by faith

I’m reading the book of Galatians (and so are you, if you are following along with Verve’s Bible reading plan) and really loving it. Today we read chapter 3. I love how Paul lays it out there that "we gain a perfect standing with God only through our faith in Jesus, not by following a set of rules." Which has been something I’ve always struggled with, it seems the church repeatedly tried to put the yoke of the law back on the believers shoulders, even though we are totally free from the law. I think it stems from personal issues people have that they are convicted by the Holy Spirt about so they think everyone should be convicted about those issues and they should be avoided. For instance, playing cards - some Christians believe it is a sin to play cards. So, they think anyone playing cards is going to hell. I don't believe that at all.

Here are a couple of other self imposed "taboo" issues:

Christmas trees, frogs, owls, dancing, rock-n-roll, drums, women speaking in church, alcohol, tatoos, smoking, sports on Sunday, eating pork, drinking coffee, caffeine, chocolate......

There seems to be a long list of self imposed no-no’s that have come out of the church and become doctrine. Jesus said the Pharasees (the lawyers of the day) make all kinds of rules for the people to live by, but, do not lift a finger to help lighten the load. Jesus came to set us free not to reimpose a legal system, in fact he said, "He who the Son sets free is free in deed."

Now, let’s get this straight, if God is telling you to stop smoking, then you had better stop smoking. That doesn’t mean everyone has to stop smoking because he told you to quit. So don’t let anyone convince you that you must stop or start doing something to become perfect or righteous. Unless it’s something that God is telling you to start or stop doing and he may confirm what you have been told, but, the point is that he wants us to go to him, not just follow a cold list of do's and don'ts.

broke

I sat on the front steps of the porch alone, having reached the lowest point of my life. I had just spent the last four years running hard after a sense of happiness that I just couldn’t catch. I was dead broke and all the beer was gone, all the weed was gone, all the coke was gone and considering the lack of substance, the numbness was gone too. It was a hot Missouri day in mid May and thunder storms were headed towards us. As I sat there all I could do was blame my parents and others. My anger was dull at first and with each new scape goat I created it became more sharp. A frontal wind had suddenly picked up and the trees were swaying violently back and forth. My anger seemed to grow with the approaching storm. I blamed my teachers, I blamed my friends, I blamed the Army, I blamed everyone. Massive bolts of lightening were striking all around and dime sized hail started falling, pulverizing everything in site. Then, I blamed God.....

Suddenly the hail stopped and a torrent of rain started. It was a strange rain, because it was not falling, it was raining sideways. I had reached the end and my anger started to turn into despair. Was it really His fault? As I thought about it, something started to well up from the deepest part of my soul as the sideways rain hit my face and ran down my chin. It got stronger and stronger and I looked up at the darkest part of the sky and my voice exploded

"GOD!!! HELP ME!!! I CAN’T DO THIS ANYMORE!!! I KNOW I’M NOT LIVING RIGHT!!! BUT I CAN’T DO IT!!! I NEED YOU!!! I KNOW YOU"RE THERE, HELP ME PLEASE!!!"

As suddenly as the wind started, the rain stopped and the darkness departed like a runaway train. Light broke through the clouds and a beam shined down on my street as steam vapors rose and danced. The sense of guilt and shame was gone. I felt different, so very different. I felt Gods presence, I was no longer alone. I felt love. That ever evasive sense of happiness that I was chasing so hard after for years was suddenly overwhelming my broken soul.

God.......is Love.

I sat there a while longer laughing and sobbing. I got up, suddenly feeling like I needed to call my mom. That supernatural experience of Love in 1988 changed my life forever.

planet diva

The contact buzz from all the hair spray is finally starting to wear off now. We spent this last weekend holed up in the Holiday Inn Executive Center in Columbia, Mo for the annual National American Miss Pageant that two of our daughters, Hannah and Rachael, participated in. All I can say is that I have never experienced so much drama in such a short amount of time. 500 teen and pre-teen girls all packed into one hotel was like a powder keg of emotions just waiting for the right spark to set it off.

