So I am at a pretty strange place right now. I have to admit that I am praying about a trip to Belize in July and I am not sure I have a definite answer yet as to whether or not I am to go. You see, I have this urge that it inside me that every time something comes up that seems like a good opportunity, I want to jump with reckless abandonment all the way in. To be honest, that is my first gut instinct. My problem however, is the fact that I like to think and I can literally think about something to death even during a time of constant prayer. It may seem as though I am rambling but I promise that this is a strange deal for me. I can not seem to pull the trigger on this one? Is it really bad just to jump at every chance the Lord puts in front of you? Does it mean that every opportunity that you think might be good is something HE has called you too? I can think of some other things in my life, where I jumped too soon or even jumped when in reality, what He was wanting was for me to rest. All this to say, "what is the deal"?
~Will you please pray for wisdom and discernment in my life right now concerning this very specific event. Pray I will not respond out of my flesh but that I would respond according to His plans for me. I do not want to get ahead of Him nor do I want to get behind Him, but I want to be in step with Him.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Monday Musings
~So I have a lot to accomplish this week. Not only do I have to take care of my normal church duties, I also have to teach class, lead Chapel on Thursday at school and then coach 3 softball games this week for the Lady Eagles of Greenville Christian. I am also planning a trip out of town this weekend to go visit some dear friends and get a little "away" time.
~ I am praying for a definite answer to a Mission Trip in Belize in July.
~ I am praying for our 4th Annual Egg Smash on April 11, 2009. This is our community outreach event that we do every year and we are looking forward to a huge crowd.
~ I am praying for our Easter service on APRIL 12, 2009 and praying for a record crowd.
~ I am holding on to this today:
1 Timothy 4:7-8
But have nothing to do with irreverent and silly myths. Rather, train yourself in godliness, for the training of the body has a limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.
~ I am praying for a definite answer to a Mission Trip in Belize in July.
~ I am praying for our 4th Annual Egg Smash on April 11, 2009. This is our community outreach event that we do every year and we are looking forward to a huge crowd.
~ I am praying for our Easter service on APRIL 12, 2009 and praying for a record crowd.
~ I am holding on to this today:
1 Timothy 4:7-8
But have nothing to do with irreverent and silly myths. Rather, train yourself in godliness, for the training of the body has a limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Sunday Reflections
~ I really enjoyed the teaching on 2 Peter 3: 10-13 today
~ Our series in 2 Peter ends this coming Sunday
~ I really felt like the service flowed well this morning- from the song selection to the videos and the responsive reading, everything went well
~ Our Children's ministry team is doing an outstanding job
~ The community that we see taking place is unreal!
~ We continue to have visitors every week
~ We have a huge Easter event coming up on April 11, 2009
~ I love our church
~ I love our people
~ I love what the Lord is doing in us and through us
~ Our series in 2 Peter ends this coming Sunday
~ I really felt like the service flowed well this morning- from the song selection to the videos and the responsive reading, everything went well
~ Our Children's ministry team is doing an outstanding job
~ The community that we see taking place is unreal!
~ We continue to have visitors every week
~ We have a huge Easter event coming up on April 11, 2009
~ I love our church
~ I love our people
~ I love what the Lord is doing in us and through us
Friday, March 27, 2009
Rest
"Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest.
~ Matthew 11:28
These have been my verses for the day. I am carrying somethings right now that I know the Lord did not intend for me to carry! I am causing myself to let loose of those things and receive the rest that is promised to me in the scriptures. I am weary today, I am worn and there are some things that are heavy-laden upon my heart.
"Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.
~Matthew 11:29
Lord, I want to learn from You and take upon your yoke for You are gentle and humble in heart. Change my heart O God, make it ever true. Change my heart O God, may it be like You~ You are the Potter, I am the clay. Mold me and make me, this is what I pray
~ Matthew 11:28
These have been my verses for the day. I am carrying somethings right now that I know the Lord did not intend for me to carry! I am causing myself to let loose of those things and receive the rest that is promised to me in the scriptures. I am weary today, I am worn and there are some things that are heavy-laden upon my heart.
"Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS.
