Christianity is For Those Willing to Die

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Pastor Yousef Nadarkhani and his son

Do you have what it takes? How far are you willing to go? Are you willing to act in a way that people are going to think you're out of your mind? I've heard it said that the safest place to be is in the center of God's will. I understand what people are getting at when they say that, but I think many people who hear that misunderstand. Being in God's will is not safe for the temporary. It is only safe for the eternal.

There is a man in Iran who is scheduled to be executed at any time. Today he will be asked for the third time to deny his faith. He won't do it. And because of that Iran will be able to execute him. The execution may happen today. If I told you he was a, "Christian terrorist" you may understand his execution. But he's not. The only crime Yousef Nadarkhani is guilty of is changing his faith from Islam to Christianity. Please pray for Rev. Yousef, his family, and the congregation to whom he is pastor.

Is Pastor Yousef in God's will? Yes. Then why is he being executed? Because being in God's will is not safe in this life. Asking Jesus to be the leader and forgiver of your life only gives you safety in eternity.

Please write a letter to the Iranian embassy here and plead with them to not execute Pastor Yousef.

In Daniel 3:16-18 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were set to be thrown into a blazing furnace. But before they were thrown in they looked the king in the eye and said these words,

If you throw us in the fire, the God we serve can rescue us from your roaring furnace and anything else you might cook up, O king. But even if he doesn't, it wouldn't make a bit of difference, O king. We still wouldn't serve your gods or worship the gold statue you set up."

In other words, we trust our God and no matter if we aren't saved from the furnace He is still God. Standing in the middle of God's will can be a dangerous place. But it is the perfect place to be. You will never be more complete than when you are exactly where God wants you.

Our new series Sun Stand Still has been invaluable to me. The only other study that has impacted how I view finding and following the will of God would be a study called Experiencing God. I encourage you to read Sun Stand Still, digest it, and act on it. Following God isn't always safe, but it's good. Are you willing to give it all? Buy the Book Here

We All Have Heart Disease. Your Mouth Proves it.

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I have heart disease. Not the kind you're probably thinking of. You see, it's not physical (Sometimes I wish it was physical). I'm talking about the part of me that loves, hates, lusts, desires, and completely loses it. The most inner me.

It's like the fat guy with heart problems that goes to the doctor. The doc tells him that if he'll start eating right and exercising they can head off a heart attack. Then the fat guy says he needs all that really tasty food to support his body and he can't exercise because it makes him tired. You see, he's fat, and if the doctor can fix his heart then he'd want to eat better and actually have the energy to exercise. Then the doctor interrupts and explains that he needs to change his actions in order to fix his heart. That's how we will fix our hearts. There is no magical prayer or button that will fix our hearts. It takes effort and exercise.

All of us have heart problems. If you don't believe me, have you ever said something you regretted later? Something that just came out of your mouth? You may apologized and said, "Oh that's not me, I don't know where that came from." The truth is that is the most real you people will ever see. Jesus knew where those words come from. They come out of our hearts.

In Matthew 15 Jesus says, What comes out of the mouth comes from the heart, and this defiles a man. The words that come out of our mouths come straight from our hearts. Filthy mouth = filthy heart. It's not a real difficult equation. People can get a glimpse of what is in our hearts by what comes out of our mouths.

Then Jesus tells us in the next verse For from the heart come evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, sexual immoralities, thefts, false testimonies, blasphemies.

I bet you thought your heart just pumped blood. Oh no, it does WAAAY more than that. The equation gets a little more inclusive: Filthy actions = filthy heart. What is wrong with us comes down to a problem with our hearts. Our hearts are dirty, but how do they get that way?

We fill them with dirty things. The wrong friends, the wrong jokes, the wrong TV, the wrong movies, the wrong video games, the wrong conversations, the wrong websites, the wrong... You get the picture. We didn't get where we are on accident. We're not going to get out of where we are without intentionally making choices that will clean up our hearts.

We get over hatred by loving people. We get beyond greed by giving. We stop lying by telling the truth. We have victory over sexual impurity by practicing purity in every area of our lives. There is no magic button that will fix your heart and change all those things. You have to change those things to fix your heart. It takes purposeful actions to start cleaning our diseased hearts out. We didn't get in this hole on accident, we'll never get out by magic.

