Month: May 2009

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From Millions to Tens

michael-vick

Michael Vick was released from jail early this morning. He will serve the next two months in federal custody in home confinement. It has been reported and confirmed by Michael Vick’s agent that he has accepted a full time construction job that will pay him $10 per hour. Here is a man that was the highest paid player in the NFL with a 7 year contract worth over $130 Million dollars now doing construction work for $10 per hour.

I think there is no better illustration right now than Michael Vick to teach people (young & old) the value of making Wise Choices. I don’t believe wisdom has a pricetag, I truly believe it is priceless. Through my own experience (of 28 years) I am quickly learning that the more I learn, the more I come to understand that there is so much that I have not learned so far and that I have a long ways to go to achieve “Wisdom.” However, as I continue trying to be “Wise” nothing is stopping me from making wise choices along the way.

A wise man once said…

“How much better to get wisdom than gold, and good judgment than silver!” Proverbs 16:16

That was coming from a man who could have asked God fo ANYTHING and chose to ask for WISDOM. How many of us are like Michael Vick where we have chosen to seek after the silver and the gold or the fame and prestige over wisdom? I know I have. Fortunately, its not resulted in the loss of millions of dollars. Fortunately, it hasn’t resulted in public scrutiny and a federal prosecution. It is truly by the grace and mercy of God that my stupid choices have not caused me greater shame and harm.

I believe that that it is vital we teach those people (young and old) who God entrusts to our care to make wise choices. After working with students for 14 years I know that if it is not taught early, the consequences will strike, if not at an early age, most definitely at an older age. Through another conversation I had on facebook, it was reminded to me that we cannot expect people to do what they are not taught or trained to do. How can we expect people to make wise choices if we do not teach them to make wise chioces…and how to make those wise choices?

For all of us, its a personal choice to grow in wisdom and understanding or to reject it. Proverbs 15:32 says,

“If you reject discipline, you only harm yourself; but if you listen to correction, you grow in understanding.”

I believe we all need people in our lives who can offer the proper correction and discipline to help us obtain wisdom and understanding. I believe as God entrusts us with people in our care, we must be available to be those people who can instruct and guide them towards making wise choices. Michael Vick lost millions of dollars and ruined his reputation because of poor choices, however, some people lose much more.

It encourages me to see Michael Vick reaching out to Tony Dungy for guidance. Tony is a great man of God who is full of wisdom and I believe he can direct Vick in the right direction. I believe Vick will have paid his debt to society when his prison term is up and as he fulfills the rest of his probation. I believe he needs to be given every right and responsibility that anyone who leaves prison would receive. I don’t believe it is too late for Vick to learn what the second part of Proverbs 16:6 says,

“…By fearing the Lord, people avoid evil.”

And when people make poor choices and fail, I don’t believe its too late for ALL of us to learn what the first part of Proverbs 16:6 says,

“Unfailing love and faithfulness make atonement for sin…”

Join the Conversation…Do you have a Tony Dungy in your life to help point you towards wisdom? Has this person been in your life for a long time or did you find them after making some poor choices along the way?

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Ah, the Memories!

I’m headed to Waycross, GA this evening with the family for a weekend get away to visit some of my mom’s side of the family. We are going to celebrate yy Uncle Charles’ birthday. He is getting up in age and is the last of my Grandma’s siblings alive. My Grandma died in 1997 and since her death, we have not seen much of her family.

When I think of going to Waycross, a lot of memories come rushing back to me. We visited there often when I was younger and some things just happen to be a big deal when you are a child. Here are some of those precious memories of mine:

