Honestly, I found it practically impossible to separate the lyrics and the songs and the teaching as we ventured through worship yesterday. Once again, I found myself radically attracted to the grace of Christ and to His work, on my behalf, at the cross. It was so refreshing to be reminded that it is 'not by works of righteousness, but by His mercy that Christ saved us.' (Titus 3.5) My best works that are 'right' and good are so trite in compare to the magnitude of His mercy. My right is abbreviated; short; finite; impure; and simple. His mercy is unabbreviated; eternal; infinite; and His mercy holds the radical capacity to actually create a rightness or righteousness within me. I love that truth. It is really not about my works of rightness and all about His mercy, which paves the way for His salvation. Salvation spring up from the ground.....

Yesterday was good, because....

- I was able to share in my own journey to a highly sacred and life-changing place. Camp Willow Run is a place that God radically used to shape my life and understanding of grace and mercy. Thank you for

stopping in with me there. I hope that you have a 'place' that marks you in His mercy and His grace. You know, that place where you discovered a taste of the depths of His grace. That sacred space in your life that leaves you never to be the same. Thanks for letting me share my spot with you.

- It was fun to eat a filet and enjoy that meal with you : ) It is even MORE fun to delight ourselves in the riches of foods as we feast, together, in Christ. I long, at my core, for the self-discipline to set aside the trivial in order that I pursue and live for the eternal. As I taste more and more of Christ, my taste buds will never be the same and they will not settle for trash.

- I got to hang out with multiple families who are thinking about identifying their lives with Christ and His work in this fellowship (Starting Point). I love Starting Point!

- A friend of mine ran a marathon in Korea. He finished and sent me pictures. Way to go, Guy!!

- AND, yesterday paved the way for an entire week of considering the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. I love Easter week!!

It is so sweet to enjoy this journey in Christ with you guys. I hope that your week is a feast in Christ. I am asking God to diminish your hunger for the trivial and to leave you famished for His Word and His life and His truth. May you have the self-control to feast on His truth!

He's alive and His life, released in You, brings the full-measure of His life wherever you go. Enjoy Easter.

By Grace... For Glory,

Mark

"Grace is the central invitation to life and the final word. It's the beckoning nudge and the overwhelming, undeserved mercy that urges us to change and grow, and then gives us the power to pull it off." -Tim Hansel

"Your grace is enough for me..... - Tomlin

I love Paul's hope and passion for us, as Christ-followers. He invites God's grace and His peace to rule in our hearts. Grace is our God exerting His holy influence in and through us. Grace is our God infusing our lives with His greatest purpose and His grace allows us to live for His greatest glory in this earth. We have to 'link' our lives to God's grace so that He links His life to ours. His life, poured into ours, is a profound and prolific link!

Grace is amazing.

Grace is beautiful.

Grace sustains.

Grace empowers.

Grace enables.

Grace saves.

Grace redeems.

Grace provided our yesterday.

Grace guides our today.

Grace secures our tomorrow.

Grace amazing take me home.

Grace is enough.

As Paul opens a letter to the church at Colosse, he longs for them to experience the holy infusion of the presence and reality of God (grace) and to recognize that they are eternally seated with Him in the midst of His holiness and His life surrounds and envelopes them (peace).

I have so much peace when I know the rest of the story! I have SO much peace when I know who I am and whose I am and the eternal ramifications of those truths. Being the avid 24 fan that I am, it is always good when Jack Bauer and Jesus can weave their way into a worship encounter. Honestly, as I watched Jack in season 3 and the peril that he was under, I knew that he had no shot at making it out alive. None!! Now, I netflix the 24 series...I'm just not committed enough to the 'tube to actually DVR or TIVO or purchase whatever the latest deal is to watch TV. So, I make life easy and watch shows WAY past their time. As I watched Season 3 of 24 and I was sweating Jack's physical safety, it hit me like a ton of bricks..... THERE ARE 6 SEASONS! He's going to make it!!!

