No Computer

I hate not having a computer at home. Our laptop is in the shop getting some repair work done. Therefore the only computer I have access to is at the church. It is amazing how integrated technology is with our lives. I've only been without our computer for a few days and I feel like I have lost touch with the world. I guess there is a lesson to learn though. I believe that we probably need to get away from technology at times and just spend time with our loved ones and the Lord. This is a good thing. Well this will be a short blog (can you believe it?). I need to do some bill paying on line while I'm on my computer here at work before I get back to my technology absent life. It's Saturday so I will see you guys tomorrow in worship.

Team Colors

I am amazed how we as people love to put our own take or personality on everything we touch. An example would be my friend Travis. He just started a blog and wouldn't you know it the colors of his blog are bright orange and royal blue. For those of you who don't know, my friend Travis is a GATOR. (The most obnoxious fans on the planet. Sorry a little commentary. Oh yea, it's my blog so I can do that.) Like the color of our favorite sport teams or our sense of wit and dry humor or just our very personalities, everything we touch seems to be transformed into a little piece of us. As I carry this thought out I think about God. We are made in His image. That means that we all have the touch of God on us by the mere fact that He created us. I also think that once we come to accept Jesus as our Lord and Savior the life change that takes place unlocks the full potential of God in our lives. A small part of His personality or image. God loves to leave His mark on people. God wants the relationship restored between Himself and humanity. That is exactly why He sent Christ to the Earth to live and die and take on our sins on Himself so that the relationship between Himself and humanity could be restored. The sad part is that most of humanity still rejects the invitation for the relationship to be restored. It must grieve the Father that His creation (humanity) that He has put His signature and touch on still does not acknowledge Him or even want to know Him as their creator. That is why God uses us to try to get through to others to tell them that they are the creation of God and that He wants to have a relationship with them through His son Jesus. We only have this life to make a difference. Once a person leaves this life the chance for reconciliation with the Father is over. That's why we must work today, now to reach as many people as possible. We really must do whatever it takes to bring people to Christ. If that means stepping out of our comfort zone then we must, must, must do it. I truly thank God for a church that is willing to step out and do whatever it takes to reach a lost and dying world. I am thankful for the many churches that do this on a weekly basis. When we look at others we need to see the touch of God. We need to see His "team colors". We need to see His personality written on people. We need to see the potential of changed lives for the Lord. I pray that we could be known as obnoxious fans for our Lord Jesus Christ because we only have this life to make a difference. Do others know you love God? Everyone knows that Travis and others like him are Gator fans. Can people recognize that you love God like an alumnus of UF love their Gators (Or Dallas fans love their Cowboys)? Help us God to love You and love others. What are your team colors?

You Never Let Go

Tuesday. Tuesday is usually a very busy day for me. I usually have meetings I am in with the Pastor and management team at C3 and then I have music rehearsal tonight until 8:30 or 9:00 pm. It is a busy day filled with lots of challenges and things to accomplish. Tuesdays are usually exciting and I expect no less from this day. Instead of starting my Tuesdays like I normally do and dive in head first with reckless abandoned I am taking time just to think and thank God for where He has me. First of all God has me in the center of His hand and I can't be snatched out. What a blessing. Next He has me paired with my life mate, helper, best friend and the perfect person for me, my beautiful wife Andrea. God also has me working in the ministry that He has called me to be a part of. He has me using my talents as a musician for Him as my full time job (most people only get to pursue their talents as a hobby). All of this just blows my mind this morning. God is truly good to me and I am so blessed. I owe it all to the Lord because I could not have done anything on my own. I am so glad God believes in me no matter how flawed I am. I am reminded of a chorus of a new song we are going to sing this week at C3.


Oh, no, You never let go through the calm and through the storm. Oh, no, You never let go, every high and every low. Oh no, You never let go, Lord You never let go of me.

Thank you Lord for not letting go!

Crowning Jewel

Good morning everyone. It is Monday morning of course and a point at which I can look back over the weekend and evaluate what kind of a weekend it was. Sundays are a culmination of a week's full of work and the crowning jewel of the week. I believe Sunday's are what makes the weekend so special for me. This last Sunday was no exception. It was great to see a good crowd and people just worshiping God.

