Life is Uncertain, God is Not.

The Monday before Thanksgiving the President of the Southern Baptist Convention announced that he has prostate cancer and will undergo surgery in January. On Thanksgiving Day, a young 35 year old pastor in Flower Mound, whom I look up to greatly, suffered a seizure which led to them finding a mass on his frontal lobe and will undergo brain surgery this Friday to remove the mass and discover whether it is malignant or not. Two days after Thanksgiving a former president of the SBC and the current VP of the North American Mission Board, tragically lost his 32 year old daughter. On the same day a church planter in the Houston area had a marital dispute with his wife and “made a bad choice how to settle it, and took his own life”. These are all leaders that are very close to home in the Baptist realm and local area. They have all been on my mind and in my prayers all week especially the young pastor from Flower Mound.

When I woke up this morning it was snowing. Just a week or so ago we had the a/c on in our house and this morning I cannot get warm enough. It dawned on my through these events, life is unpredictable. We never know what tomorrow holds. Last week the young pastor in Flower Mound was getting ready to celebrate Thanksgiving with his family and this week He is having brain surgery unsure of the results. Last week Frank Page was spending time with his daughter at thanksgiving, this week she is gone. Last Sunday a church in Houston had a young, vibrant, Pastor; this week they are confused and hurting. Life is unpredictable and we are never guaranteed tomorrow.

Each one of us makes many decisions and has many conversations every day. Some of these we are particularly passionate about. Through our decisions and conversations what if we weighed everything in an eternal perspective? Is everything that we do during the week eternally uplifting? Are the discussions or conversations that we have degrading or uplifting to the body of Christ? We must think of all things in their eternal value. As a young man of 25 I recognize that I do not have much time and when I look back over my week I have wasted so much time in conversations that were not of eternal value. I repent of this. Our time here on earth is short, each moment must be lived to Glorify God as we are not promised tomorrow. In our lives and church, we must move past our own agendas and desires and to eternal ones.

If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.

2 Chronicles 7:14

Lukewarm and Lovin' It?

Lukewarm and Lovin’ It?

If you have known me for any length of time you know that apart from God I have two great passions in life: music and coffee. In fact my website/blog is even called “coffeeshopgod.com”, even furthermore a majority of these newsletters are written as I sit at my favorite coffeehouse. I am predictable in the coffee that I drink; I prefer a cup of hot, bold, brewed coffee. I guess you could say I’m a traditional coffee drinker. However in recent years coffeeshops have made a ton of money by selling new drinks iced, frozen/blended.. I could not tell you how tired I was of making frozen/blended coffee drinks in the summers that I worked at Starbucks in Mississippi. They were a huge seller. In all my time that I worked at Starbucks there is one type of coffee I have never heard anyone order, lukewarm coffee.

There was a city in the first century called Laodicea. Laodicea was self-sufficient city, a commercial center and the site of a thriving medical and textile industries. They did not view themselves as poor; they were sufficient by their own industries, not really dependent upon God for their daily needs. In many ways you can say that the community of Laodicea is similar to the modern day United States of America. As a vast majority of Americans we are self sufficient and do not have to wonder where our next meal will come from, where we will sleep, or whether we will have clothes on our back. Just as the city of Laodicea, we are not desperate for God; in fact I would make the statement to say that as a whole, we as American’s are Lukewarm. Sure we claim to “know God”, we may go to church on Easter or Christmas, we may be able to quote John 3:16, and our grandparents might go to church, we won’t renounce God completely, but we are not desperate for Him. We are lukewarm.

John, through the divine author Jesus Christ, has something to say the church of Laodicea in Revelation: “I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were one or the other!” So, because you are lukewarm and neither hot nor cold, I will spit (vomit) you out of my mouth.” These are incredibly harsh words to be spoken to someone who doesn’t claim to not follow God, but who is merely not desperate for God, right? Wrong! “Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform any miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

God views men and women who say “Lord, Lord” but live lives consumed with their own glory, as a cup of lukewarm coffee. He will spit them out of His mouth. Are you desperate for God? Who does your life give glory to? Think about these things as you have your daily cup of coffee.

Worship Wars Pt. 3 (Sorry I missed it)

Worship Wars:

Part III

What is Contemporary Worship Music? Is God glorified through it?

Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth! Sing to the Lord, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day.

Psalm 96:1-2

What is contemporary/praise/worship music? Is it a style? Is it a time frame? If so, when did the transition from hymns to contemporary music began? Contemporary is defined as being of the present time or modern. So could we say that at one time all worship music was contemporary? I would argue that we could. Could we say that at one time all worship music was contemporary and was controversial? I would argue that we could. Could we say that contemporary music generally is not judged by the text but by the style of the music? I would strongly argue that we could. No one can define when what we refer to as contemporary worship music began. Ask 10 people of different ages and you will have 10 different answers. Some would say the 70’s, some the 80’s with songs, and others the 90’s. Some refer to Gaither music as contemporary, some refer to Gaither music as traditional gospel; there is no clear indication of when contemporary worship music began.

So what is contemporary worship music? That question itself is even hard for me to define. To me as a person who studies worship music day in and day out I have two modern distinctions: contemporary Christian music and worship/praise music. Contemporary Christian Music, or “CCM” is a lot of what you would hear on the radio if you tune to your local “CCM” station. It’s music, written in a style similar to what worldly music is being written in, with only Christian lyrics. I guess you could refer to it as pop music with Christian lyrics. I personally don’t care much for this style of music but I think it is great if people want to listen to this rather then to the top 20 on a worldly station. Then there is the distinction that I have defined as “worship/praise music”; these are songs that are written by a church for the church. These songs are written by Music Ministers around the world for their church to sing. These are the contemporary worship songs that we sing in our church; songs such as “The Power of the Cross”, “Mighty to Save”, “You Never Let Go”, and “How Great is Our God”. However over the last five years a phenomenon has began to occur with worship/praise music that I think is unhealthy, groups that have sung “CCM” music have recognized the fact that they can re-record worship/praise music as “CCM” music and sing it as a trendy type music with the intention of profit. I think this is unhealthy and can take away from a text that was written for the church.

