the next generation UNITED!!!

Have you ever heard of religion being "Parents' Religion?"

I hear many young persons say this in a negative way. They'll say, "I don't want my parents' religion." But I have news for you. It is your parents' religion. It is my parents' religion. It is my parents' parents' religion. Guess what? It is the religion and the faith of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. I thank God that my parents brought my butt to church time after time, if they had not done that, it would not be my religion and my faith.

I have faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, my mom, and my dad.

We in this generation are part of the faith family of that generation, and I will carry this faith on to my sons and daughters. I will carry this faith onto the next generation.

Somehow Autumn

I'm doing something big with the next few months.

I was recently at Life Changing Ministries, which is a church located in Sugar Land Texas. It is a great church with great people and a great pastor. Crystal and I were visiting friends in the area, and that is where they go to church. That is how we got hooked up.

The Pastor at this church knows the Bible. His message was rich in scripture, and he truly made the word come alive. It was seeing this, and being guided by the Holy Spirit, I decided to read/hear the first 5 books of the Bible over and over and over. I am going to be cycling through the first 5 books of the Bible everyday for 3 months. I'm excited about what God is going to show me.

I was in a band when I was young called Somehow Autumn- you can still find the music online. We were young.

...when I grow up.

When I was young, I wanted to be the President of the United States. Later in life, I wanted to be a meteorologist, so I could be on TV. Later I wanted to be a youth pastor. Most recently, I have a dream to start a church that will reach the world.

Right now...

I work at an apartment complex.

I'm not saying that I am ungrateful. Just recently, my wife told me that my paycheck showed over 120 hrs of work for two weeks. I have learned alot about myself through this job, but this is not what I want to do.

When we were young, we dreamed of the best for ourselves, and as we grew older that changed. Maybe that's why God wants us to have "childlike faith." It is at that point that we are aware of our potential through Christ, and we press towards it, regardless of what our situation is.

We dream because when we dream like a child, it's not a question of maybe, it's a question of when.

"For I know the plans (dreams) that I have for you Declares the Lord..."

Take a step back and realize that all things, plans, dreams, are possible through Christ!!!

Dead Church???

This is not a response to what anyone has said to me. So, I don's want you to be offended if you think I am talking about you.

I am not talking about you.

Recently, God told me something that I would like to share. "There is no such thing as a dead church. There are comatose churches, there are sleeping giants, there are stagnant churches, but there are no dead churches."

I believe that the church is a giant. God created a giant. You and me, we are giants. There may be sleeping giants, and there may be active giants, but just because you are asleep doesn't mean you are dead. How would you feel if you were sleeping in your bed and someone declared you dead?

Maybe we need to be the catalyst to propel are church to great things. Maybe we need to raise up sleeping giants. You may not be dead... You may just be sleeping.

diamond in the rough

I have a quote on my desktop background that says, "Learn to believe in people before they succeed." ~Joel Osteen.

It's easy to give someone a chance when they have proven themselves in the position in another location. For example, it's easy to hire a manager for a McDonalds when they have already been a manger at Burger King. The top tier of leader will learn to find the diamond in the rough. More than that, they will find the person that needs to be developed.

I think (this is the just my opinion) the best leaders will make the best leaders, and they will find the best leaders.

how to be a friend of Christ

John 15:9-17

“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.  

You are my friends if you do what I command.

I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other.

This "no" hurt

I have been applying for youth/ associate pastor positions for a while. I have this burning passion in my hear to eventually start a church, but I know that will only come with preparation. I don't want to do this to a church, but I had been looking for positions in youth ministry or college ministry and being honest about my intentions, that I would eventually use momentum and an obvious calling to start this church.

After looking for quite some time, and the result of recent developments, I think I have come to the realization that I need to force a passion on myself. I pray all of the time that God would take this passion away from me, but it hasn't happened. So, I think I will have to force it upon myself. This has been one of the most difficult things that I have gone through. I have played music, and I was able to get into most music venues that I chose. I have played sports and was part of great teams. I went to college, and I had my chance at a great education.

