Change the World.

I am being blown away by Shaun King.

You don't know who he is?

He's the guy that's sent more tents into Haiti than any organization in the world. (Except the Red Cross).

Still don't know who he is?
There's a good reason...

He's a church planter in Urban Atlanta.
He doesn't pastor a mega-church.
He's not on the conference speaking circuit.
And he's not on TV. (Except for the News).
Shaun shouldn't even be alive...

But what you might not realize is... Shaun King is changing the world.

After the earthquakes in Haiti, armed with nothing more than his twitter account, and his fearless passion, Shaun King began to move mountains for the suddenly homeless and shelterless people of Haiti.



Shaun bought a url, http://www.ahomeinhaiti.org/ and began to raise money to ship tents to Haiti.

Like I said, only THE RED CROSS shipped more tents into Haiti than Shaun! $1.5 MILLION WORTH OF TENTS!!!

Then after the initial crisis began to pass, Shaun decided to do something even more ambitious... he decided that he need to build an orphanage for the most hopeless and defenseless people in Haiti, children with cerebral palsy and severe autism. You see, due to superstitions, these children have been literally thrown out of their homes because their parents think they have been cursed by a devil. The Miriam Center will be one of the only of its kind in Haiti.

Shaun once again took his passion and drive to his twitter account to tackle this gargantuan task... and he managed to raise about $85,000. Which is incredible, but he needed to raise $300,000 to meet his first goal.

So, did that stop this inner-city pastor? NO WAY!

Shaun had made a friend while raising money for tents in Haiti... Eva Longoria.



Shaun and Eva launched a plan to make the dream of A Home in Haiti a reality.

And on September 15, they launched http://www.twitchange.com/.

Shaun, a 30, now 31 year old pastor, armed with nothing more than his laptop and twitter account, has managed to garner the support of almost 200 celebrities to help him pull off the first-of-its-kind, celebrity twitter auction for A Home in Haiti.

If you look at the auction in progress, it looks like Shaun's going to get to build that orphanage... and change the world.


So I've got to wonder... "What am I doing to change the world?"
What about you... does it make you wonder?

For Unto Y'all - Christmas Production, Broadmoor Assembly of God

YMI from Years Gone By - 2

YMI from Years Gone By

Today at Life Fellowship

Today was a great day at Life Fellowship.

Today, we launched our 9AM Service. When my alarm went off at little after 6AM, I wondered, "Just who's idea was this to have a 9AM Service anyway?" Oh, yeah... Mine.

I hoped that we would have at least 80 people show up for the early service, so that it would feel like we had a crowd. We had 109. And it was a great service! (And as a bonus, Janice wheeled her wheel chair over by where the backup singers sing, and they handed her  her old mic! Then they all got down on the floor level next to the platform with her, and Janice sang backup with the team in the early service! Yea, God!)

Then I wondered how many people would show up for the 11AM Service! We had been having about 220 or so people attend our "one" 11AM Service for the past several weeks... would we really have 111 people attend and give us a virtual 50/50 split between the two services? We had 132. Whoa!

Earlier in the week, I had removed approximately 30% of the chairs from the sanctuary so that it wouldn't "feel" empty with the reduced number of people in the building for each service, but our first week's numbers indicate we're already at 70-75% capacity of our seating! (The experts tell us it's difficult to grow beyond 80% of your seating capacity). I've already got to put chairs back in the sanctuary!

The XA (Chi Alpha) Team from Tulane and UNO was with us this morning too! Matthew and Jennifer DeGier, and Christine Thrower took 10 minutes to talk about the exciting ministry opportunities that were already happening with the start of the new school year! (Man, I love XA! If God had not called me to pastor Life Fellowship, I would hope that he would call me to be a part of XA!)

As always, we saw several new faces in the crowd, but perhaps more importantly, I saw one old familiar face... a young man who I hadn't seen in church for some months. He was back. And he meant it. Yea God!

We survived both services, (my voice almost didn't survive... I was a bit sick Friday and Saturday), and despite a couple of minor oversights, our Dream Team of volunteers, once again made the dream of Life Fellowship a reality! (I've just got to remember to be sure we have orange juice and some bagels and bananas for them between services! They worked hard and need nourishment!!! Two services make for a long morning!)

