I love Perry Noble, He is the Pastor of Newspring Church, a very hard hitting and innovative church in South Carolina.  He does not mince words and says what is on his heart.  The following is a blog he posted today, he is talking to pastors, but the principles apply to us all, we cannot give the enemy a foothold or even crack the door for him.

Attention Pastors: Keep Your Penis In Your Pants!!!

No, the title is NOT a type-o!  I meant exactly what I said…and I will mean every single word that follows.

Before you write me an email (which will automatically deleted…I don’t freakin’ care what anyone thinks about this post) you need to understand that I am completely pissed off…and…at the same time completely broken over this subject!

AND…this is something that NEEDS to be addressed.  Unfortunately at conferences people will talk about it in the corners and private conversations…but rarely will anyone speak (or blog) about it because they feel they may offend someone if they use “strong language.”  I am SICK and TIRED of people dancing around the issue and speaking in OBSCURE terms!
It’s about freakin’ time SOMEONE quite worrying about who gets offended and just flat out told the truth…

PASTORS…we have a calling from God, we are called to live with integrity, we are called to LEAD by living an example…and that CANNOT be done if we are trying to have sex with women that we are NOT MARRIED TOO!

The other day I was sitting at my desk and received an email from a friend informing me that another good friend of ours had disqualified himself from the ministry because of an affair.

I wanted to throw up!  I began shaking all over.  I wanted to cry…and at the same time I wanted to throw things and cuss.  The enemy scored another notch…another black eye on the Christian faith.

Am I judging the guy?  Heck no!  Anytime I hear of something like this happening I always say, “It’s by God’s grace that it didn’t happen to me.”  In fact; I called him and spoke with him for quite a while.  I love the guy–he’s my friend and always will be.

However, pastors–THIS HAS TO STOP!  We cannot get up on Sunday and tell people how to live if lust and sexual fantasies with women we are not married to are dominating our minds.

Paul said in Philippians 4:8 that we need to think about things that exalt Christ…NOT satisfy our own flesh!  Let me ask you an honest question pastor–RIGHT NOW…is there a woman other than you wife that you are thinking sexual thoughts about?

If the answer is yes then you’ve GOT TO TELL SOMEONE!  PLEASE, get some help!!!  Talk to a friend…go see a Counselor…but DO IT NOW!  I know you think you are strong…but all it takes is ONE WEAK MOMENT and then BAM…everything you’ve worked so hard for is LOST on the five seconds of sensation that you obtain!

It’s SO SAD when pastors will talk about how bad it was that Esau sold his birthright for a bowl of soup…and then they will turn around and sell their ministry for an orgasm!

Is it tough to maintain a sexually pure mind?  YOU HAD BETTER BELIEVE IT!  I remember my pastor saying to me back in 1990 when he was meeting with a group of young men who were called into the ministry, “Boys, everyone of you is going to have a chance to have an affair…and it’s not because you are good looking but rather because the enemy is crafty and knows he can use a woman to take you down!”

I know of some pastors who have had emotional affairs with women…and when questioned about it they will simply say, “Well, my wife just wasn’t there for me!”

WHAT A FREAKIN’ WIMP!!!  In 99.9% of the cases the wife wasn’t there because the PASTOR was out trying to impress everyone else and, in doing so, didn’t pursue his wife!!!!!!!  SHE NEEDS YOU BRO!!!  AND…if you would pursue her and QUIT allowing the church to be your mistress…things would be a lot better!

Pastors…I am NOT a legalist…except for this subject!  We simply CANNOT allow the enemy to steal our calling, kill God’s work and destroy our families simply because we began thinking between our legs and not between our ears!

My advice…take RADICAL steps.  Make a committment to NEVER be alone with a woman!  EVER…under ANY circumstances.  Form a relationship with a godly man whom you trust and talk about your struggles…every single one of them.  Pastors–we’ve GOT to stop trying to impress others with how “godly we are!”  HONESTY paves the way to INTIMACY with GOD…and the reason a lot of pastors don’t feel a connection with the ALMIGHTY is because they are too busy trying to “connect” with a willing woman…BUT denying that they have the desire to do so!!!

