Captured...Though Set Free

I was almost brought to tears yesterday (for those who know me that is no small task). I love watching people worship God, it goes back to my days of doing student ministry. There is just something about seeing people respond to the Holy Spirit as He sets people free in worship. Since Susan is typically on the stage singing with the band, I like to walk to the back of the room during worship. What I saw yesterday was absolutely moving. Just being able to see people individually just respond to what God is doing in them is always beautiful. It's very complex and hard to understand from a "worldly view" to know and understand that the more captivated you are by the things of God, the more free you become. I believe what I witnessed yesterday was freedom. Freedom from fear of what others might think if they were to go ahead and let go and lift up there hand to this God...freedom to love Him in that moment as they lift their voices to Him in praise. What I don't want you to hear is that you have to lift up your hands in order to truly worship God because the thing that really got me was watching one young man, probably in his mid 20's, sitting with his chest bent over to his knees almost in a fetal position looking like he was truly agonizing in worship. It was a beautiful Sunday at Gateway...but I continue to be amazed at a God that constantly draws man closer and captivates every area of my life...in order to set me free. What a paradox...

ZS

Why Church Planting Sucks...

A missionary friend of mine who is serving in Papa New Guinea with New Tribes Mission sent me a link to this blog and I thought is was worth reposting.

The life of a church planter is not an easy one...you will find yourself more frustrated than anything...but I can't imagine doing anything else with my life. I love Gateway Fellowship Church...I love Royse City and I love the idea of doing this same thing in many many other cities. We are hoping to plant another church later this year. It will be hard work and we will probably sacrifice a lot of sleep...but again...can't see myself doing anything else.


Oh...almost forgot...here's the post. I did not edit this post from it's original text because I didn't want to change this guys thoughts...so the bad language is his not mine...although the same thoughts have been in my head. Confession is good for the soul.


Well, it doesn’t really suck. I actually love it, but there are definitely times when I wish it was easier, or that the church that we’re dreaming of would magically appear next Sunday. But what kind of story would that be?
Here’s a top ten list of things I have learned so far about church planting.
1.) It’s harder than you think - but not in that ways you expect. I expected it to be a lot of work and I expected there to be discouraging times and I expected there would be times I would want to quit, but I didn’t expect that I would spend most of my time doing stuff that I don’t love and doesn’t excite me. I didn’t expect that I would be tempted to get lazy. I didn’t realize how tough it was to balance the tension between pastoring the people you’ve got and trying to grow the church we feel called to be. Be prepared for this.
2.) It’s more fun than you think it’s going to be. Strap on your helmet, but it is fun. You’re building something from scratch and fighting and winning and failing. It tough, but it’s not boring. Look forward to this and remember it when being beaten down by number one.
3.) There are people who don’t want you to succeed. There are those who are more comfortable believing that the world is against them and that nothing can be done and that nothing can change and to see a new church come to be and survive calls into question their status quo. Identify these people and ignore them.
4.) There are people who desperately want to you to succeed. They want nothing more than to see the Kingdom come and for healthy churches to be acting out what God intended for us to be. Identify these people and seek them out.
5.) It is not easy to figure out who are #3 people and who are #4 people.
6.) Weather will kick your ass. Maybe this is more of a thing in Canada, but you could have both Saints Paul and Peter scheduled to appear at your church where they will reveal the date of the second coming and the cure for baldness and a snowstorm will leave you sitting with your wife and kids and the angry guy you’re not surprised has never found a church home. There’s not much you can do but be ready for it.
7.) You will also schedule something no one will show up for. This will be something that you’ve poured heart and soul and sweat and blood into. There will be no real reason for people not to show up. They just won’t. This will crush you. Get up, dust yourself off, and never speak of it again except to laugh when you’re not angry anymore.
8.) This is not the church you built in your head. This is a real group of people called by God who are going to be something you never dreamed of. Trying to be the church in your head will kill your joy for the church you have, so kill the church in your head.
9.) Don’t take anything personally. People will come to your church and go, and friends will choose to be a part or not, and people will arrive and begin to pour themselves into what God is doing and this, for the most part, has nothing to do with you. If your confidence and self image depend on the “success” of your church, you are screwed as a pastor and will be a terrible person to live with.
10.) Settle the failure question before you start. The reality is most church plants don’t make it. If your church plant becomes part of those statistics, are you done either as a pastor or a follower of Jesus? If you think the answer might be yes, get the hell out. Your desire should be to see God’s will accomplished and if his will is that your church is planted and dies, if that is what is glorifying to him, then name of the Lord is still to be praised. There is no shame in being a failed church planter.
and as a free bonus
The most important thing you will do is to decide what success looks like. Remember that this is your choice. Choose to define success by obedience. Ask God where he wants you to go, and fight with everything you have to get there. Back to #1 and #2, it will not be easy, and it will be fun.
Now if I read this every day for the next ten years and pray that God would make me believe it, I should be alright.



