Live... Without a Net!!!

7 Lyrics that Rock My World

I'm not a musician, but I love music. Someone asked me not too long ago, "What's your favorite song?" I honestly had to reply that asking me to choose one favorite song would be like asking me to choose my favorite daughter!

That said, there are a few lyrics that really move me. Not that these are the only ones. There could be many more, but here are seven that are among my favorite.

• "I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene, and wonder how he could love me a sinner condemned unclean." - Charles H. Gabriel (I Stand Amazed)
• "You stay the same through the ages, Your love never changes. There may be pain in the night, but joy comes in the morning." - Chris McClarney and Anthony Skinner (Your Love Never Fails)
• "Pleased as man with men to dwell, Jesus our Emmanuel." - Charles Wesley (Hark! The Herald Angels Sing)
• "Filled with wonder, awestruck wonder at the mention of Your Name. Jesus, Your Name is Power, Breath, and Living Water, such a marvelous mystery." - Jennie Lee Riddle (Revelation Song)
• "I'll stand with arms high and heart abandoned, in awe of the One Who gave it all. I'll stand, my soul, Lord, to You surrendered. All I am is Yours." - Joel  Houston (The Stand)
• "'Cause I know that you're alive. You came to fix my broken life. And I'll sing to glorify Your Holy name, Jesus Christ." - Matt Crocker (Fire Fall Down)
• "Is this for real? Can it be? A Savior came! O What a King!" - Kevin Gardner (Just the Way I Am)

What lyrics rock your world?

Read!

It's really no secret that I love books. At one time, it was even a matter of sinful pride. I genuinely aspired to have the largest personal library of all my acquaintances... I know totally uncool in a nerdy kind of way, but true! I got rid of most of them in the course of a single massive purging session a few years ago with a little lot of help from Amy!

I still like books, mind you. I just don't hoard them anymore. Here's a few I've read (or re-read) over the past few weeks...

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To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee. Old book, but still a very relevant book about love, acceptance, and the value of every life.

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Courageous Leadership, by Bill Hybels. This book is quite simply the best book on leadership in the local church that I've ever read (or re-read). It's one of our mentorship books here at Gateway.

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The Millennium Trilogy, by Steig Larsson. These three books are powerfully addicting. I didn't want to put them down. Read one, and you'll want to read them all!

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A History of the English Speaking Peoples, by Winston S. Churchill. What can I say? I'm a fool for pretty much anything Churchill wrote, especially these four volumes. History aside, Churchill is one of the most powerful communicators (written or spoken) our common culture has ever produced.

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Love Wins: A Book about Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived, by Rob Bell. Some of you may be tempted to immediately label me a heretic (and swear to never read another of my posts) for even touching this book. That's OK. I've been and will be called worse. BUT if our secular culture sees Rob Bell as an evangelical spokesman, we'd better be personally familiar with what he's saying. If I'm gonna engage with the book, I wanna do it in my own understanding rather than simply adopting the conclusions of my cousin's roommate's brother-in-law's grandfather's pastor who warned his AM radio listeners against reading the book. That said, Bell's conclusions about divine justice and eternal punishment trouble me deeply when I consider them in light of the Bible's full teaching. Unless I miss my guess, Francis Chan's new book, Erasing Hell, will articulate a much more biblically honest assessment of hell.

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What are you reading?

I Love You, Dad!!!

Happy Father's Day, Dad!!!

Thanks for being you... Thanks for loving me... You will always be my hero!!!

Fasting @ G8way!

Wow! Only three more days until we begin a corporate fast at G8way Community Church. We are tremendously excited about what God has done, is doing, and will do in the future. Fasting, as one of the most powerful of all spiritual disciplines, makes us more sensitive to His leading in our lives. I believe he's got some amazing things to do among us, and I want us all to be ready to follow when He moves.

As we are denying ourselves food for this particular season, it will be very important for us to fill ourselves with the Word. After all, as Jesus so poignantly quoted Scripture, we do not "live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4). And that's why we're giving you this Scripture reading guide to use during the fast. I would suggest that you read and meditate on these Scriptures at the times that you would normally be eating.

