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!