- Darrin Patrick on planting pitfalls, learning from criticism and more. A great video interview.
- Jared Wilson on 10 reasons to under program your church.
- USA Today on the faith of Millenials. Fascinating article.
Archives
All posts for the month April, 2010
The past few months have been amazing at Revolution. This past Saturday was no different as we made a huge announcement at Revolution.
This Saturday we will look ahead as a church and as individuals as we ask a simple question, “What will we be remembered for? At my funeral, what will people say about me? What am I giving my life to?” If were honest, the answers to these questions are scary because many of us are living lives in such a way that we will not be remembered for the things we want to be remembered for.
Which brings up the question, how do I live so I am remembered for what I want to be remembered for? How do I live a life I’m proud of? Is it too late? Will it mean a drastic life change in how I do things?
All of us want to be remembered well. All of us want to leave a legacy we’re proud of. Right now, you and I are creating that legacy.
This is at the heart of what Jesus calls us to be and what the gospel does in our lives. It is also at the heart of why Revolution exists. We will be looking at a great passage in Nehemiah 12:1 – 26. While this is a list of names, which seems like a waste of paper. There is actually written right before us an amazing lesson in legacy and how to live a life that is remembered.
So, do whatever you have to do to get to Revolution this Saturday night (and don’t forget to bring a friend with you)! To use an e-vite, just go here.
Remember, we meet at 5pm at 410 S. Pantano Rd.
See you then.
The other night I was talking with a friend about church planting and starting businesses. He’s done the business, I’ve done the church planting and we were comparing them. Both businesses and church plants have a season that is called the danger zone. It is at the beginning and can last for the first 18 – 36 months until the business or church becomes established or self sufficient. Revolution is 20 months old, so we are right in that zone.
He asked if I felt Revolution would make it. To which I replied, “Absolutely.” He then asked when I started feeling this way. Truth? Just a few months ago. The reason? I made a conscious choice to be me.
When we started Revolution, I didn’t have my preaching voice. I tried to be every other preacher that I listened to or watched. I tried to be angry because Mark Driscoll was angry. I preached from a stool because I saw Erwin McManus preach from a stool and thought it looked cool.
Then something happened.
I was convicted one day by the fact that God had given me a gift of teaching, given me the personality He gave me and called me to lead Revolution. He didn’t call those other guys.
I realized that how I preached was going to have to be good enough for Revolution and God. Ironically, that is what God called me to in the first place. I remember Rob Bell asking once, “If you aren’t you, who will be you?” God wanted me to preach and lead Revolution, so if I wasn’t me, who was going to do that?
At that moment, I knew that if I did that, that was all I could do. Ironically, that seems to be enough. God has done wondrous things over the last few months. We have seen more people accept Christ, get baptized, we have seen more people come through the doors of our church in the last 3 months than the previous 17 combined!
So, be you.
We are getting close to the end of our series on Nehemiah, so I am starting to work on an upcoming series. This is one of my favorite parts of preaching, laying out and prepping for a series.
To coincide with our day camp and our move to 22nd St., we are having a big day on July 17th. We will also be kicking off a brand new series that night called The Perfect Kid. Each week, we will look at what the Bible has to say about parenting and family, but we will also look each week at the fact that we are children of God and how God as our Father parents us. I think it will be pretty eye opening for many people.
There are a lot of books out there on parenting, but here are some that are on my reading list for the series:
- Gospel Powered Parenting: How the Gospel Shapes & Transforms Parenting
- Shepherding a Child’s Heart
- Raising a Modern Day Knight: A Father’s Role to Guiding His Son to Authentic Manhood
- What He Must be to Marry my Daughter
- What a Daughter Needs From her Dad: How a Father Prepares His Daughter for Life
- Big Truths for Young Hearts: Teaching & Learning the Greatness of God
- Family Driven Faith: Doing What it Takes to Raise Sons & Daughters Who Walk with God
The other night, Katie and I went to see The Avett Brothers in concert with Zac and Sarah LaBelle. If you have never seen The Avett Brothers live, you need to.
Wow. Easily one of the best shows I’ve ever been to.
As I was standing there I had this thought, if pastors and worship leaders were as passionate about their craft and their “performance” our churches would be packed. The energy they had, the excitement for their songs, the passion for the perfection of their songs was off the charts.
Recently, I started practicing my sermons on Friday afternoon. I was chided by one of my mentors for not practicing before I preach. It has made a world of difference. I won’t ever preach again without practicing. It is that big of a deal.
I have sat through many sermons (and probably preached some) that lacked passion, excitement and an understanding of the weight of what was at stake. Here I stood at a concert, which has no eternal bearing and I thought, “They have more passion than most church people and leaders for what they do.”
Here is what I keep in mind when I stand up to preach. It is something I heard Andy Stanley say at Radicalis. He said, “When you preach, imagine your son is as a teenager sitting on the back row. He is there, not because he wants to be, but because he is giving God one last chance. If something doesn’t jump out, if God doesn’t speak or move in his life in that service, he is never coming back to church. Now, how do you preach?” Every week, I stand in front of Revolution and think, “Someone is here searching, longing for God to speak, thinking that if God doesn’t speak or move they are not coming back. It is their last ditch effort. And I need to preach like their lives and eternity are at stake.”
It changes how you preach.
This past week, I felt like I needed to read something soul stirring. So I grabbed John Piper’s The Legacy of Sovereign Joy.
So glad I did.
This is the first in a series of books that Piper has written on people in church history. Each book is centered around a specific topic. This one is around joy and grace and what they really mean. He looks at the lives of Augustine, Martin Luther and John Calvin.
What makes this different from a mere biography is that throughout the book, Piper interjects some commentary on each person. Which is fascinating.
Each life was interesting and challenging in its own way. Easily though, the chapter on Luther should be mandatory reading for any pastor. I was reminded in that chapter and in the chapter on Calvin about the weight of preaching, the amount of work it takes and what is at stake. I think too many pastors stand up in church every weekend, give their opinion on a verse and sit down. Many pastors give more weight and time to college football than they do to their preaching. For Luther, preaching and studying a text was likened to Jacob wrestling an angel. That is the struggle he saw in coming to terms with a text to be able to preach it. I wonder if preaching would improve if we saw it that way as pastors. As Piper points out, “Too many pastors preach as if nothing is at stake.”
I’ll step off my soapbox now.
What was interesting is the struggle, the hardships, death threats, illnesses and tragedies each man went through and yet, seemed to live a life centered on joy. What Piper points out, what many of us miss and what these men discovered is that joy, true joy is rooted in God’s grace. To experience joy, we must understand the depths of grace. Until we understand the depths of grace, we will miss joy because we will be to focused on deeds and performing for God.
Definitely worth a read if you are looking for something soul stirring on the subject of joy and happiness.
Turn not away your face from me, that I may find what I seek.
Turn not aside in anger from your servant, lest in seeking you I run toward something else.
Be my helper.
Leave me not, neither despise me, O God my Savior.
Scorn not that a mortal should seek the Eternal.
- St. Augustine
