Scott Miller Blog :: Good Stuff

Why…a Local Church?

I'd like to take some time over the next week (or week's) to bring you in on some of our 'Why' discussion this past weekend at the LT retreat. Today, we start with 'Why the local church'?

Holy cow…you could come from a lot of different angles here…let me take a stab Biblically…

I think the greatest reason for the local church is b/c that's the New Testament model we see! We see this as the model Paul used throughout the book of Acts. You go to a community, start a church, appoint Elders/Overseer's, and there you go. Paul didn't start soup kitchens, outreach ministries, Bible Colleges, etc., he started churches. He knew that if people were really going to accomplish the great commission and great commandment, it would have to be done through a local church. More on this in a previous post…

The local church provides/facilitates a place for 5 things to happen that we also see exampled in the NT church:

1. Fellowship
2. Discipleship
3. Evangelism
4. Ministry
5. Worship

I could say a whole lot more about this, but I'll save my typing for further Why's!

My Big Mouth

I've been thinking on something ever since I shared a message on the subject this past summer…My mouth is powerful! Has very little to do with whether I just ate garlic or not…and everything to do with what's in my heart, that's coming out of my mouth!

Proverbs 18:21 says, "The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit." The power of life and death? Are you serious?

The Book of James compares our tongue/mouth to a boats rudder as it guides our lives…or as a fire that can destroy our life or the lives of others…or as a spring of water – pointing to the fact that stuff just doesn't come out of our mouth on accident – it flows directly out of our heart.

"Oh, I didn't mean to say that…" Yep, you did. You allowed something in your heart to fester and camp out…and unfortunately, you lacked the self control to stop it from coming out of your mouth!

Believe you me, I've been there, done that, bought the t-shirt and the underoo's (remember those things when you were a kid?...I think I had The Dukes of Hazard underoo's).

You're not a loser if you struggle with this…in fact, the book of James says in essence that if any of us say we don't struggle with our mouths we are fooling ourselves!

Be determined this week to let only those things that are profitable and life-giving to come out of your mouth! The next time something negative starts to come out, just begin to thank God for the opposite to come out of the situation. Speak out of faith, not out of fear…speak life, not death.

I think there might be another message brewing in this thought somewhere….

Before Goliath, there was a lion and a bear

Most are familiar with the story of David and Goliath (1 Samuel 17). As I studied it last week, something jumped out at me...before there ever was a Goliath, there was a lion and a bear.

Before God ever had David take out the ugly Goliath, he had him take out a lion and a bear. When that lion came and stole one of the sheep in his fold, he ran after it and killed the thing. The same thing is inferred concerning the bear.

Thought – There are times when God allows us to go through battles with the lion and the bear, in order to prepare us for the final battle with Goliath! It stinks, but it's true. (notice the use of the preferred 'stinks'…I cannot yet bring myself to use the word 'sucks,' which is apparently now an ok Christian swear word…so for now, and in the future, I plan on sticking with 'stinks'…thanks for allowing me to air my personal feelings on the 's' word) He loves us too much to just throw us out at Goliath, so he walks with us, building our faith every step of the way!

Some of you are struggling every time a lion or a bear shows up, you engage, but then run. It's too hard of a fight. It's too hard of a battle. But the truth is, until you get past your lion and your bear, you'll never get victory over your Goliath. STOP RUNNING from it – engage it – allow God and other followers of Jesus to walk with you through it – get past it – and see your spiritual growth multiply in one season!

I know what a few of the lions and bears are in my life right now, what are yours? You pray about it…just see how the Lord leads you…

Big Spiritedness

One true description of church life is that at times we've been too narrow-minded. Not necessarily theologically, but experientially. For example, we may preach the Gospel is for all, but experientially, sometimes we limit it to people like us only. Or, we may say all are welcome to our church, but what about the one's who's lifestyle is one that goes directly against Scripture? Are they still welcome to attend, and continue to attend, even though they haven't given their lives over to Christ's leadership yet?

Or what about the difference of opinion on a subject amongst followers of Christ…think about this – some believers have chosen not to have a TV in their home, but yet some believers have rooms specifically built in their home for watching TV! Who's right and who's wrong? Who's sinning and who's holy?

I think 1 Corinthians gives us what we need…

1 Corinthians 10:23"Everything is permissible"—but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible"—but not everything is constructive. 24Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.

We talk about it this way…3 Questions:

1)    What about God? If God's word speaks clearly about it (adultery, murder, gossip, etc.), then it's a no brainer…we follow Scripture to the 'T'!

2)    What about Me? What are my personal, Holy Spirit led, convictions on the subject? This is a challenge b/c it takes great spiritual maturity to walk in this. "What about Me" means that I may be convicted about something that you may not be convicted about! Or the other way around.

3)    What about Them? What about the new believer? What about the person who has yet to come to Christ? If I'm really supposed to be living for "the good of others," then they've got to work into the equation concerning my actions.

Just b/c I'm "free" to do something doesn't mean it's constructive or beneficial!

Conflict brings Growth

Just read this over at Tim Stevens blog:

Change. Conflict. Growth. That's the sequence. Many people won't change. Or they do change and then stop at the conflict, and they never experience the growth. – Ed Young at the Story conference in Chicago today.

