jayhardwick.com

Come On In...It's Not That Bad

You know that part of late Spring when it's quite warm outside, but the pool water is still quite chilly? If you have kids, you know there is no way you can explain to them why it's still too cold to go swimming.

Back in early May, we ventured over to LB"s parents one afternoon to let the girls swim a little. We figured we'd just put our feet in while we watched them...and we figured the water would be too cold and they wouldn't last long.

Once our 4 year old got in and started splashing around, she said, "C'mon Daddy, come swim with me. It's not cold." I could see the water temperature wasn't stopping her, so I stuck my toe in a little. You know, she was right...it wasn't that bad. I figured I'd just jump in and then I'd get used to it. Next thing I know, I am putting on my swimsuit and sunscreen and getting myself ready to go.

And then it happened. I jumped into what may have been the coldest water I have ever felt in my life. I'm pretty sure I instantly turned blue and my blood froze! When I came up from my kamikaze jump, our 4 year old was in the shallow end laughing with a "I got you, Daddy" kind of laugh. Mischievous little girl!

I got out...immediately!

When I see and hear the stories of prominent leaders failing morally, my default thought is, "Man, how could he/she let that happen" or "What was he/she thinking?" Shortly after that, I think, "That will never happen to me." How foolish.

No one wakes up one morning and decides to wreck their family, career, reputation, and countless relationships. It's a progression...it starts slow and small and grows until it's bigger and worse than they ever thought it could be. Sort of like jumping into ice cold water after your daughter made you think it wasn't that bad and you stuck your toe in a little.

Again, Psalm 1 speaks to this by saying what the blessed man doesn't do...

"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers..."

See the progression...walk, stand, sit? The idea is that no one "falls" into sin. We sin our way into deeper sin. The choice to ignore the opportunities God gives us each day in favor of opportunities that are not of Him puts us on a course towards the seat with scoffers...and scoffers are godless people who literally shake their fist at God and dare Him to get involved in "their" lives. You don't get there overnight...it's a progression. It starts small and then it grows until it outgrows you and it can't be hidden anymore.

It's that one glance. That one thought. That one handshake. That one comment. That one commitment. It all matters...every choice, every opportunity. We're kidding ourselves if we think we're immune to destructive sin. Chances are, there are areas in your life and mine where the progression has already begun because we chose not to join God in what He had for us to do and we went our own way.

So how do you hear the voice of God and know the opportunities that are of Him? We'll go there tomorrow...

God Wants to Bless You

Psalm 1 has been a pivotal passage for me over the last month or so. It begins simply...

"Blessed is the man..."

Do you know that God wants to bless you? Do you know that He has already arranged for it to happen?

Everyday is a new set of opportunities for you and me to prove our love for God in the way we speak, think, make decisions, and discipline ourselves. Everyday is a set of new opportunities to join God in what He is doing around us - it might be engaging in a conversation, writing an encouraging note, meeting a need...who knows. 

To the extent that we leverage those opportunities is the extent that we receive the blessing God has for us. What does the blessing of God look like? What does it feel like?

For me, the blessing of God is satisfaction and contentment in my soul. When my soul is at rest, I am living in the blessing of God. The opposite is also true...my soul doesn't rest when I am outside of the blessing of God.

And I think this might be true...as my soul rests more and more in the blessing of God, the favor of God becomes more evident. The favor of God is God accomplishing on my behalf what I could never do alone and what I could never take credit for.

So living a blessed life that is full and overflowing with the favor of God begins today. Right now. With this opportunity. And the next. And the next.

God wants to bless you and me! He's giving out good things all around us and He has good things ready with your name and my name on them. To the extent that we leverage the opportunities He's given us is the extent that we will receive His blessing and His favor!

More tomorrow...

Well, I'm Almost Back

This moving stuff is hard work! 

First, we moved out of our rental house and into our new house in Columbia. It's been project central around here this week doing yard work, painting, completing punch list stuff and getting everything "just right"...whatever that means! 

Then, I decided to move my blog from Typepad to Wordpress. Wordpress genius Scott Magdalein helped me out big time, but I have a long way to go before I'm ready to fully embrace my new identity as a Wordpress blogger. 

All that to say, hopefully next week, I'll be back to normal...or at least my definition of normal! As for now, hand me a paint brush!

I'm Back

My unannounced and somewhat unplanned blog-batical is over. Gotta admit, it was good to take a break for a little while.

Heading into July, God convicted me that my head, heart, eyes, and ears were filled with too much noise. I had lost control on what was getting in and consequently, I lost a sense of the voice of God. So, I fasted from blogs and books for the whole month of July. Over 1100 unread posts piled up in my Google reader...wow! I feasted on the Word...specifically the gospel of Matthew and re-oriented my head, heart, eyes, and ears to the voice and activity of God in me and around me.

As a result of that, I guess, I backed away from even writing here on my blog. I love sharing what God is up to in "real time," but I guess what He was doing in me was meant to be between me and Him. So, I honestly just didn't have much to say. Rather than boring you with meaningless stuff, I just backed away.

