“I don’t want to be on the top if they put him at the bottom/ Sho you just faking to be humble and poor-in hopes that the LORD will be pleased and bless you with more/ No homie I just keep my face to the floor- when he opens that door my views will be the same as before” - Sho Baraka from the track OverratedI wasn’t thinking of the lyric above when I began thinking about writing this blog last night but it immediately jumped in my head while sitting down to write this morning. Over the last few years in sports, entertainment, and ministry we have seen many “great” people fall. From our favorite athletes, actors, pastors, and musicians…the mighty have fallen. I take no joy in seeing others fall but in many you can see the road or behavior in which it occurred. To me, it is important to stay grounded and try your best to remain the same person you were when nobody knew who you were.  I’ve seen folks change and develop an arrogance about themselves in which you knew they were going to need to be rocked some way or another. As people say all the time, “The bigger they are, the harder they fall”…that’s if you don’t remain true to what you believed and who you were in the beginning.The Lord started using me as a minister of the gospel back in 2004 when I started a bible study for high school kids in KCK out of a movie theater. Shortly after that I accepted the position of Youth Pastor at a local church. I will never forget in 2005 I was asked for the 1st time to minister to youth at an event in Indiana. I state I will never forget it because it was the first time I knew pride could sneak up and be an issue even in the life we call ministry. See, immediately I thought I must be a pretty decent speaker if somebody requested to pay my travels, put me in a hotel, and even give me a thing I learned to be called an “honorarium”. As immediately as those thoughts came to me the Lord rocked me as I opened the text and saw, “Let him who boast boast in the Lord”. That became the words in which I decided I would approach public ministry.If I was to have a major downfall in ministry it would be because of pride. I do ministry in the way I do today because I know my weakness. See, my whole life I’ve been told how good I was in something. I started playing sports at age 4 and have always been good, placed on all-star teams. I was recruited by several colleges offering me scholarships because they thought I was worth it because of my talents. I earned a starting position as a freshman on a division 1 baseball team because the coach thought I was one of the best freshman he’s seen come along. I played on a college baseball team years later that went to the college world series because of how good we were and we had people from fans to pollsters telling us this over and over again. My ego has been getting stroked my whole life! This is why this can be damaging to me as a minister of the gospel. This is why I choose the right to remain nameless.I mentioned I’ve decided to do ministry in a different approach. I am no way saying this is the way to do things but it works for me. Regardless of the number of request I have received over the years it is important for me to do things as close to how I did from the beginning as possible. Many people don’t know me…and I love that. I in know way want to be a Francis Chan or John Piper. I just want to be Vernon Birmingham or the nicknamed given years ago, PastorV. I am quite confident half of the followers I have on twitter are from the fact a Lecrae, Sho, or Tedashii may have said something to me therefore people think I’m important because they follow me. I’m not! When I think back to who I was in 04 to where I am in 2011…I’ve grown as a believer, husband, father, and minister of God’s word. In many ways though I am the same guy and that’s important to note. I mention this to these guys a lot but I will share with you. I first met the guys I mentioned a few sentences up in 2005. Today, in 2011 they are the same dudes I met back in the day. You must agree…their platform and recognition has grown tremendously…but they are much the same people. Other than honorariums…stuff is done the same. They treat folks the same way as they did back in the day which is huge. You can begin to see when people are getting too big for themselves when they begin to treat people they’ve known for quite some time as a hassle. These are cats I try to continue to keep company.Pride can quickly become your ruin (James 4:6). When you start to get the “big head” and doing the Lord’s work at some time He will have to knock you down a time or two. He will not let you take His glory and try to deflect it to yourself. He will not allow you to think you are bigger than the cause. As much as we work to remain humble it takes one comment to have you thinking you are somebody you really are not. I want to give a quick insight on things I’ve done and will continue to do so I don’t fall to the “pride punch in the throat”.* I will never has a personal website. Is that a problem…No! But for me its not a necessity. To be quite honest facebook and twitter is enough of a problem for me some days! If I didn’t have a personal website in 04 and 05 I feel there is no need to have one now. What would I put on the website…a bunch of stuff about me and my accomplishments? That’s ok. I feel just because I’ve had more people request for me to speak doesn’t mean I need a website. If people have found me over the last few years…they can find me today.* I very rarely post video or audio of myself. If I was at an event and they recorded it and posted it that is there right to do so. For me to post something it would be a short clip of something I felt could be really edifying to the body. For me to post video after video of myself so others can hear me can be a good thing but because I do struggle with pride, I personally view it as a form of narcissism.* I very rarely post all of the locations I speak. Last year in 2010 I spoke at 34 different events. I spent a lot of time with college football, basketball, and volleyball teams. I think I posted eight events total. Why…I’m a firm believer that just because you have a lot of events or shows doesn’t mean you’re being effective…maybe you’re just being busy. Sometimes the posting of your events can come off as bragging…look at what I’m doing type thing. If I know people in the area I will hit them up personally but no need to broadcast for others…that’s not my job. I pray the Lord will draw the people to the event He needs and wants to be there.* My honorarium amount has not changed in six years. That amount is what the Lord places on their hearts to give me that is cool. Is that dangerous…not at all if you are truly doing it to further the gospel (1 Cor 9, 1 Tim 5). Can you complain about what amount you get when you’ve been giving the privilege to share God’s word? And to add, I’ve always been taken care of. People who host ministry events are servants first and foremost and in their hearts know the importance of doing things right.* I don’t repost compliments given to me. I’ve received notes, letters, and etc of people saying good things about a message or event. I didn’t do nothing on my own. I don’t retweet compliments either…it’s just lame and nobody can convince me otherwise.Some may think I’m taking it to an extreme…and that’s ok if I am. When you know you have an area you struggle, extreme measures it must be. If one struggles with porn I wouldn’t find it strange if they got rid of their computer (Matt 18). I’m aware that a website, posting dates, and etc can be edifying to others. If that is the case but allows me to stumble in the process its not beneficial to my growth (Rom 14). I never had a desire to want to travel and preach the gospel. It was not something I sought out or positioned myself to do. I was just doing the Lord’s work and he opened up doors. So why do I need to change anything I did prior? I was a nobody then…I am a nobody now. Over the years I’ve gotten to know many “well-known” people from Christian musicians to pastors. I rarely talk about them because it gets me no where. Will I lie and say I don’t reach out to them to get into doors I couldn’t before, I will not. The point I’m making is for me to continuously post on blogs and social media sites I know such and such does not benefit me at all. My only job is to preach the gospel when called upon and do it with as little limelight and fanfare as possible (1 Cor 2). If I shall boast in anything it will be that of the great work the Lord is doing. We have many great people out there doing the Lord’s work who are known and famous…considering my struggles, I just choose the right to remain nameless.*** Disclaimer: Understand I am not saying posting dates, having a website or anything I said on here is wrong and a sin. What I am saying is they are and would be a struggle for me and my walk.***

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