What one year has taught me.

This past Sunday, we celebrated our 1 year anniversary for Providence church. Starting a church is like sailing those one man sailboats across the ocean. There's much fanfare when you cast off from shore hoping to make it to the other side, but few make it. The highs and lows of church planting are extreme. There's nothing like the feeling of seeing that first person come to know the Lord, but there's also nothing like losing a family or seeing someone walk away from God. Both feelings are on the opposite ends of the spectrum, but they will be experienced by all church planters and pastors.

As I've ridden the waves this year God has taught me some important lessons. First, His timing is perfect. We've developed a saying at Providence: "Our Plan B is God's Plan A". To me that sums up a lot of life. We have our expectations and dreams of how God should do things and when He doesn't meet up to our plans we start having a crisis of faith. But I've learned and continue to learn that when God rearranges my expectations, the end results are always better. Secondly, the need is great. Even in the southern-gospel singin', church goin', religious talkin' bible-belt, there are a whole lot of people that have no idea what the gospel means and how to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. It's driven me to be more passionate in my commitment to the Great Commission of Jesus.

I'm humbled that God has called me. To God alone be the glory and honor and praise!!!!! I love you Jesus.

FYI

I got this idea from my former pastor and friend, Dan Burrell. He would sometimes just put quips and ideas of what he thought about life, so here are some of mine.

There's nothing like coming home from work and having my kids run up to greet me.

I think Cinnamon Life is WAY better than original Life.

Children's cartoons are pathetic now a days. Nothing like when I was growing up.

I usually love following politics, but there isn't one candidate that I really like in '08. Their all too choreographed.

Fenway Park has got to be one of the greatest places to watch a game, no matter what the sport.

When competitive eating becomes an Olympic sport (and I'm sure it will), I'm sure Jesus will come back very shortly?

I love my hammock.

There's nothing like a 15 hour van ride with teenagers on a missions trip. It's one of the highlights of my year.

I'm ready for football season to start.

When consumerism goes too far

I wrote this a couple of months ago, but just decided to put it up here. Enjoy!


We live in a consumer’s world. Whether it’s the all-day shopping trips to the mall, selecting out of a myriad of dining choices, or picking a channel to watch that meets our specific entertainment taste, we have been conditioned to believe that life is all about “me”. Forget the ignorance of the Middle Ages when the prominent scientific perspective believed that the sun revolved around our planet. We have reached a whole new level of ignorance because most of us believe that the whole universe revolves around me, myself and I. Think about it. The “what can you do for me” mentality permeates all that we do. We’ve been sold an idea that the most important needs that are met should be mine.

And this attitude is not just a by-product of our society; it’s born into all of us naturally. Put one toy in a room with two children and you know what will happen. Me-first thinking is expected. When was the last time one of your children said, “Mom (or Dad) how can I help you?” I don’t know about you, but I have to constantly teach my children that they are not the center of the universe.

What’s most disturbing to me is how we’ve brought this “me-first” type of thinking into our places of worship. How do you know if you have been guilty of this type of Christian-consumerism? Here’s a quick quiz. Is the quality of your church experience dependant on how good the sermon was, or how good the music made YOU feel? Do you feel blessed only when YOUR prayer request was acknowledged and prayed for? Do you keep track of how many people said “hi” to YOU before and after the service? If you answered yes to any of the following questions, you might have a problem.

Jesus stated in Matthew 20:28, “the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” Let me ask you a question, when you walk into church on Sunday morning, do you exhibit a servant mindset or a consumer one? Sadly, I’ve seen too many churches drown by the deadening weight of consumerism, and I’ve seen too many Christians start giving in to a McChurch diet of fast, easy, and affordable Christianity. Jesus always seemed to discourage that type of discipleship (see Matthew 8:18-22). If the church is to be a place of Christ-followers, then let’s replace the consumer mentality. You will revolutionize your church experience and your church as well.

my religious affections

I was reading one of the great Christian classics "The Religious Affections" by Jonathan Edwards. It's deep, but truly refreshing. Here are some questions I came up with to check my own religious affections:

Fear – do I have a healthy fear of God (prov. 1:7)? Am I in awe of His majesty and holiness?


