Luke, Oh The Places You’ll Go.

Over the weekend I met a seven-year old named Luke. After the 5:30pm service, Luke’s mom came up to me and she proceeded to tell me that her son wanted to meet me, but was too shy to do it on his own, a childhood fear I remember quite well. But, after introducing me to her charismatic 2nd grader, together they proceeded to tell me how he was practicing a song on his violin that he was going to play at another church the following day. (video at the end!)

Now, I remember clearly the first time I played violin at my church. I was 10-years old, and I was scared out of mind! While I had never been afraid of making friends or making people laugh, playing music in front of people… well, let’s just say at that time it wasn’t going to be the highlight of my day. To recap my first time playing, I played ‘Jesus Loves Me.’ I messed up on one note, kept it together with my eyes welling up the rest of the song, finished the last note, ran off the stage, and about two rows before making it back to my parents, I broke down crying. Sobbing really, which of course made everyone in the church clap even louder because they wanted to make me feel better, they appreciated my courage, and they wanted to encourage me to move forward.

Well, move forward I did. I don’t ever remember breaking down again after that day, but it’s now nearly 19 years later, GULP, and I could have never dreamed that I would be where I am today, having recorded one album, with another one on the way (Lord willing), and playing my ridiculously awesome electric violin on a semi-regular basis. Getting to honor the Lord with a gift that no one saw coming, including myself, has been so rewarding.

So, back to Luke, he was six years old when he started playing, so he’s got a good 4 year start on me. I guess I better watch my back. I joked on Instagram when I posted that I found my replacement, but who knows what is in store for him. Even in my brief time with Luke, there was one quality that I saw in him that I remember having myself even at a young age. My love for the violin. I loved my instrument, and so does he. He was smiling from ear to ear when we were talking about how long he’s been playing, and then I showed him my Transformer version of a violin and had him hold it. Then after we said goodbye, and I wished him well with his solo at church, I couldn’t stop thinking; what would I say to myself at the beginning of my musical experiment? What would I say to Luke? Well, here we go.

Luke, God gives gifts for a reason. We don’t always understand the how or why, but if you will choose to stay close to Jesus and love him for all your days; he will take those squeaky shrilly notes, and make them something beautiful. The violin is a difficult instrument to learn, but you know that, and you most likely don’t care at all because you somehow have all the patience in the world for it, just as I once did. Playing the violin will be an asset to you, and a part of who you are, but it is just that, only a part. Regardless of how much others might want to define you with that; and even sometimes you yourself might try to wear your gift as a label, resist the desire to do so. While it is a very special gift, and you will understand that even more later on, it can be very hard to break out of that defining label, that is your gifting. You only want to feel important because of the God you serve and not because of the gift/gifts you have been given. He thinks you are so magnificent just the way you are, and the love He has for you knows no bounds or limits. The GIFT is for His enjoyment, your enjoyment, and created to impact those around you. Remember: the ability to play violin is a special thing, but the gift is NOT the thing that makes you special or valuable.

I don’t know what tomorrow holds for you Luke, but you’re a special boy to be given a desire to play the violin. It is the best instrument there is when it comes to conveying emotion. I never knew what it was that I held in my hand until God began to show me his heart, and then I’d begin to hear what His heart was saying, and then I would play it. That might seem like a complex idea at the moment, but then again, maybe you’ll understand it completely. You have parents who will encourage you but never force you to stay with it, and that’s a good thing. While there may be times you think about quitting, I pray that your love for music and for God; as long as it remains, will always help guide you back to loving it.

Last thing. Learn to love worship. Jesus loves you so much, and He really loves it when you show Him and give Him your love in return. You have such a sweet spirit, so I know that you’ll gravitate towards this, but it takes an uncharacteristic trait and determination to break through everything around you and just show Jesus that you love Him, whether through a song on your violin, or by breaking the mold and showing Him with extravagant worship.

Even though I don’t know you that well Luke, I love you, and I see so much potential in you. Keep running with passion and keep loving Jesus. You’re gonna be awesome at whatever it is that you put your hands to.

Nineteen years later,

Coty.

Here is Luke and his brother and sister practicing at home.

Trust & Obey

Well, it is January 21st, and after a somewhat less than flawless trip down from the tundra of Minnesota to the tropics of Texas, one small part of my transition is complete, but it is not over.

Transition, in anything, can be complex. It is something that is worked out day-by-day over a period of time, until finally, without warning, your season and subsequently your transition is complete. Until that moment arrives, you must continue to do two things and two things only; trust and obey.

Trusting God in the moment with the frailty of the future, and obeying his voice in the quietest of moments, can be even harder and often more challenging than having made your initial decision to begin to move or make a transition in the first place. And while few understand the magnitude of your initial decision, even fewer may understand what will follow. In the days, weeks, and months ahead, the working out and preparation of every good thing your future seasons holds, will begin and often hinge on your willingness to trust and obey.

Trust the dream.

He spoke something to my heart and now I am responsible for it. God spoke and revealed works and wisdom concerning my future days, and those works have caused me to change the course of my life. Now, I stand in a place of trusting those futuristic things spoken within my heart, and believing the dreams now beating, alive within it’s walls. The dream is more tender and seemingly frail now, than ever before. Every ounce of doubt will have to be drawn out of me, like poison from a wound, lest the dream be threatened, choked out, and eventually fade away. I must trust Him with the dream, leaving my hands open. When all the tendons in my wrists strain to grip tightly around these things that have yet to come to pass, I must remain open. Wide open. I must trust Him.

