Worship is Warfare; Fight the Battle.

The more I read CS Lewis (aka Jack) the more I am beginning to love the man. In his book The Screwtape Letters, he drops this line:

“There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them” - CS Lewis.

On one hand, there are a group of people that think there is a demon under every pillow.

Example:

• Forgetting your keys and locking yourself out was the Key Demon. (Your an idiot)

• Running over a nail on the way to bible study and getting a flat was the Nail Demon.

• Your internet isn't working is the Web Demon. (Or Comcast sucks)

The other extreme is that Spiritual Warfare doesnt exist at all.

Examples:

• Everything is a chemical imbalance, depression, bad health caused by poor eating or lack of exercise.

• The answer to everything is either good psychiatric counseling, prescription drugs, governmental reform or proper education

Lets look at how this spiritual battle began and The Story of Satan.

Satan's Beauty and Role:

Ezekiel 28:12-14

Thus says the Lord GOD:
"You were the signet of perfection,(D) full of wisdom and(E) perfect in beauty.
13You were in(F) Eden, the garden of God;
(G) every precious stone was your covering,
(H) sardius, topaz, and diamond,
 beryl, onyx, and jasper,
sapphire,[b](I) emerald, and carbuncle;
 and crafted in gold were your settings
 and your engravings.[c]
On the day that you were created they were prepared.
14You were an anointed(J) guardian cherub.
 I placed you;[d] you were on(K) the holy mountain of God;
 in the midst of the stones of fire you walked.

Satan's Sin in heaven:

Isaiah 14:12-14

12"How(A) you are fallen from heaven,
O Day Star, son of Dawn!
How you are cut down to the ground,
 you who laid the nations low!
13You said in your heart,
'I will ascend to heaven;
above the stars of God
I will set my throne on high; I will sit on the mount of assembly in the far reaches of the north;[a]
14I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
 I will make myself like the Most High.'

War in Heaven:

Revelation 12:7-9

7Now war arose in heaven,(A) Michael and(B) his angels fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, 8but he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9And(C) the great dragon was thrown down,(D) that ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan,(E) the deceiver of the whole world—(F) he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

What does Satan now do on earth?

1 Peter 5:8

8Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.

In Job and Jude (which we'll see later) we see that God has given Satan limitations and boundaries while he exists on earth. He cannot just do anything he wants.

Satan's first victims and God's plan of redemption:

Genesis 3:15

15I will put enmity between you and the woman,
 and between your offspring[a] and(A) her offspring;
(B) he shall bruise your head,
 and you shall bruise his heel."

Satan's plan to overthrow God's plan.

Since the beginning, it has always been Satan's plan to overthrow God. Knowing that the only way to stop the Messiah from being born, this is what the angles did to overstep their boundaries and attempt the messiah from being born of the woman.

Genesis 6:1-4

1When man began to multiply on the face of the land and daughters were born to them, 2the sons of God saw that the daughters of man were attractive. And they took as their wives any they chose. 3Then the LORD said,(A) "My Spirit shall not abide in[a] man forever,(B) for he is flesh: his days shall be 120 years." 4The Nephilim[b] were on the earth in those days, and also afterward, when the sons of God came in to the daughters of man and they bore children to them. These were the mighty men who were of old, the men of renown.

God ends Satan's plan again.

After the Demonic angles overstepped their boundaries and God gets the last word and deals with them properly.

Jude 1:6

6And(A) the angels who did not stay within their own position of authority, but left their proper dwelling, he has kept in eternal chains under gloomy darkness until the judgment of the great day—

God brings the flood and starts over with Noah:

Genesis 8 and 9

Jesus enters the scene.

John the baptist comes as prophesied in Isaiah saying: Prepare the way of the Lord. In other-words, we've been waiting for years for God to send his son and he's here. After Jesus is born to Mary an Joseph, you see Satan again trying to distort Gods plan by leading Herod to kill every child 2 and under in Egypt. God in his providence, again overcomes Satan's plan by sending Joseph and Mary along with baby Jesus to safety.

Jesus then grows us, lives the life we should have lived. No sin, blameless, perfect and holy. He fulfills everything that God has for him and never falls to any of the temptations that Satan throws at him.

Death of Jesus and a quick visit.

1 Peter 3:18-20

18For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit, 19in which he went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, 20because they formerly did not obey, when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water.

I love how we see Jesus going to visit those demons who tried to stop Him in Genesis. In my opinion, I think Jesus went down there to talk some major trash.

So, what does this mean for us?

Colossians 2:13-15

13(A) And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God(B) made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14by(C) canceling(D) the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15(E) He disarmed the rulers and authorities[a] and(F) put them to open shame, by(G) triumphing over them in him.[b

Let me explain it like this....Because we are sinners, everyone alive has bought into demonic lies and choose to align themselves with Satan in his war against God. It started with Adam and Eve, and continues with us. Most of us think of demonic activity as things like Palm Readers or movies like The Exorcism, but that is not what we see in the scriptures. We see in the scriptures that as we buy into holding anything up to the place of God (Materialism, False Religions, Jobs, our Families, etc) That is demonic in nature. We also see in scripture that anytime we begin to deviate from what we know to be the will of God (when God says left, but we go right), that is also demonic in nature. We see that when Peter tells Jesus not to go to the cross, and Jesus replies by saying, “Get behind me Satan.”

Everyone in humans history is guilty of this at some level. The only exception is Jesus Christ who resisted every temptation (Luke 4:1-13) and remains continually sinless (Hebrews 4:15). Because of this, Jesus alone can and will defeat Satan, liberate us from slavery to the worship of false gods, and usher us into a freedom that continues forever with Him. This was made possible by Jesus dying in our place for our sins to defeat our Enemy and liberate us into new life.

Hebrews says it like this…..

Hebrews 2:14-15 Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil— and free those who all their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death.

If Satan has been defeated, how is there still a fight?

Example: On August 6^th 1945, about 3 ½ years after attack on Pearl Harbor, the US dropped the first Atomic Bomb onto Japan which threw havoc among the japanese as they continued to rage war during World War 2. Three days later, on August 9^th, the US dropped the second Atomic Bomb on Japan which later that day led the Emperor to declare a state of surrender of all military forces.

