Unleashed

I am spending a lot of time thinking about a statement I am making this Sunday in the first of the Unleashed series. Here is what I say:

"why is it that in today's brand of Christianity we want to risk nothing, sacrifice nothing, and lose nothing when the very one we claim to follow risked everything, sarificed everything, and lost everything for us."

I wonder if we have lost what it means when Jesus said that to find life...WE MUST LOSE IT. I am not saying we can't live large lives, but I am saying that living a life for us first has to be left behind. How is it possible to follow Jesus when we spend all our prayers asking him to join and bless our lives and mission. Who is following who?

Ok, I know I am sounding closely like the old Southern Baptist preacher, however, my words here are for those who know Jesus and not those who do not. Following Jesus is about always adjusting your life and family to his mission, and not just adding Jesus, morality, church, and a few bible verses to your life.

I want to scream from the highest building...It is time to unleash our lives to Jesus Christ. It is time to feed and heal the poor, challenge the rich to give and serve, and invest in those whom God has placed in our lives, it is time to get active in our communities so that our influence for Jesus can increase. It is time to stop just attending church on Sunday, and start being the church everyday of our lives.

MORE TO COME.

I am so pumped about this!!!

I am so very excited to announce The Journey 2010. One day I realized that there were 260 weekdays (mon-fri) in a year, and there were 260 chapters in the New Testament. If we all read just one chapter a day, Monday through Friday, for a year, we would read through the entire New Testament. Seeing that the scripture is the primary place that God communicates to us, just imagine what could happen if we expose our heart and minds to it all week, every week. I know that this could be life- changing!

In addition, I have gathered 26 authors to write devotions that will go along with the chapter for the day and that devotion will be sent to everyone who is registered with The Journey. Imagine reading a chapter of the New Testament and reading a short devotion along with it written by someone who is right here in Middle Georgia, someone who knows what life around here is like - how encouraging will that be!

If you register to participate with The Journey 2010 here is what will happen:
1. You will get an email sent to you Monday through Friday each week that will contain the chapter for the day, and a short devotion related to something within that chapter.

2. In those emails you will have the opportunity to click on a button and go to The Journey website and join in a discussion with others about what they have read.

With The Journey, you will move through the entire New Testament in a year. Some bible reading plans have you read several chapters a day, and that can be intimidating, but this plan is not difficult, even for those new to Bible reading.

In all my years of ministry, this just might be the thing that I am most excited about.

Register for the Journey today by clicking here and email us your name and email address, and you will be registered and on your way to a changed life.

What do you think about when...

What is the most important thing about you? Name the one most important thing about you?

Can't narrow it down to one?
I can.

The most important thing about you is what you think about when you think about God. Above everything else, that is the most important thing about you. The reason is simple, everything else in your life is shaped and influence by what you think about when you think about God. Everything!

For instance, if your view of God is too small then you will not follow God's principles when it is risky to do so, and giving regularly financially to your church...not going to happen. The reason is because if your God is too small then you can only trust him with the small things in your life. If your view of God is one that sees him as angry then you will live with a lot of fear and guilt. Everything about you from how you work, to how you raise your children, to your sexuality, to your marriage is all shaped by your view of God. Even if you do not believe in a God, that view of God shapes you.

My point is simple. The reason Jesus went to the cross is to offer us forgiveness so that we could get to know God, and get a more accurate view of him, because everything about us is shaped by that view.

What are you doing about your view God? Are you truly seeking him or are you just performing Christianity? Just remember that the more you seek him, the more you will really know him, and an accurate view of God will shape your life into a strong one.

650

We started 650 today. It is a guy things that is meeting every Friday at 6:50 at the PC offices. We get together to eat, talk, joke, and I am teaching through the Book of James. I really had fun with it today. I love it when a group of guys really begin to pursue Christ. There is just something powerful about that. I am not real sure why...maybe it is because so many do not. Whatever the reason it is just plain cool and I loved it.

See you next Friday guys. Join us if you would like (4619 Sheraton drive at the south end of the AT&T building).

The danger of Southern Christanity

We have a lot of great things in the South. Southern Fried Chicken, Southern Rock, and Southern Hospitality to name a few. But there is something that we have perfected in the South that I am so tired of...Southern Christianity.

It is a real good imitation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. You see, in the South we think we are all Christians. Mainly because we all went to church at some point in our life...VBS, Sunday School, confirmation class. We were told about Jesus and we liked the story of God becoming man to die for us on the cross. We were told to pray a prayer, or go to a class and to believe. We choose to believe. So we decided to add Jesus to our life to make life better. That is Southern Christianity. It is about believing the story of Jesus and trying to live good. The tragedy is that you might have embraced Southern Christianity and missed the Gospel.

