Dedicated?

As I sit in my favorite John Grisham coffee shop, working on church websites, weblogs, and calendar updates my mind starts to drift. I begin thinking about the upcoming dedication of our new Family Life Center, I wonder how many of us take the time to truly dedicate our lives to Christ with as much thought as we give to the dedication of buildings and stuff. It seems that often the example set before us is, salvation is the last step in the growing process of the christian life. When really isn’t it the first, after we accept God’s free gift of salvation isn’t that when the work starts. Maybe a building only needs to be dedicated once to Christ, but I am more convinced than ever that we must daily dedicate ourselves to the furthering of the kingdom of God.

Maybe its just me but, I too often lose sight of the big picture that I believe God is trying to show me. “This is the day the Lord has made I will rejoice and be glad in it” we hear it almost every Sunday but, what if I decided to live everyday like God made it and gave me a chance to fellowship with him in it, because He did. So let us dedicate today to the creater of it.

Live for Him today,

Bro. Blake

Contraflow

Last night was quite an amazing night at Contraflow. We were honored to have P.A.T.H. leading worship from Semmes, AL. They lead us to the throne with such humility, something I’m afraid we don’t see enpought of from any style of christian music today. Shane Thrash from Laurel, MS was the speaker for the night he encouraged us with the “gotta be” of christianity it was a powerful message delivered with great passion. Our students seemed to really enjoy the evening. Thanks to all who helped setup, breakdown, run audio/video, and of course to our guests for coming.

Identity

Several years ago Cindy and I were victims of ID theft. Someone stole funds out of our checking account, it took some time to get it back. I never realized how many people right around me had also been victims of similar events.

Isn’t identity a funny thing? We struggle to find ours, some never really do. As a teen we want the right clothes…we “gotta” have these jeans to have our own original style. You know the ones that TV personality wears that all our friends convinced their parents to buy so we could all be original.

But, when we think about it don’t we do the same in church so often. I go to conferences to learn how others are doing it, when we serve a different church, with different people, in a different place. That’s not to say that we can’t or shouldn’t learn from others. In fact I will soon be attending just such a conference. I do however think we must take these ideas into consideration and prayer in light of our community.

Perhaps we should first look at who we are or who we should be. Each of our churches has people with many different talents and abilities. We were all called to go in the world and share the good news according to Matthew 28. But, is there only one way to do this? I certainly hope not, because it seems to me that the way most churches are doing it today looks quite different from the way my Bible tells me Jesus did it. Maybe our community dictates this, maybe its our abilities, perhaps its merely our wiliness to change or resistance to change. I don’t have the answers, I’m merely sharing a few of the questions I find myself struggling with today.

I’m  a pastor of one of the greatest groups of kids God ever allowed anyone to oversee…But, I wonder if we stopped doing it today, decided to never meet again. What “impact” would that have on our community, would anyone notice, would we really care. I hope we would, I hope the community is better because, of what we get to do in the lives of students each week. Our youth group’s name is Impact, and I wonder what is our Impact on Moselle, MS?

Without revelation people run wild,

Blake

Questions

If your like me, you have lots of questions. I wonder why we have to sleep, why their are mean people in the world, why giraffes have such long necks. Do you ever wonder why does God do things the way he does? I was listening to a podcast by Francis Chan, pastor of Cornerstone Church in Simi Valley, California today, Francis was speaking on questioning God. How it has become popular to question God on any and all things, but as most of us were taught what is popular is seldom right.

Perhaps if we spent some of the time doing God’s will rather than questioning why is it or what right God has to make such demands. Ever notice how negative question are most of the time? What was he/she thinking? WHAT ARE YOU DOING? Often my questions of others are my way of disapproving vocally and not feeling like such a jerk for it.

Have you ever been around someone that was positive most of the time, and how little they questioned life, love and God? My grandmother recently passed away, she was a lady who was almost always positive, so much it sometimes made us wonder about her. How can we go around being positive when so much bad happens around us daily. Maybe she as others have figured out what this scripture meant? “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden.” Matthew 5.14

How can I be a light to a dark world when I sound just like everyone around me? Aren’t we called to be different? That is not to say that it is easy, it takes constantly dying to self. I have been helping with our church website lately, sometime it has made me want to pull my hair out, sometimes I waned to pull others hair out.

Maybe attitude has less to do with circumstance, and more to do with our response to circumstance. Perhaps we should learn to just trust God, and spend less time questioning why? After all the day will come when we stand before His throne and the only questioning will be the only one worthy of our worship and totally unquestioning trust.

Trust God,

Blake

Wow!!!