Obeying the dreamer.

No one wants these dreams to come to pass more than Him. Regardless of how badly I want to see the fullness of my destiny come to the surface; He wants to see it more. So amongst the noise inside my head, I have to quiet myself and simply obey even the smallest of leadings. Remain yielded, that is the goal. When you feel the urge to run, slow down. When you want to start yelling, quiet yourself. Unless He says run, or He says shout, I must remain obedient, because now is not the time for missteps. All of this rides on Him, but still the responsibility now also rests with me, since the season and path that my feet now approach, have been lit a little bit further than before. I don’t yet know all that will be required of me, but I know that I am willing to remain obedient to the transition even when it doesn’t make perfect sense. He’s the ultimate dreamer and the way He works is perfect when I remain the mold-able and yielded vessel that moves at the sound and gentle leading of His voice.

There is a whole lot of uncertainty that comes with the decision to trust and obey God. The contents of this blog are certainly the weighty side of things; there are many joys that come with it as well, but this is where my thoughts are as of late. There are times where it is easier than this, and I’m sure there are complexities today that will reduce themselves to simplicities in the near future, but in the meantime, you make the choice daily to move forward. The easiest way I know how to walk that out, isn’t always easy, but if I can simply trust the dream and obey the dreamer I know that my season of transition will come to an end, and I will be ever closer to walking in the fullness of what God has for me than ever before; and as a result, my life will be richer because of the process.

Transition

There is two paths we choose in this life. One is wide and one is narrow. One of them you can see far into the predicted future, the other you take one step at a time. One leads to fulfillment, and the other to emptiness  For me, it was over 9 years ago when I made a choice to take the road with which I had no idea where it would lead. I didn’t know at the time, how much would be required of me to stay near it, let alone on it. But, I said yes. I said yes to whatever God wanted to do in my life, wherever that would take me.

November and December have been pretty intense months for me. In November, I traveled down south to visit some family and have Thanksgiving with them. It was on this trip that Holy Spirit began to reveal a lot of things to me. Like a giant puzzle I didn’t know existed, pieces started coming together and a picture of what would become my very near future began to emerge.

After much prayer, thoughtful consideration, and council from people in my life that I love and respect; I made a choice to embrace the opportunity that God is affording me and to begin a transition to Texas. It’s strange how one moment you can be getting comfortable and used to your surroundings and then, you get seemingly broadsided. While I had the sense that change was coming, I did not know the scale of what was about to happen, or that it would cause me to physically move, but back in I 2003, I didn’t know the scale of the change that was going to happen when I first said yes. Still, I am choosing to say yes, yet again.

It feels like a gift, knowing some incredible things are about to unfold in my life, but it is a bittersweet experience, because having to leave people I love and care about is a difficult thing to do. These past 4 and 1/2 years I have lived in the small town of Ottertail, Minnesota, and the years spent here have been life changing because of the people that were a part of it. With Jesus as my guide, I continue to run this race, with endurance, in pursuit of His perfect will for my life. And although this path may take me away from Minnesota and down to Texas, I will keep my eyes fixed on Jesus, continue to be a part of seeing the Kingdom of God coming to earth, and to continue with my heart desire to play music, and to see the body of Christ strengthened for the journey ahead.

I share my experience that you might be encouraged. Even in the unknown you can not lose heart or become insecure. If you have made a choice to follow Christ, and if you have given Him your life, I guarantee you that it is anything but predictable; but I would follow no other, for Jesus as yet to fail me, and He never will. He is the only reason I am anything. My heart rejoices in following His lead. I thank you for your prayers and support in season ahead!

Here’s to new seasons!

Coty.

Life’s Unexpected Turns

Life is full of surprises. Little did I know that my journey would be marked with twists and turns leading me on what at times seems like a wild goose chase, yet, once revealed, shows a beautiful picture of what trust in God can and will produce.

Earlier this year, I began to outline the idea of doing a tour to Ireland with my great friends Brian & Ramey Whalen. After having successfully accomplished last year’s task of taking a small tour group to the Emerald Isle; seed was sown on a dream and my expanding imagination began to take over. In the past, this has produced many things, some successful, some not so much. A more recent failure was my note card business, (which I still dream about reviving from time to time.) But, with this travel business, it was different. This time around, there was the weight of destiny hovering over my business venture, so I began to dream a dream that had laid dormant in my heart, only to be awakened now in the year two thousand and twelve.

Pursuing a dream takes a lot of courage, something I realized over the past few years. It’s never an easy road, and it is often lined and shadowed with doubts. So, going into the design of this large tour, I soon discovered that I was well equipped for the task at hand, even though my better judgment would suggest that I was most certainly doomed to have areas of major lack. But when that cloud of suspicion was lifted, I found that His grace was made sufficient for me to excel in areas where I was weak.

Many who know me well consider me to be a rather organized person, (something not so typical for a creative, right-brained musician,) but organizing and executing a trip for upwards of forty people isn’t something I looked at and said, “chalk one in the strength column.” But, when the road took a turn, I met the challenge, and forged ahead finding grace waiting for me just around the bend. Then there was the dreaded budget. I will be honest and say, this has certainly been one of my biggest weaknesses. My mother was very good with finances but, that clearly did not rub off on me; and some people have no idea the stress that can come from dealing with a large budget. But, again, when the challenge was before me, not only did I handle it with ease; I found these things beginning to transpire and change my day to day life. And I know now more than ever, that this is His perfect design.

