Archive for October, 2007

Why?

Published
by
Nathan Griffis
on 31 October 2007
in City of Weston Florida, InDependence Church and My Life
. 1 Comment

Good question huh? It doesn’t matter what you are talking about, you can always put in the 3 year old “Why?” About once a month I do a gut check and ask myself a lot of why questions. Why are you a church planter? Why plant a church in Weston, FL? Why endure the stress? Why deal with the emotional and physical burden? Why take your family out of a comfortable life? Why put yourself the through the lonely nature of the job? Why take on the financial challenges? Why take on this daunting task? Why? Why? Why?

To be honest the main reason that I have never blogged about these incidents before is because I was not entirely comfortable with my answers. I was up very late the night before last because I figured if your 7 months into this thing, shouldn’t you be comfortable with why?

I am fairly confident that most church planters ask themselves similar questions. Maybe they are more comfortable with their position than I was so it maybe it isn’t as big a deal. One of the responses that I hear is that they have an undying passion to win lost souls to Jesus Christ. To lead people to the knowledge that Christ died for their sins and if they would accept Him as their redeemer then they don’t have to spend an eternity in Hell. You might say that you can fulfill that passion without planting a church and that is true. Statistically the most effective way to accomplish that goal is by planting a church. Why? Well the reason new churches are more effective than established churches is because a majority of the people in established churches hangs out with other “Christians”. I put Christians in quotes because if we are true Christ followers than we will desire to fulfill the great commission, which involves hanging out with heathens on their way to hell instead of being a part of Christ’s Country Club. You can’t lead who you don’t talk to. Anyways…I didn’t mean to get off track.

Some wannabe pastors start a new church so they don’t have to deal with taking an existing church with existing problems (a.k.a. – Christians) You know the rumor mills, church bosses, etc. While others feel that church planting is the natural transition after an extended stint as a youth pastor. There are some that are intrigued with the challenge and want to see if they can man or women up to the task. I am not sure how, but some are in it for the money. If you are one of those individuals please let me know how you are doing it. I am not interested in making it one of my motives but I sure could use some more money to do ministry.

So with all of those in mind I wrestled with myself and with God because I needed to get the why right. So let’s start from the bottom…

1. In it for the money – I am not going to get into details but my bank statement is all the proof that I need to know if that is my motive, I need to pack up and go home.

2. Thrill seeker – I like a good challenge as much as the next guy but if I wanted a thrill I would go try to ride a bull, or walk across almost any street in Weston during rush hour before I would start a church.

3. Disgruntled Youth Pastor – I did the whole Youth Pastor thing but I was a youth when I did it. At the age of 21 I couldn’t remember being that stupid as a teenager (I am sure I was, but I forgot) so I quit. I couldn’t relate and lost effectiveness. So like most Youth Pastors I matured my ministry to reach adults. There I was too young to get any respect and I didn’t realize that people were still stupid after they were old enough to buy beer.

4. Church boss anxiety – Can I tell you this was the direction I saw myself going. I had spent most of ministry in established churches. I understood the running your head into the block wall of tradition with every new idea. After enough headaches I still wasn’t sure how God was going to make my first church any easier but… I don’t know how it works inside of your denomination but if this was the route I went I would need to invest in good knee pads because much prayer would be required and a good helmet because I am partial to my head and face area. I have some other protective gear in mind but I digress.

5. It is an effective tool – I have bought into the statistics which have been morphed a thousand times by every speaker at every conference I have ever gone to on church planting. I don’t even know which are the accurate ones, if any are, but it all makes sense every time I hear it. With that said I still think that we can accomplish so much with personal evangelism. I don’t have to sacrifice my sanity to win the lost to Christ. You can accomplish the great commission on your job, at restaurants, with your neighbors, etc. So the stats aren’t my motive. If they were than south Florida is a great choice with the second highest unchurched population in the country. If you are going to go for it, go big.

6. Turn or burn – This is where it has always gotten pretty tricky for me every time I have these thoughts. Out of all the ones I listed this is the one that I want. When somebody gives you this answer, and you know that they are sincere, their zeal is infectious. It makes you want to go out right then and witness in the streets. I would like to say this is my motive but if I’m being honest some days, people suck. They are rude, crude, selfish, inconsiderate, life suckers that feed on the weak. (That includes me too some days.) There are days that I don’t like people, including myself, and my deepest concern is not their salvation. You now see why I didn’t blog about this because it is not exactly a great sales pitch for our church.

