Orange Conference-pt. 1

General Session #1- Reggie Joiner

What an awesome message! Here are a few of my thoughts:

• We are living in a Prodigal Generation that needs rescuing
• Luke 15:1-2 ~ Jesus' purpose was to be with sinners!
• Never let a church be about who you are trying to keep...be about who you are trying to reach!
• We live in a generation that wants to feel better about doing bad stuff.
• If the Pharisees were around today, they would be bloggers.
• There are 2 Different Approaches to Rescuing a Prodigal Generation

Loving Father Approach Older Brother Approach
-preoccupied with whoever is missing -preoccupied with themselves
-operate from a context of forgiveness -operate from a context of shame
-throw parties -throw fits
-confront older brother thinking -criticize loving Father's thinking
-keeps the lights on for as long as it takes -close the door and turns off the lights

If we treated every prodigal in the way the loving Father treated His own son, what would happen?

Why live like the loving Father?
1. Jesus made it a priority!
2. Because You are a model!
3. Because You know a prodigal!

Who are you willing to reach no matter what it takes?

Draft Day

Whooooooooo Hooooooo!

It's draft day and I'm so excited that my Detroit Lions aren't 1st or 2nd pick this year. This is the first time in a long time that I can remember. As a matter of fact they are smack dab in the middle...Oh, my dang!

I just hope they get some great fellas so we can have an even better season this year!

When God Speaks

One thing I am learning almost daily is that when God speaks...YOU BETTER LISTEN!

God has speaking a lot lately, especially in my life.

Sometimes I just have to laugh because what you know as God speaking to you, others view it as Satan attacking. Or because you step out in faith to follow what God has told you to do, people see it as you not being a mature Christian.

Am I that much less of a Christian because I feel as though I need to make what God is telling me priority in my life?

Needless to say, I don't always make the popular decision and sometimes my decisions can hurt others, but that isn't my intention. Just know I my intentions are just to passionately pursue God with all of my heart, soul, body and strength.

One thing I've been learning this past week through our series we are going through at church and through my small group is that every major decision that Jesus went through, not only did you take a leap of faith but he passionately pursued those decisions by first basing them in prayer.

One commitment I have made (even when I was younger) was that I would not make any major decision without first praying about it. Jesus went away often to pray, and we see this taking place before some major events in His life...so why shouldn't I do the same?

Video of the Month

A Thought for Today

A friend of mine came to visit not to long ago and on his way out, he left a series of notes. I'm not sure if he stole them from someone else or if he came up with them himself, but I thought I would share them with you today.

The Past...
Has made you! For the good or the bad. You are better today then yesterday because you are bing conformed to His image.

Today...
Be encouraged that God is in control. You are His #1 choice. Do something amazing for Him.

Future...
God has amazing plans. The dreams of what might or could be, should inspire you to be great today!

BE ENCOURAGED!

Happy Birthday

25 years ago a single, 19 year old woman was giving birth to a healthy baby boy at Parkview Memorial Hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana. You see this single mommy is giving life a chance. She could have easily ended the pregnancy early on, or even decided to put the child up for adoption...but her choice was to keep him and raise him.

Little did she know that this baby boy would grow up and have a second birth. And that second birth, much like his first, would radically impact his friends, his family, his world, and most of all his life.

You see, 25 years ago I was that baby boy and just 13 years ago this month I experienced a second birth when I surrendered my life to follow Jesus.

What a journey it has been, but not even close to being complete! What more does God have in store? I CAN'T WAIT TO FIND OUT!!!

Birthday Wishes

Well my birthday is just a few hours away and I've been getting the question a lot lately, "Do you feel 25?"

How exactly does 25 feel? Seriously, do numbers actually have feelings?

