I grew up on a farm in the country. I didn't have a job stocking shelves at Walmart, flipping burgers at McDonalds, or slinging newspapers for the local news. My job was built in. Kinda like room and board. I didn't have a curfew in high school, I just had to be at work Saturday and Sunday mornings at 4am. I quickly learned it didn't want to stay out past 11:00 the night before.

Through growing up in this culture I had a built in love for horses, cowboys, and rodeos. One of my favorite things to watch at a rodeo was the steer wrestling contest. The cow was released from the chute, often with a little electric shock on his hindquarters to "encourage" him along.

Time starts. The cowboy spurs his horse out of the box and jumps from his saddle onto the steers back at 20mph or more. He then grabs the bull by the horns and cranks his head around until the steer's momentum and the cowboys good technique and muscle flips the cow over onto his back. Time! All of this happens in a matter of seconds, and a real professional at the sport is incredibly entertaining to watch.

Throughout my life, there have been many opportunities that have come my way where I have needed to grab the proverbial bull by the horns. I need to deal with something quickly, give it all my attention, and resolve it in a timely manner. I believe this is a good quality in a person.

My daily Bible reading plan today took me through Proverbs 26:17. "Whoever meddles in a quarrel not his own is like one who takes a passing dog by the ears." This is a very different proposition than taking the bull by the horns. Now that you have the dog by the ears, what are you going to do with it? Why on earth would you want to get into that position? Now you have an angry dog on your hands, and nowhere to run. Why would you just grab some passing dog by the ears? He might be gentle and playful, or he might eat you for dinner. You don't know this dog... you have no business getting "involved" with it.

I have been guilty of taking a dog by the ears multiple times in my life. In fact, while I was in the Marine Corps I earned a poor reputation of walking up on a conversation and forcing myself into the middle of it. It didn't take long before conversations would fizzle out the minute I walked up on the group. It was my own fault... I had chose to grab the dog by the ears too many times, and now I had to deal with the consequences.

What about you? Are you a person who "meddles in quarrels not his own?"

Yesterday my daily Bible reading took me through 2 Timothy 4. This is where Paul is closing his letter to his young pastor he mentored, and asks Timothy to bring a few things to him in prison... and to do so quickly, because he wasn't sure how much time he had.

My first church I served at was in Beaufort, SC. This was while I was still in the Marine Band at Parris Island, but I was just beginning to get my feet wet in ministry leadership at Shell Point Baptist Church. I was the student leader, and the worship leader as well. During my time there, I served with a pastor named Derris Davenport. He was a retired pastor who served us as an interim pastor for almost a 4 year stretch.

This was one of his favorite passages to preach from. He explained to us how Paul was pretty certain that he may be executed soon, and wanted to put things in order before that happened. Paul speaks in this chapter about fighting the good fight, and finishing the race. Pastor Derris also explained that Paul's relationship with John-Mark was now restored after the conflict between the two earlier.

Finally, Derris focused in on the phrase "come before winter." The call is urgent, and it is undeniable. Winter is coming. Particularly where I live now in Buffalo, NY - winter is imminent. The time is now.

Really what Pastor Davenport was teaching was about leaving a legacy. He absolutely left his legacy with me... and continues to do so with others... who am I leaving a legacy for?

This is an incredible blog post by an incredible songwriter named Michael Gungor. Here it is: prepare to be challenged!

In this holy week, I am thinking of Jesus and what must have been going on inside him as he moved towards the cross.  In John 17, we find an intimate prayer between Jesus and his Father only moments before he was arrested.

In this prayer, these epic, last moments before he is killed, he prays for those of us who would believe in him in the future.  Jesus.  Praying for us in these final moments of what must have been tremendous fear and agony.  This is pretty amazing.  And what does he say?

²⁰…I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, ²¹ that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²² I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— ²³ I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

Unity.  That’s what Jesus seemed to want for us more than anything else.

Unity under what?  That we would all believe the exact same doctrines?  That we would all have the same opinions about the afterlife?

Is the foundation of our faith Jesus AND our thoughts about the Bible and salvation and miracles and heaven and hell…etc  Or is the foundation of our faith Jesus and Jesus alone?

Are we unified by Jesus and whether we speak in tongues or Jesus and our thoughts about the priesthood of believers?  Are we unified by Jesus and our views on women in ministry and whether or not we believe earth is six thousand years old or six billion?  Is our foundation both Jesus and our thoughts about whether hell is a literal place or not?  Is the absolute bedrock of our faith both Jesus and our thoughts about transubstantiation, or human sexuality, or predestination or free will or whether clergy should wear robes in church rather than suits and ties?  What is the absolute FOUNDATION of our faith that should hold us together whether we disagree about the finer points or not?

