Simple Thought

I wanted to share just a simple thought for the day. Something to think about as you go through your day. After reading this share you thoughts.

"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results".

Random thoughts for the day

Just finished watching the Titan's preseason game. Still not sue about VY

Had a good conversation with a friend on the phone. It's nice to hear that there are others out there that share the same passions and vision of church and future ministry.

Drafted my fantasy football team this weekend. Ready for a great season.

Small Group Friday night was a blast I love my group and could not imagine Friday night without them.

Looking forward to assessment. Just a couple of weeks away. Am I ready?

Prayer for the week: Break me, and make me like you.

Signs Of Insecurity

Insecurity is something we all have struggled with at one point or another. It is hard knowing that we have so many weaknesses and fail so often. Others don't see the struggles we have or the doubts we have played out in our mind. Learning that we need one another is a hard lesson. "I am an American - I don't need anyone helping me - I have it all together." We tend to believe that asking for help is a sign of weakness when God intended it to be a sign of strength.
I have listed some warning signs for insecurities in your life.

1. You try to make yourself, your church, company, etc. look better by putting others down.

2. You get together with others and only talk about yourself.

3. You think you know it all (or close to it).

4. You don't learn from those around you.

5. You won't allow others to help you.

If you struggle and these fit you, it's time to realize it's ok if you don't have it all together. You weren't meant to to live life alone.

10 Danger Signs that should be a red flag to a Spiritual Leader

1. You view other churches or organizations in the “kingdom” as competition.

2. You can do what you are doing without the help of God.

3. You are becoming increasingly cynical.

4. You have no friends that you can REALLY open up to.

5. The only friends that you have are the people helping you to accomplish what you are trying to accomplish — and the minute they are of no use to you anymore — they are no longer your friends.

6. Your disciples resemble “The Pharisees” more than they resemble “Jesus”. They are more concerned with being right, doctrine, control, the political process, how horribly biased the secular media is, than they are allowing God to soften their heart and make them more like Him. When your disciples are mean spirited, paranoid, want you to take a public stand against homosexuals, Harry Potter, or whatever else…. be careful….. You are their teacher. What are you attracting and why? What are you teaching? The world has enough mean spirited fundamentalist that are more concerned that we avoid secular music than they are caring for the poor ………….

7. You have secrets that only you know about.

8. You have escape fantasies.

9. You feel trapped.

10. The only reason that you are doing what you are doing anymore is because you don’t know how else to make a living.

-If this describes you, please know, you can get help. Go see a counselor. Work it out. You can salvage this thing.

Come Together

I love the fact I am not alone in life. I love being with good friends specially the ones that hold me accountable and are encouraging. God created us to be gregarious; the simple act of being a friend. My favorite friends are broken people. You know the type, they know they are not perfect and are o.k. with it. I like to think of it this way. God is looking down on humanity as a giant puzzle. We are the pieces and separate we are just a funny shapes with no rhyme or reason. But if we realize we are meant to come together and my strengths are your weaknesses and my weaknesses are you strengths. We will become the completed picture that God has intended for His people. We are not in this alone we don’t have to be perfect we only need to learn to lean on the ones around us to make us stronger, better more Christ like. Together we can make a difference; together we can make dreams come true. – will you be my friend.

Update

I wanted to update you on the church planting adventure. God is good and supplying our needs.

We revived our assessment package this week and have been working on it all week long. It included a spiritual gifts test, life questionnaire and two psychological tests. (I failed the psych. test - go figure).

The money for assessment is almost all in. We had someone bless us with plane tickets. And, another couple blessed us with funds to cover the rental car and food not covered in the cost of assessment. This last week has been full of God’s grace and blessings. I shouldn’t be surprised after all these years watching God supply, but still I am amazed when He moves on our behalf.

I want to thank each of you for keeping us in your prayers. I am grateful for each of you. I also ask that you continue to pray for us. We need to be covered with as much prayer as possible. This is a large undertaking. We do not take it lightly.

I do also ask that you prayerfully consider supporting us financially. We still need to raise some of our own support for this church plant. We are required to raise funds on our own. If you would like to speak with us concerning this we would love to talk to you. We would be happy to answer any questions you may have. We would be honored to have your support. This could be in the form of a monthly, quarterly or one time pledge. And, if you know of others who have a heart for reaching people for Christ and church planting, we would love to speak with them and let them know what we are doing.

Again, I thank you all for your prayers. They mean so much to us. We can not achieve what God has called us to do without your prayers.

Make sure your pet is covered

I saw this and knew I had to post it. It is one of the funniest things I have seen in a long time.



You’ve committed your life to Jesus. You know you’re saved. But when the Rapture comes what’s to become of your loving pets who are left behind? Eternal Earth-Bound Pets takes that burden off your mind.

