Sticks and Stones...

"Christians"...

Some times I just don't know what to do with them. And I put Christians in quotes because sometimes boldly calling ourselves Christians and claiming Christ even though we're intentionally choosing not to act like Christ whatsoever, is just tough for me to wrap my mind around. And I don’t mean “choosing not to act like Christ” cuz we slipped and fell on some slippery sin, I’m talking about “choosing not to act like Christ” when we willfully and maliciously speak to, and about, folks in this world that we’re supposed to be loving and being Christ-like to. 

Jesus said in John 3:17 (ya, right after the most recognizable verse ever) that, “...God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” He came to save and we’re busy condemning the heck out of so many folks out there, who honestly might not know better.

We are a missional people who love to reach out to the lost, but we love to handpick which lost we think are worthy to reach out to. We go and love the unloveable, reach out to the poor, travel across the globe to love on street kids in Kenya (which are all great things and needed), but then we talk trash about, and absolutely rip into, the wealthy, elite, and celebrities because of their actions.

What do we expect? Even if they had some sort of background towards Jesus, or some sort of inkling towards His love, why would they want anything to do with Him now, since its His followers who are condemning them, hating on them and not tossing any kind of love their direction??

If you haven't read my homegirl Sara Gilmore's post (http://sarakgilmore.wordpress.com/2013/08/27/pop-culture-prayer-room/), you need to, because it's one of the best things out there about how we should respond to the world around us, especially celebrities and the influencers. 

So, simply piggy-backing on her brilliance, here's some additional thoughts... 

We have got to start controlling what we say about that world, that culture, and those precious hearts, who might need to be loved on more than any others. Most of us grew up with the little slogan, "sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never hurt me." Neat slogan, cute advice, fun to say, but it's just not true.

Your words have power.

Your words have influence.

Your words are not "just words".

Scripture says the following things about the power of your words...

Mathew 12:36-37

But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken. For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.

Proverbs 18:21

Words kill, words give life; they’re either poison or fruit—you choose.

Proverbs 15:4

Kind words heal and help; cutting words wound and maim.

Or another version…

Gentle words are a tree of life; a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.

You will be held accountable for your words. Your words breathe life into the atmosphere. Your words can bear fruit or be poison. Your words can heal and help or they can wound and maim. Your words can actually crush the spirit.

How many of you have ever thought about the fact that your words, your comments, your passing condemnation of come celebrity’s behavior, could in reality, crush their spirit? Like, whoa…that’s a big stinkin’ deal.

Your words are not just words. Your passing comment is not just a passing comment. Your sarcastic joke is not just a sarcastic joke. Your Facebook comment is not just a Facebook comment. Your tweet is not just a tweet. Your hash tag is not just a hash tag.

You hold life and death in your words. 

This is not a power trip, something super heavy, something that should freak you out, or something that should cause you to live in fear, walking on egg shells, always looking over your shoulder. This is simply to challenge you and make you aware.

Maybe you've never realized or known how influential and powerful your words are.

Well now you do.

In Kindergarten, most of us probably learned the slogan, "If you don't have something nice to say, then don't say anything at all."

Not bad advice.

Now that you know (and knowing is half the battle...thank you G.I. Joe), go make your words count, and help impact the world in a life-changing way. You don't have to be Mega Pastor, Super Celeb, or World Leader to make this happen...you can do it one conversation, one blog, or one tweet at a time.

So get to chatting, or get to being silent…whichever one you need to do.

You Hate Religion?!? Alright...we get it!!

I am seeing a lot of these statuses lately (and it's nothing original) that are the classic, "man, I hate religion but I love Jesus..." things, and I just wanna let y'all know...

We get it!!

You're an edgy Christian, you're a free-thinker, you wanna step outside the box, you don't wanna be labeled as some "religious" guy, you wanna love Jesus in your own way without some judgemental church folk telling you what to do, you wanna drink a beer right in front of one of "those" Christians and say "well, Jesus drank", you wanna cuss because where is cussing wrong in the Bible, you wanna have your personal relationship with Jesus and not mess with the mass organized religion that is so whack, and on and on and on...

