wading in

ghana 2

2010-10-07T16:17:00.004-05:00

in my last blog i mentioned something called the "pee-tree." this isn't code for anything....

we visited many schools while we were in ghana. some of them were private while others were managed by the government. it was easy to see the difference between the two. the private schools had some method to the madness. the rooms were still small and extremely hot but teachers were teaching and children were learning. as i walked through one of the classrooms i couldn't help but notice the things that were being used to educate the children.

in one of the class rooms the teacher had chalk but no blackboard. you could see where he had been writing on the wood panels that made the wall. it was very difficult for me to read but it seemed to do the trick for his class. the children were in awe of these white people who had come to visit their class. they were initially frightened by our cameras. apparently old tradition says that the camera of a white man can take your soul. i think we convinced them otherwise but it was still difficult to get them to smile.

because of the generosity of our church we were able to take 115 soccer balls and over 8400

vitamins to these schools. when we first began collecting the soccer balls i was a little pessimistic that it was the best thing to collect. i mean wouldn't they be better off having access to some of our wealth? shouldn't we do a clothing drive instead? soccer balls?!? it wasn't until i saw the reaction of the first class that i understood. soccer is king in their country. everyone is familiar with it and most love to play it. the problem: balls are expensive and difficult to find. when we walk in toting all those soccer balls it was if we brought them gold.

our host also informed us that soccer is a great way to get people talking about faith, teamwork and unity. the area is saturated with muslims and he said giving these kids soccer balls communicates a couple of truths to them and their families. 1)the Christians care about you and brought you this ball 2) our differences can be bridged through a game...creating opportunity to talk about our faith...which can ultimately lead to someone hearing the truth about God and ultimately seeing them come to faith. all of that through a little $10 soccer ball from wal-mart.

we also took them children's multi-vitamins. when our host told them about the vitamins he said "if you eat one a day you will grow strong,wise and beautiful. But if you eat 2 they will become poison and you will DIE!" the kids were excited about the 1 a day vitamin but look scared about the possibility of eating 2...even by accident. our host knew the vitamins were sweet. he also knew the kids would eat too many at one time if they didn't instantly become respecters of the vitamins. it was awkward and funny all at the same time.

the final thing we gave them were frisbees. Each class was awarded a soccer ball, vitamins and a frisbee. the catch:: they had never seen a frisbee before! when we threw it for the first time they ducked as though it might cut their heads off! once they realized it was a safe toy they smiled with tremendous joy.

it was so interesting to see the lunch lady cooking food for all the children outside in a pot over a wood burning fire. it was crazy to think the kids would run over to the concrete slab and pick up their bowl of food fromthe ground and eat it for lunch. it was so humbling to walk into a classroom where a little boy was using a small branch off a tree to point to words on the board leading his class in a phonetics exercise. it was overwhelming to visit a school that has 860 students and 12 teachers. nothing about it was familiar but somehow it all made sense. they were learning....in their own unique way....they were learning.

oh yeah...almost forgot the "pee-tree." in one of the classrooms that had 120ish 4-5yr olds we heard the teacher rattle off something in their native tongue. all at once every child got up, went outside (apprx 15 feet from the building), dropped whatever pants and underpants they may have been wearing and proceeded to urinate....simultaneously....all mixed in gender....with absolutely no direction. literally! never seen anything like that before.

let's just say....after that we watched where we stepped!

don't forget to pray for the widows....here is another beautiful and strong woman to lift up.

more to come.....

ghana 1

2010-10-06T12:21:00.009-05:00

as many of you know i had the opportunity to go to ghana last week. if you know me very well you also know that this was a huge step of faith for me. a few things to help bring others up to speed about me:

1. i am a germaphobe

2. i am a homebody

3. i don't like to sweat

4. i don't like flying for longer than about 3 hours

as you can imagine....all of these things would be tested. as you can also imagine.....i was apprehensive about the trip.

our host is named Stephen Aputara. we met him at a seminar in little rock arkansas in 2007. at the time we just exchanged business cards and went our separate ways. he also met and quickly befriended one of our staff members named don. stephen now confesses that he sensed from the beginning that God was creating a partnership. over the past 3 years stephen has invited me to ghana on several occasions. i had an excuse for everyone of them and never went. about 4 months ago he was in the states and told me that he wanted me to come and that i should let him know when i would be there and he would build everything around our visit. i didn't have a way out. i knew this was God's way of telling me "excuse making time is over...better start packing!"

news of my trip traveled quickly. almost immediately i had 7 other people who wanted to be a part of this journey. i thank God for blake, phillip alycia, kristen, garrett, kayla and sean. they were the perfect people to make this first and most important journey with me.

over the course of the next few months we prepared for our trip. financially, physically with lots of vaccinations and spiritually....we didn't know what to expect. the area where we served is saturated with Islam so we studied to ready ourselves for potential conversations. the preparation was so important for me on many personal levels.

the day finally arrived....we hugged our families and boarded the plane for Africa.

in the next several posts i will do my best to introduce you to some of the fascinating people we met and describe the remarkable places we went. a quick glimpse of what is ahead:

bats in the worship center
150 kids under the pee-tree
one a day vitamins...if you eat 2 you will die
preaching by flashlight
dancing with the widows
whistling for crocodiles
sleeping with the geckos
eating the slaughtered goat
tour de ghana to hear the gospel

it was an amazing journey.....stay connected to my blog and i'll tell you some incredible stuff!

on each post you will find a picture of one of the many widows i met along the way. i promised them we would pray for them so thanks in advance for lifting each of them up.

pray-ers needed

2010-10-04T14:35:00.005-05:00

i returned from a trip to Ghana last thursday and am asking for some help. while i was there i had the opportunity to meet with a group of 27 widows who worship at one of the local churches. they told me their stories and asked if i would ask the people i know to pray for them. as believers they find themselves caught between the commands of scripture and the rituals of their culture. they want to honor God but in many cases it leads to beatings and intense suffering. they said they know God is their only hope and would be blessed to know people are lifting them before the Father. they want us to pray that God would give them resolve and strength each day.

if you would be willing to pray for one of them on a regular basis please let me know and i will send you a picture of a real person....with a real name...with real needs.

looking forward to hearing from many of you!

e-mail me at rwade@clifec.com to get a picture....this will make sure i have your email!!!

interesting read....

2010-04-07T11:34:00.001-05:00

Written by Rob Ross

Throughout the New Testament Jesus used questions to teach. Questions helped His disciples discover truth for themselves. Questions help each of us go through a process of self discovery. This post is the result of asking a question that was asked of me.

What would happen if the Church’s singular focus was to make disciples?

My response was very direct at the time. I stated that I believe we would see a movement of God like we have not seen in generations. So, another question was asked. What is keeping us from seeing a movement of God happening?

I reflected on an answer for quite some time. I thought about the stories I have read of how God is moving in other parts of the world. I thought about how I have not seen this happening here in North America. So, I asked myself a question. What makes North America different from other parts of the world?

I pondered this question while watching a few of our family’s favourite television shows. We often enjoy watching the Home Improvement Channel. Through the years I have been able to glean a number of good ideas from watching Disaster Do-It-Yourself or Holmes on Homes. One basic principle that has been restated many times in these shows is the need to know the difference between a load bearing wall and non-load bearing wall. The load bearing walls are the ones that keep the house from falling down. The non-load bearing walls are dividers that keep us from seeing what is on the other side.

I believe North America is different from other parts of the world because we like our space. In order to have this space we put up a whole lot of walls. However, for those of us who want to see and be involved in what God is doing some of these walls need to come down.

A number of the walls that I believe need to be come down first include:

The Wall of Comfort

I would define comfort as a state of being in which we feel secure. It is a feeling that everything is okay at least where I live. If we become too comfortable we no longer sense the urgency. In scripture Jesus warned his disciples that the time was near. He took down their wall of comfort so they could see what was coming and helped them prepare. What questions should we be asking Jesus? How do we move outside our comfort zone? Matthew 24:32-35

The Wall of Distractions

North American society provides an abundance of distractions. Add to our busy lives the need to adapt to a rapidly changing world and we see our attention becoming extremely divided. We are inundated with many forms of entertainment. We have numerous opportunities to listen to the radio, watch television or surf the Internet. Technology continues to take ever larger amounts of our time. Beyond this we still need to earn a living, pay our bills, raise our families and keep our relationships healthy. In order to sort out all these distractions it becomes imperative to ask some more questions. What are my priorities? How do I redeem my time? Ephesians 5:15-17

The Wall of Individualism

When I refer to individualism I mean the pursuit of individual rather than common or collective interests. This seems to be a common theme in Western society. It appears we are losing sight of what it means to be community. Our focus is diverted by the idea of personal success rather than corporate well being. The wall of individualism blinds us from the needs of all God’s people and from fully accomplishing God’s purpose. I continually ask myself, “What was Jesus’ original purpose for His people?” How do we live as Jesus intended? Acts 2:42-47

The Wall of Disobedience

Disobedience is any choice that is contrary to what God has instructed. It is saying no to God. This is not as obvious as it might seem. I often find believers questioning the relevance of scripture for today’s world. There is a sense that it was meant for those who lived two thousand years ago but it isn’t relevant today. It seems they want to make God’s word fit into their lifestyle. They do not see this as disobedience. What does it take to obey God? Titus 3: 1-9

So, what next?

Like any home improvement project it takes time, effort, tools, resources and a team of committed workers. In order for disciples to start taking down some of these walls more questions need to be asked.

What are the load bearing walls in our lives? What are the non-load bearing walls in our lives? What changes do we need to make in our lives if we want to see a movement of God happen in this generation?

_____________________________________________________________________________________

Rob Ross works with Oikos Ministries, a contemporary home-based organic church network with an external message in Canada.

a couple of questions....

2010-04-05T17:48:00.002-05:00

1.) what are the responsibilities, according to the scripture, of those who are saved? in other words....what is required of Christ followers?

2.) do you feel like believers are living up to these responsibilities? why or why not?

don't be intimidated to respond. i don't have an agenda....just trying to get some feedback for a future sermon.

signs you are a leader

2010-03-30T15:05:00.001-05:00

Seven Signs You are a Leader

Have you ever wondered if you are truly a leader or if you have leadership potential? The following article written by Dr. Ron Herring, Director of the Center for Effective Leadership, spells out seven clear signs that point to your leadership potential.

Very few people question the scarcity of leaders in our world today. They seem to be in short supply, and churches aren’t the only ones looking for good leaders, so are businesses, education, non-profits, government agencies, and the military. Maybe you have the gift of leadership and don’t know it. Maybe God wants to use you in ways you haven’t imagined. Let me encourage you to continue reading this article and see how you stack up.

1. You have a sense of purpose-Leaders get up each day, excited about what they are responsible for. If they don’t have a project to lead, they look for one. Being a leader defines who they are!

2. You have the ability to say what you mean and mean what you say-Leaders are plain spoken. They have the ability to communicate in the clearest of language. There is no ambiguity when they speak!

3. People believe in you-Leaders find that people trust them. Trust has to be earned, it’s seldom inherited, but leaders earn it quickly. They put others at ease!

4. People follow you-Leaders have followers; it’s that simple. If no one is willing to follow you, you not a leader!

5. You make things happen-Leaders know that, in Texas, we’re fond of saying, “He’s all hat and no cattle!” Hot air just makes it warm, it doesn’t make it happen. Leaders don’t just talk, they produce!

6. You live in a state of constant self-evaluation-Leaders are never satisfied. There is always a book at their bedside, a CD in the car stereo, a podcast on the IPOD and a seminar to attend. Getting better is a journey they never complete!

7. You can’t wait to tackle the next project-Leaders are restless, they have to be “in charge” of something. If they’re not running the “show”, they’ve got little interest in the “show”. That’s not ego, it’s how they’re wired!

look in their eyes....

