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!

From Death to Life

Awaken Easter was only two weeks ago, but things have been moving so fast, that it seems so long ago. Not only did we have our biggest service yet on Easter, but on the following weekend, we got to baptize a few of the 14 people who gave their lives to Jesus! There’s no way to tell all of their stories, but I wanted to share one in particular…

A little over a year ago, Michael Graham (now a pro MMA fighter) began attending Awaken. He came a few weeks, then attended our first-of-many Uprising events last March. He was 1 of 40 people who gave their lives to Jesus that night! Life went crazy for Mike after that, and although he strayed a bit, God was right there with him as always! For months, Mike was witnessing to a friend of his, Nick, a fellow fighter, and even brought him to a few events we had at Awaken. Nick wasn’t quite ready to commit, but Mike didn’t give up. He invited him to Easter, and as I gave the invitation that Sunday, Nick was one of the first people out of his chair, making a public decision to follow Jesus!

Last Sunday, Nick was at Awaken ready to take the next step in his walk with Christ: baptism! Nick, along with 17 other people, made their faith public through baptism last Sunday!

Nick (left), Mike (right)

Mike wasn’t done though. This week, he texted me and told me he had gotten to lead another co-worker to Christ. That co-worker, Will, came to church with Mike this Sunday, along with his whole family!

That’s only one of many stories of what God is doing as He builds His Church! When the Gospel grips someone’s life, Satan better watch out!

Make sure to check out the recap of our after-Easter baptism here…

This means war!

Last night kicked off the Easter weekend party with our Good Friday service. It was an amazing night – full house, heartfelt worship, Communion, and even salvation! After service, a whole group of us headed over to the Austin Peay campus, where we’ll be holding our Easter service, to pray. We spent about 30 minutes in the dark cold parking lot crying out to the Lord and asking Him to move powerfully this weekend across the city.

Tonight continues the fun as we gather together with the team of servants who are making Awaken Easter happen. Many visitors will show up on Easter at APSU and not even think about the countless hours and team members that it has taken to get to that point. With that  team of servants, tonight, we’re going to worship loud, pray big, and get stoked. This is our version of a tailgate party before the big game. The difference is, we’re not going into it wondering if our team is going to win - He already won!

I’m honored to go into battle with the people of Awaken Church who selflessly serve week in and week out. One thing I love about them is that they’ve caught the vision – they know this is war, and they know that it is won through prayer. One of the items of our CODE at Awaken says…

The Battle Is Super And Natural. God has promised the victory, but that doesn’t negate our responsibility. We will do everything we can within our natural abilities and trust God for the supernatural.

We believe that with all of our hearts. We’ve given our all to this event, but we know that our resources are very limited. Anyone can put on a show and draw a crowd, but only God can change hearts. We’re going into this weekend with prayer and expectation as we give it our all to see God move.

The Easter Team Rally will also get us stoked and warmed up for the kick-off of Awaken All Weekend beginning next Saturday & Sunday. Whereas most churches get a break after Easter is over, we launch into our fourth weekend service and baptisms next weekend! I’m telling you, the people of Awaken Church are nothing short of amazing. They are a gift to me, to the church, and to this city.

This means war. Let’s go into battle in prayer, Awakeners. BIG things ahead!

Tattoos, Cigarettes, and Sex

DO NOT EAT.

Those are the big, bold, capitalized letters on every packet of silica gel. There are no gray areas when it comes to whether or not you should consume silica gel – no excuses and no need to argue. Not everything is that clear though, even when it comes to the Bible. The Bible was written thousands of years before cigarettes, modern birth control, and the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition, so how do we navigate the gray areas not mentioned in Scripture?

Last Sunday at Awaken, we explored the topic of gray areas and got some pointers from Scripture on how to honor God even when it’s not in black and white. I hit as many controversial topics as I could, since we were on the subject, and we had a blast. In fact, I even got to pray with 3 people to give their lives to Jesus!