Well at our church I tell the truth and if we all told the truth I am sure you can relate that people are not the best motive. People let you down, they hurt you, and they steal from you physically, emotionally, spiritually and leave you for dead. (No, it wasn’t that bad of a day, I’m just painting a word picture.)

So why do I do it…it’s simple…because GOD ASKED ME. I don’t get emotional when I think of any of any other reasons why to do this but when I think that God asked ME… I fight off humble tears. Sure I want to see lives changed and people introduced to a heavenly alternative to hell, but I am scared to death to think what life would be outside of God’s will. I don’t know what happens when you tell God no on something of this magnitude. Sure I have done the wrong thing before but to tell Him NO…

Many days I awake to the daunting task of starting a church from scratch and I want to go back to Normalville. Then I remember the numerous confirmations, some that I asked for and some He sent because He knew I would have days of doubt. I remember that out of all of mankind He asked me and my family to come specifically to Weston, FL to start InDependence. I remember the day that He gave me the name as I stepped out of the shower. I remember His provision and on and on and on.

My motive is simple and on certain days rather selfish but God, wherever You lead me I will follow. I will lay every aspect of my being aside if it will in some way bring glory to Your name, even if that is only out of obedience to Your request.

Party like a Rock Star

Published
by
Nathan Griffis
on 28 October 2007
in InDependence Church and My Life
. 0 Comments

Yesterday we had our first test drive service follow-up event. We had a cook-out at my house and had a great turn out. I think there were about 16 people and had another 7 that had some previously scheduled stuff this weekend otherwise they would have been there. I don’t know if I love to entertain but I enjoy getting to know people better. I now know who doesn’t like cheese on their hamburgers. I now know that there are some NASCAR and Ford Mustang fans that are attending our church. I found out what kind of jelly people like. I found out that it is pretty difficult to open a wrapped gift with a fire men’s hat, a scarf, and two oven mitts on. Oh yeh that’s how we roll!

Other than the cleaning before and after, I like getting to know people outside of church. I advertised if anyone wanted to check out a pastor’s medicine cabinet, this was their chance. I don’t know if anybody looked (I did think about booby-trapping it) but I like having that kind of exposure to people. I think that is the only way to develop true relationships. I don’t mind sharing some of weaknesses. Like my wife felt that she needed to expose the fact that I scream like a little girl at scary movies. So what…

I have no desire to become somebody’s superhero even though I want to influence some lives. At a recent covenant group I attended the question was raised to the group of pastors, “Who was your greatest influence?” The majority included two groups, parents and pastors. The point was that we will never know the way that we can influence people. With that being said I feel that I can impact people not only with my faith in God but also in my humanity. It is not my job to be the strong tower, that’s God’s role. There are times (a lot of them) that I find myself running to the strong tower. So it’s my job to show people who they can run to. In order to do that they have know that there are times that I fail, I fall short, I stumble, I slip, etc.

Anyway… so from 4:00 to about 8:30 we had a great time feeding and hanging out with quite a diverse group of people. We talked about a wide variety of topics but very little about church. There is a time to be pastor and a time to be a good host and friend. Last night we were hosts and friends…

My son loves to entertain and gets pretty excited when people come over. So he was so worked up after everybody left that he would not go to sleep. So, we did some bonding, ate some chips and dip, and watched the Buckeyes destroy Penn State. My wife even joined us to watch her beloved Vols try to give the game to South Carolina and take it back. This morning we were slow as a family and I questioned how do celebrities and rock stars do it? I’m not exactly sure but it is good some times to be jacked up on Mountain Dew while doing your best to be a catalyst for a city wide revolution.

“Driven” Week 1

Published
by
Nathan Griffis
on 25 October 2007
in InDependence Church and The Word
. 0 Comments

Last weekend at InDependence we kicked off our first series called “Driven”. We incorporated a lot of fun stuff into the service and there are some guaranteed adrenaline pumping car chases involved in the weeks to come. We will incorporate clips from some of the greatest car films of all time including titles such as “Gone in 60 Seconds” and “Cannonball Run”. For you women that have been looking for something to get your husbands into church this may very well be the ticket.

Next month’s (11/11/07) is entitled “Take it out of neutral” but I wanted to recap Test Drive #1 which was entitled “I think we got a flat”. The goal of Driven is to uncover some of the speed bumps of life that keep us from our top speed and week 1 was overcoming disappointment. Here are a few notes that may help you…

This week we used a clip from “Gone in Sixty Seconds” where Nicholas Cage says “Without disappointment you can’t appreciate victory”. As we travel along at the speed of life there is often times no greater obstacle in life than disappointment. It seems like any time that things seem to be going along incredibly smooth we suffer some huge let down that causes confusion. This speed bump is a constant in people’s lives.

