Let me start out by saying that I am sorry that I have not posted in a while. Things at the office are really crazy right now, until I can make it past the next submittal that should go out sometime this week.
Yesterday was wonderful. As much as I enjoyed being in Charleston last weekend, yesterday was better. I told Ms. Irene, that I know that I am where I am supposed to be (New Hope) because I miss it so much when I am away. Yesterday morning was great. The message that Pastor Chad brought was wonderful. The music was over the top. But to me, last nights singing was what made the day. First of all – Youth Praise Band – you guys and gals are da bomb. Last night was the best you have ever done. Brandon – keep working on the bass – you did a great job; Thomas – you always surprise me with how good to play the drums; Ashley and Crystal – keep singing out of Jesus – your praise will lead others to raise the roof; Mitchell – you may be the best young musician I have ever seen; Willy and Ms. Terry – we could not do it without you; and Mr. Robbie – thanks for all your time – great leadership shows in those that they lead. I loved all the music last night. I may have the most eclectic taste in music of anyone around – all my favorites showed up last night. Mr. Mark – I loved you sitting in and singing during the jam session. Now I can’t wait for “Godstock” in August (that’s a post all on it’s on).
With all that said and done, back to what God is teaching me. I have been reading in Ezra lately. This is a great book. This is the book where the temple is being rebuilt after the Hebrews had been scattered. What God is revealing to me is the importance of worship and different kinds of worship. All of us worship in different ways – some clap and get excited, while some weep and cry out to God. All are acceptable to God as long as they are offered from the heart to show our love to God. I don’t believe that worship should ever be boring (our fault – not the worship leaders) nor is it a time to come to church sit in a pew with our hands in our laps and act more Holy than we really are. True worship involves participation. If we leave a worship service and have not been touched by God or have not had the opportunity to touch God through our worship it is probably our own fault.
God also has me reading for the second time “Fresh Wind Fresh Fire” by Jim Cymballa. This book is about the Brooklyn Tabernacle and its growth from its very beginnings. What God is showing me in this book, something that I knew but for some reason had not been registering – prayer is one of the most important things that we do as Christians. Prayer is our power. It should be the air that we breathe as a Christian. Pastor Cymballa speaks of crying out to God. This literally means to cry out, to have an urgency – to pray with power. Maybe the reason that the harvest that we have been seeking hasn’t come about yet is because we haven’t cry out for God’s help. God is placing several things on my heart concerning our prayer and our worship. I can’t wait to get back together with the best students in the world and share with them what God is teaching me. All I will say for now is – WOW!
Until next time – keep your eyes on Jesus and not just pray but cry out to God.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Worship is not a spectator sport . . .
As I study for the next sermon in our purpose series I am beginning to realize how much I have to learn about worship. I have been a part of some really bad worship services in my time and I have been a part of some really incredible worship experiences also. I was reading in Ezra this morning in one of my study bibles and there was a note that stated that worship is not to be a static experience. Now, the writer was not talking about the clingy static that you get from the dryer; he was talking about static as in no movement, no emotion, stillness – Dead. Worship of a living God should never be dead. As I read in Ezra about the foundation of the temple being laid – people sang and praised the Lord, some cried, some shouted for joy – none sat quietly with their hands in the laps. I understand that we all worship differently, and that is not a bad thing since God Himself made us all different, but we do not worship a God in a grave. Our God still makes a difference in the world around us.
I am blessed to worship in a church where our services are not dead. We have a great time of worship on Sunday’s in both of our morning services and the youth services are great. All those that spend countless hours preparing our worship services so that we can worship as a group do a phenomenal job. What I have come to understand is that the services don’t control my worship – my relationship with God determines my worship. If my time daily with God is a time of worship – then my time at my church will be a time of worship. The sermon, music, prayer, fellowship, offering are all important parts of worship – but if I have not spent time preparing my heart and mind for worship – I will not worship.
As I look forward to a time where we can talk about worship, begin to think on these things:
Am I a hindrance to worship?
Do I prepare for worship or do I just show up?
How can we make our youth worship better?
What can I do to make our youth worship better?
When visitors come to our youth worship services, what do they see? What are they looking for? How can we meet their needs?
Think outside the box!!! Let God stretch you!!!
Until next time, keep your eyes on Jesus and prepare to worship our living God.
I am blessed to worship in a church where our services are not dead. We have a great time of worship on Sunday’s in both of our morning services and the youth services are great. All those that spend countless hours preparing our worship services so that we can worship as a group do a phenomenal job. What I have come to understand is that the services don’t control my worship – my relationship with God determines my worship. If my time daily with God is a time of worship – then my time at my church will be a time of worship. The sermon, music, prayer, fellowship, offering are all important parts of worship – but if I have not spent time preparing my heart and mind for worship – I will not worship.
As I look forward to a time where we can talk about worship, begin to think on these things:
Am I a hindrance to worship?
Do I prepare for worship or do I just show up?
How can we make our youth worship better?
What can I do to make our youth worship better?
When visitors come to our youth worship services, what do they see? What are they looking for? How can we meet their needs?
Think outside the box!!! Let God stretch you!!!
Until next time, keep your eyes on Jesus and prepare to worship our living God.
Monday, April 23, 2007
Back From Charleston . . .
Well, we are back to the real world. This past weekend was great and just what Ms. Irene and I needed. We went down to Charleston on Friday evening and we stopped at a little town called Holly Hill to eat some of the best bar-b-que in South Carolina. After way too much food, we went on in to Charleston and checked into our rooms. Saturday was fun. It started by going to a flea market in North Charleston and wandering around there for a while. You can see a lot of neat things at a flea market and some really strange things to. After the flea market we ate breakfast and went to an antique shop. Later that afternoon we met my friend at Cooper River Baptist Church and set up for Sunday’s program for the children. Then we went to a place called "Gilligan’s" for supper and then to my friend’s house for dessert and coffee.
Sunday was the best. During Sunday school we did two skits about the love of Jesus and played a game with the children. Then during children’s church we did a brand new program. It was awesome. The last part of the program we did we used a visual, which maybe the greatest visual I have ever seen on how Jesus takes away our sins. I would tell you about it, but I want to do it for the youth one Sunday night soon, so I don’t want to give anything away. After church we had our pictures taken with the children and went back to the hotel. After showering and getting into our street clothes, we went to California Dreaming to eat lunch. It is right on the Ashley River – what a great view. Then we went down to the battery and the slave market to walk around. That evening we went out to Sullivan’s Island to look at houses that we wish we could afford, walk on the beach and to have seafood for supper.
This morning it was breakfast and back up the road to home and the real world. We had a great time this weekend, and even though we were busy we rested. It was really more a mental thing than a physical thing. I’ve talked with David about last night already and can’t wait to hear his sermon. I’m looking forward to hearing Pastor Chad’s sermon also. Even though we need a time away from the everyday stuff – I feel like I have missed so much. I can’t wait to see all the students at New Hope this Wednesday. I am looking forward to setting down with David and the other leaders and getting your events on the calendar. There is so much to get done, so I had better get to it.
Until next time – keep your eyes on Jesus. Remember, life is short – eat your dessert first and always make time for ice cream.