So many things in my life have been unexpected, and when it has taken every ounce of frail trust that I possessed to turn the corner, the very best things in my life were waiting there for me. With those turns come new chapters, new testimonies, and new chances to see His glory manifest in our lives. Trust and obey.

Coty.

–

ps. I am happy to report that our trip is nearly full, and you can see all that the Lord has done with my new business, Sloan Travel Co. Our group of 38 people traveling to Ireland, including my good friends Ray & Denise Hughes, leave for Ireland on September 1, 2012.

From Tragedy To Triumph

I can’t adequately explain how He does it, but for those who are willing to trust Him, God can make even the most hurtful times of our lives beautiful, and I speak from experience.

This year I have a goal of recording my first ever vocal album, but it wasn’t until a few weeks ago that I received confirmation from the Lord and came to realize that He is most certainly with me. January 13^th marked six years from a very traumatic and trying moment/year in my life. In one swift passing of a month, my world began to turn upside down and everything that was steady became unglued, proving once again that only Jesus is the unshakeable one.

So on this winter day of January 13th, I received a text message from a friend early that morning. In 3 texts, she said some very encouraging words, and it meant a lot coming from someone who had walked through that years set of unique circumstances along side me. Then moments later something special happened, a melody came. I’ve experienced it before, and of course my heart leapt knowing full well that I was about to write a song. Sure enough about an hour later, my melody took form, and lyric became verse as my mind processed and my fingers typed out the words to my first song of the year.

The song is called ‘Time Can Heal,’ and while the title would suggest one thing, the chorus says another. As the song describes in the chorus, time can heal things but God does it so much better. His ways are higher, and the only way to be made complete and whole is by submitting to the complete work that He wants to do in your heart. Yielding your heart to Him is the smartest and often most challenging thing to do in the midst of trial, but consider the alternative which so many people try and lean on, it’s called human understanding. Without Jesus in the equation, we end up with a sub-par patch job on a broken heart that will never quite heal right unless He’s allowed to come in and do what He does best.

I have faith that I will record an album and it will be created for the purpose of restoring hope to the hearts of people everywhere. An album designed to draw our gaze from our lives onto His life; the life that brings joy, peace, understanding, hope, redemption, and pure unrestrained love. I hope to get a quick demo of the song up for people on YouTube or something, but I’m so glad that God chose to use this January 13^th to built a monument of testimony with which I will always remember it by; a day that was once ugly, only to be made beautiful again.

The Common Thread

Yesterday I made my way back to Minnesota after having visited Texas. During the drive from Minneapolis through the farm lands of Minnesota back to Ottertail, I had great conversation with my friends Nate and Adam. We were talking about, life, ministry, family, and work, then Nate said something related to the people he works with, the result of which is this blog. During our talk he said something to the effect of, “I don’t want to casually or even jokingly talk down to people that are around me.” He followed by saying something about the people he works with being “piles,”  short for piles of crap, in the way that they behave, treat people, talk, and the way they live out their lives. That was the trigger. Piles.

I have been guilty so many times of looking at people and thinking to myself, “What a bunch of idiots!” People living their lives for themselves, and their existence dependent upon the things of this world, but there is something powerfully humbling that happens when you say those things and you bring immediate correction to your mind. When did I stop having a need for a savior? Since when did I become clean, spotless, and blameless on our own doing? (humility alert… incoming!)

You see, there is something so very close to my heart and it is this fact; you and I share a common thread with all of humanity, as lost as some people are, our need for Jesus is and will always be equal. Yes, I have received salvation, but my need for the Grace of God in my life today is as strong as it was yesterday. My need for the guidance of the Holy Spirit, is as present today as it was yesterday. And my need for the pure love of the Father remains unchanged. When we come to that mind-bending/correcting realization that all “those people” are a clear reflection of our lives without God, then we being to see people differently and true compassion makes it’s way into our hearts.

I don’t know why it takes so long for some things to drop from our heads to our hearts, I know it’s lack of humility a lot of the times, but I’m so grateful for the Holy Spirit to bring insight when my heart isn’t equipped to do so. I want my life to reflect Jesus, and His reasoning for doing what He did was never laced with obligation or coercion, but it flowed from a heart that was filled with compassion. Romans 3:24 reminds us that, “[All] are justified and made upright and in right standing with God, freely and gratuitously BY HIS GRACE (His unmerited favor and mercy), through the redemption which is [provided] in Christ Jesus.”

This is our most powerful of testimonies, that the acceptance of Jesus’ sacrifice has made us who we are. Walk in humility, reminded that saved or unsaved, we share the same consistent need with all the world, our need for the Savior.

Coty.

Without Love I Have Nothing

After a wonderful breakfast yesterday with my friends Michael & Lillian Tyrrell, I found myself renewed yet again to the thought of what is it that we are saving people into when they receive Christ.

My salvation story is one of a young man trapped by religion. That relentless monster that feeds on stagnancy, ritual, and methods; nearly consumed me; and then God. In the clearest voice when I was 19 years old, God whispered in my ear “you’re going to go there,” while I was watching someones home video of a worship set from their bible school. He told me it was time to move, and my tentative heart that was very unfamiliar with hearing God’s voice, obeyed. With that move, I came into a place of beginning to discover the Lord for what felt like the first time.

Now while I know we are not saving people to an organization, it was God’s design that we come into a place of communion with fellow believers, as Jesus literally and effectively called us, “brothers and sisters.” In the first century, there are accounts of pagans being able to identify who Christian’s were, simply because of their “extraordinary love” for one another.

