5 Reasons Why I Am Not Looking Forward to Nashville

5. I love New Orleans – I really do.  See previous post.

4. Being Landlocked – For 28 of my 33 years of life I have lived within one hour of a beach.  Although I hate sand as much as I hate fire ants and spiders, living near a large body of water gives you a sense of freedom.  Sure Nashville has lakes and rivers but the nearest beach is like 10 hours away. On the plus side, that beach is in North Carolina…and I love me some North Carolina.

3. Making New Friends – Sometimes its just exhausting.  That being said it will be great to meet new people.

2. Tornados…again – I have gone from earthquakes (California), to tornados (Missouri), to hurricanes (Louisiana), back to earthquakes (California), back to hurricanes (Louisiana),, and now back to tornados (Tennessee).  Don’t get me wrong, Twister is a great movie, but I am not super excited to know that each Spring I may have to run to a basement at a moments notice.

and the number 1 reason is….

Well, I don’t have another reason.  Apparently there’s not too much to be hesitant about.  Sweet.

Until next time…

Top 10 Things I Will Miss About New Orleans

10. Festivals – It’s not a secret that New Orleans and all of South Louisiana know how to party.  Each month brings a different festival that celebrates anything from strawberries to jazz music and everything in between.

9. History – A part from Boston and Philadelphia there is no other city that has such a rich and varied history.  It is quite literally everywhere you look.

8. The Beach – There’s a beach in New Orleans? No, but there are some great beaches not too far away.  It was a regular activity for us to go spend the day in Bay St. Louis, grab a hot dog, and hang out at the beach for the day.  It’s not Seal Beach, Malibu, or even Pensacola but for us it was perfect.

7. Mardi Gras – If you are, or have ever been, a drunk tourist during Mardi Gras, you missed out on how great Mardi Gras really is.  I will miss gathering with friends on the neutral ground laughing, screaming, catching throws, and eating copious amounts of food.  But..I got my shoe from Muses, so I guess I can move on.

6. Sno-Balls – They are not shaved ice…they are so much better than that.  Soft sno completely drowned in your particular favorite flavor mixing to make the perfect warm weather treat.  My favorite will forever be Satsuma with marshmallow cream from Hansen’s.  I will miss these glorious things so much that I’m trying to figure out a way to open up a Sno-Ball stand in Nashville.

5. Christmastime – Christmastime is one of the best times in New Orleans.  From free concerts at the cathedral, to Celebration in the Oaks, to the bonfires at the levee – Christmas New Orleans style embodies what is great and unique about this city.  As an added sentiment, Leanne and I began dating at Christmas time.

4. Food – I will not be the first nor the last to proclaim the culinary awesomeness that exists in this city.  Keep a look out for my upcoming favorite New Orleans restaurant post that will be coming soon.

3. People – Not just the friends we have made but the fourth and fifth generation cajun, creoles, and New Orleanians as well.  Always ready with a good story, a funny anecdote, or a family recipe these resourceful inviting people have made this place home for me.

2. City Park – It might seem strange to be emotionally invested in a park, but I really am.  Not one week went by without me spending at least a few hours at this place.  It was here that I shed off close to 90 pounds as I ran the old golf cart trails or the path around the Big Lake.  It was here that we could go have a picnic.  It was here that I would go and think and/or pray.  I am sad that I will not see the master plan come to fruition but City Park will always be my park.

and last but not least…

1. My church family – Journey Christian Church, Hope Christian Church, and my friends in house church are filled with people that I simply can not say enough about.  I will forever be grateful for the friendships, encouragement, patience, grace, and partnerships that were experienced with so many beautiful people.  I will miss you most of all.

Coming Soon….

-5 Things I am not looking forward to about Nashville

-5 Things I will not miss about New Orleans

-My favorite places to eat in New Orleans

-A farewell letter to a city I love

Until next time….

Top 10 Reasons I Am Excited For Our Move to Nashville

10. Hockey – I love hockey and I will finally be living in a city again with a pro hockey team.  The Nashville Predators, I don’t know you yet, but I will – and since I can’t possible root for the Tennessee Titans (Go Saints!), I will most assuredly root for you.

9. Career and personal advancement for all three of us – It is one of the primary reasons we are moving after all.

8. Nature – Its everywhere.  You can be out in the country in about 15 minutes from almost anywhere in Nashville.  There are lakes and rivers that you can actually go swimming in, we are only three hours away from The Smokey Mountains, and there are greenways and hiking trails, literally, everywhere.

7. Music – I’m not a big country fan, but did you know that although Nashville is the country music mecca it also has a ton of other musical offerings?  It’s true.  Rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, christian, and a whole lot of stuff in between.  This is also means we can finally get Tara and Raz to come visit us which brings me to….

6. New Place to Visit for our friends and family – There is always an open spot at The Lytle House and you all know how I love to play tour guide.

5. Closer to some family – We will be within driving distance of everyone on Leanne’s side of the family.  This is the first time this has happened in our marriage.  Also, Nashville has more straight flights then New Orleans does to Los Angeles which makes getting home to my family easier as well.