I had a friend in town this weekend. The last time he attended church here was six years ago. This friend moved out of town and now attends and is active in a very large Southern Baptist Church. The church that he attends is an awesome church and has reached many people for Christ over the years. If I were to name this church almost every person in Baptist circles would know the church and their former pastor who was a household name in Southern Baptist circles. My friend is a musician and even used to play the bass here when we were Parkway Baptist years ago. He now plays the bass at the church were he is a member. He shared with me that about a year ago they tried to do something a little more contemporary in their Wednesday night services in order to reach a generation that is on the decline in this church. He said the musicians and music minister were pumped up to do this "new" praise band format with more contemporary music then what the church is normally used to. They thought Wednesday night would be a good option to ease into it. My friend told me that they did the new format on a Wednesday night and there was such a backlash of complaints and disgruntled older adults that they immediately killed the plan for a more contemporary Wednesday night service. My friend said that the older adults thought that they were bringing too much of the "world" into the church. The older adults said that the look, the music and the feel were too "worldly" and that they could still reach people without those kind of changes. But by my friend's admission the younger generation is on a steady decline in this church. My friend thought it was a shame that they could not do something a little different to reach people in the city in which he lives.

My friend attended C3 this weekend and was blown away. He really liked the worship and the energy. The worship was different than what he is normally used to but I think in a small way he and his wife get why we do church the way we do. When I shared with them that over two hundred people had prayed to receive Christ since last august they were amazed. Is reaching the lost more important than our traditions, programs and our "church social club" atmosphere? You better believe it is.

Andrea was telling me last night that her friend whom she works with that had never attended church before visiting C3 and prayed to receive Christ a week before Easter was talking to her yesterday. Andrea's friend knows nothing about the Christian walk and is so hungry to learn. Yesterday Andrea shared the story of Paul, how he was a persecutor of Christians and then became a great soul winner after his conversion to Christ. Andrea said that her friend had tears in her eyes and said that truly God can save anyone including herself and her friends she is concerned about. It is people like Andrea's friend and the many who have come to know Christ every Sunday that makes the struggles to be a relevant church devoted to changed lives worth it. It is also so awesome to see my friend who I had not seen in a while get the vision if only for a brief moment while he is visiting from another city. It is also great to have a conversation with a friend who has come back to C3 after a change of heart that Christ has done. The excitement in the air yesterday was contagious and refreshing. So was the weekend good? Yes and yesterday was truly the crowning jewel of a week of worship. Praise be to God!

Beauty from the Inside Out (Andrea)

Ladies... check out my blog on "The Real Staff Wives of Orange County" at www.c3wives.blogspot.com. If you have any fun tips relating to the blog "Beauty from the Inside Out" feel free to share yours as well!

Three Words

Love one another? They will know you by your love for one another? Love, it is one of the foundational building blocks of Christianity. We preach love to the "world" or the "lost" and feel great about being spiritual giants while being no better than the very people we preach to. The sad thing is that a great number of Christians do not practice love to each other let alone to people that don't have a relationship with Christ. Doesn't that make us, should I say it, (the "H" word) hypocrites. I know this sounds very cynical but it has been hard to see how my friends, brothers and sisters, fellow leadership team members, Pastor and I have been excoriated by other Christians for doing everything we can to reach the lost. The hatred and bitterness that is directed at so many of us on a daily basis is really sad. We can talk about all of the Christian principles and knowledge that we have and feel all good about our Christianity but until we can get the basics down, like LOVE are we really Christians. Jesus told us the greatest commandment is love and I think that He must be ashamed by the way His people act, not toward the world but toward each other. I am far from perfect and readily acknowledge that I do not love like I should all of the time. I get it right sometimes and sometimes I don't. I know that God will grant grace for the times that I don't get it right. I just hope that people that don't know the Lord do not catch me in that moment when I am not practicing love like I should and then be turned off by Christianity. I pray that lost people are not listening to or watching the way Christians are treating other Christians right now and are being turned off by Christianity. For all the people that have left C3 with hatred and bitterness and agendas to tear down other Christians and the work at C3 I just have one word for you. LOVE. They will know us by our love for one another. No matter what some of my fellow Christians might say about me and the church I am a part it doesn't matter. I have three more words for you, I LOVE YOU!

A Great Way To Start The Week!

Good Monday morning y'all. Yesterday was awesome we had a great morning of worship. People were very free and in touch with the move of God yesterday in our service. It is so refreshing to see people worshiping and praising God. Yesterday's message on eternal security was awesome as well. God spoke through pastor Byron to explain how once you have accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior that you can never be snatched out of His hand. To be able to see how all of the new Christians at C3 reacted and took in the message was great. Then to lead a worship segment after the message was just powerful! God is truly moving at C3 and I am just thankful that I can be a part of it.

