Happy Birthday

We have been going to Charlie Brown’s for dinner on Wednesday evenings since the summer. We would often sit outside and the servers would bring my puppy, Rocky, a dog bowl. We have made friends with many of them since then. Before I took off for Tampa, Florida one of our favorite servers told us that her 21st birthday was coming up. She said that she was going to Charlie Browns because they were going to serve her free drinks. She asked us to come and join her. So we showed up at like 10:30 pm on a Saturday night. It was a very late night. However, it was worth it. It was somewhat sad because none of the girl’s friends showed up except her boyfriend. She was grateful we were there. We wanted to support her and take care of her if she was going to drink too much. She literally only weighs 80 pounds! I was proud of her because she did not give into the peer pressure that many of her co-workers were trying to place on her. By us showing up to her little birthday celebration, we have intensified our relationship with this girl. God keeps teaching me that if we are willing to show up and get out of the way He can do His thing. Even if that means showing up to someone’s 21st birthday party where you know they are going to drink and possibly drink in excess. She was going to do this regardless if we showed up. I have realized we need to cast off the “conventional” ways we do evangelism. It is more than stepping outside the four walls of the church and stepping inside the dark places where the light is dim. We were not the first presence of God to show up Saturday night at Charlie Browns. God was working in our little server long before we came on the scene. This scenario brings into question everything I have ever learned about evangelism. Are we willing to go to places where other Christians might not want to go or feel comfortable in going? Are we like the chief priests and Pharisees who hammer people like Jesus and the disciples who commune with “sinners and tax collectors?”

The Small Things

Tonight we hard our monthly prayer meeting for the church plant. We have been meeting at Woodland Park for a time of corporate prayer and then break up into twos to do a prayer walk around the park. I believe this evening was different than our usual prayer meetings. At first I was discouraged that we only had a total of six people show up for this time of prayer. A few months ago it seemed we had over twenty! However something special happened despite us being few in number. A guy that I have been in relationship with over the past few months (we met at Charlie Browns) came to the prayer meeting. I know he believes in God but would not really call himself a devout follower of Christ, in fact he's been out of the church for several years. As we were praying God reminded me of the parable in Luke's Gospel about the lost sheep. Most of us have heard the parable about the shepherd leaving his ninety-nine other sheep to find the one that is lost. The shepherd rejoices when he finds that one sheep that is lost. Tonight, I would have loved it if 30, 40, or even 50 people were there tonight! However, I would not trade tonight for anything in the world because my friend has opened himself up more to God and God's people.

Why is it so hard to understand?

Maybe I'm naive, don't know what I'm doing, or just plain stupid...okay, i'll admit to some of that. Anyway I don't understand this business of targeting a specific population in starting a new church. I have been asked several times what population I'm targeting or trying to reach. My response has been everyone. I want to reach everyone who doesn't know Jesus. Is that too simple? I think we have complicated a simple thing. Did Jesus target a specific population? It was the poorest of the poor. However, If we are to remember the New Testament meaning of poverty it is not only about financial matters but more importantly the lack of Godly relationships. In a sense, those who do not have Jesus are the poorest of the poor!

Two by Two

The work that God has been doing on 12th Street has been amazing. It can be attributed to many factors. The first is there has been an intentional group of Christian people who filtered on the street for the past 31/2 years. Secondly, they have been in prayer, especially over the last few months. Thirdly, they have been building relationships with neighbors. The result has been greeting a few dozen people (who have never attended the church) from 12th Street and surrounding streets on Sunday mornings at the Rock. There are many facets to the third factor that the team and myself have recently learned in planting the Woodland Church. We have met a good number of people but the work cannot be done effectively on an individual basis. I have learned from Aaron and 12th Street that building and maintaining relationships will sap the energy of one individual unless it is a communal effort. However, I didn't need to look at the example of 12th street to tell me this fact. It was something that Jesus instituted in his ministry when he sent out the 72. Luke 10:1 says "...he sent them out two by tw0 ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go." As things start picking up, and we are able to meet more people we need to learn how to incorporate our community in the building of relationships. The most significant relationships I can have at one time are very few, but if there was someone else going out with me our territory can and will expand.
The key is no matter where we are we need to make disciples. It could be great if everybody could move close to the 05 or near Woodland Park. However, we all know that this is not realistic based on several reasons. The key is to be an active witness where one is already at and strengthen surrounding relationships.

