If you don't find yourself in a compelling story you'll be captured by a lesser one.

The Church: Leading a Family

September 27, 2012 by 1 Comment
church_prayer

In the Verge Network video below, Dhati Lewis shares, “What type of leaders are we training? We spend most of our time training people to lead systems, and not lead people, to lead structures. I really believe when we talk about incarnational leadership, we must have the same affection, the same compassion that we have for our kids when we talk about the people in our church.”

FUEL FOR THOUGHT…

What are the primary expressions of leadership in your church community?

How do those expressions communicate God’s desires for His people?

Filed Under: Church, Family Tagged With: , ,

Even if just for a moment.

March 12, 2012 by 4 Comments

A good friend of mine was sitting on the couch in his living room. There were a few people over at his house for a little get-together. It wasn’t much of a party, just a few friends and family mingling, talking, and listening to music.

He sat there on his couch watching his little two and half year old son zig-zag through the guests with what seemed like an infinite amount of energy and spunk. 

There were a few people over in the corner talking and his son went over to check them out. The boy noticed one of them was holding a guitar. He stared at it, and then looked up at the man. He smiled and began strumming his own imaginary guitar. Those huddled in the corner laughed and told him to, “rock on!” 

The boy seemed satisfied as he turned and ran away. His father, watching the entire interaction from the couch, tried to get his son’s attention but the boy ran over to the opposite side of the room. 

There he found a few of the guests huddled around a table of refreshments. The boy raised up on his tip-toes while clutching the edge of the table. His eyes were on level with the plate of cookies perfectly within reach. His father looked on from a distance wondering if his son would reach up and grab one. Sure enough, his little arm stretched out and snatched one. 

The boy shoved the whole cookie in his mouth, wasting no time with bites. 

My friend sat silently watching his son but desperately wanted him to come sit on his lap. He wanted to hold him and ask him how the cookie tasted, but his son was distracted and didn’t notice his father. He quickly ran out of the living room and out of sight. 

It didn’t take long before he bolted back into the room. Now, however, he was holding his Superman action figure and flying him around the room making the flying noises that all little boys make when they are two years old.

My friend called out to his son but he didn’t hear him.

He called out again.

But his son wasn’t listening.

His son didn’t even know he was there, sitting and watching his every move.

My friend smiled at his son. A great joy welled up within him. If only he would come over here and let me hug him. If only he would slow down and let me hold him for just a second. If only. 

And it was at that very moment my friend realized he was no different from his little boy. He too had been distracted and preoccupied by others and interested in anything and everything but stopping to sit and be held by his Father. 

God had been watching him too.

Calling out to him.

Finding great joy in His son.

Watching his every move.

But desperately wanting him to come and sit with Him.

Even if just for a moment.

 

What are you distracted with today that is keeping you from spending time with God, or realizing that he is right there with you, watching you, and finding great joy in you?  

 

 

Filed Under: Family, Writing Tagged With: , , , ,

Who is Ryan Tate?

March 6, 2012 by Leave a Comment
hello

Fellow blogger and friend Chris Goforth asked to write a profile on me on his blog today. I answered a whole host of questions for him and he graciously posted them on his blog today. 

If you ever wondered who I am or what makes me tick head over to his blog to find out. 

Thanks Chris! 

Filed Under: Community, Family

Full-Time, Full-Time Ministry

February 23, 2012 by 18 Comments

The Calling.

The calling in my life has always been clear.

There has never been a doubt that God called me to be in full-time ministry. However, I always thought my ministry included having a full-time job in the business world.

On March 1st, though, I am stepping out of my employment as a quality engineer at a electronics manufacturer and will be going full-time in full-time ministry with my church.

Over the past two years I’ve felt God preparing me for something big and I kept asking, “What is it God? What are you preparing me for? Where do you want me, where do you want my family? Where are you leading us?”

A lot of things were changing and stirring inside of me. I started writing a lot and wondering whether or not God wanted me to be a writer. I started questioning whether or not God wanted me to quit my job and be self-employed. Ultimately, I realized God was strengthening my already existing passion for full-time ministry.

Usually when a person feels a clear call to full-time ministry the logical next step is to put together a resume of sorts, look for church communities that are hiring, and pray for God to open up an opportunity. That wasn’t what God was telling me to do.

I have been fully invested in my local church community, Mosaic NEO, for the past six and a half years. The calling to serve at Mosaic is not what God wants to change. What I realized is that God wasn’t calling me into something new but He was calling out of something. God was asking me to surrender and trust in Him.  

God was calling me out of my job and I’ve never been more certain about anything in my life.

