A Hero for TODAY!

Posted by Pastor D | Posted on 22-01-2010

Category : Amazing things, Community, Connections, Cultural Relevance, Formation, Lessons, Lifestyle, Uncategorized, evangelism, example, how ya' livin', random acts of kindness, witness

What can I say? Everyone loves a hero. Would you agree? I hope so. The heroes that we have today are not the ones we see featured on the image above. No tights, capes, superhuman strength or underground caves with bats as friends. No, the heroes we have today deal with larger hurts and crisis situations and their response is no less awesome. It is even more awesome. The help they gives does not come by way of super power, but they come by way of love, a concern for people and relationships. If I had to point to a hero for the here and now (totally subjective, you may choose someone else) it would be my buddy Pastor Shaun King. He is the lead pastor of Courageous Churchin downtown Atlanta. They recently celebrated their one year anniversary. In that one year they did far more than several churches that I know of with more members and bigger budgets. There is a heart that beats within Pastor Shaun that aches and breaks for God’s people.  Here is a quick rundown of some of the major things Pastor Shaun and Courageous Church have done within the year.

  • Supplied toys and school uniforms for the children of Stanton Elementary School (2 Christmases in a row)
  • Started Hope ATL to assist with supplies, money, shelter, demolition and etc for the 2009 Atlanta flood
  • Positioned Courageous Church and those within his reach to respond huge to the Haiti Earthquake
    This has shown itself by way of money, sending neurosurgeons, coordinating rescues and numerous other   things.

Do not  get me wrong. I am not necessarily promoting a man or doing any kind of idol worship. However, I do recognize the calling on his life and appreciate his heart for God’s creation. Truth be told when we see things on television happening in other countries or even on our own street corners we get very apathetic. Sometimes we shed a tear and sometimes we do not even do that. In the final analysis we do not do anything. There should be something in us that jumps when we see tragedy whether it is over the seas or across the street. God created us to have a concern and a desire to help people who are in need. I so admire this hunger, thirst and yearning to help “the least of these.” If you were to ask Pastor Shaun he would not make a big deal of it because these heroics (and this is what they are) are commonplace to him. This is who he is. What he does, how he leads and how he loves inspires me. It calls be to be a better church planter, pastor and believer.

If you want more info on Pastor Shaun and Courageous Church, check out the following;

www.courageous.tv
www.shauninthecity.com
www.hopeatl.com
www.theywilldie.org

Friends! Part One

Posted by Pastor D | Posted on 12-01-2010

Category : Amazing things, Community, Connections, Cultural Relevance, Family Matters, Lifestyle, Relationships, Uncategorized, example, how ya' livin'

Alright folks… We are back into the Friends blog series. I took off for a few days. It is back! Remember, we are looking at a biblical view of friendship. I think one thing that can inspire us about friendships are examples of friendships. When we look at the bible we see David and Jonathan. David was the up and coming young man who would eventually be King of Israel and Jonathan was the song of the now king and he himself was next in line. Did you get it? David was going to be king and Jonathan was next in line, but not going to be king. With all of this they were the best of friends in spite of the differences and what could have been a point of contention they loved each other very much. When I look for a modern day example I have to go a little younger than David and Jonathan, but effective nonetheless.

I wish I had a picture with me to post so you can see, but maybe i will post it tomorrow for you. At any rate, the example of the David and Jonathan friendship I am referring to is my daughter Aria and her BFF Kendi. However,  i think BFF may be a little light to describe the love shared. Check this out;

  • They refer to each other as sisters
  • They have unconditional love for each other
  • They get excited to wear the same things
  • They have some of the same pains
  • They cry when they leave each other

I could go on about these things, but I won’t for fear of typing too much. In a matter of speaking their friendship is awesome and so the kind of thing God wants us to show to our friends. Our families are pretty close to each other, but these two trump even that. :-) The friendship they share is so special. I pray quite often that the friendship they have now will remain forever. My pastor back home in Los Angeles refers to his friends as being knittogether in the spirit. If there were even any two people that fit this mold my daughter Aria and Kendi do %100.

Okay, there is our friendship example and we will jump into some practical stuff tomorrow…

Peace!

Game Changers for 2009

Posted by Pastor D | Posted on 31-12-2009

Category : Amazing things, Church Planting, Church Stuff, Community, Connections, Cultural Relevance, Daily Babble, Formation, Launch Team, Lessons, Lifestyle, New Things, Purpose Church, Purpose Church launch, Smart Stuff, Uncategorized, example, how ya' livin'

Alright guys, here we go… We are about 14 hours or so away from a brand new year. We are literally at the edge of 2010. I am pretty sure that many of use are ready for the new year to come and the old year to be gone. Many people are making bucket lists, goal and vision lists as well as countless resolutions. However, let’s look back for a second. When you look back on 2009 is there any one thing that was a game changing decision for you? Okay, here is the definition of a game changing decision. It is a HUGE decision that you make that sets up the stage for something HUGE and DIFFERENT to happen in your life in the new year. Got it… Let’s go! While you reflect on your own game changing decision let me let you in on mine.

