Bailout?

February 27, 2009- This post is for comments. I would like to hear different opinions on the craze that every major company in America seems to be lining up for. Yep, THE BAILOUT! Sure I guess I'd love a bailout from my own financial mistakes of past too, but what is your take on it? Here is a chart of different stances, which one do you share and why?
The question is this. Can we as Americans come up with a synoptic outlook on the situation. People can we come together? If ever there was a time, the time is now. My take on the whole situation is this... We get so caught up in the urgency of the situations in life that we seem to forget where we are. We are in the greatest time ever, in the greatest country ever, and we are blessed people. Here's a video that may bring some clarity to my statement. Watch, then send me your comment.

Check it out.

February 25, 2009- I thought this was a great clip on men and women. Perry Noble is cool!!

Cheesebuger in Paradise

February 23, 2009- Special thanks to Jimmy Buffet and the 1978 release of the song, " Cheeseburger in Paradise". I really don't know why this song stuck out to me so much lately. Sure it's a great song with a sing-a-long feel to it, but it has really been with me in a whole different context. The story goes that Mr. Buffet, while taking a boat journey in the Caribbean, had to make it on a diet of canned food and peanut butter. During this trip, all he could think about was the desire to have a good ole American Cheeseburger. Upon arrival to land, one of the first places they ran upon was a restaurant that served, yep, that's right, American cheeseburgers. Even though the burgers were horribly cooked and the orders all wrong, they still ate and very much enjoyed the overcooked burgers. Why do I say this? Well I think that says alot about where I am, where you are as ministers, and where the church is as a whole.

You see the Bible says that we are seated in heavenly places with Christ Jesus. That is paradise. And just like Mr. Buffet, we are not satisfied with that, but have our minds occupied with the cheeseburgers of the world. 1) Man, that church is doing great. I wish we could do it that way. 2) That guy has a wonderful job, I wish I could do that. 3) They sure have a wonderful marriage, I wish my marriage was like that. We are so overly concerned with things we wish we had and things we wish we were doing that we miss the blessings of today.

Another perspective is that of the world. People are spiritually hungry for something they do not have. We, as Christians have what they are hungry for, and it is our responsibility to give it to them. The problem with this is that every other fundamentalist group in the world has already seen this and they are moving in to offer their "cheeseburgers". So what should we do as the church? We have to make sure our cheeseburgers are cooked to order. Not our order, but God's order. There is too much fluff in our presentation of the Gospel, and that's not the way God placed the order. We must study to show ourselves approved, and be able to rightly divide the word of truth. That's the order we must bring to the table for all those that hunger. If God calls for cheeseburgers, then feed cheeseburgers, but never fall short to serve the Gospel as God orders. In a time when people are hungry, we must know that when food is offered, a hungry person will eat, so lets get prepared to serve up "Cheeseburgers in Paradise"

Great Times...

February 20, 2009- Saturday was one of the greatest days of my life. I got married Saturday to the most wonderful woman in the world. Here are a few photos of the wedding and the beautiful place we went for our honeymoon...

Oh no!

February 13, 2009- Let's pray this doesn't happen...

Going the extra mile?

February 12, 2009- Have you ever wondered why things in your ministry just seem normal? Not bad, just normal. There doesn't seem to be that something great that goes beyond the status quo. I think that it might just be that we truly haven't taken into account one of the statements Jesus made during His "Sermon on the Mount". In Matt. 5:41 He says, "And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles". (Read History) . Many times we don't go that extra mile and the results? We live the status quo. Here are some reasons I think we avoid the extra mile...

1. It's not a requirement- You won't be cursed or punished for not going that extra mile. But doing it is a service to God that goes beyond the requirements.


2. It takes time and effort-Over time you will see the true heart of someone that gives abundantly of their time to God's work. They will either love it or they will hate it.


3. It attracts the cynics- People will perceive every false motive imaginable for your extra service. It boils down to this. Those who do nothing for God will never suffer anything for Him either.


4. It is the road less travelled-There are no traffic jams on the extra mile. Sometimes it will get lonely. But you are never alone, because God will walk this path at your side. His righteousness shall go before you and His glory shall be your rear guard(Isaiah 58:8)Emphasis mine.

There are many reasons not to go the extra mile. Your spiritual enemy would love for you to get discouraged and just settle for the norm. But moving into the realm of doing more, being more, will increase faith and ignite something within that makes adversity roll off your shoulders. The true blessings of God lie in the extra mile. What has He done for you? Does He deserve any less?

