update (part 2) personal life

One word can summarize my personal life lately; strength.  I have had to rely on the strength of the Lord, like never before.  I have come to a greater understanding of my inadequacies and of His ability to work on and through me.  I am continually challenged by Scripture and my relationships with other Christ followers to walk further, run faster, and jump higher than ever before.  Here is what is going on in my personal life.

1. I am more faithful than I have ever been in reading the Bible and praying.  

2. I am being stretched to be continually giving of myself; time, energy, emotion, and money.

3. Cameron is 9 months old now.  He has become an incredibly smart, funny, and beautiful little boy already!  He crawls like a maniac, stands up on his own (close to walking), waves and does more fun tricks.  I am so blessed to have him in my life. 

4.  Christie is three months pregnant.  She is nursing Cameron and has a growing baby in side of her.  Her body has a  lot of work to do!  It is very good that she is able to stay at home.

5.  I am working 40-50 hours a week for the church and another 18 at Starbucks.

6.  After this semester, I will have 18 hours left for my masters!

7.  I am incredibly out of shape and have battled with a good plan to change that over the past year.  I am currently working on a new one.  

8.  I have made some great friends through my involvement in mosaic church of Crestview.

9. As a result of the popularity of our churches nomorechristians.com teaching series, i have several non-Christians who listen to my teaching regularly.  This has provided some cool opportunities.

10. I wish my friends and family from the Jacksonville/Starke area could pack up and move to Crestview.

what you can pray for

Christie and I's relationship.  This is a stressful time for us and we have to be intentional about working on our marriage.  We are both immature and struggle with being the spouse that we need to be.

Christie and I having two kids that are 15 months apart.

Our personal finances. It has been tough for Christie to stay at home.

My continual trust in God's provision and sovereignty.  

Increased opportunities and influence to use the gifts that God has given me.

Thank you so much for your support and love of Christie and I.  God has used so many of you to strengthen us to do the overwhelming tasks that He has called us.

update (part 1) church life

Over the next few days, I will update you on what God is doing in my life. I will begin with a snapshot of what is going on with mosaic church.

1. Jesus is being honored and glorified by our leadership. We are trusting in Him and He is the focus of all that we do.
2. I have been blessed with an incredible staff (Walker, Tripp, and Joey) who are continually improving in their dedication to our church and devotion to helping me focus on what I need to focus on.
3. We have some great volunteers who are giving so much of themselves to see the vision of our church carried out.
4. During July we averaged 110 in attendance which is our second highest month ever.
5. Our worship services and environment has become incredible. (thanks to the staff and volunteers)
6. God has brought some new faces to be a part of our church that are going (and already are) do so much to further the Kingdom of God.
7. We have got some office space for very cheap, so while we remain a portable church we will have a central office.
8. We have seen several trust in Christ. We are excited about them being baptized in August!

what you can pray for

God has been burdening me that we need a few couples that are more mature ( age wise and spiritually). We need some strong older married couples that are passionate about our vision to reach the unchurched.

Finances are pretty bad for mosaic church. Please pray that God provides in a supernatural way. Christie and I are exploring the possibility of me working bi-vocationally gain. We'll do what we gotta do!

Other than that, just pray for me to listen to God and not my desires or other peoples desires. There is a great amount of momentum building right now and we don't want to do anything to quench what God is doing!

Thanks for reading and thanks for loving on my family and mosaic church!

things aren't always what they seem

I have been stressing about a few things this week (yes, i know I shouldn't worry)!

our car is having problems

something is wrong with our taxes

church finances are way down

and

my cell phone broke.  

I was extremely aggravated by this phone thing.  I love everything about the phone except for not being able to picture message, I have to go  a few days without my phone and I have to buy$$$ a new one........ugghhhhhh

but listen to what I was told by the alltel rep......

  "You are eligible for an upgrade so you can get the phone at the new price.  (I picked the palm treo PRO an upgrade with pic messaging for only $59).  Also, we can and go ahead and lock in your current plan for another two years.  

  Otherwise you would have had to switch over to a Verizon plan next month since your contract has expired (for less minutes and the same features I use currently it would have been another $40 a month to switch to the Verizon plan) ."

So I spent $60 and saved $40 x 23 = 920.  My phone breaking saved Christie and I $860 over the next two years.

