Catalyst Conference '09

dang.

seriously. DANG.

So many leadership concepts going through my mind right now. One of the biggest takeaways that was impressed on me was God has invited us to play a part in HIS story, not the other way around. PLAY. YOUR. PART. WELL!

Really hit me hard, because we all have our stories about something awesome God has done in our lives or in the life of someone close to us and we need to consider it a PRIVILEGE that He will allow us to play a part in HIS story.

Another HUGE takeaway I got was from Rob Bell. He was talking about how a lot of times we will go to conferences like Catalyst and see these big speakers and top names and those of us who are speakers, communicators, or worship leaders will look at whoever is on that stage and LUST after who they are and the stage they are on. We will see them and just wish that would happen to us.

Here is the deal. Follow the commandments that has already been set in front of you. Follow the first nine and the TENTH (do not covet) will end up being a gift, rather than a commandment. If you follow God's commandments you won't WANT anyone else's life because you will be so consumed with what it is He is doing in your own! Matt Chandler also hit on this a little bit and said this: "It is a lack of gratitude that we want to be someone we aren't." Enjoy the place where you are at and the work that is being done.

Anyways, that's all for now.

-Andy

Where are you God?

Anyone ever asked that question?? I did the other day. It was one of those days where things went from great to pretty crappy really quick. I was wondering if God was taking the day off from watching over me and I felt pretty down about it. Until I read Luke 24:13-33 (http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=luke%2024:13-33&version=NIV)

This was right after his death/resurrection of Jesus and only a few people knew about the second part of that. I love how Jesus was kinda just messing with the guys asking them questions about "the events that took place."

These two men were pretty down. They were pretty depressed. The person they thought was God was brutally murdered before them and three days later He was still no where to be seen. As far as they knew nothing had changed. But here is what is so cool about the passage, Jesus was RIGHT THERE with them the entire time. They were down and depressed, thought they were on this seven mile journey by themselves, but it turns out Jesus is right there walking with them.

In your life today, it might seem like you are doing a seven mile journey by yourself. Take heart and know that God is right there by your side. Even if you don't seem Him or think He is there, He is.

-Andy

God is...Lord

So last wednesday I got a chance to speak to the 706 on who God isn't in our lives, so I got to speak a message entitled God isn't Santa Claus and tell about how a lot of times we live our lives as if God is Santa Claus (for instance, the majority of our prayers will turn into "Christmas List's" that we send up to God every night and if we are a good boy or girl He will give us whatever we want).

But this got me thinking. Who is God to me? I gave an entire sermon on who God isn't, but who is He to me? What is the ONE characteristic of Him that resignates with me? I thought about it, and here is what I came up with.

God is Lord. The end. Period.

Here is why this is so huge to me and why I think it should be huge to you too: no matter how bad things get, no matter how difficult things might seem at times, no matter where you are at in your life right now, God still reigns. He is still on the throne and He will be there for ETERNITY! That should pump us up! The mere thought of it is inspiring and uplifting! He wins! The end!

It just hit me, when we start thinking "kingdom minded" all of our "problems" seem SO much smaller in the grand scheme of things. We need to remember who is on the throne and how THAT is the God we serve! He loves us and He will NEVER leave us or forsake us. God IS Lord!

-Andy

The 21 Day Daniel Fast...Aftermath

It's over. As of today. God taught me some INCREDIBLE things over the past 21 days, I couldn't believe how much God showed me! Probably the biggest thing God showed me was where He wants me to go to school after Gainesville State.

This has been the main prayer that I have been praying since the fast started (that, and God just speaking to me in some way shape or form every day). I believe He is leading me to Kennesaw State. Why Kennesaw? Beats me man. It always seemed like a super awesome school from the website and pictures, but I had no idea that's where God would be leading me. Talked to the Pops about it and he said if I make hope then I can go for sure, but if I don't then it might take some budgetary adjustments. Please be praying for me so that I can be sure of this decision.It is a huge move and leap of faith, and I don't want to jump into the deep end if I can't even swim, so please pray for me in whatever way you can over the next few months. Thank you muchly.

-Andy

Something Cool

Lately I have been doubting my abilites to complete the calling God has placed on my life. I take a look around at the tough conversations that Wesley has to have and it scares me knowing that I will be in that situation eventually. I call out to God telling Him that I don't know if I can do what it is He has called me to do.

