It's the close of a year. That makes for a sweet time of reflection and also a time for ever-increasing passion for what God could potentially do as He lives through the life of our fellowship in 2008. A few weeks ago, I jotted down a few key markers on this journey in 2007. I thought that you might like to read a bit of the Christ-life expressed via the Emmanuel Fellowship.

Happy New Year! This past year has been simply amazing! We have experienced over 80 people, that we know of, embrace the story of Christ and follow Him in baptism and in life abounding, eternal, and impassioned. Amazing.

In January, 2007 we launched a 40 Day prayer vision and journey that involved kingdom impact and building more space on our campus. Since then, we have eliminated $500K of debt and we are currently paying forward on our building. It is our continuous passion to build into the lives of families and to build physical space when absolutely necessary. So, with debt behind us, the earth is moving and the future building is coming into fruition.

We have continued to ask God to strengthen our vision for families and our Synergy conference and the family ministry focus has become laser-like and simply astounding. Family impact is, honestly, immeasurable!

Likewise, our small group strategy has been prayed over in 2007 and we are at the re-birth phase of launching a strengthening small group strategy with an ever-increasing passion for the Word; others; and serving.

Speaking of serving, we’ve been invited to strategically partner with NW Brazil and to consider being the key liaison for that region of the world. That’s huge. Even more, we’ve also sent teams across America and also into four different continents in 2007. Amazing.

In 2007, Theresa, Renee, Brenda, and Chuck have joined the Emmanuel team and Doug has shifted roles and is lending guidance to our discipling ministry to adults. Bonnie has ventured to W. Africa; Andy to TN; and Diane to SC. It’s been a year of team transitions!

It’s impossible to capture, in writing, the impact of hundreds of kids/ students on camps, retreats, and in day to day growth via the life of EBC. Immense… that’s the impact in our kid’s lives.

We closed 2007 with an Advent conspiracy (it seems, as I read the above thoughts, we’ve been in a conspiracy for the glory of Christ all year!). We gave and gave and gave during Christmas. We provided thousands of bibles to our Chinese partners in the gospel; at least 4 wells in Africa; and incredible support for our missionary friends. Our giving goal was $20K… our church actually gave $47K! (Yeah, you read that number correctly!) That is a conspiracy!!

2007 has been fresh. Christ is beautiful and glorious. He is consuming.

So, we are poised to ask God to do more than we can ask or imagine during 2008. Expectations are high and anticipation is rich. It is my prayer that we make so much room for God to be Himself… to change our lives… to revolutionize this city for His glory… and to impact the nations with utter abandon. I can only imagine what God intends in the life of our fellowship this year. I love being your pastor. I love being on journey with you. I love that God will far supersede our wildest dreams for 2008. So, dream big, huge, audacious, God-sized dreams for you and for your family and for this fellowship. Then, sit on the edge of your seat with expectancy. Happy New Year! Expect… Think… Go… Live…Be!

Feel free to comment by clicking below. Have an amazing New Year!

By Grace…For Glory,
Mark

Christmas is changing the world.... God's Word, released throughout China. Water, and salvation, springing up from the ground in Africa. Missionaries, over 5500+ who have given their lives to other nations and people groups, supported financially and practically. It's been an amazing Christmas in the life of Emmanuel. I love this place. I love that God has placed me in the midst of a fellowship that is intensely in love with His life; His Word; and the full-bore manifestation of the living Word found in the person of Jesus Christ.

The advent has truly been a conspiracy....

Our goal was to distribute 835 bibles to the persecuted church in China ($5K)... We actually gave 1875 bibles to fellow Christ-followers in China ($11,250)

Our goal was to provide clean drinking water to 5000 africans (approx 2 wells) in sub-saharan Africa ($5K)... We actually gave $13K+ and we are able to place 4 well in villages in Uganda/ Zimbabwe/ Kenya/ and a village in a nation TBD.

Our goal was to support our full-time missionaries with a $10K offering. I cannot wait to share, this weekend, what God did through the life of our fellowship. Keep your fork.

Christmas is changing the world and the impact of our faithfulness will carry on for years and years to come. The Word is living and active. It has feet and gives chase to you; it has hands and grabs hold of you. You and I have distributed the living Word all over China. The water is physical, but the water of Life in Christ is spiritual. May thousands in Africa drink deeply and find satisfaction, physically and spiritually, in Christ alone. Finally, may our missionaries, who give their lives daily for the glory of the cross, sense our support, love, and passion for the fame of Christ as we partner with them in a tangible, financial way.

We have worshipped more; spent less; given SO much more; and loved all! Thank you.

Then, Sunday evening, we stood with a crowd of folks and broke ground on our new building. In the very near future, we will teach 250 preschoolers that they are loved by God; He is their friend; and He made them for His great glory! For generations, this building will display the awe and wonder of our God. It was a good night for many reasons....one of which is, we paid IN FULL our Field House. We enter our new building phase debt free on all other buildings. That is good stewardship. That is Emmanuel. God is glorified.

I love being on journey with you. I hope that your Christmas is amazing. Behold His glory. Behold His grace. Be transformed by His power, presence, majesty, wonder, and glory. He is good. His love endures forever.

Feel free to comment. Feel free to have a glorious Christmas.

By Grace... For Glory,

Mark

Bibles Unbound...... Clean Water. As we dive into the advent conspiracy a bit more deeply, I am still amazed and humbled by what God is choosing to do in and through us. Honestly, we placed a "God-sized" goal of 835 bibles to be sent into China. God felt free to smile and free us to send 1700+ bibles into the hands of fellow Christ-followers in China. Together, we gave more than $9800 toward Bibles Unbound! Amazing.. Amazing... Amazing!

This past weekend, we turned our hearts toward giving to the BloodWater Mission. I cannot wait to share with you what God has done through our fellowship. Keep your fork!

When it felt like we couldn't sap one more ounce of God's goodness in our weekend Encounter, Ian stood and said 'goodbye' to the crowd for the day. Tied with his 'goodbye' was the announcement that we will be breaking ground the 16th on our MUCH ANTICIPATED preschool building and family-fun area. Even better, we will break ground debt-free, God-willing. Our typical "Journey" giving in December will allow us to have fully paid off the Field House before breaking ground. Utterly and completely amazing!!

It was a good day Sunday! There are so many things that were right. Ultimately, the presence and Person of Jesus Christ was the most pervasive and amazing thing that happened Sunday. There was a palpable sense that we were experiencing one sacred moment after another Sunday. Sunday at 12:30, I was exhausted and refreshed in Christ simultaneously. What a feeling.

Perhaps the most challenging thing that happened Sunday stemmed from a biography that I am reading. The bio is about a Pastor in the underground church in China. The book is compelling. At 5:30ish AM Sunday, I was going to wrap up the book and head to EBC. As I eased into the next to last chapter, I was stopped in my tracks and left undone. He was describing a vision to impact a massive region of the Asian continent. The church in China longs to send 100,000 missionaries out of China and into the most challenging places in the world. Check out the progress @ http://www.backtojerusalem.com/

The three key components of the missionary training include: a deep biblical understanding of suffering as a Christ-follower. They are trained to live and to be willing to die for the sake of the gospel. 2) the capacity to share their faith... while traveling; at a home church; with a Hindu/ Muslim; and when in a van traveling to your execution! 3) how to escape imprisonment for the sake of the gospel....

I want to live for Christ. With all that I am, I want to live for Christ. I want to reach a point of willingness to die for Him as well. All of life for Him. All of life from Him. All of life to Him. Beautiful.

