evidence of the gospel from within

Like Jesus

2010-09-13T08:04:00.000-07:00

I am preparing my message for Wednesday night, for the middle schoolers. We have been in a series called the "7 channels of student culture". We have talked about the responsibility we have as Christians to create and redeem student culture through these 7 channels. After talking about this for a few weeks, we will close the series talking about what a changing culture looks like. In reality, it looks like God. Through us, we take what is broken and restore it. So the question that I want to leave with the students this Wednesday is this, "Do I look like Jesus", and in context of their channel, "Do we look like Jesus"?

Last week they wrote their stories on a sheet of paper, their experiences, the events that have been a factor for setting the course of their life at this point. After reading through their stories and thinking about this question of "Do I look like Jesus", I stop. Why? Because I think about the "stuff" that they are currently going through, and I think, "is looking like Jesus remotely close to being on their radar"? I can only imagine the anxiety they feel as the school day comes closer to ending and some of these kids have to go back home to the blow-to-blow interactions with their families. When they go to bed at night, I have to wonder if looking like Jesus is the last thing on their mind. I would say that with many, it is an easy no! Getting their homework done for some of these kids is a victory.

But I have to believe with my heart, that somewhere in the chaos of their life, that looking like Jesus can bring about a sense of peace and hope, that it can construct a foundation, it can give them substance to keep them moving. I have to believe that for an American Teenager, to want to look like Jesus, even while they are being sexually abused by their father, that looking like Jesus, they can overcome. I have to believe that it is in looking like Jesus, that they come to know their identify, they find love, peace, and a strength to endure the unique day, a love, peace, and strength for a unique day that I will never know anything about, when it comes to understanding. Jesus is that powerful, that transcendent.

And so when I think that looking like Jesus may be the last thing on their mind, I want to believe that is the very thing that must be on their minds. How much closer can you get to Jesus, than living a life that looks like his.

a need to share

2010-06-19T10:33:00.000-07:00

I am not sure that anyone will read this as I have not posted in so long, I just have to express.

I must say that there is been building a new kind of orphanage in our culture, although the parents are physically in the home, they are neither present, nor intimately involved in the life of their child.

Also, baseball being every night of the week. There is a brokenness when baseball practice becomes a substitute for church community. I am having hard time understanding the need for a kid to "HAVE TO BE" at practice every night of the week. I have heard the excuse, "I have to be there or I can't play", to which I say, "ok". Would the player who would challenge the process please stand up. When will the fellowship of believers and the body of Christ no longer be second to baseball practice.

So backwards.

2009-09-09T11:02:00.001-07:00

I talked to a student today who said he wanted to come to church, but he had baseball tonight and every Wednesday. He said he had it on Sunday to, every Sunday. I asked him when it ends, he said November, I ask him when it started again, he said January. Man, when does God become worth sacrificing for?

44 million people

2009-09-08T07:02:00.000-07:00

I have been thinking a lot about this. Over the last month or so, I have heard so much about the Healthcare Reform. I grew up Republican, a party in which I don't care to be identified with much anymore. I don't believe Jesus would have either, in fact, I believe he would have had cool names for them, like brood of vipers, and not just for them, but both sides. But here is my thinking. I keep hearing how this 44 million will receive healthcare that don't have it already and I can't seem to come up with a good reason why Obama's idea is such a bad idea. I hear the deal with government control and I understand that, but it's the 44 million that I cannot shake. These 44 million are people who are poor, unstable, and jobless. It is not for me to judge why, neither is it for you. All I know is that scripture spoke intimately about the poor over 2000 times. As a follower of Jesus, I don't see how I can be against this. If this reform brings 44 million people healthcare, then I have to be for it. If it doesn't pass, then does that mean 44 million people still have no healthcare? I just can't see how that makes sense to be against. I wonder if we are to consumed with thinking about ourselves, leaving God little room to care for us. Maybe that is the healthcare you need.

Prov. 14:31 Anyone who oppresses the poor is insulting God who made them. To help the poor is to honor God

Prosperity Gospel...it is not the gospel

2009-09-07T14:08:00.001-07:00

Axiom...A Year Old

2009-08-10T05:49:00.000-07:00

Last year at about this time we started Axiom, the student ministry of New Community. We started with 4 high school students and 2 middle schoolers. Our high school met in the living room of Bob and Margaret McNaughten. It was a simple bible study with food and games.