Sunday was the best. During Sunday school we did two skits about the love of Jesus and played a game with the children. Then during children’s church we did a brand new program. It was awesome. The last part of the program we did we used a visual, which maybe the greatest visual I have ever seen on how Jesus takes away our sins. I would tell you about it, but I want to do it for the youth one Sunday night soon, so I don’t want to give anything away. After church we had our pictures taken with the children and went back to the hotel. After showering and getting into our street clothes, we went to California Dreaming to eat lunch. It is right on the Ashley River – what a great view. Then we went down to the battery and the slave market to walk around. That evening we went out to Sullivan’s Island to look at houses that we wish we could afford, walk on the beach and to have seafood for supper.
This morning it was breakfast and back up the road to home and the real world. We had a great time this weekend, and even though we were busy we rested. It was really more a mental thing than a physical thing. I’ve talked with David about last night already and can’t wait to hear his sermon. I’m looking forward to hearing Pastor Chad’s sermon also. Even though we need a time away from the everyday stuff – I feel like I have missed so much. I can’t wait to see all the students at New Hope this Wednesday. I am looking forward to setting down with David and the other leaders and getting your events on the calendar. There is so much to get done, so I had better get to it.
Until next time – keep your eyes on Jesus. Remember, life is short – eat your dessert first and always make time for ice cream.
Friday, April 20, 2007
Orders from Our Commander . . .
I’ve wanted to put some new punch into my Blog for a while and I think I have come up with a way to do just that. My time is limited but these will be relatively short articles. This first lesson is being written about something that one of my students is struggling with. So CS this lesson is especially for you.
Our commander says that we are to humble ourselves and not to dwell on prideful things. In the world that we live in, this is a foreign concept. This world would have you believe that if you do not take pride in yourself – no one else will. That you should brag about yourself so that others will take notice. Well this is far away from the orders that we have received from our commander. We need to understand the following concepts:
Humility is pleasing to God; He hates sinful pride. God hates pride and arrogance - to be self centered and self absorbed to the point of being annoying. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Here are a few scriptures to take a look at: Proverbs 8:13, James 4:6, Psalm 138:6, and Proverbs 3:34.
Sinful pride (selfish pride) leads to drama in your life. God says that pride breeds quarrels and that it can bring about destruction. He says that arrogance will be humbled and pride brought down. Take a look at these: Proverbs 13:10, Proverbs 16:18, Isaiah 2:11, Psalm 18:27, Mark 7:20-23.
There is a type of bragging that God finds pleasing. God likes it when we brag about knowing Him and His commands. We need to realize that we really don’t have anything to brag about, according to scripture, except the cross of Jesus. We need to brag about God and the things that He is doing in our lives. Check these out: Jeremiah 9:23-24, Psalm 44:8, and Galatians 6:14.
We need to understand that God is who gave us all that we have and has enabled us to do all that we do. We need to understand that apart from God we can do nothing, and that we should never have pride in things of this world. If we are going to be proud of something, let us be proud of the hope that we have in God and all that He has given us.
These are great: John 15:5 and 1st Timothy 6:17.
We must come to the understanding that pride must be replaced by humility. Vanity and selfishness lead to drama. Humility will always consider others and their feelings first. We need to be reminded that in the middle of SIN is I. Conceit, selfishness, pride (selfish pride), all remove Jesus from the throne of our lives and replace Him with you. Jesus has and never will fail us. He rewards us with grace if we humble ourselves. These are good: Philippians 2:3, Romans 12:3, 1st Peter 5:5, and Matthew 20:26-28, 1st John 2:15-17.
The following are great scriptural examples:
Joseph – Genesis 35
Nebuchadnezzar – Daniel 4
Jesus – John 13 and Philippians 2
Paul – 2nd Corinthians 12 and Philippians 3
Until next time - keep your eyes on Jesus and be humble.
Our commander says that we are to humble ourselves and not to dwell on prideful things. In the world that we live in, this is a foreign concept. This world would have you believe that if you do not take pride in yourself – no one else will. That you should brag about yourself so that others will take notice. Well this is far away from the orders that we have received from our commander. We need to understand the following concepts:
Humility is pleasing to God; He hates sinful pride. God hates pride and arrogance - to be self centered and self absorbed to the point of being annoying. God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Here are a few scriptures to take a look at: Proverbs 8:13, James 4:6, Psalm 138:6, and Proverbs 3:34.
Sinful pride (selfish pride) leads to drama in your life. God says that pride breeds quarrels and that it can bring about destruction. He says that arrogance will be humbled and pride brought down. Take a look at these: Proverbs 13:10, Proverbs 16:18, Isaiah 2:11, Psalm 18:27, Mark 7:20-23.
There is a type of bragging that God finds pleasing. God likes it when we brag about knowing Him and His commands. We need to realize that we really don’t have anything to brag about, according to scripture, except the cross of Jesus. We need to brag about God and the things that He is doing in our lives. Check these out: Jeremiah 9:23-24, Psalm 44:8, and Galatians 6:14.
We need to understand that God is who gave us all that we have and has enabled us to do all that we do. We need to understand that apart from God we can do nothing, and that we should never have pride in things of this world. If we are going to be proud of something, let us be proud of the hope that we have in God and all that He has given us.
These are great: John 15:5 and 1st Timothy 6:17.
We must come to the understanding that pride must be replaced by humility. Vanity and selfishness lead to drama. Humility will always consider others and their feelings first. We need to be reminded that in the middle of SIN is I. Conceit, selfishness, pride (selfish pride), all remove Jesus from the throne of our lives and replace Him with you. Jesus has and never will fail us. He rewards us with grace if we humble ourselves. These are good: Philippians 2:3, Romans 12:3, 1st Peter 5:5, and Matthew 20:26-28, 1st John 2:15-17.
The following are great scriptural examples:
Joseph – Genesis 35
Nebuchadnezzar – Daniel 4
Jesus – John 13 and Philippians 2
Paul – 2nd Corinthians 12 and Philippians 3
Until next time - keep your eyes on Jesus and be humble.
Words from a crowded mind . . .
I just wanted to get a few lines off to maybe relieve the crowded mind that I have right now. Do you ever feel like there is so much going on between your ears that occasionally if you could just get a few out the over crowding would lessen – so here we go:
Things here at work are chaos right now. Yesterday was a 14 hour day (at the office at 6:30 am and leave at 9:15 pm). That was way too much time in front of a computer. Pray for me, we have a big submittal next Monday and next Friday. After that things should get back to normal – if they ever were normal.
We leave for Charleston this afternoon. I really have mixed emotions about being away. I’m looking forward to good fellowship and good food and the best part to get to share Jesus with children as a clown and some rest. The down side is that I will be away from New Hope on Sunday and will miss seeing my favorite peeps – the students of HeirBorn student ministries.
I can’t wait to hear David’s sermon when I get back. Make sure you record it Brad.
Godstock is a go!!! We are looking at a date in August right after school starts back. Jonathan and his band are on board. I’m praying about the right speaker for this event. Grab hold and hang on, there is a lot of work to be done. We are going to blow it out for this event.
David Roach is really jazzed about all of the evangelistic events that our students came up with and boy did you guys and gals think outside the box. Pray for David as he tries to prioritize these events and then he and I try to get them on a calendar. This summer is going to be a busy summer.
We are going to be eating a Sweatman’s Bar-B-Que tonight in Holly Hill SC. This may be one of the all time great places to eat. I can just about taste it now.
Make sure to keep watching my blog this weekend, I’m going to try to post each day we are there. I have a new idea for a post that I hope to do bi-weekly. Very life application stuff.
