Today...I turn 47!

Good morning...I sit here in front of my computer, realizing that I have turned yet another year older...it's not exactly amazing to me that I am now 47, what amazes me is that I don't have a sense of getting older and what that really means. I mean, I look at pictures of me in my 20's and that's still the way I feel.It's funny though, I always hear people say..."oh, to be young again"....are you serious??? I have to say that I wouldn't go back for anything in the world. In fact, I really don't know what years I would be willing to give up to be younger....

Would it be the years that I spent in the Air Force? I think not...that's where God changed my life forever!! I wouldn't even give up my last year in the Air Force when I lived 300 miles inside of the Artic Circle!! I loved going to the northern most permanent settlement on earth (and having the pictures to prove it!)...I loved the people that I met and what God did in my life then.

Would I give up the years of my first youth ministry in Belmont, NC? Are you kidding me? Although I was single and people couldn't tell the difference between my toilet and my sink...those were some of the greatest years of my life!!! Driving across country with a van load of teenagers to witness at the 84 Olympics in L.A.!!!!! Come on, who would give up those moments?

I certainly wouldn't give up my time at Christ For the Nations...that's where God solidified some awesome things in my life and where I met my lovely wife! That's where lifelong relationships were established and I began to get a larger sense of ministry and missions and worship...

I could never even give up my hardest ministry years in Greenville, NC...when we lived on the backside of a tobacco field and felt like everyone had forgotten us! Those two years were years that God forged something deep on the inside of us and fashioned us in ways that nothing else could.

4 years in Decatur, Illinois as the youth pastor....nope, I would NEVER give that up!!! I love that church to this day and the years of ministry and life and relationships and God preparing me for the season of my life as a pastor...those were "rescue" years for us and I will forever be grateful for the people who invested into our lives and believed in us and for the amazing youth that we will forever love...you know what I always say..."once a youth pastor, ALWAYS a youth pastor"!!!

And then....the last 13 years of my life at the "greatest church on earth"...hello?????!!!!!! Does it get better than this??? This has been the "ride of my life"...I have never lived in one place for 13 years...and I could not think of a better place than this. I am raising my children here, loving life here, serving God with my friends...how good is God???Can you imagine how blessed I feel to be in a place that I love so much, with people that I love so much and get to serve God in a full-time capacity??? Somebody give me a break....life is good and God is great!!!!!

So, 47 years...I'll take it! I'll get back with you in 47 more years from now...heck, I'll only be 94...and I'm sure I'll still be kicking...I might be a little more sassy then (you can do that when you're 94)...but I'm sure I'll be wiser and that much closer to God.

Life is Worth Living!

I remember some time back when the Lord spoke to my heart very clearly and said that what he was doing in my life and my investment into the Kingdom of God was not about "living", it was about "life".That really excites me...because so many times I have opened the door for the enemy to come in and every time I do, before he leaves, he always wreaks his havoc and leaves a residual mess that I have to clean up. Many times, it takes days, weeks, months and sometimes even years to get free from just a few moments of demonic invasion. Invasion that never would have happened had I not opened the door.

Jesus said that He has come that we might have life!!! That amazes me to be honest with you...in a world that is constantly gravitating towards death and so many times when we are surrounded with death and of the affects of death, we can walk in the life of our heavenly Father.I have learned this: I must put a guard around the four primary gates of deception that allow the enemy to gain entrance into my life. Those gates are...what I see, what I hear, what think and what I feel. When I set a guard around those areas, I remove myself from the elements of time and chance and I begin to be moved by truth and not by reality!!!!

Hope that helps...have a great day!

