Life is Short. Enjoy it.

2012 So Far...

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 23:15:36 -0500

So here we are 23 days into 2012.

I have been in South Carolina every day this year so far. This weekend I will be returning to OKC to join my team in our office on McAuley Blvd.

I have immensely enjoyed seeing old friends, family, and moments around the dinner table. Grabbing coffee with old friends has been a constant. Also, just going back to some of my favorite places.

So far I have been having a great year in sales for Church Plant Media. I attribute that to the processes that Dustin, my boss, put in place and honestly just the Lord blessing us.

I have been working with Rice Bowls and that has been incredibly eye opening and exciting.

I have started working on new ideas and personal projects again.

I launched Grace[is]Truth with my business partner, Chris Pontarelli. It took us 18 months to make this reality. Our products should be in every major Christian retailer and churches near you by Summer 2012.

I bought a new car. Always wanted a Range and finally did it.

I have started reading 4 book but am gonna narrow it down and finish 1 by Feb 10th, my birthday (24….) wow.

I am going to read through the Bible in 90 days.

The Lord has been crushing my heart over hurting people so far this year. I want to make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate.

This verse has messed me up- Father to the fatherless and defender of widows is God in his holy dwelling. He places the lonely in families. Ps 68:5-6

I want to get back in the best shape of my life this year. I am going to do a juice diet, start training for my triathlons and do p90x 2 times.

I chose not to set resolutions but rather just little goals.

Tomorrow I am going to try to drink 5 water bottles full of water. I have found that creating little list serve me better. I am a sprinter so if I set big goals I will start quick and then fail. BUT if I make things small I am can complete them.

That is my year so far… can’t wait to see what this year holds for me… if it is anything like 2011 I am in for a shock and will get to see the Lord do amazing things.

Much Love,
MA

"Do not slice pieces out of your manhood and then hope to fill up the vacancies with bank notes. He..."

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 13:39:40 -0500

“Do not slice pieces out of your manhood and then hope to fill up the vacancies with bank notes. He who loses manliness or godliness to gain gold is a great cheater of himself. Keep yourselves entirely for God and for His Christ—and let all other matters be additions, not subtractions! Live above the world. Its goods will come to you when you do not bid high for them. If you hunt the butterfly of wealth too eagerly, you may spoil it by the stroke with which you secure it.”

- Charles Spurgeon

When We Fail

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 14:21:38 -0500

(a look at Sharing Christ this Christmas)

And when we fail — not if, but when — the place to return is Calvary’s tree. Our solace in failing to adequately share the gospel is the very gospel we seek to share. It is good to ache over our failures to love our families in gospel word and deed. But let’s not miss that as we reflect on our failures, we have all the more reason to marvel at God’s love for us.

Be astonished that his love is so lavish that he does not fail to love us, like we fail to love him and our families, and that he does so despite our recurrent flops in representing him well to our kin.

Book List of 2011

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 11:57:59 -0500

I love to read and think that knowledge is crucial to shaping conversations and growth. I get asked from time to time what I am reading and especially how it relates to Christendom.

The internet is a friend of information. Books are friends of thought. I love and use the internet daily, but also love to dive in a good book, and not on an iPad, but you know like a physical book, with real pages. Listed below are a few that I hope many more people will come to love. While I would be remise if I said that I endorse every thought offered in these titles, I do strongly encourage everyone to read them and engage one another with the ideas presented.

Also read novels (the classics mainly). Or else you’ll be boring. Enjoy!

