By Kyle Gray on 3/12/2008 4:20 PM

Maybe I have your attention now. 

Welcome to the greatest experience of your life.  The Kyle Gray Blog Nation.  Here you will experience the pinnacle of learning.  This is a high brow blog.  Theologically judicious, intellectually astounding, and philosophically recondite.  This is not for the public school graduate.  Prepare to have your mind blown with topics that rival Einsteins theory of relativity.  The educated masses will flock to this blog in droves  not seen since the academia explosion of the mid 40's. 

With no further ado, I give to you, my first post. 

 

 

I love lamp.

 

 

 

(and yes, I don't buy into global warming)

My truck gets 11.5 miles to the gallon, and I don't care.

 

Now, let's get it on.

By Kyle Gray on 3/12/2008 4:20 PM

Ahh, the most controversial question of the Fall.  I can't tell you how many times I have been asked this question as a pastor!  I have seen Christians try to back up their stance with scripture, I have seen families get made fun of for not partaking in this October event and I have seen others get chastised for allowing their kids to trick or treat.  What is your thought on this heated debate?  I often wonder when asked this question, if the recipient of my answer is going to bring cheers or stones. 

Here’s my thought, for what it’s worth. 

If you want a literal answer to the question, “should kids celebrate Halloween”??  I would have to say NO.  What is there to “celebrate”?  I celebrate Christmas, I celebrate Easter, I celebrate birthdays, baptisms, newborn babies, weddings (as much as a guy can actually do that), the Fourth of July, my kids’ achievements, anniversaries, every single Ohio State win and every single Michigan loss.  You get the point…I have reasons for “celebrating” these things, obviously.  That being clarified, I personally don’t see the harm in letting my kids trick or treat.  THIS IS A PERSONAL DECISION!!!  Before I go on, I know great Christian families that choose to avoid this holiday (if you can call it that) and I know incredible men and woman of faith that build virtual haunted houses in their yards for neighborhood kids every October 31.  I grew up trick or treating in South Toledo with my oversized pillowcase and bad cammo face paint.  I swear I was always Rambo…

Obviously trick or treating doesn’t make anyone a Satan worshiper.  I do worry though, about people who take it too far and never explain to their kids the ridiculousness of this night each year.  Dentists everywhere are shouting in support at this point☺  This year my son Kasen is a Power Ranger, my daughter Adia is Jasmine, the princess and my other son Alston (AJ) will be bringing the candy collecting as a cheap looking pirate, complete with lame plastic mask and super thin rubber band strap pinching his hair all night.  Trick…or…SNAP, it broke.  Anyway, back to my point.  There is no right or wrong answer to this question.  Every parent must make their own decision…but keep this in mind.  If you choose to let your kids trick or treat, YOU’VE GOT TO DRAW THE LINE SOMEWHERE!  Somehow your kids need to understand they don’t have to conform to the world to be accepted.  You have to draw the line somewhere, to show them Christians are to act differently, to live by a different standard of love, forgiveness and daily living.  I know some parents that take their families out to eat and go bowling every Halloween – their families are incredibly close…not because ringing doorbells and getting the dreaded nickel breaks up families, but because they understand communication and time spent with their kids probably blows away a pillowcase of candy.  There are plenty of opportunities to teach your kids we are to be “in the world but not of the world” according to scripture.  Just make sure you are taking advantage of these moments, whether you decide to let your kids wear a Superman outfit that is always way too big, or you just want some quality time with your family.  Good luck this year with whatever side you’re on, and no matter who you are…I think it’s safe to say, “Again with the giant marshmallow circus peanuts, no one wants them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”       

