My Little Lizard

Here is a pic of my youngest son, Nathan, dressed in his lizard costume and a classmate for their class chapel today at our school, Faith Academy. I asked one of the other fathers, “I have a lizard, what do you have?” He had a butterfly. There is a special pride a parent feels when you see your child on stage that is hard to describe but if you’ve ever felt it then you know what I’m talking about. I get more satisfaction seeing him do well than I have when I do things. After you have children, your life changes and you experience success as much in what they do as what you do. It’s a lot like that in God’s kingdom. Our interns just returned from a mission’s trip to the Dominican Republic and I spoke to the man who set up the trip. His report of them was so positive, and I was proud to hear how well they did. Charles said, “Kayla Jo is a preaching machine and Rob is a great preacher.” He told how they have a servant’s heart and they were much better to travel with than whiney pastors. I am so proud of Nathan, as I am of all of my children, and I’m proud of our interns, I want God to be proud of me. A wise child brings joy to a father; ….. Proverbs 10:1

Friends

Yesterday I had the chance to hang out with some of my pastor friends, Bud Plake and Doug McAllister and Carl. Bud and Carl pastor in Frost @ Freedom Church and Doug in Slidell @ Journey Church. Doug had a thriving ministry that was wiped out by Katrina and they have since relocated and God is using them to rebuild that area and a great church. Bud took over a work in Frost and has seen it steadily grow into a real life-giving church. One of the highlights of my life is in spending time with other pastors and that doesn’t happen nearly enough. We talk church, life, and dream together. God always uses other people to speak into my life in an area that may be their strength and my weakness. One of the first things I asked God for was a friend when I told the Lord I would obey the call to preach. I’ve since found out that to have a friend I need to be a friend. Making phone calls, sending text messages, emailing others is a great way to give friendship. When I give, that’s when I have received. These are some incredible men that God is using powerfully and I wanted you to meet them. We ate lunch at Chili’s and I won’t tell who picked up the check.

Fishing with the Boys

One of the best things I get to do is to take my kids fishing with my mom and dad at their camp which is out of Dularge, LA. It is a 30 min. boat ride to the camp and then you are right in the middle of the marsh. We managed to catch a few fish: catfish, reds, specks, and a flounder. The fishing wasn’t that awesome, but spending time with my sons and having them around their grandparents was priceless. I never got to spend time with my grandparents because they lived far away or because they were deceased. We laugh, eat, fish and fuss a little and that’s what family is all about. The stretch run for school starts Monday and we wanted to get a fishing trip in before summer. Let’s go grill some fish!!

3-D Christianity

On Monday after Easter, Vanessa and I took the kids to see a 3-D movie that is out now. We went because of the great experience we had several years ago on a vacation to south Texas. We visited a 3-D movie about the sea and laughed like hyenas when our smaller children tried to reach out and touch the fishes. Now they are older, but it was still fun, and the glasses look much nerdier now. The glasses were like an oversized pair of Clark Kent glasses. I am amazed at the how 3-D films jump out at you. I couldn’t help but think about preaching a sermon on 3-D Christianity, maybe I will. My desire is to live a life that jumps out at you because of what Christ has done. I want to pastor a church full of those people too. Let’s do it.

Making Hard Decisions

As all of you by now know, Easter in the Park got cancelled because of weather. Probably some the hardest decisions I have to make are these kinds. On the one hand, we’ve gone to great trouble to get people on board and things arranged while on the other you are concerned about whether the people who we are trying to serve will come. Ninety-five percent of the decisions that we have to make could be made by an educated 16 yr. old, but it’s those last 5% that make or break you. I’ve had to make some big decisions by this time in my life and it’s good to have a strategy in place to guide you. Wise counsel, the facts, hearing God’s voice all play a part in the choices we make. To be honest with you, I personally was bummed out by canceling the meeting. In my heart I know we did what was right. I was so inspired when I saw the church working together, young to not so young, to accomplish a common God given goal. I feel like such a spirit of unity and purpose guides us now at HOF. I know that we can do anything God asks of us, and it’s time to set our sights on what’s ahead and not where we’ve been. The best is yet to come for you and for me and for HOF.

Morning prayer is so much fun

Today, Wednesday, was so much fun at prayer. I know that sounds weird, prayer is not supposed to be fun is it? We have such a good close faithful group that we know each other well. We get challenged together by reading the scripture and hear each other’s hearts as we pray. I feel like I’ve really gotten to know them and I appreciate the closeness. As we read some of the writings of Paul in his letter to the Roman church I am always touched in my heart by Paul’s habit of saying hello to all of his friends at the end of the letter. He uses names, and I wonder who these people were that the great apostle would call them by name. That’s one of the great things about being a part of HOF and ARC, and being a part of the family of God, I know people by name and I know their hearts and deeds. Jesus spoke such truth when He explained that the gospel could be summed up in 2 thoughts: loving God and loving people.

XG Interns at my house

Last night Vanessa and I hosted all 11 of the interns who are nearing the end of their term for the spring plus Rob and Wade and their families. What a great bunch of young people who love God. Barry and Rhonda Carpenter came over to help us serve the interns and Barry and I grilled steaks while the ladies took care of everything else. It was a great time, and I don’t look forward to feeding 4 teens when mine are all that age. They are a good blend of those whose families have been at HOF for years to those who are the first in their families to receive Christ. It looked like spring training for a baseball team in my backyard as my oldest 2 boys had the intern boys throwing the baseball. No matter how old a boy gets, we all like to throw balls. After the meal, I shared some of Mike Murdock’s info about being a “Protégé”. I feel better about the tomorrow of the church knowing that young people are serious about giving a year to find out about ministry and God’s dream for their lives. If success is having a successor, then XG is a huge success. Wade and Rob, and the whole team do a great job. These interns have served well over the last 9 months and we wanted to tell them thanks for having a heart to serve.

Amazing Grace

Friday night I took most of the family to see “Amazing Grace”, the story of William Wilberforce’s 40+ year battle to see the slave trade abolished in 19th century England. Tony Perkins, former Representative and current head of Family Research Council, and Gene Mills of LA Family Forum hosted the event for pastors and their families at the Rave Theater on O’Neal Lane.
I loved the movie and found it quite inspiring. Wilberforce’s battles with his foes and also his own weaknesses are common to all of us. I was surprised that my small children liked it and could follow the story, a great story of one man’s battle against the injustices of the slave trade. It made me rethink my commitment to fighting injustice in our community. The Jesus in me wants to see justice in the lives of the people that I serve. I am so passionate about the project “Silencing the Cries” that we are involved in by partnering with Children’s Cup to see a feeding center/ church in Zimbabwe to bring Christ’s justice to those who suffer being orphaned by AIDS. I’m convinced that one can make a difference because God always starts with one.
The movie is rated PG for several curse words and mild graphic depiction of the mistreatment of people as slaves. The language is the biggest negative for me because our children don’t hear us use that kind of language. It just created another teaching moment for us to hear the world but choose how we live our lives. I encourage you to see it.