1 “Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me.
2 There is more than enough room in my Father’s home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you?
3 When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.
4 And you know the way to where I am going.”
5 “No, we don’t know, Lord,” Thomas said. “We have no idea where you are going, so how can we know the way?”
6 Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me.”
John 14:1-6 (NLT)
These verses are pretty familiar to those around church...but in these verses, we zoom by wisdom every day. I think that all of us that follow Christ, at one time or another, have felt Thomas' pain..."God, I have no idea where you are going with this." We've all sought direction. We fall into a trap of thought that paralyzes us. It says "If I can't picture the end result or know the exact end destination, then how can I know which way to go today?" We all feel as though we need to see the end result to know how to proceed., but that's just not true.
We treat life like Google maps. We have to know the ending address and we want to plug that in to let our personal Google app generate the map...then we want to choose the options of the roads we want to take to get to the end destination. One problem is that God doesn't work that way.
He's already generated the map...and He's not giving it to us to manage. He's in full possession of that. If He handed it to us, the complexity of the plan would probably blow our minds and we'd be filled with thoughts of "no way THAT'S going to work." So what He does is give us, not the whole enchilada, but one decision at a time. He calls out the instruction and we move. That's the point of this Scripture.
Jesus said "I am the way"...I will be your momentary guide. Don't look for the end, look for Me..just go where I go and do what I do.
"I am the truth"...I will never steer you wrong.
"I am the life"...do not look for life's fulfillment and purpose outside of me. Anything you find to fulfill those roles will break like plastic when you lean on them...only I can handle them.
"No man comes to the Father but through Me." I'm all you need to know.
That's about it. It's really about that simple. Need direction? Make the next decision you make be the most God-honoring one you can. One after one, one breath at a time...from the little to the big...
Monday, August 9, 2010
Monday, August 2, 2010
One old adage debunked...
"You can tell how popular the pastor is by how many people show up on Sunday morning.
You can tell how popular the church is by how many people show up on Sunday night.
You can tell how popular Jesus is by how many people show up at prayer meeting."
This is an old adage from church leadership from a while back. Someone should be due this quote and usually it holds true...BUT...not at Bay West last Sunday. Why? Because we experienced our largest total in the worship service for 2010, but there was one thing missing...the campus pastor, ME!
Some guys might be a little sad and while I guess I was disappointed that I couldn't experience it with you, the first thing for me was to let out a "YES!"...on the inside, because Matt texted me the total while I was in church in Arlington, TX. (and yes, I checked the text message...couldn't wait so I did it during the "welcome" time at the Church on Rush Creek, where Katye and I attended on Sunday). That's exactly what I want to see in our campus and church, a body that comes because of a love for Christ and not a love for a particular leader or anything.
Some accepted thoughts that I've enjoyed seeing fall so far as well...
"You can't grow a church in Palm Bay, for some reason." - God's proving that wrong.
"You can't grow a church without the cherry location." - While we love our school, we are out on the outskirts of east buddha..as we say in Bama)
"You need a lot of experience to get it done." campus pastor - 1st timer, worship leader - 1st timer, children's leader - 1st timer and MANY of our leaders are taking on their first shot at both their responsibilities AND being a portable church. God has brought the wisdom.
"People over a certain age won't attend a portable church..." - WRONG
"People over a certain age won't attend if you don't ________ {insert church tradition here}" - God proves that wrong every Sunday.
What I've enjoyed seeing is that our services at Bay West are LARGELY ageless...one of the most diverse churches generationally I've been around.
Some popular stereotypes about church I'd like to continue to see broken...
"Americans are too lazy and self-absorbed to give and serve sacrificially."
"Churches only care more about what goes on inside their walls than what goes on outside their walls."
Please don't see this as "pride", because our people only go as far as our God moves us and sustains us and guides us. If we give in to God and His leading, all these things and many more restrictions can be broken because God is limitless...He does whatever He wishes.
That's the lesson here...if you submit to God, the limits that you thought were there, probably won't be and you'll live a life that is bound only by the limits that God, not man, puts on it.
Please pray for us as we continue to try to submit to God's leading and be the church in Palm Bay for Christ that He wants at Bay West Church.
You can tell how popular the church is by how many people show up on Sunday night.
You can tell how popular Jesus is by how many people show up at prayer meeting."
This is an old adage from church leadership from a while back. Someone should be due this quote and usually it holds true...BUT...not at Bay West last Sunday. Why? Because we experienced our largest total in the worship service for 2010, but there was one thing missing...the campus pastor, ME!
Some guys might be a little sad and while I guess I was disappointed that I couldn't experience it with you, the first thing for me was to let out a "YES!"...on the inside, because Matt texted me the total while I was in church in Arlington, TX. (and yes, I checked the text message...couldn't wait so I did it during the "welcome" time at the Church on Rush Creek, where Katye and I attended on Sunday). That's exactly what I want to see in our campus and church, a body that comes because of a love for Christ and not a love for a particular leader or anything.
