One quick phrase to parents...

If I had just one thing to say to parents...

"Raising your kids in the church is good, but not enough; you NEED to raise them in Jesus!"

Many adults realize this too late, while watching their kids walk away from the church. Perhaps, they thought that it was a good thing to get them to church for the youth events, Sunday School, youth group, etc. and it is, but sadly it won't stick if all they have is church and no Jesus.

When they are in youth group; I tell them personally over and over that they won't survive on their parent's faith. They won't survive on their student pastor's faith. They won't survive on their pastor's faith. At the end of the day, they will only survive on their own faith and that is their choice! They are the only one who can choose Jesus!

As parents, I know you desire that they will choose Jesus and not falter along life's path. Though, powerless on making their decisions for them; you are at a monumental point in their life! If they just see you living out your life for Jesus! If they see that you put Jesus first! If they see that you love Him and that you love them!

You as parents, have the best advantage of raising them in Jesus; you clock more time with them than the church and the youth pastor ever will be able to! Yes, we are here to help raise your students in Jesus and in the Word! We are here for you when you don't know what to do! We desire to work alongside of you, while investing in your kid and pointing them to Jesus. We desire to see your student get it! To own his or her's faith! To see them living out their life for God! For them to be able to stand on their own when they graduate high school; while not graduating the church at the same time! We are here for you!

Please if you're a parent, take this to heart! I really don't desire to see any God loving parent, come to a point in their life where they say "I raised them in the church, but I didn't raise them in Jesus."

Youth Christmas Caroling

Christmas Caroling is always fun and rewarding! Back in August, I decided that we were going to make this a must attend event for our youth. The event was a youth driven Christmas success. We invited people from the church to join us, and we even had a neighbor from the community join us. Two groups went out trying to successfully hit 11 homes across Green Bay. Loaded with gifts of cookies and ornaments, each group made their visits. What happened during and after; I could not put into words! But I will try to hit just some of the moments...

We had shut-ins that spent their whole day waiting for us to come, and were so excited to be visited. We spent so much time at each place, that we went close to an hour over what we planned. We had amazing people make us lots of hot cocoa and had plates of cookies for us. One of our planned visits, would have been a little too late for them; so while at one house we sang carols over the phone! I was bummed we didn't make it there, but was thrilled that we could at least be an encouragement to her.

Afterwards, I was able to get a few reflections from the youth. How the older people looked forward to it. That they had fun. Below I included a clip of We Wish You a Merry Christmas from my group, as well as my group photo and a photo of ornament decorating!

Packer Game at the Ott's House

The game ended up going from prime time to noon! So right after church, we rushed home!!! The game was a fun one; with the Pack pulling it out in the end. Always great when you have a youth event that the home team wins. We grilled hot dogs, and ate tons of food. AND I would have never guessed that fruit snack were the most popular snack! The guys threw the pigskin during halftime in the snow and the ladies stayed warm inside watching youtube videos. Fun afternoon

Turkey Bowling!

This past Wednesday evening, we had a Night of Thanksgiving! The headliner game was Turkey Bowling. I have never done this before and had no clue how it would turn out. It was an awesome idea and the youth had a blast, not to mention their parents and the kids also had fun afterwards. Here is a video of my wife and she even got a few bumper lanes...

To get where we want often times takes pain

"The truth is, sometimes the good plan he has for our lives is to make us look more like him, which more often than not takes pain."  - Jefferson Bethke

I am currently reading Jefferson's book "Jesus > Religion! The above quote got my mind twirling with many thoughts, that I would love to share. 

My thoughts led to having that perfect 6 pack chiseled abs. Or those nice toned muscles. They are so hard to get; and for me I might have gotten to a 2 pack abs once in my life. The known process for an individual to get to this point; they must suffer to get to this end goal. One of the ways they suffer, is that they have to continue ripping muscles. Ouch! Though, once ripped, the muscles grow back even stronger than they were before! Another way that they suffer is that they cut out unhealthy food! The Cheetos, pizza, ice-cream, etc. have to go and is usually replaced with things like spinach, cranberries, and organic food...That sounds a lot like emotional suffering...Though, if we are to get to the end goal of having toned muscles or a 6-pack; then we must be willing to cut away things that are harmful and choose to deal with the pain!

The same thing I am finding out as I am living out my Christian walk. I must choose to cut things out of my life that are not healthy for my walk with God and replace them with healthy things. I also have to learn to grow through the pains of trial and error; and through pains of storms and situations in my life. That way, after the hard times leave; I will be stronger in Jesus! 

We are told that we are to live Christ-like lives...When I was younger I thought that it was a command we needed to do, just like a chore...

Now where I am in my life; it is not even close to that of a chore or just something I need to do to fulfill this command. I desire to grow my relationship with Jesus! You might think that I might sound sick and twisted; but I am starting to enjoy the bad times in my life. I know what my relationship with Jesus feels like, after the pain of circumstances is lifted. I was a runner for most of my teen and college years, and I would compare my feelings to that of a runner's high. A runner gets to a point where he actually loves running and enjoys it! I have gone through so many frustrating circumstances and storms; that I actually look forward to the my stronger version in Jesus appearing afterwards! It is really something to have my savior going through the storm with me, loving me, teaching me, and growing me in His love and His Word! 

As I tell my friends when storms arise, we search God out more in the storms than when everything is calm around us. Now, I have an extra thought to storms in our lives. The thought that through the pain, we can grow stronger in Jesus and our love for Him! 

Yes, that's right we are close to announcing our plans for Vacation Bible School! Unlike past years, we are planning to be well-planned and set a great foundation to one of our strongest year events. Around the beginning of the year, the above logo will be sent out as a magnet on an invitation card to families. This will be close to seven months out; but it also will be around the time that families start planning their summer vacations and activities! Also this gives our leaders, and soon to be leadership team plenty of time to start thinking of how we can make this year's VBS better than the last! Lots of planning over the next 8 1/2 months...

Community does not exist where there is no unity! At least, not to the potential that it should. Our churches should be a place that grasps true community; and makes unity its prime focus.
Unfortunately, this is not the case. Many churches fight with other churches. Within churches, we find small quarrels and disagreements. Christians have disagreements and never resolve them.

We as Christian's tend to fight over preferences; preferences that ultimately distract us from our purpose of sharing Jesus. We want our tradition and the way we have always had it; more than we want to see people coming to faith in Jesus. We get caught in a trap of what can the church do for us; instead of how we can be part of the church. One of my favorite observations of lately has been conflicts among classes; the same classes that are going through a series called "When Relationships Collide" a series about conflict. Funny how many times in the midst of our conflicts; that God is relevant and trying to speak out and we miss it.

What would happen if our churches; would start rebuilding its unity? Then we might just see more churches building strong Christ-focused and Christ-led communities; that focused on bringing people to Jesus. Now that is why the church exists, why the church is supposed to be a community, and why we are to be unified!

Fish Stories!

I caught my first fish when I was a young kid; and boy, was it a big one! A 17 inch beautiful rainbow trout. It was the first day of trout fishing and they tend to stock many of the streams in Pennsylvania where I grew up. On that day, kids under a certain age were able to fish in those streams. I still have the picture today as to proof of what I caught.