Let’s see what one of Christ’s closest followers, Peter, had to say about disappointment and suffering…

I Peter 4:12-16 (MSG) “Friends, when life gets really difficult, don’t jump to the conclusion that God isn’t on the job. Instead, be glad that you are in the very thick of what Christ experienced. This is a spiritual refining process, with glory just around the corner. If you’re abused because of Christ, count yourself fortunate. It’s the Spirit of God and his glory in you that brought you to the notice of others. If they’re on you because you broke the law or disturbed the peace, that’s a different matter. But if it’s because you’re a Christian, don’t give it a second thought. Be proud of the distinguished status reflected in that name!”

For context let’s look at Peter’s life… Peter’s walk with Christ was a paradigm of both vigorous faith and human uncertainty. If nothing else this makes him a great representative of how most of us live our lives. We swing from dedicated believers to wishy washy saints.

Peter, a fisherman by trade, actually was named Simeon (but shortened to Simon). For those of you who have spent any time on our website have probably read about the significant moment when Christ met Simon and that the first thing he did was initiating a name change. The reason this is significant is because the Greek name Petros (Peter) is translated “rock” where his birth name is translated “hearing”. Someone who just listens can be easily swayed from one direction to the other but a rock is set, a solid foundation, immovable, unbreakable, and ready for action. These names represent that paradigm between vigorous faith and human uncertainty which plagued much of Peter’s early walk with Christ.

Peter was the first of Jesus’ 12 disciples. He had a dominant personality and was often times the spokesman for the other disciples. Jesus’ base of operations was Peter’s home. It was Peter who through vigorous faith walked on water, but his human uncertainty caused him to begin to sink when seeing the waves and feeling the wind. Peter’s faith allowed him to experience incredible highs such as the time he was taken by Jesus to the mount of transfiguration where Jesus was seen in his glorified body with Moses and Elijah which had passed on before. He was also with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane the night before his crucifixion to act as a prayer partner for Christ but could not stay awake. When awoken by the guards coming to arrest Jesus and take him to be crucified, Peter in an act of vigor pulled out his sword and cut off a soldier’s ear. This same Peter boldly told Jesus earlier that night that he would die beside him if necessary but before the sun arose the next day Peter had denied even knowing Jesus three times.

No one will ever know the inner turmoil that Peter must have experienced during those next few days that Christ was in the tomb. Even having been rejected by Peter during his most vulnerable moments on earth, Jesus never lost hope for the future of the Rock so he made it a point to make Peter the first of the 12 disciples to see after his resurrection. This became the turning point in Peter’s life. He went on to lead thousands of people to Christ. Had his hands in the beginning stages of many churches and opened the doors of Christianity to non-Jews. During this time he suffered much persecution and wrote this passage nearing the end of his ministry and life.

What an amazing contradiction of strength and weakness Peter’s life was. Let’s look again at what he wrote to some of the churches that were suffering persecution and disappointment. First he tells them to not question if God has abandoned them. He assures them that God is still on the job. Peter had experienced this first hand when he was in jail and was sentenced to death but an angel helped him to escape.

He then tells them that this is a part of a refining process. Remember the turning point in Peter’s life after denying Christ’s very existence and the glory that was gained through Peter’s ministry. He says that you are lucky to be abused for carrying the name of Christ. You should be proud of the fact that you are gaining people’s attention because you are different.

It is so easy to blend in with the status quo, to be content with misery. It takes effort to show the love of Christ. It takes a strong desire to wake up in the morning and say that I am going to be a positive influence in my community. To say today I am going to make a difference in somebody’s life other than my own. Peter is saying that if people are talking bad about you because you are different, if you are disappointed by the actions of others around you, those are good things. If you stick out because you are breaking the law it is not so good, but if you are sticking out because you are following the second commandment of Christ which is to love your neighbor as yourself, great job…keep it up.

Don’t think twice but be excited because you are representing Christ as a true Christ follower. There is one more scripture I want to include and it is found in I Peter 5:10 “The suffering won’t last forever. It won’t be long before this generous God who has great plans for us in Christ–eternal and glorious plans they are!–will have you put together and on your feet for good.”

