In the Eddy

I’ve been a lead pastor for nearly five years.

In that time I have easily learned more than in the combined previous seventeen years of ministry. My list of teachers and mentors over the course of those years would be the source of envy in many fellow ministers. However, not one of those brilliant men and women can teach like the grandmaster…experience.

It’s also important to state that the challenges I have faced would be a welcomed change for many in my vocation. That truth is not lost on me.

Over these fifty-nine months of learning, there is one lesson of which I feel I’ve gained absolutely no grasp. You see, soon after I experience what for the sake of this conversation we’ll call a success, am I confronted with a litany of details, interactions, and tasks that steal my attention; and with it, my disposition.

I have found that with the longevity in ministry I am aspiring to achieve, brings with it a host of sorrow and confusion. Yes, I have much to celebrate. God has done and is doing a remarkable work in and through the life of our church, but my flesh seems to be distracted by the desire of an event that has never been promised…arrival.

The journey of ministry seems to be just that, a journey. Just below the waterline lurks an expectation that if we work hard enough, care for people well enough, pray enough, preach faithfully, that at some point we will find the end of the river. Each time I think I’m nearly at that much desired destination, I find not the shoreline, but an eddy allowing me a moment to catch my breathe before the current once again carries me away to navigate the rocks and rapids lined up in my path.

My goal in sharing these thoughts are not to vent my frustrations, or seek your compassionate encouragement. I’m simply working through them. As I write I sense the Holy Spirit comforting me and challenging me to lift my head. I am reminded of the Apostle Peter’s words to “cast all my anxieties on Him because He cares for (me).”

If I allow these thoughts to remain in my heart and mind they gain a false strength. So here tonight I’m reminding my enemy and myself of the power of my God. I’m remembering that I’m the blessed man who travels this river without fear. My guide not only knows what lies ahead, He’s the one who gave shape the waters.

I know there are far more difficult days ahead. I also know that I have not yet become all that I was created to be. So like Paul in the face of the unknown, I too “forgetting what lies behind and strain toward what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.“

10 Years Later

I joined Facebook in July of 2007. My first post proved to be most appropriate for this blog post. Over the last year I’ve been bothered and burdened about my role in the epidemic known as social media.

To start, I feel as though I have contributed to the negative impact it has had on my life along with the many people called “Facebook Friends.” I take responsibility for venting frustrations, using humor at the expense of others, and caring far too much about what reaction or response my posts would receive.

In a more positive light, Facebook has connected me with family, friends, coworkers, and former students in a way that would have been impossible without this platform. I’ve enjoyed sharing the beauty of my growing family and seeing the same in the lives of others.

However, Facebook is not what it once was. Today Facebook has become a soap-box for every would-be politician, a dumping ground for any angry or disgruntled person, and a breeding ground for division. My reason for stepping away has less to do with all of that and more to do with how I have allowed Facebook to impact me.

Ten years later I am not better for being a Facebook user. I sense that my use of Facebook has, at minimum, slowed my maturity and growth as a person much less a follower of Jesus. I’m disappointed in myself for allowing something so unimportant and temporary to have such a hold on my devotion to Christ and service to His people.

In light of this realization, I’m stepping away. At this point I’m not sure if this will be a permanent result or just a season. I’m hopeful to never return to Facebook again as I highly doubt the deterioration of social media will right itself.

To my family and friends, I will continue to use Instagram and Twitter for now. I share this decision in hopes that you too will consider Facebook’s effect on your growth as a person or Christ-follower.

This is not an effort to lift myself up. Honestly, this post is more of a confession and a step in repentance.

May God be glorified in all we say, do, and post.

 

Hello Again

It’s been nearly a year and a half since I’ve blogged.

A lot has changed since then.

As a family, we’re a full-fledged family of six. Gone are the days of kids taking care of themselves; or putting stuff wherever we want without thought. Declan, our youngest son, is fast, tall, and fearless. It’s fun but exhausting.

Our wonderful little church plant is an established community of faith with far more details and needs than I can handle on my own.

I am the father of a teenager. There aren’t enough words to accurately explain how much this has changed my world. She’s great, but she’s thirteen.

Possibly the biggest change is that I’ve found myself more needy than ever before.

I’m having to reorganize the way I approach almost every area of my life.

With a big and busy family, Anita and I are recognizing a need for dedicated couple time. Which tends to be in short supply.

Parenting young children is easy. Physically exhausting, yes. But easy. This new season with older daughters is a humbling, character testing, and mentally draining experience. Nothing will remind you of how unworthy you are of God’s love like parenting.

These days I’m even having to learn a new approach to ministry. For years I was the passionately outspoken young man swimming upstream or charging up the hill. Now that Grace Collective is a stable young church, she requires more than just a wild-eyed dreaming leader. I’m learning a lot about leadership and myself.

The area that is probably most difficult is friendship. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve got some incredible people around me. However, leadership is lonely. No other staff position I’ve ever held comes close to the around-the-clock feeling of concern for the people of a church. As much as our staff, elders, or volunteers may care, there is no way to understand the burden of a pastor until you serve in this role.

