Pittance in time.

What I don't get about elections.

Looking at this years election I stand confused about the church in the process of politics. This year we have a history making election in regarding our first African American candidate or a female vice president candidate.

I am starting to get a little concerned about this election because the race is turning out to be by about other issues rather than the the issues that it should be about. I understand how the unchurched people would vote, but what bothers me is how the church is voting. So far it has turned out to be a election that is being decided through race voting for their candidate rather than voting about core religous beliefs.

I believe the first thing that I have to look at as a christian is how does the candidates feel about abortion, and marriage being one man one woman, and how they feel about Israel and how we should defend her. So far I know who I am voting for, I am not one of the undecided people they keep talking about. It is not hard to put the candidates record up to concideration to truely see how they will vote for future decisions on issues.

This President will have to make some hard decisions such as economy, defense, foreign relations and affairs. Who ever wins will be in need of prayer and it is our duty to pray for our leaders. Let's just make sure that we vote on Kingdom of God issues and not just personality, charaisma, or race. We need someone in the White House who can hit the ground running.

Life goes on!

I have been going crazy lately, on Oct 5th we celebrated our one year anniversary at Impact Cowboy Church. We were blessed by having some great men and women of God come be with us and see what we have been working on. First Mike & Jane Bailey came down Saturday so as to minister to my ministry team and volunteers, and boy he brought a message about volunteerism and the power of being a volunteer. We knew we had heard the Word of God afterwards.

My personal Pastor/Mentor and friend came down and ministered to the congregation on Sunday morning. He brought a very prophetic word for this church an for me as well. I ministered about enlarging our tents and securing our future by not holding on to the past. I had been guilty of that as a Pastor. I realize that by trying to hold on to the people from the past I was not lead the people of the present and of the future.

On Oct 19th we were out celebrating my wife's 40th birthday and I started feeling really bad. I laid down on Saturday night hoping that some sleep would cure the problem but it never would even let me get some sleep. I had a fever that was bouncing around 102 to 103. Needless to say I was not able to preach that morning. One of our Elders Rex Crenshaw felt like the Lord gave him a message the day before so he preached and I went to the VA hospital in Shreveport, LA where they admitted me. I apparently had a bad sinus infection that was going all wrong. They told me Monday that I was close to dying if they were not able to hurry and break up all the congestion. My fever was staying around 104. Finally everything started draining and we felt better about how things were going. I spent from Sunday till Wednesday in that hospital. Not to mentions when I got there they started working on me then got dirverted to another person who code blued and eventually they were not capable of saving her life so she died in front of me. Some how that did not instill a lot of confidence in me toward my doctors but they eventually came through for me. I have been back one week and I am glad to be back I sure did miss everyone.
blessings

busy times

It feels like forever since I have been able to blog. Oct 5th we celebrated our one year anniversary at the church so we had a big dinner on the grounds and we had a blessing in having my pastor David Kerr and his wife Debbie long with Mike and Jane Bailey come down to be with us.

Pastor Mike ministered to my leadership team on Saturday night and he did a great job teaching about how America had to step up and defend itself against professional military with just volunteers. Eventually we overcame and was victorious. He was able to show that the church even though it is under attack, we can overcome the enemy by who we serve. We have to rise and and serve a cause that is bigger than ourselves.

Pastor David ministered on Sunday and he gave us a prophetic word about going on past the hurts of the past and look to the joy of the future. He spoke about Isa 54 and said to enlarge our tents and lengthen our cords and strenghten our stakes. He spoke over me about leading those that want to come and the ones that want to leave will leave. I am reminded that we are always on a journey. We are like migratory animals we need to keep on the move and keep looking for new feeding grounds, if we don't we will eventually wind up starving to death. My biggest fear is that ICCN would become a "us four and no more type of church"

This week I gave a message about enlarging our tents and getting ready to change and why we should be looking to serve our Lord through reaching out past our comfort zone. I am the first one to say as a Pastor it hurts to see people leave and I would want everyone to stay but sometimes you have to go ahead and let them go.

I am now looking forward to the future and what God has in store for us. I hope to see you here soon.

Pastoral up's and downs

Recently I have been going through some rough times at the church. I was beginning to doubt that I was the man for the job as Pastor to this church. Finances were not looking good this month and I was about ready to start crying in my root beer. I guess my biggest fear was that I was possibly failing God and the trust that he put in me. That is a lonely feeling. I had began to think that I had lost my "MOJO" to quote Austin Powers (how many pastors use him as a quote?).

I had a bad day today and was thinking that I was off to a bad Wednesday night till God showed up and showed out! We started off late with dinner and we did not even get started till 10 minutes late for the service. We had prayer request come up and God just started using our prayer request to fuel our faith. I thought we had had church way before we ever started a message.

The Lord gave me message out of Jer 23:13-29 He was talking about false prophets and how they had not spoken Gods word, what hit me was one verse said they had not been in his presence or his council, if they had they would be speaking words that gave life, (paraphrased) Then he sent me to Luke 18 dealing witht the widow that constantly bugged the judge and she finally got what she sought after. We have to keep going after what we want. God never promised anything to be easy, just his company

What the Lords showed me was that although we go through many up's and down's like the picture of the mountains, we have to keep going and we have to keep seeking out God. We as pastors are not immune from stupid thinking! As a matter of fact sometimes we have a lot more of that than people think. We sometimes feel alone and that we have no one to talk to. God wanted me to see tonight it is up to him to bring the increase not me! It is only up to me to bring me, not the increase.

I don't know if any of you have ever felt like a fake or not but I will tell you that I have felt like a fake, thinking that the people will eventually see through me soon enough, till I finally figured it out if you remain transparent they will see through you, but as a man of God they will see Jesus through you.

