The Cross is Enough

Hebrews 6:4-6 (New Living Translation) 4 For it is impossible to bring back to repentance those who were once enlightened—those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit, 5 who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come— 6 and who then turn away from God. It is impossible to bring such people back to repentance; by rejecting the Son of God, they themselves are nailing him to the cross once again and holding him up to public shame.

This verse used to cause me some issues. The idea that “it is impossible to bring such people back to repentance” is scary at the very least, but also a challenging statement. This challenges the idea that no one is too far gone to be brought back to repentance. So I struggled with this verse for quite a while.

Then last year a girl who used to be in a youth group I helped lead who was on my worship team made a post. Now, from what I can tell this girl is no longer living for God. It would appear that she is actually very opposed to anything related to God. At least the God of the bible. The post was a re-post and it said something to this extent. That Jesus dying on the cross wasn’t really that special. It was not any big sacrifice because He came back from the dead. That it was not really even an act of love because it didn’t really cost Him anything.

And all of the sudden this verse made sense to me. Because the cross of Jesus Christ is the greatest act of love that has or ever will occur in all of history. If it’s not good enough. If it’s not enough then there is nothing else. It is the only way to salvation. Christ died once for all. He will not be crucified again. If the cross is not enough there is nothing else. That is why it is impossible to be brought back to repentance. The cross is the only way to repentance.

Christ was tortured for you and me. He was beaten beyond all recognition. It was graphic and horrible. He went to His torturous death willing because He loved us so.

And through that death, He conquered death, hell, and the grave. Three days later He rose triumphantly from the grave. His death and resurrection are the cornerstone of our faith. With that resurrection, He brought life to this world. Now we can know when we put our hope in Jesus when we believe in Him that no matter what we face in this world we can go through it because of what the cross bought. It bought our freedom from death, hell, and the grave. Because of what Jesus did on the cross we have life. We have salvation!

The cross is enough! On the cross, we find everything we need. In Jesus, we find everything we need. We can never let the cross be something we take for granted. We should always be in awe of the cross. Both heartbroken and overjoyed by what Jesus did for us. As we approach Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday let’s remember the cross is enough!

Healing

Well, things are going great! We have had 3 services so far and we have picked up some new people. God is doing big things and we are excited. I went ahead and reserved Embassy Suites for the rest of the month of April. Hopefully, we will have the permits from the city soon for our permanent location and construction can begin. We received our certificate of incorporation from the secretary of the state of Oklahoma. So we are officially a nonprofit.

Last week I had to drive to Wichita for a funeral. Needless to say, with four kids I don’t get a lot of quiet time. I took advantage of the drive to spend some extra time in prayer. On the drive, I felt like God impressed upon my heart to preach on healing this weekend.

I positively believe we serve a God who heals people today. Healing is not just something that happened in the bible. Many times we just ignore this aspect of God because we don’t understand it. The fact is there are aspects of healing that we will never understand or be able to explain. God is supernatural and to deny that just because we don’t understand it or can’t break it down into a nice neat formula would be denying who God is. God is the Healer. Jehovah - Rapha, the God who heals. It is who He is. It is part of His character. We see in James 5:14–15 that God teaches the sick to call the elders of the church to pray over them so that they may be healed. Listen to what he says:

James 5:14-15 New Living Translation (NLT) 14 Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.

Jesus still heals today.  If He didn’t why would James write this?  James wrote this after Jesus’ death and resurrection.  So, healing is not something Jesus did just in His earthly ministry.  He’s still doing it today.  Now, this brings us to a big question: if Jesus still heals today why am I not healed? Why is my family member not healed? We are going to talk about this on Sunday.

We hate tension. As human beings, we hate tension and are always trying to resolve it. This tension between “God heals today” and “I haven’t been healed yet” causes us to go to two extremes; which are 1). Healing isn’t for today or 2). If I just have enough faith I’ll be healed. This is where so many of us remain stuck.

This is what we are going to talk about on Sunday. I invite you to join us at 10 am at the Embassy Suites in Norman, in the Boomer room. I believe God is going to do some amazing things. I believe it will build your faith and encourage you to continue trusting God no matter what.

I’ll see you there.

Self-sacrifice or Self-preservation…

Philippians 2:3-4 English Standard Version

3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests but also to the interests of others.

 In the world today, I see a lot of focus on self-care and making sure you put yourself first. Taking care of yourself has become a top priority. To some extent, I understand this because hurting people can not always help other people. This is why the flight attendant tells you to put your oxygen mask on before you help anyone else get their mask on. If you can’t breathe, you can’t help anyone else. But what I’m talking about and if I can continue the metaphor, is that it seems the common thing is to put your oxygen mask on first, and then instead of helping someone else, you keep the other oxygen mask just in case yours runs out. This was pretty clear during Covid when toilet paper and bottled water couldn’t be found.

Honestly, this doesn’t shock me one bit about the world. However, it shocks and greatly disturbs me when I see this same mentality make its way into the lives of believers. This is a problem when you are all about taking care of yourself or making sure you get everything you need first because your focus is no longer on serving the world around you. And this is what God wants us to do.

