happy birthday...

just wanted everyone out there to know that today is adriana's birthday. she's hot and my wife; one the greatest blessings that God's ever given me. give her a call or drop her an email and let her know that you love her.

splash...

have you noticed the great amount of movement that's occurring everywhere? i'm not sure if it's the price of gas, the recession that 'we are not in,' conflicts in the middle east, or just the amount of people coming and going these days. the world truly has become a smaller place; because of it, i think i notice the motion, transition, and constant change that we as a people, we as a culture, we as a country, and we as individuals are always in. 

it's so easy to get caught up in the movement mistaking it for accomplishment. if there is one thing that i know, busyness doesn't = accomplishment. busyness = busyness. sometimes things get done, sometimes i go backwards. 

so i was thinking about the idea of movement and where God seems to be moving my city (miami) as a whole. always transition. always multi lingual, multi cultural, multi faceted - moving in multi-ple directions. it is what it is. but what will i make of it and what kind impact can be made in such a fluid culture. 

when you think of your home town  and you consider the way it's moving and where it's going - what can you see being the greatest area that needs to be addressed in the ever-moving culture, people, and society? 

i figure, once you pick a direction to move in, you'll make the biggest splash and impact there.

where are you moving? what are you doing to cause a splash? 

connected in community

where are you connecting for community? where can you let your 'hair down' and just be you?

cool thing about tuesday nights is the way that a bunch of different kinds of people connect, have coffee, pray, eat sandwiches, study the bible, laugh, and stay connected. it's cool because people can just be people. 

as i was hanging out with adriana, a couple of thoughts came to mind - especially as i was thinking of community and how we do it today and how it was done in the book of acts. 

that first group of leaders and original group of emerging leaders had no idea that what they were doing would change the world. they were simply 'being' and 'doing' instead of being so technical or precise. 

so a couple of things from these 1st generation leaders and groups:

-they spent time together (lots of time)

-they spent time eating together (lots of time)

-they spent time not in a church building, rather among the 'normal' people (lots of time)

-they prayed (lots of prayer)

-they devoted themselves to the things that were most important (do we?)

so...i wonder if we over complicate things. do we distort and over kill the simplicity of simply doing life with others? is there something more needed than a bible, people, a cup of coffee and God?

what do you think? 

what can we learn from the 1st gen. leaders and groups? 

in your opinion, what do you think we should be most devoted to doing?

journey...

as we finished zeal this evening, i was thinking about how all that we experience at zeal happens. just wanted to extend my thanks to the whole team that makes these gatherings possible. from everyone on stage to the folks that you never see -- the people who do everything that no one else wants to do, THANKS!

regarding tonight, i think it went really well. as i was reading some the 'next steps' that some of us need to take, it made me smile - God is actively at work in our of lives as we're traveling through this journey. i know that the future is unknown, but what about your very next step?

so...what is your next step? what do you sense God is asking you to do? where do you sense He's leading you to go? what's the next step you need to take?

let me know how God is working in your journey - let's journey together. 

fyi, tonight's podcast will be up soon at www.zealmiami.com

next week at 6.30 -- homeless feeding, be there!

don't forget...

all right blog world - this is your official reminder ZEAL is tomorrow night: journey starts @ 7.30 pm - don't miss it.

also, as we get ready for ZEAL april, if you have any thoughts or suggestions on subject matter that would be good to be addressed, let me know. if not, then we'll probably end up talking about sex. that's right. that's what i'm thinking right now.

any how, best thing that happened today - my son made a clown feel bad. she started making something for him out of a balloon but he just wanted the balloon.

made me think, sometimes we try to over complicate matters when it's the basics of simplicity that will make the lasting impression -- it's also the stuff that we are more likely to remember. 

we don't remember sesame street because of the amazing graphics or computer generated effects. we can see the sticks the puppets work off of. what we do remember is how to count, spell, and identify colors (for most you at least).  any way, details can sometimes bring things down. keep the basic plan excellent, the rest will fall into place. good night. 

wisdom from others...

i'm always impressed when i spend time with a local pastor and wife. they are some of the people that i probably respect the most in this world. they've been around longer than we have in different circles of ministry. either way, i'm grateful for examples like theirs. these are the kind of people that i want to be like when i'm older. things that we touched on our time with each other...

1. fear God above all things - when you mess with God, you're gonna get messed up

2. know that you know beyond all things that you know what God has called you to do and where to do it

3. being a 'man' is a hard thing to do, especially when most remain boys

4. God is the One building his church, not anyone of us (no matter how cool or innovative we think we are - at the end of the day, He's in control, not you, me,or the iMac)

5. today, it may seem like God and church are separate from each other. that should not be the case. when church is not in God, then church has a problem, not God

6. 3 sides make a square. (i'm not sure how, but it makes sense when he explains it to me.)