Is it not simply that Jesus is Lord?  Is it not the Word that became flesh and walked among us and was crucified and rose again and shall come again?  Is it not simply and always and only Him that unites us, and is that not enough?

Sunday morning I made one of the most difficult announcements I have ever made over my 4.5 years at Ridgeview Church. Tommy had preached a sermon on "What is God's Will for My Life." Then, after finishing the final worship song, he asked me to come up and share what God had been doing in our family's life.

Here's what happened.

Milo Wilson - Leaving Ridgeview Church from Ridgeview Church on Vimeo.

Ridgeview has been an incredible place to serve. You stuck with Erin and I last year when we faced the worst thing imaginable: the death of our 8 month old son Josiah. (www.thewilsonheart.com) You have allowed me to do some pretty crazy stuff with your middle school and high school students, and we have all grown very close together in the process. Hopefully your students will continue to learn how to develop into Godly young men and women.

The worship band has grown into something that I am incredibly proud to be a part of. Our little church has learned how to sing and praise God at the top of our lungs together. We love to worship, and we aren't ashamed to do so. What an honor to have been a part of the process.

Pastor Tommy has been an incredible mentor, and a dear friend. You have allowed me to mature as a pastor myself, and have given me the tools to lead others into being a bridge of God's love to all people. Thanks You.

We will still be in Greenville through Oct 24th 2010. At that point Erin, Daylia, Hazyl, and I will begin our trek up northward. I will be joining Darrick Castronova at The Well (www.thewellbuffalo.com) as the Co-Pastor of the new church plant there. Stay tuned for what God has in store!

I love to bike. I love to read about it, write about it, watch videos on it, and most of all... do it. I absolutely love to get out on the road with a big group ride and just fly like the wind. I love to climb a rocky trail in the woods and see the city off the distance before descending down the other side with reckless abandon. I love it!

Biking is my hobby. In order to pursue biking (insert your hobby here) I will....
Pay membership dues in the local club.
Buy the right stuff to "look" the part.
Join the Facebook group.
Take time off work.
Take time away from my family.

Because biking is only a hobby (insert your hobby here) I will not....
Do it every day.
Require my family to join me.
Quit my job over it.
Risk my life for it.

I love being a Christ follower. I love to read about it, write about it, watch videos on it, and most of all... do it. I absolutely love to get out in front of a big group and lead worship. I love to talk to a group of students about how the Bible can change their lives. I love it!

Christianity is my hobby. In order to pursue Christ I will....
Pay membership dues in the local club.
Buy the right stuff to "look" the part.
Join the Facebook group.
Take time off work.
Take time away from my family.

Because Christianity is only a hobby I will not....
Live it every day.
Require my family to join me.
Quit my job over it.
Risk my life for it.


In Titus 2:13 Paul says the church is waiting for its "blessed hope—the glorious appearing of our God and Savior Jesus Christ." And in 1 John 3:3 John writes, "Everyone who has this hope in him." What is the hope? The hope is the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, of our seeing him as he is and of our being like him. The consummation of God’s redemption will take place at that moment when Jesus Christ comes again.

Is Christ your blessed hobby or your blessed hope?

We found out this week for certain that our new baby, a boy, will have a rough go at it to start. He has been diagnosed wit hypoplastic left heart syndrome (look it up, we had to). It is a heart defect that was 100% fatal 15 years ago. Thankfully, medical advances are giving us an 85-90% chance. He will undergo three major open heart surgeries. One at 1 week, the second at 3-4 months, and the last at 2-3 years. Through this process the heart will be replumbed to work off of the 2 right chambers rather than the normal 4. Be in prayer for us. We will be in the hostpital (most likeley MUSC in Charleston) for 1-2 months after he is born, and won't be able to hold him until near the end of that time. We are very optimistic by nature, so but don't mistake our optimism for casual apathy. This is very serious. Again, pray for us... we will keep he blog and FB updated with the most information
we can. Thank You!

Simply having a wonderful Christmastime? Yes you can! Tommy preached about simple plans,moments, and decisions at our Christmas Eve service last night. We tried to take the challenge. Although we we up late helping Santa last night, today has been a wonderfully simple Christmas. We left our computers at the church because we will be away this sunday, and they need them to run media for the Ridgekidz service as well as the adult worship service. The TV has been off, and even the stereo has been silent today. Any blog posts will be updated this week via cell phone. It has been great. It is now about 4pm, and we about to head out for Christmas number 2. But up till now the day has been very slow, quiet an uneventful. It was been one of the best Christmases ever. Granted, the rest of the week will be total chaos, but not today. Could you do it too if you wanted to?

