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!

Walker and Amanda Sherman

God has answered a prayer of mosaic church this week as Walker and Amanda have decided to lead worship for our church!

As the leader of our church, I strongly desire to see every worship service become an incredible experience of worshiping God through music and hearing relevant teaching of the Bible.  I am confident that the Sherman's joining our team instantly brings us to that point.  

Here are just a few of the reasons why I believe that Walker is the guy to lead our worship music.

He has an evident love for Jesus Christ

He has an incredible desire to put his wife first

He has an authentic call to lead worship

He has learned from the experience he has

He has a desire to learn more

He is self motivated

He is very talented

He gets the vision of mosaic crestview

He is supportive of me as the Pastor of our church

He wants to see others use their gifts to serve Christ

He is fun to be around

He believes that God is doing great things  and will do even greater things with our body of people

I am excited to see how God uses Walker and Amanda to see lives changed in Crestview.

i am thankful to leaders who have gone before me

In "next generation leaders" Andy Stanley talks about how uncertainty increases with increased leadership responsibility.   The more things that you jump into as a leader the more things are uncertain.  With a lot of areas of leadership there is a great deal of intangibility, which means leaders have to make their best guess at deciding what is right for the situation.  

I am very thankful for the many Pastors and leaders who are ahead of me in their journey.  Leaders who have faced a lot of the same intangible decisions that I am facing or will have to face.  I am thankful for their courage to lead in the midst of uncertainty and for their willingness to be transparent about struggles they have faced and mistakes they have made.

I have benefited greatly from these men and women who have given me a lot of information to help me make the best guess at deciding what is right for situations.  

With twitter, blogs, websites, books, etc. there are some many opportunities to be able to learn from these courageous leaders.  

If you are young and in leadership, it is a mistake to think that you know best, that you are the LONE RENEGADE who is facing challenges and doing the right thing!  Everyone has their flaws, but everyone also has amazing strengths and experiences that we can benefit from!  Let's start letting them know how much we appreciate them!

Thank you leaders who have gone before me for making my life easier!

 

five questions I ask myself just about every night.

What did God teach me today?

How can I be more like Him tomorrow?

What decision do I need his guidance on?

Who do I need to intentionally talk to about their walk with (or lack of) Christ?

What am I afraid of?

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.  

philosophy from Barry Manilow

"success comes when preparation and opportunity meet together."  

I heard this quote last night out of the mouth of none other than Barry Manilow!

This sums up what life is all about.  Opportunities are going to come, but what happens with those opportunities is all about what we have done to prepare ourselves.  

This applies to our jobs, our marriages, our financial opportunities, sharing the message of Christ, and pretty much everything.   

If I can teach my son one thing in this life, it would be to live his life in preparation for the opportunities that God will put before Him.  

Proverbs 16:1

to man belong the plans of the heart, but from the Lord comes the reply of the tongue.

I think we can all apply this principle from Barry Manilow.  

the right thing

Sometimes doing what is right does not make sense.

It is so easy to lean on our own understanding. We are comfortable with it. We are familiar with what the consequences are. We are in some sort of control of the situation. Even if it is bad there is not an element of surprise.

We don't like surprises; or better put we don't like the time leading up to the surprise. I want to know my choices:

If I am not the one picking where we go to dinner, I like to know beforehand so that I can prepare myself if I am going to be disappointed or eat less during the day if it going to be somewhere good. I do not like just showing up somewhere.

If someone is paying, I don't like rules on what to order. I want to have the freedom to choose. I want to be able to do what I want.

Why do I say all this? Because God asks us to follow him, to make decisions that are not based on our understanding but are leaps of faith.

I have to ask myself a question a lot? As a pastor, as a church planter, as a husband, as a friend, as a leader, as a father, as an individual

am I willing to follow God into the unknown?

plans

GUEST BLOG: John Wise (friend o james and guy who helps at mosaic from time to time)

it's funny. as i look back there is only one question that seems to always come my mind. in fact it is probably the most overused question that is presented to every graduate whether they are graduating from college or high school.

"what do you plan to do next?"

sometimes when that question comes up around the parents, they usually try to answer it for you. am i wrong?for me, that question had to be the most annoying. every time i ran into someone with my parents that they knew, they had to tell them i was graduating. and every time i had to prepare myself for that dreaded question.in all honesty i had no idea what i was going to do. i still don't. if you even mentioned this to the person who asked you that question, they followed it up with even more questions. "well, what about this? or this? or how about this?"and then you get those who ask, "well what is God's will for you?"there it is. the question that leaves me speechless.

but why is it? it should be an easy question to answer. THIS is where God wants me to go. THIS is what God wants me to do. THIS is who God wants me to marry. and the list goes on.what is God's will for our lives? what is God's will for my life? what is His plan?

the verse that is quoted a lot when faced with this dilemma can be found in proverbs. it says: "trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight."paths. plural. not singular.

