6.24.2014

Be still, oh wandering mind, from the worries of this world

Be calm, oh worried heart, over things you've no control

Find rest, oh weary soul, in the One who made all things

The Counselor has come and The Comforter is near

So you, oh mixed emotions, shall know not what it is to fear

Praise ye instead The Lord above lords

Sing praise, you broken voice
Bring praise, you shaking hands
Seek grace, you blinded eyes
Hear faith, you useless ears

The bloods of the nations cry out for Salvation

             Salvation

Salvation through sacrifice, no greater love

Salvation through sacrifice, He poured out His blood

Salvation through mercy, forgiveness through grace

Sweat from His face are ye, oh petty sins

So be still, oh wandering mind
Oh worried heart, be calm
Find rest, oh weary soul
Find rest

Jesus is the change the world is waiting for.

What if I told you "You, personally, hold the key to the transformation of this world." What if I told you "You already possess the knowledge and the tools to change the world."?

Let's take a look at one of the core values of my church
   Jesus is the change the world is waiting for.
        Jesus loves us way too much to let us stay the way we are.
           We are always being transformed into Jesus image.

Within that tag line are some pretty bold statements that I think we can all agree are factual.
Let's see if you guys agree:
Jesus IS the change this world is waiting for.
Jesus loves us.
We are constantly being transformed and growing.
Jesus is the one doing the transforming, not us.

Did ya hear that first one? Jesus is the change this world is waiting for. However, that leaves some work for us to do and some challenges for us to face.

Romans 8:18 says
    "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed.

We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. (Romans 8:18, 19, 22-25 NIV)

Notice that it says the whole world, all of creation, is waiting for Gods children to be revealed. It's waiting for Jesus image to be shown in this world. The whole world is waiting on us to share Jesus with them. Now, there's nothing easy about that. There's never anything easy about sharing Jesus with the world. Sometimes times we like to think that since we're Christians our lives should be simple with no interruptions or difficulty but that's not biblical but Jesus never said it would be easy. There are going to be challenges. In Matthew 5 He said we would face insults and persecution, not rainbows and butterflies. Here's some good news from the prophet Isaiah, he says;

"Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him! People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you."
(Isaiah 30:18, 19 NIV)


There is a pretty smart guy I get the privilege of knowing, that guy is Pastor J. David Alderson, or you may simply know him as 'Dave'. Dave, who once commented on his transition from the theological world back into the secular word told me "We have to fight to get back in the world." Notice he didn't say "back at the world" or "back of the world" he said "We have to fight to get back in the world."

That's true, there will always be challenges to revealing Jesus to the world. There will be resistance. You see, acceptance of change is admission of being wrong in the first place. I don't know about you but I don't like admitting I was wrong, so it will always feel like a fight, but here's what we know.The world is waiting to hear the gospel. It's not just patiently waiting. It is eagerly waiting, it is desperate to hear what we have to say. We have the key to the transformation of this world. That key is Jesus Christ!

Welfare Christianity

We all know what 'welfare' is, right? The majority working while the 'less fortunate' (or sometimes the 'less motivated') still get to pull in a paycheck. Well what if I told you you're living on a type of Religious Welfare? Think about it...

The majority of Americans work for their money getting taxed on every dollar so that some people without jobs (willingly or otherwise) still get their welfare checks.
The majority of Christians squeak by week to week on "Religious Welfare" nibbling on crumbs and doing bare minimum for God while comparatively few others are working around the clock being persecuted, ridiculed, and murdered to further the Kingdom. It's not enough to pop in to church on Sunday or to drop a few bucks in the offering plate each week. It's not enough to watch Joel Osteen or MC Hammer on the Jesus channel on Wednesday. You could memorize the New Testament in a week and own every Mark Batterson book known to man and it wouldn't be enough. Pray 24/7 and have more faith than all 12 disciples combined and it still wouldn't be enough.

In Matthew 28 Jesus tells us to go to all nations and teach them His commands. James 1:22 says, "22Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says." and chapter 2:14, 18, &26 goes on to say "14What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? 18But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. 26As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead."
Let me ask you a question, if you were out in public and someone was simply near you...would they know you're a Christian without ever talking to you?

**WARNING** You May Be Crazy!

In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul risked his reputation to become "all things to all people so that some might be saved," in Acts chapter 2, the disciples spoke in tongues and people called them crazy and drunk.

When people hear us at Second Chance Church say we want to Risk Everything to Reach Everyone they probably think, "You must be crazy!" and maybe we are...
Filling bags w/literature&dog treats to pass them out around town,
Renting a helicopter&dropping eggs for Easter,
Extreme environment control during service (from fragrance control to blacking out the windows),
Voluntarily waking up at 5AM to set up an environment some people may not even wake up at 10AM to go to,
Starting a church that lives out of a closet,
15in15,
50in50,
Praying for double attendance by the end of the year,
Starting new campuses, and
Investing in new leaders, just to name a few. People think we're nuts, sometimes I wonder that about myself (but for completely different reasons)

In reality ones that tell us we're crazy are the crazy ones. I used to be one of those people, thinking you had to be crazy to believe in praying in tongues, had to be crazy to believe that resurrection can happen today, crazy to voluntarily watch some guy on TV yell at another dude in a wheel chair then slap him with a bible and he starts walking! Now that's crazy!!