The Story of God
King’s Cross by Timothy Keller
According to Plan by Graeme Goldsworthy
God’s Big Picture by Vaughan Roberts
Desiring God by John Piper

The Christian Life
The Pursuit of God by A.W. Tozer
The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis
The Bookends of the Christian Life by Jerry Bridges and Bob Bevington
Death by Love by Mark Driscoll
The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller

Church and Community
Total Church by Steve Timmis and Tim Chester
The Trellis and the Vine by Colin Marshall and Tony Payne
A Meal with Jesus by Tim Chester

Marriage and Family
This Momentary Marriage by John Piper
Sacred Marriage by Gary Thomas

Redeeming Culture
To Change the World by James Davison Hunter
Culture Making by Andy Crouch
Generous Justice by Timothy Keller

Beauty and the Arts
For the Beauty of the Church by various authors
Unceasing Worship by Harold Best

Lazar

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 11:45:55 -0500

The OKC Thunder just brought on a guy from Minnesota. His job in practice is to guard Kevin Durant. He told Kevin:

“I told him, ‘I’ll be going up against you all the time. I’m going to push you. I’m going to fight you. I’m going to try to make you mad,”’ explained Lazar Hayward, a 6-foot-6, 225-pound second-year player out of Marquette. “But at the end of the day, it’ll help him because when those guys (opponents) guard him, they’re not going to let him do what he wants. It wouldn’t be fair to him if I didn’t do my best every night in guarding him at practice. So at the end of the day, it’s good for both of us.”

Right now I have a Lazar. Its my boss D. He is always on my case and riding me hard to be better. He says you have tons of potential and are a valuable asset but he wants me to be the best. He wants me to grow old with this company and personally see to it that I am my best. He knows he is personally responsible for how I turn out. He has 11 years on me. Thats a lot of heartache, growth, and maturity. SO… that leads me to trust him and know that when he is pushing me and trying to make me grow that it will be good for both of us in the end. He, and my employer and best friend and me, well as a person, employee, and sales leader.

So who is your Lazar? Who pushes you to be better so that when its game time you are right where you need to be and even better than before?

*Side note- the Thunder brought this guy on just to make their best guy better. That is interesting. His lone purpose on the team is to help them win games by pushing Durant. DONT EVER UNDERESTIMATE THE LAZARS ON YOUR TEAM.

Nathan Angelo’s voice is pure gold. Love this song. O...

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 17:43:01 -0500

Nathan Angelo’s voice is pure gold. Love this song. O Man….. Ode to Her.

"Many times leaders in the public sphere are criticized for some mistake or failure as if it was the..."

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 18:01:00 -0500

““Many times leaders in the public sphere are criticized for some mistake or failure as if it was the worst thing imaginable to happen. But as a coach of a hockey team I’ve learned that if you as a leader are not willing to feel any pain you are not willing to risk anything — you are not reaching high enough and far enough. I tell this to my players all the time — if they’re not failing, they’re not trying hard enough.””

- Productivity Fail - Creative Leadership

Love this.

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:39:56 -0500

Love this.

A Slow Process

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:31:48 -0500

The system is that there is no system. That doesn’t mean we don’t have process. Apple is a very disciplined company, and we have great processes. But that’s not what it’s about. Process makes you more efficient.
Steve Jobs

“Process makes you more efficient.” Maybe that is what is going on in my life. Maybe I am growing, stretching, hurting, and learning to see things through a new lens to become more efficient. But maybe not. Maybe life right now is all about the process to learn to enjoy the process. Over the last 6 months I have begin to learn that life is predominantly about perspective instead of reality. The way that you respond and see things determines the outcome of the process.

Honestly, Ive never been one for the process. I’m a results guy. I am all about the starting line and then the finish line. I start things and then quit because I become preoccupied with something else, in other words, I am a sprinter- fast out of the gates then I quit while the marathon runners cruise by me at a normal to slow speed and finish the race.

I remember my first triathlon. It was different than training. It was real. The pain was sharper and the finish line seemed much longer away. It was about the finish line that day. The process was hard. It hurt. But when I crossed that line and had friends cheering my name and people clapping and then got my big ole Dr. Pepper, the work was worth it. Did I win? Nope. Second? Nope. Twenty Fifth? Nope. But I finished. I did it. I completed the process. I didn’t quit.

The funny thing with me is I am a sporadic planner. Let me explain, I enjoy long term goals and dreams but tend to be sporadic with my life. I love spur of the moment plans. I like getting in the car and making things up as we go. SO truth be told I am not much for the process. BUT right now life is about process. A slow process.

