The Brown Bytes

I had to look twice

2012-01-31T15:34:00.005-05:00

While on a mission's trip in Cambodia I witnessed this pig on a moto. Needless to say, I had to look twice because you just don't get to see this very often. It's in moments like this one above that you realize there is more then one way to take a pig to the market.

One of the things I want to do this year is to think in new ways and to ask God for audacious answers. I don't want to come to the end of my life without experiencing all that God had intended me to do. Yet I wonder how many of us stop way short and limit God to find a new way because we have never seen it done that way before.

While this above method may seem ridiculous to some, I find it to be quite creative and even progressive. Because most pigs are walked to the market and hauling one on a moto is dangerous. Yet this driver wasn't concerned with the critics who might have given him a hard time for this concept.

Sometimes when you stick your neck out there and try something new, people will shoot your idea down quickly, but I can guarantee you they will want to eat the pulled pork later. Be willing to get some second looks this year and don't let the negative people tell you all the reasons why it won't work!

too is too often

2012-01-30T14:09:00.001-05:00

As I was on my recovery cool down this morning after my run, I noticed this post, that was in the guard rail of a bridge I was crossing. It was supported by a guy-wire that kept it standing upright.

In order for the post to support the handrail properly it had to be stretched by another mechanism. Otherwise it couldn't function the way it was intended to. My wheels began to turn as I looked at this post and I soon realized that if the post had a choice he would probably say to the guy-wire, "quit pulling on me."

Yet this is exactly what this post needed, so that it could perform like it was supposed to.

The Bible records a fascinating verse that says, no discipline seems pleasant at the time, BUT PAINFUL, later on however it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace, for those that are trained by it. Hebrews 12:11.

The painful part is where "too" often surfaces for people. And pain manifests itself differently for people. It plays out in emotional pain, and physical pain. Phrases like, it is too hard, takes too much time, other things are too important for me to do this, it is too much legalism. And the painful part manifests itself when people get too angry, and too upset because they too are too ticked over why they must do it.

All that to say this, after 50 years of life what I have learned is that most people will not on their own develop disciplined lives unless they have a pattern everyday where they are being stretched. Otherwise they will become too weak to live out their lives the way GOD intended them to.

don't turn right

2012-01-24T17:05:00.005-05:00

As I was running yesterday I came across this abandoned bridge. All that is left now are the supports that once held its structure in place. At one time this was the way to cross over the spillway. In fact it was the only way to get to the other side.

Yet over time it became apparent that a new way was better, more direct, and positioned in a more visible place. So a new way was built but now the old way is nothing more then a reminder of the past.

As I was running I wondered how often God has prepared new ways for us to go, but we don't want to go that way because it is unfamiliar for us. So we spend our lives telling everyone how we used to do things and miss out on the chance to try something new. And end our lives wishing it was like the good ole days, all the while on the other side of yes are new things that God wants to teach us.

My hope is that I do not end my life on this side of an old bridge talking about the good ole days, but am willing to travel the new path that God wants me to walk in. There are only certain things God can teach us on the other side of Yes!

Isaiah 30:21 Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it

driving a point home

2012-01-23T15:17:00.002-05:00

So yesterday we kicked off our new theme for the year, Uncommon! Our desire is to allow God to do the uncommon things through us this year. We long to have an uncommon impact on the world this year.

So I wanted to drive home the point that when God's super collides with our natural that there is a supernatural moment. In order to illustrate this collision I took matches which represented the super and bottle rocket which represented the natural and let them collide. So yes we lit off a bottle rocket. And in this case, my son, Josh, helped me out.

It was a moving day as we prayed over our leadership team and asked God to bless them in a special way.

Add to that an outstanding presentation of art allowing us to see what can happen if we unfold the uncommon this year.

As each person ripped off the outer layer it was a powerful exposure of what can happen if we do the uncommon.

As I said yesterday way too many many Christians spend their entire lives in the launchpad waiting to do something yet, refuse to take the step towards the catalyst, God.

Well I do believe it was memorable and helped make the point stick. Plus it was uncommon!

The bear essentials

2012-01-19T10:32:00.001-05:00

So this week I picked up my bear that I shot at Prince William Sound Alaska in May. When Sam Armington pictured above called me and told me it was finished my heart skipped a few beats.

You see this hunting trip was like none that I have ever been on. All of my life I have spent time in the woods, mountains, and fields hunting. Yet the dream of hunting in Alaska was a bucket list pipe-dream. Then Sam pictured above who is an Alaskan Guide asked me if I wanted to hunt Black Bear with him in Alaska. My response was sure!

A few months later we were on a jet plane flying to Alaska along with another Local doctor, Randy Cammenga. We landed and eventually took a long boat ride out across the sea to our hunting location. It was a spectacular place to spend 8 days in the Wild. We spent the day spotting bear from the boat and then we stalked them on the shoreline. Needless to say I was able to bag a beauty with my 30-06.

The trip home from the taxidermist was fun as I had to strap my bear in the seat. It's not too often that one has a passenger like this in his vehicle. The looks on people's faces was priceless as I had a bear in the van.

This picture really captures the beautiful landscape of Alaska. For me it was more then bagging a bear it was the time alone with God in creation with a group of men that loved God and love the outdoors. I soaked in every moment and my soul was refreshed and I came away with a fresh awe of God. So when I picked up the mount this week all those memories of eagles, killer whales, avalanches, late night talks around the campfire, and time alone with God surfaced fresh again. Thanks again Sam!

whose to blame

2012-01-18T12:04:00.005-05:00

The choices you make all through your life impact you today. As I was running the other day I came across this sign and it hit me again that it is very important that we make good choices in our lives.

Suppose it is the end of the 3rd quarter and the 4th quarter is coming in your life and a chance for you to seal the deal. You do not want to go into a prevent defense, you should remain on the offensive attack side. Your opponent will be scheming his late game comeback. But you cannot afford to let him get into the end zone!

However, I encourage you to put on the Armor of God everyday and get properly dressed for the battle. Every single day of my life I dress for the battle. I pray through the armor of God and put it on. I encourage you to do the same and read Ephesians 6:10-18. Just walk through each piece and ask God to put it on you! Every soldier should be properly prepared!

Another thought, don't give Satan too much credit for the causalities in your own life. I think the tendency is to blame everything on him. While he is very active and has zillions of demons assisting him, often your demise is because of your own sin nature and fleshly desires. You just make horrible choices because you can. That is why it is so important to build godly disciplines into your lives, because it is helping to assist you to build new disciplines that shape your present decisions. Some of you have spent the majority of your lives making poor and sinful choices and to be quite frank you are reaping what you have sowed. BUT now you can be planting new seed and the new harvest coming will be righteousness and peace.

So all that to say this, if you are not seeing the harvest you desire right now, hold on because it is coming and God always honors obedience. And even though a discipline life is challenging the end result is off-the-charts good.

Hebrews 12:11 No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it

So off I ran after seeing this sign realizing again that this discipline would pay off later down the road when Isaiah wants to shoot hoops, Anne wants to take a walk or God calls me to reach a tribe in hills of the Asian mountains.

It only takes a second but

2012-01-17T13:19:00.005-05:00

This photo captures how important a handshake is to other people. Look at the smile on the man in the White-Sox hat after he received this handshake from Keith.

A simple gesture like a smile, a hello, or a handshake can break down barriers to the heart of an individual. Take some time today in the midst of your coming and going and greet someone, you might be surprised at what happens to them and you.

This might be the very thing that opens a conversation about Jesus!

health matters

2012-01-12T11:04:00.004-05:00

Good health is a gift from God. Yet a good healthy lifestyle is often under-valued by many. It often gets justified by this passage in the Bible ...For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come 1Timothy 4:8.

People even go back to the KJV version that says: For bodily exercise profiteth little:.. Well the Bible gives clear evidence that the Living God lives in us. That truth always drives me to give him the best, cleanest, most fit body to live in. I have often said if we knew the President of the USA was coming to spend a weekend to live with us we would clean our house up in a way it has never been cleaned before. Even more significant the Living God is making a permanent dwelling place in us, so I choose to work hard at giving him a fit house to live in.

Plus, I do not want to come to end of my life and stand before my Savior and have him say, that there were so many other ways he wanted to use me, but he couldn't because of my poor health choices. That would devastate me. Yet how many of us refuse to implement a healthy exercise discipline into our daily routine?

Besides one of my goals in life has been to be able to play ball, run, and enjoy life with my kids as they age and not be that dad who can't because of poor health choices. And even more important I want to give my wife the best quality of life as we age together and enjoy the life God has given us.

So this weekend it was especially special for me to lace up my shoes and join my son at the guard position in the Adult basketball league I play in. And it was even better to not just get a view from the stands but an on court experience of trapping the other team with my son and assisting my son Josh to a few hoops. I am grateful for my health and do not want to limit how God might want to use me.

Worship wars are gone but now we have

2012-01-11T14:41:00.002-05:00

16 years ago when I became senior pastor of Grace Community Church many churches were struggling through the worship wars. Traditional music versus all the new contemporary music. In some circles it became pretty heated and required great wisdom and vision for leaders to guide their churches through it.

Everything was up for discussion and it often came down to a preference or a conviction among individuals . Unfortunately many were not open to taking the time or for that matter the heat to guide their churches through it. It was a great time to dig into The Bible and see what God had to say on the matter.

Many churches were unwilling to budge for a variety of reasons and others did, because they felt led by God to do so.

Today I believe we have entered that same arena again, but now it is the social network wars, especially when it comes to Facebook, Twitter, and Blogs. I personally choose to use it for good. Even the same questions and preferences are surfacing. Things like why do we need this - or I am not interested in learning this new stuff that the young people want - to why can't we just meet face to face -to just plain I'm not going to change - or this is the way I have always done it - to this will just water down relationships.

I find myself 16 years older and yet still having to adjust to the newest thing that has the capacity to reach more people for Jesus. By the way I'm not suggesting we adapt every new fad that comes along, but my hope is that we will not close our minds to this. For you see, the younger generation which is much younger than me now is using this forum to openly share their hearts plus some other whimsical things. Yet, I must be open to this or I will miss the opportunity to engage and get a front seat to their lives with hopes of pointing them to Jesus .

As you can see in the photo above we had a married couple's dance at our church this year where we danced to wii dance. I'm sure there was a day when that was a war too. And for that matter maybe some of you want to make a war out of it today.

May we always be open to do what it takes to reach the world in which we live without sinning. And may we live in such a way that we remain in touch with those around us. I wonder what the next war will be?

choose wisely

2012-01-05T10:17:00.001-05:00

One of the valuable things I have learned in 50 years of life is that wisdom should fuel your decision making process. It is so easy to rush into things without considering the ramifications of those decisions down the road.

For 20 years I have read through the book of Proverbs daily and wisdom surfaces all through the pages. Each morning I ask God for wisdom and I pray over my family for God to give them wisdom. When others ask me for prayer requests I also ask that they would pray that God would give me wisdom. I have prayed that God would grant me a double dose of wisdom.

One of the wisest things a man can do is to find a Godly woman who understands commitment, love, and team. In a world where it is easy to trade your spouse in for the next best thing it is so refreshing and valuable to find one that stands with you in sickness and health, for better or worse until death separates you. I have one of those wives!

While she doesn't get the acknowledgements and stage time I do and some of the accolades that come with my position in life, she is the reason why I am able to lead the way I do.

The Bible says this ...He who finds a wife finds what is good and receives favor from the LORD.. Proverbs 18:22

The wisest thing I ever did outside of asking Jesus to be the Lord and Leader of my life was to ask Anne Catherine Bortner to marry me. When she said yes I received great favor from the Lord!

All that to say this, don't rush into marriage, seek God in this decision and make sure it has run through the wisdom grid. This is one decision that impacts everything!

pure religion

2012-01-04T09:09:00.002-05:00

Best decision Grace Community Church ever made. I am in tears as I look at this picture of our rescued kids. Look what happens when God's people get on mission together.

Jesus brings hope!

James 1:27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world

All things to all men

2012-01-03T16:03:00.000-05:00

So would you eat this if it was in front of you for supper? Or better yet how far would you be willing to go to reach someone who needed Jesus?

One of the many values I have in my life is to do whatever it takes to reach people with the good news of Jesus Christ. The Gospel is so very precious to me, yet I do not want to spend the majority of my life keeping it all to myself.

The meal above is a favorite of our Cambodian kids that we have rescued and it was one of my first meals in Asia on a mission's trip. I was seated around a table with a group of people we wanted to reach and in my soup were 2 chicken claws. Now to this American it seemed like I was getting the leftovers, yet for the Cambodians it was a delicacy. I said a quick prayer and asked God to help me to eat it.

