It was a couple of years ago that I was reading Erwin McManus’s book “The Barbarian Way” when I was struck with one of his chapters. At the beginning of the chapter there is an amazing picture of a tiger wearing a crown, the crown is made up of men wearing battle equipment. They are carrying swords, axes, and shields. He goes on to explain some of the names that go with groups of animals. Like most of us know that cows are a herd and we also know that sheep come in flocks. Then there are the vultures that are a committee and then there are the rhinos. These animals have amazing size and presence but they can only see about 30 yards in front of them. That is why this group of animals are called a CRASH.
Matthew 11:12 (NLT)And from the time John the Baptist began preaching and baptizing until now, the Kingdom of Heaven has been forcefully advancing, and violent people attack it.
There are three thoughts that go with this verse. The one that I truly believe is that the kingdom of Heaven is crashing through this world. That since John began preaching about Jesus his kingdom is taking ground. What I also believe is that the church is suppose to be doing the same. The church is suppose to be advancing into the homes, communities, schools, and states through the lives of the people of the church. We are to be God’s people loving and advancing the kingdom in the lives of those around us. All I know is that I want to be a part of a CRASH! I pray everyday that God is leading this family, this church team, and this city to a place where it crashes into His grace and mercy.
I have always know that as a dad I have to make sure that I am present in my kids lives. That I need to be present both mentally, physically, and spiritually involved in their lives. Now I have not been perfect, in fact there are so many times that I have been physically there but not mentally or even emotionally. What I try to do is be all there. As I begin the process of starting a church I have come to realize that the same is true for a community. The people of a community need the presence of the followers of Jesus and not the ones that spend most of their time in a church building. They need the power of presence. Look at what Paul wrote:
1 Thes. 2:8 (NLT) We loved you so much that we gave you not only God’s Good News but our own lives, too.
They didn’t just drop off tracks or grab their bullhorns and yell, they spent time with the people of the community. The next verse in that book says that they worked right along side with these people. That is why I am glad that I have the awesome opportunity to work along side the people that I do at the boxing gym. I am with a young man that is struggling with being a man, a young girl that is working hard to compete, I even have a couple of guys that are trying to figure out if they want to not follow the path that leads to jail. Who are the people in your life that is getting you and the Holy Spirit guided presence, that are in desperate need of not just words but your life? Who are you working along side that needs you to be just a friend that can pray, love, and care for them?
Tonight is going to be the first major gathering that we have planned for Elevation Christian Church. It is amazing the feelings that I have been feeling over the last three days. I get excited about the possibility of a group of people that will be there that will rival most SUPER BOWL crowds. Then I go to the total opposite and think well what if it is just my family and I sitting there. Both are the pictures that run threw my head. But then I am reminded that I am only responsible to make sure that I care about one:
Matthew 5:16 (NLT) In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.
Everything that am to do in this life is to bring praise to my heavenly Father. I am to be concerned only that Jesus is praised and that am doing all I can to let people know about Him. But you know what it is still a struggle, but in this moment right now. I am living for an AUDIENCE OF ONE. This is the most freeing thought that I can carry with me and you can too. Make this second, minute, hour, maybe this day a priority to live for just one.
I have been really walking through the book of Acts and there is one story that time and time again just rocks my world. It is in Acts 10 that there is a Collision of Faith for two men. Each man in the story is challenged in area of faith. Cornelius is a man that is meeting a savior and Peter is a man that is being challenged about his traditional faith.
Acts 10:15 (NLT) The voice spoke again, “If God says something is acceptable, don’t say it isn’t.”
Peter is confronted with a God about his traditions so that he would be able to be used to reach Cornelius. I often wonder what it was like for Peter to take that initial step into the house of Cornelius. What were the fears that he imagined would happen or did he even fear? All I know is this Peter had to make a decision to step out of his traditional box to be used by God. Peter chose to take the road less traveled and meet the needs of a person far from Jesus.
What is an area of your life that is holding you back from reaching others? What is God telling you that He says is acceptable?
Ok I get a hard time from lots of people about being on Facebook to much. Well I have to be honest I am facebook through my phone and I love being able to do it. In fact I think that this is a great opportunity in this day and age to be able to share life with people all over the place. It is an opportunity to not only talk about life but how faith and your life meet.
It is an awesome place to be not just a fake person but a real person that walks through life in faith. The question that I have is what are the ways that are you using Facebook to reach people with the gospel? How are you using a great tool to let people now about what God is doing in your life? If you are not what can you be doing? There is nothing holding us back but our lack of creativity.
I love being on airplanes when the flight attendant gives the emergency exit speech. It amazes me at the different responses that people give to the flight attendant as they share with them probably at the time the most important information that they need. Some of the responses that I have seen are the following:
Go to sleep before the speech even begins.
Grab the exit information card and flip through it then put it away.
Pay attention and follow through with the card.
I even caught one lady praying as the speech was being given (I hoped she didn’t know something)
What I love thinking about is that these are the same reactions that you can probably see when you go to a church. There are those that show up for a good nap, some that give the bible a little look, then the others that are really there to pay attention and seeking to find out about what this important message is in their life. I challenge us to think is the reason that people react this way because of the message or the delivery.
“If you are going to bore people, don’t bore them with the Gospel. Bore them with calculus, bore them with earth science, bore them with world history. But it is a sin to bore them with the Gospel.” – Howard Hendricks
One of the things that I have been really working at is listening to people as the talk to me. Now you may be thinking well duh that is what you are suppose to do aren’t you? Yes when someone is talking to you the goal is to listen, but there are so many times that I am catching myself thinking of what I need to say while they are talking. So now you know what I mean by listening. I need to listen all the way through what the person is sharing and then try to decide what I need to say. I believe that this is a tool that everyone needs to be able to master if they expect to be a leader when it comes to knowing where people are at in their spiritual walk.
Job 12:11 (NLT) Just as the mouth tastes good food, so the ear tests the words it hears.
What I hope and pray is that we are able to equip the people that are in Elevation to listen what people are really saying. This will enable us to know and care for those around us that are seeking to know and grow in Jesus. But for us to do it when need to listen to what people are saying and we need to ask questions to understand what they are looking for in this life. Who are you listening today? And the real question is what are they saying? Allow your ears to test the words that they hear.
Tonight was one of the most awesome nights that I have ever had in ministry. Today in our house we had a group of people get together and pray for Elevation and the future of this group of believers. We had young, old, and in between. But we all agreed on one thing, that we wanted to see the name of Jesus elevated in the lives of people all through out Aurora, Colorado, United States, and the world. We had a great night just praying because “Everything is covered in prayer (before, during, and after). I want to thank each person that was able to join us and I want to thank all of the people that could not be there but shared an encouraging note.
So here is the big news! If you plan on being a part of Elevation Christian Church, or if you just want to see what we are all about, or even if you are not sure what I am talking about. On Monday, February 8, 2010 at Colorado Community Churches “Upper Room” we will have the “All Access Elevation Party” this is where we are going to get things started! I am so jacked about this event that I am about to explode I can’t imagine what I am going to be like in 10 days. All I know is that if you know someone lives in Aurora, CO then they need to be at this party.