According to 2 Peter 1, God has given us “all we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by His name.” So although it would be impossible for the Bible (or any book) to address every single scenario we will encounter, it does equip us with the tools to make Godly, discerning decisions.

Using what the Bible does tell us, we came up with 4 questions that we can ask when facing a “gray area”…

Can I glorify God in it?

1 Corinthians 10:31 - Therefore, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.

If something we want to do defeats the purpose we were created, DON’T DO IT!

It may be lawful, but is it helpful?

1 Corinthians 10:23 - All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify.

As humans, we are free to do many things, but that doesn’t meant we should do all of them! If it’s not helpful or beneficial to others, we should avoid it.

Will it pollute or purify?

Philippians 4:8 - Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.

I know you think that what you watch or listen to doesn’t affect you, but it does. What goes in must come out, and Jesus said in Mark 7 that it’s not what goes in that defiles a man, but what comes out. How did it get there in the first place? You put it there!

Will it cause others to stumble?

Romans 14:13 Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother’s way. 

This question is golden because it helps us to prioritize. You may be free to do it, but if it’s going to hurt your witness, is it worth it?

Earlier in the week, we allowed people to anonymously ask questions through our website about “gray areas.” We got some great questions, so I chose the top 9 to answer during the services. I answered 3 per service, then we pieced them all together so everyone could see them all (video below). I answered questions about sex, birth control, drinking, smoking, tattoos, addiction, violent video games, and more. I haven’t received any hate mail yet, but I’m ready!

You can watch or listen to the whole message HERE or watch the video of just the questions below. Enjoy!

God’s Will: Stop making it so complicated.

Why have we turned “finding God’s will” into such a hot-and-cold/hide-and-seek scavenger hunt? It’s good (and Biblical) to seek God’s will, but it’s not near as complicated as so many people have made it out to be. Even the phrase “finding God’s will” implies that it’s lost and there’s a search going on to locate it.

GOOD NEWS: God’s will is not lost and it’s not complicated.

We all love formulas and and mechanics, so on Sunday at Awaken, as we covered this topic, I gave a process on how to find God’s will for your life. It’s a 5 to 6 step process called Proverbs 3:5 TO 6, and here’s how it works…

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths.

In the pursuit of God’s will for our lives, God has given us something so much better than formulas and codes – He’s given us a relationship!

A lot of people have gone about it all the wrong way. They treat God’s will as though it’s some distant future plan that He has for them, that will take years of frustration and secret decoding to figure out. But as long as you are in God’s Word, in prayer, and in repentance, God promises to lead and direct you. And as you are faithful with what God has told you in black and white in Scripture (1 Thess 4:3, 1 Thess 5:18, 1 Peter 2:15), He’ll be faithful to guide you.

So, bloom where you’re planted. Dig your roots in where you are and be faithful with what God has given you and you’ll find yourself living directly in the middle of God’s will for your life!

Catch up with our whole “Framework” series HERE.

Church Planting Day 6: Small Groups

“We were created for community.” –It’s a phrase I say all the time at Awaken, and that’s evident throughout Scripture. After all, according to Genesis 1:26, God created us in His image, and God Himself is a community. So, it would only make sense that the most accurate way that we can reflect His image would be from within community. Today we discussed the why, when, and how of launching, structuring, and growing small groups within a church.

If you know me, I’m passionate about this subject, so it was fun to talk about. We began class by discussing the reason behind small groups, which admittedly, was something I didn’t fully grasp until just a couple years ago. I didn’t grow up going to churches that had small groups or emphasized them, so I didn’t really feel the need to implement them. I knew the church needed them, but I didn’t personally feel the need…until I got involved! Now I love them!

We began our discussion on the why and how with a video from my good friend, Josh Bowers, the Small Groups Pastor at Fresh Life Church in Montana. I learned a lot from their structure and vision for groups as we were launching ours, and theirs have been very successful, so it was great to hear from Josh.

