I Don't Edit This

Overkill

2010-03-25T22:25:00.001-04:00

So my set of Christian coasters is on its way (set of 4 for $11.95). My wife thinks they are tacky, but I told her as I held my Bible in hand, imprinted with the WWJD logo (I need the reminder), that we were going to be different from "the world". I stood there sullen in my Amazing grace laced lyric filled tie and proclaimed to my family that we were going to FROG (you know, Fully Rely on God). If we were going to see God do amazing things we have to start Praying the Prayer of Jabez (pocket sized book of course or just the bookmark). I took out my FISH labeled wallet, tightened my fish labeled belt buckle, grabbed my fish labeled coffee mug and headed to my car that, as you guessed it, is complete with the fish bumper stickers (even baby fishys for my three kids). I drove over to the Christian bookstore to get the latest 40 Days of Your Life Will Be Different After You Read My Book , A Journey Like You've Never Been On Before...Really. Then I realized that it wasn't enough to just PUSH (Pray Until Something Happens - late 90's I think) myself and my family I had to TGIF (Thank God I'm Forgiven) and change my church. So I convinced them to get all the Christian paraphernalia they could afford, because when you KNOW GOD,NO FEAR, but NO GOD, KNOW FEAR (thank God for the mid 90's complete with rockin' metallic look) and begin a new church paradigm. We were going to EMERGE (notice there is a difference between Emerging and Emergent, I have a 45 minute message on the difference, really I do) in an ORGANIC way, with a MISSIONAL heart and a PURPOSE DRIVEN structure...the answer is no longer big buildings, big crowds, house churches, traditional, contemporary (which no longer means contemporary - that means you are ony ten years behind the current rate of culture instead of the Traditional 20-30 years) we were going to be RELAVANT (monthly subscription only $3.50 a month). Get ready to download YOU VERSION for your Iphones or Droids and see God do amazing things...like He is in Asia (where they don't have any of this stuff).

Suffering is Gods Way of Building Strength

2010-03-11T22:24:00.000-05:00

Some callings are easy and we make them difficult. Some callings are difficult and by God's grace they are made easy. Some callings just don't make sense. Ashton Ebert is fighting for his life. He turned 16 with tubes coming out of his body, hair fallen out of his head, and a body wiped out of anything good and now filled with more man made medicines than your local grocers chicken (you might have to be from the Eastern Shore of Md to appreciate that one). Ashton is a the model kid, well he was when I coached him in soccer two years ago. You don't have to push him to work hard, yell at him to motivate him or teach him sportsmanship - you use Ashton to teach everybody else those things. So why am I surprised when God has a special calling of suffering and he gives it to the strongest person and family that can handle it? I've heard it said that suffering is God's way of building strength, and through Ashton Eberts suffering and struggles my strength grows.

How To Beat a Bully

2010-03-03T22:23:00.000-05:00

Every Sunday afternoon we use to play baseball or football in this big yard near my house. There were six of us. Me and my friend, twins who were 3 years older than us, and 2 guys who were 4 and 5 years older than us. So teams matched up pretty evenly. The oldest guy was a bully, we'll call him Paul Pippin, because that is his name. The second oldest guy was my brother. Paul was a lot bigger than all of us, including my brother and whenever his team was losing (and sometimes I was on Pauls team), Paul would turn into a punk or a bully. He would cheat to win, try to hurt you to win or quit if at the end he knew he couldn't win. I use to get so proud of my brother when he would stand up to Paul (even if I was on Pauls team). Sometimes the baseball would be thrown at my brother when he was hitting or sometimes he would get hit pretty hard if we were playing football. I've noticed that bully's (punks) are still everywhere. They try to intimidate, cheat, or quit when they don't get their way. We have them in churches, corporations, and families (no, I'm not inadvertantly referring to my mother inlaw). So here is what my brother would do to beat Paul, here is how you beat the bully. You don't let them behave that way without doing something about it. In the church we return evil with good. We confront lies with truth. We stand up to the cheap shots and by God's grace we take it. In the end the bully always loses (even if they think they won-even the people on their team know they are losers) or they quit and leave. I'de like to say they always change, but they don't. The important thing when it comes to bullys is you don't become a bully to beat a bully and don't run from bully's because they keep coming and you'll probably just run into another bully.

30,000 Ft and still Coloring

2010-02-25T22:22:00.000-05:00

My daughter is afraid of all the wrong things. We just got back from 3 great days in Orlando and Maddies first trip to Disney. When Maddie gets scared she normally puts me in a headlock, wraps her legs around my chest tighter than Rosie O'donnell in skinny jeans and starts screaming specific instructions on how we escape the current horrifying scenario. Like at the main street parade on Monday it was the monkeys from the Jungle Book. Tuesday it was Miss Piggy from Muppets 3D and yesterday (we should have seen this one coming) it was everything at the Rain Forest Cafe'...for the place where Dreams Really Do Come True there were a lot of nightmares. Then yesterday as we are flying home going 500mph at 30,000 feet in the air, flying through storms of appocolyptic size she is laughing and coloring away and her only concern is that she did not getting enough peanuts (see even a four year old knows when they are getting ripped off). Meanwhile, the plane is shaking like a cocaine addict and I'm giving the plane its last rites (no, I'm not Catholic, but the Keller Williams real estate agent beside me was so I knew she would appreciate it). I'm scared to death because I know we are nowhere near the Hudson river and the guy flying didn't look anything like Captain Sully and what are the chances of two great survival landings in a 12 months period of time...but Maddie isn't clutching, screaming or panicked at all because there is no mechanical stuffed animal around and life is just fine. It made me think of Matthew 10:28 Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Sometimes God is probably looking down saying, wow, I can't believe you are afraid of this experience you are going through that is meant to bring you fulfillment and enrichment, and this other circumstance you allow in your life should probably be a little concerning but we just kind of sit and color through it.

