Ask A Ninja 2 Sneak Peak

Thanks to Scotty Thornton!

Ask A Ninja 2 – Sneak Peek from Scott Thornton on Vimeo.

Demetri Martin Quote of the Week

This guy is one of my favorite comedians. So I want to share each week a little bit from this guy’s mind because I relate to how he thinks!

So here you go…enjoy!

“I love women, but I feel like you can’t trust some of them. Some of them are liars, you know? Like I was in the park and I met this girl, she was cute and she had a dog. And I went up to her, we started talking. She told me her dog’s name. Then Í said, “Does he bite?”. She said “No.” And I said, “Oh yeah? Then how does he eat? … Liar.””  (Demetri Martin)

…awesome…

Education vs. Experience

In just a few months, I will be graduating with my Doctorate Degree in Ministry. Over the course of this process, I have had the privilege of taking many “deep” theology classes. The majority of which I will not use often, but nevertheless is great info to have. Taking these classes has made me realize there are two types of theology in the world: educational and experiential.
Here’s the problem: Often they can damage each other.
Educational Theology is based in book knowledge and facts. Memorization and interpretation are the key components. Being able to decipher words in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek are paramount to proper “success.” What I am finding is that some with an amazing grasp and passion for this brand of theology are in love with the concept of God. Please understand that I am not KNOCKING this. I am one of these guys. (My wife often refers to be as a book worm or nerd.) The problem is that when Education is my foundation, God becomes an equation I am trying to solve. I find myself contemplating God, but not allowing Him to relate to me. I am constantly teaching people about the awesomeness of God, but possibly this gets in the way of what God really wants from me. He wants me to experience life WITH Him, not go through it knowing about Him.
I am learning that I want more Experiential Theology. I want to experience more of God in my life. Not just better Sundays, Wednesdays, or community groups, but day to day. I want to come to grips, that there are some things that I will not be able to solve: faith must become my foundation. So how do we do it? How do we get there?
1. APPLY the books I am going to read. Experiencing God does not mean stop learning. Honestly, I have read books because others are reading them, and I don’t want to be the guy who hasn’t read it. “You haven’t read this yet!!!!” Some of you know exactly what I am talking about…because you have to. I will read, but allow God to let me apply it to life.
2. Pray that God will give me discernment when He is working at an unusual time. How many times have I looked back and saw God’s hand on something, but failed to recognize it in the moment.
3. Let life happen. Make no mistake, I will control what I am supposed to, but for all the other things I can’t control, I will ride. I will experience God in the moments that seem chaotic. As a leader, I want to control things, but I will learn to relinquish that control in the moments when I do not have the reins.

God is not an equation, He is my father.
God is not the answer to the test question, He is my savior.
God is not another subject to write about, He is my provider.

May you experience Christ and all His grace today. May we take all that we have learned and use it to find new ways to experience Him. May our lives be changed daily as we encounter Him…

Tough Medicine

What a weekend for Genesischurch.tv! Since my last “Sunday Unwound” post, we have been in our new location for 4 weeks, and it has been really amazing what God is doing. I am humbled each Sunday as God continues to change lives, and uses us as a church to develop people into what He wants them to be. Through this process I have learned, and am still learning, a lot. Going from a church of 60 to over 500 in less than a month has been more than a stretch, but good mentors and “on the job” training is helping me cope.
I am also learning church planting and growth at the same time. This is exciting and heartbreaking at the same time. I have read dozens of books on church planting, church growth, and church leadership/administration and many of them say much of the same things. Reading facts, and applying or seeing these facts in action is much more difficult. Balancing the health of the church as a whole and health of individuals is a tug on my heart I have not experienced before. Watching people walk away because the church is too big is a tough pill to swallow. Not being able to talk to everyone on Sundays is a tough pill to swallow. Having to remove people from leadership because they can’t handle where the church is going, is a tough pill to swallow. I feel like a kid taking medicine, I have to swallow the medicine, it hurts on the way down, but in the end, it will allow us to survive. Many of the pills, I have read about in books, or had people tell me they were coming, but now that I am doing it…it’s tough. I am getting better at it, and by the time I get good at it, we will have moved to another growth level, and there will be more to swallow.
Am I complaining? NO! I love how God is growing our church. The reason I share this is for a couple of reasons:
1. For other planters and Pastors out there: When you pray for your church to grow, get ready. It will require much more than you think. If you are not able to let go of some things (including people) sustained growth won’t happen. You might get a crowd, but assimilating and developing those people will fail. Crowds don’t change the world, disciples do. Crowds are important, but they cannot be the end goal.
2. For the people of Genesischurch.tv: Don’t get comfortable! We are not going to be at this level long. So many new people are coming each week, and it is our honor to welcome them into our family. They are searching for what we know. God loves them, wants to change their lives, and spend eternity with them.

Okay world, with this post, I am back in the blogosphere. I commit myself to write more often, and appreciate all you emails “encouraging” me to write more. I will be taking this blog in a little different direction, but be sure to check back daily as I will be trying to post that often. Go out this week and Know Christ…and Make Him Known!

Been Awhile

Sorry. I know that for the last few weeks I have not been active in the blogosphere. I have been posting weekly at our staff blog hydrate.tv, but I know that is not the same. (It is very good though, you should check it out.) Hopefully next week I will be able to post a summary of the last few weeks and you will get a glimpse into the life I live right now. It’s great, but busy. Many of you know we re-launched last week at the Blountstown location, and if you didn’t hear, it was unbelievable! About 500+ plus people showed up. God provided a miracle. I will be writing about it shortly, and what all has transpired in the last few weeks since. God is rebirthing something great at the new Genesischurch.tv location! Talk to you soon.

Tomorrow is the Big Day!

So tomorrow is the big day. The Grand Opening of Genesischurch on Blountstown! What we have done in the last 21 days is miraculous, and that is not an exaggeration. So many days have come and gone as a blur, but what I have learned has made me a better person. Here are some things I have learned:

1.     I am not immune to fatigue. As I write, I have become sick. Not the flu kind sick, but a only sleeping for 5-6 hours a night, not eating healthy, not working out, going a hundred miles an hour kinda sick. Everyone needs rest, and yes that means me. Humbling lesson learned.

2.     The volunteers of our church are amazing. I will simply say that without the countless hours put in by numerous people, this would never have happened. I wish I had room to write everyone’s names, but it would be too long. So from the bottom of my heart, THANK YOU!

3.     When you have a genuine passion for seeing people’s lives changed through the power of Christ, you can do anything. Just read Colossians 1:29. It has kept me going these last few weeks.

4.     My wife is an amazing woman. She has allowed me the freedom to chase after my heart’s passion, and then taken care of me when I have come home exhausted. I love you, and YOU ARE STILL THE ONE.

5.     Great leaders like the ones on our staff can fight, argue, disagree, and butt heads…and be better off for it. Our staff is as tight as I have seen it and we will only get better. Iron sharpens iron…

6.     Satan is against us. We have fought more battles in the last 21 days than I can count. We will win. We will see people come to Christ. We will see relationships be forged. We will see people delivered. We will see healings. We will see the power of God change people’s lives. Satan won’t stop us, deal with it!

7.     If things can possibly go wrong, they will. Just adjust, make corrections, and keep going.

 

Tomorrow will be a day that changes my life. I will never be the same after this experience, and I hope the hundreds and hundreds of new people that will be coming tomorrow will be able to say the same thing.