Things I would not know without my kids

1.  I know what 4 a.m. looks like because of my two month old.  FYI. . . 4 a.m. looks tired.   I have also learned that spit-up clashes with most of my Sunday suits.

2.  I know that my coffee tastes better when my two year daughter helps stir the sugar in every morning.   Lydia is also proficient in lipstick art.  I bet you didn’t know that makeup could be used as paint. . . I didn’t either.

3.  I know which dicast toy characters from the movie Cars are coming out next month because of my 5 year old son.  Joshua has also taught me that the word “daddy” can be repeated approximately 400 times in one minute.

4.  I know that Shawn Johnson (Olympic Gymnast) has her own line of leotards because my 7 year old daughter (future Olympic gymnast) has shown me which one she wants.  Laura has also taught me that 36 year old men do not bend like 7 year old girls.

5.  I know how much Mark McGuire’s rookie card is worth because of my 10 year old son.  I also know the pros and cons to every every game system that has ever been invented because of Andrew’s diligent research.

6.  I know that there are 4 varieties of venomous snakes in Tennessee due to my 12 year old’s interest in all things that slither.  What I DON’T know from Caleb is how to do, even one, of those card tricks he does so well.

She Is TWO!

Here In The Real World Their Shutting Detriot Down!

A welfare state is one of the most unholy things that I can fathom.  All it creates is decay.  Moral and social decay lay in the wake of our “progressive” politicians who seem to bow down at the elusive idol of an egalitarianism.  Elusive because God created individuals instead of robots.   We are not mass-produced (Psalm 139:13).  There will never be a successful social welfare state due to the fact that individuals will always rise above and rebel against it. . . as they should.  Innovators will never leave good enough alone.  The cream will always rise to the top.   Leveling the playing field will only make innovators create a new field.  This is what has happened to Detroit.  Read here to see how Detroit’s playing field is being left behind by industry and retail. When 30% of your city is on welfare retailers and manufacturers can’t survive.  They will, out of necessity, leave.  Detroit’s demise has been slowly playing out now for the past couple of decades, and has suffered under the progressive social agenda of republicans and democrats alike.  I like to refer to them as Republicrats. I can’t tell one from the other anymore, as they all pander to special interests and play games with our lives.

As a pastor, I see what welfare does to people.  They become so entangled in the system that freedom becomes elusive.  Many of them simply loose their will to think and act for themselves.  They become a special interest group of their own waiting for the next government handout.  Their special interest is mediocrity and “good enough to get by”.  I know some of you will read this and ask, “What about the people who can’t take care of themselves?”   We should absolutely take care of those people.  By WE, I mean the church, family, and the local community.  Only when those resources are exhausted should we seek help from the state.

Shoot for excellence!  Shoot for I Cor. 10:31!

Me and Andrew

I make a point to go somewhere special with each of my kids.  Andrew has been begging to go to a St. Louis Cardinals Game. . . so we did.  I had such a good time hanging out with my son.  The three hour trip allowed Andrew the chance to ask every question that he had been storing up in his little head (apparently he had quite a stock pile).  We covered everything from baseball to why thunder and lightning go together.   As we were about to go to sleep at the hotel he said, “Thanks for taking me to the game dad.  We had a good time didn’t we?  I love you dad.”  That “I love you dad” was worth far more than the price of tickets, $20 for parking, $22 for concessions, $28 for the Cardinal Jersey, the hotel, and the price of gas.      

A Presidential Proclamation

Our government, by presidential proclamation, has proclaimed that June 2009 will be Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender month.  This appeared on the White House website.

Read  Here!

The homosexual agenda now has the full weight, support, and credibility of the White House.

In Five Years

Five years in one place.  I began my life as the pastor of Cottage Grove Baptist Church on June 6, 2004.  If the church keeps us another week, I will have been here for five years.  It has been my honor to be named among the 40 other pastors who have served Cottage Grove.   Five years doesn’t sound significant when you consider our church is over 150 years old, but the last five years have impacted my family significantly.

The past five years have impacted me as a pastor.  I have spent the last five years pursuing the same goal day after day, which is “Preach the Word and Love the People”.   In five years God has led me to deliver over 500 sermons (2 per Sunday).  In five years I have counseled (in formal and informal sessions) with hundreds of people.  In those counseling sessions I have witnessed marriages fall apart, and have seen many healed.  I have seen addicts lay their addictions on the alter, and have listened to some tell me what I want to hear only to return to their masters.  In five years I have seen some lives ablaze for God, and witnessed others burn out.  In five years I have seen a church grow, decline, and grow again in a community that is slowly deteriorating.   In five years I have watched the church remodel and upgrade technology in the sanctuary.  In five years I have visited the lonely, the sick, the dying, the prisoner, and the widow.  In five years I have seen God remove obstacles to His plan for our church (sometimes my plans have been that obstacle).  In five years I have conducted and overseen many weddings and funerals.  In five years I watched as babies became kindergartners,  first graders became middle schoolers, 9th graders became graduates, and graduates became adults.  In five years I have seen mechanics become missionaries.  In five years I watched as our church increased missional giving and going exponentially.  In five years I have seen the fellowship of the church threatened, and the fellowship of the church strengthened.  In five years I have seen individual church members become our evangelism program.  In five years I have seen seekers become disciples, and disciples mature in their understanding of God and the mission.  In five years there have been times when I prayed for God to deliver me from here, only to turn around and pray for Him to help me stay.  In five years God has shown me that I have much to learn, and little ability without Him.