After the video, we discussed the sermon-based small group structure of Awaken Groups, how we train leaders and co-leaders, what a semester of groups looks like, and how we utilize the website and other technology to enhance groups. We also covered some key lessons I’ve learned and challenges we’ve faced along the way…

Start with your vision. Vision defines structure.

This is one principle that applies not only to small groups, but to many other things as well. The what determines the how. Beginning with the vision helps you to define how you’re going to get to the goal. One of the questions that was asked was about any of the negative sides of sermon-based small groups. I’m not aware of any negative aspects of it because they help us to fulfill the vision of the groups: the social aspect and the application aspect.

Cut the competition.

If you looked at an Awaken events calendar, you’d notice a clump of events over winter break and a clump over summer break, but not much during semesters of Awaken Groups. There’s a reason for that. Americans are naturally busy people, and don’t have time to commit to their families, jobs, church, and small group, while also attending other programs and events. Although the extracurricular programs and events can be good, often times the good things can compete against the best things. At Awaken, this realization led to a complete overhaul of our calendar of events, and even led to the end of our Wednesday night service (Shocking, I know. Get over it, and get in a group!).

Satan hates small groups.

Although Awaken Groups is the place where we see the deepest growth, it’s also a place where some of the greatest attack and division can stem from. We cover each semester of Awaken Groups in prayer, and recognize that especially in areas where God is moving deeply in people’s lives, Satan will kick back. My philosophy is this: if Satan hates it and is trying to stop it, I must be doing the right thing! In fact, if he hates it, it must glorify God, and I want to do it even more! I wanted to remind the students that small groups, along with many other aspects of ministry, is a spiritual battle that must be fought with spiritual means.

Church Planting Day 4: Hermeneutics and Homiletics

Today was the first day so far that I was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to fit everything into our 4-hour class. In fact, what I taught today was a scaled-back version of an entire semester of teaching that I did at Calvary Albuquerque’s School of Ministry.

We began with a brief intro to the topics of hermeneutics and homiletics (studying and teaching God’s Word). Nehemiah 8 reminded us of the joy of these topics. Ezra the scribe got up and began reading from the Law, then “they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading.” (Nehemiah 8:8) The result was amazing: “all the people wept when they heard the words of the Law…and all the people went their way to eat and drink, to send portions and rejoice greatly, because they understood the words that were declared to them.” (Nehemiah 8:9, 12)

There is great joy in communicating the relevance of God’s Word because there’s great joy in people’s hearts when they get it. Hermeneutics and homiletics are not designed to help us bring relevance to God’s Word – it’s already relevant! Our job is simply to lead others into a greater understanding of its relevance for their daily lives…and there is so much joy in our hearts when we get it!

As we dove into hermeneutics (studying God’s Word), we covered the 3 basic hermeneutical principles: observation, interpretation, application. We talked about each phase and what it looks like to observe what is being said in the text at first glance. The observation stage is easy to skip over because you want to go straight to application, but it’s key. In fact, as I illustrated with the video below, you can go into a text thinking it means one thing but missing something huge…

The interpretation is done with reputable Biblical sources and teachers, with the goal of arriving at solid Biblical, Godly application. The application is the whole point, but you can’t skip straight to it!

Some great resources for learning more about hermeneutics are Rightly Divided and Basic Bible Interpretation, both by Roy Zuck. Some of the content of my hermeneutics teaching came from those books (among others).

During the second half of class, we tackled homiletics (teaching the Bible). Man I love that topic. Since the class is diverse, and not full of just pastors, I used the outline in Howard Hendricks’ book, Teaching to Change Lives, to teach from. It was so much fun. We talked about being real and raw as you teach, but also stirring up and developing the teaching gift that God has given you.

Most of what we talked about was relevant to everyone in there from personal Bible study to teaching in front of a church, small group, or discipleship.

The most exciting part is what I’m watching God do in the hearts of the students. There’s a group that will begin meeting next Monday and Friday, simply to pray for direction, confirmation, and an anointing of the Spirit for ministry. I’ve been telling them throughout the week that I hope to be part of what God uses to not only equip, but empower and encourage them further in their walks with Christ and service for Christ. Thank God, I’m watching Him do that every day!

