thelokey

So, today would've been exactly 35 days away from me moving into our new apartment in Columbus, but that's not going to happen. We received a phone call this morning from the apartment complex that the apartment we originally looked at was available to move in as early as Friday! So while I was planning on patiently waiting for April 27th to start living and working in Columbus, God was orchestrating this new plan. That's not even the best part. Last night was an INCREDIBLE night at our youth services. It started out typical, but once I started teaching I could tell that God was up to something different. It came down to me teaching through one of my favorite passages, Isaiah 6:1-8 . I won't go into the details of what I talked about, but it came down to making a choice. I didn't challenge the students to make this choice (the typical student pastor route), I made it . Right there, on the stage. The choice I made was to do whatever God called me to do. Wha...

So most all of our friends and family are aware that about a month ago I began looking for a job after things did not work out for us in Rockmart. After a few weeks of hunting and watching God do some AMAZING things to get us by, we have officially taken a student pastor position at Wynnton United Methodist Church in Columbus, GA! This was a complete God thing as we were looking for where we could minister to students and get plugged in to a community church. After going there to interview and meeting the students (and some parents) we are confident that this is the next stop on our ministry journey. To answer a few FAQ's... Yes, it's a full-time job. I will be the Youth Minister so it means a lot of work, prayer, and delegation. I'll be officially starting sometime in mid-March Yes, we have a house in Rockmart that needs to be sold. This is the worst time to try to sell a house, but we're believing that God is going to do something BIG and it will be sold with no ...

So it's been a while since I've posted to this blog. Mostly for the selfish reasons of not having my personal life become everyone's business. I know, I know...I could just write about something else, but that just wouldn't be my style. And it's hard not to write about the one thing that's turned your life upside down and inside out. I recently became a statistic of yet another person looking for a job in the worst economic times since I was born ('82 was not a good year). So I've been spending a lot of time on ChurchJobs.net , YouthSpecialties.com/jobs , and various "church ministry" job boards. Putting out resumes, sending emails, and beefing up my web design site http://thelokey.com (now complete with portfolio). Needless to say I've kept fairly busy. On the lazy side, I've spent way too much time on the internet , playing SPORE , and watching a lot of Netflix movies. I just got canned, give me a break! All that to say is t...

I've been going through a spiritual dry spell lately. There's a few things I've been working on and learning how to do, but nothing that's really getting me excited. I'm still in love with God, but sometimes we don't "feel" in love; but that's when we must make the choice to love, even when our emotions run low. So here's a few things I've learned about pushing through a dry spell: Admit it - Until I reached the point of admitting I was in a dry spell, it really didn't hit me. And it wasn't just about admitting it to myself, it took me verbally saying it out loud to another person. See the patterns - Over the last few years I've noticed a pattern with my spiritual low points. When I'm paying attention, I can sometimes anticipate them and be ready. (Honestly, this most recent one blind-sided me and that's made it worse because I've been beating myself about it.) Push through - The Christian life is hard, if...

This is a blog post I did for our church staff blog at http://crossviewconnect.com. I figure this way I can get a little bit more mileage for my efforts. Cheap? Yes! Do I care? Nope. Enjoy. You may or may not have heard our student ministry's new name, BROADCAST. With the new name comes a new identity and a fresh perspective on what God is wanting to do with students in Rockmart. The name is simple, we want to "broadcast" the name of Jesus to the world. Starting in our own community and branching out from there. This idea is directly linked to our church's vision to reach the unchurched and lead them to become fully devoted followers of Christ. What this means... It means that the time is NOW! Spread the word, Crossview is the place for students (and their families)! It means that we have to be ready to build relationships with students who come to us broken and hurting, looking for a place to belong. It means that the enemy is TICKED OFF because he knows...

So today I went through a TON of old email, sorting out the junk and organizing what was left. I tend to be a bit of a digital packrat . One good thing that came out of this was an old email I haven't read in years from " In the Den ". Here it is, years before the blog started: I am frustrated, as of late, that people--good, godly people--are not advising on the foundation of a very basic spiritual truth. God has a will, and we can know it. And we should know it. And when we don’t know it, we should ask. And when we don’t see it, we should seek. And when we don’t understand it, we should knock. We should not step back to do what is comfortable, what is safe, and what makes sense hoping that one day we will be brave enough to agree with God. We should not be content to rest in the reliable relief of ignorance. On the contrary, we should ask of our heavenly Father who gives to all without finding fault. It's a timeless piece of exhortation that still pricks me ...