Things that make ya go hmmm...

Before I began, let me say that this is by no means a knock on church planters or the church. This is me thinking out loud in my blog. Okay with that said, on the way to work the other day I noticed something quite peculiar, every school I passes had a church meeting in it and then between the school were actual churches with their own buildings. On my way to work, which is about 12 miles away from my house, I counted 9 churches. Yes, nine, ten if you want to include the church in which I am on staff. Nine churches. Part of me felt that I should be excited about so many churches in a small area, because in the area I live there are over 100,000 unchurched people. I would guess that all of the churches combined attendees would be less than 10% of that number. So may the answer to the question on how to reach these people is not another church, another way of doing church, or a cooler edgy church, maybe the answer can be found with a group of people in the book of Acts. See a few things I noticed about this crazy group of church planters in Acts is this, first they were a united group. They were all about the same thing, raising up the name of Jesus Christ. See what I noticed today is a lot of churches are about raising up their denomination, their type of worship, or how cool they dress instead of raising up the name of Jesus. Also it almost seems like we brag about how ununited we are. For example, I hear alot of churches talking about how they are reformed over here, we are Calvinist of there, good grief, at the end of the day I want to know if you love the Lord your God with all heart, mind and soul! Also the church in Acts loved everybody, they really got the statement they will know we are Christians by our love. Let's take note of this and let us love one another. The world is crying out to see an authentic picture of this love. Let us show them this love. So here is the point of all my ranting, if the Lord has led you to plant a church or start one, be obiedient and do so, but maybe it does not need to be across the street from another one, maybe God has called you to be a part of that other church and make it better, I don't know. I just want the thing we raise up to not be how we are different from the church around the corner, but that we have been united by the blood of a glorious savior, Jesus Christ!

the Outsiders...

You know as early as I can remember, I have been trying to fit in. It is a crazy thing, as soon as we are old enough to realize that there is an in crowd, we want to be in it. Pun is definitely on purpose. I remember as early as kindergarten, I wanted to sit at the table with the cool kindergartners, whatever cool is in kindergarten. I remember later in grade school trying to make sure I had the right clothes, shoes, etc. When I was in the fifth grade, my family did not have a lot of money. I remember that the shoes to have at the time were the, Deion Sanders'. They were the stuff. If you are as old as me, you know what I am talking about. Well, we did not have an extra $120+ dollars sitting around, so my parents bought me the off brand "Sanders" from K-Mart, that cost about $20. Well, I was very embarrassed to wear these bad boys. Because I was afraid of not fitting in. I use to think that I would eventually get over this need to fit in when I became an adult, but I found that it may even be worse when you get older. There is this unsaid pressure to live in the right neighborhood, drive the right car, and have the right size television. May i say, it is tiring work to try and fit in. But I am starting to realize that being an outsider is synonymous with being a Christian. Have you read the bible lately, Jesus was the ultimate outsider. He did everything opposite of the way that the world did it. Not only was he comfortable with being an outsider, he encouraged his followers to do the same.
So I find myself at a crossroads, do I continue to work to fit in to this world, or embrace my calling to as an outsider? Well, I have decided that I am going to stop trying to fit in when I have been called to be an outsider and different. You know what, living in that freedom makes for a lot less stressful life. Don't get me wrong, I still feel the tug to fit in and do what everyone else is doing, but I am going to embrace my call to be like the ultimate outsider, Jesus Christ. So with pride and confidence, I would like to introduce myself, I am Nick Person and I am an outsider...

Outsiders-Needtobreathe

Shortfalls of little sins
Close calls and no one wins
Stand tall but running thin
I’m wearing thin

Oh, why are we keeping score?
Cause if you’re not laughing,
Who is laughing now?
I’ve been wondering
If we stop sinking
Could we stand our ground?
And through everything we’ve learned
We’ve finally come to terms,
We are the outsiders.
Oh, we are the outsiders, oh

I’m not leaving without a fight.
I got my holster around my side.
Just ‘cause I’m wrong it don’t make you right.
No you ain’t right.

