Stuck, with the Gospel.

I feel like I am stuck with the gospel. What I mean is that I live in a very traditional and religious city and when I talk with church people about the gospel, I get a half-hearted smile and head nod as if they have known it their whole life. Yet there is no movement or passion in their eyes, much less their lives. Then I have the world that is hurting, yet many seem like they know they are hurting and open to truth, but are not ready to get over their lives to take on His life and His cross.

I think there are some stuck like me. Here is my encouragement to us. Be real, honest and open to the church people and the lost. Maybe by our lives and the genuine relationship with Christ in us, they might be moved. And two... live by faith. Going to church is not faith, its habit. Meeting someone and knowing their name and sharing hope is faith. Trusting in God that He would use you to change someones life for Him, is faith. Let's not walk by sight because it can be very disheartening in our city, but walk by a different life and different calling, a calling from up above. Make a difference before you die and do not let your life pass you by without having God moving radically through it. On our knees praying, soaking up God words to us and walking by faith. Lets do it.

Summary: Song of Solomon Chapter 2

Chapter 2 of Song of Solomon is made up of two main conversational pieces: Connection and Conflict. Those are two necessities to make any relationship work well.

Connection: You can tell that this couple is deeply in love with each other. (2:4) "his banner over me was love". Banner was a military term. When soldiers were on the battlefield and all scattered out, one of the men would raise a banner so all of the soldiers could come together and meet under the banner. It represented safety, security, unity and hope. The men would fight there way to get back to the banner. Men, are you man enough to be the banner for your marriage? If you can't keep a job, clean your room or have any gas money, then you are not ready for a wife... not even a pet. Allow God to take you through life and produce character in you to prepare you for marriage. Instead of strong banners we have deflated balloons out there. Application men, connect to a good church, get a job and repent of your sins. Women, don't settle, connect with a real man, a real leader and get a good banner.

Conflict: (2:15)"...catch the foxes, the little foxes that spoil our vineyards". I remember my first year of marriage lying on the hardwood kitchen floor crying my eyes out and feeling numb. It was so bad that I was even drooling on the floor. What happened? The little foxes destroyed my marriage. It was the first and only time that divorce was heavily considered. In the day of Solomon they would spend a lot of time cultivating their vineyards. After hours, days, weeks and even months, foxes would get in and jack the whole thing up by stealing the fruit and destroying the vineyards. Make sure that in your relationships that you have open, clear communication. Confess your weaknesses and sins. Walk upright and never lie to your spouse.

There much more to unpack in Chapter 2, I thought that I would throw out a few highlights. We are starting chapter 3 at Awaken this Sunday at 10:30 at the YMCA in Hixson. I Hope this was helpful and you could benefit from Song of Solomon.

... And Their Wives Left

One guy was stuck on porn and his wife finally found out his grueling secret. He was so addicted that it meant more to him than she did. After eight months of battle she left.

Seeing it from his father, Jim bullied his wife; cutting her down in front of his friends and so on. She cried at night while he slept beside her. After 12 years, she left.

Everything looked fine in public, but behind the scenes he really did not care. She cooked. She cleaned. She got the kids ready. She taught the kids. She paid the bills. She even changed the oil. Once all five of the kids were out of the house, she left after 32 years.

Bars, beer and the night life filled his life. It was like that before they got married, but she thought it would change after they were married. It didn't. After 3 short months, she left.

The divorce rate in America sucks. It seems and looks as if no one knows about commitment, love, loyalty, sacrifice and selflessness anymore. A lot of them never had a role model, mentor or even a clue. Around the country though, things are starting to change. There are men of God and churches of God leading healthy marriages, because they are reading and living what the Bible says.

We will talk about the roles of the husband and wife in their roles at Awaken January 24th and 31st. We meet at the YMCA in Hixson and are currently at once service that starts at 10:30am. www.awakencc.org

Wake Up Christians

Acts is my favorite book of the Bible. I like it so much because it is so action packed. Think of all of the action packed movies that we all like: Braveheart, Gladiator and Lord of the Rings just to name a few. All of these movies made a lot of money and are famous for being action packed and great war scenes. Many of us, especially men, cannot get enough of these kind of movies because we love action, adventure, passion and challenge.

