Capsized Chrisianity

Wednesday September 15, 2010- I have been reading a book by Mark Batterson called "Wild Goose Chase". It's an awesome read by a man who has become one of the most prominent voices of our generation. Anyway, in his book Batterson talks about something he calls inverted Christianity. Upon reading this section of the book, it made me think of a mindset that so many Christians have today. He nailed it, but I think a more appropriate labeling would be Capsized Christianity(not because of the literation)but because of the danger of it. His point is, we accepted an invitation to follow Christ, but instead we tend to invite Christ to follow us. Here's a quote from the book.

"If you would describe your relationship with God as anything less than adventurous, then maybe you think you're following the Spirit, but you have settled for something less--something I call inverted Christianity. Instead of following the Spirit, we invite the Spirit to follow us. Instead of serving God's purposes, we want Him to serve ours. And while this may seem like a subtle distinction, it makes an ocean of difference. The result of this inverted relationship with God is not just a self-absorbed spirituality that leaves us feeling empty..." Wild Goose Chase by Mark Batterson

The reason I say it is better to say capsized Christianity is that running on empty(feeling empty) is the same as treading water(you can't keep it up for long). Being capsized is dangerous business and at that point we are going to need to be rescued. We have to kill the selfishness and the sin in our life. We have to flip-flop the invertedness and chase after the Spirit of God. The stress levels will go down and then and only then can we say, "In Him, we live and move and have our being".

Thin Places

Tuesday August 31, 2010- Today was an interesting day in our weekly staff meeting. Out discussion drifted to what Celtic Christians refer to as, "thin places". First let me say that the thin places referred to are places where God(heaven, divinity)seem to touch earth. We began our discussion talking about Moses's experience at the burning bush. That had to be a place that was seared into his brain forever more. Just think back to the first real experience you had with God. It's pretty memorable, isn't it? This prompted us to think back on our personal thin places. The places where we have had undeniable touches from God. I've had thin places in church, walking in the woods, and even driving down the highway(it's much safer than texting). But the cool thing is that these thin places are real. We know this because God is sovereign and He's omnipresent(He's everywhere)but these places aren't definable because of God's location as much as by our awareness of His presence. Therefore, we are more sensitive of Him and these places become Holy. So where are your thin places? Think about it. And if you are feeling separated or distant from God right now, maybe all you need to do is, go back to your thin place and spend some time in God's presence.

Get your feet wet

August 12, 2010- This weekend is the last message in our series called, "God Talk". It has been an awesome time of seeing our relation with God through conversation. Many people have come to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior. That alone makes everything we do worth it. Next week we begin a series called, "Mixology". I'm really excited about what God is going to do in this series. We are going to discuss the misconceptions that cause us miss out on all God has for us, simply because we don't have the correct view of theology. Hence "MIXOLOGY". Now some of these talks will not be based on theological stances that are so grey and controversial, but more along the lines of things that cause us to miss the most God has for us. Here's one example. Many of us view faith as a waiting game. If I have faith for something, then I need to just wait, and wait, and wait some more. But that is a misconception. How would you act if your waiter in a restaurant just stood there, not doing anything. Would that do you justice? That is how I view waiting on the Lord. When the children of Israel were going to cross the Jordan river, God gave instruction to Joshua to tell the priest.

" And the LORD said to Joshua, "Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses. Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant: 'When you reach the edge of the Jordan's waters, go and stand in the river.' "

Joshua said to the Israelites, "Come here and listen to the words of the LORD your God. This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites. See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you. Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the LORD -the Lord of all the earth—set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap."

So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing."

Did you see that? The water stopped flowing after the priests stepped into the river. They didn't wait until the water stopped to walk, they stepped in. Many times God is just looking for someone who isn't afraid to get their feet wet. So what are you WAITING for. Get your feet wet!

August 5, 2010- This weekend The City Church is having a special service that you don't want to miss. God Talk is a series on experiencing the power of prayer. And this weekend our focus is on children and young adults that are starting back to school. What better way to start the school year off, than praying for God's protection and favor in the lives of our children. Come out and join us inn praying for our children, teens, and young adults before they begin this school year. This will be a great opportunity to see things happen when you pray. Hope to see you Sunday.

