Revolution
Thoughts from an intense, incredible weekend at Emmanuel (June 24-25)
10... many things come to mind when you type the word 10... Bo Derek? Beautiful? Top Ten? Big Ten (Good Football)? Challenge? 10, after this weekend, is an intense passion to see 10 of 10 kids watch our lives... see a Christ revolution... and actually follow us as we follow Christ. Research suggests that 8 of 10 kids who are a part of the church have no intention of continuing in the fellowship after graduating HS. I heard that a few weeks ago and EVERYTHING inside me rebelled against that thought. NO! NO WAY! Heavens NO! In front of the gates of hell, screaming NO! I had a pretty significant reaction.
Then it struck me.... we truly can see 10 of 10 link their lives to an increasing passion for Christ WHEN they see a whole group of us who are crystal clear about our passion. Kids, at 18, actually believe that God will use them to feed poor, house homeless, provide water for those who don't have clean drinking water.... 18 year olds actually believe that they can change the world. They actually believe that they can change the WHOLE world! Would it not be sweet for them to swivel their heads and see a whole bunch of OLD people (like me), who STILL believe that we can change the world.
We really do exist to ignite and inspire passion for Jesus Christ. This requires each of us to live revolutionary! Revolution is not necessarily the "big stuff"... it's found in the every day decisions of life. This whole deal of Christianity is the "good news!!" Just imagine this… Person X in Crestview comes to know Christ…. She became a follower…. Her life is shifted…. She lives it out. She is becoming more generous…. More compassionate….. more loving…. She is becoming a far better neightbor. If you are her neighbor, you are thrilled about her faith….. This is good news… good news for people who know her…. Revolutionary news for the whole street….
We are revolutionary when we are impassioned – day to day….. underground, subversive…. It is the quiet, humble, stealth acts that change things.
Bring on the good news. Enjoy life. Live out the Augustine confession... Love the right things in the right way to the right degree with the right kind of love. Then, watch as our kids follow us into this revolution called the faith.
Feel free to add to the commentary by clicking 'comments' below.
I am venturing away for a couple of weeks.... Away with family... Away from work... Away with kids.... Away! I cannot wait to see the EBC family when we return from vacation - rested, ready, and plunging in with hundreds of kids at VBS! Live on the Arctic Edge! I love you guys.
Mark
Monday, June 26, 2006
Monday, June 19, 2006
2 Suitcases and Christ.....
Meditations from the weekend of June 17-18 in the life of Emmanuel
So, I am sitting across from Bonnie. Bonnie is around sixtyish (give or take 20 years : ) She is heading for the next three years to Niger, W. Africa. She's a nurse.... The people in Niger have medical needs. She's going. Here I am at the "BonnieFest" eating, laughing, and enjoying life and I experienced a moment that placed me at a crossroads. Bonnie said, 'my life has boiled down to 2 Suitcases... 50lb's each and that's all I can take with me." I responded, 'wow, all of life boils down to 2 suitcases and Christ." Bonnie's reply has left me bereft.... pondering.... challenged.... longing to live for the upward call of God. She said, ' and that's more than enough!!!" Are you kidding? 2 suitcases and Christ is more than enough. Honestly, I don't know how that will pan out in my life, but I want to get there. I want to genuinely say to God, You, O God, are more than enough. I am not even sure if I need the 2 suitcases. A party... a meal... and my eternity gets rocked. I will wrestle with God alot.... hopefully as long as I live.... with living holding loosely to this earth and holding fast to Him.... His values.... His passions..... HIs move. I have no idea what the 2 suitcases and Christ will look like for me. But, I really, desperately want to find out.
