Irreplaceable

The casualty

So, this was the damage done.  We recently had a hot dog roasting at church.  It was a chilly day and my seven-year old was wearing his best big coat -- a red and black jacket with logos from his favorite team, the Georgia Bulldogs.  Somewhere in the process of roasting a hot dog, he brushed  up against the metal fire pit.  Thus, the melting began.  It burned this whole in the jacket.  As some of the men gathered around and I found out from my wife about the incident, one of them said, "At least it was just a Georgia jacket."  I said, "What do you mean?" thinking that was a knock on our team.  He responded, "And not a kid."  And that's right.  Jackets can be replaced.  Kids can't.  Jackets can be patched up.  Kids can't.

As parents, it's so easy to fall prey to the materialism of our culture without realizing it.  We ascribe value to things that essentially have no value.  1,000 years ago if you burned a hole in the cloth covering you wore as a coat, that was a good reason to make you another one.  People have value.  Things really don't.  Every parent knows this, but we forget it -- easily.

This Christmas, some child is going to break something that was very expensive.  They're going to drop the iPad or iPhone.  They're going to step on the new train set.  He's going to rip a hole in those new jeans playing touch football at Grandma's.  She's going to get glitter-glue all over that new sweater.  They're going to throw a baseball through the new 3D HDTV.  Some kid is going to lose a toy they just got.  It's going to happen in the next three days somewhere.  It might happen to you.  Our temptation is going to be to get furious.  "Don't you know how much that costs?!"  But it can be replaced.  We live in a culture that decided those things are expensive.  But they're not.  You can go right down to the store and buy another one just like it.

Now, responsibility and accountability are important life lessons.  Kids need to be taught to value things and take care of stuff.  Money does not grow on trees, and being responsible for the things that are ours is an important part of growing up.  However, understanding the things on which you cannot put a price tag is a more important lesson.  Technology is a wonderful thing.  Advances in engineering and media have made our lives better, simpler and faster.  But they are just things.  Things that will break. Things that will be repaired.   Things that will be replaced.  I struggle with this at Christmas, when it seems like a competition between parents as to who can get their kids the most valuable toys.  I struggle with the expectations of my children because at a young age they already have an appetite for things the world says are valuable.  I want them to have nice things.  I want them to go crazy when they open a present.  I want them to be proud of and responsible with their things.  But more than anything else, I want them to know that they are valuable.  People are valuable.  People -- not iPads, not HDTVs, not the latest lego set, not designer clothes, not Kindle Fires, not cars, not houses, not even red & black UGA jackets -- are made in the image of God.  We don't believe Jesus died for things.  Jesus died for people because people matter.

What I wish would have happened with Phil-GQ-A&E-gate

(Sigh).  Do we have to keep doing this?  Do we have to keep hurting each other?  There is a divide in our country.  Well, there is more than one.  But, more than ever (probably because of social media), the divide between Christian and non-Christian seems like it's a mile wide.  And we've forgotten how to react and respond.  We've forgotten how to be kind.  We've forgotten decent respect for others.  And those of us that call ourselves Christians seemed to have forgotten how to read the Bible.  Homosexuality seems to be one of the big issues in the middle of that divide.  I'm not here to go into that.  I wrote a lengthy blog about it during the Chick-fil-a ordeal that you can read here.  It's a very complex issue.  I'm an evangelical Christ Follower and believe homosexuality is a sin, but I also know that Christians have handled the issue so poorly that we've judged others, when that's not our place.  We are to offer life.  With that in mind, here's what I wish would have happened through each stage of the mess.  This is what I wish was true of our country and our Church.

• I wish that GQ reporter had just said, "No."  If you haven't read the article, you need to if you're going to discuss the issue.  I wish the reporter had decided that he just wasn't going to do it the way he did it.  "Sure, I'll go spend a day with Phil and interview him, but no, I'm not going patronize him, I'm not going to bait him into controversial issues, and I'm not going to make a mockery of Southern culture.  No sir, I won't do it."  There was an obvious snide-ness to the interview that was unnecessary.  I'm a proud Southerner.  We've got our demons from the past, namely in the treatment of minorities.  We've come a long way.  I wish a reporter from a national magazine didn't feel the need to cartoon a good man.
• I wish Phil had said, "You know, I've got some ideas about homosexuality, but I'm most interested in introducing people to Jesus."  You see, telling people they're wrong has never worked.  That's never been our role.  In 1 Corinthians 5:12-13, The Apostle Paul wrote, "What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside?  God will judge those outside."  All those letters that Paul wrote were to Christians.  They were written to churches.  They were for, essentially, discipleship.  In Acts, when Paul went on his missionary journeys, he was preaching one thing:  Grace.  Christ crucified for us, risen to give victory over sin and death.  Paul's letters were to help those that had received that grace figure out how to live in tune with God's heart.  When we start with "how to live," we get it wrong and the world tunes us out.  Me telling a homosexual that I think they're sinning isn't going to convict their heart.  Jesus is in the conviction business.  Christians need to offer people Jesus and TRUST JESUS to change people and convict people.  My life was not in line with God's teaching when I came to Christ, but I have learned over the years as I've gotten closer to Jesus that He wants what's best for me.  So I've learned to trust him and change.  You don't have to be straight to come to Jesus.  You don't have to be sober to come to Jesus.  You don't have to be holy, non-cussing, church-going, or generous to come to Jesus.  You just have to come.  Listen, I'm not saying we have to hide what we believe about issues.  We need to be honest, yet we need to preach truth in love.  I don't think homosexuality is the best God has planned for anyone.  I don't think it's in His plan.  But I'm not going to convince anyone of that.  I want to invite people into a relationship with Jesus and invite them to study the Bible.  God does the changing.  And, Phil's a smart guy.  I wish he'd known that you can't say things like bestiality, anus and vagina and expect that it's not going to cause a stir.  I don't think that's the route Jesus would have taken in the conversation.
• I wish Phil wouldn't have said what he said about African-Americans.  I'll bet he was telling the truth, but that doesn't make it generally true for all.  That last thing we White Southerners need to do is trivialize the experience of African-Americans in the segregated South.  It was ugly.  Our ancestors were wrong.  We repented, and we've found a better way.  Just because one prostitute doesn't think it's that bad doesn't make prostitution okay.  Phil could have said, "You know, the African-Americans I knew were happy people that I counted as friends, but I know that what was happening wasn't right, and the experience of most was horrific."  
• I wish Phil would have apologized.  "You know, I got out there on my four-wheeler and started talking and things kind of came out crude.  I have strong Biblical beliefs, but they didn't come out the right way.  I apologize for the crude language as I know it hurt some people's feelings.  That's not really how I want to represent myself, my family and my faith.  I just want to sell duck calls, be a good husband and introduce people to the Jesus that changed my life."  
• I wish people understood Free Speech better.  Phil's freedom of speech was not violated.  Freedom of Speech means you don't get arrested (which happens in other countries).  Any of us can say whatever we want, but if we work for someone that writes us a check, they have to right to say, "Well, if you want to have that opinion, we're not sure that you're the kind of person that should work here."  My guess is that if Phil had been a little less crude and a little more gentle, even if he'd have espoused the same values, that he'd have been fine.  It's not like A & E didn't know what the Robertson family thinks about homosexuality.  It's how he said it, and I'm not convinced that his statement about African-Americans wasn't the bigger deal to the network.  If you work for someone, you're accountable for how you behave and speak.  If you're a public figure (and I'm one, so I take this very seriously), the ante is upped.  If you own your own company or you're a politician, you can say what you want, but the customer and the voter have the final say.  If you say something stupid, that doesn't mean there aren't consequences. It just means you don't go to jail for it.
• I wish we had a better way to talk about homosexuality.  I'm not sure what the answer is.  It's a deeply painful subject.  The Church has long deemed drunkenness, extramarital affairs, pre-marital sex, greed, lust, selfishness and a host of other things as sin.  But this one subject gets so emotional.  People on one side feel like it is an issue that is ripping at the fabric of society while others feel like their entire being is being de-valued.  We need to find a better way, and I'm not sure the answer.  I do know that we need to be known for what we're for rather than what we're against.  The Church is FOR people.  I think that's a starting point.  All people are made in God's image.  Let's be people that show them a mirror and let God recreate them into what they can be.
• I wish people had responded unpredictably.  Instead of one side saying, "See there, I told you all those Christians are crazy" I wish people had said, "You know, the Christians I know who are opposed to homosexuality don't talk about it like that."  Instead of posting scriptures about how Phil was right because homosexuality is an abomination, I wish my brothers and sisters in Christ would said, "We love a lot of people that we don't agree with, and that's the main point I would want anyone to know.  Oh, and come to church with me on Sunday...because we love you."
• I wish Christians would begin to see homosexuality as one part of a list of issues related to sexual immorality that includes lust, pre-marital sex, pornography and adultery.  This is why we need to point people to Jesus.  There's lots of folks in our churches messed up.  Most of us have messed up.  We need to get people to the cross and let Him sort out the mess and bring healing in the brokenness.  It's not saying it's okay.  It's making sure we get them to Jesus first.  If we are going to reach a broken world, that's the only way. 

