'm not popping the question, going on a date, or hoping "tonight will be the night that I will fall for you." For the first time in the history of the world, I'm the main speaker of a youth camp this week, and tonight is the first night. Ok, that was a little over-done, I apologize. Seriously, I'm speaking at Camp Victory near Burlington NC this entire week, and I need you to lift me up this week in prayer. I'm very stoked about the week, and I've been planning for almost 12 months. I'm asking God to rock some student's lives with the truth of the gospel, changing them for His glory. The entire week will be focussed on teenagers removing themselves from the center of their lives and replacing their kingdoms with Jesus at the center of their lives. I want God to get the credit and show up. Thanks so much!!!

For the glory. Jude 25

Preaching methodology

2008-07-25T11:29:00.005-04:00

I want to mention my preferred methodology on how to preach. Obviously, I'm a young guy without a ton of wisdom, but everybody has an opinion right? I really enjoy preaching through books of the bible and I thoroughly enjoy listening to preaching through books of the bible. Here's why:

1. It helps me remain true to Scripture and avoid heresy.
2. It gives me confidence to know I have the authority of the text behind me.
3. If someone disagrees, they will have to disagree with either the text or my application because the sermon was not my idea.
4. It teaches people how to study the Bible without having to host a hermeneutics class.
5. It is much easier to follow the grand narrative of the Bible (God's redemptive plan and story).
6. It disciplines me to preach tough passages that I may have skipped otherwise.
7. It helps towards the process of preaching the whole counsel of God.
8. It helps me preach God's mind and not my own.
9. It helps me avoid preaching my personal hobby horses.
10. It eliminates Saturday night fever and worry of what to preach from week to week.
11. It allows the congregation to study ahead and prepare for the weekly gathering.
12. Over the course of a life-long ministry, I believe it will best aid in the spiritual maturity for the church.

Agree? Disagree?

**As a sidenote, Colossians is the only book I've actually preached all the way through in succession. It was awesome!

terminology

2008-07-10T14:51:00.003-04:00

I guess I'm in the mood to expose the fallacies of our contemporary Christianity this week. I have another issue to manifest. However, I'm not some jerk seminary student who thinks he knows it all and wants to demonstrate how his theological perspective is more accurate than everyone else's. Instead, I have found some things in my own life that were harmful to God's glory, harmful to the health of the church, and harmful to my joy, and therefore, I would like to share them.

The terminology I would like to speak of today is "the church." A couple days ago someone asked me where my church was. I responded, "They are located all over Raleigh and Durham and some other places." They replied, "what??" What is the first thing that comes to your mind when I say "the church?" Most of us think of that funny shaped building down the street with the weird glass and the really weird structure that stands way up in the air on top of the building. Colorful carpet, long wooden pews, a manly stout pulpit, a choir loft, and a huge cross on the wall behind the choir loft are all images that fill our memory. It is the place we visit each Sunday, and sometimes if we are really spiritual, we visit Sunday night. However, is this what Jesus meant when he said he would build his church? I think not. Contrary to the popular assumption, the church is not a building, the church is the people that claim to be followers of Jesus. For instance, if a religious riot broke out tomorrow and all the Christian church buildings in America were burnt to the ground, would "the church" still exist? Absolutely yes! You may be thinking, this is a little overboard coming from some "nutjob" Christian who has nothing better to do than sit around and complain about his corrupt upbringing. Well, not actually. I recognize this isn't the greatest issue in American Christianity today, but it is very helpful and revolutionary to the health of the church.

If the church is a building, than Christianity is something we go to once a week, wear weird clothes, say and sing weird things, waiting for Monday so we can be normal again. If the church is a building, than Christianity is a destination and not a way of life. However, if the church is people, than the building is just a place where we can all meet together for corporate singing and hearing the preaching of the Word, and the rest of the week we can be the church, living out the Christian life in our family, work, school, and community environment. Please, don't "go to church," "be the church." This may seem minor to you, but it will greatly influence the way you and the people around you perceive the people of God...followers of Jesus. If you "go to church," then, by definition, you are not the church. Lets rethink our terminology.

the sinner's prayer

2008-07-08T22:33:00.003-04:00

Most of you who are reading this blog are familiar with the phrase "the sinner's prayer." For those of you who aren't, the phrase is used by many evangelical pastors and evangelists; it refers to what a sinner should pray to God in order to have his sins forgiven and be able to go to heaven one day. When I was a child, I was led to pray the sinner's prayer and I did. Therefore, you could say I'm pretty familiar with the prayer. However, I'm determining where the concept originated and how biblical it is.

This past week I read through book of "Acts" (in the Bible) exploring what the apostles said to people in order to be forgiven of sin and reconciled to God. The only phrases I found that came from an apostle's mouth instructing people to "be saved" were things such as, "repent and be baptized" (2:38), "repent and turn again" (3:19), "repent of your wickedness and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven" (8:22), "everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins" (10:43), "everyone who believes is freed" (13:38), "believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved" (16:31), "repent because God will judge the world through Christ" (17:30), and "believe in Jesus" (19:4). I could not find the "sinner's prayer." The only time prayer is mentioned for salvation is chapter eight verse twenty-two, but even there the apostle is not asking someone to recite something after him. (I realize that I'm only covering one New Testament book of several that would be helpful to the conversation)

Am I completely against the sinner's prayer?? No. However, I believe we should be cautioned because it has done much harm to the church and the world. This prayer many times is used as a magical formula that if said in the right manner will get you a "go to Heaven free" ticket. Many times I believe children and teenagers have been deceived and lured into thinking they have become regenerated believers when in all actuality, they just recited some words while they were emotionally scared of going to Hell.

So, what should we do? We need to be biblical and develop our understanding of salvation and the gospel from the Bible. Do I have it all figured out? Do I completely understand how salvation works? No. My hope is that you and I will become more glorifying to God by becoming more biblical. In the meantime, lets show people they need to repent of their deep, unsatisfying wickedness, and believe in the gospel, and turn to Jesus in order to be clean, reconciled to God, and fulfilled through knowing and pleasing Him. (Let me know if you think I'm right on or if I'm missing a few steps in my thinking.)

demonstrating the gospel

2008-06-01T18:11:00.002-04:00

I have an incredible opportunity to demonstrate the gospel to non-Christians I know at work. recently, one of my co-workers had a tragedy occur in his life. his teenage daughter was in a house that was barraged with drive-by shooting. she was shot in the back and has no feeling in her legs. she's been in the hospital for several weeks, but may be coming home this week. since my friend hasn't been able to work since the incident, he has trouble paying the bills. I'm planning to help him out by giving him some cash to pay for rent this month. also, i hope to provide some meals for him and his daughter when she moves back home. this is the gospel in action. the gospel is not just sharing with someone the story about Jesus, but also is loving your neighbors and the world. hopefully my friend will ask why i go out of my way to help him. my reply will be, "once when i was in need, someone helped me out. his name is Jesus. this is why i do this."