Wow, and I’m not referring to a online game. That is the only way I know to describe today at MMBC, we had amazing services today. Bro. Keith has been doing a series Sunday nights on the family, tonight he preached on christian integrity. He was on like I’ve never heard him before. He discussed the fruits of the spirit, he said we don’t receive more joy it just becomes more evident in our life based on our decisions. It seems we don’t hear enough of this kind of preaching anymore. We sometimes think it just happens, your either holy or your not, it was a great charge to choose to live for Jesus daily. This morning he talked about the church leaving the building and actually being the church Christ called us to be. Which is certainly his heart, he is more mission minded than anyone I know of in the pastorate today. I thank God for the chance to serve with a man with such a heart for people, seeing others come to Christ is not only him passion it’s his obsession. Praise God! I heard Amens throughout his whole sermon. You know the old joke, “How do you kill a preacher? Keep saying Amen and he will preach himself to death.” Well thankfully he is still with us.

Worship tonight was special, the MMBC Praise Team lead in worship following  special music by our K4C Children’s Ministry. It was slightly more contemporary than what we are used to but, I heard nothing but positive comments. It was certainly “Good to be in the Lord’s house”. Normally our Student Ministry has separate worship services on Sunday nights, and I like everyone am a little hesitant of change but, students told me over dinner tonight they really enjoyed it. I truly am looking forward to the next time we meet together!

Come worship Him with us,

Blake

It’s all about Me

So I’ve added several polls to the Student Ministry Webblog, which got me thinking. We are so inward focused, can you imagine if all our polls had to do with God’s desires for us, and what would be pleasing to Him. Think about it, I get up in the morning it’s what do I want to wear, what do I want for breakfast, etc… Even in church what song do I want to sing, how am I comfortable worshiping. Ever hear the term church shopping? What happened to being lead by the spirit.

What if tomorrow I awoke to say God what do you want for my day and for this moment. What if I went to church and said God I single you out as the object of my worship. Imagine a worship service where we all just worshiped and style was second to worship, sounds like heaven.

If our purpose for life is to worship and fellowship with Him, why is my life all about me most of the time. I really do think Dr. Falwell had the perfect mission statement  “Just Jesus”.

Because He came, and will come again,

Blake

Tackle Them With Love

I had a opportunity yesterday to speak with someone I would never have met had it not been for Jesus. We as christians often speak of God’s love, but what if I really let that love posses me? I was spoken to harshly yesterday by a nonchristian and it surprised me…why?

Did Jesus not tell us, “If the world hates you, understand that it hated Me before it hated you.  If you were of the world, the world would love [you as] its own. However, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen  you out of it, the world hates you. Remember the word I spoke to you: ‘A slave is not greater than his master. ‘ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will also keep yours.” John 15.18-20

I like most want to be liked but, as we decide to be the church and not simply go to church we should expect nonbelivers to sometimes react harshly. Whether it is due to a gospel presentation, or simply engaging in conversation, they are living a life without hope. So we can either decide our feeling are more important than their soul or we can go out and collide once again with those we were commanded to go to.

A former student once said we must, “tackle them with love” and I think it is more true today in my life than when Kyle first spoke those words to the youth group years ago. The love of God finds us where we are at our weakest point and embraces us, shouldn’t we also go to a world in need and pour out the love of a consuming God on them. I think it’s time as my old coach used to say to get your feeling off your sleeve Blake, and get to work.

Love people, love God more,

Blake

What if?

I walked into the local elementary school in the town we serve in, for Bible club. We began to sing songs of praise, read from the word, prayed and dismissed as we do a few times each week. Only this time as the students were leaving I see my oldest daughter crying, her tears are tears of pain because, a friend she had lead to Jesus just a few days earlier had not shown up for club. She had prearranged for pastor dad to speak with her friend about the decision she had made to follow Jesus, I assured her we would have another chance to speak later and that based on the recount of her friends salvation experience she had said everything right. Her words broke my heart, “but, Dad what if I forgot something, what if I didn’t do it right. What if she’s not really saved…” The words of my daughter shook my soul, I was well aware she knew the plan of salvation as well as any evangelist that ever occupied a pulpit to preach the wonder salvation of Jesus. Did I know for sure her friend was saved? Of course not, not anymore than I can be assured of your salvation as you read this blog.

What stirred my soul was her pain over the eternal path of another person. My daughter asked, “…what if…” but sitting in my office this morning I now am asking the same question, what if.

What if we stopped saying we want to see lost people saved, and started actually engaging in the lives of those who don’t know Him. What if we actually stopped hoping someone else would share Jesus with our family and friends, and we just did it. What if the carpet in every Bible believing, Bible teaching church was stained with the tears of believers over the lost that we so dearly wanted to see come under the love of God.

As christians today we have more resources than we have ever had, so why does it seem that in my short life we are less broken over sinners not yet reached for the kingdom than I have ever seen before. Why are evangelism programs in the local body not attended by every person who calls Jesus lord. What happened to passion? What happened to love? What about discipleship?

Maybe the time has come for a few more of us to dare to ask what if,

Blake