Action

I have been mesmerized by how many times we get stuck in bad thinking. I have discovered that many of us think that we will be judged by what we think and not by what we do. The old adage says, Actions speak louder than words and although I agree with that statement, I don't think it takes it far enough. I believe that words hold little weight at all in the eternal, rather action is the defining characteristic of us all. Many people get caught up in trying to define who they are, but really the legacy we leave will be based upon the actions that we take in this life. An interesting study on this thought is found in the book of James 2.
Every action that we take is speaking something. We can say a lot without opening our mouths or placing ink on a piece of paper. I pray that I will be slow to speak, but quick to act, for in so doing I display my faith. The true walk of faith is not to discuss how God is good, but to show how God is good. The true walk of faith is not to talk about how God gave, but to be one that gives out of the Love of God. The true walk of faith is not to live in fear of opinions and strap ourselves into a box, but live with the eternal in mind and actively pursue a life pleasing to God! I wonder how my day would change if I could not speak at all, but all I could do was act? What would people say about me if all they knew was what I did, not what I said I believe. A study in this would be to read the book of Acts, or the book of Actions. It is interesting to note that there was never a book written called the book of thoughts, simply because a good thought that is never placed into actions never changes culture!

Innovation

Yesterday while in the car on the long drive from St. Louis to Little Rock I watched as my 3 year old taught me a valuable lesson with his bobble head toy named wobble head. 8-) Reese kept dropping his toy and then he proceeded to try and discover unique ways to reach him to do it all over again. Little did he realize, but he was teaching a valuable lesson on innovation.

There is a statement that says, "Necessity is the mother of all invention." I believe this statement whole heartedly because there have been times in my life that I have discovered things out of necessity, but what I learned on our long trip yesterday in the car was something that I believe takes the step even a little further. If necessity is the mother of all invention, then I believe curiosity and desire are the creators of innovation.

What I have learned from my children, even though they do not know what they are doing sometimes, is that if they truly love something and desire to do something, it really will not matter what the stated rules are, they will find a way to do what they want to do. This immediately began to get my mind to wonder, at what age do we cease to lose our curiosity and desire and we align ourselves with the paradigm that is filled with reasons of why we can't? What would happen if we could stir our God given curiosity and pursue after our passions? What if the words, I can't, did not exist in our language. What innovations would spring up if we could open our minds and value creative ways to accomplish things. In doing this we could quite possibly change our realities through innovation.

I desire more than anything to never lose my curiosity. I hope I never become a part of the party that says that certain things can not be done. I hope I challenge myself to find innovative and creative ways to forge ahead into the 21st century that will spark momentum and passion into peoples lives to fulfill the purpose that God has for them.

The Power of a Question

Have you ever had a question that it just seemed you could not get answered?  We live in a world that no longer struggles trying to find information, but rather the true test of the day is to sift through a plethora of information until you find what you are really looking for.  The struggle is finding what it is that is needed in a fast paced hyperactive world.  The answer lies in something that seems very simple, yet it is more difficult than what one could imagine.  To get the right answer we must be willing to ask the right question.   The scripture says...  You don't have, because you don't ask.  

I feel that many times as leaders it is difficult for us to ask the right question because we are concerned about how we will be perceived.  The facade that we have built around ourselves many times is what we hide behind.  If we ask a question, we are concerned that we will be perceived as not knowledgeable. Unfortunately we end up becoming a slave to ourselves that has not, because we were never willing to ask.  

What is the right question?  One question can open up so many doors in our lives.  Questions have the ability to dig deep into a matter, or they can become surface oriented and leave us wondering.  We learn by asking questions, and if we do not allow questions to be asked we are limiting our potential for knowledge.  When was the last time you put thought into the question you were going to ask?  How quickly could an argument be resolved if we knew what question to ask?  What depths of knowledge could be unlocked if we knew how to arrive at the right question.  

Let me challenge you today, before your next meeting, spend time thinking about what questions you are going to ask.  Think of the power of one question and always remember,  You many times don't have, simply because you didn't ask.

Ambassadors for Christ

Over the last week or so my mind has been in constant thought of the scripture that says, Now then we are ambassadors for Christ...2 Corinthians 5:20 KJV. In order to truly understand what this scripture is saying we have to understand what the word ambassador actually means. According to Webster's dictionary an Ambassador is a diplomatic official of the highest rank, sent by one sovereign or state to another as its resident representative. Our whole identity and purpose is found in this one word, ambassador.

When Paul says, we are ambassadors, he is speaking directly to our identity in Christ. Ambassador is what we are when Christ views us. If I am truly an ambassador then that means that I am viewed by Christ as an official representative of highest rank. It is so difficult for us to comprehend the value that Christ places in us. The battle that I face on a daily basis is the thought of what I truly am in Christ. So many times we feel unworthy of our salvation, let alone the calling of being an ambassador of highest rank. When we view ourselves as unworthy of being Christ's ambassador then we minimize the work that Christ did on the cross.

I noticed something very impacting in this scripture as well because it says that we are ambassadors FOR Christ. This coincides with the word ambassador in the fact that we have been sent by Him as his mouthpiece and resident representative. We are in this world, but we are not of this world. We reside in this world yet we are not citizens of this world. We have all of the authority to operate on behalf of Christ in this alien land. As a church we must understand that it is not only our right, but it is our obligation to work on behalf of Christ in this earth, for this is the purpose of our existence on this earth. Christ would have immediately translated us into heaven at the moment of our New Birth if He did not have a mission for us to do as His ambassadors on this earth. If we do not operate as his ambassadors then Christ will not have a representative on this earth! Although God could easily do the work by himself, He has chosen men and women to propagate His work on this earth. So, go be an ambassador for Christ! Be His Representative today and know that God is not only with you, but he has empowered you to operate on His behalf. You are Sent as a High Ranking Official by Him who is Sovereign.

The Intercessory Prayer of the World

In the story of Jonah we find a very insightful picture of where I believe the church could be living in this moment. As we set the stage we find that God has called a missionary to go into the city of Ninevah, Jonah 1:2 Arise,go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it.... We notice several things from the outset, first of all, it was God that called Jonah, it wasn't his desire to go. Secondly, we find that God called Ninevah a great city, I believe it is the will of God for us to not shirk away from our responsibility to evangelize our metropolitan areas, but God wants us to move with his calling into the underchurched areas of our world and forge an opportunity for everyone to have a chance to hear the gospel.

As we continue the story we find that Jonah flees from his calling, which is a pretty common thing that we find in the scriptures. Jonah didn't try to talk God out of the calling like Moses did though, instead he just ran away with all of his might. The scripture says in Jonah 1:4 But the Lord sent out a great wind into the sea, and there was a mighty tempest in the sea, so that the ship was like to be broken. Notice that the scripture says that God was the one that sent the tempest into the sea. The sea represents the culture around us. The Culture that we constantly are dealing with is the sea that we have to navigate through as a christian. I believe God allowed this tempestuous storm to arise because of what happened in verse number 5. Jonah 1:5 says Then the mariners were afraid, and cried every man unto his god.... but Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship; and he lay, and was fast asleep. You will not find anyone more hardened by the cares of this world than a mariner. They represent the toughest of the tough. I believe that in this story the mariners represent the world and Jonah represents the church.