causal agents

2008-05-13T23:02:00.004-04:00

So, this morning i had an incredible opportunity to have coffee with my Theology prof, Dr. Ken Keathley (I hope he is cool w/me speaking of him; disclaimer: he is in no way responsible for the information published on this blog). anyway, He's the man! i met with him to discuss the providence of God and God's will(s). most of the time we spent together revolved around the truth that God has created humans as causal agents. this is part of our having been made in God's image, the imago Dei. "causal agents" is understood to mean that humans have the capacity to cause something. God made humans as "mini-creators" so to speak. not that we are part deity, but rather, we have the opportunity to cause things. for this reason, we are held responsible for the decisions and choices we make.
this has huge ramifications. we are always under the lordship and sovereignty of God. however, this does not mean (from my knowledge) that God has determined and fixed every event that ever happens. He is sovereign over every event, but He has given man the ability to cause an event (this does not take away from God's sovereignty). this is why God is not the author of sin. Man is accountable for his actions, and we cannot blame God for the events, good or bad, that happen each day. if we are causal agents, then we have great responsibility in this world. we are not just puppets in a show, but we are people who truly have a part in making history. as followers of Jesus, we have the opportunity and responsibility to display the grace and redemption of God by the way we live, in the choices we make, and the actions we show. we can live in a way that matters for eternity. we can live out the gospel. we can demonstrate and show the world where true happiness, fulfillment, and hope come from. that is a beautiful thing!
-for His glory

authenticity

2008-04-09T13:25:00.003-04:00

last night as i went to bed, i had a conversation with God, and i realized it is very easy to fake faith. it's easy to go to church services, smile, raise your hands every now and then, attend small group, say the right things to other Christians, and the like. however, when you talk to God, he knows exactly whats going through your head. he knows if you're legit or putting up a facade. he knows if you're faking it. he knows if your trying to get religious on him. he knows if there is any faith behind your words. sometimes i think it's easier to be fake than have faith. thats a struggle for me. often i remember a familiar passage in Hebrews that is quite debasing, but also encouraging... "without faith it is impossible to please God. for he who draws near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who diligently seek him." my mom often quotes a phrase for random life situations (not faith situations) that we enjoy saying and laughing about. she says, "fake it 'till you make it." this does work sometimes with people, but fortunately it never works with God. don't fake it. ask and plead for faith.

duke divinity school

2008-03-18T15:46:00.002-04:00

right now i'm sitting in an Old Testament class at duke divinity school. one of my new friends, Tony, is finishing his Master of Theological Studies here. i'm quite blown away by the beauty of the campus, because of the impressive architecture. i'm out of class for "easter recess" at my seminary (Southeastern), so i'm chilling over here today in a few classes with Tony because i'm a theological junkie. today has been excellent to visit Duke.

anyways, getting to the good stuff, i'm more and more convinced that our view of Scripture determines how we view life, theology, God, history, ministry, and Jesus. this is so so very important for the church. right now, i hold Scripture as highest authority for my life, theology, ministry and view of Christ. it determines and defines me. i don't determine it. why? because i believe it is the very word of God, that is truthful and authoritative for all of life and practice. this is huge for your worldview and philosophy of ministry. hold firm to scritpure. hold firm to scripture.

God is smarter than i

2008-03-13T16:35:00.002-04:00

i know this seems like an obvious statement, but we don't always act like it. God is ultimately smarter, wiser, and more knowledgeable than me in every area of my life. he's the one who came up with the whole idea, and he's knows better how everything works together, way more than i do. SO...all this to say, when we find in Scripture that God has a plan or method of doing something in our lives, he's right. it doesn't matter what it's about, his way is so much smarter than my way. it's not that he's a mean God who doesn't want for us to be happy, but rather the extreme opposite. God's design and plan for us is so that we will be ultimately happy and fulfilled and satisfied in Him. His way, in the end and now, is the most satisfying, pleasing, and happy way to do things. history is a testimony to this and your life should be. when i desire to do something that doesn't please God or fit with Scripture, it will ultimately be to my dissatisfaction and ruin. however, when we follow Scripture and God's desires for our life, we will be "blessed" the Psalms say...ultimately filled with joy and satisfaction in every area of our lives- dating relationships, marriage, finances, time, school, family, work, entertainment, church, etc.

Longhorn and the Word

2008-03-05T10:57:00.002-05:00

i've been working at Longhorn Steakhouse for the past 7 weeks in order to have a job and pay the bills. however, there is a greater purpose in me working here. God has called me, in whatever i find myself to be doing, to live for the name of Jesus (Col. 3:17). so, this has been fleshing itself out in my work environment with my co-workers. there are probably about 35-45 servers (waiters) including myself that i work with, and there are probably about 30 other cooks, hosts, managers, etc... . I believe God's desire for the world is to make His name great everywhere. so, i am the personal agent/vehicle of God's mission (to use weird Christian language) at Longhorn Steakhouse to make His name great. to my knowledge there are only 3-4 believers at my workplace.
so, i've been firstly, loving my co-workers and placing their well-being above my own. as i love them, we become friends and they enjoy talking with me about religion and morality. i haven't stood up on a booth yet with my Bible yelling at them to repent, but i have had a couple incredible situations arise. here is one:
for the sake of not embarrassing my co-worker friend if he ever reads this blog, "Jack" is a host at our restaurant. he recently moved down from New York. he has some Catholic background, but i'm not sure about the object of his faith. so, the other day i had my theology textbook and my Bible with me at work so i could do some school reading during the breaks. well, we began to get busy and Jack asked to move my books out of the way so he could sit people at that table. i said "of course." a few minutes later he came back to me and asked if he could read my bible while he was at the host stand. i was amazed and shocked, and i told him "of course" again. so, he read the scriptures during that entire lunch shift. incredible. then, that evening we were both working again, and he asked to read my bible again. so, i went back out to my car and grabbed it so he could read it during that evening shift. wow. since, we've had several conversations about life and religion, and hopefully i'll be able to bless his life with the message of the gospel. you can pray for him. i believe he just quit his job b/c of some other issues, but pray that our relationship will continue.

are there really seekers?