Although the war was officially over and Japan surrendered on August 9^th, it wasn't until September 12^th that the last Japanese Military Division got word to surrender. Between August 9^th and September 12^th, the fighting was just as fierce, violent and deadly as it always was. It wasn’t until 1947 that America released the last POW back to Japan. So, you see that although the war was already won, fighting still went on.

The same is true for us. Though Jesus has won the victory for us, the victory has not been fully enforced yet. Although the war has been won, battles are going to continue.

• Revelation 12:11-12: And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!"

Satan knows that he doesn't have much time left and that he has lost. However, in his remaining time, he still attempts to distort God's plan by pestering God people.

How do we fight that fight?

It starts with a recognition that “We do not fight for victory, we fight from victory.”

• 1 John 4:4

Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for(A) he who is in you is greater than(B) he who is in the world.

• 1 John 5:4-5

For(A) everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world, our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes(C) that Jesus is the Son of God?

• James 4:7

7Submit yourselves therefore to God.(A) Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

I believe that the way that we fight from victory is through the praise of His name. Specifically through corporate praise where two or more are gathered together.

Here are 3 examples of this…..

Joshua 6 you see the walls of Jericho come down after the priests play trumpets, march around in worship for 7 days and shout to the Lord. When they do, the walls come down.

2 Chronicles 20:17, 20-23 You see that the leader appoints people to worship before the battle and when the battle begins, God destroys everyone.

Acts 16:16-26 Paul and Silas are arrested, flogged and thrown in jail. At the sound of them singing hymns and praising God, 26 Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose.

• Worship is celebrating the win before we actually see the victory come to pass.

• By doing this we show faith. And.....Faith is our avenue in pleasing God. Hebrews 11:6 “Without faith, it is impossible to please God.”

A few questions to think about….

• What if we viewed our worship as battle; how would your corporate worship through song look different?

• Knowing that our corporate worship through song is warfare; how might that change our preparation, our volume, or even our posture?

Don't kid yourself; you are RELIGIOUS.

There has been some good and bad discussions that have been taking place in one of my latest posts. (We are all bent towards God) One thing that I am realizing is the unbelievable similarities that we all have. We all seem to have a belief system in which guides our thoughts, actions and ultimately our lives. We all hold tight to a philosophy; I may hold tight to the teachings of the bible and Christ following scholars while others may hold tight to the teachings of other books and Secular scholars. None-the-less, we are all being driven by information and logic that we hold dear to us.

The most noticeable thing that I am seeing is the difference in opinions on the following terms. Christian and Religion. On one occasion, someone labeled Hitler as a Christian (which according to my definition of a Christian, cannot be true) and on another occasion someone mocked people who are religious. I seem to have a very different opinion about the definitions of these two terms (Christian and Religious) than some of the people who read my blog. This brings up a couple of very important questions. What is a Christian and what constitutes being religious? I will address one of them below.

Lets start with Religion. In the comments that I receive, it is very obvious that we tend to view religion as a belief in God. Try telling that to a Unitarian or Buddhist. Unitarian Universalists believe in spirituality but not God. Buddhist' do not believe in God at all, but ultimately a pursuit of happiness. Religion cannot be a belief system in God because not all religions believe in God. Instead, religion is a set of answers to the major questions concerning our existence. Religion sets out to answer questions like: Why are we here? How did we get here? What is our purpose in life? What happens after we die? Within those questions, most religions tend to lean on an answer that includes God or Spirituality but other religions do not.

In essence, all belief systems are religious beliefs. None of us are exempt of religion and being religious. Some religions gather for worship, others do not. Some religions hold to sacred literature, others do not. Some religions worship science, knowledge, intellect, and uncertainty while others worship God as creator and Jesus as Savior. Similar to us all being religious; we are also all worshippers. By worship I mean, holding something as ultimate in our lives. Those things can be money, sex, family, God, intellect, knowledge, our image, security, Jesus, morality, and the list can go on forever. (Again, that is based upon my defination of worship.)

The thing that bothers me is that the agnostic and atheist will arrogantly point the finger at someone like me for being religious, without having the humility to admit that the very thing that pushes them to label me as religious is their own set of beliefs, which in themselves are religious beliefs (That was a run-on sentence I think.) According to my definition above, I am religious…but so are you. Lets try not to avoid the FACT that the same things that drive me are the same things that drive you. A set of beliefs. Even to say that you dont believe anything, is still a belief.

Before I talk about my definition of the word Christian; I would first like to hear your definition. I am specifically talking to the following people (Brian, Drew, Edgar, Paul) but would also like for others to chime in if you have a chance. Feel free to answer anonymous if you'd like.

We all are bent towards God in some way.

Well it's been some time since I was regularly writing on my blog. I guess I have been tied up with life. New baby, summer, work, and church plant seem to have me very busy these days. Anyway, at 6:00am this morning, I woke up to feed my new son Jacob only to get yacked on. Not a bad way to start the morning. So since I was up, I decided to get downstairs and get into the word. I have been studying Acts 17 where Paul visits Athens. It’s a great text. Anyway, I was intrigued by this question that kept popping into my head.

Why are we all bent towards spiritual things and worship?

It is hard to argue that that isn't the case. All throughout history, every culture, nationality, tribe, people group, and generation has had a bent towards spiritual things. From the ancient philosophers in Greece, to the earliest days of the Bible, all the way to today; spirituality and worship has been a vibrant part of life. Now, it has not always been a bent towards Christ and the God of the bible, but always something that is infinitely greater and more powerful than in which can bring us purpose and meaning. It typically has been a God that is personal in which we can either know "it" or "it" knows us. This is a weird concept that is imbedded in our DNA that I cannot understand or explain away. Even the atheist or agnostic cannot move away from having at the least, an opinion of God. To have an opinion of God, at the least, means that the clashing atoms of ones brain acknowledges the need to make a thoughtful decision of whether God does or does not exist; hence a bent toward the spiritual. I am also troubled with this thought; if my brain thinks it or craves it; is that proof that it exists? For example; because my body is hungry; that is proof of food. And my sexual desire is proof of sexual gratification through sexual intimacy. Is the same true that my desire for the spiritual mean that the spiritual exists? Where else do I crave or feel a need to make an opinion on something that does not exist? Is that even possible?