Mark 9:35 English Standard Version

35 And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”

When we are all about trying to take care of ourselves first it shows a lack of trust in God. He is the one who provides for all of our needs. Jesus tells us not to worry about anything in Matthew chapter 6. He tells us that if God takes care of the flowers in the fields and the birds in the air then how much more will He take care of us?

If the world around us is going to see the light of Jesus in us and see the Gospel played out in our lives. It will be because we are choosing to live a life of self-sacrifice rather than a life of self-preservation. The world will see Jesus in us when they see us living a sacrificial life just as Jesus did. He didn’t come to be served but to serve. When Jesus died on the cross He gave us everything we need; eternal security and we need to live like it. He gave us that security so that our focus could be on others and so our life doesn’t have to be built off of self-preservation. He will be the one to preserve us and provide for us. We don’t have to follow the world’s idea of self-love. We have the only love that matters. The love of Christ.

Church in the Wild Pt. 3

Ever since this started I’ve had this thought circling around in my head about “Church in the Wild.” Church that’s clean. Church that doesn’t have all the bells and whistles. Now, not that all the bells and whistles are bad. I am a fan of all the bells and whistles. But are the bells and whistles the event or is Jesus the event?

Well, now we are gonna find out. Starting March 5th - April 9th, while the building we signed a lease for is being prepared for us, we are going to temporarily have service in the Boomer Room at the Embassy Suites in Norman on Sundays at 10 AM. It will be acoustic Worship. Just me, my guitar, and Kayla. Then I’ll preach and give a salvation altar call.

For so long I have been a part of creating such a big experience when it comes to church, and if I’m being honest this makes me kind of nervous. It actually makes me feel kind of exposed because there won’t be any bells and whistles to hide behind. No big sound system. No lights. No amazing LED screens that make everything look better. Just Kayla and me.

But then I remember Matthew 18:20 from the Amplified Bible, “20 For where two or three are gathered in My name [meeting together as My followers], I am there among them.” And that is all we need.

I once felt like I was always telling people Jesus is the answer. And I remember thinking people are going to think that’s not good enough. Then the reality struck me. If Jesus as the answer isn’t good enough then it’s because you don’t really know Jesus. See, Jesus is the only name that can save us. It’s by His stripes we are healed. Jesus is the name that every tongue will confess. Jesus is the name that every knee will bow to. When He is in our midst then we have everything we need.

I love the lights, the screens, the ginormous sound system, and all the other bells and whistles. But they aren’t the event. They are not what changes the hearts and minds of people. They are not what allows us to come face to face with our sin and see our need for repentance. No. That is Jesus and only Jesus.

So, join us March 5th -April 9th T 10 AM at the Embassy Suites in Norman, and let’s encounter Jesus together.

As always, I want to say thank you to everyone who has been praying for us and supporting us! It means the world. We could not do it without you. If you would like to give to Legacy City Church you can click the “Give” button at the bottom of the page. We thank you for your continued prayers and support. God bless.

March 5th: First Service!

Here we go! On Thursday, we meet with Embassy Suites in Norman off of I-35 to finalize using one of their conference rooms to start having service on March 5th!! I requested it for March 5th -April 9th and the dates were open. We are going to jump on it and start having services. They will be simple services with everyone in one room. We will do acoustic worship and get down to business. I am very excited.

Also, big things happened this past week. We signed the lease for the location at 1704 S Broadway just north of 19th street here in Moore. The property management company emailed me today to begin the tenant improvement process. The plan will be to take possession at the end of April/beginning of May. Continue to pray with us that God will keep this process running smoothly.

This is the thought for today. Psalm 1 verses 1-3 says, “Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the Lord, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.” The trees that are by the river are the greenest, the tallest, and the strongest. Albuquerque is all desert, so there are not a lot of trees because there is not a lot of water. Not like Oklahoma. However, running along the Rio Grande river is nothing but dense, tall, green trees. It is a beautiful sight to drive down Montano, see the leaves, and watch them all begin to turn colors every fall. The point is the trees that grow by the river are strong, and for us, the river that makes us strong is the Word of God.

The Word of God will nurture you. It will give you what you need to make it through the hard seasons and storms. Many times we just simply do not meditate on the Word of God as we should. But if we want to be like the trees planted along the riverbank we must be strong in the Word. I saw this quote, “You will be as strong as God’s Word is strong in you.” Meaning your strength is in direct proportion to how well you know the Word of God.

This past week, I was on a hunt at Pastor Willie George’s Rocker W Ranch. At night Pastor George would share stories and drop nuggets of wisdom. And one of the nuggets he dropped was that to last in the ministry you have to study the word. He shared how the Holy Spirit would bring scriptures to his mind at the right time to help him make it through difficult situations.

Let’s be the trees planted on the riverbank bearing fruit in every season. Dig into the Word. Meditate on it day and night. There is no set way to do it, just do it. Let’s be strong in the Word of God.

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for us and supporting us! It means the world. If you would like to give to Legacy City Church you can click the “Give” button at the bottom of the page. We thank you for your continued prayers and support. God bless.

Waiting on God is Hard

Hey everyone I just wanted to give a quick update. Things are moving. We have been having meetings on Sunday nights. We are excited to have a new couple come and be a part. We are just trying to get to know each other and grow relationships.