May God bring us all closer to Jesus this Christmas season.

Sunday Preview & Thought for the Week (12.19.13)

I hope you are experiencing the Joy of Christ's birth this season as we prepare for Christmas.  I don't know about you, but really jumped up on me this year.  I'm so excited about our Hassle-Free Christmas and our Christmas Eve Experiences.  But, we've got one more Sunday before Christmas to finish up our "White Elephant."  This week, we'll be talking about "Peace."  I know I could use a little more in my life, especially this time of year.

Also, don't forget that this Sunday is our big Christmas Offering.  Our goal is to raise $10,000 this Sunday for three main ministries:

• The Masana Mission to feel street kids in Mozambique
• Advertising for our marriage series in February
• Local missions and outreach

It's not our birthday, it's Jesus' birthday.  Let's give him a present!

Thought for the Week
"The seed sprouts and grows -- he doesn't know how."  Mark 4:27

A changed life is nothing more than a beautiful miracle.  Today I ran across an old friend.  I say 'friend,' but we met under auspicious circumstances.  He was drunk, maybe high, and contemplating suicide.  I was watching Monday Night Football at a Sports Bar and drinking a Diet Coke.  We talked until 1 a.m.  That was probably five or six years ago.  He was a mess.  I just tried to love him.  We exchanged phone numbers, which I worried might be a mistake.  In the coming months, I'd get occasional calls at 3 a.m.  I tried to love him.  I wasn't sure what to say, but I loved him.  I just tried to be a friend and spoke truth in love.  His life was a roller coaster for a while.  I tried to get him to come to church, but I don't think he ever came.  Then I saw him one night with his fiance...and he looked great.  Then he called me to marry them.  Then I ran into him today...and he looked like a million bucks.  Whole.  He'd been back to church.  He's working a good job.  And I just tried to love him that one time late that night.  Just one seed.  Seed's are mysterious.  We're not sure how it works.  We just see little leaves sticking out of the dirt.  But you have to plant it.  Keep loving people.  Keep planting seeds in lives that seem lost and hopeless.  Keep speaking truth in love.  Keep being present with people.  That's our call -- to plant seeds.  We don't do the growing part.  That's God's deal.  We plant.  Be a seed planter.  When you do, every once in a while you run into a green leaf at a coffee shop and remember when you put that seed in the dirt.  Thank you, Jesus, for the miracle of growing.

In Christ,

Carter 

What Churches and Christians Can Learn from WestJet

By now, I'm sure you've seen the WestJet Christmas Miracle video.  If not, take a moment to see a pretty special scene.  We'll be waiting afterward with some tissues for you:

It's awesome moment, isn't it?  It's beautiful, generous, and kind.  And people wonder if there is such a thing as beautiful, generous and kind anymore.  It's also genius marketing.  The power of that marketing is this.  When the time comes for you to fly, especially if it's into, out of, or around Canada...I'll bet you check on WestJet's flights.  And that's all they can hope for.  If it fits your price or schedule, you might pick them.  But what their generosity and hard work have done is put in our minds that WestJet is worth checking out.  They have given WestJet a good name in the cyber-world by this extreme act of Christmas cheer.  And there's a lesson in there for Christians and churches.

• We need to be generous to outsiders.  Churches often want to make money for their mission trip to a foreign country by the yearly BBQ in which they expect the community to buy it for $6/plate.  This sends the perception that the church exists to bleed the community of already strapped resources so they can fund ministries which their people are interested in.  Same thing with a car wash or yard sale.  What if we had a BBQ and gave it away and fed the community?  What message does that send?  This kind of mindset will cost money.  It's expensive to be generous to outsiders.  I happen to think people's souls are worth it.
• We need to give Jesus and the Church a good name.  Too often we are guilty of actions that give Jesus and His Church a BAD name because of scandals and sin.  More often, though, we are obsessed with results.  We want an outreach event to immediately produce increased attendance.  That can't be the goal because it's short-sighted and uncontrollable.  But, we can guarantee that we give God a good name, and we can do that on a consistent basis through our ministry in, with and to the community.  If we do that long enough, we give our local church a good name.
• We need to embrace the power of recommending.  How many people will recommend WestJet to a friend now?  What about the people that were on that flight?  We need to understand that we can't get people to turn to God and come to church.  What we can do is be in the business of recommending that this church might be the kind of church that they might be interested in.  We CAN help people say to themselves, "You know, if I ever DID go to church, I think I'd go to that one."  And, the vision is even bigger than our local context.  Our goal is to help people turn to Jesus so that people say, "If I ever did need help, I think I'd turn to the God of those people who always do so much in our community."
• We need to not be fair.  What if WestJet had spent the same amount of money and discounted ever ticket for holiday travelers by $5?  That would have been more fair.  Would you have watched that video and pretended you weren't crying at work?  Radical hospitality and outreach are key to giving God a good name and raising awareness of God's goodness.  Jesus didn't heal everyone.  He healed some, and word spread that God was on the move.
• We need to tell stories of hope.  What if this had not been videoed?  We've got to find ways to share stories of the good things the Church is doing in the community.  If people don't see and hear the stories, we missed the opportunity for it to impact them.  And do you think these people will ever forget what happened to them?  What will be their story?  They'll tell this story forever.  When we reach out in radical generosity, we create stories that people will tell for generations.
• We need a plan.  This flight.  These people.  This is what we're doing.  That was WestJet.  Whether it is one person we're going to invest our lives in personally or one community that we're going to love on as a church.  We need a plan to express kindness and love.  For WestJet, that took one flight, but it was laser-focused.  For us, that plan might take years.  We can be an example of God's love to a few, over and over again.  That's not manipulative, it's smart.  Jesus said to be smart (as wise as serpents).  It's just saying, "This is my spot where I want to make sure that we're doing it right."  That means we need strategies.  WesJet had a plan

Let's be churches that radically love our community.  Let's be people that ooze generosity and hope.  After all this is too important.  We're not selling airline tickets.  We're giving away Life.

