The Distractions

I find it so easy to get sidetracked.  I sit down to the computer to do write a message for student church then I find myself ten minutes later reading an article about manatees and the Florida Everglades.  How does this happen?

It is so easy to lose focus in life.  We are being bombarded with distractions.

I have found, in my past 25 years of church leadership, that Christians (self included) can get sidetracked and lose focus of what truly matters.  It’s easy to get in debates about things that in the end won’t change eternity.  It’s easy to allow emotions and feelings to move the focus from our purpose of sharing Christ to a self pity-party. 

Christians get side tracked by what this author says or did, by the color of the church’s new carpet, chairs vs. pews, small groups vs. Sunday school, music styles, and the list could go on and on. 

I get quickly sidetracked by complaints that have absolutely no impact on eternity. 

How do we keep from getting sidetracked?


Remember your purpose.  Why am I here?  What has God called me to do?  How have I been uniquely created and equipped by God to do what He wants me to do?  



Regain focus.  Quit looking over there when you should be looking towards Christ.  Satan is going to throw distractions at us left and right because he doesn’t want Christ followers to be successful in reaching others with the life changing good news of Christ’s sacrifice and God’s love.  Quit focusing on self and focus on the Savior.

Remind others.  Remind those around you and who you serve with that if something doesn’t impact eternity you are not going to waste your time with it.  Arguments, debates, styles of worship, the temperature of the fellowship hall.  Life is too short and our task at hand is huge.



Robing.  (sorry I wanted to write, “Suit up” but just had to use another “R”.  To be honest I don’t even know if “robing” is a real word)  

Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.

Ephesians 6:11
The best way to take out the enemy is to infiltrate and attack from within.  The devil is no dummy and he uses this technique to his advantage.  Often I find myself getting sidetracked by other believers, usually it is due to unchecked feelings and emotions.  It’s by not living under the control of the Holy Spirit and the result is living lives that don’t display the fruits of the spirit.  We have to be ready for attack and remember that the attack isn’t on us personally, the attack is for who we stand for and for focusing on our purpose.



What distractions are plaguing you this week?  What steps will you take to remove the distractions and regain focus on the purpose God has called you to?

Rehashing what is done

Questioning the "purpose" after the fact is useless.

Recently while sitting in a local coffee shop I heard two senior gentlemen discussing a local park. I heard one say, "What is the purpose of the park? It's not for half pipes . . . ". So I assume they were a bit miffed that a local park now has a skate park for skaters. My guess these would be the same folks who would gripe that those danged kids are riding their skateboard on our sidewalks.

At what age do we choose to forget about the future generation? At what point do we decide that offering kids a safe alternative is a bad thing?

What cracked me up was the discussion was about something that is a done deal. We are talking the tons of concrete has been poured. So why gripe about something that can't be changed now?

This got me to thinking about the stories I hear from churches who are arguing over letting their youth group paint their youth room some other color than the church's standard color. Paint color doesn't matter. Let the students make the room their own. Perhaps then they will feel more comfortable bringing their friends. There are a lot of petty things that churches waste time debating and if they would turn that energy to reaching their community just imagine what could happen in the life of the church and their community.

Hopefully your churches purpose is clear. Then there is no need to argue about the church "after the fact".

Party at Contagious Youth Tonight

Tonight we partied with purpose.  We took our annual Christmas party and combined it with an outreach night.  Students were encouraged to pray for 5 friends and invite them to come tonight to the party.  We had a blast!  We ate well.  Thanks Slice Pizza!   We all brought inexpensive wrapped gifts and played a game of Dirty Santa, you know the one where you can take each other's presents, a good Christian game.   Lots of chocolate candy tonight.  We had enough chocolate to cause acne problems for a year for an entire youth group.  Pee Wee the chocolate penguin seemed to be a big hit (Walgreens for $5).

I explained the purpose of our party in an earlier post.  I even asked readers to join me in praying for this night.   The purpose of this night was to share with students about the Christ of Christmas.  Jesus Christ is God's gift to us, the best Christmas gift anyone could accept.  Thanks for praying and I'm glad students brought their friends and invited friends.  Tonight a young lady put her trust and faith in Jesus Christ as her Savior.  Her and her friend were both given a Fresh Start book to go through together, friend discipling friend, pretty cool.

Our purpose is to reach students to discover life in Christ.  Tonight we accomplished that through friendship, pizza, fun, and sharing the best Christmas gift ever. 

An Inviting Building

When we built our building part of the purpose of the design was that the front of the building would have lots of windows so guests could see what they are about to walk into.  I've heard many comments about our building, the blue roof, all the windows, "doesn't look like a church"(that's the point), "where's the steeple and cross?", "looks like an airplane hangar", "looks cool".  I can't think of all the comments I've heard. 

I try to hang out after the service as Rick talks with the guests so I can hear what our guests think.  To find out what they think we are doing right, and what they think we are doing wrong.

Today I heard what I've been waiting to hear.  When asked how they decided to attend NHC, a local guest's answer was, "I drive by everyday and the building looks inviting."  It worked!  I love it when a plan comes together.

I'm excited about the next phase.  Today our phase 2 team met to discuss the steps to finish off the children's area and the youth room.  Our pre-school room is about maxed out, it's gonna be sweet when the upstairs is finished.