Does contemporary Music glorify God? Yes. Do I have to be careful to always analyze the text to see it is profitable for us as a church? Yes. One of the ways I do that is I will not lead us in any text that is under a year old. I want to make sure that the text is sufficient for us a congregation to sing. Many times I will wait for my professors at the seminary to approve of the text, knowing that they are much wiser then I, before leading that text at our church. You know this by heart now: We sing songs of the old because they show that God was alive and working before we were here, we sing songs of the present (contemporary) because it shows God is still at work, and we will sing songs of the future because God will remain to be alive and at work. God is still at work around the world.

“Is God Glorified in the continual battle of traditional vs. contemporary? No, Satan is. God desires unity in His church.”

Worship Wars Pt. 4 (Final)

Worship Wars:

Part IV of IV

What is Unified Worship? Is God glorified through it?

…the twenty-four elders fall down before him who is seated on the throne and worship him who lives forever and ever. They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, “ Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

Revelation 4: 10-11

What is unified worship? What does it look like? Is it a certain musical style? Is it a blended musical style of worship? Is it when everyone’s needs are satisfied? How are we as a church unified in our worship? These are not questions that just I am asking; I just finished watched an hour and a half video from the heads of both Lifeway Worship and Lifeway Research discussing this very issue, Unified Worship. This is and has always been a hot topic in the church. However the dilemma is over, I have come to a overwhelming conclusion!: The Church will never be unified if we look to musical style to bring unity. Period.

Musical style will always bring diversity, always. Many times Natalie and I cannot even agree on a radio station, she prefers pop music and I prefer acoustic/jazz/blues music. Musical style will always bring diversity. So what is the solution? Do we come to a truce as Natalie and I do by listening to pop music? No! Never in the church do we come to a truce over musical styles! All we have done when we come to a truce is attempting to please everyone. So what do we do?

We Worship. We Worship the triune God; the God who died on the cross so that our sins are covered by His blood. The blood unifies us. Musical style does not matter when we are unified in the God whom we worship. Mike Harland the head of Lifeway Worship put it this way, “If our Worship is not unifying the body, then we have a larger problem than one of Musical Style.” Our supreme purpose of Worship is to Glorify God; there are however secondary outcomes of worship, one of those being to reach the lost and hurting community around us. When the lost see us as a church dis-unified what does that preach about the God whom we serve? If we claim to follow God but cannot love each other more than our preferences what Gospel are we preaching? This is a lesson that I am having to continually learn as a young minister.

So what does unified worship look like? Unified worship looks like an older man putting aside his dislike for the musical style of “You Never Let Go” and Worshiping God with all his heart mind and soul by seeing that the God we worship is bigger than a musical style. Unified worship looks like our younger generation singing a “Mighty Fortress Is Our God”, understanding that the man who wrote the text, fought so that we could have a bible in our own language. Unified worship looks like a people who dress different, talk different, and who are all different ages, casting down our crowns before the throne, saying, “Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.” “Is God Glorified in the continual battle of traditional vs. contemporary? No, Satan is. God is Glorified in the unified church.”

source: http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/edstetzer/

Worship Wars Pt. 2

Worship Wars:

Part II

What is Traditional Worship Music? Is God glorified through it?

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

Colossians 2:8

What is tradition? Is it a bad thing? I would argue that tradition is good in the perspective of allowing reflection upon the many whom have come before us, sacrificed for the beliefs we have today, and died so that we could have freedoms such as the word of God in our language. I would also argue that tradition in the perspective of music is good because it allow us to see times when God moved long before we were around. However I would caution that we should not look so intensely at God’s movements in history that we fail to see Him move among us today. Our tradition should never become our religion. We worship the God that was the cause of the tradition not the traditions themselves.

So what is traditional worship music? In my short five years that I have been working in churches I have come to a radical conclusion. Traditional music means something different to everyone. Traditional worship music to a person in a high church might mean singing an arrangement of a song from the order of the mass, in the reformed traditions it might be singing 17^th century music of Luther, and in a majority of Baptist churches it could be songs from the 1890-1950 revivalistic music era. I have also discovered that one’s definition of traditional is closely related with songs that the songs that one or one’s parents sang while they were growing up, or either associated with some type of spiritual or emotional mountain top that one had while they were in church. Using the previous definition I could say that traditional music to me, the music I grew up with, is everything from “Beulah Land” (1973) to “Heart of Worship” (1999). As we see the term traditional can be quit confusing since there is a variation in the definition.,

Does traditional worship music glorify God? Yes. Paul tells us in 2 Thessalonians 2 to stand firm and hold onto the traditions that we are taught, Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 5 to respect those who labor among us and are over us. Yes we should remember those who have come before us, the movement that God did in their lives, and the dear price that they paid for what we have today. Can traditional worship music not glorify God? Yes. If we allow the music itself to become more important the one it was written about, tradition can become a bad thing. We see this greatly in the catholic church. Many times the ones who go to the church service can recite the order of the mass, bud do not know the God that is to be worshiped. Paul says in Colossians 2 that we should see that no one takes us captive by philosophy and empty deceit according to human traditions. We should never allow our tradition to become our religion. So why Traditional Worship Music? To reflect upon God’s movement in history.