By Kyle Gray on 3/12/2008 4:20 PM

Ah, the universal showdown.  On one side, corporate America…on the other side, cool America (what?  I didn’t say which is which).  I have used a Dell or two in my time, I didn’t really have any problems with Dell…it’s just that I prefer Mac.  I like to edit videos, record music, integrate my itunes…and then put them all together on a DVD.  Mac does all of this, perfectly – in my opinion.  It doesn’t hurt that they look a lot better too☺  While I will praise Mac from the highest computer mountain I can find, I do understand something about PC’s as well.  They run businesses better…in the past they communicated to the rest of the world better, let’s face it…they’ve been the standard since the Atari 1040st went belly up!  -ha
I don’t argue Mac vs. PC because it really is a preference.  A good friend of mine helps run the IT department at the Toledo Blade, and another one heads up the IT department at HCR downtown.  They can tell me why PC is the way to go…for them.  I have no problem with that, what they are saying is true…but so is my viewpoint…for what I need in life.  Both can’t be true can they?  Truth is truth…except in this case…truth seems to be relative on a particular viewpoint.  What they say is true, but it’s different from my truth??  Sure.  It’s this way with a lot of things in life…Ford vs. Chevy, wireless providers, TV manufacturers…the list is seemingly endless.  So what’s your point Kyle?  I’m getting there.  This idea of relativism is gaining a lot of momentum these days.  My generation and the one behind me are quickly losing our grasp on truth.  This in not my idea, this is a fact.  Truth is becoming relative to a preference.  I hear it daily.  You believe what you want to; I’ll believe what I want to…if it’s true for you, that’s great.  It seems fine when dealing with certain life decisions, but it is a serious problem when introduced into spirituality.  You hear it on Oprah, you see it on the news, you read it in magazines and unfortunately you’re getting it from too many pulpits these days.  What is truth?  True truth?  Today we’ve lost the confidence that statements of fact can never be anything more than just opinions; we no longer know that anything is certain beyond our subjective preferences.  Truth is dying.  Let me tell you something, when truth dies…all of its subspecies, such as ethics, perish with it.  If truth can’t be known, then the concept of moral truth becomes incoherent.  The death of truth in our society has created a moral decay in which “every debate ends with the barroom question ‘says who?’”
This slow death of morality in our culture produces an “anything goes” mentality.  Everyone wants to do their own thing.  In some cultures it is custom to care and nurture the young…in others the custom is to eat their young.  Which do you prefer?  They both can’t be right.  We are living in a world where diametrically opposed truths can seemingly co exist.  This is not a good thing.  We feel that it is building tolerance for one another.  What we are doing is undermining the word of God, the nature of God Himself and who Jesus Christ was, is and will forever be.  Let me explain.  When Pilot asked Jesus “what is truth”, he didn’t realize true truth was standing directly in front of him.  Morality needs God, just read Exodus 20:1-17.  To deny true truth would be to say good and evil do not exist, they most certainly do exist.  To say Christianity is right for you but not for me is to say Jesus Christ is not who He claimed to be…as C.S. Lewis put it…either Jesus is a liar, lunatic or truly Lord.  There is no other option.  Jesus says I am the way, the TRUTH and the life…no one comes to the Father except through Me!   -John 14:6 
Relativism and postmodernism really says this…if the case they make for their views leads to a TRUE conclusion, it would contradict the premises on which their argument is based.  It leaves some to say the Bible is intolerant, that it’s too narrow minded…there can’t be only one TRUE TRUTH, a loving God wouldn’t send anyone to hell.  I’ll say this…a loving God gives a choice.  Where there is a choice, there is right and wrong, good and evil.  Where there is truth, we have the choice to accept the Son of God into our hearts or reject Him.  He has revealed to us everything we need to know.  Revelation 3:20 says that Jesus is waiting for you to knock.  Surely He will answer the door.  Are you asking the right questions?  Don’t be surprised, when you do, if the answer leads to a narrow path…less traveled but more profound and grace filled than you could have ever imagined.                

By Kyle Gray on 3/12/2008 4:20 PM

Well, I’m off to Honduras in 3 days.  We’re headed to Choluteca for 8 days in the tropical Central American 100-degree heat.  I’ve never been to Choluteca, so this should be awesome!  Last trip we went from San Pedro Sula to La Ceiba, over to Olanchito, back to La Ceiba and home through Houston.  We have to fly through Chicago and stay over night in Miami this time…that’s not at all horrible☺

I love going to Latin America.  It’s not so much that I come home and want to sell everything and save the world…it just makes me appreciate what we have been blessed with in this country.  We get up, go to work…make money and take great vacations.  90% of these people don’t have good jobs, don’t make money and have never heard of a vacation.  You can’t believe how far a dollar goes there.  That’s what I love. 

