the Presence Tour...

I had the honor of spending last weekend returning to my wife and I's first home, Cincinnati, OH, to attend the Believe Conference for Junior High students.  God blessed us with 9 students that joined us for an amazing weekend of growth and fellowship. 

This was not my first rodeo as this was my 8th time at Believe and 3rd in Cincinnati, so like before, the conference was top notch.  High level illustrations, great worship, awesome graphics, not to mention amazing, practical speaking.  But it wasn't all of this that made the biggest impact on my wife and I this past weekend.  What made the biggest impact is what makes ministry life so great and that is the relationships that are formed.  

If you had been following my tweets over the weekend, @normallyINDIE, it seemed as though we were running into someone left and right.  And I know what you are thinking, "what else is new? Any pastor runs into tons of people he knows at christian conventions?"  But this time was different.  I feel God placed these people in our path this past weekend to remind us the value of relationships as well as the value the people have in our lives.  The weekend was like an impromptu family reunion.  My wife and I got to see one of our best friends Sarah Brown, who was integral in us getting together, my brother & his awesome girlfriend Lindsay, Ash, J-Trav, Reverend Katie Brown, Papa Brown, Court, Post, not to mention the GUMC crew and the giant crew from Eastview (just so happens to be my home church).  All of these people have had such a huge impact on our lives and it was so fitting to see them in the place that Jenny and I called home at the beginning of our marriage.  It was a weekend of memories that will not go forgotten and all I can do is thank Believe for making it happen.  

I learned so much this past weekend and have seen a huge change of heart in our student's lives through the testimonies that were laid out by God this past weekend, but in the midst of that, what God continued to speak to me was that ministry is all about relationships.  Not only ministry, but life is all about people and Jesus came to this world to save people.  So often we can get focused on numbers, budgets, church sizes, logistics, when God may be screaming at us to say "time to seek after my people who are lost".  

He has placed so many people in our path both to have an impact on and for them to have an impact on us.  If we are willing to take to time to stop and listen.  God is bringing his people to us and I am so thankful to be a small part of that.  

till another day, 

normallyINDIE. 

#C3Conf...

If you have been following my twitter (@normallyINDIE) over the last week, you would have be bombarded with posts regarding the C3 Conference in  Dallas, TX.  It is a church conference designed for church leaders to come together, ask questions about the Real & the Raw and most of all understand God's calling on their to be held at a higher standard.  Sadly, I wasn't able to bring my team with me, but despite all of that God seemed to do so much work in my life personally as well as my ministry life. I would like to share with you some of the big insights that he shared with me during my time in Dallas.  

First being, the God is working through our struggle.  An amazing pastor named Greg Rohlinger (@gregrohlinger) spoke on this idea as he was diagnosed with a terminal illness that is gradually taking his life.  Everyday tasks seemed to become more and more difficult and he could have either cursed God and walked away or continued to follow him because his ministry was not over.  But God was preparing him for what he had to do in the future through the struggle he was facing today.  That is the big take away, that God is allowing you to work through this struggle because you have to work through this in order to be prepared for what is to come.  

Next, Pace Hartfield (@pacehartfield) shared with all of us that "Your Pastor is not your Lord, but your Pastor's leader is your Lord."  This is an amazing idea because so often do we treat our senior pastors with too much respect or very little respect.  What he called us to understand was that if you are not willing to respect your senior pastor for whatever reason, you must respect the calling & authority he was given by God to lead your church.  It is an amazing thing to understand because so many of us either disrespect or undermine our pastors and that is not what God is calling us to do when we step on board as a team staff at church.  

These are just a couple insights from the amazing week that took place in Dallas and I am so excited to go back next year and bring as many people on our teams as possible.  

Below is a recap of the week if you would like more info or to register for C3 2014 then go to click here 

till another day, 

normallyINDIE

Going on a Trip...

I have been blessed over the last 7 years of my life to visit the Dominican Republic/Haiti Island three times, two of which included trips with G.O. Ministries and their amazing staff.  These are opportunities to both grow spiritually as well as serve the Dominican People.

