new rules.

while i was in georgia, i had the opportunity to listen to Andy Stanley preach.

wow. i was amazed. he is hands down, great.

He was casted into Buckhead Church.

wish it was in person. but it was still worth it. just a few weeks ago, he started his four part series titled:

The New Rules for Love, Sex & Dating.

i want to share with you some of Andy's message. it really hit home.

no worries, if you like what you hear, Ill share with you where you can go catch the podcast.

sadly, i came home on Saturday, so i missed his part III. still waitin' on that podcast.

somebody changed the rules. nobody wants to talk about it.

until now. thank you andy stanley.

do you want a good relationship? do you buy into what culture says about relationships?

Stanley tackles these issues head on through his series. He starts off with his, The Right Person Myth. Hm? That sounds a tad interesting? doesn't it? well, here we go:

if i can just find the right person I'd be happy the rest of my life.

The reason married people get into so much trouble when they’re married is because they believe in a myth. And the myth that they buy into is called the right person myth – if I marry the right person, everything will be all right. When I meet the right person, everything will be all right.”

“The correct approach,” he emphasized, “the approach that will serve you so well, is to decide, I’m not just hunting, I’m not just seeking. I am intentionally becoming the person who the person I’m looking for is ultimately looking for.”

Relaying a personal story told to him while preparing for the series, Stanley spoke of a young woman who grew up in a religious home, had a Sunday school background, went to college, graduated and came to Atlanta.

Putting on the “back burner” her beliefs, she immersed herself in the singles dating culture and was “living the life, having fun.”

One day at a social gathering, she met who she thought to be “Mr. Right.” After spending a few minutes getting to know him, she saw he was the total package – the looks, the job, and the personality. On talking with him further, it became very apparent that he was a Christian, who was committed to living out his faith in every aspect of his life.

Going home that night, she told her mother all about “Mr. Right,” gushing over all his qualities. But her mother turned to her after and said, “Sweetheart, the problem is a guy like that is not looking for a girl like you,” to which she literally fell to the floor in a puddle of tears.

“It was a defining moment for her as a single person. ‘That guy I’m looking for, he’s not looking for someone like me.’ Her priorities changed, her life changed, and she is going in a different direction now.”

Asking the congregation once again, “Are you who the person you are looking for is looking for,” the megachurch pastor urged singles to stop believing in the fairy tale that somehow when meeting the right person all the other things would fall magically into place.

He encouraged singles to put effort into their relationships, and not just base their relationships on chemistry and passion alone, which took no work and could be felt with thousands of other people at any given time.

now, after reading this, some might ask, 'God, how do i become the right person?' complex question. well lets look at it this way: God created relationships. Relationships are a creation. God created you for relationships. You are designed for relationships. its possible. you are made for this. but it doesn't happen accidentally. but caution, making yourself available will lead to heartache.

what about chemistry? do you know you can have chemistry with hundreds of people?

this is what happens. these people come together and have this mindset that you 'don't buy a car unless you test drive it first, right?' 'and you never buy a pair of shoes without trying them on first, right?' so they get the whole intimacy thing going, the sex thing going, and 'oh, its the greatest thing in the world, there is so much....chemistry' so they are convinced they have met the right person. and since i have met the right person, everything is going to be alright. this is what they believe, you ready for this: 'no one has ever loved like this before. not my mom, my grandmother. no one. we were made for each other.' the problem is, they only had chemistry, they didn't know much about relationships.

this is just a little sneak peak of stanley's message. check it out. 1) he is hilarious 2) his message can really hit home if you take the time to listen 3) i didn't discuss, Part II: Gentlemen's Club (hilarious), so i leave that up to you to check out but, i will leave you with this: are women viewed as a commodity in today's society? check it out to learn more.