Dear Mr. Pastor

People are messy and so church is, and should be. Life is hard especially for you. We are called to sacrifice for his cause, and if we lie to people and act like we are perfect we are doing a complete disservice to everyone including Jesus.

The moment anything becomes more important than living and sharing an authentic faith, is where any church can count me out.

Stop trying to tell people how to live their life, like you can understand the difficulties they are going through. It does more harm than good.

We need to realize that God can and does share and speak to other people other than just us.

Our job is to lead people to that place, where they can make the decision, where they can live out the faith they are building with their God.

I believe that only through a true and authentic INDIVIDUAL faith, can the church and community of God grow together, wider, stronger, and deeper.


We are a needed part of God's ministry, but it's not about us. 


It is not a ladder to climb.

Hybrid Church

Last year I had an opportunity to take a class lead by Dr. Alan Ehler about church planting, and half of the class time we would have a local Church leader come in to discuss some of their ideology, what works and doesn't and what not.


One of the most memorable Pastors that shared with us was Pastor Dave Browning with Christ the King. We got into a very deep discussion about the importance of different sized churches and what the landscape of church looked like. With most of the discussion revolving around what Mega/Micro churches do well and what areas they lack in.


A few months ago Professor Ehler shared with me that Pastor Dave decided to write a book to discuss the topics that we discussed during our class time. I have begun reading this book, and it has started to effect the way that I view my own ministry and the direction my future ministry will head.


I would suggest this book to anyone that not only wants to be involved in church planting, but any minister to help guide their current ministry.


You can find it on Amazon here: Hybrid Church by Dave Browning

Tithing Sucks

I have to admit I have a very hard time tithing, I don’t make much money, and I like to be able to have money to do things with my friends.

I am sure everyone has their excuses

But what I am realizing is that my selfishness is limiting God’s provisions for my life, as well as his provisions for his church

I do not believe that we are meant to simply tithe 10% of our income to the church

This is a over simplification of a complex concept found in the biblical texts

In fact In the New Testament, Jesus mentions tithing only three times, and each time it is a form of reprimand to the attitude of the Pharisees about tithing. 

He did not instruct his followers to tithe.

Tithing was essentially part of the law, that held precedence prior to the arrival of Jesus

A much better scripture regarding our giving should be: 

Luke 20:24-25 (New International Version)

24"Show me a denarius. Whose portrait and inscription are on it?"

25"Caesar's," they replied.

     He said to them, "Then give to Caesar what is Caesar's, and to God what is God's."

Our money is not our own, the correct way to give following the example Jesus laid out is to lift everything we have up and allow God to take and use all of what we have

The widow gave all that she had, it was only 2 small copper coins, but it was a sacrifice of everything, and Jesus praised her. (Mark 12:43-44)

When Jesus encountered the rich young ruler he asked him to sacrifice everything (Matthew 19:21)

This must be the heart that we give with, one that is willing to give everything we hold onto in order to support those in need, and to "honor God as the owner of the land and the giver of its produce."

If God tells you to give 10% then give it with a happy heart, but don’t give 10% because you believe that is all you are “supposed to give.” This is the danger of our Christian understanding of tithing. Simply doing what you think is right instead of seeking an honest understanding of what God actually is asking of you. It will be different for every person.

"Faith is Custom fit, not Mass produced." -Kyle Reynolds

I have to admit that I struggle with the faith to lay it all out there, but if we don’t as a church, as believers, how will God use us?

"The Purpose of Stewardship" by Richard B. Cunningham in Leadership Handbook of Management and Administration

The Observant Minister

A single value can either lead to infirmity or vibrancy within the scope of church life, the point of decision is invariably crucial and just as important is the foundation upon which that decision is made. A common mistake is to pragmatically reduce the vast networks of relationships a minister must keep track of into simple, task-oriented associations. Alternatively, a minister may decide to navigate the bevy of churchgoers by tracking relationship connection points and fields of interest. Thus, to take the fundamental value of noticing people and extrude its possibilities from each of these two modes may result in extreme disparateness.

