Inov8

Great Christmas Weekend!

This weekend has been one of those weekends that reaffirms your calling and you tell yourself, this is why I do what I do.  Yes you are exhausted because of the time investment however you are energized because you see lives changed before your eyes. 

Saturday was our annual Christmas House event.  We hosted over 100 children and let their parents shop for them for Christmas.  We had rooms set up for each age group.  These are families who otherwise would not have the money to buy gifts this year.  This is an amazing ministry.  We not only gave them an opportunity to shop for their kids and gave them a food basket for their family but we also were able to share the love and message of Christ.  That is the coolest part, the opportunity to pray for someone who is struggling with many aspects of life. 

Here is the highlight video from this year's event.

 

Thanks again to all of the volunteers that made this happen!

Today we had our Children's Christmas Musical, "Wii Will Rejoice" which I had the honor of writing.  The kids did a tremendous job and portrayed the characters exactly the way I envisioned them.  My daughter Jada played a girl who's family is struggling and who's father left them.  She did a great job!

In all a great weekend!  I now need to crash but I probably will keep doing something!  God is so Awesome and he is moving, never underestimate the power of God!

Christmas Shouldn't Be This Busy or Should it?

This is certainly the busiest time of the year.  I have so many irons in so many fires that I am surprise my brain hasn't exploded.  However all of the stuff that I am doing right now is exciting. 

Last Weekend we did two performances of "The Wonder of Christmas".  My lovely wife happen to video my song and here it is for listening displeasure.

 

 

We also have the Christmas House this weekend.  This is such a rewarding ministry.  We were inspired by Calvary Baptist in Murfreesboro several years ago when we worked this event.  So when we moved to Orlando, we brought the idea with us and this is our second year.  This year we will help over 100 kids receive Christmas presents and new this year will be food.  Every family will go home with a food basket.  We are so excited about this ministry that we are taking it to the next level and we will make it's own non-profit.  Pretty exciting!

Another project I am working is a writing project.  I am writing a bible study/book right now that I am hoping to have published in 2010.  Should hear something soon.  Pray for God's will as he directs me in my writing.  I have such a passion to write and I know God has plans for that.

This weekend I am also excited to see my kids perform in "Wii will Rejoice".  I had the pleasure of writing this year's musical and I can't wait to see little Jada play the part of Emma, which ironically is the name of Jada's best friend back in Tennessee.  I am sure I will be posting video soon of her performance.

College Football Loses a Great Man, not just a Great Coach

In the constant world of instant gratification, the coaching business is a pool of blood thirsty sharks.  Fans, boosters and the media want results now.  Yesterday after thirty four years at the helm of Florida State, Bobby Bowden was forced into retirement at the age of 80.  In 1976 he took over a program who in shambles, some even had thoughts of shutting the program down.  Bobby Bowden came in, changed everything and now the field is named in his honor.  He made Florida State what it is today.  We all know Bobby Bowden was a great coach, what some may not know is how great a man he is.  He has a special testimony and he is entrenched in his faith in Jesus.

I found this video of him talking about his faith. 

 

 

It's funny how we as christians scoff at coaching profession and can't understand why it's so vicious.  Many times the church is similiar.  The self-serving culture seaps over from the world and we find ourselves doing the exact same thing.  Why?  We want results now and we will stop at nothing to get what we want even if it's not the will of God. 

I read this scripture yesterday and it encouraged me.  It's found in Psalm 3.

 ¹ O LORD, how many are my foes!
   How many rise up against me!

 ² Many are saying of me,
   "God will not deliver him."
   Selah ^[a]

 ³ But you are a shield around me, O LORD;
   you bestow glory on me and lift ^[b] up my head.

 ⁴ To the LORD I cry aloud,
   and he answers me from his holy hill.
   Selah

 ⁵ I lie down and sleep;
   I wake again, because the LORD sustains me.

 ⁶ I will not fear the tens of thousands
   drawn up against me on every side.

 ⁷ Arise, O LORD!
   Deliver me, O my God!
   Strike all my enemies on the jaw;
   break the teeth of the wicked.

 ⁸ From the LORD comes deliverance.
   May your blessing be on your people.
   Selah

Are you hungry for your desires or are you hungry for God's desires?

Silver Spoon or Ramen Noodles?

I was talking with a group last week and someone was mentioning eating Ramen Noodles and Spam growing up.  Unfortunately probably to my detriment I never experienced extreme poverty growing up.  Poverty resulting in having to eat Ramen Noodles or spam.  As I reflect upon this, at the same time I didn't grow up with a silver spoon in my mouth either.  My family was the definition of middle class and I also had two sets of grandparents in the same city which helped out tremendously.  I have never gone to bed hungry or worried about wearing shoes with holes in them or putting on clothes that are not the right size.  The blessings that I have received have been immeasurable. 