One of the things about fishing; is "fish stories." The stories that keep getting bigger and bigger...I have probably told a fish story or two in the last few years. In fact, I have probably heard plenty of stories over the past few years. When I was in God's Word; something crossed my mind. Peter or maybe James or John were catching up with some old friends and family; and they started telling stories of Jesus. And I can just picture some of these people responding back to the disciples; "Wow, and I thought your fish stories were crazy!" Think about it. If the disciples shared their stories with people.

"Well, there was this time that we were on the Sea of Galilee and we were about to be lost at sea; and Jesus stood up and talked to the storm and it went away!"

"Or there was this time that we had left Jesus and were out in the boat; and all of the sudden we saw Jesus walking on the water toward us. Oh, and of course Peter had to give it a try and almost found himself on the bottom of sea."

"And what about when the people listening to Jesus started getting hungry; and Jesus turned 5 loaves and 2 fishes into a mass meal that fed thousands!"

The stories would go on and on of Jesus' miracles, and Jesus' stories, and Jesus' life lessons. That I wonder if people scratched their heads and wonder if these were just "fish stories" or if Jesus was the real deal! Same thing today; some people have said the Bible is just a storybook. While others have realized that Jesus was and is God-flesh that had lived among men!

A New Kind of Racism...

Well, not exactly a new kind of racism; it has actually been around for awhile. I'll get to describing this new form of racism, but let me set this up. When reading the Bible, I see that there are many forms of racism implied.

First, God did set his nation Israel apart. So at times; we can see that the nation of Israel is segregated from the rest of the world. Circumcision, not eating ham, and other rules that God gave His people seemed to place His people even farther apart from the world. Though, God was doing this to set up the Messianic bloodline so that he could send His Son into the world to redeem it. In a way, we can see that God designed His people "not to be of the world" so to speak. In fact, when we accept God; He calls us to live a different life than that we lived before Salvation.

Another implied form of racism we find in the Bible; was between the Jews and the Samaritans. When we read Scripture, it does not take long to see that they hated each other! Why? Well, the Jews were full-blooded Jews; while the Samaritans had intermarried into the world. Jesus went through Samaria. He communicated and interacted with Samaritans, and even offered them salvation!

In our own American history; during the 1800's, we fought a civil war over slavery. In the 1900's, we fought segregation of blacks and whites. Expressing that each man is equal in the eyes of God, and should be the same to man.

Christians should hate racism! Whether it was Jew vs. Samaritan or Black vs. White...

Though, Christians, can be racists themselves! I call it Church People vs. Un-churched People...

I have seen this a lot within our churches and society. The excuse many times is that we are not to be of the world...the problem with that is that we hide our lights under a bushel and that bushel is called the church!

We set the table for people like us, those that are of like faith, those who dress like us, those who act and talk like us. Our churches grow only when either like people come or we convert a person to our way of doing church. Now, I should mention I am all up for doing church in the way Scripture says to do it; but when we start adding tradition as what Scripture says, I get fired up. I have seen churches that have done Bible checks at the door to see if you had a King James Bible! Churches that have a dress code where people stop coming because they felt like their best didn't match the code! I see groups of church people that talk to each other week after week, but never connect with a new person! Music, dress, church talk, versions of the Bible, tradition in general; can hinder an unchurched person from connecting to a church and hearing about Jesus.

What should saddened us as Christians?

1. When we realize that we don't communicate with people that don't know Jesus! When we look around and all we have done is surround ourselves with Christians. Not that surrounding ourselves with Christians is wrong; but when we don't have connections to share Jesus with people then we have a problem...

2. When people that you have known for years finds out that you go to church! If we never talk about Jesus, the Word, church, etc. we are not living out what Jesus asked us as Christians to do.

3. When personal preferences and church tradition keeps a church from reaching out and growing!

4. When we see that unchurched people are right about the church! We are just a bunch of self-righteous people that are a bunch of hypocrites; that need Jesus.

I'll finish my thoughts with this: Is there a difference between church people and unchurch people? Absolutely no difference between the two; except, for one main factor that separates a true follower of Jesus and someone that does not follow Jesus. The grace of God! Church people are sinners! Unchurched people are sinners! We are the same! BUT the grace of God is the only thing that separates us; and that grace of God is for all people, churched and unchurched.

My Testimony of Accepting Jesus!

Church Planting, Now That Excites Me!

Church planting is something that drives warm blood into my veins! I love meeting church planters, I love visiting church plants, I love reading and taking classes on church planting, and one day I desire to be a major influence in a church plant. Though, today, I am stoked to meet church planters and helping them in anyway I can. I desire to continue to learn off of them and let those times refuel my heart and passion for the places I am serving in. Why? Because many times when a church is established, it can become content and non-effective. Granted, just like marriage; our churches should never lose sight of it's first love and the way that it acted in the beginning!

A church plant brings us back to why the church exists. A church plant struggles and claws at establishing itself within the community. A church plant loves the community and encourages the people to be very involved within that community. A church plant is driven with passion and excitement; it has to or it will soon fade out. A church plant has vision and purpose.

Church planting is the key to the future of the church, we have far less church plants than churches that are closing their doors! If you are part of a church plant; keep plugging away, loving on people and sharing Jesus. If you are in an established church; but know of a church plant in the area, help them out in any way that you can! Pray for the church plants in your area; that they grow and point people to Jesus! Pray for our churches to regain the fire of living out lives fully devoted to Jesus; and continue to be an impact in their community! I LOVE CHURCH PLANTING!

Called Out Conference

Man, what an awesome weekend! A weekend that I really needed. It started off on a rough note. On the way down to the conference; we had two cars in the left lane almost run us off the road. Then we also got lost and drove all over southern Wisconsin. The rest of the weekend was amazing.

The worship team was brilliant. It was made up of two electric guitars, two acoustic guitars, two vocals, drums, and bass. The sets were energetic and heart-led. One of the songs, We Won't Relent, became my new favorite worship song! The breakout sessions were energetic and focused on Jesus and what the church is supposed to be. Nate Ray did a great job of communicating and relating with the students.

On Saturday, we visited a church plant an hour away from our base camp. Paul shared his heart and love for church planting. He sent out students north, south, east and west in the town; just to observe and report what they saw in the communities. The students did a great job of making observations and asking questions about church planting.

The week was amazing, I needed it. I enjoyed meeting come new friends from Chicago; and playing basketball with them. I needed a new song on my heart. And I needed to renew my heart for the community!

Harvest Fest: a successful community outreach!

This year we hosted our 4th annual Harvest Fest and boy was it a God led outreach! We estimate that within three hours; we had about 250-300 people at the event! On paper, the breakdown was 34 leaders and 34 members/kids; and 197 visitors that at least had registered. Then there was some unregistered people that were not on paper. What led to this? Well, lots of word of mouth, Facebook, newspaper, internet searches, tv broadcast, and the rain. Not sure how some of the word got out to the tv and other sources, because we did not contact some of those places. So between that and the rain; it was God driven!

