December 20, 2007

»Bull!

A pastor of a well known church in a huge organizaton once told me, "It is OK that you hang out and speak with people that are not from our organization... just remember that our organization is the one that will help you with your ministry, not them."

I rose an eyebrow and wanted to yell, "You are wrong!"

I mean, why do people believe that?

Let me tell you something, whenever you think that you are the last Coca-Cola in the desert... when you think that you have the last solution to every problem... when you think that there is no one better than you... you are in a very serious dilenma.

I am all for sound doctrine. I am all for good bible teaching. I am all for preaching Jesus. But when, you disassociate yourself from others just because you disagree on gray issues, that's not very Christ-like.

I was listening to a favorite preacher of mine, and he said... that christians tend to expect more out of non-christians than christians.
When a non-christian is in sin, we tell them, "You need to repent, or you will end up in hell."
But when a christian sins, we tell them, "Dont worry about it, brother. No one is perfect. Praise God!"
What the? Are you serious?!
Non christians deserve patient love. Unrepentant christians need tough love.

The statement that the pastor of this well known hurch in this huge organization told me is just so... ugh, never mind.
That kind of thinking tends to seep into churches and now people form clicks and groups of people that think alike and cannot even relate to the woman at the well, to Zacheus the sinner, to the prostitute that Jesus forgave.
These people begin to act like the pharisees in Jesus' day. They are full of rules.
"You cant do this. you cant do that. Let me check on that."

And Jesus? He is sitting at the smoking section. Jesus is feeding the people. Jesus is loving the kids. If we could be more like him.

There are thousands of people that are full of rituals and traditions and I stand against that.
Can you be honest and tell someone that you got drunk last Saturday, so that they can help you?
Can you be sincere and tell someone that you messed up last weekend, so that they can help you?

Unfortunately, there are people that say that they will only take care of their people. They say, "We cannot help others. They do not believe what we believe. They do not act like we act. They do not dress like we dress. Sorry."

To that, I say, "Bull!"
I meant to say, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners."

December 11, 2007

Epicenter.


For a couple of weeks, I have been following this guy on myspace. (No, not stalking). After requesting his friendship and doing the whole myspace procedures to become his friend, we started to communicate.

I found out that he is a churchplanter and is launching a church in the State of Arizona. Wow! I have hope. Hehe. I found someone who is doing things in a radical way.

I had the pleasure of talking with him over the weekend and it went great. We clicked and hit it off to an awesome converstaion (My girlfriend says that I need friends. Hehe).

Anyways, they will be launching their first services in a theater. Their name of the church is Epicenter. If you don't know the meaning of that word, look it up in the dictionary. I found out a couple of definitions for the word. I liked this one.
Epicenter:
"A point, directly above the true center of disturbance, from which the shock waves of an earthquake apparently radiate."

There will be a church (Epicenter) that will be the center of disturbance!
There will be a church (Epicenter) that will send shock waves to the people of Phoenix, Tempe, Scottsdale, Mesa, Gilbert, Chandler (Am I missing a city?) and let them know that Jesus still saves!
There will be a church (Epicenter) that will be the beginning point of an eartquake of love, grace and salvation!

You go Josh!
Can you tell I'm kind of excited? Hehe.

Epicenter will have their lauch services in the theatre starting on Janury 6th. They will be bringing sexy back! (Free publicity, Josh. Hehe).
For more info: Go here.

Be there.
I'm out.


December 9, 2007

SUNDAY THOUGHTS.

Today was a good day!

Church of Champions did not need me to go to Starting Point to preach their Sunday service... so I slept in. Wow! It felt good!
But I missed Starting Point... Really I did. After preaching there for 2 months, I get attached to the people, and I kind of missed them today.

I woke up fresh though and headed over to Iglesia de Campeones to preach for their spanish service. It was awesome! I totally felt confident... and I feel good about what was preached. Thanks to Jesus.
I really love the leadership of Pastor Rios Sr. He has been my pastor for the most part pf my life since I was a kid. I have learned so much from him. After the service, we all went out to Olive Garden and ate and talked. He talked about his early trials in ministry back in the 1980s. Awesome stories. And to think, that people are been blessed by the gifts that God has put in him is unbelievable.

He once told me something that has never left my mind when I think about ministry.
I take this to heart everytime that there is an oppportunity in ministry. Here it goes:
A Lawyer put his mistakes in Jail.
A Doctor puts his mistakes in the Grave.
A preacher puts his mistakes in Hell.

What a responsibility we have!

It takes 4 years to get a bachelor's.
It takes 6+ years to become an engineer.
It just takes someone to raise their hand and say, "Here I am. I will go." to take Jesus' message to people that are in need.
(OK. let me clarify something here. I am all for education, ok? That was not the point of the phrase. All I'm saying is that it's easier to become a preacher than... Never mind, think what you want. Hehe).

I loved it today, but there is some things brewing in my heart. Anyone who reads this... please stop reading for a moment and pray that Jesus will guide me towards His will.

Don't pray with a hidden message.
"Jesus, please make Tony realize that he is wrong."
Haha. No, do't pray like that.
Pray like this,
"Jesus, let your Will be done in Tony's life."

Thanks for your prayers.

December 5, 2007

The Right Church?

I believe that I am in a transition mode in my life right now. Actually, I've been in transition for the most part of this year. It's been crazy. I've experienced:
-The loss of friends.
-Sitting down for months in church not doing anything at all (the most frustrating ever).
-The lack of a father (mentor) figure in my life.
-Leaving a church that I called a home. ("Leaving" is putting it lightly).
-Finding out who I really am.
-Trying my hardest to accomplish things in my personal life.

All that to say this... it has been a challenging year. It has (Can I reflect?).
What I am battling right now is this...
I need to find a place of worship. I need to find a church.
There. I said it.
I've been battling with this for a very long time. A very long time. More than 6 months.
I have been going to church every Sunday. At first, I sat and relaxed at Church of Champions for a while. I helped out at Starting Point for almost 3 months. I also helped out Iglesia de Campeones as well.

Church of Champions has been good to me. They have helped my ministry in ways they are unaware of. I thank God for them.
Iglesia de Campeones has also helped me as well. Listening to a guy who pastored me since I was born... and still feeling the intensity of his preaching is so awesome. Full of revelation and understanding. I am blessed.

It comes down to this, I told my mentor...
-I need to plant a church
or...
-I need to be involved in planting a church.
or...
-I need to be in a church that is practicing a church-planting metality.

I have been almost agonizing in pain to find a place that is theologically conservative and culturally liberal.
Yes, I said liberal. Is that a sin?

There are not many churches in Houton, Tx. that preach Jesus and also are reaching people in this culture.
This city needs a revolution, I tell you. This city is full of wacked out churches. Let me explain.

We got the legalist churches:
-Ladies... you better wear long stockings when you sing on the stage. (Hehe. That's funny.)
-Men... you must wear a suit and tie to church or else you are not saved... Make that a white shirt. Tucked in. Ironed.

Then, we got the liberal churches:
-There is no sense of commitment. The building is so huge that you can literally walk in and out whenever you want to. No one is accountable. That happens in small and big churches.
-Instead of preaching Jesus, they teach on eating organic foods. It's cool, but at least mention Jesus. Call people to repentance.
Get the picture?

I'm just desperate.
Does anyone know of a church?
A church that is preaching Jesus.
A church that is reaching people.

December 1, 2007

3 Things I would do differently in Youth Ministry

I worked full time as a youth pastor at a church that I used to attend. After that, I volunteered for the most part as the youth pastor.

We had a great team... a great staff. I remember sitting down for hours coming up with a name for the youth ministry. We believed "identity" was neccessary for this ministry.

We came up with names like... H2O, Elevate, The Dot.
We decided to name our youth ministry Zero Image.

We had failures. Many of them. But I can boast (brag) on the accomplishments that we had as well.
Paul brags. Let me brag.
We had weekly Wednesday services. We had 2 awesome summer camps.
We began in May 2004 with 25 people. In 2 months, we had around 50 young people.
At that time, that was explosive for me. I was 18. Hehe (Revival).

A couple of days ago, I started thinking about things that I would differently in Zero Image.
Here are 3 things I would have done differently.

1). We would have more excellent Follow Up.
We had a follow up system set up. We sent a letter and a phone call every week after a young person visited our Wednesday service. We would follow up with that person just for that week only. It was pretty good. But I would do it a bit differently now. This is what we would do: After following up with them the first week, and not seeing them again for 1 month, we would send another letter ("Missing You") and another phone call.

