¹I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; ²For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. 1 Timothy 2:1-2

Unless you are living underneath a rock, you are well aware that the 2012 presidential election is upon us. Pundits are endlessly analyzing every debate, commercial, and speech given by this crop of candidates.

I firmly believe that we should all be actively involved in the political process, especially as followers of Jesus Christ. We have the right guaranteed by the Constitution and paid for by the blood of brave men and women to democratically elect the candidate of our choice. How often we forget how genuinely blessed we are.

Yet as the countdown to November begins I have noticed an alarming and growing trend among Christians. It is one thing to disagree with the policies and beliefs of our current Commander-in-Chief. We, as Americans, have the right to question and debate his course of action based on their own merits.

Yet it is how many are doing it that disturbs me. For more than one reason.

Based on deeply held core beliefs that I could not compromise, I did not vote for President Obama in 2008. Yet since the election, he is currently our President. There are many issues with which I disagree, yet God in His sovereignty has allowed him to occupy the White House at this present time.

There seemed to be much talk during the previous administration of praying for our leaders. I have not heard it nearly as much since the last election. That mandate does not change just because the political party in power does.

Many pictures, remarks, and accusations I have seen on websites such as Facebook and Twitter are openly angry and hostile toward President Obama. It is one thing to disagree politically, but do the remarks and photo shopped pictures bring glory to Christ or show our own backwoods ignorance?

Those of you who constantly share these sentiments and images online: when was the last time you genuinely lifted up President Obama and his family before the Father? I am not talking about a snide request that he leave office, but a real intercessory prayer for them?

Those of you who support the President, are you praying for the candidates on the other side of the aisle that may replace him this year?

While America is a great nation, our citizenship above all is with a Kingdom and its King. How we act politically is not just a reflection on our views but on our Savior. What if some vitriolic statement acted as a stumbling block to a lost person from a different political persuasion? Jesus had some pretty harsh words for that in Luke 17:1-2. Getting dropped into the sea with a millstone tied around my neck is not how I want to go out.

Join us in praying for President Obama, the Republican challengers, and our nation. Let us debate vigorously, respectfully, and with the dignity and honor our Savior demands.

The last week of the year typically means one thing: starting that list of resolutions. For many of us that includes joining a gym, balancing our budgets, starting Bible reading plans or just vowing to dig ourselves out of destructive routines.

Would you be willing to add just one more for 2012?

Download this Church Planting Prayer Guide and commit to pray for our family.

While I personally continue to go through the interview and assessment process with the One8 Network, we covet just a few minutes of your day to ask God for direction, clarity, and wisdom on our behalf. The coming weeks will bring several meetings and opportunities for us as His plan comes into focus.

To give you a quick update, in September I was officially brought on staff as Church Planter in Training at the Church at Lee Heights in Florence. We have begun a tentative three year internship where I will train and take on more ministry responsibilities.

In January or February we will be visiting the city of Horn Lake, Mississippi to meet with some pastors and ministry leaders to see if this is indeed where God is leading us. Horn Lake is in the outer hub of the greater Memphis area and is a growing area desperately in need of gospel proclaiming churches.

The single most important thing you can do is download this guide and commit to pray for us specifically in 2012. Michelle, Erin, Walker and myself thank you in advance. If you have any questions about our journey, please feel free to connect with me via email at revolutionsvoice@gmail.com.

Watching my eleven year old daughter perform in band recitals and Christmas plays these last two weeks has made me realize just  how blessed I truly am. I cannot imagine what life was like before she and her little brother came along.

Yet there was a time when she was first born that our life was completely turned upside down. If you are a parent, you remember the days when you honestly believed you would never sleep again. I can vividly recall sitting on our couch in our tiny apartment at two in the morning resigning myself to a life without rest.

It is amazing how someone so small and seemingly helpless can completely take over your life. No matter what your plan or agenda might be, when the baby is hungry, tired, or needs changed everything must come to a screeching halt. Someone else has taken precedence and demands control over your life.

Lost in the warm imagery of shepherds, angels, and wise men is a person in scripture that resembles us more than we might admit. In Matthew 2:3 we find a murderous, narcissistic king who had heard tales of the Messiah being born nearby:

When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.

Why would the birth of a baby cause the ruler of Israel to be in such distress that he would go on to commit genocide by having all the male children two years old and under killed?

Herod thought he was king of the Jews. He wanted to stay in control of his life and his kingdom.

The birth of Jesus Christ was more than a simple children’s Christmas tale. God Himself became flesh and dwelt among us. This helpless child wrapped in swaddling clothes, laying in a manger, came to demand the throne of our hearts.

You see, there is only one King and one Kingdom. This throne doesn’t belong to us.

When confronted with the reality and purpose of Jesus Christ, we can choose to relent in worship or recoil in fear as we selfishly cling to what isn’t even there.

We worry and fret over gifts thst will be forgotten in a week. We recklessly drive from one family member to the next and treat sales associates like they aren’t even human. Like Herod, we angrily demand our rights and privileges and ooze venom when we don’t get our own way.

Herod’s rule was merely temporary. Christ’s is eternal.

If you dare to look closer into the eyes of this sweet, innocent baby you will see the consuming fire of a holy God who came to establish His rule in righteousness and justice. Let go of what you falsely believe gives you hope and lay it down at the feet of the only One Who can.

I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty. Revelation 1:8