Charlie

It is great to have good friends. Charlie is one of my best friends. It is kind of freaky of how alike our lives our. We got married the same summer... well not he and I but we married our wives the same summer. We grew up in the same city, went to the same college, moved our wives both into a similar size 400 sq ft apt, graduated together, got pregnant (our wives that is), started ministry the same time, Faith and I got pregnant when Kylie was 8 months old, he and Jessica got pregnant with their second child when Norah was 8 months old, both have 2 girls and beautiful wives and we try to be good dads and good husbands. Above all else we are both followers of the same Lord.

Kind of weird how similar things are huh? Charlie is a great friend and a great guy. He is a Worship Arts Pastor at Journey Church. I am a Lead Pastor at Awaken Community Church. Our journeys continue to go together. We were able to dream, think and pray for our city together today. I appreciate real men of God like Charlie. Charlie I love you bro. I hope you have a best friend and you guys can dream together and do life together like Charlie and I do.

Sweet pic huh?

Christmas

We had a great time during Christmas. My brother -in-law and I went skiing and snowboarding for just the second time. We went down a double black diamond. Well not on our at least on our face.

It was great to spend time with both sides of our family.

Happy New Year

Deam with me as we walk into '09. Pray that God would do some amazing things.

Is evangelism really that easy? Part 2

Read part 1 first. Part one talks about intentional vs. relational evangelism. Tonight I talked with a girl that I shared Christ with in the beginning of our conversation. She said she was not ready to give her life to Him yet. An hour later in to the conversation (after we built a relationship) she said I think I am ready. She accepted Christ!

Again, both methods work. Absolutely never force the gospel on anyone. Simply share the good news and they will either put their faith in Jesus and repent of their sins or they wont. You just share and leave the results up to God.

Read/Listen

I was feeling a little down and stressed out today and then I listened to this.

Get out your notepad

I am always interested in conversations that Jesus had with the religious leaders. Even the disciples had many conversations with them. One thing the religious leaders had was knowledge. They had much wisdom of the scriptures; well studied.

The crazy thing is in their knowledge they missed the Truth. Listen to this.. In Acts 3:13 Luke says "When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus. Out of all of their schooling and education, homework and notes that the religious leaders had taken, taking note of the realization of the true power of God in a believers life was so astonishing to them. Unschooled men took the Pharisee's to school and showed them the power of God in their lives.

Is the power of God so evident in my life? Is it evident in your life? Let us as believers walk so close to Jesus that people would be astonished by the power of God in our lives.

Is evangelism really that easy?

Is sharing the gospel really that easy? Can you really just start up a conversation and lead someone to Jesus? Yes. Shouldn't I build a relationship with the person I want to share Christ with? Yes.

There is an interesting debate that goes around in Christian circles. It is Intentional evangelism vs. Relationship evangelism. Intentional evangelism is simply starting a conversation up with anyone and sharing Christ with them in a matter of minutes. Relational evangelism says build a relationship and trust with someone and then share the gospel.

Which is right? Both. It does not matter the manner in which you tell people the most wonderful news in the world, but just make sure you do it. I would encourage the intentional group to make sure you love and care about the person or people and share intentionally. I would say to the relational to understand that tomorrow is not promised, so make sure you know when you should share.

Which way do you tell people about Jesus?

On Vacation

We just set up shop in Gatlinburg. I am with my wife and her side of the family for Christmas vacation. We are enjoying a week away. I will be out of the blog world for a few days. Merry Christmas.

Gearing Up

I currently live in the Hamilton place area of Chattanooga. Every time I drive to the Hixson/ Soddy Daisy area I start to dream. I think of the people working in the local Subway. I think of the waiters and waitresses at Logan's. Starbucks, Pep Boys, Wal Mart, Little Caesars, The Rush, Toys R Us... I do not get motivated because of the stores in themselves of course, but I think of the people that work inside each store. A real life. A person. Can you honestly believe that you could walk in that store and change someone's life? Do you?

Think about it, all over the book of Acts life change happened. Why can't it happen today? It can. Someone working behind the counter at Verizon would love to be shown love today. They have a real life, possibly a family, real bills, real stresses, real hobbies, real goals in life... but do they have the real God of the universe. Through love, let's change our city with the love of Christ one life at a time.

Through Awaken we seek to build believers in Christ and reach a community that is far from God. That is our purpose. Our vision is that the Hixson/Soddy Daisy area would be different because we exist. It can happen. Walk by faith and love people.

Faith's Birthday

Today is my beautiful bride's birthday. I love my wife so much.

I bought my wife a CD player and a few CD's for her to listen to. She mentioned she wanted that so it can change the feel around the house during the day. My wife is a stay at home mom, which I believe is one of the hardest yet most rewarding jobs in the world. I hope this small gift can brighten her days.

Faith I love you and am proud of what a great mom and wife you are. Happy Birthday!

Justin and Kylie Video

In Kylie's Arms.

Sometimes it is good to be held. I love my daughter.

Rough Life

I was talking to a guy tonight and he told me about his rough life. His dad tried to kill him a few years ago and his girlfriend died. Although I could not relate to these life changing events in his life, I could introduce him to The Life Changer.

I shared the love of God with him. He put his faith in Christ and is excited to trust God with the rest of his new life.

Kylie learns about Jesus

Kylie gets so excited about God's love that she punches her toy.

Break

I am looking forword to going on vacation next week. It will be good to reconnect with family, ski and just relax with the fam.

Girls, Set Your Standards High.

Lately I have been speaking with many girls about dating. I have been trying to encourage them to find the right guys and to set their standards high. Listen to this Beyonce song and her view of guys and how she would live life if she lived like a boy.

Ephesians tells us to love our wives like Christ loves the church. That is an extremely high standard. Girls, raise your standards and find a guy that loves Jesus and will love you.

Cocaine

I had an old friend that called me tonight. He has been strung out on cocaine and lots of other drugs over the last 10 years. He wants to turn his life around. He is interested and wants to get involved with Awaken Community Church. We are excited to welcome him, his wife and his baby girl.

The Rundown

The rundown for Awaken...

1. We have an Awaken checking account.
2. We are in the process of getting a 501(c)3.
3. We are in the process of being an official organization in the state of TN.
4. This video is cool.
5. Awaken has a drummer.
6. We estimate about 40 people are excited about our next Awaken meeting (January 11)
7. God is good and worthy of our praise.

We were adopted

I love how the Bible tells us that we were adopted. God chose us because He loves us. That is a great reality.

The next few months will be trying for our family financially. The church plant takes a lot of time, yet not very rewarding financially. We pray that many individuals and churches would come along side us as we seek to reach a lost generation.

There were two families that decided to adopt our family for Christmas. They new we wanted to honor God with our church plant, so they blessed us with a ton of diapers, lots of formula, a good amount of cash a a couple of toys. We were so blessed. It was so overwhelming to receive such a gift from two families that we do not even know.

We thank God for His faithfulness during times of faith and risk. We also thank the two families that came together to bless us.

Keep up through media

Here are a few ways to keep up with what's going on through media sources:

www.awakencc.org - Awaken Community Church website
www.justindeweese.blogspot.com - My blog
www.facebook.com - Justin's Page
www.facebook.com - Awaken Community Church Page
www.justindeweese.com - Justin's Speaking website
justin@awakencc.org - my e-mail

PORN

I talked with a guy named Brian tonight while I worked at the Hopeline. Brian is 19 years old and in the Navy. He called because he wanted some encouragement because he felt defeated because he is struggling with lust and looking at porn. I encouraged Brian and prayed for him. We talked about practical things he could do to get it out of his life.

Brian thought he hung up the phone, but didn't. I heard a guy in the background giving him a hard time. He said "You called a Christian thing and told them that you were looking at porn?" Brian said yes. Brian told the guy that I prayed for him. The guy totally did not understand and continued to give Brian a hard time by cussing at him and cutting him down.

