We live in the most beautiful county in the world! Okay, maybe that is a slight overstatement. But you have to admit, Desoto County is gorgeous! Trees in bloom, lovely sunshine, and refreshing rain. We have new people moving here daily to add to the glorious potpourri of culture that helps shape us into a gleaming example of the great American melting pot. Basically, I love this place. Can you tell?
So what could possibly make this chunk of American pie even more tasty? What could possibly add even more value to this great place we call home? We can find a great hint in an ancient document written by Matthew, one of the disciples of Jesus Christ. In the 21st chapter we get a literary glimpse of Jesus’ grand entrance into Jerusalem. He rides into town on an unbroken donkey. The people cheer and shout and lay palm branches down on the ground to show honor to the person they hoped would be their new king. Jerusalem has never been the same.
Palm Sunday is one of those days that reminds us that when Jesus comes in, things change. Nothing is left the same. Tables of rebellion are overturned, improper ideologies are withered, and the destitute are given another shot. And it all starts with an unbroken colt.
Do you ever feel like an unbroken colt? So many times we are unbroken. Disruptive. Unruly. Yet, when we allow Christ to sit in the saddle of our soul, we can be transformed into a catalyst for change in our community. We can make Desoto County a better place merely by allowing Christ to use us to bring change.
Imagine going to work knowing that you were bringing in the very presence of Christ; that you were solely responsible for the spiritual climate of your office. I know it sounds crazy. I also know that you’re reading this thinking, “No way. Not me. I’m not good enough. I have too many things to get in order first.” I wonder if the donkey was perfect. I wonder if the donkey smelled fresh and clean, or if it had ticks and fleas. What makes it so great is that the donkey was just that - a donkey. Nothing glamorous - nothing perfect.
If you had it all together, you wouldn’t need a Savior in the saddle, now would you? The very fact that you don’t have it all together, yet you can still usher in spiritual change, merely gives God that much more praise. It gives our Creator that much more glory, and that makes our county that much more beautiful. We are normal people, allowing Jesus Christ to use us as vehicles for His presence.

Simply My Favorite

I do believe that this Sunday was one of my favorites. Not because of anybody or anything.....simply one of my favorites. For starters the band blew my mind. They absolutely knocked it outta the park! Kicking it off with the U2 song was just too cool. I was a bit late getting into the theatre due to that pastoral talk I do.....and as I was headed in three different people stopped me and said, "Did you know we are doing a U2 song?" I just kinda grinned and said, "yea." They responded with a, "That is so cool! I love this place!"

Ah yes it's the little things that make us love something isn't it? I loved that three people gave Jesus permission to invade their hearts Sunday. (For those of you who speak only Christianeeze, that would be called, saved).

There were a myriad of little things that just made it a great Sunday. But probably near teh top of the list is for sure that i had fun! I came home and thought to myself, "Wow. Today was just flat out fun!" Maybe it was because we talked about lust and I got to say the 'other' 4 letter word all day. It was fun. Of course with all this talk about fun, I am just reminded that church-God-Jesus-The Holy Spirit-community-salvation-life transformation-connecting with God; is suppose to be FUN!
One of our wonderful ladies that comes to SouthPoint told me that she invited her nephew to come last Sunday. He replied with a a resounding, "NO! I know that it will be lame. It will be too long. It will be boring, and I will hate it!" Our wonderful lady said, "Well, honey you don't know that. I think you'll like it." Her nephew said, "I know I'll hate it. In fact I'll bet you 20 bucks I'll hate it." Our lovely lady said, "Honey that's a sucker bet, but you're on."
After this week our SouthPoint Aunt is 20 bucks richer. :) Her nephew had no qualms about telling his aunt that it was the coolest thing ever and he couldn't wait to come back next week. Ah yes, our children's teams rule the world!

So, Kudos to the band - Kudos to the foyer team - Kudos to the kid's team. I really like SouthPoint......I think I'm gonna make it my home church.

Going It Alone?

Do you ever feel like you are trudging through this valley and you're trying to get to the end? Trying to climb higher, trying to make it work, and no matter how hard you try, you feel like you are all alone? You know what I mean. i mean you feel like God is a million miles away not doing a single thing to help you along. If we're honest.....really honest......I think we could all say that we have been there before.

I think those times are part of all of our growing processes. We walk....God watches.

At least we think he's just watching.

He's not.

He's working on our behalf.

