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!

when a word changes

Growing up, all that grace meant to me was a 15 second cliche saying that happened before dinner around certain people.

Wow, has that word changed for me.

I don't think that I will ever cease to be amazed by the grace of God.  To think that He completely loves people who reject him or that claim His name yet live in contradiction to what He desires is unbelievable.

Literally, it is hard to to believe that someone has that much grace.  But, He does.  I am thankful for that grace.  I am thankful for how much that He has grown me.  I am thankful for how much He has changed me.  I am thankful that He uses me to be a part of His church.  

I really am not worthy of His grace.  But He gives it to me, and for that I am thankful.

and then there were four!!

That is right; Christie and I are having another baby!

We are so blessed to have an amazing first and oldest child, Cameron.  He is truly incredible and I am confident that he will be a terrific big brother.   

The next addition to the Ross clan is due to arrive at the beginning of February.  

Cameron and _____ will be 15 months apart!  Pray for Christie as she is at home with a baby (which is crawling and close to walking) and is pregnant. 

The level of excitement in our already crazy life is definitely about to increase drastically, but we are trusting in God's provision and His grace to cover our lives!

God bless America

I do thank God for America and I do ask God to bless America........

and Canada

and Mexico

and China

and Mali

and Brazil

and England

and Iraq

I try to pray that God's grace is felt all over the world and that those who love Him and are trying to spread His good news would be blessed in their efforts.

God thank you for any favor that our country has had and please continue to bless us, not so that we can be rich and powerful but so that Your Love can be spread......all over the world.

having it all together

This is something that is extremely far from being about me.

I am not saying this to complain or express personal disappointment.  I just want you to know that if you are struggling with not being good enough or not knowing what do, you are not alone!

When we have a view of how something should be going (our marriage, our career, our finances, or our health) and it is not meeting our expectations it can be very easy to become discouraged.  

The serenity prayer says "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; 

the courage to change the things I can;
and the wisdom to know the difference."

What an old school thought that is so relevant for today.

When discouraged, we should ask ourselves if there is anything that we can do about this?

If there isn't..... then be still, and know that God is!

If there is..... then have the courage to take risks and change what is going on.  

Something I have to remind myself is that God's desire to use us for something incredible doesn't go away because of our failures or mistakes.

God, give me the wisdom to know the difference!

top 5 blogs (part 1 of 5)

responding to criticism        posted on  7/28/08

 

When someone begins to criticise me or an issue arises in a relationship, there is a simple process that I follow in order to make things right.

 

Step 1: I evaluate my life. I check to see if there is something related to the issue that I need to get in line with God. Usually there is.

 

Step 2: I evaluate (not judge) the other person and see if there is any black/white issue that shows they are clearly not following God.

 

Step 3: I ask someone that I trust about the issue. They usually point out something I can work on as well.

 

Step 4: I pray about resolving the issue.

 

Step 5: I attempt to resolve the issue. Start with you heart! Tell them where you desire the relationship to be.

 

This has been very helpful to me over the past year. I encourage you to follow this or come up with a process to handle relationship issues in your life.

i am what i am

A lot of times I do not feel like I deserve to be where I am in life.

because of my......past

because of my......age

because of my......mistakes

because of my......failures

because of my......weaknesses

because of my.....inexperience

because of my.....sin

because of my.....doubts

because of my.....insecurities

Paul talks about not deserving to be an apostle in 1 Corinthians 15:10 and has spoken to me in a very personal way

"by the grace of God, I am what I am and His grace will not be void, because I worked harder than all of them; not I but the grace of God with me."

you may not deserve to be where you are - influentially, financially, relationally, etc.... but by God's grace you are what you are.

a great privilege

One of the coolest things about being a part of a church body is the amount of times that you get prayed for.  

It sounds very "unhumble", but I really like being prayed for!

I am so thankful that you are praying for my family's physical and spiritual health.

I am so thankful that you are praying for my leadership.

I am so thankful that you are praying for God's growth in my life.

PLEASE DON'T STOP PRAYING!

I try to pray for our church partners pretty regularly.  Regardless of whether or not you attend mosaic, I would love to lift you up.  Shoot me an e-mail at james@mosaiccrestview or leave a comment if you have some requests!

