Honeytree Pioneer

Honeytree....what a voice.
Compared to todays recordings and style this is pretty tame stuff, but you sometimes forget what was going on when this song came out.
The Jesus People movement had spread across the country from California. Even here in Gadsden, Alabama we were affected by it. Campus Crusade for Christ came into our school and we listened. They were young like us and the told us things that we were not hearing in our church. They "let us play" by that I mean they let us be leaders of groups and teach Bible Studies.
The music that came from the Jesus People Revival was new. There wasn't anything called Contemporary Christian Music (which is a term I've always hated). Stephen Chapman of the group DOGWOOD said that he played "Journey" music.

Honeytree is one of the founding members of the music that took our hearts captive. Her voice, her style, her love for Jesus is all very evident as she sings this song, Pioneer. And by the way....Those of you who might bring up the ugly topic of "Well, they only do it for the money!" There wasn't any money to be made in Jesus Music when it first came out. People such as Barry McQuire, Love Song, Andre Crouch, Phil Keaggy, 2nd Chapter of Acts toured and sang and played because they love Jesus, not because they thought they could get rich.

Enjoy the song PIONEER.
God on you......
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Do I Truly Understand?

Do I truly understand the cross? By that, I mean do I truly understand exactly how powerful the work was that happened on this piece of wood that held the body of Jesus in place?

There was nothing magical about the cross. At one point it had grown wild on the hillsides beyond the walls of Jerusalem. Lovers may even have carved their initials there on some starry night. Many had sat in the shade it provided from the sun and the sweltering heat of day. But ultimately it was taken down and shaped by Roman hands to become an instrument of death.

You see, you don't compromise with the cross. You don't make deals with the cross. If you were standing outside the walls of Jerusalem and you say a man exit through the gates and he was carrying a cross. You were looking at a man who was not coming back. How many were crucified during this time? Hundreds, possibly thousands. But it was the Crucifixion of the carpenter of Nazareth that defined the cross forever. It was His death on this cruel instrument that brought life and opportunity to the world. Through the shedding of Jesus' blood and his death and subsequent resurrection, Jesus broke the power of hell, death and grave once and for all time. The curse and power of sin was broken and no longer would humanity be held under the whip hand of Satan.

Romans 6:23 reads: For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 10:9-10 reads: That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

This event, the cross of Christ, was of such importance to the Apostle Paul that he stated in I Corinthians 2:2 that "I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Imagine that! Probably the most intellectual Christian of his time put aside all of his learning and intellect concerning the Scripture and focused only on Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

No matter how society changes---

No matter the moral or social climate---

the message of the cross never changes. We need to live in the shadow of the cross. We need to place our hands and faces upon the rough wood--feel the grain. Feel the weight of it. Remember who chose to die here. Jesus! Remember who chose the time of his death. Jesus. Remember that he did it because it was a demonstration of the love he had.

John 14:6 Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but by Me."

Jesus said He was the way. The way leads through the cross. There is no other way.

Jesus said He was the truth. The only way to know real truth comes as you embrace this death along with your own spiritual death at the cross.

Jesus said He was the way. He was the direction and voice that would lead us.

Study in the Word about Jesus and the cross He carried.
Until tomorrow...
God on you................

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The Body of Christ

We, too often, seek to define something in ways that do not do it justice. When we hear the word "church", we think of brick buildings or huge sanctuaries and choirs singing praises to God. Those thoughts come as sort of a pre-programmed response that has been planted in our minds. We put the images with the word "church."

In referring to church, John Wimber use to say that you had two kinds.
1.) Structure in search of life, or
2.) Life in search of structure.
He maintained that most churches were structure related and sought to fill the structure with life. Events were planned. Agenda's were set. People were put in place and the energy of the people was to bring life to those spots. John held that this view was more man driven than God driven.
John held that if a group of people were hungry for God and were chasing Him in their daily lives (in other words searching for life), then this chase would seek out structure. He earnestly believed that the life had to come first. With the life came the ability to adapt and change as God directed. If you were structure oriented then the structure (or the way you do church) would become static and unchangeable. How many times have you heard the phrase when referencing church life, "We've never done it that way before." Almost a battle cry to the stubbornness and hardness that sets in when a church looses the life it so desperately needs. Through my own experience, change is the fuel that runs the kingdom of God. Not change that we can invent, but change as God directs in turning us into the body He desires us to be.