Feel free to comment. I hope that your week is lived as a conspiracy for His glory! Keep your fork, we have an incredible weekend on the horizon. See you Sunday.

By Grace... For Glory,

Mark

I really don't want to leave the goodness and all that was right about yesterday. Honestly, it was astounding to encounter the Word throughout our 3 weekend encounters. Yesterday, we celebrated the radical, eternal transformation of hearts through the sacred moment of baptism; we shared in giving in order to send 835 bibles into a region of the world that is persecuted for the sake of the gospel (Our giving was yesterday. We gave. 835 bibles will be packed and sent Tuesday night!); our kids worshipped in extraordinary ways and it is beautiful to read their notes as they gave the Word to a family in another part of the world; we explored the utter supremacy and majesty of our God. He is infinite (no limitations; no end; existing forever; unbound; never tired; never aging; never upgraded; timeless) He is God! By becoming more God-conscious and God-exalting, my worship enhances.

In the earliest of our services, we had a moment that is a bit hard to describe. I'll give it a shot and then share an e mail that I received today. A man has been worshipping with us for 27 months. He does not speak english. Our services have not been translated (his small group has, but not our services). He has worshipped with us anyway b/c he experiences the presence of God. Yesterday was his last Sunday in this country. He will make his way back to his homeland this week. So, we said goodbye and we honored him. The goodbye was crazy. I spoke and Billy translated. Billy can translate b/c he spent a couple of years on extreme teams in Peru/ Bolivia discovering and laying groundwork with unreached people groups in that region. It was a good moment! It was a moment that I will savor for quite awhile.

It got better today. I received the below e mail from Jace. I am genuinely astonished by the grace of God alive in our fellowship. Read below....

HOLA PASTOR MARK!

Brushing up on my Spanish. Hey I just wanted to share something with you from yesterday that happened in our life group. As you know yesterday was the last time for Miguel at EBC and what a blessing he has been not only to me, but to a lot of people in our church. Miguel has always said that he felt the love of Christo' (Jesus Christ)at EBC and he visited other places before he called Emmanuel his home. He has said that he knew Christ was alive in our hearts!

He didn't say a whole lot in class yesterday and then at the end whenI folded up my bible he asked if we were done. He then asked us to open our bibles to Genesis 28 verses 16-20. We read and some cried, including myself.He was telling us that he felt sad for having to leave, but that hewould be happy to see his family. He felt that Emmanuel was as the Word says "None other than the House of God". His prayer was verse 20 when Jacob prayed that the Lord would grant him protection and food on his journey back to his father's house and that He would remain his GOD.

There was a lot of silence in that room after that verse was read by Linc. Pray for his safe return to his father's house. He was robbed on his way over to the states in Mexico by the Mexicanpolice. He was the only one who DID NOT drown when him and about 14 others got caught in a whirlpool while crossing the Rio Grande coming intothe States. He said he felt the hand of the Lord pulling him ashore.I think that the Lord had a purpose for him coming to Crestview?? We serve an AWESOME GOD! Didn't mean to write you a book. HAVE AN AWESOME DAY! I PRAY for my pastor and my church staff. That was cool yesterday having Bill D translate Spanish for us. Ididn't realize he spoke Spanish until last week when he was talking with Miguel after church. Jace

I love God's presence. I am continually praying that many, MANY will find that God is our hope, refuge, presence, source and passion as we gather in this city! As a result of our passion, may others discover that He is more than enough. The Word becoming flesh and living among... beholding His glory, the glory of the one and only Who is full of grace and full of truth.

Feel free to comment by clicking below. Feel free to enjoy and revel in your God. He is good.

By Grace.... For Glory,

Mark

Do you know what I love? I love having people around me who are irrationally, foolishly, and radically committed to getting me to Jesus Christ! I love that God has created this huge vacuum in my life that only He can fill. I also love that God has wired me and created me for others. (Gen 2.18; Acts 2.42) It's not that I get to 'share life' with others... I am made to pursue life, Christ, mystery, beauty, wonder, awe, life-change, and world change with others. I am made, by God, to have others on the corner of my mat carrying me to Him. I am made to carry the mat of my friends and to relentlessly commit to getting them to Christ. I am pre-wired by God for that very purpose. I need others. So do you. Otherwise, I am paralyzed by my 3x6 mat that holds my small thoughts, dreams, commentary about the faith, impact..... and on and on. I don't want to be paralyzed!

God, because He is infinitely knowledgeable, has wired me to commit and connect to others. Jesus connected with 12.... Deeply connected with 3.... and exegeted God's action concerning others as he walked this earth. I love that challenge yesterday. Honestly, I am a bit of a loner. I choose to be alone before I choose a crowd, anyday. I love the continual, biblical challenge to step out of my own comfort zone and seek others. I don't want to live paralyzed by my small goals. I want to surround myself by people who relentlessly seek to get me to Jesus! So, I asked myself yesterday.. what is one step that I need to make in order to more deeply commit to an others first perspective?

I will wrestle with that answer. I hope that we all will. At EBC, we think that we are onto something which we will initiate in January. Because we are passionate for the Word... for serving... and for others, we intend to open our small groups even more. We are going to unite in the Word for a season. We are going to birth multiple small groups. We are going to grow, as one after One. I am so primed about this season in the life of EBC.

Perhaps a single step for you may be opening your home in January? It may be leading a small group in the study of the Word? It may be committing to a small group?

What is the step?...... Give chase!

Feel free to comment below.

By Grace... For Glory,
Mark

Just when I think that the annual Tailgate Fest cannot get any better.... it happens again. It was beautiful to watch kids play..... to stand in the middle of the concourse and listen to the laughter.... to smell amazing food.... to look at everyone wearing the colors of their favorite teams..... to experience our students playing 'trash cans' and throwing down some sweet rhythms.... to watch Ian and Jamie utterly and completely free the fools..... to have our kids enjoy the night of their lives as they jumped, played, and loved life... it was beautiful! It was the church being the church in the most beautiful of ways! Hey, we even threw a marriage proposal into the mix. A group is gathering and eating and enjoying a sweet little fire... that seems like a good time to ask the woman that you love to marry you! I love the tailgate fest! We'll do it again next year!!

We kicked off the series with the cry to 'free to fool'. At times, it's just foolish to consider following Christ. It's foolish to dream of changing the world... to consider expanding the fame of our God... to anticipate that God doesn't merely consider using you, but fully intends to use you for His greatest glory as you find your greatest satisfaction in Him. When you come to know Christ, two things begin to track as you grow into His image. Christ-likeness and Child-likeness track simultaneously in your heart. Spiritual maturity is becoming more and more like Christ and more and more like a child.

Like a child, I want to believe that God is. I want to believe that God moves. Like a child, I want to believe that He can do as He chooses. I want to believe God-sized things and actually see Him bring His activity into fruition. I want to care far less about what others think and I want to care far more about what God thinks. I want to be God-conscious rather than self-conscious! I want to walk on water.... free captives.... live for His glory.... revel in Him.... dance... dream.... hope.... and vision! I want Christ.

I want the Word (logos = the written, living,and indwelling Christ) to dwell in me richly. I want to encourage others as I sing, dance, live, move and have my being in Him. I want to confound the wise and the strong and the together, because God chooses to free a fool like me - in all my simplicity and incapability - to most glorify His name.

I want Christ. I want to be a fool for Christ. I want to be surrounded by fools, so that we might just release His character in this earth.

Freeing fools... that's Jesus!

Enjoy today. Comment, if you like, by clicking below.