Why do we complicate trying to figure out what God’s will for our lives is? JUST DO WHATEVER HE SAYS! See Perry Noble’s blog today.
If I get anymore jazzed about HeirBorn student ministries and the students (the greatest students in the world) I may explode. What a horrible thought – Mr. Allen parts everywhere – yuck.
Just a quick shout – Crystal Ledford you are da bomb; just let Jesus have it and He will give back beyond your dreams. Just remember that following Jesus is never boring. Crystal Symsick – keep on relying on Jesus and praying for your friends – I can’t wait to meet Anna. Ashley and Rachel – email me and tell me about that special thing you are doing on Saturdays. Willie – I’m praying for you pal. Keep up the good fight and blessings are coming. Sunshine – it is great to have you back, I missed you. Thank you for my birthday present. David – thanks for cover Sunday night for me. I could not do this ministry without you and the rest of the leadership team. Barry – I’m praying for you and Elevate as well as finals. Pastor Chad and Robbie – you guys are the best. I am really blessed to have been called to work with you guys.
Well my mind is less crowded now, so I will quit. Until next time – keep your eyes on Jesus and stay on the alert – the enemy comes to destroy – but he doesn’t believe he is defeated – we know that he is.
Things here at work are chaos right now. Yesterday was a 14 hour day (at the office at 6:30 am and leave at 9:15 pm). That was way too much time in front of a computer. Pray for me, we have a big submittal next Monday and next Friday. After that things should get back to normal – if they ever were normal.
We leave for Charleston this afternoon. I really have mixed emotions about being away. I’m looking forward to good fellowship and good food and the best part to get to share Jesus with children as a clown and some rest. The down side is that I will be away from New Hope on Sunday and will miss seeing my favorite peeps – the students of HeirBorn student ministries.
I can’t wait to hear David’s sermon when I get back. Make sure you record it Brad.
Godstock is a go!!! We are looking at a date in August right after school starts back. Jonathan and his band are on board. I’m praying about the right speaker for this event. Grab hold and hang on, there is a lot of work to be done. We are going to blow it out for this event.
David Roach is really jazzed about all of the evangelistic events that our students came up with and boy did you guys and gals think outside the box. Pray for David as he tries to prioritize these events and then he and I try to get them on a calendar. This summer is going to be a busy summer.
We are going to be eating a Sweatman’s Bar-B-Que tonight in Holly Hill SC. This may be one of the all time great places to eat. I can just about taste it now.
Make sure to keep watching my blog this weekend, I’m going to try to post each day we are there. I have a new idea for a post that I hope to do bi-weekly. Very life application stuff.
Why do we complicate trying to figure out what God’s will for our lives is? JUST DO WHATEVER HE SAYS! See Perry Noble’s blog today.
If I get anymore jazzed about HeirBorn student ministries and the students (the greatest students in the world) I may explode. What a horrible thought – Mr. Allen parts everywhere – yuck.
Just a quick shout – Crystal Ledford you are da bomb; just let Jesus have it and He will give back beyond your dreams. Just remember that following Jesus is never boring. Crystal Symsick – keep on relying on Jesus and praying for your friends – I can’t wait to meet Anna. Ashley and Rachel – email me and tell me about that special thing you are doing on Saturdays. Willie – I’m praying for you pal. Keep up the good fight and blessings are coming. Sunshine – it is great to have you back, I missed you. Thank you for my birthday present. David – thanks for cover Sunday night for me. I could not do this ministry without you and the rest of the leadership team. Barry – I’m praying for you and Elevate as well as finals. Pastor Chad and Robbie – you guys are the best. I am really blessed to have been called to work with you guys.
Well my mind is less crowded now, so I will quit. Until next time – keep your eyes on Jesus and stay on the alert – the enemy comes to destroy – but he doesn’t believe he is defeated – we know that he is.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Office and Church and Clowns – Oh My . . .
You know, sometimes I can’t be tired and excited at the same time, and I’m not exactly sure how that happens – but it does. Things at my office are wide open right now and sometimes, like yesterday, just a little overwhelming. There is a lot of work to get done and very little time to get it done. I generally work well under pressure, but sometimes like yesterday I feel like the world is going to run over me. I’m tired and need to get away from everything for a little while and that is going to happen this weekend, but until then lots to do with a little bit of time.
Things that make me excited while I am as tired as I am right now are things that God has called me to do. I get pretty jazzed (I like that word and Jonathan Elrod and I have decided to bring it back) about is having lunch with a friend like Jonathan Elrod. He and I have known each other for 12 or 15 years now and I am always encouraged when I leave him. I am always surprised at his energy for God’s work. I met with Jonathan to brain storm about an event that I will talk about in a later blog, but Jonathan is a great help the ministry the God has called me to do. He was so excited to hear about how HeirBorn Student Ministries is doing and was blown away when I told him about this past Sunday night. Later in the afternoon, after speaking with David Roach, I was blown away. I had been telling Jonathan about all of the ideas that the students and adults had come up with as evangelistic events. When I talked with David, I found out that there was a list of over 80 events and most were way outside the box. I am so jazzed about the way God is blessing our students and His ministry. I am really looking forward to what God is going to do this summer with this group of students. Lots of work to be done and hopefully God will allow us to see a great harvest. What I do understand is that anytime we are making advances into Satan’s territory, he will fight back. What I also understand is that this is a battle that God fights – we need to stay close to Him; He is our protection and our strength.
This weekend is for ministry and rest. Smokie, Flower, PeeWee and Bumper have the opportunity to share Jesus with a group of children at Cooper River Baptist Church this Sunday, in Charleston. Please pray that God speaks through our group in a way that will touch the hearts of those children. Let me say this – I would not be able to continue to do our clown ministry without the leaders that God has placed at New Hope. David Roach will be taking care of the youth worship service Sunday night. Now that we are recording the youth worship services – I’ll get to hear him bring the message. We will not start home from Charleston until Monday – pray that we have safe travel to and from this event. All four of us have been stretched pretty thin and are tired. As much as we are looking forward to sharing Jesus, we are also looking forward to some much needed rest. Watch my blog throughout the weekend for current posts of what we are doing and how things are going.
I am really looking forward to this evening. You can’t believe how much I miss being around our students. I really look forward to Wednesday’s to find out how their week is going and how God is blessing their lives. If you have not read Pastor Chad’s blog today, check it out – he is bragging on one of our students. Way to go Crystal – Hero of the week.
Until next time – keep your eyes on Jesus and prepare for battle.
Things that make me excited while I am as tired as I am right now are things that God has called me to do. I get pretty jazzed (I like that word and Jonathan Elrod and I have decided to bring it back) about is having lunch with a friend like Jonathan Elrod. He and I have known each other for 12 or 15 years now and I am always encouraged when I leave him. I am always surprised at his energy for God’s work. I met with Jonathan to brain storm about an event that I will talk about in a later blog, but Jonathan is a great help the ministry the God has called me to do. He was so excited to hear about how HeirBorn Student Ministries is doing and was blown away when I told him about this past Sunday night. Later in the afternoon, after speaking with David Roach, I was blown away. I had been telling Jonathan about all of the ideas that the students and adults had come up with as evangelistic events. When I talked with David, I found out that there was a list of over 80 events and most were way outside the box. I am so jazzed about the way God is blessing our students and His ministry. I am really looking forward to what God is going to do this summer with this group of students. Lots of work to be done and hopefully God will allow us to see a great harvest. What I do understand is that anytime we are making advances into Satan’s territory, he will fight back. What I also understand is that this is a battle that God fights – we need to stay close to Him; He is our protection and our strength.
