Your Turn

September 19, 2011 in Following Christ with 3 Comments

Yesterday, as I was preaching on Romans 12:2 and Ephesians 4:22-24, I kept being hit with this simple reminder. God will do His part. We must FIRST do our part.

In reading through Romans 12, Paul says that we don’t have to allow our minds to be inundated with garbage. He says that our minds can be transformed, but we have a part to play. We are responsible for the continual renewing of our minds.

How many times have you done something completely wrong, and asked God to just fix it for you? I know I have. Too many times to count.

God is ready, willing, and able to do his part – AFTER WE DO OURS.

This simple principle applies to every area of our lives:

  • God please bless my marriage – How about you love, honor and respect your spouse FIRST – even when you don’t feel like it.
  • God please help me to stop worrying - Focus on something (namely, Someone) bigger than your problems – FIRST.
  • God please bless my health – Take care of your body and exercise FIRST.
  • God please bless my finances - Honor God by trusting Him with your money through giving FIRST.
We do our part. God does His.
It’s your turn.

We follow. Jesus equips.

September 1, 2011 in Following Christ with 2 Comments

I started New Thru 60 (#NT60) today. I hope you’ll join us!

One thing that really jumped off the pages (actually the iPad) today was this simple principle. We follow. Jesus Equips.

Look at Matthew 1. It’s easy to skip right over it. It’s a genealogy. If you’re not careful, you’ll mindlessly skip over something significant. The people listed in Jesus’ lineage aren’t perfect. There are adulterers, murderers, a hooker, cheaters, liars, and other in there. Also, the genealogy lists women. In the first century Jewish world this was written in, NO ONE mentioned women. They were after thoughts. They were treated as less than human. Yet, the Bible specifically mentions them.

Why is this?

Then, skip down to Matthew 4. Jesus begins His public ministry by calling the guys to be His disciples. Look at who He chose. Tax collectors. Fishermen. These are guys who were Middle School dropouts.

The simple idea here is this. You don’t have to be perfect to follow Jesus. He wants to use you.

I can’t tell you how many people have told me that they’d never be “good enough” to serve God. Good news – YOU DON’T HAVE TO BE. Just follow Him with your whole heart and allow Him to equip and shape you into the person He has called you to become.

We simply follow. He equips.

#NT60

New Thru 60 – Beginning September 1

August 29, 2011 in Access Church with 25 Comments

I’m excited to announce something I am doing. I hope you’ll join me in this adventure.

I’m reading the New Testament in 60 Days. We’re calling it New Thru 60. It kicks off on Thursday, September 1.

If you’ve been a Christian for more than a week, you’ve probably tried a reading plan. One of the problems I’ve had with Bible reading plans is that I’ll start strong, then miss a day, then miss another day, then I’m so far behind that I give up. One thing I love about New Thru 60 is this. The reading is relatively light – only about 4 chapters per day (about 15 minutes of reading), and there are 7 “catch up” days in the mix. This gives you time to catch up if you miss a day for any reason.

I’m asking God to clearly speak to me through this, and I hope you’ll join me.

Here are the requirements:

1. Leave a comment on my blog to let me know you’re in. I’ll be praying specifically for you every day of this.

2. After your reading, take a moment and leave a comment on Facebook or Twitter with a thought that stood out to you, and end your thought with #NT60 (for New Thru 60). It’ll give us a way to track what you’re learning.

3. Don’t read just to read. Prepare your heart every day. Ask God to speak to you through your reading. Remember this: We don’t read the Bible for information, but transformation!

I love you and am excited to do this with you!

Here is a link to the PDF of the New Thru 60 reading plan. Thanks to my friend Dave Clayton for the help on it!

I’m back!

August 29, 2011 in Access Church with 0 Comments

I’m back baby! I’m going to start regularly blogging starting September 1.

I took a break from writing this summer for one simple reason – to create space for God to speak to me. And boy has He messed me up. I’ve got some exciting things to share with you in the coming months. I can’t wait to share.

Silence

June 23, 2011 in Personal with 0 Comments

Please excuse my silence. It’s not that I haven’t had things to write, it’s that I’ve been working hard this summer to create margin in my life for God to speak to me. I’ve heard it said that the best way to hear from God is to break your routine… to create space for Him to actually speak. That’s where I’m at right now.

There is so many profound ideas stirring deeply in my soul. Some I’ll share here eventually, others I believe that God is doing in me… for me.

I’ll be back in a few weeks. New. Improved. Changed.