By Grace... For Glory,

Mark

What the praying man does is to bring his will into line with the will of God so God can do what He has all along been willing to do. This whole idea of prayer and God leading us into things that we could never accomplish on our own simply stuns me. Honestly, I don't want people to be able to explain my life. Beyond that, I long for things to be happening beneath the banner of Emmanuel that are simply inexplicable apart from God's life and presence living through us.

So, I want to make the most of every opportunity. I want to seek to know God, so much so that my reaction and my life is a 'gut reaction'. What flows from my life and my decisions and my relationships and my expenditures and my passions and my pain are visceral statements about the core of who I am in Christ. It seems to me that this capacity to grow into a tree and to lend shade to the weary (spiritually and physically) and life to the soaring is directly correlated to my willingness to know God. I want to know Him. As the Emmanuel family, I want to explore the depths in Christ together. I want to be known for knowing Him!

The aramaic word for prayer can be translated 'to set a trap'. Being a person who pursues Christ and pursues His Word allows me to 'set the trap' in order to catch every opportunity that God sends our way. As the writer of the book of Chronicles states, the eyes of the Lord scan the land searching for those whose hearts are radically turned on to His heart. When He finds those people, He will invite them to join Him in what He is already willingly doing.

So, seek God. As Matthew 13.31 - 32 unpacks for us, the Kingdom of God looks like a bunch of people who really can become a bunch of scrub bushes. Yet, when Christ steps in, we can become trees SO THAT those around us who are weary or those who are soaring might find life! May we be a people who have found, in Christ, more than enough. May we rest there, in Him! May the weary and the impassioned find sustenance in Who they find is in our life and IS our life!

I love these words from the interview with Dr. Bill Bright.... I am a doulos (a bond servant) of Jesus Christ. The overarching goal of my life is to simply know the will of my master, Jesus Christ, and to align my life with His will. I don't have to be successful..... I simply must know Christ and that knowledge eliminates problems. All that is left is opportunities to see and join God at work.

God is willing and He is acting. Prayer invokes our lives into His will and His actions. Let's chase the Lion of the Tribe of Judah (Jesus Christ), so that He can guide us toward other lions worth chasing!

Give chase. Feel free to comment below.

By Grace... For Glory,

Mark

God wants to get you where God wants you to go more than you want to get where God wants you to go. Isn't that a peaceful statement! Ephesians 2.10 says that you and I are God's poeme (His poetry... His workmanship... His creativity) created in Christ for good works; works that God has ordained in advance for you. That means that my primary role is to get to know His heart. I have this huge role of discovering an ever-increasing depth of the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. God wants to get me there! He wants to get me there more than I want to get there! I love Him for that. (and a plethora of other reasons!)

So, the urgency and passion of our lives really centers on seeking Him. I mean, I woke up this morning and actually thought, "God wants to do something AMAZING today!" As I seek Him and as I get to know Him, I unleash more and more expectancy about what He is doing and how He is moving. I am actually tuning my life to the rhythm of His grace.

So, here's our role. It's found in Colossians 4.2... Your role is to devote yourself to prayer and seeking to know the Word, who put on flesh and chose to live among us... the Word who is filled with grace and with truth. Really! That's what you are to do. To radically commit your life and your mind and your love and your strength to getting to know the Word. Devote yourself to being watchful.

People who are devoted to being watchful see further than others see; see things before others see them; and see things that others don't see. People who are devoted to seeking and seeing God just don't miss God-ordained opportunities. Those of us who live prayer-less lives are opportunity blind. I want to be 20/20 as it comes to being in the middle of God-opportunities to live out God's greatest glory!

Let's 'make the most of every opportunity.' - Col 4.5 Let's move toward God and watch as He moves us toward His purposes and His life and His ways. Our lives, attuned to God's heart and mobilized by His action could be revolutionary!

Mustard seed opportunities growing into a bush that BECOMES a tree! We are oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of His splendor.

Enjoy today. Feel free to comment by clicking below.

By Grace.... for Glory,

Mark

Sitting on the stage with Bruce was good. I have known Bruce for a long time. A really long time. I mean, I watched Betsy take her first step. Two weeks ago, I walked across the Auburn University campus with Betsy where she is a freshman! I love sitting in front of Emmanuel with a friend, who also happens to be a lion chaser! It seemed to me that Bruce was actually sharing a hope and challenge with the Emmanuel family. It also was pretty clear to me that our ability to pull off this challenge just does not exist. But, God......

Bruce was inviting us.. EBC... little ole' us to become the Strategy Planners for the NW corner of Brazil. There is no other 'they' in this equation. It's us and Jesus! That's a good team. Over the next year, we will discern and discover what that partnership looks like and how God might be inviting us to join Him in this massive endeavor. As I listened, I realized that this endeavor supersedes my lifetime, but its a lion worth chasing for the rest of my days!

A quick demographical consideration of that area tells us that only 2% of the population have heard of the grace and love of Jesus Christ. We are being invited to launch a church planting movement across that region that could be simply remarkable. As Bruce shared his vision.... a church within a days walking distance of every person in that region, I was gripped. People walking 4 - 6 hours, one-way, in order to encounter Christ with fellow followers! My imagination was running. My heart racing.

I love strategy... I love impact! I was envisioning this web of indigenous leaders who are in the floresta (jungle), who make their way to the two larger churches in the region. I can 'see' them walking into rich environments of worship (from the EBC team leaders) and having our small group leaders equip and train them in sharing in 'house church'. I see our students walking in the 'interior' and leading children and students to worship... to worship the living God. My children and my grandchildren in this huge endeavor of reaching an unreached people group. A fresh vision was planted. It's a lion chasing vision! A 500 lb beast that could devour us, but God.....

Also, yesterday was so amazing as Carrie and her team led us in worship. Her body and mind might be 'radiated', but her soul and passion was radiating the majesty and wonder of our God! She led us in worship... From the fist-pumping "Oh, Happy Day" to sharing in her story and her song, which are actually His story and His song. I love Carrie. I love that she leads us to worship the living God. I love that she brings the Word alive by action and by deed. (Carrie, I love that you love the book of James and that you are living that book right now!)

It seems that Emmanuel continues to be on the cusp of a God-sized revolution. Is is possible that the revolution might stem from allowing a fraction of a verse to makes its way into our DNA? Paul says, make the MOST of every opportunity. (Col 4.5) Every opportunity to find satisfaction in Christ, make the most of it. Every opportunity to revel in His glory... yeah, make the most of it. Every opportunity to amplify the name and fame of Jesus Christ, make the MOST of those moments! They are divine.

If we follow Paul's challenge, then we will be a people who have planted the seed of Christ in our lives and grown into bushes. But Christ might actually implement the remarkable... changing our very DNA and allowing us to become trees... Oaks of righteousness for the display of His splendor! That would be ridiculous. I am asking God to grow a body of Christ who are trees...oaks... for His glory alone... His name alone.... His fame alone.... Him.... All for Him!

Make the most of every opportunity. That could just change nations! Yeah!! I want to chase that lion. I want to grow. I want, by the grace of God, to become a tree through which many find life. I want to be surrounded by fellow trees! Let's fall in love with Him, together!

I love you guys. I love hanging out with a bunch of bushes who might just become trees.

By Grace... For Glory,
Mark

Jesus is amazing. He actually says, in Matthew 13.31 - 32, that our lives might have a shot at growing into a mustard tree. Given that a mustard tree is actually a relatively small bush, it's really not that impressive. It's definitely not indicative of the oak tree that is on the image above. It's a bush. So, Jesus says that we get a shot at becoming a bush!