Like the Athenians, I am very religious and bent towards worship. By worship I mean, make things ultimate in my life in order to bring purpose. At times that ultimate thing has been different. My list consists or basketball, sex, my image, family, knowledge, and Christ. My goal is to still pursue all of those things, but keep Christ as ultimate. The other things on my list although good and satisfying; have made crappy Gods.

2008 in Review!!

This was a big year for my family. God was so good to us this year and has blessed us in so many ways. I wanted to go through a couple of those big things and share it with my blogging world.

1. Marriage. This past year God really did a miracle in our marriage. Beth and I have grown to love each other much deeper. In late 2007 I confessed some things from my past to Beth that I very much regretted. Although that was hard, God did a miracle through it and we are closer than ever. Sin separates! That is just the facts. When sin enters the marriage you will automatically be separate, just as it does with our relationship with the Lord. Since my sin was from before we were married, I never was one with Beth the way that God intended. In 2008 we were able to achieve that oneness through confession, repentance, and forgiveness. I love my bride deeply and I am the man I am today because she pushes me to be there.

2. Babies in Heaven. As most of you know, we have 3 beautiful children; all of which were unplanned by Beth and I. This year we decided that we were going to go for #4. We were very excited. We went on a cruise in March and began trying (that was fun, I recommend it for married people) Sure enough I shot for the stars and hit; she got pregnant. A few weeks into the pregnancy Beth began to have cramping and bleeding. Next thing we knew, she had a miscarriage. This was odd because that never happened before. The one time we try and she has a miscarriage! So, the Dr told us to wait 2 months and we could try again. So, we did. Again we started trying for another baby (fun fun fun) and another direct hit. This time the pregnancy lasted a few weeks more than the previous but with the same outcome. It was a very hard time for Beth and I. Although we knew that God was in full control, we were confused to say the least.

Now Beth is almost 4 months along and it looks like we'll be having a healthy baby in 2009.

3. Walk with the Lord. This year I made a strong effort to do 2 thing. 1. Have a meaningful time with the Lord everyday and 2. get into the Word everyday. Although there were some days that I missed, I absolutely fell in love with my Bible and my time with the Lord like never before. I have learned how to hear the voice of God and God has spoken to me more clearly this year than ever before. I know how to study my bible and have a heart to know God rather than religious practice. I know more scripture than ever before and it has changed my life.

4. Transition from OFY. As God began to burden me more and more about our church plant, he also began to transition me out of OFY (youth group) in order to have more of a focus. While doing this, God also raised up some other great leaders that are serving Frank in ways that I was never able to because of my schedule. It is a testimony of God's absolute control over his Kingdom. OFY is now literally on fire for God. I have never seen a group of kids on such a rebellious pursuit of God. It convicts me with how much faith these kids have. I remember the day that God transition me out. Frank and I were set to meet at Panera Bread and I was going to tell him that God was transitioning me out. It was just after the Catalyst Conference. Well about 10 minutes into the conversation, Frank told me that he felt that God was transitioning me out. I didn't even have to say anything. It was awesome and totally God.

5. Church Plant. In 2008, God absolutely confirmed in me that we are to move to Boston to plant. All of the people who I consider spiritual leaders over me have confirmed it. God has spoken to both Beth and I about this. God has already begun to build a team. We are out of all consumer debt and have money in savings. Someone has donated to our church plant already. The stories can go on and on and on. It truly is amazing. I am at the end of the Acts 29 process, Daystar has agreed to sponsor us, we have all of our Brochure info ready, logo done, and are close to a website.

6. Work. This year I have been so blessed at work. I closed my first $1,000,000 deal. I hit my goal again this year even with all of the economic trouble that we are seeing. I have favor in the eyes of my leadership at work and have been given more responsibility. Also, this enabled Beth and I to give more than ever before and get ourselves of a lot of debt.

7. Kids. My kids are the joy of my life. I love them to death. This year Daniel has gone from a toddler to a young boy. He is a total dude. He loves fighting, dirt, peeing outside, sports and I even caught him glancing a some girls this year at his basketball practice. Although only 5 the boy prays like a theologian, knows more scripture than most evangelicals and truly has a heart for God. Just the other day he was telling me about how he was telling a friend about Jesus at school because they were acting bad. haha....That's Kinda fundamental. He also calls himself a "Mighty Man of God"

Abby is still a princess. She cries if we put her in pants, she is very sassy, but tender hearted and sensitive. The girl can eat like a horse although she's the same size as Ella who is 2 years younger. Abby is totally convinced that she is going to marry me. I tell her all the time that I am already married to her mommy but she wont buy it. In her eyes we're married. I guess that's OK for now. Abby called herself a "Beautiful Women "OF" God" with a major emphasis on "OF" not sure why that is, but whatever.

Now, Ella and I got to know each other this year. When she was breastfeeding, she wanted nothing to do with me. Now she wakes up every morning yelling DADDY. Its very cute. That girl has grown like crazy. She loves to wrestle with me, jump on my belly and have me tickle her until she cries, haha. She always comes running back for more.

8. Theology and Doctrine. I am by no means a theologian or doctrine expert but I will say this. God has given me a deeper understanding of who he is. In Ephesians 1 Paul writes that we should have a Spirit of Knowledge and Wisdom. This year I have read more books and studied more than probably ever year of my life combined and I am not even in school. I have a room in our house dedicated to study and prayer. I have literally become a student. I read often and am constantly downloading seminary podcasts and learning on my own. I look forward to getting back into school part time to began to have more of a focus in my studies. Who would ever have though I would like to go back to school. OMG.

9. Influence. This year I have had more influence in the lives of other people than ever before. I have seen people come to Christ through relationships and conversations I have been engaged in. God has given me words for people that have been right on. I am constantly learning what it means to live missionally in my world and how to have influence in the lives of other people. In no way am I there, but I am a student of this. I have done this at work, the gym, church world, and with random people. To God be the Glory in this. I do not want to boast in this because I know it is just the progressive work of the Lord, however I am very thankful.

