Listen, let us be honest with ourselves, we are losing a battle that is bigger than anything we have ever fought. Look around you right now, where you live, work and play. Someone you know and love, a stranger at the coffee shop, a co-worker who cries themselves to sleep every night is hurting, dying on the inside and ultimately is going to spend eternity in HELL because of you, me, we wont… we just wont do enough about it!

This is not a “church” bashing post, but this is a cry, a plea, an urgent message that i believe we all need to hear. If you are offended, good. If you think I have no room to talk, then stop thinking and do something. I don’t care! We are sitting by arguing with each other while we tell our friends, family and others to: GO TO HELL!!, by not BEING the CHURCH!!!

MY HEART BLEEDS…

my heart concerning the Kingdom of God. These are the things I believe He has sent me to teach a group of people that He has set aside for a peculiarplace. That’s what I believe and nothing can change that. Church growth strategies, marketing, and all the other “church planter” stuff is great, and honestly a must have to some degree, but if we believe God IS, and not was, if we believe in the depths of our heart that He is ALL powerful and has created us in His image, if we believe that like Abraham, Paul and others that He has created a place for us, if we believe that He is the one who moves on the hearts of people as He did Pharaoh, then what is the fuss about? What are we debating theology, doctrine and church “styles” for? I mean really! People are dying and going to Hell, not because we don’t have the latest and greatest, but because we are SILENT! Because our lifestyles don’t match our perfectly coordinated/programmed services, because our words are not the Father’s Words, because our prayers are so self-centered, because we don’t GIVE without looking to receive, because we don’t die daily to sin, because we make excuses about sharing the greatest gift ever given, because we stop falling on our faces to confess and repent, because we choose a “private” savior over a PUBLIC LORD, because we hide behind past hurts and pains and assume vulnerability is from hell, because we have tolerated and not LOVED… I could go on forever and I am just as guilty as anyone else as being caught up in these issues! I am NOT PERFECT, nor do I LIVE the PERFECT life and I will never pretend to be! What I know is that the way we LIVE, LOVE & GIVE can and WILL change the world, or at least the parts of the world assigned to us .

I am simply looking for people who agree to come along side of peculiarplace and get their freaking hands dirty!! Looking for people of all races, backgrounds, experiences and cultures to DO SOMETHING instead of all this FREAKING TALKING! LETS BE THE CHANGE!!

Interested?

i wont lose
cant lose
failure sits
next to me in
the back seat
while victory,
he’s the driver…

out of his overflow
i flow
how deep is
your cup
selah
love
not lust
i trust in him
who gives us
even when not lookin
the taken
and tookin
wind up empty handed
be more candid?

i wont lose
cant lose
failure sits
next to me in
the back seat
while victory,
he’s the driver…

i wont lose
cant lose
failure sits
next to me in
the back seat
while victory,
he’s the driver…

cuz when he comes
back no room for
lacs, raps or dream bandits
imposters at best
his light for my
my life
his life for my
my life
new levels
victories shovel
covering losses
brand new
im through
with lack
in fact its
abundance
how’s that for living green

i wont lose
cant lose
failure sits
next to me in
the back seat
while victory,
he’s the driver…

i wont lose
cant lose
failure sits
next to me in
the back seat
while victory,
he’s the driver…

for runnin numbers
for once
stop counting and
start counting
his love for me
his blood
“clean sheets”
brand new
in truth in light
knowing the way
no more fight
no mo flights
feet hurt
however beautiful
cause i preach
i teach
more than
accomplished
conqueror

i wont lose
cant lose
failure sits
next to me in
the back seat
while victory,
he’s the driver…

i wont lose
cant lose
failure sits
next to me in
the back seat
while victory,
he’s the driver…

I DARE YOU TO LOOK BEYOND YOUR RIGHT NOW, YOUR CURRENT CIRCUMSTANCE OR SITUATION

I DARE YOU TO LOOK INTO THE EYES OF YOUR CHILDREN AND EXPLAIN WHY YOU CANT

I DARE YOU TO GROW

I DARE YOU TO GIVE LIKE YOU HAVE NEVER GIVEN BEFORE

I DARE YOU TO LOVE LIKE YOU HAVE NEVER LOVED BEFORE

I DARE YOU TO COME OUT FROM UNDER THE SELFISH ROCK YOU LIVE AND LIVE FOR SOMEONE OTHER THAN YOURSELF…

with this dare in mind… i am simply challenging you to visit one site before you move from the computer to the couch, or turn your laptop off and move one to something else, i want you to visit onevanonevillage.org.

