Warning: The following not only applies to me, but to every Christian in the world. (but probably mainly me.)

I think that as a Christian, I've gotten too wrapped up in following the great commission that I've forgotten the great commandment(s). To love God and love each other. Now, a lot of Christians think that the way they show love to each other is by following the great commission. I don't think they're as related as we'd like to think. I think we need to love each other (and that, by the way, is how Jesus said the world would know that we're his disciples) by meeting physical and emotional needs. In following this command, we need to be Christ's hands and feet, reflecting his love through our action. And how do we do that? Not by preaching the gospel. We do that by serving others. Helping others. Blessing others. Pay for someone's gas - give someone flowers - ask if someone needs to talk - listen - mow someone's yard - rake the leaves - shovel snow ---you getting the idea? I sure am.

The day of simply preaching on the street corners is over. You heard me. It's over. Done. Finished. In past cultures, people were readily open to hear about spirituality. In fact, the further you go back, the more spirituality had to do with everyone's lives. Unfortunately, in our post-modern culture, this is not the case. Spirituality & life are viewed more like opposites than similar. So, it's our job to reconnect them. To again show the practicality of Jesus. How does Jesus help me with my bills? How does Jesus help with my marriage? How does Jesus help with my relationships? How does Jesus help with my job? How does Jesus help when I lose a loved one? These are all questions that the world is SCREAMING at us. It's time we answer. Live love. Be a part of the movement.

It's only after we do this that people will be willing to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. And it's THEN that we share the good news.

It's time we let the Holy Spirit work through our actions and stop trying to force Him through our mouths.

He'll anoint our words when it's time. He knows when we're ready. And most of all, He knows when we're actually practicing what we preach!

In His Grip,
Pastor Elgin

Hey guys.

Wow, has it been a long week or what? I'm exhausted, as well as everyone else on the trip. We're in Tennessee right now, getting ready to hit the sack at a Comfort Inn. The trip was fantastic, Aleda did a super job, and we're all ready to come home to Marshall. Here are a few of the non-NFAF highlights from my wife & I:

-We went to Downtown Disney, ate at The Rainforest Cafe, and walked around and looked at shops.

-We went to City Walk at Universal Studios, ate at Hard Rock Cafe, and walked around.

-We went to the Kennedy Space Center, and toured the place - it was very cool.

-We went to "Medieval Times" dinner theater - probably one of the coolest places ever.

-We went to two beaches, Cocoa Beach, and Siesta Key. The sand at Siesta was like flour, white, very fine, very cool to the touch. But, the waves were much better at Cocoa.

Right now, that's about all I can think of. My brain is fried & I'm off to bed. See you all next week!

-Elgin

Hey peeps!

Today was a very long - and great - day. Aleda sang at 3:56pm EST and did a wonderful - WONDERFUL - job! She received a "Superior" rating. She was one of over 500 girls singing for "Female Vocal Solo". We are all very proud of her and look forward to the SWEET Aleda music to come!!!! :) Well, that's all for now! We're going to go play some cards.

God Bless!
-Elgin

Hey Everybody!
So, we've done a lot so far... Yesterday, we went to the beach and jumped into crashing waves. It was so cool. Then, last night, we attended the opening service for the NFAF. "Pocket Full Of Rocks" is the band leading worship this week. They're fantastic (I have their cd) BUT they are only doing their songs - which aren't that widely known - and the keys they do them in are not friendly for the males. I have to sing an octave lower just to be able to sing along. That's just a pet peeve of mine - but they're still great. There's like thousands of people here. It's really cool. This morning, we signed Aleda up for her practice time (2:45pm), and she is scheduled to perform at 3:56pm (EST). Please keep us in your prayers! I'll update you later!

God Bless!
-Elgin

Hey Everybody!
We are "officially" in Florida. The trip was great. We checked in at our "resort" last night (Saturday) and had a wonderful night's sleep. Our place is awesome. When we walked in, we couldn't believe it. We're in a town-house, which is basically like a house or apartment - 2 levels, full kitchen - the works. It feels like it's too nice or that we spent too much money - but the truth is that it was way cheaper than getting 2 hotel rooms for a week! - about half the cost! It's truly beautiful. This morning, we went to church at New Destiny Christian Center. It was pretty good. We stuck out like a sore thumb though. It was a 98% predominately black church. They even welcomed us as "The Caucasian Family." LOL. But they were wonderful, friendly, and a lot of fun to worship with! The pastor is a spitting image of Will Smith. Not even kidding.

After church, we ate, relaxed, and swam at the resort's pool. Tomorrow morning we'll be going to the beach. The NFAF conference officially starts at 6pm tomorrow evening - which is when we'll find out when Aleda sings. Please keep praying for us!!!

