Mighty God

I have been reading through the bible this year. I am on my second pass and things are really jumping out at me. I have learned that when scripture jumps out then to pay attention. The next name of God keeps jumping out at me, Mighty God. Wow! That is a description.
Isaiah wrote those word after he had an experience with God in chapter 6 that changed everything in his life. In that account he saw the Lord in the temple and Isaiah was forever changed. That encounter brought about a life change that lead him to become the spokes person for God to his generation. That assignment sounds cool except that the message from God was one of destruction. Enough of that, let's look at the name, Mighty God.
There are so many things, no most things in my life were I have no control. I need help. I need a mighty God. I need a God who causes all things to work for good, who never wastes a hurt, who loves me in spite of me, who has a plan for my life, who can supply all of my needs, who can cause me to do all things, who never leaves me, who tells me what to say and when to say it, who reveals to me my sin and then forgives them, who prepares a place for me, who saves all my tears, who believes the best about me, who transforms my mind, who .... I could go on and on. I need a mighty God and I have one. So do you!
Unto us a child is born!

His Name shall be called...

Through out the Bible you will discover many names for God. The Hebrews could not openly speak His name so they gave all kinds of descriptions telling of His character, power, or the experience they had with Him. Isaiah said His name shall be called ... "wonderful counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace." That is an impressive list, but what does it mean? Let's look at the first name.
Wonderful counselor means that Jesus has life wired. He doesn't guess at answers, make up things as He goes, or is in doubt about the right course of action nor the outcome. If you want to really live well you need the wonderful counselor, Jesus.
You might wonder where I came up with this take. This phrase is in reference to an administrator not some dude that sits on a couch and nods as you pour out the sorry state of your soul. Jesus has the right and power to set things right including your life. He earned the right by being fully God and fully man. He expressed the power by dying on the cross to cover your sin debt and then raising from the grave three days later. He draws you to Himself through the tug of His Spirit and makes you His when you offer up your life. If your life is going to work then you need to get in with Jesus. How do I know this, it works for me and countless others who have responded to Him. 'Tis the season to know and follow this wonderful counselor.

For unto to us....

I can remember the first time I sang Handel's Messiah. I thought this was the most majestic music I had ever heard. The truth is the first time I heard the Messiah I was singing it!
When we sang the great chorus "For unto us a child is born ..." something reverberated in my soul. Could it be true that God had loved me so much that he gave me a ... child?
I didn't realize it at the time but that phrase was right out of the book of Isaiah and his prophecies about Jesus found in chapter 9. 700 years before God came in flesh a divine rescue was planned and declared by Isaiah. God is the master planner!
God knew my need before I did. God knew my need before I was ever born. God is the master planner. I am captured by the love of God that would compel Him to leave heaven and dwell among creation to suffer and die in my place. Unto me a child is born, unto you. This is the love of God, Wow!

Tis the season

I love the holiday season, but this year is different on several levels. This will be the first year in a very long time that Tara and I will not be making the epic journey across the south from Texas to Florida. I will not miss that experience.
This will be the first Holiday season without my dad. I will miss him. A godly father's influence is so powerful. I miss him on so many levels. I still can bring myself to delete his cell phone from my phone. I want to talk to him so badly and seeing his name in my phone book brings me some level of comfort.
This will be our first holiday season with the new church family. It will be fun watching them respond to the good news of Jesus and see them discover a new way to view the season.
This will be our first holiday season away from our Texas family. I loved the season in Texas with the great music and folks who I have loved and led.
This will be my first holiday season of blogging! I am want to spend the next few weeks sharing with you the insights of how God came to rescue us. Let's experience the wonder of Christmas together.

Doubt and Discouragement

I am 49 years old and I have started over in a new church plant. This has been and still is the most frighting thing I have ever done. The last time I started a church I was 33 and didn't know anything. I didn't worry about if it the church would succeed and I didn't worry about my future. I was 33, what bad could happen and if it did I could always get a job. This time it is different. I know too much and the reality of being old and unemployed is troubling. Doubt and discouragement have become my constant companions, insecurity is a way of life, and the fear of failure is very real. Now, before you think I am crazy or looking for some sympathy let me push on this.
I believe that God wants to do something in Tallahassee that came only be explained by Him. God wants to get the glory for this new church and not me. I am desperate and God wants me there. God is not the author of doubt and discouragement but He will leverage them to get me to stay dependant on Him.
I can't place my security on titles, positions, or money. I must trust God to provide. I can't get my worth from what people think, I must please God alone.
I have also learned that my life is an example for others in the life of faith so I must follow Jesus for your sake.
There are nights that I can't sleep and wonder how I got myself into this. But in the morning I still hear the call of God.

