Who's Your Ruler (measuring up)

Revelation 21:16
The city lies foursquare, its length the same as its width. And he measured the city with his rod, 12,000 stadia. Its length and width and height are equal.

The last four weeks our GPS bible study has had an interesting time learning how we measure our relationship with God. It’s not with a yard stick or tape measure that we mark with, rather it is with our deep relationship that we gauge our progress.

A man or woman takes up about 2 square feet of individual space, if you like to dance (our son enjoys spinning) then you take up around 7 square feet, if I’m dancing it would be two left feet.

The town I live in is about 6 square miles; Buncombe County measures 656 square miles, the 23 counties that make up Western North Carolina encompass 11,000 square miles. The State of North Carolina approximately 53,000 square miles, the United States from coast to coast including Hawaii and Alaska 3.79 million square miles and the planet Earth including water spans a mind altering 198 million square miles. So let’s put that into perspective to the city John describes here in Revelation. A mathematician estimated the size of the Johns description at 3 billion square miles. Oh, by the way, a Reed, the instrument that was given to measure with, was about 11 feet long.

What it comes down to is this, Who’s Your Ruler?

Philippians 2:6-7 Jesus, although he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, made himself a servant; he was born in the likeness of men.

We live in a town where the railroad tracks divide many communities and some places are considered “the other side of the tracks” yet in heaven there are no right or wrong side of the tracks, no subdivisions, political parties, neighborhoods good or bad. Too often we try to measure our way into heaven by the deeds we perform.

Our position in the community or a title at the end of our name, even the people we associate with gives us a feeling of satisfaction and stature in our businesses, communities and even churches. We demand equality in our relationships and in the way we are treated. Yet God uses none of these forms of measurement to determine our eternal reward. Only one act measures up to Gods expectations and that is accepting His son Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior. It’s measured with the blood Christ shed on the cross for our sins.

The dimensions John gives us in Revelations may be a challenge to wrap your mind around. Allow me to put it this way, the New City John describes would hold 15 planet Earths within its’ walls. Still don’t get it, I will put it like this; There’s room for you!

The Apostle Paul says in Ephesians 3:16-19 “to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the full measure of all the fullness of God”.

Have you ever loved something so much that you would go to any length to be close to it? God wants to know you, every part of you. You can make a difference, Christ working through you, in the world around you, one person, 2 square feet at a time.

Flight Lesson

2Corinthians 11:15 So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. Their end will correspond to their deeds.

While flying at high speed fighter pilots are taught how to keep their perspective while flying extreme maneuvers. It’s easy for a pilot to become disoriented while making loops or rolling his jet during high speeds. You can get so caught up in the moment you forget where you are and the power you have in your hands. In each situation you have to know where you are as well as the equipment.

Many years ago a friend of mine took me up in a vintage 1941 Stearman Bi-Plane. I loved to fly so he invited me to go with him one day. We took off from historic College Park Airport in Maryland. As we began our flight, climbing higher and higher, he asked me a question, “Do you like rollercoaster’s?” Yes, I said. Wrong answer. He throttled forward, banked the plane to the left then right, dove towards the ground and pulled straight back on the stick and all I saw was blue sky. As we climbed the engine struggled and I watched the propeller stop spinning. I felt the control stick jam into my left thigh and we rolled over and began a barrel roll toward the earth. All I remember thinking was, ground, sky, ground, sky as we tumbled for what seemed a lifetime. My friend regained control and as we leveled out he pulled back on the stick again and we made a complete loop. As we reached the top of the loop, upside down, I flung my head back against the head rest to see the ground below me. “Breath!” he shouted over the headset. My weight pressed me against the seatbelts, as we came around the loop I felt weightless, then as we approached the bottom of the loop I was pressed down into my seat. My head was spinning but by now I was screaming like I was on a carnival ride. What a rush! I’ll never forget it.

My friend was a trained pilot and instructor he knew what he was doing. This wasn’t his first time. I wouldn’t not have gone on that flight with just anyone, I trusted him. The same is true on our walk with Christ. We must be aware of who it is we are taught by as we learn and become Christ followers. There are some popular teachings that sound religious and they include things about “God” but they are far from the truth. Worship God, His son Jesus Christ and the forgiveness of our sins that comes through the blood Christ shed on the cross. That’s it. It’s not a diet, you don’t have to go through anyone else to get it, it’s not church activities, or a special cause that gets you closer to God. It’s Jesus Christ only.

How do we prepare ourselves for this journey? The Bible has the words we are to apply to our lives daily. Getting involved with a group of Christ following believers is paramount to your success as you live and work in the world around you. Find a church that teaches from Gods word and learn how it applies to your life, each and every day. It’s a weekly relationship you can’t do without. When you learn how to apply Gods word to your life it will begin to provide the meaning and substance God created you for. Ask Christ into your life today by asking Him to forgive you of your sins and allow Christ first in your life. Ask Jesus to make you into the kind of person He wants you to be. You will learn this by associating with other Christ followers and learning Gods word from the Bible. It’s a lesson that will help you pilot life’s journey.

