Me and my BIG mouth!

I have always been told my mouth would get me in trouble. Back in elementary school I was the kid that had a question for everything. I believe that every report card said I was a good kid but just couldn't keep quiet. Well I did it this time.

I have told way too many people that I want God to open and close doors in my life but I wanted them thrown off the hinges or slammed shut so there would be no mistaking my selfish desires for His will. Crap! I think he was in on one of these conversations.

I have been convicted on the need to share not only my faith but in encouraging others to share theirs. Well I have been toying around with the thought of trying to teach people on how to be more comfortable in doing this. Hold up! This is not a push for E.E. or F.A.I.T.H. or any other SBC form of Tuesday night door to door evangelizing. (I still do not know why Tuesday has become the official night). I grew up with this mentality and have never been able to embrace it. I have always felt like a salesperson who should carrying a briefcase with a plethora of tracts and asking which one would you like. I have a Jesus tract for the single mom or one for the grumpy teenager. I always felt so much pressure to "close the deal". We would always meet back at the church and see who had the "best response" and who was insulted the most.




I have been given statistic after statistic saying how the church isn't growing because the church isn't reaching out. I was turned on to a newer form of evangelism only to find out it has been around for some 2000 years. It even predates E.E. and the life/death tract. It has recently been labeled relational evangelism or lifestyle evangelism. One man has even coined it as BBQ evangelism. Well, I have been trying to figure out a way to introduce this to my church and if God didn't set me up. During our informal staff meeting Wednesday night I was approached to lead my church in this area. There is a door that was completely thrown off the hinges! I had not shared this burden with anyone and yet God had shared it.

I was upfront and said I was not a fan of door to door Jesus marketing and that if I do it I want to have a class showing people they have opportunities in front of them everyday. I have all but officially accepted this added position and have begun to get extremely excited. I am hoping to get a small group together and go through Contagious Christianity with them and start a shift in the way we go about our lives together. I want to empower them and show them through scripture how this is an effective means and that we have been given the power to do this.

Few and Far Between!

I have really been trying to get on here more often but life has been busy lately and will remain this way for some time to come. Thank God vacation is in early July. Good news is school is out for the summer and I must brag a little. I earned a 100 on my apologetics final. I stressed about this class endlessly because I do not always see things the way everyone else does.

I am in a very traditional Southern Baptist Church. Yes that is where God has led me and I am for the most part extremely happy to be there. I always hoped to be at a super contemporary-post modern church that was pushing the envelope but God in His infinite wisdom or because He has a sense of humor sent me to a church that is a textbook example of your grandmothers church. I am so thankful for this because I know it is God who has placed me here. I have had so many oppurtunities to share new ways of thinking and doing things. The college group is amazing. I love these guys. We have done things that no one in the church's history has even attempted. I have asked them to come out of their comfort zone and experience what Christ meant by loving others. They are great.

It is easy to see the complacency among our church. Not just in one area but across the board. The great news is my guys have felt comfortable bringing their unchurched friends to our midweek group. Then it happened. Someone came in and stirred the pot. I love these people. Really I do. Someone felt these people were to lost to be at church and in our typical self righteous Christian ego we make them feel uncomfortable only to have them left with the bitter taste in their mouth that they will always associate with Christ. I pray that these people will be back and bring swarms of their friends with them. Bring all their lost, worldly, broken friends so we can show them Christ unconditional love rather they accept Him or not!

What an AWESOME day!!!!!!!!!!!

I have been so busy lately I couldn't come up for air. Between church, school, and family I have been running around like a chicken with my head cut off. Well everything got better today. I still have all the same commitments but was rewarded greatly today for all the hard work I have been putting in.

I don't like to brag but I am going to for a minute. School is tough for me to juggle. Since my family sacrifices to put me through school I have tried to maintain a high GPA but found that very unfulfilling. I was just memorizing junk and regurgitating it for test. Easy A's but what was the point if I was not bettering myself through what was being taught. I still try to maintain the high average (and have been able to maintain it)but decided to focus on learning and not memorising. Today I got the results for two of my exams. I freaking got a 100 on the one I thought was the toughest. This was an all essay exam so I didn't just memorize and spit it back out! This semester I also received a 99 on a paper about church conflict. Some may say no big deal but I pride myself on understanding the subject and being able to apply portions of it to everyday life.

So now that I have tooted my own horn let me toot my wife's. For the first time in her teaching career someone has appreciated her hard work and willingness to go above and beyond. How nice that is after seeing people abuse her good nature and tear her down. It is a nice change to see her appreciated instead of abused. It is amazing how things work out when you consistently surrender to God. You stand up for what is right no matter who is wrong and sometimes God allows you to see justice here on earth. Good job baby!