Faith Acceleration

Share with us how God has been using the InTENtional for 10 focus to accelerate your faith:

“During this 10-week period, I have experienced a tremendous amount of spiritual growth. I honestly feel closer to the Lord than I ever have at any time in my 40 years on this Earth. My children and I are taking to heart each of the 10 elements. The blessings and inner peace that we have enjoyed have been nothing short of amazing. We are closer as a family than we have ever been. During this 10 for 10 period, I have felt the Lord call me to fulfill my His Heart, Our Dream commitment made in 2006. Mind you that when this commitment was made, I was in a double income situation. Since that time, I am in a single income situation, and I have taken a 12% pay cut. Read more »

Waving Gifts

It’s one of the most unusual stories in the whole Bible. Moses has led the children of Israel, God’s people, out of slavery in Egypt, through the Red Sea, and out into the desert on their way to the Promised Land of Canaan. On their way, they camp at Mt. Sinai, and God gives Moses the 10 commandments along with instructions for how the people are to live and worship as God’s chosen people.

One of the instructions is to build a Tabernacle, a dwelling for God and a place of worship. Moses announces that anyone who is willing can give to the building of God’s house. Exodus 35 reports that “all who were willing” gave from what they had. People were thrilled to give a gift to the Lord from what they had: gold, silver, jewelry, expensive clothes, gemstones, spices, olive oil, and perfumes. People wanted to thank God for his provision in their lives, and for the journey so far, and mostly, they wanted to bless God with gifts.

The amazing part of the story is that the people gave so much that Moses had to tell them to stop. That’s right; the Bible actually says that Moses had to restrain the people from giving. That is hard to imagine, isn’t it? Read more »

Who was I today?

I did not know I was that arrogant. (No comments from the peanut gallery, please.)

Having spent the last 48 hours in the Dominican Republic with a team of 10 women (and yes, I still covet your prayers!), I am convinced God has schooled me in a new chapter on what it means to serve others. This is not the first time I’ve been in a third-world nation, nor is it the first time I’ve seen this level of poverty. But it is the first time I’ve recognized the pride and arrogance of my American-culture-driven background like this.

I came here with the team to film and document the story as well as catch images to help cast vision for the DR in the months to come. And I knew that I would be in situations with people here where I could “give” them something or “help” them. After all, since we come from such a blessed nation, surely we have something to offer them. I mean, seriously, don’t we have all the answers?

Slaps in the face hurt. Read more »

Trapped in the “bubble”

My oldest son, Charles, recently completed a training school in Texas as a first step towards being a church planter. It was a rigorous 9-month program designed to strengthen the character of students and help them establish Christ-like disciplines in their life.

Initially, I was not surprised as I learned about the specific expectations of the training school. In fact, it reminded me of my own experience in seminary. All the students were expected to be reading the Bible from cover to cover; there were a number of biblical subjects to be mastered; each was expected to be in a discipleship relationship with a mentor and be a leader within an ongoing ministry of the church–nothing too surprising there.

As I learned more, though, I started to get uncomfortable. Read more »

Intentional for 10: Week 8

We’re almost there! There is much excitement around here as we approach the Dec 19/20 special offering. With stories of personal sacrifice choices people and families have made, it is inspiring and motivating to be part of what God is doing in our hearts and in our congregation.

Here are the next 10 ideas for Intentional for 10: Read more »

Food!

I meet once a month with a small group of pastors. We meet in Kinston because it’s the centrally-located city in between Jacksonville, New Bern, Clayton and Greenville. We meet for fellowship, prayer and, of course, food.

At our September meeting, we discussed our concern for our denomination, and we decided to do something about it. One of my friends said, “Hey, on the Fridays that we don’t meet, let’s fast and pray about our concern and petition God to intervene!” That sounded like such a great idea, and we all agreed to do it.

Then came the next Friday… Read more »

Intentional for 10: Week 7

As you’ve probably discovered, some of the disciplines are more challenging than others. Some disciplines, at different times, get right to the gut level of what it means to sacrifice and persevere. Click here to share if this has been the case with you and your journey? But not to be discouraged in any way, God doesn’t waste any genuine effort. Need more inspiration or challenge? Here are ten more prompts for all the disciplines: Read more »

Jesus’ take on freedom

Doesn’t everyone want to be free?

Over the last few weeks I have been repeatedly reminded of how precious freedom is. The anniversary of the Berlin Wall’s collapse reminded me. Talking with a friend who lives in an oppressive region of India reminded me. Reading about Christians who have been jailed for their faith reminded me. Talking with a person who was recently arrested reminded me.

As far as I can tell, everyone wants to be free. Read more »

Intentional for 10: Week 5

After 4 solid weeks of implementing ten disciplines, do you see any fruit? Do you feel as though you’ve gone deeper with Jesus in a whole new way? Is God’s Word coming alive and fresh? Your journey, even though you may not feel that it’s compelling, can be an inspiration to so many others. Please take a minute to share even just a couple sentences of what Intentional for 10 has meant to your spiritual journey over the last four weeks.

And in true fashion, here are ten more prompts for all the disciplines: Read more »

Hole in One!

My disc golf small group meets every Sunday afternoon in the back parking lot. We have about 30 people signed up, so each week we have a fair number of men and women come out and play.

Sunday was a special day. I started us with our regular devotion time. We are in the process of naming each one of our golf holes with scripture. This Sunday’s reference for #6 was Genesis 1:31, “God looked over all he had made, and he saw that it was excellent in every way. This all happened on the sixth day.” Our sixth basket is the one that you can see from Old Firetower Road near the gravel road entrance. It’s an average length throw for a right-handed disc golfer. Everyone knows that with a good toss, there is a chance for birdie.

I ended up in the last group this week. Our group of six included a husband and wife team, a couple of newer players, and another guy who has been in our group since we started it last year. When we reached the sixth tee, it was John’s turn to throw first. Most of us were talking and not really paying attention to John’s throw until we heard his disc hit the chains. John yelled, “I think it hit the chains!” You can’t see the basket from the tee on #6; it’s hidden by the pine trees. So, we all ran to look and see where John’s shot landed. Read more »