As you read them, pray. Each passage proclaims a message about our God, His character, and His deeds. These Scriptures continue to speak about the love of God for His people, His power, His perfection, AND our need to worship, trust and obey Him. Fasting is a perfect time to come to grips with this reality in your life. So while reading feel free to make notes, use highlighters to mark your Bibles, and do other things to help you remember what you have read… And not so that you can simply know the truth of Scripture, but so that you can meditate on it, and most importantly seek to apply it consistently in your lives.

• (April 25) Day 1 – Exodus 15:1-21; 2 Samuel 22; Psalm 1
• (April 26) Day 2 – Psalm 8-9; Psalm 18-19; Psalm 23
• (April 27) Day 3 – Psalm 25; Psalm 32; Psalm 46; Psalm 51
• (April 28) Day 4 – Psalm 100; Psalm 103; Psalm 111-113
• (April 29) Day 5 – Psalm 119
• (April 30) Day 6 – Matthew 5-7; John 13:1-17; Acts 13:13-41
• (May 1) Day 7 – Romans 8; 2 Corinthians 5:16-6:2; Philippians 2:1-11; Revelation 5:11-14

Now remember, I am going through this right along with you. I believe with all of my heart that some of your lives will be forever changed. Furthermore, I believe that our church will forever be changed. It’s an honor to experience all that with you!

ONE MORE VERY IMPORTANT THING! Be sure to reference this link for particular instructions and guidelines for fasting… especially on the instructions for ending the fast found on page eleven. The Seven Day fast will end at 5 PM on Saturday, May 1!

Later, ya'll!

Thayer

In Honor of April 15...

Basketball and Ministry

Yesterday, my school, Clemson University, introduced a new head coach for their men’s basketball program. Brad Brownell is taking over the team formerly led by Oliver Purnell, who moved on to Depaul University last week.

Many of you who keep up with college basketball know that Clemson is not a historically powerful force in men’s basketball. They’ve had some good teams through the years, but they’ve never been tournament champions in their conference, the ACC (actually, they’ve only played in the conference tourney championship game twice in the fifty-plus year history of the conference), and season-to-season consistency in success has for the most part eluded them. They’ve often been a byword in a league that features traditional powerhouses like Duke and North Carolina, and Tarheel fans are all too happy to remind everyone that they have NEVER lost a game to Clemson on their home court… Trust me, NEVER!

It remains to be seen what Coach Brownell will be able to accomplish at Clemson, but at his introductory press conference yesterday, he said some things that resonated with me, especially what he called the Three Principles for his team…

Passion. "I think you have to be passionate. ... I don't believe you wake up on the wrong side of the bed. ... You wake up with a good attitude and you hit the ground running, and let's make it happen. I want guys who are passionate about our team"

Purpose. "I think you have to work really hard. There is no substitute. If you don't work, you're not going to win. It's not going to happen. More than working hard, you better work smart. ... Talent is God-given. Skill is what you should be measured by."

Pride. "We're going to take great pride here when I'm the coach in being a Clemson Tiger. We're going to be proud of who we are, who we're playing for, and we're going to give you great effort."

I like those three principles. Each one is scriptural, and I believe that they have far-reaching applications in every endeavor… most especially in ministry.

Think about it…

Passion: What if every Christ follower (pastor, staff member, volunteer, etc.) approached ministry with a victorious attitude? What if we made up our minds to kick malignant attitudes to the curb, and remember that there is no enemy that can withstand the power of Jesus Christ? It couldn’t help but affect every area of our lives, could it?

Purpose: What if we stopped wishing for better circumstances or even stopped wishing we were someone else, and really measured our success in life by how hard we strived to achieve our purpose (not someone else’s) in life and ministry? What if we genuinely, joyfully, and continually put in the time and the hard work to find, refine, and deliver on our skills and gifts to achieve our purpose in life?

Pride: What if we put aside “false humility” and self-deprecating behavior, and remembered that we can glory in Jesus Christ, His love for us, and His calling on our lives? What if I lived this life, not forgetting that I am remarkably and undeservedly loved by Him, but that I carry HIS Name, that people judge Him by my actions, and that the way I choose to live my life (for better or worse) is a reflection on Him?

A few things to dwell on, huh? I pray you ask yourself these questions, and then make these three things real in your life!

And BTW – Go Tigers!

Later,

Thayer

“Enchanted” with Theology

If there’s anything that can make Christians look like the south side of a north facing mule, it’s our enchantment with “theology.”

