What are you doing this summer?

Summertime is here: it is a time for many of us to slow down. Many are done with school, going on vacation and just flat out ready for a breather. If you are like me life changes big time- my kids don't have school, therefore if they are not entertained or kept occupied they break things, each other, or they simply drive me to a place of near insanity. Don't get me wrong, I love my kids and I love spending time with them, but if my parenting goes on a vacation its not good for anyone in the family. So I am having to look at this summer with purpose. Daddy Day Camp is now in full session and I am determined not to let our kids fall victim to jut another lazy summer of getting on each others nerves.

Tonight I preached a message from John Chapter 5 on not allowing ourselves to fall victim to letting our spiritual life go on vacation. Life has a way of lulling us into a place of familiarity that we aren't willing (or able) to leave regardless of how much we want to. So the question is: What are you doing this summer. Are you looking forward to checking out for a few months, are ready to jump on board what God is doing all around you and allow yourself to be used by God to make this a summer like you never have experienced.

I am ready, are you? Buckle up, its going to be a wild, but worthwhile ride!!!

Psalms 62

Found this to be incredibly uplifting in worship today

New Venture

This next week will be my last week as one of the Pastors at Crossroads. It is truly a bittersweet time. I am thankful for the opportunity that I was given to plant Elevate as well as to serve with a great team of people sharing the Love of Jesus with this community, I will miss meeting with them on a weekly basis. The excitement of the new venture however is revolutionizing my life and my trust in God.

A few people have asked what this means to Elevate, the answer is simple- Elevate will continue to operate as normal and I will still continue to lead our amazing leadership team to reach out to the young adult college generation of this community. There is going to arise the need for people to step up and start taking ownership of Elevate and what happens each week.

The reason I am leaving my position at Crossroads is to Plant a new Church in Exeter called Orange Valley Church. I look forward to sharing much more in future of post of how I arrived at this point in life, to take this bold (possibly crazy) step of faith to leave the security of something safe to the challenging unknown.

I am looking forward to what God has in store for me, I am a firm believer that he is the one who orders our steps and I am blown away where he has led and how he has provided this far. We have the responsibility of preparing and planning but ultimately we need to be listening to his voice and receive our direction from the Holy Spirit.

Look forward to sharing much in the near future. have an amazing day.

Lots of Change, and some things the same...

If you haven't heard yet, its official. I (along with others) am going to be planting a Church in the Exeter area called Orange Valley Church (orangevalleychurch.com)

This has been a interesting journey which begin to progress rather quickly as it became apparent that this was where I believe God to be leading me. The great thing is I'm not alone! One of my best friends in the world Alex Reeder is going to be joining me, as well as Eric McIntosh will serve as the Worship Arts Pastor (myspace.com/viraavenue.com).
Two other friends Kevin Starling and Adam Bravinder have also committed to developing the leadership structure for this amazing new venture.

Couple of things I want to make sure an get out there:

1. From the beginning this was done in with full disclosure to Crossroads Community Church where I have been on staff for the last 4 years. I amd my family have been blessed by this church and will always have a special place in my heart. I or Alex are not leaving because of anything that was are wasn't being done- there is no issue, simply pursuing what God has placed before us. We are very thankful for and leave in good standing with Crossroads and will continue to Pray for and encourage them in their work in Visalia as we launch out in Exeter.

2. Elevate will continue as normal. The vision for Elevate began in my heart years before we opened. I will continue to lead the elevate team, and I am just as excited about the future of it as I was when we began four years ago.

Excited about what God has in store looking forward to amazing things...

The Missional Church

Stumbled upon this video- sums up what the missional church is: Love it!!!

EASTER

Good Friday 2009 - Ending from buckheadchurch on Vimeo.

Living by Faith not Fear

For the past year I have been learning a lot from the life of David, I have also be teaching a lot and talking a lot about moving from living out of fear to living in faith. Well its easy to say you want to live that way, and easy to say when you aren't facing major life changing decisions. So the time has come to learn to walk in faith and you know what it kind of stinks... its not comfortable, there aren't any guarantees, people misunderstand you, you doubt yourself, and friends leave you... but what I have to keep telling myself (because my emotions, and sometimes logic are screaming something else) that I have to pursue what God has placed in front of me regardless of the odds against. He hasn't called me to comfort, he has called me to life obedience and continual life transformation.

I read an Article Blog Post from Perry Noble today that Challenged me to be a Leader like David, not Saul...

Ten Signs A Leader Is “Losing It!” March 25, 2010

I’ve been reading through the OT lately and have been challenged by the downward leadership spiral that Saul went on…here are TEN signs from his life that point to a leader “losing it.”

#1 – The ministry he leads moves from being about the name of God to the name of the leader. (Compare I Samuel 14:35 with I Samuel 15:12!)

#2 – He gets impatient with the process that God is taking him through and thereby tries to “make something happen” rather than waiting on God’s timing. (I Samuel 15:5-10)

#3 – He makes self centered leadership decisions that slow down the people he works with rather than empowering them. (I Samuel 15:24–notice the references to himself in this verse.)

#4 – He refuses to completely obey God because it places him in uncomfortable situation. (I Samuel 15:1-9)

#5 – He allows fear of man to trump his fear of God. (I Samuel 15:24)

#6 – He refuses to take action and deal with the obvious issue in front of him…and if anyone attempts to do so he is quick to tell them they cannot! (I Samuel 17:32-33)

#7 – He cannot celebrate the success of others. (I Samuel 18:8-9)

#8 – He tries to discredit/destroy anyone or anything that looks like it is successful apart from him–Saul actually became more obsessed with destroying David than he did leading the kingdom! (I Samuel 18:10-11)

#9 – He resorts to trying to see the spectacular apart from the presence of God. (I Samuel 28)

#10 – He refuses to deal with the fact that his jealousy, insecurity, disobedience and self reliance is not only going to cost him…but cost others as well! (I Samuel 31:1-3)

(end article)

Love this Article, #5 is the one that seems to kick my tail quite often. Its kind funny (not really) that God is putting me through areas of my life, or allowing me to go through things that cause me to actually live this and not just keep it around like a nice little nugget of truth.

Alright time to step away from the keyboard, where it is easy, and to go out in the world and actually let it be a part of who I am and how I live.