So Precious
I know I haven’t been posting as much. It is not cause God is not speaking anything to me but it’s actually quite the opposite right now. He is saying so much right now that I can barely keep up with what He is saying! It’s amazing!
Our source group is meeting for the first time this year and I am so excited about it! God is saying so much to my heart that I feel that it is only fair that the people that God has placed in my life to minister to should have first dibs. Once I have shared, I will post these things here to those of you who follow by internet. (not that I’ve heard anything from anyone outside of Journey anyway! Lol!) Believe me, it is sooo hard not to leak out what I will be sharing, but I think that we should have a measure of expectation, a measure of mystery.
This is not to torture, this is to make you understand that His words that He speaks to us are precious. Just the fact that Spirit of God would choose to reveal His will and mysteries to me to share is precious! This is not McDonalds where you can get your drive thru Word on a daily basis. His Words are LIFE to those who would hear! The principles that are being shared can change your life! That is powerful! That is an awesome responsibility I do not take lightly!
As much as I want to share with you, I want you to hear His voice! To allow the God in heaven become your personal Savior. The key word is “personal”. We value highly those most close in our lives. When you have a personal relationship with Him, it changes the dynamic from talking to the “Big Man Upstairs” to the one who walks “Closer Than A Brother”. After that, your life and relationship with Him will go to a whole nutha level!
So don’t think I am depriving you, I am trying to teach you the preciousness of His Word is too important to rush.
Kevin
Great Video on Reaching People for Christ
John Piper can make going to the bathroom sound like such an extraordinary experience! This is a great video:
Source Groups Starting Back Up!
I am really excited about Journey Church Source Groups starting back up! We are just a little over a week until our first meeting of 2009! It’s going to be an incredible year!
Pastor Michael has been addressing the heart issues of why people don’t get involved in source groups. We have had some incredible testimonies of what God is doing in people’s lives through our source groups. Many go into these groups with no idea of what to expect. Here are a few things you can expect:
1) Food (Yum!)
2) A warm smile.
3) A non-threatening atmosphere to receive from God and from God’s people.
4) Did I mention food? Oh yeah, I did! Lol!
Our source group starts 2-6-09 at 7:00pm
Al and Sheri’s Group starts 2-14-09 (Stay tuned, I will get a time. I believe it is in the morning)
Mark and Amanda’s group will start 2-13-09 ( Stay tuned, I will get you their start times as well)
I will posting more as the time for these groups’ start ups get closer.
Kevin
2009 Has come in with a Roar!
I apologize for not posting as often as I was. Ministry takes many forms. I may not have been posting here much, but God has been doing great things, but with that, there has been a lot of resistance to what God wants to do. Be cautious and keep your nose clean. Take your character up a notch. The enemy of our souls will use any opportunity to take you out of everything that God has planned for your life. Pray, read your Bible, keep your heart from those things that would allow bitterness to come in. Stay strong.
Kevin
Holiness or Hype Part 3
In my last post I talked about how a pendulum has swung in the church. We have gone from separating ourselves from our communities and culture, to trying to do anything and everything we can to make those who do not believe “like” Christians and church and Jesus. I believe that this huge shift is not healthy. Neither for the church that is looking like a nerd that wants to be accepted by the “in” crowd, that will do almost anything to be liked, and the world that would like to see some Christians that walk their talk and don’t look like a bunch of bipolar hypocrates all the time.
Here are some unhealthy things I see churches doing:
1) Accepting sin because we are all guilty. We should always accept people where they are in life, we should never give people an excuse to not change. We should love people no matter what but we should never accept sin as a friend that we just live with. We should always strive to do what’s right because that is what Christ would have us to do. He came to set us free from sin, not partner with it and treat it like a pet we feed and take care of. Sin is an enemy of everything Christ would do in our lives. There are many churches that are embracing and condoning the very sin that scriptures say is wrong. Even allowing those who refuse to repent places in leadership! This should not be so!
2) Trying to look more like unbelievers than trying to reflect the righteousness of God. Pastors, church leaders, I don’t need a bar buddy. I don’t need you to need me to like you. I need you to rebuke me when I am doing wrong. I need you to be an example of Jesus Christ in a world that can’t tell the difference between a believer and an unbeliever! I need you to lead me and show me how I can do it too! I need you to be transparent but passionate about turning away from the sins that can get even you sometimes. I need you to challenge me to move to new levels in my relationship with Christ not allow me to meander in mediocrity.