2010-01-14T10:57:00.002-06:00

the recent earthquake in haiti is overwhelming. the images that we are no able to see are sobering. the reality of suffering is suddenly so vivid.

as christians we have both the privilege and responsibility to be the hands and feet of Jesus at all times but in the midst of such suffering it seems especially important. it is estimated that over 3 million people have been directly affected by this tragedy. reports this morning said the death toll would most likely climb into the hundreds of thousands.

children have lost their parents

parents have held the limp and lifeless bodies of their children

homes and businesses have been destroyed

life as they once knew it has been forever altered

yesterday i received a link to photographs of the suffering. the label warned me that some of the images were graphic but i felt compelled to click on it anyway. my heart broke as a result of what i saw. it didn't take long until i wanted to click on the x and close the window. i knew if i clicked on the window the images would go away and i wouldn't have to acknowledge their suffering. with a click on the x i could go back to my life....my routine....but something told me to look more closely. something told me to look in their eyes. something told me to appreciate their pain. something told me not to click because their pain couldn't be removed that easily. and so i looked at every picture....at every person....and found myself broken.

i hope you will spend some time looking at the pictures. i think it will be good for your soul, albeit uncomfortable, to look into someone else's pain. it will do us all good to know that ignoring their suffering doesn't take it away.

after you look i also hope you will respond.

respond by:

praying......fervently and often that those who are on the ground will be the light of Christ in their darkness.

giving....connect with Compassion International, World Vision, Texas Baptist Men...connect with someone who has the ability to take them the supplies they need to survive.

going....prepare yourself to be ready to go if and when it becomes possible.

look into their eyes.... http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/photos/photos_galleries/haiti_earthquake/#/2

my thoughts on Tiger Woods

2009-12-12T00:03:00.002-06:00

if you know me you know i am not a huge sports fan. athlete worship is something that bothers me. the latest news on tiger is nothing short of disturbing. it bothers me at the core because it is a reminder that a guy who had "everything" was not satisfied. as you probably know (unless you live under a rock) tiger has been THE headline for the past couple of weeks. it seems like they find more dirt on him with every passing day. a few observations:

1. golf will survive....hard to believe for some but absolutely true.

2. there is more to tiger than golf and money....and women. there is a deeper issue.

3. believers who find plenty of opportunity to talk about tiger yet don't pray for him are missing an opportunity. tiger needs the Lord. nothing less....nothing more.

4. tiger is or is at very least on the way to becoming a broken man. we, as Christians, should be praying for him to find forgiveness in his brokenness and peace in the midst of this storm.

as i look back over the course of my life and ministry i have learned a very valuable lesson: God doesn't waste anything. He will leverage our very worst to point us to His very best.

stop talking about tiger's sin....and pray for his salvation.

growth through tension

2009-11-09T14:53:00.002-06:00

today has been a great day but for unusual reasons. i have been a part of a couple of different discussions that were at times filled with tension. in many instances tense conversation can derail a relationship, hurt feelings and compromise trust. however, when honoring Christ is central and primary tense conversations help identify weaknesses and undergird strengths.

i'm grateful to work with people who are willing to tell me the truth. i'm blessed to journey alongside of friends who care enough to wade through difficult waters with me. I'm honored to know that i have people around me who will ask the hard questions and call "bull" when i try to skirt the issue.

i suppose easy days are the ones that bring about no meaningful conversations. however, the days when i feel like i have grown the most are the days when difficult conversations happen. growth through tension.....who would of thought?

"as iron sharpens iron so one man sharpens another." proverbs 27:17

86

2009-11-08T15:49:00.003-06:00

this afternoon i had the privilege of baptizing two of my friends from cLife. although it is always an honor to share in that proclamation of ones faith today was extra special. one of the ladies i baptized was 86 years old! she told me just before her baptism that she had given her life to Christ, asked Him to forgive her of her sins and wanted to be baptized. it was an amazing blessing for me and for the countless others who were there to share in that moment with her. today....at 86 years old she has a peace because of what Christ has done in her.

as i think about today i can't help but wonder if there is someone who reads my blog that still feels like something is missing?? do you feel like life has handed you far more questions than answers? perhaps you wonder if there really is a God.....

i hope that you will seek resolution to your questions. if another believer has ever told you that asking hard questions is wrong please forgive AND ignore them. i believe hard questions open up the door for big answers to emerge. scripture says "seek and you will find."

my prayer is that you will find peace. my hope is that you will have the courage to ask the hard questions. my desire is that you would be willing to ask the questions that you fear will bring about ridicule because in that humility i believe God will answer.

i'm praying that you too will find peace......today.

rwade@clifec.com

permissible or beneficial

2009-11-05T10:49:00.001-06:00

the following is a blog post by mark batterson. i found it encouraging/challenging and thought i would pass it on to you.....i hope you enjoy!

"Everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial."

Your future is found in I Corinthians 10:23. It reveals two options: permissible or beneficial. And your destiny will be determined by which option you choose. Who we become is determined by whether we settle for what is permissible or strive for what is beneficial.

It's so tempting to live down to what is required. It's so tempting to live in our comfort zone. It's so tempting to take the path of least resistance, but the path of least resistance never takes you where you really want to go!

What am I getting at?

Well, are you setting for what is permissible? Or are you striving for what is beneficial? Are you giving God leftovers? Or are you seeking first the kingdom of God? Where are you compromising? Where have you become comfortable with what is permissible?

Don't let short-term comfort short-circuit God's long-terms plans for your life. Spiritual short-cuts always turn into detours! Take the hard way. Take the high road. Strive for what is beneficial.

healing

2009-11-03T15:09:00.002-06:00

let me start by saying "thank you" to everyone who took the time to ift me up over the course of the past couple of weeks. it has been a humbling process for me but one that i think i really needed to go through. for years i have been the guy who walks into the pre-op area and encourages the person wearing the fashionable surgery attire to "relax." i don't know how many times i have told someone not to "sweat it" because "doctors do this stuff all the time!" it seems so different when you are the person laying on the table wondering what the news will be when/if you wake up. i needed to be on that side of the process.....

the operation went well. the dr was very relieved to only find infection in my left maxiallry sinus. today at my post-op visit he mentioned 3 different times how glad he was that he didn't have to deliver bad news. i think he was leaning toward a more negative result. i'm glad he was wrong.

the recovery period has been smooth. honestly the pain has been minimal....i would like to think i just have a ridiculously high level of pain tolerance but i'm pretty sure that isn't the case.

all in all this journey has been beneficial for me for a couple of different reasons:

1. as a pastor i need to remember the emotions the patient is dealing with....they are very real

2. as a person i need to remember that there is nothing stopping me from a different test result down the road. each day matters and is truly a gift. the great theologian tim mcgraw got it right in his song "live like you were dying."

everything in life has some takeaways.....don't miss them

anesthetized

2009-10-25T17:25:00.002-05:00

i have surgery this friday. some of it corrective and some of it exploratory. one thing i have learned through this whole thing is i'm a bit of a baby. for whatever reason the thought of being "put under" worries me as much as what they might find once they get in there and start rooting around.

the topic that has been on my mind the last day or so is the anesthesia. i was put under twice when i was a little boy but that was so long ago that i don't remember being worried about it.....i suppose there is a lesson in that isn't there??? today as i was going through all the possibilities in my head of what "might happen" God revealed to me what was actually happening all around me.

sadly, many people have allowed the enemy to anesthetize them. they have grown numb to the sin that is eating away at their soul. they don't feel a thing. sin is doing so many things to them.....yet they are totally unaware. at some point the anesthesia will wear off and in that moment they will feel the pain and anguish that sin has brought them.

i'm blessed beyond words that i have a Savior. i'm in awe of the fact that He allows me to know Him by name. i'm honored and humbled that He calls me "son." i'm painfully aware of the sin that is around me and grateful for His mercy that sustains me, equips me, protects me and encourages me.

i hope you know Him too. if you don't or aren't sure i would love to tell you about Him and how He specializes in waking people from the dark slumber of sin and ushers them into the light of His forgiveness and grace.

let me know....

responsibility

2009-10-21T08:36:00.003-05:00

it seems like we live in a world where we fear consequence. at catalyst 2009 andy stanley reminded everyone of a quote his dad (Charles Stanley) would always try to live by. The quote is also recorded in andy's book "louder than words" which i feel is a must read. here's the quote:

God takes full responsibility for the life wholly devoted to Him.

think about that sentence for a minute.....allow yourself some time to marinate in that thought. when you and i fully devote our lives to God He will take full responsibility for the consequences. the scripture teaches us that perfect love casts out/drives away fear. the person whose life is aligned with the purposes of God and whose decisions and actions are based on the leadership of the Holy Spirit.....need not fear consequences.

what does that look like in our world?
not willing to fudge the numbers so corporate will reward you.....you may get fired
you make the hard decision to confront a friend about their sin.....they de-friend you
you tell your kids "no" because what they want to do doesn't honor God.....they get mad
you don't engage in gossip at the office....people begin to shun you

as you go throughout your day....wholly devote your life to Him. you may get ridiculed. you may get fired. your kids might get mad at you. you might lose a "friend" or two. the consequences may be difficult for you on a personal level but you, as a follower of Christ, don't own those consequences. God does.

latest and greatest...

2009-10-19T15:53:00.002-05:00

first of all....thank you for praying. it is so overwhelming and humbling to feel the body of Christ interceding on my behalf. i have gone from "very concerned" to "it is what it is" in a very short period of time. knowing my personality that is explained by only one thing......God. i really believe and trust in my heart that all is good.

i will have lab work done on wednesday of this week and surgery on october 30th in the morning.

keep the prayers coming if you don't mind.

need a favor

2009-10-17T17:40:00.002-05:00

i'm a worrier by nature. i preach against it. i understand it doesn't change reality. wish i didn't...but find that i still do from time to time.

yesterday i went to the dr for an allergy test and a ct on my head. i found out i am allergic to 35 of the 40 things they test for! that isn't what has me worried though. after the dr took my ct he said we need to do surgery because my left maxillary sinus is full of something. he said he wouldn't be concerned if both sinuses were full but "since only one is blocked we need to do surgery to see if it is a malignancy." my heart dropped then very quickly found a resting place at the top of my throat. he saw that i was concerned and started to reassure me that there were other possibilities as well that were actually more likely the case. i have just had a hard time moving past the word "malignancy."

here's the favor....pray that all goes well when i finally get to have the surgery. i obviously would like to think it is something other than a malignant tumor but i have to practice what i preach and just trust that whatever comes from it is.....well, right. here is the prayer list as i see it:

1. God's will be done
2. my faith strengthened

thanks

not guilty anymore

2009-10-13T15:38:00.002-05:00

i think one of the most powerful moments at catalyst came during our time of corporate worship. a worship leader named aaron keyes wrote a song called "not guilty anymore." i suppose on some intellectual level i know that my sins have been forgiven. i believe the scriptures teach grace and i have devoted my life to making that message known to the culture in which i have been placed.

during a talk by francis chan he made the following comment: "even pastors need to be pastored." he was referring to a time when he was encouraged and pastored by louie giglio. basically louie had reminded him that grace wasn't just something we are to proclaim to others....but receive it ourselves. what a reminder!! the same mercy and grace i tell others about is there for me as well. i don't have to hide behind the shadow of my failures anymore. i am free to step into the light of His forgiveness and rejoice.

i hope this serves as an encouragement to you today. why? because we have forgiveness....and because we have forgiveness....we're not guilty anymore.

when you see your failures, inadequacies, tendencies and sin i hope you will also be able to see the cross of Christ and in that place find grace.

