Week in Review

• On Saturday our church provided a family fun day in Atlantic Station and served approximately 1000 people. I don't know that I have ever been more proud of our volunteers and staff serving the city.
• July 4th attendance was wonderful today. We have more and more people bringing their families with them and today was no exception.
  
• I had a great time connecting with men in our church over lunch this week.
• Quote of the week: "She should get her own and so should you." (Gibson's response when asked by Dave B if Lauren Kate could have some of his popcorn while Dave was also eating some of Gibson's popcorn)
• It was really good to have my sister and her family in town from Japan this week. (No Chris we are not doing ministry at "my sister's house" this week)
• We were saddened at the loss of Connie's mother last week.
  
• The media team did great today but Thomas C you were missed.
• Pray for our staff as we are taking a planning retreat later this week.
• Its official....I am now on twitter @graysmatter
• Have an awesome week and tell someone about Jesus
  

A Very Poor God

A friend posted this on her facebook status tonight:

To expect another person to make you feel happy, secure, and fulfilled will leave you disappointed at best and disillusioned at worst. Even a great husband makes a very poor God. Only God can settle those deep heart-needs. A man can never do this.

That sure does take the pressure of for us guys. We are not God and we are not even being considered for the position. You actually could insert a great "anything" makes a very poor God.

For all the ladies out there this comes from a daily devotional sent out by Proverbs31.org

Week in Review

• Bezalel Church made some great contributions to the service yesterday.
• Thanks for the work zone set design.
• Kerry the drawing was a great illustration of how dad's need to be leading their kids to Christ.
• It was also great to have Lauren's dad in the service to sing a father-daughter duet.
• Cornerstone Baptist Church from Charlotte, NC is in town to help with some mission projects including a cool art camp in Centennial Place.
• I really enjoyed preaching the "Desperate Households" series and look forward to preaching through John 16 and the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
• I had a super Father's Day and enjoyed sharing it with my church family.
• Please pray for Connie's family. Her mom is scheduled to be put into hospice care today.
  

One Step From Stupid

Danny Aiken use to always tell us in seminary that sin makes you stupid. I recieved an email article today fro David Putnam entitled "One Step From Stupid". Last week the pastor of a rapidly growing church in Canton resigned after admitting to an emotional and physical affair with his personal assistant. I have reminded Jonathan that if he ever comes on to me I will punch him in the face. Well it can happen to any of us.

Here is a great open letter to pastors from Geoff Surratt as it relates to guarding our families and ministries.

An open letter to pastors

This weekend Gary Lamb, one of the more popular pastors in the social networking world, admitted that he has been in an ongoing affair with his assistant. Following the direction of his church Overseers he resigned from the church he planted five years ago effective immediately. The damage his actions caused will continue for many years in the lives of hundreds of people. I do not know Gary personally but I have followed him on Twitter for the past year and have read his blog occasionally. I have no comment on his specific situation other than to say I am praying for his family, his church, the woman he has been involved with and for Gary.

I do, however, want to comment on pastors shipwrecking their lives and the lives of their families. I have been involved in ministry all of my life, the past 27 as a staff member or pastor at three different churches, and I have seen stories like Gary's over and over. The details vary, but the end result is the same; total devastation. The key question is not what happened, but rather how can we avoid the same fate. Here are some random thoughts:

1. If you think you aren't vulnerable, you are already toast
   I had a counseling professor in college who said that the pastors who are in the most danger of a moral shipwreck are the ones who think it will never happen to them. If you think you are too honest, too faithful, or too transparent to ever be involved in an affair you are skating on very thin ice. David never thought he'd sleep with Bathsheba until he saw her naked; then he couldn't think of anything else. You can steal money, you can get involved in pornography, you can cheat on your spouse, and you can lie to your family. Every day of our lives we have to remind ourselves we are vulnerable to complete moral failure.
   
2. If you think you can burn the candle at both ends, you are already toast
   There are no super humans in ministry. When I read twitters of pastors who get up at 4:00 a.m. every day, who work seven days a week, who counsel people at night and on their "day off", I know that they are headed for a fall. God took a day off when he was creating the world, Jesus took a beach trip to Tyre and Sidon (Mark 7:24) during his ministry. Unless you know something God doesn't know you are headed for a major fall without regular downtime.
   
3. If you think you can do ministry without accountability, you are already toast
   The only "conversation" I ever had with Gary Lamb was a Twitter exchange over the importance of an accountability group. Gary felt that the Overseers of his church provided all the accountability he needed. My contention is that we need people who are face-to-face with us on a regular basis, who know our wives and our assistants, who can ask us the really tough questions. I don't know if the Overseers provided that for Gary or if a local group would have prevented his fall, but I do know that I need that kind of scrutiny in my life.