So I as look out into the city I see the hungry, the homeless, the lost and I think about how thankful I really am.  I think about the Thanksgiving meal that they will be having or won't be having.  Am I truly thankful for what I have and who I am?  Do I thank God enough for what he has done in my life and the provision he has given to me? 

As we stumble onto Thanksgiving we should be truly thankful for His grace and His Love. 

Happy Thanksgiving! 

If They Are Doing it, Why Cant We?

The title reminds me of when I was a child, I used to ask my mom the same question.  If they are doing it, why cant I?  Whether it be staying out until midnight or be dropped off at the movies when I was too young to drive, these are both examples of ways I used this question.  Now I find myself constantly asking the same question although in a different context.  Let me explain.

Every Monday morning, I read through the blogs and I see amazing stories of lives being transformed and churches who are knocking it out of the park.  I read stories of the Newspring Church in South Carolina who started just 10 years ago and now they have multiple campuses and have 15,000 people attend these campuses on a given weekend.  All of this was accomplished in 10 short years.  The impact of this church is incredible.  Every Monday I see a report from their Pastor, Perry Noble and he writes about the mass baptisms and the number of folks who accepted Christ.  Victory is taking place in every service and the Spirit is moving in an incredible sustaining way.  So it begs to question, if they are doing it, Why can't we?  I ask this question not as a local church here in Orlando, but examining our denomination that I serve in.  The largest Nazarene church in the United States is around 3500 and the second largest is a distant second.  From there it trickles down to a handful hovering around 1000 and a majority of small churches who are struggling.  Don't misunderstand my point here, don't think that I am all about the numbers.  I am measuring the impact.  When I see some churches around the country have more people saved in one Sunday than 95% of our Nazarene Churches in America have in a year.  It genuinely makes me nauseous at the very thought.  So what is our problem and how can we solve it?  

Here is just a start...

1. Uncompromising Leadership- We have a severe lack of forward thinking leaders with a passion to share the Gospel.  We have to continue to develop spirit-filled next generation leaders who have a burden for people and have a vision that is God-sized.  I heard Craig Groeschel say once that our God is too small.  We have to believe that God can do amazing things through us.  If your God is too small, then there is great chance that your vision is going to be too small as well.

2. (This is the Way We've always done it) can't be an option anymore.  We can't settle for this mentality.  The way we've always done it is usually our proverbial nail in our church coffin.  The way we used to do it doesn't work anymore!  The gospel is the same, but the methods have to change.  I pray that God puts new ways and methods on the hearts of our leaders and they become obedient to the Father instead of decision makers in churches who pay the bills.  We see churches die a slow death every year with this mentality.  Things have to change soon or we are looking at churches closing their doors and when that happens the only person that benefits is satan. 

3. Spiritual Depth Has to Return- For so long we have seen the spiritual depth of churches falter and become shallow.  If we are going to be the church that God calls us to be, we have to be reproductive in the area of Discipleship based on the never changing Word of God yet in an ever changing world.  As a society we have lowered our standards and the church is no different.  We have made church a comfortable place to be, we have made it easy for people to come once a week, feel good about themselves and leave.  Following Christ many times is uncomfortable because He continues to challenge and probe our very being.  The passion for the word has to return, the passion to be in fervent prayer has to return as well or we will continue to journey down the path of a low spiritual temperature.

People ask me all the time, what's the church going to look like in 20 years?  My response is simply,"small".  The truth of the matter is if we don't develop a generation of believers to lead, to be forward thinkers and to be spiritually mature, then it will be small.  Newsflash... there are not people flocking our churches on a weekly basis.  For the small amount of churches that are growing God bless them and help them to continue on the path to growth.  To the other churches who will not experience growth this year or are losing people in droves, it's time to evaluate your methods and catch up to the new thing God is doing in the lives of His people.  There is no excuse that this denomination can't be a denomination that embraces change and develops leaders who will lead us into the future.

So if they are doing it, why can't we?  If they are witnessing freedom, redemption and salvation occuring every week, why can't we in every Nazarene church in America?

Are you passionate about becoming the church of today and not the church of yesterday?

Are you willing to make the changes it takes to reach the lost in today's culture?

  

Qualifications of A Leader.. A Daunting Task

It's not easy being a leader...  In 1 Timothy 3 it speaks clearly about the qualifications of a leader in the church.  This sometimes seems to be unattainable.  I believe it was Paul's intention to make leaders understand that we are held to a higher standard.  Here is the message translation of this passage...

