Thoughts Out There by Ed

The Truth, Adventure and Mystery of Evangelism

2012-01-25T13:17:00.000-07:00

For too long the truth, adventure, mystery and joy that comes with giving away the life of Jesus has been stolen from the ordinary believer. We have been taught methods of sharing Jesus that feel more cold, distanced and dutiful than life giving. We have heard that just a few gifted ones will really be successful at evangelism. This is yet another blow designed to sideline the ordinary person from engaging in the supernatural act of sharing the life of Jesus with those who are so thirsty to taste the goodness of God.

The Truth
The great commission is often seen as Jesus’ marching orders to make disciples which must include the initial and ongoing sharing of Jesus’ good news with those who have not yet heard. The great commission and Jesus’ similar instructions to the twelve in Acts 1:8 were delivered directly to His twelve Apostles. This has caused some to believe that not every follower of Jesus is responsible to engage in giving away the life of Christ; it simply is not their gift. This is not the truth. There is an often overlooked statement in the great commission that instructs the Twelve to be teaching their disciples “...to obey everything I have commanded you”. The Twelve were to teach the ordinary believer to obey everything Jesus taught them which includes the making of disciples or the being a witness to all the world. Everyone is responsible to be intentionally sharing the life of Jesus with the world.

The truth is that the ordinary person is a competent minister of the good news (2 Cor. 3:6). The truth is that success in evangelism should be measured by conversations about Jesus not conversions to Jesus. Ordinary people are only responsible to tell about and demonstrate the love of Jesus. Only Supernatural beings are responsible for the results, “I planted, Apollos watered but God was causing the growth.” (1 Cor. 3:6-7). Everyone is an evangelizer and success is measured by obedience to share.

The Adventure
The church needs to rediscover what has been stolen from them. We need to give back the cold, distanced and dutiful methodologies* of evangelism for the more adventurous, risky and romantic renditions that only Jesus can create and place in our souls. The church needs some fresh adventures in understanding how serious Jesus is at getting the message into the souls of people. When we think about engaging people with the truth we should capture the understanding that Jesus is a customizer of methods, not a cookie cutter.

Jesus will take a believer with all their experiences and fears and have them cross the paths of not-yet-believing people who are a perfect fit for the customized approach Jesus gives the believer, at the perfect time. This requires trust and obedience but it is exactly what Jesus promised. Jesus said He will give us the right words at the right time, every time (Luke 21:13-15). This takes the level of our faith and evangelism to a whole new meaning of adventure.

The Mystery
I can count fifteen people who shared Jesus with me in some form or fashion before Ralph shared the same truth with me and my life was transformed radically. Who was more important in my choosing to follow Jesus, the fifteen or Ralph? Was Ralph more gifted or skilled or persuasive than the others? Did Ralph ‘close the deal‘ because he has an anointing ? I believe that all sixteen of those who told me about Jesus are equally vital to my process of turning to Jesus. All salvation experiences are mysterious. Some are dramatic, some are mundane, others cannot be marked by an event. Salvation is always a supernatural event where the God of the universe enters the life of a human being permanently. When the rich young ruler heard what was required by Jesus to gain eternal life, he became very sad. Jesus’ disciples asked him if a rich man can’t be saved “...then who can be saved?”. Jesus answered, “The things that are impossible with people are possible with God.” (Luke 18:18-27).

Enjoy the freedom of not knowing what God is doing in a soul - enjoy the mystery. Be assured, however, that God is doing something in the souls of those with whom you share His truth. Trust in His God perfect and powerful ability to draw people to repentance in the way they need. Obediently follow His lead, even when it doesn’t make sense because most mysteries do not make sense.

The bottom line regarding evangelism is to enjoy it (weird huh?). Jesus is an artist of the soul. He created you specifically to engage the people He brings in your life with His truth. Enjoy His adjusting the delivery of the message to fit the current need of the one listening to your words.

If we learn to enjoy sharing the life of Jesus with others as He leads us, we will most assuredly share that life more often and with more passion. The Scriptures teach that the more we sow, the more we will reap. The power behind people coming to Jesus is not in any delivery, method or medium. The power behind people coming to Jesus is always in message (Rom. 1:16) so give away the message often and with joy and enjoy watching God at work.

* God can, has and will continue to use a more formal, methodological approach to giving out the Gospel. It is not wrong to do so, however, it has robbed the fun of spiritual reproduction from the ordinary believer. The giving out of the Word will never return without an effect on the one hearing the truth.

The Ways of a Farmer

2011-12-27T16:04:00.000-07:00

I am grateful for farmers! Farmers who plant in the ground or who raise livestock of various types are heroes to me. They work very hard, are very skilled and they have been in demand throughout all of history. We are far removed from farming in the urban and suburban areas of the world today. Few have ever had to cultivate the land, sow seed or tend to the crops or the herds. And then there is the business of harvesting. Whether it is the cutting down of crops or butchering of meat, few have ever experienced these segments that are required in order for us to drive to a store, put food products in our baskets and tote them home for consumption. Most have no idea of the toil and strain, the patience or trust that goes into the producing of food.

Farmers may have a lot of experience and knowledge of their craft, but they are certainly at the mercy of the elements and surprises of life. Every farmer needs a deep sense of trust in the ways of God in nature and a full reservoir of patience. Listen to these words from book of James;

"7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. The farmer waits for the precious produce of the soil, being patient about it, until it gets the early and late rains. 8 You too be patient ; strengthen your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is near. 9 Do not complain, brethren, against one another, so that you yourselves may not be judged ; behold, the Judge is standing right at the door. 10 As an example, brethren, of suffering and patience, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. 11 We count those blessed who endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome of the Lord's dealings, that the Lord is full of compassion and is merciful." James 5:7-11

The persevering trust in God and the development of patience in the experiences of life are qualities that farmers must have if they are to see the fruit of their labor. Followers of Christ also need these qualities developed in their lives but many (most?) tend to not like the route necessary for trust and patience to be developed.

We are wise to realize that God always has our best in mind. He is always about developing those who follow Him to be more and more like Him. Learning to trust God and to have patience in life often takes place in the droughts, bug infestations and the weeds that seasonally occur in our lives. God most often develops us through these situations in a community of people, a church family. The transformation from being full of ourselves to being fully others centered (Philippians 2) takes a life time to develop. A deep trust in this truth, that God always is about our good, needs to be cultivated in the community of Jesus followers. James 5:7-11 is a passage on a community of people developing patience and trust together over time. As a modern day American, this passage can easily be understood that individually we must be patient and trust in the process, but I believe we are created for this development to happen in a group of strong spirited friends.

There is a deep connected relationship between the farmer and the land, between the farmer and his herd. There may be certain sequences that happen in farming that can be predicted with any parcel of land or herd of animals, but the 'knowing' of the farmer and the soil or the herd is vital for the best health and fruitfulness. And so it is with our development. We all need to see patience and trust mature in our hearts and God expects this to be done in the close community of believers.

James 5:9 seems to indicate that being together over time will naturally bring issues that can lead to complaining about each other, but we are not to do so. We are to work through the seasons of relational hardship, not run form them. To run from them would not allow for patience to develop nor a deeper trust in Jesus to mature us. As we move forward with faith and patience, we should be reminded of those saints (prophets in this context) who have gone before us and have endured and matured as they waited for the Lord's return.

As we begin 2012, spend some time listening to the voice of God for you and the develop of your patience and trust in God in the context of community. Fruitfulness, the result of patience and trust, often is missed because of moving on from issues instead of working through issues. Good farmers wait for the precious produce of the soil being patient, waiting for the early and late rains (James 5:7). I hope 2012 will bring you a greater sense of trust in God and a development of patience in your life as you pursue Him in the midst of a strong, lively community of fellow strugglers.

Thoughts on Worship

2011-12-06T16:36:00.001-07:00

Music moves our souls like few experiences can. The first few bars of Benny and the Jets by Paul McCartney and Wings can whisk me back to times in my high school gym. Sandi Patti's song, Another Time and Another Place takes me rapidly to Highway 1 along the California coast on a car ride with my wife. Chris Rice's Untitled Hymn beckons me back to my Grandmother's funeral while many worship songs remind me of sweet times of tears, just me and Jesus.

When people talk about the power of music in worship, there is much truth. That is probably why so many people use the style and quality of worship as a high criteria for the church they will choose to worship corporately...but I wonder if this is good thing. Allow me to share four brief points regarding worship.

Worship is a way of life.

Worship is often coupled with music and for good reason, however, worship is so much more than music. Worship can take place in a sunset or sunrise, worship can happen in a conversation or while drinking in the beauty of a painting. Worship often takes place in our minds, all alone, as we think of all the God has done for us. Worship can take place in the midst of sadness or in the middle of a time of stretching our faith. Worship can happen in isolation, with a few friends or in the midst of thousands. We are instructed to worship God in Spirit and in Truth (John 4:24). Everything in our lives should bring glory to God (Col. 3:17). Worship should be our way of life.

Worship is not for you...it is for Jesus.

When we choose to attend or leave a church because of the worship style or quality, we are headed down a slippery slope. To begin with, we must remember that times of worship are for Jesus. Times of worship are NOT for you. I like good music as much as the next guy but if I need a certain kind or quality of music to worship Jesus, then maybe there is something wrong with my perspective. When we choose or leave churches based mainly upon the worship style/quality, we are doing so based upon 20-30 minutes of a meeting. I hope church is much more than this to Christians. If we would choose churches based upon whether a community of saints is or isn't a family, the type/quality of music wouldn't enter into the discussion much of the time. Always remember, worship is for Jesus, not for your musical tastes.

Worship will be 'hot' and 'cold'.

Unless you are part of a larger church that has professional or quality musicians each week, you can almost count on weeks that are really inspired and weeks that are definitely flat or off. But that is only talking about the music itself. Even with professional or quality musicians, worship can be flat if the spiritual life of the leaders are experiencing a less than stellar week. We must all learn to worship when things are wonderful in our song times and when things are musically or spiritually challenged. To expect to be 'inspired' by the music at church each week is a set up for disappointment.

Worship quality depends much on your heart.

I know that the quality of my worship experience (whether in music or life) is often determined by how much I am living out my faith in robust ways. When I am flat in my faith, my quality of worship is usually challenged as well. When I am filled with the Spirit and living out strong stanza's of life for Jesus, my heart is swollen with passion for my King. This passion will not be curtailed by style or quality or lack of music, it will have to burst out. My life will overflow with praise and worship for Jesus in everything I do.

Worship is meant for Jesus; to lift up His name, to speak/sing about what He has done, to declare to everyone that we are in love with Him, to spend ourselves in imitating His life. When we have lives of worship, not just services of worship, the world will experience a depth of love that music can't communicate.

The Battle and the Victory!

2011-09-17T10:39:00.000-07:00

I am constantly aware in my own life just how hard the world, the flesh and the devil drive at eroding my footing in the Lord. If not my selfish, never ending thirst for recognition, it is greed to want more or feel like I deserve more. The battle rages and it is to be expected. Paul wrote in Galatians 5:17, "The old sinful nature loves to do evil, which is just opposite from what the Holy Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are opposite from what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, and your choices are never free from this conflict." (NLT). Always remember that the good news is that there is GRACE!

Jesus has given us everything pertaining to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3), this teaches me that He is for us; that He understands the battle that we are in and He will see us through it. Not only will He see us through it, He will make us stronger, sharper and a warrior that the enemy will fear! That is what Christ wants to do and be in and through YOU!

In my time with Jesus today, I was lead to read the 118th Psalm. Here are some of the words that jumped off the page at me and I thought I would share them with you...

"13 You did your best to kill me, O my enemy, but the LORD helped me. 14 The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my victory. 15 Songs of joy and victory are sung in the camp of the godly. The strong right arm of the LORD has done glorious things! 16 The strong right arm of the LORD is raised in triumph. The strong right arm of the LORD has done glorious things! 17 I will not die, but I will live to tell what the LORD has done. 18 The LORD has punished me severely, but he has not handed me over to death." (NLT)

Allow me to make a few comments about what I saw in this Psalm for me and for us.
1. There is an enemy and He is active in attempting to distract and destroy those who love Jesus (v. 13). Do not be lulled into thinking this is not happening in subtle or overt ways in your life. A passive, fearful, apathetic follower of Jesus is just the type of disciple the enemy would want to develop.
2. The Lord is available to help us (v. 13). The Psalmist recognized the battle and looked to the Lord for strength, not to himself or leaders (check out Ps. 118:8-9).
3. Worship is crucial in our battle against the enemy to help us be focused on the One who has already provided the victory (v. 14). Worship your King in strong ways privately and corporately.
4. We should tell and sing of the victory of the Lord in our lives. Everyone loves stories so tell your stories of God's involvement in your life. This will serve to bring encouragement, strength, truth and stamina to one another as we are engaged in the battle for our attention (v. 15-16).
5. The life you live should be a living commercial for Jesus (v. 17). We should live to tell of what the Lord has done! Don't pass this off as simply being nice, although that is good. People need to hear the truth from your lips. The truth is how good God has been to you, what He has done for you and what it means to be a follower of Jesus. Of course it will include the truth that God is good, we have sinned and Jesus came to show us how to live and to pay for our sins by dying on the cross, rising again and providing the only way to life with God through being His follower.
6. God is so interested in you being a strong commercial for His grace that He will use your experiences to train you up, provide you with endurance, wisdom, dependence and courage. All of this is only developed through His 'severe discipline' (v. 18).

So as you worship this week privately and corporately, sing songs of victory to the Lord, tell stories of His goodness and grace. Boast at how the Lord has disciplined you to become stronger for HIs cause of salvation for the whole world. Encourage each other every day so that we will not lose heart (Galatians 6:9) and so we will not be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin (Hebrews 3:13). Lastly, be bold and confident that your friends and co-workers and family NEED to hear of the grace of God in your life. Be the one who provides the most enticing commercial for Jesus that they have seen and heard.

Jesus is worth our every ounce of strength and focus. Live large for our King!

Why not leave a short comment on how the King is moving through your life or disciplining you for His glory - it will serve to encourage others to move forward for Jesus!

Staying Strong When You Aren't

2011-09-09T09:32:00.000-07:00

The bad news kept coming. A friend is battling for his life, a low tire ended up meaning I needed two new tires at the cost of $400.00, my wife was having some health issues that were bothering me, a ministry that I am mentoring is having some relational difficulties and I am really tired from a month of strong travel and ministry. I was not feeling particularly strong in my faith on Monday. The last of the bad news came when I had to spend another $50.00 to get my car aligned. Deb and I were in the alignment companies lobby when I stepped outside to make a phone call that I didn't want to make (my attitude told me I was not strong). After the call, I stepped back into the lobby to find Debbie and three men talking about Jesus. What should I do? Should I put on a fake, 'christian' attitude? Should I just sit down and ignore their discussion (rude)? Should I politely listen and nod? Should I pretend to make another call?

In times like these, we really don't feel strong and probably are not strong in our faith. For all of us, our faith can take radical turns for better or worse when life goes in unpredictable ways. These feelings can last for seconds or years. If we let the curves of life control us, we will be mostly out of sorts much of the time. Staying strong and consistent in our faith and lives is the best answer, even when things are rough. A question many will ask at this point is how can we stay strong and focused?

Here are five helpful principles that I apply to my life to help me stay strong when I don't want to be strong;

1. Stay Faithful

Remain faithful when things are smooth so that you'll have plenty of reserves when things get rocky! This is more of a prevention against the temptation to wallow in bad times. Staying strongly engaged with Jesus through prayer, the Bible and in community with others is vital. Jesus told us to 'remain' or 'abide in me' (John 15). When these basic Biblical disciplines are maintained in ones life, it will serve as an anchor when the seas of life begin to swell. Many believers choose to 'coast' when things are smooth only to drain them of their strength instead of building up reservoirs of faith that will need to be called upon at some point.

The years of 2009 and 2010 were really awful for my family and I. My wife went through breast cancer (she has no evidence of disease today!) and our church community went through hell (no other word for it). These two events happened simultaneously. The only way I made it through with strength, grace and faith is by accessing the years of strength and provenness that I built up in my life.

2. Embrace Realities

People who come to Jesus often think that everything (or most things) in their life should go smoothly. Somehow this false doctrine has crept into the minds of saints especially in the Western church. Many believe that if they read the Bible enough, pray enough, fast enough and do enough christian things that God is then obligated to takes the bumps out of life. This is really bad theology. You cannot come up with one person in the Scriptures whose life went smoothly. When you add to your life the desire to live fully for God, well, the heat seems to be turned up a notch or more. Quick cures never resolve deep damage that has been done to our souls. Life is often laced with confusion, doubt, fear and a variety of struggles. Believers need to know that God is good even when things are bad or confusing. God is in control even when life seems to be out of control. We would do well to embrace the realities that invade our lives and know that the path to life comes through the valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23). Dan Allender puts it this way, "The obstacle to life is the conviction that God will damage us and destroy us. The problem is that the path [to life] does involved His hurting us, but only in order to heal us." (italics are my addition).

Why not begin a journal and jot down a sentence or two a couple of times week. Write down what you are feeling, and some of the prayers that you are bringing to God. Be honest and transparent in your writing and you will probably see more and more realities being embraced by your soul. Know that living spiritually strong lives is costly and will be challenged by your flesh, the world's values and the enemies lies. The reality is that you are in a war and you are on the front line. The war is for souls and an allegiance to Jesus. Expect opposition when you choose to live for the King.

3. Believe the Truth.

For too many people, believing lies and doing little to dismiss them is the norm. The truth is that people get comfortable beating themselves up, allowing excuses to keep them down and feeling like the whole world is against them. When this cycle happens, selfishness sets in people begin to live out the lies about themselves that they willingly entertain. Instead, we should believe the truth that God says about us. Some of these truths are that He loves us, He created us in His image (and God said it was good), that we are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ, that Jesus came to destroy the works of the devil, that Jesus will never leave us nor ever forsake us, that Jesus came to gives us life etc.

Jesus has taught us that the truth will set us free. If you find you are one who dwells on negative things, find a friend and confide this habit and ask them to help you to begin the process of changing your thinking. Find out together what the truth is that you should believe and dismiss the lies when they creep in. Ecclesiastes teaches that 'two are better than one'. Philippians 4:8-9 gives us some good things to dwell upon.

4. Be Selfless

When people are not feeling strong in their faith, the last thing usually on their mind is being selfless and others centered. When we are not feeling strong the temptation is often to become self-absorbed in our own world (entertainment, work, sleep, rest, complaining etc.). Being self-absorbed will only serve to take you down a few more notches in your spiritual vitality. The Scriptures teach us to treat others as more important than ourselves (Philippians 2). When we aim to be others centered, we find meaning or purpose outside of our selves. The giving of our self in being others centered actually breathes new life into our spiritual lungs.

Be bold and start with a small step like a phone call, an e-mail of encouragement, a text or a short cup of coffee with a friend. Ask God who could use some encouragement and then serve it up! Ask about how they are doing and reserve your story to when they ask and then be brief. I know you'll find that Jesus will fill your soul and strengthen your weak knees.

5. Christ is our Life

I saved the best for last :-) Over the past couple of years, I have had to make a conscious decision to believe that God is good all of the time. Life often doesn't make sense. It is in times like these that I find I must remind myself and be reminded by others about all that Christ has done. My wonderful wife often reminds me with statements like, "Which of God's provisions have not been adequate?" In 2 Timothy Paul says that "If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself" (2 Tim. 2:13). The next verse says, "Remind them of these things...". In Colossians 3:4 Paul tells us that Christ is our life, He is our true identity. Our faith and journey is all because, and all about Jesus. He is the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12). The more intimate and trusting we become with Christ, the more He will become our life.