I see wisdom in this…I think many of us get in the conflict and bolt before it's ever resolved, or just pretend it went away…then we never reach the point of growth! A few months, years later, the circle repeats itself.

I see this tendency in marriage, other relationships, church life, everywhere!

God’s presence – is it really all we need?

I was listening to a message from Paul Scanlon today, and something he said really sunk in…in essence, this is his thoughts, with mine mixed in:

I've grown up in the charismatic/Pentecostal circles, and am very glad for this! I'm glad the part of the Godhead called the Holy Spirit was not neglected in my Christian experience. But there is something that at times has confused me…it's this thought… "all we need is the presence of God."

Moses spent 40 days on Mt. Sinai with the Lord (Exodus 24:18), in God's presence. Scripture says the glory of the Lord settled on Mt. Sinai where Moses was. Now, I've been in some pretty powerful church services where I know I sensed the presence and the glory of the Lord…but I'm not so sure they even compared to the experience of Moses! What an amazing time Moses had with the Lord! Exodus 34 says that when Moses came down from the mountain, his face was radiant…it was glowing…b/c he had been in the presence of the Lord.

Now, this is where I think it gets interesting…follow me…after Moses had spent nearly 6 weeks in God's presence…maybe what we charismatic's would call the mother of all glory-fests…no amount of glory could cause Moses to live without fault. Seriously, check out scripture. Was it not Moses that threw down the tablets (Exodus 32:19) that God himself had written upon (Exodus 32:16)? I know that some would write this off as righteous anger, but was it really righteous? Or was it just anger? Look at the rest of Moses' life. There were times when he lost patience…there were times when he even disobeyed God (and paid dearly for it)!

Bottom line…I'm not so sure all we need is the presence of God. What we need is a resolve in our spirit, soul, and body to live right before God. We need a commitment to God and each other that we will conquer whatever the sin issue may be, or character issue may be. Then we call upon the name of the Lord and allow His presence to empower us to do what we have decided to do! Is this not what Philippians 2:12 is talking about when it says to "continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling"? We play a huge role in this as well! It's not either or, the presence – or – our own will, it's both and!

I have experienced, and pray I will continue to experience, powerful times in the presence of God. But perhaps it's time we stop looking for a quick blast of his presence to bring the miracle/spiritual growth we need, and as Philippians says, work out our own salvation. We need to make the decision to walk out our faith in the way Jesus would, and trust his presence and power will help us to accomplish this task! It's got to start in our heart though. We've got to make the decision towards growth, and then He will send His presence to empower us to walk it out! What do you think?

Meeting

Another thought from Acts 2…

Meeting – Verse 46 says "everyday they continued to meet together in the temple courts" and "They broke bread in their homes." It's balance. As I walk through this R3: Commitments of the Real series right now, I am reminded that coming together with other believers is not only important, but absolutely necessary! I think the big question for all of us is how much coming together is enough? For some, they feel like Sunday morning alone is enough…ugh…I'm not sure about that. It seems to me there needs to be a deeper level of "together" then that. For others, Sunday morning, a LG, and a monthly prayer mtng doesn't feel like enough. Where's the balance in all of this?

I'm wondering…maybe the balance can be measured not by when I feel like I've had enough (b/c let's face it – enough is often dictated by what enough was when we grew up in church, or what we saw grandma Girty do and there is a thought that if I want to be as spiritual as her, I've got to do that too), but by the output of my life? After all, the end product of mtng together isn't just to beef up spiritually, it's to "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have" (1 Peter 3:15). Am I adequately prepared to do such?

One last thought…I'm not going to rehash it all, but Matt Chandler had some great thoughts on discipleship at a conference I was at this past spring. I'm still wondering/pondering if and how Pathway is doing in the mechanical arena of discipleship.

Your thoughts?

Devoted

I was reading through Acts 2 this morning and this jumped out at me…

Devoted – Verse 42 says that these new disciples of Jesus "devoted themselves to the apostles teaching" (KJV – "continued steadfastly"). Every time I've read this in the past I typically get a feeling that they did this together. They spent time together studying and working through the same teachings that we devour today! My thoughts though turn to what role individual study played into this? Devoted or continued steadfastly would mean that it wasn't just something they thought about when they were together, but it enveloped their lives. How did these new disciples devote themselves to the apostles teaching in an everyday, on your own, sort of way?

Your thoughts?

3 Types of People

I heard Brian Houston say this once…

There are 3 types of people:

1. People that watch what is happening
2. People who make things happen
3. People who haven't got a clue what is happening

For too long many in the church have lived our lives not having a clue what is happening around us, outside of our church world. I know that's kind of a far reaching/sweeping comment about the state of the church, but I'm convinced of it. That's why R3. We are tackling this over the next few Sunday mornings. Listen to the first week here…

Local Church – The Hope of the World

"The local church is the hope of the world!" – Bill Hybels

When the Apostle Paul set out to reach, win, and disciple as many as possible to Jesus, he started local churches. Yesterday, I was reminded of this again as I sat with a group of Middlebury pastors in a mtng. It was anything but a gripe session…just a gut level check of where we are all at in our respective ministries for Jesus. Ministry is painful at times. You have your ups and downs. But how amazing to know that God is not going to leave us hanging because you and I are a part of the hope of the World – the LOCAL CHURCH!

