Robert Pooley

Christmas ideas

Wondering what to get me for Christmas...  How about this?

Just kidding.  What will they think up next?

A few Questions

 I thought that I would ramble this mornin with a few questions, if you will so indulge me...

 

How's your quiet time?   Are you spending those alone moments with God, and are you growing in His word?

 

Are you dreaming a God dream? Is God inspiring you to do something awesome for Him?

 

If so, what action steps are you taking toward your dream?  Do you have a goal, with incremental objectives?  What's your plan?

 

Did you share your faith with anyone this week?  Do you look for divine appointments to tell others about Christ?

 

Did you express God's love to someone through kindness this week?  A smile, a kind word, a helping hand?

 

Were you a calming force to others around you this week or did you add fuel to the fire?  Did you carry God's peace with you?

 

Just some questions, and don't worry if you fell short of the mark... God forgives you and you can start over right now.  Try it... see what happens... You just might "Rock the World!"

Coast Men's Breakfast

Here's are the rough notes from the Men's Breakfast at Coast this morning.

Standing as Men

 

Ephesians 6:10-18

10Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. 12For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13Therefore (because of that) put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.

 

Definition of a man  - Christlikeness

Manhood and Christlikeness are synonomous

 

Want to be a true man... study the life of Christ and become like Him.  Its a choice.

You are male by birth... but you become a man by choice.

 

STAND

 

S- Start    South Florida...  Watching shuttle go up... most of energy is expended just getting off the ground....   start moving forward... 

eyes are in front  ears face front     mouth faces front....  we were meant to move forward... there's only one part of our body facing backward and that's not what we want to be.

 

T- Trust  Prov. 3:5,6  As men, you are called to be leaders... that is the nature of men   but again, its not under our own power - Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.  

Does your family, your friends, your co-workers see Jesus in your life.   The goal for men?  To become more like Jesus.  

Spend time with Him... listen to Him...  learn about Him...  Mike Singletary - fiercest linebackers to play the game... intensity.... studied other line backers

Study Jesus... become like Him... then put your trust in Him and not your own understanding

 

A- Ask  Ask Him to take the leadership of your life.  Ask Him to show you the next step for your life.  

1 year from now... do you want to be at the same place spiritually that you are now?   Then you have to have a plan... where do you get a plan?  Ask.

Psalm 119:105  Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.

Do you know the word?     Scott and I were talking this week...  a lot of people who say they know the word... don't... they just think they do.

 

N- No  Learn to say no to the distractions of life... the things that could alter your course... and keep you from your appointed destiny.

 

Psalm 119:9  "How can a young man keep his way pure?  By living according to your word.  I seek you with all of my heart;  do not let my stray from Your commandments.  I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against you."

 

1. Guard your heart

2. We've got to watch our hearing.

3. We've got to guard our eyes...  it blurs our vision,

4 Don't let your spiritual life grow stale.  Be careful to keep your walk with Jesus fresh.

5. Be careful what you allow to be close to you in your world.  Be careful what you allow to have access to your life.

6. Keep your steps holy.

 

D- Do   Do the things you know you need to do.   Typical counseling conversation.   Yeh Pastor, I know the things you are saying are right, I just need to do them.   What do you need to do in your life?

 

From this week's newsletter

I was talking yesterday with someone about the Armor of God, found in Ephesians chapter 6... and I have been thinking and meditating on this verse... Ephesians 6:10, "Finally, be strong in the Lord and the power of His might."  If I were speaking at Coast, I would say, "Underline the word "His."

 

As you go about the things you do each day, who's strength are you relying on?  For many of us, if we were to be honest, we would have to say that most of the time...  we are trying to be strong in the power of our own might.  We are pushing ahead with our own ideas, our own creativity, our own agenda, our own strength.

 

So how do we change that?  I think its as easy as A.B.C.

 

A.  Awareness.   Be aware that God is with you.  That He is interested in the day in, day out affairs of your life.  Be aware that He has a plan, a purpose and a destiny for you.  Be aware that He is ready to fill you with His joy...  His strength...  His purpose.