Tonight, I got to talk to a lovely young lady by the name of Ashley Evans. I don't know Ashley extremely well like I do some of the other leaders, but she is a SOLID leader! From the few conversations I have had with her, she is an incredible person. Ashley approached me today after youth and wanted to talk to me. She could tell I have a lot on my plate and how stressed out I seem to be at youth (I always want to make sure everything runs as smoothly as it possibly can) and that I have been too hard on myself (which is true, don't get me wrong). But then she said something to me that brought me to tears. She looked me dead in the eyes and with the most sincere voice said "There is something special about you. God wanted me to tell you that He has some big plans for you and that you need to hang in there."

Wow.

That ministered to me SOOOO much! More than she probably knows it did. God, help me to stay faithful to the calling you have laid on my heart!

The 21 Day Daniel Fast...

Pastor Jim Carpenter has asked me to blog on our 21 day daniel fast. Paul Sims officially set up this blog for me, so here is the link...

http://compass.ath.cx/blog/

Does this mean I will stop blogging here? Heck no, it just means for the next 21 days, go there instead, cause I'm too busy to write two blogs. So go check it out.

-Andy

Spontaneous Baptisms

Man what an unbelievable day! Jim preached a message on Biblical Baptism and how when people got saved in the book of Acts they repented of their sin, they were saved, and they were baptised THAT DAY! He spoke on how TODAY was that day for many people. We got to see 39 people get baptised spontaneously today and it was unbelievable! I loved every second of it! I am so stinkin proud of the staff who stayed late at the church pretty much every night this week to make sure that we were able to pull it off (seriously, most of them worked close to an 80 hour week this past week to make sure everything was set). I am so stinkin proud of the volunteers who were faithful to their positions and who sacrificed two services to make sure that those being baptised were taken care of! And lastly, I am so stinkin proud of all those people who stepped forward to be baptised this morning. It took lots of guts, courage, and boldness of faith. It had to rank on my top 5 compass moments of all time. Such an incredible day.

A New School Year

Man, this is one post I wasn't looking forward to at all simply based on the title. It's not that I don't like moving forward with my life, but I feel like I am dreading this year more than any other year in years past. And maybe that's something that will happen EVERY year until I graduate, who knows. But for now, I am just sick of school. And I mean it. I don't want to go back to school every day doing the same thing I have for the past 15 or so years of my life. It's become so routine for me and I am ready to just move on to something else. All I have ever known my entire life is school and I am ready for change.

Unfortunately for me, the bills have already been paid for my tuition, classes have been signed up for for months, and at this point I see absolutely no good sense in not going to school simply because I don't feel like it. I am honestly considering taking a year off next year, but that is something that needs serious prayer and consideration. I think a year off would be good for me. But when I completely surrendured my life to Christ I have made it the prayer of my heart to go WHEREVER he tells me to go. If he tells me to take a year off, I will absolutely take a year off. If he tells me to stay in school next year, then I will stay in school!

I need to remember that prayer and not give into my selfish desires. Trust me, there is nothing else in this world I would rather do than to take a year off and just work and live on my own. But unless God tells me that's what He wants out of me, I'm gonna stick with school. Pray for me, cause school sucks. Especially when you don't care about most of the stuff you are learning at this point.

Sore Teeth, NewSpring, and an Incredible Upcoming Fall

Had to have four fillings today, put me in a little sour mood so I have been somewhat bitter to people lately. Not exactly the mood I would prefer to be in, but it has been a little frustrating day today especially with these teeth. Pray that I show people mercy and I take a moment to breathe today.

Got a chance to visit NewSpring for the first time this past sunday, and I must say it was pretty awesome. Perry gave an incredible message about people who are in the church but aren't in the Kingdom. Really awesome message, I'm going back this sunday as well.

Can't wait for this fall's 706 messages, we already have an incredible year planned out! Can't wait to speak on September 9. All I'm gonna say is my message is titled "God Isn't." Should be awesome! If you are in high school, get your butt to the 706 wednesday nights!

-Andy

A Rededication to the Scriptures

A man by the name of Sam Bhatt has challenged me as a leader beyond belief. The amount of biblical knowledge this man had blew me away when I heard him speak at Student Life. The way he automatically knew the scripture when kids stood up just by hearing the referrence was amazing and he challenged everyone in the room. He asked the question "Do you really know the Bible as well as you should??" I think everyone in the room, even Sam included, must admit that we do not. Not to say that we aren't living holy, presentable lives, but I still think we could all do better. We can ALWAYS be doing a better job with our relationship with Him and we need to strive towards that! After camp, I purchased an audio CD of one of Sam's message's on holiness, and in that he had a great commitment rededication within it. I quickly took it to heart:

"I'm part of the fellowship of the unashamed. I have Holy Spirit power. The die has been cast. I have stepped over the line. The decision has been made. I'm a disciple of His. I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.