I took my three kids to story time at the library tonight, and then we went to McDonalds for some dollar menu ice cream action.  They didn’t even finish their ice cream.  That’s how it goes around here.  I can’t tell you how many times I was asked, “can we get a prize!”  No prize.  Just ice cream.  Sigh.  So out the door we went, another dollar menu dessert and some good old-fashioned family bonding with dad.  I asked them, “Who brings the fun?” and they answered correctly…DAD!!!  That’s all that matters.  So I grabbed a few extra straws on the way out (dad has a habit of chewing on straws) and headed home to put everyone down for bed.

It’s my custom at the Gray house to make them each tell me what they’re thankful for each night, and then thank Jesus for that.  Not surprisingly they thanked Jesus for ice cream.  I’m pretty sure Jesus doesn’t care about ice cream, but He certainly cares about my kids.  If mission trips have taught me anything at all, it’s this…teach your children to be grateful.  They’re starting to understand that nothing is owed to them…even ice cream is a gift, purchased by money that God has provided.  As they grow up, I’ll try my hardest to keep reminding them of this.  Until then, I’ll settle for ice cream and moments to teach them about grace, in what small ways they can comprehend.  After all…being grateful is a direct result of understanding grace a little better.  The more we understand grace, the more grateful we become.  I’m working on this theory for a book I’m slowly developing called Falling For Grace…more to come on that adventure.

Yesterday morning I had the chance to take my daughter Adia to school for “donuts with dad” day.  It was early…for me anyway☺  I watched as dads sat in the cafeteria across from their children, eating jelly donuts and drinking ice cold apple juice.  Every dad there looked tired.  I think that’s a prerequisite for parenting.  I couldn’t help but see how much it meant for Adia to have her dad in the lunchroom.  She couldn’t imagine what it meant for her dad to hang out with her on her turf, if she only knew dad couldn’t understand some of the math questions on the wall…

She didn’t care.  She got her dad, alone…and her dad got free donuts...and time with his girl.  I'm pretty sure her dad doesn't care about free donuts, but he sure does care about his daughter.

Last night I asked her our nightly question and she knocked it out of the park with her answer…”donuts with dad”. 

Time to be thankful, I don’t care who you are.  We owe that to God, no matter how small.  Get that in your heads.  To be truly grateful.  To really say thank you.       

By Kyle Gray on 3/12/2008 4:20 PM

We are in Choluteca and things are going great. It's about 90-100 degrees of jungle heat... but the computer is working :-). I'll check this a few times a day so if you have any questions about dangerous animals or taking cold showers, I'd love to chat!
 
The team is so much fun, we are so blessed to be able to come here and do this!!! We are heading out to the jungle in a few minutes to share Christ...but more importantly, we fire bombed some huge ants this morning and I had a scorpion coming after me with devil eyes...I handled him like Brian Fellows.  -ha
 
Love you all!

By Kyle Gray on 3/12/2008 4:20 PM

What did you guys think? What a story, we'd love to get him back later in the year! We had almost 8,000 in attendance!! I sure forgot my problems:)

By Kyle Gray on 3/12/2008 4:20 PM

Hey everybody! Sorry I haven’t been blogging lately…since I got back from Honduras things have been crazy…Tis the season.

Oh wait, I don’t have to tell you, you already know. We all already know!! Everyone sings the same song this time of year. Things are always busier, there seems to be less time in a day, more headaches (we bought our tree last night and put it up)…I remember this going easier when I was a kid watching my parents do it☺

Everyone and their grandma is looking to sell something, looking to find the best deals, looking for the perfect gift. I long for the days I could walk through the mall and not get stopped by every kiosk offering me a message, hair curlers, or a helicopter that actually flies and fits in my shirt pocket. Everyone is trying to make a living…I get it.

