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