Annoy The Media…Vote Republican

I am not a political person. I don’t care much for politics. I normally don’t like politicians. I normally don’t pay much attention to what is going on the political world. I am normally bored by anything political. I will never win an argument on why someone should win a certain office. And, I don’t know much about John McCain or Barack Obama.

BUT, I am sick and tired of the way the media has attacked Sarah Palin and her pregnant daughter. They are trying to find every way possible, and every piece of dirt on Palin so that they can throw her as far under the bus as possible. Yes, Sarah Palin is a sinner. Her daughter is a sinner. John McCain is a sinner. And guess what? Barack Obama is a sinner. Joe Biden is a sinner. WE ALL HAVE DIRT! WE ALL SIN. WE ALL HAVE DONE THINGS WE ARE ASHAMED OF!. I’m sure that Sarah Palin would prefer her daughter wasn’t pregnant. But people make mistakes.

What frustrates me even more is how much coverage the media provides for people like Brittney Spears, Lindsay Lohan, Paris Hilton, and others such as Brittney Spears’ sister who is pregnant. They make these people seem like the coolest people in the world. Here they are drugged up, drunk, partying hard, telling stories about their sex lives, having numerous kids outside of marriage, but yet the media glorifies the lives that they lead. But when the daughter of a potential president is pregnant, the media goes CRAZY. They have been relentless on their attack of Palin’s family and Palin’s history as governor. I wonder if Barack had a daughter who was pregnant outside of marriage if it would be made in to the same story that it is now. What do you think?

You don’t have to dig very deep to find sin in peoples lives. We are all fallen and unfortunately we have all done things we would be embarrassed about if others knew. Here’s some scripture for all of you haters out there.

John 8:7 “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.”

True North Community Church

So, it seems that this church that had the $3 million lottery prize donated to them is a pretty neat church from what I can tell. I found it interesting to find this on the front of their webpage this morning.

Regarding our recent news:

As you can imagine, this news is being carried by media outlets nationwide and we are getting bombarded with requests and solicitations. The funds we are expecting have already been allocated, and we are distributing the funds to charities and non-profit organizations. We are being made aware of the needs of hundreds of people (more and more every minute!) and it’s not our desire to be insensitive, but 100% of what we are giving away has already been spoken for.

It sucks that when a church (or any business or person for that matter) gets a large sum of money, people come crawling out of the woodwork. Fortunately, it seems that True North has made the right deciscions on what to do with the money, and it sounds like an awesome blessing from God in my opinion.

Check out this post from one of their pastors. It explains what they are going to be doing with the money, and I found it to be a very interesting and great post.

Lottery Offerings - Part II

You may remember reading my post a couple of weeks ago about the church who declined to accept an offering from a guy who won the lottery.

Well, here is another story that came across the news wires today. This guy won $3 MILLION! What’s even more incredible is that he gave it ALL to his church. And they actually ACCEPTED it. The church, True North Community Church in New York, will receive $102,000 each year until the year 2028.  The church has promised to give the first years donation away to charity, and then give at least 20% each additional year to various charities. According to the story, some of the money will be used to build a new building for the church.

The church has 650 members and was founded 3 years ago. I guess it sounds like they’ve got a good idea of what they will do with the money. I still think that if I was in this situation I would accept this gift, but I think you have to be extremely careful in order to keep the money from changing or diverting the church from its original purpose.

Losing a Dear Friend

Yesterday, August 18, 2008, Troy Carpenter passed away peacefully. He was taken off of life support and died shortly after. Thanks to those of you who have been praying for him and his family during this time. I know many of you who visit here did not know Troy, but you would have been better off if you had been able to spend some time with him.

If I had to sum up the life of Troy in word, “generosity” would be the word I would chose. Troy was an incredibly generous person. I won’t go into the list of all the things that Troy did for me or for the church, but he was very giving of his resources.  Troy wasn’t very interested in church until he started coming to Village Church. He ended up being more dedicated to the church than just about anybody else. He also loved the music. He ran sound for the band each week, and always did a great job even though he had never had any experience doing it before. He was tons of fun to work with each week. He would always say, “I like y’all’s version better than the original.” I always told him he was too nice, or he was listening to the wrong version.

