Denominations comes from a Greek worked called “denom” which means “to divide.”

However I believe there should be unity in the Church instead of such a strong spirit of competition and belief that you are not a strong Christian just because you haven’t been a huge part of a particular denomination.

Obviously my frustration is borne out of a recent experience. I have been felt called to be a part of a church for some time and possibly on staff in a part-time roll. Reaching out to a local denomination I was actually affiliated with for more than 20 years, however, resulted in me being told I don’t understand why they do what they do simply because I have attended a non-denominational church.

Can Christ not unify beyond the “denom” boundaries?

Why would someone question my commitment to their denomination but not even ask about my relationship to Jesus and what God has been doing in my life lately?

I have so many questions, but one thing I know remains truthful: unity should exist in the church and transcend all boundaries. Jesus didn’t come to die for a few, but for all. And it is the Church that must take up the cross daily and follow Him with our all.

I am excited about the One Prayer movement that has been taking place as the team behind it seeks to mobilize believers around the world around one prayer that can transcend denominations and unite the world for Christ.

Just the way God probably intended it to be from the beginning. What do you think?

For a split second you can reflect on things that have eternal significance. You catch your breath while letting life slow down.

And then the slightest break in that rhythm occurs. And throws it all away.

We are human. But why do we allow something so pristene to be lost in time to something so trivial?

We may never know those answers. But tonight I experienced just that. My question of the week this week: why?

Except for tonight.

Really I’m not thinking so much about the future as I am wondering if this is all life is about. Things have been so mundane lately and the daily stresses of life have really not helped.

Did I lose my passion somewhere alon the way? Or is this a chance for me to catch my breath before the next big life journey begins?

Of course all of this makes no sense to anyone reading. But I am going to start opening my blog up to reflect more on what God is doing within me than trying to always add my wisdom to the world conversation.

My hope right now is for love to conquer all. Love from Jesus. Love for Jesus. Love for my wife. Love for my daughter. And love for friends and family.

Maybe it will all start to make sense then.

Life often gains speed as things click and we find our groove. But we aren’t careful, it can take a turn for the worst. So you must intentionally make sure you take a break. At first I planned to take a few days off. Then it began to turn into weeks.

There is something freeing about limiting how much you accomplish. Which is odd, wouldn’t you say? Freedom is found through limitation.

I heard a great story the other day about a little girl who wanted to play with a scorpion. Her dad pulled her away immediately when he saw it. She viewed this as a limitation. He viewed it as freedom. So I will be continuing my quest for freedom from the noise by posting diligently, yet not daily. I hope you will continue to come back and add to the discussion when you can too.

Who knows, you might experience freedom too.

We chose a burgundy and white color scheme after visiting the church and noticing a faded maroon carpet. We wanted to bring this color to life online and provide a rich experience that didn’t get in the way of the content. Thanks to Standard Theme, changing up the color was extremely easy via modifying the custom.css file.

Designers need to remember that little details such as color can be the key to a well-received design. The last thing you want is a first-time visitor or guest to visit a website with bright green and blue colors and walk into a sanctuary with maroon and white.

As a freelancer, you want to make sure you build flexibility into your schedule. And you also want to try and capture the moment versus scheduling a forced-moment. So one afternoon when I was driving home from work I realized the sun was perfect for a photo. I swung by Pleasant Hill since it is near my home and snapped a few photos as the sun was setting through the trees. I think the effect was great!

The beauty of being a freelancer that exists for local churches is you can do something like I did. Working within your element and community provides you with an advantage other businesses wouldn’t have. This is what drives us and we are excited about the possibilities with investing in our future!

In order to reach people no one is reaching you have to do things no one is doing. This is our motto at PIXL Designs and so we incorporated several elements into Pleasant Hill’s header that restate the obvious – name, location, and phone. The biggest objective for their website right now is to become visible and allow people to find them when searching online.

We’ll be sharing more on our design process for Pleasant Hill this week, so be sure and stay tuned. And as always, we’d love to hear your opinion so give us some comment love!

For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

— John 3:16

Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it.

— 1 Peter 3:15

For I fully expect and hope that I will never be ashamed, but that I will continue to be bold for Christ, as I have been in the past. And I trust that my life will bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die.

—Phillipans 1:20