June 2011
1 post
GRACE →
May 2011
4 posts
What Are You Crawling Towards?
My little princess, Brinkley, started crawling this week.
After weeks of urging and encouragement (mostly from Ashley because she’s an amazing mom) Brinkley looked at the toy that Ashley had laid precisely 4 feet in front of her. She looked at the toy, back at us, back at the toy, us, toy…
And she just went for it. And she crawled. Awesome.
She had the ability to crawl. Now she had the...
Keeping Up with the Times...
The US Postal Service, as we know it, is on the way out.
Big statement for some of you to swallow. But, it is a fact.
With the internet, email, facebook, and accessibility of moving information across ther US and the globe…
It is inevitable.
Why?
The old method cannot keep up pace with the new times.
Obviously, from time to time we all need to mail something and we may sent out...
A Response to Bin Laden's Death...
In light of the recent death of Osama Bin Laden and the spin surrounding the story, I have been internally challenged about how to respond to such a situation. While I am a disciple of Jesus and I have experienced his radical and saving grace, I also still struggle as a sinner and battle my thoughts in these times.
While I applaud the CIA and Military in their efforts to keep our ...
April 2011
1 post
What is Easter About Anyway?
All week, there will be kids dying Easter eggs and parents buying candy. The holiday of Easter is full of commercialized items from Jelly Belly candies to stuffed animals and more. This holiday is celebrated by almost everyone yet only a small group of people truly understand what the hype is all about.
Easter is not about the candy. It’s not about the easter egg hunts. And it is...
March 2011
2 posts
Prayer is for Pansies
I’ve been working out for almost 17 years. Almost everyday. And I love it.
I have seen many guys who have great strength and perform some pretty impressive feats in the weight room.
I’ve also seen my fair share of stupid things as well. I’ve seen a lot of guys who just do the same thing over and over and over again yet never see any results from their work. Most of them...
“The fewer the words, the better the prayer.”
– Martin Luther
February 2011
7 posts
“Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the...”
– Hebrews 1
“Any church that is not seriously involved in helping fulfill the Great...”
– Oswald J. Smith
It's All About Heart // 2.11.11
Bryson Bowers has more heart than anyone I know.
He’s two.
He’s my son.
He’s incredible.
Last night at bedtime, I let him tell a story. He stumbled through a
saga about a TRex and Raptor trying to fight us but then he (Bryson)
killed them both. Yes, he was the hero of his story. It was awesome.
He saved both mine and his brothers life. Stud.
That’s Bryson.
While he...
Guilty.
When I was in the 10th grade I watched a guy get beat up.
Bad.
There were always fights out on Chicken Road. It was the perfect spot because no cops patrolled the area and the land belonged to a guys family we knew and it was just acres of nothingness.
A dirt road + testosterone filled dudes + a girl = fight.
I’m not sure what it was about or if I even really knew they guys but I...
January 2011
1 post
Just Preach the Word // 1.24.11
Just Preach the Word.
I wish someone would have told me this many years ago in my ministry. Like many other guys called to teach God’s Word, I didn’t feel that it was powerful or life-changing enough in and of itself. I would have never said that but I didn’t need to. My presentation said it all. As a youth pastor I wondered what the best way was to make them listen and...
November 2010
1 post
Wasted.
Some people just waste the gifts and annointing that God gives them.
Last week, I was able to reconnect and have great conversation with a guy who I love dearly and who God has called into ministry. Over the last several months/years, he has been in a place of searching and seeking the purpose that the Lord has for him. While we couldn’t pinpoint exactly what that is, there was one truth...
October 2010
6 posts
I Want to be Scissors
At Halloween you always see the same characters.
Cowboy. Sports player. Witch. Cartoon. Princess. Ghost. Celebrity, Etc.
So, these are all easily purchased at WalMart or another retail shop. However, that would be normal and easy, and I assure you that my oldest son Brailey (4) is neither.
When asked what he wanted to be for Halloween, he replied with utmost confidence…
Scissors.
I...
"It's All About Me"
There is a disturbing trend among pastors and religous leaders in my generation. It is a serious issue.
The gospel has been diluted by some.
Our God has been ‘figured out’ by some.
The Trinity is ignored by most.
Jesus is seen as a brother more than a Savior.