“Is God Glorified in the continual battle of traditional vs. contemporary? No, Satan is. God desires unity in His church.”

Repost: Are You Approachable

this is a re-post of a blog by Michael Bleecker the Worship Pastor at The Village Church where Matt Chandler is Pastor. Great thoughts for leaders, and one I definitely needed to hear.

Are you approachable?

Michael Bleecker Michael Bleecker 2009-09-29

I’ve been thinking a lot about how well I receive advice, ideas or correction. When approached by a member of our church or cornered by an enthusiastic musician who has ideas about how I could do things differently (“better” may be a more appropriate word here), or even caught up in the inevitable “difficult talk” my wife and I inevitably have (the double “inevitable” is for you single guys), how do I receive such advise, ideas or correction?

How do you receive advice, correction or ideas that may alter your idea?

Do you thoughtlessly reject others or do you respond with humility?

Scripture gives wisdom here:

Proverbs 13:10
By insolence comes nothing but strife,
But with those who take advice is wisdom.

Proverbs 17:10
A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred blows into a fool.

Andrew Murray writes:
“All want of love, all indifference to the needs, the feelings, the weakness of others; all sharp and hasty judgments and utterances, so often excused under the plea of being outright and honest; all manifestations of temper and touchiness and irritation; all feelings of bitterness and estrangement, have their root in nothing but pride, that ever seeks itself.”

Pride will bring destruction by isolating us from others who love us. We will become an island that can’t be challenged by others. Memorize the Scripture passages below and use them in times where pride creeps in. Be teachable. Be humble. Be approachable.

Proverbs 19:20
Listen to advice and accept instruction, that you may gain wisdom in the future.

Philippians 2:3-4
Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Proverbs 11:2
When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with the humble is wisdom.

1 Peter 5:5-6
Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you…

Worship Wars Part I

Worship Wars:

Part I

Is God Glorified in the continual battle of traditional vs. contemporary?

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor…..Live in harmony with one another. …live peaceably with all….Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Romans 12:9-21

War is a horrible term if you truly think about it. People die, friendships are torn, blood is shed, and people are never the same afterwards. When we think about war on the national level, it is necessary for our freedoms and others freedoms. However when we think of war in more a localized way, it is almost never a necessity, yet a travesty. Think about localized wars that you have seen in your lifetime: family wars, city wars, political wars, and even church wars. When we think about war in a localized sense it is always brutal, and many times, in the end, everyone loses.

In my brevity of a lifetime, I have seen what I consider one of the sickest, most despicable, and immature wars the modern church has ever seen. Worship Wars. Even the name is demoralizing. I believe that music is Satan’s greatest tool in the church today – it has split churches, divided bodies into two services, causes an uncountable number of fights, and causes “Christians” to destroy each other with hurtful words, acts, and deeds. Why is there such a hatred and passion connected with the tunes that go along with the text in churches? Why is there such a rebellion against what is new and such a disconnect and removal from what is old?

I have many questions and very few answers in regarding this topic. This topic is one that I wrestle with day in and day out and keeps me from sleeping many nights. God has called me to lead His people in the Worship of Him. God has called me to lead His people, in unity, as the church, to worship Him. Our greatest call as a Christian is to Love God first and foremost, and to love others as we love ourselves (Matt 22:36-40). There is much selfishness in the church today. Those who truly follow Christ will love others as they love themselves. The reason that there are worship wars are present in our churches are because of selfishness on both parties and an unwillingness to come together in unity for the sake of the cross.

One of the greatest pastors and theologians of our days, I am convinced, is John Piper. John Piper is famous for saying, “God is most Glorified when we are most satisfied in Him”. Creation has One Purpose. The Glory of God. If we truly desire to glorify God, then what do we find satification in? If we find satification in pews, hymnals, chairs, tv screens, coffee bars, a certain translation of the bible, attire, ect., then God is not Glorified in our church or in our lives. We must repent of our traditions and religion (whether they be of traditional baptist or contemporary baptist), and find our satisification in Christ alone or else we will die in our tradition. “Are we going to die in our religion, or are we going to die in our devotion?” This is a question the church has had to face throughout all of its history and we face it again today. Will we war over personal preferences at the expense of disobeying the second greatest commandment and not glorifying God? I truly pray the answer is, “no”.

Is God Glorified in the continual battle of traditional vs. contemporary?

No, Satan is. God desires unity in His church.

Sources: http://www.desiringgod.org; http://www.brookhills.org;

Let's not Be Anxious

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.“Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

Matthew 6:25-34

I love people. I love talking to people. If you have known me for any length of time you probably know this about me. One of my favorite things to do during the week is to go get coffee with people to talk and see how God is working in their lives, I do this almost everyday with different individuals, usually either younger than me or somewhere similar to my age. My blog is even called coffeeshopgod. During the course of these conversations, conversations on the phone, and my life, I have noticed something in general about people. We are anxious about our lives.

It seems as if we as a culture are always looking for the next step. It starts at a younger age and continues through life. A drivers license, high school graduation, college, college graduation, marriage, job, children, children’s drivers license, children’s high school graduation, children’s college, children’s marriage, grandchildren, retirement, ect.. There is nothing inherently wrong with being excited about any of these events, but when the expectancy of or lack of these events alter your satisfaction/joy, then there is a problem. Each day is a gift from the Lord.

I am as guilty as anyone. I am anxious for graduation from Seminary. I worry about financial issues. I make plans for tomorrow and wish today would hurry up and get over. Each day is a gift and God has us in each situation in life for a reason. Let’s take joy in where the Lord has us each day.

