I Was Saved at Three... Or Was I? (Should we Evangelize Children?)

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I've been taking a class on evangelism and missions. Because of this I've been thinking about evangelism a lot and particularly how it relates to children. Child evangelism is a subject that is close to my heart, and I think it'll make more sense if I tell you my story, err, testimony.

I grew up in a super Christian home. My mom tells me about how I was in church the first Sunday after I was born. She played the piano and my dad led the youth and music. We went to church every Sunday. Since the day of my birth I could count the Sundays I have not been in church on two hands (That's less than 10). I was presented with the Gospel at a very early age.

I Was Called a Pharisee, Is That A Bad Thing?

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The cool Pharisee

Let's get this out in the open: Jesus wasn't too fond of the Pharisees. Anyone who just finished reading the gospels with Oceanside knows that. Jesus called the Pharisees Sons of Hell, white washed tombs, and vipers. Those aren't names you want Jesus calling you. The Pharisees had some major problems (like killing Jesus), but maybe all of them weren't all bad.

You see, the other day I was talking with a friend about a particular belief, and this friend called me a Pharisee. Couldn't he have just called me satan? That really bothered me. I argued my point, but the whole time the name Pharisee rang through my head, because I equated them with the things I mentioned above. I was highly offended, but also a bit ignorant.

Oceanside Is Having a Christian Scare House. Is That Even Possible?

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Make this image your cover photo on Facebook, THANKS!

Halloween is definitely the holiday of broom riding witches and black cats. There are seriously some evil things that still happen on October 31st. My wife tells me that in years past, before we were married, they would have to hide their cats because they would get stolen and sacrificed. Seriously!

Where's Waldo, Geo Caching, and Lost and Found

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Almost every week Oceanside provides me with Monday as a day off. It's a family day where we can recover from the weekend's ruckus and relax. The funny thing about having kids is relaxation rarely comes by sitting around. A day inside leads to parents driven to insanity. So we try to bring the kids to a park, Chuck E. Cheese's, or something fun outside the house. This week we went geocaching!

You may wonder what geocaching is. Here is a video that will explain it better than I can.

Allie has acutely trained eyes (It must be all those years of playing Where's Waldo). She can spot almost anything. While walking down an oak shaded path on the edge of Daniel Island Allie honed in on a small black book bag under some thorns and fallen branches leaning up against a young oak. She screamed, "Ivey, I found the geocache!" I sauntered over disbelieving she could have found it that quickly. I was right, she hadn't found the geocache, but she had found a bag belonging to a woman named Amy.

We eventually found the geocache under a walking bridge. It was filled with old Burger King toys and halves of discarded Family Circle Cup tennis balls. Searching for the geocache was the fun part, but the real find of the day was that little black backpack.

When we got home I quickly examined the contents of the bag. I found a check book, a wallet filled with everything except a phone number, a biography, and a spiral bound college rule notebook. I was glad the box hadn't fallen into the wrong hands. Because I didn't find a phone number I went to Google for help. I entered the name on the license into the search bar and within minutes I had her phone number. By 8:15 PM that night she had her six month lost bag in her hands. She told me she had given up hope. She gave us a small gift to say thanks, but the most rewarding thing was seeing the joy on her face when she got her bag back.

7 Ways To Keep Oceanside's Momentum

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The problem with momentum is the more of it you need the harder it is to get going. A 4 ton rock might have a huge amount of momentum while rolling down hill, but getting that rock rolling is very difficult. A 5 pound stone would be much easier to push down a hill, but it would also be far easier to stop.

Oceanside has struggled with momentum throughout our 9 year history. Buildings, health, finances, and confusion of Oceanside's vision and mission have all built huge walls that many times have taken years to breakthrough and overcome.

Once again Oceanside has a little momentum on our side. We've picked up some steam! People are getting their lives changed and we've seen real growth in our worship services. Events like Scaremare have given us little nudges to get us rolling. The question is, how do we keep this momentum? Here are 7 ways that I thought of today.