Stay faithful, embrace realities, believe the truth, be selfless and allow for Christ to really be your life! What if every believer engaged life's challenges with these concepts? How would the world be different? Christ is our leaning post, the only one who can keep us strong when we don't feel like we are. Christ is before all things and in Him all things hold together (Col. 1:17). You can be strong through Christ, even when things are really hard. That is what the world is desperate to see, the strength of God flowing through people and being different enough to make a difference.

I would love to hear your thoughts if you would like to share them.

ReTool Leadership Part 7 - Transparent Leaders

2011-07-20T13:06:00.000-07:00

I walked into the workout room in the hotel I was staying at and found one of the two treadmills available. I jumped on it and began to jog at a slow pace while watching the news on the TV. There was a man on the other treadmill who greeted me and identified himself as one of the attendees at the conference I was speaking at. As we were running, he began a conversation with me about part of my topic from the previous evening.

I had felt sort of flat at the end of the talk that he was referring to so I was very interested in what he had to say. He began by telling me that he had wanted to come and speak to me after the session ended, but there were too many people milling around where I was and that his comments wouldn’t really be that important anyway. He said he knew God wanted us to talk once he saw me enter the workout room. He began with moist eyes and tears were quick to follow. There was no one else in the workout room and we remained alone until our conversation was finished.

This man was a pastor who was caught in isolation. He knew something was wrong but couldn’t find his way out. He had been in isolation for along time. He was craving to be honest with someone in the church he is part of and to be cared for in his pain...but he found himself alone. The night before, I had shared some thoughts about leadership and the need for true transparency in our leaders. Allow me to give you the highlights of what I said.

As we migrate away from the top down leadership model that has been copied from the world, we must also become real and transparent with people. A hierarchical model allows for perceived perfection and the elevation of leaders to heights not desired by Jesus. We must remember that Jesus has called His leaders to be servants and slaves of those He has charged to shepherd. When leaders choose to step down from the pedestal they have been put upon, the perceived perfection is taken away. As people begin to see leaders as real people with imperfections, there may be a gasp at first, but the gasps quickly become sighs of relief.

Leadership is a gift from God and distributed to people as the Holy Spirit directs (1 Cor. 12:7). People do need leaders in their lives. According to Jesus, people need leaders to be ‘among‘ (Matt. 20:20-28 & 1 Pet. 5:1-5) people not ‘over’ people. Leaders are to be servants of people, not expect people to serve their vision and plans. Many leaders like describing themselves as servants, but they don‘t like being treated like servants.

The best leaders equip, empower and encourage people to employ their abilities given to them by God, not elevate their own gifts to a level above others. All people need to be influenced to move in the direction of Jesus and this, in my opinion, is what leadership is designed to accomplish. For this to deeply happen, leaders must lose the aura that they are better or that they sin less or that they are somehow more endowed by God with power or abilities. We must take off our masks of perceived perfection or greater importance and we must become transparent with people. This is vital if we are going to see the priests in our churches released in our communities to realize a rapid kingdom expansion.

Paul had to fight this ‘rock star’ elevation in his own life. He often had to quell others wanting to elevate him to unhealthy levels. We see him stop the crowds in Acts 14:8-15 from beginning to worship him for performing miracles. We find Paul teaching the Corinthians to not follow any person (Apollos or Paul) but to focus only on Christ as the foundation of the church (1 Cor. 3:4-9). In 1 Timothy 1:15, we find Paul being transparent calling himself the chief of sinners and then there is the Romans 7:14-21 passage where Paul confesses that he continues to do the things that he knows shouldn’t do.

Another strong portion of Scripture that has to do with being honest and transparent is found in 2 Corinthians 3:1-18. Here is a quick over view of this section of Scripture.

2 Corinthians 3:1-18
1-6 Paul indicates that he had a deep connection with the people in this church....they were written on his heart! We also see Paul reminding them that they, like he, are competent or adequate ministers of the new covenant.

7-16 We are not to be like Moses who put a veil over his face once the glory of the Lord started to fade. This is dishonest at best - Moses wanted to keep up the facade that he had something they didn’t have. Paul says in verse 12 we should be very bold, not like Moses, and take off the mask (the veil) and be transparent with people.

17-18 We learn here that as we grow in Christ we are transformed by Him. As leaders, others will be watching us. When they see that we too are growing in our faith just as they must, it will spur them to move forward in difficult times. As we tell the story that it is safe to trust God and allow Him to transform us, people will also trust God to transform them. We must be honest with people and grow with grace ‘among’ them.

Too many leaders have grown up in the church learning that being transparent with others in the church is not safe and may even be a really dumb thing to do. The logic goes is that if you are actually honest with others, they will not want to follow your leadership. I actually think the opposite is true and that the church and her leaders have believed a lie about this for a very long time. I believe that if leaders became honest in healthy ways, that the people would rise to a new level of health and the church once again would shine. I believe that transparency by leaders would take them off the pedestal and put them on the same level as everyone else which would once again raise Jesus back up to His rightful place.

My new pastor friend from the gym told me that if I came all the way from Arizona for this moment, that it was well worth the investment. I hope that you are able to be transparent with the people God has given to you to influence for Him. I pray that you are free to be who you are which will only help the church be more vital to the world around us.

I would love to hear from you regarding the benefits and liabilities of leaders being transparent with the people they serve. You can post here or write me an e-mail.

ReTool Leadership Part 6 - Release People Immediately

2011-06-30T15:07:00.001-07:00

There are two related sins in the modern church today and we must repent of both of them.

We underestimate what God can do with a new life that has received the gospel.

We overestimate what we can do to help a new believer to grow in her/his faith.

1 Cor. 3:6 “I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth.” When it comes to the seed of truth growing in a person, this is God’s territory, not ours. We can plant the seed, we can water the seed with prayer and encouragement and even point people in the direction of Jesus - the direction of health. We must remember the truth is that God causes the increase. Our methods do not cause the increase. Our programs do not cause the increase. Not even our excellence of programs or words will cause the increase. People may grow and respond to any of the above attempts but those things do not cause the increase. Only God causes the increase.

Jesus address this truth in Mark 4:26-28

"Jesus said, 'The Kingdom of God is like a farmer who scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, while he's asleep or awake, the seed sprouts and grows, but he does not understand how it happens. The earth produces the crops on its own.'" Mark 4:26-28 NLT

The lesson to learn from this is that leaders must trust the seed and Jesus' residence inside of people to germinate, grow and blossom into fruitfulness. As the church trusts the seed and not the seed sower to produce growth, health and reproduction, we will then be willing to release people into dangerous places (among wolves) immediately, just as Jesus did.

ReLease Immediately

Once people give their life to Jesus, the question is what do they need and when should we ReLease them into ministry. Maybe the best place to begin looking into that question is see what Jesus did.

"Jesus went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him. 14 He appointed twelve--designating them apostles --that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach and to have authority to drive out demons." Mark 3:13-15

This meeting with Jesus and twelve apostles took place in Jesus' second year of ministry. A year or more is not a lot of time for Him to have trained them and yet Jesus does something very powerful and very much the opposite of what most Christian leaders would do today.

Jesus called the twelve to Himself so they could be with Him. Jesus knows that His followers need to be close to Him. Jesus, I believe, sowed seeds of truth in their hearts during the unrecorded conversation they had on that hill top. It is important that we teach new believers to immediately begin their new faith life by spending time with Jesus for He is everything they need.

The second thing Jesus does is send them out...immediately upon appointing them. They were fresh in their following of Jesus. We must either think that Jesus is a fool to send people out so rapidly or that He is a genius and really knows what He is doing. I think we would all agree that Jesus knew what He was doing. Jesus didn't send out these new followers of His to direct cars in the parking lot or hand out bulletins, he had then preach and cast out demons!

Jesus often sent people out before they were ready.

This is the key to rapid expansion of God’s Kingdom and good leadership, sending people out sooner rather than later. The longer we hold people back or don’t trust them to go out, the more likely it is that they will never be active in sowing large amounts of seeds. When we indirectly train people that they are not able to do important ministry by asking them to be passive (sit, sing, give), we can set a pattern in their lives that calls them to a sedentary faith. Instead, we should tell new believers to be active in their faith, to be listening for Jesus' voice and direction to do amazing things and giving them freedom and responsibility in their own realm to do those things for the King from the moment they are saved. This would set a patter of strong active faith building.

Jesus immediately sends out His disciples to preach and cast out demons. This is not light work as we all know and yet, Jesus is trusting these common, mostly uneducated rookies with these important dangerous tasks immediately upon His calling them to be His disciples. This is not the only example from Jesus' life where He does this.

Mark 5:1-20 (Please read this passage)

Mark 5 is about a man who was messed up in every way possible. He was a wreck financially, emotionally, physically, spiritually, psychologically and relationally. Notice in Mark 5 how this man who had his life restored deeply wanted to leave that area to be with Jesus. But Jesus turns things upside down again. Jesus doesn’t allow the Garasene Demoniac to come with Him. This seems like an insane decision. In Mark 7:31-37 we find out that Jesus returned to this region and the people wanted to hear Him to asked Him to heal their sick. All because this man sowed lots of Jesus seeds in that region. I think Jesus is on to something here when He sends out people out sooner rather than later.

I was probably not ready to be sent out to witness to Mormons as I was a few weeks after being saved, but no one told me I wasn’t ready. I was able to share the Jesus of the Bible with several people that day, I was physically threatened, had hands raised to strike me and even had the leader of the Ward (The Bishop) come out to confront me. Jesus brought me through that and used the experience to show me that He will never leave me nor forsake me. It has reminded me to be bold and courageous for the Lord Jesus.

The leaders of your churches in the new future are not yet saved. In fact some are probably doing some pretty sinful things this weekend - but God will transform them and use them powerfully. Just look at some of the people Jesus sent out immediately upon beginning a relationship with Him;

Mark 5 Demoniac (dysfunctional)

John 4 Samaritan Woman (immoral)

John 9 Man born blind (handicapped)
Acts 8 The Ethiopian Eunich (dignitary)
1 Thess. 1 These people made an impact in a wide region within the first year of faith in Christ (common people)

Getting people on mission early is vital. Shepherds want to protect the sheep - that is good and healthful - but we must ask ourselves, how long do we hold on to people before we release them...to do important stuff? We have people sitting in our pews for 5, 10, 20 even 40 years and they have never baptized anyone, they have never taught a Sunday School class, shared their faith or facilitated a home group discussion. It seems to me that the church is the only institution where we have trouble promoting or releasing people. Some of these people should be theologians by now - if they are not, after decades of sitting under our teaching, we must ask what is wrong with our teaching or our methods?

I would love to hear your thoughts!

ReTool Leadership Part 5 - Leading People to be Scattered

2011-06-22T11:06:00.001-07:00

If the church is going to expand and multiply on an ongoing basis, there are some issues that must be faced, admitted to, repented from and transformed to become more like Jesus. The cornerstone issue that faces the church today regarding stunting its growth is our understanding of leadership in the church. My next few posts will give some time to this topic and I would love engaging with you in a conversation about this very important issue.

When I was a young man, I attended a trade school for cabinet making during one semester. My family owned a cabinet manufacturing business and I wanted to have some knowledge of the construction of cabinets before I went to work for the family. In the trade school, I remember a couple of lectures on safety issues and why certain aspects of cabinetry were vital for making strong cabinets, but the lectures were rare. Most of our time was spent in short, five to ten minute demonstrations on one aspect of cabinet making and then we got to work to imitate what the instructor had demonstrated. Our ‘mentor’ would move around the room, watching what we were doing and correcting us on one aspect or another. After a few weeks, I was making cabinets. Our final project was to design a simple cabinet, produce a list of parts to manufacture and then assemble the cabinet to receive our final grade. If we passed one particular level of cabinet making, we could then advance to the next level.

When I gave my life to Jesus and attended a local church near my home, I noticed that mentoring or making disciples looked much different than at the trade school. In the trade school I was taught and shown something, imitated it, was coached to help me improve and then I was released to do it on my own. In the church, we were taught things via lecture but there were no hands on demonstrations or practical encouragement to put the things we learned into practice. There was no one to walk with me through the Christian life.

Instructors (leaders) in the church must be about equipping and scattering (releasing) the saints into the world of their families, neighborhoods and vocations to live out and pass on the love, light and lessons of Jesus. I believe that every church leader (pastor) does want to see this happen but there is very little time or investment in doing so. The leaders time is mostly centered around administration, putting out fires in peoples lives and preparing a talk and organizing the inner workings of those meetings (worship services). The following is a short two minute video that illustrates the correct understanding of what discipleship is to be and the cultural norm of what it actually is.

This is Discipling from The Foursquare Church on Vimeo.

The Church Scattered
Ok so the church does need to be gathered (Acts 2:46, Acts 20:20, Hebrews 10:24-25) but it needs to also move beyond our gatherings as we saw in the video. Church has been mostly relegated to gatherings. Church should be seen as who we are, not what we attend (another set of blog posts for the future :-). Let’s briefly learn about the church scattered from the Scriptures.

Eph. 1:22-23
“22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.”

These verses teaches us that Jesus’ body, the church, is the fullness of God on earth. How can the church be the fullness of God when it is gathered together? When believers are huddled together in church buildings, how can they fill the earth? This verse certainly points to the church when she is scattered, not gathered. The Church scattered (our whole lives except for 1.5 hours a week :-) is the fullness of God on earth. When we are separated in our places of work or in our neighborhoods, we then have opportunity to be the fullness of God all over the place.

Do we believe that God wants to use Christians who are greeters at Walmart or Police Officers or Civil Engineers to bring blessing, hope, light and integrity to their co-workers and the business they work for? Do we believe that God wants to use the ordinary woman to impact those she rubs shoulders with on a daily basis? Isn’t the best advertisement for Jesus one person who is being transformed by him in the presence of those who do not yet know Him? If you do believe the above statements, how are you practically equipping these people to live this out?

This is a powerful way to see the Kingdom of God impacting a whole city or region. The church scattered is a powerful thing once we can see it, embrace it and encourage it. The church scattered may be powerful, but how many of our people really think this way? Unless the church leaders equip them to think like this and to pass along this teaching, we will not experience life for Jesus with maximum impact in our communities.

Eph. 4:11-16
11 And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ ; 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. 14 As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming ; 15 but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

Allow me to make a few brief comments on this passage as it relates to the church scattered.

Eph. 4:11-12 - This passage puts a lot of how church is done in its ear. These five gifts (made up of mature or seasoned leaders) are given to the body to equip all the other members to do the work of ministry...NOT to do ministry for them! As churches adopt this thinking, it will require a whole different way of being the church together. No longer would church be about high energy meetings but about sound practical equipping in the things of Christ and expecting those lessons to be lived out in the coming weeks.

Eph. 4:13 This equipping and releasing to do the work of the ministry is to go on for our whole lives - until we reach unity and maturity. This maturing is done communally; “...until we ALL attain to the unity of the faith...” (emphasis mine).

Eph. 4:14 When the body experiences stability in perseverance, doctrine and focus, we can be sure we are headed in a good direction with our equipping. This type of teach ing expects the common believer to be moving towards maturity and alertness in their faith as live out their faith.

Eph. 4:15 All believers are to grow up in all aspects as they directly connect to Jesus, the Head of the Church. The church leaders will work hard to take people’s dependence off of them and point them to rely upon Jesus as their rock and stability.

Eph. 4:16 Each joint, each individual is to properly work and supply what is necessary for healthy growth as they mature in Jesus. This is not a passive faith but a very action oriented faith. This requires the empowering, releasing and encouraging of ordinary believers to be active both when we are together and when we are scattered. Those who follow Jesus should do so in church settings, at home and at work. The proper working of every individual is to be properly working at all times in all places. Our faith should not, must not be compartmentalized.

That is an exciting journey to be on. Each person, equipped, maturing and directly connected to Jesus to bring health to the body. As the body is scattered, this type of maturity will only serve to bring greater brightness to the community mature saints live in. The church should be equipping people towards expansion/multiplication in their daily normal lives instead of working hard to keep them attending meetings. If we live this out as leaders, the people will keep coming because we are helping them to be fruitful in their daily lives and who doesn't want more of that?

So what are your thoughts about leadership practically equipping the church to be the church, even when she is scattered?

ReTool Leadership Part 4 - Equip to Gather or Scatter?

2011-06-15T13:35:00.000-07:00

Leadership can simply be described as influence. In the community of saints, leaders are to be influencing people to be more like Jesus. Leaders are at their best when they are encouraging people to be headed in the direction of Jesus. We have learned that leaders are to be ‘among’ the people, not over them (1 Peter 5:1-5). When leaders are among or with people, relationships deepen, hearts are exposed (on both sides) and leaders are then able to hear the peoples hearts, know their needs and gently and lovingly help them to orient their lives in the direction of Jesus (health). Like a medical Doctor who knows their patients history and currently symptoms, they can skillfully point believers in the path of spiritual health. It is then up to the individual to choose to move on that path. Leadership is influencing people to become more like Jesus and activate their gifts so they can be effective in the realm God has intentionally placed them.

For many leaders today, influencing is done by speaking to larger groups of people the truth from Scripture that should be taught. Week after week, spiritual leaders around the world give talks to groups of people urging them to put their outlines into action. Their intentions are good but the results fall short week after week only to find them trying hard again to deliver a home run the following week. Their messages often urge people to be the ‘salt and light of the world’ but living it out doesn’t seem to be happening. People are more likely to shuffle out of church, back to their jobs and T.V. programs only to show up again in a couple of weeks to hear another stimulating speech. This cycle is in part propagated because their is a disconnect. The disconnect is that the success of the leader is found in the gathering of the believers together instead of the scattering of the believers into the world. The focus and energy of most leaders throughout the week is on how to draw in and keep the people interested in their worship services and sermons instead of spending time praying, dreaming , designing ways of scattering their people effectively throughout the week.

An Example
Some time ago I was talking to a pastor friend who was telling a story about a new person in their church who wanted to become a member. The pastor made an appointment with this man to interview him, find out about his faith and tell him about their system of becoming a member. During the conversation with this man, my pastor friend discovered that the man did not actually understand the gospel nor had he given his life to Jesus. After a strong and appropriate conversation about salvation by grace, the man wanted to learn more but was not ready to make a decision. My friend then gave a book by a very good and famous author on the basics of faith and instructed him to read this book so they could have further conversations. After my friend finished this story I looked at him and asked him why he didn’t ask the man to read the Bible and instead gave him a book about the Bible? My pastor friend thought about this and turned red with a slight embarrassment. I then pointed out that it was possible that this man was handicapped at that moment. He wanted to know Jesus and the Bible and he had some sound conversations about Jesus and the Bible with the pastor (the ‘holy man’) but after that conversation, when he needed to do homework, he was given a book about the Bible. The message this communicates is that the common person may not be able to understand the Bible on their own, they need a ‘holy man’ to understand it so the ‘holy man’ gave him a book about the Bible (written by another ‘holy man’).

How did my friend use his influence to train this man seeking to be a member of his church? Unfortunately, he influenced him from the beginning to be dependent upon the system of the church and a ‘holy man’ instead of pointing him to Jesus and to learn from His word directly. The man was urged to come back to church the following week (a good thing) but not urged/influenced to seek the truth for himself or to share his journey with those in and around his life. This was an opportunity missed to help this man learn that he could be immediately effective in the world God had called him to.

What do you think about this?

Next time we’ll explore some Biblical foundations for leaders to be equipping the saints to be scattered, not gathered.

ReTool Leadership Part 3 - The Leader's Priority

2011-06-07T10:31:00.000-07:00

As we follow Jesus’ leadership style, we notice something very interesting. Jesus spends most of His time, energy and resources on the few, not with the crowds. Jesus seems to know that investing in a few and teaching them to do the same is the way for rapid kingdom expansion. In this way, multiplication comes from the many investing in others. Jesus embraced, loved, equipped and released very common (uneducated and untrained cf. Acts 4:13) people to do very dangerous and risky things (like re-tell the Gospel, cast out demons and heal sick people).