Mom, Look at Me

2010-02-19T22:20:00.000-05:00

Guys want respect, at every age and stage of life. Nagging doesn't work, affection, maybe, but if you want to reach the heart of a guy, show him respect. If you want him to do the laundry, compare the strength with which hecarries down the laundry basket to that of legends you've read about from Hercules. If you want him to do the dishes, tell him the swiftness with which he unloads the dishwasher gives you flashbacks to Usain Bolt winning the gold medal. The other day, Caedon, my two year old was climbing a rail in the bookstore while I was checking out. Once Caedon reached the top bar he began yelling across the store, "Mom, look at me". And so it begins, until the day he dies, Caedon will be looking for other challenges in life (that's how us guys gain respect and maybe why your husband is attempting something you consider very stupid right now in life) so he can shout to the female across the room..."Look at me".

Distractions

2010-02-17T22:12:00.000-05:00

Last week my brother posted a quote on his facebook that said, "anything outside of the gospel is a distraction for the mission of the church". Another friend posted a quote from somebody else that said the main focus of the church is developing leadership. Its funny that when we read about the forty days between the resurrection and ascension, we don't see too many leadership summits taking place. Now I believe that good leadership is essential to building Christian communities, but central focus? not too sure about that. The last words of Jesus I read are a command to his followers to go and share the good news that Jesus Christ is alive and that mankinds guilt and sin is paid for... I watched a little bit of a tv preacher the other day (I wouldn't recommend too much of that, I was snowed in and Saved By the Bell was at a commercial) who was trying to rally the Christian troops to "support Israel and take back the promise land"... now I'm for Israel and the Palestinians getting along, but again, I look at the last words of Jesus and I see him sending his followers, many who were Jews "into all the world" (kind of a command to leave Jerusalem) and share the good news. It seems like there are good causes everywhere we turn, but it makes me wonder sometimes how many good causes I'm part of that are really just distractions from the gospel.

Answered Prayer without an Answer

2009-07-28T14:50:00.000-04:00

:Thank God for unanswered prayers"...you wouldn't hear that from T.I., Bon Jovi, maybe The Jonas Bros...only country music. I was thinking yesterday about the prayers that I pray that God answers that I willl never know how he answered them, but he did...so I took the time to thank God for the answered prayers that left me without an answer.

i.e. I pray for God to protect my marriage from outside people that would divide my wife and me. How many good looking doctors have had to be fired from the hospital just so my wife won't suddenly realize what a loser she married compared to them...thank you God. I pray for protection for my kids, so i thanked God for all the accidents that haven't happened. I pray for God to put food on my table and on the table of those in need. I know I haven't missed too many meals, but how many meals have been provided to people simply because God was answering the prayers of his children.

Communion

2009-07-28T14:38:00.000-04:00

We do so much on Sunday mornings as a church that is simply historic tradition. The clothes we wear, the styles of songs we sing, the order of service. This past Sunday when we were taking communion i couldn't help but think about the first Communion (read Luke 22). Of course that meal they were having was a traditional meal that the Jewish community had been having on that day, prepared that way and at that specific time for 2,000 years and it was a picture of what Christ was about to do on the cross the next day (body broken, blood spilled) for the sins of mankind. So while it was symbolic (even though they Jews didn't "get it") it was also traditional (2,000 years, like an orioles losing streak). What I was thinking about this past Sunday was how nice it would be to break from some type of grape juice and flat bread to what I believe are the two most perfect examples of in our culture of perfection, the McDouble and IBC root beer. If McDonalds could serve IBC root beer for $1...I would be their first disciple.

Best Prayers I Pray

2009-07-03T15:06:00.000-04:00

When I talk to God here are some of the best things I like to talk to Him about:

1) My dreams (are they bigger than I can achieve through my own human efforts)
2) My provision (of course I'm thankful for my daily bread, but am I dependant on God enough to ask for tomorrows provision)
3) Give me the desire to be disciplined. Discipline doesn't come natural to me. Competition, yes, discipline, no. I don't pray for discipline, because I don't even have the discipline to be disciplined, I usually pray that God would give me the desire to be disciplined.
4) Keep me from evil - evil and pain go hand in hand. I pray that God keeps me from taking one step down the path of living life in the flesh instead of in the spirit...and I also pray that God would keep my circumstances in life in a position where pride, humanism, and self -dependance aren't even possibilities. I don't want pain to come on my family, friends, and church.

This Is Why I Got Married

2009-06-30T21:15:00.000-04:00

So Jen is gone to her parents home in Rockford, IL and I just googled the 80's tv show "Small Wonder"...now I remember why I got married. I wonder what Jaleel White (Urkel) is doing?

Resources I Use for church

2009-06-17T09:30:00.000-04:00

I thought I would pass on some good resources I use for our church and my personal use. Three principles I use when using resources:

1) Cost
2) User friendly
3) Honest

If you can use this for your business, church or life I hope they help

Church systems - http://www.churchleaderinsights.com/ or http://www.pastors.com/
Website Design and hosting - http://www.homestead.com/
road signs - AGE Graphics - http://decals-oem.com/
banner stands - http://www.sdsign.com/
Posters - http://www.sircooper.com/
Accounting - quickbooks
Church database - https://www.churchmembershiponline.com/
Picture editing www.photoscape.org/

Hope these help

Vacation from Decisions

2009-05-22T17:35:00.000-04:00

I think one of the most stressful things about leadership is being the decision maker. Whether it is leading my family or church, it seems like life is decision, decision, decisions and then making those decisions work. One of the nicest things about being on vacation this week is that I was able to take a vacation from decisions. The toughest decision I've had to make this week was whether I wanted cheese on my Nathans hot dog (I made the right one and went with it). I was recently watching some old leadership videos by Ed Young Jr. (Fellowship Church Grapevine, TX). Ed's father has been the pastor of Second Baptist Church in Houston, Tx for years. Last year both of their churches were among the top 10 largest churches in America. Could you imagine a father son combo being responsible for leading close to 50,000 people - it's not that drastic, but I'm sure it isn't the easiest thing to do. Ed Jr. said that he thought the key to his fathers longevity as a leader was his extensive vacations. 35 years ago he was taking 3 week breaks when nobody else was... it is a good reminder to us that the world doesn't revolve around one person (or shouldn't anyway) and also a good opportunity for others to take ownership of their investment as well.

