Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘Community’ Category

God Has Not Given Up On You!

Posted in Community, Hope on May 13, 2013| Leave a Comment »

For those of you who could not be in Littlefield last Thursday night, you missed a huge event.  Everything with our Hope For The FYOUture event with Bob Smiley went extremely well.

The bands were on top of their game and Bob was perfect.

Everyone that was there had a great time.

Bob shared with me after the event that several people approached him after the show to tell him that this event was exactly what they needed personally.  They added that our community needed it as well.  He was very encouraged and in turn, encouraged me.

I cannot say thank you enough to all of you who prayed for this event.  I also cannot say thank you enough to the 40 plus volunteers who showed up to make this event a reality.  You all played an amazing part in this Kingdom work.  May God richly bless you for the gift of yourselves!

I pray that this event will just be the beginning of a renewed hope in our community.  God has not given up on us – we must never give up on God!

God has a plan and each of us are a part of it.  Continue to do your part every day!  Together, God will use us to change the world – starting with your little piece of it.

Be blessed today!

Read Full Post »

One Day Till Bob

Posted in Community, Hope on May 8, 2013| Leave a Comment »

 

poster

Here we are!  Tomorrow is the big day!

The food is ordered, the stage will be set.  The volunteers are signed up.  Now we move into our final stages of preparation.

And there is a couple of ways you can help.

1.  Pray!  Pray that God will bring the people that need to be there.   My prayer is that the building will be full!  Pray that God will touch lives and bring hope.  Pray that God will start a revival in our community.

2.  Spread the word.  Help us fill the seats.   Share this post with your friends, co-workers, followers, Twitter audience – however you can think to get the word out.  If you are close to Littlefield tomorrow night, come on by and join us!

We will start serving hotdogs and nachos at 5:30 or so.  The doors will open at 5:45 and We As One will take the stage at 6:00.  At 6:45 Soldiers of God will go on and then at 7:30 we will turn it over to Bob.

It is going to be an amazing evening and I can’t wait to see what God is going to do!

Read Full Post »

Who Do You Trust?

Posted in Community, Formation, Hope on May 6, 2013| Leave a Comment »

You have probably seen the commercial where the attractive young lady is conversing on the street with a gentleman about the fact that things can’t be on the internet if they aren’t true.  As the spot continues, a rather homely young man approaches looking like he just woke up and through on shirt.  The young lady tells the man she has been talking to that her date is approaching and that he is a french model.  The date makes an attempt at speaking french and we learn immediately that he is obviously not french and not a model.  But because she read it on the internet she is confident that he is who he says.

I find this commercial humorous but also rather alarming because I think the commercial describes much of our world.

Skeptic

Jiim Dennison, long-time pastor and modern day theologian, pointed out that now days, Google has gained a trust level that is rivaling the church.  In fact, in Great Brittain, 17% of the population trust the church, while Google gets a 28% trust level rating.

As the church we can shake our fist at our culture and shout, “What’s wrong with you people?”  “Did you fall and hit your head on something?”

But here is my question for us:  How did we get to this point?  Why is it that the world sees the church as irrelevant and not trustworthy?

Maybe its time for us to be the church!  Maybe its time that we hit our knees and pray for God to bring revival and renewal.

As cliché as this is – and trust me, it’s cliché – it is still true.  People don’t care what you know unless they know that you care.  (I told you it was cliché).

It is time that we get real about showing people we care and demonstrating that the church and God are more relevant today than at any other time in our lives.  This matters!  This makes a difference!

Pray with me that we will see God move in unimaginable ways in our generation.

And may it start with me!

Read Full Post »

I Wuz With God

Posted in Church, Community, Formation, Hope on May 2, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Image

As I stood at the door and shook hands and hugged necks after our service this past week, I was trying to acknowledge each person as they left the building to go BE the church in the community.  It is always a challenge to try and make eye contact with each person as they are trying to hustle out to beat the crowd to the local restaurants.

As I was in the midst of this frenzy, I noticed a 6 year old little girl making her way through the crowd – around an elderly gentleman and through a young family – she was on a mission.  Her eyes were locked on me and nothing was going to stand in her way or slow her down.