My heart is for evangelism and for seeing the lost come to know Jesus. However, “the lost” can refer to Christians as much as it can those who don’t yet know him. In a very real way my heart is concerned and bent on seeing the body of Christ become what we have been called to be, the light of the world. I don’t want to see people enslaved to a monster where they spend their lives feeding obligations and rituals, working to earn their approval from God and man, and never being “enough.” It is impossible for religion to satisfy the desires of the soul.

And it is also impossible to truly be a Christian without love.

Let’s start a revolution in our lives and in our churches, in our communities and in our families; where the principle and standard we begin to apply to ourselves earnestly seeks the true love of God to be in all that we say, all that we do, and all that we are. From the mundane things, to the butting heads, the caring for one another, the serving of people, the laying down of our lives for each other. How will we ever understand the Kingdom if we have not love?

The apostle John put it best when he wrote, “He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” (1st John 4:8)

Let’s learn to love, and change the face and the stigma of what a Christian really looks like. Jesus is the standard, and no other.

I leave you with the lyrics to a new song by Sara Groves that has been inspiring and challenging my heart. It’s called ‘Without Love.’

You can rise in the halls of power
You can speak to the masses
You can heal their disease
You can stand as the man of the hour
You can bring them to their feet
You can bring them to their knees

Without love I have not
Without love, without love

You can fall on the blade of the martyr
You can give all your possessions to the poor
You can tell all you’ve seen of the future
Predict every famine every war

Without love I have not
Without love, without love

Love always protects, love always trusts,
Love always hopes the best for us
Love is slow to anger, love isn’t proud
Love never fails us, love will never fails us

Without love I am nothing
Without love I am nothing
Without love I am nothing at all

ps. I HIGHLY recommend getting Sara Groves new album, she is one of my favorite songwriters and love her ability to communicate and bring hope through her music. Click on the image above and it will direct you to iTunes where you can download it.

Inspiration

Some look upon the sun. As it rises behind the mountains or sets along the sea, stopping the sands of time.

Some hold it in a flower. Petals filled by brilliant colors and a scent with something that brightens the eyes.

Some say it’s held in a smile. The way they looked and ever so slightly grinned, and somehow said a thousand words without an ounce of sound.

Some hold it in their arms. A lover, a child, a parent, a friend. It’s something tangible, a hug to hold, and a cherished goodbye.

Some fly to the places unknown. The fuel of discovery that turns the imagined into reality. Breathing, seeing, and walking through a place that needed proof of it’s existence.

Some read it in books. A desire to fill volumes in the mind, with something of unique wisdom, legacies lived out before our time, and triumphs that are now shared through the ages of men.

Some find it in the past. The places they have been, people they have met, the joys that marked their minds forever, and the pains that left their scars there as well.

Some see it in the future. The hope of what is unseen. The imagined outcome that doesn’t yet exist, the days beyond that that are yet to be lived, and the memories that are waiting, still waiting to made.

It’s a mystery how inspiration is found or how inspiration can be missed.

But I choose to find it now.

In a man who was slain before the foundations of the world and in my life has given every good and perfect gift. He is the sun, the mountains, the flowers, and the sea. Gave me a smile, and friendships to cherish. The opportunity to see His creation around the world, and the ability to feel the impact of history. He is the hope for my future, and the shining star of my past. He is everything I have ever wanted, and the only thing I have truly ever had. For in all of the small things, He was there, remains here now, and will always be. How could I walk in a moment not being inspired by the Life that was laid down so that I might live now, and share eternity with Him?

My inspiration is Him, my inspiration is now.

Coty.

Six Words, Seven Years, & Eight Days

It’s so easy to look back on the years I’ve lived out and think, “Who would have thought?” Have you ever done that? Just sat and looked back on what has been and think to yourself, “Wow.”

As I started to write this I realized that it was seven years ago, very close to today, when I left the state of Michigan on a venture of blind trust, otherwise known as faith. With six words whispered in my ear, I said “ok.” Having not really discovered how to hear the voice of God for myself yet, something happened when He spoke to me for the first time. I heard Him speak to me as clear as day, and that word settled in to my heart, and off to Texas I went.

Mind you, I was very content staying at my home church, in my hometown, and serving there diligently but, God had a different plan. His plan was seemingly so far-fetched, that if you had told me ahead of time what was to come, I certainly would have considered you amongst the best of liars. Thankfully for me, I said “ok,” to whatever may come on the road ahead. Both good and bad, what has come over the last seven years I would not trade for a do-over.

Now, as I approach another pivotal moment in my life in just eight days, I stop to give thanks. Thanks for the God who pulled me into His marvelous light, by ripping off the dampening blinders of religion. Thanks for the adventures He’s taken me on, ones that I never thought I might have the opportunity to do. Thanks for teaching me what strength looks like in the midst of hardship. Thanks for allowing me to feel the soaring highs and feel the blow of a low; that not only His name might be glorified through all things, but that I might come out changed with a token of His wisdom and revelation to wear proudly as I continue on my journey. Thanks for the simplicity and complexity of who He is, and that I have come to appreciate both.

What’s happening in eight days? Well, I leave for Ireland again. Although this is my second trip it is my first time as a tour guide for my newly formed business, Sloan Travel Co. (pause for excitement) I look back a year ago and remember so much happening during my first trip, that I can’t even begin to imagine how this one will be different, yet equally spectacular. Going to a place where the move of His hand is so visible in the hills and mountains, and the wind of His spirit blows from the ocean side; it’s a place of unmatched beauty, and a place where creation thrives on showing off for the Creator God.