We will hopefully be signing the lease this week for the location on 19th and Boadway here in Moore. The attorneys have been going over the lease and making changes. I think we are finally at a place where everyone is happy. Still probably won’t be able to have service in there till April possibly May. But in the meantime, we will keep meeting with our group on Sunday nights.

I was praying and talking with Kayla and we have decided to start doing some pop-up services. We are planning on having our first real service on March 5th. I have been talking with different venues. I should hear back soon from them and details will follow.

We would like to do several of these. Possibly at different locations until we get into our building. They will be simple services. We will all be in one room. But I’m excited. I’m excited to start advertising and to be having a service.

Waiting on God is hard. Especially now that we live in a world where we can have whatever we want in the palm of our hand. I’m the type that wants to put the pedal to the metal and drive this thing as fast as possible, but I’m having to wait, which is hard. But then I think of Abraham. From the time Abraham received God’s promise to its fulfillment, he had to wait 25 years. He had to wait on God for a son, an heir that would make him into a great nation. He had to believe with faith and have hope when there was no hope.

During that 25 years, I’m sure it was hard for him to believe that what God said would come to pass. It was so hard that Sarah tried to take things into her own hands at one point. God had promised Abraham many descendants, but Sarah was still unable to have children, and they were both becoming too old to have children at all. Sarah decides to give her servant Hagar to Abraham so that Sarah could have a child through her. But this wasn’t God’s plan, and it caused problems later down the road. God had a plan and He brought it to pass when Abraham was 100 and Sarah was 90. God gave them a son. From our perspective, that should not have been possible, but with God all things are possible.

When God gives us a promise we must wait on Him and remain faithful even when it seems all hope is lost. God will bring his promises to fruition. We have to be careful not to grow impatient and take things into our own hands. That’s usually when we mess things up. Wait on God.

Are You a Jerk? Lessons I wish I had learned sooner.

Have you ever been somewhere like a restaurant or a convenience store and the person behind the counter wasn’t kind? They didn’t greet you, never looked up to acknowledge you, and what little they said to you they spoke to you in a very monotone or irritated manner. Or maybe they were downright rude or disrespectful. I’m sure we’ve all had this happen a few times. After that experience, you probably don’t want to return there. The problem is when people aren’t kind you don’t want what they have. As believers, we must always be kind because what we have is what the rest of the world desperately needs. Jesus.

When I was younger, it always seemed like people thought I was a jerk. This wasn’t my intention. I was not intentionally trying to be a jerk, but I wasn’t intentionally trying to be kind either. Being purposeful or intentional is very important. Radom acts get random results. Intentional acts get intentional results. When I looked at it as this is me, this is just how I am. Some people didn’t think much about it, but some people thought I was rude. Random acts random results. But the results changed when I became very intentional about how I interacted with people.

Does our lack of intention to be kind stop people from wanting what we have?

Romans 12:9-10 NLT 9 Don’t just pretend to love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Hold tightly to what is good. 10 Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.

Almost all of us have learned how to be courteous to others – how to speak kindly, avoid hurting people’s feelings, and the like. But God calls us to a genuine love that goes far beyond expected behavior and politeness.  Genuine love requires concentration and effort.  Intentionality. It means helping others become better people, and that’s messy. It will take our time, money, and personal involvement.  No individual can express love to a whole community, but the church does.  Imagine if we as a body of believers became intentional about being kind.  People might start to want what we have. And what we have is Jesus.

What are simple intentional things we can do to live in such a way that people will want what we have?

A few suggestions:

Let people hear your smile. When you speak to people let them hear your excitement! Be intentional with the tone of your voice.

Look people in the eye when you speak to them or they are talking to you. With today’s technology it seems people are always looking at their screen instead of the people sitting across from them. let’s get our eyes of the screen and on the people around us. When you speak to people pick one eye and look at that eye the entire time.

Be excited to see people. Everybody wants to be wanted. Everybody wants to go where people are happy to see them. No one wants to go somewhere that no one is happy to see them. Be excited to see people and they will be excited to see you.

Never pass anyone without speaking to them, and be the first person to say hello.

Grow Relationships

I’ve had a lot of conversations with people who say they don’t have many friends. As the conversation continues, I find out that 9 out of 10 times, they don’t go to church.

It is hard to do life without community. Life is meant to be experienced with other people. You will never have enough relationships. They are the most valuable commodity in life. Not because of what other people can do for you but because of the enrichment relationships bring to your life. Life is richer and fuller because of the relationships we have. Having someone to laugh with, cry with, or lean on when needed is a crucial part of life.

What is one of the first things Jesus does when He starts his ministry? He grabs 12 guys and starts doing life with them. He builds a community.

The majority of my relationships have come from church. People need friends. If you feel like you don’t have a community you need to get into the church. The greatest times in my week over the last couple of years are being in the foyer on Sundays and Wednesdays greeting people. Being excited to see people, and here’s the kicker, when you are excited to see people they will be excited to see you. I think I did far more ministry while shaking hands in the foyer than when I was preaching in the pulpit. I prayed with people. I listened to their stories. I cried with people and I laughed with people. I met new people and reconnected with others.

You indeed want to go where everyone knows your name. In Albuquerque, I would go to the same Starbucks every day. Not because it was the best Starbucks but because the people there remembered my name and knew who I was. I have barely been to Starbucks since we moved to Oklahoma. It’s just not the same.

