Smellmylife

What’s up everyone?  I’ve taken a couple of weeks off from blogging, but now I’m back.  I frankly was too busy to worry about blogging!  I’ll try to keep things fresh here for the summer.

• Enjoying summer so far
• “The Happening” is the dumbest movie EVER!
• Why is money (not having any) always a problem at Church?
• Continuing the “OnePrayer” series tonight.  It’s going well thus far.
• Our Flag Football Tournament is fast approaching.
• Just got my first “Moleskin”!
• I have a serious book addiction.
• I have alot of good new music….will be posting soon on some of my favorites.
• Can’t wait for “The Dark Knight”!
• Been struggling with headaches/fogginess (pray for me if you think about it)
• The NFL season is fast approaching, so is the release of Madden ‘09.
• UFC Fight Night is tonight!  The Ultimate Fighter Finale!
• Had a great Fathers day.  I love my boys so much.

My biggest fear is that I get to the end of my life and find out that I’ve gotten it all wrong.  Not about God or who Jesus is….I’m very confident of that, but that I’ll have gotten this whole church thing wrong.  I mean are we as the church in the world’s richest country getting it right?  Are we as pastors getting it right?  I find that so many pastors nowadays (is that a word?) are doing less and less pastoring and more and more “leading the leaders”.  Let’s face it, being a leader of leaders is sexier than just sheperding a flock of people.  Some pastors I know spend more time traveling, speaking at conferences and writing book than actually doing the work of a pastor.  I’ll be the first to admit that sometimes I wish that I could be recognized, well known, traveling and speaking, writing…a leader of leaders.  But is that a pastors calling?  It’s hard work (and certainly not glamorous) to pastor people, to put yourself out there for people, to get your hands dirty with the sin and shame in people’s lives.  And my fear is that we as the church in America are missing the boat.  Jesus meant for us to love and help people, to meet needs, to give of ourselves until we are empty, but we’ve become so consumed with church growth, leadership, conferences, seminars, being relevant to pop culture, etc.  Don’t get me wrong, there is a place for all of that, and I believe that we need those things, but we need to be loving people by giving until it hurts.  The church should outgive the Salvation Army or the Red Cross or any other organization that helps people.  Earthquake victims in China, Cyclone victims in Myanmar…we should be helping these people…we should be the church God intended us to be.  Maybe, I’m ranting here because I’m dissatisfied with my own brand of Christianity. Simply put, we need more of Jesus and we need to be more about what He did.  I’ll shut up now.

This is my last week as a staff member at Arundel Bay.  It makes me sad to go from this place because I have really enjoyed working here for the past 2 years (and the previous 4 at Riverdale).  I really have never worked with a greater group of people.  It’s hard to imagine that I won’t be coming in to work anymore and hanging out with Steve, Monica, Ryan, Syd, Alyce, Wini, Mel, Kristi-Anna, Lisa, Roland, Kelly, Joy, Vicki, Crystal, Stacy, Joy G., Stephanie, Penny, Amy, Sherry, Renee,  Kristi, Melissa,  Kim, Jody, Schavonne and the best principal in the world, Tammie.  I’ve worked alot of places and have never felt the closeness and family feeling that exists at ABCA.    It’s hard to leave kids that have become such a part of your daily life. Great kids that I won’t name because I don’t want to forget anybody.  I Love you guys!  You  helped me love kids again (I had lost that before I came here).  I wish all of you the best. I will truly miss all of you, but you will see me…I promise.  Change is hard.  Change is scary.  Change is uncomfortable.  Change is necessary. I know that God has been calling me to make this change.  Let’s face it, I’ve been comfortable.  I’m no P.E. teacher, I’m a pastor.  I needed to step out and work closer to my church.  Step out and work amongst those who need to hear about Jesus.  I am willing God to step out, not knowing the outcome, not knowing the future, but trusting you to provide simply because you are God.  You can only do great things through me if I make myself available to be used.  Use me up God.  I waste myself on you…I want more of you and more of your kingdom coming to earth.  I want to be obsessed.