If my assumptions are correct then we find the story completely reversed! Jonah should be in the bottom of the ship crying and interceding before the Lord for the mariners life as they head through the boisterous sea, but we find the opposite is happening. The mariners began to cry unto their gods... politics, education, money..... because the culture around them was about to destroy them, and we find Jonah, or the church, fast asleep in the most critical hour that the church could be involved in.

You see, I believe that this unprecedented time that we are living in is a chance that God is giving the church to stand up and make a difference in this world! If their was ever a moment to live passionately for God, then today is that day! The stage has been set! God has called the church, God has allowed culture to place people in a place of hunger, the world is crying out for an answer! The scriptures promise that, Whosoever hungers and thirsts after righteousness shall be filled! My friend, there is nothing that can stop the church, but the church themselves. We can allow the culture around us to rock us into a deep apathetic sleep, or we can allow the moment to invigorate us and stir us at the place of our calling as we forge ahead and realize that if God be for us, who can be against us! The World is Crying, Will The Church Awake?

From Spectator to Participator

The United States has now completed an election that has seemed to have lasted for two years. During the campaigns of John McCain and Barack Obama there was constant fundraising going on for one purpose, to clearly articulate the vision of their campaign. In America we have the freedom to vote, yet the fact of the matter is, when election day rolls around, there are always a large number of Americans that do not vote. The strategy of the politician is to articulate a message clearly enough that will move people from becoming spectators to becoming participators in the process. I read yesterday that Obama literally spent billions of dollars just on his campaign to ensure that people would be moved enough about the vision to move from viewing something happen to become a part of the agent of change.

One thing that concerns me is that many people never have a vision compelling enough that will move people from spectators into participators. It is the desire of every individual to make their life count in a significant way, but the truth of the matter is, we must engage our culture if we are going to make a difference. If not careful, we become spiritual spectators, expecting God to perform all of the work. Although this sounds noble, it is not biblical. When the children of Israel needed delivered from Egypt, God called a man, Moses to lead the children of Israel. When Goliath was sparking fear in the nation of the Israelites,God called a young man, David to take on the giant facing his generation. When God felt the need to deliver Ninevah, he called a man named Jonah to go and preach the message of repentance to the city. Simply put, God uses men and women that will answer the call of God to get a vision that is big enough to merit the attention of God! The answer to engage this generation and move them from spectators into participating in shaping culture is to dream dreams that spark passion in the hearts of people!

We do not live in a church that does not have a mandate, but unfortunately I feel that many churches are living unengaged because they have lost their ability to dream God sized dreams! many live satisfied on the sidelines as opposed to stepping on to the stage of what God is doing. Is there a cause that God has pricked your heart about that develops instant passion in your spirit? That spark of passion could be what it takes to move you from viewing what God is doing on the sidelines to stepping into the calling that God has for your life. Nothing of significance has ever been accomplished by people standing on the sidelines, but today is the day for a generation to participate in what God is doing!

An Open Hand

An open hand speaks many things. I believe that God has called us as disciples to live lives with an open hand. Living with an open hand may seem simple, yet it is learning to live at a much deeper level than we could ever imagine. There is something that I have discovered about living life with an open hand, and that is that when we have an open hand it is a symbol that we are relinquishing control.

Control seems to be one of the paramount issues that I deal with as well as you. We spend most of our lives trying to control everything around us. As simplistic as it may seem, the fact of the matter is, as long as I am in control it means that God is not. It is so easy to trust in God when it appears that His plan fits your own plan, but when God vears off of the plan that we have for ourselves that is when we begin to tighten our grip on things around us. Learning to release even in the midst of tumultous time takes discipline, yet it is learning to live with an open hand that ensures the flow of blessing will continue.

Blessing flows to those that have an open hand. The only way that you can give is also the only way that you can receive. This equation is typically not one that we like, yet it is impossible to get around. If we want to receive,we must be willing to give. The scriptures teach in Luke 8:38 ... for with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. There is a correlation between our giving and our receiving. We have all heard of the Dead Sea that stagnates because it receives water, but it does not flow and give and therefore the water is not fit for drinking. Our lives should very much be like a conduit of the good things that are given to us.

The scripture says, it is more blessed to give than to receive. This concept seems so difficult for us to understand. It is not difficult to find someone that is excited about receiving, but it is a rare treasure to find someone that is thrilled about giving. Those that have learned the beauty of giving have learned the value of living life with an open hand!

What are you trying to control today by tightening your grip? How can you choose to release your grip to trust in God in your current situation? Do you have a PHD in receiving, but an elementary education in giving? What can you do today to open your hand to become an intentional giver?

A Challenging Thought

I was reading a blog the other day by Mark Batterson and there was a quote that I read that challenged me and I wanted to share the quote with you. R. T. Kendall said, " The greatest opposition to what God is doing today comes from those who were on the cutting edge of what God was doing yesterday."

This quote challenges the assumption that we can contain what God is doing. It is human nature to try to do what the disciples did at the Transfiguration. To erect a tabernacle and try to make permanent what was meant to be temporary. In Joshua 3:3 the scripture tells us that Joshua instructed the children of Israel to watch the ark of the covenant, which represented the presence of the Lord, and everywhere the ark went they were to remove themselves from the place where they were and go after it. One of the worst things that we can do as a people is try to contain His presence. We are not called to contain His Presence, but we are called to pursue His presence. We need fewer people trying to be trendy and cutting edge and more people trying to listen to the voice of the Spirit and pursue what God is doing today.

I believe that the church should be relevant, but the only way to be relevant is to follow after what God is doing. God's Word is a living book that has instruction for today! We can't live on past experience, but we must press forward for direction today!

What About Values?

I wanted to take today to speak about a topic that I feel is extremely important in the life of a leader, values. It is in the genetics of a leader to want to conquest and set out on a journey of exploration. I myself have the personality that is filled with energy when I think about new possibilities and ideas that can be explored. Exploration, conquest, passion are all wonderful qualities in a leader, but we must be careful that before we set off on any great conquest we must be willing to identify some bedrock things that we will not compromise in our life.

Life is ever evolving and ever changing and it would appear to be a difficult process to identify some things that will never change in your life, but I believe that a little bit of work on the front end will help us determine the course of action we take in the midst of a crises. One lesson that I have learned is to identify your values over the course of time, and not in a speedy matter. If we are to hasty in our choice of values then we will choose things based upon our current circumstances. It is far better to have a short list of values, and stick to them as opposed to creating a long list of desires, yet not fulfilling them.

Values will help you identify what is at the core of who you want to be. They become the road map and the guide to decisions in life. We live in a day of relativity. I believe the reason for this moral relativity is because we tend to stay on the surface because we have not identified what is core to who we are.

Although defining values may be a daunting task, it saves time and emotional stress. For example, if staying out of debt is a value of mine, then when it comes to purchases and opportunities that come my way I can clearly determine whether or not those are choices I can make based upon it lining up with my value.

When we leave ourselves open to having to cut through the fog of decisions on the spur of the moment we will never have a clearly defined path to get us to our destination. Values are the road map to get us to our destination. We would never consider going on a long journey without a road map, yet many of us live our lives without the road map of values clearly defined in our lives. Let me encourage you to take this year to define some core values in your life. Then when difficult times come, live out of values and not out of emotions.

Exercising Your Right

I was watching some election news yesterday and the prevailing thought in my mind was simply, I can't wait until this election is over. As much as I would like to think that after the presidential election in a few more days everything would be quiet on the political front for 4 more years, I am not naive enough to believe that. Regardless of who becomes president in this election, there will be a movement to begin a campaign for the election of 2012. One of the things that has puzzled me over the years about America is how many people have never voted in a national election.