My point is this we need community and we need the church to get that.

Maybe we make the church more complicated than it needs to be. We make it all about the service, the music, the lights, the Pastor, and the programs, but maybe it’s more simple than that. Maybe, it’s as simple as people who’ve made Jesus Lord of their lives doing life together. Loving God with all their heart, mind, body, and soul, and loving their neighbor as themselves.

Just remember, to have friends you have to be a friend first. (That’s from ‘Secret Blend’ by Stan Toler. A seminal book in my life. I highly recommend you read it.). He who shows himself friendly will have friends. Don’t sit around and wait for friends to show up in your life. You have to be the friend you want. You be the one to call/text people. You be the one to invite people to your house. And don’t do it for reciprocation. Just do it and expect nothing in return. Don’t go to church and then give me this crap about “no one came to talk to me.” You be the aggressor. You go talk to people. You may have a few awkward experiences sure, but that’s part of life. The reward will outweigh the risk in the end. If you pass someone, make eye contact and say hello.

This is why at Legacy City we are all about connecting with God, growing relationships, and living generously.

Let’s go make friends.

Big Updates

Happy New Year!! It has been a crazy couple of weeks. We completed our move to Oklahoma. 4 of us had the flu, and then it was Christmas. I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas.

Last night we had dinner with two couples who are founding members…very exciting. It’s cool that I can say we have members. It’s a miracle. It’s God going before us and preparing the way.

Some more exciting news is that we found a building here in Moore!! We are working on the lease agreement now. It’s a great location right off 19th and Broadway. Please agree with us in prayer that this will go smoothly. We probably won’t be able to get into the location until March. They will be making some tenant improvements, which is a huge deal. At this stage, I believe everything is a miracle from God.

It’s amazing how this whole process forces you to rely on God for every little thing.

This is what I would call the pre-launch phase. We are building our launch team. We will have our first meeting this Sunday night January 8th. These meetings will be a time for us to create community, learn the church's vision, and talk about where we are in the church planting process. We will meet every Sunday. During this time we will be developing our culture as a church. As I’ve prayed and things have evolved over the last couple of weeks I’ve made the decision not to call it a service right now because we won’t be ready to start full-blown services yet. Because the reality is we need the launch team to help us do services. We need volunteers/church members to be a part of the children’s ministry, ushers/greeters, worship team, security team, etc. When we can get into our building we will transition into more of a church service format.

My number one priority over the next couple of months is growing our launch team. Finding people who may be like us and just moved to OKC or people who’ve never really been involved in a church but are looking for something more. I’m looking for passionate people who want to change the community in which they live. It will be hard, but one day we will all look back and see God’s hand at work. We will see all miracles and testify of God’s greatness as we see the fruit and the lives changed. We will see countless people who come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ because we said yes and got involved in what God was doing.

It is not an easy job to create something out of nothing. I was on the phone the other day with a Pastor and he was telling me that this type of church plant is the hardest type to do. If I’ve learned anything over the years it’s that the hard things are always the things that have the biggest payoff.

So join me. Join our launch team and together let’s change the world. To join our launch team and get more information on when and where we will be meeting go to the home page and submit your name and email.

Let’s do this. Let’s do something amazing.

Welcome To The NFL

Yesterday we said all our final goodbyes and left Albuquerque. After 16 and a half years it was very emotional. The day did not go as planned. We were supposed to spend the day watching our children in their last Christmas chapel at Legacy Academy. Unfortunately, Lyla and Jackson both woke up with fevers and Lyla only got sicker as the day went on. So we decided to go ahead and leave last night and drive through the night in case Kayla or I ended up sick we would not be stranded in Albuquerque, or sick on the road. So, instead of a day watching our children do their last performances we were hurriedly packing our last things and rushing to get on the road.

I was disappointed for Lyla because she had spent so much time working on her solo and she did not get to perform it. She also did not get to say goodbye to many of her friends. When we arrived at 2 am I had to cradle my other daughter Shelby in my arms as she cried and cried because she was missing her friend Isabella.

I was heartbroken for my children, not to mention my sadness at the reality that I was leaving the family I have known for the last 16 years.

All I could think all day was something Pastor Steve would always say, “Welcome to the NFL.” This means that if you make big plays, you’ll have to take big hits. He would always say it anytime you were telling him something that had happened to you that wasn’t good, times were tough, unfair, or came out of nowhere. Partly as a joke, but partly as a reminder of the reality of what ministry and life are. Things don’t always go as planned, but you have to keep playing.

We are in the NFL now. Nothing will be easy. I’m sure there will be many more hard days. Days that will be far worse than yesterday. And then there will be days that will be what it’s all about. The good days.

Pastor Steve text me this morning to say, “Today your new season begins. There will be good moments, tough moments, and sad moments. Enjoy the journey.”

Time to make some big plays, take some big hits, and enjoy every minute of this journey. Welcome to the NFL.

One Chapter Ends Another Begins

The biggest chapter of our life so far is over. Our time in Albuquerque has finally come to an end. These last 3 weeks have been filled with a rollercoaster ride of emotions. I never thought the day would arrive; but on Friday, we will drive out of Albuquerque for the last time. We will be back for visits, but saying it this way sounds way more dramatic.