I believe it…I see it in the Word…have you caught it?

Psalms 92:12-15

12 The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,

they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;

13 planted in the house of the LORD,

they will flourish in the courts of our God.

What are we missing here?

Warning…a pastors ranting and raving follows…

Is the Bible not God's Word? Is God's Word not Truth? Does God's Word lie? Aren't follower's of Jesus able to drive out demons anymore? What about speaking in new tongues? What about walking in divine protection, without it hurting us at all? What about you and I laying our hands on sick people and seeing them set free from their sickness? Is this promise not for us? Have we misplaced this last chapter of Mark, along with the whole book of Acts? What are we missing here?

Thus ends a pastors ranting and raving…

Mark 16:14 ¹⁴Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen. ¹⁵He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation. ¹⁶Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. ¹⁷And these signs will accompany those who believe: In my name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; ¹⁸they will pick up snakes with their hands; and when they drink deadly poison, it will not hurt them at all; they will place their hands on sick people, and they will get well."

Legacy of Faith Thoughts

I wanted to run the main thoughts from yesterday's message past you again…take time this week to pray through each point and its corresponding verse…

What will my life continue to say after I'm gone?

1 Corinthians 13:13 (NLT) ¹³Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love. 

• It's a grounded faith

1 Corinthians 2:2 ²For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.

Ephesians 2:8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 
not by works, so that no one can boast. 

• It's a genuine faith

Matthew 6:7-8 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.

• It's a going faith

James 2:26 ²⁶As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

• It's a growing faith

Revelation 3:16 ¹⁶So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

Legacy of Faith

Ugh…it's been a dreary couple of days. Since a Thursday morning wakeup call from the Middlebury Police Department, informing me of Zac TenBrook's passing, it's been a focus of my thoughts and time. My 'load' doesn't even compare to the heavy hearts of Doug, Kim, Michael, Derrek, and Chelsea TenBrook. Please keep praying for their loss…

Sharing part 2 of the Legacy message this Sunday (Oct. 4^th). Last week was a Legacy of Love, this week is a Legacy of Faith.

Here's the question - What will my life continue to say after I'm gone?

Hope to see you tomorrow…

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 Mirror

I challenged you to do this in my message last Sunday…act as though your computer screen is a mirror and ask yourself – does my life mirror 1 Corinthians 13:4-7?

   Love never gives up.
   Love cares more for others than for self.
   Love doesn't want what it doesn't have.
   Love doesn't strut,
   Doesn't have a swelled head,
   Doesn't force itself on others,
   Isn't always "me first,"
   Doesn't fly off the handle,
   Doesn't keep score of the sins of others,
   Doesn't revel when others grovel,
   Takes pleasure in the flowering of truth,
   Puts up with anything,
   Trusts God always,
   Always looks for the best,
   Never looks back,
   But keeps going to the end.

View pain as a Teacher

This video was from The Nines conference (conference where they asked a bunch of church leaders to record their 9 minute thoughts to church leaders) that happened last week. 

I realize it's 7 minutes long, but if you are in leadership (which everyone is leading someone), I'd encourage you to watch and think on it.  He says something soon after the 4 minute mark that struck me... "view pain as a teacher."  This thought is scriptural, but yet, every time pain comes, I want to resolve it as quickly as possible. 

Thanks to Tory Farina for his post on this...

Disturb Me…again…and again…

Disturb me…it's a message I shared a few weeks ago, and it's still disturbing me. I'll tell you what has disturbed me this past week…the person who I saw jogging as I was driving home from church last Sunday. How can we reach this person? I don't know for sure that they were or weren't in church that morning, but my guess is they weren't. How can we show this person that faith is important, particularly, faith in Christ? How can we show this person that "physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." (1 Timothy 4:8)

Then there's the other family that I know, right here in downtown Middlebury. Well, I say I know them, but it's only to wave at them (we've talked a few times, small talk). They seem like really nice people…they have kids close to the same age as ours…he has a nice John Deere (I am recently struggling with a bit of Deere envy, I must admit). It seems they have a good thing going…dog…couple of kids…seem to enjoy marriage and having friends over, often (as evidenced by the frequent cars in their driveway, spilling out on the road). So, how do we help them see that they really do have a great thing going, but there's something missing…something they were created to have, but are not walking in.

It's not churchiness they need, nor something to do on Sunday mornings. They need Jesus. They need to begin to live for someone who can cause them to fulfill their complete life's purpose, while at the same time, dealing with the sin issue of their lives.

Seriously, this is what is disturbing me this week. My heart is broken…feel like I need to fast…kind of hard to do when you have people bringing you delicious meals (due to Hayden being born)…hah!

Me and My Big Mouth

Was praying through Ephesians 4:29 today, and thought through the message from Sunday on Me and My Big Mouth. Quick Reminder of the THINK acrostic (from Rick Warren)…before you say it, ask yourself:

T – is it Truthful?

H – is it Helpful?

I – is it Inspirational? Is it going to build up or tear down?

N – is it Necessary?

K – is it Kind?

Ephesians 4:29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs…"

Strengths and passions

Just read this great quote from Rick Warren…

So many talented people give 1st class allegiance to 2nd class causes that diffuse their energy, weaken their impact & waste their lives.

