LoveJoySex

It’s going to get hot this summer at Awaken. We’re about to launch a brand new study through the book of Song of Solomon that we’re calling LoveJoySex. It’s an honest look at the love, joy, and sex that takes place between Solomon and his wife in their young years. People are fine with the thought of love and joy in the Bible, but Song of Solomon also includes two steamy sex scenes right in the middle (read the book for yourself – it’s in the Bible!).

Of course we will cover those chapters tastefully, but I think they’re important to talk about. Statistics say that the average age for kids’ first exposure to pornography these days is 11 year old! Parents may be hesitant at the thought of covering these topics in church, but kids are hearing about sex, talking about sex, and experimenting with sex earlier than ever before. The best place to talk about it is in God’s house from God’s Word. Plus, God has an amazing plan for dating, marriage, and sex. It’s better and far more pleasurable than how the world says it should be done.

LoveJoySex launches Mother’s Day weekend, May 11 and 12. Make sure to watch the featurette below. You can also swing by awakenchurch.org/lovejoysex to invite friends, watch the video, and (soon) download artwork to use on social media!

Church Planting Day 2: The Calling and the Equipping

Teaching for 3 hours and 45 minutes each day is akin to each Sunday at Awaken. The difference being that after 3 Sunday services, I have a day off and 6 more days to recover before I do it again. Not here. It’s a sprint…but I’m loving it!

Today, we talked about the calling and equipping for ministry, as we took a look at some personal and Biblical examples. I shared about how God began to train me up for teaching, pastoring, and planting a church when I was 16 at a summer camp. For me, that was the start of my journey into ministry from starting a youth group, to leading a high school Bible Club, to eventually serving on staff at a summer camp and becoming a youth pastor.

Yesterday, I handed out a questionnaire to the class, asking about what they’re hoping to learn from the class and what some of their fears and obstacles are in church planting. A recurring theme in the responses I got is that people are stressed about their own inadequacies in ministry. Nobody is going to show up, there’s no money, feelings of inadequacy and inability, and so much more. I referred back to one time when I got to teach to the staff guys at the summer camp I served at, and I taught on God’s grace being sufficient in our weakness. We also discussed guys like Moses, Gideon, and Jeremiah – all great men whom God used in powerful ways, but all who felt inadequate for the task at hand.

We discussed how resources, teams, funds, and buildings are great tools, and God may bless us with them at different points along our journey, but ultimately, God has given us all that we need right now to take the next step. Gideon, for instance, ended up using less than 1% of his original army (from 32,000 soldiers to 300) to defeat an army that was innumerable. The driving point was this:

The resources and team you think you need may be the very things that prevent you from giving God the glory!

Sometimes God strips things away from us so that He can receive the glory and our ministries and churches can continue on a miracle basis.

We had a great time discussing the qualifications for elders in 1 Timothy 3. We learned that although the context is specifically for elders/pastors, most of the qualifications are basic things that all Christians are held to: not drunkards, not lovers of money, gentle, hospitable, self-controlled, etc.

We ended the class with a video interview of my wife sharing her viewpoint on church planting. She talked about ways she supports me as her husband and pastor, as well as ways she’s seen God provide and teach her along the way. It was great to have her (virtually) in class for part of it!

We also talked about the importance and logistics of balancing church with family and marriage. Just like you have to put your oxygen mask on first in an airplane, the same thing needs to take place for your family in ministry. If your marriage and family fall apart, you lose your ministry too. To be effective long-term in ministry, you have to start with your first ministry: your family.

Unity within the church and between other churches is another vital step to reaching a city. We discussed practical ways to fight for unity and build bridges.

It was another great day. Tomorrow we discuss the business side of church planting and answer the question, “Where do I start?” Can’t wait!

Permeate

It was Hudson Taylor, the great missionary to China, who said that if your spouse, kids, friends, and even the dog or cat in your house weren’t glad that you became a Christian, it’s doubtful that you really did. That’s a challenging thought, but his point was that your faith in Christ should permeate every relationship you have.