Thank you God for breaking my phone. 

This was His way of saying "I got this".  

offering

This upcoming Sunday will be the first Sunday that we collect an offering at mosaic during the worship service.  Up to this point we have chosen to leave this aspect out of our service and only give people the opportunity to give by placing a box at the entrance.  

The largest factor in determining this decision is the following:  We believe we are failing in teaching new believers that giving of their resources is a part of their walk with Christ.  

It is less awkward to remind them weekly through implementing the passing of buckets (plates, baskets, whatever) during worship than to say "don't forget to walk over to the box where everyone can see you and give something."  

Here are some questions and answers that we have worked through in making this decision.  

Q: Will taking up the offering during the service cause those who are unchurched to be uncomfortable?

A: There are a few that may not like it, but most people who do not go to Church have gotten past that when they decide to attend a service.  Plus we will let them know that they are not expected to give.

Q:  Aren't offerings supposed to be given and not taken?

A: However you do your offering they have to be taken, unless you just leave the money sitting there.  Also Paul referred to the collecting of money in 1 Corinthians 16

Q: Isn't it better to give while no one's looking?

A:  Yeah, we don't give to be seen.  People may see you give during the offering time, people may also see you give at the box in the back.  Just don't worry about them.  Focus on God.

Q: Are we doing this so we will have more money?

A: Actually, our finances have increased drastically recently so we are not to worried about that.  God will take care of us.  However, the more people who are giving (with the right heart) the more we are equipping people to live life to the fullest.  

Q: Won't some people give out of guilt?

A: We hope not.  We hope people don't do anything for the wrong reason.  Some probably will, just like some probably do now.  

steps

So, it is a new year and I have some goals. The date I have set to meet these goals varies from during this year to five years from now.

-Finish my Masters.
-Get back into the shape I was at our wedding.
-Pay off our car/have only our mortgage as debt and then save up to pay cash for the next car.
-Become a better husband.
-Lead our church to experience growth and no longer need outside support to carry out the vision God has given us.

Probably a few more to come!

You know what's crazy, people set goals without ever determining the steps to get there. I am setting the steps now! Pray for me as I work on all of these!

money

The most common thing that Christians refuse to give to God is their money. People say that they love God with everything they have, but refuse to obey Him and sacrifice finances. They blame pastors, churches, situations, and who knows what else.

But the reality is that God doesn't hold us accountable for others actions, He holds us accountable for our devotion to Him. According to the Bible, we are robbing God by not sacrificially giving to the Church as an act of worship.

"Tithing" has changed my character. It can change yours.

Don't rob yourself of the joy of trusting God financially.

PS: Don't blame God for you financial situation if you haven't put it in His hands.

imagine what we as the children of God could do for His kingdom, if we were debt free

GUEST BLOG: Tripp Battle (Pastoral Intern)

The focus of this past Sunday's message is that "the borrower is slave to the lender." This can be found in Proverbs 22:7.

Here are some alarming statistics I came across about the American cultures issues with debt...

• If you go to cardweb.com, you will see that the Avg. American family with at least one credit card is $9,200 in debt
• The avg. cardholder has 2.7 bank credit cards, 3.8 retail credit cards, and 1.1 debit cards. That’s 7.6 cards per cardholder!!!
• 43% of American families spend more than they earn each year.
• In the past 10 years, bankruptcies have gone up by 100%.
• In 1929, 2% of American homes had a mortgage, In 1962, 98% of American homes had a mortgage.

The point is… We have a problem!!!!!!!!!!! The good news is… there is some pretty cool principles in the Bible that can help lead us out of this debt that we have gotten ourselves in.

I would encourage you to read 2 Kings 4:1-7.
This is the story of a widow whose husband left her with some serious financial debt. It was so bad that the creditors were going to take her sons into slavery as payment. She approached the prophet Elisha and told him that she literally had nothing except a little oil. He then told her to collect as many jars as she could from her neighbors. When she had done this she waas to pour the little oil that she did have into all of these jars. She ended up filling up all of the jars and had enough money to pay off her debts plus some to live off of in addition to that.