If you are a church member…PRAY for the purity of your pastor–EVERY SINGLE DAY!  Is sexual temptation real for him?  Let me go ahead and say it–YES!  (And the pastor who says no is a freakin’ liar!!!)  As I said earlier…the enemy is wise…he knows WHEN to tempt and WHAT to tempt with!!!  Pray that he will walk with Jesus and ONLY have eyes for his wife!!!

PASTORS…the battle is REAL…and IF you are struggling it is NOT going to go away!  How do you resist?

STOP DENYING there is a problem…if there is…CONFESS IT!!!

PURSUE YOUR WIFE with passion like never before!  Warning…if you haven’t pursued her in a while she is going to be skeptical of your advances…it’s going to take time to win back her heart.

II Corinthians 10:5 says that we should take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ…that means WHEN (not if) the lustful thoughts come your way…understand that those thoughts are NOT FROM GOD…take them captive!

STOP FLIRTING WITH ANYONE EXCEPT FOR YOUR WIFE!!! No texting, no emails, no chatting online, no “counseling appointments,” no long lunches…STOP IT NOW!!!

I’ve said about all I am going to say about this for now…as I said…I am ANGRY…angry that the enemy is so persistent and that SO MANY men give in rather than calling on the unbelievable power that Christ has placed inside of us through HIS Holy Spirit.

Pastors…let’s be men who LOVE Jesus, LOVE our wives, LOVE our children and then LOVE His church!

AND…one more time, IF you are struggling with this–PLEASE GET HELP!  You cannot keep sin in the dark…Galatians 6:7 says God will not be mocked…you know that verse…you’ve preached it many times…problem is you don’t think it applies to you…and it does!!!

My desire when it is all said & done is NOT to pastor the largest church in the world or to speak at tons of conferences or to sell lots of books…but rather to hear the words of my Lord, “Well done my good and faihtful servant.”

And…if I die before ‘Cretia I want for her to be able to stand over my coffin and KNOW that I was 100% faithful to her…that I was a man who took a vow to forsake all others…and that I was man enough to fulfill that vow!!!

Do you have the stones to man up?  Will you commit to purity RIGHT NOW?  Seriously, break off a phone call to someone TODAY and have a serious conversation about this.  Ask them to ask you the tough questions…and be man enough to be honest!!!  We can’t let the enemy have any more ground here…let’s take it back!!!

Ok here is the final installment of this set of posts.  As a member/partner we agree to

1-Protect the Unity of Lihthouse

2-Share the Responsibility of Lighthouse

3-Serve the Ministry of Lighthouse

and 4th and finally I will Support the Testimony of Lighthouse Assembly this is done by:

• attending faithfully
• living a Godly life
• by giving regularly

Supporting the church is more than lip service.

You cannot protect the unity, share the responsiblity, or serve the ministry if you do not attend regularly!  You have to be here to be a part of what is going on!

If you fail to live a Godly life you undermine your credibility to protect unity, share the responsibility, & serve the ministry!  If you fail to live right it does not  matter what you do!

By giving regularly you are saving I am part of this family and I help to pay the bills.  We do our very best to keep our monthly expenses down and direct as much money toward ministry as possible.  If our partners fail to give we are limited in what we are able to do.  God provides for Lighthouse by providing for you.  Every member/partner must Support the Testimony by supporting the church financially.

Being a member/partner of Lighthouse is not a causal thing, it is not spectator sport, it is a team effort, and as “each part does its own special work, the body become healthy, growing and full of love” (Eph 4:16)

God has been doing great things in our church because of members/partners like you.  Remain faithful and let’s take more ground for the Kingdom of God!

Sometimes your kids get sick.

Sometimes they throw up.

Sometimes they trow up on you.

The joys of being a parent!

I must have been delusional, I mean after all I have the background, the experience, the chops, you would think that I would qualify . I mean I have been playing guitar for 23 years, I have played in a few different bands, I have shared the stage with some amazing people, I have played all over the Northeast, performed before 1,ooo’s, I have recorded my own music as well as been featured on other people projects, I have met lot of famous musicians, I have even signed a few autographs in my day. You would think that in my house I would be The Real Rockstar………but I am not, in my house the Real Rockstar is My Wife! She is amazing is so many ways, but what makes her the Real Rockstar is the fact that she mops the floor with me in Guitar Hero!!!!!