It was a risk, and what some would call stupid because critical mass is important, but we kept high school and middle school separate. We felt like that was important, they needed their space and an environment created specifically for them.

The entire year we spent time connecting with each student that walked through our doors, not only on campus, but even more in their social networks, myspace, facebook. There where countless hours spent on campus, at events, athletic and fine arts. We served, we loved in the last year. We took time learning the stories of these students. We studied their culture through their stories and by what we saw with our own eyes.

Over the last year we worked very hard, not as a ministry looking from the sidelines coaching, but as a movement who would get messy in the game, who would win with the team and lose together.

In the last year we started Serve, leading students to becoming Jesus here, in their home, their campus, and in this community. Students logged THOUSANDS of hours serving, leading small groups, planning, and being a part of what we call Axiom. Students began living out a love that is not selective.

This past year over 30 students began discipleship in Axiom D. Twice a month students are being invested in by a mentor, father or mother figure, maybe even what a student sees as a big brother or sister. Life change is happening and students ARE moving toward God.

Axiom has seen over 20 students come to know Jesus and clothe themselves in Christ through baptism. That is Massive within itself. Over the last year, students took part in over 20 to 30 trips locally and across state lines. Many, MANY decisions have been made.

So with only scratching the surface of the last year, a movement has begun. A year ago we started with 6, and this week Axiom will lead 100 to 120 students in sweet harmony. What began as something that was manageable with a few, has now turned into something bigger than anybody that makes up Axiom. We have only just begun. This year, WE WILL see new faces every week. We will alone serve thousands of hours. Students will lead in creating and redeeming culture. Our trips will not only cross state lines, but we will go global. A movement that started in a living room in Hoschton, Georgia will soon influence hundreds, thousands of lives here and in Jackson County and abroad. Welcome to Axiom, welcome to this revolution!

To the team: God, Jesus Christ, The Holy Spirit, Beth and Ron Hubers, Kelly and Gregg Therieau, Jeremiah and Tracy Eye, Jenna Monforte, Heather and Mike Swint, Becky and Kevin Flannery, Dave and Tiffani Scheel, Lynn Mulvey, Bert Blackburn, Greg Troxell, and those to come, THANK YOU. WE are who WE are because of you!

Atlanta Union Mission

2009-06-29T07:38:00.000-07:00

I am in Athens again this morning. I purchased some vintage couches at the Potters House here in Athens for my office. I had a full morning of meetings that got cancelled, so I came up early just to get a fill of the culture in Athens before I pick up my newfound treasure. I am listening to a little Macy Gray.

The Potters House Thrift Store is a pretty cool concept. It fits under the umbrella of the Atlanta Union Mission. Atlanta Union Mission is a ministry that brings Christ’s healing Power to any person in crisis through programs of rescue and recovery. In 1938, they established it to help with victims displaced by the Great Depression. It now reaches out to over 1,144 displaced men, women, and children in Atlanta. They serve over 2,400 meals daily adding up to 888,664 a year.

The Thrift Ministry provides job training to men in recovery at Atlanta Union Mission’s North Georgia campus, and it also gives merchandise to needy families in the community. It's a pretty sweet deal.

Church was amazing yesterday. I had a girl come up afterward and said that she wanted to be baptized as well. I know this Sunday we have 2 more who are making their mark. I hope and pray that we are not just burying people in water, but that these are becoming children of God, moving closer toward Him, becoming more like Him.

What you know about this?!?!

2009-06-28T12:35:00.000-07:00

Christian
The Fam
Jonpaul
Today Jonpaul Bruner and Christian Interholzinger got baptized. It was sweet. All of our students came up to participate in their baptisms. It was a family affair, something I learned from a dear friend of mine, J.P Robinson. Today was AWESOME!!! I was getting chills as students were coming from everywhere in the crowd jockeying to get to the front to be a part of their baptisms, to put their hand on Jonpaul and Christian. This is serious stuff. It's beautiful. Thank you Jesus, that I get to be a part of something so huge in your courts.