A Taste of Crunchiness

Abs and I went to Starbucks yesterday for her to get some reading done (which she did not) and for me to work on sermon ideas (which I got very little done). Overall, it was a good time because we brought Rocky with us who was declared the Starbucks greeter. Honestly about 30 people stopped by Rocky and petted him. We met many interesting people including local business workers, a dog trainer (she did give me some pointers), and sctgm. What is a sctgm? It is what Aaron calls a Super Crunchy Turbo Granola Momma. I have grown fond of SCTGM since hanging out with the Gallahers. They have taught me a lot about the environment, recycling, and natural foods. This SCTGM made her living by selling necklaces and bracelets that she made. Abs and I talked with her and her boyfriend for a while. The girl left to go get her box of goodies. I saw a cool necklace I liked and bought one…even though it is not something that I would normally wear since I have often been called a metro-sexual. Abigail wanted her own special necklace made because she is difficultJ Abigail wanted a larger necklace made with different beads etc. I gave the girl my number just in case she finished so that she could give us a call. Before we left, Abigail and the sctgm had an awesome talk, which resulted in a hug. After starbucks, we went to Charlie Browns where we met a man that Abigail has been talking with at Starbucks over the past few weeks. Also, Heather came and joined us. Heather is new to ATS and wanted to get involved outside of ATS. While we were at Charlie Browns the sctgm came and had finished the huge necklace in about a half and hour. We talked with her more for a few minutes and Abigail pulled the coffee trigger on her. They are going out tonight for coffee, so please pray.


I think I may have found a place to live that I am checking out tomorrow. Also, I may have found a few roommates. It is cool because Jason and Tawndee Dillard already live in the area, then I will be moving in with two other guys, and in January, Abigail and a friend will be moving into the area. There are some awesome things happening and I am excited about what God is going to do next.

Double Time, Marine Corps!

My friend Jasen came to visit me from Tampa, Florida. I have not seen him in about 5 years. We have known each other since the 9^th grade so if you want to hear stories about me he is the go-to man. A lot has changed since we have known each other. Jasen was one of those kids who joined the Marine Corps the day he graduated high school. However, his boot camp experience was different from many other recruits. Around the 5^th week of training, he dislocated his knee, which turned what normally would be a three-month stay in boot camp to an eight-month stay. Jasen was given the option of getting a medical discharge. Rather than accepting the discharge (which many would have done), he would wake up in the middle of the night to strength his knee by doing squats and lunges. Jasen would place an alice pack on his back and do exercises with it. The only way he would have made it out of MRP (Medical Recruit Platoon) was by passing the fitness test. Before the fitness test, he heavily taped his knee and ran the three miles with it swollen. He passed the run and was able to continue boot camp. Fast-forward a year later. I needed money for college and was thinking about going into the military. I was going to walk into the Army recruiter’s office when Jasen convinced me to join the Marine Corps. We joke that we have not seen each other for 5 years was because he tricked me into joining the Corps. Jasen always bust my chops because he saved all my letters I sent him. He came to my boot camp graduation and witnessed my senior drill instructor standing at 6’ 7” weighing in at 275 pounds. Since I was one of the smaller recruits, I would often be choked slammed if somebody else messed up.

Since our Marine Corps days, Jasen has gone on to be an amateur body builder and owner of his own fitness clinic where he has trained pro athletes in major sports and ultimate fighters. I know, it sounds a little bit more exciting than going to seminary. Anyway, every time we hang out together he almost talks me into reenlisting because we have the same warrior spirit inside of us. Warrior spirit or stupidity, I am not quite sure. While Jasen was here for the week, I often took him to the church and Woodland Park. Last Wednesday we combined puppy evangelism with Marine Corps evangelism. Rocky, my boxer pup, made a new friend name Lela who is a basset hound. We started talking to Lela’s mom and found out her dad was a retired Sergeant Major in the Marine Corps. Reaching the rank of Sergeant Major is difficult because it is the highest rank of an enlisted person. We got into why Jasen and I joined the Marine Corps and exchanged a few stories. It gets weirder when we find out her boyfriend is an ultimate fighter and she is a boxer. Jasen was able to carry the conversation further than I could have. It was cool to see how diverse the people are at Woodland Park. I do not think it was a coincidence that Jasen and I met this young woman together. I tell myself not to be surprised when I see God at work.