We closed out echo (with a sweet Rocky I bonus video shot just for dads... Happy Father's Day! Rocky is always a good daddy's day gift to receive in church). What we do on earth really will echo throughout eternity. We arrived at a few conclusive thoughts. Paul had this whole 'upward call of God' as a deep, piercing passion. In Philippians 3.12-14, he is not writing of an insignificant pursuit. He is writing from the deepests point of his soul. He is really letting us see what makes his heart beat. I think it goes a bit deeper.... he's asking us to evaluate what makes our heart beat. He truly felt that the pursuit of this Christian life is a quest. I don't think he would have worded life just as Bonnie did, but he would say something like"life boils down to 2 suitcases and Christ and He is more than enough"... or I am a man about one thing and I strain with all my passion, affections, and heart to be about this upward life in Christ.
What do I do with this kind of passion? How do we actually make application to our lives? We asked a few questions.... questions like, do I really see this upward call as a quest? If I do, what do I do with my affections? My heart? Do I love the right things.... in the right way.... to the right degree... with the right kind of love. I am SO stinking good at taking something beautiful from our God and abusing it. I can take a hobby (the right thing) and allow it to dominate my life (the wrong way to the wrong degree with the wrong kind of love). I tend to veer with so many things... like money, relationships, etc, etc. So, I have to ask if I love the right thing in the right way to the right degree with the right kind of love and I have to ask that often.
Our closing challenge was about a rule of life.... what is your rule of life. What do I do regularly that really postures me to grow in Christ. That would be my rule of life. For instance, when do I pray? study? how do I handle money in a way that draws me closer to God? How can I fill my life with the sense of His presence?
What is your rule of life? What do you do regularly? My friend Joe said he plants corn, works on deer stand, spends countless hours preparing for one thing --- to harvest deer. Likewise, how are you posturing your life to harvest the character of Christ.
Bottom line... life is an echo. Life is a sound heard near its source again and again. What (or who) is your source? Real bottom line.... if we don't have a rule of life - things we do regularly to posture our lives to harvest Christ character, we will not be able to say "2 suitcases and Christ is more than enough". Train for life!
Feel free to add to the commentary by clicking on comments below.
Mark
Meditations from the weekend of June 17-18 in the life of Emmanuel
So, I am sitting across from Bonnie. Bonnie is around sixtyish (give or take 20 years : ) She is heading for the next three years to Niger, W. Africa. She's a nurse.... The people in Niger have medical needs. She's going. Here I am at the "BonnieFest" eating, laughing, and enjoying life and I experienced a moment that placed me at a crossroads. Bonnie said, 'my life has boiled down to 2 Suitcases... 50lb's each and that's all I can take with me." I responded, 'wow, all of life boils down to 2 suitcases and Christ." Bonnie's reply has left me bereft.... pondering.... challenged.... longing to live for the upward call of God. She said, ' and that's more than enough!!!" Are you kidding? 2 suitcases and Christ is more than enough. Honestly, I don't know how that will pan out in my life, but I want to get there. I want to genuinely say to God, You, O God, are more than enough. I am not even sure if I need the 2 suitcases. A party... a meal... and my eternity gets rocked. I will wrestle with God alot.... hopefully as long as I live.... with living holding loosely to this earth and holding fast to Him.... His values.... His passions..... HIs move. I have no idea what the 2 suitcases and Christ will look like for me. But, I really, desperately want to find out.
We closed out echo (with a sweet Rocky I bonus video shot just for dads... Happy Father's Day! Rocky is always a good daddy's day gift to receive in church). What we do on earth really will echo throughout eternity. We arrived at a few conclusive thoughts. Paul had this whole 'upward call of God' as a deep, piercing passion. In Philippians 3.12-14, he is not writing of an insignificant pursuit. He is writing from the deepests point of his soul. He is really letting us see what makes his heart beat. I think it goes a bit deeper.... he's asking us to evaluate what makes our heart beat. He truly felt that the pursuit of this Christian life is a quest. I don't think he would have worded life just as Bonnie did, but he would say something like"life boils down to 2 suitcases and Christ and He is more than enough"... or I am a man about one thing and I strain with all my passion, affections, and heart to be about this upward life in Christ.
