Tag: Church

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What Is Kingdom Day?


So I opened my big mouth and I am in the middle of watching something HUGE unfold right in front of my very eyes, and it has nothing to do with me, this is seriously a GOD thing, and I am blown away that in the last week I have had the opportunity to be a part of what is going to happen in 2009. “Kingdom Day” has been one of those things that I told some people about and then I blogged about it, and it started catching fire in front of my very eyes and the response has been great so far , but it will totally be bigger than I can grasp on my own. Go HERE to see how “Kingdom Day” started, and continue reading to get a better idea of what is going to happen.

I am not trying to be overly spiritual here with the name “Kingdom Day” – but I feel it is time that the Church that claims the name of Christ quits talking and starts walking. We are always talking about being unified as the Body of Christ, yet we never do anything about it. Recently we have seen some progress in this area with new methods such as the ONE Prayer Campaign, but what if we went a little further? What if we quit praying that Christ would use us to make a difference in the world around us and in the life of people who are in need, and we take action to be the answer to our own prayers? That’s what Kingdom Day is all about. Its not about gathering a group of students to see who can go out and recruit the most souls for the Kingdom of God. Trust me, I am pro-evangelism and I am pro-sharing our faith, but we (Christians) talk a lot! I believe it is time that we quit talking and start living it out and showing our cities and our communities what the Kingdom of God is all about. ‘Your Kingdom Come, Your Will Be Done…’ We are the body of Christ and it is our responsibility to be the hands and feet for Jesus, to flesh out the faith life we say we have. I believe actions truly do speak louder than words in many cases. In James 2:18, James said that he would reveal his faith through his good deeds. In chapter 1 verse 27 James told us, “Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you.” – It is evident that part of God’s will for his Body is to take care of the hurting, the broken, and the needy.

We are asking Student Ministry leaders to unite their students with at least one other student ministry in their community to plan a service project for their city and community. Projects may be as large as renovating a park or helping a local mission or community center do minor repairs and renovations or could be on a smaller scale of working a soup kitchen for the poor or helping an elderly adult with projects around their home. With student ministries varying in size we want each group to plan their own projects that will take place on April 25, 2009, Kingdom Day. This project is powerful in 2 ways: #1 Student’s are learning how to serve together with other members of the Body of Christ, despite their denomination, their worship styles, their personal preferences, or their group size. As leaders we are taking on the responsibility of paving a path that is pleasing to God with our students, so when they take our place as adults, they will lead the revolutionary church that Jesus intended. #2 With each student ministry partnering with other student ministries in their local area and serving with this campaign on Kingdom Day, our students will take part in the largest single service project in the history of the church! I believe that would bring a smile to Jesus’ face. One day…One Church…One Mission. Together we will unite under that which unites us, the banner of Christ, and we will live out the Gospel of Love for all the world to see, and Christ will use our students in an awesome way!

Ephesians 3:20 (NLT) “Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish “INFINITELY” more than we might ask or think.”

We are in the process of getting a quote on a website package as well we are discussing the details with youth ministry networks across the country, both small and large. We will reveal more solid details as decisions are made, until then, here are a few questions I would like you to ask yourself (Pastor, Youth Pastor, Volunteer Leader, Associate Pastor, Etc…):

  1. Am I willing to get my student ministry involved in this campaign?
    If Yes, Email me (CLICK HERE) If No, Why?
  2. I am a member of this Body, how can I utilize my gifts, talents, and abilities to help?
  3. Am I willing to assist with funding for this campaign?
    (Major costs so far will be logos/web widgets/website/promotional, etc.)
  4. Why have I not emailed or called at least 3-5 other youth pastors to spread the word? (Go ahead and do that now 🙂

Email me or leave a comment if your student ministry will be involved and if you have any ideas or thoughts as well as your willingness to help fund this campaign (& maybe effective ways we can raise funds). We look forward to serving with you!

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Overcoming Obstacles in Leadership

I love this portion of John Maxwell’s, Developing the Leader Within You.

“A wise philosopher once commented that an eagle’s only obstacle to overcome for flying with greater speed and ease is the air. Yet, if the air were withdrawn, and the proud bird were to fly in a vacuum, it would fall instantly to the ground, unable to fly at all. The very element that offers resistance to flying is at the same time the condition for flight.”