Yesterday was also Father's Day. It was awesome that on Saturday night my best friend Blaine Back and his beautiful wife Stacy had a brand new beautiful baby girl, Bryleigh. So Father's Day was extra special to Blaine. I am so happy for Blaine and Stacy. Congrats!

It is quite an unique perspective on Father's Day for me. Father's Day is one of those days that I try not to think or dwell on too much. Not that I don't think that Father's Day is cool and special but that I no longer get to celebrate it with my Dad. Once you have a parent pass away you look at these days with a little sadness. My Dad was awesome and I thank God that He gave me such a wonderful Dad but this day comes with heartache that I never get to be with him anymore. So I do celebrate Father's Day but from a different perspective. It is a day of thanks to God for the life of my father and sadness that I don't have an earthly father anymore.

So now it's Monday and I am able to look back on Sunday. It was a great day and a sad day at the same time and good all in all. It was great to celebrate my wife's birthday, to worship with my spiritual family at C3 and to think about a great Dad that God gave me for a season of time. A great way to start the week!

Why God made me unique (Andrea)

The unedited version :)
-I am a world class rapper... "internationally known throughout the microphone."
-My favorite color is red.
-I used to fight boys in elementary school. I may have even thrown rocks at one.
-I have an obsession with cleaning my house.
-I know I wear way to much makeup and yet I still love to put more on.
-My creative nature will not allow me to keep a hair color or cut for more than 3 months... and the change MUST be drastic!
-I still love the New Kids on the Block.
-I can name any car on the road from a distance. (That impressed Darrell early on.)
-I call my husband really ridiculous mushy names... I am prohibited from publishing any of them.
-I love, love, love to meet new people.
-I love, love, love creative, interesting, and eccentric people!
-When I was little there was nothing I wanted more than to be a Barker's Beauty.
-I still have a crazy love for The Price is Right. (I'll miss you Bob.)
-I love Gwen Stefani and wanna dress as cool as her.
-I wish I could sing like my sister Brittney and be as smart as my sister Cassie but I'm good with
singing decent and having dumb moments.
-I love the most outlandish, ridiculous shoes a woman could ever find. Has anyone seen my rainbow striped gold lame platforms lately or my zipper bright red stilettos? Oh... and I just got a pair of heels made completely out of cork! (This actually doesn't make me all that unique because Angie feels me on this one.)
-I am very particular about my condiments with my food.
-I should be on "So You Think You Can Dance" for my uncanny ability to replicate the moves of any 90's sequined rapper or throw me some glow sticks and I dance mean to some techno.
-I thrive off change. I can't stand being stagnent.
-I tried to kickbox once but all the jumping had me in the bathroom every two minutes.
-I just learned to cut my own food recently.
-I've felt called to adopt a child ever since I first learned what it meant when I was little. (Darrell wants to as well!)
-I love my life and have learned to get the most out of it even in the rough times. Strangely... I look forward to the lessons I will learn from all moments in life.
-I used to skip school and hang out at the beach where I grew up. I know that's not that unique but I just had to get that off my chest.
-While I'm confessing... it was me who filled the fountain in the middle of downtown Stuart with soap and had blocks filled with suds. I feel so much better.
-I like pickle juice.
-I'm unique because I come from a family line which includes my silly grandmother whom I have fun, fond memories of when she was 100% healthy. I have fun memories of her now as well of course.
-I'm the only one that gets to cuddle with my D-Lo.
-I love to act crazy with the kids in Powerhouse and teach them about the Lord through song and dance.

Happy Birthday Andrea

It is Thursday afternoon and I am looking forward to the weekend. This is a very special weekend because we will be celebrating my beautiful wife's birthday. I will not tell you how old she is but she is my beautiful twenty-something wife. She is the best wife a man could ever want. I was so blessed when I met her back in 2000. We will be married four years this coming August and we dated for two before that. So we have been together over six years now. I can not imagine my life without her. She has been my strong support in ministry, my best friend and a great wife. I can't wait to give her the birthday present I bought her. I can't wait to celebrate with her and our family at the Willow Tree (German) restaurant. Best of all, I get to spend all weekend with her. Andrea I love you so very much words can not describe. I hope you enjoy your birthday. Happy birthday "Honey Bun".