If you are ever in a place of trying to find yourself and trying to find out what God wants of you just remember all he wants of you is ALL of You and nothing less. He wants the brokeness, the nakedness, and the willingness to continue to serve him.

Blessings

The problems of the church

SEVEN PROBLEMS OF THE CHURCH

1. The Unbended Knee
2. The Unread Book
3. The Unattended Church
4. The Unpaid Tithe
5. The Unrealized Cross of Christ
6. The Uncompassionate Heart
7. The Unconcern for Lost Souls

--Author Unknown

I don't know with that many UN's maybe we should call it the problems of the UNchurched.

Just a another day!

Today is my birthday and I am now officially 40 yrs old, don't laugh Rob you are not far behind me.
So I thought that I would leave a word of wisdom for everyone on my blog, but for some reason I can't remember what it was. I guess it is true there is something that begins to disappear at 40 but just can't remeber what that thing is. Any way Happy Bday to me
Stan

Christ Alone By Lynette Woods

I came across this poem and it hit me in the gut which there is plenty of, but hopefully it will put you in a different frame of thought for a moment to reflect on how God is working in you and your life.

"Who shall not reverence and glorify Your name, O Lord? For You alone are Holy. Rev 15:4a

If seeing Christ alone does not make me want to look and keep looking only at Him, Then I may as well just concentrate on what I can see here and now on this earth instead.
If hearing Christ alone does not matter much to me, Then I may as well seek and listen to the opinions and advice of other people instead.
If touching Christ alone does not thrill me, Then I may as well look for excitement, amusement and pleasure in this world instead.
If Christ alone does not make me know I am wanted, Then I may as well look for some people who will need and want me instead.
If Christ alone does not make me laugh at myself and my many blunders,Then I may as well laugh at other people instead.If Christ alone does not make me sing every song for Him,Then I may as well sing for myself or other people instead.
If Christ alone does not cause me to grieve and pray with Him for others,Then I may as well pray and cry tears of self-pity for myself instead.
If Christ alone does not soften my heart by causing me to identify with Him in His sufferings,Then I may as well experience the suffering caused by my hard-heartedness and rebellion instead.
If Christ alone does not share His thoughts with me,Then I may as well be occupied with my own thoughts instead.If Christ alone does not share His heart with me,Then I may as well be affected by those things which affect me and my affections.
If knowing Christ alone does not make me give up on myself, Then I may as well defend myself (using His Word if need be).
If knowing Christ alone does not destroy my pride and ambition, Then I may as well promote myself (using His Fame and Glory if need be).
If knowing Christ alone does not make me content to be unknown by man, Then I may as well create and maintain a good name for myself (using Christ's Name if need be).
If knowing Christ alone does not bring me face down to the dust,Then I may as well stand tall and accept people's admiration and appreciation (on His behalf, of course).
If I do not submit to Christ alone hiding me in Himself so that only He may be seen,Then I may as well expose myself so people will look at, admire and notice me.
If Christ alone does not fulfil my need for Love,Then I may as well prostitute myself by looking for love from people instead.
If Christ alone is not my only anointing,Then I may as well manufacture my own version by manipulating people's emotions.
If Christ alone is not my only qualification and definition,Then I may as well get a title and some credentials from man instead.
If belonging to Christ alone does not satisfy my need for acceptance,Then I may as well join a group of people and commit myself and my time to them.
If knowing Christ alone does not make all other relationships pale by comparison,Then I may as well concentrate more on my relationships with people here on earth than with Him.
If receiving Christ alone does not in turn release me to freely give because of All He has given,Then I may as well just take all I can from both Him and others and give nothing.
If Christ alone does not give me freedom to trust and obey what I have heard Him say to me personally,Then I may as well disobey and do what I (or other people) want me to do instead.
If Christ alone does not go along with my plans or use me as I desire,Then I may as well just use others for my own ends and make things happen myself.
If trusting Christ alone is not deemed sufficient for anything and everything I may encounter,Then I may as well do whatever I can to ensure my success and survival in all areas of life.
If Christ alone does not have first place in my life,Then I may as well go any place I like, whenever I like.If Christ alone does not have control of my life,Then I may as well exercise my rights to do and say whatever I believe to be right.
If Christ alone is not my Teacher and Unveiler,Then I may as well just accumulate and articulate the knowledge of others.
If Christ alone is not my Wisdom and Light,Then I may as well jump to conclusions based on what I think I see from the light of my own candle.
If Christ alone does not make me know true Peace and Joy, Then I may as well fill my life with many things and many people instead.
If Christ alone does not bring me real Rest,Then I may as well keep myself very busy so I don't notice my internal lack and restlessness.
If Christ alone is not becoming the essence of who I am,Then I may as well spend time 'finding myself' and bolstering my poor self image.
If Christ alone is not my Life,Then I may as well just live for myself and forget about eternity.
If Christ alone has not proved to be more than sufficient for any trial I face,Then perhaps my trials need to be repeated...
If Christ alone is not enough for me, Then perhaps I am a hypocrite using His Name...
If Christ alone is not the Love of my life, then who is?
If Christ alone is not my reason for living, then what is?
If Christ alone is not real to me in every aspect of my life, then am I being unreal?
If Christ alone is not enough for me, then do I really know Him at all?

