Not So Deep Thoughts

I’ve probably heard 20 sermons on this passage, but it never gets old…

Romans 12: ¹Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. ²Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Praying for transformation!!

Our staff just got back from 3 intense days in Memphis.  We chose this location because this is where the dream began.  Here’s a few random thoughts about the trip:

1.  Being able to look forward by looking back was important for our team.  A very good reminder of how far we’ve come.

2.  We spent time talking about goals, budgeting, upcoming series, personal vision, and accountability.  We also spent a great deal of time praying together.

3.  I had a blast hanging out with our team.  There was much laughter.

4.  We set God-sized goals.  They are the kind of goals that if God doesn’t come through, there is no way we can accomplish them.  Isn’t that the way you should set goals?

5.  Everyone on our team desires to be a part of something revolutionary in our city!

Freedom Church…get ready!  The next few months are going to blow your mind!!

Over and over again, I have had people to say to me ‘just trust your heart on that issue’ or ‘listen to your heart’.  There is one HUGE problem with that…

Jeremiah 17:9  “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked.”

Doesn’t seem like we should be trusting our heart so much.  In fact, most of the time your heart will only get you in trouble.  Yet, we do it every day.  Maybe we should be less concerned with what our heart is telling us to do and actually look at the facts.  Hopefully this will keep both you and me from making some stupid decisions!

I ripped this off from Perry Noble.  Ask yourself the following questions:

#1 – Am I loving “social networking” more than Jesus?

#2 – Am I loving my particular brand of theology more than Jesus?

#3 – Am I loving my particular worship style more than Jesus?

#4 – Am I loving my platform more than Jesus?

#5 – Am I loving attention more than Jesus?

#6 – Am I loving facilities more than Jesus?

#7 – Am I loving opportunities more than Jesus?

#8 – Am I loving ritual more than Jesus?

#9 – Am I loving success more than Jesus?

#10 – Am I loving the ministry more than Jesus?

Basically…am I loving ANYONE or ANYTHING more than Jesus!

One of the things that I strive to do is to be a good employee for Freedom Church, so that people far from God can experience life in Christ.  One of my goals is to not create more stress but to relieve the stress from my Pastor.  I want to make it possible for him to trust me more.  Andy Stanley recently communicated these thoughts:

1.  I’ll make the commitment to do what I say I’ll do but if it doesn’t happen, you’ll hear it from me first.  No one likes to be surprised.

2.  If you confront me about the gaps I’ve created, I’ll tell you the truth.

Great principles!  Now if we would all just use them…

Matthew 15: 8-9

These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.

They worship Me in vain.

How many times has this been true in my life?  How many times has this been true in your life?

Unfortunately, I have heard the following statement a couple of times, related to the deaths of Michael Jackson and Steve McNair:

“He was very talented, but…”

Unfortunately, both of these guys had the same thing in common.  They were extremely talented but their careers will be somewhat tainted by their personal struggles.

One of my biggest goals in life is to finish well.  After I’m gone, I deeply desire for my wife and kids to be proud of the life I lived.  I don’t want them to bury their heads in embarassment every time someone says my name.

That is something worth living for!  Lord, help me to finish well!!

I have realized more than ever the changes in the ways that people communicate.

When Brayden was born almost 5 years ago, we had a list of people that needed to be called.  We notified a few people and then they took care of letting everyone else on the list know.

With Presley’s birth 2 days ago, I only made 2 phone calls.  The rest of the information was relayed via Twitter, Facebook, or text messaging.  I was able to give people real time updates on how Joni and Presley were doing.  It is amazing how fast news can travel in our world today.

Here’s another example, the news of Michael Jackson’s death travelled very quickly.  Most people knew about it before major news agencies could verify that it was true.  I found out via Twitter.

The church in general needs to be mindful of this and make some adjustments to the ways we communicate.  However, in the process you cannot forget about those people that don’t use social networking tools.

How can you change the way that you are communicating with people today?  What changes will you have to make in the next couple of years to make sure you are still communicating well?

I’m not one of those guys that usually makes comments like, ‘the problem with this generation is (blank)’.  However, I do feel that we can do one simple thing that will make a difference to other people.  In our society, we don’t do a good job of showing gratitude.

Most of this can be remedied by just simply saying ‘thank you’.  It isn’t hard and doesn’t take any effort or time but allows people to be appreciated.  Whenever someone does something for me or for Freedom, I always try to make it a point to let them know that I am grateful.

Often, I will even send them a card and possibly a gift to know just how grateful I really am.  The moral of this story…. say ‘thank you’.  It’s just that simple!

In one sentence, what would you want people to say about you after you die?

Morbid thought.  Great question.  Let me hear it!