  • The first thing I think of when I think of Waycross is the Holiday Inn Motel. Back in the 1980’s Waycross was much smaller than it is now magicfingersand the Holiday Inn was the nicest motel you could stay in. Typically, I would fall asleep in the car and as we arrived I would wake up and see the big green sign and palm trees at the edge of the parking lot with a marquee sign advertising free HBO. I didn’t care about HBO, because this Holiday Inn had the Magic Fingers Vibrating Bed (in some rooms) and all my sister and I could ever wish for was to get the room with the ‘vibrating bed.’ Although we loved our family very much, the vibrating bed was the highlight of our trip!
  • Seafood – We always went and ate seafood with the family when we visited.
  • Golden Corral – And for another meal, we would go to the Golden Corral. I remember everyone’s excitement that the whole family was going to the Corral. This was pre-5 buffet stations. Golden Corral was still  a buffet style restaurant, but not as it is today. For Waycross the Golden Corral was their Ruth’s Chris Steakhouse.
  • Dirt Roads – My Great Grandparents and My Great Uncle all lived on the same road…it was dirt. It had a set of train tracks that ran beside it. I knew when we turned at the railroad tracks and onto the dirt road, we were close to Grandma Wells’ house.
  • Ants – They were everywhere in my Grandma’s yard. If we didn’t watch it, we would be eaten up by them because there were ant beds all over the place. I never saw ants crawling up trees, except in Waycross. Crazy ants!
  • Uncle Charles – I love that guy! I saw him mostly when I was younger, but there was just something about him I liked. One of the best memories I have of him is when he took us to the secret hole in his floor where he hides his guns. He had a special edition Colt 45, a semi-automatic 9mm that looked like a machine gun. I always remember him saying that if the Government tried to take his guns away, they’d have to find ’em 🙂 He’s my Grandma’s only sibling still alive.
  • Chuck – He’s one of the funniest guy’s I know. He is my second cousin. I went and stayed at his house when I was a teenager with a couple of my other cousins. We had a blast. I still have the scar on my knee to remind me of our 4-Wheelin’ Adventures where I burned my knee on the muffler and I sunk one of his 4 Wheelers in the river, haha, great times! Chuck is definitely one of the family favorites. You are sure to have a great time when he is around.

All that to say, I can’t wait to go and visit with the family. I hope my kids have as much fun visiting Waycross as we did when I was younger!

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Nicki Carnes “Lifetime Mother of the Year!”

Happy Mother’s Day Nicki, you are the greatest mom our kids could ever ask for and an amazing wife to me! I love you!

This video has been specially made just for you. Be sure to pay attention to the entire video, not just what they are saying, but what comes up on the screen, the award, etc…

CLICK HERE to watch the Video.

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Horizontal Religion

double-arrow-head

I went to a “campmeeting” tonight. I went because my parents were in town and they love the week long revival that a local church puts on every year. I spent several years of my life at this church, made many friends, met my wife there, got saved there, felt the call into full time ministry there; so it has played a large role in my life.

This week they are celebrating their 34th consecutive homecoming and camp meeting. The preacher that preached has done so for 34 straight years. He’s 79 years old and though he has slowed down in his older age, he is still passionately doing what God called him to do, preach.

However, I left a little disappointed tonight. Although this pastor loves Jesus, gives him 100% of his life, and  preaches like there is no tomorow; he often resorts to horizontal religion. Early in the message he ripped Rick Warren because Rick has purposely led his church to be “seeker sensitive” in their worship services, in order to reach the lost. The assumption was made, that the seeker sensitive approach is only to build a large church (basically to put butts in the seats) versus a true motive to preach the Gospel to see those outside the faith get saved. Do I agree with everything Rick Warren says or does? No! Do I agree with everything this pastor who is ripping on him says or does? No! In fact, I want to be very careful not to participate in horizontal religion myself through this post. I do however know many people at Saddleback and with first hand knowledge of their church and how they operate and their hearts for the lost, I can say, this pastor simply does not know what he is talking about.