To complicate matters, I naturally want all my friends to come to church with me. But as soon as they start attending GCC, I become more than just a friend; I’m their pastor. This brings a layer of separation relationally that is unavoidable.

I’m not complaining. There’s nothing I would rather do; absolutely nothing. This is simply the reality of my life these days. My hope is that perhaps some other pastor reads this and realizes that he’s not the only one.

So here’s hoping I’ll start writing more. Perhaps it will serve as an outlet I’ve neglected for far too long.

Orange Tour 2015 Session 1

Reggie Joiner:

Orange Leader – anyone who influences anyone to influence the next generation.

It’s just a phase, so don’t miss it.

Phase: a timeframe in a kid’s life when you can leverage distinctive opportunities to influence their future.

Most of us work with the parenting tools that our parents left for us, even though those tools didn’t work on us.

Reasons we miss the phases

• We don’t see what we don’t see. (Invisible questions)
• We don’t remember what we don’t remember.

Every phase has a very unique crisis. (My response matters)

• Preschool – Birth: Am I safe?
• Elementary – Comparison: Do I have what it takes?
• Middle School – Puberty: Who do I like? (whoever like me)
• High School – Freedom: Why should I believe (you)?

Every kid is made in the image of God.

•     Every kid has a divine capacity to
  • reason, improve, and lead
  • to care, relate, and trust
  • to believe, to imagine…even to love
• “I want you to treat kids like you would treat me.” – Jesus
• Don’t expect kids to follow Jesus until you treat them like they are made in the image of God.

One Word Job Descriptions:

Preschool – Embrace

Elementary – Engage

Middle School – Affirm (The most important thing you can do in the unpredictable world of a middle schooler is be predictable.)

High School – Mobilize

Jon Acuff:

“I direct deposit my tithe” t-shirt.

90% of Americans are disengaged at work – Gallup

When you work with kids you change the future.

The 1 foot of space where parents drop off their kids is a magical space. This is where influence lives.

Parents today are the first generation in history to have to teach their children about having a social media footprint.

In Need of Instructions

This has been a May to remember for me.

If you know my history over the last seven years or so, May hasn’t been all rainbows and sunshine. For whatever reason, difficult circumstances have either preceded or were soon to follow my birthday. Our friends and family have worked hard to care for us and bring joy in spite of the challenges we were facing.

I’m incredibly thankful for them.

2015 has already brought a new melody to our lives. God’s faithfulness has not changed. While new faces haves have joined the cast, our friend’s care and compassion has not changed. But there is without question a new atmosphere surrounding us.

Never has that been more evident than over the last two weeks.

My sweet wife and our wonderful small group surprised me with a dinner gathering for my birthday. On top of that, they all went in to get me a guitar as a present.

Two short weeks later, Anita and I walked up to the home of Brian and Stacie Martin like we normally do for Small Group each Tuesday night. We were shocked to see not only our Small Group, but ladies from GCC and our neighborhood. They had coordinated a surprise baby shower.

Here’s my problem. I’ve almost forgotten how to handle this kind of love and blessing. I feel as though I’m in need of instructions. I’ve found myself sitting and thinking about the people with whom God has surrounded us; staring at the generous gifts they have lavished upon us and felt almost embarrassed to be thought of in such a loving way.

I’m Irish. I’ve learned how to navigate the melancholy, grey skies of challenge and hurt. I’ve even learned to celebrate the glimpses of sunlight that occasionally burst through the overcast season of difficulty. But what does one do with a sunny, cool-breeze forecast of seventy-eight degrees?

I guess what I’m trying to say is, “Thank you.”

Thank you to our faithful Father in Heaven.

Thank you to my constantly supportive wife.

Thank you to our families and their never-ending well of love.

Thank you to our distant and local friends who have continued to place value on our relationship.

Thank you to our unpredictable, hilarious and loving small group.

Thank you to our amazing, compassion-filled, supportive, and generous church family.

I am a rich man because of all of you.

A Special Easter

This morning Grace Collective Church celebrated Easter as a church for the first time.

I’ve never preached on Easter Sunday, much less been a Lead Pastor.

After deciding to have a single service (our rented facility is getting pretty full each week) we had a worship time for our volunteers. These men and women chose to serve and miss out on their own Easter Sunday service.

GCC is almost eight months old and we had more volunteers at that worship time than we had in our first Sunday service as a church last August. I think this could be a wonderful tradition for the future of GCC (along with the Jingling Johnny).

To say I was nervous would be an understatement. What surprised me though was the emotion I found myself caught up in as I took my place to preach.  All morning there was a buzz of activity, but as the music stopped and the videos finished I was overcome with a swell of gratitude and awe.

To watch the sermon, click here.

To the Core Team that have been our local family walking this path with us over the last ten months: thank you just isn’t enough. I am indebted to each of you for your support, encouragement, and partnership in the Gospel.

To the Grace Collective Church family, all of you who have been a part of this for eight months or two weeks: I am humbled by your willingness to build this church with us. Thank you for allowing me to serve you.

To our family and friends across the state and country: your prayers, encouragement, financial and emotional support is invaluable. We are so thankful for all of you.