This brings me to the point about the body of Christ. I interact a lot with the body through the different people I have connection with. The body of Christ comes alive for me when the phone rings and it's Seth Barber wanting to share about what is going on at the Grace Recovery Meeting. The body of Christ is when I see Debbie Handy and she pours out her heart concerning what God is doing in Worship and how there seems to be a new season or a freshness to the music. The body of Christ is when Barry Hooks and I sit down and go over scripture and it relates to those in recovery. The body of Christ is when I am walking across the compound and I see John Arrington meeting the needs of those who haven't any means. It is breakfast with Jim Bentley and Bobby Sparks. It is a Thursday morning meeting with Lane Smith. It is a phone call from Donnie George asking me to come to Celebrate Recovery in Centre. The body of Christ is so varied and vast that it seems to evade a definition that comes from the mind of man. Since it is His body.....
I think I'll Jesus define who and what it is!
Thanks for stopping by GREENE STREET today.

God on you.......
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Taking Stock

Monday again.
Seems as thought they roll around too often and too quick.
Here we are going into August and it only seems like New Years Day was only a couple of weeks ago. I don't think time really flies just my perception of it. Last time I checked there was still 24 hours in a day and those hours were still made up of 60 minutes.
We baptized two on Saturday. I've said it before and I'll continue to say it. The two biggest thrills I get in life are seeing someone come to a saving knowledge of Christ and then be baptized. I can't imagine what it must have been like to have been John the Baptizer, standing in the Jordan day after day as an endless line of people came to be baptized.

Not sure what the week has in store.
I guess I'll just leave that up to God and try and follow where he is leading.
We have a good number of new men here in the camp so that means a lot of time talking. Trying to get an understanding of what is going on in their lives. Lot of prayer over each man that God would draw them from the blindness and spiritual darkness they have been living in and begin to speak to their hearts, minds and spirits.

I am on the upside of this crud (for those who may not be familiar with the term 'crud', it is any sickness..in this case it is an upper respiratory infection). Feel really good during the day time but the night time comes and I am hammered down. Hard for me to sleep, so I spend time in my chair in the living room watching infomercials about "shamwow's" and "colon cleansing". Television just doesn't get any better than this.

In all of this that I have shared there is one inescapable truth.
God is still God.
God is still in control.
His word is still "yes and amen."

Romans 1:16
For I am not ashamed of the Gospel (Good news) of Christ, for it is God's power working unto salvation (for deliverance from eternal death) to everyone who believes with a personal trust and a confident surrender and firm reliance to the Jew first and also the Greek.

May you find Him today....
God on you........
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Ramblings On A Rainy Day

During my study this morning, I was in Lamentations. Jeremiah wrote this book after the fall and destruction of Jerusalem and it is a very mournful, tear filled account of the pain Jeremiah felt as he wandered the streets. Such a wonderful and beautiful city did not have to come to this but because of the people's pride and rebellion against God, He brought judgment down on them.

God had warned them repeatedly to turn from their sin, but His word fell on deaf ears and hard hearts. This lead me to begin looking at the state of our country and the church today. The very last thing I want to do is cast dispersion or lump into one group . There are those churches and people who do hold fast to the word of God in their life. I fear that these are the minority.
We have lost our moral fiber and desire for God. Self has become the monument erected to the good name of humanity. We almost have a "Bable" mentality. Genesis 11:4......Let us make a name for ourselves.
On the surface it sounds good but behind the words is a heart of pride that seeks to exalt itself over the Lord God. They were seeking to build up and reach God in their own efforts and strength.



Today people are doing the same thing only God is not in the picture anymore. We have fallen totally under the belief found in Genesis 3 that was spoken by the serpent.
The great lie of Genesis 3:5 - For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God knowing the difference between good and evil and blessing and calamity.