If Christ alone will make me nothing,Then He will be my Everything.
If Christ alone is the One Thing that matters to me,Then the "many things" will totally lose their power and ability to trouble me.
If Christ alone will open my eyes, then I will truly see because of Him.
If Christ alone will open my ears, then I will genuinely hear because of Him.
If Christ alone will break me, then I will be gloriously free because of Him.
If Christ alone will touch me, then I will be completely healed because of Him.If Christ alone will breathe on me, then I will really live because of Him.
If Christ alone will feed me, then I will be fully satisfied because of Him.
If Christ alone will come and live in me in spite of my total unworthiness, Then I will be worthy because of Christ alone.
If Christ alone will come and show me that I am irrevocably and completely His,Then I will be lost in the wonder and glory of being joined with Christ alone!
If Christ alone is what I see, then HE will be seen through me!
If Christ alone is what I hear, then HE will be heard through me!
If Christ alone is what I touch, then HE will be felt through me!
If Christ alone is what I eat and drink, then HE will be tasted through me!
If Christ alone is the Fragrance I wear, then HE will be smelt through me!If Christ alone is all I know, then HE will be known through me!
If only Christ alone will come and make us One...
If only Christ...
Yes, COME Lord Jesus!

Little Alex

One Sunday morning, the pastor noticed little Alex standing in the foyer of the church staring up at a large plaque. It was covered with names and small American flags mounted on either side of it. The six-year old had been staring at the plaque for some time, so the pastor walked up, stood beside the little boy, and said quietly, 'Good morning, Alex.' 'Good morning Pastor,' he replied, still focused on the plaque. 'Pastor, what is this?' The pastor said, 'Well son, it's a memorial to all the young men and women who died in the service.' Soberly, they just stood together, staring at the large plaque. Finally, little Alex's voice, barely audible and trembling with fear asked, 'Which service, the 8:30 or the 10:45?

You might be a liberal if!

* You might be a Liberal if, You blame the oil companies for high gas prices, but believe in doing everything humanly possible to keep them from drilling for more oil.
* You might be a Liberal if, You'd have no problem with a Democratic President talking with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad or Kim Jung-Il without conditions, but would be very upset if he started seriously negotiating with Republicans over national security or energy issues.
*You might be a Liberal if, You don't see a conflict between "supporting the troops" and trying to insure that they lose the war that they're fighting.
* You might be a Liberal if, You think the solution to an underperforming economy is higher taxes, more regulations, and publicly attacking businesses, but don't understand how that relates to the phrase, "The beatings will continue until morale improves."
* You might be a Liberal if, You're surprised that people don't think you're patriotic just because you were photographed not holding your hand over your heart during the national anthem and made a big deal out of refusing to wear a flag pin.
* You might be a Liberal if, You tell everyone who'll listen that Bush is "worse than Hitler" and that Republicans are fascists, but you never stop to consider that if that were true, you'd be dead or in a gulag already.
* You might be a Liberal if, You think Christmas songs at school plays shouldn't be allowed because they might offend people who don't believe, but don't understand what the problem is supposed to be with government funded "art" that defiles Christianity.
* You might be a Liberal if, Your idea of "reparations for slavery" is white people who have never owned slaves giving money to black people who were never slaves, more than a hundred years after slavery ended.
*You might be a Liberal if, You "assure us that deterrence will work, but when the time comes to deter, (you're) against it." -- Ann Coulter
* You might be a Liberal if, You think celebrities are just exercising their right to free speech when they criticize conservatives, but believe that the celebs are having their First Amendment rights abridged if anyone criticizes them for their comments.
* You might be a Liberal if, You called George Bush, "George Herbert Walker Bush," and George Allen, "George Felix Allen," but think someone referring to Barack Obama as "Barack Hussein Obama" is a racist.
*You might be a Liberal if, You think we should give condoms to thirteen year-olds because "they're going to do it anyway," but feel that we can get rid of every gun held by criminals in the U.S. simply by making them illegal.
*You might be a Liberal if, You think Anita Hill was telling the truth about Clarence Thomas, but Gennifer Flowers, Paula Jones, Linda Tripp, Dolly Kyle Browning, Sally Perdue, Kathleen Willey, and Juanita Broaddrick -- among many others -- are all lying about the Clintons.
*You might be a Liberal if, You "are willing to do whatever it takes to defend the American public from terrorists...as long as the French and Germans say it's OK."
* You might be a Liberal if, You continually claim that we don't do enough for the poor, but you want to add 12-20 million more of them to the ranks by giving illegal aliens American citizenship.
* You might be a Liberal if, You blame "society" for creating the conditions that turn people into criminals, but you don't think that gives "society" even more of a moral obligation to lock those criminals away so that they won't hurt innocent people.
* You might be a Liberal if,There's a conflict between America and any other country, over just about any topic, and you're more likely to side with the other nation than your own.
* You might be a Liberal if, You believe that fanatical Muslims who want to fly planes into our skyscrapers aren't a serious threat to the U.S., but Christians are.
* You might be a Liberal if, You think we can improve our health care system by putting the same government that brought us FEMA, ICE, Airport Security, and the IRS in charge of it.
* You might be a Liberal if, You believe that conservative criticism of Barack Obama's abilities is primarily driven by racism, but actual race-based criticism leveled at Clarence Thomas, Michelle Malkin, and Condi Rice by liberals obviously has nothing to do with race.
* You might be a Liberal if, You live in a great and free nation like America and can use phrases like "audacity of hope" or "speaking the truth to power" without the slightest hint of irony.
* You might be a Liberal if, You say, "Why do they hate us?" when America is attacked and "we're just furthering the cycle of violence" when we retaliate.
* You might be a Liberal if, You generally mean "threatening to the interests of the Democratic Party" or "Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton needs some more money" when you use the word "racist."
*You might be a Liberal if, Your first thought after hearing that someone who publicly criticized murderers actually murdered someone himself is, "What a hypocrite!"
*You might be a Liberal if, You tell anyone who'll listen that our elections are fraudulent and then you fight tooth and nail to prevent states from requiring a photo ID to vote.

