What if I Could Change My CIty?

Not sure if you ever dream, but I would encourage you to start dreaming about something. Some people reading this may have a dream to just get a girlfriend. Others may have a dream that their kids would grow up an be successful, while others just have a dream to get a job.

Here's my dream.... "I want to change my city". I know its kind of big, but I believe it can happen. I do admit I cannot do it myself, I will need help, but I believe it can be done. I am confident in that. So, what does it take? Networking. First of all, networking with God and being led by Him is my first and foremost goal. Without Christ I am on my own. My life is His, so I will remain in Him. Second of all I need Christians. I need followers of Christ to join me to change my city. What are we changing it for? To help people. Feed the poor, help the drunkard find life without alcohol, encourage men to be faithful to their spouses and vice-versa, help porn addicts keep their eyes on their wife or future wife. All of this is to bring God glory and help change lives in my city. People are desperate without God

So why does all of this matter? I believe because God has hope for all humanity, but humanity does not see hope in God. I am a follower of Christ, so I am on the team to bring people back to God and back to a life worth living.

Here is my plan: 1. Pray, 2. Live what I say,  and 3. start a church and get family and friends on board to buy into a dream that will change lives and change a city. What are your dreams? Do you have a plan to fulfill it? Want to join in and help me with my dream to change a city? Let me know. Lets do it.

Easily Forgetful

I hate it when I lose the remote or my car keys. Its so inconvenient. I have to stop and retrace my steps. Sometimes I find what I was looking for, but sometimes it can take a few days or even a few weeks. Take the remote for example, we lost it 3 days ago and just found it tonight. Where? Right behind the cushion, where else? Go figure. 

Not sure if you have heard of the children of Israel. They were God's chosen people in the Old Testament. They followed God and many times rebelled and went against God. God would bless them at times and also discipline them at times, just as earthly fathers have to do sometimes with their kids. But the real kicker is the Red Sea.... God parted a sea. Are you kidding me? For me it takes faith to believe that, but for the children of Israel they actually walked through it. They experienced one of the coolest miracles of all times and yet they still forgot Gods promises and set their eyes back on themselves. They easily forgot about God.

As I think through that I wonder, "Wow, how could you turn your back on God after a miracle like that" and then I think of my life and the miracles God has done for me. It's easy for me to forget as well.

As I have been doing this church plant, Awaken, I have been doing a lot of ministry on my own strength. Today I was talking to a fellow church planter, Ryan, and I was amazed to see what he doesn't do with his time. He is more laid back and does a few things well and he lets the details work themselves out. I learned a lot today because I have been anal and stressing about all of the details that "need" to get done as we have launched our church. Today I feel like I have been set free from "doing ministry" and have peace, freedom and trust to let Christ build His church and I can be faithful with doing a few things well and let the rest work itself out. Not sure if you are a perfectionist or are anal about getting many things done, but I encourage you to let a lot of it go and just breathe and relax.... it feels good.

Is Jesus Really Real?

When you think of Jesus, what is he first thought that comes to your mind? Is their an image? A thought? A word that comes to mind? I know we know a lot of Bible answers and maybe history answers, but what does that really mean for your life. He claimed to be the Savior of the world. Either He is God and made the biggest impact in the history of the world, or He is the biggest cop-out and impostor that has ever lived. Lets get real: He claimed to be God. People don't just claim to be God and if they do you can tell by their lifestyle and nature that they are not God. But Jesus, what about Him? Was He really God? Is He really God?

Now, some say yes and some say no. If you say no, then I believe that there is no hope for humanity and life is void and pointless now and in the end wen we die. If He is real, then I believe that their must be an evidence and a radical life change in the lives of His followers. Do you see it? Are His followers different? Do they encourage, love  and give their lives to people in their communities or are they annoying, bad tippers and just want to convert you? We need to reTHINK CHRISTianity and what it means to be a follower of this man, this God named Jesus.

This week at Awaken we are talking about "Engaged in Christ". We will talk about who He is, Biblically, and why He is God and worth following. If you do not go to church anywhere or are bored to death in church, then I would like to invite you and challenge you to be engaged in Christ. We meet at the Hixson YMCA and meet from 10:30-11:45 on Sunday mornings. 

Do Oprah and I Believe in the Same God?

What is your view of God? Is He real and if so who is He? How do we know who God is? There are so many religions, who's right? Oprah has a view that she shared with her followers (below). How do you know who the real God is? What tells us? Our parents, teachers, feelings mentors? Do peoples thoughts, emotions and ideas make up God who God is or does something tell us? 

I believe the Bible tells about the true God. Join us at Awaken this Sunday as we open up our "Engaged" series. 

Week 1 Engaged in God

Week 2 Engage in Christ

Week 3 Engaged in Church

Week 4 Engaged in Community

Oprah's link -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JW4LLwkgmqA&feature=fvw

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. 

Family

Just chilling with my family on vacation. Life has been pretty busy so its good to just lay back and take it easy for a week. Pretty fun vacation so far. We kicked it off with a staff retreat and after everyone left we have been hanging by the pool and the big jacuzzi tub. I take my family (especially my wife) for granted a lot. I have a sweet, beautiful wife who loves me and supports me in everything I do. Kylie, 2, is so sweet and is learning a lot. She asks lots of questions. She just nailed down her months of the ear and is now working on the days of the week. Abigail, 1, is a mess! She is the sweetest/cutest thing around, but is so bad and has a strong wheel. She's a mess. 

I thank God for the blessings that he has given me in my life. I hope this week will help me be mindful of my family throughout my days, weeks and years to come. I pray that I can be the biblical husband and father that I need to be.

Why the church in America will continue to die...

There is bad news. Although many sit in church and may close their eyes and praise God and maybe even shed tears, the reality is that all churches and all denominations are declining or heading for a decline. And the real bad news is because it's not even that Satan is a work (although he is), but is is because the church is turning people off and away. The population continues to grow rapidly, but the church is decreasing rapidly. 

A study done among 16-29 year olds states that the reason that most of this age group does not go to church is because it is judgmental, anti-homosexual, hypocritical, boring, irrelevant and using words like insensitive to describe the church.

Now one question to ask is, would you go to any business or spend any money or even attend anything that was lead with these characteristics? Why does Wal Mart strive and succeed? They have everything you need (relevant). Why are bars flooded every night of the week? People at bars are (non judgmental) and people accept you. Why do millions of people scream and yell and get excited at Football games every week? Because they're awesome and anything but (boring). You getting the point? Why are Wal Mart, bars and football better than Jesus? They are not, but the church makes it look that way.

Listen, if you do not go to church, I can totally understand why, but I also want to challenge you to find a place where you can go and worship the God of the universe, because He is the One that longs to be with you. If you are involved in a church or have a leadership role, I challenge you to make some drastic changes if you want a younger generation to follow Jesus, because currently they are all going away. Be like Christ, not Pharisee's. Stop judging people in bars when your 95lbs over weight. Don't look down on the pot head while you are looking at porn when your wife is not looking. Stop judging someone that listens to "bad" music while your judging them for listening to it. What we've done church, is that we have judged the non Christian while in the mean time we have not judge ourselves and held one another accountable. The church must change or the church in America will continue to die. Lets get started.