Lola, The Street Evangelist

Lola sitting in front of the fireplace being a good girl

If you know us, you know we have a four-legged daughter named Lola. She's an American Boxer Bulldog. She's our 85 pound lap dog and she's a little over 4 years old. We got her when she was about four months old and though she's brought some aggravation into our lives, she's "one of us" and she's part of the family.

After moving here to Montrose, CO Rachel and I have gone on some neighborhood walks and taken Lola with us and she does really well (until she sees a cat and then it's on like a chicken bone!). Anyway, it's really neat how having a dog can open up conversations with people you've never met before. Just this past weekend, we were able to meet a really nice young family in our neighborhood and connect with them. We were able to tell them about CHURCH180 here in Montrose and the family seemed really interested!

Just last night, Lola and I went on a walk a little later at night and a neighbor flagged me down to ask about Lola. I ended up talking to him and his wife for about 20 minutes just getting to know them. It turns out that we have a few things in common and we hope to invite them over soon to get to know them.

The moral of the story you may ask??? I realize this is silly but I'm dead serious. Don't ever think of your dog as "just a dog." Your dog can be a bridge that helps you get to know other people and develop relationships. Use every tool you have to point people to Jesus - even if it's a dog. Your dog may very well help you point someone to faith in Christ. 

First Days In Montrose

Ok . . . I realize it's been a while since I updated this blog. But hopefully, I'm back to some sense of normalcy (whatever that is).

I began driving to Montrose, CO on June 9 and got here June 10. I spent the next few days cleaning our rental home and getting it ready for Rachel and the boys to arrive. After getting chemical burns on my hands for a short time from Lysol cleaner, I now realize that house cleaning is NOT my calling in life.

Rachel and the boys flew in on June 13. Her younger sister Rebecca was so nice to fly out with her to stay with us a couple of weeks and help out with the boys. She's been great!

The moving truck got here on the 14th (Tuesday) with most of our stuff but we're still waiting on the second shipment to get here who knows when. Moving our junk in and unpacking our junk is not something that we found to be extremely exciting. If nothing else, we realized (especially Rachel) that we have a lot of things we simply should just get rid of. We spent Wednesday all day unpacking some more.

Thursday was a day set aside for just fun. After all we've been through over the last several months, we needed it. We drove an hour and a half up to Telluride, CO where a friend of mine is a pastor (Tree Cooper at Alpine Chapel). We met him, his wife Robin, and Anna for lunch and then rode the gondola (enclosed ski lift) up to the top of the ski mountain there. Simply put, the whole area and especially the top of the mountain was nothing short of God's unbelievable and beautiful creation.

Friday and Saturday (June 17-18) were more unpacking, cleaning days, and time with the family. Sunday, we went to a friend's church here in Montrose that started about 4 years ago (Chip Martin at Celebration Church). Chip's a great guy.

Monday and Tuesday were more unpacking days and just spending time with the boys. I love our boys! Last night (Tuesday) we invited our area missionary (Brad Cowger) and his wife Traci over for dinner and had a great time with them. They've become great friends.

Today, I'm sitting in my part-time office (the Looney Bean Coffee Shop in Montrose) beginning some work on church planting stuff.

As you think of us, please pray for us. While Montrose is incredibly beautiful and as close to perfection as anywhere I've ever lived, we're still finding it hard these first days to adjust through the transition. Being away from everything that's comfortable, safe, and familiar has been tough on all of us. Cross has really had a difficult time adjusting with a new room at night times. Pray for him. Pray for Rachel and I as we work together on our new calling to be unified and solid for what God has called us to do here. And pray for Kip to adjust in his own little way.

Why would we move away so far and step into so many venues of uncertainty?? Why would we go into a situation where we're not sure if we'll have much of an income? One reason and one reason only  . . . . Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior who has lived sinlessly, died sacrificially, and rose victoriously. There is no other reason at all. Jesus . . . . all for Jesus.

SOMEBODY BIT ME!!!!

About four weeks ago, I was playing with my oldest son Cross in the backyard. He's only two years old and he hasn't quite figured out that everything outside isn't edible. For just a brief minute I took my eyes off of him and then it happened.

