As I count the days down to the launch of a new decade I have been really praying and thinking about my life and about the visions and dreams that God has given me. Thinking of everything that needs to change for me to be … all that I can be.

Let’s be real for a few minutes here. Let’s stop acting like we have it all together and all is well and please read this with your full heart.

Some of us, including myself, have allowed people and situations to get in the way of the vision that God has for us. We are running a race and some of us (including myself) keep getting tripped up.

Here I am, a man ordained and chosen to reach the world for Christ …. but allowing people and situations to keep me back from reaching my full potential. Yeah, I have seen tens of thousands of kids give their lives Christ over the last 16 years but God has so much more for me. I am honored that I was involved in the process of introducing them to the King but there is so many more to reach.

It’s time for change. Time to stop worrying about what others are going to say, stop worrying about what friends will say or do, stop worrying about your past coming to haunt you.

I remember being 12 and accepting Christ into my life. Developing a prayer life and being baptized. I was so on fire for God at church but at home … it was hard. I wanted to be the angelic child, the “I got saved” kid but I couldn’t. God wanted me to respect my parents …. But I was afraid of being taken advantage of and being called a “goody goody”. So …. Change didn’t happen until I turned 17 when I allowed God to really got a hold of me. Respect for my parents was required.

I think it’s funny that even as adults we still deal with these feelings. Many of us called it the “Approval Addition”. I believe in many areas of my life I broke that a couple years ago … however I still seem stuck in the area of ‘change’. I know what God wants in my life. I know what God wants for my health. It requires major change. It requires me to stop living my life based on what others will think of me completely. It requires me to stop living my life based how many ‘friends’ I will loose. It requires me to stop living my life based off my past being thrown in my face.

I started this process of ‘change’ about two years ago … it’s been very slow though. Now I come to fork in the road. Either I give it all I have or I stay as I am, disappointed.

I don’t care what I have to do to be all that God has called me to be. It’s gotta be done. This past decade for me has been the worst decade of my life. The WORST!! It ends now. This new decade will be the decade of change. Not just in my life but in the lives of those I come in contact with.

We as leaders, need to understand that it wasn’t the eating of the fruit that separated Adam & Eve from God. It was the excuse. God still called out to them and He gave them opportunity. God is still calling out. He is still giving us opportunities to make things right. As Keith Craft recently said “If you elevate your thinking … you will elevate your life”. It’s time to elevate!! It’s time to rise above.

Keith Craft recently shared a story about a horse that everyone thought was done for. There was no hope. They decided they were going to bury the horse alive so they dug a hole and lowered the horse into it. Then the men started throwing dirty into the hole to bury the horse. Every time they threw dirt in the hole the horse would shake it off and step up on it eventually elevating itself out of the hole. The moral … don’t let people or situations bury you alive. Step up!! God is always there and will (if you obey) raise you above the nations (Duet 28:1-14).

So, in closing … watch out!!!

Graphic idea from ‘Brendan Sceroler‘.

It’s been awesome having the opportunity to share with you some of my favorite things via the series “Who, what and why do I?”. This series could probably go on forever … literally however at some point I am going to have to end it. Not today however … today I want to share with you some of the best podcasts on iTunes.

I have noticed that there area select few people that I tend to gravitate towards. It’s not a bad thing to gravitate towards them however through this series I realized that I should open my eyes a littler wider … maybe find some more people to gravitate to. I also realized that I don’t listen to as many podcasts as I thought.

If you have any podcasts that you think I should subscribe to and that I might enjoy (obviously) please let me know. I am always looking to learn and grow.

The Top 5 include (in no specific order) – All these links open in iTunes
1. Elevation Church – Now you all should have known that Elevation Church was going to be on my podcast list! LOL!! I am not even going to go into why I subscribe to this podcast because you should already know from Part 1 and Part 2 of this series. LOL

2. Hillsong TV – Same with this one. I just love Hillsong Church. They rock it out.

3. Children’s Ministry Monthly – This is a great podcast that I subscribe to that talks about a wide array of children’s ministry problems and offers solutions in everything from discipline, teaching methods, staff management and even family issues within a children’s pastors family. Awesome podcast for any children’s minister to subscribe to.

