I have moved Blogging sites...

I just wanted to give everyone a heads up that my blog will now be updated on another site. I have crossed over to the darkside... (Wordpress)! You can follow my blog, etc. at http://trippbattle.wordpress.com. Thanks!

Critique's on Communication...

It has been a while since I blogged last. My lack of blogging is partially a result of the vast twitterverse. So... aside from all that, I have some thoughts on communication have been on my heart today.

People like to know what's going on. They want to be in "the know". That doesn't always mean that they will, or that they should.

My first example of this type of instance occurs in 1 Kings 19 when Elisha receives his calling from the Lord. Elisha had all sorts of worldly pleasures as a well-to-do farmer, but when Elijah laid his cloak on his back (symbolizing that he would be the prophet's succesor)... he knew it was time to go. His first instinct wasn't to ask What? Where? When? Why? or How? He just said his goodbyes to his family and friends and obediently entered into God's call on his life.

Then we see in the gospels where Jesus asks Peter to drop his nets and follow him. He had never met Jesus before. He wasn't out fishing to relax and enjoy the day. He was fishing to make a living, and Jesus was asking him to leave all of that. There was no notice, or warning... just a divine calling on his life. He began following Jesus immediately. All of the 12 disciples could share similar experiences when Jesus came calling.

That brings me to my next point, which is the 12, 11, 3 principle. This is the principle by which Jesus did his ministry. He called 12 disciples, graduated 11 (sorry Judas), and focused on 3 (Peter, James, and John). With the exception of Judas... the other disciples could have just given up on Jesus, gotten frustrated, and quit following him when they realized that he was spending more time with Peter, James and John. But they didn't! They trusted that Jesus knew what he was doing, and followed him regardless.

You and I can't always expect to be an "insider" in every area of our lives. And sometimes God is going to spontaneously call us to do things that make us feel inconvenienced, frustrated, and ill equipped. But... I encourage you not to give in to these spiritual chains, and to follow God no matter what he calls you to do, or when he calls you to do it. This is something that I am still learning daily.

nomorechristians.com

I am taking a little break from telling about my church planting ventures in Central and South Florida. I promise that I will resume with that this week though.

Many of you already know about our new series beginning Easter Sunday entitled "no more christians" you can check out the site at http://nomorechristians.com.com . We have already gotten quite a bit of feedback from the signs that we put out all over Crestview, our TV commercial, and from the website.

Most of the negative feedback that we have received has been from "Christians". For some reason they seem to think that we are denouncing Christianity. We have been accused of being witches, a cult, and essentially Christian hater/bashers!

Those things couldn't be farther from the truth.

Our intention is not denounce Christianity but to examine why some people call themselves "Christians" and live their life in contradiction to what they "believe". We also plan to respectfully compare Christianity with these other belief systems so that people can make their own decision as to what to believe.

We do believe that Jesus Christ is the key to experiencing "real life" but we have a deep respect for people from all religious, philosophical, political, etc backgrounds and are an open environment where ALL can seek truth.

We are not trying to reach Christians, but those who are going to Hell and that churches in our area are not reaching. If your read the books UnChristian, Lost and Found, or Revolution you will find staggering research that shows that young adults (and many older adults for that matter) are not going to church, don't want to go to church, and have an overwhelming view that churches are filled with "hypocrites".

Crestview's population increased by over 7,000 since the year 2000 but church attendance has declined significantly.

We cannot sit back and let that happen. We are creatively and aggressively trying to show these people that God loves them so much that even though they are still sinners, Christ died for them!

We invite whoever is curious to join us in attendance for this series.

Church Plant Destination: Miami???

I will be doing a compilation of blogs on possible destinations for us to plant a church to reach people that aren't being targeted by other churches. Our first stop is in Miami.

I have made many trips to Miami in the past, seeing that my wife is from there. She lived there for 10 years before coming to college in Graceville (can you say culture shock). Her parents and friends are all still down here, and it is always an enjoyable time to see everyone. We arrived here last night, and today at my father-in-law's church I was able to see many of our close friends. As we look at the possibility to plant somewhere in Miami, the temptation becomes wanting to do it just because we have friends and family here. That would be a bad reason to move here! That's not to say that Miami is out of the question though. There is still a huge need right here in the MIA! After all... it is the second most unchurched city in the nation!