Now don’t get me wrong, theology has its place. I’m not ashamed of what I believe, and I don’t apologize for what our church believes. Some of you may like it, others of you may not.

But I am exhausted by endless theological “posturing.” I know way too many pastors who are so enamored with someone who lived hundreds of years ago that they’ve forgotten that they are supposed to be enamored with the Jesus who lives forever! Their theology books are falling apart, yet their Bibles are collecting dust. They are so bent on knowing what to believe, that they’ve forgotten WHO to believe in. All in the name of “theology!”

I’m especially exhausted by it when I consider that…

Theology's never been dead, buried, and resurrected. It's never saved anyone, renewed anyone, healed anyone, or sanctified anyone, and it's certainly not coming back to earth for anyone!

Nobody who really follows Jesus ever sings for their theology or prays to their theology. It's not theology who throws a party when the prodigal comes home. Theology isn't gut-wrenched when it sees the plight of people who are like sheep without a shepherd. Theology isn't the way, the truth or the life. It's not the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. It never made the blind to see, the deaf to hear, or the lame to walk. It will never be the Creator, the Son of the Living God, the Only Begotten, the Suffering Servant, the King of Kings, the Alpha, or the Omega!

Our people don’t need to leave our church services amazed at excellently nuanced theological expositions, they need to be awe-struck by the awesome power and compelling love of God! And as helpful as the theology scribes may be, if I rely upon them more than on the truth of God’s Word, I’m the very embodiment of 1 Corinthians 13:1.

Clanging cymbal or messenger of God? Which will it be?

Flame away!!!!

A Few Thoughts…

This past Easter Sunday was one of the great weekends in G8way's history. Between both services, we had 408 in attendance -- our second largest attendance ever! We believe God is preparing our hearts to do some pretty big things in our midst over the next few months. Honestly, I can't wait to see what He does!

With that in mind, I'm going to invite you to join me in doing a few things (some practical and some spiritual) in regard to our personal lives and our church's life...

• Pray! As Christ Followers, the communication lines between us and the Father are always available. In fact, Jesus is always at his Father's side interceding for us. Pray that our hearts will seek Him, trust Him, and obey Him as never before. We want our hearts to be ready when He moves!
• Arrive at church early! As we have more and more guests each week, it will be important for all of us to show up at church a little earlier than we've been doing. Instead of simply planning to show up at church right at 9:30 or 11, we must discipline ourselves to leave the house in time to arrive at 9:15 or 10:45, about 15 minutes earlier than many of us do. When we make that a consistent practice, we and our church's volunteers will have a much easier time getting everyone checked in and in place BEFORE the service begins!
• Fast! I'm writing to a bunch of Baptists here who may have never fasted before, and I've been to enough church dinners to know that quite often, it's King Stomach who reigns rather than King Jesus! But hearing Jesus' words in Matthew 6:16 should remind us that it's not "if" we fast, but "when" we fast. Fasting has always been a way for those who follow Christ to draw themselves closer to the heart of the Father. By denying ourselves for a particular period of time, we open our eyes to the spiritual realities around us and tune ourselves to better sense God's prompting personally and as a church body. That said, several in our church, myself included, will begin a 7 day juice fast beginning April 25. We'd love to have you join us, and if you want we'll be glad to pass along more information to you. Simply contact me, and I'll be glad to send it to you!
• Expect God to Show Up at Our Services! Question: How many times have we been to church with no anticipation that something AMAZING would happen? Answer: Too many times! And read this carefully... the lack of anticipation in our services can squelch and quench the work of God's Spirit among us. He wants passion from his people, not mediocrity and half-hearted effort. For that reason, I'm gonna ask you to begin shifting your attitude to one of excitement and expectation that God's gonna show up and show off at our services. Church is so much more than a weekly routine. It's a time for all of us to encounter a crucified, buried, and resurrected Lord! THERE'S ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ORDINARY ABOUT THAT! So from this point forward, eagerly and passionately expecting him to change lives forever every time you come into his presence!

OK people, we're gonna do this together. As I wrote above, I believe God's about to move mightily among us. Let's let Him move and move freely in our personal lives and our church's life!

God Bless!