I know the end of my story in Christ...not all the in-between until the end, but I know the end! I know that I will surround the throne of Christ and that I will join with every tribe and tongue and nation and people and that we, together, will make much of His supremacy. When that truth really settles in my heart, mind, soul, and strength I have peace....... Not fleeting peace, but peace that is visceral.

Your grace, Jesus Christ, is enough for me!

Enjoy today. Feel free to comment.

By Grace.... For Glory,

Mark

God is holy. His holiness evokes awe, wonder, fear, passion, intensity, worship, and followship. His holiness is awesome. As we venture through Colossians, I find it utterly crazy that Paul calls the church at Colosse (and you and me) 'holy'. We are a holy people who represent the wonder of God in this planet. The greek word 'hagios' is used to describe the holiest of holies and the manifest presence of the living God throughout the Old Testament and it is also used to describe us (Christ-followers!). We are 'holy' or 'set apart' or 'saints' for the display of the living God. I Corinthians 3.16 asks a radical question: 'Do you not know that you are the temple of God?' Do you get the ramifications of being the temple of the living God? They are huge! Honestly, I think that I 'know' that I am His temple and I hold this magnanimous treasure in a jar of clay, but my actions and my passions don't often reflect that knowledge. What a challenge to live as who I am... Holy and faithful, so that others might discover the source of my holiness and faithfulness - the exalted, Jesus Christ!!

This weekend, so many amazing things happened. To name a few:

- Our bikers parked bikes in Daytona and represented Jesus Christ in beautiful ways

- I watched several families drawing on the "Journey" wall. I watched their kids draw and I wondered about the impact of our decisions made today on generations to come

- Speaking of, Lilly hugged me Sunday night and she told me that she had invited Christ to be her forever friend. Lilly's mom had tears running down her face and Mr. Pat was walking on air. What a night!

- A friend told me that she has taken huge strides in overcoming her addictions. Beautiful!

- Multiple people are all over memorizing Colossians. That is huge!

- Another small group leader shared of 3 in her group embracing Christ.

Yeah, it was a good weekend. May we recognize that we are the temple of God. Like the church in Acts 2, I am praying for a sense of 'awe' and wonder from those who watch us and catch a glimpse of the living God. After all, we are 'holy' because we are His!

Feel free to comment. Enjoy this week.

By Grace... For Glory,

Mark

One of my favorite moments, from our Encounter yesterday, was sharing about The Journey Home. To look back seven years and remember that Dan, Ryan, and I stood on a corner and looked back at a bunch of trees and prayed for God to go amazing things as we built future space on our campus. The dreams that we shared, in that prayer circle, were huge. We had thoughts about our kids embracing Christ... the adults that would occupy that building.... the things that God wanted to do. We felt like we were dreaming "God-sized' dreams. We definitely were not lacking in our faith or hope for what we wanted God to do in our fellowship.

It's just a great reality that God always wants to do more than we can dream. I mean we dreamed of kids engaging Christ. But, with 50ish kids (0 - 12th grade) at our church at that time, I don't think that we remotely thought that 220ish kids (k - 5th) would gather on our campus each week! That building that we prayed for... well, it was used for adults for a little while. Now, it's become a building committed to kids and God is using that space to change the lives of children and their families. God felt free to blow away our greatest prayers and dreams and I really, really love that about God!

So, we will go 'On Location' this week. Get this... each of us will stand, with our family, and look out at land and dream of what God will do with the space that we are building. I know this about our church. We are filled with amazing people who believe huge things about our God. As big as we dream, I have no doubt that God will far supersede our wildest expectations. Can you possibly imagine what God will do in the life of our fellowship in the next seven years? I want to be right in the middle of God's move as His presence flows through our fellowship. I love God!

In light of dreaming about our building, I love this sentence even more. As I was teaching this weekend, this thought was given as the closing challenge. A wise man invests in the eternal and squeezes in the temporary. - Ortberg What a great sentence! What an even greater challenge. I am praying that our fellowship will be a group of people who pour our lives out for that which is eternal and squeezes in the temporary.

I love you guys and I love being on journey with you in pursuit of the eternal. Enjoy this week. Dream.... Live..... Go..... Be.