We are a group of dedicated animal lovers, and atheists. Each Eternal Earth-Bound Pet representative is a confirmed atheist, and as such will still be here on Earth after you’ve received your reward. Our network of animal activists are committed to step in when you step up to Jesus.

We are currently active in 20 states and growing. Our representatives have been screened to ensure that they are atheists, animal lovers, are moral / ethical with no criminal background, have the ability and desire to rescue your pet and the means to retrieve them and ensure their care for your pet’s natural life.

Our service is plain and simple; our fee structure is reasonable. For $110.00 we will guarantee that should the Rapture occur within ten (10) years of receipt of payment, one pet per residence will be saved. Each additional pet at your residence will be saved for an additional $15.00 fee. A small price to pay for your peace of mind and the health and safety of your four legged friends.

ck it out eternal-earthbound-pets.com/Home_Page.html

Blessed be your name

This is my favorite song to sing. I love the lyrics - no matter how life is that day I will still bless His name. Read through these lyrics and see that no matter how good or bad life gets He is still God and promises never to leave your side.


"Blessed be Your name, in the land that is plentiful, where Your streams of abundance flow. Blessed be Your name.

Blessed be Your name, when I’m found in the desert place, though I walk through the wilderness. Blessed be Your name.

Every blessing You pour out I’ll turn back to praise. When the darkness closes in, still I will say:

Blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed be Your name. Blessed be the name of the Lord. Blessed be Your glorious name.

Blessed be Your name, when the sun’s shining down on me, when the wolrd’s all as it should be, blessed be Your name.

Blessed be Your name, on the road marked with suffering. Though there’s pain in the offereing, blessed be Your name.

You give and take away. You give and take away. My heart will choose to say, Lord blessed be Your name!"

God's love

It is the most powerful force we could encounter. It is the very reason for all that exists. One of my favorite passages "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers,
neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." God's love is unstoppable. It reaches past our own twisted lives and makes a broken life new again. Did you get that? There is nothing that we could ever do to stop his love. It is always in pursuit of you. My question for you is, are you convinced of that? I know me, I know the life I have lead and to be honest it has taken me a long time to learn this lesson. Truth is, I still find it hard to believe He loves me. But each day is a new start to learn how much he loves me. It's a new day for you too. Be convinced.

5 Things you don't know about me

1. I was not born in the United States - therefore I didn't choose a life in politics.

2. I have had close to 1,000 stitches - not all at the same time, just throughout my life.

3, I am a very picky eater - but I will eat almost anything.

4. I have been divorced - but now happily married for 11 years.

5. I am prone to depression - I hid it well.

Well, there you have it 5 things you don't know about me and probably don't want to.

What is Sin? part 2

I wanted to start by saying there is no exhaustive list of sins in the bible and there is no simple answer. I don’t believe sin is an act we can just point out and say there it is. While I do believe there are some sins that can be named, some cannot. Let me give this example: two men give to the local church. One does it from the desire of his heart, the other gives to see if God will pay his bills that week because the preacher said, “if I give He would give back to me”. Both men shared the same act of giving, but one was motivated by greed while the other was motivated by the desire to please God.

Sin is anything that moves us away from God.

Let me end this by saying our goal is to become connected to God so if that is our focus, we don’t have to worry about sin.

What is Sin?

It is a growing question in our world, people are choosing for themselves what is right and wrong. Is there an absolute right or wrong and if so who decides? Below are some answers to the question given on a blog I found. Read them and tell me what you think. What is sin? Argue the points made or post your own definition.


As an atheist I can only tell you how I personally feel about it, because the only thing atheists have in common is that we don't believe in god.

To me, the philosophy of ethics provides a very good basis for determining the blameworthiness or praiseworthiness of a moral action. And considering the concept of ethics and morality predate Christianity, I think we can agree that one does not have to believe in a god to have morality. Consider Zen Buddhists, who do not believe in a god but probably come closer to being "Christlike" than any Judeo-Christian I can think of.


what if evil came first? like what if incest is an example here. that as animals, like 6 million years ago, we surely committed it. and then it is also quite evil, in and of itself, because it produces monstrous unusable mutations. of course a dog or a cat will mate with its littermates and parents if you dont intervene. so, evil is like a concept uniquely defined by humans. an artificial construct. that comes after the actual fact of it. so i think it exists, physically. just trying real hard to be confusing. the quote i am thinking of is from iris murdoch in Time of the Angels: "what if only evil were real? who could face this." sorry for mangling the quote a bit.

Ck out tomorrows post and I will tell you what I think.

His Grace

So much of my life is spent saying I am sorry. I become angered over the little things in life. I become materialistic. I experience lust, greed and jealousy. . I live my life to according to my desires instead of His.

I am also a Christ follower. I am victorious. I am faithful. I am “in Christ”. I am a new person. My old ways are changed.