With six words I went, in seven years I have experienced so much, and in eight days His story-line in me will begin to expand, yet again, into another beautiful chapter. Who would have thought that a God so magnificent would have taken so much time to write a beautiful story for my life. I’m so thankful.

Coty.

The Holy Spirit Isn’t Weird, So Why Are You?

Over the past few months I have been contemplating an issue wondering how best to address it. What is the issue? I wonder why is it that people feel the need to give into the weirdness of the flesh rather than the genuine move of Holy Spirit? So, here is my best shot at dissecting something rather complex, kinda like that frog in 7th grade. What or where is the quadratojugal bone anyway? Ok, I digress.

I have been around the charismatic/prophetic movement for about seven years now. Having traveled all over the U.S. visiting churches of various denominations, I have been exposed to a lot, and yes even some things that were truly God freaked me out at one point. One thing I know without doubt, is that when the Lord is truly welcome into a gathering of people, amazing things really do happen, and even though the things that may happen are sometimes a little different than what most would expect or anticipate, God comes where He is welcome.

Sometimes a Spirit of truth and worship comes so strong that people feel the need to get prostrate on the floor in adoration because the sense the nearness of the King of all Kings becomes so heavy. Some people begin to shake from the Power of God entering the room, and then resting on and moving through people. Some pray in the tongues as the Spirit gives them utterance. Now while this may be common place for some, it is very foreign to others, but it is a beautiful and sometimes unexpected thing when God has complete and free reign in a place, to come and move how He sees fit to move.

I want to use this one example as a premise for what I am getting at here. Even more foreign to some, could be the fact that people begin laughing in the Spirit because of an overwhelming presence of joy that overcame them. I have seen this happen genuinely, and I myself have had this happen on very rare occasions. I know the Lord can come and move like that on someone in that way, but what I have been bothered by is people who take these attributes of the Spirit and apply them to every meeting where they are around people. I have been in meetings where there were a few people who literally laughed together for long periods of time, and not just in one meeting, but in one after the other, after the other, after the other. While this would annoy me, and eventually make me angry, I have come to an important realization.

People are truly and genuinely hungry to have the Holy Spirit show up in a meeting. People desire to have the Holy Spirit come and move in power as He did once before in their lives, but all too often that hunger and zeal turns into an attempt to replicate what was once genuine and in the process we find people representing an inaccurate and sometimes damaging view of who the Holy Spirit truly is. It ends up being a representation that makes people very skeptical and freaked out by what they see. (Don’t get me wrong, a large portion of the church would be freaked out by a genuine move of God’s power anyway, but this is different.)

When Jesus was preparing His followers for His departure in John 14:16-18, Jesus made us a promise, “… I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby), that He may remain with you forever. The Spirit of Truth, Whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know and recognize Him. But you know and recognize Him, for He lives with you [constantly] and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come [back] to you.” Here in John, Jesus promised us a comforter. In other scriptures it talks about many different attributes of who the Holy Spirit is, but one of them is comforter. A helper. An advocate. A friend to stand beside us and strengthen us!

I encourage you today to seek truth. The Holy Spirit is many things, and not just a part of God that really enjoys being weird and freaking people out. That is not the goal of the Holy Spirit, so don’t make that your goal when He comes to meet you. If you truly yield yourself to Him, unexpected things will happen, but that’s simply a part of the journey of discovering God. If it is our heart’s true desire is to reflect Him with excellence, we must purpose our hearts to reflect him unfiltered by our idea of what we think needs to shine through. Remaining and continuing to bring ourselves to a place of being a truly open vessel, that is the goal. That He might be able to use for His glorious purposes on the earth and as beacons of light in a world that’s getting all too dim.

-C.

Without The Power, You Have Nothing

It was a quote that a professor at Christ For The Nations Institute once said during class, and a form of it has stuck with me ever since. He said something to the effect of, “If the power of God can not be released in your church, you have nothing.” A light bulb went off on the inside of me that only added fuel to the fire and passion on the inside of me to see the church become a vessel that the Lord might use to demonstrate His power, His love, and His glory to the world.

Let me tell you a few things about myself that pertains to what I want to talk about. 1. I have an immense love for the church in America. It’s a love that doesn’t make logical sense which means that it’s spiritual, but I really love the body of Christ. 2. A large part of my life will be spent serving the body of Christ. Although I can’t give you the 10 year plan of how that looks, I know it’s true. 3. I am completely and utterly embarrassed by the state that the majority of the church in America is in. There we go, now that that’s been said, allow me to continue.

Perplexity is flaring up again at the thought of a church that serves a God who has no power. I’m sitting at my desk writing and as I’m doing so I am going back through the history of churches I have had the opportunity to worship and and play music in over the past six years. They are Christian churches all over the United States, some new, some old, some large, and some very small, all different types of denominations; but I have loved each one. I have loved them differently I’ll admit, but there was still a love in my heart for each and every one.

Currently, I am part of a ministry called Firestarters that is a very artistic, creative, and sometimes misunderstood. While some don’t understand us, others have a deep love for us, but one thing I value is, that despite our flaws we do our best to make sure there is always room for the Holy Spirit to come and move in power. Now, because of this there are certain people who are embarrassed by us and by how we do things. We believe in prophecy that encourages and provides people with hope and we believe in the baptism of the Holy Spirit that comes with the evidence of a prayer language that not only strengthens the spirit man but changes the atmosphere.

