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Lead Me – A Challenge

October 20, 2010 in Crossroads Church, Family, Personal with 0 Comments

This new song by Sanctus Real leads to a lot of conviction and challenge within me.

Here’s the thing, lately the Spirit has pressed into me the reality that there is an overwhelming lack of God-fearing Christian men. I guess, you could really say a lack of God-fearing people. I’m thankful that my life has been one that is surround by men who radiate a godly lifestyle and challenge me in their actions. Several of which call me their pastor when I know that the ways they have lead me is far above anything I have to offer them.

When I look at the husband that I am, the father that I am, and the pastor that I am, I concede that the room for improvement is incalculable. Ironically enough my wife, children, and the people who call themselves Crossroads, deserve so much more than waiting on me to figure it all out. I’m thankful though, that God has surrounded me with men and women who are patient, children who see no wrong, and a Savior who still believes there is something in me worth redeeming.

So go ahead and watch the video. Cry a little. Then say a prayer with me that God would lead us, so that we may lead others and His name would be glorified.

Save me from the Museum

September 1, 2010 in Crossroads Church, Personal, Project Awaken, Vision with 9 Comments

This video messed me up. I’m completely guilty of some of the things address in this video and it causes me to tremble.

I’m going to be straight up honest with you. I’m not a big fan of museum’s. I’ll just go ahead and say that they bore me. I mean, honestly, a museum has one ultimate purpose, at least as far as I can see, is to tell you all about what has happened and northing, or very little, about what is to come.

It’s a horrifying commentary that many of our churches today are becoming glorified museums instead of living breathing extensions of the Kingdom of God. And though we may in our pride think that any of us are immune to museum syndrome, the truth is, even Crossroads can fall prey to become a testament to what has be done. Instead, we have the option to become a beacon of hope and light. A sign of life in a very dead atmosphere.

But ultimately the question is, what are you willing to do to not become a museum?

*This video is by Darrin Patrick, author of Church Planter, a great book even if you aren’t a church planter.

A Secret Enemy

May 1, 2010 in Awaken, Church, Personal with 1 Comment

There is a silent enemy that threatens every leader, every church, and indeed everybody. And enemy that I’m sure everyone reading this is familiar with. I have fallen victim to this enemy many times and found pain at the end of its sword.

Pride.

Pride causes us to look at every quiet conversation as if it is a conspiracy. Pride would have us to believe that every change and decision is about us. Pride would love nothing more than to lead us to believe that we somehow deserve anything that we have.

But humility teaches that if our security is in God, then the conversations of others should never threaten us. Humility declares that change, even IF it seems like it is about us, ultimately isn’t about us.

Humility reminds us that it isn’t about us and we don’t deserve anything that we have.

Our spouse
Our house
Our job
Our position
All of it is God’s

It’s my prayer that God keeps me humble. No matter what that means. That pride would be ripped from my life, even if painfully.

What about you? How do you fight the secret enemy of pride?

Embrace Plan B

April 22, 2010 in Crossroads Church, Personal with 6 Comments

Update: Congratulations Kristie on your new book! I’ll get it to you rapidly!

I remember so vividly the day that Crossroads Church called me to be their pastor. I remember the joy. I remember the burden. The first day I stepped into the Pastor’s study and sat down at the desk I was overcome with emotion, anxiety, and a sense of, “OK, God, now what?” In my desire and passion I begin to pray, and to plan the future of our church. I had strategies and ideas. Hopes and dreams. I just knew that this plan was it.

More vivid than that day is the day I realized that my plan wasn’t God’s plan. The day I realized that God’s plan was completely different and so much larger. It was the moment that Crossroads Church went back to the drawing board again. Exhausted and tired from years of trying to execute plans that continuously failed I watch a church body, yet again, surround their leadership, and each other, in a hope of finding God’s plan, and God’s purpose.

During that time I realized, that Plan A, was never God’s intent, and that Plan B was His goal all along.
So we accepted Plan B and now we watch.

We watch God accomplish things we never thought imaginable.
We watch God heal marriages that were broken beyond human repair.
We watch God over come addictions that have destroyed lives.
We watch God change us, and change people.
We watch, and we embrace Plan B.

Pete Wilson has written a book entitled Plan B. The book is amazing. It has helped me to see that there is a life outside of Plan A. There is hope outside of Plan A. There is God outside of Plan A.

Don’t get discouraged. Don’t doubt God’s power. Embrace Plan B.

God is still God in Plan B.

In celebration of trying to learn how to live in Plan B, I’m giving a copy away. All you have to do is leave a comment on this blog before April 30th and I will use a number generator to randomly select a winner. If you don’t win or can’t wait, I highly encourage you to pick up a copy over on Amazon.

Oh! Look a Shiny!!!

April 13, 2010 in Awaken, Personal with 2 Comments

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” – Ephesians 5:15-16

One of the weakest areas in my life is my ability to manage my time and focus on tasks. I’m by nature a guy who is easily distracted, so when you throw in things like Facebook, Twitter, and really, the entirety of the internet, it’s a miracle I get anything accomplished. What’s odd is that I meticulously schedule every hour of my day so that I can get things done, but by the end of the week my planner looks like a glorified procrastination tool complete with lines and scribbles as I moved items from one day to the next.