An Incomplete List of Small Pleasures

Sat, 03 Dec 2011 18:53:41 -0500

Referring to friends and family by the first letter of their first name.
Sound of passing traffic without horns or sirens. Just whooshes.
Doing simple things really well.
Listening to kids stories.
Listening to old people tell “old tales”
Mumford and Sons and Civil Wars music.
Bridges—rivers, noses, ships, songs.
Hearing other people tell success stories.
Really long hot showers.
Believing that things other than buildings can have architecture.
Rereading books.

Secondhand Faith!

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 12:28:47 -0500

“I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay mein the dust of death.” (Ps. 22:14-15)

To figure out what I mean by secondhand faith we must first look at secondhand smoke:

What is it?

When non-smokers are exposed to secondhand smoke it is called involuntary smoking or passive smoking. Non-smokers who breathe in secondhand smoke take in nicotine and other toxic chemicals just like smokers do. The more secondhand smoke you are exposed to, the higher the level of these harmful chemicals in your body.

Look at the facts:

An estimated 46,000 deaths from heart disease in people who are currently non-smokers
About 3,400 lung cancer deaths as a result of breathing secondhand smoke
Other breathing problems in non-smokers, including coughing, mucus, chest discomfort, and reduced lung function
50,000 to 300,000 lung infections (such as pneumonia and bronchitis) in children younger than 18 months of age, which result in 7,500 to 15,000 hospitalizations annually
Increases in the number and severity of asthma attacks in about 200,000 to 1 million children who have asthma
More than 750,000 middle ear infections in children

Secondhand smoke is smoke that is received in your body by breathing in the smoke of others. While it is not as strong as the smoke the smoker is actually taking in, you are still exposed to the consequences.

Secondhand faith is faith that is someone else’s that you see and are steadily encouraged by. In other words, when I am having a season of life where I don’t have a strong faith to claim of my own (for whatever reason: death of a loved one, extended period of sin, God doesn’t seem real, promise fulfillment being delayed, etc.) When you go through dark times and times where your faith is wavering or isn’t as strong as it has been or assured of the payoff (the fulfillment of the promise) is coming, we need people who strengthen and encourage our faith.

The key is encouragement. You can’t live off someones faith for really long extended periods of time, but you can be encouraged for a season. You must own your faith. It has to be personal. It has to be authentic.

“Two are better than one. … If either of them falls down one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10, NIV).

The key is when our faith falters and our hope seems gone, we have to look back to Christ and have someone who can help us see God’s faithfulness. Pray for people around you today. Look to Christ. Preach the Gospel to yourself, but surround yourself with people who aren’t afraid to preach truth to you or give you a hand up when you need it. So thankful that I have friends that aren’t afraid to jump in my messes.

“I think God’s plan is at work in the middle of our messes more powerfully than at any other time. Which is good because I feel like most of life is spent stuck slogging through something or other. God loves to show up and teach us things when we’re slogging. He designed us to become somehow better through all the pain we endure and specifically created us to find comfort in each other.” ^Melissa Kircher

Love Overcame,

Matt

Confession: I hate being still.

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 12:58:05 -0400

“If I am not busy, I make myself busy.” With a transition to a new job (in a foreign place) and mainly just my work comrades to keep me busy I often have lots of down time. I am getting back into the gym routine and training for another triathlon. I work hard, really hard (*I would like to think I always have worked hard), try to serve the body of Christ well and stay healthy and work on side projects. To be real honest: It’s a struggle to not find my worth in what I’m accomplishing each day. At the end of the day its fun to say, “hey look this is what I conquered today. this is what Matt Ayers had his hand on today.”

SH (in a recent blog post) reminded me of what Chelsea Steyn described herself in her devotional article “Working for Contentment”,

“work is one of God’s good gifts,” but “we are given gifts and abilities to use for the glory of God and in service to the church and community.