WE GET IT!!

Well, just chill out, calm down, relax, take off your "nobody understands me" hat and your "I just wanna be me" t-shirt, and lets just stop for a sec.

Is there problems with religion?

Of course there is...

Is there problems in the church that you grew up in?

Of course there is...

Are there things that drive me crazy about how so-and-so does church, or how so-and-so doesn't understand where I am coming from, or how so-and-so thinks I'm going to hell cuz I wore jeans to church, or how so-and-so thinks hymns go hand in hand with the shekinah glory of God?

Of course there are...

But how many folks out there railing on "religion" have a relationship with Jesus in the first place because of that whack religion they grew up in? How many "they don't understand me's" out there still think their grandfather or grandmother is one of the most amazing Godly men or women they've ever met? How many of you out there ripping this religious thing or that religious thing, still struggle and mess up quite a bit in your own ways?

Jesus said, "Don’t misunderstand why I have come. I did not come to abolish the law of Moses or the writings of the prophets. No, I came to accomplish their purpose."

He didn't come to abolish religion or to hate on it. He came to accomplish, what it was intended to accomplish. He came to set right, what we had failed to set right.

I just think that we all need to humbly step back for a few and realize that none of us have it figured out.

NONE of us!!

Not my grandparent's generation...

Not my parent's generation...

Not my generation...

Not the first church or the New Testament church or the Acts church or whatever we look back at and say, "I just wanna be like them cuz they had it figured out."

We all fall short...

PERIOD.

And we can try generation after generation to show the ones who came before us how wrong they are, and continue a cycle of bitterness and fighting and bickering and discord and lack of unity and on and on...

Or we can realize that Love is the Greatest Commandment, that "the greatest of these is love" and that "the LORD has told you what is good, and this is what he requires of you: to do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God."

I just feel like this leaves little room for "hating" religion because at the end of the day, every whack, crazy, confused, misguided, judgmental, spiteful, angry person in the middle of that religion, needs the love of Jesus...

and maybe you are the only one who is going to show it to them.

marshall, tj maxx and ross dress for less

I cannot even tell you how much I love these stores. I have spent more hours of my life, treasure troving my way around these stores than I care to admit. They just have the most incredible deals on the most incredible things. Everything from a sweet pair of kicks to some baggy sweats to a sweet lil skinny tie to some clearanced bedding that looks perfect with the new paint to some gourmet vanilla chai to some unique wall art with some rad quotes to a new macbook sleeve and on and on and on.

And for the most part, it's all super cheap.

Like, so super cheap that I have always been like, "wait a second...something fishy is going on here..."

So one day, I did some research and discovered why a lot of their items are so cheap. Sure there are some things that were just overstocked at a department store so they sent them to one of these stores to get them sold and then there is other stuff from last season and they're just clearing off the racks at Express or Nordstroms, but a lot of the time, the reason it is so cheap, is because it is "irregular". 

There is something wrong with it.

And its usually not something noticeably wrong with it, but there is something irregular about it. It might be a tiny hole that cannot be seen by the naked eye or it might be a stitch that is out of place or maybe the tag was sewn upside down accidentally or any number of other ludicrous things, but every single one of those things makes the product irregular and able to be sold at a discounted rate.

Even though there really is nothing "wrong" with it.

I'll buy me an irregular pair of Seven jeans for $12 bucks on the clearance rack, all day long, if the reason it's "irregular" is because it has two stitches on the butt where its supposed to have three stitches. 

The problem with those Seven jeans though is that somewhere along the line, someone decided that because it only had two stitches instead of three, that there was something "wrong" with them. 

Regardless of whether that "imperfection" had anything to do with anything. 

Regardless of the fact that most folks would never see anything wrong with them.

Regardless of the fact that those jeans might be absolutely perfect for me.

To me, the imperfect jeans are actually the perfect jeans.