Some accepted thoughts that I've enjoyed seeing fall so far as well...
"You can't grow a church in Palm Bay, for some reason." - God's proving that wrong.
"You can't grow a church without the cherry location." - While we love our school, we are out on the outskirts of east buddha..as we say in Bama)
"You need a lot of experience to get it done." campus pastor - 1st timer, worship leader - 1st timer, children's leader - 1st timer and MANY of our leaders are taking on their first shot at both their responsibilities AND being a portable church. God has brought the wisdom.
"People over a certain age won't attend a portable church..." - WRONG
"People over a certain age won't attend if you don't ________ {insert church tradition here}" - God proves that wrong every Sunday.
What I've enjoyed seeing is that our services at Bay West are LARGELY ageless...one of the most diverse churches generationally I've been around.
Some popular stereotypes about church I'd like to continue to see broken...
"Americans are too lazy and self-absorbed to give and serve sacrificially."
"Churches only care more about what goes on inside their walls than what goes on outside their walls."
Please don't see this as "pride", because our people only go as far as our God moves us and sustains us and guides us. If we give in to God and His leading, all these things and many more restrictions can be broken because God is limitless...He does whatever He wishes.
That's the lesson here...if you submit to God, the limits that you thought were there, probably won't be and you'll live a life that is bound only by the limits that God, not man, puts on it.
Please pray for us as we continue to try to submit to God's leading and be the church in Palm Bay for Christ that He wants at Bay West Church.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
So what's the deal with baptism?
On August 8th, we'll be taking advantage of becoming a Christ follower by having baptism on the beach. We'll be having a cookout/baptism at Howard Futch Pavillion over on the beach from 4-7pm.
I get questions about baptism and what we believe and who should be and all that jazz. Does it do any good to baptize infants? Does that help? Where did it come from?
This Sunday, we'll clear a lot of this stuff up. You won't want to miss it.
Things to remember:
August 8th - John James, former lead singer of the Grammy award winning band "Newsboys", will be speaking in our worship service. John has a great testimony as God led Him, even in the midst of being submersed in Christian culture, to the REAL important things in His life.
That afternoon - Beach Baptism
August 15th - VISION begins...don't miss it!
Please continue to pray for us at Bay West Church as we continue to try to bring Christ to the people of Palm Bay by being a church in palm bay.
I get questions about baptism and what we believe and who should be and all that jazz. Does it do any good to baptize infants? Does that help? Where did it come from?
This Sunday, we'll clear a lot of this stuff up. You won't want to miss it.
Things to remember:
August 8th - John James, former lead singer of the Grammy award winning band "Newsboys", will be speaking in our worship service. John has a great testimony as God led Him, even in the midst of being submersed in Christian culture, to the REAL important things in His life.
That afternoon - Beach Baptism
August 15th - VISION begins...don't miss it!
Please continue to pray for us at Bay West Church as we continue to try to bring Christ to the people of Palm Bay by being a church in palm bay.
Sunday, July 11, 2010
One thing I forgot today about what is and isn't good...
One more thing that I forgot to say today about what makes a "good" life.
For most of the planet, "good life" means that you do most things right, and everything thinks you are a great person...but as I said today at church, a "good life" has very little to do with what people think of me and everything to do with what people think of God.
What that means is that even in my failures, I can live a "good life". As I live my life attempting to be honorable to God, I'm probably going to make some mistakes and fall. If I'm living the world's definition of a "good" life, then I'm done pretty much...game over. But if my life is truly about focusing everything I can to bring glory to Christ, I can still be living a "good life". I can take advantage of God's grace and bring glory to Him by showing others that God's grace is amazing.
When I ask for God's forgiveness, accept His grace and point to His healing, I can bring glory and praise to God's great love, grace and healing power....doesn't make me look too swift. I look flawed and imperfect...this is the place where people usually hide their failures, so they won't look bad. That's not God's plan. When we fail, we should not be reluctant to testify of where we failed and God showed up.
Like I said, that won't make us look too good, but that's not really the point is it. It's all about "what people think of God" after witnessing my life, not about how great they think I am...think about it.
Please continue to pray for us as we try to be the church of Jesus to the people of Palm Bay, Florida at Bay West Church.
For most of the planet, "good life" means that you do most things right, and everything thinks you are a great person...but as I said today at church, a "good life" has very little to do with what people think of me and everything to do with what people think of God.
What that means is that even in my failures, I can live a "good life". As I live my life attempting to be honorable to God, I'm probably going to make some mistakes and fall. If I'm living the world's definition of a "good" life, then I'm done pretty much...game over. But if my life is truly about focusing everything I can to bring glory to Christ, I can still be living a "good life". I can take advantage of God's grace and bring glory to Him by showing others that God's grace is amazing.