The growing Kingdom

2009-06-27T10:17:00.000-07:00

I was driving to Athens, Jittery Joe's, for some reading and writing, and I passed this eternal event happening. It's hard to tell, I took the pic with my camera phone, but four hispanic girls are getting baptized. The church sits along 441. I drove by, saw what was going on and turned my car around because I wanted see, to experience. What is sweet is that this is new family, these four girls, and although I may never see these people again, here at least, we are family, and when I walked up, I was welcomed into the celebration. It was a taste of Heaven, but it it the body of Christ, living and active.

Just Random

2009-06-25T13:10:00.000-07:00

It has been a really unique week. I was able to hash out the series we are launching into through the fall. I am pretty excited about what Axiom students and the ones coming will hear. I am looking at my brainstorming wall and it is filling up with ideas, thoughts, and such. This kind of stuff excites me. I love "ideating." I think I made that up.

I have had some awesome conversations this week with students and leaders. This fall the life of New Community is going to be sweet harmony. I love conversations about God and what He is doing locally and globally. I long for students to partner with God in these two areas. Already our students are thinking locally and it has been pretty crazy seeing what they are coming up with. Fresh air is coming to this community with new thinking, ideas, new passions and love, all Kingdom minded. I talked with Stephen today, our new staff pastor, about thinking globally more and being sensitive to what that means for us as leaders and a church. I met with Greg Troxell, an expert in leadership, and started a conversation thread about Axiom and the beauty that is evolving with what I believe will become a movement in this community, a movement led by students.

I kinda started twitting today my twitter. It is funny how people I don't know find me, crazy stuff. I love you people! Lead!

It's Crazy!

2009-06-16T13:24:00.000-07:00

Long time, nuf said!

It has been a crazy day. In short, Axiom had 6 students last summer and tomorrow we will take over 50 to Six Flags. 50!!! That is just crazy. It is a beautiful thing what God does, crazy and beautiful.

This past week at Axiom, we talked how God longs to be in relationship with you, how He wants you and I to pursue Him. Jeremiah 29 talks about this all out pursuit when the Lord says "when you seek me, you will find me, and I will be found by you". God wants you to seek Him, and what's crazy is that He makes Himself a whole lot more approachable than we think. I am sure many in the room thought I would launch into this message of having a daily quite time, praying in the morning and night, journaling your prayers, and going to church every time the doors are opened.

No, that's not what happened. Although each of those are deeply important, let me not take away from that, I sought to paint a different way to experience a relationship with God. One that I believe will lead one to the disciplines.

Fellowship! I explained that fellowship alone connects us to God. When God is in the center of our friendships, our gatherings, anywhere people are, God is in that. If you look at the fellowship of Acts 2, they "ate together with glad and sincere hearts", you gotta know God is in that, the fellowship of like believers. People, you experience some deep connection, a relationship with God, sweet fellowship.

Giving yourself away! Jesus is all the time talking about serving, denying yourself, giving yourself away. This past Sunday at New Community, one of our students was handed 50 bucks from the stage and told to do something for the Kingdom, God is giving you this money to manage. Why? Because God is in giving of ourselves. You ever given someone a gift you made, or bought and it was a sacrifice, but you COULD NOT WAIT to give the gift? God is all wrapped up in that. There is something spiritual that happens when we do that. We experience God when the needs of others become important.

Creation! Have you looked in awe and amazement at the sunset, or the fact that a massive tree came from a little seed. How did that happen? God is in the very structure of that. That is God longing to connect with you and me, wanting to be relational. A middle schooler, just yesterday, said, "Keith, I love looking at creation in awe!" People, God wants us to connect with Him and He is making it easy! In Romans 1:20, "For since the creation of the world, God's invisible qualities--His eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so men are without excuse." So get off your lazy butt, go outside and have some real time with our Creator, seriously people!

Lastly, and above all, God made it intimately possible for us to be relational with Him, why, because He first came after us in Jesus. I love just saying his name, Jesus! "But God demonstrated His own love for us in this, while we were still sinners, Christ died for us", Romans 5:8. He wants you so bad that He comes after you and your sin through the man, Jesus. O' how He loves you!

