Harvest Community Church

No Sacrifice

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 12:00:00 PDT

No Sacrifice

I think many people make a fundamental mistake in the way they view their relationship with God. They view it in win/lose terms. They see it as a zero-sum game. They focus on what they have to give up and fail to realize how much more they get back. A relationship with God is the ultimate win/win relationship.

Let me go out on a theological limb; I don't think there is any such thing as sacrifice when you're a follower of Christ.

Sure, we are called to "deny ourselves" and "take up our cross." We're called to "lose our lives so that we can find them." And we certainly experience temporary loss. But I don't think anyone has ever sacrificed anything for God. Why? Because we always get back more than we give up. And if you get back more than you gave up, have you really sacrificed anything at all?

On December 4, 1857, the famous missionary David Livingstone gave a speech at Cambridge University.

People talk of the sacrifice I have made in spending so much of my life in Africa... Away with the word in such a view and with such a thought! It is emphatically no sacrifice. Say rather it is a privilege. Anxiety, sickness, suffering, or danger now and then with a forgoing of the common conveniences and charities of this life may make us pause and cause the spirit to waver and the soul to sink; but let this only be for a moment. All these are nothing when compared with the glory which shall be revealed in and for us. I never made a sacrifice.

You've never sacrificed anything for God. But let me push the envelope even further: If you were to always act in your greatest self-interest, you would always obey God. That is what I mean by a win/win relationship.

"I tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life."

There is an old aphorism: "No one ever bet too much on a winning horse." I know this for sure: The only regrets we'll have at the end of our lives will be that we didn't seek God more or seek God sooner. That's it.

~ excerpt from "In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day" by Mark Batterson

Simple Is In

Fri, 4 Jun 2010 12:00:00 PDT

Simple is in.

Complexity is out. Out of style at least.

Ironically people are hungry for simple because the world has become much more complex. The amount of information accessible to us is continually increasing. The ability to interact with the entire world is now possible. Technology is consistently advancing at a rapid pace.

The result is a complicated world with complex and busy lives. And, in the midst of complexity, people want to find simplicity. They long for it, seek it, pay for it, even dream of it. Simple is in. Simple works. People respond to simple.

The simple revolution has begun.

Apple knows this.

Google knows this.

Southwest Airlines knows this.

Papa John's knows this.

Growing and vibrant churches know this!

What We Are Not Saying

First, we are not suggesting that the simple approach to ministry is a change in doctrine or conviction.

Second, we are not saying that churches should become simple because it is in style or culturally hip. A revolution goes against the cultural grain. Churches that are simple are not mirroring the culture. They are not mimicking the world in order to reach the world.

In fact, the opposite is true. You must get this.

The culture is not simple. Not even close. Our world is not simple. Daily we experience information and decision overload. As the world is getting smaller and smaller (globalization through technology), things are getting more and more complex. In the midst of all the noise, all the rush, all the change, all the busyness, and all the uncertainty, people long for simplicity.

Precisely because things are so hectic and out of control people respond to simple. The busyness and complexity of life makes simple a great commodity, something desired. Simple churches intuitively know this. And because they are consumed with the call to make disciples, they have implemented a simple design for church ministry. They have designed a simple process to reach and mature people. Thus, these churches are getting people's attention and commitment.

Third, we also are not saying that churches should have a simple process just for pragmatic reasons (though it is working). More importantly, there is a theological and philosophical foundation on which a simple process stands. Here is a snapshot: While God never changes, He has chosen to work through a divine process.

For example, God chose to create the universe in a sequential and orderly process. He also designed His creation's maturation, including man, to occur in process. Spiritual growth (sanctification) is the process of a believer being transformed into the image of Christ. Simple churches have chosen to align themselves with the way God works. They have chosen to partner with the discipleship process revealed in Scripture. They have chosen to structure their churches around a simple process.

Fourth, we are also not claiming that a simple church design is easy. There is a big difference between simple and easy. Simple is basic, uncomplicated, and fundamental. Easy is effortless.

