Admit it, you’ve had arguments with someone that took place completely inside your head. They were not even there! How many times did that work out well?

Recently, a good friend sent me an email with questions about something I had done. What they saw troubled them so they went directly to the source… me. They were not offended. But, it did trouble them. It was resolved by sending an email that did not slam me or prejudge my motives. They simply asked how I saw this in light of Scripture.

There may have been people who questioned my intent about the same thing and had a conversation with me in their heads. I sure hope the imaginary me said the right thing.

I am grateful that someone who loves me, just asked. The truth is that what troubled them did not violate Scripture. But, it was unwise and needed to be corrected.

So, what did I do? I fixed it.

Pride leads to conflict;
those who take advice are wise. ~ Proverbs 13:10

Tell us about a time you avoided going to the source?

Did you watch the Saddleback Civil Forum On The Presidency? If not, go here to watch it now. I’ll wait…

There are many issues that should affect our decision making process for the next President. We should not vote with our wallets or personal agendas. It is a decision that should be arrived at with a lot of prayer. Every decision we make should be governed by Scripture.

I believe Senator Barack Obama is a man who loves our country. I believe he has a strong desire to see our country prosper. I admire him as a man and as a leader. He is not vying for a popular position. Every decision he makes has and will be scrutinized, picked apart and judged. But, he has stepped up because he believes in our country. I do not agree with everything he stands for. If he becomes our next President, I will honor, respect and pray for him.

Senator John McCain is old. Really old for a Presidential candidate. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. He knows the horrors of war first hand. He has worked for a long time to strengthen our country. Although there are exceptions, with age comes maturity. I honor Senator McCain as a hero and leader in our country. I do not agree with everything he stands for. If he becomes our next President, I will honor, respect and pray for him.

After watching the forum, I do currently have one candidate that I favor over the other. But, I am not done studying their agendas, praying and asking God to speak to me about who I should vote for.

I will write more between now and November 4th about the process I am going through to determine my vote. I hope you are praying and really listening to who will honor this “One nation under God”.

For now, I believe the winner of the Civil Forum was Rick Warren and the church. Thank you Pastor Rick for doing more than just blast one candidate and praise another. Thank you for asking tough questions. Thank you for doing it compassionately.

What an amazing day at The ROCK! Attendance was up. The worship team was awesome. Dad brought another amazing message reminding us of God’s faithfulness for the last ten years. FIVE PEOPLE COMMITTED THEIR LIVES TO CHRIST!

It was good to have Jen back in the groove in Kid’s ROCK. Matthew and the Baton Rouge team made it back to town last night. Hopefully, Matthew will put some pics and video up on the FlipSide Blog soon. Go check it out.

Now we’re headed out for Reagan’s birthday party. I hear he’s having a Blue, Kung Fu Panda, pool party. Should be interesting.

Check out these pics from this morning.

Leave me a comment and tell me what God did at your church today?

The boys were so glad to see her home and Sadie (Jen’s dog) was super excited to have mommy back.

The migraine is not yet gone completely and Jen still has some marked deficiencies in her right arm and hand. They are setting up Occupational Therapy to build her strength and coordination back up.

Helen Fuller has been arraigning meals for us. She’s just that awesome. Thanks Helen!

Christy Huff brought dinner to the hospital Wednesday night and it was the best thing I had eaten all week. I ate all of mine and half of Jen’s. Helen hooked us up last night with spaghetti pie. I’m glad she didn’t make this for us. I ate Helen’s food before football practice and then came back for seconds. It’s been less than 24 hours and the brownies she made are already gone!

Thank you all for continuing to pray for us. God has blessed us tremendously and Jennifer is getting better every day! We love you all.

So, we are just waiting on the paperwork and then we are out of here. Thanks to all of you who have expressed your love, concern and prayers for us.

There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home. There’s no place like home.

• The “Love To Do” Staff Member
• The “Can Do” Staff Member
• The “Should Do” Staff Member
• The “Won’t Do” Staff Member

I have had the joy of working with all four types over the last 17 years at The ROCK. It is a joy for me to say that today we have the highest percentage of “Love To Do” staff members than ever before.

I love what I do and I love the team I work with every week.

Waiting…

Praying…

It’s not easy watching Jen hurting. But, our faith is still strong. God is still her healer.

