Sun Stand Still – Steven Furtick

Sun Stand Still

There are books that you read that have the power to persuade you or inspire you.  There are books that you read that can challenge you and cause you to search within.  Then there are books that will flat out reshape who you are as individual and when you read a book like that it becomes an instant favorite or a book that you instantly hate because you realize there is a lot that needs to change.  When I read Sun Stand Still by Steven Furtick who is the pastor of Elevation Church in Charlotte, North Carolina I was blown away this book for me became an instant favorite and one that I have in my top 5 books of all time.

The principle of “Sun Stand Still, Steven Furtick challenges you to believe that the audacious faith that we see in the Bible, the faith that caused a man to pray and see the sun stand still in the sky, is the same faith we can claim for ourselves today. This is more than just another book. It’s a call to all of us to begin living the life of audacity God has created and saved us for.”

If you have not read this book you are missing out on the potential to see God do a movement in your life that can only be explained by Him.

Danger Zone

My wife has always enjoyed playing this game with our car that involves the gas gauge and I’m sure guys you can completely relate to this game with your wives as well.  The game is too see how many miles she can drive AFTER the light comes on to tell her that she is “nearly” empty.  When I see that gauge and the light comes on, and it rarely does, the game I like to play is get to the gas station as fast as possible to avoid running out of gas.  I have had friends who liked to beat their record of miles after light goes on but for me I am not intrigued by that, in fact I would rather follow them when there tank goes empty and honk and wave as I drive by them on my way.  I read on another blog where someone posted: “I have actually prayed out loud before ” God, you turned water into wine, you multiplied fish and bread, you can multiply the gas in my tank so I can get to the gas station.” And then God said, “I’ve multiplied the gas stations you’ve been driving past for the last two days, you’re on your own!” Now that is funny.

Problem is it’s not as funny when that same principle creeps into our spiritual lives and we get to the point that running on empty is a normal aspect of our life.  Sure we get a quick top-off every now and then on Sunday’s and maybe from a song or bumper sticker but we perpetually live our lives in the danger zone.  I have learned a lot about myself when I am running on empty or when I am in that danger zone area.  Things that I’m not proud of and yet I am pretty sure you can relate to them.

When that spiritual light comes on in my life I have a harder time hearing God’s voice and in many instances I really don’t want to hear God’s voice during those times.  When that spiritual light comes on in my life I become more selfish and irritable and have zero patience for things that are really insignificant.  When that spiritual light comes on in my life I have a harder time recognizing the presence of the Holy Spirit.  I’m not looking for it and to be frank there are times where I feel like I am too far away to even feel His presence.  When that spiritual light comes on in my life I find that my family comes second.  My kids don’t get their time with their dad that they deserve and my wife gets what’s left at me at the end of the day which isn’t worth a whole lot.  When that spiritual light comes on in my life I live my life for God out of obligation not out of obedience or gratefulness.

The danger with all of those is sometimes we don’t see the warning signs coming.  We miss or put off the opportunities to fill up and before we realize it the light is on and we are in the danger zone cruising on fumes.  It’s not to much later that we find ourselves stuck on the side of the road spiritually finally stopping to take the time to recognize who God is.

Do you recognize the warning signs in your life?  Can you tell when you are running on empty?  What do you do about it?  What are you going to do about it this week before it’s too late? Seriously it’s not a game and you have to be willing to briefly stop and fill up before it comes crashing down and your stuck.  No one likes to be stuck in a rut.  We need to run to the fueling station of the Word of God.  I’ve tried to fill up at the cheap imitation stations only to be left feeling spiritually empty.  Don’t make the same mistakes as I have.  Ask for help.  Seek for truth in God’s Word and beg God that He will fill you with His Spirit today.

Do You Really Think That The Hope Of The World Is The Church?

I got asked recently by a co-worker who said, “Do you really think that the hope of the world is the church?”  My first response was silence as I thought about what they were really asking and then I said, “It should be”.  I have heard from various pastors over the years that the local church is the hope of the world and I love the way that sentence flows off of my tongue.  However by saying that sentence I feel like I pawn off the responsibility to a building to do all the work to reach people.  I leave all the effort to programs and procedures and systems.  Problem is, what happens if the people in local churches all over the world either don’t know they are the hope of the world or worse have no desire to offer that hope?

Jesus was a passionate individual here on earth who connected with those who were ultimately far from him.  Jesus took the time to hang out with sinners and the very men who walked with him were not the sort that any of us would have chosen to plant a church with or start a movement with.  He sought out the woman who had been married 5 times and was living with a guy who wasn’t her husband and he offered grace to the woman caught in adultery and he touched the lepers and spoke gently with tax collectors.  He healed those who were sick and broken and according to the world were disgusting and were better off dead.  He welcomed all those with questions and insults like they were his friends.

The question that person asked me was followed up with this…did God really create an institution where one day a week people could come to a building and fake the fact that they are really hurting and broken inside and begging for hope that doesn’t seem to be there?  Does God really care about my hurt and my pain and my life?  Truth is we all go through stretches in our lives where we do exactly that and pretend that we have it all figured out and that our life is perfect.  Smiles can only cover up so much.  Truth is we are not doing God or anybody else any favors by getting up early on Sunday and putting on our happy face to only go through motions and emotions.