A couple years back, I heard about a church whose New Year’s message was entitled, “Don’t Put Jesus First,” which was pretty controversial when they advertised it. As many people chose their New Year’s resolutions, the pastor wanted to drive home a point: Don’t just tell your spouse that you love Jesus more than them – live that out, and allow your relationship with Jesus to permeate every other relationship. Not so controversial, after all, right?

Here’s the point: as you pursue Jesus and His purpose for your life, that should deeply impact the way you see your job, school, and every relationship in your life. Loving Jesus should make you love your spouse more, treat your boss with more respect, speak respectfully to elders and those in authority, be a law-abiding citizen, and more. There should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that something is different with you…and it should be attractive.

Jesus did not set you free so you could blend in. We’re called to be set apart.

So, the question is simple: does your love for Jesus permeate your life? It should be life-changing and all-encompassing. If not, today is the day to change that.

3 Ingredients to Thrive

As a staff, a main topic of our conversation and meetings deals with how to help people thrive in their walks with Christ. We want to be intentional and as personal as possible in that process. Looking at Scripture and at people throughout the church, we’ve narrowed it down to 3 ingredients that cause people to thrive in their walk with the Lord:

GIVING

Being financially invested in the work of the ministry is a huge contributing factor to thriving in your walk with the Lord. It’s one thing to say you believe in the work God is doing and it’s another to put your money where your mouth is. At Awaken, we believe that souls are the best way to invest. We don’t just believe it, we live it, and we encourage people to live it out as well.

And I speak from experience when I say that watching God use the ministries we’ve invested in to save souls always makes the sacrifice worth it!

SERVING

God has given everyone a gift, but it’s not for us – it was given to us to re-gift to others! It’s very easy to transfer our culture’s consumer mindset into Christianity when you’re not actively serving. Serving others gives you a glimpse into their lives and provides ongoing reminders that you’re not the only one with needs, issues, and time constraints. I love seeing people get involved and fall in love with the people they’re serving and serving with! We try to make that as simple as possible at Awaken by hosting quarterly “Get Plugged In” meetings, where people can learn more about ministries at Awaken and sign up to serve.

This month, we’re debuting a new aspect to Get Plugged In that we’re calling “Test Drive.” Just like on a car lot, you don’t want to make a long-term commitment until you’ve taken the car for a spin, we want to help people find a place to serve that they enjoy. Often times, churches (we’ve been guilty of this too) make it pretty challenging to get involved and serve. We want to make sure people find a good place to serve and serve in an area that they’re passionate about. By selecting “Test Drive,” they can show up to serve in that ministry one time, no strings attached!

COMMUNITY

We’ve only run 3 semesters of Awaken Groups so far, but I truly believe it’s one of the most vital and invigorating things we do as a church. Just like the nation of Israel marched into Canaan and conquered the key cities together, we battle alongside each other on a corporate level on Sunday mornings. However, when Canaan was divided up, each of the tribes had more battles to fight, and it’s the same with us. On the other 6 days of the week, we all face our own battles, and it’s vital to have a group of Christians that you can trust to battle alongside you.

Over the summer, while Awaken Groups take  a bit of a break, we’ll be providing some more social events, classes, training courses, and more so that we can keep people connected in community outside of Sunday mornings.

Question: can you think of any other vital areas that God has used in your life? How have you seen God use giving, serving, and community in your own life?

POLL: What keeps people away from church?

This Sunday, I’ll be teaching about the church in Smyrna, in Revelation 2. It’s week 3 of the churches, and we have 4 more weeks to go.

One of the major benefits on Revelation 2-3 is the insight that it provides us into what Jesus looks for in a church. That’s valuable because we can easily get carried away with our critical ideas of what we want in a church, while forgetting to focus most heavily on what Jesus focused on.

So, out of curiosity, I wanted to pose this question:

WHAT KEEPS PEOPLE AWAY FROM CHURCH/CHRISTIANITY?

If you’re a Christian and/or church-goer, leave a comment about the excuses you’ve heard non-church-goers use.

If you’re NOT a Christian and/or church-goer, I would love to hear what’s keeping you at a distance. Leave a comment and let me know!

