The Best Decision I Ever Did Make
Ok, so maybe this statement isn’t exactly accurate. The best decision I’ve ever made was my decision to be a follower of Jesus Christ.
But the 2nd greatest decision (and Mary is okay with this statement – I checked) was to ask and be granted permission to marry Mary Evelyn McDaniel on March 9, 2002 – 8 years ago today. We were married at Pleasant Hill Baptist Church in Tyler, TX, in a small-ish ceremony performed by family friend Bil Barkley. And it was an incredible day!
And what 1 thing from that day would I do over again, if given the chance? We had (I was told) the opportunity to leave after the ceremony and reception in a vintage Batmobile from the Adam West era of the show by the same name, owned by a member of Pleasant Hill (pictured above). Or was it a Batboat? I forget. Either way, at my request, we left in my grandmother’s hunter green Lincoln…with my grandparents driving! I wish now we had left in the Batmobile/Batboat. Oops. 
Other than that 1 thing, I can’t imagine changing anything else about that day or the days that have passed since. Thank you Sunshine for 8 incredible years of marriage! Thank you for 2 beautiful daughters! Thank you for sharing this journey with me, that has lead us from Marshall to Grand Prairie to Newark, and now to Rockport!
And thank you for being understanding, servant-hearted, hard-working, caring, discerning, spontaneous, balanced, and loving. I’m super excited to see where this life’s journey will take us in the years to come. 143!
Walk the World
I have always enjoyed and been impressed with Charlie Hall’s music. It’s hard to look at the sheer number of songs written by Hall that see weekly publicity in churches all over the world and not be impressed. If you’re plugged into a local church or follow Charlie Hall’s music, see if any of these Charlie Hall song titles resonate with you…
Give Us Clean Hands, Marvelous Light, Center, All We Need, Chainbreaker, My Drink, Priceless Treasure, Mystery
Besides being a talented song writer and well-known worship leader, look at that chin! He’s bald and he has great facial hair…how could I not be drawn to his music! (somewhat kidding, somewhat serious)
So I wasn’t surprise to pick up Charlie’s latest album called “The Bright Sadness” and find solid music and lyrics that stuck in my head and challenged my heart. Check out the lyrics to track #3 from Charlie’s latest album and see if you too are compelled to think of Christ in a different light, as well as be reminded of our call to match commitment with action.
(Lastly, there’s a YouTube video of Charlie performing “Walk the World” on Matt Maher’s NewSong Cafe)
Walk the World from Charlie Hall
Verse 1
God as we walk this world we want to be a sign,
Our prayers flow into love giving Your life.Pre-Chorus
Broken but singing, our hearts keep shining.Chorus
Let my life shine, come and let my heart shine,
We’re gonna walk the world, lift the bread and wine,
Like the stars shine, come and let our hearts shine,
In a dark world we lift the bread and wine.Verse 2
And we were born for this, born for this day and time,
Our prayers flow into love giving our lives.
Time Flies When You’re…Living?
There are 60 in every minute, 3,600 in every hour, 86,400 in every day, and 31,536,000 in every year. What is it?
Seconds.
And the simple truth of the matter is this; once a second has passed, it cannot ever be recovered.
As I sit in my office this morning planning for the next few months in student ministry, I’m made more aware of the fact that today is February 25th and that there are only 3 days left in the 2nd month of 2010. Two months of this “new” year are gone. Is 2010 even new anymore? Today, I don’t think that 2010 can be considered new any longer.
And what have I accomplished and witnessed during the 201,600 seconds (totalled to the end of today) that have passed in 2010? For some, I honestly cannot give an account. Some were undoubtedly wasted, but many I believe have been sewn and invested in proper and righteous things – my relationship with God, my wife, my children, and my church.
This lil jewel will keep time for you for only $6900.00!
As it is today, we’re making plans around Coastal Oaks Church for August 2010 already. Summer is mostly set for us and will include things like Haiti missions with Step Stones Missions, VBS using Group Publishing’s “High Seas Adventure“, REACH Camp for students 6th – 12th grade, and more.
And time continues to pass…those events and ministry opportunities will be here before we know it.
No, time continues to fly!
As I examined my time spent for 2010 this morning, I reminded myself of a few things from Scripture concerning time that I think might benefit you as well. These verses served as a great encouragement to me this morning. Take a look…
Psalm 9:9 – “The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.”
Proverbs 17:17 – “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”
Eccelsiastes 3:1-8 – “A time for everything.”
Hosea 10:12 – Sew for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the LORD, until He comes and showers righteousness on you.”
Amos 5:13-15 – “Therefore a prudent man keeps quiet in such times, for the times are evil…”
Matthew 6:27 – “Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?”
Acts 1:7-8 – “He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by His own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’”
Let’s ensure this week that we’re spending with great care and stewardship that which was given to us to spend, but once spent, we cannot recapture or reuse – TIME.