I’m completely confident that if I forcefully pulled myself away from all of the meaningless nonsense, that I could get so much more done. Especially as it would relate to Kingdom work. But here’s the hook…

why do I even wrestle with this?

Why isn’t my hearts desire always to do the things of God? Why would I rather waste time away on social networks than cherish time spent in the word? How is it so easy to come up with catchy 140 character sayings, while struggling to get down on my knees and have a conversation with my Father? Why?

I don’t want it to be like that. I want to be a man of God who is pursuing Him constantly. Not just when I need some good spiritual tidbit to pass on to the people of Crossroads so I’ll sound super holy.

So I’m rearranging some things. And I’m not talking about priorities. I’m talking about the condition of my heart. I’m making a promise to God to purposely step away from all the distractions and instead seek Him. I’m limiting myself on daily social network checks and using all of the extra time to labor for God. At least that’s the plan. And I’m confident that God can provide whatever I need to accomplish it.

This is going to be my first step in allowing God to change my heart and I’m starting now. This will also be the first step for those at Crossroads who are going on a journey of Awakening.

Help me out here. What do you do that helps you manage your time to give more to God?

Awake

March 29, 2010 in Church, Crossroads Church, Personal with 9 Comments

For several weeks I have wrestled with a truth that God has placed in the very pit of my soul.

It would be so easy to find an excuse for me not being the person Christ wants me to be.
I could rally off the names of men and women who I would swear are stumbling blocks in my walk and in my leadership.
I could argue that I’m trying to be in tune with culture so I can remain relevant to a generation.
I could point to a list of laws and bills that completely subvert the word of God.
I could actually fool myself and others into thinking that I have this thing figured out.

Or…

I could humble myself before an Almighty God and ask Him to change me. To awake my soul. And when I ask, He will do it. And it won’t be easy. It would prove to be the hardest journey of my life. God would challenge me in ways that I never knew. He would force me to come face to face with me. And I know what that means.

But that scares me. I’ve prayed for God to move powerfully in my life before, and when He did, I thought my very life was falling apart.

Ironically enough, it was at those times that I felt most secure in my God.

I say all that to say this. I wonder what would happen if we started a movement. A movement of the children of God to come together and bow before Him and beg Him to change us.

What would happen if even just a few of us prayed for God to challenge? For God to create. For God to violently remove sin from us. For God to show us what it really means to be made in His image.

What would happen if we prayed for an awakening?

I don’t think we were meant to pursue Him alone. So I’m asking, are there any out there who are willing to take this journey with me?

With all the pain.
With all the peace.
With all the tears.
With all the joys.

If you’re in leave a comment below and I’ll let you know in the coming days how we’re going to make it happen.

I Tremble

March 22, 2010 in Church, Personal with 0 Comments

I look back over my life and see a lot of things I should not have done.
I look back over my marriage and see many areas where I failed so miserably.
I look back over my parenting and I regret the times I could have been a better dad.
I look back over my pastorate and see a lot of things I should not have allowed to happen.

And I tremble.

I tremble under the mercy of a God who does not give me what I deserve.
I tremble under the grace of a God who grants me what I do not.
I tremble when I think of His love that overcomes all of my faults. His strength that overcomes my weaknesses. His wisdom that overcomes my ignorance.

I tremble even more, when He reminds me that it is us He has chosen to carry His love to a world. To proclaim His truths to a nation. To lead His church to their knees.

I tremble greater still at all the work that is left to be done.

We Over-corrected

March 9, 2010 in Church, Personal with 4 Comments

The church was heading in a dangerous direction. Casting aside love and mercy in exchange for judgment and wrath. With a message of condemnation we walked out into the world, proclaiming what may have been true, but lacking all the love of God. We spoke against the sin of men with a self righteous attitude that turned people away from our message instead of causing them to incline an ear to listen.

Then things changed.
We improved our approach.
We saw the disgrace that our methods brought upon the cause of Christ.

A generation moved to remedy the situation with a boldness and love that was beyond all others.

But somewhere in the correction, we over-corrected. In trying to swerve back onto the road, we jumped the median and headed straight for the opposite ditch. And now it is the fellow Christian that we speak to without love and mercy. Now it is our brother that we harshly discipline without the love of Christ.

Now we mock and we ridicule.

We tweet judgment. We blog satire.

And none of it glorifies God.

We over-corrected.

Your thoughts?

A New Journey

November 19, 2009 in Personal with 4 Comments

It has been a while since I last blogged. And there are many reasons for that. Part laziness, part priority realigning, part forgetting why I ever started blogging at all. The past few months have been a whirlwind of personal change and of church change. Life has moved incredibly fast, so fast it has almost been a blur. My wife tells me that I’m just getting old. I remind her that I’m only 26 and she replies, “See? Old!”

Part of the decision to begin blogging again was to also remove the old blogs. The entire purpose of starting this blog was to share with the church, and anyone who might read it the journey we were on and the lessons I was learning about God, about myself, and about life in general. To keep it Pure. To keep it Simple. To keep it Relevant.

So, I’m going to try this again. A fresh start. A clean slate. And many other cliches about beginning anew. I hope, that as I begin to share with you the journey I am on, and the journey of Crossroads Church that you will jump in and become a part of the community.

I’m excited to share my journey with you!

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