Tomorrow I will be meeting with Al Fernandez, the Director of Urban Impact Ministries in Hialeah, FL. I will then be driving all around Dade and Broward counties looking for possible areas of need. Danny Egipciaco, also with Urban Impact Ministries, and a local church planter will be my tour guide and residential expert. Danny and Al are both awesome guys that love Jesus. I will keep you all posted as to what the rest of this week brings. Tomorrow I will let you all know how Monday went, and I will preview my trip on Tuesday to West Palm. This could prove to be a very life altering trip for me and my family! Please be praying for us as we seek out God's will, looking for red lights in the process.

Back to the Basics...

So I have recently taken a little break from blogging. A lot has been going on in my life (ie. the birth of my beautiful daughter Sophie). I will talk more about the joys of being a father and the fact that I have already been able to learn some life lessons from Sophie.

But...

Today I want to focus on another wonderful thing that has happened recently. As of this week my wife and I are officially debt free!!! WOO HOO... come on somebody! This is of course aside from our student loans, of which I am praying that Jesus will return before I have to pay them back.

Seriously though... I learned a valuable spiritual truth through getting out of this debt that we were in, and that is what I would like to talk about.

I had some stock investments, etc. of which I was not earning a whole lot of interest at the time. In fact as of late, these shares of stock had been dropping. At the same time, I also had a credit card that I was paying 28% interest on!!! That's right... I said 28% interest (that's a whole other story though). So a friend of mine who is an acountant started asking me some important questions. He asked if I was gaining 28% interest or more in the stocks that I had (of course I wasn't, nor had I ever earned that much interest monthly). He then asked me if I thought it made sense to be paying such a high interest rate on my credit card when I had this money in the stock market earning minimal interest. It didn't take me long to understand what an idiot I had been for not seeing that sooner.

Needless to say I have taken my previous stock investments and used them to get myself and , my family out of debt. I then realized that this same principal with money carries over into all areas of life. So often we spend the majority of our time investing ourselves into things that kill us rather than free us. Not only is there no return on your investment, but it will suck the life out of you, just like my credit card did. How often are you spending time in God's word? How often are you seeking the Lord out in prayer? I have to make sure that certain passions of mine, such as Auburn football (WAR EAGLE!!!), don't get in the way of my greatest passion... JESUS!

I even have to be careful that I don't put good books, conferences, and pastor's blogs that I like to read ahead of my personal relationship with Christ. Even studying for a message that I am about to teach on Sunday can get in the way of my walk with Christ. These things that I just listed aren't bad things. In fact they are actually great things, and they serve very positive purposes. They're just not great when they come before your relationship with God.

So... it's back to the basics for me!
How about you???

I Remember When...

I was reminded tonight at the mall, that it would no longer be socially acceptable for me to sit on Santa's lap to tell him what I want for Christmas. I know... that sounds weird coming from a guy that's 25!

But seriously... I miss that naive feeling that I had as a kid. I just knew that Santa was real! In the same way that we lose that naiveness (yes I just made that word up) about Santa... I think we also lose it regarding Jesus! We don't necessarily abandon our hope in Christ, but we do abandon the dream that Christ plants in our hearts. We think that they are too big and not able to be attained! We can't afford to lose our vision, passion, and dreams that we have for the expansion of the Kingdom of God! To take this leap of faith that God is calling you to, it might require you to be a little bit naive. Not in an ignorant fashion, but rather we ought to make sure that we are always susceptible to the things that God has for us to accomplish through him.

Do you still believe that God can use you to accomplish great things for His Kingdom, or has your flame been extinguished???

Do you still hear hooves on your roof when you go to sleep the night before Christmas???

A Harsh Dose of Reality...

I just thought that I would share this blog from Chris Elrod, a church planter and pastor in Lakeland, FL. His blog today rocked my world!!! If what he said isn't true... your only lying to yourself!!! Sorry... had to say it!

