To the White House Church of Christ

To the White House Church of Christ,


As you know I am leaving to work as the full time preaching minister at the Holly Hill Church of Christ in Daytona Beach, Florida. Goodbyes are never easy; however please consider this my sincere goodbye and farewell.
I want you all to know that I am truly leaving here with mixed emotions; exited about my new opportunity in Florida yet sad to be leaving a church that I love and such a great group of people whom I can call friends and family. The last 5 years has been a time of blessing and growth for me; I have enjoyed my time with you and hope that my next ministry will be filled with as much encouragement and love that you have shown to me and my family. I know that God will not only bring the right person to be your next minister, He will also bless you in new and exciting ways.
I look forward to knowing that our paths will cross again, whether in this life or the one to come. Thank you again for your love, encouragement, friendship, and prayers.

Grace & Peace,
Vic

Good is good all the time!

Titans, Texans, Elections, Jesus, & Unity

This Sunday is a big day for Titans and Texans fans. Even though it is too early in the season to know who will win the division, it seems as if it has come down to either the Titans or the Texans. Most of you are Titans fans, as you know I am a Texans fan, therefore we are at a crossroads. I think both games we play this season will be bitter fights. Can we get along or will this divide us?
Next year is a big election, some of you are democrats, some of you are republicans, some of you are Tea or even Green Partiers, and some of you just don’t know what you are politically. It will be a heated election; will our political differences divide us? Some of you are doing well financially, other are not; will that disparity in income levels weaken our fellowship? There are so many worldly reasons for us to be divided, disconnected, and maybe even bitter; but who are we really, are we a worldly people controlled by a worldly rationale? Of course not, we have been transformed (Romans 12), and are no longer a people who think or act like the world because we are no longer of the world. We are born again, resurrected into a new life with Jesus in which we think, act, speak, and live within the Spirit of God. Jesus’ example of everyday living is the model by which we live; He is our heart, our DNA that nudges us to good works, righteousness, love, grace, and unity. We are never going to agree on who is the best NFL team (TEXANS), we are never going to agree on who should be president, and we are never all going to be in the same financial bracket. But we can all agree on the one thing, the main thing, the only thing that matters; we belong to Jesus. Jesus is our common bond, and together with Him we overcome all things that disrupt unity.

NOTE: The Texans will win this Sunday!!!!

Humble Like Christ

Sometimes my conscience gets the best of me and it hits me that I need to be better, spiritually mature, or simply more like Christ. It might be that someone pulls out in front of me causing me to slow down, it might be that someone dropped the ball on their ministry at church, it might be that my kids are not moving as quickly as I want them to, or it might be that I think that the world should revolve around me. When I am at my most selfish I am also at my most destructive and impulsive. It is then that I act out of anger or arrogance when things don’t go my way. All too often I have been too harsh with my children, too judgmental of a fellow Christian, and too busy to listen to the needs of others. I’m not being too hard on myself; I’m just being honest that there is a part of me that is just not good. Whenever I read a scripture like Philippians 2:5-8, I find myself convicted to move beyond my selfishness and to become the person God designed me to be. Jesus acted out of love and holiness when dealing with others, He was able to rise above human arrogance and live with a humility that built others up rather than tear them down. The more God and His Word are present in my heart and mind the more I find myself inclined to love and serve rather than to be the old selfish me. Make it your goal today to allow Christ to guide your every move, word, and thought and you will enjoy God’s glory being revealed in your every moment.

“1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:1-11 NIV