I have eaten plenty of foods and passed a few things under the table so that I would not offend one's generosity, so that I had a foot to stand on when it came to sharing Jesus with others. Most of you know that I do not drink any kind of alcohol whatsoever, never have and never will except on one mission's trip. It is a personal choice of liberty I have made for a variety of reasons. On one occasion in Vietnam on an exploratory evangelistic mission's trip I was handed a beer and a glass of rum to drink. It would have offended the Doctor's hospitality if I refused to sip on the alcohol. I had a tough decision to make, but was already prepared ahead of time for this moment. You see before I left I asked people in my church to pray for me and to not let this one sip of Alcohol create a hunger for more in my life.

As I drank the Alcohol there was great peace knowing that I was doing this for the cause of Jesus and to reach this young doctor for Jesus. I didn't make a big deal about it, just prayed that God would use this sacrifice for me for his good. You see in my background are many alcoholics and I never want to feed something that I might have a predisposition towards.

As for chicken feet I pushed them down my throat because one soul is worth a few gags if the seed of the Gospel gets planted. All that to say this; we must be open to use great wisdom and judgement in order to reach others for Jesus. For you it might mean sitting in a group of people who look different then you, or spending time at a gathering where it is obvious you do not fit in.

I encourage you to be willing to do whatever it takes to reach someone without sinning so that they too can experience the life-changing power of Jesus Christ!

Glass houses

2012-01-01T11:05:00.000-05:00

Our world is very different then most people. As a family we have lived our lives in the public eye for 16 years. Living this way effects every portion of our lives. It is a way of life for us and it impacts the way we live .

I work very hard at not allowing this to dampen or discourage my wife and children. But we have come to realize it is the price you pay as a member of the Brown family. We see it as an opportunity to live out our faith in a way that can point others to Jesus. There aren't many places we can go that people are not watching us so we turn it into a positive thing. So when we can get away from this environment it is very refreshing for us and another opportunity to live out our faith as just another family. By the way we love both environments. But it is fun to move incognito as just Jim Brown from New Paris Indiana.

One of the many values we have is to do life together as a family where fun, faith, and friendship flourish. So we often incorporate other families with common interests when we do this. So as we finished out 2011 we hung out with some good friends the Kropf family and raced down the toboggan trail, played some board games, laughed our heads off while taking cam wow pictures, and spent 45 minutes witnessing to 17 year old Jewish boy in the beautiful getaway of the Potawatami Inn. We feel blessed that God has called us to this incredible privilege of leading Grace Community and we feel blessed that he lets us live out our faith in a very visible way.

Glass house living invites others to inspect us but isn't that what we are called to do with our own lives anyhow. Examine yourselves to see if you are in the faith, test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you- unless, of course, you fail the test? 2 Cor. 13:5 NIV

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The final day

2011-12-31T11:08:00.000-05:00

As I sit here in the comforts of this lodge I find myself reflecting on all the things God has done this past year in my life. It is good for the soul to just pull away and listen to God. In a world that will run at break-neck speed unless you hit the pause button these kind of moments are critical in one's journey.

I'm reminded that God never wastes a day. Seriously, consider that for a minute or two. He is always on mission and longs to use us to accomplish his will. He never sleeps or slumbers, he never calls in sick, he never takes a lunch break, he never punches out, he is never unavailable to our prayers that are non-stop.

Those realities remind me that I need him and he wants me to need him. He doesn't need us he wants us. Everything about his character exudes reaching out.

Yet in a world that exalts self -made men and individualism I am once again reminded that He makes me strong, he holds my life together, he uses me to do good things, he protects me, he gives me creativity, he gives me the wisdom to lead others, he loves me, he has placed a destiny on my life, he has gifted me to preach, he has given me good health, he blessed me with my precious wife Anne, he gave me three children who love Jesus, he makes me laugh, he speaks to me, he builds Grace Community Church, he placed me in my precious family from Maryland, he gives me unspeakable joy, he lightens my load, he sends ministering spirits to comfort me, he gives me direction for the new year, he does it all through us.

So today I tell the God I love and serve; thank you, for it is without you I could do nothing. May I live in such a way this year Lord that others are pointed to you and find the same undeserving salvation that I have so richly been given.

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The Moment

2011-12-28T10:42:00.000-05:00

This Photo captures an epic moment in the life of an individual. This moment is a reminder of the reason why Jesus came at Christmas. He came to seek and to save those that were lost.

As we prepared for our Christmas Eve Services we regularly reminded each other that everything was being accomplished for this moment; the moment when lost people can cross over to life in Jesus Christ.

As a reminder of this decision we gave individuals a chance to receive a flashlight so they could remember this moment. A moment when they walked from darkness to light. In all of our four services God moved and many trusted Jesus as their personal Savior.

I sat at a Basketball Game last night with a Father who told me the story of his son who gave his life to Jesus on Christmas Eve. He told me that it was the best Christmas gift he has ever received.

There is nothing like looking eye to eye with an individual who just crossed over from death to life. These kind of moments keep this pastor's heart alive!

just put the kids upfront

2011-12-22T11:45:00.003-05:00

Last night we Christmas Caroled in nearby neighborhood. Needless to say, I love doing this for many reasons. The ride on the bus to your destination is alive with a festive spirit. Everyone is singing, my wife got to sit on my lap, and the magic of Christmas is in the hearts of Children.

Plus you get to meet people who generally might not open the door at dark to a large group of people they do not know, unless you put the kids up front. So we did just that. Every house we went to, the kids ran ahead of us and rang the doorbell and stood there waiting anxiously for the people to open the door. Then they were the ones that handed the homeowners an invitation to our Christmas Services.

I always marvel at what comes out of the mouths of children especially on these kind of nights. And for the matter, Jesus said the same thing about kids speaking when he said this

Matthew 21:16 When the religious leaders saw the outrageous things he was doing, and heard all the children running and shouting through the Temple, "Hosanna to David's Son!" they were up in arms and took him to task. "Do you hear what these children are saying?" Jesus said, "Yes, I hear them. And haven't you read in God's Word, 'From the mouths of children and babies I'll furnish a place of praise'?"

God uses children to do amazing things such as an open door when caroling, with an individual who might not otherwise do so.

All that to say this, God uses children in profound ways and the same Holy Spirit that lives in a redeemed adult can live in child. We should listen more carefully when they speak!

Our staff at Grace Community

2011-12-20T16:35:00.001-05:00

We often are asked how large our paid staff is at Grace Community. Well here ya go! As of this morning we have 13 hardworking men and women who do so much, yet often do not get recognition they deserve for it.

Across the front from left to right, Pastor Jeremy our Next Generation and Worship Pastor. Jeff Valderamma our facility coordinator. Yours truly. Pastor Jon our Children's Pastor. Pastor Jeremiah our Worship Pastor. Pastor Rich our Youth Pastor.

Across the back from Left to right, Marky Goon Office Assistant. Darlene Pinion, Office Manager. Cindy Hawkins, Pre-school Director. Sharon Koble, Office Assistant. Jana Foust, Custodial Assistant. Scott Avey, Tech Director.

So from all of us to you, Merry Christmas!

priceless worship

2011-12-16T12:46:00.000-05:00

There are photos that move your heart and this is one of them. One of our photographers caught my daughter worshipping with the praise team this past Sunday on stage.

I have to believe that her heavenly Father feels the same way her earthly Father feels when he sees this.

Just Priceless!

Modern day Hero

2011-12-15T10:44:00.005-05:00

Many of you will never meet this man in the picture above. Many have no clue as to how he is impacting the world. But a few years back on a trip to Asia he saw the injustices in our world and it kept him awake at night. He couldn't just go to his 9-5 job in Ohio and forget what was happening in Cambodia and Thailand with orphaned children.

So he began to dream about a way to rescue some of these children. He met with another man named Dave and literally the two of them began to sketch out a ministry called Asia's Hope. This ministry was a dream over breakfast and worked its way from their hearts, to a piece of paper, to reality.

Realizing that they could not overlook this injustice they did something about it and began a ministry called Asia's Hope. Its started out small, but God began to do some miraculous things through this man and many others. And today 100's and 100s of kids have been pulled from villages, slums, dumps, and now are rescued.

His name is John McCullom. You will not find his face on the front page of Newsweek, but it should be. As you can tell from the picture above the children love him. He is impacting the world in an eternal way. He labors hard, his family labors with him, he has battled dengue fever, probably aged many years as a result of leading this cause. Yet when he stands in front of Jesus at the Bema seat and he hears the squeals in heaven from all the kids he has rescued and now know Jesus Christ personally, I am convinced he will hear these words "Well Done John McCullom, Well Done!"

The world needs more John McCulloms' for he is a modern day Hero! And I say thank you John!

gone but not forgotten

2011-12-13T15:11:00.001-05:00

It is easy to go onto the next new challenge, business deal, accomplishment or new endeavor without taking time and thanking those that helped to make it happen.

One of the goals I have again this year is to not forget those that have worked hard to make great things happen at Grace. Sometimes the blessings one generation receives comes as a result of the faithfulness of the previous decades of people.

Church ministry is often that way. Faithful people who labored in prayer for God to come through in miraculous ways often don't get to experience the outpouring of his favor during their lives.

On Sunday I pulled out a photo from 1974 of Grace Community Church. It exploded with polyester, stripes and many other fashions from that era. Yet what struck me was this reality. We would not be here today and seeing the explosive move of God had it not been for this small faithful group.

So today, once again I say thank you to those that have went before me and labored diligently, prayed fervently and begged God to reach this community in a huge way. Many of you might be gone but in my heart today you are not forgotten! Thank you!

where does it come from

2011-12-09T15:18:00.001-05:00

Stand two men in the same situation of challenge with the same tools, weapons, stature and equipment and you could end up with a different conclusion. One might run from it while the other might stand and battle against it. What is the defining ingredient that gives one the gusto and the other just the opposite.

We know that substance to be faith, yet everyone who considers themselves to be a Christ-follower can access that kind of faith if they so choose to at any time.

I marvel at the account of Isaac and Abraham when they were called to mountaintop and Dad was supposed to sacrifice his son. I personally find that kind of faith to be mind-blowing and almost impossible when I consider my own sons and the reality of sacrificing them.

Yet what is even more significant in my my mind is that Isaac trusted his Dad enough to willingly be tied up and placed on the altar when he knew he was physically stronger and probably could have out run his dad to get away.

As I chew on this narrative in the Bible and the faith exploding off the pages my heart begs God to help me set that kind of example to my children and family. So that when they are called to exercise Extreme faith encounters they wouldn't run from it but would have the gusto and unction to follow through.

To wrap this up, I personally believe Isaac's faith came after watching his Dad live it out many times before this encounter and when he was called to the turf to do the same he immediately thought "what would Dad do and he did it."

What I always knew to be true

2011-12-07T10:53:00.001-05:00

Team is always better then an individual. There is an awesome chemistry and power that comes when each person does his role to the best of his ability and collectively the team wins. I have witnessed this truth over and over again.

Yet I am always blessed when I watch it happen in a new and fresh way. Just recently we began a brand new men's ministry called Fight Club. It is approximately 9 days old but what has already happened in those few days is very noticeable.

Men who once were hiding are now coming alive. Men are supporting and praying for each other. Darkness is being brought to light. Fresh goals are surfacing and men are laughing, living, and re-energized in their walks with Jesus.

Plus there is a deep camaraderie developing that has been missing among men for a long time. One that is bonding us as one in Christ. To say I'm excited is an understatement. You see what I have always known for a long time is that Lions love to attack it's prey when they are alone. Yet they aren't as willing to do so when the prey runs in packs.

Stay in the pack men, together we will fight for our brothers, our sons and daughters, our wives and homes!

experiences

2011-12-06T14:39:00.001-05:00

Each year we block out a Sunday to cut down our Christmas Tree in Michigan. We try to make this a memorable experience, one that our family will always remember for the year. We travel with another family and drive way back in the woods to locate our tree. We finish the day with hot chocolate and time spent at our friends home.

This year was quite memorable as we found the terrain full of mud, which made for some fun driving. As we headed back to the spot where we like to search and cut down a Frazier Fir tree we decided to build some memories. Keith and Linda Puckett and family were in front of us in their 4 wheel drive vehicle. What happened next could only be described as epic.

Both of us decided to go all in and it made for a memorable moment. We had mud flying everywhere, in fact my Jeep is still coated with mud. I could not see clearly from the windows unless my wipers were on. As we finally got to our spot we laughed and realized that this moment would never be forgotten.

The best part was when we brought the tree back to be measured and paid for it out front. The owner was apologetic for how muddy it was. Oh if he only knew how much we enjoyed it. My family will always remember the year when we blitzed through the mud to get our tree. Creating memorable experiences are so much fun!

Inside my head

2011-12-01T14:40:00.001-05:00

If I were able to share everything that is running through my mind right now it would leave some speechless. As a visionary leader of Grace Community Church I'm always looking ahead and asking God what is next. At the same time I am thanking him for what he is doing now. Yet I must be honest my head is exploding with what is next.

Right now they are numerous exciting things that me and God get to talk about a lot. I have found myself carrying around "almost realities" for most of my life. And now is one of those times. So once again I am sitting here and asking God to do what he is good at and make dreams come true.

