the direction of our hearts toward God

A Return to Atheism

2011-01-03T22:54:00.002-05:00

We should all become Atheists again.

In the first and second centuries of Christianity, people in a construct of pluralism couldn't understand the idea of worshiping an imageless God, or only one God. If you believed in only one God, and one without a statue at that, you were insulting all other gods, so you were an atheist.

Today, Christians are called many things, but never Atheists. But maybe we should be.

We live in an environment and world and culture much like the culture surrounding early Christians. There is no shortage of gods.

But what makes the idea of being called an Atheist like a badge of honor is not simply believing in only the Trinitarian God, but what the early believers being called Atheists were known for.

In the fourth century of Christianity, Julian the Emperor wrote:

"Atheism has been specially advanced through the loving service rendered to strangers, and through their care for the burial of the dead. It is a scandal that there is not a single Jew who is a beggar, and that the godless Galileans care not only for their own poor but for ours as well; while those who belong to us look in vain for the help that we should render them."

He is talking about Christians.

Tertullian, a mid-second century theologian comments in his writing about how Pagans would comment on how Christians loved each other.

So I propose a return to Atheism like the first centuries of Christianity.

Is it possible that no believer be a beggar, or that those having accepted Jesus would help not only "their own" but also those in disagreement with them? This was early Christianity; this was early Atheism.

It is brilliant to read of the early acts of Christians, seeing that even centuries after Pentecost they were still living out what had begun with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit as described in Acts 2.

It may seem funny to us that they were called Atheist, because we have our idea of what that is, and what we call people specifically associates them with a set of actions or ideas. But early on, Atheism was Christianity, and the Atheism described by early accounts, both secular and Christian, are that Atheists loved each other and served and left no need unmet.

So I supposed I'd rather be called an Atheist in the vein of the first centuries than a Christian in the light of recent decades.

What do you think?

Worship Constant

2010-12-21T22:44:00.004-05:00

for many years i have known worship is a constant, or should be.

what i mean is we need to worship God in all things and all times and all circumstances. and though i have been through many phases of life that would fit the bill of difficult or challenging or confusing, this past 5 months probably takes the cake.

at the end of june i was asked if i thought i was still called to where i was pastoring. after two weeks of prayer, i thought i was, but was willing to follow the direction of my leadership and had peace with a mutual decision that my time was up in that "call"...

the decision was made July 6th and I was to be finished July 25th. nothing less than a whirl-wind ensued. a rush of explanations and announcements and endings. and the reality was sinking in that we would need to move. i was displaced. invited and uninvited. and to say the least.... hurt.

but all-in-all, my faith was intact. no matter how confused, dismayed, or dizzied, i knew Jesus loves us and would not abandon our family. we felt orphaned by some, but knew we were still children of God.

as we prayed we were continually convinced we weren't to put out a resume' to try and find a church or job. i don't know if you have ever tried this approach. its a hard pill to swallow. "how am i going to find a job God?" i asked.

so we started asking God, "if not a job found by resume', then what?.... a location?"

the answer was "yes, a location." so we asked where we should go.... we called on trusted spiritual mentors like our long time friends the Anderson, the Scherers, and the Packiams, among others. we wanted to know where they thought we fit, and if they thought we would fit where we were starting to think we were supposed to fit.

a resounding assurance arose for us to move to colorado springs. "oh, oh my goodness... seriously? that is just as far from family ties, and i don't have a job there.... you told me not to put out my resume'!"

but because we are stupid, and because we have faith, we said okay... we said yes to God.

we spent almost all the money we had on moving, paying 3 months rent and a deposit (because i didn't have a job they wanted more rent up front), and of course all the other bills that still existed. for the first time in my life i didn't pay a bill, my mortgage for our house in georgia (in order to save money and allow the house to go to short-sale).

when we got to colorado i started looking for regular jobs and the possibilities of leading worship part-time at local churches. i knew we were supposed to be involved with the sunday night service at New Life on a volunteer basis. and i knew God wanted me to be a worship pastor whether i was paid to or not.

i got hired at Target working the 4am shift. i started meeting with some of the students from the school of worship at New Life and i led worship at the World Prayer Center whenever I could.

at the end of November i could see we were going to run out of money in the middle of December. i was making some money at Target but not enough. it was time to try and find a second job.

a friend of mine at New Life told me of a position someone was leaving that i might be able to fill. but i had also been told about a number of other things like that, so i didn't get my hopes up. i just kept moving along, trusting God and worshiping him at 4am at Target!

then while Cyndi and the boys were on their way back to the Quad Cities for a few days at Thanksgiving, Cyndi hit a deer and totaled our van, and we only had basic insurance. so now we are almost out of money and down to one small car that Cyndi can't drive because it is a 5-speed.

but i knew God was going to do something. i told everyone who asked about it, "I know God is going to do something with this. I know He didn't bring us out here to abandon us or let us be destroyed by this."

that Sunday that Cyndi was in the QC, a local small group took a spontaneous offering and gave us $700, another two checks totaling $250 came in the mail, and the day before Cyndi was to leave the QC someone took her to a car lot and paid-in-full for a 2005 Town and Country for us!

as if that wasn't enough, the next week I was offered that job at New Life! and in a funny twist in how God works... I am the Operations Coordinator for Spiritual Formation and New Life Groups! don't forget it was a small group that basically threw us a life-preserver that helped us get through this month financially. now my job is to work with small groups!

God has provided in every way possible. I have been drowning in blessings...and our faith, our worship of God has been Constant.

things i've learned (am still learning)

2010-11-15T21:52:00.003-05:00

here is my amended and revised list of things that resonate with me...

callousness is the devil's home
seek God first before everything else
buy wisdom
bow your soul
submit to leadership
be aware
be careful about being too smart
you don't learn grace only once
obedience is highly valued
God wants your character to rise to the level of your ability
its about knowing the Father
be genuinely interested in others
be diligent with what is in front of you
grow in competency
it takes 2 years to work your first day and 4 years to really know someone
confess to God and man
as soon as you're afraid to lose it, you've lost it
be a living tool
the sabbath is a matter of life and death
there is peace in serving others
God resists the proud
structure is key
don't succeed at something that doesn't matter
don't ask for "staying power", but for His power
let God do what God will do
a fool is full of opinions
discipline is the door between desire and delight
what will your sin cost me?
there are no such things as secrets
all my fountains are in Him
feelings lie
focusing on morality doesn't produce morality
the kingdom of God is wherever Jesus is king
add value to people
stay on the altar
being a christian is about becoming
there are certain things that will never be your role
in the absence of leadership, lead
do little things well
a spiritually bored church is boring to the lost
judas couldn't sell the perfume, so he sold Jesus...what are you selling?
it is always good to remember what God has done
i get to choose how i believe
let the peace of Christ rule in your heart
the grumbler lives in a state of self-induced stress
there is a direct relation between how thankful you are and the strength of your faith
am i more concerned with God's kingdom or mine?
couch yourself as a learner
i am here to prepare others for acts of service
we are unnecessarily dramatic people
grow in awareness of the impact of every moment
all the world knows He is God
be supportive, not suspicious
His words are life and breath, so breath deep
don't go to Hagar for what is promised in Sarah
don't live on yesterday's faith
when we get ridiculous we see things no one has seen before
being disciplined harvests righteousness and peace
don't answer when not asked
don't confuse being a witness with being a participant
if you have a problem mouth, you have a problem heart
we live our lives through the window of eternity because faith is what convinces us we're not crazy
there reason some pastors don't worship is they are used to being worshipped
the holy spirit brings rest
integrity can be caught
you have to be a good follower to be a good leader
connect with God through hiddenness
you reproduce who you are
innocence is important
he is not like us, but we can become like Him
like completes love
we don't lead people to where we are but to who God is
you will attract more birds with bread than with stones
we represent the Father with every moment and every word
its better to deal with it now, not letting it define you, than to wait and always struggle
don't worship God with something that cost you nothing
God doesn't want our information, but our realization
careful when "evaluating" not to be "elevating" yourself
do your best to value the people above the process
unity requires intentionality
learn the difference between the need to "confront" and the desire to "control"
sometimes we miss the opportunity to worship, because instead of having self-control, we attempt to control someone else
if you don't like someone, its your problem, not theirs
control and authority are not the same thing
set your mind on the Spirit, the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace
a great leader would rather be blotted from history than see the people they lead be harmed
anonymity has no place in the church (save doing good, giving, and serving)
give without expectations
let go as quickly as possible
live life with open hands
you can't lead in the Spirit if you haven't been submitting in the Spirit
heaven is here, heaven is coming
Jesus is beautiful
if the people around you aren't inspiring, you will unknowingly and unwisely attempt to pick up the slack
choose where you want your voice heard... everywhere else, be quiet
- when worship is lost, God will replace it
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Time Flies, We Drive

2010-11-11T13:04:00.001-05:00

A great deal has happened in the last few months. A sudden decision was come to about my role at The Vine, we moved to Colorado, I have begun working at Target while seeking God's plan for us here, our house in Georgia will likely be foreclosed if no one makes an offer, and I will be getting a second job to make ends meet.

Through all of this I have remained confident that God is still in control, as much as I'd like to be.

I miss The Vine. I miss leading what I called "my church" in worshiping Our God. I am deeply sad sometimes that things didn't play out differently, but I know God has His overarching plan, even above what we come to believe to be His plan.

We appreciate your prayers and support in these times.

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Worship EP

2010-10-05T09:20:00.003-04:00

a few months back i started raising money on facebook to record some music. the last time i went into an official studio and recorded something for the purpose of actually giving it to other people was 1998!

so i've finally done it, but i couldn't have done it without your help. 19 people chipped in and i had enough to make a 4 song ep called "breathe your life"... and because people donated to help make it, you all can get it for free (you're welcome to make a donation as well, but otherwise it is completely free)!

go here to download your copy:

www.gregghamptonmusic.com

the ep has songs written over the course of years, new mixed in with old, but all are for God and about Jesus...

i hope you're able to worship God as you join with this music!

okay, so i'm in a contest

2010-07-31T12:28:00.002-04:00

Will you do me a favor and go watch this video? It will help me be chosen to sing at a very large venue!

http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=%2F&gl=US#/watch?xl=xl_blazer&v=UR-yv18WVxU

Worship Set

2010-07-28T18:24:00.002-04:00

Some of you are aware i've moved on from The Vine. please feel free to email me at greggoryjames@gmail.com with any questions... i'd be happy to grab a coffee with any of you...

otherwise, check out my last set at The Vine... all originals and you can totally hear everyone singing along!

Gregg Hampton from Gregg Hampton on Vimeo.

I'm Just a Normal Person

2010-06-01T01:31:00.004-04:00

"I'm just a normal person, I don't have any powers."

those words killed me, murdered me tonight.

my son has wanted to be a Jedi for a long while now, and tonight while i was putting him to bed he burst into tears as he confessed "Jedis aren't real."

he wept. literally wept. there was nothing more he wanted to be. and realizing or coming to grips with the idea that a Jedi isn't "real" was just too much for him. he confessed that he isn't a jedi, just a normal person and that he didn't have any powers.

it took all of me to not break down with him.

all i could do is assure him, that while a Jedi isn't really real, that i was so proud of him that he wanted to be a Jedi. because a Jedi is good, and protects people and fights for what is right.

i told my son these are all things that i hope for him. and even though Jedis aren't real, i am truly proud that he wants to be one.

i also told him that i'm just a normal person. i know, hard to believe. but the reality is our kids look up to us and don't see us as normal people. i told him that i'm just a normal person but God helps me to do great things all the time.

i told him that i pray with people to be healed and get to lead people in worshiping God. these are great things. its okay to be a "normal" person, because God will help us do great things.

so here is to being a normal person, and how devastating it is when we discover that.

may we be equally rocked when we discover the greatness of God and what He wants to do through us!

Worship Teaching

2010-05-26T23:01:00.003-04:00

This past Sunday I was privileged to be able to share the platform and teach with Pastor David for a few minutes. Here are my notes and thoughts I shared:

Point #1
Worship is a Response. A Response to Who God Is and What God has done.