2). We would create Strategic, Organized, Consistent small groups.
I believe in the positive results of small groups. I just had to state that. Hehe.
Believe it or not, young people will go where there is a vision. I remember seeing this in Zero Image all the time. The most rebellious teen would listen to Jesus' word and be driven by it. What we would do different would be this. We would make a good move towards small froups. Sarting at the church location, we would meet in small groups. After a while of success, we would move some groups to the homes (the producing and faithful ones). The result would be to see the young people in different locations throughout the city in small groups. Little by little does it... cougar. Key words are: Strategic. Organized. Consistent. You will never get anywhere without a strategy (a plan of action). That plan has to be well organized. When that strategy is organized, you have to be consistent and you will experiece success.

3. We would establish a better Discipleship process.
Young people have the power and potential to commit. Let's not undermine them. When they decide to follw Jesus, there must be a process to disciple them. What we would do different is this: We would work alongside the small groups (not so much though). This is what we would mostly do: We would teach the Bible everytime. We would teach Jesus all the time. If you hang around Jesus daily (like the disciples), you are bound to learn something a nd be a true follower of Jesus.

There are more things that I would do differently.
These are only 3.

Since the church that I worked at had a certain culture, these are the detailed approaches I would take.
But I believe that I would do these things in any youth ministry.
The approaches might be different though.

What do you say?
Got any more suggestions to this list?
What would you do in youth ministry?

November 26, 2007

»Just wondering...

I just wonder.
Right now I am in a wondering mood.
I mean, sitting at Panera Bread, after some of the best soup around... and some piano playing in the background...
Who would not be relaxed?
I just wonder.

What if someone gets a radical idea of starting a church in Houston, Tx?
A church that serves the community... A church that the city asks for help when its people are in need.
You get that?
The church doesn't ask for help... the city asks for the church's help.

A church that lets anyone come to its services... gatherings... celebrations.
Teenagers, college students, young married couples... old people.
Hey, come on... everybody!

What if someone could launch a church that would get away from the traditional and the routine?
A church that would do things so different that religious people would criticize and the unsaved would meet Jesus.

What if this church would not be personality driven... but a team of teaching pastors would care for it?

What if this church would be able to launch with 150- 200 people in its frist service?
Am I thinking too small?

A church that would not get comfortable and stop growing when it reaches the maximum number of 350 members... Haha!
Seriously, not to poke fun at anyone, but most churches in the Houston area... as soon as they hit 400, they feel that they are the church model. Hehe.
400 people? That should be your volunteers!
Let me remind you, I am not mocking anyone. I am just asking... what if?

What if this church would open different campuses in Houston... maybe some satellite campuses? in schools, theaters... and you're going to like this... in the clubs?
Uy no! Haha. (Narrow minded people. Get out of your box).

What if some young kid in his 20s with no pastoral experience, no Ph D., no nothing, would be able to gather other young men... other families and launch a revolution of church planting in this city of Houston?

I believe it. One day.

You might say, "Well then, stop dreaming and start doing!"
To that I tell you, "Slow down cougar, slow down."

If you want to be a part of this revolution... please be praying for it.
If you want to be part of a team that will DOMINATE this city for Jesus' glory, pease be praying for it.
I believe that people will come out of nowhere to stir one of the greatest times of our generation in Houston, Tx.
I don't just feel it. I know it.
It is just a matter of time... of putting certain order in our lives... of organizing a couple of things... of gathering candidates that need Jesus do something big in their lives.

For the others, I pray for you.

I was just wondering.
Can you help me woder too?

What if...? Hehe.
What do you think?

November 25, 2007

»STARTING POINT UPDATE

As you all know... it has been a pleasure to be at Starting Point Church every Sunday to help out in the pulpit, preaching.

These last 2 1/2 months have served me as an awesome experience.
Today, we went into our 3rd teaching with the title, "A Disciple Of Jesus Breaks Bread."
Hopefully, next week will be the econclusion of our series, "The Simple Journey Of A Disciple."
It has been great.

We will be talking about evangelizing... going out and telling others about Jesus.
It will be awesome.

I am so glad that I have helped Starting Point as a preacher. I'm looking forward to continue helping. I believe that there are people at the church that have a huge potential and can do something in their community.

I am excited.
Please pray for me.
I will be meeting with the leadership of Church of Champions. They have taken an interest in the gift that God has given me and I hope that I can use it for his glory.
I don't know in what way I will be helping them out, but I look forward to hearing them out and making a good decision.
Please pray for me.

Either it be helping Starting Point's pulpit for a couple of more weeks or just using me to help somewhere else, I am willing to listen to them and looking for what is ahead in 2008.
Then, I will amke a wise decision.
I ask for you prayers.

I am glad that Jesus still does miracles.
I am glad that Jesus is still showing up at Starting Point.

November 22, 2007

»What a LAZY DAY!

This is the day that the Lord has made!!! Woo-hoo!

-Made some final touch ups on this Sunday's message.
-Thanksgiving leftovers... Mmm!
-Some college football, I rarely watch it, but when I do, I'm hooked. Right now UT is getting whooped by A&M...
-A date with the best girlfriend later...

I'm telling you, it could not get any better, and it's only Friday! Oh man, this is awesome! Hehe.

I don't have a lot to blog about. Actually, I do... but I'm just going to relax today.

OH SHOOT! UT just made a 91 yard run for a TOUCHDOWN!
Ok... there is hope!

»I am Thankful for Ruthie...

Well, It is Thanksgiving! Happy Thanksgiving to all!

I know that I should not be bloggong today... Everyone is at my house. I mean my sisters and brother... and a couple of friends that will stop by.
But before we start grubbing, I would like to say thank you to Ruthie, my girlfriend.

She is my world. We have so much fun when we do things together. She is amazing!
I thank her for standing by my side when everything seems to go downhill. In transitions of my life, she has always stood by me. I thank her.

A couple of days ago, we were talking about the time we met... in 2001. Hehe. I was jsut 15 years of age. Who knew that I would meet the love of my life at... a youth campmeeting? Of all places. Just Kidding. Reminiscing on that, I just get so happy because she is the one that has helped me look at things differently sometimes. I love her.

Who knew that we would get back together 3 years later... and now it is forever. Hehe. We have been together for 3 years this month, and I still love her the same. Maybe more. Hehe. I need to get married, no?

Although we are not certain of the details of our future, we know this... I will love her and she will love me.
We will accomplish Jesus's purpose in our lives. I promise her that. We will do God's Will. I promise her that. We will love each other. I promise her that.
O.K that sounds like my vows... better relax. Haha.

I love you, babe.
I am thankful for you.

November 20, 2007

»I am thankful for my family...

Another thing that I am thankful for is... my family.

Family is what Jesus created so that we can have unity and learn together on how to deal with the things that life brings.

Unfortunately, there are not many examples of what a true fatehr, a true mother, a true sonor a true daughter are to be.
I have failed many times in "son" department. Who does not?
I have also failed in the "brother" part...
Although, my sisters did not point it out in my birthday card that they gave me, I know. Hehe.

But I am thankful for my family.
I love my sisters and my brother.
I believe that they will be an inspiration to many in this generation. Struglle after struggle, we always pull together.
More than anytime in my life, I feel very drawn to be with them and see them.

My sisters went to Mexico for the weekend and, to tell you the truth, I really missed the. The house was so quiet.
They are loud girls. Just kidding.

I know my brother has a purpose... and he knows it.
I love it when Jesus proves himself in people's lives. When I thinmk about my bro... I'm telling you, he will be somebody in the next couple of years.
You better believe it.

I love my father and mother.
Although my father is not with me, I always remember bits and pieces of his advice. It would make us smile.
I love my mother. She has been there for us all the time... and I mean all the time. You know how moms are... always making sure that no one speaks ill of her kids.
Although, we all have disagreed on something at one point, I realize that I must be thankful for my family.

Aber, Beakers, Techita, mom, dad... I am thankful for you.
That was Abraham, Rebecca, Esther, mom and dad...

Notice how they all have biblical names, except fo me.
Thank you, mom and dad.

»I am thankful for Jesus...

It's Thanksgiving week!
Food, food, food!!!
For a couple of days, I just want to write about a couple of things that I am thankful for.

Tonight, I am thankful for Jesus.
Without Jesus, there would be no salvation.
Without Jesus' sacrifice there would be no remission of my sins... I would not experience His mercy and His forgiveness.
Without Jesus, I would not have hope.
I thank Jesus for saving me.
I thank Jesus for helping me through the rough times.
I love Jesus.
Jesus healed me when I was a small boy.
Jesus walks with me in this Journey.

