What's going on?

It's been more than three months since my last blog post, but since no one reads this, it's okay. I mainly do this for myself to organize my thoughts.

I have been quoted numerous times with the statement, "God works through your expectations", which after a little note I got from my pastor this week isn't exactly Biblical.

Ephesians 3:20-21 (MSG) says, "God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us..."

God doesn't work through our expectations, but way beyond them. In that same breath, God is not a cosmic Santa Claus. Just because we ask for something, doesn't mean it's God's plan. I'm not talking about asking for a new car here, but asking for God to bless your ministry.

For those of you that don't know, I'm a youth pastor at a big church that's run on a small budget in Pineville. My church just bought a new facility and I expected to walk in and have 50 or so youth ready to bust at the seams. But what I got was pretty much what I had at the old facility..... and like 5 or 6 more youth. This was a wake up call to me. I was shocked when on my first Sunday here, I didn't have a church full of youth. And God told me (not audibly), "Did you expect to be blessed without putting forth any effort?"

And the truthful answer was, yes. I expected to have a large group due to our location and the size of the church. I have always faithfully believed in the goldfish theory.... A goldfish will grow to the size of the tank you put him in. That's a true statement. But, not only do you have to have the goldfish a bigger tank, you also have to continue to nourish (feed) the goldfish or he surely will die.

That goldfish theory can be applied to any ministry. I firmly believe in it. However, I was forgetting one key aspect. If you focus on the growth of your goldfish, but not it's wellbeing, it will definitely die.

So what God has showed me to do, is love on the FAITHFUL kids I do have and growth will come, or maybe it won't and I have to be okay with that.

Run away from infantile indulgence. Run after mature righteousness—faith, love, peace—joining those who are in honest and serious prayer before God. Refuse to get involved in inane discussions; they always end up in fights. God's servant must not be argumentative, but a gentle listener and a teacher who keeps cool, working firmly but patiently with those who refuse to obey. You never know how or when God might sober them up with a change of heart and a turning to the truth, enabling them to escape the Devil's trap, where they are caught and held captive, forced to run his errands. 2 Timothy 2:22 (MSG)