REACH: Pray.Walk.Talk.

I believe that if you would allow Him, God would use you to bring someone into relationship with Himself. I want to equip you; train you to line up under what God has revealed to us through his word, and then put it into practice in your life.
REACH begins with praying for the individual by name, asking the Lord to do five things in his life. We're doing it while we brush our teeth!


1. Set them apart. Asking God to sanctify or set apart your friend is like having a connection with the coach or the panel of judges. It would be like, “Hey coach, that one is special to me. It would mean a lot to me if you would let him make it to the next round; if you would set him apart from the rest.”
2 Thessalonians 2:23-241 Peter 1:2, 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14, John 17:17, 1 Corinthians 6:11, 1 Thessalonians 5:23


2. Bless them. It is God’s kindness; his goodness or benevolence that leads people to turn from their sin and trust Him. As we pray for them, we should beg God to liberally bless them.
Wouldn’t it be cool if your friend who doesn’t even believe that God exists started having good things just happen in her life.
Romans 10:12-13, 2:4


3. Convict them. In order for a person to trust Jesus, and submit to his authority in their life, they have to be convicted. To be convicted is to be declared guilty, or to admit guilt. A person who has no relationship with God is guilty.
John 16:8-11


4. Illuminate their mind to the truth. It isn’t pleasant or pretty to think or talk about, but the Bible says that the minds of those in spiritual darkness are controlled by the devil. Now, please remove from your mind the image of a little guy in a red unitard with a pitchfork and horns, and realize that’s not how Satan controls anyone. Instead his mind control comes through issues that each person struggles with. Strongholds.
2 Corinthians 4:3-6, 10:3-5, Romans 8:5-8, 1 Corinthians 2:14, Acts 8:26-31


5. Save them. once a person is ready to receive the gospel, someone has to share it with him. By all means, students at CBC should be equipped to share the message of the gospel. Maybe you’re working up to it. You should also be confident that when you bring your friend for whom you have prayed to Fuel, that friend will hear the gospel and have an opportunity to respond.
Romans 10:17, Luke 19:10, Matthew 9:37-38, John 4:28-30, Acts 4:31, Proverbs 11:30, Colossians 4:12-13, Jude 22-23, Jeremiah 33:3*


So my prayer might Go something like: God, I pray for my friend Mike. I’m asking that you would set Mike apart so that you might begin to work in his life. Bless him! It would be incredible if he started to see success in everything he’s doing. I pray that you would bless his relationships and pour out your goodness on him. Holy Spirit, show Mike that he is guilty of not believing in Jesus. Convict his heart so that he might know that he needs you more than anything. Tear down the wall in Mike’s mind, whatever it is, that is keeping him from being able to believe, and save him! Use me; use anyone to share the truth of your love with him so that he can experience life in you, and be sure of his salvation. I’m begging you for my friend Mike, in Jesus’ name. Amen!

*Thomas, Lee. Praying Effectively for the Lost. 01 01, 2003. http://www.pelministries.org/ 

Good Things Gone Bad: Technology

Good Things Gone Bad; Technology from Carmel Baptist on Vimeo.

As we talk about technology and how it can become an idol in our lives, I want you to understand 3 things upfront:

Technology is a good, God given gift. God created us with the ability to create, and we reflect his image when we create technology.
Like anything else, technology is subject to the curse of sin. We live in a fallen world, and anything can be used for sinful purposes.
Our application (what we do with it)determines if technology is used to honor God or fall into sin.


1. Become Aware #Guard Your Heart
We must guard our hearts by seeing to it that no one takes us captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy.So, how can we be aware and guard our hearts?
1. Be visible.
2. Be accountable.
3. Be real.
4. Be mature.

2. Become Assured #Fullness is in Christ
Did you know you don’t have to be dead to enjoy eternal life? Jesus died so that you might have real, fulfilled life, here and now. A life of joy, not based on circumstances, but based on your assurance of salvation in Christ.
In Christ is your significance. In Christ is your acceptance. In Christ you share in the goodness of God’s nature, and in His rule over every power and authority including those who would try to talk you into living according to the world instead of according to Christ.

3. Become Alive #Live in Him
Ephesians 2 says we have been made alive when we were dead; saved by grace from the wrath of God. In Jesus we have been given an incredible gift; one we didn’t deserve. Shouldn't we honor the one who gave us the gift, and use it for what it was meant to be used? Live in Him.