I don't know if you noticed, but for me... it is all about Jesus.
And I am thankful for His sacrifice.

Someone once said:
"Jesus lived the life that I could not live,
and died the death that I should die."
Amazing.

Thank you Jesus.

What are you thankful for?

November 17, 2007

»Prayer is the Key!

I still believe prayer works.
I believe it still does.

In preparation of the message for this Sunday, I felt like I could not get it on paper... I always use notes to guide me when I teach or preach (I'm not that skilled as just to teach without notes. Hehe).
Anyway, I was having a hard time... I knew what I wanted to say, but I could not write it down. Ugh! That is so frustrating!

So, I prayed simple, short prayer and started to write. I'm stumbling around. Point 1... then Point 3... Conclusion... Read it over again. And again. Write Point 2. Oh, the Introduction.

Yea... it has not been this hard for a long time. And if you are not a preacher, you might undermine this job... but to tell you the truth, it is hard work.
Some people may say about preaching, "Oh, that's easy... just write what you want to say... get on the stage... say what you wrote down on paper and waste 40 minutes of people's time."
O.K. It's not that easy, smart one!

I was feeling a little mad... I got up and went outside to catch some air... I breathed in and out... You know. I did everything I could.
Then it hit me.

And that's why I know that this message will impact people this coming Sunday.
I started praying. Again. But differently.
Not this prayer: "Dear God, I will be preaching your word this coming Sunday. I thank you for the opportunity. You are so kind and merciful to let me have this assignment. Lord, I need you to help me in the preparation of this message."
No. Not that prayer.

I prayed a prayer of faith.
O.K. don't spiritualize it. I just prayed a simple prayer of faith, believeing that He would be the one guiding me.
I told him... that it was His word that I would be teaching this Sunday and not mine.
I told Him... that He was going to do miracles and convict people to start walking a simple journey and not me.

After that short session of prayer, I'm not going to tell you that it was smooth.... but I have got tranquility and peace, knowing that His word will be taught and preached and not mine.

Let's get back to prayer.
Let's get back to relevant Bible teaching.

"Jesus, thank you... and please don't wake me up in the middle of the night to tell me something. If you have something to tell me... tell me now. Goodnight."

People, I was just kidding about that last part.
Geez! Are you serious?
Can you take a joke?

Go pray.

November 15, 2007

»"The Simple Journey"

This Sunday will be off the hook! I can't wait. Really.
As you already know, the series that we are teaching from is: "The Simple Journey of A Disciple."
I will be teaching with the title: "The Simple Journey."


-How do you start walking this Journey of a disciple?
-How do you make it through when things get rough?
-What do you do when disciples that are with you go through hard times?

Oh, it will be amazing! I can already see it!

If you don't have a church home or just looking for some relevant Bible teaching, stop by Starting Point this Sunday at 10 AM.

I believe Jesus will be there this Sunday.

»Birthday Month!

Well... It's all over! All the excitement! All the Suspense! IT'S OVER!!!
Another year has overtaken us (Ruthie and I)... and I am excited for what Jesus is going to do in my 22nd year of life in this Earth.

I turned 22 on Saturday!
Ruthie turned 21 on Wednesday!

To read about hat Ruthie did for my birthday, go to her blog. I'll do a post on my birthday later... Let me give honor to my lady for being with me for all this time.

Thoughts on Ruthie and her 21st Birthday:
  • She is the best girlfriend! (I need to marry her!)
  • Had lunch with her at Panera... some good soup!
  • After work, I rushed over to Party City and got her some balloons... You know, the big silver "2" and the big silver "1". Wow... those were cool!
  • Yeah, but... while I was talking to her friends outside of Tokyohana (the restaurant)... one of them told me to look up, and to my dismay... the big silver "1" was flying away!!!
  • Thank God Party City was in the same shopping plaza of the restaurant... so I bought another big silver "1".
  • Stupid number.
  • Her friends enjoyed the party, I hope so.
  • Tokyohana has good food and the cooks cook your food in front of you... It was so cool when they start playing around with the knives and making fire...
  • Ruthie got a lot of presents.
  • Ruthie loved it.

    And that's all that matters.

November has brought me a good month... Well, Jesus has.. you know what I mean.
I thank Jesus for my life and for the life that I treasure.

Ruthie, I love you.

November 11, 2007

»Sunday Highlights!

I am so pumped up! It is scary! I am going crazy... Jesus is doing some stuff at Starting Point and I am thankful. Here are some highlights:
  • Ruthie came to service with me. I just enjoy having her with me in service. She really is an inspiration to me. I love her so very much. (Hint: Her birthday is on Wednesday!)
  • The band set up differently this Sunday... and it was a good setup. They rocked like always! Those guys are amazing.
  • I really enjoyed the worship...
  • We started "The Simple Journey of a Disciple" this Sunday... and it felt so good to teach.
  • It felt that I preached for a short time... On the other hand, I'm used to services lasting 4 hours, and I'm serious.
  • Thank you Jesus that service did not last 4 hours, just kidding. Hehe.
  • I hung the posters in the hallways of Starting Point and they look awesome. A huge shout-out and thanks to my girlfriend/designer.
  • Oh... My mother and sister showed up as well... with Joel, a good friend of mine!
  • I connected with Dave, a first time guest, and he told me that he had not been to church in 12 years, and today he felt so good to come back. Praise Jesus!
  • I am so tired... I actually came home and took a nap! I'm not a good nap-guy. I wake up grumpy.
  • I just woke up to write this blog. Hehe. Just kidding.
  • I met another guy at Starting Point today. Kevin is his name. I loved his energy during worship.
  • People are starting to CELEBRATE!

I am really excited for Starting Point. Pray for its future. Pray that Jesus grows His Church. Tnak you Jesus.

  • I'm going back to sleep. Big day tomorrow.

November 8, 2007

»Houston and Churches

Houston, Tx. needs a revolution in their chuches and in the hearts of men that are called of God to plant churhes.

Remember... this is my opininon and in my opinion it really is a good opinion. Huh?

Ok. Here we go:

  • Houston needs more churches!

You may say, "Are you serious, Tony?" and I'm asking you, "Do you see me laughing?" In reality, Houston has so many churches... It has some megachurches and it also has dying churches. We have Ed Young's Second Baptist. We have Hillard's churches... Oh, and am I forgetting Joel Osteen and the largest church in the U.S. "Lakewood Church"?
We also have dying churches ... every 2 blocks theres is a storefront church in a small broken-down plaza. So why do we need more churches?

We need more churches with purpose, strategy and organization.

I believe strongly that if you don't believe in the purpose of the local church, you dont believe in the words of Jesus when He said that He will build His church! There is a purpose to every church that meets and it is to offer and give their community Jesus Christ. Point them to Jesus.

Many churches do not have a strategy. We need a strategy. You can ask all these churches
"Who are you trying to reach?"
They will tell you, "We are trying to reach everyone..."
You get what I mean?

No target... no focus.. and that leads me to this point: Without a strategy, their organization in the church is horrible. Sorry, for being mean, I mean "insightful"), but it's the truth!

  • Houston needs more church planters.

There are a whole bunch of churches that are established... and they are dead.
Their worship is dead, their preaching is irrelevant. Their leadership is dead. We need more church planters. We need men to get their families ready to do God's work. I tell you, I'm getting ready!

Houston needs men that are willing to step out of their comfort zone and stop blaming their dead leadership for not letting them go.

And whenever you do step out to plant a church, have awesome worship, be relevant in your teaching, and train amazing leaders. Don't imitate dead churhces. Do something amazing! But stay biblical. Get out of the tradition. Break your old habits. Just stay scriptural.

What do you think?

November 6, 2007

»Finding your way.

I was sitting near the window at Starbucks yesterday and I was reading and writing some stuff that I was thinking for the future. I love that place... you got nice people, nice atmosphere and good frapuccinos...

Anyways, I had been there for a while... and I love siting by the window... because they are from the floor to the seiling, so you could just look outside and see what's going on outside.
Next thing I know, this old man in his 60s walked by, pressing the button on his key chain trying to locate his car. I did not think anything of it...
About 30 seconds later, he passed by my window again, still pressing the button on his keychain, looking for his car.
To tell you the truth, and not exaggerate, I saw him again, a minute later, still... no car.
I watched him for a while, until he brought his hand to his head and his face shone like a lightbulb that had been turned on, meaning that he had found the car.
I saw him find his car and drive off.

I laughed to myself (silently, of course. I don't want anyone thinking I'm crazy. Or maybe I do...) and thought about our next series at Starting Point, "THE SIMPLE JOURNEY OF A DISCIPLE"

Many people that have been in church for the longest time, find themselves like that old man... trying to find their way to their car... to their destiny and purpose. They go this way, they turn this corner... They stop in their steps to think. They cannot find their way.