Southern Christianity is about adding Jesus to your life to make your life better, but the Gospel is about giving up your life to live for the pleasure and glory of Him. Southern Christianity is about looking like a Christian, and the Gospel is about living for Him with a fearlessness of what others think. Southern Christianity is about living the rest of your life with the right belief about Jesus, the Gospel is about a life long journey of being constantly changed. Southern Christianity is powerless, and the Gospel is transformational.

Southern Christianity just may be the best imitation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Some may read this and think that I am a little fanatical, need to calm down, and don't be so extreme...maybe I am...but am I wrong?

21Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven -Matthew 7:21

brokeness

There is something so inviting and repelling about brokenness. On the one hand, we run from it. Maybe because we see brokenness as weakness and no one wants to be weak, or maybe because brokenness is acknowledging that we are out of answers. I don't know, but it is rarely people's favorite place to be.

However, there is also something inviting about brokenness. I think that there is something in us that knows that God is attracted to the brokenhearted. That he empowers those who he knows are powerless. The art of giving up can be the first step to being blown away by something awesome that God does. Brokenness is not a place of total defeat, but the first step to success.

I have been through a lot of things in my life...good and bad. The mix has been such that I live as a man broken before God. I struggle to believe that God can and will ever use me to impact others lives, I struggle accepting it when people indicate that God used something I said to impact them, I am blown away by what God has done at Piedmont, and I am convinced that my skills to screw things up is far greater than my skill to do it right.

I at times would like to shed this sense of brokenness, but at the same time I know that I am in the best place I can be. I think that greatness, real greatness, can not come without passing down the highway of brokenness.

Choose Life

Check out this verse;

"I place before you Life and Death, Blessing and Curse. Choose life so that you and your children will live. And love God, your God, listening obediently to him, firmly embracing him (Deu. 30:19b)."

When I read this verse an application shot to my mind. I sensed that in my life right now the most important arena that I could apply this to is my attitude. My attitude at any given moment is the result of my choice. I choose my attitude.
God challenges me to "Choose life." Several times today I will have the opportunity to choose life or death in my attitude.

When I arrive at work am I going to embrace a negative attitude, or tell myself that today is a day that God gave me and I will look for Him in it? When the gossip begins around me will I join in, or tell myself that that is not what I am to be about today?

Your attitude that you choose today will effect every word, decision, emotion, and behavior. When you choose life in your attitude, the rippling effect is amazing.

So, right now, choose life.

Setting the Mood

Think about this question. In the relationships and arenas of your life do you tend to be a thermometer or a thermostat? A thermometer just reflects the temperature of the room, while a thermostat determines the temperature of a room. That is a powerful illustration if you think about it.

It is soooo easy to be a thermometer in life. Allowing circumstances or someone else to determine our mood, attitude, and actions. Yet when you look in scripture, God challenges us to be thermostat by first asking in every situation what God and His Word has to say about the situation? What attitude, response, or actions should I project here that would bring on the applause of God? When we do this, we begin to be a influencer on the "temperature" in the relationship, the group, or the people under us, and can help move them/it in the direction that God desires.

Which will you be today?

Organic verses Programed

I on occasion will get someone encouraging me to get more programs started to get people studying about God. To set up class after class on knowing God. They tend to think that discipleship is programed. I don't agree. Well really I do and I don't.

I am writing this because I am about to institute some programs that will help people to learn to pursue Christ. So I am not an "anti-church program" guy. However, I do believe that spiritual maturity is far more organic than programed. I believe that most of the time it comes from our own pursuit of God, and not poured into us in a classroom. Now it is hard to grow without knowledge and classroom settings are a good place to get knowledge, but additional knowledge does not automatically produce growth. If fact going to bible study after bible study can actually hinder growth. It can leave you feeling mature, but you might just be informed about God and not mature in a relationship with God.

Growth is more organic. It comes as we invite into our lives those things needed to grow us (see previous blog entries on this). It comes as we look for God in every facet of our lives. Growth is ongoing and constant.

You can also be a catalyst for growth in others, It is simple, pursue Christ and look around for people along the way that you can invest in. You don't have to take a mentoring class or be sanctioned by the church, just invest in them. I am sure that as you do you will be long remember as the guy who made a difference.

Make a job change www.jerrydingmore.com

Let me breakdown Col 3:23-24 so that it can impact your today at work.