I better go now. My family is on the beach near Aliso Viejo, awaiting a reunion with me. Tomorrow and Saturday is Disney! Mickey, here I come!

Church Planting Day 1: What it is and what it’s not

I have the honor this week and next of teaching a 2-week block class at Calvary Chapel Bible College in Murrieta, CA. It’s a crash course in church planting where I’ll be teaching for almost 4 hours each day for 8 days! To put it in perspective, I taught a little over 30 hours in the 38 weeks that I taught Revelation at Awaken, and I’ll be teaching about that long in 8 days here! Thankfully, it’s a subject I’m passionate about and that I’ve given my life to: preaching the Gospel and training people for ministry.

I’m only 3 years into my first church plant, so I’m certainly not an “expert” by any means, but I am very honored to be teaching this class. I have 25 students enrolled in my class, and it’s a great, diverse group. Some are already on church planting teams, gearing up to head out. Others hadn’t really heard of church planting before, but were interested in finding out more!

Here’s a quick recap of what we covered on Day 1…

Day 1 was an intro to myself and the story of Awaken Church. It’s always fun to relive the story and recount God’s faithfulness, confirmation, and provision even in the years leading up to the launch. It’s easy to get so caught up in the action that I temporarily lose sight of all that God has done to get us to this point.

After sharing pictures and stories from the first couple years of Awaken, I began by dashing their hopes and dreams of what church planting is really like. We discussed what church planting is not and what church planting is.

Church Planting is NOT…

COOL. Unfortunately, church planting has become “trendy” lately. It’s what a lot of young guys are doing and have done, and some have unfortunately fallen into the trap of stepping into something that seemed “cool” without counting the cost.

FUN. If you think church planting will be a fun way to get some neat experiences, you’re wrong. It’s a fierce battle that will tear your family to shreds if you’re not prepared. You will have fun planting a church if it’s what God has called you to do. But even that will only come after lots of hard work and dedication.

ABOUT YOU. Whether it’s planting a church or just ministry in general, some people step into ministry to prove something to others or to themselves. We addressed the tendency and dangers of using ministry to compete against others or boost your ego.

A HOBBY. If you’re just looking for something to pass some time, fly a kite, read a book, or plant a garden, but please don’t plant a church. The stakes are too high. Souls are at stake and the reputation of Jesus and His Church are on the line!

Church Planting IS…

HARD. It’s hard mentally, physically, and spiritually. It’s hard on you, your team, your family, and your marriage. But generally speaking, nothing that’s easy to do is worth giving your life for!

EFFECTIVE. Planting a church is one of the most effective ways to preach the Gospel and reach a city. God uses it in HUGE ways in those who are leading and those who get involved.

REWARDING. There’s a big difference between “fun” and “rewarding.” “Fun” can be as simple as throwing something off a balcony and watching it explode when it hits the ground. “Rewarding” implies investment and perseverance. As you pour your life into the church, there will be exciting temporal milestones, but there are also eternal rewards that are accruing (1 Corinthians 15:58, Hebrews 6:10)!

A BOOST TO YOUR PRAYER LIFE. I thought I had a decent handle on praying…until I planted a church. I learned more about the power of prayer through the avenue of church planting than through any other event in my life. Simple reliance on the Lord through prayer is huge.

Toward the end of the class, we spent some time discussing why the church exists, Biblically and practically. The class divided into groups and came up with some great answers. The church exists to preach the Gospel, train for ministry, stir up good works, reach the world, impact communities, and so much more. We had some great discussion that stemmed from that research.

Day 2 is tomorrow: the calling to ministry, qualifications, priorities, and more. Can’t wait!

Awaken All Weekend

Over the past few months at Awaken, we’ve watched God do some amazing things. We’ve seen lots of new people – to the point that we’ve had to turn families away from Awaken Kids, and max out seating capacity in services and overflow. Awaken Church exists to awaken people far from Christ to new life in Christ…but we can’t effectively do that if we can’t give them a seat or take care of their kids! We’re so thankful for this season of excitement and growth, and we want to always make room for more people to hear about Jesus and serve His people. So, since we’ve filled up 3 Sunday morning services, we’re branching out.

