Like most children, when I reached voting age, my parent’s opinion greatly shaped my view of the world. In 2000, I cast my vote for George W. Bush, believing in the humble, compassionate conservatism that would follow Clinton’s economic success while adding a little ethical decency to Capitol Hill. The rest of my Southern Pentecostal family also leaned to the right.

Six years later and horrified at the current state of both the nation and the world, my family is looking left. The fear that George W. used to win back the presidency has begun to scare us in the opposite direction. Yes, the world is a scary place, but the Republicans have been behind the wheel for the past six years. Why should we stay on a course whose direction is headed over a cliff? Slowly, but steadily, I have begun to cherish the civil rights that our country was built. I believe everyone should be treated equal, eliminating poverty is central, fighting global warming is crucial, health care for everyone is inevitable, and I finally support withdrawing troops from Iraq (I believe that the United States should be a model of democracy and not secret torture).

The fog of the Bush presidency is beginning to lift and as our eyes clear, and the majority of the nation begins to look at the facts, we are slowly beginning to see leaders who tell the truth. I actually favored John Edwards before he suspend his campaign for the Presidency. It’s the first time I felt confident about a Democrat. I know all the reasons why Conservative Christians don’t feel as confident - but none of them make sense to me. I believe marriage is between one man and one woman for a lifetime, however I seek a safer world for gays and lesbians. I support life but desire to see equal legislation for the oppressed as there is for the issue of abortion. The crisis of poverty in America (the world for that matter) is a greater problem. No matter the issue I don’t feel the best approach is laws to ban anyone’s freedom - we become slaves to those laws and as a Christian believer I champion freedom.

So where do I stand? I don’t trust McCain because I don’t desire war and he has left me wanting. Barack Obama feels like a leader. A possible glimmer of hope restored seems to be coming back with the wisdom and reason of leaders like Senator Obama. He stands apart from Senator Clinton, who is currently engaged in a desperate campaign to tarnish Barack Obama as a “roll of the dice” who won’t know what to do when that 3am phone call rings in the White House. Does this fear tactic sound familiar? It should, as it is what our country has been experiencing for almost a decade. Clinton may say that she represents change, but her campaign is proof that she will offer more of the same.

But like many of my friends I don’t know if I can support Barack Obama? The jest of it is I don’t know why? He preaches change - I like change, want change. He shares many of the views of J. Edwards and they could become running mates soon. But I still snub the thought of voting for Obama. I think it’s the message of “Hope”? I believe in hope but not in myself or my government. We have to be careful of this human experiment with government and legislation - it has proven to be a fiasco. Various societies and cultures have tried everything from democracy, republicanism, monarchies, dictatorships, socialism, capitalism, communism, to isolationism-all to no avail. None of these have offered any hope for mankind’s survival. The insufficiency and failure of human civilizations and their “hopes” serve only to highlight the fact that mankind is incapable of perfecting government and solving the plagues that come from our inherited sin nature. Because of our failure as a civilization, we cry out for help; but there is only one source of help that can offer true hope-Jesus Christ. Jesus was born into the world for this very purpose.

So I continue to watch and ask the question - can Obama deliver change? His delivered enough messages of hope and should continue. So I linger in the shadow of the crowds in “hope” of the moment when I believe he can carry out true change.

I’ve always believed in hearing from God before moving.  Have you read 1 Samuel 23?  I pray like David for everything.  Here David hears enemies are robbing a near city, so what does he do?  He “inquired of the LORD, ‘Shall I go and attack…?”  And God responds and says go and attack…save the city.  Then as he saves the city, hears Saul is coming to kill him and destroy the city and he inquires again as to Saul really coming and will the city turn him over, God says yes twice.  Then David escapes from the city.  David was always inquiring of God before making a move….I feel that is how I make most of my decisions.  I feel like it’s always been positive.

So I would like to ask for prayer.  Please ask God to reveal His plan for us.  Where and what should we be doing?  We both feel done in our current careers and desiring full time ministry that will provided for our needs.  We are really open to any position in ministry besides worship and children.  We can’t sing to save our lives and children’s ministry takes more patience and salvation then either of us possess.  But we truly are open to anything.  We just both want to feel confident in our next step.  I believe God has something to tell us and lead us…we just need help hearing and seeing. 