Sunday Preview & Thought for the Week (12.13.13)

I hope you've had a great week.  It's been a great week of ministry already as we've been ministering to families at New Hope UMC through Family Promise.  Thank you to those of you that have served!  Here's a couple of things to know for this Sunday:

• We'll be continuing the series "White Elephant" as we talk about "Joy."  Hope to see you there!
• Don't forget to hang out and watch the Flag Football Super Bowl.  We'll have fires to stay warm by and roast hot dogs.  Feel free to bring some cookies or chips with your lunch.  Hot dogs, buns, condiments and drinks are provided.
• Don't forget about our Hassle-Free Christmas Service on Dec. 23 if you're working or out of town on Christmas Eve.  It's also a great opportunity to invite friends are who new to church.  It'll be very laid back, and we've got 2 locations north and south of Archer High School.  Click here to send an e-card to someone.

Thought for the Week
"...showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love Me and keep My commands."  Exodus 20:6

I was reading through the Ten Commandments the other day and this part stuck out to me.  It's not a commandment, it's a promise.  And it's an important one.  God blesses our grandchildren's grandchildren...to a thousand generations.  This happens for those that follow God's commands.  I think everyone knows that that their kids and grandkids are watching them.  We set the standard for what is acceptable in the house.  If we treat people poorly, then our kids will think that's okay.  If we're kind, our kids will be kind.  If we lose our tempers, our kids will have a short fuse.  We all know our little ones are watching.  What I think we underestimate is that we literally set the tone for generations.  Our grandchildren will teach their grandchildren things their grandparents taught them.  Some of those things will be very important.  Some of those things will be about faith, family, values, and beliefs.  Some of those things will define their way of life and families.  And those little ones will teach their grandchildren.  When we follow God's ways, we find blessing.  We'll make better decisions about relationships, our finances, our work/life balance and a million other things.  That will have an impact on family members that we will never meet.  I don't know about you, but that's motivation enough for me.  I want to be a blessing to my great-great-great-great-great grandchildren.

In Christ,

Carter 

The Pressure of Christmas

I love Christmas.  Love it.  My parents did (and still do) Christmas big.  It was magical at my house growing up, and looking back, I got a ridiculous amount of stuff.  I love getting Christmas presents for my family.  I love when you think of the perfect thing or get a great buy on something you shouldn't be able to afford for them, but somehow found it 70% off.  Or you think of something really creative.  It's a great feeling to do something heartfelt for someone you love.  It's better to see them open it.  I love it.

But there is also pressure at Christmas, and I'm not sure where it comes from.  You know, it's the feeling of knowing you've gotten most people in the family something really awesome and you bought their presents in, like, July.  But you're driving around the whole week before Christmas trying to find those last one or two people something.  And you're not satisfied because you got them something made by the Totes company that was in the center aisle display with the wallets, earmuffs, and piggy banks.  But it's all you could find.  And you couldn't show up with nothing.  And you're embarrassed when they open it.

Then there's the feeling like you wish you could do more, but you just can't.  You want to spend more on presents for loved ones, but you can't.  And you feel guilty.  Then, you look under the Christmas tree and want there to be more presents for your children there.  You're not sure there are enough under there, but you're not sure what enough is.  You know they have more than most children in the world, and you also know they will have friends who have the latest technological gadgets that they don't.  So, you find yourself strolling through the store to buy one more thing for them to make sure it's 'enough', even though they have rooms full of toys that they don't play with now.

And it makes you hate Christmas.  I hate what it does to me.  This year, underneath our tree is a little more bare than usual.  I'm going to back to school and that's a huge expense.  We're remodeling our kitchen.  Don't ever do that.  Listen to me:  don't ever remodel your kitchen. It is a black hole of expenses.  We've got two kids in preschool, and four growing boys, and it's just a little tighter this year.

Don't feel sorry for us.  My children have more toys than they could ever play with.  They have nice rooms decorated for them.  They eat good and go to great schools.  We are able to travel as a family together a lot.  We tithe to our church and see our money make an impact for the Kingdom.  And we have enough money to do things like (slowly) remodel our kitchen.  And still, I'm wondering if I should buy them one more thing to make sure it's enough.  Or worrying if I need to get one more family member one more thing so that it'll be enough, when they, like us, have more than enough.

This is what Christmas has done to us.  I'm a pastor.  I want to say that I know what Christmas is all about.  It's Jesus' birthday.  Of course I know that.  We celebrate that in my house and with our church.  We know He's the reason for the season.  But why do I feel this way every year at the Holidays?  Why does the over-commercialization get to me every season, telling me that I should get more and buy more for people who don't need any more?  How do I figure out what 'enough' is?

I think the answer is Jesus is enough.  He's enough so I don't need more.  Having Him is enough.  And my children and family won't remember what I got them for Christmas.  They won't be able to recall if they had 'enough' each Christmas.  (They might remember the year I got them those electric socks -- they seemed like something useful at the time.)  If I am Jesus for them, that will be enough.  If I serve them, love them, care for them, love them as Jesus does, that'll be enough.  If I die to myself for them as Jesus has, that'll be enough.  I can't wrap that and put it under a tree.  I can afford it because it's totally free, yet it will cost me everything.  That's what I want to give others all year.  That's how we get out of this crazy mindset we've let takeover Christmas.  And that's enough.  If we are Jesus for others, the gifts we buy will have little impact on their lives.  Being Christ for the world is enough.

Nelson Mandela didn't do labels, and we shouldn't either

Last week saw the death of Nelson Mandela, and we'll see countless specials and documentaries about him in the next week.  His story is certainly one worth telling.  He was at times controversial but always compelling.  He was a complex man with complex politics, but certainly a hero in the fight for freedom for all people.  I read a quote by Mandela that stood out to me:  "A nation should not be judged by how it treats its highest citizens, but its lowest ones."  That sounds like it ought to be in the Bible.  It is.