Embracing Diversity

I have found that my "white world" has become much more inviting and exciting as I have embraced other cultures and have actually allowed them to influence who I am and what I do.One year ago, a young black family visited our church on Martin Luther King Jr. Sunday. As they walked in the door, they noticed the multicultural feel, the warmth and the apparent love of those gathered. They settled into the service and enjoyed the worship that ministered to the diverse group of people sitting in the pews. As the service progressed, a video was shown in honor of the life and legacy of Dr. King. The lights dimmed, and as the video began to play, the young couple heard a distinctive "white voice" behind them say, "Here we go again."When I heard about this, I began to wonder about the reality of our values and our vision to truly be a multicultural church. For years, we have held it before our congregation, put it in our bulletins, our advertisements and even preached it. It's interesting to me that it was a fully embraced part of who we were until it actually started happening. Now, with a congregation that has become culturally diverse, we have learned some things along the way. Let me share a few of these lessons.Our churches should look like the God we serve. In the early days of our church plant, the Lord spoke a strong word to my heart that He desired our church to "look like Him." Initially I didn't get that, but as I pushed into the heart of God, His word to me was that He was the "God of the nations" and we were to look like Him. When I realize the truthfulness of Dr. King's statement that "11:00 on Sunday morning is the most segregated hour in America," I know the heart of God must be broken. Churches are often referred to as a "white church" or a "black church" or a "Hispanic church." There are no white, black or Hispanic churches! Our identity in Christ is not in our culture but in our covenant. My basis of worship with you is not that you and I are of the same color but of the same family.Our eyes need to be open—not colorblind. Recently, I was speaking to a woman in our church, and as the subject of being a multicultural congregation was brought up, she informed me she had no problem worshiping with people who didn't look like her because she was "colorblind." I understood exactly what she meant, but nonetheless I felt a gentle nudge of the Holy Spirit and knew something was inherently wrong with that statement. As I processed it later, I heard the Lord speak to me that it wasn't about being colorblind but actually opening our eyes, seeing other cultures and colors and being willing and able to celebrate them. My history has shaped me; my own culture has caused me to have certain determinations about my world and myself. As I have intentionally opened my heart and my mind, I have found that my "white world" has become much more inviting and exciting as I have embraced other cultures and have actually allowed them to influence who I am and what I do. We must be intentional. The effort to look like the God of the nations must be something every leader and every person in the church gives himself or herself to. Not long ago on a Sunday morning, we gathered people into pairs to pray for one another. I asked the congregation to find someone of another color. Following the prayer, I asked them to give that person a "holy kiss" on the cheek, realizing that for many, their lips had never touched skin of another color. At that moment, spirits of prejudice were defeated and doors of relationship were opened. We are learning how to celebrate and appreciate the diversity to which God has called us. Our leadership must reflect diversity. This is not about a "white staff" orchestrating a multicultural congregation. And it's not about just people in the pews being diverse. The leadership should reflect diversity as well.Every level of our congregation is strategically and intentionally diverse. As a church, we are called to worship together, to play together, to learn together and to lead together. This movement, restoring us to the nature of God, has brought life, abundance and a sense of excitement as we have seen God posture us to reach a broad and diverse community in ways that are limitless. The majority of the churches in our area are segregated by color; God is using our commitment to be a culturally diverse congregation as a testimony of what He can do when we embrace one another regardless of culture, color or background.

The Tomb is Empty!!!

Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been taken away from the entrance. She went running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and told them, "They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!" Then Peter and the other disciple went to the tomb. The two of them were running, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and saw the linen wrappings, but he did not go in. Behind him came Simon Peter, and he went straight into the tomb. He saw the linen wrappings lying there and the cloth which had been round Jesus' head. It was not lying with the linen wrappings but was rolled up by itself. Then the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went in; he saw and believed. (They still did not understand the scrip­ture which said that he must rise from death.) Then the disciples went back home. John 20/1-10

These are the Days of the Harvest!

In the book of Joshua, we find an interesting thought...in chapter 3:15, it states "for the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest." These are the days of harvest and we are living in the overflow. God declared that in these days, He would pour out His Spirit throughout the whole earth!

In the book of Proverbs 10:4-5, we are told that he who has a slack hand becomes poor, but he that has a diligent hand becomes rich. The time to gather and to be alert is during harvest...to sleep during the harvest is to cause shame. Hear me: this is the time to gather and not to sleep! DO NOT SLEEP IN THE HARVEST! Ecclesiastes tells us that if you observe the wind, you will not sow, if you observe the clouds, you will not reap.

Many people are waiting for perfect conditions in their lives before they will plant the seeds of their lives that produce an abundant harvest. Now, is the time...today is the day! The enemy is the master of deception. Never let you head overide your heart. Stop relegating to God and stop trying to get Him to do what He has already commissioned you to do!

This must be the generation that excels in reaping the harvest. It is time to plant, it is time to expect, it is time to stand in faith and receive what God has promised you in your life. You will reap if you do not lose heart...it is your responsibility to get your harvest in.

There is a difference between the harvest and reaping. The harvest is what came up...reaping is getting in what came up! It is man who plants the seed...not God. It is God who makes it grow and multiply...not man. It is man who reaps the harvest...not God. It's never enough to just plant the seed, you must reap the harvest.

It's not God's job to plant the seed...it is your job! Plant the seed, trust God, and then when the harvest comes in...get your sickle out!