4G #1

One thing that has helped me grow in my faith is understanding God's story-- and how it is that I am part of it.  When I realize we are all a part of the same story as Noah and Moses, I become more alive. God intends for our lives to have great purpose, and I try to live it out every day.

I read something recently that broke down the story we are part of into four words starting with the letter “G:” Good, Guilt, Grace, and Gratitude. These four words wrap up the story of humanity and God.

The first "G" word is Good. 

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the sixth day.

 (Genesis 1:31 NIV)

We were created to be good.  We were made to live for so much more than what we ever could expect.  We were made to live like that.  We were made to be lovers of justice, to make right any wrong, and to make sure all people feel the love of God.

Adam and Eve felt what it was like to be in a complete, right relationship with God in the garden. It was a wonderful feeling they had.  It was GOOD. 

I think we forget that this is how it all started: in a garden, where it was all good. 

You might be thinking it would be pretty nice to start out completely good, to not have to go through a lot of crap.  On this day, know that God is working in you so that you will seek goodness, that goodness will win out, and then justice will flow out of your life. 

God intended for us to be good. We all have this goodness in us.  Some of us have it hidden behind pain and suffering. And some have years' worth of sins that have covered up our goodness for a long time. But that doesn't mean God's goodness is missing. It's still there.

God began the story and it was good, and I believe he wants our stories to be good. Let God make your life as good as it was intended to be!

Month of May

But those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. Isaiah 40:31

May is the month of racing! I love it.  We start the month with the Kentucky Derby and end the month with the Indianapolis 500! I think it is fitting that the month of May always seems to go really fast.  The school year comes to an end and summer plans begin to take shape.  Life is busy running from one thing to the next. 

Sometimes, in the midst of our running, it's easy to forget what's going on because chaos is winning.  Usually I am not kind when I am tired. And I should never make a decision when I'm exhausted. But if I am rested because I have taken a "pit stop," I am able to go for longer stretches and at a faster pace. 

I think that in this month of racing, we have a lot to do in the life of our church.  We are preparing to host a mission trip.  We are seeking out ways to serve our community and bring them the love of Christ. A phrase we will use to for our mission trip is, “Love Union City.” So as we lead up to what will be a great experience for youth, adults, and our community, there is work that needs to be done.

I hope that in the midst of the hustle and bustle of this month you are setting apart time to pray for our mission trip and all the kids that are coming in to serve.  I hope you are also asking God for ways you can serve during this mission week. I encourage you to always pray for those who are far from God, and that they will find their way back to Jesus. We are hoping for 100% participation from our congregation, and I know that the people of Wesley UMC are up for the challenge. 

May is a great month full of races! I hope that you are running with God and taking pit stops along the way so that you can serve Christ in all you do!

Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines!

12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us,

Hebrews 12:1

Concert

I love my family so much. Yesterday we were able to take our kids to their first concert that was not held in a church basement. We went to Huntington University and saw The Brilliance and Gungor. I have learned over my concert going days, which seem so long ago, the best part about a concert is who you are with. I always seem to remember who I was with, very important in getting a ride home, more than set lists or blazing guitar solo.

This was a special moment for me in my life. Not only watching very good musicians and song writers perform their art, but the fact that their art was sharing the love of Christ. I know that I will talk my kids someday to see bands that do not love Jesus, but on this night I did. I know we paid to see Gungor but my favorite part of the night was listening to The Brilliance. Two songs that touched my heart, were Now and at the Hour of Our Death, and Does Your Heart Break? “When the heart breaks does your heart break,” was my favorite line sung during the concert. I love hearing artist sing their prayers. David Gungor ended his set by praying for us to let our actions be the love of Christ.

Beautiful night of music with my beautiful family.

Mad Men

Over the last few years, my TV intake has gone down. This is not because I had a revelation that TV takes up way to much of my time and I would be better served reading a book, but it is because LOST was my wife and I favorite show. Since LOST went off the air, we have been lost as to what show to watch.