Paul said “who will rescue me from this body of death?” He also said “there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.”

My journey is to know Jesus more. My journey takes me down paths where I am changing, renewing, dying and living. My Spirit is changing. I am a changed life. Not a perfect life, but a changed one. Thank you Jesus for you GRACE.

How many times do we catch ourselves pointing the finger at someone? I know I do. Even with a mirror we are limited to what we see in ourselves. Our speach is channeled through our "I know what I meant" filter. God teaches us to be careful with pointing the finger at others and start working on ourselves; looking deep within, asking the question, "if someone said that to me how would I feel?". I want to be that person who thinks of others above myself, who loves people the way God loves them, who sees what they meant above what they said. What if we strive to look for the good in everyone we meet? The intent of the heart is always different than the action or speach of our lives.

The weekend

5 things I am looking forward to this weekend

1. Time with the family - Alivia calls it "Family fun time".

2. Two days away from work.

3. Sunday is my cheat day - I get to eat anything I want all day.

4. The begining of football - well almost, at least the titans are playing.

5. Gathering with others to worship God.

What are you looking forward to?

Go Green

What if the church truly cared for the earth like God intended. The church should be the leading influence on preserving the earth. Instead we refuse to recycle, pick up trash or even support alternative methods of natural resources. This planet is a gift from God. In the story of the great flood, God makes a promise to never destroy the earth by flood again. He makes that promise with three different groups, first with mankind, second with the animal kingdom and thirdly with the earth itself. When you read through the bible you see God’s love for earth. As far as we know, earth is the only planet that is able and currently sustaining life. What if we cared for the earth the way God does? Most people believe the earth will be destroyed and we will get a new one so why bother. So let me ask you, if you treat this planet with such distain why should he give us a new one? Not to say he won’t but, should he? Caring for the creation shows respect for the creator. Let’s honor God and his creation. What if we lead the community in earth day? What if we took a Saturday and started picking up trash around the community? What if the local church was the place we took our recyclables? Can you think of other ways?

Next Step

As promised, I wanted to update everyone on the church plant. We are set to go to assessment on Sept. 14th-17th. Assessment is a week long process of both them getting to know me and me getting to know them. Stadia is one of the leading church planting organizations that do in depth research into each city they are planting. The goals of assessment are to make sure I am ready and to see what city my gifts and personality would best fit.

I would ask that you keep us in your prayers as we take this journey.

Parental Power

I was having dinner with my father last night. I started telling him I was leaving my profession and planting a church. I had this sick feeling in my stomach and my heart was racing. I was transformed from a 38 year old man into a kid asking daddy for permission. On my way home from dinner I was looking at my own children wondering if I had that same power and would I use it wisely. Children are an incredible gift and parents are empowered to make or break them. “raise a children in the way he/she should go and they will never depart from it” that is a overwhelming task. We as parents are to learn our children and guide them in the way God has made them. If it is the arts, take them to art classes. If sports, then take them to practice. We are charged with the responsibility of teaching them about God, but we are also to guide them in there personality and passions. Let them choose the latter two but guide them in Godly wisdom.

5 truths of leadership

1. Keep the Vision Clear - Vision casting! It is absolutely critical toward helping a church reach its redemptive potential, and every leader has to learn how to do it.

2. Get People Engaged - Get people to serve in areas of ministry to fulfill the vision that God has given you. “I have never seen a church reach its full redemptive potential unless there were fired-up teams doing the work of God.” Volunteerism at its best!

3. Create Great Services - “I’ve never seen a church go from strength to strength and reach its full redemptive potential unless some team inside that church decided that their part of God’s vision was to put on really, really good services - the best they are capable of putting on.”

4. Raise Resources - “Stop being apologetic and realize that it takes money to launch visions. It takes money to feed the hungry and to resource the poor. it takes money to build a children’s ministry. It takes money to have a thriving student ministry in your church.”

5. Pace Yourself for the Long Haul - Self Leadership - “It’s the ability to overcome personal discouragement, to maintain sober-mindedness in crisis, to keep ego at bay at all times, and to stay focused on the life mission.” “Don’t allow yourself to go into peril because you didn’t take the time to regroup, recalibrate, take appropriate time off, retreat spiritually, and refresh your soul.”

What's real

Authenticity: well I mentioned it last time going hand and hand with being transparent, so it is only fitting I tell you about authenticity. Be real, but what if you are real at being fake. No matter where you go people are fake. No one wants you to see the true person they are on the inside. Fear: fear that you won’t like what you see when you peel back the layers of life and see all the mistakes and pain. Look at Christ: he was real. We read about the pain he had, the sorrow he experienced and joys of his life. An authentic life is dictated by you being you. Jesus never allowed the social standards decide who he ate with or who he hung with. Let me just say be who you are, not what people want you to be.