Cardboard testimonies

I was sent an email with this you tube movie check it out it is awesome http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RvDDc5RB6FQ

Long cool drink of water

A friend sent me an email that made me laugh please enjoy.

German Speaking Texan
In central Texas, there is a large German-speaking population. A farmer walking down a country road notices a man drinking from his pond with his hand..The farmer shouted: 'Trink das wasser nicht. Die kuhen haben dahin gesheissen.' Which means: 'Don't drink the water, the cows have messed in it.'The man shouted back: 'I'm from New York and just down here campaigning for Obama, I can't understand you. Please speak in English.' The farmer replied:
'Use two hands, you'll get more.'

Retired?

Working friends frequently ask me what I do to make my retirement interesting. Well, for example,the other day I went into town to get the WallStreet Journal so I could track my investments. I was only in the store forabout 5 minutes.
When I came out, there was a cop writing out a parking ticket. I said, 'Come on, don't you have anything better to do than write a retired person a ticket? Why aren't you out chasing crooks or child molesters? He ignored me and continued writing the ticket.
I called him a 'Nazi.' He glared at me and wrote another ticket for having worn tires. So I called him 'Barney Fife'. He finished the second ticket and put it on the windshield with the first. Then he wrote a third ticket. This went on for about 20 minutes. The more I abused him, the more tickets he wrote.
Personally, I didn't care..... I came downtown on the bus. The car that he was putting the tickets on had a bumper sticker that said "Obama in 08". I try to have a little fun each day now that I'm retired. It's important to my mental health.

God's power is made perfect in my weakness part II

2 Corinthians 12:9
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.
Recently I have had my world turned upside down with me breaking 8 ribs and going into the hospital for 5 day. I went in on a Wednesday and came out on a Sunday and think God was wanting me to see something that he was doing in the lives of Impact Cowboy Church and although that go.

I had come to the point where I had my hands on everything going on not by choice but just because I was the Pastor and felt I needed to do more than my part to show people that I am a loving and concerned pastor that cares for his flock and is not scared to get in and work right along side of them. I was becoming a workaholic without even knowing it.

When the accident happened I could not be there to make sure everything was going on as normal which really bothered me, but here is the thing that really showed me a fresh new look at God caring for me. People started rising up and taking on things that my wife and I normally did and did a great job at it. Others took up the teaching slack for me, Rex, Keith, and Billy. Darlene started organizing meals for us and I am sure took care of getting the church sanctuary ready.

Here is what I figured out God don't need strong people because if he did he would have been on Goliath's side and all the Giants that are mentioned in the Bible. He would have used the mightiest warriors to win the battles. The Romans would have been the people to continue the work of the Lord.

But the truth is that God did not want those people, he took people that were discouraged, in dept, wounded, depressed and made them in to the mighty men of Israel. God wants to find the least of the least and raise them up to display his Glory. I guess in my shape God is getting some Glory because I am having to rely on his grace.

Our church has been growing steadily this last Sunday 83 people there. God is good just always look to God and know that if it is too big for you to do it is just the right size for God.

Beware of the Meds

I dedicate this post to a friend of mine named Darlene, Yesterday was the first day back at the church since I went to Hospital. Darlene came up and told me that I better go back and recheck the spelling in my last blog, she was able to realize that my meds were probably messing with me. I got a good laugh this morning looking at it as I did a spell check.

As a Pastor I walk a thin line with medications not wanting to get hooked or being so medicated that I don't make sense at what I say. Last night I took my meds so that I would have a clear mind so I could speak, but the pain made it hard to keep my thoughts together. Dang if I do, Dang if I don't.

In the midst of being home and healing I have seen a lot of people stand up in the gap for my wife and I and I am thankful for their personal ministries to us.

We have so many people to thank, so today I will start off with Darlene, Darlene thank you for being the woman of God that you are, sometimes I can't express how important you are to us but remember we LOVE YOU, you make this worth it for us being here. You were here from the beginning which you will always have my respect for. Thank you for making me laugh at myself, and thank you for watching after my words, even when I am a little impaired.
We love you Darlene,
stan

His power is made perfect in my weekness.

This last week has been a hard and trying time for me because of something that happened to me. This last weekend I had a family that lost a loved one and I knew that my place was to be around to help support them in their time of mourning. I was to speak at a memorial service for their loved one. It was special because they had a chance to lead his Father to the Lord, and his whole family was in a position where they may be willing to receive Jesus as well.

Friday night they day before I am to speak at the memorial service I went with my brother in law and a friend to look at a horse that was for sell. I knew that I should not have gone but I went anyhow just for the fellowship time, and to get my mind of of the memorial service.

Mistake number 1 when you are about to try and do something big for God don't do anything to ruin your chances. I got up on the horse and rode him for a about 20-30 minutes. We started to figure out that he was spur shy and he WAS NOT A FINISHED HORSE! I should have known when he bucked off my brother in law that he was going to give me trouble as well, but you know sometimes we have more faith in our abilities than we have abilities. Romans 12:3 says we should not think more highly of ourselves than we ought to.

Well to make the a long story short I got bucked off and got hurt bad. I did not want to got to the E.R. because I knew I had to speak at the memorial service on Saturday morning so I tried to get patched up and self medicated to get me through the morning. When it came time God gave me the strength to speak with strength even though I was having a hard time physically. After the memorial service I went to the E.R. where they promptly told me I had one broken rib, gave me some med's and sent me home. I went to the church and preached, God gave me the strength when I did not have any of my own. We had three people come to Christ and about five or six stand up to say they wanted to get right again with the Lord.

