You're A What.....?

I was at a Men's Conference with my Pastor this weekend. As I was selling his books and CD's a man came to the table. He was inquiring about a message series that Pastor had taught on Theology. He asked me what messages were included. I opened it up and was going through the different messages and when I came to the one on the topic of Calvinism I thought the man was going to blow a gasket. He said, "Calvinism...he far it or he agin'it?" Well, I responded by explaining to him that he did not ascribe to the doctrine of Calvinism, but he gives a fair and balanced look at both sides of the issue in the message. The guy responded back to me in a way that I can only describe as just plain weird. He began rattling off all the things that he was...something about being a "freewill, foursquare, evangelical, protestant, independent....blah...blah...blah....that goes to a Baptist church." He rattled off several things, but I did not really pay that much attention to most of it....it really made me want to vomit....I detest such labeling...I spew that out of my mouth!!! I did not respond to the man...I just let him go on his way...in a kind way. I am sure that lost and unchurched people are so attracted to this type of labeling. I am sure they are just dying to become a freewill, foursquare....whatever...Why do we have such labels? Did Jesus label himself in such a manner? Here is all I know....I WAS a sinner...then I met Jesus. He changed me. Now I follow Him. I am a NEW CREATION....thanks be to Jesus!

More Thoughts on UNLEASH Conference

This will be last post on the conference...I wanted to give some of the thoughts that Perry Noble gave that impacted me from the second session on principles to be intentional about growing churches...

• Leadership is as easy as listening to God
• You must OWN the vision; Do not ever compromise the Vision
• God will test every senior pastor or church planter with someone who tries to use their money as power...you will either be a prostitute or a prophet
• The pastor is not supposed to do everything
• Surround yourself with godly people who are capable of carrying the vision
• One of the biggest mistakes of senior pastors and church planters is they want their vision to be safe
• Stop asking others to support your vision
• If you look at the vision and say "we can do that" its NOT a vision
  

My Thoughts on UNLEASH Conference

This was an incredible conference. I am so glad I did not miss this. Perry Noble was unbelievable. If you want to see what he had to say you can read the notes here. These are some of the things he said that really impacted me from his first session on what the church needs to do to make Jesus famous....

• We give God half baked lethargic environments and expect God to move
• You don't have to be original, you just have to be good enough to steal it and make it better
• The time when people need embraced the most we say "to hell with you"
• People say they want to go deep and be fed...if I am still feeding my child when she is 15 something is wrong...bring a spoon!
• People are concerned about numbers when it is their bank account, but not when it comes to church
• When you start doing something for God you are going to piss some people off
• We need to quit focusing on the issues and behaviors and help people get to Jesus
• If your focus is not on Jesus you need to change your focus or shut your doors
• What the church is going to do matters for all eternity

UNLEASH.....UNBELIEVABLE!

Few things have I been to have ever impacted me the way this conference has. This was one of the most unbelievable things I have ever been to. You know how sometimes when you have experiences that seem to mark you in a way that you will never forget? So much in fact it becomes some what of a defining moment...perhaps even better said a Divine moment? Well, this was one of those experiences for me. Perry Noble absolutely, hands down, without question blew it out of the water with this! He rocked my world! So much of what I have seen and heard I am going to have to just process and chew on for a day or so. I am going to post some of the highlights of the conference, from my perspective, in following blogs....but for now I must just simply say that UNLEASH....was truly UNBELIEVABLE.....simply....UNBELIEVABLE...

Stevie Flockhart...He Talks A Good Talk...But...