Working on my side projects and my job and my triathlon race aren’t bad things, in fact, they are good. The problem arises when they get the front row seat of my attention and my heart. (*ahem…. idolatry, you know that never ending giant, that always comes back. I am an idol factory)

Tim Keller writes in Counterfeit Gods of how idols are often good things: “The greater the good, the more likely we are to expect that it can satisfy our deepest needs and hopes… A counterfeit god is anything so central and essential to your life that, should you lose it, your life would feel hardly worth living.”

Steyn goes on: “This feverish pursuit of productivity is getting in the way of my ability to be still and spend time with the Lord.”

David Powlison in A Praying Life wrote ‘Efficiency, multitasking and busyness all kill intimacy. You can’t get to know God on the fly.’ I have to learn how to sit down with my hands still, to stop thinking about my next project and talk to God. I need to recognize my weakness, to wear it like a garment when I come before Him in prayer.”

My attempts at productivity will never satisfy me. Praise God that His grace is sufficient for me and that His power is made perfect in my abundance of weaknesses. So Lord, help me to find my value and my satisfaction from You, the Bread of Life.

Wait, I say, Wait.

Thu, 03 Nov 2011 16:15:00 -0400

One of the phrases that you read a lot in the Psalms is “wait on the Lord.” David spent a good portion of his life waiting for the Lord to fulfill some promises that the Lord had made to him very early in life. There were periods of extended periods of waiting.

Psalms 27:14 Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.

Between the promise God makes you and the payoff (or the fulfillment of the promise) there is a process (waiting). That process is the point, that process draws you closer to him (and makes you more like him). Waiting is not a glamourous spiritual discipline. Waiting is hard in our culture and its in thoses seasons of waiting that learn to cling to Jesus when everything around you is failing apart. Waiting is essential to your spiritual growth.

One of the beautiful things about waiting is that it molds us, shapes us, and strengthens us. When God provides the payoff though we get to experience the faithfulness of God. He always does what he says he is going to do. He alone is faithful. One truth that I read the other day was from my friends Taylor’s twitter: “Running out of reasons to doubt you, God.” And man is that true!!!!

This year has been hectic to say the least but it has been an amazing journey of growth, realization, and a renewed sense of joy in waiting on the Lord. This year I lost something I held dearest to me, have come to the realization that I am far more sinful that I pretend to be (I exaggerate a lot, I am prideful, I am materialistic, I hide my weaknesses), moved to foreign place (and moving when you’re an “adult” is not like moving to college), and had to trust that even though I cant see the active hand of God, I know He is on the way.

We say the Bible is trustworthy because the author is trustworthy, so I have had to learn to take him at His word and trust that the payoff is coming.

Market Research turned into a Gospel Moment

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 13:49:00 -0400

I was recently watching a Promo video for Ligonier Ministries Connect program… and RC starts out the video says…

It’s Jesus performance that is transferred to my account when I receive Him by faith. That is why Paul labors the point that our justification is given to us freely as a gift of the Father. That God calls me just before He makes me just.

Its transactional, God looking at Christ instead of us. In Romans 6 & 7 thats is explained Justification establishes our righteousness before God. Sanctification is the process of us becoming personally Holy. Justification is divine initiative. When we are born again through faith, we’re spiritually unified with Christ. Its a 2 sided coin. Justification is 1 Side. Sanctification the other. Christ spirit in us making us want to be holy.

As Martin Luther once said,

Faith’s substance is our will; its manner is, that we take hold on Christ by divine instinct; its final cause and fruit, that it purifies the heart, makes us children of God, and brings with it the remission of sins.

I have never understood it quite like this before, or with this joy. When Christ comes to me and bids me die… I am dying so I might be raised with Him in his righteous acceptable to the Father and this new life is one in which I am stirred to good works (evidence of justification) and holy living (sanctification).

Its a double transaction. The righteousness of Christ is transferred to our account. Our sinfulness is transferred to His account. God declares me just because Jesus was just. Because the imputation is real then our justification is real. God really laid my sins on Christ and I really am unified with Christ now in my righteousness.