When we start to change what we put into our hearts what comes out of it will surprise us, but in a good way. Solomon tells us in Proverbs 4:23 to Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life. Do whatever it takes to make and keep your heart pure. That's going to take some tough decisions, but they are choices that need to be made.

I had to share this message to you. Most of what I said above was not original to me. If you would like to hear more you can check out Andy Stanley's sermon It Came From Within Part 1 It's a powerful message.

In Closing...

• Saturday Night Service: We had an amazing time this past Saturday. We worshiped the Lord, drank, coffee, and tweeted. Way hipster. There was even a beret in the crowd. KEEP INVITING PEOPLE
• Sacremare: We're getting close so we're going to have to double our efforts to get this thing together. I think it could really impact the community. FOR REALZ we're having a meeting after church this Saturday and Sunday.
• Twitter: Start following us on twitter @OceansideChurch. Start using our hashtags #OCnite #OCday and #OCprayer. Get the word out!

Do You Need A Victory?

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Baptism on Sunday

Sometimes victory can seem like something out of reach. Have you ever been in the middle of a project and you couldn't see how you were going to finish it before the deadline? Then, to your surprise, you got it done. It took late nights, perseverance, time management, and insane hours. But you had that victory moment!

In college I remember looking at my syllabus's thinking, "There is no way we're going to cover all this." Some how we would. I would get all the projects done and all the exams passed. One class, specifically, was the bain of my existence. Anatomy. I had to memorize, what seemed like, every piece of the human body. Thousands. Of. Parts. With the help of my wonderful wife I passed by one point. That was a huge moment of victory for me.

Sunday September 11, 2011 was another one of those days. I had the privilege to baptize one of the students we had been working with at Reality for several months. It was so mind blowing to see God work in a person's life and actually change them. I could tell she was growing because she started making the right, but often more difficult, choices.

Those kind of victories are why we do the things we do at Oceanside. Why are we starting a new Saturday night service? To be able to have a hip service for cool people. No. We're doing it to reach a type of person that may not be reached any other way. Why do we offer movie tickets to guests who come to Reality? So they can see a movie. No. So that when we have 37 students at Reality because they want movie tickets and hopefully a few stay and we can actually make a difference that will last for eternity.

I think I used my life verse last week, but I love it so much, I'm going to use it again. Deal with it. Brothers and sisters, I can’t consider myself a winner yet. This is what I do: I don’t look back, I lengthen my stride, and I run straight toward the goal to win the prize that God’s heavenly call offers in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14


Look at you life and figure out what you consider victory. Would God put your victory in His win column? If not, examine how you can change that and get victory for God. The rest of this week serve God and run as hard as you can, lengthening your stride so that can pass the finish line proudly. Enjoy the victories and learn from your defeats.

In Closing...

Saturday Night Beta Service starts this Saturday at 8PM. Please come enjoy and hang out with us. Gourmet coffee, a great message on the power of God in our lives, and killer worship.

Oceanside's Youth Group Needs Some Help

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The Students on this board are the ones you need to pray for.

Yesterday was Reality Youth's big back to school push. We call it Back to Cool. I know it's a way dorky name, but that is kind of the point. It was the most successful Back to Cool party we've ever had. We fit 37 students and workers in our little building. Praise God!

Playing an Icebreaker Game...

So, you may ask, how did we get them their? We lured them in with money and movie tickets. Before you freak out it is a Biblical model. Luke 14 tells us to, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. The understanding of, "Compel"is by any legal means. The Message says it this way, Then go to the country roads. Whoever you find, drag them in. I want my house full! In other words do whatever you can legally do to get them under the preaching of the Gospel. That is what we did.

Playing More Games...

With the help of some great volunteer staff we pulled off games, food, and a gospel presentation where almost half the students raised their hands for salvation. We had all kinds of students at church: profest atheists, Christians, nominal-Christians, non-believers, and students with lots of needs. I'm so proud of our students!

Here is the Problem:
I told the students that I would give the one who brought the most friends a $50 gift card to Town Centre. I honored that and had that ready to go. I also said I would give all the friends of the winning student a free movie pass. The winning student brought 11 friends! I was only prepared for at most 5.

We Need Your Help:
We need 6 people to give $10 to help cover the costs of the tickets we didn't have the money for.