I have to say that the pageant directors have their stuff together! They put on 5 different pageants for 5 different age groups and had very few and minimal glitches. They really know what they are doing.

Our girls did pretty well. They were presented in their formal wear, gave a personal introduction in their business attire to a crowd of over 200 people, with cameras flashing and they each sat through 6 one on one interviews with the six judges. Also they participated in the optional competitions of casual wear modeling, talent and spokes model.

Rachael was a little down that she did not win anything, but, it was her first time and compared to how Hannah did her first year, Rachael was amazing! This was Hannah’s second year and she placed in the top 5 for spokes model, the top 5 for talent and placed in the top 20 for the over all pageant. She received an invitation to Nationals in Hollywood, Ca.

Needless to say we are very proud parents!

what if?

We went to Denny’s this weekend to grab a quick bite to eat. Even though Denny’s has been around for a long time, this particular one has only been open for about a year and a half. The food was typical and the overall experience was average. We were finishing up and a different waitress came to our table and quickly grabbed a couple of empty plates with a smile and rushed off. I commented to Wendy that I liked that waitress, that she had been there since the opening of the store and was the one that put extra whipped topping on the kids hot cocoa one late winter night. Wendy’s comment was "yeah, that’s the kind of waitress that keeps a restaurant in business. She isn’t the type that’s worried about just her section, she gets it, she is all about the customers and their needs, making them feel at home."


Not only was she helping her co-waitress she was helping the bus boy and she did it so naturally and quickly that nobody even knew it happened except another’s customers that would not even be tipping her. It was very self-less and showed she had a true servants heart.


Before I could really think about it, I blurted out "what if the church were a restaurant?" I got a couple of strange stares from nearby tables, I don’t know why, it’s not like I meant we would worship the grand slam breakfast or other food items.


It’s just that so many times we walk into church, wanting to be fed and wanting to receive God’s touch. And sometimes those who have already decided to follow Jesus, keep coming in with this idea that church is all about them being served when in fact, maybe they should be strapping on an apron and helping the fellow workers make the real customers (non-Christians) feel at home and fed and served.


When we move to Miami to start a church for people that don’t like church, were going to fill it with people that serve others selflessly. The way we’ll do this is by us serving others selflessly. That will turn our customers into regulars and our regulars into co-workers and who knows, maybe our co-workers will become church planters too.

army of one

One thing about Miami that is so very different than Mid-Missouri is the large amounts of people (2.2 million). Of course with such large amounts of people you can feel very insignificant and small. Like you make no difference what-so-ever and if you weren't there it wouldn't matter at all. And going to Miami to start a church for the 1.8 million people that don't go to church can seem a little like facing a giant.

Just imagine being one of the Israelite soldiers facing the Philistines and suddenly this huge giant holding a sword the size of an average man steps out and yells "send me one man to fight and we'll settle this battle right here and right now!" Who in their right mind would step up and say, "I'll go"? well, another giant would, problem was, the Israelites were fresh out of giants. No one volunteered, in fact the king tried to bribe his troops to take on the challenge and still nobody stepped forward. Until this little sheep herding boy, David, who was bringing food to his soldier brothers heard what was going on. David just happened to know a giant on their side that everyone else was overlooking. God was that giant. So, David stepped out onto the battle field with his giant God and killed the giant Goliath.

One very small, very insignificant shepherd boy confidently realized what he could do with God behind him and was victorious. So, if Miami is a giant, I've got news, Miami is going down, because my giant is bigger than it and it's time they met.