• Summer is upon us!
• Saturday went really well.
• I was feeling the message…True Disciples are Obsessed!
• Are you obsessed with bringing God’s Kingdom to the earth?
• Looking forward to a very productive summer
• Really trying to set ourselves up for big growth in the fall!
• I’m a little sad right now…it’s my last week at Arundel Bay (more on that in a later post)
• I’m wondering why some people don’t grow a set!
• There’s not too many guys out there who are better men than my friend Steve
• I’ve been reminded lately of how very blessed I am.
• God has blessed us at The Journey Church with many first time guests!  How effective are we at making people feel comfortable?
• My Glorious rocked on Saturday night.
• My goal for the summer….lose 30 pounds! Seriously!
• I am really getting into MMA.  I was rooting for Kimbo Slice to lose.  Almost!
• Welcome to Emily, our summer intern at The Journey Church.
• Will miss church on Saturday for a family reunion.  I hate not being there…it’s home!
• The O’s are finally coming back to earth.  Can’t wait to see this team in two years!
• Looking forward to hooking up with tons of people this summer who I want to reconnect with!
• I hate the Bachelor/Bachelorette  shows.  What a joke!
• I’m really upset that they canceled October Road….it was a great show.
• Looking forward to our Summer Blockbusters series in July.

Wow!

His name is Robert Muraine and he is awesome!

Now that’s a tongue twister!

• We had 10 first time guests on Saturday!
• People are hearing about and checking out our church!
• Robby was great on Saturday…Dirty Disciples make a Difference!
• This was a much needed 3 day weekend.
• Looking forward to OnePrayer.
• I dropped my new copy of “Crazy Love” by Francis Chan in the toilet!  Pre-use thank God!
• Anyone want to borrow my new copy of “Crazy Love” by Francis Chan?
• Saw Prince Caspian.  Was a good movie.  Not as good as the first, but good.
• Can’t wait to see Iron Man.  I’m so far behind on movies.
• Thanks to Scott for filling in on guitar this week for us!
• I watched the movie, “Parenthood” this morning.  That movie makes me cry several times.  I’m a sap!
• I’m really looking forward to the summer at Journey.  We’re doing some different things and it definitely won’t be the same old, same old.
• Have been getting a great response to my Top 50 Church Websites.
• My buddy Steve did his first wedding this Saturday!  How’d it go?
• I can’t wait for the season finale of Lost.  That show racks my brain!
• Got an angry e-mail because I said that Rick Warren farts!
• Ok, he only farts with a purpose!
• That’s just wrong!

I just finished reading a blog post from a pastor who just returned from the WhiteBoard Conference in Washington DC.  It disturbed me a little bit (ok, a lot!) because he wrote that he was so in awe of all of the “successful” pastors that were there.  He went on to say that he felt that he didn’t belong there…that he was somehow inferior to these other men.  That breaks my heart as a pastor.  I get a little weary of this celebrity pastor subculture that even I sometimes buy into.  We as pastors think that just because Pastor Fill-in-the Blank runs 5,000 in his church that he is more of a success in God’s eyes.  Or if Pastor Fill-in-the Blank has written a book on church leadership or how to get your church to grow, that we are somehow not on the same level as they are.  Look, I’m glad that we can go to conferences and read books and learn from each other, but when we start placing these pastors up on a pedestal, we are missing the mark completely.  God has called each of us to be pastors, to be ministers and he has given each of us different work to do and there is nothing wrong with that, so let’s stop comparing ourselves and our ministries to the so called celebrity pastors and start being confident in the position that God has placed US in!  I thank God for each of the pastors that I have learned from, guys that set the example for the rest of us.  I really believe that most of them would tell you the same thing….

• Rick Warren farts just like everyone else!
• Andy Stanley picks his nose at the red light!
• Perry Noble doesn’t feel “spiritual” all of the time.
• Bill Hybels probably deep down feels insecure about himself sometimes
• Steven Furtick has probably had an argument with his wife in the past few months.
• Ed Young’s breath stinks really bad in the morning!
• Francis Chan questions his devotion to Jesus alot!

I don’t write that to insult those guys…they are great guys being used by God, but that’s the point…they’re just guys like all the rest of us.  Let’s stop placing the pastors on the pedestal and put Jesus there where He belongs!

Saw this quote over on Missional Thoughts and had to post it.  Very convicting.

“Unfortunately it [the church growth movement] fell victim to an idolatry as old as the Tower of Babel, the belief that we are the architects of the work of God. As a result we have the best churches men can build, but are still waiting for the church that only God can get the credit for.”  - Reggie McNeal

Love these guys!