Is It In You

God, at times, can seem so far away. Understanding His plan for our lives seems complicated. The church establishment seems to create more questions than answers. Let me help you clear up some of the confusion.

First ask God for forgiveness of your sins. You may think that's corny or not cool but you've got to do it. Second believe that Jesus Christ is Gods only son, it's ok if you have questions but the only way we have access to God is because of what Christ did for us on the cross. Jesus provides that access for you and me. Third say it; Jesus I want you to live in my life, come into my heart, make me into the kind of person you want me to be. To have Christ in your heart you have to say it yourself, no one can do it for you. He'll change you from the inside out.

Seems too simple doesn't it but God says if you want to have eternal life you first have to know His son Christ Jesus. All your talents and all that you live for are because of who God made you to be. If you are wondering who God wants you to be just ask Him, he will show you, it's in a book called the Bible. You can do it. Get around other people who believe it, they can help. If you have questions about where people that believe in Jesus are just ask me and I can help point you to Bible believing Christ followers.

Don't put it off, do it today.

Two Cigars

Leadership is not something to be taken lightly. A true leader not only manages their position with which they are entrusted, the rights with which the position entitles one to, but by example always raising the bar. I've had many examples of leaders in my life some were my supervisors others coworkers and some working side by side on projects. Even though some had the authority to lead they fell short of being an example of leadership. I would guess that their short fall in ability was due to lack of experience maybe even fear. But they still maintained a posture of leadership. Some leaders just take charge when given the keys to the office and plow ahead with out a real plan other than they have the authority to order others around. Then there are those with who have the title of leadership is bestowed upon them and they have the ability to move people to action and everyone seems to jump into action at their request. True leadership is an art form, a delicate balance of politics and personalities. So begins our story.

Recently I was feeling beat-down needed a way to get my head back in the game. Do you know what I mean. It's time to power-up. So who do I share this with? Earl, my friend and ministry partner with GPS Outdoors. He had just finished an over night hike on Friday and Saturday. I told him how I felt and the next thing I knew we were planning an overnight hike into the Pisgah National Forest South Mill River. It's a trip he has done many times just not with me.

We held Drive-In Church on Sunday morning, then we all went to breakfast and planned our trip which would depart by 3:00 PM that day. I wasn't sure if I was ready for this but it was already in the works and we were going camping. It's a 7 Mile round trip hike along South Mills River. Note; I haven't been hiking in 20 years.

Earl came on over to the house and even brought a Backpack for me and so I packed it up and kissed Suzanne, my wife and the kids good-bye. As we were pulling out Suzanne told Earl, "have him back by dinner Monday night" and off we went.

We got to the Trail Head, donned our equipment and headed out on the trail. Trust me when I say I needed to reboot and this trip was going to be the maintenance I needed. Even my daughter told me "Dad, you're always On!" She meant that I'm always working in ministry in some form and it was time to put it down for a while. So here I am on a mountainous trail not exactly in the best shape of my life physically and I'm hiking into the Western North Carolina wilderness. It's not Mount Everest but still... you know.

It takes us about and hour and a half to hike to our camp site. Once there we begin to setup and get settled in for the night. It's a beautiful location right on the river. Earl and I go after some firewood and begin cooking dinner. As we start cooking Earl unveils a pack of steaks and two tinfoil wrapped potatoes. Then it happens Earl realizes that he forgot the grill for the steaks. With out even hesitating he cuts off some Maple branches and makes something that resembles a tennis raquet. This becomes our grill. With the potatoes in the coals of the fire and the steaks hoovering about the flame all we could do is wait.

With the steaks done and the potatoes unfolded we then realize that we don't have any plates, so we put the steaks on the foil the potatoes were cooked in and get ready to eat. I took a moment to say the blessing over our meal and then put the feed bag on. I didn't even bother to cut my steak, I picked it up and to a bite and wow, it was perfect. Earl always says food tastes better when your camping, he was so right. It was one of the best meals I've eaten. It was the kind of meal that you savor every bite.

As we were finishing up our meal Earl reached over and handed me a cigar with a lighter in the other hand and he said, "this is how we end this meal". Now I'm not a smoker but this was an exception. I lit my cigar and Earl lit his and we stood there below a clear, star filled sky, on the bank the river rushing by and enjoyed the solitude of the wilderness. Now that's how you clear your head.

We sat by the fire until it was embers and then we turned in for the night. As we were putting the food away we saw a small creature come into our camp near our tent and then it decided to buzz by giving me quite a start.

