move -

Weekend Review...

Here are some highlights from the weekend…

Friday. Went to Sesame Street Live at the Fox Theatre with Samuel. It was a great time! Lots of singing and dancing, all of the characters from the show, and best of all… a night with my oldest son. He’s growing up so fast! I’m praying for him right now to live for Jesus and for him to see His Heavenly Father in his earthly one.

Saturday. After chilling with the family in the morning, I headed out to visit families and kids with others from the church. I am always encouraged when we visit and we always run into new people while we’re out and about – a very good thing. All about being deliberate about loving people and refusing to be stingy with that love.

Sunday. We launched a new thing in the UK (Underground Kids) this morning: UK Cafe. Since we have so many kids coming up to 30 minutes before the service begins, we’ve jumped on the opportunity to hang out with and love the kids with more purpose. At 10:30 on Sundays kids can head downstairs to the UK and play games, enjoy Krispy Kreme donuts and lemonade, and talk with their friends. After that, we learned about how the Word of God is a lamp and a light (Psalm 119:105) and how we can have God’s Light in our life when we believe in Jesus.

Now, time for a new week… I love the beginning of the week and I have so much purpose going into this one – gotta build on the momentum and keep pushing forward toward Jesus.

Well, I’m off to go listen to the 1RC podcast (direct link), pray, read the Word, and sleep! But here’s a quick prayer I just read from Richard Foster…

Lord Jesus, as it would please you bring me someone today whom I can serve.

That’s my prayer as Sunday becomes Monday. Let’s do this!

Comments [0]

Micah Andrew and Me

Comments [2]

January 10, 2010 (from iChilly.com)

Just a few words that come to mind as I think about today: Excited. Overwhelmed. Joyful. Grateful. Honored. Encouraged… Humbled.

I think we were all blown away today! God’s presence was so cool as we worshiped together in the penthouse of the Park Shelton in Midtown, Detroit. We may have been closer to heaven than any other church (don’t get offended – I’m speaking strictly of proximity to the sky)! We had 95 people (79 adults & 16 kids) – with some driving today all the way from Fort Wayne, Indiana and Ortonville, Michigan – so cool!

[read more]

Comments [0]

Ready for war.

This is a very significant week at REAL Church. It's Week of War - our monthly week of prayer and fasting. At the conclusion of every WoW we pray for the sick and believe for miracles. God's already done one miracle - our new church plant launches this Sunday at an awesome location.

It's fitting for this to be Week of War leading up the the new church launch. When God is working in so many ways, it's important to watch your life very closely. We forget we have an enemy that hates us and neglects to play by the rules. What rules? Rules of leadership. Rules of economics. Rules of psychology. Rules of "I didn't know!"

Since many of us are only accustomed to calculated and logical (and, yeah, fake) endeavors where we hold the fulcrum of control and God's will is a mere ornament to add effect, we don't really understand war. Christianity and life can be very little like a battle and much more like a brunch - lots of good things to eat on the table but none of them extraordinary and not quite filling - entirely stuck in the middle between breakfast and lunch - not the real thing - just a taste - and ruining our appetite for another meal - we're satisfied until dinner but left wanting something more.

This brunch kind of life is a cozy one - the kind where you drink lots of Mountain Dew, eat plenty of Slim-Jims, spend copious amounts of time with a game controller in your hands and rarely change out of your PJs before noon. You getting the idea? Most of us are used to living a Christianity that requires so little from us and almost nothing in terms of alertness or attention. Read this...

When our enemies heard that it was known to us and that God had frustrated their plan, we all returned to the wall, each to his work. From that day on, half of my servants worked on construction, and half held the spears, shields, bows, and coats of mail. And the leaders stood behind the whole house of Judah, who were building on the wall. Those who carried burdens were loaded in such a way that each labored on the work with one hand and held his weapon with the other. And each of the builders had his sword strapped at his side while he built. The man who sounded the trumpet was beside me. And I said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, "The work is great and widely spread, and we are separated on the wall, far from one another. In the place where you hear the sound of the trumpet, rally to us there. Our God will fight for us. So we labored at the work, and half of them held the spears from the break of dawn until the stars came out. I also said to the people at that time, Let every man and his servant pass the night within Jerusalem, that they may be a guard for us by night and may labor by day. So neither I nor my brothers nor my servants nor the men of the guard who followed me, none of us took off our clothes; each kept his weapon at his right hand.