2008-02-21T10:11:00.003-05:00

(i'm back guys...both of you, and back with something pretty sweet today)

over the past couple decades (to my knowledge) there has been a great deal of thought and conversation given to The Seeker Movement. ultimately my perception of this phenomenon is that churches want to be sensitive to the unbelievers, "seekers," who are in the world, so they make their corporate worship services and strategies more open to the unbeliever who is seeking God. this also has been a debate of different degrees of the seeker position such as seeker sensitive, seeker targeted, seeker intelligible, seeker resistant, and the list probably goes on way further than i care to know. however, i don't want to talk about which of these seeker movements is correct, but rather, i'm questioning the whole idea of a seeker...and i don't have it dogmatically figured out, and that isn't my ultimate goal.

this is my perception of what a "seeker" is: a person who is without a relationship with Jesus, unsaved, unregenerate, lost, depraved, an unbeliever...but this person is "seeking" the idea of God in life and the world. they are searching to find God.

what i'm questioning is this: does this kind of person truly exist? what started this whole discussion in my mind is Romans 1 & 2 & 3. Paul lays out a theology that all humans have knowledge of God, that he exists and is the creator of the universe (they can percieve this in nature and the human makeup and conscience/moral law within us), but he says we've all turned away from that knowledge and supressed it, and in so doing worshiped the created thing instead of the Creator. we have rejected the knowledge of God, resisted it, and turned our backs on it and him. me, you, everyone (...before God saves us). then in Romans 3 (vs. 10-), Paul quotes Psalm 14 and says God has looked down from heaven, and there is no one that does good, no one that understands, and no one that seeks God...all have turned aside and become worthless. notice there is "no one" who seeks God, an all-inclusive statement about mankind. so, is there really a person out there that is unregenerate who is seeking after God. if there isn't, there are some intersting implications.

let me know what you think. i am familiar with the Etheopian eunich and Dorcas in the book of Acts, but i think those may be different situations.

blog praise

2008-01-31T16:31:00.000-05:00

today i want to just rest a minute and use my marvelous blog to praise God.
lately, i've been going through a serious, radical transition in my life, and things are crazy!!! seriously, they are crazy! within a couple weeks i've moved to a new city, moved into a new appartment, got a new roommate, started a new school semester, joined a new church body, got a new smokin hot girlfriend, and started a new job. so, i'm beat, a little stressed, finances are really slim, and it feels as if i'm spinning in circles sometimes. however, i'm completely content with God's provision and wisdom He's given over the past few months to arrive at this wonderful place. i'm so stoked about the new opportunities each day to form new relationships, serve people, live the gospel, and learn new stuff about God and scripture. so, in the midst of all this chaos...I give a great big SHOUT OUT to our awesome Creator God for being so dang good to His children. God, i love You b/c You loved me first.

more boasting on my church

2008-01-18T12:25:00.000-05:00

let me boast a little on my church again. this Christmas we took up a "Christmas Offering," with the aim of making Christ and His purposes for the world our goal for the season. so, the plan was that we would try to give enough money to:
1) Support international church planters that will be leaving from our church over the next two years -approx cost $120,000
2) Build a Habitat for Humanity home in Durham -approx cost $40,000
3) Support 4 new North American church planters- $40,000
Totaling: $200,000

Notice the goal of the offering was not for our own church expenses and budget. so, after the season is over and the offering has been received, the total amount given is $202,000. awesome! i love my church and our pastor. you should check out his blog post today about the offering and the gospel at http://jdgreear.com/

its official

2008-01-15T16:45:00.000-05:00

most of you may not know that i've been pursuing an incredible girl for the past 2 months, but i have. i know this is new news...sorry i didn't call you. disclaimer: if you're on here today hoping for a deep theological post, sorry, scroll down a little ways:)

back in the fall, i met a girl named ashley, who lives in raleigh and attends a rockin church, The Summit Church. i was quite "WOWed" by her presence when we met for the first time, and when we surprisingly met for the second time at a "Mullets for Jesus" rally (j/k about the rally part), i had to get her number. so, after getting to know each other and hanging out and going on a couple dates, we're now a couple. yay! i know you're as excited as i am! so, attached on this post is a picture of my lovely and "hot" girlfriend. she's pretty wonderful! i'm blessed.

the poor & blankets

2008-01-14T09:33:00.000-05:00

this morning i was reading the proverb for today, and came across a powerful verse. 14:21 says, whoever despises his neighbor is a sinner, but blessed is he who is generous to the poor. God has really been changing my view on the poor in my area and around the world. i believe it is the church's responsibility & the heart of Jesus to meet the needs of the poor.
so, my church is doing this incredible thing this sunday. our entire congregation has been given an opportunity to purchase & bring a new blanket to the service next sunday morning and drop it off at a huge cargo truck that will be parked outside. after the services, the truck will be taken to our city's shelters so the blankets can be given to the homeless and poor. more than likely we should have over 1,000 total blankets...maybe 2,000. wow!!! my eyes are tearing up as i write this. i love it. it moves me. i feel like i'm bringing help, hope, restoration, and a story that is unbelievable. a story that was started a long time ago by God Himself. a story of love to the peoples and nations across the globe. a story of rescue by His Son.
by the way, this is not our only interaction with poor one time a year, but rather it's an ongoing mission that our church feels we are called to do all year long, in every way possible. wow

psalm 34

2008-01-08T10:21:00.000-05:00

last night i had a small but great feast in Psalm 34. it covers one of my favorite passages in
scripture. verse 8 is one of my life passages that talks about tasting and seeing that God is good. i love it. particularly last night when i read this psalm, the first verse really struck a chord with me. it reads, "i will bless the Lord at all times; his praise shall continually be in my mouth." that is deep and rich for me. no matter where i find myself today or tomorrow or the next, and no matter how good or bad a day may become, one thing is sure, i will bless our awesome God at all times, and his praise and glory will constantly be in my mouth...at least thats my goal. wow. i don't know about you, but that makes me stoked (weird surfer word for being really pumped about something), and it keeps things in focus

christian subculture

2008-01-05T22:04:00.000-05:00

for pretty much my entire life i've lived in christian subculture. this is what i mean by the terminology...christian subculture is trying to turn everything in life into its own christian thing. for example, we like to create christian schools b/c we want christian education for our children & we don't want them to be influenced by "the world out there." is christian school bad?? no. will i send my kids to christian school someday?? maybe. to further illustrate, we create our own "christian" coffee shops, sports leagues, bookstores, music, schools, tv stations, clothes, etc... So, what's the big deal about all these things Ethan?? the deal is that there is a temptation that we will create a christian huddle or hide-away so that we can have nice and tidy environments where people don't cuss, drink, or smoke, and in so doing, completely remove ourselves from the world around us.
if i remember correctly from Scripture, we are the light in a dark world. we shine the light and truth of Jesus Christ into a fallen and broken world, bringing hope and peace and restoration. if the light decides to huddle together and have environments away from the darkness, how will it ever shine into the dark??
solution?? lets stop creating so many "christian" things, and start stepping into the places where the dark live, work, and hang out. lets be a light in the darkness. Scripture never (to my knowledge) commands the darkness to come to the light, but rather commands the light to go into the darkness. i'm tired of being light shining on light.