When I ask for God's forgiveness, accept His grace and point to His healing, I can bring glory and praise to God's great love, grace and healing power....doesn't make me look too swift. I look flawed and imperfect...this is the place where people usually hide their failures, so they won't look bad. That's not God's plan. When we fail, we should not be reluctant to testify of where we failed and God showed up.
Like I said, that won't make us look too good, but that's not really the point is it. It's all about "what people think of God" after witnessing my life, not about how great they think I am...think about it.
Please continue to pray for us as we try to be the church of Jesus to the people of Palm Bay, Florida at Bay West Church.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
For the city...
When we began to consider taking the Campus Pastor role for Bay West Church, going on 2 years ago, God really began to speak to me about some things. I became very disinterested in just being "another church" in a city. That's not a problem really, because every church needs to be who they are and what they are and collectively, the Lord works through His body (or bodies, if you think local churches). I'm cool with that, but for some reason, I became disinterested in it. Through the time, I felt that we at least needed to think on a little bit larger scale.
I shared with our Community Impact Team my vision for us in Palm Bay. How can we effect the city? What goodness can we bring to it? I believe that we've got to think a little larger than the boundaries of our meeting place. Then, as we discover this, how do we make unapologetically clear, without bragging or arrogance, that Christ is the reason for whatever the goodness is. Because He loves us, in gratitude to Him, we try to make Palm Bay a better place...securing more opportunities to point to His greatness.
I began to think...does this mean that we partner with civic organizations? Does this mean that we randomly give out kindness in small acts? Does this mean that we tackle a need and see if we can make a dent in it? Do we try to join with those who are looking to unite the church of God in a more citywide sense and really try to take on some of the problems in Palm Bay? Do we invest in other churches and church/campus starts? I believe the answer may be "yes" to all of them...but we must approach our opportunities with wisdom. I personally believe that if we lift up the name of Christ, He will draw all men to Him...in doing so, I don't think we'll have to "do a sales job", per se at all. It's also NOT about Bay West. We could flourish or fade, but our focus must remain constant. Our existence in not paramount, but our obedience is.
I heard a quote from Charles Stanley once that was particularly thought provoking. He was in a particular situation and was asked if he thought he'd "win". His response was something like this: If I win, I win. If I lose, I win. I'm just supposed to trust God to follow Him with my actions and trust Him for the outcome. As we look ahead, I'm trying to be as open to the Lord about what we need to do...I am very sensitive about saying things like "surely the Lord wouldn't have us..." because those statements are often made to find a reason to escape doing something that is too hard.
Personally, I believe in the power of Christ to change a heart, a city, a county, a state, a country and a world... I'd like to be a part of that...starting here in Palm Bay.
Please pray for our leadership here that as we look to find what God would have us do to follow Him. Whether we last 3 years or 30 years or 300 years, the direction that I feel the Lord leading is toward one that will make a lasting difference. Those directions usually lead to the necessary places, but the sobering part is found in realizing that the necessary places are not always the most risk-free places or the easiest or the most well-travelled ones. be ready.
I shared with our Community Impact Team my vision for us in Palm Bay. How can we effect the city? What goodness can we bring to it? I believe that we've got to think a little larger than the boundaries of our meeting place. Then, as we discover this, how do we make unapologetically clear, without bragging or arrogance, that Christ is the reason for whatever the goodness is. Because He loves us, in gratitude to Him, we try to make Palm Bay a better place...securing more opportunities to point to His greatness.
I began to think...does this mean that we partner with civic organizations? Does this mean that we randomly give out kindness in small acts? Does this mean that we tackle a need and see if we can make a dent in it? Do we try to join with those who are looking to unite the church of God in a more citywide sense and really try to take on some of the problems in Palm Bay? Do we invest in other churches and church/campus starts? I believe the answer may be "yes" to all of them...but we must approach our opportunities with wisdom. I personally believe that if we lift up the name of Christ, He will draw all men to Him...in doing so, I don't think we'll have to "do a sales job", per se at all. It's also NOT about Bay West. We could flourish or fade, but our focus must remain constant. Our existence in not paramount, but our obedience is.
I heard a quote from Charles Stanley once that was particularly thought provoking. He was in a particular situation and was asked if he thought he'd "win". His response was something like this: If I win, I win. If I lose, I win. I'm just supposed to trust God to follow Him with my actions and trust Him for the outcome. As we look ahead, I'm trying to be as open to the Lord about what we need to do...I am very sensitive about saying things like "surely the Lord wouldn't have us..." because those statements are often made to find a reason to escape doing something that is too hard.
