Last week I had the opportunity to visit my old home… Westfield, Indiana.

As I drove around that small town I reflected on what God has done in my life and was renewed with optimism for every person! The transformation in my life is incredible!

I moved out of my parent’s home when I was seventeen and moved into a series of different residences with different dudes. The last place I lived was in a trailer park in Eagletown, Indiana. These days of my life were marked by guilt, depression, disappointment, rage, and hopelessness. I smoked a ton of pot, drank what I could afford and tried many other alternatives to dim the pain and quiet the echoes of loneliness in my heart. None of it worked.

And then I found Jesus. Since then my life has taken a turn for the better. Sure, I still wrestle with attitudes, etc. that aren’t exactly Christ-like, but I like to say, “I’m not what I’m gonna be, but I’m a whole lot better than I used to be!” Thank you Jesus!

Here’s some pics for the journal:

The trailer park I lived in…

The lot and the porch where I used to live (our trailer was crap so they probably burned it as soon as we moved out!)

The truckstop I used to wash dishes at (My license had been suspended so I had to drive to work illegally every day! I looked for the shortest drive possible… this was it.)

I was embarrassed by my life. I lived in a crappy trailer with holes in the floor and no heat other than what we got from a single kerosene heater! I worked at a truckstop scrubbing pans for $6 an hour and was regularly humiliated when my friends would stop in to shoot pool and see me scrubbing pans and mopping floors. I was ashamed of how I talked, the habits that controlled my life, and the depths to which I had sunk.

Today I am a new man because of Jesus Christ. Today I am ridiculously optimistic about people. I believe that Jesus can transform anyone and that He wants to lead us into a “rich and satisfying life” (John 10:10)… and that’s why I am starting a new church, Walls Down Church. I’m not the first to be changed by His love, and I won’t be the last!

My gosh! I realize it’s been a week since I’ve blogged! Here’s some of the “stuff” that’s been happening:

• My Grandma died yesterday. We weren’t close. It wasn’t that there was a problem, it’s just that my family has never placed an emphasis on family. I’m sad about that.

• I am praying that God will give me a new set of friends… friends who are not religious and do not know Jesus! As a pastor, it’s easy to surround yourself with “like-minded” people. While I love my current friends, I’m praying for additional friends.

• God is really speaking to me about the issue of generosity. I want to be a generous man. I want my life to ooze generosity in everything from the way I give to the way I treat people.

• I think I’m going to stop “trying to build a core group” and just start preaching. I’m not a great “core group builder.” I’m a preacher. That’s what God has called me to do and that’s what I’m going to do.

• Sherri and I are working out like crazy at the gym! Some part of us is always sore, but we are feeling great these days! If you’re not working out, you’re missing out on a lot of potential energy, opportunities for personal discipline, and opportunities to meet new people!

• We’re working like crazy to get churches signed up for our Re-Think Money Conference for churches on December 6. So far we have eleven churches signed up! We are offering this conference for free to local churches because we believe in the material that Casey Graham will be presenting and because we love the local church! If you’re a pastor and you haven’t signed up, here’s a link to register. Do it today!

• We are also offering a Re-Think Money Conference for individuals on the 7th! Again, it’s free AND there’s childcare provided! If you want to attend and haven’t registered yet, do it here!

I pray you have an amazingly, wonderful, grace-filled day!

Yesterday we celebrated Lexington’s SIXTH Birthday! I’m amazed at how quickly time has moved.

Lexington, every day people celebrate the fact that you are a character in the story of their lives. I watch how you interact with total strangers and their faces light up. Your teachers tell me that your smile lights up a room! I see how you care for your sisters and how they respond to your grace. I watch as you play with mommy and how both of you warm with grace towards one another. I know the love that saturates my heart when you get up early in the morning and give me your beautiful smile.

I love you Lexington. I am grateful to God that He has trusted me to be your daddy. Happy Birthday baby!

Here are some pics of what the Walls Down setting looks like at the YMCA Express:

Pulling up…

It’s a YMCA…

The first sign you see on your way in…

Coffee and some encouragement for the day…

When you go to the bathroom you’ll see one of these…

When you walk into the room where we’re meeting with our start team you’ll see this table… (uhhhh, usually there’s candy in the dish too! I apparently captured this pic pre-fill!)

Then you’ll sit down with the other start team members and we’ll pray, learn about the Walls Down vision and dream about what God is going to do beginning in Maineville…

These are the amazing people that make it happen every week…

My bride, Sherri…

Rindy (on the left) and one of our amazing Start Team, Kelly…

Dan and Matt Walton… two amazing young men that I’m proud to serve with! (In this pic, Matt is setting up the projector and Dan is overseeing the pipe and drape. These are two very responsible young men whose commitment level, passion, and skills make me proud to be their pastor and friend.