This is a lot like the book of Acts. There was a lot of action, adventure, passion and challenge. In Chapter 2 and 3 over 5,000 people give their entire lives over to something that will out live them. They gave their lives over to a higher calling and purpose in life. They gave their lives to God. Take 5-6 minutes and read Acts chapter 2-3.

Christianity today in my city looks absolutely nothing like Acts... and that is a problem. One of the main reasons is because we are all distracted. We are distracted by our pride, selfishness, money, family, hobbies etc.. When will we wake up and realize this life is not about us? I need some men to join beside me to become a church like Acts 2-3. We should wake up and lead ourselves, our families and our community to the feet of Jesus. It is not about the tradition and programs in our churches, but about the blood of Christ and the depravity of humanity. We have a huge mission. What day and hour will we wake up? Will we ever wake up? I am challenging you to wake up now and come with me to seek God and change a city. We are going into war.

I am sending this out to some men that are on my heart. Send me a message or leave a comment below. It doesn't matter where you are at in life at this point, it just matters that you act now and let God do the rest. I would like to meet with many men in our city in the next few weeks. Send me an e-mail to justin@awakencc.org. Thanks for your time and lets Let God be the God of our city.

Awaken and the YMCA

We have our first practice service at the YMCA tomorrow morning. I am stoked. We are doing a run through with the greeting, kids and the main meeting. We want to make sure we work hard to make it easy for people to come and be loved at Awaken. Many people will walk in the door being very sketchy about God, church, Awaken and who we are. Many people will come to church one final time before they call it quits. What do we have to offer them: A program, tradition or love and compassion? We want to make sure we do a great job in our preparation that it seems effortless when people come and attend Awaken.

I always like to extend an invitation for people to come to Awaken because I truly believe everyone needs a real relationship with God and people. We want to provide that at Awaken. Come to the YMCA in Hixson on 9.13.09  at 10:30 and start over in life. 

SEX

Listen, many people are curious when they hear the word sex. A simple, yet powerful three letter word; S.E.X. You see it on TV, many people like to have it and it catches your attention really quick.

Is sex for everyone and anyone?? Well it depends on who you ask and their view on sex. There are many different ways and methods, but is there a right way and a right method and even for the right person?

Biblically, sex is great and meant for marriage. Many people in life don't mind sleeping with... well, anyone, but they miss out on "the one" for them. If you are not a Christian that may not make sense to you, but if you are a Christian, then Biblically you need to wait for your husband/wife.

Sex is a very, very touchy subject. Many have had unpleasant and even fearful experiences when it comes to sex and they need to deal with it. We are getting ready to launch a church. Its called Awaken. We are teaching on things like marriage, sex and a distorted view of sex called; porn. We are not afraid to open up and talk about the big elephant in the room. Jesus talked about the things that were relevant to the culture in which he preached. This Wednesday from 6:00-8:00pm we have a community group meeting and we'll talk about sex. Come with questions. Contact me if you are interested in helping us launch Awaken or if you wish to come and check it out. We just want to be real with God and each other. justin@awakencc.org

What do you think about sex?

PS I could write volumes on this subject, so this is simply a quick overview to get people thinking. We also look to launch a series about sex in the Fall at Awaken.

Community Group -Wednesday 6:00-8:00
Sunday Nights - 6:00-7:15
info@awakencc.org

Love and Marriage

I am doing my first wedding/marriage in September... well performing my first wedding/marriage as a pastor. It is interesting hearing peoples views on marriage. Many say its "finding the love of your life", "your second half", while others say "just finding my old lady(maybe not as respectful)".

While all of these are peoples personal view points, what really is the point of marriage? Who tells us what the point of it is and why we do it? Why no just live together, why get "Married"?