In the meantime, we finally closed on our house, had a week of family vacation with LB's family, I preached a bunch, I spent some time at Leadership Network in Dallas, and we've taken significant steps forward with Awaken. It's been a busy 3-4 weeks!

I'm glad to be back, though. I missed you. Tear. :-)

There will be some changes to the blog over the next couple of days as I probably will be switching over to Wordpress when my Typepad contract expires tomorrow. But other than that, I'm back. Thanks for sticking around!

Now I Know Why

The people at Center Grove Church in the Winston-Salem, NC area are so good to our family. Our relationship began in 2005 when I did some consulting for them and preached a Sunday or two. It has grown since then and they have been unbelievably generous to and supportive of our family and and our work in Columbia. I had a great time there yesterday...and will be back again this upcoming Sunday morning.

Of all the great things they have done, a conversation yesterday topped them all.

A lady came to me after one of the services and said, "I have a very serious question to ask you." I'm thinking, "Oh, no..." and a whole list of things that I may have screwed up ran through my mind. After I gave her the go ahead, she asked, "Did your Starbucks have to close?"

Her question caught me so off guard, I asked her to repeat it to be sure I heard her right. I told her that it did not close and the biggest smile came over her face and she laughed out loud. What she said next blew my mind.

She said, "As soon as soon we heard that Starbucks would be closing stores, my small group started praying that they wouldn't close yours because we know God is using you there and we know that there is more work for you to do there. I can't wait to tell them how God answered our prayers!"

I was floored. Absolutely floored. And, now I know why "my" Starbucks didn't close. :-)

Friday Five

What's Friday without the Friday Five...

1. If we can avoid any more snags, we'll be moving into our house this time next week! To say we're excited would be a drastic understatement. But, there is much to be done between now and then. Still need you to pray!

2. Played NCAA Football 09 on a 52" flat screen last night with some guys from Awaken. At times, I forgot we were playing a video game...when the first shot of the Willy-B came up, I couldn't help but stand up and jump around like an idiot. The only bad part of the night...Josh and his Georgia Bulldogs made the comeback of the century to win the tournament. I am SO ready for college football now!

3. Had my first coaching conversation with my new life coach. Amazing how the primary content of our conversation was an area I didn't even plan to or want to talk about. Yet, it was exactly what we needed to talk about...which is the point of having a coach. Now I actually have to act on what we talked about...:-)

4. Preaching Sunday AM & PM at Center Grove Church in Winston-Salem, NC. Pray for them and me...a very influential leader/member of their church was killed in a cycling accident last weekend. Obviously, many are still grieving and I want to be sensitive to say what God wants me to say the way He wants me to say it. 

5. I want to hear from you...what would you like to see me write about here on the blog? I'm working on a couple of series of posts, but would love to get some ideas from you and know what questions you have for me. Leave a comment or drop me an email.

Thanks for reading, praying, and encouraging us! I'm thankful for you!

Tuesday Ten

No Friday Five last week and no post yesterday means you get the Tuesday Ten today...

1. Had what may have been the worst migraine I have ever had yesterday. You know it's bad when a Venti Red Eye, 6 glasses of water, 2 Exedrin, and a Venti Doubleshot don't knock it out!
2. Battling major writer's block these days. I have a couple of writing projects to do and lots of good ideas for here and the Awaken blog...but it's not happening like I want it to right now.  Might be because of number 3...
3. If all goes well, we close on our house a week from today. CRAZY! This has been such a God-thing...we KNOW we are supposed to live in this house, in this neighborhood, and that the time is right. But when you live off of raised support, it's a bit of a leap! Pray this through with us, please! 
4. 37 days until GAMECOCK FOOTBALL baby! Yeah!
5. Had the last three Sundays off from preaching...good break, but I'm ready to roll again. So, this Sunday, it's on the road again to Center Grove Church in Winston-Salem, NC.
6. Never posted to let you know how it went leading worship at my brother in-law's church, Generation Church, two Sundays ago. Had a blast, the people sang their guts out, and my fingers were mad at me for a few days afterwards. :-) Well worth it though... Set list = Salvation is Here, Enough, Take My Life (Passion Hymns version), and God of this City/Our God Reigns/Salvation is Here medley to close.
7. Eating lunch with Northeast Columbia area pastors today. So cool to see the number of pastors who are locking arms and sharing resources to see Columbia transformed. Honored to be a part of it...the collaboration and the chinese food lunch!
8. Re-reading Spiritual Leadership by Oswald Sanders and it is kicking my tail for the third or fourth time. It is a MUST READ for anyone who wants to lead in a way that represents and honors the heart of God.
9. Yesterday, I drove through the neighborhood where I grew up and past our old house. The mailbox still had our name on it.  My parents moved from there 3 years ago...weird.
10. I miss golf. Maybe one day... 