But I have also been asked, "So what would you like for your birthday?" So here is my top ten list:

10. $$ Money is always nice
9. A skiing boat (I miss being so close to my Grandpa and his toys)
8. Hang out with all of my friends (from all over the world)
7. Lions tickets (it doesn't matter which game as long as its at Ford Field)
6. Chicago Cubs tickets at Wrigley Field
5. A new iPod
4. Catch a few concerts-not really sure who, I just love music
3. Go to Disney World
2. Spend a weekend with my Parents
1. Spend an entire week with just Cyndi & Monicea

A Few Pics from Jamaica -pt3

Andre & I

Monicea

A Few Pics From Jamaica pt. 2

880 gallon water tank

Dwight cleaning out the water tank...from the inside

A Few Pics From Jamaica

John on a riding lawn mower in Jamaica...that's
right the day of the machette is over.

John & Ritz

Here I am passing out things to the "locals"
also known as Shanda, the Canadian-Jamaican

Jamaica Journey - The Last Few Days

So, after leaving Mandeville, John and I went back to Whitehouse. But not before one last stop...the best Chinese restaurant in Jamaica.

Our last day on the south coast we spent some time at My Father's House. We spent time with many of the kids there and I was so blessed! Jim & Penie Koch, have a great calling to those kids and absolutely blessed us by having us over for dinner and allowing us to spend time with the children.

Saturday morning arrives and I receive a call a little before 7am. This is what took place.
Me: Hello
Caller: Good morning JJ, this is Angie (Angie is Monicea's-the little girl we are adopting-grandma)
Me: Hello Angie!
Angie: JJ, it's here. The birth certificate is here in my hands.
Me: What? It is? That's great! I will be there this morning to get it.

As Cyndi and I have been seeking to adopt Monicea we have been told one of the very first steps is obtaining here birth certificate. So last summer I sent for it. NOTHING. As soon as we reached Jamaica, I asked Angie if she could go to Savanna-La-Mar and get the birth certificate for me. So she went on Wed. She was told that it would be over 5 weeks. It was 2 DAYS!!!
Here it is:

After saying goodbye to Monicea and her family, as well as Randy (our sponsored kid) and a few other friends in the area, John and I headed to Montego Bay. On our way to MoBay we stopped off at a very new ministry. Westhaven Children's home. This place totally broke my heart and as we were walking around the facilities I fought back tears. This children's home is for mentally and physically impaired children of Jamaica.

We walked into this one unit where many of the children were in wheel chairs, and this little girl rolled over to me as started to play tag, and then she just wanted to hold my hand. After a few minutes, a young boy rolled over to me just to hold my hand. I realized then that they probably don't see many people like me and probably don't get much love.

After leaving the tears began to roll, both for John and I. This by far is one of the most amazing experiences I have had in Jamaica.

After reaching MoBay it was time to rest, or so we thought...after negotiating our hotel room we spent some time just resting. But then we sought out our friend Dwayne (Dwight's twin brother). We found him and took him to dinner.

All in all this trip was absolutely amazing! I will post later this week about some of the things God said to me while here.

Back in the Good Ol' USofA

That's right folks, I have reached the States.

What an amazing trip! So much has happened in the last few days, and I promise I will fill in all the details. Things like what we did the last few days while in Jamaica, and my thoughts on missions and what God has taught me on this trip.

But as of now I am just trying to get back home (I'm currently stuck in Miami - where I have been since 4:30pm).

More to come...

Jamaica Journey - Thursday

What a day!!!

Today's goal...ENCOURAGE, UPLIFT, & do whatever we could to help Pastor Dwight Pinnock, in anyway possible. So what exactly did this mean? Well, we began the day by heading to a home that used to house a Children's Home ministry (this place is for sale and would be a great potential to house teams). We specifically went to pick up a water storage container that would hold up to 880 gallons of water for Generations Church. So we picked that up and headed back to the house.

Next up on our day...GOLF! That's right we headed towards the golf course here in Mandeville to spend some time in fellowship and a friendly game of golf. We get to the course and find out that the price to play is well over $50USD so we choose not to play.

Next on our list of things to do...pass out fliers for an upcoming festival. What an experience! This was something that was way out of my comfort zone. Seriously, I walked up and down the streets of Mandeville passing out fliers to people and it was AMAZING!! I met some very awesome people and and am thankful God gave me the opportunity. By the way, did I mention Toby Mac will be at this festival?