It is amazing the conviction the Holy Spirit can give. Those that are far from God can't sense a conviction by the Holy Spirit. Here's the deal; if you are struggling with porn or any other area in your life (lying, homosexuality, stealing, gossip...) you need to get accountability like Brian. Confess your sins one to another like 1 John says. Pray for Brian, as there are no believers he can turn to while he is in the Navy.

Who do I Date/Marry?

There is something about relationships that we as humans need. Afterall God is relational in Himself. He is God is the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. He is a relational God. It was also not good for Adam to be alone, so God made a woman that was suitable for him.

When we were made, we were made in the image of God. So you see we are really relational beings; just like our Maker. The number one relationship is a relationship with our Father, our Maker and we get that through Jesus. We also need relationships with one another, but not just anyone when it comes to dating. Just as Eve was suitable for Adam and vice-versa, you need to find someone you are suitable for. Obviously, God has set a little bit of that up for you, by letting you know it does need to be men for women and women for men. Praise God for that, huh?

Now that you know that you need someone, you need to now figure out your standards so you do not just settle for anyone. God has that someone for you. If you decide to marry, He already knows who you are going to marry on your wedding day. Seek Jesus, pray hard, get a good support group of believers around you and do not settle for anything less than what God has for you.

My wife, Faith, did a great job with this. She did not date and she waited for what God had for her. I love and respect my wife so much for that. I love you Faith!

Awaken's First Meeting

Last night we had our first informational meeting for Awaken Community Church. We were excited to see the 17 that showed up. The goal of the night was to cast the vision and purpose of Awaken and see who had the same desires.

Our purpose is to build believers in Christ and reach a community that is far from God. Our vision is that the Hixson/Soddy Daisy area would be different because we exist(big goal, but big God).

Half of the group has committed to the purpose and vision of Awaken while many more are praying if God would have them join our team. We look forward to all that God will do through the lives of our church.

Next meeting, Sunday Night January 11 at 6:00. Starting in January we will meet every other week.

Why do people stop going to church?

I have really been curious why people stop going to church. I have read the book Unchristian, which is a very good book by the way. It is a must read if you want to understand how to engage a young generation in today's culture.

I have started asking people why they do not go. Many say it is not because they hate church or they are bored, they just say it is because they stopped going and have not been back. I heard a message by Andy last week at RockPoint, which is a great church by the way, and the title was "just ask". I am curious to see how many people that are living life without God would come back to church if they were intentionally invited; if they were just asked. Obviously once they come, you and your church better have something to offer them, namely the love of Jesus.

At Awaken we want to create a comfortable/relational environment for people to come to. I pray as we intentionally ask people to come to our church, we would love them and show them the love of Jesus.

Abigail Video

Abigail

No Wonder the Younger Hate Church

I will turn today's blog over to Shane Craven. I read his blog and loved what it said. Gotta read.

* One reason is the perception that worship is passionless. Young adults just will not tolerate watered down, unexplained ritual or poor quality, half-hearted worship. This generation desires to experience God in wholly different ways than did their parents - with their hearts as well as their heads.
* Young adults desire clarity in a world filled with uncertainty. The lack of a clear, unified vision for our churches is a stumbling block.
* They are also perturbed by constant political in-fighting within the denomination. The church’s tendency to make mountains out of molehills seems ridiculous to this highly practical and pragmatic generation.
* Another thing that drives young adults from our doors is criticism of things of little consequence. Churches that balk at having a young person with blue hair or a pierced nose as part of their congregation are essentially assuring their absence.
* They see it as hypocritical when the church states how important their presence is but does nothing. This is a generation of “doers” and not “watchers.” They do not want to send money to missions as much as they want to be part of a missionary endeavor.
* Validate youth and young adult ministry as a primary calling. Those on the front lines of young adult ministry - youth workers, campus ministers, camping directors - have been made to feel that their ministry is not as important as that of other ministries. They often feel little connection and support from those who stand to benefit or suffer greatly from the fruitfulness of their endeavors in the years to come.

Hey little pimp, you need Jesus

I work at the hopeline many nights as I raise support to start Awaken.

So I get this thirteen year old kid that calls in and tells me that he is trying to decide which girl to date; he's got three to choose from. After I reminded him that he was thirteen, I asked him if he had standards and then asked him what it meant to be a Christian. He said an something that I had never heard before "you believe in God and only date one girl". Interesting thought. I told him that he cannot know God because he is separated from him because of his sin. I told him about the love of Jesus and how he could have hope in him. He said he wanted to put faith in Jesus. So he did.

After he accepted Christ, I encouraged him not to have a "pimp style" dating life, but to honor God and honor the girls he dates. cool kid. great salvation.

Time with Family

My days and nights are busy! Working a lot. God has taught me a lot about spending valuable time with my family. It felt good to have time holding Abigail and playing with her tonight. How are things with your family? Do you have a problem with a mom, dad, brother, sister or an in-law? Try to work on your relationships and enjoy your time together.

From Death to Life

I love speaking to youth and seeing life change. I was able to speak at Dallas Bay and taught from Romans 11 and 12:1-2. Great passage. To really understand 12:1-2 you need to know what chapter 11 is about. Actually to get the full context need to read Romans 1-11. Nine students gave their lives to Christ. From Death to Life.

Daddy and Kylie Preaching

This is a secret on how I prepare my messages.

Story behind "God of this City"

The story behind "God of this City"

In Pattaya Tailand, there are over 30,000 female prostitutes over the age of 18! (That is not counting the ones under 18, or even the male prostitutes there) While they were walking around the town, a band walked into a local bar there called...."The Climax Club", which was looking for bands to play. They agreed to give it a try and asked how long the owner how long he wanted them to play. The owner said, "As long as your friends continues to buy cokes." So they ended up buying cokes for 2-3 hours.

So for over 2 hours this band sang Jesus over these prostitutes who had no idea what they were singing! All of the sudden this song "came down from heaven," as one of the band members recalls. Then spontaneously they started singing:

You're the God of this city
You're the King of these people
You're the Lord of this nation
You are

You're the light in this darkness
You're the hope to the hopeless
You're the peace to the restless
You are

For there is no one like our God
There is no one like our God

Greater things have yet to come
Greater things are still to be done in this city
Greater things have yet to come
Greater things are still to be done here

check out video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d61LamkXfwkIn

Scariest time in my life happened tonight

Tonight I had one of the most scariest things in my life happen to me. I worked at the hopeline tonight and I had a 19 year old girl named Claudia cry her eyes out and threaten to take a bottle of pills to kill herself while we were on the phone. She had been raped 4 times, beaten by her dad, hated by her mom and her sister; she had no hope.

I was really freaking out. I wanted to transfer her to a suicide prevention line, but she did not want to be transferred. She kept repeating "I want to just end my life", "I want to just end my life", "I want to just end my life".

I was able to get a guy on the line to encourage me through the call. We took the appropriate steps to handle the situation. The first 30 minutes she cried the saddest most hopeless and helpless cry I have ever heard. Things finally turned around. I told her about my story and how God helped me and rescued me through Christ.

We ended the conversation with laughs (which I hoped for, but did not think would happen) and she said she would think about starting a relationship with God and try to call back tomorrow.

I wander how many 19 year old girls live in my city who have been through some of the things Claudia faced in life. Ladies and gentlemen of God, we have work to do. There are hurting, helpless and hopeless people that just want someone to talk to. Can they talk to you? Let's and find them. Let's change the face of our city one life at a time.

Whatever it takes.

I am finding that as I open my life to God, He gives me desires. Right now I have the desire to do whatever it takes to get where God has called me to be.