Tattoos for Jesus

One thing I talk about a lot at Awaken is re-gifting the gift God has given you.

Don’t act like you don’t know what re-gfiting is. You’ve probably opened a gift, and as you’re thanking the person for the generous gift, you’re simultaneously thinking of who you could re-gift that gift to.

Every Christian has been given a gift, so that’s not the question. The question is, what will you do with the gift you’ve been given?

(picture by Angela Ashcraft)

As we’ve been prepping for The Uprising over the last few months, I’ve been so encouraged by the amount of re-gifting I’ve been seeing. A great example of that is the tattoo fundraiser that just happened last weekend. A tattoo artist that attends Awaken, Haley, got the idea to offer 5 different tattoo designs on a set date that she’d tattoo on your skin for a minimum donation of $50. Slots filled up quickly, and Haley spent all Saturday afternoon inking people from Awaken, in support of The Uprising.

Haley has a powerful story, which you should take some time to read when you can. She has a lot of tattoos and piercings, and if you come to Awaken, you won’t be able to miss her bright red hair and her infectious smile. Sometimes she’s greeting at the front door, and she serves in Awaken Kids every Sunday. Tattooing was something she was highly involved in in her past, but that she hadn’t done for a long time…until Saturday. The difference is, this time, she was tattooing for Jesus! Her fundraiser is just one example of how God can use our talents and abilities for His glory and an eternal purpose. The hundreds of dollars she was able to give to The Uprising will have an eternal impact on souls.

Tattooing is just one way I’ve seen people re-gift. I’ve also seen a team of musicians and worship leaders come together for practice, gearing up to lead people in loud, passionate worship that night. People have signed up to serve in every position from the merch table to the green room, from a full day of set up before the event to hours of tear down after. We have a full security crew, greeters, ushers, stage hands, video personnel, photographers, a street team, and so much more! We even have a local engraving shop who heard about the event and is donating 700 guitar picks with the Uprising logo on it.

The vision for this event is simple: We want to see churches united, Christian empowered, and sinners saved, under the name of Jesus. We are The Uprising – we’re not ok with just sitting around while people far from Christ die and spend eternity apart from God. We’re rising up to do something about it.

It’s been incredible to see the first 2 pieces of that vision happen already. We have a handful of churches from around the city and from multiple denominations who have attended the Join the Movement meetings, signed up to serve, and even donated financially to The Uprising. In addition to that, we’re also seeing Christians be empowered to use their gifts and creativity to play a part in this massive event.

Of course the goal of uniting churches and empowering Christians is to see the final piece of the vision take place: sinners saved. Every person who serves and invites a friend plays a part in making that happen! It’s amazing what God can do when His people unite!

There’s STILL a reason to celebrate.

If your house looks anything like mine, it resembles the aftermath of a Toys R Us bomb. There are leftovers in the fridge and on the counter, and you’re exhausted.

Although there are 365 days left till Christmas 2012 (2012 is a Leap Year), there is just as much of a reason to celebrate today as there was yesterday. Jesus is still our Savior, He’s still in love with us, and His blood still pays the price for our sin!

For the Christian, every day holds a reason to celebrate, so don’t lose your Christmas spirit.

He will save His people from their sins. - Matthew 1:21

I hope your Christmas was merry and it helped to remind you what really matters in life.

Don’t shoot it down!

When God lays a ministry idea on my heart, often times the rational, cautious, budgeting side of me is the first enemy to shoot the idea down. I immediately say things like, “I don’t think anyone would even come to that” or “There’s no way we can afford an event like that.” I don’t even wait for Satan to come in with discouragement or frustrations – I save him the hassle by shooting it down before he even has a chance. I’ve done it quite a few times throughout my years of ministry, but thankfully I’ve learned my own tendency to do this and have been able to work against it.

What I’ve learned to to do is this: when an idea for ministry comes to mind or the opportunity to take a step of faith presents itself, before I do anything with it, I take a few days to just pray about it. When I say “a few days,” I do not mean 365 days – I mean 3 or 4. I feel that a lot of Christians miss opportunities to see God use them because they’re just sitting there praying for God to use them…but that’s a different blog altogether.