In the church today, it seems that more emphasis is put on the crowds rather than the few. When we put emphasis on attracting crowds to dispense the Gospel, we are actually buying into the idea of addition for church growth, not multiplication. Focusing on addition seems right and a smart use of our time and resources. If we can impact more people, that is preferred. But addition, although good, is sharply less than multiplication. No matter how rapidly we add people to the church, it will never be faster than multiplication.

Equipping people to multiply takes longer and costs us more of our time and emotional energy than we often are willing to spend. Once people are equipped to multiply, we are then left to trust them to actually do it...and some will not. Therefore, adding people to events is quicker, safer and more rapid - but this is true only at the beginning. Multiplication will always produce more than addition.

Jesus focused on pouring Himself into a few men and called them to reproduce themselves consistently. We often find Jesus removing Himself from large crowds and spending more time with the 12 and the 3. Jesus wanted His disciples to risk, fail and try again. As they risked and fail, Jesus walked with them, pointing them in ways of success. When we see Jesus ascending into heaven, He tells His followers to go throughout their lives making disciples - reproducing (Matt. 28:19-20, Acts 1:8). Jesus doesn’t tell His disciples to invite people to sit and listen to them but to go and tell others about what they have just heard. Paul seemed to understand this when he wrote...

"The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also." 2 Timothy 2:2 (NASB)

The Leaders priority must be to focus on reproducing him or her self in a few who will in turn do the same thing. This is not always the easiest path nor the most popular path but it the ONLY path that will see the world won to Christ. It is the ONLY path that Jesus instructed us to follow. Never did Jesus teach us to gather crowds to preach, He simply told us to go through life guiding each other to be like Jesus and to pass on those truths. This is the bench mark of a healthy leader who is interested in creating a culture of rapid kingdom expansion.

ReTool Leadership Part 2 - Jesus' Example

2011-05-31T12:57:00.000-07:00

Next time we will explore where the leader's priorities ought to be.

ReTool Leadership Part 1 - Who is in Charge?

2011-05-18T10:23:00.000-07:00

Next time we will explore where the leader's priorities ought to be.

Priests, Ministers and Other Common People

2011-05-05T09:55:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I wrote encouraged us to ReThink the Priesthood of Believers in practical terms. We need a new breed of priests if the church is to rapidly expand. If there is going to be a culture of rapid Kingdom expansion, we must see every believer as a competent minister of the new covenant in all ways (2 Cor. 3:6). This will encourage and inspire people to be seen as important.

Leaders would do well to understand that the God who spoke to Adam and Noah in Genesis, is the same God that spoke to Peter and Paul in the New Testament and is the same God who spoke to George Fox, Martin Luther and Charles Wesley. These people are not rare or exceptional examples of God communicating to His children. They should be considered the normal pattern just like any parent-child relationship. Without going into too much depth on this topic, we must understand that God is equally connected to all of His children. In fact, He is more connected to Jesus followers today than He was to Adam...what?, you might think. Jesus indwells His children today while He did not indwell people a permanent basis before Acts 2. Amazing! Believe the truth about you. Be a Priest (1 Pet. 2:5-9), Ambassador (2 Cor. 5:18-21), a Competent Minister (2 Cor. 3:6), an Ordained One (John 15:16) to the world who desperately needs to be told about and invited to the forever party Jesus is throwing!

Check Your Compass

2011-04-12T19:48:00.000-07:00

And the Seduction of Self

The Scriptures are full of rewards and warnings for us to enjoy and to heed. In Daniel, we find lots of stories about men of integrity holding on to God and seeing truth reign and how they overcame adversity. We also see several stories about great men who place their focus in the wrong direction and end up in misery. Like any good adventurer, we should always check our compass to make sure we are headed in the right direction.

Heading in the right direction is really what God desires from us. He fully knows that we will never be perfect as we walk on this earth so He is very interested in the direction we are headed. Hopefully we choose to be headed in the direction of health. That direction clearly points to Jesus Christ because He is the Way and the Truth and the Life (John 14:6).

In Daniel chapters 1-6, we find Daniel and three friends making a large impact on the nation of Babylon. Judah has been captured by King Nebuchadnezzar, King of Babylon, and these four men were part of the plunder taken. They were selected as young, bright and strong men who could serve in the King's service if they were able to be properly trained. We encounter Daniel and his three friends in chapter one immediately standing up for God and choosing to not defile themselves with the unclean food of the Babylonians. The consequences of not eating the King's food could be fatal but these four men stand true to God's ways. They choose to be vegetarians and God blesses them for honoring His dietary standards and they are shown to be stronger and smarter than the others in their training school. They are awarded to serve the King which affords a whole bunch of opportunity.

On the other hand, the leaders of Babylon did not choose to honor God. Once Daniel made a stand to honor God and His ways, King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream and asked for his 'magicians' to tell him the dream and its interpretation. David was the only one who could do this. Daniel was also clear that the "God in heaven who reveals mysteries..." was the one who made the dream known to Daniel. Nebuchadnezzar was astounded that Daniel could tell him the dream and interpret it. Daniel was handsomely rewarded and promoted in the kingdom and then King Nebuchadnezzar said, "Surely your God is a God of gods and a Lord of kings and a revealer of mysteries" (Dan.2:47). This sounds like the King is headed in the right direction.

But after this, the King made a golden statue of himself and required everyone to bow down and worship the statue at the appropriate times. If someone failed to worship, he would be thrown into the furnace and burned to death. Daniel's three friends were caught in the act of not worshiping the statue and was thrown into the fire but they were not burned. When they came out, King Nebuchadnezzar decreed, "...that any people, nation or tongue that speaks anything offensive against of the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego shall be torn limb from limb...inasmuch as there is no other god who is able to deliver in this way." (Dan. 3:29).

The King had yet another amazing dream and again, Daniel was able to interpret it for the King. The dream told of the King's great kingdom and how it would be uprooted and the King would become like a wild beast, eating grass for a long time. Again, Daniel was rewarded but the King disregarded the interpretation. Daniel urged the King to repent and perhaps God would have mercy on him. But the king continued to grow hard in his heart. Finally, twelve months later he was over looking his kingdom and said to himself, "Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?" (Dan. 4:30). As he said this, God spoke to him in audible voice telling him that he will become like a wild beast and eat grass until he was humbled.

Once the King came to his senses and the Kingdom was returned to him, he said, "Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise exalt and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride." (Dan. 4:37).

Nebuchadnezzar's son, Belshazzar became king and violated God's standard's intentionally. This caused God to write on the wall with a large hand in front of the King and his guests at a party. No one could interpret the meaning of the writing except Daniel. Once again Daniel gave the interpretation that this Kingdom would be taken away from Belshazzar for violating God intentionally. David was again promoted and given expensive gifts. David also reminded Belshazzar what his father went through and that Belshazzar had "...not humbled your heart, even though you knew all this, but you have exalted yourself against the Lord o heaven..." (Dan. 5:22-23). Belshazzar died that night.

So today, I encourage you to check your compass and make sure that your life is pointed in the direction of Christ Jesus. Pride is subtle and yet ugly. It will lure you to feel strong and then cause you to fall headlong into misery. Do not be deceived by pride and self confidence, follow the example of Daniel and humble yourself before God and be rewarded. Do not follow the ways of the leaders of Babylon and end up in misery. What direction are you headed?

Your input...
How do you check your compass in life to see what direction you are headed?
The Scriptures teach us to humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord. How do you imagine that looks like in practical terms?

I would like to hear your insights.

Get out there and cast some seeds!

ReThink: Priesthood

2011-04-01T08:41:00.001-07:00

What concepts come to mind when you think of the word, priest? I was at an organic church recently and I asked that question. The answers ranged from a 'a person to go between God and man' to 'a holy man' to 'one who offers sacrifices to God'. How would you answer the question?

In the Old Testament, we learn that priests main job are to bring two parties at odds together for peace. In other words, a priest is a go-between for man to God. A priest was to mediate between himself and God (Lev. 9:8, 14:28-29), between his family and God (Lev. 16:6, 16:11) and between the people and God (Lev. 9:15, 10:17, Numb. 8:19). Priests are also to do what is in God's heart and soul (1 Sam. 2:35). These responsibilities are a high calling. It was an honor to be a priest in the Old Testament and only a small percentage ever had the honor to a priest. To be a priest of Jehovah was the best job one could have.

The New Testament also talks about priests of God but the application for priests was changed. As the church age began to mature, the church seemed to revert to a more Old Testament concept of priest where one man would represent a whole group of people before God and also speak for God to the people. The Catholic Church has promoted this Old Testament concept of the priesthood for over 1700 years now. On October 31st, 1517, Martin Luther posted his 95 theses on the door of the church in Wittenberg, in this he began to deny the priesthood as it was then known and began to elevate the concept of the priesthood of every believer. This truth is certainly found throughout the New Testament (1 Pet. 2:5-9; Rev. 1:6; 5:10).

Martin Luther changed the theology regarding the truth that every believer is a priest before God but since 1517, hardly anything has changed in practical terms in the church. Whether Catholic or Protestant, most churches simply do not allow the common people (the laity) to administer communion, baptize believers, perform weddings nor are they trusted to impart the Word of God with authority to people. In reality, there still is a division between the clergy (priests or pastors) and the laity (common people). This division must be done away with by doing away with the laity. We must adopt the Biblical concept that every believer, from the moment of salvation is a priest of God and is capable of pointing people to Jesus for salvation, strength, hope and faith. Every believer is a child of God, equally connected to the head of the Church, Jesus Himself. Every believer has the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of God is able to minister to and flow through the youngest and newest believer with powerful results (Mark 5:1-20 is just one example).

So today, we must recapture the truth that if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you are a priest of God to the nations to bring the Good News of our King to their ears and hearts. It is our distinct honor to do so.

Your input...
How should the truth that every believer is a priest for God change the church?
If you lived out this truth, that you are a priest of God , how would it change the way you do life?

I would like to hear your insights.

Get out there and cast some seeds!

Spiritual Information Addicts

2011-03-03T08:54:00.000-07:00

For most Americans, more stuff seems important. How many bikes do I need to have covered up in my backyard or hanging from my garage rafters to be enough? Do I really need another patio set to use once or at the most three times a year? Why am I opposed to borrowing one from my neighbor when I need it? Do I really need another pair of shoes? The questions and lists could go on. What is it about acquiring more that is so intoxicating?

But I don't want to talk only about items we own around our homes, I'd rather talk about our culture's addiction to acquiring more information, specifically about the Bible. Far too many believers will sit in a comfy chair two weeks a month to hear a 30 - 40 minute talk about some good and solid spiritual truth and rarely do anything about what they have learned. These newly acquired truths sit in their brains and are too often forgotten. In the following week or two they head back to the same comfy chair to hear another 30 - 40 minute talk about some other solid truth, only to have it be forgotten and not applied. What is it about acquiring Biblical information that is so intoxicating?

What if instead of simply acquiring more and more Biblical information, we focus on distributing the spiritual resources deposited in our souls? I believe this would serve to enhance the realms we travel in. What is the responsibility of teachers who move from topic to topic, week after week, serving to saturate brains and souls with truth never lived out? I really don't know the answer to that question but I do believe we must ponder it. Is there a way to help people live out what they are taught? Are those teachers simply and unintentionally serving more information to spiritual information addicts?

So here is the Scripture I read this morning that flooded all of these thoughts to my soul.

"From everyone who has been given much, much will be required; and to whom they entrusted much, of him they will ask all the more." Luke 12:48b

What is required of those of us who are constantly acquiring more and more spiritual truths but who are not distributing these truths? What does it mean when we are 'entrusted' with spiritual truth? One of the first truths we ought to be taught is the last thing Jesus said to His disciples, "Go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them...and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded...". It seems to me that living out this spiritual truth will take the rest of our lives, even as we learn more.

I would love to hear what you think.

What Does It Mean to Make Disciples?

2011-03-02T16:13:00.000-07:00

Jesus' last words to His followers was to go through life making disciples. This is vital to the continuance or reproduction of disciples and of the church. According to Jesus, everyone is suppose to be making disciples (Matthew 28:19-20). In my experience, I find that very few people have even considered engaging in the activity of making disciples and even less who are doing it. So, if Jesus' last words were for each of us to be making disciples, then we probably should know what it means to make disciples. So I'm asking you for input on this, what does it mean to make disciples?

Romancing God

2011-02-25T08:58:00.000-07:00

"Oh, how I love your law! I think about it all day long." Psalm 119:1 (NLT)

So how does a person get this point of loving God's Word and thinking about it all day long? Is this only for people in the Bible or for super Christians? How can we fall in love with God's Word? There are certainly plenty of ways to accomplish this but they must have at least this one common denominator. That commonality is to engage the Word, spend time in the Word and let it soak into your soul. When that happens, you'll find yourself oozing God's love and truth naturally.

For too many Christians, reading God's Word is boring...which is too bad because it is anything but boring. Yeah, there are some dry spots in it (think genealogies) but much of the Bible is full of stories that movies are made of and out of amazing principles about which books are written. In the Bible we find good versus evil, right versus wrong, betrayal meets loyalty, wild chases, injustice corrected and on and on. The world and our common enemy (Satan and his followers) want us to believe the Bible is boring and/or hard to understand but do not believe it. The Word of God is full of LIFE!

Hebrews 4:12 tells us that the "Word of God is living and active...", that sounds like it is actually alive and dynamic, which it is. Remember that the Holy Spirit lives in believers and He wrote the book through men. He will reveal the deep layers of truth through the Word and open our minds to understand the Word. We simply have to engage the Word by opening it up, asking God for fresh eyes and to open our minds, then you will begin to see amazing things. God will speak to you!

I have been married for 33 years and yet my love for Debbie is stronger and more passionate than ever. How is that possible you might ask? It is possible because I work at it. I allow my thoughts to be surrounded by Debbie's influence, the memory of her perfume and feel of her eyes staring into mine. I'll often have a mushy card or note she has written to me near my desk to peak at now and again. Because I keep my eyes on her, my heart craves more time to be with her. This same commitment or focus should be applied to ‘romancing God’ and being in HIs Word.

If we are going to be ‘romancing God’, we have to believe that “...He is a rewarded of those who diligently seek Him.” Reading what He has written to us certainly is one of the ways that we can diligently seek Him.

Imagine your church full of people who are reading God’s Word in large volumes every week (like 20 - 30 chapters a week)? Imagine the wealth of insights, knowledge, wisdom and maturity that would emerge from such a church. Is it too hard to read 20 - 30 chapters of Scripture a week? It takes about 20 - 30 minutes each day to accomplish it. The benefits of that investment, Jesus guarantees, will pay off wildly! So go ahead and romance God, you will both enjoy it.

Reminders

2011-02-16T16:59:00.001-07:00

I need to be reminded over and over again about the most important things in life. It is often easy to be distracted or detoured from vital things to peripheral things. It has always been this way. Here are a just small samplings of reminders given in the New Testament;

"For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God..." 2 Timothy 1:6

"Remind them of these things..." 2 Timothy 2:14

"I will always be ready to remind you of these things..." 2 Peter 1:12

"Now I desire to remind you..." Jude 1:4

"But I have written very boldly to you on some points so as to remind you again..." Romans 15:15

"Timothy...will remind you of my ways which are in Christ..." 1 Cor. 4:17

"Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed." Titus 3:1

Ok so reminders are good. The other day I was having breakfast with a friend who happens to be a professor at a Christian college. As we were talking, I mentioned that we should be about making disciples first, not inviting people to our house churches (or any kind of church). My friend and I have had many conversations about this point in the past and each time it was refreshing to him to be reminded of this. As I mentioned the importance of making disciples my friend said something like this, "Wow, I really need to be reminded of that often. I so easily fall into the trap of trying to get people into a house church that I often miss the opportunity to help them be disciples of Jesus first." Then, he said something even more profound to me, he said, "If we focus on making disciples, people will want to meet together as a church but if we begin with church, they may not like becoming disciples."

So this blog entry is to serve anyone who reads it as a reminder to be making disciples. Making disciples is actually one of the first things Jesus said to do, "I will make you become fishers of men" and it is the last thing He told us to do, "Go and make disciples of all the nations...". Can it get anymore straight forward than that? You and I are to be about helping others become like Jesus. We should be like Jesus in loving others, in worshipping God, in being honest, forgiving, kind and even risk taking for the Kingdom of God. This is how Jesus lived and this is what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. We need to be like Jesus. Didn't Jesus say that it is enough for a student to be like his teacher (Matt. 10:25)? That is our goal.

Being a disciple of Jesus must include time spent with Jesus in His Word and in His Presence. Spending time will require you to redistribute time from something else to be with Jesus. In other words, it will cost you a switch in priorities. Maybe you'll have to get up earlier. Maybe you'll have to give up a hobby or overtime in order to spend time with Jesus.

Being a disciple of Jesus must also include you putting people as a high priority. You will certainly need to be available to hear people's hearts, address their issues and treat them as more important than yourself. Jesus did this all throughout His life and loving others, He said, is a hallmark of being a Christ follower.

Being a disciple of Jesus will certainly entail you willingly sharing His life with anyone who will listen. Jesus gave His life away so that we could have eternal life with Him. We should be about giving our own lives away as we give away the free gift of Jesus to others as well. If we don't believe our faith is worth giving to others, why would we want it for ourselves?

Being like Jesus (a disciple) is not about classroom settings of learning facts and principles. Being a disciple is about living out the life of Jesus today. It is about living in such a way that your life is making an positive impact on those around you. Being a disciple is not so much about attending a worship service twice a month and giving a few dollars as it is about holding all of your possessions and time in an open hand and asking Jesus what He wants you to do with them. That is a radical life that looks more like what we read in the book of Acts than what we see on Sunday mornings.

My simple reminder is to be making disciples. If you would like a tool that is proven all over the world, you can click HERE to find out more.

What do you think?

Allow Jesus to Emcee Your Church Every Time

2011-01-12T15:12:00.000-07:00

Leaders of organic churches often feel the tension between having to ensure a church gathering is organized and thought out or letting the evening flow to the beat of Christ's desire for them. As I talk with leaders I hear from time to time the following question; How can we experience the leading of the Holy Spirit each week in our house church? Let's explore an answer or two...

1. One of the first things to remember is that over a period of a house church (say 3 -5 months) the DNA of that church should be in balance for good health. All three areas of DNA should be experienced and recognized. The group should have had several meaningful conversations about portions of the Word (D), experienced relationships within the group deepen and meet some type of needs (the one another passages of the New Testament)(N) and together they should have been in prayer and planning or story sharing about reaching out to people who need Jesus (A) You can read more about keeping a healthy balance in an organic church HERE. If together we follow the lead of the Holy Spirit, we will find a healthy balance of DNA in our churches.

2. There must be an understanding and owning of the truth that every believer is equally connected to Jesus, the Head of the Church (Eph. 1:22) and therefore is able to hear from Him for themselves and for the body (1 Cor. 2:10-16, 1 John 2:20 & 27). If one doubts the truth of this point, there will be a hesitation in either participating in the evening or allowing others to participate fully.

3. A facilitator is important to a group and probably more so in the early stages of people learning to allow Jesus to be the emcee of the evening. A facilitator simply helps guide the church to the place of allowing Jesus to lead through the body. It can be done through asking questions, encouraging participation or giving instructions to listen and respond to the Spirit's promptings.