Simply The Best

Friday night was our first team gathering for our core group of church planters. It was a great time of fellowship. I made boneless Buffalo wings, which turned out pretty good, but I always make too many. I do not know why but I think that everybody is going to eat as much as I do. Of course, Rocky stole the show because he is so darn cute except when he is acting like a devil boxer. As I looked around the room, I noticed how different we all are in personality and gifting. The only way a church plant can come together is it to be a team effort driven by the Holy Spirit. As a self avowed “sports junkie” I often think in terms of professional sports. I was reminded of the New England Patriots who were Super Bowl champions in 2003 and 2004. This year they are projected to win it all. Year after year, the Pats are always in playoff contention and are projected by NFL experts to advance to the AFC Championship game. Sure, they have an All-Pro quarterback in Tom Brady and newly acquired wide receiver Randy Moss but the list of the names on their roster is not the most notarized or even comprised of the highest paid players. What makes them so competitive year after year? They attribute their success to having a team concept, which allows Brady to incorporate the play of all his eligible receivers into one single game. Brady trusts his teammates and is willing to enable them with power and make heroes of them.

The only way this church plant can get off the ground is through the power of the Holy Spirit. God does not just want to use only one person to pull off the work but a team of people. If it were only up to me, I would screw it all up. The thing would have duct tape all over it like my Nissan Altima.

Prayer and Fasting Equal Weirdness

Last Friday was the Bluegrass Festival at the church. It was a good time of listening to music and hanging with people from the community. About 300 people attended the event. The best part of the evening was watching people enjoy themselves as both the Mona’s dancing up a storm. The highlight of the evening for me was talking to Ralph. Ralph came with his mom, brother, nieces, and nephews. Ralph and I talked at the end of the evening for about an hour. It was exciting because he said that the festival was awesome but what he really wanted to do was come to church. We talked about his spiritual journey and his love for the weights. The cool part of it is that he gets in free at LAC and he can hook a brother up! I did not see him at church on Sunday but knew that there was some sort of seed planted in his heart. Ralph was suppose to give his phone number to Aaron on Monday morning when they walk their kids to school but Aaron did not see him. Anyway, Wednesday rolled around, and Wednesdays are difficult days because I have a lot going on, along with prayer and fasting. After prayer and fasting, a few of us decided that Wednesdays would be a perfect opportunity to pray at Woodland Park. This past Wednesday Abs and I where at the Woodland Park for our time of pray. After a few minutes of being there, Ralph and his family pulled up in their car. Ralph and I talked briefly, and then he gave me his phone number. I thanked God and rejoiced for the opportunity to reconnect with him. Things continued to get weirder as we went to Charlie Browns (we break our fast there every Wednesday). Outside of Charlie Brown’s we met a guy named Kevin. Kevin is an interesting fellow to say the least. We got to talking and he told us about his life journey and asked us to pray for him. Kevin ended up joining us for dinner. We ended up getting his phone number to hang out again. While at Charlie Brown’s Abs and I have developed a relationship with the servers. A large part of this is due to puppy evangelism-that is where Rocky comes in! They allowed us to bring him in the restaurant and brought him a dog bowl. Our waitress was the same as last week. her name is Karianna. Karianna loves Rocky and adores Abs. They got to talking and Karianna gave her phone number to Abs. They are going to Woodland Park on Monday to walk dogs. Also, while I was talking with Kevin, Abs was talking to the young servers. We ended up walking out of the restaurant in awe. However, why should we be so surprised when God answers prayer? This situation has really taught me to walk in expectation. God desires to use us to plant seeds for a lifetime.

Dude, Where's My Car

Life in the 05: Things they don't teach you in Seminary

There are some things seminary just doesn’t teach you. I paid $50,000 for an education I could have gotten by just living in the 05. Life in the 05 has been my schoolmaster over the past few years, especially the last 48 hours. It all started when I came home from Aaron’s house where we were watching Office Space. I came in about halfway into the movie, and then Peter came by a few minutes later. We were all cracking up hysterically, specifically when I said the boss Lumbergh looked like Ben Witherington. After the movie, Peter took me home. I noticed my roommate was out. I started getting worried because I noticed his bike was gone and it was 11pm. I was alarmed because he’s usually in bed by 9:30pm. I knew something was wrong at that point. I decided I was going to look for him around 7th street because it is a huge drug-trafficking area. I grabbed my keys and left the house only to say…Dude, where’s my car? It was then that I knew Dustin took off with it. I called Pedro back because I knew he was up. Pedro picked me up around 12:30 to go look for my car and Dustin. As we were driving along, we were being solicited for drugs left and right. What are two, young, white guys doing creeping in a vehicle after dark on 7th Street? There was no sign of Dustin so I went home. I decided I was going to call the police and tell them my car was stolen. While on the phone with the police officer, there was a knock on the door. It was Aaron along with Dustin. Dustin had been up all night and wanted a place to lay down for an hour. I couldn’t let him in because I knew as soon as he got up he would need another fix and my whole house would be empty. Dustin told me my car was at a nearby house at the Lighthouse Recovery Ministries. Dustin had taken my watches, knives, some money, and sold my car for $20! Here is where it gets weirder. Aaron and I went on a reconnaissance mission to steal my car back. When I got into my car, I noticed a burned mark on my floor from crack that had been smoked and fallen. As I was pulling out, a prostitute tried to get into my passenger seat. When Aaron and I get back to my house, we called Tey, the director of the Lighthouse. Tey said that the guy who bought my car was complaining to her how two African Americans came and stole his car (This is hilarious because Aaron and I were doing evangelism visits one day and some guys got mad at us, calling us Mexicans). Since I couldn’t let Dustin in the house, I made him sleep in the garage. I came and sat with him a few hours and I could tell how sorry he was. The person who stole from me and sold my car was not Dustin but the grip that the cocaine had on him. I loved him like a brother and still do. I could tell that he was repentant. We ended up taking him to detox. I am still going to work with Dustin because I believe in God’s plan for his life.