I announced today that soon, Awaken will be happening all weekend as we add a fourth weekend service: 6pm on Saturday nights! Our Sunday morning service times will stay the same: 8:30am, 10:15am, and 12noon.

In the past when we’ve launched a new service or ministry, we give a start date, but we did it differently this time. Although we want to launch it as soon as possible, we want to make sure that we’re not stretching people too thin who are already serving. The beauty of a new service is that it not only provides more seats for people to hear about Jesus, but it also provides more opportunities for people who are not serving to get on board.

So, if you attend Awaken and are not currently serving, this is game on!  This is your chance to be a part of reaching Clarksville for Jesus by giving back! Our ministry leaders are currently evaluating their ministries, and beginning next Sunday, they will have a list of ministry positions that are needed. That way you can prayerfully consider which team you will join (Saturday or Sunday). The launch of our Saturday service is contingent on you! So get in the game and re-gift the gifts that God has given you for the benefit of others and the glory of God! You’ll be so glad you did!

As if that wasn’t enough good news, God has also provided an additional 1,200 square feet for us rent-free! As long as we take care of putting up some walls, laying carpet, and painting, we can have the space for free! I’m amazed, but not surprised – when God leads the way and we follow, the options are limitless!

We should have an estimate soon of the cost of the construction, but if you’d like to donate financially now, you can do so HERE.

I can’t wait to see what God will do as we take this step of faith together as a church, open up a new service, and add on square footage! More space and more services means more seats for more people to hear about and grow in Christ…and that’s what we’re all about!

spend and be spent

The last few weeks at Awaken have been amazing. We’ve seen more people come through our church doors than ever before, and we’ve seen decisions for Christ each weekend of 2013 so far. There has been a lot of talking, meeting, calling, and praying about what our next step will be. On top of that, we’re looking forward to 2013 with ambitious goals in mind, praying that we will be a part of reaching Clarksville for Jesus in unprecedented ways in 2013.

With all of that talk, it can be easy to become weary. So, I wanted to take a moment to honor the Awaken Church staff, Ministry Leaders, Awaken Groups Leaders, and all those who serve at Awaken Church in any role. Here’s a quick note to YOU…

In this season of change, busy-ness, and lots of labor, the verse God has been bringing to my mind is 2 Corinthians 12:15. Paul told the Corinthian church, “I will very gladly spend and be spent for your souls…” Our Awaken Team Members do just that: you spend and are spent for souls (young souls, old souls, teenage souls, newborn souls, army souls, and many more). One great advantage we have over Paul though, is that he penned those words to a church that didn’t really appreciate all the hard work he was putting in (read the rest of the verse). We are part of a church that isn’t perfect, but it is awesome and thankful for much of the hard work we put in.

The way you serve reminds me of the Old Testament leaders in Exodus and Numbers who gave their “freewill” offerings. It was their choice – it was not required, but they invested their energy, time, and resources into things for the glory of God and the benefit of others.

So my challenge to you all is this: Stay the course. Be strong. Although we don’t know what the future holds, we know Who holds it, and we know that we’ve only just begun our work here in Clarksville!

Remember the last item of our Awaken Church CODE: 

We never stop.

If Jesus hasn’t returned and our lungs still have breath in them, we refuse to sit back, slow down, or give up. We will keep going until every person has heard about Jesus.

If you are serving, THANK YOU! If you are not serving, what are you waiting for? There’s a place for you somewhere on a team: on Sundays, during the week, or even when you have some spare time. You were given a gift to re-gift, so invest it and watch what God does.

One more thing: take a minute right now and thank someone who serves you (Awaken Kids teachers, Awaken Students leaders, someone you serve with in a ministry, our worship team, someone on staff, etc.). You never know what a simple word of encouragement can do for someone.