I thought we would be here for a couple of years max. I never thought in 2006 that we would live here for almost two decades. When we moved here it was just Kayla and me. We didn’t know a single soul. We were forced to forge new relationships. After all these years, looking back it was paving the way for what we would do today. We didn’t have any family in Albuquerque. So we had to make a new family, and now today as we get ready to leave we are leaving our family all over again.

Each chapter of our lives paves the way for the next.

When tragedy struck in our lives we had no one but each other. Kayla and I had 6 miscarriages. Each one of them was heartbreaking. We tried to have children for 5 years. During those 5 years, we had our first three miscarriages. We were devastated. We didn’t know if we would ever be able to have children. We would go home at night and sit there depressed. No matter what was going on we could never escape these feelings of sadness and fear. Sadness over our loss. Fear that we might never have children.

I was angry. Angry that I couldn’t help my wife. Angry that this was even happening to us. I remember one day I was in my office praying and I just started telling God how angry I was at Him. How could God let this happen to us? How could He leave us hanging like this? I never really realized how angry I was at God until that day. When I came to this realization I remembered that God didn’t do this to us. I remembered that in this world we would have trouble. God never promised anything bad would not happen to us, but He did promise that He would never leave us. I remember as I sat there alone in my office crying that a peace came over me. I repented and thanked God for who He was. Maybe we would never have children, but I knew God would see us through this season and that He would never leave us hanging.

A few months later we found out we were pregnant with twins. Now we have 4 beautiful children. God is faithful.

One thing that Kayla and I learned during that season was that because we did not have anyone else to rely on it drove us closer and closer. We only had each other. We were the only ones that understood what the other was going through. It solidified our marriage on a whole ‘nother level.

After God healed our broken hearts we shared our story and began to open our lives up to the people around us. We developed strong relationships. The people of Legacy became our family.

Here is the thing I learned as God saw us through that season; I can have faith that no matter what season we face…He will see us through.

As this chapter ends and another one begins, I know beyond all shadow of a doubt that God will see us through because He’s spent 16 and a half years preparing us and growing us for this new season.

Don’t Bow

Remember that time Nebuchadnezzar built a giant statue and demanded everyone worship it or else be thrown into a fiery furnace? Crazy times. Then the three Hebrew boys refused to bow because they honored God above all else, and sure enough, Nebuchadnezzar threw them in the furnace.

It had to be hard to stand when everyone else was bowing. Have you ever had a moment when everyone else was doing something so you thought you should do it too? Maybe you’re in an audience when they introduce someone, and they get a standing ovation, but you have no idea who they are, but you stand up anyway because everyone else is. Maybe you’re in a meeting with your boss, and he has an idea that you know is not very good, but everyone goes along with it, and you go along with it because you don’t want to be the odd man out or get in trouble for disagreeing with the boss. It’s hard in these moments to be the odd man out, especially if there are possible consequences. Sometimes it seems easier to just go along so everything can stay copacetic. Maybe that’s not a big deal sometimes with little things like giving someone a standing ovation who you don’t even know, but when it comes to things that greatly affect our lives and the world we live in it is a much bigger deal. Not bowing can have serious consequences, but so can bowing.

The three Hebrew children did not bow to Nebuchadnezzar’s statue because their hope was in God and God alone.  God was first and everything else was second. Even their own safety. They were able to stand even when their lives were being threatened. Why? Because their hope was in God. 

Today anytime the world wants us as believers to agree and accept their sins i.e. abortion, lgbtq+ movement they are wanting us to bow before the statues they are building. The world is wanting us to bow to its statues, and in some cases threatens us if we don’t bow. To worship what it worships. To value what it values. Accept and include what it accepts. The pressure to bow to the values and gods of this world will only get stronger. As the pressure mounts and more and more people bow, the more singled out the ones who are not bowing will be.  The only way we will be able to stay standing and not bow to the statues of this world is if our Hope is in Jesus. 

When Nebuchadnezzar looked into the fiery furnace and saw a fourth man he saw hope personified in Jesus.  Jesus was with the Hebrew children in the fire.  Our true hope is Jesus.  And no matter how bad this world gets he will always be with us in the fire. He is the only true hope. The only way we can remain standing, and not bow is if our hope is in Him.

Sinners Anonymous

I think about the parable of the tax collector and the Pharisee a lot (Luke 18:9-14). It’s so easy to vilify the Pharisees. To see them as the villains of the New Testament. But the reality is these would have been the most highly respected people in Bible times. The people who knew God the best knew His will the best. In contrast, today, we view them as the people who completely missed what God was doing.

In this parable, the Pharisee judges his righteousness based on his actions and by comparing himself to the tax collector. Again, from our perspective, it is easy to see the folly of the Pharisees. We sit here, and we thank God we are not the Pharisees, but the reality is we are the Pharisees. The moment we slip into comparison as our judge for righteousness is the moment we fall into the same trap.

Often times we look at our lives and think, “Oh thank God I am nothing like Jan down the street. She’s one messed up cookie.” We look at Jan and see all the horrible things she does, and we think, “whelp, at least I’m not as bad as her.” (I apologize to all the Jans out there. I’m sure you’re not that bad. LOL.) The problem is we are just like Jan! We are no different. We have somehow decided that our sins are not as bad as others. We look at the world around us and think we are on the right side. We are condemning the right things and calling out the right injustices. We think, “Thank you God that I am so enlightened” and just like that, we are the Pharisees.