My friend Stevie and his brother Andrew came over last night and we played some Madden on the XBOX. Now Stevie insisted that Andrew and I play first since he was going to destroy whoever played him anyway. He said I should have no problem taking Andrew...he isn't that good. Well, Andrew beat me. Instead of letting the winner, Andrew, advance to play his brother I declared I would take on Stevie...you can change the rules in your own house. Well Stevie talked himself up, saying things such as, "the score will be 58 to 7 me," and, "I am going to destroy you." So I played Stevie. He was the Falcons, and I was the Colts. The entire gave he ran his mouth about how good he was, and how I was going to lose. I was down by 3 touch downs in the 3rd quarter. It looked like Stevie was right. He had destroyed me....oh, but then came the 4th quarter. I managed to tie the game up throwing Stevie off with a combination of some running plays and some play action passes. Needless to say, he was getting a little nervous. Andrew was cheering me on. He was on the edge of his seat hoping for the demise of his own flesh and blood...that's my boy Andrew...that's my boy. With under a minute to play I stepped up my defense and forced Stevie to punt for his life. I had the ball with just 34 secs remaining and only one time out...I must admit the defense was strong and I quickly burned my timeout and had to go no huddle. With one second left Stevie made one final mistake...he jumped offsides. This gave me the opportunity to pick one last play and make one last heave to the in zone. The ball was hiked, then the ball was thrown, then the ball was caught, and then the touchdown was scored. Andrew and I jumped with excitement as Stevie sat astonished by the huge upset....it was utterly priceless. I had to capture the score, just to make sure no untruths could be spread...oh yeah, did I mention this was my first time ever playing Madden 07.

Ready to be UNLEASHED

I am pumped about Perry Noble's conference UNLEASH hosted by New Spring Church tomorrow. I am headed up to South Carolina today to hang out with my friend Josh, and then we are going to the conference on Thursday. I can't wait! I have been looking forward to this, and I am very excited about the things I am going to learn! Woo...Hoo...!!

Sitting in a Rental Car

While John Mayer was "Waiting on the World to Change" about 400 times on the radio yesterday I was "Sitting in a Rental Car" bored out of my mind for about 7 hours. We were in Wake Forrest at Southereastern Baptist Theological Seminary yesterday and we opted not to fly back to Atlanta to save some money. My partner in the mentor program drove the entire way. Why? I am not completely sure, regardless it left me in the passenger seat staring out the window for several hours trying to find good songs on the radio. Anyway, I am glad that experience is over and I got home to my wife and baby boy Noah (who was asleep) safely. Hopefully next time I can fly or at least drive some...probably would have slept some if I would have had less Starbucks, but then again how can you pass up Starbucks.

"I WON..."

Well, no, not really...but someone did. The lottery that is. I heard this morning on the radio that in New York they were selling a million tickets an hour...now if education is to be benefiting from lottery sells...those folks in New York ought to have the best stinking schools in the country after yesterday. I heard that someone in Dalton, GA...that is not far from me...bought the winning ticket. There might be 3 winners from what I understand of the 370 million dollars that was up for grabs, and for sure 2 winners...one in Dalton, Ga and the other in New Jersey. 370 million dollars!!! Can you imagine going to bed last night with modest gain, then waking up the next morning only to find that you are a millionaire. What a change in lifestyles that would be. As I was driving down the road I was thinking what I might do in those initial moments of finding out that I had won. Having lots of money seems to give you some power that you lack when you don't have it. There are certain decisions that you could clearly make if money was a non-issue. Why is that? Why do we let money become our decision maker? Why does money decide for us what we are going to do with our lives? Why does money decide where we go, what we do, and how well we do it? I was reading this morning of a man who had a demon possessed son. He went to Jesus and said, "IF you can do anything...help us." Jesus responded to the man saying, "'If you can?' Everything is possible to the one who believes." Why do we not believe Jesus? Why don't we trust Him, that if He wants us to go somewhere or do something money really is already a non-issue, whether you possess it in abundance or not. Sometimes I find myself relating to the man in the story...as I had, "had I won...this is what I would do..." thoughts this morning I began thinking of the risks I would take...which really would not be risks I guess if I had the money...I thought about the things I would try and accomplish, the adventures I might take, the things I would do for the kingdom, for others, etc...only if I had the power of money. IF...well for me there is no IF...I have a power greater than money...Jesus. Why do I not believe if God wants me to accomplish it He not only can, but He will? I guess I really have won...if only I would believe.