My Dad

My father passed away last September and I really miss him. My dad has always been my hero and my friend. He was the one who was always cheering me on, giving me advice, praying for me, and believing the best about me. He is the one who first spotted the leadership gift in me and encouraged me to lead. I miss my dad.
Last night I had a dream about him. I woke up crying but very grateful. In my dream dad and I were sitting at a table talking. He was telling me how good things were for hm and that heaven was wonderful. He said the pain in his hip was gone and he didn't worry about Mom or us kids anymore. As we talked I noticed that he got younger. It seemed like the years were melting off of him. By the time we finished talking he looked like my son Caleb, who is 21.
I believe that this dream was a wonderful glimpse into what is waiting in heaven. In heaven we will be full of life and reconnected with God and each other.
This will be our first Thanksgiving without my dad but his first in heaven. I know that we will enjoy more Thanksgivings in heaven than we have here on earth. With that thought, I am so thankful for my dream, for my dad and mostly for Jesus who made heaven possible.
Through out scripture God used dreams to communicate with His people. I believe that God is using my dream of last night to do the same. Jesus said "let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid". Because of this dream I am finding comfort and hope during this season of thanks.

yesterday

I have been around church all my life, in fact I have helped plant over 40 churches two as the lead pastor the rest as support. I can tell when something has changed and this week something changed at Fellowship of the Hills. I could tell by the way people sang, how they engaged their hearts, and how they hung out after the service. This new church is becoming a family and that is so fun!
God intended the church to function as a family. Church folks often miss that. Pastors often miss that. Church is about relationships not buildings, structures, or organization. When churches begin functioning as family things change, people get connected, they grow, they serve, they can't help but share, and they worship as a way of life.
I can't wait to see what God does through this new family in 2008. Maybe it will include you!

Get ready

I have a Texas preacher friend of mine who has a unique saying. When he feels something of a spiritual nature happening he will say "there is something brewing' in the Kingdom". I love that! I know it is cheesy but wow. I want to live with that divine expectation knowing that God is moving in, for, and through me.
This morning I had the feeling that something was "brewing". I could feel it in my spiritual bones that God was doing something in Tallahassee that would change eternity. Now maybe I am just being hopeful. No I am being hopeful, I want to live full of hope that the God who has called me can and will do something so powerful that all I can do is point to Him and say "look y'all, God is moving, let's join Him."
Church planting is a life of faith and a life of hope. If I remove the hope then I am done and the last time I looked God is in the hope business. If that is God's business then that should be mine. I want the hope I have found in Christ to be so strong that it rubs off. The writer of Hebrews calls hope the "anchor of our souls." I believe that God is planting a church in Tallahassee that will reshape eternity. That hope causes me to risk, believe, pray, and expect God to move. Hope anchors my soul.
"Something is brewing' in the Kingdom" folks, you might want to keep your eyes on Tallahassee! I am hoping you don't miss it.

Risk

This morning I was listening to a raido morning show on my way to the office. (Which is unusual for me, I normally just cruise to work in silience) Some girl was announcing her departure for the show. She explained that she had an opportunity to move to L.A. and pursue her acting dream. She rationalized that she was young, pretty, and unattached so this was the perfect time to step out.
As she talked I began thinking about my recent decision to step out of the large church and into church planting. This is the greatest risk of my life, or is it? Maybe the decision to stay safe and secure was far more dangerous. I truly believe that God is in the risk business. Unlike the girl on the radio I am old, ugly, and very attached. (two kids in college) This experience has taught me the most important thing I could ever do is to follow God.
Admittedly there are times that I wake and wonder where my mind has gone, how will the bills get paid, and who will care for me when I retire. Those thoughts are very real, and the risk of what I have done is overwhelming.
As those thoughts crowd my mind and rob my sleep I begin to think about the what ifs. What if God is doing something so great that if I failed to risk it all I might miss it. I don't want to live my life in the shadows of the what ifs. I choose to chase Jesus.
Am I crazy? Yes! Crazy for the sake of the call of God. This past week-end I met people who had never been to church at the church I am planting. I saw someone give their heart to Christ. Eternity was changed! It is worth the risk.

Austin

I just returned from leading a church planting conference in Austin. I had a great time teaching church planting to this eager group of folks. As I typically do I began "pulling on the roots" of all that transpired during those few days. I came to several conclusions.
First, everything rises and falls on leadership and that we are all called to be leaders. I realize that we all have various levels of leadership competencies but none the less we are to lead well if only leading our selves. In conservations I could almost spot who would be effective and who would not based on the passion and vision that comes with the leadership gift.
Second, if God doesn't move it doesn't matter. No matter how gifted or equipped I am if God is not in what I am leading it will go nowhere. I am not talking about some kind of "wishy washyness" of God that says "I will bless one and not another" but I am talking about a holy dependence on God that leads to a life of faith. Pastors are called to be Holy Men first and foremost! Leading must come from that dependence. The truth is that we will not know the true impact of what we are leading until eternity.
Third, God is "mending me" so that He might use me and I will not experience the fullness of His "mending" until He is using me. I am broken, flawed man but the God of the ages has called me to do His bidding. I need mending. He does and as He does I find His spiritual healing. This life of leadership is all about God and not about me. God does something in me in order to do something through me for His glory.
This brings me to the point of this rambling. God wants me to be connected to Him as I am connect to those I lead. I can't not lead from a distance, it is all about relationships, relationship with God and with those I am called to lead. I have just made a major transition for leading a large congregation to leading a small congregation. In the large I could hide in the small I can't. I hope I can learn the leadership lesson of leading in the open from the small to the large. I quote Paul in Philippians "follow me as I follow Christ". If you don't know me then how do you know that I am following? Maybe if pastors and leaders would learn to lead through relationships and lead in the open then God might move.