When you study history you will find that there have been many people that have given everything that they possess as well as going as far as spilling their own blood and giving their lives for the reason of being able to exercise their right to vote. Their have been strong movements in America to ensure that anybody that wants to vote can, yet their are some that will still not participate in the electoral process. Their have been many that have payed a very high price, yet it appears that their are some of us that feel inconvenienced to find a polling place to go and spend 5 minutes casting a vote. How could one person be willing to die for the right to vote and someone else be so detached to the point that they really do not care? I believe one of the reasons is what value they place in the process. Those that are willing to die for the right feel that the act of them exercising their right will make a difference whereas those that do not exercise their right have bought into the the thinking that their vote does not matter.

Spiritually I have to move myself to understand that my action makes a difference. I have talked to many in the church that have convinced themselves that the world is so far gone that the only thing the church should do is remove themselves from culture and try their best to stay untarnished until Jesus comes back. The problem with this is it goes against the commission in Matthew 28 to go and teach all nations. Their are rights that we have as children of God that have been given to us with a huge price being payed. The price that Jesus was willing to pay for us to exercise our rights as heirs of the promise was significant. In Acts 20:28 the scriptures tell us that Christ spilled His own blood for the church. The rights that we have as children of God were costly and are of much value. I believe that when we as children of God are not pursuing the gifts of the spirit as well as the fruits of the spirit, we are not exercising our rights as christians. When did discipleship end with faithful attendance to church? When this is what we relegate discipleship to we are minimizing the value of the rights that were purchased for us as children of God.

As children of God there is something that we can do. We are given the right to transform things through the avenue of prayer and fasting. When we employ and exercise this right something spiritual begins to transform. According to 2 Chronicles 7:14 the Word of God says If my people which are called by my name would humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. We have the power to turn culture around, but it will not happen without strategic intentionality. The world is relying on the church to exercise our right to open up the heavens to heal our land. We must value our right and exercise our right. I encourage you today to exercise your right as a child of God to make a difference in the world.

Just Something Small

Every church began somehow and somewhere and that somehow was probably birthed out of passion and that somewhere was probably not elaborate. As I travel the country I have found myself asking the same question, " I wonder how this church started?" It is humbling for me to realize that all churches started small at some point. It is very rare for a church to start out large. I have a question to ask, when did we start undervaluing small things? The scriptures admonish us to ...despise not the day of small things. I think that we many times forget the impact of what small things can accomplish. The scripture likens faith that moves God to faith that is the size of a mustard seed. We always seem to pray for more faith, but I believe God is wanting us to use the faith that we all ready possess. Their is a predominate feeling in us to immediately think that we are not good enough, or what we have is not elaborate enough, but we must understand that their is power in something small. A mighty oak tree begins as a tiny seed. Even human life begins when the seed of a man unites with the egg of a woman. Some of the most powerful moments in my life have not happened with the stage lights turned on, but they have happened in very intimate and humble settings when it appeared that no one would even realize what is going on. It reminds me of Jesus' birth. It started as a humble and modest beginning, but you can not underestmate something that seemed to be so insignificant to so many! When I look at the process of life transformation we tend to define ourselves by the large events in life. These large events become markers that we look either back or forward to, but I have learned that the big events do not define character nearly as much as the day to day small things do. The big moment loses it's impact if the small details are not properly put in place. If there is something that you have held off doing because you thought it was small and insignificant, I encourage you to start, because what may start out small could potentially change the course of your life forever. Young men and women, I encourage you to step out in faith and begin that bible study at the coffee shop, it may seem small, but there is no telling how God will use that to change a life. If we sit around and wait for something big, then we will miss out on the power of what is small. So, in a day when the prevailing message is to go out and do something BIG for God, let me encourage you to start today by going out and doing something small.

Organic

The term 'megachurch' has been made popular over the last 15 years as people strive to pursue reaching the masses. Now the term megachurch is not big enough to define the realms that some churches have moved into and we have moved into the age of the 'gigachurch' which means a church that is running over 10,000 people. It is interesting to see how popular the megachurch has become, you can hardly drive into a community without noticing at least 1 church that is large and prominent in a community. When you drive into metropolitan areas it has become common place for large churches to line the street corners, especially in the southern states. Yet in the midst of all of this 'growth', the question that continually plagues my mind is, How has culture changed with all of these churches progressing and expanding?'



I have discovered that all growth is not equal. The scriptures says that you will be known by your fruit. American culture has in many ways judged that scripture by one marker, which is numerical growth. Although I believe that this is a vital part of growth, it would be foolish for us to think that all growth is numerical. When my sons go to the doctor for a check up their height and weight is just one small part of the physical check up. But, to ensure that they are growing properly, the doctor will check many different markers. Which leads me to the thought that has been stirring in my mind.



Has the church settled for growth which is not organic? Organic means that there are no synthetic materials or additives given to aid growth. Everything that Jesus did while on this earth was to promote organic or natural growth. You can not disciple in a microwave. It would do us far better to realize that we are all on a journey of exploration to reach growth in Christ. Most churches that I talk to that are growing, will not base their growth on a program or any one specific thing that they are doing. It does not surprise me to notice that most churches that are growing do not even have numerical growth as the main focal point, but rather they realize that numerical growth is a byproduct of getting the church healthy! If we numerically grow while unhealthy, we will reproduce what is unhealthy in the body. When we determine to see organic growth, we celebrate the diversity that lives within the body of Christ. One size does not fit all, but all the pieces put together make a whole body. Each individual part is significant to the success of the body. The fruit that we should be pursuing is not programmed or managed growth, but natural and organic growth. Programmed growth tends to focus on pushing people into a mold, whereas organic growth tends to work on the heart of a man to change who he is in his most natural state. If we want people to stand on their own and find their personal place in Christ, we must allow individuality in the body of Christ. God, help us pursue organic growth in your body!

An Unprecedented Oppurtunity

I have been particularly interested in all of the financial crises that is going on. Not only was I a financial representative for the company, Nationwide Insurance and Financial Services, but I also feel the pain of rising gas prices with every fill up. Living on the road in an economy such as the one in which we live is very eye opening. Questions rise on everyones minds such as, What is going to happen in the financial markets? What is going to happen with the upcoming election? How is all of this mess going to affect me individually?

We are living in some extremely serious times which has everyones attention. This crises has moved beyond the elite of Washington and it has quickly filtered from Wall Street to Main Street. I have been traveling to churches of all sizes and I have seen how this crises has affected our churches. I believe with all of my heart that it is time for the church to arise and be the voice of reason in the mess that we find ourselves in. What concerns me is that our tendancy will be to react to the crises as opposed to lead during the crises. We can spend all of our time talking about how difficult times are, or we can understand that there has never been a better day for the church. I have had a few people tell me that this must be a horrible time to be a missionary in the midst of all of these crises going on and my answer to that is that there has never been a better time to be a missionary and a church planter. People are so hungry for answers to lifes questions. For so long people have had things that have been consistent in their lives and now in just a few short months what they have relied on for years is now gone. They are looking for something constant that they can build their lives on!