This Is Why We Take Off Our Shoes In Our House

2009-05-11T13:05:00.000-04:00

I stepped on this as I walked up to the door of a house I was visiting a few weeks ago. Nothing like a used condom on a doorstep to remind you how weird our world is. I took the picture with my cell phone as I left. It brought new life to the verse "Blessed are the feet of him who brings good news"...don't worry I had on protection...I was wearing shoes.

Golf Lessons

2009-04-13T20:49:00.000-04:00

So I gave my first golf lesson the other day. Keep in mind I've never taken a lesson and I'm a sub-par (big pun intended), casual golfer, but my friend was desperate and he's getting older every day so I took him golfing. With every bit of instruction I gave I apologized and reminded my friend that he had very good reason to doubt my instructions and I was basing most of my instruction on the middle aged hackers whacking away to the left of us and any instruction that my middle aged brother in law, Marc ever gave me. Marc is one of those guys from florida who grew up going to "golf camp" - who goes to golf camp? Here's the scary thing - after 9 holes at a par three and a lot of instruction and guidance that didn't get us that far I realized I was more afraid of giving instruction & guidance on the game of golf than I was on God. I mean when people ask me about life and God, I can spout out detailed instructions of how God is relevant to their lives, but when it comes to my reverence for golf, I tip toe around it like it is holy ground, cause I don't want to screw up anyones golf game...but their relationship with God...I'm the local pro...hmmmmm.

"Dean"

2009-04-01T22:16:00.000-04:00

So my father in law called Jen (my wife) to ask if we named Caedon (my son) after Dean Smith (legendary coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels- also my favorite sports team). When Caedon was born I chose his middle name, Dean, and told Jen I wanted to name him after my grandfathers middle name "Dean". I didn't think Jen would ever figure out that part of my reasoning was naming him after the best coach ever...until the ole' father in law calls and brings it up.

Nothing To Lose

2009-03-28T12:07:00.000-04:00

When you don't have anything, it is easy to risk it all. I remember when Jen and I were first talking about having kids my private thoughts were that I didn't want a child because I didn't ever want to go through the pain of possibly losing one. If you don't have something you don't know what it is like to lose it...maybe that is why so many of us young adults are really suffering through this financial crisis, we didn't have it to begin with...

That is the beauty of giving everything back to God when he gives it to you...if you can emotionally give it back to God it makes it a lot easier when God allows those things to be taken from you. Remember, God promises to provide for us all that we NEED (see Matthew 6). Don't get me wrong I love my kids more than anything and am thankful for all the possessions that God has given me, but when we turn them back over to God I think we are much more free to live the way God wants us to as well.

Matthew 6:33 Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things will be added to you...

GIVE IT BACK

My Favorite - Get Off Your Butt and Be A GREAT Dad Video

2009-03-26T00:00:00.000-04:00

Best Prayer I Pray - Thank God for what could have happend today, but didn't

2009-03-25T21:37:00.000-04:00

I'm not the guy that enjoys deep theological arguments... conversation, maybe, arguments, not worth anybodies time. So when it comes to prayer maybe I'm a little too simple as well, but it is my conversation with God so let me just tell you a little about our relationship.

In Jesus model prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) "9: After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10: Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11: Give us this day our daily bread. 12: And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13: And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen." ...the part I find myself praying more than any other is ..."deliver me from evil".

I love asking God to keep me under his wing where I experience God's goodness in my life in the fullest way, but I also love getting honest with God and confessing that I need him to keep me from evil. From me participating in evil and from evil finding me. Thank God in heaven we won't have to deal with evil and the pain of it anymore. My wife obviously doesn't pray this prayer since she got stuck married to me.

I Hope Jesus Likes McDonalds

2009-03-20T16:19:00.000-04:00

The other day somebody needed some food. I was trying to tell them that God has a great plan for their lives, and that Jesus showed them how much he loved them by allowing his Son to die a bloody death on a wooden cross to pay a sacrificial punishment for their sins and mine...but this person was hungry and they told me they were "in need" of some food. I thought about Matthew 25 where Jesus said you gave me food to eat and something to drink when you did it for anyone that was one of his creation - it was like you were doing it for Jesus himself.

I wanted to tell the person I didn't have time to go get them food because I had to go speak at a Pastors conference about Social Justice, but the truth was I did have the time and nobody has ever asked me to speak at a Pastors conference on social justice. So I took this person "in need" to McDonalds...got them a number 10 (i even sprung for the 5 piece chicken strips instead of 3 piece) & 11 value meal (they had needy friends) and took them home. They were thankful...

When I left I wondered if Jesus likes McDonalds, because that is what I just fed him...then I thought how much better I would have treated the real Jesus...If the real Jesus was right there in that living room would I have run him up to the nearest McDonald's drive through or taken him to the nicest steak house in Annapolis (assuming Jesus isn't a vegitarian...if he was a vegitarian I would ask him why).

Money, Money, Money

2009-03-18T21:35:00.000-04:00

I spent the day at two different seminars. Both were run by Nelson Searcy... (wrote Launch, Fusion, Activate, yada yada yada) who I admire very much. The second seminar was on financial stewardship. Best line of the day, "Your not really giving to God, you are returning it to God, it was His to begin with". I told Nelson my wife wanted to punch him in the gut. The night we committed to starting Centerpoint I went back home (we were at Houlihans in Springfield, Virginia) and googled "How to start a church from scratch". Nelson had just published the book Lauch: Starting a New Church from Scratch so I ordered the book and did exactly what he said...and now my wife blames Nelson for my craziness...better than blaming me.