Thanks.

Since we gearing up to elect a new President soon…here is my favorite site “today“…very fun to watch

You know I love me some music…here are a few of my favorite videos

I’m a fan of Sigur Ros. This is my favorite video.

Sometimes I have those days at work that you just feel like a worker bee…Menomena said it best

I enjoy me some Arcade Fire…here you can enjoy them too.

Oh, here is a Great Christmas show

Enjoy.

1.    Take a 10-30 minute walk everyday. Smile while you walk. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.
2.    Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Buy a lock if you must.
3.    Buy a TiVo (DVR) and tape your late night shows, so you get more sleep.
4.    When you wake up in the morning completed the following statement: “My purpose is to _____________.”
5.    Live with the 3 E’s: Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.
6.    Watch more movies, play more games and read more books than you did in 2007.
7.    Make time to practice meditation and prayer. They provide us with daily fuel for our busy lives.
8.    Spend more time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.
9.    Dream more while you are awake.
10.    Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat fewer foods that are not manufactured in plants.
11.    Drink plenty of water.
12.    Try to make at least three people smile each day.
13.    Clear all clutter from you house, car, and desk; and, let a new energy flow into your life.
14.    Don’t waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, past issues, negative thoughts and things you cannot control.  Instead, invest your energy in the positive present moment.
15.    Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn. Problems are simply part of the curriculum. They appear and fade away, like algebra class.  But, the lessons you learn will last a lifetime.
16.    Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.
17.    Smile and laugh more. It keeps energy vampires away.
18.    Life isn’t fair, but it’s still good.
19.    Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
20.    Don’t take yourself so seriously.  No one else does.
21.    Don’t try to win every argument.  Agree to disagree.
22.    Make peace with your past so it won’t screw up the present.
23.    Don’t compare your life to others’. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
24.    Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, and wear that fancy underwear because TODAY IS special.
25.    No one else is in charge of your happiness except you.
26.    Frame every so-called disaster with these words: ‘In five years, will this matter?’
27.    Forgive everyone for everything.
28.    What others think of you is not your business.
29.    Time heals almost everything. Give healing time.
30.    However good or bad the situation, it will change.
31.    Your job won’t take care of you when you are sick. Family and friends do that. Stay in touch.
32.    Call your family often.
33.    Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.
34.    The best is yet to come.
35.    No matter how you feel, get up, dress up, and show up.
36.    Do the right thing!
37.    Get rid of anything that isn’t useful, beautiful or joyful.
38.    Each  night before you go to bed complete the following statements: ‘I am thankful for _______.’ And “Today I accomplished _______.”
39.    Remember: You are too blessed to be stressed.
40.    Enjoy the ride. Life is not Disney World and you certainly don’t want a fast pass.  Make the most of life and enjoy the ride.

I’m mad at God! Okay, I said it. Maybe mad is too intense? I’m frustrated with Him.

A few months ago my daughter was born and my whole world was turned inside-out and upside-down. I love being a father. I value my daddy daughter days and will miss them when they are gone. But about the time my daughter was born we decided it was time for our next challenge - the challenge of full time ministry. We have always been bi-vocational pastors. Long story short - no full time experience in ministry equals no interest from churches. We’re okay with that - we really want to be in the church planting world - but that, too, is a hard place to get paid. But over the last eight months we have lost focus of what we want to do. I’m growing less and less interested in full time ministry and even more unsatisfied with bi-vocational anything.

If God would only open doors for us (laughing to myself). Sounds so vain! I’m a guy who daydreams a lot and works best when I can focus on goals (helps control the daydreaming). But having nowhere to be my confidence and courage, I feel I’m wasting time in doubt and searching for help. Nothing to keep my head in the clear.

There is a song by a band called Mute Math that says “every moment of time just an answer to find…what you’re here for, what you breathe for, what you wake for, what you bleed for…” I’ve always had that “side” thing in bi-vocational ministry (my church plant) for the last seven years. Now I go to work at the same job and have nothing else to look toward. I’m frustrated and feel a little stuck.