I was invited to go to lunch at NGU after church on Sunday. I like going up there, because it is a buffet, which means I can eat until I have completely gorged myself, and our girls don't have to be occupied for a half an hour before the entree comes out. One rule at the caff however is that on Sundays, everyone must wear "Sunday" clothes.

For guys this means a collar shirt tucked in, khaki pants, and a belt. I was sporting faded blue jeans with holes in the knees, and an untucked dress shirt. Now they have "security" (aka RA's) at the door to enforce the dress code. The guy stopped me and said:"Excuse me sir, you aren't supposed to come in with jeans on." Now, I don't know why I did this or who I think I am, but I had my wife and 2 girls and our friends the Gibbons who are living with us in line with me.

I guess in my mind I thought: "Can't you see that I have bigger responsibilities here than which pants I laid out this morning to wear?" But what he was probably thinking was: "Dude I think its lame too, but I am just the guy who stands here and tells people what to do."

Either way, my response was a snotty: "I am not a student here" and I walked deliberately past him carrying my little girl as a human shield daring him to say anything else to me. Now in afterthought, I have no idea whether or not that rule is applicable only to students or not. I suppose I assume that to be the case. Is it?

So what is the moral here? I can be a jerk for literally no reason. It is in my nature. The nature I was born with. Thank God that he has made a way for us to come into his family that has nothing to do with my own "goodness." For in my own strength all I deserve because of my jerky attitude is ultimately death. But God's gift is eternal life through Jesus Christ his Son. A gift that I take for granted too often.

If you are the young gentlemen I treated with disrespect at NGU, I apologize. If you saw it happen, or you heard him talk about the jerk who talked down to him on Sunday please pass on my apologies to him. This is not the person I want to be...

So I sit a my computer with a hundred things to do, but first I want to put out a blog post because of my negligence over the last 15 days or so. Guess what my dilemma is? I can't decide whether to write on a Christian topic, or a secular topic. Then it hits me - a blog is intended to be about a person's life. Why do I have to think about the secular or sacred "topics" within it?

I am reading this book for our summer growth group entitled: Growth - Training vs. Trying. We meet Tuesdays for a devotional time, then we do some physical training (either running, walking, or MTB). One of the challenges it brings is that we are not training for growth in our spiritual lives... ...we are training for growth... ...in life. Somewhere along the way, Christians (prompted by the enemy no doubt)have made them to be distinct entities. I have always been annoyed by this. Yet on days like today I am still catching myself separating the two.

So my post yesterday may have come across too doom and gloom. It really isn't that bad. I have to tell you, God has been very good to me, and I am very excited about what he has done in the past few months, and where he will be taking us in the future. But, yesterday I was feeling quite human, weak, mortal. (Not necessarily a bad thing right!) I didnt "feel" very strong spiritually. I didnt "feel" like I was doing an adequate job as a parent. But I also didn't "feel" like working at it yesterday. I was/am fighting the battle of complacency.

My great friend and LTG partner Rob Smith called me up after reading my post. He felt like I needed to hear something specific from God's Word. So he spent some time digging around and shared this passage with me:

2 Timothy 2
1You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. 2And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others. 3Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. 4No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs—he wants to please his commanding officer. 5Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules. 6The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. 7Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this.

This passage really hit me in a personal way. Isn't God cool! Look at how many personal connection I have with just these 7 verses.

As a Pastor, I am now in a position where I have to be untrusted and qualified to teach others - therefore I need to be strong in Christ. I have spent time in the military - therefore I understand how a soldier needs to stay out of trouble in the civilian world. I have spent time training as an athlete - therefore I understand playing by the rules. I grew up on a 300+ acre dairy farm before leaving home when I graduated High School- therefore I understand what it means to be a hardworking farmer. I am now learning what it means to reflect on all of this... and I am praying for God's insight.

Sometimes God chooses to hit us square betwen the eyes. Thank you Rob - it was exactly what I needed.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. - Ps 23:4

I really don't know that I have ever experienced a true walk in the valley of the shadow of death. I mean, what do we in the United States really have to complain about? Ok, I have known some people in real trials, and in real need - but I haven't really been there myself.

