New Year's and New Goals

Happy New Year! 2013 truly flew by. I love the natural opportunity the new year brings my life. It helps me stop and focus upon what really matters. 2013 has been a blast! I love being a Dad, being a husband and serving God as a pastor. I have seen people come to Christ, be baptized and grow in their faith. God has done incredible things in 2013. I'm anticipating what He will do in this new year!

How many of you have thought of or are making new resolutions? Goals for the New Year?

A lot of us make goals for our physical lives, mainly. We might want to eat better, drink less caffeine, go to bed and wake up earlier, drink more water, and be nicer to family. All of these are great ways to reflect and look forward in life, but many times we are simply looking to fill the void with everything but what can truly fill our lives.

The truth is that everything minus Jesus equals nothing.

My goal this year is to become more like Jesus than I was in 2013. Nothing in this life will be more important than pursuing a relationship with Jesus.

At the heart of our goals, we should understand that external change happens through internal transformation. This is why I want to grow to know Christ more this year in these ways: - Focused prayer time talking and listening to God. - Reading His Word and asking God to change my mind, attitude and actions.

Paul understood the change that only God can bring and I resolve to focus my life on knowing Jesus more closely in 2014.

“I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.  For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ.” Philippians 3:7-8.

“So I run with purpose in every step. I am not just shadowboxing.” 1 Corinthians 9:26.

What about you? What are some goals you have for 2014? 

Resolve to Trust

Happy new year! The normal approach to every new year is re-evaluate life. I tend to dislike resolutions because many times they only last about a month. My desire is to resolve to trust God with my whole heart. I want to align my heart with God's heart more than ever. What about you? If you are like me, you look for tangible, "ah-ha" moments in order to know God's direction. We can't wait for the next event, service, message or signs to point us toward God's will! Our culture around us easily puts us into a mold that wants instant results that are comfortable and convenient. We live in a fast-food, microwave, calendar-packed society.  The world teaches us to trust in our own abilities, money, or a career. I know I have been held hostage before by trying to figure life out on my own strength. It takes me a while to make decisions. I like to weigh the pros/cons and get advice and more. Deciding on lunch is even hard for me! Bigger decisions in life (Where do I go to college? What career do I pursue, what is God's will for my life?) are much more difficult for all of us.

The essence of spiritual growth begins and ends with trusting God. God's will and direction is not always a place, position, relationship, college degree, salary or title. It is much more about the relationship with God than it is the result of our answered prayers from God.

Proverbs 3:5-6 says this: "Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take." (NLT)

The word for trust is, "betach." It is used in the Old Testament to mean to physically lean upon something for support; and figuratively to rely upon someone or something for help or protection. The "heart" is not talking about our physical, blood-pumping heart organ. It refers to the center of our mind, will and emotions. Do we simply give God lip service but refuse to trust Him when it is difficult? I know many times I have missed what it means to trust with all of my heart. God's Will is seeking after the relationship with God more than the answers we are seeking.

Trusting God simply says "yes" to God in every area of our mind, will and emotion. What would life look like if we quit worrying about what we cannot control and trust God?

In order to resolve to trust, begin asking yourself these questions:

Mind: Is my thought life renewed daily by scripture? Romans 12:1-2 Will: Am I willing to do whatever God asks of me? Emotion: Am I controlled by my feelings or trusting in what God's Word says?

Goals for the New Year

It is that time of the year. I thought I'd share my personal and ministry goals!

Personal goals:

• Workout at least 2-3 times per week in the gym - I want to put on more muscle and start getting in shape like I was in college.
• Talk less and Listen More. I want to hear more from God this new year. Abiding in a close walk with my heavenly Father is crucial and I need to rely on His strength and not upon my own.
• Spend quality time with God in the morning through prayer, scripture reading and journaling. I've signed up for a reading plan on the ESV Bible website.
• Spend quality time with Cassidy - make it a priority to go on dates, have devotions time together and pray with each other.
• I plan to  finish my Master's degree in Christian Leadership by this summer from Liberty Theological Seminary. I'll be taking four classes this spring and a few in the summer. It will be busy, but I plan to finish well.
• We hope to find a great deal on a home and become homeowners. Please pray for us to make a wise choice.
• I am praying for new opportunities to speak to students at events, D-NOWS, or camps.

Ministry Goals:

• Build Leaders - Encouraging and equipping students to carry out the ministry through training and allowing them to lead. Building ownership! We have a team of students set up called the CORE team and my prayer is that they lead many of their friends to Christ. Equipping parents to continue spiritual leadership in the home is VITAL and must be priority. We will have “Parent-Life” events every quarter (January, April, September). When the family puts Christ at the core, we will see more students become fully devoted followers of Christ.

• Build Community - Students become ministers, not just spectators. Students including and encouraging other students to belong! I pray that students find REFUGE when they come and find true and meaningful relationships with adults and students.

• Build a heart for the un-churched - The phrase we will use is, "Move from a youth group to a youth ministry.” I'm kicking off the new year with a series focused upon helping students learn to have the courage to lead their friends to Christ. Lead students to “Invest and invite – and share their “story” of Christ changing their life. I pray that students do not just COME to church, but are BEING the church.

What about you? Have you thought about your goals for the new year?