Curiosity Can Be Bad

Why is it that curiosity almost always overrules common sense? A few days ago I opened an email that I look back and should have never opened or paid any attention to. Because of this email my week so far has been kinda of lousy. It was another email from a person who did not want to use their real name and had nothing but critical, mean and ugly things to say about my church, my pastor and me. This person said that the my ministry and the ministry that I am a part of was ineffective and that it was evil. I know I should not have responded but I did. I rebuffed the lies and insinuations by speaking truth. I should have known that it would not make a difference to this person but I responded anyhow. This person responded back and it was worse than the first email. What is sad is that they even said that one lost person being saved is not as important as keeping "their" church the way that "they" wanted it. If this person is a Christian then seeing someone give their lives to Christ should be the most important thing. I had told this person in my first response to the email that I would be blocking further emails and there would no longer be any responses from me because it is a waste of my time and energy and that reaching people is far more important than responding to someone that has no love in their heart or wants to hear the truth in any form. So why is this still bothering me? Maybe it is that I am an emotional type of person and for me words mean things. I also know that I have no hate or bitterness toward anyone in my life and because of that I don't understand people that do. It really makes me sad that this person has such bitterness and hatred in their life. And I probably know this person which makes it even worse. I might have even called this person a friend. I am sharing all of this not to make anyone feel sorry for me. I am sharing this because I have a burden for those few people out there who are holding on to bitterness and hatred. I pray that God will help them to let it go so they can go on and work for Christ. We want to go on and work for Christ without the distractions of people like this and their hatred and bitterness. I also pray that God will let me use my common sense not to open up an email that I think might be like the one I opened up on Monday. God help me to control my curiosity.

Friends

A lot has been said about friends past and present. This probably isn't my first nor will it be my last blog to talk about friends. To have true friends that are loyal, loving, forgiving and unselfish is truly a blessed thing. Over the past sixteen years I have made many friends that were associated with my attendance at church. Many have come and gone over the years. Those that have moved on over the years, whether to another city or another church I still consider friends, but different from the ones that are truly invested in my life. Many of the friends that have moved on with their lives and their relationships are still my friends in one sense of the word but are just not close to my heart. Are they still my friends? Yes. Would I love to speak to them and catch up? Of course. Do they know what is happening in my life, my heartaches, struggles and triumphs? No. Is that bad? No. Is it right to only let a few people into your inner circle to share life with? Yes. Just look at Christ, He had the twelve disciples and then an inner circle of about three from the twelve. As a human being I believe that we only have the capabilities of limited access of a few people into our personal lives. I believe that this limited access is dictated by our ability to invest in others on a personal level. There is only so much of yourself that you can pour into others and the more people you have to pour into, the less that each of the people you are investing have of you.

Some might think this is selfish but it's true. Just think of how many close intimate friends you have. I thank God for my close, friends. My beautiful wife, Andrea who is my best friend. My mom and the rest of my family who I am blessed not only to call family but to call friends. I am thankful for Byron & Angie Bledsoe, Barry & Amanda Leathers, Travis & Sandy Conrad. We have been through some tough stuff but we have walked through it together and the tough times really magnify who are your close friends. The magnification is so intense at times I feel like an ant under some little kid's magnifying glass but my close friends have not cut and run but have stood with me and we have endured the pain together. Blaine & Stacy Back, Dan Gentry, Jason Cannon and Sally Story are also close to my heart and have walked with me through tough times and have stood strong. I am truly blessed by God to have such great friends. For those that I have called friends and have left and moved on to another chapter in life, you all are still my friends. I know that God placed you in my life for a season and the seasons have changed. That is nothing to be sad about because we are always brothers and sisters in Christ and will always be friends. The seasons bring about change and with it renewal and new life, just think, spring is right around the corner.

So friends? I am thankful for the close friends that God has given that invest in me and I in them. My extended friends that I perhaps get to communicate with on an occasional basis I am thankful for as well. I pray that everyone is fortunate enough to find a few close friends that can stand with you through the tough and trying times and still be standing on the other side. I believe those kind of friends are truly a manifestation of God's hand in one's life. Thank you Lord for friends!

"The Story" (Andrea)

I've seen this video every morning I work out at the gym on VH-1's countdown and I love it... can't get it out of my head. The artist is Brandi Carlile.

All of these lines across my face
Tell you the story of who I am
So many stories of where I've been
And how I got to where I am
But these stories don't mean anything
When you've got no one to tell them to
It's true...I was made for you

I climbed across the mountain tops
Swam all across the ocean blue
I crossed all the lines
and I broke all the rules
But baby I broke them all for you
Because even when I was flat broke
You made me feel like a million bucks
You do

I was made for you

You see the smile that's on my mouth
It's hiding the words that don't come out
And all of my friends who think that I'm blessed
They don't know my head is a mess
No, they don't know who I really am
And they don't know what I've been through like you do
And I was made for you...

