I Give You Permission…

June 9, 2010 By nick Leave a Comment

Dear New Passion,

This Sunday as we join together at our worship service, I give you permission to…

Bottom-line…I give you permission to come Sunday with a heart of worship and the freedom to express it to God!

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What Lion Do You Need to Chase?

June 7, 2010 By nick Leave a Comment

I absolutely loved this message by Craig Groeschel that we at New Passion opened our One Prayer series with this past Sunday. It’s called “Unstoppable Courage” and it hits home because I have some friends right now who are staring some Lions in the face and they are either going to have to decide to chase the Lion and kill it, or allow the Lion to destroy them. I pray they have their eyes opened to how big their God is:

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Does Your Guilt Cause You To Accuse?

May 20, 2010 By nick Leave a Comment

I saw this lady that I know in Wal-Mart tonight.

She was with a new man. That’s nothing new.

I see people all the time who I haven’t seen in a while who didn’t make it with their spouse.

However, this lady is different.

There was a short stint in my life where I had to sell cars to try and feed my family while I was interviewing for another sales job.

Part of my training required me and all of the new salespeople to test drive cars together. It was the companies way of getting their new hires to learn about the vehicles and a great way to role play with another person to explain the features of the vehicle.

I happened to be test driving a car with another young lady one day.

guiltyA few days later my wife told me that the lady, who I saw in Wal-Mart tonight, went to her mom (my mother-in-law) trying to get me in trouble because she saw me in the car with “another” woman and was concerned! I believe if my memory is correct, my mother-in-law explained to her that I had a new job and part of it was to take people (even women) on test drives.

It was such a surprise to see her tonight without her husband. I couldn’t help but wonder, if she was accusing me several years ago because she had something she was hiding that made her feel guilty. Does guilt cause us to accuse other people of what we are doing?

I’m not judging her and why she is no longer with her husband, but it sure did make me think!

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Ignorance in Action

March 22, 2010 By nick 1 Comment

“Nothing in the world is more dangerous than a sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.” – Martin Luther King Jr.

constitutionI’m not one to shy away from a debate on politics. I never let politics trump my faith and the Gospel, and I never use my platform as a pastor to share my view on politics or to try and push legislation towards my view. I will however, when given the opportunity or when a discussion is taking place, share my view on given subjects.

As we all know, the Democrats in the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Senate Health Care Reform Bill last night. As I was surfing around on Twitter, I engaged in a few late night discussions on the topic, and then a few more this morning. I follow a lot of Christians on Twitter, and remarkably, I saw several diverse responses to the passage of the bill. Some point to Jesus and his teaching to care for the poor and the sick, while some others argue away the increase in taxes on the top wage earners in America to pay for it all, and then there are those who argue, that this is a bad rout to take as a Country for a list of reasons. I’ll reserve my thoughts for a potential future post…I’m not sure that I want to go there right now :)

Here’s what has provoked this post, because this issue in itself is, in my opinion, becoming a bigger and bigger problem among American Christians. I’ve seen A LOT of people either in a straightforward way or in a suggestive manner say that we as Christians need to just accept this new law, because Romans 13 tells us to (paraphrased) “Submit to authority because all authority is from God…to rebel against authority is to rebel against God.” This suggestion and view of Scripture makes me shrill as if someone were taking their fingernails and running them down a chalkboard, here’s a couple of reasons why:

1. It reveals an ignorance about the foundations of our country: The United States of America is a Democracy in the form of a Representative Republic. Our authority is a document known as the Constitution. It is Government for the people, by the people. Our Senators, our Congresspeople, our Supreme Court Judges, and our President are NOT our authority. We are their authority. They are not to dictate rules and regulations to the people, rather they are to represent and enforce the will of the people and defend the authority of the land, the Constitution. We do not serve them, they serve us. Our American tradition is to give them honor and respect, but that should not be mistaken with authority. Our country is not a dictatorship.

2. It reveals an ignorance about the beginning of our country: To suggest that it is a sin or somehow against Romans 13 to speak out against a law that has been passed or to just “accept” what “is”, is to imply that the entire founding of our country was founded in sin. Our forefathers should have never picked up a rifle (they should have been content with oppression), the Pilgrims should have never boarded the first ship to flee persecution (they should have just accepted it), and we should all be speaking in a British tongue today (Because America would not be America). Who knows, maybe that is how you feel?