I spent the rest of the afternoon preparing materials for our Discovery 301 Growth Track class, and about 5PM the sound of excited children filled our halls as our Children's Christmas Musical practices launched. A few of the parents helped me finish put together the last of the materials and we waited to see who would make it to class. As 6PM rolled around, the auditorium filled with adult students! Would you believe it? Once again I didn't prepare enough materials! I had prepared for 30, but we had closer to 40 students show up! We scrambled to put together several more packets, and started the class. (I told a couple of people that I've been operating as the pastor of a small church for so long, that I hardly know how to act when larger crowds show up!) Anyhow, we made it, and the class was fun!

After class, several in the group headed to Wendy's for a bite, but before I could leave, I had one more opportunity for ministry. That young man I told you about... he came back for our 301 class too. And he needed a little extra time. So we sat. And talked. And cried. And then we got down on our knees and prayed. And when we got up, I could see it in his face... Jesus had touched him. I could see the strength, courage, and hope return to his eyes. He gave me a big hug, and we agreed to get together again, as often as he needed, this week.

And finally, we turned out the lights and headed to Wendy's. Cyndi and I laughed and celebrated and rejoiced over all God had done, and was doing. I mentioned to Cyndi, "I am having the greatest time of my life."

By the time we made it to Wendy's most of the group had finished their meals and moved on to frostys. Cyndi and I ended up sitting at a table adjacent to the group, where we had just the perfect view of what was like our own version of a Norman Rockwell painting. Adults and children, seniors and infants, eating and laughing, talking and playing, joking and encouraging... it was a magical moment to end a wonderful day. 14 hours of the most inspiring and energizing people on the planet!

Man, I love this church.

How Does Your Daughter View Herself?

It's back-to-school time, and back-to-school "puppy love" romances are in full swing.

It always makes me a little sad.

• I'm sad for all the wonderful young ladies who don't think they're so wonderful, so they look for a guy to make them feel wonderful.
• I'm sad because too many bright girls have been conditioned to think that their worth is tied to what some guy thinks about them.

It seems like it starts earlier every year. No longer is she sweet 16 and never been kissed.

• She's 14 and wondering if she's pregnant.
• She's 13 and feeling pressured to go further than she's physically or emotionally prepared for.
• She's 12 and mom & dad think it's cute that she's got a boyfriend.
• She's 11 and the adults in her life tease her about the cute boy in her class.

Girls, with child sized hearts, are having to deal with adult sized hurts... friends, we can do better.

Moms and dads, your daughter is not "boy-crazy." She has been taught that her self-worth is tied to being paired up with a boy.

• She may have low self-esteem.
• She may have an improper self-image.

But she thinks she needs validation from a male.

• And she will do whatever she thinks she needs to do to get that validation.
• And everything she watches on TV, everything she listens to on the radio, and every school sponsored dance tells here exactly where to find it.

Mom & Dad, where is your daughter getting her sense of self-worth from?

• Dad, if you're in the picture, YOU need to be the male she gets her validation from.
• Mom, if dad's not in the picture, you have got to help her see herself as valuable completely apart from what anybody else thinks about her.

Young lady, if you're reading this, my prayer is that you will see yourself the way your Heavenly Father sees you... as infinitely valuable!

God the Father thinks you're so valuable that He gave His One and Only Son, Jesus, so that you would know just how valuable He thinks you are! I hope you never forget it!

So, moms & dads, how does your daughter view herself?

I Was Mighty Turned Around...

Daniel Boone is quoted to have said, "I've never been lost, but I was mighty turned around for three days once."

Well, while I not have been "lost", but for about a year I felt "mighty turned around"! (Who am I kidding! I felt lost!)

Some of you might have wondered what's been going on in my life recently, and especially for those in our congregation, I felt like I wanted to share with you a little bit of my journey.

Last year, as I approached 40, I began to really ask myself some questions, like;

• "What do I want to be when I grow up?"
• "Where do I want to live?"
• "What do I want to be remembered for?"
• "Am I at where I want to be?"
• "Is this all that life has to offer me, or is there something more I should be pursuing?"

Well, those questions sent me into a bit of a quandary, because I really didn't know how to answer those questions. (And that's not a fun place to live.)