The next chapter.

The community of Mosaic has been operating for more than six years with only one full-time staff person, our lead pastor. Because the community has grown over the years and our staff hasn’t we’ve felt the growing pains in many different ways. Just a few of those pains were felt in the areas of:

  • Leadership development
  • Discipleship
  • Administration/Organization
  • Accountability

This next chapter of my life will be centered around equipping, empowering, and unleashing the community of Mosaic in these areas and more. I am excited for what God is going to do in and through our community with the advancement of His kingdom. Having a front row seat to what God is doing in people’s lives is what excites me the most.

God’s people must not only believe in the love and grace of God, but also be armed with God’s love and grace. I am ready to surrender to Him in the arming of His people.

The prayer of my heart.

It is difficult to write about myself and what I’m doing because the desire of my heart is for God’s glory to be on display. The prayer of my heart for my small little community in northeast Ohio is the same prayer that Paul prayed for the Ephesians.

For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

- Ephesians 3:14-21

What is God preparing you for? What is the calling of your life? Are you doing it?

Filed Under: Church, Family, Mosaic Tagged With: , ,

Our Family Rules

February 13, 2012 by 5 Comments
Family Rules

What are some of your family rules? 

Filed Under: Family, Gospel Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

What is the meaning of life?

October 22, 2011 by 2 Comments
meaning of life

 

 

Filed Under: Community, Family Tagged With: , , ,

Peeing on a church

October 19, 2011 by 9 Comments

I grew up as a pastor’s kid and before you shove me into that stereotypical mold, hear me out.

I was proud to be a pastor’s kid. I wore it as some sort of VIP badge like the ones that get you back stage at concerts. Except the only real concerts I was going to was Steven Curtis Chapman and Sandi Patty. I never tested out the stereotypical rebellious stage like some pastor’s kids did. At least, I wasn’t any more sinful than the other kids on the block, so I thought.

Up until fifth grade we lived in the house next to our church building. Our church building was an old 1800′s church that was still alive and kicking. It sat short and stout on Grand Ave. bordering what we called “the alley”. The alley was nothing more than just that, an alley, but it was a place for my brother and I to get in trouble. It made us feel older and tougher than we actually were—like some sort of street gang, but for pastor’s kids.

Our street was just off of the downtown area, and the alley was the back entrance for several storefront businesses. The alley ran behind the church, our house, and then continued on behind the rest of the houses on the street. Our house was next door to the church but in between the two was a small field. We spend a lot of time in that alley and in that small field. It was our gang territory.

One day, like most, we were playing baseball in the field. I was playing outfield which, in our fantasy world, existed directly behind the church building and next to the alley. I can’t recall exactly what was going through my mind, but at some point I was overcome by the natural desire to relieve myself. Like any normal 10-year-old boy who has to go pee but doesn’t want to stop what he is doing, I looked around for the nearest tree.

Luckily there were a few short pine trees that lined the back of the church building. I nestled myself between two of them and began to pee on the ground right next to the foundation of the church.

Halfway through the process I heard a loud voice coming from behind me.

“Hey boy, do you know you’re peeing on a church?!”

The man was standing in the alley watching me soil the very church that my father pastored.

I finished and said, “Yeah, I know. This is MY church.”

I might have chosen my words differently had I known this man actually knew my father personally. My prideful response had a thick tone of entitlement to it. I could do no wrong in my eyes. I was the pastor’s kid with the VIP badge and the cocky “I’ll do whatever I want” attitude.

All I remember after that is realizing that not only had I defaced a church building, but I had also defaced my father and our family. The baseball game resumed and I went back to being the 10-year-old pastor’s kid.

Today, I’m still learning the same lesson I was taught the day I peed on that church building.

Every day is a chance for pride to get in the way of me being walking evidence of the Gospel. I am not entitled to anything, no matter what I’ve done or who I am—but that’s what makes grace so amazing, right?

If we don’t realize the greatest tragedy of our lives is our sin then the greatest joy of our lives will never be the grace given  in Jesus’ rescue. 

That’s just as hard for a 10-year-old pastor’s kid to understand as it is for a 31-year-old grown man.

I haven’t peed on any churches in the past 20 years, but I have defaced my Father, my heavenly one. The point is that I am just as rotten as the most rebellious pastor’s kid. Actually, I’m a lot like the Apostle Paul who was the most rotten sinner of all. The stereotypical pastor’s kid is a rebel, and yes, I fit that description to a tee—we all do.

I didn’t understand that then, but I do now.

 

Filed Under: Church, Family, Gospel Tagged With: , , , ,
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