First of all, I am relieved! Majorly relieved! A good man won the seat and I can focus on leading Collective Church solely! Remember, I got in this race only because it was thought that there wasn’t going to be anyone else running.

So what lessons have I learned from this experience the past 8 months? Let me give you a bullet point list. This is from my personal experience only and doesn’t necessarily speak on behalf of political campaigns everywhere.

1. Politics is an all-consuming world. Even for an alleged “part-time” position.
2. People that are originally “with you” will bail on you.
3. People will believe EVERYTHING they read and hear! This is true even being a pastor.
4. People will lie to you just to play the “political game”.
5. It takes a toll on your family as a whole.
6. It takes a toll on your personal well-being emotionally, physically and even spiritually.
7. It divides more than unites because there will always be “winners” and “losers”.
8. It costs a lot of money if you really want to succeed at it. (this I didn’t have. I had some contributions from people that are close to me, but I didn’t accept any PAC money or financial contributions that had “strings attached”.) (favors)
9. I am a pastor. Not a politician. I believe pastors should lead The Church and pray for politicians and be a support for politicians who are really wanting to make a difference and who follow Jesus. You can’t do both effectively.
10. You don’t really have any “political” friends. I’m beginning to wonder if we really have many real “friends” at all.
11. Somebody will ALWAYS want you to say or do something.
12. You open yourself up for all kinds of scrutiny and misconceptions and opinions. (as a pastor, I believe this to be detrimental to the church if not real careful).
13. Your integrity will be challenged more than you can prepare for!
14. There is a spiritual stronghold in and on government.
15. People will create fake social media accounts to attack you with.
16. Anything you ever have said or done, even from 20 years ago, will be held against you!
17. HOWEVER, you can run a clean race! I am grateful to have run against 2 good men and we can honestly look at this campaign as a model on how it doesn’t have to get “dirty”. You can actually be opponents and not enemies. (lesson everyone can learn)

Again, I jumped in this race only because it was my understanding that there wasn’t going to be anyone else running. That changed and it needed to because it wasn’t meant for me to win that seat.

This was a learning experience in many ways for me. You learn who your friends really are. You learn how “optical” EVERYTHING really is (I knew this already for the most part being a Sr. Pastor, it’s just different in politics). I learned a lot of good and a lot of bad things. Bottom line being, I am thankful to be the Sr. Pastor of the greatest church on The Mississippi Gulf Coast and even more so thankful for my family and my life that The Lord has blessed me with.

See you at church!

We are in what is called a “Post-Truth Culture”. What that means is that “truth” is in the eyes of the beholder. Whatever people want to be “truth” is their “truth”. Regardless of actual reality or absolute truth. Folks can post things on social media and say things that are not even close to being factual and it is presented as “truth”. This should not surprise us as Christians. Paul Instructed Timothy In 2 Timothy 3:

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.
6 They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, 7 always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. 9 But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.
10 You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, 11 persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. 12 In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13 while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14 But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

This letter was written to Timothy, a young pastor, as a word of warning because of the culture of that day. Sound familiar?

Be careful family. Don’t believe everything posted or everything perceived. Always consider the source of any and all conversations. In this day and hour that we live, we have to live carefully and with discernment. Paul also told Timothy In 2 Timothy 2:

Keep reminding God’s people of these things. Warn them before God against quarreling about words; it is of no value, and only ruins those who listen. 15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. 16 Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. 17 Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, 18 who have departed from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some. 19 Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness.”
20 In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use. 21 Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.
22 Flee the evil desires of youth and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, along with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 23 Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels. 24 And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful. 25 Opponents must be gently instructed, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, 26 and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will.

We all must be careful what we allow to influence us, who we allow to influence us, and who we are attempting influence. The consequences of not doing so can be dangerous and not enriching to The Body of Christ.

We reap what we sow…

This current culture I am referring to is not even the “un-churched” or the lost. It is the culture of “the Church”. It is unfortunate. It is sad. It is deadly. We are in a “post-truth” culture that needs to get back to the only Absolute Truth, that is Jesus and His Word!

Have a great week!

Just in my lifetime, what has shifted with culture has been alarming. We are in the middle of a pandemic with Covid cases increasing in drastic numbers, Christians can’t get along with one another, social media bullies are everywhere, and men are becoming girls. There… I said it.