When I ran home last night, I took Jen’s iPhone with me and loaded up the song Healer from Hillsongs. It is a powerful song. Take a look at the story behind this song and then the live recording.

When I watch these videos and listen to this song, I realize that this is not as bad as it feels sometimes.

God is her healer. She is healing. We just haven’t seen it yet. Stay tuned…

We just moved to a new, private room about 30 minutes ago. This is much better and quieter for Jen to rest. The headache has not changed as of yet (but it will). The neurologist said she will be able to go home when the migraine has subsided. They are trying a new med to get it under control.

We have had a tremendous outpouring of love, support and prayers for Jen. Local pastors and leaders have called, dropped by, Twittered and even emailed us. Our church family has been so gracious and offered to take care of our boys, wash our clothes, bring food to our house and more! I am so grateful that we are not alone.

If you have called or talked with me about wanting to bring food or help out, I ask you to contact Helen Fuller. Helen has been an angel and is coordinating the food chain supply. You can contact her via her blog or her Twitter.

Matthew and Jen Ray have let the boys crash at their place the last three nights. I owe them in a big way. Helen has pulled football duty and sat with Jen on Sunday while I was at church. And Terri… well Terri went above and beyond when she ran to the mall on Sunday and bought Jen and I a change of clothes. Why is this above and beyond? You be the judge…

Yes, she bought her pastor underwear. Yes, I think Helen almost passed out she was laughing so hard while trying to be quiet. We have amazing friends.

God is still faithful. Jennifer will be completely healed.

photo courtesy millieholloman.com

I thought I might stir a few things up and offend a few people today. Here goes.

I just finished reading a very interesting article over at cnn.com about Why many Americans prefer their Sundays segregated. Take a look at this excerpt:

Americans may be poised to nominate a black man to run for president, but it’s segregation as usual in U.S. churches, according to the scholars. Only about 5 percent of the nation’s churches are racially integrated, and half of them are in the process of becoming all-black or all-white, says Curtiss Paul DeYoung, co-author of “United by Faith,” a book that examines interracial churches in the United States.

DeYoung’s numbers are backed by other scholars who’ve done similar research. They say integrated churches are rare because attending one is like tiptoeing through a racial minefield. Just like in society, racial tensions in the church can erupt over everything from sharing power to interracial dating.

DeYoung, who is also an ordained minister, once led an interracial congregation in Minneapolis, Minnesota, that eventually went all-black. He defines an interracial church as one in which at least 20 percent its membership belongs to a racial group other than that church’s largest racial group.

“I left after five years,” DeYoung says. “I was worn out from the battles.”

The men and women who remain and lead interracial churches often operate like presidential candidates. They say they live with the constant anxiety of knowing that an innocuous comment or gesture can easily mushroom into a crisis that threatens their support.

As The ROCK quickly approaches 20 years of leading a multi-racial church in a city that once traded slaves, I can relate to some of the issues presented in the article. We have had white people complain that our music was too black and black people who probably wish it wasn’t so white. White people have been disowned by their families for going to church with a n*#gger loving pastor. Black families have been disowned for attending a church with a honkey pastor. There have been times (not often) when black members of our church felt my passing them by without a hug was racially motivated.

In all of this, we rarely hear hispanic, asian, native american or other groups complain. I am afraid this may be a result of having not reached out and gotten close enough to get personal and that bothers me.

I refuse to pastor a church that is one sided and only reaches out to one demographic. I will not pastor a young church, old church, white church, black church, latino church, asian church, rich church, poor church or any other single classification. I will pastor God’s church. I believe every Sunday should look like heaven.

If it means talking and dealing with the real life issues. I’m in. I love that there are so many cultures and backgrounds at The ROCK. I am so grateful that we are a part of the 5% of churches in America that are truly multi-cultural AND we are not moving toward becoming all-black or all-white. We still have a very long way to go at The ROCK, but we will not rest until we are truly one body.

Go read the article and then come back and tell me what you think. What could we do to be more effective at becoming a mulit-cultural, multi-racial example of Christian community? Hit me with your best shot.

“If you live feeling like your glass is half empty, well, it may as well be empty.”
Mattie Stepanek (1990-2004)

That’ll preach…