One of the purposes of this series is to let people know the value of being a disciple of Jesus.

Forget your title or what you do. God will bless everything that you do, but before all the pressure of ministry or before your career or even before your family, YOU ARE A DISCIPLE OF JESUS.

It is going to be awesome.
See you at 10 A.M. at Starting Point Church.

November 3, 2007

November 2, 2007

»"The Simple Journey of a Disciple"

It is not the finished product... but here it is!
The new series for Starting Point that will start next week.
Ruthie designed it and I tell you, she is amazing.

Why do Christians make life so difficult? I was asking myself that question last night... and I am in process of studying that topic.

I plan on teaching for 4 weeks on "The Simple Journey of A Disciple"

It is shocking when you think of a person that loves Jesus and becomes involved in the church so much that sometimes they clutter themselves with so many things and they lose focus of what is really important.
Then they say that it's the devil that is attacking them.

Are we christinas more than disciples? (just a thought)
What is a true disciple?
We were called to walk woth him.
How do we walk in this journey?
We make it so difficult.
Can we make it simple?

Let's go back to the simple basics. My goal for this series is to get people to let go of all the junk and extra lugagge they carry so that their journey can be more simple. To let them know that they are Jesus' disciples and that they were called by Him and for Him, and no body else.

I feel Starting Point will be blessed.
It is a new season!

"The Simple Journey of a Disciple" will beging November 11!
Pray for me.

Ruthie (my girlfriend) is helping me with the graphics and she is amazing!

»Gift Season!

It is November!
Just a quick reminder... the gift season has started for me, at least.
My mother's birthday was last Saturday. (Oct. 27)
My father's birthday is this Saturday. (Nov. 3)
My birthday is next Saturday! (Nov. 10)
WOW!
Gifts are welcome...

...and it does not end there... Ruthie's (my beautiful girlfriend) birthday falls on the Wednesday following my birthday (Nov. 14) and we are just getting older. Hehe.

The weather is cooler and it's getting nicer in Houston...

I really know something new coming... in my life and in the lives of those who love me.
It's weird... and I have been getting away from stuff that I feel.
I want to know... not just feel. I want to be driven out of what I know and not make decisions out of what I feel.
We have a whole bunch of people in ministry saying that they feel stuff and they misguide people and then the ministers that know stuff have to restore those precious people.

Anyways, something new is coming.

That's all I got for today... maybe I'll post something interesting later.

It's gift season.

October 30, 2007

»Worship Leaders! LEAD US!

There is a whole bunch of musical talent out there in churches today... really there is!
I mean, I sometimes hear guys play and sing and I am amazed... blown away! Some of these guys should record a CD, I tell myself.

But can I tell you something?

Sometimes, the best musicians are NOT worship leaders!

For real! I could buy your CD and enjoy your ability to tear it up... that's one thing... but to lead worship, that is totally different.
...and I think, that is the tragedy that has creeped into churches nowadays.
Yes, I said creeped!

We got a whole bunch of guys with guitars and a whole bunch of people that can only play and sing, but cannot take people into God's presence!

That's why we call you worship leaders, for crying out loud!
Lead us!!!
Maybe there are some people that can lead themselves into His presence... and if everyone could go into Jesus' presence by themselves, you know what?!

We would not need you!

(That's enough exclamation marks... let me calm down)

Really guys... it's cool that you can sing... it's cool that you can keep your tone. Save that for your CDs, but when you come to church to "lead us" into worship. Please do that!

I thank Jesus for you and the gift that He has given you. I really do... because I don't have it. I still sing like when I was 8 and back in the kid's choir.
But lead us... please?!

Please, when you sing... act like you wanna be there.
Act like you want to take wounded and tired people to the heart of worship where Jesus can touch their lives.

Lead us.

October 28, 2007

»Woo-Hoo! Celebrate!

Successful! Sucessful!

I have gotten this habit that I cannot sleep on Saturdays! I just get so excited of what is going to happen on Sunday that I just lay awake thinking of the possible outcomes of the service.

Starting Point is one of the best things that has ever hapenned to me. It is an experience of a lifetime... and I am taking advantage of it! We concluded our series: "STOP INVITING PEOPLE TO CHURCH!"

WOW... is all I can say!
Starting Point had its fall festival on Friday and this today we saw the results.

We had about 10-15 more people in service today and it was ecstatic!
Whenever you come into a church and see 35 people that are still trying to have church and not giving up hope, I tell you... It excites me! We had about 50-60 people at church today and I believe that Jesus will grow His Church.

I got to meet some of the first time guests after the service and had the opportunity to visit with some of the families at the church. Wow! I get excited when I see the families that go to Starting Point... There is so much potential in that place is not even funny! Hehe.

The message was relevant... Everybody got excited to celebrate Jesus one more time and we hope that next week will be a better service with positve turn outs. Thank Jesus!

On the other hand, Iglesia de Campeones had awesome worship... and I believe that they believed the Word of God that was preached today.
It is awesome to be filling in for Pastor Rios while he is away.
Thank you for your prayers.

I am so tired and need some sleep... badly.
So, I have an amazing week waiting for me starting tomorrow.

I am teaching at Iglesia de Campeones on Tuesday and Preaching at Starting Point on Sunday!

I can't wait for next Sunday! God has been giving me a message that I think will set a new mentality in Starting Point...

Dont worry!
It's just God.

Remember... He was the one that said, "...and I will do a new thing."

October 26, 2007

»Open Doors like crazy!

Well... it's raining... pouring actually! (and Im loving it!)
A couple of weeks ago... I posted this entry on my blog talking about God opening doors... and how God was the One that shut doors and opened doors.

And God is opening the doors... and like I said before, I'm loving it!

This week has been one of the weirdest weeks in a very long time... but like Job said,
"...Shall we indeed accept good from God and not accept adversity?"
I have been accepted to work at a new job at Chase Bank with a better schedule. But also, this week brought me, unfortunately, some transportation issues. In other words, the car that I was driving broke down.

It's one of the worst feelings that you can ever have. When you don't have anywhere to go and you feel so down and hopeless... Ugh! One of the most messed up feelings!

...and to think that the message that I will preach this Sunday has to do with Celebration!
I really felt at my lowest point and still God chose me to preach on Celebration! Ha! God is good! Hehe...
Ok, let's get back to the open door topic...
For the last couple of weeks, God opened the door for me to go to Starting Point and preach on the weekends... and it has and will keep on being amazing!

This week Pastor Rios at Iglesia de Campeones asked me if I could fill in for him this week. Oh wow! That was amazing!
So, while Pastor Rios is away, I taught for him this past Tuesday.
I have to teach next Tuesday at Iglesia De Campeones as well.
Don't I have some praying and some writing to do?

But this is the thing... to all you bloggers and people that just like to read this... and act like you don't... hehe.

I want to ask you to pray for me for this Sunday.
I will preach at Starting Point at 10 AM in english and...
I will preach at Iglesia de Campeones at 2 PM in spanish.

Celebration is the word!
Thank God for Open Doors.

October 24, 2007

»Stop Inviting People to Church!

Join me this Sunday at Starting Point!
We will be teaching the third and last lesson of this Evangelism Series:
"Celebrate When You Bring Them!"

Time: 10 AM

Place: Starting Point Church
Aldine Mail Route Rd. and Airline Rd.

We will be jamming out with worship songs to God and having an awesome time with the people that make up Starting Point.

Message me or just Email me for more information at: tony.villatoro@hotmail.com

Let's Celebrate!

October 23, 2007

»STARTING POINT HIGHLIGHTS!

We had an awesome service Sunday morning. We are still on the series: "STOP INVITING PEOPLE TO CHURCH... START BRINGING THEM!"
The message title was: "BE THE CHURCH!"

It really is an awesome experience to preach at Starting Point. Things are looking way better and I believe that Jesus will bring growth to this Church...

More than the message... we had a good time. Here are some highlights!

  • The music was awesome. Carlo led the band! Wow. It sounded like a concert in there. The last songs really drew people into worship.
  • I really like Carlo's energy.
  • The children quizzed the audience on Bible Characters. (I could not think of Rahab's name. I tought it was Reba).
  • ...so much for being the preacher.
  • I saw a couple of guests. Things will move. There will be more in the upcoming weeks.
  • I tried the lapel mic... it did not work, but we palyed it off real good. Nobody noticed... I think. We will get that down next time.
  • There ws a young lady that needed prayer. The doctors found a cyst on the left side of her brain. We prayed for her. Please keep her in your prayers.
  • Everybody ate the doughnuts in the Connection Room.
  • ...I think it was the band. I know it was the band.
  • Wow! Russell is really a great help in the Sound Department. What a guy! I appreciate him.
  • The fall festival is this Friday. It will be a success.
  • Russell put some signs around the area of the church already.

