Today was actually the first day in awhile that I was able to sit back and relax.  As I sit here, outside of a small cabin in South Carolina, enjoying the smell of the pine that fuels my fire, my thoughts wander to one particular passage of scripture -

“Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” – Luke 5:16

God incarnate…Jesus himself, whom everyone wanted a piece of (in more ways than one), took time to get away.  Not only that, but he did it often.  He didn’t wait until his yearly beach vacay or assigned day off.  The Son of God took time regularly to withdraw from the crowd and get alone.

As pastors, we often equate busyness with godliness, as if being busy was a spiritual gift.  Now don’t get me wrong, we should absolutely work hard.  However,  an integral part of our routine should actually be to get alone with God and allow him to refresh us and speak into our lives…this is a definite necessity.  For pastors, this should be a no-brainer…right?  Then why is it that we find this so difficult to do?

The truth is that each of us spend so much time filling our lives with all kinds of noise and idle activity, that it actually has a deep impact on our intimacy with God.  I truly believe that this is a weapon that our spiritual enemy uses to distract us from our priority.  Yet, we are so often too busy to notice.

Here’s the thing.  If withdrawing was a regular practice of Jesus, should we not make it a regular practice in our own lives?  This has major implications on our spiritual health and ability to lead.  We should certainly work hard…and we should certainly withdraw regularly.

Is there room in your life for rest and prayer?  If not, don’t you think there should be?

What I’m Reading – Radical by David Platt

It’s time for the church in America to wake up.  We need to open our eyes to the reality that for too long we have manipulated the gospel to fit our cultural preferences.  Jesus continues to call people to radical discipleship.  Through Radical, David Platt invites believers to examine themselves in light of the true gospel and consider the cost of authentic discipleship.  Great read!  I highly recommend it.

What I’m Listening To – The Medicine by John Mark McMillan

It seems to get somewhat lost, that John Mark actually wrote “How He Loves,” which has become a staple in many worship settings.  Like “How He Loves,” John Mark’s lyrics are vulnerable and real.  “The Medicine” mixes gritty reality with heartfelt worship in a way that few compilations have.

Check out JMM here

What I’m Working On – 12

I’m excited about an upcoming series I’m working on, in which we will take a look at what it means to be a true disciple of Jesus.  In the series, 12, we will take an honest look at the lives of the 12, ordinary men Jesus hand picked to turn the world upside down for the kingdom of God and his continuing desire to use the ordinary to do the extraordinary.

“Before the first note is ever played for our first-time guest (let’s call him Will), production volunteers have been up for hours, transforming the rented high school auditorium where we meet into a habitation for the presence of God.  The guy who pulled the trailer at 4:30 a.m. and the girl who set up the cameras–they are connectors to the current of the power of Christ.

By the time I open my mouth to start the sermon, Christ has already been preached.  When Will raises his hand to receive Christ after attending for three months, he may say the inspiring songs and my brilliant sermons changed his life.  But, the real miracle happened outside the service, with hundreds of ordinary people doing ordinary things with extraordinary passion for the glory of God.

No act of service is insignificant when done for the most significant purpose in the universe: proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ.  When you see yourself as a connector to the current of the power of Christ, everything you do takes on meaning.  You’re not just a normal Christian.  You’re not just a volunteer.  You’re not just a church member or just an employee.  Wherever you are, whatever you’re doing, you’re a connector to the current of the power of Christ.  You’re a servant of the most high God.”

- Sun Stand Still by Steven Furtick

Our lives are an offering before God.  Romans 12:1, urges each of us “in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.”  Sadly, in the typical local church approximately 20% of any given congregation actually serve and give regularly.  Right now, ACC falls in line with such statistics.  What this says is that our church falls in line with the average church in America.  Average?  Is that really okay?  We do not serve an average God, who calls us to live average lives.  We serve a big, awesome, amazing, all-powerful God, who has called us to an extraordinary purpose…to “make disciples” (Matt. 28:19).  In light of this, I want you to ask yourself a serious question… “What am I offering as an act of worship before God?”  Can you honestly say that your life is a living sacrifice?  Worship is not just a Sunday thing to attend.  Worship is a 24/7/365 offering that we give.  It is a lifestyle that we live.

Therefore, let me urge you as well, in view of the mercy of God, do not simply sit back as a common spectator, but offer yourselves fully to God.  Choose to live a lifestyle of worship that is holy and pleasing to Him.

“And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him and kneeling before him, said, “Lord have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and he suffers terribly.  For often he falls into the fire, and often into the water.  And I brought him to your disciples, and they could not heal him.”  And Jesus answered, “O faithless and twisted generation, how long am I to be with you?  How long am I to bear with you?  Bring him here to me.”  And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him, and the boy was healed instantly.  The disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?“  He said to them, “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”          – Matthew 17: 14-20

As a pastor and a church planter, I have certainly suffered my share of defeats, as I am sure that we all have.  This can often leave us confused, because as followers of Christ we are to be “more than conquerers,” right?  The truth is, that we can be servants of God and yet will suffer a defeat every now and then.  In Matthew 17, we see the disciples attempt to cast a demon out of a boy, but were unable to do so.  This left them looking a little bush league, so the father of the boy had to take his son to the big guns, Jesus, to heal him.  After Jesus casts the demon out of the boy, the disciples come to him…defeated, embarrassed (notice they came to Him in private) and seeking answers.  “Why could we not cast out?” the disciples probe.  And Jesus replies with a gentle rebuke, “Because of your little faith.”

