8 Years for Compass Christian Baptist Church

I am so excited for my friend Rev. Tony Miller, Senior Pastor of the Compass Christian Baptist Church in Hephzibah, GA., and his congregation for celebrating their 8 year Anniversary of their church. Our church band a long with myself have been invited to be their guests in this incredible celebration and we couldn't be more honored. I have thought all week long about how SUPERNATURAL VISION is birthed in just plain - regular- individuals and that is amazing in itself, but then something has to be done with that VISION. You can choose to embrace it and chase after that DREAM which God has placed in your heart, even when others do not understand and even doubt what you are doing, or you can choose to ignore that and continue to live in the midst of mediocrity.

I think it takes an individual that is willing to tap into the Greatness that God has planted within them and chase after that DREAM. It's men like Rev. Miller who inspire me to continue chasing the Dream that God has placed in my heart. This Sunday as we celebrate with a church across town, that won't look like us and won't "do church" like us, but that is a part of us, because we are all a part of the same Body, I will look around and be reminded that what is there is there first and foremost because of an amazing God, but also because someone was willing and brave enough to take a risk and step out on faith and to chase a DREAM...

Keep Dreaming - Keep Chasing! I know I am...

Friend Day Re:Cap

Man, I am so thankful for an amazing weekend. This weekend was our Annual Friend Day Weekend. We had 2 services a Saturday night 6:00 service and a Sunday morning 11:00 service and both were great. Everyone really responded well by inviting friends and family... We had 85 in attendance on Saturday night and 117 people in attendance on Sunday morning which brought the total for the weekend to 202 people in service at Oasis for friend day. More important than those numbers is the number "10". That's how many people made a decision for Christ between the 2 services. We serve a Great God. God never ceases to amaze me and blow my expectations out of the water. I believe God does things like this to remind us that he can do "exceedingly, abundantly above anything that we might think or ask..." I am so thankful to God for his blessings on our church and I am so thankful or an amazing team who made this weekend happen.

I am especially thankful for the men (and their wives who sacrificed them) who volunteered to work on our new kids room and make sure it was open for Friend Day weekend. Thank You...

Tony & Ashlee Arrington
Jason & Ashley Wiggins
Gabe & Shannon Trull
Cameron Patterson
Rick Rios
Carroll & Theresa Weatherford
Lee & Misty Solt
Cecil (who doesn't even attend our church)
Kevin Fukala
Brandon Carlton
My wife and kids who didn't see me for a week and a half...


Praise God for an amazing weekend...

The Power of a Unifying Cause:

We have been in our OC Kids Expansion project for some time now. The work has progressed very slowly over the last several months. Well we made a decision that we wanted the new Kids church room done by our Friend Day Services this weekend. So we began a month long process that has us just days away form when the doors are supposed to open for the first time. The last week has been insane...

I have personally witnessed the "power of a unifying cause"... The "cause" being to get the kids room finished by Friend Day. When we declared what our cause was then people began to rally around that cause and volunteer time they do not have to make that a reality. When you get people together and their hearts are knitted together by a common purpose or cause, the effects of that are monumental.

We see that in scripture in Genesis 11:5-7 we see a perfect example of this...

5 But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower the people were building. 6 The LORD said, “If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other.”

When everyone is on the same page, nothing is impossible for them. I remember when David walked onto the battlefield and his brothers began to give him a hard time for being there, he looked at them and responded by saying, "is there not a cause..."

I have noticed the power of a unifying cause in the progress of our kids room, when you get enough people to rally around a cause or a mission, you see things start to happen...

What cause are you giving your life to... Is it worthy?

I pray we all will knit our hearts together by the cause of making Christ King...

Encouraged By Stories...

I love a great story. I love to tell great stories and I love to hear great stories. My family has always been filled with great story-tellers. I just love stories. I love the feeling you get when you are listening to great story and you feel captivated by what's happening in this story that you are listening to almost so much that you forget where you are, what you are doing and you even forget that your listening to a story because now you feel as if you are in the story. I love Great Story-Telling...