Ministry has been the one thing that has shown the most road blocks. I don't know why God would put something in my heart that no one else wants me to do.

It's been hard.

~Nigel

Fart Stories Are Funny

My wife and I were eating at On The Border tonight, and I went to use the restroom. When I arrived, I went to the urinal to hear a child in the stall next to me let out a loud groan. UGHHHHH!!!! His father, trying to play it off a little, jokingly asked, "are you okay in there?"

I wanted to laugh, but I held it in.

Next, you hear the child say, "I'm all done."

I was washing my hands at this point. I don't want you to think I was watching like it was a television show. It did, on the other hand, seemed too good to be true. As I am washing my hands, I notice that the father goes in to the same stall to use the restroom as well, but he quickly tells his child, "come back here."

Confused, the child hesitates, but the father repeats, "come back here." The child walks up. (I think they were looking in the toilet) "Did you not use toilet paper?" The father asks. i ran out the door. I didn't want to know what followed that.

I just thought it was funny.

Rahab and the Spies

¹ Then Joshua son of Nun secretly sent two spies from Shittim. “Go, look over the land,” he said, “especially Jericho.” So they went and entered the house of a prostitute named Rahab and stayed there.
 ² The king of Jericho was told, “Look, some of the Israelites have come here tonight to spy out the land.” ³ So the king of Jericho sent this message to Rahab: “Bring out the men who came to you and entered your house, because they have come to spy out the whole land.”
 ⁴ But the woman had taken the two men and hidden them. She said, “Yes, the men came to me, but I did not know where they had come from. ⁵ At dusk, when it was time to close the city gate, they left. I don’t know which way they went. Go after them quickly. You may catch up with them.” ⁶ (But she had taken them up to the roof and hidden them under the stalks of flax she had laid out on the roof.) ⁷ So the men set out in pursuit of the spies on the road that leads to the fords of the Jordan, and as soon as the pursuers had gone out, the gate was shut.
 ⁸ Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof ⁹ and said to them, “I know that the LORD has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. ¹⁰ We have heard how the LORD dried up the water of the Red Sea^[a] for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed.^{[b] 11} When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the LORD your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.

This is interesting, because when Moses sent a group of spies, only two of them said that the land could be possessed by the people of God. I guess it just goes to show that when God says, "I got yo back," he really means "I GOT YO BACK!!!."

Don't fake it

I just want to let you know that you are uniquely created. You are specifically crafted to do a specific thing at a specific time.

I am currently listening to a local pastor who has been majorly influenced by a "big name" pastor. Because he has been so heavily influenced, he mimics this big name pastor in speech, in tone, and in tempo. They say that "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery", but I want you to think about something different. Why would you rob the world of you. I know people who are very good at being who they are. I know a J.J. who is really good at being J.J.. I know a Christopher who is really good at being Christopher. I know a Crystal that is really good at being Crystal, the love of my life.

Why would you change who you are? Christ created you to bless the world with you. Enjoy who you are.

Don't change a thing.

Isn't that a little fast? Ha ha... That's what she said.

There is a trend right now in several churches to streamline the Sunday morning service down to an hour or an hour and fifteen minutes.  I'm not trying to insult any one pastor; so, don't think this is directed at you... or maybe it is just for you.

I have recently watched several of my favorite churches, and I realized that they take their time. The worship is full, the preaching is full. They take their time. I know your church may be different. I know I may be the product of my mom's church, but I love being with others in worship. Don't get me wrong. I worship on my own as well. Don't get me wrong. I spend time in The Word. Still, what's the rush? Can Sunday lunch not wait 30 minutes? People are hungry, they have a sickness and the only prescription is Christ in his fullness.

I know Christ can move quickly, but some people need a little time.

