There is a show that I watch called Human Target, which is a pretty good show by the way. The recent episode was about the Princess of Wales. There was a negative twist in the plot, but one of the lines said was, “I am protecting the crown.” There was anger over some things the princess was doing and the thought was that she was disgracing the crown. The premise behind protecting the crown is that there is a reputation there that must be maintained at all costs. This is an idea that does not just stay in the monarchy, but makes its way into several sectors. In the mafia or La Cosa Nostra there is an ideology that no one is above the family. What each person has to do us uphold the family. In New Jack City it was said that “No man is above the crew.” This is what it is all about. It is the responsibility of each person to do whatever possible to uphold, uplift and maintain the rep of the crew, gang, mafia, monarchy or family.
As beleivers we have the exact same responsiblity. Everyday and in everything we need to do what is withn our powers to porect the crown. The crown that was worn as Jesus died on the cross and the crown that He wears as king. If we wake up every morning with it on our minds that we are protecting the crown I wonder how our actions, thoughts and words would vary and change. There has to be an understanding that we are representing a kingdom. With this in mind we understand that it is not about us as individuals. Most time our decisions are all about us rather than the crown that we are protecting. This needs to change. This is something I remind myself of everyday because I want to do a good job for the crown.
Posted by Pastor D | Posted on 22-02-2010
Category : Lifestyle, example
The other day as I was putting my kids to bed on Valentine’s night they said, “Daddy what is the next special day after Valentine’s Day?” I said to them, “Tomorrow is just an ordinary day.” As soon as I said that it was like God smacked me in the head and I had a light bulb moment. What came to me was that, “There is no such thing as an ordinary day.” That was simple, but monumental. Even with all of the various things life throws our way there is nothing ordinary about any of the days of our lives. Many times we allow the things we are in to determine the ordinary nature or extraordinary nature of our days. This is not the determining factor. What makes our days worthwhile is the fact that it was given to us byt the Lord. The bible says to use, “This is the day that the Lord has made.” Seeing as the Lord made each day is has an intrinsic value all its own. What needs to happen then is that we need to prepare our hearts to meet our un-ordinary days. Everyday that we wake up in the morning needs to be one where we wake up on the right side of the bed. Drama may have carried itself over to the next day, but what do you take over to the next day? We are told in the bible that everyday bring new mercies. How cool is that? I love the fact that God gives us reason and incentive to have a great day. Now, you decide… What kind of day will you have? Peace
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
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.