This weekend is for ministry and rest. Smokie, Flower, PeeWee and Bumper have the opportunity to share Jesus with a group of children at Cooper River Baptist Church this Sunday, in Charleston. Please pray that God speaks through our group in a way that will touch the hearts of those children. Let me say this – I would not be able to continue to do our clown ministry without the leaders that God has placed at New Hope. David Roach will be taking care of the youth worship service Sunday night. Now that we are recording the youth worship services – I’ll get to hear him bring the message. We will not start home from Charleston until Monday – pray that we have safe travel to and from this event. All four of us have been stretched pretty thin and are tired. As much as we are looking forward to sharing Jesus, we are also looking forward to some much needed rest. Watch my blog throughout the weekend for current posts of what we are doing and how things are going.
I am really looking forward to this evening. You can’t believe how much I miss being around our students. I really look forward to Wednesday’s to find out how their week is going and how God is blessing their lives. If you have not read Pastor Chad’s blog today, check it out – he is bragging on one of our students. Way to go Crystal – Hero of the week.
Until next time – keep your eyes on Jesus and prepare for battle.
Monday, April 16, 2007
What an Incredible Weekend . . .
Let me start out by saying that the God I serve is incredible. I have been asking for Him to show up and give me some confirmation about some things and to re-affirm that He is real and working in my life. Now, don’t go getting all self righteous on me, we all need to feel the realness at times and boy did God show out this weekend.
Let me back up and start with Friday evening. Some of you may know that my wife and I are gospel clowns and that we clown with another couple under the name – “The King’s Clowns.” Well, we had the opportunity to clown and tie balloons for the children and adults of Greenbriar Elementary School at their spring fling Friday night. These kids were great – none were rude, all were very polite and willing to wait in line to get their balloon creations. We must have tied 1500 balloons. Well, after we packed up we went to eat at Applebee’s on Woodruff Rd. We go walking in (still in clown) and sit down to eat. We’re tired, but God always seems to give us someway to witness for Him. We cut up with the children and the waiters and anyone else that slowed down around us. At the end of our meal the waiter came to us and said that our meal was taken care of by someone who over heard us talking about clowning for Jesus – WOW, what a blessing. Thank you whoever you are and thank you God.
Saturday was great – it was my birthday. I had a great day and that evening my beautiful wife had arranged a surprise birthday party for me. I knew that we were going to meet my mom and brother along with my in-laws at a restaurant, but when we went around the corner, there was the associate pastor and his family and my pastor and his family came to join us along with the friends that we clowned with the night before. What a great surprise. The restaurant staff sang to me and I got a hot fudge sundae. I love ice cream.
Sunday came and the weekend just got better. The early worship was great. The music was over the top and the new sermon series that Pastor Chad is bringing is wonderful. He’s preaching on the second coming of Jesus. If you missed the sermon you can link to his blog and listen there. The title of the series is “Are We There Yet?” That is a great sermon series title. Sunday night finally came and I had the privilege to begin laying out the vision God has given me for our student ministries. Before I got up to speak, the youth praise band did a great job and Crystal Ledford blew us away with a song. I started laying out the vision God has given me ad the first step was evangelism. I talked about this being one of our primary purposes and that we are going to grow. I was blown away, when at the end of the evening I had everyone break into small groups and discuss how they would like to fulfill the first step in the vision which was evangelism. I have said that we have the best students anywhere. Our students must have come up with 50 or more creative ways to reach their friends for Christ. I gave the list to David Roach (my right hand and evangelism point man for our student ministry) and he is going to put a list together and everything that the students and adults came up with. Boy, everybody better hang on, this is going to be a busy summer.
There are still things that I can’t reveal yet that God is doing in the background. My prayer has been to be a part of a God sized thing and I think we are right on the verge. Keep praying, keep reading your bibles and keep inviting your friends and hang on – this is going to be better than a roller-coaster.
Until next time – keep your eyes on Jesus and get ready for battle. We’re getting ready to storm the gates.
Let me back up and start with Friday evening. Some of you may know that my wife and I are gospel clowns and that we clown with another couple under the name – “The King’s Clowns.” Well, we had the opportunity to clown and tie balloons for the children and adults of Greenbriar Elementary School at their spring fling Friday night. These kids were great – none were rude, all were very polite and willing to wait in line to get their balloon creations. We must have tied 1500 balloons. Well, after we packed up we went to eat at Applebee’s on Woodruff Rd. We go walking in (still in clown) and sit down to eat. We’re tired, but God always seems to give us someway to witness for Him. We cut up with the children and the waiters and anyone else that slowed down around us. At the end of our meal the waiter came to us and said that our meal was taken care of by someone who over heard us talking about clowning for Jesus – WOW, what a blessing. Thank you whoever you are and thank you God.
Saturday was great – it was my birthday. I had a great day and that evening my beautiful wife had arranged a surprise birthday party for me. I knew that we were going to meet my mom and brother along with my in-laws at a restaurant, but when we went around the corner, there was the associate pastor and his family and my pastor and his family came to join us along with the friends that we clowned with the night before. What a great surprise. The restaurant staff sang to me and I got a hot fudge sundae. I love ice cream.
Sunday came and the weekend just got better. The early worship was great. The music was over the top and the new sermon series that Pastor Chad is bringing is wonderful. He’s preaching on the second coming of Jesus. If you missed the sermon you can link to his blog and listen there. The title of the series is “Are We There Yet?” That is a great sermon series title. Sunday night finally came and I had the privilege to begin laying out the vision God has given me for our student ministries. Before I got up to speak, the youth praise band did a great job and Crystal Ledford blew us away with a song. I started laying out the vision God has given me ad the first step was evangelism. I talked about this being one of our primary purposes and that we are going to grow. I was blown away, when at the end of the evening I had everyone break into small groups and discuss how they would like to fulfill the first step in the vision which was evangelism. I have said that we have the best students anywhere. Our students must have come up with 50 or more creative ways to reach their friends for Christ. I gave the list to David Roach (my right hand and evangelism point man for our student ministry) and he is going to put a list together and everything that the students and adults came up with. Boy, everybody better hang on, this is going to be a busy summer.
There are still things that I can’t reveal yet that God is doing in the background. My prayer has been to be a part of a God sized thing and I think we are right on the verge. Keep praying, keep reading your bibles and keep inviting your friends and hang on – this is going to be better than a roller-coaster.
Until next time – keep your eyes on Jesus and get ready for battle. We’re getting ready to storm the gates.
Friday, April 13, 2007
End of the Week Dash . . .
Well it is the end of the week and once again, it will be a foot race to the finish. I just wanted to get out a couple of thoughts before I dash out to a lunch with a bunch of student pastors in our area.
- I can't wait until Sunday night. I was able to talk with David a little while last night and tell him a little about the vision that God has given me. Now he's excited, which in turn excites me even more.
- I get to clown this afternoon at Greenbriar Elementary School. We'll tie balloons for the kids and cut up with the adults. Irene got in her custom made clown shoes - their great.
- Tomorrow is my 48th birthday. One more day closer to seeing my Jesus, but it sure seems time is getting short for us to get His message out.