Troy also loved the Gamecocks. We went to numerous basketball and football games together and had some great times doing that. To say the least, it will be hard to be at any games and not think about Troy.

It’s always hard to accept the passing of someone you care for, but thankfully, we can rejoice in the fact that he is in heaven today and that we will one day join him there. Please continue to pray for his wife Lydia as she deals with this. It’s easy for me to say that God is in control and He won’t let go of us, but I imagine it’s much harder for someone who just lost their spouse.

Here are some words from a recent post with some lyrics to a great song from Jars of Clay

So, weep not for me my friends,When my time below does end
For my life belongs to Him Who will raise the dead again.

An offering made of lottery money

So, there is this story in the news today of a man who tried to donate $600,000 to his church in Florida. It was 10% of his recent lottery winnings. In an interesting turn of events, the church denied taking the money.

I tried to put myself in the shoes of a church pastor, and this seems like it’d be a difficult place to be. I think I’d end up taking the money. Don’t know if that’s a bad thing or not, but if the money could be used to further God’s kingdom, then what’s the problem. Pastor’s aren’t supposed to know who is giving what, where they got their money from, or anything else right? With that being said, I do understand why the church wouldn’t take an offering from lottery proceeds. To do that opens up a whole new can of worms. People might be saying things like, “Next up that church will be taking an offering from Jim Beam, Budweiser, and Playboy magazine.” However, I seriously doubt any of those institutions will be giving any of their profits to the church, but that won’t stop people from making that argument.

All of this brings up another question. Should pastors know who is giving what in the church?

Here is what I think. If you are a leader in the church, I think the pastor has a right to know what your giving record is. I think that is a good sign of the commitment level to ones church. But, for a pastor to know the giving records of everyone in the church, that could pose significant problems in the future. Mainly, that pastor could be inclined to treat others in a way more special than that of the rest of the congregation. Even if that pastor tries to shield himself from treating people differently, it’s bound to happen. I don’t even know people’s giving records, and I am prone to treating people differently. Yes, I know I am sinful. Unfortunately, I believe that if we all looked at each others giving records, there would be a lot of people embarrassed. I think we’d be embarrassed to see just HOW MUCH some people give, and HOW LITTLE some other people give. Especially when we line that up with the truth that Jesus gave HIS LIFE for us, and we can’t even manage to give 10% back to HIM. Now that’s embarrassing.

That’s all for now, I’m headed to the nearest gas station to pick up my Powerball ticket. (Don’t freak out Mama Dody (grandma) I’m just kidding.)

I’d love to know what some other people think about all of this!

**As far as a pastor looking or not looking at giving records, I have no scripture to prove a point either way. This isn’t absolute truth that I’m speaking. This is my opinion, and how I personally feel. Please understand I’m not trying to say what is right and what is wrong, but if you’re worried about your pastor viewing what you have given in the last year, chances are it’s because you’re not giving!! **

Son of Islamic Leader Converts To Christianity

I just read a great story/interview with a son of an Islamic leader who converted to Christianity. It’s an amazing story that you should go read. There is also a video that you can watch of the interview.

Islamic man converts to christianity

why do i lead worship? (and some life lessons)

Why do I lead worship? That’s a good question, and one that I ask myself from time to time. I think it’s good to always evaluate why we do the things we do in life. I’ve been reading around some blogs from other worship leaders, or other people hating on worship leaders, and some other random things and it’s really had me thinking the past couple of weeks.

First of all, the main reason I lead worship is because I feel that it is an area that God has called me to serve, and it’s an area where he’s gifted me. I’ve been leading worship since high school, and I ‘ve really learned a lot since those early days. I also feel that it’s a priviledge to do what I do each week. I get to use music to facilitate a time of corporate worship, and that’s pretty neat.

