Time and time again in my life I’ve been tempted to live for the approval of others instead of trusting Christ.
Following Christ with all your heart is tough. Sometimes God calls you…
to take risks
to stand up against things
to go against the flow
to do something remarkable.
But when you live for the approval of others you limit your life to following the herd. You see most people feel safest when they’re in the middle of the herd. What happens when you break off to follow a God prompt, to take a risk, is the herd will criticize you until you fall back with the rest of the crowd. The approval addict is destined for a life of mediocrity because they always have to follow the herd.
Written by Pete Wilson on April 30, 2012 @ 7:54 am
One of the things I talk about in my latest book Empty Promises
In an effort to find out why I felt so empty, I started to pay more attention to what was going on internally. Paying attention or examining my life forces me to face the internal questions I can no longer keep quiet. I was compelled to come face-to-face with what was lurking at the deepest level of my soul.
These were questions I could no longer ignore:
Written by Pete Wilson on April 25, 2012 @ 7:43 am
• Why do I continue to say yes to others, even though I’m overextended and hurting those closest to me?
• Why do I continue to struggle with showing my wife love on a more consistent basis, the way I should?
Filed under: Spiritual Growth
I snapped this picture last evening of my youngest son, Brewer, flying his kite.
He’s always had a thing for kites.
It reminded me of a time over a year ago when he had received a kite as a gift. It hung there in our laundry room for months as almost daily he would beg me to fly it in the backyard.
Every time he asked I would remind him that our backyard was full of trees and it would inevitably get stuck in the tree. Well, he eventually wore me down and in a weak moment, I think on the 138th try, I finally gave in.
Written by Pete Wilson on April 24, 2012 @ 7:06 amThis is my kind of book tour. One where I don’t have to do any work. The interview was so easy I don’t even remember conducting it. 
Honestly, I’m very excited about my friend Jason Haye’s new book Blemished. Jason is a gifted writer and communicator and it’s an honor to support him and the work he’s doing for the Kingdom.
I read this article yesterday in Time magazine about an ad battle brewing in London between Christians and Atheists. Here’s a portion of the article.
The word of God is on the move in London — literally. Beginning Feb. 9, three separate Christian groups will launch advertisements on more than 200 of London’s buses to convince pedestrians of God’s existence. “It may be unpopular and unpleasant, says David Larlham, the assistant general secretary of London’s Trinitarian Bible Society, a group that distributes bibles worldwide, “but there is a whole lot of truth in the bible that people need to get to grips with.” His organization has paid $50,000 to display posters on 125 of London’s red double-decker buses that quote Psalm 53: “The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God.”
The move follows a month-long campaign by atheists, agnostics and other non-believers that saw 800 London buses plastered with a less God-fearing slogan: “There’s probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life.”
Listen I don’t want to be critical of this Christian group. I can only hope they’re doing what they feel is right.
But I have to wonder. Don’t you think we could take the $50,000 and find a more effective way to convince non-believers of God’s message other than trying to compete with them in an ad battle?
This reminds me of when we tried to boycott Disney instead of engaging in a conversation or picked up picket signs at the abortion clinics instead of developing relationships. Do these tactics ever bring about true life change? Does throwing up a bus billboard in response to another billboard in any way inspire anyone to really want to follow Christ?
Any thoughts?
I’m so excited to be hosting an incredible event in a few weeks down in Atlanta entitled “off the blogs” with Carlos Whittaker, Anne Jackson, and Jon Acuff.
Catalyst is sponsoring the event in conjunction with the Catalyst One Day which features Andy Stanley and Craig Groeschel. If your attending Catalyst One Day or if you’re anywhere in the Atlanta area on February 26th than please come out and join us.
For more information and to register for the event you can go to www.offtheblogs.com.
Hope to see you there!
Sunday at Cross Point Nashville I continued the series “Paralyzed” by talking about the ‘fear of the unknown’. You can check out the CP video or audio podcast HERE to listen to the entire message.
We looked at Matthew 6 and the one question Jesus asked in verse 27 has been totally messing with me. He asked,
Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
Think about that question. Can anyone here honestly say the time they’ve spent in fear, anxiety, or worry has added any value to their life?
This particular word “worrying” translated in the Greek literally means “to be drawn in different directions.” Worry pulls us apart. I read last week where a John Hopkins University doctor said “We do not know why it is that worriers die sooner than non-worriers, but that is a fact.”
The reason worriers die before non-worriers is because we are inwardly fashioned for faith, not for fear. Fear, worry and anxiety is not true to the way we’ve been wired. Everything about you from your tissue… to your brain cells… to your soul is constructed by our Maker for faith and not fear. To live by fear is to live against the reality of your creation.
I thought we could spend some time today just listening and praying for each other.Where are you tempted to live by fear instead of faith? What are you anxious, worried, or fearful about today?
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. – Philippians 4:6.
Yea!!!!!! I’m back in the blogosphere. So a huge thanks to Anne Jackson and her mad blog skillz for getting us moved over. Obviously we still have some tweaking we’ve got to do over the next couple of days but we’re well on our way.
I should have the new blogroll up by the end of the week if everything goes right.
Let me know what you think. I would love to hear your comments and suggestions.
Don’t cry, but I’m shutting the blog down for a few days. I’ll be down Friday through Sunday for a little maintenance. If all goes well and SHE does her magic we’ll be back on Monday with a new look!
Hope you guys have a great weekend!
This week Brandi and I are lucky enough to host our blog friends Brent and Tam Hodge who are in town for the re:create conference.
Last weekend we enjoyed an infusion of estrogen when Heather Whittaker and her girls spent the night while in Nashville on a girls’ trip.
I love making new friends out in blogosphere and it’s even sweeter when I get to spend some face time with them. I never imagined this virtual community could lead to such authentic community.
If you could get some face time with someone out there in blog world who would it be with?