We play spontaneous songs in worship that have the potential to supernaturally speak more life to a person than a 1,000 self help books could ever hope to accomplish because the Holy Spirit saturates the sound. We have the understanding that Jesus is still healing people of every type of illness and disease. He did more than provide a person with the encouragement to keep taking what the doctor prescribed and put their name on the prayer chain, and send a “thinking of you” card. So why shouldn’t we? (Don’t take offense at that, because the power of intercession, or hospitality is not what is at debate. Prayer when combined with faith is one of the most powerful things one can experience.)

They are embarrassed because we don’t fit their mold.

So why am I embarrassed? Let me tell you why I am the one that is truly embarrassed. I’m embarrassed that people have managed to pull so far away from the model of what Jesus did, and under the name of Christ have managed to create a program that gives logical process to things in life; and most of the time it is giving people an excuse to cope with being a human, instead of awakening the understanding that there is in fact something about each of us that is supernatural. It’s something that Paul understood and laid his life down working to communicate that it is CHRIST IN US, the HOPE of glory. (1st Corinthians 1:19-29)

Where I’m sitting, one of the massive problems is that being human isn’t allowed in the church. Mistakes aren’t allowed, and when people spot them, they have the tendency to completely shut down the entire thing. So instead of bringing correction, they shut down men and God in one quick swoop. I’m embarrassed when I visit a church that sees the power of God moving, gets alarmed, and then has the audacity to call it demonic. Timothy reminds us that in the last days perilous times will come and that men and women will have a form of godliness but deny its power. And from such people turn away! (2nd Timothy 3:1-7)

I love the church. I’m not writing this to make anyone feel bad or to make anyone feel less than, but if you have read this and you are questioning systematic Christianity that seems to have everything calculated and formulated into a nice shiny packaged set of rules, then mission accomplished. I’m not sorry if this causes a little unrest in your business as usual, and as far as I am concerned, I pray it does. You can not serve the Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit and deny His power. I pray that people would begin to come out of their self-helping-feel-good coma and awaken to the fact that something supernatural and eternal has taken place on the inside of themselves when they asked Jesus into their life. In this vapor of a moment that we have to live, you have the potential to shape all of history and to shake this rock on which we all live if you but only let the power of God into your life and release it. You can’t impart and release what you don’t have. (I’ll save that thought for another time.)

Some people are afraid of the power of God coming into their church or into their lives, but I am more concerned with what happens if they never have an opportunity to see the power of God move. The words of my professor ring as loud and clear today as they did 5 years ago, and now it’s personal. “If the power of God can not be released through your life, you have nothing.”

The Tailored Shirts

Something has happened recently that has gotten me thinking. Over the past few months, I have had a flood of new ideas come to me. Some in deep thought, some from watching something or listening to something, daydreaming, ideas from other people, but all of them have been something new and fresh, but not all have worked out like I had hoped. And through talking with a friend on Facebook tonight I have begun to re-realize the simple truth that not every idea is a tailored one.

This is one of those lessons in life that I knew in my head but had to walk through to gain something from it. The tailored ideas that happen in your life, you know, the ones that feel as though something eternal and spontaneous have collided and not only does it create something beautiful but it fits you like a tailored button up shirt, and feels just right. I have been fortunate to know that feeling on a few occasions in my life, and I say fortunate because I know some people who have waited their entire lives on earth for the desires in their heart to come to fruition and fulfillment. It has happened a few times for me and I have reason to believe that it’s happening again.

Over the last few months I have taken on quite a few different projects. One was, the starting of a unique note card business, another was to establish a fact-based political website, on top of a slew of numerous little ventures and ideas. Let me make one thing clear, I actually believe it is healthy to dream and to pursue ideas; but equally healthy is understanding that not all of them are meant to be chased. Do I regret going after any of them? I don’t know about that, maybe one or two, but really only regret knowing that I might have saved some time and energy if I could have found my peace in the Lord and held onto trusting Him.

There are certain ideas and opportunities you will encounter in your life. Some of these things will turn out to be bad ideas, and some will be good, and then a very select few will be perfect. It’s incredible when an idea or thought comes into contact with your desires, dreams, and DNA and then creates life. When it’s something tailored, and not just another baggy imitation shirt, it’s more than just incredible, it’s supernatural.

If the baggy shirt doesn’t fit, just get rid of it. It’s ok to fail! I don’t enjoy failing or being wrong any more than the next person, but it’s going to happen, and it really is ok. I FAILED! I MESSED UP! Maybe it’ll help you just to say it out loud and get it over with. My regret doesn’t lie within pursuing some things that didn’t work out, it lies within the fact that somewhere along the way I seemed to have lost my peace in the process.

Now, many of you know that I have a deep love for Ireland. Well recently I got into what I didn’t know would be a divine conversation with some friends, and an idea was given to me by someone else speaking something. The moment the idea left her mouth, it sank into my heart and my head and I haven’t been able to shake it. “You should take people to Ireland. You have such an infectious passion for that place, I know people would want to experience it.” So now I am acting on it. It’s one of those rare occasions where the beginning of something great has begun. I certainly won’t sit here, write, and pretend to know all that it entails or encompasses, but I know it starts with a trip.

So, come September 1st. 2011, I will be off to Ireland for my second time, and this time I am leading a tour to the Emerald Isle called ‘The Wonder Of Creation Tour.” This is more than a vacation, it will be an encounter with the Creator God, and an encounter with pure joy, fun, and refreshing. It will be an opportunity to sow heart-filled worship and prophetic destiny into the soil of a land that has become all too familiar with and plagued by religion. I know that I have a crazy passion to see this happen, a passion that I’ve only felt a couple times in my life, and so I will pursue it knowing that the hand of the Lord is at work.