I can’t tell you how many times as a leader I have thought or communicated the idea that if a specific obstacle was not standing in our way, we would be able to accomplish much more than we were able to in that moment. However, looking back on those times, I now see that without those obstacles or problems, we would have never achieved what we achieved. Erwin McManus shares that it is the very lack of resources that forces us as leaders to be more creative in achieving our goals…but many times people look at obstacles as God “shutting a door” or “God not providing.” So instead of mobilizing and moving forward towards our goal, we back down and sit paralyzed staring at the obstacle that we allowed to stand in our way. I immediately think about Joshua and the Wall of Jericho. Joshua knew what God had called him to but he had the choice to obey or to be paralyzed, we all know based on the Biblical account, he did not allow the obstacle to stand in the way. Here is what Maxwell goes on to say…

“Many of the Psalms were born in difficulty. “Most of the Epistles were written in prisons. Most of the greatest thoughts of the greatest thinkers of all time had to pass through the fire. Bunyan wrote Pilgrim’s Progress from jail. Florence Nightingale, too ill to move from her bed, reorganized hospitals of England…Bury a person in snows of Valley Forge, and you have a George Washington. Raise him in abject poverty, and you have an Abraham Lincoln. Strike him down with infantile paralysis, and he becomes a Franklin D. Roosevelt. Burn him so severely that the doctors say he will never walk again, and you have Glenn Cunningham, who set the world’s one-mile record in 1934. Have him or her born black in a society filled with racial discrimination, and you have Washington Carver, or a Martin Luther King, Jr. Call him a slow learner and retarded-writing him off as uneducable, and you have an Albert Einstein.”

So what obstacle are you allowing to be an excuse to be paralyzed as a leader? Finances, Space, Volunteers, Lack of Knowledge/Wisdom, Lack of Skill??? Sometimes the very thing we think is holding us back is the very thing that propels us forward! (By the way, if you have influence you are a leader – Christian, Business owner, parent, spouse, employer, teacher, we are all leaders in some way).

Join the Conversation: What obstacles as a leader are you facing? Is it paralyzing you or is is propelling you forward to be more effective?

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Kingdom Day – Living Out the Gospel

I had an idea the other day, but now it has grown into a massive dream. What is it? I want to inspire student ministries all across the world to participate in the largest single day service project ever! Why? To live out the Gospel to our disconnected communities. Will this dream happen? I don’t know, that will require the body of Christ working together and being willing to unite under the banner of Christ, putting aside personal preferences, styles, denominations, number, and everything else that divides us in order to flesh out the faith we claim to follow. Here’s how this idea became a massive dream and where I would like to see it go…

I am a part of a local youth workers network that works together to promote and to host several annual activities and events for the students in our communities. One of the events we coordinate as a network is a city wide D-Now (Disciple Now) where each church coordinates a weekend of small groups that meet in homes and group activities with the students of their ministries. On Saturday evening of the D-Now all of the students who participate in the D-Now come to a central location to participate in a concert and a guest speaker. Basically it is a ‘feed me’ type atmosphere where students do no more than ‘come and watch’ a show. Our D-Now’s can bring in anywhere from 700-2,000 students depending on what band we bring in and who the speaker is, so I made a suggestion (the idea) that my buddy Shane was all about too because we have the same heart on a lot of issues…

Why don’t we (the network) capitalize on the opportunity we have on this weekend with these students to do more than ‘come and watch’ to mobilize them to ‘go and invest/serve’ in our community? 700-2,000 students from 30 + churches is an awesome time for the CHURCH to unite to make a difference in the life of those who live in our communities. So I have contacted the Mayor of Augusta to see if there is a park that needs renovating in a poor neighborhood, as well, we are looking at partnering with a local mission and/or community center to help repair, clean, and freshen up with paint and other services that can be accomplished by students. We have also discussed finding some elderly people, who are disabled or in need that needs work completed on their private homes. In one day, a whole community will feel and experience the impact of Christianity, under the banner of Jesus Christ, as represented by 30 + different churches.