Stuff, not Fluff
My daughter, Aubrey, loves marshmallows. She could (and would) eat them at every meal if we, her authoritarian parents would allow it.
I know…we’re sooooooo terribly cruel!
So when I ran across this photo to the right during a Google image search, I immediately thought of her. Through the years, I’ve learned this about people and their position concerning “the mallow”: even the thought of mallows usually cause 1 of 2 reactions – salivation at the numerous ways you could apply a product like this, or an instant, involuntary dry heave at the thought of all_that_marshmallow_flavor.
I remember a time as a child when I couldn’t get enough marshmallow products in my diet, and given the chance, I would have eaten it at every meal. But I don’t think that way any longer. I honestly would rather have something filling (meat) than something sweet (dessert) most days, but that’s just me.
No matter your personal position of the necessity of marshmallow products in your diet, could you imagine eating this stuff as a part (or the whole) of every meal? Anybody for filet mignon, grilled asparagus, and marshmallow cream? What about a medium-well bacon cheeseburger with swiss cheese, grilled onions, and marshmallow cream? How about a chicken-fried marshmallow steak?
Sounds delicious…or not!
But I wonder how many church leaders emphasize the fluff, not the stuff.
I believe church leaders sometimes fall into the trap of including a lot of “fluff”, or even inadvertently emphasizing fluff, in their ministry, and while in certain areas it might take a little fluff to catch someone’s attention, many ministries rely heavily on fluff. Where does that place the focus of your ministry? If you understand nothing else from this lil post, please grapple with this challenge – keep the Main Thing the main thing!
I was recently reminded of this most important truth when a friend, who happens to be my Pastor at Coastal Oaks Church, encouraged me in the area of time management and the delicate balance between being a Christ-follower, a husband, a daddy, and a church leader all at the same time. His advice? It was simple, yet profound – “Andy, as a pastor the best thing you can do is lead and feed.”
This newfound truth resonated with me for several days, causing me to examine the time I invest…well, in everything. What do I do in a day’s time that not absolutely essential to leading and feeding those to which God has entrusted me? When I put that stuff under a microscope, much of it was revealed to be fluff.
So just like I now no longer desire a diet consisting largely of marshmallow products, I desire to focus the ministries which I lead on that which is essential – a relationship with the Creator God, the resurrected Christ, and daily fellowship with Him. Pastor, youth pastor, associate pastor, Sunday school teacher, small group leader, music and/or children’s minister – may I encourage you to emphasize the “stuff” of Jesus Christ, not the fluff.
Leading a Small Group, Pt. 2
In continuation of what was started yesterday at AndyBarlowBlog.com, here is (in honor of legendary radio personality Paul Harvey) “the rest of the story”…
8 CHARACTERISTICS OF A FANTABULOUS SMALL GROUP LEADER
5. Is a Safe Person – The longer you’re in or lead a small group, the greater the likelihood that someone will share sensitive information about their life – an addiction, a personal struggle, a time when they failed, etc. Please, please, please do not take this information and publish it on your church’s prayer list! You don’t have to have all of the answers. You don’t need to seep
6. Is Capable of Speaking the Truth in Love – This gets tricky really fast, quite honestly, if not handled with wisdom and humility. There is a delicate balance that must be achieved and often times we lean to the extremes of either side – either we say nothing “out of love” or we say too much and no love can be determined. Speaking the truth in love is rooted in a relationship with the individual – in time spent living life together – and even when this is achieved, it is often best applied in private rather than in a public (in front of others) setting. Fantabulous small group leaders know the difference and know when to speak the truth in love.
7. Is Humble – Most often the definition of a great leader is solely dependent upon how much they accomplished during their tenure as leader, but I think there’s more to it than just accomplishments. How many actually led greatly? To lead greatly, Biblically speaking, one must do so with the constant thought that there is Someone in existence who is greater than they are. To lead greatly, one must recognize Who permitted them to ascend to a position of leadership.
8. Is Capable of Keeping with the Vision of the Church – Typically, small group leaders are not the vision casting leaders or lead Pastors within a church, though there are certainly exceptions to that rule. If the vision for small groups was not your own, be sure you lead in a manor that reflects the founding vision, one which is probably closely akin to the vision of your church. If there were guidelines established for your small group, follow them and don’t undermine the leadership above you by speaking against them. Guidelines are used to help maximize the potential of any organization and serve to keep groups from making the same mistakes in ministry. Churches should have an intentional design behind their small groups which enable it’s members to further invest in God’s Kingdom on a personal level. Be sure you can keep up with that!
By the way, we have incredible small group leaders. Who are they? Shawn and Dee Ann Hill – thank you for leading our Grace Group at Coastal Oaks Church most fantabulously!
So what have I left out? That’s where you come in! What other characteristics do you think a great small group leader needs to have? Leave a comment and let me know.
(adapted from Doug Fields’ “10 Things a Great Small Group Leader Does” at YouthMinistry.com)