My brothers, do not show favoritism as you hold on to the faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ.  For example, a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and a poor man dressed in dirty clothes also comes in.  If you look with favor on the man wearing the fine clothes and say, “Sit here in a good place,” and yet you say to the poor man, “Stand over there,” or, “Sit here on the floor by my footstool,”  haven’t you discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?  -James 2:1-4

We live in a world obsessed with labels:  rich/poor, famous/ordinary, athletic/uncoordinated, smart/challenged, computer geek/computer illiterate, black/white/olive, male/female, lower class/middle class/upper class, public/private, corporate/local, republican/democrat, liberal/conservative, progressive/evangelical, SEC/Big 10, Sporty/Artsy, educated/working class, churched/unchurched, saved/lost, Army/Navy (especially this weekend), American/European, first-world/third-world, boomer/millennial, vegetarian/vegan/carnivore, android/ iPhone, traditional/contemporary, Ford/Chevy, baptist/methodist/presbyterian/lutheran/pentecostal/anglican/roman catholic/non-denominational, liturgical/charismatic...that's all I could come up with.

We want our shoes to have labels and our phones to have labels.  And we label people.  But, people are just people.   People are made in God's image.  That means that God looks like everyone of us.  There are not some that are valued more because they're wealthy, athletic, brilliant or beautiful.  God looks like movie stars.  God looks like migrant workers.  God looks like those standing in line at the welfare office.  God looks like Olympic swimmers.  All are image-bearers.  God has dreadlocks and a shaved head.  God wears a $2,000 Italian suit and a Nike T-shirt, God plays video games and baseball, God drives a BMW and rides the public transportation system.  

The Church ought to be the best at what Mandela hoped for and the Bible demands.  We are the ones who believe that people are made in God's image.  Labels mean nothing to Christians because labels won't last.  They are not eternal.  The deepest part of our theology is that labels don't matter.  The inside matters.  Hearts matter.  Souls matter.  Spirit matters.  If there is a gift that Christians could give to the world, it is the feeling that their we can see through their labels.  The rich and famous wonder if anyone sees them for who they really are.  The poor wonder if anyone sees their potential.  The middle class wonder if anybody notices them.  I want you to know something:  there is One who sees who you really are, sees your potential, and notices you every day.  You are not your label.  You are not a skin color, a logo, a job title, or any kind of adjective.  You are a person who looks just like God.    This has been a dream of our Heavenly Father long before freedom fighters took up the mantle.  This is the way things are supposed to be.  What a gift we could give to the world if those that follow Christ could see God's children as He does.

Sunday Preview & Thought for the Week (12.5.13)

I hope you're having a great (rainy) week!  It's starting to look and smell like Christmas around my house, and that's certainly the season at Church of the Way.  This Sunday, I hope you'll get into the spirit as we continue to talk about getting from Christmas what we really need in the series "White Elephant."  This week, we'll be talking about 'Good News.'  I'm looking forward to sharing that news with you!

Thought for the Week
"For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat...I was a stranger and you took Me in."  Matthew 25:35

This time of year I get a lot of calls about whether or not we're sponsoring families.  Sometimes LIFE Groups are able to help.  Simply, there are lots of people in need in our community, and the holidays bring that to light.  This coming Sunday we start another week of hosting homeless families through Family Promise of Gwinnett.  We'll be sharing in hosting them with our sister church, New Hope UMC.  It's a big job.  There are lots of things that have to be done and lots of volunteer spaces that must be filled.  But it's a week...to help families...who don't have a home.  It's children who sleep in Sunday School rooms every night.  It's moms that don't have a stove to cook their kids a meal on.  It's families that don't have a Christmas tree because they don't have a corner to put one.  And all God needs from me is to cook a meal, share some fellowship, set-up some beds, or sleep overnight?  And when I do that, I'm not just ministering to people, but Jesus said I'm ministering to Him?  That sounds like a no-brainer.  There is no relationship with God that isolates us from community.  Relationship with God means a relationship with others, for we are all made in God's image.  So, when we serve others, we serve God.  When we love others, we love God.  When we feed others, we feed God.  When we welcome others, we welcome God.  There are lots of ways to serve others this Christmas season, and Family Promise is a simple and profound way to do that.  Let's be a people who take seriously our relationship with God by serving the ones made in His image.  You can find out what opportunities there are to serve in Family Promise by contacting Jim Ramsdail or Kim Navarro.

In Christ,

Carter

Christians & Santa

I can remember when I first heard it.  I was standing in my dorm room in Amsterdam while I was on a mission trip with the college campus ministry with which I was involved.  My roommate on the trip had grown up in a vastly different church world than I had.  He had come from a much more charismatic background.  I had been raised Southern Baptist, so we had both come from fairly conservative traditions.  I was on my way to becoming a United Methodist pastor as well.  But I'd never heard anything like it.  He told me that he would not be teaching his (yet unborn and unconceived) children about Santa Claus.  He said that it would confuse his children and that they might think he was lying to them about Jesus, too.  He said that it was a worldly idea and not what Christmas was about.  He said that right from the get-go he'd let his children know that there was no Santa Claus and that Christmas was about Jesus' birth, not some imaginary fat guy in a red suit.  He proclaimed that it does children a world of damage when parents make children think that a fairy tale is true.  Children will end up thinking Jesus is a fairy tale, too.  Same goes for the Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy in his house.  I spent the next hour thanking my Heavenly Father that my roommate was not my dad.

This issue has become particularly poignant for us this year because my two oldest boys (7 and 9) are asking a lot of questions.  They've got friends whispering in their ear about Jolly Ol' St. Nick.  They're saying that some of their friends don't believe in Santa and that they think their parents put the presents out.  When they ask the right question or make the right comment, we'll have a good talk about it.  They're on the fence.  It's a curious time around the McInnis household, and more and more, I hear this conversation popping up among Christians.  And I want to be honest -- I don't get it.

I grew up in a house in which my parents just didn't make a big deal of things.  When an inappropriate scene came across a video, they fast-forwarded the VCR (remember those?!).  We went to parties or tailgates where people drank, a lot, and my parents simply chose not to drink at all instead of avoiding the gatherings.  My youth pastor would play secular music on the church bus and turn it down when a phrase came up that wasn't 'youth group friendly.'  That means he actually knew the songs.  And when I finally learned the truth about Santa and his reindeer... well, it just wasn't that big of a deal (except to the girl I broke the news to in Ms. Moon's 4th grade class.)  In fact, it was mind-boggling to me to realize that my parents had gone to all that trouble all those years to make Christmas special.  And Santa still came long after I'd gone to college.  It was just as special even after I 'knew.'

I never thought Jesus wasn't real because my parents lived Jesus.  We went to church every week, I saw them studying their Sunday School lesson, and saw our tithe check on the corner of the counter every Sunday morning.  Santa was a once a year deal.  It was fun.  I made lists and sent them to Santa because I was a kid.  And kids do fun things.  Kids dress up and say they're Batman.  Kids think they're going to play in the NFL when they're six.  Kids pretend to be princesses.  Kids think Lightnin' McQueen is a real car.

I fear that we have forgotten how to be fun as Christians.  We have an Elf on the Shelf because it's fun, but I remind my children all the time that God is always watching us, and our biggest motivation to behave and make good decisions is to please and honor God.  But for three weeks, the Elf (Russ, in our house) is fun.  Christians have different convictions.  Some people feel really strongly about Santa and anything secular at Christmas.  That's okay.  But I hope those Christians know how to have fun.  I think God smiles at good-natured fun.  Moreover, I think the world looks at us like we're weird and shuts the door on a conversation with us when we can't have fun.  Now, as Christ-Followers, we are weird.  We are ruled by radical hospitality and amazing grace, something strange to the rest of the world.  However, when we call 'everything' that didn't originate from the Church worldly, evil or "secular," outsiders begin to wonder if they can even be our friends.  It just seems to me that it's okay to have fun.  And I think kids like fun, and I think they understand the difference between fun and the Solid Rock upon which we have built our family.