All of these lines across my face
Tell you the story of who I am
So many stories of where I've been
And how I got to where I am
But these stories don't mean anything
When you've got no one to tell them to
It's true...I was made for you

Wii

Andrea and I played Nintendo Wii for the first time on Sunday night with my sister-in-law Cassie and her friends. Andrea and I loved it so much that we decided to buy one. We hooked it up last night and it was so cool. Hayden, my 3 year old nephew loved it. I believed he liked tennis the best. I am not a video game person maybe because of the lack of interaction between a person and the game but the Wii with it's interface actually causes you to be a part the action and not just your fingers. I think that's why I like it so much and the fact that my wife loves it and to see my little nephew jump up and down with excitement makes the investment worth it. If you haven't played Wii I highly recommend it, it's a ton of fun.

A Great Day Of Worship II

It is Monday morning and looking back over my Sunday I must say it was a great day of worship. Our congregation at C3 Church is awesome. Yesterday there was a great spirit of worship in the air. It is refreshing as a worship leader to lead people in worship that are hungry for God and are crazy about worshiping Him. For those of you who were not here yesterday let me give you the rundown on the worship line-up. We opened the service with Chris Tomlin's, "Let God Arise" then led into Hillsong United's "One Way" and then ended the first set with Charlie Hall's "Sending". The next worship set after the message was Delirious' "Majesty" then ending the service with an oldie but goodie, Todd Agnew's "Grace Like Rain". The worship band was on fire. Vince, George, Chase, Matt and John, thank you for worshiping with your instruments on Sunday. Angie, Angel and Brittney thanks for using your voice to worship. I believe that a lot of people came prepared on Sunday to celebrate our Lord and Savior. I must admit I was a little moody (probably a lack of sleep) on Sunday morning but praise God, He was able to work through that to touch lives on Sunday. Pastor Byron did an excellent job communicating the the truth of scripture that "Jesus Christ is the ONLY way to God" (funny, does that sound like a cult to you?). Thank you Pastor Byron for worshiping God through the way you presented the Truth of Scripture on Sunday. Most of all God was glorified in worship on Sunday. I can't think of any other place on Earth I would have rather have been than C3 Church yesterday participating in A GREAT DAY OF WORSHIP!

A Great Day of Worship

It is Sunday morning at 12:13 am. Why am I up and not in bed asleep like most people? Well tomorrow or I should say, today is Sunday. Sunday is the most important day of the week to me. Usually I try to go to bed early on Saturday so that I am rested and ready to go on Sunday. Sometimes that works and sometimes, like tonight, the mind is running full speed even though the body is tired. Welcome to the life of a Worship Pastor. I love doing what God has called me to do. I believe what I do comes with a great responsibility. Modeling worship to a group of people that walk into a worship center on Sundays is an unbelievable privilege and honor. I always want my worship to be authentic and real so that other people can follow my example on Sundays. In order to be real and authentic I can not wait until Sunday to start thinking about or participating in worship. Worship must consume my life everyday, not only on Sundays.

The Bible tells us that we are to give our lives to God as a living sacrifice and in so doing it becomes our spiritual worship. Our whole life should be our worship to God. The way that we live everyday. When we wake up, talk, eat, sleep, drive, think, you get the picture, it is all worship. I believe that we all (myself included) can go about our daily lives and think that worship takes place for one hour out of our lives a week on Sundays. We all can fall into that trap and then wonder why we did not get "more out of the music" or that "the message was a little flat today" and blame on the worship leader or the pastor when that was not the case at all. The fault lies with us individually in that we did not live the week as a life of worship.

Why are Sundays so important? It starts with me. If I am to be authentic in worship then Sundays must be an outgrowth of my entire week. Has my life been worship this week? Yes I want to do my best and be my best on Sundays so that people can get a glimpse of what it means to come to church and celebrate the God of the universe who changes lives. Sometimes that means thinking on God and His goodness and preparing my heart for what will happen on Sunday morning even on Saturday night at times. It is so meaningful to come together on Sundays and share in the celebration of our Lord. A continuation of a celebration that has been going on in the heart all week. So I say, "Lord, make every part of my life an act of worship to You. Lord make my life a life of worship. And let our worship be an awesome celebration of You tomorrow. Make our Sunday a great day of worship to You!"