Check it out:

The Color Of Your Cow by Chris Elrod
Posted December 2, 2008 Filed under: General

One my favorite business books is Seth Godin’s “Purple Cow”. If you’ve never read the book, check out Mark Batterson’s recent blog post about it….it’s really good. Over the past four years I have really wrestled with the color of Compass Point’s cow. What makes us different? What make us unique in the community? What makes people want to come to Compass Point on Sundays instead of the dozens upon dozens of other churches in the Lakeland area? What makes people far from God even want to come to Compass Point in the first place?
I personally think it’s takes time…several years…to really discover the color of your church’s cow. In all honesty the pastor and the leadership doesn’t define it…it’s the people that attend your church that define the color of your cow. In Lakeland there are a BUNCH of brown cow churches (traditional) and even more black cow churches (hyper-charismatic, prosperity movement). There are also quite a few white cow churches that look a lot like the NorthPoint or Willow Creek model. I’m not so sure Compass Point is all that much of a purple cow in the community…but the people far from God that show up each Sunday think we are. In the end…that’s all that matters.
What they see as our purple cow appeal is not the size of our church (we’re small), how awesome our staging is (we suck at that stuff) or the cool postcards we’ve mailed out (we’ve never done that). No…the purple cow appeal they see in Compass Point…what we do well…is that we reach people in the margins…people in Lakeland REALLY far from God. We are really good at it…because we work hard at it. It’s not easy…people with drug problems, broken marriages, sex problems, alcohol addiction, living in homeless camps, just paroled from prison…or just the garden variety freak…are really messy. But that’s our calling…that’s our vision…that’s what God created Compass Point for. We don’t run from it…we don’t try to fight it…we don’t chase after other church’s vision…we just embrace it…and therefore our community embraces us. More importantly people really far from God embrace us…and come to know Jesus.
The point of this post? For God’s sake…literally…stop planting churches that look like every other church in your freakin’ town!!! Be different…reach a different demographic…find your purple cow appeal. What makes your church different from every other church in town. If the words “real”, “relational” or “relevant” are the best you can come up with…please do the world a favor…quit and go flip pizzas…you will probably suck at leading a church. Every church in the 21st Cetury should be real, relational and relevant! What makes your church different over and above those things? What is your church’s purple cow? If you don’t have one…spend some times on your knees getting broken before God!!! After that go hang out in a bar in your community and ask the drunk people what color your cow should be. Once that is all done…go be the purple cow church that reaches the people far from God that no other church in town wants to reach!!!

God's Providence...

Thank you God for always going ahead of us, clearing our paths, and providing wherever you guide us!

God never ceases to amaze me! I just found out tonight that my wife and I have raised some more support for our time at Mosaic. I received a message tonight from a friend of mine, Brandon Park, (aka the youngest guy I know with his Doctorate), who wanted to share some great news with me! He is the lead pastor of Wayside Baptist Church in Miami, FL. This is the same church where my father-in-law has faithfully served for the last 10 years. Brandon sent me a quick message just to let me know that Wayside would like to get on board to help support us while we are at Mosaic, and possibly beyond that (when we launch Baytown)! More importantly I have guys like Brandon, and churches like Wayside that are supporting Joy and me through prayer! I couldn't ask for anything more important! In my opinion (technically more than my opinion, because it's biblical)... prayer supersedes everything else!!!

So... thank you Brandon, Wayside, James, Mosaic, and all of the friends, family, and churches that are helping to support us through your prayers, and through your checkbooks!!! It does not go unnoticed!

Striving For Mediocrity...

Why is it that the church seems to always be striving for mediocrity???

We always seem to be happy with the way things are. I guess it's just easier that way.

So when is it that we will take the initiative to change this???

It's not something that just happens overnight.

WARNING DISCLAIMER:
Some effort & sacrifice is required &... BIG things might happen!!!

It's time that we get out of our comfort zones to try to accomplish something great for the Kingdom of God! There is no magic formula to usher in excellence... just doing what it takes, even when it's not convenient or comfortable! Just like I have challenged myself recently... I challenge you to step it up and take things to a whole notha level!!! I promise it's worth it!!! Besides... I think that Jesus stepped up to the plate, sacrificed more, and got more uncomfortable than you or I could ever imagine... and it was all because He loved us!!!