Why do I lead worship at Midtown? That’s an easy question with a quick answer. I TRUST THE LEADERSHIP. I will never work for a pastor that I don’t trust or admire. I want to enjoy serving under a pastor and learn from him. I want to be challenged by him. There have to be open lines of communication as well. I trust the leadership at Midtown. I trust the deciscions that are made by Dustin. He’s not in it for himself. He’s not trying to be the coolest church planter and grow an enormous church at record speed. If the church grows, he’s not going to take credit, and if he gets a big head about it, there will be 10 guys there to humble him really quick.

Why do I lead the way that I do?  I lead in a way that reflects my personality. Most importantly, I don’t want to do anything that is distracting, although I’m sure at times I do. I am not a preacher, so you will not hear any mini-sermons. If Dustin starts singing, we’ve got a problem (although he can play some drums-well, somewhat), and if I start preaching, we’ve got another problem. There is nothing worse than a pastor leading up to some type of an inviation or quiet reflection, and the worship leader comes right up and gives ANOTHER 5 minute sermon before even playing a song. It’s awful - just shut up. I understand God may have laid something on your heart, but find a better time to say it, and do it in 1 minute and not waste 5.

Being prepared
One phrase that I hate to hear is, I’m not a musician, I’m a worship leader. Well, correct me if I’m wrong, but you are playing music right? So that makes you a musician. Saying, “I’m not a musician” is not an excuse for poor musical preparation. I’d much rather play with a well prepared average musician, than an unprepared fabulous musician who has a lazy approach to the whole thing. Of course I’d like to have the best of both worlds: a well prepared good musician. I only say this becuase I think that preparation is incredibly important for a succesful set on Sundays with minimal distractions. A band or worship team that is not tight will provide one of the greatest distractions. Of course we have our hiccups on Sunday nights - we’re not perfect, but we give our best.

Life Applications
I think that some of this can apply to all types of things in life.
1. Find a job/hobby/place to serve that allows you to be who you are. Let your personality come through in what you do. Enjoy what it is that you are doing.
2. Prepare, prepare, prepare. Can’t put it any clearer than that. It’s one of my biggest pet peeves. I see it all the time - in the banking world and beyond. Midtown puts a lot of emphasis on preparation and it shows. Being unprepared comes down to pure laziness in my opinion. For a few months, I nearly killed myself working 40 hours a week at a bank, doing 5 church services on Sundays (total of 15 hours at church on Sunday), plus spending at least 1 or 2 nights a week working on church stuff. And I was still able to be prepared almost all of the time.  So the excuse, “I’ve just been too busy” doesn’t go very far.
3. Work with people you trust and admire. Work with someone who communicates well with you and that you in turn can communicate with without having to climb a mountian. Lack of communication can create a lot of holes in the relationship and it will eventually crack.

So, this is the end of this post. Yes, I know it jumped around all over the place, and I probably should have taken my own advice and taken more time to prepare to write this post, but I’ve never called myself a good writer or even half decent writer, and if you got bored, confused, or lost at any time, you could just move on to a better blog.

Sunday Night Sermon

Last night, Luda preached from one of my favorite passages of scripture ever. It’s Phillipians 4:10-13. Here’s verses 11-13:

I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

This verse speaks to me on multiple levels. Of course we’ve all heard Phillipians 4:13 for as long as we’ve been in church. Even those that grew up outside of the church circle have probably heard it at some point. “I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.” I think sometimes we hear that verse so much that we lose sight of what it really means.  If Christ lives in us, we will know the secret to being content in any and every circumstance. We have the strength through Christ that lives in us.

Contentment is what I strive for in life. It’s one of my top goals. I’ve got more than I need. God’s always provided for me. I’ve rarely been in “need.” I am a professional “wanter” though. I can “want” from the time the sun rises until the sun sets. It’s always something different. Sometimes it’s guitars, sometimes TV’s, sometimes a fancy car, sometimes just plain junk, and almost all the time I wish I made more money. More than anything though, I want to be satisified with what God has given me. This doesn’t happen overnight. Somedays, I feel 100% content, and some days I just want more.

On the other side, I think that God is glorified when we work hard using the gifts He has given us to achieve more and be succesful in life. I want to excel in my career - that means getting promoted and earning pay increases. But there is such a fine line between being an ambitious hard worker and someone who always wants more. 