October 19, 2007

»Starting Point Update!

I am so excited for this Sunday coming up!
Last week was the start of a ne series called: "STOP INVITING PEOPLE TO CHURCH... START BRINGING THEM!"
It was wild!
I loved it! I believe that people learn more when they can digest a certain topic for a number of weeks. I mean, I like preaching "Single" preachings... but, I love preaching in "Series!"

Anyways, The Series got off to a good start... So good that someone came up to me after the service and aked me about making props for the series... Huge Stop Signs... That was awesome!

Although I am just helping out in the pulpit at Starting Point, I love hearing people's responses after the service. There are about 35 people there, and I am believing that God will bless the Church with growth.

If we do our part, God will do His.
We need to get ready. We need to get organized. We need to get in place.
When we get ready, Jesus will bless.
If you don't have a system set in place, you will not be able to manage the growth that He will bring to you.

The band is awesome. Church of Champions (the Home Church), got this band from Canzion to come and play every Sunday. There are about 5 guys and they can jam out!!!

I am dead serious! They are something else...

I am Super Excited!
Did I just say Super?!
I think I did... I simply cannot wait for this Sunday to continue this Series!

Pray for Starting Point.
Pray for me.
Pray for an Awakening and Revival.

October 15, 2007

»CHURCH OF CHAMPIONS PROJECT!!!


Church of Champions will be doing some major things in the future. I just cannot wait for the next step.
This Church has a leadership team that are always thinking about what to do next to impact people and make a difference in their lives so they can go out and live a victorious life.

Check out this poster that they came up with.

It is about to blow up!
In a good way, of course...

October 12, 2007

»Dorcas?

About time someone voted for Dorcas on the "Who is your favorite Bible Hero?" Poll. It took a couple of days for someone to vote for her... There are still some weirdos in this world. Mission accomplished. Hehe. Just Kidding.

Poor Dorcas.

October 11, 2007

»Starting Point again!

Oh, how I love Jesus! Once again, Jesus has opened the doors for me to go preach at Starting Point Church. I went there 3 weeks in arow, and absolutely loved it. I know that it is a church that is about to experience one of the greatest moves of God... I just know it. I have been thinking about the people there... and I pray for them.

I appreciate the opportunity that Pastor Hutchins and Pastor Grigsby over at Church Of Champions have given me to go over and preach... It shows trust and I am thankful for that.

I believe Jesus will be there. I believe people will learn and apply His word. I am believing the community surrounding that little church on Aldine Mail Rd. will start experiencing God moments like never before.

Pray for me.
I am thankful.

October 8, 2007

»Leap for Joy! (Dancing in Church-Part 2)

Ok... after the post on dancing... I was meditating on some other things concerning the topic. I am careful enough not to make it a huge deal. You simply cannot make a doctrine out of the topic. It is a mistake to say that you MUST dance in worship services... but just know that if you go to a church service and the music is moving... well... MOVE!

If you go to a football game, and your team is winning, you will NOT take your laptop to watch a movie, you will cheer!
If you go to a concert, and you know the songs, you will NOT lie down and go to sleep... you will sing the songs!
If you go to church, and they are jamming with church songs, you will NOT just sit there... you will clap, dance, MOVE!
Geez.

One last thing... I always try to look at what the Scripture says about anything. I mean, the Bible is our "map."

There is a story that you are very familiar with... It is found in Acts 3:1-10. Read it. Come on you know you need to read the Bible.

"1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer.
2 And a man who had been lame from his mother's womb was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple.
3 When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms.
4 But Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him and said, "Look at us!"
5 And he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.
6 But Peter said, "I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene--walk!"
7 And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened.
8 With a leap he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.
9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God;
10 and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him."

Enough said. Just recognize this.

There is a lot of people that sit in church... it is "Beautiful,"The songs, the message, the peopel... "Beautiful," but they are still sick, depressed, and cannot walk. And when Jesus comes into your life and you receive healing... I promise you... you will be filled with joy... enough to go into the church and leap (dance) with praise in your lips.

Speaking for myself, I dance a liitle bit. Not as much as I used to when I was 15 years old and worship services lasted more than 4 hours... I'm not kidding about that.
I don't dance as much, but I tell you that I still worship. Just because I dance less does not mean that I do not worship... Don't be like the Pharisees. Be real with yourself and with God.

Let me check you out when you are at the restaurant and Marc Anthony comes out of the jukebox singing, "Valio la Pena.."
Whoops. Some are already saying I'm worldly.

Go pray.
For me.
Hehe.

October 6, 2007

»DANCE, DANCE, DANCE!!! (Dancing in Church-Part 1)

Ok... here we go... breaking man-made traditions and installing what Jesus wants for His church. It's all in the bible... It's not about your ideas, what feels good or what your grandma taught you. It's what the Holy Spirit led men of God to write down, so that today we can have a biblical model of how to do things. I love this!

So... I got a comment asking me this question:
"You see, here where I work there are 2 chicks and they dont believe in dancing (like in church) because it's not in the spirit and because David didn't dance in the church, he danced on the way to church... That dancing isn't from God because it's your flesh moving to a beat.... Can you help me?"
Ok... good question, Of course I can help. Let me help.
First of all, I am not a liberal to tell you not to worship, I will encourage you to worship Jesus, but also I am not so legalistic as to tell you there is only ONE WAY to worship. Meaning this, the Bible lets us know of a lot of ways on how to worship. Some worship sitting down, meditating on His goodnes. Some worship standing up. Some worship with arms raised and some worship with their voice. Some even worship laying on the floor. All these ways of worship are biblical and have a Bible scripture for them. BUT, DO NOT CRITICIZE SOMEONE THAT IS NOT WORSHIPPING YOUR PREFERRED WAY. Respect their style. It was hard for me, because I come from a very charismatic background where if I don't see you flying around the sanctuary on a rope... you are not of God and you are backslidden. What a mistake! I repented and Jesus has forgiven me! Hehe.

Furthermore, I believe that you have to worship Jesus. We were created by Him and FOR Him... It is a MUST that we worship Jesus. The Bible says:
John 4:24
"God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."
Now, some people mistake this and say that you cannot dance or clap or MOVE in a service because you are doing it with your flesh.

If anybody tells you that, ask them to do this for me:
Ask them to tell their pastor that they will go to Sunday Service in their Spirit and they will tell their flesh to stay home. So they can be more "spiritual," take it a little bit farther, ask them to not go to their services in their flesh and not show up to the church for the rest of the year. Let's see what the pastor has to say...

Just Kidding.
Don't be mean.

Anyways, back to the "Teaching."
Lets get some bible in here please.
Psalm 149:1-3
"(1)Praise ye the LORD. Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints.
(2)Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.
(3)Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp..."

Whoa, homie... You can read that again!
It clearly states that that they would be in the congregation of the saints (that sounds like church to me) and they would praise His name in dance. WOW. Shocking, right?
Ok. Read the whole chapter (Psalm 149) and start praising Jesus. Maybe dance a bit. I love His Word!

Let's read more Bible... Now, this is not me making this up... Open your bible and read with me the famous Psalm 150. And it goes a little like this.
Psalm 150:1-4
"(1)Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.
(2)Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.
(3)Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.
(4)Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs."

Ok... It cannot any clearer than this.
Verse 1 lets me know that they will praise him... WHERE?!
IN THE SANCTUARY...
They will paise Him... HOW?!
Many ways... but to understand the reason for this post... check out verse 4.
"(4)Praise him with the timbrel and dance."
Forget about the trimbel right now. Do a word study on that later... just notice that it says that you will praise God in His sanctuary with... dance!

That's it! It's over! I dare you to stand up and DANCE! Hehe! I'm feeling that old song that says:
"Has cambiado mi lamento en baile!
Me ceñiste de alegria
Por eso a ti cantare gloria mia
Y nunca estare callado."
Oh, come on you don't know about that! That was some old time religion that got the people started back in the day... and they danced, shouted, cried, jumped... oh, how I rememmber!

Those were the days were all the songs that were sung came out of reading Scripture... and YES that is a verse.
Salmos 30:11
"Has cambiado mi lamento en baile; Desataste mi cilicio, y me ceñiste de alegría."