The prayer of the the righteous is powerful and effective - James 5:16

i'm a good liar

I've become excellent at not being transparent but appearing to be so.

It is an art. 

It is taught at Pastors conference (maybe not directly, but it is).

It is the best way to become a successful pastor, leader, employee, spouse, parent.

Contemporary Churches have become environments where this is rewarded.  We love to hear some one's confession of  sin, some one's story of growth.  We don't actually want to investigate how they are doing today.  We don't want to look someone in the eye and sincerely ask them about sin.  It may involve more time, prayer, friendship.

We like the label of "authentic" without the work that comes with sincere authenticity.  

-will I truly be accepted if people know ____.  

-what will people think of the fact that I ____.

-I really don't want people to use ____ against me.

Let's what call it what it IS.

We are a culture of liars and typically we are a church of liars.

no more......excuses

I make them all the time.......

I'm really busy right now

I don't get enough sleep

God loves me regardless

It doesn't make me that bad

I am pretty good at it already

I am helping others

I don't want to be legalistic

i have the excuses and more.

all excuses.

excuses for why I do not devote myself to reading of the Word and prayer EVERY DAY.

but.......I'm done.

10 random things about my current daily life

1. I am reading through Proverbs very slowly. I am on chapter 9 after a month of reading and it is changing my life!

2. I have seriously increased the number of meals I eat at home due to health and finances.

3. My Alltel report says that I average over an hour and half on the phone a day.

4. I watch 99% of Pardon the Interruption episodes.

5. I typically wake up at 6am and go to sleep around midnight.

6. I try to listen to a sermon a day.

7. I spend at least 30 minutes studying/discussing a religion besides Christianity.

8. I am experiencing the benefits of deep prayer life for the first time in a long time

9. I enjoy reading (or listening to my wife reading) Cameron a book every night.

10. Everyday,  I am confident that tomorrow will hold great things...

an audience

Earlier today, I was thinking about how I am so amazed at what God is doing in my life and the life of the church I pastor....

......my first thought was to twitter.....

......then to blog, what I am blogging right now......

not just to praise God for His goodness.

I worry sometimes that having this constant audience via the web replaces me talking to God. (Yes, I realize by blogging about this I am doing the very thing I am concerned about.) 

I had a great time with an audience of one this morning. 

Hopefully our twitters and blogs flow out of our personal communication with God.  

it begins

This has been a  mentally exhausting week.  It makes me question the fact that I registered for classes over the summer today (after 1.5 years off from school).  

This nomorechristians teaching series is provoking a lot of questions.  This week....

• I have had four deep conversations about the existence of God, validity of the Bible, and other religions in addition to a group discussion on atheism last night.  
• I have had two e-mails wanting an explanation of this upcoming series.
  
• I have been called blasphemous twice (one joking, one serious)
• Adam Duckworth and I have been referred to as geniuses and idiots
• I have scheduled three meetings; one with an atheist, one with former atheist, and one with an agnostic.

and we haven't even promoted this thing yet.

I don't want to be the guy who only blogs about what the church is doing, but I am so excited about what God is going to do with this series!

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!

well done

I constantly struggle with what God views as success and what man views as success.

When I worked in the mortgage industry what I needed to do was clear, whatever made me the most money.
When I played competitive sports what I needed to do was clear, whatever caused me to have the best chance to win!

I know that God has called me to pastor for a reason. I know that He wants me to help lead people to be more like Him and for them to lead others to be more like Him. (Ephesians)

For those of you who do not know, I didn't plan to plant a church. I didn't dream of it for years and years. I didn't even know much about church planting. It just happened ( which has been cool and not cool in many ways, lol).

I believe that it was God's plan. I believe that I was obedient to His call on my life. I believe that He is using us to do incredible things.

Our church is growing numerically, but I don't just want to have bigger numbers.
People are getting excited, but I don't just want our church to be cool.
We are doing things, but I don't just want to do a lot of stuff.

I want God to be pleased with me. I want to be in His will. I want people to be transformed through what we are doing.

I see a lot of guys who are pastors or want to be pastors who (regardless of what they say or what I will say about them) want man's recognition for what they do.

I do not want to be that guy; I can't be that guy even when I try.