By Grace... For Glory,
Mark

This week, I am actually hanging around the reality of what I am known for. I actually plan to ask a few people. I want my kids to tell me what they 'know' that I'm about. I wonder what my neighbors think of me. What about the people who are around me all day. I wonder what Susan thinks about me. I want to remove a bit of mystery and ask.

I also want to talk with God this week and ask Him what He wants me to be known for in this earth. Then, I want to become quite intentional in building the disciplines into my life that will make much room for Christ' character to actually flow through me. As Paul wrote in I Cor 9.26ish, I want to 'run straight for the goal that I am after with purpose in every step.' This impassioned pursuit of Christ isn't random. It is an ongoing heart-hope that I not disqualify the beauty and wonder of who my God is by my poor reflection of Him. So, I will get after it in pursuing Him with my heart, soul, mind, and strength.

Like Paul, I want to be known for linking my life to Christ. In fact, I don't really care if I am known. If, by some amazing act of God's grace, I might get in on making Him well known and elevating His glory and highlighting the magnitude of Jesus Christ and speaking much of Him and His majesty and His wonder and His awe and His supremacy, I think that I will fade and His greatness will rise to the top. Is it possible that I could be known for knowing Christ and making Him known??! If so, that would be fresh!

Studying Colossians together is going to be a sweet pursuit into Christ's supreme nature. Two challenges are out there as we venture through this letter:

1 - Read the letter of Colossians in its entirety each week. Yeah, we are going to dig into a singular verse or two each week, but it's really a letter. So, as we dig in and micro the letter on Sunday AM, you'll back up and read it as a whole during the week. That will make for a powerful combination.

2 - Let's memorize the book on this journey! Can you imagine memorizing the entire Letter to the Colossians!?! Can you imagine all of us doing that together!? I know it's a big deal. I am quite confident that the Holy Spirit is itching to partner with you in memorizing the Word. I think that God thinks that this is a great idea!! Tackle Colossians 1.1 this week. Just start there....

I love journeying through Scripture. I love that God has given me the great thrill of sharing in that journey with you guys! I love that God has full intention of growing His character in us. Let's have full intention of allowing Him to do just that. Enjoy this week.

Feel free to comment by clicking below.

By Grace... For Glory,

Mark

Being rich toward God means making that which is temporary a servant to that which is eternal. - Ortberg I think that I will think about that thought for quite awhile. Christ, as He is so good at doing, has created another intersection for me. Honestly, I don't consistently enslave the temporal for the eternal. I find myself chained to temporary circumstances, issues, things, decisions and temporary circumstances often determine my view of the world. Wow, do I ever want to enslave the temporary to the eternal. The scope and impact of a life that is chained to the eternal and enslaving the temporary is unimaginable. May I be rich toward God! May we....

As I was teaching Sunday, the most interesting part, for me, was the idea that I truly do love God. Really. I love Him and I long to love Him with all heart, soul, mind, and strength. Yet, with all those desires, I make Him 'counteroffers' as it concerns giving Him myself. I counteroffer His desire to know me and guide me and live in me and live through me with my busyness or my scattered thinking or my sin. I don't know why in the heck I counteroffer God in His desire to know me well and His invitation to know Him well, but I do it frequently. I want that to change. I will think much about counteroffers and I will, hopefully, begin to offer me... just me as a living sacrifice and I know that God will find that to be a holy and pleasing offer.

Deuteronomy 30.19 seems to give me a good bit of guidance in this desire to know and love Christ. I love the way this section of the Word says to me, "hey, this is not a grand mystery! Day in and day out, there is before me one intersection after another.... I can choose life and blessings or death and curses. It's that simple." As I venture through down the path of this day, I choose life... in the big deals of the day, but also in the hundreds and hundreds of decisions that I will face. I choose life. I choose Christ. I choose to love Him. I choose to free Him to free me to become more like Him.

Today, it's been set before you... Choose life! Choose Christ!! Have a great week. I cannot wait to begin a study of the Book of Colossians. Yeah! This venture through the Word will be good.

Free free to comment. Enjoy today.