You know, I'm not sure that I've nailed this or that I know exactly what He was saying. But, it's pretty amazing to think that, when planted in Christ, we might actually become someone and do some things that are utterly impossible apart from Him. He actually says that a bush (a mustard tree) might actually become a place that is a feeding ground and a resting place for those that pass by. He actually says that a 'bush' might actually become the largest of trees.

Jesus uses the foolish to confound the wise. He uses the lowly... the humble.... the simple.....the meek.... the desperate. He uses the weak to shame the strong. (1 Cor 1.26)

I don't mind being a bush. A simple person who really doesn't have a shot at eternal impact apart from Christ, when planted in Him can live, move and have being immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine! A bush that becomes a tree is impossible. A bush that becomes a tree that feeds others is confounding. A bush that becomes a tree that feeds others boasts solely in the field in which He is planted.

Let him who boasts boast in the living God. Let him boast in Jesus alone. I boast loudly in Christ. I want to live in such a way that my life is inexplicable! It just doesn't make sense. I want people to actually say, 'how in the heck did that bush just do THAT!'

The cry of the bush, "Jesus! It's Jesus Christ!! I boast in Jesus!! I just did THAT, because I am planted in Jesus!!!"

So, I'm not so audacious as to wake up today and to fail to realize that I have to converse with Christ. I am not audacious enough to fail to recognize that I desperately need His Word. I can do nothing apart from Him... His life.... His passion... His focus.... Him, living and flowing through me. I would be a bush apart from Him. But, in Him.......

It's Christ in you, your hope of glory! (Col 1.27) Oh, Happy Day!

By Grace... For Glory,

Mark

This past week has been interesting. I have shared much life with a friend. Our families have had kids together... watched them grow up.... enjoyed hanging out in small group and sharing Christ-life for 8+ years.... and, for the past 2 years, enjoyed advancing this incredible message of Christ in the life of Emmanuel as staff teammates. Carrie has orchestrated our worship encounters for the past two years and the word 'amazing' doesn't suffice in describing the encounters that she has intiated in order that we might engage God. To receive her phone call and to have her share that she is entering a significant battle with cancer was rattling. I love working with Carrie! I love dreaming church. I love that our kids are sharing life. I love Jeff (her hubby). I love them. So, what in the heck do you do when you hear news like that. For me, I got a little dizzy for a few seconds. Then, I prayed. Then, I gathered our team of leaders at EBC and we sat in a room together in silence. Followed by a few prayerful utterances. Then silence. I think that God knew our heart in the midst of the silence. You know, my dad is smart. He also loves God. He gave a great piece of advice when he said, 'let's assault heaven on Carrie's behalf.' That's what we are doing and will do. If you are reading this, then why not pull out your journal and jot Carrie's name in a prominent spot and pray for her. She leads people to worship. She loves her husband. She has three amazing kids. We want to keep her around for quite awhile.

The day after the news, our staff team was scheduled to head to ATL for the Catalyst Conference. We went. It was right. I don't think that I will even attempt to type what the time meant to me and to our team. A few random thoughts might be enough..... it is so fresh to hang out with people that you do ministry with. I love that I love our team. It is utterly amazing to sit with 12,000 leaders of this movement called the Kingdom of God and to rend our hearts toward heaven.... it's good to fill our minds and our hearts with anticipatory longing for His church called Emmanuel.... it's good to meet a guy named Chuck and get to spend two days worshipping with him and to hear his heart for families... it's good to laugh, cry, be challenged, and to, ultimately, worship Jesus Christ! Catalyst was good. The EBC family sends their staff team to this event every year. I love that you guys love us. I love that you support your staff team as we grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ.

Then, we rolled back home and had an incredible weekend at Emmanuel. Incredible. The Worship was charged. The challenge, from Luke 12, was intense. Really, I want to use all that God has given me as a stewardship of His. All that I have is His. I want people to see my life and KNOW that God, and not possessions, are my joy and my sustenance. In the land of 'more', may people see in us that Christ is ENOUGH!!

The end of the service was the kicker. Rick felt compelled by God, in response to Carrie's diagnosis and the plethora of hurts around EBC, to sing Tomlin's revision of Amazing Grace. It was beautiful and God took much glory in that moment. Settle your heart in the refrain: My chains are gone, I've been set free. My God, My Savior has rescued me. And like a flood, His mercy rains. Unending love, Amazing grace.

It was in interesting week. Here's what I know: God is faithful and I trust Him. He is good. Here's what I don't know: Why some things happen and what the outcome might be. I just know that I want to assault heaven for the sake of knowing Him and being well known by Him, and watching as He transforms life, mind, heart, and the circumstances of those around me.

I love God! If a small portion of my life can be catalytic in drawing others toward Him, I think that will be good.

Feel free to add a comment by clicking below.

By Grace... For Glory,
Mark

Fresh... that is what I felt as I walked out of Encounter yesterday. It was fresh. You know, having our students lead me straight toward Christ is ripe. It is right on! Our student band simply went off yesterday. They went off over Christ... they went off in leading us toward Him... they went off in leading me to fall in more in love with Him. Yep, it was good! I think that I wanted to lay everything out before Christ and to say to Him, I am Yours. I mean, totally and absolutely, I am Yours. You, Jesus Christ, are the solution. You alone. Yet, I know the solution and I want to be the hands and feet of Christ to lead others straight toward that solution. As we ended all three services yesterday, my heart was bending in that direction. God, be the solution. God, if you don't mind, I would love to be in the mix as You offer Your fame and Your character all over this earth. Please, let me have some small role in elevating Christ.

Perhaps the most amazing moment yesterday happened in the middle (9:50)Encounter. I was sitting on the front row and Lexi rolled up beside me. Lexi is in elementary school and she was recently baptized as a Christ-follower. I was feeling really good about standing with her and I leaned down and asked her, 'did you come to hang out with me?' I LOVE her answer! She said, 'nope, I came to watch the band.' This was poignant because... Lexi has never come to hang out with me up front... I actually used a poster board in the service that Lexi gave me that thanked me for baptizing her.... She didn't know that I was going to use that poster. It was one of those beautifully God-orchestrated moments. So, here I am talking about making space for more kids and leading them toward Christ. Here's Lexi, who has embraced Christ this year, rolling down front to watch our students lead her toward Him. It's almost one of those 'you had to be there' moments. But, as you read about it, it's still sweet! 3 generations... me, the old one... our student band... and Lexi.... all discovering more of God; leading each other after God; and displaying what it means when one generation tells the next generation about the wonder of God.

As Luke 12.21 challenges me, I want to 'store' much of that in my life and in the life of Emmanuel. May we be well known as a fellowship who stores much of Christ and gives much of Him away. That will be good.

Feel free to comment.

For the Glory,

Mark

Have you ever been in one of those moment's when you know that Jesus is really challenging you? He's exposing some sin or calling you to a deeper place or inviting you to step way out of the boat and do something ridiculous. You know that moment is ripe. It's fresh with potential and it's filled with promise and it could actually change your life.

Despite the reality that the moment is ripe, you choose to spoil the moment. Once again, Jesus is speaking.. it's clear... it's bringing you to a point of life-change... it's poignant... it's you.. it's Him... and you say, "Hey Jesus, can you break a $10?" Ever been there? You know, Jesus is saying 'let's go' and all you want to do is break a $10.. take care of your needs... maintain your personal path of happiness... revel in your sin.