(lyrics to "not guilty anymore")

it doesn't matter what you've done
it doesn't matter where you're coming from
it doesn't matter where you've been
hear me tell you I forgive

you're not guilty anymore
you're not filthy anymore
I love you mercy is yours
you're not broken anymore
you're not captive anymore
I love you mercy is yours

can you believe that this is true
grace abundant I am giving you
cleansing deeper than you know
all was paid for long ago

there is now therefore no condemnation for those who are in Jesus

you are spotless
you are holy
you are faultless
you are whole
you are righteous
you are blameless
you are pardoned
you are mine

catalyst 2009

2009-10-10T07:25:00.003-05:00

well i am going to blow the dust off the cover of this blog and do my best to be more consistent in posting my thoughts. in many ways i have missed blogging. today i will leave atlanta and head back to dallas. the last couple of days have been thought provoking to say the very least. over the next few weeks i will post some of my take aways from the catalyst conference. hopefully God will use them to challenge you as you continue to chase after him.

today i want to direct you to a video that gave me chill bumps when I first watched it. i hope it challenges you, as it has me, to remember the grace and love that we find in Christ.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Y84IO9KyLY

be blessed

fishing

2009-07-01T14:08:00.002-05:00

last night a friend from church invited me to go fishing on lake tawakoni. it was a blast!! until last night my fishing experience consisted of fishing from a pier or the side of river. the first thing we did was catch our bait. we used fish bigger than anything I have ever caught as bait!

as we were out on the boat i noticed several different things about fishing. i also couldn't help but think of our responsibility as Christians to be "fishers of men."

1. i had to make the effort to go fishing. fishing is not a routine of mine so i had to adjust some things and make it part of my schedule.

2. we used different kinds of bait in order to catch the fish.

3. it took time....and patience.

4. it was so exciting when we reeled in a big one that i couldn't wait to recast the line.

i would encourage you to spend a few minutes thinking about being a "fisher of men." how do you see these 4 things playing out in the church and in our role as believers?

leadership

2009-06-25T14:41:00.002-05:00

i know it has been a long time since i last posted. i guess i've sort of been going through a dry spell and figured it was better to slip into the distance rather than make up stuff to say. fortunately i feel like i'm moving out of the desert and am getting my legs under me again.

today i can't get the issue of leadership off of my mind. last week i was talking to a group of guys and the subject of leadership came up. we threw out all of the cliches about leadership (you're only a leader if people are following you and etc) but knew in our hearts that there is so much more to leadership than catchy phrases and well articulated principles.

there is a great deal of information being distributed about leadership these days. john maxwell, andy stanley, patrick lencioni, aubrey malphurs, mark driscoll and countless others are churning out books left and right on how to develop leaders. the information in these books is really good stuff. these books provide insight as to how we can leverage our influence in the lives of others and lead them by utilizing their strengths and God given abilities. fantastic material.....no question about that!

i guess what led me into my little desert was being overwhelmed by all of the leadership information that I had been ingesting. somewhere along the way I became more concerned with being a good leader than i was with the following question: where am i leading these people?

this post my not make a difference for anyone out there but i suppose i needed to use it as a platform of confession. hopefully it challenges you to ask this question of yourself: where are you in your relationship with Christ? how much attention have you given your spiritual health? what "good things" out there have become a distraction to you in your pursuit of holy ilving and Godly leadership?

time and grandparents

2009-05-11T11:45:00.002-05:00

last week my grandma and grandpa came down from oklahoma to help me install my irrigation system (sprinklers to all you lay people out there). it was a really big job and i knew i would not only need physical help but mental help as well. my grandpa has been in construction all of his life so i knew he would be able to see the bigger picture by looking at my plans and all the little connectors and sticks of pvc.

as we were working on the project i realized that the greatest value to me personally had nothing to do with sprinklers. the greatest value was in the time spent with my grandparents. for whatever reason i have been thinking a great deal about time lately. it is becoming clearer and clearer to me that time is not a renewable resource. it is not something that we can simply purchase more of or borrow from others. time is a gift.

as we were trenching the ground, gluing the pvc and shoveling endless amounts of dirt it became quite clear that we weren't just installing a sprinkler system....we were making memories. as time continues to roll on i will always have my grandparents fingerprints not only on my house but also on my heart.

how long has it been since you were intentional about making some memories? time is slipping away so let me encourage you to make it happen.....today!

the king's primary responsiblity

2009-04-15T16:24:00.002-05:00

we are about to start a new series at cLife that focuses on the relevance and reliability of the scriptures. i ran across this blog by mark batterson that i thought was thought provoking. i hope you do as well...

I know I'm fixated on Bible reading right now. But I make no apologies for it. There is no substitute. You've got to read the Bible and you've got to let the Bible read you. Came across a verse that has always fascinated me in Deuteronomy 17. The Lord instructed the King to "make a copy of the law" in the presence of the Levitical priests. He was told to "keep it at his side at all times." Who knows? Maybe he even slept with it. And he was told to "study it everyday." Interesting isn't it? Studying the law was the King's primary responsibility. I have no idea how long it took to copy the law. But here's my question: why copy it? You're a king. You're busy. You have servants. Why not let someone copy it for you. Why did God insist on him copying it? Because that way it was in his own handwriting. So he had his own personal copy of the law. And he was told to keep it at his side at all times. If we interpret that literally, then we ate with it, rode with it, slept with it, fought with it, and ruled with it.Finally, he was told to study it everyday. No other spiritual discipline is more vital to your spiritual growth that daily Bible study. Period. It has to be a daily routine. By the way, here is a little factoid that Braveheart fans will love. Did you know that William Wallace never went anyplace without his boyhood friend and personal chaplain, John Blair. In addition, he always carried his personal copy of the Scriptures with him.

the team

2009-04-14T17:38:00.002-05:00

our staff had a great day today just enjoying each other and having fun. after a great easter weekend with well over 1500 people on our campus we decided everyone was due a day to just play. we started off the day by taking staff pictures and having a brief team meeting. after the "business" was taken care of we ate lunch at a hibachi grill, played laser tag, air hockey, dance dance revolution and who all knows what else before finishing off our time together at bahama bucks! whew....it was a blast! a couple of take aways for you and your team/family...

1. if you focus only on your goals/destination you will miss the scenary of right now. i think it is vital that teams set aside time to play together. honestly, i'm not sure we do it enough. when we get to the end of our lives if all we know for sure is we made it...but can't remember having fun along the way....what a shame.

2. don't take yourself too seriously. some people are better at eating bahama bucks than they are at playing laser tag. these outings give everyone a chance to "do their thing."

3. there is something very refreshing about playing whirlyball or laser tag with your team. in these settings people are able to allow their inner kid to come out....and creativity/bonding/trust are all developed. if you're thinking: we can't afford to do something like that in my office/home i would suggest you can't afford not to!

do something crazy....budget in a little time and money to do something fun. it may be a real difference maker in the morale of your team and your effectiveness.

bunny dilemma

2009-04-13T15:03:00.002-05:00

ok.....looking for a little feedback on this one. if you do not have a google account and are unable to leave a moderated comment on the blog feel free to e-mail me directly at rwade@clifec.com.

yesterday my family was driving home from lunch when my daughter asked: why didn't the Easter bunny bring me anything this year? i asked why she thought the easter bunny was going to bring her something and she responded "because a lot of my friends at church said the easter bunny brought them some fun stuff!"

over the past couple of years i have grown increasingly uncomfortable with the whole idea of perpetuating the mythical figures our culture has produced over the years. from santa claus to the tooth fairy it seems like everytime i turn around i am being asked to lie to my kids. i am all for feeding their creativity and allowing them to be children. i want them to be able to look back and know that they experienced the fullness of being a child. however, i also want them to know that i lived by the same virtues i instilled in them....namely the virtue of honesty.

i know that billions of children throughout the course of history have not only believed in the fictional characters but eventually came to the understanding that they weren't real and managed to carry on fully functional and productive lives. my concern isn't with scarring them emotionally. i just doon't want to create any obstacles that might keep them from believing me when i tell them about Jesus. let's face it....believing in His story requires a full-throttle faith.

if i tell my kids that they will be rewarded for being good (santa) am i also teaching them that in some way good works will earn them the reward of salvation? if i teach them that there is a fairy that will visit their room after they lose a tooth and that there is a bunny that brings them gifts on easter and a jolly old man that mysteriously makes it down the chimney pipe at Christmas (none of which are true) am i also making it more difficult for them to believe that there is a God in heaven who loved them so much that He sent His only son to die on a cross for their sins? will they find it hard to believe that this same Jesus that dies for their sins was raised from the dead so that they too could defeat the burden and consequence of sin?

i know some of the responses that may be headed my way:

1. it is the spirit that draws people into an understanding of who God is so my kids, Lord willing, will be drawn into that relationship regardless of what I may or may not teach them.

2. lighten up wade! it's just harmless stories that allow kids to be creative and to imagine!

3. that is your decision as a parent....just tell your kids not to ruin it for mine :-)

4. it won't affect them negativel and your not really "lying" to them....your just playing along with their childish ways.

any thoughts????

overwhelmed

2009-04-12T18:34:00.002-05:00

three years ago God gave me and a couple of my friends an opportunity to start a new church. we were scared to death but knew, without any doubt, that God was prompting us to find a school and start a new local church body in forney. many people asked why we thought we needed to go to forney. some would even ask "aren't there already enough churches in the area?" there were times when i didn't know how to respond to that question. sure...there were probably enough churches but we couldn't shake the reality that God was leading us to start something new.

the vision of cLife was going to be simple: connecting people to God and one another. nothing really fancy huh?!? that was it....we sensed that God was going to do something big in the lives of people and we trusted that it wouldn't be limited only to the people in forney but that it would reach well beyond geographical boundaries and impact the lives of many from many different places.

i'm overwhelmed because God has blown away all of my expectations. people are coming from all over....mesquite, sunnyvale, forney, heath, rockwall, wills point, canton, kaufman, combine, crandall and the list goes on and on. people have caught the global vision and donated financially to dig water wells in remote villages in third world countries, helped to build a church in africa and launch a new children's home in guatemala. marriages have been restored, people have found freedom from the oppression of the financial situations and many have crossed the line of faith....stepping from darkness into light because of the shed blood of Christ on the cross.

as i looked at all the people who came to cLife today i was overwhelmed by the stories that God has allowed me to see unfold over the course of the last 3 years. overwhelmed because He has exceeded my limited expectations of what He was calling me to be a part of just a few years ago.

what is He calling you to? what is it that God is leading you to do or become that will require some sacrifice on your part? i can't promise that He will meet or exceed your worldly desires but can guarantee you that you will not regret stepping in His direction. i know i haven't.

easter

2009-04-12T15:16:00.002-05:00

i have oftentimes been referred to as the "debbie downer" in my social circles. it seems like anytime someone shares something as a celebration i have the unique ability to ....listen for the wah - wah sound....turn it into a negative. i have determined that i am not going to do that with easter. why? because there is nothing negative about it at all! it is a great reminder to me and other believers all over the world that JESUS IS ALIVE!!!

i know that He was alive yesterday and will still be alive tomorrow but there is something special about having a day when the world turns its attention to God's story. even skeptics are forced to at very least overhear our conversation about the God who sent His son to die on a cruel cross only to be raised from the dead.....which brings us the victory!

if easter seems like it has become a little "over done" by preachers and churches i want to encourage you go back to that place when you first tasted the goodness of God. why? because when you get to that place i am confident you will be reminded why we celebrate.

will He be alive tomorrow? yep! will He be alive 6 months from now? yep! should we as Christians celebrate His resurreection on a daily basis? yep! should we do everything we can to take full advantage of the opportunity that exists to speak the truth of the life changing promise of God into lives today? you bet we should!

i hope your Easter is a happy one....because He lives!

good friday

2009-04-10T10:16:00.002-05:00

in our current culture it is really hard to grasp the tension that this day respresents for Christians. in north america we really do not have to suffer for our faith....certainly not to the degree that Jesus did over 2000 years ago. good friday creates a tension because to really observe this holiday we are forced to grapple with the darkness that came over all of creation when Christ was nailed to the cross. to see our hero beaten beyond the point of recognition is terrifying....he was supposed to be the savior. to see him carry his own cross up the side of golgotha isn't the way it was supposed to be....he had already carried so much for us on his shoulders. to see him nailed to a cross and mocked was sickening....he didn't deserve any of it.

i hope as you move into this easter weekend you will pause at least for a moment today and REMEMBER what this day represents. luckily we know how the story ends so there is peace. however, if we ever get too far away from the truth of what preceded the resurrection we might just miss the point.

