#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

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

On my Chest...

The expression of "wearing your heart on your chest" is something I had never really thought of till this moment.  I would like to think of it in a little different way.  I think that God does call us to truly wear our love of Christ on our chest, but I think that God lays others things on our heart that he would like to be included when people look at us.  Most recently (besides everything else I have written about tonight) God has put on my heart the idea that we are disciples of Christ and that we have a job to do.  But even outside of the fact that we have a job to do, Jesus has faith that we can do this job.  He merely calls us to take up our cross, deny our own selfish ambitions, and follow him.  Truly do what a disciple is which is be more like Christ (our rabbi) and follow him.

God is put it on my heart so much that I did not even realize it until I entitled an entire sermon series, "Going all in" challenging our students to have Bold Faith, Bold Obedience, & Bold Sacrifice.  Little did I know God was going to talk directly to me in the midst of me talking to a group of 50 students on a weekly basis.  I did not realize that he would be challenging me to truly think about the decision I have made with my life and will make with the rest of my life and ask am I denying myself and follow Christ or am I letting my crosses weigh me down?  How are the decision I am making leading me closer to Christ and making me more like my rabbi.

If all we are called to do in this life is to love Christ and make him known, that is what I want all of my future decisions to display.  I want people to look at my heart that is surely on my sleeve and see that it is stamped by Christ.  I have a tattoo on my chest that is a price tag that is stamped with the word PAID.  I did not do this to look cool or get an awesome Christian tattoo, instead I did this to remind myself that no matter what I do or have done my life has been paid by the blood of Christ.  In response to that, what else can I do but follow the man that saved my life as close as possible.  

Following my own selfish ambitions are merely the things that led Jesus to his death on the cross, so I am going to do all I can do to throw those down, turn around, and follow my savior, my christ, my sacrificial lamb.

That is what I wear on my sleeve.  I wear a heart that has a stamp of payment on it and I have decided in order to glorify the man/God that saved my life, I am going to follow him with all everything that I have.



till another day,



normallyINDIE

Just another week...

Yes, it is the middle of August 2012 and there is really not much to talk about in life.  We are in the midst of something amazing here at Groesbeck Church with a rebranding campaign in full swing.  We are just one month away from the relaunch of our Contemporary Service at 11:00am on Sundays and we could not be more excited about the opportunities that are going to come our way as we begin to serve the church.  

But when I really think about it...what seems to keep coming to my mind is why we do what we do?  What is the purpose of living a life as a pastor to a congregation of people who are looking for something.  It is really just that.  All of us inside are seeking something in our lives whether it be fame, fortune, love, happiness, but all of those things still really cannot fill the void that seems to get more vast every second of every day.  That is the amazing gift that we pastors have the opportunity to share on a weekly basis.  

The idea that hope can be find in a relationship with Christ Jesus and Christ Jesus alone.  It makes all those other things seem insignificant.  It brings to light the reason that we pastors stay up late and wake up early, visit the sick, preach on sundays, counsel during the week, because there is a community we are a part of that is looking for something.  We have that something and it is our job to show that to them.  

God has revealed in me that despite all things, he power and hope reigns true in all things.  It is an exciting feeling and most of all a feeling that makes me want to drive to work every morning.  A feeling that excites me when I have the chance to interact with students.  A chance that excites me when I am able to share the gospel with a student and they get it.  There is not a better feeling in life then knowing that you shared the gift of life with someone, the gift of life in Jesus Christ.  

till another day, 

normallyINDIE 

Time to Submit it...

In January of this year I accepted the position Community Youth Coordinator at Groesbeck United Methodist Church (soon to be changing to Student Ministries Pastor). This role includes directing and implementing an after school program for High School age students from Colerain HS and the surrounding area. With this comes funding and with this funding comes grant writing.

I am currently submitting a grant for Congregational Revitalization to the West Ohio Conference of United Methodist. It is an exciting opportunity that begin in February when I had the opportunity to travel to the conference offices in Columbus and sit through a seminar explaining just exactly what it meant to write a grant. After just over a month of editing, writing, and collecting it has come time to submit and in just two short days I will be submitting the grant for evaluation and approval at the West Ohio Conference. It is exciting, but also nerve-racking realizing that some of what we do here at CHAOS//Student Ministries could be dictated by the verdict that is returned after the submission of this grant. What I have come to realize is that not only is this a nerve racking opportunity, but it is also an opportunity to trust the living God who all in all is in control of all of our lives and the decisions that occur.

It got me thinking, in what other areas of my life is it important to submit and trust the Lord. I begin to think about my own personal finances and the well being of my family, the car troubles we find ourselves in as well as the continuing growth that comes with being an adult and I realize all of it. All of it must be submitted to the Lord, for in the midst of everything that seems to be so nerveracking and intimidating he finds a way to provide and not only provide for us, but be glorified in the process. When we think about life through that lens it makes it so much simpler. Asking the question how are my actions glorifying the Lord today and I am fully submitting and trusting the will of God to lead me through my life?


till another day,


normallyINDIE