It sure doesn’t stop me from going, are you kidding me…with three kids?? We go all the time, let the kids ride rides, play in the playground, get something to eat…we’re actually headed there in an hour! Some are horrified with what Christmas has turned into, some embrace it, I find myself somewhere in between. As a pastor, I think it’s unwritten code that I be horrified –ha.

As a dad, I love to see my kids light up this time of year. We have traditions, Childrens Wonderland at the rec center in Maumee, lights at the zoo, driving around looking at lights on houses, getting our tree, all of this brings our family together…it really does. Many people make comments this time of year about how much we are spending on gifts. Others tell me it’s great for the economy, that can’t be a bad thing right now, right?

I don’t have a soapbox atop the mountain of consumerism, but I am growing increasingly aware that we are losing our focus. What if it wasn’t about what we are spending, but what we are really GIVING? The return I am getting on a toy bought for my kids versus what I feel when I help others in REAL need isn’t matching up. How many of you watch your children open up a present only to have their eyes immediately focus on the next one in line, that may be bigger…wrapped in superhero paper?

What if we spent less and gave more away? To those in need locally, to those in need in third world countries? What kind of Christmas is Jesus interested?

www.adventconspiracy.org is asking the same thing. I haven’t done all the research necessarily to say I agree with all they are putting on the table, but it is interesting.

I am preaching this week on the life of Jesus and next week on this very matter…what should Christmas look like? I’m not a proponent of throwing everything we do this time of year away, I’m just wondering what we can do to get the true meaning back into the forefront of our ethos of Christmas conversations.

Give me your thoughts, how do we get Christmas back? I doubt it will happen throughout all of society, but it should be happening in our lives. Christmas IS special, it brings memories back, it provides hope to this dying world through Jesus Christ, brings distant family members closer to home and it should jolt us back to what is important…giving, serving, telling the world about a Savior that gave everything!

Alright…enough of that, time to get to the mall☺ 

By Kyle Gray on 3/12/2008 4:20 PM

Yes, I am still alive!!!

We have been knee deep in Christmas for the past month and a half. I have been busy shooting movies for the Christmas service, writing scripts and practicing music. I can tell you all this…You will certainly want to come back to see another service! The whole team has really outdone themselves, from lighting to sound to musicians to video production to Lee’s message. Channel 11 came out this morning and filmed a live show from the Perrysburg Campus with the band playing…we have been flooded with calls since it aired and our website is ready to crash!! God never ceases to amaze me. This is the first time in 12 years that I have not had to have a predominant role in the music at Christmas, it’s so amazing to see God bring up new musicians and talent, I love sitting back and watching it all unfold!

Since Brandon Harris has taken over my role of Pastor of the Arts at the Perrysburg Campus (and done a far better job than I ever could), it has been unbelievably refreshing for me to have my hand in the creating process, spending my time on trying to make the weekend services better. We love to change things up as God moves!

I find myself more thankful than ever these days for what God is doing around here, through the leadership and congregation of CedarCreek Church. We sure aren’t perfect and we make a lot of mistakes, but God is faithful to those who keep at it…those who fail forward and have the common goal of getting the message of Jesus Christ out to the world in whatever way they are gifted.

Let’s enjoy this Christmas with our families, let’s watch the National Championship game and hope that Tressel gets his game on this year☺

I’ll be back to blogging after the new year…I promise.

By Kyle Gray on 3/12/2008 4:20 PM

It only took me a year...now I just need some friends...ha!
Hope you're all having a great New Year...I'll blog after the National Championship game...I'm sort of on edge until then:)

By Kyle Gray on 3/12/2008 4:20 PM

David Coppergray is back!!! Ready to make intelligent conversation disappear before your very eyes!!!
I know you missed me, I missed you all too. I really have no excuse for not writing, so I’ll make one up…”I just didn’t feel like it”. Oh wait, that’s true.