Find your strengths and passions, then run with it…be devoted to giving your all in 3-5 areas, rather than half hearted in 10-15 areas…

People God uses Greatest

Mark Batterson has a great post on the people God seems to use the greatest – people who aren't afraid to look foolish (while they are climbing a tree to see Jesus, stepping out of a boat on water, follow stars to find the baby Jesus, or chase after a lion).

Worth a minute to shoot over to his blog to read it…

Fasting - Drink and keep drinking

Just thought I'd take a minute to encourage those of you who are fasting today…one of the biggest challenges of fasting for me is that I'm not eating! (duh!) To try to get past the struggle with my appetite for food, I will drink, and never stop drinking. Really...if I don't drink through a fast, I typically end up focusing more on my lack of food than anything else!  Not to mention, flushing out your system with liquids only for a day is very healthy...

Drink water, juices, whatever…just don't stop!

Living out of His Grace

Was finishing the book of Ephesians today in my devotion time, which caused me to somehow jump over to 2 Timothy 2:1...

You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.

How many times do I try to live out of the grace of something other than the grace that is in Christ Jesus. I think there have been times when I've tried to pastor out of the grace that is in Scott Miller. There are times I've tried to be a husband living out of the grace that is in Scott Miller. This won't work! I need His grace, His strength, in order to be the man He's called me to be, and function at the level I am capable of functioning at in all areas of life. Anything short of living in His grace will stifle my ability to grow and move forward in any area of leadership He's given me.

Stop for a second and think about the most stressful area of your life right now. Maybe the reason the stress is so heavy is b/c you are trying to do it out of your grace and not His! Your strength and not His!

Just a thought…one last challenge from this passage…

2 Timothy 2:3 Endure hardship with us…LEARN TO PLAY HURT!

God’s Mercies

I woke up this morning with a great sense of how I've got to approach this day fresh and new.  Lamentations 3 says that his mercies are new every morning.  Do you need some of his mercies today?  Take some right now...but when you start your day tomorrow...get up calling upon the Lord, asking Him for new mercy and grace to have patience with that co-worker, your kids, your spouse, the construction guy at US 20 and SR 15, the buggy you can't seem to pass on the 'S' curves in Middlebury...

Serve Here, Serve There

OK...Stop...collaborate and listen...

(Let's try that again, with a little less Vanilla Ice)...OK...Stop...right now...tell me at least one area where you are serving others in the community, and one area where you are serving others at Pathway (or in the local church you attend).  You don't really have to tell me, but maybe jot it down on a scrap piece of paper, gum wrapper, your hand, anywhere, but get it in front of your face.  Where are you Serving Here (in the local expression of Christ's love called Pathway), and where are you Serving There (in the community in which God has placed you and shed his blood for)?

I've asked myself that a couple of times over the past few months.  Why is this so important?  Bottom line is - Jesus came not to be served but to serve.  That really is enough reason right there.  But let's dive in deeper...

Serve Here b/c it's God's plan to work through the local church.  Within the arms of the local church:

---We have the opportunity to show the community what it looks like to genuinely love each other, even when we get hacked off at each other from time to time! 

---We have the opportunity to take on projects of outreach/evangelism bigger than ourselves! 

---We can create opportunities for spiritual growth in every age group, relationally and mechanically! 

---We can create opportunities for you and I to use our gifts and talents! 

---We can offer regular times for believers to come together and worship God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit! 

Serve There b/c it's a tangible way of living out Christ's heart for people who have yet to know Jesus.  Really, think about it...if Jesus lived in Middlebury, Goshen, Elkhart, Shipshewana, Millersburg, Bristol, etc., where would he go to hang out with people who are unbelievers?  What are the modern day watering holes?  Find them, and go there! 

I know the Sunday School answer would be, "they're in the bars and whore houses pastor...that's where they are at bless God!"  Well, we've got a few bars around here, not so sure about the whore houses, but then I'm not so sure that's where the majority of at least Middlebury is hanging out.  They are out on the Little League Diamonds, the soccer fields, the basketball courts, the service clubs, etc.  Are you there, serving?

Maybe for you, Serving There would look less organized and more like sitting in a nursing home, leading a group of people in singing hymns.  Hymns they sing from memory, but they won't remember you were there 5 minutes after you leave. 

Who knows how God might use you to effect the eternal destiny of someone just b/c you spent time connecting with them in the last years of their life...or on the soccer fields...or over a plate full of freshly baked cookies you took to them! 

Serve Here and Serve There people! 

Me and the Bible, on an Island

Was going over my journal today and ran across this quote again from Francis Chan - "If I was on an island alone with the Bible, how would I live?" If all I had was the Bible, and I just simply lived out what it said, what would that look like? Does our church look like the book of Acts?

Deep thoughts…

Parenthood - Top 10

We're continuing on in our series on parenting this Sunday. I'm not sure if I'll use this top 10 list or not, but as I was studying for the series, I found it, and thought it was good stuff!