~Matthew 11:29
Lord, I want to learn from You and take upon your yoke for You are gentle and humble in heart. Change my heart O God, make it ever true. Change my heart O God, may it be like You~ You are the Potter, I am the clay. Mold me and make me, this is what I pray
Thursday, March 26, 2009
quit being a "law man"
Galatians 2:20 (The Message)
19-21What actually took place is this: I tried keeping rules and working my head off to please God, and it didn't work. So I quit being a "law man" so that I could be God's man. Christ's life showed me how, and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with him. Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not "mine," but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that.
Is it not clear to you that to go back to that old rule-keeping, peer-pleasing religion would be an abandonment of everything personal and free in my relationship with God? I refuse to do that, to repudiate God's grace. If a living relationship with God could come by rule-keeping, then Christ died unnecessarily.
~I love this account of scripture and especially how it reads in "The Message". I love the idea of getting away from being a "law man" and becoming a man who identifies myself with Him. His life showed me how and enables me to do it. I love this, "my ego is no longer central".
~I live by faith in the the Son of God who loves me and gave Himself for me (and you) and I will not back down on that
~May I live in my freedom and not go back to my former way of living
19-21What actually took place is this: I tried keeping rules and working my head off to please God, and it didn't work. So I quit being a "law man" so that I could be God's man. Christ's life showed me how, and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with him. Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not "mine," but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that.
Is it not clear to you that to go back to that old rule-keeping, peer-pleasing religion would be an abandonment of everything personal and free in my relationship with God? I refuse to do that, to repudiate God's grace. If a living relationship with God could come by rule-keeping, then Christ died unnecessarily.
~I love this account of scripture and especially how it reads in "The Message". I love the idea of getting away from being a "law man" and becoming a man who identifies myself with Him. His life showed me how and enables me to do it. I love this, "my ego is no longer central".
~I live by faith in the the Son of God who loves me and gave Himself for me (and you) and I will not back down on that
~May I live in my freedom and not go back to my former way of living
Sunday, March 22, 2009
Sunday Reflections
~ Today was awesome, I really enjoyed the service
~ I am praying for some major things in the life of our church
~ I am thankful for my WingMan
~ We are almost done with our series in 2 Peter - two more weeks
~ We will be starting a series on Easter entitled "expect the unexpected"
~ We are praying for a record crowd in the life of our church on Easter
~ We are praying for a record crowd for our Easter Community event on April 11
~ I love our church
~ I love our community and the fact that we are "doing life together"
~ I love the raw, authentic expression of our worship
Lord would you continue to show us things that only You are capable of doing. May we as a church and as the staff that you have called to lead the church be willing to take the risks we need to in order to reach this community. Would you give us opportunities to embrace this community in area we have not thought about yet. Lord teach us to be creative and in doing so, be excellent in it! Would you give us what we need financially to do the things you have called us to! We pray for the harvest because we understand that the resources are there
Lord give us your eyes, your ears and your heart so that we can see, hear and love people the way that you do.
~ I am praying for some major things in the life of our church
~ I am thankful for my WingMan
~ We are almost done with our series in 2 Peter - two more weeks
~ We will be starting a series on Easter entitled "expect the unexpected"
~ We are praying for a record crowd in the life of our church on Easter
~ We are praying for a record crowd for our Easter Community event on April 11
~ I love our church
~ I love our community and the fact that we are "doing life together"
~ I love the raw, authentic expression of our worship
Lord would you continue to show us things that only You are capable of doing. May we as a church and as the staff that you have called to lead the church be willing to take the risks we need to in order to reach this community. Would you give us opportunities to embrace this community in area we have not thought about yet. Lord teach us to be creative and in doing so, be excellent in it! Would you give us what we need financially to do the things you have called us to! We pray for the harvest because we understand that the resources are there
Lord give us your eyes, your ears and your heart so that we can see, hear and love people the way that you do.
Saturday, March 21, 2009
Church Planting
Church Planting is tough. It requires more of you than you would ever imagine and it is not for the faint at heart. On this journey you will run across many people that will call you friend, only to use that term to "give you their opinion of what they think the church should do or should not do". You have them in your congregation. They come to worship every week. These are the ones who feel led to continue to run from church to church trying to convince leadership that they know how the ministries in the church should be handled and how they could be done more effectively, because that is the way it was done the last place they were at! I love the passion these people have. I love the fact that they will do whatever it takes to convince you that "it really is the way it should be". The question I have is this, since when did the church exist for your personal satisfaction? Is it not His intent for the church to be the body which helps "unfold the mysteries of Christ" to a unconvinced world? I am convinced more and more every day, as I interact with people~ "even those in the church"~ that we all have our own idea of how best the church should be run or done
You see, as a Pastor, it is something that we too have to struggle with. The vision that you have been given to lead the body must be from Him and not something manifested out of your personal ideas of how the church should be. This too can cause dire effects on the church. So the question comes up, how do we truly know that the things we are seeing are from Him and not our own personal desires? This is why I believe the Lord calls for us to "pray without ceasing". This is the very idea that we are called and compelled by Him to put the very things we are sensing through the filter of scripture.