This is monumental to our church; we are only about 6 years old and I have been only there for 3 of those years. In the history of Graceway; this is the largest outreach event/event that we have ever done! Which is good, because since the beginning of forming the church it has been slowly declining. Most of our leaders this year were new; and we even had a few children volunteers. The volunteers maintained their areas, stayed positive, and were by far the best group of volunteers to work with! 

When you read the Gospels; you will see that Jesus many times fed the people or met their needs and then showed them who He was. That is what we are tying to practice in our community! Hopefully, that we continue reaching out to the community and sharing the love of Jesus!

A New Epic Paintball Story!

Perhaps, this newest paintball story is my best paintball story! I already have quite a few tails to tell; from shooting my youth pastor in the neck, to the time where a youth shot me in the neck (friendly fire from 5 feet away), to me taking on three senior high students by myself while my middle schoolers hid at the starting line. Though after this past youth paintball event, I might have just lived my most epic paintball story of all time!

It was a great day, we had 12 youth and 5 adults playing Sunday afternoon! We went to the backwoods course, and decided to split up teams; Adults vs. Youth. We decided to take Jaime on our team because he was a few weeks away from turning 18; so the teams at that time would be 6 adults vs. 10 youth. When the referee yelled "Go!" Mike and I went down the right side of the course while working together to keep each other protected. We started picking off the youth, and glancing over to our right they were starting to line up like trophies on the side line.

Halfway through, I started running low on paint and Mike needed me to spray cover fire so he could move up. Looking down at my gun I noticed one paintball rolling around in my hopper; I yelled over to Mike and the sideline "down to one in the chamber!" (Call of Duty reference) Looking down at my hopper, I realized that there was actually two paintballs; well, that was at least better than one! With my mask fogging up and not being able to locate my targets; I started thinking about my options. Then I heard Mike yell I'm out; oh know, I have two paintballs, a fogged up mask, and have no clue where the remaining youth were bunked down.

Then, I saw a youth jetting across the course. I aimed and pulled the trigger allowing my two remaining paintballs to go flying towards their target; unfortunately, both missed. Sinking thought, no paintballs left. I thought to myself, there is no way I am going to surrender myself and there is no way I am going to sit here. I made a quick dash and made a baseball slid behind another bunker. Still alive! After a few seconds, I took off for the next bunker. I leaped to get behind the bunker and landed awkwardly on my bad ankle that I had injured two weeks earlier playing basketball. As my ankle gave out, I fell on my back against the bunker and I heard the sideline go crazy. Well, that hurt; but at least they thought it was a good move.

Counting teenagers on the sideline, I knew there were at least two teenagers left. My next bunker had at least one of the two teenagers camped behind it. I had to make a move. Taking in a deep breath, I took off running and came flying around the next bunker. "Surrender" I yelled as I held my gun within inches of two youth! They both started yelling "I surrender, I surrender; don't shoot!" The referee yells "Game!" With no paintballs and one big bluff, I had taken out two hostiles (youth) and won the game for the adults! The rest of the youth went crazy on the sideline; as they started to tell their teammates that they had surrendered to someone with no paint! I'd say it was a pretty epic story that I am sure I will share with many teenagers and paintball players to come.

Right after my epic victory!

Most of our paintball group!

WOW! A first for a person paying for my meal!!!

Every month, our older or should I say our mature adults meet for lunch. We call this gathering The Primetimers. Now with me being a youth pastor, I find two awesome benefits to going. 1. To communicate how and what the youth have been up to 2. To sit and learn off the many stories that arise during conversations!

Today, I got a lot of smiles when I came in carry one of my new children's church toys (Don't tell the kids, it's a surprise for this Sunday). Equipped with my new air zooka, I aimed at Pastor Rick and launched an air attack on his hair! I had everyone's attention walking in with a funny gun thing, but now that I shot Pastor...Without pausing, I informed the group that I was now Lavonne's attention getter. If someone was talking when she was, I was going to use the non-lethal gun to get their attention. Fun times!

After a great meal filled with great stories, the waitress started handing out the bills. Many times I never even see it, because someone grabs it and pays for me (which is always awesome and a blessing!); today though, I got my bill before someone could do that. I went up to the front and the manager was checking people out. She is very friendly and I have built a small relationship with her. So I decided to give her a hard time, after all, my receipt was missing the right column of numbers and it stated I owed 6.3! I asked her what they were trying to pull with hidden numbers...She smiled and then that is when she shocked me. She hit me back with this statement, "I am paying for your lunch, I like to do that for people sometimes." I thanked her right away and told her she didn't have to that. She responded back with a few thoughts and observations she had made about me and when I come and join the Primetimers for lunch.

I left excited for a new story to share. A story where the unexpected happens. A story with a twist. A story where I realize that people are watching me more than I know. A story where I find that my life style is an encouragement to others. A story worth sharing. A story worth living.

The decisions we make today, will determine the stories we tell tomorrow! 

911 and two questions for the church!

Last week, when I was preaching, I mentioned that it is human nature for us to ask why God allowed 911 to happen? While reading today I came across this paragraph, that made me think more on this. At the end of my reading, my question was not "Why did God allow this to happen?" but "As God's people, did we do what we should of and pointed people to Jesus?" 

A case in point is the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York on September 11, 2001. This tragic event that has changed AMerica in so many ways raises two strategic questions that the church must consider. First, how did the people that the churches are trying to reach (the target) respond to this event? And second, how did the church respond to the people? The answer to the first question is that a number of people who had never attended or had stopped attending church were in church the following Sunday morning. A Gallup poll reported that 47 percent of adults surveyed September 21-22, 2001, said that they had attended church or synagogue the previous week. This number was the highest since the 1950’s. The Barna Research Group reported that 48 percent of adults surveyed in ate October and early November of 2001 said they had attended  church service in the last week compared with 42 percent polled earlier between late July and early August. Barna also noted an increase in concern about the future. In November, 82 percent of the adults Barna surveyed said they were concerned about the future compared to 73 percent in August. Barna added that the population segment that expressed the most concern was adults thirty-five and younger, among whom nearly nine out of ten expressed their concern. Again, the latter represent not only the future of our nation but the future of our churches. Social scientists and analysts have discovered that most people turn to religion in times of national crisis and instability. Few evangelical Christians doubt that God used the attacks on September, 11 to wake up Americans in general and the churches in particular to people’s need for God and the church’s role in helping them connect with him. People responded to the crisis as we might expect. Did the church use the opportunity to connect with them for the Savior? 

What we discover is that the church wasn't ready for this tragic event. Like so many others, it was caught by surprise. Unlike so many others, such as fireman, policemen, and the Red Cross, as well as many average citizens, it failed to react it failed to react well. It didn't use the tragedy stratigically for spiritual advantage. The church must learn to respond quickly to traumatic experiences and make a difference. We might argue that emergency-oriented organizations like the New York Fire and Police Departments as well as the Red Cross are prepared for such disasters. Whether or not the church is in decline, it is vital that it becomes an emergency-oriented organization as well. (Aubrey Malphurs)

Welcome to Jurassic Park Denomination! Home of the soon to be extinct church...

A visit to some churches is like a step back in time. If a young person in the early twenty-first century wants to know how they did church in America back in the early to mid-twentieth century, all he or she has to do is visit an established, traditional church in the community. 

