Technology is Progress!

Well, praise the Lord ... our church has decided to throw its hat into the "technology ring" and get itself on Twitter and Facebook. We are praying that this may help spread the word about our church, and spark interest in some of the younger folks out there seeking a place to call their church home. To visit us, please use the links provided below and may God bless you always.

Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/CLBCDeatsville

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/County-Line-Baptist-Church/118324461578685

County Line Baptist Church Website

Good evening! This is just a short post to announce the launch of the County Line Baptist Church website!! There is still some data being loaded on a few pages, but the framework is built and everything is working just fine. If you have a few moments and wish to check it out, the website can be found at: http://www.countylineforchrist.org

Also, as an added bonus the ability to subscribe to our service's podcast is also operational. For those who know how to subscribe, the RSS file can be found by clicking HERE.

Update: You can also listen to the podcast files here on my blog. The "last 5" podcast links are located in the navigation area.

Have a good night!!

In Awe on Mother's Day

Wow. I am totally and completely in awe of God this morning.

Today, I had the honor and privilege of stepping into the pulpit at County Line Baptist Church as their Pastor; and even though God had given me a sermon this week I found myself simply without words. Being a Pastor is the fulfillment in my life of God's promise when He called me into the ministry and of Philippians 1:6 ... and I stand in awe that God has allowed me, a sinner saved by Grace I did not deserve, to serve Him in ministry. Wow ... just wow.

Today being Mother's Day the message the Lord laid on my heart was from 1 Corinthians 13:4-7, and the main concept for us to remember was/is: Just as our mother's loved us by giving us life, God loved us so much more by giving us the greatest gift of Life, His Son, Jesus. We must love in all things friends ... willing to love in all circumstances ... and give to Christ our full and total obedience. He is so worthy, and loved us so much, that He freely died for us (see Romans 5:8) so that we could live forever. This my friends, is love.

I pray that today is a blessing for all mom's, and that you are being loved upon by those around you whom you have cared for with a never-ending love. God bless you always and may you feel the joy of the Lord around you each and every day.

What a day that will be

This morning I was at our church's sunrise service and unintentionally, my mind continued to drift back to the the day Mary went to the tomb and realized that her Lord was no longer there. The bible records it this way:

"Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, "They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him!" - John 20:1-2

While we were sitting outside listening to our Pastor's words, the sun began to come up out of the East and I wondered what it was like on that day; to see the disciples faces in realization that He was truly not there, that He had risen! I don't think, to be perfectly honest, that my mind can really grasp what it means to express the joy I feel today; knowing that when I die although my family may be sad -- I will be face to face with my Lord and Savior and long to hear Him say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant". As I thought more this morning, I heard Bro Butch say "I'm not sure what happens in Heaven on Easter morning, but I'm sure it is way better than the preaching down here." I could not help but agree, knowing that sitting at the feet of my Lord and Savior cannot even compare to anything we might experience on this Earth. Think of it friends: To kneel before the Throne of Grace, to see the One who sits upon it because He has been given all authority by His Father .... wow, now THAT will be a good day at "church"!!

My heart cannot comprehend all that Jesus has done, and even now in my office I am watching "The Passion of the Christ" in preparation to worship this morning -- and I just cannot comprehend how much Jesus loved me that He would willingly lay down His life for me. It is the prayer of my heart that you too would know this love. It is my prayer that you too would admit that Jesus gave His life for you as well, and that everything we have been given to do on this Earth comes directly from Him through the anointing of the Holy Spirit. It is the desire of our Father that "none should perish, but all should come to repentance" (see 2 Peter 3:9), and today could be the day for you to admit that you need a Savior. To admit that Jesus died for you, and gave His life so that you could one day live eternally with Him in Heaven. Won't you admit that today? Won't you take the time to turn to Christ, admit to Him that you need a Savior, thank Him for dying on the cross for you, and give your life to Him fully?

I promise if you do, from the trials and struggles to even the best church services you have ever attended will not even come close to that first day in Heaven, when you stand before the Lord and thank Him for all that He has brought you through. Oh what a GOOD day that will be, when my Jesus we shall see!!

God bless you my friends, it is truly a happy Easter because ...

HE HAS RISEN -- HE HAS RISEN INDEED!! Hallelujah!!

Ministry prayers are needed

Well, I promised several folks I would give an update as to what is going on with me, and this seems to be the easiest way to update everyone at once. I'm sorry it has taken so long to write this, I have actually been working on it for a week now to find the right words.

During the last two weeks of February, I was invited to preach at County Line Baptist Church (which is about 3 miles from our house) and to be honest it was really good to preach God's word again. I confess to you that I went there solely to preach the Word and fellowship with other believers, but after the message last Sunday night the pulpit search committee asked me if they could meet with me and I agreed.

The meeting simply began with one of the deacons saying to me, "If our church was to call you as pastor would you be interested in serving?" Well, I was floored, honored, and suddenly very terrified about being a pastor again ... but I'll come back to that later.