I love movies like Cinderella Man. The main character comes back to boxing after breaking his hand and fights for his family. Literally he fights for his family. Because of the great depression, he has to fight to make it. He does whatever it takes to provide and support them. In the end he wins the ultimate match that no one thought he could win. Great movie.

Fight for whatever it takes to get where you want in life.

Thanksgiving

I am thankful for my family, friends and my God.
1.God's love lasts forever. God, thank you for your steadfast love.
2.My wife. You are beautiful and full of wisdom. The best mommy in the world!
3.Kylie.
4.Abigail
5.Friends that have stayed close through thick and thin.
6.Friends helping me fulfill a dream to see a city changed through Awaken Community Church

God has blessed me more than words can say.

Kylie Bug

I dedicate this blog to Kylie. Kylie you are so fun! You make mommy, daddy and Abigail all laugh. You are our sweet baby and we love you. We pray that you would continue to make us and all of our family and friends laugh as you grow up. You bring so much excitement and joy to our lives. We pray that God would bring you the perfect man one day to marry. And just remember daddy will buy a gun when you are 16. We love you Kylie!

all things Admin...

I am finding that there are A Lot of administrative things to do when starting a church. I am definitely not an administrative person, but for some reason I do not mind getting things done. One reason is that I have to get it done to get where God wants us to be as a church. A second reason is getting the bank account, tax ID number, 501c3 and all of the other stuff, can be fun, because I am essentially starting a business. I like new challenges.

For now I will do what I have to do to be where I want to be, and when I am able to start teaching the Word to our Hixson/Soddy community on a weekly basis, I will know it was all worth it.

Give it Away...

There is a song by the Red Hot Chili Peppers that is really catchy. While the context of their song may be questionable, the words stuck with me. He repeats
"Give it away give it away give it away now"
"Give it away give it away give it away now"
"Give it away give it away give it away now"
Very catchy.

Awaken Community Church is dedicated to giving 50% of the money that comes in, right back out to our community and missions. We just want to "give it away". We want the Hixson/Soddy Daisy area to be different because we exist. Could you imagine what a community would look like if a church gave it half of its resources? We look to do this in our community and see what God will do.

Here is the thing; no strings attached. They to not have to come to our church. They do not have to give us money. They do not have to do anything. We just want to bless our community. That's it. We will have some creative and some off the wall events in our near future. Stay up to date to see what we do in our city.

Personal vs. Pizazz.

The word Pizazz means "the quality of being exciting or attractive: glamour" - Webster.
While the word personal means: "of, relating to, or affecting a particular person" -Webster

As I study church planting and talk with people, I am finding many people would rather be a part of something that is more personal, something that they can relate to over something exciting and attractive.

While I totally agree that we should have things to attract people to come to our churches such as all of the lights, camera and action, I believe an attraction to a person and a relationship is more meaningful. Let's continue to be relevant in as many ways as possible and bring some pizazz, but let us not forget, relationships are what people are looking for. Relationships with God and people.

Your biggest dream ever?

What is your biggest dream ever? Do you dream? Have you ever followed through with any dreams that you've had? I had a dream a few years ago to meet with a pastor in California named Francis Chan. I heard Francis speak at a Student Venture conference that I was at and loved what he had to say. That day he became a hero of mine. I thought it would be cool to be a pastor one day and travel and speak to youth during the week like he did. So one day I looked up whitepages.com and typed in his name. I found a city that I thought was his, so I called the number and began to leave a message.

I believe that I was 21 at the time and nervous as anything to leave the message. Anyway I fumbled my way through the message, probably not making sense, and I let him know that I would love to get together with him and here how he was able to where he was in life. I told him I would love to do what he does one day.

Maybe a day or two later I get a call. Guess who it was? My mom. Just kidding. Francis Chan called my phone number. He called, I answered. He asked if this was Justin. I said yes. Then he said this is Francis Chan and I am returning your call.

To make a long story short, we chatted, he believed in me and said he would meet me. I flew out to LA and met him at a Student Venture conference where he was speaking. He and his family came to pick me up where I was staying and we talked for an hour or so. I learned a lot.

Two dreams happened. One is I met with a hero of mine. The second is that I just started Awaken Community Church and am now a pastor. I am also starting to travel and speak more and more.

Although dreams may not happen right away (it took me 6 years), they can happen.

Follow Jesus and dream big.

We Are Family

Just wanted to say congratulations to my sister and new brother-n-law. Daniel and Heidi united as one this past weekend. I love you guys and wish the best for your future.

I pray for you Daniel that you would love your wife like Christ Loves the church. I pray for you Heidi that you would trust and submit to Daniel's leadership as your husband. God bless you in your future together.

Awaken Community Church... Now

I have been studying, praying, asking, listening, thinking and everything else there is to know about church planting. Today I go. Awaken Community Church will be starting in Hixson/Soddy Daisy area. We will begin informational meetings in the next few weeks. We will simply get to know one another, teach the Bible, talk about core values and sing to Jesus.

I'm 27 and do not have my masters in anything. Many would say that I am set up for failure. All I know is that in my journey of this thing called life, God made me to preach His Word, so I will obey His command.

I thank God that He has equipped and prepared me to be apart of making history in Chattanooga. I pray that our community would be better off because Awaken Community Church is in existence. Thank you God. May you receive all glory, honor and praise for who You are and what You are doing.

My baby Abigail

I love both of my girls. Kylie is 2 years old. Abigail is 7 months. I will dedicate this blog to Abigail.

My prayer is that Abigail will grow up and marry a godly man. I pray that with her sweet smile she'll bring warmth and comfort to her family and friends. I pray that she would love Jesus and make His name known throughout the nations. I love you Abigail and with God's strength, I will continue to be a godly daddy for you.

New Life

I love to teach the Word of God. The book. The Bible. It is amazing to see the life change that it can bring to one's life. While four students gave their lives to Christ last night at Student Venture, many others were challenged to embrace the sovereignty of God in their lives.(Ephesians 1:3-7)

I think people really want to live. Not just exist, but live. If we understand that God is in control and we submit to Him, we will see His greatness and our freedom, then we will begin to truly live.

Today embrace the sovereignty of God.

Preaching

I absolutely love studying the topic of communication. It is such an art. Preaching for example, on average you have 30-40 minutes; what do you say? I love to hear guys that can capture the attention of a room full of people that range from 8-80 in age. It is so interesting how you can say the right words in the right way and captivate an audience. Of course the other side is that you choose the wrong words and your audience is nodding off or counting down the time until you stop talking about whatever it is that you are talking about.

Andy Stanley and Lane Jones have written the book "Communicating for a Change". Andy is an incredible communicator and basically tells you everything he does. I believe that while you are your own preacher and need to be original with your preaching, you can still take this format and apply it. This book is a must buy for any kind of communicator. Here are a few random thoughts that I like to use from the book:

One Point: Talk about one point and build illustrations, stories around it. Just one point. Not five. Not even three. One.
Sticky statement: When you find your one point, fashion a sticky statement and say it throughout your message over and over. A sticky statement is a short statement that gets your point across.
Story: Jesus always used illustrations and parables. People love stories! Use them near the beginning of your message to draw people in.
Tension: build tension right before you bring the Word. Create a problem or a question that people are dying for you to answer, then bring Gods Word to answer it.
Apply it: Its great to find the context of the culture back in the day, but make sure the audience knows how to apply it to their marriage, finances, kids, work...
Vision: Cast vision as you close your message to say "Could you imagine if we applied this to our lives, what our community would look like."

Great book. I hope this helps you in your communication journey. Everyone has their one book that they refer to everyone, this is mine. Buy the book.

Life is hard

Life is hard sometimes. I often have my ups and downs in life just like the next guy, but I like to evaluate the ups and downs. When I get through the good or bad times in my life, I look back and see how I responded. If I responded without faith, I realize it and repent. If I responded by faith, I praise God and pray that He would continue to fashion me so that my life would look more like Jesus.