So my idea blew up into a massive dream as I was taking a shower the other night. It was almost as if the Lord questioned me, “Why stop with 30 + churches and why focus locally….why not globally?” – And I personally was inspired and could not sleep, so I shot a few emails off to people who may can help get this ball rolling, if it is meant to be. My dream is this…I believe with the combination of bloggers and a few major networks of youth pastors this thing could become a reality. Each youth pastor who desires for their ministry to participate would partner with at least 1 other youth ministry and youth pastor in their area. Together these youth pastors would plan a major or a small project for their ministries to accomplish together on one day, while thousands of other ministries and students are doing the same in their communities, Saturday, April 25, 2009. In one day, youth ministries all across the globe would act out the single largest service project ever in the worlds history, all for the cause of Christ and to futher the Gospel through the example of our service.

The logo may change, some details may change, this is about 24 hours old, but my question is, why can’t it be done? I read in Ephesians 3:20 (NLT) today and it blew my mind…“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish “INFINITELY” more than we might ask or think.”

So, are you in? What can you do? What do we need to do? I need help!!! We have less than a year, but together it can be done. We may need a website, bloggers, logos, t-shirts?, I don’t know, but maybe you do. If you have ideas or want to join in and help push this forward email me HERE or leave a comment. Kingdom Day (name may change), Saturday, April 25, 2009 (Date is Firm 🙂 )

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Sunday Recap: Lord Make Us ONE

My church (the church @ greenbrier) jumped on board with the ONE Prayer Campaign as other churches were finishing up, but I am glad that we did. I love hearing our pastor when he shares God’s Word with us, but there was something special with the messages that we were treated to during the last 3 weeks, I truly believe Jesus gave Craig Groeschel a fresh idea of His vision for His church. This week, we watched the message by Craig, “Lord, make us ONE!”

Craig started the basis of his message with Jesus’ prayer from John 17:20-24. Pete Wilson is starting a series on relationship surrounding verses 20 & 21 of chapter 17 in the fall, I can’t wait to check those out on Cross Point’s website. I am sure that series will be just as powerful as this message, and people’s lives are going to be changed because of it. Here are some of the highlights and my thoughts at the end, take a couple of minutes and check it out:

“We always want Jesus to answer our prayer, but what if we (Christians/the Church) decided to be the answer to Jesus’ prayer?” – Craig Groeschel

What will it take to unify the church?

1. If Christians/the Church recognize we have ONE ENEMY! Amen & Amen!!!
**Satan is that ONE enemy, not other churches or other believers.** We all have ONE thing in common, the same enemy! (1 Peter 5:8-9) (John 10:10)

2. ONE HEART! Christians/the Church can have different methods or manners in which they do ministry; there is power in our diversity, but we should be united in our passion of making the name of Jesus famous, because it is through Jesus that those who do not know him can be saved. We are not called to be uniform in style and preference, but to be united in Love. (**My Note: I wholeheartidly believe this, but only when it does not cross the line into doctrine of the Gospel and of God’s Word**) (John 13:34-35 – “Love One Another”)

**Christians/the Church should be united. When “I” get out of place, united become “untied” (which is the state our churches are in), but when “I” is in its proper place we have “united.” – We must stay aware of whether we are in our proper place or whether we are not.

3. ONE PURPOSE! (Matthew 28:19-20) “Go and make disciples” – Church in greek is “ekklesia” which means “called out ones” (**Personal Note: Why do we allow personal style and method preferences stand in the way of this one? No matter which version of the Bible you read or what denomination you are a part of, this teaches and reads the same, so on this point alone, why are we not united here?**)

I encourage you to go watch the video HERE. The illustrations, stories, and videos that were shown with this message are great! I really enjoy messages like these, because growin up I saw and heard so much division due to personal preferences over styles and methods. Through a disagreement on these things people came to conclusions about doctinal beliefs of other denominations or churches that were not true, thankfully I have learned to explore & question on my own and to allow the Lord to free me from the legalism and the bondage these people put me under. I have seen first hand how these things divide the Church Jesus said He was going to build versue building it up and uniting it. I believe the greatest thing is at risk by our churches being divided over petty issues, People’s souls!

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Influences (Part 2)

I’ve always told people that I feel God expects a lot out of me because I feel I have had so much invested in me. The Bible says, “To whom much is given, much is required.” I listed 7 leaders who have had influence in my life, either personally or from a distance in my Influences (Part 1) post HERE. Yet, I feel like the people I listed there and the people I will list here have been used by God to get me where I am today, but yet there are still other leaders waiting in the wings to help me get to the next level of my potential. Erwin McManus said this in Chasing Daylight, “No one moves from potential to maximum capacity without help from others. Often lost potential is the result of lack of investment.” – I never had anyone personally disciple me or take me aside and teach me leadership principles or principles for life in general other than my parents, I learned mostly by watching and observing others in action, and listening to others’ conversations and reading.