2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (The Message)
Because of the extravagance of those revelations, and so I wouldn't get a big head, I was given the gift of a handicap to keep me in constant touch with my limitations. Satan's angel did his best to get me down; what he in fact did was push me to my knees. No danger then of walking around high and mighty! At first I didn't think of it as a gift, and begged God to remove it. Three times I did that, and then he told me, My grace is enough; it's all you need. My strength comes into its own in your weakness. Once I heard that, I was glad to let it happen. I quit focusing on the handicap and began appreciating the gift. It was a case of Christ's strength moving in on my weakness. Now I take limitations in stride, and with good cheer, these limitations that cut me down to size—abuse, accidents, opposition, bad breaks. I just let Christ take over! And so the weaker I get, the stronger I become.

The point that I want to make, is even in my case even with the bad breaks, God was so much stronger than I and was able to get me through it to bring Glory to himself. Remember God is able and we are not.

Behind the scenes.

As Pastors we get up every day trying to find a way to prepare our sermon delivery so that it might be polished and seamless. In Bible College at Christ for the Nations they taught us to make sure that the seams are not obvious in between sections. I came across this video that is sometimes how us Pastors feel as we are trying to minister. We pray that everything goes well but sometimes they don't. Watch this video and see if you can relate.

Poetic Justice

Don't it bother you when you are around people and they can't seem to get off their cell phones? I have one pet peeve, I hate it while you are preaching someones phone goes off and the they answer it during service. Here is a bit of poetic Justice.

Where are the Signs and Wonders?

Recently I have been challenged in my faith as a Pastor because I have begun seeing Signs and Wonders in the Ministry that is beginning to blow me away. We have a lady in our Church that received a healing from blindness. She is celebrating a freedom from blindness and is driving up and down the road in her pickup, now we are having to pray that she don't get any speeding tickets.

RecentlyI have been hearing about churches where revivals are happening and that signs and wonders are pouring out. I have not been able to experience any of these outpourings personally and was beginning to think that maybe I was never to experience it first hand. I even did not get to be the one to lay hands on this person to pray for deliverance of blindness, believe it or not it came through her obedience rather than by anything I did. I had been preaching about tithing and she took the challenge that I gave her and started giving just a little bit, then a little more then she received a healing. Can you imagine that healing might come from just simple obedience?

I had talked to her before about healings and she had told me that she was not "a Word of Faith Person". She told me it was a challenge to be around me when I told her to take authority and get the works of the enemy out of her life. Well through her obedience she received a healing that totally blew me away.

This week I preached a message about Gideon, I came across a Chapter in Judges 6 as I was studying that is making me rethink about my faith and what God is doing in the present day Church.
Judges 6:11-14 The angel of the LORD came and sat down under the oak in Ophrah that belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, where his son Gideon was threshing wheat in a winepress to keep it from the Midianites. 12 When the angel of the LORD appeared to Gideon, he said, "The LORD is with you, mighty warrior."
13 "But sir," Gideon replied, "if the LORD is with us, why has all this happened to us? Where are all his wonders that our fathers told us about when they said, 'Did not the LORD bring us up out of Egypt?' But now the LORD has abandoned us and put us into the hand of Midian."
14 The LORD turned to him and said, "Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?"

The Lord showed me that the outside world is looking in at the church and is asking where are the Signs and Wonders that are talked about in the Bible? Too many people are wanting to preach about the seven secrets to a successful marriage, or they preach junk like the prosperity message, Like Dr. Phil says "Hows that working for you?" Pastors are packing in the house with numbers of people wanting to have the ALMIGHTY SECRETE when the truth is that the Pastors are so conditioned to giving what the people want rather than what they need. Our Pastors are no longer able to preach about signs and wonders because that might require faith rather than curiosity. God is wanting the men and women of God to be walking around as victorious people not people who are looking for the next greatest self help sermon.

I have nothing against helping families with communication tools to help their marriages but we can not change the message to fit our wants. I Believe that as Pastor's we need to start preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I am just crazy enough to believe that where ever the Preaching of the Gospel is the Signs and Wonders will follow.

The only thing that we need is time in the Presence of the Lord. Prayer is the key to any kind of revival. Where ever you see revival breaking out it is usually because people have been praying for it to happen. I had Bible teacher of mine say " pray there before you go there".
What are your comments?

Bleberry festival

Here in Nacogdoches, TX we have a big Blueberry festival every year. This is a big deal for us and is always a lot of fun with bands playing all day and venders set up selling their goods, food being sold every where.

Caye and I will be having a couple of friends coming down to visit and I am always excited to have friend come and see us here. I love this town so much that I love to show it off to my other fiends that don't live here. If you would like to check it out here is the website. http://www.texasblueberryfestival.com/BB_events.htm

God is so Good!

This last Sunday we finally made our break to our Sunday Morning Service. I anguished over that for some time but I knew that the Lord was leading us to do it. When it came time to get ready to start I was holding my breath because they did not start coming in till about 10 minutes before service, but when they did come they all came at once. We had 49 people there and we had a great move of the Spirit during Praise and Worship.

I can't tell you how hard of a decision that was for me but I knew that it was the right thing to do because we were competing with every major event on Saturday night. This last Saturday night we had a major concert in town with Blake Shelton and Casey Donahew. If we had been on Saturday night we would not have had a great turn out.

I was pleased to see a new beginning at ICC. We have some new families that are coming and I feel like they are wonderful additions to our family and can't wait to have a chance to take them out and have dinner with them so we can get a chance to get to know them a little better.

One thing about becoming a Senior Pastor that you learn fast, that is, you need God to be with you every step of the way. You can't afford going around making decisions that just seem right, you have to seek the Lord and remain teachable. I said this week that God is always speaking for those who will listen. Sometimes we need to just stop and listen, Amen!