Romans 13 was instructed in a totally different political system than America. Maybe I shouldn’t be so surprised that people are interpreting it based on an American lifestyle and political system? America seems to be the filter in which we interpret the Bible many times. Romans 13 is definitely applicable in many situations, but not in this situation or in any debate concerning the laws of this land, it is up to our debate and our wills to form those laws. If the Democrats truly went against what the people said they wanted, and what polls said they wanted, it would not be the people ignoring Romans 13, it would be the politicians. There has been a huge movement in recent years for some people within Christianity to silence other Christians from sharing their political views. They complain “Christians are too political” – Yet, they will turn and loudly share their opposing viewpoint as they shame others into silence. We as Christian Americans have just as much voice as any other citizen, in fact it is our responsibility as citizens to be political, whether that voice is Independent, Liberal, or Conservative, we must share that voice with the character of Christ. That does not mean to sit back, accept what “is” and be silent. It means to stand up for what you believe in, while representing Christ well.

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God Doesn’t Deserve My Best

March 16, 2010 By nick 1 Comment

trophy gold“God doesn’t deserve my best,” is exactly what we say when we as “Christ Followers” decide to be consumers rather than contributors. I listened to a message by Perry Noble the other day from NewSpring’s Practical Atheist series. He referenced the verses where Cain and Abel present their offerings to the Lord and how Cain just gave some of his crops as  an offering to the Lord, while Abel gave his first and best lamb as an offering. While the main point of Perry’s usage of the Scripture was to point out that the tithe did not go away with the law since it was present 500+ years before the law was given, something different stood out to me.

I’ve practically grown up in church. I’ve been a ministry leader, staff, volunteer, and a plain ‘ol church attender. I’ve heard messages on giving and tithing several times in the past, but nothing has prepared me for the harsh reality that there are more Christians like Cain than there are like Abel in most churches. I remember hearing about Cain as a child in our Bible stories. He got a bad rap, I guess it stemmed mostly from him murdering Abel. But the more I think about it, there is more focus put on his being a murderer than there is his attitude that God did not deserve his best. I wonder if we  avoid that foundational truth because its our attitude too? I wonder if that’s why people church hop and get angry when the pastor preaches on giving and money? Could it be because their attitude is that God does not deserve their best?

This verse has never stuck out to me until I looked at it over the weekend, check it out…

“Why are you so angry?” the Lord asked Cain. “Why do you look so dejected? You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.” Genesis 4:6-7

What was the right thing in this situation? Abel’s income came through being a shepherd. Cain’s income came through harvesting the land. Both brought an offering to the Lord, because the Lord had blessed them both with a profit and a means of living. The difference is, Abel brought his first and his best to God, Cain just brought a random selection, but it was definitely not his best. God’s response was that Cain would be accepted if he only did what was right. Cain knew what was right, but his attitude directed his actions. He did not feel God deserved his best, therefore he did not give God his best. The biggest part of this verse to me is where God points out, that sin is crouching at Cain’s door waiting to control him because he lacked the heart to put God first and to give him his best.

There are Christians all over the world who do this all the time. They won’t or they can’t give God their best because they are driving it, or living in it, or wearing it. There are Christians all over the world who want to tell the church what they want to consume from the church, but they refuse to contribute to the vision God has given the church.

Matthew 6:21 says, “Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.“

I believe that is what God was telling Cain in Genesis. Watch out! Sin will control your desires when God does not deserve the first and best of your treasures.

Are there areas in your life or in the life of your family that sin has control of? It may start with your desire to be a consumer rather than a contributor and the attitude that God does not deserve your best!

Just a thought!

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Is It Our Responsibility?

March 5, 2010 By nick Leave a Comment

nehemiah-wallSeveral weeks ago I asked our people at New Passion, “Do you see the mission Jesus calls us to as your personal responsibility?”

I love the story of Nehemiah. One of the things that keeps sticking out to me is how everyone worked together for the common vision that God gave Nehemiah. There is no doubt that each person saw this mission from God as their personal responsibility. The Bible says that each person repaired the section of the wall in front of their own home. This mission was very personal.

I love the fact that it points out in one occasion that the people worked with enthusiasm and how Baruch zealously repaired an additional section of the wall. That means he didn’t have tunnel vision – he saw the entire project as his responsibility, not just his piece of the wall…he went above and beyond…Passion will cause you to do that. It’s kind of like the Lays potato chips challenge, “I Bet You Can’t Eat Just One” – When God puts a passion in your heart, you won’t be satisfied with a mundane approach to the mission he calls you to, you’ll want more! The Nobles  and Officials agreed to give back to the poor the interest they had charged them and to require no more payments for their debt to help relieve the financial stress and pressure on the lower class. These people were willing to sacrifice in order to unify under a common vision and a  common mission. They saw it as their responsibility!