My past is redeemed, my present makes sense, my future is secure. I'm finished with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap living, and dwarfed goals.

I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity. I don't have to be right, first, tops, recognized, praised, regarded, or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, lift by prayer, and labor by power.

My face is set, my gait is fast, my goal is heaven, my road is narrow, my way rough, my companions few, but my God IS reliable and my mission clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of the adversary, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.

I won't give up, shut up, let up, until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, preached up for the cause of Christ. I am a disciple of Jesus. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know, and work till He stops me. And when He comes for His own, He will have no problems recognizing me - my banner will be clear!"

There may not be many who will stand by me, but when we consider what He did for US on the cross, how could we not dedicate to such a goal? Yes, we do need to look forward to what is ahead of us, but we also need to remember where He has taken us from so that we can love those who some might consider "the enemy." It is time for us to stop looking at non-believers as enemies and to start viewing them as our future brothers and sisters in Christ! It is time for us, as the Church (notice the capital C), to stand up and start taking names in the name of Christ. As Perry Noble said this past sunday, we need to run up the score, because that's what Christ called us to do!

Who is with me?

One Prayer 2009 - Perry Noble

So last week we kicked off our "God Is..." series at Compass Church. I didn't get a chance to hear Jim's sermon, but I have heard some pretty awesome feedback from it. Today, we had the honor of hearing from Pastor Perry Noble of NewSpring church in Anderson, South Carolina. I have been to NewSpring once before, and ever since I was there I have been DYING to go back! It's incredible how God is at work there (Anderson of all places!). When Jim was introducing Perry, he said "if God can do it in Anderson, just imagine what I can do in Athens!"

I think the Oconee crowd responded really well to their first view at video teaching, and I think Perry was the perfect guy to introduce it to that crowd. He had an incredible message of how God is here. He focused his three main points on the life of Jesus, the death of Jesus, and the victory of Jesus. For those of you who missed perry's message, here is the link:

http://www.newspring.cc/series/godis-4

Can't wait to hear from my favorite speaker next week, Steven Furtick (did I mention that there was a guy at camp on the drama team for student life the looked EXACTLY like Furtick??).

Part two of camp recap coming soon!

Camp: The Aftermath

Okay, seriously, where do I freakin begin??? SO much happened spiritually this week I honestly do not know where to begin.

Let's begin with a man by the name of Sam. For those of you who don't know Sam, here is his website: http://www.sambhatt.com. Sam was our preacher for the week, and boy did he preach! He is a guy who knows his stuff. He was authentic, challenging, hilarious, and down right passionate when he spoke to us. Our students and everyone loved him, and the services is what everyone was looking forward to, which I find straight up incredible! Usually a lot of students dread that part, but there wasn't one person I saw who didn't want to hear what he had to say next!

Let's move on to a guy named Dave. Dave was our worship pastor for the week, and boy did he worship! Honestly, THE most intense worship experience of my life. Worship so real it brought me to sobbing tears every song! It was so awesome, I loved every minute of worship! Dave not only sang many popular songs that we all know, but also shared with us many of his own songs that he had written for his church. And a lot of times when people hear that they say "oh, that's cute." No, it's not cute, those songs ROCKED! And I mean ROCKED MY SOCKS OFF! Which is one of the reasons it was such a powerful and impacting worship experience!

Now, lets move on to this family known as family group 37 (yeah, we never really settled on a name, so we stuck with the number we were assigned at the beginning of the week). The kids in my group were pretty awesome! I loved getting to know those kids and hearing what they had to say about stuff. It was so cool. Sucks that we had to leave each other, but hopefully we will keep in touch. I know everyone says that, but honestly, I would love to hear what God is doing in these kids lives.

Okay, so this next part is about a different group. This group is known as the 706 student ministry of compass church. I can not explain to you in words how proud I am of my students. Wednesday night Wesley approached me before heading to family church group time at the end of the day and said "we will walk in, get a head count to make sure everyone is in there, then shut the door behind us." Now you have to understand, he told me about this idea a week before and I honestly didn't know what to think of it. I thought it was an awesome idea, but it is such a bold move. Honestly, THAT is a sink or swim situation. Either something horrible will happen, or something phenomenal that can't be explained happens. Something phenomenal happened. Yeah, for about the first 20 minutes they played around and joked around and had fun with everyone in the room, but eventually a few students realized we weren't coming and they started leading. They led, and kids opened up. Once the silence set in, the four leaders just started praying some big time prayers. We prayed out loud one by one specifically for certain students, by the end of the night everyone was in tears and when the students finished up with a big circle up prayer in the center of the room, that's when the leaders stepped in the room. Wesley told the kids with pretty near tears in his eyes that they grew up that night. They finally understand the meaning of community, and that now they can finally take reaching their schools seriously.