my buddy's new blog

2008-01-04T16:42:00.000-05:00

hey everyone, do yourself a favor and check out this new blog !!! Patrick is one of my best friends in the whole world, and i consider him a true revolutionary for the gospel. add him to your favorites, and swing by every now & then! http://patrickmitchell.blogspot.com/

prayed '08

2008-01-01T15:50:00.000-05:00

last night there were billions of people staying awake until their timezone stepped into the new year at midnight. i was one. however, mine was probably a little different than most. some had a toast with champagne, some kissed, some shot massive fireworks, some danced, some sang, some rocked out to an unknown indie band. i prayed. i know that sounds like i'm trying to be better than you, but i'm not. i would've loved to have done most of the above. however, i was with some of my dad's church family down here in myrtle, and they did a pretty cool prayer deal. every new year's eve, they get together to hang out and eat food or have a bonfire, and then as midnight nears, they gather in a massive circle, hold hands, and pray it the new year. it was really, really cool. i was moved. i didn't get to kiss a hot girl, but it was still a good time.
i believe God's has awesome things planned for 2008 for His world, His church, & ultimately for His renown.

roadie journal #4

2007-12-18T23:40:00.000-05:00

hopefully you enjoyed the info and stats from the last post on Costa Rica. now, lets talk about some crazy huge waves.

if you're not knowledgeable about surfing, thats ok. Costa Rica is known as one of the top surfing destinations on the globe, b/c it consistently produces good (head-high or higher) waves year around and the water temperature stays around 75-80 degrees all year long. so, surfing was definitely a huge item on our agenda for the trip. we (my brother Seth & I) were able to surf 5 straight days on the Northwest coast, just south of Tamarindo and Nosara. the four beaches we surfed were Playa Cameronal, Playa Carillo, Playa Samara & Buena Vista. Carillo and Samara were pretty small b/c they were tucked away in a bay type beaches. Cameronal & Buena Vista were seriously fierce. these waves are so different than what i'm used to on the east coast of North & South Carolina. in Costa Rica, the waves are so powerful and strong. the waves were consistently over head-high, which means over 6ft tall. not only are they tall, but they're really really long. also, the waves break about 250-300 yards away from land, so its extremely hard to paddle all the way out past the breakers. it took us 10-15 minutes just to get to the spot we aimed for. the waves come in as "sets," which means they travel together, so to speak, at different times. so, every 5-8 minutes a set would come in. if you were too close to the beach, you would be demolished by the waves repeatedly crashing on you. if you were too far out, you would miss the waves.

at one point, Seth was caught too far in, so he jumped off his board to dive under a massive wave, but his leash broke. the leash is the chord attached to your ancle that keeps you connected to your surfboard. so, he was a couple hundred yards away from the beach without a board, in deep water, trying to stay afloat and swim in while huge waves were crashing on him, taking him under the water. fortunately, he made it in, but stayed out for the rest of the morning. i can't imagine how those guys on tv surf 40-50ft waves. even the 10-12ft waves we were facing seemed deadly. needless to say, this was a crazy experience that i could talk about all night. to close, nature is fierce and amazingly powerful. God is even more amazing to put it all in motion with the word of His mouth.

our God is awesome!! hope you enjoy the pics.

roadie journal #3

2007-12-17T19:51:00.000-05:00

2 days after the Seattle trip, i met my family back home in Myrtle Beach and we flew out to Costa Rica. i don't know what it is about foreign cultures, but i'm really drawn to them. i've only been out of the country 3 times (twice to Costa Rica & once to Nicaragua), but i have a real sensation for traveling and experiencing new and different places.

Costa Rica is a somewhat "3rd World Country" or even "Developing Country," a term used by our missionary there, and it is located right in the middle of Central America, with Nicaragua on the north border and Panama the south. it has a annual income per person of $12k US dollars with a population of approximately 6 million people, 2&1/2 million residing in the San Jose area. also, it is approximately half the size of South Carolina and produces beautiful people, beautiful mountains, over 100 volcanoes (only a hundful are active), beautiful animals, rain forests, beaches and steep cliffs. the common language is Spanish. Most of the younger children and students are learning English in school, but you wont be able to get by without knowing a few Spanish phrases. The food is different, but good if you're not picky. there are some modern conveniences in the metropolis of San Jose, but most of the country living is rural without air conditioning, hot water or internet. all the houses have walls surrounding the property with bars on the windows and sometimes barbed wire on top of the fence. your things will be stolen if they aren't watched or protected. in the city, every house is connected wall to wall, without a yard or trees. it is very different than North America...quite a culture shock.

all in all, i love it. if you've never been outside the States, you need to do yourself a favor to travel and open your eyes to the other countries around the world. you will be humbled and very grateful when you return to your suburbian 2 story house with a 2 car garage, a yard, multiple vehicles, air conditioning, hot water, wireless internet, tvo, theatres, malls, Walmart, and safety.

tomorrow i'll chat about the enormous waves!! Seth and i almost died.

roadie journal #2

2007-12-15T22:43:00.000-05:00

so, my visit to seattle washington was really sweet. this was the first time i had been to the west coast and the first time i had been furter west than minnesota. it was quite a venture. first, i went alone, so there was not any company, other than my iPod. the plane ride from detroit was 4&1/2 hours, which is a long time to be on a plane, stuck in a tiny little seat. nonetheless, it was good and safe traveling.

the culture of seattle is quite different than my normal culture of the south. seattle is a "post-christian" culture. it is not normal to "go to church." most people are against any sort of organized religion, so churches and christians are often ridiculed and even hated. this is so different from the south. down here everyone has been to church before or is open to church because there's a church building on every corner. so, in seattle, the "shot in the dark" approach of evangelism (tracts, door to door, street witnessing, etc) is not effective at all. it truly requires christians to be missional in their daily lives and let people experience a relationship with someone who has been radically changed by the gospel.

as far as the nature and climate of seattle go, the evergreen trees are cool like the ones you see in paintings. there's a lot of water and boats around because of the Pugit Sound that surrounds the city. it seems like everyone has a boat. they're everywhere! it's also very mountainous with mountain ranges on every side and Mount Ranier in the distance. every day it was about 35 degrees, and it snowed while i was there too. one afternoon the bottom fell out w/snow and in 2 or three hours there were 3 inches of snow on the ground. it was sweet!

all in all, i loved seattle and the people and the culture and the nature. it was an amazing trip that will be influential for the rest of my life.

roadie journal #1

2007-12-14T15:27:00.000-05:00

2 weeks ago, i traveled to the West Coast, across the great USA, for the first time to visit a church and a city in Washington State. the church was Mars Hill Church, and the city was Seattle. The whole trip was a pretty crazy experience, b/c i stayed with people i didn't really know that well (but were really great people), and b/c i was in an environment i didn't know that well either. my best friend on the trip was a Garmin GPS car navigation system. wow. it was amazing...i seriously would've been crazy lost w/out it.

