WHAT WE ARE LEARNING

I have seen lots of things in my years ministry and in the church. There have been moments that I felt if we could just ______ then God would ______. And in full transparency, when we first started Selah Memphis, this was my perspective. But this is a cause-and-effect version of Christianity. Of course we see many places where God demands obedient, humble hearts before He acts and, in fact, that is my point. Man-made church growth methods, man-made plans and processes for success, and man-made strategies and techniques can all keep us distracted from obeying what Jesus has commanded us more than any other command. About 9 months ago I got to a point where my spirit was spinning with all these things. How should we . . .? Or another idea could be . . . I found myself on an airplane traveling back to Memphis with my head and heart fluttering with all sorts of man-made concepts on how to do church.

Growing up with my parents both being in ministry and God calling me into full time ministry at a young age, I have lots of funny, incredible, hard, and joyful stories about ministering to people.  One of my earliest memories of serving others was around Christmas. Our church was doing an inner city gift-giving ministry to families here in Memphis.  I was about 7 or 8 and I had seen earlier that year these “Laser guns” at Walmart. You know the ones that came out in the 80’s and you pull the tigger one time and they make Sci-Fi sounds for like 10 minutes straight?  As I type this, I am realizing that my parents might have manipulated the story I am about to tell you so that those Sci-Fi sounds never entered our home. 

I love well kept gardens. Doesn't matter if its a flower bed, or a small garden for food, or one of those intricate Japanese gardens, a well kept garden is just beautiful.   Like some of the amazing beauty at the Memphis Botanic Gardens that many of us got to see recently. A good garden can be either food for the body, or food for the soul, or sometimes both. I really admire the good gardener, who's patience and wisdom and work bring so much benefit to so many, all from some seeds and water, and dirt. 

As I get older I am realizing how much I enjoy context.  I enjoy understanding the setting, the background, and even enjoy knowing the dates and times of historical and Biblical things.  Even things that I would never really be interested in I find appealing when there is a good context or back story.  Just this morning, I clicked on a CNN link claiming that NASA has discovered the original element from the Big Bang!  I’m guessing the thing inside of me that enjoys context is what drew me to bite on the click bait. 

biological siblings?  I am always amazed by the differences that can exist between children that all came from the mixing of the same two strands of DNA.  My own children have many similarities, but their differences are also numerous. Two prefer minty toothpaste; one wants strawberry. One only wants honey on his peanut butter sandwiches, while his sisters prefer jelly

I love superhero movies and TV shows. I mean, I LOVE them.  All of them.  Even the “bad” ones.  People like to make fun of “Green Lantern” or the early 90's “Hulk” movies, but I love even those. Superhero movies are like pizza, even when they are bad, they are good.  I mean, this is a lifelong love y’all, from age 12 when I started collecting comic books to age 44 (so far) and who knows if I ever will be able to say “I’ve lost interest in that”.. 

bout 8 years ago I came on staff as the High School Pastor at a church in Brandon, MS. I started in January and my boss said “Welcome, you have D-Now in 28 days and nothing is planned.” So off we went. This was how the first 6 months were - basically 6-8 months behind on everything. Once D-Now was finished, the mission trips barely got scheduled, and then there was one major void left. I wanted to connect with my new youth group over the summer, but camps were already booked and I was out of options. So, out of my youthfulness/stupidity came “INSANITY”.

Open hands means nothing is mine. Multiplication means multiplying Jesus not ourselves. Encouragement and support is my job; church growth is God’s job. With all that being said, we are excited that God has given us the opportunity to multiply Selah Memphis into 2 churches under the same name.

There is something greater than the Bible. There is something so much more sweet than our salvation. There is something more powerful than the Church. To tell you what this thing is, I am going to use the “Christian language” that we have created in modern church culture.

Fortunately for me, I can claim Memphis, TN as my hometown. And just like a good Memphian, I can spot my people. You know someone is from Memphis when they, just after your initial introduction, ask you where you went to school. This isn’t the graduate or collegiate level they are asking about.

If you know me, you know that vibes are everything. Christmas vibes, winter vibes, summer vibes, beach vibes. I love that atmospheres can set off an emotion in my spirit. One particular vibe that is high on the list is that summer time, patriotic, 4th of July, “I love America” vibe. For me, this one ranks just behind Christmas vibes and just ahead of Hawaiian vibes. I am not sure if it is my love for American history or the symbolic unity that patriotism presents, but I love it.

The problem with deception is that you don’t know when you are being deceived. Have you ever thought about this? Deceptions and lies from the enemy have taken down the best people. Life doesn’t play-out as clear as a superhero movie or a comic book where the is a “bad” and a “good” guy. News flash! You might be the bad guy sometimes in certain areas in your life. I think this type of “looking for the villain” approach can mess up how we view scripture.