Marijuana, Ganja, Grass, Hash, Herb, Mary J, Pot, Reefer, Skunk, Weed

Are you serious? I can guarantee that I get no comments on this blog! I cannot even believe that I have been driven to write this; however here I go.

Over the past few days I have had more than a few unique conversations concerning “Smoking Weed”. Just yesterday I had 2 youth tell me that smoking weed is not a sin; God created it, how can it be a sin to smoke it? He also told me that it cured cancer, obesity, depression, and other physical diseases. I must be honest, there are a lot of these thoughts going around in our culture. Last week I had a conversation with a co-worker who says smoking is beneficial for her and her boyfriend. Actually her boyfriend deals with anxiety issues when he is around people so he hits the pipe before work and other social gatherings.

I would like to argue (I cannot believe that I even have to) that smoking weed is a sin and does not honor your creator. Just because our laws are getting lighter on the issue, does not make it honorable and pleasing to your creator. In Massachusetts having under an ounce of weed is a $100 fine and they confiscate it. In North Carolina having 1 ½ ounces of weed has the same consequence. That’s equivalent to speeding in your car. However, the question is whether or not Smoking weed is a sin?

Let me clarify something and get it out in the open. In my years of existence, I have smoked my share of reefer. It's been Blunts, Joints, The Pipe, Gotties, Bowls, Bongs, cigaweed; I’ve smoked good weed, dirt weed, laced weed and everything in between. I say that not to glorify my sin, but instead to inform you that I know first hand the effects and will not be fooled with the thought that it just relaxes us and doesn’t effect our judgment. You cannot tell me that smoking a little tree does not have a similar effect as having a few to many beers.

Before you call me a dogmatic, legalistic, fundamentalist; Lets see what scripture says about this.

Ephesians 5:18
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit,
1 Corinthians 3:16-17
Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? If anyone destroys God's temple, God will destroy him. For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple.
1 Peter 5:8
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.
Romans 13:13
Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.
Titus 3:1
Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work,
Galatians 5:19-21
Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
1 Corinthians 6:19
Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own

As Christ Followers, there is no way that people filled with the Holy Spirit can walk without any conviction on this issue. The vast majority of the people who I talk to concerning this issue, usually deal with some sort of peer pressure from a culture that is trying to rob us from God’s very best. Next time your presented with the opportunity of a little “puff-puff-give” Ask yourself why you will absolutely neglect what God has spoken on this issue? Instead, why not rise up and be a leader for the Glory of Christ and stop cowering in the presence of pressure. Again, I say this to those who consider themselves Christ Followers.

Taken from http://www.drugfree.org/Portal/drug_guide/Marijuana

What is Marijuana?
Marijuana, the most often used illegal drug in this country, is a product of the hemp plant, Cannabis sativa. The main active chemical in marijuana, also present in other forms of cannabis, is THC (delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol). Of the roughly 400 chemicals found in the cannabis plant, THC affects the brain the most.

What are its short-term effects?
Short-term effects of marijuana include problems with memory and learning, distorted perception (sights, sounds, time, touch), trouble with thinking and problem solving, loss of motor coordination, increased heart rate, and anxiety. These effects are even greater when other drugs are mixed with weed. A user may also experience dry mouth and throat.

What are its long-term effects?
Marijuana smoke contains some of the same cancer-causing compounds as tobacco, sometimes in higher concentrations. Studies show that someone who smokes five joints per week may be taking in as many cancer-causing chemicals as someone who smokes a full pack of cigarettes every day.

Romans 1 says to "Worship your Creator and not his Creation."

Factors For A Successful Race

Several common ingredients can be found in the lives of godly, effective leaders. Here are a few.

1. Learning Attitude. Effective leaders are coachable. It is hard to imagine that we have it all figured out. I was just having a conversation with my brother who is looking to land a new job. He just received an offer letter from a company with a contract and I asked him to review it. His initial reaction was that I didn't feel he was smart enough to make a decision on his own. However, that was not the case at all. Instead I wanted to help put him in the best possible position to make the best possible decision. The same is true in our ministry. I think it is important to always have an attitude of humility and coachability. As believers, we should lean on each other to put ourselves in the best possible position to be used for the Glory of Christ.

The most successful Christian leaders continue to grow, right to the very end of their lives. Hebrews writes, "Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever." (13:7,8) The growing leader will carefully observe how other spiritual leaders have overcome and will then equip himself to run in a similar fashion. I do things like this by studying Biblical leaders, by reading biographies (John Edwards, Calvin, Lewis, Spurgeoun, have been some of my favorites and articles on these guys can be found at desiringgod.com) or by drawing near to godly leaders around me. Utilize the Godly people that God has surrounded you with, he hasn't put them there by mistake.

2. Spiritual Renewal. Jesus modeled the importance of pulling away from ministry activity in order to seek fresh intimacy and direction from the Father. In order to finish well, leaders need repeated times of inner renewal. The alternative is a drift toward complacency and a plateauing of growth. I love to go to things like Catalyst Conference, where thousands of church leaders get together to renew their mind on culture, leadership and ministry. For the past 3 years God has used that conference to fuel my soul and stir my affections for Christ. I also love to get away from work, family, and friends to just get alone with the Father. While in NJ for my grandfathers funeral, I spent hours in airports, in hotels, etc just alone with Jesus. He used those times to grow my faith, encourage my heart and increase my passion.

3. Disciplines. Leaders who finish well have learned the value of the spiritual disciplines. The basic disciplines involving the devotional life and the study of the Bible, along with such practices as solitude and fasting can deeply shape character and increase the probability of a good finish. After he had been in ministry for about 21 years, Paul wrote, "I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." (1 Cor. 9:27) Some 15 years later, when he was probably between 65 and 70, Paul shared time-tested advice with Pastor Timothy, "Train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." Lifelong spiritual training made it possible for Paul to finish strongly.

Lets be honest, discipline at times totally sucks. However, if as leaders we will not discipline ourselves for Godliness, than we have no business leading. We NEED to be in his word, Everyday! We should desire his word more than our food. We need to be feeding ourselves. I hear Christians all over say that their not being fed; that is a maturity issue. Babies can cry because they are not being fed; however, adults need to get up and go make food. Feed Yourself. Their are a ton of ways to do this. Podcasts, Worship Music, Bible Study, Books, Bible on audio, etc. Discipline yourself and make this a priority.

