My Day At Orange...Part One

Last week I had the incredible opportunity to spend a day at The Rethink Group (whatisorange.org) offices in Atlanta, GA with some amazing leaders. With Dr. Chap Clark (www.fuller.edu) as our host, we unpacked the principles found in Reggie Joiner and Cary Nieuwhof's book, "Parenting Beyond Your Capacity." To say it was "eye-opening" would be an understatement! Its going to take me awhile to process all the information we covered, but I wanted to share my experience with you. So here is part one of my day at Orange...

Shortly after arriving at the Rethink offices and meeting the other student pastors who were taking part in this forum, we jumped right in and began filming. Below are some of my notes from our first session:

*Disclaimer! The vast majority of this information comes directly from Dr. Chap Clark.

Widening the Circle

-Parents need 2 things from churches

1. Baseline information

2. Ability to process that data

-Parents need to pursue "strategic" relationships for your kids.

-We need to push beyond/past affinity to something that is mutual.

-We are in a new paradigm, because never before have our kids been more on their own!

-Our kids are desperate for relationships WITHOUT an agenda.

-Non-Parental, but invested adults affect and influence our children greatly.

Bottom line: Everything we thought we knew about our children and students has changed. Not only does our information need to be updated, but so do our systems. If churches don't get more intentional about helping our parents "widen the circle" of influence in our kid's lives, they will look some place else. That can't happen. The local church is still the hope of the world and best positioned to resource parents.

When Moses addressed "the congregation" in Deut 6 he is not inclusive re: parenting. The body of Christ is just as responsible for training and raising our kids as moms and dads. But we have to be on the same page. We have to communicate. We have to care. We have to "Widen the Circle."

Stay tuned for part two...

Big Moments

Life is hard. Sometimes too hard. Many people walk through difficult situations and circumstances without any hope of things getting better. But what if we understood "how" God wants to use those difficult circumstances to grow our faith? Sounds crazy, right? You might be surprised at how often God allows us to experience pain or hurt in order to grow and stretch our trust in Him.

I recently concluded a series by Andy Stanley entitled: Grow Up. For six weeks I communicated to my students ways they could grow their faith. We talked about things like:

*Living the Big Life and how when it comes to growing our faith, doing, not knowing, is what makes the difference.

*Being on the Big Team and how God uses relationships to impact and grow our faith.

*Engaging in the Big Give and how spiritual disciplines grow our faith and show us both God's heart and ours.

*Getting involved in the Big Serve and understanding there is a direct connection between your faith and your willingness to serve others.

And what's interesting is that not only are each of these areas critical to growing our faith, but they are also areas that we have control over. But what about the areas we don't have control over? What about the pivotal circumstances that we all experience that feel like hell on earth when going through them, but ultimately define and refine us into the person that God wants us to become? If you are like me, you have no problem allowing God to grow your faith when you are dealing with areas of your life that you have a measure of control over. But when God allows you to walk through something that removes every level of control from you (so that He may be glorified)...well that's a whole different ballgame. That's when the "push back" comes and we tend to say, "whoa, wait a minute Lord. I didn't sign up for this. Isn't there a less painful way?" But here's the thing...We can't have Big Moments without going through some Big Disappointments.

John 11:1-45 tells the story of a man named Lazarus who had died and then been brought back to life through the power of God. If you have ever experienced the pain of losing someone you love, you can imagine how this would have affected Lazarus's family, friends, and community. And its interesting that Jesus allowed these events to play out the way they did. He could have made it so that his friend (Lazarus) was healed from the sickness that took his life. But Jesus knew there was a better way to build their faith. He allowed them to go through the pain and despair of death in order to bring them out on the other side. But Why?

Because He knows that when you and I are going through our pivotal circumstances, God is doing something in us, so that He can ultimately do something through us! Its those Big Moments in our lives that have the potential to expand and stretch our faith like nothing else.

Bottom Line: It's not what happens to you, but how you respond to it that matters most.

Living the Big Life!

Do you ever wonder if there is more to life? I do...all the time. I especially wonder about this when it comes to church. Sometimes (in the middle of a service) I'm thinking, "God, is this it? Is there all there is? Isn't there more?" The obvious answer to all of these questions is...Yes. But why do we so often miss it?

The simple truth is our strategy is bad. We fall into the trap of believing that if we absorb the knowledge of God's word, or if we show up to church every time the doors open, then it will please God and he will grant us His divine favor. And all of that sounds good, but it keeps our perspective of who God is and how He desires to interact with us very small. The reality is that God wants us to have a BIG LIFE! He wants our faith to grow each day! He wants more for our lives than what we are currently experiencing! But how do we do it? What's the secret to obtaining a Big Life?

First, we need a better strategy. Knowledge and information only get you so far. You have to take it a step further...you've got to do something with that knowledge. Too many Christians process information, but do nothing with it. That's dumb. You will unlock a whole new level to your faith when you act.