Colossians 3:23-24

23Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, 24since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.

Whatever you do - What is about to be written applies to your "right now," and not your future. It is not something you begin to do when you have the dream job, when you get a new boss, when you start your own business. It applies to your "right now."

work at it with all your heart - You are to put your heart in it. What is important to God in your work is not the task but the effort. He is not consumed with your title, but is aware of the effort that you are putting into whatever you are doing. You may have great Christian character, but that is not a substitute for poor workmanship. How you do whatever you do is a concern of God.

as working for the Lord, not for men - Stop working for the visible boss and begin to work for the invisible boss. If you work for man the pressure will be to try to look good and that means sacrificing a little integrity occasionally, only working hard when the boss is around, looking out for #1. When you work as if Christ is in the office with "Boss" on the door; you work with high integrity because you know He is watching and loves integrity, you give credit away sometimes because that impresses the one you are working for, you refuse to get in the office politics but instead you look for ways to serve your co-workers. Change boss today without changing your job.

since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving. - To God your job title and task is not all that significant, but your effort and behavior will be remembered.

If you hate your job ask God to change your heart or change your job to a new one, but until he does put Colossians 3:23-24 to work at your work.

Growth continues www.jerrydingmore.com

3. Challenging Circumstances - Growth is not all intellectual, it also is experiential. You have to experience some things to spiritually grow. Growth is not imparted just by attending a class. Though teaching is a part, so is putting that teaching into action. I have no doubt that Peter learned as much about trusting Christ when Jesus asked him to get out of the boat and walk on the water, as he did sitting and listening to him teach. There is not doubt that if you pursue Christ that he is going to allow to experience circumstance that will challenge everything you have learned. Circumstance that cause you to have nothing to hold on to but your faith.

4. Relationships - Fact:you become like who you hang around the most. As much as you may want to deny this...you can't. If you hang around people who play church but are not really pursuing Christ, chances are you will too. If you hang around people who are consumed with what other people think about them, I promise you that you will be at least somewhat consumed with what people think about you. If you hang around with people who are striving to live in a way that honors God in everything they do, you will think more about honoring God with your life. You will not grow without healthy relationships with people who are growing. This is why I love community groups.

5. Live beyond yourself - I heard a statement recently that I love; "You are most like Jesus when you are serving someone else." In today's culture are encouraged to first live for ourselves, and that keeps many of us locked out of spiritual growth. When serving others becomes not just something that you do, but a part of your understanding of what you were created to do, you are on the path of spiritual growth.

None of these 5 things are optional for growth. They are what will grow you.

Growth www.jerrydingmore.com

Growth is something that is natural for us. It is something that we long for. We look for and even expect growth in our physical bodies, relationships, income, intelligence, wisdom, marriage, parenting skills...we are always looking to grow.

It is only natural that most of us would want to grow spiritually. After all, we were created in His image and He (God) is spiritual. What does it take to grow spiritually? My first answer is that it takes more than one thing. Some people expect the preacher or church to grow them, others look for it in books or bible studies, other try to show that they are growing by criticizing other churches that they believe are not doing God right, and the list goes on. Over the next few blogs I am going to share what I have observed are the needed components to grow a healthy spiritual life. This list if for those who have accepted God's gift of forgiveness, for without it there is nothing to truly grow.

Here are two:

1. Anointed Teaching-To grow you have to learn from someone who inspires you to continue to follow Christ. Someone that you sense that God speaks though when you listen to them. If you find a pastor/teacher whom God's spirit seem to speak through, you have found something powerful. Make sure what he's teaching lines up with all of scripture.

2. Personal Pursuit-God never intended for us to give over our spiritual growth to the church. I laugh a little when I hear someone complain that their church does not grow them spiritually. It is not their job. A big component of your growth is a personal pursuit of Christ. Get into your bible, memorize some of it, value personal prayer time, have time alone to speak with God, create space to pursue Him.

Sin www.jerrydingmore.com

There is a three letter word that is being over communicated. It is kind of like the word love, an important word but in many ways the meaning of it is lost. Some use this word as a club to verbally beat on people, and others never mention it. The word that I am talking about is "sin." Culture wants to replace the word sin with mistake.

It sounds much better when you say, "I have made a mistake" than "I have sinned." If it is just a mistake then I just have to do better, if it is sin then I need a savior.

If it is a mistake then its between me and the other person. If it is a sin then it is between me and God.

I wonder, when was that last time you really confessed your sin to God. Been a while? Maybe that is because you have reclassified your sin as a mistake...and that would be a mistake.