Ministry will never be easy. It is messy and difficult because people are messy and difficult. A simple process is not easy to implement or maintain. Leadership in the local church is extremely challenging. Leading a local church is neither easy nor simple, but the church strategy does not need to be complicated. The ministry design can and should be simple.

The Revolutionary

If anyone knows simple, it is Jesus.

If anyone is a revolutionary, it is Jesus. He is the original simple revolutionary. He stepped into a complicated and polluted religious scene. It was cluttered with Sadducees, Pharisees, Herodians, Zealots, and Essenes. He did not play by their rules. He could not stand their hypocrisy. He preferred spending time with tax collectors and sinners.

The religious leaders had developed a religious system with 613 laws. They chose the number 613 because that was how many separate letters were in the text containing the Ten Commandments. Then they found 613 commandments in the Pentateuch (the first five books of the Old Testament). They divided the list into affirmative commands (do this) and negative commands (don't do this).

There were 248 affirmative commands, one for every part of the human body, as they understood it. There were 365 negative commands, one for each day of the year. They further divided the list into binding commands and nonbinding commands. Then they spent their days debating whether the divisions were accurate and ranking the commands within each division.

Enter Jesus. Jesus has the ability to take the complex and make it simple. A prime example is Matthew 22:37-40, where Jesus gives what has become known as the Great Commandment. Here is the scene. Jesus has just stumped the Sadducees. Literally. He silenced them by His wisdom (Matt. 22:34). Next up are the Pharisees. Maybe they can do a better job knocking this revolutionary down.

The Pharisees gather for a meeting. They devise a debate strategy. Their goal is to humiliate Jesus in front of the crowd. They choose their smartest guy, a lawyer, to take on Jesus. He asks Jesus which is the greatest commandment in the Law. Of all the 613 commandments, he is asking Jesus for the greatest. Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the greatest and mos important commandment. The second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commandments."

Think about the significance of that moment. He said all the Law (and He add the Prophets) is summed up in this simple and perfect phrase. He was not lowering the standard of the Law. He was not abolishing it. He was capturing all its spirit, all if its essence, in one statement. He said all of it hangs on this. He summed up 613 commands in two. Jesus took the complexity and the advancement of the Law and made it very simple.

Jesus said His yoke is easy. His teaching was in stark contrast to the religious rabbis of the day. He was not offering a complicated and long set of rules, rituals, and regulations. He was offering grace. He was offering a simple relationship with God.

Adapted from "Simple Church" by Thom Rainer Eric Geiger

Know Where You Minister

Wed, 19 May 2010 12:00:00 PDT

Selah Statistics

Population

The population of Selah is close to 7,000 with over 20,000 more living in the surrounding areas still considered part of the Selah Community.

In the last 10 years, Selah has experienced a population growth of 13%.

Males make up 49% of the population which means females make up 51%.

The median resident age is 34 years.

Selah residents claim most often, German (20.9%), Irish (12.5%), and English (9.9%) decent.

The average household size is 2.7 people.

The percentage of family households is 74% and percentage of single households is 5.8%.

Employment/Education

Household income averages about $58,000.

The cost of living is 6.75 % lower than the U.S. average.

83% of the population has a high school or higher education

The majority of working Selah residents are in the public administration, educational services, health care, or product merchant wholesales professions.

The average travel time to work is 19.8 minutes with 85% driving, 11% carpooling, 1% walking, and 4% working from home.

Commerce

There are three fresh fruit packing and storage plants in Selah and two processing plants producing apple juice and juice products.

Selah is also home to one of the world’s largest plastic bottle manufacturer and recycler’s.

Surrounding Selah are apple, pear, and cherry orchards.

The Wenas Valley is home to cattle ranches and farms.

There is also a wide variety of smaller businesses that help make Selah a thriving and desirable place to live.

Housing

The median home value in Selah is $268,270.

26% of Selah residents rent. 57% of homes are occupied by owners.

