-Great quote Regarding consumerism in The Church from a new book called  AND: “People don’t need most of the stuff we give them. In fact, there seems to be a direct correlation between providing too much and the immaturity that develops when people are given the chance to overindulge.” The authors go on to say there is only one way to overcome the problem of consumerism: “You have to remove what they are consuming.” Wow. I will be processing that one for a few days.

-I am pretty anxious about what I will be preaching on this Sunday. You need to be there and bring a friend.

-My Canes are 1-0! I do love Coach Taylor and what he is doing at FAMU.  I wish it would have been somebody different like Samford.

-This is our last Sunday at The Moon! Who do you need to invite to the warehouse on the 12th? How about to The Moon this Sunday?

Actually, it is pretty easy.

It is important to make sure we do not revert back to an old testament definition/style of worship where it is about a time, place, and actual experience.

On the other end of the spectrum, it also prevents “Sunday Christian” type action that makes worship a destination or event that you check-off the list.

Worship done in a New Testament way is not about a time, place, or activity…it is about a lifestyle.

While everyone I know would agree with the above statement, you would never know it by the way believers describe singing on Sundays and all of the cultural terms we have placed onto the time of music that sadly is a deciding factor for how many view one’s spirituality.

Who is the worship leader at The Well?

We have so many that I can’t even count.

There are the college students who work 12 hours a week at a random job for $8 an hour and give every single week.

There are the people who show up really early on a day they could be sleeping in and clean The Moon.

There are those who don’t even get to participate in the main gathering because they are back teaching and loving The Well kids.

We have lots of worship leaders.

Somewhere and somehow down the line, we gave that title to people who play an instrument. It is common in The Church to ask the congregation to “please stand and worship.” What happens after they sit? When they walk out the door?

You will hear that someone sings really well, but they need to know how to be a better worship leader. I am begging for someone to show me in Scripture what in the heck that actually means.

Singing is biblical, it is good, it is meaningful, it is commanded, it is important.Yes Yes Yes.

I think a troubling thing in my generation is that we have defined “true worship” by how awesome the goose-bump moments are during a song and what people are doing with their bodies.

We very intentionally no longer call the song leader on stage the “worship leader.” We call him the director of Well Bands. You will not hear him spend 5 minutes during the service explaining what true worship really is. If we wanted to hear a lesson about that, we would bring the person on stage that was cleaning the bathrooms 4 hours before.

God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth. John 4:24

There were two major issues Jesus was addressing in this divinely appointed encounter in Samaria:

1. A large number of Jews looked clean, pure, and holy on the inside, but were decayed and rotten inside of their hearts. Jesus used the imagery of a “white-washed tomb,” to make his point of how filthy these people truly were on the inside. Jesus said that the kind of “worshiper” The Father is looking for is one who worships “in spirit.” As in, there is a renewed heart that is constantly being renewed. This has nothing to do with singing! NOTHING. Like ZERO. It is a change of heart that is being conformed into the image of Christ.

2. Samaritans were not permitted to participate in the sacrifices and acts of worship (old system) in Jerusalem. Even if they were permitted, they would not have wanted to be there. So, they constructed their own system, one that would allow them to participate, feel comfortable, and be “right” about the proper way to worship. They used Mount Gerizim, rather than Jerusalem, to worship God. One MAJOR problem….that was not the system God set up! The point: do not construct a God or system that fits your agenda. Worship God in truth! As he reveals himself as God

So as a worshiper, I am believing and following The God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob revealed in Jesus Christ. My heart and mind are being renewed day by day. Jesus said in the encounter with the Samaritan woman that a time was coming when it wouldn’t be about Temple worship or Mount Gerizim. It would be about individual lives.

Worship is how I live my life as a husband, responding inside my heart to follow the truth about what God says I should do in this role.

Worship is how I respond to those in need, based on the truth of how Jesus said I am to look out for the oppressed.

Worship is how I respond to people who have wronged me and I flat out dislike. This is based on how I live out how Jesus told me to love.

More on this tomorrow!

“Only 2% of church members invite an unchurched person to church in a given year.” (via “The Unchurched Next Door”)

Today was a great day. In fact, I thought it was one of my favorite gatherings we have had. There was just an energy and urgency in the room tonight.

Will you join me in praying a bunch? For our city, for our leaders and key volunteers, for our Church?

Will you give financially like you never have before? Seeing that as a blessing rather than a turn-off or chore?

Will you invest in relationships with those who do not know Jesus? Who do you need to text tomorrow to make plans to get together? How can you leverage football season to reconnect with a friend?

Why the freakin stinkin heck not Tallahassee?

Labor day weekend? Big deal. Many will be staying in town because of the FSU/Samford game.

I love our Church. Lets go full speed ahead in making his name known in the city where he has planted us.

The devil doesn’t mind “revival” or “values” & he sure doesn’t mind partisan conflict. What he dreads is a crucified and resurrected Christ. ~Russell Moore

The preseason magazines are out and the talks shows have covered everything there is to cover. It is time to crank up college football! This town will have such a buzz next weekend, even if it is just Samford coming to town.

There is anticipation for all things “fall.” The weather, leaves changing, getting to wear warmer clothes, and of course…Saturday afternoons.

One of my dreams is to see the same anticipation for Sunday gatherings of The Church. I pray for a day when people cannot get to the gathering soon enough. Where they would NEVER be late because they might miss something. Where they stay after because they just can’t get enough. Where it is prayerfully on their minds the night before.

I have no idea how to make that happen. I am just blown away that people will tailgate for hours in the heat, stand the entire game, sit in traffic for over a hour after, and think nothing of it. That is commitment!

I have major anticipation for this Sunday at The Moon. I am praying for God to move. I care about this so much more than I do how Jacory Harris and the canes will play vs. Ohio State in a couple of weeks.

Convictions are drawn from Scripture and prompted by the Holy Spirit.

An example of a true  conviction one might hold is that the Lord’s Supper should be observed every week. A case can certainly be made from Scripture for that position, and many have chosen Churches for their membership where weekly communion takes place. That is a legit and real conviction.

Preferences are a totally different ball game. However, they are very much confused (and leveraged) as a conviction.

An example of this would be someone stating they have a conviction that video, lighting, and rock music should not be used in a worship gathering because it looks to much like “the world.”

Major problem here:

1. Scripture does not speak of those things because they did not exist in society.

2. Their definition of “the world” is simply based on current culture vs. their Church upbringing. In fact, Scripture gives some love to cymbals put not to organs. Why? The TECHNOLOGY was not around yet! “The world” hadn’t arrived there. Organs were  first used in 8th century gladiator fights! Remember that worldliness the next time you walk into a Church with an organ prelude considered to be a “beautiful and sacred expression of worship.”

Preference means that I like it or that it makes me feel comfortable. We all have them. Just call them what they actually are, issues of taste.

I was caught a little off-guard and could only respond with this:

The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?

Jeremiah 17:9

Memorize Scripture! Who knows when God will use it.