And

"The evil habit of seeking 'God and' effectively prevents us from finding God in full revelation. In the 'and' lies our great woe. If we omit the 'and', we shall soon find God, & in Him we shall find that for which we have for all our lives been secretly longing for."

These are the words of A.W. Tozer in his classic The Pursuit of God. They were written well over 60 years ago but are just as relevant to our 21st century world. Most believers fail to encounter & experience God because they are seeking God and something else. In so doing, they effectively negate the part of them that might pursue God. God requires a single minded pursuit of Him. Pursuing His will, His plan, His protection, or His blessings is no substitution for simply pursuing Him. In pursuing Him, we find Him, we come to know Him, & eventually we find & experience all those other things we have longed to find.

What is your "and"? What have you attached to your pursuit of God? How can you cut it loose & simply & purely pursue God & God alone?

A Movement Vs. A Location

If you as a ministry leader, whether paid or volunteer, are equipping people to carry out God's plan exclusively in your local church programs, you are not equipping them for all that God has called them to. Instead, we should focus on equipping them to fulfill God's plan through their lives which are connected & invested in the local church but not limited to use only within its walls. The local church is God's plan, but as leaders we cannot afford to equip believers to only leverage their gifts & influence within the church setting. We have to equip people, model for people, & challenge people to take the mission of God outside the walls of the local church's gathering place. 

"The Church Is The Movement Of God's People

Not The Location Of A Building."

The church was not designed to simply gather together in a building, sing their songs, listen to their messages, do their programs, & then go home. Instead, it was designed & called to go outside & reach those who are "far off" to borrow Peter's terminology in Acts 2. The only reason you & I are now "insiders" in the church is because somebody decided to do something to reach out to you with the Gospel. When we forget that, we begin to forget our mission too. We can't afford to do that, & the world can't either.

How are you equipping those you lead to accomplish God's plan with their lives beyond just serving in the local church & in it's programs? How are you modelling this priority in your leadership? Church members, where are you investing in advancing God's Kingdom in a setting that is outside the walls of your building? After all, the Gospel was never meant to be contained inside the walls of our churches.

We're Moving!

After 4 great years leading students & being a part of the broader ministry at FBC Robertsdale, God has called us to make a huge transition for our family & ministry. On April 27th, we accepted a call to become Lead Pastor of Zebulon Baptist Church in Toccoa, GA. This is a big transition not just because of the physical transition that's involved but perhaps even more so because of the ministry transition. The transition from Student Pastor to Lead Pastor isn't a small one, & we'd appreciate your prayers.

I often joke with people that I've been in student ministry since I was one. God called me to ministry when I was 15. I began preaching & teaching when I was 16. I spoke at my first camps & DiscipleNow weekends when I was still in high school. I got my first real student ministry gig when I was in college. So in a lot of ways I never really left. Sure, my perspective changed a lot over the years. I shifted from student to leader, & my view of what student ministry is & how it fits into the local church shifted along the way. In fact, it was those shifts in perspective that have led me to where I am now. I've often taught this important spiritual principle to students & adults for years, & it applies to me as well.

"You Can't Go With God & Stay Where You Are."

When God called Abraham, He called Abraham to follow Him. When Jesus called His disciples, He called them to follow Him. Sometimes following God literally, physically means leaving where you are to go with Him, but it always means leaving where you are spiritually, which is often a place of comfort, complacency or apathy, to follow Him & trust Him to lead you where He wants you to go. 

The last 4 years in Robertsdale have been a great close to our student ministry season. We have been blessed to work with some of the most incredible students in the world. Sure, I'm a little biased, but I don't really think I'm exaggerating that much. I am confident that God is at work in them & is going to do far more than any of us  would dare to imagine. At the same time though I had great opportunities to be a part of the broader ministry of the church, & that helped prepare me for what God has in store for this new season of life & ministry. God is calling, & it's time to follow. For me & my family that doesn't just mean a transition in ministry, it also means a physical move. 

Right now in your life, what would following God require you to do? You can't go with God & stay where you are. How do you need to move?