Personally, I believe in the power of Christ to change a heart, a city, a county, a state, a country and a world... I'd like to be a part of that...starting here in Palm Bay.
Please pray for our leadership here that as we look to find what God would have us do to follow Him. Whether we last 3 years or 30 years or 300 years, the direction that I feel the Lord leading is toward one that will make a lasting difference. Those directions usually lead to the necessary places, but the sobering part is found in realizing that the necessary places are not always the most risk-free places or the easiest or the most well-travelled ones. be ready.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Family Fun Night a success!
Wow...it's done. Thanks to all who helped setup. Nice job Randy and Bevan...great to have good folks you can depend on on staff at Bay West.
All Things New...thanks for the use of the PA, a top-notch show as well, great spirit, and zero ego...nice. Bay West Band and Christian's band were stellar...
To all the guys who worked double over-time Friday, Saturday and Sunday on the stage....way to go...good thing that won't have to be built again.
To all the bounce house foremen, superhuman hotdog cookers, balloon-wielding magic men, info table jockeys, bunch wrappers, tiny tot entertainment brokers and Bearbonez Productions...way to go! Great job! Hard work is rewarding...
To all the neighborhood folks who showed, it's our sincerest desire that you had fun and if there's any thanks to be had, point it Jesus, it was his party.
500 hotdogs....
boatload promotional bottled water...
3 bounce houses...
1 stage and 3 bands...
over 500 people...
Awesome outreach to meet more folks in the neighborhood...great times.
Load it up...."Jesus to the City" starts next week!
All Things New...thanks for the use of the PA, a top-notch show as well, great spirit, and zero ego...nice. Bay West Band and Christian's band were stellar...
To all the guys who worked double over-time Friday, Saturday and Sunday on the stage....way to go...good thing that won't have to be built again.
To all the bounce house foremen, superhuman hotdog cookers, balloon-wielding magic men, info table jockeys, bunch wrappers, tiny tot entertainment brokers and Bearbonez Productions...way to go! Great job! Hard work is rewarding...
To all the neighborhood folks who showed, it's our sincerest desire that you had fun and if there's any thanks to be had, point it Jesus, it was his party.
500 hotdogs....
boatload promotional bottled water...
3 bounce houses...
1 stage and 3 bands...
over 500 people...
Awesome outreach to meet more folks in the neighborhood...great times.
Load it up...."Jesus to the City" starts next week!
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Jesus to the City
Just what are you here for...seriously.
When I was in Seminary, many times I would meet students who were there and when you asked them what they were involved in doing for the kingdom, they would say "I'm going to Seminary". Usually this was followed by how "one day" when they were out of Seminary, God would give them a place to serve and then they would be "serving God".
I always had a problem with that type of philosophy. I don't think there "comes a day when we will" serve Christ...I believe that day is right now.
Sometimes, I feel like many of us act as those guys in Seminary..."some day" "one day, when ______ _____, then I'll ________ for God". It might be couched in the sweetest and most innocent "I'm not ready" verbiage, but it's the same ol' thing.
At every place we are, we have something that God has for us in service to Him. God is not a big wasteful guy...truthfully, He's the most efficient leader I know.
God made you and you breathe...that fact alone is enough for you to know that You have something important to be about for Him. Some where, some how, God chose for that miraculous power that's called "life" to been spilled on you...so you've got no excuse. You have all the tools at this very moment to do/be/accomplish everything that God intends for you to do/be/accomplish at this very moment...what are you waiting for?
Stop "waiting" for the moment that just passed you by while you were reading this sentence, reach up and grab the next one that will be gone by the time you click off this page.
Jesus to the City...July 4th...see what it's about.
When I was in Seminary, many times I would meet students who were there and when you asked them what they were involved in doing for the kingdom, they would say "I'm going to Seminary". Usually this was followed by how "one day" when they were out of Seminary, God would give them a place to serve and then they would be "serving God".
I always had a problem with that type of philosophy. I don't think there "comes a day when we will" serve Christ...I believe that day is right now.
Sometimes, I feel like many of us act as those guys in Seminary..."some day" "one day, when ______ _____, then I'll ________ for God". It might be couched in the sweetest and most innocent "I'm not ready" verbiage, but it's the same ol' thing.
At every place we are, we have something that God has for us in service to Him. God is not a big wasteful guy...truthfully, He's the most efficient leader I know.
God made you and you breathe...that fact alone is enough for you to know that You have something important to be about for Him. Some where, some how, God chose for that miraculous power that's called "life" to been spilled on you...so you've got no excuse. You have all the tools at this very moment to do/be/accomplish everything that God intends for you to do/be/accomplish at this very moment...what are you waiting for?
Stop "waiting" for the moment that just passed you by while you were reading this sentence, reach up and grab the next one that will be gone by the time you click off this page.
Jesus to the City...July 4th...see what it's about.
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