The disappointments and discouraging speed bumps of life will pass. They may hurt for a season but what Peter says here is that you can make it to the checkered flag because God is with you. To take it one step further we should not only be interested in overcoming our disappointments so that we make it across the finish line but we want to actually move beyond just getting by so that we can be victorious. God’s plans are not ones of mediocrity so we need to set our sights to a higher standard.

I hope this was an encouraging word for you. If you think that disappointment can get off course join us on 11/11/07 for the Second Test Drive because if we can’t get it out of neutral we’ll never make it to disappointment.

Recall Notice

Published
by
Nathan Griffis
on 23 October 2007
in Random Ramblings
. 0 Comments

A little corny but I liked it…

The Maker of all human beings is recalling all units manufactured,
regardless of make or year, due to a serious defect in the primary and
central component of the heart.

This is due to a malfunction in the original prototype units; code named
Adam and Eve, resulting in the reproduction of the same defect in all
subsequent units.

This defect has been technically termed “Sub-sequential Internal
Non-Morality,” or more commonly known as S.I.N., as it is primarily
expressed.

Some other symptoms include:
1. Loss of direction
2. Foul vocal emissions
3. Amnesia of origin
4. Lack of peace and joy
5. Selfish or violent behavior
6. Depression or confusion in the mental component
7. Fearfulness
8. Idolatry
9. Rebellion

The Manufacturer, who is neither liable nor at fault for this defect, is
providing factory-authorized repair and service free of charge to correct
this SIN defect.

The Repair Technician, JESUS, has most generously offered to bear the
entire burden of the staggering cost of these repairs. There is no
additional fee required.

The number to call for repair in all areas is: P-R-A-Y-E-R. Once
connected, please upload your burden of SIN through the REPENTANCE
procedure. Next, download ATONEMENT from the Repair Technician, JESUS,
into the heart component.

No matter how big or small the SIN defect is, JESUS will replace it with:

1. Love
2. Joy
3. Peace
4. Patience
5. Kindness
6. Goodness
7. Faithfulness
8. Gentleness
9. Self control

Please see the operating manual, the B.I.B.L.E. ( Believers’ Instruction
Before Leaving Earth) for further details on the use of the fixes.

WARNING: Continuing to operate the human being unit without correction
voids any manufacturer warranties, exposing the unit to dangers and
problems too numerous to list and will result in the human unit being
permanently impounded.

For free emergency service, call on JESUS.

DANGER: The human being units not responding to the recall action will
have to be scrapped in the furnace.

The SIN defect will not be permitted to enter Heaven so as to prevent
contamination of that facility.

Thank you for your attention!
GOD

Please assist where possible by notifying others of this important recall
notice, and you may contact the Father any time by “Kneemail”.

Follow-up

Published
by
Nathan Griffis
on 23 October 2007
in InDependence Church
. 0 Comments

The thank-you cards have been written and stuffed with a gift card from Borders. We’re trying to be a little original because Starbuck cards are just over done. Plus we want to support people in their spiritual and personal growth so what better way then to help them buy a book. They will be mailed tommorrow and a reminder of the cook-out/follow-up event at my house this weekend is included.

I am still on cloud eight (I’ve came down from nine) about the weekend and have enjoyed bragging on God every time anyone has given me the opportunity. Well I need to go update the website for next month but I am trying to make some time to write some good blogs. In the next day or so I am going to give the outline from the first message in our Driven series entitled “I think we got a flat.” So check back in for some insight in how to overcome a common speed bump of life.

Test Drive Service #1 (10.21.07)

Published
by
Nathan Griffis
on 21 October 2007
in Church of God, City of Weston Florida, Health, InDependence Church, My Life, My Wife and Random Ramblings
. 4 Comments

Exhilaration, joy, pain, peace, anxiety, humbled, proud, fulfilled, desiring, exhausted, pumped… so many emotions…so little energy to process it. I know that it has been a while since I blogged and I would apologize but I was working diligently toward today and it paid off HUGE! I will get to that in a moment but some of those emotions I need to layout really quick for my own posterity.

I am exhilarated because it’s here! The day that we have been looking toward since early December of last year and planning for the past six months. I am als exhilarated because it is over. What an incredible amount of effort - mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually but it was SO worth it. (Don’t worry I’ll get to that!)

I have joy because we experienced victory today. Victory over the people that doubted, including myself at times. We had victory over the enemy that has been diligent in his efforts to keep us from this day. I have pain because I almost ripped my thumb nail off on a section of stage and sliced my fingers on a cart. That just means we had blood, sweat and tears. But it was worth every drop of each.