So if you really claim to be so passionate about your relationship with Christ... why not do the same for Him???

Great Blog!!!

I know that many of you that read my blog read James' blog as well (if you haven't... click on James Ross' blog on under the "blogs i read" section)! I just read his latest blog that he posted today and I was blown away!!! Therefore, I just had to copy and paste his blog to my page as well. The more people that see and read this post the better... And FYI I completely agree with James' sentiments below!!!

where is the feedback? (James Ross)

I was wondering why a lot of people say they read my blog, but no one comments on it. Maybe my readers are just not good with words, maybe their too lazy to comment, or maybe they just don't get technology. Then I was advised by a friend of mine that I had to change the settings because it was currently set to only let registered blogspot users have a say. What a simple thing I was doing to disconnect people from my blog.

I think this sums up most churches today.

They have a great message, but no one is responding to it. They figure out all the reasons in the world why people are not getting into what they are doing; a liberal culture shift, young people's attention spans, money, etc. They are completely unaware of the fact that they have shut the world out and are only interacting with those "inside". It takes some simple adjustments to change from being a gathering of people focused on self to being a living body that reaches out to a world in need. The message they have is compelling, it is what people are born to hear.

The questions is whether or not the Church is ready to respond to the world's response to the Gospel.

As a blogger I am now ready for your comments. As a follower of Christ, I am ready to see you respond to the message of Christ.

Dream BIG...

What do you really believe that God is capable of in your life???
Are you attempting to limit what he wants to do in and through you???

Sometimes I think that we forget how big God really is! I am currently reading a book entitled "GO BIG" by Bill Easum and Bil Cornelius, and I am constantly being reminded that God has endless potential.

Why wouldn't God want to reach your community for his glory???
Why can't he use you, or your church???

Our churches have become stagnant and stale! It is time to wake up and remember that we are to be the salt of the earth! People should come to your church expecting excitement, not dreading disaster! I believe that it is not the fault of the people, but rather it is the fault of the pastor that so many churches have plateaued and are dying. It is the job of the pastor to constantly be casting the vision of the church, so that the people know what it is that is expected of them.

Are you busy casting vision, or are you caught up in the television???

It's time to get real... we live in a sin sick Satan serving society!!!

What are you willing to do to change all of that???

At Mosaic, we believe that God is up to something BIG... not because of us, but because we serve a BIG God!!! I would tell you some of the things that we are expecting here at Mosaic, but I would have to kill you!!! LOL... no but seriously!

If your dreams don't scare you at least a little bit... are you really even dreaming???

There are things about our future church plant (Baytown) that scare me even now... and we still have over a year before we even Launch! This uncertainty is to be expected... if we ever expected to reach the unchurched people of Crestview... and the unchurched people of South Florida!!! It time to step up and step out and do something that involves a little risk... even if it means we have to get a little uncomfortable to reach our goals!!!

Vote YJC For President...

With the Presidential election in still fresh in our minds... we need not forget that the Florida Baptist Convention is right around the corner. I am not sure if you are happy that Obama is our President elect or not, but there is nothing you can do to change this if you voted for McCain. Just pray for President elect Obama, and our great nation!

In less than a week the Florida Baptist Convention will be convening in Lakeland, FL. During this time many things will be discussed, many friends will see on e another, and opportunities for change will be on the table. The greatest opportunity for some positive change is voting for the right candidate to be our FBC President! A good friend of mine will be one of these candidates, and I firmly believe that he is the guy that we need! This guys name is John Cross! Some of you might be familiar with him, and some may not be.

John is the lead pastor of South Biscayne Church in North Port, FL. He has been the pastor there for close to 20 years, and has seen many great things happen in this time. Don't get me wrong... it wasn't all peaches and cream. Some people left South Biscayne because they weren't ready for this change. They were more concerned with maintaining the church than expanding it! John on the other hand is very Kingdom minded! God has used John to take South Biscayne from a small church of about 100 people with very little impact in the community, to a church of about 2500 people on the weekends that does nothing but impact the community 24/7!!! They are on the cutting edge... always evaluating what can be done to reach unchurched people more effectively! Don't think that John and South Biscayne's ministry is merely limited to South Florida! They also have a strong presence in the Ukraine, where they make frequent trips to love and reach out to the Ukrainian people.