It is just like putting a pot on the stove. The water doesn't boil on its own. The burner causes the water to respond by boiling. We worship God as a response to seeing who God is and what God has done!

I grew up being told I was supposed to worship God but I was never really taught much about it, so you could look at a verse like Romans 12:1 "Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship", and be overwhelmed.

At first it can feel detached... like we're being told to worship but not filled in on the details...

But when you back up into Romans 11 you see the why, it describes what God has done and who God is. That is why Romans 12:1 starts with "therefore", because worship is a response to who God is and what God has done.

However, its funny that we take this for granted. We are aware of God! Yet we don't think about how profound that is. God the God of all and above everything allows us to be aware of Him! How incredibly awe-inspiring is that? And that leads to my second point.

Point #2
If God Didn’t, We Couldn’t. Because God Did, We Can.

If God didn't reveal Himself to us, we wouldn't be able to worship Him. You can look through the Psalms just for a few examples of seeing God...

Psalm8:1-4 is a great example:

"Psalm 8:1 O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. 2 From the lips of children and infants you have ordained praise because of your enemies, to silence the foe and the avenger. 3 When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, 4 what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?"

What is man that God is mindful of us? And my point is, what is man that He lets us be mindful of Him?

Point #3
Jesus is God’s Greatest Revelation.

There are 2 main kinds of revelation. No, I'm not talking about the book at the end of the bible that talks about Armageddon! I'm talking about the ways God reveals that He is God.

First there is General Revelation. This is mainly Creation. When we look around we see creation and are drawn to believe there is something or someone above us.

Second is Special Revelation. This includes miracles, the Bible... but the most specific special revelation of God is Jesus. Jesus is God's Greatest Revelation to us!

He comes and takes on our flesh, lives, dies, rises, redeems and frees.

When we See what Jesus has done, we more fully See who God is.

And in response we worship!

Worship Encouragement

2010-05-26T19:23:00.002-04:00

this is a comment someone from The Vine made on my page the other day... I'm thankful God's heart is being found in our worship!

"music really puts my mind into worship and God speaks in a powerful way through song... one of the things I really appreciate about you is that you give it all to God.... not to your glory, but God and Him alone! Amen and Amen! You have a great gift and I am grateful for you sharing it with us!"

i am blessed to be able to share and lead others in worshiping Jesus...

Reason

2010-05-22T10:15:00.004-04:00

This is what one of the people that has donated to the project said when I said Thank-You:

"No problem! Listening to your songs on a CD would be more enjoyable then recording your songs during church with my iphone, transferring them to my itunes library and then burning them to a disc. My CD has people coughing in the back ground, a baby crying in the back ground and someone having a conversation about school. LOL! But I can burn you a copy if you would like?"

What reasons do you have?

You can help out here!

We Will Be Yours (Rise)

2010-05-16T15:33:00.005-04:00

Worship Record

2010-05-13T10:52:00.003-04:00

i think now is the time to see if now is the time.

what i mean is, i've created a sponsor me page on facebook to try and raise funds for a worship album of songs i've written over the last few years.

i like using the word "record" when talking about a worship project. the reason is because it should literally be a record of worship. not just a recording, but a historical record of words and melodies and hopefully of something God wants to use to draw His people toward Him.

if you want to help and be a part of that record, go here and support the Gregg Hampton Worship Album.

my intention is to make it available as a free download. i won't be "recouping" money. but hopefully it will be revitalizing hearts.

as a side note, if there isn't enough support, whatever is donated will be passed on to The Vine, the church i'm the worship arts pastor at...

thank everyone

gregg

Worship Prophecy

2010-05-03T16:23:00.002-04:00

i've been a part of many circles in my life where prophecy was and is common.

i believe in prophecy. i have been prophesied over and have prophesied over others. this is why i feel i'm qualified to mention 2 things about prophecy.

prophecy presents both a value and a challenge. i'm not talking about the content of a prophecy necessarily, but what that actual event of being prophesied over does. it gives a value and a challenge.

first of value. the value in a personal prophecy is that it tells you something. good, bad...it tells you something directly from God. its awesome. even when the "word" is challenging, it is so cool because you feel like you've been given a picture of what will or could be. it lets you know that God has a plan and your life isn't a series of mistakes, but a progression toward what God has for you. whether it is a statement of something good that will be fulfilled in your life or if it is a warning of what to change, you leave that moment knowing that God is aware of you and loves you and wanted you to know something.

the challenge is what to do with the prophecy. often in the wake of a positive prophecy the action can be to go to sleep. what i mean is...you are told something great God wants to do, so you think it will just "happen" and while in some cases that may be legitimate, in most cases, i would think, there is still action and path-walking to do on our part to get to where it is God has spoken to you about.

when i was a kid i was told time and time and time again that God had great things for me, that God would use me in great ways. I have been told i would be singing in front of crowds of thousands, that i would...you get the idea.

the challenge for me was i thought it should just happen.

for the longest time i was so frustrated with the churches and environments i was in and their lack of growth. but i was completely blind to my own lack of growth.

like a son waiting for an inheritance, i thought it should just be planted in my hand immediately and there wasn't any need for me to move my own heart.

what i have found is that a "good word" can lull us to sleep like a mother's soothing words to their child at bedtime. and like the child falls asleep and begins to dream, we are "dreaming" if we think that God doesn't at the same time desire that we be active in our development.

we can begin worshiping the prophecy instead of The One source of Truth.

like those given "talents" in the gospels, we are expected to work with what we have. and what we have is not only a "word" for the future, but the gifts, talents, and abilities God has given us to help in moving toward the accomplishment of what God has told us.

Worship God

2010-04-27T13:36:00.002-04:00

i just want to drop a post here quickly to encourage you to worship God today!

there is theological standing to say we become like what we worship. so worship Jesus!

we will respond and act and be like what we give honor to...so honor the Holy Spirit when the Spirit moves in you.

i was reading in Deuteronomy the other day about how obeying God is not beyond us. the idea of God, however, is. fully understanding God is clearly beyond us. obeying Him is not beyond us.

worship is often simply an act of obedience.

obey God today!

worship God and know you are loved in a way you cannot truly understand. and when you worship God you will begin to experience the Love of the heavenly Father and become like Him.

Worship Freely Given

2010-04-17T19:33:00.004-04:00

as a worship leader and a songwriter there is often something i feel when another worship album comes out. it is some kind of mixture of feeling odd in paying money for songs concisely written and recorded for the purpose of leading people into the presence of God, and listening wondering if i could have recorded something of equal or greater value...whatever that means.

but every once in a while something happens.

someone gives their album of worship songs away for free. when this rarity happens, i feel something else.

there is something about worship freely given that disarms. i don't have the initial odd feeling of paying for songs of worship. and secondly, i think because of the first, i don't compare.

its amazing how you'll find music without the measure of a monetary value given to it can be valued more. with no initial value labeled upon it, you find value for yourself. you're not given a starting mark of $10, $15, or $20. you're simply given. and you spend grace and appreciation for the gift in double what you would have paid in dollars and cents.

the most recent example of this is Jeremy Horn's newest album We Welcome You In. its free (get it here). it is a full-length recording of songs meant to draw you into God's attention. and it succeeds.

i appreciate Jeremy for this, even though i have never met him, i appreciate his writing and use of words. the songs are arranged well. the Spirit is present and sweet. the worship is free.

and being free, i believe, helps me feel free in the way i partner with this recording to worship God.

i believe worship costs us something, but equally believe worship is to be freely given to God with no strings attached of how God will respond. Jeremy has set a great example with this project and giving it away for free.

no doubt, it cost something to make this recording, but it is given freely.

wonderful!

worship control

2010-04-10T22:28:00.005-04:00

There is a never-ending array of controls being invented every day to make the manipulation of our daily lives more streamlined and easy. Isn’t that what control is at a very basic level? Manipulation.

But the most important control is the control of self, and this is the control we ignore and avoid above all. Not only do we avoid self-control; we sprint toward controlling other people. It feels easier to control someone else, or at least try to, than to have self-control.

Look at the story of Cain and Abel in Genesis 4.

Both brothers bring a gift or offering, a form of worship to God. We don’t know specifically why, but God accepts Abel’s offering and doesn’t accept Cain’s. Cain has some kind of deficiency in the way he worshiped God (which begs the questions, is God really okay with any form of worship?), but God gives Cain the opportunity to make it right and tells Cain if he doesn’t do what is right, sin is crouching at his door waiting to pounce.

The word used to describe the sin waiting for Cain gives the imagery of someone stretching out after something. It gives us the picture that sin is enticing him, trying to convince him to move in a certain direction. Sounds like control doesn’t it? Sounds like manipulation.

This is where God tells Cain, “but you must master it.” Cain must master his sin and choose to worship God. The opportunity to worship God will be lost if Cain doesn’t master his sin. The word for “master” here means to take dominion over something. God is telling him to take control. If Cain can take control of himself, if he can take dominion over his own desire and submit to what God is asking, he will be able to worship God.

But Cain doesn’t master his sin. Cain doesn’t take dominion over what is crouching at his door. Cain takes dominion over his brother. Committing murder, Cain masters Abel.

How many times have we missed an opportunity to truly worship God because instead of controlling ourselves, we try and control someone else?

This question hits particularly close to home. I am the prototypical over-thinking, self-absorbed, emotionally unbalanced, quintessential example of a modern worship leader. I believe self-control is a key issue and element of true worship for God, but I don’t believe it enough to let it permeate my daily actions consistently.

I think about the last argument I got in: what I said and how I chose to say it. Control. I think of the last time I had to convince someone of my opinion. Control. I think of the way I know exactly how to push the emotional buttons of my wife, all the while protecting and preserving my own. Control.

If you are a leader in a church, think of your last sermon, or the last time of worship you lead. Think of those carefully placed words, or that perfectly planned crescendo. Control.

Control is powerful. A.W. Tozer in The Knowledge of the Holy says, “We want a God we can in some measure control.” If we can’t control ourselves, trying to control others, how far of a leap is it really toward controlling God?

Take a lesson from Cain, being unable to control himself, he controlled Abel, and missed his opportunity to worship.

Let’s let go of our attempt to control others and embrace the way God asks us to control ourselves. Because self-control is not only evidence and fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Self-control is worship.

as i am

2010-03-15T00:26:00.006-04:00

this, to me, is one of the best songs ever written. it comforts and confirms.

i remember as a teenager, feeling lost and alone, i would listen to this song over and over again. it is hard to remember who we belong to sometimes.

above all i am God's. i belong to Jesus.

and He loves me as i am.

He is the light of the world that shines on me.

i am my beloved's

Passive-Aggressive Recovery

2010-02-11T23:53:00.001-05:00

Guest Post from Susan Anderson:

I am a recovering passive aggressive from a family of passive aggressives.

I grew up in an environment where we rarely said what we meant or meant what we said.

After years of emotional stuffing and tongue biting, we would erupt like Mount Vesuvius on some poor unsuspecting fellow who inadvertently dropped the final backbreaking straw on the camel's back. So to say that I had difficulty with healthy communication and self-expression is a profound understatement.

Some of my early sermons were a lethal mixture of scholarly insight and kickin' 'em to "Come to Jesus."

After one particular diatribe on Esau selling his birthright, I closed my Bible and looked up into the tear-stained, condemnation-laden faces of the congregation.

The Associate Pastor of the church approached me after the service.

Feeling insecure I asked, "Did I do ok?" He smiled. His eyes twinkled (No kidding!). "You did a good job." He paused and sat down on the pew and motioned for me to join him.

"Sometimes when we preach we can say all of the right things, but the tone that we use or the spirit of our delivery alter the message," he said while gently patting my hand. "And in the end we find that rather than uplifting the sheep we have beaten them down."

With those words, my education in effective communication began.

My first lesson, guard your spirit and pay attention to tone.

Tuning a tone-deaf ear is no small feat.

The Lord pulled out all the stops, even calling in the Prophets.