I love you too, but it doesn't compare. I am going running, I am coming after you God!

A 6th graders journey for forgiveness

2009-04-08T06:05:00.000-07:00

I had a message come across my myspace this past Monday, it was from a 6th grader who wanted to meet up, soon, he needed to share something with me. So yesterday, tuesday, we sat down down at waffle house in Jefferson and this kid, I'll call him Ryan, begins to tell me how he and few others ganged up on this other middle schooler cause he had "stolen" Ryan's good friend's girlfriend. They were cussing this middle schooler out, bullying him. Ryan wanted to meet with me OWN HIS OWN INITIATIVE to tell me that he was wrong and that he needed to "get it out of his heart". He said that he had already called the boy he had cussed out and asked for forgiveness, and how that was not the kind of thing Ryan does. He could have left it at the, but Ryan went even further, he told his friends that what they had done was wrong and that they needed to apologize to this middle schooler. Ryan risked loosing his other friends by doing what was right, he risked his own friends laughing at him for wanting to do right. Ryan says "I am now friends with him" and that makes him happy.
This is huge. It's huge because Ryan quickly asked for forgiveness from God and from the middle schooler. He made right what was wrong. He got it off his chest. It's huge because Ryan is free of it. He knew he did wrong, but he followed Jesus, he acted like Jesus. WOW!!! Ryan is a sweet melody of what we are all to sing, the song of forgiveness.
I told Ryan yesterday, God was emotional over you, as a mother who gets emotional with joy over her child, God was emotional over you Ryan.
Man, if we could all get it!

Pretty Sweet

2009-03-12T19:49:00.000-07:00

The mind is an amazing thing when it can produce such a video. I found myself in complete awe at how real some of this looked. The time it took to produce something so creative. IT's WITHin YOU! gO AfTer iT, whateveR iT May BE!

Space Junk

2009-03-10T11:00:00.000-07:00

This is a picture of "space junk ", satellites and debris that are no longer in commission, just constantly circling the earth. From time to time this waste will enter the earth's pull, crashing into earth's surface. Kinda freaky, but interesting. This probably ticks a lot of "Green People" off, which before I offend anyone, green people are good and I would consider myself moving toward being more green, so don't yell at me in the comment part of my blog.

The picture is an artists rendition and is not to scale, but is an accurate picture of the junk in space.

Brother got it goin on!

2009-03-09T12:54:00.000-07:00

This dude is the freakin man. This pic taken by Graham Miller is awesome. Brother looks smooth, hair blowing in the wind, cigarette in hand behind his 1970's dealership. He knows he is "bad to the bone" as he would say. Click on picture to enlarge.

picture taken in Australia in 2006

"Chaos" Battle of the Bands

2009-03-08T11:58:00.000-07:00

Chaos was last night. We had over 120. It was AWESOME! We had three bands, Desdenova, The Advocates, and The Justin Davis Band. The first two where punk rock, the Justin Davis Band was classic rock. All were FREAKIN AWESOME.

It was great beginning to a long line of bands playing here. Our vision at Axiom is to create and redeem student culture. We did that the last two weeks in a row. Jackson County, and for that matter, any place nearby has never had a girls weekend specifically, and as we know of, has never had a punk rock band played in a church here. We have just become the first venue for local up and coming bands.

It was incredible seeing the people that came. It is fuel for me. The were cigarette butts all over our campus, but it didn't matter. People were walking into the doors for the first time in their life. They were experiencing Jesus through our students and that ABOVE ALL is what matters. It was amazing!

Our students showed up to serve. I love Axiom students, they are so unique, so beautiful. They are the church!

Cedric of The Advocates said at the end, "Keith, thank you for what you are allowing us to do here. We support you and what this church is doing. You are creating culture for us." It is sweet what God is doing!

Inside Out

2009-03-08T11:29:00.000-07:00

We just did a pretty unique event for girls in Jackson and surrounding counties called Inside Out. 91 teenage girls showed up to New Community for a weekend specifically designed for them. It was intense, incredible. Miss Teen USA, Haley Kilpatrick of "Girl Talk", along with 20 plus AMAZING VOLUNTEERS, make-up, food donated by Anthony's Pizza in Hoschton, and so many more things filled the weekend for the girls. It is our desire to impart upon every girl that their beauty, their giftedness resonates from the inside out, that they are an expression of God, a masterpiece of His creation.