Let's be honest, if you are feeling something that doesn't line up with the Scriptures, can it actually be from the Lord? How often have we "done church" and fell short of "being the church"? If we align all that we say and do with the Scriptures we will be in line with what He has called for us to do as, the church and as individual believers. I am sick of just "doing church"~ My prayer is that we will not let "doing church" ever get in the way of "BEING the church"
The Lord continues to give my family strength in the midst of the storm. I am not telling you something that you do not already know but, leadership is lonely and the demands it places on you can only be "walked" through in the power that He gives us. You can not do it on your own! We need real "friends"~ someone that is more than just a fan when things are good. We need people who are willing to be with us through it all. When times are great they are celebrating with you and even when times are tough, they are still right beside you being an encouragement. When I think about this relationship, I am reminded of the movie Top Gun. We all need a "Goose" You see "Goose" was "Maverick's" wing man! In the world of church planting you better get a "Goose"~ someone who will be there at all times. You need a good WING MAN. I am thankful the Lord has given me one
Lord, give us strength to take the risks that we need to take in order to reach the world for your name and renown. We realize that You give us all that we need for life and godliness. May our hearts not be trained in greed and our eyes full of adultery but may our very desire be YOU~ the author and perfecter of our faith
You see, as a Pastor, it is something that we too have to struggle with. The vision that you have been given to lead the body must be from Him and not something manifested out of your personal ideas of how the church should be. This too can cause dire effects on the church. So the question comes up, how do we truly know that the things we are seeing are from Him and not our own personal desires? This is why I believe the Lord calls for us to "pray without ceasing". This is the very idea that we are called and compelled by Him to put the very things we are sensing through the filter of scripture.
Let's be honest, if you are feeling something that doesn't line up with the Scriptures, can it actually be from the Lord? How often have we "done church" and fell short of "being the church"? If we align all that we say and do with the Scriptures we will be in line with what He has called for us to do as, the church and as individual believers. I am sick of just "doing church"~ My prayer is that we will not let "doing church" ever get in the way of "BEING the church"
The Lord continues to give my family strength in the midst of the storm. I am not telling you something that you do not already know but, leadership is lonely and the demands it places on you can only be "walked" through in the power that He gives us. You can not do it on your own! We need real "friends"~ someone that is more than just a fan when things are good. We need people who are willing to be with us through it all. When times are great they are celebrating with you and even when times are tough, they are still right beside you being an encouragement. When I think about this relationship, I am reminded of the movie Top Gun. We all need a "Goose" You see "Goose" was "Maverick's" wing man! In the world of church planting you better get a "Goose"~ someone who will be there at all times. You need a good WING MAN. I am thankful the Lord has given me one
Lord, give us strength to take the risks that we need to take in order to reach the world for your name and renown. We realize that You give us all that we need for life and godliness. May our hearts not be trained in greed and our eyes full of adultery but may our very desire be YOU~ the author and perfecter of our faith
Monday, March 16, 2009
Reflections From Sunday
~I love being a part of what the Lord is doing in us at Gateway Fellowship.
~I love watching lives that continue to be transformed by the grace and peace multiplied to people through the knowledge of Jesus Christ.
~I am thankful for a group of people who are willing to give all that they have to see that every facet of ministry is hitting on all cylinders on Sunday mornings.
~I am praying that He continue to stir us up to reach this city
~I am praying we will take seriously that call he has put on the church to point people to the LIGHT in the darkness, the HOPE to the hopeless, the PEACE to the restless
~We had an awesome Men's Retreat in the woods this past weekend.