While visiting family in Nebraska, my husband and I decided to go and hear a well-known prophet at a local church. At the end of her message, she pointed to me and said, "You can say all of the right things, but if you say it in such a way that offends people, than what you have said will not be heard.

So how you say things is as important as what you say. 'Be wise as a serpent and gentle as a dove.'" My second lesson, use wisdom and be gentle.

Gentleness is a fruit of the Spirit and it is cultivated in challenging soil. Challenging soil for me came around the committee tables of a declining Mainline church in transition.

They hired me to be a change agent.

To my youthful, zealous, idealistic mind the solutions were clear - if I could only convince the longstanding, deeply entrenched members to see it my way.

Hour by hour I honed my defense. My apologetic became flawless. My passion was endless. My effectiveness in changing minds, a complete failure.

During this time I was teaching "Experiencing God" by Henry Blackaby. In his book he writes about discerning the will and timing of God by listening to Him speak through those in the Body of Christ. In essence, the most adversarial opponent and the most vehement critic could very well be the voice of God saying, "Slow down!" or "Turn around!" or even "Stop! Don't go down this road."

Listening to those who I sarcastically referred to as old wineskins, proved to be priceless. Our collective discernment would lead to a manageable pace that the congregation could keep up with and a strategy they would support.

What I learned was a lesson in good ol' diplomacy.

My progression from tone-deaf to diplomat has been slow and humbling. The process is by no means complete. If you haven't figured it out by now, I am the fool in the King's court.

the church

2010-01-25T22:14:00.003-05:00

is the bride of Jesus.

is beautiful.

is His first choice.

is us.

is alive.

is not as "sick" as some would lead you to think.

is beautiful.

is the bride of Jesus.

is His first choice.

is spotless.

is forever forgiven.

is not "sick" in the way some would lead you to think.

is beautiful.

is the bride of Jesus.

is His first choice.

is the jaded's last choice.

is the world's best choice.

is sick with love in a way you can't understand.

is beautiful.

is the bride of Jesus.

is His first choice.

when you are in love you see things a certain way.

how do you see the church?

harshly?

lovingly?

harshly in the name of love?

what does the bible say about love?

keeps no record of wrong?

hmmm...

expectations

2010-01-20T13:08:00.003-05:00

if you haven't see this yet, you need to. it doesn't just apply to Christmas Eve, but every day of life. give the giver of life room to move in you.

history

2010-01-18T14:02:00.003-05:00

just say the word "history" to yourself a few times.

what comes to mind? world history? church history? personal history?

i am not a history buff. my brother-in-law is. but he kind of has to be because he teaches it. but one thing i know is our history informs the present, and our present will inform our future.

it doesn't mean we are bound by the past, it just means the past is like a reference on your resume'. whether you know it or not, the past has something to say about how things may unfold for you. especially if you are unaware of your past.

the fact is, i have had things happen in my past, in my history, that were not good, were not healthy. these things inform me now. but it is up to me to filter those things and evaluate how to act on what i'm hearing.

think about the history of God's people. God is well informed that His people always seem to walk away. Yet God always opens the door and welcomes. The bible does describe a day when the option of returning will no longer be on the table, but until then, it seems like God, being all-knowing, looks at the past, at the history, and chooses to believe the best for us.

there is a kagillion books out there about thinking positively to overcome your past.

i'm thinking we don't need those books as much as we need the Mind of God.

history says you are unlikely to stay close to God... but God believes the best. you can too.

so when you think of history, when you think of your past... for a moment, let the way God sees things permeate its way into your mind. you may see things differently.

what does it for/to you?

2010-01-16T00:26:00.001-05:00

just one question.

what either turns your heart toward God or turns your heart away from God?

comment or twitter with @greggory

new depths

2010-01-12T13:31:00.002-05:00

there is a promise God makes us that if we seek Him we will find Him

its been great to see how the current of worship has been flowing at The Vine the last month. God has been giving us opportunities in our musical worship to flow from one song to the next and back and forth without missing a beat. this isn't something new to worship, but it is something relatively new to The Vine.

this sunday we sang Oh Happy Day, Came to the Rescue, God of this City, for the first set of musical worship. we flowed directly from the end of Came to the Rescue bridge into the bridge of God of this City and at the end of God of this City, we flowed back into the bridge of Came to the Rescue.

a friend mentioned to me today how that helped him. he told me in the midst of Came to the Rescue he was getting excited about being in the presence of God and what it will be like and then we went directly into God of this City and it reminded him there is still much to be done.

its always cool to hear how leading worship actually had a tangible lesson found within it. that is the power of flow, and the importance of having gone back to the connectedness of the bridges of those two songs. Came to the Rescue's bridge is an anthem of asking God to be evident in our life, to be lifted high, and the bridge of God of this City is a declaration of God's uniqueness, "There is no one like our God!"

at The Vine we are trying to let people go to new depths, and to encourage a life of worship God and directing hearts toward God.

so get ready, because new depths of worshiping God are coming. the kind of worship that infiltrates our lives outside of sunday mornings.

this is gonna be great!

a group's thoughts on Secondhand Jesus

2009-12-16T10:44:00.003-05:00

this time through our cluster (small) group, we went through the book "Secondhand Jesus" by Glenn Packiam, a pastor and worship songwriter from New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado.

the book sparked many great discussions and challenged people in their thinking about Jesus and how we know him, either actively or passively.

i thought i would share a few things a couple of the people in the group wrote down about the book

"i liked the whole base of the book--you never know what tomorrow brings--what is your faith based on? your personal relationship? being in the word/prayer? or is it based on what you hear from 'trusted' leaders?"

"carts was an eye opening concept. it actually made me think about my personal life and how sometimes we use people as carts when in reality we should not allow "experts" to manage deeply important aspects of our lives."

"chapter 8 & 10 really spoke to me. it truly is by the 'grace' of God that we are all forgiven. and we all ask for forgiveness and favor with God wen we need him, but God wants us to be in love with him at all times. it makes me think about my faith and journey walk with god. it makes me realize that i need to do better. i want God's grace and favor at all times; when things are good and bad."

"so much here--the very end regarding Mapquest--i really thought about the Bible as a Mapquest. it gives the topography, the paths, the steps, etc. but you never really know what the trip is until you step out on the journey."

thanks to Glenn Packiam for a wonderful book i would recommend to anyone.

you can get your copy here.

coats for christmas

2009-12-07T14:18:00.004-05:00

Coats for Christmas is kicking off for 2009 and it is time for you to get involved. This is your opportunity to put those coats you aren’t using to good use and even give out of your plenty to those who have need. (more details below video)

The mission is to be the hands and feet of Jesus to the homeless of Atlanta, GA. by providing warm winter coats, gloves, socks, stocking caps, ear muffs, scarves, etc. to them on Christmas morning.

Here’s how it works:

Take your coats out of the closet (if they need cleaning, get them dry cleaned).

Bring them to a drop off location – The Vine on Sunday mornings or 1 of 3 Classy Nail & Tan - Braselton, Hamilton Mill, or Sugarloaf through out the week. Hours for drop off M-F: 10-7:30 Sat: 10-6

On Christmas Day meet at The Vine’s facility at 11 a.m. to head down to The Gardento start the journey of “Being Jesus and Loving Jesus”.

Keep checking back for more information regarding ideas and suggestion for getting stuff for Coat for Christmas. Also, there may be more opportunities to arise as we move forward with this project. For now everyone should head to the closet and give what they do not use or give out of their plenty for those who are in need.

joel's notes

2009-11-02T15:37:00.003-05:00

This is a list of scriptures a friend of mine came up with years ago about how to come to Jesus and to grow in a relationship with God... there weren't any notes with them, just the passages...

Step 1

Romans 1:16

Romans 3:10, 23

Romans 5:6

Romans 10:9

Romans 10:10

Romans 6:23

Step 2

Proverbs 10:19

John 8:31-32

Step 3

2 Corinthians 5:17

Ephesians 2:8-9

Hebrews 11:1

Hebrews 13:17

Step 4

Proverbs 3:5-6

1 Corinthians 15:33, 58

Romans 8:1-8

Philippians 4:6-7

James 1:19-20

Proverbs 27:1

Isaiah 40:31

Matthew 11:28

Romans 8:28, 31

Step 5

1 Corinthians 13:13

2 Peter 1:3-11

Step 6

Matthew 5:16

Step 7

Ephesians 4:17-32

he adds to remember to Hear, Examine, Analyze, Remember, Think, Apply

Joel does not consider himself to be currently close to God, has nearly died a number of times, has had strokes, surgery on the blood passages in his neck to prolong life, and recently found out that the melanoma in his eye is apparently gone.

he has experienced many things i won't list here but he would tell you if you met him, and yet he is alive, but constantly questions if he is "alive".

check out these passages...

will it lead YOU closer?

let me know.

Testimony

2009-10-15T10:54:00.000-04:00

camel or comrade?

2009-09-10T10:50:00.004-04:00

lets just say that camaraderie is like water. camels don't need much. are you a camel or a comrade?

i was reading about camels, for no particular reason, but noticed a number of things about camels that relate to the idea of camaraderie, or the lack there of.

camels don't need water the way we need it. yeah, they need it, but not like us. i was reading that a camel can lose up to 20-25% of its body weight due to sweating before it is in danger of health risks... if the human body loses only 15% of body weight through dehydration it goes into cardiac failure! the lack of water will actually destroy your heart's chances of survival.

camels are set up for water retention. if we retain water we get depressed... haha, that was a joke.

seriously though, a camel's nostrils are created to reintegrate moisture, when they sweat (only once their body temp reaches 106) most of the sweat helps cool their body below their coat. a camel's kidneys and intestines are so efficient in saving water their urine comes out like syrup and their feces comes out so dry you could start a fire with it immediately.

everything about a camel has been fine tuned to retain water and to survive in a dry climate.

we are not that way. we just aren't. we need water. we show symptoms of dehydration after losing only 2% of our normal water volume. we need it.

camaraderie is like water to my soul. i need it more than most things.

now, i think we each make a decision. camel or comrade. look at your life. are you a camel, do you live like you don't need anyone, are your relationships surface and for the purpose of accomplishing a goal, or are you a comrade to those around you?

if tomorrow you were suddenly surrounded with a new life and new people and you could no longer be in relationship with those you know now, would you weep for the loss of their camaraderie?

i'm not asking if you would be sad you wouldn't see them anymore or for a while. would you miss their camaraderie? camaraderie is the quality of affording easy familiarity and sociability. do you offer that to others, are you in relationship with people that offer it to you?

i don't want to be a camel. i want to be human. and being human means i need water regularly. it means i need camaraderie. i think you need it too.

i will do my best to give it to you and will be thankful when i receive it from you.

long awaiting

2009-08-28T19:45:00.002-04:00

cyndi and i have not been on a legitimate vacation since our honeymoon in May of 2002, so this next week is something we have been long awaiting.

we're taking the family down to Daytona Beach in Florida and we're going to just sit on the beach for a week. i won't be answering my phone or email. i may twitter, but i won't be communicating with anyone else but my family.

some of you know this isn't going to be easy completely. i like being connected. i like talking to people and texting and twittering and all that. but my family needs my undivided attention more. i'm reading a book called "The Rest of God" by Mark Buchanan about sabbath. not many people celebrate sabbath.

i used the word celebrate intentionally. often sabbath is something 'observed' and sometimes begrudgingly. we celebrate at church and birthdays and weddings, but in rest, we often feel like we are just waiting for the rest to be over. that isn't rest. that isn't sabbath.

i am going to attempt sabbath in this next week. rest from work, and hopefully experience the rest of my family.

sabbath was made for man, not the other way around. it isn't supposed to be a legalistic weight of waiting. it is supposed to be a coronation of the deepness of God meeting with the shallowness of our own hearts. without it, we waste away. with it we learn that we truly are wasting nothing in resting.

a friend of mine once told me that God can do more with six days than we can do with seven.

i'm hoping to continue a consistent celebration of sabbath even after our long awaited vacation has ended. i encourage you to seek out sabbath and if you feel unable, ask God to show you his rest and how you can get to a place of consistent sabbath and finding the rest of God.

new and unmoved

2009-08-24T19:58:00.006-04:00

this sunday marked the beginning of a new chapter in the life of The Vine, we moved into our new facility and held our first services at a new address. everything was new! okay, not everything...it was the same worship band and pastors and sound board and offering baskets and etc. etc....

pastor david made some incredible observations about progress and moving forward and you can go listen to his first sermon in the new facility here.

lately i've been reading a lot of the old testament, and have been taking in all the times the temple and city of jerusalem was destroyed and rebuilt and destroyed and rebuilt...or built in the first place for that matter.