John is the kind of person that excites people around him to reach the lost... myself included!!! His passion for loving the unlovely is contagious!!! I can say without reservation that John Cross is the man that the Florida Baptist Convention needs! We need a change for the better, and I believe that John is the guy that God wants to use to do this!!! So... in view of all this... VOTE JOHN CROSS (aka YJC) for President @ the Florida Baptist Convention this year!!! I promise you won't be disappointed!!!

Don't Try To Dominate... Listen...

Why is it so hard for us to listen to others???

Why do we feel like we are the only ones that have anything of worth to say???

Why is it that while we are "listening" to people share something with us... we are already thinking about what it is that we can say that will top their thought???

People want to be heard, and many times they can tell when we aren't really listening to them.

Yesterday my buddy James and I had the priveledge to hang out with John Cross, pastor of South Biscayne Church in North Port, FL (http://www.southbiscayne.com/). I always enjoy getting the opportunity to hang out with people like John, because there is so much that I can learn from them.

Yesterday... something else jumped out at me though. John is a really good listener. He is genuinely concerned with the lives of others. I had to check myself a couple of times to make sure that I wasn't talking too much (aka-my wife gave me the nudge). It was hard not to talk though, because John is such a good listener. If anyone should have been listening yesterday... it sould have been me!!!

In conclusion... a good listener is also a good conversationalist... so make sure you're not dominating the conversation.

Greeting...

This past Sunday I had a brief meeting with our greeters @ Mosaic. We discussed some of the issues that can present themselves when trying to make first time visitors feel welcomed.
Here is some of what we touched on with some additional thoughts as well:

• I believe that greeting is one of the essentials of the church. I would rate the message, music, and children ministry above greeting, but greeting sort of encompasses all of these areas. The pastor can make people feel welcome by the way he communicates; the worship leader can make people feel welcome by the way he, or she is able to get people involved in singing; the children's ministry not only can make the the children feel welcome, but many parents will tell you that how their children respond on Sunday mornings is essential in their decision making to choose a church.

• We have all had a negative experience when visiting a church. We pulled into the parking lot, walked through the doors and made it to an empty seat without one person saying "Hi". This can be very discouraging when you feel all alone in an environment that is supposed to be inviting and personable.

• It is not much better when a greeter pretends to be interested in you either. In fact... in some cases it might even be worse. Take the time to smile and be genuinely interested in someone you've never met before. A big part of this is listening. If they aren't very talkative... pose some interesting questions and sit back and listen.

• Help people find their way around. This is especially pertinent with families that have young children. Make it an easier process on them. Get to know them some as you walk them over to the children's registration area. I guarantee you that this will leave a lasting impact on them!

• Lastly... You can never have too many greeters!!! I don't care if you have 20 people, or 9,000 people at your church on Sunday! Some of you might be thinking... "Well... they are a much larger church, so they will obviously have more greeters. It's just easier for them because they are a bigger church than we are." Actually... that is not true! It's not easier for them! They have more people to greet if they are larger... meaning that they obviously need more greeters. That large church got to be so large for a reason! They probably were very good in their earlier years at making people feel comfortable and welcome. Don't think that I'm saying that God's hand wasn't in it, or the pastors messages weren't engaging, or the worship wasn't outstanding!!! Those are all important factors as well... but for the purposes of our focus in this blog, I am trying to focus on the greeting aspects.

A perfect example of this last point is NewSpring Church in Anderson, SC. (http://www.newspring.cc/ ) They are an excellent example of a church that started small and grew quickly without loosing their focus. They are an 8 year old church plant that now has over 8,000 people on Sundays. My wife Joy and I have had nothing but good experiences when attending their. Last time we were their we were probably greeted by 15-20 people from the time we pulled in the parking lot, to the time we sat in our seats for worship! This only happens when churches have the right focus from the start.

Even if you have 50 people at your church on Sunday... greeting must be a priority! You must always think like a church that is twice your size. If you average 50 people on Sunday think like you are a church of 100. Have as many greeters as possible... getting to know new people... all the way from the street to the seat!!!