Is Your Church Missional?

Is Your Church Missional?

Are you as a church effective in your community? Sure we have services Sundays and Wednesdays, meetings almost every other night, activities, and fellowships. We are all very active and busy. You may have visitors every Sunday, many whom are invited by many of you, others who wonder in because we are located so closely to a freeway. But are you as a church effective in your community?

I have been thinking this week about ways that as a church we can be more effective in our communities as a light in a darkened world. If we are going to be missional churches that have passion for our communities then it takes a lot of work. We cannot just expect to have church on Sunday and have people show up and become followers of Christ. What are some ways that we can began to love on our communities with the ultimate hope of showing and sharing the gospel?

Food is one. People love food. Is there a business or school where you could as a church began to intentionally feed the employees as just a simple thank you from your church? Could you imagine the message that would send and the doors that one simple act of love might open if you fed all the employees of the local Wal-Mart? God would work through that.


What are some other ways that you could reach out to our community through acts of love with the ultimate hope of sharing the gospel? I encourage you to think about that this week, pray about it, and let God show you ways we can become more intentional missionally. Time is short. Death is near. If we have a true gospel theology then it demands an urgent missiology. I don’t know about you, but my time on earth is short, and the harvest is plentiful. Does your heart burn for the lost? Do you know the lost? Are you surrounded by the lost?

And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?” And when Jesus heard it, he said to them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Mark 2:16-17

Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
Matthew 9:37

True Gospel Theology Demands an Urgent Missiology

True Gospel Theology Demands an Urgent Missiology

Death is upon us. Each day you hear of tragic accidents, family members, elderly people, freak accidents, and many other ways that people meet death. It is no secret or surprise that each day we have the possibility of meeting death. Each breath, and each moment we have is a gift. At any point we could meet death. Then why do we often have the mentality that we are somehow promised tomorrow? We save up, make plans, have retirement, and take for granted that we are given tomorrow? Not that it is bad to plan ahead, but we should never take tomorrow for granted.

As Christians unless we realize the brevity of our life, and more so the brevity of others lives, then we will never have an urgency for the gospel. Billions around the world who have never heard the name of Christ, millions around our very metroplex who have never heard the true gospel, and their life is fleeting. We must retain a missional lifestyle. Not a lifestyle of bible beating, or telling others that they are going to hell in the first sentence that you meet them, but a missional lifestyle. In the world that we live in today we must earn the right to share the gospel. We get to know someone first, find out their needs, meet their needs, and then share the gospel.


Life is short. Death is upon us. If we really believe what is in the bible, if we really take it serious, then our gospel theology will demand an urgent missiology. “Those who are the most effective in reaching the many are the most passionate about reaching the One”. Lets seek God passionately like there is no tomorrow for us, or for them.

For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.

1 Corinthians 9:19-23

Your Life is Fleeting - What Will You Do With It?

Life is Short. Go Hard.

Go Hard or Go Home.

Go Hard or Go Home.

I am ashamed. I call myself a Christian but there are days that I don't share the gospel with others. It is hard to the missional in our lifestyle, It is a sacrifice in our finances, and it hurts. But if we are not willing to get our hands dirty then we need to just go home. We need to be in the community, sacrificing, and giving. If it doesn't hurt then we're not being missional enough. Began to pray that God will show you how
to be a part of your community and lets began to get people by the van loads to share the gospel with.

I love these Lecrae Lyrics on the Song Go Hard:

Lord kill me If I don't preach the gospel
I'm still in my 20's- but I'll die if I got to
Already dead- so forget my flesh
I done been crossed over see the full court press
I'm a full court mess if the Lord don't use me/
Running from my trials thinkin everythangs groovy
If the Cross don't move me then I don't wanna breath no mo/
If I aint seeing Christ potna I dont wanna see no mo
Rep every day without worrying about bruising
I been to china man I seen some real persecution
If U didn't know em would ya life look the same
Can they tell you value Jesus by the way you rep his name?
man what's the point of living if Im living for myself
Lord empty out my life before I put you on the shelf So for God I got Hard I dont' wanna die tonight/ It's too many people living who aint heard about my Christ
Go Hard or Go Home(2xs)
Lord Use Me Up(2xs)

Verse 2:
(Lecrae)
Went to Asia had to duck and hide-for Sharin my faith They tell me water it downwhen I get back to states [ Lecrae Lyrics are found on www.songlyrics.com ] They say tone the music down you might sell a lot a records But it's people out here dying and none of em heard the message Took my wifey on mission trip - central america Shared her testimony 40 people stood and stared at her When she said Jesus shoulda seen it was insane cause 40 out of 40 never heard of Jesus name/ Aw mayne we aint focused on the war we just kickin it/ worried bout our image and our space up on the internet// take me out the game coach/ I don't wanna play no mo/ If cant give it all I got and leave it out there on the court/ Thank you for the Grace for the will and the desire/ got me living for your glory stead of living to retire/ But I pray I'll never tire of Going hard for Messiah/I don't need no motivation You the reason I'm inspired.