4. Accountability. The issue of accountability is critically important anywhere you go, and probably what I am most passionate about. No one can survive all by himself. We need one another. If I'm going to overcome moral problems, there has to be a group of people that I confide in. A group that I can be open with. We all face our own struggles, these struggles are overcome, not only because we read our Bibles and talk to God, but also because we talk to other Christians about our problems. And we know that they will minister to us in these areas. A lone ranger is a dead ranger! You will die; scripture confirms that.

Here is the real freakin deal on accountability. You've got to want it. If you don't want it than it wont matter. As leaders, we should want to protect our freedom so bad that accountability is something that is natural. If you are a leader and do not have several people who you have confessed your struggles to and have given them an open line to say anything and everything that may concern them about you; than you have missed it. YOU WILL FAIL!!! Just two days ago, Beth called me and said, "We're not moving to Boston." I was like what? She said, "Yeah, you have no accountability out there." She is right, however here is the key. If I want accountability, it is not hard to find. However, if I am passive about this area, accountability will never find me. When I move, my #1 priority before anything is to grow an accountability group. That comes before a core launch team or anything else that comes with planting a church.

A top Zimbabwean church planter reflects, "When God called me to ministry, the first thing I needed was to surround myself with godly men. I gave them permission to counsel and rebuke me. These are my mentors. As busy as I am, I try to get time with these men to pray with them and share my problems and successes. They are the secret to my effectiveness. Wherever there is a successful man, there are good mentors behind him."

Research has revealed that most leaders who have finished well have had ten to 15 significant people who came alongside to help them at various stages in life. Dr. Richard Clinton advises, "Simply put, if you are serious about finishing well, you need to find mentors who can hold you accountable in every area of your life and ministry and who will help you avoid the pitfalls that will arise as you move through life. An effective mentor will ensure that you continue to grow and develop." (R. Clinton, p.24)

God's Desire
How do you want to finish your ministry?

Are you encouraged by the trends in your life or are crucial changes needed?

What practices and safeguards are being built into your leadership now that will make for a good finish later?

Take heart! God wants you to finish well! He is earnestly committed to develop you toward maximum potential as a godly leader. And if you fully cooperate with His shaping wok, you will join those who run successfully to the finish. May Paul's passion as a leader burn within our hearts, "I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me."

Six Barriers to a Good Finish

1. The Misuse of Money Many leaders are careless in the handling of finances, both in their personal lives and ministry. Greed can sway sound judgment, leading to sin and eventual downfall. Too often God's resources have been diverted to personal use. Clothes donated to the poor have been taken by those handling them. Pastor's salaries have been supplemented from funds for evangelism. I really hope that God will protect me against this. In my career, I have had the ability to make above average money, and I do not want that to hinder what God wants to do through. It will be so easy to turn things that are wants and put them in the category of needs. I love this quote from Francis Chan; "We need to be less concerned with our standard of living and more concerned with other people actually living."

2. The Abuse of Power There is a tendency for leaders to wield power over followers beyond its intended use and to view special privileges as their personal right. Their leadership style is more reflective of a "chief" than a "shepherd." Rather than empowering followers for service, they lead for their own personal benefit. Usually these leaders have no accountability system. They stand at great risk. This is another area that can be any man/woman's downfall. Being only 25 and in leadership is very dangerous if I do not have the right people around me to lead and guide me through this.

3. Pride Success in ministry can pave the way for inappropriate pride to develop within a leader. Self-centeredness can set in, leading to poor decisions and ungodly behavior. We do well to heed James' counsel, "Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up." (Jas. 4:l0) Of everything on this list, I think that this is what I am most prone to. Since I got to college, I just about had success in every area of my life. Sports, Career, Ministry, Family, etc. This is dangerous because at times I consider my success "MY" success. I forget that without the grace of God, nothing is possible. he had gifted me in certain areas, but without his gifts and continued hand on me, I am nothing.

4. Sexual Misconduct Illicit sexual relationships have been a powerful tool in the enemy's hands against God's leaders. David's sin with Bathsheba has been repeated countless times in our generation, with no less devastating effects. Sexual sin has absolutely destroyed some of our best Christian men. Personally, I am not naive enough to think that I will not be tempted in this area. I tell Beth often, that the goal is not to "not Cheat"; that's a bad goal. "The goal is to never even allow myself to be in a possible position where being unfaithful is something that is a remote possibility." I refuse to allow my life and ministry to be destroyed because I cannot keep my pants on. Just shooting straight.

5. Family Issues Unresolved conflicts between husband and wife or between parents and children can have repercussions on leadership effectiveness. Leaders such as Eli and David, paid a dear price in leadership due to family problems. 1 Timothy 3 says that what qualifies me and you as a pastor is our homes. If I cannot lead my family, I cannot lead God's flock. If I cannot be a Godly Husband, how am I to lead the husbands? If I cannot be a Godly Dad, how am I to lead the Dads? If I can't make God saturated decisions in my home, how am I to do that in my church?

6. Complacency As a leader becomes complacent in ministry there is often a tendency to relax and rely on the successes of the past. I cannot lead people further than I have gone yourself. I cannot take people (spiritually) where I am not going. There is always work to be done; there is always a deeper measure of Jesus that we need to strive for.

It is important to note that each barrier is deeply rooted in character issues, rather than in lack of ministry skills. Personal integrity lies at the heart of the matter.

Tomorrow I will share what leads people a good finish.

Creation vs Naturalism (not evolution)

I received a question on my view of Creation. I am setting out to answer it the best that I can. ENJOY!!!

I would like to stress that Genesis was not written as a scientific textbook. Rather, it is a theological narrative written to reveal the God of creation, which means it emphasizes God, not creation. As one example, Hebrews 11:3 says, “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.”
The Bible in general, and the opening pages of Genesis in particular, are far more concerned with the questions of who made creation, how he made creation, and why he made creation than when he did. Therefore, as Galileo said, “the Holy Ghost intended to teach us how to go to heaven, not how the heavens go.”

Among Bible-believing, Jesus-loving Christians, there are at least six primary interpretations of the creation account in Genesis 1–2.