Stages

Friday July 23, 2010- Man, I'm so excited about this weekend @ The City Church. I get the opportunity to preach the last message in our series called "Stages". This series has been such a time of growth for me as well as many that have been part of the journey. So I want to take a few lines and recap what we've gone over. Stages is a series that covers the many phases(Stages) of the life of king David. Here are a few.
The Pasture of Preparation- David not only fought a lion and a bear, he had to learn to walk through a lot of mess(sheep are messy animals).
The Tent of Training- Spear pressure almost got the best of him(people throw things at you).
The Field of the Fight- If we do what God wants us to do, for the reasons God wants to do them, we will be unstoppable.
The Campaigns of the Chariots- People are funny. The same people who shout “Hosanna” will also shout “Crucify”.
The Cave of Conflict- David had 2 chances to kill Saul. “It’s the things no one else sees, that produce the results everyone else wants”.
The Palace of the Privileged-
• The palace is a place of anointing
• Your anointing is cultivated trough “purity” and “holiness”
• Your gifting can get your foot in the door, but it’s your character that keeps it there
The Balcony of Boredom- Idle time will fight against the plans God has for your life(accountability is a must).
This week we are going to discuss The Seat of Significance. Can't tell you what we are going to talk about, but I will say you don't want to miss this Sunday @ The City Church.
Have a great weekend!

Prayer of the Visionary

July 13, 2010- I really want to share something I saw on a post earlier. Is vision something you think about and follow? Is it a struggle? If so, please read this
beautiful prayer from Richard Rohr:

O loving God, we thank you for bringing us the rivers and streams of this world. May the rivers we know be an image of the stream that you want to flow within each one of us.

Teach us now, take away all fear, dare to let us believe that we could really be a small part of a reconstructed society, that we could build again. Take away our own cynicism. Take away our lack of hope. Take away our own anger and judgments.

We thank you for the faith and the desire that is in our hearts. You have planted it there. Now help us to preserve it, protect it and increase it.

We long for vision, good God. We need vision and we know we will perish without it. Help us open each new day to a new meaning, to a new hope, to a deeper desiring.

Show us your face, loving God, and we will be satisfied. We ask for this in all the holy names of God. Amen.

The Pursuit of Happiness

Monday June 7, 2010- If you were asked, "What is the greatest quest of mankind?", what would your answer be? You might say, "solving world hunger, the aids epidemic, or world peace". But I truly think the greatest quest of humanity is the pursuit of happiness. So how do we find true happiness? People have attempted for thousands of years to attain it. Some have, while others have failed miserably. But to be able to grasp happiness, we have to understand what causes true happiness.
First, I want to look at this from a natural(or secular) perspective, then from a supernatural(spiritual)one. Large amounts of scientific research have been done, only to come to a conclusion that can be found in scripture from the beginning. First, let us look at it from a scientific standpoint.
On New Years day 1998 three psychologists came together in Akumal, Mexico to discuss this very topic. Martin Seligman, Ray Fowler and Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi(pronounced "cheeks-sent-me-high")were the very men to take on the scientific quest for the pursuit of happiness. One year after their conversation, Seligman and company gathered again in Akumal for the first annual conference on "positive psychology". In the years that followed the conference, the evidence for what makes people happy began to flow in like the Gulf breeze. So what did they find? This may surprise you. More money doesn't make you happy. Once our basic material needs are met, additional money does almost nothing to raise the level of satisfaction in our lives. How about education? Surely another degree at a better institution could make me happy. Again, research showed that a better education or even a higher IQ didn't equate happiness. How about the fountain of youth? In a culture who has made adolescence an art form, surely youth would make us happy. Nope. Older people, studies show, are consistently happier than young people, and showed less bouts with depression. Well what about the weather. Surely sunnier climates like Florida or California would make the difference. Again no difference between Californians and Michiganders. Go figure! So what does cause happiness? Dr. Edward Diener"Dr. Happiness" conducted a survey in 2002 along with Seligman. Students who tested with the highest levels of happiness and the fewest signs of depression all had one foundational thing in common: significant social ties to friends and family.
In other words, connection is the key to happiness. Awesome!
The reality of this innate need for connection is often most clearly revealed in the experience of dis-connection.Dropped cell phone calls, the loss of a job or career opportunity, a breakup, the death of a loved one- each kind of disconnection alerts us to the fact the we were meant to connect.
Now lets look at this through a different lens. It has been here all along. Look at Genesis 2:18 " The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him."
Pretty simple isn't it. True happiness is in our connections. Any questions?