It's O.K. - I'm Gay

2009-03-14T20:31:00.000-04:00

So Thursday I went to the Maryland House of Delegates to listen to the hearings on the two Gay Marriage bills. One bill opposes Gay marriage and the other supports it. I almost got thrown out of the hearings just as they started. I was standing in the back of the room (which was packed), when a female got squished into me...I had nowhere to go and nobody else did either. She turned and apologized and said, "I'm sorry this is awkward, I'm right up on you." I responded in my best "Will and Grace" voice, "It's o.k., I'm gay" (I'm not, just for the record). All the straights and gays around me started laughing which drew the looks of all the other uptight straights and gays who were going to be testifying. If nothing else it was a brief moment where we all were reminded we were humans.

Church Leadership and the Bachelor

2009-03-02T21:07:00.000-05:00

I'm watching the Bachelor right now and I think this show is so stupid on so many levels. One guy narrows down a pack of girls to two finalists where he is in love with both, but he can "only" choose one. Tonight, Jason, chooses his woman and proposes to her. In a two minute segment, I've seen two different women in bikinis straddeling him. Both told him they loved him and instead of answering back, he just kisses them.

All I can think about is that this is how so many churches hire their staff and how so many pastors choose their churches. The similarities and results are oddly amazing.

Every Church Starts Off Perfect

2009-02-28T20:44:00.000-05:00

Our perfection ended about thirty seconds after I made the statement "Jen, I think God wants us to move to Annapolis". I then had to decide whether the church was going to be "purpose driven", "relational", "missional", or "organic" (that's the one that allows you to not have people come be part of your church and you can act like that is part of your strategy) - I was leaning toward this one. Then I had to explain to all the church people that were going to be supporting us that it was ok for us to meet in a movie theater, because contrary to most church history, a "church" is not actually a building, but the people who sit in the building and worship God together. Then I had to come up with a reason to start a church in Annapolis (besides none of the other churches would hire me). The organizations (that support us) wanted to know what we were going to "do". I told them we were going to be a church and sing some songs and pray and teach the Bible...and occasionally hang out together...oh, yea, we would have communion too. they said that wasn't cutting edge enough, but they would support me anyway...thanks for the "go get them, tiger" support. So Centerpoint started and the imperfection has flourished to where we have others living imperfectly with us. Our music leader pronounces "sheep" - "ship". When I preach I sometimes have thoughts totally outside of my message that make me want to laugh while I'm preaching. (I googled that to find out if it normal, couldn't find anything). Steve (our other pastor) shot me with an air gun at our last team meeting and my wife asks me every Sunday morning, "do you think you should wear that?". Our life groups just started and I'm sure they are filled with a lot of weirdness, but wow, what else is life suppose to be about beside weird, abnormal, imperfect people trying to live lives that please their creator, savior, and king.

Together Again

2009-02-13T08:13:00.001-05:00

Never missing an ironic moment I stopped and smiled at the bookstore the other day. The person stocking the shelves must have a similar sarcastic humor that I have. They put Jonathan Falwell's Innovate Church beside Donald Miller's Blue Like Jazz. Miller thinks the Falwell's represents all that is wrong with Christianity, while he encompasses all that is right with Christianity (paraphrase of Blue Like Jazz). I actually enjoyed both books very much. After reading Velvet Elvis, Blue Like Jazz and seeing another book called The Blue Parrokeet. I'm searching for a title for my first book (because that is what the world needs-another book)...

What do you think of Joel Olsteen?

2009-01-10T23:20:00.000-05:00

Ironically, this is the question that I've been asked the most this past year. Not Jesus, not Allah, not Buddah, but Joel. I guess when people are trying to figure out where you are with God they identify the most public Godly figure that they know of and kind of rate you from there.

My answer is that Joel and I have never met (but I think we would get along great, he leased a basketball stadium to host his church services and I've been in a couple of basketball arenas, so we have a lot in common). I have heard him preach live once and recently visited Lakewood while I was in Houston for some training (I think his church has excellent facilities). They told me not to go on stage but I did anyway (I think his pulpit is very short), the worship service wasn't going on. I think that it is hard to evaluate a church that you only see one aspect of, so in short I have no desire to judge Joel Olsteen, and will reserve that job for GOD.

I will say that as I was leaving Lakewood I grabbed a paper from their children's ministry. I did a years sentence, I mean, service, as a childrens pastor so I always like to check out that aspect of churches and see how creative they are. In their parents packet they had some prayers you could pray over your kids to bring blessing to their lives. I personally believe that blessing is found in obedience, but that is a different blog...I did love the idea of specifically praying for qualities in our kids so I've made that a commitment of mine for this year.

I typically put Caedon down to sleep with a good cup of warm milk, a rock in the rocking chair and prayer. I've been praying for specific Christlike characteristics that would develop in Caedon such as patience, forgiveness, faithfulness, loyalty, passion...yada, yada, yada. Anyway, that is what I think about my brother Joel Olsteen.

The Cross and Marijuana - A Lot Closer Than We Think

2008-12-14T17:21:00.000-05:00

I saw this in the mall the other day as I walked by one of those kiosks. It made me laugh. I would bet these are lot closer in peoples lives than most churches would like to admit. I bought Jen the marijuana necklace. Doesn't every gorgeous woman want to walk around with an illegal substance plant around there neck...talk about class.

Somebody Stole Jesus

2008-12-13T17:13:00.000-05:00

This is the banner we put up for a series called "The Face of Hope" where I spent four weeks comparing the promises of the two politicians to the promises of Jesus. There is suppose to be a picture of Jesus there in the middle, but somebody meticulously cut him out. We would pay a ransom to get him back, but Jesus is always free. Besides the thought of somebody cutting a 2x2' picture of Jesus out of a banner and putting him in their car kind of makes me laugh.

My Poopies Are Coming Out

2008-12-10T20:56:00.001-05:00

My 3 year is an excellent communicator, the type that moves us to act, not just contemplate.

When she has to use the bathroom she says,
"Daddy, I have to go potty" - I tell her to hold on a second
"Daddy, my poopies are coming out" - I take off running

That's a communicator!