A scripture comes to mind as we face unprecdented times. 2 Corinthians 8:2 How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.KJV We find that in a moment of crises the Macedonian church was defined. Their was hardship and deep financial issues, yet out of the crises that the Macedonian church was facing, generosity was produced. I believe that the crises that we are facing now will define the church. Their is a tendancy, because of the fear of the unknown, to hold onto our resources and cautiously go into maintenance mode, but I do not believe that is a biblical pattern. If there has ever been an hour for the church to prove their reliance upon the Word of God and on giving, then this is it. I pray that this crises finds the church on their knees in prayer more, and more willing to let go of our tendancy to control and realize that what we need is to release God's resources.

I refuse to look at this hour as a depressing moment that will bring the church's mission to a halt, but I rather believe that we are in a defining moment of unprecedented oppurtunity that will position the church for endtime harvest! God, give us passionate men and women that understand that today is the greatest hour for the church.

Connections

I have been thinking a lot recently about how interconnected people are in this world. It seems on my travels acrossed the country that although the world is large in so many ways, it is getting smaller. There is a thought that we are only a few people removed from anyone else in the world and I tend to agree with this thought. One interesting part of the human psyche is our desire to be connected in one form or another to others. Over the last few months I have become a part of the world of facebook. It is amazing how connected each of us are when we begin to use these connections to link up with others that we never dreamed possible. A prevalent thought that rings in our minds so frequently is, " If I just knew the right people, then I would get my break." I have learned the power of networking and I realize that in many aspects of life the power of who you know is vitally important to success. Something that I have asked myself while thinking about networking and connections is are we out of balance in our thinking? It seems that many of us are consumed with Who we know, rather than Who Knows us. Though this seems similar, it is drastically different. Paul proclaimed, that I may know him.... Yet in Jeremiah 1:5 God said, Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations. KJV I would argue that life is not as much about our pursuit of knowing others, as much as it is about our pursuit of Him who knows us! Before God formed us, He Knew Us! What a powerful thought. Therefore, it is my connection to Him that opens up the door to the nations. It is God that ordains us as a prophet to the nations, not others. Our connection to Him, is the ticket to purpose in this life.

Observations along Interstate 94

This morning my family and I left the Detroit Metro Area to head out to the Northwest side of Chicago in McHenry County. I received the news this last Thursday evening that my grandfather, who pastors a church in McHenry, passed away. While on our way to Chicago we traveled Interstate 94 headed west to Chicago. I wouldn't say that their is anything exceptionally exciting about I94 except for the fact that it gives you a lot of time to think. When I think about the life of my grandfather, Nolan Hilderbrand, a lot of thoughts come to my mind. When someone passess away you always think of a few things that characterize that individual which always seems to stand out in your mind. So, because of that, I would like to share a few things that have stood out in my mind about my grandfather.

Faithful - If there is anything that I can say it is that my grandfather had an understanding of what commitment actually means. He has been married to my grandmother for 50 some years and has always been a faithful husband and provider for her. He lived in Chicago, working to support his family and the Lord called him to pastor a small church in McHenry, IL just outside of Chicago. He has faithfully served this wonderful congregation through the joyful times, as well as the painful times, yet he has never given up on what he felt God had called for him to do. In the day that we live when over 50% of marriages end in divorce, I can honestly say that my grandfather was an example of what being a faithful husband is.

Informed - One thing that anybody that knew my grandfather would say is that he was the most informed man on any situation you could imagine. He liked to dig for information and was very unimpressed with the flashiness and glitz, but he would dig to find out any information that he could on any situation. If you needed advice on a situation, he always had information that made you wonder, Where did he hear that from? I think this curiosity that he had is probably the same gene that I received that displays itself as a thirst for knowledge. The day that we quit learning is the day that we start falling behind. It is so easy to stick with what is comfortable to us, but there has to be a constant push to strive to grow to be all that we can be. It is not so that we can boast in how wonderful we are, but when we quit growing and learning, we lose the ability to serve others to our maximum potential! Growing and hungering for knowledge is therefore less about us and our desires, but it is more about others!

Godly - My grandfather was a man that desired God. As I already mentioned, he was not into the instant gratification that has unfortunately worked it's way into the church world as well as the secular. He realized that there was something to be said about being consistent and diligent. He studiously would retreat to his study at the house to prepare for his messages, always desiring to bring something much deeper than personality to the pulpit, but he desired to bring the Word with him. I am honored to have had Nolan Hilderbrand as my grandfather and I pray that the lessons that he exampled with his life will spill over into the lives of those that have had the privilege to know him.

All of these observations should make us think about our own lives. As much as we do not like to think about it, death will happen to us all. For the Bible tells us, there is a time and season for all things. What will be said about me when I die? How can I begin to live out what I want to be known for today? I have learned something in life and that is, you must take the time today to be what you want to become. You will never be known for what you desire to be, but you will be known for what you are? What have you done today that will make an eternal impact? In this world that we live it is so easy to be caught up in the temporal that we forget the eternal. I challenge you to do something today that you have been wanting to do, but have put it off due to a numerous host of excuses. Pick up the phone and call. Send that email. Say the kind word to your spouse. Hug your children one more time. Take the time to go on that date with your spouse.

Life Without Power

This last week I have been witness to the effects of Hurricane Ike while in the state of Ohio. On sunday afternoon of this last week a powerful windstorm blew through the state at an unprecedented 80-90 mph. This destructive force uprooted trees, ripped vinyl siding off of homes, and stripped shingles off of roofs. One of the most profound things that this storm did was that it knocked the power out on almost half of the state of Ohio.

On Monday morning of this last week I desired a cup of coffee before I took on the day. The only problem is that there was no power because it had been knocked out by the windstorm. I knew immediately that this storm affected more than just the electricity in Columbus, but it affected the physche of everyone's mind. I went to McDonald's and waited in line for almost an hour for my cup of coffee. People had lost their patience and tempers immediately began to flare. I realized instantly how routine plays such a profound role in our mindset. Electricity affects so many obvious things in our lives, but the interesting thing is the unseen hidden things that we take for granted that electricity affects.

I am somewhat rambling today, because this has been an interesting week needless to say. Things are finally getting back to normal again as electricity is coming on one house at a time. I can't help but think of all that we take for granted when we live under the direction of the Holy Spirit. The Bible speaks of the Holy Spirit as being the comforter. The amount of peace that we have when we live under the power of God's presence is easily taken for granted. When I even briefly consider trying to live without the power of God's presence I could never imagine what life would be like. God's presence affects every aspect of my life, from the way that I treat relationships, my work philosophy, my stewardship. The easiest way to describe life without His presence would be to live life by going through the motions. Their is a substance that His presence gives to life that makes life worth living! Today, encourage yourself to not take his Presence for granted, but appreciate what He allows us to experience!

Element's of a Christ Follower

I read a book by Jentezen Franklin on Fasting that truly inspired me in a forceful way. Whenever you can read a book on fasting that will inspire you it automatically becomes a treasure to hold on to. I want to share a simple thought out of the book which impacted me and add a few thoughts of my own to it.

In Matthew chapter 6 Jesus was speaking to his followers and unapologeticly began to list three things that he assumed every Christ follower would be doing.