4. If you think you don't need safeguards, you are already toast
   Filters on internet access, never handling cash for the church, never meeting with someone of the opposite sex alone, letting others have access to your email; these are such a pain and to be honest I don't always have all of them active in my life. The reality is that safeguards will not keep you from doing what you have already decided to do, but they can give you enough margin to change your mind before you act.
   
5. If you think it's about you, you are already toast
   Failure begins with ego. When you begin to think that success is because you are smart, funny, talented, cool or a 100 other adjectives and not simply because God is God and has chosen to bless you; you are headed down a very dangerous path. When you being to think the ministry will crumble without you and that you have to work 24/7 to make it happen you are headed toward destruction. When you think the rules stop applying to you and you can cut corners and you are above it you are on a crash course for disaster.
   

As ministers we are in a marathon. If you do not pay attention to the danger signs along the way you will crash before the finish line. Your crash may be a spectacular moral failure like Gary's, it may be the slow destruction of your marriage, or it may be the rotting of your soul; but Satan will use ministry to destroy you. And God will not say to you in Heaven, "Too bad about your family, but awesome job building a great big church. Fist bump, dude."

Three things every pastor needs to do:

1. Slow down
   You will not change the world today and tomorrow isn't looking good either. There is plenty of time to hang with your wife, play with your kids, play golf, relax. God was at work long before you showed up and He will be at work long after you are gone. You cannot live on adrenaline all of the time. You cannot be pumped up about every weekend. If you live that way for an extended time you will crash.
2. Open up

   You need someone in your life who knows you inside and out; someone who will ask the hard questions and know when you are ducking the answers. It is difficult as a pastor to find someone you can be truly honest with, but it is essential that you find that person. Another pastor who does not attend your church might be ideal.

3. Count the cost

   Every time you are tempted to break a rule, to cut a corner, togo somewhere you shouldn't go consider what it will cost you when it all comes to light. What is going to happen when your wife finds out? How will she feel? What will it do to your children? What will this do to your church? How will it feel to write a letter like Gary had to write?

You don't wake up one day and decide to shipwreck your life. You do it one stupid decision at a time. As someone who has seen this happen again and again and again I am begging you to take action today because it will happen to you.

Summer Camp Memories

This week my family and I are in what has been affectionately referred to as the "Redneck Riviera" aka Panama City Beach. I am preaching at my first youth camp of the summer. Even though I am getting older and the music is getting louder I still love being involved with youth camps.

For many people Panama City Beach is a place where they lost something or did something that they regret and have to live with for the rest of their life. I am praying that the students look back on this week in Panama City and remember it as a place and time when God moved in a powerful way in their life.

Week in Review

• Yesterday I preached "Sex in the City." It was a biblical look at sex and sexual activity. The basic message was not "Where is the Line?" but "When is the time?"
• Remind me to make it a little cooler in the room next time I preach this. I think I was sweating.
  
• I thought the video that led into the message was a super way of introducing some of the issues.
  
  
  
  
• Last week we had over half of our church attendance involved in Connection Groups. This was a great start to the summer.
• Our Sunday morning attendance was also really strong yesterday.
• Hospitality team you guys are getting better every week and I continually hear people say how friendly and genuine our church is. Great Job!
• Last week someone wrote a song about our church. I think this may be the first one. Here is the myspace link. It is called "At My Church." Thanks JW. I am glad God sent you here.
• Roopville Road Baptist Church is in town this week helping us with planting Bezalel Church plant. They are from Carrollton, GA. So that makes this a foreign mission trip for them. Thanks for coming!
• This weekend First Baptist Church Jacksonville, FL will be bringing a group of middle schools to help with some mission projects. They are always a huge blessing to be around.
• The ultimate highlight of my week was my lunch date with my wife and her new cool haircut! (Sometimes guys have to say that but I mean it)

Jogging in the Rain?

I saw some crazy guy out jogging in the rain this morning. If I am honest I probably don't think he is crazy just because it was in the rain, it is also because I think jogging is crazy period. I mean unless something is wrong with your car or you are being chased by a dog or something why would you jog. Maybe I would be more interested if it was tackle jogging or something to make it a little more competitive. I am sure you can tell by my increasing waistline I am not a big fan of jogging. So I digress.

The point of this blog is to ask the question, "What are you passionate enough about to jog in the rain for?" It was obvious that the inconvenience of rain falling from the sky was not enough to stop this guy from running. I have learned that we mostly do what we want to do in life.

I think I run in the rain for God and usually serve Him when its inconvenient but not always. I think I run in the rain for my wife and family. And I think I run in the rain for our church family.

What do you run in the rain for?