I was reading the other day in Numbers , adn I came across the story of Balaam. Now the whole Balaam story is thrown right in the middle of the children of Israel's Exodus from Egypt and their 40 year march through the wilderness. They're marching and then we get this story of Balaam who gets hired to curse the children of Israel. Now I'll save you the time of the whole flannel graph story and just recommend that you go read it for yourself. But my point is that the whole time the children of Israel were marching through the wilderness, perhaps thinking God was no where around, He was actually just over the mountain protecting them from curses and attacks.

The children of Israel were clueless as to what was going on. They were just marching in their misery, but God was on task.

I wonder how many times we are marching through life struggling. Asking for God's help. Struggling day in and day out. Even getting mad at God for "doing nothing" on our behalf. Thinking we are all alone on this journey. Maybe even thinking or feeling that God has forgotten where you are.

The encouraging thing is to know that even though we sometimes feel alone in the valley, God is just over the rise fighting for us. Turning those curses of the enemy into blessings from the throne room. I don't know about you, but for me, it's awesome to be reminded that God is not just around, He's practically working and maneuvering things in life to make sure that I'm blessed. My job is to merely stay on course. Don't waver. Don't stray. Stay the course.

Are You Happy?

Are you happy? Think about it. Are you? Have you thought to yourself, “God wants me to be happy.” If so then you would be instinctively wrong. The Bible doesn’t talk about us being happy. It does talk about us being joyful, and that joy is what gives us strength, but not happy. Happiness is a fleeting moment in time where things seem to align for a nanosecond before everything hits the fan again. You know, that moment where your child finally obeys the first time you tell them, or your boss smiles at you instead of yells at you. Those feel good moments that we seem to live for, yet rarely achieve.

The funny thing about happiness is that it is so fleeting and yet we attempt to control the circumstances in our lives to make ourselves happy. By the very nature of trying to control the situation, we become less happy than we were before. Control is an ugly monster that when it is fully unleashed, it makes us miserable, and everyone around us wary of us! We can’t manipulate or manufacture happiness. It’s too fleeting; a wisp of smoke, an afternoon breeze, a scent of a rose. As Americans we have become inundated with the idea of goal setting and goal achieving. So much so that we have adopted it almost as a theology instead of a practical application of good work sense. Goal achievement will make you happy. But it is fleeting.

Control is a messed up thing, because we allow it to eat up our own lives, then we turn it on others. We want to begin controlling how their life should be. You see it all the time. You see someone else judging someone for the way they act or respond to a situation, when in all truth we are clueless about what they have gone through. A perfect example is the other day I was talking to my buddy, and he was telling me about John who was a mutual acquaintance of ours. My buddy was telling me about how John was doing all sorts of things that were inappropriate. He went on and on. I finally stopped my buddy and said, “Hey, do you realize that John has had five step dads? All of them abusive. Some verbal, some physical, some sexual? Do you know that John has walked an incredibly long road just to be standing? Do you realize that John doesn’t need someone telling him how to live, he needs someone to show him how to live.”

Our jobs as followers of Christ are not to tell other people how to live. Or to control what they do, but have a relationship with them. Love them, and show them how to live. I know it’s not the easiest way. It’s much easier to stay on our high horses and bark orders than it is to climb down and get dirty. I guess that’s why Jesus spent very little time in the temple and all of his time with the people. Showing not just telling.

Get Outta the Box- Strecth Your Oikos

My wife and I use to live in a fifteen foot by thirty-foot house with our two year old in the Rain Forest in Honduras. To say it was cramped quarters would be the understatement of the century! The three of us in that tiny space was bad enough, but having to share it with the cockroaches, lizards, and other various rodents, was a bit much. The good thing about it though was that it forced us outside. Even though the temperatures in the summer reached well over a hundred degrees, we daily ventured out to work and play. I mean after all, who wants to stay in a sweatbox with lizards?

Every morning it was great to step outside and just stretch. It was an exhilarating experience to go from the confined space of that tiny house, to an open, panoramic landscape that seemed to stretch out into eternity. It was unfathomable.

To truly experience life; to genuinely live life to the fullest, we have to get out of our tiny mindsets and stretch ourselves. Reading a book helps, but engaging in a new situation or social sect is priceless. Isn’t it interesting that that is exactly what made the Gospel message spread? You can read in Acts. All the Christians were hanging out in Jerusalem. God had to allow persecution to come their way so they would scatter across the country and into other lands. That very persecution was the driving force behind the message of Christ reaching far away places so quickly. They just needed to get out of their boxes, and stretch their oikos.

