My life didn’t flash before my eyes, I didn’t think of my family or friends. My final thought was, nothing. Maybe it’s because I didn’t have time to react and I was still trying to move my car out of the way. Maybe it’s because my brain was moving 1000 times faster than my body could react, trying to survive. All I remember is seeing his tires, those over-sized tires, turning and sliding to miss me. I remember seeing the big GMC emblem and then turning my head away from the glass at the last second, then, nothing.

I don’t remember being hit, probably because of the force. The guy that towed my car said he had never witnessed anything like it in his 15 years of working accidents. My door panel was fused to the grill of the truck. When I told him I was the one driving he looked at me like I was an alien, I remember that look; he thought I had been killed.

A few seconds after impact I regained consciousness. I remember feeling my ribs move in my chest. It was sickening; I couldn’t get a breath no matter how hard I tried.  I was also praying, I didn’t even know what I was saying at first but as my brain began to boot back up I recognized the words “help me God.” I was repeating this over and over even as I struggled to get air into my lungs. I thought I was going to die right there. This is where I realized my life was over. This is where I began to think of my little girl, my wife and my unborn son. I Struggled with everything in me to get my lungs to work but nothing would happen. Repeating those words “help me God, help me God, help me God” in desperation as my vision began to go dark. I remember trying to figure out what was in my mouth, I thought it was my teeth but it turned out to be glass.  I remember my leg, it was numb, my face was numb and I couldn’t move.

So, there I sat. Covered in blood, no oxygen, gasping for air that wouldn’t come, thinking of my family and watching the spots crawl into my vision, I was slipping, I could feel it. Those words were still being mumbled as I tried to draw a breath, and then something happened. I really can’t explain the feeling but it was if I went from one body to another and I snapped into reality. That sounds crazy, believe me I’ve went over this a million times and that picture is always the same. Breath filled my lungs, I grunted like an animal and then I began to feel everything. As I drew a few more breaths I began to self evaluate everything. I checked my arm, it was bleeding pretty bad, I checked my face and spit out the glass, everything was where it was supposed to be. I wiggled my toes and made sure I could move my arms and head.

I was loopy but I was alive and 3 hours later I walked, ok they pushed me in a wheelchair but I could walk, out of the E.R. No stitches, no breaks, no fractures, no brain damage, just some bruising and superficial cuts. I’m not going to lie and say I wasn’t in pain, because I was in a lot of pain. I had bruising on my ribs and my left tibia was bruised badly (it still hurts), but I was too happy to be alive at that moment to really care about the pain.

I know that there is a scientific explanation to my ordeal. I know that some will say it was adrenaline or the will to live that snapped me back, and there may be some truth to that. But I also know what I felt. I was broken inside and it wasn’t just the wind that had been knocked out of me. I’ve had concussions before and I’ve had the wind knocked out of me, this was much more serious, things weren’t in the right place. I know what I felt in that moment the breath came back into me. I remember that feeling of praying as I regained consciousness and the feeling of my body coming back awake. I don’t know if I was healed in that moment, or if God just shielded me, I don’t have proof of what happened in the car but I believe with everything in me that it was supernatural. I’m not the kind of guy to go all “spiritual,” I’m actually over-reserved when it comes to miracles and supernatural things. But God saved my life that I’m sure of. He heard my prayer of desperation, a moment of raw, emotional desperation, and He rescued me.

I don’t know why I’m sharing this. Some of these things I’ve kept to myself. Mainly out of fear of what people may say. Maybe it just took me some time to cope with the whole thing myself, I’ve tried to reason it out, believe me. Maybe this is therapy; I still have nightmares about the accident. Whatever it is, I want people to know that God is still in the business of working miracles. I’m walking proof of that.

I’m not sure if this is a good thing or a bad thing. I for one don’t really care for “religion.” Dogma and legalism are killers in the church,  no doubt about it. Either way this study is interesting to say the least.

That’s just not reality. I have learned that it’s not by my skill, talent or charming personality that God will work or grow a church. The cool thing is that it’s not my LACK of skill, talent or charming personality that hinders what God can do. I’ve watched this Church grow; I’ve watched other church planters do amazing things. They have style, great teaching ability and awesome stories. I look at all of these things then I look at myself and wonder “How am I supposed to do that?”