I am in a season right now where times are tough and God is in the process of building my faith. When times are hard, people either turn to faith or fear; they trust God or they don't.

I am learning that I have no fear when I realize the sovereignty of God. And when I realize His sovereignty I am satisfied in Him. And when I am most satisfied in God, He is most glorified in my life.

Today I choose faith. Today I will trust in God's sovereignty to get me to tomorrow. It's my only hope. How about you? How do you respond in tough times?

Net Work ing

I love people. I love hearing of their hopes and dreams. I love sitting with them as they share their hurts. I love people and just being there for them and with them. There is a special group of people that I love talking with and they are church planters. See, there is a big movement along a lot of younger men to plant churches and reach those people who are not being reached. Going into bars to meet and love people. Finding ways to reach people in what may seem like a radical way.

Shane Craven is a new friend of mine. I am currently a youth pastor, but would love to one day plant a church. When I met Shane, I felt like we had an immediate connection (i mean that in a totally heterosexual way). He has the same passions, he's Biblical and he wants to reach people for who they are; sinners. Because by His grace, God plucked us out of our depraved nature and made us right with Him. Shane wants to be use to do the same in other peoples lives.

I love the power of networking and love how God uses that to change the world. Let's change the world Shane!

Get a job.

It is amazing to find someone who really cares about their job. Here is an example: I called to get a lower interest rate on my credit card. I would actually call and hang up because it was hard to understand some people. They would speak in an accent and sounded like a robot. I tried to be nice, but they were just "doing" their job. It is amazing that many people hate what they do. Here is some advice: Quit and go somewhere else. I encourage people to follow their dreams. If it requires education, then go and get it.

Many have the mindset that "I'm here, so I got to work". I believe God wants us to live the abundant life, a life of fulfillment. Ultimately that is in Him, but also, I am sure He would want you to be in a job you like. Go get a job. Start serving, volunteering or researching things you are interested in. Get good at it, and then ask someone to hire you.

I'm Gay. So what now?

I met with a guy today that is struggling with Homosexuality. He sees it as a sin and as a struggle. He wants help and wants to honor God. How many people do you think really care about him and his struggle? How many do you think get nervous and unsure and therefore do not help him? This is life. This is Christianity; meeting people where they are and helping them get closer to God.

I encourage you, to see people for who they are. We have all sinned. We have all fallen. Just because one persons sin looks worse or different than yours doesn't mean that the same God that died for your sins did not die for theirs.

"The Real Life"

I am a big dreamer. I dream of many people coming to Christ and walking by faith and loving each other. That is the heart of my job. As I serve in Student ministry, I want students to bow at the feet of Jesus. Although this is a great goal and sounds good, it is not always an instant reality.

Take for example a girl in my youth group. I think that she is loving Jesus and following hard after him and I find out that she struggles with cutting. Or another girl that has a different guy with her every other week. Or some guys that only come to church because they have to. In a real life and in a real world, ministry is not always neat and fun. Sometimes it is messy and sometimes it just sucks. But welcome to the real world where real depraved beings exist.

The hope is not to preach the next "best message", or plan a great trip, or have a rockin band, but the next step is to sit down one on one and hear the pains and hurts. The next step is to listen and care.I cant wait to see the world change, but it takes time.

living your life like it matters...

I am teaching a series entitled "30 Days to Live" We are thinking about things. Thinking about life. Thinking about things that matter. When you wrap up your day today and then look back on it, ask yourself, "How much of this day really mattered?"

Think about living in the moment, Eternal perspectives and leaving a legacy. Lets try to think about things that matter.

Waiting on the world to change.

I love change and the vision that it takes to see change. John Mayers song "Waiting on the World to Change" inspires me to see lives change. Although I cant wait until the world changes, but I must personally do something about it.

What if the church looked like trash?

I think it is interesting how we look into churches across our country. You see well groomed middle/high class people who have everything together. I wonder if Jesus started a church what it would look like. I think it would have a bunch of widows or divorcees that did not dress right and a children's ministry full of chaos with a bunch of orphans who did not know how to act "godly".

I constantly look at the "bad guys" of the New Testament; the Pharisees. And I pray that my life would not look anything like theirs. And that our churches would not look anything like theirs. But, I think sometimes we start to look too good for our own good. We need to realize our dependence on God and surround ourselves with people who do not look like us.

What if your church stunk a little bit on Sunday's because of the smell of the homeless man that took "your seat". What if a poor kid with dirty feet was walking in our pews? What would we do? I think we know. But what would Jesus do? I think He would love and play with the kid that we gave a snooty evil look to.

Let's be more like Jesus. "God, allow our churches to smell."

12 to 200 to 80 = lives changed

We took a group of 12 people that were willing to serve God in a foreign land; Honduras. We developed a youth ministry service for youth who were not interested in church. The first Sunday morning 5 adults and a few kids met in the church. After adding a relevant message, drama's and testimonies the church went from under 20 on Sunday to 120 on Monday night. Then 200 on Tuesday. God did some incredible things through our team. Through the week we saw 80 people trust in Christ. We give him all of the glory.

I think of Paul and how he adapted his life around the lives of the people he was ministering to. He said that he wanted to become all things to all people. Meaning he would do whatever it took to bring people to Christ.

A good application for the church in Honduras along with our churches in North America is to change things up from time to time. Continue to evaluate what is working and what is not. Throw tradition to the curb if the lost are not being rescued. Do what you can to reach your community even if is against the flow of what "church people" want. Think. Follow Jesus in reaching people.

"I stink" - my daughter says

My wife and I always get our 20 month old daughter to say funny things. If she goes potty in her pants she'll say, "I stink", which means she wants to be changed. She knows she does not want to be in a diaper full of poop, but sometimes does not want to be changed right away because it takes away from her play time. Even though she knows she stinks, she will sacrifice the smell for another cartoon or another toy to play with. If we left her in her diaper all day, she would likely have consequences at the end; a rash. As parents Faith and I will change her, even if she cries and it takes time away from her toys. We care for her and do not want her to stink or have a rash.

I think of Christians who struggle with sin. We know that we really do not want to be in it and at the end of the day it will leave us with consequences, a lot of times more severe than a rash. Instead of walking in our mess, we need to allow God to change us. We need to lay down our sinful cravings and turn to a God that wants to change us and make us better.

The best day of ministry happened tonight!

Tonight was one of the best days of my life in ministry. I met two girls who knew that they needed God and did not deserve Him. I have shared the gospel hundreds of times and have seen thousands of students come to know Jesus, but something seemed different tonight.

As they were dressed in black and had their chains wrapped around their scarred marked wrist, the girls listened to the last message of a five day conference at our church. The message was entitled, "Engaged in Relationships". I spoke on 1. Our relationship with Christ, but primarily focused on 2. Our relationship with friends.

In our small groups at the end of the night, the girls shared how they felt "unwanted" and "worthless". One shared how she was raped and molested and likes to cut herself to feel something and to escape the reality of the world. The other agreed with cutting as she shared her parents referred to her as a mistake. They both said that they were a bad influence on their friends and wanted to be better.

These are the kids that I want in my youth group. They are real. These are the kids any youth pastor should want. Although they were not ready to trust Christ, I believe God is doing something in their hearts. I pray that He draws them to Himself soon.

Honduras: I'm a punk

I'm getting ready to go to another country and teach people that have a different language than me, lead a team where I've never been and go on my first mission trip overseas. Good luck huh?

It is cool to see that God will use anyone to do anything for His glory. I was just an earring wearing, bleached blond hair dying, cussing like a sailor guy with a 0.7GPA my freshman year of high school about 13 years ago. God took a punk and changed his life to lead others to Christ.