So many tears, so much community, and so much still left to be done! Our students made a commitment to reaching their schools for Christ, and I BELIEVE that they meant it after what I saw happen this week. So much left to blog about, part two coming soon!

Student Life Camp 2009: FLIP

Please pray for our students this upcoming week as we head off to Covenant College to Student Life camp. The theme of the camp this year is FLIP. Some thing to specifically pray for over our students is that they will embrace their own unique leadership style (as discussed in my previous post) and that they will not let up or back down this school year and reach their schools for Christ. Can't wait! Wesley will be blogging every day from camp, you can follow up from him on the 706 blog page:

http://blog.the706.com/

Again, can't wait to see what God does! I'll see you all in a week!

Where ya hands at??

Last week at the 706 Wesley really challenged our students to change their schools this upcoming school year. We discussed the story of Moses holding his hands up to lead the Israelites to victory, but when he lowered his arms, the Israelites began losing the battle. Basically, there are three different forms of leadership represented in this story:

1.) Hands Up - Moses was the leader here. It basically all fell on him. If he lowered his arms and gave up, the Israelites would have lost the battle. This is the type of leader everyone looks to and depends upon. If anything goes wrong, it typically falls on this leader. This type of leader gives direction towards others and ultimately points them in the direction the group is going.

2.) Hands Under - During the story, when Moses's arms got tired, there were certain people who helped hold up his arms to ensure victory. This type of leadership helps support the one in charge to help ensure victory. Every good leader NEEDS (not wants, but NEEDS) some hands under type of support. There may be times in leadership when you feel like you can do everything, but eventually, like Moses, your arms will get tired.

3.) Hands Out - These are the Joshua's. These are the types of people on the battle lines, doing the dirty work, doing whatever it takes to ensure victory. This type of leadership makes sure the job gets done, by doing whatever the leader asks them to do, no matter how "meaningful" or "insignificant." I once heard a pastor say it this way: "nothing is insignificant when it is done for the significance of the cause of Christ!"

Our students responded to this question tonight by answering with painted hand prints on a very large piece of paper, each color signifying each leadership quality. So, ask yourself - where ya hands at??

Currently on my mind...

Boy do I have a lot. Several things that have been consuming my thoughts. Lets dive in, shall we?

First off - Camp 2009.

If you are a high schooler that would like to go to camp (or a recent high school graduate), contact me asap (706)817-1969. We have seven spots that we absolutely have to fill, time is running out!

Second - My relationship with God

I have been finding it really hard to be motivated to stay in His word lately. This is something difficult for me to admit, but it is tough. Most of the time I just don't feel like it and usually find something "better" to do. Shame on me, but it is true. I am praying that God lights a white hot passion to constantly follow after Him every day of my life.

Third - My current relationship status

I must admit, I feel somewhat strange about posting this portion. I always feel weird whenever I say that I want a girlfriend. Not that that's a bad thing, I just feel like it comes across as needy to other people, and that isn't the case at all. I just happen to really like girls, haha. But honestly, there are many times when I just wish I had a specific someone who I could call whenever life's got me bummed. Someone who I can just go to to talk about whatever. Someone who can make me laugh every day. Someone I can make laugh everyday. It's something I long after, and honestly pray for. I know that now isn't exactly the best time to have a girlfriend, seeing as I don't have income and I would feel just absolutely awful saying "hey baby could you get the check?" For now, I just need to make due with what I got, and what God has already blessed me with (and that is, but not limited to, INCREDIBLE friends, a great family, a place to live, a soon to be vehicle with stable transportation, an internship opportunity of a lifetime, and an incredible staff at the church.)

So that's it. Prayers and comments are always appreciated.

-Andy

A God who Provides

Is the same God who chooses not to provide. Sorry it has been a while since I last updated, I have been a busy man. Lot's on my mind. Lot's that need to be done. Lot's of provision still to come in. Allow me to elaborate.

