Tag: Love

Posted on

I Asked God….

I asked God to see through His eyes, so He made me a pastor.

I asked God to help me understand His grace, so He sent me addicts and alcoholics, and then he let me watch them relapse.

I asked God to help me love like He loves, so He sent me the homosexual who has been made an outcast by society….and even churches

I asked God to help me understand His patience, so He sent me the greedy who are more concerned with themselves than their neighbor

I asked God to help me understand His forgiveness, so He sent me parents of wayward children

I asked God to know His mercy, so He sent me the self-righteous

I asked God to understand His promises, so He sent me couples who are struggling in their marriage

I asked God to show me who I really am; He told me to simply open my eyes and look around me

The greatest pleasure of my life is to pastor New Passion Church and to serve as the manager of a local substance abuse program. Everyday I have the opportunity to share life with people who struggle to make it each day; they are messy, they are broken, and they definitely aren’t big on social graces….they are human. My daily experiences have shown me God in ways I would have never seen Him, doing anything else. The gospel is a beautiful and powerful message. I am grateful God has called me to pastor myself through many different people.

Posted on

A Miracle for a Stranger

KatieSDo Miracles Still Happen?

Yes! And you can make it happen.

Meet Katie Schlinger.

On December 20, 2013, Katie Schlinger was in Aiken, South Carolina supporting her brother during his open heart surgery. Katie was attempting to help a stranger when she was brutally attacked and sexually assaulted. She sustained life altering injuries from a vehicle accident while trying to escape her attacker.This is not your everyday story….

Read Katie’s horrifying story on the DailyMail or on Tallahassee News

Katie does not have insurance and so far she’s been treated by three area hospitals (two of which have discharged her because she lacks insurance). GRU, where Katie underwent two spinal surgeries, has already sent Katie a bill for $250,000! Now in her third hospital, a rehab center in Augusta, Katie has less than 10 free days remaining before she will be billed $2,000 per day she receives treatment.

I do not know Katie Schlinger, she is a stranger to me and to our church, New Passion Church, however I am leading us to be a “Good Samaritan” to her and do everything that we can to help her family raise the $250,000 she’s already been billed (their family goal is $100,000; we want to do better than that!). She attempted to be a “Good Samaritan” and evil rose up against her. We believe good always overcomes evil through Christ and that is who we follow. We also want to support her family in any tangible way necessary while she is in our local area. We simply believe this is what we, as a church and as Christians, are called to do. For us, it’s simple obedience.

If you are interested in giving a tax deductible financial gift to Katie, you can do so by following the donation button below, or you can mail a check to PO BOX 1582, Evans, GA 30809 (Please memo the check “Katie Schlinger). New Passion Church is a 501c3 non-profit organization and we are committed to giving 100% of all donations to Katie Schlinger to help provide for her medical bills. Donors can set-up a free online profile or give as a guest. If you would like tax deduction credit, you must provide your full name and mailing address so a financial giving statement can be mailed to you. Thank you for your generosity!

OnlineDonationButton

If you would like to make a donation directly to the family, you can do so through their Go Fund Me Site. Please Note: Donations through Go Fund Me are not tax deductible; Go Fund Me is not affiliated with New Passion Church.

KatieS2

This post is altered from our church’s original post.

Posted on

A Day of Honor

The Carnes MenToday is a Day to Honor….

It is a day to pause and to reflect on the goodness of God to give such a wonderful gift as a father. Not all men deserve this honor, but there are a select group of men that, although are not perfect by any stretch of the imagination, strive hard and give their best to be a father, husband and man deserving of honor and respect.

Today, as I think about the many friends that I have who either lost their dad at an early age or was brought into this world by a man that may embody the term by gender  but insults the very meaning of the word in deed and lifestyle, my gratitude to God increases for the dad that he allowed me to have and the time he has given me with him.

My dad is not perfect, but he is a man that deserves respect and honor. He helped lay so many of the stones that I now walk on as a foundation for my life. He modeled what it means to live a sacrificially for those that you love. That sacrifice may have embodied working multiple jobs to pay the bills or going without personally so that his kids could have what was needed, but whatever form it found itself in, it was modeled in quiet humility, never demanding or requiring gratitude or the slightest appreciation. If I had to describe my dad in two words it would have to be quiet and steady. He always just does what needs to be done. He has never been one to seek the spotlight or wanted to attract a lot of attention.

My dad is a man of conviction and integrity. In 2007, he ran for the U.S. Senate against Lindsey Graham and later the U.S. Congress. Some may have looked on in disdain or with a slight snicker under their breath because of the great odds that he was up against with a career politician. But, how many other men can say they had convictions about the way our country should be run and stood up to do something about it? Win, lose or draw…you can only make a difference if you get in the game…my dad got in the game and made his voice heard as loud as he could with as much platform as he was allowed to have. I always believed he had a chance to win!

There have been times in my lifetime that I have seen people rise up against my dad, falsely accusing him of things and trying to ruin his name, and while everything inside of me wanted him to fight against them and tell them how things really were, he was quiet and steady; just doing the right thing and not answering fools according to their foolishness (Proverbs 26:4).

