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Some would say that Deflate-Gate is one of the stupidest sports controversies to ever surface! If you missed it or this headline is foreign to you, here's the skinny. There are allegations that the New England Patriots used game balls that were under-inflated during the AFC Championship Game. Eleven out of twelve balls were under inflated by two pounds. How bizarre, how crazy, of all the things to talk about in the world. The consensus is that unless there is a video of someone actually inserting a needle removing air, we will really never know what happened or who is responsible for Deflate-Gate. Yet the media and everyone in and outside the sports world continues to talk about Deflate-Gate. Did anyone miss the final score of the AFC Championship Game? The score was the Patriots 45-7 over the Colts. Colts Dwayne Allen said this on twitter about Deflate-Gate "They could have played with soap for balls and beat us. Simply the better team. We have to continue to build!...

How many times have you said “I don’t have TIME!” TIME for _______ (you fill in the blank) or “If I only had more TIME to_______” TIME is of the essence, TIME keeps on ticking. Our life seemingly is all about TIME. Looking at God’s Word there are a couple of ways that we see TIME referenced. There is the Greek root “Chronos” that is the tick-tock-you-don’t-stop time, days, years. This is the way most of us think about TIME. There is another word that is used, another way TIME is referenced, another way to think about it that just may bring new perspective. The word in Greek is “Kairos” and this reference to time is all about seasons and the right timing or God’s timing. We see this in the Apostle Paul’s writing to the church in Corinth: And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain—2 for He says, “At the acceptable time I listened to you, And on the day of salvation I helped you.” Behold, now is “the acceptable time,” behold, now i...

Studying the book of Nehemiah has caused me to ask this question: What if the book of Nehemiah is really a parodox of the family of God?   The book of Nehemiah has been taught in many and various ways.  I have never heard the story of rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem as a reflection of what God wants for families that are seeking to live for Jesus or those struggling because of the enemy's ravaging attacks on their family.  Yet that's exactly what I see when I read this rebuilding process.  Maybe you are reluctant and think that families are faring pretty well these days.  As a pastor of “the least of these” let me assure you that unfortunately, that is not the case for the average family in America.  Families in America are under attack and unfortunately, the enemy seems to be gaining ground on his attack on the family.  Look at just a few of revealing statistics regarding families in America: 50% of marriages in America will end in divorce. 8.8 years is the average le...

How Do You Love Your City? This is the question we have been asking our church LakePointe. We’ve been talking about how to love the city we live in as a community of believers. The discussion has taken us to Matthew 25 . We realize something that changed our mindset. The fact that “we are the least of these,” and as “the least of these” we are to be out reaching to the “least of these” that are still out there! To understand put yourself in Jesus story as the “I” and put Jesus in as the “YOU.” Also, look at the physical needs that were met in the narrative and see how it plays out with these as spiritual needs: 35 “For I(insert your name) was (spiritually) hungry, and you(JESUS) fed me(the bread of life). I was (spiritually) thirsty, and you (JESUS)gave me a drink(from waters where I would never thirst again). I was a stranger(estranged, lost spiritually), and you(Jesus) invited me into your home(a relationship with Him, His church). 36 I was naked,(not clothed in righteous...

GOD’S POLITICS These are my thought's on politics originally from a guest post that I was asked to do for a leadership organization LCEF: I love politics! I hate politics!  Where do you fall in the previous two statements?  Are you worn out from all the mudslinging? Glad the commercials and debates are over? How are you feeling now, post-election?  What song are you singing?  Is it: “It’s the end of the world as we know it...”  or is it “Celebration time, come on, let’s celebrate!”?  Maybe a better question is: what are the people you find around you singing?   Something that has hit me like a ton of bricks is the truth from God’s word concerning politics.  God is concerned with our world, He’s not a distant once-was god but is an: everlasting, always will be, always has been, omnipresent, omniscient, omnipotent, all powerful, with us GOD!  As surprised as you or I may have been or not been, God wasn’t surprised at the election results.  It didn’t shock Him, and He isn’t ...