By now many of you have heard that Maria Chapman, the 5 year old daughter of Steven Curtis Chapman, was killed last night at the family’s home.  It was a tragic accident and even though I don’t know Steven or any of his family from Adam, I sit here with tears streaming down my face.  This is the part of life I don’t understand.  This is the part of God I don’t understand.  I can’t even begin to imagine the grief that the Chapman family must be experiencing right now.  God please wrap your arms around that family, because nothing anyone else can do can help.  God help me to cherish every day that I have with my children.

Because I am a self proclaimed Church Web Site expert (if your church has a website, chances are I’ve been to it), I have put together my Top 50 Church Web Sites.  I have taken into account the design, practicality, innovation and the content of each site.  I have not put them in order (that’s too hard), so if your church made the top 50 congrats!

Valleybrook Church, Eau Claire, WI

Willow Creek Community Church, South Barrington, IL

LifeChurch.tv, Edmond, OK

Granger Community Church, Granger, IN

Flood Church, San Diego, CA

Fellowship of the Woodlands, The Woodlands, TX

National Community Church, Washington, DC

North Point Community Church, Alpharetta, GA

Sandals Church, Riverside, CA

Seacoast Church, Columbia, SC

Watermark Community Church, Dallas, TX

Central Christian Church, Henderson, NV

Genesis Church.tv, Tallahassee, FL

South Hills Church, Corona, CA

Kaleo Church, Bellaire, TX

The Church On Rush Creek, Arlington, TX

Life Church, Memphis, TN

Westridge Church, Dallas, GA

Church by the Glades, Coral Springs, FL

NewSpring Church, Anderson, SC

Mountain Lake Church, Cumming, GA

Eastside Christian Church, Fullerton, CA

Mecklenburg Community Church, Charlotte, NC

Elevation Church, Layton, UT

Ginghamsburg Church, Tipp City, OH

Destiny Church, St. Louis, MO

121 Community Church, Grapevine, TX

Four Corners Community Church, West Chester, OH

New Valley Church, Phoenix, AZ

Forefront Church, Virginia Beach, VA

Westside Family Church, Lenexa, KS

Mars Hill Church, Seattle, WA

Northgate Free Methodist Church, Batavia, NY

Southridge Community Church, St. Catharines, ON

Kingsfield Church, Irvine, CA

Grace Community Church, Clarksville, TN

Northside Christian Church, New Albany, IN

Gateway Church, Austin, TX

Abundant Living Faith Center, El Paso, TX

Bent Tree Bible Fellowship, Carrollton, TX

Catalina Church of Midtown, Tucson, AZ

City of Grace, Mesa, AZ

Edgepoint Church, Powell, TN

Glad Tidings Assembly, London, ON

One*, Spokane, WA

The Church at South Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV

Windsor Crossing Community Church, Chesterfield, MO

Imago Dei Community Church, Portland, OR

HighPoint Church, Memphis, TN

NewSong Church, Irvine, CA

I love my oldest son Lincoln. He is 5 years old and loves his daddy! I love seeing the changes in him, physically and socially. As he’s grown older I see the traits that all 5 year old’s seem to exhibit and it got me thinking spiritually.

In the Bible we see that some Christians are referred to as “mature”, and others are referred to as “Baby” Christians. But what about those who aren’t quite mature, but aren’t still babes? What about spiritual 5 year olds? I’m convinced that there are more spiritual 5 year olds than babes out there. These are christians who have a grasp of God’s Word, who don’t need the milk in a bottle anymore, but still aren’t anywhere close to mature. How do we know we are a spiritual 5 year old? Let’s look at some parallels to a physical 5 year old.