Messer compares attending a typical church to experiencing a time warp similar to that found in Michael Crichton’s Jurassic Park “Welcome to Jurassic Park Denomination. You are now entering the lost world of the prehistoric past. Our tour begins in the board library. Here we notice two rare species. First the board member always pushing for more exegetical sermons form the Old Testament, the bron-Torah-saurus. Next to him you can see this creature’s rival, the board member who likes lighter sermons, the tricertopical. On the right you can see the board member who loves to study the end times, velocirapture. Next, we proceed to the church kitchen. Here we find a board member who loves grazing at potlucks, socials, and outdoor picnics, the barbequesaurus. 

The real problem lie in the church’s methodology or how it “does church,” reflected in its particular church model. So many in our churches are convinced that we must conduct church the way we’ve always done it. As one old-time (the traditionsaurus) puts it, “If the organ and the great hymns of the faith were good enough for Jesus and Paul, they must  be good enough for us!” 

Bill Easum writes: “Like the dinosaur, they [churches] have a voracious appetite. Much of their time, energy, and money is spent on foraging for food, so that little time is left to feed the unchurched...Food is everywhere. But many refuse to change their methods and structures to minister to people where they are in ways they can understand. Like the dinosaur, their necks are too stiff or their eyes too nearsighted.” 

Easum concludes: “Congregations must deal with their stiff necks or their nearsightedness, or go the way of the dinosaur. Some congregations will wake up in time to deal effectively with their situations. Their necks will be softened and their eyesight will be corrected. We call this refocusing or revitalizing the church. Others will wake up, but it will be too late. However, too many will never wake up and will simply pass from the scene like the dinosaur.

Text is from Malphur's book, A New Kind of Church

Have it your way

Who slogan is "Have it your way"? If you said Burger King, you are correct. In a world today, that statement is so true. Our current culture mixed with our human nature; seems to shout this as being the most important thing. We are selfish people!

"My way" is even in the church, I am noticing it more and more. "My way" is rooted deeply into our churches, and the way we run our churches. "My way" is the reason that people jump church to church; because they are looking for that perfect church that meets "my" needs and wants. "My way" is why church fight after church fight break out because people want to do it their way, and they don't care who they run over to get there. "My way" "My way" "My way"

I have learned many times in ministry, my way normally doesn't work. I will try numerous things, and when my bag of tricks is out; I tend to look to God. Which is what I should have done in the first place! In fact, isn't that what we should all be doing! Throw out the "My way" and bring in "God's way"! 

"God's way" would stop people from jumping around to different churches and get plugged in with their present church and be part of what God is doing in that church! "God's way" would stop the fights within the church and grow the unity of the church! "God's way" would be a church doing God's things, than doing man things! "God's way" "God's way" "God's way"

It starts with one that is searching for God's way, will you be that person? or will you keep having it your way?

Why God did this happen???

This question has been said by myself many times. I believe many times it is in our human nature to lash out at something or someone; and many times it is God! But why do we? Ever think of this?

Why did God allow 911? Why did God allow that person to have cancer, she had so much potential? Why did God allow Hurricane Katrina to take so many lives? Why did God even put a tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil in the garden, if He is all good? Why didn't God stop that Forrest fire or mud slide in the Midwest? Why does God not intervene against injustice? Why did God take that child, he was only seven?

Maybe you are like me and have pondered a question similar. These questions I don't believe are wrong, I believe they are valid questions. They are at the core of human nature to ask; but asking is not the issue, it is the blame game that is wrong.

Have you ever observed many of our stories and movies? Most start with the characters of the story, doing great and then all of the sudden a villain enters the picture. For instance: In Red Riding Hood, it is the Big Bad Wolf. In the Wizard of Oz; it's the Wicked Witch of the West. In Gotham, there is a guy who paint his face and causes havoc; the Joker. In Star Wars, he has a breathing problem and is one of the darkest villains; Darth Vader. You see many times our stories and movies have villains. Why? Because God's story has a villain.

Think about it. "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." Genesis 1:1 From the beginning of God's story we find that: He is the main character of His story! He is the main director of His story! He is the main writer of His story!

God created a perfect earth and He cast two main characters to take care of it; Adam and Eve. Everything was going great, until chapter three, and then it happens. The villain enters the scene, the Bible calls him the serpent and we know that it is the devil or Satan. He enters God's story for one purpose and that is to taint God's story! He coaxes Eve to break God's rule and helps man to turn his back against God. It is the same today! You feel lonely and abandoned, and you hear that voice saying you're not good enough. There is an enemy, there has always been an enemy and there will always will be till God puts him away for eternity! But yet, when something goes wrong; we don't blame the villain or even take responsibility of our own actions. We blame God, the main character of His story that we are just a part of! Why I ask you?

Here is a random thought of mine. A few years back I dislocated my ankle. My foot should have been horizontal but it popped out and was more vertical! It was gross. When I was in the emergence room, I made a deal with myself to treat every doctor, every nurse and every hospital staff member with kindness and love. I knew that these people were there for one purpose and that was to make me better! Now many times; these people are yelled at, cursed at, and hated. Why? All they are doing is trying to help the person. But yet many times we find the truth in the statement "Hurt people hurt people." Now, take God and His story. He is trying to be part of our lives, love us, help us; and what do we do many times? Lash out at Him, curse at Him, hate Him, turn our backs on Him. It tends to be our human nature, but yet as Christians it should not be part of our new creation! 

Will we ever be able to answer the question why did God allow this to happen? Most likely not; but at the same time, we are in no position to blame it on God. We need to realize that there is an enemy, that continues to attempt to taint God's story. We have our own responsibility to control our actions. And because we all fall in the middle of God's big story; we are just a small part of that. Ecclesiastes is correct when it mentions that we cannot even fathom God's story from the beginning to the end! So ask the question "Why did this happen?" Even if need be ask "Why God did you allow this to happen?" But let us never come to a place where we start blaming God for things we will never understand!

"Epic: Living a Story Worth Telling"

Think about that statement...Living a Story Worth Telling

I shared with the teenagers that their decisions of today and what they do with their time; will reflect on the stories they share in the future. They will be stories that will be shared with their future spouse, their kids, and their grandkids. If they get in trouble with the law, it will be shared with their future bosses and reflect their character. If they serve the community and are out trying to make a difference; that also will share about their character with their future bosses. What we choose to do with today; will be part of our story tomorrow. Are you living today in the way that you want to tell tomorrow?

(The current youth series from Life Church that we are using with our youth!)

If I ever become a Bible professor...I have the perfect debate topic for my students!

When we read Scripture, we find that two Old Testament characters seem to be able to avoid the sting of death. Do you know who they are? The first Bible character is Enoch; who we can find located in the beginning of the book of Genesis. He was known as the guy who walked with God and because he was so faithful, God took him Heaven. The second Bible character is Elijah; who we can find located in the beginning of the book of II Kings. He was taken to heaven by a chariot of fire.