What about you? What giant are you facing? Who or what is taunting you from the other side, keeping you from realizing victory? Will you continue to see the size of the other giant or will you accompany God onto the battle field?

the movement

A little over a year ago, after the church we were very involved with suddenly shut down. All kinds of doubts of planting a church started racing through my mind. I mean, this was our home base that shut down. This was the main lilly pad we were leaping from. We were supposed to go through VLI and then go off and plant a church with the full backing of a huge church planting movement and POOOOF! it was all gone. So, as we considered just starting one right away, where we were, in Columbia, Mo. However, doors started closing and we increasingly felt like it was not what we were supposed to do. This caused me to believe that God had no intention of using us in any kind of ministry work or church ever again.

So, while letting that thought (or lie rather) fester and grow in my mind, and letting the seed of being a church planter die. God was doing a work right in front of me that I couldn't even see. It started in March of last year when I accompanied my father-in-law and brother-in-law to Washington D.C. Apparently the Congress was getting ready to pass a bill that 2/3 of the people were against and under the rules of self governance, we joined up with about 50,000 people in 3 days time to let them know they were going against the will of the people. They ended up passing the bill anyway, even though none of the congressmen had even read the bill or knew what was in it. I just couldn't believe they would do that, in fact, it made me angry and made me feel like I needed to do something.

So, when we got back to Missouri, I started looking for a group of people that was as upset as I was and found no one. So, I started the Mid-Mo Tea Party. Within a week I had gathered about a dozen people. Within two weeks, we found another small group and joined forces with them. Within three weeks we had grown into a group of 60 people strong. Then I was contacted by an individual in Boonville, Mo that wanted to start a group and didn't know how. So, I formed the Cooper County Tea Party and within 3 weeks we were 50 people strong. Then I was contacted by a guy that wanted to start one in Fulton, Mo. within a few weeks we were another 50 people strong. All the while growing the group in Columbia. Within a years time, we had recruited, organized, rallied, lobbied and totally influenced politics in the State of Missouri, causing the greatest election upset since before the civil war.

One day, as I sat there thinking of the whirl wind of politics and how the smoldering movement became a blazing fire. I wondered how my simple action influenced hundreds and hundreds of people and formed at least 5 groups. I sat there and came to the realization that people are just hungry for truth. They are tired of being lied to and manipulated by those "in charge". That's why they flocked to the tea party movement in massive numbers. As I sat there thinking about it, I felt like God was saying to me, "people are even more hungry for my truth".

In an instant, God showed me that he has what people want, in it's purest form and they will drop everything to get it. It just takes someone to start it. He showed me that with the right message, a movement will start. So, I am leaving the tea party and politics behind and am following the higher calling. Jesus said, "Peter, do you love me?" to which he replied, "yes Lord, you know I love you", and Jesus said, "then feed my sheep".

tumbling down

With Miami being rated the 4th rudest city in the U.S. coupled with the obvious crime statistics and taking into account the Rants and Raves section on Miami's craigslist, we can only imagine that the people of Miami are a little off-standish. They are a little hard hearted and they just don't trust others. So, when a "religious" group comes in, they are naturally skeptical. Our plan is to break through these barriers by serving Miamians boldly. In 2 Timothy 1:7 Paul tells Timothy (and us)

  "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but
   of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

I know, I know, the sound mind part might be where we are a little off track, but, think about the 1.8 million non-church going people in Miami. You'd have to be crazy to think you can make a difference in the lives of that many people. But, God has given us the spirit of power and the spirit of love. We are going to break down the barriers with bold and powerful love. Starting with the ones that don't have anything to give back, the poor, the hungry, the homeless. We are going to love them boldly until the walls come down.

like it's 1999

In our little town of Fulton, just East of Columbia, Missouri, we have a weekend festival down town. It’s very originally called "The Fulton Street Fair" and is gaining in popularity because of a couple of events that draw people, like the ice cream social, the 5k run, the mule auction and subsequent mule race, the Miss Callaway County pageant, a parade, a kids bike ride, the live music, the cloggers, the bottomless beer truck and the mutton sandwiches. All this culminates in a day and a half of festivities. What’s really interesting about the street fair is that the excitement leading up to it builds all year long. People love it! They plan their lives around it and because of it, you feel like you live in a community of people that cares about each other.