The food I heard was awesome

Just doin my thing

We had TONS of make up for them

The loved the band from 12Stone

I did not know that was coming

What a weekend they had

2009-03-06T15:40:00.000-08:00

This is the flight pattern captured over a 24 hour period. Notice how over Atlanta, the sequence is like the dove that rested on the shoulders of Jesus after His baptism. I am not saying anything, but maybe I am!

courtesy of Culture Making News

HOLY COW!!!!!!

2009-02-19T08:06:00.000-08:00

I recently heard that what took over 100 years to reach where we were in 1998, has now taken only 10 years to reach where we are in 2008, and that number is only shrinking.

road trip

2009-02-09T09:49:00.000-08:00

I have taken yet another blog vacation and am back. Sometimes it takes an hour just to script these babies out, so with all that has been happening in my world recently, there has not been a lot of time. Right now I am traveling in this sweet little ride called a coach, but this deal is loaded. I am doing my work on this 80 inch screen computer, (little exaggeration), while watching some TV, Obama's speech, (sounds like he is still campaigning and not the President) sippin of my dirty water and loving it. I am on my way back from Destin, but how I got here is crazy.

Last week during our staff meeting, which are always freakin awesome because we talk about amazing stuff, we got a phone call from a friend of mine, Redd. He told me that there was a half-pipe in Destin Florida and it had my name on it. The value of it with materials alone is over 4 grand. The only catch is I had to figure out a way to get it. So I spent the latter half of last week trying to figure that part out. My plans were to drive down with Chris, lead Pastor, drive down in my car, rent a 26 foot U-Haul box truck, and try to wedge this 30+ foot long, by 8 feet wide, and 5 foot high on both sides half pipe. So, I went to meet up with Bob McNaughton, a brilliant man in carpentry, to make sure all my dimensions were right for trying to bring this half-pipe back to Hoschton. All I wanted him to do was tell me if I was on it, or off in my math. So after 2 minutes of overview, my idea wasn't going to cut it, not even close, and the next thing I know, Bob is on the phone with a friend of his and has gotten us an industrial size flatbed trailer and 2 days later, Bob, Chris, Steven Saxton and myself are riding down to Destin in a freakin house on wheels to pick this puppy up. We left last night, parked in a Wal-mart parking lot to sleep, got up at 8am, took apart the ramp, 3 sections, loaded it up, all in 2 hours, and now we are on our way back to Hoschton to drop this beast in our skate park. It's just another way we are creating culture in Jackson County. It's a sweet thing what God is doing!

I'm Keith Trollinger, and I love my life!

Idols

2009-01-19T19:50:00.001-08:00

what idols do you need to bury?

seriously

2009-01-12T18:54:00.001-08:00

Can someone tell me how the heart of a rich kid becomes broken?

to be helpless

2009-01-12T17:38:00.000-08:00

This prayer has been on my heart a lot lately and I have been talking about it a lot as well. It started about a year or so ago. I was speaking at a private school east of Atlanta, in my hometown. I don't really remember the message title, but the thread was finding God. I drew this line on a dry erase board and called it the "line of normalcy", something that at times we all want our lives to be like. Across the line, much like a heart beat monitor, I drew peaks and valley's. I explained that it's easy to find/experience God in the peaks, or what is commonly referred to as "Mountain Top Experiences", but I wanted them to know that God is equally, if not more, in the valley's.

After hammering this with one of those crying stories at the end of the message, there was a prayer time made available to students who needed it. I was sitting on the steps of the stage when I noticed a student coming over to me. I asked him what was wrong. Long story short, he told me that he neither had mountain top experiences nor valley's. He said that he didn't struggle with the typical teenage crap. He explained that his life had been uneventful, that he didn't get much from the Bible and that God was far. Deep into our conversation, he explained in so many words that he didn't need God. I am sure he had even questioned God's existence multiple times, and considered it. I told this kid something that I myself even had trouble speaking, but it was it was repeating itself in my mind. I explained that he ought to invite God to move in such a way that would cause him to need God.