But what's really crazy, is to think that our God is limited to the confines of our imagination, it's crazy to think that miracles stopped with the disciples. It's crazy to think that the Holy Spirit is somehow dormant or just not present. Let me tell you something, the Holy Spirit is here and when we decide to take a step of faith and start risking everything, to start looking crazy to other people, that's when we'll really see Him move. So let me ask you a question, Are you willing to Risk Everything to Reach Everyone, or are you too crazy?

God is good

What's On The Agenda?

     Something won't let me sleep. Maybe it's because we stayed up untill 2:30 this morning before sleeping, maybe it's because I've been sleeping all day. Maybe, it's because I've lost out on my time with God.

     These last few days have been pretty lazy...with nothing specific on the agenda it is easy to do nothing at all. It's easy to feel on fire for your calling but it is also easy to feel lazy when there seems to be nothing on the agenda. Lately I've been lazy. During Velocity 2014 there was so much on the 'to-do list' in just a few days and so much information and so many good ideas and great conversations that I was burning for days afterwards, getting to know the heartbeat of the people around you can do that. However, since being home it has dawned on me that I'm more of a candle in the window that a spark in a forest. I burn with passion for a few days, maybe weeks, but if no one drives by who will see my flame? I would much rather be a spark in a forest spreading the gospel fire uncontrollably to everyone who is near but that can't happen as long as I sit on my windowsill. So my empty agenda stops here, I will fill it with time set apart intentionally to be with my Daddy, to read His word and hear from Him. Then my flame will outgrow being just a candle, then I will be prepaired to hit the streets like a spark in a forest and spread His love to those I meet. This may not make sense and it may seem like I'm all over with my metaphors, but Daddy knows what I mean. Let me help you understand better too, are you a candle in a window waiting for people to come to you? Or are you a spark in a forest igniting those around you for Christ? What's on your agenda for today?

God is good

What Keeps You Up At Night?

έκβάλλω, oίκος, Bapi. A few words from two languages I don't speak (Greek and Spanish) that have changed my life forever. έκβάλλω, or Ekballō, is translated from Greek to mean "To cast out" it is also the tentative name of a brand new movement in the name of Christ that will very soon be sweeping across central Indiana. Ekballō is the word used by Jesus in two key points of His ministry, one to drive out demons from the possessed, and two to send His disciples out into the world. Ekballō is a word with a violent connotation, it is likened to the physical violence experienced while vomiting, when Christ ekballō's a demon it is a pretty violent and traumatic experience. So when Christ ekballō's His disciples it is intended to be a violent proclamation of the Good News in projectile formation hitting anyone and everyone around.

     oίκος, or oikos, translates to: "household; home" it is the fellowship of the Greek head of household with his family, friends, workers, and even slaves. This is the Greek word for the true meaning of Family. When I think of oikos I think of the prodigal son, the boy who told his dad "You're not good enough, I want my inheritance," squandered his wealth just to inevitably hit rock-bottom, come crawling back to his father, and beg for a job as a slave. The same boy whose father saw his son coming from down the road and ran to him, embraced him, and threw a party with all of the family and servants and friends.

     Bapi is the mispronunciation of the word 'Papi' by the little girl of a pastor I had the pleasure if listening to at a conference this week (#velocoty14). Papi is 'Daddy' in many latino cultures. Daddy, or 'Abba' biblically, is the single most intimate word between child and father that I can think of. It is the one word that can make even the heardest of men melt on the inside and the one word we get the privlidge of using to refer to our Heavenly Father. 'Daddy' was a term I didn't get to use often growing up, it was a term seen by my siblings as immature, it was a term seen by my earthly father as "childish, man." it is a term that I, personally, cannot wait to hear uttered from the mouths of my children, it is a word that I will never tire of hearing from the mouths of my children, a word that I long to be able to use...a word that our Bapi in heaven loves to hear.

     These three words are what keep me up on this night, these three words are words I will not soon forget, they are words that I hope to use as a part of my every day vocabulary for many moons to come. They are words with such bower (spelling intended) that all who hear them should be moved, even if slightly, by the love that is our God.


 http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?Strongs=G1544

Not the "Pushy Type"

     "Man, you're cooler than most Christians I know, most of 'em try shoving their religion at me and forcing me to talk about it. You're not the pushy type like most Christians."

     This is a quote directed toward me at the lunch table today in regards to my beliefs. A quote to which someone else replied

     "Oh I don't know about that, if you get him (meaning me) started he'll let you know what he thinks!"

     Now, I'm not sure how you would take being called "not the pushy type" but I'm glad that people feel comfortable enough around me to know what I believe and not worry if I'm going to try to cram religion down their throat. I don't believe it is my job to force religion on others, all I need to do is be willing to talk calmly and answer questions honestly. It's all about welcoming them to you and to Christ, not beating people over the head.

God is good