My New Marshmellow Blow Gun

2008-12-09T21:18:00.000-05:00

The other day I bought myself a Christmas present from $5 and Below (the coolest store ever). I bought a marshmellow blow gun. It can shoot an easy 30 ft. In fact about 20 minutes ago I shot a marshmellow into Maddies mouth from about 8 ft away...when she quit gagging on it, we laughed forever. Definitely the coolest thing she has brought to the table since she's been born.

Freezing Up

2008-12-08T11:32:00.000-05:00

Recently I've had 3 different conversations with friends about "freezing up" when we get overwhelmed. You would think we as humans would work ferociously when we are overwhelmed with life, but it is interesting that we normally do the opposite and get stuck doing nothing. I remember feeling like this most often in college...there I would...

1. Prioritize...what the most important things that needed to get done
2. Cut out...kind of like the emails that you keep in your inbox because you "might need them"...3 months later you still haven't touched them, cut things out of your life that don't "need" to be there, we just think they do
3. Ask for help...we all need it, just ask

Vomit

2008-12-01T10:11:00.000-05:00

Ironic? I was the one who thanked God for our good health at the Thanksgiving party a few hours earlier and now I'm leaning over the toilet at 4am vomitting. When I vomit, the whole neighborhood knows it. Every time I get sick, like yesterday morning, I think of this verse:

Pr 26:11 As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly.

I also think about the Cosby episode when little Rudy was sick and Bill Cosby told her there were bugs having a party in her tummy... (but I won't blog on that)

When I'm sick I lay in bed and ask God why? Is there something in my life he is trying to show me? It seems like the time he gets my attention the most is when I'm looking at my reflection in the toilet water as I'm staring at the bottom of a toilet.

As always God showed me some things in my life we needed to talk about. 24 hours later I feel better physically and spiritually. Thanks to God and Pepto.

Satan vs Africa/Africa America

2008-11-05T17:36:00.000-05:00

Satan hates people. The epitome of God's creation-human kind. I have said for a couple of years now that there are few things in this world stronger than an educated, responsible African American (and I'm white). I'm not threatened by that, I'm excited about that. As I think back through history I think it is pretty evident to see how Satan has used evil to keep Africans/African American's in bodage. Slavery is an obvious one to point out, but I believe in the last 140 years Satan has moved his attack to the African American home. Satan uses our culture, our biases, our prejudices that we all have to keep us from loving each other, to keep us from working together, to keep us from helping elevate each other. What an amazing God to use something as horrible as slavery, (and I don't believe for one second that slavery or anything like it is God's will) in the good of the American country and by that I mean that our country probaly wouldn't be as racially diverse without slavery have happening (but don't get me wrong, it is as horrible and against God as it comes). Do I agree with President Barack Obama on abortion - not at all...talk about an evil in this world, I don't agree with him on evolution, I believe we were all created by God and beyond that, that Barack Obama and I are distant relatives from the same parents Adam and Eve...see Genesis 1, but I firmly believe that much good will come from him as our president and he will have a hard time finding someone that is praying for him and his family more than me just like God asks me to do 1 Timothy 4 and Romans 13...God bless America...all of America.

The Tar Heels and The Second Coming of Christ

2008-11-01T21:23:00.000-04:00

Thursday was a great day, I even called my brother in Indiana to see if he had heard the news. The UNC Tar Heels mens basketball team was ranked number 1 in the coaches pole...the sad news was that Tyler Hansborough (their player of the year forward) might be out for the season. Just to show you how religiously mental I am...my first thought was...that is just like the promise of Jesus second coming, but we don't know when it is going to happen...good news definitely, timing questionable. Four years of Bible college, a Greek language minor, a Masters of Theology degree and that's what flows through my mind. What a waste.

Developing You While Establishing Principles

2008-10-03T16:50:00.000-04:00

I get sick of road construction. Being on the road for at least 2-3 hours a day is a big reason for that. I have flashing thoughts of a day in America where there won't be road work...and then reality sets in. We will always have it, the road will never be completely done. Once the road is built it needs to be maintained, and after years of maintaining the same road the community develops different plans for the flow of the community, so a whole new road is developed. It seems like that is just like life is at times. We build values, principles and a behavior to follow it, and as soon as we begin flowing in life we see God wanting to develop things in a different way. I think about how hard I worked to establish something only to see how irrelevant it turns out to be in time. I've noticed this happens in new churches as well. As soon as we work hard to bring an flow to church life we look at the relevance of it as the community develops as well.

Motts Motel

2008-09-26T23:40:00.000-04:00

I've heard people say that the Christian network is something so amazing, the best minds, social experts, and organizers could never dream of something like this. I whole heartedly agree. I'm at a conference in Houston sitting cozy in a beautiful suburban home with a wonderful family that I met yesterday for the first time. With most of the hotels all booked up with disaster relief teams, I came to Houston without reservations. After searching for a room for four hours I finally found a room at the famous Motts Motel. Ok, it's not really famous, in fact, you can barely see it from the road. The owners were pretty sure the sheets had been changed, and besides the bathroom not being totally cleaned and the trash empty, the room was all ready for me to sleep in.

After one night I literally decided to sleep in my car instead of Motts. My sister called yesterday after my conference and told me to call her friends who just moved here. I did, and went from the potty to the palace in a matter of moments. Jeannie and Jay are the nicest people you will meet and have been an oasis in the desert. The blood of Jesus Christ is an amazing bond that unites distant brothers and sisters. Give me God over a government program any day.

I'm A Theophobe

2008-09-17T02:58:00.000-04:00

Lindsey Lohan just said this about Sara Palins, "Is our country so divided that the Republicans' best hope is a narrow-minded, media-obsessed homophobe?".

The word "homophobe" is used quite a bit now a days as a way to scare, slam, and kick someone in the moral gut that have a conviction that God's standard for sexually moral lifestyle is a marriage relationship between one man and one woman. I actually give Lindsey a lot of credit for thinking this through, because she actually proceded the "homophobe" comment with this, "Is it a sin to be gay? Should it be a sin to be straight? Or to use birth control? Or to have sex before marriage? Or even to have a child out of wedlock?".