True contentment can be a hard place to find in life. There’s no doubt in my mind that God’s given me everything that I need and MORE! I too often forget, but that’s why I’m constantly learning what it means to live a life of contentment.

One Way Street

America remains a nation of believers, but a new survey finds most Americans don’t feel their religion is the only way to eternal life — even if their faith tradition teaches otherwise.

That’s straight from the front of foxnews.com this morning. It comes at a great time as a follow up to yesterdays post on heaven. This article immediately reminded me of the Larry King Live interview with “pastor” motivational speaker feel good teacher Joel Osteen. Larry King asked him if Jews, Muslims, and Buddhists could get into heaven. Joel responded by saying, “I’m not sure, That’s not for me to decide.”

The gate to heaven is as clear as the light of a sunny day. There is one way. That way is Jesus. Joel Osteen could have answered that question with a 100% positive “NO.” Only believers in Jesus get into heaven. Some say that’s an arrogant position to hold. Some are afraid to be exclusive and try to include everybody. Unfortunately, if you do not believe in the teachings of Jesus Christ and His life and His death on a cross, you are excluded from spending eternity in heaven.

It’s incredibly sad that even “57 percent of evangelical church attenders said they believe many religions can lead to eternal life, in conflict with traditional evangelical teaching. In all, 70 percent of Americans with a religious affiliation shared that view, and 68 percent said there is more than one true way to interpret the teachings of their own religion.”

John 14:6: “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

After yesterday’s post, I got an e-mail from someone saying, “I hope I can be as sure as you are one day that I’ll be in Heaven.”

For you, or anyone else, Jesus is THE WAY. He is the only way. I believe with everything inside of me that Jesus is the way. I believe all of his teachings. I believe that He is the son of God, yet He came to earth as man and lived a life without sin. After He was hung on a cross to die, He arose 3 days later and now sits on His throne in Heaven. These truths are what I’ve built my life upon. Believing in God is not just “fire insurance” to keep me out of hell - I truly believe that Jesus has saved me. And I am His child. That is why I’m so sure I will spend eternity in Heaven.

Have I ever doubted before? YES! Doubt is a response that many believers have dealt with. It’s one of the biggest tools that the devil has in his toolbox. The more we doubt, the less we believe, and that is the devil’s main goal. Never let doubt consume your life. God has given you the truth. God is not a God of confusion or disorder. He has made it very clear that He is the only way to Heaven. Now you just have to trust and hold on to what you know in your heart to be true.

All My Tears

I don’t think a lot about death, but I think that there may be some people who think about it a lot. I have no fear of death. However, I do hope to die a peaceful, pain-free death. The thought of burning to death, drowning, or dying a slow death of cancer does make me fearful. My prayer has always been, Lord, Please take me as quick as possible.

This morning as I was driving to work, I was listening to a Jars of Clay song called “All My Tears.” I’ve had the Good Monsters album since it came out (maybe a year or two?) and really didn’t like it at all at first, but it has grown on me a lot each time I listen to it. This song is amazing and you should listen to it. Here are the lyrics:

“All My Tears”

When I go, don’t cry for me In my Father’s arms I’ll be
The wounds this world left on my soul Will all be healed and I’ll be whole.
Sun and moon will be replaced With the light of Jesus’ face
And I will not be ashamed For my Savior knows my name.

Gold and silver blind the eye Temporary riches lie
Come and eat from heaven’s store, Come and drink, and thirst no more

It don’t matter where you bury me, I’ll be home and I’ll be free.
It don’t matter where I lay,All my tears be washed away

So, weep not for me my friends,When my time below does end
For my life belongs to Him Who will raise the dead again.

I’ve been thinking about this song a lot so far today. Most importantly, I’ve tried to focus on having an eternal mindset. I feel like my life would look a lot different if everyday I knew this was only a temporary part of life. I know that I don’t think about Heaven nearly enough. I really can’t put it much better than Andrew Peterson in the song “Lay Me Down.”