Second, do the "right" things. Take your cue from the truth of God's word. A great place to start is the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus really covers the bases...love, kindness, forgiveness, generosity, and much more. Don't waste time doing things you think are right. Find out what God wants you to do, and then go for it.

Finally, go BIG or go home! Don't stay in your "comfort" or "safe" zone. Apply God's word to the areas of your life where you need His help. Your faith will never be stretched beyond your willingness to give God control.

God wants you to live a Big life! What are you waiting for?

Shift

I just recently finished an Easter series with my students entitled, "Shift." And after 13 years of ministry, I realized this is the first Easter based series I have ever done. Not sure why, but I suppose I figured preaching / teaching about the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ was the common thing to do at this time of year, and I didn't want to be typical. Even as I typed the previous sentence I thought how stupid my rational was. And now that I have concluded this series, I realize that I have missed so many opportunities over the years to unpack the greatest story ever told.

Over the last month I have watched a "shift" occur in not just my student's lives, but mine as well. From the time Jesus began His public ministry he was challenging humanity to look through a different lens, to "shift" their perspective. And never is this more evident than in the events that occurred in the week leading up to and following His death and resurrection. The Triumphal Entry reminds us to shift our expectations from who we want Him to be to who He actually is. The same crowd that cheered for Him would later cheer for His crucifixion because he didn't do things they way they thought He should. The Last Supper initiated a shift in what deliverance would come to mean not just for the Jewish community, but for ALL humanity. He shifted the cross from a symbol of defeat into one of victory. And finally The Empty Tomb would no longer mean the end, but the beginning. Wow! What an amazing picture of what it means to have a relationship with Jesus Christ! Like an automobile, in order to arrive at the desired destination, shifts are necessary. The final week of Jesus' earthly ministry created shifts that are still necessary today.

Consider the last 5 years, 5 months, 5 weeks, 5 days of your life. How many times has Jesus not met your expectations? How many times were you so focused on the past that you missed what God was doing in the present? How many times did you think something was coming to an end, only to find out it was really just beginning? Maybe it's time for a shift...


-- Post From My iPad

The Power of the Tongue

James 3:6

6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole person, sets the whole course of his life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.

There are times when I wish God would require mankind to "earn" the right to speak. The tongue is too powerful to be used carelessly. Lately I have been reminded of how destructive we can be with our words. Always ready to defend our actions, we allow our words to become our weapon of choice. The problem is we often do not choose our words with the wisdom they require. And more times than not, we leave a path of destruction that our victims rarely recover from. And for what? So we can be right, so we can feel vindicated or validated?

James described our tongues as being like fire. And like fire, the damage we inflict verbally can spread out of control with total destruction. So why aren't we more careful? Because we're selfish. Because we are insecure. Because we are afraid. We have been given a tremendous power through the use of our words. We have the power to build up and to tear down. We have the power to breathe life or cause total destruction. But even Peter Parker's Uncle knew that with great power comes great responsibility. Being careless with our words can't be an option. Letting our emotions overrule wisdom comes with too great a price. The bottom line is..."think before you unleash the beast." Lives are depending on it and we will be held accountable for the ones we destroy.

Do I dare admit it?

It's been nearly 4 months since my last blog. Not even sure why I stopped for so long. At any rate, I started a new series last night that may be more timely than I initially realized. What bring us to the place where we just aren't that into God? I mean let's face it, we all have relationships that have faded over time for a lot of different reasons. But is it the ultimate sin when one of those relationships is the one between us and God? I get the perception that the church can make us feel that way. But does it make us less spiritual or more human? I introduced this idea to my students last night and discovered some things. We are human. We all come to a place in our lives where we feel close to God and where we feel miles apart. And the good news and bad news is that it won't always be that way. And when I look in the Bible I find that God's people (Israel) covered both ends of this spectrum continually. I don't have a 3 step formula for fixing this dilemma, but its encouraging to know that I am not the only one who feels this way. Maybe instead of being ashamed that we feel distant from God sometimes, we should just be honest with ourselves (and Him) and own it, admit it, and dare I say, talk about it.

Don't give up on your dreams!

This past weekend I hopped on a plane to Ft. Lauderdale to watch my older brother, Michael, graduate from Medical School. His dream to become an optometrist began 18 years ago when he took a job working for a local optician. His boss saw "something" in him and encouraged him to dream. Now, 18 years later his boss will now be his partner and he will begin to live his calling to help people "see clearly." My brother is 36 years old and has experienced many discouragements and disappointments along the way. There were so many times he came close to letting go of his dreams and settling for an average life. But God, in his divine wisdom, kept people around him who encouraged him to not let go. Now his dreams have become reality. My brother will help bring clarity to those whose vision has become cloudy. People are counting on him because he didn't give up. Whose counting on you to not give up? What dreams have you let go of? There are a lot of ways to help other "see" clearly, but you can't give up. Let your dream drive you!

Congrats Dr. Michael Mull!!!