The next morning I got up and spent some time with God and in His word. After Earl got up we read Proverbs 27:17 and it was just what we needed to start our day. We put our fly rods together and headed up the river. Since I have never been fly fishing Earl took some time to show the mechanics and then let me try it for myself. Once I got the motion I was fly fishing! Wow!, it's fun. We continued up stream for about an hour and a half. At one point I was throwing my line down stream and ended up having two Brook Trout hit my line. Each fish was only two inches though, they went back to swim another day. We had decided to head back to camp and as I was navigating the river one wrong step sent me off my feet and head first into the river. As refreshing as that was I still had to hike out. So we went back to camp, changed into dry clothes and then headed back to the trail head.

Our hike out was at record pace but I wanted to see if I could keep up with an experienced hiker like Earl. At one point on the trail Earl asked if I wanted to stop and rest I said "if I stop now I won't want to pick my pack up" so we headed back to the trail head were the car was parked.

As we reached Earls truck and we finished our hike side by side, just the way we began.

MERGE

2 Corinthians 5:20 tells us we are to be ambassadors for Christ. One of the goals for our young men and women is to be changed by Christ. We trade our wants and desires for who Christ wants us to be. The best way to learn this is to see it in practice. Better yet, go out and get your hands dirty working at who Christ want us to be.

So as we are on the path God has called us to, we help others MERGE into the life He has planned for us. I’ll put it this way, allow God to come into your heart and He will begin to change you mind (your old way of thinking), your sinful ways and you will see a change in your life.

You trade the road you are on for the one God wants you to follow; MERGE. Bible knowledge is good to have, Sunday School can provide deep insight, Preaching from the pulpit can stir you and a Wednesday night group can provide encouragement for your week but nothing preaches like experience. Putting it into action. Not just a casual relationship or book knowledge of Christ but changing our path for His.

MERGE will seek opportunities for our youth to put into action the lesson and values Christ wants us to share with those around us. You learn it then pass it on, teach it to someone else. It, the Good News, becomes part of their life, MERGE.

Planting with intent

North Asheville Baptist Church invited us to their Missions Banquet, which was Friday November 21. Two of our core members, Scott and Sally, joined us to help pass out information to the visitors at the banquet. We had a great time talking to a few people about Cowboy Church.
We have been talking to North Asheville about them becoming a local church sponsor.

We put together a short video from our weekend at the Southern Finals Rodeo for the event, so take a look and enjoy. We held cowboy church on Sunday before the rodeo and we had 100 people attend the service. Remember, Cowboy Church is more than Rodeos, we like and support all types of equestrian events, English, Hunter Jumper, etc. Our daughter enjoys English style and has done barrel patterns in her english saddle.

It is not necessary to be a pro rider to attend Cowboy Church. Romans 12:2 says be transformed by the renewing of your mind... By not allowing the distractions of the world to take you off track you can begin to understand Gods will for your life. Have you ever thought to yourself...how do I know what Gods will is for me? If you don't ever read your bible, participate in a small group bible study, or attend church you will never know. God wants the best for you and if you spend time with Him - His plan for your life will be revealed. Be intentional in your worship.

Join us on a Thursday night at 7 PM in Weaverville, please be our guest.

Wagons Ho

When is the last time you moved? I don't mean a job move, where a compnay pays the expenses and you have a job waitin' for you. Have you ever moved to a new town with nothing more than a dream and a plan to make it happen? That's church planting.

After planting a Cowboy Church in Kissimmee, FL we felt Gods leading and now we are in the process of planting a Cowboy Church here in the Western North Carolina region just outside of Asheville. It is quite an experience, we have visited a few churches and spoken to many pastors about our plans and just about everyone we have met has offered their assistance. One thing is for sure, though, not one of the churches we have visited have had anyone followup with us or come by to visit. Even the church I grew up hasn't called or come over to visit even after we filled out 4 Visitor Cards. That's not a complaint but an observation. It would have been nice if some of the people from the church would have stopped by and asked if we needed anything or just brought a plate of Grits over. Ha ha.

That to me is a good example of why church plants are so needed in this area. A church planter understands the basics of a servant heart. When Suzanne and I first got here we went by the church office, of the one I grew up in and where my Mom serves in the music ministry, and asked if there was a ministry in the church that could maybe give us a hand as we moved in, but their response was, "We really don't have anyone for that". If churches aren't able to reach inside their own community what good does it do to travel half a world away and build a building. We need to look at the needs around us.

I saw a friend of mine from Orlando here in Asheville at Wal-Mart and his first words to me were " we need to get people outside of the Stained Glass Prison." He's so right. The leadership in many churches seem challenged by church plants in their communities. Reaching the unchurched is not a subject I take lightly. Only with God leading us are we able to fullfill the work He has called us too.

Cowboy Church here in Ashveille will reach people that don't go to church now and become a ministry of example. The time has come to put all the teaching that we have learned in Sunday School, and Church to work in our neighborhoods where we live.