sometimes i think we view God's will as this small box that we have to stay in. and if we go here, or do this we break and step out of the box and out of God's will. it is as if we are limiting God. saying, "this is it. this is all You have for me." we change "paths" to "path." in essence, we are limiting God. saying this is all He can do.this thrill ride of abundant life. this journey that we are on can't be one of simplicity and singularity. i don't think that is what God intended for us. if that is what He indented then there would be things in this life and in the Bible that we would completely understand. but instead, the Bible leaves us with questions. it leaves wondering and wanting to know more. i don't see that as simple.look back at those verses and read the first part again. the writer says that we are to "trust" God with everything we have and acknowledge Him in everything we do. part of this complex, intimate relationship that God desires to have with us. He wants us to seek Him and Who He is.

there are numerous verses in the New Testament that show how we should live and act all saying, "it is God's will."for an example:1 Thes 4:3 - "it is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality."1 Thes 5:18 - "give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."and the list goes on.it is all part of this complex relationship.once we sit down, take a deep breath and just focus on Who God is and get to know Him more and more "He will make our paths straight."He will present these "paths" to us. He will guide us. He will help us on this thrill ride. this journey. we just need to focus on Him and not get bogged down with worry about the decision.

later in that same chapter in proverbs the writer says, "then you will go on your way in safety, and your foot will not stumble; when you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet. have no fear of sudden disaster or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked, for the Lord will be your confidence and will keep your foot from being snared."meaning this God who wants you to get to know Him, who wants you to experience this thrill ride, this journey is going to be there, helping you. He is not just going to show up when needed, He is always going to be there, watching, helping, guiding. making our paths straight.

so i sit here on my parent's porch watching the sun set on another day. i still do not know what is going to happen in the months to come. i don't know where i will work or where i will live. what will i do?i will continue on this joy ride, this journey where i experience the love and joy of God and get to know Him more in a way i never have.opportunities will come. paths will appear in front of me and i will have to choose where to go and what to do. but if i just have to continue to grow and mature and experience the joy in this thrill ride of abundant life. and if i do that, God will make my paths straight and keep my foot from stumbling.how awesome is that?

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!!!

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.

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?

his gain, our gain

Beginning this Sunday, my good friend is going to be serving at our church.

Tripp has felt a burden on his life to plant baytown chuch, a church that is focused on reaching unchurched young families. He believes that this church's birth is almost two years away. Because of this call on his life he has left a secure position as the student minister at an established church.
He has not sought after another position that is extremely secure and that pays the bills. He has prayed and followed God to use his time doing what will best prepare him for the call on his life, and allow him to be used to build God's kingdom during that preparation phase. AT THE FOUNDATION OF BAYTOWN CHURCH IS A DECISION BY IT'S LEADERS (tripp and his wife joy) TO SACRIFICE SO THAT THEY CAN BE AS BEST PREPARED AS POSSIBLE TO REACH AND STRENGTHEN PEOPLE. Their dependence on God and their denying of themselves to follow God is an example to all. It is easy to head in a direction that makes sense, in a way that all the details are planned out. It takes faith to go down a path that you have seen God lead you down but not know exactly how you are going to get to your final destination.

When we feel a calling on our life that is not immediate, we should begin to head in that direction and serve God faithfully on the road to His timing. We should not just serve where we are comfortable and where the t's are crossed and the i's dotted but we should devote our entire life to that promise that God has planned for us. When we arrive at the point that we are looking forward to, we realize that the call did in fact begin two years ago and we can look back and see how God has strengthened and used us in many ways, just because we were following Him!

I trust in God

I hear people say this statement a lot. However, I wonder how many of those people truly trust God.

I know it is an overused analogy but someone who says they have faith that a chair will not break but is not willing to sit in it, does not really have faith in it.

If you trust in God financially but do not sacrifice finances for his sake; you don't actually trust in him financially.
If you trust in him with your finding the right person but will not look for the criteria he sets for your spouse; you don't actually trust him to give you the right person.
If you trust in his direction but will not follow unless everything makes sense; you don't actually trust in his direction.
If you trust in him for eternal life but do not give your life to him; you don't actually trust in him for eternal life.
If you don't trust in him......etc, etc, etc, etc, etc, etc.......................................................................

Let's stop praying - God take all I have and do what you will - and start giving all we have so that He can do as he wills!

vacation

Even though I love my job, my vacation went by really, really fast. I cannot imagine what it would be like dreading to go back to work.

Many people hate what they spend most of their time doing. I cannot imagine that being what God desires for our lives.

Is your life fulfilling? If not, what is holding you back?

We all tend to blame people and situations for our unhappiness when God usually has given us control of our own lives.

the toughest part of my job

Do you ever wish someone could just see what your heart is feeling and understand how much you care for them?

When you make decisions that affect people, they sometimes are not very happy about those decisions. This is understandable because when we are in the wrong it is very difficult to see what is right.

I have heard that what separates those who achieve greatness and those who do not is their willingness to respond and grow from criticism and set-backs.

It is just very difficult when you are the one who is used to separate those people.