View #1 – Historic Creationism (Probably where I would stand.)
In this view, Genesis 1:1 records the making of all creation by God out of nothing, or “ex nihilo.” The merism “heavens and earth” means the sky above and land below, or the totality of creation. Since the word used for “beginning” in Genesis 1:1 is reshit in Hebrew, which means an indefinite period of time, it is likely that all of creation was completed over an extended period of time (anywhere from days to billions of years). Genesis 1:2 begins the description of God preparing the uninhabitable land for the creation of mankind. The preparation of the uncultivated land and the creation of Adam and Eve occurred in six literal twenty-four-hour days, as echoed in Exodus 20:11. This view leaves open the possibility of both an old earth and six literal days of creation.

View #2 – Young Earth Creationism (this would be my 2nd option)
In this view, God created the entire universe, including Adam and Eve, in six literal twenty-four-hour days. This view is almost always accompanied with a belief in a young earth as it seeks to be faithful to the biblical text while not giving much credence to the scientific claims of such things as an old earth. A young earth is probably between 6,000-10,000 years old. Some people may argue that science stated that the earth is billions of years old. The argument to this is that maybe God made the earth mature. For example, when God created Adam, he created him mature (a man) and not a fetus. The other argument is that possibly the flood did cataclysmic damage to the earth and seasoned it beyond it's actual years.

View #3 – Gap Theory (I don't believe this, I don't think scripture supports it very well at all)
In this view, Genesis 1:1 explains a first creation that happened perhaps billions of years ago. Then, a catastrophic event, likely the fall of Satan from heaven, left the earth in the destroyed condition of Genesis 1:2. God responded to this disaster by recreating the earth again a few thousand years ago in six literal days and repopulating the earth as is recorded in Genesis 1:3–27. According to this view the earth is old from the first creation and mankind is young because of the recent creation. The problems with this view include the fact that nothing in the Bible speaks of two creations. Also, at the end of the six days of creation, God declared all that he had made “very good,” which does not correlate with the claim that the earth had been destroyed and made “very bad.”

View #4 – Literary Framework View
In this view, Genesis 1–2 is intended to be read as a figurative framework explaining creation in a topical, not sequential, order. The six days of creation listed in Genesis 1 are also to be interpreted metaphorically and not as literal twenty-four-hour days. It is true that Genesis 1 is written in poetry form. Some people argue that it should be taken as figurative rather than literal, however I do not agree with that. It would not shock me that our Creator may have decided to express his story of creation in a creative way using poetry. The Literary Framework View is outlined here:
Forming
Day 1 - light and darkness separated
Day 4 - sun, moon, stars (lights in heaven)
Day 2 - sky and waters separated
Day 5 - fish and birds
Day 3 - dry land and waters separated; plants and trees
Day 6 - animals and man
Filling
However, there are some problems with this view. Most obviously, Exodus 20:11 clearly states that the six days of creation are literal; it ties our seven-day week with one day of Sabbath to the six days of God’s work in creation and his one day of rest.

View #5 – Day-Age View
In this view, God created the universe, including Adam and Eve, in six sequential periods of time that are not literal twenty-four-hour days. The problem with this view is that the six days of creation seem to clearly be literal days. Also, as we saw above, Exodus 20:11 clearly states that the six days are literal.

View #6 – Theistic Evolution
In this view, God essentially began creation and then pulled back from working directly in creation to instead work through the process of evolution. The only exception would be God involving himself directly again in the making of human life. For the most part, this view accepts the hypothesis of evolution but seeks to insert God as the creator of matter and overseer of the evolutionary process. This view also believes that species evolved over a long period of time, which requires an old earth. The biblical problems with theistic evolution are many. First, Genesis 1 repeatedly states that creation and its species came into existence because “God said,” and not because of evolutionary process. Additionally, Genesis 1 also continually states that after God commanded creation to come into existence, “it was so”; thus, God’s commands brought about the instantaneous response of creation rather than a long evolutionary process detached from God. Second, evolution teaches that one species evolves into other species while Genesis 1 says that each species had offspring “according to its kind” (e.g., 1:21, 1:24, 1:25) and not another kind as evolution postulates. Third, the rest of Scripture portrays God as continually involved in the details of creation, including making the grass grow (Ps. 104:14; Matt. 6:30), feeding the birds (Matt. 6:26), and feeding other creatures (Ps. 104:21, 25–30). Scripture clearly does not paint God as remote or only indirectly involved in creation.

I do however believe in micro-evolution, in that species can adapt to environments. I do not believe in macro-evolution which states that one species can evolve into another species. That thought originally came from Darwin in his book "The Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or The Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life" Please look again at the full title of that book. The underlining argument was that whites had out-evolved blacks and were superior. Darwin's book was a book that was out to prove favored races. I believe that we all descend from Adam and that all races are equal. In the further study of this theory, it has been proved that with the complexity of DNA and the study of the "single simple cell" (which is not simple at all), this theory of macro-evolution has never been factually proven. Also, fossil records do not have any evidence of this in its findings.

Sooooooooooooo. I hope this gives some thought on what I believe. I must say that I am no expert in this at all. My beliefs come from a basic scientific study of this topic and my view on scripture. I am interested to know other peoples thoughts.

Child-like Faith

Matthew 18:3 Jesus says, "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."

Beth is out having a girls night, making cookies with her momma, Abby, Jen and Alyssa. I'm here chillin w/ D and El's. El's just went to bed and I am here next to D watching him play Wii golf. The kid is amazing.

Anyway, we got some Hillsong on, Mighty to Save, which goes like this:
"Savior, he can move the mountains,
My God is Mighty to Save, he is Mighty to Save."

D, who is probably the most Godly person I know...Seriously, the kid prays like a theologian already; just asked me this question.

D: Dad, Can Jesus move mountains?
Me: Yeah bro, he sure could.
D: Yeah I thought so.

That was it. "Yeah, I thought so." Child-like faith. Often God uses my kids to confront me. Today within those 3 sentences, God used D to confront my unbelief. Do I really believe that God can move the mountains? I sure do. Do you?

