If you're a member of a Sunday Volunteer Team, or if you're ready to join a team, we would love to invite you to the Launch Conference at CITYCHURCH on Sunday, September 8th, from 4:00 p.m.-7:00 p.m. During this conference, you can expect preaching and vision casting from

Pastor Dean, a full band with an extended time of music, a time to share

the Lord's Supper, a time to focus our vision and passion for creating

irresistible environments in Tallahassee, and a breakout time with your

ministry area for dinner, relationship building, and training. Make plans to join us and sign up online today!

Are you new to CITYCHURCH and wondering what's next? Then join us for NEXT, an engaging 2 hour class (with a break!) for an overview of our mission, strategy, and environments to help you determine your best next step. Dinner and childcare are provided.  NEXT will take place on Sunday, August 11th from 5:30 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. Sign up here.  

"How are you going to be obedient to God today?"

I remember writing this down on a napkin during lunch after my friend had just posed this question to me. He was encouraging me to start every day by asking that question to myself and as I began processing it I felt convicted on how I so often manage my life.

I remembered the feeling of stepping off my high school campus for the last time as a student. I had managed to graduate a semester early after taking some online classes and doubling up in a few subject areas. I was bored with where I was in life, and wanted to be heading towards the next thing.

For most of my life I have always been this way, looking for the next phase, the next project, or whatever that next thing may be. This mindset leads me to so often rush things, and completely miss the moments that God has placed right in front of me.

"How am I going to be obedient to God today" reminds me to be faithful to the "now," and not overly consumed with the "next." When I stop viewing everything as a stepping-stone I am freed to see the significance and beauty of where God currently has me.

In James chapter 4 we are given proper perspective on our lives. Comparing our lives to a mist that "appears for a little while and then vanishes" James rebukes people who battle with the same struggle that I do. Always seeking to move on to the next thing and advancing their own future instead of seeking God's will daily. While there is wisdom in planning and anticipating what the future may hold, James is clear that we are not promised anything beyond the day we are currently given.  

"How am I going to be obedient to God today?" is not a legalistic question to help us create some sort of super Christian to-do list, but rather it is a question of "How does what we know to be true in the gospel propel us to action now?"

If you and I want to live lives dramatically shaped by the gospel, and driven towards a love for our city, we have to see the implications that the gospel has for us today.

When I got home later that day I taped that question on my mirror as a reminder to see every day, every conversation, and every opportunity that is given to me as a chance to be obedient to God in response to what has been given to me in Christ.

One of the things that I am learning is that if we want to see a future that is truly impacted by the gospel then sometimes the best thing we can do is to step back and ask ourselves "How am I going to be obedient to God today?"