Verse 3:
Go Hard/Go Home, Go Hard/ Go Home/ That's what that is baby/that what that mean/that what that mean/ That what That is baby/That what that mean/that what that mean/ Wha-What that mean?/ That mean that we, should be out up in ok streets/ Not just in houses with our bible's summrizing what we read/ Man this aint deep (man this aint deep)/why we aint doing what we read/ Its like we sleep (its like we sleep)/ But sinners sleepwalk when they sleep/ So why can't we (so why can't we)/the redeemed of the LORD/ Act out, what He said/and make a scene for the LORD/ Action-cut, say what, like we was the director/ But you better get a Grip like movie sets, and get to stepping/(Martin) I know you done it/da-done it, da-done-and heard it all You was going hard for the Lord before you heard this song/ But don't play yourself to save ya self/and walk in fear/ Scripture's like a mirror/the truth is closer than it appears/

God is Glorious

God is Glorious. Sometimes I fail to give God the glory for everything in my life. God gave me my wife, He told me to marry her, and God has provided for our needs. I worried. I thought there was no way that we could make it through but God provides and takes care of His children. We tend to think that our plans may be best or we have it figured out but God is sovereign and Mighty to Save and provide for us.

God always has done everything in my life in which I have no option but to point towards Him and say I can do nothing apart from God. Scripture comes to life in my life.

Not really a long post but I just wanted to share How Great God is to His children. He is the only reason that I have any hope or any future - His Name will be Glorious.

Typed from the phone my apologies for errors.

Southern Baptist Convention Resurgence

This past week I had opportunity to attend my first Southern Baptist Convention. As a 25 year old young SBC’r dependent upon how this one had gone it could have been my last. I am proud to report it will not be. There was a great cry for unity in the SBC this past week. We have many differences in our convention, whether they be theological or worship preferences – however we all agree that Christ is our Saviour and it is through Him we are saved. There was a great cry to unify over what we do have in common for the sake of making the gospel known to all the world. Gone are the days where we fight within and here are the days where we go out.

Great men of the faith such as Ed Stedzer, Danny Akin, and Albert Mohler are making this Great Commission Resurgence possible. For once in my life I am excited about what is going on in our convention instead of embarrassed and ashamed to tell others that I am a Baptist. I pray that God will continue to use this movement and resurgence to spark a flame that has been dead in Baptists for decades. We have been riding the waves of a century old revival for to long and Satan has not only crept in but built a house, planted a garden, and is fat in the Southern Baptist Convention. I pray that with this new commitment to unity as Baptist we will be able to tear down walls that have been built up.

As Baptist we have a long way ahead of us – there are MANY that would love for the walls to remain up and to remain divided; their voices are the squeaky wheel, and they have been heard for many many many years, however we must pray that our actions and unity are stronger and louder than any squeaky wheel of Satan.

Following a harsh and divisive speak my the President of the Executive Board was a panel for Baptist who exist in the 21st Century. B21 is a loose network of persons “seeking to be Baptist in the 21st century.” In a panel held at the SBC Mohler told the pastors and students: “Don’t look for too much out of the Southern Baptist Convention. Don’t find your identity here.” He encouraged them to minister in their churches, find their identity in Christ and plug into the SBC for connections and resources.

Stetzer, who has worked for three national Baptist agencies and has “seen the good, the bad and the ugly,” said he is “not impressed with the Southern Baptist Convention. I’m not getting my identity from it.” “Now is the time to engage and fix that system,” he said. “But don’t be fooled. The voices of division will become more shrill before we come together.”

I am first a Christian and only associated with Baptist out of the need for connections and resources. We can never become a Baptist first before we are a Christian, sadly this may be the mentality of many of the squeaky wheels in the convention. There are many who seek to bring division to the Convention, but I feel as if God has began something here at the SBC 2009 that many people have been praying for many years.

Let us continue to pray for unity in the SBC, for Johnny Hunt as he has a huge task ahead of him this year, and the Great Commission Resurgence Task Force.

More to Come.

A Love that is Crazy

As I was leaving for the southern baptist convention on Saturday I grabbed a book that I had read before but wanted to re-read called “Crazy Love” by a Pastor name Francis Chan. As I was reading this book once again, I was overly convicted by a passage that I would like to share with you:

“I think sometimes we assume that if we are nice, people will know we are Christians and want to know more about Jesus. But it really doesn’t work that way. I know a lot of people who don’t know Christ and are really nice people—nicer and more fun to be with, in fact, than a lot of Christians I know.

There has to be more to our faith than friendliness, politeness, and even kindness. Jesus teaches in Luke’s gospel:

If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even “sinners” love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even “sinners” do that. And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that to you? Even “sinners” lend to “sinners,” expecting to be repaid in full. But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, because He is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
-Luke 6:32-36

True faith is loving a person after he has hurt you. True love makes you stand out.

In October 2006, near Lancaster, Pennsylvania, a man stormed an Amish school and killed several girls. The day after the shootings, many Amish people visited the shooters family to say they had forgiven him. That sort of forgiveness is incomprehensible to the world; because of it, people have even accused the families of being bad parents, of not dealing properly with their anger, of living in denial.

It is just this sort of love that is crazy to the world; true love, a kind found nowhere but through Christ.

We are commanded to love our enemies and do good to them. Who are you enemies? Or in terms we connect with better, who are the people you avoid or who avoid you? Who are the people who have hurt you or hurt your friends or hurt your kids? Are you willing to do good to those people? To reach out to them?

Oftentimes, my first response when someone does something to me—or worse, to my wife or to one of my kids—is retaliation. I don’t’ want to bless those who hurt me or people I love dearly. I wouldn’t want to forgive someone who walked into my daughter’s school and shot her and her friends.

But that is exactly what Christ asks us to do. He commands that we give without expecting anything in return.”

I hope you got as much out of this portion of this book as I did. Thank you Francis Chan.

Thank You John Piper.