Questions - here a few questions that you can use in facilitating the church; What has Jesus been teaching you this week through the Word or through experiences? Are there any needs that we need to bring before the Father or address this evening (this may open up ministry areas that Jesus wants to touch)? What do you sense Jesus would want to say to our church tonight?
Encourage Participation. One thing a facilitator can do is to state or recognize that Jesus is present in our church, that He is the head of our church and that we want to follow His lead tonight. Reading passages from the Word and asking open ended questions and drawing out insights will often open up a direction that Christ wants to take the group.
Giving instructions to the church is often a good way to help them get into the practice of listening to the Spirit themselves. Instructing the group to open to a portion of Scripture given them and to silently read and re-read the passage, listening for any promptings from the Spirit is helpful. Finding ways to slowing help people learn how to discern the voice of God and follow it is vital.One thing a facilitator can do is to state or recognize that Jesus is present in our church, that He is the head of our church and that we want to follow His lead through the church.

It can be a scary or humbling experience to let the evening flow more naturally than in an organized fashion but once this new way of leadership is experienced, I believe that you will enjoy the freedom and power that surges through the church more often than not. It is not wrong to nor bad to have a planned out teaching time, prayer time, worship time or relational time/evening, but overall, if you follow the Spirit's lead, you'll find all these things happening and more!

If you have any questions about this tip, please send your questions to me!

Evaluating Health in Your Church

2010-12-02T11:45:00.002-07:00

Is your church healthy? How would you know? Measuring numbers of people or dollars or activities don't really tell the story of health. Sometimes, if these numbers continue to grow, it may indicate poor health like spiritual obesity or a growing spiritual tumor that shuts down other vital organs of the body. Every person should be concerned about the health of their church. If numbers (the current but changing standard of measuring health) are not an accurate gauge, then what is? I believe that every church should measure their health by their interaction and obedience to the Word of God, with their interaction to love and serve each other and with their interaction with those not yet following Jesus. Here then, is a simple way for every person to measure and address the health of their church.

First, be familiar with the DNA of a church. If you are not, simply click on DNA and take a very short refresher course. If you are familiar with DNA, move on to the next point.

Get the past 2 to 3 months of your church life together in your head and ask these simple questions with answers ranging from 1(poor) - 10 (great). If you answer with 1-4, some strong conversation is needed in your church on that area of health. If your answer is 5-7, you should make a comment to the church and be more intentional in that area of health. If your answer is 8-10, keep on the same path in this area of health. Here are the questions:

1. How are we doing together at interacting with the Divine Truth (both Living and Written)? How am I doing personally at interacting with the Diving Truth?

2. How are we doing together at loving and caring for each other and those in our lives? How am I doing at loving and caring for my neighbors?

3. How are we, as a church, doing at engaging those not yet following Jesus? How is our passion and concern for lost people? How am I doing at sharing Jesus with others?

Do take some time every several weeks to discuss with your church where your health currently is and then make adjustments to help stimulate more health (Hebrews 10:24-25). This health score card should be an ongoing process, realizing that no church will ever 'arrive' but will always need to be making adjustments in their spiritual health. If your church is mostly strong in these areas or is aggressively addressing weaknesses, you will be a powerful entity in your community and therefore healthy and therefore, successful...no matter what size you are :-)

If you have any questions about this post, please send your questions to me!

Worship Service or Service of Worship?

2010-11-18T14:04:00.001-07:00

This post may get me in trouble :-) I wanted to warn you before reading any further. Worship has alway been a hot topic in the church. Sometimes it gets so hot (read; controversial) that you don't want to enter in and at other times it gets so hot (read; really exciting) that you can't stay out. Worship has drew large crowds and split churches. Worship has been both toxic and intoxicating.

Worship is best viewed as a way of life, but is most often reduced to music and singing in a corporate gathering on Sunday mornings. It is in this 20 to 30 minute experience of music where many church wars have been fought. People many times choose which church to attend based upon the type or style of worship. People leave churches after years of attendance simply because the style of worship was changed and they didn’t like it. All of this is far, far from what worship should be. We should ask if worship is for us (consumerism) or are we made for worship?

Worship is not a preferred music style but an attitude of the heart that is concerned about elevating and honoring the name of Jesus in all that a person does. Worship was meant to continue when our eyes open in the morning, in all that is done throughout our day and continued as we fall asleep only to be carried on the next day or in the middle of night when we use the bathroom (Dueteronomy 6:4-9). This pattern certainly includes gatherings of believers on Sunday mornings or any other day of the week (Colossians 3:16).

Worship must get beyond music and worship services but this will take a long term intentional focus. The title “Worship Service” tends to limit our understanding of worship as a way of life and attitude of the heart. When we say we attend a “worship service”, we are implying that we are not worshipping until the service begins. We certainly need to think of and employ ways of reinventing worship to become holistic.

The Scriptures seem to indicate that worship is more of an act of obedience in the way we live than a set of songs we sing together. I love singing songs to God and the more dynamic the crowd and the more quality the music, the better, I’m no different than the next person! But those mini experiences pale to the exhilaration I sense when I follow God’s Word and trust Him through a difficult situation or when I choose to walk away from a temptation or when I see another person humbly lay down their desires to follow Jesus’ desire. For me, it is easier to join a crowd of people, raise my hands and sing with a robust voice than to spend time loving an unlovely person as they walk through dark times.

I know God loves music and enjoys the praises of His people (Psalm 30:4). But singing songs of praise without a life throughout the week that is submitted to Jesus is far from worship. So too are acts of obedience without love (1 Corinthians 13:1), it is nothing more than ‘clanging cymbal’. We must all expand our understanding of worship as being a way of life. Worship is what we live out in all of our waking hours; in prayer (Luke 18:1), in conversation with others (Malachi 3:16), in how we perform our work (Colossians 3:23), in our giving (Luke 21:1-3), in our sacrificing in life (Romans 12:1-2) and so on. When we see our yard work, conversations and exercise routines as acts of worship, I believe that our corporate times of worship will only be enhanced.

What do you think?

Saturday Mornings

2010-11-11T16:38:00.001-07:00

I'm plowing through Job chapters 1-21 for about the 7th time in the past few weeks. I'm reading these chapters a bunch because of group of guys I get together with on Saturday mornings.

These guys look forward to Saturday mornings. Not because we can sleep in but because we get to meet early with friends. We talk, laugh and enjoy some really good bagels.

We enjoy sharing our woes, joys, the way we messed up during the week, how we need to love our wives better - it is really encouraging to hear each others stories and give and get encouragement.

We talk about sections in the Bible we are reading and some really good insights get exposed to us.

We spend some time instilling in each other a heart and mindset of praying for and engaging people who really need Jesus.

Saturday mornings are a bunch of fun and it is part of the way we men are becoming like Jesus. We are interacting with the God's Word, being honest about their lives and really begging God for people's heart ot be changed.

This spills out to text messages and e-mails throughout the week - some encouraging, some funny, some annoying - but we love each other and point each other to Christ.

Making disciples is simple - but it does take a commitment to a few, an investment of time and a desperate heart to know Jesus more deeply. If you would like to join in on the fun and make disciples, check out this LINK to learn more!

Mike the Disciple Maker

2010-10-06T15:59:00.000-07:00

A short video about the simplicity of forming disciples.

Here are two web pages that you can click on to find out more about forming disciples for the rest of your life! Pass it/them on :-)

Forming Disciples

A Good Book on Making Disciples

Blessings,
Ed

Can Making Disciples Be Simple?

2010-09-15T13:27:00.000-07:00

I look forward to Saturday mornings. Not because I can sleep in but because I get to meet early with my friends. We talk, laugh and enjoy some really good bagels together (check out Tony's Bagels). All week I pray about Saturday mornings. I pray for my heart to be filled with love for my friends but also that their hearts would be filled with love for me.

When we get together, we enjoy sharing our woes, joys, the way we messed up during the week and how we need to love our wives better. We share about our jobs and our attitudes and how our sports team did during the week. We enjoy being honest and sharing life. It is very encouraging to hear each others stories and to give and get encouragement.

We talk about portions of the Bible we are all reading and some really good insights get exposed to us. We share things we understand, things that stood out to us, truths that seem distant or on the horizon. Sometimes one of us is confused about things the Bible says and at other times, we find ourselves excited to be reminded of important truths.

About our second cup of coffee (soda for Zac :-), we find ourselves instilling in each other a heart and mindset of praying for and engaging people who really need Jesus. Prayers begin to flow and a begging of God to move in the lives of our friends becomes our cry to heaven (Psalm 126:6).

Saturday mornings are a bunch of fun and it is part of the way that we men are becoming like Jesus. We are interacting with God's Word, being honest about our lives and really begging God for people's hearts to be changed.

Our time together on Saturdays spills out to texts, e-mails and phone calls throughout the week - some encouraging, some funny, some annoying - but we love each other and point each other to Christ. Throughout the year we'll go camping, golfing, swimming, share meals together help each other with home repairs. We will bring our families together and savor the life of our Savior in each of us.

This is how disciples of Jesus are made. LIfe on life and one step at a time. Sometimes the growth in our lives is slow and other times we grow out of our agony...but we grow (Colossians 1:5-6), and we can see it in each other's lives. I would guess that pretty soon, one of my friends will see someone on our prayer list decide to give their life to Jesus and then the two of them will begin the same process all over again. One by one people come to Jesus and one by one in the groups of a few, men and women become followers of Jesus. It happens through interacting with the Word, being honest with each other while loving well and by having a God size concern for those who do not yet know Jesus.

If you would like to be part of one of these simple groups that see men and women become like Jesus, click HERE...you will not be disappointed. If you do begin one of these groups, please shoot me an e-mail and let me know.

Making disciples can be really simple; own it, do it, reproduce it!

You Are Worth It!

2010-09-09T11:09:00.000-07:00

I wish I could draw and paint well enough to capture the expression on a ladies face that I had a conversation with last week. Anything beyond drawing a stick person is a stretch for my creative abilities and there is no way I could capture this woman's expression but I really wish I could. Maybe my words will give you some insight into what I saw.

The woman I'm referring to is an older woman with some mobility and health issues. Carla (not her real name) has had a very hard life like so many others. She has raised her kids and grandkids and finds herself still rescuing them from the challenges life brings their way. I was attempting to encourage her because I know she is hurting. I do not think that this dear woman is yet a follower of Jesus but I think she will be. I was telling her how God saw her. She had never thought about God even taking notice of her. In her mind, she is not worth God's focused attention. I shared briefly with her that she was created in the image of God and that she was a masterpiece, a one of a kind project that brought a smile to Jesus' face. That was the moment I wish I could capture on canvass.

Her eyes turned downward as did the corners of her mouth. Her shoulders hunched and you could just read her feeling that "I'm not worthy of such care". If only I could capture her face on a canvass. My reason for capturing her expression is because it is the face I see on so many when I speak to them about the goodness and grace of God which is at work all around them. For way to many, they do not believe they are worthy or they simply do not want to believe that God would even bother with them.

Here are some verses that speak to the point that God is always about assisting us to become more and more like Him. Every person (that includes you) is able to have a vibrant faith that is growing and spreading out to impact many. Take a look at these short sections of the Bible and simply stop - stop, and meditate (think deeply for a period of time) upon them...

"...you previously heard in the word of truth, the gospel which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth." Colossians 1:5-6 (NASB)

"For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him." Philippians 2:13 (NLT) Here is Philippians 2:13 in the more recognized translation of the NASB, "...for it is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure."

After you have meditated upon these two sections of the Bible jot down what you sense is most important or that jumps out at you and your heart. What is God speaking to your soul regarding these passages? If you would, write your thoughts in the comment section below. If many will do that, I think it will begin a revival of souls to see things truthfully, as God sees them. Go ahead, jot down your thoughts and enjoy the work that God is doing in you...right now!

Next time, I'll give you some of my thoughts about these passages and the powerful truths that they reveal about God and about us.

Be encouraged because you are worth it!

What Stops You...Part 2?

2010-09-02T13:18:00.001-07:00

This week we enjoyed dinner in our backyard, on the patio with our children and grandchildren. At the end of our dinner, my wife asked our oldest grandson if he would pick up the dog poop. He agreed and began the not very pleasant task, taking breaks and teasing his younger brother (with the poop of all things)! As he reached about the halfway point, he wanted to stop and forget about what His grandmother has asked of him. It was at this point that his father called him over and had a chat about responsibility to do what was asked of him and to obey his grandmother. My grandson responded with some reluctance but did a fine of job of finishing. He was rewarded with two dollars. It is good to instruct people regarding responsibility, obedience to those who lead us and the importance of finishing what we begin.

Last time I began discussing the prime directive that Jesus left all of His followers - as we go through life, we are to be intentionally helping people become more like Jesus (we are to make disciples - Matt. 28:19-20). This was not intended to be optional for you. It was not intended to be only for the 'clergy' or the more spiritually mature. This directive (command) was meant to for all followers of every generation and culture. If it is important to teach our children to be obedient and responsible, shouldn't it also be important for children of God to be obedient and responsible to what He is asking of us?

Helping people to become like Jesus can take many forms and should happen in many ways. It can take place on a camping trip, a trip to the mall, while doing chores or while sipping good coffee (or even bad coffee). These times should be both formal and informal, intentional and spontaneous. The key is for everyone who claims to be a follower of Jesus to be about the business that Jesus left us to accomplish - encouraging others to follow Jesus with radical, passionate hearts.

In defining discipleship, I would state that it is simply taking a long walk in the same direction (towards Jesus) with close friends. However you practice making disciples, it must be intentional and a consistent part of your life, otherwise, you are not following through with what the King has told us to do while He is preparing places for us in heaven (John 14).

For almost 20 years, I have been in an Life Transformation Group (LTG) with at least one or two other men. LTG's are powerful, proven and productive in helping people become like Jesus. They are simple, reproducible and I have not found another tool that alone accomplishes all of this and has the simple, reproductive part to the equation. So, if you are not making disciples, what is stopping you? If you are not in an LTG, what is stopping you? Allow me to briefly respond to some of the most common questions and complaints that I have received from people who choose not to be in a LTG.

LTG's are a program and I want to be more organic.

LTG's are flexible and versatile. They are not designed to be rigid - going through the same things in the same way each week simply to get the 'tasks' completed. If that becomes your perspective, then LTG's can be viewed as a program. However, if you have 2 or 3 people who know that they need Jesus' words in large quantities for their spiritual health and they are interested in truly loving those involved with them, you will find it hard to view LTG's as a program. As I inquire further into what people mean by their wanting to be more organic, I usually find that they want to be spontaneous and free flowing which, when pressed even more, often means they aren't discipling anyone in intentional ways.

I don't retain things when I read 20-30 chapters of the Bible in a week.

Sometimes, there is a real problem with functional illiteracy in people where they are not able to retain what they read and this should be addressed (check out this web page on retention). When this is not the case, most often people are simply not interested, not motivated or just plain distracted from wanting to consume large portions of God's Word by the cares of the world. When one does discipline themselves to read 20-30 chapters of Scripture a week, their lives become enhanced. It took a friend of mine about 3 to 5 months in our LTG before he started taking notes and finding nuggets of truth from the Scriptures. If you are desperate and faithful to the process of this amount of reading, you will find gems that God will use to bless your life.

One of the biggest and most common mistakes made in LTG's is to diminish the amount of reading you are assigned in a given week. Most frequently, this amount bottoms out at five chapters per week and even then, the reading doesn't get done. If you find yourself in an LTG where this is happening, I would suggest you let it die naturally and find others who are willing to invest in consuming the Word of God in larger quantities.

I don't have the time to meet with another person for an hour or two.

We are all very busy but we must put first things first if we are to accomplish what is actually important. Please evaluate your schedule and trim it down or re-prioritize your schedule to make room for an hour to meet with others in order to helped and to help others become more like Jesus.

I can't trust people with private information that I may share in an LTG.

Trust must be developed over time but even when you are comfortable with another, it is always possible that what you share may be 'leaked' out, whether innocently or intentionally. Honesty and transparency is what is required of us to love others well. We must take risks or there will be no reward. We must trust Jesus or we will trust no one. Start slow and listen to the Spirit; follow His lead in becoming more open with a few others. You will gain more health and strength by doing so. Secrets have power over you so ask God to bring one or two people into your life with whom you can share deeply.

I don't want to get close to people only to have to multiply and leave them.

This is similar to saying that you don't want to have children only because one day, they will move out on their own. That would be a silly reason to not have children. It would also be selfish. It should be our goal to reproduce ourselves and watch them do the same, over and over again. I certainly do understand this tension of wanting to stay together with those we love, trust and are comfortable with, but what is the Father requiring of us? Do we not think He understands this need? Do we not believe that He will meet our needs as He sees fit? Be excited to help develop spiritual men and women of faith in Jesus - that is your task.

The bottom line is that we all need to be making disciples. Jesus said it IS your responsibility. There are many ways to accomplish this and LTG's are only one way - but LTG's are proven to reproduce, to make strong disciples and to work in many, many cultures around the world.

Please feel free to leave a comment or question below.

P.S. Here are a list of very helpful books on Life Transformation Groups;

Cultivating a Life For God (Neil Cole)

Search and Rescue (Neil Cole)

Click HERE to buy LTG cards to use in your ministry!

What Stops You?

2010-08-26T11:49:00.000-07:00

Making disciples of Jesus seems to be the prime directive to believers in the New Testament. We should each be striving to become more and more like Jesus throughout our life time. We should also be working intentionally to pour our lives into others to help them become more like Jesus too.

Jesus last words before he ascended into heaven were instructions for those who follow Him to be about developing disciples everywhere they go (Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 1:8). As you read the story of Jesus' life in the Gospels, you will see Him continuously helping women and men to follow Him and His examples in life. The Epistles (the letters found in the New Testament) are full of instructions, examples and admonishments for every believer to be about the focus of living for Jesus and leading others to live for Him as well.

If you believe that the chief end of man is to glorify God (Westminster Shorter Confession Question #1) and that we are to keep the greatest commandments (Love God with your all and love your neighbor as yourself) and the great commission (go and make disciples of all the nations...), then what better way of expressing this than through intentional reproduction of Jesus' life in others?

We should be asking ourselves if what we are doing as church or as followers of Jesus is actually accomplishing the task Jesus left us here to accomplish - to make disciples? Do our Sunday morning worship times make disciples? I would say they do. But are we satisfied with the disciples that we are seeing raised up and if we are not, what needs to be changed?

Over this past year, I have spoken to many believers in Jesus who are simply not concerned about really making disciples. Many are concerned to be in church as often as they can, but not so concerned about making disciples. Most people I talk to do not believe they are not ready to do this or they don't have enough time and energy or they have no idea how to go about helping people become like Jesus. Somewhere in their faith walk, they learned there is a certain or prescribed way or standards that needs to be applied in making disciples and somehow they missed the classes or were not invited to learn how to do it.

When I proceed to tell them of a very simple way to go about making disciples (LTG's) they listen with hope until they hear that although simple, it requires discipline, an investment of time, effort, risk and energy along with a faithfulness to the process itself. It really is hard work to walk side by side with people, helping them to become more and more like Jesus.

Recently, I had a conversation with a younger church leader who was full of excitement, vision and energy. This younger leader was employing Life Transformation Groups (LTG's) in his ministry but finding that they were not reproducing nor were most of the people reading more than five chapters of the Bible in a given week. When I pressed further, these LTG's were not really taking seriously praying for lost people nor connecting to those people. As our conversation continued, it became apparent that each of the LTG's had a dominant leader who really directed the flow of the meeting. All of these things pointed to the collapse of these LTG's in the near future.

LTG's consist of very basic Christian disciplines; reading the Bible, having honest conversations about areas in our lives where we struggle with temptation or sin and a time of prayer for people who do not yet know Jesus. This sounds simple to do...but then there is life :-) I'm curious as to why people want Jesus and to be like Jesus but do not want to spend the time to know Him and learn and imitate His ways? I'm curious when people tell me what stops them from actually doing or participating in LTG's.

Is there something stopping you from participating in an LTG with one or two others? I would love to hear about what those things are so they can be addressed in my next blog or two (e-mail me). If we are not about the work of making disciples, we are disobeying the prime directive Jesus left us to do. Let's stay on task so that rapid multiplication can occur and then the world will be impacted with the truth, love and values of Jesus Christ.