So after passing out fliers we came back to the house were Shanda was teaching reading classes. Later in the evening we headed to a movie theater. We saw the movie Vantage Point and it was awesome to be in the movie theater here in Jamaica. This was a neat experience...At first before the movie even began, we all stood up as the Jamaican National Anthem. And then right in the middle of the movie, their was an intermission. Now I remember seeing this movie in the States and there was no intermission.

Well we head back to Whitehouse tomorrow. I'm off to bed now!

Jamaica Journey - day 3

This evening as we fellowship with our friends here in Mandeville, much has been running through my mind.

I absolutely love the ministry that Dwight & Shanda has with Generations Church…their heart and passion to make fully devoted followers of Jesus is not only encouraging, but energy pumping as well.

Then to sit and hear Steve’s passion for the skater’s of this country is just awesome! Steve is in the process of bringing Jamaica’s very first skate park to Mandeville. This isn’t just to have a skate park so the kids can skate on it, but it is truly a ministry building opportunity… a way, a tool, just to begin to build relationships.

This evening John and I spent some time in a Life group with 11 teenagers from the church and there were a couple of observations that I had:
• Teenagers, no matter what country you are from, just love to have fun
• Teenagers have some awesome questions!
• It’s okay to question your faith…its what helps make it stronger.
• A good question was brought up tonight in the group…Why do men have nipples?
• Teenagers are NOT unintelligible lower class human beings, their passion, their convictions, and their desire to grow in their faith is many times more real than adults.

One thing I have been learning on this trip is that in ministry we need to get out of the way and let God do His thing. It’s all about Him anyway, and He doesn’t really need us, so why in the world can’t we as Christians work together? Why do many Christians and Missionaries feel as though if a certain view of ministry or happening doesn’t benefit me or my ministry, then I shouldn’t be a part of it? This really drives me nuts…God has made all of us so unique, and as Christians we should rejoice in the fact that we aren’t going to always agree on everything but the constant should always be JESUS! God’s Word always holds true!

Anyway these are just a few of my thoughts this evening.

Until tomorrow.

Jamaica Journey- Mandeville

I'm sitting here in Mandeville with great missionary friends of ours, Dwight & Shanda Pinnock. They are two of the coolest people I've ever met. Their heart and their passion for this country is unbelievable! Their deepest desire is to see Jamaicans totally sold out for Jesus...fully devoted followers, and so it has been cool to be a part of their ministry down here.

Just wanted to send a quick update that we are in Mandeville, and will actually be broadcasting live this evening via yahoo live...here is the address: live.yahoo.com/jeremiahjbrown. I'm not too sure as to what time we will be broadcasting but hopefully we will be getting an exclusive interview (with your questions) from Dwight & Shanda.

More later!

Jamaica Journey -days 1&2

We are here! Here is actually in Whitehouse, Westmoreland. But we have arrived safe and sound and have been having a great time.

As soon as we reached the airport I flew through immigration and customs, which NEVER happens...they even opened up a brand new line when I got into the immigration center. Leaving the airport is always fun. We were bombarded with taxi drivers...but we got our rental car and having been laughing ever since! It's a Dodge Stratus...and get this, the car is obviously from the States, but the steering wheel is on the left hand side (it should be on the right here in Jamaica).

So far we have spent time with a few kids. Last night was really cool, John and I spent some time with Tommy & Trisha Koch (their parents are the director's of KBM's My Father's House- A Children's home here in Whitehouse).

Tomorrow we are planning to go up to Mandeville, and spend time with Dwight & Shanda-missionaries there.

More to soon come.

Journey to Jamaica - Miami

Okay this may be the last chance I will have communications until we reach Mandeville (probably mid-week).

But I'm sitting on our plane here in Miami, clear skies, the plane is full...lots of Spring Breakers. The excitement and anticipation keeps building. I am most excited about getting away from the norm of life and spending a lot of time with God. I've got a really cool study that I will be doing while I am here. I will fill you all in on that later!