Knowing Jesus is not understanding how evil the world is. Knowing Jesus is coming face to face with my sin. The Bible says we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. That means your little white lies, gossiping tongue, private lust, unforgiveness, and hate are just as much of an affront to God as all of the other sins you thank God you’re not struggling with. The reality is we all grapple with sin. And just like God doesn’t accept the sins of this world He doesn’t accept our sins either. Coming face to face with Jesus is coming face to face with our sinfulness and understanding our own need for repentance.

If you understand your own struggle, you are willing to walk with others who struggle. We must understand that we all struggle. Somehow in the church, we present ourselves as if we have it all together. As if we have overcome every one of our hurdles. But the reality is we haven’t overcome anything. It is Christ who has overcome sin, and it is His righteousness we must cling to. We have no righteousness apart from Him. When you don’t think you struggle or aren’t willing to admit to the struggle, you usually aren’t willing to walk with struggling people. Jesus said he didn’t come for the healthy but for the sick. The church is not meant to be for just healthy people. The gym is not just for people in peak physical condition. Struggling people belong in the church. Because the reality is this…we are all in the same boat. We all have a sin problem and the only cure is Jesus.

AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) is a beautiful thing. They are a group of people struggling with a specific problem, and they meet regularly to give each other support no matter how many times you blow it. They are open and honest because they are all in the same boat.

We are all in the same boat. We can’t do anything to save ourselves from our sins. Only Jesus can save us. So we must realize that we are all struggling people without Jesus and have no hope. This doesn’t mean we accept our sins. It means that we understand we all have sinned and the only cure for that sin is Jesus. Let’s invite those who are struggling to walk with us.

Uncomfortable

I listened to a well-known pastor say he doesn’t ask anybody to believe in anything when he’s preaching. He invites them to follow Jesus. As he explained his reasons it made sense to me, but it did not sit well with me. He said, “a practical sermon will help anybody.” He also said that once he’s done with the practical part of his sermon, he tells non-Christians they may want to check out. It sounded to me that he was saying he did not want to force people to wrestle with the hard parts of believing in God. Me, I believe that it is my job to force people to wrestle with the uncomfortable things of God.

I have never been one to avoid anything because it was hard or uncomfortable to talk about. I believe that the majority of growth in my life is due to being forced to wrestle with uncomfortable things. It’s funny that the same day I hear the well-known pastor say the above I heard a not-so-well-known pastor say, “the seeker-sensitive movement has made sensitive Christians.” Maybe, it’s my personality, but this sits with me far better than the first statement.

Being a believer (I’m purposefully saying believer instead of Christian here) has a cost. Jesus said we need to count the cost in Luke 14. The reality is this, believing in Jesus, that He is your Savior, and not just a tool to get a better life has a price. It means giving up your way for His way. He says you must lose your life to find it. He says you must pick up your cross and follow Him. If you’re going to pick up your cross to follow Him it is not going to be comfortable. The cross is not a symbol of comfort. It is a symbol of pain and suffering. It is implied here that pain and suffering might be what comes with following Jesus. In my opinion, inviting people to follow Jesus should not be making it more palatable for unbelievers. It should make them just as uncomfortable as “believing” in Jesus.

It can be a scary thing having to give up your life. But the reality is what you gain by following Jesus is far better and worth everything. In terms of what this world has to offer, it will cost you and it can be and is a big deterrent. That does not mean that I think the church should ever back off or make things more palatable. I think that’s how you get sensitive Christians. Jesus was saying things and “disciples” were walking away left and right. Jesus didn’t make it more palatable for the woman at the well, the rich young ruler, the 12, or the Pharisees. He told the truth and expected you to have to wrestle with it. He wasn’t trying to show you how to have a better life, but showing you how to find life, true life. It is an all-inclusive invitation to an exclusive way. That way is Jesus and only Jesus. He can’t be added to your life like another tool in your toolbox to make you more successful. He is not another self-help book to sit on your shelf. He is the all-consuming way. He does not neatly fit into your box for your will. You must allow Him to mold you and shape you to His will.

A few months ago, I heard another Pastor say that his job was to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable. I think the bible does this every time I read it. Know this, at Legacy City I have no intentions of staying away from certain topics because they may make people feel bad, uncomfortable, or polarizing (you’re not surprised if you know where I come from lol). I have no intention of building a hype church. The experience is Jesus and Jesus alone. We will be a Christ-centered, Spirit-empowered group of believers who wrestle with the things of God ever-growing and taking the Gospel to the world around us.

I have chosen to be comfortably uncomfortable in my life. To wrestle with the things of God. I invite you to come with me. To go on a journey that will forever change our lives and the world around us.

Keep Your Eyes Off The Waves

Faith is a funny thing. It is really easy to have a lot of it until it’s put to the test. That’s funny because... can you even have faith if it has never been tested? My answer to this is no. You cannot say you have faith if you have never faced anything that made you doubt your faith. I believe faith is trusting despite whatever doubts you may have; despite the circumstances that may be staring you in the face causing you to doubt everything.