10 Guidelines to help you be a good model to your children…Your children deserve:

1.    To hear you pray earnestly and often. (1 Thess. 5:17)

2.    To spend time with you as you talk about the things of God (Deut. 6:6-9)

3.    To hear you talk to others about becoming Christians. (Matt. 28:18-20)

4.    To see you put God first in your giving. (Malachi 3:8-10)

5.    To watch you live a consistent Christian life. (Deut. 10:12-13)

6.    To go with you to visit the unfortunate. (James 1:27)

7.    To hear you say good things about other Christians. (1 Thess. 5:1)

8.    To be exposed to experiences that will bring Christian growth. (1 Tim. 4:13-16)

9.    To see you love your spouse. (Eph. 5:22-23)

10.    To know your Savior in a personal way. (John 17:3)

Taken from John Maxwell's book, Breakthrough Parenting. Published by Focus on the Family Publishing, Colorado Springs, CO 80995.

Exponential - Discipleship

One last thought from the Exponential conference I was at last week, from Matt Chandler. He had an interesting session on discipleship…

Main thoughts from the session -

The Church's end goal is disciples (who observe what Christ commands), not converts. The question is – how do we disciple, not just how do we reach them! 2 methods of discipleship:

Mechanical Discipleship Model (at the end you are a disciple)

Pro's:

• No better way then this to get info to the people
• Historic success
• Easy to motivate people to join and participate
• Tons of resources and curriculum
• Easy to measure
• Lends itself to strong historic orthodox theology

Con's:

• Hard to sustain (Greek factor)
• Can lead to coldness (have facts, but no heart or application)
• Can create theology police
• Become sacred very quickly

 

Organic Relational Model

Pro's:

• Seems to yield greatest results/built relationally
• Tends to appeal to a broader group of people

Con's:

• Organically we are sinful/maturity doesn't just happen

 

How to take pro's of both:

1. Must celebrate transformation and change…don't just highlight the wins, celebrate all transformation
2. Create a lot of on ramps and off ramps
3. Keep flexible
4. Everyone learns/applies differently
5. Needs to be a relational aspect to everything, even mechanical

Exponential – Fancis Chan

One of the most amazing sessions of the whole conference was the very last one…speaker – Francis Chan.

Really, I'm still in shock.  This may be pushing it too far, but it's like most (not all) A/G conferences tend to lean heavily on the Spirit empowerment, and light on the practical "head" stuff.  Anytime I go to a conference like this (such as Granger Community Church, Northpoint, Fellowship, etc.), they are heavy on the how to's "head" stuff, but they leave out the Spirit empowerment stuff!  How refreshing to hear from these guys from overseas…and Craig Groeschel, and Francis Chan of all people…that we need the moving, presence, and empowerment of the Holy Spirit! 

Really, I just sat there at the end of the service, a bit in awe, thinking about what was happening…at First Baptist Orlando, in a group of mostly non-charismatic type people, we are called on to answer an altar call to be filled with the HS, be anointed with oil, and have hands laid upon us!

Steve Pike (A/G Church Multiplication Network guy) had a great post on this session as well…

Exponential – The A-Team

In one of the sessions, Shawn Lovejoy, talked about choosing staff (paid and volunteer). I thought this might be good for all of us, in marketplace or church leadership. Would you add any to this list?

How to Pick an "A" Team:

1. Competence – Highly competent people
2. Chemistry – Relational Mark 3:13-14 – that they might be w/ Him, vision chemistry
3. Character – teachable, loyal, soft hearts

What else would you add to the list?

Exponential – 3 Lines

Craig Groeschel's session was out of the park, as he usually is. His emphasis on the Holy Spirit empowering you oozes out of him! Here's the top thing I walked away from his session with…it was his thoughts on 3 lines of believers:

• First line – believe in the Gospel enough to benefit from it
• Second Line – believe in the Gospel enough to contribute comfortably
• Third Line – believe in the Gospel enough to give my life to it

Goal being…a church full of third liners!

Exponential – America’s Impact on Korea

Part of the thrust of this conference was to see/talk about not only what God is doing here in the US, but what is he doing around the world in church planting.

I don't know if you've followed anything that has happened in South Korea over the past 50-75 years, but they are a country that is largely Christian. Something like 6 of the 7 largest churches in the world are in South Korea.

So, the speaker guy from Korea, Marc Choi, is ending his talk...what he said is still ringing in my ears…he took the last few moments of his talk to thank us…yes, thank America…his exact quote is – "America brought revival to Korea." US Missionary Horace Underwood went to Korea in 1891, and thus started the ministry of Christ in this country!

As I sat there and heard him say that, I had several thoughts:

• I thought of the missionaries we support out of Pathway. Church, we have no idea how our missions giving is effecting whole countries for GENERATIONS!
• I thought about some from Pathway who God will one day send to foreign countries to make this kind of an impact…maybe they are being raised by you right now?
• My heart broke here as a Korean guy is expressing more love for our great country than many of our own citizens (including some of our highest government officials). We're not perfect, but its things like this that make me PROUD of my country.

Side note – what part did the Korean War have in allowing these great people the freedom to choose to follow Christ without persecution? What if South Korea would have gone communist? Do I like war? Absolutely not…is it necessary at times? I think so.

Exponential – Erwin McManus

I've spent the last few days at what was billed as the largest church planting conference in the history of the US...how about those apples. I'd like to share a few thoughts from the conference, as well as from the Holy Spirit, with you over the next few days.