Rainy Night in Georgia... and Alabama

Drove down to the panhandle of FL this weekend for a Men's Conference that Pastor was doing. A small town called Chippley. We stayed in Graceville, FL near the Baptist College of Florida in one of the College's guest homes. On the way down we drove through nothing but rain until we got out of Alabama. This was not just sprinkling rain...it was extra heavy rain...there were times when I was just hoping that I was still on the road. There were heavy winds and thunder and lightening...this was the same day the bad tornado had gone through Enterprise, AL. At one point on our trip as we were changing highways we saw a lot of police cars riding around with their lights flashing...at that point the rain was extremely heavy and wind was really blowing. We wondered why the police were everywhere...and we think we figured it out on the way back. When we came back through that area on the way home there were trees down everywhere, and we saw a hotel missing part of its top floor. We saw houses with no roofs and apartment buildings with severe damage. It was crazy. There must have been a twister that came through there, and our guess is that we missed it by about 30 minutes or so. We felt very fortunate because by the look of the damage we saw it had to have crossed the highway right were we entered on...praise the Lord we missed it. Just for the record driving in the rain pretty much stinks.

We Have Come to the End of the Road

Many Years ago a band known as Boys II Men had a song, that back in the day, I really loved...it was called..."We've Come to the End of the Road"....it was a great song...and who didn't love Boys II Men...East Coast baby represent...Anyway, on a recent trip I had the opportunity to flesh out the title of this song...you see while we were driving we suddenly discovered that we had come to the end of the road. We were driving around trying to find a hotel for the night at about 3:30 in the morning...there was not a soul in sight as Garth Brooks might say (Thunder Rolls)...and all the hotels were sold out. We ended up on this road that all of the sudden just ended...had we proceeded any farther we would have ended up in the inter coastal water way. When we approached the end we were instructed by this sign you see in the picture above that we had come, as Boys II Men would say, to the end of the road. We really needed that sign because had it not been there we would have most assuredly kept right on going leaping the curb, driving through the cement wall directly in front of us, and right into the water. Praise the Lord for that sign...who knows what would have become of us.

Senior Moment

No I did not have a "Senior moment"...a phrase used by senior citizens meaning they can't remember something...but I had a moment with the Senior Adults of my church today that truly marked me. I was asked, on short notice, to speak at a weekly Senior Adult Prayer and Bible Study held here at our church. The Bible Study was today, and I was asked if I could speak yesterday afternoon. I guess us preachers gotta be ready any moment to bring it....anyway...before going to speak the Senior Adult Director called my office and said that there was one man that would be there that really knows his Scripture and may interrupt and want to call me on stuff if he didn't agree...just the words you want to hear right before you go speak...well it went good and I did not get any interruption. As a matter of fact after speaking they asked me to stay and all of the Senior Adults gathered around me as I knelt and they laid hands on me and prayed for me, my family, and my ministry. The first one to gather around me, and the first one to pray, was the gentlemen who I was warned about. It was a sweet moment. I love the Senior Adults. One sweet lady with tears in her eyes through her arms around me and said to me, "God is going to use you...oh He is going to use you to reach this young generation...oh bless you..." That was worth the trip to the Senior Adult Bible Study. I thank God that He allowed me to be there today. Thank God for those Senior Adults who love Jesus, and encouraged this young preacher...what a moment...a God moment...a Senior moment!

Hollywood Hard Rock Hotel

As I was leaving Hollywood, FL on Saturday we passed by the infamous Hollywood Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. This has been made extremely famous in recent days because, in case you have just awaken from a long slumber, it is where Anna Nicole Smith died of an apparent overdose of drugs. It was crazy to drive by and see with my eyes what has been such a media spectacle for the past several weeks. As I drove by I could not help but think of how Anna Nicole died right there just a few weeks ago. A woman who possessed every material possession this world could ever offer, had gained such fame (even if it was for taking off her clothes), and had more money than she could spend in a thousand lifetimes and yet was so miserable that she had to escape reality through numerous sordid relationships and drugs. It seems as though she searched and searched for something to satisfy her and only came up short...and thus did her life. Still fairly young, and probably plenty more she could offer in life if she had only known what life really was. In Mark 1 there is a compelling story of a man with a serious skin disease who comes to Jesus and says, "If you are willing, You can make me clean." The Scriptures say that Jesus was moved with compassion and said, "I am willing, be made clean." As I drove by the Hollywood Hard Rock Hotel, just a few miles from the church we had been at for the weekend, I thought about that Scripture. If only Anna had known she could come to Jesus, for He was more than willing to make her clean.