4. The Potter’s Touch – This is Bishop TD Jakes church and he is always preaching one message that really turns out to be 20 messages. You always learn and grow from his messages. If you don’t … well … you might be dead.

5. Daily Live Worship – This podcast is recorded by Bryan Clift. He is an awesome worshiper and every day he goes and worships and records it in hopes that you will enter in with him. Some of his stuff is old school but it’s powerful. I can’t tell you how many times I have went in while listening and participating in the worship that he records. Some of you may not get it … but because I am old school … it gets me. LOL

I know there are other podcasts out there and I am sure they are awesome!! I want to know about them so if you subscribe to a podcast and think that I would enjoy it feel free to post it in the comments below. Please SHARE!!! Don’t be selfish!! LOL

Will there be a part 4? Only time will tell.

Yesterday I started a series called “Who, what and why do I?”. The first part of the series was about who I follow on Twitter and why? You can read it by clicking here. Today I want to share with you which blogs I read daily and why?

There are so many blogs on the web. I remember at one time blogging was process of manually inserting your posts into a core html Angelfire page. ((THANK GOD FOR WORDPRESS)) That was a long time ago. Over the years I have found some awesome blogs. I happen to have become “a reader” as of late. I use an awesome RSS reader called “Feedreader” and each day it launches and I read up on new posts.

Never – the – less there are a couple blogs that I get my daily fix from. Below are the Top 5 Blogs that I recommend everyone to read (other than my own blog of course! LOL).

The Top 5 include (in no specific order)
1. Steven Furtick – Now you all should know that he was going to be at the top of my list. His blog entries are awesome. They really push me to be an awesome leader. Really makes me think. For instance, today’s blog was about “The value of a good reputation”. I strive to have a good name. I’ve made mistakes in the past and people have their judgments about me but I know who I am and who I am trying to be like. Never – the – less, if you are a leader … you should be reading his blog daily. It will bless your socks off.

2. Jim Wideman – Now if you are a children’s minister and you don’t know who Jim Wideman is then I ….. Well …. I really don’t know what to tell you. LOL. Jim Wideman is the e-ching of children’s ministry leadership. I read his blog daily as he inspires me to be all I can be and he pushes (well … in a blog type way) me to step up. He is another one of those leadership gurus that every leader should follow.

3. Seth Godin – Seth is a marketing guru. Whether you want to admit it or not, the church is marketing Christ to the World. This is the reason I follow Seth. Obviously all of his posts are about “business marketing” but a lot of the things he shares can be used in the church. Seth is known well for his popular book called “Purple Cow” which pushes companies (and people) to be “unique” and offer something that it not seen every day. A good follow … especially for business owners and leaders.

4. David Wakerley – As I stated in my last post … I think David is one of the best children’s pastors I have ever had the opportunity to follow. He is edgy and energetic. I love his heart for the ministry and his drive to see kids saved. He also has changed the “music world” with the awesome songs coming out of Hillsong Kids!! While serving in Milwaukee, WI … Hillsong Kids music was number one … followed by Group 1 Crew.

5. Henry Zonio – Henry’s blog has blessed me many times. His blog posts are real. What I mean is that I find myself learning and dealing with the same stuff that he has posted. I have only been following him for a little under a month but the first post I read from him had me hooked. I am really looking forward to seeing and hearing more about how he is impacting Canada.

Now hold on … I know that some of these bloggers I also follow via Twitter … it just shows you how much of an impact they have on my life. I love how there are powerhouses throughout the World. From warm Australia to the cold country of Canada. From one pole to another God has placed powerful leaders in our paths to help us grow. Just thinking … wouldn’t it be awesome to read God’s blog every day? I mean, we know he is a life changer and he has written/inspired many life changing books!

Anyways … these aren’t all the blogs I read every day. There are several others like Jenni Catron, Arnold Cifax Jr, Holly Furtick, Carlos Dyonisio, etc. These are what I would consider my Top 5 blogs though. The Top 5 blogs that inspire change in my life.

Do you have a favorite blog that’s not listed above? Let me know in a comment.

Coming up in Part 3 – Podcasts I subscribe to and why?