Here are a few of the reasons why some people do not do LTG's that I would like to discuss next week in my blog along with any comments you may make on what stops you;
LTG's are a program and I want to be more organic.
I don't retain things when I read 20-30 chapters of the Bible in a week.
I don't have the time to meet with another person for an hour or two.
I can't trust people with private information that I may share in an LTG.
I don't want to get close to people only to have to multiply and leave them.

The bottom line is that we all need to be making disciples. Jesus said it IS your responsibility. There are many ways to accomplish this and LTG's are only one way - but LTG's are proven to reproduce, to make strong disciples and to work in many, many cultures around the world.

Please feel free to leave a comment or question below.

P.S. Here are a list of very helpful books on Life Transformation Groups;
Cultivating a Life For God (Neil Cole)
Search and Rescue (Neil Cole)

Click HERE to buy LTG cards to use in your ministry!

Simple Reminders

2010-08-11T10:55:00.000-07:00

What is your goal in life? For those of us who are following Jesus, the answer should be pretty much the same. We should have in our answer the concept of helping others to become followers of Jesus Christ. Jesus told us that this is to be every believers focus when He said, "Go and make disciples of all the nations..." (Matthew 28:19). For some, the concept of making disciples is too hard, too complex or requires more knowledge than they have. If you have those sort of thoughts, I hope that this short post will help to change your mind. Making disciples should be a priority and it should be simple (but never easy).

Throughout the New Testament, we find the writers reminding their readers of the same principles and truths over and over and over again. Here are some examples:

"For this reason I have sent to you Timothy, who is my beloved and faithful child in the Lord, and he will remind you of my ways which are in Christ, just as I teach everywhere in every church..." 1 Cor. 4:17

"Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you." Philippians 3:1

"For this reason I remind you to kindle afresh the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands." 2 Timothy 1:6

"Remind them of these things, and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers." 2 Timothy 2:14

"Remind them to be subject to rulers, to authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good deed..." Titus 3:1

"I consider it right, as long as I am in this earthly dwelling, to stir you up by way of reminder..." 2 Peter 3:1

"Now I desire to remind you, though you know all things once for all, that the Lord, after saving a people out of the land of Egypt, subsequently destroyed those who did not believe." Jude 1:5

Jude, Peter, Paul and Timothy all taught by reminding their audience of the simple principles and truths to be followed as they go about making disciples throughout their lives. Here then are some basic simple principles that if each believer would implement with their whole heart, the church and the world would certainly be a different place:

1. Spend time with Jesus each and every day. This can be accomplished both by being in the Word of God and by communing with the Trinity throughout the day in prayer, conversation, listening and worshipping both externally and internally. This first and greatest principle is what Jesus taught us in Mark 12:30. we are to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. Each believer is responsible for being intimate with Divine Truth.

2. Serve the world by treating others as more important than yourself (Philippians 2:3-4). The second greatest commandment is like the first, we are to love our neighbor as ourselves. We are to employ our love and the gifts God gives us to serve each other, to encourage one another and to urge one another to move forward in our faith. Each believer should be searching for ways to love those God has placed in our lives. We should be Nurturing Relationships throughout our lives.

3. Spread the love and truth of God to anyone who will listen...and even to those who won't (Mark 4:1-20). As Jesus began his journey to heaven in Acts 1, he told his followers that they would receive the Holy Spirit and power for the purpose of telling the world about all that God has done for them. God uses his followers to give opportunity for anyone to join in following Him. This is the great love that our great God has for people. God has strategically placed and sent each of His followers around the world and throughout time to share the good news of Jesus. We are all to be on a Apostolic Mission.

So there you have a short and sweet (simple) reminder of the basics of our faith. What would happen if your church lived out these things with gusto? What would happen if you would?

A Family Affair

2010-06-01T13:33:00.000-07:00

A very good friend sent me this article on church being a family. I thought this article was fantastic. It is exactly one of the strong points that I have taught for years...but this guy says it better than I do so give it a read and let me know what you think. I am not allowed to reprint the whole article here so I have only given you a teaser. You can go the full article here, or you can read the first few paragraphs and see if it is worth an additional click :-) Be blessed and let me know what you think...

A Family Affair

What would the church look like if it put we before me?

Joseph H. Hellerman

Spiritual formation occurs primarily in the context of community. Persons who remain connected with their brothers and sisters in the local church almost invariably grow in self-understanding. And they mature in their ability to relate in healthy ways to God and to fellow human beings. This is especially the case for those courageous Christians who stick it out through the messy process of interpersonal conflict. Long-term relationships are the crucible of genuine progress in the Christian life. People who stay grow.

People who leave do not grow. We all know persons consumed with spiritual wanderlust. We never get to know them well because they cannot seem to stay put. They move from church to church, avoiding conflict or ever searching for a congregation that will better satisfy their felt needs. Like trees repeatedly transplanted from soil to soil, these spiritual nomads fail to put down roots, and they seldom experience lasting, fruitful growth in their Christian lives.

Despite what we know about spiritual growth, nearly all churches in America are characterized by an unwillingness of members to commit themselves deeply to their respective church. For some, it means church hopping; for most, it means keeping the church at arm's length—that is, living as if the individual's life is primary and that of the church is secondary.

Attack!

2010-05-25T16:54:00.000-07:00

"Though a mighty army surrounds me, my heart will not be afraid. Even if I am attacked, I will remain confident." Psalm 27:3

Attack is not a word that we often associate with our Christian faith but I think we should. For the past several months, I have certainly felt attacked with my wife's cancer, my daughters medical issues, the economic impact of the recession in my life, the pressure of helping brothers work through relational issues in India and some of my own personal struggles right here in Phoenix, Arizona. It certainly seems like "...a mighty army surrounds me" these days. As I was touring my neighborhood one morning on my regular two mile power walk, I noticed people leaving for work, city workers attending to street repairs, a woman walking her dog and a young boy out way too early for a summer morning. As I looked at these people I wondered if they were attacked in some way and if so, how could I pray for them. I didn't stop any of them to ask, but I did pray for their protection.

There is a constant war in the spiritual dimension to distract and destroy you. Sometimes it spills over into the human dimension and we get a glimpse of how grotesque the battle is. If you look and listen, I think you'll hear some spiritual voices calling for an attack. Some of those voices are that of the enemy who wants us to be destroyed and left dead or at least spiritually impotent. But there is another voice as well. It is the voice of our King who calls out to His angels, His ministering spirits and commands them to attack. He calls them to attack those who are attacking us and when He does, you can be sure that their defeat and His victory is sure.

So take heart in the heat of any battle that you may be facing. Keep calling out to the Lord asking Him to send His attacking force of angels to come to your rescue and deliver you out of all your troubles. Listen to what Psalm 3:7 has to say, "Arise, O Lord! Rescue me, my God! Slap all my enemies in the face! Shatter the teeth of the wicked!" May the Lord smash the mouth of His spiritual enemies who may be attacking you. May the Lord Jesus rule and reign in your hearts and give you the confidence to move forward for His glory.

How Common Folks Live Large For Jesus

2010-04-14T16:12:00.005-07:00

I have had many conversations with people who think that they are not 'worthy' some how of knowing God deeply or living for Him wildly or drawing near to Him in meaningful ways. There is a perception that has creeped into the church which believes that living strongly for Jesus is as uncommon as walking on the moon. This should not be true, but it is. As I read through Colossians this week for my Life Transformation Group (LTG), I ran across this verse and began to think about how common people (you and me) can draw intimately close to Christ when life is so hectic. Here is what Colossians 2:3 has to say and what I hear Paul teach us about living in strong ways for King Jesus...

"...Christ Himself, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." Col. 2:3 NASB

One truth from this verse is that the in order to have access to the treasure chest of wisdom and knowledge, we must first know Christ. One should rightfully assume that the tighter you get with Jesus, the more His treasure chest will be made aware to you. All of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge are found in relationship with our Savior. So how does one find what is hidden? How does one get to know Jesus better so more treasure can be found?

Prayer
There are at least five direct references to prayer in Paul's letter to the believers in Colossae. It is important to note that this letter was written to the '...saints in Christ who are in Colossae'. Saints refer to any person who is a Christian, not a super holy dude or dudette who is voted on by other holy dudes. Common Christ followers are saints. So Paul speaks of prayer at least five times in his letter. This is significant. Here are the phrases surrounding the word prayer or some form of it;

Colossians 1:3 We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you

Colossians 1:9 For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

Colossians 4:2 Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving;

Colossians 4:3 praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ, for which I have also been imprisoned;

Colossians 4:12 Epaphras, who is one of your number, a bondslave of Jesus Christ, sends you his greetings, always laboring earnestly for you in his prayers, that you may stand perfect and fully assured in all the will of God

These verses on prayer range from Paul's conversation with the Father to Paul's encouragement for these people to be devoted in prayer to Paul asking for prayer for his own heart and finally he takes note of Epaphras' great love and earnest prayers for the believers in Colossae. Prayer, or conversation with God, is vital to one knowing Jesus and therefore finding the hidden treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

If Paul were always praying for this city church (1:3) and was never ceasing to pray for them (1:9) how did he find time to love other churches, disciple people, plant churches and generally work hard at loving others? I think the secret to prayer may be found in an ongoing mental conversation with God throughout the day along with concentrated times of prayer on your knees. Many kick themselves much because they believe they should be spending more time on their knees instead of using their daily routines to afford times of thoughtful, ongoing conversation with God. If I'm right about this, anyone can learn to 'pray without ceasing'.

For more insight on prayer, check out Malachi 3:16.

Loving Others
Paul never met the people of Colossae. He never visited there and they never saw his face (Col. 2:1) yet he loved them deeply. Paul was greatly concerned for believers and churches around the world. Here are some phrases and ideas out of this letter that speak to his immense love for people and his desire for them to follow as hard after Jesus as he did;

"Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you sake..." Col 1:24
Paul wants to "...present every man complete in Christ. For this purpose, I labor striving, according to His power, which mightily works within me." Col 1:29
"For I want you to know how great a struggle I have on your behalf..." Col 2:1
Believers should walk or live in a way that pleases God (Col 1:10, 1:23, 2:6, 2;19, 3:12-17 etc).
Paul was concerned about family and work relationships as well (Col. 3:18-4:1).

Pauls love for others and his desire for others to love deeply is clear through his letter to the common folks of Colossae. I suggest you ask God to give you eyes and ears that see and hear how He may direct you to love one another deeply and live in fellowship with one another.

Missional Focus
Paul was of course very missional in his approach to life and ministry. We have seen that Paul prayed much and we have also seen that Paul worked hard for the sake of believers that he gave care to. We can also find in Colossians, Paul's encouraging and calling the Colossians to be very active in giving out faith in Jesus to the world of people they find themselves amongst;

"...the gospel...is constantly bearing fruit and increasing..." Colossians 1:5-6

"...praying...that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ..." Colossians 4:3

"Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, making the most of the opportunity. Let your speech always be with grace, as though seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you should respond to each person." Colossians 4:5-6

If you didn't catch it, Paul encouraged the church in Colossae to be immersed in DNA. The Divine Truth is found in the Prayer (Paul also teaches plenty about the truth of Christ in this letter). Nurturing Relationships is found in the Loving Others and Apostolic Mission is found in the Missional Focus that Paul had and encouraged those in Colossae to have.

It is refreshing to remember that Paul was instructing common believers - those who were barely getting by and those who were better off - to be in much prayer throughout the day, to love others and work hard to maintain the faith of Christ along with always being ready to share the wonderful truth and story of Jesus Christ with those who are not yet following hard after Jesus.

Summary
The truth is that living for Jesus does take a focus, but doesn't take a monastic disruption of ones life. Living for Jesus and drawing near to Him is mingled with times of focused interaction with God through prayer, meditation and His Word and times of living out the rhythms of life in normal ways, controlled by the Spirit of Jesus in us.

If I'm right (or close to right), the thought above sound like hidden treasure of wisdom and knowledge only found in the freedom and love of Christ. Live large for your Savior!

Focused or Distracted?

2010-03-24T12:14:00.000-07:00

I really like coffee and I like trying new coffee shops. I prefer the Indy coffee houses around town but in my section of burbs, there really aren't that many. I seem to be stuck with Starbucks, Coffee Bean and It's a Grind type joints or Indy Bagel shops that really don't do anything but blah coffee. So last week, a couple of friends where coming into town from Globe Arizona, a small town outside of Phoenix, to pick up some folks from the airport. They contacted me to see if I had some time to hang out with them. Now my friends happen to work at a coffee house in Globe (Vida e Caffe) so I immediately suggested we hang out at a coffee house. I searched the internet for an Indy coffee house close to the airport and found Drip Coffee Lounge. It was a really cool sort of retro small coffee house so I thought I would meet my friends there for coffee and lunch.

I arrived early, had some conversation with the owner, ordered a Latte and wow was it good. Great micro foam and all. As my friends arrived, we ordered lunch and proceeded to sit outside. It was a bright warm early spring day in Phoenix so sitting outside was an easy choice. The Drip Coffee Lounge had great coffee, good food and a nice central location but it was on a busy commercial street that saw constant heavy traffic. I could tell that concentrating on conversation would be difficult with large trucks whizzing by and constant road noise in our ears.

As we talked about life, loving people, church, Jesus and pain, I kept thinking that I so enjoy being with these friends from Globe that the environment of noise on the street really didn't matter. I had to lean in more, concentrate and focus more, but the engagement was so precious that the distractions were losing the battle for my attention. I knew I was suppose to be with these friends while drinking good coffee and mutually encouraging one another in the race that God had placed us in.

Today, many people find it difficult to stay focused on the path of life that God has placed them. The noise pollution is so loud that their attention and focus quietly shift to easier, less noisy paths. Many these days talk of shifts in their in careers, addresses and relationships. With a tough economy and building stress, the noise of life captures their attention and then a strong pull to escape creeps in. As I sat outside on that warm early spring day, sipping coffee and having wonderful conversation, a voice did seem to whisper in my ear, inviting me to go inside where there were less distractions and clearer hearing, but I resisted. Something about the whizzing of the cars passing by and the horns honking reminded me of the people who need the touch and message of Jesus.

As I recalled my lunch time meeting at Drip Coffee Lounge, I thought about a couple of of Jesus' conversations with His disciples in Matthew 9 and Luke 10. In these sections of the Bible, we find Jesus sending His disciples into the cities that He Himself was about to go. The cities were, as they are today, bustling centers of commerce. Cities are where Jesus spent much of His time. Cities are where most of the people are. Cities are where there is much pollution, dirt, crime and crowds. Jesus loves cities.

I learned a valuable lesson that day at the Drip Coffee Lounge. I learned that when I focus on the purpose or mission that God has sent me, my surroundings are not that important or distracting. When I focus on my surroundings and the distractions it brings, escape is typically my first thought. Yeah, I too would like to be in a less crowded location. For me a beach with palm trees, waves lapping at the shore and a warm tropical breeze in my face is perfect, but then I wouldn't be in the midst of people and I think in the midst of people is where Jesus would have me.

Wherever you find yourself in life, make sure you are not being distracted by the pull of escape and isolation. Escape is coming, in the form of forever with Jesus in a place we can only begin to imagine. For now, we must fight to focus on the mission and task of loving God and loving people with power and love that is already at work in us (Philippians 2:13 & Colossians 1:29). Staying focused on Christ and His mission for us, will cause the distractions to fade away.

Imitating Jesus' Life

2010-03-04T14:12:00.000-07:00

Many believers truly want to be more and more like Jesus. After reading that sentence, your heart may have felt a surge of agreement that you too want to be more like Him. This is a healthy desire placed in your soul by God Himself so rejoice! Though we want to imitate Jesus and His way of life, we must begin by learning what those ways are. Jesus warned those who wanted to follow Him that the path would be difficult (Luke 14:25-35). What did Jesus do and how do we imitate those ways today?

What did Jesus do?

He had a close relationship with the Father.

"After He sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray; and when it was evening, He was there alone." Matthew 14:23

"In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there." Mark 1:35

Jesus' prayer to the Father just before He was arrested and sentenced to die (John 17).

This close relationship with the Father caused Him to be constantly reaching out to others.

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me because He anointed Me to preach the Gospel to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of the sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed and to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord." Luke 4:18-19

"So Jesus, being wearied from His journey was sitting thus by the well...There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, 'Give Me a drink.'" John 4:5 & 7 This leads to a long conversation with the woman. Jesus stayed there a few days before continuing His journey.

Jesus had close relationship with a few.

We know Jesus did interact with the multitudes (Mark 3:7, Luke 1:10), but not that much. We see another group of about 120 (Acts 1:15) that Jesus impacted and a group of 70 (Luke 10:1ff) that Jesus had interacted with as well. Then, there was His 12 disciples and finally there were Peter, James and John who seemed to be the closest to Jesus. Jesus spent the bulk of his time with the 12 and the 3, pouring into them all that He had so that they would become more like Him.

Jesus taught his close friends to love one another well.

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." John 13:34-35

"But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men. Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful." Luke 6:35-36

Many today are really only out for their own agenda and way of doing things. Loving one another well is to lay down your agenda to seek the will of the Father in the community of saints where He has placed you. Loving one another must entail an honest conversation when differences arise so that unity can be achieved. Loving on another is hard, not easy, messy not clean and therefore is noticed by those who observe your behavior. To follow Jesus' example, we do the harder thing and love others as more important than ourselves (Phil 2:3).

Jesus often tried to hide from the crowds.

"There were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children. Immediately He made the disciples get into the boat and go ahead of Him to the other side, while He sent the crowds away. After He had sent the crowds away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray..." Matthew 14:21-23

"But the news about Him was spreading even farther, and large crowds were gathering to hear Him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray." Luke 5:14-15

"Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter James and John his brother, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves." Matthew 17:1

Today people and leaders seek crowds in their worship experience and spend little time alone with God to learn and be with Him. Jesus set a different example of spending time with His Father and time with those closest to Him.

Jesus sent people out in small bands to do important missional work.

"Jesus summoned His twelve disciples and gave them authority over unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal every kind of disease and every kind of sickness." Matthew 10:1

"Now after this the Lord appointed seventy others and set them in pairs ahead of Him to every city and place where He Himself was going to come." Luke 10:1

"As He was getting into the boat, the man who had been demon possessed was imploring Him that he might accompany Him. And He did not let him, but He said to him, 'Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord ahas done for you, and how He had mercy on you.' And he went away and began to proclaim in Decapolis what great things Jesus had done for him; and everyone was amazed." Mark 5:18-20

Jesus entrusts new believers with the good news and has them share it...and they had great success!

Jesus' last instructions were to His kids about keeping a missional focus in life.

"Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." Matthew 28:19

"You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the uttermost parts of the earth." Acts 1:8

"As the Father has sent me, so send I you." John 20:21

Jesus desires to multiply communicators of His good news to the world He created to receive it.

How do we imitate Jesus' ways of living?

How are we to imitate this way of living today? I think I'll suggest that you take some time with Jesus and ask Him to show you how He wants you to respond.

What I Did for a Cup of Coffee

2010-02-25T08:39:00.014-07:00

My wife and I arrived in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Our plane was delayed by about 45 minutes because the snow was coming down in large amounts. We circled the airport as they removed snow from the runway. As we landed, I looked out the window, but I couldn't see anything but WHITE. It was a white out like I haven't experienced (I am from Long Beach, Ca. and Phoenix, Az.). The snow continued to come down, down, down.

We gathered up our luggage, made a phone call to be picked up and walked outside. Snowflakes the size of quarters were falling and floating. We took pictures, send text messages to our family and friends, posted on Twitter and Facebook and laughed. The stretch limo picked us up and we felt like rock stars but in fact, we were in Zion, Illinois because my wife has breast cancer and the Cancer Treatment Center of America picks up all their patients in limos which is very cool. We had the limo to ourselves and began what is usually a 45 minute drive to our hotel. The drive was smooth but it took us 1.5 hours because of the snow. At one point, the driver had to stop because he could not see the road due to an extreme amount of snow. We certainly were not in Phoenix anymore!