4. Friendly People – Seriously, every time we have gone to Nashville we have encountered the friendliest people. It’s not just our opinion either…they were ranked. It’s actually a little terrifying in a way, but its kind of nice as well.

3. Cultural Activities – Having so many Universities has enabled Nashville to offer a ton of cultural activities.  Theatre, ballet, art museums, history, science centers, symphonies, and a ton more ensure that our family can continue to be unsheltered.

2. Dollywood – Technically not in Nashville but you know what I will be 2.5 hours away. Why is this important?  You must not know me.  My first crush was Dolly Parton and for many years I have wanted to go to Dollywood.  Mock me if you will…I can handle it, but mark my words, by year’s end I will be posting about my visit.

And my number one reason is….

1. SEASONS! – We will finally be living in a place that actually has four seasons.  We can watch the leaves change colors and go to a pumpkin farm or apple picking.  We can bundle up and actually wear scarves and hats and even occasionally play in the snow. We can watch the brightness of Spring actually come forth and, for the first time in a long time, I might not despise Summer…because in Nashville, Summer doesn’t last 7 months.

So those are my Top 10 reasons I am excited for our move to Nashville.  Up next, my  Top 10 things I will miss about New Orleans.

Until next time….

Moving to Nashville

One of my favorite proverbs has been Proverbs 19:21.  It says, “Many are the plans in a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” This particular scripture has continued to be foundational in my life.

Over the course of the past three years God has challenged Leanne and I in ways we could not have predicted.  We have grown as individuals and as a family, not because we tried to make change happen, but because we got out of the way to let God do what He wanted.  We moved back to New Orleans because we knew that is where God wanted us.  In my own ignorance I tried to figure out and fill in all the reasons why, and so I made a whole lot of plans. Plans that, as most of you know, did not come to fruition.  After our first year here it was clear I needed to take a step back. I needed to rest in who God was and what he wanted to do in and through us, rather than inform him of what we were going to do for Him.

Now here we are, 3 1/2 years later, on the brink of a new chapter in our lives.

World Market has asked me to relocate to Nashville.  After much prayer, discussion, and listening we have decided to accept this offer.  Making this move will be difficult for us because of our love for New Orleans, but Leanne and I know this is the right next step.

Over the course of the next few weeks I will share some of the things we are looking forward to as well as some of the things we will miss, but for now we just wanted to let our family and friends know that we have landed on a decision.  Many of you have been apart of the discussion and prayer and we thank you.  We continue to ask for prayer from everyone as any transition has its stress….chief among them finding a place to live. 

Our love for New Orleans will always exist and we will always do whatever we can to serve this city, even if from far away.

Until next time….

 

 

I’m Baaaaackkkk!

My friend Rachel is in town and she said I should start blogging again. So, I thought…sure, why not?

So I am back interwebs.

Fat people can’t be Christian.

At least, that’s what I heard. A while back a friend of mine came to me and asked me if I had heard a certain sermon from a certain well-known preacher concerning obesity.  I told him I had not, to which he said  I was going to be really angry.  I listened to said sermon by said preacher and he does in fact make the assumption that if you are fat that there is no way you can really be a Christian.  His point was that because the apparent addiction to food had not come under the Lordship of Christ then you couldn’t be really saved.  I heard this message shortly before moving back to New Orleans and with everything else that was going on I pushed it out of my mind.

That is until two days ago when I heard another message by the same preacher where in it he again pushed the fact that fat people can’t be Christian.  Now, I fully believe that context is king so I made sure I listened to the entirety of the messages even looking at the message series as a whole to see if I was missing something…yeah…I wasn’t.

Here’s the deal.  I fully believe (even as a fatty) that all things should come under the Lordship of Christ. I would never argue against that, except in this case this preachers point goes far beyond the Lordship of Christ and more into a dogmatic authoritative bias presented in arrogance and lacking any real biblical merit.

My point is this…to say that someone is not a Christian or is unable to be in relationship with Christ  because of a struggle, addiction, past sins, generational sins, etc is saying that grace does not exist.  And if grace does not exists than what’s the point? So, to all my fellow bigguns…to all my fellow wanderers who struggle with a myriad of things life throws at us…don’t let the arrogance of one get you down.  His grace is sufficient…even if a few say otherwise.

Until next time…

Transitions

For many people change is a curse word.

The fear it.

Run from it.

Hide from it.

I embrace it.  It is a reality and inevitability of life as well as growth. However, just because I like change does not mean its always easy.  Specifically those large transitions in your life that change everything.

Today is a rough day because the realities of the current transition and coming change have befallen me.  Where as my wife will struggle and mourn the changes once they have happened I struggle and mourn long before the changes actually occur.

I love the church we are leaving.  I love the people, the leadership, and the vision.  Over the past three years (specifically the last year and a half) we have shared intense brokenness and healing together.  We have shared frustrations, joys, heartache, and much ridiculousness.  It’s hard to just walk away from that, even if it is following the call of God on your life.