Hope – What are my hopes and dreams placed in? Is there any “storm” stealing my hope? (1 Pet. 1:3)


Love – Do I love God w/ my whole heart, soul, mind, and strength? Do I love others like God loves them?


Hate – Do I hate sin? Do I hate the sin in my own life? Do I hate the evil in the world w/out hating the person committing the evil? (Ps. 101:3; Prov. 8:13)


Desire – Do I hunger and thirst after God’s holiness? Is He the most satisfying thing to my soul? (Ps. 42:1-2; 63:1-2; Matt. 5:6)


Joy – Do I choose joy over pity in my circumstances? Have I learned to rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS? (Ps. 37:4; Phil. 4:4; 1 Thess. 5:16)


Sorrow – Is my heart broken over the sin and suffering in the world? Am I not moved that souls enter into an eternal hell every second? (Ps. 51:17; Is. 57:15)


Gratitude – Am I thankful to God for all He has given me? Do I praise Him for all His goodness every moment of my life?


Compassion – Have I shown mercy and forgiven those who have wronged me? Do I look to the needs of others and try to find a way to meet them?


Zeal – Have I become lukewarm and tepid in my faith? Am I passionate about seeing God’s Kingdom lived out through me to others?


Feel free to use this to list of questions on a daily basis. It's a spiritual EKG.

my thoughts on immigration

The whole immigration thing seems to be a hot topic amongst the general populace these days. Even though the immigration bill died last night in the senate, the debate will continue to go on and on. There is no easy way to deal with this current crisis in our country.

My mind thinks of this issue on two different levels. My American mindset says that the people here illegally should be sent back and go through the process of becoming a citizen the lawful way. My great, great grandparents did it the legal way, why should we lower our standards of citizenship now. I'm also afraid of the government welfare state that will expand or be created if we give 20 million illegals amnesty. I don't want my children's tax burden to be 3 times the size of mine because of choices we make today. It's a sell-out to our future.

On the other hand, I'm a Christian. My heavenly citizenship is far more precious to me than my earthly one. I'm a follower of Jesus Christ, not a follower of any political party. Of the 20 million or so illegal immigrants that are here, how many Christians have reached out to them with the gospel? How many of us have offered to provide help and assistance to those in need? My Heavenly Father tells me to love my neighbor whether they are here illegally or not.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that every believer should have the conviction and priority to share the gospel with the world. So now that the world is coming to us, shouldn't we be energized about the opportunities that lay at our doorstep?

The next time you see someone whom you know is here illegally, what will you do? Will you look at them as an illegal alien or someone who needs to hear about the love of Jesus.

Great parenting resources

If you were at Providence this past week, I talked about 3 ways to keep your children off the Jerry Springer show. Here are the resources that I recommend every parent read:

The Book of Proverbs
The Heart of Anger by Lou Priolo, John Mac Arthur, and Jay E. Adams
Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp
It Takes a Parent: How the Culture of Pushover Parenting Is Hurting Our Kids--and What to Do AboutIt by Betsy Hart
The New Dare to Discipline by James Dobson
The Five Love Languages of Children by Gary Chapman and Ross Campbell
Bringing up Boys by James Dobson
Raising a Modern-day Knight by Robert Lewis

This by far is not an exhaustive list, but this is a start if you are looking for parenting resources. I also want to convey that I don't agree 100% with everything in these books. Make sure you compare everything with Scripture, but most of these authors have years of experience and advice I hold valuable. By the way, we are planning to do a Lifegroup in the fall entitled: Kids who stand out by Chip Ingram. It's a wonderful study on parenting. Keep parenting!

One thing I love about summer

Okay, I'm going to post at least one new entry every week for the rest of the summer. That's my resolution. I know I need to keep this thing updated.

One thing I love about summer is the long days. I love waking up at 5:30 am and seeing light approaching. I also love sitting in my hammock in my back yard after my kids are tucked in and having a few moments with Jesus before the sun sets. I love summer.