 There you have it...the first ever Tuesday Ten. Hope you are not dumber for having read it...:-) 

All Should Be Free

Did you know that there are 2.5 million sex slaves worldwide, many of whom are under the age of 18?

Neither did I.

A great friend of mine, Greg Darley, and a team of people have responded to this grave injustice by creating an initiative called Free Chains. Free Chains is a collaboration between individuals, churches, musicians, artists, business owners, moms, dads, athletes, and students to end child sex trafficking.

What is child sex trafficking?

Sex trafficking is a modern-day form of slavery in which a commercial sex act is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an act is under the age of 18 years.

Where does it happen?

Child sex trafficking happens everywhere.  According to the report by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Trafficking in Persons: Global Patters report, April 2006: children are trafficked in every country.  Countries considered "very high destination" countries for trafficked victims include Belgium, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Japan, Netherlands, Thailand, Turkey, and the United States.

• An estimated 200,000 American children are at risk for trafficking into the sex industry.
• Atlanta is recognized as the top city in the US with 14,000 sex slaves.
• 1/3 of all US runaways end up in the sex trade within the first 48 hours of leaving home.
• 1/5 of all pornographic images on the internet are of a child, 55% of all child pornography on the internet originates from the U.S.
• The average entry age of prostitution is 12.

What can you do?

With an issue so big, where do you start? The vision of the Free Chains Campaign is to provide simple and tangible ways for you to be part of the solution...Buy a key chain. Buy and wear a t-shirt. Donate towards a Safe House. Donate towards an investigation and prosecution to stop trafficking. Host a party to make your friends aware. There are tons of ways for you to get involved.

A child trapped in sex slavery is the epitome of the least of these. What are you going to do? Go to the Free Chains to be a part of ending this injustice.

My Ego is No Longer Central

Two weeks ago, Galatians 2:19-20 (The Message) literally stopped me in my tracks:

What actually took place is this: I tried keeping rules and working my head off to please God, and it didn't work. So I quit being a "law man" so that I could be God's man. Christ's life showed me how, and enabled me to do it. I identified myself completely with him. Indeed, I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central. It is no longer important that I appear righteous before you or have your good opinion, and I am no longer driven to impress God. Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not "mine," but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that.

There's nothing more frustrating than working your tail off doing exactly what the book, conference, or famous pastor told you to do, only to wind up battling a nasty inferiority complex because it didn't work for you like it did for them.

I know. I was there...a year ago.

Honestly, I probably read blogs to see how I stacked up more than any other reason. I visited church websites, read books, and attended conferences with this sense of immense pressure - I had to unearth that next great idea that would take us to the next level.  If I didn't come through, then I'd let my staff down and more than that, I'd let God down.  

Rather than getting to the next level, I built a bunch of idols. And I've learned that idols rob you of one thing more than anything else: the peace that comes with knowing I am fully justified because of Jesus, not me.

As Paul wrote in Galatians 2, I don't live because I'm good enough or because I've done enough to impress God. I live when I have been crucified with Jesus. My small, sinful, selfish dreams and idols have been replaced by justification, identity, and purpose that come from Jesus. My life is not my own...it's Jesus in me, the hope of glory.

"My ego is no longer central." I don't have to compare to be justified. I don't have to unearth the next great idea to be justified. I don't have to hit a certain number of blog subscribers or have a certain growth curve in my church to be justified. I am already justified...all that's left to do is enjoy it, live in it, and invite others to do the same.

I'm still gleaning from this passage, but I felt okay enough to share this much.  God is breaking me. It hurts for my ego to no longer be central. Some days are worse than others.  But, I am learning. And I am thankful that I don't have to impress God to earn justification...He freely gave it to me by way of the cross of Jesus.

We Are Alive

Got home late last Thursday night to find a great surprise in the mail from one of my favorite people/pastors and one of my favorite churches in the country. The surprise was so good that I had to tell you about it.

We Are Alive is the latest worship record produced by Elevation Church, which is led by my good friend, Pastor Steven Furtick. Steven invited Lara Beth and me to the live recording of Elevation's first worship project, The Sound, last February and it proved to be a landmark experience for us. The Sound became a fixture with us and our girls as a reminder of God's activity to move us into this new chapter of life and ministry.

After listening to We Are Alive all weekend, I can confidently say that this record will become a fixture not just in our family, but in the Awaken community as we live and tell the story of Jesus in Columbia.

Each song is filled with a passionate vision for the glory of God to rise up in a city combined with an awe-inspired gratitude for the flow of blessing and favor that God is already sending to Charlotte through Elevation Church. At some point in every song, I can't help but pump my fist and nearly stomp a hole in my car's floorboard!

And, what makes We Are Alive even better is that all three Elevation worship leaders have roots in the great city of Columbia, SC. I can't help but think that as Wade, Chris, and Mack wrote these songs, Columbia was on their mind and in their heart at some level.

So, do yourself a favor and pick up this record - if God uses it in your life and church community half as much as He is using it in mine, it will be worth it! WE ARE ALIVE!