What do I do with this kind of passion? How do we actually make application to our lives? We asked a few questions.... questions like, do I really see this upward call as a quest? If I do, what do I do with my affections? My heart? Do I love the right things.... in the right way.... to the right degree... with the right kind of love. I am SO stinking good at taking something beautiful from our God and abusing it. I can take a hobby (the right thing) and allow it to dominate my life (the wrong way to the wrong degree with the wrong kind of love). I tend to veer with so many things... like money, relationships, etc, etc. So, I have to ask if I love the right thing in the right way to the right degree with the right kind of love and I have to ask that often.
Our closing challenge was about a rule of life.... what is your rule of life. What do I do regularly that really postures me to grow in Christ. That would be my rule of life. For instance, when do I pray? study? how do I handle money in a way that draws me closer to God? How can I fill my life with the sense of His presence?
What is your rule of life? What do you do regularly? My friend Joe said he plants corn, works on deer stand, spends countless hours preparing for one thing --- to harvest deer. Likewise, how are you posturing your life to harvest the character of Christ.
Bottom line... life is an echo. Life is a sound heard near its source again and again. What (or who) is your source? Real bottom line.... if we don't have a rule of life - things we do regularly to posture our lives to harvest Christ character, we will not be able to say "2 suitcases and Christ is more than enough". Train for life!
Feel free to add to the commentary by clicking on comments below.
Mark
Monday, June 12, 2006
Breathe..... thoughts from Philippians 3.13 through the lens of Emmanuel
If the Word is God-breathed, then I want to inhale life, freshness... Him! My life is often smog filled and I long for the purity of God.... of His life.... of His direction... of His character becoming my very own.
This past few weeks have been amazing. Watching students go off before God and lead each other in an ever deepening passion for Christ was sweet. BigStuf Camp was just that... Big stuff. Then, to venture to Mega Sports Camp with our kids and hang out with them for 4 days was too sweet for words. I sweated through three shirts a day.... pulled muscles..... burned fuel...... talked with kids..... and watched as 10 kids moved their lives into the story of God and dozens went wild in their joy for Him. Kid-like worship is awesome. Okay, there was a moment that just doesn't happen with anyone but kids. I was talking about God giving us endurance even when times are hard. The story from the Word was Paul and Silas enduring in jail. I told the kids, they were doing insane things like quoting AWANA verses to encourage each other, and singing songs. Then, I begin to sing Here I am to Worship...... the kids starting singing with me. We sang that chorus quite a few times and it became louder and louder. I was thinking to myself, "self" what happens when we live loudly for the kingdom... what happens when old people (me) really have this 'kid' passion for God. Uninhibited... unencumbered.... undignified..... just singing until the prison doors open. Needless to type, it was a sweet moment! Even more, it's always amazing to me when eternity shifts.... especially when a kid says "yes" to God and charts an amazing, unimaginable journey in Him. It's been a good week or two.
Watching people flow through the baptismal waters was wet... good.... and always a party at EBC. Over the next couple of months, we are expecting a few dozen to baptize in the faith. Yeah! And that is only on this continent. What about Brazil? Central Asia? Pine Isle? I asked our body to move into a Tuesday "fast".... for the next four Tuesdays, join together in a corporate fast in pursuit of our God. We are rocking heaven as we ask God to open the trails in Brazil, provide visa's for Central Asia, and send a team to Pine Isle! We think it's a good idea to plant churches on river heads.... in every county in a nation in Central Asia.... and to let the islands rejoice! We see some serious issues and spiritual confrontations! We are going to fast, pray, and expect!
Tons of feedback from yesterday...... As we train for life, it's our desire to allow the Word of Christ to dwell in us richly. It was fun, practical, and incredibly intentional to discuss the finer points of a road trip in Christ. Enjoying some thoughts from Buddy Owens (a supreme PK speaker), we talked about breathing deeply in the word of God. After all, if we are to echo our God, then the target of our lives is to allow His character to permeate our lives. When we discover who He is, we must ask "who am I"? Taking this road trip on a daily basis will grow us in the depth and knowledge of Jesus Christ and how our lives align with His. We talked about...