Now here is where my debate thoughts and questions comes into play:

When sin came into the world it passed to "all" men, thus all men will experience a physical death. So if God saved Enoch and Elijah from the sting of death; does this affect His character? Does it open up a new way to get to Heaven? Jesus is supposed to be the only way to Heaven, for Old Testament people they looked ahead to the Savior and for us we look back to a Savior. Though, if we walk with God like Enoch or even better than he did, can we also get to Heaven without the need of a Savior. Take these thoughts and question into consideration of the debate you're assigned.

Debate 1 Enoch and Elijah were spared from death and these two cases do not affect the character of God when he said all men have sin and death is the result of it. Also these cases for not put any holes in His redemption plan

Debate 2 Enoch and Elijah had to experience a type of physical death before God took them away; and if death occurred this would protect God's character and the redemptive plan

Jesus at times seems to go out of His way to connect with one person...

enjoying my study on Mark 5! So at the end of chapter 4; we see the disciples, Jesus, and other people load up boat to cross the Sea of Galilee...Then the storm hits and Jesus calms the storm! Crazy stuff! But if that wasn't crazy enough, when they land the ship; they are met by a crazy demon possessed man! Jesus intervenes and sends the legion of demons into a herd of pigs; and then we see them get back on the boats.

Now here is where it gets interesting for me; because it is all left up to interpretation and assumption. From the passage, I would calculate that to cross the sea they went anywhere from 8 to 13 miles (depending where they launched). Then the only thing we read that happened was that Jesus changed a man's life. Wow, it is almost like Jesus was on a divine path to reach out to a man that people feared and shunned! Could have he done other things on the other side of the sea, possibly. But from my reading of Jesus life, He does this from time to time (woman at the well) and goes out of the way to impact an individual's life!

Being in the Community

Yesterday, was just another reason I love to be in the community as a pastor! I spend lots of time at coffee shops, the gym, and other places where I can be an impact. While biking home yesterday, I notice out of my peripheral a teen sitting on a picnic table and on the table what looked like a bag of weed. Yes, I'm very observant; had to be, I have worked with at risk teenagers that needed constant super vision. I did a 180 and went back to the teen. He had no time to put his bag away, and denied it being anything but herbal...Spent some time talking to him about not going down that path, and that I came back to talk to him because I cared enough to make sure he wasn't, and would hope that someone would have done the same for me when I was a teen...

The more I spend time in the community, the more I tend to see and have a chance to interact with. Stuff like this happens around us all the time, either we are too busy to notice or we just don't care or we think it's another persons problem; whatever the issue is there are hurting people all around us! What are you doing in your community? I have recently found out that in Green Bay, there are over 900 kids that are homeless! There are kids that during the school year that eat lunch at school on Friday and their next meal is the following Monday at school! And these are just two needs within the community...

Collecting thoughts after our youth lock-in

My first thoughts after the lock-in were: I wish I would have done this...I didn't use all these great ideas...I survived the night!!! 

Now looking back, my thoughts are so much different. Yeah, I have lots of great ideas I didn't use, but the night was a success. We created an environment that was fun, that brought youth together, and I got to spend 13 hours with 13 great teens! I give God the glory on this; because leading up to the event, I was skeptical on who would actually come...This has been our biggest youth event! So it was totally worth all the hours of planning; the sewing of marshmallows, making snacks, dragging couches from room to room, collecting all sorts of random clothing and gadgets for a photo shoot, and so much more...

Thank you all; for donated snacks, for donated soda bottles, for donated time of helping!

 

Youth Ministry in Today's Times

Youth ministry is a way different animal than when I first started doing youth ministry! I believe that today is harder than any other time in youth ministry's history to reach out to students. Just think about all the things that are grasping for an average student's attention...You have school activities and homework, jobs, and sports; which are even a stronger pull then when I was in school. Then you have the iPods, iPads, iPhones and any other iThings out there. The game systems, computers, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snap Chat, Angry Birds, and the million other apps out there. What do we offer in our youth ministry? Ummm... How about free pizza? Man, things are different in reaching today's youth.

Or think about this. I am speaking at youth group. Now, I should say I take lots of time in preparing messages and then there are times where I don't. Let's say one of those times that I don't, I say something incorrect in youth group. In today's youth group times, a student can pull out his phone, google what I just said, find the correct answer, message the correct answer to the rest of the youth, and tweet "My youth pastor goofed in his message tonight..." ; all before I finish my message for the night. Wow, does that challenge me to make sure I preach truth and have my facts straight...

Though, I am still a believer in two game changers that can change a student's life forever within youth ministry:

1. Show them the love of Jesus! No matter how cool I can act as a youth pastor, no matter how many youth activities are planned, no matter what we do; only Jesus matters, He is the only one that can change their hearts!

2. Build relationships with them! In a world full of distractions; only in America can we have all the things the world has to offer while at the same time being some of the loneliest people on earth...True relationships are a stronger pull than having hundreds of friends on Facebook...True relationships are a stronger pull than any electronic out there. True relationships are what we need to have with the students today!

As a youth pastor; I need the church, the leaders, the parents, the average church goer involved with the youth. Expressing these two things to each student that walks into the doors of our church. Show them Jesus' love and build relationships with them! Thank you to all my leaders and parents that are doing this; you are awesome!

My story: In a different light! Designed for the series "Authentic Faith" with the youth

My story: I grew up going to church, I could say the books of the Bible in 17 seconds, quote more verses than the average person, I was a whiz at Bible Sword drills, I knew God, I knew the Bible, I knew how to perfectly act out the life of Christian. In fact, based on what I just said, you would have never knew I was a lost individual with a one way ticket to hell. My testimony doesn’t have the gory details that some have. I thank God for that; because I have lived the pretend Christian life that many people in the church are living with every week. I can relate with that; there are a lot of lost people in the world, granted, there are a lot of lost people sitting in our churches thinking that they are a Christian. I know because I was one of them. 

At age fourteen, I was sitting in my grandparent Sunday evening service. It was in the month of May, they had a special speaker, and he was an ex-marine. That is as much as I can tell you of what the night looked like. BUT I can tell you that night God found me. I could have all the knowledge in the world about Him and His Word; and I could look like a Christian as much as I wanted; but I never chose Him to be commander in chief of my life with my heart. God tore me up, my religion went out the door, my living out a Christian life on my own evaporated; and I was broken. I gave Him my life that night, the whole thing; brain and heart. And haven't looked back, following His leading and sharing with people His grace and anything He has taught me along the way. 

Was it easy after that? No, my pride hurt and I was humbled. It was hard to tell my youth group! I was a student leader, and leading others students. What were they going to think, you were a poser all the time? How am I going to be able to follow you now...I had been baptized when I was younger because that is what Christians do! I committed to being baptized again, it was hard because all the church would know. It didn’t matter, because God had my life. Has it gotten easier? No! I could tell you many war stories of failures, disappointments, times in pits, burnout periods, and many other horror stories. Sort of just like Joseph, but I can tell you this just like Joseph I know God has a plan for my life and he has a plan for your life! 