1 Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?2For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.3 He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and esteemed him not.
4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows;yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.5 But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities;upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.8By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who consideredthat he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?9And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death,although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.
10Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 11Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous and he shall bear their iniquities.12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

Isaiah 53

i do....

2009-03-29T17:13:00.003-05:00

this weekend marlo and i went to a marriage retreat hosted by our church. it was our first marriage retreat we've attended in our 12 years of marriage. as i left the retreat i couldn't help but think....we should do this more often. marlo and i have a great marriage by all accounts but there were some things that really stood out to me. below are a few of the take aways i had from the event.

1. i invest a lot more time and resources getting better at my job than i do investing in my marriage. i have one conference i go to every year (for the past 7 years) that has become a non-negotiable for me. it is a given that i will pack a bag every October and fly to Atlanta for catalyst. as we sat through the seminar this weekend it became so clear that i need to invest more time, energy and resources on my marriage.

2. what happened to my chivalry? i treated my girlfriend and my fiance with a lot more respect than i treat my wife. i used to open doors for her....not so much anymore. i used to comment on her beautiful eyes...haven't done that in ages. i used to have really meaningful spiritual dialogue with her..... this list could go on and on but you probably get the picture. i need to relearn how to "date" my wife.

3. my marriage is a huge part of my witness. like i said earlier....marlo and i really have a great marriage. our friends wonder why we never seem to fight or get really mad at each other so in many ways i think our witness is safe there. however, i wonder if my kids see us as a team when it comes to teaching them how to serve God and love others. i think i "do ministry" all day and have a tendency to drop the ball when it comes to planning opportunities for our family to serve the Lord by serving people. we're going to fix that problem asap.

if you are married and haven't been intentional about investing in your marriage....do it. marriages are under attack. at my home church we have a saying "if we don't win at home....we don't win at all." i pray you are winning at home and if you're not....i pray you seek the help you need.

fishing poles and smores

2009-03-23T15:23:00.002-05:00

last week my family took a few days to go to the Lake Bob Sandlin State Park in Pittsburg Texas. we stayed in my parents motor coach so it wasn't exactly "roughing it" but it did get us out of our element. as i have reflected back on the time we had at the park i am left with several impressions.

1. time flies...enjoy it while you can. i heard a friend a few weeks ago make the observation that most people spend all of their lives working towards retirement with the hope that they will enter their twilight years able to travel and spend time with family. sadly many people enter their twilight years with either too little cash or families that are too busy to spend time with them. i couldn't help but think our time at the park was time well spent.

2. you don't have to catch a fish to enjoy fishing....we had a great time just throwing a hook in the water. my 6 yr old got bored pretty quickly and my 2 yr old didn't even know there wasn't a hook on the end of his line but they had a blast.

3. smores are more than a dessert....time around a camp fire does something for your soul. not sure how to explain it but it does.

4. making priceless memories doesn't have to cost a fortune....we didn't spend very much money at all on our little excursion but we harvested memories that will last a lifetime.

it was a great spring break. if you haven't taken some time off to be intentional about doing nothing more than investing in your family in a while let me encourage you to do so asap. you won't regret it.

open house

2009-03-14T21:18:00.003-05:00

gee whiz....it has been too long since i last blogged. if you are still reading this thing i really appreciate your patience with me.

last thursday night we went to my 1st graders open house at school. i love open house. it is so cool to see my daughter light up when she is telling us about her work and showing us around her classroom. you would think she was starring in an episode of "cribs" when she is showing us her desk! it is so cool!

one of the things that caught my attention this year was a side by side comparison of her writing skills since the first day of school. on a piece of posterboard the teacher had a sheet on the left that showed how she spelled (or rather mispelled) her name on day one. her penmanship was lacking....she gets that from her dad!! on the right side of the posterboard was a sheet of paper that she had completed that week. she has not only spelled her name correctly but her penmanship was very precise. it was really unbelievable how much she had sharpened those skills in a relatively short amount of time.

the next morning i was reading through a chapter in the book of Jeremiah. i couldn't help but wonder what my spiritual life would look like if you could view my life/motives/thoughts/habits/knowledge of the word on the day i crossed the line of faith and compare it to today...

have i grown in my faith? have i gained a more precise understanding of the word of God? am i better able to articulate His truth today than i was back then? what areas of my life/motives/thoughts and etc have remained basically the same....or even perhaps regressed a bit?

why has her penmanship improved so much? because she focuses on it every day. at least 5 days a week she is sitting at a desk with pencil and paper and practicing writing the same letters over and over. she is beginning to see how those letters lead to thoughts and how thoughts lead to imagination and how imagination leads to creativity and how creativity leads to actions. as a result she continues to practice....to learn....

how about you? what have you been practicing/thinking about/ studying/craving lately? maybe our voice as believers would be louder in our culture if people saw us progressively getting stronger in our faith.

let's pray for each other....

twist and shout

2009-03-01T15:06:00.003-06:00

last night i had the opportunity to go to our church's "daddy daughter dance" with my 6 year old sydney. it was a blast! i'm not a very good dancer but i felt like there were a couple of reasons why i should go in spite of my limitations.

1. it was a great, no brainer, way to spend some one on one time with my daughter.
2. it provided a good opportunity to start showing her how a gentleman should treat her when she starts dating (in 30 years of course).
3. it was a neat way to support an event sponsored by our church.

by the end of the night i felt like we had accomplished all 3 things. she and her mom worked to get her hair just right (cool bonding time for them), i picked her up at her house, presented her with a corsage, opened & closed the door for her, we went to dinner with friends and then danced until the final song was played. for a couple of hours she got every bit of my attention. it was so much fun!

as i reflect back on the event i realized a couple of things i am really thankful for so i thought i would share them in this blog. i'm trying to get better at recognizing my reasons to be thankful....

1. i'm thankful for a wife that loves me and encourages me to be the best dad i can be.
2. i'm thankful for a little girl who like to hangout with her dad.
3. i'm thankful for a church that has a vision for healthy families.
4. i'm thankful for parents who modeled what it means to be involved in their kids lives. my mom and dad never missed a single event, recital, tennis, game, or any other opportunity to support me. i know what it looks like to be more interested in family than in a bank account. they continue to model that even today as they actively and consistently engage my kids.

it was a good night indeed.

bicycles and bruises

2009-02-26T15:32:00.003-06:00

yesterday when i got home from the office i asked my daughter if she wanted to go ride bikes. heaven knows i need the exercise and she just recently learned how to ride without training wheels. there was a positive in it for each of us. at one point i stopped to visit with a neighbor. the next thing i know she was getting a little farther away from me than i had hoped. i knew i could catch up with her before she would find herself in a place of potential danger so i wasn't worried. she on the other hand wasn't so sure. she isn't skilled enough at riding bikes to feel comfortable with looking back over her shoulder. she just assumed i wasn't there because she couldn't hear my voice. i caught up to where she was and still didn't say anything. i wanted to see how she handled the intersection that she was approcahing. we had talked about it a hundred times "come to a complete stop" and "look both ways" had been drilled into her head. we had practiced it MANY times. she knew what to do....i just stayed behind her to see if she would do what she knew to do.

sure enough she came to a complete stop. in the process of stopping and looking both ways she actually sort of came to a falling stop. as soon as she hit the pavement she started to cry. i was right there and so i asked her the natural dad question: "what did you hurt?" she wouldn't answer me so i persisted. eventually she was able to communicate the source of her tears. she was crying because she thought i had left her. she feared she was all alone and suddenly that little street we had ridden down a hundred times seemes a lot bigger....a lot scarier. she thought i had left her all alone.

APPLICATION: i know every story breaks down at some point so bear with me. in that moment i realized a couple of things.

1. God is always close by. He is there even when He is silent. sometimes He lets us fall. sometimes He wants to see if we are going to apply what He has been teaching us.....but He is always there.

2. i wonder if i would even notice if He wasn't with me? perhaps i have become a little too self-sufficient. perhaps i have convinced myself that i can handle my life on my own terms and in my own way. perhaps i need to want God near as much as my little girl wanted to me near her.

go dust off your bike and put a little air in the tires. God may just want to teach you something new...

do it

2009-02-19T09:13:00.003-06:00

life is fleeting. we've all heard it said before and there are those times when we catch a glimpse of that reality for ourselves. how many times have you been at a funeral and told one of your cousins that "we need to get together more often" or looked your grandma in the eyes while telling her your sorry for only coming to see her when people die? it is an issue that we all face because we are so busy. we assume people will be around when we get good and ready to go see them. sometimes we may even feel some offense toward someone and quietly, yet vindictively say to ourselves that if they want to see us they know where we live.

over the past month i have attended a good number of funerals. for some of the families the loss was expected while for others they never saw it coming. in both cases i overheard people apologizing for their busyness and lack of connection. i heard them making promises that the cynic in me believes they will never keep. i can only assume that for the majority of those making promises their intent is pure but their follow through will be lacking. i know this to be true because i am one of those people.

as you go throughout the day let me encourage you to do something. call the people that need to be called. write a letter to the people that need a letter. cancel your plans for the weekend to go play golf or shopping and take the grand kids to see their grandparents. shoot an e-mail to a friend that probably thinks you've fallen off the face of the earth. give your kids a hug....a long one that reminds them that you love them and will always be there for them. leave the office early....tell your boss you have an emergency at your house. if you haven't been home much then you really do have an emergency....your family is probably dying to see you.

all this to say do it! do the things you will regret later if you choose to stay too busy to do them today. say what needs to be said before the funeral and begin to live out the fullness of life.

out on a limb....

2009-02-07T12:57:00.003-06:00

i ran across a cool idea this morning on a blog that was forwarded to me from a friend. i thought i would give it a shot....

send me your questions....perhaps you have a question that has been nagging at you about life, family, anger, forgiveness, God, etc....

i know i don't have all the answers so when in doubt i will enlist people along the way to help respond from a biblical perspective.

i will keep your confidence by not saying who asks what question so feel free to dig deep.

i'm looking forward to hearing from you.

send questions to rwade@clifec.com

satisfied in Him

2009-02-06T09:14:00.002-06:00

the student pastor at our church, Casey Coats, shared these thoughts in a devotional that we send out everyday. i thought this was powerful and worthy of sharing with my blog readers.....

“God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.”

John Piper offered this statement in his book, Desiring God, and it has stuck with me since I first read it. The concept is one that is contrary to what many think about Christianity. Some people believe that God wants us to follow his commandments, which make our lives less enjoyable, for His glory. Under this mentality, God is most glorified when we are most miserable!

Fortunately, that is the exact opposite of the truth. Hebrews 11:6 states, “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” This verse states that there are two essential things to believe about God: 1) that he exists (that’s an easy one!) and 2) that he rewards those who seek him. Isn’t it interesting that according to this verse, the way that you please God is by expecting to be rewarded by him. That is truly alternative thinking. Psalm 37:4 reinforces this principle, stating, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.”

