Here's a Video to Check Out

Prayer Request

There has been a lot on my mind the past few days and thank the Lord I'm getting through. One of the things that has been on my mind is Ford City's Baccalaureate. I get to preach the message and it has been an honor to do this but also a little nerve racking. Being out of my element by being in another church, Christ Prince of Peace, and having to put everything together very orderly. Keeping things orderly is something I need a lot of practice on.

The message is Encounter, and I really want to see those seniors and their friends and families encounter the Lord in a real way this Sunday evening. I saw the seniors that gathered today for practice at Christ Prince of Peace. My heart burns for them to encounter Jesus and to make Him their Lord and Savior. I know I only have about 10 or so to grab their attention and I'm praying that in those first few minutes their attention is taken by the Holy Spirit and that their hearts begin to beat in their chest and they will hear everything that the Lord would speak through me to them. Maybe I won't even have to speak, the Holy Spirit will already come upon them. Pray that there will be a tangible move of the power of the Holy Spirit that everyone can witness and be a part of. Pray that those seniors will sense how much God loves them and how much He wants to meet them face to face. Pray for me that I will not be nervous, scared, timid, but that I will fearlessly proclaim His Word.

Upon further review...

Thanks for your patience as I looked in to somethings I had read about Todd Bentley and Florida. What I know is that this is taking place in an Assemblies of God church in Lakeland, Florida. It has been going on since April 2. It has brought about many salvations and healings. The main speaker is a man named Todd Bentley. I read some troubling statements about him that I cannot prove true. I know some trust worthy people who have attended the meetings and feel that they are truly from God. They said that you can see the fleshly hype in some of the people, and you will always have that when God begins to move. But the whole gathering is very powerful.

Time will tell of the fruit that will come from this and that is always the measure when God moves on anybody or in any place, the fruit that is bore. We must only keep our eyes on Jesus and let Him lead and guide us into an encounter with Him. I don't know what that will always look like so we are not just running after someone else's experience but after Jesus. More to come on Sunday as I take time to look into some things that have come to be signs of revival and whether they are Biblical, acceptable, or should we just throw them out.

Retraction

I took away my former post about Todd Bentley because I'm not sure about him and what is going on in Florida. There are some more things I need to check out. I ask for your forgiveness for the post. I do not want to lead anyone astray and I feel I need to check into things more before I post anything else about what is going on in Florida.

Opinions to Generate Opinions then Answers

As I think about the previous post, which I updated, my mind wonders to thoughts that the church has become driven by what do we need to do more of instead of what did Christ do for me and others. We have ministries that are great and give people the chance to minister to people who have real hurts and needs. The problem is we do not see it as that. We see it as something that is taking OUR time and we don't like it. If we could get out of the works oriented thinking and begin to think of real people who have real feelings, would ministries change in the church? Would volunteers become so numerous because we know what Christ has done in our lives and we want to see Him do the same things in others lives? Prayer is important. Bible reading is important. But if it isn't changing my life now, what is more of it going to do? We need to let what we read and what we pray begin to change us. God is at work if you will let Him work and leave Him work alone.

Here is a thought, are we more caught up in what does a Christian look like that we are forgetting to spread the Kingdom of God? Yes, I do believe the church needs to repent. But maybe the sin I'm talking about isn't the sin that you are thinking about. Maybe the sin in the church is more of the Pharisee style, where we have become a church with so many rules and if you don't match up to them, then shame on you, that we are failing to uphold the Great Commission. Maybe that is the sin that we need to repent of.

What about this... Have tattoo's and body piercing become the 21st century church splitter just like hymns vs. chorus's or color of capert and paint on the walls was for past generations (and is still a church splitter today)?

The shed blood of Jesus changes all of this, if we begin to let His blood flow down in our lives. I can't make people repent, I can only make people feel guilty and condemned. I can't make people feel forgiven, I can only preach that if you are willing to accept what Christ has done and possess it then you are forgiven. I can't make people realize that it isn't what's on the outside that makes a follower of Christ, its what's on the inside that counts. These are all things that the Holy Spirit takes care of as I'm willing to love people with Christ's love.