Thank you all for your prayers and be on the lookout for pictures and more!

-Hebrews 13:16 reminds us to "Don't forget to do good and to share with those in need. Because these are the sacrifices that please God."

Know I am praying for you!
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry

Jamaica Journey...In Orlando

I've made it to the airport here in Orlando and thought I would share some interesting things that have happened on my trip so far...

• I could barely sleep...but I did wake up at 3:15am and was out the door by 4am.
• The roads are really boring this early in the morning...but its a perfect time to jam!
• It's nice having my own personal valet parker... thanks to Big Dave, my father-in-law, I got a week's worth of free parking, and they park my car and bring me to the terminal!
• People are really grouchy at 5am...enough said.
• I met a huge group of surfers on their way to Costa Rica...one of them that I talked to was a Christian and couldn't wait to share their faith through their passion of surfing.
• American Airlines terminal here at MCO is kinda scary...I think their doing some remodeling, but if they aren't then they should!
• I can't believe I am so awake...seriously I may have only slept for an hour and a half.
• I love that MCO has FREE wireless Internet, off to Miami next and I highly doubt they will.

I will be sure to post in Miami. However, after that it may not be until the middle of the week when we reach Mandeville. Please keep me in your prayers, and specifically that God would bring along the people He would like me to connect with on this trip. My prayer is, "God USE me. You don't need me but please use me in a way that brings You glory!"

As we say in Jamaica, "Soon Come!"

A Few Thoughts

Well, here I am just a few hours before I need to leave for the airport (4.5 hours to be exact) and I have a few thoughts running through my mind...

• I am so excited!
• I already miss Cyndi way too much!
• I can't wait to see how big our baby, Monicea, is and get to spend time with her.
• Just finished watching the Final Four.
• Whoo hoo, UCLA lost!
• I am really suprised that North Carolina lost (sorry Matt) but not too disappointed it was to Kansas.
• I just drank about a gallon of sweet tea.
• I miss Cyndi
• 14 hours from now I will be in Jamaica with my good friend, John Engler.
• I can't SLEEP!
• I am disappointed I am going to miss the next two weeks at church...the new series is going to ROCK! I guess I will podcast it in Jamaica.
• I really miss my wife! Pray for her and for me.

Well, I'm going to go and try to do something. Goodnight!

Pretty Close to Heaven

Well, I am down here in Florida as I await my departure to Jamaica in a few days. Since I came to Florida, I figured my brother-in-law, Daniel, and I should drive down to Orlando for the day to visit one of the most breath taking sites... The Mall at Millenia. It is by far the best mall I have ever been too. It even had Valet parking! However, the highlight of the mall was this...

That's right! An Apple store! We walked in and I didn't want to leave. I did spend some time shopping for a gift for Cyndi while I was here. I can't wait until we get one in Charleston!

BIG NEWS!

Well, today is the day that we unveil some big news. Matter of fact, it's life changing, exciting and yet scary news.

What in the world is the news? Well, we wanted to wait until after we spoke with our families before we announced it to the world...so here we are announcing that Cyndi and I are expecting a baby in our lives! Our due date is mid-December. I'm probably a lot more excited than Cyndi, but we have decided on a few names. If it is a boy he will be Mikiah Jacob, if it is a girl she will be Mylee Renee.

I can't wait!

Oh the other big news I need to tell you is...April fools!

One Prayer

I am really excited about this awesome opportunity being called, "One Prayer."
What in the world is "One Prayer?" "One Prayer" is a partnership of hundreds (and hopefully thousands) of other churches to do a series together called "One Prayer." The premise of the series is: "If God would answer 'one prayer' for the church at large, what would you pray?"

I am really excited about this revolutionary event and am glad to know that several Pastor's realize that the church isn't about them...and we need to move out of our comfort zone's and do something that has never been done before!

Interested in having your church be a part of this? Click here.

My 'one prayer' would be...Make Us See Like You See.

So what would your 'one prayer' for the church be?