For you english speakers...
Psalm 30:11
"You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; You have loosed my sackcloth and girded me with gladness,"

If you don't dance, its ok. I understand. You say you are not a person that demostrates feelings... Let me see you with a lottery ticket worth 1 Million dollars in your hand that you barely won.
I bet you will dance.
No? Come on... don't lie to yourself. You know you will.

So, Jesus gave you eternal life. Dance.
If you still don't want to, its ok. I said I understand. I'll respect you. Just worship Jesus. Hehe.

Lemme dance a bit.
I'm out..

October 5, 2007

»I FEAR(ED) LONELINESS.

One of the fears that I had all my life was to be "lonely". It is ironic because sometimes, I love being alone. But it gets to a point where I want to have somebody that I can trust and talk to... I had always feared staying by myself. Even though I had some friends, I knew that one day they would go on with their own lives. I always feared being stuck in life, feeling lonely.

The way that I received help in this area was to confide in God's love. If I could feel God's love and I could love others, I would be allright. Even though the people that I once loved and spent time with... left me, I would keep making new relationships and love again.

1 John 4:18
"There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear..."

I give thanks to God for a very special person that God put on my life. Ruthie, my girlfriend. What an awesome girl she is. She is my world. She helps me in this area... I love her deeply.

There are other people that I love... and I thank God for them too.

What I encourage you not to forget though, is that "perfect love".
The only love that can help you abolish all fear is the "perfect love". That is what the Scripture says. And that perfect love can only come by having a relationship with Jesus. If you have a relatioship with Jesus, every fear that you have ever had will be wiped out. Fear of the dark? Fear of loneliness? Fear of making mistakes? Fear of anything? Just receive that "perfect love" from Jssus, because where there is love, there is no fear.

I leave you with the words that Jesus told his disciples.

Matthew 10:31
"So do not fear; you are more valuable than many sparrows."

It does not matter who you are... you are more valuable than many sparrows.
Do not fear.

October 2, 2007

»SIMPLE CHURCH (What I'm Reading)



I just had to write again... I bought this book and am devouring it page by page. Oh wow! This is an amazing book. I love the style that both authors use to write it. I am learning so much on how to have a Simple Church and not a Difficult Church, concerning staff, that dang calendar, announcements, numbers, meetings and mission statements.

It is a Church Administration book and I love it. Thank God for people that write such books and help us (aspiring ministers) from running into a brick wall... Well, we will all have our brick walls. But these books do help.

I encourage each person that is doing and will be doing ministry to read this book.

I cannot wait for Chapter 3. Imagine a church without the clutter and all the mission statements. Imagine the church like the Google homepage. Simple. Wow! Where the process of making disciples is Simple, easy and not complex. I gotta stop. This is awesome.

Read the book. It's wort the $15.

October 1, 2007

»I FEAR NOT KNOWING EVERYTHING!

Pastor Rios is going through an 8 week series dealing with Fear and how to be free from it. I can't wait to learn some things. But for the next few days, maybe this whole week, I want to be transparent and write about some fears that I have. Can I be honest with you? No. Really?

I will write about what I fear and the strategy that I use to defeat that fear. I hope you can benefit from this.

I FEAR NOT KNOWING EVERYTHING.

People have expectations from you. Your family expects things, your friends. Even your church expects you to know things. Sometimes, I expect to know a couple of things for myself... and I learn. I read like crazy. I study people. I watch and observe. I want to know. It is an instinct. Sometimes, people come and ask me questions concerning the Bible. I give them an honest answer. BUT... Sometimes I just don't know! Hehe.
Really. Sometimes, when people have asked me things that I expect myself to know how to explain, and I cannot answer them, I fear that everything else that I have said before will be doubted. When I see a person in pain and cannot answer them when they ask, "Why?" I fear that I am not living up to myself. I fear when a person comes up and asks me a question that I have to know, because I have been in church all my life, and according to everybody, "I need to know."

So how do I cope...? Not really cope, but overcome this fear? Well the scripture says in John 24:17
"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as
the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled,
nor let it be fearful. "
I overcome when I stay calm and don't let the pressure get to me.
When someone challenges me with a question that expects a very good answer, I rely on God's peace to come into my heart and I keep calm... and let them know I will get back with the with an answer.
When someone faces a crisis in their life an questions God and comes to me just asking , "Why this...?" and, "Why that..?"I can only rely on God's peace to say the "right" things and be confident that God has everything under control.

There is a saying that someone said. I don't remember who. He said:
"This world is lost. It needs a Pastor."
It does not need more educated doctors and good technologies. It does not need more money and luxuries. It needs a Pastor. A pastor that is just as human as the people he serves , but is hearing God's voice at all times. A pastor that whenever faced with fears he can rely on God to answer even the toughest question. A Pastor that stands with God's people in times of Need, Recovery and Victory. A pastor that fears, but fears (relies) God more.

I pray to be like that.
Even if I do not know everything. I want to have the peace in my life and be conficent that God really is Omniscient and that He knows ALL things.

I realize this: I will always fear not knowing everything. I will NEVER know everything, but I also know this... that if Jesus gives me the peace and confidence that He only can give, I will be able to withstand any expectation.
Come back tomorrow to hear about my next fear.

September 30, 2007

»What I Desire to see in Ministry.

Oh man... oh man! What a week!
I dislike working for the man... and the"man" may be myself... hehe. I wish to see someones life change. I desire to see someone commit to serve Jesus. I long for the days that I can be a witness of life change in people. Not the beginning of life change. Not the result of life change... but the PROCESS of Life Change. You know? It is not an event... or a program... or a single testimony that I want to see. It is the dayS, the eventS, the testimonieS that I want to see in people. Many can lie about it. Many can give up after they testify. Many will fall away after they come to Him. I want to see the development of a person before their conversion and after the conversion. That's what I pray for in Ministry. The hard work, the effort, the times of quietness (meditation), will be paid off with an army of people that are experiencing Life change. From bad to good. From good to better. From better to best. What a joy it is to see a person that has nothing... to see them smile big, knowing that all they have is Jesus. Wow. That is why I live... To see that.

You don't have to motivate me to want to see the joy of a new Christian. You don't have to push me to see the positive life change of people. No. You don't. I was created to serve Jesus in that way. I wish to tell you everything that I feel in my heart, but I'll save it for later. One day.

I am excited. Once again, I will be helping out in the pulpit of Starting Point this Sunday. God has been really showing up, in my life, at least. It is a fight! It is a battle! But I guess you already know who the Champion is.

All I know is that I love the responsibility of preparing a message and move myself around to be able to put my ear to God's heart and feel what He wants me to say to His people.

"Life change. Jesus, that's all I ask for... that there would be Life change this Sunday. Let it be so."

September 25, 2007

»CONFESSIONS of a Reformission Rev.


WOW! I barely finished this book... I only have a couple of minutes to blog about.. brag about it. This is awesome... I dedicated the whole night to reading it... and I finished it.

This is the story of Mark Driscoll planting Mars Hill, a church of 6,000 people in Seattle, one of the least churched cities in America... He says that there are more dogs than Christians in Seattle. That's funny. It was insightful. I love reading stuff from people that went through it, you know? Not just people that call themselves experts and just know statistics and do not know the "work" that was done to get the statistics.

This guy started with nothing and now he has Elders (Pastors) that are helping him grow Mars Hill. I enjoyed it...

He also gave good instruction... good advice, and good counsel. I learned a lot from him.

I will read his next book... "Radical Reformission."

If you are ayoung leader and are called to be a Pastor or a Minister, you need to read this book. It will help you. Wow.

I'm going home. I'm at work.

I will post more about CONFESSIONS OF A REFORMED REV tomorrow.

Goodnight.

September 24, 2007

»Charles Spurgeon!


"Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth."
2 Timothy 2:15
This picture is of Charles Spurgeon... The prince of preachers. Pastor of Pastors. He is amazing!
We need a love for God's Word. That's how He talks to us...
Spend some time reading it...

September 23, 2007

» LOOK UNTO ME!

Charles Spurgeon... The man! He has been one of the most enjoyable preachers to read. I say "read" because this guy was alive in the 1800's... He is awesome. I have always been amazed by his story and his work. Great sermons! He was 15 when he was converted... He started pastoring when he was 20 YEARS OLD. He pastored one of the largest churches of his time... more than 6,000 members at one time. Imagine that! Without TV, Blogs, Myspace, Cell phones... you get the point.

He is one of my mentors... Seriously! He still speaks to my life whenever I read the lectures that he gave to Pastors. Rich!

Here is the story of his conversion. Check it out!