Over the years at Grace I have witnessed great moves of God. I firmly believe this is one of those times and God is about to release these dreams. So would you join me me in prayer and just pray that God would intervene because it can only happen if he does? Would you pray that God would prepare us properly for these dreams?

As You pray just pray for a man named Andy and also for a group called Fight Club! On the verge of a miracle!

As I sit here typing if God would so choose to release these dreams in my head then Satan is ready for quite a butt-kickin!

My thoughts on Fight Club

2011-11-29T13:16:00.001-05:00

Okay there is obviously a major move of God in our men at Grace Community Church right now. We find ourselves at a place that can only be explained as a God-thing. Years and years of going after the man has catapulted us to this moment.

It has been a dream of mine, and a passion to see the Church of Jesus Christ become the hope of the world. I firmly believe it begins in the leadership of the men. I often speak this mantra, "get the man you get the family, get the families you get the community, get the communities you get the world." Well, it is very possible that by God's grace and power and a large group of men stepping up that we will see that reality right now.

I love watching men come alive, I love calling them out and pulling the very best out of them. I love confronting them in love and pouring courage into them. I honestly lose sleep at night dreaming about this kind of stuff. Every part of my fiber exudes a desire to see men grow in Christ.

So we developed a brand new Men's Ministry that has been in lab for a long time. This is not your typical Bible Study for men. To be quite frank these are ideas that our staff has talked about for years. These ideas feed how we do our ministries. These ideas are in a book that I am in the process of writing right now. This new endeavor which I believe connects with the heart of men in a fresh way is called "Fight Club."

So on a cold, wet, and rainy night at midnight we kicked off this new endeavor, and for 2 hours and 15 minutes 353 men met and heard the vision for this Quest. We read a creed we were given information and we quite frankly did what men enjoy doing. You had to be there to witness what we did, words will never describe what we were part of last night. I have never, yes never been part of anything like I witnessed last night as men sacrificed sleep, some just stayed up all night because they had to be at work at 5am. Others took naps at 8 pm so they could be alert. Some came and went home and slept for a few hours because they did not want to miss this.

So yes we have a creed and guidelines to live our lives by, and our desire is that our actions speak louder then our words. This fraternity of men just plain rocks and my hope is that every man makes it to the end and is rewarded at the ceremony. Some will not as it will not be easy to live out the creed.

So to each man that stepped up last night, know that I have your back covered and I am willing to do my very best to lead you so that the gates of hell are stomped and men of Jesus Christ boldly go where no man has ever witnessed the Church go! More to come later. Fight Club men remember your word is your bond!

Stay at it preachers

2011-11-23T13:53:00.001-05:00

One of my greatest passions is preaching I love everything about it. I love the preparation time too, and the mysterious ways that God intervenes and gives insight, the aha moments while reading the text, the power-punched illustration that often comes in the 24th hour, the sleepless night before as you labor over the impact it might have, and the actual delivery itself.

There are moments while I am preaching that the Spirit of God gives me insight and thoughts that are not written in front of me. And then there are those pin-drop moments that happen every once in a while that you realize God is up to something big.

But what excites me the most is when God chooses to use the message in the heart of an individual in a powerful way. Each week as I prepare I always beg God to take my words and use them for his glory. I ask him to prepare the hearts of individuals to receive it so that it can assist in changed behavior.

Well, through the years I have found myself in many venues preaching. When it is all over you often wonder if God used you to encourage, sharpen, challenge or assist someone in their spiritual journey.

Last night my son Josh told me an encouraging story. He shared that during one of his classes at Grace College the students were giving their testimonies and a young man shared that he was saved at Momentum Youth Conference at Robert Morris University 3 years ago. After class Josh talked some more with the young man who is now a college Freshman and Bible Major. He shared that he heard a message given by Jim Brown and on that night he surrendered his life to Jesus.

My son Josh, told him that he was the son of that speaker. Now that really encouraged me deeply because here is a kid that is still walking with Jesus and has committed his life to following hard after him. So much is said these days about the method of salvation. Journals are being written about all the reasons that a response in a service is not the way to present the Gospel. Yet here is a man that points to this moment where he got saved and surrendered his life and is walking with Jesus.

I love when God brings these stories to light and brings encouragement to the preachers. So to all my preaching colleagues out there, stay at it, you are making a profound difference in our world. Too much is at stake for the Gospel for you not to preach!

How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? Romans 10:14

post tough mudder thoughts

2011-11-21T09:17:00.001-05:00

I'm sitting here on Monday morning and my legs are screaming in pain from the weekend's challenge. Yet there is this deep satisfaction that comes from accomplishing something with other men that you can share the rest of your lives.

My day started very early as I arose at 3:00 and picked up Kirt and headed to Grace for a 4am departure. We traveled about 3 hours in a van together to Attica Indiana and swapped stories, prayed for each other, and spoke courage into each other. We arrived and boarded a bus that took us to the grounds where the event was held. We had winds blowing at 18 mile an hour and it was cold with wind chill making it feel like 28 degrees.

We were stoked as we waited for our start. We heard an incredible opening fire-up speech, sang the National Anthem, cited a creed, and listened to some rockin music, to say we were pumped is a major understatement. We fist-bumped, high-fived and shouted our mantra... I am LEGACY!!!

Right away we found ourselves crawling through mud with barbed-wire above us and immediately running up a hill that required other mudders yanking us up the hill. We were so incredibly fired up and yelled our mantra together, as I would scream I am and the rest of the team in loud unison yelled LEGACY.

Our first encounter with water was a dumpster loaded with ice water which required us to dive under a plank and swim through ice. I felt my heart stop and begin a few times. As we exited the wind hit us and numbness ran through our bodies, but our spirits were alive and well. It was our welcome to the tough mudder moment.

The challenge continued and teamwork surfaced, we had two moments that required wardrobe adjustments, shoes were stuck in mud and we could not untie the knots in the shoes because our fingers were numb, it took us 15 minutes to untie a shoe, but it was just another element to overcome. The walls were killers as the landing on the other side caused your already frozen ankles to hold the landing. Then came the plank jump which was 20 feet in the air to the frozen water below. It was freakish and I was convinced for a millisecond that I was going to die, as I tried to find my way to the top and swim out of the ice water.

At that moment our bodies were shivering on the verge of hypothermia. More obstacles with a few water stops. My legs were cramping up with about 5 miles to go and at one point Rich had to stretch them out. Yet, I was not going to let a few cramps stop me when men with one good leg finished this thing.

The last 4 obstacles were challenging because we were frozen, cramping, and had little grip left in our fingers. We hiked over the large wall, crawled through the mystery obstacle where electric wires and barbed-wire were placed above a pit of ice. We had to crawl through without being zapped. One of our guys got hit so hard he blacked out and went face first in the ice. I think he is still there. We then came to the funky monkey where we were required to work our way across monkey bars that had water underneath them. I gave it a valiant effort as did the rest of our team yet only Jeremy made it the full way.

We then faced a Half Pipe, or better known as Mount Everest in tough mudder lingo, which required us to run up and scale a 20 foot half-pipe at full speed, leap into the air and grab the arms of men at the top. If you missed, your face was planted into the wood and you slid the whole way down. For me personally this was my most exhilarating moment. I was completely knotted up with leg cramps and unsure if I could even run. But this was my moment to do something great. I just willed myself to run up the ramp even though my body was saying no.

I took off and jumped as my calves locked up and grabbed the hands of two dudes I did not know and we locked arms. I looked at these two dudes and said don't let go and they yanked me up. I just screamed and threw my arms in the air and yelled at my teammates below in excitement. It was a moment like I have never experienced and as I was celebrating my legs locked up. I wasn't sure I could make it down. I just dug deep and said go for it. Somehow I navigated down the 2x4 ladder and kept going. My teammates built a human bridge to get men up to the top so that they could catch men who ran up too.

A fire pit remained and for me it was the easiest obstacle on the course. I guess all my bonfire and leaf burning days prepared me for this obstacle. Then another mud crawl which was a breath of fresh air because my arms were strong and quite frankly my legs couldn't of handled another climb.

The last event was the electric run through 10,000 volts. A large group of men stood there contemplating when to run. My logic was this, die now or die later, and now seemed better then later. Why belabor the obvious. I took off with legs all cramped up and went for it. It really wasn't that bad for me, because my cramps drowned out the pain of the shocks. Plus the finish line was in store and when you put a finish line in front of me I go into a zone that shuts pain out.

As I crossed the finish I saw the headband lady. She placed this orange headband on me and I yelled my head off with satisfaction. They had bananas, water, cliff bars, shirts available and I grabbed one of each. Yet I could not open anything because my hands were numb.

I hobbled back to watch my team finish the race and we celebrated together, Kirt got knocked off his feet with the 10,000 volts and blacked out for a second.

As we stood around for pictures we soon realized that we better get to the van or all of us might die from hypothermia. I seriously thought Scott was dying as he shook nonstop in the bus on the way back to the parking lot.

I loved how along the way each teammate supported each other, guys came along side of me as I plowed through leg cramps, men lifted each other up, we cheered each other on, we prayed for injured guys on the course as we ran, we pulled the best out of each other. And in the end every man made it and kicked the tough mudder's butt.

Then we capped it off by swapping stories on the 3 hour drive back to Goshen. Something special happened in us and for us as we accomplished this goal after 4 months of training! And we will wear our tough mudder headbands and shirts with great pride!

x-factor

2011-11-18T10:09:00.001-05:00

I am simply amused by all the Sports Commentators and Analysts as they try to figure out how the Denver Broncos continue to win with Tim Tebow at Quarterback.

It's simple it is called the x-factor. Tim Tebow has that unexplainable ability to make those around him believe that they can do it. He carries a godly confidence and humility that God seems to place his favor on. This team was 1-4 when he became starting quarterback and he has rallied them to a 4-1 record under his leadership.

When he steps on the field he firmly believes regardless of what he reads from critics that he can pull off the victory with God's help. When you bring a guy like Tim onto a sports team he carries the blessing of God with him. As Christ followers we call it the Joseph-factor. Everywhere Joseph went he was put in charge and even though he had his enemies and critics he somehow found himself in charge and in the end his favor was placed on them too.

The challenge for commentators is simply that they are trying to make Tim fit into their box of understanding football. But truth be known you can't explain him because when God puts favor on a man there is no explanation other then to say it's a God-thing. For God himself can't fully be explained.

What never gets covered in the press is the fact that few men work harder than Tim. Few men are willing to take a stand for Jesus like he does and few men are willing to respond to criticism with positive responses. Few men carry the badge of integrity and character that exudes from his persona. And few men have a relentless desire to succeed that motivates teammates to believe in themselves. Tim is not after a paycheck he just loves the game and leaves everything on the field every single time.

In a world of self-glorification, adulteries, strip club shootings and more, Tim is a breath of fresh air to those of us who long to follow hard after God. As a leader I constantly look for men that have the x-factor on them and surround myself with them. The x-factor will continue to dumbfound people who have yet to have it on their life. Can we finally put to this to bed by saying this, Tim you are good for our sport and our world because rarely do we see this kind of package wrapped up in a man!

Opposite hand

2011-11-16T15:08:00.001-05:00

I have found that the times I have grown the most have been when I am forced to do something that isn't familiar. But after doing it a few times it shapes me into a better person.

In basketball at some point or another if you want to get to the next level you must be able to dribble with both hands. Because a defender will force you to your weak side and will expose your weakness.

Last night during warm ups Isaiah and his teammates were doing layups and were required to use their opposite hand. I enjoy watching warm ups because the coach in me watches the opposing team to see their strengths and weaknesses so that an edge can be gained.

I often wonder how often Satan sends his demons to watch our warm ups for the morning to see if we have proper training and practice before we walk into our day? I wonder if he is beating us up because we refuse to improve our left handed drills? I wonder if he has been using the same scheme to force us to our weak side for years and continues to win because we are not open to developing a well rounded life?

All that to say this, it is easy to operate in your strengths, but it is very challenging to go to our left hand and operate there. Maybe it is time we work on our weaknesses and make them our strengths too. Like the basketball player that can go both ways, a Christ follower that become the total package is more apt to come out on top when Satan comes a-knocking.

20

2011-11-15T06:12:00.001-05:00

20 years ago God gave the world an incredible gift, a son named Joshua James Brown. You have lived your life in a way that makes me proud to call you my son. You have carried the Brown name with dignity, integrity, godliness and resoluteness. Your life is marked with the hand of God!

These 20 years have just been plain awesome and I look forward to the place where God leads you in the future. Hands down you are best picture of what a 20 year old man of God should look like.

Enjoy your day Josh and may God use you to reach millions for Jesus!

And may your day at Grace College be a hoot as you hang with your friends. Happy birthday son!

This is my son in whom I am well pleased!

patience pays off

2011-11-12T16:42:00.001-05:00

Today was opening day for deer firearm season in Indiana. I found myself in the tree stand about an hour before daylight ready and excited to bag a buck. Around 7:30 a nice rack buck came cruising through about 50 yards away but I could not get a shot off , I was sure that was the one for me. Then a few minutes later a hunter across the way shot that deer.