I believe Horizontal Religion is when we put more focus on earthly things that we do on heavenly things. In this case, the pastor was attacking flesh and blood versus going after the evil in the world that is our true enemy. In another instance, I wanted to say a loud Amen when the pastor said that Al Gore was a ‘one-eyed idiot.’ Now, outside of the pulpit I totally agree! However, from the pulpit, the focus was turned away from Jesus and placed on a man that clearly needs Jesus. I am the first to admit, when I am debating politics on my personal time, I am passionate and to some I may be considered polarizing. However, I would never use my opportunity to preach the Gospel, to grow fellow believers, or to share the truths from God’s word to attack someone I disagree with politically. Its like saying Liberals are all ‘one-eyed idiots and are not Christians.’ Funny a Conservative would defend a liberal 🙂
But, this one statement helps make my case. The Gospel is not “Al Gore is a one-eyed idiot,” that is clearly an opinion. So, what if the biggest Al Gore fan was sitting in the audience, he was lost and needed Jesus? Did we marginalize him and turn him off with the opinionated statement? Or did we draw him closer to Jesus? Being seeker sensitive has nothing to do with changing the Gospel message, but because I am sensitive to the fact that their are lost people in my crowd, I am going to choose not to attack someone I politically disagree with. (My next post will be “Why Al Gore is a One Eyed Idiot!”) I believe issues like these build walls between believers and those outside the faith versus tearing walls down.

By writing this I am sure there will be some who totally shun me. Some may call me a liberal. I really don’t care. I am not ripping on this pastor. In fact, when I am 79 years old, I pray that I am as passionate about Jesus as this pastor is. I pray that the doctors give me an additional outlook of 10-15 years to keep sharing Jesus with everyone that I can. This man has been a spiritual mentor to the pastor who leads the church that hosts this camp meeting. Both pastors have been in the ministry and serving Jesus for over 40 years. I cannot criticize or complain about that, Wow! That is awesome! We need more influences like that in our culture. Like I said in the beginning, it was through this ministry hosting this revival that a lot of my spiritual journey began and a lot of my personal life has been wrapped up in. So, this pastor I am talking about has had an integral part of helping shape a church and a ministry that has molded part of me.

I am however tired of the Horizontal Religion. Christians, we already have a big enough battle on our hands with our enemy, Satan. Ephesians is as clear as can be, “Our enemy is NOT flesh and blood!” What part of that don’t we understand? Apparently, we are not devoured enough by the enemy, because we cannibalize those on our own side. We ravish each other and shred ourselves apart. This pastor should have just taken a knife and cut his own right arm off. There is no difference, 1 Corinthians 12 tells us that we are all the body of Christ. When we attack another Christian, we are attacking our own body. Ephesians 4 says, “There is ONE body and ONE faith.” Whether we all agree or disagree on certain opinions, we are all of the same body and faith. Trust me, I am not ripping on this pastor, he is just a fresh case for my argument. There are hundreds of Christians doing the same thing! We will never be effective for Christ in the way he has called us to be effective when we have a civil war going on within our own faith. One of my favorite chapters in the Bible is Philippians 1, where a report gets back to Paul (who is in prison) that some Christians are preaching the Gospel with selfish motives. They were using the Gospel to gain personally from it versus to see people saved. Paul says, “How can I complain? I must rejoice because Jesus is being preached!” Why do we feel like we are above Paul? One of the greatest preachers of all times? I think the issue is, we have control issues. We want everyone to do things our way. Trust me, if I had my way, they would have been playing some Passion and Hillsong music instead of the Gospel group and the choir, but is my way any more effective? No! Paul could not control “How” these preachers delivered the Gospel, but he understood that the Gospel is truth and once it is spoken and delivered, there is no stopping it. So, what if I do something in my church that you do not like because I feel we can reach more lost people? What good does it do you to sit around and criticize me and complain? If I am preaching the Gospel, the Bible says, His Word will not return void. Believe me! I am speaking to myself as much as anyone else. I am as guilty as anyone. I struggle with this too. I have my opinions and sometimes I believe they are better than your opinion. Therefore I believe we need to extend Grace to one another as well, but at the same time we need to wake up! (See THIS story to read about my own struggle with this very topic!)

Jude tells us to defend the Gospel. To protect the faith from false teachers who have wormed their way into the faith. I am all about protecting our faith and if we hear someone preaching in error and leading people astray, we better speak up. However, Horizontal Religion, tearing people down in our own faith will never benefit Christ. I love this pastor who I’ve used as an example. I will not speak an ill word against him. I know God uses him, it is evident, so I praise God! Let’s agree together to quit tearing each other apart and hold each other up, lets decrease so Jesus can increase in our lives and in our influence!

Join the Conversation…What’s Your Thoughts?