Honestly, I have never felt a sense of 'gain' apart from Christ. I've never chosen sin, small goals, a faithless walk, mediocrity... never chosen any of those and felt that I experienced gain. I lose. Everytime that I trade a $10 for the passion of and for Christ, I lose. That seems to be where this bizarre fella was parked in Luke 12.13. In the midst of Jesus' impassioned teaching, he diverts Christ with a personal, self-serving question.

Here's where I am landing. I want Jesus to expose my sin...lay bare my equivocation about the faith. (Lk 12) I want Jesus to demand that my life be a confession of His grace and His love and His mercy and His justification and His righteousness and His rightness. I want to know that He demands that of me and I want to submit to Him. You know why? I have found that my life, submitted to God, is in the midst of 'gain'. I gain life and purpose and passion and focus and impact. I gain Christ! Is there anything else worth gain?

Jesus asked, 'what does it profit a person to gain the world and lose his soul... his core?' Nothing! I want gain.

Be free to comment.

For the Glory,

Mark

Yesterday was good. It was fun. It was charged with the presence of God. The band brought life. Frank and Silas (and Jimmy) are primed and ready to be the back-up for the 'chick band.' Yeah, it was right yesterday. As we closed out the day in the latter part of the last service, I was caught up by the energy in the room. We were singing "I am Free" and I think that we were truly free! There was dancing, shouts, passion, laughter, singing and it was beautiful! Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom and hope.

As we wrapped up true, I honestly landed on one question. My ability to live a life that leaves an incredible God-impression hinges upon my answer to that question. Will I believe Jesus as much as the 11 disciples as they stood in a vineyard, with their dreams 'caving in' on them? I know that this is a leap of faith and a hope beyond hope, but will I believe Jesus that I might do something on this earth that bears so much fruit for His fame? Is it plausible that a few hundred years from now, people will still be talking about a movement out of this little hamlet in Crestview that was authentic, passionate, and truly expanded the name of Christ? I want to believe Christ as much as the 11 disciples that night in the vineyard! I want to trust Him when He says that our Father will bear so much fruit in our lives that we might actually change the course of history. I long to remain in Him and to prepare the way for His life with that hope driving me

!

So, I am going to dig ditches... create channels for the floodwaters of Jesus Christ to flow in and through my life. That is my role. That is your role! We are to irrigate the way (remain/abide), so that our Father, who is the master gardener, will have deep ditches through which to pour His grace. When His presence and power fall, I long for there to be ample room to catch as much of His life and His passion possible.

Then, I will be true... about True... living for True. He is the True! Enjoy Him. Make much room for Him. Grow, together, in Him. Bring your shovel!

Feel free to add a comment. Enjoy today.

For the Glory,
Mark

I am desperate for Christ. I am hopeless apart from Him. I can do nothing of eternal significance without Him. In John 15, Jesus is standing with 11 people who will make such a radical impression of the Kingdom of God on this earth that the nations will be changed... that the course of history will be changed. Jesus tells them that they are 'competent'. They have followed Him and watched Him and learned from Him, but apart from Him they can do nothing. I think that Jesus actually recognizes that our competency is our achilles heel. We actually have the audacity to believe that we can be 'good Christians!' Okay, forget the 'we' in that last sentence. I actually am so prideful that I will become 'good' at this whole Christian deal and I can feasibly go for hours, days, and even months as a competent follower, with little intimacy with Christ at all and little actual impact.

Maybe that is why Jesus said, in a span of less than 2 minutes, remain in me... remain in me... remain in me. He tells these guys that they must remain in Him and He tells them this 10 times! I want to say, as I read John 15.1 - 10, 'enough already... I get your point.' But, I miss His point so completely, so often, and I so futilely attempt things on my own. For those 11 guys and for me as well, Jesus had to say these words ten times in such a short span so that I will ingrain them in my mind and in my heart. I am desperately in need of Him. I need to speak with Him... I need to read His Words..... I need others who are also passionate for Him... I need to enjoy Him.... I need to memorize much of what He says.... I need to ask Him to change my heart and my mind and my life and my passions for Him and for His glory. I think that I am clued into the reality that I need Christ! Not some form of packaged religion, but an intimate, moving, impassioned, ongoing relationship with Him. I need that if I have any shot at glorifying Him with my life.

So, Jesus says that we must abide in Him. It's not a good idea or a thought of the day. He actually says that we are to remain in Him and it is an imperative. Jesus is commanding us to remain in Him so that we can be involved in things that just don't come naturally. He actually believes that His life, lived through us, will move us into the realm of the inexplicable. So, I must abide. I must act.

I was sitting in life group last night and a friend of mine shared some thoughts from C.S. Lewis. Paraphrasing Lewis, he said that he is digging channels in a waterless land, so that when the rain does fall it finds deep ditches through which to flow. Wow!! He nailed it. I can't stop 'seeing' that image. That is my passion and heart cry. I want to dig deep irrigation channels by my intentional intimacy with Christ so that the rain of His spirit and His presence and His life, when it falls, will find deep channels in which to run. I want flood waters of the living God to flow in and through me!

My action...Your action is to irrigate! Prepare the way. Read the Word. Memorize. Pray. Seek. Hunger. Repent. Know. Live with abandon for Him. Do that and expect a flood.

2000 years ago, Jesus stood with 11 followers believing that they could produce enough fruit of His life to change the world. 2000 years later, He still believes that about us. Abide. Remain. Irrigate. 2000 years from now, history will actually speak about our act of remaining.

Enjoy today. Drop a comment by clicking below if you please.

By Grace.. For Glory,

Mark

Narrow... Focused.... Clear... Pruned. It seems that Jesus was saying to a group of His followers, in John 15, that He longs to bring focus, perspective, and clarity to their lives... and to our lives as well! He is challenging us to love Him more... more than our sin... more than our small goals... more than our good... more than our shoddy definitions... more than our capacities...more than our comfort... more than our view of self. More! God, the Father, is a master gardener. He prunes our lives and narrows our lives in order to allow us into His realm of great. God's definition of great and our definition may differ. Yet, He is great! His character is great. For us to live a life of magnitude, then we must allow God to prune our good and our sin and our smallness in order to release His great.
I love a book by Piper entitled 'Don't Waste Your Life'. He writes, of the focus process, that there are critical questions and thoughts that we must ask and answer. He writes that we must live with impassioned focus, because we are in the midst of an epic battle between Christ and satan, truth and falsehood, belief and unbelief... there are endeavors to be funded and lives to be spent for the most consuming glory. I need to hear this message often, because I drift into lack of focus and lack of passion and a lack of reality that I live in the midst of an intensely beautiful spiritual fray. I am wired to love the same toys that those who don't follow Christ love. I start to fit in. I start to love what others love. I start to call 'earth' home. Luxuries become needs and I totally lose focus.
I don't think about people perishing... about missions.. about the hungry... about the impoverished... and unreached people groups completely drop out of my mind. I stop dreaming about God-sized triumphs of grace. I am so thankful for those around me who keep pushing me back toward Christ and His Kingdom and His passion. I am so thankful for God, my gardener!
Piper writes that those with focus ask questions like: what can I do to advance the cause? What can I do to bring victory? What can I sacrifice? What risk might I take? What will it take for me to release a taste of heaven in this earth? When I am out of focus, I ask questions like: What can I do to be more comfortable? to have more fun? to avoid trouble? to make light of sin?
I want to find Christ to be all-satisfying, all-consuming and to release a taste of His beauty to those around me. I want to have focus! I want to live with passion for His fame!! I want to live, in community, with a group of people who push me back toward Christ and consistently remind me of the gravity of living well and releasing His life in and through me. That's good. That's focus.