By Grace... For Glory,

Mark

Jesus invites. If anyone desires to relentlessly, habitually, and passionately come after me, let him deny his small goals, selfish ambitions, poor definitions and let him discover the fullness of who He is by boasting only in the complete work of the cross of Jesus Christ. Invite Him to follow me (Jesus), never moving away from a conscious, purposeful awareness of who I am and what I am calling you to become.

- Jesus

I cannot imagine a life that is not in constant pursuit of Christ. I cannot imagine a life that is not defined by the truth of who I am in Christ and the unimaginable ramifications of being filled with His life and His grace and His covering and being utterly, fully, totally complete in Him. As I was talking about Christ and our lives defined by Him, I was lost in the wonder of allowing Him to define me. If that, alone, was what Christ does for me it would abounding and enough. Yet, as I 'take up the cross' and all that the cross entails, I find that Christ does define me. I also find that I am covered by Him. I am covered by His grace and His unimaginable love. Christ steps into my life and He removes my sin and my shame and He grows me in the grace and knowledge of who I am in Him. He writes His life and His truth and His ways and His plans and His purposes onto my life and I am captured by His grace.

As our band was playing that the grace and the cross of Jesus Christ 'covers me', I felt like we were in a sacred moment. What a thrill to represent a taste of what Christ has done for us. He covers our sin and shame by His grace. He writes His wonder, beauty, and majesty over our sin. We are new. New creations. New heart. New life. New definition. I love Jesus Christ. His grace is amazing.

I love you guys. Enjoy this week. Boast only and loudly in the cross! Jot a comment if you like.

By Grace... For Glory,

Mark

Replacing lies with truth... Discovering our true identity.... being defined by our Creator. One of the processes of spiritual growth is replacing the lies of poor definition (being defined by circumstances; words spoken into one's life; successes; failures; painful moments; great moments; promotion; job loss... this list could be endless), with the truth of who I am in Christ.

I know that I am accepted, free, rescued, adopted, a friend of God's, loved, redeemed, sealed by the Spirit of God, seated in Heaven, filled with hope.... the truth of who I am in Christ can be discovered over and over as I weave my way through scripture. I am free... free from condemnation; free to serve; free to join God in His amazing work of freedom and reconciliation of men, women, and kids to Himself. I am free (and constantly being freed as I discover who I am in Christ) to become... to release the possibility of Christ magnifying and amplifying His life through my own. Beautiful.

Speaking of beautiful, it was amazing to experience the freeing, redeeming work of Christ in the lives of our students this weekend. Grace Campus Ministry (from Auburn U) brought truth to our campus. They brought the freeing truth of identity in Christ to our student ministry. They brought their hearts, passion, and love for Christ and poured it into the hearts of the EBC students. It was a remarkable weekend of worship, fun, laughter, and a release of passion for and toward Christ.

Last night, I sat in the room with our students and listened to them share their hearts. We have incredible (I MEAN INCREDIBLE) kids @ EBC. They shared stories... they encouraged one another.... they challenged one another.... You know, the coolest part of last night was that it was not an emotion fest. Our kids were impassioned, but also intensely practical. They are leaders!

As the pastor sitting in the back of the room, I honestly asked God to pour His maturity into my life so that I a might lead/ guide these kids well. I also listened to them and realized that I love being a part of the Emmanuel family. Do you know how beautiful it is to learn from students? I am challenged to be a man after God's own heart because I have a generation behind me who will not be silent about their faith. Yeah!

We are becoming. A part of the process of becoming like Christ is doing that in context of a family. I love the Emmanuel family.

So, props to Ian and Theresa! Amazing weekend. Props to Grace Campus Ministry and the band from FBC, Opelika. Ridiculously good weekend. Props to Jesus Christ. You came in Spirit and Power. Thank you!

Enjoy today.

By Grace.... For Glory,
Mark

Biblical Community is absolutely beautiful. Really, to consider Matthew 16.24 and Christ' radical call to His glory and followship of His fame is daunting to say the least. Jesus doesn't exactly invite us into a lightweight faith. Actually, He invites us to relentless pursuit; utter loss of self-centered ambition; and dying to personal gain with the hope of truly living for ultimate gain.

