The Exodus Pattern
What is missing in today’s American church?
We’ve got the good music. We’ve got the comfortable chairs. We’ve got the programs, the lighting, the teachings even! We even have good coffee now! But what is missing? Not what, but who?
The Holy Spirit fire that was present in the Israelites wilderness journey is what inspired them and fueled them to keep going. Today, we have the beautiful buildings (tabernacle and its furnishings) We have the ministry teams and systems and curriculum. (priestly ordinances and sacraments) We have the awesome worship music (Levites were dedicated to incredible musicianship) Yet, we find one thing above the tabernacle. One curious, notable, obvious thing… the fire. The pillar of fire and cloud by day was unable to be ignored. It roared with holy thunder and separated God’s people from every other people. It demanded a respect for holiness - something we could use in today’s church culture! It spoke of God’s desire to be near, present, available.
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What If ...
We are called to work with God to bring about beauty in this world. Sometimes that’s through praying for someone who is sick. Sometimes it’s building something beautiful people can enjoy. Sometimes it’s writing a song. Sometimes it’s sending a text to encourage someone. Sometimes it’s just welcoming someone at our church. We are called to bear the image of Jesus and the Holy Spirit makes that possible!…
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A Father's Love
Paul, in a way, tells us that the Holy Spirit of God will do things on the inside of you that signals to you that you are indeed a child of God. We know you’re a child of God if by faith you believe in Jesus, God’s Son as the one who came from Heaven to die in your place, pay the penalty for your sins and the sins of the world, and rise to new life, promising us new life. That belief and acceptance of who Jesus is and His claims makes you a child of God. In that moment of belief, you are born-again and become adopted into the family of God. This is the greatest miracle for anyone to experience! This adoption …
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ADDITION TO MULTIPLICATION
If you don’t define jobs and job expectations, inspire and equip people to do those jobs, and consistently celebrate their efforts and performance, you will never move from addition to multiplication.
Fifteen years later, when I felt God telling us to multiply churches, the same principles held true. We had to start defining what each role did, inspire new leaders to take on those roles through mentoring and even online training. This …
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Buried Treasure
Selah, Elli, Eva, and Eden, my four little girls could hardly contain their excitement! I
had taken a wooden microphone box and placed all kinds of treasures in it! Chocolate. Suckers.
Stickers. It was filled with treasures! I had taken a compass and drawn a course on a map that led
through the woods behind our house, over the creek and straight to a buried treasure.
When I told them about this buried treasure and handed them the map along with the
compass, they lit up in anticipation! “Where is it?…”
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Bored People Do Dumb Things
Before David was appointed King, his character tests included the opportunity to kill Saul, his King and father-in-law, the man who was trying to kill him! He passed the test and chose not to harm him, letting God sort out the details of revenge. Once David was appointed King, the character tests had just begun. A renowned mathematician and theologian, once wrote, “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” - Blaise Pascal
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In The Place of Suffering
I was at Camp Daniel teaching songwriters about songwriting and the music industry and it was so cool to hear this story from Tony, Daniel’s father. Tony did not want his son to have a rare disease causing him to suffer, struggle to breathe or be bound to a wheelchair. But Daniel and Daniels’ parents didn’t turn anger towards God. They didn’t just wait until God delivered them from their situation. They asked… {read more}
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An Artist? No. Not me.
God has truly made us. He made us. We are His art, the product of His craftsmanship. This simple truth should dispel all lies of shame and disparaging victim mentality. When Genesis 1:27 really starts to settle in, that God breathed the God-breath into us and made us in His likeness in order to replicate HIS LIKENESS on the earth, we find ourselves in a posture of incredible gratitude. The sense of wonder overtakes as we discover our divine purpose to extend Eden and cultivate the ways of God in the world around us!
If Eugene Peterson is right…{read more}
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Church - Institution or Family?
Constantine, who was a Roman soldier, won victory in battle and became the Roman Emperor and contributed his success to the Christian God and immediately institutionalized Christianity. It became the religion on the Roman Empire.
Which you’d think that’d be good right? Institutionalize Christianity. Mandate faith.
No. It forced people to elevate man and the Arch Bishops and the Priests and “The Church” became a place where you went to get married, a place where you dedicate your child, a place and not a movement, an institution comprised of buildings and hierarchy instead of a family of God, children of God caring for one another. All across America today, we still have buildings where you…
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{Lord} and Savior Jesus Christ
What God was saying to me was “Why don’t you let Me into that space of your heart that still craves fulfillment in that area?” I pulled the car over to respond. No really I did. I pulled over and said “Ok God why does this matter to me? Is my desire for…
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Words of Life
I recall giving a prophetic word to a young man about his prayer to impact men in his house in a men’s group. He was afraid he wasn’t good enough (but his wife “was good enough”) and simply hadn’t said yes. The Lord gave me a word of knowledge about it and I shared it with him. I told him “You ARE good enough because Jesus is good enough. You will lead men and you will…
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I Used To Go To Church
I used to go to church but just don’t want to go back. I was hurt when the pastor asked me to …
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A Sound Mind
Patterns of thought can be incredibly helpful or detrimental. A myriad of research has come out in recent years on neural pathways. What science is showing is that the Bible was right. We can be renewed in our mind and in our way of thinking. We all have a “way” of thinking, in fact, many ways. Some of those patterns formed when we observed our parents, and without knowing it, we emulated them. Some of those patterns developed through trauma. When we…
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Stop Chopping
I imagine you’re like me and you want to be as effective as possible. We all want God to say to us “Well done good and faithful servant...” We want Him pleased with us. So often though, we get caught up in the whirlwind of daily and weekly tasks, that we don’t do something essential. The Bible gives us an interesting piece of advice when it comes to life and to the idea of effectivness and/or leadership.
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In Between Me and Judgement
Jesus was poised. He took between her and judgment. He wasn’t shaken by the crowd of Pharisees who were circled around him, stones in the air. He could’ve been afraid that He too would be stoned to death. But He knew He could trust the Father to protect Him; He was doing the Father’s will.
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Build a Bench or Plant a Tree
I’ve always loved trees. There’s just something about them. They feel almost eternal to me. I know they’re not. I know they do eventually die but did you know that many of them live hundreds of years? Many trees are seen and enjoyed by multiple generations. Shortly after I married Danielle, I remember seeing my father in law out back planting some small cherry and walnut trees. I walked out to say Hi and asked.. Are you going to sell these in like 15 years or what? How long does this investment take? He said, Well, they’re not…
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What Is The Church?
The church is a group of people who are overjoyed that they are forgiven of their sins, past, present and future. They are so grateful that Jesus was willing to forgive them and give them right standing with Father God again. This gratitude displays itself in humility. The church is a group of individuals who gather to worship God in a place dedicated to Him. The church is the believers leaving that building to show the love of God to the world. The church is …
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Sonship Is The Key
Sonship is the key. I’m excited to share an excerpt from my new book, The Process of a Leader. In it, I talk about my own fears and worries, my own dreams and wonders. I share about how God has continually reminded me that my joy comes in knowing Jesus and that there’s a sense of faith that must be expressed through faithful obedience.
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