Monthly Archives: December 2008

Uncategorized

Vision For The Journey!

Vision is the ability to see what God wants to do in a given situation!  We all have dreams, but when God begins to give faith to our dreams they start to turn into a vision.  One of the things that God is teaching me about vision is that I am not the creator (that’s His job!), However, I am the caretaker (I am supposed to share and grow this gift from God and help others to join in and participate!)

To really believe in the vision that God has given you takes faith!  Faith attracts, motivates and enables others to believe in what God can do and encourages them to join in the work of making dreams become reality! 

It has always been the pattern and strategy of God to use one person to speak for Him and guide His people through the vision and into the destiny that God has prepared for them!  Think about it:  Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, Gideon, Deborah, David, Daniel, Jeremiah, Jesus, The Disciples, Paul.  God selects the person to cast the vision for His people!  Vision has never been and will never be the product of a committee or a church vote!  (Vision is so much bigger than that!)

God has given me a vision of what He wants Northwood to be and what He has called Northwood to accomplish.  Pray for me, as I began to try and share that vision in some creative ways over the next few months.  Pray for our staff as they assist me in helping communicate and invite others involvement and participation.  I believe with all of my heart that God has an incredible journey that He wants to take us on and I am excited about our getting started!

Church, Uncategorized

Church Is About Community!

We make church about a lot of things, but if church is going to be successful for the Kingdom, it must become less about what most of us want it to be or think it should be and more about what God created, called and crafted it to be!  Church has got to be about community – inside and outside!

Church needs to be about community inside!  It needs to be a safe place and people that live dangerously through the power and grace of Almighty God!  Church needs to be a place where I can belong, even with all of my imperfections!  Church needs to be a place where I can work on myself, while helping and being helped by others!  Church needs to be a place where I am honest about who and what I am and who and what I am not!  Church needs to be a place where I am motivated, encouraged and grown for God’s glory and His Kingdom’s growth!  Church on the inside needs to be more about the inside of me and getting that into alignment with God and His plan for my life, so that I can go outside for His glory!

Church needs to be about community on the outside!  When I am becoming in my inside what I need to be on the inside of the church, I cannot be content with community on the inside, because in my heart and spirit I know that there is a world full of people that need exactly what I have received – living on the outside!  If the inside is right and growing, then I am compelled by a force greater than myself to step outside of myself to reach into other people’s lives and make a difference!  I can be a bridge from the inside to the outside and from the outside to the inside!  This difference or bridge-building will be made through love, acceptance and blessing, not hate, judgment and curses!

Community will come on the inside and outside, when we learn to love as we have been loved!  God help me to be loved by you, even though I am unlovable and help me to love others, especially when they are unlovable!

Uncategorized

My Line In The Sand!

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I am a follower of Jesus Christ!  Jesus is my Savior and my friend!  I am not interested in the status-quo!  I have been there, done that and been left looking for something more!

I am a pastor because that is what and who God has called and gifted me to be!  I am passionate about my relationship with and service to God!  I want desperately to help hurting people to find real healing that can change their lives for the better!  I want my faith to be alive, vibrant, activated and on purpose!

I will not allow myself or God’s Kingdom to be limited by “what is”, because my inspirations from God flows from “what could be”!  I make the choice in this moment of time to pursue His will and His agenda for His glory and His Kingdom growth!  My life belongs to Him – May He use it as He sees fit!