Reality is that we all have sinned and are in need of a Savior. However, we will never see our need for him until we honestly admit that we have sinned, and without a savior we are without hope for now and for eternity.

So I challenge you to not dismiss your sin as a mistake that you just have try harder not to do, but instead call it sin, confess it to a savior, and let him lavish grace up your life.

1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

My daughter www.jerrydingmore.com

My daughter has this Yorkie named Addie that she loves but I can not stand. Seriously, I can not stand this dog. Well the other night I get home from Football practice where it came a huge rain. Colton and I were soaking wet. My daughter met me at the driveway with her dog and asked if I could continue to walk it because she had to go to the bathroom.

Well, being the nice father that I am, I said sure. When she went inside Jana asked, "Where is the wet rat?" Jana was talking about the dog, but my daughter answered, "He is outside walking Addie." She went off to the bathroom thinking that Jana was truly asking where I was and that was calling me a wet rat. Thanks Kenzie.

I tell you guys all the time, I am so mistreated.

Sunday after thougths-www.jerrydingmore.com

Things from Sunday that stuck with me...
-The Band did great as always. Greg, Amanda, and Katie sounded good together. I wish you all could go to the production meeting each Sunday morning. Our Band and production crew know what they are doing...impressive.

-I was very passionate about the message. I do believe that it was the most important thing I have ever taught on marriage. Now we will see if people "got it" I appreciate all the great words about the message, very encouraging.

-I was afraid that I was going to get a call this morning from Stratford about M&Ms everywhere. But I think we got them all off the stage. If you were not there, i can't explain it.

-Overall we had a great number of people total. Our All Star kids are busting 100 and our middle school began their new time and had about double what they were running. Very Cool.

-Volunteers are great! We have the best! Really. Our first volunteers gets to Stratford at 5:00 am...he has even gotten their around 4:00 am before to begin to setup. Oh yea, I challenge any church to compete with that! Sorry, my comptetive spirit got the best of me. I have to admit, I am not getting up there are 4:00 am.

-I love seeing people realize they are passionately loved by Jesus Christ.

Christ is centrality -www.jerrydingmore.com

I love communicating the scripture, because I love to see people thrive and you thrive when you put scriptural principles into practice.

This is why we deal with biblical principles to improve your parenting, marriage, priorities, how to get a grip on everything from your money to your anger, to name a few. It is awesome when people began to make steps to living a better life.

That is all good and important stuff, but at the center of it all is not a self-help program, but Christ himself. I will tell you that you will fail at all that I speak about each Sunday without the help of something more powerful than you. You simply will not have the strength/courage/will power you need to constantly live the principles we communicate.

This week I was reading Colossians 1:17, and it reminded me that at the center of all is Christ.
Colossians 1:17
17He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

Read that verse again. It is telling us that at the center of all that is good, and strong, and right, is Christ himself. It is through a real relationship with Christ that we become connected with the one who is capable to carry us in life. We invite into our lives the one who has the power to move us forward when we invite him in. This relationship is possible because of what Christ did on the cross.

I guess you can say that is all comes back to Christ. We will talk and challenge you at Piedmont in so many areas of your life, but in the end we will constantly point you to the beginning and ending line of a great life...Jesus Christ.

If you are ready to transfer your trust from yourself to Christ. I encourage you to talk with God. No magic formula, just say something like:

Jesus, I realize that I am not perfect. I know that I have disobeyed you. I also realize that you died on the cross to pay for my disobedience. I ask that you forgive me and to come live in my life. I do not want more religion but a real relationship with you. Jesus, help me to learn what following you means in these days. I accept your forgiveness and look forward to living the rest of my days by your strength.


Welcome to the rest of your life.

Cash

I really like Cash. Not the kind with president's faces on it, I am talking the about the new addition to the Blasche family. Cash is the son of Greg and Amanda who are Piedmont's Worship Leaders. He is only a few months old and has had to stay in the hospital over the last several days for test. He has not been gaining weight over the past several months and the Docs want to find out why.

Please pray for Cash, Greg, and Amanda as they labor through these days. It is worrisome and exhausting and so your prays are needed. We have every confidence that Cash will be fine, it is just hard to walk that road.

sober reality

This appeared on the Fox News Website today...it weighs heavily on my heart.

"Four Christians working for an NGO that helps orphans in Somalia have been beheaded by al-Shabaab, according to the human rights watchdog International Christian Concern.