I am so excited to announce that we will be taking another trip to the Dominican this August with 5 High School Students from Twin Oaks CC.  It is our first trip with the Uprising and it is going to be an amazing opportunity to again serve these people and grow together as a group.

Some of what I am so excited about it:

Reconnecting with Missionaries
Meeting new Friends in DR
Remembering my 5 years of Spanish
Sharing God with our Students
Telling stories of life change with our Families

We leave for our trip August 6th - 13h and I could not be more excited about it.  I have attached a video below that was created by GO Ministries.  It only excites me more to join them in August.

till another day,




normallyINDIE

Why God?...

I had to opportunity to meet with a friend of mine today at one of my favorite spots in Woodhaven, MI, Starbucks on Allen & West.  It was an awesome time of encouragement and growth with one another, but there was sometime particular that came out of this time together.  What was revealed to me was the importance with trusting God with everything that we have.  

I feel like I have written on this topic before, but I never feel that we an spend enough time focusing on trusting God or having true faith that requires something.  He reminded me today that anyone can believe in God, but faith is something that is not as easily found.  I began to think about having faith and even having faith when it seems that everything else is falling apart.  I am reminded how easy it is to have faith in God and his power when everything is going great and we are at the peak of our existence.  

It reminds me of the story of Job and the fact that his entire story was centered on the fact that everything was taken from him.  The important part of this story is that God did not take everything away from Job, but instead he allowed Satan into the situation to destroy his life, knowing that Job would continue to have faith in God.  This reminds me that Satan never overpowers our God, but that he is on a leash and he can be let off the leash when God wants.  But ultimately, God is the master of all things including Satan.  What we can't do anymore is ask Why God?, instead we must endure realizing that God is in control of all of these situations and faith must be at the center of everything.  Our faith in the living God, must endure even if we do lose everything.  Because what we know is that our life is worthless unless we are seeking the power, hope, love, truth, and justice of our all powerful God.  

This story reminds me of the ultimate power and faithfulness of God and also reminds me to be as faithful as our living God. 

till another day, 

normallyINDIE   

Burning my Plows...

At Twin Oaks, we just finished a series centered on the fact that God is Greater Than... the series being loosely based on the fact that we have to recognize that our God that we serve is much greater than we give him credit.  So much of the time we spend thinking about how we are going to do this or what we are going to do can be washed away if we realize that our God is Greater.  

Out of this message from our senior pastor Randy Wheeler, came a discussion regarding the book "Greater" by Steven Furtick and most specifically the chapter in the book regarding Burning your plows.  The chapter is based on Elisha and how he was called to leave his old profession of leading oxen on plows to doing something greater.  The fact is that Elisha could have stored the plows or given them to someone for safe keeping or kept using them, but what he realized was that if he was truly going to follow the call he was given that was much Greater, then he had to purge his life of everything he used to be.  This meant taking his plows and burning them.  We began to discuss as a staff what this meant to us, what plows in our life was God calling us to burn in order to live a life Greater.  

Thinking about these plows can be a humbling experience because throughout the process you rationalize to yourself that this is not needed or that you can be fine with just storing the plows because who knows you may go back to them at some point and you don't want them to be gone.  But what God continues to say to us is that we have to be willing to sacrifice who we used to be in order to be something greater and if we are called to be again what we once were, the plows that are needed would again be provided.  

Personally I have a lot of plows that need to be burned before I am willing to do the something greater that God is calling me/us to.  I am currently in the process of lighting the matches and burning them myself, but even as I write this I am continuely reminded of the importance of this process.  We all are hoping to do something much greater than we can even imagine, but there has to be an element of sacrifice attached to this.  

If you haven't already pick up the book Greater by Steven Furtick and if you are looking for a church home in the Detroit area, join us at Twin Oaks CC in Woodhaven, MI.  What are the plows that God is telling you to burn?  How long are you willing to wait before becoming something GREATer. 

till another day, 

normallyINDIE

The Multiply Movement...