Two Men and A Harley

When you think of Harley Davidson Motorcycles you think, loud, rough, mean biker dudes...well at least I do. While making our journey to Hollywood, FL the other day we came upon a Harley Davidson and these two men sharing it. Not really the rough manly picture you expect when you think Harley Davidson is it? I could not help but snap a quick shot with my camera phone and share it with others. Roll on Fellas....

Beulah Land Part Dos

In other hymns I sing I found the same…even ones I really love and enjoy. The other day in church we were singing “All Hail the Power of Jesus Name.” Now this a familiar hymn, and one I really like…by the way I like hymns. I like to read them, and sing them…with more modern instruments that is…particularly guitars and drums and the like…Passion Band has a hymn album that rocks it came out several years ago…anyway in the hymn “All hail the Power of Jesus Name” it says these words… "O that, with yonder sacred throng, we at His feet may fall.” Now lets be honest…WHAT? Remember my degree? If I being a Seminary student, and have a Bible degree have a hard time understanding these songs, how can I worship? Furthermore, how about people in my generation and younger who do not have Bible degrees, or even a church background understand and worship? Those in favor of the “traditional” would say “we need to get back to the hymns because they are rich in theology.” They discount praise choruses and the like in favor more of the traditional hymn. But some of these hymns, as theological as they are, contain language that is foreign to our generation and disconnects us from worshipping and relating to the truth. Here is another line from “All Hail”: “Let highborn seraphs tune the lyre, and as they tune it, fall.” Again I say, WHAT? I am not dissing hymns, like I said I love them, but I am only stating the truth of the matter. I am more connected when I sing a song like one of my favorite praise songs as of recent by Hillsong United that says, “I know Your alive; You came to fix my broken life; I will sing to glorify Your holy Name; Jesus Christ.” When I sing this song I am connected. I relate. I worship.

Beulah Land Part Uno

I was in a service recently and the congregational singing was an old hymn entitled “Beulah Land.” I must confess it was the first time I had ever heard this hymn. I noticed older men and women in the service raising their hands as they worshipped. As I found myself reading the words off the jumbo tron, I was utterly confused about what I was singing. Beulah Land? Who is Beulah, and why do I want to go to her land? Where is Beulah’s Land? After doing a little research I have discovered that “Beulah Land” refers to heaven. As a matter a fact, the writer of this hymn, Edgar P. Stites, wrote this hymn in parts because he said it moved him so much that he would write a few lines and then fall on his face in praise and weep before God. That means that this song meant a great deal to the generation in which it was written and to which it connected. Now I felt a little intimidated the night we were singing it. I mean after all I hold a B.A. degree in Biblical and Theological Studies (impressive huh?) I should know about “Beulah Land.” Am I not read well enough? Am I theologically illiterate? How did I miss that? I have found that none of this is true, but rather it is a generational and cultural disconnect.

Road Rageous

That's right...had an encounter with a road rager from hades last night. It was truly unbelievable. While we were on the way to Loganville, GA with Pastor to a conference he was preaching at a crazy old white headed dude flew up beside pastor's SUV screaming profanities and waving a gun...yes the man had a gun! Funny thing is we don't even know what we did to set the guy off. We did not cut anyone off in traffic or anything. Whatever it was we did, it must of been the last straw for this guy because he was mad. He was screaming profanities so loud that we could hear him yelling before he ever made it to the side of the car. Admittedly, it was a scary moment there briefly. But he turned off and went his own way. It is amazing how some grown men will act towards something so meaningless as traffic. I bet we are the first of pastor's mentees to have a gun drawn us. What an experience...