Is it in you? Is it coming out of you?

Jeremiah 20:9 But if I say, “I will not mention his word or speak anymore in his name,” his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot.

You are surrounded with opportunities to share the love of Christ. Let me be the first to say that I have not done it every time Christ has asked me to, but I try my best. Whether it is good news or bad news (I would like to think it is all good news), Christ has given you a message to share. The question is this: is it in you? If that burning message is in you, then here is the next question: is it coming out of you? We were made to share the good news of Jesus Christ. He was alive here on the earth. He died so that we could be save. Now, he lives in us, THE CHURCH!!!

We are free. We are free to live a great life. That's the message that makes me burn.

A friend once told me that they, the lost, may not want to catch fire, but they will come to see you burn. So, get it out of you and sit back as people watch in amazement. They will want what you have.

IS IT IN YOU? IS IT COMING OUT OF YOU?

You are your own leader.

I have never been the type of person to specifically talk about leadership. I actually think there are plenty of persons who discus it enough. If you want to hear about leadership, you can simply go to iTunes, type in  leadership, and find hundreds of results.

My wife is taking a human resources course, and one of the course assignments is a 20 page paper. The reading associated with this paper is full of self-assessments. Some of these assessments have to do with leadership, listening, communicating, and other things associated with human relations, and professional relationships. After reading her paper (not the book... keep this in mind) I found some generalized information that scared me.

I think there is a notion, that is becoming a trend, fad, and movement, that says, "leaders look like_________. If you want to be a leader, you need to be ________." The word "Leader" has a definition that is "a person who leads," which comes from Merriam Webster's online dictionary. While this is not the most comprehensive definition of leadership, I honestly think we need to leave it at that. I know there are traits that can assist in leadership, but DO NOT CHANGE YOURSELF TO FIT A MOLD.

God crafted you in a specific way to do a specific thing, be a specific person, and lead a specific way. To change yourself to fit another person's opinionated mold, I fear, would almost be telling God that HE got it wrong and you, the person leader, can do it better.

So, whether you are a loud leader, a screaming leader, a silent leader, a Type A leader, or a Type B leader, JUST LEAD. Lets keep it simple and lets fit the mold that God has set for us individually. He has made us complex as it is.

MIX TAPE PLAYA!!!

Do you remember when cassette tapes were huge?
Do you remember when you could record radio music onto your cassette tape?
What did you do?

I'll tell you what you did.

You would put the tape into the cassette player right before you went to sleep, you would hit record, then you would go to sleep. In the morning you would listen to the entire tape, a couple of hours worth of music. As you listened, you would hope that your song, or your jam, would be on that tape. Sometimes it would work. Sometimes you would have to start all over. (but it was okay because you could record over all of that crappy music from before) If you were lucky your song would be found in the middle of all of that other music.


Isn't that how God works sometimes. We constantly reach for him. We plug ourselves into him, and at the right moment we arrive and hear exactly what we need and want to hear. In the middle of all of that, we don't ignore the music that is around us. We hear some great jams along the way, but God will always lead us to our jam!!!

5 stages of grief

Have you ever heard of the five stages of grief, denial, anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance?

Those who are soon to meet their last breath usually have these symptoms, or expressions of emotion, before they get there. At the same time, it is not uncommon for loved ones of the soon departed to go through these emotions as well.

I have a thought.

I have had a particular dream for several years, since I started college in 2003. In recent history, I came to the realization that this dream was about to take it's last breath, and I wen through these same symptoms. Truly, I went through all of these. You can ask my wife.

So, my thought is this: I think the grief of a dying idea can manifest itself in these same symptoms. Once again, you can ask my wife. I know, in my life, I can trace each one of these symptoms as my idea has approached its last breath.

I accept now that this particular dream may never happen. Upon reaching acceptance, on the other hand, I can now move on to the thing that is next for me.

...My "Sun Stand Still" prayer.