For the past few weeks, Wesley and myself have been working on camp 2009 (getting everything set, making phone calls, preparing for the unexpected, and ultimately, finding campers for our last few spaces). We have had two students drop out in the past week, and we now have seven available spots. That's a lot of spots seeing as we have already paid student life for the spots. At $350 a spot, the money adds up pretty quick, so Wesley and myself have both been stressing trying to find people to take those spots.

Ever since I started my internship I have been getting rides from people, getting dropped off, and getting picked up. I haven't had any other means of transportation, so you have to make due with what you got. I was recently informed that Paul Sims spare car is now available for me to use, and I will be able to use this as my new means of transportation. GOD PROVIDED!

After this happened, it hit me: the same God who provides can also choose not to provide. It's all up to Him whether He provides or not. As far as the camp spots are concerned, I still believe he is going to provide us with the appropriate number of students to fill those spots up. We need to remember that He may not choose to provide for us, and that will probably mean a difficult time, but we need to remember, His Son went through something WAY worse than whatever it is we are going through. Trust God, pray for provision, and walk in faith.

Blog on Blog: Pastor Steven Furtick

Okay, so while I was on vacation I missed a full week of reading Steven Furticks blog, which is actually pretty weird believe it or not seeing as I tend to read it every morning as part of my devotions, but rest assured, I caught up this morning. He posted this blog about acting in faith, thought it was great:

http://www.stevenfurtick.com/uncategorized/faith-is-substance/

I think way too often (myself included) we use prayer and faith as an excuse to not act. We say things like "I know God will come through for me in this situation" and instead of doing anything about our situation we stand hoping God will do something instead of acting in faith. Faith and hope have a lot in common, but hope is nothing without faith. We need to realize God wants us to act in faith as well as placing our hope in Him.

My Well Deserved Vacation

Is currently being taken by your truly. I have been in need of a vacation for a while now, and seeing as I can't afford anything, I have been waiting on my ever so patient parents to tell me that we are going on a family vacation. That finally happened and I am enjoying myself quite nicely.

We are currently in Port St. Lucie, Florida, which is relatively close to Fort Pierce, staying with my Uncle Paul. He lives about 20 minutes to the beach, so it's a pretty nice gig he has going on here. It's a nice town, seems like a place I could see myself living in one day. But for now I am cool staying with my homeboys in Athens.

I will share some more inspiring wisdom later, for now, I believe I have a beach to get to and a sunburn to work on.

-Andy

Manna From Heaven (Exodus 16)

Man did God show up last night! I was stressing pretty bad beforehand (seriously thought I was gonna throw up a couple times, one of which happened to be right before I went on stage). Luckily God calmed my nerves and gave me the peace I needed to preach His word.

Wesley was out of town so I felt as if I was "in charge" of the youth group, and I gotta tell ya, it's a LOT of work! Seriously my body is still aching from last night! It's a pretty tough gig, but when you see six hands go up when you give the invitation it reminds you how worth it everything really is! One of the main things I hit during my talk was that Jesus is more than enough for anything you might be going through. We need to remember that whenever we go through hardships it's comforting to know that what He went through for us on the cross was so much worse than anything we could ever imagine, and He endured!! Christianity isn't about what we can get out of God, it's about what we can do for Him!

Again, pretty awesome night last night, although very exhausting. The link should be online soon.

-Andy

EDIT:
Here is the link to the sermon (for those who might be interested)

http://vimeo.com/5322403

Tomorrow. Am I really ready??

Well, tomorrow is the big day. I take on the Compass Church stage for the fourth time. This time I will be speaking on Exodus 16 and how God provided for the Israelites by raining down manna from Heaven. I have felt pretty prepared for a while now, but I recently have asked myself "am I really ready??" I have my outline done. I have done the preparation. I can walk through my entire 30 minute message with no problem. Why then do I feel unprepared? Why is it that I feel insecure about what I am speaking on? From the feedback I have heard from our creative team on my message they tell me it should be a very powerful and life changing service. So, again, why is it that I feel insecure about my message?

To answer that easily, I have no idea! God has placed this message on my heart for a reason, so that others can hear the gospel of Christ and respond to it. Plain and simple. These are God's words that I will be speaking tomorrow, not mine. There is no reason to be doubting, but I do anyways. Father, forgive me for doubting, and come tomorrow, allow me to be YOUR voicebox as I communicate Your word to students. May lives be changed forever and eternities altared because of what it is You have given me to say. May the honor and glory always go to You! Amen.

The way I am choosing to view this insecurity is that Satan is trying to get in and wreck my world. But the stronger I feel Satan push, the more faith I have in what God has told me. I mean, if he wants to screw me up THAT BAD, that probably means he knows my message is great and doesn't want me to preach it. Can't wait for tomorrow.