So what about you? Do you see the mission Jesus calls His followers to as all of our personal responsibility? I believe when we get to that point, it adds a whole new dimension to the way we live out our faith. I believe it is an essential ingredient needed to change the world with the gospel.

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I Like The Way You Think: Encouraging the Church

March 3, 2010 By nick 2 Comments

think-lightbulbI was eating lunch with Jonothan, our worship leader, yesterday and he mentioned something I thought was pretty cool. So, since Jonothan does not blog and he just tweeted for the first time yesterday, I think I’ll post this myself. I like the way our people at New Passion think…it is scary what God can do through our church, if people will simply step out and follow what he is leading them to do.

Jonothan was talking about some of the books of the Bible he has been reading lately and mentioned that he noticed how Paul would travel to the various churches and would share what was taking place within the other churches, he would send encouragement from the other Christians that he was with at the time to those he was writing letters to. An example can be found Here and Here.

Jonothan mentioned that it would be a great ministry for someone to go around to other churches, spend time with them, and to find out what God is doing in their churches, not to copy them, or to enact their strategies, rather so they could come back to their home church and share the good news with their fellow believers. I believe it would be just as important and powerful to know how to pray for those other churches as well. Someone would not have to physically go to the churches, with Skype, Twitter, email, and phones, we could easily connect with a contact within the church that could speak for their body.

It’s funny. We’ll get on the internet and see what series another church is doing. We’ll go to conferences to see what new strategies and philosophies we can enact. But, if we can, we’ll take it and claim it as our own. I’m not pointing the finger, I’ve done it myself. However, I am trying to do a lot less of it. I want God to do new things through me and through New Passion, so I don’t want to bottleneck us where we are so reliant on doing what everyone else is doing. I think we as a church need to be willing to share what God is doing all over the world, through other churches. If it’s truly not a competition we should be willing to encourage our believers with what God is doing with the believers next door and in the next town.

Anyway, no telling what will ever come of this idea. I think it was a great thought. It’s definitely something new. I don’t know of anyone else who is taking time or giving space to spotlight what God is doing in other churches, but we sure like to brag on ourselves.

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If Your Scars Could Speak

March 1, 2010 By nick Leave a Comment

cuttingscarsEveryone has scars.

Some are physical, while others are emotional and mental.

I have a scar in the bend of my right arm. I was around 5 years old and my mom had to stop by my grandma’s house, she told me to stay in the car while she quickly ran in. My sister had a better idea, I should get out of the car and call our friend Nikki (No, not my wife Nicki) to come to the fence, where we used to play and talk. I guess I figured by climbing the fence Nikki would hear me better, so I started to climb the fence to yell out her name, I got it out nice and loud one time, and then my foot slipped. This was an old school security fence with the two metal spikes sticking out of the top, not the modern day safety kind with the knots. My arm went right through the fence like a warm knife through butter. The next noise I made was a scream for my mom, she had to lift me off the fence, as I was dangling there from my arm. I don’t think I got a spanking for disobeying on that occasion, I guess my mom thought my lesson had been learned. My scar tells a story of how mom’s know what’s best for her children, and how children should obey their mom’s.

I have three scars from an emergency appendectomy. They tell numerous stories.

I wonder, if your physical, emotional, or mental scars could speak, what would they say?

Yesterday, at New Passion, we focused on how our life stories are intended to bring God glory. Everyone’s life story contains some type of wound. We tend to want to hide those elements of our story. We like to tell the good stuff, like when we met our significant other, or when our child was born, or we’ll tell about the time we landed that dream job.

However, I believe God wants our life story to tell of His story. One of the ways he does that is through our scars. Scars tell powerful stories. They tell an even more powerful story about God, if  we let it.

We cannot have a scar unless we first had a wound that has been healed.

God wants to heal our wounds (emotional, physical, mental) so that, our life story can tell his story. Even the difficult things in life that we experience are not about us, they are about God. 2 Corinthians 5:18 says, “…God has given us this task of reconciling people to him.” I believe one way we are able to reconcile people back to God is by not covering up our scars, but rather let them tell a story…the story of how God healed them. Have you ever considered, that the story of how God redeemed & healed you, may be the very help the next person needs who is carrying around the same wound you once carried? It may be that you are still walking around with open wounds, and you need God to heal you first?

Join the Conversation…What is a story your scar could tell?

