How do I know what God wants me to do?

¹"Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God^[a]; trust also in me. ²In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. ³And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. ⁴You know the way to the place where I am going."

⁵Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?"

⁶Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. – Jn 14

I want to know (1) Where I am going and (2)  how to get there.  Is that asking too much? That may be fine, but it is the wrong way to go about life.  Jesus says to follow him.  He offers some instruction about where I am to go and how to get there, but the major focus is on following him.  I want the GPS.  I want to dial in the coordinates and make turn-by-turn moves.  Jesus wants to sit with me as we drive somewhere.  Along the way he wants to talk, listen, learn, stop to take in the scenery, enjoy a meal, breathe the air, and let me know I am not the jacked-up mess that I feel like many days.

How many times have we asked God to show us the way?  Show me the way to my future, my major, my spouse, my career, my job, my location.  Just point me in the direction, just show me the way.

Maybe Jesus just shakes his head and says "I am the way."  And that is all the direction that we need.

Follow the Way.  It’s all that matters

photo by Jimmy Joe

We

David consulted with all his officials, including the generals and captains of his army.^{[a] 2} Then he addressed the entire assembly of Israel as follows: “If you approve and if it is the will of the Lord our God, let us send messages to all the Israelites throughout the land, including the priests and Levites in their towns and pasturelands. Let us invite them to come and join us. ³ It is time to bring back the Ark of our God, for we neglected it during the reign of Saul.” – I Chron 13

"We" neglected it during the reign of Saul.  "We?"  David was running off hiding from Saul the crazy.  How could he have neglected it?  David was King and was demonstrating great kingmanship – we are in this together.  Maybe that’s why the people loved David so much.  He was the people’s king.  At his core, a shepherd boy who became King.  He knew where he came from and who he was.

I need to always think of the we.  We live in community. We work in community.  We celebrate in community.  We share in the blame.  We celebrate the wins.

photo by matti mattila

Assassins in Tampa

A special thanks to my new friends at Common Ground Christian Church in Tampa, Florida.  Under the leadership of Danny Schaffner, Common Ground is a 2 year old inner- city, multi-racial church.  It is a beautiful kaleidoscope of the kingdom and it fires me up.  Common Ground is making a great impact in their neighborhood and are getting the job done.

Danny and the team asked me to come down and preach on Pride from the Assassins series.  The podcast of that message is available here. 

For a DVD set of the entire Assassins series, check out our new resource, available here.

Thanks again to Danny and the team!

Sunday reflections

What a church!

Last night a young man got baptized.  In the middle of it, Fox got all choked up.  I love it when God does amazing stuff.  We have seen several baptism during our Rust (money) series.  Why do people get more serious about their relationship with Christ when we talk about money?  Because money is tied to our heart.

Also last night, Ryan shared that he is taking a trip to Japan to distribute the Jesus Film.  The trip is costly and he was $800 short with the money due in 5 days.  As a total surprise to Ryan we set out a basket and asked everyone to give up a coffee this week so we could get him to Japan.  Evidently we drink much coffee.   The offering totaled over $1300.   (The extra money will be used to for the ministry of the Jesus Film.).

Next week is our challenge Sunday.  We will be turning in our challenge cards, indicating what we plan to tithe and give in 2010.  Justin tells me that Sunday is going to rock.  He even invited me to be in the band again.  I have to go practice my chops.

photo by klynsli

10 Days on the Road . . .

Today (Friday) we joined 400 Guatemalan Pastors for the Global Leadership Summit.  Tomorrow we head to the airport at 4:15 AM.  Shawn and I have had an adventure for sure.  Loving orphans like there is no tomorrow, seeing Compassion International get the job done, and watching God at work.  Like a good movie this trip will keep playing over in my mind.

I’ll leave you with these pictures.

I’ll ask the question that I am asking myself:  What will I do to help eliminate poverty?

Sunday

Today was our final day with the children at the Buckner Orphanage.  I could tell you so many stories about these kids.  I will sum it up with a few words and a video.

If you have never cried when you said goodbye to an orphan, you are missing some beautiful pain.

Jesus lives strongly among those who others throw away. Side note:  One of the babies we were with today was LITERALLY found in the trash.  That makes me want to crack some heads.

The people of MCC are physically, spiritually, and emotionally putting love on these kids.  We can feel it.  So can they.

I am with a team of selfless people who represent a great church of selfless people.

The sound of an orphan laughing is a little bit of heaven.  When they all laugh at the same time, it is like a choir of angels.

Nate, Rachael, and Jody will head home tomorrow.  Shawn and I will connect late tomorrow night with a team from Compassion International.  Beginning Tuesday they will lead us on a vision trip of their work in Guatemala.  Stay tuned.

For more great stories from the MCC team, check out the blogs at shawnw, elsblogger, and thepipeline.

Thanks OVCF and Headed to Guatemala

Thanks to the fine folks at Owen Valley Christian Fellowship who hosted the band and I last Sunday.  We had a great time of worship, celebrating their 5th anniversary.  The worship gathering was followed by a cookout (it was amazing).  OVCF is led by our friend Bill Grandi.  Bill is also an avid blogger.  Check out his blog here.

I am headed to Guatemala on Thursday with Shawn, Jody, and Nate and Rachael Brown.  We will be working with the orphanages that we support in Guatemala.  On Monday (19th), Jody and the Browns will fly back.  Shawn and I will stay and join Compassion International for a week-long vision tour of their work in Guatemala.  To keep up on the travels, keep checking back here.

Have a fantastic week!

Songs of Simple Worship 2; "On Your Mind

One evening in 2007, my family and I attended Hillsong Church in Sydney, Australia. The night we were there, a bloke (an Australian term for “guy”) named Alun Davis spoke. He rocked me. Alun took the scripture of the potter and the clay and hammered that bad boy in my heart in a big way. Inspired by that, I wrote “On Your Mind.”

Skies of blue, unlimited ceiling

Crystal clear to the floor of the sea

Those opening lines are a little nod to our time in Australia. We spend many hours flying and even explored the great barrier reef. I put those lines in as a little something just for me and the family. But now you know. Welcome to the family.

Be sure and join us for the Simple Worship 2 release party.  July 30, 7-8:30 at Coffee Grounds in Terre Haute.  We will also be  at Gingersnaps Cafe on August 6, 7-8:30 (in the Open Door Bookstore).

Simple Worship 2 goes on sale at the online store on July 30.  Check it out here.

photo by chris austin of day 6 photography

The Songs of Simple Worship 2. "More"

More

A few years ago, we had a huge push at church to raise funds for our ministries.  Titled the “Imagine Campaign,” we anticipated the initiative would be a huge success. Instead, we fell short of what we had hoped. Way short. It was pretty disappointing. In what was to be a celebration worship service, this song was born. We started playing the chorus with the words “More than anything, we want you.” I finished the song a couple weeks later.

Be sure and join us for the Simple Worship 2 release party.  July 30, 7-8:30 at Coffee Grounds in Terre Haute.

Simple Worship 2 goes on sale July 30.  Check it out here. 

Simple Worship 2 Release Party!

It’s here!  Join us for the Simple Worship 2 release party.  Grab some coffee, hang with friends, listen to live music (featuring songs from the CD), and grab a copy of Simple Worship 2.

Thursday, July 30, 7-8:30

Coffee Grounds,  423 Wabash Ave, Terre Haute