Southern Gospel Music, Giant Organs, and Old Fashion Hymn Books

I recently attended FBC Jax annual pastor's conference. I was a newcomer to the conference and was pretty excited about attending. If you have never been to FBC in Jax it is an experience all its own. The church owns 11 city blocks downtown. It really is amazing. They have 3 existing and fully functional auditoriums, their main sanctuary being the largest topping out at almost 10,000 seats. Its not the largest church in the US, and probably not even on the top 10, but it is big by all standards of being big. The neat thing about FBC Jax is that they paid cash for everything they own. That is pretty awesome.

Jax also had very large organs in all their auditoriums. As beautiful as some people think organs are, I hate them. Nothing makes me cringe more than the sound of organ pipes blaring so loud it hurts your ears. When Jax built their auditoriums organs were cool...I guess...but they are not very cool any more...I mean when is the last time you turned on the radio for the sole purpose of listening to organ music? Southern gospel music was the music of choice for the conference. I like music. I like lots of varieties of music. Southern gospel is not one of those varieties. But to each his own. Hymn books? I thought those things went out with the invention of projection screens...not in Jax. I could not believe it when the Music Minister instructed us to, "turn in our hymn books." I could not remember the last time I heard those words. The funny thing is they had some of the best projectors I had ever seen. They were HD!! All their camera's were HD!! Why do I need to turn in a hymn book? Oh well...I had fun at the conference. I met lots of awesome people, and heard some great speakers...just not as enthused with the music as most were, but I guess it is just a matter of preference...I just don't understand why some prefer that, but I am sure the feeling is mutual with some of the music I enjoy.

Big church, lots of money, lots of nice things, lots of great people...lots of Southern Gospel Music, Giant Organs, and Old Fashion Hymn Books.

Under the Weather

I am not sure how or why being sick started being referred to as "under the weather" but it makes for a better blog title than "being sick" so I'll use it. On Tuesday of last week I started feeling the sickness come on through minor throat irritation and a subtle cough, by Wednesday, Valentines Day, I was full blown sick. I came down with the flu or some other torturous illness. Great way to spend Valentines Day, especially when my wife had prepared dinner and sent the baby away so we could enjoy it together alone...oh well She really got to display her love to me by taking care of me "through sickness..."

What an awesome wife I have to be able to take care of her sick husband and a newborn baby...I prayed over and over again that she would not get sick. I knew if she did it was over for both me and Noah...so far so good. It lasted far longer than I anticipated. It is crazy how your body will halt you suddenly. It can be rather frustrating when you want to do so much, but your body really will not let you. I am glad its over for now, and I hope it will not soon return...I have never been real big on the flu shot, but I might be right behind the old folks next year getting my fix.