Tuesday Afternoon – Erwin McManus

Erwin's strength is marketplace ministry (ministry outside of the church). Marketplace ministry is not anywhere near my strong point. Two thoughts that hit me from Erwin, though they aren't so profound:

• Society is looking for people with presence…presence of Jesus
• Marketplace needs/wants a non-watered down Gospel

Challenging thoughts coming from a guy who someone said dresses a bit like an alien (who was it that said that?).

What I’m thinking about: Cheap Sacrifice

What I'm thinking about…I just finished up 2 Samuel…what a gut wrenching last chapter!

Israel had sinned…David had sinned…When David recognized it, he repented. God gave him three options for punishment…he chose the one that would bring a 3 day plague on all the people. David stepped in at some point, probably toward the end, and pleaded with God to stop punishing the people for his sin. God told him through the prophet Gad to "build an altar to the Lord on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite." Araunah was completely willing to let David have the threshing floor, the supplies, the bulls, etc (for free)…but David refused to accept it for free b/c he knew God would not accept a sacrifice that cost him nothing!

How does this correlate to me/you? In NT times, my whole life is to be lived as a living sacrifice to God. But God still is not interested in a cheap praise, a cheap sacrifice…it's got to cost me something. Living a life where I just add Jesus to the rest of my life costs me nothing. Living a life of anything less than complete surrender to the cross of Christ is missing the mark.

Sacrifice involves the engaging of the heart. If my heart is not engaged throughout today, and I'm not purposeful of doing things for and unto God today, then my sacrifice was cheap today. When we come together corporately this Sunday, to bring our sacrifices of praise and prayers to God, if my heart is not engaged, it's as offensive to God as the money changers in the temple.

Is your heart engaged today?

Strength and Contentment

Really feel like God's given me some insight into the connection between strength and contentment. Read Philippians 4:10-13, and you see what you think…

Oh yah, and DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT SKIPPING CHURCH TOMORROW! (this will be our topic)

Jesus wants the Rose

Ugh...I follow a couple different blogs throughout the week.  Every once and a while, I'll find a video that stops me in my tracks.  This video did just that...

I first heard a guy named Matt Chandler speak last summer at a Multi-Site Church conference.  Not that I agree with everything Matt ever says, but the guy is absolutely passionate about people who have yet to come to Jesus.  Would be worth your time to watch...

Forward/Faith Thinking

Our Middlebury Campus was pushed close to its limits this past Sunday (at the very least, pushed farther than it's ever been pushed before!)…and I loved it! I like to think of it as forward thinking/faith thinking…

It was forward/faith thinking that led us to build this facility back in 2002/2003.

It was forward/faith thinking that led us to go to 2 services in 2005.

It was forward/faith thinking that led us to add on to this facility back in 2005/2006.

It was forward/faith thinking that led us to add on what we added on back in 2005/2006! (foyer, café, nurseries, classrooms, etc.)

All of these forward/faith thinking idea's gave us the capacity to minister to as many people as we did this past weekend. All of these forward/faith thinking idea's gave us the tools to reach/teach more people this past weekend than we ever have in the course of one weekend.

Can I challenge you church? Don't ever stop forward/faith thinking. Don't ever give in to mediocrity or apathy. In every area of this church, let's think with faith. Let's dream big, let's plan big, let's take big steps of faith.

Now's not the time to play it safe…now's the time to step up and take it on…ah yes…

Help - Question for you:

   

Parking - This past Sunday, I saw a person parked in the gravel and heard that several parallel parked under the pine trees.  All of our staff was so busy on the inside of the building that we never noticed what was happening on the outside!  When you came to service, were there still parking spots available? 

   

Lobby/Classrooms/Restrooms - Did you notice the lobby or any classrooms being overly crowded this past Sunday?  Did you have to wait to use the restroom?

What do you have?

This is a shot of the altar area during one of our services this past Sunday. The thrust of the message was how God's not looking for the next Christian superstar. There is no American Idol for Christianity!

• God asked Moses – What's in your hand?
• God asked the widow through the Prophet Elisha – What's in your house?
• God asked the disciples when they were needing to feed the 5000 plus – What do you have?

In each situation, what they had was enough. God will use what we have, but the key is we've got to offer all we have to Him!

I closed the message with a story Tim Sanders had shared at the Catalyst Conference last fall. It was about Timberland (shoe company), who held their yearly conference in New Orleans, 1 year after Katrina. One of the Timberland employee's ended up giving one of the relief volunteers his shoes…which led to 3 bus loads of Timberland employee's to follow suit. They offered what they had.

We symbolically took our shoes off, placed them on the altar, and spent time in prayer at the end of both services Sunday. It really was an amazing moment…God moved…glad I was there…

You can listen to the message here…

Vision Thoughts – Bill Hybels Axiom

I've been slowly reading through a great book by Bill Hybels called Axiom – Powerful Leadership Proverbs. Hybels defines vision this way:

Picture of the future that produces passion in people. (p. 30)

I know many of you reading this right now are involved in helping lead people. Have you given them a vision to press toward? Have you developed a picture in their mind for what their area of ministry ought to look like? Has it produced passion for it to happen? Vision is so closely tied to dreaming, and I love it.