What I hope my kids are thankful for

I have found that being a parent is one of the most challenging jobs on the planet.  You’re never exactly sure if you’re doing it right.  Just when you think you’ve got it figured out, you figure out that you don’t.  Parenting, I’ve learned, has to have an eye on the future.  If you live totally in the present, you’ll drive yourself crazy because children are children (and children are inherently crazy and irrational – right?).  What I try to do is see my children as adults, which is a challenge in the midst of wrestling matches and legos (I have four boys).  One day, though, they’ll sit around on a Thanksgiving holiday and think about the things for which they are thankful.  I hope their minds drift back to childhood and they see life a little differently as adults.  Now, they are thankful for going to school, playing with friends, or eating a yummy dinner, at least those are the things that constantly fill their night-time prayers.  But, here are the things I hope they’re thankful for when they get a little older:

• That we didn’t always get them what they wanted – because life won’t always give them what they want.
• That we made them eat their vegetables – because their health and nutrition were more important than their tastes.
• That we drove our cars for a long time – because saving for their college was more important than driving in a new ride.
• That their parents sometimes made-out in the kitchen – because that means they were still making out with each other and not someone else.
• That we had rules and we stuck to them – because it taught them how to be a good student, employee and citizen.
• That we read the Bible to them – because they learned there was a higher authority than their parents.
• That we played board games and watched animated movies with them – because we wanted to spend time with them more than do something ‘productive’ around the house.
• That we made them go to bed early – because mom and dad needed a few hours of sanity in the evenings, and it helped us be ready for another crazy morning.
• That the house wasn't always spotless -- because that would have meant less board games and fewer backyard football games.
• That we were honest with them about who they dated -- because their feelings as a teenager weren't as important to us as their heart and future as an adult.
• That we prayed for them – because we understood that they will be on their own one day.
• That we followed through with consequences – because life has consequences.
• That we’d drop them off with anyone willing to keep them so we could go on a date – because we understood that a strong marriage was a bedrock of our family.
• That we guarded who their friends were – because we understood better than they did how impressionable they were.
• That we guarded who our friends were – because we understood how impressionable they were.
• That we told them “I love you” a lot – because if they believed that, they’d be able to accomplish much more.
• That we hugged and kissed them a lot (even when they got older and it was embarrassing) – because touch matters.

Much of parenting is seeing into the future.  I’m hopeful my boys will be able to appreciate the things we did on their behalf when they are old enough to understand it all.  That may mean that they don’t particularly appreciate those things now.  I’m okay with that.  I’m thankful that I get to be their dad and take them on that journey with my sweet wife.  

Who is my neighbor?

Volunteers organizing food for local families.

Volunteers frying 70 turkeys to give away to local families.

Christians have been asking ourselves "Who is our neighbor?" for centuries.  It was a question posed to Jesus.  He followed the question with the story of the Good Samaritan.  Often, churches have used this question as motivation to reach the world.  Everyone is our neighbor, no matter where they are.  This is true.  And the Church has done a world of good across the world fighting hunger, starting orphanages, curing disease, and reaching people with God's love in tangible ways.  The Church has also spread the Gospel to places that have never heard of God's amazing grace.

I've often struggled with how to put the global and local together in ministry.  This past Sunday, our church hosted our 7th Annual Turkey Fry.  In 2007, we moved into a warehouse across the street from one of the poorest streets in our county.  It is a street that has been heavy on crime, drugs, and prostitution.  We decided to love on the community.  We did a number of things to love our literal neighbors, the biggest of which was fry turkeys around Thanksgiving and give them away.  We actually went into the neighborhood, camped out in one of the front yards of a duplex, fried turkeys right there and handed them out door to door.  Over the years, the outreach has morphed and grown.  We now fry them at Archer High School, where we meet.  We still provide a fried turkey to those 50 families in our old neighborhood.  The last couple of years we've also given nearly a week's worth of food along with the turkey to about 20 families whose names the Archer cluster schools have given us.  Most of the families are those that have foster kids.  Some are just families that could use a helping hand this time of year.

I'm not against foreign mission trips.  Please don't hear me say that.  My wife went on a dental mission trip this past summer to Costa Rica.  It was needed ministry and opened doors for the church down there with which her group was working.  Nevertheless, I just think that the question of our neighbor isn't that hard to figure out, and it seems like it's something the Church has often gotten wrong.  We Christians have $5 barbecue plates fund-raisers to help fund our mission trip to a foreign country.  Shouldn't we just be paying for the barbecue ourselves and giving it away to the folks in our own community?  Isn't the work of the Church in our local communities the actual mission?

For me, this has always been my heart.  I think it's a both/and.  I hope our church can send people to other countries one day to be in mission and ministry.  Even now, we work to financially support missionaries sharing God's love in foreign lands.  But there is so much to be done here.  There are so many people to love in the Archer community.  There is so much work to be done up and down New Hope Road.  Then, there are so many people to serve and minister to in neighboring communities in Dacula, Grayson, Snellville, Loganville, Bethlehem, and the rest of Lawrenceville.  And I'm not sure we'll ever be done loving our neighbors right in our own backyard.  This week 70 families know that God loves them, but there are 70,000 more that need to hear that same message.  I am not sure that each church has the potential to change the world.  However, I am certain that each Follower of Christ can change his or her neighborhood, and each church in the world can change its community.  We can all love the people we are around every day with the love of Christ.  And if we would all do that, together, we'd change the world for Jesus.  Dear Lord, let it be for your Church.

The Beautiful Game

You think you know.  I think I know.  Often, we don't.  Football has been a part of my life since I can remember.  My brother was nine years ahead of me when I was in school, so I tagged along to all his games.  In third grade, he was a senior and the starting quarterback.  I had the coolest brother of any of my friends in elementary school.  I cried his last game because I knew I'd never watch him play again.  That was about when my playing days took off.  I played from 3rd-12th grades.  Won a few games, scored some touchdowns, got a couple of accolades, and lost a bunch of games.  My high school was not a powerhouse, but we made the playoffs a few times.  I fumbled late in my last game.  Don't know if it cost us the game, but it didn't help.  The last time I took off my uniform was surreal.  I knew it was over, but it was a heckuva ride.

I spent my time in college immersed in the game.  I was a student manager for UGA for five seasons and stood on the sidelines for some classics.  I got to know the players, and saw some amazing athletes on the other sidelines as well.  I stood next to Peyton Manning, Danny Wuerffel, Keith Brooking, Joe Hamilton, Jamal Lewis, Kevin Faulk, Tim Couch, John Abraham, Stephen Davis, and Takeo Spikes.  In bowl games I stood on the same field as Drew Brees, Ron Dayne, and Ronde & Tiki Barber.