At Oasis Church, this has been the first summer season in our churches short history that we haven't grown through the summer. I must admit, that has been somewhat frustrating and disappointing for me. It has taken a toll on me. I stress-out and worry, when in reality I know that I shouldn't worry, but I do. However, something interesting has happened over the last few days that has lifted my spirits, I'll share...

We had a Dream Team meeting last week and I had a few our leaders share some things that they were thankful to God for and just asked them to lift up God for a minute for something that He had done in their life recently. One of my friends, Rick Rios, said these words... "I want to thank God for my church, I love my church, It has definitely changed my life." Statements like that are inspiring to me, because that's why I do what I do, that's why I am in the ministry, that's why I am in Augusta, GA.

That moment with Rick in our meeting got me to thinking, "I wonder how many other people may feel this way?" So I started asking some of our people here at Oasis to start emailing me their stories, and what God has done in their life recently and since they have been attending our church. Some of the stories are really great and encouraging. Over the next few weeks, I am going to be sharing these stories through a number of different mediums, through video in our services and on the internet, on this blog, and in letters and emails to our people.

It's great to be a part of a church that is changing lives!

COURAGE!!

I was telling my wife a few weeks ago while we were riding in the car that something has happened to me over the last few months... I said, "I feel like I have fallen in love with the Old Testament all over again..." I was thinking about that statement that I said to her and begin to wonder why that was, what was going on in my life that would cause that, why was I getting so much from my Old Testament readings, and what was it that was so captivating to me, and I think I figured it out...

It's COURAGE! I have such an admiration for COURAGE. Even in today's world when I hear stories of people exemplifying great courage I am so moved by their stories. I listen intently, as men who have been in Iraq or some distant place fighting the War on Terror, begin to share stories or start talking about the courage that they have seen in their fellow soldiers. I am moved by stories of young kids fighting cancer or illness. I am inspired by people who take on great challenges and come out on the other side victorious and successful. All of that is because of a deep admiration for courage.

When I read stories in the Old Testament I see men and women with great courage. I think there are a few common denominators when it comes to the great giants of our faith, things that they all had in common, characteristics they all shared. I believe COURAGE to be one of those. It is a trait that I long for. It s something I am passionate about. It is a characteristic that I hope will one day be used to describe me and my life.

I read stories like, The 3 Hebrew Boys in the book of Daniel when they said, "We have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of your hand, O King. But if not, be it known to you, O King, that we will not serve your god's or worship the image of gold that you have set up.", and i am so moved by the courage that oozes out of them...

I read the story of Benaiah, and read how he chased a lion into a pit on a snowy day and killed it and how because of that he was catapulted and promoted to being David's chief bodyguard, and I am so inspired by the courage I see in him...

I think about Eleazar and how even when everyone ran from the fight he stood his ground and struck down the Philistines until his hand froze to the sword...

I remember the courage of David as he looked at his brothers on the field of battle as they hid from Goliath and he said to them, "Is there not a cause..."

Noah comes to my mind, when he built an ark just because God told him to, even when everyone else must have thought he was crazy...

I think about Jonathan and his armor bearer on the side of a mountain saying, "perhaps God will show up..."

I think about Esther and her courage to own a moment, knowing that she was placed in the palace for such a time as this...

I think about Joseph running from Potiphar's wife, and having the courage to do what is right even when it costs you...

And I think about Gideon taking his small army and having the courage to trust the Lord even when he couldn't see the end form the beginning...


These stories and so many more inspire me to have COURAGE... I want my sons to be able to look back on my life and not just see one small act of courage but to see a lifetime of courageous moments. I want them to be able to look back and see a life of courageous faith...

Leadership requires courage, if you lead then this is one thing you cannot do without...

If there is one characteristic, that I hope that I have that these great men and women of our faith had, it's COURAGE!

How about you? Do you want to be courageous? Ho do you measure up when it comes to courage?

