Dancing in the Club

So, I was driving back from a conference today scanning through the stations. I found the beat. I do not know what it was, but it had "the" beat. My wife was dead asleep, I was cruising about 78mph and started the head nod. And then it hit me... I need to go to the club. What club? Its doesn't matter. I started to think of the social scene in a club and how everyone wants to stay fresh and act like they're somebody. I thought of grabbing my boy Joey and heading to the club one night. We could get some 80's clothes on and crash the party. It would be fun. Make some people laugh while the cool cats role their eyes. It would be a great way to build relationships and conversation. Bringing Jesus to the club in 80's fashion. What do ya think? Anyone want to go to the club? Will you be there? You know Amber will be.

Awaken's One Year Anniversary

We just celebrated our one year anniversary yesterday from when we launched Awaken. It went well. We had many people from our community come and had a record attendance of 80 people come out. It was also just our third meeting in our Middle Valley building.

Church planting can be a love/hate relationship. At times you wonder if this thing is really going to work even at one year in. At other times you cant believe what God is doing and the relationships that you have built. Yesterday was a good day. So excited to see what God wants to do. We know that we are in this thing for the long haul.

reFocus

Do you ever get tired of your life and how you are living? If you are living away from God, you probably are because ultimately, He is the only thing that can fulfill your soul. If you are living half for God, you are probably feeling the same thing.

For God to love the world and for the world to hate God is pretty ironic, but in reality, it is who we are. Let us be honest, if we are not walking with God, then we are enemies of God. The Bible speaks of the true followers of God are on a narrow path (because it takes giving up everything) and those who are not His are on a wide path. So many tend to make up a middle path. This is the path of justification, deception, trickery and lies. This is the path that says do what you want in life as long as you prayed a prayer and asked Jesus to help you go to Heaven. This path does not exist. It is a false religion that says I can just acknowledge that Jesus is real and I go to Heaven. It's a mirage leading many to death. I have seen too many on this path. This path is just another mirage from the wide path, it just has a "Jesus" twist to it.

It is time for Christ followers to reFocus every part of their lives around, in and through the gospel of Christ. We have lived in crap called "Christianity" that breaks the heart of God. Its not Christianity. Let's us refocus, read the Bible and do what it says.

reThink

I am going throughout my life with my faith family, Awaken, I am being challenged to give my life completely up to follow Jesus. It is weird saying that because I thought that I did that when I became a Christian, but as I continue to read the Bible, I am finding that my life looks less and less biblical. I guess in my discipleship, no one really told me or more importantly showed me what that looked like. I saw good things happen, but for some reason still hanging on to the things of me. As I was thinking through what it looked like, it meant that I had to take every area in my life and reThink on how to live it out. Here are several areas that I have been picking apart and thinking through in my life and will be teaching on over the next several weeks at Awaken. We will be rethinking through our thoughts, time, treasures, relationships and school and work.

I want to invite you to come to Awaken and visit our faith family and become apart of what we are doing. I want to invite you to give up your life and take up your cross and follow Jesus with us. www.awakencc.org

Our New Location.... Middle Valley.

Mid September will be the one year anniversary for Awaken Community Church. God has given us a little present as we turn one; a building.

I look forward to see what God will do in the lives of people in Middle Valley. I am challenging our church to meet people in the area, get gas in the area, eat at restaurants in the area and yes even move to the area. Why? Because if we really want to see the gospel of Jesus spread in our city, then we should start in the areas where we live. Many of the people in our church live five minutes or less from the new building. Jesus said to the apostles before he ascended into Heaven, "Go make disciples... into Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the utter most parts of the world". Middle Valley is our Jerusalem. Many of us are already gathering creative ideas to influence and help our community.

I would like to invite you to our service on Sunday morning at 10:30 am. There are many ways to get involved; Sunday morning, small groups or serving. We would love to meet you, be a part of your life and encourage you to give up everything to follow Jesus. Our website is www.awakencc.org

The Shocking News of Ananias

So, in Acts 5 a man and his wife are struck dead by God in front of other believers. The Bible sometimes speaks of things that I do not want to hear. Sometimes its tough for me to hear that God in His power would do something like this. As I grab a text like this and study more in depth I can see more into the heart of God. God is often in the details.

Here is what happened. Ananias and his wife were "together" in mind and in heart. But this was a different mind and heart that Luke speaks of in just verses prior (Acts 4:32) of believers being together for the common good. This husband and wife were out for their own common good of their reputation, self-trust and selfishness. They were anything but honest.

As many other believers were sacrificing all that hey had, Ananias and Sapphira pretended to do the same, but lied about giving a certain amount of money. Peter called them out on it, God killed them and the men carried them off to be buried.

Why? The reason why is because this couple had wicked hearts and were in the midst of what God was doing. If God worked in the same way in today's church, we would have more gravediggers. We live in a generation and a culture that is all out "getting ours" just like Ananias and Sapphira. God is not for the proud, selfish, self seeking. Scripture says that God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.

I wonder how many pastors would be dead right now if God acted in the same way today. I wonder how many church folks would be six feet under. This powerful text should call us to humility before the cross of Christ and empty us of any pride, so we can be honest before one another and God. God help me. Help my generation and guard and protect us of such pride.

Second Year, New Building?

Awaken is approaching its second year. God has done so much in the life of our church. It is amazing to read in Acts and see how they started the church out of nothing. We are starting our second year as a church reaching a dechurched/searching generation in Hixson, TN.

We have an opportunity that has come our way to rent a building at a stupid, cheap price. It is interesting to see what God has done in my life, my wife's life and through Awakens life even in the last few months to build character and responsibility in pruning us to get us ready for a building. It will take more leadership, giving, responsibility, faith to enter the building and hopefully will produce more dechurched people coming back to Jesus and finding hope, the lost having a Savior and our faith family being excited that we have a building where the urinal does not pee on you (our current building has some issues).

A lot of times in considering a new place, it becomes about the "New Place". I am trying to lead our church in our thinking that this New place is not the end of our vision, but just the next step in fulfilling our vision. I have heard horror stories of body of believers getting the building and then things start to go down hill.

"God, be our vision and lead us to build believers in Christ and reach a community far from You, for your glory". Amen