anyways, i've been tracking w/Mars Hill for about 1 year now, and i think they are one of the most biblically solid and culturally relevant churches i know. usually a church will be great at one and pour at the other. why?? many many reasons. however, for ten years mars hill has had an amazing influence and impact in one of the most unchurched, post-christian cities in America. they are truly a missional church that is centered on Jesus. Many churches say they are "centered on Jesus" in their mission statement, but often times "what's on the wall is different than what's happening down the hall." essentially, some churches have crafted a great vision or mission statement, but its nothing more than a cute saying that no-one follows. in contrast, everything at mars hill is about Jesus & the gospel. you wouldn't have to read it on the wall to know it. if you want to know more about truly being missional, check out the book, the Radical reformission by Mark Driscoll, preaching pastor at mars hill. ...more on Seattle tomorrow.

seattle & costa rica

2007-12-09T18:27:00.001-05:00

in 2 days i experienced one of the craziest geographical tranistions ever!! last monday i was in snowy seattle for the weekend visiting Mars Hill Church, and on wednesday i flew out of myrtle beach to sunny Costa Rica for a family vacation. right now i'm in this tiny town on the pacific coast named Samara, and i found a small interent cafe in the village. its crazy here!! i love it though. the waves are ginormous. i'll right soon about both experiences when i get back to the States.

"pura vida"
-pure life

in New Jersey

2007-11-27T10:38:00.000-05:00

this weekend i've been in the lovely state of New Jersey. most of the time it gets a terrible reputation from those who drive through on the major interstates, but few actually drive the countryside to understand why it is named "The Garden State."

i'm visiting one of my best friends that i met in college, Ed Viola. He's a pastor of a small church here in South Jersey. its been a glorious visit, and we've had the opportunity to play hockey this week, go to a Flyers game, play "air soft," discuss theology, study the scriptures, sip egg nog, and much more. friends are a wonderful blessing.

stuffed

2007-11-22T22:37:00.000-05:00

i'm completely stuffed...even still at 10:30pm because it's Thanksgiving and i ate way too much (you know exactly what i mean). its really been a great day. you cant beat hanging out with your fam all day, sitting around, watching tv, and stuffing your face. thats hard to beat:)! more and more i'm learning the joy of rest. God has definitely designed us to have a time of rest. i'm thankful for a ton of things today. God is so great!! i'm blessed.

swing dancing

2007-11-11T14:26:00.000-05:00

for some reason, this week has brought another "first time" my way. last night i had the unbelievable opportunity to go swing dancing for the very first time. it was definitely the most fun i've had in a long while. i was very apprehensive before i went b/c i've never really danced before, and b/c i was taught growing up that "dancing is bad and worldly!!!" :) well, some dancing may be "worldly," but this was not. i went with a new friend i met a couple weeks ago at a bible study, and she's been swing dancing for a couple years now. last night we showed up early for a lesson with about 50 other people, and then the real dancing began immediatley after. truthfully, it is pretty easy to learn (if u have any rhythm). the coolest thing about the night was that there were about 150 people there and you could dance w/whoever you wanted. and...i finally used the infamous line, "may i have this dance?". i danced with at least 30 different girls!! am i allowed to say that?? oh well, they were all very cordial and nice. i didn't get rejected one time. if you've never been, you definitely have to go!! all ages and all types of people were there. it was a blast!!!

turkey shoot

2007-11-09T23:54:00.000-05:00

Tonight i attended my first ever "Turkey Shoot" in Dunn, NC with one of my closest friends, Stephen Wagoner. for those of you who don't what this is, we didn't kill any turkeys. in a nutshell, a "turkey shoot" is a bunch of rednecks who get together around thanksgiving and shoot their shotguns for target practice. you take turns shooting at a target, and see who comes the closest to the crosspiece. whoever wins gets a free frozen turkey. i know, weird. maybe i should do some more research and figure out how the whole thing came into being, and why.

Growing up in South Carolina, i have to admit that i have some redneck in me...and somehow, i actually won a turkey tonight. pretty cool. i don't really need a turkey, and i don't know how to cook one, so i figured i would give it to a needy family that would love to have a turkey for thanksgiving.

proverbs 3:5-6

2007-11-06T21:21:00.000-05:00

ok, i believe crisis in our lives causes certain scriptures to take on stronger, more personal meanings. what i mean is, when your circumstances match up with a scripture passage you've read or heard, it takes on a whole new meaning in a bright new light. for instance, in my life right now, i've got a huge decision to make that will permanently determine the course and direction of my life. i've been going back and forth examining all the minor details of the options and scrutinizing the value of them both. so, recently the verse entered my mind that i memorized when i was a kid, "trust in the Lord with all your heart, and don't lean on your own understanding. in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will direct your paths (proverbs 3:5-6)." truthfully, it was pretty convicting, but at the same time it was a breath of fresh air. if i trust God...with ALL my heart, He will direct my steps. i don't think that means i need to sit on my bedroom floor with my legs crossed, humming and waiting for God to talk to me. but, i should investigate the options He's placed in front of me, and ultimatley realize that He make the final call and decision on the matter.

john

2007-11-06T21:15:00.000-05:00

recently i've been pleading with God for strong faith. when my faith is weak, i feel so pathetic and useless...maybe thats a sin. however, i've been reading through the gospel of John, following his account of the works and teachings of Jesus. its been quite wonderful. tonight i read a couple chapters and was very encouraged. i try to imagine what it must have been like to be there and see Jesus, and watch his miracles, and listen to his teachings. it had to be a crazy experience. anyhow, i definitely recommend reading through books of the Bible. it has done wonders for my faith and walk w/God.

18 missions trips in 1 year

2007-11-01T23:30:00.000-04:00

ok, so i attended this missions dinner tonight at Summit Church and they discussed the upcoming missions plans and opportunities the church will be involved with in the future. this is crazy, but they will be leading 18 short term & long term missions trips over the next year. crazy!!! its was pretty awesome to see their global vision for the gospel. i was pretty stoked, and i'm definitley open and close to going global this next year and possibly for life. we'll see...its in God's hands.

broken

2007-10-29T11:36:00.000-04:00

yesterday was quite the experience for me. i attended a church in Durham called The Summit Church. this was the second time i've attended here, but it was the first time at their new location. for some reason, i was broken from the first song and throughout the whole day. when i say broken, i mean humbled, open, stripped of pride and a mediocre life. i don't know if God has ever done something like that to you, but its a wild experience (kind of like snake handling...j/k). if it sounds like a bad experience, its not. its a great thing b/c you know God is working in your heart and mind. it was actually a refreshment and rekindling of the fire. i can't say what caused it other than God's planning. it wasn't a certain song or electric guitar solo that sparked the move of God in me, but was rather just God dealing w/my life and calling me to something great with Him. you should check out the summit at http://www.summitchurch.cc

confession

2007-10-26T11:16:00.000-04:00

yesterday, i called one of my best friends and said i have an enemy of the gospel that i need to talk about. this enemy was a personal sin of mine that was an idol that i've began to worship. if you think i'm crazy, you worship idols too. i'm just admitting it.

this wasn't fun at all, but rather, it was really hard to get the gut to admit my sin. after a few minutes of contemplating the problem, we spent some meaningful time encouraging one another.

why confess?? well, God has established the church to be a community that experiences life together, in the good times and bad, in struggles and harmony. when we isolate ourselves w/out meaningful relationships, we set ourselves up for disaster. confession & repentance are absolute necessities for the Christian life.

what idols do u have?? maybe you should call someone about that...

its been too long...