My game changing decision for 2009 was putting the brakes on Purpose Church back on May 31, 2009. Whew that was alot to even say for me. Yes, after years of being the pastor of a church and people I loved dearly we closed up shop. We did not close up shop forever, but nonetheless we closed up shop. There was a serious overhaul that needed to take place in the ministry. The analogy I used on our last Sunday was that “you cannot repair a car while it is still driving, you need to pull it into the garage.” How about that? So, during this downtime there is a lot of under the radar stuff that God is doing to prepare for the launch of something new. I say something new because it will not be named the same, look the same or feel the same as what we had before. It is not that anything before was bad, but I really feel something new happening. We shot for a January 10, 2010 and then rescheduled for Easter 2010 in order to hit some benchmarks, but God said no. It was not a reprimanding no, but it was a pump your brakes kind of thing and I am at peace with that because I know what is coming will be great. In the meantime there is a lot going on that I will let you know about soon in regards to what I am getting into, what is going on with the launch and how you can help.

This game changing decision for me was extremely difficult and emotional. My wife and other friends helped me get through it and navigate my way to where I am now. Wisdom from other ministry leaders and guidance from God have hooked me up. I am good now and saying do it Lord in 2010.

Stay tuned guys… By the way, lookout for the new blog name and new blog design in the early part of the new year.

Whatcha’ Lookin’ Forward To?

Posted by Pastor D | Posted on 30-12-2009

Category : Amazing things, Church Planting, Community, Connections, Cultural Relevance, Daily Babble, Formation, Lessons, Lifestyle, New Things, Spiritual Fitness, Uncategorized, example, how ya' livin'

Whew! Let me say that again. Whew! 2009 is well on its way out. In just over a day we will be smack dab at the beginning of 2010. How about that? Many of us have bad things to look back on in this year and good things to look back on in this year. We all share varied experiences throughout this past year. Many people have already started to make resolutions (in my case revolutions) and make plans for the upcoming year. However, some people are so disenfranchised and beaten down by 2009 that they have no desire to enter into the New Year or they enter in limping. Even with all of this, I have a question… “What are you looking forward to in 2010″? I know that 2009 might have disappointed some, but there is nothing like a New Year and a fresh pad of paper to write things on. As far as I am concerned, I am looking forward to some things. What about you? Can you lift up your bowed down head and set your eyes forward and get a vision for 2010?

Tomorrow we will jump into what I would call Game Changers for 2009. For me 2009 brought some changes and decisions that I think God will use as a springboard to some pretty cool things. See you tomorrow!

Primal ~ A Book Review

Posted by Pastor D | Posted on 22-12-2009

Category : Amazing things, Books, Community, Connections, Cultural Relevance, Daily Babble, Lessons, Lifestyle, Smart Stuff, Spiritual Fitness, Uncategorized, books and mo' books, giveaway

primalI like to read. Do you? I have a few books in my library that I go back and read from time to time. Some of the books are educational, inspirational etc. They run the whole gamut. I came across a book just recently called Primalwritten by Mark Batterson. I read a book he wrote a while ago called Wild Goose Chase, which by the way was awesome!I have to say, I am almost done with this particular book and I have to say that the book “had me at hello.”Do you remember that line from Jerry McGuire? This book from the first chapter had me captivated and my eyes ready to overflow with tears. Seriously! I loved this book. It is weird how some things arrive with perfect timing. Primal spoke to me at an exact place where I am in my life right now. It spoke to the place so loudly that I had to cover my ears. The imagery of going down the 2,000 stairs to the essence of what these early believers dealt with screamed at me. Through this book I was beckoned to go back. This book has been extremelypersonal to me because it was an answer to prayer. Let me say one thing before finishing the post, thank you pastor Mark. I am not in a place where I am moving forward by going back to the place where I first met Him as Mark did in the balcony of the seminary.

In an age of Christianity where there is so much fluff and surface when it comes to a real life in Christ this is a welcome read. It is not often where we are called to go back to a primal, basic, foundational and raw relationship. We have moved away from that. The place that Primal pulls us back to is a place of authenticity, power and great dedication. That is where I want to be and my hope is that this is where others want to be as well. The heart of Christianity has in a sense been lost and it seems that the goal of this book is to give us a hart transplant and do what the bible says. The bible speaks of taking away a heart of stone and giving us a heart of flesh. God, through this book Primal, give us your heart.

Okay, gotta go I have a few more pages to read so I can finish this great book.

Check the book out here at Random House.

How A Glowstick Works

Posted by Pastor D | Posted on 21-12-2009

Category : Amazing things, Community, Connections, Cultural Relevance, Daily Babble, Formation, Lessons, Lifestyle, Smart Stuff, Spiritual Fitness, Uncategorized, example, how ya' livin', witness

glowstickMy kids always get little things that they hold onto even more so than their major toys. One of these things are some glow sticks. They found some in their room the other day. I am not sure when they first got them, but it had to be a little while ago. They found them and immediately they wanted to use them, but did not know how. My wife says to them, “you need to break them.” So, both of the glow sticks have been broken. At this point the kids are slap happy. My son rushes to the light switch to turn off the lights. Why? He wanted to be able to play with his glow stick in the right condition. Where is that you might ask? In the dark. There are two major facets to glow stick operation.