Religious-mart ©

As I was reading an article on CNN yesterday titled “Americans not loosing their religion, but changing it often” I was overwhelmingly shocked at how much of a consumerism society we have become, and how this has been transferred to the church. I hear it all the time – we moved to this church because they had this, or we moved from this church because they didn’t have that – and churches have begin “marketing” towards this. It is almost eerie similar to conversation held over choosing a restaurant – “well they this is good, but this is bad, so we’ll go here.” True growth will never occur in a church that markets its community as a business would – True growth comes from God alone through the preaching of His Word. I do believe in meeting needs of people, I also believe in being relevant to the culture around us, however when your church is known for its coffee bar, cool music, or dress style before the Gospel than there is a problem.

“You're seeing the free market at work, If people are dissatisfied, they will leave. And if they see something they like better, they will join it." This quote CNN is dead on – secular people are looking in and they see the church as nothing but a market of people who need faith. So what do we do as God’s people? Do we shove off all things of the world and become secluded having no worldly things? Do we quit having programs for people to participate in? Do we only do music that is attractive to one group of people? No. So what do we do?

We place the emphasis on God. We become all things to all people, for the purpose for the Gospel, not for the purpose of church growth. When someone asks about our church, when we go visiting, or when we make flyers our selling points should not be our programs, our music, or our building – it should be you are a sinner, God offers salvation – He is Holy – We worship Him alone. True growth comes from God alone. When a church becomes too popular we need to check and make sure we are still preaching the Gospel; Christ said, “We would be hated by all from His name’s sake” (Lk 21:17). What is your Church known for.

SENT 2009: An Urgency for the Gospel

I had the opportunity to go to the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention's SENT Conference this past weekend in Houston. I had opportunity to meet many people who work with college students all over Texas as well as people who work with missionaries all over the world. A question that I heard over and over is how do we get people to live missional or on mission? According to much of what I heard it's is not a great problem to get people to give money for missions or to get people who will go on short-term mission trips away from where they live, but getting people to share the love of Christ with people that they come into contact with daily is almost impossible. Thus living missionally, or on mission in our day to day surroundings is not being accomplished.

There must be an urgency for the Gospel. In a society where it is more and more common not to talk to people you come into contact with even in the marketplace, where we keep to ourselves, as Christians we must be the odd-balls and be exceptionally open and reaching out daily to those around us. It is uncomfortable - especially in our society where we can live a totally anonymous lifestyle.

Think about it we can go to the ATM to bank, pay-at-the-pump gas, and self-checkout at the market. We can go all day without having to come into contact with someone who we don't know. Through this process that we have found ourselves in it has become increasingly "awkward" in society to talk to someone and get any deeper then where is a product; if you ask how someone's day is going they flip out because it is just totally absurd now. The larger society/metroplex you find yourself in the more true this statement becomes.

There must be an urgency for the Gospel - your neighbors are going to hell - the people checking you out in the market are going to hell - the person you just cut off because you were reading this on your iPhone is going to hell - we must have an urgency for the Gospel and can no longer be casual Christians who have our "fire-insurance".

Be Awkward. Care. Share.

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience......
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?....
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:18-39

Spring Christians

I am hot-natured. You know this if you've been around me for any period of time. Therefore I love spring - 65 to 70 degrees - it is near perfect weather for me. Apart from the weather I also think that spring days are more beautiful than any other time of the year. The beauty and great weather cause me to want to be lazy and lay around outside all day, however as this usually occurs simultaneously with the grunt-work portion of school, this has got me in trouble more then once.

Spring is beautiful. I can't figure out if the skies actually come bluer, or if the new growth of the green grass and green trees just cause the skies to seem more vivid. Regardless this combination of beauty with the newfound warmth of the sun (not to hot though), causes me to love Spring.

We should be Spring Christians. Now I know I've lost you, so allow me to explain. New growth, and warmth is attractive to people - people want to be stick around and be in its presence. If you are not growing as a Christian with your walk in the faith then you are dying or dead - If your spirit is not warm - then it is cold. People do not want to be around a dying cold person - they however are attracted and even magnetized to a person is is growing and warm.

Lets not be cold people anymore. I am convicted of this everyday - we should be the pursuers of people, wanting to spill the good news all over them, however many times we hoard the good news as if its a cup of 4 dollar coffee which we don't want anyone to spoil.

Lets be Spring Christians.

What is Your God?

What Is Your God?

It's no secret that I love apple. Who would not love a far superior operating system that "just works". Apple's simplicity is not only attractive but has been widely successful in a society that is trending more towards simplicity.

It is also no secret that I love music. Music is a huge part of my life; it encompasses my college education, my job, my higher education, and every part of my social life. I tend to place people in categories by the music that they enjoy/don't enjoy.

These things are a huge part of my life. Some would say that I spend more time with the previous two aspects of my life then any other, it is what some would say define me.

However I am a Christian first a foremost. God is the most important person/agenda/portion of my life - the question I pose to you, If I am defined by things other than God and God is a side note in my life when people thing about Jonathan "Bear" Coleman - then I am not doing a great job of letting God consume my life.

What do people think about when they think of you? Is it God or something that will fade away?

Your God is what people will know you by, and what consumes you.

What is the Greatest Mission of the Church Today?

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control;^AR)"> against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
Galations 5:22-24

What is the greatest purpose for the church internally today? I would argue that it is for us to be unified. We should be unified through Christ. As the above passage talks about the fruits that should be present in the church if the Spirit is inside of us -however many times there are rotten fruits of hatred, deceitfulness, meanness, and crookedness. Why is this? Should we not love our brother more then ourselves?