-what do you think about this advice?

-what's the best piece of advice that you've ever received from people that you respect and listen to?

growing bigger..is it better?

what are your thoughts on bigger churches and what they do? check this out and let me know. 

Jesus Factory 

time for change...

tonight i shared a tough message with the ms/hs students at MBC. we touched on the idea that God gives to us, so that we can give to others. not for self comfort or satisfaction; it's a means to something greater. as i prepared, i came face to face with numbers, faces, and lives of so many displaced and hurting people. real, actual human beings. after doing some homework on invisible children, i was deeply moved. it's been racking my brain -- what can i do TODAY to make a change. im sure i can give a few bucks here or there. but truly, what can be done now?

call me crazy, but do you think that it would be possible to organize something here in miami to help those who are in need of help? to provide some form of relief to those that suffer from social injustice?

im not talking about a rally or a info gathering. rather a place where a group of people committed to change can actually stand together for something greater than themselves. can we do that?

something else that keeps me up at night, it's not the church that's leading the way towards social reform, towards educational reform, toward defeating poverty, sickness, or any other killer of life. why is that?

do you think that it would be possible for 'church' to be the one to lead the way to world reform? not gov't. not obama, mccain, hillary, or even hannah montana. nope. just the hands and feet of the savior; the church.

tell me, what would it take and would you be willing to be a part of it.

let me know - maybe this is the beginning.

control le bouche...(french for 'the mouth')

have you ever noticed how some folks find it difficult to control what they say? sometimes it's those soccer moms that are too competitive; the ones that yell at 4 year old kids trying to distract and belittle them. sometimes it's those people that are too smart, even for themselves. sometimes it's the people that you work with, live with, do life with. either way, controlling what we say is critical to our character and development. both now, but more importantly in the future. as we continue to grow in life and relationships, do you always think before you speak? do you always speak to those that will in turn spread what you have shared?

proverbs 13:3
he who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin.

what steps have you taken to control what you say?

how do you monitor what you speak out loud?

who loves you enough to correct you in truth?

fill me in.

a bowl of warm soup...

people often expect life to be a piece of cake. i'm not sure why. if there is one thing that i've learned, it's not easy and i don't think that it was meant to be easy. something else that i've seen, when we don't get our way, we make decisions to get our way as soon possible. instead of dealing with the situation, we try to go around it -- we prefer to do that than to have to deal with the matter head in. sounds good in theory, but what i've learned is that 'going around' typically leads to someone compromising something, somewhere, along the way. compromise, can be painful. not immediately, but eventually. in genesis 25, esau gives up his birth right for some food. jacob trades him soup for the rest of his future. a bowl of 'instant goodness' was far better than the rest of his future that was before him. instead of dealing with the situation, like a grown up, he simply caved in and did what he had to do to get what he wanted. it was as simple as that. i bet you that esau didn't even think about the significance of his decision. the people it would impact, the lives it would change -- the life that he would no longer have. the part that kills me, it's over a bowl of soup.

i know it sounds silly, but in retrospect, how often have i compromised something great for something instant? how many times did i see that 'thing' that i 'needed' to have and i did what needed to be done in order to take hold of it - without thinking who it would affect and how it would affect them. we sometimes forget that our decisions don't just affect us, but those that we live in community with. a bowl of soup. something nice and warm for the moment.

the part that sucks is that a few hours later, he was probably hungry again. then what? what do you do when the 'food' has run out but you are hungry again?

what have you found the toughest areas of compromise to be in?

what kind of safe guard to you have in place to protect you from not compromising in these areas?

how do you continue to move forward in your resolve?

v-day...

happy v-day to all of you out there. love each other. enjoy each other. sex is for marriage.

good night.

mission...leading...success.

mission...directions...following orders. sometimes the easiest of requests can be misunderstood. sometimes they are simply just not obeyed. when people fail to follow orders, the ranks break. when the ranks break, trust is breached. where there is no trust, there can be no success.

in gen. 24, abraham's servant uses the words 'mission,' 'leading' and 'success.' all this guy knew was that he was given vague instruction about where to go next. not really the specifics, more like ideas. he knew his mission was from his master who believed in God; therefore it was enough. he worships God over and over because it is obvious that He is the one leading the servant. the result of his journey was success.