The Christian orphanage workers were reportedly kidnapped on July 27 in the coastal Somali town Marka, some 56 miles from Mogadishu.

The reported executions come as residents of Mogadishu say the extremist group has been forcibly removing their gold and silver teeth using rough tools — or even just their hands."

Expectations

I have issues with expectations. I love and hate them. I know that people expect to have a meaningful experience when they go to church, and that expectation motivates me and others at PC to do our best each Sunday. So there are some expectations that are good for me.

On the other hand, I have a profession in which everyone has an expectations of who you are suppose to be, do, act, how you spend your time, what your children are suppose to be , what you are suppose to wear, what your wife is suppose to do, to name only a few. Do you ever wonder why many pastors' kids are so bad? My experience is that most are bitter because Dad was never around. He was too busy trying to live up to everyone's expectations.

I gave that up a long time ago. I can not live up to all that some people expect me to be, I just can't. So I choose to be me, put my relationship with my wife, kids, and Christ ahead of my ministry (I still am a borderline workaholic). I strive to create systems in the church that can meet as many needs as possible, but I don't try to meet every need. I would rather disappoint a few and enjoy my wife, my kids, and God than try to satisfy those who are going to always want a little more.

My point in this post is just to acknowledge that you, like me, are always going to have more expectations put on you than you can live up to. So I encourage you to rank the expectations. Strive to live as Christ would expect, try to live and love your spouse and children, be productive at work, and if there is any time and emotional energy left, then look to fulfilling a few of the expectations that people around you have. However, always remember that you cannot not live up to everyone's expectation, and as a result, everyone is not going to love you.

Galatians 1:10
Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Thougths about Sunday

--Great start to the STAY series. I hope you were capture by how Jesus turned how we love in marriage upside down by simply changing from a noun to a verb. AWESOME!

--Music was great. Sorry to all the people who said if they knew we were going to do the Journey song "Faithfully," they would have brought their lighters to hold up. They were kidding, I think.

--Our All Star Kids had their end of the summer bash during All Star Kids times. I hear it was a big success. Jana, along with Shannon Durden, and all the other amazing volunteers do an awesome job. The hours that are put into that ministry each week is huge. Mind-boggling to be honest.

--I hear that Val and our Peewee All Star Ministry had a larger number of little children. I love to see all the children. I hope that we will become a partner with their parents to teach them our three "bottom lines" in this ministry; (1) God made me, (2) God loves Me, and (3) Jesus wants to be my friend forever.

--Student Ministry is making some changes and I really look forward to what is happening in that ministry. They had a great time at Camp, and Curt is ready to do some good work with that group. Several parents have mentioned great things about Curt, and he is great, but the real power in that family is Amber...sorry Curt, just keepin' it real.

--We announced www.piedmontverge.com this past Sunday to keep everyone informed on what is happening in our Verge Building Emphasis. I am excited about that opportunity to keep everyone informed on the "fluid" happenings of Verge. Keep praying and giving, I have a sense of excitement about it all.

Disconnect

Last Sunday I spoke of Jonah. The part of that story that I can not get out of my head this week is how after Jonah ran from God, bought a ride on a boat, got the heck out of Dodge, then God sent a storm, and then in the midst of all that Jonah begin to talk of how he worships God. By saying he "worships God," he is proclaiming that he honors, believes, and follows God (Jonah 1:9).

It is mind boggling that he speaks that he follows God while he is running from God. What he is saying doesn't match what he is doing. I do believe that Jonah is being sincere, but there is a disconnect between what he wants for his life, and what he is living.

Man, Jonah's story is like my story so often. It is easy to really want to follow the desire of God, and yet not realize that in our everyday we are heading away for what God desires for us.

You see, we tend to be convinced that we are doing good based more on what I want than what I am doing. In other words, as long as my heart wants to do good, to do the right thing, and has the right beliefs...I am doing good. All the while we have aspects of our life where we are heading in the opposite direction that God desires for us. We don't even acknowledge these areas of our life because we are convinced we are good because our heart wants and believes the right things.

Get it? Think today not about what you believe, but how you live when it comes to managing your finances, putting others first, the words that come out of your mouth, your sexuality, and all the other stuff that makes up what you do everyday.

Lets reconnect what is often disconnected.

You are the only one in the world right now

In Texas there was this old pastor that seemed to live forever, and was known by just about everyone in the state. His name was W. A. Criswell. I remember hearing that one day he was asked how he grew such a large church. He gave an unexpected answer as one of his key elements for his success. This answer works not only well in church growth but in business growth as well.