I think the greatest purpose of the church today is to be unified. So many times even as ministers we are tempted to institute change so that we can see numerical growth even if it splits a church - we should not be legalistic in worship, however change should not occur for our agenda's but for God's agenda. I would confess to you until recently my ministry has been about what I thought was best for the church - which was change. However today I can say that I have no agenda but God's - and I believe God's agenda for the American church is to be unified and radical.

Being the music guy - the most divisive ministry in the church - how is this even possible to accomplish in the church today? Part of me (even though I love music) agrees with the passage if your eye causes you to stumble pluck it out - I believe the church can exist without music; the but the calling in me cries out what is the purpose of music in the church? In the typical baptist church we are not creedal in nature; being we do not say creeds or have beliefs that we quote each week in unity. I believe our music serves this purpose. We come together as people who are radically different but yet have been radically changed admitting that we are nothing God is everything. This is unity. We are united through Christ - we may not like the same music styles, we may not like the same clothing attire, we may not like the same hobbies, but the reason we join on Sundays is in unity to say that Jesus Christ has pulled us out of the debts that we could not pull our selves out of.

So what is the purpose of the church. Unity. Old, Young, Black, White, Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian. The Church needs to be unified. we can only do this through Christ - we may disagree on many things - but if we agree on Christ has pulled us from the debts of our sins then we need to unite through His blood.


Jonathan

I Could Care Less About The Music.

I am a musician. I have a Bachelor of Music in Church Music degree which I worked my tail off for. I play more instruments then I have fingers; I play more instruments well then I have fingers on one hand. I am a musician. That being said, I have an odd statement to make: "I really could care less about music". I think at one point and time I did care about the music, but then God revealed to me His vastness and supremacy. My only desire now is one to declare that to the whole world.

Music is an amazing thing - it can soften the hardest hearts, it can bring people to tears, it can motivate and fire up armies about to go into battle - it is the greatest conveyor of emotion that exists in the world as we know it. Aligning Pitches placed in certain time spans apart from each other, attached with texts, is the melting pot that we commonly know as music. With the emotions that are attached with songs, it is no wonder that we can become so attached to certain songs; it is an emotional nostalgia of sorts.

The musician in me is proud of this - however more importantly then being a Musician I am a Christian. The Christian in me sees how unhealthy this is and has been to the church throughout history. We each are fighting an inner battle to get back to that point of Emotional Nostalgia whether it be "Open the Eyes of My Heart" that we sung at a camp when we where 13 or the singing of "I'll Fly Away" as a child with our parents in church - each is an unhealthy desire. As Christians it is important for us to remember times in our life in which God has worked inside of us, however we should not tear down or destroy what God is doing now in order to return to that emotional place within us.

I could care less about music. Such an odd statement from a musician? The chief end of man is to glorify God. I am not called to be a Church Musician - my call is to be a teacher of Worship to God's people. How can we declare to God His worth each Sunday in a way that we are broken before Him declaring there is nothing good in us apart from Him? How can we come to God each Sunday and understand His sacrifice for us and declare His Worth for it? How can we come to God each Sunday as a diverse people unified?

I could care less about the music. The purpose of my life is to Glorify God - True Worship occurs in a Church when it is unified in that statement.











jc

What is the Purpose of Music in the Church?

Church Newsletter: What is the purpose of Music?

I without a shadow of doubt am convinced music in the church exists as a corporate unifying factor – one church, one voice, one text. During the hymns and songs of our faith is the only time in which every single person (should be) lifting their voices to come in unity with the text that we are singing at that time. Whether it be a hymn in which we say “A Mighty Fortress is our God – a barrier wall (bulwark) that will never ever fail us” or “Even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death God will never let go of us”; the text exists as a unifying factor.

Because this is my conviction, purpose, and focus of my ministry this is why the “worship wars” over musical styles make me sick to my stomach. These wars that have existed across the nation in the past ten years thankfully are beginning to cease. People on both sides of the arguments are beginning to focus on blended services, understanding that the focus is not what you or I desire. There is a greater cause – that we are unified. The very tool that we have to unify us in our services has been the very tool that has divided us greatly over the past ten years.

Music exists as a unifying factor for one church, one voice, and one text; however you might hear this in any creed or statement made by your local fraternity, club, or organization. What separates the church? Worship. When we sing songs on Sunday Morning it is not only one church, one voice, and one text but yet also with one purpose and one statement: “You are God, we are not; We recognize your supremacy, we recognize our subservience”. This is worship – people can tend to make worship more complex, but it is simply when we say that we cannot make it without God – He is our bulwark that we cannot exist with out, we would be in the valley of the shadow of death, hopeless apart from Him.

Because my conviction for music ministry is that its sole purpose is one that is for congregational unity, you will not see a lot of large productions from me; You will not see a lot of focus on choral perfection – this is not what the church needs. We have plenty of entertainment readily available to us. The church needs men and women who will stand up and say we are unified as a church; we are submissive to God wholly. Would you make a commitment to God to no longer let music be the dividing factor of any church that you are present in – but rather the unifying factor. The times are getting tougher and we must grow closer as the body of Christ.

Live Love Magazine Video from Student Life on Vimeo.

If you're a youth and you want to come to this see me asap; text me; or email me.

j-co

God Loves Me.

This weekend I had been throwing myself a pity party because of some money troubles with school. It is amazing at how quick we can become consumed with such a small problem that it begins to control every bit of our emotions and life.

My church that I serve at is 35 minutes away from my house - sometimes I hate this (when gas was 3.99/gallon), but most of the times I love this because it gives me time to pray and contemplate each day during the drive.

