Live NOW

Introduction:
There was so much that I wanted to write in my last entry that I simply could not at the time. I wanted to tell you all of the amazing work that God was doing in my heart and in my life. I wanted to share with you the joy of experiencing movement toward the God-centered next thing in my life, and I wanted to share with you the pain of leaving the God-centered previous thing in my life.

During the transition process of the past two weeks I've had many come to me and say, "You're moving on to BIGGER and BETTER things." And while, from a human perspective there may be some truth to this, from a God-centered perspective this movement is only into DIFFERENT things, not bigger or better.

There is nothing BIGGER than the local church, and there is nothing BETTER than that church living out the gospel week in and week out. It is MY LOSS to leave Northlake Baptist Church after almost 4 years of service to you and the Kingdom. I hope you have learned from me, and I know that I have learned from you.

Live NOW:
Tonight I wanted to share a thought that I have often shared with my students at NSM.

It is so easy for us to view movement in this life in terms of "bigger" and "better." It is so easy to get lost in the excitement of moments like these. One week ago I was spending my final hours as the Student Pastor at NBC. One week before that I was weeping with kids that have become a real part of who I am. One week before that I officially resigned my position, and two days before that God began the two sleepless nights that would (lovingly) FORCE me to finally obey His call for me to move on.

I've always struggled with defining success in what's happening NEXT. In middle school I looked to High school. In ninth grade I looked to getting a driver's license. At sixteen I looked to graduation. At graduation I looked to college. In college I looked to marriage. In marriage I looked to having children. And so on and so forth.

And while God has certainly ordained some of this excitement and anticipation as part of our motivation to grow and learn and be changed by Him, we must be careful to not forget to Live NOW. I've often told my students that "God will not take you to a new lesson or level until you've learned the one He has for you now."

For me, there were some very specific lessons that I had to learn before moving to this next stage. Most of them are/were very personal, but one that I can share is in relation to my discipline in study.

Almost 4 months before God ultimately called me to "pack up your things and go to the place I will tell you," He began to impress upon my heart that I had gotten LAZY in my studies. I have almost always stayed disciplined in my study of the Bible itself, but I have used this as an excuse to exclude the study of other disciplines or material. I always justified it by saying, "The Bible is sufficient for all that I need to know." And while this may sound good on paper, it's a cop-out for a true leader and student. God has graciously given insight to many individuals... insight that I could not attain on my own. These precious "nuggets" are being shared with us through the medium of writers and preachers and apologists, and we should listen and soak it all in.

And so, as God has challenged me to step up my studies over the past 4 months, He was, in ways that only He can do, preparing me for the SYLLABUS SHOCK that I have gotten the past week at Southeastern.

Now I am excited by the challenge. I am motivated to be the BEST that I can be at what I do because that's what the Kingdom needs. God needs/wants us at our best. Knowing our best. Thinking our best. And DOING our best.

So, I encourage us all to Live NOW the best that you can for the glory of God and the gospel to the world. It's great to dream of the future, but make sure that you are not doing so at the expense of neglecting the present obedience that He has called you to.

As always, in Christ,

Andy