Wow… I just realized how good it feels to have a tailored shirt on again.
It’s been a while.
Coty.

For more information on the tour I will be leading and how you can be involved, visit our Facebook page:
The Wonder Of Creation Tour Facebook

Enjoy the promotional video we just finished for the tour.

Falling Slowly: Ceol Nua Episode 2

When I first heard this song on the movie ‘Once,’ written and performed by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, I loved it. It’s sweet harmonies and emotion filled lyrics drew me and I’m so happy I got to do this song with my great friend Sarah Baker, who is crazy talented.

Sarah had the perfect styling on guitar and perfect voice to accompany me on this song, and I’m so privileged that she took the time to sit down and have some fun working on it. If there is one thing that I know from this song, is that I love duets and I love songs with real raw emotions. This is the first time I’ve ever really sang a duet for real, and it was so much fun. There is a reason that this song won the Oscar for best original song and why I am sure you will see some songs in the line up for voting on in the future Ceol Nua Experiement.

I hope you all enjoy the song, please feel free to leave your feedback. It always helps to keep me growing and learning as I continue to stretch my voice. Thanks for being part of this episode and for voting. The new voting for Episode 3 will launch on Monday, Feb 14th.

Falling Slowly | Glen Hansard & Markéta Irglová

I don’t know you, but I want you
All the more for that
Words fall through me and always fool me
And I can’t react

And games that never amount to more than they’re meant
Will play themselves out

Take this sinking boat and point it home
We’ve still got time
Raise your hopeful voice you have a choice
You’ll make it now

Falling slowly, eyes that know me
And I can’t go back
Moods that take me and erase me
And I’m painted black

You have suffered enough
And warred with yourself
It’s time that you won

Take this sinking boat and point it home
We’ve still got time
Raise your hopeful voice you have a choice
You’ve made it now
Falling slowly sing your melody
I’ll sing it loud

Ceol Nua: Episode 2 Voting

Time for my second video. For the next few days, you will be able to vote for which song I will be doing and this time it’ll feature my friend Sarah Baker. You can vote every 24 hours! Thanks so much for being a part of this, I have a personal favorite this time around but I’m not going to hint at what it is. This will be interesting. Vote once a day and get your friends involved.

Closer: Ceol Nua Episode 1

The song “Closer” came to me while sitting at my desk one day, and after about 1 hour, the song was for the most part finished. I was hesitant to put this as part of my first experiment, but I feel justified in doing it because, I finished writing this song only 1 month ago, and.. to date there are 2 people who have actually heard it… until now. This song speaks of the deep longing for relationship, my process of understanding my relationship with God, and the triumph over struggles with the greatness of God.

Closer by: Coty Sloan

It doesn’t always make sense, but I’m running.
This is a mountain with no peak, still I’m climbing
The thought of how it changed with a whisper, Oh the mystery in Your words.
And when I can’t even see you, still You’re drawing, drawing me

Just a little closer
And I’ll see you
And I’ll know you

Just a little closer
And I’ll see you
And I’ll know you
Like you want me to

Sometimes You slip away through my fingers, still I’m dreaming, awake
The ground became the sky when You touched me, how You moved me, so sweetly
Oh the universe it hears my heart shouting, a silent song that can describe this feeling.
Again I hear my name as it’s whispered, oh so softly, you’re calling me

Just a little closer
And I’ll see you
And I’ll know you

Just a little closer
And I’ll see you
And I’ll know you
Like you want me to

It’s like I’m meeting you for the first time
But it’s as though I’ve known You all my life
Now I’m living for these chances to meet You
Just to glance into your eyes

Ceol Nua: Episode 1 Voting

Well, this is where it begins, for the next 3 days, you will be able to vote for which song will offically start Ceol Nua. You can vote every 24 hours! Thanks so much for being a part of this, I am really curious as to which song I’m going to be singing. This will be interesting.

Ceol Nua

Ceol Nua is Irish for “new music.” This is what I have chosen to call my new vocal experiment. While in Ireland, I experienced the most fun and excitement I have had with music in a long time. While there I did music in 2 pubs, 3 churches, and 1 hostel. It was a new and reviving experience with music that I got to share with my friend Jon. Now, with Jon’s help this experiment is about to begin.’

Ceol Nua will be a series of videos that are designed to stretch me as an artist and encourage and uplift the people who watch them. But, there is an interesting element in this “experiment,” and that is where YOU come in. And for this to work, I could really use your input.

Here’s how it works. When I launch a new experiment, there will be a poll with five song choices that cover a wide range of styles, messages, and genres. With the help of some close friends I will be choosing the five songs, but YOU will have the opportunity to tell me what one song I should explore. I will post a poll for 72 hours with which people will begin to vote. The top voted song will be the one I record, and then the bottom song will be thrown out, never to be put in the 5 options for the remainder of the series.

I want to thank all of you in advance for helping me with this. I think it is an idea that will inspire and fuel creativity in me as an artist, and hopefully produce some videos you enjoy and share with friends! Well, here goes nothin! The first poll is begin listed here on the blog at 7PM today, and will be open until Thursday, January 13th at 7PM EST. And again, please vote and tell your friends to vote and help get the song you want to hear recorded.

Coty.

