What In The World Am I Doing?

It's 5:03 am. And I'm not a morning freak. There's just so much to do with this new venture that I'm having a hard time sleeping here lately. Have you ever had so much on your mind that your brain does into T1 mode? That's how I've been lately. Don't get me wrong ... it's all good stuff.

This is my first Blog. Ever.

My buddy Ben Stroup is this guy who works for a group called LifeWay. He encouraged me to do this thing, and he said I should post stuff all the time. I think Ben needs to let his hair grow out, stop feeding his Superman obsession, and find some other person to pick on.

And I'm thinking - why would you want to be here? That's a good question. If you're here at 5:03 am and you're not a morning person either, then go back to bed Ob1. Read it later.

Here's what makes this who blog worth while - if you ask me: you can watch me, like some little fly on the wall, as I go through the goods, the bads, the ugly, the God only knows what - of leaving all that I am familar with to launch this new ministry venture.

So here's my story:

I love my church. And let me tell you something - not every pastor can say that! Seriously bro.

Erwin McManus, (pastor in Hollywood), once said, "The people that make the church messy also make it meaningful." (An Unstoppable Force, read it.) I guess he's right.

I started preaching when I was 17 years old, and there have been times that I didn't know whether to laugh, cry, or honestly duke it out with some other Christians. Seriously.

There's a lot of pastors out there that have some internalized anger and bitterness because they get treated like mutt dawg from their church members. Not me. Belmont Heights is the coolest church I ever pastored. By far. It sits on the campus of Belmont University in Nashville, TN.

And what pastor would not DREAM of pastoring a church on a college campus? I was paid well, treated great, and even had my own private bathroom. Donlad Trump got nothin' on me!

What in the world am I doing? That's my question.

Thing is - what do you do when you are walking through your regular life one day and you get your own burning bush? That place in time where God brings you the unexpected.

You know. Just like Moses. And it's at that point that you have your own pretty little crisis. What do you do next?

And that's the life of faith, right? What do you think?

So why did I do it?

I know this may sound weird, maybe even touchy-feely, and I'm not touchy-feely, so stop trying to hug the computer screen.

The reason I did is because men have been forgotten by the church. Yes, it's my opinion. But they have. The best quote I think I've ever heard to describe most (not all) churches today is "It's a women's club with male officers."

Churches throw up Mr. Rogers on the lobby wall as the model to live by. Clean, neat, and dude how he so badly wants you to be his neighbor.

Did Mr. Rogers ever sin? Yeah, because the New Testament tells me so. But he sure didn't live in my universe. Did he ever drink a beer? Did he ever say a cuss word when he whiffed a 4 iron? Did he ever want to buy a Catepillar bulldozer and just tear the snot out of a building just to see what would happen?

Men have been domesticated by the church, but not by God! John Eldredge wrote the best book I think ever written on male spirituality, Wild At Heart. He said it best, "Look around the church today and what you'll see is that the average Christian man is ... bored." God is not boring, but sometimes His people are.

And so I wanted to help men find a way to use the outdoors to find real spiritual meaning for themselves, and to help their buddies find it, too.

So there it is. I like to shoot turkeys and eat them, and I made a ministry out of it.

Man I love America! Where anything can happen!

Hey - check out my website. God Himself knows I need the traffic!!!

www.outdoorministrynetwork.com

This is and will forever be my longest blog ever Ben. Hope you are happy.