These questions aren't about what is actually right in wrong, the real question is, "what is the source that determines right or wrong?". Lindsey in her own cute Parent Trap way just asked the question that society is dealing with every day. What is sin and who has the right to determine what sin is?

God, yes, I'll admit I'm a Theophobe (scared of God), I've been one for a while. I live my life by standards set by God (well, not always) and revealed through the Bible. Most of the laws that everyone loves come from God as well, like don't kill, steal, lie... and most of us like those laws because they keep life comfortable, excuse me, I meant to use the "cool" Christian progressive, emergent, postmodern word... just. Yes, they keep life JUST...

So if God isn't the one who set's the standard for right and wrong, who is? John McCain, Barrack Obama, Lindsey Lohan, or the one I would personally pick...Donnie Reynolds.

I'm going to go watch Herbie: Fully Loaded and think it over. Thanks Lindsey

Combing My Daughters Hair

2008-09-13T20:25:00.000-04:00

Have you ever seen a 42 year old dad combing his 17 year old daughters hair, neither have I, that is why I try to do it as much as I can now, it is one of those many things in life that you just enjoy for the moment, because there is coming a time when you won't be able to do it anymore...and if you have seen a 42 man combing a 17 year old girls hair, you might want to report it.

Centerpoint Worship Greatest Hits

2008-09-10T20:03:00.000-04:00

Many of you know we are in search of a young cutting edge worship leader (because that is what the Bible tells us to have leading our music) Anyway, as the search continues and we get closer to "Launching" January 18, 2009 (because that is what the Bible tells us to call a new churches grand opening) I thought I would share with you our top 5 Greatest Hits. These are moments we have "experienced" this past 2 months at our team meetings on Sunday mornings that just remind us we aren't quite there yet:

#1 Jesus Rock and Rolling our Blues Away (yea, it is actually a song, and it is smoking awesome set to an 80's style Christian Contemporary sound)

#2 "Everybody Now" (on one of our better Sundays when we didn't bring in somebody we didn't know we had Steve -our teaching pastor lead music with some professional sound tracks. Steve was doing a great job singing with Chris Tomlin when Steve began to stretch his music leading bounderies and let out an "everybody now"...which brought me to tears laughing...you may have had to be there to fully appreciate it)

#3 Bono (pronounced Bono like "bob knows", not Bono like Bo Knows football) I made the mistake of asking Steve if he like Bono (long sound) right before i went up to speake...he informed me it was Bono (short sound)

#4 "This next one is from the movie shrek"... (not the way I imagined Matt Redman beginning any worship songs, but that's how we roll at Centerpoint)...It was actually very cool and done well.

#5 The NO SHOW, and when I mean No Show, I mean the guy didn't show up.... we did the spiritual thing and prayed for him, we did the concerned thing and called him even up to 3 weeks later making sure he was ok...no return calls, and then we got smart and checked out his myspace page, Daunte seems to be doing just fine as "he pours out the spirit on any church goes to"...you just need to make sure he makes it to your church...i wouldn't pay the guy in advance.

I Lost the Church Phone

2008-08-23T20:46:00.000-04:00

I was out of town waiting for Jenny to call me back. Normally she calls quite a bit, in fact, the one thing we never have an issue with is Jenny using the phone too little. It had been a couple of hours and I knew she was on her way traveling as well...and then I get the phone call nobody wants to hear.
"Hello, is this Donnie Reynolds".
"yes".
"This is Officer__________ with the Caroline County Police Department, can you hear me very well?"
"Yes, sir".
"Donnie, we found a phone that we think belongs to you. Are you familiar with Centerpoint Church?"

By the way, Jenny was fine, she hadn't called me because she had been talking to her mom for a long time...another thing she doesn't have a problem doing too little of.

Innovate Conference

2008-08-12T23:38:00.000-04:00

Steve, Ryan and I are down at the Innovate Church Conference in Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA. We have a had an amazing couple of days together. In the last 24 hours I have had the privelege of hearing Rick Warren, Chuck Colsen, Tom Mullins, and Jim Cymbala and the music led by Charles Billingsly has been unbelievable.

We have learned a ton about each other as well, like when Steve sleeps on his stomach he...well never mind, I guess you'll just have to share a hotel room with Steve yourself.

My sister, Carrie, also came down here today with Jen. She is cancer free, thank you Jesus, and starts her freshman year tomorrow. God is so good.

Baptism in a Movie Theater

2008-08-12T22:25:00.000-04:00

Wow, what an amazing moment for me. Jeremy was baptized this past Sunday. He was the first person that visited our new gathering in January and now the first person baptized. What a privelege it was.

I have been asked quite a bit recently, how do you baptize in a movie theater? Well here are the steps:
1) Buy a large, light weight plastic container (we use a 300 gallon container (ok it was a trash can, but we are working on something else for the next one)
2) Check for leaks (before you fill it up with 200 gallons of water in the movie theater), we missed a one.
3) It took 23 minutes to fill up with a hose/200 gallons and 38 minutes to pump out with a sump pump. We have a back hallway that gives us access to the outside fire steps, so it worked out perfect for us. In fact, I don't think the theater even knew we did a baptism had we not told them we were and then taking the 300 gallon trash can down the front steps.

5:45AM Sunday, August 10th

2008-08-10T20:28:00.000-04:00

So I left the house an hour early this morning since we were doing our first baptism. Jen and I still live an hour away from Annapolis and one of the things i will miss when we do move is the Sunday morning drive as I cross the Chesapeake Bay Bridge (talk about a sobering view of God). This morning was a little too sobering. I saw this tractor trailor about an hour after it happened. The driver died. The commute home from church took us 4 hours, since one of the bridges was closed down. A little traffic seems like a small insignificant thing when you think about this mans family having to deal with their father/husbands loss tonight.

