Let’s Get Specific…

Sometimes I’m ashamed to call myself part of the church in America, but more specifically, Florence, SC. It disgusts me…literally. There are days when it makes me sick to my stomach. Today is one of those days. Thoughts of starting from scratch, without tradition and the “way we’ve always done it” completely consumes my mind, not because I think I can do things better, but because it would be a church about Jesus…something that’s few and far between these days. My friend, Allison Triplett, and I discussed just…dropping everything and starting over somewhere. Today, that sounds appealing. Here’s why:

I’ve tried to help people deal with their sin. I’ve tried accountability on a personal, one-on-one level. It didn’t work. I’ve tried accountability in a small group. It didn’t work. Consider this my taking it to the Church. Don’t expect me to be vague. We’re going to deal TODAY. I’m sure I’ll hear about this later, but let’s get specific…

First, college guys of Florence. You need to wake up and step up. Talk is cheap. I don’t care what your excuse is, you need to deal with your sin. Whether your distraction is your girlfriend, your “wanna be” girlfriend, or just your own arrogance, get rid of it and deal with your sin in order to pursue Jesus. I’m not sure how you can expect to fulfill your plans of leading a congregation or a nation to Christ if you’re not pursuing Jesus here and now…in YOUR city. You need to take a lesson from some of these Women of God YOUR AGE! College ladies…keep up the good work.

Next, Church of Florence…GET OVER YOURSELF! When will you realize it’s not about who you are, what your budget is, or how many people you have in Sunday attendance? No matter how noble your cause might be, loving the church more than you love Jesus is WRONG! Here are some other words for wrong: sinful, evil, HATED BY GOD! It’s not about the us at ALL. It’s about working together to glorify the name of Jesus.

Here’s a humbling statistic for you: The United States is now the number two mission RECEIVING country in the world! Why? Because if you were to take the unchurched population of the US and make it a country, it would be the eleventh most populated IN THE WORLD! And we’re worried about which floors are tiled and the paint on the walls? Someone needs to step up. When do we start doing our part?

It is not ok to let five people do all the work. It is not ok to sit back and watch. It is not ok to see a need and ignore it. It is not ok to be more about us than about the community and serving them. It is not ok to ignore TRUE fellowship and worship. It is not ok to act like we’re all fine, while ignoring the fact that we are screwing up!

This has nothing to do with our Pastor, Youth Minister, Music Minister, or any church staff. YOU AND I are the one’s hindering the Church from reaching it’s full potential. YOU AND I are the one’s not sharing the name of Jesus!

Church…you break my heart. We have taken this thing that Christ intended to be so beautiful and we have whored it out for our own good and pleasure.

How sick…

Times are A-Changing…

Over the years, technology has opened so many doors for communication,. So many, in fact, that I think we sometimes forget the opportunities it gives us.

Here’s how things go…

Last night I was texting a friend down the street.

While texting, I was also on Facebook, keeping up with my friends around the world.

While on Facebook, I was having 3 conversations with friends on Skype. Skype allows you to chat with text, allows you to call each other with voice (much like the phone), and allows you to chat via video. It allows you to talk face to face no matter where you are.

All of these outlets have done wonders for ministry. It allows us to communicate much more efficiently (if we try). It allows us to maintain relationship with people no matter where they are. It’s made investing in people progressively easier.

So here’s the question…

Now that we can chat face to face around the world, and now that we can’t use distance as an excuse for not investing, what’s our excuse now?

Why aren’t we doing our part??

Think, Think, Think…

I work hard…

It may not look like it, but I work hard. Between school full time, working at the hospital full time, working at the church part-time, and trying to maintain a social life, my days are pretty packed. I feel like I’m managing pretty well at this point. I mean, I haven’t called in sick to work, I’m making A’s, and my friends don’t hate me…yet…

There is just one problem…

The college students are responsible for planning and “producing” The Middle (our Wednesday night youth service) one Wednesday in early November. I’ve been designated to give the Bible study. It’s not that I mind this so much. After all, I just thanked God for providing opportunities to speak the Gospel, but I’ve had a bit of trouble keeping my mind focused on the event long enough to pull it all together. I’m having a bit of trouble figuring out what the church needs to hear.

There are so many thoughts swirling around in my head, that I can’t figure out what to talk about! So…what do you suggest?

On a related note, I can’t help but wonder what happened to the servants heart in my college friends. What happened to seeing a need and desiring to meet that need?