Access Church Staff Planking

May 26, 2011 in Access Church with 4 Comments

At Access, we work really hard, and we play really hard. I really believe that the staff that laughs together, stays together. I LOVE these people. We have fun together.

Today, we planked. Let me know which is your favorite!

Me Planking on Top of My Desk Hutch

 

Jordan, planking across my desk

Than, planking on top of our mailbox

Megan, planking on the couch

Mike, planking outside our offices

Jay, planking it up in our break room!

Our awesome intern, Chris, planking it up!

Than, planking at Office Depot

Crikey, Jay is planking!

So, which is your favorite? Leave a comment to let me know!

Blessed.

May 11, 2011 in Access Church with 0 Comments

Happy Mother’s Day!

May 8, 2011 in Personal with 0 Comments

Last Sunday, Lis and I were in Barcelona. They celebrate Mother’s Day a week earlier than we do here, so I got to “double celebrate” with my wife! I hope she doesn’t always expect double holidays!

I am a blessed man. Joey and Gavin are blessed little boys!

When you marry a person, you really don’t know what kind of parent they’ll turn out to be. Sure, you can watch the way they interact with kids, or dream with them about the way you want to raise kids together, but when it comes down to it, it’s all an educated guess.

Joey & Gavin on Mother's Day... Studs.

When I married Lis, I knew she had a great example, as did I, but I never knew how great of a mom she would be. She continually gives of herself, sacrifices for, and constantly loves our boys. She gives and gives and gives… then she gives some more. Our boys will always be raised in a home where they know that their mom loves them, believes in them, and supports them. I am so thankful for that!

The other thing about Lis that I love is that she lives to have fun with the boys. Whether it’s taking Joey to the zoo, or tickling Gavin until he can’t breathe, she just lives to see a simple smile on their precious faces. Couldn’t ask for anything more. Continue Reading…

Hopping the Pond

April 26, 2011 in Personal with 0 Comments

We’ve had an unbelievably busy few months. I’m writing this from the Orlando airport, on my way to Barcelona, Rome, and South France for a few days with my gorgeous wife! We’ve been saving frequent flyer miles FOREVER, and we’re so excited to rest, dream, and get away. We’ll be with some of our best friends in the world, John and Brandi Carrano!

Two important thoughts:

1. If you never rest, you crash and burn. This is why the Sabbath is so important!
2. No matter how busy you get, always make your spouse your priority. Yes, family vacations are important, but your first priority is your wife!

20110426-032654.jpg

Synergy

April 26, 2011 in Access Church with 0 Comments

What you accomplish in life is important. Who you accomplish it with is WAY MORE important!

I wanted to take a moment to brag on our team. We’re not a huge church… yet (but, stay tuned!). Our staff stepped up and pulled off a huge weekend with tremendous success. I took them to breakfast this morning. What an AMAZING time of sharing stories of God’s goodness to us. SO MUCH FUN.  I love these people.

Allow me a moment to praise them.

Than & Megan Graffam - are you kidding me. These guys are AMAZING. They’ve worked tirelessly to plan, work out details, advertise, and so much more. It obviously worked. Some 6,500 people showed up. Here’s the thing I love the most. This morning, as we were sharing stories, Megan said this, “There was SO much love behind everything we did. It was all to show God’s love in a fun, practical way.” I LOVE THAT!!! They had so many amazing stories about Lakeland’s Largest Egg Hunt and Sunday’s services.

Mike Burns – killed it in every way this weekend. He’s been working on media for weeks leading up to the events (including my favorite video of all time!), and he made this amazing opening for our new series “Coming Home.” SO SO GOOD! He’s been such a great team player. We couldn’t do Access without Mike. Period.

Jordan Rippy - amazing heart. He’s worked SO hard with us to promote and dream Lakeland’s Largest Egg Hunt up. Then, on Sunday, he and the band did an UNBELIEVABLE job of leading us in worship. There is something so powerful when Jordan leads “The Anthem.” Especially on a Sunday when we celebrate the fact that Jesus is alive, those songs become so much more than words. They’re life changing truths. I love me some Jordan and Kristin!

Jay Grafam – this guy gets it. Do WHATEVER it takes to reach people far from God. Jay led a team of amazing volunteers on Saturday to park over 1000 cars at the school. Then, he was there all day Sunday, creating environments for people to encounter God. I love his Twitter timeline. It pretty much describes the weekend. The latest Twitter entry makes all the hard work worth it.

Again, what you do in life is important. Who you do it with is more important. I’m blessed to lead with an amazing team. They get it. People matter to God, and we’ll do anything we can to reach them.

Page 1 of 1612345»10...Last »