Natl. Youth Leaders Conference – preacher vs. christian
I had the opportunity this week to attend Jeanne Mayo’s National Youth Leaders Conference in Dallas. There were over 2000 people registered for this conference. The line up of speakers and presenters was incredible. I had the priviledge of sitting and listening to such speakers as Ed Young Jr, Judah Smith, Josh McDowell, Chris Hill and the list goes on and on. Each session was filled with wisdom, insight and heart felt pleas. We had a great 2 1/2 days at this conference.
But out of everything that was shared over these past few days, one statement that sticks out in my mind was when Jeanne Mayo said, ”Many of us make much better preachers than we do Christians”. Those words have rung in my head over and over again. How many times have I given advice, counsel and yet not lived how I tell others to live. I believe that for most preachers, that has been true in some way, shape or fasion. But that’s not the ministry I want to have. That’s not the type of preacher I want to be.
I do want to be a good preacher. I want to be a preacher that can effectively deliver a word from God. So yes, I do want to be a good preacher…but I want to be a great Christian. Those words that Jeanne spoke have been an alarm to my spirit and to my heart. To those of us who have the great priviledge and responsibility of preaching God’s word, may we never become “professional pulpiteers” but may we all become genuine and authentic lovers of God and may our words and messages flow out of that intimacy with Him.
Poor Noah
We just arrived back home after a great 24 hours in Waxahachie, TX. When we got home I noticed that our dog Noah was a little sluggish. As my son and I were playing the wii, I noticed that Noah had thrown up a little. I quickly took him outside as I proceeded to clean up the tiny bit of his doggy vomit. I went to let him back in the house. No sooner had I shut the door after him when I heard my son begin to shout, “Noah did diarrhea!” As I turned, there it was. A few puddles on my kitchen floor.
As went to clean up the new mess that Noah had made, I noticed some long spaghetti like things in his stool. My wife to Noah to the doggy hospital where he was diagnosed with roundworms. My dog is sick!
They told us that we can expect to see many, many more worms in the next couple of days. Oh Lord! I already lost my dinner when I had to clean his mess. Help me Lord these next few days as Noah gets de-wormed.
Just thought I’d share what we came home to after an awesome 24 hours at SAGU!
NEGLECT
It’s been over two months since I blogged. I must admit, I am ashamed of that. This is an endeavor that I set out to do. I enjoy writing. I can be opinionated. And more than anything, I wish to share the greatness of who God is with everyone and anyone. And this has been an avenue for me to do that. So why haven’t I blogged? Was there a tragedy that took place in my life? Did I get into a horrible accident and was forced to be out of commission for a while? The answer is “NO”. The reason why I haven’t written, shared, or even just come to visit the site is because of sheer NEGLECT! I just flat out neglected it.
When I was actively blogging and being consistent with it, I had a decent following of people that would stop by and read what I had to say. It was nice to see my stats and to know that people were receiving the messages that I was putting out through this blog. But I neglected it. I lost an audience. I lost the interest of people. And maybe I lost the opportunity of having someone come across this blog to read about what God is doing in my life. All because of neglect.
I wonder what things others have neglected in their lives. What relationships have been severed because of neglect? What opportunities have been lost because of neglect? Neglect is something that damages and destroys. God wants for us to “work” what we’ve been given. If we work it, he’ll bless it. I want to encourage you today. If you’ve been neglecting something or someone that is important to you, make the decision to quit neglecting. Pay attention. Work it. Do your part. When you do, God will bless it and good things happen when God’s blessings are around.
If anyone would like to share something that you’ve been neglecting lately, I’d love to hear about it and about what you intend to do from this point on.
Who Is The Holy Spirit?
I recently began diving into this incredible question. In moments of prayer, study and meditation I am pondering the question “who is the Holy Spirit?” I am asking God to reveal himself even more to me and to allow me to not only know about Him but to genuinely know Him and experience Him in a greater way.
But one thing that I am having a problem with is defining who the Holy Spirit is. I mean, I know He is the third person of the God-head, I know He is God, but my mind can not really phathom that. This does not shake my faith, as a matter of fact it strengthens it. The very fact that I can not fully comprehend the nature of God shows me that He is much greater than I am and that He is far above my limited comprehension. That’s the kind of God I want to serve.
But the fact remains that I wish I could find some definition that would bring at least a little more understanding of who He is. I wonder if anyone out there has heard a definition, comparison or anything else that has given you a bit more understanding of who the Holy Spirit is.
I’d love to hear your thoughts.
A Night With The Stars!
