I suck as a husband

For the record, NO, I DID NOT FORGET MY ANNIVERSARY YESTERDAY.

I just had an extremely crazy day at work (went in early and stayed WAY late.)

I never had a chance to write about how awesome the past three years with Emily have been . . . How much I love her . . . How much I am looking forward to adding “mommy and daddy” to the titles we share . . . How much I an humbled by watching her grow spiritually . . . How seeing her joy in becoming a mother fills me with joy and thankfulness . . . How dreaming together grows my dreams and ignites my passion . . . How 3 years together makes the previous 29 years fade into the distant past.

Oh, and BTW — I DID give her a card with a PERSONAL note inside and some flowers . . . just a small token of my love for her.

We reflected on our marriage some while on vacation last week, and we’re gonna go out and celebrate bigger this weekend . . . but men, you can NEVER forget the actual day, even if you have something bigger planned some other time.

20-hit update

We’ve been back from Baltimore since Tuesday, and I haven’t even had time to write an update.

That’s the nature of vacation, isn’t it?  You have a great time relaxing, being rejuvenated, reconnecting with your wife, etc. etc. etc. . . . and then you get back to the piles on your desk at work . . .

Well, here’s the update:

1. Emily and I are convinced that we will be locating to Towson, Maryland . . . Probably around January.
2. We fell in love with the community, had a great time talking with some locals while attending some local 4th of July events.
3. I made some connections in architecture.  One in particular was extremely positive and I’m looking forward to how it all works out.  Having a job in the area would give Emily and I a ton of peace to know that God is at work.
4. Enjoyed the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra set to fireworks a whole lot more than dealing with the crouds and rain for a merely good fireworks display at the Inner Harbor. 
5. Inner Harbor fireworks had two launch-points — most from Ft McHenry, and some from a barge in the harbor.  Either one would have been bettern than Auburn’s usually are.
6. Spent a lot of time driving around in a silly little KIA . . . but we got to know the area well and have zeroed in on a couple of specific communities within Towson to watch for a house/townhome to meet our needs.
7. It’s more expensive in Baltimore, but not quite as much as we had originally expected.  I’m hoping I can find a job that will fill in the difference. Would be nice to get full-price on our house here as a help . . . and One more outside job, like an average-sized house plan would pay off one more debt before we go . . . anyway . . .
8. We took a lot of things slow for our vacation.  Emily is getting bigger.  I am excited to be a daddy!  Less than 10 weeks left!  It’s funny how walking around with the cutest pregnant lady ever becomes an automatic conversation-starter.
9. Drove through Towson one night . . . passed 4 Starbucks stores with no more than 3 customers.  Obviously not a good place to meet people during the evenings on a holiday weekend in Towson.
10. Went to church at another fairly new church in the area.  Am glad to see them doing what they are doing . . . but was also glad to see that they are a different flavor than our vision, so we’ll be able to reach different folks and impact Towson together. One of the pastors said he would hook me up with a local ministerial association that really wants to get things done.  I would love an opportunity to network with other local pastors to Transform a city and region!
11. Towson University is in Towson . . . They are the Tigers and have an Auburn Drive on campus.  That MUST be a sign from God!
12. Several possible meeting locations came to mind . . . but actually getting into them may be a challenge.  This will be a God thing!  So many possibilities, I’m confident we will be able to grow at least one relationship to opportunity.
13. Already have a location in mind for a church office.  Awesome location, and it’s pretty cheap, too!  Long-term issue, but couldn’t believe the possibility fell in my lap!
14. Spent tons of time just praying as we saw  people in neighborhoods, walking down streets, navigating through the mall, filling a ski-slope to watch fireworks, etc.  The area won’t be an easy area, but it already feels a bit like home.  People need a life-changing encounter with Jesus.  I want to be the delivery man to take it to them.
15. Was glad to see Roxie healthy when we got home (was sick when we left).
16. Roxie was definitely glad to see us.
17. Roxie is being very dilligent to protect Emily’s growing belly.  Definitely not a typical Chihuahua.  Curious to see how she does with Katie when she is born.
18. Was extremely glad to have absolutely no contact with my office while I was gone.  First time since we started the company 3 years ago that I was 100% unplugged from the office.
19. Since our vacation, God has just been working on my as I read the Bible like He hasn’t done literally in years.  I’m getting really fired up for everything that is happening over the next several months.
20. I’ll be glad to get back to Journey Church tomorrow and see what’s up with our new series, “WAKE UP!”

Well, I hit 20, so I need to stop. More later.

So You Think You Can Dance?