1. Matthew 6:2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms.... The first assumption that Jesus made was that his followers would be givers. There is nothing that I know that will release the power of God on something like giving. For the church to become what God wants them to be it is going to have to move into a dimension of releasing the resources that God has blessed us with. Notice who gave us the resources to begin with, God! If he has given them to us, then truly He can provide in times of need. I have heard a lot about the thought that possibly we are at a saturation point of giving in the church, but I do not believe that is true. I believe that people will give if they believe in the cause! Resources always follow vision, they do not precede it. Instead of focusing on saturation levels, lets focus on a greater vision! The assumption of Christ was that if you truly wanted to be a follower, you were going to be a giver! The call of God has always been to take up the cross and follow him. It is impossible to pick up a cross without first releasing things in your life! I have learned that the more I give, whether financially, or with my life, the greater the anointing that I walk in, for it becomes an issue of surrender.

2. Matthew 6:5 And when thou prayest... It was understood that those who followed Christ would understand the value of prayer. Prayer is the language of the soul. Prayer is nothing more than talking to God. How can we call ourselves followers of Him, without having a relationship with Him? How can we have a relationship with Him if we do not communicate with Him? We must be sensitive to the voice of the spirit if we are going to lead in the 21st century. The only way that the church will be viable in the world that we live in is if we are filled with spiritual potential and unction! We must be led by the Spirit. The way to be led by the Spirit is to spend time in His presence! When we spend time in His presence, His voice becomes very clear!

3. Mathew 6:16 Moreover, when ye fast.... Christ understood that there were certain things that could only be broken by the disicipline of fasting. Jesus exclaimed, This kind cometh out by much prayer and fasting! The disicpline of fasting is in many respects a lost art in our day and age. We live in such a consumeristic mentality that everything revolves around what we want and what makes us feel good. When we learn the discipline of fasting, we are acting out the prayer that John made when he said, more of you and less of me. Spiritual Authority flows through the discipline of fasting. The voice of God is much clearer when we have spent time fasting! Their are deeper dimensions that we can walk in when we learn to value those things that He valued!

Solomon spoke of the strength of a three fold cord not easily being broken. I believe when we couple the three elements that I have spoken of, giving, praying, and fasting, it will create a cord in the believer's life that will not easily be broken down. It will bind a church together that will make it a force that must be dealt with!

The Placebo Effect

I was listening to a popular medical radio program the other day when someone called in asking a question about Diet Pills and whether or not they really work. The doctor responded with a chuckle as he began to explain some fascinating research. I can not remember the exact research results that he gave, and I have not done a lot of research myself on this topic, but I can remember the main points which I will share with you.

The first thing he mentioned is that many of the diet pills that are on the market are nothing more than a placebo. A placebo is defined as a sugar pill, or as an inactive pill with no medicine contained inside of it.

The second thing that he mentioned is that studies have shown that the more that a placebo pill costs, the more effective the placebo pill is. Researches have done case studies to prove this point, the more something costs, the better it works.

Now, I could go a lot of different directions with this, but immediately I began to think of Christianity in America. Unfortunately I feel that many are offering nothing more than a 'placebo religion'. I would define a placebo religion as a religion that speaks to nothing deeper than our feelings, yet never produces the actual change that is required in the new birth experience. The scriptures say, Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. This scripture implies that in the new birth experience we are spiritually changed! It is more than just a 'feel good' experience, but there is something intrinsically different about us. When we fail to offer the new birth experience in it's entirety, we are offering a Christianity with no spiritual medication.

There is another principle that is interestingly discovered in the research surrounding the placebo affect. The more something costs, the more effective it is. In a world that is trying to make living for God easier than ever before by watering down certain beliefs, we must understand the principle that the more costly something is, the more power it has to change. In the scripture we find that Christ understood the cost associated with the New Birth Experience by spilling his own blood on Calvary according to Acts 20:28. It was not a cheap price, but it cost something very dear, His own life. How can we, as 21st Century Christians expect to get by on anything less but total surrender to Christ? To think that it is even possible to be in good standing with Him without surrendering everything to Him is purely a humanistic religion. The scripture still speaks for us to take up our cross and follow him. The cross many times seems cumbersome. It costs us a lot to rearrange our lives around the cross, yet being a disciple of Christ is not living out of convenience, but it is living out of surrender!

Many are searching for nothing more than the Placebo Effect. The signs of it are everywhere in our day. Churches want a large crowd whether lives are really being changed or not. People want the resurrection experience without dying on the cross. We want the promises in scripture without the discipline of walking in biblical principles. Lord, help us to communicate a message that truly changes an individual by going deeper than simple feelings, into the actual flesh of the heart! When Christ comes back, he is not coming for a church that feels good, but He is coming for a Church that has been washed in the blood of the Lamb.

Is There A Cause?

There has been a flurry of political news that is streaming across all forms of media in a monumental election this year. Although politics is not my specialty, I do enjoy keeping up on current events that are happening in our country. I was listening to the speech that Hillary Clinton gave at the Democratic National Convention on tuesday night and I felt as though she did a wonderful job. It was a difficult speech to give, seeing that she rightfully deserved at best being the Democratic Pick for President and at worst the Vice Presidential Candidate, but she was not considered for either. She went to the podium and began to deliver her speech. The task at hand was to get those who had been loyal to her campaign for president to move beyond feelings of sorrow and hurt surrounding her standing and create a vision to get them to buy into Barack Obama for President.

Midway through Hillary's speech she began to speak directly to her voters by asking a question. That question was simply, "Do you believe in me as a person and idea or do you believe in the Democratic Cause?" This was a question that was trying to pierce through all of the fog into the issue at hand. Hillary was trying to get people to look beyond the past and move the Democratic Cause forward.

As I began to think of this speech my mind progressed immediately to the thought of personality as opposed to cause. Why do we do what we do in our local churches? Are we driven by personality, social status, agenda? or are we driven by the cause? David asked the question of those surrounding him, " Is there not a cause? Every organization is at best one generation away from becoming extinct. The question of sustainability within the marketplace is simply lifting the rally cry for the cause and nothing less. It is the cause that brings proper motivation to a movement.

Although God has called the church to be built around His personality, many times we become guilty of building our own kingdoms, feeling as though we are pursuing His kingdom. Leading a church by personality or agenda will result in factions within the body of Christ that can not have sustainable growth! Jesus told Peter, Upon this rock I will build my church. He was directly speaking to the foundation of the church, which is Christ. With a foundation that is solidly in place we must unashamadely pursue forward by clearly atriculating the cause of Christ!

Although polictics is it's own animal with a lot of differing opinions and views on issues I believe there is much that the church can learn. To successful lead a country, you must move beyond just having people buy into the candidate, but they must also believe in the cause. As a church, we must move beyond just getting people to buy into us as leaders, but we must frequently communicate the cause of Christ, because that is the revolution that Christ has called us to partake in.

Clear Vision

The other day as our family was headed down the interstate to our next service I began to hear a yelp and scream from the back of the truck. When Jessica looked in the back seat she realized that the screaming was coming from our youngest son, Gentry. Gentry's face was bright red and tears were streaming down his face. As any eight month old child would respond, you could easily tell that something was really irritating him. We noticed that what was causing the blurred vision, the red face, and the huge crocodile tears was none other than a small eyelash that had somehow worked its way into his eyes and was irritating it. In that moment he could not do anything but respond to this irritant in his life.