- Have you met the challenge from Wednesday night - have you invited three people to come to church with you Sunday?
- Good luck to the Hillcrest Lacrosse team tomorrow.
One last thing, and I will admit that it is not my idea - its Perry Noble's. But I'm not proud, and I will borrow it. If you have a question about some scripture, spiritual concept, topic, whatever - e-mail me. I'll try to write about the answers once or twice a week. Maybe it is a question from one of your friends - I'll tackle the question and get you an answer. I may even invite others like some of our student leaders to guest post on this blog. If this seems like a good idea, let me know.
Until next time, Keep you eyes on Jesus.
Thursday, April 12, 2007
Overwhelmed . . .
You know, there are a lot of things in life that are overwhelming. You can be overwhelmed by stress at work. You can be overwhelmed by the beauty of someone. You can be overwhelmed by shear numbers in a conflict. But if I have to be overwhelmed, let it be by how much our Savior loves us. God has shown me a field ready for harvest and He has shown me the process to bring about the harvest and I know that He will supply the strength to get it done. Yet, in my human mind, I am overwhelmed that He would allow me to be a part of something so great. This Sunday evening I will begin to reveal what God has given me. Please be in prayer for me that God will speak clearly through me to our students and leaders.
What I must do to communicate this vision is to allow God to speak through me in a way that our students and leaders can catch the vision and buy in. This vision is going to stretch each of us far beyond our comfort zones. There is going to be a lot of hard work and changes to how we do things. Change is not a bad thing, it can be very exciting. We may change the way we do things but we will never change the message that our Lord and Savior has placed in our hearts to carry to the world around us. One thing that we all need to keep in mind is that a vision from God is from His perspective not ours. He sees the big picture. Don’t be overwhelmed by the vision, be overwhelmed that you are allowed to be a part of something that is God sized.
The excitement is building and I can’t wait to get started. Until next time – keep your eyes on Jesus and ask God to let you see the big picture. He just might give you a glimpse.
What I must do to communicate this vision is to allow God to speak through me in a way that our students and leaders can catch the vision and buy in. This vision is going to stretch each of us far beyond our comfort zones. There is going to be a lot of hard work and changes to how we do things. Change is not a bad thing, it can be very exciting. We may change the way we do things but we will never change the message that our Lord and Savior has placed in our hearts to carry to the world around us. One thing that we all need to keep in mind is that a vision from God is from His perspective not ours. He sees the big picture. Don’t be overwhelmed by the vision, be overwhelmed that you are allowed to be a part of something that is God sized.
The excitement is building and I can’t wait to get started. Until next time – keep your eyes on Jesus and ask God to let you see the big picture. He just might give you a glimpse.
Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Extreme Christianity . . .
I asked a group of students one time – over the next week, describe to me what you would believe to be an extreme Christian. One of the young ladies in the group took me very seriously and brought me a paper that she wrote on the subject of being an extreme Christian. She listed the characteristics of what she believed to be an extreme Christian (some thing along the lines of the following):
Reads their bible daily
Attends church on a regular basis
Prays about important matters and everything else
Witnesses to the people that she comes in contact with
Loves people, even when they don’t love back or are hard to love
Works hard to be more Christ like
Seeks to have a good reputation
It seems like she had several other characteristics listed (you can fill in others if you thought of some that are not listed here.) At the end of the paper she wrote a conclusion to her thoughts for the week – none of the characteristics listed were that of an extreme Christian. They are the characteristics of what any Christian should be. We may look extreme to the world around us, but that is because we are not supposed to be like the world around us. We have to exist here, but we should be different – holy.
A Christian should want to read their bible so that they can learn more about the One who died for our sins. We should want to attend church (not have to) so that we can be around others who think like we do and know that someone has our back. We should pray about everything because we only see the little picture and the One we pray to sees the big picture. We should witness, so that no one will be left behind. We need to love people (even those that are hard to love) because Jesus loved us when we were hard to love. We need to seek to be more Christ-like so that our faith is lived out loud in front of the world. We need to have a good reputation because of the one that we represent.
So if this is extreme – let me be marked extreme. But I don’t believe that this is extreme, because this is something that is expected, not beyond expectation. Until next time, keep your eyes on Jesus and hopefully the world will mark you extreme
Reads their bible daily
Attends church on a regular basis
Prays about important matters and everything else
Witnesses to the people that she comes in contact with
Loves people, even when they don’t love back or are hard to love
Works hard to be more Christ like
Seeks to have a good reputation
It seems like she had several other characteristics listed (you can fill in others if you thought of some that are not listed here.) At the end of the paper she wrote a conclusion to her thoughts for the week – none of the characteristics listed were that of an extreme Christian. They are the characteristics of what any Christian should be. We may look extreme to the world around us, but that is because we are not supposed to be like the world around us. We have to exist here, but we should be different – holy.
A Christian should want to read their bible so that they can learn more about the One who died for our sins. We should want to attend church (not have to) so that we can be around others who think like we do and know that someone has our back. We should pray about everything because we only see the little picture and the One we pray to sees the big picture. We should witness, so that no one will be left behind. We need to love people (even those that are hard to love) because Jesus loved us when we were hard to love. We need to seek to be more Christ-like so that our faith is lived out loud in front of the world. We need to have a good reputation because of the one that we represent.
So if this is extreme – let me be marked extreme. But I don’t believe that this is extreme, because this is something that is expected, not beyond expectation. Until next time, keep your eyes on Jesus and hopefully the world will mark you extreme
Monday, April 9, 2007
The excitement is building . . .
The excitement is building as I look forward to this weekend. I am sitting here after lunch just thinking through this weekend’s message. In all honesty, I haven’t been this excited about anything in a long time. Maybe it is a carry over from this past weekend and how God worked in our church. This vision that God has placed in my heart is like having a secret about something really good but not being able to tell anyone until a certain time. Well, that certain time in this Sunday night and we will get to start down the path together.
There are a couple of things that keep running in my head that I think we all need to keep in mind as we seek to join God in His vision. One, there is nothing impossible for God. There will be those which say, I can’t, I will not, we can’t do that, etc. Here’s what I believe, if we sell out completely to God; I can, I will, we can do that, etc. Two, none of this is about us – it is all about God. If any of this is about us and our selfish desires, we are doomed to failure before we begin. What we need to understand is that God does not really need us to do His will. He gives us the opportunity to join Him in His work and be a part of something bigger than we are. Three, we must be inclusive, not exclusive. We are doing a good job at this but we can always do better. When we meet someone new to our fellowship, we need to make them feel welcome as we can. I see people acting as greeters for our early worship service, why are we not doing the same for our youth service.
Just to give you a clue about what God has given me: it is a process and it all begins with evangelism. I can hear the “I can’t” already. Funny thing is, you have been doing this already. In the six or seven months I have been at New Hope there have been 8+ students that have accepted Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. Most ministries would be excited about that number and I am, but I wish it was higher. My burden has become all the students in our community. What is your burden? What are you accomplishing for God?
I really believe that this group is on the edge of something really great. I also believe that God will never call us to do anything that we can do on our own. I want to see God sized things happen, things that everyone around us will be talking about. I want to be a part of something that is so big that all fingers point to our God and His glory. This vision that God has given me will stretch all of us and take all of us outside our comfort zones. As for Sunday night the 15th; don’t miss it, invite your friends, and come ready to get busy.