*The picture above is Mr. Taylor and the link to his blog is, www.danielktaylor.wordpress.com



ZS

Corporate Prayer 7/13/08

With joy we praise you gracious God, for you created heaven and earth, made us in your image and kept covenant with us - even when we failed you in sin.

We give you thanks for Jesus Christ, our Lord, who by His life, death and resurrection opened to us the way of everlasting life.

Therefore we join our voices with all the saints and angels and the whole of creation to proclaim the glory of your name.

In Christ Holy and Powerful Name...

~Amen

How Do We Avoid This? ::: Praying Through Hosea 13:6

When I fed them, they were satisfied, when they were satisfied they became proud, then they forgot me.

~Hosea 13:6

Father,

I know our tendency is to become prideful and self sufficient. I don't want to ask for more of you only to get it and be satisfied...I constantly want to want more of you. What do I do? How do I chase after you daily? As a deer thirst for the water...I want my soul to long after you. I've tasted and seen your goodness but my soul is so thirsty for more of you...if you will fill me, I will overflow...

It's in your Holy and Powerful name...

Amen

Pride Kills Everything It Touches

We live in the kind of world where basketball players pound their chest when they dunk on someone, where baseball players remain in the batter's box to watch their work as the ball flies into the seat and football players choreograph celebrations for touchdowns (not to mention sacks, interceptions and even tackle someone or catching the ball). So much of what we are inundated with every single day is man boasting about how great he is and relying on his own ability or talent to answer the question of who's great...

Now, I've never dunked on anyone, so I don't know how that feels...it's been a long time since I've hit a ball over a fence...and aside from an annual flag football game we play every year again out students (which we always dominate...prideful statement) it's been a long time since I've scored a touchdown. However, I see the evidence of pride in my own life almost daily. I lean on my own strengths and abilities way to much. I find myself unwilling to lean on the mighty hand of God.

A quick keyword search on http://www.biblegateway.com/ shows 63 occurrences of the word pride. James 1:10 says, But the one who is rich should take pride in his low position, because he will pass away like a wild flower. I like this because the first part of the book of James starts out with, "consider it pure joy when you suffer persecution..." another concept that is foreign to our western evangelical mindset.

How about this mindset to combat what we see, 1 Peter 5:5-6 says this,
Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, "God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble." Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.

I find it incredibly encouraging to know that instead of relying so heavily on my own ability to be a good husband, good daddy, good son, good brother, good employee, good pastor, etc...I can rely on the strength of Almighty God.

This is why I love the words of The Apostle Paul in Galatians 6:4, where he says, May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.

ZS

The Challenge Has Been Issued...

Sometimes it takes someone else to look you in the eye and challenge you to do something that you know you should already be doing for it to truly sink in...maybe it's the competitive nature...whatever. The reality is, my pastor has challenged me to be more faithful in my blogging. The reason this is a good challenge for me is because this has become a form of journaling for me, which I'm a firm believer in. I think journaling is a discipline that everybody should chase after. It's good to have time to be alone with your thoughts and record them so you can go back and read them and maybe avoid pitfalls in the future or be encouraged by and be uplifted in the future. Job even mentions in his torment, "...oh that my words were written..." He knew that it would be important for others to know the path that he had walked down.

So, to you Pastor Trent, thanks for the challenge...

Off to work now...

ZS

God's Mission...God's Method

We will be finishing up this sermon series this weekend with a talk on leadership as we try to challenge our people to embrace the role in which God has placed them. To be voices in their homes, work place and when they are out in the community.

I just wanted to take a couple of minutes to reflect on this series because I feel like in a lot of ways it's been foundational for our church. It seems a little strange to say something we are doing 2+ years into the life of our church is foundational because it seems like the foudational stuff should have already been done. This is a perfect reminder to me that God's timing is always perfect. It's so amazing to be able to sit and watch God's people respond...sometimes you can almost see the light coming on. This is how I know that the timing of this has been perfect and ordained by God.

Here's a quick recap of the series, if for nothing else than for me to remember where we've been:

1. An Adventure Begins - Acts 1:1-11
2. The Central Message - Acts 2: 14-41
3. A Devoted People - Acts 2: 42-47
4. Committed To Worship - Acts 2:42-47 and Psalm 95
5. Committed To Mission - Acts 8:1-8, 11:19-26, and Romans 1:14-17
6. Committed To Service - Acts 4:32-35, and Isaiah 58:6-9
7. Committed To Community - Acts 2:42-47 and Ephesians 2: 11-22
8. Committed To Maturity - 1 Thess. 1:4 - 2:12 and Psalm 119: 9-16
9. It takes Courage - Acts 4:23-31 and Acts 3:1 - 4:22
10. It Takes Leaders - Acts 6:1-7:13

Church planting continues to be hard, but I continue to be encouraged with the people that God is giving us to walk this road with. And I know that if we will simply remain faithful to what He is asking of us then He will be faithful to do the rest...seems to be a Scriptural stance, so I'll take it...

ZS