This Saturday, I'll attend my 99th straight Georgia game.  Since the middle of the 2006 season, I've been to every one of them.  That's hard for me to believe.  I've seen some good ones, and I've seen some heart-breakers.  I'm addicted to the atmosphere.  The crowd, the colors, the pageantry.  After I hit 100, my streak won't make it through next season.  Life has come to a point where every weekend isn't quite possible for now, but I'll still be at a bunch of them.

But, this past season reminded me why I love the game.  I started serving as the Character Coach for the Archer Tigers.  That means I led some weekly devotions for players that wanted to participate, and I spent time at practice encouraging kids, building them up and helping any way I can.  I was kind of the team psychologist when a player needed a boost.  It was an awesome ride.  That team finished the regular season 10-0 and won the region for the first time.  We went to the second round of the playoffs and lost in the greatest high school game I've ever been to against North Gwinnett, the #1 team in the state, on a last second field goal 34-32.  I was so honored to be a part of it.  Just a great group of kids that bonded, played their hearts out every week and did their job.  It was a team filled with guys who had a role to play and played it well.  I fell in love with the Archer Tigers.

In the locker room after our last game, the tears flowed.  Coaches teared up, players wept, and men hugged.  It's a beautiful game.  Sometimes you think you know what kids in the locker room are thinking, or we're criticizing coaches or think the players don't care or yelling at them about a mistake...and we just don't know.  I played other sports, but football is different.  The types of people you need are numerous:  big guys, fast guys, medium guys, and guys that can just kick.  You need guys to be on the team to serve as the scout team, and they never see the field on Fridays.  The preparation it takes to get your body ready for a season is grueling.  The amount of organization and practice it takes to get 11 guys playing together is ridiculous.  The physical toll playing the game takes on your body is crazy.  After games, you are bloody, beaten, bruised and broken.  And we criticize.

We criticize coaches when we have no idea how much they love these kids.  We complain about players when we have no idea how much they care or are trying.   And we get in our cars and turn on more complaining on sports talk radio...while they are in the locker room crying.  It isn't much different in college.  I'll never forget walking into the locker room in Sanford Stadium in 1998, after Georgia Tech had beaten us for the first time since 1990.  Michael Greer, whose father, Steve, was an All-American at Georgia, had his head in his hands...weeping.  Uncontrollably weeping.  I remember fans saying that our team just didn't care.  They had bought a ticket, eaten a burger and watched a game.  These kids had lifted weights all summer, practiced hours upon hours, and lost...and wept.

It is a beautiful game because of the lessons.  Life, like football, is a grind.  You have to keep at it.  Sometimes, you give it your absolute all, and you're left weeping, with your head in your hands, and you have to figure out what to do next.  Sometimes you try your best and it isn't good enough.  Sometimes you compete against friends.  This year, Archer played teams with kids that go to my church, and I cheered for them, too.  Football teaches you that life is about people more than teams.  People are eternal.  Teams come and go.  Like football, life sometimes gives you a miracle and you win one you shouldn't have.  Sometimes you make a play and you don't know how you made it.  Often, life is about hours of preparation for critical moments.  And life is about playing the next play, no matter what just happened, good or bad.  And it's about relationships.  Bonds between brothers who battled with you.  Love between coaches and players.  Friendships between coaches.  Competitors that you shake hands with after a game.

I hope you cheer like crazy for your favorite team, but remember that high school and college locker rooms are filled with men and boys who care more than anyone in the stands, even guys that go to 100 straight games.  The locker rooms are the places filled with emotion, hurt, tears, jubilation, and laughter.  And they are the ones that have to get back at it for the next game or the next season.  And after the last game, some of them will take off the grass-stained uniform for the last time, and unless you've ever done that, you don't really know how it feels.  Let us fans be the ones that pat them on the back and say, "Good game, son, good game" no matter the outcome.

Sunday Preview & Thought for the Week (11.21.13)

I hope you've had a great week and you're gearing up for a big Thanksgiving.  This Sunday, we finish out the series "grATTITUDE" by talking about being grateful for God's provisions in our lives.  Also, keep a couple of big happenings this weekend in your prayers:

• Our Turkey Fry is on Sunday.  Pray for the families and safety for the fryers!
• New Frontiers Retreat for One Way.  Pray for God to move and for safe travel.

Thought for the Week
"The Holy One of Israel is our Redeemer."  Isaiah 47:4

Do you use coupons?  Many of us do, and that's especially important when you're buying food and gifts during the holidays.  Have you ever thought about what happens when you "redeem" a coupon?  Like, if you have a buy one get one free meal at a restaurant and you redeem the coupon, what happens?  Well, you don't pay for it.  But somebody pays for it.  The restaurant pays for it.  Sometimes, in grocery stores, a manufacturer pays for it instead of the local store.  Sometimes the chain pays for it.  But someone does.  It's not free.  To redeem a coupon means you're getting something for free that someone else has paid for.  Today, I was reading about how God told Israel after the Exodus from Egypt to 'redeem' the first born son of each family.  They were to offer sacrifices of their first born animals to redeem their sons and remind them of God's deliverance with stories of the first Passover and Exodus, how God brought them out of Egypt.  But someone paid for those boys.  The animals were sacrificed.  Death is the price of sin and to be 'bought back' for God, someone had to pay.  Enter Jesus, the Redeemer.  He gave to us free what was very costly to Him.  The price of our redemption was blood.  That blood made us right with God.  We take for granted getting on our knees before a Holy God. We take for granted a relationship with our Heavenly Father, kind of like a BOGO meal.  Somebody had to pay.  That relationship was not free.  We had to be redeemed.  When we let that sink in, then it all starts to makes sense.  Don't you want everyone on the face of the planet to know they are 'redeemed'?

In Christ,

Carter

Sunday Preview & Thought for the Week (11.14.13)

I hope you've had a great week.  I'm so enjoying this season of "grATTITUDE" at Church of the Way.  This Sunday, we'll continue the series by talking about how we're sometimes ungrateful for people and the implications of that on our lives.  An attitude of gratitude is always what God desires.  Can't wait to see you there!

Thought for the Week
"But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."  2 Peter 3:18

I caught wind of something going on at my high school alma mater.  They're having an alumni football game.  Yes, old men in full gear.  And I thought for a minute, "That'd be fun."  I've got plans Saturday, but my wife (and father) reminded me that those days have passed, and I'd probably end up in the emergency room.  I heard a great quote this week, "There comes a time when a little boy needs to sit down, and a man needs to stand up."  That's what Peter was saying.  A walk with Christ is supposed to be a walk in which we improve.  Too often, we come to faith in Christ, but we don't grow.  We fade back into old habits, behaviors and mindsets.  We think it's wise to act the way we used to, and it ends up injuring us.  The little boy, the little girl, the 'babe in Christ' never seems to sit down for us.  You were saved to grow.  God's grace is not done with you in salvation.  Just like the nutrition and exercise needed to help our bodies grow, there are some crucial things that help us grow as Christ Followers:

• Scripture - reading it, studying it with others, hearing it, memorizing it.
• Prayer - we have to communicate if it's going to be a relationships.
• Worship - we need to be with others to worship God and hear God's word proclaimed.
• Serving - something happens to our hearts when we give of ourselves.