He was squatting down and eating the grit from the shingles on the roof that the rain had washed down one of the spouts. So I rushed right away to rescue him from the grit. I stuck my fingers in his mouth to get the grit out before he swallowed it, and then . . . . WHAM!!! It felt like the jaws of a Great White locking down on my thumb. Ouch!!!! Cross bit me!!

Here's my takeaway from this wonderful little incident.

1. Sometimes, our worst pains come from those we love the most.
2. Sometimes, people don't really intend to hurt us. They just want us out of their business.
3. Sometimes, the pain is only temporary, but the scars remain for a long time. (Remember that this pic was taken 4 weeks after he bit me!)
4. Sometimes, we have to just get over the offense and choose to love and forgive.
5. Sometimes, the ones that hurt us need us the most. 
6. Sometimes, our love for others should overlook the pain they cause us. 

I still love you Cross!!! I always will!

Reflections On The Last 5 Years

Over the last 5 years, I've been on staff at First Baptist Church Saltillo, MS as the Worship Pastor. As of last Sunday, I have officially finished my service there to begin planting a church in Montrose, CO called CHURCH180. Here are just some brief reflections on these 5 years of ministry at FBCS and how God has used these years in my life:

1. God has grown me more here in my ministry life and personal life more than any other place of service. 
2. As a general rule, "church people" are much kinder and nicer than sometimes given credit for. Over the years, I've saved "nice emails" which totaled around 104 and "nasty emails" which totaled around 12.
3. When people disagree with me, I shouldn't take it personally. Disagreements can be some of the most powerful learning tools in life.
4. When you leave a place of service, you really don't leave 100%. You will always leave a piece of your heart and hopefully a piece of your legacy.
5. God is always preparing you for the "next thing." That may be staying right where you are but stepping it up a notch but it may be a new calling. Learn to listen to what the "next thing" is that God has for you. Prepare for it and don't waste time!
6. It's easy to say nice and meaningful things to people when you're leaving. Things like "I love you" and "You've meant a lot to me" and Thank you for what you've done" should never be limited to our departing language. These types of phrases should always be on our lips.

Thanks to all of my friends at FBCS. God has used you in my life and I love you!

Making The ETERNAL Difference

            These days it seems that it's more common to hear about churches that are fussing, fighting, and dividing rather than churches that are united and focused on their mission. This saddens me! Now I know that no church is perfect, but isn’t it refreshing to be a part of one that’s seriously making an eternal difference in the life of the world?

            One such church for me (and my family) has been First Baptist Church Saltillo, MS ( www.fbcsaltillo.org ). Just a year after Rachel and I were married, we became part of the pastoral staff here at FBCS in January of 2006. Over the last five years, we have experienced a pretty comprehensive list of ups and downs and God has blessed us to be a part of an incredible family of Christians.

            Through the last five years, the FBCS family of believers has welcomed us, loved us, been patient with us, taught us, corrected us, loved us some more, provided for us, appreciated us, honored us, believed in us, and supported us. This opportunity of service has provided an incredible place of spiritual growth and personal development for me as a leader. Without a doubt, my most profound and deepest times of growth have happened here. In what they’ve done, they’ve not only affected our lives but also the eternal lives of those who have been and will be affected by our ministry.

            Just this past Sunday night, FBCS collectively made a decision to partner with us and our new church plant in Montrose, Colorado (CHURCH180 . . . www.church180.net website to go live in the next 1-2 weeks we hope). They’ve agreed to help financially support us and even before that, they’ve made it known that they support us in their prayers and encouragement. What a blessing!

            What’s the point??? The point is this . . . When it comes to making an eternal impact and eternal investment into people’s lives, the Church (big “C” for “Church” universal) is the only organization that can do this. Notice I used the word “eternal.” Sure, there are clubs and organizations that make a difference in the here and now, but the Church is the only group of people that has the power to affect the eternal destinies of people.

            So what about your church? Is your church making a difference or just marinating the status quo? What about you personally? Whose lives are you impacting on an eternal level? Can you name just 2 people? If you can name only 2, then ask yourself why it isn’t 3 (and so on and so forth).