I see pastors on social media and men on social media completely disguised as women… ok, maybe not fully disguised, but it is really hard to tell the difference anymore! Let me explain:

As my wife says, a woman wants a man to be a man. A man is a protector and provider for the family. A man usually wants a feminine woman. Not one that can lift more weights than them. I know there are cases that are otherwise, to each their own I suppose. Today, men hide behind their women instead of stepping up and “being the man” by leading their families and protecting their families. Men dress like, do their hair like and attempt to have their appearance looking more feminine than masculine.

What I am alarmed at today is how men are constantly trying to gain followers on social media, are easily offended at every little thing said or posted and sitting back while their wives lead while they polish their nails. WHAT?

Maybe I am too country in my upbringing, but I am having a hard time with “men” trying to do what women do and look like women in their dress and action. I am not saying that women are always easily offended, don’t get me wrong, but what I am saying is that it is really hard to tell anymore the Biblical role that each should fulfill because men and women are all doing and looking the same.

We weren’t created to fulfill the same roles.

This in itself I believe has caused so much of the disfunction that we see in families today. Young men growing up not knowing how to lead their family because there was no example of that from their father. Young girls growing up not knowing how to be nurturers and godly wives and mothers because their mothers had to be everything because the dad was too busy playing Xbox or debating on facebook about things that will never really matter. And the opposite is true…

In a healthy home, young girls will admire and look for a husband that resembles the sacrifice and protection that their fathers gave them and young men will look for women who loved and nurtured like their mother did.

Before anyone accuses me of being backwoods sexist, let me just say that there are no doubt exceptions to the rule. I am not saying that single parents are inadequate because there is no spouse to fulfill the role that a single parent has to fulfill. What I am saying is that if there is a family structure and there is a mom and dad in the home, dad shouldn’t be shopping in the same clothing store as mom.

We need to get the family back to God-honoring and God-seeking. Men, take your family to church! Women, go to church even if he won’t. Eventually he will. Men, set the bar high for your sons and daughters. Women, nurture, lead and love your family with all that you are because deep down, that is how you are made by your Creator. Men, show your sons how to change a flat tire and check the oil. Take your sons to a sporting event. Go shoot a gun. Instill in your sons the heart for providing and protecting. Get up and go to work!

Finally, men, pastors, and other male figures, please stop filling up social media with your continued obsession to be famous and noticed. Save us all the heartache and confusion please.

Lead. Serve. Protect. Man Up!

If you are offended or don’t like this post, you can easily close the page and carry on with your day.

Be blessed! 🙂

We are working on a new series / season at Action Church that we are calling “The Pursuit.” The idea is to look at the Biblical Early Church and see what Jesus expects for us as His followers and then compare that to what we actually do.

It will be a challenging, inspiring and transformative season as we will also begin a 21 Days of prayer and fasting as we pursue God more in our daily lives.

One of the key Scriptures that has stuck out to me in my study is this:

Acts 2:42-47 NLT

All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer.

⁴³ A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders. ⁴⁴ And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had. ⁴⁵ They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. ⁴⁶ They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity ⁴⁷ all the while praising God and enjoying the goodwill of all the people. And each day the Lord added to their fellowship those who were being saved.

Emphasis being on “devoted”. 

Could it be that we aren’t seeing “The Church” look like Jesus because our devotion is lacking?

We will see as we begin this journey on Sunday, August 30 at 9:00 and 11:00. Hope you can join us!

 

If you are anything like me, everyday there are opportunities for frustrations. It is easy to get frustrated over what we see happening in our nation and world, on the job, in our schools, the political arena, etc. We tend to get frustrated with church and church leaders and sometimes, just everything!

Ever wondered why?

Other than the fact that we are living in tense times and everyone seems to be on edge,  we are naturally always looking for the negative in every situation, conversation, social media post and comment.

I am trying to live my life by the principle I am sharing with you today. It’s a challenge and it’s a discipline.

We tend to be frustrated due to our level of expectation. We “expect” high and “experience” low and therefore we get frustrated, withdrawn, negative, complacent, defensive and rebellious.

We naturally want to defend ourselves and our feelings along with dwelling on things as we see them, however, the truth is, the way we see things are not the same as reality many times.

I can’t tell you how many times I was convinced social media posts, rants, and comments were directly related to me or about me and our church, (and some probably were) and it is also amazing at how many people think that something I post, say, or comment about, was directly throwing shade at them. It’s a bizarre way to live that is exhausting and also extremely demonically divisive.