Watch the video, read the story, introduce yourself to Laurie Kroll, and last but not least…

GIVE!!!

What do I mean? What is apeculiarlife? Where in downtown Atlanta? Why downtown Atlanta?

All these questions will be answered very soon. I am so excited about what God is doing in the Church He called a peculiarplace!!!!

OK, that is it for now.. but please please keep coming back, great news is on its way!!!

Last week was my first week as one of the church plant interns at one of the best churches in the world, WRC. And no i am not brown nosing, i mean that from the bottom of my heart!!! Saturday was the first class of the School for Church Planting, INCREDIBLE!!! I am in the midst of some amazing wisdom, and plan to pass it along to you as I grow!

That is a brief snapshot, there is so much more to come… i think i really am going to explode!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OK, don’t get super spiritual on me and comment on the title without reading the content. Too often we shun or judge people, places and things from merely the first glance, or cover or in this case the title. Allow me to reach for a moment and tie something very important together for us…

Fellows and ladies this could apply to you as well. Imagine if you will middle of the day, or at your favorite coffee shop or even the club you attend regularly, an amazingly beautiful woman (or man) walks in and completely assumes control of all of your attention. You look, she/he looks… you exchanges smiles… and you cannot take your eyes off of her/him. She/he is all you think about as you fill your shopping cart with eggs and bread, pretend to be listening to your friends or sip your coffee. Finally you reach deep down inside of you and gather the strength and courage to MAKE YOUR MOVE. If you are at a club or bar, you probably grab a shot or two! You make your way over to them and it is as if she/he has been waiting on you all night, when you open your mouth and ask…

WILL YOU SLEEP WITH ME?

or

WILL YOU MARRY ME?

I know I know I know, Who in their right mind would do such a thing. Who would ask for something so intimate, so personal, so final, who would reach out to someone they dont know for a commitment, who would embarrass in such a foolish way, not to mention how the other person would feel… offended, angry, put off, and depending upon where you are and who that person is you might just hear a few choice words that i dare not mention here!

Yet, Christians ask these types of questions of perfect strangers every day. Christians have been asking perfect strangers to make life altering commitments of this nature without knowing a persons name for years. Allow me to explain, once again before you go all deep and get offended.

Jesus, was a relational God and Lord. God spent every day with Adam in the garden before “The Fall”. Jesus spent day and night with the disciples before instructing them to go out and teach the world about His Kingdom. Peter before his first sermon after Christ’s acension spent day and night praying with his congregation. Paul pitched in and made tents with the tent makers before he began to teach Christ and Christ crucified. Do you see a pattern developing here? I could go on if you need me to. There are countless examples throughout the bible of men and women of God, who developed relationships with people before they professed their love for God and His love for them.

All I’m saying is that we MUST, not try…  not see what we can do… not hope you can, but WE MUST DEVELOP RELATIONSHIPS WITH PEOPLE,  before we ask for any such commitment. We have to like Jesus, allow those around us to SEE the fruit of our FAITH before we pound their heads with the latest bible verse we memorized. Before we go and tell someone they are going to hell because they fornicate, or lie or steal or whatever they do, we must know them. To “know” them, is to become “intimate” with them.

Quick side note: Intimate or Intimacy has nothing to do with SEX. Get over it, open a dictionary. It is amazing how this word has become bastardized and misused to have anything to do with sex.

OK, back to where we were… I’m simply saying that we cannot afford to cause any more trepidation  concerning the Body of Christ. In case you have not noticed the attacks on the Church are doing fine without the Church going out and making it any worse.

Give it some thought.

Have you made friends with anyone outside of your circle lately? With someone who doesn’t look like you, or believe what you believe?