-Andy

Believing the Calling

Today was interesting. Wesley was gone to South Carolina for most of the day to spend the day with a bunch of campus pastors to talk strategy and see what works well for some church's and what doesn't. So it was me all by myself for the most part of today. Which sucks with it being a Wednesday and having youth tonight, made me kinda nervous. But Wesley believed in me and trusted I could get stuff done. I did, but I really didn't think I would. Lots of phone calls, things that needed to be finished for youth, lots of stuff for upcoming trips and camp, plus the whole set up of the building thing. Seemed kinda tough and that I might have forgotten something. Fortunately for myself, I got it all done.

One of my students in my small group brought this word of wisdom to me: "If God calls us to do something, doesn't that mean He believes we can do it??" See, God has called each of us to do specific things, each probably seem crazy and outrageous, but lucky for us, He believes we can do it. I doubt Wesley would have gone to the "campus pastor round table" if he didn't believe I could get everything done. He wouldn't have asked me if he didn't think I could do it all. Since he did, he trusted me enough to leave for most of the day. God wouldn't have called us to do what we do if He doesn't believe we can do it. If God has called you to do something, you CAN do it. If God, who created everything, tells you you can do something, well, that seems pretty convincing to me. Believe the calling.

-Andy

One Week From This Wednesday

I'll be speaking again at the 706, our church's student ministry. I feel like I should be more nervous about this talk than I should but for some reason I feel like God is giving me a very calming attitude about it. Almost as if He is telling me not to worry and that everything is gonna be alright, which is strange because I have never really felt that before (coming from someone who would get nervous before EVERY cross country and track race for 6 years in a row).

I really do believe He is gonna come through, but I'm gonna be hitting the gospel pretty hard that night, so I would love to see some kids respond to that. One of the things God has spoken to me is this: if the kids don't respond, that's okay! I sometimes feel as if when an invitation is given and no one responds, then we as leaders have failed. But God has really been hitting me over the head with it lately saying if they don't respond it's okay. As long as we do our part there is nothing more we can do. At that point, it is up to Him and his power to come through for us.

For those of you who plan on being in attendance that day, read Exodus 16 (just go ahead and read the whole chapter I will be jumping around all over the chapter). I'm excited, I'm pumped, but at the same time, I am nervous and not so nervous. I know that there are people's souls (literally) at stake every time I get up on that stage to preach, but I believe that the words I speak are not gonna be my words, but the words God has placed on my heart to share with our students. Be praying big time that kids will respond to the gospel and that lives will never be the same. I can't do that, only God can. Remember, June 24th. If you are a student or a recent high school grad, be there!

-Andy

Wednesday Night Ramblings.

Still going through the story of Moses, here is what I pulled from Wesley's talk tonight. Good stuff from tonight.

Exodus 3

1. God Speaks

Moses was going about his everday life/business when God spoke to him in the burning bush. Moses had to approach the bush before God decided to speak to him. Moses had to realize there was something different and approach it. We need to hit the "pause" button of our life and take a look around and see where God can speak to us. It's not until those moments where we realize how big God really is. It might not be that God isn't speaking to us, it might be that we aren't listening. 

2. We have to respond to God. 

At the end of the day, our response is always gonna be either a "yes" or a "no," there is no maybe. 

How are you responding??

Find a way to listen.

Becoming the Voice

So this blog post is really just gonna be someone else's blog post, but I loved the wisdom when I read this.

http://www.stevenfurtick.com/uncategorized/i-am-the-voice/

I absolutely love Pastor Steven Furtick. I love listening to him speak, his audaciousness in the church, and how he truly believes God can and will provide if we are willing to step out. Even though he is only 29, he has so much wisdom and I love reading his blog and learning from him however I can. 

What a powerful word of wisdom for us! I AM the voice! After reading this I began to examine my own life and try to see what it is I am communicating to others, not only through my words, but also through my actions, and I have come to this conclusion: I can do better.

I think we all can. I believe we all need improvement in just about any area you can think of. None of us are perfect, but we can't use that as an excuse to not step out and try to improve. We all need to strive to be more Christ-like, not just through our words, but through our actions and how we live. 

We are constantly communicating whether we say anything or not. Keep your body in check to make sure your actions truly speak louder than words. 

Guest Video Blog

From my first ever staff meeting at Compass Church

http://jimcarpenter.cc/general/6-3-09-video-blog/

Please keep praying for me as I am awaiting funds to continue coming in. 