I don't want to be successful, I want to be a servant. For even the son of man did not come to be served, but to serve.

Love is not a victory march,it's a cold and it's a broken Hallelujah - Leonard Cohen

IN THE HOUSE!!!

On October 29th of this year, my life changed. My wife and I (more so my wife) gave birth to our first child, Cameron Daniel Ross. As most parents would agree, words cannot describe how incredible it feels to hold your child (something that you created) in your hands.

I am filled with excitement because this young man has so much ahead of him and at this point in his life anything is possible. I am nervous because I don't want to screw him up too bad to stop him from being able to follow His dreams. By the grace of God, I think that I will be alright in this.

As the definition of my family has taken a drastic change, I cannot help but think of the many families that are struggling right now with financial stress, divorce, and many other things. It is a great time of uncertainty in our country and in our churches.

So, for the next five weeks we are going to look into the foundation of our country, the homes across America. I invite you to mosaic church's worship gathering as we go IN THE HOUSE and I ask you to keep your heart opened that God may cause a drastic redefinition of priorities, marriage, parenting, communication, and serving one another in your family.

I believe God is going to do some incredible things in our lives if we allow Him!

to be baptist or not to be baptist?

I did not grow up in church. I fell in love with God while attending a small pentacostal church which did some big stuff to reach students. At age 16 my father became a Christian and we started going to a church, a baptist one. God did a lot of things in the baptist church, I watched it grow from 350 people to over 1,000 people in just a couple of years. I witnessed many peoples live being changed. So when I finally started to get serious about my faith as a college student I attended a Baptist church. Then when I responded to the call to Pastor and decided to pursue a degree in Biblical Studies, I chose a Baptist college.

But, as I got involved in ministry in a Baptist Church and then transitioned to Pastoring a church plant that is affiliated with the Baptist Convention, I began to get discouraged about the future of "Baptists". Many people will not attend a church that has Baptist in the name because of the feeling that it invokes. I have seen a failure of Baptist leaders to reach out to younger generations because of their traditions. I have seen money spent on "fellowships" and "buildings" over reaching people. I have seen churches that are a political democracy rather than a pastored theocracy. I HAVE BEEN DISGUSTED!

However, I have not abandoned the Baptist Convention. They have a history of reaching many lives that is unmatched. They have established hospitals and houses of hope across our nation. They have come together to send many people into foreign lands. So, I have continued to hope that the old way of doing things would become a preference and the new lives that can be reached would become the priority!

Well this past week, a young guy who Lord-willing has many years ahead of him of leading people to increase God's kingdom was given another reason to have hope. In a surprising and unconventional move the Florida Baptist Convention elected John Cross to serve as president. John (who is my mentor and good friend) wants to engage young leaders so that churches coming together through the Baptist Convention can renew their efforts to lead people to Christ. He wants to learn from organizations like ARC and Acts 29. He wants to utilize people like Ed Young, Perry Noble, and Troy Gramling who are leading people to share the Gospel boldly. He wants things to change!

So a guy who loves Jesus and just wants others to see how great HE is; will hope and trust that this is a sign that things will get better, that Baptist will become relevant to a culture that has abandoned God, and that affiliating with them will contribute effectively to lives being changed!

YJC, I am praying for you and behind you.

normal week

It has been a pretty normal week. I have been training at Starbucks and I have been preparing for Sunday.

I am really excited about this Sunday. There is no special reason for this Sunday to stand out. I am just excited about being part of a church that honestly is trying to pursue Jesus.

He has really melted my heart a lot this week and I am excited to share how great Phil 4:4-7 is with others!

responding to criticism

When someone begins to criticise me or a an issue arises in a relationship, there is a simple process that I follow in order to make things right.

Step 1: I evaluate my life. I check to see if there is something related to the issue that I need to get in line with God. Usually there is.

Step 2: I evaluate (not judge) the other person and see if there is any black/white issue that shows they are clearly not following God.

Step 3: I ask someone that I trust about the issue. They usually point out something I can work on as well.

Step 4: I pray about resolving the issue.

Step 5: I attempt to resolve the issue. Start with you heart! Tell them where you desire the relationship to be.

This has been very helpful to me over the past year. I encourage you to follow this or come up with a process to handle relationship issues in your life.