God has always been clear about one thing, from the days of a moving tent (the israelites were the first mobile church) to the days of solomon's great temple...God's home is not in a tent or a building and cannot be restrained to a location or contained in one place.

neither is God a destination. we are on and in a journey "toward" God, but God is not "somewhere". God is here. God is there. God is everywhere. so we may move, but God remains unmoved. God was just as much in the last location as in the new location.

we are continually beginning and entering newness, but nothing is new to God. God is not new; God is not old...God is.

so what we are doing now, is new, but God is unmoved.

what we know for sure is God is seeking those that will worship Him in spirit and in truth...and without getting into what that means, because i've heard 10 differing interpretations on that, what is clear is that spirit and truth has nothing to do with location and everything to do with state of being.

bigger and newer things can make you think you have arrived or that you can relax and sit back... but i know this about myself; i don't need a big new building or anything else that would give the sense of 'arriving' to lull me into complacency...i will do that all on my own.

and then is when i choose... be present with God or be present in a place. be aware of the movement of Jesus and the Spirit all around me, or think about the next thing i have to do.

though God is unmoved, we are being called to be moved. though the world continually pushes and prods for the new and improved, i want to see the new and unmoved.

no limit dippin'

2009-08-07T22:12:00.005-04:00

see that sauce in the middle? did you know if you want extra Zax Sauce at Zaxby's it costs $.25? can you think of another fast food joint that charges for dipping sauce?

think about Arby's or Chick-fil-A or McDonald's or any of the many restaurants that have a slew of dipping sauces. not one of them charges for extra sauce. as a matter of fact, many of them have keg like dispensers of their signature sauces. no limit dipping.

i wonder how many customers Zaxby's has lost because their sauce costs extra if they want more than one, or if they'd like some sauce for a meal that didn't include any already? it may seem incidental, but people can be fickle. i wonder what you think? should it be free like so many of the others?

i of course apply all these little things i notice to the church. what is the church's "signature sauce"? is it something that should be free? or should it cost something?

oh! like grace maybe? or maybe something else? what do you think?

i remember when i was a kid and i'd go to Arby's. i would take my sandwich over to the Arby's sauce pump and literally drown my sandwich in sauce. i really can't recall the taste of the roast beef even, only the sauce. how much money would Arby's save by charging for anything over half an ounce? would they lose that in additional sales lost due to their sauce snobbery?

so again, what is the church's signature sauce and do we or should we hand it out freely, even if used in excess, or should it be rationed?

choose your battles...

2009-08-05T20:31:00.003-04:00

I read something interesting about Conflict in 2 Chronicles yesterday. I had never noticed this before.

Josiah was a great king. He rid the nation of foreign Gods like no other had, celebrated Passover in a way no other king had, but at the end of his reign he died because of an avoidable battle.

He didn't know the difference between his battle and "a" battle. He takes his army out to meet King Neco, who is on his way to fight an unnamed enemy. King Neco tells Josiah not to get involved because God is for him and Josiah would lose.

Then the bible says something strange, it says King Neco was right. God was with this king from Egypt. But Josiah disguises himself and they battle anyway and Josiah is killed with a random arrow.

I started wondering why he fought. Was it an old grudge against Egypt? Was King Neco on his way to battle one of Josiah's friends? We're not really told.

What we are told is King Josiah died pointlessly in a battle that wasn't his business and ended up fighting against the God he loved and served more faithfully than most of the kings in Jerusalem.

Because he didn't know the difference between his battle and "a" battle, he died.

It is particularly sad to read what happens to his people and his country in the following few months and years because of his death. This is an important lesson for me and think its worth asking the question to you....

What battles are you fighting? Any chance you're actually fighting against God?

I get the sneaking suspicion Josiah thought God could never be with or for a King from Egypt...and sometimes we may be convinced God couldn't be in or for or with this or that or the other, and we open our mouth and disagree before seeking God to make sure we aren't really fighting him in the name of fighting "a" battle.

be like me, be like me, be like me, lie to me

2009-07-24T21:39:00.002-04:00

i'm pretty convinced it is ingrained into our nature to expect others to be like us. in other words, we crave uniformity.

when you are a certain type of person, you tend to feel this more than others. i think creatives feel this a ton. creatives tend to be stereotyped to oblivion...they're lazy, unorganized, messy, late, procrastinators, with untucked shirts, uncut hair, pierced everything, and no money.

these are of course are all lies, but are all true. i have been lazy, unorganized, messy, late, procrastinated, left my shirt untucked when it was 'appropriate' to tuck it in, left my hair ragged even when it makes people uncomfortable, pierced my ears 5 times and my eyebrow and can be known as something of a mooch.

now. i have been these things, and many 'creatives' have been these things, not nearly always all of them at once, and even if they were, why are some so uncomfortable with it? the answer is often, but not always, uniformity.

i have a friend that works at a large church and has been there for around 8 years. she is a creative to the very fiber of her being. she has been overlooked, ignored and devalued time and time again over the course of that time. after as long as she has been around, she is starting to gain some ground. after nearing a decade, the need for her to look the same, act the same, be the same, has started to decrease...dare i say some have even celebrated her.

i knew another creative that was basically told 'if you would cut your hair and dress nicer you would probably be on staff at this church already.'

and yes, creatives do it too...judging the straight lace.

we walk about life saying 'be like me, be like me, be like me..." and what we are really saying is 'i'd rather you lie to me.' we are more comfortable with people lying about themselves to fit in than celebrating who they really are.

so who are you?
are you willing to let people tell the truth?
be like you

Insane Campaign Explained Video...

2009-07-18T21:30:00.005-04:00

pass this on to everyone you know by copying and pasting this link...
http://www.hurl.ws/472w

things i've learned (am learning)

2009-07-05T16:03:00.009-04:00

a couple days ago i went through all of my journals and made a list of important things i've written down in the past 8 years or so... many are from people i look up to, some are from moments i've had with God... let me know which ones resonate with you

callousness is the devil's home
seek God first before everything else
buy wisdom
bow your soul
submit to leadership
be aware
be careful about being too smart
you don't learn grace only once
obedience is highly valued
God wants your character to rise to the level of your ability
its about knowing the Father
be genuinely interested in others
be diligent with what is in front of you
grow in competency
it takes 2 years to work your first day and 4 years to really know someone
confess to God and man
as soon as you're afraid to lose it, you've lost it
be a living tool
the sabbath is a matter of life and death
there is peace in serving others
God resists the proud
structure is key
don't succeed at something that doesn't matter
don't ask for "staying power", but for His power
let God do what God will do
a fool is full of opinions
discipline is the door between desire and delight
what will your sin cost me?
there are no such things as secrets
all my fountains are in Him
feelings lie
focusing on morality doesn't produce morality
the kingdom of God is wherever Jesus is king
add value to people
stay on the altar
being a christian is about becoming
there are certain things that will never be your role
in the absence of leadership, lead
do little things well
a spiritually bored church is boring to the lost
judas couldn't sell the perfume, so he sold Jesus...what are you selling?
it is always good to remember what God has done
i get to choose how i believe
let the peace of Christ rule in your heart
the grumbler lives in a state of self-induced stress
there is a direct relation between how thankful you are and the strength of your faith
am i more concerned with God's kingdom or mine?
couch yourself as a learner
i am here to prepare others for acts of service
we are unnecessarily dramatic people
grow in awareness of the impact of every moment
all the world knows He is God
be supportive, not suspicious
His words are life and breath, so breath deep
don't go to Hagar for what is promised in Sarah
don't live on yesterday's faith
when we get ridiculous we see things no one has seen before
being disciplined harvests righteousness and peace
don't answer when not asked
don't confuse being a witness with being a participant
if you have a problem mouth, you have a problem heart
we live our lives through the window of eternity because faith is what convinces us we're not crazy
there reason some pastors don't worship is they are used to being worshipped
the holy spirit brings rest
integrity can be caught
you have to be a good follower to be a good leader
connect with God through hiddenness
you reproduce who you are
innocence is important
he is not like us
like completes love
we don't lead people to where we are but to who God is
you will attract more birds with bread than with stones
we represent the Father with every moment and every word
its better to deal with it now, not letting it define you, than to wait and always struggle
don't worship God with something that cost you nothing
God doesn't want our information, but our realization
careful when "evaluating" not to be "elevating" yourself
do your best to value the people above the process
unity requires intentionality
learn the difference between the need to "confront" and the desire to "control"
sometimes we miss the opportunity to worship, because instead of having self-control, we attempt to control someone else
if you don't like someone, its your problem, not theirs
control and authority are not the same thing
set your mind on the Spirit, the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace
a great leader would rather be blotted from history than see the people they lead be harmed
anonymity has no place in the church (save doing good, giving, and serving)
give without expectations
let go as quickly as possible
live life with open hands

imaginary lines

2009-07-01T11:22:00.001-04:00

We draw imaginary lines habitually, like an addict distracted from what is really happening in front of us because of our internal knee-jerk need to get a fix, we draw lines.

A good example is the Insane Campaign we are doing at The Vine. I sent the support letter to everyone in my email explaining how we are trying to finish a facility to benefit the kingdom of God in the area of Braselton, Georgia. One response I got basically asked me not to send this letter to anyone from “their” church.

A line was drawn because this person didn’t understand and they have good reason to think the people from their church wouldn’t understand why a person from one church would give dollars to another church in America.

Now, that same person or same church has no problem when a missionary to another country asks for dollars to help finish a facility to expand the kingdom of God in that non-North American area. Why the line?

Think about when Paul from the Bible would go on missions, the churches he had started helped support the ones he was now starting, and they all basically would have fit within a geographic location smaller than the United States.

Can you imagine people writing Paul back and saying, “We won’t be supporting this particular venture of yours because it’s relatively close geographically. If you however choose to travel further away, beyond our own country’s border, we would consider helping.”

Lines are stupid. God didn’t put these lines here. Its ridiculous.

and now is the time to burn

2009-06-24T17:57:00.001-04:00

go here and click "buy now"!

help a brother out!

Insane Campaign

2009-06-21T16:00:00.004-04:00

Call it insanity, but our church is attempting to raise

$200,000 in two months! During the two years of our existence, The Vine has been a portable church. Each Sunday, we set-up and tear-down for two crowded worship services. In those two years we have experienced God-sized growth in attendance and amazing work in the ministry of the Kingdom of God. To see the highlights of our first two years of existence, please check-out the following video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKN-kwHrkkI

It is imperative that we move to continually provide empty seats at optimum times so people can experience the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ. God provided the ideal space for this next phase of ministry through a course of unexplained events and unimaginable timing. This new space will allow us to experience worship with approximately 400 people at a time, and within 4 miles from our current worship facility! We began our improvements during the week of May 18^th. God has already provided us with half of the improvement costs and our petition to you is for a contribution toward the remaining half. It is our desire to fund 100% of the construction costs while continually supporting local, regional, and global missions, including Meet The Need and eradicating childhood homeliness in Maputo, Africa.

We ask that you prayerfully consider the following actions:

  - Donate $10, $25, $50 or more

  - Pass this email along to family, friends, facebook contacts, people in your church, and everyone in your address book

 - Pray for The Vine, our build-out, and all of the people who will hear the Gospel in these new empty seats.

Donations can be made one of two ways:

By Paypal: http://www.connecttothevine.org/component/option,com_dtdonate/Itemid,144/index.php?option=com_dtdonate&task=pre_paypal&Itemid=144

By Check:

The Vine (designate as “Insane Campaign”)

PO Box 244

Braselton, GA  30517

Thank you and let the insanity begin!