"I was miserable, I could do scarcely anything. My heart was broken to pieces. Six months did I pray, prayed agonizingly with all my heart, and never had an answer. I resolved that in the town where I lived I would visit every place of worship, in order to find the way of salvation. I felt I was willing to do anything if God would only forgive me. I set off determined to visit all the chapels, and though I deeply venerate the men who occupy those pulpits now, and did so then, I am bound to say, that I never heard them once fully preach the gospel. ... At last, one snowy day, I found rather an obscure street and turned down a court, and there was a little chapel. I wanted to go somewhere, but I did not know this street. It was the Primitive Methodists' chapel. I had heard of this people from many, and how they sang so loudly that they made people's heads ache; but that did not matter. I wanted to know how I might be saved, and if they made my head ache ever so much, I did not care. So sitting down, the service went on, but no minister came. At last a very thin-looking man came into the pulpit. He opened the Bible and read these words: "Look unto me and be ye saved, all ye ends of the earth." Just setting his eyes upon me, as if he knew me all by heart, he said: "Young man, you are in trouble!" Well, I was, sure enough. Says he: "You will never get out of it unless you look to Christ." Then, lifting his eyes, he cried, as only a Primitive Methodist could do, "Look, look, look!" I saw at once the way of salvation. O, how I did leap for joy at that moment! I know not what else he said, I was so possessed with that one thought. ... I looked until I could almost have looked my eyes away, and in heaven I will look on still, in my joy unspeakable."

WOW!
Look Unto Me!
That will preach, man!

September 21, 2007

» The Open Door!

I felt that feeling that I had not felt in a very long time... last Sunday.

I had the priviledge to get called on to go preach at Starting Point this past Sunday morning. I was thrilled, excited and nervous. I prayed to God so He could help me with words (somehow, I think that I can't speak english, good english. That's weird. weakness?).

I believe that Jesus is the door. I thank God for Him being the door.
John 10:7
"Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily,
I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep."

And sometimes I have felt in my life that God closed the door on me (abandons me). I mature by praying those verses that say that He never will leave me or abandon me. Sometimes you can feel like Jesus felt on the cross (that His father had left Him), although our circumstances cannot even compare to His sufferings.
But all the time that I have heard the loud bang of the door closing behind me, I look ahead and continue walking. That is the clue... Keep walking when the door closes. Oh, I think of the opportunities that God has given me. I encourage you to think of the chances that He has given you. Where have you sung? Where have you Sunday School taught? Where have you preached? Where have you given service?And now, you feel like there is no light at the end of this tunnel. You knock here, no answer... You knock over here, still no answer. Ugh! It gets frustrating! Your friends call and try to discourage you. Have fun, they say. Forget about that, they smile. But you've been taught one thing and one thing only...

"Suffer hardship with me, as a good soldier of Christ Jesus."
(2 Timothy 2:3)

You have learned to suffer and endure. This race is not for the weak... This race is not for the quitter. I daresay, that this race is not for the loser. This race is for those who feel the sweat of their work come down their eyes trying to slow them down, but they keep running. This race is for those who want to give up because they cannot breath, but sprint to the finish line.

They tell you to chill. They tell you to forget about church. Come on, Tony... get a "REAL CARREER". Become a Business owner. Chill with the "pastor " thing, already. Look at all these pastors suffering. Do you want to be like them?
I stare at their faces that mock the call of God...
I see their sneer and their eyes full of ambition for the things of these world. I can only tell them...

"No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life,
so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier."
(2 Timothy 2:4)

So sorry, friend... I cannot entangle myself. I have to fight. I have to seek the door. I can't wait until I find it. My spirit is desperate. Dude, I got swollen eyes because I cannot sleep thinking, dreaming, healing, reviving. The earthquake in my heart begins. I can hear a tremor. The shaking is here. Ah, I found it! Behold!!!!

"I know your deeds, Behold, I have put before you an open door
which no one can shut, because you have a little power,
and have kept My word, and have not denied My name."
(Revelations 3:8)

He says that He knows my deeds. Oh man,! that is awesome. And now he tells me that he has opened a door that nobody can close. I didn't have to open this door. Oh shoot! It's not by my strength... but by His... you get the point?
He says I have little power... yes I have been running around looking for this door.
He says that I have kept His word... I have not left my first love. Hehe.
He says that I have not denied His name. Thank you Jesus.

Let me do the pentecostal dance the only way my mom knows how (you know the one where you break it down while the singers are singing "Toda la noche sin parar"). You dont know about that. Its all about being a friend of God, now. Hehe.
I am feeling it right now. The feeling of Freedom. The feeling of accomplishing my call. And let me tell you something. As soon as I got out of that service at Starting Point, I felt so happy. Yea, The "Tony corny" happy. "Cheesy smile all over the freeway" happy. God had opened yet another door.

Oh, and guess what? The leadership at Church of Champions called me this Tuesday. I'm heading back to Starting Point this coming Sunday AGAIN. So pray for me. I desire your prayers.

"Close the doors on me... God you know what you are doing. Build me Jesus. Develop me in the middle of my battleground. Test me. I will not fail you. You will save me. I will trust in you."

That was a dangeous prayer. Pray it. And be strong. See the hand of the Lord.

Whoa! look at this! There is another OPEN DOOR on your journey.
Step through it.

September 18, 2007

» "We're gonna get shot!"

"We' re gonna get shot!" That's what she said. Haha. It was hilarious! O.K Let me fill you in. Today, Ruthie and I went to eat at the Pupusa Loca. For my english friends, pupusas are... ah... some good food... better than gorditas. That was for my Mexican friends. Hehe. Well, I got me a pupusa, a tamal de elote, and a tamal de gallina. (I was hungry). Ruthie just got 2 pupusas and some beans. M-M-M!!!
We had a good time... eating, talking. I rally am in love with this girl. It will be 3 years in November that we started dating (I dont recommend years of courtship, but we are a special case. Hehe) and I am still loving every minute of it, except when we disagree.

And if you don't disagree with your girlfriend or wife, YOU ARE NOT NORMAL, and somebody has you on check!!!!

I mean, come on... there has to be some things you dont agree on. Well, anyway, we were having a good time. This is a good place to get some good Salvadorean food, you know. Thank God they don't take long... That's the problem with many pupusa places. You know what I mean.
This place is on Long Point Rd. and Wirt Rd. It was about 9 PM... and we were walking out to the car. Full stomach and a happy heart. Hehe. We stood in the parking lot talking for a bit, and then she said...

"Let's go because... we're gonna get shot."

That cracked me up. It was hilarious! And if you don't understand me, I guess you had to be there.

I told her that Spring Branch was one of the safest areas of Houston to be in... (SMILE). Yea Right! Not that safe anymore. There were 2 rapes last week in a Hammerly Blvd. Park. Northbrook Middle School and Northbrook High School are like Sodomah and Gommorrah. Haha! and its getting crazy. It was not like that a couple of years ago, when I was in 4th grade. I mean, when we first moved to Spring Branch, our family and friends thought that "we were movin' on up..." and I am serious! Haha!

I guess when you love a city... when you love an area that you know that God has called you to... when you love the people that push shopping carts full of food from the Fiesta at Blalock St. all the way to their house in Long Point Rd....
I'm trying to say that when you have a burden for a place... it seems safe to you. You love the people. You wave to busness owners. You know the people that cash your check at the Bank. Im serious.

I love Spring Branch.
God will raise up a church that is a church in that city... in that area of Houston.

"We're gonna get shot!" Hehe.
I love my girl...

September 17, 2007

» POWER SUNDAY!

Hallelujah!!! Glory to God! I am thankful... Come on now... I said I am thankful... I can't hear you! I said I am Thankful!
Well, what an awesome day it was... Let me try a bullet point blog post this time... these things are popular and I think you'll be able to understand.
  • I love my family.
  • I went to Starting Point and tore it up. Thank you God for helping me. I was really nervous but I got a blessing myself.
  • Met some guys from Canzion and really loved their humble spirit.
  • I was amazed at how God's love and Word still convicts people of their sin. Seeing people repenting in the altar does it for me.
  • I preached on the title "The Sin Of Brokeness"
  • I went to the 2nd Spanish service at Iglesia de Campeones.
  • We need Volunteers.
  • More than 60 people in attendance.
  • I got to see many people that I had not seen in months (maybe years).
  • I saw my good friend Red.
  • Worship was awesome... Joel and the team did a good job.
  • Pastor wrecked it AGAIN!!! He "tore it up from the ground up", like he says. He preached with the title: "ELIMINANDO EL PLAN B" (Eliminating plan B). What a message!
  • We are getting it together. It is amazing how God puts it all together. You can acyually see God's hands arranging this and fixing that.
  • I was glad to see Ruthie's mom at the service today.
  • I was so tired after service... ate some good food at chili's.
  • My girlfriend bought me some new shoes (so... I dont wear out the other pair. hehe.) I love her. And we are not even married yet. WOW! Amazing woman, huh? Wife material. Haha!
  • I'm at work. But still excited. hehe.