Filling our tank - verbalizing to God our openness to change....
Choosing the road - where will I begin this journey? John? Philippians? Romans? Ephesians? Find a road and begin. An even more practical suggestions is to find a version that you enjoy. Buy a coffee..... find a bookstore.... and peruse versions until you find one that really clicks.
Slow Down - this is not a speed reading challenge. Read until God speaks... then stop
Pull off at the brown sign (beautiful markers of significant moments) - This is not merely slowing down. This is stopping and enjoying a God view in a passage. What is God saying? How does it affect you?
Create a memory moment - How does your life match God's picture.... James says, God's word is a mirror. What do you look like in this environment?
Talk About the trip - this is an amazing conversation with God. The conversation is not launched out of the blue... instead, you are talking with God about His Word. You are struggling with His truth.... You are honest with Him.... You are honest with you.... You are being transformed by truth.
Repack - what adjustments is God asking from you? Think about this throughout the day. Be a 'one thing' person... one thing you do to pursue Him throughout the day. You may need to celebrate God's work in you... you may need to get rid of some baggage.... you may need to simply listen to God..... to worship.....
God did not give us His word to increase knowledge, He gave us His word... His life to change lives!
Vision, without the ability to execute is merely hallucination. We have this vision... we want the character of Christ. Let's 'train for life'! Let our lives echo of the great goodness, glory, and wonder of our God.
Feel free to add to the commentary by clicking 'comment' below. Happy week!
Mark
If the Word is God-breathed, then I want to inhale life, freshness... Him! My life is often smog filled and I long for the purity of God.... of His life.... of His direction... of His character becoming my very own.
This past few weeks have been amazing. Watching students go off before God and lead each other in an ever deepening passion for Christ was sweet. BigStuf Camp was just that... Big stuff. Then, to venture to Mega Sports Camp with our kids and hang out with them for 4 days was too sweet for words. I sweated through three shirts a day.... pulled muscles..... burned fuel...... talked with kids..... and watched as 10 kids moved their lives into the story of God and dozens went wild in their joy for Him. Kid-like worship is awesome. Okay, there was a moment that just doesn't happen with anyone but kids. I was talking about God giving us endurance even when times are hard. The story from the Word was Paul and Silas enduring in jail. I told the kids, they were doing insane things like quoting AWANA verses to encourage each other, and singing songs. Then, I begin to sing Here I am to Worship...... the kids starting singing with me. We sang that chorus quite a few times and it became louder and louder. I was thinking to myself, "self" what happens when we live loudly for the kingdom... what happens when old people (me) really have this 'kid' passion for God. Uninhibited... unencumbered.... undignified..... just singing until the prison doors open. Needless to type, it was a sweet moment! Even more, it's always amazing to me when eternity shifts.... especially when a kid says "yes" to God and charts an amazing, unimaginable journey in Him. It's been a good week or two.
Watching people flow through the baptismal waters was wet... good.... and always a party at EBC. Over the next couple of months, we are expecting a few dozen to baptize in the faith. Yeah! And that is only on this continent. What about Brazil? Central Asia? Pine Isle? I asked our body to move into a Tuesday "fast".... for the next four Tuesdays, join together in a corporate fast in pursuit of our God. We are rocking heaven as we ask God to open the trails in Brazil, provide visa's for Central Asia, and send a team to Pine Isle! We think it's a good idea to plant churches on river heads.... in every county in a nation in Central Asia.... and to let the islands rejoice! We see some serious issues and spiritual confrontations! We are going to fast, pray, and expect!
Tons of feedback from yesterday...... As we train for life, it's our desire to allow the Word of Christ to dwell in us richly. It was fun, practical, and incredibly intentional to discuss the finer points of a road trip in Christ. Enjoying some thoughts from Buddy Owens (a supreme PK speaker), we talked about breathing deeply in the word of God. After all, if we are to echo our God, then the target of our lives is to allow His character to permeate our lives. When we discover who He is, we must ask "who am I"? Taking this road trip on a daily basis will grow us in the depth and knowledge of Jesus Christ and how our lives align with His. We talked about...