Remember that time Jesus was taking a stroll in the middle of a lake? He rolls up on the disciples at 3 in the morning, and they are freaking out because they think He’s a ghost. Then He tells them not to be afraid; that it’s Him. Peter does something next that takes amazing faith in my opinion. Peter called to him, “Lord, if it’s you, tell me to come to you, walking on the water.” Jesus is like, “come on bro! (KSV: Kraig Shorter version)” So Peter gets out of the boat and starts walking on the water! BUT…then the waves come and he takes his eyes off of Jesus and begins to sink.

I think in life there are a lot of times I have been like Peter and had great faith and followed Jesus onto the waters, but the moment the waves and strong winds come it is hard to keep your eyes on Jesus and not the giant wave about to smash into you. We can have great faith to get out of the boat, but when the waters change do we have the faith to believe we won’t sink? I’ve got to admit this is hard because when the security of the boat is gone the only place left to put your faith is in Jesus. Are you ok with placing your faith in Jesus alone?

I feel like I’ve stepped out of the boat now and the only thing I can do now is rely on Jesus. Jesus did not tell Peter to come to Him on the water to let him drown. That's not who Jesus is. Jesus did not let Peter sink. Jesus will not let you or me sink. We must keep our eyes off the waves and only on Jesus, He will not let us sink.

Moving Day!

Well, today I hopped in a 26ft Uhaul with all of our belongings and moved everything to Oklahoma. I spent all day yesterday packing up everything we own. Thank goodness all the important things fit. I had to get up at 2:30 am…I’m tired. We now have to get everything unpacked. So the fun begins.

Today I just want to say thank you.

Thank you, Dustin, Beau, and Colton for helping me pack. It means more than you know.

Thank you Isaac for getting up at the crack of dawn 2 mornings in a row, sacrificing time with your family to ride in the Uhaul with me and keep me awake. I probably would have fallen asleep at the wheel if it had not been for you.

Thank you, Ross and Sarah, for helping us unpack and being so welcoming. I am so excited about the future.

Today I am exhausted but so grateful.

Thank you.

Church in The Wild Pt. 2

I remember when I first started working at Legacy ABQ 16 and a half years ago.  Back then we did not have all the resources we do today.  Being adaptable and creative was essential to effectively grow a ministry.  For the youth ministry, we would go around the church, scavenge equipment that wasn’t being used or broken, apply a little TLC and use it to our benefit.  On many occasions, we would even use equipment in a manner it was not intended to be used for a purpose it was not purposed for.  If you’ve ever done youth ministry you know what I’m talking about.

It was creative problem-solving.  We had to do the same thing in the main service in the creative departments.  We would be tasked to do an amazing Christmas Production with a limited budget.  We had to make a “Ruth’s Chris” steak on a “McDonald’s” budget. And you know what? We pulled off some amazing things.  Our 2011 Christmas production is one that people still talk about to this day.

The lack of resources, but having to produce at the highest level possible regardless of resources, made us have to think outside the box.  We didn’t always have the answers, but we figured it out. The best thing about it was the knowledge we were gaining.  We were learning so much! It was growth and the best kind of growth.  It built in us this “Church in The Wild” mindset that you don’t need the perfect set of circumstances to get started or achieve something great. If you wait for the perfect circumstances, the right season, enough money, or whatever it is you are waiting on, you will never get started.  It is true that if you’re faithful with the little things you can be trusted with the big things (referencing the parable of the talents).  But you’ve got to start! Do not hide it in the ground!

I gratefully take this “Church in The Wild” mentality with me into this new season.  I believe everything I have learned up to now has brought me to this moment.  It has been beautifully orchestrated by God.

Circumstances can change in an instant, but our circumstances do not determine our abilities or what we do with them.  Philippians 4:11-13 (NLT) comes to mind, “11 Not that I was ever in need, for I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. 12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. 13 For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.”  No matter your circumstances you can endure and accomplish God’s call on your life because it is Christ who gives you strength.

Two weeks ago, it looked like we may have found a location, but that did not work out. But that changes nothing.  I believe there is a location out there that God has for us. We will have service on Jan. 8th whether it’s in my living room with 2 or 10 people, or in whatever location God has for us, but we will have service.  Because the location, sound system, or the lights are not the experience.  Jesus is the experience.  He is what matters.

This is “Church in the Wild”, and it will always be the church in the wild whether we have 1 person or 10,000, because we will always be reaching for new heights to reach as many people as possible with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

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Disappointed?

Have you ever wanted something so bad only to come up short?  Spend so much of your time working towards a goal to only miss your mark.  Hoping for good news but receiving bad news. Praying for a miracle but never seeing it.  Holding on to hope but being rewarded with disappointment.  

In this life, we will encounter many disappointments. Sometimes it might even seem that disappointment is dominating our life.  We will all face disappointment in every area of our lives, whether it’s in our professional lives, in our relationships, in our health, in our marriage, or in any other area there will always be disappointments we have to overcome.  And the thing about disappointment is that it can zap your strength and drain you of your will to keep going. 

But I want to encourage you today if you are dealing with disappointment to keep going. To persevere. To keep enduring, and to place your hope in Jesus Christ.  Jesus will never disappoint.

