Ministry is a synonym to Messy.
I learned after fighting for attention for a long time
after pushing to be noticed
pushing to be heard
aching to be loved
hurting from being insecure
that this is the way of the world – this is the hopeless of the world

but I was free to love

• I was free to keep no record of wrongs
• I was free to notice others
• I was free to listen to others
• I was free to love the aching
• I was free to secure those who were hurting
• I was free to give Hope to the Hopeless

I am Free in Christ

I am free in the everlasting love
I am free in being Drawn in by the Holy Spirit
There is freedom in being in a messy-less mess

I don’t have to fight to get in position
I don’t have to try to get Gods attention
I don’t have to try to get in the “church”
Through Christ – I am already in.

I have seen hopeless addicts find Christ and be FREE -

• Free to live
• Free to love
• Free to begin their lives over again.

I have seen respected leaders in the church strangled by the religiosity of the institution.

• Captive to the judgement of others
• Captive to the limited relationship they have by not being allowed to express freely their heart of hearts
• Captive unable to meet the expectations of the  “christian life”

There is freedom in working with the weeds in the wheat (Matthew 13)

I thank God that I learned the mission of the Church the Heartbeat of Christ is to Evangelize the World…  There is Freedom in Speaking Freedom

perhaps the problem with today’s churches are they are simply not messy…

That is a lesson I learned from my father, who abandoned me, who years later has accepted salvation through Christ.

that deafening silence of not pushing to be heard any longer – not aching to be loved to hurting from being insecure -  being part of something Bigger than anyone could imagine – not having to try to be part of the group – but being accepted as already part of the Church was used by Christ to transform a relationship

Was used by Christ to bring reconciliation.

I pray that perhaps this fathers day – you might reconcile with the father figure in your life and stop being a weed but rather Wheat in the harvest.

God is God.

God is Good

…



To God Be the Glory.

I pray this may be used to both challenge and encourage you!

A large number of pastors are praying for protection for America – protection from those that would want to harm our way of living… and then there was one in the midst of all of these…

Dear Father – Forgive this man who wanted to take the lives of others,

Thank you that even today his soul has not been eternally lost – We pray that he will even now have your Holy Spirit begin working on his Heart and that you will send a servant to witness about your glory.

We thank you for keeping us safe and pray your will is done here on Earth as it is in Heaven.

In Jesus Name, Amen

Many pastor’s wrote about the Terrorist being 80% successful, others wrote about we should go and support our troops to kill those that are against our way of living…  with each I found it far from the heart of forgiveness – and I myself have been included at times with these feelings.

While I do not want to get into politics, is our leadership willing and able to keep us safe etc…  I do thank God that we serve a living Savior – Who is able to keep us from falling and able to present us faultless.

Glenn,  Are you aware of what you just said?   You wan’t to be homeless again…

I had to explain it to him in detail how important it is to listen to words – and understand the meaning behind them.

Sometimes I miss being homeless, I stated… not that I want to be homeless again.

As a homeless kid (yes kid) I had to lean on God and not on my own understanding… I had to depend upon the generosity of others – mainly the Church (the people), the Salvation Army, and others.   In highschool I had a teacher (Mr. Michael Button) that would on a weekly basis buy me a lunch in school.  He took me to the office one day and said “He should be getting free lunch… “  they stated “his parents make to much…”   I had not seen my parents for at least 6+ months – and was paying rent $50/weekly in a boarding house… Mr Button took it upon his own heart to feed me…

I know he lives in Ocean City, retired – and am grateful to him for all the blessings he gave me during that time of my life.   While living on the street I believe I met many people who were in God’s Army.   They kept me safe and gave me a sense of comfort.  Just like Mr. Button I met many people that are able to bless you and remind you it is not about YOU.

Now – with the comforts of a home, a family, a wife… I sometimes forget this simple fact…

This afternoon I sat in what is going to rapidly become a new church movement here in Ohio.   A small denomination called Church of Christ in Christian Union here in Ohio purchased an old school – and… held their first service there today.  140 people in attendance on a Cold Sunday afternoon with snow flurries in the air, snow on the ground … and God being Glorified inside… The story of Jesus being Born, Dying and Rising again – His blood saving mankind from our sin …  As I sat there and took the time to discuss with a few people who walked in the door about their lives I came back to that same thought…

Sometimes I miss being homeless

I learned recently that In this community I make at least 3x the average of any family in the county… AND… we struggle to make ends meet.  Perhaps Kathie, the kids and I still need to learn to lean on God and not on all of these other comforts of life we have purchased… and now have to pay to support.

