Musings of the Minstrel

You have got to love this nation of ours! No matter what side of the issue you are on, we saw the beauty of America this week. A black man nominated by his party to run for President and a woman from Alaska chosen as the running mate of her party's nominee. Only in America. There has been a lot of discussion over the lack of "experience" with Obama and now with Palin. I am sure this argument could continue quite late into the night but what I would like to say is, "Only in America". We all have our own feelings and I encourage you to vote from your heart but on your way to the ballot box, just remember what a privilege it is live in the greatest nation on earth. It is truly a place where everybody has a chance to become. Young, old, black, white, male, female, experienced or not....

Only in America....My home....Sweet Home.

Thank God for America!

The only way I know to describe it is "mind boggling"! PEAK was off the hook. If you weren't there you missed one of the most incredible God encounters that I have ever experienced. Like the song writer Tony Roberts penned "I just can't find the words". Something happened on Wednesday night that I will never forget. Pastor Nathan Morton stepped to the pulpit to open the convention with an announcement and as he did the young people began to worship. Without any prompting they continued and became more animated. The power of God began to move into the building in wave after wave as the young people gave themselves to the presence of God. 45 minutes later, without one note being sung or one chord struck they were still lost in praise to God. Pastor Morton turned the service straight to the evening evangelist (Rev Cody Marks who preached us into the presence of God) and PEAK was off and running. The day sessions were literally life changing as Rev Jason Calhoun got right to where we live. By Friday evening close to 2000 people filled the convention center and boy did we have a revival. It was 3 days where God showed up and showed off. I am still living in the overflow of what took place in Tulsa. I can't wait till next year.

To all of you Pastor's that gave their support financially as well as sending your young people I would like to express my thanks.

And to all of the youth council of the WPF, you guys did a great job. Thanks a million.

To the young people that came and pushed the devil around for a little while...I LOVE YOU!

I was just with one of my favorite people on this planet, none other than Pastor Doug Morgan. The man makes me laugh everytime I am with him. Most of the time when we are together we cut up but every once in a while we get serious (5 minutes max). Doug told me about a situation that has developed in the town where he is pastoring. In his city there is a "gated community" that was built a few years ago during the California housing boom. There was so much money to be made that investors started buying homes in the valley. These investors never intended to live in these homes. They bought them and rented them out to people who would never be able to buy a home in a "gated community". According to Pastor Morgan, a tremendous problem has developed inside the "walled subdivision". What was built as a safe place to raise one's children has been negatively effected by the lack of "home-owners" in the "gated community". The renters seem to care very little about the property and with the economic downturn keeping the place up is not very high on the "to-do list". The gated community is filled with people with no real commitment to the community. The home-owners are absent and were just in it for the money. The environment within the walls of "gate-land" has changed drastically and property values are falling rapidly. What a sad situation! What areas of your life and ministry are special enough to have walls and borders? What investments have you made within the walled places of your life? Are you allowing things to dwell in your heart and spirit that have no real place in the life of a child of God? There will always be opportunity and excuses to allow things inside the walls of safety, but we must be sure to ask ourselves, "What happens to my ministry if I allow this in?" "How will my home be different if I allow these; people, events, thoughts, entertainment, etc. into my life?"

So, Doug thanks for the 4 minutes (we didn't even get to 5 min) of serious thinking. It made me stop and do a little inventory for the future environment of my life, my home, my church and my ministry.