Stuck in the mud!

I am my letter from this weeks bulletin. I have been going through some tough times this week and this little incident put everything into perspective for me, I hope it helps you out with things that you are dealing with.

This week has been a hard week I have had to walk through some trials by fire as a Pastor as well as having a Personal hard time. I have been working pressure washing a fence on a ranch on Hwy 7 trying to make some extra money to help offset some expenses that we have as a Family. It's not hard work but it is a tedious type job. Sometimes you wish something would happen just so you could have a little excitement. Well you know the old saying "Watch what you ask for, because you just might get it". Well I got my excitement this week and it only cost me a little pride so far.

I was pulling a big pressure washer behind my pickup, which had about 500 gals of water in it. I was in the ranch owner's driveway and I decided that I was going to turn around and back to the barn. When I tried to turn around I swung wide and went off the driveway just by a foot or so to get that little extra space, but what I did not know was that the yard sprinklers had been going and the grass was wet. Can you see where I am going with this? I got STUCK with my drive wheel stuck in the grass just one foot off the driveway. I tried to pull out, but I couldn't get it out. I called a friend, and after careful consideration, we decided to unhook from the trailer and move over. The weight of the load was keeping the truck stuck.

I was reminded about what Jesus said in Matthew 7:13-14 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
No matter how far off the narrow path you go, you are not on the road that leads to life. So let's make sure we don't off roading and slinging mud everywhere.
Blessings,
Pastor Stan

CBS19.tv - Trail Riders Benefit

This whole weekend we are helping sponsor a trail ride event in honor of Frank Fields a wounded Iraq war veteran. Please watch and let me know what you think. CBS19.tv - Trail Riders Benefit

What kind of Minister are you?

Last night I had a friend over and we went out to dinner along with my family. After we got back we turned on the T.V. and Jurassic Park III was on, so we sat down to watch the last part of the movie. I am not a huge Jurassic Park fan so I don't have all the names of the characters down but this guy in the picture which I know has been in the first three movies said something that has me thinking hard about who I am. In the movie he is about to get eaten by a group of raptures and this young man pops some smoke grenades which drives the raptures away then the young man comes in and rescues the older guy. He then takes him to his hide out where they are talking and they figure out that they are both science type people.

The older man finally says's that "He has concluded that in this world there are two types of people, the first group of people are astrologers, and the second group of people are astronauts. He then said that astrologers like to study the stars from the relative safety of their labs or in the comfort of their own home and come up with theories about why things work or don't work. They don't risk anything other than their reputation.

He then said that the Astronauts were people who were educated but were driven to strap up and take the dangerous ride to get into the middle of their work and were willing to risk all to investigate what they were studying.

I have a question for you as Christians. Are you the safety type person who has faith but is not willing to risk much to learn about it and keep your thoughts to yourself afraid that you might be laughed at or ridiculed, or are you the type of Christian that would be willing to put your faith to the test and be willing to risk your life upon it?

I feel like Jesus has a desire for you to be willing to leave your atmosphere (comfort Zone) and get out there to make a difference for the Kingdom of God. Remember nothing has ever been gained or won with out a risk to go get it.

Branded

God is so faithful and good to us here at Impact Cowboy Church. We got a chance to bring in a country gospel group called "Branded" to te church and we are excited about it. We will be having them here on April 19th our services will start at 6:30 pm and it is going to be a good time so if you are anywhere near by come by and see them. You can look them up on their website at http://www.branded-duo.com/
They have one song called "above the noise" that a friend of our named Dwayne Williams http://www.texasteddybear.org/ told us about that we fell in love with. Come out and see us.
Blessings

Good times

Friday afternoon I was excited because a friend of mine brought his family and will be ministering this weekend at the church. Sometimes it feels so good to have friends around that can come spend some time with you.

I am proud that he is coming to see the Church that we have started, and I am proud of the people that we minister to. I feel like I have finally found my purpose in life and I hope to share my joy with other people.

We took Rob, Brooke, and Amanda to a country concert last night in a town not too far away from us where two of my praise and worship members play and the whole time that I was there I wanted to be standing up there with them. I have new friends here that only God can give. I feel like I am at home. Please pray for Rob as he is going to be ministering tonight and I expect that the Holy Spirit will annoint an bless his words.

Taming the tongue

This weekend I preached out of James 3 and how it concerns the dangers of the tongue. I was looking for a way to make a lasting imprint in peoples minds about the tongue. We bought one at a meat store and everytime I wanted to make a point I would hold it out and show them how to hold the tongue. Anytime you want to say something about someone Hold your tongue, you want to tell a lie hold your tongue, You want to curse someone with the same tongue that you praise God with, Hold your tongue. I think people got the picture I hope you enjoy the picture and get a good laugh and in the mean time "Hold your tongue"!

Welcome back to reality.

A friends sent me this letter I thought I would share it with you.

A father passing by his son's bedroom, was astonished to see the bed was nicely made, and everything was picked up. Then, he saw an envelope, propped up prominently on the pillow. It was addressed, 'Dad.' With the worst premonition, he opened the envelope and read the letter, with trembling hands. '
Dear, Dad. It is with great regret and sorrow that I'm writing you. I had to elope with my new girlfriend, because I wanted to avoid a scene with Mom and you. I've been finding real passion with Stacy, and she is so nice, but I knew you would not approve of her, because of all her piercing's, tattoos, her tight Motorcycle clothes, and because she is so much older than I am. But it's not only the passion, Dad. She's pregnant. Stacy said that we will be very happy. She owns a trailer in the woods, and has a stack of firewood for the whole winter. We share a dream of having many more children. Stacy has opened my eyes to the fact that marijuana doesn't, really hurt anyone. We'll be growing it for ourselves, and trading it with the other people in the commune, for all the cocaine and ecstasy we want. In the meantime, we'll pray that science will find a cure for AIDS, so Stacy can get better. She sure deserves it! Don't worry Dad, I'm 15, and I know how to take care of myself. Someday, I'm sure we'll be back to visit, so you can get to know your many grandchildren. Love, your son, Joshua.

