sCeHaAsNoGnEs

Last week I had the great privilege of sitting down to a Jimmy John's lunch with a good friend and chatted for a solid 60 minutes about God...girls...and what else?  Oh yes, of course.  Guitars.  You know, all of the important things in a man's life.  In the conversation the theology of change was briefly thrown around.  Not because we claim to be theologists; that's just one of those words I like to throw around because it makes me feel smart...and cool.  Like Rob Bell, only without the glasses.

A lot of change has happened and continues to happen in every area of my heart, of me, of Thomas.  And before I go any further, I want you to be fully aware that I am not claiming to know the reasoning or the inner workings of God's changing seasons.  The truth that I am holding fast to, however is the fact that everything that lives, changes.

If we look around right now.  Go ahead, do it.  (I promise I'm not hiding behind that chair behind you.  Or am I...?)  Now take note of everything, if anything, that is living.  Has that living thing stayed the same?  Let me rephrase that.  Say you have been around this living thing for 50 days.  Is that living item the same on day 50 as it was on day 1?  Unless you're standing next to Captain America I can pretty well guarantee that it has in some fashion undergone a season(s) of change.  Everything does!  There is not one living item/creature that does not change in some capacity.  Within life, if there is no change, there is death.  Paul warns us about that all throughout his various writings within the New Testament, but that is another teaching for another time.


Recently, after close to a year of ignoring convictions, countless meetings with pastors and trusted mentors, and lots of sleepless nights full of prayer, I decided that it was time that I recognized a season change.  I was apart of leading a ministry with three other men where we talked a lot about change, we taught on it, we experienced, we lived it.  And I will be the first to admit that I am excellent at giving advice, but utterly horrible and receiving it (even when it's my own advice).  So after 12 years of music ministry service within the same congregation, I recognized that a new season had come and that I needed to flow before I caused more harm than good.  


And something I learned early into this new season change is that within growth there is ALWAYS sacrifice.  If you are not sacrificing something, you are not growing, hate to tell you.  And if you are 100% full, don't be shocked when you cannot take on that extra 20% of whatever you have your eyes on, because it just will not happen.  Try giving up 20% before you can receive 20%.

So that is where I am; smack dab in the middle of a monumental season change.  [Ah ha!  Did you catch the title?!  Did it confuse you?!  "seasons CHANGE")  I purposefully haven't gone into great detail about anything within this blog.  What I wanted to accomplish more than anything from this post is just to tell you that I am sorry for the feelings and egos that have been hurt in the process of this changing season.  I apologize for the poor communication on behalf of anyone and everyone involved.  I know there are hurt feelings out there because I have been experiencing them.  Every day.  For the past month.  So please, if you have any questions or want to express anything, please feel free to do so.

I love you all for the thoughts and the prayers for me during this time.  I may not know your exact words, your exact thoughts, or your exact actions, but I thank you nonetheless.  And I thank you for your eyeballs, because after all, this blog would be pretty difficult to read without them...

with love,
---thomas

Housing Subdivisions & Christian Tattoos

Last night I posted a quote from a Relevant Magazine article (about Tattoos & Christians) to my facebook. Shortly after I posted a link to the entire article. Since then, my facebook, email, and phone have been blowing up with responses of all different kinds. So after a day of praying, thinking, and more praying, here is my simple, short, yet heartfelt response...

If we were honest about the definition of "church" that we (and many generations before us) have defined, I believe it would read "family oriented, career holding, financially independent, tongue holding people." Do we say this? Never. But do we act it? More than we would like to admit. Because if this was not the case then I believe congregations wouldn't look so much like housing subdivisions. The only difference in our appearances is the color of our shutters. If this wasn't our definition, the "generation gap" wouldn't exist and poverty acceptance wouldn't dictate our relationships. The younger hearts of the church wouldn't feel like they were fighting to be accepted as legitimate members of the active body of Christ. And the more experienced hearts wouldn't be so scared in giving up space and time.

No where am I saying, "yes, me, Thomas, I am right!" I will openly admit that I just don't know. A lot. Often. But more than anything I hope we have been able to recognize the corners of our comfort zones during these words and acknowledge that the tension that lies in these sort of subjects also lie on the opposite side of our fences. I am sorry if I offended anyone, but if any of these words have even pushed you out of your comfort chair, then well... Amen.

with love,

---thomas

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audacious prayer + practical obedience = faith

James 2:17

"Faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."

"If you're going to have the audacity to ask God for something, you'd better be ready to act.  Audacious prayer must be tethered to practical obedience.  Or else it's not faith.  It's just wishful thinking and positive mental energy.  No wonder so many of our prayers aren't answered.   We pray for a miracle, but we fail to make a move.

And most of the time, if you don't move, God won't move.  That's just the way he designed faith to work."

- Steven Furtick (Sun Stand Still)

Early [EARLY] this morning, at 1:16am to be exact, I couldn't sleep, so I decided to read.  Trying to compute words from a page to my brain always wears me out.  The book of choice?  Sun Stand Still.  I have just a few chapters left to go in the book and thought that maybe I could knock the rest out last night (or today?  I'm not really sure how that works?).  But a full page and a half in, I got hung up on the paragraph above and it got me thinking.  For two hours.

This book was formed around the story in Joshua 10 where God commands Joshua to defeat the Amorites in His name, Joshua then lifts up the famous audacious prayer, "God, make the sun stand in the sky!"  And God does.

So I went back and read through the story in Joshua 10 and something caught my attention after reading this section.  