That's not it, but those things are pretty important.  Let us be people that grow in the grace.  Let a 'babe in Christ' sit down, and a disciple stand up.

In Christ,

Carter 

Prison Break

Have you heard about Ryan Ferguson?  If you haven't, click on the link.  He's 29 and was just freed from prison after being in there for 10 years for a murder he didn't commit.  That's right, he missed all of his 20s because he was wrongly accused.  First, I am very impressed with him and his attitude.  I can't imagine the range of emotions he's feeling.

When I heard one of his comments, I thought about something our LIFE Group was talking about last night.  Ferguson had made the comment that it was very easy to get wrongly accused and put in prison, but very difficult to get out.  Once you're in, you have very little power.  They both pointed to one source as their saving grace:  their attorney.

You know, the word that Jesus uses to describe the Holy Spirit is a word that comes from the field of law.  Many versions translate it as "Counselor."  Another uses "Advocate."

You and I are much like Ryan Ferguson.  We won't get out of prison without an advocate.  Unlike Ferguson, most of us can recount the steps of how we got there.  Now were are stuck.  Stuck in addiction.  Stuck in debt up to our ears.  Stuck in passionless marriages.  Stuck in lies.  Stuck in a career that we hate but can't afford to leave.  Stuck in a pattern of sin.  Stuck in rages of anger.  Stuck being the parent we promised ourselves we wouldn't be.  Stuck in despair.  We're stuck.  Trapped.  Imprisoned.  You won't get out without a Counselor.  You need an Advocate to fight for you.  That Advocate is ready.  And here's the trick.  Are you ready?  Do what the Advocate says.  Can you imagine if Ryan Ferguson would have gone against his counselor's orders?  Can you imagine if he'd scheduled an interview she didn't want him to have or said something to a fellow inmate she advised him not to?  He'd still be in prison.  When you're in prison, you've got to trust the advocate.  Do what He says.  If you listen, if you study the Bible, if you really open your heart up in church, if you seek the counsel of wise, trusted, Christian friends, and if you pray...you'll start to hear what to do.  Now, hear me out.  It will take a while.  You're not getting out tomorrow.  All you're responsible for is the next step.  Take the next step.  The good news is this.  Jesus, through his grace has freed our souls from the prison of sin and death.  That's Jesus' work.  That's done for us through His death and resurrection.  But we often don't know how to live like free men and women.  We have to learn to walk...to take the next step.  Like Ryan Ferguson, you are in a prison you don't have to be in, but get out you're going to have to listen very closely to your Advocate and do exactly has He says.  So listen for the Spirit.  And do what He says.

Sunday Preview & Thought for the Week (11.8.13)

Happy Friday!

I hope you've had a great week.  The leaves that cover my yard tell the story that fall is in full force.  I'm so excited about starting a brand new series this Sunday focusing on the theme of November:  giving thanks.  I'm not sure we've ever really done a Thanksgiving type series, so I'm pumped.  I hope you'll make plans to be there this Sunday and throughout November as we focus in on "grATTITUDE".  (And, yes, I know it's spelled wrong).  See you there!

Thought for the Week
"In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content...I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me."  Philippians 4:12-13

I was thumbing through Facebook and just noticing the stark contrast of what's going on in the worlds of people who have at some point been a part of my life.  Some are excited about accomplishments of children or announcing a new job they've taken.  Some are asking for prayers for surgery or for a friend.  Some are giddy over a new relationship.  Some really like to take pictures of what they're eating for dinner, and this seems to make them happy.  Some are hurt or angry.  Some have experienced the loss of a loved one or suffered a broken heart.  Some of finding their way through divorce and singleness again.  Some like to complain about politics.  What's clear is it's all out there, and at any moment each of us is prone to extreme happiness and incredible heartbreak depending on outside circumstances.  But the outside world can't shape our attitude and spirit.  The Apostle Paul said that he had learned the secret to being content no matter what happened.  Don't you want to listen to that?  It's a secret that has been unlocked.  It wasn't success, doing what you want, getting your way, more money, or more power.  It was understanding that in all things, all circumstances, our strength comes from Christ in us.  I'm not promising you the road will always be easy or that your 'posts' will always be happy.  There will be mountains and road blocks and bumpy paths.  There will be valleys.  What Paul teaches us is that we can make it through whatever is happening on the outside because of what's on the inside.  I hope you've invited Jesus inside, and I hope you're leaning on him.

In Christ,

Carter 

I promise I'm not a teenage girl

I'm a big country music fan.  I grew up on 80's pop and rock, but turned to country music in the 90's when Garth Brooks bursts onto the scene.  There was a time I wanted to be a country music singer, and I've got the belt buckles to prove it.  So, when the CMA awards were on Wednesday night, I had to watch.

I watch mainly for the music, and I love it when something different is done, like Dave Grohl playing drums with the Zac Brown Band.  However, Grohl and the Foo Fighters are one of my favorites, so I was totally bummed he didn't sing.

But, I found myself kind of in awe of Taylor Swift.  A few years ago, I wanted to not like her.  "She's another teeny-bopper that won't last," I'd say.  Except she's not.   They gave her a new 'Pinnacle' Award, and you could see the respect her older colleagues have for her.  She's written every song on every album she's ever recorded.  She sings about what she cares about.  She carries herself and her industry with class.  She adores her fans and they adore her.  She's 23 and still brings her parents to award shows.  She's honorable.

You could see that in the eyes of those experienced musicians who spoke of her.  They see that what she's done, she's done it with great honor.  She wrote songs that people wanted to hear.  She wasn't just a face that got pushed on the the scene by a record label who was barely a musician.  She did it with honor, and she carries herself with honor.

We live in a culture that has seemingly forgotten honor.  The Bible says that humility brings about honor.  It would be a good thing for each of us to be honorable.  It'd be a good thing for us to carry ourselves with honor.  Honor is admired by every generation.

Alone

I went to see the movie Gravity a couple of weeks ago.  I'd been dying to see it.  It was crazy.  One of the most unique movies I've ever seen.  It's quiet, because space is quiet.  So, that's weird.  There are also very few actors in it, kind of like Castaway.  And, to me, it was terrifying.  I've told people that it's basically the scariest situation you could imagine yourself ever being in -- floating in space.  There's nothing you can do.  You can't move.  There is no game plan.  There is no one to help.  You are utterly and completely helpless.  And alone.

I began to think about how I would react in a situation like that.  I thought, "My only hope would be in knowing that I was NOT alone."  Floating in space is about as stark and empty as you can get, but it's not out of God's reach, for He is the creator of the universe.

A lot of people feel that way in life -- like they are floating around helplessly with no game plan and no hope.  It feels stark and empty in the face of heartache, illness, divorce, depression, or sin.  Some people feel numb because of where life has taken them.  Earth and the rest of the world look like a long ways away.  But you are not alone.  We get really confused about the promises of God.  Some of that has been the fault of the church that has told us to pray this or do that and God will give us what we want or take us where we desire.  I'm not sure God works that way.  I don't see that in the Scriptures.  I see people who were floating along in life and grabbed hold of a lifeline in God.  The promise we have is that God is here.  Jesus came to scream at us that God is here.  The Holy Spirit blew through the Early Church to announce that God is here.  God knocks on our heart in the quiet moments or during a song or in the strangest places to tell us that He is here.