I do not know much in life, but I do know that God is good and at the end of the day He is the main thing that matters.

Let God do something in your life today. I'm sure you do not have it all together either. Maybe your marriage is screwed up. Maybe your a cutter. My God is big enough to change your problems. Turn to Him. He loves you.

Jesus says, "I'll do it"

It is amazing to me of how open Jesus' arms are. Reading in Matthew 5: 5-13. This is the passage were the Roman officer asks Jesus to heal his servant. This guy had so much faith in God that he knew that Jesus did not even need to come to his house to touch the servant. He knew that Jesus could just say the words and the servant could be healed. Jesus said that He had not seen faith like that in all of Israel.

We all go through junk in our lives. Jesus is there for us with open arms to heal and love us. What area do you need healing in your life? School? Marriage? Finance? Jesus is there and He cares.

Back from speaking at camp.

I had a blast speaking at a Middle School camp for Dallas Bay in Panama City Beach. It was fun speaking into their lives every morning and evening. I was also able to hang out with them and play games throughout the day. Overall 9 students trusted Christ. Praise God for His salvation that He sends to us. Two parents on the trip said that they left changed as well.

May we never forget the truth of God's Word and how it changes lives forever!

Speaking at a youth camp

I remember sitting at youth camps as I grew up always looking at the guy on stage and thought, "Wow, that would be awesome to do that one day". I stuck with the vision and now have spoken at many camps and am getting ready for another one next week.

When I was in high school I always noticed the jokes and stories and how they connected them back to God. I believe that is the most important thing; that the undeniable truth of Jesus is lifted up by the end of the message.

A few things that I will focus on for the week are: 1. Connecting with the students as I bring God's Truth. and 2. Relating and hanging with the students during their free time. I always remember looking up to "the speaker guy" and noticed everything they did and now that I'm "the speaker guy", I need to make sure that I love these students this week.

Focus II - Follow up

I am still thinking through and getting wisdom from older men in ministry about focus. I was talking with a friend, Chris, about following up with things in life. I have realized that in my life, growing up I did not have much to follow up on and now, these days I have a ton to follow up.

I grew up without my parents involved in my life. I grew up a happy-go-lucky, easy going guy that did not have much responsibility or structure in life. The epitome of my responsibilities were remembering bring a basketball to the court or to bring a gun to our BB gun wars we had in the neighborhood.

No I am getting ready to turn 27, I have a wife, 2 kids, a house and a ministry to oversee. I would say I have somethings that could use some following up.

I pray that God would continue to give me wisdom as I focus on these areas of my life.

Focus

How do you stay focused? That is a great question and problem that I am currently addressing. I am such a dreamer that I put a lot of ideas, goals and dreams before me that are hard to complete. I have been learning the last few days about focus. I have heard and even said the saying, "Just do a few things well", but it has been a drudgery trying to actually to follow it.

The last few days I have been focused on what I have to get accomplished for just the next couple of days and am working solely on them. I like it. It feels good to focus on my current task and think through things and do them.

I am reminded that we are to do all things for the glory of God and need to continue to focus in on this area of my life. What areas are in your life. Where can you focus?

Set apart for the gospel

Paul says in Romans that he has been set apart for the gospel. I wonder about my life and what I have been set apart for. Could it be true that the God of the universe, the Lord of all creation, has actually set me, Justin Deweese, apart for the gospel? For the good news of the death, burial and Resurrection of Jesus Christ?

What an honor, to be called by God to bring hope to a dying world. That gives me hope and strength to get up and live for the gospel today.

Do I love church more than my family?

I was thinking yesterday about my job and how I love it. I get to hang out with middle and high school students. They pay me for that! It is an honor to serve God with this young generation and pour into their lives.

I love studying other ministries and churches and putting together different series to speak on and different messages. I love reading books and blogs about church and God and community. I really invest a lot of time with these different ideas and things dealing with the church.

Everyone wants to be remembered for something. I think about my family a lot. 1 wife and 2 girls. Do I love them and study them as much as I do church stuff? I think that is a good question to think about. Some may say, "Justin! how could you possibly even think about loving ministry more than your family?". Well, to be honest, I am just evaluating where I put my time.

I think it can be a struggle for men to spend more time on other things than their wives and children. Sports, books, TV, gut stuff and jobs could definitely take the ranks over family if we are not careful.

I think of the Bible and how it says that "Husbands are to love our wives as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her". That is a huge responsibility for men... and we need to take it more seriously and do it.

Application: It is great to love my job and ministry and church stuff, but I need to constantly evaluate the time spent on my family. Justin, love your wife as Christ loves His church.

Indescribable

We just finished part one of a two part series called "Indescribable" by Loui Giglio. Here is a Montage. I recommend that you get your hands on the DVD. God is Huge.

Life without a Korean

My wife and I decided to venture out and host two Korean students 10 months ago. The journey is coming to a close in just 5 days. We started with two and now end with just one Korean(they could not get along).

Was it a wise decision? I think so. Obviously there are pros and cons to every big decision like this. We were praying that we would learn life lessons from an exchange student and prayed that we, as a family, would influence a teenage Korean student to have a family one day that would glorify God. We hope our marriage and the way we raise our kids has had an influence on Kristin for her in the future.

I also learned a few Korean words along the way. I can count to 10 and say "you eat dog poop". So, yeah, it was worth it.

Why do I do what I do?

When I use to think of the word Pastor, and Preacher and Reverend, I thought that those were old school terms and kind of... well I guess just old sounding. I knew I wanted to teach and speak the Word of God to people for a living, but I did not want any of those titles. Not sure if it was because most preachers are 60 years old with White hair, or if it is because they seem so high up on the spiritual ladder that no one could really get to know them. Well I am not 60, I'm 26. I am not high up on any spiritual ladder. I am just redeemed by the God who made me, just like the next.

So where am I now? I like the term Pastor, because it is my job to Sheppard a group of people. To challenge, encourage and love them. I will accept that word. I am a pastor. I do what I do because God has called me to love Him and the people who I come in contact with. To love people, to really love people. So I do it. That is my job. That is why I do what I do.

Creating a team

One of my gifts is nextworking. I love people. I love talking with, planning with and just hanging out with, people. I was able to talk with a friend today about networking with me to help me lead effectively.

I think we need people in the body of Christ to work together to get things done. Who can you call or talk to that can help you get things done today?

Waisting Time

I think it is funny how the college crowd wastes a lot of time. I remember a few years ago at college, I was sitting in a dorm room playing Mario Cart at two in the morning. We wasted a lot of time. Don't get me wrong, a lot of it was fun and we joked and cracked up, but we probably did it too much.

Now that I am married and have two kids, time has become more valuable. Things matter more. I cannot take life as lightly as I did in college.

I wonder about Bible people. You know Moses, Noah, John, Peter and Jesus to name a few. I look at their lives and wonder if they just let a lot of life go by and not do much with it. I do not think so. I think most of those guys wanted to live life to the fullest. Sure they probably had times around the camp fire joking and cutting up, but for the most part, it seems that they did something with their lives.

Today I need to make the most of my time. What about you?

Tonight is the Big Night

I have been praying , studying and thinking through church planting and reaching a generation that is far from God. A generation lost. A generation with no hope. A few months back I was sharing my heart with my pastor about starting something new at our church. Something big.

Tonight is the night to see where our current church goes and if we will start something new to reach this generation.

The Emerging Church

Here are some thoughts on the emerging church. Most of these thoughts were brought about by Mark Driscolll's book "Confessions of a Reformission Rev".

First of all I learned today that there are two distinction. Here are 2 different looks (take note the names: Emerging vs. Emergent):

1. The Emerging Church: Seeks to reach people for the glory of God. This definition is true to God and His Word and is focused on Jesus for who He is. This movement I seem to like. They are about being real and genuine. This movement is very much involved in engaging the culture. Bringing Jesus to a postmodern culture.

