The Stuck Feeling

What an exhiliarating moment! When an ESPN production manager handed me the all access pass to work the EPSN College Gameday set, built by the HomeDepot. I had access to the greats. I thought I was on my way to creating major moves for my career. From there it was Fox Sports, working with them as a Liason for the school's communications department. Major resume boosters. I had calls coming in from the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Pistons, and the Dayton Dragons to work for their organizations.

Then God said, move home. From there all that I had imagined for myself seemed to be a distant memory. I worked for SVSU during a time where the athletic director was in transition. The worst part was that HE NEVER TOLD ME! If he had told me, I probably would have chosen another place to work. Without clear management or leadership, I could not excel at my job. I was stuck.


What do you do when you feel stuck? How do you respond to the clutches of your own mind wanting to break free but you can't. How do you handle forgiving yourself for not moving, or being ok when God has set this agenda for you. It's never an easy pill to swallow.

I'm at another moment right now, where things that I truly desire have not panned out like I want, but I plan not to stop trying. I plan to keep going, to keep believing. Through my grit and determination, I'll pull myself out of this mud, and continue to dream! 

Change in the Church House!

Over the last two years, I've been heading a committee to re-think church in its most simplistic form. We were in a place where our needs were changing and we were looking for something different. Not only were we looking, but those around the church were searching for something. We began to ask ourselves, "Where are we heading?" Sustainable growth became the underlying factor - driving our group to begin searching for the answers. So it began. We started researching scriptures about everything regarding change. We started researching churches across the country that had changed their way of doing things, implemented new ways to spread the message of Jesus, and learned how to grow their churches. We realized that we were looking for change, but we needed to identify what was most important. 
We took a moment to think about what we were trying to do and began listing the necessities for growth within our church. We found that people wanted a place to feel connected, a place to grow, a place to find themselves, a place to find people that they could share their lives with. It was simple. We had overcomplicated the purpose of the church. We tried to make the church our everything - our entertainment, our classroom, our kitchen, our dinner table, our medicine, our psychiatrist, our fitness club, and our idol. This model of church does not fit in today's ever changing world. Things are moving fast, social media is everywhere, our jobs require more attention, our children are more active, more people are attending college, and people have so many more choices to pick from. 

We discovered that church could not be everything, but it had to be the center of people's lives. The Church was not the "building"; it lives within every Christian. People want to experience live, not hide through it. So, things have changed. I am encouraged that abundant life does not have to always be exhibited in our church services, but it must be demonstrated in our everyday lives. 

Pursue Passion

September 2015

What is passion? Passion is defined in webster's dictionary as a compelling emotion or feeling. People often ask the question, "what is your passion?" They ask it because they are usually trying to get people to narrow their focus on the things that matter the most  - what makes a person happy. If you are in it for the long haul, you must ask the question, Am I in it for the long haul becuase it will help you determine your passion. 

I am sitting in a computer desk in Mobile, Alabama in the business center of a Holiday Inn express. I am currently working on my website and updating my content, preparing my thoughts for the set up objectives that are coming before me. I looked around for a moment and said, "I'm tired in my body, sleepy, but I am chasing my passion." I am a builder, a musician, and a creator! I am currently on the last leg of a 9 day tour across the southern states. We went to cities like Beaumont,TX, Mephis, TN, New Orleans, LA, Greenwood, MS, Mobile, AL, and Little Rock, AR. It has been an amazing experience being able to wake up and see another city and do what you love to do. I visted some amazing churches with some great leaders that have discovered the solutions to growing a church effectively. 

I've been tired in my body with little sleep, but becuase I have passion for this, I do it with a glad heart and I'm eager to play my instrument. Passion drives you to do things that you thought you couldn't do. Passion takes you out of your self and into a territory that enables you to do more than the mere individual. it's because passion produces strength and untapped potential to make things happen! 

Whatever you do, move with passion. Be intentional about your efforts and relentless with your goals. I pray that passion propels you into your next accomplishment, your next assignment, your next venture, your next big moment. When it's accomplished, passion will drive you to do it all over again!

#Passion 

Pull the Trigger

I was just sitting in the office answering an email for one of our region's biggest christian fesitval. I told one of my board members to pull the trigger. That theme just stuck with me. It grabbed me and told me that this "saying" was more than just a phrase that I told my friend. I truly believe that this is going to be a theme that will lead us into 2016. 

Sometimes God will place oppurtunities in front of your face for you decide - will you pull the trigger? Jeremiah 29:11 says, I know the plans toward you. Plans of good not of evil. To bring you to an expected end." Well the bullet in that gun you will pull has an expected end, but you have to have the faith to believe that it will be done! Pulling the trigger takes courage, faith, and grit to actually go foward with it. 

I don't know what it is that you will have to decide to make happen. Whether it is launching a website, a business, a new job, changing locations, or beginning to work on your dreams. When the oppurtunity manifests and materializes, you have to pull the trigger and follow through! 

Transparency

A few days ago, social media used Steve Harvey as an example of comedy for MeMes, they also scrutinized him for his mistake he made on the Miss Universe pageant. It was one of the biggest stories on Monday. What a buzz! I didn't even know that there was a such thing as Miss Universe, due to my frame of reference. I do not follow pageants, so I wouldn't expect to know. After Monday, most people around the world knew what Steve Harvey did. Sadly, many people did not honor him for his transparency. After making a major mistake by calling the wrong person up to recieve the crown for Miss Universe, he had taken it upon himself to correct the situation before millions of live viewers in Las Vegas and abroad. He told the people, that it was an honest mistake and he felt horrible. 

Was that the time for him to hide in his dressing room? Ask for a police escort and exit the venue? He took it upon himself to do a press conference and address the media head on. By facing it head on, he took ownership of his mistake. Fox executives released a statement backing Harvey for his committment to excellence and said that it was an honest mistake. They actually invited him back to do the show next year. Sometimes, God will take your mess and make a mesage out of it - in the presence of your enemies. All he asks is that we be transparent, and walk through it.