As I Survey the Wondrous Bank

Wondrous...Well maybe not so much wondrous, but it makes for a pretty good title of a blog that I suppose will be a reflection of the past 10 months of my life as a bank teller at Wachovia Bank Corporation. Ronald Mark Ayers (yes my first name is Ronald...ha, ha, ha...well before you go laughing all the way I am named after my father, so it serves as a significant part of who I am and where I came from...an no my dad is not Ronald McDonald), Bank Teller, Wachovia Bank. That was me and my title for the past year. It is not the most prestigious job in the world, and it was definitely not the best paying job in the world, but it did make ends meet. The Bank Teller is a mostly female dominated occupation, and proved to be the case at the branch in which I worked. I was the minority...as a matter a fact I was the only male teller. That fact in and of itself made for an interesting year. You learn a lot of things about women when all you work with is women (they were all awesome though, so thoughtful and kind to my wife and I...I will always remember them!). That's another blog...probably never to be written...at least by me. You can learn a whole lot of other things being a bank teller as well, particularly about people. People are diverse. Some are rich, some are poor, some are just somewhere in the middle. Some think they are rich and like to remind you how much money that they have in the bank when you do something they don't like, little do they know we really do know how much money they have in the bank and it really dosen't matter to us or the bank and most of the people who say it don't really have that much...You also learn that some people lack the ability to really think about what they are doing or saying...they live their lives oblivious to what is really going on around them. Some people live their lives expecting others to do everything for them and to ask them to do it for themselves is just ridiculous...I mean after all the world owes them something. Some people just can't quite figure out why in the world they can't write a check to someone for an amount they do not have and the bank will not pay for it. Some people like to come to the bank everyday of their lives, sometimes more than once. Maybe they just need somewhere to go...or maybe they just haven't figured out they can get enough money out for the whole week in one day and not have to come everyday. Mexicans cash extremely large checks, people hate showing you their i.d. (even in a day where fraud is so prevalant), people like to fill out their deposit slips while in the drive-thru line while cars by the multitudes line up behind them, people think: that online banking is of the devil, the ATM never runs out of money, the bank has a money making machine in the vault, the bank should never close, there should never be a line, they can write checks with money they don't have and the bank should not penalize them for it, overdrafts are always the banks fault, and the list goes on and on...but what I have really learned about people from sitting behind the teller window is that some people can be kind, some can be rude, some are just out right nasty, some smell funny, some smell pretty, some smell way to pretty, some are annoying, some are funny, some think they are, some are always in a hurry, and some never seem to be (you know those people...you like me always get behind them in line), some smile, some never will, some speak, others never utter a peep, while some others never shut-up, some are happy, others sad, some ticked off, others glad, some dress expensively, others not so much, some are just doing bussiness, others not at all, some are patient, some the opposite, some understanding, others just can't accept it, some have nice cars, others not so nice, some even have extremely loud ones...but they all have several things in common: money, time, and existence...and while some will choose to do much with theirs and some nothing at all, they still possess it and have the opportunity to do something great with it...me well I was just passing through the bank for a brief time in my life's journey of pursuing my dreams, and while I desire to make much of what has been given to me...I will never forget the things I learned to do and not to do while at the bank, and I will never forget the things I have learned about people...that they all have individual lives and agendas that are as important to them as are mine. And even though sometimes they just aggrevated me to no end, they to want to be loved and appreciated and need to hear the good news that God loves them and has a purpose for their lives...oh the wondrous bank.

Sharper Image

Image is everything right? Well, I don't think so. Things just are not always as they first appear. Here is what happen to me...So remember my previous blog when I talked about being in the doctor's office with my wife, well this happened the same day at the doctor's office. The doctor was throughly impressed with my inquisitiveness and asked me what I did...he was inquiring about my occupation. Well, I told him I was a preacher. He was a little shocked, but not because of my inquisitiveness, he actually said that explains my inquisitiveness (that is good I guess), but what shocked him was my appearence. I had longer hair, not like a girl long but long, and a beard. He asked me what denomination and I said Baptist. The next question was what type of Baptist. I could tell by that question that he had been mildly schooled in religion, particualry that of the Christian one. I responded by telling him I was a Southern Baptist. The next question to leave his mouth was, "They let you have long hair and a beard!?" I laughed a little and responded, "they do for now." I guess that the reason he was so surprised is because based on my appearance, I do not fit the mold of what a Southern Baptist preacher should look like. As I pondered most of the Southern Baptist preachers I know, I supposed he was right. I don't look like the sterotypical Southern Baptist preacher. Most of them do not have long hair...probably more like no hair...and I must admit I am headed that direction myself, no hair that is (praise the Lord for male-pattern baldness). There was also probably a time not to long ago when any Southern Baptist male having long hair was just taboo. The beard...well what's the beef with that? I guess a preacher should be clean shaved and clean cut with a nice pressed suit made to fit, a much "sharper image" I suppose is what I am to possess as a Southern Baptist preacher. Maybe I should get a hair cut and shave my beard. Maybe I should rush out to Sears and by me a good looking cost effective suit. Or maybe I will be one of those who seeks to escape the stereotype instead of one that embraces it. Maybe I can be a part of another generation of Southern Baptist preachers who breaks the image of what a preacher looks like and sounds like, or maybe I can just be myself...a guy who happens to be a man called to reach the world with the gospel of Christ, who happens to be Southern Baptist, and who just so happens to look like me.