September 15, 2007

» Preaching and Mentoring.

What a Privilege it is!

I have not taken preaching lightly... I pray to God that I never do. Ever since I was a kid, I remember writing long notes when I preached. I pray to God that He could bring things to my remembarance while I preach... but have not yet accomplished the art of preaching without notes. Hehe. I'm not that skilled. Yet. Anyways...
I love watching preachers. There are some that preach like they wish they were out fishing somewhere else and there are those that preach like if they really mean it.
I strive to be a preacher that really means it when I'm preaching.

Well, I am thankful to God... Pastor advised me that I would be preaching at Starting Point Church. I am excited. Kind of nervous as well. I have not preached in a couple of months (outside of my bathtub, I mean), but I know that God will back up His Word. In Jesus name. Please pray for me.

I love God. I love His mercy and grace. Really, I do.
There is nothing like being a sinner that has been cleansed of his sin... and when the enemy comes to tempt, I could give him all the reason for accusing me... but I also have to tell him that thanks be to God that He paid the price.
I am so humbled by what Jesus did on the cross.

He lived the life that I never could live.
He died the death that I should die.

I got a call from Pastor this yesterday afternoon. He wanted to meet me so we could talk. We met and talked... and talked... and talked... I love those sessions with him. I really take advantage of hearing every illustration, every story, every experience that he tells me. I really do. We talked about the future of Iglesia de Campeones. We talked about what I am called to do in Ministry (Be a Pastor). I really felt comfortable talking to him about it. Ah! Mentoring.... It's awesome. Well, being mentored is. You can learn so much. Just be open mided and take the experiences, successes and failures of people, so that you can be a better person (for me, a better Minister).

Mark Driscoll said:
The best mentors are the dead mentors... because they'll never disappoint you!
Haha. That's funny.

I thank God for my mentors. Dead and alive.

September 14, 2007

» IT IS A DEGREE!

What a day! I loved it... After taking Ruthie out for lunch at our favorite Thai fast food place, she went home because she needs to study... a lot. Hehe. I went to Lifeway bookstore and bought me a book called "Launch: "Starting a New Church from Scratch". It's a practical book on church planting and I cannot wait to start reading it.

Sooo, I then went to CBS (College of Biblical Studies). I was a little discouraged of starting school again. I know, I know... I must go back. I have to... But I have missed 1 class lecture already... and I want the whole treatment. Hehe. So, I asked a professor that was leaving, "If it would be wise to join his class next week?" (Since I am doing late registration).

He asked me: "Why are you coming back to school?"
I said: "To get my degree."
He said: "You know, I'm all for that... I barely got my Masters this Summer, but don't come to school to get a degree. Come to school because this is where God wants you to be at this time."

AHHHHH! I wanted to scream! SO HARD! I wanted to tell him, "That's what I've been saying!!!"
But I have been led and pressured by so many people to get a degree... to get that piece of paper that will hang on my office wall (one day) with my name on it, and just be praised by self centered people that have degrees themselves. Come on, I already study by myself.

OH MY GOD!!

I mean... yes, I encourage people to go to school... go to college. But with the correct motivation. Go because that is what you are called to do. Go because you want to major in that career. Whatever it may be. Doctor. Nurse. Lawyer. Pastor. Counselor. Engineer. Teacher.

All I know is that a Doctor's degree pays the bills as well as the Pastor's degree.

And if you do not believe that... Get a revelation and read your bible. It says so! I'll elaborate in some other post later!


I was telling Ruthie... after I graduate with a degree from CBS, I know that I will have to defend the fact that I have a degree. Why? Because it's a degree from a Bible College. That's why.

It is legit. It is a real degree. Do not undermine it just because it's not a Business degree or and Education degree or an Engineering degree or an Architecture degree. I'm about to go off!

It is a Biblical Counseling Degree!

You better recognize!

So. I repent. I will go back to my regenerated mentality. I will go back to school because that is where God wants me to be... the degree is second. (I just need to finish. Hehe).

September 10, 2007

» IGLESIA DE CAMPEONES HAS LAUNCHED!

Someone said that they had been waiting for this service for about 3 years... Wow! what a statement. Hehe.

Well, it's here! Iglesia de Campeones has blasted off in the Northwest area of Houston this past Sunday!
WITH A WHOPPING ATTENDANCE OF ABOUT 75 PEOPLE!

Wow. We give God the glory. There were no mail-outs... no yard signs... no kind of publicity. It was all about word of mouth invitations. Also some bulletins that I posted on myspace. Haha! But nevertheless, the people came. There were a couple of pastors there. 1 of them was from out of the state (I think Colorado). There were people from all over... and I was glad to see them. I was also happy to see my future mom in law. Hehe.

Although all these people will not come next week, I feel that the people that were there needed to hear the message.
Pastor preached from JOB 14:7, with the title "There is Hope for This Tree"
"At least there is hope for a tree:
If it is cut down, it will sprout again,
and its new shoots will not fail."
What a message!!! I had not heard Pastor Rios preach in a while already. It was awesome.

I thank God for this move that the Church Of Champions have made. Pastor Hutchins has been so generous in letting Iglesia De Campeones use the main sanctuary... the sound system... the powerpoint, the VIDEOCAMERAS! Are there any camera people out there? We need vounteers...
We need VOLUNTEERS! Help us reach the lost people.
We need unsaved people, singers, musicians, ushers, receptionists, sound technicians, video people... Hey, if you are not serving, you can help. Hehe.

I am excited. We are excited. What an awesome atmosphere we had.

From the countdown on the screen to Joel's music.
From the greeter's smile to the handshake of the Pastor.
From the wounded hearts to the filled altar of people.
From the fallen tree to its roots looking for water.
Are your roots looking for water?
Are you just a stump of a tree needing help?

Iglesia de Campeones is here!
To give you water.
To give you fertilizer.
To see you rise again.

I leave you with part of the scripture.
"If it is cut down, it will sprout again"

September 8, 2007

» Pastor Joe Rios Sr.

It's finally here... I have been telling every single person I can tell... I have been posting all over myspace... I have been thinking about waht God is going to do in people's lives starting this new Spanish service at Church of Champions.

Pastor Rios... To me, this man means a lot. I have stared at pictures of when my parents started to go to church back in the 1980s... the way they did it back then... WOW! I have seen the pictures of when my parents dedicated me to the Lord, and how Pastor Rios prayed for me.

He was my pastor during my childhood years.. I remember being raised in church, clapping my hands to the loudest music that you could ever hear. Hundreds of people engaged in corporate worship. Running the aisles was common when I was a child. Hehe! And there was the preaching! Oh, the preaching of Pastor... I have tapes that date back to 1984. I was not even born yet! But the preaching.. the illustrations that were given in the pulpit, compelling sinners to walk to an altar where they could kneel and tell God, "I surrender!"

I remember sitting in the padded pews, swinging my legs, my eyes fixed on the pastor... the pastor, sweating, hollering, asking for an "amen" often... I loved that! I loved how he tied it all together in the conclusion. I loved the invitation to a new life.

I came back to his church in 2002. He was preaching on the series "Desatando las Ligaduras de la Iniquidad" (Breaking free from the Bondage of Iniquity). I learned so much. I could not wait for midweek Bible Study to get taught the Word of God. I went back to school... back to my childhood... back to my version of Sunday School.

Now, I have been so pleased to assist him once again in ministry. I have learned a lot from him... and I know I will keep learning from him. Some people can do without others. There are friends... relatives, ministers. But this man is viewed as my father. My spiritual father.

I think a lot about my dad. The lessons that he taught me and the life that he led. I also think of Pastor in this sense. People can say whatever they want about my father, but I love my father. I know that if I am away from my dad, one day, I will see him again. It is the same with Pastor. I have seen him again and it is a privilege to work with him again... He is my spiritual father.

I am glad.
My spirit is at peace.
I think myself happy.

September 7, 2007

» ipod nano... VIDEO!


I want one of these... I am hooked to the podcasts... Listening to Mark Driscoll, Steven Furtick, Ed Young, Rick Warren. Man!! It's like going to conferences every day I listen to these guys on Ruthie's ipod... gotta get one for myself.
Help me pray that God guides my hand to my wallet and drop $150... like it's hot!