Until next time, keep your eyes on Jesus and prepare for a new battle. The lines have been drawn, the enemy is waiting, but our General has already won the war.
There are a couple of things that keep running in my head that I think we all need to keep in mind as we seek to join God in His vision. One, there is nothing impossible for God. There will be those which say, I can’t, I will not, we can’t do that, etc. Here’s what I believe, if we sell out completely to God; I can, I will, we can do that, etc. Two, none of this is about us – it is all about God. If any of this is about us and our selfish desires, we are doomed to failure before we begin. What we need to understand is that God does not really need us to do His will. He gives us the opportunity to join Him in His work and be a part of something bigger than we are. Three, we must be inclusive, not exclusive. We are doing a good job at this but we can always do better. When we meet someone new to our fellowship, we need to make them feel welcome as we can. I see people acting as greeters for our early worship service, why are we not doing the same for our youth service.
Just to give you a clue about what God has given me: it is a process and it all begins with evangelism. I can hear the “I can’t” already. Funny thing is, you have been doing this already. In the six or seven months I have been at New Hope there have been 8+ students that have accepted Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior. Most ministries would be excited about that number and I am, but I wish it was higher. My burden has become all the students in our community. What is your burden? What are you accomplishing for God?
I really believe that this group is on the edge of something really great. I also believe that God will never call us to do anything that we can do on our own. I want to see God sized things happen, things that everyone around us will be talking about. I want to be a part of something that is so big that all fingers point to our God and His glory. This vision that God has given me will stretch all of us and take all of us outside our comfort zones. As for Sunday night the 15th; don’t miss it, invite your friends, and come ready to get busy.
Until next time, keep your eyes on Jesus and prepare for a new battle. The lines have been drawn, the enemy is waiting, but our General has already won the war.
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Don't You Love It When A Plan Comes Together . . .
There has been a lot of planning and a lot of work done coming up to this Easter Sunday and it finally got here. I think that I was more excited about this weekend than I was this past Christmas. It all started Friday Night when we got together for movie night. Wow, what a powerful movie we saw and something that no theater offers anymore, cartoon lead-ins for the movie. Then Saturday morning was the Easter Egg Hunt. I was told that we had roughly 75+ children here. Smokie and Flower had the pleasure of tieing balloons for the children and then being on stage with Pastor Chad to explain Easter to the children.
But what I think was the best from this weekend was this morning. In the early worship service, the crowd was great. We didn't have to bring in chairs, but I think God is going to have us doing that really soon. The praise band was amazing. Willie may be my new favorite person to hear sing. It was also great to see and hear Eric and his guitar back on stage. I know that Eric is where he needs to be to learn and prepare for what God has called us to do, but I am really looking forward to him being here this summer. The best part about this morning is that we have had at least three give their hearts to Christ. I pray that we never lose the excitement that comes from people coming to Jesus. The new children's worship, "Elevate", for the early worship service kicked off this morning. I was told that there were 18 children in that service this morning and 3 adults. We really need to keep Barry Ledford. the leader of "Elevate", in our prayers. If you really love to be around children; teaching, playing, loving, etc., then let Barry know that if he needs help, you are willing. We need to always remember that none of this is about us, it is all about the One who died on the cross for our sins.
I am sitting here typing this post and across the hall, the youth Sunday School class is full. Just down the hall, the young couples class is so full this morning that Ms. Irene went to choir early so that they could get everyone inside the class. The time is coming for us to look at forming new classes so that we can continue to grow in size and spirit. In just a little while we will go over to the sanctuary for the choir to present the Easter musical. The excitement being felt in our church this morning is great.
I am not sure that I'm not more excited about next Sunday night's youth worship. This will be, I believe, the turning point for HeirBorn Student Ministry. I will begin to share the vision that God has given me for our student ministry. The best part is that our students will play a major part in forming this ministry, by talking about how we will fulfill what God has called us to do. Things are beginning to already fall in place. I have been getting confirmations from the students and adults for weeks.
Please keep me in prayer as I prepare to lead by following where ever God leads us. I will need energy as much as anything. Things are really gearing up for an exciting summer.
Just a quick shout to my friends; Thomas G., it was great to meet your folks and your little sister. Tyler K., great to have you back, been missing you pal. Brad and Rachel, you are doing great with the AV Team, I'm proud of you. Thomas J., great haircut. Brandon - thank you for coming to early worship, you are da' bomb.
Until next time, keep your eyes on Jesus, and re-enforcements are on the way, keep up the good fight.
But what I think was the best from this weekend was this morning. In the early worship service, the crowd was great. We didn't have to bring in chairs, but I think God is going to have us doing that really soon. The praise band was amazing. Willie may be my new favorite person to hear sing. It was also great to see and hear Eric and his guitar back on stage. I know that Eric is where he needs to be to learn and prepare for what God has called us to do, but I am really looking forward to him being here this summer. The best part about this morning is that we have had at least three give their hearts to Christ. I pray that we never lose the excitement that comes from people coming to Jesus. The new children's worship, "Elevate", for the early worship service kicked off this morning. I was told that there were 18 children in that service this morning and 3 adults. We really need to keep Barry Ledford. the leader of "Elevate", in our prayers. If you really love to be around children; teaching, playing, loving, etc., then let Barry know that if he needs help, you are willing. We need to always remember that none of this is about us, it is all about the One who died on the cross for our sins.
I am sitting here typing this post and across the hall, the youth Sunday School class is full. Just down the hall, the young couples class is so full this morning that Ms. Irene went to choir early so that they could get everyone inside the class. The time is coming for us to look at forming new classes so that we can continue to grow in size and spirit. In just a little while we will go over to the sanctuary for the choir to present the Easter musical. The excitement being felt in our church this morning is great.
I am not sure that I'm not more excited about next Sunday night's youth worship. This will be, I believe, the turning point for HeirBorn Student Ministry. I will begin to share the vision that God has given me for our student ministry. The best part is that our students will play a major part in forming this ministry, by talking about how we will fulfill what God has called us to do. Things are beginning to already fall in place. I have been getting confirmations from the students and adults for weeks.
Please keep me in prayer as I prepare to lead by following where ever God leads us. I will need energy as much as anything. Things are really gearing up for an exciting summer.
Just a quick shout to my friends; Thomas G., it was great to meet your folks and your little sister. Tyler K., great to have you back, been missing you pal. Brad and Rachel, you are doing great with the AV Team, I'm proud of you. Thomas J., great haircut. Brandon - thank you for coming to early worship, you are da' bomb.
Until next time, keep your eyes on Jesus, and re-enforcements are on the way, keep up the good fight.
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Everything I need to know . . .
You know, I love things that are pointedly meant for children but the apply better to adults. I guess that it is just the clown in me. I love the innocence of children. Maybe that is why Jesus said that we needed to come to the Father as little children - wide eyes, no agenda, just wanting to be accepted and loved, and wanting to please the one that loves us. I had the following sent to me a while back and I've kept it, to share with others. There is alot of wisdom in the following short paragraph. If I knew who wrote it I would gladly give them credit, but since I don't we'll just say author unknown:
Everything I need to know about life, I learned from Noah's Ark... One: Don't miss the boat. Two: Remember that we are all in the same boat. Three: Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark. Four: Stay fit. When you're 600 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big. Five: Don't listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done. Six: Build your future on high ground. Seven: For safety sake, travel in pairs. Eight: Speed isn't always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs. Nine: When you're stressed, float a while. Ten: Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals. Eleven: No matter the storm, when you are with God, there's always a rainbow waiting..
