Pics from Israel

I had a blast with Clay Corvin and the crew from NOBTS in Israel. Thanks for some great memories. Here are some of my favorite pics from the trip. They were all taken from my iphone with the best camera app.

1st morning sunrise outside Jerusalem

Top of Masada on the Dead Sea

Hiked down this trail from Masada

Temple Mount

Western (Wailing) Wall

Via Dolorosa

Vintage Drew

Holy Church of Sepulchre

The Godfather (Dr. Butler). Lamb Kebab was incredible!

James leading us in a song in an Anglican Church on the Via Dolorosa

My friends Clay and Adam Corvin

Hanging with the Vintage/MissionLab dudes

Inside Catholic Church

Speaks for itself

Chicken Schwarma with T-money

Looking at the Southern Wall

Pastor Mel & James with a skyline of the Old City

Clay giving devo in the Garden of Gethsemane

Me and the Duke. He walked us through the Parables. Amazing!

Hoot giving Devo at Bet She'an

Morning devo overlooking the Sea of Galilee

The Duke (enough said)

The crew on the Mediterranean

Mosaic floor

Our crew walking the streets of Arco

Giving devo at Ceasarea by the Sea (Die to Live/Live to Die)

JP (enough said)

Stole this sign to put up outside Vintage

Dr. Butler giving devo near the Mt. of Beattitudes

Cool Window

"On a boat"

In Christ and His Word

Reflection from Israel:

I want to praise God for His answered prayer. In my previous post, I shared three prayer requests for my trip: refreshment from Christ, feeding on the Word, and vision for Vintage. He answered all three. My time with the Lord through His Word was incredible. There is something about reading a passage like Mark 4:35-41 (Jesus calming the storm) when you are on a boat on that same Sea of Galilee. There is something about reading about the suffering of Christ in a pit where Christ actually suffered. While He was speaking to me in these places through His Word, He gave me a very simple vision for Vintage.

Stay in Him and follow His Word.

Listen to the words of Jesus in John 6.
"I am the bread of life....Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you....For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink....It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life."

Being in Israel again was another confirmation that we serve and follow an extremely real and powerful God. He came in flesh, walked this earth, loved people, voluntarily sacrificed His life, conquered the evil one, ascended into heaven, and remains with us through the Spirit.

His command to us is to "make disciples". How do we do this? In Him.

It might seem simple, but I think it is extremely freeing and powerful. Those whom Christ has saved are empowered by Him and are called to follow His Word. As a new church planter, I am swarmed by so many church growth tips & strategies online, in books, from other pastors, and conferences. All of this is good, but if staying in Christ and His Word isn't the priority it will ultimately be ineffective. May God forgive us for trying to lead His church outside of Him and His Word. He is our Senior Pastor and His Word is our strategy book.

Thank you Jesus for this reminder. Give us your strength as Vintage Church to stay focused upon YOU AND YOUR WORD.

I'll post some of my favorite pics in my next post.

Back to Israel

I am on my 3rd hour sitting at the Newark Airport waiting to board a plane for my 3rd trip to Israel. To be perfectly honest, this is really only my 2nd trip that will have any spiritual significance. My first trip was when I was a in high school and let's just say that I was more interested in the girls on the trip than the historical sites.

We will be traveling with our friends from NOBTS. Clay Corvin, Dr. Dukes, and Dr. Warren will be hosting/leading the trip and Dr. Dukes will be teaching on the parables. I am really looking to seeing these parables come alive as we dive into the text in the locations where they were taught.

I will certainly post a reflection blog of the trip, but I wanted to share a few prayer requests:

1. Refreshment with Jesus. I have really been bustin it this fall. Everything that I do I love to do, but I have definitely gotten tired. When I get tired it seems like my priorities get out of whack. My family life, school life, devotional life, friendships, fitness, Vintage, etc. Can anyone relate to this statement? Sometimes you can work so hard for Christ that you forget about Christ. I need to be with Jesus because it is only through Jesus that I can ever accomplish all the things above. Please pray that my time in Israel will be a time of refreshment with Him.
2. Feeding from Scripture. I am so pumped about Dr. Dukes teachings on the parables. I am really asking for Christ to smack me around with His Word. I am praying for Christ to ignite a burning passion within my soul to study and live out His Word.
3. Vision for Vintage. After spending time with Christ and His Word, I am praying for God to reveal His direction for Vintage Church. I am always overwhelmed by the task that God has called me to in NOLA. The weight and responsibility of being a pastor is extremely intense. I absolutely love it. My only fear is that I would lead outside of the will of God. I am so thankful for our church. I can't believe we just celebrated 1 year. Join with me in praying for God to reveal His good, pleasing, and perfect plans for Vintage as we journey into the future.

Thanks for praying.