"i resign"

2009-06-19T12:46:00.002-04:00

and other things i've learned not to announce on a blog...

nearly three years ago on july 20th 2006 i spoke with my then pastor and told him i would be resigning as his youth pastor and moving to colorado springs, co to go to the new life school of worship.

that same day i blogged about it. i didn't realize any of the youth had my blog address and one of the youth saw it and things went relatively down hill from there.

sometimes i don't get why certain things shouldn't be said out loud, so i can tend to put people on the spot...

there are public and private sectors to all of our lives, but i wonder how much distance there really should be between the two. i learned not to blog something as "big" as resigning before filling certain people in the "real" world in about it. but the line between digital world and real world is blurring more and more each day as well. and blogging it was my way of letting the people that care enough about me to check my blog know about it.

so i am wondering out loud. is 'censoring' ourselves a way of coddling others that may not be able to 'handle' it? has 'tact' become another word for 'watering down'? would people mature more quickly if they were given the 'hard' stuff early? would lessening the line between public and private actually make us more honest people with fewer secrets, more transparency, and less to hide?

would being more openly 'critical' or opinionated actually allow people an opening to be more honest in return?

stay with me here...i'm swinging the pendulum. put yourself into one of those situations you were 'lead with a gentle hand' and imagine the same situation with a little more brutal honesty and less 'patience' and be honest with in your comments.

would you have grown more swiftly?

would it have hurt more? most assuredly. but would your growth have been greater? could you have reached a new level of growth in days, weeks or months, instead of weeks, months or years?

nothing

2009-06-14T22:27:00.002-04:00

i really don't have anything to say lately...

i've been reading some good books, like:

rest of God-mark buchanan

secondhand Jesus-glenn packiam

question behind the question-john g. miller

re:skimming/reading:

made to stick

pursuit of God

21 irrefutable laws of leadership

secondhand Jesus

2009-05-31T21:43:00.005-04:00

what could i possibly say that people like Eugene H. Peterson and Mark Buchanan haven't already said so beautifully about this book? i suppose all i have is what the message of this book speaks to me...

"secondhand Jesus" is one of those books you read and you think, "that is exactly what i have been feeling." with each page you read your own thoughts on the page written by someone else. in this case it is written by Glenn Packiam, a worship pastor at one of the better known churches in America...unfortunately it isn't better known for better reason as of late.

the tragedies and scandal that New Life Church has been through in the recent years has served as a catalyst for Glenn in discovering the rumors he had begun holding onto as "gospel truth". but rumors are being dispelled.

"We've been using God as just another gadget", Glenn says on one page and on another "Christ came speaking the language of His culture, fully intent on undermining it. We come speaking the language of our culture with the secret hope of being loved by it."

we live in a time of extreme dissemination of ideas and christianity and the church have not been immune to its side effects. unlike the early church, in the first centuries, how they would evaluate and challenge theological statements and beliefs beyond the surface understanding of the words, but to the bedrock, these days, the surface seems fine, therefore rumors become the rule.

Glenn leads a direct path toward the truth and with great transparency lays out his own faulty thoughts and frameworks. asking the question, "how do i get rid of God?" is not easy, but Glenn asks because truth be told, most of us have secretly asked in the secret of our own minds.

"secondhand Jesus" does a great service to those longing for more...feeling their very relationship with an infinite God being squeezed dry by misdirection and misunderstanding.

read this book and ready yourself to reinvent the way you walk with Jesus. choose to look to Jesus with fresh eyes for a fresh love. you won't regret it.

Glenn is an author to watch! he has the clear potential to be a writer known for generations as a mouthpiece for God and the calling of His people.

http://glennpackiam.com/books.jsp#chapter1 to read the first chapter for free.
http://www.amazon.com/Secondhand-Jesus-Trading-Rumors-Firsthand/dp/143476639X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1243820550&sr=8-1 to buy this book.

spray on Jesus

2009-05-13T20:41:00.000-04:00

cyndi heard God

2009-05-04T13:51:00.004-04:00

cyndi is my wife and the most beautiful girl i've ever known. i am regularly amazed at how she loves me and i am honored to be living my life with her. years ago, before we met, cyndi had an experience in which she heard the audible voice of God. i have never heard an audible voice from God. this was a hard story for her to tell, and a hard story to hear, but the center is hearing, and hearing from God.

Year Two Recap

2009-04-27T10:58:00.002-04:00

check out what the Vine has been up to with their second year. this video took about 41 hours all together between scripting, drawing, shooting and editing. all the music and drawings are original. cyndi h. drew 200 individual drawings over 11 hours...it took about 2 hours to shoot it. turned out incredibly.

God is doing great things and we're stoked to be a part of it!

your product

2009-04-19T20:05:00.002-04:00

i went through the drive-thru at wendy's earlier today and saw they had a new kind of shake...that of course is why i went at 3 in the afternoon, an ice cream run. but when i asked the guy through the speaker which of their new shakes was better, he said he hadn't tried them.

this has always been crazy to me. there are a couple of problems with this. one is that the person didn't care enough to either try the new products at the place they work and are a representative of, and another is that wendy's doesn't intentionally have all their employees sample the items on the menu, especially a new item.

what he told me was he hadn't tried them, but what he may also have been saying is the products wendy's is putting out aren't worth trying, even if you work there. if i were head of wendy's, this young man would probably not work for wendy's anymore.

this makes me think about the church, of course, because thats what i do, i can't help it, i just parallel everything to the church. but what if i was asked by someone about an area of the vine and i said something along the same lines..."well, i've never tried a cluster group." or "i've never been to the youth ministry" or "i've never been involved in an outreach event." but "i'm sure its okay."

as a member of a team and a staff and even more than that, a vision and call and mission, i would be completely remiss to not have at the very least sampled the other areas of ministry at the vine.

you have to know your product. you have to know how many calories are in your shakes...or if it is even good in the first place. and you can only know some of these things by participating.

i asked the wendy's employee about his lack of knowledge about the new shakes and he said that another employee there had told him which one was likely better. i would have preferred to have been helped by the knowledgeable employee.

what do you know about your product?

check out what i know about the vine here.

too far is never too far

2009-04-16T15:47:00.004-04:00

check out this story...and you'll see there is no such thing as being too far from God

if only two

2009-04-13T00:46:00.004-04:00

brilliant. i watched a large part of a documentary on a composer tonight that was nothing short of brilliant. renowned and famous and just crazy enough to be a magnificent musical mind. 70 years old and still writing, composing, scoring.

as a part of the documentary the composer's wife emotionally admits their paths are parting as a result of his overwhelming love for music to the neglect of his family. but it isn't unlike the stories of so many great writers, composers, artists, and unfortunately, evangelists and historic foundational christian leaders.

so focused on a gift, passion, or call, the most basic of calls falls neglected and atrophied. family finds last place. wesley is the great spiritual father of the methodist and wesleyan movements, yet he was an insufficient husband at best...i have heard the same of moody and many other great spiritual fathers of the church. so emboldened by the gospel to reach the masses, the few, the families were left behind.

like every young musician and artist i longed to be known, to make an impact, to change the world...like every young musician, those dreams were mixed full of impure motives and imperfect desires. now a bit older i no longer feign at fame and have little or no desire to be known across america and/or the world for my abilities and gifts.

a large part of that is family. i am not always the father and husband i long to be, but when it comes down to it, i am a father and i am a husband. i am not just a person living in the same house. i am father to brennan brave and liam noble and husband to cynthia lisabeth and at the most basic, this is my first call. God has given me a wife and children for a reason.

do i want to see thousands and thousands of thousands come to know Jesus? yes. do i want to advance God's kingdom at the expense of the kingdom he has placed within my own home? no.

and this is the very reason i will, with most likelihood, never be famous, and i will likely never be known, because i will not do what so many have done: work harder at work than at family.

if i reach only two, if only brennan and liam stand before the throne of my Lord redeemed and in love with Jesus more than life... than i did exactly what God has asked me to do.

now ask yourself this question...especially if you have a problem with this...why does this make you uncomfortable? why is there part of you that wants to barb back with, "just make sure you do everything you can." or "you better not pass up an opportunity God puts in front of you." or even, "your wife and kids will understand if..."

sounds like pharisee talk. sounds like law disguised as freedom. sounds like legalism pretending to be the gospel.

you likely have one of three responses to this. either you completely disagree, you are uncomfortable with the idea but don't know why, or this is refreshing and possibly freeing for you.

all i can say is....be free. for i would rather not be known at all in the story of history because of only reaching two, than to be known for reaching thousands at the detriment to my own wife and children. this to me would be complete failure.

Like Completing Love

2009-03-18T10:30:00.002-04:00

Love is action and if it is not in action, it is not love. This is a pretty basic statement about love that most would have no problem with. The more difficult statement to swallow is that true love leads to “like” and “like” completes love.

You have probably heard someone say they love someone but they just don’t like them. I would tell you they don’t really love the person, or at the very least, their love is incomplete. Some would even say that God expects us to love, but doesn’t tell us we have to like certain people. I would tell you that is the easy way out. Granted, this is not a clearly stated idea from scripture like the nature and divinity of Jesus or other creedal beliefs, but can you imagine Jesus walking up to any of his twelve disciples, even Judas, and saying, “I love you, but I just don’t like you.” Can you imagine Jesus walking up to even the filthiest of sinners and telling them he loves them but doesn’t like them?

To like someone is sometimes harder than to “love” and Jesus always calls us to the hard(er) thing. In 1 John you see the author reminding us of something Jesus taught him, saying “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers...let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”

Laying down life is more than a physical thing. I would say it is at least 1000% more complicated and difficult than giving up your physical life, because dying once is much easier than dying to self every day. Yes Jesus laid down his physical self, but Paul tells us he did much more than that in lowering himself, willfully abandoning his place in heaven and then submitting himself to death on the cross.

Jesus laid down everything else before he laid down his heartbeat. Jesus did the hard(er) thing and calls us to the hard(er) thing.

This is why I believe love is incomplete without “like”.

In 2 Corinthians Paul says because of what Jesus did on the cross, we no longer look at people through our own eyes or a worldly view, “for Christ died for all.” What eyes do we look through then? The eyes of God? And at the end of that same chapter, chapter 5, Paul tells us that “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us.”

Not only does scripture tell us not to evaluate men from our flesh’s perspective or the worldly view, but then Paul really hits us with it and tells us why. Jesus didn’t just take our sins from us, but became our sins. He became the very things we don’t like about people. We read Romans 5:8 describing how Jesus died for us even “while” we were still sinners and forget that he “became” the “while”. Jesus didn’t just remove but embodied. Jesus didn’t just cleanse, but became.

Do I think we have to like everything about everyone? No, that isn’t what I’m saying, what I am saying is I think the things we don’t like about a person become our reasons to not like the person. In our flesh we have a very hard time separating these things. We easily slip from not liking something to not liking someone and lying to ourselves that at least we love them.

This is why Jesus can Like and Love: he can separate the “things” from the person. Jesus created the person in his own image and became our every fault on the cross.

Now think about not “liking” someone. You look at them and there is something that rubs you the wrong way and so you choose to love them and settle or even choose to not like them, but what you choose to not like is the very thing Jesus became. Pride. Arrogance. Filth and Lust. Self-loathing. Hypocrisy. Hate. Etc…Etc…or even worse, a character flaw! These things, these sins are Jesus. And this is why Jesus can both Love and Like, because he doesn’t have our perspective, he has “their” perspective. He knows exactly where they are and why they are the way they are, because he became what they are.

Most of our inability to like comes from our unwillingness to seek first to understand and then to be understood.

Loving is a command, it is a very clearly worded statement from the mouth of our God. And so we blindly love. We lump all peoples into this love but we segment a few and a fold into the “love without like” category and convince ourselves it is not sin because we are fulfilling the command to love. But love is not general; it is specific.

If love is a command than “like” is a choice, and Jesus is calling to the hard(er) thing. To like is to complete love. Remember, Jesus has no reason to like you, for you are filthy and dirt stained rags. Except, he became and embodied your very worst. So when he looks at you, don’t be surprised to hear him say, “I like you” even before he confesses his undoubted love for you.