You can send your gifts through the mail to (Please get it in before next Wednesday):
1728 Rifle Range Rd.
Mt. Pleasant, SC 29464

or give online at this link ONLINE GIVING. Please, memo it for the Youth Group. Thank you for your help. When you give you're impacting the lives of students who may never hear the gospel any other way.

I've Tabled Sanctification or Cool Story Bro

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Practicing Sanctification...

Sanctification... It's a cool word. If you're alone right now (or even if you're not), say it out loud. It's fun to say. It's not always fun to experience and do.

Some of you may ask, "What is sanctification?" I'll explain it with a story and then a verse...

Thursday and Friday Pastor Trey and I were putting together some new tables for our hip Saturday night service. The tables were circular and it was important to find the relative center. After a quick search on Youtube we found an easy way to do that and we started putting the legs on the tables.

The first table we put together was a little sloppy. We were almost an inch off of center. It's nothing life altering, but it wasn't as sturdy as we wanted. So on table two we figured out what we did wrong and reduced our error to one-quarter of an inch. We were getting better. On the third table we were determined to make it our best yet. So, we measured twice three times and drilled once. It was even better. We were only less than a sixteenth of an inch off. We got better over time.

1 John 3:2-3 explains sanctification this way, Dear friends, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him because we will see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself just as He is pure. [Emphasis is mine.] Sanctification is becoming more like Christ tomorrow than you were today. It's the process of reaching perfection over time. Becoming like Christ.

Drinking coffee on one of our tables.

If we would have had a one more table and a square I really think we could have hit dead center. It took time and practice.

Our Christian life is similar. When we first become followers of Christ all of our sins are forgiven, but that doesn't mean we just stop doing sin. The goal is to become more like Christ every day. As Philippians 4:12-13 says, Forgetting what is behind and reaching forward to what is ahead,I pursue as my goal the prize promised by God's heavenly call in Christ Jesus. It's a process that we have to push forward through. Today focus on being a better person than you were yesterday, repeat tomorrow.

On The Other Hand...

• Oceanside Saturday Night starts on September 17 at 8PM. It'll be our beta service so we might be a little sloppy. But if you're ok with that join us! We're aiming for gourmet coffee, loud music, and digital integration (So it might not be for everyone).
• Sun Stand Still I've just started reading the book for the new series we're doing. Amazing! You'll be blown away. The series truly kicks off September 17 and 18. Start saving a few bucks to buy this book. It's one of those books you'll want to have around for a long time.
• Scaremare keep thinking about your rooms. We're going to have another meeting this Sunday (Sept. 11).

Using Halloween to Scare The "Hell" Out of People

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Why are clowns so scary??

Have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching [them] from the fire; have mercy on others but with fear, hating even the garment defiled by the flesh. Jude 1:22-23

I'm not cursing... if you're freaking out, calm down. I really just wanted you to click on the post. It worked! Thanks for the click. There is a point to my rather crass title.

Need a laugh? Here is a great montage of people being scared.

God has called us to reach out to those who are destined for eternal separation from God, and as Jude states, the fires of Hell. Hell isn't something people really like to hear about. Because of that in our culture many preachers don't like to preach about it or even say the word. Hell has to be preached about. If we don't warn people about it who will? No one.

Oceanside's main goal is to reach out to the lost. We desire for people to come to know Christ as their leader and forgiver. We work in all kinds of ways to help people make that decision: Block parties, Sunday services, small groups, podcasts, and street preaching (to name a few). This Halloween we're extending our reach and hosting, what many people might call, a haunted house.

Haunted really isn't the best term. It won't be full of ghosts, witches, or anything like that. But it will be a house filled with death. Death that is caused by sin. Suicide, drugs, prostitution, and serial killings are just a few of the themes.

So, what is the point? We're trying to remind people that this life will end, and we'll ask them if they're ready. The point of our, "Haunted house", for lack of a better term, will be to scare the Hell out of them and fill them with Christ. We're looking for people to be a part.

So how can you use this awesome opportunity to reach people for Christ? Well, I'm glad you asked.

We need:
Actors, Makeup artist, costumers, builders, crowd control, and counselors. It will be an awesome event for you to help at, please join in.