2007-10-25T14:57:00.000-04:00

for the hundreds of you who daily check my blog, i appologize for my 2 week sabatical from the blog world:). really, i've been traveling for several days in North and South Carolina, but i'm back at my temp home here in charlotte. by the way, charlotte is a great place.

i got to spend almost a week w/my fam in myrtle and we had a glorious time together fishing, surfing, talking, going to church together, eating together, and other stuff. i love family. i hate to think what life would be like w/out my family. i love them. they love me. the other night, i sat down w/my parents at their dining room table, and for a couple hours we discussed God's leading in my life. it was so great. i don't have secrets w/them. i don't think i'm smarter than them, but we have a great relationship where they give me great advice and counsel on things in my life. it was great.

i spent this past weekend in columbia, sc, w/a great friend named Paul Ditoma. we got to spend 4 days of felowship and community and encouragement together, it was great. i also visited CIU (Columbia International University) Seminary on Monday and Tuesday. this is one of the schools i've applied to and may possibly attend in the future. its a great place w/a great mission, "To know Him and to make Him known." wow!! thats so awesome. there all about Jesus and making Him known across the globe. freakin sweet!!

welcome back. its good to be back:). tomorrow's post i kinda crazy!!

grace & peace

on the inlet today...

2007-10-11T18:46:00.000-04:00

well, today i'm in lovely myrtle beach, chillin w/some of my distant family and friends...who happen to be staying in a beach house at the point of Garden City Beach. honestly, its been a heavenly day. this morning i woke up and went surfing even though the surf was flat. then i headed for the beach house and took a dip in the pool. after the dip, i took a walk on the beach where i saw 2 sharks that were about 6 feet long (yikes...same water i was surfing in this morning). now, i'm chillin on the patio waiting of the Frogmore Stew to get done. what a day...wish i could share it with you! peace

what a line-up! ...& a new Guinness World Record

2007-10-04T22:15:00.000-04:00

so, day 1 at Catalyst was pretty sweet!! Steve Fee is definitely one of my favorite worship leaders!

here's the line-up of speakers we heard today:

Andy Stanley
Patrick Lencioni
Francis Chan
Rick Warren

i was seriously inspired and challenged...wish we had time to chat.

also, i was part of setting 3 new Guinness Book World Records today which include:

1. the most amount of soap bubbles blown at once

2. the most amount of frisbees thrown at once

3. the most amount of soap bubbles popped by frisbees at once

needless to say, it was a crazy day. more tomorrow!

catalyst 07

2007-10-03T23:14:00.000-04:00

tonight i'm sitting in my atlanta hotel room with my dad and my friend (shane browder), and we're eagerly anticipating tomorrow morning, the beginning of Catalyst 07. Catalyst is a conference that is put on once a year for next generations leaders...primarily focussed on church leaders who will take the gospel of Jesus to the world. so, we're pretty stoked b/c its an amazing conference that includes incredible speakers, lots of people (11,000), and tons of fun stuff like setting new guinness book world records...crazy stuff. i'm sure there will be some sweet stuff to blog about. check back in the next few days!!

27 Points from Acts 29 (15-21)

2007-10-01T21:30:00.000-04:00

(continuation from earlier post)

15. A good understing of the gospel requires a good understanding of the character of God and the character of man.

16. Counterfiet Gospels: Formalism, Legalism, Mysticism, Activism, Biblicism, Socialism.

17. Four interwining factors forming the Practice of Ministry:
a) Theological Reflection
b) Cultural Analysis
c) Historical Perspective
d) Strategy Formation

18. Develop weekly routines in your schedule for your wife, family, & study such as Date Night, Sabbath, Pajama Day w/Kids, Movie Night w/family, Breakfast w/Daddy, Family Worship Time, etc...

19. Your wife is the most powerful person in your life.

20. Roles of the Pastor: 1st-Christian, 2nd-Husband, 3rd-Father, 4th-Pastor

21. Don't touch the secretary or the money

27 Point from Acts 29 (8-14)

2007-09-28T18:16:00.000-04:00

(this post is a continuation post from a few days ago)

8. (for pastors) Have a weekly questioning time of accountability with your staff on the areas of sin, attitude, moral purity, discipleship, evangelism, family, etc...

9. Memorize more scripture, especially passages like 1 Corinthians 15:1- & 1 Timothy 1:13-14

10. Preach Jesus. 1 Corinthians 2:1-5

11. Preaching Prep & Scheduling Ideas: when is your most creative time? when is your most reflective time? when do you study best? when is a good time to plan your preaching?

12. Determine the Open-handed and Closed-handed theology you will hold for your church and its leaders, and then determine the same for what churches and organizations you will partner with.

13. Healthy theology should be the main driving force in your church, not pragmatism.

14. 4 Stages of the Bible ("the EPIC of the Gospel")
a. Creation
b. Fall
c. Redemption
d. Consumation

mark driscoll

2007-09-27T11:30:00.001-04:00

last week i got the opportunity to meet one of my favorite pastors in the country. His name is Mark Driscoll and he pastors Mars Hill Church in Seattle, WA. the name "Mars Hill" comes from Acts 17 where Paul stands before the heathens and declares to them who God really is.

I love driscoll for a number of reasons, but i'll list a couple here:

1. He preaches Jesus like no other person i've ever heard. He is incredibly bold and unashamed and immensely gospel/Jesus-focussed.

2. He has an amazing knowledge of Scripture and Theology, yet at the same time he is very relevant to our modern culture.

3. He has a special gift from God of communication.

4. He's freakin funny.

If you've never heard him preach, you have to check him out. here's their website link http://marshillchurch.org/

one of the greatest quotes i've ever heard

2007-09-26T19:28:00.000-04:00

its been a long time since i've heard this quote...too long. a couple days ago i was on perry noble's blog, and i read this quote and was awestruck with the thought for most of the day. here it is:

"What would you be willing to attempt for God if you knew you couldn't fail?"

wow! think on that for a while.

27 Points from Acts 29 (1-7)

2007-09-24T19:41:00.000-04:00

this past week i attended a church planting conference called "Acts 29." it is a network of churches/pastors that are all about Jesus and making His name and gospel great in our world through planting gospel-centered churches. Here are 1-7 of the 27 points that were really impactful for me personally.