• A spiritual 5 year old knows what is the right thing to do, knows the cost and still does the opposite. Lincoln is always doing things that he knows he will get in trouble for. Either he can’t help himself or he has counted the cost and believes that the fun he will have doing the wrong thing will be worth the punishment. Why do we as Christians engage in sinful activities that we know will hurt us in the end? Because we are spiritually 5!
• A spiritual 5 year old thinks that they know better than their father. Lincoln is now in the arguing phase. He thinks he’s right about everything. Even when I tell him he’s wrong, he sticks with his viewpoint. Sometimes he has a hard time believing me even though I’ve never mislead him before. As a spiritual 5 year old, we still think we know better than God. We think that in spite of what God says in His word, we know what is best for us and we don’t listen to our father.
• A spiritual 5 year old thinks mostly of themselves. Like most children, Lincoln is about, “me”. He doesn’t like to share his toys with his brother or think, “what can I do for someone else”. It’s mostly about him. And that’s to be expected when you’re 5. A spiritual 5 year old also thinks mostly of themselves. What can I get out of this church? If this church isn’t meeting my needs, I’ll leave. What programs do you have for me? Church is supposed to be a place where we come to give…to provide for others, to minister to the needs of others, to serve. But if we are in a church of spiritual 5 year olds, no ones needs get met because everyone is looking out for number 1.
• A spiritual 5 year old needs constant affirmation. I love to tell my son that I’m proud of him. I love to squeeze him and tell him every hour on the hour that I love him and that he is doing a good job. While the need for affirmation never goes away, as we mature we should need less of it. A fully mature believer does what’s right no matter the situation and doesn’t need affirmation or praise for doing it. Sometimes it’s nice…a bonus…but it’s not necessary.
• A spiritual 5 year old is afraid to grow up. Lincoln has had a hard time with stopping wearing pull-ups to bed. He never struggled with potty training but this thing has a grip on him. I think he feels deep inside that this part of growing up means that there will be extra work and responsibility for him. He’ll be expected to get up in the middle of the night and go to the bathroom if he has to. He will have to deal with the failure should he mess up and pee the bed. He’d rather keep wearing a pull-up! It’s easier! A spiritual 5 year old would rather stay 5 than grow up spiritually, because if he does grow up, what might God expect of him….what might God ask him to do? He is afraid that God will expect more from him (which is true) and they are afraid of the failure to live up to His expectations…so why not keep wearing spiritual pull-ups?

So, there you have it. Were are you? Are you a spiritual 5 year old? Are there some steps you need to take in order to begin to grow up spiritually? What do you think?

I haven’t followed American Idol as closely this season and I’m not sure why.  I think the whole thing is wearing off for me.  Don’t get me wrong, I think that there were some very talented people on there this season, but for some reason it hasn’t really held my interest.  So, It comes down to the 2 David’s.  David Archuleta and David Cook.  I would like to see David Cook win, but I realize the votes are probably in Archie’s corner (from all the adolescent girls!).   I think that Archuleta’s songs all sound the same.  I would go out and buy a David Cook CD immediately.  Who is your guess?

After reading a couple different pastors blogs (Gary Lamb and Michael Lukaszewski) and finding out who these pastors listen to to help them in their spiritual journey, I’m going to give you the crazy long list of pastors that I listen to regularly. All of these guys are available by podcast and I learn so much from them. It’s way too many and there are not enough hours in the day to listen to all of their messages, but I sure do try!

Andy Stanley, North Point Community Church

Francis Chan, Cornerstone Simi Valley

Mark Driscoll, Mars Hill Church

Rob Bell, Mars Hill Bible Church

Steven Furtick, Elevation Church

Vince Antonucci, Forefront Church

Darrin Patrick, Journey St. Louis

Craig Groeschel, Life Church.tv

Erwin McManus, Mosaic

Mark Batterson, National Community Church

Perry Noble, Newspring Church

John Burke, Gateway Community Church

Mike Slaughter, Ginghamsburg Church

Matt Hammett, Flood

Rick McKinley, Imago Dei

Chris Seay, Ecclesia Houston

Judd Wilhite, Central Christian

Tim Lucas, Liquid Church

Greg Suratt, Seacoast Church

Nelson Searcy, The Journey Manhattan

Dave Ferguson, Community Christian

Matt Chandler, Village Church

Scott Hodge, The Orchard

John Ortberg, Menlo Park

John Piper, Bethlehem Baptism

Gateway Community Church, Austin, Texas

From Perry Noble’s last message;

“If you love the way we do church now, you’re probably going to hate it in 10 years.”

I’ve said before that if we’re singing the same songs, doing the same things the same way we are doing them now in 10 years…shoot me.  I don’t want to be in a comfort zone.  I don’t want to ever be a pastor that says, “We’ve always done it that way”.  I want to always be exploring new ways to do church…ways that haven’t been thought of yet.  Ways that will be relevant to the culture of the current time.  Church has usually been about 10 years behind the current culture and in some cases even more.  What is a way of doing church that hasn’t been done yet?