The task-oriented mode will build upon the fundamental value of noticing people by defining the action of noticing within a quantified scope of tasks, hence the evaluative inquiry will manifest as Did Jane do this? or possibly Will Jane do this? within the task-oriented mode. It follows logically that Jane’s perceived value depends upon her presence and participation, and possibly even the quality of her performance and reputation of consistent accomplishment within the given range of tasks.

However, the relationally-observant mode will augment the value of noticing people by defining the action of noticing within an abstraction of related people and possibly the conditions which relate them. Hence, the resultant inquiry would manifest as something like What does Jane prefer? or Who does Jane prefer? This would result in layers of networks that place Jane in groups such as skiers, writers, wine connoisseurs, and fans of Dylan Thomas. Knowing this, the minister would resolve any issues related to Jane’s spirituality by studying the influences upon her as well as her peers, and the success of helping Jane to resolve difficulties would be satisfied by returning her to a normal state of interaction and emotional satisfaction.

Yet with the task-oriented mode, it is inevitable that the state of Jane’s spirituality is measured by the activities in which she participates. Problems are identified by her poor performance, decreased participation, and even absences. Consequently, Jane may not reconfigure her schedule to reduce her time serving as a sound grip for the church to take Pilates classes without suffering the stigma of “walking away from God.”

In terms of relative value, the minister may evaluate Jane’s value to him through either method. In a task-oriented mode, Jane’s relationship to the minister is as valuable as her ability to perform a task or accomplish a goal. In a socially-oriented mode, they are as valuable to each other as they are willing to interest themselves in the other person, regardless of common activities or even other related interests. Obviously, Christ’s commission to the church is best fulfilled by the socially-oriented ministers who develop disciples, not laborers.

So how are you discipling?

Carlos Whittaker

I was at this Calibrate conference and had the opportunity to hear Carlos speak. 


He is a very good speaker and definitely had something on his heart to say.


If you have about an hour to kill, check it out.


Carlos Whittaker-Calibrate 2010 from Calibrate NW on Vimeo.

You can also follow his blog Ragamuffin Soul

Something Worse than Being Single and Lonely by Steven Furtick

"Apparently the greatest form of loneliness isn’t being alone in the desert. It’s being in the presence of someone who knows you a fraction of what they should. Or respects you a fraction of what they should. Or loves you a fraction of what they should."


Follow the Link to the whole article by Pastor Steven Furtick

Image is everything. Right?

We have all heard the saying "Image is everything." Most would argue that this is a worldly phrase and refers to materialistic concerns. In most cases I would have to agree. I wonder, though, could this also have a biblical basis?

Let's look for a moment at Gen 1:27 which says "So God created human beings in his image...." (TNIV). According to this verse, God has created us in his image. But how many of us can actually say that we are a true image of God? I believe that we all have become sad "photocopies" of a great, amazing image. When people look at Christians, what do they see? Chances are, unfortunately, they see somebody who is judgmental, controlling, very out spoken (not really in a good way), hypocritical, etc. I could go on but I think you get the point. I'm not saying that all Christians are like that, but there are a lot that are and those are the ones that most people see. Not many people see the guy that was in the youth group I used to lead with the piercings, long hair, baggy pants and see a Christian, but he is one of the most faithful people I know.

I recently was in a local Bible book store, buying a gift for someone. While I was in line I was behind a lady who was standing at the counter. The lady was yelling for someone to help her, for someone to come check out. At the top of her lungs she was yelling "Customers!" or "Customer service up front!". This is a store that is usually pretty busy  and not many people work at so the people that were working were through out the store helping other customers and getting to other's as quickly as possible. Under her breath, the lady was saying how ridiculous this was and causing quite a scene. I couldn't help but wonder what someone who was a new believer would think if they came in. Maybe they would be there to buy their first Bible and this is one of the first examples of Christian she sees. Is that showing an image of God?