This past Sunday morning I was thinking about some advice I had given to someone recently who was struggling with not being satisfied because they viewed themselves through others eyes and what others though about them. I told her, "you can only find your satisfaction in Christ, He is the only one who will never leave you or forsake you; measure yourself by His love for you". While I was thinking upon this advice it hit me, God loves me. We hear this all the time. We hear it on tv preaching, in church, as a kid, and even from non-christians; we can become "used to it". For some reason Sunday morning God spoke to me through this simple phrase - I love you.

I can't really explain it, but there was a joy and an excitement that came with that understanding. I am God's child, I sin, I fail Him, but He loves me unconditionally - a love that we can not understand apart from Christ.

Now my school money troubles still exist - but they seem to dim beyond the thought that God loves me.

God is in control and knows what He is doing, the situations that I exist in right now in my life are only by His divine plan. Thank you for the hard places God - these are the places that I cry out and desire you most. I will give you glory in every situation of life.

I encourage you today to tell people that they will only be satisfied today through Christ.

Love God. Love people. Easy to say, Hard to do.

Podwhat?

We all know that the ipod, iphone, and apple are trendy. They are the item to have for the 15-35 year old generations. So you have an ipod, what can you do with it?

Podcasts. Podwhat? Listen to sermons all day long. Each week sermons are updated by churches all over the world. So I want to lists some of my favorite podcast links in this post. I would encourage you to listen to them.

The most practical way to listen to podcasts is to subscribe to them in itunes and it will automatically update each week and update your ipod/iphone each time you connect it to your computer. However if you are ipodless...or just want to listen to it online. You can visit the links I will post.

Matt Chandler

Francis Chan
(Click on Media)

Mark Driscoll

John Piper

David Platt

I have a huge respect for each of these guys separate ministry. They are each Godly Men who have had a huge impact on my spiritual walk through their ministries.

Currently Listening to: The Village Church - Matt Chandler - The Church Part 2

Today I've been listening to the a sermon series by Mark Driscoll on being Generous with what God has blessed us with. I would encourage everyone to watch it.

Be cautious with the Money that God allows you to have; don't spend more then you have. 9/10 people our age are in debt which takes them their whole life to get out of. Listen to this sermon series.

Does What You Believe Reflect How You Live?

Does What You Believe Reflect How You Live? Or said another way does How You Live Reflect What You Believe. If we're being honest with one another, and I am, No. No my life does not always reflect my convictions and call to ministry.

I was reading through James earlier this afternoon and I was highly convicted multiple times. particularly by the following passage:

14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

James 1:14-17

How can we call ourselves Christ followers when we pass the homeless person who wants food, the lady stranded on the side of the road, or we don't feed the hungry? We say we are Christians but I think many times we forget that does not just mean that we are going to heaven for a final destination, but it affects every aspect of what we are doing NOW. It means literally that we follow Christ, Christ did not pass up the hungry or hurting - He met them where they were.

I heard a story yesterday about a girl who was selling herself into prostitution because she had no where else to turn to for monetary help, when asked why she didn't turn to the church she responded, "So they can make me feel worse then I already Do?".

There are people hurting all around us, people who are scared to come to the church or Christians for help because we will make them feel worse then they already feel. What do we do with the girl who is pregnant? What do we do with the guy who is homeless? Do we say accept Christ, clean up your mess, and we will help you? NO! We give till it hurts then we give some more.

I personally have become convicted of the homeless or people who ask me for money. I have made it a point in my life over the past few months - If someone asks something of me, even if I can't pay my bills because of it, I give it to them. In return I have began to ask their name and say I will give you all that I have if you will let me pray over you and tell you why I am giving you this money. What an opportunity for the gospel to preach itself; even if at the point we are not able to share the gospel in fullness - we are slowing letting people know one by one - that following Christ is not about making people feel worse but it is about loving people more then we love ourselves.

Does What You Believe Reflect How You Live? The answer is most likely no - but that should be our daily goal. When the gospel comes to life in our actions and not just words on a page that we recite - this is when I believe God is glorified.

Overnight Hero

Pilot C.B. "Sully" Sullenberger. By now I am sure you have heard of this man. A simple pilot, who is now referred to as the Miracle on the Hudson man, did a miraculous feat of landing a plane which engines failed into the Hudson river without killing a single person. I'm sure when "Sully" left his house that morning it was business as usual. When he took off on the plane it was business as usual - this was just another day at the office; little did "Sully" know that the decisions he made this day on at "the office" would prevail him as a hero.

This was an ordinary man who for is being praised for being meticulous in his job, even to the point of being the last person off the plane after making two walk throughs to make sure no one was left on. Now I don't know "Sully" but from the sound of what is being told about him, he is the type of man that doesn't really want any appreciation or recognition because he just did his job the best he knew how. He had done the same things for years upon years with no recognition of being meticulous in his taking off and landings yet every time he landed the plan on pavement people took for granted the job that he was doing.

In our Christian walk day in and day out are we as meticulous? Do we always do the right thing even when we know no one will praise us for the job that we do? Or do we thrive off the recognition of others? Everyone likes praise and recognition sometimes in a while for a job well done - and as Christians the final judgement day we will receive our recognition; but this should never become our purpose for our actions.


We don't ever do what is right to be recognized but yet we do all for the Glory of God. We do everything so that others will look at us and will say How Great God is, not so that they look at us and say how great we are. The chief end of man is to bring glory to God. So making the right choices, glorifying God, and making decisions that honor God should be just "another day in the office" for us as Christians, not just a rare occurrence that happens when we are around certain people or certain places.

Do I think that the day will ever come when I will be praised as an over night hero for doing the right thing, something that I have done over and over before? Probably Not. But if it does I will, and I challenge you also, to say, "All Glory Be to God and God Alone".

jbc