For the Glory,
Mark

Yesterday was good! Once again, it was 'right'! Worship, flowing out of the overflow from Synergy, was just intensely 'right' for me. I mean, Saturday night was off the hook!! Sitting in a room with 175ish people who are giving much of their heart, life, time, and energy for our students was so stinkin' right. God seemed to be saying that He was prepped to ramp up His life and His impact in our city. He is going do something profound in our community. God has already said epic things about His church. He said that His church would release a taste of heaven on this earth and that the gates of hell itself cannot prevail against our confession that Jesus Christ is the supreme King of Glory! He has also said that the family is this beautiful and amazing picture of Christ and His relationship to the church. God initiated the family and loves the family. I think that we think that the combination of these two forces - the church and the family - could just become an intense and profound impact for the consummate glory of God! It seems to me that He is on the move.... It seems to me that we might just be invited to join Him. I am ready to paint this city orange (the merging of the church (yellow) and the family (red) into this amazing, synergistic partnership that will elevate Christ to His place of supremacy (Orange!) Even as a Bama fan, I might just be willing to paint this town orange for God's glory in His church and through His families.

Yeah, it was good yesterday. It was good to celebrate 10 years at EBC immediately following Synergy. I cannot believe that God has allowed us to share life in this fellowship for His greatest glory over the past 10 years. It's been fresh. It's been amazing to watch as God has drawn hundreds of us into an ever-deepening relationship with Him.... It's been fresh to watch as multitudes have embraced Christ... It's been fresh to watch as God invited us to new strategies and huge steps of faith and a deepening focus on Him and an utter reliance upon Him and to do some things that failed and to do some things that succeeded and to really find a deep satisfaction in Him - together! It's been a good 10 years! It's been a FAST 10 years!! It seems to me that our greatest job and the most imperative thing that we can do is obvious! God's word actually charges us.....

Our simple deal is to lift up the person of Jesus Christ and He will continue to draw men, women, and children to Himself. So, I think that we'll continue to make much of Christ. I think that we will continue to know more of Christ. I think that we will expect much from Christ. I think that we will believe the unimaginable of Christ. This journey could far supersede our wildest dreams and imaginations.

So, my deal is to continue to challenge us to ask and answer the fulcrum question from yesterday. The question was, 'do I long for the presence of Jesus Christ more than anything else on this planet?' Our answer to that question will catalyze.... our answer will determine the direction in which we do catalyze!

10 years is good... Synergy is good... Jesus Christ is amazing. Let's enjoy our journey in, through, by, and toward Him. It's a good journey.

For the Glory,

Mark

It was 'right'... a year or two ago, Ian turned me on to a new statement. We were cruising along in my jeep on a beautiful Spring day to grab a quick bite of lunch at Burger King (of course, both of us are health nuts. So, the tofu burger was our food of choice with a side of fruit!). The conversation was good... the weather was right on... the food was anticipated and Ian turns to me and says, 'this is just right'. So, he felt free to explain that there are just those moment in life when all clicks and its just 'right'... it's an inexplicable but extraordinary moment that you simply want to savor.

Yesterday was 'right'. I want to savor yesterday a bit more. The songs... the stories... the scripture.... the songs again!.... the video's... the teaching. Everything flowed together and it was 'right'. (10 years at EBC is also 'right'!) You know, I was singing the Revelation Song and thinking, 'there is no way for this song to be wrong!' Anytime that we are singing words that echo out of Revelation 4 & 5, it promises to be profoundly 'right'. My heart was about to burst as I sang from my deepest passion and my deepest desire to adore our God. Kick back for a minute and savor these lyrics... these words that flow out of the heart of the Book of Revelation.

Worthy is the, Lamb who was slain Holy, Holy, is He Sing a new song, to him who sits on Heaven's mercy seat

Holy, Holy, Holy Is the Lord God Almighty Who was, and is, and is to come With all creation I sing Praise to the King of Kings You are my everything And I will adore You

Clothed in rainbows, of living color Flashes of lightning, rolls of thunder Blessing and honor, strength and glory and power be to You the only wise King

Holy, Holy, Holy Is the Lord God Almighty Who was, and is, and is to come With all creation I sing Praise to the King of Kings You are my everything And I will adore You

Filled with wonder, awestruck wonder At the mention of your name Jesus your name is power Breath, and living water Such a marvelous mystery Yeah...

Holy, Holy, Holy Is the Lord God Almighty Who was, and is, and is to come, yeah With all creation I sing Praise to the King of Kings You are my everything And I will adore You

This is 'right'. I mean, it's been happening around the throne for an eternity in the past. It's happening around the throne of Jesus Christ at this moment. These words and this heart of worship will happen eternally in the future. This is right! This is passion. This is where I want to park my life.

May your heart... our hearts, together, resonate with the eternal song of heaven and may we adore, worship, and live in wonder at the name, character, and Person of our King of Glory - Jesus Christ!

Feel free to comment by clicking below. Enjoy a 'right' week.

For the Glory,

Mark

Obsessed with Christ.....

Give me one pure and holy passion..... One soul satisfying, glorious ambition.... one magnificent obsession.... to know and fall in love with and expend my life for the King of Glory. Shells.... I don't want to waste my life on small obsessions or small dreams or small goals or small hopes or small aspirations or small impact. It is my passion to live in the midst of a group of people who expend their lives in a way that reflects the magnitude of their God.

Jesus said, 'I am the vine, the true.' He tells a group of men who surround him that they can pour out their lives for Him. He tells them that they can live for what is true. As I thought about Jesus' words in John 15.1, I love that He is the True. A life invested in Him is true. As I read, I was stopped in my tracks one evening. If Jesus is 'the true' and I must be attached to the true, then there is also an antithesis. There is also the 'false' and I run the risk of obsessing over 'the false'. I become obsessed so easily by...... some habit or purchase or thing or job or hobby or something with my body or with money or.... well, the 'or's' of my obsessions are unlimited. Even more, when I slide into an obsession with 'the false' it is a waste! I run the risk of wasting time, money, purpose, passion, and life. Perhaps, far more detrimental, I run the risk of losing the opportunity to spend my life for God's ultimate glory.

I long to spend my life for His glory! One obsession..... One.... to glory, revel, and find my truest self in Jesus Christ. Who are you obsessed with?

Feel free to add to the conversation by clicking on comment below.

By Grace... For Glory,

Mark

Identity.... Don't cheat the kingdom of God of your contribution by living your life based upon fraudulent assumptions about yourself. God has amazing things to say about you. He has this intense desire that we base our lives on all that is true. Isn't that a facet of the Christian life.... a form of discipleship is the process of replacing the lies that tend to define us with the truth of who we are in Christ? Isn't it amazing to hear Christ say that He sets us free? Honestly, I'm not sure that many Christ-followers are living with freedom in Christ. We tend to be bound by circumstances, false assumptions, lies.... bound!