Anyway, help me out…what do you want to hear??

MMMmmmmm….

Every now and then you have one of those days that you just know you’ll look back on and laugh.

Last night after an awesome night at church, three of my closest friends and I hung back to catch up on life. Eventually, after a few good laughs, we cranked the music and just sat enjoying each others’ company. We lay on the floor just being friends. After a while, the music got softer and the conversation picked up. We covered A LOT.

It was the most REAL conversation I’ve had in a long time.

We talked about what was going on in our lives, what we felt, how Jesus was changing us, the things we were excited about, and the things that scared us. We talked about the future and our hopes, the past and the things we’d change, and everything in between. Every few minutes there was a pause…and every single time the silence was broken with four words: “I love you guys.”

For the first time in a while I felt community within the Body of Christ as it should be. We do love each other, and we love Jesus more.

We all said we’d be friends forever, and as cheesy as it sounds, I can only hope I’m blessed by their friendship for the rest of my life.

I do love you guys…

In Case You Were Wondering…

I’m an…interesting…person. I’ve got all sorts of quirks that people think are strange, but here’s just a little bit more about me…

I love to be in constant contact with people most of the time. My dad just bought me a new Blackberry Curve that I’m in love with (thanks dad!!) and it helps me stay posted. I only turn my phone off in one place: Waynesboro, VA. It’s almost like vacation.

I absolutely hate when someone trys to tell me how to worship. I can’t stand when someone says, “Everyone raise your hands to Jesus!” Don’t get me wrong, I love Jesus…A LOT…but if I wanted to raise my hands I would’ve done that without your prompting…

I’m completely against the “every head bowed, every eye closed” sort of invitation. In my opinion, the Gospel is something to be proud of. If you give Jesus access to your heart, but have to sneak out the back door while everyone else is looking at the floor, I’m pretty sure you don’t quite understand the sacrifice that Jesus made for you.

I don’t get into football like the rest of the country. It all seems a little petty to me. That thought has been stregnthened lately by arguements that destroyed relationships over a stupid rivalry. I thought adults were supposed to grow out of stuff like that. Yup…I said it…

People don’t think I approve of relationships. In most cases I don’t, however, there are a few select people whom I think are perfectly ready for a significant other in their lives. If I haven’t told you that to your face, and you’re not married, you prolly aren’t one of those few…

I’ve come to appreciate time alone. At one point in my life I was completely opposed to the idea, but the older I get, the more I like to be by myself, enjoying quiet.

I absolutely love internet TV and radio. I could kiss the inventors of Hulu and Pandora.

I LOVE MY CHURCH FAMILY! Despite the fact that they absolutely infuriate me sometimes, I love the people I worship with. I just wish some of them would run after Jesus a little harder…

That’s a little insight in to where my mind is right now…

I’m sure you care

Subtle Much??

For about a year and a half now, a crazy and radical idea has been consuming my thought process for the majority of every day. If you’ve read many of my blogs, or spent much time around me, I’m sure you’ve heard my feelings about where we sinners have taken the church. Through a friend, I’ve come to realize the calling God has communicated through these feelings. Basically, God’s going to start a new church, and he’s gonna let me be a part of it!

I’m gonna be a church planter!!!

Over these past 18 months I’ve thought and prayed A LOT about how and where God would make this happen. I’ve talked to people who know the process, and I’ve made plans to sit under successful church planters for a few years before venturing out on my own. I’ve come up with a list of places that seem logical, but I’ve come to learn that my logic doesn’t quite measure up to God’s, so needless to say, I’m still listening.

I’ve been very adamant about where I feel my place is in the planting process. I tell people that, “I definitely don’t feel called to be teaching staff, just part of the logistics,” but over the past several weeks I’ve found myself desiring opportunities to speak the Truth of the Gospel to people, and strangely enough God has provided those opportunities. It’s almost like His little subtle way of saying, “Oh really? Man, I’m so much smarter than you…”

Really, I’m beyond excited about things. I’ve gone over the “long range plan” with my parents and it just seems to fit. I do, however, ask you to pray for me and the people who will join me over the next few years. Through my BRIEF experience in the ministry, I’ve come to realize that NOTHING about this will be easy.

I love to talk about it, so ASK ME! Who knows, maybe you’re called to jump on board…

After all…God DOES work in mysterious ways…