2. The Emergent Church: Some trends: More mystical, no literal death of Christ as forgiveness of our sins, homosexuals are not sinful, hell is not literal, God does not know the future and gender roles. "the emergent church is the latest version of liberalism." -1

These are just a few thoughts. I am sure over the next week I will have some more thoughts.

REmain Today

"...Those who remain in me and I in them will produce much fruit..."

REmain Today

3 Books

I have been reading three books for awhile now. One I started around a year ago, another 6 months and the other it seems like forever.

These three books give me a firm basis for what I am wanting to do in life. I have a heart for a young, dying generation in my city and want to reach them(Unchristian), I am constantly wanting to communicate more effectively (Communicating for a Change), and of course I need something to talk about (The Bible).

There are millions of books out that are filled with thought provoking, challenging, creative, inspirational, interesting words, but it is good to focus on your strengths instead of being spread too thin. I highly recommend these books if you have passions that are similar.

How to save a life

How do you save a life? There are many ways to look at it. You could save a life by rescuing someone from drowning. Giving good advice, could save someones life from a life of strife. How do Christians save lives? How do we rescue people? The song "How to save a life" by The Fray, was a theme song for Greys Anatomy for a little while. Of course they are doctors literally saving lives.

Can Christ followers literally rescue a dying generation? Is it possible to drive down the road to a drug store, build a conversation and a relationship with someone and "lead them to Christ"? Is it really possible? What do you think? And if yes, what is stopping us today? What is stopping me?

My kid is famous: Kylie and Jesus

It seems as if my kid is famous. We went to Wal Mart and picked up a few things. It was just me and Kylie, hanging out. It seemed like everyone stopped and smiled and said "Aren't you just cute". The guy helping us with our electronic needs at the Mart was making some weird "Habuchie Whoochie" noise. It was kind of annoying. Even a van in the parking lot stopped and said something.

What attracts someone that much to a 17 month old child? I think one thing is that she is pure, real and innocent. OK this may be a bad parallel, but what attracted people to Jesus? I think we can say He was pure, real and innocent too(among many other things). With Kylie what you see is what you get: A cute kid that says funny things, that is being herself. What about Jesus? He is a real man, doing amazing things and "the crowd" as put in scripture was attracted to Him.

Application: I need to be like Jesus and my daughter; be pure, real and innocent.

Predestination vs. Free Will

Let us rephrase the always controversial statement to predestination and free will opposeed to verses. Even from the start when we put the statement as "Predestination vs. Free Will", it implies someone is right/wrong, or better or worst. Is it our goal to divide the word of God? No. I encourage you to always phrase this statement as predestination and freewill instead of verses. Anyway, here are my thoughts:

Predestination and free will: God is Sovereign; follow Him.

Family

Hanging with the family.

Great day... free laptop.

I have always seen people running around with their bags with their laptops in them. I always thought the idea of carrying a computer around with you was a good idea, but could not come up with $1,000+/-. Well today all of that has changed. My mom called me out of nowhere and asked if I wanted a laptop. A brand new one at that. Obviously I said yes. Praise God! New, free laptop.

Bring your best every time by Steven Furtick

From time to time when I hear a blog that is really good for me, I like to share it. Here is Pastor Steven Furtick (28year old pastor) in Charlotte, NC.

Someone paid me a meaningful compliment recently:
“I’ve noticed that you give your very best every time you’re preaching…whether there are 5 people in the audience or 5000.”

It meant a lot that he noticed that, because it’s a practice I’m very intentional about. It’s a part of my theology:
God deserves my very best every single time.
Since He’s my only true audience in ministry, I’m always playing to a packed house. Every show is sold out.

I can’t think of a more sure fire way to attract the power of God in your life and ministry than to bring your best to every single encounter. Every single experience. Every sermon you preach, every song you sing, every diaper you change, every lawn you mow…God is always worthy of your most worthy offering.
And Jesus gives assurance that your heavenly Father, who sees what is done in secret, also knows how to reward you openly-when you bring Him your very best…every single time. (Matthew 6:2-6).

family and future

It is nice to get away and just spend time with family. WE went to Atlanta and spent time with family. Our niece Halle had her first birthday, so we were able to see her plow her hands into some cake. It was nice. It is good to be back and to get back into the swing of things once again.

My hearts desire is to reach the people of Chattanooga with the gospel and to equip the saints of Christ for good works. I look forward to our Evolve service that is in the works for this August. I pray that things would work out and that the service would be helpful to our city and bring glory to our God.

Can Chattanooga turn to Christ?

I bought the God of this City CD and have been praying for Chattanooga for this past week. I drive from my house (in the Hamilton Place area) to downtown in the mornings to drop the exchange students off at Notre Dame High School. On the drive their and back I listen to the CD and feel like I came out of an awesome worship service when I get out of the car.

Can God really save our city? Everyone has heard of the schools and how bad they are. We hear of shootings downtown about every other night. Can God really redeem Chattanooga. I really believe so. I think that it takes prayer and concern for people. If we took all of the true Christ followers in Chattanooga and just loved people daily and showed the love and care of Christ, this city would change. Study Matthew and see how Jesus always loved and had compassion for the crowds.

Join me in praying for our city.

Back in the swing of things... kinda

Well I started back to work yesterday. It felt good to get back into the swing of things...kinda. I t may take me a week to really get back into action. It feels weird getting off for a week.

I got a friend of mine Bryant coming to speak at the youth group tonight. I am pumped about that. I was obviously not able to study much last week with the baby.

Quick devo: "Go to God in time of need" I am continuing my study in Matthew and am in chapter 26. He is praying right before he is betrayed an he goes to God three different times to pray about the same thing. That is pretty cool to note, because sometimes we will cry out to God and then leave our prayer time and try to fix things ourselves, instead of going back to God over and over again.

Out of the flow

I've been out of the flow of blogging the last few days. Actually I have been out of the flow of a lot of things this last week with the birth of Abigail. I am refreshed and energized to get back to work tomorrow. I have had a great time with my family and friends this past week. I am pumped that Faith is doing a whole lot better with this baby. Look forward to tomorrow.

New baby and new Deck

Some new stuff happening around my house. We have family staying for a week, a new baby girl and a new porch. My family started building us a back deck when we went to the hospital. I got to join in and put a days work in today and a little last night. God has totally blessed us with family and friends.

I just finished eating some chicken casserole, green beans and some freaking awesome pastry stuff. I ate a twinkie looking thing probably filled with 1200 calories. It was great though. A family from our church brought dinner tonight. I love church and I love food.

Well now I am daddy squared. That's right a daddy of 2 girls. I love it. Kylie says, "Hey baby" a lot and is saying "Abigale" a lot, but sometimes it sounds like "Abidale". I will give her a break, she's not even one and a half yet.

Baby is here

Abigail Hope is here! She weighed 7lbs 11oz and 20 inches long. She is a beautiful creation of God. I will have pics up soon. We have family in town and church friends bringing us food for a few weeks; life is good.

Mowing my grass

What a topic huh? "Mowing my Grass". You start to wander why people read blogs when we put up titles like "Mowing my Grass". Well, who said anyone is reading this blog anyway? Ha!

I love to think about God being a God of order. From the way He puts our bodies and minds together to the order or the universe and atmosphere. Things are neat and in place with God.

We as human beings love order as well. Do we do it well? That is another question. There is something about unmowed (not a word, at least spell check said so) grass and a messy yard that doesn't look good, or looks like "white trash" as my wife says. It's weird because although it is messy, something in us still doesn't always want to clean it up, or in this case mow it up, but once we do it we feel good and things seem to be in order. That's it. I'm finished. Nothing too deep, just go and mow your grass and I'll mow mine and together we will not look like "white trash".