It reminds me of the first book of the bible (Genesis) when God is creating everything and it’s all good. Then he sees a problem - man is alone, and that’s NOT good. That’s right, God says it’s NOT good for people to be alone. So, when we move to Miami, the 4^th rudest city in the nation, we are going to PAR-TAY! Oh yeah!, we are going to throw neighborhood block parties and beach parties and Bar-B-Q’s and have festivities that, though they may see silly, will bring people together. All in an effort to create community where people feel like they belong and finally feel like they are not alone, because that’s not good.

Please pray that out block parties are a huge success in reaching people for Jesus!

exodus

In October 1960 the Baptist Press did a door to door survey of Miami-ans and found that out of the 1,358,191 people surveyed, only 485,798 of them were regular church goers. No doubt the reporter was shocked that Miami only had a 35% church affiliation rate. Nearly half the normal rate of other large cities in the US at the time. This no doubt spurred a great effort to reach the over three quarters of a million people for Christ. So, in retrospect, how have they done in the past 50 years? Well, Miami-Dade has nearly doubled in size to 2.2 million and a whopping 14.5% of them are now going to church. Yep, that's right 319,000 people are now church goers, that's a 35% decrease. Even though the population has nearly doubled, church attendance has decreased by over 166,000 people!

Operation: Miami is not just about getting people to church, it's about reaching the lost for Christ. It's about serving the poor, it's about loving God and loving our neighbors.

But, looking at the numbers gives us an idea of how wide spread dissension of the Church in general is and hopefully will keep us from re-inventing a broken wheel.

zombies

If you’re following along with the Verve Bible Reading Plan, we read II Cor 5 today. This chapter really covers a lot of ground.

It not only speaks to those who are followers of Jesus, by saying - Everything is different now! You have a new job now, to bring the message of reconciliation to a world at odds with God. This comes from the God who settled the relationship between us and him, and then called us to settle our relationships with each other. God put the world square with himself through Jesus, giving the world a fresh start by offering forgiveness of sins.

It also speaks to those who are not followers of Jesus, by saying - God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God. We're all walking dead and don't even know it, but, Jesus took on death so we can live. So no matter what we have done or how far we seem to be from God, he is right here next to us just waiting for us with open arms. He’s already completed all the work, we just need to turn to him.

If you’re not right with God, turn to him, he’s already made it right and is just waiting to hear from you.

in the middle

I'm living in a strange tension right now. The point between being a 50 hour a week title examiner at a title company and becoming a full time pastor and ministry leader. If ever there were an earthly parallel to the now and the not yet, it seems we are living it presently. As we are bound to the day to day obligations in Missouri and yet we are working towards realizing the the things to come in Florida. Much like the Kingdom of Heaven, which is at hand, but, not yet fully come. Of course living in that tension can suck, because, as humans we are impatient. However, it's the thought of things to come that give us hope. As natural disasters seem to be ever present on this earth, we often ask "why God?" forgetting we are living in the now. One day God will truly wipe every tear from our eyes and there will be no more pain, but not yet.

will plant church for food

We could really use some help, with summer in full swing, the move date is quickly advancing and we need to get a couple of things accomplished. Of course all of these things will take time and money and we are running a little thin on both. This is what we need to get done:

Incorporate a non-profit org with the State of Florida - $250
Finish and print our strategic plan and support letter - $300
Register for "Cultivate" (the online course for church planters) - $395
Pay our church planting coach (invaluable!) - $300
Make a scouting trip to Miami to look for housing - $2800

These are our most immediate needs. Please prayerfully consider helping with one or more of these or making a general donation. This business of starting a church for people that don’t like church needs some venture capitalists. What better investment is there than helping people find God? To donate click on the donate button to the right or if you would rather use snail mail, you can send it to:

Jeff Kauffman
603 Crestwood
Fulton, Mo 65251

When you do help, please shoot me a quick email  jeffjkauffman@gmail.com to let me know what you are helping with.  