P.S. Dad, none of the above is true. I'm over at Jason's house. I just wanted to remind you that there are worse things in life than the school report card that's on the kitchen table. Call when it is safe for me to come home :)

Funny letter

Someone sent me this e-mail so I thought I would share it, enjoy.Roping A Deer...Names have been removed to protect the stupid!Actual Letter from someone who writes, and farms.I had this idea that I was going to rope a deer, put it in a stall, feed it up on corn for a couple of weeks, then kill it and eat it.The first step in this adventure was getting a deer. I figured that, since they congregate at my cattle feeder and do not seem to have much fear of me when we are there (a bold one will sometimes come right up and sniff at the bags of feed while I am in the back of the truck not 4 feet a way), it should not be difficult to rope one, get up to it and toss a bag over its head (to calm it down) then hog tie it and transport it home.I filled the cattle feeder then hid down at the end with my rope.The cattle, having seen the roping thing before, stayed well back. They were not having any of it.After about 20 minutes, my deer showed up -- 3 of them. I picked out a likely looking one, stepped out from the end of the feeder, and threw my rope. The deer just stood there and stared at me.I wrapped the rope around my waist and twisted the end so I would have a good hold. The deer still just stood and stared at me, but you could tell it was mildly concerned about the whole rope situation.I took a step towards it...it took a step away. I put a little tension on the rope and then received an education.

The first thing that I learned is that, while a deer may just stand there looking at you funny while you rope it, they are spurred to action when you start pulling on that rope.That deer EXPLODED.

The second thing I learned is that pound for pound, a deer is a LOT stronger than a cow or a colt. A cow or a colt in that weight range I could fight down with a rope and with some dignity.A deer-- no chance.That thing ran and bucked and twisted and pulled. There was no controlling it and certainly no getting close to it. As it jerked me off my feet and started dragging me across the ground, it occurred to me that having a deer on a rope was not nearly as good an idea as I had originally imagined.

The only upside is that they do not have as much stamina as many other animals.A brief 10 minutes later, it was tired and not nearly as quick to jerk me off my feet and drag me when I managed to get up. It took me a few minutes to realize this, since I was mostly blinded by the blood flowing out of the big gash in my head.

At that point, I had lost my taste for corn-fed venison. I just wanted to get that devil creature off the end of that rope.I figured if I just let it go with the rope hanging around its neck, it would likely die slow and painfully somewhere.At the time, there was no love at all between me and that deer. At that moment, I hated the thing, and I would venture a guess that the feeling was mutual.

Despite the gash in my head and the several large knots where I had cleverly arrested the deer's momentum by bracing my head against various large rocks as it dragged me across the ground, I could still think clearly enough to recognize that there was a small chance that I shared some tiny amount of responsibility for the situation we were in, so I didn't want the deer to have it suffer a slow death, so I managed to get it lined back up in between my truck and the feeder - a little trap I had set before hand...kind of like a squeeze chute.I got it to back in there and I started moving up so I could get my rope back.

Did you know that deer bite? They do! I never in a million years would have thought that a deer would bite somebody, so I was very surprised when I reached up there to grab that rope and the deer grabbed hold of my wrist.Now, when a deer bites you, it is not like being bit by a horse where they just bite you and then let go. A deer bites you and shakes its head --almost like a pit bull. They bite HARD and it hurts.The proper thing to do when a deer bites you is probably to freeze and draw back slowly. I tried screaming and shaking instead. My method was ineffective.It seems like the deer was biting and shaking for several minutes, but it was likely only several seconds.

I, being smarter than a deer (though you may be questioning that claim by now) tricked it.While I kept it busy tearing the bejesus out of my right arm, I reached up with my left hand and pulled that rope loose.That was when I got my final lesson in deer behavior for the day.Deer will strike at you with their front feet. They rear right up on their back feet and strike right about head and shoulder level, and their hooves are surprisingly sharp.I learned a long time ago that, when an animal -- like a horse --strikes at you with their hooves and you can't get away easily, the best thing to do is try to make a loud noise and make an aggressive move towards the animal. This will usually cause them to back down a bit so you can escape.This was not a horse. This was a deer, so obviously, such trickery would not work. In the course of a millisecond, I devised a different strategy.I screamed like a woman and tried to turn and run.

The reason I had always been told NOT to try to turn and run from a horse that paws at you is that there is a good chance that it will hit you in the back of the head.Deer may not be so different from horses after all, besides being twice as strong and 3 times as evil, because the second I turned to run, it hit me right in the back of the head and knocked me down.Now, when a deer paws at you and knocks you down, it does not immediately leave. I suspect it does not recognize that the danger has passed. What they do instead is paw your back and jump up and down on you while you are laying there crying like a little girl and covering your head.

I finally managed to crawl under the truck and the deer went away.So now I know why when people go deer hunting they bring a rifle with a scope so that they can be somewhat equal to the Prey.

Country Worship

I came across a video and it asked me a question, Let's see if it will ask you the same questions.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVQxh3VZ_UQ
Enjoy,
Stan

A true companion

A relationship between a man and his dog, Does anything else need to be said?

