I would love to be one of those who, just occasionally, can post something that is not serious, possibly funny. Weird. Anyways, on to more serious business...
Worship.
I've been studying like crazy on this topic recently. Many of you know that I was even supposed to lead "big" church worship one week. SCARY! I have been listening to many podcasts about worship recently, too. All of my time spent has really brought me to a better, but not complete, understanding of the whole idea. Here are some thoughts.
1. Romans 12:1 is very clear that worship is not something that just happens with music. Actually, that particular verse would lead a person to acknowledge that their life is much more a form or worship than any musical event. How would my life be different if I acknowledged that each and every action and decision I make is my "spiritual worship" of God? A bit of a scary thought, huh?
2. "Undignified." This is the one I want. 2 Samuel 6 relays the story of David celebrating and worshiping after they had won the Ark of the Covenant back. The story basically tells that David, in the midst of genuinely worshiping the one true God, completely put himself aside and praised God without inhibition. In spite of his wife's objection, he did not cease to "humiliate" himself or stop acting "undignified" in his adoration of our God. Why is that so stinkin hard? Really? This is the one that I want to overcome, like, now! There is no punishment for genuine worship. What am I scared of??? Baahh!
3. Music. I have experienced crazy spirit filled worship. Amazing. Amazing. Amazing. We do not strive to appeal to the emotional side of people. Good music can do that. We DO strive to appeal to the spiritual side of people. We DO strive for them to become undignified in their worship. We DO strive for the music to encourage people to invite God into the recesses of their hearts. I can have an overwhelming emotional experience at any good performer's concert. That is not a God thing. However, mix amazing music with a bunch of people filled with the Holy Spirit showing their love for God and you are forever touched. It's like God came and sat right next to you as you were worshiping Him. It's the moment when you are truly singing right to Him in the midst of many people and you don't care who knows or hears. Those moments are AWESOME! Gimme more, more, more!

Not much after weeks of study, huh? Well, that's what I have...now it's time to resume my Hillsong worship experience right here in the comfort of my own home. Perhaps here I can begin this undignified worship David speaks of....I'll let you know, or my wife might

This week...

This week has been completely eye opening. I spend the majority of my time with people who share the same belief system, passion, and even hobbies as I do. While we manage to challenge each other through those times together, that challenging is for a cause. This week is the cause.

I am surrounded by great people this week. They are fun, caring, overall good people. Yet, not one of them has truly embraced a walk with Jesus Christ. They throw around the words "baptist," "catholic," "when I was in church,"and other phrases as if that is all there is to it. Sometimes I wish we would just annihilate denominations. One bible. One Jesus. One God. One Spirit. Nothing else. As I hang with these folks, I am shown for sure that they are not getting the message of the gospel as it should be. They are getting the message that this denomination is disgusted by that one, who is even more disgusted by another. Maybe they had an awful experience as kids, or with their parents, or just on their own. Maybe they just don't care. The point is they see Jesus as a religion and we are somehow not reaching them with actual truth from the word of God.

God, people like this are around us ALL THE TIME. Please help us to notice. Please help us to care like you care. Please burden us everyday for these people. Please use us (me) today to share the true gospel with them.

Godly sorrow brings...

2 Corinthians 7:10 "Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death."

What an appropriate verse on the heels of tonight's service. One of my favorite things about serving in North Park youth is the intentionality of what is done. Numbers are tracked weekly, which is absolutely fine and probably necessary. However, those numbers are not the driving motivation of this youth team and its leader. They are absolutely not the priority.

Tonight's message was perfectly clear. I am not making an emotional appeal to you to turn your heart to Christ. I do not seek people who will proclaim their faith now, based on feelings of fear or guilt, but forget it completely in three days. The appeal tonight, as it is every night, was for genuine heart change. Change that can only be accomplished by God Himself. Change that cannot be explained by anything short of Jesus Christ's miraculous powers. Godly sorrow brings repentance. That leads to salvation without regrets or false emotions. An emotional appeal to scare a person may lead them to change, but it is only temporary and ultimately leads to "death." God's words, not mine.