Jesus, for my life, family, breath, friends, church, community…thank you. I love you. Thank you for choosing me for this journey.

Irish Memories

To know me is to know my love of my family heritage.

I’m a proud distant son of Ireland which makes today one of my favorite days of the year.

I’ve written many times about St. Patrick’s Day.

We even announced a pregnancy on this day back in 2009.

In 2007 I shared quite a lot about the true meaning behind this wonderful holiday.

If you’d like to take a stroll down McCart St. Patrick’s Day memory lane, click the links below.

2007 (a), 2007 (b), 2008, 2009 (a), 2009 (b), 2010, 2011

For the rest of you, enjoy the most stereotypical Irish picture ever taken of me.

Then Last Night Happened

It started a few weeks ago.

I remember waking up and feeling like it was a significant moment.

I started dreaming about Grace Collective Church.

This was different. My dreams weren’t about something far off in the distance that we hoped to be a part of one day. These dreams were the here and now, ins and outs, people with names and stories happening today.

Then last night happened.

GCC is almost seven months old and in that time we’ve experienced growth. What’s possibly more surprising and far more important is that our GCC Small Group has also experienced growth. As a matter of fact, last night’s “small group” had a higher number of people in attendance than the first Sunday morning gathering of our church.

Sure that’s measurable and significant, but it’s not even close to something else that happened.

Near the end of our spirited discussion on guardrails someone took a moment to share his experience in our group.

“I’ve been in church all my life and I’ve never experienced something so authentic, open and caring.”

Someone who wasn’t there last summer when we were dreaming about what Grace Collective Church would be like had just communicated some of the very things for which we prayed. I’m quite sure you could see my goofy ear-to-ear grin through my thick beard.

I know difficult days are ahead, but these are precious days in the life of our church. I’m so thankful to have a front row seat to the amazing things God is doing in the lives of people at GCC. If it all ended today I would feel like we’ve been faithful to the vision God has given us.

But it’s not ending today. There is much more to accomplish. Men who need to be led; marriages in need of strengthening; singles to be empowered and encouraged; families to be equipped.

We say that GCC exists to guide people in relationship with Jesus and each other. That’s exactly what we’re doing and what we’ll continue to do until our final breath.

My Friend

I’m a guy. I’m a southern, american guy to be specific.

The demographic to which I belong isn’t known to be the most contemplative, thoughtful, or expressive group on planet Earth.

However, last Friday I was struck with a realization of sorts that resulted in a great deal of appreciation for a specific person God placed in my life.

Almost nineteen years ago I went to Charleston Southern University and met a guy named Phud. Yep, you read that correctly. Phud. His real name is John Chambers, but to many of us he will always be Phud. (It’s a nickname from a camp he worked at for several summers)

Over the next four years Phud and I became friends and eventually shared a dorm suite. We spent a lot of time together. I borrowed his truck for dates, we played a lot of volleyball, learned to play guitar, spent way too much time watching Seinfeld and playing Mario Kart. We even started a band.

Eventually we started doing ministry together. A ski trip here, a youth group event there. We became Student Pastors at separate churches but continued to work together whenever possible. He was there when I received the news that one of my students had died. It was a defining moment for me in ministry.

We were at each other’s weddings; we became parents around the same time; and to make things even more strange, we unknowingly bought the exact same living room furniture.

Phud and I are now both pastors of our own respective church plants in Rock Hill, South Carolina. He planted Remedy Church in 2009, and I planted Grace Collective Church in 2014. He has been an invaluable resource in my process. Encouraging, challenging, compassionate, humorous, and wise.

Back to last Friday.

Phud asked me if I could help him with something. Reluctantly he explained that he needed me to sing at a funeral. Not the most enjoyable favor he could have asked of me. I agreed. It was the least I could do for my friend.

Turns out this was the first funeral Phud had ever served as pastor. How fitting that we found ourselves serving together again at this milestone of sorts. I was sitting beside the platform listening to Phud preach a message of hope and salvation to a group of people mourning the loss of a loved one.

I was proud of my friend.

I’m proud to be his friend.

And I’m thankful that God saw fit to bless me with the enormous gift of a friendship that has stood the test of time.

2014: The Very Bad & Very Good

This year started off tough.

Really tough.

They say things come in threes and 2014 had one more gut punch in store for the McCart family before she sashayed her way off the stage.

First act, a miscarriage. We don’t talk a lot about this. They are more common than anyone realizes, but it doesn’t make the loss any easier. We grieve, trust God and carry on. We’ll meet you one day little one. We love you.

Second act, job loss. Well, to put it plainly…I was fired. There wasn’t any major issue. I just didn’t work in the system anymore. It was great for a while, but the organization changed and there wasn’t a seat on the bus for me.

With that difficult circumstance God’s sovereign plan became clear. We planted Grace Collective Church and it has been a wonderfully exciting experience. He has surrounded us with the most amazing people.

Sadly, the third of the three acts came today. Our eleven year old beagle Baleigh died today. She was a great dog. The sweetest, quietest beagle I’ve ever heard of. Goodbye old girl.

Bring on the new year.