3) Lowering the importance and validity of the Word of God as the ultimate authority of a believer. It is sad how we have taken the Holy Scriptures and replaced them with fancy topic series’ and thrown out the scriptures that people don’t like to hear about cause it doesn’t sound “loving”. Many Christians have been beaten, deserted, killed, tortured for what is written in those scriptures. They knew that His Word was true and they lived those scriptures till the day the died and we want to water down the scripture cause someone won’t like it and won’t come to church because it goes against some people’s political or social acceptances. The gospel is not fluffy bunnies and rainbows! The gospel is one hard choice after another. It divides and separates the desires of our flesh and desires of our Spirit. Jesus taught things that were tough to hear but they needed to be heard! We need leaders who won’t be afraid to preach His Word with reckless abandon and with passion, not a limp-wristed gospel that is more socially acceptable!
You don’t have to compromise the gospel to reach the lost. Leave the hype behind and fall in love with the Jesus of the Bible and God will draw people to you!
Kevin
Holiness or Hype? Part 2
1 Corinthians 9:19)For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. 20) To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. 21)To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. 22)To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak.I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. 23) I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.
Paul was the man! He was able to adapt the gospel to whatever culture he came in contact with! He didn’t have Rosetta Stone to help him communicate, he had the Holy Spirit empower him to speak in the language of wherever he was! That’s way cool! Today we hold conferences all over the country to show Christ-Followers how to minister to the people that live next door to us! How far we have moved in the wrong direction! Christ-Followers have spent so much time building our own Christian communities, that we no longer understand or connect with the society that lives just next door to us!
Law of the Pendulum
There is a tendency as Christians to be extreme. For example, I attended Penecostal/Charismatic churches for most of my life. I got burned out watching people take advantage of the presecense of God and use Him to make a buck. This turned me off to such a degree that I wanted nothing to do with Penecostal/Charismatic churches or people for that matter. I then cut myself off not only from the excesses I saw, but I seperated myself from the good that was there as well. I went to an extreme.
I believe that this is happening in many churches and Christ-Followers today. We see how religious the church was acting, and how it was turning people off to the message of Christ, that the church goes to a whole nother extreme! I believe that God can have us do things that are shocking and crazy at times but I think a whole new wave of extremism is beginning to show up in many churches today. I will share some examples in my next post.
Kevin
Holiness or Hype?
As you know, I use Twitter to give a glimpse in to what I am up to and things going on in my life. I also use it to follow other pastors and church leaders and friends whom I read their blogs and follow thier ministries. I was checking twitter to see what some of these folks were saying.
Lately there have been a couple of guys I have been following that have said some pretty off-color things. One said something that had me ready to take that person off of the people I follow. I’ve heard some good stuff come from this person and it made me realize that these guys are saying these things to get attention. (I could think of better ways to do that. Especially a pastor.)
I am all about transparency. I think the exchange of knowledge of both leaders triumphs and failures is very refreshing. It helps people know that leaders make mistakes and don’t have it “all together”. It makes it easier to connect with them and not feel so disconnected. This is good.
The problem is when we say or do things that are done to just get attention. There are things that I can say to certain people, that I cannot say to everyone. What may be funny to a certain someone, may be a stumbling block for someone else.
There is a disturbing trend that has begun to develop in many churches today. We are trying so hard to get those who do not know Christ, to accept the message of Christ, that we are losing sight of the holiness that Christ wants us to walk in. We are supposed to be examples of what Christ can do in someone’s life, not see how close we can come to the edge of sacreligious we can. What is the appeal of Christ if we act the same way our unbelieving friends and family are? Why would they want to be a Christian?
I happen to think that there are a lot of religious things that were done in the past that are down right hilarious! These things that were done were not scriptural, but were done for many years for whatever reason. There are things that I did that I look back and laugh cause it was more superstition than scripurally based.
To Be Continued…..
It’s Official Now!
After over a year of dealing with zoning issues, Journey Church has finally received approval for the rezoning of our property! This is a great day for the future of Journey Church! There were ten of us at the county commissoners meeting today. It was rather anti-climatic cause the preliminary go ahead was already given by the county planner, but the excitement by those that were there and those who were following by text and twitter was no less jubilant. If we could have done a victory dance in the commissioner’s meeting we would have! Probably would’ve got thrown out! Lol!
There is a lot of work left to do but we can move forward knowing that a big hurdle has been overcome! When God’s hand is upon what you are doing, there is not one man that can stand in His way! It’s a great day today, but we got a lot of work ahead. I will sit back today and enjoy the moment, cause the work truly begins from here.
Kevin
Big Day Today!!