These are just thoughts and opinions that I'm praying, lead to other thoughts and opinions and then to answers so that we can settle some of these issues that hurt the church once and for all... maybe. That is all up to us.

Hey, Hey, Hey

Last Wednesday the thought was presented: "What do we need to do differently to usher in the presence of God." This is a good thought to a point but we cannot let it become a "works" oriented action. After talking more about this on Saturday, I realized that we could take it as I need to do more and begin running around like a chicken with it's head cut off. I also got the picture of the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel with Elijah when they began to slash their wrists and scream louder so that their god would hear them. Our God hears us, and we need to take comfort in that. He has already done it all and we need to first, accept the gift of His blood letting it wash away our sin and secondly, letting Him remake us into the person He wants us to be. Their is nothing that we can do except let Him set our priorities straight.

I really want to see the supernatural happen in NLC and in Ford City and Kittanning. But most importantly, I want to see people have life changing experiences with the God who loves them greater than we'll ever know on this earth.

More thoughts later. Comments are appreciated.

Excuses, Excuses

I'm finding out that I am good at making excuses. Instead of just owning what was or wasn't done, I have become excellent at making excuses. Mostly because I feel guilty that I did or didn't do something and I want to explain myself. Explaining myself just leads to trouble because you end up making an excuse. I was talking to someone the other day and realized that I was making an excuse for why I hadn't done something. I felt like I was lying to the person as I was talking and had to finally stop and just ask for forgiveness for not doing what I should have done. As I pondered this situation the rest of the night and into the morning, I felt terrible. I couldn't own up to the fact that I had made a mistake so I had to sugar coat it a little so that it didn't look so bad. How terrible is that?

In my desire to grow as a "man after God's own heart" I want to correct myself in these areas. Thank the Lord for His grace and mercy that He pours out upon me giving me another chance. And my prayer is that I will be able to own the fact that I made a mistake, ask for forgiveness, and do better at not making the same mistake the next time. The world doesn't need any more excuses.

This is all part of the growth process. May we all have patience with one another in this process. We have not been perfected yet, at least I haven't been. And we need these growth opportunities to mature us. I read a great devotion last night with Bethany that said how God answeres our prayers the way we prayed them, though we don't always see it like that. Like when we pray for patience and then we find ourselves in stressful situations where patience can grow. Or we pray for strength and find ourselves in places where we are weak where strength can grow. And so on and so on.

I guess I say this all to say, let's stop making excuses, own our mistakes, and do better to serve Jesus. The world, not to mention the church, will be a better place because of it.

THANK YOU!

I just wanted to take time to thank everyone for their love in recognition of my ordination with the Assemblies of God. The cake was delicious. This is a big step for me, I think even bigger than I know right now. It's an honor and blessing to accomplish this and I see the Lord only opening more doors for me and the NLC through this.

I have to say that it is a blessing to serve all of you as your pastor. The Lord has truly grown me the last 4 years as your pastor and I look forward to many more years if Jesus should tarry. I can see the things that He has laid on my heart beginning to take shape and the only place to go from here is up in Jesus.

There is a call on each of you and our church as a whole, I believe, to be a catalyst in Armstrong County to bring great change. As we continue to humble ourselves, pray, seek His face, and turn from our sin, I know that He will hear from heaven, forgive our sin, and heal our land (2 Chronicles 7:14). And He will use us in ways we can't even begin to imagine. Armstrong County (Ford City & Kittanning), look out cause here we come!

We've started this journey and I ask that you would continue to pray for me, the church, and yourself as we continue this journey.

It's Great to be in Western PA!

It's great to be back in western PA where traffic patterns are more familiar to me. It was also great to sleep in my own bed. The family and I had a wonderful time at Chris (Fox) and Michele's wedding and at District Council. Though it is a whole lot more difficult than I imagined it would be with two little ones. Nap time disappeared, since we all shared a room, and was replaced with tired attitudes. Now I know why it is important for youngsters to get a nap and have a set schedule. Tonight, we will be meeting with my MCM family (Multi-Church Movement) and listening to Ron Johnson share. It should be exciting.