Thanks for helping!

downer



No such thing as an overachiever!

 The past couple of days has been a little discouraging for us as we feel we are way behind where we need to be with the process of moving to Miami and starting a church as a whole. We're putting together our strategic plan, a time line of goals and a support letter. The strategic plan is going to outline everything we plan to do and is pretty close to being a small book. The time line and support letter are minimal at best, but, very important. With this work load ahead of us and very little behind us, the tasks at hand seem monumental. Well, enough of me whining.....

On Friday we read II Corinthians 2, in the Verve Bible reading plan, and the beginning of the chapter really got me. Seems Paul had a small problem with dumping on people when he went through hard times, but, in verse 2 is says: “For if I grieve you, who is left to make me glad but you whom I have grieved?” In other words, he's saying “I need cheered up! But if all I do is dump on you, then you get depressed and then you can't cheer me up!”

At Operation Miami, we're going to be open, honest and authentic, but, not brutally open, brutally honest and brutally authentic, you know, to the point of bringing people down, 'cause then our source of encouragement is gone.

Whenever I have doubts or discouragement, one of the things I do is try to see what God has done, is doing and will continue to do. I do this by reading or watching stories of how people came to God and how he changed them. When I do this, I see things with a whole new perspective. The mountains become mole hills as I remember why we're doing this.

Neo - the man in the matrix

Joel, who moved to Miami about 6-8 weeks ago, sent these pics of a couple different soup kitchens in the Miami area. They show not only the need, but, the answer to the need. Note how institutionalized these pictures look, they scream "soup kitchen".

One of our first plans is to open a not-for-profit "Breakfast only Restaurant" where people will be seated and waited on. They'll order from a menu and when they are finished they'll pay at the register - however, the homeless and hungry will pay with a prepaid gift card (only good at our restaurant) and eat for free.

We'll be seeking corporate sponsorship to pay for the gift cards that will be given out at shelters in the area. Also, real paying customers will be offered sponsorship opportunities. 

i - screamed

It's always fun when your community hits the national news in a quirky way. Here's what popped up this week-

Cicada ice cream sales come to end in Columbia

AP- Public health officials have suggested a shop in the college town of Columbia cool it with a cicada-flavored ice cream that customers apparently can't get enough of during the insect's once-every-13-years invasion.

Sparky's Homemade Ice Cream contacted the health department after it sold out of its only batch of the insect-filled snack within hours of its June 1 debut. Employees collected the bountiful bugs in their backyards and removed most of the dead cicadas' wings but saved some for texture's sake.
The cicadas were fully cooked by boiling then covered in brown sugar and milk chocolate. The base ice cream is a brown sugar and butter flavor.

The store was going to make another batch for the weekend, but a sign on the door told customers it won't be back until 2024. Seems like the City of Columbia/Boone County Departrment of Public Health and Human Services couldn't find the proper cooking temperature guidelines next to its listings for beef, chicken, fish and pork.

"The food code doesn't directly address cicadas," environmental health manager Gerry Worley said. "We advised against it."

The first batch of the ice cream was so popular store employees didn't even have a chance to put the product in a display case before eager customers scooped it up the night before its official on-sale date. Customers hoping for a crunchy taste "bombarded" the store the next morning, only to be disappointed, said employee Christian Losciale, who helped create the concoction.

Sparky's owner Scott Southwick didn't expect the brisk sales.

"We thought we'd make a small batch, and it would last forever," he said.

Losciale compared the insect's flavor to a peanut. One customer with no plans to try the seasonal ice cream was Joan Masters, who was at Sparky's with her 5-year-old son Jack before the flavor's brisk but brief unveiling.

"One (cicada) landed on me at lunch, and I just screamed," she said.