"Thou shalt be not of the world" Thoughts of a church person disengaging from the world and such

I've been reading a great book by Brad Powell called "Change Your Church for Good." It is amazing how many pages of notes and stories have come out of my reading and I'm only two-thirds of the way through! God took me through a little journey Friday morning as I was reading a portion of the book. This statement jumped off the pages at me:

"Jesus walked, talked, worked, and lived with those in His culture. Of course, more often than not Christians today isolate themselves from those who don’t know God. They know and associate only with other Christians. Unfortunately, this makes it impossible for them to be the “light in darkness.” Of course, Christians have their weaknesses. (Yes, we do have them.) The Bible makes it clear that “bad company corrupts good character” (I Corinthians 15:33). It also warns us about joining ourselves too closely to those who don’t embrace Christ and His values (II Corinthians 6:14). However, this is speaking of our most intimate and influential relationships. This isn’t a command for us to isolate ourselves from all who don’t know Christ. Jesus revealed the Father’s love to those who were broken, guilty, and far from God. He didn’t isolate Himself from them, nor should His followers today." Brad Powell

Okay, this is good. Many times we hear that we are not to be of the world, and I have seen many Christians hiding in their Christian bubbles. That makes sense...But Paul in these two passages seems to contradict Jesus teaching about being the light of the world. It is almost as if Paul is saying draw a line in the sand and make sure you stay on your side. 

Then God started to take me on a journey, which ended up just being a journey of questions He asked me...

Question 1: Who was my servant Paul writing to? That's easy; the church of Corinth

Question 2: What do you know about Corinth? Well, the city was sinful. I would compare it to that of Las Vegas of today...After all, they coined the term "Corinthianize," which means to practice sexual immorality, after those that lived in Corinth. 

As I was writing this blog, I wanted to go a little more in-depth and researched Corinth a little more. I had forgotten that they had built a temple to honor the Greek goddess Aphrodite (Greek goddess of love). This temple contained thousands of priestess prostitutes and sexual debauchery was running rapid among the people of Corinth. 

Question 3: What did my church look like in Corinth? Well, the church was not around a very long time. So, I would say a church full of mostly young believers that just put their faith into the Way. Then also many of them were also Gentiles with none or very little understanding of the Jewish Law. 

Things started to connect in my head. Today, when a lost person comes to Jesus; we do our best to get them in the Bible, get them to church, surround them with other Christians, and engulf them with anything Godly that will grow them in their walk! After all, they are a baby Christian. They are at a very moldable time in their new birth. In Paul's letters, I see him writing these new believers to be careful in their walks or what was being taught to them in the church would be overtaken by the pull and draw of Corinth. 

We are to follow God's commands in the Bible, and He has given us the Holy Spirit to us to discern His truth. Should we follow Paul's commands to the church of Corinth and stay away from the ungodly or are we to follow Jesus commands to be lights in the world? I would argue both! As young Christians, we need to let God mold us and sometimes when life is falling apart around us we need to seek refuge in the church and among Godly friends. At the same time, we are commanded to share our faith! We need to be a light among the dark. 

Today, I shared in our Sunday School class that for us to live as a Christian all our life and not share our faith; it is a sin. After all, we are held accountable for not just the things we have done; but also the things we fail to do so...Pastor in his sermon later, told us that 95% of Christians do not share their faith. Wow! Now, I am not sure if that was an American, or a world or a denomination statistic; but nevertheless a scary statistic any which way. Why does Europe only have 5% of the population that goes to church or calls themselves a Christian? Even with 4,000 church plants a year, why are there still 7,000 churches closing their doors a year?

The church has better start something! When you see no lost people coming to your church, this is a problem! When the baptism pool is being used for other things more than baptisms, this is a problem! When church people are fighting over little things within the church but are not fighting for their lost communities, this is a problem! We are not to be of the world? That's fine! But we are called to be in the world! I am glad Jesus didn't say, "well, I am not going in the world"; because he would have never came...and you and I would have the grace of God in our lives!

Politics, social issues of today, and temporary things...

What political party should a Christian be for? Where should I stand as a Christian over this current social controversy? Should we as Christians really be concerned over temporary matters or eternal matters? Read the below three paragraphs; they answer these three questions in an outstanding way! 

There are churches that are primary Republican, and they’re beating up on the Democrats. There are churches that are primary Democrat, and they’re beating up on the Republicans. As if politics were the point of the cross of Jesus Christ. While Christians should be good citizens and vote according to the ethics of Christ, the purpose of the church isn’t political. Think about it. Politics have temporary impact. When your candidates are elected, they only have four to six years before they can be voted out. Then what? Everything changes back to the way it was...or worse. What a waste. But, when Jesus Christ gets voted in as King of people’s lives, their hearts are changed eternally. The church was never meant to focus on the temporary political agendas of any group. It was always  intended to focus on the eternal needs of a desperate world. 

And yet, churches, in the name of the One who lovingly asked God to forgive the angry and vile people nailing Him to a cross, are often filled with hate over these temporary issues that won’t change anything. They use their lobby to sign petitions for the latest social outrage, which is an obstacle to offering God’s hope people on the other side of that political or social issues...the people who most need hope. This clearly causes the church to miss its ultimate purpose of reflecting Christ and His love to this world. As John 13:35 says, “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” 

Instead, the church has started embracing the compassionless ways of the Pharisees who were excited to have the harlot thrown down and killed (John 8:3-11). On the contrary, Jesus, with great compassion, lifted her up and encouraged her with the truths that her failures weren’t final. He said, “Go now and leave your life of sin.” The church was never intended to be a reflection of man’s hateful and hurtful rejection. The church was always intended to be a reflection of God’s loving and acceptance. Brad Powell

Let's face it, the world is full of darkness. It has always been. Politicians and politics will always be around us; and will have some effect to our personal lives. And yeah, we struggle with the unbelievable acts of abortion, homosexuality, and sex slavery of today; but the world has not much changed from its darkness thousands of years ago where there was still homosexuality, human slavery, and the throwing of children into the god's fire pits. The world will always be full of darkness; as Christians, we are called by God to shine our light of the hope of Jesus! (Note: the darker it is; the stronger a light shines!) People are hurting, they are searching for hope out of the misery of darkness. How are we shining our lights? How are our churches reaching out with hope of the Gospel? How are we attacking the gates of hell looking to reach out to those who are blinded by the god of this age? How are we representing Jesus through the way we act, talk, and portray our faith? Are we giving the hope of the Gospel of Jesus to a dark world? 

Love God and Do What He Says!

Working on tonight's Wednesday night youth group message; and decided to post a few thoughts of the message.

Verse 1 of I Samuel 3 says, "In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions." Not much different than that of today, don't you think? Many people have suggested that God doesn't speak as much as He used to. I would tend to disagree! I believe He speaks just as much today as He has in the past; the problem is, we are not listening! It's hard, I admit; to spend time with God. If you read the Bible on your phone I can guarantee you that you will have a million texts. If you put the phone in the next room, you will hear it going off or someone will knock on your door. Fighting for time with the Father; is a daily challenge that is so worth it, that is if you want to hear from God.

What if the church looked more like a gang?

On first thoughts, that would sound crazy! Churches looking like a gang? The more I think about it though, I believe that churches would be better off if they took a little away from the structure of a gang. 

