Barbarian

I think one of the best books written in the last 10 years is the Barbarian Way by Erwin McManus. It is recommending reading for all.

He proposes that we as Christians have changed from a people who once had a primal, dangerous, and even barbaric faith into a people with a sanitized religion. On page 5 he writes, "Yet Christianity over the past 2000 years has moved from a tribe of renegades to a religion of conformist."

This challenged me, it caused me to re-examine my faith and ask...what am I? Is my faith growing and in the process bringing me into a tribe of renegades? Is it leading me into a passion and "followship" of him that some may find "barbaric"? Or am I becoming more and more just another cookie cutter Christian? Am I becoming a renegade or a professional Christian?

I know that this may sound odd if you have not read the book, but it is weighing on my mind.

Go read the book...it is small and only about 150 pages. But you need to be careful, it will make you think in ways that just might make you uncomfortable.

Meeting God

It has been 11 days since I posted and I was afraid that someone was going to post one of those, "Jerry where are you post," that I have gotten before.

I am realizing more and more these days that I don't need to "find God" as much as I just need to meet with him.

The idea of finding him is that he is not where I am and I have to do something to experience his presence. Often people think they have to improve some aspect of their life before they can "find God."

But instead I need to think that my responsibility is to meet with God wherever I am. Just take the time to give him my attention whenever I think about it.

You can find God anywhere if you just meet with him.

Matthew found him as he ripped people off as a tax collector, Peter found him on the job, Paul found him as he was on his way to murder people...God is there with you in all circumstances.

Don't worry about finding him, he as already found you. Just take the time to meet with him.

Monday thoughts

Consider the following statement, "we are to choose to obey God and leave the consequences to Him." So often we will obey God if we can anticipate the consequences and feel secure that we can control them. But is that faith?

Today choose faith by obeying God and leaving the consequences to Him, for without faith it is impossible to please God.

What concerns you most

I am back, without everyone else. My family stayed behind in Texas to get a little more visiting done.

I want you to think about something. When Jesus walked on the earth he hung around those who were most UNLIKE Him. He hung around the cheats, the liars, the drunks, the whores, the least Godly. He did so at the price of his reputation. The most constant criticism of Christ when he was on earth was about the crowd of people he hung out with. He didn't hang with them to become like them, but to influence them. He cared about people who needed him to be their friend more than he cared about what others thought about him.

I think that there is a huge lesson to be learned here.

AHHHHHHHHH!!!

I got to the airport at 7 AM and it is 8:50 PM and i am still here. It is enough to make a person scream.

I have been reading Erwin McManus' book called Uprising. The part that I have been reading is about humility. Not something that you want to read when life is not going MY way.

He reminded me that when God was looking for someone to lead his people out of Egypt he found Moses. The reason God picked Moses was not because he had great talent for leadership (I think that he did but that is not why God picked him), the reason is revealed in Numbers 12 :3, "Now Moses was a very humble man, more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth." What drew God to use Moses was his humility.

Humility is not about being self-denigrating, but it is about coming to grips with our humanity. It is having a sober reality of our limitations. It is about nurturing a teachable spirit.

When we pursue humility, we make it possible for God to intervene.

Stuck in an airport

I got to the ATL this morning 1.5 hours before my flight to Dallas. I did not have any luggage to check, parked closed, and so I thought everything was great. Then I got inside and it took me over 1.5 hours to get through security...it was nuts. I missed my flight

I am on the eternal list of standby passengers. I got to the gate area after passing Airtran's credit card sign-up tables, I bet I passed 10 in the two terminals that I had to go to. Come on, the airport should be the one place you do not have to look at a credit card application. And if you think that those telemarketers are bad, just encounter one of those Airtran folks and you will think differently.

I sit here watching all the different types of people walking by, we do live in a diverse world. I love watching people, there are the three young girls trying to impress everyone, there is the business man who thinks that everyone is here just to get in his way, I just encountered a couple of newlyweds, and there is the bodybuilder who's arms are the size of my waist with a lot less fat. We live in a world where creativity is seen in us.

All that I see reminds me of the grandeur of our God. He is so creative. He took us whom he made in his image and infused in us his creative abilities. Like a painter with a canvas, he painted each of us as a unique masterpiece. Thanks God for being a God of amazing creativity, let me reflect that part of you in the way I love, lead, and minister.

August 12th can't some soon enough

I just finished my message for the August 12th preview service for Piedmont Church. I am so pumped. It is the second in a 2 part series called SIMPLE. I believe that this message is one that many people need to hear. Especially people, like most of us, who wonder how am I suppose know God. I really believe that this message is going to layout what God is up to in our lives in a way that is so SIMPLE. It was a message that I need to hear and I just want to share it with someone else.

I wrote this blog because when you have something that is in you, something that you feel has to be said, something that you know people will connect with, you just have to say something. I will not give this message until August 12th but I had to shout somewhere that I can't wait!!!