1. The mission of the church is to live out and spread the epic gospel of Jesus to the world.

2. The mission and the church are one entity. they are not separate.

3. Everyone (even me) has parts of their soul that desperately need to be rescued by the gospel, by Jesus.

4. Dead mentors are the best. they don't care about what you think, and they aren't worried with pleasing you. so, read!

5. Gospel-centered theology is meaningless without living a gospel-centered life.

6. Preach the gospel to yourself daily, and return to the source of the flame...the cross.

7. Memorize the gospel, Meditate on the gospel, Pray the gospel, Sing the gospel, Remember the gospel, Study the gospel, Practice the gospel.

iPhone

2007-09-12T14:13:00.001-04:00

doesn't everybody have a crazy huge urge to drop your current cell phone contract and go get an iPhone today....or am i the only one?? what is it about the phone that has me so captivated?? it's ridiculous! in my mind, i've almost justified paying $400 for the thing. am i losing it?? wow.

possible application...when we're consumed and captivated by something, we'll go to all kinds of crazy measures to obtain it, no matter the cost, b/c we value and treasure it.

hmmmm...

theater church

2007-09-10T12:56:00.000-04:00

yesterday i attended a good church here in charlotte called Mosaic Church. the interesting thing about their ministry is that they hold their sunday worship gatherings in a movie theater at the mall. wow! i would say its been effective for the gospel in reaching the people here in the north suburbs of charlotte. praise God!

...you just have to be careful not to put your head back and get too comfortable:)

one book, one sitting

2007-09-08T16:29:00.000-04:00

yesterday i was reminded of one of my favorite things to do. i love to sit down and read through and entire book of the Bible in one sitting, undisturbed. if you've never done that, it's quite fascinating.

have you ever received a letter from someone and skipped the first three paragraphs, read the fourth, and then skipped the remaining two?? of course not. or, have you watched the show "24" in the middle of the season without seeing the previous shows?? you'd be completely lost. however, we do that most of the time with the Bible. i'm not saying you have to read an entire book of the Bible every time you open it. but, if you want to get the whole point of the author, and see how the logic unfolds, it's best to read the entire thing through at one time. i know thats kinda hard to do with Isaiah or Deuteronomy, but its great for books like Ruth, Daniel, Jonah, Galatians, Colossians, Philippians, and the other short epistles.

i read Galatians all the way through yesterday, and it really strengthened me. also, it was pretty cool to understand Paul's points and arguments and instructions. Galatians is the bomb! its all about Jesus and His triumph in the gospel!

try it this week some time!

without faith...

2007-09-06T18:03:00.001-04:00

today, i was reading along in one of the many books i'm reading (or trying to read) right now called "Chazown." i know, kind of a crazy title for a book...and it doesn't even seem english. well, you're right. the term is the hebrew word for "vision" in the OT. so....while i was reading along, something triggered my mind (Holy Spirit) with the thought of faith, and i was immediately taken to a familiar passage for me in the Bible, found in the book of Hebrews. Chapter 11 verse 6 says this,

"And without faith it is impossible to please him (God), for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him."

in my mind it was like a scene change in a play, where the curtains are opened and you can see the next set. in a moment, immediately i realized my current situation & faith, and i was struck to the core with the thought of pleasing God. i'm sure you can imagine your current situation and your faith also.

i soooo want faith in everything i do, to never wander or stray or become weak in my faith...but, the truth is, i'm there way more than i wish to be. i haven't found the formula to strong faith yet, but i beg and plead with God to strengthen my faith in Him to the point where i'm confident, unmoveable, firmly planted like the tall tall cedar tree...where no wind can shake or move me.

guys only

2007-09-03T14:06:00.000-04:00

ok fellas....this may be a weird post for the afternoon of labor day, but more than likely it will be relevant to you in a matter of minutes or hours. for some reason we have this great drive put in us by God for visual and physical satisfaction found in the opposite sex. it is great within the context for which God created it...marriage. however, lust is coveting the forbidden. when we desire something that is not ours, we lust. there is one great help for me w/my struggles w/lust, etc. it is found in the Bible in Galatians 5:16. it reads, "walk in the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh." almost always when lust enters my mind and begins to control me, it is because i am not walking in the Spirit. i am not letting the Spirit control my mind. walking in the Spirit comes from deep meditation and communion with God & the Word. notice the progression also...walking in the Spirit must come first, and then we will not fulfill the lust of the flesh. i hope this is encouraging to you. i hate when i fall into lust because it is robbing God of His glory in my life, and also because it has the power to ruin God's plan and goals for my life. lust is not worth the loss of all that. keep it real bro's and fight for joy...in God, not lust.

what a beautiful day

2007-08-31T16:47:00.000-04:00

well, today i was back home at myrtle beach, spending time w/the fam because my birthday is this weekend. and of course...i went to the beach. Mom and i were running some errands and we met my sister at one of our favorite lunch locations, River City Cafe. they have great food and it's oceanfront in Surfside Beach. while we were there, i was reminded of 2 great scripture passages.

"Who [God] has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand..."
isaiah 40:12

The ocean is so, so massive and Isaiah tells us that God measured out the amount of water for the seas in the hollow of His hand. Holy Cow!!!!!! also,

"How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! If i would count them, they are more than the sand..." Psalm 139:17-18

David says in this psalm that God's thoughts to us are more than the sand. WOW again!! i love in scripture where we find the paradox of a sovereign and personal God. He is awesome!

shane & shane concert

2007-08-29T11:46:00.000-04:00

last night i went to a Shane & Shane concert here in Charlotte at a weekly city-wide young adults gathering called "charlotte ONE." If you aren't familiar with Shane & Shane, they're a christian band that plays really unique accoustic type stuff (unbelievable guitar).

the coolest thing about the concert was that it was really a worship service. i was so thrilled b/c the entire night was seriously centered on Jesus. that's kinda rare for some concerts. the band was continuously talking about the gospel and what that means for someone who is "in Christ" and no longer under the curse of the law. Scripture was mentioned throughout the whole night, but there was on verse that really stuck w/me, Galations 3:13.

it says, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us..." Satan tries to beat us down sometimes by telling us we're worthless and terrible at living righteously. we mess up alot. BUT...when we couldn't keep the law, someone came and kept it completely, and actually fulfilled it. His name is Jesus, and when we put our faith in His death for us, God the Father allows Christ to be our substitute and righteousness. He no longer sees our shortcomings and failures, but rather sees Christ in us!!! wow!

think on that today and let the gospel change the way you view Jesus and yourself!

journey through the scriptures

2007-08-28T16:32:00.001-04:00

right now i'm currently doing a study through the book of 1 Corinthians. today was sweet!!!! if you get the hunger, check out chapter 8.

the idea of the chapter is there are 2 "knowledges" in the Christian faith. one is a deeper/mature knowledge of God and Jesus, realizing there is no other god but God (this brings much freedom and liberty in the Christian life knowing that our identity is Jesus Christ...not the things we do or where we go). the other knowledge is a weak knowledge, not bad, but an immature/young knowledge of God (not yet fully understanding the gospel and our identity in Jesus).

so, Paul says, those who have the strong knowledge of God/gospel, do not use your freedom to do something that would cause your weak brother to trip/stumble. Paul also says at the end of the chapter, "if food [offered to idols] makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I make my brother stumble." we should be on guard, not to please the legalistic folk, but rather to take much caution w/our liberty, so our weaker brothers and sisters in Christ do not stumble over something we say or do.

my favorite part of the chapter is verse 6: "yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist."

the loudest church i've ever been to...