I Don't Want To Be Greedy!

We started a new series at Oasis last Sunday that is going to be really, really good... We're calling it "7", and we are focusing on the 7 Deadly Sins, each week we are taking one of the Seven Deadly Sins and talking about them from a biblical perspective and how they creep their way into our lives.

Sunday we started with GREED. I was so challenged in my study time because I was reminded that scripture warns us to "watch out for all kinds of GREED". I told our church Sunday that for a lot of us it's not hard to be generous rather than giving when it comes to our finances. We see someone in need and we give to them, we buy them dinner or we buy them lunch. We give a homeless person a handout or we know someone who has lost a job so we try and help them out. But in the other areas of our life, we may be or becoming GREEDY.

I admitted Sunday that if a needy person walked in off the street and asked me for $10 I would give them $15 if I had it but if that same person required some of my time, I would be hesitant to be generous, because I am not greedy in a financial or monitory way but I believe I am GREEDY with my time.

I wonder what other areas we may have allowed GREED to very slyly, or slowly creep into our lives. I wonder if we are GREEDY with our prayers or with our time or maybe we are GREEDY with the way we drive. I know that tendency and temptation exists for me.

I challenged our people Sunday to not be so GREEDY... That if someone comes up and says "nice watch"... then take it off and give it to them! If someone says, "man, that's a nice ________"... then give it to them! Be overly GENEROUS!!

As leaders, we strive to set an example for our people to not be GREEDY but rather to be GENEROUS, and we may be doing that in a financial way, but I have learned that GREED is not just about MONEY but it's in all facets of life.

ARE YOU GREEDY OR GENEROUS?

Then He said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of Greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions." - Luke 12:15

What Has Our World Done To Us?

We did our first water give-away this past Saturday. We had over 25 volunteers volunteer their day to give free water to people. We gave away over 65 cases of bottled of water, that's over 1500 bottles of water. We were at four different locations. It was a great day just showing some love to our community...

This is what blew my mind. It amazed me how many people did not want the water, even after we clarified the fact that it was free. I wonder what it is that our world has done to us, that we don't believe something could actually be FREE. It's like, we know there has to be a catch, someone wants to talk to us about something, they want us to buy a timeshare, there is no way someone wants to give me a FREE bottle of water. It was amazing how people would not receive a free gift because they thought they would be inconvenienced in some way.

I wonder if that's why some people will not receive the free gift of salvation because they don't want their life to be inconvenienced. When in reality, the WATER really is just free, and there is no inconvenience at all.

What has our world done to us, that we won't even take a FREE bottle of water...

Amazing How You Change Your Mind

I remember saying when the iPad first came out. "That is so silly, who would actually need one of those, you might as well buy a Laptop..."

Well, it's amazing how you will change your mind. I must say I am guilty of changing my mind. I have purchased an iPad2, and I am loving it.

It's amazing how you have to eat your words sometimes...

Technology grows on ya...

Dream Team Meeting: Courageous Leadership

Last night we had a great Dream Team meeting and I thought I would share the Leadership Challenge on the blog, so here it is...

Leadership Challenge: Courageous Leadership

Courageous leaders are those who would rather challenge what needs to change and pay the price than remain silent and slowly die inside.

5 Expressions of Courage That Often Elude Young Leaders:

01> The courage to challenge the status quo.

> Simply recognizing the need for change doesn’t define leadership. Leaders are the ones who have the courage to act on what they see.

> A leader says publicly what everyone else is whispering privately. It is not his or her insight that sets the leader apart form the crowd. It is their courage to act on what they see.

> Beyond the need to spotlight what needs to be changed, leaders must take people to places they have never been before.

02> The courage to embrace your fears.

> Leaders are not always the first to see opportunities, they are simply the first to seize opportunities.

> Unbridled fear results in missed opportunities.

> Courage is not an absence of fear. Courage assumes fear. Leaders who refuse to move until their fear is gone will never move. What could be and should be will not be, at least not under their watch.