I hope that we stay very focused on genuine, Spirit lead heart change. I love serving with a leader who understands this. More than that, though, I love serving a God who seeks "real." I can walk an aisle 472 times and not experience even a scent of life change. One true encounter with Jesus Christ, however, and my life is flipped upside down. Freakin awesome! Got to see that in action tonight. What a blessing!

Reality check

Tonight's final hour of work and driving were so annoying. I spent 15 minutes looking for an item at work that was stuck to something I looked under three times. My "low fuel" light lit up once on the interstate home. Stopped at the local Wal-mart Supercenter to fill up just in time for them to turn the lights off and shrug the proverbial shoulders. I didn't even know those places ever closed. I did manage to find a station prior to having to push my way home.

Then I began to think about the up-coming week and returned to the land of actual perspective. I will be in Norman, Oklahoma for five days setting up a new store. One of my best friends and biggest professional influences will be there with me. This is THE guy. He is Mr. Overachiever. He is the tough guy all the ladies love. He is the guy with the math degree from a major university who then decided to enlist and made Sergeant in 18 months rather than teaching. Once that was over he began his career here where he has had unrivaled success in all facets of the business. His people skills are amazing. His understanding of what the job is and how to do it are amazing. This guy has it all together. After he and his wife split, he took full custody of their two boys and has done an amazing job raising them. He even manages to help her out when needed. This guy is disciplined. He is strong. He is awesome. By the standard of the world, he is second to none.

Now the problem. This is a man who is disgusted by the sheer thought of the gospel. He would not cast so much as a shadow on a church entrance. He was raised in "church." I put quotations on that because you know what I mean. Legalistic crap that impacts basically no one. His boys, like many others in the same scenario, have decided Dad is correct. Why is it that this type of amazing person is seemingly the hardest to reach? How do we as a church and I, as a servant of Christ, share the gospel with this man who seems to have his life together? How do I convey that it is not about having your life together? Reaching people who are down and out is one of our main goals and it should always continue to be. But my heart is heavily burdened for my "not down and out" friend. Next week I have five days to share what God did in my life and wants to do in his. Next week I pray that you will pray for my friend and for me. Next week I hope there is a massive celebration in the Kingdom of heaven for my friend. Next week is the opportunity of an eternity, not a lifetime. I cannot even imagine what God could use this guy to do if he would just let Him do it. Here is a line this friend said to me last time we spoke about our faith. "If I believed what you believe, I would NEVER stop preaching." I'll leave you with that to digest.

First post on the way to a best selling novel

Okay...maybe not. It's fun to think about, though.

I have spent the last couple days studying Romans 12. I have read Romans somewhere around eight times. Somehow I must have just skimmed over this chapter every time. How??? One of the most practical chapters in the entire bible. Here are some observations.

First of all, verse one punched me in the face. Present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. My personal lifestyle as of four weeks ago was in no way an act of worship. Four weeks and three days ago God got hold of me about this. He dramatically changed my lifestyle. I am not implying that I have achieved a Godly lifestyle, but I do know that HE has made huge changes in my life. Now I pray that I stay faithful enough to continue to allow Him to sharpen me even further, remembering that this body He gave me comes with expectations.

Verses four through eight are what made my mind go nuts last night. Think about the process of salvation. One moment I am doomed to an eternity that is unthinkable in spite of all the "good" I do. In another moment Jesus Christ says "I have paid your price." The encounter with Christ begins the coolest process a person could ever experience. God sent His Son so that I could experience life with Him. Then, He fills me with HIS Holy Spirit. Not mine, HIS. Are you kidding me? That Spirit endows me with certain gifts that I am expected to find and USE! The God who made this universe and everything in it expects me to be available for His purposes. He has gifted each of us for a very specific reason. He has a use for me. Does that freak anyone else out? God extended un-explainable grace to me. God filled me with His Holy Spirit and He did it for a reason. He has an expectation that I will honor those gifts and serve Him with everything I have.

No pressure, right? I can truly say that serving Him in new and ever more challenging ways has been so amazing. I cannot wait to see what the next challenge is...