Weather

Selah has an average of 8 inches of rainfall per year with an additional 25 inches of snowfall.

There are about 300 days of sunshine.

Geography

Selah’s elevation is 1120 feet.

Land area of Selah is 4.37 square miles with a low population density of 1631 people per square mile.

(Information gathered and approximate from www.city-data.com, www.wikepedia.org, and www.bestplaces.net)

An Unchanged God Who Changes Everything

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 12:00:00 PDT

The only real text or context for dealing with change that many Christians have been exposed to is the promise that God is an unchanging God--the same yesterday, today, and forever. The metaphors of God as our rock, our fortress, our stronghold, and our foundation dominate our view of God and how he works. But if we are going to effectively regain momentum, we must go beyond accepting changes of reality and become agents of change.

To do that in a manner that is both pleasing to God and grounded in his Word, we must establish a proper theology of change. Although change is rarely taught or extracted from the Scriptures, the Scriptures are a document about change, You can never properly understand biblical theology without accepting that change is one of the most significant dynamics that God instigates in the church. It is often easier for us to see on a more personal level. If a person is to become a part of God's kingdom, radical personal change must take place. We call this conversion.

Paul says it like this in 2 Corinthians 5:17: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!" The Greek word used for "new creation" means metamorphosis. Many of us know metamorphosis through the image of a caterpillar becoming a butterfly or a tadpole becoming a bullfrog. It describes a radical and irreversible change in the very essence of the object of that metamorphosis.

When a person becomes a disciple of Jesus Christ, she is not simply accepting a new view of reality; she is not simply accepting new patterns of thinking; she is not simply accepting new habits for living; she is being radically and irreversibly changed.

In Ezekiel 36:26, God unwraps this concept with his new covenant: He will not fix our old heart but take out our old heart and give us a new heart. He will take our heart of stone and replace it with a heart in which his spirit lives. God makes the same point in Jeremiah 31:31-33: In his new covenant there will be a transformation of the human spirit. Again using the metaphor of the heart, he promises that to those who turn to him, he will put his law in their minds and write it on their hearts.

For those who understand the Gospel, we understand that it is a promise of transformation. Transformation is just another word for change. If you don't like change, you'd better not become a Christian. Once you belong to Jesus, change is inevitable. Our whole Christian experience is an experience of change. It is an experience of putting off the old and putting on the new. It is an experience of no longer being conformed to the pattern of this world but being transformed by the renewing of our minds.

The whole theological concept of sanctification is rooted in the reality that God changes people. Repentance is change, conversion is change, regeneration is change, transformation is change, and sanctification is change. All of the deeply theological constructs that we have embraced and understand to be true cannot exist outside of a theology of change.

We describe repentance as a radical change of heart and mind, a total reversal of life in actions, a 180-degree turn from one's present course to a divine call. These are, by their very nature, processes of change. Repentance was never understood to be an incremental decision or action; it is the complete surrender of the heart and will to the heart and will of God.

-Adapted from "An Unstoppable Force" by Erwin Raphael McManus

Just Like Jesus

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 12:00:00 PST

What if, for one day, Jesus were to become you?

What if, for twenty-four hours, Jesus wakes up in your bed, walks in your shoes, lives in your house, assumes your schedule? Your boss becomes his boss, your mother becomes his mother, your pains become his pains? With one exception, nothing about your life changes. Your health doesn't change. Your circumstances don't change. Your schedule isn't altered. Your problems aren't solved. Only one change occurs.

What if, for one day and one night, Jesus lives your life with his heart? Your heart gets the day off, and your life is led by the heart of Christ. His priorities govern your actions. His passions drive your decisions. His love directs your behavior.

What would you be like? Would people notice a change? Your family - would they see something new? Your coworkers - would they sense a difference? What about the less fortunate? Would you treat them the same? And your friends? Would they detect more joy? How about your enemies? Would they receive more mercy from Christ's heart than from yours?

