My good friend Rusty lent me a copy of Francis Chan's new book, Crazy Love today. He read it in like 24 hrs so I'm hoping to have it finished up sometime tomorrow. I'll share thoughts, insight, and a review when it's complete.
If you have not yet heard about this book, you need to be reading it NOW! Go to www.crazylovebook.com
Got a little time? This one may be long...it's a day or two late, but trust me; it's well worth it!
It's now completely official. As of this past Sunday, I am no longer the Pastor of Student Ministries at Lifepoint Church in Clinton Tennessee. Yes, the end of a four year era.
After much thought, a ton of prayer and conversation with my wife, last week we decided it was now time to move on to the next BIG thing God has planned for our lives. It was one of the hardest decisions I've had to make in some time, but it was a decision that probably should had been made sooner than it did. The reason why I say that is because when God tells us to move to action, we shouldn't hesitate. God has spoken to me and Denira and we did what most of do; we said yes and then did nothing about it. Yes to God requires ACTION. Something we finally gave in to.
Some the greatest times I've ever had in my 10 years of doing student ministry were spent at Fusion. I can easily say I grew closest to these students and volunteers more so than I did any other ministry I was ever involved in. God allowed us to be part of some amazing times there. Ahead is even GREATER times for Fusion, Lifepoint Church, and Denira and I.
So WHAT is next? After 10 years of being a student pastor and the last 4 being spent with Fusion, what comes next for us? You'd like to know huh? Well I'm not going to tell you....just YET! But know this.....it's gonna be HUGE! God will be glorified and lives will be changed as they trust God like they've never trusted before! I'm so pumped about the NEXT step for Denira and I! You'll just have to wait a bit longer to find out what it is!
The Lyrical Throwdown returns! This week I want you to take a listen to From the Inside Out by Hillsong United. It's one of those songs that I just NEED to hear. This has been one of those weeks. Instead of posting the lyrics, I've posted United doing it LIVE. So take a few minutes and give this one a listen and let it flow over you.
Let me introduce....no...re-introduce to you, the Southern Wolf.
Now...Laugh
If you have not yet heard, Francis Chan, pastor of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley California has written a book entitled "Crazy Love." I'm about to go crazy to read this book! HERE is the website for it and it's nothing short of amazing. Read some excerpts, watch video chapters and for sure read the conversation with Francis section and be prepared to be blown away. You can purchase the book HERE.
"The idea of Crazy Love has to do with our relationship with God. All my life I’ve heard people say, “God loves you.” It’s probably the most insane statement you could make to say that the eternal creator of this universe is in love with me. There is a response that ought to take place in believers, a crazy reaction to that love. Do you really understand what God has done for you? If so, why is your response so lukewarm?" - Francis Chan
I have a good friend named Matt, who is by far the biggest fan of Starbucks you have ever met in your entire life. Seriously. I'm not kidding. Howard Schultz himself is not this excited about Starbucks. Something you may or may not know about the mega coffee company is that they call their employees "partners." If you work for Starbucks (which from now on in this blog, will be referred to as St. Arbucks because I like that better), you are not an employee, you are a Partner.
One of the coolest things about being a Partner at St. Arbucks is that you automatically have this unspoken bond with other Partners. All you have to do is walk into another St. Arbucks store, flash your Partner card, say what other store you work at, and boom! You're in; instant friendship.
Many times, I've witnessed Matt walk into a St. Arbucks store, even stores out of our home state of Tennessee, and he'll mention he's a partner and then the conversation begins. Several minutes later, my Zen Tea will begin getting cold and I have to usher him out, on with our task at hand.
So where's the comparison here? Well, it's more like a comparison of what we as believers should be. We should be more like Partners. As believers we should be able to have instant bonds with other believers. We should be willing to serve one another as Partners do with a smile and the same fervor as we would the "regular paying customer." Think about it. When was the last time your church partnered with another church to do something for the community that wasn't about inviting people to your church? You just SERVED wanting nothing in return? When was the last time another church asked you to be part of something they were doing and you said YES and wanted nothing in return? Wanted no recognition for the act of service?
Like it, love it, hate it...doesn't matter. I think we as believers can learn a lot from what it means to be a Starbucks PARTNER.
I don't know that I would call this past weekend the best weekend I have ever had by any means. It was really...well...just a weekend. But there were some highlights....
Don't worry, this isn't one of those epic "Life" posts. It's just a simple statement of where I am and where I'm going.
Life is crazy and we can all agree to that I think. These days, it seems much more crazy, which would be why Confessions has struggled to produce some good quality content.
Well I assure next week will be much better. The beginning a new era for Confessions. Looking forward to sharing some great content next week.
Here's what's coming your way:
HERE is a great post by Josh Griffin titled 4 Youth Ministry Lies. Being a 10 year vet of student ministry, I've had my share of youth ministry lies spued my way. Here's a list in continuation of Josh's 4....
If you get chance and want a shot of Holy Spirit Juice, then check THIS out....particularly click on the Holy Eucharist II and read the Alternate Forms of Thanksgiving. Some really good stuff....
Charlie Hall read through this and it inspired the new song from his upcoming album. The song is called "Mystery."
Sweet Jesus christ, my sanity
Sweet Jesus Christ, my clarity
Bread of heaven broken for me
Cup of salvation held up to drink
Jesus, mystery.
Here's how it all shook out...
I'm not gonna say much, but I gotta give a BIG UP to North Point for creating a youtube channel. They've also redone their website and it's fabulous as usual. Go their youtube channel and learn something from Andy Stanley. It'll change your life....
“The bravest are surely those who have the clearest vision of what is before them, glory and danger alike, and yet notwithstanding, go out to meet it.” – Thucydides
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