Are We Missing the Mark?

Sin is a pretty big subject to tackle. I do not think that we have spent any real time thinking about the word sin or it's meaning. When we were younger we were taught the 10 commandments of the Old Testament and were shown how to use them as sort of a guide to what is right and what is wrong in life. Most of these are now consider "morale issues", But I think, this is where we as individuals loss track of the the true meaning of sin. Don't get me wrong, God's commands are a good guide to how we should live our lives, I just think that we need go beyond the minimum definition and reach for a deeper understanding. Just being a good person and living a clean moral life won't get you to heaven.

I think that we need to go a little deeper, what does the word "sin" really mean in the bible. In the Greek Bible the word "sin" was translated from the word hamartia. The word hamartia covers a broad meaning that includes accident and mistake, as well as wrongdoing, error, or sin.

Further research on the word in Greek Literature show hamartia being used to demonstrate a character flaw or an error in judgment that might not be considered a "sin". Jump ahead a few years to Medieval England and you the word "sin" being used in archery to describe a missed bulls eye on a target IE: missing the mark. That is the definition that I want to discuss here.

As we strive for being the person that God intended to us to be. As we take the journey to self discover and ultimately set goals in our lives, we need something to measure our success against; better yet someone and that someone is Jesus Christ.

So how do we determine if we are missing the mark, well obviously the bible has many scriptures that points to what a godly man or woman should be and we should be using the Bible to guide us. But, we are all different and each of our paths is different and therefore our bulls eye is not going to be the same as the person standing next to you.

Your target in life is to be Christ like in your pursuit of your dreams and God's plan in your life. Just like the archer the only way to hit the target every time is to live it. You need to be intentional about your life and goals and you need to share those goals with others that can hold you accountable. Your target may change as you grow older so plan ahead and be ready to adjust your "shot" as necessary.

So my question to you is this, Are you doing what God has planned in your life and are you answering his call? Because if your not; then by the definition I have presented to you, even though you are without question following the 10 commandments, you are missing the mark God set for you in your life.

Be intentional, be passionate, and every moment, every day, in every situation remember to look to the target Jesus Christ before you act and you will not miss the mark. GOD BLESS

The Quest for Authentic Manhood

Men of The Connection Church, Kyle Texas and the surrounding area. Are you lost and unsure what it means to be a authentic man. Have you at times wondered if you are getting it right in the eyes of your wife, children or your God. Do you feel like you have the tools to raise you boys successfully, helping them to become the men god intended them to be?

I am super psyched about a a new Men's Group studying we are going to be launching soon at The Connection Church. It is called Men's Fraternity. This is a 3 year study designed to walk you through 3 separate classes starting with The Quest of Authentic Manhood, Winning at Work and Home, and finally it ends up with, The Great Adventure.

I believe that we as men, have a great responsibility to not only our Church and family but the Community around us to find within us the Man that God intended us to be. To use that Man to be a beacon of Truth in these very troubling times.

I am calling out to you to join me in committing to attend this study, renew our faith in Christ Jesus, Shine the light on our Community and Lead others to our Lord and Savior. If you are interested in attending this study (date is not set yet) please let me know by email at bryan@theconnectionchurch.org.

God bless

Attitude will always make the Difference.

Wow, time as gotten away from me. The past two weeks have been lightening fast and very slow at the same time. You know what I am talking about; your so excited about something that you just cant wait for it to arrive and time seems to slooooooooow doooooown, but at the same time there doesn't seem to be enough time in the day to get everything done you need to get done.

THE PAC is awesome!!!! I do have to confess and say that I was very stressed out the week before the move, I just didn't feel like we were ready. But everyone rocked the house, it was awesome.

After it was over, I felt numb, all I could do was concentrate on the negative things that happened and that some volunteers were saying. It was not the experience I was looking for.

Fast forward to this past Sunday, we were up 60 people in attendance and the experience was spot on. What was different? Why did it go so well this week?

I believe it was all about perception and attitude. The week before I was to caught up in the details to enjoy GOD and I needed to let it go and let the Lord do his thing.

I recently purchased a book from John Maxwell called "Developing the Leader with in you", Chapter Six is about Attitude. In this chapter there is a quote from Walt Emerson "What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies with in us."

After I read this last week , I realized that my attitude was not only bringing me down but those around me as well. I decided right then I was going to go into the Sunday with a renewed vigor and be the leader I know I can be. I asked God to give me the strength to be the man of God I should be and the result was a 180 degree turn around from the Sunday before.

God is great, he is the almighty savior. I am so happy to be a part of the Connection Church. God is doing awesome things here and I know there is some much more to come.

God is the reason for the success, but he did it through solid leadership and a willing body of volunteers who have committed their lives to his work. Great job all of you.

Are You Committed

Commitment; some say that very word has ended many relationships, Others say that committing yourself to something is one of the biggest decisions you will ever make. I say that commitment is about your character; are your actions as good as your words.

In relationships at some point you have to decide that it is worth investing yourself in, this goes beyond the emotions you associate with the relationship. Once you have decided that it is worth the price, you open yourself to the growing the relationship. Now you own the relationship and therefore committed to seeing it grow. Your ability to stay caring, loyal and devoted is what "makes" the relationship work.

If you put yourself out there for your team and tell them your goal is their success, you have made a commitment that will ride on your willingness to follow through. If you fail to do the things you have said you will do, you will lose trust and respect, without these two things your team will crash and burn.

It is easy to say that you are committed to something, but the real test to your commitment will happen in the middle of a crisis when you are least expecting it. Can you stay committed to the cause through this adversity? Your "skills", knowledge and abilities have nothing to do with your level of commitment and can not save you from your true character. Because at the heart of your committment you have a choice to make and no matter the situation or circumstances your choice is a direct reflection of who you really are.

We are only a few weeks away from our move to the PAC and I know that God has wonderful things in store for us. God has truly blessed our Church with right people to lead and develop us into the Team we need to be to met our mission in Kyle. We all have the emotion we need get things started, but lets not forget the Commitments we made to get us all the way.

Remember we aren't doing all of this to buy some land and build a church, We are doing this to bring lives to Jesus Christ, we are doing this to change the lives of everyone we meet. That is the real mission, Jesus Christ ask us for a commitment, Are you committed to HIM.

If your life is ground in Jesus Christ, if you values are Christ like, if you truly are a servant leader then there is no choice to make; You will stand by your convictions and commitments through all adversity.

God Bless

New Book

I am so psyched, I have been waiting for this book to show up. I will follow up in a few days once I am finished reading it.