AND...

I guarantee you that no visitor will ever complain that your church was too friendly, or that too many people greeted them!!!

Slavery Sucks...

The focus of this past Sunday's message is that "the borrower is slave to the lender." This can be found in Proverbs 22:7.

Here are some alarming statistics I came across about the American cultures issues with debt...

• If you go to cardweb.com, you will see that the Avg. American family with at least one credit card is $9,200 in debt.
  
• The avg. cardholder has 2.7 bank credit cards, 3.8 retail credit cards, and 1.1 debit cards. That’s 7.6 cards per cardholder!!!
  
• 43% of American families spend more than they earn each year.
  
• In the past 10 years, bankruptcies have gone up by 100%.
  
• In 1929, 2% of American homes had a mortgage.
  
• In 1962, 98% of American homes had a mortgage.
  

The point is… We have a problem!!!!!!!!!!!

The good news is… there is some pretty cool principles in the Bible that can help lead us out of this debt that we have gotten ourselves in.

I would encourage you to read 2 Kings 4:1-7.

This is the story of a widow whose husband left her with some serious financial debt. It was so bad that the creditors were going to take her sons into slavery as payment. She approached the prophet Elisha and told him that she literally had nothing except a little oil. He then told her to collect as many jars as she could from her neighbors. When she had done this she was to pour the little oil that she did have into all of these jars. She ended up filling up all of the jars and had enough money to pay off her debts plus some to live off of in addition to that.

You and I might look at this situation and say that it was crazy that the prophet told her to go out and collect all of these jars from her neighbors. After all... she had NOTHING!!! Plus... thnk of how this must have hurt this woman's pride to have to ask her neighbors for these empty jars.

The worse off you are financially, the crazier the things you might have to do to get out of this "Money Pit" we call debt. Cut your cable; get rid of your WiFi; stop eating out at places you can’t afford; start cutting out coupons and shop for bargains; forget that vacation you’ve been saving up for and pay off your credit cards; etc, etc, etc… Even if you don't totally get rid of something like your cable... you can at least down size in the amount of channels you have. It's OK not to have 5,000,000 channels-4,999,980 0f which you'll never even watch!!! After all, do you really need ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN News, ESPN Alternate, ESPN Plus, ESPN U, etc... ???

So... with all of this in mind... Is there such a thing as a good debt??? YES!!!

Romans 13:8 says not to let any debt remain outstanding, but to be in debt to one another in love. So we are not to let any debt remain outstanding, but we are to have a continuing debt to love one another.

I believe that outstanding financial debt that you and I have can sometimes keep our focus off of the debt that we are supposed to have… and that is the debt to love one another!!! So if you remember any of this blog... remember this!!!

THE ONLY DEBT THAT’S PLEASING TO GOD IS THE DEBT TO LOVE OTHERS!!!

Imagine what we as the children of God could do for his kingdom, if we were financially debt free!?!?
I believe we could change the world!!!

Proper Priorities...

Nobody wants to hear your excuses... right??? It doesn't really matter what your excuse is... it is still an excuse!!!

Example: On Tuesday I was late to the Mosaic staff meeting. I showed up to the meeting with about four different excuses that sounded really good in my head... but actually weren't even worth uttering. They sounded stupid when I started sharing them with James and Eric, so I went ahead and just shut my mouth so my excuses didn't take up any more staff meeting time than necessary.

Excuses also apply to our marriages. Your wife doesn't want to hear your lame excuses... such as: I didn't take the trash out because... , I was going to do the dishes but... , I was just about to throw a load in the washer when...

Take it from me guys... SHE'S NOT IMPRESSED!!! There is no legitimate excuse that you can make that won't end up making you look really pathetic! The worst excuse of all (that should never be made) is why you haven't spent adequate time with your wife. She doesn't have to have Flowers, Fillet Mignon, or any of those Sappy Cards you might pick up for her on your way home from work! Those things are all nice... BUT... my guess is that she is just looking for some quality time with her husband!