You would think that I could destroy her at this, after all I play guitar, I know how to play so many of the songs for real, you would just assume that I would rock, but I DON’T and Ange really does. So I admit it to the world, my wife Ange is the Real Rockstar!

I’m going to crack the shell a little. In this series of posts I am hoping to let everyone have a look into my head, heart, past, etc. These will probably be “Stream of Consciousness” type posts, because that is what it is like inside my head, so if it gets a little crazy and confusing I apologize but please enjoy the ride. So here we go:

For those who didn’t know I was born in the sunny south, West Palm Beach FL. If you have seen my son Maddox, you are looking at a carbon copy of me as a child, poor kid, everyday he gets to see what he is going to look like when he gets old, too bad. Anyway, my Dad came to faith the year I was born. The folks are from opposite ends of the world, Dad is from LA, the one with swamps, not the one with the celebrities, well Britney is a celebrity but she left Dad’s LA and and moved to the other one. Still with me? Mom is from the Bronx NY, they met in the Navy. I love our Military and even if you don’t agree with the war, SUPPORT THE TROOPS. And after Dad got home from Vietnam they were stationed in Pensacola FL, where my older brother was born. I came along two years later, it was that year that my Mom bought my Dad a guitar, an Epiphone acoustic, two crazy/awesome things that have forever impacted my life. Looking back those tow things, my Dad’s salvation and my Dad’s guitar, have both changed the course of my life forever. They have had a profound impact on me becoming the man that I am. The tattoos on my body even reflect those two things. Salvation and song forever entwined. Almost 35 five years have past since then, I still have the guitar, it is sitting in the corner just a few feet from me (although it is no longer playable thanks to my brothers who sat on it while wrestling a few years back) and I have a faith of my own. Cool.

Life has been very crazy for the past two weeks, between the holiday and the whole family being sick, it has been insane!!!!

So tonight, I get the 4 year old twins, Chloe & Airelle, to bed and they go down without any trouble. I walk down the hall to my 2 year old son Maddox’s room and the battle begins.

First he wants to read a tractor book, so we do, then he wants to unplug his night light and throw it across the room. Needless to say things are taking a bad turn. We have our battle of the wills, I lay him down and cover him up, he kicks off his blankets and says “NO!” Finally I get him settled and covered, I turn off his light and I say, (still slightly annoyed) “Good night Bubba, I love you” and his reply was one word, “Kiss.” So I turned around knelt down and our lips met and then he smiled. The aggravation melted away, and I said again in a much softer and more tender tone, “Goodnight Bubba, I love you.”

It is amazing how my kids can make me crazy and then in a moment melt my heart.

My favorite blog is Swerve the blog from Pastor Craig at Lifechurch.tv. Most days the topics are about leadership and the future of the church, great stuff. But today, after a week of intense blogs about the future of the church Craig lightened things up with a blog about his kids. This got me thinking about my kids. And the truth is I am forever changed. If I am being completely honest my three make me crazy a lot of the time, three kids under four is a hand full and poor Ange has to keep up with them all day, God give her grace and strength.

Maddox is all boy and almost never slows down. Chloe is mostly mellow, but very sensitive and even though she is the best behaved can be the most stubborn and difficult (she is just like me) and Arielle is the life of the party and in the middle of every conflict. Yes, most days they make me crazy, I think it has more to do with the ages then anything and I know it will be easier (in some ways) as they get older, but they challenge me every day and force me to chose what kind of man I am going to be.

Am I going to be selfish and short tempered, are I going to be gentle and understanding, am I going to be merciful and gracious, or will I be judgmental and hash. I’d like to say that I always reflect the character of Christ in my dealings, sadly that is not always the case. But I am learning.

I have never been someone who cried, tears have never come easy for me, it goes back to something in childhood, but that is another blog altogether, but suffice it to say I don’t really cry very often, or at least I never used to. Ange soften me a bit, but my kids have really melted my heart. I now have a little understanding of what God feels, a glimpse into the Father Heart of God, I now feel closer to the Lord because of my kids. I am forever changed and will continue to be changed and it is a very good thing.

Thanks guys, Daddy loves you!