The more I lie in bed and stir at the ceiling I realize I’m annoyed with myself. Why don’t I know what makes me happy? Why can’t I be clear what I want to be remembered for when I die in 50+ years? Sometimes I feel like I have more “Whys” than “Because”.

So really I’m angry with Chris. More frustrated with the guy in the mirror.

www.holyghosttees.com/

You have to check it out.

I think 2007 has taught me a lot.  January I learned I was having a little girl and I think I got soft.  Not bad soft, but “grandfather” soft.  If you knew my papa Goad (mom’s dad) who had three girls (no boys) you would understand - good soft.  February and March are big months for Summer and I because you have Valentine’s day and our anniversary.  We both think during February and March we grew closer and learned to harmonize better together.  Nothing external really changed but having a baby together really brings two lives together into one.  The month of May was huge for us because Tatum was born (late).  Our world turned upside down and I will never look back to life without her.  June life slowed way down.  We had a baby and I turned thirty and I feel old (I hope wiser).  But you know what they say - thirty is the new twenty. August I did something opposite of most dads - I started staying home with Tatum on Thursday and Friday.  Something I will always remember and cherish - Daddy/Daughter Days. September we decided to leave Southwest Family Fellowship, probably prematurely?  But it was the timing of God.  I also watched a good friend leave Austin and move out of state.  I learned that friends aren’t cheap and value them when their near.  October we decided to start a church and put our house on the market, November we decided to slow down and wait on starting a church, and December we just waited (do we go/stay, will our house ever sale, what does God want us to do?).  Our 2007 taught me many lessons but the most important was God & family are first - everything else needs to get inline.

What I look for in 2008?  We decided to get completely out of debt.  Everything goes - car debt, student loan debt, credit card debt, house debt!  If we had to ask someone else to use their money to support our life style it is being repaid in full (plus some…interest).  We both are working toward losing weight - me more than Summer (she doesn’t have anything to lose).  We looking at our family time as more valuable than our social time, but I’m personally working harder on friendships.  I’ve always had this fear I will fail my friends so I let few get close - but that is a horrible way to live (without friends).

Here is what I’m asking God about 2008.  Where will we be (location) in December 2008?  Who will I meet this year that I have role in their life to play and the same for them?  Where will we get the money to pay off 100% of our debt?  How will we live after we are debt-free?  What happened to my life purpose - to start churches?  Is my life purpose evolving?  How can Summer and I embrace our purpose together?

Sometimes we have more questions than answers.

Sincerely,
Chris

There is a quote I read that made me laugh, because it illustrates how foolish we can be toward people. It demonstrates how selfish and thoughtless we are when it comes to what we value and sharing those values. A Texas politician (I don’t know his name) said this as a response to Spanish as a second language, “If English was good enough for Jesus, its good enough for them Mexicans.” That is so sad because you can see how he views Jesus and “them Mexicans” all in a few words. Kind of reminds me of this picture of Jesus my mom had hanging at our front door when I was a child – He was Angelo and had nice brown, wavy hair. I thought Jesus was Angelo (like me) and shared my view of the world until I was seventeen.

I want to be a missionary to our city. That sounds strange but America isn’t a Christian nation, at least not the Christ I serve. I could give hundreds of reasons why I say that, but the most important is the fact we think we have it all figured out and God’s on our side. We assume because we prosper that God is blessing us – but that is the furthest from the truth. The Pharisees thought they had it all figured out too, and Jesus had a lot of interesting names for them.

The most interesting thought I had about this comes from Adolf Hitler. He said, “I am convinced that I am acting as the agent of our Creator. By fighting off the Jews, I am doing the Lord’s work.” This man was histories leading figure for war, pain, suffering, and death and he really believed he was doing the Lord’s work. How often do we believe the same thing? If God isn’t punishing us, He most be preserving us - right (wrong!)?