> Failure is a part of success. Veteran leaders view failure as simply a
necessary chapter in their stories.

> Leaders know that the best way to ensure success is to take chances. While the average man or woman fears stepping out into a new opportunity, the leader fears missing out on a new opportunity.

> You can’t lead without taking risks, you won’t take risks without courage.

03> The courage to prioritize.

> The ability to identify and focus on the things that matter most to God and sometimes say no to the things that matter to us is a hallmark of Great
Leadership.

> Don’t allow the many good opportunities to divert your attention from the one opportunity that has the most potential.

> Choose your opportunities carefully, many opportunities are worth missing. Plan your life around things that have eternal significance.

04> The courage to face current reality.

> When someone refuses to face reality, we call it denial.

> The tendency is to put a positive spin on everything and ignore evidence to the contrary.

> Leaders who are worth following are willing to face current reality, no matter how discouraging or embarrassing it might be.

> We must live by the 7 Commandments of Current Reality:

1.) Thou shalt not pretend.
2.) Thou shalt not turn a blind eye.
3.) Thou shalt not exaggerate.
4.) Thou shalt not shoot the bearer of bad news.
5.) Thou shalt not hide behind the numbers.
6.) Thou shalt not ignore constructive criticism.
7.) Thou shalt not isolate thyself.

05> The courage to Dream.

> Every great accomplishment begins as a dream.

“All things were created twice. There’s a mental or first creation and a physical or second creation to all things.” - Stephen Covey

> Dreaming requires courage, for on the heels of every dream is the demon of doubt.

“Dream no small dream for they stir not the hearts of men.” - Unknown

> Dream BIG - Dream OFTEN

APPLICATION QUESTIONS:

1.) Am I willing to challenge the status quo? and How?
2.) Do I have the courage to embrace my fears? Which ones do I need to embrace currently?
3.) Am I willing to say not to some things that I want to say yes to so that I can say yes to the things that god wants em to say yes to?
4.) Do I have the courage to face and embrace current reality? What is it?
5.) Am I willing to allow my mind to wander outside the boundaries of what is and begin to create a mental picture of what could be... TO DREAM?


TAKING NEW GROUND AT OASIS:

Breaking through the next barrier of Growth will require a strong focus on Teams & Community.

It’s Like Sports...

0-100 = TRACK: Centered around the talent of one person...
- Responsibility rest on one key person...

100-500 = BASKETBALL: Centered around Team & Community
- Responsibility is spread around...

500+ = FOOTBALL: It’s very specialized...
- Each person is placed where they are gifted and they rarely see each other, The QB’s don’t practice with DB’s. They aren’t even in the same meetings.

If Oasis is going to take new ground there has to be a strong focus on TEAMS & COMMUNITY.

What’s That Going To Take?

01> Spiritual vitality begins with authenticity.

> The genuinely spiritual leader leaves others encouraged, refreshed and hopeful. Their authenticity allows them to bless others, which reflects the heart of God to those under their leadership.

02> Community-Building rests on the foundation of authenticity.

> Genuine community cannot thrive without authenticity, but dysfunctional community can. Non-community can. Programs can. Clubs & Cliques can. But communities of faith require covenant and accountability and a priority on relationships.

03> Team-Based leadership requires authenticity.

> Teams use trust as currency. When it is in short supply, the level of teamwork is poor. If trust abounds the team has large lines of credit between members.

04> Pre-Christians search for authenticity.

> Pre-Christians aren’t interested or impressed with the size of church buildings or membership rolls. They are not looking for religious activity. They are looking for spiritual authenticity.

05> The demand of Authenticity.

> Practicing authentic leadership will require 2 things from you...

a.) It will require a choice.

b.) It will require courage.


** On the off chance someone actually reads this I Want to make sure I give credit... Some of this talk came from an article written by Andy Stanley in one of the Catalyst Groupzines...

Thanks for reading...