notice, his success was not measured in riches or glory. rather he was there to set up another to have success. his role was to do his master's will, that's it. when he did it, he worshipped God - he knew that God was at work in his life and that He was leading him -- that was enough.

how ironic that sometimes we measure success without considering what God is leading us to do next. i find that God often paints with vague broad strokes to convey ideas, rather than specifics. i think that He will show us the specifics of the mission as we follow in His leading. i believe that when we do this, we will be successful.

the catch is that, when we fully obey, we are setting up Christ to have the glory and success, not ourselves. we need to remember, when we come to Christ, we become His servants. servants have no rights, their role is to serve and to do it as the master bids. what a strange perception on success.

how is God teaching you to be successful in your daily journey?

what have you found to be the current 'mission' that He's leading you on today?

aliens among us...

as immigration continues to grow in the US, it's becoming one of the buzz topics in this year's election. how will it be handled? can it be resolved? what's the best action to take regarding it? it's important to recognize that foreigners, aliens, immigrants, or whatever else you call it are not from here. then again, who truly is from 'here.'

as a Christ follower, i wrestle with this immigration issue. being His, i know that i am not my own. gen. 23, abraham uses the term alien and stranger to describe himself among a people that he has lived with for years. it's easy to say that we are from this place, but are we really of this place.

when a person from a foreign country is here, i know it. whether it's the voice, the accent, the language, the smell, the color, or the way of dress - you can tell that it's different. are we any different? are we seen as aliens or immigrants in a place that is not our own, because technically, we are citizens of a higher place that supersedes culture, language, or even affluence.

as we move on to where God calls, may we remember that our allegiance is not to a flag. Christ is not a white middle class american. our allegiance is to a King and His Kingdom.

what do you think it means to be a God-alien in this place?

how should this affect the way we think, live, and behave?

too difficult to change...

what a difficult thing to give up what is most valuable or important to one in life. im not sure how i would respond if God were to ask me to give up that one thing which is most valuable in life. there is too much pain, hurt, and maybe even unforgiveness that comes with it. when things get taken away, it bothers me enough already. but when i m asked to give things up out of my own will, its pretty difficult. cutting out things that are invaluable seems to be a cinch. but it's those things that hold some kind of value to me, those are the things that i find trouble letting go of.

in gen.22, abraham is asked to let go of his son -- the one that God told him he was going to have, the one that he had been waiting nearly 20 years for, the one who would carry on his name and be a blessing to the rest of the world. God not only asks abraham to let go, but he actually tells him to cut him off of himself (sacrificing him). that's crazy.

what's even crazier is that abraham doesn't even argue with God. no conversation about the matter-- nothing. he gets up, takes his son out on a few days trip, sees the place, goes up, builds an alter, ties his son up, and gets ready to sacrifice him on the alter -- all because it's what God asked him to do.

for all of you who are not familiar, God intervenes and gives him mad props for not withholding even his son from God. abraham becomes known as the 'father of our faith.'

pretty cool name, but the title came at a cost. it nearly cost him the one thing that he cared about most.

can it be that there are things in life that God calls us to 'cut off' from ourselves? things that don't please him? things that He knows are not in our best interest? and maybe, just maybe, because He wants us to be obedient, no matter the cost.


how would you respond if God called you to get rid of the thing that you value most?

how do you obey God when it doesn't make sense or when it seems too difficult?

let me know.

hesitations...

hesitation can be the thing that breaks you the most as God works to develop the best in you. it can be crazy because hesitation demonstrates who's in control. gen 19:16 teaches that lot hesitated; it should have cost him and his home their lives. later on in that verse, we read the words that God was merciful and he got them out. when God speaks, we should act. when we hesitate to act on what we know to be from God, it shows how much we don't trust. does God truly have the best in mind for his people? yes. do we always live like we believe that? no.

i often believe that God calls our attention to get us out of areas or places where we should no longer be. sodom was that place for lot; God called him to leave. i believe that he knew it and yet there was something so charming about the place that made him hesitate. he stopped for a moment to reconsider his options. is it really better out there?

is it really? if God calls you 'out there,' then yes...it has to be. thank goodness for his mercy; for those second chances of redeeming our mistakes, our unwise choices, our hesitations.

why do you think we hesitate to go out there?

why do you think we always reconsider things when we know that God is leading us to a better place, to a place where he's waiting for us?

how do we respond?

in genesis 17, at the age of 90, God visits with abram. he introduces himself "I am God Almighty" (El Shaddai)

then he tells abram to do 2 things: walk before him and be blameless.