The aftermath of Easter means different things to different people. If you are a pastor then you are likely to be in the after-glow of what God did in your services and you saw new faces and plenty of old faces return. Maybe there were people that you were praying would come but didn’t. Maybe you set new attendance records or maybe it was just another Sunday. From what I have seen pastors are typically excited and a bit worn out at the same time after Holy Week and Easter celebrations. I know that many churches add extra services for more people to attend throughout Holy Week and Easter. If you are not a pastor it probably meant you had to hunt harder for a parking spot if you went to church or if you went out to eat you had longer lines at Crackle Barrel. Here's what I experienced: At LakePointe we had 5 worship opportunities adding 3 additional worship experiences than we normally would have. We were excited about the people that God would bring through the doors of La...

TOP 5 WAYS TO BE SURE YOU WON’T HAVE THE MARRIAGE OF YOUR DREAMS 1. Stop Communicating With Your Spouse! Talk about them not to them, and give them the silent treatment as much as possible! It’s best if you can yell something unrecognizable at them and storm out of the room. If you need help watch a five year old do it and be sure to be animated like them! 2. Stop Listening To Your Spouse! See #1 add, quit taking their call, and responding to their text message’s, un-friend them on FaceBook so they can’t see what you’re up to with your friends. Avoid being in the same room with them at all costs. 3. Always Assume The Worst About Your Spouse! Never give them the benefit of the doubt, stand under the motto “they are guilty until they can prove they innocent!” Be sure to second guess everything they say even if it sounds reasonable--watch old reruns of People’s Court or Judge Judy for more ammo accusatory phrases! 4. Focus On What Your Spouse Does Wrong. In fact k...

Do you have influence? In order to answer the question you must first look at the word defined: influence |ˈinfloŏəns| noun the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something, or the effect itself : the influence of television violence | I was still under the influence of my parents | their friends are having a bad influence on them. • the power to shape policy or ensure favorable treatment from someone, esp. through status, contacts, or wealth : the institute has considerable influence with teachers. • a person or thing with such a capacity or power : Frank was a good influence on her. • archaic Physics electrical or magnetic induction. You do indeed have influence. The question is who are you influencing and how? If you are like me and have children you are influencing them for sure. Ever see your child do or say something you wished they hadn't only to realize they learned (were influenced) by you? I have heard it sa...

When was the last time you saw someone who was in need? What did they look like? What did they need? Where were they? What was the circumstance? Take a few minutes to capture the detail of what happened and your reaction... Now read the story in Matthew 25:31-40 . It’s obvious that Jesus is teaching the people about the “end times”, what it will be like when the King, Jesus himself, returns. As he describes how the people of the world will be separated into two groups: the blessed and the cursed, or the sheep and the goats, Jesus is also teaching us about obedient love. The first group of people Jesus describes are the ones “blessed by my Father in heaven”, or the sheep. They are about to receive their inheritance (heaven) that the Father has been preparing since the creation of the world. (imagine how crazy awesome that will be?) Then something interesting happens: Jesus begins to speak about the things that the “righteous ones” were doing with their lives--what their lives ...

John 8:32(ESV) and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” I love this time of year, when we come together as a country to celebrate the gift our forefathers fought and paid for with their own life and blood--our American freedom. You will see people waving and high-fiving, sharing fireworks displays with neighbors and friends and united in a crowd of hundreds as they watch the public displays. There is a uniting that freedom has, it brings people together. I truly love fireworks and picnics and time out on the lake ,but my favorite 4th of July tradition is the Annual LakePointe on the Lake Worship Service & Baptism Bash! This is the fourth year we have held this event where we have a worship service out on the lake and invite the community to come and join us. This year we had free food for the community. We ended up feeding over 500 people BBQ and the trimmings and also raised money and support for a local charity, Stomp Out Hunger, by taking donati...