Around 8:30 the farmer decided that he would begin picking the corn with his tractor. Needless to say, I was certain that my hunting was done as the picker drove right up against the woods I was hunting in. I climbed down around 9:30 and decided to still hunt the woods .

As I entered the back end of the woods this buck pictured above was standing at the edge of the woods ready to run across the open field as soon as anyone entered the woods.

I squatted down at about 80 yards and literally watched him bed down, get up and rub the trees and scrape the ground for the next 2 1/2 hours. He was bedded down with a doe. I began to crawl slowly on the ground to get to within 50 yards and was going to sit there until the evening, He would get up every so often and eat but I could not get a shot off because it was thick to shoot. I considered firing many times but decided that it was worth waiting him out. It's amazing the prayers that go up to God in that long 4 hour wait. I fired off a few texts and actually was giving updates with my family and two hunting buddies.

I knew my only chance was for him to get up and walk towards me, because if I got up it would flush him and the doe out of the woods. After what seemed like an eternity he and the doe started towards me and that was the end of his day, as my Remington 870 12 gauge dropped him. There were many moments during the wait that I wondered if I would ever get a shot. I sure am glad I waited him out!

To do or not to do

2011-11-09T16:40:00.002-05:00

Everyday of our lives we have choices to make concerning what we will do with it. Every one of us has the chance to become who or what we were intended to be. Many choose to live their lives way short of where Christ intended them to be.

Most victories or successful achievements require hard work. I'm convinced it begins in our mind. There is that small amount of time between thought and action that will make or break the new you. With that being said if we are prone to think yes instead of thinking no so often we would accomplish so much more.

Everything we need to get in shape, spiritually, physically and emotionally is available to us in some form or another. But we still must choose to use the tools to work towards that end.

Such as this workout room at Grace Community, it is loaded with the tools to get us in shape. Each day it sits here and waits for individuals to come and use it. A few minutes ago I left this room after working out and I feel so much better because I pushed myself to get stronger.

The only way you can reach your redemptive potential is to get in the gym of life and quit letting the dust collect. The new you is waiting to rise from the ashes. What choice will you make in those few seconds between thought and action. A to-do person will always be on the front lines with Jesus!

where are you

2011-11-08T16:15:00.000-05:00

Something broke loose Sunday at Grace. We started a brand new series called DUDES. The whole campus was flooded with men, cars parked in the grass, warm auditoriums, a fresh move of God was evident.

I long so very badly to see men live the way Jesus intends them to live. Yet the world has yet to see men live that way. In Genesis 3 soon after Adam and Eve sinned God goes looking for them and asks this Question to Adam,"Where are you?"

To be quite frank he is still asking that question today, Where is the man? Well truth be told he is playing video games 4 hours a day, watching TV for 5 hours and wasting his life away. Satan has him right where he wants him.

Yet the minute he begins to follow hard after Jesus he is opposed because the Enemy is afraid of him.

As I wrapped up our services on Sunday we chanted together from the tops of our lungs what we know to be true from Joshua 1:9. Men in order to advance the kingdom, we must band together and align our lives with Jesus and get on mission by being bold and courageous, without fear and discouragement, and realizing that God is there with us!

May we be the church that storms the gates of hell with forceful men forcefully advancing the kingdom. May God not find us hiding but leading the charge into the Enemy's territory! Too much is at stake to do otherwise!

18

2011-11-04T09:28:00.000-04:00

Today my only daughter turns 18. Happy Birthday Hannah, I love you with all of my heart and promise to always be there for you the rest of my life. You have surpassed any expectations a father could ever desire from his daughter.

I want you to know that I would fight to hell and back for you! Go and take the world for Jesus. You have carried the Brown name well.

This morning when I woke I once again prayed over your day and your life. I gotta stop typing now, because the tears are flowing as I look at the woman you have become. The King is enthralled with your beauty and so is your daddy!

I'm Thankful

2011-11-03T12:42:00.004-04:00

Give Thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus! 1Thessalonians 5:18

There it is, God's will for us, plain and simple. We are to be people of thanksgiving 24/7 in good, bad, hard, easy life-changing times.

So today I grabbed my yellow pad and wrote these words on it above and these are some of the things I am thankful for!
Needless to say the list is not exhaustive or placed in order of significance for those that want to critique it.

* My salvation at such an early age that provided me with hope for 44 years.
* My Savior Jesus Christ, who gives me so much joy and passion!
* My wife Anne who caught my eye 25 years ago when she donned a Michigan State Sweatshirt on Grace College campus and I was stricken by her beauty inside and out.
* My Mom, Dad, and Step Father who have loved me unconditionally for my entire life.
* My Children Josh, Hannah and Isaiah, who bring me so much joy as they stand for Jesus when most wouldn't!
* My Siblings who have shaped my life with their presence and love in ways most don't.
* My Ancestry that has shaped me.
* My Church, Grace Community who would fight to Hell and Back to see someone get saved!
* My Staff who are like brothers to me and hold true to the calling on their life from Jesus.
* My Jeep that lets me go off road in 4wd and has dents and scratches of character all over it.
* My Harley that allows me to cruise with my precious wife.
* My health that allows me to achieve, accomplish and enjoy this life God has given me.
* My Friends who let me be me and accept me as I am

The list goes on:
Sunsets and sunrises, Walks in the woods, the changing of seasons, surprise pranks, basketball, running, golf, atvs, guns, holding my wife's hand, a smile from my kids, chicken sandwiches from Chic-fil-a, Martin's salad bar, Ipad and Iphone, Campfires, Black Bear Hunting In Alaska, Men coming alive and leading their families, talks with my wife, Texts from my kids, electric toothbrushes, sports drinks, playing golf with my boys and dad, cards and letters from mom, holiday meals with my family, camping, Myrtle Beach, anonymous thanks, Adidas shoes, pears, Cinnamon pop tarts, dead mice, prayer time with my wife, grace, forgiveness, non-judgmental people, preaching, God- moments, Watching people overcome, revival, Seeing Satan defeated, reconciliation in marriages, gardening, mowing on my John Deere, Jeff Gordon winning, the view of a big buck in my scope, places to hunt, laughter in the walls, sinned snuffed out, worship, leaders real leaders, Camouflage, boots, snow and lots of it, a warm home in the country,a good book, hunting, Churches on Mission, watching and experiencing and seeing someone surrender their lives to Jesus, Mondays, goals that keep me on track, Sunday mornings, firm mattresses, Orphans that are rescued, Competition, Aha moments when reading the Bible, generous people, answered prayer, road trips, and so much more...

How about you?

I was struck with this thought yesterday

2011-11-02T11:19:00.000-04:00

I take a lot of things for granted from time to time. So when one of those things hits me right in the face I need to stop and say thanks.

Yesterday I was sitting with our staff talking about the new series that begins this weekend called "DUDES." We began to discuss the fears that men face and how that shapes them. Things like the fear of failure, fear of blowing it and not following through with commitments, and many other fears.

The thought surfaced that many men don't become the person they need to be because they have doubts or they fear they will blow it. They fear failing and they continue to let this picture of failing keep them from stepping up.

It struck me like a ton of bricks that I really don't entertain that thought. I can't remember the last time I didn't do something because of the fear of failing or the fear of blowing it . Then as we talked more I realized that somewhere along the line as a kid I had parents that believed in me. Parents that told me that if someone else could do it then so could I.

I remember a mantra that we would shout in the station wagon as we drove along . It went like this "Rain Hail, Lightning,Thunder, The Browns and the Andersons will never go under, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER! We would repeat it at the tops of our lungs over and over again. So yesterday I realized once again that my mom worked hard at pouring confidence in me and it still is impacting me today. Besides aren't all things possible with God?

I encourage you to be the kind of parent that instills confidence, security, and a relentless spirit in your kids! Thanks MOM!

meanwhile

2011-11-01T12:39:00.005-04:00

I love the local church that is on mission. I really believe that the local church can be the hope of the world. One of the many things I love about Grace Community Church is the way our people take the great commission to heart and put it into action.

Three years ago we decided to rescue orphan kids and give them hope in Jesus Christ. We have been blown away by the way God is working in our children. Just recently we notified them that we were going to build them a brand new Concrete Home in Thailand. When they received the news they went to the spot where the new home will be built and began to pray for it and for us.

Then they stood and said thanks to Grace Community Church. I am so grateful to get to serve and lead a church that understands the importance of the Gospel and the willingness to sacrifice and give so that other kids on the other side of the world can surrender to Jesus.

A big shout out to our kids in Thailand, we love you and thank you for your prayers! May this new building bring you new hope in your Savior Jesus Christ! And a big thank you to the people of Grace Community Church for not just talking about the Gospel but actually doing something about it!

NEW

2011-10-27T10:30:00.003-04:00

Two evenings ago in the West sky in Indiana we were able to witness the Northern Lights. Yet it went on without much fanfare, in fact I would not have even taken the time to observe them, if my son Isaiah, had not called me outside to see them. To be able to see God's handiwork up close like this is simply amazing.

The things our God is capable of doing are just mind blowing. Day after day he holds the universe in his hands and never misses a beat. Yet for some reason people seemed dulled to his creations every single day and have lost the amazement of sunrises, sunsets, gravity, photosynthesis, metamorphosis, 1000 leg insects, the change of seasons and God moments.

Even more disconcerting for me is that many people all over the globe don't even believe there is a God. Maybe it is because we are not attempting anything in our lives and even more so in our churches that only God can do.

I love how often the word " NEW" is used in our Bibles. Yet how often is something new birthed in the Church today? I love being part of new things that can only be accomplished by God and with God. I come alive when the only explanation for a movement can be answered by saying "God!"

I wonder what might happen if we took our new minds, our new mercies, our new man, our new life, our new day, our new covenant, our new forgiveness and created all things new with God? I think I know what might happen New people would be won over to our God.

I dare you to try something new for God and with God and to not be concerned with issue-Christians.But be prepared for something new as new people will run into your life and your church!

this is why

2011-10-26T11:19:00.005-04:00

In two weeks we begin a new series where we will address men issues. I feel a huge burden to see men become godly leaders in this world. Imagine a world where men went all-in for Jesus. Imagine communities full of men following hard after Jesus and living out the Gospel.

From the beginning men have struggled with passivity. Adam himself was with Eve when she sinned and he never said a word. He just watched his wife fall and he joined in.

There are moments in my life when I see men step up that every ounce of my being fires up. I long to be the man that rises to the occasion in this world and becomes the alpha dog that leads the charge against Darkness. Way too many men are investing all of their time with things that have very little eternal impact.

The book of Zechariah records a verse that stokes my fire. It is underlined in my Bible and I often pray it over my life. It inspires, motivates and erupts my heart.

This is what the LORD Almighty says: “In those days ten men from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, ‘Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you. Zechariah 8:23

I want to be that man who stands out, stands above and stands up for Jesus in a crowd so that when God needs a man to lead then other men will grab my coat and follow.

Will you be that man too?

A dog and a daughter

2011-10-25T14:36:00.004-04:00

We recently became aware of a special need that a local police officer had with his special daughter. She has been stricken with a rare disease that pretty much can disable her. One of the primary ways to help her is for her to have a dog that is trained to protect her.

We made the request known on Sunday and during our three services we had some local law enforcement officers available to man the table. In just one Sunday we collected $2550.00 to help purchase this special dog to keep this young girl alive.

While there are many needs that can overwhelm a person, we have chosen to do for one what we wish we could do for everyone. So while we were ministering to our ladies in a Daughter series, it seemed very appropriate to care for another daughter that needed help.

I love being part of a church that gets an announcement unsolicited ahead of time on a Sunday morning and hits it out of the park with their generosity just a few minutes later!

every stage is awesome

2011-10-23T05:27:00.000-04:00

Yes time seems to fly as you raise your children and if we are not careful we neglect to really enjoy each season because we always want to hold onto the past. As a dad of three precious kids I have made an effort to savor every moment.

Yesterday Hannah spent time posing for Senior Pictures, and Anne prepared this card for one of her photos. As you can see Hannah posed with it. I love this shot because it reveals how beautiful my daughter is, but it always conveys truth, Hannah really does love her mom. I have watched my daughter age gracefully over the years and she has always shown us her love.

Needless to say, I am enjoying this stage of life with my daughter as she finishes her Senior Year. The future is so bright for my daughter and her past has been lined with so many good memories, yet I am going to just enjoy the present with her because she adds so much joy to it.

Hannah you are beautiful inside and out and I love the way you live your life for Jesus. The world is a better place because of you and when God gave us you, he really blessed us.

I will conquer the

2011-10-22T18:54:00.004-04:00

Our tough mudder event is only 4 weeks away. Our staff has been training for 3 months getting prepared for this great challenge, 12 mile run 24 British Special Force Obstacles.

It has brought great camaraderie among the staff and we have been pushing each other so that we are not "that guy." One of my personal goals is to make it completely across this monkey bar obstacle. Not only is it in the middle of the event but many of the bars will be greased.

