Change Is In The Air...

Nights are more pleasant and not as oppressive. That is good.
Days are beginning to cool down and not be as humid. That is good.
I am being changed. That is most good.
Changed? How?
I am being drawn to return to my heritage.
We all have a spiritual "DNA" inside of us.
It is formed and shaped by the church or community of believers that we first came to.
For me, that would be Southern Baptist....I was saved and baptized into this family at the age of 9. I spent 9 years with them. They helped to form my view of "taking the message out."
The Great commission was the battle cry of our family. Tell the good news of Jesus and share the plan of salvation. There was a single mission that was the focus of our efforts.
Not only did they live it, they gave their money to support others who went to places we never could have.
I am grateful for Rev. Lewis Wood, Rev. Don Gentry and Rev. D.E. Hendrix for the life they brought to our community and our church.

I then lost touch with the "DNA" that God had begun to form in me.
In fact, I walked away from God for 7 years.
7 years of doing what I wanted to do. It was fun at first. Little things like sleeping in on Sunday mornings and lazing around with the paper and a cup of coffee. We worked hard and we deserved to have some time off. Unfortunately, God didn't see it that way. 1979 found Vicki and I beginning the process of being grafted into another part of the Vine. Central Methodist Church. Methodist? You got to be kidding? Nope. It was a God-leading journey. The very first time we went, Bro. George Creel stood at the pulpit and with his opening words, I was hooked. I can't explain it other than I had never heard the Word of God taught like Bro. George did that morning We went back. We went back some more. For 14 years, we became students of the Word. We took notebooks and pens and our Bible to each service. Scribbling notes and writing down Scripture references that we would later look up and discuss. It was an incredible time of learning for Vicki and I. We were introduced to the Holy Spirit and His workings. It changed us.God deemed that we were ready to move on.

In the fall of 1993, God lead us out to begin puting place the next part of His plan.
May 20, 1994, I was eating lunch at Mid-South Electrics and was finishing up a book (THE OPEN DOOR). The book was written by a pastor who said that we had lost the heart and soul of what God intended church to be. A chasm had been created between the clergy and the laity (I hate those two words)
and that God wanted to return the church to it's rightful place. This book changed me. It filled my thoughts and I could not shake what I had read. God spoke. I was to start a home group. Teaching, worship, ministry. This lead us to the Vineyard and Jim Bentley. I knew that a spiritual cover was needed if we were going to do this and the Vineyard was the only one that I felt would grant us that covering. Jim agreed and became a mentor to me, showing me how to lead a home group.

Home group lead to my ordination as a pastor.
Pastoring lead to full time ministry.
Full time ministry lead to Rapha Drug and Alcohol Rehab.
Rapha Drug and Alcohol lead to me being there for the last 12 years.
During all of that time, God has changed me and continues to change me.
I am learning how to love again.
Love with a unique twist to it.
He is equipping me to be able to "Speak" the truth in love.
This isn't the squishy, syrupy, kind of love the world has taught us to operate by...
But pure, undefiled, heaven sent love that desires to see everyone come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Love....
Gotta love it!
thanks Lord!

God on you......
mb