• Saturday went great!
• Attendance was up!
• As promised, I beat Robby in the 40 yard dash
• I’m so glad I didn’t pull a muscle!
• We are now consistently adding new members
• I’m excited about our upcoming baptism service
• God is moving in our Church!
• One of our new guys at church named Chris has some awesome tattoo’s!
• God’s love is so undeserved,  I’m so thankful that I don’t have to earn it!
• Pete, thanks for filling in on the bass on Saturday…you rocked!
• Can’t wait for One Prayer!
• Our church is committing to praying 1,000 hours during the summer.
• I love to watch Grant sleep
• Lincoln had a rough weekend.  He got a tree frog on Friday.  By Sunday morning, our cat Addy had knocked over the cage and had killed the frog.
• Only 2 weeks of school left!
• The Fall is going to be great, with the Great Anne Arundel Candy Drop, Deadly Vipers,  The Church Apologizes, and Junk.

Sorry, my ADD made me change my design again.  I tried to resist…just too strong!

I wish I could change a couple of things about myself when it comes to my preaching, but I simply can’t. I can always be more prepared, more prayed up and more given over to be used by the Holy Spirit, but I can’t change these things.

• I’m a sweaty preacher. I really do sweat buckets on most occasions. I’ve always been the guy who wears a t-shirt and shorts in the middle of winter. We actually didn’t turn the heat on in our house all of last winter. I was the exact same when I was 185 lbs, so I can’t fully blame it on my extra poundage. Maybe dropping a few pounds (Ok, more like a few dozen!) will help. I do now carry my trusty sweat rag! Now that’s appealing!
• I have a West Virginia accent. I don’t notice it too much when I’m talking, but when I listen to myself speak online or on CD, I feel like I’m a part of the Blue Collar Comedy Tour, except I’m no where near as funny. I did grow up in good old West Virginia and I’m not ashamed of my upbringing (trailer parks can be great places!), but I wish I didn’t sound so hicky! I don’t feel too bad about that now that I have listened to Gary Lamb. Now that guy’s got an accent!

So thanks to everyone that listens to me when I preach!

I love my O’s.  It’s great to see them doing well.  I hope that it lasts.  Some of the guys on the team put this fun video together and they now play it on the big screen when the O’s win.  It looks like these guys have alot of fun together.  Kevin Millar is a riot….especially those leg kicks!

If you attend The Journey Church or you just live in our area….tell everyone that you know about the “Let it Fly” Flag Football Tournament on July 13th. This will be a great event for the community to come together, get some exercise and just plain have fun.  This is a PDF of the poster that you will see around town.  Print one off if you need one to give.

flag-football-tear-off-flyer

I was watching “P.S. I Love you” with my wife tonight (no wise cracks!) and at the end the main character made this statement.  I thought it was dead on about the value of life.

“This is my one and only life, and it’s a great and terrible and short and endless thing.  And none of us comes out of it alive.”

Life is funny.  It truly is great and terrible at the same time, both short and endless.  We only get one shot at this thing.  What are we doing with the time we’ve been given?

Here is a PDF of an article written about The Journey Church in our local Suburban Scene Magazine:

Think Out of the Box!

• Saturday went well as it was our first Child dedication.
• Thanks to Andrew and Theresa who practically filled the church with guests!
• Where was everybody?
• I hate rain!
• I love my wife Mary.  She’s a great wife and mother and since I didn’t blog yesterday…Happy Mothers Day Honey!
• I made breakfast for Mary yesterday, and a homemade (from scratch) cheesecake.  It wasn’t too bad!
• I can’t believe I’ll be 35 on Thursday!  Where has the time gone?
• Only 3 short weeks of school left!
• I lost my iPod for 3 days.  I was ready go crazy!  But Mary found it today! under the couch!
• Thanks to Dave, Matt, Addison, Verity, Keith and Clint (the worship band) for a great job on Saturday!
• Robby and I will race in the 40 yard dash, next Saturday night after church at our cook-out.  I hope my hamstrings hold up.
• I have a large head
• Take this quiz if you think you know 80’s music. I got a 93.