Last night we had a special gathering for all of the leaders and workers of the various ministries of our church. There are times where we come together to train, learn, work, study, etc… But last night we came together with one main purpose in mind. All these different people came together to “Have Fun”! The night was filled with good food, good company, games, contests, prizes and time to just sit and talk.
Too many times, we underestimate the importance of having fun together. Sure there are other things that are super important. Praying together, training and planning are all things that contribute to a successful ministry team. Each of these ingredients are vital. But let’s never neglect the fact that if a team can genuinely enjoy eachother’s company and has built strong bonds and relationships through fellowship, that is a team that is not easily divided.
Napolean Dynamite
The night was fun. I dressed up and looked like a big dork! But it was fun to hang out with all those great people who love God like I do; who are working for Him like I am; and to just enjoy each other’s company.
How important do you think it is to just hang out and have fun with other believers? What types of things do you like doing with other Christians or with your ministry team?
Every Consecrated Thing Is Blessed By God!
As the new year approached, like many people, I began to seek God for His direction and guidance for my life and ministry in this new year. In my times of prayer I felt as if God was asking me to consecrate this year to Him. As I began to wrestle with this thought, this is what God revealed to me.
To consecrate something means to separate it for God’s use and for His service. In the scriptures we find many things that were consecrated, set apart for God’s use. We see how Aaron and his sons were consecrated to God. Samuel as a child had been consecrated to the Lord. Even things like bread and lampstands were consecrated. But in Leviticus 25 we see that even a year can be consecrated. It is possible to set aside an entire year to dedicate it to God’s service.
I began to think about the widow in 1 Kings who was about to cook her last piece of bread so that she and her son could eat and then die. There was a great famine in the land. Entire families were being wiped out because there was absolutely no food to be found. This widow had just a tiny bit of oil and flour left. Just enough to make a small piece of bread for her and her son. Then the prophet Elijah says to her, “Go and do as you have planned. But first, make some bread for me.” He said to her that if she would obey, that her flour and oil would not run out or run dry. If she would just obey, God would bless her even though everyone around her was suffering. This woman obeyed. She gave the little bit that she had. She “consecrated” to God, separated it for His use and for His service. When she did that, God blessed her. Her flour never ran out and the oil jar never ran dry.
Then I thought about that time that Jesus had been ministering to a crowed of about 15,000 people all day long. When the evening came the disciples came to Jesus and said that he needed to dismiss the people and let them go. They were hungry and they needed to go into the villages and towns to get some food. Jesus turned and told his disciples to feed the multitudes themselves. The came to Jesus and said that all they had were 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. Then Jesus said something that was an invitation to enter into the supernatural. Jesus said, “bring it to me.” The disciples had these loaves of bread and fish for themselves. It was to be their dinner. But Jesus asked them to bring to Him the little that they had. When the disciples brought to Jesus what they have, the Bible says that Jesus lifted the bread toward heaven and blessed it. Jesus could not and did not bless that food until it had been consecrated, set apart and dedicated to him.
Then I realized what God was wanting to tell me. Every consecrated thing is blessed by God. Whatever we sincerely separate and dedicate to God for His use and for His service, God will bless it. So if we would just choose to consecrate this new year to God, this year will be blessed. God will make us productive accomplishing much more that if we were just living this year for ourselves. When we consecrate something to God, He blesses it and multiplies it and does great and powerful things with it.
This is what I desire for 2009. To dedicate my year to God like never before. To surrender my plans, dreams, ambitions and to just pursue God’s. And as I consecrate my year to Him, I believe He will bless and make my year the most productive and the most blessed year of my life. I encourage you to do likewise. Let’s see what God can do if we just choose to consecrate our year and our lives to Him.
Leadership Retreat!!!
I just got back home from an incredible day and a half retreat with the greatest leadership team in San Antonio. The leadership team from our church traveled to Spicewood, TX where we came together to share, learn, grow, be challenged and just have a blast with eachother. We were able to do all of that and more. One of the great moments that we shared was a time where we let down our hair and had a great time doing Karaoke. Some sang well, others not so well; but all had fun.
We invited a great man of God to come and just pour into our lives and challenge us to be all that God intends for us to be. For me, the most impacting moment of the entire retreat was when Pastor Carlos Ramos, our guest speaker, asked all of us to find two people and to go to them and ask them these questions: 1) What are some of my strenghts? 2) What are some of my weaknesses? I have to admit that I was a little intimidated to go up to people and ask them what they thought some of my weaknesses were. But we have such a great leadership team that people were able to trust eachother and know that what was being said was being said in love and with respect. What an eye opening experience. We were able to see ourselves through someone else’s eyes and it revealed areas where we need to improve and correct. 