And finally… someone has to play with the toys in the nursery! My four little ladies! I love them and am grateful for their forbearance with daddy as I work to start a new church!

And that’s what it looks like to be starting Walls Down Church!

Hey guys!

We are looking for a worship leader… but not just anyone who can sing and strum.

We are looking for someone who can connect the dots from the secular to the sacred. Someone who is as comfortable with rock and roll as they are with religious music. Someone who can start with music that unchurched people are familiar with and take them on a journey from where they are to where God is calling them to be! Someone who is cutting edge, exciting, encouraging, and believes in the power of Jesus to change people’s lives! Do you know anyone like that?

Please put us in contact with them! They can reach us @ 513-677-3320 or e-mail us @ office@wallsdownchurch.com.

Thanks for traveling with us!

I read some great stuff on John Piper’s blog this morning. I found these words particularly insightful:

“[God ]want us to increasingly find freedom from fear.

You see, real freedom is not the liberty to do what we want, or even the absence of distress. Real freedom is the deep-seated confidence that God really will provide everything we need. The person who believes this is the freest of all persons on earth, because no matter what situation they find themselves in, they have nothing to fear.”

Click here to read the whole post.

In less than sixty days Walls Down Church is going to explode out of the gates and begin demolishing the walls that separate people from the life Jesus promised.

We know that Jesus has promised a “rich and satisfying life” to everyone who believes in Him (see John 10:10), but there are a TON of people who are not experiencing this life.

There are a few reasons that people have not experienced this life:

1. They have never made that step of faith and began following a leader they cannot see.
2. They have tried religion/church but found it to be nothing more than a time waster on Sunday morning.
3. They have not realized the temporal and eternal benefits of surrendering control of their lives to another leader… Jesus.
4. The Christian faith has been misrepresented by bumper sticker Christians and consequently turned people off.

And the list goes on…

Walls Down Church has been appointed by God to do one thing… tear down those walls that keep people separated from Jesus!

And now we need your help.

Our plan is to explode out of the gate on January 4th. We are going big and that costs money.

We will tell people that Walls Down Church is here… that costs money for the direct mail, yard signs, posters, give-aways (e.g. the Re-Think Money conference that we are paying for everything including the calculators that people will use during the conference), etc.

We will explode out of the gate with a rocking worship band… that costs money for speakers, mixing boards, video equipment, computers, etc.

We will make our children’s ministry environment better than the Chuck E Cheese’s… that costs money for the sound equipment, floor mats, lesson plans, etc.

We will create an environment on the weekends that feels like Starbucks, sounds like a rock concert, and has the results of a Billy Graham crusade… that costs money for the lobby furniture, Bibles, lights, etc.

We will create a familiar, exciting, encouraging, life-changing environment where people will meet Jesus. The power of addictions will be shattered, separated husbands and wives will be reconciled, people living with guilt from old secrets will experience freedom through forgiveness, men who disdain church will get involved to the surprise of their wives and friends, communities will be changed as a result of the power of Christ working through the church, church planters will be trained, churches will be planted, missionaries will be sent, and everyone will know that Jesus is at work. This is what God has called the church to do.

The need is obvious… the time is right… The only thing missing is you.

Will you help Walls Down Church explode out of the gate on January 4th?

How? You can give an online offering to the Walls Down ministry by clicking here. This link will direct you to a secure PayPal site where you can give your offering. All offerings are tax deductible and will go towards the demolition effort of tearing down walls!

Please know this, every gift is important! There is no gift too small, and certainly no gift too big!

One of the most amazing lessons I’ve learned over the last year as we’ve raised our salary is that the much of our most consistent support has come from people who are giving the $20 - $100 dollar gifts.

$1, $5, $10, $20, $100, $1000, $10,000, $25,000 … every offering that is given will be used to get the army ready to tear down those walls!

So, click here… give an offering… and help people discover the life Jesus promised!

Paul Mirengoff over at Power Line Blog has written a great post on how conservatives should respond to an Obama presidency. Check it out here.

After seeing much of the interaction on my previous Obama post… I think it would do us all well to go read this post!

A list of the top ten irritating phrases has been compiled by the researchers at Oxford University.

They are:

1 - At the end of the day

2 - Fairly unique

3 - I personally

4 - At this moment in time

5 - With all due respect

6 - Absolutely

7 - It’s a nightmare

8 - Shouldn’t of

9 - 24/7

10 - It’s not rocket science

For a funny and insightful read head on over there and read the comments!

BUT before you go… what are the phrases that irritate you the most?