My dad helped lay the stones of my faith and my involvement in the ministry. He didn’t look down on me because of my age, but he allowed me to serve in various roles as a young person and many times by his side on the Migrant Fields of South Georgia. It was through this exposure and this experience that I felt God calling me into full time ministry. My dad didn’t always just teach me what was right and wrong, but he challenged me to compare my own personal views to the teachings provided to us in Scripture. As I made a choice to walk away from some of the traditions I was raised in within the church (although I have never walked away from the faith), my dad stood by quiet and steady and allowed me to forge my own path for which God uses to this day. He never forced his opinions or his convictions on me, rather he allowed me to be led by God on the path he helped lay.

My dad taught me how to be faithful and committed to my family. To marry a woman that is better than the rest. He taught me on my first Christmas to take his better power drill back to the store and keep my wife’s crappy drill…he assured me things in the home would run much smoother if I did…so I did as he suggested.

I could go on and on and on about the lessons I have learned from my dad and the positive impact he has had on my life. Today, I am blessed that God, in his mercy, was so kind to give me a dad I could honor and be proud to call my own.

Nick and KidsToday is a Day to Feel Honored…

Being a dad is a scary proposition. You’ve never been one until you’ve been one. Today, is a day that I get to pause and reflect on how blessed I truly am and how honored I am to be the dad to my three children: Gavin, Tristan and Hailey.

All three are unique in their own way, but they all make me smile and they all make me feel a little closer to God knowing how he must look down on us, his children, with joy, laughter and pride.

I am honored that many times as I walk towards the door to go to work, I can’t get there without all three of my kids tackling me, almost knocking me to the ground to make sure they hug me goodbye. I am honored that many times as I walk towards the door to come in to the house as I am returning for work I am greeted in the garage or in the doorway with their hugs and smiles greeting me from a long day a part.

I love the gift God has given me of fatherhood. I love chasing my children around the house and having pillow fights. I love having them beg to ride in my car home from church. I love knowing my kids love me and want to be a part of my life and want me to be a part of their life. What joy it is to be a father. I desire to be the kind of father that deserves respect and honor.

Being a dad is scary and there are always fears of screwing up and making the wrong choices or having to watch your child deal with the pain of their own bad choices. I am blessed and honored to have the greatest woman on the planet to be by my side and to forge this journey together. Nicki makes me a better man and she challenges me, whether I always admit it or not, to be a better man. I wouldn’t be anything my children deserve without her by my side. I hope that in the end, I will have impacted my children’s lives in the same positive way my dad impacted mine.

 

Posted on

The Power of Being Present

It has been rare in my life, especially growing up in the church, that I have met genuine Christ-Followers who I know I can trust and who I know are not a bunch of talk; people who genuinely love Jesus and love people. I count it a privilege every time I get to hangout with my brothers from other mothers, Shane and Drew. I got to do that last night.

Last week, Shane spoke at the Bible study for the substance abuse program I manage. Shane was raw and genuine with the men and he connected with a lot of them on a personal level. Shane had the opportunity to talk with some of the guys after the meeting one-on-one as well. As early as the next day some of the men were asking when Shane was going to return to speak for them again. This group is made up of non-believers, Christians and followers of other faiths (i.e. Islam). These men are not worried about style or appearance or professionalism; things that a lot of us get caught up with in the modern, American church; these men care about being cared about and about others being real with them. Shane made an eternal impact for some of these men because he chose to be present and he preached Jesus.

Last night, Shane and Drew took some time out of their day to play flag football with these same men. We all had a blast, especially since our team destroyed our opponents. Shane tweeted this following the game, “Felt more like a Christ follower tonight playing flag-football than in a long time. #Jesusandfishermen” We didn’t sit down with the men and have a Bible study and we didn’t preach them a message, we simply chose to be present. It is my hope that through our presence these men know that they are loved and cared for, that they are no less of a person than the guy who seemingly has it all together. We laughed with them, we high-fived them, we cheered for them and bragged on them. We communicated through our actions that no matter what they have done, they were still important enough to play football with. Isn’t that how God responds to us? No matter what we we have done, God stepped into our field and put us on his team through his Son, Jesus.

Shane has already shared that message and I can’t wait until Drew gets to share that same message with these men as well. Some would criticize us for not sharing the gospel on the spot, but that’s okay, because we lived it and we have an open door to keep living it and in those moments we speak it, these men will be hungry to listen because they know we love them and our words are supported with loving actions. Drew’s testimony is awesome and I know he is going to reveal Jesus in a powerful way. Drew has already opened the door for these men to hear him out because he made a choice to be present. That’s just one of the reasons I am thankful for my buddies, Shane and Drew, because I can trust them (except for Drew, I don’t trust him around my family and that’s why he has never met them) and they genuinely love Jesus and other people.

Join the Conversation…How can you impact people’s lives eternally by choosing to be present? When is the last time you chose to be present in someone’s life and it led to a great eternal impact as a result of your influence?

Posted on

Having Trouble Forgiving? Maybe This Will Help!

I don’t promote my own messages or sermons on my blog. It just feels awkward. However, this past Sunday, I shared a story of hate and murder that consumed my heart for almost two years. God freed me and gave me the power to forgive the person that had wounded me. Whether you are having trouble forgiving a spouse or a former friend or just an acquaintance in life, my prayer is that this message from our marriage series, I Do…Not Anymore, will bring you similar hope and healing.