Unhealthy Churches or People??????

Today, I had the privilege of being part of the "capital C" CHURCH....It was a very surreal experience.  God taught me a lesson that will ever be etched in my heart.  As my wife and I headed to a very special place hidden away behind iron bars and doors locked with electronic keys, I prayed God would open my heart to be used the way He would need.  I prayed God would help me talk to young people who have been through more in their short lives than most of us will ever go through in a lifetime.  I prayed God would use me to reach these young people, to let them know there was a group of men and women who love them, who pray for them, and who will be what the bible says a "Christian should be"....

Little did I know, God had other plans in mind....

As I stood before young men and women, I poured out my heart.  I shared why I believe God is the one true God.  I told them what Jesus did for us on the cross.  I told them about being arrested and how God used that experience to change my life.  I showed them tattoos I have to symbolize the experiences I have had.  I told them how there were 2 others hanging on crosses beside Jesus.....One of which we assume didn't make it, One we know would be with Jesus in paradise.....I stood before young men and women who are in a different world than most of you reading this could ever imagine.  You are probably thinking, "here he goes again....telling me how bad everyone else has it...."

I am glad you are thinking this way....Please continue to read....

As we ended our time together, my prayer over the group was a prayer of heartache and mercy for the kids and staff.  It was a prayer for guidance and the mighty hand of God to protect this group.  When we finished praying, all of the group said amen together...

I walked over to the administrator in charge and explained how, as a non-profit, we would like to help with shoes and hoodies for each and every child in their care.  I told her to forward anyone who wanted to donate moneys to their program our way and we would make sure they got what they needed....

Then it happened....

I was told of a church wanting to help provide items for the young men and women...As we spoke back and forth, God opened my heart by what was said next.....

"We would like to get this group healthy enough to get them all to church."

I felt the Holy Spirit open my heart and mouth at the same time when I replied.....

"We need to get the church healthy enough to come out here."

If you are reading this blog, you may very well be reading it on Easter morning....the very day we as Christians should celebrate our existence.

Why have we allowed ourselves to be programmed into thinking we have to get healthy before we can come to church to hear what God has for us???

Why have we programmed the world we live in, you have to be healthy before they can set foot in our  doors???

I have been thinking about this all day long...

Jesus gives us an example of what the Church is supposed to look like...What I read in my bible, shows me Jesus went where the people were....

All of His 12 disciples were chosen....asked personally be Jesus...the records I see show a Savior going out and finding fishers of men...are we doing that?

Look at how Jesus' at the age of 12-13 was in the temple talking to the priests...He went to them...are we doing that?

Look at the Samaritan woman, she was not who he should have been hanging out with all by himself, but he went through Samaria just to have an intentional meeting at the well....are we doing that?

Look at when people were healed of blindness, leprocy, lameness, or death....All show a Savior who went to people who needed what only He has...are we doing that?

Look at when he taught His disciples lessons on the sea, he went to them, walking on the water....Just to save Peter as he sank and teach them lesson after lesson...are we doing that?

He didn't sit in a sanctuary with high tech videography, awesome music, great speakers, and a program taught out of the next best book that some of the worlds best theologian has written(I love it too)....are we doing that?

He went and did what He was called to do....When it was all said and done, He even carried His own cross to His own death...

After he was risen from the grave, He still was on the move...talking and sharing what He had with everyone around Him...

I'm not knocking the church I attend or any other church in general....I am knocking the lack of willingness and the programming we have allowed ourselves to become subjected to...to busy, to hard, need some time to myself, need some time for my family....all excuses I have used too....

It's Easter....What are you going to do about it?

Maybe, as a church, we should get healthy and go find the unhealthy and share what only God has....

I know as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord....

Justin Presley




If you would like to support our cause, please donate....


https://inoroutfaith.cloverdonations.com/homes-hunger-hoodies-kicks/

Baseball and Tears....

Nothing like a great day at the ballpark.  I walked away as proud as a father could be.  I walked away with my chest out because my son came through when he was needed.  Today wasn't the best day at the ballpark for our team.  We won both games, but you could tell we were a little rusty.  There were a few routine plays that went terribly wrong and there were several times the boys were just not on their game.  I had decided that today I would make sure and not be negative to my son or the other boys.  I had made up my mind, no matter what, I would be positive to the kids and encourage them as best I could.

As I walked to first base every inning, I tried to leave the dugout after saying some encouraging words to our team.  I even would pick up the ball for the opposing pitcher if the opportunity presented itself.

On first base, as a coach, there are several conversations that go on between the opposing coaches, the umpires, and the players as they reach first base.  The conversations range from the Thunder pulling through, the weather, where all our kids go to school, and any other topic outside of baseball you can think of.  I sat back in more of a quiet mindset today and listened to the coaches from the other teams.  I was unbelievably amazed at what I heard as they talked to their players and to each other.