He said one of the essential keys is whenever he was talking with someone, he focused on them and to him, no one else in the world existed except them. In other words, he didn't look around, he tried to make sure that he did not give off a vibe or body language that communicated that he was ready to move on.

That is hard for me on Sundays when a ton of people are trying to get my attention, but I work hard on implementing this principle.

Imagine if business owners worked this principle into the way they interact with customers/clients. Imagine if doctors made this a value in the way they handled their patients. Imagine if husbands adopted this attitude when they communicate with their wives. Just imagine what could be if we all took on this attitude in our encounters with people today.

Philippians 2:3 (New Living Translation)

3 Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.

What did you do June 16th?

Can you remember what you did last month? I remember last month as the month I spent several days eating lunches with people, watched my kids in the pool several times, went to several baseball and softball practices and games, amongst several other things. How about Tuesday, June 16th? I can't remember...I know we did staff meeting on that day, but other than that I do not know.

Well on June 16th a 33 year old lady named Ri Hyon Ok, mother of 3, living in North Korea, lived her last day. She was executed by the North Korean Government in a public execution. What was her crime? She was caught giving people bibles. Really? Wow!

I saw it on the AP Wire yesterday. It did appear on the Fox News website for a brief moment. No major story, no look into her life, no mention of it at all in most of the world. With no real protest, she was killed.

To me, that is so sobering and disturbing.

Big Sky

I may freak you out with this because I admit it sounds a little strange, but the sky amazes me. To me the sky constantly gives me reasons to stop, thank, praise, and remember the awe of God.

From the beauty of the rising sun, to the bright sea of blue all day, to the power of a thunderstorm, to the fun feeling of snow, to the breathtaking volume of stars and planets that come out at night. To me the sky is an ever changing picture of the glory and power of God.

Again this may sound strange, but many times during the day I will look up and worship God in a word of thanks or praise because the sky reminds me how worthy he is of it. During the morning when I jog, sitting in a deer stand watching the sunrise, taking out the garbage on a bright blue day, or sitting in my office watching the flashes of lighting...all these thing give me opportunities to worship him briefly in that moment.

For me, worship is not just an hour on Sunday.

STAY

A week from this coming Sunday I am starting a series called STAY-it is easy to fall in love, but its hard to stay in love. It is a series about how to go long-haul in a relationship. I am very pumped about it--I am ready to BRING IT.

This subject is very timely to me because lately I have heard of so many marriages falling apart. Some because of affairs and others just because. Maybe I have been sheltered over the last year, but for some reason I have had a slew of stories of break-ups come my way.

Jana and I have had our own share of troubles. We have had our seasons of not really being on the same page, and it is not easy. However, we have made the commitment and done the work to STAY and I could not imagine not being with her.

So, I am ready to share my heart and the scripture on this issue. And to those who are struggling let me say, you are not alone, it is cool to go get help, and never give up for unless abuse is involved it can get better.

I pray that when I start this series on August 2nd that PC is filled with people who are struggling in marriage, singles who want to know how to maintain a great relationship/marriage, and couples doing well who want to keep doing it well.

What I want most

Have you ever just sat down and thought about what you want most in life. What is it? If you could achieve a few things what would it be? At this moment this is my list:

1. I want to make God proud of who I am becoming.

2. I want to make it easy for Jana to be proud to be my wife.

3. I want my children to know that their daddy is crazy in love with God, their mother, and them.

4. I want to provide the encouragement and sometime the challenge that will cause my staff to become their best. I succeed with their success.

5. I want to help people discover who God is and how to know him.

6. And a long the way, I want to have fun doing it.

If I can accomplish these things, I lived well. What's on your list?

Married Life Live

I want to challenge everyone to go to Married Life Live on August 13th at the Cox Capitol Theater in Downtown Macon. The music, videos, laughter, desserts, and the challenge will be worth it.

Think about it, isn't your marriage worth investing one night? MML is organized with men in mind, so guys you are going to love it. Husbands, get the tickets, get the babysitter, and plan the night. She will love you for it.

Tickets go on sail this week at Piedmont for 25 a couple. If you want to order tickets on-line, email us at info@piedmontchurch.net and we will get you the info.

diversity

I finally got home tonight, 24 hours after I was suppose to arrive. My flight got delayed, delayed, canceled, overnight stay, delayed, and then finally I got home. I spent a lot of time in the airport and saw a lot of different people...some cool, some young, some old, and some very strange.