I have traveled the country and been in a lot of different church environments and I have come to understand the wisdom found in the passage of scripture which says .... without a vision the people parish. Just as my eight month old son quickly discovered that the smallest things can blur vision, I have found that in the church it is normally not the big things that derail God's kingdom, but many times it is the small things. One small irritant in the church can derail the whole body's vision. It can produce a lack of focus in the body that will uproot what God has truly called the church to accomplish. It appears that many times we have faith to believe God for the impossible things that stand before us, but it is the things within the realm of everyday life, the small irritants, that we learn to cope with that eventually blur our vision and detour us from the destiny that God has called us to. As a church body we must be careful to protect vision. The skilled craftsman understands that when he is working on creating a beautful sculpture that one of the most important things that he does is where protective glasses. The church must understand that what God has called us to do is to form and transform lives. In this process many times little shards will fly out and potentially blur the vision of God's calling on His body. We need to protect the vision that God has called us to by putting on the whole armor of God. Realize that even the small irritants of life have the potential to blur vision. We must focus ourselves on fulfilling the vision that God has called us to. I am happy to say that when Gentry was able to work the eyelash out of his eye the crying stopped and he was back to normal. We need to allow the water of the Holy Spirit to flush out any irritants in our lives to renew vision and focus to the Church.

A New Generation

In my travels I am periodically greeted with a sigh of relief and renewed passion from men and women who are my elders. It appears that there is an enormous concern from some that we are at a transitional point in the church world which will define the future of the Body of Christ. There is the notion that there are few young men and women that are willing to sacrifice and answer the call into the ministry as our predecessors have. I understand the concern of the generation before mine, but I feel very optimistic about the future of the church. A very similar feeling was prevelant in Paul's day and Paul hit this head on with his admonition to Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:11-16.

These things command and teach. Let no man despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity, until I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them; that thy profiting may appear to all. take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that heard thee. KJV

First off we discover that Paul admonished them to not only command, but also teach. If we are to have a succesful transition from one generation to another it must be taught. There must be instruction to both age groups on how to deal with one another. Whenever there is transition there will be changes that occur which can add tension, but the way to successfully transition is through education and open communication. As long as the core values of the organization are not changing it can be succesfully transitioned.

The admonition was to not despise youth, but rather raise the bar for youth to become the example. In the generation that is arising we must understand the clear cut differences than in a previous generation. We must give young people a cause that they can believe in. David cried, is there not a cause? Today, if we succesfully cast God given vision that is bigger than we are, then young people will be happy to join the vision. Youth in a church should not be viewed as black sheep, or those who have unrealistic expectations, but I believe the youth of a church can become examples of students of the Word, in conversation, in charity or love, in spirit, in acts of faith, as well as purity!

Now, before young people get to excited about being empowered to think that everything should be quickly handed over to them to transition to a new generation, notice the safeguard that the Apostle Paul stated. Paul asked the youth to give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Basically what Paul was saying is that there are things that are required of a generation if they want to be the examples for a new generation. We can not expect the baton to be handed off just simply because of age issues, but through disciplined actions of reading, studying and listening our profit will become evidenced to all. This is the natural progression of things. In verse 16 Paul says to take heed, or be cautious about your actions, adhere to core doctrines and continue in them.

I truly believe that the best days of the church are ahead. Every generation has been concerned about the generation following them with good reason. We must make this a matter of prayer. Until we are willing to believe in youth and give them oppurtunity, youth will never rise to the challenge! Instead of wondering why youth do not step up to the plate, why don't we begin to embrace youth with love and slowly give them oppurtunity to grow into who God has called for them to be! In doing this we allow them to become a part of what God is doing as opposed to making them feel as though they can not be used by God until they have achieved some invisible mark of spiritual success.

Lessons Learned from Michael Phelps

Over the last few weeks the world has been watching in awe as the Beijing Olympics are in full force. Every day that I get online to check my email, I find Olympic updates and it appears that there has been an obsession surrounding news on Michael Phelps and the US swim team. Michael Phelps has not only become an American icon, but he has also become an international olympic legend by now winning 16 olympic medals, 8 of those being at the Beijing Olympics. I was intrigued by the story of Michael Phelps because of the enormity of the task before him. It is so easy for us to focus on what was accomplished by Michael Phelps and praise him, but I guarantee that most of the world had never even heard his name until a few weeks ago. My mind began to think of the scripture in 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 which says... Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: but I keep under my body and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be castaway. KJV

The lessons learned from the story of Michael Phelps can easily be compared to the church. Here are some observations that we must consider.

1. Michael Phelps has spent years of his life dedicated to training. Training is what prepared him for the race that would allow him to achieve his medals. Without the years of disciplined training Michael Phelps would have never acquired the prize. We must understand as a church that we do rely on God to bring increase, but we must dedicate ourselves in disciplined training to run the race that God has called us to. The scriptures admonish us to study to show ourselves approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. Unfortunately many times we feel ill equipped to accomplish what God wants because we have never invested the time into disciplined training in the word and Spirit. The misunderstanding that we have is that the race made Michael Phelps a champion, but really all the race did was reveal the champion that all ready existed. I feel that there is a need for us to discipline ourselves to become students of the Word and the Spirit! The scriptures tell us that in the book of Acts when the church grew, the word grew! There are deeper dimensions that God is calling us to if we are to possess all that God has for us! God, help us not to miss out on what you have for us because of our lack of desire to discipline ourselves in your Word!

2.In order for Michael Phelps to achieve world records in medals he had to rely upon his teamates in the relay race. No matter how much training and discipline Michael had worked on there came a point when he had to simply wait and watch his team perform. The way that the relay race works is that each teammate is given one lap using the swim stroke that they are best at performing with the fastest time winning. The scriptures tell us to forsake not the assembling of ourselves together. In the body of Christ we have to learn that God will function through His body! We are all given specific tasks in the body of Christ. We have to rely upon our brothers and sisters to fulfill their function in the body of Christ if we are going to function properly! The five fold ministry must be in operation if we are to see an apostolic move of the Holy Ghost! Our structure will determine our strength. If we allow the Church to be structured as God would have it, with each one relying on the other, it will strengthen us together! It is not all about our individual kingdoms, but it is upon building His Kingdom! God is not coming back for a church, but He is coming back for the church. We do ourselves a disservice when we dismiss functions in the body of Christ! Lord, help us restore apostolic structure!

The Only Constant

There has been a crisp feeling in the air over the last few days with temperatures in the morning time at 50 degrees. My mind has immediately began to race to the thought that we are about to enter into a brand new season, fall. Fall represents so many new and wonderful things but I think the biggest realization is that change is coming. I heard a quote once which says, " The only constant in life is.... change." I have found this statement to be true, not only in my personal world, but also in the spiritual world. In my own life I realize that every day represents a change in me. My weight fluctuates from one day to the next. My youthful appearance, which I appreciate right now will one day change and give way to grey hair, possibly even hair that falls out of my head, Yikes! My children seem to change on a daily basis. I have looked at Reese and Gentry before on one day and by the next day it appears that they have grown a full inch. In our daily lives we look at change in a lot of different ways, some good and some bad. I can remember even at my young age going to college and only a small percentage of young people had cell phones, but now you probably could not enter into a high school without at least 90 % of teenagers owning a phone. There is no denying that the world is changing at a rapid pace.

