Tag Archive - T.J. McCormick

The Morning After

February 8, 2010 in Church with 2 Comments

This past weekend was incredible at Coastal Community Church.  We finished up our series called THE BLESSED LIFE with a message on reaching the lost.  I love talking about Jesus and how he changed my life and how we should be passionate to tell others what he has done for us.  I was a little jacked up and got my preach on when usually I am pretty laid back and chilled.  There are just some things in life that I am incredibly passionate about and reaching people for Jesus is probably the one that tops them all.

I cannot wait for this upcoming series that we have called UNWRITTEN, I believe that it is going to help each one of us see the purpose and plans that God still has for our lives whether we are 12, 22, 72 or 102.  God still has a story that he wants to write in our life and all we have to do is discover what that is and pursue those dreams with all that we have got.  I cannot wait to see everyone this next weekend.  You don’t want to miss what we have in store for the next couple of weeks.MainSlide

Prayer

January 13, 2010 in Uncategorized with 1 Comment

I was at our prayer meeting this morning and something really hit me hard.  While some would say that I am a professional Christian and this is something that I should be really good at, I am not.  I am really bad at this whole prayer thing.  It is not that I don’t believe in the power of prayer or even want to pray, I just find that it is typically my last resort to a situation to say, “I should pray about this.”  I don’t know why that is, it just is.

  • The reasons I don’t pray more:
  • It is easier to just complain about the situation
  • It is easier to talk to someone else about it
  • It is easier to just deal with the situation on my own
  • It is easier to deny the situation
  • It is easier to try to rely on myself rather than God
  • It is easier to stay in bed than get up early and pray

During this week of prayer and fasting God put on my heart that I need to wear out the carpet at the office in prayer.  When I pray I am one of those guys who paces back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.  I got a picture of that path of carpet being worn out by the end of this year because I committed myself in prayer for this community.

How do you feel about prayer?  Is it something that gets you all excited to go do or is it a chore for you at times as well?

I know that I will probably catch some slack for this post but while I might be a pastor, I am not perfect and don’t have it all figured out.  I am still working on my life and my relationship with God and a continually growing.

THIS WEEKEND!!!

September 25, 2009 in Uncategorized with 0 Comments

I am so excited for this weekends message.  I think that it will probably be one of the best messages I have ever shared.  The reason I think it will be so powerful is the fact that so many people deal with the subject we are going to be talking about on Sunday.  You do not want to miss church this weekend at Coastal Community Church.

I truly believe that God is up to something BIG in Ft. Lauderdale.  I know that He definitely has GREATER THINGS in store for his church than what we can dream or imagine.  I can’t wait to see how lives are transformed by the power of his Holy Spirit.  When we open ourselves up to what He wants to do instead of what we want to do, God has the opportunity to do a new thing in our life.  I truly believe that this weekend will be an opportunity for God to do something completely new and different in peoples lives and bring FREEDOM to our lives.

Can’t wait to see you all this weekend!!!

Coastal Community Church is off and running!!!

September 22, 2009 in Uncategorized with 0 Comments

It has been a couple of weeks since my last blog post and I apologize.  The last two weeks have been a dream come true for me.  On September 13, 2009 we had the very first service of Coastal Community Church.  It was probably the 3rd greatest moment of my life besides accepting Christ and marrying my wife.  We had 357 people show up for that first service. The room was filled with anticipation, people gave their all in worship and the word of God was preached.  At the end of the day I was exhausted but at the same time I was invigorated.  It was one of the most surreal moments of my life.  I am not an emotional guy but when the commitment song, Came to my Rescue, was being sung and I looked out and saw hundreds of people worshipping God I just broke down.  There is nothing greater than seeing the Spirit of God move in peoples live to draw them into His presence.

I am so thankful to all of you who have been praying for Shayla, myself and our team.  You have no idea what is about to take place in Ft. Lauderdale because of your faithfulness.  To all those who have contributed financially to the vision before it was a reality, thank you so much for your belief and faith in us to do a Greater Thing down here.  Finally, to those who sacrificed by moving your families and giving up jobs, family and friends, you are my heroes.  We could not have planted this church without you and you have been such a huge encouragement and source of inspiration to us.

The Process is the Point

July 1, 2009 in Uncategorized with 3 Comments

I was reading the other day when I came across a quote from a pastor of a church called Elevation Church.  Steven Furtick said this “Between the promise and the payoff is the process, and the process is the point.”  I don’t now about you but I love it when I hear about the promises of God or think about the end result of whatever I am doing and how great it is going to be.  I have found that in the past I have not really been a big fan of the process.  The process is the place where the rubber meets the road.  It is where the friction of life happens, where all the ruff spots get sanded down until they are smooth.  The process is typically the painful part of any endeavor in life but at the same point probably the most important aspect.

images4I think about the season of life that I am in right now.  God has called Shayla and I to the most amazing call in my opinion, to help build His church by starting Coastal Community Church in Ft. Lauderdale.  The promise of God building His church is something that I stand on all time and get pumped up about in life.  Then when I think about the payoff of peoples lives being transformed, lost people being found, hurting finding hope, broken being fixed and fearful finding faith it is energizing.  The thing about both of those areas, the promise and the payoff is that they are not seen on a daily basis unless you really look for them.  Most of the time, all you see is the process.  The process can be the most trying, complicated, confusing and frustrating thing you ever face, but I think this is the place where true growth and faith takes place.  I found for myself that I don’t grow in the promise or payoff stage of life but when I am in the process.  I really believe that is where God wants each one of us in life, in the process.  That is where we are refined, shaped and molded to be more like Jesus.  So many times in the process we give up because it is to hard or painful.  Here is the thing that I found to be true in my life, I only change when there is pain or pleasure.  When the process is painful enough, I will make change.  Whether that is not relying on my own strength but Gods or finally breaking down my pride and submitting to what He wants.  We need the fire of adversity to test the strength of our faith.

Where are you at today in the process?

Are you allowing God to refine you or are you giving up in the process?

What have you given up on that you need to go back to?

Let’s value the process as much as the promise.  I pray today that God would open our eyes to see that the process is really the point that He is trying to make in our lives not just the promise and payoff.

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