Dawn and I will be leaving shortly to meet up with some friends from church to go to the county commissioners meeting in downtown Tampa. It is for the final approval for some zoning changes that we very much need to help our church’s vision of reaching our community for Christ in a bigger way. Please pray. There is a Journey church twitter: www.twitter.com/journeystaff or you can follow Dawn’s or my twitter from our respective blogs.
I will post here later too
Kevin
Sunday Reflections
Man! Today at Journey was off the chain! God is messing some folks up! For the more refined, churchy folk, that means we had a great time introspection and reflection! I’d rather say the former. Pastor Michael is taking Journey to a new level!
Pastor challenged me with sharing during communion during the first service. God gave me a word to share and He flat messed me up as I began to share! I was about to read a scripture from Revelation and He hit me like a freight train! I mean, we have the words we want to use when we communicate, and then God has the words He wants us to share. In Revelation 2 Jesus is speaking to one of His churches telling them that they lost the love they had at first and I went to read and my eyes could not find the scriptures on the page! I knew where it was, but I could not find it! I closed my Bible and began to share what the scripture was saying. There are times that things come out of my mouth and then later I say “did I just say that?” and I know it’s God! That’s what happened! There are also times when we can connect with God in such a way that we “feel” what He is feeling. I began to share and my heart became so overwhelmed by His love that I began to weep and I could feel how much He wanted to have relationship with everyone there! It was extremely powerful moment. One I will never forget.
We know that He loves us in our heads. We read John 3:16 enough, but to feeeeel John 3:16 is a whole nutha affair! We see the Passion of the Christ and it moves us to tears, but to feel a moment of His love will forever change your life! It just reminded me of a song I heard many years ago:
Just one glimpse of His glory,
Just one touch of His hand,
and I will never be the same,
cause God’s Spirit is flowing through my veins…..
I’m getting a little choked up again….These words were never truer to me than now….
Just one touch from Jesus will change your life. One touch from Jesus you will never be the same. If you think you are far away, you are not. He is waiting for you to come to Him. Call on Him now. Your life will never be the same.
Gotta get some Kleenex. Later
Kevin
A New Year? Or Just More of the Same?
If you have read any of my previous posts, you will know that I like to pose questions and challenge people. This is no different. Many people talk about the new year being a new beginning, but is it really a new beginning for you?
Will you do things the same way you have done them, or will you try something new? Will you push yourself to a closer walk with God, or will you talk about having a closer walk with Him? The path to Hell is paved with good intentions. Will you look back on this year and say there were so many things that you wished you had done?
It is tough to break patterns of behavior. I’m not saying it’s easy. There are things I struggle with to change. Jesus said that we have not because we ask not. Don’t expect to change if you are not willing to do what it takes to change things.
Is 2009 going to be a new beginning or just the same ole, same ole?
Kevin
Looking Back At 2008
2008 was a great year! I would say without a doubt that it has been one of the greatest years of growth for me personally. I have been involved in a leadership class for the past year with Pastor Michael that has rocked my world! I have learned so much and have been able to apply those principles I have learned. There are times in your life where growth is slow and sometimes it doesn’t look like you are going anywhere. This year has been just the opposite! I knew there things I needed to do to grow, but sometimes there is just a little something missing and you can’t quite put your finger on. Well, the class really hit those spots in my life that needed God’s touch in order for me to go to the next level that God had for me!
I have learned a lot from the source group we started this year. It’s been amazing to see how God has moved in the lives of those attending! We have formed relationships that would not have been forged if not for source groups! We have laughed, cried, ate, and had lots of fun together. I wouldn’t trade the experiences I have had and the valuable lessons I have learned for anything! 2009 is going to be interesting as we enter some uncharted waters and do some things different, but as long as we stay focused on Him, and listen when He speaks, we will have a spectacular year!
I need God to move in my life in 2009 more than He did in 2008! I need His strength, wisdom, and discrenment more than ever. God is taking me to new levels but with those new levels come bigger challenges and tests. I am ready to face them. Are you?
Kevin
Who Am I ?
I ask myself this question sometimes. I think about where God has placed me and I think why me? There are those who are more talented, have it “all together” , and may even look better than me. Why do you choose to use me?
I can see my mistakes and flaws. He can see them too, but He chooses me. I don’t know that I could ever qualify myself for a title or position, but He qualifies me every time He puts someone in my path to minister to.
I am not worthy, but He made me worthy.
He suffered so much and I have taken Him for granted soooo many times, but He would have done it again for me if He had to.