Sadly enough, this mentality of "irregular" or "imperfect" or things being flawed meaning they are devalued and not worth as much as something else, has carried over into how we treat people...especially how we look at relationships, dating, boyfriends/girlfriends, etc.

The minute someone breaks up with someone else, the person who was broken up with immediately asks, "what is wrong with me?", and even if they don't ask it out loud, they walk out the door and ask themselves that question. They drive home asking themselves that question. They lie in bed asking themselves that question. They drive themselves crazy trying to figure out what is wrong with them. And just maybe, if they find out what is wrong with them, then they can fix it and become perfect.

Too bad, a "perfect" pair of Seven jeans wouldn't be perfect for me.

The irregular, imperfect ones were though.

And the truth is, you ARE imperfect...we all are.

There IS something irregular about you...we all are irregular.

The joy of life and the beauty of the journey is finding that person out there who sees your imperfections, your flaws, and all your irregularities and they see that it is all of those things that make you absolutely perfect for them. 

As one of my favorite musicians, Caitlin Crosby, says in one of her songs, "Imperfect is the new perfect..." and I think that is spot on.

I think if Jesus were to be cruising around these days, He would probably shop at TJ Maxx and Marshalls. I mean, He was all about finding and treasuring the passed over, imperfect, flawed folks.

So, go out there and find your "irregular" pair of jeans...you never know, they just might be the ones you hold on to for the rest of your life.

mad love...

the next best thing...

I have always had a problem with commitment.

And the thing was, it was any kind of commitment, not things that actually mattered.

It didn't matter if you were talking about committing to plans on Friday night, if you were talking about committing my summer to work at some camp, if you were talking about me committing myself to calling some girl my "girlfriend", or if you were simply talking about where we were going to eat dinner that night. I just have just always had trouble committing to that one thing.

I think the reason it has steadily been a struggle in my life is because I was always afraid that something better was going to come along. I was always afraid that better plans were gonna come up, that a better job was gonna come up, that a better girl was gonna come up, that a tastier dinner option was gonna come up, and on and on and on.

Then the sad thing was, often when the better option did come up...I would take it.

Can't tell you how many plans I backed out on cuz something "better" popped up. Can't tell you how many girls never became girlfriends because something "better" showed up. Can't tell you how many friendships got left in the dust because a new buddy came on the scene who seemed "better" at the time. Can't tell you how many years of spiritual growth I missed out on cuz I was bouncing around from church to church looking for something that was even "better" than the last one. Can't tell you how many years of my life I wasted because I was always looking for something better instead of soaking up what I had.

And what is really sad is the fact that I am not alone in this line of thinking.

We live in a society that is wired this exact same way. We are constantly looking for the next best thing and we will bounce on our current "best" thing for the next one, in a heartbeat. It doesn't matter if it's something as trivial as trading in the iPhone 4 you got 3 months ago for the iPhone 5 in a month or if it is something as tragic as trading in your spouse of 26 years for that new secretary that you just got at work.

It is still the same mindset.

We are not content with our right here and right nows. We aren't committed to what we have, right in front of our face, right this second. We are always on the lookout for the next thing to appease our senses a little more than the last thing did. We waste so much of our time, our emotions, our heart, our money, our lives, always trying to keep up with the next best thing.

AND.IT.IS.EXHAUSTING!!

But as long as that is your way of thinking, then its never going to end.

As long as you have trouble committing to RIGHT THIS MOMENT then you will constantly be looking for the next moment to sweep in and save the day.

Look around you right now...

Look at all the blessings you have in your world that you probably take for granted all the time and actually don't even appreciate most of the time because you wish you had something better.

Look at those precious relationships you've neglected for too long. Nothing is guaranteed. Go soak em up.

Look at that church you've been casually bouncing in and out of for 3 years now. Go jump in, head first, right in the deep end and see what happens.

If you're looking at your boyfriend or girlfriend as a "they'll do for now" or a "they're just the best I've come across but I'm hoping for better" then get out. You don't deserve that and neither do they.

The next best thing is a natural part of life because evolving is a natural part of life. Obviously my cell phone today is better than Zack Morris' cell phone. But, the problem comes when you aren't able to fully commit to the here and now because of the possibility of the next best thing.