Update on My Dog Bite (I have been foaming at the mouth, but I don't have rabies)

2008-08-10T20:09:00.000-04:00

So I got bit by a dog a two weeks ago while I was out running. Last night I went running by the same house (with a handful of rocks). The little demon was out again. When I took off running by his house I noticed he was on a chain. The little demon came running toward me on the road as fast as he could and right before he got to the road the chain caught and yanked him so hard he flipped backwards, I laughed, then I ran around the block again, just to watch him choke slam himself again. I laughed again.

I Just Got Baptized (Again)

2008-08-08T06:50:00.000-04:00

Jenny just baptized me. In our driveway. In my swim shorts. In a 300 gallon trash can. Does Christianity get any better than that. This Sunday is our first baptism. I am abnormally pumped about this. I think it is the first time since we began praying that God would give us a great team, that I have gone from looking forward to seeing the new faces on Sunday to really enjoying the growth that is taking place in the lives of us on the team. And I couldn't be more excited about the first person I get to help publicly proclaim an inward decision they made a few years ago. Jeremy was at our first preview service in January. Jeremy hadn't been to church in 18 years (or something like that) until he came to our first preview service. He left his church (with his parents permission) when he was 12 because the priest couldn't give him a Bible based reason for him having to confess his sins to a priest if Jesus Christ was the one that brought salvation to our lives and also is the one we are guilty in front of. The first time I saw Jeremy he was setting up chairs since we didn't have enough and he hasn't quit serving yet. Truth be told, this Sunday at Jeremy's baptism, it won't be the first time Jeremy public shows his faith in Jesus Christ, but wow, I really couldn't think of a more exciting footnote to the beautiful story God is writing in our lives.

Stages Of Starting A Church

2008-07-31T21:21:00.000-04:00

The Apostle Paul's Way

Step 1. Find the nearest jewish temple or Greek idol
Step 2. Mock their self righteousness
Step 3. Tell the truth about Jesus
Step 4. Run for your life

Donnie's Way

I'm actually considering doing what Paul did if all the things that my good friends Andy Stanley and Nelson Searcy don't turn out to work. Better yet, Jim Cymbala gives some great advice: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SjkXtTWr_k (check this out)

The first semester of my freshman year of college two of the best things that could have happened to me did. 1) I was put in a room with twins that were amazing men of God (still are, starting churches in California) 2) I read Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire by Jim Cymbala may have changed my life.

I Just Got Bit By A Dog (This Is Not an Analogy)

2008-07-25T21:28:00.000-04:00

Yea, now I remember why I don't run very often...one of many reasons. Two dogs came out of nowhere and bit me. One on the leg and one somewhere else, somewhere BEHIND me. The good news is I took a minute and a half off of my mile. Fear is a great motivator.

5th Anniversary & Wisconsin Has Nothing In It

2008-07-22T23:45:00.000-04:00

We had a great time last week spending 4 days together all by ourselves in Wisconsin celebrating our 5th Anniversary. I'm not a drunk, but now I know why everyone is in Wisconsin - THERES NOTHING TO DO. They also still brag about their cheese , but I didn't have the heart to tell them the rest of the country was mass producing cheese and we could purchase it in our local grocery store. I left them believing they were still the only hope for milk based, sandwich toppings. Then there was Brett Farve, my trip to Walmart summed up what Wisconsin thinks of him. I went into the adult men's section to see how much his jersey sold for - $24.99. I went to the kids section and found the Aaron Rogers jersey for sale - same price, but no Brett jersey. Out with the old in with the new! Back to the Anniversary stuff- it was actually the perfect time together, we took a boat ride, walked around town, went to some shops, watched some movies, and read just a little. Personally, it was a sobering time to evaluate my own walk with God, my role as a husband, father, pastor...and reload in all of those areas...it was exactly what we needed.

Hitchhiking

2008-07-19T22:56:00.000-04:00

8:05 pm Arrive at Midway Airport in Chicago

8:12 pm TSA makes me throw away my Diet Coke

8:15 pm At terminal with time to kill

8:45 pm Buy caramel popcorn

8:50 pm Finish Caramel Popcorn

9:12 pm Purchase Char Bratworst with everything on it, save it for plane

9:30 pm Board plane

9:50 pm Girl goes to bathroom, guy comes to the front of plane and surprises her with a bottle of wine and roses as she comes out of the bathroom, she didn't know he was on the plane

9:51 pm I ponder how he got a bottle of wine past TSA when I couldn't bring my Diet Coke

10:07 pm Lady next me goes to bathroom, I break out my Char Bratworst and down it by the time she gets back.

12:00 am I start searching for my keys before we land

12:15 am Still searching

12:16 am Realize they are in Illinois with wife and kids

12:17 am Start wishing I had listened to my dad when he said always keep a spare key on your car somewhere.

12:30 am Land in Baltimore, get bags and take shuttle to van praying for a miracle and checking out local hotels in a the penny saver magazine.

12:32 am Ask guy standing next to me if he is going to the Eastern Shore of Maryland, he is surprised be me asking, and I was surprised he said yes.

12:32 still... I ask for a ride, and surprised he said yes...his name is Dave

12:35 Dave's car battery is dead

12:40 Dave is a Christian...and even knows his Pastors name (cause most people don't)

1:00 am Dave and Don are on the road

1:05 am Donnie's wife Jen called (just getting out of the new Batman movie), I tell her I hitched a ride with a stranger

1:05-1:08 am Try to casually convince my wife everything is fine, while she histerically lectures me on how stupid I am, while Dave tries to pretend he doesn't hear my wife refer to him as a serial killer (it was awkward for us both)

2:00 am We get pulled over...

2:05 am Just a warning, thanks officer

3:30 am Arrive home (Thanks Dave), can't find toothbrush...with keys, wife and kids in Illinois, use Maddies Hello Kitty toothbrush, get in bed...

3:31 am Remember why you shouldn't eat a bratworst at 11:15pm

Decaf or Regular?