Watch this… it is very helpful:

5 Things I have learned in a month at Church Plant Media.

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 12:01:16 -0400

1) If you don’t write it down, it didn’t happen. Documentation of happenings makes you remember to follow up and following up leads to success.
2) Decisions about policy and pricing are defined by your mission and vision but must remain balanced with profitability.Last Friday the executive leadership team of Church Plant Media rolled up their sleeves and decided to drop the price of all of our websites to $1000.00. This decision happened 2 months, then the team went to work on making it a reality. The results were a simplified homepage, new pricing page, and a new strategy.
3) Your passion dictates your process. We are passionate about the Gospel and so that is where we start with any new prospective client. They must sign our Gospel agreement to work with us. Sometimes we have to say no to ministries that don’t align with us Biblically; this can be hard because you lose profit. But when your passion and truth dictate action then the decisions become easier.
4) Our team is more of a family than a work group. This is not to say that we don’t work hard, because we do. Very hard. But there is something special about working for an established (13 year old) company that functions as a start-up and works sometimes til 2 in the morning, but at the end of the day the team that prays together grows together. Every time someone on our team needs prayer the team stops and prays, every time we face challenges or tough decisions we start by asking God what he would have for us. Its unreal. I love my family, I mean work team.
5) Your leader and his vision greatly determine your success. I have never worked for a more humble, genuine, authentic guy. **Side note: I love that our vision caster and leader is the same guy at the office as he is in his home. When asked recently if he would take an extremely large amount of money to sell the company, his response was simple: NO. I love what I do and am fully convinced this is where God has me and wants me. Man its good following after someone who is following after God.
And lastly 6) if you will. Our calling is Jesus. We love building websites, but it comes after loving the Lord right and loving our families right.
Gospel Blessings,Matt

Roobear saying goodbye for now!

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 16:35:14 -0400

Roobear saying goodbye for now!

"‎Precious Jesus, draw us, and we will run after Thee."

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 13:45:14 -0400

“‎Precious Jesus, draw us, and we will run after Thee.”

- Charles Spurgeon

paideia: “3 guys, 44 days, 11 countries, 18 flights, 38...

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 21:31:37 -0400

paideia:

“3 guys, 44 days, 11 countries, 18 flights, 38 thousand miles, an exploding volcano, 2 cameras and almost a terabyte of footage… all to turn 3 ambitious linear concepts based on movement, learning and food ….into 3 beautiful and hopefully compelling short films… = a trip of a lifetime.”

MOVE by Rick Mereki

After working for a video company I can only but appreciate this video….. Simplistic Beauty guys!

Listen to the Truth of this song. Thankful that we have a God...

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 16:16:11 -0400

Listen to the Truth of this song. Thankful that we have a God who is always on the way to help us. He will not delay. My refuge and strength always. I will not fear his promise is true. My God will come through always.

The Fellowship of the Unashamed.

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 13:00:02 -0400

Oh that this would be true in my life.

I am a part of the Fellowship of the Unashamed. The die has been cast. The decision has been made. I am a disciple of Jesus. Therefore, I won’t look back, let up, slow down, back away or be still. My past is redeemed, my present is empowered and my future is secure. I’m done with low living, sight waking, small planning, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tame visions, mundane talking, cheap giving and dwarfed goals. I no longer need preeminence, prosperity, position, promotions, praise or popularity. I don’t have to win, be first, be right, recognized, regarded or rewarded. I now live by faith, lean on His presence, love with patience, live by prayer and labor with power. My goal is God’s glory, my face is set, my pace is fast, my road is narrow, my way is rough, my companions are few, my guide is reliable and my mission is clear. I cannot be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded or delayed. I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice, hesitate in the presence of adversity, negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity or meander in the maze of mediocrity. I won’t give up, shut up, let up or slow up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up and spoken up for the cause of Christ. I must go till He comes, give till I drop, preach till all know and work till He stops me. Christ has qualified me to become a part of the Fellowship of the Unashamed. I am His and He is mine.