thelokey

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 ...

Here's the last 24 hours of my life... 10:30PM - Got home from helping Crissy's sister move a washer and dryer into her apartment and took a Tylenol PM so I could get to sleep because I had to be up early to start MY FIRST DAY at a new church . 11:30PM - Noticed a small, but sharp pain underneath my left shoulder blade. I thought, "That's weird, I took a pain killer earlier when I wasn't even in pain." Went to sleep. 4:30AM - Woke up with EXCRUCIATING pain in my left shoulder. It hurt so bad I was trying not to scream and I couldn't take a deep breath. Not being able to breathe made me panic, making it harder for me to breathe (you get the routine). Took 2 Aleve to see if the pain would go away. Didn't even take the edge off! 5:15AM - 7:00AM - Show up to Kennestone ER to find out what's going on. After getting some IV fluids, they decide to take a chest X-Ray to rule out any lung problems due to the shortness of breath. After the chest X-Ra...

So in the last 7 days I have officially resigned from my position at Lost Mountain Baptist Church to start as the Student Pastor at Crossview Community Church in Rockmart, GA. Needless to say it is a very exciting, stressful time for me and my wife. Even as I'm typing this entry I am at my office at Lost Mountain working on what will most likely be my last video for this church. There's a whole long list of things I have to train other people how to do before I leave so there won't be "holes" left when I'm not here. It sounds a little arrogant to say, but I'm amazed at all the things I've been doing both in and out of the realm of the student ministry. I guess it just goes to show my inability to say "no". The church we're moving to is a great place! It's unlike anything I've ever been a part of before. It's the kind of place I hear about other people being involved in and think to myself, "Man! I wish I could do s...

Here's some stuff that's running through my brain... -Me and Crissy are looking into buying a house. Our thinking is we would like to own a house and right now they're REALLY cheap and we don't have to worry about selling a house. -I'm glad the Olympics are OVER. Yes, Michael Phelps is an amazing athlete, but that's just a huge distraction from the fact that China is a Communist country that gets away with huge human rights violations including killing plenty of Christians. All the while America watched in awe as they lit a torch and ignored the obvious. We shouldn't have been there, we shouldn't do business with them, and it will come back to bite us in the collective butt. -I've been watching the "old" sit-com " Two Guys and a Girl ". So underrated and under-appreciated. Thanks " Friends ". -I expressed my desire to start the ordination process at Lost Mountain to my pastor today, let the fun begin!