There is a key word that sticks out to me as I read the disciples question.  “Why couldn’t WE cast it out?”  WE?  If they weren’t placing their faith in Christ, who were they relying on to heal the boy?  Answer: themselves.  You see, they had mistaken their own abilities for God’s power.  However, before you get to down on the boys for such a bonehead move, ask yourself whether or not you often do the same.  For example, there are times as a pastor that I get discouraged (as the disciples did) because attendance is low on a Sunday, or people aren’t very responsive.  My immediate response is to think, “was it something I said?”  Without fail I think, “am I not a very good leader?”

The bottom line is, we often put faith in our own abilities and call it faith in God.  No doubt, the disciples thought they were doing the right thing…the godly thing.  The problem was that they were trying to do a God sized task…independent of God.  How many times do we do the same thing?  God desires to use each and every one of us to be agents of redemption, to be proof of Him to a broken world.  God calls us to do big things.  However, it is impossible to do those things apart from Him and independent of His power.  If we are to tackle such God-sized tasks, we have to go to Jesus before and not after.  True faith seeks Him first, apart from whom we can do nothing.

“And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times you may abound in every good work. As it is written, ‘He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.’ He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.”

2 Corinthians 9:8-12 (ESV)

The primary reason for which God blesses us is so that we may be a blessing to others.  However, in tough economic times we are generally prone to hoard what we have.  We get nervous and hold onto “things” because we fear they may be taken from us.  We are reluctant to give and help others, because we are afraid that in doing so, we will go without.  This is a serious crisis of faith.  We worship that to which we hold tightest.  Many of us have forgotten that it all belongs to God and we are merely managers or stewards of his blessing.  Thus, we begin to worship those created things over the creator of all things.  Luke 12:48 warns “Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.”

Let’s be clear…God is not nervous about our current economic struggles.  So what is it that God expects?  Simply put, He promises to provide for all of our needs (Matt.6:25-34) and expects us to be a blessing to those around us.  This is a constant theme throughout scripture.  Jesus taught, “You shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart and with all of your soul and with all of your mind.  This is the great and first commandment.  And the second is like it:  You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (Matt. 22:37-40).  In other words, everything we know of God hinges on us loving Him with everything we are, and in turn, being an expression of His love to others.

Please do not misunderstand.  This is not the prosperity gospel that instructs us to give selfishly so that we may receive more.  This is God entrusting us with His blessings, because he actually trusts us to be a blessing.  So often,  we express our wants and desires out of selfish motive.  We want more, simply because we want more.  However, we would be amazed how much God would bless us if we would simply become the conduit of His blessings to those around us.  The question then becomes not how much do I have, but how am I helping others. When we experience such blessing,  it’s amazing how content and thankful we become with what we do have…and are even able to find contentment in times in which we are without.

It’s time for God’s people to stop freaking out over the current economic state and place their chips on the table of God’s economy.  An economy in which trusting God isn’t merely printed on our currency, but tattooed in the very depths of our heart.  An economy where His blessing and His provision abound.

What I’m Reading – Sun Stand Still by Steven Furtick

Based on Joshua’s “impossible” request that the sun would stand still until God’s enemies had been destroyed, Sun Stand Still is a challenge to ordinary individuals to embrace a life of audacious faith and to pray and believe God for the impossible.  When we begin to live a life of audacious and bold faith, we connect to our God-sized potential and purpose.  Be sure to check out Sun Stand Still when it is released in late September.

What I’m Listening To – Story Time by Zach Williams

Zach Williams is a true storyteller and his metaphors are soul deep.  The style seems to be influenced by everything from folk to blues to rock.  The sound is truly an aromatic blend of raw beauty and honest passion.  If you like music with depth, you will enjoy Story Time.

Check out his website here

What I’m Working On – Habakkuk

What do we do with injustice?  Suffering?  War?  Poverty?  Everywhere we look it seems as though good people are struggling through life.  Do you ever feel like God is unfair?  Habakkuk deals with such questions and inspires ordinary individuals to live lives of faith, cast there cares upon God and trust in his promises.

Read Habakkuk here

What in the world was I thinking? As many of you know, for the last several weeks I have been getting ready for my role in ‘Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.’ I play the part of Pharaoh with an Elvis twist and lets just say that I am WAY out of my comfort zone. I will admit that I was reluctant to audition and I didn’t realize how stressful it would be, but I must say that over that past several weeks I have learned quite a bit about myself.

Many of you who really know me, know that I can be a little OCD. I’m a bit of a perfectionist, not necessarily when it comes to other people, but definitely when it comes to me. I don’t like the feeling that I don’t know what I’m doing and I’m definitely not keen on making a fool out of myself.

Several years ago, Pam made me go through a book with her about relationships. YUCK…says the He-man woman hater in me (for those of you who get Little Rascals references). The book was this somewhat touchy feely study by Gary Chapman called “The Five Languages of Love” and I kind of half-heartedly went through it. However, while going through the book, Pam determined that my love language was “words of affirmation.” My macho nature thought, “whatever Chapman! My love language is not reading a book about love languages.”

Anyway, as I have been rehearsing for ‘Joseph,’ I have realized more than ever that Pam…and Chapman…were right. Not only am I energized and motivated by positive words of encouragement, but I really need them to function properly. On the other hand, I’m devastated and defeated by words of criticism, and they often leave me feeling like quitting.

Right now, some of you are probably playing the world’s smallest violin and I get that. However, here is the point. As followers of Christ, who are called to love others, we really need to be sensitive to the hearts of those we encounter on a daily basis. We should really go to great lengths to speak encouragement to the hearts of others. Hebrews 3:13 says, “Encourage one another daily, as long as it is called today…” The truth is that everyone loves a word of encouragement. Therefore, my challenge to each of you is to strive to be a blessing to those with whom you speak, make a genuine effort to build them up, so that they may be inspired by the very love of Christ that fills you.