There were also a select group of ladies that decided to play a practical joke on me and cover the door handle to my room with toothpase and shampoo. I have to admit, they got me good. But let me just say to my sisters in Christ, “This Means WAR!!!”
To all of the leadership team of Bethesda, I want to say thank you for all you do. You are an incredible group of people who genuinely love God and love His people. There will never be a way to repay you for all you do, but I know that you do it as unto the Lord. It is truly an honor to serve the Lord and to serve our church along side each and every one of you. To our pastors, thank you for loving and valueing your leaders enough to invest in us and to allow us to be ministered to and challenged in our lives and in our ministries. I love you Bethesda and I am convinced that the Best Is Yet To Come!
Voices in the Wind!!!!
This week, I have had conversations with various people. These are people dealing with various issues and dilemas in life. But in each of these conversations, I have noticed one thing that they have in common. I have noticed that these individuals have begun to listen to different voices. No, they are not scitsophrenic and hearing voices in their heads, but they are listening to different people’s ideas, thoughts, interpretations and doctrines.
Becuase these individuals have given ear to all these different voices in the wind, they have become confused and have even made decisions that have taken them off course. The moment they began to listen to these voices, some of people who were well intentioned but still wrong, confusion set it, doubt crept in and decisions were made based on what these voices said. Some of the voices were friends, co-workers and in some cases even other “Christians”, but the voices were wrong.
As I spoke with these people and heard their stories, I realized just how important it is that as true believers, we recognize and know the voice of God. We need to be convinced that what God says in His word is absolute truth; it is truth no matter what! We need to learn to recognize the voice of God’s Spirit when He speaks to us. If we do not learn to discern His voice, we will pay attention to all the voices in the wind. We may believe lies and fall for things that sound right but lead to destruction. There are many voices in the wind, but the one voice that I am to recognize, hear and obey is the voice of God.
What are your thoughts?
The Stage Is Being Set!
Unless you have lived in a cave without access to the world, you are well aware that our nation is in what is being called an “economic crisis”. Very few people may be able to fully explain or even understand what all this economic crisis entails but there is no doubt that it’s effects are being felt in every state, city and community of our nation. But this week we have seen and taken notice that this crisis is no longer just affecting the United States but it has now become a “global economic crisis”.
As a matter of fact, this week finance leaders from Canada, Japan, Italy, France, Germany, Britain and the prime minister of Luxembourg all met in Washington DC to examine and address this global crisis. It has been noted in various posts and articles written in the past few days that never before have we seen what we are seeing right now. This reach of the economic meltdown is wide and widening even more daily. But in these talks and meetings this week, something was said that realy got my attention.
Yesterday, Friday, October 10, Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi said political leaders are discussing the idea of closing the world’s financial markets while they “rewrite the rules of international finance.” It has been noted that some are playing with the idea of closing the individual national markets and going to one global world market. This immediately begins to smell like a set up to me.
Is it possible that what we are experiencing right now with this economic situation is actually serving to set the stage for the fulfillment of prophecy and for the rise of the anti-Christ? It is clear in scripture that there will be a global economic system during the tribulation period. Are we living in a moment where all the preparations for that to happen are occurring? I believe we are. I believe that we are living in a moment in history that was spoken about and prophesied about thousands of years ago.
Open your eyes. See what is before us. The stage is being set. The characters are arriving on the scene. It’s not time to fear, but it is time to prepare. It is time make sure that you are in right standing with God. It is time to examine our hearts and lives and to fix what needs to be fixed. Christ is about to return for His bride. I can almost see the Lord as he listens to the Father say, “Get Ready. Get Set.” And I can imagine that He is anxiously awaiting that final command of “GO!”
Day of Rest
WOW! The past few weeks have been intense. I have had a stretch of being so busy that I have had little time for myself. I’ve been pulled and stretched in what feels llike a thousand different directions with little to no break. But today, that all changed. As I speak, it is 12 noon and I am still in bed. No, I haven’t been sleeping all morning, but I have been resting and relaxing. I spent my morning reading, watching news television, and I even had breakfast in bed! It was great (even if it was breakfast from Jack In The Box).
This past weekend, I finished some obligations that I had and finally today felt as if I could take a breather. So that is exactly what I am doing. Tonight, I teach a class and tomorrow is a loooong day preparing for RAW. But today, it’s break time.
Because of the past hectic weeks, I have not had the chance to write many posts on this blog but I am hoping that I can begin to share thoughts and experiences again with whomever wishes to take the time to read. Anyway, just wanted to say that I’m back and to encourage all those that have been busy and have experienced a hectic week or a hectic few weeks as I have to take a breather and enjoy a day of rest as soon as you possibly can.