The YouTube

During my trip to Ireland, my friend Jon and I did two nights of music for the owners The Downhill Hostel, in beautiful Downhill, Northern Ireland, and some passers-by. It was one of my favorite memories from our trip.

This song is a favorite of mine written by my freind Brian Whalen. After seeing this video Brian paid me one of the best compliments, he said, “Sounds like this song was made for your voice, you should record it.” I won’t soon forget that, and maybe one day soon I will.

I am going to be starting a musical experiment with my voice for a while. I really feel like it’s a time for stepping out and stretching the gift inside me, so I have made the first step and created a YouTube account for this “experiment.” It’ll be designed to be interactive with anyone who follows my blog or facebook or anything else.

If you’d like to help me out getting started on YouTube, you can post the video to your Facebook page, and the videos that will soon be coming. Also, soon you’ll be able to vote on what song I am going to tackle next, it’s part of the challenge for myself. More on that later. I have been both shocked and humbled by some viewer’s comments so far, and can only hope that it’s bringing encouragement and hope to everyone who views it. I can’t wait for the day I get to record this song. It’s one of those that is simply written on my heart… no other way to describe it.

Coty.

The Foreign Things

“The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.” This is the opening line of L.P. Harley’s book “The Go-Between”

I went to our Ottertail Community Writer’s Group this past Monday and we did an exercise my friend Heidi created. From a wide selection of little slips of paper we chose one to write about. All of these slips of paper contained the opening statements or lines of famous books from the past. Then we had 20 minutes to write down our thoughts. I chose my slip, sat back down, and began to write. This is what I wrote.

Though I’ve never read this book, L.P. Harley’s statement jumped out to me as something I wish I had written myself. Not because of its eloquence or intrigue, but simply because I had a personal connection with those words. And though I must admit I have never even heard of The Go-Between or L.P. Harley, I understood what those words meant to me.

It only takes a trip backwards through time about six years for me to be in that foreign country. I called it home back then. And maybe that is what is so ironic about it all. My life was different there. I was different. It was a bubble that I was familiar with and quite comfortable in. It also, in part, kept me from discovering not only more about what was already written on my heart, but discovering who the Lord is.

As I look at these words again, I find joy. Joy in knowing that no matter where you are, there is always the opportunity to be learning, growing, and seeking the truth. How could your past not be seen as a foreign country when you serve a God who is always revealing himself in new and incredible ways? Ways that change who you are and how you see things, how you see the world, and how you see eternity.

Of course, now I’m left wondering what land I will be living in 10 years from now. Will it look as foreign to me as it did a decade ago? Then I am reminded of a glorious day that approaches. The day is coming where all things will be made new and everything in my life that has ever felt foreign will disappear. I will finally be home where I will discover the truest of realities as I see Jesus face-to-face.

2011: The Year Flesh Died

About one week ago I had a vision from the Lord during one of our Firestarters meetings. In this vision I saw the numbers 2011. As I looked closer, both numbers 1 and 1 began to take form into two people. Curious as to who they were I looked even closer and saw that it was two of myself. As soon as I identified them as twin replicas of myself, they started to fight one another. Now when I say fight, I don’t mean wrestle, I mean, Mortal Combat, face bashing, to the death fighting. And as one of them got stronger and stronger the Lord said to me, “This is the year the Spirit wins and the flesh loses.” It was a powerful word that I received and I believe it is true not only for myself, and not only for the ministry of Firestarters, but for a lot of people in the body of Christ willing to receive this vision.

As the clock struck midnight in Ottertail, I decided to declare war on myself. As I shared my vision with the rest of our community here, I was reminded that the Spirit of God has given us strength and power to overcome everything that is not of Him… including our flesh; and this is the year I fully intend on giving my devotion to seeing as much flesh destroyed as possible. So, to those things that would vie to steal my time, I’m declaring war. Those thoughts that would attempt to steal my mind from thinking like His, I’m declaring war. The lies of the enemy that would make me believe I’m something I’m not, it’s going to end. An unbridled tongue that speaks forth idol words out from my mouth, I’m taking it to war. Any desires or motives that are not led of the Spirit, I am intent on their destruction. I want the Lord to receive every good thing my life has to offer Him, because He alone is eternally worthy of it, and it’s my desire to give it to Him.

Make a decision today. People talk about the dying to flesh being a daily process, and I agree with that, but there is a point that comes when you decide that you are going to fight for the Spirit man, and bring strength solely to him, denying the flesh anything that might bring satisfaction. In regards to the tongue, James 3:9-11 says,”With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.” As it talks about the tongue in James 3, so it is with our lives. Is our life consistently emanating the blessing of God? Do our words spring forth with life one day and the bitter waters the next?

More wisdom on overcoming is given further on in verses 16-18, “For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.  But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, willing to yield, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. Now the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.”

There is one thing I know about this coming year… my flesh is going to die a painful death. I’m sure certain days will feel more like triumphs than others, but my Spirit man will thrive. If the Spirit of Jesus resides in my heart, (which it does), then I have everything I need to land that fatal blow to my flesh and beat it to the ground where it belongs. There is a violent tenacity in my heart to see it happen because the desire of my heart is to see my life proclaiming the goodness and faithfulness of God, for all of my days.

Let’s fight the good fight together, that God might be glorified and shining radiantly through our lives. Let’s land a destructive and crippling blow to our flesh, that we might have the capacity to carry and walk in the pure love of Christ. This is the year the Spirit wins.. I’m declaring war. Care to join me?

It’s 2011.

Coty.