i will go anywhere but back!

today i heard an amazing message on the life of ruth and the decision she made to never go back to moab, but to cling to naomi and go forward! i was so moved by the message to never go back. it’s too easy to throw in the towel and give up and give in and go back to your old life! when Ruth went forward God led her to the right field where she found the eyes of grace fro the right man and hope was found in the right place. if we would simply work in the right field (the field of grace) we will find favor (handfuls on purpose) and provision that comes only from God! make up your mind to never go back but to go forward and walk in the grace and the knowledge of Christ. Great word…wish you were there!

stay in your lane!

it’s the second sunday of a new year, the atmosphere was rich and the word stuck deep down in my heart. i love it when i am in a service and the words i hear are so clear and life’s so profound that it shakes my life up! it’s moments like these that i write it down and hold onto the powerful word that was spoken over my life…it’s quite simple if God speaks to you, a seed is being planted in your life, but if you don’t hold onto it, something can come and snatch it away! that’s why i take notes…it’s easier to hold onto whatever i hear!

so in the middle of the message pastor jim raley says this “life’s greatest failure is to be successful at the wrong assignment.” come on now! basically find your lane, find your assignment and run the race! it’s so easy to be busy doing the things you want to do, but what about the assignment you are called to do? stay in your lane! you can’t run the race if you are running in someone else’s lane. i think of the olympics when runners that crossed lines were disqualified for not running in their lane…they were fast and they were good, but they failed to stay in their lane. so my big thought for the weekend was “stay in your lane.” i want to live my life in such a way that i never have to look back and see that i succeeded at the wrong assignment. i know my assignment…look out world i am ready…this is my lane!

great new blog!

this is a must read…by an amazing lead pastor!

the first of many blogs to come!

the tremble of the tribulation

today was truly an intense day at calvary. 3 services all centered on the tribulation. Pastor preached on the seven seals, the seven trumpets and the seven bowls. it was really an intense word, the congregation was on the edge of their seat hanging on every word our pastor spoke. the room was packed and the service was truly a life changing experience…the altars were jammed with people. today was just another incredible day at calvary! calvary…you just gotta expereince it!

alive 08…easter this weekend!

today is the single most important day in the christian faith.  it is a big day and needs o be celebrated in a big way!  alive 08 was a big deal for calvary.  we had the single biggest crowd ever, as well as a massive response in the altars. it was more than a typical easter service-it was an event of mammoth proportions.  the crowds rolled in nearly an hour before and God showed up in a big way.  the music led by our music pastor Mark Groover was on another level!  wow! you could feel god in that place!  kids ministry had 700 kids-thats enough to literally lose your mind over, but went of without a hick-up! the volunteers necessary to pull off an event like this is mind boggling! the media necessary to promote it and push it was on another planet-way to go evan! it can all be summed up in aa text i just got from our executive pastor “this just proves when everyone works together great things will happen. jesus was exalted high!” pastor troy you did a great job…you ran around and got involved in everything from set up to tear down to carrying a bag full of cash to pay out the day labour! you are the man!

huge props go out to pastor Jim Raley! he preached an illustrated message on the power of one and the crowd responded…literally hundreds responded in the altar call! in order for this to be pulled off in the magnitude it was it takes more than just visionary leadership-which we have. it takes more than just money-anyone can throw money around and have a show! it takes more than good music, good people, good sound, good video, good volunteers! it requires the anointing! if you aint got the anointing and that’s terrible english, then you aint got nothing that can change lives. a show without a showing God is nothing more than noise without a purpose!God showed up! you could feel him in the building! you could see him on the faces of the people, you could see him in the response to the preaching of the word. signs and wonders are for today! lives were touched and changed for all eternity!

happy easter!

who i think needs to blog…

i wrote yesterday about people whose blogs i read…i find myself reading and connecting with the thoughts of senior pastors as much as youth pastors…now that’s some intersting insight. today in the middle of a service i found thoughts wandering into the role of a lead pastor of a church…then i took captive that thought and made it obedient. well at least supressed. so here is a short list of people i think need to blog and would impact lives of people like me greatly!

1. jim raley
2. td jakes
3. roger clemens
4. tiger woods
5. greg maddux

why are these on a short list…i list these because they all have a different approach in life…from the preacher-it would be great to just read about what God is saying to them as they get revelation from the word and they approach the daily pressures of ministry. the athlete i would love to read their thoughts as they tackle their sport one ball at a time…

sorry ladies…the only female blog i read regularly is my best friends. check hers out-she truly hears from God and writes it down-its real!

come see a man…

tonight i came home from a mens service at our church…our pastor jim raley…spoke to our men and was so real. i left that place truly desiring to be a better man! pastor is such a great communicator and he made a qualified statement about imitation. “as long as i don’t lose my mind imitate me…if i ever lose my mind (pray i don’t), then stop imitating me.” he is so real and so human-so many pastors are so plastic and polyester…this is why i love being apart of calvary. if i could imitate anyone, i would want to imitate our pastor in terms of his passion for ministry, life, family and preaching the word. now i work for him and you might be thinking…ahhhhh that’s nice-but if i could be real with anyone-who would you pick to imitate your life? just remember that person needs to be able to be real and speak into your life on a regular basis. they can’t just say what you want, they gotta say what you need! who would it be?

today he preached on the woman at the well that saw a man that changed her very life. she said “come see a man” i was so stirred about that statement today. god shook me up today! then it all got topped off at the fundamental mens service.