Is there something in your life that is lying in the middle of the interstate today? Something that you need to decide right now if you own it, or if it owns you.
By the power of the Holy Spirit, you can release that idol. You can return it to its proper place, and allow God to be the focus of your heart. Confess your sin before the Lord, and ask Him to give you the strength to overcome your idols.
1 John 1:9 says, “ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
The eighteen wheeler is approaching fast. You have to decide what your next move will be. Will you run out in front of the truck to protect your precious idol? Or will you let it be smashed to bits?

McMurry Family News

Since I posted Lisa's thoughts on losing the baby, I thought I would also share her most recent post as well. I love that girl.

So this morning has been a great day of celebration around here. My little Fletcher turns 5 today!! Birthday donuts and Lego building, new iPod listening and guitar playing are in full force!! We have a rule around here… the 1st day you get something you are not required to share if you don’t want to. Fletch is NOT sharing, unless he needs big brother’s help with the Lego building! :0) Causing a bit of frustration for the brothers, but he’s having a great day!

I received a call from my doctor this morning. When I had my procedure done on June 16th we asked that chromosome testing be done on the baby. When I was thinking about whether or not I wanted the testing, I didn’t think it really would matter and ultimately it doesn’t, but I didn’t want to regret not finding out and having it be too late. Results are in and I am so relieved and thankful for our decision.

Dr. Pixley said that the baby, a little boy, had Down syndrome. In keeping with our “little boy name ending in ‘er’” pattern, we have named him Tyler Shon McMurry. I am filled with warmth and love for my sweet baby all over again! I love that our baby has a name. He was real to me before, but he is even more real to me now!

This feels like a beginning, like the grief and healing can begin. I have been waiting for these results for a month, feeling kind of numb or at peace, not sure which. It is so strange not understanding your own emotions. The process is hard. A mommy’s love for her baby is so strong even before he enters the world. My heart aches to hold Tyler on my chest and feel him breathe and hear him cry. I long for that first stare into my eyes, knowing that he knows me instantly… but that will have to wait. For now I will cry and I will miss him. Taking one day at a time I will allow God to heal my broken heart and to reveal Himself to me in new ways. I will remind myself every day that God loves me more deeply that I can understand, that He knows best, and that I need to trust Him more fully, especially when I don’t understand. I will rest…

“So baby let sweet Jesus hold you, til mom and dad can hold you. You’ll just have heaven before we do.” Glory Baby, Watermark

McMurry baby update

The following was written by my wife, Lisa, on May 20. Thought it would be good to share with anyone who might be willing to pray along with us. June 14th can't get here quickly enough!

Thank you so much for all of your encouraging words and prayers. We did get a miracle today, although isn't exactly what I was praying for. Regardless, it is a miracle and I am so thankful! Here's what we found out...The baby has Cystic Hygroma with skin edema. This is not a good diagnosis, but it is better than it could be. The skin edema may or may not turn into the hydrops I mentioned earlier and that is when things get worse. Right now the baby has 5mm of fluid all located right below the skin level all over its body. There is no fluid near organs, which is very good. Baby had a great heartbeat at 167 beats per minute and was very active! YAY!This diagnosis points us toward 4 possible causes.

1) There is a 50% chance it is chromosome related. If we find out that this is the case, the genetic counselor is mainly concerned about it being Turner Syndrome, which is exclusive to baby girls. Turner Syndrome symptoms are that they are very small in stature, they do not ever go through puberty (although this can be hormonally induced) and will not be able to have children. There is some chance of learning disability, but they do have normal IQs so they are very capable of carrying on a normal life. That said, 99% of these babies do not make it to term. Good news… Most don’t even make it to 13 weeks so if this is determined to be the cause, THAT IS OUR MIRACLE!! The next thing on her list is Down Syndrome. Most of us are at least a little bit familiar with that one I think.

2) It could be caused by a structural defect. She would mainly be concerned about heart or kidney issues.

3) It could just be sporadic, with an unknown cause. I asked if the Cystic Hygroma size would be categorized as minimal or a lot and they said it was medium, but it is not too large to hope that it may resolve on its own as the baby grows. Sometimes there can be a blockage somewhere that is causing the fluid to be trapped instead of going where it needs to and there is a chance it could resolve.

4) The last cause could be a “syndrome” like a single gene condition. Because of our clean genetic history they have no idea where to start with this one. There are thousands and thousands of gene issues, but these can’t be explored until the baby is born.