I hope that all of you that read this Blog will be in God's house this Sunday. Invite you friends.
We at New Hope are praying for big things to happen: 300+ in our morning worship services, great fellowship, the presence of God in a big way, and a harvest for the kingdom.
A quick shout to Crystal S. and Ashley R. - thanks for the input for this summer. Pastor Chad - thanks for hanging out and talking with Brandon, Thomas and I. Brandon and Thomas - look forward to seeing you both this Sunday. To all that read this - may God bless you richly.
Until next time - keep your eyes on Jesus and get ready to move chairs Sunday morning.
Everything I need to know about life, I learned from Noah's Ark... One: Don't miss the boat. Two: Remember that we are all in the same boat. Three: Plan ahead. It wasn't raining when Noah built the Ark. Four: Stay fit. When you're 600 years old, someone may ask you to do something really big. Five: Don't listen to critics; just get on with the job that needs to be done. Six: Build your future on high ground. Seven: For safety sake, travel in pairs. Eight: Speed isn't always an advantage. The snails were on board with the cheetahs. Nine: When you're stressed, float a while. Ten: Remember, the Ark was built by amateurs; the Titanic by professionals. Eleven: No matter the storm, when you are with God, there's always a rainbow waiting..
I hope that all of you that read this Blog will be in God's house this Sunday. Invite you friends.
We at New Hope are praying for big things to happen: 300+ in our morning worship services, great fellowship, the presence of God in a big way, and a harvest for the kingdom.
A quick shout to Crystal S. and Ashley R. - thanks for the input for this summer. Pastor Chad - thanks for hanging out and talking with Brandon, Thomas and I. Brandon and Thomas - look forward to seeing you both this Sunday. To all that read this - may God bless you richly.
Until next time - keep your eyes on Jesus and get ready to move chairs Sunday morning.
Wednesday, April 4, 2007
The Birth of a Clown . . .
I was thinking that maybe some of those who read this Blog would be interested in how I became a Christian Clown. The bio (which was written several years ago now, but slightly modified today for this posting) tells the story of the birth of a clown . . .
I think that it is truly surprising that more people have never seen a 6 foot tall Leprechaun (my first clown character-Shamrock.) I also find it amazing, that when I tell people that I have known for years that I was a clown, they say that they have always known it too.
I grew up with great parents and a wonderful brother in Greenville, SC. At a young age I had a life changing experience during vacation bible school. This is when God began to make tremendous changes in my life. As a teenager and young adult I was very active with the youth group in my home church. I continued to be involved with the youth into my mid-twenties, as one of my best friends was the youth minister. During this time, he allowed me to help plan and carry out many of the mission projects and youth events. Then at the age of 33 I surrendered to the call into the ministry. I enrolled into North Greenville College as a sophomore and worked as a youth minister. During this time is when God brought forth many more changes in my life. My personality had always lent itself to be a behind the scenes planner and worker and never would I have been on center stage. But as God would have it during my college days the curtain began to lift and God brought me to the forefront of his ministry.
Now, I am a Structural designer for an engineering firm in downtown Greenville. I create drawings on a computer of office buildings and parking decks. I have a wonderful wife that supports me in all that I do and I find that as each day passes I love her more and treasure what we have together. I am also very blessed to be the Student Pastor at New Hope Baptist Church in Mauldin, SC.
Several years ago the leadership of the creative ministry team at Rocky Creek Baptist Church (of which I was a member at the time) was praying for someone to head up a new ministry, Christian clowning. As God lead me I accepted the challenge and agreed to head up this new ministry. Having never done this before the church looked for help and as God would have it, He sent Mike “Squeaker” Galloway to our rescue. And what a surprise upon surprises, as Mike and I knew each other from the many youth camps we had done together. I think as another friend of mine would say, “It’s a God thing”.
Gospel clowning has given me a whole new way to share the Gospel with youth and children as well as adults. It is truly amazing, in this world that we live in, hope, joy and laughter seems as foreign at times as does a 6 foot tall leprechaun. My belief is that God has allowed me to clown in order to share laughter at the funny things a clown does, hope that comes from knowing His Son and joy in a relationship with a loving God. My prayer is that God will continue to develop that clown that He birthed within me and to use me to help bring a harvest into His Kingdom. You know, I’m still more comfortable behind the scenes, but God is still working and making changes in my life.
Since I originally wrote this bio of a clown, God has birthed two other clown characters within me – Smokie and Dusty. I do Smokie most often and Dusty is still under development. I clown with my wife Irene (Flower) and two of my best friends BO and Brenda Brown (PeeWee and Bumper). We have a clown ministry called “The King’s Clowns”. God has blessed us greatly and looks to continue to do so.
Until next time – Keep your eyes on Jesus and a smile on your face.
I think that it is truly surprising that more people have never seen a 6 foot tall Leprechaun (my first clown character-Shamrock.) I also find it amazing, that when I tell people that I have known for years that I was a clown, they say that they have always known it too.
I grew up with great parents and a wonderful brother in Greenville, SC. At a young age I had a life changing experience during vacation bible school. This is when God began to make tremendous changes in my life. As a teenager and young adult I was very active with the youth group in my home church. I continued to be involved with the youth into my mid-twenties, as one of my best friends was the youth minister. During this time, he allowed me to help plan and carry out many of the mission projects and youth events. Then at the age of 33 I surrendered to the call into the ministry. I enrolled into North Greenville College as a sophomore and worked as a youth minister. During this time is when God brought forth many more changes in my life. My personality had always lent itself to be a behind the scenes planner and worker and never would I have been on center stage. But as God would have it during my college days the curtain began to lift and God brought me to the forefront of his ministry.
Now, I am a Structural designer for an engineering firm in downtown Greenville. I create drawings on a computer of office buildings and parking decks. I have a wonderful wife that supports me in all that I do and I find that as each day passes I love her more and treasure what we have together. I am also very blessed to be the Student Pastor at New Hope Baptist Church in Mauldin, SC.
Several years ago the leadership of the creative ministry team at Rocky Creek Baptist Church (of which I was a member at the time) was praying for someone to head up a new ministry, Christian clowning. As God lead me I accepted the challenge and agreed to head up this new ministry. Having never done this before the church looked for help and as God would have it, He sent Mike “Squeaker” Galloway to our rescue. And what a surprise upon surprises, as Mike and I knew each other from the many youth camps we had done together. I think as another friend of mine would say, “It’s a God thing”.
Gospel clowning has given me a whole new way to share the Gospel with youth and children as well as adults. It is truly amazing, in this world that we live in, hope, joy and laughter seems as foreign at times as does a 6 foot tall leprechaun. My belief is that God has allowed me to clown in order to share laughter at the funny things a clown does, hope that comes from knowing His Son and joy in a relationship with a loving God. My prayer is that God will continue to develop that clown that He birthed within me and to use me to help bring a harvest into His Kingdom. You know, I’m still more comfortable behind the scenes, but God is still working and making changes in my life.
Since I originally wrote this bio of a clown, God has birthed two other clown characters within me – Smokie and Dusty. I do Smokie most often and Dusty is still under development. I clown with my wife Irene (Flower) and two of my best friends BO and Brenda Brown (PeeWee and Bumper). We have a clown ministry called “The King’s Clowns”. God has blessed us greatly and looks to continue to do so.