Many a Sunday’s have gone by in my 10 years of ministry where it was easier to answer the cliche’ question of “How are you?” with “I’m fine”, rather than reveal my heart that was wicked and broken and desperately searching for God.  Now what I have gathered with those that I have talked to about this inside and outside the church world is that the world does not need to see perfect people NOT needing a savior, pretending to be something that they are not.  The world needs to see broken and messed up and fragmented people who have been honest and fallen broken before the cross and are changed and been made new.  I believe that is the church being the hope of the world.  What can the church offer that nobody else in the world can offer…hope.  Hold on to and grasp the hope that is in you today.  You are the church and through you and your story you can change the world.  Why?  Because I really do believe that the local church is the hope of the world.

If I…

Do you ever feel like it is all about you? I don’t know your situation or what it looks like but there have been times in my life where I have felt that it was all about me. My plan, my vision, my hopes, my dreams and yes even my will. Really? How stupid do I have to be to really actually believe that? Well as time has gone by I’ve realized…really stupid. I don’t know how it happened, not sure when it happened and it pains me to admit that it did happen, but at some point in my life, I actually began to think that God needed me to complete his vision and mission and plan and without me there was no possible way that it would be accomplished. I know your laughing and thinking who would ever think that? Me. For years in my life I allowed my pride to build up and think that I was more than what I really was and only till that was stripped away did I realize that the show goes on with or without me.

If I don’t attend this meeting. If I don’t speak this weekend. If I don’t do this wedding. If I don’t lead this team. If I don’t counsel this couple. If I don’t have this dinner. If I don’t answer this text. If I don’t write this blog. If I don’t attend sporting event. If I don’t volunteer for that ______________. If I don’t return that email. If I don’t miss every event. The words “IF I” dominated my thinking…not “IF GOD”…but “IF I”.

I have been learning that God can and will go on with or without me…but I also learned that I can not go on with out Him…and that has making all the difference in the world to me and my family.

What is your “IF I” statement that you can put in the place of mine?  Maybe yours are the same.  Reality is there comes a point when we realize that it is not all about us.  My advice is to learn that sooner than later.

Charity:Water

The story of charity: water – The 2009 September Campaign Trailer from charity: water on Vimeo.

Public Opinion 101

I have had some time to slow down and look at my life over the last couple months and for me to slow down is a rare thing.  I thrive on pressure situations and being in charge.  I thrive on pushing myself and pleasing others.  Pleasing others will ALWAYS get us into trouble and burn us out because the reward at the end is not fulfilling enough to sustain us.  Sure it feels like it is and will be while in the midst of the insanity but somewhere along the way you forget who you really are and why you really do what you do.  I am sure I am not alone in my feeling this way because no matter if it is ministry or business there is a constant battle of the rat race that surrounds us.  It slowly slips in and takes away valuable time away from God and our families until were standing there alone and questioning what happened.

I have learned that living my life in fear of what others think of me is no way to live at all.  Maybe you are there…right now. You are worn-out. You are weary. You have forgotten who you are because you have spent so much time trying to be something for someone else. I was worn-out.  I was weary.  I had forgotten who I was was.

• Tired of performing
• Tired of persuading
• Tired of impressing
• Tired of posing
• Tired of faking
• Tired from my past
• Tired of fighting for approval
• Tired of trying to make up for mistakes
• Tired of proving myself
• Tired of not being seen for who I really was

When you become so tired your natural inclination is to try harder only to find yourself more tired.  At least that was the cycle and struggle for me.  In that time I forgot who I am in Christ.  I lived so much for the opinion of others that I lost sight of God’s opinion of me:

• My past is forgiven
• My future is secure
• I am loved for who I am
• My true self is all God desires
• My mistakes are wiped clean
• My performance doesn’t earn God’s love
• Who I am is impressive enough

I have loved this time away to slow down and to realize who I am.  I dream again.  I laugh again.  I believe again.  To finally get to the point in my life that other people’s opinions of me doesn’t matter is a great place.  That doesn’t mean I won’t listen and learn from others and take criticism in stride but I am convinced more than ever that your never as bad as people say you are and your never as good as people say you are.  Being content in what I was created for has been a humbling journey but one I would not change for anything.

Life Lessons From Trader Joe’s

I have been working part-time at Trader Joe’s for the last three weeks and there are several things that I have noticed that I wanted to share.  I am extremely impressed at how Trader Joe’s as a company is managed and operated.  From the accuracy of the crew members in how they order products to eliminate massive back room storage to management and how they delegate responsibility.  They truly give ownership of the store to the crew members and coach them when it is needed.

Key Concepts::

• It is more about the customer than it is about the project.
• Telling someone where to go is not as important as showing them where to go.
• How can you purchase something until you know if you like, so try it.  Are you serious?
• It is all about creating a “wow” experience for customers.

It made me think about the church and it is not really any different or at least it shouldn’t be.  It should always be more about people than a project or a program.  Yes projects and programs bring people in but it is relationships that keeps them coming in.  It is more important to lead by example than to tell people how to live.  Actions will always speak louder than words.  There are different churches for different people.  I love the idea of trying out a church until you find the one that you feel connected to that you can serve in and grow in.  Jesus was not boring and neither should the church.  There should be an obvious sign that a church is growing and excited and passionate about what they are doing.  When people walk in they should be in “wow” of the creativity, passion, excitement and commitment.

I’ve watched people walk in to Trader Joe’s and spend a ton of money not just for the product but for the experience.  I wonder if people would be willing to invest whatever it took to enjoy their experience in their church?