7.5 Steps to Starting a New Ministry in Your Church

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If there is one thing I've found over my few years as a fulltime pastor it's that there are a lot of people who want to start up their own ministry. Everyone has their passions and knows the ministry they wish their church had. So I'm going to give you a few suggestions to starting up a new ministry in a church. Be aware this list may not be comprehensive and is more or less a general guideline to getting one started.

STEP 1: Find a church that fits you. Not every church is for everyone. And most of that comes down to worship style preference. I also encourage you to do research into the church and make sure they are Bible believing and that your beliefs match up with theirs. It would be a terrible thing to start up a ministry and find out you can't stay at a church because of their beliefs. So be sure this is a church you are willing to stay at for years. And just a note- if that church's vision and mission matches up with what God has called you to, but their music isn't your preference... just put up with it and listen to your favorite style in the car on the way to church. Matching up with beliefs, vision, and mission is far more important than the style of music a church plays.

STEP 2: Join that church! Some people call it becoming an owner, and others call it being a member. Whatever it is called let the people know you have a serious commitment to that church and their vision.

STEP 3: Get involved in a ministry. You need to find a place to serve. And I encourage you to serve in that ministry for at least a year before even considering starting up a new ministry. Serving helps you with a couple of things. 1) You'll get to know other ministers in the church. 2) It will orient you to a church's mission and vision. You'll be able to see more clearly what the church's goals are and who they are trying to reach. It would be a bad idea to start up a ministry without knowing those things.

STEP 4: Look where God is at work in your church. Ask these types of questions:

• What type of person is being reached by my church? If your church is reaching a lot of singles and young marrieds, but has no seniors, you probably don't want to start up a monthly breakfast for the elderly (unless of course you see a need where there are seniors who don't have an outlet, then you would have a great ministry opportunity.)
• Does this ministry fit in with the strategy of my Church?
• What are the church's strengths and how can I use those to help me?

STEP 4.5: Talk With Your Pastor about the ministry... You'll have a lot more respect from him if you're an actively serving and consistently attending member that he knows he can trust. And with his blessing and support move on to step 5.


STEP 5: Partner with people and get them excited about your dream. Tell people where you want the ministry to go, who you want it to reach, and how they can be a part of it. People want to know where you're going. They don't want to jump on a ship that has no destination. People will invest time and money into a vision not a fancily named ministry.

STEP 6: Raise your funding. Ministry takes money. Some churches may have the financial means to support whatever ministry you feel God telling you to start, but even so, raising your own funding will help you and your team members take ownership of the ministry. Once the church sees your dedication and success they'll be more willing to throw a few dollars your way. Again, when trying to raise money, be sure to get people invested in the vision of the ministry. You can tell them all day long how much money you need, but connecting those dollars to actual people will get the money flowing.

STEP 7: Pick a start date, advertise, and kick it off!!! You will have worked hard to get here, but you should know the hard work is just beginning, but so are the great rewards. Make sure you are celebrating God's victory in people's lives. If someone becomes a follower of Christ tell people how God is using the ministry! Give God the glory.

A few closing points-

• Your ministry will not be the savior of any church, big or small. Jesus saved the church. Your ministry is a tool that God can use.
• Your ministry has the potential to make a real difference when you start thinking about other people's needs.
• Don't start a ministry that you wish your church had. Start the ministry your church needs.
• Ministry is not for the faint of heart. Be prepared for a very rough road of non-attendance and half-heartedness in the beginning, but fight through it! It takes time to grow a great ministry. Having a strong vision for your ministry will help get people's hearts into it and get people to attend and/or support it.

Find Out Why I'm So Happy I Got a $300 ticket! :-D

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Getting Ready to Leave for New York

Sorry I didn't blog last week. I was on a little thing I like to call vacation. I vacated to the metropolis of New York City. What an amazing city with incredible wonders. Time square, Freedom Tower, Toys R Us, and the Statue of Liberty are only some of the amazing sites I was able to see. All those things were great, but I was treated to the real New York experience. I had my car towed.

Me in front of Freedom Tower Which is on the WTC site

I can read. In fact you may say I'm quite good at reading. So when a sign says, "No Parking" I read it and know not to park there. But when a sign says, "No Standing" I figure it means not to stand there. HA! Was I wrong.