Jesus didn't play

When speaking of the Pharisees, Sadducee's, religious leaders and whoever else possibly came to disprove Jesus, he did not play around. As I continue my study of Matthew and see how Jesus related to people, I see how he had compassion and loved the crowds, taught his disciples and ripped the Pharisees a new one.

Jesus constantly took down their logic, and reminded them of the scriptures. In chapters 21 and 22 are filled with Jesus talking with and to the Pharisees. In chapter 23 he rips them apart.

I think that Jesus did not receive them well because of a few things. Just to mention one, Jesus saw their pride. That is one of the main thing about the Pharisees, they "knew" it all, but yet they really missed it all. A sad verse for the Pharisees is when Jesus said, "For you shut the door of the Kingdom of Heaven in people's faces. You wont go in yourselves, and you don't let others in either." Jesus constantly uses the phrase "What sorrow awaits you."

We need to make sure that, as Christ followers, that we follow Christ. It can be easy for us to shift and become like the Pharisees if we do not watch out. And as we see, Jesus was not too fond of them, to say the least.

Working out

I love working out. When I work out I start eating a little better as well. I am getting back in the rhythm and am getting near my old record goals. For some reason it feels good to push 200+ pounds off your chest a few times. Hopefully by this summer I will get back to 320lbs bench. Yes, I am bragging, I worked for it.

OK let me get spiritual. Working out and our spiritual lives are a lot alike. Both take discipline and consistency. It helps to have an accountability partner both. You also see results in both. I hope I stay as pumped about my spiritual walk as I am with my work out plan.

Out of Imagination: Mark Batterson

I read this from Mark and thought it was great. So, he is writing my blog today.

All the speakers at Awaken have ten minutes to speak. I knew it was going to fly by, but what a rush of adrenaline. Serious time warp! I had to start wrapping up the minute I started ramping up! Thoroughly enjoyed the experience.

I decided to speak on one of the greatest dangers we face as leaders. Neurological studies have shown that over the course of time, there is a cognitive shift from right-brain to left-brain. And if we don't find a way to stop the shift, memory overtakes imagination. We stop creating the future and start repeating the past. We stop innovating and start imitating. We stop doing ministry out of imagination and start doing ministry out of memory.

A few years ago I read something R.T Kendall wrote that impacted me: "The greatest opposition to what God is doing today comes from those who were on the cutting edge of what God was doing yesterday."

I don't want that to be me!

One of the byproducts of the neurological shift away from right-brain imagination toward left-brain logic is that we become too logical. And it seems fitting on April Fool's Day to say that great leaders are illogical. The people God uses the most are people that aren't afraid of looking foolish. In fact, if you aren't willing to look foolish you're foolish!

I shared a little bit of our coffeehouse experience in my ten minutes. I still remember feeling so foolish when I called the previous owners of 201 F Street, NE. It was owned by two Jewish lawyers. NCC was only about 100-150 people at that point. And we didn't have one red cent in the bank. It felt foolish asking if they would sell the property when we didn't even have the capability of buying it. But that's one dimension of faith--the willingness to look foolish.

I Corinthians 1:27 says that God uses foolish things to shame the wise. Nothing has changed. He still uses fools. So maybe the church should adopt April Fool's Day and make it a holy day!

meetings

I love to meet with people. It does not matter what we meet about or talk about; just spending time with people energizes me. God has definitely wired me to be a net-worker. I met with Hung and Wayne on Monday for mentoring. They totally challenge me and pour wisdom in my life. I met with my friend Joe yesterday and was encouraged about his ministry and how ripe it was. Today I met with Shannon, Chris and Michael. Some stuff was planning and some discussion.

I am encouraged when I meet with people. It does not even matter what we are meeting about. I think that it is just spending time with someone to encourage, challenge, think, pray and just talk about different things in life.

As I read through Matthew, I see how Jesus loved people. He was constantly with the crowds; wow, how he loved the crowds.

Be with people. Love people.

I do not like "Christian" Pharisees

I am studying the life of Christ in the book of Matthew. I can see why many people like Jesus, but do not like His followers. The crowds constantly followed Jesus. Every time Jesus was in an argument it was with a Pharisee. Many people today would not step a foot inside a church, but would probably hang out with Jesus all day if He came down in physical form again.

What's wrong with this picture? Everything. Christians are suppose to put together what the Scriptures say is the body of Christ. Many times we are perceived as a body of hypocrites or a body of people with an agenda. What happened to just loving people? Where did that go? There are a lot of "Christian" Pharisees out there.

We (I) need to realize the purpose of my life. It is not to convert people. It is to love people. Yeah I hope they put faith in Christ, but I have nothing to do with that, it is a sovereign God who saves. I hope today I would love people for who they are.

Cleaning up

Today we cleaned our den. Big news huh? We cleaned because we are getting ready for our new baby girl, Abigail Hope. She should be here a week from tomorrow and we are so pumped about it.

I like to clean once I start, but the problem is starting. I think that principle applies in many parts of life. Stuff builds up and our lives get cluttered. Go look at my office. I need to cut out a few hours to clean it up. The cool thing about cleaning out the junk, is that you feel free and much better once everything is clean. Go clean something.

The last few weeks have been a great time, because I have been studying the life of Jesus in Matthew. Before these last few weeks, my life has been junked up. It is not like I was walking in sin; I was just walking alone. Jesus just renews my heart and mind when I spend time with Him. He cleans me up. Hope that doesn't sound all warm, fuzzy and fake; it is just true. John 15 rocks. Remain in me and I will remain in you. -Jesus

The love of casting vision

A few spiritual gifts of mine include encouraging, teaching, eating and vision casting. Tonight I was able to cast vision. I spoke at my church tonight and was floored in my heart while I was speaking. I know God has made me for a time like this, to be apart of my church and challenge our people to pray for Chattanooga. I am pumped to hear what Bil is doing out in Texas and about Steven in N.C. and pray that God would make His name great through a people who are desperate for His glory here in Chattanooga.

3 on 3 tournament

Praise God! We raised about $400 during our 3 on 3 basketball tournament for Compassion International. I encourage you to give to this organization. Compassion feeds, clothes, schoools and shares Christ with kids from countries all around the world.

1 week 4 days

In one week and four days Faith is scheduled to go in for our delivery. We are excited about round two; Abigail Hope. Today the Dr. said she was estimated right at 7lbs. We thank God for another child.

Forgiveness - must read!

Wow! So I have read a passage that I have read many times before and this time it humbled me. Read Matthew 18:21-35.

Jesus tells the parable about the king that forgave a debt to a man. That same man went out and did not forgive one of his servants and was very harsh to him. The guy even begged him just as the man begged the king, but he still refused and had him arrested and put into prison.

People were upset and told the king, because they had been aware that that same man had been forgiven. And then this verse came; "You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me...shouldn't you have mercy too? Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt."

That is a crazy story, but that is not even the part that scares me. Here it is. Verse 35, Jesus speaking; "That's what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart".

Wow! Jesus was not playing. Something about unforgiveness really makes God angry. I think it is because, as we analyze the story, the man that was forgiven by the king owed millions; a lot. He was big time in debt. He pleaded and was forgiven. But he left and probably did a blame shift in his head and said, "I have not paid the king because I have not received my money. Now I will go and get it!" So he went and showed no mercy. This other guy only owed him a fraction of what he owed the king. Selfish.

In the same way, we have been forgiven a huge amount, what is it to forgive a gossip or a lie against us? Today we have to forgive.

Everyone has a story

In our youth group tonight, we had John Eldridge speak on a talk called "Epic". We were talking about our stories and our lives. The band played the song "It's My Life" by Bon Jovi. They rocked it out.