I believe that this is something that all Christians can work on. Myself included. Being a Christian does not mean wearing a suit every Sunday or having a fish emblem on your car. Christians are supposed to be understanding, caring, compassionate, faithful, forgiving, honest, humble people. After all, is that not how our God is, or His son? If we are an image of them, should we not reflect the same attributes. Personally I look for opportunities where I can practice living what I preach. For example, I lost my job recently and the timing could not be worse as I am planning my wedding this summer. But I have faith that God will provide. I make sure that I do not react poorly but instead show my faith. Especially around my non-Christian friends so when they look at me, they see the faith, the understanding of my God.

So I close with this: do you try to accurately reflect the image in which you were created? Or do you think that you could fall into the negative stigma that has been created, if you are completely honest with yourself?

If image is everything, what are you an image of?

Care For Creation Book Review

The nice people over at Tribute Books contacted me a couple weeks ago and asked if I would like to do some book reviews for them, and the first one they gave me is Care for Creation by Christy Baldwin.

This is a children's book and being a part time "Manny" has given me the opportunity to test it out first hand. I have to say that initially I had mixed feels about the book. 


The information was very thorough and the use of scriptural helped shed light on the the ideas expressed. After reading I felt as if I had learned something new.


On the other hand, it did not keep the attention of the boys very well. It was a bit long, and they seemed to not enjoy it very much. The illustrations were even a tad boring.


That being said I think the area that this book shines in the information. It would be a great resources to help teach from.


Author Bio: Christy Baldwin 

Writing has been a passion of Christy's since she was very young. As a child, she loved to write stories for her grandfather and poems just for fun. She lives in Mason, Ohio with her family and is active in church, Boy Scouts, Girls Scouts and volunteering with various organizations. Christy has a bachelor's degree in Elementary Education from Cedarville University and a master's degree in Special Education from the University of Scranton. She is a stay at home mom who enjoys spending time with her kids and being involved in their schools. Her previous children's titles include Nine Things Nathan Noticed at Night and Remembering Wilma.


If you wold like to hear more about Tribute Books you can check out their website, Facebook, or follow them on Twitter.

Is Church Life Stifling Your Creativity? by Donald Miller

"There is a difference between what the the Church wants you to do and what God wants you to do. Do what God wants you to do. Go and create, even as you were made to create."

Read the whole post: Is Church Life Stifling Your Creativity?

What I Learned In 2010 by Kyle Reynolds

In no particular order, here ya go:

1.  I was ridiculously selfish.  Lincoln made me realize how much better life is when it's not about me.

2.  Bubbles are amazing!  Have you seen one lately?  Well, they're miraculous!  It's funny how the things we take for granted appear awe inspiring to a toddler.  It's refreshing to see the world through his eyes.

3.  I'm an incredible poker player.  No, seriously, I can see into peoples souls.  It's scary how good I am.  I have no idea how this ability is at all useful to a 32 year old husband, father, and ex-pastor but it's there.  

4.  The worst feeling in the world might be to feel forgotten.

5. A friend cares how you're doing.  Need to pursue friendships that are two-sided and healthy.

6.  I really like to cook for people.  Epic sushi nights are really rewarding for me.

7.  A great band, speaker, people, and food can't grow a church.  Only God can grow a church.  That used to be a cliche I would nod my head to but not really believe.  Now I believe it.

8.  God is sovereign.  He does what he wants.  Sometimes he says, "No."  I fear him more now than I used to.

9.  Churches should look more like pubs.  Think about it.  The pub is the only place in the world you can confess your worst mistake.  You know the ugly mistake that was all your fault?  Inevitably, someone will put their arm around you and buy you a beer.  Acceptance.  Pure and simple.  The church could learn a lot from a pub.

10.  Handy Manny may or may not be a cartoon about a hardware store fronting for a meth lab and a womanizing drug dealer.  Talking tools and Kelly always has bags under her eyes?  Just sayin.  

10.  I'm awkwardly introspective for a dude.