If you can grab hold of that promise, I can't tell you that it'll all be okay right then and there.  I can't tell you that every problem will get fixed.  I can tell you that you'll get there, though.  You'll stop spinning in space.  You'll stop floating in hopelessness.  Just hold on to Him, even when...especially when...He's all there is.

Sunday Preview & Thought for the Week (10.17.13)

I hope you've had a fantastic week.  I'm so stoked for Sunday as we've got a Baptism Sunday coming up.  It's always awesome to see what God is doing in people's lives, and this week will be no exception.

This Sunday, I'll also be continuing our series "In Living Color" as we talk about the emotion of anger.  The Bible actually speaks about this issue a lot.  It's something we all deal with one way or another.  I believe God has something important to speak into our lives about when we're 'seeing red.'

Thought for the Week
"When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called out to him from the bush, 'Moses, Moses!'"  Exodus 3:4

The story of the Burning Bush in Exodus 3 is a famous and fascinating passage.  It's when God reveals His name "I AM" to Moses.  But, before all that happens, and interesting thing occurs.  God is up to something in the bush.  God is at work.  There are no words, just an appearance of the Almighty.  God only speaks to Moses after God sees Moses come to check out what God's doing.  We sit around and wait for God to speak to us.  We twiddle our thumbs and wonder when God is going to tell us what to do, often never getting clarity for our direction.  Moses moved where he saw God doing something.  When you get close to where God is moving, when you go check out the places God is showing up, it's amazing how much you'll begin to hear God speak to you.  If you want direction in life, start looking for the places God is moving.  Start serving in ministry.  Start volunteering with missions in the community like Family Promise and the Co-Op.  Start mentoring young people.  Start pouring your life into Kingdom work.  Start plugging into a Bible Study or LIFE Group.  Start having breakfast or lunch with a Christian friend in whose life you see God at work.  Start making worship a habit.  Start giving away your life to God's causes.  That's the process.  God moves.  We step closer.  God speaks.  We usually wait for God to speak and tell us to move or how He's about to move.  Moses learned a valuable lesson for all of us.  God's already up to some cool stuff.  We ought to go check it out.  We might just hear God's voice there, and it might just change our life.  It sure did change Moses' life.

In Christ,

Carter 

Sunday Preview & Thought for the Week (9.26.11)

I hope your week has been fantastic.  I am so super excited about this Sunday and our final part of the series "Finding My Purpose."  I hope you're making plans to be there.  I believe this story of Esther is one of the most powerful stories in the Bible, and I think God has something to teach us through it.  Plus, there might be a few surprises in worship.  See you there!

Thought for the Week
"Settle your father and brothers in the best part of the land."  Genesis 47:6
That quote is from Pharaoh to Joseph after his brothers and father reunite with him in Egypt.  It's a great story near the end of Genesis.  Pharaoh offers provision for Joseph's family because of what he knows about Joseph.  It's a profound moment.  I tell my boys when they leave the house that they represent Jesus, our church and our family name.  People form opinions about the organizations and families we belong to based off their experience of us.  Are we like Joseph?  Do we give a vibe of integrity and character or is it something else?  It's something to think about.  Of course, the final chapter in this understanding is the realization that what we know about God is because of what we experienced in Jesus.  By knowing Christ, we know that God is forgiving, loving, sacrificial and merciful.  You don't have to worry about whether or not God loves you.  He proved that in Jesus.  The fullness of God lives in Christ.  So, what will others think about Christ when they know us?  What will people think about our family name because of what they've experienced by knowing us?  Will we garner respect and honor to our families, like Joseph, because of who we are?  It's something to think about.

In Christ,

Carter 

Sunday Preview & Thought for the Week (9.19.13)

I hope you're having an awesome week.  I'm pumped about continuing the series on Esther this Sunday called "Finding Your Purpose."  This week I'm going to be teaching on what it really means for us to be a part of what God is doing in the world as we look at a fascinating conversation between Esther and Mordecai in Esther, Chapter 4.  See you there!

Also, we're sponsoring a golf team for the Family Promise Golf Tournament on Sept. 30.  This is one of their biggest fundraisers of the year and has a direct impact on homeless families in our community.  You can support Family Promise by giving on Sunday morning or follow this link to support our team.  Just click one of the players and make a donation.  

Here's the link:  http://familypromise.donordrive.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=donorDrive.team&teamID=5131
Thought for the Week
"Therefore don't worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will worry about itself.  Each day has enough trouble of its own."  Matthew 6:34

I read bits of a great article by a journalist that was allowed inside access to football coaches at Texas A & M last week during their preparation for their "Game of the Century" versus Alabama.  It had an interesting quote from their head coach, Kevin Sumlin, to his assistants on the Sunday night before their week of preparation:  "Just know that whatever happens, we're gonna be sitting right here next Sunday trying to figure out how to beat SMU [their next opponent]."  Isn't that life?  We want to think that the world will end if a relationship doesn't work out, or that we've finally made it if we could just get THAT job.  We want to think that there are these big moments in life that will define us.  The truth is, there will always be another moment.  Whether we are wildly successful or fall on our face failures in a particular moment won't stop the sun from rising the next morning.  Jesus knew this.  In the passage above, he's trying to teach us to do what we can do today.  Today is in our control.  Yesterday is done.  Tomorrow has too many variables.  But today?  It's in our hands.  Do what you can do today for God.  This day has enough trouble of its own.

In Christ,

Carter

Sunday Preview & Thought for the Week (9.12.13)

I hope you've had a fabulous week.  I'm loving the series we're in right now called "Finding My Purpose."  So many of you have told me that you're reading Esther.  It's a book with such rich lessons for each of us.  Keep it up!

This Sunday, we'll continue the series by talking about what we do when there are obstacles to us living out our purpose.  What do we do when there are those that want to thwart us from finding our destiny in Christ and fulfilling our purpose?  It's a serious question that we all need to know about.  Can't wait to see you there.

Thought for the Week"Be holy, because I am holy." 1 Peter 1:16

This morning I had a meeting at my boys school and one of the counselors there said, "Tanner is you."  She went on to talk about how my seven year-old's expressions and mannerisms mirror mine.  This is unfortunate for him, but I digress.  Many of us mimic our parents without knowing it.  Many of our children mimic us.  It made me wonder, though, "I wonder if we remind others of our Heavenly Father?"  My wife recently bought a sign she's placed in our kitchen that says:  Live in such a way so that those that don't know God will come to know God because they know you."  Wow, powerful words.  I fall short in this often.  All of us do.  What if we did mimic our Father.  What if people looked at us and saw compassion, forgiveness, patience, acceptance, selflessness, love and holiness.  When we are truly our Father's child, we can't hide it.  God's DNA is in you.  You were made in His image.  Let us be people that live into that God-given image, so that when people see us, they see Him.  Let us be holy, like our Father.  Let others see us and say, "I see so much Christ in you, your mannerisms are the same as His."  This is what the world needs more of.

Be blessed and be a blessing!

Carter