I started thinking about how much pressure we put on our kids to be perfect at every bat, every pitch, every play, and every moment they are on the field.  I starting thinking about how much expectation we put on them every time they step on the field.  Don't get me wrong, I think you should be prepared, but if you aren't, how can we hold them accountable.

Then it happened.  The learning moment for a coach, father, and christian.

Parker was at the plate during a really tense and stressful situation.  We had runners on 2nd and 3rd with 2 outs in the last inning.  It was our last at bat and we were down by 1 run.  I walked down closer to home plate than usual and hollered to my son.  I yelled to him, "I want to to dig down deep and see exactly what you are made of son."  He responded with his usual nod and went back to his practice swing.  Here comes the pitch.  He swings and fouls it off.  As the battle at the plate went back and forth for another 4 or 5 foul balls, I started hearing a conversation in the dugout next to me from the opposing coaches.  They were talking about how all they needed was one more out and the kid at the plate hadn't been on base all game.  I heard them saying how all they needed was one more strike.  They knew all they needed was one out to end the game and win.

In the middle of their conversation, I hollered to my son and told him again, "you got this, dig down deep and give it all you have, son...."

As I walked back to the dugout, I looked over at the coaches and told them, "I love players being in theses type situations....I love them being put to the test..."

The replied with saying how the felt the exact opposite.  I looked at them and said, "HE is going to do this....we got faith in him..."

As I turned around, the pitcher goes through his stretch and throws the ball..Parker hits the ball harder than he had all day...he hits the ball between the 1st baseman and 2nd baseman and it gets through....

Both runs score and we win the game...

As he stood on the bag with the winning run crossing the plate, I grabbed him and held him up as he pumped his hands in the air and I told him how proud I was of him and I knew he was going to do it...I knew he was going to come through for his team...

Then it happened...The lesson was presenting itself to be learned...

I looked over at Parker with tears of joy running down his face at what he had done and I smiled because I was already teared up.  His teammates were hugging him and chest bumping with him as they celebrated their victory.  We were both so happy we couldn't do anything but cry.  As his team mates asked him if he was okay, he just smiled and cried some more at the accomplishment he just had...

You know they say, "there's no crying in baseball."  Today on the Blake Auld Memorial Fields in Seminole, OK. there was crying in baseball.  And if you have a problem with it, my son and I don't care...

I am going to cry when I want too.  I am going to encourage our team as much as I can. I am going to keep trying to inspire our kids to know they can come through when they are in a tough situation.  I am going to keep trying to help these young boys become Godly young men.  I'm going to let them know I believe in them.

If they strike out, it can all go away with one hit.
If they overthrow a base, it can all go away with one gunned down baserunner.
If they get thrown out, it can all go away with another stole base.
If they get a bad hop, it can all go away with another caught ground ball.
If they have a bad inning, it can go away with a good inning.

If they cry over a victory and personal accomplishment, I hope that heart never changes....Ever....

My Shadow….His Lesson…

As I got into the truck with Shawn to head to Dallas, I was nervous as a cat on a tin roof.  When we arrived at DFW, I was still nervous about what was going ot happen.  What would these people be like?  How would the plane ride be?  Would it be hot there?  Would the people like me?  Would I really see what I sought out to see?  All these questions were running through my mind and I couldn't help but wonder.  Then I started meeting each person I would be sharing this experience with one by one.  I worried about being accepted by the group and worried I would be too much for them to handle.  Boarding the plane was the final straw.  I knew I was going to Honduras.  I was going to leave my comfortable life with my beautiful wife and 4 awesome kids to go serve in a foreign country.

When the plane touched down in Tegus, my life would never be the same.  I had no idea what would begin to happen in my heart and mind.  God was going to make me so uncomfortable in my own skin, it was crazy.

There are so many stories to tell and I will tell them one by one as I learn the lessons God has taught me.

The Dump....

All week long and ever since I decided to go to Honduras, I heard about the dump and how crazy it was.  I heard all the stories of despair, grief, challenge, smell, people, children, cows, vultures, gangs, lawlessness, poverty, and hope.

On the last day of our week, we finally worked it out to go to the dump.  I was amazed as we begin to drive into the dump.  What hits you first is the smell.  If you have ever smelled rotten eggs and dirty feet with a little bit of dead fish all mixed up together, you would not even begin to come close to what the dump smells like.  Driving in on the bus, we were told to make sure we put all our windows up so no one could reach in and take our valuables.  We were then instructed to make sure we didn't leave any of our cameras or phones laying around or they would become property of the dump.  

Walking off the bus will be a moment I never forget.  My eyes gazed at an amazing landscape.  One where dogs, cows, vultures, and humans live side by side.  I looked at the people who work and live in the dump as they formed 2 lines for the food they were going to receive.  I found myself with feelings of anger at the fact they were even there.  I found myself with feelings of sadness that we as humans have allowed this to happen.