Want to be faced with your own unbelief?
Watch this video: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7721106190663219700

Conversation w/ an Agnostic: Part 6 It's Personal (A Relationship, not a Religion)

Let me stop trying to sound like a scholar and speak to you from my heart. I have had multiple conversations with people that are searching like you and hold similar values and beliefs that you hold. Most recently is my brother-in-law, who like you is brilliant and searching. What struck me as odd is that he was using a logic that you rarely us in your everyday life. In your search for God, you are essentially saying, "Until I can fully grasp and understand this idea of God/Jesus, I will not acknowledge it as true" You and I dont used this logic during our everyday life. When I get in may car, I dont say, I will not drive it until I can understand ever aspect of it. Or you dont wait to get on a plane until you can fully grasp or understand the aerodynamics and deep engineering of the plane, you still get on that plane. Why do you get on that plane? Because it is undeniable that it will fly because you have seen it all your life. But when it comes to God, you feel the need to fully understand him before summiting. However, in your life, you have seen countless people changed, and seen them hold firm to what they believe. Although it is unexplainable when they say it was Jesus who changed them, it is also undeniable that their claim is that a personal relationship with Jesus is what caused the change, on top of the fact that they truly are changed and hold strong to their belief. To be honest with you, I will never claim that I do not have doubts about God or that I fully understand God. I have doubts just like you, but to me that is OK. I believe that you can be a Christian without all of the answers, I assume you feel differently.

Here is what I am trying to say. Having all of the answers is not what makes someone a Christian. What makes someone a Christian is when an adult becomes personal w/ Jesus. Truth be told, there is an answer for every question that you have. Actually if you were to ask me a question, I can almost guaranty that there are endless books out there that were written to answer your question. It is almost comical when people think they they are the first to have questions or doubts. The same questions have been being asked for hundreds of years. However the books that are out there and their answers usually will just arise more questions for us to ponder on. And at the end of they day you will be no closer to God, you will just me more informed. My point is this, I did not become a Christian or find meaning to my life through information, I found it through a personal relationship.

Think of it like this. I can give you all of the reasons why not to get married to a person. Your with 1 person forever, forever is a long time, we dont have enough money, can you really trust each other, what if you get bored with each other, you'll lose your independence, 1 sexual partner forever, the list can go on and on. All of those are good questions as well as true information. However, when I substitute the "hypothetical person" that I would be marrying, and instead put in the mix Beth, it is different. No longer am I just marring a hypothetical person, no, I am marrying Beth. Beth is someone who I love, who I have a relationship with. Although there are still doubts, those doubts are overridden by the relationship. The same is true with Jesus. The reason that me, and billions of others in the world have been able to become Christians as intelligent adults, is not because their questions were answered, but instead God became personal and our doubts became smaller.

The reason that you will never be able to change my mind on Jesus is because I know Jesus. I know him being a reality as much as I know I am married to Beth. It's personal to me. Because Jesus is personal to me, my doubts and questions become smaller because God has become bigger. On the flip side, I also know that I will never be able to convince you that Jesus is who he really says he is because to you it is not personal, instead it is informational. And Theologically, (not philosophically or scientifically) I believe that scripture is clear that until Jesus reveals himself to you and calls you, you will not come to him. (That is another argument for another day) With that being said, maybe through these conversations and your current circumstances, God wants to use this to draw you to him. That is my prayer for you.

Conversation w/ an Agnostic: Part 3 Historical Evidence of the Bible

Historical Evidence:
The bible was written by 40 men, chosen by God to write it. It was written over a period of 1,500 years. Those 40 men who wrote were on 3 separate continents, in 3 languages, and were all writing the same thing, in some cases at the same time. In that day, they had no mail delivery trucks, no drop ship planes, no Federal Express, no UPS and no e-mail. So how could it be then that they all wrote the same things while on 3 separate continents over that time period?

How do we know what is inspired? It is hard to answer this question without an understanding of the guidance of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was both responsible for writing the scripture and preserving the scriptures that were considered the authoritative Word of God. Concerning the Old and New Testament, we have no record of any dispute between Jesus and the Jews over the extent of the canon. In the New Testament, Old Testament scriptures are quoted over 295 times, showing that the early church believed what books of the bible were inspired.

Jesus says to the apostles that they will have supernatural powers given by the Holy Spirit to remember his exact words and that they were responsible for recording it and writing it down. John 14:26.

Plus: Here is what the Bible says about itself.

Then the LORD stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the LORD said to me, "Behold, I have put My words in your mouth." (Jeremiah 1:9).

For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12).

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever (Isaiah 40:8).

My personal favorite.

Psalm 19:7 The law of the Lord is perfect reviving the soul. The statutes of the Lord are trustworthy, making wise the simple.

How true that is. Billions of people throughout the world have leaned on scripture in their darkest moments, only to have their soul revived. That is my story.

Conversation w/ an Agnostic: Part 1 Creator

Over the past week or so I have been having some in depth conversations with a friend of mine who is agnostic. I thought I would add some of my conversation with him because I think that is helpful for all.

I will start first with my logical progression of information which has brought me to where I am today. I will cover Creator, Revelation, Historical Evidence, Prophecy, Manuscripts, Jesus, Personal experience, and personal relationship.

This is Part 1:

Creator:
I assume that you already have read or heard somewhere that the number of atheists are rapidly decreasing http://www.geocities.com/richleebruce/b/atheist.html . As a Christian you need to know that I do not refute science, I refute naturalism. I will agree with people like Lee Strobal, William Dembski, Larry Witham, and many others who think that even scientifically it takes more faith to believe that there is no creator than to believe that there is a creator. To me I struggle to believe that something came of nothing. At no point in the world do we ever look at something and say, that came from nothing, we always assume it came from someone or something. To add to that, the more complicated a design the more intelligent we assume the creator to be. Also, when I have studied about how finely tuned our universe is, along with the fact the human body is also so finely tuned to exist in this environment, it blows my mind. As you already know, the slightest alters in the universe or earth, humans would no longer be able to exist. The other thing that totally confuses me is the fact that people believe that matter can turn to mind. In other words, how can matter turn into a brain that works, thinks, learns, etc. I am sure that there are many arguments against that but to me and my education level, it is hard to get beyond that. A reference for you is Lee Strobal's, The Case for a Creator: A Journalist Investigates Scientific Evidence. This was very helpful for me in forming my beliefs in God as Creator.