~I love our services
~I love our worship
~I love our TEAM
Praying for:
4th Annual Egg Smash ~ April 11, 2009
Father/Son Retreat ~ April 24-25, 2009
Ladies Retreat ~ June 5-6, 2009
~I love watching lives that continue to be transformed by the grace and peace multiplied to people through the knowledge of Jesus Christ.
~I am thankful for a group of people who are willing to give all that they have to see that every facet of ministry is hitting on all cylinders on Sunday mornings.
~I am praying that He continue to stir us up to reach this city
~I am praying we will take seriously that call he has put on the church to point people to the LIGHT in the darkness, the HOPE to the hopeless, the PEACE to the restless
~We had an awesome Men's Retreat in the woods this past weekend.
~I love our services
~I love our worship
~I love our TEAM
Praying for:
4th Annual Egg Smash ~ April 11, 2009
Father/Son Retreat ~ April 24-25, 2009
Ladies Retreat ~ June 5-6, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
Sunday Reflections
This past Sunday was a great day. We had a good crowd and the worship was awesome. I continue to be amazed at what the Lord is doing in and through us here at Gateway Fellowship. We have an awesome team working on our Children's ministry. We have some really cool things happening with our youth as the begin preparing for summer camp. We are still holding a weekly Bible study on the campus at Royse City Middle School. We have some awesome events planned for the men and women of the church, as well as a Father/Son Retreat.
We are planning our 4th annual Egg Smash which is our community outreach Easter event. It will be held on April 11 and we are truly excited about what the Lord is going to do in this. Please pray with us! We are trying to secure the extra finances needed to put out a 10,00- piece mailer that will hit all of Royse City, Fate and surrounding areas. We are in need of about 2,000 dollars.
I love our Church
I love our people
I love our staff
I love what He is doing in and through us
I love that He is in control
I love that He allows us a platform in the community
We are planning our 4th annual Egg Smash which is our community outreach Easter event. It will be held on April 11 and we are truly excited about what the Lord is going to do in this. Please pray with us! We are trying to secure the extra finances needed to put out a 10,00- piece mailer that will hit all of Royse City, Fate and surrounding areas. We are in need of about 2,000 dollars.
I love our Church
I love our people
I love our staff
I love what He is doing in and through us
I love that He is in control
I love that He allows us a platform in the community
Wednesday, March 4, 2009
Killing Cockroaches
Tony Morgan has written a new book or a compilation of thoughts really that fall into the category of "scattered musings on leadership." Many are thoughts that first appeared on his blog TonyMorganLive
Killing Cockroaches will be a book that you will go back to again and again as a sort of reference guide. Have a question about effective communication, pull the book. Have a question about church marketing, pull the book. Have a question about team building or staffing issues, pull the book.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Sunday Reflections
~I love our church
~I love our people
~I love what He is doing in and through us
~I love our staff
~I love our elders
~I love our worship service
~I love seeing life-change
The Lord is doing some awesome things in the life of our church. I want to continue to challenge you to get into a "connect group" and experience the heartbeat of who we are. There is so much more that takes place in our fellowship than just on Sunday mornings. These groups are we we experience and foster the whole idea of "doing life together"
Here are a few things that are coming up:
Jammies and Java
For the Ladies Saturday, March 7 at 7:00 a.m.
Men In The Woods
For the Men Friday and Saturday, March 13 and 14
4th Annual Egg Smash
For the community on Saturday, April 11 @ Royse City Lake Park from 10:00 to 2:00
Father / Son Retreat
All Men are welcome on Friday and Saturday, April 24 and 25
Mathews Retreat Center in Lone Oak, Texas
~I love our people
~I love what He is doing in and through us
~I love our staff
~I love our elders
~I love our worship service
~I love seeing life-change
The Lord is doing some awesome things in the life of our church. I want to continue to challenge you to get into a "connect group" and experience the heartbeat of who we are. There is so much more that takes place in our fellowship than just on Sunday mornings. These groups are we we experience and foster the whole idea of "doing life together"
Here are a few things that are coming up:
Jammies and Java
For the Ladies Saturday, March 7 at 7:00 a.m.
Men In The Woods
For the Men Friday and Saturday, March 13 and 14
4th Annual Egg Smash
For the community on Saturday, April 11 @ Royse City Lake Park from 10:00 to 2:00
Father / Son Retreat
All Men are welcome on Friday and Saturday, April 24 and 25
Mathews Retreat Center in Lone Oak, Texas
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