Beyond These Oceans...

Have you ever had that sense that something is out there for you? That something new and big and scary awaits you? You ever felt like opportunity is slowly making its way to you? Something is different. The air is different. The sounds are different. There is a calm before the storm. I sense this in my own life. Sort of like Columbus might have felt. Imagine him sitting on the shore, staring at a huge, endless ocean. Day after day, mulling over in his head the words of people.

"The world is flat"
"There is nothing out there"
"You are a novice"
"All there is, is what we see"
"You will die if you sail out there"
"You are crazy"
"You will never make it"

On and on I'm sure they went. All of humanity was at a stand still because no one had the guts to go out into that ocean. Columbus though, could see through that fog. He could see something beyond the dark sea. He saw a better route. A new way. Something roared inside him. Pulling him. Pushing him. Challenging him. Day after day. Night after night. There was something out there. Something no one had ever seen. A place no Westerner had ever been. Something big. Beautiful. Dangerous. Life changing. Something to change the course of mankind. There was a new world. A new place. A new beginning. Though he found this place on accident, he never would have found it at all if he didn't have the courage to go into the sea.

And so with all of that said there is a small breeze blowing. Something deep inside slowing building up. A whisper. A tug. There is something out there for us. There is something new beyond our sight. I feel the winds of change on my back. There is a stillness in time. A sacred pause. We have all been created to do something divine. My God challenges me to a life of risk and opportunity. One where fear and faith stare each other in the eyes. A life that is full and satisfied.

We all have been called to that life but to many times we just sit on the shore and stare at the sea and never go out and conquer our new world. We let it slide by, drifting into the dark, finding its way to someone else who has the vision and the courage to set out into the unknown. I'm learning about all of this more and more. Beyond these oceans are the things you were made to do. Will we move out? Will we sacrifice it all? Will we finally let our frustrations overtake our logic and just go for it? I hope. We need another New World in our culture. Can you feel the soft wind blowing?

Smile, It's Doomsday!

The American Church is in trouble.

I have heard that statement quite a bit. I have said that statement quite a bit lately. I read things that point to it. I see things that fulfill that statement. Am I an expert? No. Do I have the credentials to talk about this? I don't know. I just got done reading the the new RELEVANT Magazine. Their subject for this issue was big issues in the American Church. Seven to be exact. They talked about the war, consumerism, politics, homosexuality, and more. I was disappointed with a few responses from big shot emerging church leaders. I am one for change. I don't like the "box". I believe in adaptation. I despise it when people do not have the guts to answer a question straight up. This one guy did that on one of these subjects. You know, they answer the question with out answering the question. Sort of like the politicians they so "tactfully" speak against. Sorry, it bothered me. Evasion is not the answer to tough questions. Truth is. There is also an article about a guy going to six different denominations and analyzing them. I can't help but think the two are related. The fact that we are now analyzing the good and bad about denominations reveals that we are way off track. I personally don't agree with multiple denominations. I think their should be one. I think their should be one church in every city. Wishful thinking, right?

I also recently returned from China. I got to meet and sit under the great pioneers (the one's that are still alive) of the underground church. I listened to story after story of persecution, torture, and imprisonment. But they were so full of joy and passion I felt unworthy to be in the same room with them. But they kept telling us that they were unworthy. Ouch. I felt like the book of Acts was happening right in front of me. I saw a girl who had been raised from the dead when she was nine. I saw a guy who sat under Watchman Nee. By the way, Watchman Nee's name is illegal to say in China. He does not exist in their records. If you don't know who he is you should look him up. Intense. There is one bible for every 40,000 people in China. The government, which is communist, has government sanctioned churches and they make Bibles but they take out pretty much anything that would make Jesus God. No virgin birth. No miracles. No healings. Nothing. One Bible for every 40,000 Chinese person. I have four bibles in my office right now. What is wrong with that picture. One of the speakers called us out. He said to not take for granted our Bibles that we have in abundance. You have many Bibles but you do not read them. Ouch again. After experiencing all this it is hard not to concur with that earlier statement.

But I'm not trying to be all doomsday like. I don't want to be negative. I also don't want to be naive. I don't want to be watered down. I don't want to be numb. I don't want to walk on eggshells either. I feel like that is one of the flaws of the emerging church world. We are scared to speak the truth. We may not admit that but it feels like that to me. Instead of just saying something is right or wrong we try to appeal to people's feelings and such. We don't want to hurt or offend. Everything is blurred. Jesus called a spade a spade so to speak. We should too.

I don't know. China messed with my head. We don't get it here in America. The Gospel of Jesus doesn't cost us anything anymore. When was the last time you were beaten and tortured for being a Christian in America? We have become so focused on all the issues of life, the issues of politics, the issues of issues, that we are losing our identity. We spend more time arguing about what church movement is better than we do on giving people hope in the world. See, I think we in America have been making the Gospel fit our lifestyle instead of us molding to the Gospel. I can take any theology, verse, saying, teaching, and make it fit my desires, my philosophies, my wants, my needs. But to make my life conform to Jesus' is another ball game baby. And it is about time we did that. We rely to much on our clever theologies and wisdom and not on the Holy Spirit. If we flowed in and with Him like we are supposed to we would be a lot different. But even He is an issue in the American Church. Sad.

Is the American Church in trouble? I don't know. We are not focused. We are not unified. We look a lot like Europe. Lots of churches but cold, empty, and full of graves and memorials. No wonder other countries are considering America a missions field. But hey, there is hope. There is something new. There is revolution brewing. We just need to be bold enough to lay ourselves down and pick up the cross. That changes everything.

Nashville is laid to waste. Destin is soon to follow...

Well, I just got into Destin. We (Roman Street, a latin jazz band I play in) are playing the Sea Breeze Jazz festival tomorrow. It is actually a big deal. This whole band thing is kind of wild. We started out for fun. Just playing small things here and there but it has evolved into something much bigger. It is really neat. Yesterday I was in Nashville. I had been there since Sunday. I was there with our youth band from church recording music we play on Wednesday. It was actually a dream fulfilled and the beginning of something bigger down the road. I love music. It consumes my life. I surround myself with it. I think God has given me a gift with it. When I was in the vocal booth Thursday I could since His presence heavily as I sang a certain part of a song. It was a deep moment for me. I almost had to stop. I wrote these worship songs out of hard times and times of loneliness and trials. Once I realized what I was singing and how I got there it overwhelmed me. God is good. He never bails out on us. No matter what. He will stick with us to the end. Where will this music go? I don' know. I hope it reaches people. I am just being obedient. Stepping out. Taking a risk. Trying something new. We'll see what happens.