God has done something amazing. He has rescued me from the domain of darkness and placed me in the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. I live there. In Christ, you live in Him! Really, I have been radically removed from darkness and deeply immersed in light... life.... hope.... passion. If that was all that there is to the Christian faith, then that would be more than enough. Salvation in Christ, by faith for His glory.... eternity with Him. Yeah, that would be enough. But God, in His great mercy just continues to pour out His life and all that is true into us. He says that this is true of us... that we

- Belong to the King
- a Child of the King
- a Disciple of the King
- Approach King with freedom and confidence
- Have Direct Access to throne of the King
- Currently are Seated in the Heavenly Realm
- are Made Righteous by the King
- Loved by the King

In the Sovereign King, you are...
- Accepted
- Befriended
- Chosen
- Complete
- Adopted
- United with Him

You will spend…..
- Eternity in His Presence
- Everything you need for life and for godliness
- Citizen of His Kingdom
- Healed by Him
- Hidden in Him
- Defended by Him
- Guided in Him
- One with His Spirit

Get this….
- No Spirit of fear, but of power, love and sound mind
- Nothing can separate you from him
- Established
- Anointed
- Workmanship
- Sealed through Him
- Saved by Him
- Sanctified
- Justified
- Rescued by Him
- Cleansed you
- Bought
- Buried with Him and raised to new life
- Made alive by the King

According to truth from The True, this is who you are. Let the weight of who you are and the truth of who you are fall in this earth for the glory of God alone. May discovering all that is true drive you more and more deeply into the Vine.... the Author of all that is true and all that brings life. Being rescued by the living God is amazing. Being defined by Him is overwhelming. It's true!

Feel free to jot a thought by clicking on comment below.

For the Glory,

Mark

I love it when God brings us to a crossroads.... a crisis of belief! Moments like these are moments to step into the midst of God's invitation and live obediently toward His desires. Or, they could be moments to say, by our actions, I think that I'll do this deal called life my way. The essence of the series 'Given' might just be found in our desire to magnify Christ as we are confronted by His truth in regard to our lives. When our lives are not aligned with His truth, we are truly at an impasse. What we do with truth will, ultimately, define our character. Character is the ability to do what is right, as defined by God regardless the cost. Allowing God's definition of life.... 'right'... His living through you in order to to center your life might require minor or major adjustments. There could be adjustments in thought life or habits or usage of resources or handling relationships or work ethic.... or... well, everything!

I loved this e mail that I received last week. Enjoy one person's desire to do what is right as defined by God. JoSue, in a conversation with me, simply said that her deepest passion is to allow her to be a conduit for God's glory. As she prepared to live on mission daily, and more particularly in Stukeley, she desired to take a beautiful step of obedience into the waters of baptism. JoSue has been a Christ-follower for a long time. She's just never been baptized as a follower. So, we went for it!

The rest of the story is that JoSue and her life group gathered here last Wednesday. Also, several from the Stukeley Mission team were here. She shared of her amazing journey with God and what led her to that moment in time. It was a ripe moment! After a few tears were shed, we wandered up to the pool and JoSue was baptized. My favorite part... She came out of the water with fist in the air, pumping up and down for the glory of God. Cheers, shouts, and thrill flowed her way from friends watching and from the shouts of heaven. Beautiful! I thought that you might enjoy her note to me sharing a bit of the journey. So, with JoSue's permission, here's a peak into her heart.


Dear Team (Stukeley Mission Team),I love you guys and want to thank you for all your prayers. Gary and I got a good report from the cardiologist today...PRAISE GOD for answers that are right on time! And speaking of time I know we all have so much to do and so little time to do it...so I will be brief. I have known many of you for years and thank God for all of you...I am looking forward to the times we will share in England ( and beyond), the many meals we will share and even the long flight and delays;) I don't want to take anytime away from you all with your families and friends so please don't feel sorry or pressure about Wed night. God has brought me to this place "a crisis of belief" through my personal relationship with Christ as my Lord and Savior and He has used many Philip's and Paul's along the way.....I accepted Christ when I was 13 and had been baptized at age 5 with my mom and siblings to join a church ...now over 25 years later...having found the TRUTH and hearing God speak , I feel compelled like the Ethiopian after answering "I believe that Jesus is the Son of God'...here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?" (Acts 8: 36-37). So stop the ride in the midst of all that God has been preparing me for because I need to get out and step into the water....when I go under I will be leaving every hinderance behind (Timid will no longer be part of my vocabulary or Character)...and when I am raised up the old things are passed away I am NEW in Christ and FREE to dance, to sing, and to worship and allow God to accomplish His work through me...through all of us Trusting God no matter what, no matter where, no matter when...go ahead I know you feel like singing too:) Thank you for taking the time to read this and know my heart. I love you all and I am praying for all of you.


In Christ, Jo Sue


PS. Does anybody have a HERO T-shirt I can borrow for the trip or are there any left from VBS that I could purchase? I want to use it as a visual to show how special each boy and girl are to God and relevance of the Bible, real stories about bible heroes, and missionaries.

Given..... You know, I am baffled by comments that were made by Christ. Like in John, when He says that you and I will actually do even greater things than he achieved. Or, in Matthew, Luke, John, Acts when He invites us to declare His glory and to be His witnesses to every corner of the earth. Or, in His incredible stories (Fateful Tales), when he asks us to care for the needy, hungry, imprisoned, orphaned, widowed, homeless, and thirsty. Jesus actually thinks that we, as His followers, will make a difference in this world. He seems to think that we will make a huge difference.

The more that I read Scripture, the more that I realize that this actually is possible. He 'gives' us stuff, life, freedom, hope, salvation, and passion in order that we might actually give our lives away ('our' lives are actually His life!). Better, He actually knows that we will accomplish 'more' because He will take up residence in our lives. Jesus will exercise His life through us. Amazing!

If I can be a bit vulnerable, I just cannot fathom making a significant difference in this earth. I can't, until I realize that Christ formed me.... made me..... gifted me..... challenges me to develop all that He has given me...lives through me..... and then holds me accountable to what I do with all that I have been given. He holds me accountable because He lives in me!

As we venture through 'fateful tales' this year, I am amazed by what Jesus demands from us. Jesus has epic expectations from His followers. I think that He thinks that God's character and heart will actually explode in the life of His followers. As Jesus tells profound stories, I think that He is saying to us (Christ-followers), 'if you wonder if my Father lives in you, then you must ask whether your actions reflect His actions and His heart and His passion?!' You must evaluate. He will ask for an account of who we are and what we have done.

Matthew 25 is not a series of stories about working our way into Jesus' economy and grace. Matthew 25 is a series of stories that ask us whether we see the characte of God growing in our lives. Romans 8 writes of this intense plan of God's. He has actually predestined or predetermined that we will be conformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ. I love the determination of our God! If His character is not increasing, then we probably need to wrestle with whether God actually lives in us.

I am praying that, as we fall deeply and radically in love with Jesus, the things that deeply move Him will also move us... together.... for His glory alone!

Drop a comment below. Enjoy today!

For the Glory,

Mark

Game Day Central was out of hand! It was incredible to enjoy the energy around this place this past week. I watched kids gain a better 'picture' of a heart for the nations.... a better understanding of this epic 'God-saga'..... a depth of friendship with one another. It was beautiful to see this place packed (440+) nightly. It was even more beautiful to know that heaven and earth celebrated as 40+ kids embraced Christ and birthed a relationship with Him. That's good! That's God!!

Ian and Jamie carried on the insanity with their amazing character sketches. Tammy, by an absolute miracle of God, actually brought some semblance of meaning to Jamie and Ian's drama! Hundreds of adults and students poured their lives and their time out for God's glory. It was a good week.

Maybe the best accolade for VBS was my 2 little ones on Friday night. They were anguished that we weren't heading out the door to VBS. They wanted MORE! Let's hope that several hundred kids want more and more of this amazing God that we elevated this past week.

So, we've enjoyed GameDay Central at EBC.... on mission in N.Dakota... on mission in Pine Isle.... next week, we'll send a team to England. This whole VBS thing is like the EverReady Bunny. It just keeps going and going and going......