I normally don't do this, but there is just something about this book that I had to write about it before I finished reading it.  This book has merely hit me exactly where I need to be hit at the exact right time in my life and I could not be happier about it.  I am sure many of you have heard of Francis Chan and David Platt, but many of you have probably not heard of the Multiply Movement.

This is a movement that began with the release of the book Multiply by Chan & Beuving w/ a forward from Platt.  This is a book that is dedicated to leading people through the disciple making process.  This process being the single most important thing that us as Christians have been called to do.  It is established very clearly in Matthew 28 & Acts 1, that our job as disciples of Jesus Christ is to further his gospel through the making of disciples.  But the interesting thing is that the disciple making process tends to get overlooked.  Instead we focus on the conversion process and after the individual has accepted Christ we move on.  This is not what God has called us to, but instead he understands that it is indeed a process to make a disciple.  Thus Chan, Platt, & Beuving have set out to explain this process and make it applicable to the everyday Christian.  Because this is a job for EVERY christian, it is important to put it into terms that EVERY christian can understand.

I have most recently been reading this book with the Student Leadership Team at the Uprising and they would agree that it has challenged them to go much further when it comes to spreading the gospel to their friends.  It doesn't just stop at acceptance, but it is a process.  This has also reminded our team that we are continuing to be made into disciples as we walk through this journey.  It is really exciting to think about, that we are never done growing, changing, and being led into a deeper relationship with Christ.

This book can be picked up at your local bookstore or online bookstore.  The great part about this is that the website www.multiplymovement.com has video lessons from each chapter available for FREE.  This takes the reading that much further as you dissect what it means to be a disciple making disciples.  Check out this book now, it WILL change the way you look at being a disciple.




till another day,


normallyINDIE

A Passion for Coffee...

If you know me at all you know how much I love coffee and specifically unique coffee.  You will see me at the Allen & West Starbucks almost everyday.  My christmas & birthday gifts consisted of over $100 in Starbucks gift cards, 6 lbs of Starbucks Coffee, & 30 Starbucks VIA coffee packets.  I read books about coffee (Pour your Heart into It, Onward, the Starbucks Experience) Guatemalan Burlap coffee bags decorate my office, and my wife believes I am an espresso maker away from owning my own coffee shop.  Let's just say I love coffee and especially the idea of a coffee shop.

It all started when I had my first Caramel Apple Spice Cider from Starbucks in junior high.  At that point I was hooked and had to have that little white & green cup in my hand always.  My love for coffee only grew and I began to search out new places, types, and ways of making coffee only growing more and more fascinated with the process and the culture of coffee.

Although I love the taste and aroma of coffee, it runs so much deeper.  It is the idea of a coffee shop being an influence in the community.  A meeting place that people can come together, discuss the good and bad of life, work together, change the world together.  Coffee shops should be the center of a community not only making it a comfortable place to come, but also a place that is doing something positive in the community, not just taking their money.  Thus, I have continually supported the local coffee shop, but more recently my "third place" has become the Starbucks on Allen & West in Woodhaven, MI.  Not because they make good drinks & they have free Wi-Fi, but that Starbucks is a company that is giving back to the community and the world as a whole.

My dream is to one day open a coffee shop of my own that makes great beverages, has the best baristas, but most of all is a place that anyone can come and share their life with other people.  A place that they can call home and they feel that it is a positive impact on the community.

I have began to increase my growing inventory in coffee materials and they are shown below:

Espresso Stovetop Percolator 

French Press

Burr Grinder

Chemex Coffee Machine

Pour Over Coffee

Toddy Cold Brew System

What I love about each of these system is that they prepare coffee each in a unique way.  It makes the conventional coffee brewing system obsolete.  I know that right now I am a novice "barista", but i hope this is only the beginning of opening a coffee shop someday.

If you haven't already take some time to visit your local coffee shop, try one of their signature drinks, and begin to enjoy all that the coffee world has to offer.  

till another day, 

normallyINDIE