Getting Unstuck

Posted on 05.3.2012 + Leadership

Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,
knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward.
You are serving the Lord Christ. – Colossians 3:23-24 (ESV)

Have you ever had a day, week, month, year(s) where you’ve felt stuck?  Whether it be vocationally, spiritually, or relationally, you just feel like things aren’t moving along as they should.  We’ve all been there.  The question is, how do you get out of this season?

The other day I went to help a friend get his yard in order, because he was feeling overwhelmed by it.  There had been some time that had passed from the last time he did yard work, for sure, but it wasn’t all that bad.  However, the task seemed daunting to him, because he felt stuck.  This experience caused me to reflect on times when I have felt overwhelmed or stuck, which has happened several times in the past.

Here are a few things to remember when you are feeling stuck and some things to help you become unstuck:

  1. Remember Whose You Are.  If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, then you have been purchased, adopted, and identified with Christ.  As followers of Jesus we need to remember that we are called to freedom (Galatians 5:1, 13) and not slavery.  This freedom enables us to become unstuck.
  2. Confess Your Stuck-ness.  We were made to be in relationship with other people.  For followers of Jesus, we’ve been called to live in community with one another.  Confess your stuck-ness to God, and to those who are around you who will love you, pray for you, and if necessary, hold you accountable.
  3. Set Realistic Goals.  If you have some chores that need to get done, create a list/check list.  I like to use a free service called Do.com for this, but a regular old pen and paper works just fine.  If you haven’t read your Bible in months, then setting a goal of reading it for 3 hours is not realistic.  If your entire house needs to be deep cleaned, but you only have an hour, then pick a room.  If your house is a total disaster, then start by cleaning the room used least, so that it will stay cleaner long.
  4. Just Do Something.  A lot of times, when we are feeling stuck, we end up not doing anything.  That’s almost always the worst solution to this problem.  Instead of sitting around feeling sorry for ourselves, we need to find something constructive to do and do it.  For those who are ‘waiting on the Lord’ (there is certainly time for this, but a lot of people use that excuse to cover up their laziness), they need to realize that there is a lot that they should still be doing (i.e. The Great Commandment & The Great Commission).  I really enjoyed a book by Kevin DeYoung called, wait for it… Just Do Something.
  5. Ask for help.  There is no shame in asking for help.  Perhaps you need to hire someone to help you with a task, you need to delegate a project, or you just need to ask some people in your community for help.  After all, most of the time, our pride keeps us from asking for help, and we all know that only hurts us.

What are some other things that you have done to help you become unstuck?  Share with us by leaving a comment.

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Bless His Name

Posted on 04.30.2012 + Family

After 4.5 years of infertility, multiple miscarriages, and a failed adoption, God has blessed us with a healthy pregnancy!  This morning we went to the doctor for our 12 week appointment and we had an ultrasound.  Everything looks great!  While we still have almost 6 months to go, we are very hopeful.

Many of you know that we had brought home a baby boy at the end of March and cared for him as our son for one week.  However, his mother decided that she wanted to raise him and we were forced to give him back.  It was an exceptionally hard time for our family, but God was so gracious to us to provide a multitude of friends and family to give their love, prayers, and support.  While we were heart-broken, we were also so grateful that we weren’t having to go through this alone.  God was near and we felt His love through His people!

Over these last several years we have learned a lot about loss, sadness, and the sovereignty of God.  We have learned that many things in life are completely out of our control, but not out of His control.  We have learned that nothing in life is guaranteed, except for God’s faithfulness to us through His Son Jesus Christ.  We have learned the importance and necessity of being connected to His people through a community of believers (both Christ Church Brenham and Christ Community Church of Magnolia have been amazing to us during this rough time).  We have been forced to preach the Gospel to ourselves and each other and remind ourselves that we deserve much worse than what we are going through.  We have learned to view all life from God as a blessing and a gift.  We have grown in our marriage, and in our relationship with Braelyn.  We have learned what it is to suffer and mourn.  We have learned to be hopeful and expectant.  We have learned to be prayerful.  We have learned humility.

Your friendship and prayers have meant the world to us and we would appreciate your continued prayers as we await the coming of our baby in the fall.

“And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” – Job 1:21 (ESV)

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C3M Men’s Boot Camp

Posted on 02.13.2012 + Ministry
A few months back I had the privilege of sitting with a few other pastors talking with Tom Nelson of Denton Bible Church.  I had heard about his discipleship program for young men before, but did not know much of the details.  One of my passions is discipling men to be strong followers of Jesus Christ, so I was very interested to learn from Tom.  His program is called Young Guns and it is a year-long program geared towards training men from all over the country in areas of Systematic Theology, Bible Study Methods, Church History, as well as give them opportunities to serve around the church.

 

That got me to thinking about ways that I could begin to intentionally invest in the men around me.  Eventually, I would really love to start a similar one-year residency program, purchase a house or two for community living, etc., but since Christ Community Church is only 10 months into our weekly gatherings, I figured I’d find a guy or two to be my Guinea pig(s).

 

So, I started throwing out an idea to a few of the guys in the church, thinking that I might be able to trap one or two of them into participating with me.  However, I wanted to make it hard, because Tom mentioned that men need something to live up to.  I decided that I would start a Boot Camp for the men of my church that meets on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday mornings from 6am to 7am.  We would study theology, bible study methods, some church history, and do some spiritual formation.

 

To my pleasant surprise, we had 6 men commit to be a part of this from January until May!  These guys committed to show up on time, and to pay a $5 late-fee if they show up late or a $10 no-show fee if they fail to show without prior notification.  (I’m going to use this money for our end of the year party, but don’t tell them!)  They all committed, created a covenant that they agreed upon with one another, and we have been going strong.

 

I’ll keep you posted on how it goes, but for now, join with me in praying that these men are blessed and continue to grow in their love for Jesus.

 

Leave a comment if you have any questions.

 

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