Point One: They are for each other

If you mess with a gang member; good chances you will find yourself beaten and bleeding along the side of the sidewalk. Gangs protect all their members at whatever cost. Once a person finds themselves in a gang, they are protected by all the members of the gang. Many times the gang becomes the individual's family and the "family" takes care of each other. 

What if the church kept to this same concept? Imagine the church protecting its members from those who verbally attack their beliefs, character, or just the person in general. What if the church became that of a family, taking care of the needs of the people within the church and even out into the community? 

Point Two: They work together

To understand a gang working together, we need to understand a little about the groups that we find within a gang. The Veteranos are the leaders and the ones that put in their time on the streets. The G's are the main gang members that manage and run the gang.  The Wannabees are mainly youth that want to be part of the gang. The Gangster-groupies, which is a new category, consists of youth who just want to hang out and associate with the gang. Finally, the Resident G's are those who grew up in the gangs neighborhood. To be part of the gang, you must be able to pull your weight. Whether the person is the main gang leader or a runner or even a watcher; the individual has his part to play.

Many times in the church, we don't work together. In fact, sometimes, we go in opposite directions and even many directions instead of working together. The church need to communicate with each other and go in one direction for the growth of the church. Then there is the dead weight factor...The ones that are just along for the ride. It is very hard for a church to run on it's 10-20 percent of the church body serving in the church. Imagine with me for a moment if each member of the church pulled his or her weight. What would that look like for the church?   

Point Three: They stretch for more territory

Gangs are constantly in battle with other gangs and their communities for territory. The more they control, the more they grow and prosper. Gangs that predominantly take over a city many times tends to control the city; police, courts, and politicians included! Now that is a powerful organization. 

Close your eyes and think about your church battling for your community, becoming so predominant in the city that it effects the city. Imagine that ten houses north, south, east, and west from your church; that at least 50% were plugged into your church (that's 20 families out of 40) Imagine your mayor calling your church and saying we got this need over here and we know that your church is perfect for meeting the need. Imagine the school's superintendent contacting your church saying that there are children in the school system that need weekend meals because if they don't receive any they won't eat and we know that your church would like to help. Imagine if we followed Jesus to build His church, instead of building our church...

Point Four: They promise deliverance

When someone gets hurt or killed in a gang, the gang leaders gets everyone together and promises that revenge will be made. 

Unlike the gangs violent messages of deliverance; the church has the best promise of deliverance that is offered to man. The deliverance from sin and death; with the good message of Jesus Christ dying on the cross for this deliverance! The church needs to continue to make this it's focal point and reach into a lost world with good news of Jesus!

In closing, I need to make a note I do not encourage gang life. The majority of gangs do many violent acts towards God and man, that I don't want to endorse. I just wanted to take something many can relate with and take some good thoughts away from their structure. We as a church need to encourage the church to protect its members, to work together, reach into the community, and share the good news of deliverance! 

Thoughts on labels from the book I am reading called Alter Ego by Craig Groeschel

"No matter what you have or haven’t done, God’s power is big enough to change you. There is no sin too great for God’s grace. There is no habit too big for his healing. There is no label too strong for his love. Let me say it again, because I want you to believe this: God’s power is bigger than your past.

And his power is rooted in his love for you. He knows who you really are no matter what others label you — or what you label yourself. What’s true about you now doesn’t have to be true about you later. The goal is not to reinvent yourself by striving to be some perfect person but to allow God to do an extreme makeover by uncovering your true self in his image, redeemed through Christ. What once was, no longer has to be. God can and will break the labels that have held you hostage.

You were made for more than you’ve settled for. You know your life does not reflect who you really are deep down inside. You know there’s more, and you’re tired of settling for less, but you’re just not sure how to move forward. It’s time for you to learn who you really are and what you’re capable of doing across eternity.

So many competing messages vie for our attention, trying to tell us who we are and what we should do, where we should shop and how we should vote, who we should cheer for and who we should condemn. But if we’ve committed to follow Jesus and have accepted the ultimate gift card of salvation, which carries an infinite balance over the charges of our sins, then there’s only one source for knowing who we are and how we should live."

Wearing your Sunday's Best...

Thinking about what is our "Sunday's best" at 5 in the morning! If you know me well, this is not a time I am normally coherent for. So with me being awake, what better time to blog what I am thinking than at 5 in the morning.

"Wear your Sunday's best," I grew up hearing this and living it out. I would get up Sunday mornings; put on a nice pair of slacks, a collared shirt, colored socks, and my dress shoes. Many times, I would end up forgetting the belt...Fast forward to today. A youth pastor of a small Baptist church, a church that I showed up to my first interview in jeans, a Crucified t-shirt, and hoodie. My plan was to present myself in the way of who I was and not to put on an act of what I was not. I was hired and moved all that I had to begin working in the church and the community. It wasn't long and I tried to adapt to the culture of the church. I went from owning one suit to owning three suits, four button down shirts to a dozen, and from a handful of ties to about fifty ties. I was frustrated inside because I promised myself I wouldn't change!

Now I should note that I don't mind wearing shirts, ties, and suits from time to time. I did it in college for the fun of it. The real heart of the issue was why was I dressing this way. For one, I got tired of hearing negative comments on how I dressed and it was so much easier for me to hear the positive ones when I was decked out in a suit. Granted, there was even a time where that wasn't even good enough. I received a comment through my now wife; that she was confronted on the fact that my shirt(s) were wrinkled. ARE YOU KIDDING ME! I ironed my clothes most of those mornings, and they started off looking great in the morning. The question in my head really bothered me: "Am I wearing my Sunday's best for God or for the sakes of men?" I started wearing a variety of things over the last year and half. Sometimes, I wear a suit and other times just a pair of jeans with a sweater.

Over the last decade, I have past this thought on to many people. We live in a generation gap. The older generation normally was dressed down during the week working in factories, steel plants, farms, etc. and on Sundays they wore their Sunday's best to church. My generation and younger tend to dress up during the week for work, anywhere from a business worker to a waiter at Olive Garden; and then tend to dress down on Sundays. This gap has cause much strife within the church!

I believe today that many churches get it, when they say dress as you are and we will accept you as you are. Sadly, there are many churches and church people that have not come to this point. I could talk a lot on this topic; but I believe for today, I just want to hit one thought that I have been dwelling on for the last hour.

What is the importance of wearing your Sunday's best? The main response I get back is that it is out of respect for God.

Think about this with me: As Christians, we are to wear our Sunday's Best out of respect for God when we go to His House, the church, to meet Him. Why don't we as Christians wear our Sunday's Best on Monday morning when we get up, grab His Word and meet Him?

If we truly are wearing our Sunday's Best for God (and not for others), then why do we only do it Sunday morning? This sounds like, we as Christians are living a double life! We dress up for God when others are around, but not when it is just Him and us. In fact, I have also heard, that it is okay to dress down at church; but just on Sunday nights or Wednesday nights. Isn't that yet another double standard? 

Can we agree that the church is just a building during the week, but on Sundays (and other times of the week) when people are there that this is the true church? Then when we gather with other Christians outside the church building; shouldn't we wear our Sunday's best so that we do not live a double standard life? 