I don’t understand this kind of love. It makes no sense at all. I don’t know that it ever will.
Thank you doesn’t begin to express the gratitiude of my heart. Please help me to live a life that reflects that gratitude. It’s not perfect or “all together”, and I may fall short sometimes, but I give this life to You. It’s yours.
Kevin
Just Sleeping?
Matt 9:18 While he was saying these things to them, behold, a ruler came in and knelt before him, saying, “My daughter has just died, but come and lay your hand on her, and she will live.” 19) And Jesus rose and followed him, with his disciples……………………..
23) And when Jesus came to the ruler’s house and saw the flute players and the crowd making a commotion, 24) he said, “Go away, for the girl is not dead but sleeping.” And they laughed at him. 25) But when the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose.
Here you got Jesus going into this house with all this commotion going on. Snot flying, people wailing, tearing their clothes and all kinds of nonsense. Jesus walks in and tells the crazy people that the girl is sleeping. So what do these people do? They go from bawling their brains out to laughing at Jesus! Jesus then puts all these haters out of the house, goes in and takes her hand and she rises! Great story huh? Fantastic!
The girl makes me think of how people see their destiny and purpose God has for their lives: dead, gone, no hope of life. I want to declare to you that your future is not dead! You have a choice! I’m not saying if you turn to God, He will give you a Bentley and all your problems will go away. What I am telling you is that unless you do turn to God, you can count on things staying the same and your future will seem just as hopeless as you may feel right now. This applies for people who believe in and those who don’t believe in Christ. There are Christians that feel like God has disqualified them from service cause they’re life is not perfect. I hate to get rid of your excuses but NO ONE IS PERFECT!
Stop making excuses for why you can’t change. Face the facts:
1) If you have accepted Christ as your Lord, you have His Holy Spirit inside of you. HE is the power to affect change in your life! You can’t do it on your own but with Christ as your strength, you can!
2) You are making excuses. Yes, I said it. I have heard every excuse and many I have used before. I know people with great giftings and abilities but they choose to hold on to the world, their habits, and refuse to submit to the call of God on their lives! Christ shed His precious blood for your sin and you choose to give of your time, talents and gifts. Is it really that much to ask for, for what He has done for you?
3) God won’t make you change. He loves you, He always will ,but He will let you keep doing the same thing over and over until you have had enough. Some folks never have enough. Just like an addict has to hit rock bottom before they will start the process of change, so it is with those who refuse God’s call on their life.
You are never too far away from Him. He is right there. He knows you are just sleeping. Waiting for you to wake up. Will you?
Kevin
Book List 2008
I just wanted to share about some books that have impacted me greatly this year. I would recommend them to anyone who wants to move to a whole nutha level in their relationship with God and their leadership.
1) 21 Irrefutable laws of Leadership (John Maxwell)
Does your leadership suck? Does your dog even listen to you? You can’t get anyone to listen to you even if you paid them? The principles in this book rocked my world! I have been actively applying them to my life and leadership and they truly work! No doubt! This is a book that needs to be in every leader’s collection and should be read over and over. I’m serious. This is probably the most impacting book I read in 2008!
2) Radical Reformission (Mark Driscoll)
This is another eye opening book. We are all called to be missionaries. Most are not called to reach other countries and continents, but we are called to reach our communities. This book gives some perspective about reaching those we know for Christ in some everyday, practical ways. The way Mark Driscoll communicates in this book will challenge you and make you laugh in some sections. A must read.
3) UnChristian: What a New Generation Thinks About Christianity…and Why It Matters (David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons)
This book shook me to the core! The facts in this book should make Church leaders think about how they do ministry and the Christian to repent! The opinions expressed are the opinions of the next generation of young people. If you really want to know how people see the church, you need to read this book. There are a lot of statistics cause it is a survey that the Barna group did, but there is a great human element that pulls you from the dry stats to the condition of our hearts. Extraordinary read!
4) Training for Reigning: Strategies for Building Character & Maturity in Christ (Rick Godwin)
(I tried to find an image of this book but Amazon.com wasn’t cooperating with me)
This leadership book will punch you in the throat and leaving gasping for air! This book is about the benchmarks that leaders hit at some point in their ministries. In a world where so many church leaders that have had to step down from ministry for flaws in their character, this book will bust you right in the chops. It aint about angel feathers and gold dust, It’s about character. Its about the little things we do that show our character. This book will challenge you, convict you, and strengthen your leadership. A must read for any leader. Seriously.
These are the top books I have read. I will share some more later. Seriously, you need to read these books.
Kevin