Oh, why are we keeping score?
Cause if you’re not laughing,
Who is laughing now?
I’ve been wondering if we stop sinking,
Would we stand our ground?
And through everything we’ve learned,
We’ve finally come to terms.
We are the outsiders,
Oh we are the outsiders, x7

(On the outside,
You’re free to roam
On the outside
We found it home
On the outside
There’s more to see
On the outside
We choose to be)x2
On the outside

Why me?

I don't know why he would choice me. Lately I have been overwhelmed by the love of our Heavenly Father. It seems lately that I have chosen my way instead of his, the things of this world instead of keeping my mind on things above, putting on the throne, instead of worshipping the God that is already seated there. Yet, time after time He decides that he wants to use me to get the glory. Why me Lord? I am far from perfect and so many times I will choice what I want and forget about the call that the Lord has laid no my heart, yet, because God is far grander that I could ever hope to be, he uses me. With my scars, a lot self inflicted, with my shortcomings, with my lack of faith, with my indecisiveness and the list goes on and on. Yet despite all I have stacked against me, the Lord still chooses to use me. Why me? Why would he love me? When so many times in my life I say with the decisions in my life that I love me more that I love him. I am starting to get maybe why it is that he chooses me. Because despite all of my flaws, when the Lord uses someone like me to preach his gospel and to be a part of his story, He gets the glory. Because only a God like that could use someone like me. So I have come to a conclusion about myself, I want to be used by God and because of this I want to live up to the name that his has given me, Holy! I want to live a life that is set apart! I am glad that God can use someone that chooses my way, but how much could he use someone that chooses Him? I want to find out. I know why me, so that God can get the glory.

A grandfather named King...(from journal 09-20-05)

Not to long ago, I had the daunting task of going to a commencement ceremony. For the record, graduations are not ever fun, even if it is your own. I would have much rather been doing something else other than sitting at a graduation. I would have to venture to say, that dusting would have been more fun, and I absolutely hate dusting, just ask my wife. I also think that watching grass grow would have probably been more entertaining. Actually, just about anything would have been better than sitting on an uncomfortable bleacher. I think that you get the point, i will stop torturing with my very bad analogies. Actually, one more thing, I do not think that I ever been to a graduation that has started on time. You rush to get there and then you get to wait an extra thirty plus minutes to cheer on the graduate of your choice. While I was sitting and waiting for the lovely event to begin, I decided to take up a favorite past time, people watching. I typically gravitate to people watching when I am bored. There were all kinds of people at this event, which was not unusual for a graduation. There were people who were very excited to be there, which I totally did not get. There were people there that were like myself, miserable. The I saw a sight that caught my attention. A young man, I would say around the age of twenty, walked in to the auditorium, normally this would not have grasped my attention, but He happened to be pushing a wheelchair, that I would say was holding his grandfather. His grandfather was probably around the age of eighty or maybe even older. Most people, I've noticed, when it comes to older people, maybe not most, but some. Seem to have an attitude towards older people that is not the best. Almost as if they are a bother and not a joy. But this young man pushing his grandfather, seemed to have a different attitude. It was almost as if he was pushing royalty. It almost seemed as if pushing his grandfather was more of a blessing than it was a burden. It seemed as if was announcing the entrance of someone very regal and grand. He pushed his grandfather with such care and precision. He navigated his way to their designated area like a precession in a parade. When his grandfather spoke,it was as if he was speaking words of gold the way his grandson hung on every word. It was as if he cherished everything his grandfather had to say. It was amazing to see the interaction between the two of them. Watching these two brought a question to my mind, how do i treat people. Do i treat them with care or like they are a burden. A very tough question to answer and honestly, some of the time I treat people like a burden. But what if i treated people the way God treated them, as if they were precious, almost like royalty? What would that say about the actual king that I serve. Truth be told, they are royalty because the are heirs to the kingdom of God. Maybe i should treat them that way. It is amazing what you can learn from a little people watching. I am not sure if that grandfather's name was King, but i know his grandson treated him that way...

When He takes you at your word...