We got to our hotel room, settled in, called Pizza House and ordered a great thin crust Pizza House Special, watched American Idol and the Winter Olympics. We slept well and woke up to about 8 inches of fresh snow on the ground. I got up, went down to the work out room, speed walked for about 30 minutes while I watched Fox and Friends. After showering and getting ready to head to the hospital, it hit me. I remembered (actually I was looking forward) that I had the BEST cup of coffee EVER when we were here a couple of weeks ago.

The best cup of coffee EVER was enjoyed at It's All Good coffee house in Zion, Illinois. I just had to have another cup of that GREAT coffee. So Debbie headed off for the hospital via the shuttle bus and I put on my muffler (it goes around your neck not under your car - that is for all of my Arizona readers :-), my ear muffs, my beanie and my gloves. I headed out for It's All Good.

It's All Good is about 3/4 of a mile away from our hotel and about 1/2 mile away from the hospital. The weather was about 18º and sunny and remember, there is about 8 inches of fresh snow on the ground. So, for a cup of coffee (the BEST coffee), I trudged in the snow for about 20 minutes one way. If you paid close attention to what I was wearing, what I didn't tell you about was my shoes - which actually should be boots when one walks in 8 inches of snow for very long, but I had on shoes.

As I headed out for the walk, I suddenly realized that the snow was over my ankles and it was finding it's way into my shoes causing my feet to get wet and cold. After about 100 paces, I began to think that I should head back to the hotel and take the shuttle to the hospital. I kept trying to talk myself out of how WONDERFUL the coffee was. I would say to myself, no coffee is worth that much effort or exposure to the elements. But the BEST coffee kept calling me so I kept walking. I walked past people shoveling snow in front of their place of business. Noticeably absent was anyone else waking on the streets, especially with low top, slip on shoes. As my feet got colder and more wet I began to question my sanity. As I trudged forward there were portions that were deeper because the snow plow simply shot the snow from the road onto the sidewalk...what was I thinking.

Suddenly, there it was, It's All Good was there with a shoveled walkway. I could smell my reward. I stomped the snow off of my feet, walked into the store, removed my gloves and ear muffs (muffler remained) and proudly told the barista that I had come all the way from Arizona for the BEST cup of coffee I had ever had. She smiled and pointed to the wall behind her. Sure enough there was an Arizona car license plate with the words "It's All Good" on it. I smiled and felt happy that I was there. I ordered and paid for a large cup of coffee, walked over the coffee dispenser and sipped each offering. Ah, the wonderful aroma and taste filled my mouth and brought excitement to my brain. I was having a cup of the BEST coffee in the world. I choose to indulge myself in the House brew, filled my cup, put a cap on it and headed out the door with my gloves back on.

As I walked the final 1/2 mile back to the hospital, my shoes were filling with moisture from the cold snow, my toes were beginning to ache, but my mouth was full of the wonderful flavors of the BEST coffee ever.

As I came to the end of my walk, I found myself in conversation with Jesus about doing something so silly for a cup of coffee. I was so sold out to be on mission for the BEST coffee. I really wasn't in danger so much as I choose to be uncomfortable and it was a mission, an adventure. Then the question came to me; Why was I so willing to do something so adventurous, missional and uncomfortable for a cup of coffee when I don't often do adventurous, missional and uncomfortable things for Jesus?

Are you willing to be on mission, adventurous and uncomfortable for a cup of the BEST coffee? How about for Jesus?

Are You Living or Dreaming the Mission?

2010-02-23T10:23:00.024-07:00

Living for something larger than yourself is thought to be a noble thing. The 'larger thing' is often a cause, a belief or a higher good. Most people want their life to count in strong ways and to be affiliated with something that will live beyond their funeral. If we are honest, for most people, the idea of living for something larger than themselves remains an idea, a dream and just before their funeral, it becomes a regret; "If I would have only...". How many times have we thought about venturing out on mission for a cause, a belief or a higher good and haven't?

I think most people live in too much comfort to sell out to the 'larger thing'. It takes courage to trudge out in a new direction or to throw your hat, your life and energy into the ring of a cause, belief or higher good. For many of us who live in fear, we often still hold on to the dream of living for a higher good and attempt to live them out in video games, reality shows or in our day dreams.

The Bible retells many rich stories of people who wanted to do great things and follow God, but didn't. The Bible is also full of many rich stories of those who did. There is an obscure Bible character found in 2 Samuel who wanted to do great things for God and did. He lived the adventure, but not without cost and being tempted not to. Maybe we can learn some things from Ittai the Gittite.

Ittai had just arrived in Jerusalem the day before the exile from Absalom began (2 Samuel 15:20). He had come to be part of David's kingdom when he found out about David's son, Absalom's conspiracy. As a foreigner in Jerusalem, Ittai and his family would have been safe to stay in the city and become part of Absalom's kingdom. He could have chosen the more comfortable route of safety and security. Who could have blamed him, after all, he just moved his family from a long distance and arrived the day before. They were exhausted! He could have remained and have been comfortable but instead, he chose to follow the adventure that he began, he wanted to be with King David.

As Ittai gathered up his family once again to move, he passed by David and the King asked him a question.

"Why will you also go with us? Return and remain with the king, for you are a foreigner and also an exile; return to your own place. You came only yesterday, and shall I today make you wander with us, while I go where I will? Return and take back your brothers; mercy and truth be with you." 2 Samuel 15:19-20

Ittai chose to live a life of adventure. He threw his hat into the ring of something larger than himself. He chose to align with King David no matter what the cost. He was going to live for something larger than his own comfort, dreams or advancement. Ittai was willing to give everything for the adventure of following King David.

"But Ittai answered the king and said, 'As the Lord lives, and as my lord the king lives, surely wherever my lord the king may be, whether for death or for life, there also your servant will be.'" 2 Samuel 15:21

Ittai was so sold out that he involved his whole family as well.

Therefore David said to Ittai, "Go and pass over." So Ittai the Gittite passed over with all his men and all the little ones who were with him. 2 Samuel 15:22

Ittai's allegiance to King David caught the King's attention. Ittai quickly proved himself and his allegiance. He rapidly became a leader for King David. He was a man on a mission and in great danger he put himself and his family at risk for the adventure that he may have always dreamt about.

David sent the people out, one third under the command of Joab, one third under the command of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab's brother, and one third under the command of Ittai the Gittite." 2 Samuel 18:2

What can we learn from Ittai the Gittite? It seems as though Ittai felt he had nothing if he wasn't able to live life in the King's presence and to be on the King's mission. He was willing to die for the King. He was willing to put his family at great risk to be in the presence of the King. You may think this seems extreme but I would say it sounds exactly like what God desires for those who throw their hat in His ring. If you don't think so, click on this link and take a look at these passages from the lips of Jesus to those wishing to become His followers.

Do you desire to live for something larger than yourself, namely Jesus Christ?

Are you willing to live out His adventure for you instead of dreaming about adventure?

The cost of living the adventure is not always as dramatic as Ittai's, but it does require a heart that is willing for it to be that dramatic. Living on mission is rarely comfortable. It is fraught with potholes, ambushes and other dangerous situations. However, when we follow King Jesus, we can be assured that the destination is one that will cause us to be stronger in character and spiritual might for His glory. Your stories and legacy will go on long beyond your eulogy.

How does that sound to you?

Spiritual Wars Part 2

2010-02-03T08:43:00.011-07:00

⁸Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. ⁹Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 1 Peter 5:8-9

¹¹Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.¹²For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground... Ephesians 6:11-13

If you read your New Testament close enough, you'll begin to notice verses like the two cited above in just about every letter found there. The Bible is full of warnings and stories of spiritual enemies coming against God's children. These attacks are constant and they come in both subtle and direct forms. The passage from 1 Peter 5:8-9 teach us that the devil is always on the look for spiritual prey. He is constantly prowling, roaring and looking about for believers who are not paying attention and that is when he drinks them down and devours them. Satan is good at distracting and blinding people to spiritual realities so that their faith becomes impotent instead of reproductive. As believers in Jesus Christ, we are at war and there are too many casualties.

War should never be entered into nonchalantly. We should enter war proactively and with determination. We would do well to remember that we not only have an enemy that is aggressively pursing us to harm us, but that we have weapons full of "...divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." (2 Cor. 10:4-5).

Fighting a war by yourself is silly. Many believers seem to think that they need to fight the enemy of their soul all alone. Many have been duped into thinking that their battle is private and personal. Nothing could be further from the truth.

²⁵so that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another ²⁶And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. ²⁷Now you are Christ's body, and individually members of it. 1 Corinthians 12:25-27

When one member suffers, the whole body suffers with that one individual. Why? Because we are all part of Christ's body. When we are engaged in being attacked by our common enemy we need the love, support and strength of those believers in our spiritual communities. The Christian life was never designed to be lived alone and certainly wasn't designed to engage battles alone. Here are two representative Scriptures that speak about battling spiritual wars together.

¹ This letter is from James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. I am writing to the “twelve tribes”—Jewish believers scattered abroad. Greetings! ² Dear brothers and sisters,^{a]" style="font-size: 0.75em; line-height: 0.5em; ">} when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. ³ For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. ⁴ So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. James 1:1-4

As James discusses the reality and benefit of enduring troubles when they come your way, James is addressing the community, not individuals. When you read 'you' in the verses above, they are plural, not singular. The troubles that come your way are intended to be addressed in community so that the testing of your communal faith will produce a fully developed believer. It is not possible to be a mature believer apart from trials and troubles handled well with others by your side.

³¹ “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat. ³² But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. So when you have repented and turned to me again, strengthen your brothers.” Luke 22:31-32

In this passage from Luke, we read it and think, wait, this passage is about Simon Peter being sifted by Satan, not the community of believers being sifted. How is this spiritual war to be engaged by twelve apostles together when Jesus is speaking to Simon? Well, each of the 'you' phrases above are plural as well. It seems that Simon was representative of the whole and they were all going to be sifted in some manner for the purpose of strengthening them so in turn, they could strengthen their brothers.

War is hell and it must be fought in community. When we fight spiritual wars with others, we build a brotherhood that is strong and fully committed to one another. Just ask any athlete who has played on a team sport or a military person who has fought with a platoon of soldiers or with a short term mission team - each of them will tell you about the value of battling together for a common good. For believers, the common good is obedience to Christ. To be on mission together, fighting our common enemy and destroying his/their strongholds as we fight together.

Spiritual Wars Part 1

2010-01-20T10:22:00.013-07:00

"David slaughtered them from the twilight until the evening of the next day; and not a man of them escaped, except four hundred young men who rode on camels and fled.." 1 Samuel 30:17 (emphasis mine)

When I read the passage above, I begin to shudder in my soul at the bloodshed that has taken place throughout time so that one country could invade, control or destroy another country. When I think about the atrocities that have happened to men, women and children in the throws of war, my soul aches. When I read that David 'slaughtered' they Amalekites, I picture swords cutting flesh, spears breaking bones and heads dashed against rocks all in a sea of dark red. I can imagine men being intoxicated with destruction and death, turning numb to the extinguishing of something so precious as life. I think of David, a warrior king in many ways and how hardened he must have been, especially in a battle where he was slaughtering people. I mostly wonder what in the world can I learn from a passage like 1 Samuel 30:17? Why would God include these type of stories in the Bible? My football coach used to say, "War is Hell", and he was right.

I can think of a few reasons why God includes such passages as the one I quoted above but I would like to focus on just one reason. The reason, in part, is to remind those us living in 2010 about the reality of war, spiritual war. For those of us who live in non-war torn countries, we really have no idea what war is like (unless we have fought in the military). For many today, war is fought on video games or enjoyed on the silver screen or on our oversized T.V.'s. We may see blood and turn our heads at an overly graphic part of a war scene (like the opening scene of Saving Private Ryan) but beyond that, war happens somewhere else and for that we are grateful.

But what about spiritual wars? I strongly sense that God puts verses like this in the Word to rouse us up from our spiritual slumber. For too long and for too many, spiritual wars are fought somewhere else, at least for the most part. We think of China or India or South America and certainly in Africa and parts of the Caribbean. We may tinker with thinking about spiritual war when our lives get really confusing or difficult but for the most part we tend to think that life just happens so let's just roll with the punches. But the punches [and they are intentional] are effective. They are causing our brains to go numb and our spiritual sight to become myopic. We must come to realize that open war is upon us whether we like or want it or not.

Here are a few verses that speak about ongoing spiritual wars in the life of believers...

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33

³¹"Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat. ³²But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers." Luke 22:31-32

¹¹Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. ¹²For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground... Ephesians 6:11-13

He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil's trap. 1 Timothy 3:7

²⁵Those who oppose him he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance leading them to a knowledge of the truth, ²⁶and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will. 2 Timothy 2:25-26

¹⁴But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. ¹⁵Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil. ¹⁶For where you have envy and selfish ambition, there you find disorder and every evil practice. James 3:14-16

Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7

⁶ One day the angels came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan also came with them. ⁷ The LORD said to Satan, "Where have you come from?"

Satan answered the LORD, "From roaming through the earth and going back and forth in it."
⁸ Then the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job? There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil."
⁹ "Does Job fear God for nothing?" Satan replied. ¹⁰ "Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. ¹¹ But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face."
¹² The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger."
Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD. Job 1:6-12

With those Scriptures fresh in our minds, I suggest we understand that there has been some deception going on in the church. We've been deceived into thinking/believing that spiritual wars either don't exist, don't happen that often or really aren't as bloody as physical wars can be. Next time, we'll go a little further in learning about how "War is Hell"!

How Did We Get Here, Part 2

2009-12-22T12:40:00.017-07:00

Do you ever feel like your church is tired, weak, irritable or looking somewhat pale? Maybe the answer is Geritol!

Many people in churches feel like the woman in the Geritol commercial (1960), tired and unable to dance. In the context of the church, they are unable to follow the lead of the bridegroom (Jesus) because they believe that they just are not capable of doing so. This feeling of inability to do significant things for the Lord is not what we find as normal for the church in the New Testament.

Here are some key principles taking place in the churches found in the New Testament that we have wandered away from in most churches today;

Interactive gathering of saints (Acts 2:42, Acts 20:7-12 & 1 Cor. 14:26)
Servant and consensual leadership (Matt. 20:20-28 & Acts 15:22-29)
Priesthood of all believers (1 Peter 2:4-10, 1 Timothy 2:5 & Hebrews 10:19)
The expansion of the church by common people (Acts 8:1-4, Romans 16:3-5 & Col. 4:15)
Equipping of the church so the people would do ministry - not do the ministry for the people (Matt. 28:19-20, Eph. 4:11-16 & 2 Timothy 2:2)

A thread through the five principles listed above is that professional or skilled leadership in the church has taken over these areas of faith. The taking over of these five areas have caused saints to need the following;

A professional to give a sermon and lead worship in order to enjoy church each week.
At least one or at most a few men to tell us what we are to do as a spiritual community.
Ordained men (sometimes women) to do the more significant work of the Gospel.
Highly trained and/or skilled people to begin new churches and organizations.
Professional people to do the baptizing, administering communion, conducting church services, sanctioning marriages and officiating at funerals.

This dependence upon skilled leadership in the church has contributed to her becoming weak, tired, irritable and pale. Most people sitting in the pews of churches across the world do not feel empowered, able or competent to do many of things that were commonly done by all believers in the first century as I pointed out at the top of this article.

So what should we do? To begin with, we should NOT beat ourselves up over this. It is correctable. We still have the same Godhead to call upon for help in addressing these problems. The one thing we shouldn't do is to keep on doing the same thing. But change is hard and as human beings we are typically lazy. If someone else will do "it" for us, we typically will let them do so. This is what has happened in our churches today.

Here a few suggestions from my brain to yours on how to see the priesthood of all believers become a reality in your community.

Come to grips with the truth that for most folks, this transition to feeling competent will take a lot longer than you anticipate. That may sound like bad news to you but I believe it is true and therefore will end up being comforting because it will match your experience.
There will be no transformation to a more Biblical way of spiritual engagement apart from a work of God in the lives of people who love Jesus. In other words, it is a supernatural work so increase your conversations with God about the issue.
Plan for things to fall apart. My good friend Neil Cole calls this 'planned neglect'. If people are going to do significant things for the Kingdom, they will have to see that there is a need for them to do something and that will only happen as the significant things do not get done.
Encourage people with Biblical and practical truth that they are able to do something significant. They may have to find what it is and you may be helpful in causing them to think through what it may be, but they will find it and they will see God work through them.
Plant seed ideas in the hearts of people and then get out of the way and let them run with the idea the way they want to. If they come and ask for direction, certainly help guide them. Offer positive input along the way so they will know they are on the right track.
Know ahead of time that some will hate this idea and move on to another spiritual community. This will happen and it will hurt but it must happen.
Remind, remind, remind, remind, remind and remind people of the truths found throughout the Scriptures that they can do significant things for the Lord. Paul often reminds people of things throughout his letters. We would do well to follow His example. Here is just one Scripture that speaks to this whole issue:

He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 2 Cor. 3:6

The Spirit gives life and the Spirit, He is the one who makes us competent. So move out in the competence that Christ has given you. I am surprised way too often with people coming up to me after a spiritual gathering to tell me that they knew God was prompting them to do something or say something and they hesitated. I constantly encourage people to err on the side of moving out but usually people take the safe way out and err on the side of silence. We can't learn about following the promptings of God if are usually silent when we sense them.

If you have a thought about these ideas, feel free to comment on them for all to read.

How Did We Get Here?

2009-12-15T07:34:00.008-07:00

Driving up to the building brought excitement to Aaron and Ellen. They had been looking for a church family to belong to for several months. They had visited many churches in their area from mega churches to churches with many seats and few people. In each and every experience, they felt like outsiders as they sat among brothers and sisters. Here they were again, pulling up to a building hoping that this experience would be different. They had been told about this church by some friends and it all sounded wonderful, but so did the last six churches they tried.

As they walked in the door Ellen noticed that the decorations were done very tastefully and Aaron noticed that there was some free coffee and snacks. They were greeted by another couple who introduced themselves and they exchanged pleasantries. As Aaron and Ellen stacked their plates with finger foods, they faded into a corner and watched. They overheard several conversations of friends who were catching up on their week, how prayers were being answered, how their jobs were going and how their favorite reality show was going down. The people in this church seemed nice enough, but just like other churches they had attended, they felt left out and that others were more interested in their old friends than making new friends. As they sensed the others moving to a more formal setting they hoped that the music, energy and teaching would fill the longing in their hearts.

Everyone was welcomed and the singing began, the worship flowed, ministry to one another took place through the music and some personal interaction. Someone shared a section of Scripture, another said a prayer and more singing was enjoyed. As the time of worship softly ended a transition took place to a time of learning from the Bible. As church ended and people began heading for their cars there were a couple of hugs given to Ellen and Aaron from a lady who encouraged them to come back next week.

During their drive home Ellen asked Aaron if he sensed the Lord drawing them to this community of believers and also how he enjoyed the whole experience. Aaron said, “You know, I really was hoping that this House Church experience would have been much different than it was. For me, it was little more than church gone miniature. I think the Lord had much more in mind for His church.”

I hope you were surprised to learn that this fictitious couples experience took place at a house church. “How did we (the church) get to such a place” has been a question raging in my own mind and heart lately. I think most people would agree that during Jesus’ three and a half years on earth, that he had one continuous church experience with His disciples. If you agree, notice that almost none of what happens in churches today took place with Jesus and His disciples.