Good Christian boys and girls have long been taught that seeking their own happiness is wrong, sinful in fact. These scriptures teach us the exact opposite. It is good to seek your own happiness, so long as your happiness is in God! Who would want to believe in a god whom the closer and closer you get to the more and more miserable you become? When we seek God life gets better. Your circumstances may not get better, but your life does. John 10:10 says that Jesus came to give us life abundantly. Matthew 6:33 says that if you seek God, you won’t have to worry about anything else because God will give it all to you. Upon reading these verses it really does seem that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him, so seek God and request that he make you happy. That is what pleases Him.

(if you would like to be added to our daily devotional e-mail distribution group please e-mail c|Life at info@clifec.com and simply put add to devo list in the subject line)

i am lion....hear me roar

2009-02-04T18:34:00.004-06:00

today at lunch i was engaged in a conversation that reminded me of a priniciple that i, as well as many others, would be wise to remember:

you can't be in authority if you can't be under authority

i hope you will take the time to really marinate in that thought. i believe that every person regardless of age, race, profession and stage of life can benefit from realizing the truth of this statement. all too often i find myself longing for control. i think there is something in all of us that wants to be "in charge" "in control" "in authority." we all want to be the "boss" of something or someone.

i remember my days as a youth minister. i can't tell you the number of times i had to deal with a discipline issue and in the process heard a teenager say "you're not the boss of me." i can also remember adults along the way that were really hard on the students. at their core they loved the kids but saw their "position" as an opportunity to exercise "power" and "authority." what they didn't realize is how they actually undermined their authority in the process. on top of that i, as their authority, had coached them on how to deal with and respond to students. by ignoring my lead they wound up negating their authority and losing their influence. sad but true.

everyone is under at least one authority. most of us find oursleves under the authority of many. perhaps it is a parent, a teacher, a manager, a ceo, a board or any number of other people but we are all under authority. how are you currently submitting to the authorities that God has placed in your life? if you were the parent, the teacher, the manager, the ceo, the board, etc and you had someone like you working under you....would you want to keep them around?

as we go about our lives we, especially Christians, really need to evaluate how willing we are to submit graciously to the authorities that God has placed in our lives. humility and meekness are characteristics God expects to see in His children. i'm convinced that when we are willing to submit to the authorities in our lives God will then be willing to trust us to lead others the way He does.....with loving kindness and compasison. how are we doing?

everybody find a study buddy

2009-01-27T08:44:00.002-06:00

i was reading an article this morning and there was a line in it that caused me to pause. the line wasn't earth shattering or revolutionizing but it was a great reminder of some Biblical truth. here's the line:

Christianity is a team sport, not an individual event - on any given day, every Christian needs help and every Christian has some help to give. We have all failed as solo disciples for a very simple reason: Jesus doesn't have any solo disciples. Nate Larkin

last week was an interesting week. i wrestled with the same tension that the apostle paul spoke about in Romans 7:14-25

14We know that the law is spiritual; but I am unspiritual, sold as a slave to sin. 15I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. 16And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. 17As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me. 18I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. 19For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. 20Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it. 21So I find this law at work: When I want to do good, evil is right there with me. 22For in my inner being I delight in God's law; 23but I see another law at work in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members. 24What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God—through Jesus Christ our Lord!

have you ever been there? you find yourself doing things, thinking things, saying things that you know are wrong....yet do them, think them, say them anyway? i realize nate larkin's line wasn't pulled straight from scripture but the overall thought certainly finds credibility in the scripture. we tend to fall more frequently when we walk alone.

somewhere along the way christians have been duped into believing perfection is rewarded. if we will just hide our hurts and our failures then people won't know....and we will be perceived as flawless illustrations of God's ______________. i'm tempted to put grace in the blank but if there are no struggles/failures/issues then there really is no need for grace.

i'm in no way suggesting we sin so that grace might increase (paul had something to say about that as well). as i wrestle through these thoughts, albeit scattered thoughts, i know we need other believers to do more than simply correct and rebuke. the church has gotten very good at those 2 things. i think what the church needs to develop is a spirit of accountability among its people. a spirit of community.

transfer of power

2009-01-22T10:17:00.003-06:00

i was amazed on tuesday as i watched the inauguration of barak obama. regardless of which side of the aisle you find yourself everyone must agree that it was truly an historic event. inaugurating a new president always begins a new chapter in our american history a new opportunity to leverage our influence around the world. even the most volatile of obama's opposition must have paused and caught a glimpse of what was happening.

as america's first black president (and I know he is actually only half black so please don't e-mail me any corrective responses) it should help to set a new tone across the america's diverse landscape. those from the african american community will certainly know that whatever sins our forefathers may have committed against their forefathers is now in the past. the office of the presidency is no longer a post reserved for a white man. america has always been known as the melting pot of the world and tuesday went a long way to help free an entire race from past, in many cases even present, oppression. i think it was a good day for america....not so sure the next 4 years of liberal policy will be best but it was for many other reasons a great day for america.

i'm not a fan of barak obama. truth be told i would have liked to have seen mike huckabee standing on that podium but that wasn't the way the thing went down. so, what is my new responsiblity? as an american how should i try to support my president even though i disagree with him on most fronts politically? time will tell and hopefully my convictions will show me when i need to fall in line and follow his lead but one thing i know i must do....not only as an american but as a christian and that is pray for him everyday. pray that God would give him the conviction, mercy, vision, grace and moral clarity to lead our nation.

p.s. i love the speech W gave when he landed in midland on inauguration day. i will paraphrase his words below:

you may or may not agree with many or most of the decisions i made as president and that is fine. but you need to know that when i walked out of the oval office this morning i left with the same values and convictions i had 8 years ago when i walked into it for the first time as president. i never took opinion polls to help me determine what i thought was right. sometimes what I did wasn't popular. But that's OK. I always did what I thought was right. when I get home tonight and look in the mirror, I am not going to regret what I see--except maybe some gray hair.

sleeping bags and barbies

2009-01-18T14:46:00.005-06:00

tonight my 6 year old daughter is having a friend spend the night. for the last week or so she has been asking us "how many more days before peyton is coming over?" she has really been looking forward to today. this moment. she is absolutely giddy.

i have been sitting back and relaxing a little this afternoon but can't escape the sound of two 6 year old girls living in community. you heard me.....they are fleshing out what it looks like to thrive in community. i would guess that within the next 12 hours we will have laughing, crying, arguing, playing, eating, movie watching and a bunch of other stuff. add all that up and you get community.

a few days ago a friend of mine and I were talking about this thing called community. in many ways it is the new buzz word in church circles. as we carried on our conversation we realized that even though we talk about the need for community, understand the potential impact of community and the real dangers of living outside of community we really don't know how to define this cultural phenomena. try as i might i just can't seem to squeeze the vast reality of community into a small little box that i can use in a message on sunday mornings. it is too organic....too complex.

this afternoon God has helped me to get a little clearer understanding of community by listening to two 6 year old girls play with their barbies. how so? well, i know after they play, eat, sleep, fight, cry, argue and laugh together they will be closer friends than they were yesterday. the matrix that is their lives intersects and they establish a new bond....one that is not easily broken.

need community? yes....

purple cow

2009-01-17T14:19:00.004-06:00

google is taking over the world. it is really unbelievable when you start to discover how much power and influence google has acquired/earned in the last few years. when it comes to the digital world they are large and in charge.

what is it that sets them apart? they are full of purple cows. what is a purple cow you might ask....

bestselling author seth godin wrote a book entitled 'purple cow." the premise of the book is simply add distinction to avoid extinction. if you are driving to work and see a brown cow you probably won't tell anyone about it when you arrive at the office. if you are driving to work and see a purple cow grazing in a pasture you would definitely talk about it at work. he suggests that businesses need to be creators of the purple cows.

back to google: a few of their purple cows include google maps, streetview, google docs, voice and video chat in gmail, and the list goes on and on. when people first experience the street view feature of google maps they look up every address they know, tell others and wonder how in the world they made the feature possible.

as i think about purple cows i can't help but wonder why the church isn't the creator of more purple cows. certainly there are some churches out there that are doing some great things. one example would be the youversion Bible. but the larger church community is all too comfortable maintaining status quo and only utilizing tools after someone else has made created them.

so here's the question: what idea has been rolling around in your head that you have been scared to share with anyone? what vision do you have for something new that you refuse to mention out of fear that it will not be possible?

let's do something new....let's dream big....let's step out on a ledge and see what God may birth out of the ideas He has given us.

send me your ideas......let's see what's next!

the B-I-B-L-E

2009-01-14T08:44:00.003-06:00

yesterday i was engaged in a conversation concerning the Bible. the discussion was birthed out of a voiced concern that many Christians don't have a good working knowledge of the scripture. many can quote some verses and even articulate some of the major truths communicated through the scripture but all in all there seems to be a complacency among believers when it comes to knowing the Word, the history of the Word and God's ultimate purpose for the Word.

i suppose there is a different line for everyone when it comes to how much knowledge we need as it relates to scripture. a history buff would argue that knowing the historical background of the scriptures is vital to a proper understanding of God's character as it has been demonstrated throughout history. an academician would argue that it is vital to know how the books of the Bible came to be and the process by which we arrived at these specific 66 books. an evangelist might argue that the specific verses that speak to God's grace and mercy and judgment are the most important. it seems to be a moving target....at least from a human perspective.

i wonder what makes us stand at an arms length to really knowing the Word? here are a few thoughts i have come up with as to why many believers don't KNOW the Word:

laziness: we just don't carve out time to really invest ourselves in the scripture
apathy: we just don't care....can't see an immediate pay off
fear: we worry what we might discover/what God may change in us/what God might call us to if we really knew Him
ignorance: we have just convinced ourselves it doesn't matter/we already know enough

as i read the scripture i don't get the impression that God wants us to know the scripture so we will be smarter. i tend to believe it is because He wants us to be secure. He wants our footing to be secure. He wants us to live under the security of His promises so that we will be courageous in the face of difficulty. He wants us to feel secure in our salvation....He paid much to a high a price for us to live in uncertainty.

we need to know the WORD. it is one of the strongest ways God reveals Himself to us. spend some time with the verses below and pray God develops a hunger in your soul for more than a surface level, superficial, basic understanding of himself....i'm just guessing He will blow your mind in the process.

Eph. 6:12.....our struggle isn't with people it's with spiritual forces
Prov. 29:18.....the Word helps us
James 1:22-25....just knowing the Word isn't enough
2 Timothy 3:16-17....the Word is useful and we didn't make it up
2 Timothy 4:2....it's hard to preach what you don't know
Psalm 119:105....never drive at night without your lights on

*****THE CAUTION***** there is a tension between knowing the WORD and living out the truth of the word. just having knowledge isn't the goal. knowing God and living in a way that honors Him is the goal.

be blessed.....

live and learn

2008-12-31T13:11:00.002-06:00

the following thought is from a friend of mine and a fellow co-pastor at cLife. i have been thinking of what to write as we finish out 2008 and Paul's thoughts seemed to say it all. enjoy!

Read: Philippians 3:12 – 14
12Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. 13Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Today is the last day of the year and I love it. New Years Day is one of my very favorite days of the year. I love it because it represents an opportunity to start over. It’s an opportunity to put the past behind you and live in a fresh, new way.

I think people rarely spend enough time learning from their mistakes. As Randy Wolfe wrote about in his devotional a couple of days ago, I am really big on the “Year End Review”. Every year, for the past 6 or 7 years I have spent a couple of days at the end of the year thinking through the events of the past year. I do this as a way to learn from the mistakes and victories. Too many people claim to have 25 years of experience when they really just have 1 year of experience 25 times. Experience is not the best teacher, evaluated experience is.

I also am a firm believer that there are two things in the past that keep us from being all that God has for us in the future. These two things are our past failures and our past successes.

Past failures have a tendency to challenge our faith. They make us timid and cause us to refuse to take great risks for God. As Mark Twain once said, “If a cat jumps on a hot stove once, he won’t do it again….but he won’t jump on a cold stove either.” Past failures can greatly inhibit our ability to live fully in the future.