We talked for a while about the church's vision and about what they feel God has called them to do, and then of the ladies on the committee said to me, "Our church has a desire to grow, to reach people for Jesus Christ, and we are willing to do whatever it takes and go any distance to reach people .......... we'll knock on doors, we'll send letters, we'll visit .......... we see God using this building as an outpost to reaching the committee and our city." I also discovered the church is debt free, has 3 deacons, and a core group of about 20 folks who are sold out to reaching the lost, and have a desire to ONLY see Christ lifted up. Wow. I was floored for the second time in one meeting. So, you are probably asking what's wrong with this church and why is TJ having problems with it? (Well, if you're not asking this I am ... hence the purpose of this entry.)

You see, we went through some struggles in the previous pastorate, and I guess we are terrified of entering these types of situations again. Now, I understand and have been around enough churches to realize that not every congregation is perfect and there are always challenges, especially in the area of getting folks out of the pew, but to think that this church wants to reach out is really an eye opening experience. I said to the committee that I believe the SOLE purpose of a church is "to connect people with Jesus Christ" and they emphatically agreed.

Additionally, the church is without youth and for that matter many young people in attendance, but the infrastructure to do so is in place. What I'm saying is they already have Sunday School teachers for each age group, and even dedicated nursery and youth workers, but without the people in attendance those gifts are not being used. This of course, is a major downfall for us since we have a 15 yr old daughter who desperately needs to be in a youth group with her peers, even though I'm sure she would love to continue going to the youth group she is in now; which if she did sadly would split up our family on Wednesdays and quite possibly most Sunday nights.

So now that I've said all of this and you've been patient enough to read it ... I like to ask for your prayers for any word that you receive from God on this. I'm scheduled to preach there again on Easter Sunday (Apr 4), and right now we are praying that the Lord would give us His peace and allow us to answer the church's call (either yes or no) before then and that we would only be in God's will. Would you join us in that prayer? Would you join us in praying that only God's Will would be done in this? Would you also pray specifically for County Line Baptist Church that the right man, God's man, would be called to lead them? I don't know if I am that man, but I know I can go to the One who has the answers and He promises to bring peace (reference Philippians 4:6-9). So, would you please join me?

Our family is praying and talking constantly, and we only want to be in the Lord's will. Thank you in advance and may God bless you.

What is this Christmas?

Over the past few days I have been really trying to consider what this season means to me, and to be perfectly honest I have been coming up short trying to find words to fully explain it.

I realize that often times we all celebrate the holidays in different forms and fashions, and some don't celebrate at all - but collectively, what if we could spend time together just being thankful and grateful for what we have been given by the Lord? As many know I am an unashamed follower of Jesus Christ, and as I consider the biblical stories of Jesus and His disciples, the one theme that I constantly see is that they are always in fellowship, not spending time being divided or apart. Even in the most difficult situations, the disciples still managed to come together for a common purpose in serving one another and those they came across; with a focus and sole emphasis on sharing the message of the Lord with everyone they came across.

I wonder, if right now as the world collectively celebrates the birth of our Lord, if we would be so bold as well to join together for one purpose, and that would be to bring one another together. Of course, I'm not talking about having a "we are the world" moment where we start getting all warm and fuzzy and want to hug perfect strangers ... but what if we joined hearts for a common purpose of seeing Jesus Christ truly lifted up so that others could see Him? We all have our different angles on the holidays, and some have different views of exactly how to worship; but never once did I ever see Jesus assign different roles to the disciples to begin the Methodist movement, the Baptist movement, the Catholic movement, etc.

Jesus simply said ,"Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20)

What if we got serious about these two verses and actually practiced it? What if we spent time lifting Jesus up, and telling others about who He is; instead of spending so much time trying to convince one another that our "form of worship" was the right one? How much more could He be glorified in that ... as He should be?

Christmas is not about us, friends. It never has been. It's not about Santa Claus, Kris Kringle, or even Saint Nick. It has nothing to do with our waistbands getting bigger nor does it have anything to do with going to church one of two times a year to "make your appearance". Christmas is about exalting the Christ child, who is the foretold Messiah of Isaiah 9. Can we agree on that friends? Can we lift up the One who matters?

From my home to yours ........ Merry Christmas. I pray that sometime today you would get alone with God and offer Him the worship and praise that He so richly deserves.

The power of the cross

Oswald Chambers had a few great statements yesterday (in the November 26 devotional) that I thought were worth examining a bit here and bringing to light some application for this world. Let me be clear first though that I do not believe Oswald Chambers needs to be "amplified" at all (especially by me), but the additional thoughts are just what the Lord was speaking to me as I was reading, and so I thought I would share them with you.

"If you want to know the power of God (that is, the resurrection life of Jesus) in your human flesh, you must dwell on the tragedy of God. Break away from your personal concern over your own spiritual condition, and with a completely open spirit consider the tragedy of God."