 

B.  Believe.  Believe that God will do what He says.  Grab onto the promises of the bible... and believe that God is able to, and will strengthen you.  Believe and walk in faith.  Believe that God will release creativity, strength, new ideas, power, and much more in your life.

 

C. Choose.   It comes down to a choice.  Who do you choose to be the source of power in your life?  You can choose your power... or you can choose God's power.  God is omnipotent... and you?  Well, you're not.  One of my favorite verses says that "God's grace is sufficient for us, and that His strength is made perfect in our weakness."

 

God wants to empower you.  Not just for special projects, or during a crisis... but everyday... even in the normal, routine things you do.  Imagine the difference in our life if we were to be walking in His strength and the power of His might on a daily basis.  You really could impact the world.  You really could make a difference at your job.  You really could influence others in a positive way.

 

May you be strengthened by God in all you do, and walk in His power... and may His joy overflow in your life!

 

Let's Rock the World together!

Cya Sunday,

Robert

Partnering with others for the mission of the gospel

Yesterday we were talking in staff meeting about Philippians 1 and there were a couple of things that stood out to me... In verse 4 and 5 Paul writes, "I always pray in joy because of your partnership in the gospel..."   And then later in verse 27, he writes, "I will know that you stand firm in one spirit, contending as one man for the faith of the gospel."

I think that leaders can learn something very important from Paul here...  Its not about what I can do by myself...  Its all of us joining together for the mission of the gospel.

Years ago, when I was a young youth pastor... I tried to do everything myself... and the result was two things... One, I was wiping myself out... I was constantly tired, overworked, and stressed out.  And then two, I was unfruitful.  My youth group at the time stayed at about twenty to thirty kids.  The reason?  That was all I could manage on my own.

So what I did I do.  I began to plant the vision in the heart of the teens, and I began to put the ministry in their hands.  It was hard for me... because at first, they didn't do the things I was doing as well as I did, or the way I did... but soon, they began to grow and really take it to new levels...  This freed me up to function at a higher level in doing the things that only I could do. 

I began to train our new team as leaders and we made great steps forward.  Soon the youth ministry exploded with growth.  And not only that, we were having a blast!

Now, years later, the majority of those teens are still involved serving God in churches where they are living... and they are still working together with others for the mission of the gospel.  Some are even missionaries and pastors.

I think one of the major mistakes that I see a lot of church planters making, is thinking they have to do everything themselves.The secret of success is building and envisioning a team that will "partner" together with us and contend as "one man" for the purpose of the gospel.

The people are all around you. If you are a church planter... if you lead a ministry in your church... take the time, to stop, pray, and then ask these two questions, What are the things that I am doing that no one else can do?"   And "What am I doing right now that someone else could be doing?" 

Then look around you... find someone that can do the things that you can let go of, and envision them to partner with you for the sake of the gospel.  Again, they might not do it as well at first... but given a little time, they will take it to levels you never even dreamed of...

There is great ministry to be done when a commited team partner together striving as one man for the mission of the gospel!

Flying in a Coast tee

This is a pic of one of our folks from Coast, Shawn Laws on a BMX bike....  Notice the cool Coast tshirt he is wearing.