 
I held back tears as I saw young children walking to the back of the truck to get a piece of chicken and a fruit drink.  I wondered what their story was or if I even wanted to know.  As they reached for their chicken, I noticed the dirt and filth on their hands and clothes.  I noticed the miss matched shoes falling off their feet because they didn't fit or were just worn out.

I thought about all my family had and I felt guilty.  I felt like I had never felt before.  I stood in the back of a pickup watching person after person lifted their hands, covered in dirt and grime with finger nails black with filth reaching for some food and  I was angry.  I was angry that humans had allowed this…We had turned our back and allowed this to be…I was mad the country was allowing people to live like this and not do anything about it…All I could do was watch and pray…As I walked off by myself to wipe the tears I had falling off my cheeks,  I noticed my shadow in front of me on the ground of the dump.

I was there.  I wasn't sitting in the comfort of my office, home, car, or restaurant.  I wasn't talking about what we should buy my kids for Christmas.  In that moment, I wasn't worried about what I was going to eat for dinner.  I wasn't worried about what pair of shoes I was going to wear.  I wasn't thinking about anything except what God needed me to do to change this type of situation….I wasn't thinking about how I could make my life better, I was thinking of how I could make others life better….

If you have read this far, you will probably get mad in the next few sentences….

1.  You have more than you need.

2.  You have more than you deserve.

3.  You need to give more to others.

4.  You have a responsibility as a human to help others in need.

5.  If you are a "Christian", you have a command from God to treat others better than yourself.

6.  Your children have more than they need.

7.  If your kids can't tell you what they want for Christmas, think about what that means…

These statements are what went through my mind as I looked at my shadow when I was standing in the dump.  Then I looked up and saw the beauty of Gods love.  I saw God in the eyes of the people living and working in the dump for less than $1.00 to $4.00 a day.  You see, I went to Honduras to do what I thought was mission work for others and in the last day, I finally saw what Gods mission for us really is.  He tells us to love others more than we love ourselves.  We get hung up on all the details of music or no music, shorts or no shorts, hymnals or no hymnals, names on church buildings and whether or not they are the right church because they believe the right thing, doctrine, family, how much money we have in the bank, and the list goes on….

Jesus said, "Whatever you do to the least of these, You have done to me…"

What have you done for others…..

We got to be BOLD!!!!

As I read my bible this morning, I was reminded of how bold the disciples were.  I read where Peter addressed the crowd after Jesus went to heaven and over 3000 people were saved.  After I read that passage, I began to think about all the others in the bible and in life that were bold.  I thought about Stephen.   I thought about John the Baptist.  I thought about Elijah.  I thought about the young lady from Columbine who said there is a God.  I thought about my grandmother who has always looked to heaven for direction.  I thought about David taking down Goliath.  I thought about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abendigo.  I thought about how bold it was for Mary to birth the King of Kings.  I thought about how bold it was for Jesus to come to earth to be just like us only to die on a cross for each of our sins.

I thought about all the times I have had the chance to be bold for Christ and I have not took the opportunity.  Why do we, as followers of Christ, not want to be bold every day?  Why do we not want to listen to the call of God on our life?  Why do we not want to let our light shine?  Why do we not want to bring our God to a lost and dying world?

All of us have our own excuses and cop outs to not take responsibility for not being bold.  I know until recently being bold wasn't something I even thought about.  I felt like God was there for me to use to get by daily when I needed Him.  I thought God was there for me to call on when I needed something. Maybe talk to him when something or someone was sick or even died. I thought God was at church and thats where we meet him each week and then we leave Him there and go back home.  I think there are several reasons we are afraid to be bold for Christ....

Here are some of my reasons....

1. I didn't want people to know the real me.
2. I was scared it might not be as cool as joking around all the time.
3. I didn't fear God like I should.
4. I was focused on me.

Over the past few months, God has shown me several things.  One thing He has challenged me to do is BE BOLD!  He has challenged me to tell my story of how He has changed my life and continues to do so.  He has challenged me to be REAL.  He has challenged me to be BOLD about my faith with everyone I can.  He has taught me to fear him.  He has challenged me to focus on others and not myself.  He has challenged me to do something I never thought would happen.  

Start a ministry!!

 I ask you to be bold and pray as Heather and I, along with several others, develop a ministry designed to be the hands and feet of the body Christ to serve a lost and dying world.

"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess."

Hebrews 4:14

We are planning an "Community Wide Candle Light Service" at Kerr Dome in Ada, Oklahoma on Easter evening.  We ask you pray that God will move across our community and teach all of us to be Bold....

Details will follow as they develop....If you would like to help and be involved, please email us @

 In or Out Faith Ministries, Inc.