This weeks sermon

I am preaching this week about the difference between the Mosaic Tabernacle Worship and Davidic Tabernacle Worship which will be interesting to see. The difference in the two are vast. Mosaic Worship was reverent, solemn, ritualistic, done with animal sacrifices, and just plain dead.

As for Davidic Worship was loud, exuberant, joyful. David was said to even went in before the Ark of the Covenant and just lounge around in the presence of the Lord. He saw how the relationship with God was personal not sacrificial.

I know that when I try to get ritualistic in my Worship of God I am dead and have no power at all, but when I take care of the relationship with God then I am able to handle what all comes down the path.

This week I will beginning to talk about Worship and what is it and why is it important for Cowboys and Cowgirls to openly worship and glorify God in such a way that there is freedom in worship.

Please be praying for me because to turn a ship it takes speed, momentum and endurance. Amen.

Blessings

The Master's call

Awesome video. Let me know what you think.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbwPV9-gfAY

A real cowboy?

I came across this video thought it was funny have a good laugh.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2w6CHFbSLk

New Target Game.

I found a new way to get some practice for those moving shots. I think this might be a great tool to use to sharpen your shooting skills and increase your chances of hitting your target. What do you think?

Rev Charles

This weekend I came across this guy named Rev. Charles, I am thinking about having him come out to the Cowboy Church as a quest minister. What do you think?

Revival

This last week Caye and I went to a revival meeting at a friend of ours church and we went so we could have a chance to ministered to. Sometimes as pastors we keep going till we hit the red light saying that we are running on empty. It is sad thing to see a Pastor who has run out of fuel or can no longer get fired up about the Lord.

This week has been a time of me taking inventory of my spiritual life and evaluating on how to improve my spiritual life.

In the 40's, 50's, and 60's they used to have large tent meetings and they would put up sign saying revival meeting and the whole town would show up with either expectant hearts or at least a inquisitive spirit. People no longer care about what is going on in their spiritual lives much less church and that is something that I know God wants to change. I think sometimes that God must be sitting on his throne broken hearted and crying because his people do not come to him for comfort or fellowship.

Can you imagine what it must feel life as a parent if one of your children has a Father-Daughter dance and she does not come ask you to take her, that she would rather go by herself? How much would it hurt?

I feel like God is calling Caye and I into personal revival like no other time before and I am planning on sharing my heart with my congregation tonight. I know that if you call yourself a leader and you turn around and look and no one is following you you are just a man out for a walk. I am going to see how many people will follow with me. I know that revival is something sought after, fought for, and treasured when found. I want God to move in my life so bad that I can't stand it any more.

I have also become very sensitive to how we speak about the Holy Ghost. We have tried to put the Holy Ghost down on our level instead of us trying to reach out to him and raise ourselves up to him. I had a teacher back in Bible College named Dr. Eddie L. Hyatt and he taught on Characteristics of revival. In his class when he prayed he used to refer to the Holy Spirit as "Sir" I used to think that was kind of different but the Holy Spirit showed me that it was a matter of respect that Dr. Hyatt had for the position of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes we need to make sure that the Holy Spirit is not the Looked over part of the Holy Trinity. It recently has bothered me to hear people say that they were in a church service somewhere and " the Holy Spirit fell" in the church like the Holy Spirit is clumsy or something . I hate that term because I know what they are trying to say but more accuratley what they should be saying is that the scales fell off their eyes for a brief period of time and they recognized or was able to see or feel the Holy Spirit moving in their hearts at that time. You see the Holy Spirit is always constant he does not move around on different levels he stays steady. We are the ones who look like the heart monitor always going up or down. Sometimes either on our way up or down we cross his path and become aware of his presence. In Isaiah 55:1-9 says that he is given an invitational for you to come join him, he also says that his ways are not our ways, and our thoughts are not his thoughts. "Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare. Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live. I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David. See, I have made him a witness to the peoples, a leader and commander of the peoples. Surely you will summon nations you know not, and nations that do not know you will hasten to you, because of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for he has endowed you with splendor." Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.

The Holy Spirit is with you all the time not just when you come across him. In Romans 8:11 says "And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you". If you are a child of God you have access to God at any time.

Matt 6:33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

Please be praying for revival for yourselves, my family, and for Nacogdoches, TX

Blessings

Church Growth

Hello everybody, welcome back to my blog spot. After the deer hunt we have been able to get the deer meat processed and we came up with about 150 lbs of deer meat. We have started distributing the meat to some families in the church that we wanted to bless. It was well received and I think we will have a better hunting season next year because we are hunting for other people as well. We have an awesome group at our church and I don't think I would trade them for anything.
This last two weeks I have been amazed at the growth we have had in our church. Last week we had 61 people this week we had 67 and it seems like each week we just keep growing. I love to see new people come into the church. I met a couple of new people this week that my heart just went out to and I hope to see them come back again.
I am excited to see that we are about ready to kick off our women's ministry here in a couple of weeks. We are sending at 6 ladies to go a conference called "COWGIRL GET-TOGETHER" sponsored by Cowgirls of Faith on Friday evening, January 25th and Saturday, January 26th, at the Living for the Brand Cowboy Church in Athens, Texas. Please be praying for our ladies that they would come back refreshed and renewed.
Blessings,
stan

West TX Hunting Trip

This weekend my brother in law Keith"Cookie" Wright and I went to his inlaws place in west Texas to do some hunting for the end of the year. We have had some hard hunting this year trying to find anything here in Nacogdoches, so we were excited to have an opportunity to go and get a free hunting trip in God's Hunting Country. We got 7 deer in 2 days enjoy the pics

My Son

While I was away this weekend my wife took my son to the park and took a bunch of pictures to show me what I missed and made a movie of it. Enjoy