Jesus, in Matthew 7:29 I see that you are one who spoke with authority. I see in Acts 2:41 that, because of your message, thousands grew to have a relationship with you. Christ, help me to speak with authority and reach thousands IN YOUR NAME. I pray that I decrease so YOU may increase!!! There are people who need to know the love of Christ. 

Empower me, like you did with Moses, to lead people closer to you.

Thanksgiving Festivities

I was talking with my wife today and I asked, "I wonder where the tradition of the early, Thanksgiving dinner started." She didn't really know and I didn't know. We gave our guesses, but they were only guesses.

We were shopping that day, and as we were walking in the store, I asked the same question to the occasional grocery store shopper. Wouldn't you know it?!? Every person I asked had no answer. So, I guess we reduce this timeless tradition to, "That's how we've always done it."

My wife and I have decided to break the curse. You can do it too... if you want. We, on the other hand, have decided that DINNERS ARE MEANT FOR DINNER, and it's the same with everything else. Just because it worked in the past does not mean that it will work in the future. This simple fact penetrates ever aspect of life, which includes church, business, traditions, and the like. Venture to be different. The best business and church I know of have done things differently. When everyone else decided to do things the way they have always been done, some pioneer companies decided to do things differently... and it payed off. 

Think about it: Apple, Krispy Kreme, Coach, Self Checkout lines, quibids, Craigslist, Lifechurch.tv, and many more have decided to do it a little different, and everyone thanks them for setting a pioneering example.

Do it different!

My hope... Krispy Kreme = Church

Let me start by saying the following:

The Spirit of Christ can do more than any human can fathom.
The Spirit of Christ does do much more than I can fathom.

My fear is this, on the other hand; there are many who are turned off to the possibility of a relationship with Christ because their childhood, church experience was terrible. I remember growing up in Church, crawling under seats. The truth is that many have a poor church experience, and they say no to that. Because they have said "no" to the church, they end up saying "no" to Christ.

So, this is my hope: I want my church to be like Krispy Kreme. Think about it. Krispy Kreme took the time to make and excellent product, one that some have driven hours for. They then sell that product to the public.

Once again, let me say that church is not something to be sold. It is not a big business. It is something that deserves excellence. Let's make a remarkable church and give that to people. Let's let people find Christ in the excellence of what we do. There are so many churches that settle for a mediocre product. Let's bury that notion, and let's do the AMAZING thing that Christ has called us to do.

We need not to stop dreaming big. God is capable. Believe that!!! 

being safe is RISKY!!!

2 Kings 7:3-5
Now there were four men with leprosy sitting at the entrance of the city gates.

“Why should we sit here waiting to die?” they asked each other. “We will starve if we stay here, but with the famine in the city, we will starve if we go back there. So we might as well go out and surrender to the Aramean army. If they let us live, so much the better. But if they kill us, we would have died anyway.”

So at twilight they set out for the camp of the Arameans. But when they came to the edge of the camp, no one was there!

Here is the truth. Most of us are too scared to reach out and take a chance on our dream because we know what we have right now. THE GREAT TRUTH is that we can abandon the good that we have right now and live in the "great" that Christ has for us with our dream in the future!!!

think about it

i wear sexy underwear!!!

First, let me say that I'm not going to get too graphic. I know some of you may be disappointed. The fact remains, that I like to put on the occasional sexy undergarment, and I have a reason.

I don't want you to read too much into this, but I had an old friend that said, "If you look good, you feel good, and you play good." That last part, he was talking about football. Trust me the sexy panties and football are unrelated. Still, there are times that I need an ego boost; so, I slip on something that I know noone else will see. For some reason, that lifts my spirits, and I feel better. I project better, and I know others notice it, but they do now know why I am at the top of my game. HA HA HA.... there's a reason.

I think there are times that we need to do something serious or something stupid to pick ourselves up. We have two choices; we can be sad, or we can get happy.

Why not get happy?