I want to start a Missional Church. That means I want to learn and appreciate the local culture and share Christ in their own language (less words, more action). I think Charles Dickens said, “Missionaries are perfect nuisances and leave every place worse than they found it.” I agree with his assessment because there are two dangerous temptations each of us face when confronted by a stranger (someone who thinks and acts in a way that is foreign to our cultural or religious practices). The first is a desire to transform that stranger into our own image, endeavoring to obscure and replace their cultural and religious practices with our own. The second is to exclude and reject the stranger entirely, viewing them as a threat which must be guarded against. In one the stranger is rendered into a clone while in the other they are made into an enemy.

It is our personal challenge to seek to listen and learn from those who are different from us, instead of understanding ourselves as those who have mastered truth. We desire to learn from the beliefs and practices of those who seem foreign to us. We don’t claim that all beliefs and practices are of equal value any more than one can claim that what ‘we’ (whoever ‘we’ may be) believe is absolutely true.

So how do we live missionally and evangelize? We will demonstrate how one may faithfully ask, seek and knock by making this a necessary part of our own lives. By following the words of Augustine when he wrote, ‘God is He who gives God’, we realize that we cannot give God but rather, by demonstrating openness and humility, creating a space where the Holy Spirit can give God. In this way an evangelist can be understood as one who is open to God at all times and encourages others in this way of being - helping to produce a clearing where Holy Spirit is free to give God.

God really doesn’t want a church started by a Lone Ranger and his Pocahontas. I’ve never been apart of a church started by a sole pastor, I’ve always apart of the team- teams start churches. But the type of church God is organizing is much different than many of my contacts have ever lead. I wonder who God is calling to be apart of our team? Because I realized last night as I drove home on IH 35, “I can’t and won’t do this alone – I don’t believe God is asking me to do it alone!”

I’m praying for these people God is speaking to. I know the gentle voice of God and I know how it never goes away. We make a lot of noise to drain out the words – but when silence approaches the gentle voice of God is still calling. I know this scenario so well because I’ve made the noise for over a year now and He has kept speaking.

The city we are going to is not small and full of people searching. Some of these people know of Christ, some have accepted Him into their lives but have no community to worship, and some are seeking God. There are some people God is asking to be apart of something better than themselves, something they never considered themselves doing. I look forward to meeting this team, laughing together, crying together, and seeing lives changed – TOGETHER.

Summer and I are cooperating with God and stepping out in faith – choosing a new path in our journey. We both agreed in July that we are not being called to any other ministry but starting missional churches. That thrilled my heart because it’s important my wife is doing ministry with me and agrees with our calling. Family first and ministry second, right? So we started speaking with friends and leaders about our next place of ministry. We shared that we wanted to be apart of a multi-site church, part of starting new venues for worship spearheaded by more established churches in the city. My friend and mentor from Philly called me and wanted to know more details about our desired ministry. He is feeling called to start a second venue in his new city of and felt our time was divine.

So our journey is taking us to Missouri. Not the place I would have selected but once we saw the city, felt the character of the community, and heard the vision for the city we knew He had our hearts. We have no idea how we will afford to live and minister. There is no money in the budget for our salary, but we can’t allow money to be the issue. God is bigger than we are and His calling is richer. Jesus himself said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few…(Luke 10.2). He didn’t say “there’s not enough money,” He said “there’s not enough laborers!” The truth is I believe people want to invest in kingdom minded ministry if they can catch your vision and understand your plan.

In the next months we will ask many of you to help support the church plant. We are being mothered by a local more established church, so they cover the cost of doing ministry, but we will need to raise support for our salaries. Summer and I both hope to devote 100% of our time to connecting with the community, which will require not working 40hr/week secular jobs. Some of my future blogs will involve our journey, our plan and the vision for the city.  I hope you can join us on our journey.

However, we are starting to visit churches to explore the idea of helping churches start something new.  Very exciting!  But we know people (family) have a vested interest in where we end up so we will refer to these locations as “undisclosed” for the fun of it.

The three of us are flying out of Austin tomorrow to visit such as location about starting a second campus in the downtown district.  Not the metropolis we would hope for but we both feel God is in this trip.  Please pray God leads our thoughts, eyes, hearts, and minds in the direction of what His doing.  It’s a big decision for us and we want Christ best.