Well, as you read this, I’m on vacation.  I actually wrote this post before I left, but time-delayed it to appear after Wednesday’s episode of So You Think You Can Dance?

I started watching this show because Emily loves dance.  However . . . the more I watch it, the more I realize that EVERY CHURCH PLANTER LEADER OUGHT TO WATCH THIS SHOW!

Why?

I’ve been reading a lot lately about communicating the never-changing truths of the Bible in ways that the culture understands.  You have to understand your culture so you can communicate Truth in their language.  Don’t change the truth . . . adjust the way you communicate it . . . Translate it for your people . . . I am convinced that Jesus was a student of the culture as much as a student of the Scriptures . . .

ANYWAY, I started listening to various types of music lately.  Sometimes I wonder what those far from God get out of the songs. So You Think You Can Dance helps me know.  A large number of the dances are set to popular music.  More than that, a lot of the dances demonstrate the choreographer’s understanding of the music.  Their interpretation through dance is a clear communication of what they are getting out of the song.

You want to not only know what you’re people are listening to, but what they are HEARING in what they are listening to, So You Think You Can Dance can give you a primer into the hearts and minds of the culture.

Overdue Update

I’ve gotten really bad about blogging this summer . . .

Another quick-hits list:

• I am meeting a great friend and mentor, Al Jackson, from Lakeview Baptist in Auburn today for lunch.  I’m REALLY looking forward to spending some time with him.  I consider him to be one of the greatest leaders to personally invest in my life.  As Emily and I prepare to relocate and finally get our lives moving in ministry, I know he will be excited and will be a great help on the journey.
• I’m REALLY getting pumped about our Scouting Trip/Vacation this week.  Emily and I are leaving for Baltimore on Wednesday to scout around, meet some people, look for community impact opportunities, get a feel for the real estate market . . .
• When we get home, we hope to be able to start naming a specific community for us to focus on.  We’re 98% sure now.  The next 10 days will hopefully reveal the last 2%.
• Having 100% certainty on a community will set us free to run full-force into support-raising.
• I sent out a couple resumes to architecture firms in the area so I can have gainful employment from day one.
• I really need everyone out there to help us pray through some stuff related to associations and assessment processes.  I’ve been struggling a lot with it lately.
• We’re going to take a few days to experience July 4th Baltimore-style . . . We’re thinking about going to see the Baltimore Sympohony Orchestra’s celebration on either July 3 or 5 . . . and we’re probably going to brave the crowds at the Inner Harbor on July 4.  I’m sure this will make Auburn’s stuff at Samford Park look pretty lame.  I’m looking forward to it.
• I’m looking forward to this week as a focussed time to reconnect with my beautiful bride, Emily, before baby Katie arrives in September.
• I finished reading Pop Goes The Church this week.  It was definitely helpful for me to think through WHY, HOW, and WHAT related to using Pop Culture in the church.  I’ve grown accustomed to the idea in the past several years . . . but just introducing Pop Culture elements and actually leveraging the culture for the Gospel are two totally different things.  Help me think it through BIG TIME.
• I’m really stuggling with “renewing my mind” lately.  My brain is overwhelmed with the visual power of my work in architecture.  Every time I try to focus on something else, it seems to get overrun with drafting images or code issues.  I HATE IT.  I can’t focus in prayer time.  I can’t focus on reading my Bible.  Please just pray that this Scouting Trip/Vacation gives me an opportunity to “HIT THE RESET BUTTON.”  I need it.
• From the previous note . . . If you don’t think the visual and musical arts have power over the way people think, you’re an idiot.
• I have a blog post related to that thought coming soon.  I have to finish thinking it through and writing it.

Enough hits for now.

Quick Hits

I’ve been really busy lately, but I want to keep everyone up-to-date . . . here are some quick-hits:

• I’ve been spending a lot of time praying lately.  A LOT of time.  I’ve been praying and meditating in my car.  I’ve been extending my prayer time in the morning.  I’ve been praying during pockets of my day.  I’ve been carving out time to pray most evenings.
• The biggest prayer I have right now is for God’s eyes to meet people where they are.  This prayer has been ovewhelming me both for Auburn and for Baltimore.
• I’m praying for God to do BIG things during our scouting trip in July.  I want to see him do such BIG things that I don’t even know what to pray for!
• I’m praying to be a godly husband and father.  WOW.  Father.  Craziness.  Baby Katie is due to arrive in less than 100 days!
• I’ve been spending a good bit of time putting together parts and pieces for moving to Baltimore and starting a church.
• Technology stuff is expensive.
• Praying for our house to sell at just the right time.
• Starting looking for options in architecture for a job between relocating and launching the church.  Found a couple really good prospects.
• Started compiling my resume for architecture for the first time since 1997.  Slightly out of date.
• Emily’s mom is coming in to town this weekend for a baby shower.  Should be fun.  Seriously. That’s not meant to be sarcastic.
• Seeing some big stuff happening at work.  Finally seeing some fruit for some things I’ve been working on for almost 3 years.
• Started praying with my bosses about how to make some transitions and adjustments to prepare for Katie’s arrival and for me to relocate to Baltimore. 
• I’m absolutely loving ONE PRAYER at Journey.  Why didn’t somebody think of this sooner?  1,400+ churches joining together.  Over 800,000 Christ-followers seeking the same thing.  How awesome is that?