But I do go through some quiet times between God and I. I'm not sure if he is quiet or if I have gotten to loud to hear His still small voice. I know Christians aren't willing to admit this - but I am struggling with my Bible reading this week. I can't find any motivation to do it. Words seem to run together with dullness. Now I know that this is not the case. The Bible is alive and powerful. In fact, I just taught a lesson last night to RidgeStudents about becoming dangerous Christians. But today I don't feel very dangerous. I don't feel like the word is for me.

And it is all very strange because our Worship Service was fantastic yesterday. Our StudentMinistry beautifully embraced our much-loved exchange student Fredrik last night before he returns home to Denmark. Why don't I feel energized? Why don't I feel excitement? Have I become appathetic? Is God going to speak to me through a different medium?

What do I do while I'm in one of "those" times?

I have had to put together our film footage for the One Prayer series continuing this Sunday. This is a really cool project launched by lifechurch.tv to help unite the Church as a whole. To my knowkedge, there are now close to 1500 churches who will be involved over the next four weeks in the one prayer effort. Great communicators from all over the country have submitted video versions of sermons, giving what they see as the one prayer for the Church, which any church can download and use for their worship time that weekend.

Sounds cool right? It is! For example, we will be using videos from Craig Groeschel, Perry Noble, and Ed Young Jr. All fantastic communicators.

Because this is open and free to any church however, there are some yee haws out there who have also submitted videos for everyone out there to use. Come on, who are we kidding? You really think that you got something to say more worthwhile then the big dogs? Will even 1 church download your sermon?

Ok, now for the mirror check.

Why do we... ok why do I feel the need to compete in church work?
Why do smaller churches like ours exist?
Do I have to put out a CD to be a good Worship Leader?
Why should people with blogs that have hundreds of readers rather than thousands continue to post?
By what ruler have we... have I begun to measure the effectiveness of my own ministry?

Be a person who shows up.

I haven't always come up big, but I have learned it is in my best interest to show up. Many times this means coming up big. Other times it means coming up short. But first you have to show up.

My sister was in town this weekend, and we had some great conversations. One conversation catalyst she brought up was a message by Paul Washer. His full sermon can be found on Utube, but this video gives most of the highlights from the sermon.


RSS readers watch the video here

Has he gone too far?
Is this the message I need to be speaking?
What is the status of the Church as a whole?
Are really concerned that the end is near?

I had family in town over the weekend, and it was so good to see them. Really, they don't come to see us anymore but for our two little girls. I suppose I should feel bad about that, but I don't because it means Erin and I can go do something without having to pay for a babysitter.

Last night we got talking about church, which is normal for my family. We complain a lot about this and that, and then we tried to tell each other why church is so important. It is days like this that I find myself defined by hypocrisy.

Here is all I was able to come up with after our conversation. If all we do at church is complain about each other, why bother going at all? What is the benefit of going to church, if the people there are less loving than the people in your subdivision?

What do we do when our people (Christians) are burned out on our people? (Christians) Where did Jesus go when he was burned out on "church?"

I had a fantastic time at the Unleash Conference at Newspring Church. I intend to leave a few posts about the conference over the next few days, but I have to let you know, my mind does funny things at conferences. Here is just a little example from yesterday.

I went to a breakout session for student pastors, where we were talking about getting involved in the local school districts, and setting up a great small group structure for students. Then there was a question ans answer time after that. Do you know what question I had to force myself to keep from asking? "What do you use to hang the skirt around the front of the stage, snaps or velcro strips?"

I was completely engaged with the conversation, but for some reason my mind can get so bogged down in the details, I forget about dealing with the big issues, situations, and above all vision... Are all of you going to let me take this alone?

Look for more on Unleash over the next few days.

Hey worship leaders, have you ever been off? I mean had an off day like you never believe? That is the kind of day I had on Sunday. I have a bad temper. Did you know that? If not, you probably have not been able to get to know me outside of church, or college. My praise team knows it though. I got worked up this Sunday about some of the dumbest things, and then when I had gotten myself back under control, I broke the strings on my guitar 2 minutes before the service. My mind went haywire! I switched instruments over, and played the keys instead of the guitar, but by this time I had lost complete focus on what we were here to do: worship. I apologize to any of you who were there this week, because my heart was not in the right place. I was focused to much on me, and not enough on Him. From listening to the service recordings, musically we were reasonable (considering all the last minute changes) but emotionally we were out to lunch as a band. We were not engaged in the music/worship at all. This falls solely on me as the leader. I have heard of guys who admit that they have “gone through the motions” for months at a time, but man that must be a terrible way to make a living. I say make a living, because that is all you are doing if you were in the place I was on Sunday, because my heart was not in it, and I tell you it was a very lonely place to be. You see, I had gotten all hyped up about our set list, which I post in just a moment – because I really love these songs. However, my attention was placed entirely on how I was going to do this, or play that, or make people laugh here. I had basically told God – OK I got this one – and he let me have it all alone. I have never felt so alone in the middle of chaos. Sure, I have felt alone before – but this was different, almost eerie. Seconds ticked by slowly, while all I wanted them to do is fly by. In the midst of screaming guitars, loud in ear monitor mixes, and my poor vocals - all seemed quiet - I was all alone.