So with that, here are some of the final influences in my life, this is not by far all of them, but some key ones:

8. Rick Warren – Purpose Driven is not the only way to do ministry. In fact some churches have found that other paradigms work best for their church, however Rick Warren was key to opening my eyes to a whole new way of looking at life and ministry, simplified but effective. Who can argue with the 5 Biblical Purposes for our lives and a strong balanced focus for our ministries based on Evangelism, Discipleship, Service, Fellowship, and Worship? Rick Warren was one of the first people to help influence me in a direction away from legalism and religion.

9. Andy Stanley & Louie Giglio: When I think of Andy Stanley and Louie Giglio for some reason I think about them together. It was the Thirsty Conference in 2005 and the 2006 Catalyst Conference that I was dealing with some pretty heavy stuff in ministry. I was devistated, wounded, and ready to throw in the towel. However, at both conferences, God gave Andy and Louie the message that I needed on both occassions. I am sorry if you were one of the thousands of people there, but you were just along for the ride. 2 different conferences, 2 different years, 2 different speakers and a perfect message for some areas I was dealing with. Some of the key things I have learned from Andy is the following: #1 Leadership is a sterwardship, its on loan from God and He will hold us accountable. #2 God is soverign over the kingdoms of men and he gives them to whoever He chooses, even the lowliest of men. (I didn’t even have to look it up, its seared into my brain) and #3 The biggest temptation leaders have is to presume on God. Some of the key things I have learned from Louie is so much I cannot list them all, but a few are #1 How to love Jesus more and be who he has called us to be #2 How to pray like I am praying to a Big God and #3 The power of the cross.

10. Erwin McManus – I have never been so challenged in my life. I love his books, his podcasts, and every message I have heard from him. No matter how much I listen to Erwin, I walk away challenged and educated. I love Mosaic, I had an opportunity to visit there two years ago & it is amazing what God is doing there.

11. Larry Brown – My wife’s first pastor from birth until we got married and my pastor for several years. I never agreed with everyone he had in leadership positions at the church he pastored and the Christian school they ran, but he was a very godly man who loved Jesus and loved others, a man of integrity, a strong leader, and a great friend to my parents and my inlaws. Most of all he is a great pastor to his people and a friend to other pastors. He had a lot of influence in my life as a young person.

12. Charlie – Charlie is a friend who happens to be a superstar. Charlie is a morning show host for a Country radio station (WCOS 97.5) in Columbia, SC and last years Acadamy of Country Music Award Recipient for the Broadcast Personality of the Year for the Medium Market. I could careless about those stats though. Charlie has been an inspiration to me, I have seen him stand firm for what is right, when all others abandoned him and made him stand alone. I have seen him on the other side of the mic and see the huge heart that he and his wife have for our family and for other people in general. Charlie and his wife and their daughter Katy have been great friends to our family. Charlie is an outstanding teacher of the Bible and has greatly influenced my life through his teaching. Beyond being a great friend Charlie has been a mentor to me as a young man.

13. Dolphus Bell – Has some of the greatest integrity I have ever seen in a man. I served on a church leadership team with Dolphus and he is full of wisdom and has been a great spiritual mentor to me. I have learned so much from Dolphus I could not begin to share it all. I have seen Dolphus sit silent in some controversial meetings holding his peace, but when he spoke up at the very end, it was as if his words were straight from God. When I think of Dolphus I think of two things: #1 Wisdom and #2 He can get a hold of God; if you had a special prayer need, Dolphus is the type person you would usually want to go to first.

14. Bob Wilson – Bob and I have a special relationship. He is a great friend but also a great spiritual mentor. Bob and I have spent hours upon hours talking Jesus and ministry. Bob was our Small Groups Pastor at a former church and I was his understudy. He enabled me to learn small groups and to implement them in the ministries that I oversaw. He taught me a lot.

I believe one of the greatest things these people have taught me is character. None of them are perfect and some of the people mentioned here I have never met, but God has still used them in my life. Abraham Lincoln said, “Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” I believe these men have used their power for good in my life and I am eternally thankful for it!

Join the Conversation: Who has had an influence in your life lately?