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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!

Friday Five

Been a crazy week...still lots to do today, so let's get on with this week's Friday Five!

1. Happy iPhone 3G Day to those who are taking the plunge! Lara Beth orchestrated a beautiful strategy so that I got enough money for my birthday to buy one with the reduced price...COOL! But, AT&T raised their rates by $15/month with text messaging...NOT COOL. Oh well...maybe next year...

2. The last two weeks, I have felt more like a real estate guy than anything else. But, it's been good. Thanks for praying for us...the hand of God has been all over this process! We cannot wait to start meeting neighbors and using our new home to gather people.

3. Visited my sister in-law at the youth camp where she is on staff this summer. Great worship environment, in spite of the middle schoolers! :-) Molly was standing next to me and I got all messed up when I could hear her singing "God of this City" at the top of her lungs with her hands raised and her feet dancing. I'll never forget that moment...NEVER!

4. Sam and I worked on some processes this week that are vital if Awaken is going to produce transformed people. I'm convinced that Christianity's credibility hinges on transformed people and if we can't produce them, then why bother.  I'm excited about the process God laid out for us!

5. Looking forward to Sunday: I am leading worship...yes, you read that right :-)...at my brother in-law's church plant, Generation Church, right here in Northeast Columbia. Got new guitar strings and got my callouses built back up....I'm ready to roll! In the afternoon, we are doing a "camp" at Sesqui State Park for kids from a local tailer park. And, Sunday night, Awaken will host the second prayer experience as part of the 40 Days of Prayer & Repentance.  Sunday will be a busy one, but I can't wait!

Have a great weekend!

That's Quotable: Tom Clegg and Warren Bird

"The inescapable conclusion is that we must throw out any notion that God is truly at the center of the church's heart in North America. The shift in society's view of the church has resulted in the marginalization of the church and the secularization of society. Christianity has lost its place at the center of American life. Christians must learn how to live the gospel as a distinct people who no longer occupy the center of society. We must learn to build relational bridges that win a hearing."

- Tom Clegg and Warren Bird in Lost in America, as quoted by Hugh Halter in The Tangible Kingdom

This may sound heretical...I'm not sure that Christianity losing its place at the center of American life is all that bad. When the gospel spread most rapidly and effectively, the first 300 years after Jesus' resurrection, Christianity was an obscure, marginal, persecuted movement that was nowhere near the center of life in the Roman empire.

The challenge, and I think the reason why we have a hard time swallowing this pill, is that the cultural shift requires huge shifts in our thinking, preparing, assumptions, living...everything. But, if we make these shifts, I believe we'll move closer to truly living out the Kingdom life Jesus founded, modeled, and called us to live. This shift may just be the kick in the rear-end we need to live in such a way that there is an easily discernible difference in values, behaviors, and relationships between those who follow Jesus and those who don't.

I'd love to hear from you...do you agree with Clegg and Bird? Do you agree that this shift could be good? What are some significant shifts that the church needs to make? What does it look like for Jesus followers to truly live as a distinct people?

It Begins with a Broken Heart

Last week, I told you about God's call for us to leave it all behind in moving to Columbia to start Awaken. There's another reason why de-emphasizing the form of church was and still is important.

Transformation on any level doesn't begin with a new church form - it begins with a broken heart.

In this day when so many are frustrated and disenchanted with more traditional forms of church, it's pretty easy to draw a crowd by selling a new church form - especially this "missional community" idea. As we've pieced together what God has called us to do, people have responded with phrases like, "Man, that is so Acts 2," or "Yes, someone finally got it right," or "That's the way Jesus would do church." I appreciate their enthusiasm, but I have a fear as a result of some of these comments.

The point is not to sell out for a church model that's "not like the last place." To that, I say, "Why bother?" Missional communities or Mega-churches can be equally effective and equally defective. The determining factor is not the form, it's the heart. The point is to be so broken over lostness in your city that you would do ANYTHING short of sin to see that city transformed!

God can do a lot with a heart breaking over lostness. I'm not sure He can do much with the pride that comes with thinking your form is the only one that is right and that it's way better than the one down the street. If that's the only reason we employ new church forms, then something is way off.

For months, we begged God to continually break our hearts for Columbia, not a church form. He has and still is. Along the way, we've asked Him to send us people whose hearts are breaking for Columbia, not a church form. He has and still is. As we form community and catalyze movement, our prayer will always be for God to keep us broken.

Friday Five on the Fourth

1. Looking forward to a great day & weekend with family and friends. Swimming, ribs, fixins, more swimming, more ribs, more fixins, and then cap it off with some serious fireworks. Yeah!

2. On Sunday night, Awaken will host the 1st of 5 prayer experiences as part of the 40 Days of Prayer & Repentance. Each experience will start at 6:00 pm @ North Point Church. I cannot wait to see how God answers our prayers to change us and change our city!

3. We're in the middle of taking the ultimate irreversible step to put down roots in Columbia. We're nervous as all get out, but confident that if God wants this to happen, it will happen.  Pray it through with us, please!

4. My grandfather in-law, aka "PeePaw", retired this past Sunday after 60+ years in the ministry, the last 41 years serving as Pastor of Ekron Baptist Church in Brandenburg, KY. Talk about commitment, putting down roots, and giving your life for the sake of a city...there it is! He and "MeeMaw" are in town and I am looking forward to spending time learning from and reflecting with them this weekend. Thank you, PeePaw & MeeMaw!

5. Freedom is never free. Really grateful for the men and women whom you and I never knew but who willingly gave their lives for our freedom. Even more grateful for the freedom and life that comes in trusting and following Jesus. While we were still sinners, He gave His life for our freedom. Amazing!

Happy Fourth!