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Dead End Dreams

February 17, 2010 By nick 2 Comments

dead-end-signI believe that whatever we are passionate about, we will dream about. Monday, we discussed how we not only have seasons of dreaming, but at some point we have to act on those dreams. You can check it out HERE. I just started reading Wide Awake by Erwin McManus. My family got it for me for Father’s Day, but I’m just now getting around to reading it. In the book, he says this:

Sometimes what should be a dream inspiring us is actually a fantasy distracting us. Say for instance , if you’re waiting to be abducted by aliens from outer space and have been giving your whole life to this dream, it’s probably safe to say this is not a life well spent.

Have you ever met someone who was pursuing the wrong dream? You know, it’s the “American Idol” syndrome. You are so sure of your talent and are waiting to be discovered, but even your friends don’t like to hear you sing. You might want to ask yourself, Is this a dream or just a fantasy?

There are churches all over this country who have pastors with big dreams and big ideas. They talk big too. In fact, they have no problem inspiring others to believe in that dream. However, when it comes down to implementing their dream, they lack the talent. George Barna points out in his book, The Second Coming of the Church, that while most pastors may have a gift of communicating, many of them lack leadership gifts and ability. Their lack of delegation and their lack of knowledge when it comes to implementation kills the church, or at least keeps it stagnant. They build up the hope of the people in the church, but those same hopeful people get discouraged when the big dreams turn into just that, a big dream.

Dreaming and reality is a thin line. There are stories all throughout the Bible where God used the least talented people (at least though human eyes) to fulfill a big dream. For some of us, we may posses talents we are unaware of, but unless we are willing to experiment and develop, we may just miss out on a dream God is giving us.

I can dream all day long of painting beautiful art like Michelangelo did in the Sistine Chapel, but I lack the talent, therefore it is a fantasy. I can dream all day long of becoming a rock star, but I lack the talent, another fantasy. God will not give a person a dream that he does not accompany the talent  to fulfill that dream with, or in some situations (like Nehemiah) the people to help bring the dream to reality. If you are dreaming about something that you know you lack the talent on, it may be good to evaluate whether or not its a dream or a fantasy. If you are sitting paralyzed on the sidelines because you’ve chased one too many fantasies, it may be time to get back in the game and ask God to let you dream again. Just because a dream turned into a fantasy does not mean you should give up, it just means you are wiser!

Erwin goes on to say…

When your dreams are aligned with your talent, you are postured to not only dream big, but live big…The bigger people dream, the bigger they tend to live.

Join the Conversation…What keeps you or has kept you from Dreaming Big? Have you ever been discouraged by following fantasies?

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Kislev: Be a Dreamer

February 15, 2010 By nick 2 Comments

girl-dreamingYesterday, at New Passion, we talked about allowing God to use our passions in the midst of his mission.

We looked at Nehemiah’s passion for his people and how that passion led him to be about God’s mission of repairing the wall around Jerusalem. I found two things particularly interesting in my study of Nehemiah. The first was that he received the bad news about Israel’s troubles in the month of Kislev. Nehemiah 1:4-5 shows us that Nehemiah was so passionate about his people that he mourned, fasted, and prayed to God. He began his prayer by delighting in God…this was a process of about 4 months until the month of Nisan, when he was able to make his request to rebuild the wall to the king (Chapter 2).

I find it interesting that Nehemiah spends his time delighting in God during the month of Kislev. This is known as the “Month of Dreams” – During this time, the Jews would study the portion of the Torah that covered all of the dreams of God’s men (I.E. Joseph). Isn’t it interesting when the king asked Nehemiah how he could help him, Nehemiah already had a plan? (2:4-5) I believe that Nehemiah spent this period known as the “Month of Dreams” to delight himself in God in order to dream about what God would have him do to solve the problem. They understood that when they fully trusted God, no dream was too big for him to accomplish. The month of Nisan (when Nehemiah made his request to the  king) is known as the period when the “Barley is ripe” – It is a Spring month, a production month.

I believe Nehemiah had a season where he dreamed big dreams of how God could use him to help Israel, he delighted himself in God, because he knew it was God who would have to provide the resources, the people, and the power to fulfill the dream. However, there came a time where he had to act. He took a risk, even sacrificed personally, in order to fulfill the dream that he was so passionate about. Nehemiah said to the King, “Send Me to Judah.” I believe that God wants us all to be dreamers. He wants us all to recognize that he has filled our hearts with passion and he wants to use that passion to fulfill his  mission. However, we have to come to a place in our life where we are productive. We have to act on the dreams God gives us.

Join the Conversation…What do you dream about? What are you doing about it?

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