And you? How would you feel? What alterations would this transplant have on your stress level? Your mood swings? Your temper? Would you sleep better? Would you see sunsets differently? Death differently? Taxes differently? Any chance you'd need fewer aspirin or sedatives? How about your reaction to traffic delays? (Ouch, that touched a nerve.) Would you still dread what your are dreading? Better yet, would you still do what you are doing?

Would you still do what you had planned to do for the next twenty-four hours? Pause and think about your schedule. Obligations. Engagements. Outings. Appointments. With Jesus taking over your heart, would anything change?

Keep working on this for a moment. Adjust the lens of your imagination until you have a clear picture of Jesus leading your life, then snap the shutter and frame the image. What you see is what God wants. He wants you to "think and act like Christ Jesus" (Phil. 2:5).

God's plan for you is nothing short of a new heart. If you were a car, God would want control of your engine. If you were a computer, God would claim the software and the hard drive. If you were an airplane, he'd take his seat in the cockpit. But you are a person, so God wants to change your heart.

"But you were taught to be made new in your hearts, to become a new person. That new person is made to be like God - made to be truly good and holy" (Eph. 4:23-24).

God wants you to be just like Jesus. He wants you to have a heart like his.

I'm going to risk something here. It's dangerous to sum up grand truths in one statement, but I'm going to try. If a sentence or two could capture God's desire for each of us, it might read like this:

God loves you just the way you are, but he refuses to leave you that way. He wants you to be just like Jesus.

God loves you just the way you are. If you think his love for you would be stronger if your faith were, you are wrong. If you think his love would be deeper if your thoughts were, wrong again. Don't confuse God's love with the love of people. The love of people often increases with performance and decreases with mistakes. Not so with God's love. He loves you right where you are.

God's love never ceases. Never. Though we spurn him. Ignore him. Reject him. Despise him. Disobey him. He will not change. Our evil cannot diminish his love. Our goodness cannot increase it. Our faith does not earn it anymore than our stupidity jeopardizes it. God doesn't love us less if we fail or more of we succeed. God's love never ceases.

God loves you just the way you are, but he refuses to leave you that way.

-Adapted from 'Just Like Jesus' by Max Lucado

We Need a Downpour

Fri, 8 Jan 2010 12:00:00 PST

There’s something about a dry spell that gets people talking. I’ve been hearing it from almost everyone: “Man, this has been a dry summer.” Yep, there’s no denying it, the lack of rain is a big deal. Lawns are dead, fruit stands are deserted, and farmers are defeated. This past summer will go down in the record books as a parched and desolate season, but was it the driest summer we’ve ever had? Not even close.

If your grandparents are around, they could probably tell you about a drought in the 1930s when it didn’t rain for nine years. In the breadbasket of the country, our richest farmlands were turned into a dust bowl. In 1934, 34 states experienced severe droughts. On April 14, 1935, a day known as Black Sunday, the wind whipped across the parched farmland and blew up the dust into an enormous black blizzard that whisked away countless acres of topsoil. That’s what a drought is like, and most of us have never experienced a real one – not in our countryside, at least. But sadly, too often we experience a drought in our spirits.

The Bible teaches in Isaiah 58:11 and in many other places that the human heart is like a garden. Your heart is the immaterial part of you that can know God; it’s the part that will live forever. If you weed and water and tend your heart as Scripture instructs, you’ll experience a bumper crop of God’s grace in your life. Conversely, if you fail to garden your heart, first it will become overgrown with weeds, then it will become lifeless and dry, and eventually it will disappear in a spiritual dust storm. Second Corinthians 4 twice exhorts us not to lose heart because if we do, we’ve lost everything. No wonder the wisest man who ever lived exhorted, “Guard your heart!” (Pro. 4:23, NIV). You can take care of your heart.

Like me, maybe you’ve experienced some parched days in your relationship with God. Maybe you’ve known the sadness of falling in exhaustion and watching through weary eyes as your heart for something or someone begins to shrivel. Maybe you’ve had seasons when time with God was nonexistent and weekend worship was Black Sunday for sure – not because of where the pastor or the people were in their hearts but because of where you were in yours. Now hear this: times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord (see Acts 3:20).