It’s hard to see myself in that role just a few years from now. It’s nearly impossible for me to imagine having a successful ministry, and I have really beaten myself up about it. However, God has started to show me things; just little things that have made me stop and say….oops.

As God has moved in our church I have realized that it’s not my church plant, it’s not our church plant, it’s HIS church plant. God will grow and move whether or not we have fancy lighting or sound equipment. Sure, we do what we have to do in order to be prepared, because we want everything to be done in excellence. But that shouldn’t be a barometer for a successful church or ministry. God see’s our hearts, He moves in those moments where His people genuinely go after him.

I’ve been forced to look at myself the way God looks at His church. I’m not perfect, far from it. I have flaws and issues. I’m bad at math and sometimes I get a little road rage, but that won’t stop God from using me as long as I stay open and willing to do His work. As long as I get out of the way and let God be who He is. God used Jeremiah, and Jeremiah was pretty scared. In fact, Jeremiah pretty much told God that he wasn’t good enough or smart enough. We can see how God used him. All we have to do is put ourselves forward, step up to the plate and let God blow it up.

I am sitting here trying to think of something intelligent to write, and the only thing I can think of is how God wrecked my face this morning. You won’t be able to appreciate the face wreckage without a little bit of back story, so here is the short version. I have been a mess lately; I work ten-hour days with a four-hour commute, I go to school full time, and attempt to be some sort of father/husband. All of this while trying to pull together some semblance of a Worship Team out of thin air.

I have gone through two drummers, a few singers and a clarinet player. Honestly, I was about ready to throw up my hands and just lead worship from some old Oakridge Boys tracks…not really, but you get my point.

I was so worked up about first impressions and creating a mega worship band, that I totally missed the mark. God reminded me of David during his “sheep management” days. I began to think about how David worshiped and what it must have looked like. On the outside, it probably just looked like an ordinary Sheppard boy playing a banged up harp to some smelly sheep. In reality, David had connected with God.  David had God’s attention and God’s heart. I’m not going to lie, this is where my face meltage began.

I realized then, that the impression I want to leave with people is not a 10-piece band with an accompanying orchestra (although that would flippin rock). I want to help create a David moment for everyone who enters the Church.

So yes, for the moment we may not have much but that won’t stop us from seeking God’s heart and grasping for God’s attention. I can’t think of a better first impression than that…

Sometimes in Church and in life, we make it a lot harder on ourselves than is really necessary. We come up with rules and regulations, trendy messages and organizational systems, and those are great, but sometimes we should just be still. I don’t believe that God ever intended for us to make his message over complicated. We like to do that, it’s as if the Church has gotten a case of ADHD! All I’m saying is that we shouldn’t over do it. I believe that people are looking for a simple relationship with God. Our lives are maxed out already, we work longer and more stressful jobs, the economy is fragile, money is tight and society is changing.

Don’t get me wrong, I love using technology and organized messages to reach people. I’m talking about all of the other stuff that as the Church, and as Christians, we try to pile on our plates. So my idea is just this, a simple relationship with Christ. We love like Jesus loves, teach like Jesus taught and live our lives to the best of our abilities as Christians. That’s the idea behind 8-bit Christianity. Having a simple relationship with Christ, the way He intended it to be.

Click the picture for a link to the original post.

Does wearing a comb over make you holy? Does preaching in a suit make you wise? Did Jesus carry the KJV of the Bible? Does a church have to sport a cross to be a “real place of worship?” Must your church have pews and must the carpet be red, purple or blue? How many times do you have to say “Glory to God,” before God shows up? Do you have to present your sermon at a specific decibel level to be considered “preaching?” Are teachers considered not as powerful as preachers? If you only have church on Sunday morning are you rebellious? Do my jeans make me look fat? Is the music too loud? Are guitar players evil? Do the drums need to be electronic so we can control the volume? Do tattoos diminish the value of your body? Or do they add to its glory? What does God really think?

Check out this album. He has some samples you can take a listen at, my favorite is “The Legend of Noel.”

Check it out:

http://www.doctoroctoroc.com/8BitJesus/