You and I might look at this situation and say that it was crazy that the prophet told her to go out and collect all of these jars from her neighbors. After all... she had NOTHING!!! Plus... thnk of how this must have hurt this woman's pride to have to ask her neighbors for these empty jars.
The worse off you are financially, the crazier the things you might have to do to get out of this "Money Pit" we call debt. Cut your cable; get rid of your WiFi; stop eating out at places you can’t afford; start cutting out coupons and shop for bargains; forget that vacation you’ve been saving up for and pay off your credit cards; etc, etc, etc… Even if you don't totally get rid of something like your cable... you can at least down size in the amount of channels you have. It's OK not to have 5,000,000 channels-4,999,980 0f which you'll never even watch!!! After all, do you really need ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN News, ESPN Alternate, ESPN Plus, ESPN U, etc... ???

So... with all of this in mind... Is there such a thing as a good debt??? YES!!!

Romans 13:8 says not to let any debt remain outstanding, but to be in debt to one another in love. So we are not to let any debt remain outstanding, but we are to have a continuing debt to love one another. I believe that outstanding financial debt that you and I have can sometimes keep our focus off of the debt that we are supposed to have… and that is the debt to love one another!!! So if you remember any of this blog... remember this!!!
THE ONLY DEBT THAT’S PLEASING TO GOD IS THE DEBT TO LOVE OTHERS!!!

passing the plate

This past Sunday we passed the plate for the first time in the history of mosaic church crestview.

However, we gave out money instead of taking it in. The challenge was to use this money for an act of kindness towards someone who needed it outside the church.

I have heard a couple cool stories of how they used their money.

Please comment with how you used yours.

lives of luxury

We look at the wealthiest and see the things they have, the places they go, and the way they do things. We see how much money is blown on extra homes, really nice cars, traveling the world, and being extravagant. We see what their money could do for the rest of the world.

1% of people in the world contain %90 of the world's wealth and if they gave up 90% of their income they would still live above the average income in the U.S. and there would not be a person in need.

Not all of us are rich, but still many of us pattern our lives in the same way. I am going to spend my abundance on me.

If you are not a follower of God or another religion that promotes charity, then there is not a reason to question your spending.

However, there are many "followers" of Christ who make selfish decisions with their money every day:

a nicer car instead of feeding 50 orphans in india for a year - $20,000
a small remodeling project instead of building a well for a village in africa - $3,000
an extra home instead of financing a new church start - $150,000 - $200,000
a lavish vacation instead of paying for several to do foreign missions - $12,000

I could go on and on and I have personally made some of these same decisions.

For a long time, I have avoided calling people out on spending and I don't plan to tell you where you should spend your money. But you have to realize that you are choosing to spend it on self instead of others when you get anything that you do not need!

We would tell a person that is getting hammered every friday night and then faithfully worshiping on Sunday to stop being a hypocrite. So what about the person who spends, spends, spends and then gives to God on Sunday?

I am not sure where the line is, but I know that as a church we crossed it a while back.

the naked principle

Job had it all. He had prosperity, stature, and family.

Then in one day it was all taken from him.

Imagine that. You are doing life as normal and then everything on this earth that means a lot to you is gone. You say that God is your all, but yet how do you feel without the ability to have great things, without the respect of people, and without your loved ones?

Job said that he came into this world naked, and that he is leaving this world naked; so may the name of the Lord be praised!

Job realized that God is the one in control, God is His everything, and that He would continue to live for Him. Job's faith and relationship with God was not contingent upon "blessings" of this world, but hope for the next!

Where is your satisfaction found?

a root of all kinds of evil

We have fallen into a trap. As we pressed on towards the American dream we slowly walked into a giant and seemingly impossible pit. We cannot continue to move forward because it is to steep to climb out, but we have to go back and go around this trap! We have to fix the problem, which is the fact that we got ourselves into this because of our blind ambition. and the church...............................................oh the church.

where God's children should be the example of sacrifice we lead the way in selfishness!

We have to begin to rethink the way we spend. We have to provide needs for our children instead of wants. We have to love our spouses instead of lavishing them with gifts. We have to stop ignoring the broken, poor, helpless and meet needs! We have to invest time in our spiritual growth instead of spending all of our time working to have a second car payment and a bigger home.

Money is not bad. The love of money is. Are you managing your money or is your money managing you?