Large highly organized ‘services’ were unknown to Jesus and His followers. Focusing on how people feel and how comfortable they are was not on their radar. Large crowds are a marker of a successful church these days but Jesus often left large crowds to talk with His disciples privately and moved out to take new ground (Mark 1:29-38). Passive crowds of people waiting to be fed spiritually processed food did happen in Jesus’ ministry, but He never seemed to organize them or make them His main ministry. His message was always one of pushing people out to take His good news to others...even when He was working with brand new believers (Mark 4, John 4, John 9, Matt. 4:19, Acts 1:8).

When I look at how the church in the Book of Acts and throughout the Epistles interacted and were encouraged to conduct themselves, I begin to ask how did we, the church, indeed get to where we are today; one hour passive services, programs, slick marketing and consumer driven ministry? I also wonder how organic or house churches can look so familiar to the one in my story at the beginning of this blog? I’ll interact with those questions next time, but I’m curious, what do you think?

Some Key Concepts of Church (as I see it :-)

2009-12-01T11:16:00.012-07:00

Ideas associated with the word "Church" are varied to say the least. It can range from very informal and small to very ornate and large. For some, church equals boring and a waste of time while for others it means encouragement and a large focus of their life. Some see church as an option and for others it is mandatory. A large chunk of people need a holy person and a holy building to have church while others need neither. On and on the contrasts and ideas could go.

I'm attempting to put down some of the key concepts of church as I see them (this is not meant to be exhaustive or complete). I want to write these down so the world will know my thoughts about church, so our network of organic churches will have something to point to and also for those who may sense something is amiss with their concept of church and want to explore other options. So here are some of my key concepts of church:

1. Jesus is the head of the church, He is the only Senior Pastor there is!

I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. Matthew 16:18

He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that He Himself will come to have first place in everything. Colossians 1:18

I think those verses are pretty clear on their own :-)

2. The church should be multiplying communicators not listeners.

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Matthew 28:19-20

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth. Acts 1:8

And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles...Therefore, thosewho had been scattered went about preaching the word. Acts 8:1 & 4

Every believer in the church is to be on mission to share their story of what Jesus has done in their life and also tell the truth of His good news. Every believer is able to communicate what Jesus has done for them. As more and more believers become involved in sharing their stories with the world, the larger and larger the amount of communicators become. Eventually, everyone will hear the truth about Jesus when this happens. However, if we focus more on attracting listeners to the professionals and polished people of the church we will miss out on getting the masses into the nooks and crannies of the world where most of the people are.

Let's be honest, if church leadership continues to do the work of spreading the good news through listener oriented venues, the believers have no reason to get involved beyond inviting. I think I can hear Jesus saying, "That's not what I had in mind. Read Acts 8:1-4 again." :-)

3. Discipleship is job #1.

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations..." Matthew 28:19

The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also...Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart. 2 Timothy 2:2 & 22 (emphasis mine)

No one is commanded to plant or build churches but every believer is called and commanded by Jesus Christ Himself to make disciples as we go through life. This is a most important job of every believer. Think with me for a moment - what if every believer actually obeyed Jesus on this and they were making disciples, that is, full sacrificial followers of Jesus? How strong would the church be? If more were focused on helping people to live like Jesus did (making disciples) there would be less focus on what we dislike about church and more dependence upon Christ!

4. The church should be smaller rather than larger.

No one verse can capture this concept but I think Jesus' life gave us this example. Jesus often times shied away from crowds but loved being with smaller groups of people. He spent more time with Peter, James and John than any of the other Apostles. He spend more time with 12 than he did with the crowds. Jesus spent a good chunk of time with the 70 as He sent them out and He spent the least amount of time with the multitudes. Jesus knew the value of remaining small so closeness, accountability, a family feel and I think, with a smaller group, there is a greater ability to spread out and multiply.

5. Church is more like a family than a school.

Most leaders I talk to see their church as a family and not as a school. However, the reality after discussing the life of their church is that most churches do function more like a school than a family. Many are so concerned with services, programs, right nuances of doctrine and protection from error that churches in many cases becomes more school and information orientated than family.

The New Testament is full of organic and familial metaphors to describe the church. Families have fun together, play games together, eat together, cry together and at times are even bored together. They fight, solve problems and support each other.

Look at the verse below to get a taste of the family Paul had in Church in Corinth.

Make room for us in your hearts; we wronged no one, we corrupted no one, we took advantage of no one. I do not speak to condemn you, for I have said before that you are in our hearts to die together and to live together. Great is my confidence in you; great is myboasting on your behalf I am filled with comfort; I am overflowing with joy in all our affliction. 2 Cor. 7:2-4

Here we see a taste of a family with problems, challenges and hardships yet Paul states that he is willing to die together and to live together with them. He is confident in them. This comes from a familial way of thinking about church instead of a more instructional way. For too many folks, when problems arise in church they skip on down the street to the next church - avoiding conflict and the opportunity to become closer - to become family.

6. The church is to be equipping people so they are empowered for ministry.

And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love. Ephesians 4:11-16

I suggest you also read 1 Corinthians 14 for a good taste of how equipped people are encouraged to live out church together.

7. Leadership in the church is flat and non-heirarcichal.

And He said to her, "What do you wish?" She said to Him, "Command that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit one on Your right and one on Your left."And hearing this, the ten became indignant with the two brothers. But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. "It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just asthe Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many. Matthew 20:21, 24-28 (see the full context HERE)

Here we see the fleshly desire to be in control, or at least to be recognized as very important, raise its head. When the other ten Apostles got wind of the James and John's request, they became quite angry. Jesus called them all together for a family pow-wow. Jesus laid the law down that in His church, there was to be no one who acted like the Jewish priests and government officials did by being the ones in charge and in control. Instead, they were to be just like (if not lower than) everyone else. This doesn't mean that there are not gifts of leadership nor elders and deacons, there are those gifts and functions but they are not to be the ones in control. In my opinion, leaders guide the body in the direction of health. One way to ensure health and balance is for everyone to be right connection with the Head of the Church, Jesus and to listen to Him for themselves.

8. Church is to be more interactive than passive.

For many, church is something you attend but I believe it is something you are part of and more who you are. To quote Reggie McNeal, "Church is not a what but a who". Today many simply go to a meeting (large or small) and sit and allow others to minister to them or for them. Rarely are people invited to get involved beyond singing. This is not the example we see in the Bible.

In the passage below, the words used to describe Paul's talking to this community late into the night is the word where we get our English word for dialogue. This long meeting in an upstairs room was highly interactive.

On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight. There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered together. And there was a young man named Eutychus sitting on the window sill, sinking into a deep sleep; and as Paul kept on talking, he was overcome by sleep and fell down from the third floor and was picked up dead. Acts 20:7-9

It would be good to take a look at 1 Cor. 14 and especially verse 26 to get a glimpse into how Paul was instructing the church at Corinth to practice their faith when they got together. One should also study each of the 27 or so 'one another' passages of the Bible which indicates a high level of interaction.

9. DNA at every level.

If you are unfamiliar with the DNA concept, please click HERE for a more detailed discussion.

So there you have a few of my key concepts of church. If you have any comments, please shoot them to me.

The Process of Transformation Part 3 - A Fresh Definition of Repentence

2009-11-16T12:42:00.006-07:00

Transformation: change in form, appearance, nature, or character.

By definition, transformation requires change. A caterpillar changes into a butterfly or moth, a tadpole changes into a frog and so on. Change requires that something stops being one thing (a tadpole) or going in one direction (towards being a thief) and becomes another thing (a frog) or goes in another direction (becomes honest). When one changes direction, one repents. Here is one definition of repentance:

Repentance is a change of thought and action to correct a wrong and gain forgiveness from a person who is wronged.

For many people, repentance is a bad word, something to be avoided. The truth is, repentance is something we do all the time. When we make a wrong turn and correct that turn, we repent. When we make a statement that we didn't come out right and we correct it, we repent. When we move from smoking cigarettes to not smoking cigarettes, we repent. Repentance is actually a very good word and a very healthy thing to do. Of course for Christians, we think of repentance as agreeing with God that we are or were going in a wrong direction (away from God's ways) and we choose to turn and go in a direction that He knows is best. Repentance is necessary for transformation to occur. Often when one thinks of repentance it is thought of in the negative. We think I must repent and stop doing something bad or harmful and start doing something else. We put the emphasis on the negative and I think this is giving repentance a bad rap. What if we changed it? What if we started of thinking about repentance as running into the wide open loving arms of Jesus. What if when thinking of repentance we focused on the positive aspects of running to Jesus instead of thinking about guilt for our actions or how hard it is to turn from sinful but fun or selfish things in our lives? If we thought in the positive regarding repentance, would more people actually run to Jesus? I don't know but I'm beginning to train myself to think this way and to communicate it this way. Repentance certainly must include a turning away from certain things (sin) but it also includes a turning to Jesus and His life giving ways. Jesus wipes the slate clean, He delivers us from the dominion of darkness into the Kingdom of His beloved Son, where we have become new creatures - the old is passed away and the new has come! If we start seeing repentance as a positive thing that causes us to run into the arms of Jesus, improves our relationship with Him, others and therefore our lives in general, I actually do think more people would enter the transformation process and gleefully repent. What do you think?

The Process of Transformation Part 2

2009-10-29T13:15:00.010-07:00

Transformation: change in form, appearance, nature, or character.

Transformation is always supernatural. No one can be transformed to be more and more like Jesus apart from a move by the Spirit of God in a persons life. The Scriptures teach us in Philippians 2:13 that God is always working in us giving us the desire to obey Him and the power to follow through. This teaches me that God is always willing to walk with a person or family or church down the road of transformation - He is always working in us. God also offers to us the desire to obey Him and also the ability to follow through. So why then, one may ask, is transformation seemingly difficult for many people? Mark 4 does give us some glimpses into the answer of transformation. In this section of Scripture, Jesus teaches His followers that their lives may be like one of four soils that He describes. The quality of the soil determines if there will be a healthy or unhealthy crop to be harvested. The type of crop depends upon the seed and that is where Jesus begins, by talking about the seed. Mark 4:13-14 teaches us that for there to be a healthy harvest, there must be the right seed put into soil. The seed, Jesus teaches us is the Word of God (Mark 4:14). There is no other seed sown into the soil of ones soul that will reproduce a healthy spiritual crop. So for there to be any real transformation, we must drink in the Word of God, which is the seed that will produce a harvest of holiness in our lives. The next important aspect of transformation is the soil itself. Mark 4:28 teach us that the soil produces crops all by itself. The right seed in good soil will produce a harvest. But soil must often be cultivated before it becomes nutritious soil capable of reproducing strong crops. When the soil is full of rocks, thorns, weeds or if it is shallow, it will not be able to sustain a hearty crop even with good seed planted in it. Part of God's 'always working in us' includes cultivating the soil of our souls to be the good soil and therefore reproductive. I think this is where many stray from the transformation process. They like the idea of transformation. They are glad to see others lives be transformed. But when God begins his cultivating of their lives to prepare the soil for the good seed (the Word of God), there often a backing up and away from the process. For cultivation to happen, violence must be done to the soil. It must be poked with a shovel deeply and then ripped out and turned over. It is often raked and has rocks unearthed and removed which disturbs the soil. All of this is quite uncomfortable. When God cultivates our lives it is painful and yet vital. We have to apply ourselves to cooperate with the Spirit of God as he prepares us to receive and reproduce. Transformation is always a work of God that does require the hard work of cooperation. Just this past week I was talking to a person who admitted they knew God was working in them and asking them to move forward in their faith which was not comfortable for this friend of mine. This person knew what God was asking but refused to cooperate. The result is that their soil remains weed infested and shallow. No amount of good seed sown upon this soil will produce lasting transformation. An effort must be put forward, but the effort is mostly, if not entirely, in the will of the individual. In Hebrews 12, we find a summary of the story of Esau. Esau sold his right to his fathers inheritance for a bowl of lentils to his brother Jacob. Of course Esau regretted his decision once his hunger pains left him, but it was too late. Listen to what Hebrews 12:17 tells us about Esau; "For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears." Esau regretted what he did and wanted to repent. He even cried over what he had lost but according to this verse, he never choose to repent. He never choose to admit that he only thought of himself and his comfort. He was not willing to do the hard work of repentance; of agreeing with God that he was wrong. Ultimately, transformation is a cooperation with God. This requires a choice of the will to submit and allow God to lead however He wants. Once we cooperate with God, then God does all the work. Most people may not be experiencing transformation because they need to freshly submit to God - to surrender to Him so that He can cultivate the soil of our souls to make them rich and reproductive soil. Will you allow God to transform you?

The Process of Transformation

2009-10-20T11:33:00.009-07:00

Transformation: change in form, appearance, nature, or character.

Most people like the idea of transformation. We like to see our bodies morph from flabby to fit or our houses from clean to dirty or our lives from lazy to disciplined. What we don't like is the effort and work it takes to become transformed. When we think of spiritual transformation most people that I know would prefer for God to snap His fingers so the process is begun and completed in the same instance. While this does happen at times, the normal growth in spiritual transformation is a process that takes God's intervention along with our work and effort and this is where the challenge occurs for many. But let's back up for a minute. TRANSFORMATION IS A PROCESS Transformation is a process that often begins with a question. We can see this initial stage of transforming in people like Zaccheus (Luke 19:1ff). Zaccheus climbed up into a tree because he had a question. He wanted to know who Jesus was. Nicodemus was another person with a question, he wanted to know how one could be born again (John 3). The rich young rulers chance at transformation began when asked what he needed to do to inherit eternal life (Matthew 19:16-25). Moses began to be transformed when he questioned how a bush could be burning with out being consumed by the fire (Exodus 3:1ff). Saul's life began to be transformed when he inquired who it was that caused him to be blinded (Acts 9:1ff). SEEDS OF TRUTH FOR TRANSFORMATION In each of the above examples, the question(s) is answered with a seed of truth. In the case of Zaccheus, he learned that Jesus was the giver of salvation. For Nicodemus he found that being born again is an act of God in the soul of a person. In the case of the rich young ruler he found out that eternal life is gained by dying to yourself and in his case that meant giving up his riches. For Moses the seed of truth was to obey the things God was calling him to do. For Saul the truth was to submit himself to Jesus, whom he was persecuting, and for him to receive the Holy Spirit. In every case of transformation, there must be a seed of truth planted in the life of a person. Mark 4:14 teaches us that the seed is the Word of God. There is no spiritual transformation apart from the truth of the God being planted in our lives. THE COST OF TRANSFORMATION In each of the above illustrations there was a cost for transformation to take place. This is where somethings can become sticky. The cost of transformation is often severe and there are a good number of people who are not willing to pay the price. They would prefer to take the 'blue pill' and 'wake up believing what ever they want' to quote Morpheus in The Matrix. For the rest, transformation occurs when we take the 'red pill' and see just how far the rabbit hole goes. That is a costly proposition that Jesus invites us to. For Zaccheus, it cost him most of his fortune, for Nicodemus, most of his reputation over time. For the rich young ruler, it simply cost too much and we never learn of him entering into the process of having a transformed life. For Moses it cost him his career (shepherd), and forty years of hardship in the wilderness. In the life of Saul/Paul, it cost him his prestige as a Pharisee a life that was often abused and misunderstood (2 Cor. 11:21-33). As we look back on the life of these people today, we certainly agree that their transformation was well worth whatever it cost them. As we look at the lives of our friends who have been through much and transformed much, we would also heartily agree that it is always worth the struggle. This brings me to a vital question; Why then do not many more who want to be transformed by Jesus see it happen in their lives? I'll give you my thoughts next time. What do you think?

An Early Breakfast in Atlanta

2009-10-09T05:43:00.004-07:00

I got up early this morning to have breakfast with two friends. One friend I met a year ago, the other I was meeting for the first time. Both of these friends are believers and both love Jesus very much. You can feel their desire to know Jesus. You can also feel their struggle to follow Jesus with deep passion. They are both committed to church attendance and worship. They both want Jesus to transform them but they are also honest to state that life is just too busy and the responsibilities too large. One of my friends stated that "...going to church on Sunday caused them to feel absolved..." from the previous weeks busyness and infused them with just enough spiritual juice to keep them going for another week of getting their batteries drained.

I challenged them to begin a L.T.G., to read the Scriptures deeply (20 -30 chapters a week), to talk about life it's difficulties and sins they succumb to along with praying for individuals and families to come to Jesus. After 30 minutes of discussion, questions about what I was challenging them to do and some hesitation, we parted ways with hugs.

Both of these friends stated that they needed and wanted to be 'abiding in Christ'. They both wanted to let the life of Jesus flow through them and onto others. They both knew it was a struggle to make the time to pray, read, meditate and soak in the Word of God and in the presence of Jesus. They wanted it, but life screams for more of them and Jesus simply invites them to follow Him. Screaming demands for time often wins out over the loving invitation of the one who purchased us for Himself.

How can we gain a heart that is desperate for Jesus? How can the Word of God become alive to us when it feels like a text book? What does it take for our spiritual hunger to grow to the point of driving us to God for more? How can I help my friends cross the line between the screaming of life and the invitation of Jesus. When will Jesus be enough for me, and for them?

I want to say thank-you to the folks at VLC for allowing me and providing for me to be in Atlanta this weekend. Because of their support for me, we (I and VLC) are able to affect the friends above and a whole bunch of other saints here in the Atlanta area for the Kingdom expansion of God. I'll try and post more later on what takes place here in Atlanta this weekend.

Walk Like An Egyptian, er, I mean Christian

2009-09-23T12:23:00.012-07:00

Do you remember the song "Walk Like an Egyptian" by The Bangles? To walk like an Egyptian you had to...

Slide your feet up the street bend your back

Shift your arm then you pull it back

Life is hard you know (oh whey oh)

So strike a pose on a cadillac

We usually know how to walk like an Egyptian, walk like a monkey or walk Frankenstein but what does it mean to walk like a Christian? In many passages in the New Testament, we are urged to walk like a Christian (Eph. 4:1; Col. 1:10; 1 Thess. 2:12; 1 John 2:6). But just what does walking like a Christian look like? Is it merely reading the Bible, praying and going to church meetings? It will include those things, but walking like a Christian is so much more than that.

In the book of Ephesians, Paul instructs us to walk or live out our lives in ways that honor Jesus because we love Him. Here are the five areas that He lays out in which we should live out our lives in ways that reflect Jesus so that we will 'Walk Like a Christian".

Ephesians 4:1 Walk in integrity

Integrity has been defined as who you are when no one is watching. This is the point that Paul seems to be getting at here in Ephesians 4:1ff. Far too many Christians walk or live a lifestyle of hypocrisy instead of integrity. In this passage, integrity includes humility, gentleness, patience, tolerance love, diligence to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Every Christ follower should be living/walking out their lives with such integrity.

Ephesians 4:17 Walk distinctly

The way we live/walk should look differently than the world lives/walk. As you read Ephesians 4:17ff, you'll begin to see that Christians have been renewed and now have a new life and new, brighter morales, that should stand out from those who are not Christians. Our walk should be full of being others centered, love, service and hope.

Ephesians 5:2 Walk in Love

Here we find a central element to the Christian walk, namely, love. We should be selfless, sacrificial and sold out to be exhausted for the cause of Christ as we love others. Jesus set the example of great love for us (Phil 2:1-18) when He gave Himself up for us (Ephesians 5:2).

Ephesians 5:8 Walk in Light

When we walk in the light or ways that are pleasing and represent Jesus, darkness will be extinguished. We are told in Ephesians 5:8ff to not participate in unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead, expose them. This is exactly what light does, it gets rid of darkness and exposes those things that soil our souls. Walking in light brings greater joy and safety to the world we live in.

Ephesians 5:15 Walk as Wise People

It is very easy to walk in unwise manners which simply means doing the things that we want to do instead of those things we know are from God. Paul teaches us to 'be careful how you walk', there are many traps that would have us fall into their pits if we would walk in our own wisdom. Ephesians 5:15-21 give us some fantastic guidelines to consider as part of walking as Wise People.