Another vision quote:

Wise leaders understand that the single greatest determinant of whether followers will ever own a vision deeply is the extent to which those followers believe the LEADER will own it. (p. 35)

Good stuff…

Opportunity – from a man’s rib?

Every once and a while I'll come across a quote that just downright tells it like it is. In preparing for last week, and this week's messages, I ran across this quote from Thomas Edison on Opportunity…

Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.

Thomas A. Edison
US inventor (1847 - 1931)

God is into the everyday, normal things. God is looking for everyday people, like you and me, to do anything but "everyday" ministry for Him! God can take what you think is the mundane parts of your life, and use them to further his kingdom!

We've got to get past the "who am I for God to do something significant through me" thought process, and just bring who we are and what we are to God. Bring your success, your failure, your good, your bad, and let Him do something marvelous with it! He is a master at creativity! Face it, God made one of the greatest creations ever out of a stinking man's rib! If God can use a rib, he can use whatever it is you bring to the table!

Good stuff…

Seize the Opportunity

I love hearing how one of our Sunday messages impacted you...or how the Holy Spirit used a message to speak to you.  Monday, I received an email from Pathway person Michelle Oliver.  I asked her if I could share a bit of her story with you guys. Michelle was born to missionary parents, while they were serving in the Democratic Republic of Congo.  Her family tries to keep abreast of what's happening there as they still have friends who are in the country. 

This country has been embroiled in fighting between warring factions and tribes for several years now.  The amount killed over the past 5 years is the equivalent to eight Rwandan genocides and five Darfur conflicts.  The province where Michelle was born has been deemed by the UN the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

She describes what happened in her heart on Sunday morning as she was challenged to 'seize the opportunity' -  My heart goes out to these people and I believe God is calling me to do something; I'm not sure what yet.  

What is it God is saying to you? 

Are there any opportunities you are steering clear of mainly b/c you aren't sure you have the goods to deliver?  Like when Moses reminded God that he stuttered...(as if God didn't already know that)... 

Or b/c you felt you aren't "spiritual" enough?  You doubt God could ever do anything significant in you b/c you continue to struggle in areas of self control, or wherever...

Listen, it's time you and I stop looking at what we don't have, and start looking at what we do have!  It's time to step up and seize the opportunity God has given us to reach this region with the Gospel and shake things up a bit! 

It's time that we both seize the opportunity we have to connect with the co-worker or neighbor, and serve them like Jesus would.  It's time! 

It's time we step out in faith and do that thing we know God has placed on our heart to do, and trust Him to come through!  This is the season my friend! 

Part two of the message, Seize the Opportunity, this Sunday...I pray you can make it!

No thanks Jesus…

Do you ever wonder if Jesus had asked other people to be his original disciples (around the same time as the ask went out to the original 12) and they said no? Maybe the 12 could have been 15? (I'm just asking, not saying I think it's true or anything)

What if one of the disciples would have said no? Matthew, James, John, Philip, Ringo, (just making sure you are paying attention), Bartholomew, Thaddaeus, Simon Peter, Simon the Zealot and the others…what if they would have said no? What if God gave them an OPPORTUNITY to be in on the ground floor of the most world revolutionizing moment in all of history…and they said, "nope, rather go back to fishing."

Is there any opportunity right now that maybe you are passing on, but God's best is that you run with it?

Seize the Opportunity…this Sunday, March 22…hope you're there…

A Pair of Dockers

Megan and I had just moved back to Middlebury to start a church. Part of the deal in following God's plan is that you sell out to his provision. Some people never make it to God's perfect plan simply b/c they are too hung up on things, or their pursuit of things. They forget the old, maybe overused phrase, "where God guides, He provides."

One day, God made this crystal clear to Megan and I. I desperately needed, of all things, a couple of pair of pants to wear day to day. I know it seems odd, but really, much of what was in my wardrobe at that time consisted of things I had from college 8 years ago. It was worn, missing buttons, etc. We had no money for new clothes at that time, so we just submitted it to the Lord. We just trusted God to provide, choosing to see things through eyes of faith.

Little did we know that this was one of the small tests God was taking us through. About a week after just leaving it in God's hands, someone dropped 2 pairs of Docker's (my pant of choice at that time) off at our house. Not a lot of fanfare, just felt like they ought to buy them for me.

It might as well have been a million dollars dropped off at the house…there was a need, we trusted God, and he provided. God is no respecter of people…He'll do the same for you…TRUST HIM!

Measure of Spiritual Maturity

I've been reading Jim Cymbala's new book, You Were Made For More, off and on for the past few months. I just read a quote I've got to share…

The only measure of our vertical relationship with God is the loving quality of our horizontal relationship with others.

Do you agree? Good stuff…

Do something, anything…

Can I encourage you again with this thought…Faith is not always standing still! Sometimes, it may be…but I'm convinced more times, God is waiting for us to make a move. We're busy standing around, saying we're just 'waiting on the Lord,' and the Lord's saying "I'm here, just start moving…I'll lead you, just do something, anything…but I can't move in you/through you until you start moving!"

It's like an airplane...the crew can be strapped in, the wings ready, the rudder ready, all trays and seats in an upright position, but if there is no forward thrust, you are going nowhere!