I have been working hard to develop a lifting routine that increases my muscle strength in my arms and shoulders. All that to say this, I do not want to be like the guy in the middle of this picture in the water, I will conquer the monkey bars!

My path to intimacy with God

2011-10-20T11:23:00.003-04:00

For most of my life I have found myself out in front leading groups, teams, my family,and my church. As a result of that I have become an easy target for those that feel the need to tell my how they would do it differently. I have come to realize that being a leader and Christ-follower requires a tender heart but tough hide.

Even as I lead Grace Community, God has called me to lead by the way he has gifted me. With that being said, I have been hardwired to meet God in ways that others do not. I have my own personal devotional journey that draws me very close to God. I love my Savior with all of my heart, I have a deep faith that has been rooted in the cross of Jesus Christ, and grounded in his infallible Word. There are moments in my quiet time that his presence is very evident and I am overwhelmed with his love for me.

Yet I will not ever tell someone that there is one way to find intimacy with God. But many people feel the need to say that unless you preach this, do this, do that, or have this, you are never the Church or person that God wants you to be. Can we cherish the unique ways God has allowed us to meet him without imposing upon others to do it our way?

In his book Sacred Pathways, Gary Thomas observed that over 2000 years, Christians had used at least nine different pathways to enjoy intimacy with God.

Naturalists are most inspired to love God out-of-doors in natural settings.
Sensates love God with the senses and appreciate beautiful worship services that involve their sight, taste, smell, and touch, not just their ears.
Traditionalists draw closer to God through rituals, liturgies, symbol and unchanging structures.
Ascetics prefer to love God in solitude and simplicity.
Activists love God through confronting evil, battling injustice, and working to make the world a better place.
Caregivers loves God by loving others and meeting their needs.
Enthusiasts love God with mystery and celebration. (The term 'enthusiast' is derived from a Greek root-word which means God-filled.)
Contemplatives love God through adoration.
Intellectuals love God by studying with their minds.

We must be very careful not to force a personal path that makes us come alive on someone else and begin to assume that our way is the only way towards intimacy with God.

By the way the path to my intimacy with God is often The Naturalist path. So when I see Ryan standing in the rain above my heart explodes. When I take a run in the woods or bear hunt in Alaska or canoe down the Potomac River I meet God!

Passing it down

2011-10-19T11:23:00.001-04:00

Josh has been home for fall break from Grace College and it is always a blessing to have him around. He spent some time hanging with his little brother, Isaiah, on the hoops court at home.

I loved watching the two of them go at it on the court and I especially enjoyed the moments where Josh was instructing him about the game itself. Isaiah would take the information in and immediately try to apply it to his game.

As a Father, I desire to pass down every tool in the book for my kids to get a head start in life. I long to give my life away and not have anything left over that could benefit them for years to come. So, when I witness the same thing happening among my boys on the court outside I am deeply moved.

One day down the road the spin move that Josh was showing Isaiah could be the very move he needs to make, to break open a very close game. If not the value in two brothers sharpening their skills together was a proud moment for this Father!

totally worth it

2011-10-18T13:38:00.003-04:00

Something new happens in a man's heart when you pull him away from the office, workplace, and everything that he finds familiar. Each year one of our primary ways we go after men and disciple them is an annual Wild at Heart Men's Retreat to Western Maryland.

We purposely build events that require men to work together. We have found that when men share a common experience or task together they open up with each other.

We believe that every man has the desire to release the little boy in him and build things that are tested in competition.

We let them enjoy a 10 mile canoe ride together and row as a team.

We provide ample time to shoot shotguns, AR15s, and AK47s...

We remind them of what God desires of them as Godly men

We spend time alone listening to God in the rain.

We compete in a variety of fun relays...

We feel the thrill of the starting blocks again..

We camp outside and shut out technology and experience God's creation.

Each man that was part of this weekend will never be the same again as he has been equipped with tools, resources, and experiences he can draw from for the rest of his life.

So every once in a while someone will ask me is this worth it? What do you think?

When you get the man, you get the family, you get the community, you get the world and the Gospel spread rapidly!

trade in your first aid kit

2011-10-17T10:28:00.004-04:00

Everyone has been wounded from something in the past. We can choose to carry the wounds for the rest of our lives or find healing. As I addressed our women yesterday in our Daughter's Series I encouraged them to expose the wound and find Healing.

Way too many people refuse to deal with their wounds and spend their entire lives covering them up with bandaids. We need to let God air-dry our wounds so they can be healed.

At the end of our services we gave women a chance to take the first step and find healing by inviting God to heal their wound. The front was flooded with women doing just that. I am convinced that that many woman found freedom and left our services free!

Like I said yesterday way too many ladies have replaced their purses with first-aid kits. Is this the way you want to live your life? Trade in your first-aid kit today and let the Master Physician Heal you!

This one is for all the princesses out there!

2011-10-13T14:39:00.003-04:00

As long as I lead Grace Community I promise to challenge, exhort, encourage, and call men to protect and love all the little princesses that are growing up in their homes.

We have been given an incredible opportunity to pour confidence and love into our daughters. So if you ever want to be the Man, Husband, and Father that God wants you to be then know that Grace Community will always challenge you to be that kind of man.

To all the princesses out there, I want you to know we are grateful that you attend Grace Community, don't ever settle for the first man that comes along. Make sure you wait until you find a man, a real man, a godly man who will do whatever it takes to lead and protect you with godliness and love!

Oh yeah, the dress above is my daughter's dress that she would put on and parade around in front of me as a little girl. I promise to do whatever it takes to do all of this for the two princesses in my house, Anne and Hannah!

Fight for it

2011-10-12T09:42:00.003-04:00

Today the enemy wants to assault your heart. He wants to rob and deplete you of all the valuable resources of your heart.

Way too many women give away the key to their heart to men who want to lust her and not love her. In turn that leaves women struggling with insecurity, because she places her value in a man and not in God. I beg you ladies to stop doing this.

The Bible strongly encourages us to guard our hearts, because it is the wellspring of life. Put a lock and chain on your heart when it comes to men. Don't give the key away until you have a good man, godly man, real man who loves Jesus and plans on committing his life to you. Until then, guard it so that when the right man comes along you are secure in Christ and confident enough to make a stand for your dignity, purity, and godliness!

Epic daddy and daughter moment

2011-10-11T12:33:00.000-04:00

Sunday we opened our new Daughters Series and shared how daughters are beautiful to God. We wrapped up this service by having Pastor Jeremiah and Pastor Jeremy sing with their daughters the song, Daddy's be good to your daughters.

It was an epic moment as it took everything I was saying and brought it to life. Needless to say, it was a moment I will never forget. Plus for the record I want to say that all of my Staff guys are great fathers and really put into practice what I talked about on Sunday!

Dads your input in their lives will help shape them to be secure, godly, women one day!

it always pays off

2011-10-10T19:30:00.001-04:00

This evening Isaiah and I spent time on our basketball court working on skills. I love these kind of moments because they always benefit you later. We worked on dribbling skills, jump shots, layups, passing and free throws.

As we wrapped up the evening we dribbled down the road together and chatted as we jogged. I shared with Isaiah that as a young man I would dribble around the block at my parent's house for a 1 1/2 miles a couple times a week.

As is the case with anything in order to improve your skills, hone your craft, or become really good at something you must spend time practicing it. The sun was setting in the west as we ran and it was a great way to cap off an evening with my son. One night on the court down the road when Isaiah is in a critical situation and must dribble through traffic this night will help him to succeed.

Why are we so surprised

2011-10-06T10:26:00.000-04:00

My experiences have shown me that the things I find value in achieving require hard work and normally cost me something. For instance a healthy godly marriage is worth fighting for. The primary reason it is challenging is that we have an enemy who is opposed to it.

So why are so many people surprised when bumps in the road surface and hardships are commonplace? The Enemy's primary job is to blow it up. Why then are so many people surprised at how difficult it can be to keep it thriving?

Most areas in life are this way, if you want to achieve something of value, be prepared for opposition. Even while running last night I encountered some brier patches, but I knew I had to run through them to achieve the intended goal. Way too many people throw in the towel and say this marriage, this job, this relationship, this ministry, this dream should not be that hard. When in reality the opposite is true.

Every great accomplishment that carries significant value to it will always be opposed and you will often walk away with scars from the battle, but the upside of defeating the Enemy is so good.

I challenge you today to not be the one who bails out when a difficulty surfaces, but to fight back and win. The satisfaction of doing so is off-the-charts good.

The problem with no

2011-10-05T13:42:00.000-04:00

While running hills yesterday for my training routine for the tough mudder, I came across this sign. It was still in place after many years on the former ski slope of Mt Wawasee. This area at one time was home to the only ski slope in the surrounding area. This was the place to be in the winter months and people drove for miles to just be here.

Now it is desolate, overgrown, and ski lifts can be seen dodging through the maze of overgrown trees and shrubs. Everything about this sign screams we don't want you here, unless you conform. It is loaded with "no's."

I have to admit as I do every time someone runs through their lists of no, what is it that I can do? There are so many better ways of saying the same things above without this list of no's. It makes me wonder if this is the kind of sign we as Christians place all over our church entrances, and homes? While we might not actually plant a sign in the ground we sure speak it loudly with our actions and expressions.

All that to say this, I wondered as I sweated my guts out running over this former ski slope, if it might still be full of people if the message they plastered at the top of slope, as soon as you got off the ski lift gave all the things you could do while you were there.

Jesus came to set us free not load us down with a bunch of no's. Ask your self today what kind of sign are you carrying to a lost world that is looking for unconditional love! Besides what fun is it, if you can't schuss while skiing.

brave men

2011-10-04T16:31:00.000-04:00

Movies that star brave and courageous men juice me up. They pull something out of me. Every man longs to be the hero that arrives on the scene slays the enemy and rescues the oppressed. The Bible is loaded with these kind of heroes too.

Yet way too many men spend the majority of their lives in situations that have no eternal value to them and require zero risk or adventure. They punch in each day and complete the task only to find themselves empty remiss of deep satisfaction. Yet God has called them to so much more!

When a man begins to understand that he is to fight for his family, fight for his heart , fight for his God, and fight for a godly cause, then he rises each morning ready to slay the enemy!

If you were to cut me open you would see this DNA inside of me and I want other men to experience what I do; a heart fully alive. I want to be known as one of God's mighty men who did great exploits for him and I want to bring other men into that arena too. How about you Men?

1 Chronicles 11:10- 25

it effects everything

2011-10-03T16:00:00.000-04:00

If you want to be used by God in this world you must be influential in your sphere of living. It begins with your track record. When your name is brought up in conversation it immediately speaks something about you.

I have been in many circles when a name surfaces and everyone says if you can get him then it would change everything. I have even witnessed people say they were willing to give up something of their own to make that happen.

We are the only ones that can make our names carry weight outside of Jesus Christ. The way we live our lives allows us to add dignity, respect, value and influence to our name. I take this very seriously because I want to give my children a fighting chance in this world, and I desire that I do not thwart or set them back because of the way I have lived.

It is an incredible privilege for me to be called Brown and I long for that name to add value to our world. What comes to mind for others when your name surfaces?

Proverbs 22:1 A good name is more desirable then great riches to be esteemed is better then silver or gold.

Get back in the cage

2011-09-29T11:05:00.001-04:00

We are creatures of habits and statistics show us that if we do something for 17 days it becomes a habit. Now that can be good or bad depending on which habit you are repeating.

A lot of the patterns of life that we find ourselves in today are not very healthy because we often default to what is quickest, easiest, and most familiar. We rarely take enough time to refine our craft or examine our lives to see if there are ways to improve it.

Yet many of us just find ourselves repeating the same behavior and hoping for different results. So we work longer, harder, and sometimes to the brink of a breakdown wishing that things would change, yet all the while just doing the same thing longer, harder and getting the same result.

In order to see change, we need to get in the cage and work out the fundamentals all over again. See the ball, load and explode and make sure your hands get through the ball. As in the photo above Josh is working out his swing with hopes to drive the ball when he steps up to the plate in the game. Many of us need to go back to the cage and find out what it takes to find success in our walks with God or we will spend the rest of our lives going 0-fer because of bad habits. Make it a point to today to examine your life to see where you need to spend some time in the cage to get it right!

Private vs public

2011-09-27T16:13:00.004-04:00

We unpacked this myth on Sunday "My faith is a private matter." It is obvious that this is a lie. Everything about it screams stay away from me, don't go there and I'm not letting you in. Yet so many Christ followers live as though they have posted no tresspassing signs on their faith.

Something happens when you go public with your faith. It opens you up to accountability, it allows other to be encouraged in their faith, and quite frankly it kicks Satan's butt.

On Sunday we gave people an opportunity to go public in their faith in baptism. We had 35 planned baptisms scheduled but at the end of each service I gave people an opportunity to be spontaneously baptized. Nothing short of miraculous happened next as 16 more people from all walks of life took the plunge in their Sunday's clothes and a total of 51 people went public for Jesus!

