The Distillery Church - Albany, NY - Latest Comments

Re: He is Risen! Now what are we going to do?

Tom Thomas — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 14:59:09 -0000

As a SBC Pastor, I thank you for standing up to the "machine". I applaud you. Maybe one day we can visit on vacation.

Re: Pathetic Apology, Welcoming Pain and Stages of Faith

jaymarzian — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 16:41:10 -0000

Seph,
Thanks for the comment. It is good to know that people actually read this stuff. sorry to hear that you have been going through such a hard time.

It sounds like you are truly in conversation with God on many matters and that he is really watching out for you based on your story here.

Thanks for sharing what you are going through and how our little post may have helped you. I too have been experiencing The Wall lately and have been for a few months. Sometimes it feels like as a pastor, I am missing the mark, or not really doing anyone any good.

A lot of this is due to things like feelings of inadequacy and lowered self-confidence, but then there is also the old success factors that I used to look at like, "how much has my church grown over the years?" "what is our current head count?" and "what kind of ministries are we offering the area?" and "are we comfortably paying the bills based on donations?" And by those standards, I could say easily that we are failing as a church, and I am a failure as a pastor.

However, I have learned not to use this stuff as a measure of success, but to look at things like "what is the depth of the relationships in our community," "Are we an open group that accepts others?" "Do we actively seek to follow Jesus?" "Do we love each other?" "Do we love God?" "Do we love ourselves?"

In those terms The Distillery is a success. Likewise, knowing that there are folks out there that get something out of our Sunday Gatherings even though they are not able to attend is another success factor for us that helps me see that yes, I am helping others by doing this, and yes I am following the will of God in my calling as a pastor, and yes, we are doing some good even when we cannot see it. These things help me see past The Wall and get me moving in the direction of God's will for me and the church.

Thanks again for your words. come visit us some sunday when you get a chance. Take care, John.

Re: Pathetic Apology, Welcoming Pain and Stages of Faith

Seph 4444 — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 15:10:45 -0000

I am one of the four or five people that read the post and am thankful for them since one of the brickwalls in life right now is getting to church and spending time in fellowship. recently I've been feeling overwelmed by all the brickwalls and roadblocks in my life, feeling alot of anxiety and hopelessness about things i can find no way to change. Feeling stuck, in pain, and I told God I was turning it all over to Him because I couldn't find any solutions. After that a brother in Chirst whom I did not know provided a meal for me and prayed with me and discussed the bible together. the next week I was feeling alot of anxiety because i needed a pair of shoes and didn't have the money for them. i was walking by a garage sale as it was about to close and asked the woman if she had any clothes or shoes. she had a pair of army boots that she said her husband had only worn twice. i tried them on and they fit perfectly. she asked me if i was homeless. i said i lived in a van. she
didn't charge me money for the boots. I believe i need to turn my life over to god completely since i can't seem to find solutions using my own strength r kwoledge. I find it a struggle sometimes(alot of the time) to stay focused on God and to turn my problems over to Him. My faith weakend by focusing on what I want for my life and what pain i am going through and the distractions of the world. the brick walls and the pain are sometimes the only things that bring me back to God.

Re: Baptisms in the Pool

jaymarzian — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 14:36:19 -0000

Sounds pretty cool Dianne. That's awesome that the family could partake in such a way as well.

Re: Baptisms in the Pool

Dianne_leavitt — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 00:49:23 -0000

That's awsome. So wonderful that God granted you the lovely weather. Earlier this year my sweet Brittney was baptized in a hotel hot tub. She really wanted her (my) uncle to baptize her and he lives in Utah and we in TX, so when we all got together for a quick weekend visiting grandma in Joplin we were able to get it done.

Re: Loving Ourselves

John — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 23:50:24 -0000

David,

You're welcome. We think the video says a lot about how we human people deal with rejection and loneliness and fear -- things which we all struggle with. It was even more moving to find that Pink wrote this song for her yet unborn child while she was still in the womb.

Re: Loving Ourselves

David Herbert — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 04:16:00 -0000

Thank you for this post - the video is very moving.

Re: Driven by Hope

Kevin — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 06:22:54 -0000

Good to hear - I hope all is well in TX, we miss you!

Re: Driven by Hope

John — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 02:49:43 -0000

Nice post Kevin. I am feeling fairly hopeful.

Re: Wake their ass up!

joe — Sun, 03 Oct 2010 20:45:16 -0000

thanks for being awake when i needed you all!

Re: You asked for it. You got it, diversity...

John — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 20:32:48 -0000

Yes... He is.

Re: You asked for it. You got it, diversity...

Linda — Mon, 27 Sep 2010 20:18:46 -0000

So I noticed that in your post Kevin is indescribable...

Re: Wake their ass up!

John — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 19:10:12 -0000

Which one? Ass? :P

Re: Wake their ass up!

Randall — Mon, 20 Sep 2010 18:27:14 -0000

That's a good word, Pastor John.

Re: There is only “Us”

Prairie — Thu, 16 Sep 2010 22:59:13 -0000

Thank you for this considerate piece, John

Re: September Community Meal

John — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 07:30:28 -0000

Miss you too Joe.

Re: September Community Meal

joe — Sun, 12 Sep 2010 18:40:32 -0000

i miss church. especially the food! and fellowship

Re: Get Real. Will You?

joe — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 20:02:29 -0000

wish i could have been there:-(

Re: Sufficient...Really?

Kevin — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 20:08:03 -0000

I agree - abundant life measured in things and "feelings" distorts the whole power of John 10:10. This life coupled with His promise of enough grace, power and certainly love does indeed make this life abundant!

I also liked your definition of abundant as over sufficient; in those lean times where His sufficiency is what we cling too, it is nice to know that our whole life still basks in God's abundance.

Re: Sufficient...Really?

John — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 10:45:21 -0000

Moving post Kevin. Thanks for posting and for bringing this subject to our discussion Sunday. I am glad that we have a community of folks that are willing to admit that life sucks sometimes. For me, the abundant life Jesus is talking about is not so much about circumstantial abundance as it is contextual abundance.

What I mean by that is that Jesus is not saying, "Everything is going to be great from now on," or "God will make you rich!' He is really saying that "a choice for me" is a choice for "life." "A decision to follow me unto earthly death, is a decision for longterm abundant life."

I imagine my life without God, and can easily get in touch with that kind of life because there was a time when I was into everything but following Jesus, and it was a miserable existence at best for me.

But now? 28 years into following him? Oh yeah, its hard sometimes and other times damn near impossible. But underneath all of that is this sense of goodness, fullness, rightness (?).

One of the definitions I have found on the word "abundant" is "oversufficient." When compared to God's grace being "sufficient," it makes a little more sense in that context, does it not? Thanks again for the good post on this subject.

Re: The Distillery Church — a Fun Place… Really….

joe — Sun, 08 Aug 2010 18:45:50 -0000

they look like mug shots!

Re: Blue Lips, Blue Veins, Blue. The Color of our Planet from Far, Far Away…

John — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 11:34:32 -0000

You might need speakers.. or a headset... Sometimes Laptops have lower sound than normal. It is kind of low volume. :)

Re: Blue Lips, Blue Veins, Blue. The Color of our Planet from Far, Far Away…

AMANDA — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 20:35:20 -0000

i couldnt really hear the video....maybe i did something wrong. is it j me?

Re: I didn’t want to come to gathering yesterday

joe — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 19:58:11 -0000

i wanted to go, but i could'nt

Re: I didn’t want to come to gathering yesterday

AMANDA — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 16:19:00 -0000

im glad you came too