We have pushed God aside. We are gods in our day and time. We are a force to be reckoned with. Oh we give the obligatory mention of being a Christian, but only when it benefits us.We actually seek to create God in our image rather than be conformed to His.
Today's pulpit if for personality not power and purity. Sound mad? Maybe I am. But I want to be careful lest I find myself becoming a Pharisee. There is a fine line between speaking the truth of God and judging by the flesh.

Now is the day...
Now is the time to repent and turn to God.
The Federal Government isn't going to save you.
The wisdom of the age is not going to bring you comfort.
That comes only from the one who created you.....The Lord God himself.
God on you..
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Oh What A Night...

We had visitation at Rapha yesterday. Families come to be with their husbands, Fathers or sons. There are kids running everywhere: to fish, to play ball, to simply be near their dad's. I love visitation because you get to see a side of the men who come through the program that you don't see during the week.

Last night's service was really good and with each one that passes, we are learning what God is trying to do with us. We are turning into a time of celebration and testimony. A time where the group gets to share and add what God is doing in their life. It doesn't have to be about me and some teaching that I have. Being the pastor, I am the least important part of this equation. I am merely to help guide and facilitate the group.

Shane Elmore came back and as always, had something to share. Shane is a true work and evidence that God can bring a life back from the edge. Shane didn't really want to be at Rapha when he first got there. He was consumed with his girlfriend and what was going on in the outside world. He didn't really care about getting sober and learning how to live life on God's terms. But that all changed. Shane was caught with a cell phone which is a major offense. After much deliberation, the staff decided to send Shane back through the 7 week program. This got his attention and dedicated himself to the task of finding this God and doing what He said to do. Since leaving Rapha, Shane has started a Celebrate Recovery in his home town and oversees it. He makes a circuit of celebrate recovery's in other churches and helps any way he can. He truly is proof of what Rapha stands for.When Shane speaks to our group, he carries some weight since he has "been there / done that".

The worship music was right on as each song seem to speak to the room. Debbie Handy, Wayne Wimpee, Barry Hooks and I comprised the worship team. We have been playing together at Rapha for 3 years and have become comfortable with each other to the point that we can follow each other should the Holy Spirit take us off into new areas during the middle of a song.
I guess my favorite part was when we sang "I CAN SEE CLEARLY NOW". The room came alive and the guys did not hold back as they sang. Like I said at the first, it was a good night.

The verse we used last night:
Revelation 12:11
And they have overcome (conquered) him by the means of the blood of the Lamb and by the utterance of their testimony, for they did not love and cling to life even when face with death (holding their lives cheap til they had to die for their witnessing).

As is the custom each week, as I closing the door to the chapel, I look back into the room thanking God for letting us be together and for what He had done there tonight. My last thought is always, "Boy God! How are you going to top that next week?"
He does....

God on you.....
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August 1, 1998

11 years.
Today is the anniversary of when I moved into full time ministry. Prior to this, I was bi-vocational, working out of Mid-South Electronics and serving at Associate pastor for Gadsden Vineyard Church.

I remember how excited I was to leave Mid-South and pursue what I thought to be a higher calling. Oh, I had all these romantic notions and ideas about what was going to happen. Truth be known, I didn't have a clue. I remember that Jim Bentley and I spent all day getting my office up and running. Computer, desks, lamps, chairs, folders, file cabinets, moving in my books and Bibles. At the end of the day we both plopped down in chairs in my new office. Looking at each other, wondering, "what now?" Is this how it was going to be? A whole lot of waiting for someone to come by, maybe us going out to visit at the hospital. Well, it didn't take long for time to become a precious commodity. The days became full, as well as the nights, with appointments and sessions with people in need of counseling. Throw in sermons and messages and teachings and there wasn't a lot of free time left. God was good to grow me and stretch me during those first days. He continues to stretch me and show me things I had never considered. Each day is a new day with God, filled with endless possibilities.
I wonder what the next 11 years will hold?

God on you......
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