Like I said on Sunday everyone else is coming out of the closest so we might as well too as Christ-Followers. I found myself oscillating from tears to laughter as men, women and children went public for Jesus. Besides, we have no reason to ever be ashamed of Jesus. Going public trumps staying private everytime!

I love this age group

2011-09-23T14:09:00.000-04:00

I love college students! I have always had a place in my heart for this age. Even when I was a young man I helped start a college and career Bible Study that exploded with hundreds of students. Out of that time God put a call on my life for ministry and he blessed me with many opportunities to reach young adults.

So this week I was given a chance to speak at my Alma Mater Grace College in Chapel for 2 straight days. My Son Josh is a Sophomore student there. I love standing in front of a group of world changers. I love the seeing the potential right in front of me as I speak. I love how this age is so very open to truth and are moved to action if you call them out.

Over the last two days I addressed the differences between men and women and how that should play out as Christ-followers. I stressed to the ladies that they are beautiful in God's eyes and that he is enthralled with their beauty and for them not to settle in relationships.

I challenged the men today to lead, be a godly man and lead! It was so good to know that with God these truths if played out through The Spirit's Prompting could revolutionize lives at Grace College.

As I write this I am praying that Satan will not steal the seeds of truth that were planted and I am thanking God for Colleges like Grace College that are fertile ground for Jesus to work!

Learn from the little ones

2011-09-21T10:43:00.000-04:00

So our photograper from Sunday snapped this photo. As you can see this little girl says, "Im not fighting it any longer." Instead of running on empty and not operating at full capacity she just said I'm tired and that's it.

I wonder if we listen to the promptings of our phyiscal body enough? I wonder if we take care of the the vessel that God lives in? I wonder if we are about to have some heart attack, stroke, or other physical ailment, because we have not developed a healthy plan of exercise?

We have a lot to learn from this little gal, you can only run so far, and so fast, for so long, until something will break down. The Bible gives creedence to the fact that sleep and exercise are gifts from God. I encourage you today to learn from the babies.

It's useless to rise early and go to bed late, and work your worried fingers to the bone. Don't you know he enjoys giving sleep to those he loves Psalm 127:2

I wonder

2011-09-20T13:36:00.000-04:00

As you can see Isaiah is about to run a xc race. I love this shot because I have seen this look 100's of times before on him and many others. It is that look that is thinking about the task ahead. As you can see many of the other team runners are in other places mentally, but Isaiah is charting out the race in front of him.

It makes me wonder if he is recalling the conversation we had the night before where we laughed, talked, and laid out a race strategy. I love this photo because his little mind is churning and he is thinking of the plan before he runs, not running and thinking of a plan later.

Way too often we run ahead of God without any of his plans and end up way off track. I wonder how different things would be for you today if you consulted him about your race today?

Our best plans begin by talking to God!

We plan the way we want to live, but only God makes us able to live it! Proverbs 16:9

team dynamics

2011-09-16T11:22:00.002-04:00

There is such great power, synergy, and camaraderie in a team. This morning our tough mudder team gathered at 6:30 am for a run. We worked our way through the wooded trails with headlamps and flashlights. We watched the sunrise and listened to creation come alive. We ran through water from our ankles to our waist. We jumped over logs and navigated through tough terrain.

Yet something happens to you when you train as a team. You feel responsible to keep up, you don't want to let another teammate down. You close the gap on the guy in front of you sometimes purely out of pride. There is a refining and sharpening of your skills while you are in motion. You don't want to be that guy!

My whole staff at Grace is competing in this training routine plus Sam Armington and Kirt Hunsberger. There is something really special and powerful that is happening to us as team. We are pulling the best out of each other and guys are achieving goals they never have before in their lives and we celebrate together.

All that to say this our team is developing some pretty special camaraderie that only a few teams ever experience. I challenge leaders of teams to go and win in this arena too, the return is out of this world. Because physically healthy teams have greater energy to do what God has called them to accomplish!

only God

2011-09-15T12:34:00.000-04:00

Next week I will be speaking at Grace College during Chapel for two days. When I enrolled at Grace in 1986 it was a difficult time in my life. That summer I walked through a broken engagement and it really rocked the plans I had made for my life. Everything was upside down and I needed to get away and see what God now had in store for me.

I remember taking a weekend away at the beach and asking God to speak to me concerning my future plans. It was a pivotal time in my life. You see, the person I was engaged to was a student at Grace College, and now I had to discern whether or not this was the plan for me. Was this still the plan for me or was God now redirecting my life?

I took out a tablet and began to write down the pros's and con's of still enrolling at Grace. I literally wrote down on one side of the tablet why I should not go and on the other side why I should go. I will never forget that weekend as God used that weekend to push me forward to Grace College.

The first weekend at Grace I met a young lady who had transferred in from Michigan State University. Well, you could say I was hooked. A few years later we graduated and began a life together. That pivotal weekend changed the direction of my life forever, because God clearly revealed his plan for me.

So when I pulled out of the driveway this morning and saw the two scarecrows in my front yard I was sent back to the day when I first saw my wife walking across Grace Campus in her State Sweatshirt. Only God could match a State Fan and Maryland Fan and make something good out of it!

epic moments

2011-09-13T15:21:00.000-04:00

Something happens when men get out in creation and spend time with God. Here at Grace we believe that if you get the man you get the family, the community the world for Jesus.

We have seen so many epic moments and yes that word seems to overused in our world today, but it describes best what often happens on these retreats in Western Maryland. We have seen this retreat become the catalyst for life-change in men, families and marriages.

Take a peek at the video recap from last year and register for this year's retreat at www.gracecommunity-church.com

the places a dad would

2011-09-10T11:23:00.000-04:00

I love cheering on my kids and trying to inspire them to be the best they can be. So this morning as Hannah was running her xc meet at Oxbow park I was running my own 5k but in much different terrain.

As you can see the course was not as well cleared out as Hannah's course. But I love running ahead and meeting her at various points along the way and cheering her on. After I finished my jog I saw that I had collected a few stickers and cuts but it was so worth it.

Go Hannah Go!

30 seconds changed everything

2011-09-08T10:53:00.000-04:00

I drive a Jeep Cherokee. I enjoy it because it has high miles and has a few dings on it and it is 4 wheel drive. I love to take it off road and drive through the fields and along tree lines to get to hunting grounds. I long for snowy days so I can drop it into 4 wheel drive. And if someone accidentally opens their door against my jeep it is no big deal.

I do most of the regular maintenance on it myself and it has been a reliable vehicle for me. Now I do salivate when a Jeep Commander appears on the scene. I would love to own that vehicle.

But for the last few weeks I have had a blotchy, blurry windshield, because I left my window open on a hot steamy summer night. Since then each time I have jumped into my vehicle I was reminded of that view. Yet, I never took the time to clean it. I knew it would give me much better visibility and relieve the glare when the sun came pressing through.

So last night I finally took time to grab the Windex and clean that puppy. It took me about 30 seconds and it was sparkling clean. The joy I felt this morning was measurable in my face. It was as if the skies has parted and I could see clearly again. One simple act of cleansing brought great relief and a clearer picture of the road ahead. I even felt better about the Jeep.

I wonder if that isn't the same thing that confession does for our soul as we cry out and ask for cleansing and God wipes us clean. So, I encourage you right now to stop and clean your hearts and rid yourself of the blurred windshield perspective! The difference will measurable as you walk through life!

most won't see this

2011-09-07T12:03:00.000-04:00

On a wall in the basement of Beta Dorm at Grace College this photo and a plague appears. Most won't ever see this and for that matter Josh would never tell anyone. But this weekend my younger son Isaiah snapped this photo of his big brother while he stayed the night in the dorm with him.

Josh was selected as a Freshmen last year to be Mr. Beta. This is the first year they have started this tradition after many years of this dorm presiding at Grace Campus. The award is given to the student in this dorm that best represents what Grace College desires and the Beta leadership longs for. It is selected by the peers too.

I am proud of my son and these are the kind of achievements that really matter in life. Way to go Josh you are living out your faith well!

I vote yes

2011-09-06T12:02:00.000-04:00

Most of you know that I am Maryland Terps fan. I have rooted for the Terps all of my life. Last night was their season opener and they donned some brand new uniforms designed by Under Armour. By the way two University of Maryland graduates started Under Armour.

I thought the uniforms rocked and were way outside the box. Besides it's tough to dress up a turtle. Anyhow I vote yes to the uniform and maybe it gave them an extra boost as they slipped past Miami. I'm hoping for the same result on November 12.

the classic lie

2011-09-05T10:58:00.000-04:00

We have a lot to learn from flypaper. As a kid we would hang this in our home to catch all the flies that found their way into our house. I was always intrigued by the way this trap caught so many flies, especially since so many other flies were dying or already dead in full view for them to see.

Why did they keep thinking they would end up in a different place then the rest of the suckers? Why didn't one of them have a fly-talk with every interested fly and say don't go there? How come they couldn't see the end result of this temptation?

Well as I stated yesterday in my sermon we are not any different then the fly. We believe that we will end up in a different place then everyone else if we take the bait of temptation.

So today I ask you what temptation are you buzzing around thinking you will not fall? The fly paper doesn't lie it could cost you your life. God promises to provide a way out of your temptation, recalculate your position quickly when God's GPS shouts out or you will end up in a train wreck!

whole.nutha.level

2011-09-03T09:43:00.000-04:00

It is no secret that we like fires in our household. Not the kind that cause destruction or hardship. But the kind you can sit around on an evening look at the stars and roast some marshmallows.

Last night we sat at our home with staff and families from Grace Community at a bonfire at our back field. The stars were blaring in the sky, there was good fellowship and camaraderie.

But I will admit making smores required the toaster to go to a whole.nutha.level when it was time to get the marshmallow toasted. Isaiah is pictured above enduring the heat so that he could sink his teeth into a smore. I give him a A+ for effort, most would have passed on the smore and just eaten the chocolate.

Even when I am old and gray

2011-09-02T11:02:00.000-04:00

A simple touch of love can go a long way. Watch what happens when the piano guys walk into a retirement home.

Just press play and be blessed like I was!

If you love redemption then

2011-09-01T09:52:00.001-04:00

These pictures scream redemption. These photos reveal what can happen when a church says lets do our part in rescuing orphans.

Please look carefully at these photos and look at the smiles and joy on our children's faces. Look how their beds are lined with photos of each person that has visited them over the last three years. We are their family and they are reminded of that each time they crawl into bed at night.

Even the doll baby was a gift we bought the girls on a visit a couple of years ago.

For the first time in many years these children now have their own bedroom and do not have to eat and sleep on the same floor.

It is obvious to me that our children, who have lost their moms and dads for a variety of reasons now feel part of a family and that brings tears of joy to my heart.

As I look at the pictures I also see pictures of my family on the walls and beds of each of these girls and the Dad in me comes out. Just so you know, I will always be there to protect,help and care for their needs. These are my new adopted sons and daughters so don't mess with them!

The power in thank you

2011-08-31T10:56:00.001-04:00

I have traveled all over the world and have logged 1000's of miles on airlines. I have witnessed some of the poorest conditions known to mankind up close. I once landed in an airport in Saigon Vietnam and was greeted by a small handwritten sign with the name Brown on it by a taxi driver. I have stood in lines to obtain Visas for many countries.

I have had flight attendants say hello and goodbye in many different languages. I have been greeted by people of all races and religions. I have been invited to a wedding in the middle of a jungle and have been blessed by meals served by widows on a farm in Thailand. I have eaten Chicken that was one hour old in a hut in Vietnam. I even had a rat enjoy the same breakfast cereal , from the box I chose on a cool Cambodian morning.

I have been welcomed by guests from all over the world. Yet, you can always tell when someone is genuinely grateful and thankful that you are there.

A few weeks back we landed in Chiangmai Thailand and we were greeted by our Thailand Children and the Director of Asia's Hope. Her name is Tutu Bee, she is truly the present Mother Teresa in our World. She has given her life to rescue orphans. As you can see she dressed for the occasion in an American Flag Shirt. It was her way to say thank-you to our team for rescuing orphans.

This picture will never find it's way in Newsweek nor for that matter will Tutu. But in the darkness of a warm night in the middle of nowhere, while most Americans were fast asleep, an expression of thanks was a warm gesture for some weary travelers. Work hard today to show someone you appreciate them with a genuine thank-you!

Touch

2011-08-30T12:48:00.000-04:00

At the end of our services on Sunday one of our photographers caught this moment. This photo screams healing. While I do not know what is going on inside of this precious couple, I do know that this touch says we love each other.

Humans have an innate sense built in them for touch. Our language contains many expressions that convey the importance of touch. We speak of friends and acquaintances "staying in touch." We know some people that are "out of touch."

Yet many of us live in societies that shun actual physical touch. Sociologist Ashley Montagu observes that we in the Western world "have produced a race of untouchables." He sees this as a sign of the "impersonality of life."

