On Purpose, Not by Accident...

I love talking about purpose.  This is what drives me to live.  I could never understand why people live their lives working at a place that makes them miserable, complaining about the friends they have, unsatisfied with anything and everything around them.  I think it's a waste of life.  I believe that God's plans for us are full of adventure and courage.  Along with that comes a great deal of faith.  See, to fulfill God's purpose for our lives involves faith.  Many times God asks us to trust Him, but we rather live life by accident... just let it happen, stay in our comfort zone, not take risks.  What other choice do we have?  Am I saying if we just do what God tells us to do everything is going to work out perfect, and no obstacles will cross our path?  Not really, see God's plan will take us through times and places that may not be easy, but rewarding.  These places will challenge our devotion for God, it will challenge our love for one another, but in the end will strengthen our faith.  And that, my friend, is how I choose to live.  I can honestly say that if I died today I would have no regrets.  I've lived a life that I'm convinced I was created to live.  I am satisfied knowing that I have a part in God's plan.  So I ask you, when you get up tomorrow morning, what will you do to live towards your purpose?  

Stained Glass vs. Lights and Media

I've come across many sites where strong opinions are voiced where churches are becoming more of a concert venue and losing their focus by using methods that are similar to a secular setting.  And I think everything came to a deciding point for me just a few months ago.  I came up with the conclusion that I must keep God as the focus of my message.  Once the tools become our driving force, I can see where I can easily get carried away and lose focus of what God's wanting to say.  Sitting today in our service planning meeting I was taken back to a trip I made to Paris a couple of years ago with my pastor and some of our staff.  Walking around a beautiful cathedral with the most beautiful stained glass I had ever seen, it didn't make much sense to me outside of just seeing something that was synonymous with art in cathedrals in the 1300's.  As I walked through the house of worship, I came to find out as I was talking to my pastor that each pane of glass illustrated the Bible.  From creation to redemption, it was clearly illustrated with the most precise detail.  As I think about that I also think about our house of worship.  It doesn't have stained glass windows at all, but we use lighting, video, and other media tools available to present the message of hope.  And sure as many churches may use stained glass as a form of decor, and their panes may not relay any message.  I hope and believe that the message is what drives me, it drives us, and maybe many years down the road, some will understand the methods we use to share the greatest message of all.  It's not just about having a cool light show, or cutting edge video, it's about communicating your message with your audience, using any means possible.  What say you?

It's a Blog!

Ok, so here it is, I'm a proud father of a 1GB, very user friendly baby blog!  As I begin this adventure in writing out my thoughts, I hope you find them interesting, and if you'd like, share your thoughts.  What you like, what you don't like... not that it matters cause if you don't like it, write your own blog!  Ok, enough for now.  Welcome to my blog, all you (2 people) that might be reading this.