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| Well.... for those of you who still do this thing, you wanna update?
Well here it goes. A lot has happened in the last month. As you may
know in December everything that had any value to me (laptop, car
stereo, and now phone) was stolen. I mean, my salvation was almost
stolen, but thank God that He is on my side! Anyways.......
I have been offered a full-time position at my parents church in
McDonough, GA (30 minutes south of Atlanta). As you may or may not know
I am not full-time at the church here in Houston. I am working almost
full-time at Starbuck's and doing worship/attending staff meetings/and
helping in other creative areas when needed. So as you can
probably tell, thsi offer is a great opportunity..... making alot more
$$$, being close to my family, concentrating on the things I am called
to do (instead of doing them part-time), and developing other gifts
that have yet to be used such as (video editing, web design, other
creative arts, teaching/preaching.) All that to say, I will be
taking the job!!! My last day here in Houston is Feb.12, 2006. For
those of you wondering, no it is not an Every Nation church, but yes
everything they believe/the way they advance the kingdom, etc is almost
exact.
I am very excited! And I am fully confident that this is where God is
calling me. I alwayus knew that I would eventually team up with
this church, but I didn't figure it would be so quick. I never
thought God would call me to go back home, but hey I am excited!
Hope all is well with you. If I haven't called you in a long while,
odds are I don't have your number (my phone got stolen, all my #'s are
gone).
Love ya
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| 2005 has been a good year. A lot of changes have happened. I graduated,
moved to a new city, accepted a job, moved away from all my friends
(sad), and have grown a ton spiritually. I hope all of you had a great
Christmas, and if I don't talk to you Happy New Year. 2006 is going to
be another year of changes for me.... big decisions on the horizon,
I'll let you know within the next month or so what is going on with
that whole situation, just keep me in your prayers.
One big thing I have learned over the last few months is that sometimes
you can make a good decision, a right decision, but maybe not the
perfect decision. What I mean is that it can be morally right and
good, and can be the exact thing that God has called you to do, but it
might not be the right time/place/setting that God wanted that thing to
happen in. When making decisions we must be careful to weigh
every option, see the outcomes of our decisions, the effects, who it
effects, and compare the pros and cons in the situation. Then we
must ask for wisdom and guidance and God will answer us. Then and only
then can we decide to do God's will. Then and only then can we be
totally confident in the decision we made.
Pray for me, especially these next 8 days. God bless, happy new year..
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| Well it seems that many of my friends have given up on this xanga journey, or put it on hold for awhile. Oh well, I guess I'll keep on keepin on. I'm at home for Thanksgiving, I will be here in Atlanta for 5 days. I am enjoying time off. Just sitting and relaxing and really getting refreshed and rested spiritually/physically/emotionally/mentally, etc. We have just finished 40 days of Purpose at church, and I have recently just felt really tired, obvious;y a tactic of the enemy. You know I want to admit something.... in the past I have been one of those who went on vacation and rested up physically/mentally, etc. But really ignored the spiritually aspect of being rejuvinated. I am not doing that this time. It was great to get up late, spend as much time with God as I wanted, eat, and then go to the local starbucks and just read the word for hours. I loved it!
I encourage you to do the same this holiday season! As many of us travel and relax, don't let your guard down! Instead enjoy the opportunity to spend lengthy times with God, as so often we cannot because of work/ministry/family things that we have to deal with. The result will be that you will come back to whatever you do and be stronger, refreshed, and ready to go to the next level of your life!
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| So I have been updating you all on my situation and just saying waht I'm doing, etc. So I want to share just some things that God has been teaching me as a man, as a worship leader, etc.
I realize that I I have only been here about 3 months, but I thought my transition would be somewhat easy... I mean same church vision, same beliefs, same values, I guess I thought it would be like going to another Bethel, only because Bethel is all I've ever experienced-besides one trip to the Atlanta church.
But it has been anything but easy.... I am realizing once again that relationships just don't happen, they have to be pursued, worked for. It is tough when you have to work 35 hours a week, and do worship, attend staff meeting and such to pay the bills and just do the things you have to do. Then adding relationship building on top of that.
I remember one of the things Colin and I used to say in Nashville, about how we didn't need anymore real close friends. We were "good" in a sense. But the truth is that this is a worldwide family, and we are gonna be moving around quite a bit, and sometimes we will move to places where we will serve with people that we may have not even met. Because we work with them a close friendship must be developed. We need close friends not just around the world, but we need them wherever we are at.
Okay, the second big thing that I am learning involves being a worship leader, or a leader in general. Because most of us we reached, or brought into this family while we were in college, we have a college minded mentality. For instance because I was brought into this in college, and most of my service (worship) was done at a place like Uchurch, I have a college mentality approach when it comes to worship. I am really good at leading college/youthful people in worship-they already have the energy and excitement about music, now we just channel that towards God.
But, community/older people are nothing like that. They have worked their butts off all week long, and are tired when they come to church. And in our churches we have such a diverse age group, as well as ethnic and backgrounds. The key as a leader/worship leader is knowing how to broaden your appraoch and the way you do things in order to reach or lead not only the young, but the old, and everyone in between as well. Older people don't respond the same way as youthful people do, how do I reach/lead both people at the same time? That my friends is something I am in the process of learning. And when you get to the point where you can reach/lead people no matter the age/race, etc. Then you will be able to have a successful/healthy church. IN the sense of worship- you will be able to communicate to everyone-no matter the age/race-the hows and whys of worship, which will lead to a congregation of healthy worshippers...
I love you all, and I appreciate your prayers. | | |
| So now that my keyboardist is gone to Germany for a year, guess who has become the keys player? Yes that is right folks, I am playing keys and leading! Relax, can't play really tough songs just yet, but at least I am practicing, and getting better.
The holidays are coming, I can't wait to visit some family!
Oh, you know what else the holidays mean, craziness at Starbucks! Well, I may not be working here long. Turns out that my district doesn't allow you to ask off during any holidays. So, since I am gonna be in Atlanta for a week during Thanksgiving, and Dallas, for almost 2 weeks during Christmas, I think we might start butting heads! Oh well.
Miss you all so much! | | |
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