2007-08-26T21:18:00.000-04:00

so...during my current nomad days, i'm attending 2-3 different churches each weekend to see what's out there and experience different styles of church. today i went to one of the craziest, hooked up, off the wall, unbelievable, loud, "out there" churches...literally, my ears were pounding as i left the service this morning!!

Elevation Church started less than 2 years ago w/less than 20 people, and now there averaging over 2,400 people in attendance each week at their 2 campuses in 2 suburbs of Charlotte. the most incredible thing about the new church is they're growth is largely due to people who are unchurched and putting their faith in Jesus and now attending regularly. they've had close to 600 people accept Christ in approx. the last 6 months...INCREDIBLE!!! they're really experiencing a "move of God."

it was quite an experience!! check them out at http://www.elevationchurch.org/

my new friend jack

2007-08-23T14:52:00.000-04:00

so, as i type, my new friend jack is putting his tiny paws all over my laptop, pleaing for attention. he's a 5 month old malti-poo (spelling??). right now i'm living with two of my best friends, Patrick and Crystal, who got married 2 years ago, and they bought this little dog who i'm stuck with as they go to work. blahh...

i admit, he is a little cute, but i'm not a big fan of small annoying, spoiled dogs who bark, yelp, pee on the carpet, crap on the floor, wont leave your sight, and act as if they own the universe. i'm not bitter...unfortunately, i cant be b/c Jack is God's creation. if you're wondering where the name "Jack" came from...Patrick and crystal named him after Jack Bauer on the tv show "24." what a blessing.

i hope this was inexchangably encouraging and deeply moving for you today!!

peace, love Jesus

prayer & fasting

2007-08-22T13:32:00.000-04:00

currently, i'm reading a great book, Brothers, We Are Not Professionals, by one of my favorite authors, John Piper. It is a plea to pastors to not follow a worldly mindset of our calling and try to be professional CEO's of the church, but rather to be Spirit-filled biblical pastors. it's kind of a wakeup call for me b/c there's so much great technology and leadership advancement in the church (which is good), but it leads me sometimes to follow a worldly philosophy on my calling rather than a God-centered biblical philosophy.

so, the chapter i just read has motivated and compelled me to intensify my prayer life. this is the weakest area of my spiritual fellowship with God. i wish prayer was natural habit for me and i could spend an hour or two a day in prayer, but it's not. so, i'm making it a discipline to start each morning with a prayer time for no specific amount of time, but i'm aiming for 30 minutes. this is not a legalistic demand i've put on my favor with God, but rather a spiritual discipline that i hope will turn into a lifelong habit.

Here are some great quotes from the chapter in his book:

"A pastor who feels competent in himself to produce eternal fruit knows neither God nor himself. A pastor who does not know the rhythm of desperation and deliverance must have his sights only on what man can achieve."

"The proper goals of the life of a pastor are unquestionably beyond our reach. The changes we long for in the hearts of our people can happen only by a sovereign work of grace."

A. C. Dixon, "When we depend upon organizations, we get what organizations can do; when we depend on education, we get what education can do; when we depend on man, we get what man can do; but when we depend on prayer, we get what God can do."

"I know that the reason so few conversions are happening through my church is not because we lack a program or staff. It is because we do not love the lost and yearn for their salvation the way we should."

wow! we'll see what happens...through prayer.

worship and the gospel

2007-08-17T14:12:00.000-04:00

"the degree of our worship will always be determined by the depth of our understanding of the gospel."

what is worship?? worship is a response to whatever we value most. we worship at ball games, at the movie theatre, at the restaurant, in the car, at home, in school, at work, pretty much everywhere. worship is a 24/7 thing that is so much more than singing. you can tell what you worship by checking what is the object of your affection (values). all people, of all times, of all places are all worshipers.

what is the gospel?? well, thanks for asking. We (all people) are pretty much wicked, unrighteous sinners that can never get to God on our own...not even a chance, b/c He is a holy God that cannot dwell w/sin. (this is hard for americans to grasp). our punishment for degrading the fame and glory of God is separation from Him forever. the only way to get to God is to be perfect and keep the whole law. so, we're doomed. however, Jesus (God the Son) came and entered human history to live the perfect life that we could not live (He kept the law perfectly and actually fulfilled it); then He died the death on a cross that we should've died. Then, He rose from the dead, conquered sin, and gives us eternal life that we don't deserve. wow!

the degree of our worship to God will always be based on our depth of our understanding of the gospel. if i don't deeply understand the gospel, than i will never deeply worship God.

the unexplainable

2007-08-10T14:00:00.001-04:00

How cool would it be to be a part of something that couldn't be explained. most of the time, i get the outcome i planned or hoped for. i took the right steps and followed the process to produce the product i was desiring. i think most of our lives and churches look like this.

However, wouldn't be exciting to say, "Wow, i don't know how that happened." or, "Wow, God must of done that b/c we weren't expecting that to happen." Too often we're relying on our own talents and skills to produce what we desire. church success too often can be defined by cool music, a great communicator, a nice facility, etc. Instead, i want to be a part of a church that is unexplainable, and where God is the only logical reason for why something happened. lets move out of the rational, predictible philosophy, and hit our knees, begging for God to move in a way that is unexplainable.

jude25??

2007-08-09T16:33:00.000-04:00

jude25 comes from a scripture reference in the bible found in the book of Jude, verse 25. it reads,

"to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen"

this verse parallels the passion of my life, which is knowing my God and Savior Jesus, and making Him known. i remember a few years back when i finally tasted and saw, for the first time, who God was, and what He was like. i didn't see Him literally, but rather spiritually through His word. For some crazy reason, God decided to make Himself known to me. it was a crazy time in my life. it was kinda like standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon, and looking across that great divide, feeling rather small, but at the same time feeling so wonderful to be able to see a sight so huge. its the same way with God. anyone who truly sees how awesome God is, can only feel humbled and small. but at the same time, would feel so enthusiastic because of sharing in the view. the bible refers to Him as glorious, majestic, dominating, authoritative, and eternal. i hope God would open your eyes also to see the wonder of who He is...its an awesome sight!