Filling our tank - verbalizing to God our openness to change....
Choosing the road - where will I begin this journey? John? Philippians? Romans? Ephesians? Find a road and begin. An even more practical suggestions is to find a version that you enjoy. Buy a coffee..... find a bookstore.... and peruse versions until you find one that really clicks.
Slow Down - this is not a speed reading challenge. Read until God speaks... then stop
Pull off at the brown sign (beautiful markers of significant moments) - This is not merely slowing down. This is stopping and enjoying a God view in a passage. What is God saying? How does it affect you?
Create a memory moment - How does your life match God's picture.... James says, God's word is a mirror. What do you look like in this environment?
Talk About the trip - this is an amazing conversation with God. The conversation is not launched out of the blue... instead, you are talking with God about His Word. You are struggling with His truth.... You are honest with Him.... You are honest with you.... You are being transformed by truth.
Repack - what adjustments is God asking from you? Think about this throughout the day. Be a 'one thing' person... one thing you do to pursue Him throughout the day. You may need to celebrate God's work in you... you may need to get rid of some baggage.... you may need to simply listen to God..... to worship.....
God did not give us His word to increase knowledge, He gave us His word... His life to change lives!
Vision, without the ability to execute is merely hallucination. We have this vision... we want the character of Christ. Let's 'train for life'! Let our lives echo of the great goodness, glory, and wonder of our God.
Feel free to add to the commentary by clicking 'comment' below. Happy week!
Mark
Sunday, June 04, 2006
Hello, my name is I am NOT!
Ponderings from Philippians 3.12 Weekend of June 3 - 4, 2K6
When I wake up tomorrow, will I release a bit of heaven on earth?
Yes, it's pretty critical to be able to answer the question, if I die tonight, where will I spend eternity?
However, it seems that question lends itself to followers of Christ embracing, by grace, this message of salvation in Christ. Then, we park and wait for quite awhile until we get to "go to heaven." Maybe Jesus was onto something when He modeled a prayer for us. He taught, "Our Father, who is in heaven. Your name is magnificent. Your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven!" I don't think Jesus was diminishing our passion or hope for heaven. However, I think He was saying, Christ lives in you and your role is to release a bit of heaven on earth daily. We are ambassadors of Christ. Representatives. To be honest, I am not sure what it will look like for followers of Christ to unleash heaven on earth. However, I can think of a few things... like...
hungry people being fed
widows being cared for
the imprisoned loved
people with needs having needs no more
the abused helped
an ever deepening passion for truth
nations who are thirsty being provided water..... shelter...... hope
love abounding..... grace extending..... passion for His name and His people exemplified. That is a taste of heaven being released on earth.
As we talked about this weekend, we share the same venture as Moses. God said to Moses, I have this redemptive strategy..... this plan to release millions. I hear their cry. I see their need. I am compelled to reach out to them. Now, Moses, YOU GO! God has a redemptive strategy today (it involves a cross and a great, good news message of freedom)... His strategy involves millions being free.... and He has already said, "now, YOU GO!"
The question.... The passion on the table is how we will respond. Moses responded with all of his excuses..... old, stuttering, shepherd, murderer...... I think we can come up with some pretty profound excuses as well. When God said, "you go", He was saying I am going to do this with or without you. I have been searching for just the right partner... a regular person who will believe that I am able to do exactly what I said I would do. You just need to merge onto the highway of my agenda... my promised before, already in motion agenda.... and watch me go. Trust me. Follow me. Do not fear. This is going to be amazing.
Like Moses, we have to wrestle with our frailties and then recognize God loves to work with people who have to utterly rely upon Him. God loves for us to park our lives directly in front of Christ. He loves for us to long to conform into the character and representation of Christ. He loves to define us as Christ defines us. Then, He loves to watch us Go and He goes with us! He is an amazing God. He loves for us to define ourselves as His. After all, God plus anyone makes for a pretty stout tandem!