One of the things that I have determined in my life is to embrace change, yet I have discovered it is much easier said than done. Although I believe the mantra of the church should be to constantly preach for changed lives, I also think that we must be careful that we understand what kind of change we are pushing for. If we are not careful we will be shooting at a moving target and not really realizing what we are aiming for. We must be careful to realize that though methods may change, we serve a God that is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Sometimes pausing for a moment to ask a simple question can revolutionize the way we operate. Asking a question such as, Where Are We Going? or What Do We Want This to Look Like When It Is Done? These are questions that can alleviate a lot of frustration from those who are trying to help realize the dreams in their lives. I read a quote from Henry George that I felt was thought provoking, it says, " There is danger in reckless change; but greater danger in blind conservatism." Are there dangers when we begin to change the way things have been done for 50 years? Absolutely! Yet we can not be naive to think that if we hit the pause button time will mystically stand still. There are great dangers to our congregations if we think that we can enable time to stand still and not touch the generation that we live in. The message of the Gospel is relevant, even in the 21st Century. The scriptures tell us of David that he was a man that served his generation by the will of God. There is a call that goes out to men and women that hunger to reach this generation by the will of God. We may think that what worked for another generation will work for this one, but I believe God has a specific will that we are to follow if we want to reach a new generation! God, in an ever changing world, will help us to present a never changing Gospel! What is God calling you to change in your life that you have been fearful of because it is tradition? Remember, if God is calling you to change you must surrender and forge ahead by holding onto his unchanging hand.

Things that Profit

As I was casually grazing through the scriptures today I came across a scripture that stuck out to me as though it was in bold print. The scripture says in Jeremiah 2:8 The priests said not, Where is the Lord? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit. Although there is a lot going on in this passage of scripture, the thing that leaped out to me is how God categorized what these prophets were doing was that they were making investments into things that do not profit. How many times does it appear that we strive to make investments into things only for them to turn out in the end not producing profit. Although we understand the principle of investment and return in the monetary realm, it is a principle which holds true in every area of life.

Think about the things that you do on a daily basis. Do you spend a good amount of time throughout your day making investments into something, or do you spend an inordinate amount of time making withdrawals. Take it even a step further, are the investments that you feel you are making being placed into things that will profit? Sometimes it is difficult to measure our profit, we have a tendency to look at the now rather than the eternal to gauge our profit, but in God's economy the eternal far outweighs the temporary.

It would be good for us to take inventory periodically over some critical areas in our lives to see if we are investing into things that will profit or if we are chasing ideas that will not produce positive results in our lives, or even worse, that these things we are investing in will lead us away from God, as in the case in the scripture that we read.

As a spouse am I taking the time to listen and respond to the needs of my spouse. Are there healthy deposits being placed into my marriage. Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is take time out to go on a date with your wife, because without a healthy marriage your ministry will suffer long term.

As a parent do I lose my temper in the frustrating moments, not realizing that those are moments that make a withdrawal out of our children's emotional piggy bank. It is not the large gifts and the amount of money that is spent on a child that bring about profits in your children, but it is in those consistent moments of time spent together throughout the years of their growing from childhood to adolescence to adulthood.

As a minister, am I spending all of my time trying to produce results and fix things, constantly working, but never feeling as though I am achieving? The true things that will bring profit to any child of God are time spent with Him. It is seasons of prayer and times of solitude with Him that will ultimately produce ministerial profit.

As we begin to consider the actions that we take on a daily basis under the thought of eternal profit, it would amaze us how much in life produces anger, frustration, resentment and jealousy, yet they are things that will not produce eternal profit. Lord, help us to focus on investing into those things that produce eternal profit!

Creating Culture

Culture is such a powerful tool in shaping the paradigms that people possess. I grew up overseas as a Missionary Kid and I have discovered that the older that I become the more the thoughts that ramble through my mind have been shaped by the myriad of experiences I have been through. Being exposed to the poverty in the Philippines has created an incredible understanding of seeing through the fog of materialism that resides in so many in the United States. Living in Eastern Europe has helped me to appreciate a thirst for knowledge and history. There is a hunger to understand where people are coming from, for we are products of our experiences in life. All of this has become the culture of my life. I can't help but think about the calling that God has placed upon the Church to reach a lost and dying world. I heard a term coined a while ago that stood out to me as profound yet simple. A post modern term that we could use for missionary is nothing more than a Cultural Architect. Culture will dictate response. If someone is from an abusive background, the culture of their life will reflect how they treat relationships unless an intervention takes place. That is exactly what the work of the Church is all about. We are called to create culture! It is amazing to think that we possess the ability to create culture. The Bible says that we were made in the image of God. One of the things that separates us from the animal kingdom is our ability to create! Far to often I have seen the church sit back and allow circumstances to dictate culture, but we are called to create culture! Far to many of us allow life to happen to us instead of us creating the life we are called to! Revival does not just happen, but it is birthed out of someone taking the time and energy to create culture through spiritual warfare. That is what intercessory prayer is, creating culture in the spirit realm long before we ever step foot into the natural arena. I believe that one of the deficiencies of the 21st century church is our lack of understanding into the power that we possess to create culture in the Spirit. We show up hoping that God will move. We place time and energy into the production, but we lack the investment into creating culture! God, help us move into the dimension to understand that we possess the power to create culture that will shape the destiny of the church!
When I was a pastor I learned a principle that was rather humbling, Creating buzz and excitement from the pulpit bring temporary energy, but it will not sustain and change culture. Becoming a true cultural architect requires an understanding of a slow, methodical, and intentional process that we go through! For example, to create the culture of embracing a burden for world missions in a church, it requires exposure to missions opportunities. It has to be more than a one time rally cry for missions, but people have to internalize responsibility for culture to be created and sustained! I will blog more on this later, but for now think about how you can create culture in your world today! In what dimension of your life do you need to change the culture that exists and skillfully create a new culture?

What Do You Think?

The brain is such a powerful tool in realizing things in our lives. There are a lot of different thoughts concerning the power of positive thinking which I believe hold a lot of validity. What we choose to set our minds on will not necessarily change what happens to us, but it will change our outlook on things. The scripture says to set your mind on things above! There is something about us directing our thoughts on the things of God that holds power in our lives. David said in Psalm 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. The art of meditation is nothing more than learning how to direct your thoughts. As children of God we must learn to direct our thoughts, for the battle for our soul is fought in the mind.

While on deputation I have learned to appreciate the power of disciplining my thought life even more than ever. There are so many unexpected circumstances that come my way on a daily basis that it is impossible to prepare for them physically. I am in new surroundings on a daily basis. I am with new people and new personalities on a daily basis. All of these realities present challenges and rewards. What I have discovered though is that the way to prepare ourselves for the new obstacles that we face is through preparing our thought life. If I approach every day with a positive outlook, it could change the way that my day goes. How many days in our lives have we felt like have been a waste not because of what happened, but because of the way that we approached them in our thoughts! You will typically find what you are looking for! If you expect an experience to be a bad one, you will key in to find something bad. If you expect a great time, you will mentally look for positive things. I encourage you to approach today by setting your mind on the things of God, you may be surprised how much He shows up throughout the day if you Think of Him.