-Elgin

Hey everybody. It's day 2 of our trip to the National Fine Arts Festival in Orlando, FL. We're just outside of Atlanta, GA at a Days Inn. The stay was ok. It has wifi, which is very nice. And the shower was nice too! But our room's A/C wasn't on when we got here, so our room was a steamy 80 degrees when we got in. It took forever to cool down. It was me, my wife, and Jordan in our room, and Pastor Tim, Heidi, Cara-Faith, and Aleda in the other. We've had a pretty good trip so far - but a bit behind schedule. It was supposed to take us 8 hrs driving time to get here, but instead, it took 10. However, with that behind us, we're all excited today to get to FLORIDA!!!! The last time I was in Florida, I was 5 years old. That's 20 years ago. Man, I feel old... Anyways, we'll keep you posted as to how everything is going. Aleda will be singing either on Tuesday or Wednesday. And as of now, we're scheduled to arrive in Kissimmee, FL around 7pm, EST. See ya later!

-Pastor Elgin

Those words are famous last words of any preacher (or Christian, for that matter) who ceases to be effective. Did you know that the world doesn't like real Christians? In fact, the world hates real Christians. Think about it. Jesus Christ came, preaching a new message that flipped everything upside-down and officially "ticked off" the majority! He preached of a road to salvation that was so narrow that many won't make it! Read his words! So, of course he was hated by many - but not by all.

The minute you find yourself saying "I just want to be liked," you've already compromised the Gospel of Jesus Christ in your own life. Sure, it feels nice to be liked. That is something I used to struggle with on a daily basis. Back in college, I couldn't stand it even when someone disagreed with me - let alone thought ill of me. And it was so bad that I often compromised my stance just so we would be in agreement. I used to hate "going against the flow." And this problem was something that took a long time to straighten out.

What would make anyone feel like this? Well, I think it's natural. It's natural to want unity. It's natural to hate disunity. And, in reference to the Body of Christ, we should strive for unity in the faith.

Romans 15:5 says, "May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus."

Ephesians 4:3 says, "Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace."

Colossions 3:14 says, "And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."

So, is unity bad? Absolutely not! It is a natural - and supernatural - desire.

BUT (and you knew that was coming) the want of unity should not cause a disunity with Christ.

As Christians, before anything, we should line up ourselves, our wills, our lives with Christ Jesus. We should be unified with him. And unifying with Christ will lend itself to unity in the body of Christ. The two cannot fight against each other. If you are unified with Christ, but find yourself in disunity with a "believer," first check yourself. Pray that God would bring to light anything in your life that might be causing this. But also remember what Christ said in Matthew 7:15,

"Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves."

Our focus should not be, "I just want to be liked by everyone." It should be, "I just want to be liked by God."

If you were to die right now, would God "depart from me, you who are cursed" or would he say "Well done, good and faithful servant."

You can be unified with the whole world, and be in disunity with Christ.

It blew me away to read the transcript from an interview with Larry King and a famous well-known preacher. This preacher wouldn't even declare that Jesus was the way to heaven. It is obvious, if you read his comments, that he stayed "in the middle of the road" because he just wanted to be liked. He didn't want to be accused of condemning people.

When it comes down to it, he didn't want to be accused of proclaiming the truth.

Final thought: Jesus said in John 15:18

"If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first."

Philipians 1:27 says, "Only let your conversation be as it becometh the Gospel of Christ."

Wow. Think about that for a second. I know the word, "becometh" may throw you off a little, but reread it. Think about it. What do you think it means? I think it means that not only our vocal conversations, but our entire life should resemble the Gospel of Christ. People should be able to see Christ when they look at us. No, not because we have long hair and a beard...(if he even did...most likely, but you never know!) But because of our love for one another. Because of our love for God, and His kingdom. That our entire life would scream, "I AM A FOLLOWER OF CHRIST!" And not merely by our t-shirts or bumper stickers. Come on, now! No, I'm not bashing t-shirts...in fact, I'm wearing one now that says "Got Jesus?" But if we rely on our t-shirts & bumper stickers to live out our faith, it's not much of a faith, is it? In fact, if our faith really is faith, then it's alive. It's living, breathing, truth. And I don't know about you, but I've never seen a t-shirt preach. I've never seen a t-shirt love. I've never seen a bumper sticker feed the hungry.

So look at your life for a moment. Look really really hard. Pick yourself a part. Does the converstation of your whole life mirror the Christ? What is your life full of? It is my prayer that you would allow the Holy Spirit to fill you with His love, that you may be like Christ in your actions toward the world. Do you love Christ? Prove it by loving people.

John 13:35 - Jesus said... "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

Hey everyone. I decided to start a new blog. I'm retiring xanga. Anyways, my focus through this is to allow God to inspire me, and in turn, inspire others to listen closely to his voice, learn from his word, and live like Christ.


In Christ,
Pastor Elgin