Sunday Thoughts

• Awesome day at Coast...  I led worship...  Gary and Beth were away for the morning and I got the nod....  Sweet!  Pam McKinney brought the message and I mean she brought it... Good stuff!
• Here's some quotes from Pam this morning.
• "If you can see the invisible, you can begin to do the impossible."
• "God can make a miracle out of your mess!"
• "The Devil can't take away your dream."
• God's timing may not be your timing.  God's timing is perfect."
• "You don't want God to open a door you're not ready to walk through."
• "A lot of people won't inconvenience themselves for what they want from God."
• "The Word of God is the parameter that guides my heart and my head."
• Good stuff... She really rocked it as she talked about relentlessly hanging on to your dream...
• The illustration of the biting fly was great!
• Even though we had people sick on the worship team... they stepped up to the plate and made it work... Special thanks to Sherri and Connor Welch for going above and beyond... you guys are amazing!
• The weather was cool today and felt so good.
• Nice meeting lots of new folks today!
• Had a great time with the teens tonight... Kara McConaghey and Jordy Vanorb did an awesome job teaching on the fruit of the Spirit...  Lots of new teens tonight.
• My Seminoles made it back in the polls...  Number 24 but I am happy to be there.
• We are still in the hunt for the ACC title.
• Looking forward to meeting with our men this Saturday for a Men's Breakfast.  It happens at 8:00 AM in the Coast Sanctuary.  When MEn get excited about the things of God... look out!!
• I am excited about starting our new series, "FAQ'S" next week.  We will be looking at Frequently Asked Questions.  I am ready for it to get started...
• Was great being back after being away for a week.   I love being with the folks at Coast.

A few thoughts

• Vicki and I are home again..  People are asking if we had a good time...  we were in Hawaii... how do you go to Hawaii and not have a blast?
• We saw so many beautiful sights... but the best part was getting away with Vicki for a week.
• Looking forward to leading worship at Coast this Sunday.
• You can see some of the Hawaii pictures by going to my twitter account here.
• Florida State beat NC State tonight on Espn.. We are now 5 and 1... some of these polls need to show us some love.
• I ran into some old friends that used to go to Coast... these were people I loved... and they left angry some time back...  breaks my heart...  I smiled real big and said hello... and they would hardly speak to me even after all this time...  I wanted to just grab them and say, I love you guys...   There is always opportunities for healing and reconciliation if we don't close our hearts to God...  I don't think they are going to church anywhere... really makes me sad.
• After being in Hawaii for a week, one of the prettiest sunsets that I saw was coming across the Pensacola Bay Bridge on our way home Wednesday night... We live in such a pretty place.
• It was great seeing all the surf spots that I heard about since I was a kid... Waimeia Bay, Pipeline, and Sunset beach.   Everything was flat there right now... but it was still cool. 
• I sure missed our Coast family.
• I am pumped about our series "FAQ's" which starts a week from Sunday.  We are going to look at a lot of Frequently Asked Questions.
• It feels good to be blogging after a little break... will try to be doing a lot more soon.
• All the team did a great job while we were gone...  I heard from a lot of sources that Sunday was awesome!
• Still fighting jet lag... there is a 5 hour difference in Hawaii.

Sunday Wrap up

• Had a blast today at Coast as we wrapped up the "Help" series...  We were talking about the way God answers prayer... and we talked about what to do when God says no.  The presence of God was amazing in there today!
• Every week just seems to be getting better and better at Coast... its undeniable that God is doing something cool.
• Lots of people loved the video element today.  Pretty funny.
• Great seeing some old friends who used to be stationed here with the Navy... they're back... and I'm really excited about that.
• Small groups really seem to be blossoming at Coast.
• Some cool new things about to happen within the next few months... more on that later.
• New series coming up is going to rock it...  I think its going to help people so much who are struggling with their faith...
• Vicki and I celebrate our 30th anniversary on Wednesday and we will be spending it in Hawaii...  3 days in Honolulu and the rest on Maui.
• I'm really looking forward to it.
• I believe its going to be our best Christmas season ever at Coast...  Going to be sweet.
• My FSU Seminoles had a big win against Miami on Saturday... and then my Redskins took it to the Eagles today...  Sweet!
• Found out a friend of mine has two tickets for me for the FSU-Florida game.  Oh yeah!
• I'm thinking if MCCain-Palin aren't elected... Palin can sub for Tina Fey on 30 Rock.  Turnabout is fair play.
• Going to miss Leanna, and my family, and the church while gone... but will be good to get away for a few days.
• Looking forward to seeing some of the most famous surf spots in the world.
• God is a great God!