I came home and a friend Tweeted (which made it to his facebook) an awesome link from ragamuffinsoul.com A homeless man named Danny comes up and while Carlos Whittaker was recording a new music video – kneeled down and began singing and Glorifying God.

At the end he said something that is so Awesome – So True – and something I learned while I was homeless…Carlos said “Keep trying to make it… ” to which Danny responds,

“Trying to make it? No man. I ain’t trying to make it…I’m making it. Jah puts His soldiers everywhere. Jah says, Yea though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death… So He places some of us, in that valley.

While I am fortunate not to be in the Valley of homelessness -  I am grateful for the time that I was, when I came to Christ and became Born Again.

Watch this video and listen where Danny sings – Hallelujah is the Highest Praise – One Jah, One Father, One Creator…   When is the last time you thought about being stripped from EVERYTHING down to just having One Jah, one Father, One Creator… One way to heaven… One who took your place born of a Virgin to Die for your sins…

sometimes being out of the Valley … allows us to Forget the blessings we have from Our Heavenly Father.

I miss the wisdom of many of those Brothers and Sisters who are Making it… living in the Valley, in the Shadows.   Many of us would have just written Danny off – as someone w/o a purpose in life…  But here is a man – a beautiful creation of God – with next to nothing except his Life and he is able to Glorify God with what he has…  His Body and Soul.

One last note -  I love the words of this song…

Save us from these comforts.
Break us of our need for the familiar
Spare us any joy that’s not of You
And we will worship You

Reading the Word Daily on a city Diamond

Tim has a story like many – he grew up in a strict family – had a lot to offer to his family, community and even himself – but decided to take what was at the time – the easy road. This road of crime led to drugs and alcohol, two failed marriages and even loosing a promising career as a surgical technician.

In the late 1970′s Compton Little league lost its charter when the city became victim of inner city blight and poverty. Lewis bounced back after coming to Christ and realized that the future of the children in the city could gain a boost by rhe resurgence of Little League baseball. Homeless with nothing but a minivan and Hope – Lewis fought to restore the city’s little league charter and created a five team league with roughly 300 children in its ranks.

These children are learning the importance of a second chance, the importance of perseverance in the face of adversity – and how God can help us each overcome.

Praying at Practice

Practices and Games are began with prayer from someone who does not have a Doctorate in Theology but rather a man who uses kneeology – starting each morning climbing out of his mini-van and hitting the knees of the outfield in prayer.

At roughly the age of 50 years old Tim Lewis came to Christ – and now is a Disciple serving the Kingdom in a place where many others believe God has Forsaken. Mr. Lewis serves a God that does not Forget – that does not forsake.

While I suspect that his new found publicity, from NBC interviews to HBO Real Time Sports segments, has made it hard for Mr. Lewis to hide from his mistakes – we find a man that refuses to hide – has been refusing to hide and instead brings his story – and teaches kids that through Jesus Christ – it is history, uses the failed tests of his life as a testimony for the Powerful Saving Grace through Jesus Christ.

That being said – I will be moving into a new series called The Power of Prayer.
To kick this off – I have started a website recently called www.PrayerHelps.org

I love the simplistic nature of this site – just post a prayer request – and then have others pray an intercessory prayer.

Please visit the website www.PrayerHelps.org and sign up to pray for those who are asking for prayer -
You can also post a prayer as well.

The tool we used here is just one of the many fantastic extensions created by MarkStephenson & the Web Empowered Church team (see www.WebEmpoweredChurch.com for additional details or www.VineHosting.com for a turn key version). One really nice feature of this software is that the software will allow you to post a prayer anonymously

So – if you are going to spend 1 hour in prayer daily and your stuck – here is a place to start….

He also has lately been doing a large amount of behaviors – most specifically within the last 4 weeks that are best explained as ticks and OCD behavior.

We are visiting a specialist on Thursday to discuss the issues.

Thanks for your prayer support

Glenn