Many people have different ways of looking at the world whether they realize it or not. Its called their worldview, meaning, the way they look and view the world. Each person has a set of things they value, which determine what they believe, as a result they behave according to their values and beliefs. I try to follow a Biblical worldview for the things I value.

God created marriage. It is set up to show Christ's love for His church. "What? What does Jesus have to do with marriage? you may ask". In the book of Ephesians in the Bible, Paul shares that the point of marriage is to show people how much Christ loves us. He says men are to lead and love their wives like Christ loved the church, even the point of giving Himself up for her. Men, we have a huge job. The women are to submit, help and respect their husbands. If a man does his job, then its easy for the woman to do her job. Unfortunately there are few men worth submitting to, helping and much less respecting.

So where do we start? First you need to give your life to the One that created you and realize His purpose(s) for you (this is not just believing in God, but following Him). Then follow Him and surround yourself with people that follow Him. Those people are called Christians. The word Christian has been watered down because we have had many claiming to be Christians and show the love of God, but it is merely with their words that they do so. 

This week at Awaken we are talking about Biblical truth and how the Bible should guide our lives in all things, marriage just being one of many. If you do not belong to a church, find one... a good one. I would like to invite you to Awaken this Sunday night. What is your view of marriage? What is your marriage like? Thinking about getting married? Make sure you realize the point of one of the biggest decisions of your life.

Days without God

Sometimes I get so focused on my life (wife, kids, job friends and more) that I live days without God. Yeah, God has put these blessings in my life, but they should not replace the One that created me. Have you lived days without God? What about weeks, months or years? What about ever? People today are more open to spiritual things than ever. There is a God-shaped whole in all of us that can only be filled by....guess who? Yep God.

At Awaken we are starting Community Groups. Community Groups are groups of people that meet in homes throughout the week where people "do life" together. We eat, hangout, be real with one another and ask questions, read the Bible and learn more about the God of the universe. We realize that no one is perfect, so no one has to act perfect. Hangout with a bunch of single people or maybe honestly your marriage sucks and you need to "do life" with other married people. We all mess up and need to lean on one another.

Live life with God and bring other people along with you. Your life was never meant to be alone. Even with just you and your family, you need people to come beside you and "do life" with you. Let me know if you are interested in a Community Group and we'll get you plugged into one.

Can Christians Hangout at Bars?

So, for the first time in my life I hung out at a bar. It is funny because every time I looked at "bar people", I thought of wasted lives and drunk people. It is so funny how I am easy to judge. I went with a friend of mine this weekend and mainly observed people and how that acted. Although some do waste their lives and just go to get drunk, many go for a different reason. Here are a few things I observed:

1. A need for Relationships
2. Need to have a Good Time
3. Community desired.

Pros of a bar: 1. Relationships, a good time and community are a few pros to going to a bar. People seem more real at a bar than at church. You are not judged. Everybody seems to be open to meeting everybody, it does not matter sex or race, cool or dork. Many cant build those kind of relationships at church, but can at a bar. Some people at bars are Christians that have not found community in a church.

Some Cons - Although many find relationships, some still do not have a relationship with the God that created them. A good time with other believers with prayer, learning Gods Word and changing a community are missing; which is ultimately what we were created for. One guy asked me if I go to strip clubs. I wanted to say "No, but I do go to church", but I think that may have severed that relationship. He was new to town and said he would like to hang out with us next week. Nice guy, drove a nice Chrysler 300 with a hemi, talked about his kids and mine, owned his own business, and was there looking to meet people.

Do you think it is good to go to bars so you can build relationships and lead someone to Christ or do you think it is sin and we should not go?

*If you have a problem with absorbing too much alcohol and it is an addiction, you should probably refrain from going.

People with No Hope

I used to work at a great organization called the Hopeline. It was one of the best jobs I have ever had. I would answer calls from teenagers and young adults all around the country and talk about anything from dating to suicide, from self image to porn addiction. The more I spoke to all of these people I realized that there are people like this filling my city. The only difference is that the people calling in finally got desperate enough to call and talk to someone about it.