^1-7If anyone wants to provide leadership in the church, good! But there are preconditions: A leader must be well-thought-of, committed to his wife, cool and collected, accessible, and hospitable. He must know what he's talking about, not be overfond of wine, not pushy but gentle, not thin-skinned, not money-hungry. He must handle his own affairs well, attentive to his own children and having their respect. For if someone is unable to handle his own affairs, how can he take care of God's church? He must not be a new believer, lest the position go to his head and the Devil trip him up. Outsiders must think well of him, or else the Devil will figure out a way to lure him into his trap.

 ^8-13The same goes for those who want to be servants in the church: serious, not deceitful, not too free with the bottle, not in it for what they can get out of it. They must be reverent before the mystery of the faith, not using their position to try to run things. Let them prove themselves first. If they show they can do it, take them on. No exceptions are to be made for women—same qualifications: serious, dependable, not sharp-tongued, not overfond of wine. Servants in the church are to be committed to their spouses, attentive to their own children, and diligent in looking after their own affairs. Those who do this servant work will come to be highly respected, a real credit to this Jesus-faith.

There is nowhere in the word of God that says leading the church is easy or not challenging.  This is not an inclusive list, it goes beyond this and that's ok.  We need leaders who will be challenged and then in turn challenge others with integrity and accountability.  The church will cease to exist if we don't continue to develop spirit-driven, Godly leaders who lead through obedience.  It is my desire to be a part of a generation who has a hunger to develop these type of next gen leaders.  How about you?   

The Five Octave Guy- Classic!

The Selfishness and Pride of Jonah

All of us know the story of Jonah, however we may not know the end of the story.  We all know the part about Jonah being disobedient to God and not going to Nineveh.  We all know about Jonah taking a trip on a ship with pagans and him being thrown overboard.  The most vivid picture of Jonah is an image of being swallowed by a giant fish and spending 3 days and 3 nights in the lovely belly of the whale.  Of course he was vomited on to dry land and God gave him a second chance.  He walked to Nineveh and proclaimed that God was going to destroy the city in 40 days.  The Ninevites repented and fasted and wore sack cloth and God spared them. 

Jonah wasn't happy about this, he wanted them to be destroyed because it made him look foolish.  Jonah became bitter and wanted to die.  God told him that he spared 120,000 people in Nineveh and Jonah still wanted to die.  He would rather be right than to see God's plan fulfilled.  He would rather look good and have people die rather than be humiliated and see people spared. 

Have you ever felt like Jonah?  Has your pride for self been out of whack?  Would you rather be right and have accolades or you rather be wrong and see God's glory and purpose fulfilled?  I want to encourage you to drop your pride and take joy in the fact that God is in control even if we don't understand it and it makes us look bad!!! 

My Blogging Sabbatical is Over!

My blogging sabbatical is over!  In case you haven't noticed I haven't written on my blog in a month.  First of all I needed to take a break from the daily grind of writing, secondly so much has changed in one month's time.  The last month has been the busiest time of my life and now I am trying to settle into new roles and I am trying to figure out how to balance everything in my life.  Let me recap the month for you and I will try my best to remember everything. 

One month ago, we made some staff changes here at the church.  I am thankful to still have a job here, however I have increased my workload and added a position.  My new title is Pastor of Families with Students and Outreach and Retention.  Yes it is a long title, but once again just blessed to have a title.  I have had to rediscover how to do Student Ministry.  I haven't done it since 2001, so that has been a challenge and a change of pace for me.  I have enjoyed working with the students so far.

We launched our new Wednesday Night Experience (Catalyst) last week and the students responded well.  We wanted to create a high energy fun experience for all students.  Week 2 is this Wednesday!  Pray for our students as they go through this transition time. 

Over the last couple of weeks, I have had to delegate more and give up control of some things.  I pray that God continues to allow me to do this.  Something I learned long ago from Andy Stanley was that we as leaders have to constantly replace ourselves.  That is what leadership and discipleship is all about. 

Pray for me and Tiff and the kids as we adjust to new roles and changes.  My family is my first priority and I don't them to lose out because dad has to do ministry.  So many pastors have lost their families because of that mentality, I pray that won't happen to my family. 

Here are some other random things that have happened since we have talked last.

• I turned a year older, 31.  Wow I feel old but at the same time I am energized!
• We hosted Chris and Conrad in concert on Oct. 3!!! It was amazing.  If you are a pastor or worship pastor, you need to have these guys in for a concert!!! Amazing night of worship and music, amazing artists and men of God!

I will continue to update and get back into the swing of things this week!

 

Let the Titans Rise!

Let the Games Begin!

Titans vs. Steelers Tonight!

Go Titans!!!!