Now, thanks to Netflix, we are hooked on Mad Men. We worked hard this winter to catch up and be ready for the new season that begins March 25, with a two-hour premier.

Mad Men is a fun show to watch that has interesting characters that are broken people but in need of success to make them feel for a time fixed. The main character Donald Draper is a man who wants to be good and happy, but keeps coming up short in make the right decisions for this to happen. The other characters in a way follow suite.

I am excited for a new season and to actually be able to care what is on my TV for the first time in a long time. I hope the characters develop in away that makes it worth watching and of course, if I were a writer for the show I would help solve all the problems by having them come to Jesus! I know I am a pastor, but its true.

Tornado

A few weeks ago I went down to the Henryville area to help with Tornado Relief. I traveled down with Jeremy Harris who is skilled with a chainsaw. I am skilled with a rake so we made a good team. Jeremy has such a servant heart and encouraged me to go down with him to do work. I made a phone call but that connection disappeared and so we did not know where to head, but we had a few other digits and so we ended up finding out where we could help.

We worked with the organization Samaritan's Purse. They sent us to a small community called Borden. In Borden we began to see the affects of the tornado. Complete destruction. Everything was flat. This was my first time going to a disaster area within a week after it happening. We helped a lady who had a yard full of fallen trees. As I looked around I could see homes with damage and I could see where homes used to be, but I was just amazed at the power of the wind.

I am glad that Jeremy pushed me to go. Even though we did not have an exact place to help we found something we could do.

I think I have been guilty in the past of wanting to help in not just disaters but in opportunities to share the love of Christ and I have failed.

This was a lesson to me that there are times where you just have to do it. No excuses just do it. This has been a growing point for me and is now my challenge to you!

If you are in a place where you feel God has called you to do something, do it!

Stop holding back stop talking yourself out of it, just let yourself be free to do what God calls you to be.

"Your Name is Glorious, your love is changing us, your love is calling us" Hillsong

Church on a Rock

The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge...

Psalm 18:2

There are times in life where it feels like chaos wins. We are busy rushing our kids around or turning in job applications till the sun goes down. The breaks are few and far between.
I remember thinking when I was a student that at some point things would calm down in the midst of homework and studying for finals. Boy was I wrong. Life just seems to get busier as the days pass. It is not a terrible thing--it's nice to have things to do. The problem is when we live for the chaos instead of being on the rock.

Too often we can do stuff in a church just to do something. The Church doesn't need to just fill time, it needs to fill time with a great purpose.
The Church needs to find its rock on Jesus and do everything that Christ has called us too.
When the church is a movement in the midst of a chaotic world, it's set on the rock of Jesus.

Worship

I am not sure that I always loved to worship God. I used to tolerate going to church and sitting through songs written 500 years ago. Then I went off to college and shook my head in disgust during chapel, while guitar players jumped off their amps in the middle of worship. I felt like it was a show on all fronts, traditional and modern. I did not grasp the ultimate joy that happens when we soften our hearts and find that complete joy is simply praising our God.

Last week I went to The Steps, a local ministry for children and youth. During this time they had a worship service, and I loved it. I did not know all of the songs, the songs played were not great, and many of the kids were just taking it in and not singing; but, through all of this I still felt the presence of God. It was incredible! I think it is because my understanding of worship has changed. Worship is a time where we come before our God and let him know we are with him. Worship is us, as followers of Christ, declaring before God that our hearts are focused on him and his Kingdom, and nothing else. It doesn’t matter whether a “b” string on a guitar is badly out of tune or if a song was written by a church music dinosaur. What matters is that our hearts are focused on God and lifting him up in praise! Man, I love to worship God any time, now--no matter the style. I seek ways in which I can worship and I can never get enough.

When a Church moves, it worships God!

Glorify the Lord with me; let us exalt his name together. -Psalm 34:3