2008-07-10T17:20:00.000-04:00

Imagine leaving your house at 5:50 AM to work your shift at the hospital over an hour away. your only motivation at this point is that you get to stop at DD (Dunkin Donuts) for a delicious blueberry donut and a iced decaf coffee to get you moving. About half way through your hour long commute you begin to suck up some of the grounds that made there way to the bottom of your cup...the grounds are so thick that you squish the straw around to clear things up a little. Just as the rising sun kisses the chesapeake bay so arises to the top of your coffee the object which was hindering the flow of your straw. It isn't grounds at all, but a big fat beetle. Now not only is your drink ruined, but so is your blueberry donut because you just vomited into the bag your donut was still resting in. This is what Jen suffered through yesterday and was kind enough to bring the evidence home to show me.

Christian Celebrities

2008-07-07T20:04:00.001-04:00

One of the most surreal moments in life was when I had the pleasure of spending a few moments with Dr. Don Sisk. Dr. Sisk was preaching when he was 21, pastored churches while in college, and then went to Japan in 1965 as a missionary. He now serves as the President Emeritus of a very large Missions Board. During my senior year of college I had the honor of meeting him and asking him some questions privately. I'll never forget him saying, "Donnie, the world doesn't need another Christian celebrity." The other day Ryan, (see Connections Pastor of Centerpoint Church) tried to contact a popular pastor that I asked him to connect with to find out some things. The guy told him that he didn't have time to talk, so the best thing to do was to attend his upcoming seminar that was going to cost like $90 for the day. Ryan, he's a lot nicer than I, was amazed at this and handled it like a the Connections Pastor of Centerpoint Church should have, not the way another pastor at Centerpoint would have. Could you imagine the apostle Paul telling a young pastor named Timothy, "I don't have time to spend with you, but for the low cost of $90 you can come spend the day in my presence as I lecture on something irrelevant to your needs right now, and I'll throw in a signed copy of my not so fast selling book to go with it. Christian celebrities, is that all the American church is raising up now?

Music

2008-07-07T19:57:00.000-04:00

My brother is my best friend. I love talking to him on the phone about our different church families, our different leadership styles, a lot of the different things that go on, but we always find a lot of things in common. This morning, my brother brought up a great point when he was talking about Pentecost (go read Acts if you don't know what I'm talking about, and if you're Pentecostel read it a couple of times with a concordance :) just kidding sarah). Anyway, John, my brother who broke my hand when I was 12, told me to picture 3,000 people turning their lives to Jesus Christ and then they go home from "church" complaining about the "praise and worship" not being as good as they would have liked...another reminder of what "church" should be all about, thanks John.

Churches Aren't Buildings

2008-07-02T16:50:00.000-04:00

I grew up in a tradional independant baptist church. It had a steeple, stained glass windows, pews, hymn books, choir loft, alter, organ, piano...and a couple of other things. My dad has been pastoring there for 32 years now. Calvary, my church, is what most everyone would call "tradional"...Jenny and I love it. Not, Jenny and I love it, but.... I mean Jenny and I love it...it is the kind of church you tell the guy leading the songs which ones you would like to sing, and they sing them, the three old ladies in the fourth row saw you naked when you were in the nursery and now have seen your kids naked because they are still faithfully serving God... you stand around talking to people as long after the service as you sat there listening to the preacher preach...and when you get home you just say to yourself, I love my church...and your not talking about the stained glass window.

Door Mats

2008-06-26T23:13:00.000-04:00

When you have been part of passing out close to 19,000 door hangers you get tired of looking at the same things over and over. One thing I've noticed is doormats...most people have boreing doormats with some cheasy welcoming design. The one I'm so tired of see is the by far the most popular doormat out there. It reads, "Please Wipe Your Paws". My favorite on is the "Leave" doormat...for some reason, I always chuckle.

Reality - I Look Like Greg Ostertag

2008-06-22T23:16:00.000-04:00

The other day we were filling out a health insurance application and my wife asked me how much I weighed. Without hesitating I told her 205 lbs. She then asked, "Do you want me to put 200"? I thought, "should I want you to put 200?". I then began to worry, because I didn't care that I didn't want to be 5 lbs lighter on paper to people who would never meet me or get to know me. The next day I got a hair cut and my mom asked me if I wanted to wear a hat (not because the hair cut was bad, but because my lack of hair looked bad). Again, without hesitation, I said, "No, I'm alright". I then began to wonder, "should I want to wear a hat?". The reality is for a day or so I looked like Greg Ostertag, I could cover up the head, you can lose 5 lbs on paper, but at the end of the day, I still looked like Greg Ostertag. Sometimes I question the reality of my relationship with God. Am really close to God, like he is my best friend or do I just do enough to cover up so I feel good when people ask me about my God relationship...what is reality...for me, sometimes my spiritual life looks like Greg Ostertag (sorry Greg), but the beauty of it is, that God loves me just the way I look.

Caedon is One

2008-06-21T23:33:00.000-04:00

Caedon turned one this last Saturday, what a gift. With Jen working in the NICU we are constantly reminded of blessings such as health and time God gives us. I thank God so much for the 365 days God has given to us with Caedon. I remember exactly where I was a year ago at this time. We were sitting in the room (I was sitting, Jen laying) at Fair Oaks Hospital in Virginia after Dr. Voo (pronounced V00) just delivered our second kid. I was two months away from leaving our church and had no idea what God was doing. The movie Memoirs of a Geisha was playing without sound (not making much sense, it didn't make much sense after the sound came on either), Maddie was sitting on my lap, Jenny sleeping in the bed, Caedon sleeping in his plastic tub/crib thingy and I literaly said to God, "I hope you know what you are doing, because I have no idea right now". Now would be a great time for me to say to God, "Sorry" and "Thank you".

I Love Tom Brady

2008-06-08T23:26:00.000-04:00

This is exactly why I didn't play in the NFL, make millions of $, win multiple superbowls and MVP's...'cause it was an option in case you are wondering.