It's been about 3 weeks since the 2nd Annual Spa City Stomp Out! This is the second time LakePointe Church has hosted this MMA Fight in Hot Springs, AR. Last year through this event we handed out 4 cases of Bibles and had an opportunity to pray with many families. We saw many people, including several fighters, begin to follow Jesus that day! It was a no- brainer when we had the opportunity to host the event again this year. The big difference, as our team recapped this event, was that we would be more prepared for those who needed prayer and didn't have a Bible. Last year we were prepared for people who would come drunk, high, or just ready to pick a fight. The only person we had to escort off the premise was some guy who was slamming people over the head with his Bible telling them that they were going to hell! A turn or burn talk, which we don't condone. When this man was asked to leave by one of our pastors, letting him know we had the teaching covered, he wo...

1 Thessalonians 5:11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. Hebrews 3:13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. 2 Corinthians 13:11 Finally, brothers and sisters, rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. What if...we became encouragers? What if...by God's grace we were able to do this everyday? What if...this "encouraging" was a part of our everyday conversation--wherever we went this was our attitude and focal point for every conversation. What if...we lived life to be a encourager and lift up build people up! What if...it became a thread of our life fabric and we went beyond just a daily thing but it became a moment to moment thing? What if...we searched out ways to be an encourager to our co-workers, spouse, children, friends,...

I know this is going to rub some people the wrong way but you have to understand the blog for today. I am sitting with Red Beard, Big Will, & Doc Bryce-2 tattoo artists and one DJ! (think there's a rap song in there somewhere) We are going through Romans 4 and discussing how we are saved apart from the law. We talked about circumcision and how that isn't required any more! (thank goodness) We are not saved by keeping the law! We talked about how it's all about FAITH! That Abraham was credited righteous before he was circumcised and it's not about the law. We talked about how the law is a: Curb, Mirror, & Guide! We can't live up to God's standard-PERFECTION. So we understand the promise comes by FAITH-vs.16 that we don't have to be circumcised we cannot keep the law but it's all about faith in Jesus. So now we have this discussion about what happens if we are driving our car and have a head on wreck with a semi and the last thing that co...

The crux of today's reading in Romans 3 is a stark reminder that we can do nothing in our own righteousness that can fix the brokenness of sin that we inherited from our great great great great to the nth great grandparent Adam & Eve. We in fact are dead in our sin and by our own power and might we are still dead--we cannot do enough good and the mirror of the law is a reflection of who we really are--dead. But when we hear the words of God in verses 23-24: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. We hear the clear message of life that comes from God our Father to us through Jesus Christ! The words that remind us that we cannot keep the law, we will always fall short in the end, but that we have been redeemed. We are the redeemed because of the "free gift" give to us by our Father, the gift of His Son Jesus the Christ! How are you doing with your memory ve...

Can't wait to take a journey of grace with you as we dive into Six Feet Under and study the book of Romans. The memory verse for this week is: Romans 6:23 The wages of SIN is DEATH but the FREE gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. My prayer is that you will find real life, true life in Jesus and understand the gift of grace that has been given to us by God our Father! Stay tuned for the reading plan for the coming weeks as we go Six Feet Under!

It seems like the church has somehow lost focus on reaching people the church is suppose to be for---those who don't know God. I think it really is easy to get satisfied with our own tribe and "holy huddle" that we forget about those who Jesus came to find-those who were lost. I am amazed at the teaching that He gives, and the "essieo" of His teaching wanting to help those who marginalized and helpless, He gives all He has for them. Jesus look out at them as "sheep with out a shepherd" http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Mark+6:34&version=NIV I want that kind of compassion yet if I'm honest it's rare to get and keeping it is a fight. It's far easier to look at the sheep in the pen and think that's where all my attention needs to be, because there are needs. Yet at the same time I see Jesus leave town, even when everyone there isn't healed... I do believe we are called to balance. There is a both and here that nee...