A simple touch--a hand on a shoulder, an arm around a waist--can reduce the heart rate and lower blood pressure... Doctors tell us that touch also stimulates the brain to produce endorphins, the body's natural pain suppressors"

Many marital relationships suffer from not enough touching. And many dating relationships suffer from too much touching. In the crazy pace of our busy lives, we too often neglect to practice this needed act of affection.

Too often we try to use words to express our hearts, when an extended reach of a hand will do far more than our words. Touch is a powerful way to express our love for one another. Reach out today and give a hug, shake a hand, pat a back, or hold a hand to bring love and healing.

unplug, pause, refresh

2011-08-26T11:15:00.000-04:00

We are made in the image of God and that thought floors me.

To keep myself from getting buried in the layers of life I have inserted times when I hit pause, so that I can recharge. Every human being is wired for the need to pause, ponder, and reflect. God set the model in place by implementing a day of rest after he created the cosmos.

One of the very best ways for me to find refreshment is to get out into creation and savor the smells, sights, and sounds of nature. It's as if a part of me comes alive that was shutdown in the midst of living life. Besides, Jesus often pulled away so that he could refresh. Even as I look at this photo above of me in Alaska a few months back, while bear hunting, I breathe easier.

While hunting there I am sure I walked on virgin land where only God himself was able to see and enjoy. And it made me wonder if God still takes time to retreat and enjoy spots in nature that enable him to be refreshed. He started the whole rest-thing for himself. I wonder where he will spend his time this week.

All that to say this, if Jesus found refreshment in nature and God himself took a day to rest after he created everything to enjoy it, then maybe we can find the same kind of refreshment there too.

God's glory is on tour in the skies, God-craft on exhibit across the horizon. Madame Day holds classes every morning, Professor Night lectures each evening. Psalm 19:1-2... The Message

different

2011-08-25T10:55:00.001-04:00

We are prone to be creatures of habit. We gravitate to challenges, schedules, jobs, food, and activities that make us comfortable. Yet, there are so many new things that God wants us to do with our lives. Even the breakfast above that I recently ate added a since of adventure for me. Besides, God's mercies are new every morning so he regularly hits the refresh button for us.

I get concerned with people who live their lives with familiarity and same routines. I often wonder how many Christ followers fall way short of the plans that God had for them because they refuse to stretch themselves. I have seen individuals with uber-talent slowly erode into a life of safeness. I watch this happen with so much frequency and often wonder if it causes the heart of our Father-God to grieve.

When I begin to ponder how much our God suffered to give us eternal life, I am motivated and convicted to give my all to him. After many years of following God I am beginning to see that one of the Enemies greatest schemes is to load us down with fear of the unknown, with shivers of nervousness for the new, with a deep satisfaction for routine, and a gradual erosion of our faith.

All that to say this, "what are you doing with your life that really matters to God?" What new thing, new place, new idea, new project are you connected with that is rocking the gates of Hell? Stop right now and ask the Holy Spirit to grade your status in life. I wonder what God's status update for us would be?

for men only

2011-08-24T11:49:00.001-04:00

There has never been a time more ripe for men to shine in our world. The press is loaded with stories of moral failure, greedy embezzlement's gone awry, fatherless children, and more of the same.

Lets face it, men need to be part of a great challenge, something that pulls the moral fibers of courage out of them. Tasks that leave them exhausted of all of their energies and resources; moments that print eternal impact on our world way beyond their eulogies. Yet, way too many men finish their days filled with menial tasks that provide income for bread and eggs and a 401.

Seriously, I am saddened by how many men spend all their waking hours consumed in fluff that will not impact eternity. Many are on this meaningless train and Satan has them eating right out of his hand.

You see, I believe God longs to see so much more from us then coasting through life for a bigger paycheck, so we can retire in some dream home sipping coffee, reading the Wall Street Journal and playing sudoku.

Plain and simple, are you advancing the kingdom? Are Demons reporting back to Satan and shouting, "we must stop this man or we are in trouble? Or are you just sucking air and wasting space? The world is loaded with nice guys, who drive nice cars, and have nice lawns, and nice barns, and nice children, and nice retirement plans. But it is longing for courageous men to awake from their slumber.

Enough said!

No straddling allowed

2011-08-23T14:02:00.001-04:00

This past Sunday I took time to look at the Book of Nahum. This book is a picture of Ninevah some 150 years after the Great Revival that took place with Jonah. Needless to say it is not a pretty picture. God is wiping out the Ninevites because they had turned back to their former ways.

Somewhere a slow fade began among the people. Somewhere a compromise of truth and God's Word. Somewhere they just wandered away form God and no one stood up and said no. The same could happen to us today if we do not remain in the first chair as Christians. We must stay connected to God or we will end up with a generation that neither knows God or miraculous things he has done.

We also must not straddle seats. I ask you today , what seat are you sitting in? In order for us to impact our world for Jesus we must lead from the 1st chair, any other chair will send the next generations to places far, far away, from God. And we know what happened in Nahum...

Me in a nutshell

2011-08-19T10:11:00.002-04:00

This is my heart's desire...

Seriously how can one

2011-08-18T10:45:00.003-04:00

While shopping in the market in Thailand Isaiah and I ran across this vendor's booth. If you know me well then you know that I was drawn to this booth. It was as if it was dropped out of heaven for me and my boys. It was screaming in the Thai dialect Sawaddy-Cup...

So, I stopped and my eyes spun like the icons do on a lottery machine. Seriously how can one make a good decision when so many options are whispering buy me? Well, it was pretty simple for me this time, because I had made a decision ahead of time to buy for my son Josh, and for him alone. Yet my want-gene was running through the photo-viewer of me with more then one pair of these shoes. Plus they were cheap, really cheap. Did I say dirt-cheap, the kind of cheap that I will never see in America?

Well, I walked away with a hot pair of lime green and black Nike Air for Josh and enjoyed my red Nike's that we already on my feet.

All that to say this, Everyday we have decisions to make that must be made. We cannot let our emotions rule our decisions or we will walk away feeling good in the moment but full of regret later when reality strikes.

Choose wisely and prepare yourself ahead of time so that you do stand in the wish-I-didn't return line.

What kind of garden are you growing

2011-08-17T11:10:00.000-04:00

Just recently we picked some vegetables from our garden. As you can see it has been a bumper crop year for us. Hannah is cleaning the vegetables before we store them away.

In order for us to receive this crop we had to plant some seed in the ground a few months back. We are now reaping what we sowed. Everyday we plant a garden with our words. The words that you speak today are taking root in your garden of life. The Bible tells us that the words that come from our mouths have the power of life or death.

I often remind my family to plant a good garden today. Don't plant seeds of crops that you will regret later. If you complain, whine, gripe, tell everyone how bad it is everyday, guess what you will be growing and harvesting tomorrow?

All that to say this, make a conscious choice to guard your words because those words will either produce a garden of life or death. I choose to plant life!

Off they go

2011-08-16T15:22:00.000-04:00

This morning Anne and I helped our son Josh get set up for year 2 at Grace College. He is located in Beta3 South.

Even though it is his second year it is still hard to say goodbye, but it was much easier then last year. As you can see he is in good hands and has built some quality relationships already. Grace College is a fantastic school and I can't wait to see what God has in store for Josh.

It has been a big day for us as Hannah started her Senior year and Isaiah jumped into Junior high.

But as they drove away this morning there was not any fear in Isaiah's eyes.

As I sit in my office I am so grateful for kids that love Jesus and have him watching over them. Each season of life has been so very special with them and I look forward to this new season too. Moving on while living in the moment with my kids!

Farewell, Solong, Goodbye

2011-08-11T20:06:00.000-04:00

In a few hours we will say goodbye to this new family that God has given us. Three years ago these children were hopeless and their future was dark, bleak, and without a touch of genuine love. Many of these kids quite- frankly would die without ever knowing Jesus, family,or true love.

Grace Community Church said "no to that" and on a cold February morning three years ago. I delivered a message that we must do something about this, that we cannot let this go on, that somewhere in our world are orphans begging God for hope and deliverance.

I will never forget that morning when my church gave enough in one offering to build two orphanages and feed 100,000 meals for starving people in our world. On that day God himself was moved to the edge of heaven to watch because he loves orphans.

So in this picture you can witness what can happen when redemption takes place, when the church joins arms to fight against the evil in our world, when kids squeal with delight because mom and dad, brother and sister, grandma and grandpa, and the cousins are in town to visit.

As I close this post and prepare for the emotional goodbye, there is a part in my heart that swells with pride for Grace Community Church!

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Favor

2011-08-11T03:06:00.000-04:00

Exactly three years ago on our first trip to Thailand to visit our children we visited this very same elephant farm. On that trip my son Josh was picked out of the entire crowd to challenge an elephant to a game of busting balloons with darts. It was fun and unbelievable that he was picked out of all the people there.

Today in very same farm the elephant came out to play darts. Guess who got picked out of the hundreds of people gathered, my son Isaiah.

As a father I pray every single day for my family and I always, yes always pray for God's favor on them. You might say it was a coincidence, but I believe it was one of the ways God loves to answer prayer. Besides doesn't every dad want favor on their kids.

Favor from God is played out in many ways, yet I still believe it shows up in a jungle in Thailand when someone needs to throw darts in an elephant show.

Thanks God for this little touch on my son Isaiah, he loved it and now can share a rare experience with his brother for the rest of his life.

Psalm 90:17 may the favor of the Lord rest upon us. Establish the work of your hands...
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Goodbyes, thugs, and our great God

2011-08-09T14:31:00.000-04:00

He reached his hand up to touch my window I reached my hand out to touch my side of the window. We remained frozen in time not wanting to pull away our hands. He wouldn't release his hand so I didn't either . There we were frozen in a moment that I still can't shake. The bus began to move and I lipped the words "I love you." Those were my parting words as I said goodbye.

15 minutes later some corrupt thug policemen stood in the middle of the road and motioned for our bus to stop. The driver refused to turn like they wanted him to and the mob grew. The thugs began beating on the front of the bus with Billy clubs, pounding on the grill, headlights, glass door. We inched forward and they called in more bullies soon it appeared as if every Cambodian within the province of phnom penh was lined up. The thugs backed a truck up against the bumper of our bus , it was a showdown like most will never experience. Shouting, and bantering escalated it was good vs evil.

We were headed to Phomn Penh on a tight schedule with little time to spare. We didn't have a translator with us and found ourselves right where God wanted us. I stood up and said to our team calmly " this is our chance to watch our God come through for us, this is our chance to watch our God win, this is our chance to pray." I said we should not waste this moment, It is God's moment to shine. Immediately the team prayed, Bibles were opened, team members quoted scripture, individuals sang worship songs. There was nothing physically we could do, but we knew that those that were with us were greater then those that were against us. The team never panicked, never feared, they were ready for this moment.

Out of nowhere as if he were dropped from the sky above stood Savorn, he marched in and you could witness the anointing of God on his life . People gave him immediate respect, even the thugs, it was as if the eyes of these thugs saw a man ten foot tall. Before we knew it we were ushered off the bus in a mob of people and whisked away to a minibus, that transported us 4000 mph to Phomn Penh. We made our flight with 20 minutes to spare.

So how did you spend your morning? We serve an amazing powerful God who loves to show his power. As I type now from Thailand I recall what I said to our team, "we just added another chapter to the book of Acts. Good night for now. Our God is greater, bigger, and stronger!

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I felt their hearts

2011-08-08T19:18:00.000-04:00

Yesterday during our time hanging with our children a moment that only can be described as priceless occurred. We had a video that was shown to our church of the Cambodian kids on an iPad 2 . We asked Vando and Seyla if they wanted to watch it?

As the video played I watched Vando watch the video, tears welled up in his eyes and he interjected often about each child and how they worked so hard. I watched Seyla lip words to the dance song that the kids danced too and her smile was electric.

All that to say this, every child wants to know that they have a mom and dad that is proud of them. I whispered to Boyd as we we watched this proud moment of parents of 24 kids that this is real love, the kind of love we feel for our kids. The kind of love a parent feels when they see a picture in the newspaper of their child. The kind of love that God feels for us. The kind of love that this author can walk away from and know that our kids are in good hands. The kind of love these orphan children have longed for.

I imagine the same kind of love that God felt when he said to Jesus "this is my son in whom I am well pleased!"
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Transformed

2011-08-07T21:06:00.000-04:00

This is God's intended plan for the young women in Asia. He desires to see them loved, valued, given dignity, cared for, and treated with respect and dignity. Yet everywhere you look in this country of Cambodia are men who do just the opposite of that to women.

However instead of just griping and complaining about it we must do something about it. Every part of my soul comes unglued when I see a man walking the streets of Cambodia with a young Asian girl hanging on him. The only thing that restrains me from getting in his face is the Holy Spirit . So when I see this picture of our girls in our home, I am deeply moved because they have been rescued from the evil men of our world .

These girls and five others woke up at 4am this morning to have their hair done, dresses pressed, and dance moves choreographed, so that they could sing and dance for us and God.

