Jul 13
As I mentioned last week, yesterday was my final Sunday on staff at Every Nation, Tallahassee, and I had the chance to preach. If you’re interested in hearing what I had to say about 2 Timothy 2:1-13, click here to either stream the message or download it for later.
Enjoy!
Jul 9
This Sunday will be my last Sunday on staff at Every Nation, Tallahassee. After first attending as a student in March of 1999, I’ll be moving on to be a part of only my second church ever. And I’ve got lead it!
I have the privileged of preaching on my final Sunday as we continue our CHARGE series, and I’ll be tackling 2 Timothy 2:1-13. It will be fun, exciting, nerve-wracking and intimidating for Paul’s final words to Timothy to also be my final words to my first spiritual family.
I hope to see you there, 10 a.m., 2555 North Monroe Street. Holla.
Oh, and here’s Chris Tavalare’s trailer for the series. He’s so talented, isn’t he?
This may be a bit anti-climatic by now, but my wife and I are moving in mid-July to the Tampa Bay area to lead pastor a church plant with Every Nation Churches.
Nearly four years ago God began speaking to us about planting a church, but we weren’t sure where or when. Over the last 12 months the call of God became clear, and we knew it was time to pursue God’s will to plant a church.
Our original intention was to do so through Every Nation, Tallahassee and expand the church in the Tallahassee, but it became clear to both me and Ps. Ron God was moving in us in a different direction. It’s with his, and the entire elder board of ENT’s support that we’re stepping out to plant Trinity New Life Church.
This is an incredibly bittersweet move to leave so many beloved friends behind, and a very scary one, but we’re both so excited for this next step of faith in obedience to God’s will for our lives. We’ve been blessed to be friends with, pastors to, and coworkers with some of the most amazing people. Thank you all.
They’ll be plenty of time to talk about the church plant, but here are a few details to whet your appetites:
We’ll be building a team through the rest of 2009, and hold preview services from November through February. Then, God willing, we’ll launch Trinity New Life Church on a weekly basis in March of 2010!
You can find out more information at TrinityNewLife.com, follow us on Twitter, or become a fan on Facebook.
Everyone in the video below would certainly say “yes.” Jesus is still working on earth, still changing people, still transforming people, no matter where they’ve come from or what they’ve done. My man Chris Tavalare slapped this together and did a fantastic job. Enjoy.
“We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.” Romans 6:4
This Friday from 7-8 p.m. and again from 8-9 p.m. Every Nation, Tallahassee will be facilitating our annual Good Friday service at the church.
While I won’t be facilitating this one, I’m sure Jon Owens and the crew have a great, sad, somber, heavy service planned. Good Friday is a bit of a misnomer for this service, as Christ has yet to rise in our remembrance of the Great Triduum.
Come out for an introspective night of remembering how much Jesus did for us, and how much he went through to do it.
Mar 25
There’s a concept in politics and economics called “zero-sum.” It implies that there’s a finite amount of power/money/influence to be had, or only so many pieces to a pie. When someone get a piece it means there’s less for everyone else. This way of thinking has unfortunately crept into our way of thinking about God.
We can have a hard time rejoicing with others, because we think we can’t be blessed if they’re being blessed.
We can get agitated when we see a new church starting in our town, because we think they’ll take people from us, yet thousands upon thousands in our city do not serve Jesus.
God is not limited by our perceptions. He knows what His plans are for us, and has the resources to accomplish them. There are not a limited number of churches, speaking opportunities, promotions, partners, salvation to go around.
Think bigger. Dream bigger. Rejoice with those who have reason to do so.
Mar 24
Many times children’s church is passed off as babysitting while the “real” spiritual stuff happens in the big room. Hopefully this email, sent to one of our workers by a parent, will help to change your mind:
I just wanted let you know how powerful and inspiring your lesson on Lazarus was for Joshua. Since that Sunday, Joshua has been excited about going to children’s church to the point of asking me if he is going to church on a daily basis. He has also been raising everything and everybody from the dead by telling them to “come out”. LOL. We also have more fun with our evening bible stories. Thanks for making a difference! Enjoy your day.
In case you’re wondering, this was in a classroom of three and four year olds, not 3rd graders or middle schoolers.
Mar 10
I don’t wanna get into any kind of argument, I’m just looking for the thoughts and perspectives of others.
So, go ahead. Define it for me.
Mar 5
My friend and office mate, Chris Tavalare, asked me help him spread the word about a fantastic non-profit he’s helping to run in his (alleged) spare time. I was more than happy to oblige. Here’s the skinny:
Over the last few months i have been giving all my spare time and efforts to an amazing cause.
Active Compassion Transforms is a community of individuals and organizations living our lives to make a difference in the hope of seeing lives, communities, and countries transformed.
I’ve developed this site with the assistance of my dear friend Erika Lee and we are pushing hard to make this possible. We are currently trying to raise a little over $8,000 to start a mentorship program with the School of Hope in South Africa. Contributions can be made on the site.
Come check out the site and if you feel led to do so please copy and paste this code to your widgets and help spread the word.
<a href=”http://www.activecompassiontransforms.org”><img class=”alignnone” src=”http://activecompassiontransforms.org/weblink.jpg” width=”150″ height=”300″ /></a>
Feb 25
Today, Ash Wednesday, kicks-off the Lenten season. It’s traditionally marked by choosing to fast something for the 40 days, but not always food. Here’s a great breakdown from Anne Jackson over at FlowerDust.net:
A new friend of mine explained to me that one of the reasons people fasted from food during Lent was because of the time they would spend in preparation for their meals. By sacrificing their food, they were able to devote more time to God and to each other.
Kelly and I are evaluating at our TV watching time and I’m considering dropping all blog reading during this time, as those are the two major items taking up too much time in our lives. I want and need to read more. I need to filter out media so I can focus on God, my family, and my calling. I will probably still blog during this process, but only because it helps to hone my writing skills and clarifies ideas bouncing around in my mind.
Are you participating in a Lenten fast? What are you giving up?
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I'm husband to Kelly, father to Caroline, and lead pastor Trinity New Life Church, located in Trinity, Florida. I love Jesus, my family, and my church.
The ideas expressed here are totally my own and do not reflect the official positions of TNLC.