This is going to be the most random blog I have ever posted. No point, no direction, just me rambling about nothing for a long time. Just like I do when I’m preaching☺

I have to admit, I was a little disappointed that people haven’t been posting comments lately, but then I was reminded of a few things by Josh White (our resident genius of everything web)…that’s not the point of a blog! He also reminded me that I get a ton of hits on the blog…people reading and not posting…then I reminded myself that every time I read someone else’s blog I never post either! So here we go…

Christmas was great, 12 services over two campuses! 1,000 people stood to accept Jesus Christ, a few people complained the music was too rock for Christmas, but I have to say this…attendance is up over 1,200 people from this week last year!!! Something is going right. You have to be crazy to think that when 16,500 people show up for a weekend of services that everyone will be satisfied!! On any given weekend we have 7,000 people in attendance at the Creek between two campuses, not everybody likes me, some people can’t stand me, and some people are always going to be dissatisfied. That’s life…we have to stay true to what we do, we have to do things they way we feel God is leading us to do them…there are plenty of great Bible believing churches in Toledo, those who are disgruntled have plenty of options, we only hope they find somewhere that fits their needs…though this is a myth, since no church is perfect.

We just got the results back from the Willow Reveal survey you all took…we found some very enlightening data in it! Out of the 200 churches polled, we have the youngest average age demographics. We have the most evangelistic profile! Our church is full of people who formerly never attended church, so this is awesome!! It leaves a gapping hole in tithing though, but that’s the way we like it, that’s the way it’s always been, and I’ll take that any day. It’s NOT about numbers…being the largest church in the world, but when you have new people coming, it shows you are preaching the gospel unapologetically and NOT compromising the truth of Jesus. Some people outside our church think we’re growing because we’re just ‘entertaining’ people…they obviously haven’t been here, or they couldn’t say that! ‘Entertainment’ doesn’t produce the deep life change we are seeing around here…only Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit can do that!

We have something in the works here lately. We’re going to start an online Bible study that will post twice a week, written by me. We want to help people stay in the word during the week, we’re all busy I know…but this should be a great way to help us all grow! More on that soon.

As for me, I have been busy with the kids…Rachel went on a cruise with some of her friends…7 days of daddy bringing the fun!! 7 days of letting the kids eat things they shouldn’t be eating. 7 days of non adult interaction! 7 days of getting clothes changed, packing lunches and making dinners. 7 days of letting the laundry stack of in a huge pile in the living room. 7 days of things breaking and clogging around here with no one to fix them. It’s nice to have Rachel back! –ha

Things are great these days. I’m 33 with young kids, great friends and an incredible family…what else can I ask for? Ministry is going well. I have my moments of “what is the future holding for me, where is all of this going??” but overall God is calming me down and helping me stay focused on the tasks at hand. He has a way of doing that☺

I miss my camper! We are looking at our schedules and starting to plan this summers vacations, that is keeping me excited!

Ohio State and the Steelers let me down but I’m bouncing back. The political primaries are boring me to death and I find myself glued to ‘Monster Quest’ on the History Channel for no apparent reason!

On a different note, I will be bringing the music side of things back to the Creek this year. I have been stepping back for a while as God has been bringing some new talent to the worship side of things. Now we are getting ready to launch the Toledo campus and our talent pool is going to be tested once again! This is not the easiest thing we have ever done…musicians, volunteers and leaders are leaving to head to Toledo…that’s great, it really is…but we need people to step it up here…in all facets of serving…that means you! Some of you don’t quite get the whole multi site thing, I know…but it’s a simple philosophy. Many people won’t drive 15 minutes to attend church, so we’re eliminating that excuse☺ It’s not easy though, but what is that’s worth it?? We’re not adding staff for this, we simply don’t have the budget for that…God will provide, we are sure of that! Be praying for Mark and the leaders of all the campuses…we need it! We have plans to build a building out at Whitehouse too, so that will be huge!

Alright, enough of this rambling. If you’re on facebook, look me up, I’m taking over with my pathetic old pictures of myself and my life. It’s been fun getting connected with people I haven’t heard from in years! Feel free to post people, I’ll get a blog in here soon that actually has a point…be looking for that online Bible study too, should be fun.