Okay, I know that is a ton of information, but with all of that said here’s what we need to pray for: Any of these conditions are treatable if we can carry the baby to term and deliver. Right now my little goal is to make it to 18 weeks where we can get another good ultrasound and I am considering doing an amnio to see if we can get some kind of direction on what we might truly be looking at. I also ask you to pray that the edema and Cystic Hygroma do not grow. We are looking for it to stay the same or minimize.Don’t get me wrong, things are bad.. but we have HOPE and that is something I was afraid I would walk out without today! This sweet baby has a long road ahead, but we have a fighter and we also have a GOD who can handle all of this!
My next appointment is on June 14th. Praying for a MIRACLE!

Favorite shirt, or socks that don't match?

Mis-matched Socks - 5-22 from Carmel Students on Vimeo.

Has it ever happened to you? You go out in public, somewhere far from your sock drawer, and realize that you’re wearing one black sock and one argyle? I don’t own any argyles but I’ve definitely caught myself with one black and one blue. The likelihood of anyone noticing is pretty slim, yet we become acutely aware of the mis-match, and do everything we can to prevent someone else from noticing that our socks are different.

On the other hand, there are articles of clothing that we can’t wait to show off. Like a peacock displays his feathers, we can’t wait for someone else to see our favorite shirt (or dress or hat). The thrill is multiplied when someone compliments the shirt. We may try to be humble about it like, “what this old thing?” Inside we’re thinking, “why, yes this shirt is the most awesome thing you’ve ever seen and I am awesome in it."

In preparation for our quickly approaching Survivor 8th Grade Retreat, we asked a group of high school students to help us with the task of identifying questions that they think would be beneficial to rising freshmen. Our hope was to compile a list of these questions and build them into our teaching so that our 8th graders could “have their answer ready” before their transition to high school next fall.

We received some great questions from students in grades 9 - 12 who have first hand experience of living as a Christian in a world that is less than friendly to the faith. Our 8th graders will no doubt benefit from the experience of those who have gone before.
This question from a freshman named Thomas, will be a good teaching point for our Survivors, but should resonate with all of us as well.

The question: “Is your faith more like your favorite shirt, or a pair of mis-matched socks?”

It is tremendous insight from a high school freshman. Is your faith on display for others to see and experience, or do you do everything you can make sure no one notices?
We are called to live lives that point others toward Jesus, not ones that cover any evidence of his presence in our lives.

Fuel Serve: Urban Restoration

We did our first Fuel Serve project last September.As a part of that project, we had a team working at the home of a lady named Alonia Watson. Alonia’s Son, Tom, moved back to Charlotte from Texas a few years ago to take care of his aging mother. Over time, the yard at miss Alonia’s house had gotten into really bad shape.There were layers of dead leaves, weeds and ivy, and nothing new could grow there.Tom had wished he could make the yard a better looking place, but he knew that it was really too big of a job for him to tackle by himself. God works in ways we don’t even recognize or give Him credit for sometimes. While our team was just trying to find service projects for Fuel Serve, God was working in the details.
The crew that worked on Miss Alonia's house that day tied up bag after bag of leaves and yard debris, and in a few hours time, they had cleared the yard down to the dirt. Tom even got out there and worked with them.When I was there I talked with Tom. I found out that Tom is a believer, has trusted in Jesus, and was so thankful that God sent our students and families to work on his mom’s yard. Side note:Tom is a former martial arts national champion, and was the martial arts consultant for the TV show,Walker,Texas Ranger.
A couple of weeks ago, I was in my office on a Wednesday afternoon, and one of our other pastors came in my office and told me that there was a man here, and that someone had done work on his mom’s house, and would I come see if I knew him. When I saw Tom, I immediately recognized him. He is a very big guy, and his smile is unmistakeable.That day, his smile was even bigger than I remembered. He had just come from picking up some pictures he had developed. Pictures of what his mom’s yard looks like now. He told me about how he had wanted for so long to be able to revitalize his mom’s yard, but the job was just too big to handle alone. He kept saying,“but God sent the people from Carmel Baptist...”
God used us, when we didn’t even expect or suspect it, to minister to someone in His own unique way.

Fuel 4-17-2011 from Carmel Students on Vimeo.

