It’s All Twitters Fault

I am constantly amazed at how much blame gets put on a social media website. Whether its teenagers being bullied or star athletes that fall under the spell of the seductive Twitter. People love to blame the gun, not the one pulling the trigger.

Can I just say something that I hope most of you are smart enough to know AND comprehend? Teenagers who bully other kids are the cause of teenage suicide, not Facebook. Twitter didn’t make anyone say anything (in 144 characters or less), the person willing decided to whip out their phone and Tweet it. It’s NOT Twitters fault if they didn’t think their words would have consequences.

You words DO have consequences.

If you pull the trigger on a hot bullet, someone will probably get hurt. Just lie anything else in life, you have to use discretion, and more importantly, your brain.

There. I said it.

Reckless words pierce like a sword,
but the tongue of the wise brings healing.
[Proverbs 12:18]

Created

“For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things he planned for us long ago.” [Ephesians 2:10, NLT]

I love that God is creative. Just by His very nature too, like, He doesn’t even have to try to be creative like most of us “professionals”. In ministry, I’m reminded daily of just how uniquely created each one of us are and I am more and more convinced of two things because of that conviction:

1) God has a huge sense of humor. People are c-r-a-z-y.

2) God is fully creative and the most creative one can ever be is when they are close to Him.

I believe just like the Bible says that we know love because He first loved us, that we are creative because He first created us.

Brainstorm that thought today.

Impact

The church as a group of believers should be making an impact on other people and as a result, changing lives for the glory of God. We know The Answer and it is our honor and obligation to share that Answer to a hurting and dying world.

“Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” [Matt. 28:19-20, NLT]

This is a call for all of us to re-evaluate our motives as a Christian. Is it to glorify God in all we do and to make his fame greater among the world? Or, is it to pump up as many items on our spiritual checklist and buy the t-shirt while doing it?

God has called us to make a difference. I believe that excellence is required to stand out and make that difference. We can no longer settle for being an average person with average, routine lives. God has called us to the extraordinary. Let’s be extraordinary for God and make a true impact in this world.

We are not guaranteed tomorrow.

What will you do to make an impact today?

Your response is everything.

dustin

Monday Musings: I Love Our Church

We are now two weeks in to our new series, “Broken Lives & Shattered Dreams”. I know this series title seems a little depressing but the reality is that our world is filled with hurting people that have lost all hope. Who better to show them love and hope than the local church?

This is why I love our church. Our church is filled with people who genuinely care about other people. Our church is not concerned with numbers, but concerned with changed lives. Our church is full of real, friendly people. Our church is not filled with puffed up super Christians that have it all together. Our church is full of people that have real, everyday lives and all the problems that life can bring. We are a growing family. A body of believers that love having guests welcomed into the family of God. We are a church of open arms not closed fists.

Our church cares about excellence and strives to give everything we have and more back to God and His Kingdom. Our church is full of people that care about the Kingdom of God, not the Kingdom of themselves. Our church is full of creative people that thrive on connected people with the living God.

I love our church.

Set List Sunday 8.22.10

Here’s what we sang this morning at Friendship Church as we continued our series, “Broken Lives & Shattered Dreams”:

Say Say – B [Kristian Stanfill]
Lament – B [Robbie Seay Band] SPECIAL
Overcome – G [New Life Worship]
Lift High – D [Eddie Kirkland]
Sing Sing Sing – D [Chris Tomlin]

Wallow

I remember when I was in college and I had no idea what I was supposed to do with my life, for a couple of weeks I was satisfied to wallow in the grief of the unknown. I had just ended a long relationship, hated my major, and felt I had no purpose or nothing to offer. I was content to let others feel sorry for me; in fact I welcomed it. I really felt as if all hope was lost. And that period of time was only a couple of weeks back in 2003. Before I knew it, God had opened more doors than I could have ever imagined. He gave me hope, purpose, and confidence to carry out His will for my life. I no longer would wallow in the grief, but rather bask in the glorious purpose that God had called me to.

If you are feeling like everything is up in arms and you just can’t seem to make sense of it, …

“We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”
[2 Corinthians 4:8-9, NIV]

…know that “He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it” [1 Thess. 5:24]

Don’t wallow in your grief. It is such a waste of time and God is waiting for you seek Him.

“Instead of being disappointed about where you are, be optimistic about where you are going.” – Jon Gordon

Set List Sunday 8.15.10

Here’s what we sang this morning at Friendship Church as we kicked off our new series, “Broken Lives & Shattered Dreams”:

Awesome Is The Lord Most High – G [Chris Tomlin]
You Never Let Go – Bb [Matt Redman]
Mighty To Save – Bb [Hillsong United]
Beautiful The Blood – Bb [FEE]
Glory To God Forever – Bb [FEE]
You Will Always Be – G [Kristian Stanfill] – SPECIAL

Proverbs 29 – Stop and Think

“Do you see a man who speaks in haste?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.”
[Proverbs 29:20]

The old saying “think before you speak” is worth more than we realize. For most normal humans, its usually pretty damaging to say the first thing that comes to mind unless you’re in therapy. But what we don’t often realize is that our words can make a huge difference. We MUST stop and think about what we are getting ready to say and who and how it will effect others.

Your response is everything.

dustin

Monday Musings: Integrity

Yesterday I wrapped up a series at Friendship Church with a message about integrity called “Behind Closed Doors”. Here’s a recap of the main points:

• The real you will always be exposed.
• The real you can be your protection.
• The real you can bring you closer to God.
• Integrity is formed in the fire of difficulty.

I also gave two resources at the end of the message and I wanted to post those resources here for you to check out. Everyone should read these two books:

Set List Sunday 8.8.10

Here’s what we sang at Friendship Church this morning as we wrapped up our series, “Wisdom”.

Forever – G [Chris Tomlin]
Marvelous Light – Bb [Charlie Hall]
Everlasting God – Bb [Brenton Brown]
Glory To God Forever – Bb [FEE]
Give Us Clean Hands – G [Chris Tomlin]

Next up? “Broken Lives & Shattered Dreams”