He is the I AM. Our name is I AM NOT! He is the center. He is in control. He is God. He is the owner of everything. He is the redeemer. He will feed the hungry. He will meet needs. He is just looking for a group of followers who will believe HUGE things about Him..... Who will be His skin on earth.
So, when you wake up tomorrow, will you release a bit of heaven on earth? When you wake up tomorrow will you live for truth, justice and, ultimately, a desire to ignite and inspire passion for Jesus Christ?
I love this place. I love our God. I love that He asks us to do some HUGE things we can never pull of ourselves. I love that we will never be able to pull big, God-sized things without parking right beside Him..... an echo - because what we do on earth WILL echo throughout eternity.
Do you have a thought? A comment? Click on 'comments' below and add to the discussion.
Mark
Ponderings from Philippians 3.12 Weekend of June 3 - 4, 2K6
When I wake up tomorrow, will I release a bit of heaven on earth?
Yes, it's pretty critical to be able to answer the question, if I die tonight, where will I spend eternity?
However, it seems that question lends itself to followers of Christ embracing, by grace, this message of salvation in Christ. Then, we park and wait for quite awhile until we get to "go to heaven." Maybe Jesus was onto something when He modeled a prayer for us. He taught, "Our Father, who is in heaven. Your name is magnificent. Your kingdom come and your will be done on earth as it is in heaven!" I don't think Jesus was diminishing our passion or hope for heaven. However, I think He was saying, Christ lives in you and your role is to release a bit of heaven on earth daily. We are ambassadors of Christ. Representatives. To be honest, I am not sure what it will look like for followers of Christ to unleash heaven on earth. However, I can think of a few things... like...
hungry people being fed
widows being cared for
the imprisoned loved
people with needs having needs no more
the abused helped
an ever deepening passion for truth
nations who are thirsty being provided water..... shelter...... hope
love abounding..... grace extending..... passion for His name and His people exemplified. That is a taste of heaven being released on earth.
As we talked about this weekend, we share the same venture as Moses. God said to Moses, I have this redemptive strategy..... this plan to release millions. I hear their cry. I see their need. I am compelled to reach out to them. Now, Moses, YOU GO! God has a redemptive strategy today (it involves a cross and a great, good news message of freedom)... His strategy involves millions being free.... and He has already said, "now, YOU GO!"
The question.... The passion on the table is how we will respond. Moses responded with all of his excuses..... old, stuttering, shepherd, murderer...... I think we can come up with some pretty profound excuses as well. When God said, "you go", He was saying I am going to do this with or without you. I have been searching for just the right partner... a regular person who will believe that I am able to do exactly what I said I would do. You just need to merge onto the highway of my agenda... my promised before, already in motion agenda.... and watch me go. Trust me. Follow me. Do not fear. This is going to be amazing.
Like Moses, we have to wrestle with our frailties and then recognize God loves to work with people who have to utterly rely upon Him. God loves for us to park our lives directly in front of Christ. He loves for us to long to conform into the character and representation of Christ. He loves to define us as Christ defines us. Then, He loves to watch us Go and He goes with us! He is an amazing God. He loves for us to define ourselves as His. After all, God plus anyone makes for a pretty stout tandem!
He is the I AM. Our name is I AM NOT! He is the center. He is in control. He is God. He is the owner of everything. He is the redeemer. He will feed the hungry. He will meet needs. He is just looking for a group of followers who will believe HUGE things about Him..... Who will be His skin on earth.
So, when you wake up tomorrow, will you release a bit of heaven on earth? When you wake up tomorrow will you live for truth, justice and, ultimately, a desire to ignite and inspire passion for Jesus Christ?
I love this place. I love our God. I love that He asks us to do some HUGE things we can never pull of ourselves. I love that we will never be able to pull big, God-sized things without parking right beside Him..... an echo - because what we do on earth WILL echo throughout eternity.
Do you have a thought? A comment? Click on 'comments' below and add to the discussion.
Mark
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