In Joshua 10:9 it says, "After an all-night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise."  See it?  an all-night march.  

Joshua didn't offer up his sun-stand-still prayer in the comfort of his tent, with friends, family, and everything that was comfortable to him.  He prayed that audacious prayer after an all-night march; after putting in some serious time on the clock.

Then I asked myself, [what do I pray for but don't do the work to encapsulate it in faith?]

At 9:40am [shoot, I better be leaving for church!] I still haven't really found any answer or clarity to that question.  But I wanted to share it with you, with whoever may stumble across this blog, to challenge you to examine your faith, your walk, your work and see if this equation...

AUDACIOUS PRAYER + PRACTICAL OBEDIENCE = FAITH

...is true in your life, in your heart.

[in-si-kyoor]

in-se-cure [in-si-kyoor]

"subject to fears, doubts, etc.; not self-confident or assured."

"not secure; exposed or liable to risk, loss, or danger."

Insecurities. It amazes me and yet fiercely frustrates me that certain, if not all, insecurities stick with you throughout your life. Well, maybe not all of life, but at 23 years of age, for me they are all of life.  And how do they always surface at the most inopportune times?!  


Feeling insecure...is that part of being authentic?


Judges 6 tells us that Gideon had his own insecurities and God still used him to lead 300 men into battle against a bazillion-man army that had completely taken over and destroyed the region.  A simple man who was called by God, who first had to make God prove himself a few times before finally following God's commands by the way, who did something great.


"God wants to do something in your life that only He can take credit for and will provide encouragement to help you overcome your insecurities so that you can fulfill His calling." - Dan Pride

[God.  Be great in me.  Encourage my insecurities to flee.  Attract my eyes and heart to new perspectives.]

messy RELATIONships

Just wanted to share this article from Relevant Magazine: Maintaining Messy Relationships

FAITH is

"Faith is living like God tells the truth. Faith is walking like the person He made me to be. Faith is trusting Him to come through."

God is doing some serious work in me in the faith department currently (the living, speaking, breathing, trusting, experiencing, etc).

I had to share this quote that (thanks to Heather Myers for sharing it with me) blew my mind today.

More thoughts and feelings to come.

That's all for now.

"yesterday, today, tomorrow"

I can't tell you how many times I've opened this "compose" window to start blogging over the past few weeks. I can't tell you how many times I've just closed it without typing a word. It's frustrating for me when I have a million and one ideas, thoughts, visions, dreams, feelings, etc. jumping around inside of my head and heart and no matter how sincere the effort, I just cannot get them to come out of me.

So until I can get my thoughts and feelings sorted out, I wanted to share this blog from Steven Furtick. I feel it is a good starting point for what's to come (or so I think). Steven is the lead pastor at Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC. I've been following his teaching, congregation, and worship experiences over the last several months and have been so inspired, moved, and excited about what God is doing with him and his congregation and how the Spirit has just been moving down there. I've also been reading through his book, Sun Stand Still, which I highly recommend to any and all believers of Jesus Christ who want more, desire a deeper connection, and who wants to see the impossible possible. Mmm, so good.

Enjoy and be blessed.

---thomas

There’s a lot of different strategies that the enemy uses to get us off track in our walk with God. But I think one of the enemy’s greatest tactics is a sequence I call, yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

Here’s how it works. The enemy gets you to think about your past, present, and future in these three ways:
Yesterday – Remember when.
Today – Live for now.
Tomorrow – Do it later.

The enemy wants to keep us stuck in yesterday. And so the way the he talks to us is by saying, “remember when.” In other words, the enemy comes to you and tries to get you stuck in yesterday’s memories. Dependent on yesterday’s successes. Reminded of yesterday’s failures.

Or the enemy will get you stuck in today. He’ll tell you: “live for now.” It’s all about present pleasure and satisfaction. Like Esau, the enemy will get you to sell your birthright for a bowl of beans. Trade something far better later for something inferior now. Maybe it’s by having sex before marriage. Or selling out on your God-given dream because there’s an easier path you can take right now.

And then there’s tomorrow. The enemy will tell you to live for now, but when it comes to the great things God wants you to do, he urges you to “do it later.” Delay your obedience.

If you’re not careful, you can easily fall prey to this yesterday, today, and tomorrow sequence. And your growth in God and what He has for you will be paralyzed.

Here’s how I think God wants to flip the script and have you look at it from an eternal perspective:
Yesterday – Remember who.
Today – Live for later.
Tomorrow – Do it now.

Whereas the enemy says “remember when” about your past, God says, “remember who.” Don’t stay stuck in yesterday’s success. Instead look at yesterday’s success and remember the God who gave you yesterday’s success. Or who can help you overcome yesterday’s failure. Take David’s cue and recall God’s past faithfulness so you can forge on into your future endeavors.

For the last two elements of the sequence, rearrange the enemy’s thinking. Where the enemy says “live for now, do it later,” God’s says “live for later, do it now.” Instead of living for the moment that you can see and the pleasures that you can touch, live in the present with a visionary mindset about your choices, realizing that your present bad decisions affect your future possibilities.

And instead of deferring obedience, obey now. Don’t live in the land of lofty aspirations. Whatever God tells you to do, do it. Immediately.

Refuse to look at yesterday, today, and tomorrow from the enemy’s perspective. As often as you have to, tell yourself:
Remember who (not when). Live for later (not now). Do it now (not later).

Right memory. Visionary mindset. Immediate obedience.
Yesterday. Today. And tomorrow

- Steven Furtick (Lead Pastor of Elevation Church, Charlotte NC)