You – yes, YOU – can have a fresh downpour of God’s grace and mercy on your life. Your hands can feel a surge of energy to labor for our King. The eyes that see these words can gaze in renewed wonder and awe on the God who loves you. The heart that beats within your chest this moment can pulse with renewed joy given by God in response to choices you make and actions you take. Honest! God is not reluctant; He is ready and willing.

Read again this amazing assurance given by the prophet Hosea: “Come, let us return to the Lord; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him. Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth” (Hos. 6:1-3).

Adapted from Downpour by Pastor James MacDonald

Emmanuel

Tue, 22 Dec 2009 12:00:00 PST

Luke 2 (New International Version)

The Birth of Jesus

¹In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. ²(This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) ³And everyone went to his own town to register.

⁴So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. ⁵He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. ⁶While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, ⁷and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

The Shepherds and the Angels

⁸And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. ⁹An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. ¹⁰But the angel said to them, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. ¹¹Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ^[a] the Lord. ¹²This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."

¹³Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
¹⁴"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests."

¹⁵When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, "Let's go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about."

¹⁶So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. ¹⁷When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, ¹⁸and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. ¹⁹But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart. ²⁰The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were just as they had been told.

Jesus Presented in the Temple

²¹On the eighth day, when it was time to circumcise him, he was named Jesus, the name the angel had given him before he had been conceived.

²²When the time of their purification according to the Law of Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord ²³(as it is written in the Law of the Lord, "Every firstborn male is to be consecrated to the Lord"^[b]), ²⁴and to offer a sacrifice in keeping with what is said in the Law of the Lord: "a pair of doves or two young pigeons."^[c]

²⁵Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. ²⁶It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's Christ. ²⁷Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, ²⁸Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:
²⁹"Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
      you now dismiss^[d] your servant in peace.
³⁰For my eyes have seen your salvation,
    ³¹which you have prepared in the sight of all people,
³²a light for revelation to the Gentiles
      and for glory to your people Israel."

³³The child's father and mother marveled at what was said about him. ³⁴Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, ³⁵so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too."

³⁶There was also a prophetess, Anna, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher. She was very old; she had lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, ³⁷and then was a widow until she was eighty-four.^[e] She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying. ³⁸Coming up to them at that very moment, she gave thanks to God and spoke about the child to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.

³⁹When Joseph and Mary had done everything required by the Law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee to their own town of Nazareth. ⁴⁰And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was upon him.

The Boy Jesus at the Temple

⁴¹Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. ⁴²When he was twelve years old, they went up to the Feast, according to the custom. ⁴³After the Feast was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. ⁴⁴Thinking he was in their company, they traveled on for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. ⁴⁵When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. ⁴⁶After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. ⁴⁷Everyone who heard him was amazed at his understanding and his answers. ⁴⁸When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him, "Son, why have you treated us like this? Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you."

⁴⁹"Why were you searching for me?" he asked. "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" ⁵⁰But they did not understand what he was saying to them.

⁵¹Then he went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother treasured all these things in her heart. ⁵²And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

Footnotes:

Luke 2:11 Or Messiah. "The Christ" (Greek) and "the Messiah" (Hebrew) both mean "the Anointed One"; also in verse 26.
Luke 2:23 Exodus 13:2,12
Luke 2:24 Lev. 12:8
Luke 2:29 Or promised, / now dismiss
Luke 2:37 Or widow for eighty-four years

Visioneering

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 12:00:00 PST

Visioneering. A new word. An old concept. A familiar process. Where definitions fall short, a story often achieves clarity. So let's begin with a story.

On December 17, 1903, at 10:35 A.M., Orville Wright secured his place in history by executing the first powered and sustained flight from level ground. For twelve gravity-defying seconds he flew 120 feet along the dunes of the Outer Banks of North Carolina.