As I have grown up some and matured some, I have gotten better at commitment. I've been committed to a job I love for 4+ years now, I've been committed to my incredible wife for 2+ years now, and I am even getting better about committing to places for dinner.

Godsey's anyone?

ninja time with Jackson...

I work at a church that has the traditional Wednesday night suppers and Bible Study in the Fellowship Hall. If you grew up in the South, in and around the Baptist world, then you know what I'm talking about. And while the adults are eating dinner, a lot of the younger kids like to goof off and run around. So me, the big kid that I am, love taking the time to goof off with the young kids for a little while...just long enough so that I don't get in trouble for getting the kids too wound up and too excited.

While I'm busy running amuck with the kiddos, there's one aspect of this goofing off time that I love. Our children's minister here at the church has a son named Jackson and he is a rad lil dude who I can chat with about Marvel Comics, Harry Potter, being a ninja, and other incredible things like that. And on Wednesday nights, just for a few minutes, we will usually have ourselves a little ninja battle. He, along with a couple of his little buddies, will come and attack me and I have to fend them off like a ninja. It is quite a blast and I am pretty sure that Jackson loves it. He is smiling ear-to-ear and giggling the whole time.

This might not seem like much to any of y'all, but I feel like this is a pretty big deal. A quote that I have grown to love says that "success is...to win the affection...of children" so according to this quote, each and every Wednesday that I have my little ninja battles, that day is a successful day for me.

What does it mean for you to be successful? What does it mean for you to have an impact on this world? What does it mean for you to lay your head down on your pillow at night and know that you have made the world around you a better place?

Usually when we think of such things, we think on large scales, we think of huge things we have to begin, create or do. We think about starting a non-profit or volunteering with homeless folks for a semester. We think of mission trips to Africa or evangelizing on street corners. We think of selling all our excess clothes and giving the money to orphans and widows. We always think of success and changing the world in these big kinds of ways, but is that really all that "success" is?

The quote I mentioned above, that I have grown to love says this...

To laugh often and love much; to win the respect of intellingent persons and the affection of children; to earn the approbation of honest citizens and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to give of one's self; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to have played and laughed with enthusiasm and sung with exultation; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived - this is to have succeeded.

- Ralph Waldo Emerson

When I think about that quote, it puts success, impact and changing the world in a completely different perspective and it puts it in a very doable perspective...not only for me, but for any of us. We can all laugh and love often. We can be respectful and courteous to others. We can win the affections of kids. We can turn the other cheek and love our enemies. We can appreciate the beauty of people and things all around us. We can seek out and discover the best in others. We can give of our time, our energy, our finances and our lives. We can leave this world a bit better by treating folks well, planting some flowers or helping fund a medical clinic in Rwanda. We can play and laugh with all our hearts, we can sing songs and worship like there's no tomorrow, and we can have joy when nobody else thinks we can. We can smile at the lady at Starbucks, we can call the guy taking our order by name, we can tip good, and we can treat the cashier at Wal-Mart with dignity and respect.

When we look at it like this, success and changing the world doesn't seem so overwhelming. It can happen one smile at a time, one warm greeting at a time, one heart-to-heart at a time. It actually just takes us changing ourselves a little bit. 

Leo Tolstoy said, "Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself." 

Gandhi said, "Be the change you wish to see in the world."

Are you becoming the person that can truly impact and change the world around you? 

It's not really as difficult as you might think.

soccer, sno cones and sex trafficking

If you're not a soccer fan or if you live in a cave, then you might have missed one of the best soccer games ever a couple weeks ago when the US Women's team beat a very tough Brazil team. The game was the biggest emotional roller coaster ever and the US Women's team couldn't seem to catch a break.

It was as if the soccer gods were conspiring against them or as if the refs just hated the US or something. From the first bogus red card, to the penalty kick re-take, to the second goal which was a missed offsides call, to the Brazilian players faking injury, to the girl hopping off the stretcher and running to the sideline fiasco, and on and on and on.