For one, I am trying to practice what I preach here. The graph says it all. Thinking better of people is one way to also not step into that trap.

Also, maybe we need to lower our expectations and then reality wouldn’t sting so bad.

What do you think?

If we didn’t expect our spouse to do this or that or our kids to do this or that, then when they did or didn’t, there would be less of a surprise and less of frustration.

Expectations without communications is a fairy tale.

Let’s always have the conversations of what we expect and never assume or expect someone to fulfill something without clarity and understanding.

Just this small tweak can free us from a prison of emotional baggage and help our relationships be healthier and stronger in the long run.

Have a great week!

I will try to keep this as short as possible, but I hope you take the time to read all the way through and give me your feedback.

November and December is such a special time each year. Thanksgiving, Christmas, family time, Christmas Experiences (Services) at church and all the many other reasons that makes the season special. I love the spirit of the season.

However, there is also a dark side of the season. As we have stated each year and we read more and more about each year, people struggle with depression at an alarming rate and suicide numbers are equal to or more than the rest of the year January-October combined! There are many reasons for this, one being the loneliness that people feel because of the absence of a loved one and the isolation that the season can bring to those who don’t have family and friends to share the love of the season with. Financial burdens are also a part of the realization in one’s life this time of year. I don’t want to address those things in this post though, I want to write about a more widespread epidemic that is absolutely paralyzing people, dividing homes, causing division in marriages, churches and relationships abroad. The issue that I see becoming more and more of a hinderance to even a true witness of Jesus in our lives is the issue of OFFENSE.

We get offended about everything! A post we read, a statement someone says, an expectation that we had the went unmet, you name it, it is becoming more and more of a problem and it must be addressed or this issue in itself can be the root of all the seasonal pressures that I stated above.

No longer can we agree to disagree on a subject matter. No longer can we agree to disagree on a theological opinion. If we can’t agree, we just simply remove those people from our lives that dont think like we do, believe like we do, like everything we like, and it is paralyzing and it is also, in my opinion, very immature.

Offense will come. Jesus told us that Himself in Luke that it is impossible that no offenses should come. Meaning that offense will come, opportunities to be offended will arise, it will happen! So knowing this truth, we need to safeguard ourselves on how we deal with it when it does come. The enemy would love to divide us, get us frustrated and unforgiving towards people, get us angry and upset all the time, but the interesting thing about it is that when we do get offended, most times I know in my own life, it is because of my own pride and ego. I am choosing the offense over the opportunity. I am choosing to be offended instead of humbling myself to have an understanding or even be enlightened to a different perspective than my own.

If we are wanting to be offended, and it appears many of us live our entire lives this way, you wont have to wait long before the opportunity to do so will come knocking.

We get offended at our co workers, our bosses, our friends, our spouses, our kids, our church family, our classmates, our family, the person in the checkout line at Wal-Mart, the drive through person that doesn’t give me the exact attention I think I deserve, the teacher that doesn’t highlight my kid on the student of the week board every single week, the coaches that don’t recognize my talents and abilities, the pastors who preach us truth that we can’t receive because we cant handle truth, the person that didn’t open the door for us when we were walking into the building, and the list can go on and on.

So what? What can we do? First of all, we can recognize that we have an offended spirit. We should be conscience of it because it is a weak area of our spiritual lives that the enemy will capitalize on to get us alienated and disconnected from people. Secondly, we pray and ask for understanding and strength in the area of my offense. Then, we have actual conversations with those whom feel offended by or hurt because that is what Christ-followers should do anyway!

The reason I see this as a paralyzing predicament for most is because I have known people to leave a church family just because they were offended about something that could have had peaceful resolve had conversations been had. It is unbelievable for me to look back at all the people that have chosen to leave the church I get to pastor because of offense and unresolved bitter emotions. We seem to always be looking for the wrong in people instead of the right in people. We always seem to be looking out for our best interest and our egos instead of humbling ourselves to the reality that we don’t know every detail or every situation with every person. Most times there is a “why” behind the “what”.

