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.

celebration

There are a lot words that can be used to describe what I experienced this past Sunday night. It was one of the most incredible things that I have ever been a part of and most certainly was a marker in the journey that our church family is on.

We began the night by baptizing three people. All three of them were people who did not grow up in church and haven't lived the cookie cutter do good life. They were people who were living but have now become ALIVE!

Later, we celebrated and prayed for Tripp Battle ( our pastoral intern) and his wife Joy as they confirmed to our church that they feel called to serve God vocationally. Our desire is to be able to equip and send them to plant a life-giving church wherever God leads them.

The night ended with us worshiping God through communion. The life that Jesus Christ lived and gave up for us, was a great ending note.


It is incredible to see God use a guy who believes that Christ is THE WAY and doesn't really know what he is doing in leading the church!

Mosaic, let's celebrate and keep reaching out to those who are in need of Salvation!

why?

Someone recently asked me what the point was in starting mosaic church. They said that they didn't really see a need for our church or other church plants.

I have several things that I could say, but I will just say one:

lives are being changed.

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.

baseball and staff meeting

Last night I watched the Rays destroy the Red Sox. It was cool to see them so "in the game" after being defeated at home in game 1.

Every week, our paid staff (me, tripp, eric) meets to see how we can better lead the church. Our agenda is simple and as follows:

-Last week- victories and areas of improvement
-People of our church and their needs/what needs to be done
-Various items that concern the life of our church
-This week: Leaving the past behind, while learning from it. Moving forward towards the vision that God has given us!

We start with our past and what we can learn from it. We finish by focusing on the future and how we can be used by God.

I think that this is a great model for our relationship with God. It is great to celebrate our victories and repent over our losses, but we must always press on to the fact that God has given us tomorrow. While He desires our realization of how we may have struck out, He is more focused on our intention to step up to the plate for Him again!

Defeat does not discourage great leaders, it becomes a catalyst towards a higher level of intensity during the next at bat!

awkward

A huge part of church planting is raising financial support. My least favorite part is asking a church or person if they are longer able to make their commitment. One of our supporters has not contributed over two months and I have to make that call. But, it usually is an appreciated call that leads to their support continuation. But if you are raising support for church planting or missions, be prepared for those awkward situations!

true religion

I think it is really funny how people throw the word religion around. "Oh, that person has found religion." "Yeah, they are a really religious family." "I am looking for religion in my life." "I think that you need religion to get everything under control in your life."

Most people in the south are looking to have religion that is approved by God of the Bible. They do different things to seek after what is pleasing and perfect to God, they try to pattern their lives to that Heaven is their inheritance when they leave this earth.

So, this brings up the questions: "what is real religion?".

The answer is found in James 1:27. "Pure and faultless religion in the sight of God our father is this; to look after widows and orphans in their distress and to keep oneself unspotted from the world."

So, God fully/100 % accepts religion that is focused on looking after widows and orphans and that keeps self from being stained by this world.

The orphans and the widows are the helpless! God's heart is that his followers do everything that they can to meet the needs of those who cannot meet their own. If we sing, and pray, and teach, and give......but do not look after the helpless then we have a blemished religion.

read Isaiah 1:10-17 if you still have a problem with this.

But, we have become spotted by the world. We have become focused on self. We have become focused on having bigger/better, just like our culture preaches. We sell a God that is good because we have.

God wants us to realize that Godliness with contentment is great gain! God wants us to love him regardless of whether or not He gives or takes away!

Let's not go through motions, but lets have true, giving our all, meeting needs, following Christ religion!