There's More Out There...

A Brother “electronic” typewriter and a couple sets of sheets— part of my teenage years were marked by those things. Recently, my good friend Scottie and I were reminiscing about the “olden days.” When he was 17 and I was 16, we became best friends over a lively debate at a local Huddle House Restaurant. From there began Crossfire Ministries which would later turn into Spirit-Led. We were hungry and ready to charge Hell with a water pistol. A quote from Kris Vallotton the other week was the topic of our reminiscent conversation. He said that when he began in ministry he was taught to always prepare as if he were speaking to 1000s, be faithful in the seemingly small things and see where God will take you. So, he would spend hours praying, studying and preparing for 11 people in the nursing home where he held a service every Sunday for five years. Don’t despise the day of small beginnings.  That brought to memory the Brother typewriter and the sheets. When we had a ...

“And I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.” -John 17:26 The only Charlie Brown quote that I remember is this: “Nothing spoils the taste of peanut butter like unrequited love.” Anyone over the age of 12 has dealt, at least once or thrice, with unrequited love. Since “unrequited” is not a word we use everyday, here is it’s definition: “Unrequited love or one-sided love is love that is not openly reciprocated or understood as such by the beloved. The beloved may not be aware of the admirer's deep and strong romantic affection or consciously reject it.” No matter how you slice it, unrequited love cuts deep. You can throw much of your heart, passion, energy, and even pocketbook, into it just to have it served back to you. Then, you are left in a puddle of tears, questions and you usually look stupid. I remember those few times in the past that has happened to me, asking God ...

From: August 11, 2007 Just a few days into this year’s Peru trip, I witnessed something that has had me thinking on the subject until this day. As we were standing outside the very small airport in the jungle town of Tarapoto, realizing our flight was actually two days later, I noticed one of the local pastors. It was the image of this pastor and his wife, an image that is still in my head right now. Now, I am sure it wouldn’t be that big of a deal to some, but to me seeing the way that those two interacted was quite refreshing. Despite the fact that they have been married for over 20 years, they looked like two high school love birds, attached at the hip. Their obvious affection for each other was amazing as they just held each other, joked and laughed. As I mentioned, it was refreshing. Why? Because it was so genuine, it was so real—they truly were in love some 20 years later. Not something you see everyday. That night, in our team debriefing, I mentioned this, and I wasn’t th...

From: August 5, 2013 "Going through the motions." That's been a phrase that has haunted me for years. Many times we're like the pilot that had become lost over the ocean and radioed, "I have no idea where I am or where I'm headed, but I'm making record time." Just days ago, I sat in a cold hotel room in a poor part of La Paz, Bolivia, dreaming with a few friends. It was one of those meetings where, I'm sure, if we could have just jotted down a few of the things that were said, we could have commenced to changing the world. You know, one of those "meetings" where a couple of adventurers get together with a disgust for normalcy, an idea that God is indeed big and just enough faith to push them to the edge...  I've found myself in meetings like that one many times throughout my life. In fact, the tag line for our ministry and a few of our lives- "There's more out there," actually came out of one of those meetin...

Where are we headed? My dad always used to ask me, "What's your five-year plan?" Although we don't necessarily have to have every hour planned out, it is important to know what we're working towards. What is our vision? In the past two weeks, I have been bombarded with this "theme" through prayer, study, devotionals, etc. We go about our lives so haphazardly many times with an apathetic thinking and spirit, yet The Word instructs us that "where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint...(Prov. 29:18a)" Are we living an intentional life? Mick Bickle says that the key is not to be "busy" at every moment, but "intentional" at every moment. Where are we headed? When I ask you the following question from Rick Renner, what are your first thoughts? "If you keep doing exactly what you're doing right now, what will be your status in life two years from now?"   As this has been on the mind, I have als...

I remember it like it was yesterday, one of the most important and influential things that I have ever been taught in my Christian walk-God's heart for people. We were gearing up for my first ever mission trip to Peru in 2003, under the leadership of Dennis & Vicki White. They shared with us that we must have God's heart, that we must see people the way that God sees them. I have never forgot that and who knows how many times I have shared it. You see, as we go deeper with Him on our journey to "more," obviously, we will continue to get closer to His heart, and His heart is people. How much does that come intro contradiction with the world, though? Well, it should. The closer we get to Him, the more unlike the world we will appear, in every aspect. 2 Corinthians 5:17 declares, "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new." His heart, yep you guessed it, part of the "new....