I look forward to Sunday and sharing Pentecost and Mothers Day with all of you. Come with great expectation as we wait upon the Lord.

The Special Night

Well, it's official. I am an ordained minister with the Assemblies of God. It was a beautiful ceremony and I was honored to be a part of it. Brother Tourville or should I say, Dr. Tourville because he has received his doctorate recently, said we could take it two ways. Either it would be a spirit filled time or just another thing to do. I chose to look at it as the first. I fill that this is just another beginning in the ministry that God has called me to. It's been exciting seeing where God has led me and where He will continue to lead me.

It was also special to share it with Bethany, Isaiah, and Chloe. And even more so with my dad. He has been there since the beginning. And beginning I mean, he lead me to the Lord when I was around 9 years old. So it was special that he could come out to Delaware and be a part of this evening.

I look forward to seeing everyone Sunday and sharing a special Sunday as we celebrate Pentecost and Mothers Day. Thanks to all for their prayers and support through the years and for this trip. You are all a blessing.

Tuesday in DE!

I'm sitting by Brian Bolt in the business part of District Council. They run the meeting very strategically. I'm still working on that part.

On another note, I got to eat at Hardee's. I love their burgers! I'm not sure why we don't have any in Armstrong County. Maybe that could be a franchise I open up in Ford City. What do you think? Other than that, just enjoying Delaware. It is a very nice place with some weird traffic patterns. Their are a lot of U-Turns and a blinking red arrow light that gives you permission to turn as long as it is safe. I'm getting used to this but it is different.

Be blessed and make this a good day in Jesus!

Read My Lips... No Taxes!

I'm in Delaware near Dover. What a State. I went to the Olive Garden and didn't have to pay tax on my meal. I then went to Wal-Mart to get somethings and I didn't have to pay tax. What a nice concept.

I look forward to tomorrow morning as we all gather together to celebrate communion at District Council. It should be a great time as Paul Grabill leads us. I'm also excited about Wednesday night, as that is when I will be ordained. And best of all, not only does my family get to be there with me but my dad gets to be there also. I will keep everyone up to date on what is going on out here. Be Blessed!

Today...

I've heard great things from todays gathering at the NLC. It is an honor to be the senior pastor of such a great church. Thanks to Zach and Kaitlyn for leading worship, you two are truly gifted in that area. Thanks to Pastor Art for doing what he always does, whatever needs done. And thanks to everyone that made the visit of Teen Challenge very welcoming. You all are the best.

I got to attend Freedom Valley Worship Center to visit my mentor Pastor Gerry Stoltzfoos. It was a great time. He had a great message on The Baptism of Jesus. He talked from Acts 1:1-11 on being baptized in the Spirit. Something he mentioned that hit home to me was this: The baptism in the Spirit isn't just about speaking in tongues, it's about having power to be a witness. He also mentioned that it's about time that we make news instead of just reading the news.

Something to ponder about being baptized in the Spirit was looking at it like this, being a pebble at the bottom of a waterfall. Let that sink in. That is what it is like to be POWERED UP! everyday. You may feel like a pebble but when you seek a fresh baptism everyday, you got that waterfall pouring down on you. All of that power and force coming down on you.

Enjoy your Sunday!

May 3rd in Mechanicsburg

What a beautiful day! I had the privilege and honor to be a best man and marry my good friend Chris Fox and his best friend Michele Nuesse. It was a wonderful ceremony. I also enjoyed seeing alot of friends that I grew up with that I don't get so see very often. What a blessed time. They are now off to Mexico and the family and I are enjoying some down time. We will stay out here till Monday and then head to Delware. Tomorrow we plan on going to visit a mentor of mine, Pastor Gerry Stoltzfoos, at his church Freedom Valley Worship Center. It should be a great time here and at the NLC as Teen Challenge will be there ministering. I'll miss all of you and look forward to hearing what God does through their ministry as well as through Kaitlyn and Zach as they lead worship. Let us all wait and expect God to do great things tomorrow. Amen. And keep us in your prayers. Traveling with two little ones has been an interesting experience. But one that I will treasure as they get older. Make sure to share with me, if you would, all that God does tomorrow. Blessings!