As I finish up at Revolution, doing my best with the ministries I am involved with and helping in the transition of new people, I also am looking ahead to New Orleans.  I never knew how overwhelming it could be to be in the middle of the two worlds. On the one hand you have the realities of New Orleans.  Obvious facts like, the city is different since we left, most of our friends are gone, we have no place to live or jobs to make money, and then we have the exciting but complicated and time consuming process of beginning a community center and possibly a church launching out of that community center.

Couple that with the realities here in Southern California, namely, not being around family and friends as often, walking away from a ministry that you know God has used you in ways you didn’t even think possible, finishing strong, and the odd sensation of helping plan for a future that you will not be apart of.

It is all of these things that for some reason have all come crashing down on me today.  It will all be fine, I know that in my head and heart, but today I mourn the transition because I need to.  I need to wrestle with the pain, fear, doubt, and loss that accompanies change.  If I don’t how can I move forward with the excitement and passion that is lurking deep within?

So I guess I leave you with this, transitions and change are not the end of the world…

but today, for me, it kind of feels that way.

Until next time…

10 Things I Have Learned – Part 2

In celebration of my five years in full time ministry I am sharing my top ten learnings.  It began with a post two days ago and concludes today with my remaining 4.

4. Clarity, clarity, clarity. – If you need to over communicate, do it.  Do whatever you have to do to be clear in all areas of leadership.  Without clarity growth ceases and churches begin to die.  Without clarity you have frustration, anger, bitterness, and distrust.  Without clarity you’re pretty much screwed. If that means you put every ministry on hold until there is clarity, then do it.  The short term pain is worth the long term benefit.  Now let me be clear, even in your clarity there are going to be people the gripe and say your not clear enough.  Get used to it.  As long as their are different personality types you are always going to be failing to meet someones expectations. That being said…clarity, clarity, clarity, clarity.  I’m I clear?

3. Love God and love people…intensely. – Such a simple concept and yet for some reason people refuse to grasp it.  I posted a blog about this idea sometime last year and I have not been able to stop thinking about the need…and I hope I never do.  It is the single greatest commandment – Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, strength, everything – and the second is like it love your neighbor as you would love yourself.  The idea is, as intensely selfish as we are (which lets face it we are…and leaders are sometimes the worst) we should even more intensely love God and people.  You want to be a good leader, lock that into your brain and allow that to drive you.  Get rid of your presuppositions and focus on it.  Get out of your comfort zone and do it.  Do it boldly, humbly, passionately, and consistently.  if the worst thing someone can say about you is that your life is guided by loving God and loving people – rock on!  We are the hands and feet, we are examples…is there a better example that we can set?  I submit that there is not.

2. If God calls you to do something or go somewhere…shut up and do it. – I don’t know if this really needs any explanation but I’m going to give one anyway.  I have never been more irritated at myself or at other people then in those times when God calls you to go, do, and lead – but then we do nothing.  God gives us dreams, calls us to do things, and because things aren’t “easy” we don’t follow through. Are you freaking kidding me!?  Leadership is not easy.  If someone told you it was they are not a leader of anything other than their Star Wars collectibles.  If God calls you to do something…shut up and do it.  Don’t whine and complain because your not encouraged enough, or because it’s hard, or because you have no money, or because you lost your job, or because your hurt, or because people don’t get it, or whatever reason we find to not take ownership of our own lack of trust. If God calls you to move…move!  If He calls you to lead…Lead!  If He calls you to Africa…learn freaking Swahili and start raising support!  If He tells you to stay even if it’s a mess…then stay! If He says sell everything you have and move to Toronto to work with the homeless…then get your Parka and get to going!  It all comes back to a lack of trust or the fact you were never called in the first place.   For the rest of us its trust. Do we trust God enough to do the things He has told us to do? I will end this point the way I began it. If God calls you to do something or go somewhere…shut up and do it.

2.5. Take ownership – Own up.  If you screw up take ownership.  Don’t blame the church because you have failed. Don’t blame people because you don’t know what the word “boundaries” means.  You are going to fail.  Every leader fails.  If you are not failing your really just maintaining which ultimately means you’re not leading. When you fail, fail forward.  Take ownership of it and keep moving forward.  It is not fair to the people you are leading, to your friends, your family, your ministry, yourself, or the Kingdom of God for you to be a coward and pass the buck to someone else for your screw up or failure.  I get that it is our nature to protect ourselves, Lord knows I have screwed this up in my life plenty of times, but if we are unwilling to take ownership of our faults and failures then understand you will not be leading anyone…mostly because no one will trust or believe you.

1. God’s sovereignty is liberating – Period.

So there you have it.  My top 10 list of things I have learned in the past 5 years.  There are plenty of other things I have learned as well but these were the majors.  I hope this list is something that you can relate with.  Maybe it even challenges you.  Either way, in leadership we need to be aware and constantly learning, how else are we going to grow?  I for one do not want to be the same person year to year and I hope you, dear reader, share that sentiment.