(Nehemiah 4:15-23)

To go to such measures to protect and stay alert was not paranoia or lack of faith, Nehemiah understood the threats of his enemies and answered God's faithfulness with his own full attention. As with Nehemiah and the rebuilders of Jerusalem's walls, we enter a dangerous situation when we go on the offensive against our enemy. Most of us, because we've never really been in the fight before, tend to leave the watching to the Lord - He stays up and keeps watch - we goof off because we're God's kids...

When my son Samuel and I walk across the street in Hamtramck, I teach him to look for oncoming cars and to make sure there's time to get across safely. Sometimes (rarely), he just walks right out into the street without thinking and I pull him back (I'm always close). I'll do everything it takes to protect my children, but it sure helps when their paying attention.

Are you paying attention? Do you realize you're in a fight battle war?

You may think you've hedged yourself from danger but you could be called in to fight at anytime. This is the grace of God. When we're drifting along not caring about His will, He makes waves to move us right into the center of it - praise Him!

If you're a part of REAL Church, I ask you specifically... are you ready? Do you know where your weapon is (the Word of God)? Are you paying attention for the trumpet sound (our pastors)? Have you learned to carry your load in a way so you can fight and work? Now is the time.

Comments [0]

Sam and I had fun on Friday afternoon.

Comments [0]

On a date with daddy.

Comments [1]

Let's start building.

(original photo)

Comments [0]

Don't Fix It Until You Feel It (Jeanne Mayo)

Becoming a person who helps others heal through difficult times requires not being enamored with your own solutions. Relax, your divine teaching moments will come when you’ve earned the right to speak loudly into the lives of others. But the less frequently you sit down and sincerely feel what’s going on inside Mary or Herman or whoever, the less frequently those moments will come. Philippians says Jesus came to earth, emptied Himself of all rights and privileges and embraced the form and fashion of a man. He knew what it took to be the Savior humanity needed and He knew it required feeling all of the emotions we as humans would feel. Because He loved us that much, He felt the same loneliness, the same hurt, the same rejection He knew we would one day feel. As the perfect example, Jesus refused to fix anything without first feeling it. Scripture tells us that we don’t serve a high priest who is untouched and unmoved by the emotions of our hurt, but was afflicted in every possible way. When we cast our cares on Him, He not only knows each and every care but He has already felt them.

I pray you are always reminded that two thousand years ago on a splintered cross, Jesus modeled to a lost and dying world that real love doesn’t fix pain until it feels it…youth pastor, youth leader, I challenge you to give your undivided attention and emotion to the next person who walks into your office and begins to share his or her heart. And the moment you find yourself wanting to make assumptions, give a personal example, jump to conclusions or recite a Scripture – all with good intentions of solving their problems, hear me whisper, “Don’t fix it until you feel it.”

(original post)

Comments [0]

Throw yourself into it.

Do not neglect the spiritual gift you received through the prophecy spoken over you when the elders of the church laid their hands on you. Give your complete attention to these matters. Throw yourself into your tasks so that everyone will see your progress. Keep a close watch on how you live and on your teaching. Stay true to what is right for the sake of your own salvation and the salvation of those who hear you.

1 Timothy 4:14-16

Comments [0]

Vigorous Living

"Vigorous writing is concise. A sentence should contain no unnecessary words, a paragraph no unnecessary sentences, for the same reason that a drawing should have no unnecessary lines and a machine no unnecessary parts. This requires not that the writer make all sentences short or avoid all detail and treat subjects only in outline, but that every word tell."

From The Elements of Style by William Strunk Jr. (snipped from this book)

Today, I've been praying and writing and thinking about ways to maximize the days - to spend less time working on stuff and more time working with God. This is more than productivity or personal minimalism. It's about living true every moment. It's about holiness and meekness because everything else is unnecessary. It has nothing to do with doing more or less of anything but that every thing tell.

And what should it tell? (hint)

Comments [1]