I was moved by her resolve and so when she finally made her way to me, I knelt down to one knee to talk to her.  She looked me in the eye and smiled and then stuck out her hand with a pink index card for me to take.  All she said was, “This is for you.”  She stood there a couple of seconds and then she was gone.  I looked at the card and then, being pressed to continue my smiling and hugging, stuck it in my pocket without much thought.

After lunch, I returned to my office to get some work done and as I sat down at my desk, I noticed the card still in my pocket.  I removed it and laid it on my desk.  As I looked at that card, I became overwhelmed by the realization that a child, in her innocence and sincerity, had just shared with me her experience for that day in church.  And her experience was the fulfillment of our goal as a ministry team.

You see, when we gather to worship each week, our goal as a ministry team is to create an environment in which people are moved to shift their focus from themselves and their lives and focus, at least for a little while, on God.  God is always with us but we seldom notice.  Our hope is to help people experience God in fresh ways each and every week.  All of us get busy.  We don’t always take time to truly meet God.  But when we do, transformation begins to take place.

That is why, each and every week, our heart is to give people the opportunity to say, “I wuz with God.”

And from the heart of a 6 year old, we got it right.  Now that is motivation to try again this week!

Read Full Post »

Put A Face On It

Posted in Community, Formation, Hope on April 25, 2013| Leave a Comment »

This morning I am up early and in Lubbock to meet a couple of guys – fellow believers and ministers.  One of them I have never met before.  It will be good to put a face with the name.

As I think about that common phrase, “put a face with the name,” it causes me to pause this morning.  We may know about someone.

Baby funny face

We may communicate via email or Facebook.  We may even talk over the phone (yes, I sometimes forget, this device that is inseparable from my back pocket also makes calls).

But until we sit down face to face, something is missing.  We want to actually see who we are getting to know.

Isn’t it that way with Jesus.  We can tell people about Jesus.  Folks can read God’s word and learn about his life.  They can look at the heritage of the church and see something must be real about this person known as the son of God.

But, deep down, they want to be able to put a face with the name.

Here is the deal.  You and I . . . we are that face.

As followers in The Way, as believers in the risen son of God, we are the hands and feet and yes, the face, of Jesus to the people we meet.

Represent you king well today!

Read Full Post »

Bob Smiley Countdown

Posted in Community, Hope on April 24, 2013| Leave a Comment »


Bob Smiley

We are quickly approaching our big, epic event!  We need as much help as we can get to promote this gathering within our community.

May 9 at the Littlefield High School Gym.  We will open the doors at 5:45 and We As One will take the stage at 6.  At 6:45 Soldiers of God will rock the house and then at 7:30 Bob will go to work.  There will only be seating for the first 1200 people so you will want to get there on time and get a seat!

 

 

15 Days and counting down . . . 

Read Full Post »

This Is Epic!

Posted in Community, Hope on April 18, 2013| Leave a Comment »

Yesterday, I alluded to a big announcement coming today.  Well . . . its epic, at least for our little community.  But before I jump right into that, let me give you a little history that has brought us to this point.

In 15 days I will have been the pastor of 1st B in Littlefield for 2 years.  It doesn’t seem possible that it has been that long.

At any rate, since coming to Littlefield, I have tried to become connected to the community and I feel that I have a fairly good understanding of the city.  But from day one I have sensed a desperation and an attitude of defeat.  It’s almost like, in many ways, our people have given in to the fact that the world is just a bad place and there is not much we can do about it.

That has been a burden on my heart from day one.  In fact, that is one of the reasons I have been preaching to our 1st B family that we have got to BE the church in our town.  Our community needs the church to truly BE the church.

To add to this cloud, we have experienced some tragic losses this year, two of which have been teenagers in our school system.

So a couple of weeks ago, our staff got together and began to pray and dream.  We thought about different things we could do to reach into our community.  And we decided on an event.

But not just any event.  We could bring in some local band and try and find a speaker that could come and do some kind of a revival.  And that would be all well and good.  But we wanted something different – something our community has not seen before.

So here it is . . . drum roll please!

On May 9 (yes, here in about 3 weeks – that is why we need your help so desperately), we are bringing in one of the premier Christian comics in America – Bob Smiley – and its free to the public!