I have peace because I know that even though we couldn’t do everything, I know that we did all that we could do and brought glory to God’s name. I believe that we did Him proud today and really nothing else matters. I have anxiety because the day went amazingly smooth but I know we have to do it again. Not only do it again but I want to do it better.

I am humbled because God chose me to experience all of these emotions. I am humbled by the fact that God chose me to perform one of the most important roles in His earthly kingdom. I am proud of the effort that our volunteers put in and the spirit of excellence with which they did it. We turned Sagemont School into a great place to do church. The pictures taht are attached later don’t begin to do it justice.

I am fulfilled because we had a GREAT response with a lot of positive feedback our first time out of the trailer (box). I desire to accomplish so much more, to reach so many more, and to infect Weston with the love of Christ.

I am exhausted because there was an insane effort involved to pull it off. I am pumped because God met every need with volunteers to share the load at just the right time. We walked by faith, did all that we could do and as one of our core values states, we prayed like it depended on God and worked like it depended on us. In the end, as He always does, God came through BIG.

I know that everybody is expecting me to rattle off some statistics from our first service and tell you how many people were there, how we did in the offering, etc. Well to be honest God and I had a little conversation about that last night because I was pretty wrapped up in some of those things. I have some pretty good intentions because numbers have some value. Church is a business (one of the most important businesses in the world) that takes people and finances to operate. Without people, volunteers, staff to help carry out the vision, there really is no vision. Without the finances to do outreach, to market, to pay rent, etc. your ministry is dead in the water. God reminded me that there really is only one number that matters… that is the number that we increase heaven by.

I wish that I could say that we helped somebody become a Christ follower today, but I can’t. What I can tell you is that I think God is sending the right people so that I won’t have to give a 0 number every week. God is up to crazy stuff and I am just so in love with Him that I am sick. You know how you feel when you want to be with a person so bad that you just hurt. I know it could be the lack of sleep or the fact that we have been living on pizza, but that is not it. I just want to give you on example of God’s choreography from this past week…

I blogged a while back that I was going back to work to make some ends meet. So I found an Architectural Firm in Boca that hired me and I actually started this last Monday. Financially I needed to start last Monday even though I really would have liked to wait until next week. Here’s God’s plan: So because they are using a different CADD (Computer Aided Drafting & Design) program then I was using they wanted to send me to a refresher course. So Monday through Wednesday I was in this class and discovered that my instructor lived in Weston. So I intended to wait until Wednesday to give him an invitation to our Test Drive.

At lunch on Wednesday he brought up church and God allowed an open door to tell him while I was really here. He seemed interested but I wasn’t going to be too pushy. After lunch I gave him the invite and at the end of class the subject of our weekend schedule came up. I was telling about Church on Wheels coming Saturday and the training to set up and tear down. Out of the blue he says, what time are you starting and I can bring my son and we will help you. I did a little happy dance on the inside because I knew that five members of my team were not going to be able to make it.

So long story short… they came, worked like dogs all day, go home and invite all of their neighbors who are some wonderful people that seem extremely interested in doing ministry with us in Weston and were excited that we were starting this church. One family was so excited they took probably 100 invitations and is going to door hang her entire neighborhood. Can I get a YEAH GOD!

Can I tell you that I was discouraged to have to go work a secular job? In one sense I felt like a church planting failure because we couldn’t get started fast enough to enable me to maintain a salary and financially I had placed my family in a challenging position. I have always found that providing well for my family has been very important to me so to have to tell my wife that the end of the rope is very close and need this job otherwise…was incredibly painful for my ego. Even though my humanity hurt my spirit was incredibly calm. To be honest my wife and I actually laughed. This was just one more near calamity to add to the list and we knew that God would get glory we just were unsure at what expense.

So we made up our minds that whatever the cost… and as always God gets the glory. I think there will be much more to this story later and I can’t wait for the next turn to see how God is going to use this chain of events to lead to even greater things.

I know this blog was a book but I would love to tell you more because God is just that awesome and today God blew me away! If I didn’t have to get up and go to work… I have put in some pictures of what InDependence sanctuary looks like.
InDependence1
InDependence2
InDependence3

By the way for any church planters out there who read this let me just tell you to do preview services a month apart because I can’t imagine trying to do this again next week…

My Current Sports Recap

Published
by
Nathan Griffis
on 11 October 2007
in Random Ramblings
. 8 Comments

Life is good…the Ohio State Buckeyes are undefeated and ranked third in the nation (I know it is still early but O-H-I-O), the Cleveland Indians have advanced in the playoffs, Tony Stewart is still in the Nextel championship hunt and the Browns are not at the bottom of the division. Okay so that last one is a stretch but you have to look at the glass as being half full when you are a Browns fan. I have struggled to get back into the NFL since the Browns left Cleveland for Baltimore. It was at that time that I made the switch to college football and have never looked back. If I have to pick a team in the NFL it will always be the Browns but I am in love with college football.