1. Provide The Finances Needed For Growth.
I wish everything was free, but few things are. If we're going to continue to grow and keep this momentum we're going to have to trust God and do some sacrificial giving. One of Oceanside's biggest barriers is money. Matthew 6:19-21


2. Stay On Board With The Mission.
Far too often people get confused about the mission of Oceanside. We're not left here on Earth to just build cool buildings and hang out together. We're here to build relationships and make disciples. Oceanside needs to be out there making friends and making disciples. That's our mission. Matthew 28:19

3. Love Each Other.
Dissension in the church can ruin momentum faster than you can blink. The sad part is, most of the time church arguments aren't about things that matter. Stay on task, love each other, and take care of each other. Hebrews 10:24-25

4. It's Not About You (Or me).
We often get way too caught up in ourselves. We think the church needs to meet our needs. But if Oceanside is going to continue to grow you're going to have to stop worrying about your comfort and start thinking about the greater mission of Christ's church. Sometimes we forget that we're not people who work and go to church on the weekends. We're the church and we work. Church isn't something we do it's something that we are. Colossians 1:16

I saw this tweet and had to share it with you.

5. Stay In Church.
It is most important that you are THE Church at your job, in your classroom, with your friends, and at home. But don't quit coming to church and small group. Sometimes that means getting up on Sunday is going to be really tough, and staying out late on Saturday might be a little too much. But the fact is your spirit needs the energy is received when Christ's Church meets together. Hebrews 10:25

6. Stay in God's Word and Take Care of Your Spiritual Health.
The temptation is going to be to let that time alone with God slip. DON'T YOU DO IT! In this time of momentum if you're going to participate and get involved where God's at work you'll have to stay in the Bible. You'll have to have deep prayer times with God. You'll have to be on your spiritual guard against Satan. Otherwise this whole thing will fall apart. Proverbs 4:23

7. Forget About Normal.
God doesn't need our normal. There was nothing normal about Jesus. If you're about a church being normal then you are at the wrong church. We're about changing our world, and a lot of times that means we're going to do some strange things. You might have to get on board with some weird things. Like what if we started meeting in a tent for church. Yeah, that would be weird, but it might just be exactly what we need to do. Learn to accept WEIRD and reject NORMAL. Matthew 7:13

There you have it! That's what I came up with. Are there any other ways you can think of to keep our momentum?

Converted Into The Church of the Juicer!!

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Could you wait just a second while I finish my Nutty Buddy Bar? ........

Thanks. Allie and I watched a very interesting documentary last week called Fat, Sick, And Nearly Dead. The documentary followed a guy named Joe who was over weight and quite sick. He had to lose weight. Joe decided, with some help from his doctors, to go on a 60 day juice fast. He drank every kind of fruit/vegetable juice I'd ever seen. All of it was fresh produce and juiced by him. He lost over 100 lbs. and felt better than he had in years. And then he kept the weight off. It was a fascinating documentary.

Joe talking to a tourist

Joe would walk up to people on the street, at gas stations, and even very unhealthy restaurants to discuss a healthy life. People would talk to him while they were huffing down their hotdogs and fried doughnut burgers. It was interesting to watch people get very emotional about the way they eat. Some wanted to change their habits and others didn't.

Finally he met up with a truck driver named Phil that was over 400 lbs. Phil had an auto immune disease that can often be helped by losing weight. Phil wasn't a believer at first but Joe left his phone number with him and told Phil that if he was ever interested in starting this juice fast give him a call. A couple of months later Phil gave him the call. 

Joe on the left and Phil on the right.

Phil started the fast, and a camera crew followed him as he was shedding the weight. People started to notice Phil was losing weight. Phil, because of the success the juice was having in his life, started to tell people about it. He eventually started a, "Juicing church" (My term not theirs). It was a group of people who came together weekly to support each other. They would give, "Testimonies" (My term not theirs) about how the juice fast was helping them. Phil would end off the meetings by giving his testimony and showing how many bowling balls he had lost. It was inspirational.

Then, it hit me like a 400 pound fat man. Phil was able to tell his friends about juicing and get them excited enough to join him weekly. He didn't have a five step plan. He didn't know six different ways to lead someone to juicing. He wasn’t dressed in a tie. He didn't even carry any pamphlets. He just told people about what juicing had done for him. They could look at Phil and see the difference it had made in his life. They saw his genuine concern for their health and saw that he had a solution.

So proclaim the Message with intensity; keep on your watch. Challenge, warn, and urge your people. Don't ever quit. Just keep it simple.

2 Timothy 4:2 

Telling people about Jesus isn't a five step plan, something preachers do, or a special secret method. It's all about talking to them about the difference Christ has made in your life. When they look at you and can see real change. Then they see their need for a savior. Step 1) Start talking to people Step 2) invite them to our weekly meetings. Be real. Be Changed. Be bold.

Ps> It was so inspirational that Allie and I did a five day reboot express juice fast... We fell off the bandwagon on day three. And I can’t help thinking that we may have made it two more days with a little support.