Expectancy or Expectation

February 11, 2009- Yesterday, while in staff meeting I struggled with unpacking a thought. Sounds crazy I know but the thought wasn't mine. It came from "The Shack". So I went back and read the section again. Now I want to share this thought. I'm getting married Saturday. Many people are married or in relationships right now and things have changed over time. It doesn't feel the way it used to. I think this portion of literature has altered my view of relationships. Here it is. We have a friendship, when it starts, there is an expectancy that exists in our friendship. When we see each other or are apart, there is an expectancy of being together, of laughing and talking. That expectancy has no concrete definition; it is alive and dynamic and everything that emerges from our being together is a unique gift shared by no one else. But what happens if I change that 'expectancy' to an 'expectation'- spoken or unspoken? Suddenly law enters into that relationship. You are now expected to perform in a way that meets my expectations. That living relationship rapidly deteriorates into a dead thing with rules and requirements. It is no longer about you and me, but about what friends are supposed to do, or the responsibility of a good friend. So one of the things nessesary to keep a relationship alive is to keep the expectancy active. Just a thought.

Endless Library

February 8, 2009- Man we have had a great time of fasting and prayer during these past 21 days. It ends at lunch today. Though it will be wonderful to have some meat and bread, there have been so many great things happen during this fast. Also during these 21 days I read a chapter a day in the book of John. There is something beyond words that happens when you combine fasting, prayer, and the reading of God's word. Things happen on a spiritual level that is so refreshing and restoring. So, today, as I read the last chapter, I thought I'd share something I read in the last verse. John 21:25, "Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were everyone of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written". I started to wonder why all those things weren't mentioned in the gospel. Surely they had enough parchment. Surely someone was there that saw them all. But then this thought came to me . You know, it didn't just stop there. All the works of Jesus have continued from back then and they are still happening today. When I just think of what Jesus has done in my life over the past few weeks, I'm blown away. Now figure in every person on the face of the planet for the past 2000 years. Now that's alot of information to process. So after much thinking, I came back to the same conclusion that John had in his gospel. Yep that would be an "endless library"

E Pluribus Unum

February 6, 2009- As I said several weeks back, I have been reading through the Gospel of John. I've read these portions of scripture many times, but there is so much in it, I'll always have take-aways. On reading chapter 17 I thought alot of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ in comparison to our country. Now don't go thinking that I am going to do the typical blogging thing and slam both our country and the church. I hate it when people do that! The thing I saw was this in verse 11. "... so that they may be one as we are one. This country looks to the statement E Pluribus Unum. That's what we are, both as a country, and as a church(at least it's that way in our church). You have young liberal college students, wearing jeans and T-shirts, sitting alongside republican bankers in suits. Youth trying to tune out the sermon while texting or listening to their ipod while the elderly couple next to them turns up their hearing aids to better grasp what's going on. Some gather as quickly as fish to food and then break apart afterward to return to their jobs and homes. Others want close community and always love to have people around. So much diversity, everybody is different. That seems crazy. Where's the unity in that? As the doubts rise in me suddenly I hear that small, still voice, "You have not chosen me, I have chosen you"(John 15:16). If anything is to be believed about the motley collection of people who follow Him, it is that we were called by Him. If you want to find unity in diversity, just look into the faces of the different people who worship alongside you. It is there you will see the face of Jesus.

Coming Clean

February 5, 2009- Tonight we are starting into a process in Celebrate Recovery that includes a moral inventory. Sounds intimidating and sort of dry huh? I thought so. Anyway, we will be in this portion of the process for 6 to 8 weeks and we thought we would try and lighten things up a little. So we are calling this series of the study "Coming Clean". It's going to be fun, challenging, but most of all, life changing. I just finished a book called "The Shack". We will be using many illustrations from it on this journey because of the parallels. The thing that is so tough in a moral inventory and also Macks experience at the Shack is this... Sometimes we have to revisit our greatest place of pain to really have a life changing encounter with God. So we are praying as a team that lives will be impacted over the next several weeks and that people will really be empowered by God to walk through their pain and actually conquer it.

New meaning to Bedwear

Febuary 4, 2009- It is freezing here in Auburn. The wind chill is 7 degrees. But there is an answer to being warm and mobile. Actually there are two...
1. Introducing " The Snuggie"- This product has absolutely revolutionized our world.
( not to mention the free reading light)



2. But if " The Snuggie" isn't enough, for the outdoorsman, a company from England created this wonderful product...

Now that makes the winter bearable, and beds wearable!!!