Sunday, April 29, 2012

TRANSFORMAITON: A Look at the Life of Peter

TRANSFORMAITON: A Look at the Life of Peter, was a sermon based on the highs and lows of the Disciple/Apostle Peter. His experiences following Christ shows grace in our own failures and successes. Most of all, they show that transformation is a process where God never gives up on His followers!

Sunday, April 22, 2012

Father/Son Campout 2012


 Coleman I got to experience our first camping adventure together Friday night… this was my first time camping since college, 2nd time ever! We attended a father/son campout hosted by WYLegacy. This group was founded by Bud Baab and has been creating opportunities for Fathers to intentionally connect with their children for over a decade. During the weekend we got to:

Setup Camp
 
Fish
4-Wheel
 
Play Sports
Bond
And Making Memories
 
It was a great overnight adventure and I hope we can do it again!

Monday, April 9, 2012

Dealing With Your Critics (2 of 2)

10 Tips for Dealing with Critics
1. Determine if it is Constructive or Destructive
2. See the critic, not criticism – some people mean to help
3. Guard your attitude – don’t let the beat-down beat you down
4. Check yourself (spiritually) – be angry and do not sin
5. Prove the critic wrong in time – this comes from my competitive nature
6. Concentrate on your mission – don’t get distracted from what God has called you to
7. Change your mistakes – if there is truth in the criticism
8. Find the truth in the criticism – Even if there is just a hint of truth, typically you can learn from anything
9. Own your mistakes – don’t ever blame others or pass it off on others, own whatever mistake you made and apologize for them
10. Thank whomever criticizes you – if they meant well, you will affirm them; if they were being a jerk, you can kill em' with kindness

Sunday, April 8, 2012

Dealing With Your Critics (1 of 2)

It really disgusts me when I hear preachers with nothing better to do than to pick on other preachers. As a former staff member of Prestonwood Baptist Church in Plano, TX, I received a great deal of criticism from other pastors, seminary professors, and other seminary students. They really seemed to enjoy telling me how wrong we were for the size of our building, budget, and how we did church. It was always amusing to me to hear such criticism, because it was coming from people who had never been to Prestonwood and knew nothing about anything we actually did. Pastor Jack Graham, Mike Buster, Todd Bell and the other leadership were (are) godly men who wanted to reach that region for Jesus. Although thousands of people came to Christ during my years there, critics remained. Focus is the key to successful ministry and dealing with critics. We are called to preach the Gospel, not fight with other people who claim to know Jesus but do not like us. Perry Noble preached on this subject and cited advice from Rick Warren, Pastor of Saddleback Church, who gave him 3 insights for dealing with critics: 1. Out-love your critics. 2. Out-live your critics. 3. Out-fruit your critics. May we out-love, out-live, and out-fruit those who have nothing better to do than waste time criticizing others instead of fulfilling the calling Christ placed upon their lives. Mark 9:38-41 states, “John said to him, "Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us." 39But Jesus said, "Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. 40 For the one who is not against us is for us. 41For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.” May our focus be on Jesus and what He has called us to!