Even as I write, I wonder how God operates in such a prayer.

I just recently spoke to a group of students from Tennessee. I had told them the very same story that I had just shared with you. I took it a step further. I had explained to them of a kid that I know very closely who is dependent upon other's to walk at times. I had explained how one has help him when climbing stairs, that without doing so, he remains helpless. I wanted to make the connection that we ourselves need to know this feeling of helplessness, the need to ask for help. Our culture mass supplies our every physical, material need, driving us farther and farther away from longing to love God. I explain how we fill up the space between the peaks and valley's with so much STUFF, that it causes us to become spiritually blind to God and His movement, leading us to abandon Faith. That night I asked them to wrestle with praying to God the need to become helpless. I never expected the conversation I would have the following night with the one particular kid.

At the end of the message on the last night, there had been an invitation to pray at the back of the room. Slowly this kid, I call him Evan, made his way back to me. He began to explain to me his doubt with God and some of the scripture that I had talked about. He was struggling with whether everything in scripture was true, or just a fairy tale. I totally did not expect what came next.

Evan told me that he could not ask God to make him helpless. I asked him why. This kid, o if you could have been there, he begin to cry. He slowly, carefully worked through his words. He had told me that he was afraid that God would take away his mom, or his dad if he were to pray something like this. I know it doesn't make sense, but my heart filled with joy! Let me explain.

The very fact that he was emotional about uttering those words to God spoke so richly of his faith. This kid, who just minutes before was expressing his doubts about God, showed just how much faith he has in God. He knew, and knows, that the moment those words come out of his mouth, that God will move in his life. There was no doubt in his mind of the power of prayer, of the hand of God. He feared God. I quickly told Evan that I didn't believe God would allow anything to happen to his family, that even more, God wanted him to trust Him with his family. Throughout the rest of my talking, and his fighting the words, I kept thinking and praying, He has to pray to you God, he has to become helpless to need. I couldn't hold back the joy and the thoughts of how much God wants to reveal himself to Evan. O, I sat there, and wanted Evan to pray to God so bad, because I knew, I had no doubt that as soon as Evan would speak those words of becoming helpless so that he would depend, I knew he would mean every word. How rare had I seen faith like this in a teenager. My joy was because I was sitting next to a kid who showed through his tears just how much faith he had, and has today, and I was honored.

My prayer is that we would become helpless, because I have to believe that when we are need, we see God moving everyday in everything.

Stoked

2009-01-07T06:16:00.000-08:00

Our middle schoolers come back tonight for Axiom. I am excited. The break was awesome. I thought I was getting sick yesterday. Donna cooked HOMEMADE chicken and dumplings. DAng it was good. I am much better now. I need to do laundry from my trip. I head back out Friday for TCTC. I can't wait for that, but I hate just thinking about missing another Sunday. We had 16 new families last week at New Community. The sun is making its way out this morning. I will be eating at Jefferson Middle School for lunch, woot, woot. 2009, I wonder! Much Love to you today.

taste of Heaven

2009-01-05T17:59:00.000-08:00

Last night I tasted Heaven. Strong, I know. I mean every word.

As we made our way back to Franklin Tennessee, only God would know how beautiful His restoration project was about to unfold, but soon, so would we. About 100 people filled the room and participated, not watched, but participated in the baptism of Dominic Nanni. It was a taste of Heaven because we were fulfilling what Jesus prayed about in John 17, "My prayer is that they would be one, as I am in you, and you are in me, may they be brought to complete unity so that the world will see that you have sent me". O, how those words took shape last night, because together we touched, together we agreed, together we prayed, together we celebrated Dominic, and even more, we celebrated Jesus. Restoration breathed and filled the lungs of human souls standing in awe of God. There was a movement that began last night in that room, and Jesus was at the forefront. Nothing can stop that.

O how I can't wait to taste Heaven this year, and O how I pray it happens in the most ridiculous ways.

Welcome to the family Dominic. Shine brother, for your light has come, and it's name is Jesus.

Dude, and to think, I get to experience and do this all the time, what a life, what a life you have given me Jesus