vacation

I am in need of rest. So, I am taking a short break from this blog and the rest most of my responsibilities to be restored. Be blessed and seek first his kingdom. I’ll share some thoughts when I return.

Gary 

One Prayer thoughts

Wow! This one prayer experience has been amazing. For me the messages from Craig Groeschel and Greg Surratt have spoken to me and encouraged me in my journey. From how I look at other communities of faith to simple acts of obedience, “because you say so“. The first week we wrote down names of people we would like to see get saved. Our community of faith wrote down 150 names (Read them this coming weekend). It was humbling praying for them by name, presenting them to God as fragmented people we would like to see him make whole. The fasting on Tuesdays has been very good. There’s always the foggy thought process and what difference does this make kind of thinking…but also the realization that prayer and fasting can help free those who cannot see or hear to see and hear Jesus for the first time.

To be honest it’s just cool to be a part of this with the other communities of faith scattered across the face of this beautiful creation.

Just a reminder: There’s a daily devotional at the website: oneprayer.com 

The Process #4

I listened to Greg Hawkins (Executive Pastor at Willow Creek) in an interview  this past week this week talking about the Reveal study they conducted (click to listen: podcast ). It was especially interesting to me because he was talking about the process of spiritual maturity. Greg can talk the survey/poll statistics talk very well. This survey was across denominational,lines, across worship style lines, across age lines, etc. It started out more narrow and has expanded its reach. To me a few of interesting points came out.

1. They identified people as being in one of four places in their spiritual journey: exploring Christ, growing in Christ, close to Christ, and Christ centered. The main difference between 1-3 and 4 was this: “1-3″ invited Christ to be a part of their lives (to bless them and to walk with them, etc); “4″ asked Christ to be the center of their lives and they would walk with him doing his will. the church’s goal is to help people become “4’s”  

2.  4 main activities were pointed at as being the means which caused them to grow, regardless, like I said of denomination, worship style, preaching style, etc. The 4 main things were: the Bible, prayer, relationships and serving. 

3. the church should have a process/strategy for helping people to engage the word of God, pray, build relationships, and serve.

At each stage how a person engages in each of the four activities will likely change, but each is evident in very convincing ways.

At the end Greg said it was not new revelation but an exercise in re-discovering the basics. A very profound exercise in confirming the revolutionary power of the basics to transform people and help them to mature.

What do you think? As you look back how have the 4 activities been a catalyst for your spiritual maturity? As you look forward how can you incorporate each of them into your walk with Christ?

one prayer thoughts

Sunday was the kickoff for One Prayer. We watched/listened to Craig Groeschel talking about his one prayer that God would make us one. Very good stuff. One common enemy…one heart…one purpose. Very cool interview with the devil…ok, so not a real interview…but it was cool. If we united for real, we could change the world in very short order. If you haven’t checked out the website oneprayer.com take time to click on over there. Tomorrow is the day to fast and pray.

Lord, we love you. Move in all 1300 communities of faith.

 

 

the Process #3

Ok, I can’t let the idea of commitments go…just yet. Let me ride this horse a little further. As I was reading through the book of 1 Timothy, I noticed a thread that Paul weaves through this letter. I connected the words with a pencil so i could see it more clearly. The thread has to do with godliness. Actions/attitudes that are godly. This idea is seen in 2.2; 3.16; 4.8; 6.5; 6.6; 6.11; then in 2 Tim 3.5 and Titus 1.1. A representative verse would be 1 Tim 4.6 “For physical training has some value but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”

According to Titus “knowledge of the truth” is what leads to godliness…or at least knowledge of the truth allows us to make the choice for godliness. Knowledge of the truth about my actions and their consequences. Knowledge of the truth in regard to how closely my actions reflect the character of my heavenly Father. Knowledge of the truth in regards to whether I am being transformed or putting on a mask for my religious friends.

I know pursuing godliness is a statement of faith. A statement that says godliness will lead me to become the kind of person I was created/desire to be. The kind of person who desires to live with God both now and in the age to come. When I choose godliness I cannot choose selfishness at the same time. When I choose godliness I cannot choose ungodliness, in any of its forms, at the same time.

We are talking process here, but even in saying that I cannot allow process to be my excuse for continuing to choose ungodliness. For instance when I became a follower of Christ I swore like a sailor (no offense to sailors). When I had knowledge of the truth that language reflects what’s in the heart and that language can be offensive and that language like I was using did not reflect the character or heart or habits of God I was convicted to be transformed. The same held true for my self-centered ways. When I had knowledge of the truth that generosity is a mark of God’s character I was convicted to be transformed. Transformed into the person God said I now was…his adopted son. His adopted son…Wow! The sound of that still quiets my heart like few other thoughts.

So, how are you pursuing godliness? What is God convicting you of to let go or to embrace? John Ortberg says, “godliness comes through training not trying harder.” Who is your coach? What are you doing to train for godliness? Paul told the Thessalonian community of faith, “never tire of doing right.” 1 Thess 3.13      

The Process part 2

In the first installment of the process I mentioned 2 common elements in the process that leads to spiritual maturity…commitments and knowing who we are in Christ and living according to this truth.

Today I want to talk about what commitments we make. There are literally thousands of commitments we make. For example: we commit to buy groceries; we commit to get up in the morning; we commit to wearing clothes throughout the day; etc. But what I am talking about are those few large commitments we make to Jesus Christ that set the stage for other commitments. For instance: getting married; picking a career (even if we change several times it is a major commitment); signing a mortgage for our homes; etc. lead to a million smaller commitments.

What major commitments are there to make? Committing to follow Jesus. Committing to identify myself with Jesus in baptism. Committing to grow in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Committing to serve on a regular basis. Committing to be generous. Committing to belong to a group of Christ followers. Committing to tell others about Jesus. Committing to persevere in this journey.

As I look at this assortment of commitments it looks like one big commitment to a lifestyle. 

A lifestyle. Not just attending a service. Not just reading the Bible. Not just being religious. But a lifestyle.

So how are you doing with the lifestyle? Who are you living the lifestyle with? Can you see progression in the lifestyle you have been living with Jesus Christ?    

One Prayer

Starting this weekend we have an opportunity to join One Prayer. There are over 1200 churches and over 700,000 people represented in this 4 week experience. You can find details about the event at oneprayer.com

The reason we chose to join this effort at LWCH for several reasons. One is to reinforce that we are part of the church. It can be real easy for the local church to forget that they are related to churches all over the world. Another reason is to expose the people of LWCH to some gifted teachers God has located in other communities of faith around the world. A third reason is to partner with these other churches to help fund church planting efforts around the world. (More on this to come)

One Prayer was birthed in the heart and mind of Craig Groeschel. Craig is the pastor from LifeChurch.tv I am convinced we will look back and say thanks Craig for being obedient to the vision you saw for the church. Craig has a blog if you would like to check it out “swerve“.

As part of the One Prayer experience I am going to ask you to set aside one day a week to fast and pray for the churches of Barry County and the churches of One Prayer. A list of the churches in Barry County will be handed out this coming weekend.