When these opportunities arise, prayer is vital, because it realigns me with the God I serve and the One who will be funding the event if we go through with it.

Sometimes through prayer, I realize that it was probably more my idea than anything else, and I end up not doing it. More often, however, I’m reminded that God spoke things into existence and mandated sharing the Gospel with the world. With Him on my side and that command being lived out, what do I have to worry about?

Has God given you an idea for ministry or sharing your faith with someone? Do you feel led in a certain direction? Is there a step of faith that you should be taking that you’ve been praying about for way too long now?

Don’t shoot it down!

If people will hear about Jesus through it, your motives are right, and you’re going through the proper channels to make it happen, what are you waiting for? Take a leap of faith and don’t look back!

Bible In 90 Days 60: 1 PETER

Regardless of which concert you went to, who was performing, or which genre of music they played, one thing probably happened at the end of the concert: an encore. The crowd loved the music so much and were so bummed that the show was over that even when the lights went out and the band exited the stage, the crowd stood and cheered, screaming for an encore.

It’s great when the band comes back for an encore, but it’s normally only 1 or 2 songs, then they leave for good. It’s the opposite when it comes to our lives: life on Earth is short, but the real show happens after life on earth is over!

The book of 1 Peter is all about getting us ready for what’s next.

I recently finished teaching through the book of 1 Peter, in a series I called …To Be Continued, which hinted at the fact that life on earth isn’t it (thankfully) – it’s to be continued for all of eternity in heaven (for those who follow Christ). It was a powerful book to study and it took me 25 weeks to teach through verse-by-verse. You can watch and/or listen to all 25 teachings HERE.

One thing you may have picked up on as you read through the book was Peter’s references to how temporary life on earth is…

He calls the Christians he’s writing to “pilgrims” in 1:1.

He talks about how they should live “throughout the time of your stay here” (1:17), which sounds like language that the receptionist at a hotel would use during your temporary stay.

Later in 2:11, he calls them “sojourners” and “pilgrims” – more references to the temporary state of their time on earth.

Think about how different you treat a temporary dwelling and a permanent dwelling. You don’t change out the carpets and upgrade the bathroom tile in a hotel room – you’re only there for the weekend! Why invest time, money, and energy into something that won’t last? I’d ask you the same question when it comes to life on earth: why invest time, money, and energy into something that won’t last? Live instead for eternity. For those who follow Christ, life is to be continued in heaven after you breathe your last breath.

One of Peter’s favorite words in this book is “salvation.” He uses it quite a few times because he’s always looking ahead to what’s next – the completion of his salvation when he enters heaven!

Throughout the book he talks about many things in our lives that a lifestyle modeled after eternity will impact. He mentions things like suffering (many of the Christians who he wrote this letter to were undergoing, or about to undergo, some extreme persecution for their faith), living as a witness, submitting to government, marital relationships, relationships in the workplace, serving within the church, and more.

The reality is, when you live in the light of eternity, it effects every square inch of your life.

Everything changes and you gain an entirely new perspective when you live with eternity in mind!

Try it today – base every interaction, thought, and circumstance off the fact that heaven is right around the corner and you want to take as many people with you as possible. It will change your whole outlook on life!

God will OFTEN give you more than you can handle.

There’s a phrase floating around out there I’m tired of hearing. It goes like this…

“God won’t give you more than you can handle.”

People often try to throw it back in God’s face when life has presented them with a situation that seems to be more than they can handle. If God responded to that saying, I think He might say, “I never said that.”

Let me make this very clear: that saying is NOT Biblical!

That phrase is about as Biblical as “God helps those who help themselves.” Also a lie.

The phrase about Him not giving us more than we can handle is actually an unfortunate twist of an actual verse in the Bible. I believe it stems from 1 Corinthians 10:13…

“No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.”

There’s a big difference between what the Bible is actually saying and what American culture is trying to make it say.

Last Sunday, as I taught about Israel facing Jericho, I had an opportunity to lay this phrase to rest…