Friends, where is our examination of the tragedy of the cross? I have said it for years and I am convinced that we simply do not focus enough on the cross and what it means. Take a look at this world and you'll see why. Everything is about "me", even in the church we have folks showing up asking "how will the Lord bless me ..." and personally I am sick of it. The cross of Calvary is beyond our understanding, but as a challenge we should be focused more on it to try to understand the mind of our Lord and why He would sacrifice His Son on it, for us. We must be willing to attempt to grasp the cross, to attempt the grasp the sacrifice -- and in doing so I believe our lives will be changed forever ... but it must be a life-long journey to comprehend Calvary.

"We have to focus on the great point of spiritual power— the Cross. If we stay in contact with that center of power, its energy is released in our lives."

Wow. The cross is our power. It is what brings to our realization that it is not about us, but it is about what happened on the cross for our sakes. Can you imagine if we were to really plug into the cross how different our lives would be? Could we imagine the change that would happen in our lives if we actually stopped trying to do things ourselves and yet allowed what God has given us to be manifested and to move through us? Let me be clear and unapologetic in saying that we can do nothing without God's authority and power; and I really feel that more pulpits need to have this proclaimed from them. It is not a human thing to bring people into the Kingdom of God, it is a Holy Spirit thing and as soon as we stop thinking we are something to behold, I believe that the cross will begin to have REAL power in our lives.

"The feebleness of the church is being criticized today, and the criticism is justified. One reason for the feebleness is that there has not been this focus on the true center of spiritual power. We have not dwelt enough on the tragedy of Calvary or on the meaning of redemption."

Finally, this just hits it home for me. The church has no power today friends. We have lost the focus that it is about the cross, and in my opinion the cross needs to stop being a decoration on a wall. When will we wake up and see that the work is of God, and we are only vessels who have the honor of participating? I think this starts when we begin to try to comprehend the cross, even though we will never fully understand it. This ought to stir in us the need to continue searching for the understanding, and in this search make us hungry for the mind of God.

So, where is your priority? What do you focus on today? Is it the mystery and the wonder of the cross or is it on something on television or even here on the internet? It's time church to stop being feeble and pay attention to what God has done for you; and not spend all our time trying to do things in "our name". This nation, our city, our town, even our homes will NEVER change until we begin to focus on the power and the authority of the cross.

Wake up church ... wake up.

October 11, 2009 - Challenging the Church

This morning we had a wonderful church service where there was a presentation of the Great Commission in a way that was straight forward; without a show or humorous story behind it to water it down. This morning, I saw challenges ... reconciliation ... forgiveness .... and honesty actually demonstrated IN the church. To me, I cannot think of any four things that are MORE relevant to be shown in the church, especially since we are commanded to draw closer to one another as we draw closer to Christ. So, with that some questions came to mind during the drive home today.

- Why do members who simply "attend church" seem to miss these VERY simple things?

- Why is there not more honesty and working with one another for the common purpose (which is to evangelize and make disciples) vice tearing each other apart or being completely fake with one another?

- Why does the song "Stained Glass Masquerade" (by Casting Crowns) so clearly define the norm in churches today and not the exception?

- I wonder if the Apostle Paul could visit our churches today what type of letter would the Lord lead HIM to write?

And so I will say this for the record: Thank you Lord, for leading us to a church where we felt FREE to come home, and that homecoming has led us to be welcomed and challenged to dive back into ministry. I thank you for your continued challenge through the Word, and I ask you to continue whipping our butts and molding us into who YOU want us to be, and not who we THINK we should be.

6/28/08

Well, here is another edition of SSS for today, and honestly I really don't know where to begin. Talk about a weird week of celebrity news and of course things just continuing to be very busy here at home.

• This week we lost Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcet, and Michael Jackson. Not even sure where to begin on these issues, so I will just share a good article that I read which really just seemed to hit home. It was a rough week for Generation X'ers, and well, that is all I am going to say on that. My only hope, is that even though they are gone; their hearts were right with Christ. For in this life, that is the only thing that matters. Here is that article: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/31556916/ns/entertainment-music/
  

• It was a pretty rough week between work and school, and I for one will be very glad when this class that I am in ends. Half way through the Master's program though, so that is very good news as far as I am concerned.
  

• I have been wondering why this Perez Hilton continues to be in the news? Does this person really have value that we need to waste time broadcasting his antics on almost a daily basis? Honestly I am not sure who is getting more airtime ... him or the President.
  

• The fourth of July is coming up and hopefully we might do a little something, even if it is just a bar-b-que here at the house and a simple day. Truth be told, I'd like to get the boat cleaned out this week and head to the lake -- so that might be something to look forward too.
  

• Headed to a new church today, should be a blast.
  

• Lastly, I had a meeting this week with an Association here in town about seeking some additional preaching opportunities for me. The meeting went very well and it looks like there might be some opportunities in the very near future. God is good ... and I just want to follow while He leads.

Hope everyone has a good week -- be blessed.