We are debating between 2 different venues, but we will open the doors at 5:45, serve hot dogs and nachos, and then we are working with a Christian band that will take the stage at 6.  (More details on that as soon as we have them).  Then  Soldiers of God, a very energetic Christian band will take the stage at 6:45.  Bob will take the stage at 7:30.

I am excited about how God has put this together!  I am looking forward to what God is going to do.

And I need your help.  Help us pack this event out.  I need you to talk this up and share it on your Facebook.  Tweet it.  Text it.  Email it.  Whatever you can do to help us get our community to this event.

And oh, did I mention its free?!

I am blessed to have a lot of followers to this site.  Can I count on you to help?

Let’s make this awesome!

Read Full Post »

This Is Going To Be Big!

Posted in Church, Community, Hope on April 17, 2013| Leave a Comment »

I don’t normally use this platform in this way – at least not to this level.  But this is big.  For our area, this is epic!

In the midst of a struggling economy and a community that has been rocked by tragedy and depression and decline – God is still the light and God is still at work.

In fact, I believe that God does his best work when we get to the point we realize we can’t do this on our own.  Our community is there and they just don’t realize it.

So tomorrow there will be a big announcement here and I am going to need all my visitors to this site and all my regular readers to help spread the word.

So make sure to check back tomorrow and help me get the word out!

God is going to do some amazing things and you can be a part of it!

Today – – pray.  Pray for our community.  I don’t know where you live but pray for your community as well.  Pray that God will begin a renewal and a humble, authentic turning of our communities to The Way.

You are awesome!

Read Full Post »

Toughest Weather – So What’s New About That?

Posted in Community, Hope on April 8, 2013| Leave a Comment »

This past week, it was announced that the Lubbock area, in west Texas, was voted the “Toughest Weather” area in the United States – runner up?  Fairbanks, Alaska.

As I read that announcement, I thought to myself, “How did we beat out sub-zero temperatures.  Then a picture of a good ol’ west Texas dust storm popped into my head and I thought, “Yeah, that’s about right.”

Image

But as I have thought about this new found title, I began to think about the people who inhabit this part of the world.  What were that first settlers thinking when they decided to call this area home?  Some say the waggon train was headed west and the wheels fell off so they just stayed here.  Some say they actually chose to settle this area.

The truth is, the weather is really not that bad.  I mean, all the wind sure makes us appreciate the three days per year that the wind doesn’t blow.

I have been asked multiple times why I moved back to  west Texas almost 11 years ago.  My answer is always the same – the people – and of course God.

People are different out here.  We live in a wilderness where the pioneer spirit still flows just under the surface.  A hand shake is as good as a contract (in most cases) because a person’s word still means something.

Sound a bit cliche or Mayberry USA?  Well, maybe.  But there is some truth to the fact that west Texas is still a great place to live and the people, not the weather, make it true.

But I think the setting has something to do with it as well.  This is west Texas.  You just haven’t lived until you have seen God in a west Texas sunrise or sunset.  Our souls long to find God in nature and there is plenty of nature here.

Toughest weather or not, God is alive and well in west Texas – alive in the breathtaking sunrise this morning – alive in the person’s smile as I paid for my coffee – ALIVE!

Read Full Post »

Give It Away

Posted in Community, Hope, Missions on March 19, 2013| Leave a Comment »

What brings fulfillment?  Where do you find meaning?  Is it landing that job you have wanted for months or even years?  Is that when you will be satisfied?  Or maybe when you get that degree and get that schooling out of the way.  Once you have that diploma, will you be content then?

Viktor Frankl, an Austrian psychologist survived the Holocaust and lived to write about his experience with the human condition.  He authored several books but the one that still sells today is Man’s Search for Meaning.  In his book, he came to the conclusion that the way to find the meaning for your life is to help someone else find the meaning for theirs.  Jesus had said something similar almost 2,000 years before when he said, “if we will lose our life for his sake we will find it.”  In other words, life – true, meaningful and purposeful life – only exists when we give it away.  It is in committing ourselves to a cause or another outside ourselves that we find meaning.

What I have found is that when I go looking for meaning, it is like trying to hold water in my hands – illusive and impossible to grasp.  But when I seek to focus my devotion on loving and serving God – meaning finds me.

If you would have fulfillment, you will find it in serving.

Go be a blessing today!

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts - Older Posts »