Ask yourself if it is easier to love a certain person than it is to like them. If you have put them into the “love not like” category, you can be sure Jesus is calling you to the harder thing…to like them. And if it isn't Jesus saying its okay to love and not like, who is the one whispering this in our ears?

One last thought. We all know someone that just seems to like everyone, and for some reason, everyone wants to be like that person.

3 of the most important things i ever learned...

2009-03-12T22:29:00.004-04:00

1. know you're role. sometimes you're opinion really doesn't matter. no really, it doesn't. this is a mantra in my head...i constantly say to myself. but it also applies to you. so much disfunction in families and the church is a result of people stepping outside of their role. hebrews talks about being a support to your pastor so you don't make their work a "BURDEN" but a joy.

2. couch yourself as a learner. in other words, assume you are the dumbest person in the room and every person there has something to teach you. you don't have to talk all the time! shut up! yet another thing i say to myself in my head, but also applies to you. the proverbs says even a wise man will learn something from a fool, but a fool is unwilling to learn. which one are you?

3. the kingdom of God is not a kingdom of fairness. oh wow, that hurts. that almost sounds wrong, but think about it. YOU are not the singular priority in this equation, the KINGDOM IS! God will do whatever he must do to advance His kingdom and your gift is a very small part of that. too many people worry and complain about what they do or don't get to do...SHUT UP! it isn't about YOU and it isn't about your feelings. it IS about the kingdom and it is about Jesus. at all times we should take advantage of the opportunities we have, not complain about the ones we didn't get.

1 out of 10

2009-03-11T17:55:00.002-04:00

i received one comment total on my last 10 posts.

that's gotta be a new record.

amazing.

the little guy

2009-03-07T17:00:00.004-05:00

i love little music stores, particularly when run by personable people with colorful personalities... what i don't like is that they never have what i'm looking for.

i love the idea of supporting the local music store and helping out the little guy, but when you go in two different times over the course of six weeks and they still don't have your guitar strings because they just paid their taxes and don't have any capital to buy merchandise, it naturally forces me to go to the big store.

today i went to the little store and they didn't have the adapter i was looking for. they had a place for it on the rack... they just didn't have any in stock.

but its a cycle... when a big store comes into town, you run the risk of losing some business and therefore, some capital. then you can't or don't stock as much stuff, and when the faithful come in they might not find what they're looking for then turn around and go to the big store, and cause the cycle to continue.

for those expecting a spiritual/church related twist at this point... i don't have one. i could conjure one, and you can probably come up with some parallel if you like... i really just wanted to vent... it would actually be cool to hear your comments on how you could apply this... haha

'the' or 'a'

2009-03-04T14:01:00.004-05:00

when i was talking to a friend last night about fasting i had a thought i am sure is not original, but thought it was worth sharing.

if you start with 'the' reason, you should move forward, even if 'a' reason clouds your decision. okay, so that sounds somewhat cryptic, so let me explain.

our conversation had to do with fasting and how he had decided many times to fast for a while to get closer to God, but then after making up his mind, he would think something like, "hey, i'll probably lose some weight too." so after he had this thought, he decided not to fast so he wouldn't be fasting with the wrong motives.

'a' reason to fast was to lose weight, but 'the' reason to fast was to get closer to God and to hear His voice more clearly. he started with the right reason, but let 'a' reason that got added on like an amendment to a bill change his mind.

how often to do we start with 'the' reason to do something and let 'a' reason keep us from following through? admittedly, following through with most things is difficult, and sometimes it is the exception to the rule that we actually start with the right motivation for many decisions we make, but when you do miraculously begin on the right footing, with 'the' reason, don't let any other singular reasons keep you from going for it. whether it is fasting or jogging.

i think it is safe to say that the more often you start with 'the' reason and actually follow through, the easier it will be to discern when 'a' reason is just trying to distract you.

Fault of Familiarity

2009-02-20T23:12:00.001-05:00

"Burning in Me"

2009-02-15T17:35:00.003-05:00

last october i went out to New Life Church for their conference and i stuck around for a few extra days to do some song-writing in beautiful Colorado Springs. in the course of that time i got to sit down with a friend of mine to attempt writing something together... the result was "Burning in Me"

you can check out a video of the song here

another part of getting to help write this song is it will be released in some form when this book is released, and when Glenn Packiam (the co-writer) releases his solo project it will be on that record as well...

so this morning i signed a one-song contract with Integrity Music for my part of the song... i've been writing songs for 15 years... its cool to finally know that one of them will be heard by more than just the people i know directly. i'm really hoping that people are blessed and they feel called to step into a burning knowledge of who Jesus in a first-hand relationship.

praise God for who He is and what He has done!

Money 911 5/5

2009-02-14T18:56:00.001-05:00

Money 911 4/5

2009-02-09T14:32:00.000-05:00

Money 911 3/5

2009-01-26T20:56:00.000-05:00

Money 911 2/5

2009-01-22T14:15:00.000-05:00

Money 911 1/5

2009-01-19T18:34:00.000-05:00

are you a lucy?

2009-01-06T17:47:00.008-05:00

abuse is a most disgusting part of life. i think most of us have been abused in some way or another. when you have been abuse you have been conditioned to a certain extent. something in you changes. i think you could almost interchange the word abused for "conditioned".

a dog learns when you raise your hand you are going to hit him, if in the past, you raised it to hit him. it takes a long time to re-condition that same dog to not expect to be hit when your hand goes up, even if it is for something good. i had a conversation with a friend via email recently about how she has possibly missed some good opportunities and growth at different churches because while she was there, what she had been conditioned to expect caused her to flee and look for something else.

we are not dogs, but we are easily conditioned. when a hand goes up, we have learned what to expect.

God is re-conditioning me.

think of charlie brown going to kick the football, and the football is always pulled at the last second and he falls flat on his back. but i want to flip it on you. it is easy to put myself in the place of charlie and say that in the past i have run up to the ball and had it pulled at the last second, and it would be true, but what happens is after being charlie enough times, we become lucy. we hold the football and see charlie coming up to kick it and we have learned and been conditioned by the abuse we have endured that we should pull the ball and allow charlie to fall to the ground in embarrassment and disappointment, because that is exactly what we have experienced.

are you charlie or lucy? stephen r. covey writes in his book "the 7 habits of highly effective people" about the emotional bank account and how with everything we do we either deposit trust into people or withdraw it from them making it less likely for them to trust us next time, and they do the same with us. everything people do in interacting with us either deposits or withdraws trust. are you charlie or lucy? do you deposit trust or withdraw?

are your words ones that add to people or take away. i heard john maxwell talk at catalyst over a year ago about how our jobs as leaders is to add to those around us, not take away. take a moment and really examine yourself... do you add or subtract, deposit or withdraw?

in the last couple of years since being in Colorado Springs and here in Georgia at The Vine, i am learning how to let the ball be kicked. it is hard sometimes, because there will always be things and situations that remind me of my past and everything in me wants to pull it up, keep the ball safe, let the other fall, and keep any semblance of control i can. but Jesus wants to re-condition us... redeem.

be charlie... don't pull the ball because it was pulled on you.... let it fly!

the heart of it

2008-12-13T23:16:00.002-05:00

tonight we had the christmas dinner party for the vine worship team. it was a great time eating tons of chinese food and talking about theology and a lot of other less important things... i got to give props to one of the guys that always has the right heart.

so what is a right heart?

a right heart is a humble heart. a right heart thinks of others more highly and more often than it thinks of itself. a right heart is directed toward God. a right heart is full of Jesus and still wanting more. a right heart knows it still has things to learn. a right heart always assumes the best about someone by default. a right heart gets over things quickly. a right heart chooses wisely.

do you have a right heart?

my heart is sometimes some of these things, but nearly and/or never all of them at once. oh, Jesus is all of these always.

in worship, i tell the team all the time, there is nothing more important to me than their heart. so today i reminded the worship team that Jesus has a heart that is broken for the lost and their eternity. Jesus isn't just "concerned" for them, but blazingly passionate for their salvation. we represent Jesus in this world, in church, on stage, etc... do we represent a Jesus with a broken heart for those he loves that haven't chosen him yet, or do we represent a Jesus that wants people to believe in him but doesn't really do anything about it?

if you know Jesus, remember, how far did Jesus go to find you?

would you and will you go the same distance to help find someone else?

i hope this messes with you, because the answer determines if you have a right heart.

Sarah Olds in Mozambique

2008-12-09T21:40:00.000-05:00

Questions part 2 of 2

2008-11-18T20:24:00.002-05:00

questions are in fact, a very important part of life and knowing God, but what also needs to be said is that questions are dangerous.

i'm obviously not suggesting questions shouldn't be asked, just read the first part 1 and you will see that. what i am saying is that questions and questioning can lead to a place we don't belong. that place is a place of judgement and pride. the Bible says that knowledge "puffs up". in other words it can produce a misplaced pride.

let me explain. in my own life i have noticed, at times, a change in the way i interact with God. it used to be that i didn't question God because i saw him as being so far above me and so "in control" that asking questions or saying some of the things the writers of the psalms said would have been ludicrous. then i realized God is personal and relational and able to "take it", so i started saying the things i always wanted to say and ask. this was great and heart-opening, but it lead to a place where simply receiving something from God or trusting him truthfully was compromised.

i think of the intricate plan i had over 7 years ago to ask Cyndi to marry me. it involved many other people that knew what was going on. 5 of us went to Chicago for a day trip, took video cameras that were supposedly for street interviews, plans for a scavenger hunt, money for shopping and one engagement ring.

now there is no question that cyndi knew or felt something was up, and she asked a few questions along the way that could have been answered in such a way by me or some of the others that went along that it would have revealed the ultimate planned result of the trip. she had every right to ask questions, but if she had pushed too hard it would have ruined the surprise, and because she loved me, she knew in her own heart that if she pushed too hard, it would ruin it.

cyndi let the plan unfold, she followed the clues, followed the path of rose petals to the spot i was planning on asking her to marry me, sat down in front of me, and said yes. she trusted the plan i had was a good plan even though she didn't know how it would unfold.

here's the deal. we know the end. i'm not talking about Revelation. i'm talking about the finiteness of life. we will all breath a last breath (unless Jesus cracks the sky in a triumphant return before that day) and we will all experience an end to what we are currently in the middle of.

what questioning can do is make this middle time hell. questions can sometimes bring us to a point of cracked-trust rather than a fortified-trust. we can ask so many questions in the middle, we stop trusting in his end.

when you no longer trust the end because you have too many questions in the middle, you put yourself in a place you don't belong, a place of judgement and pride. and worst of all, it is judgement and pride toward God's sovereignty and infiniteness.

so ask questions, but be careful not to let those questions and questioning take you somewhere you don't belong or want to be. questions should result in a greater trust of God, even if you don't "get an answer". questions should fortify. questions can be the mortar between the bricks, or they can be the mortars fired against the bricks. its your choice.

myspace

2008-11-01T15:17:00.002-04:00

hey y'all, check out my updated versions of 'be heard' and 'the choice i've made' on my myspace page.

Questions part 1 of 2

2008-10-28T10:00:00.000-04:00

Questions are an incredibly important part of life. Without the words who what when why and how, life wouldn’t be the way it is for any of us. Our very understanding of the world and the way we see it, in many ways, started with these questions when we were just tiny little kids looking up at our parents asking one of these questions.

Questions are healthy. Some are uncomfortable with questions, with being asked them, or having to ask, but whether they are said out loud or not, the questions are still there.

Quite a few years ago I started thinking about questions and about growing up in the religious tradition I was in and how some questions weren’t allowed. I grew up in a very Calvinist (teaching the full sovereignty of God causes some teachers to discourage questions toward God) environment. I knew so much about God and yet had never asked him some questions out loud that you would assume I would have by my early 20’s.

Questions weren’t considered sin, but immature. A deep understanding of who God is would render the need for questioning as childish.