If you are stumbling upon this blog and you realize that your life may feel hopeless, I want to encourage you that you do not have to feel that way. The purpose of your life is to get to know the One that created you. God created you for a purpose and as soon as you get to know God you will be able to serve your purpose. It's all about a relationship with Him.

We started Awaken Community Church to help the hopeless and those needing to find a purpose in life. The truth is that we are all ultimately hopeless until we are following Christ. It's
not to late to start over.

Take a Dump on You

OK, I know the title is a little "Middle School" like, but hey it got you here didn't it?

Imagine someone came into your life and just "dumped" a tone of resources onto your lap. Just say someone walked up and gave you a check for $50 and said I just wanted to bless you. Would that $50 change your life? Probably not. It may however, make your day or maybe even your week, but I will guarantee you this, YOU WILL NEVER FORGET THE PERSON THAT GAVE IT TO YOU.

At Awaken, we want Jesus to look attractive to people. We want our community to see the love of Jesus. I was talking to a few people tonight at work about targeting a Trailer Park in the area where we are looking to plant our church. I said what if we hung out there for a few weeks and started to get to know some of the people. After a few weeks, we put on a little carnival for the children in their community. Get inflatables, icee's, funnel cakes, hand out t-shirts and love on them. Finally we give every family a gift card to Wal Mart.

We also will build relationships with the people in the community and start a small group Bible Study. We start to target and pray for each home in that community that is far from God and pray that God would change their lives.

After talking about this I asked some of the people that I was casting this vision to, "Why wouldn't it work?" This really started getting me excited about my purpose in life and the purpose for Awaken. Would all of these people come to our church? I am sure some would, but that is not point at all. The point is just to love them. Most of them probably believe that Jesus exists, but have just not seen His love through His followers. So we are going to do it.

What are some creative ideas that you have wanted to do, but just have not had a chance to do it before?

Practical, this Sunday Night

We are excited about this Sunday night. We have an opportunity that most church planters may not have the chance to do. We get to be apart of helping another church plant and launch their church to their community. Origin Church is planting a church about 25 minutes outside our plant in Ringgold, Ga.

Jeff, Origins Executive Pastor, will be coming by to train us on how they want us to work with Greeters, Children and lights for their launch on April 5th. We will be able to take invaluable experience through this process. We will be apart of a launch team before we launch our church, we'll be able to bless and help Origin Church, see some pro's (things that Origin does well) and hopefully few cons. I think Shane, a seasoned pastor, and his crew have things very well planned. If you are interested in seeing what they are doing or even live in the Ringgold area, I recommend you stop by the church. Here is Shane's blog.

The Awaken Women

During my days I do a lot of church things. One of the things I love to do the most is hang out with the men of Awaken. We get together, chat about life and grab lunch. One thing that I do not do is meet with women. Why? No not because I like men, but rather, I am married. Listen all married men: DO NOT GO DO ANYTHING ONE ON ONE WITH A WOMAN. Hopefully that was clear. I want to respect my wife and be wise and not put myself in any sketchy situations. Because of this we invited some of the ladies from Awaken to our house.

We had a great night. The smell of $5 Little Caesars Pizza's (church planting food) filled the room as we chatted about life and got to know one another better. We wanted to open up our home to allow the gals to get to know our family better, as well for us to get to know them. That is how we want to do church; build real relationships with the people in our church and teach them to do the same. Obviously when the church gets to be too big where we cannot invite everyone over, we hope that we have modeled hospitality the right way that our people invite others over to their place. Great night. A lot of fun.

Meeting with Men

I met with some of our leadership team from Awaken today for lunch. We were discussing how we were going to do things as a church (programming, teaching, worship and so on). As I think through each of their lives, I think about their future. I am glad to see that they live their lives for Jesus and I pray for their future wives. I hope as each one of these men continue to grow closer to God, that God would continue to reveal more of Himself to these guys.