            Thanks to FBCS for investing in us so that we can eternally invest into others! You guys are our family and we’ll love you guys forever!!

Montrose Or Bust!!

Some of you may know, but last week Rachel, Kip, and I flew out to east Colorado for a church planting "boot camp" and it was great! Cross stayed with Rachel's parents so we missed him a lot. After the training was over on Wednesday, Rachel and Kip flew back to Memphis and I traveled west to Montrose with a friend of mine for a few days. The drive was five hours of sheer beauty!!

Just being in Montrose for a few days was great. I had the opportunity to meet some people face to face I'd corresponded with by email and I also got to meet some others for the very first time. If you're wondering, the people of Montrose are really friendly and really down to earth. The main question I kept getting was, "Where are you from?" Obviously they think I have an accent! Sometimes you just don't blend as easy as you'd like. Ha!

One of the highlights was the Blue Mesa Reservoir. Everything was pretty much frozen and we were told that you could drive a car on top of the lake. Needless to say, we didn't try that! Here's a pic of the area we saw there at the reservoir. Yeah, I know . . . it's a tough life but somebody's got to see this!

Bottom line . . . we're excited about going to Montrose! We're excited about meeting people there and starting CHURCH180! We're excited to see how God wants to use us!

If you'd like to be a strategic prayer partner, please email me at bryan@fbcsaltillo.org and I'll forward you a daily prayer list to be praying for us. We need a lot of prayer support as we make this step of faith.

Stay tuned for the launch of the CHURCH180 website. We're working on some final things and hope to have it up in the next couple of weeks. You'll be able to read a bit more about the church, the vision and values we'll embrace, and how to get involved. Yippeeee!!

Into The "Unknown"

As many of you may know by now, our family is about to go into the “unknown.” In late 2008, God began to work in my heart and gradually direct me into something completely different in my life. After sharing this with Rachel, we began to pray and through prayer, we knew that God was calling me to be a pastor . . .  but also was calling me into missions. This didn’t make much sense but we continued to pray.

After going through the initial steps of application and interview with the IMB, it seemed that God was closing the door for us to serve as international missionaries. About the same time, we were contacted by Brad Cowger of the Uncompahgre (bet you can’t say that 5 times fast!!!) Baptist Association of Colorado concerning planting a church in Montrose, CO.

Initially we were like, “What??? Plant a church?? Us?? No way!” But God continued to work and put a calling on our lives to do this. Through several weeks and months of research, we learned that Colorado is an extremely “un-churched” state. Some have estimated that close to 80-90% of the population is not involved in an evangelical church in any way.

To be clear . . . “church” doesn’t save anyone. But Jesus does and the Church is His bride here on earth. We believe that if someone loves Jesus, they will love His wife. In human experience, the Christian Church has been a community in which people have come to know the real Jesus and by knowing Him, they have come to find genuine peace, forgiveness, healthy relationships, purpose, and most significantly eternal life.

This is our calling: to BE the church in Montrose, CO. We’re personally trying to take Jesus’ words in Luke 9:23-25 seriously:

Then he (Jesus) said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.  For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self?

We look forward to starting a brand new church called CHURCH180 representing the life-giving “180” that Jesus can bring to anyone’s life. We plan to move to Montrose, CO in late May/early June this year.

In closing, we have three basic needs as we go into this. If you’re interested in helping meet the needs of this new calling and church, here they are:

1.     Strategic prayer. Without a doubt, this is the most important of all needs we have. We believe in the necessity of prayer and a total dependence on God. If you'd like a daily prayer list, we can email one to you.

2.     Funding for living expenses, church start up costs, ongoing monthly ministry expenses, etc. Checks can be made out to "CHURCH180" and sent to:

              Uncompahgre Baptist Association

                ATTN: CHURCH180

                6 Hillcrest Plaza Way

                Montrose, CO 81401

3.     Mission Teams to come and help us serve and reach out to the community of Montrose.

You can email me at bryan@fbcsaltillo.org if you have an interest or questions (new CHURCH180 website and @church180.net email address coming soon).

More to come in the days ahead. Pray for us! We need it!!