The last thing your wife wants... is for you to get home from a long day at work and pick up the phone to call someone (business, or friend). She also doesn't want you to come home, eat the dinner that she cooked, and go pass out in the bedroom... leaving her all alone... yearning for your attention and affection. It's time for us to step up and be the men that God has called us to be! What are you waiting for???

First Day...

Joy and I started our first official day @ Mosaic Church in Crestview, FL http://www.mosaiccrestview.com/ . It was an amazing day all the way around! First of all... our amazing weekend actually started Saturday night. James and Christie had an amazing meal prepared for us and were so hospitable to a couple of young, green church planters like me and my wife! We really enjoyed hanging out with them in anticipation of what God was going to do Sunday morning @ Mosaic.

The next morning at Mosaic did not disappoint!!! We started our new message series "The Money Pit" and it was very insightful. Eric M. our Worship Leader did a phenomenal job of leading us into the presence of God! Got to love Pink Floyd's song "Money". Immediately following that... James R. (lead pastor/teacher @ Mosaic) did a phenomenal job of communicating what it was that God had put on his heart. It not only spoke to Joy and me... but I think everyone around us! You can check out a summary of James' message on his blog which is listed under the "blogs I read" section.

We then had a great time @ Whataburger for our "Vision of Mosaic" meeting/ open discussion. There was a good group of people there interested in the vision of Mosaic and where they might fit into the mix. We also had some pretty cool prospective interns (college students from BCF) there today. I'm looking forward to seeing some of them get plugged in @ Mosaic!!!

At end the day... we went to Starbucks for our first night of "Open" (a new small group for the Fall semester). This is a time for people to discuss their struggles, life questions, and how they relate to scripture. It went good... plus I got to eat a chocolate chunk cookie!!! Can't go wrong there!!! Great weekend!!! Can't wait till next weekend!!! Hope to see you there!!!

Last Day...

Ok... so it's been a while since I've posted on my blog. I know... I'm slacking! Sorry. Anyways... today was my official last day @ LBC. It feels good to have the good bye's out of the way! No one likes good bye's. They were good to us, but we are compelled by the Holy Spirit to move on. I am ready to see what God has in store for us next. We are ready for our first day @ Mosaic!!! I really believe that God is going to grow us through this period. I hope that I can be of as much service to Mosaic, as I know Mosaic will be for me.

Pray for us... this Saturday we are going to Pensacola to scout around and pray over potential places to plant Baytown. I'm excited that we are going to start getting the ball rolling. There is definitely a lot of uncertainty in this endeavor to plant a church, but we know that God is going to provide for us beyond any expectations that Joy and I could ever have!!! I know this because God never calls us to things that he hasn't already made provisions for.

Crazy Week...

This week has been so crazy!!! The new semester just started here at BCF, and I am already working on my third paper this week. Between my job and school I have began to get a little stressed out. OK... I am incredibly stressed out!!! It's amazing how your attitude can change when you are spread too thin. I have to catch myself and make sure that I'm not being a jerk to those around me. It's real easy to do when you justify in your head as to why you have the right to take the day off as a Christ follower. So... don't forget about the people who are watching you. You might be the only opportunity for someone to see Jesus! Let Him exude through you! Be an imitator of Christ as Paul says in Ephesians 5:1. Who knows... God might use you to change someones negative view of the church!?!?

Bitter Sweet...

Today was a bitter sweet day for me. I announced to Leonia Baptist Church (the church that I have been serving at the last 2 years) that I would be resigning as their Student Minister. I guess you could say that it went about as well as it could go!?!? There were people that were both sad and hurt... but they understood that God was calling my wife and I to be church planters. I told them that there was no bad blood... no one drove me out... and I am not leaving for more money. I am leaving because I am compelled by the Holy Spirit to follow where He leads.

August 31st will be our last day @ LBC, & September 7th will be our first Sunday @ Mosaic Church (www.mosaiccrestview.com) in Crestview, FL. If James, the Lead Pastor @ Mosaic, and I had to give myself a title... I guess you could consider me an Associate Pastor. It will be a temporary position that is preparing my wife and I to plant our own church in Pensacola, FL in August of 2010 (you can check it out @ www.baytownchurch.org). Please pray for me, my wife, Mosaic Church, Baytown Church & the people of Pensacola.