Brian, Joey, Allen, Kyle and Stephen, I love you guys and I am excited to be in this journey together.

I hope to continue to meet with these men and talk about how to be a man, raise a family, balance a budget, love your wife, flee from temptation, get a good job and more as we "do life" together. Men should be the leadership of their families and lead their families in a God honoring way. I hope to play a role in their lives and be an example and encouragement to them.

In the community

I live about 15 minutes from the Hixson community (where we have Awaken Community Church). I love going into the community and meeting people. I am sitting at Panera right now (they hook me up with free Wi Fi, Thanks Panera). I met a lady named Kelly at the counter. We did not strike up any kind of deep conversation, we just spoke. I said thanks Kelly after she took my order. Saying someone's name is such a compliment to them. I hope to get to know Kelly more and more as I stop in Panera. I hope one day if she does not already know my Lord, that she will know Him. I hope one day her and her family can worship with my family at our church. 

In my community I also went to Hixson Middle School, filled out a facilities request form and am now curious to see if God would open it up for us to meet in. The principal and vice principal are very nice and encouraging. It would be a nice place to meet.

I encourage you to engage your community and the culture around you. Embrace the people and love them for who they are. Life change will start to happen.

Marriage

Faith and I have been married for over 4 1/2 years. We have definitely had our ups and downs. We have many couples that we know that are heading to get married in the near future.

We have our first experience at marriage counseling tonight. We are excited. We are having dinner at our house and then heading to the living room to chat about marriage and life. It is amazing the responsibility of our roles as husbands and wives. Read Ephesians Chapter 5. Big challenge.

This is a picture of our wedding.

Not Alone

It is comforting to know that I am not alone and that Christ has called my family. My family and I have taken on what seems like an impossible challenge; starting a church. First of all why do we want to start a church? Is it because we need "another" church in our city of Chattanooga? Nope. Not at all. We have plenty. Then why?

First, I feel called to be a pastor and preach, build relationships and cast vision to a church. Second, most churches would not accept me if I gave them my resume. Third, many churches are already in a system that I do not personally think are very effective. Are theses churches good and have nice people? Sure! I just think lack of authentic community exist in many churches in our city. There has to be a place, a church, where people can be real, confess struggles, not act like they are perfect, truly love one another. Jesus said that the world would come to know him because of our love for one another. If we do not know each other, then how can we truly love one another, and if we do not truly love one another, then how will the world come to Christ through us loving each other? They don't. Many won't.

That is why in the book "UnChristian" stats are filled with why people do not go to church. Particularly the 16-29 year old age. Here is a glimpse of what they say, "Christians are supposed to represent Christ to the world. But according to the latest report card, something has gone terribly wrong. Using descriptions like “hypocritical,” “insensitive,” and “judgmental,” young Americans share an impression of Christians that’s nothing short of . . . unChristian".

At Awaken, we honestly want to build authentic relationships with everyone that walks through our doors. Our purpose is to build believers in Christ and reach a community that is far from God. One way, a big way to do this is by love for one another.

This is the reason that we are doing what we are doing and we are not alone, Christ has called us.

If you want to be a part of a church like this we would love to invite you to our next meeting on 1.25.09. E-mail me at justin@awakencc.org if you are interested.

Networking and Relationships

I had a meeting today with a few guys that are 19-21 years old. We talked about life and church and really had a good time. One guy told us some crazy stories from when he was in prison. He told us some funny ones too. We had a great time talking about real life and real struggles.

They were all excited about the focus, purpose and vision of Awaken and want to come and check it out this Sunday. I am excited about a group of people getting together for one single purpose; to seek the face of Jesus together. We try to do that in a cool, laid back, non threatening way.

If you live in Chattanooga or are in the area and want to come check us out we would love to have you. send me an e-mail and let me know. justin@awakencc.org check out our website www.awakencc.org.

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?

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.