Knowing Him

The greatest pursuit in life is to know God. Having a knowledge of Him will result in us fulfilling His will. It is impossible to please Him if we do not know Him. The scripture says that Paul cried out, That I may know Him! With all of the great pursuits in Paul's life, the greatest was the knowledge of Him. One philospher has phrased this term, Knowledge is Power. In the spiritual realm, knowledge of God releases His power in your life. So, how do I know Him? Well, as I was reading the scriptures the other day something stood out to me very strongly. In 1 John 2:4 the Bible says, He that saith, I know him and keepeth not his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. According to this scripture there is a correlation in the knowledge of Him and our obedience to His commandments. Also, when you read 1 John 4:7 the scripture says, Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. So, we also find that when we love, we know God. So, to know God requires several things, keeping His commandements as well as loving, for God is love. The two of these concepts were tied together by John in 1 John 5:2-3 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. So, we are commanded to love, but the first action of love is to keep his commandments. Therefore, the pursuit of knowledge begins with simple obedience motivated by Love. That is what Christ exampled for us on the cross. Obedience unto death, motivated properly by Love! To find the deep dimensions of God we must be motivated properly by Love and our pursuit begins with simple obedience to His Word! We can not go against the Word and find the depths of God! May our soul cry out as Paul's did, That I may Know Him!

The Most Important Ministry

I have now been an official "Missionary" now for about 3 months and I have discovered some interesting paradigms that exist throughout our culture. As is always the case with humans, we have a tendancy to put varying titles and levels into everything that we do. I think one reason we do this is because we like to feel that what we are doing is the most important thing that can be done. We designate callings into Foreign Missions, Home Missions, Pastors, Evangelists, and even within these designations you find different levels and degrees. When we study the scriptures we will find that the most important thing that anyone can do is to do what God has called them to do. If God has called us to be a pastor in a community of 1,000 people, that is the most important thing that we can do. If God has called you to be a pastor in a metropolitan area of 5 million, that is the most important thing you can do. We will be judged with what God has given us to do, not by what we think sounds important. The truth of the matter is, Foreign Missions and Metro Missions would not be possible without many people answering the call to Pastor in the communities that they have been called to. I have been refreshed to see the excitement in many of the Pastors that I have been around when they talk about reaching their communities! We are all called to be missionaries in the culture and context that God has called us to. The scripture says in Acts 1:8 that we will be witnesses after the Holy Ghost has come upon us. There are no designations or degrees, we just find that God has called us to be witnesses! I challenge you to approach your day today as a missionary with a calling to reach the world! The way that you win the world is one soul at a time. It makes no difference where that soul is from and what culture they are from, every soul counts with God!

Simple Math - We Need More Churches!

We left the state of New Hampshire this morning, and we arrived into the state of Connecticut. We are going to be basing out of the church in Waterbury Connecticut this week. We drove right through Hartford Connecticut on the way here, and I do have to say, my heart almost skipped a beat when I saw the beautiful skyline of this magnificent city. There are a few churches in Hartford, but I gaurantee they could use some more. There is such a hunger in me that wells us when I begin to think of the millions of people in our cities that are not being reached. There is a reason why McDonald's does not enter a city and build one mega McDonald's per city, but instead they choose to have numerous ones throughout a community. The more points of entrance there are, the better chance to reach people. I am not against large churches, because I believe Apostolic Churches should be the largest churches in a community, but I also believe that we have to become kingdom minded and begin to think about how effectively we are reaching our communities. What would happen if we could plant 100 churches per 1 million people. That would still leave us with having only 1 church per 10,000 people. The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few! If there has ever been a day to aggresively evangelize our world, it is today!

Hiding From God

I have been thinking about what the scriptures say in Genesis 3:8-11. There are so many things to contemplate in the story of Adam and Eve, but what I have considered interesting is how the scriptures say that Adam and Even would walk with God in the garden that He had created for them. There are places that God has created just for us that we can have perfect fellowship and communion with Him. The Bible says that Adam and Eve noticed after they had eaten of the fruit of the tree that God had commanded them against eating,that they realized that they were naked and they responded by trying to hide from God's presence. When we come in perfect communion with Him it begins to expose who we really are. One thing we realize is that if God is omniscient, He all ready knew that Adam and Eve had sinned, yet He still chose to come down to commune with them in the Garden. Not only did He come, but he called for them and searched for them. Man's natural response when they make a mistake is to go into hiding and that is exactly what Adam and Eve did. God did not excuse their sin, but the very thing that would bring forgiveness and healing to their situation would be to come into the presence of God, yet that is what they were trying to avoid. Let me encourage you today to tell you that if you need help, God has created a place of consecration for you. It is a place that He comes to visit with mankind, in spite of our fallacies. He is searching and calling for us,but many times we miss the healing that is needed because we hide from His presence. It would do us well to understand what even Jonah had to learn, you can not run from God, for His eyes are over all the earth seeking out the affairs of men. When we try to run from God, we must understanding that He is seeking for us to restore relationship with us! Hiding from His presence will only make things worse, but when we come to Him, forgiveness and restoration can be found!

An Enormous Burden

It is hard to estimate exactly what God can do through people. It is unthinkable that the God of the universe would entrust the most precious message to human beings, yet that is exactly what God has chosen to do. We are still in the beautiful state of Maine on deputation, and I have been very encouraged by the churches that we have visited while in Maine. I have discovered several things while in the state. We have 40 United Pentecostal Churches in the state and the state's population is about 1.9 million people. Obviously the state of Maine needs more churches, but it brings into perspective the burden that the Lord has placed in our hearts to plant a church in the Cleveland Metropolitan Area. The Cleveland Area has a population of 2.9 million people, that is more than 1 million more people than the whole state of Maine. In Acts 1:8 the scriptures say that we would receive the Holy Ghost and be endued with power from on high to be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, and the uttermost parts of the earth! According to Bro. TF Tenney, the smallest thing that God has called us to reach is a city! We feel that the Lord is going to do strategic things to change the spiritual climate in the cleveland metropolitan area! We have a handful of churches for 2.9 million people! Pray that we speed through deputation to get to our city of calling! Every day longer it takes us, we are losing oppurtunities to reach people!

Fun on the Road

Well, this week has been quite an interesting week. We bought a brand new fifth wheel trailer to start our travels to raise funds for our church plant and we are all ready having a lot of fun with the trailer. We had to go 4 days without electricity last week because the converter blew on our trailer. It was a manufactuering issue evidently. We discovered what had went wrong, but could not get it fixed until yesterday due to last week being a holiday weekend. When we finally got the trailer fixed we were pulling out of the RV Service Center and our truck starting making some strange noise as well as it started spewing out black smoke. So, I called a ford diesel truck dealer and I am going to take it in to have it looked at today. I am going to have to rent a vehicle for a few days while they are figuring out what is going on with it. So, pray for us. We are under quite a bit of stress trying to get all of these issues resolved. Also, the financial stress is quite fun as well. We will be in service tonight in Portland, Maine. Pray that we have a great move of God. Portland is a beautiful city. I was very pleased when I found out we would be in service there.

An Adventure in Maine

We are in the beautiful state of Maine, and we have been having some wonderful services. I have not blogged in a while because unfortunately we had some issues with the converter in our fifth wheel, so we are Lord willing getting it fixed tomorrow. It has cost us $800 in diesel fuel this last week to get here from Ohio, so pray that fuel costs will go down, but we have been experiencing a great move of God. We were in Bar Harbor on Sunday morning in the beautiful Accadia National Park. There is a wonderful church Pastored by Bro. Cox, the Home Missions Director of Maine. They had over 100 people in service. It was a great time being with them. Sunday night we were with Bro. and Sis. Hurst in Bangor Maine. Our families have known each other for quite some time, so it was nice being with them. So far the support for planting a church in the city of Cleveland has been enormous. It is so exciting to see what God is doing in people's hearts as we together work to build the kingdom of God!