I am grateful to know that tomorrow does not have to be an ordinary day, but it can be an adventure in the life of my story. I can be a hero and participate in being a hero of changing someones life forever. Amazing!

We are having recording artist MONK and NEAGLE come and play tomorrow night. It should be a fun laid back night.

Teaching Creatively like Jesus

Jesus taught creatively. Matthew 13:34 says "Jesus always used stories and illustrations like these when speaking to the crowds. In fact he never spoke to them without using such parables."

Jesus was creative when he taught. A new generation of church planters is coming up and in out technological age, people are getting more creative. I love it. Let's use it. Do not let it be substituted for the Word of God, but allow it to be a catalyst to highlight the Word.

How to change the world in 24 hours.

I truly wonder how many people wake up daily really wanting to change the world. Not by being green, or being good, or giving to charities, although that is part of it, but seeing lives changed forever. How do you do it? How do you make an eternal impact throughout the world? I sit in my shower and pray that daily.

I am convinced of a few things and a few questions.

1. Is God changing my world daily?
2. Am I leading and loving my family daily?
3. Am I really desperate for God's Spirit daily?

If I really believe and practiced these three things daily through the power of God, I believe I will start to see the world change, starting in my city. So really it is not about me changing anything, but realizing what the power of God can do through a human that submits to the Spirit of God.

"God change me from the inside out today. Help me be the man I need to be to lead Faith and Kylie. God I pray that I would draw near you today and be desperate for your Holy Spirit."

24 hours from now... will the world, my life, my family, my city, my church, the moving of God's Spirit look different because of what God wants to do through this life? Wow, what an honor we have in serving the risen Christ.

NCAA Tournament

So who will do it? Who will win it all? OF course I like TN because I've lived here my whole life. I have been a UNC fan for years. I started liking them when I was 12 because I like baby blue. Davidson could be David taking down many Goliaths. I will root for them because my sisters boyfriend plays baseball for them. May the best team win!

So... Is the Easter Bunny ok?

Well, many people have different opinions about the Easter Bunny. Not sure you can say it is good or evil. We did go and worship Jesus this morning and heard about the power of the Resurrection, Then we went and hung out with family... and yes we put "the ears" on our little girl; and they were cute. So, I am not sure if the bunny is necessarily evil. I do believe that it should not be our replacement for Jesus.

Hanging out with Kylie

From time to time Faith will run out and do some errands by herself and I stay at home with our 16 month old, Kylie. She is so sweet and funny. It is amazing how she will look at me and copy everything I do. I am amazed at how a parent has an incredible influence on how their kids will grow up and live their lives.

It is a big responsibility that I submit to Christ and look up to Him and ask Him for wisdom and strength, so that I can lead and love my family. Just as I lead my family daily, I need to lean on Christ and have him lead me daily.

I see Kylie copy the things I say. Today she was taking big bites of her (well my) cereal and I was saying, "Wow! big bite" and she would attempt to respond back in a typical 16 month old voice, "Wo! Bee bi" and then we would both laugh. I hope that I would copy my Father just as Kylie copies me.

Jesus really loves people

I just finished reading the first half of Matthew making observations about Jesus. Here are a few things to note.

1. Jesus really loves people. He would heal the people who had faith in Him to heal them. Do I have faith in God to heal me in times of need. It was simple; they did not bring great words, or an offering to Jesus, they just brought their faith.
2. Jesus taught a lot. "The crowds were amazed at His teaching for He taught with real authority- quite unlike their teachers of religious law." Do I teach more like Jesus or everyone else?
3. Large crowds followed him everywhere.
4. Jesus said a lot about the Kingdom

There are many more of course, but these are a few that challenged and encouraged me.
Application: 1. Read a lot of God's Word daily; it's good. 2. love people and spend personal time with them, like Jesus. 3. Teach well, with real authority. 4. Are people following me? Is there passion in what I'm doing? Is what I'm doing or teaching worth peoples attention? 5. Do I ever talk about the Kingdom?

I act like I am God sometimes.

It is amazing to see how easy it is to be the god of my own life. This last month has been a blast for me and it is because I have been depending on God and walking by faith. I have been dreaming, thinking, praying, studying the Word and other things as well with a "God" mindset". I have totally been dwelling in God.

I was so use to doing that, that this past week I turned back to doing everything myself. I started to skip my time reading from the Word in the morning. I stopped thinking of other people as much. I did not dream as much and it was all because I started to "know what I was doing". It is amazing how easy it is to trust in myself. "God my prayer is that my heart would not rest until it rests in You. Give me strength to submit and dwell in You. Lead and guide me by Your Spirit. In Christ's name. Amen."

So, no I am not God, but I can obviously be the god of my life any given day. John 15:5- Remain in Me Romans 12:2 - renew your mind. Colossians 3:1 - focus on godly things.

Forgot to love my wife

Yesterday I said that I wanted to serve my wife. The day did not go so well. It's not that we fought or argued, but we were simply bored. It rained and I had planned on going to the park. Since it rained I never came up with another plan to love her and spend some quality time with her.

My wife has never read my blog. Never. Ever. I have read a few things to her, but she never sat down to read it. Well she read it yesterday. At the end I said that I was going to do something special for her. After she read it she said, "So what are you going to do that is so special?". "Gulp", she did not realize that my special day at the park had fallen out the window and I did not take much time to think through anything else to do.

Later on that yesterday evening I said, "I got it". You do not have to do anything with Kylie(our 16 month old) the rest of the night. I will feed her and change her and get her when she is crawling up the stairs and getting in to stuff. My wife is four weeks away from delivering our second baby, so I should be doing most of this anyway. But, she thought it was a great idea. SO she got the rest of the night off to relax, even though she was kinda sick. And I finally ended the day by giving her a message.

So whats the point? The point of the whole story for me is that when my plans fail to love my wife, I better come up with another plan. Even if it is small she will appreciate it.

Peace all Alone

I grew up searching for love. My parents were divorced; dad in jail and mom working up to 100 hours a week. I had to find love, self-worth and significance wherever I could find it.

Through friends, girlfriends; just people in general, if someone would pay attention to me I would feel accepted. This lasted a lot of my life and I sure there are still parts of my life that are flaws because of this, but I have come to a point where I have peace all alone with God and His Word. Where I do not need work or sports to make me happy or make me who I am, because He is enough.

All I need is love, love, love and Jesus is my love. He is my Christ. My Redeemer. My Friend. He is my self-worth. He is my significance. He is my identity. He is enough. There is peace when I am alone with Him.

Family vs. Work

I am continually thinking about the way God designed life and the order that things in life are suppose to matter. I constantly see a need for God to be first in my life. Without His presence daily I am not worth much. Christ has to be the center of my life. And then how my wife must be second, right behind the God of the universe. That is huge! That my wife would follow God? Wow, God must mean it when He says "Husbands love your wife as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her...". And then my daughters. Kylie deserves all of my attention right behind God and mommy. What a blessing that is for a child to get so much attention from their parents. Abigail will be here in a few weeks and will be able to share in with Kylie, the love from mommy and daddy.

Down the list we will have extended family, friends and work and so on. Work is something isn't it? As a pastor, I have the greatest job in the world. I get to be creative in planning programs, having lunch appointments with other people in ministry, encouraging staff, studying the Word of God to bring a powerful, thought provoking, relative, engaging and life changing message. The only problem is a lot of times I love my work more than my wife. I do not know if it is a guy thing, that there is this job out there and I have to fix it and perfect it, and so I spend much time on it. Even as I write I have written far more about my work than my family. I remember a talk from Andy Stanley. He said something to the effect of - If you are going to cheat your wife or the church; cheat the church. That was interesting. Not, cheat God, but cheat the church. I am going to end my writing and spend time thinking through something special to do for my family today.