Help for Haiti

By now the overwhelming majority of you have heard about the devastating earthquake that rocked Haiti yesterday afternoon. The images that have come out of that country in the past 24 hours are horrific. From what we've been able to see so far, the carnage is almost apocalyptic in magnitude. Preliminary estimates speculate that about one-third of the Haitian population requires emergency medical care and that the death toll could reach 100,000.

As a group of believers, we cannot and will not remain apathetic in the face of such destruction. Jesus died for the Haitian people, and NOW is the time for us to demonstrate His love through our attitudes and action.

For that reason, G8way Community Church will be collecting a special offering this Sunday, January 17 which will go directly to helping the people of Haiti through Baptist Global Response. For more information on Baptist Global Response (or to make an online contribution now) click here!

I'm going to ask you to give, and give generously. And remember, if you knew that God was going to take your contribution and use it to change someone's life FOREVER, would you give sparingly or generously? I pray that you give generously.

Perhaps you or someone you know wants to make a contribution now. Feel free to visit the website above and/or pass it along to those you know who want to make an immediate difference in Haiti!

God Bless!

10 Things I'm Excited About in 2010 (Part 2)

6) A New Opportunity to Live Out G8way’s Core Values… Many of you know that Gateway exists to be a place where REAL people through REAL church find REAL hope in Jesus Christ! How do we do that? By living out these values in EVERYTHING we do…

• Jesus Christ—For this and every generation;
• Life Change—Broken lives made new;
• Maturity—Spiritual growth through relational discipleship and service;
• Relevance—Connecting the timeless gospel to our culture using any means; and
• Excellence—Our God deserves nothing less.

7) G8way’s Leadership Team… We have an incredible group of elders, staff members, and high performance volunteers. The best thing about them is that they love Jesus more than me. Honestly, apart from Jesus, I’m pretty much unlovable for anybody! :)

8) Sundays @ G8way… I ABSOLUTELY love Sunday mornings! Looking ahead to the first part of ‘10, we’ve got some really cool things coming up… “Broadcast” (beginning this Sunday), “Apps” (a message series on spiritual gifts beginning in February), “Pure Church” (kicking off on Easter Sunday), and a message series on worship in May. And folks our worship team has kicked it up a notch or three, haven’t they?!!! But those elements aren’t enough to stand alone. We pray that from start to finish, from planning through execution, that the Holy Spirit would guide us and use all that we do to POINT PEOPLE TO JESUS CHRIST!!! After all, Sundays @ G8way are nothing without Jesus!

9) G8way’s Adults, Students, Children, and Preschoolers… We are blessed with excellent leaders in every ministry at G8way. Just watch your preschoolers and/or children when they leave G8way on Sunday mornings. You can tell that they’ve had a great time, but what we do at G8way is so much more important than showing them a good time! We hope to plant within their hearts the seeds of the life-changing gospel that will flourish in them for the rest of their lives. Our students are not just the leaders of tomorrow, at G8way they’re often the leaders of today! What our middle and high schoolers experience on Wednesdays challenges them to live a life of radical and total commitment to JESUS CHRIST! And our adult service teams and groups connect people from every conceivable background and experience in friendship, passion, and growth in Jesus Christ…. Having said all that, you watch what happens in 2010 in each of these areas. God’s got some HUGE things in store!

10) G8way’s Commitment to TRULY Being Salt & Light in Our Community & Beyond… Here’s the truth: we love people because Jesus loved people. And we’re gonna love and serve people in 2010 like we’ve not done before. Here’s a few things you’ll help us do this year…

Support International Missions…

• through World Vision
• through Nothing But Nets
• through the SBC’s International Mission Board

Support Missions in Our Own Communities…

• through Wayne Pregnancy Center
• through the Community Soup Kitchen of Goldsboro
• through Thanksgiving in a Bag (You only thought it was big in ‘09)
• through the BIGGEST and BOLDEST ministry initiative our church has ever undertaken. I’m not gonna tell you everything, yet, but when you find out, you WILL BE blown away!!! For now, let’s just say that December 2010 will be forever etched in your memory and in our community’s collective memory for years to come. People, I’m already looking forward to Christmas! It’s gonna be GREAT!!!

(Bonus) One last thing I’m excited about in 2010 is you. In whatever circumstances you find yourself in the coming year, I pray that God will use those circumstances to reveal His power, His love, HIMSELF to you and through you!

See you soon!!!

Thayer