JON ALLEN

Have you ever noticed that we have certain trigger words in church? Sometimes when we hear something over and over it can begin to lose its significance. Perhaps a simple rephrasing can breathe some life back into these significant words. I thought it might be interesting to take a look at a few of these and recognize the depth with which they should be regarded. Here are the first that came to mind...

In the message this weekend I referenced a book my dad sent me years ago called "Why Men Hate Going to Church". Basically the premise of the book is that church has been designed for women so it doesn't appeal to men. It got me thinking, what are some of the less significant reasons a man might not like church? Here's a few I thought of...

Have you ever had one of those moments where you could feel God speaking to you as plain as day? Maybe not in an audible voice, but almost like he turns on the faucet in your mind and you just can’t seem to turn it off? I am having one of those moments right now. Sure it is 2am and every sane person is tucked cozily in bed right now. But I just can’t help it. I feel God speaking to me about who I am and what He wants me to do. Honestly, I don’t get in moods like this often, but when I do, I feel the compulsion to write my thoughts down. Somehow I feel like if I don’t record the thoughts I may miss or forget something significant. Typically I would sit down at the computer (being the huge nerd that I am), but this time I couldn’t resist the simplicity of putting pen to paper and allowing the flow of thoughts in my head travel through my arm, then my fingers, and out the end of a good old fashioned pen. Never to be backspaced, deleted, or cut.

Before I was a pastor I don’t know if I ever honestly thought about who God had created me to be. Sure I thought about what I was good at, what I enjoyed, what I wanted to do, “when I grew up.” But never really looked at the big picture and realized the mosaic that God was creating. To see that He had orchestrated every piece of my life to lead me where He wanted me to be, and that He is not even close to finished. Part of me wishes that I had seen it sooner and could have taken steps to prepare myself more fully for my purpose… and yet part of me realizes that perhaps the veiling of my purpose was necessary to lead me to it. The process of discovery has been and exciting one and there is a sense in which I feel like a child who is learning that he can swing, or run, or stack blocks. All of these things seem run-of-the-mill to us now, but when we are still young they are significant revelations. God is teaching me very specifically who He has designed me to be. As He is doing this, He is revealing to me events and experiences from my life that He has (unbeknownst to me) been using to shape me for this day and the days to come. It’s almost as if He has been creating each piece of the puzzle and He is just now putting the edges together. Not to dissimilar from one of my favorite movies of all time “Magnolia”. It is a strange movie for sure; in fact most people don’t get it. But I see my life in that movie. It tells the story of several different people living very distinct and separate lives. All with their own seemingly disconnected circumstances and issues. Yet somehow by the end of the movie every single story interconnects and you can se a larger picture that is greater than the sum of its parts. That is my life. I also believe that if everyone would truly seek God’s purpose for their own life, they would see that it is theirs as well.

What is my picture? What is God forming me into? What does He want me to do?

God has really been teaching me lately. About His Word as always, but specifically who He has created me to be and what He wants me to do. A few weeks ago I had a night where I couldn't sleep. Thoughts were rushing through me head like a whirlwind and I knew the only way I was going to get some rest was if I released those thoughts. Originally my plan was to blog them, but I backed out. I thought, "who will care about my ramblings about who God made me to be?" A few days ago I reconsidered and I started transcribing them into the computer. Why did I change my mind? I hope that this can be an example for you. I hope and pray that if you take the time to read these thoughts you may begin your own process of self-discovery and more accurately picture what God has planned for you. I also believe that as a pastor I need to be transparent and authentic. I feel that the better you know me as a person the more confidence you will have in my leadership. Take it or leave it, read it or not. I will be putting a piece of it up every couple days as it is quite long, so here we go...

I was pulling in the driveway tonight and I looked at our yard. Have you ever noticed that grass always looks perfect at night? However, when the sun rises in the morning you will see the brown patches, bare patches and evil gumballs. Life isn't all that different. When we live in the dark it's easy not to see the imperfections. But when we live in the light we see the spots that need work.

This is without a doubt the greatest musical production I have ever seen. It's Northpoint Community Church's Christmas opener. They have four campuses and they jump LIVE to their different bands doing different parts of the song in different styles. Incredible!

You HAVE to watch this...
http://www.npccproduction.org/blog/2009/12/29/december-20-opener/