To me having a dress code in church; sounds a lot like the Pharisees of the Bible. We make up a list of rules that are nowhere found in the Bible, and then tell Christians that they are not respecting God based on what they are wearing. Do I think it is a wrong to wear jeans to church? No, but I guarantee you I do see it wrong when someone judges another person for it! Only a righteous and just God can judge a person's heart...

I do, however, think it is wrong to wear jeans just to cause trouble and be rebellious, just as much as I think wearing a suit and looking down at others is wrong. Reminds me a lot of the Pharisee and the Sinner who are praying in Matthew 18. The Pharisee says God look at me, I did my checklist of things; while the Sinner stands there and cries for mercy. The heart is the difference in Matthew 18! Just like the heart of the person matters to God, not on what he or she decides to wear on a Sunday Morning!

Who is the church really for?

I have found that most times many people think that churches are for church people. Many times if we evaluate our churches, that is exactly what we will find. Sadly, we as church people expect to be served at church; while looking for what the church can give me. This is selfish and not even close to being Biblical.

Two points I'd like to make about churches:

1. Churches were not started for church people!

Think about it. The first church could not have been for church people because church people didn't exist. Churches were started to bring lost people to Christ; then to baptize them, disciple them, and teach them to tell others about Jesus. Churches during Paul's day; had a majority of new believers and lost people. The early church catered to the true needs of the people; their salvation. They did not worry about the church building, church traditions (after all, there were no traditions), other people's sins or how another person worshiped God, or the many other things that church people fight over.

It is sad how many stories over the years that I have collected on how church people get so focused on their "needs" that they push lost people right back out the front doors of the church! We as followers of Jesus, need to get back to mission of the church and forget our "comfort zones," "traditions," "our needs/wants," and realize that the church is not for church people.

2. Churches were started for lost people! 

The early church was started for all the new converts that were putting their faith in the Way. They met many times as small groups in homes or in large groups at their city's synagogues. According to Acts 2:42; they had great fellowship, time reading and talking about the apostle's teaching, communion, and prayer. Guess what happened in these churches? They grew! People got saved! Life change happened! Churches were doing what churches were started for.

Closing Thoughts

Now think about this thought, when was the last time your church experienced a person coming to the saving grace of Jesus Christ? When was the last time you saw a person being baptized? When was the last time you saw your church pulling together to reach the community within a block of the church? If these things are not happening, it might be a good sign that your church is designed for church people. And this should be a warning sign to you; that you need to be part of the change in that church. Churches that fight over music "preferences," Bible interpretations "preferences," church tradition "preferences," etc. has been distracted by the enemy with their "preferences" and have been led away from what the church is supposed to be doing! A church that is not reaching out to the lost and not growing; is either a declining church or a dead church.

What are you going to do about it?

Churches: Leave no one behind!

In American Military movies we hear the saying; "Leave no man behind!" What are they insinuating? Well, they are saying that we will leave no comrade behind; dead or alive! The current U. S. Soldier's Creed says it like this: "I will never leave a fallen comrade." Even in our school systems, we have the No Child Left Behind Act; which was designed to strengthen our schools so that every child has the ability to learn and move forward.

I believe that in the church, we should have the same basic thought process! We will not leave our unsaved family member behind! We will not leave our unchurched neighborhood behind! We will join with what God is doing around us and do everything in our power to tell people about Jesus!

Sadly, though many times; our churches are not known for rescuing our hurting people; we are known for shooting our wounded! A person sins, makes a life mistake, or even steps on the toes of the church's tradition; and its like we get the tar all heated up, the feathers plucked off the bird, and many times chase the person right out the front door of our church.

When I read the Bible, I do see where we are to hold our brothers and sisters accountable to Christ. It is a command that we are to do as loving Christians. The problem is that I also don't see in the Bible the many responses church people tend to give. I'll list a few:

1. The Judgmental Response - This response is the first one that comes to mind. No where in Scripture does God give us the command to judge people. This is a Holy God's responsibility and only He in His perfect state can judge us. Too many times we reject people on what they wear to church, how they act, how different they are; that many Sundays lost people walk in and then back out of the church. Many times being offended by church people than being offended by what should offend them, the Word of God which penetrates to their soul with conviction!

2. The Gossip Response - So many times when church people see someone "breaking a rule" whatever that might be; they can't resist the urge to go and find someone to talk about it. I've been in and out of many churches across the country; and gossip (in my opinion) is the number one sin in the church that kills relationships within the church and burns bridges with the church's community. Gossip is toxic to the life of a follower of Jesus. 

3. The Holy than Thou Response - For some reason, we tend to think that our sin sticks less than those around us. We justify our "small sins" while stubbing other Christians and even lost people (that have no clue they are lost) about their "big sins." Problem with this; is that all sin stinks in God's presence no matter what sin it might be. It is like a big pile of manure that God wants absolutely nothing to do with. James 2:10 says, " For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all." Lets face it, sin is sin. Quit putting people down, turning your nose up at others sin, and come along other Christians in a Christ loving manner, encouraging them in their walk with Christ, and praying that  the person would be willing to let God work on him or her as God desires to do. As for lost people, how do you expect a lost person to act? Ummm lost...Till they meet God face to face and God starts a work in them after salvation; they will not understand sin, the law, the grace of God, etc. 

4. The Condemnations Response - Last time I checked, God is the only one that can condemn a human being. In which, those who do not choose Him will be condemned in the end. Because of Jesus and God's grace, those that do choose Him will not be condemned!

We are called by God to reach out in love to those who are lost and perishing. We are called to love our brothers and sister in Jesus Christ. We are called too hold others accountable to the Word of God, to encourage people to live a life under God, and allow God to work on their hearts as He works on ours. We are not called to judge, gossip, look down on others, or condemn any Christian or lost person. If we, as the church start doing this; I believe that God will do amazing change in our lives, in our churches, in our communities, and in the lives of lost people around us! 

Church lets start to being the church! Loving people and pointing them to Jesus; allowing God to change them into exactly who He wants them to be. Get on board with what God is doing or get out of the way. Once again: "We will not leave our unsaved family member behind! We will not leave our unchurched neighborhood behind! We will join with what God is doing around us and do everything in our power to tell people about Jesus! Churches we leave no one behind!"

Today is a monumental day for me!

Yes, it is my birthday and I hit 29 (the last year of my twenties); but the biggest thing about today is that I have now lived for Jesus more than half my life! At age 14; I surrendered my life to Christ and it is still the biggest, smartest, and most fulfilling decision of my life.

I coined a phrase right after college called WhereverChristLeads and have been sticking true to that in life. Along with that phrase I include Proverbs 16:9 which says: "In his heart man plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps."

It has been another amazing year of life in following Jesus! I have married a beautiful woman that I am looking forward to better days, months and years with. I live, breathe and sleep youth ministry! I have been able to play a lot of basketball over the last year with great friends at the YMCA! This year past year has been good.

My words for today for me and for you would be: "Life is a journey, make the most of every opportunity, develop life stories, take adventures, live life to the fullest; all while living a life of grace under Jesus. That is truly the best journey, opportunity, story, adventure, and living life that we can do!"

Life Stories

Life Stories, a set on Flickr.