Think of what Paul says in Romans 5:3-5 NLT, “3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.” When we continue to endure our disappointments, it develops in us strong character which strengthens our hope of salvation. That hope will never disappoint because it is placed in Jesus.

God wants you to learn to trust and depend on Him.  That can only truly be learned through persevering through our disappointments. Can you say you truly rely on God if nothing has ever put you in a position where you had to fully rely on God? Can you say you have faith if that faith has never been tested? It is when we are tested and experience disappointments, but we choose to persevere that the faith that is inside us is proven genuine. This is what Peter is talking about in 1 Peter 1:6-7 NLT, “6 So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. 7 These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world.”

When you are disappointed, trust God. God wants you to rely on Him.  If you could do it on your own you would not need Him, but it is in our weakness that His glory shines through. 

I know today you may be facing great disappointment, but don’t let it suck the life out of you. Keep going. Put your hope in Jesus because he will never disappoint and He will use the disappointments of your life to strengthen you and show His glory to the world around you.

Control Freak

We all want to be successful and independent. Nobody likes to be dependent on other people or things. Why? Because we like to be in control. We all want to control our lives and feel like we have a say in what happens to us.

Being driven makes it hard to depend on anything or anyone else. We like to be in the driver’s seat. As a society, we are a bunch of control freaks. And when we are not in control, it makes us crazy. Have you ever felt this way? Maybe you’ve experienced a major change in your life and you have felt out of control. It caused you to have to depend on others for help.

Right now the season that Kayla and I are in is one of complete dependence on God. We can do our part, but in the end, God is the one who is in control. He has to multiply our efforts and there are certain things that only He can do. Honestly, that’s not easy for someone like me. I’m the kind of person that likes to get to work and make things happen, but in this particular season, God is the one who has to make it happen. I can get to work, but God has to make things happen.

Here’s the thing: when it comes to our lives as followers of Christ, we completely depend on Jesus. This is hard for us as believers because we like our faith to be a bunch of clean boxes that we can check off a list. Dos and don’ts that we can neatly place a check beside. This makes it very easy for us to control our life as a believer, and it puts us in the driver’s seat.

This is where I think the mentality of the Jews was in the time of Jesus, living according to their dos and don’ts. The Law. They were in control. Then Jesus comes on the scene and he says, “ Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing (John 15:5 NLT).” This means we are completely dependent on Jesus to be fruitful. Apart from Him, we lose connection and we are ultimately unfruitful. It’s all Him. We have to give up control and remain in Him. We can do nothing on our own.

This is incredibly hard for a bunch of control freaks who think if I wake up every morning and grind then I can make it happen. We can’t make it happen. Apart from Jesus, we can do nothing.

At some point, we all have to give up control and abide in Jesus. We can bring our 5 loaves and 2 fishes, but it is Jesus who has to multiply it.

The “F” Word…

The “F” word that I want to talk about is probably not the one you’re thinking of. But it is a word that finds its way into all of our lives and wreaks havoc on our well-being. FEAR. Of all the four-letter words I think FEAR is the worst. Nothing can cripple your life and cause you to freeze right where you are quite like fear. It can put a halt to all forward progress. It will steal your dreams.

Have you ever set out to do something, maybe something you have dreamed of doing for a long time, and when you finally take that first step to do it you are gripped with fear? Maybe you dreamed of starting your own business and you take that first step then questions of doubt begin to flood your mind. Who am I to try and do this? What if it doesn’t work? What if people don’t like me? What if I fail? Am I even qualified to do this? Is God really in this? Does God even care?

If I’m being honest, I wake up every morning with a few of these thoughts in my head. As Kayla and I step into this new season there are a lot of unknowns. So many things that we have to rely on God for. I think anytime you put yourself in a position of faith, fear will try to weasel its way in. And the first thing it wants to do is control us.

Fear wants to control. Fear wants us to second-guess all of our decisions. It wants to push its way into the driver’s seat and take you places you never intended to go. In this next season, the buck will officially stop with me. In the past, when I would say hard things from the pulpit the reality was that I was a guest in that pulpit. If people didn’t like what I said, they probably wouldn’t leave the church because I wasn’t the head pastor. But now it is all on me, and for the first-time decisions that I normally would have never given a second thought to, I have questioned because of fear. Because fear wants to control you and steer you toward compromise.

The presence of fear does not make you weak. The presence of fear doesn’t mean you lack faith. If you were 100% sure, you wouldn’t need faith. We have this tendency to feel shame at the fact that we may feel fear. The presence of fear or a feeling of fear is not the problem, nor is it something we should be ashamed of. It is when we let fear control us that we have a problem.

Courage is the ability to press on despite our fear. Courage is refusing to let fear control us. Courage is not going through life and never experiencing fear, rather it is doing what must be done despite our fears. It is pushing past our fears.

2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT) says, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline.” Paul is saying this to Timothy because he was facing opposition and persecution because of his youth and his message. Paul is reminding him not to let fear neutralize him, but to instead remember what the Holy Spirit had placed inside of him.

So, let us refuse to be neutralized by this four-letter word, fear, and remember that God has given us a spirit of power, love, and self-discipline! Let us courageously step out in faith and boldly proclaim the truth of his word in every situation we are in. ‘Cause Lord knows, the world around us desperately needs it.