Understanding the vitality of being in community with a few and having those 'few' stand with me holds the capacity to truly mark me for His fame. More than that, I am not merely committed to Christ (although, being committed to Him is a big deal). I am also committed to a group of people who share a common passion for growth togther in pursuit of Christlikeness. As I share life with my Bible Fellowship, I truly feel a connection and a level of account to them. Not only do I want to free Christ to live fully through me because I love Him. But, I also want Him to consume me because I love my Bible Fellowship and I never want to discredit the character of Christ before them AND, I want my life to constantly push them toward Him. That is fresh.

So fresh, that I actually want to believe that I could sustain my faith in the face of great evil... much like Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah (along with Daniel). Four friends who truly get uncompromising followship of Jesus Christ (officially, God of the OT. Jesus was there, of course!). Their faith and mutual accountability drove them to live out Lordship in extremely practical ways. Further, their lives were totally interrupted by their faith in Him. Their diet, prayer, worship, choices, passion, friendship, refusal to compromise.... essentially, all of life was different due to their intersection with the living God. Biblical Community is right. Biblical Community is profound.

Believing all that was written above, I have to tell you that Sunday evening at the community center was off the chain. The Crestview Civic Center was packed with people, laughter, community, love, leadership, and the forming of beautiful Biblical Community in the life of Emmanuel. It was filled with good. It is wrought with potential. What will happen when our Bible Fellowships continue to develop a passion for the Word; others; and service together? The impact of Sunday evening was profound. The potential of what might be is beyond imagination.

I am asking God, with deep, visceral groaning, to birth His character and life within us. I am inviting Him to BE in our midst and to draw our body into His BEING. I love Him. I love our fellowship. I love structuring for His greatest glory and His greatest movement in our midst. May God shock our wildest dreams with the outworking of His presence.

Please feel free to comment by clicking below.

I love you guys.

By Grace... For Glory,

Mark

If you are going to be my disciple, you must deny yourself and take up your cross and follow me - Jesus

In an account found in John 6, Jesus has a HUGE crowd; is at the height of popularity; could, potentially, stop and build the first 'mega' church; and He has the chance to go down in history as the first to immediately launch a fellowship with 20,000 attenders. Instead, He creates an intersection (which, by the way, He feels free to do over and over as people come alongside Him in His journeys). Jesus says that the way of followship is beautiful and filled with life, passion, and purpose. Also, the way of Christ is sacrifice and suffering and abandon to personal will so that we can live for the ultimate will and purpose - the glory and supremacy of Christ in all things, for all good things glorious.

Jesus does the unthinkable and calls the crowd to radical commitment to His Lordship and to worship of Him alone. The crowd thins.... a few remain... and those few pour out their lives as a drink offering before the Lord and their lives are marked with eternal value and consequence.

I long for the Emmanuel family to intersect with the life-consuming call of Christ. If we choose to follow, the Christ-life lived through us will lend itself to more than we can ask or imagine. There will be more life...more passion... more focus..... more challenge....more fullness....more of His glory.

Jesus has a pretty simple realization. Not all will follow. That's why He says, "If".. If you want to follow, then realize that there will be no small gods on the path. There will be no finite forms of worship. No personal agendas. No wasteful idols. The road to Christ will hold only one throne and one Person worthy of our worship. To Him (Jesus), who sits on the throne; He will receive all honor, glory, dominion, and worship forever.

Sadly, it seems that many will choose a path littered with small dreams, aspirations, idols, agendas, with little to no eternal consequence.

If anyone wants to follow after Christ, the invitation involves laying down of self and picking up one's cross and running hard after Him. I long to give chase. I long to do that within a pack of followers who charge after the heart of the King. As an Emmanuel family, let's go all in together. Our answer, together, being "Yes, Lord", we will go wherever, do whatever, speak to whoever, give whenever... Our answer, before You ever ask is "Yes, Lord!" Let's go all in!

Feel free to comment below.

By Grace... For Glory,

Mark

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