In the field of aviation, this historic event represents a beginning. But for Orville and Wilbur Wright, it was the end of a long and tedious journey. A journey initiated by a dream common to every little boy. The desire to fly. But what most children abandon to the domain of fantasy, Orville and Wilbur Wright seized upon as potential reality. They believed they could fly. More than that, they believed they should fly.

Wilbur described the birth of their vision this way.

Our personal interest in it [aviation] dates from our childhood days. Late in the autumn of 1878, our father came into the house one evening with some object partly concealed in his hands, and before we could see what it was, he tossed it into the air.

Instead of falling to the floor, as we expected, it flew across the room till it struck the ceiling, where it fluttered awhile, and finally sank to the floor. It was a little toy, known to scientist as a "helicoptere," but which we, with sublime disregard for science, at once dubbed a "bat."

It was a light frame of cork and bamboo, covered with paper, which formed two screws, driven in opposite directions by rubber bands under torsion. A toy so delicated lasted only a short time int the hands of small boys, but it's memory was abiding.(1)

This childhood experience sparked in the boys an insatiable desire to fly. The only thing they lacked was a means. So they immediately went to work removing the obstacles that stood between them and their dream. They began building their own helicopteres. In doing so they stumbled upon the principles of physics that would pave the way to their first successful manned flight. In short, they began to engineer their vision. They took the necessary steps to ensure that what they believed could be, would be. This process captures the essence of visioneering.

Visioneering is the course one follows to make dreams a reality. It is the process whereby ideas and convictions take on substance. As the story of the Wright brothers illustrates, visioneering is the engineering of a vision. If I were to boil it down to a formula, it would look something like this:

VISIONEERING = INSPIRATION + CONVICTION + ACTION + DETERMINATION + COMPLETION

DESTINATIONS

Life is a journey. And as you know, every journey has a destination. We are going to spend some time discussing your destination. Not heaven and hell. Your destination in this life. Where you will end up in the various roles you play; what you will accomplish personally, professionally, domestically, and spiritually.

Everybody ends up somewhere in life. A few people end up somewhere on purpose. Those are the ones with vision. They may have other things going for them as well. But they certainly have vision. Not necessarily a vision (singular). Vision for each of the key roles they are assigned along the way.

Life is a multifaceted journey. It calls for a multifaceted vision.

Whether you are aware of it or not, you have multiple visions for your life. That is, you have a mental picture of what you want the various arenas of your life to look like down the road.

If I were to ask you to describe how you picture your life in ten years, chances are you could paint a fairly clear picture. No doubt you could outline a financial profile. You could describe what you hope to achieve relationally. You have some idea of where you want to be professionally. In other words, you would be able to look beyond what is and paint a picture of what could be - and in some cases what should be - true of your life. That's vision.

A clear vision, along with the courage to follow through, dramatically increase your chances of coming to the end of your life, looking back with a deep abiding satisfaction, and thinking, I did it. I succeeded. I finished well. My life counted.

Without a clear vision, odds are you will come to the end of your life and wonder. Wonder what you could have done - what you should have done. And like so many, you may wonder if your life really mattered at all.

Vision gives significance to the otherwise meaningless details of our lives. And let's face it, much of what we do doesn't appear to matter much when evaluated apart from some larger context or purpose.

But take the minutia of this very day, drop it into the cauldron of a God-ordained vision, stir them around, and suddenly there is purpose! Meaning! Adrenaline!

It is the difference between filling bags with dirt and building a dike in order to save a town. There's nothing glamorous or fulfilling about filling bags with dirt. But saving a city is another thing altogether. Building a dike gives meaning to the chore of filling bags with dirt. And so it is with vision.

Too many times the routines of life begin to feel like shoveling dirt. But take those same routines, those same responsibilities, and view them through the lens of vision and everything looks different. Vision brings your world into focus. Vision brings order to chaos. A clear vision enables you to see everything differently.