That is exactly what the sign said...

What I found was No Standing is actually a more severe warning than No Parking. It basically means that no body, car, or thing can be standing still in this area at anytime or it will be towed and ticketed. I parked my car in a No Standing zone at 10:45 PM and it was towed by 12:15 AM, barely an hour later. It was an expensive lesson that cost me an entire day of my vacation and $300. I'll never park in a No Standing zone EVER again. And I'll never forget the experience.

I was reminded in all this that even in the most annoying situations I should stay joyful. James explains it to us this way, Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.


This is another Biblical paradox. We are supposed to be happy when times are most sad. We rejoice in the trials of life not because it's fun, but because God is making us into the people He wants us to be. After we face a trial, if we react to it the right way by counting it all joy, we are closer to that final product that God wants us to be.

So what difficulty are you going through right now (If you're not going through anything yet, hang on, it's coming)? Stare it down and tell it that it's not going to get the best of you. Because you understand this challenge is only making you stronger and more like Christ. What an amazing thing it is when we can take the terrible events of our life, as minor or major as they might be, and put it in the joy column because we know God has it under control.

In Closing:
Halloween Scare House: As Halloween jets towards us we are working hard at getting our scary house together. We need help, your help. We need people to help build sets, props, sue costumes, and paint makeup. There will be another interest meeting this Sunday morning after church.

Oceanside Saturday Night: We have a mission at Oceanside to reach every man, woman, and child in our 2 mile radius. So in order to reach a new demographic we're going to start a Saturday night service. It will be very similar to the Sunday morning service except more technology driven (Twitter, Four-Square, Facebook, and so much more). We think it will appeal to a those who have challenging schedules, like to sleep, single, young & married, or all the above. Beta Service September 17th 8PM.

You and Captain America Were Made For More Than This

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Captain America

This past week was my birthday and I want to thank everyone for the birthday wishes. It was great and now that I'm 26 I feel so much older. After my party Allie and I escaped to the movie theater to watch the all new Captain America movie. We were on the edge of our seats the entire time. Explosions, excitement, and even emotion (something not too often seen in summer blockbusters) had us captured for the entire hour and a half.

Most of the movie takes place during World War II. It follows a very slight man named Steve Rogers who gets turned into a super soldier to fight for the U.S. Army. This scrawny man with a huge heart turns into a beast of a man with a huge heart that can out run a car and pickup a motorcycle. It's pretty fantastic.

Steve in the USO

Steve Rogers wants to fight on the front lines. Steve wants to serve his country. He wants to be a real hero. But the Army sees him as an experiment that needs to stay in a lab and be tested, and the politicians see him as a way to sell war bonds and build morale. Neither of those things are his dream.

The conversation that changed everything.

Depressed and ready to give up a woman sits down and talks to Steve. She tells him that he is made for more than just the USO. He is made to fight for his country. That sparks a flame in Steve's head. He puts on a helmet, his leather jacket, and uses his USO shield to storm a Nazi base. Single handedly he rescues 400 men. The Army realizes that he is more than an experiment and the politicians realize he is more than a showman. He is Captain America.

Captain America suited up.

This set off a spark in my mind too. We were made for more than the mundane life. We were made for more than just 70+ years and then dead. We were made for eternal life and made to lead others into that eternal life. That pang you get in your heart that says, "This can't be all there is" has been designed by God. Ecclesiastes 3:11 tells us He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart. Yes, you were made for more than this. God made you for Heaven.

It's when we start living and thinking about our ultimate goal, Heaven, that we start living differently. Suffering for Christ on Earth isn't just something we put up with anymore, it becomes a joy. We don't make more money for the sake of getting more stuff. We make more money to give it away. We don't schedule our day for our own good, but we schedule our day for God's good. The list of things that change could go on. Paul says in Philippians 3:7 I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. Everything changes when Christ enters the pictures.

Let me encourage you this week. Stop living like this is all there is. You were made for more than the mundane you were made for the extraordinary! God hasn't saved you so you could attend Oceanside on a Sunday morning. He saved you so you could serve Him and he would reward you greater than you can even imagine in Heaven. Take charge, break into satan's strong hold, and make him sweat! Satan hates it when you start living like you have a purpose. #KSITT

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.