I was so frikkin angry.

I was just sitting there with my wife and I was screaming "I WANT JUSTICE!!!"

And then we got it...Abby Wambach's magical header, in the waining moments of stoppage time, in extra time, gave us life with a 2-2 tie and I just knew it was destiny. The US then went on to win the game, in penalty kicks. Hope made an incredible save and every US kicker slotted their shot in the back of the net.

JUSTICE!!!

But before the "justice" came, I cannot tell you how worked up and angry I was. I just kept saying things like, "This isn't fair. These girls don't deserve this. These refs are out to get them." I was so upset...

About a soccer game.

And if you think that's ridiculous, then how about this one? One time in high school, I had just gotten back to the house after a long day of roughing it in the sun, getting tan, playing volleyball, and laying by the pool and I was enjoying a delicious sno cone. Well, I was goofing around or something and I ended up dropping my delicious sno cone on the ground. And right now you're saying to yourself, "No big deal", right?

Wrong

I let out a yell like a banshee and then proceeded to kick a hole in the wall.

I...kicked a hole...in the wall...because I dropped my sno cone.

Just too much injustice for me to take I guess.

Why do we care so much about things that don't really matter? Why do we get so worked up about things that really have no bearing in life? Why do we get so angry at the injustice of trivial things like sports, tv shows, and sno cones? Why do we find joy in things so fragile that it is wrecked by the spilling of a delicious icy treat?

But maybe the better questions than all of those are...

Why don't we care so much about things that really matter? Why don't we get worked up about things that have huge bearing in life? Why don't we get angry at the injustice of serious things like sex trafficking, starving kids, widows and orphans? Why don't we find joy in things more solid and consistent so that it's not wrecked by the spilling of a delicious icy treat?

So many of us spend so much of our heart, so much of our emotions and so much of our time and energy on things that have almost zero eternal significance. Seriously, ZERO.

What things do you care about, and I mean truly care about? What things get you worked up that really matter? What injustices make you angry, so angry that you're willing to step out there and do something about it? What fights are you fighting? What things of genuine value stir your heart?

We can do better.

We can be better.

Let's do this.

brownwood, texas...heaven on earth?!?

The Bible talks a lot about Heaven on Earth and things like "bringing Heaven to Earth" or "on Earth as it is in Heaven" and to be honest, for much of my life, those were empty words. They were just some fancy Biblical jargon or philosophical ideals, but not something that I could see in a realistic light.

But as I have grown, learned, studied Scripture, and simply lived life, I have seen how realistic this can actually be.

Every summer my home church goes to their Youth Camp in the summer. Growing up, it was always one of my favorite weeks of the year, period, but I never thought much about why it was one of my favorite weeks of the year. I mean, it was camp...enough said, right? Then, as I have gotten older, I have gone back to the camp to serve and even to be the Camp Pastor and it still remains one of my favorite weeks of the year. I am no longer doing all the kiddo camp stuff, yet it is still a magical place.

Why is this?

In our college group here, we've been studying the work of the Holy Spirit and lately we have been pouring through Acts 2, and in that chapter there is this lil picture of what seems to be somewhat of a picturesque community--almost like a lil Heaven on Earth. It says things like, "everyone was filled with awe..." and "they broke bread...and ate together with glad and sincere hearts" and even how they enjoyed "...the favor of all the people."

The reason why everything seems so picturesque there in Acts and the reason why Camp is always one of my favorite moments of the year, is because I believe that in those moments we are seeing a glimpse into how God designed life to be lived. 

We are praying together, we are fellowshipping and goofing off together, we are playing together, we are breaking bread together, we are taking care of each other's needs, we are laughing and singing together, we are experiencing God together, and while all this is going on, the people on the outside looking in, are digging it...or in Biblical terms, when we live life the way God intended, we will be, "enjoying the favor of all the people."

Bringing Heaven to Earth is not as unrealistic or as ginormous of a task as it might sound. Trust me, if it can happen in Brownwood, Texas, it can happen anywhere.