Information from: Columbia Missourian, http://www.columbiamissourian.com/

Bohemians

How much is to much?
You may be thinking things like beer consumption, sun bathing, thanksgiving dinner or watching sports on tv. It's true that the USA has been the greatest consuming nation on the planet for years. We have a tendency to want more, bigger and better of everything out there. After all, we did invent the Big Gulp, which was quickly out done by the Big Gulch. The full size Jeep wasn't enough, we had to supersize it and came out with the Hummer.

So, how much is to much?

Now thoughts of pop music, gossip, time in traffic, taxes, gas prices, violent crime........ the dark side of to much starts to come out pretty quick. Much can be said about the things taken from us either by force, extortion or innocence lost. Truth is we live in a very dark world with to much hurt and suffering.

So, how much is to much?

Jesus loved us SO MUCH he gave everything to bring light into this dark world. He loves us SO MUCH it radically changes everything about us. The Moravians, who were Bohemians (now the Czech republic) first became followers of Jesus in the 1400s. Jesus' love radically changed them, so much so, they would send out missionaries to the darkest places on earth to serve those suffering in the worst conditions. Some of them are even known to have sold themselves into slavery so they could reach other slaves for Christ. Now that's extreme!

Maybe we should be asking - Lord, how much?

k.i.s.s.

Asst. Coach in "The Waterboy"

I loved the passage we read today, I Corinthians 14, in the Verve bible reading plan. One of the things it addresses is speaking in tongues, which is an interesting gift of the Holy Spirit. The first time tongues is mentioned was in Acts when the Holy Spirt came to Jesus' disciples (now called apostles) when they were waiting in Jerusalem. The Holy Spirit came and they all started talking in different languages so that all the people in the city heard and understood the message of Jesus in their own language.

Anyway, He addresses the practicality of the gift of speaking in tongues. Evidently when the followers of Jesus got together in Corinth, they would all start speaking in tongues, even though there was no one around that could understand it. I guess this is what they thought they needed to do, but, in verse 23 Paul says:

"So if the whole church comes together and
  everyone speaks in tongues, and inquirers or
  unbelievers come in, will they not say that you
  are out of your mind?"

I think this is a great encouragement for us as we set out to start a church for people that don't like church. Many times, as we hold our church services, we have a tendency to speak about things to the congregation as if they know what we're talking about. Visitors to our churches, that want to check out what Jesus is all about, can easily get lost and feel like they don't belong if they don't understand the big Christian-eese words being spoken.

There is a time and a place for speaking in tongues, but, when it comes to starting a church for people far from God, I Cor 14:23 is a great reminder to - KEEP IT SIMPLE!

pickers

So I got the day off from helping my bro-in-law, Mike, on his house in Sturgeon. So to fill the void, my daughter Ruthie and I went out to see if there were any yard sales in the area. I have to admit that I love yard sales! I also love the tv show American Pickers, which is about a couple of guys that go around and buy junk from people and resell it.

So, after a couple of hours and 16 yard sales later, we came back with:

A beanie baby (for Ruth) $1
A blood pressure thing with a stethoscope (for Jason) - $3
A soft pack coleman cooler so the twins can sell bottled water to the baseball crowd up the street - $3
A brand new pet carrier to move the cat to Miami - $3.35
and Two Army foot lockers $15

The thing I like about American Pickers is they see the treasure in junk. Which reminds me of how Jesus sees us. He sees through all the dirt and grime and rust and says, now that's something worth dying for.

big talker

If you're following along with Verve's Bible reading plan, today we read I Corinthians chapter 13, which is called by some as "the love chapter". The first verse starts off like this:

    "If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels,

     but do not have love, I am only a resounding
     gong or a clanging cymbal."

This tells me, in light of starting a church for people far from God, that it won't matter if we talk the talk, if we don't walk the walk. That's why, when we move to Miami, we're going to get working right away with serving people in need. We feel like we'll never have a chance in Miami if we don't serve first. If we don't love first. There are plenty of people willing to stand on a corner and preach, and that might reach some, but, many of those who are turned off by talk will be more apt to listen if they see love in action first.