-Andy

Internship

So I'm starting to realize this: ministry is a lot of work! 

Along with that, I am having a blast working for Compass Church. It's just one of those places that has that environment that you wanna be in. As Craig Groeschel described it, I believe Compass has "it," which is that magical thing that every church wants but not every church has. 

My mind has been everywhere the past couple days, but I am trying to take it all in. Tomorrow is a pretty big day, I'll be working about 12 hours tomorrow, so should be fun. Haven't pulled off one of those kind of work days since I worked at Carmike Cinemas. Should be quite the experience for me.

Also, I found out that I get to attend "one" conference (http://www.perrynoble.com/2009/05/18/a-conversationnot-a-conference/) with some staff members. I think this will be just another great opportunity to gain some great ministry knowledge from some of the best and most skilled people in ministry in the nation (seriously, if you haven't heard perry noble speak before, you are missing out!). 

Greater things have yet to come, I believe this. God is preparring me for what He is preparring for me. PLEASE keep me in your prayers while I am doing this internship, I am taking quite the leap of faith even by doing this, but I believe God is gonna show up big time in my life. Prayers are most appreciated. 

-andy

Going from "WHY?" to "What?"

A lot of times when I find myself in a bad situation or in a "pickle," I spend most of my time asking myself "why." For instance, "Why did this happen to me?" or "Is there a reason why this happened?" 

Instead of asking yourself "why?" all the time, we need to embrace the reality of "what?" What are you gonna do about the situation? The situation is here, it's real, it happened. Stop dealing with riddles and trying to figure out the mystery of "why?" and start dealing with the reality of "what?"

No matter what your situation is or what you are dealing with, it's real, it's here, and it happened. What are you gonna do about it?

It's all about perspective.

Wednesday Night Ramblings.

So from now on I plan on typing out my sermon notes from Wednesday nights just so I can get a better grasp on them. Or if you are reading this and do not attend compass church (well at least our youth ministry) then feel free to dive in as well. Let's begin shall we?

I Corinthians 10

Wesley began by saying that he doesn't feel as strong in his faith as he thinks he is. He then went on to elaborate on why he felt this way, describing the Israelites crossing the red sea. He mentioned how when he read that he wondered why God wouldn't do something THAT huge in his life, and felt pretty discouraged by it. Sometimes I think we all feel as if we "need" to see God do the incredible things he did all throughout the bible (such as the burning bush incident or making the sun stand still). 

I think I too envy these experiences. Sometimes have thoughts that say "if God would do THAT in my life there is no way I wouldn't follow Him!" But here is the catch, He has done some incredible things already! God has shown up and shown off in our lives time and time again, but we forget at times how He did it. What's ironic about this story is the same people we envy also turned their back on God. We wonder how anyone could turn their back on God after having such a huge experience like crossing the red sea, but we are right in the same boat they are. We turn our back on God and doubt his power all the time (I know I sure do anyways). 

How do we solve this problem? Wesley's solution is this. He made a book. A "God's Awesome" book, if you will, and every time God shows up in his life for any situation, he writes it down in this book. I believe this is a great way to remind ourselves of His almighty power and how capable He is to come through when we need Him to. We can fall away from God really fast, we need to fight for our relationship with Christ (Matthew 5:6/James 4:8)! 

Satan knows our potential and he is ready to take it away from us.

The Desire to be Desired

This is a quote from a song from what is soon to become one of my favorite bands (anberlin) from a song called the runaways, but that has nothing to do with what it is I am talking about. I don't wanna talk about the meaning of this song or how it "speaks to me," but I do wanna focus on this particular line for a moment. The desire to be desired. It's an interesting line and I believe this is something that each of us as human beings desire. We all wanna be loved, if not by someone, than something. There is something about us that makes us long for being desired. 

For a while now I have been trying to embrace this as best as possible. At times it can be quite challenging and very difficult, especially around people I wouldn't normally hang out with. But I always try and picture myself in the person I am speaking with's shoes. How they are feeling, whatever struggle they are going through. It could be small, could be huge. But there is usually something. I find that a lot of the times when I speak to kids who don't have a lot of friends that there number one desire is to be desired. And at times, that is why they don't have friends, they try too hard to be liked and it makes them come across as "strange" or "weird" to other people. 

As I pondered this, I came to this realization: maybe these people wouldn't have to try as hard if someone would give them what it is they are searching for. We all wanna be loved, for some people it's easier than others to be liked, some people have to try hard, but deep down, we all have the desire to be desired. 