The Rescue

There was nothing Adam and Eve could have done to repair their relationship with God. They chose to sin. They chose to put their own ideas of what is good in place of God's ideas... which we know are perfect. And I know it doesn't seem fair that they should get to set the pace for the rest of human history, but the Bible tells us in Romans 5:12 that, "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all sinned."
Since all have sinned, all deserve the penalty of sin, which is death, or separation from God. So Since the original sin, the sin of Adam and Eve, people have been imprisoned by Sin. As we move from the stories of the Creation and the Fall, and look toward the story of the Rescue, I want you to see that:
Sin is a Prison
Love has a Promise
Rescue is the Plan
In God’s story, He created a perfect place. Sin destroyed the relationship between God and people and even though we were still sinners, Jesus died so that we might be rescued.

The Story - 3-27-11 from Carmel Students on Vimeo.

The Creation and the Fall

A couple of summers ago, I had the opportunity to take a group of students to serve on a mission trip to Barbados. While I was there, one of the teams and I got to go into the public schools and share with the elementary and middle school students. It was very interesting to be in a public school where the Bible is still taught as a part of the curriculum. The kids all know the Bible stories. They know the books of the Bible, and they pray before lunch and before they leave for the day. But, even though they know a lot about the Bible and who God is, very few actually know God. They have the knowledge in their head, but they have no relationship with God in their heart.
The next to last day that we were in the school, I was out on the playground with a class of 6th graders, and I was kicking a soccer ball with a boy who was about 12 years old. We knocked the ball around for quite a while, and eventually we just ended up hanging out. We talked about his family and my family. We talked about his interests and my interests. We talked about his beliefs and my beliefs. His beliefs were a little different than my beliefs, and just in the conversation I could tell that he wasn’t very satisfied with his beliefs. His understanding was that he needed to be good in order for God to love him, and if his good outweighed his bad, then maybe he might get to go Heaven.
With his permission, I explained to him what I believe and what the Bible says about God’s love, but I didn’t just tell him the story; I showed him the story.

I’m sure many of you have seen this or something like it before. When I hung out with Winston, I was wearing a bracelet just like this one. A tool like this is an easy way to remember the different aspects of God’s story.

The Story - 3-20-2011 from Carmel Students on Vimeo.

The Story - The Power of Story

The Gospel is more than a list of bullet points; it is a story. Any story can be difficult to understand if you miss the beginning.

When I was in college, there was a movie out called Black Sheep, and my friends and I decided to go see it. For one reason or another, we were late for the movie. I was like, come on, lets just see something else, or go to a later show. But my friends thought, no, it doesn’t matter if we’ve missed the first 20 minutes... we can catch up. So we walk in to the theater. Its opening night... literally the only seats left in the whole house were on the front row. So I don’t know how the story began, and I’m forced to watch the movie from the front row, looking straight up.

You can guess what happened. I thought Black Sheep was the stupidest movie I had ever seen. I couldn’t understand why anyone would ever want to go see that movie. I was totally frustrated by even the idea of that movie. I didn’t understand the story, and honestly I didn’t want to have anything to do that movie for a long time. People who knew the story would talk about Black Sheep, and I would spout off about how stupid that movie is. I probably even insulted a few people over it, because I couldn’t understand how anybody could sit through something so ridiculously stupid. I didn’t understand the story, and I was completely turned off by it.

A couple of years later, I was in blockbuster... (you used to actually have to go a store and rent movies on big plastic video cassettes.) and I decided I would give Black Sheep another try. This time, I was in a comfortable place, I got to see the beginning of the story, I understood the plot, and actually had an enjoyable experience. Granted, Black Sheep is still not the best story in the world, or the best movie, but I get it. I laughed... in fact I still laugh even when I see clips of it on You Tube. Regardless of whether or not Black Sheep is a movie worth watching, what I want you to understand is that the first time I experienced that story I had a horrible experience. I didn’t get to hear the whole story, I didn’t understand what was going on, and I hated the story.

Now, imagine that the story is not Black Sheep, but instead what we know to be the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. You may really want someone to know the story; to fall in love with the story and trust it as the foundation for their life. Just like my expereince at that movie, though, we can’t expect someone to walk in to the middle of the story and enjoy.

When we think about the gospel, we need to have a bigger view of the story than just, “God loves you and has a plan for your life. Your sin separates you from God. Jesus is the bridge that connects you to God. Trust in Him and you will have eternal life.”

Even better, we need to have a more complete view of the story than the Vacation Bible School ABC’s. A - admit that you’re a sinner. B - believe that Jesus is God’s son. C - confess him as your savior and lord, and you’ll have life eternally.

People need to understand the Big Picture of the story, and how your story fits in to that big picture.

The Story - 3-11-2011 from Carmel Students on Vimeo.