Past successes have a tendency to grow our pride. It has been said that the greatest enemy to tomorrow’s success is yesterday’s success. When you have some level of success, it is easy to believe that it comes easy and if you just manage to keep breathing, you “deserve” more. It often causes us to lose our dependence on God. It’s easy for success to lead to complacency and then you stop praying, working, and risking.

I think that is why the apostle Paul tells us in Philippians to “forget what is behind us and strain forward to what lies ahead.” That is great advice as we say goodbye to 2008. Study it, learn from it, forget it. Lean into this coming year and let it be a great year of faith for you.

living in the dash

2008-12-27T20:22:00.001-06:00

13"You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet. 14 "You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. matthew 5:13-16

well it’s over…..Christmas 2008 has successfully made the transition from being a future hope to a distant memory. i would guess a good number of children are already tired of their new toys and many adults are more than a little stir crazy. we frantically bought and wrapped gifts over the course of the past few months. many of us made our yearly pilgrimage to visit family and friends. food has been prepared and consumed. suddenly it’s over. almost as quickly as it came upon us it left us. and now we wait until the next holiday season.

i heard a quote a few years ago that really made an impact on my life. the speaker was talking about life and the brevity of it compared to the enormity of eternity. he referenced tombstones and said that when we conclude our journey on this side of eternity someone will etch our name into a stone and our birthday and day of passing will be divided by a hyphen. he said that the most important part of our lives is found in that little dash. the day we were born and the day we die aren’t nearly as important as the way we lived in the “dash.”

as we wrap up Christmas ’08 let’s not forget the importance of the dash. when you look at it this way: “Christmas 2008 – Christmas 2009” there is so much potential in the dash. what will God do in your life as you move forward into the end of one year and the beginning of the next? how will you leverage your time and resources to make God known in the world? who will you pray for specifically in the days that are ahead? in what ways will you become more like Christ?

interesting thought: Jesus did a lot during his “dash.” sometimes we minimize his life and ministry to his birth, death and resurrection. don’t get me wrong….these are HUGE parts of his story. however, I would suggest that the lame, blind, deaf and dumb who were healed by Jesus were glad he didn’t just show up in december! Jesus made the very most out of his time on earth….and so should we.

spend some time today asking God to give you a great vision for the year that lies ahead. make the very most of your dash!

i am second

2008-12-21T21:20:00.002-06:00

i was driving down interstate 30 last week and noticed a billboard that had a picture of josh hamilton on it and it said "i am second." having no idea what it was all about i looked it up as soon as i got home. it was, and continues to be, an amazing website where people are sharing their stories. a website where people, some celebrities and some not so much, humbly recount what God has done in their lives. a website that cause it's viewer to consider the implications of God being number one in your life.

i want to encourage you to go and spend some time at this site. it would do the contemporary movement of christians a great deal of good if we were to do the following 2 things:

1. share our stories....tell others how God has made us new.
2. remind ourselves that God is number 1....we are second at best.

enjoy your time at iamsecond.com

open mouth....speak words

2008-12-19T09:27:00.001-06:00

yesterday i received a phone call from my mom. she informed me that my grandmother was in the emergency room due to some breathing and blood pressure issues. my grandmother celebrated her 90th birthday in september so her little body is already frail and weak. i jumped in my car and drove to mt. pleasant because i wanted to make sure i was able to tell her at least one more time how much i love her.

she is legally speaking my step-grandmother. however she has always loved my brother and i as if we were blood relatives. there has never been a difference in any of our minds. during the course of my life she has been at every birthday party, every graduation, my wedding and every monumental occasion i have experienced. this woman is a part of who i am and i wanted to be with her. i wanted to make sure she knew i was there for her....just as she has always been there for me.

in september we threw a big 90th birthday party for her. all of the family was there and it was a blessing for each of us to spend time honoring her. some of us grandkids wrote letters about her and read them during the party. we wanted to make sure she knew exactly where we stood when it came to our love and appreciation for her influence in our lives. i think it blessed her.

yesterday when i walked into her room she couldn't speak very clearly but she didn't take her eyes off of me. i stayed with her for about 6 hours and in that time i couldn't take my mind off of the party we had in september. it was so good to know that she knows how much we love her. what needed to be said....had been said.

as you move boldly into Christmas 2008 let me encourage you to do something big...say what needs to be said. write a letter, send an e-mail, pick up the phone or write in the sky but say what needs to be said. too many people live with the regret of what they "should have done." let's commit to one another that we will move forward with the assurance that all accounts are settled and everything that needs to be said....has been said.

thanks....no really....thank you

2008-11-28T10:28:00.003-06:00

yesterday i did the same thing i've done for as long as i can remember....i ate way too much! thanksgiving has in many ways become all about the food. as i monitored status updates from my friends on facebook it was clear that turkey was on the brains and in the guts of many. good food and great times with family really made for a great day.

here's a thought: yesterday just before lunch my stepdad said a prayer. i was moved by his prayer and challenged by the thoughts that it brought to my mind. he said, and i paraphrase, "God help us to not only be thankful for the things that are obvious blessings but for the difficult things that you will use to shape us into the image of your son which is ultimately the greatest blessing of all." Did you catch that perspective?

i don't know about you but i tend to become complacent in thanking God for the obvious things and i rarely look at my struggles as potential blessings in disguise.

what are you facng right nowe that if leveraged by God's goodness and grace can become something that make you look more like Christ? let Him leverage it then.....and you will be humbled to the point of truly giving thanks for all things.

now....go eat some leftovers!

complacency

2008-11-18T16:57:00.002-06:00

complacency: a feeling of quiet pleasure or security, often while unaware of some potential danger, defect, or the like; self-satisfaction or smug satisfaction with an existing situation, condition, etc.

complacency has to be the biggest enemy of success known to man. if you pay attention to the world around you it won't take long to notice people who have a great deal of potential and opportunity but squander it all away due to this thing called complacency. one of my favorite things to do as a pastor is premarital counseling. although i require couples to meet with me at least 4 times prior to doing their wedding i can't remember ever having a couple push back at the stipulation. they are always very excited about our meetings together and are very attentive to each other throughout the process. they are in love. their relationship has potential. they have a unified vision for their future. they are willing to do whatever it takes to be successful...together.

sadly, i have also sat through some post-marital counseling sessions. these are quite different in nature. typically there is one spouse who really wants counseling (many times hoping i will fix the other one) and one who thinks it is a dumb idea because they are too far gone and there is very little hope of reconciliation. it is a sad and difficult meeting. people are hurt. they have developed a gap in their relationship. they don't communicate anymore. they feel like they have fallen out of love.

so what happens? i certainly haven't examined it closely enough to justify calling it research but i am positive that complacency is a major factor. couples grow complacent when it comes to communicating felt needs with one another. husbands become complacent in making sure they are adding value to their wives. wives become complacent in affirming and supporting their husbands. people set their relational navigation on auto-pilot and their relationship winds up deteriorating.

you can see the powerful effects of complacency in many other areas of life as well. a salesman makes a couple of huge sales and grows complacent. he doesn't make as many sales calls the next quarter and even less the next....it begins to affect his numbers. a student doesn't study for a test and manages to do pretty well in spite of the lack of preparation. he decides that he must be gifted/smarter than average and begins to focus less and less on academic preparation. eventually his grades begin to drop. complacency begins to take its toll.

churches often find themselves at the tail end of complacency. i can tell you story after story of churches that had a big revival meeting where many were saved, a mission trip that refocused hearts on the needs of others, or built a building that was constructed to be a tool for reaching others with the life changing message of the gospel and gained a ton of momentum. i can also tell you stories of churches that gained the momentum but rested on the laurels of past success and it ushered in a season of mediocrity and uselessness. in some cases it ushered in death to their vision and influence.

how about you? are you coasting along with the mentality that "everything is fine," "this is normal," "we're just going through a rough patch"? if so, do whatever it takes to break free from the spirit of complacency and pray that God gives you a renewed vision and sense of direction. Your marriage, children, career, personal spiritual health and church are all too valuable to simply watch them slip through your fingers. Scripture teaches us that our help comes from the LORD!! That is great news as we continue to push forward and do the hard work of honoring God in every area of our lives.

1I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
2 My help comes from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.

3He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
4Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.

5The LORD is your keeper;
the LORD is your shade on your right hand.
6The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.

7The LORD will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
8The LORD will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore.

facebook christians

2008-11-11T14:58:00.002-06:00

facebook has really become a phenomenon... i originally opened up an account because i didn't want to be left behind. i tried xanga (there's a blast from the past) and myspace (which due to security issues "myspace" eventually became "everyone else's space"). although these were decent tools to connect with others they just didn't seem to meet the larger need that people seemed to share. at the core facebook isn't successful because of its look or accessability. facebook is successful because it brings people together. it satisfies our shared need of communuity.

i tend to be a fairly well connected person. as a pastor it would be a shame for me to not interact with people. my need for community is satisifed with my small groups, my co-ministers, and the people who make up our church. i think if you were to follow me around for a week you would say i know alot of people and that my need for community isn't an issue. for the most part you would be correct. here's the weird thing: i added the facebook app to my blackberry and periodically throughout the day i log-on just to read status updates!! how lame is that!?!? i take time out of my day to read one liners about what other people are doing at that moment. what is wrong with me?

nothing. as i think through it i don't think there is anything wrong with me or anyone else who longs to connect with other people. why? because we were created for community. God himself exists in perfect harmony/community with himself: father, son and spirit. it is ok to want to engage our lives with the lives of others. we were designed for community.

so what should we do? here are a few ideas:

try reconnecting with someone from your past. you might use facebook or you might pick up the phone and give them a call. just do the hard work of reconnecting.
call your parents or grandparents for no reason...blow their minds!
go visit that single parent that doesn't get a lot of "adult ineraction" time and just talk
have some friends over to play cards or grill some food
the next time someone shares a struggle or burden with you pray for them right then and there...even if it is over the phone or through an e-mail. it communicates you care and that you are connecting with their need.

as i type this blog i feel like i am all over the place in my thinking. let's narrow it down to the following: people were created to exist in community/relationships. you, your friends, your family, your enemies...are all people thus all created for community. i guess i'm just asking believer's to do more than read the latest "status updates" on facebook and take the time to encourage someone...and really develop some Christ centered community.

nothing to lose

2008-11-09T20:54:00.003-06:00

i have been under the weather the past few days and have fallen off the blogging trail. after a shot of something from the doctor and some rest i'm back in the race.

this morning at c|Life we reflected on the first 32 months of our church's existence. when we started the church in 2006 all we knew for sure was that we were supposed to start a church. david, paul and i (go to clifec.com to see who i'm referring to) weren't sure how to start a church, whether or not we would have any money to do ministry or if anyone would even want to come worship with us. we just knew that we had to do what God was leading us to do....leave the security of the known and step into the unknown.

here we are 32 months later and we are about to move from our school cafeteria location to our renovated skating rink location. God has done more than we could have ever imagined. i thought i would take a quick trip down memory lane....hang with me because i have something for you at the end:

marriages have been restored. some of the ones that come to mind were by all accounts helplessly bound for destruction....but God did the impossible and brought restoration.

singles have discovered that singleness isn't a disease. many of our singles have embraced God's plan for them and are living out their faith as ambassadors of Christ.

water wells have been dug. we took up an offering one sunday (with no warning given to the church) and raised $12,000 over and above our regular tithes. a few weeks later we learned that God provided an organization that matched our $12,000 dollar for dollar and doubled the number of wells we were able to dig in Africa.

children's home in guatemala. after doing a mission trip to a goverment run orphanage in guatemala we realized that something had to be done differently. next week a team of builders will go to put some final touches on our Community of Life Children's Home. God has also raised up a family from within the church to go and run the children's home for the first couple of years.

partnership with a church in africa. helped to build them a church bldg., taught in their seminary and how to start small businesses. they taught us how to be content.

lots of baptisms. we have been blessed to see lots of people cross the line of faith over the past couple of years. we also celebrated with them as they obediently followed Christ's example in baptism.

i wish i could tell you all the stories and i really wish i could make them as impactful for you as they were for me. it is impossible to recreate those experiences for anyone...sort of a "had to be there" type of thing. suffice it to say: God has done some truly amazing things. He has affirmed time and again that we heard Him correctly when we sensed it was time to start a new church.

here's something for you to consider: what is God calling you to do/say/restore/reconcile for His glory? believe me when i say that sometimes it feels risky to step-out in faith but it is always worth it. if you look back through God's movement among His people you will see a consistent trend...He shows up when His people trust Him.

so go ahead....shock a few people (maybe even yourself) and trust God's leading in your life: what do you have to lose? trust me when i say...absolutely nothing!!

20Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. Eph. 3:20-21

election '08

2008-11-04T23:39:00.000-06:00

It’s official…Barack Obama will be the next President of the United States of America. After one of the longest campaign seasons in our history the votes have been cast and the results are all but officially tabulated. Many of you woke up this morning with an election night hangover. You either went to bed jubilant because your candidate of choice won or you went to bed absolutely convinced that the world was coming to an end because your candidate of choice lost. I would guess there were very few people who can honestly say they didn’t have a preference going into this election and some strong emotions coming out of it.

As you stir around this morning I want you to do me a favor. Walk over to one of your windows and open the blinds. Do you see what I think you are seeing? The sun still came up this morning didn’t it? That should be a powerful reminder to us, as believers, that our hope is not in the person living in the Whitehouse. Our hope is in the eternal, sovereign, living God of the universe. That is great news for us today because our God is faithful.

Politicians are notorious for making all sorts of promises in order to get elected. They promise to make our lives better because they know if they capture our hearts they will also capture our vote. However, the reality is they rarely, regardless of their party affiliation, can live up to all of those promises. This isn’t the case with our God.

Our God captured our hearts when He demonstrated His love for us on the cross. Our God promised us that it was his kindness that would lead us to repentance…and it was just as He promised. Our God hung the stars in space with His fingertips and told the oceans just how far they can come onto the shore. Frankly, that is the God that I am grateful and humbled to call my leader.

As you go throughout the day consider the following verses. These promises weren’t made on a campaign trail with the hopes of manipulating emotions for selfish gain. These promises were made by a God who is both capable and faithful to deliver….for your sake and mine.

" And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.." Philippians 4:19

"For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.." Psalm 84:11

"If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him." James 1:5

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." I John 1:9

"Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going." Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:1-6

Is the sun still up? Yes it is…how about we do some campaigning today for someone who can really deliver on His promises!

Dear Ambassador (fill in your last name here),

2008-11-03T21:54:00.003-06:00

yesterday at c|Life i had the opportunity to share some thoughts on the church and God's plan for His people. the bottom line: if the church is going to accomplish all that God intends for it to accomplish then His people will have to become all that He created them to become.

many times it seems like churchgoers fall into the mindset that the church exists to make them happy or comfortable. i don't deny that there is value in believer's coming together and actually enjoying themselves. there has certainly been a trend in north america where church becomes more of a burden than a blessing. i'm certainly not advocating boring and irrelevant church services. the gospel is engaging and motivating. if you are at a church where you find yourself bored and distracted....try to create change or get out of dodge! however, i am advocating a renewed sense of vision and purpose for believers. we have a job to do and according to the following verses....it is a really important job to say the very least:

I Peter 2:9 says "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light."

II Corinthians 5:17-20 "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God."

did you catch that? we are His ambassadors and we are a chosen people!!!

in light of these passages i felt like we needed to be challenged in a few different areas. the following list certainly isn't exhaustive but seemed to be a good starting point...

1. Challenge to pursue godliness…above reproach. get our spiritual lives in order
flee from sin: love of money, pornography, gossip, lying, cheating
as we flee from these things we pursue righteousness, godliness, faith
as believer's we must get our homes in order

2. Challenge to be consistently generous…. priority percentage givers. i make no apologies for telling you this because the scripture clearly teaches that we need to give him our
first fruits.

3. Challenge to demonstrate courage…live out of your faith in humility
live in such a way that it communicates that you believe the same spirit that
raised Christ from the dead is the same Spirit that lives in and empowers you.

4. Challenge to learn the Word of God…clearly a responsibility for the individual
modern day believers as a whole should be ashamed at how little we know the
word of God

5. Challenge to appreciate the depth and gravity of our calling
go back up and re-read those scriptures

that's all for now....

we're getting fat and sassy...

2008-10-30T16:28:00.003-05:00

these have been some seriously crazy days! i will try to become a more consistent blogger.

i have been working from home today. it has been super quiet and super challenging all at the same time. as i have spent the majority of my day studying i have been overwhelmed by the immense responsibility we have as Christians. I mean, have you really considered what your responsibility became when you surrendered your life to Christ?

in a few short weeks kids will tear through loads of paper to see what toys have been purchased for them. each of these toys will bring a tidal wave of excitement and pleasure. for a brief moment the kids will probably even be grateful for the gifts. some kids will even take care of their new possessions for a day or two. however, you know as well as i do that it won't be long before the new wears off and they start clamoring for more stuff.

christians aren't all that different than children in this respect. we come to Christ with humility and a keen awareness of our sin. when we receive the gift of eternal life and forgiveness of sins we are overwhelmed with joy. we study His word and tell others about the hope we now have in Christ. but....for whatever reason it seems like the new wears off. God becomes familiar. the cross becomes cliche. His promises seem redundant. we begin to focus on ourselves and forget the responsibility that came with our salvation.

Romans 12:1-2 tells us that we are to present our bodies as living sacrifices...

I Peter 2:9 says that we are a rotal priesthood, a holy nation...

Matthew 16:24-25 says that we must deny ourselves and take up our cross daily...

Matthew 28:16-20 tells us to make disciples of all nations...

Ephesians 4:11-12 saya he has a purpose for each of us....

II Cor. 5:20 says we are new creations and ambassadors for Christ...

We Christians need to stop being lazy in our faith and personal growth. we need to stop running our mouths if the testimony of our lives doesn't line up with our words. we need to carefully remember exactly what He saved us from and boldly pursue what He created us for....to worship Him.

yep...i'm talking about you!

2008-10-27T15:30:00.003-05:00

self-awareness is a very interesting phenomena. some people seem to be overly self-aware while others are so far from reality it is almost comical. you know what i'm talking about don't you? i would guess every family, every office, every church, every bar, every class and every other grouping of people has that person who just can't manage to see themselves the way EVERYONE else sees them.

although i haven't done any real, scientific, clinical, accurate research on the following things...i am going to throw them out there anyway. sometimes experience is the best proof of reality. below you will find a few markers/titles that i feel like describe folks who struggle with self-awareness. see if you can find yourself in here anywhere:

the "yacker": these are the people that "yack yack yack" all the time. these folks are known for talking long after the listener has lost interest. the really comical/frustrating thing is they keep talking because they think the listener is interested. they don't read or respond to disinterested body language.

the "i've got nothing better do and neither should you": these are the people that will corner you in the office, on the phone, or in the parking lot and waste your time with useless info. they believe since they have finished their project or have no life beyond the now that they are free to jeopardize your time. these people are closely related to the yackers. the bottom line is they have no awareness of other people's priorities.

the "i didn't see the line i apparently just crossed": these folks are typically fun to be around (in a human vs. spiritual sort of way). They are funny. However, they aren't very self-aware in that they do not see how there lack of discernment affects the way others view them. If this person is not a Christian then this isn't an issue but if they are believers they MUST become more aware of the impact their "comedy" has on their message and witness.

the "if people could just see it my way": these folks are rarely ever wrong and when they are it won't be their fault. you know who these people are don't you? they are the ones that pray for you to be enlightened. they are the ones that hope you will one day reach their level of spiritual fortitude. they are the ones that make the rest of us want to puke. enough said?

the "i didn't do it!": these are the people that NEVER, EVER do anything wrong. it is always someone else's fault. if someone else would have said something....if the computer would just calculate properly....if the keys wouldn't get up and walk away....if the school wasn't so irresponsible....if the teacher had a clue...if the other kids weren't so mean...if the cafeteria would only serve healthier food...

the "i'm not fat": these are the people that just don't see themselves physically the way others do. go to six flags or hurricane harbor in the summer and you will see people who are suffering from some serious self-awareness issues. i know that God created each of us and that this truth alone makes us beautiful. with that being said.....some of us DO need to lose weight, get comfortable with NOT being a sex symbol, and learn to wear a little smell good (that is oklahoman for cologne).

finally (not because the list is exhaustive but because i have other things to do):

the "i'm not in denial": we have all encountered this one at some point. people who are self-aware can actually remember when they were this person. this is the person that simply has no idea what other people REALLY think about them and they wouldn't believe you if you tried to tell them. they just don't see through an objective lense. this is probably the saddest person to be out of all that i listed. to be in denial is to be satisfied with black and white in a color filled world. you just miss so much.

if you think of others send me a comment. keep the following in mind:
1. this is not an exercise for you to identify others who are not self-aware
2. this is an exercise for you to see where you may be....and to then pray for change

it is you we adore, it is you our praises are for....

2008-10-26T15:11:00.005-05:00

i was really impacted by the worship service this morning at church. God just seemed to be all over the whole thing.

for those of you who follow my blog it will not surprise you to hear that God has really been in my mix lately. this morning i tried to communicate a few of the things that God has been teaching me about Himself. as a pastor i sometimes find myself going to God to get a new idea or a good sermon. the last few weeks He has just been challenging me to know Him....to rediscover all that He is and wants to become in my life.

last night i was spending some time reviewing my thoughts for sunday morning and felt compelled to write out all that i know about God's character, His love and His purposes. i thought i would share them with you and hope that they encourage you in your journey.

He is:
Alpha and Omega: beginning and end
Creator
Sustainer
All knowing
Ever present
All powerful
Triune: Father, Son and Spirit
Transcendent
Sovereign
Eternal
He is a God of discipline and wrath
He is a righteous judge and He is just
His wisdom is unparalleled
We call Him Yahweh, Lord, God, and Salvation
Yet no matter how hard we try… we can’t fully explain His
Love
Compassion
Strength
Beauty
Worth
So today we will recognize Him for what He is:
Savior….that’s great news
Enough….for X’ians it isn’t God and (job, family, etc)
Faithful…when everyone else lets you down…He won’t
Good….truly, purely, infinitely good
Hope….marriage is on the brink of failure, layoffs in the forecast
Grace…amazing
Holy

in Isaiah 6 the prophet had the opportunity to see God. when he entered the throne room and saw God seated on His throne all he could say was "holy, holy, holy is the Lord God almighty!"

i hope that you will see him today as holy....set apart and altogether different.

great opportunity

2008-10-23T15:48:00.002-05:00

as you have probably realized....i tend to be very wordy. i have never been known for being really succinct with my thinking. today i hope to change this part of my reputation.

here's the blog: spend the next couple of minutes (time you would have used reading a long blog from me) and pray. spend a little "unscheduled" time with the Father.

hope you liked the blog :-)

what God thinks about....