I think in the back of my head I applied to God the old saying, “children are better seen and not heard,” and assumed He didn’t want to hear questions, just obedient yeses from His mindless sheep.

This is around the same time I started to read some books like “The Ragamuffin Gospel”, “The Pursuit of God”, “A New Kind of Christian” and others. All of these books painted a different picture of God (probably a slightly more Armenian version) that my heart started to open up to. It seemed that God wanted to hear my questions. It started to look like it wasn’t only okay for King David to ask God hard questions, but for me too.

Realizing that God could “handle” my questions and that my questions didn’t “scare” God was a game changer for me. I was able to finally let all these big questions out that had weighed me down for years without me even knowing that was what was going on. But now, with my eyes wide open, and my mouth wide open, I asked the hard questions.

Questions and questioning in a big way, played a very important role in me becoming enamored with God once more. Questions and questioning allowed dialogue with a distant God that turned out to not be so far away.

Have you discovered this? Is it hard for you to ask questions of an all-knowing God? Do you secretly want to ask God something childish, but don’t want him to tell you you’re just being immature?

I encourage you to ask those questions, especially if you never have. Start out small or jump right in. He can handle it. He won’t leave you or ridicule you in your moment of vulnerability.

Stay tuned for part 2 of this post.

figuring out

2008-10-08T09:39:00.003-04:00

some things i'm figuring out.

Jesus is alive and He lives in me, and how amazing is that, because i really don't deserve it. if you're like me, you aren't even aware of it half the time, but want to be... i want to be so much more aware of Christ in me
no one loves me more than Jesus, the Father and the Holy Spirit and the temporal is just that... temporary.
Satan masquerades as an angel of light disguising lies as the truth, changing the very direction life and love for the ones that believe
true love casts out all fear

Colorado Springs

2008-09-29T20:30:00.003-04:00

some of you know that we (the hamptons) used to live in Colorado Springs. this week i get to be in the Springs for some time away to focus on songwriting. one thing that we value at the Vine is creativity and we believe in singing songs that speak directly to our community and say things that we may uniquely want to say to God...

i'm very excited about this week. so far i have co-written 1 song with an old friend about not trusting in our faith from yesterday but letting God set us on fire today. and this same friend challenged me to write a new verse for one of my existing songs that might make it just that much better.

a couple of hours ago i was sitting in the midst of the 'garden of the gods'

as i'm sure you can see this is an amazing place of inspiration. here are some lines i wrote while looking at this that may or may not make it into a new song:

you came to search for us

over a thousand hills

we knew that we were dead

you came, you lifted our heads

now we have come alive

now we know you are alive

Session #6

2008-09-27T12:38:00.002-04:00

1. In the beginning God CREATED

Then he asked Adam to name the animals
This is God inviting us into the creative process
And God validated Adam’s creativity

2. Romans 1:20

The invisible attributes of God are clearly seen

3. 4 things to build for a creative environment

Security (with each other)

Trust
Honor one another
Loyalty
Creative community begins with the leader

Safety

Within this church
This is a place people can thrive

Stewardship

Of time
Of ideas

Strategy

Creativity without boundaries is chaos
You have to be okay with ideas not being used

Session #5

2008-09-27T01:27:00.002-04:00

1. How to share the trust you have earned with younger generations

Invited constructive input (environment of collaboration)
Include them on the team for “Big Church”
Invest in them, not just use them
Make sure song selection overlaps between youth and adults

2. Be secure in the call and gifts God has given you

We all have different roles, but equal value
We need superstars and the average

3. Bless the Innovators

Blessing the Innovations isn’t just praying for them but opening the doors for them
Find ways to make the successful
Find ways to stir up their gifts

4. Effective “Jacobs” (younger generations) are self-aware

They know who they are
They know who they are not

5. Don’t attribute motives because the young are immature

6. If you clothe yourself with humility you will not have to be humiliated

Session #4

2008-09-27T01:24:00.002-04:00

1. We are not consumers of worship but to be consumed by worship

2. Worship is not meant to insulate us from the world but wake us up to it

3. God gets Moses’ attention then tells him what has His attention, what God was thinking on

4. Worship helps us hear what God hears.

5. There is a lot we don’t hear because we’re surrounded by noise

6. What God hears

6 million children die every day
5 million die due to malnutrition
2 million children in commercial sex trade
800 million go to bed hungry ever day
every 30 seconds an African child dies of malaria
every 15 seconds a children becomes a AIDS orphan in Africa

7. Worship is loving the least of these as if they were Jesus

Enter Session #3

2008-09-26T09:56:00.003-04:00

1. Teams are made up of individuals willing to give up their rights for the good of the team

2. The kingdom isn't a fairness system

we think its shameful to be at a different skill level than others
many are obsessed with the opportunities they don't have rather than the ones they do

3. Care for and love your team

God is more concerned with our love for people than our boasts of love for him

4. Be hones and direct with your team

5. Admit when you're wrong

6. Be consistant

7. Create a culture of evaluation

humble ourselves
become child-like, not childish
get rid of your baggage

Enter Session #2

2008-09-25T14:26:00.005-04:00

Lead Pastor/Worship Pastor Relationship

1. The Lead Pastor/Worship Pastor relationship that works the best are the ones that choose to honor each other.

Don’t think of yourself more highly than you should
A pure heart always wins out
Jesus knew he was going to be with the Father SO he washed the feet of the 12

2. The environment

It has to start with the senior pastor deciding it will be a relational environment
The senior pastor has to set the tone that they can be open and vulnerable and honest
If not people begin wearing masks
There is no more miserable experience than working with people you aren’t friends with, that you aren’t vulnerable with

3. There must be a timing and a tone to the relationship

When you carry the same passion and burden as each other, conflict will be minimal

Enter Session #1

2008-09-25T12:40:00.006-04:00

A Biblical View of Worship in the 21st Century

1. God is the initiator and we are the responder

If we are the responders it takes the pressure off of worship leading
Burden of performance kills worship

2. We are called to be skillful stewards of those we lead in worship

3. We are called to be story-tellers

You are a theologian
What will be the long-term picture you paint with the songs you sing

4. In the year King Uzziah died…

In a time of crisis your theology simplifies
In times of crisis, God wants to visit us in even greater ways

5. Revelation: Biblical worship has everything to do with revelation

God has to reveal Himself
We can not reveal Him on our own
People tend to be more open to God revealing Himself during crisis
When we see God we see the way we truly are as Isaiah saying he was ‘ruined’
As soon as we see the way we are God provides a way to be redeemed and cleaned and made right
God’s revelation causes repentance
You don’t have to repent before worshiping, worshiping is the pathway to repentance

6. Transformation

If you go out the same way you came in there may be something wrong
Revelation of sin being washed away brings transformation

7. Illustration

The power of worship isn’t just telling the story but BECOMING THE STORY!
No one has ever seen God but if we love God He is in us
Worship leading is about becoming the story

Why The Vine

2008-09-17T16:32:00.003-04:00

who are we? what do we stand for?

big give

2008-09-16T22:23:00.003-04:00

this past sunday we kicked off the vine's big give. everyone at church received a small amount of money to invest and multiply like in the video, but the big thing is that every cluster (small) group in our church will be given $500 to multiply creatively then bring back and give to two local missions organizations!

check back occasionally to see what is happening with the vine's big give.

New Life Worship

2008-09-16T12:36:00.001-04:00

Why The Vine

2008-09-12T08:24:00.001-04:00

He did not need...

2008-09-09T11:37:00.003-04:00

"now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name. But Jesus would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. He did not need man's testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man." -John 2:23-25

why is it we want the approval of "people" or "man" so badly. even those of you that are saying, "i don't need the approval of people," are lying through your perfectly whitened teeth (why did you get your teeth whitened other than to try and fit some cultural norm that people with whiter teeth are well liked and/or more acceptable than those with stained and ragged teeth, and don't try to deny it because the whiteness of your teeth really has nothing to do with the function of your teeth in eating and chewing).

on a daily basis we do a number of things to find ourselves in the grace and acceptance of others and/or to "help" them be more receptive of us. i had a professor once say the most important thing a minister needed with him/her at all times was mints or gum. he would say you didn't want to have a chance to share the gospel with someone only to have them not hear a word you said due to your bad breath. i'm not trying to demonize this or say there is no value in fitting certain norms of culture (because of course Paul speaks of "becoming all things to all people").

i do however think we ignore them and become unaware of them to the point of blurring the line between pleasing people and pleasing God. in the verse from John we see Jesus had "no need for man's testimony" for he knew what was truly in the hearts of men. what is truly in the hearts of men? what is there about us, in what we say or do, or in what we look like, or the form we may or may not fit that can ever change what is truly in the hearts of men?

there is nothing. nothing about us can change what is truly in the hearts of men, in our own or others. a mint, a whiter tooth, a straighter bow-tie. nothing.

Jesus knew what was in the hearts of men, and during this Passover, he already knew that only a few short years later during another Passover these same people he would not "entrust" himself to would hand him over to be killed. Jesus did however entrust himself into the hands of the Father to please and follow Him with all His life.

it would be wise to remind ourselves what is truly in our hearts and in the hearts of the fickle and ever-changing people we at times so desperately try to please. keeping this in mind may make it that much easier to entrust our whole life to the only One that sees what is in our hearts and yet loves and gives himself for us anyway.

how to help them feel "home"

2008-08-31T21:25:00.002-04:00

Being someone that recently (14 months ago) moved to a new community, joining a new neighborhood, new church, new everything, I think I have a certain amount of expertise in what it takes to help someone feel like they are a part of your community. Feel free to apply these ideas to any person new to your work, neighborhood, church, or family (you never know when you’ll get at new in-law or something).

Invite them to everything. I literally mean everything. The fewer people the person knows in the new place, the more invites they will need. One thing you may not realize is you probably have a rhythm to your year, a calendar of events you follow, things you do with the same people every year at the same time. Someone new has none of those things, and none of those people. This piece of advice is golden beyond the first couple weeks and/or months. A new family will need to form their own rhythm and traditions, but are often looking for direction from the locals for what to do. So invite even if they have said no before… invite, invite invite.
Ask questions! Most people will only volunteer so much information, and some will offer none. When you ask questions you find out who a person is and where they are coming from and where they are going. We often stop at a name and a “where are you from?” It is a brilliant moment for the newcomer when you go beyond the introductions questions and go a bit deeper. Ask questions about their childhood, parents, previous jobs, how they met their spouse, where they got the names for their kids, favorite sports, favorite memories, favorite people in the world. Someone once said that we are the accumulation of all that has happened to us and we have experienced. It would make sense then to assume we don’t really know someone if we haven’t asked them questions.
Give them time. In my most recent move, I have completely changed cultures. The South is a lot to take in. The South has a culture all its own and it takes a while to learn it all and to adapt. Allow someone time to adjust from the culture and ways they are coming from to the cultures and ways they have stepped into. I come from the land of Pops and Pepsi and now live in the land of Cokes and Coke. That’s right, down here everything is Coke… even Pepsi is called a Coke. It is over a year later and I still call it Pop every once in a while and feel like an idiot when the waiter or waitress has no idea what I’m talking about… it really is a funny experience.

You really can’t rush “Home”. Home and family take years… home and family is a collage of experiences and stories and shared experiences. How do you help someone feel like they are home? I think these three pieces of advice can help!

willing/able

2008-08-26T15:56:00.004-04:00

There is a time in the Gospels when Jesus is coming down from a mountain and a man with leprosy approaches him, falls before him and asks Jesus to heal him if Jesus is willing. Do you know what he said? Jesus said, “I am willing.”

What opportunity is God putting right in front of you right now? Are you willing? Sometimes we let the thought of whether we are “able” to cloud whether we are “willing”. Don’t think first about whether you are able, think first of whether you are willing, and God will help you be able.