Time Flies!

I just realized that it has been over a week since my last post.  Can I just say I’ve been really busy lately?

Some good news coming out of the office (architecture stuff.)  Some things came up that may help with some transitions in the coming months.  Definitely exciting.

Glad the Jamaica team got back safe and had a great time.  I hear God did some really cool stuff.  Can’t wait for a report.

I stayed up praying a long time last night.  God is really working me over on a couple of things for Baltimore.  With a scouting trip planned, I’m getting pumped up.

Katie’s nursery is coming together.  Really cute.  Really girlie.  But, Emily and I both decided to keep the baby pastels to a minimum.  It’s like “sophisticated baby.”  I like it.  Can’t wait for the glider to arrive.  Emily and I are going to fight over it as a place to read until Katie arrives.

Emily is just so darn cute to look at.  The growing belly (which moves every now and then, how cool is that?) is making me realize how close I am to being responsible for raising another human being!  Craziness.

Fathers day is coming up.  Never thought much about that holiday before.

Well, I’m still busy, but thought I would give a quick update . . . back to work.

Sunday Sentiments . . .

It’s kinda late on Sunday night, so I’m just gonna make a few quick hits. . .

• Eric and the mission team are in Jamaica.
• We played a video in the worship service from the team in Jamaica.
• I think there are more people on the trip than showed up for church today.
• The band was absolutely awesome in the service today.
• They thought they sucked in practice, so we were all blessed!
• Did some adjustments on setup that worked quite well.
• It’s not easy preaching to a bunch of empty chairs.
• I’m glad it’s summer so we can leave some stuff set up at the school.
• Zach and Justin are doing a great job!
• Got a good bit of our vacation/Baltimore Scouting Trip planned this weekend.
• Worked on painting Emily’s old dresser to be ready for Katie’s nursery.  White, Pink, and Aqua.  And cute little butterfly knobs we found online.
• I have a blister on the end of one of my fingers from holding the detail paint brush for the past 3 hours.  It’s making typing a less-than-enjoyable experience.
• The dog (Roxie) doesn’t know what to think of the total change in furniture from Guest Room to Nursery.
• Emily is the cutest little pregnant lady ever.
• I can’t believe we’re about to be parents.
• I can’t believe I’m having a little girl.  I am in SO MUCH TROUBLE!!!!
• I’m worn out.  Time for bed!

Return on Investment

Last night I had an awesome opportunity to see a significant return on some investments from several years ago.  No, I’m not going to get some great financial windfall and pay off everyone’s debt.  I’m talking about some living investments.

When I was in seminary as an intern at Lakeview Baptist in Auburn, I took a lot of opportunities to invest in the lives of college guys.  Over the course of several years, I had three “d-groups” — groups of guys that met together to deepen their walk with God, invest in each other, and keep each other accountable.  Several years have passed, but almost all the guys I invested in are still in touch with me in some way.

This past week, 1 guy from each of the three D-Groups graduated from seminary.  Last night, each of them was ordained to the Gospel ministry.  Nathan is headed to Brooklyn, NY as a church planter.  Paul is looking for a position in missions mobilization. And Matt is headed overseas in missions.  Three years ago, I had to have their very first seminary class rescheduled so they could be in my wedding (wow, did I really have that much power?)  It’s amazing to think about the road they have walked these past 3 years.

I couldn’t help but think about the rest of the guys I invested in over that time. In addition to these guys, Ranjit is in ministry in his native India, Nolan is taking Bible classes and working with youth in Michigan, Ches is still in grad school at Auburn, Luke is a businessman, and Wryn is . . . well Wryn is Wryn. Does anyone really know what he is up to from day to day?