2008-10-22T16:30:00.005-05:00

while i was at the catalyst conference i became really convicted of my lack of spiritual leadership in the home. if you were to just look at the basic "score card" that we have developed over the years in the modern church i would have rated pretty high. i definitely would have passed the test by most any definition of what it means to be a spiritual leader.

read bedtime Bible stories with the kids....check
pray with the family before meals....check
teach the importance of being generous with our money and time....check
willing to take a stand on Biblical principles....check
pray with sydney before i drop her off at school....check

what i learned about myself was i do a great job of doing the exterior/superficial things. please do not misunderstand me to say that these things are not important. they are very important. however, i knew something was missing. i knew God was trying to teach me something about my faith and about the way i love Him back.

when i came home from catalyst i knew i needed to be more disciplined in my personal time with God. i was having a quiet time most days but i wasn't consistent in when i had my time alone with God. all too often i would work it in when i could. sadly, there were days when it simply fell off the radar. i knew this had to change if i was going to model what it meant to be a disciple to my family.

a good friend of mine says you teach what you know and you reproduce what you are. wow...no pressure! his son is one of my best friends and a very godly person. in conversations with my friend he has mentioned on numerous occasions that he remembers waking up in the mornings as a kid to find his dad sitting in his chair reading/meditating on the Word of God. i can't help but believe that his example had a profound impact on my friends life.

with all of these things in mind i determined that i would start each day in the Word. before i check the messages on my phone, look at my calendar, etc... and although it might not have been the best reason i also wanted my daughter to see me each morning spending time with my Lord. yesterday when sydney got up she stumbled into the living room. she saw that i was reading my Bible and asked if she could sit on the arm of my chair for a few minutes while she tried to "really wake up." of course i welcomed her into the circle and introduced her into the conversation.

as she was sitting there i told her that i had been spending some time with God and that he was continuing to teach me how much He loves us. i pointed to the place i was reading in psalm 8. i told her that the Bible says that He is mindful of us....that God the creator cares about and thinks about us. her eyes lit up!

in that very moment it dawned on me what God was doing. in a way that only He could do it God spoke to my soul. i LOVED having my daughter sit next to me first thing in the morning. i LOVED telling her that i loved her. i LOVED telling her that God loves her and thinks about her. and the Spirit whispered into my soul....this is how God feels when you sit with Him...and give Him the opportunity to LOVE you deeply.

thank you lord...

fried nutter butters and a really big ferris wheel

2008-10-20T20:50:00.000-05:00

unless you literally just crawled out from under a rock you should be aware of the financial issues that we are facing both here in America and around the world. if you listen closely you will find people on both ends of the spectrum as to the depth and gravity of the situation. many remind me of henny penny.....the sky is falling! others want to hide their heads in the sand and act like it is nothing more than a really bad case of the hiccups....distressful but not likely to last very long.

i really don't know what to think. on the one hand i believe we are facing some really interesting/difficult times that we won't soon forget. however, i also think it is going to force us, as americans, to become more fiscally responsible. i love politics but at the end of the day i don't think we are in the predicament as a result of democratic, republican or independent policies. i think we are in this predicament because we haven't been good stewards of our resources and managed our wealth the way God teaches us in His word to manage money.

although i won't go into all the details here suffice it to say that the scripture has a great deal to say about how to steward the resources He has entrusted to us. i don't expect unbeliever's to be wise with their money but we christians MUST! A few things to consider:

how we manage our money affects what is entrusted to us spiritually. Luke 16:11
it's not our money in the first place. Psalm 24:1
the borrower is slave to the lender (and we are to be slaves only to Christ) Proverbs 22:7
our resources should be used to serve others. Acts 20:35

These are just a few verses that i have been thinking about lately. something is stirring my spirit in this area. the bottom line for believers is simple: we have to do a better job of stewarding God's resources. that's it. no excuses. no buts. no situational exceptions.

in an effort to live out my convictions i've started taking my lunch to work. i figured it up and the amount of money i was literally flushing down the toilet (don't mean to be crude but do wish to make a point) simply wasn't acceptable when there are so many in need around me.

i don't know where it is that God may want you to tighten up your spending but i would guess that there is at least one indulgent area that He might bring to mind.

p.s. i was reading the paper this morning and my belief that our situation has less to do with the amount of money we have and more with how we steward it was affirmed. there was an article, just a few pages away from articles outlining our grim financial future, that reported $28.6 million dollars was spent at the state fair of texas on food and rides! notice that number doesn't include the $10/car parking fee or general admission fee of $14/person. almost $30 million dollars was spent on fried foods and thrill rides. we have the money....we just don't direct it to things that really matter.

momma prayed

2008-10-17T08:32:00.000-05:00

yesterday i saw a car that reminded me of a very close friend of mine who currently lives in kentucky. i sent up a prayer for her and then texted her to let her know she was on my mind. about 2 minutes later my phone rang and it was my friend. once we got through the formalities (hello...how's life....etc) she told me something that infused my spirit with hope.

my friend has been a believer for a number of years. she has dedicated her life to the propogation of the gospel not only in america but in places all around the world. her passion and calling is for the people in china but her determination and hope is that "all" people will hear and know that Jesus is lord. this person has always helped me to see more clearly the grace and love of God. very early on in her faith journey she asked me to pray for her mom's salvation. over the years that has been a constant prayer for her. she loves her mom and has consistently demonstrated that love, not by buying her gifts or sending her cards, but by praying for her.

fast forward quite a few years and you land at my conversation yesterday. she told me that a few months ago she and her mom got into a conversation about God. she asked her mom if she ever read her Bible and her mom said "no, i don't understand it." my friend seized the opportunity to come alongside of her mom and the last few weeks they have been going verse by verse through the book of Romans. in one of their conversations her mom told her that she believes that she has trusted Jesus as her Savior but hasn't been able to believe that He loves her in spite of all of her struggles. if i understood the story correctly, my friend had purchased her mom a study bible some 5 years ago and when they got to Romans 8:31-39 the study notes helped her mom see something about God that she hadn't previously understood. she was grappling with grace and it was God's kindness that lead her to repentance....not guilt or shame. Jesus did in fact love her in spite of all the stuff that had been weighing her down.

it is impossible for me to properly and adequately blog the depth and magnitude of this story. here is a young woman who fell in love with Jesus and started praying for her mom. she has been praying for years. did you catch that....years. she never gave up and always trusted that God loved her mom too.

who are you praying for? who do you love enough to lift up to the Father? who have you given up on?

as we were concluding our conversation my friend told me that one of the most awesome, humbling, gratifying, merciful things that she has ever been a part of was having the opportunity to, for the first time in her life, listen on the phone while momma prayed.

fried rice

2008-10-15T12:33:00.000-05:00

last night my 6 year old daughter and i were riding home together. she said, daddy, do you want me to read my book to you in chinese?" i had no idea she could speak chinese so i asked her where she learned this fascinating language. she promptly replied "i learned it last year in spanish!"

after i finished laughing inside my head about her learning chinese in kindergarten spanish class i told her i would love to hear her read in chinese. wow! i have never heard such gobbledy goop. i think if i were to spell out what she was saying it would look something like this: "daddyilitar hsjjtyui hinkllita ulala juxstalo lillamna ukanambe laleltlrjdh." at one point she stopped to take a breath and i seized the opportunity to ask a relevant question. I asked "what did you just say?" her response was pricless. she said "i have no idea but i am certain it was chinese!"

this little episode got me to thinking about our faith and witness as Christians. let's be sure that we know the word of God. let's make sure we know God.....intimitely.

there is a good chance that our "Jesus speak" sometimes sounds a little like gobbledy goop to lost people. if and when they ask "what did you just say?" let's be prepared to give them a clear answer about a God that loves them deeply.

(gobbledy goop just seemed to make sense to me....feel free to use your own verbiage here)

success story

2008-10-13T16:22:00.000-05:00

this afternoon i went to a memorial service for a man that i didn't really know. i know his family and wanted to be there to support them during this difficult time. paul mcdill was leading the service and reminded me of a great quote from John Maxwell.

Maxwell defines success as follows: when the people who know you best love and respect you the most.

during the course of my 33 years on the planet i have had the opportunity to work with and be around a good number of "successful" people. some of these people are very successful businessmen and women. others are very successful pastors and educators. they are successful in the eyes of the world. i have also known a good number of leaders who were successful in the eyes of the world but miserable failures in life. people who knew how to manage empolyees but didn't have the respect of their spouse and/or children.

as christians we need to live according to God's economy....not the worlds. success is defined differently when viewed through God's lense.

take away: you may be leading an excellent business, huge church, and/or a superior class of students but if you are losing at home....you're losing where it ultimately counts.

recommended reading: Choosing to Cheat by Andy Stanley is a great read and will help if you are struggling in this area

rearrange the following to make more sense: be rink the go church and skating the to

2008-10-12T14:43:00.000-05:00

(for those of you who don't know about our church we are in the process of moving from meeting in a school cafeteria into a more permanent location which is a remodeled skating rink)

this morning on the way home from worship i was having a conversation with my wife. she was just leaving wal-mart and i was on my way home from helping load out all of our equipment. i asked where she was and she stumbled a bit. she said "i don't know if i am supposed to say in front of the church or the skating rink." we laughed a little at the thought of not knowing what to call the "place" where our church will meet.

somewhere along the way a good number of believers have decided the church is a place. according to the Bible the church is not a place but rather a people. i think one of the very best things for the people at c|Life has been the fact that we haven't had a definite location for the past two and a half years. we have been operating in rented space. why has this been good for us? i think it has been a good reminder to us that we are the church...regardless of where we meet. it reminds us that we are the church....at work, at wal-mart, at home, and etc.

as we prepare to move into our new location in a couple of weeks i hope we can continue to live out the reality that we are the church....not the renovated skating rink. what about you? when you hear the word "church" do you think of a place or of a group of people?

take away: be the church.

p.s. the answer to the title is "go to the skating rink and be the church"

denim skirts and hair buns

2008-10-10T21:44:00.000-05:00

i really need to stop assuming so much. this morning at the catalyst conference there was a pentecostal choir who lead many of us in a time of worship. they were very "ramped up" and sang with an energy that i haven't seen in a very long time. they were definitely a force in the room. no one escaped their presence (did i mention there were 12,000+ people in the room?)

When they first walked up on the stage i couldn't help but notice all the women were wearing denim skirts and many, if not all, had their hair up in a bun. here is where my assumptions started getting me in trouble. i automatically assumed they were weird. i assumed they would not be any good at whatever it was they were getting on the platform to do. i assumed our differences on the outside meant that we were bound to have differences on the inside. shame on me.

during their second song i noticed the camera focus in on the soloist. she was wearing the uniform: a denim skirt with hair up in a bun. i'm a little embarrassed to admit it but if i ran into this woman at kroger i would have only noticed her clothes. i'm almost certain i wouldn't have ever bothered to consider, much less believe, that God blessed her with a gift to honor Him with her voice. she just didn't look like a worship leader.

quick thought and it is biblical: man looks at the outward appearance God looks at the heart. i need to be more like God and less like me.

no words

2008-10-09T21:00:00.000-05:00

for those of you who know me well the next sentence will be hard to believe. i was literally left speechless tonight after catalyst. i am not sure if the Spirit of God was binding my tongue or if i, for one of the very few times in my life, had the discernment to realize i had nothing to add to the conversation that God had initiated in my heart. either way....i had nothing to say.

the past several weeks i have become more and more aware of some inconsistencies in my life. my creed doesn't always line up with my deeds as Andy Stanley would say. somewhere along the way i fell more in love with the opportunity of being a minister/pastor than being a passionate, radical, all-in, sold-out, thoroughly saturated child of God. tonight i realized "it" was gone and that i need "it" back. my salvation is secure but along the path of ministry i apparently laid down my joy and subsequently my vision for hating what He hates and loving what He loves.

tonight i spent a couple of hours alone. it was really good for the soul. may not apply to you but if you haven't had any alone time (alone as in no cell phone, iPod, etc) with God in a while don't be stupid. get alone. get rid of distractions. get a conversation going with the God that created you, called you and is willing to sustain and bless you. you won't be sorry.

i know i wasn't.