As the world looks in on Christianity today, they are looking for honesty and for sincerity. Too often, what they have found is hypocrisy in those who profess to be followers of Christ. As a new generation of bands hits the forefront in Christianity today, we are seeing a transparency that has never been seen before. MIKESCHAIR is one band who is definitely not afraid to openly discuss who they are, hoping that in their journey with the Lord, others may relate and come to know Him as well. MIKESCHAIR formed while they were students at Belmont University. The Lord has ...
As I began to consider this concept, I thought it would be fairly easy. After all, how many fathers are there in the world? There must be many that stand out. How much news has been reported in the last ten years? There must be great fathers among the reports. Soon after beginning my research, I realized this was going to be a difficult, if not impossible, task. There are fathers in the news alright. Recently there was Dr. Umaru Abdulmutallab, the father of Abdul Farouk Abdulmutallab, otherwise known as the "underpants bomber", or the "undergarments bomber", or something like that. He is ...
A few weeks ago, I took a silent retreat into the North Carolina wilderness to get alone with God and to allow him to speak to my heart. I took a copy of 1 cd on my ipod, Heaven and Earth which is Phil Wickham’s latest album that releases on November 17. God spoke to me in many ways through scripture but He allowed Phil’s music to bring me to a point of true worship. I sat down with Phil this morning to talk a little bit about who he is, his career and what inspires his songwriting abilities. History Q- Give ...
Our God is a God of redirection. The Bible says in Proverbs 16:3, “Commit your works to the Lord and your plans will be established.” Many of us have planned out our lives, striving to be one thing, only to learn later that God wanted us somewhere else. When we make that commitment to the Lord, we see how God redirects the paths of our lives, leading us to where He always intended for us to be. Jonny Diaz learned this lesson from the Lord and learned that sometimes, that redirection isn’t the easiest thing to accept, but once you ...
At the end of the 1997 season, Scott Brosius wondered where his career was going. He had just completed his worst season in Oakland and now, he was hearing the trade rumors and contemplating where he would be next. God opened a door, one that Scott could not have imagined being opened before that time, reviving his career and providing Scott with a new platform and a new audience. His faith would grow as the Lord moved in so many ways. Scott Brosius is now the head baseball coach at his alma mater. He is in our Men of God spotlight ...
One nugget of Christian rhetoric I have always had the toughest time understanding is “giving everything to God.” What was so frustrating about this is that “giving everything to God” sounds like the right thing to do, and here I don’t even know the implications of the statement! My visceral response is to pack up all my belongings and give them to the church. Or perhaps to quit my job and say I had given it to God. The Peace Corps seems to fit the bill for that too, I should enlist (or whatever it is they call it). No. That isn’t all there is to it. Luckily, Jesus shed some light on what it is to “give everything to God.” In the gospel of Luke, Jesus shared his perspective on giving God complete ownership of one’s self...
Continue reading...28. February 2010
OK, folks, last time we got you halfway through your resume, so we need to finish up this week and then move on to the other aspects of the job hunt.
Continue reading...28. January 2010
As the world looks in on Christianity today, they are looking for honesty and for sincerity. Too often, what they have found is hypocrisy in those who profess to be followers of Christ. As a new generation of bands hits the forefront in Christianity today, we are seeing a transparency that has never been seen before. MIKESCHAIR is one band who is definitely not afraid to openly discuss who they are, hoping that in their journey with the Lord, others may relate and come to know Him as well. MIKESCHAIR formed while they were students at Belmont University. The Lord has opened many doors for them and as they walk through those doors, they sing about their faith and even about the doubts and questions that they have along the way. We recently caught up with Mike of MIKESCHAIR to talk about where the Lord is taking them and how the Lord is using them.
Continue reading...10. January 2010
As I began to consider this concept, I thought it would be fairly easy. After all, how many fathers are there in the world? There must be many that stand out. How much news has been reported in the last ten years? There must be great fathers among the reports. Soon after beginning my research, I realized this was going to be a difficult, if not impossible, task.
Continue reading...12. December 2009
Last night I got back from Mexico. I went with a bud of mine named Josh. Josh is on staff at the same church I work at and oversees the middle school ministry. Josh will be bringing a group of soon-to-be-ninth-graders there this summer. Yikes. Please pray for him. We went there and scoped things out. Since [...]
Continue reading...10. December 2009
Recently I had surgery on my tongue to remove a fibrous growth and the pain and slowness of recovery has reminded me again of the importance of being grateful. I think we all complain too much and this I know about complaining: it’s a killjoy. It makes you and everybody around you unhappy. The big problem with complaining is [...]
Continue reading...8. July 2009
Say something, for God’s sake! When Jesus shows up things happen. When he shows up he uses words and the world is recreated. Words are Jesus’ weapon of choice and his tool of design. He could hurl lightning bolts, or split mountains with his fist, or with a wave of his hand toss the armies of the planet into the sea. Instead, Jesus says things. For words, when they are the right words, spoken by the right messenger, are enough. At the start of his ministry Jesus explained his mission in words that Isaiah the Prophet had borrowed from God:“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” Luke 4:17-19.
Continue reading...12. November 2009
Our God is a God of redirection. The Bible says in Proverbs 16:3, “Commit your works to the Lord and your plans will be established.” Many of us have planned out our lives, striving to be one thing, only to learn later that God wanted us somewhere else. When we make that commitment to the Lord, we see how God redirects the paths of our lives, leading us to where He always intended for us to be. Jonny Diaz learned this lesson from the Lord and learned that sometimes, that redirection isn’t the easiest thing to accept, but once you are in the Lord’s will for your life, everything becomes more clear and more fulfilling. I recently caught up with Jonny and we spoke about how God had redirected his life and how God was using his music to speak to people all over the world. His song, “More Beautiful You” shot up the charts and people began to listen to this message that the Lord was laying on his heart.
Continue reading...
2. March 2010
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