While others watched them dance in the worship service this morning and were enjoying the beauty of the dance I silently wept because I was so grateful that they were rescued from the monsters of our world.

Look at the joy in their faces and you will see God's intended plan for this beautiful country and these beautiful children of our home. This is a good day in the life of these young girls, they are free to dance and sing for their family and their God!
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Cut the ribbon

2011-08-07T05:07:00.001-04:00

Incredible incredible incredible did I say incredible! We worshipped this morning together in Battambang Cambodia with our children and all the other children there. They sang and danced for us and we were deeply moved.

The outdoor pavilion was heavy with love and joy and the presence of God. On the wall behind me as I spoke in large letters was printed Grace Battambang 2 Building Dedication. It was a dream come true for our kids and our church as we then walked over to the newly constructed building for a ribbon cutting ceremony.

There was a buzz in the place as we walked through this dream come true moment. Our house parents were beaming with joy as they walked through their new building. It was a moment that I'm convinced that God himself called the angels over to the edge of heaven and said this is true and faultless religion and led them in applause himself .

One of our kids grabbed my hand and said daddy I want to show you our new house ! Okay when a dad sees utter excitement like that he realizes that his child feels loved. So on a warm muggy Sunday afternoon in the middle of a jungle this dad felt good really good about the way his kids were being cared for. And truth be known every dad longs for these kind of moments!
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48 hours later

2011-08-06T15:41:00.001-04:00

We made it to Battambang after leaving Goshen at 5am on Thursday Morning. The total trip including layovers lasted 48 hours. Well technically it was 60 hours since we are 12 hours ahead of the US.

The team has been very patient and there has not been one complaint on the entire trip. That's even after 4 of us arrived here without luggage. Jared, Ana, Isaiah and yours truly. Oh well at least we made it and we all smelled the same! Besides how can one complain when the very clothes you are wearing cost more than the average person here makes in a year. But I would have sold them in a heartbeat for that amount to the first bidder who had a weak sniffer.

The kids were waiting for us as we pulled up to the hotel waving, clapping, smiling and holding a banner that said welcome to Battambang. The mere anticipation of seeing them again and hearing the words "daddy, daddy, daddy" just flooded my eyes with tears.

There is something incredibly satisfying holding the hand of child that would be hopeless, destitute, lost and all alone on the streets with evil men ready to ause them. It brings great joy to know that we have rescued these precious angels and given a them a family that loves them. Even as I type through tears right now I say thanks Grace Community Church because your investment is changing the world.

We spent time wading through the mass mob of joy, laughter and family and I loved watching the instant bond being created with the team members. Besides doesn't every little kid love having their family visit them. The shower that followed this moment in our rooms was, well, lets just say majestic as the stink washed away. Ah, hot water never felt so good.

Now our bodies will tell us what to do, as some of us will find ourselves doing the chah-chah at 3 in the morning and others will sleep right through the rapture. Sure glad I'm a pre-tribber. I wouldn't trade this trip for anything because the look that was welded in my hardrive of these kids standing and waving for us, will be more then enough to help me wade through the weariness my body now feels. But I must admit I sure would give anything for a pair of shorts and socks right now. I better move on, as I was just informed I get to preach tomorrow morning. Imgaine a room filled with the sound of kids giggling, smiling and God himself saying well done. That's how I get to spend my day tomorrow.

Go

2011-08-03T10:22:00.000-04:00

There are so many things in this world vying for our time and attention. And it can be very challenging to discern how best to use our time. Yet, some things are just clear, very clear. The Bible gives us a clear command to just go!

My family and I have this as a mantra in our home that we will go to the uttermost parts of the world if need be to rescue people with the good news of the Gospel. As a result of this, we have spent time in places that are very dark and often requires us to trust in Jesus. But, as a father I want my children's world view to be shaped by these experiences so that they can see the world like our Savior does.

Tomorrow morning I lead a team of 14 from our church and head to Cambodia and Thailand. We will be loving on orphan kids that we have rescued. My son Isaiah will be on this trip with me and this will be his second trip to Asia. I am looking forward to sharing this time with him as we experience some divine encounters of God. Plus, I look forward to him flexing his muscles with the boys over there.

We would appreciate your prayers. Asia here we come!

Creativity

2011-08-02T12:00:00.000-04:00

The world has yet to see your most creative product. Inside of each person is an unusual imagination that often gets stymied. We are created in the image of God, a creative God at that. A God that made the cosmos out of nothing.

The very same DNA that resides in him resides in us. As Christ followers we should be the most creative human beings on planet earth.

Imagine the time and effort put into this creation.

Look at the detail in this pencil. Within you is a creation yet to be created, edited, or constructed. Get away and find a place to imagine, create, dream and construct. I tell my staff all the time here at Grace Community that we should be the most creative people alive.

And he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold and silver and bronze, Exodus 35:31-2

Life is fleeting

2011-07-29T10:38:00.002-04:00

A few years ago I married this dear couple in a small outdoor ceremony. God had brought them together and they were a match made from heaven. I remember the day Scott gave his life to Jesus and decided to follow him.

It was a beautiful evening as the sun was setting on the ceremony and they seemed to have many rich years of marriage ahead of them. Iris was a perfect fit for Scott and they made each other stronger.

Yet, this year out of nowhere I received a call that Scott has passed away in his sleep. Iris noticed he wasn't moving and well, he was dead. It was so heart-wrenching to witness this, because they genuinely loved each other and he was too young to die at 42.

Iris just let me know that she is moving this week to be closer to her family. Her response during this loss has been impeccable. I watched her faithfully come and worship each Sunday morning over the last couple of months and cling to the hope of Jesus. I miss Scott and I will miss Iris. I really don't have answers to these kind of losses. But it makes me appreciate the time I have with my wife and kids.

All that to say this, love the ones you're with today. Take time today to hug them, hold them, laugh with them, and tell them, "I love you!" You will be missed Scott and Iris!

Highlights of Vision 20 20 Leadership Conference

2011-07-28T10:16:00.001-04:00

I just returned from this leadership conference. God really showed up and moved. Imagine what can happen if the church becomes the hope of the world in every city in our world. That is what keeps my fire white hot. I love the local church and take my call as a pastor seriously. I will not fall asleep on my watch, too many people still need the hope of Jesus Christ.

aging up

2011-07-26T15:38:00.000-04:00

This past Sunday our worship pastors, Jeremy and Jeremiah and our worship band led the whole county in worship. Christians gathered from all the area churches to lift high the name of Jesus. In the midst of this our photographer grabbed this picture below that moves my heart deeply.

It is kind of photo that should be framed in every church across our world. It is the picture of an dear older couple the Priebes who attend my church. It captures this verse...

Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come. Psalms 71:18

May we worship God unashamedly like Norm and Judy pictured above. May this spirit permeate our community and our world. You are never too old to lead the way in worship. This another reason I love Grace Community Church.

the power of team

2011-07-24T08:43:00.001-04:00

In 13 days I will be standing here in Battambang Cambodia with 13 other teammates from my Church. We will be loving on 24 rescued orphan children. Less then 3 months ago this was a green pasture that had laid empty for hundreds of years. Yet, from the foundation of the earth God had a plan for this piece of property.

All he needed to complete his plan was a group of people to step up and do it. As I type I am filled with such joy, and I am so proud of my church, because on one Sunday they gave enough money to build this home, so that hope could be delivered on the other side of the world.

Imagine the glee and delight on the faces of our kids after their first night of sleep here. Way to go Grace Community you are truly God's messengers of hope! I can hear the laughter I as type!

remove the labels

2011-07-22T09:10:00.000-04:00

I love how God redeems people, marriages, businesses, teams, projects, homes and so much more. He loves making things new and instilling hope into hopelessness. He is able to take our past failures, mess-ups, colossal bombs and put us back to level ground. And what I love the most he removes all the labels from our past, all the names that people knew us by.

I wish we did a better job of that as Christians. I wish we worked hard at seeing people for who they could be and who they are in Jesus. Yet, for some it is so easy to freeze a person in the past, to classify them with a label and to hold them with that name for as long as they live.

What might happen if today you choose to throw the labels away and start afresh with your wife, husband, child, coworker, coach and teacher? There is power in forgiveness, redemption and moving on. However, it begins with you today! Go to the trash can and toss the labels and watch the amazing work of redemption do what it is so good at!

elementary

2011-07-20T10:31:00.000-04:00

In every arena of life there are some basic elementary teachings that we need to remind ourselves of each day. If we don't then we begin to drift away and before we know it we do not hit the mark.

Golf has some basic rock solid elementary foundational principles. As a golfer you must keep your head down and keep your eye on the ball. It's sounds so easy, yet golfer after golfer has struggled to do this, because they want to see where the ball is going too soon.

This week I followed Isaiah around in a golf tourney and snapped off a few photos of him hitting the ball, as you can see his head is down. I bet I have said that too him 1000 times over the years. And I have been reminded myself a million times too. While, it is so basic to the game of golf to do this, it is so easy to do just the opposite and to end up far away from the intended landing zone.

I wonder if you need to return to some of the elementary truths in your walk with God, so that you hit the target and find yourself back on the piece of real estate God had in mind, instead of far away from where he wants you?

Hebrews 5:11-12 We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact , though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God's Word all over again.

The payoff will come later

2011-07-19T14:23:00.001-04:00

This morning part of our staff headed out and ran a trail run together and concluded it by running the hills at Fairfield High School. It was hot and muggy and it would have been easy to say lets do it next time, but we knew that the payoff would help us later in the tough mudder run.

We know that in order for us to perform at our best on race day we must labor through the pain now, even if our bodies are screaming stop.

Many things in life require the same kind of discipline to achieve the goal set before you. And in this case there isn't one man in our group of 7 who wants to be that guy who is the weak link because of lack of training. So as we train we often remind each other that you do not want to be that guy.

So what is it out there that you desire to achieve? There is deep satisfaction at the end of any journey when you can say, I put my time in and I gave it my very best shot. That is all that God requires of us to give it our best shot!

just 72 hours before this

2011-07-18T17:18:00.001-04:00

72 hours before this van flipped over on interstate 70 near Clear Spring Maryland the occupants were in a large auditorium with me near Pittsburgh, with 2000 other people as I encouraged, and challenged them to make sure they had a personal relationship with Jesus.

On their way home to Hagerstown Maryland and Greencastle Pennsylvania a tire blew out on this van and every life was spared! Our God was so good to these teens and adults to give them a second chance of life!
Life is a vapor that appears for a little while then disappears. I am so grateful for God's unusual grace as all of these teens had a chance to make sure things were right between them and God before this moment. I encourage you today to make sure you know that you know that Jesus is your Lord and Savior before this day ends.

Read Romans 10:9-10 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

make sure you tell them

2011-07-17T22:04:00.001-04:00

Last weekend I traveled back East to visit my family. As we were leaving to head back home to Indiana we walked out back to take some pictures. I am so glad Anne snapped off this picture of me and my mom and step father.

As we pulled away Mom and Andy stood in the front lawn and waved goodbye as most east-coast people do. I felt this unusual wave of emotion of gratitude for them and to be honest the van was quiet because most of us were in tears as we drove away. Yet I was so glad that on many occasions that weekend I made sure to tell them that I loved them.

Make sure you take time to tell those closest to you that you love them, because you just don't know how much many more times you will get to do it!

Genuine thankfulness

2011-07-15T13:23:00.000-04:00

I am deeply moved when I see genuine thankfulness. The kind that shines through the eyes when someone says thanks. The kind that is not given out of some obligatory reason. The kind that finds you saying they were really sincerely grateful for that.

Well, as I watch our children grow, that have been rescued in Asia, I am learning what genuine thankfulness looks like. It's as though they understand it in a fresh way. And they seem to know where they would be without God's direct intervention of rescuing them. They seem to have an appreciation of adoption and family that most don't.

Well, this video will demonstrate it up close, as the girls from our Batttambang Cambodia home, sing in front of the new home we are building them. In a society that demands and expects entitlement this is a breath of fresh air!

narrow

2011-07-14T08:02:00.001-04:00

It's the morning after speaking at Momentum Youth Conference in Pittsburgh. My Heart is so full of joy as recall what took place just hours ago. I witnessed God grab the hearts of teenagers and then watched them obey him by making a commitment to surrender their lives to him. Hundreds and Hundreds of teens stepped out.

Needless to say, I never tire of watching God move. The Bible gives implicit instructions as to what path Christ-followers are supposed to walk on. The path is a narrow one that can be challenging, difficult, lonely, different, but rewarding. The Bible also says that only a few will travel here and be saved.

As I stood in line after the service and spoke with teens who were choosing to walk on this narrow path, I wish I could have bottled up every conversation, every emotion, every tear, every hug, every word they spoke and given it to them to take home. Because the days ahead will not be easy and will require some tough decisions when they get home and they will need to remember how good it felt to surrender all.

I wonder how many of us will be part of the few who will be saved when the day of reckoning comes? It sure looks like there is a traffic jam on the wide road these days!