Hey, let's also hope that they want less and less of their pastor attempting to dance : )!! Enjoy the YouTube video of the closing of VBS. Our staff team has some pretty good moves! You may see us on broadway in days to come.

For the Glory,
Mark

This song... these lyrics pierce me......


Lead me to the cross – where Your love poured out
Bring me to my knees – Lord I lay me down
Rid me of myself – I belong to You
Oh lead me – lead me to the cross

May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord, Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world. -- Galatians 6.14

For I resolve to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. -- I Cor 2.2

I deeply want my life to lead to the one simple conclusion that the cross of Jesus Christ is more than sufficient and worth all. Lead me to the cross so that all that trail behind me might find the supremacy of the cross in and through all of who I am. Lead me to the cross.

For the Glory,
Mark

Here & Now....

Today... I get today and today is a gift of God's grace. Today. Today is in front of me. It's here and now. I really want to live in the present and recognize that I cannot shift or change the past and I cannot project the future. What I can do is live with singularity of purpose today.. right now... in this moment. I have this moment to live consumed for that which is ultimate. I have this moment to live for the glory of God alone.

That seems to be the challenge of the prodigal (extravagantly wasteful) and the prideful - recognizing their need to live in each moment with singular purpose. What would it look like if Christ-followers recognized that the supremacy of God in all things in all our lives in all ways is the all consuming driver for us? I really think that might change the world... it might change our work... our play... our resource.. our passions.. our lives.. our relationships.

So, what's your singular purpose? Really, what is the driving force of your life. It was amazing, this weekend, to sit in the middle service and hear a group of students who just returned from camp talk about God as if He is intensely interested in their here and their now. It was amazing to hear them talk about being 'family' and about their heart-hopes and passions to grow together in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ. The theme of their camp was "here and now". It seems like their theme and our theme in the series 'found' are colliding. Here & Now - today I choose Christ. Today, I choose to live for that which is ultimate.

What is ultimate for you? What would it look like if you lived with Christ as the supreme, all consuming, encompassing, impassioned, ultimate pursuit of your life?

I am consumed for that which is ultimate. That is my personal life statement. It guides me as I venture through life. What guides you?

Enjoy today and comment if you feel the urge.

For the Glory,

Mark

I Love You, I Love You, I Love You, I Love You......

Yesterday, the 'picture' of God embracing us as His bride... as a Father to the fatherless... it was overwhelming, profound, and beautiful! It's amazing and unbelievable that the God of the universe wants me. He considers me to be beautiful. He is in love with me. I get to love Him back. That seems to be the only possible and sane response. I love you, God!

One thought will compel me this week. Tragedy is not the person who lives and dies with singularity of purpose (to glorify God and enjoy Him forever). Tragedy is the person who finds himself in the mire and has no sense.

May we come to our senses and pursue our God with abandon. To be prodigal is waste... extravagant waste. Wow, I am deeply desirous of not wasting a moment of this life that God has given me. I long to return to my heavenly father and wrap my heart, mind, strength, and arms around Him and to love Him with all of who I am.

Last week, I was reading a bit and I ran across these thoughts and found them a bit provocative. Maybe you will as well. Enjoy life!

Musings of a Christ-Follower

Stop talking about Jesus. Just stop. If we loved the people around us half as much as we say we love Jesus the rest of this manifesto would be entirely redundant.

Live a secret life. Invest the time, effort and vulnerability necessary to delve deeply into the scripture and prayer. Spend long periods of time in stillness. There is no shortcut to this, there is no other way. Without a deep and secret life we soon find ourselves talking about Jesus instead of being like Jesus.

Stop pretending. I’m a Christian, and I stink. So do you. Let’s get that out of the way, shall we?

Give more than you get. There will always be more than enough.

Be present for those around you. Following Jesus has nothing to do with your work, your resume or your income. In fact, nothing that matters does.

Treasure broken-ness. Our broken places are sacred spaces in our heart. Honour them. Value them. In doing so you love the unlovely, publicly declaring the beauty of God’s image in everyone.

Greet the broken with comfort and cool water.

Throw a party.

Know Jesus well enough to recognize him on the street. This is rather important, because he can always be found on the street - and he usually looks more like a pan-handler than a preacher.

Accept ingratitude and abuse as a fixed cost. Embrace them, and then go the extra mile.If you follow Jesus, you will anger religious people. This is how you will know.

Enjoy today. Feel free to comment by clicking below.

For the Glory,

Mark

Stop & Think...

This past weekend was beautiful. Jesus tells a story in Luke 15 about coins. A woman has 10 and loses one. She finds it pretty compelling to light a lamp and search the house for the one. She just cannot find satisfaction in the 9 in her possession. There is one more. The driving passion of our lives is the reality that there is one more person who has not yet discovered the grace message of Jesus Christ. We have the ridiculous honor of being in on the story of Christ and to actually share role in telling that story.

The Stop & Think video was incredible. A clear, beautiful, amazing presentation of what it means to be 'found' in Christ.... how to move one's life into the God-story. I love the anticipation of how God intends to use this tool in our fellowship. We have ordered 200 copies as a starting point. It's simply a tool that every one of us can use to share what it means to be in Christ. I know that we love people... that we are praying specifically for people.... that we are on their 'corner'.... that we are doing all things possible to tell them why Christ amazes us. That's why I love this video. It's just one more tool that God will use to increase His fame. After all, Jesus Christ is in the middle of this rescue mission and there is one more person who has yet to discover the depth of His love for them. He is lighting lamps.... maybe, just maybe we are those lamps. Hey, 'let your light so shine before men that they see your good works and give glory to the living, amazing God!' (Matt 5.16)

So, in a week or so, we'll have a few hundred copies of Stop & Think. (Haven't seen it? Try www.francischan.org Click on media and enjoy stop & think).

Have an amazing week. Fall in love with Christ. He is madly in love with you! Let's change the world.

For the Glory,

Mark

Party

Wouldn't it be incredible if Emmanuel was well-known for two things? It would be amazing to be well-known for our generosity. I mean, people really know us for our care for others.... our love and compassion toward the poor.... our constant encouragement.... our complete lack of grumbling.... our intense passion to be the salt and light of Jesus Christ.... our willingness to serve. I think that people would think that they are actually seeing Jesus when they see a group of people who live and give their time, resources, and heart with intense generosity.

It would also be awesome to be well-know for throwing parties. I love Luke 15. Jesus says, when you are generous and when you will move heaven and earth and mobilize to find, guide, and love others into this God-story and when you will give your lives away for others, you will actually have the thrill of celebration. As a result of hearts and lives that are generous... that are deeply in love with Jesus Christ... that are so deeply in love that it compels us to love others into this profound relationship. Parties that are unleashed in the arena of heaven and find their way into our hearts.... yeah, that would be good.

I think that if we are well known for our generosity in this gospel of Christ and when we throw hundreds and hundreds of parties because more and more find their way into the gospel, I'm really thinking that the fame of Christ will become a bit more prolific. I think that Emmanuel will be a place that increases the fame and character of the living God in this earth. That would be good!

Let's expend our lives for Him alone. It's worth it. When one more person finds their way into the Kingdom of God as a result, let's hit the 'pause' button and throw a massive party! It's worth it.

After all, I once was lost and now I am found. When I was found, heaven hit the pause button and celebrated. I love heaven! I love Jesus Christ. I love following Him!

Feel free to comment, by clicking the comment button.

For the Glory,

Mark