Until next time – Keep your eyes on Jesus and a smile on your face.
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
What is fellowship?
American Heritage Dictionary - fellowship
- The condition of sharing similar interests, ideals, or experiences, as by reason of profession, religion, or nationality.
- The companionship of individuals in a congenial atmosphere and on equal terms.
- A close association of friends or equals sharing similar interests.
Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary - Fellowship
(1.) With God, consisting in the knowledge of his will (Job 22:21; John 17:3); agreement with his designs (Amos 3:2); mutual affection (Rom. 8: 38, 39); enjoyment of his presence (Ps. 4:6); conformity to his image (1 John 2:6; 1:6); and participation of his felicity (1 John 1:3, 4; Eph. 3:14-21).
(2.) Of saints with one another, in duties (Rom. 12:5; 1 Cor. 12:1; 1 Thess. 5:17, 18); in ordinances (Heb. 10:25; Acts 2:46); in grace, love, joy, etc. (Mal. 3:16; 2 Cor. 8:4); mutual interest, spiritual and temporal (Rom. 12:4, 13; Heb. 13:16); in sufferings (Rom. 15:1, 2; Gal. 6:1, 2; Rom. 12:15; and in glory (Rev. 7:9).
I was thinking this morning, after our trip to Frankie’s Fun Park, last night with our students about the term fellowship and what it means in our lives. I went to the internet and brought back the definitions that you read at the beginning of this post. What the world sees as fellowship is very close to the biblical form of fellowship, yet it comes up short of what God, in His word, says fellowship is. Everyone seeks some form of fellowship in life, we all want to be accepted and feel a part of something bigger than we are. Yet, worldly fellowship can become very excusive in its make-up – excusive organizations, country clubs, groups, etc. What we, as followers of Christ, need to always keep in mind is that our fellowship needs to be inclusive. We need to be seeking out new people for our fellowship everyday. If we become exclusive, we are no better than the world around us. We need to be constantly aware of the people around us. If we quit noticing the new people that seek a place in our fellowship we fail at what God has called us to do, which is reach the world around us. We need to guard ourselves from becoming “Holy Huddles” or “S.M.O.T.S. (secret meetings of the saints)” – both terms borrowed from the book “Purpose Driven Youth Ministry” by Doug Fields. I totally understand that we all have our best friends and want to spend time with them, but my prayer is that no one will ever leave our group feeling like they were not made to feel welcome and a part of something they wanted to return to. None of us would ever want to come to an event and not be noticed. I’ve done that in churches in the past and when I left I never wanted to return. We have the greatest students in the world, but if we are to fulfill God’s vision for our group we need to be inclusive.
I realize that this is spring break week, but most of you will talk to your friends from school this week. Invite them to come this weekend to the 8:30 am service. I’ve already seen some of what we will experience this Sunday morning. You do not want to miss this Sunday. Keep praying about this weekend, we are praying for 200+ in that service. I really want to have to bring out chairs. The excitement is building.
Until next time, keep up the good fight and keep your eyes on Jesus.
Monday, April 2, 2007
Reflections from a Sunday Night . . .
Monday mornings are generally reflection times for what went on over the weekend. If you read my post from Saturday, then you know that it was a really great day. Sunday was a great day also but for many different reasons. It started out with an early worship at New Hope. The service had new music from the praise band, our children’s choir had the opportunity to lead us in worship and Willie Lipsey sang again in worship. Every time I hear him sing, I am just blown away at the talent that God has given him. Then Pastor Chad brought us a great message and we had the Lord’s Supper. It was a good morning. After the 11:00 am worship service, we had lunch with the church family. That is always good fellowship and great food. I was a little disappointed that we were not able to get together with the Student Leadership Team to do our personality surveys. But I got over that with an hour nap.
Then Sunday evening came. I was really curious about the student’s response to Ellis Beddingfield and Central Community Ministries. Ellis spoke for about thirty minutes describing the different ministries that we would be able to partner into this summer. I stood back and watched the inner action after Ellis had finished and I talked with some of our students after he had left. The following is what I observed and gathered:
-There are several opportunities that we can take advantage of to join with CCM – varying from leading worship services in small churches in Greenville, to soup kitchens, to light construction, to throwing a Frisbee in one of the parks.
-There are opportunities for those of us that would like to speak with groups that come to Greenville or are a part of our community now.
-There was an excitement in the eyes of our students, that we could assist God in without leaving our home town.
-There was the realization of what a mission field Greenville, SC really is.
-I saw one student, pull money out of his pocket and give it to Ellis to help with ministry in Greenville. I am not sure but I think this student emptied his wallet. WOW, what a movement of the Spirit.
After everything was said and done, I would say that God showed up and this is how I know that. Eyes were opened, hearts were stirred, excitement built, and the want to join in was planted. I always enjoy Sundays, but they are always best when God shows up.
I am really getting excited about next Sunday. It’s Easter Sunday and what a celebration we have to look forward to. The early service has all the makings of the greatest service we have ever seen. We are praying for 200 in the early worship service. I really want to have to bring in chairs. I hope we get to work hard for God, next Sunday. That is also the day the “Elevate” – our new children’s worship in the 8:30 am service kick’s off. Then in the 11:00 am service the choir is bringing the Easter musical. Please make plans to stay for both services, I am. I really want to see standing room only for that service. But most importantly, make sure that you invite all of your lost friends. What a better day to be born again than Easter Sunday. Then we have the rest of the day to be with our families, there will be no evening worship services that night – I think I hear a nap calling my name already.
Until next time, keep your eyes on Jesus.
Then Sunday evening came. I was really curious about the student’s response to Ellis Beddingfield and Central Community Ministries. Ellis spoke for about thirty minutes describing the different ministries that we would be able to partner into this summer. I stood back and watched the inner action after Ellis had finished and I talked with some of our students after he had left. The following is what I observed and gathered:
-There are several opportunities that we can take advantage of to join with CCM – varying from leading worship services in small churches in Greenville, to soup kitchens, to light construction, to throwing a Frisbee in one of the parks.
-There are opportunities for those of us that would like to speak with groups that come to Greenville or are a part of our community now.
-There was an excitement in the eyes of our students, that we could assist God in without leaving our home town.
-There was the realization of what a mission field Greenville, SC really is.
-I saw one student, pull money out of his pocket and give it to Ellis to help with ministry in Greenville. I am not sure but I think this student emptied his wallet. WOW, what a movement of the Spirit.
After everything was said and done, I would say that God showed up and this is how I know that. Eyes were opened, hearts were stirred, excitement built, and the want to join in was planted. I always enjoy Sundays, but they are always best when God shows up.
I am really getting excited about next Sunday. It’s Easter Sunday and what a celebration we have to look forward to. The early service has all the makings of the greatest service we have ever seen. We are praying for 200 in the early worship service. I really want to have to bring in chairs. I hope we get to work hard for God, next Sunday. That is also the day the “Elevate” – our new children’s worship in the 8:30 am service kick’s off. Then in the 11:00 am service the choir is bringing the Easter musical. Please make plans to stay for both services, I am. I really want to see standing room only for that service. But most importantly, make sure that you invite all of your lost friends. What a better day to be born again than Easter Sunday. Then we have the rest of the day to be with our families, there will be no evening worship services that night – I think I hear a nap calling my name already.
Until next time, keep your eyes on Jesus.
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