The only sure things I knew were;

• I want to be in the center of God's will for my life.
• I want to finish my journey with my wife, Cyndi.
• God has called me to "serve" Him.

So, to make a really long story not quite so long, I think I experienced a mid-life crisis of sorts. I began to seriously consider packing up my wife and dog and running away from everything familiar, in order to try to find the answer to some of these questions.

Fortunately for me, God is good, our church is wonderful, and my wife is wise. So, since I have enough sense not to make a major shift without my wife's 100% support, we held steady. (Which wasn't too hard since we have a great life, here in Bayou Gauche).

This past spring, (2010), it felt like God broke His silence and spoke to me.

What He spoke to me helped me to understand that I'm exactly where He wants me to be, and I'm doing exactly what He wants me to be doing... it's just that I wasn't seeing what He wanted me to see.

So, I began to ask the Lord to help me to see what He wanted me to see. And, wow. This past summer, I saw some things that I've never seen before. You can call it "vision". You can call it a "dream". You can call it "connecting the dots". But whatever you call it, it's absolutely captured my imagination!

I can't wait to get up in the mornings, I hate to go to bed, and I don't want to do anything but pursue the vision/dream I believe God has for me and our church.

So, if it seems like I'm a little different... it's because I am.

And I just wanted you to know.

Writing a Book

If I were ever to write a book, I would like to call it, "Making Peace with My Parents, Making Peace with God, Making Peace with Myself."


MAKING PEACE WITH MY MOTHER

In the mid-90's I went through a very difficult period with my mother. It was awful and embarrassing. I didn't talk about it with anybody.

Here I was, a minister, and I couldn't even have a civil conversation with my mother.

Through God's grace, the sensitivity of a godly woman, a mutually respected friend, and a very supportive wife, my mother and I were able to put our relationship back together.

It was a very emotional and important experience for both of us.


MAKING PEACE WITH MY FATHER

My father disappeared from my life at such an early age, I literally had no memory of him. It was as if I never had a father. And what I didn't have, I didn't miss.

I would watch programs where people were reunited with long-lost relatives after years of searching. I never had any desire to re-connect with my father and wondered if there was something wrong with me.

When I met my father, it was a weird experience. I never knew him, but he knew me.

We decided together to leave the past in the past and forge a relationship looking forward only. I think it was healing for both of us.


MAKING PEACE WITH MYSELF

Growing up without a father, I always looked for the approval of older men who were like father-figures. While that doesn't sound so bad, it turned into a terrible insecurity.

I became obsessed with gaining the approval of men who I thought would somehow validate me with their acceptance. It's an awful way to live.

I became aware of what I was doing in my mid-20's. When I was 28, I had a very important moment when I realized I had to stop allowing my insecurity to undermine my life.

I became comfortable being me, for me. It's a much better place to live!


MAKING PEACE WITH MY GOD

When I was young, we went to the neighborhood church, where I was baptized as a small child.
But then we stopped.
Fortunately, I went just enough to know that God was out there, and that Jesus was His son.

When I was in 10th grade, in a World History class, I learned about the Reformation.
There was more than one flavor of Christianity? That was news to me!
I went looking for God, and a church where I could ease my guilty conscious.

What I found was some nice people, and a nice pastor, and even some sense of righteousness... after all, I was going to church! But what I did not find was God. So, that didn't last long.

During my senior year of High School, I invited myself to church with a friend that I knew was very committed to her church.
I'll never forget walking in that building. These people, in a very not weird way, acted like Jesus was real. That really messed me up.
My friend bought me a Bible the next day, and invited me to keep coming to church with her.
I did keep going.
And one day it happened. I heard the message.
I realized that I had been to church.
I realized that I had been baptized.
I realized that I had played in the bell choir, and had been to Vacation Bible School...
But what I realized that day was that I had never made Jesus Christ MY Savior.
And when the preacher gave the invitation, I raised my hand and prayed the prayer he prayed for me, and became a believer in, and a follower of Jesus Christ.
And that is what made it possible for me to make peace with my mother.
And that is what made it possible for me to make peace with myself.
Which in turn made it possible for me to make peace with my biological father.
All because I had made peace with my Heavenly Father through Jesus Christ, the Son.