I walked away with an appreciation for the creative genius of God. So many people who were so very different. Yet in all that diversity we all have something in common. We all want to matter, we all want to make a difference, we all want to connect with something bigger than we are. I believe that is the fingerprint of God that God leaves in each of us...calling us back to him.

We are all sooooo different and soooo diverse (spend 24 hours in an airport and you will be amazed), but we all have these same desires. Random chance? I don't think so.

life is a journey

One thing that I am learning is that God is more focused on our journey and we are all too focused on our destination. We always want answers to all our questions, we want to know what the purpose of life is right now, and where it is going. I am not saying those are not valid questions, but we have to understand God's priorities for us or we will be frustrated with his response.

As you read the scripture you get the sense that God is more focused on getting his creation (us) to look for him, experience him, and follow him in whatever life brings. He constantly encouraged us to trust him whatever comes. The thought is that our job is not to always know the destination of life, but to view life as a journey with God, and seek to please him in the daily journey.

So today I am going to do my best to move forward, but to also look for God in all the good and bad that life throws at me.

I never thought I would ever say this, but Miley Cyrus may be right with the song The Climb:

"Ain't about how fast I get there
Ain't about what's waiting on the other side
It's the climb, yeah!"

Matthew 6:34
34"So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."

Ever been bragged on?

As I got out of the car here at the Shreveport airport, my sister grabbed me and said, "I just wanted to say that your children were great this weekend. They were great to have around and always had manners." Now, I know my children and I know that they have their moments when I wonder if they are human. Any good things in them I attribute to my wife, Jana is an awesome mom.

It was good, however, to have someone else see something in them to brag about. My sister wanted me to know that she saw in them something that would make me proud as a dad. I sat here thinking that if someone was in conversation with God and said "God, let me tell you about Jerry..," what would they say? Is there anything in my character, values, speech, lifestyle that they would think that God would need to know because it would make him smile. Would they talk about how I loved like he loved, gave liked he gave, served like he served...or would they find it hard to find something good to say? Or maybe, all they could say is that I was a "good" guy.

Think for a minute, in the way you live the one life that God has given you, what in it would make Him smile?

A blog for pastors from a pastor

Hey Pastor,
If you know or have heard me you know that I am in no way conventional. I have a passion to take the timeless truth in the scripture and communicate in a way that captures people's attention. I love that fact that people who question if there is a God come to Piedmont because we make them think. We have done some things that traditional church people would think is outrageous. I think that Piedmont is the "coolest" church in Middle Georgia.

However, there is a new thing that many pastors are doing. They are using words like damn, hell, and crap in their message. They are doing it in the name of being cool, relevant, and hip. My response is to say shut-up. If your content is so shallow that you have to use that kind of language, then you have nothing to say.

I love creativity, but that is not creativity...that is stupidity. So stop trying to be cool, start just being you, fall in love with Christ, and be more concerned with having something to say then how you say it.

Ok, all those who are not pastors can begin reading now

Be different

Ok, I have been all into facebook and faded from the blogging scene. However, I have been missing it, and so I am back.

I was reading an article while sitting in the airport today and a statement caught my eye. A young teen was quoted about his small town and he said, "They may be Christian people but when they get out of church it makes no difference." What a sad statement, but I would bet that most of you can understand this statement...maybe even agree with the kid.

Somewhere along the way Christianity became a belief system and no longer a movement. It became something you did, and not something that invaded everything about you. It became more about keeping God happy, and less about following His lead. It turned more academic, and less kinetic.

I think a big part of the shift centers around a change in church. Today we expect the church to grow us spiritually. In many people's mind, it is the church's responsibility to "grow me," the result is I do not have to take ownership of my own relationship with God. So I just go to church, leave, and do life with little difference from those who were not at church.

Reality is, I am responsible for my spiritual health. Church is a part, but so is reading the scripture on my own, fighting to forgive those I do not want to forgive, stepping out in faith with a lot of fear, watching my words, giving a percentage of my income even in these kinds of times, seeking God's leadership, etc. That is what will make me different.

need

Have you ever had something that seemed so basic and simple trouble you. Today I was thinking about all the potential that we are seeing realized at Piedmont Church, and all that we could do. In all that I found myself saying, "If only we could get..., If only we could develop..., if only we could...." I then got up from my desk to get a refill of Diet Coke and I said out loud, "God you know our need."

