Living Intentionally

The idea of intentional living has been resonating in my heart for a few weeks. Intentional meaning that in the things that I say, the things I do and the way I portray myself all point towards Christ. I do it intentionally. I have never been a very outgoing person so this can be difficult. To be intentional you have to put yourself out there. Open yourself to rejection and seclusion from friends. But on the other hand you could plant a seed in someone that may not have been planted had you not been intentional with the gospel. So this has been weighing heavily on me for a while and I finally made my first step. Nothing major but at band practice some people hanging out downtown heard us playing and asked to come in. We played for them and as they were walking out I invited them to church. I felt burdened to do it. Not in a bad way but it weighed heavy on my heart to speak to them. It was kind of a rush though :) So here goes being intentional...this may be fun.

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 1 Corinthians 10:31

Frustrations and Observations

The things you don't see happening in most churches will surprise you if you ever have your eyes opened. Here a few things that, after observing from past experiences and speaking with several people in similar situations, I have found to be fatal to churchs.



1. Inability to place Jesus as the head of the church

2. Lack of vision or ability to convey the vision to the congregation

3. Churches led by congregation

4. Lack of leadership from the senior pastor

5. More emphasis placed on buildings than the work Christ

6. A desire to stay the same (regarding methodology not theology)

7. The congregations refusal to submit to the authority of the Pastor and the Pastor's inability to require it.

Just food for thought.

So glad I'm a part of church with a clear vision and strong leadership to implement it.

Brilliant Creator

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place,4 what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?

Psalm 8:3-4



I did something this past weekend that I have wanted to do for a very long time. I hung a hammock! Once I laid down in it I began to look at all of God's creation around me. The trees and the brush and the grass. I listened to the birds sing, watched the sky and the clouds move. It made me feel somewhat insignificant thinking about the vastness of creation. God is so amazing though when you think about how creation is so perfect. How we have light and darkness, rain and shine, the processes of our environment that work so perfect and complex that only God himself could come up. A song I have recently learned has a line that says nothing is greater, brilliant creator, friend of mine. How true that nothing is greater than God and His brilliance but yet He still pursues us.

Dirty Rags

The biggest change that has come in my life since leaving traditional church has been humility. If you take away the things that you thought made you godly and realize they were just idols and sources of pride it can leave you very humble. Religion is so works based that it can leave you with a great sense of accomplishment. All the things that I once held in such high regard have since been made know to me as rubbish. We can be such a prideful people and take such pride in the things we do when all that really matters is Jesus. When you shift your focus from the things that you do to the thing that Jesus did, you begin to do things not to add to your resume but to please and honor Christ. I took great pride in that I was a youth pastor, ordained, licensed to preach, led service when the pastor was away, preached at other churches, preached at revival. When I began to see that Christ did the only thing that matters, these idols became in my heart just what they really were, a pile of filthy rags. You have to learn to let go of the works and see the cross as an all encompassing work. He died not so we could build bigger buildings and take pride in our accomplishments but to boast in what He did and take that message to world.

In Phillippians 3 Paul runs off an amazing list of His qualifications for righteousness under the law. This is the same as our righteousness by works mentality. The things that we think will bring us closer to God. He goes on to say in verse 8 that he counts all these things as rubbish compared to the knowledge of Christ.

I have come to learn that all that I have done previosly, all my works, my credentials, my accomplishments and qualifications are just that...rubbish. A pile of rags compared to the knowledge of Christ Jesus. It is good that I have seperated myself from these things and can see Jesus in light of what He is...my savior king who saves me because of my faith in Him not because of my works.

Why a blog?

Not sure why. I've come a long way in the past 4 months in my relationship with Christ. I've found a new church family, I'm learning what gospel truly means, I'm learning what it means to be a gospel based Christian instead of a religion based one, I'm learning about community, opening up to new relationships, being a part of the kingdom here in my city. I have a lot of new things going through my mind right now and I just think and process things better when they are put down in words. I am a recovering religionist. I have discovered that most of my Christian life has been spent missing the point. Gone are the days of legalism and moralism and false facades, fronts and barriers and closed minded thinking. I have much to learn. It is a struggle to relearn things you thought you knew for so long. So while I am recovering from religion (which will be LONG process) it is my hope that Christ be glorified. I'm sure if he can transform me than His glory will be evident.