Who is it in my life that I need to reach out to some more and show myself a friend?

Saying Goodbye...

Tonight was my last night of work at chick-fil-a. To those of you who do not know, I turned in my two weeks notice a while back in order to pursue a greater calling. I was contacted by our student pastor, wesley odum, about a month ago about coming on church staff as an intern. Without question I told him "absolutely!" This has been something that God had laid on my heart that I would do that if I was ever asked to do something like this, I would say yes, so I did. Tonight was my last night of work. It was quite the weird moment, but I'm actually quite sad to say goodbye. 

Now, scripture reference time! Read this:

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts%201:9-11;&version=31;

It's kinda weird to me that an angel would say this to the disciples after witnessing what they saw. I mean, Jesus just freakin rose into heaven! If I were them, I would be staring too! But I think the angel had to remind them the urgency of what was going on. They had no time to spare as far as spreading the gospel and they had a world to reach for Christ. No time could have been wasted!

I kinda had that moment tonight. As I was leaving work for the last time, I couldn't help but stare and reflect on what had gone on the past year or so I had worked there. Lot's of good memories, but I must remind myself, don't stand looking for too long, I have a new mission now. The way I am choosing to view my quitting of this job is that I am leaving something good for something great. I have a new mission now, time of reflection is over, we have a world to reach, Let's get to it!

-andy

Keeping your vision in sight...

I will go ahead and give you a quick summary of my story and what it is I feel God is calling me to. 

About a year ago I was sitting in an auditorium of about 1200 students worshiping together at a camp known as summit. This was our first night at summit and I had recently graduated high school just a month beforehand. I remember vividly sitting in my chair listening to the words of a song (for the life of me I have no idea which song it was) that just broke my heart. I sat in my chair praying to God finally realizing that I need to start taking my future seriously. I screwed around in high school and never really put any thought towards what it was that I wanted to do with my life, or the more important thought, what God wanted to do with my life through me. After pouring my heart out to my fellow students that night in small group I received warm welcoming and understanding from everyone around me and I'm sure many prayed for me on the spot. 

Later that night, I was texting a friend and telling her the scary realization that had come across my heart. Immediately her response was this "you should be a youth pastor." I don't know how to describe it, but I felt as if in that one text God got a hold of my heart and said "LISTEN!" After much surrendering and arguing with God, I told him I would follow wherever he led me in life. I believe this is where he has called me. 

Now, read this: 

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=I%20kings%2018:41-44;&version=31;

Elijah, a prophet of God, was told by God that there would be a drought for three years in the land of Israel and after those three years were up that it would rain. Elijah had heard from God, got down on his face on the top of a mountain after the three years were up and prayed. Seven times he had to tell his servant "go back" and and six times his servant responded "there is nothing there..."

He had clearly heard the voice of God but what he had heard wasn't matching up with what he was seeing. 

Man do I feel like this sometimes. Especially when people (critics of what I believe God has called me to do) tell me "there is nothing there..." What really sucks is when I hear this from people I consider friends. It breaks my heart whenever they look at me weird when I start talking about this great calling that has been placed on my life. But like Elijah, I'm holding on to what I have heard. God is not one who would lie, He is fully capable of full filling everything He has already initiated in your life. I am not backing down from what I have heard! Even though there may not be anything to see now, eventually those same people who are criticizing my vision will come back and say "a cloud the size of a man's hand is rising from the sea" (well maybe they won't say EXACTLY that, but you get the idea)

No matter who you are or what you feel God has laid on your heart, here are my words of encouragement: Hold on to what you have heard! Even if what you have heard doesn't match up with what you are seeing, the payoff is coming! In between the promise and the payoff is the process, and it's usually a painful process. But the more painful the process, the more beautiful the payoff is gonna be! Keep your vision in sight! Even when there is nothing to see...

-andy

*this post was inspired by a talk I heard about 8 months ago at Catalyst. 

First Blog

Well lately I have felt as if I have way too much going on in my head (such as random thoughts, consuming thoughts, idea's, and even devotional words God has placed on my heart) that i needed to write them down somewhere. So, i went out and bought a journal. Shortly after buying this journal i realized i hate writing (takes too long), but typing is another story for me.

See, i am already online a lot anyways, so i think this way i can get all my thoughts out here on a blog (which aparently is free, i had no idea).

Anyways, thought i would just write out what it is i plan on writing on here and why i am even writing them (mainly, to help keep my sanity). 

-andy.