What sucks about the situation was people’s reaction. I heard some comments like, “I was a little hesitant about Dustin living with you because of his recovery,” or “sometimes you just can’t trust anybody.” Like Bob Lyon use to say, “Shame on you if you haven’t been taken advantage of in a while.” How far does God’s love call us to care for our brothers and sisters? What an awesome testimony of God’s love if Dustin was healed and helped out at the Woodland Park Church Plant. We, as Christians cannot be afraid to love. Love does hurt and we can experience pain and rejection. How far are we willing to go?

A Walk in the Park

Prayer Meeting at Woodland Park
Thursday - August 30, 2007

Special thanks to Abs for helping me archive special times when God is at work.

There were about 20 people in attendance – all members of The Rock La Roca. It was a surprising and encouraging group. God’s presence was powerful in our gathering. Before the meeting began, we were greeted by a homeless gentleman named Hillbilly and his girlfriend, Karrin. Hillbilly was a bit rattling to say the least…crazily shouting “God loves you as much as He loves me!” and looking like he had taken an ink pen and scratched it into his face. He was shouting as the people arrived to pray. What a great introduction of our new ministry!

I spoke before we went out to pray. The presence of the Spirit of God spoke in a powerful way. I shared about Acts 1:8 – that Jesus told his disciples to reach the whole city and then move out. We were all inspired with the possibilities of seeing all of Lexington come to know the healing power of Jesus. After I spoke, we prayed together as a group. And then we went out in groups of two to pray over the park and to invite the presence of God there, reminding us of Jesus sending his disciples out two by two. As we went out to pray, there was a wind that was blowing like the Spirit of God was pleased to meet us there. (John 3)

As we all came back from praying, we sang together, “We are standing on holy ground”. And we began to share what we felt and saw in prayer:

Ruben said that as he was walking around that he observed the area was as diverse as the Rock.

Megan said that our presence in this church plant was God crying out for his children.

Mona stated that she lived in the area 20 years ago and she wished that our church was there when she lived there.

Even after the praying was over, the presence continued to rest. People stayed at the park to continue talking and fellowshiping. I believe this time of prayer at the park will be the beginning of something powerful that God is doing in our midst.

Puppy Evangelism

Two things people cannot resist are babies and puppies. Since it is impossible for me to have a baby (thank God), I figure the next best thing is having a puppy. I grew up in my household not allowed to have any pets because my Mom was a neat freak. Every time I asked about getting a dog, I would be shot down. It was not until I turned 25 that I got my first dog, Gretchen. I rescued Gretchen when she was 2 years old. She was a beautiful, energetic boxer. Whenever I would have someone over the house, she would go crazy, running back and forth. I thought it was funny but my visitors would be ticked. Sometimes I would get her to go crazy on purpose just to bother Gallaher. I missed having a boxer around the house so I decided to take the plunge. I thought about get a girl and naming her Bella. When I went out to the breeder, I sat there an hour trying to decide on what dog to get. I finally decided on the alpha dog who was pinning all the other puppies. I know that I will have my hands full with Rocky. Even though Rocky looks cute he is the most stubborn little guy. At 6 weeks old, he was twice the size of his siblings.

I have started bring Rocky with me to church and to Woodland Park. It is amazing how many people love puppies. Rocky has been a good way to make an entrance into the community. People will just randomly walk up to me and want to play with him. I never thought something as silly as getting a dog would be such a doorway for evangelism. When I think about the great things that are happening at The Rock La Roca United Methodist Church, I have realized that it will not look the same at Woodland. I am thinking of ways to take the principles that the Rock has taught and apply them to this new context. Any insights would be helpful.