“Lay Me Down”
So when you lay me down to die
I’ll miss my boys, I’ll miss my girls
Lay me down and let me say goodbye to this world
You can lay me anywhere
But just remember this
When you lay me down to die
You lay me down to live

I believe in the holy shores of uncreated light
I believe there is power in the blood
And all of the death that ever was,
If you set it next to life
I believe it would barely fill a cup
‘Cause I believe there’s power in the blood

How awesome is that - “All of the death that ever was, if you set it next to life - I believe it would barely fill a cup. Cause I believe there’s power in the blood!”

Heaven is going to be an awesome place - a place where I know I will spend eternity. I know for sure without a doubt that I will meet Jesus face to face and spend eternity with Him. I know that I do not fully comprehend the word eternity. To quote the old hymn, “When we all get to heaven, what a day of rejoicing that will be.”

**Andrew Peterson’s album the Far Country is entirely based around this incredible truth. The music is amazing, and the lyrics are just as powerful. When I die, I think I could have the whole album played at my funeral. The album closes with a song called “More” and I’ll end this post the same way. Do yourself a favor and download the whole album of The Far Country.**

“More”
This is not the end here at this grave
This is just a hole that someone made
Every hole was made to fill
And every heart can feel it still–
Our nature hates a vacuum

This is not the hardest part of all
This is just the seed that has to fall
All our lives we till the ground
Until we lay our sorrows down
And watch the sky for rain

There is more
More than all this pain
More than all the falling down
And the getting up again
There is more
More than we can see
From our tiny vantage point
In this vast eternity
There is more

A thing resounds when it rings true
Ringing all the bells inside of you
Like a golden sky on a summer eve
Your heart is tugging at your sleeve
And you cannot say why
There must be more

There is more
More than we can stand
Standing in the glory
Of a love that never ends
There is more
More than we can guess
More and more, forever more
And not a second less

There is more than what the naked eye can see
Clothing all our days with mystery
Watching over everything
Wilder than our wildest dreams
Could ever dream to be
There is more

Open and Closed Doors

When I was in college, I played at this little coffee shop called Moose Mountain on Market Street in downtown Charleston. I would play about 2-3 times a month on Friday or Saturday nights. I played for at least a full semester if not longer. I really can’t remember. This was my main source of income during college as I didn’t have a true job. Not to sound cliche, but I really viewed college as my job and spent hours in the library studying so that I could make the best grades possible. My goal was a 4.0 for every semester, so I spent most of my time studying.

Each time I played, I was paid $50 plus tips. Sometimes tips would be $100, and sometimes they would be $15. More than anything, it was a lot of fun for me, and I was able to pick up some extra change. After I came back from Christmas break my sophomore year, I called to set up more dates. I’ll never forget what the owner told me. She said, “We have received some complaints and our main customer base does not like the music you play.” I still have no idea what their main customer base was and I still don’t understand how they didn’t like the music. It still gets me fired up just thinking about it.

This was about the biggest hit I have ever taken. Nobody wants to be told that they aren’t good. I remember being on the verge of tears and also angry when I called my mom. I’ll never forget what she said to me. She said that God always opens new doors when He closes another one. I was like, yeah whatever, blah blah blah blah blah.

It was less than a week later when I got a call from FBC in Moncks Corner SC and within a month I started as a worship leader for their brand new contemporary service.

I was blown away. I was about as down as I could have been when I couldn’t get any more dates at a small little coffee shop in Charleston. But sure enough, just like mom said, God will open more doors. I will never forget this lesson I learned. I am sure that God will be closing more doors in the future, but I have learned that He will always open new ones. And He normally opens them in places where you least expect it.

My experience at Moncks Corner for my last 2 1/2 years at college was incredible. There were tons of nice folks there and I was able to serve on a church staff full of seasoned leaders and I really learned a lot from them. I was able to grow as a worship leader and gain tons of experience in different areas.

In the future, I hope that when God closes one door, I really trust that He will open one more. Too many times I doubt God’s provision, but whenever I look back on my life, I see that he has always provided above and beyond what I need.