The last five years have impacted me personally.  In five years my wife and I have gone from our early 30’s to the downhill side of 30.  In five years my family has expanded from six to eight.   This community and this church is the only home  three of my children have ever known.  In five years three of my children have been saved and then baptized at Cottage Grove Baptist Church.  In five years my children have all made friends and have become connected to this community.  In five years Robin and I have grown to love the people and the community in a way that I could have never  imagined.

I don’t know what the future holds for us but one thing is sure. . . the last five make me look forward to the next five.

Run, Preacher, Run!

Here we have three pastors who have just finished a 5k (3.1 miles).  We all gathered on this hot May day to raise money to send some folks to do missions in Honduras.  I’m just glad to see some preachers running for something other than the last piece of chicken.  Refreshing ain’t it?

Here I am about to cross the finish line.  I finished in 27:40.

Here I am sporting my well earned bling bling!  (2nd place medal in the 30-39 men’s division).

Check out this church plant in Thomasville N.C.

My friend Kenny Coker is the pastor of New Heart Baptist Church (a church plant) in Thomasville N.C.

Check out what is going on here.

Rural Route Heroe’s Part VIII

This guy is today’s Rural Route Hero!

Okay, this picture is a little better.

That guy is more than a Vacation Bible School Singing Cowboy.  He is a Rural Route Hero.

What kind of music do you like?  Take a poll of the people in your house.  What kind of music do they all like?  Now go ask 100 people what kind of music they all like.  Now go prepare five songs that everyone can sing together, one choral arrangement that everyone will agree was fantastic, and one solo that no one thought was “over the top”, “too loud”, “too soft”, “too slow”, “too fast”, “too Rock”, “too Country”, “too old-fashioned”, or (God forbid) “too contemporary”.  If you can do that then you can be the music minister.  Oh, yeah. . . I almost forgot about the sound.  As the music minister it is also your job to make sure that the sound system functions properly and that the instrumentalists are all playing from the same sheet of music.  Stacy does this Sunday after Sunday after Sunday.

The music minister puts up with  a lot of opinions.  Everyone has an opinion about music.  The problem is that everyone thinks their opinion is the right opinion about music.  Don’t even get me started on the goofy people that think Fannie Crosby, Bill Gaither, and a few anointed Elvis songs are the only songs God likes. It is an unfortunate truth that many people come to church to be entertained by the music and preaching style that they like.  If the music you choose on a given Sunday doesn’t tickle them where they itch, then you might be in trouble.

Everyone at church wants the music to be good, but no one has the desire to practice.  Everyone likes a perfectly run worship service but very few like to strive for perfection in the area of musical worship. I am so glad that our music minister is a perfectionist.  I’m glad that he strives for perfection in every song and in every service.  I think God deserves our best.  Pastors should strive for perfection in their preaching and teaching.  In the same way, musicians should strive for perfection in their craft.  Choir members should strive for perfection as they sing.  Soloists should shoot for perfection when they sing.  WHY?  BECAUSE WE ARE SINGING FOR GOD!!!!!!!!

I’m not saying it will be perfect, but for the glory of God, shoot for the stars and settle for the moon.

It is ridiculous to me to think that the only place in the world that we seem to settle for mediocrity is in the church.  We demand the best from athletes.  We demand the best from our kids when it comes to their academics.  We tell them to strive for perfection knowing they will only give their best when they aim high.  Why should God’s people give Him less in worship?

Stacy Williams is a Rural Route Hero because he understands that if we sing, we are singing to the Lord.  He understands that if we play the piano we are playing for the Lord.  He understands that, whether we sing choruses, hymns, a Southern Gospel favorite, or the latest contemporary song that we are doing so because we want to glorify God (PLEASE SEE I Cor 10:31).   Stacy is a Rural Route Hero because he has the unique ability to deal with everyone’s opinions.  I can not commend Stacy without also thanking our choir for understanding that we are singing to God.  They put in the work to bring God their best every Sunday and I commend them for it.

Now. . . . go bring a well rehearsed joyful noise into worship this Sunday!

Rural Enhanced Interrogation Techniques

Tell us what we need to know or we will. . . .

1.  Make you milk the cow. His name is Killer.  Killer likes very cold hands.

2.  Make you pick cotton by hand. (50 acres should do it).  You have until sundown.  I’d get started.

3.  Make you plow 1 acre with this pocket knife. Break that knife and I’ll make you milk Killer again.

4.  Give you a bite of Mrs. Wheatly’s chocolate coconut balls and then make you watch me eat the rest of them. You can have another bite if you just tell us what we need to know.

5.  Make you listen to my rendition of every John Denver song ever written. Two or three times through “Country Boy” ought to loosen your lips up.

6.  Make you ride Jack.  Jack has been ridden exactly 0 times. We are fairly sure that Jack is the only horse in the world that has been diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic.  He has issues.  Hey, if you even make it up on Jack’s back I’ll give you a chocolate coconut ball.

7. Make you dig our new well. Now, where is that pocket knife I gave you?  I’m kidding. . . here’s a spoon.

8.  Make you participate in our annual “Car Crash Derby”. Here is the key to my old motorcycle.  Have fun!

9.  Make you go Snipe Hunting. Don’t come back without a snipe or we will make you plow another acre.

10. Put a table outside your cell filled with fried Chicken,  green beans, sweet corn, mashed Potatoes, sweet tea and Pecan Pie! Here is a pen and paper.  I need the names and addresses of 5 of your buddies.  When you start writing you can start eating.