The power of grace and mercy has been confused with loose freedom and a customized Christianity that fits our lifestyle.
The...
Got Ears?
Last night, my oldest son Brailey (4), was telling me a bedtime story. Yeah, sounds strange but that’s how it works. I tell him a story and then he has to top it. So, if I tell him a story about me killing 6 dragons…he kills 10. It’s just the way it is…I love my boy.
Our story last night involved 3 mean raccoons that I screamed at and told them to stop eating his little...
“You don’t fully understand something until you can explain it in a simple...”
– Albert Einstein
September 2010
6 posts
Michael Vick...Redemption.
Michael Vick is back.
In April 2007, Vick was implicated in an illegal interstate dog fighting ring that had operated over five years. In August 2007, he pleaded guilty to federal felony charges and served 21 months in prison, followed by two months in home confinement. With the loss of his NFL salary and product endorsement deals, combined with previous financial mismanagement, Vick filed...
“You have been told that God is a loving, gracious, merciful, kind,...”
– Mark Driscoll
“A vigorous temper is not altogether an evil. Men who are easy as an old shoe are...”
– Charles Spurgeon
Wind could have parted Red Sea, scientists say
August 2010
3 posts
The Morning After...
Do you ever have something happen that truly amazes you and you find yourself asking, did that really happen?
The morning after is usually when it happens to me.
The morning after my wedding day.
The morning after my first son Brailey was born.
The morning after all my kids birth.
The morning after I got back from Haiti.
The morning after an outpouring of Gods goodness…
This morning is...
Scripture > Certainty > Faith // 8.19.10
‘Faith is being sure of wht we hope for and certain of what we do not see.’
This verse in Hebrews 11 has always been a pillar of my faith because there are some things that I have had to accept and believe on faith alone. No proof or evidence. Just pure faith.
However, in reading recently the gospel of Luke, a verse stood out that I never noticed before. Luke tells us in the first...
“So that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.”
– Luke
July 2010
8 posts
Water Cooler Baptisms // 7.28.10
Baptism is the symbolic expression of a person dying to sin, being cleansed by the blood of Christ, and then being raised to new life in Jesus as a believer. In Haiti, baptism is the way that a new believer is identified and publicized as a true follower of Jesus.
Here’s the problem, there is close to no clean water in this place. There are creeks and rivers but you don’t want your...
Petit Goave = Done // 7.26.10
Our mission focus in Petit Guave is done. After eight bible schools with over 1000 kids total, leading crusade revivals for the last four nights in dark, dusty, an packed churches, and watching the church grow through many salvation decisions…we now move on. We are on a bus heading to Port au Prince to serve the inner city there. Though we are not sure, it looks like we’ll be doing...
God is a Naked One Year old...
This morning as we arrived at our church for bible school, we had literally hundreds of Haitian children show up. This church had concrete walls and a tin roof. It had been repaired since the quake destruction and it was situated in the middle of what seemed to be a warzone. The ghetto of Petit Guave consisting of thousands of makeshift refugee shelters and temporary tents. The smells of this...
“Though the ground tore open and people were dying before me, I was not touched....”
– testimony of Haitian woman @ crusade
Touch is a powerful thing. // 7.23.10
As we have been in Haiti this week working with children and teenagers, we have found that they all have something in common. They all want to be touched.
Not accidentally either.
Intentional touch.
Touch that has meaning.
Touch with a purpose.
We are learning what Jesus modeled so well.
In the gospels, we read about many miracles that Jesus performed. What is interesting is that many times...
Hope for Haiti // 7.22.10
The word hope has lost it’s meaning.
We hear it too much in America.
Political campaigns and sports dreams are much to blame. Hope being used to describe ones own ambitions or agendas. Hope has become an ideal that cannot be reached. Actually, hope has been used and abused because people need hope. Just the hope they need doesn’t come in stimulus
packages or bogus medical reform.
...
“‘The Lord delights in those who fear Him; those who hope in His unfailing...”
Mixed Emotions...
Here it is the eve of our trip to Haiti to go and serve the homeless, displaced, and impoverished people there. I will take 21 college students & young adults on a journey sure to change our lives. For the last six months I have anticipated this trip and spent time in prayer and preparation as well. The time has come and while I am excited and anticipating great things…
I have mixed...