in verse 3, abram's response is falling facedown...in reverence, worship, fear? has this calling really changed that much from back then to us today? to walk with God and to be blameless(not at fault for wrong). what's amazing to me is how my response to God is seldom like abram's. the almighty OnE reveals himself through creation, through every breath taken, through life in itself and yet it seems so normal. so..routine-ish. i am convinced that to walk with him, we must first know where he is and which direction he's going in. these are things that we can't control, we must simply adjust to. then the whole blameless thing, we have good amounts of control over what we do or do not do. we can choose to do what's right and be blameless...it's just so hard. but i believe that when we walk with him in intimacy and we when we draw closer to him because we are further from sin and closer to him, we realize how much we are not God and how much we truly do not deserve to be in relation with him. we also realize how good he is and how kind and generous he is. our response to that is worship. falling face down before an almighty God, because of who he is and what he has done. when God appears, our response is worship. not singing, worship.

how do you worship when you aren't at church or without your ipod?

how do you fall facedown before God Almighty?

being credited...

abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness- genesis 15:6


a man who was really to old to have kids is told by God that not only will he have kids, but their will be so many, that it's going to be like the stars in the sky. for believing God, he is credited with righteousness. i know that God does the impossible and i know that God has done the impossible, and yet i still wrestle with doubts. i often think that it's because i try to do it myself and rely on myself instead of Him. i know the right answer, it's the whole putting it into practice part that i can struggle with. i would like to be 'credited unto righteousness.' that would be sweet.

why do you think it's difficult to trust God, even when he's proven himself over and over? let me know.

too much to do...

i am faced with the reality that there will always be something more to do. there is just too much and too little time. so in the process, i feel that God challenges me with using and developing discernment. since i cannot do everything (only God can), part of what i must figure out is what am i supposed to be focusing the majority of my time on. marcus buckingham says that you should 'play to your strengths. you may better weakness to being average at best, but people don't pay for average. focus on your strengths and make yourself invaluable to your organization.' regarding the weaknesses, my weaknesses are somebody else's strengths. one body in Christ makes sense. for all of you who aren't actively serving, your best is waiting to be developed, which means some one out there is doing your role at an average level at best. if we serve God, then he truly deserves the best that we have, not the best of our average. in sports we play our best players to win. in business we use our best people to make the sale and close the deal. you and i have a role in being the best at something that will truly matter, even when the sports season finishes or the fortune 500 company closes. what we do will last forever. make the most of your talent and abilities-it will have an impact on people and time that we will never fully measure until we are on the other side of the fence.

so the question is, what do i do?
-pray
-serve (trial and error - eventually we will find our fit)
-pray some more
-keep serving and develop others to take what we do and make it better
-keep praying


there will always be too much to do. thank goodness we've not been called to do it all. use discernment and serve in your strengths and potential. do that well.

'this one thing i do'
- Paul, apostle, martyr, servant, example

here's to the wii

as we were finishing up small group tonight, i had my opportunity of raising my goblet in toast to the monsters of rock. i rocked so hard that the vibrations of the tv sent a candle flying off and smashing into a bunch of pieces. it was weird...it was awesome. for a moment i felt like i had revisited micheal j fox in back to the future part one --- guitars and amps everywhere; he goes flying. to the wii and the unity that it brings. rock on wii, rock on.

different...diverse

as i study, experience, and watch -- i am more fully convinced that there is more than one way to getting something done, there has to be. it's part of what makes people different. not better or worse, just different. i've learned that there is more than one way to build a fence, more than one way to paint a picture, sing a song, or even write a blog. as i continue to explore, i am coming to grips with the answer: DIVERSITY. different people do things differently, that's it. some do it better than others, but they all manage to get things done -- one way or another. it's amazing to see how people with the same talents and abilities apply themselves differently, getting different results. not worse or better, just different.

if it weren't for diversity, life would look like a checker board. black, red, and so on. thank God for the guy who invented chess. taking the same board and adding to it. changing it and totally making it better. then came the genius who created the case for backgammon which houses the checkers, chess, and backgammon pieces all at once. what's funny is that they were all potentially looking at the same thing and saw different things.

i would like to see things differently. what's ironic is that im a bit color blind. i all ready do, it's just that sometimes, since it's normal for me, i forget that i see things differently. i guess that all we need to is close our eyes and see with our minds. maybe there we'll see things not for what they are, but for what they could be or should be.

i've found that the more i surround myself with people who are not like me, the more diverse that i become. not sure why, but it's what happened. they help me see things from a different vantage point. my mind is opened more when i see what others see because it opens up doors that i did not even see.

depeche mode calls it going from 'microvision' to 'macrovision'

they rock. diverse for their time.