I remember one time a family in our church invited us along with the entire staff over to their home for a Christmas party. This was the first time that my wife and I and most of our staff had ever been to these people’s home. It was a nice evening, all were having fun, then came time for the food to be served, and as you would expect, the host would ask their pastor to pray over the food as that is what you do when your pastor is in your home for the first time, right? I was preparing to pray and the host asked our student pastor to pray instead of me. The student pastor looked at me in surprise, as well as the rest of the staff, as it was a bit awkward. I didn’t dwell on it as those people were always offended about something as I learned throughout my time trying to lead them, I just made the decision to overlook it and pretend it was no big deal. Which really, it wasn’t. It was just a slap of dishonor by the host to me because the host themselves were offended about something with me. It wasn’t my issue or problem, I just chose to overlook it and never said a word about it until now. Those people have since left our church because they found every reason to be offended about something all the time and it really does break my heart because I can’t imagine living that way. We all can slide into that if we aren’t careful. Do as I did, Let it go. Move on. Forgive, pray and carry on.

‘Tis the season for the greatest time of the year, but also for increased opportunities to be offended and hurt.

Let’s choose healing and hope. Let’s choose understanding over agreement. Let’s choose to be a victor and not a victim. Let’s choose to resolve conflict in a timely manner. Let’s choose to look at people with compassion and sympathy, not as egotistical and rude. If we all do our part, the world could be a much better place and more joy and life could be experienced by all.

Paul said in Romans 12:18 NKJV; If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Your life does depend on you. Your peace may depend on your attitude and actions towards others and you too could bring peace and joy to others if we would just take ownership of our own shortcomings in the area of having an offended spirit!

We will be revisiting this subject in a teaching series soon at Action Church. Stay tuned.

Leadership is a challenge regardless of how much experience you have in it. Leading people in itself is a challenge and especially as a leader in the church. Expectations most of the time are higher than what we are able to fulfill, therefore, frustration with those we are leading is birthed.

As a leader, I always have to evaluate my leadership and take a look in the mirror on what I am doing and if I am being effective. I have learned a few things in the 20+ years of church and corporate leadership that I want to share with you.

20 Ways to Know You’re Not a Leader

1. You’re waiting on a bigger staff and more money to accomplish your vision.
2. You think you need to be in charge to have influence.
3. You’re content.
4. You tend to foster division instead of generating a helpful dialogue.
5. You think you need to say something to be heard.
6. You find it easier to blame others for your circumstances than to take responsibility for solutions.
7. It’s been some time since you said, “I messed up.”
8. You’re driven by the task instead of the relationships and the vision.
9. Your dreams are so small, people think they can be achieved.
10. No one is following you.
11. You always have an excuse to justify mistakes.
12. You have to be the only one talking all the time. #LeadersListen
13. Procrastination is your middle name!
14. You get “too busy” to complete assigned projects and deadlines. #LeadersMakeItHappen
15. Passion is the name of a fruit to you. #LeadersArePassionate
16. You do just enough to get by. #LeadersGoTheExtraMile
17. You expect all honor, but don’t live a life of demonstrated honor.
18. You don’t have accountability. #LeadersFollow
19. You feel as if there’s nothing more to learn. #LeadersAreLearners
20. Your desire is to be known (famous) instead of keeping your eyes on the vision and mission of your influence.

There are leaders, and then there are real leaders. Some leaders think of themselves as leaders because they have a title. Others don’t need a title. They understand that leadership is really about influence anchored in integrity and humility.

You don’t need to wait for someone to give you a position and a private office to lead. If you want to be a leader in the future, start acting like a leader today.

How will you invest your influence?

16 Easy Ways to Know You’re Not a Leader

1. You’re waiting on a bigger staff and more money to accomplish your vision.
2. You think you need to be in charge to have influence.
3. You’re content.
4. You tend to foster division instead of generating a helpful dialogue.
5. You think you need to say something to be heard.
6. You find it easier to blame others for your circumstances than to take responsibility for solutions.
7. It’s been some time since you said, “I messed up.”
8. You’re driven by the task instead of the relationships and the vision.
9. Your dreams are so small, people think they can be achieved.
10. No one is following you.
11. You always have an excuse to justify mistakes.
12. You have to be the only one talking all the time. #LeadersListen
13. Procrastination is your middle name!
14. You get “too busy” to complete assigned projects and deadlines. #LeadersMakeItHappen
15. Passion is the name of a fruit to you. #LeadersArePassionate
16. You do just enough to get by. #LeadersGoTheExtraMile

There are leaders, and then there are real leaders. Some leaders think of themselves as leaders because they have a title. Others don’t need a title. They understand that leadership is really about influence anchored in integrity and humility.

You don’t need to wait for someone to give you a position and a private office to lead. If you want to be a leader in the future, start acting like a leader today.

How will you invest your influence?