For that matter, applied to our lives as followers of Jesus, the most important thing is showing love. So, how about you? Are you a talker or a walker?

dirty words

Growing up, we kids were not allowed to watch PG movies. Usually because of the language and the bare naked ladies that seemed to make it into the PG movies of the 70's and early 80's. With kids being highly impressionable, I guess our parents didn't really want to explain to the neighbors why their kids were streaking through the neighborhood droppin the "F" bomb on them. So, this set in course the anticipation of the PG movies being shown on NBC - CBS - ABC fully edited. We found with this editing, the movie producers were able to come up with some pretty interesting words to voice over the original cuss words. Giving us kids great new substitute cuss words that we could say anywhere.
For instance here are some words you would hear instead of the normal cuss words:
"freakin"
"darn it"
"shoot"
"heck"
"mother lover"
and my personal favorite (duh-of course I have a favorite) is: "slug in-a-ditch". It just feels good rolling off your tongue, go ahead, try it, slug in-a-ditch ........ see?

Using substitute expletives didn't really change the feelings we had, it just masked them, making us a little more acceptable to society as a whole. Of course the parents catch on pretty quick and a stern rebuke after an ill timed "Oh Crap!" is sure to follow. All of this was just a precursor of things to come, because, our language isn't the only thing we mask. We mask our hurts, our pains our vulnerabilities, we guard our hearts and hide true feelings, good or bad, for fear of a stern rebuke.

Which is why it's always good to get around your old friends that know you for who you are and accept you for who you are. You get around them and "let your hair down" so to speak. No walls, no guarded emotions, just you, living out loud.

King David, knew what it was like to live life out loud. As he was bringing the Ark of the Covenant home to Jerusalem, he danced the whole way, stripped down to his underwear, all sweaty and dirty. His wife, understandably, gave a sharp rebuke when he entered the city. He replied, that he didn't care what anyone thought, he did it for God. It's no wonder God said this was a man after his own heart. He was open, authentic and totally honest with God and it didn't matter who saw it. This is the kind of friendship God wants with us, open, authentic and totally honest.

When we move to Miami to start a church, it'll be a church where there are no high expectations of where someone should be in life. It'll just be open, authentic and honest, living life out loud. A place where you can come as you are.

brain bleed

One of "those songs" is stuck in my head. You know the kind, one that's so simple and makes so little sense that you can't believe you're thinking about it, but, the tune is catchy and repetitive and you just can't help yourself from singing, humming and whistling it. You have no defenses against a song like that. It's a cheap trick really, in fact, the song in my head is by Cheap Trick, it goes like this:

I want you to want me.
I need you to need me.
I'd love you to love me.
I'm beggin' you to beg me.

Didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you cryin'?
Oh, didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you cryin'?
Feelin' all alone without a friend, I know you feel like dyin'
Didn't I, didn't I, didn't I see you cryin'?

That's pretty much all there is to it, but, after it's ran through my head for the last 45 min. I got to thinking that it sounds a lot like the cry of a generation of people that have grown up without God. The worlds desire is to be wanted and needed and loved. It's the cry of unrealized passions in their hearts that can only be truly satisfied by a God that wants them and needs them and loves them. A God they don't even know exists. One they wont know exists unless someone tells them and maybe even more importantly shows them.

Paul, who wrote a lot of the new testament, was in Athens, Greece. He met with the city leaders and told them how he observed they were a very religious people (they pretty much worshiped anything and everything). He said that he even noticed an alter in town that had an inscription "To the unknown God". That it was this God he wanted to tell them about. After telling them his story, some believed and some wanted to hear more.

We all have a story, and some of us have a God story. A story of how we became followers of Jesus. It's this story of how Jesus wants us and needs us and loves us ........ and died for us, that our friends and neighbors and maybe even strangers should hear. Who knows, by you telling your story, some might believe and some may want to hear more. So, who can you tell your story to today?