Adapted from "Visioneering" by Andy Stanley

(1) Orville and Wilbur Wright, "The Wright Brothers Aeroplane," Century Magazine, September 1908

LOST and FOUND

Fri, 11 Sep 2009 12:00:00 PDT

"There was once a man who owned a hundred sheep" He said. "And while he was tending his sheep, one of those wooly little critters wandered away. So the shepherd left the ninety-nine behind and went out and searched for the one that was lost. And he kept on searching until he finally found it. He tenderly picked up the sheep, put it around his shoulders, and carried it back to the flock. Then he called some of his shepherd friends and said, 'Let's have a party. I found my wandering sheep!""

Jesus paused for a moment. Everyone was still listening. "Then there was a woman who had ten coins," He continued. "She lost one of them. So she lit a lamp, swept the house, turned over all the furniture, and searched relentlessly until she found it. And when she did, this woman was so happy that she called her friends and asked them to celebrate with her."

Jesus stopped again and looked around. Maybe He wondered if they were still with Him. Then He went on, "There was a man who had two boys, and the younger one got a little cocky. He got stars in his eyes and wandering lust in his heart. He wanted to taste life on the wild side.

"So he talked his father into giving him his inheritance early, and he headed out into a distant land with his pockets full of cash. He found the fast lane and the fast crowd and he did some fast living. But he soon found out that the kind of friends he'd found don't stick around long when the money runs out.

"One day while he was feeding pigs to try to support himself, this disoriented, bankrupt boy finally came to his senses. He decided to go home. He figured he would apologize to his father for his naivete and immaturity, and then he'd offer to become one of his father's hired hands, since he knew he had forfeited his right to be regarded as his son.

"So he started off for home. His father, who had spent hours each day watching and longing for his son's return, saw him when he was still a long way from the gate. Immediately, the hope-filled father ran down the road to embrace his son. The boy started to say, 'I made an awful mistake, Dad, and I don't deserve to be your son-' But eh father interrupted. 'Shhhh, don't talk like that!' he said. 'I'm so glad you're finally home! He rejoiced and ordered a huge party. He said, 'Invite everyone, kill the fattened calf, and bring out a fresh suit of clothes. My wayward son has come home!' And did they ever have a party!"

There are some common threads that run through these stories in Luke 15. The first is that in each one, something of great value was missing, something that really mattered. If we can understand how much we MATTER TO GOD. then we will understand the two responses regarding that which was lost. The second thread is that there was an all-out-search for what was lost until it was found. No giving up and no giving in. Finally, when the item was found there was an outburst of joy and celebration (a big fat party!). Luke 15:10 says, "In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents."

All of heaven erupts in a magnificent cosmic celebration. There is an enormous party with each repentant person's name on the banner. Think about it...it's overwhelming-

PEOPLE MATTER TO GOD.

Adapted from 'Becoming a Contagious Christian' -Hybels, Mittelberg

Courageous Churches

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 12:00:00 PDT

Businessmen can provide sorely needed jobs. Wise educators can teach useful knowledge of the world. Self-help programs can offer effective methods of behavior modification. Advanced psychological techniques can aid self-understanding. And all of this is good. But can any of it truly transform the human heart?

I believe that only one power exists on this sorry planet that can do that. It's the power of the love of Jesus Christ, the love that conquers sin and wipes out shame and heals wounds and reconciles enemies and patches broken dreams and ultimately changes the world, one life at a time. And what grips my heart every day is the knowledge that the radical message of that transforming love has been given to the church.

That means that in a very real way the future of the world rests in the hands of local congregations like yours and mine. It's the church or it's lights out. Without churches so filled with the power of God that they can't help but spill goodness and peace and love and joy into the world, depravity will win the day; evil will flood the world. But it doesn't have to be that way. Strong, growing communities of faith can turn the tide of history. They can!

Don't bother looking elsewhere. Christ is it! The church who commits to following Christ an be a light in a dark world is where true hope is found.

Adapted from Courageous Leadership by Pastor Bill Hybels