“To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.” Jude 1:24,25

arrest warrant

2008-08-23T16:14:00.003-04:00

today a sheriff and deputy came to our door with an arrest and search warrant. no it wasn't for me. the person that lived in our home before we bought it is apparently wanted for aggravated assault.

so here is the the cliche question of the day.... ready for it?

if God were to knock on your door with a search warrant, what would He find?

scary question, or moment of relief?

it felt good to be able to tell the sheriff he could search my home if he needed to (he didn't need to). Jesus talked about how everything done in the dark would be revealed in the light. there is no such thing as a secret. this is a lesson i learned at new life church. why do we think we can hide the things we do or think or say or are? there are no secrets that won't eventually be revealed.

the reality of life is it is much more difficult to live a clean one, but it is much easier to live when your life is clean.

Florida Bound

2008-08-18T21:07:00.002-04:00

bright and early tomorrow morning i get to board a plane bound for florida where the wigintons have been for over a month now... they haven't been there by their own choice, but their baby decided to be born super early so they need to stay there until the docs will let them all come back to georgia...

every time i travel, especially when i fly, it makes me think about my life and where i am. where i am with God, where i am with my wife, and where i am with my kids... nothing is perfect, and even with the fits, crying, occasional disappointments and frustrations that all those parts of my life can bring, i know that i have lived a great life.

some parts of my life have really sucked. there just isn't any other way to describe it. like when i was fired from my first ministry internship for being childish, or growing up without my dad around as much as i would have liked, or feeling beat up by some people that i worked for

but the reality is my life has been great. my dad became a christian and really truly loves Jesus now and wants to serve him with his life. i am in the best church i could hope to be a part of, and i have really been learning how to be a man, a grown-up man.

and one of the greatest parts is the family God has given me. i have the most beautiful wife...she is often fragile and soft and i am brutish and insensitive but i have felt that changing and i feel the best days we have had will pail in comparison to the days to come...

my boys are the boys people dream of having. brennan is fire-filled boy that will love God more than i ever had. that is my prayer for him, that he will love Jesus more than any Hampton man ever has! and liam is just like his mommy! adventurous in spirit but sensitive and soft.

there is no other life in this world i would rather be living or would rather have lived.

thank-you Jesus, my lord, the one who truly and fully loves me... i want to know you so much more than i have... amen

...and give to the poor.

2008-08-11T21:25:00.002-04:00

today i saw a man standing on an exit going north on I-85 not too far from where i live. i was on my way to teach my guitar lesson so i wasn't able to stop and pick up Mike.

so right now you're either thinking 1 of 3 things, 1-why would you pick him up at all, 2-why would you let something like guitar lesson stop you, or 3-how do you know his name is Mike?

1-i would pick him up in the first place because at times i feel the Holy Spirit has told me to pick up hitchhikers, believing in some ways, they are modern day men on the road to jericho
2-i would let a guitar lesson stop me because my guitar lesson is more than a guitar lesson, but an opportunity to teach a young man about more than just guitar
3-i know his name is Mike because three days ago i picked him up on I-85 going south for Florida and bought him lunch and gave him some money to help him on his way (he called me an angel, and i told him i didn't doubt he might be an angel-Hebrews 13:2).

three days ago i picked up Mike and he told me he was going back to Florida after visiting his son in North Carolina... his van had been stolen and didn't have the $200 for the bus ticket back home, so he was hitching. he knew he had already lost his job because he was supposed to be back in Florida a week ago, and was also pretty sure he had lost his weekly-rent-efficiency-apartment.

when i saw Mike on the exit going the opposite direction of Florida i wasn't sure what to feel. had he lied to me? was any of his story true? what did he do with the money i gave him? what had he been doing the last three days? i really didn't know what to feel. but i knew what to think.

for a very long time i have had a firm belief about giving to the poor and in need: give and do not question what they use it for. i have had a lot of conversations with people that completely disagree with me, but i am secure in my conviction. some say it is irresponsible to give money to someone that might waste it on booze, or drugs, or sex, or to give money to someone that may not even really need it. but i still believe we should give regardless of the use. and this is why...

Luke 12:33 says "Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys." and...

Luke 6:30 says, "Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back." and...

Matthew 5:35 says "But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. 36 Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful."

the truth is, i don't care what Mike did with the money. i do hope he gets wherever it is he needs to be, and if i had felt led to pick him up again, and if i had money, i would have given him money again and prayed for him and wished him well, just like the first time.

unity=intentional

2008-08-07T17:36:00.004-04:00

i was reading through my philosophy of worship paper i wrote about a year and a half ago and came across a line that is probably one of the clearest things i've ever written...

"without intentionality, finding unity is like playing basketball on a court with no lights, you can all be on the right court, but it is unlikely you will score any points for your team"

perry noble mentions the kinds of staff members you may have at a church, and describes how "ministry silos" might be constructed due to teammates not having a team mindset... that is true and good to bring up, but we can't assume that unity and "team", in a christian environment or not, will just happen.

unity should not be left to a stroke of luck or a toss of the coin. the more unity you want on your team, the more intentional you will be about unity. what do you do to be intentional. i'd love every person that reads this to actually think about that and comment. what are you doing to be intentional so your team is a team?

without intentionality for unity, unity won't be found. team members may score some points, but they won't be FOR the team.

Sonic Commercials: Round 5-Best for Last

2008-08-04T11:42:00.002-04:00

arrogance online

2008-08-01T14:41:00.003-04:00

i've decided there is one of two things happening with the way people write and interact online.

1. it is easy to be arrogant online. you may say something you wouldn't say to someone's face or you may say it a way you wouldn't in "real" life

2. it is easy to perceive arrogance online. what you read may not be arrogant at all, but it is easy to misinterpret simple text written on an emotionless page of html

what should we do? i don't know... i'm just depressed by reading the way people write and wondering where grace went. every time i make the "rounds" of reading blogs it seems there is no lack of "i'm right, you're wrong" verbiage... it bums me out.

i will do my best to write with grace and wisdom.
what impact are you making with what you write?

Sonic Commercials: Round 4

2008-07-28T23:36:00.001-04:00

Sonic Commercials: Round 3

2008-07-25T21:57:00.000-04:00

New Song: The Choice I've Made

2008-07-19T12:42:00.001-04:00

Hey, I put up a new song on my myspace, check it out...

"The Choice I've Made"

Sonic Commercials: Round 2

2008-07-16T20:43:00.002-04:00

pick it up again

2008-07-13T23:55:00.003-04:00

a couple of months ago dw was sick and we had to call an audible for what to do on sunday morning. i was given the awesome opportunity to preach... mostly i talked about stuff i learned about worship from the new life school of worship...

one of the things i talked about was how we often worship God in the way that is easy for us but God may not want what is easy for us... i talked about how it is easy for me to sing. what is difficult for me to give is the simple little acts of service like stacking chairs, sweeping, setting up... if all i ever do is sing... i haven't given God much because singing is the easiest thing for me.

today after church a woman came up to me in the front of the church and i could see her as she patiently waited while i finished a conversation with someone else that had come up to talk. she told me one of the most beautiful things i have ever heard. she told me something that defines and fulfills the very reason for why i do what i do.

she told me her husband passed away 3 years earlier and when he passed she stopped painting. when she heard the message about giving God what may be difficult as an act of worship, she told me she went home and picked up her paint brushes for the first time in 3 years and painted...

how beautifully overwhelming!

this friday at biggby!

2008-07-12T21:45:00.002-04:00

new hair: colorful

2008-07-11T17:38:00.004-04:00

Sonic Commercials

2008-07-07T14:15:00.002-04:00

1st year learnings

2008-07-05T19:46:00.007-04:00

i've lived in georgia and worked at the Vine for a full year now and started thinking of what i've learned in the first year.

1. people in georgia don't seem to care as much about peaches as people elsewhere care about georgia peaches
2. georgia is one big red piece of clay
3. if you call a coke a 'pop' no one will know what you are talking about
4. if love is shown by visiting, my sis, our parents, jenn swift and the vickers, love us the most
5. planting a church brings little rest, series after series, season after season, every graphic, video and series strives to be better than the last
6. there truly is nothing more important or valuable than family
7. it takes more than a year for new friends to become family
8. songs never come when you think they should
9. i can live without disc golfing every week, or every month
10. i cannot live without playing tennis every week and numerous times per month
11. while i have never worked in the same place for very long, i now see how easy it could be to work at the same place for a long time after working at the Vine
12. there are no better people to serve and lead worship for than the people at the Vine

this is not an exhaustive list, but a good one...

When I Grow Up

2008-07-02T21:23:00.006-04:00

all of these kids are from the Vine, and it pained me to ask them to say these things... but we ask them to live these things when we hand them a safe, predictable, neutered jesus...

losing the right way

2008-06-29T18:11:00.006-04:00

watching wimbledon i was amazed by one of the players. as i watched her slam the ball back with all she had i was impressed with her determination. her name is nathalie dechy and she is the 97th ranked woman in the world and was playing the number 1 ranked ana ivanovic but she played like an equal in every way...

the score was 6-7, 7-6, 10-8. some of you just said 'wait a tic.' what you need to know is at wimbledon there is no tie breaker in the last set of a match, so you have to win by two games.

late in the second set, dechy hit the match winning point off of the top of the net that then fell on her own side of the court, meaning the match would continue. ivanovic recovered and took it to a third set. and as you can see by the score, this 97 gave the 1 a run for her money.

at one point dechy hit an important game winning volley but her visor fell from her head as she hit it and it was ruled a distraction so she didn't win the point. and there was a whole collection of these moments where she fought and fought and ivanovic would seem to, with all the luck in the world, hit the very skin of the edge of the line, have it called out, only to ask it to be reviewed and have it over turned and have the point go ivanovic's way.

when all was said and done ivanovic won fair and square, but it was dechy the crowd of thousands applauded. dechy sat on her bench with her towel over her back and head as the crowd seemed to cheer for the winner, but they wouldn't quit. they stood to their feet and clapped louder until finally dechy stood and they cheered even louder, applauding a player that lifted her game to a great level, nearly toppling the #1 player in the world, and she did it all without a single complaint and with a smile constantly on her face.

there are times when you will lose, but you will lose the best you have ever lost. remember that. sometimes you will lose, but it truly will be about how you played the game. and you will be given a beautiful and humbling ovation.

just one more

2008-06-21T18:54:00.004-04:00

today the vine did what is called a "gas buy down". it is when you give the owner of a gas station money in order to make up for lowering the price of gas for people. today the vine paid to have gas lowered by 50 cents per gallon as an expression of God's free gift and love through Jesus...

okay, i realize God's love isn't paid down 50 cents... but you get the point.

everything really did go swimmingly at both gas stations that we served, but something interested occurred at the end when we had to close up shop and let people coming in know that the event was over and they would have to pay the full price. they asked, "just one more?!"

this made me think of when all of this will be over, this life, this earth as it is now, etc... there will be those that will say, "just one more?" and hope to get in... Jesus talked about who was invited and who would "get in"... he talked about sending out an invitation and how those first invited ignored it, so he sent messengers out in the street to call in anyone that was around so the banquet would be full.

it pains me to say this, but there will be an end, and many will be left out. it pains me to say that because i have many family members and friends that ignore the invitation... but then again, i hope i have many family members and friends that find themselves among those in the streets and they choose to come in.

another interesting thing said after, "just one more?" and we would say "no, sorry" is that they would say, "i drove all the way over here"... again we had to only say "sorry." but it made me think of another thing. there will be those that will be late to the table, that will come to the door after it has been shut and they will want to come in, and scripture seems to be saying they will not be let in, even though they "traveled all the way over"...

if we hear the invitation and are late in answering it, we are the only ones holding the responsibility, but it is in our nature to try and pass that burden, but it will be ours to bear.

we must turn our hearts toward God at the very second we hear the call! and we won't have to say, "one more?" and He won't have to say, "sorry, no."

saved

2008-06-12T15:58:00.002-04:00

i saved a turtle from certain death today. i was driving a back road between 53 and 211 and nearly ran over a turtle so i stopped and picked it up cause i figured brennan would get a kick out of seeing it, and cyndi is always jumping out of moving vehicles to save animals...

when i got it home i sat it in the driveway for brennan to take a look at, but it really was a let down cause the thing wouldn't come out of his shell.

hmmm... sounds familiar.

to steal a line from a friend, "need to confess?"