I have sung many a sung that has given the Lord permission to use it all. You know what I am talking about, Lord take my life, Lord take my all, Lord take everything. There have been many of times when I really meant those words. I mean, I truly meant them. Then, there were other times, when they were just words on a screen that sounded good. While my heart was very far away from meaning those words. But I have found out something, if you don't mean it, you probably should not say it. Because when you tell the Lord that you have given him control of every part of you life, He will take you at your word. A few years ago, I lost my mom in a car accident. It was probably one of the hardest times in my life. I did not know what to do, or where to turned, I eventually turned back to the one that is the giver and the taker of life. The Lord truly healed my life and going through that time allowed me to see how good God truly is. When I sing those songs in church and let the Lord know that he is allowed to use every aspect of my life, I really never thought that he would require that I revisit the hardest time of my life. But there is a verse in Romans that kind of put things in perspective, all things work for the good of those who are in Christ. ALL things. I found out recently, that even my great loss was included in this all things. I have recently been allowed to walk with a young man that just lost his mother. Very quickly I have learned that when you tell the Lord something, He will take you at your word. I have been able to see that even though when my mom passed it was a really dark time, the Lord has been able to use even that situation for the good. I have learned something through all of this, that if you don't mean it, don't say it. But I have to admit, even though it is hard to say, I am really glad that the Lord took me at my word. Because only He could take such a horrible situation and use it for good...

Two guys and a little red truck(from my journal 09-20-05)

I had the privilege the other day to have the top to my jeep off. If you have never experienced this you really should. It's almost feels like you are flying. Granted, I have never flown (like superman) but if I had, I am sure it would have felt very similar to riding in my jeep with the top down. Anyhow, I was driving and I noticed a truck to my left. For the record, I am very much a people watcher, not stalker, just watcher. People are just very intriguing to me! This truck caught my eye, no that anything was exceptional about the truck, it was a red, ordinary, compact, pickup truck. I like so many other people, have the predisposition to look into the next car whenever I pull beside one. So I looked over into this little red truck and I am quite intrigued by what I see. I don't know if most people would have been as intrigued as I was, but I was very intrigued. In the little red truck I saw a driver and a passenger, not that out of the ordinary I know. The driver was a white male, around the age of 70, I would guess. The passenger was a black male around the age of 70. My interest was peaked by these two men. I did not know where they were coming from, but I did know that seeing them together in that little red truck made me very happy. I think this had such a profound affect on me because it is not something I see everyday. Yes I see older white males and older black males, but rarely, very rarely do I ever see them together. It was pretty stinkin' cool to see them together. It reminded me that things can and do get better. These two men, who were raised in a time of high racial tension, found some way to look past the outside appearance, to the heart of each other. What they found was something that transcends color, they found a person. I wondered what their story was, I wondered how they became friends, I wondered how they got past their social do's and don'ts. To say that I was intrigued would be a major understatement. I was floored, in a time where segregation and racism reigned supreme, these two gentleman were able to look past all of that. Even today at times we can feel the ugly head of bigotry rising up ,but these two fellas, reminded me that there is hope. Hope that we can look past a person's outside appearance and not just see a color, or money, but their heart and see them for who they really are. Hope that what our fore fathers wrote about, can be a reality in our day and time. Yes, a fleeting moment in traffic became a lot more, it became an ah ha moment. A moment where I realized that I am a part of the change I desire to see in the world and so are those two gentleman. What a very important lesson learned from two guys in a little red truck...

Rainy days...

So I have come to realize something. I really like rainy days. Let me explain myself. Because I am sure that the majority of the population does not share my enthusiasm for rainy days. I like the fact that rainy days cause you to slow down a bit. If you are anything like me, you are constantly running around like a chicken with it's head cut off. By the way, why is that the illustration that we gravitate to when we explain how crazy we are? Anyhow, the rain makes us drive slower as to avoid bumping into the cars around us. Also the rain brings new life and allows life to grow and florish! Another thing the rain does, is it causes us to appreciate the sun. Think about that statement, it cause us to appreciate the Sun! That is crazy cool. Because the rainy days in our lives causes the same outcome. Whenever my life spins out of control and the rain falls, I have to realize that the sun is going to shine again and it causes me to appreciate the Son! Rainy days are not fun, but they are neccessary for us to realize how good the Son is. If I can remeber that, I think that I would live differently, so I have decided to welcome the rain, no matter how heavy or inconvienient, bring on the rain.


Much love,
Nick