I said it half as a prayer and half in frustration. All of a sudden that simple phrase hit me like a ton of bricks...He DOES know our needs. He really does. He knows what we are capable of and what we need to take
PC (Piedmont Church) to the next level. He knows PC's needs better than we do. I am to work hard to cast vision, challenge everyone through scripture to never remain the same, to create systems that result in momentum, and to push everyone to live beyond themselves by serving and inviting people to come to PC with them. But our needs, our real needs, he knows them and I will ask in confidence that he will supply them.

I walk back into my office with a great sense of confidence in my walk.

He knows your need...he really does.

Passion and Wisdom

Today I listen to someone and afterwards I found myself thinking that passion without wisdom is very dangerous. Passion is a good thing and it causes people to want to follow you, it causes you to be committed to a plan or cause, and keeps you moving forward. However, passion alone is not healthy. Passion without wisdom is like a race car with the throttle wide open but without a steering wheel. It can create havoc.

Also, having a "good heart" is not a substitute for wisdom. I will hear people talk about a decision someone made and say that their heart was right, good, pure, or sincere. As if that means that anything they do or decide is right and good. I know a lot of people that have done the wrong thing fully believing it was the right thing. What they lacked was not passion or a "right heart," what they lacked was wisdom.

I guess this is why God challenges us to pray for wisdom. He tells us to ask for it and he will give it liberally.

So today ask God to give you wisdom and I believe he will begin to take you through things that will do just that.

Sunday Evening Reflections

Thoughts about Sunday at PC:
-We did communion today and to be humbly honest...it was awesome. I have no doubt that we took people back to the cross. I had one tell me that she was so impacted that she did the "ungly cry."
-I really think that today we reclaimed communion from the meaningless religious activity that it has become in many churches. Sorry, I never like to criticize other churches but I am passionate about this, maybe a little angry too.
-Band rocked and the songs selection was very good
-Chuck, who drives the All-star Kids Long Trailer, is incredible. We could not do it without you.
-We challenged the a lot of volunteers today with changes to our regular procedures in several things and they, like always, adapted like a champ.
-I needed to be at PC today because I needed to be reminded that God is madly in love with me, and that is what we did.

Next week is Easter and I am looking forward to it.

AWOL

I know, i have been so AWOL with my blogs. I just got out of the habit and keep wanting to post but never did. The result is nothing got done, even though my heart had good intentions.

I wonder how many of us have great intentions in our heart but are AWOL on action. We want to be a better husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, etc, but we don't put action behind that "good heart." We want to be a better employee, boss...we want to lead our family to know Christ better...we want to have have a better whatever...and the list goes on.

The problem is that nothing gets done because, though we have the right heart, we lack initiative. Scripture tells us that "those who don't work, don't eat." Isn't it time to not allow the "my heart is good" thinking stop us from acting. Ask yourself right now, "What is the one thing you really need to do that you have put off, and off, and off from doing?" Go now and make one step in that direction and ask God to guide you. You just might find that a new chapter in your life begins now.

a fish

This morning while I was praying and reading I went to a verse that a friend mentioned to me last week. It centers around the story of Jonah. Remember how God wanted Jonah to go to Nineveh to be God's man there for a season, but Jonah hated the people of Nineveh and said no and took off? God wasn't going to let Jonah get way that easy.

So in Jonah 1:17 it says, "But the Lord provided a great fish." It didn't say that God sent, caused, or even ordered a great fish to go swallow Jonah. It said that God provided. I love that.

Even when Jonah was walking away from God, God was not going to walk way from providing for Jonah exactly what he needed. God is committed to being the provider of those who are his, to those who have said yes to his grace.

I am sure that what Jonah wanted in this case was a piece of wood floating by so that he could grab it, float to shore, and continue with life as he planned it. God was committed to helping Jonah, but was committed to provide Jonah what he needed and not what he may have wanted. Sometimes what we need is not in line with want we want, and in those times God will still provided. He will, however, provide what we need and hope it will soon become what we want.

So I am encouraged because I need God to provide some big things this week, and today I was reminded of His relentless commitment to do just that. Now I hope that what I want is in line with what I need.

First Sunday 2009

Being off for the holidays I wasn't sure what to expect for the first Sunday of 2009. To be honest I was wondering if me and the everyone else would be a little off their game. Well that didn't happen.

It was a great day and here are some of my reflections:

1. The Band did a great job, really nailed it this past Sunday.

2. We did have a computer glitch with a program but the production folks handled it with speed.

3. We had a great crowd and there was a great excitement in the air.

4. I was really pumped about the response to the message. It seemed that everyone was really grasping the encouraging truth of where we all stand with God.

5. I really can not think of a better way we could have started 2009.

Thanks to everyone who make each week happen!!!!!!