So there you have it, five guidelines to be lived out as we Walk Like a Christian!

What do you think? I'd love to interact with your comments or questions.

Ten (I added one) Lessons on Loving People in Your Church

2009-09-17T12:50:00.007-07:00

It is a grand privilege to love people and together learn to become more and more like Jesus. Loving people isn't always easy. In fact, loving people can be one of the most dangerous things to do - we get hurt so often when we love well. But loving people is what Jesus commands us to do and we are to be teaching each other to obey everything Jesus commanded us (Matt. 28:20).

Below you'll find Nine Lessons that I've been learning from the Apostle Paul on what loving people looks like. I hope they are helpful to as well in your continual discipling of people in your life.

1. Give thanks to God for the people with whom you are called to live out your faith (your church). In 1 Thess. 1:2, Paul says he always gave thanks for these believers. Pray to God with thanksgiving for individuals and groups of people will allow you to see them in positive ways and be endeared to their souls.

2. Remember the good things about the people God puts around you. It is easy to remember the bad things people do! 1 Thess. 1:3 teaches us that Paul focused on their work of faith, labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. We too often default to remembering the less than stellar things about people instead of the good things.

3. Verbally recognize the good that people do. 1 Thess. 1:5-10 sets the example of bragging about the good that people do in a public forum (that could be a group of 2 or 20,000 or more). Paul brags at how well the Thessalonian church was at sharing Jesus everywhere they went.

4. Love people as a nursing mother tends to her own children (1 Thess. 2:7). Recently I visited a new born and her mother in the hospital. The tenderness of the mom as she loved the child and brought the child to her breast to nurse her was amazing. This tender love should be a hallmark in our relationship to one another.

5. Sacrificial love is certainly needed as we engage each other to live more and more like Jesus calls us to live. 1 Thess. 3:8 tells us that Paul was so fond of the believers in Thessalonia, that He imparted not only the Gospel of Jesus, but also his own life because he had fallen in love with these folks. How can you and I give our own lives to those whom God has called us to come alongside and do church?

6. Be willing to exhaust yourself for the benefit of others (1 Thess. 2:9-10). Here we learn that Paul labored, endured hardship, worked night and day, proclaimed the gospel, and behaved devoutly, uprightly and blamelessly towards all of the believers.

7. Father people in the faith (1 Thess. 2:11-12). Paul exhorted, encouraged and implored each person just as a father would his own children. For that to happen, one must take seriously the role of disciple making. 1 Thess 2:12 says that one of the goals of loving people is so that they would live out their faith in a way that is worthy of the love of God for us.

8. Loving people includes checking up on them to see if they are doing alright (1 Thess. 3:1-10). Paul sent Timothy to find out an update on these believers in Thessalonica while he was away from them. Paul knew that hard times would come in their lives (1 Thess. 3:5) and he wanted to see if they remained focused on Jesus.

9. Encourages them to keep moving forward in their faith (1 Thess. 4:1-12). Paul instructs these people who are dear to him to not become complacent but to continue to strive and 'excel still more' in their love and obedience to Jesus (1 Thess. 4:1 & 10).

(Additional Lesson)

10. Affirm leaders for their hard work (1 Thess. 5:12-13) and guide people to stay strong in their living for Jesus (1 Thess. 5:14-15). Both require your observing their actions and engaging them where they are. This is not easy, but it is loving, helpful and will draw the body to become healthful.

What would happen if every believer actually followed Paul's example of loving each other like this in your church?

I've Been Asked This Question Alot Lately

2009-08-12T16:28:00.004-07:00

This past week I've had lunch and coffee with several church leaders from around the Phoenix area. I've also been in conversation with many of the organic church leaders in our network of churches. It appears that God is putting the idea of reaching people for Jesus on the heart of His Bride here in Phoenix and beyond. I just got off the phone with a young organic leader in Minnesota who asked me about the same topic. The question goes something like this; "I am encouraged by the Spirit to be with people who are not yet believers but I don't have any friends like that. I'm so busy with life and church things, that I'm not with people who don't go to church. How can I change this?" There is no right 'method' to tell these friends how to proceed, but there are some strong principles that need to be applied. It is my opinion that the question above is one of the most pressing questions on the church today and once that question is address in a broad scale way, the Bride of Jesus will begin to see more and more people streaming into the Kingdom. "For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf." 2 Cor. 5:14-15 We must begin with having/allowing the love of Christ to control us. If the love for anything else controls us, we will not be very concerned with others getting to know Jesus. When the love of Christ controls us, we then are able to no longer live for ourselves and our desires but we will begin to live for Jesus' desires which is certainly seeing people come into His Kingdom. "Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as thought God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God." 2 Cor. 5:20 We should be clearing time in our lives to be able to hang out with folks and make new friends. We are to take seriously our appointment as an Ambassador of the Kingdom of God on earth. Earth is not our home. We belong to the Eternal King Jesus Christ and to His Kingdom. As long as we do reside on Earth, we are to be Ambassadors of Jesus. As Ambassadors, part of our job is to spend time with those who are unfamiliar with the Kingdom of Jesus and tell them about the wonderful things of that Kingdom and invite them to also become part it too. These two principles must take place if we are to become friends with people not yet in the Kingdom of God. We must allow the love of Christ to control us and we must take seriously the role of Ambassador that has been given to us by King Jesus Himself.

Does This Bother You?

2009-07-29T08:07:00.019-07:00

The USA today is made up of Baseball, hot dogs, apple pie and INDIVIDUALISM. I was talking to my friend, Jim Hocking who heads the ministry ICDI earlier in the week. ICDI's ministry is to drill wells in Africa for water in locations where people do not have access to clean water (BTW - it is a great ministry to invest a few dollars regularly!). Jim told me that when he brings his African friends here to the USA one of their questions is why do Americans drive cars alone! They cannot imagine why people would not be sharing rides, going out of their way to drop off friends or want to spend time with others while driving.

This individualism spills out of materialism and into our faith. We like to choose when we want to be the church (or go to a church to get together), how deeply we want to be involved or which areas of the Bible we want to obey. This individualism begins to creep into how we live. When it does unhealth is sure to follow.

There are many passages in the New Testament that urge us to live in a way that honors our relationship with Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 4:1 is like many others in the New Testament epistles (letters), "Finally then, brethren, we request and exhort you in the Lord Jesus, that as you received from us instruction as to how you ought to walk and please God...that you excel still more." How we live or walk out our faith is important to Jesus.

In 1 Thessalonians 3:8 Paul writes these words, "...for now we really live, if you stand firm in the Lord." Somehow Paul's faith and life was impacted positively when those he loved followed Jesus on Jesus' terms and not their own convenient terms. Is it possible to stand firm in the Lord and live with another person intimately before you are married? Is drinking too much alcohol a way to show that you are standing firm in the Lord? Can we stand firm in the Lord and spend our money all on ourselves and not be generous and follow the heart of God with our resources? When we don't take the time to spend with Jesus in His Word, worship and prayer does that equal standing firm in Jesus?

It is NOT rare today for people who claim to love Jesus and follow Him with their lives to live together before marriage. It is NOT rare today for believers to justify the grace given to them to drink more alcohol than they ought. It is NOT rare today for those who go to church services weekly to buy the latest gadget, car or clothing and yet don't seriously consider what it means to be generous with the resources God has blessed them with. It is NOT rare for people agree with messages about living for Jesus on Sunday morning and yet do not pick up their Bibles to read, study and apply its' truths on a regular basis. These truths bother me. Do they bother you?

A Harvest Report

2009-07-14T11:24:00.012-07:00

If you have read my blogs for very long, you must know I am very interested in seeing people come into relationship with Jesus. It is my passion to help believers to understand that they are 100% successful, 100% of the time that they choose to share Jesus with people. In my opinion, the lack of a strong harvest in the West is due, in part, to a lack of seed sowing on the part of believers. We know the Scriptures teach us that in order to experience an abundant harvest, we must begin with abundant sowing (2 Cor. 9:6, Mark 4:1-20).

This past week, I have heard several stories of folks coming to Jesus. In Southern California, a church who has cobwebs in their baptismal (from a lack of use) is going to baptize 5 new believers this next week. That is because a few in that congregation has chosen to sow the seed of truth (Mark 4:14) into the lives of many. A house church leader recently met a friend through a mutual friend who wanted to talk about his failing marriage. Through a series of conversations (some at very inconvenient times), the man with the marriage problem repented, came to Christ and is now praying and preparing for his wife and children to come to Jesus. A large baptism is about to happen for those folks as well. I also heard a story by a friend who used to be a boy scout troop leader who reconnected with an old boy scout that was in his troop through Facebook. After some long conversations about life and the challenges the younger man had in his marriage, Jesus came into the conversation. During that conversation on the phone, the man received Jesus in his life. In a Facebook entry right after this event, the man wrote, "

"Today I asked for God to come into my life, surprisingly I feel that a huge weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. I asked him to help with my families current situation, and some personal problems that I'm struggling with being away from my family and all. I can't explain how much better I feel."

I also heard from an Indian friend of mine who lives in New Delhi. He told me that while he was on vacation he and his family invited about 35 family members over for a meal, conversation and to talk about Jesus. At least one family of those who attended the get together were Hindu. After a good meal, conversation and a message from the Bible, seven people raised their hand indicating they wanted to receive Jesus as their savior. One of the Hindu women were included in this group of seven!

All of these stories are results of many people planting the seeds of truth into the lives of people in desperate need of Jesus. There must be an abundant sowing before we can enjoy an abundant harvest. So let me encourage you today to be casting many seeds of the Gospel of Jesus into the lives of people all around you. Ask Jesus to guide you in how and to whom He would have you share. Watch and see the growth of these seeds. They will grow, not because of you, but because of Jesus (1 Cor. 3:6).

Just a few minute ago, while I was ordering some lunch at a local hangout, a young waitress whom I have been praying for came up to me, tapped me on the shoulder and asked me, "How can I pray for you today." That is a question that I have been asking her. Soon, this young woman will be in the Kingdom of God...that is my prayer today.

Take courage because Jesus goes with us wherever we go! Get out there and cast some seeds!

If you have a HARVEST report, post a quick snippet of what is happening in your neck of God's world!

A Holy Discontent

2009-07-07T10:48:00.011-07:00

Several years ago, Wendy's fast food chain created a one of the most memorable marketing slogans ever when the elderly lady looked at her hamburger and sharply stated, "Where's the beef?" When one orders a burger with large hamburger buns, an equal sized hamburger patty should accompany it. When it doesn't, we know something is wrong. Wendy's supplied what was missing and put big burgers on big buns and the company saw a growth spurt in sales.

Today, many churches offer relevant preaching, theatre seating, hot worship bands and fast paced video clips to send our adrenal glands into overdrive. All of this is like a big bun with a small hamburger patty and causes many to say, "Where's the beef?" Or maybe better, "Where's Jesus?". To quote Len Sweet, the church has a strong case of JDD, Jesus Deficit Disorder! We need Jesus to be the central and only focus in our churches. Without Jesus, there is no church from a Biblical perspective. When there is JDD, we know something is wrong.

JDD

I currently have what I am calling a Holy Discontent in my soul because of this Jesus Deficit Disorder. I want the bride of Jesus (every believer) to be strong, healthy and reproductive. I desire for every believer to be in a strong and growing obedient relationship with Jesus, doing things His way, not their own way. I desire to see believers be sacrificial with their faith, with their stuff and with their hearts to all people. I desire for those who claim to be Christ followers to have an urgency to be reaching out to those not yet following Christ. This is the example that Jesus gave us to follow.

Jesus said "Follow Me and I will make you become fishers of men" (Matt. 4:19). We are not to follow pastors or denominations or our own whims, we are to be following Jesus and His teachings and His Word. This requires us to be personally responsible for our faith and not push that responsibility off to a pastor or other spiritual leader. As we do this, we grow and deepen in our relationship with Jesus, we can each hear His voice and follow His lead and that will lead us to be strong, healthy and reproductive.

When Jesus walked this earth, He had an urgency about Him and His purpose to get His good news out to everyone. You can see it in his response to Zaccheus climbing a tree to get a look at Jesus. Jesus saw him in that tree and said, "Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house" (Luke 19:5). Jesus had an urgency about Him here. He wanted Zaccheus to 'hurry and come down'. Jesus said that He "must stay" at Zaccheus' house that very day. Jesus was full of urgency to share life with people. Today, I see people with more of an urgency to take from the church than to share Jesus with others. This has left me with a Holy Discontent.

Christ who is our Life!

Living a Jesus filled urgent life by believers cannot happen by simply mustering up enough faith or committment to imitate Christ's urgency or passion. This never works. We must understand and rely upon Christ's indwelling Presence in our beings (John 15). We cannot do things for Christ by simply imitating His ways, we should allow Christ to flow and move through us, that is were the real life is! I am learning to stop pushing people to imitate Jesus and instead pointing them to lean into the breast of Jesus who indwells them and listen to His voice. Once one hears from Him they should choose to obey Him and let the indwelling Spirit guide them by His power. That will bring a Holy Contentment I think.

What do you think?

The Seduction From Words (Rough thoughts from a Passionate Soul)

2009-06-25T12:33:00.015-07:00

Seduction is the act of enticing someone astray from right actions or belief.

There has been a shift taking place over the past several years in Christian circles. There has been a reduction of intentional verbiage about the message of Jesus and in exchange there has been a strong encouragement and increase in thoughts given to deeds of righteousness like serving the poor and mending the less fortunates fences. We are told by many that we must earn the right to be heard* before we give out the Gospel. Many today simply believe that they never get to the place where they have earned the ability to tell the story of Jesus or how Jesus has swept them off of their feet. They keep serving and praying but often not speaking.

In Mark 4:1-20, Jesus was very clear that his followers should be out casting lots of seed (the Word of God) indiscriminately. Jesus also teaches us that He will give us the best and most effective words at the exact time we need them when we choose to share the news about Jesus with not-yet-believers (Matt. 10:16-20; Mark 13:9-11; Luke 21:12-15). Paul teaches us that people cannot believe in Jesus without hearing about Him and to hear about Him there needs to be a proclaimer (Romans 10:14). Paul even prays that He will be given the words and boldness needed in his sharing of the good news (Ephesians 6:18-20). I've often wondered how many conversations Paul may have had where people called him crazy for wanting to share about a man who is also God and was mistreated, falsely accused, crucified, died, buried and rose again from the grave three days later.

Jesus taught us to love one another and the second greatest commandment is to love our neighbors as ourselves (Mark 12:31). John records Jesus teaching us that the world will know that we are His disciples if we love and care for one another (John 13:35). The story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:30-37) certainly teaches that when we see a need we should step up and meet it instead of turning our heads away from challenging situations.

The seductive piece of my thoughts comes in watching how many in the church have for the most part, laid aside the speaking of the truth of Jesus for living the truth in the name of social justice and other good deed ideas. I really like social justice thinking and doing but somehow the church has largely been seduced to believing that our words are no longer effective. I do believe that we have much to learn about living out our faith instead of just being bloated with words about eternal life, abundant life, heaven and Jesus (hell is not mentioned much in today's Church). We really do need to have our deeds match our beliefs and our words, but does this need to be done in the absence or diminishing of words? Could it be that somehow we have been seduced into being quiet because it is more PC (politically correct)? The Scriptures are clear, without a proclaimer of this good news, people will not get saved.

There does need to be a synthesizing of words and deeds - a living out the words that we speak and the Word that we believe (1 John 3:18). Without the truth in our hearts, we cannot be set free. Without the planting of seeds (The Word of God according to Mark 4:14), we cannot have a harvest of souls.

So get out there and cast some seeds and love on people a whole bunch. Put action to what you believe and love large.

*You can find this thinking in "The Externally Focused Church" by Rick Rusaw and Eric Swanson page 13

A Long Walk in the Same Direction

2009-06-02T14:21:00.008-07:00

Long walks take time, effort and sacrifice. When you throw in another person or more, the challenge gets more difficult. Long walks with others often invoke strong conversation and we have some good examples in the Scriptures. In the beginning, Adam took walks with God in the cool of the evening in the garden of Eden and you can bet Adam learned a lot. Abraham began a long walk with his close friends and family and they didn't know where they were headed but they learned to trust God. Moses had a long walk of 40 years in the wilderness with his family and God used it to shape Moses and the people of Israel. Jesus walked with His twelve disciples for three and a half years and we know of many of those talks and how profound they were in impacting the world. Long walks with others is a good way to look at how God develops people to become more like He is. Taking a long walk in the same direction (towards Jesus) with good friends is a good way to describe discipleship. For too long discipleship has been reduced to books, studies and filling in the blanks. Knowledge and completing classes has been used to measure ones maturity but it is incomplete. Knowledge is necessary but applying what you know is learning and learning to be like Jesus can only be done in relationship. I can say this because we are made in God's image and God choses to exist in a community of three; The Father, Son and Holy Spirit. What I learn from this is that living in community with a few for a long time is possibly the best way to encourage each other, and so much the more, as we see the day of the Lord drawing near (Hebrews 10:24-25). Paul is strong about living our faith in community and influencing others towards Jesus. He strongly encourages taking life long walks (or at least a significant amount of time) with others. Learning from one another's mistakes and success' seems important to him. As we read about Paul, we rarely see him moving about in isolation. He is most often with a team of people who are laboring together to get the message of Jesus out to folks whether he is teaching in synagogues or sewing tents together to sale. Here is how he encouraged Timothy who was serving the churches in Ephesus. "Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart." 2 Timothy 2:22 (emphasis mine) I know that taking long walks with others in inconvenient, they robs us of our personal time and space and intrude upon the privacy of our lives that is often highly valued by the western culture. But without long walks, strong conversations and mutual encouragement in the things of Jesus, I'm afraid we will not actually be helping people become like Jesus. And that is a key thing that He asked us to do - to make disciples by taking long walks in the same direction. Are you taking a long walk in the same direction with anyone?

Sculpting Sound Doctrine

2009-05-28T10:01:00.015-07:00

I've never really sculpted. Oh, I've made a snake and a snowman out of Play-Do but I'm certain that artists would not recognize my work as actual sculpting. I am however intentionally pointing out areas in peoples lives where a sharp chisel needs to be placed and then hit with a hammer to remove an edge or two. I am attempting to sculpt sound doctrine into the lives of people. Although I've not sculpted in marble or stone, I imagine it takes a long time and a lot of care. Sculpting flesh is a long process as well that is full of joy, pain, pausing and pursuing.

In the book of Titus, Paul instructs Titus to "speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine." Paul then goes on to talk about what 'sculpting' sound doctrine in the lives of people looks like. It looks like older men have integrity and strong godly character. Older women are to behave in a manner that honors God and to have their conversations full of grace and goodness. Paul also says that sound doctrine looks sensible in the lives of young men and goes on to tell how sound doctrine should be lived out in the business world, the church world and in regards to our interaction with governing rulers. It should all look the same by the way, we shouldn't look/act one way on Sunday morning and another way in Tuesday's sales meeting.

I'm learning that sound doctrine, although full of truth and absolutes, has much (maybe much more) to do with how we live. What if how we live actually exposes the truth of faith in our hearts? Can we go to church each week or read our Bibles daily and not really be concerned for the poor, widows and less fortunate? Can we simply believe certain 'doctrines' and yet live how we want? Should we be allowing consumerism to swallow us whole without a strong fight? Should we horde our money instead of using it to spread love and help others. Would Jesus encourage us to save for our retirement or to help out a widow who needs new windows in her home?

Whatever you think about my questions in the previous paragraph, do become active in sculpting sound doctrine in your life and the lives of others. Get out your spiritual hammer and chisel to add depth and beauty in the lives around you. How we live does matter. Faith without works is dead. So get alive and spend your faith by living out sound doctrine.