Here is what I had to live out in front of our church Sunday.
Prov 16:19 Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall.

I don't know how many of you have really looked into what Hillsong does in Australia, but it is really amazing. Today I helped my wife Erin upload a Hillsong Kids DVD into media shout for our kids program entitled The Summit. It is really awesome stuff! I mean, they do everything top notch. I'm not sure how many people realize that Hillsong now offers college clsses, and the opportunity to study abroad. It is just unreal!

So what is the draw, why are they able to do so many things so well? First of all, I think they have aimed for excellence in everything they do. They don't put out anything that is sub-par from what they hold as a standard. Also, they have not done too much too soon. In the past year, a number of CD's and DVD's have been released. But they didn't do all of that for a long time. The church has been around for like 20 years. I can fall into the trap of over-committing myself in expectations todayof what someone else did in 20 years. I need to learn from these guys.

I went to the Blue Ridge Jamboree last weekend and had a great time watching a number of different football teams play their first games of the season. Football is such a great spectator sport. The bleachers buzz with enthusiasm while parents, friends, and family all come together once again after a long year apart to start the season. Even the least of football fanatics can sense the excitement in the air when the first kickoff sails into the air. What a great game!

Let us talk a moment about our church community. For some people, their home church can be like their home team. This can be a great thing for any church to embrace. What do you notice first when you walk into a football stadium, even in the parking lot? Team colors! They are everywhere. There is no guesswork as to which set of bleachers is home and which is away. There is no doubt as to whether there is a game that Friday night, the lights are on, the parking lot is packed, and people are everywhere. Ridgeview should be the same way. When someone comes in the doors, it should be very obvious that this is not a PTA meeting, but a worship service. Our team “colors” (church logos, signs, info tables, and greeters) should be easily recognizable and discernable. Perhaps the most important thing to bring over from the game is that excitement and enthusiasm that comes out under the Friday night lights. Sunday mornings should also be warm and inviting, just like the fans that welcome one another back each week, wave to each other’s kids, and catch up on old times.

But there are negative things to be learned from a football game as well. This past week I sat with someone who unashamedly only roots for one team. According to this individual that “other” team always plays dirty, talks trash, gets the breaks from the referees, and has more money to spend on their budget. Churches do the same thing. If you have been around church people for a while, you know that there are rivalries there as well. That “other” church always talks like they are the only ones doing anything right, they waste their money on expensive furniture, paid musicians, and their Pastor has a pool at his house he didn’t pay for. Maybe they use fog machines, or maybe their pastor wears a robe and serves real wine for communion. The point is this: while rivalries between football teams are healthy, rivalries between churches are not.

It was said about Ridgeview “Those people do things differently over there.” This statement may certainly be true, but it was not intended to be a comment of constructive criticism. It was meant to be hurtful. Romans 15:5 says to “Live in complete harmony with each other - each with the attitude of Christ toward each other.” Enjoy the upcoming football season – cheer, stomp, spit, and growl if you want to. However, when you come to church each week, or when you talk to someone from a different church community, just be a fan that has a healthy amount of green and white Ridgeview spirit!

Walking through NYC over the last week I noticed something that may seem superficial, but it has humbled me. There are thousands of people there, in front, behind, and all around you. I came to the realization no one is impressed with how “cool” your clothes are. In the ultimate melting pot, there was such a variety of styles and cultures that the attention was pulled away from it all together. My tendency is to believe that everyone is watching, and concerned with, my every move. What I wear, what I say, and who I talk to. No one is impressed. I have carried these insecurities over into how I present to gospel. I get the idea that the unbeliever will be impressed with my “slick” presentation. They never even noticed. When someone responds to Christ it is him that they are pursuing not me. God has taught me this: Get the hell out of the way. My actions/motives are more like Satan when I have this attitude than they are like the mind of Christ.

Over the past few weeks, I have learned that I have been slowing God down – now I‘m learning how to watch Him work. They are not impressed by me, and neither is God...