  • Glow sticks must be broken before they can work.
  • Glow sticks work best in the dark.

My son wanted to get the whole house as dark as possible so he and his sister could fully enjoy their glow sticks. As people God created us to be glow sticks. We are supposed to go into the places where our light is most effective in order for it to be seen. We do not so much have a problem with glowing as much as we have with being broken. That is a whole different and scary issue. Circumstances that we have experience often break us and take us to a place of pain. However, more than these being stains they are things that cause our light to shine. If you have experience poverty that is a brokenness that can be used as a light once you get to a place of financial peace. If you have experienced domestic abuse and the brokenness from that we are able to show a light once healing has taken place there.

When my kids were playing with these glow sticks this whole thing hit me that we break first and then are effective. What is in us that has been broken that God can use as His own personal glow stick?

Are You “Still” A Lion ~ Part 2

Posted by Pastor D | Posted on 18-12-2009

Category : Amazing things, Community, Connections, Cultural Relevance, Daily Babble, Lessons, Lifestyle, Smart Stuff, Spiritual Fitness, Uncategorized, example, how ya' livin'

lioncageIs this you? Are you a caged lion? Are you an over tamed version of your former self? Has the fire gone from your eyes and have you lost the eye of the tiger? One of my favorite movie series of all time is Rockywith the exception of Rocky V. In Rocky III we find Rocky Balboa at the height of his success. While he is flying high Clubber Lang rises up the ranks. He is a rough, tough and ferocious fighter that demolishes everything in his way. Rocky is challenged by Clubber Lang and Rocky accepts only after Clubber Lang flirts with Adrian (Rocky’s wife). During Rocky’s training both Mickey and Apollo Creed comment on the fact that Rocky has lost the eye of the tiger (you know you are singing the song in your head right now). check this out

Side note: I hope I can fit this all into this blog post. :-)

We mentioned the fact that a lion is a hunter and it is aggressive. The point of the matter is that the lion goes after what it wants. Is this you? Depending on where you are in life. This is not an indictment at all, but rather a prompt for us to take a closer look at ourselves to move back into being a lion and getting that eye of the tiger. The whole thing about Rocky Balboa’s lack of tiger eyes in the movie was that life had been too lush for him and he no longer had a reason to fight anymore. In a sense he had arrived. When we reach certain levels of comfort and prominence real of perceived we lose lion in us. If you check out the first post yesterday you will see the image is of lions eating their kill. This is because lions have a habit of getting their own meat and fending for themselves. When they are in the throws of everyday life, they go hard! If you notice this picture you see a lion in a cage. As lions become caged or put in the zoo it is fine for us to see and observe, but they are no longer as ferocious. Do not get me wrong, I am still not getting into a cage with one at all. However, their meat is thrown to them as opposed to their having to hunt for it and get it themselves.

Here is a question… Why are you so tame? Where has the fight gone? Where has the eye of the tiger gone? Get it back! check this out

 

Are You “Still” A Lion? ~ Part 1

3

Posted by Pastor D | Posted on 17-12-2009

Category : Amazing things, Community, Connections, Cultural Relevance, Daily Babble, Lifestyle, Smart Stuff, Spiritual Fitness, Uncategorized, example, how ya' livin'

lioneatingThe lion is the King of the jungle!Don’t you love lions? Lions have long been admired for their ferocity and their majesty. Why are they the king of the jungle though? Let’s face it. They are not the biggest in the jungle. They have to compete with the rhinoceros and the hippopotamus for that. They certainly are not the fastest. For that they need to compete with the cheetah and other fleet footed animals. The thing that gives the lion its status as King of the jungleit its power and ferocity! Lions are ferocious. They are hunters, they are aggressive and they are protectors. In other words lions are awesome. What did the hyena do in The Lion King when Mufasa’s name was mentioned? They shuttered. You got it. They were afraid of the ferociousness of the king.

This is the way God has created us. He has created us with a hunting instinct, an aggressiveness to our nature and a protectiveness to our psyche. In life we get to victory not because we are the biggest or the fastest (remember, neither is the lion). We win and get victory in life because we go hard! That means when we see something we jump into it and tear into it regardless of our own size. Lions have a sense of themselves that is unflinching. We ought to have this same thing in mind seeing as we have The Lion of the tribe of Judah (Jesus) in us. Our stance towards life should be lion hearted. Lions are never deterred by the size or swiftness of its adversary. The lion runs off of an instinct and uses that to fuel what it does. What do we run off of? As people we need to jump back into being lion-hearted.

Tomorrow we will look at how we have lost our sense of being a lion. Join us tomorrow as we pick up our true lion-hearted nature.

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