Here are some quotes to support what I believe as far as a creator is concerned.
1. The most amazing thing to me is existence itself. How is it that inanimate matter can organize itself to contemplate itself? Can a person be a scientist and a Christian? Yes. As I said before, the world is too complicated in all its parts and interconnections to be due to chance alone. God is the explanation for the miracle of existence.- Allan Sandage, cosmologist and Nobel Prize winner
2. Beer is proof alone that God exists and wants us to be happy. Matt Chewning, a nobody. haha

Dunkin Donuts; Cool Stuff

Beth and I went to the first Dunkin Donuts in Greensboro. It just opened up 3 days ago. It is so cool because there is the picture of the 1st Dunkin Donuts in Quincy which Beth and I used to live next to. Pretty cool.

Anyway, when we were waiting in line, I saw the guy talking to this girl. He was hitting on her like something I never seen before. He was pretty obnoxious. He was whispering in her year, talking loud and real sexual to her. It was kind weird to witness in a line at DD's. Anyway, what was the weirdest of all of it was how this women was totally responding to his disrespectful way of coming onto her.

Then this guy walks right by me and says to the girl standing besides us, "Jesus loves you", "Now pay me your tithe." It was just weird. Finally he got his drink and donut, got this girls phone number and walks out.

Now we're waiting in line and I go up to the girl that he was hitting on. Scared out of my mind, I leaned over and said, "You need to disregard everything that guys just said to you. You should never accept his call, and instead find a man that is going to pursue you for who you are as a women, and that will love you and respect you, not treat you like a animal in a Dunkin Donuts line." I then said, "God wants you to wait for a man who will first run after him and in turn then be able to pursue you, lead you, and treat you the way that he calls him to." Not knowing how that was going to go over, I kinda just freaked out and shut up.

She looked at me and said, "thank you, a lot of people have been telling me that lately." She said that it was weird that I would just say that out of the blue but she thanked me.

Cool stuff.

If you read this, I encourage you to get in the lives of people. Maybe God wants to use you to encourage someone today.

Awesome (Must Read)

Beth's Cousin has been at Hillsong's college in Sydney for the past year. She has been a part of their worship experiences; to what extent, I do not know. Anyway, Beth shot her an e-mail 3 weeks ago, about our plan to plant. This was her response. It is amazing what God is doing.

Well,
I've been thinking A LOT about Bostonand during the thinking parts, I've been prayingand I gotta tell you - what you and Matt are planning on doing is so incredible.I can't even express to you, how awesome it is to see God using you guys itsuch a big way.And even more than that, it's so cool to see how God has planted thisvision in you guys and you're going for it, you're giving it your alland you're doing what God has asked and you're not even hesitating.And even since you've brought this idea up so much has happened with yourfamily, and it's stuff that Satan would be more than happy to use to bringyou down, because he knows that what you guys are doing is going to change somany people, but you guys have just risen above and kept God the focus andpraised Him in the highs and the lows. And I honestly believe that God is goingto bless you guys for that.In saying all that... Honestly, an opportunity this incredible? I don't know how I couldn'tbe apart of it!God's told me from the beginning of this journey to Australia to not planahead because He had something in store for me that I wouldn't be able toplan, and when you asked me to be apart of this church plant with you guys Ijust knew that that was the next step, the next leg of this journey God has gotme on.I've talked to my mom and the leaders I have above me, all of whom Irespect, and everyone I've talked to says they really think this is the nextstep for me.But, more than that... I really feel like I'm getting the okay from God.So, I just wanted to write and tell you officially that I am planning on beingapart of your team and joining you in Boston.I can't even tell you how excited I am about this!I actually think you guys are in Boston right now, so I hope you're havinga good time on your trip and with Paul and Amber!and I hope we get to talk soon, most likely whenever you get home!well, I love you guys and I miss you!also, I just wanted to say thanks for thinking of me in this.it really means a lot.: ) Holly

Missional Church vs. A Church w/ A Mission

There is a diametrical difference between a "Missional Church" and a "Church with a Mission." A missional church is made of radically transformed individuals who express the love of Christ on a daily basis. They understand Christ's call to "take up their cross" and have a real burden for the many lost around them. (Luke 15) For them, great rejoicing comes, not from increased numbers but from one persons being transformed by the Holy Spirit. Pastors are coaches who enable these individual ministers to encourage, admonish, and strengthen the body of Christ.

A "Missional Church" can have a pipe organ or an Alternative Rock Worship band because the celebration is a result of the joy of witnessing those once lost becoming found. Those once dead, finding new life. A "Missional Church" doesn't look to program or style for effectiveness. This church relies on prayer and the power of the Holy Spirit. Biblical hunger drives the church more than program and finances.

Sadly, I'm afraid a vast majority of North American Church are "Churches with a Mission." The goal here is to sustain the organization for "God's sake." Kingdom effectiveness is measured by increased persons involved as well as financial resources collected. Vast sums of money are invested into property and buildings. Programs, which may have powerfully effected people 20 or 30 years ago, are maintained at great cost both in time and money. Participants spend countless hours attempting to make these "Ministries" relevant even as our culture totally ignores them. These churches are like Choirs, singing to themselves. Contemporary Christian radio stations broadcasting to the saved. Jesus left the 99 sheep to rescue the 1 lost sheep. "Churches with a Mission" believe that keeping the 99 sheep well fed, well organized, and unified will cause the lost sheep to find it's way back to the fold.

Pastors are burning out of pastoral ministry in alarming rates because in "Churches with a Mission," the flock are consumers feeding off the energy of the organization. Most of this energy is generated by the professional pastoral staff.

Missional Churches, however, have a majority of individuals with a conviction to minister the gospel where they live, work and play. Pastors become coaches, inspiring, challenging, and equipping persons to reach more of the lost around them. For a "Missional Church," the joy of the Lord becomes their strength. A joy which is energized each time a lost sheep is found, a lost coin is recovered, or a lost son returns home. Where they worship, what style they incorporate, or the numbers of participants is not that important.

By: Steve Shomo