Before I moved to south Florida I worked with some huge college football fans. One was a Michigan fan, one was a Penn State fan, and the last was a Gator fan. I still call to exchange some antagonistic words but I have fallen behind. I know that they catch my blog every once and a while so I needed to send them some messages. I am not sure which is worse…getting beaten by Appalachian State or getting beaten by a team that lost to Appalachian State. Maybe somebody out there can help me with that. For Mr. Florida I hope that you enjoyed last year. It was certainly been a huge motivation to get the Buckeye rolling this year. I was looking forward to a rematch but I don’t think we will be available for the Capital One Bowl. The good news is that you won’t have to drive far to see them and you can probably get a good deal on the tickets if you buy them now.

For my reoccurring listeners I promise I will get back to something more meaningful, like my little poop Picasso, even though I find watching a Saturday afternoon butt kicking by The Ohio State Buckeyes very meaningful and therapeutic.

Ten Ways to Discover Your Purpose

Published
by
Nathan Griffis
on 3 October 2007
in Random Ramblings
. 0 Comments

1. Make a list of your life goals.
2. Pray for wisdom and insight.
3. Worship God with reckless abandon.
4. Take a spiritual gifts test. (I found this free one on-line)
5. Ask for opportunities to serve.
6. Cultivate an attitude of gratitude.
7. Travel on an overseas mission trip.
8. Seek more responsibility at work.
9. Study occupations that interest you.
10. Give of you time, talent, and treasure.

Quote of the Month

Published
by
Nathan Griffis
on 3 October 2007
in Random Ramblings
. 1 Comment

“Character cannot be developed in ease and quiet. Only through experience of trial and suffering can the soul be strengthened, ambition inspired, and success achieved.” - Helen Keller

T-Minus 19 days

Published
by
Nathan Griffis
on 2 October 2007
in InDependence Church, My Life and Random Ramblings
. 0 Comments

We are 19 days away from our first test drive service. 19 days away from getting a big trailer full of stuff to unload and turn a school into a church. 19 days from kicking off our series “Driven”. 19 days to invite people like crazy in hopes of drawing a crowd of potential launch team members. 19 days to finalize our band selection for our first service. 19 days to complete the list of 17 things that I currently know that I need to get done before the 19 days expires, and I just thought of one more item to add to the list. Oh yeh, the 19th thing on my list…secure a full time job before the 19 days is up because the trailer full of stuff cost $10k more than budgeted which is money that we were going to live on.

WOW! Life in a pressure cooker is tough, but what a rush. I have to tell you that the latest parallel that is being made to church planting is extreme sports. I couldn’t agree more. Even though most times your physical body is not in life threatening danger, your mental health, spiritual health, financial health, marital health and family health are in danger almost every second. Don’t believe me…just try it. I dare you!

Really I do. The bottom line is we need more churches to reach the growing population. We need more individuals who will lay it on the line for Christ. We honestly can not say “whatever the cost” because it was already paid in full by Christ, but the risks involved are great. “Great risk = Great Reward” echoes in my head almost everyday. Man, I can’t wait for the payout. It may not come in the form of a check, a house or a car, but God knows I am in this for the hardened hearts, the lonely, the widows, the orphans, the lost. You know all those people that need Jesus and probably don’t even realize it.

Right now I stand naked before the Lord. Not in a physical way because that would be weird, but in every other aspect of my life. As a man, a husband, a dad and as a son, all that I have ever been, all that I am, and all that I will ever be is His or is because of Him. Without Him I bring nothing to the table, I am naked. There is no wife that I can love, no child that I can raise, no body that I can keep, no money that I can earn, no church that I can build, and no people that I can reach. The Bible says “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” to break it down King James style, but that verse could have easily read “I can do nothing without Christ strengthening me.”

Think about it… What can you do, what do you have to offer, who are you, and what are you without Christ? For those of you who don’t believe in Him this isn’t going to make any sense, but for those of you who have had a life altering experience and have committed your lives to being Christ Followers, you may find yourself repenting. You thought you had it all together, you thought you were changing the world, you thought you had big plans and dreams, you thought it was about you…but maybe now you are realizing that you are naked…just like me.