At any rate, it was a great encouragement for me to see how God has placed me in some guys’ lives at just the right time to have an influence on them and to set them on a path to influence the world in a positive way with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  It’s humbling to see what some of these guys are up to.  I know each of these guys well enough to know that I only played a small part in who they are today . . . but I’m glad God used me to play that small part.  I’m praying for more opportunities like these for year to come.

Happy Mother’s Day!

It’s now VERY early on Sunday morning.  I’m winding down to go to bed . . .

But, It’s now Mother’s Day, so I am giving a shout-out to all you mothers out there!

This year, this holiday means somthing more to me than ever before.

I always appreciate my mother.  I owe a lot of my spiritual life to the nurturing she provided as I was growing up.  She offers a great bit of knowledge and wisdom to my life even as a grown adult.

But this year, my wife is becoming a mother. Since we believe that life begins at conception, the little baby Katie growing inside of Emily’s womb makes Emily a mother.  Happy first Mother’s Day to you, Emily!

Emily is going to be a great mom.  One of my favorite special little things I did for Emily was to write each verse of Proverbs 31 on a post-it note, along with an explanation of how I believed she lived out that verse.  It then hid the post-its all over the house.

One huge example is how she manages our household.  We went to Casey Graham’s ReThink Money seminar today.  One of the suggestions is to eat at home more.  We made that decision a while ago.  Since then, Emily has found several HEALTHY, VERY good, filling meals that she can make for us that are EXTREMELY BUDGET FRIENDLY.  If you want to save money by eating at home more, but aren’t a savvy cook . . . none of Emily’s recipes take more than 40 minutes to make, and they are generally between $6-$12 per 4 servings (That’s $1.50-$3.00 per person!)  Yeah, so if you need help, my wonderful wife would be more than willing to offer some suggestions!

Off to bed.

The Imperfect Church

Call me I’m strange, but I honestly love the church.  I hear excuses from people all the time as to why they don’t go to church.  If I believed even half of these excuses were really a legitimate excuse to not go to church, I would have been out the door a long time ago.  Allow me to go off on a Pauline rant for a moment.

• As a grade-school kid, my “best friend” at church threw my bible in a puddle because he got mad at me for something.
• As a teenager, after sharing feelings of loneliness with a friend, he blatantly laughed at me when I was left out of a group of guys at a church function.
• In college, a ministry leader told me he didn’t think I really fit in and asked me why I didn’t just leave.
• In seminary, I was known as the “black sheep” because I wasn’t like the other guys around me.
• After seminary, a pastor flat out lied to me when he told me he was going to hire me for a position and then hired someone else a few weeks later.
• I’ve known pastors who poured 20+ years of their lives into incredibly fruitful ministry at a single church only to have it burn them out and they walk away.
• I walked a personal friend through the pain of losing his ministry to a moral failure, and going through a long process of restoration to a slightly less dynamic ministry.
• I’ve had mentors get so enamoured with a theological idea that they chase the single idea until it totally dries up their spiritual walk with God.
• I’ve had friends who hold a theological position that allows them to blame God for a moral failure and completely walk away from ministry, God, and the church.
• I’ve been spit on for my faith.
• I’ve had my faith questioned by supposed church leaders.
• I’ve dealt with people content with a Sunday Morning faith.
• I’ve had dry times when I wondered if God even existed.
• I’ve been frustrated when I sense a direction for my life that just doesn’t seem to ever pan out.
• I’ve had friends molested by church leaders, and had to help them deal with the pain years later.

In spite of all this I LOVE THE CHURCH.  There has only been 1 time in my life that I honestly wanted to leave the church.  I wanted to give up and just walk away.  That lasted for a total of about 30 minutes.  As I got thinking about all the things I could do just because I wasn’t going to be a Christian anymore, I realized I had no desire to do any of them . . . Which made me realize that God has really totally reshaped me to be in His church and to love His church.

You may think I’m crazy . . . But the Bible never tells us that the church would be perfect.  Nor does it tell us that we should expect God’s people to act perfectly all the time.  In fact, the Bible tells us that God is still working on the church and each of us.  The Bible teaches us that God is “sanctifying” the church to become a “pure spotless bride.” But we’re not there yet.  We shouldn’t expect to be.

Besides, as much as the church has “done to me” over the years . . . If I’m humble enough to admit it . . . I’ve been the one to hurt other peoples’ feelings off an on.  I’ve also been guilty of making someone feel out-of-place.  I’ve stretched or hidden the truth a couple of times to avoid hurting someone’s feelings.  I’m not any more perfect than anyone else.  That’s why I still need the church!  I need the church to help me continue to become a part of the pure spotless bride.

So, are you letting some other imperfect person from your past keep you from fully experiencing life in Christ through His Body, the Church?