For eight years now, we've talked about starting a new campus/church. We've been standing around (or maybe I should say I've been standing around) "waiting on the Lord," and God's been saying "do something, anything!" Here we go!

Just step out, and trust that if you step a little out of the will of God, the Holy Spirit will bring you back in!

Gnawing in my heart

For a couple of days now, I've had this gnawing feeling going on inside my heart (for a lack of a better location, I'll say it's in my heart). It's this feeling I get from time to time when I feel I'm settling. Or when I feel the church is settling. It's not that anything is glaringly wrong, b/c really, things are going great! I think there's a healthy gnawing at your heart that ought to happen from time to time though.

The Kingdom of God is about more than keeping the lights on at the church. It's about more than opening song, welcome, greeting, worship, announcements, offering, preaching, altar call, and leaving, all while sipping coffee. I'm not saying I don't like these things, but that's not IT in itself! Without the anointing, and touch of the Holy Spirit on the worship time, worship is empty. Without His touch on the preaching, it's mere words. Without you and I, seriously taking the message from Scripture shared on that day, and living it out on Monday, we're just punching in with our Christian time card, appeasing our need to feel religious.

Jesus said in Luke 4, "The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor. That's where I want to be…I don't want to settle! I want to live in the realm that Jesus talks about in John 14:12, "I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.

Let's press through the routine church…let's go past tradition…never settle…allow God to do something fresh in you this week!

Bigger: Gripped by the Word

One of my favorite quotes from Wayne Cordeiro's book, The Divine Mentor, (and there are many favorite quotes), is the following one I'll use in my message on the 11^th…

God is intimately acquainted with our ways, and He's more concerned about transformation than information. Our daily times in the Word are not necessarily designed to produce theologians. The primary purpose is to produce disciples. When we enter the Bible, we don't enter to study it as much as we allow it to study us!

Spending time reading the Bible is less about gaining information, and more about transformation…allowing it to change you, direct you, impact you…Good stuff!

Feeling Pressure…

I heard a message from Brian Houston Monday night on "Pressure." It was a great message! But more than the message was one verse that I've been trying to think on all week…

2 Corinthians 8:10 We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired even of life. Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us.

Now that's good stuff…

Bigger: Playing Hurt Final Post

Final thought on learning to play hurt…As King Neb looked in on the 3 Hebrew guys (Daniel 3) as they dropped into the furnace, he noticed there were now 4.

You may think you are all alone in this. Your mind (and the enemy) may trick you into thinking that you are cut off from God. But my Bible says no sir. He never leaves us, he never turns His back on us. Even in the moments when it looks like 'God did not,' He was still there. His fingerprint is all over the God did not moment. If you can step back and remove the hurt…the pain…the anger…the anxiety…and see what remains…you'll see that God was still working, even in the midst of this bologna.

Learning to play hurt is about understanding God rarely snaps us out of the trial, but instead, walks with us through it. He's perfecting us…refining us…maturing us…stretching us.

God help me to learn to embrace the pain, and trust you through it. Amen.

Bigger: Playing Hurt Part 4

The hardest part of learning to playing hurt is dealing with what I call the 'God did nots.' These are times when you know God could have, but He didn't. The three Hebrew guys made it clear that God could save them from the furnace (Daniel 3), but then they said this amazing piece of history –

¹⁸But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.

My dad prayed the following at the end of almost every meal he ever prayed over, "guide us and protect us, and keep us safe, in Jesus name, Amen." God could have answered this prayer the way we all wish He would have and protected my parents on August 10, 1990. God could have…but God did not. Faith is…getting BIGGER is…trusting God, responding in faith, even if, God did not.

There were times in 2008, where it seemed as if God 'did not'…and it shook you…in 2009, you'll experience more…how will you respond? Faith or Fear?

Listen to the whole message here…

Bigger: Playing Hurt Part 3

A commitment to play hurt doesn't mean we stop asking and trusting God for the miraculous!

The 3 Hebrew guys (Daniel 3) stood in the face of what seemed certain death, and declared "If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it…" That is FAITH! It would take faith to say such a thing the day before, when heading into a time of prayer - "I don't know about you two, but I think we have to defy the King on this edict. Even if we do get caught, I know God is able to save us!" But to say something like this in front of the dude who is ready to cook you up extra crispy is a whole other issue.

In your quest to learn to play hurt, and press through adversity, don't give in to the thought that "well, I guess it will always be this way." Until the day I die I will ask for and trust to have every promise in the Bible that is mine!

Listen to this whole message here…

Bigger: Playing Hurt Part 2

Playing hurt is not an option for 2009. I'm not a prophet of doom and gloom, but there are going to be challenges/trials in 2009 that will try to take you out. Like King Nebechenezer's decree in Daniel 3, these trials will literally scream at you to bow down to them.

Part of learning to play hurt is standing in the face of adversity, and not bowing down to it. This year, fear will attack you. This year, immorality will scream at you. This year, the enemy will target your weakest point and scream at you to bow down to it. You have to decide right here, right now, that you will not bow. Surrounded by your Life Group and other believers who are sharpening and challenging you spiritually, you will stand up to the trial and come out stronger!

You can curse the trial, or embrace it, refuse to bow, and get STRONGER and BIGGER in God! I choose to get BIGGER!

Listen to this whole message from December 28 here…