Oikos is an Ancient Greek term, for family or sphere of influence. Those people that we feel so close to and comfortable with. We all have relationships that fit us like an old recliner. They’re awesome. We jones for them while we are at work, and we think about them when we’re separated. And that’s awesome. However, we’re not really stretching our arms. We’re not stepping out into the heat of the sun and encountering new people and situations. If we really desire to live an adventurous life, then eventually you have to disengage yourself from the familiar recliner and actually entertain the thought of sitting down in a different type of chair. No I don’t mean you have to leave those that you are the closest to, or the most comfortable with. However, I am saying that there comes a time when we need to spread our love and gifts with others besides just those that already know us.

When was the last time you shared the love of Christ with someone at the grocery store? How about pulling over to help a stranded person on the side of the road? When did you think to clothe a homeless person? Have you in the last week paid someone else’s debt? I know those all sound a bit far fetched, but really, isn’t that a valid part of this ‘following Christ’ walk? I think it’s time for everybody in Desoto County to take a hike! Or actually take a walk. Let’s get out of our comfort zones and walk through our communities. Stretching our arms in the wide open spaces and begin expanding our oikos. Who knows, we might just make this a better place to live.

A Rebel With a Cause

I'm in Florida for a think tank/planning meeting with a couple of organizations. I just sat and listened to a man who was in Northern Iraq with 17 other people. They were there as missionaries to share the Gospel message with the people there. They were all arrested. Fifteen of them were hung. Three released. This man was not just sharing a story with us. he was sharing a passion to reach the lost with a deep conviction and passion that I cannot even begin to explain. I listened, and realized that I only thought I was a Christ adventurer. This man not only takes his faith to the limit, he is changing lives every second of his existence.

I'm challenged.

Staying On Track

Isn't it awesome to know that God really is beside us? So many times we forget that simple but profound truth. We get so wrapped up in the issues of life: money, work, kids, money. (Yes I know I said money twice). All of these issues seem to not just be in our face, but right up in our grill. So close, that we forget to see the good things. It's like we can't see around the mortgage payment to see the blessing of having a home. So, we become so focused on making that mortgage payment that we become disgruntled at the idea of paying it so we can enjoy our home. Crazy huh?

Money is just one example, there are several, but I won't bore you with a generic list. Instead I want to remind you of what Paul the author of First Corinthians said. He wrote, "God Himself is right along side to keep you steady and on track until things are all wrapped up by Jesus. God who got you started in this spiritual adventure, shares with us the life of his Son and our Master Jesus. He will never give up on you. Never forget that." Yea baby! It is incredibly invigorating to know that God knows all of my junk, all of my problems, all of my anger, all of my, sins, all of my lying and cheating....and yet still He never gives up on me! He keeps me on track.

Sometimes when we have embarked on a 'spiritual adventure,' we forget that adventures are often full of perils. Things that are temporarily dangerous or disheartening. Right now you might be like the majority of the population and be concerned about certain areas of your life, but remember, it's an adventure. If there were no hardships, if there were no hurdles, if there were no difficult things to overcome, then you wouldn't have anything to tell your grandchildren. Life would be boring, and mediocre at best. Adventure, albeit not always easy, does indeed make life fun in the long run. That is, if we remember that God is beside us, and we will not fail. It's reassuring to know that the creator of the universe is actually beside me making sure that I stay on track. That I will indeed, not just make my mortgage payment, but that I will enjoy an adventurous life.

Now you can be hard nose if you want and say, "God is more interested in me toeing the line than He is in me enjoying life!" Well yea, we need to work on being obedient, but if you look in the Bible you realize that God knew well in advance that we were going to mess up. That's why there is grace. He knew we couldn't toe the line or cut the mustard (pick your colloquialism), that's why He is merciful. God is so interested in us enjoying life that he did everything for us so that we could. We just need to accept the sacrificial gift of Christ and step into the adventurous blessed life. It's not always easy, it's not always joyful, but it is always an adventure.

More Peeps!

Ain't God grand?! This Sunday was our second newcomers and we had 65 people show up! holy cow how cool! I love it when our volunteer base grows! It's wonderful to see God blessing SouthPoint! If you'd like to see pics of our fun at McAllister's, click on the pic banner to the right and check em' out.