Wednesday at Team Church

Hi everyone! It has been an amazing week, and God has really been good to Kristine and I. First of all we have been hanging out with Steve and Beth Fleming (they are amazing friends and mentors to us) all week and have learned so much from them. Kevin and Sheila Gerald are an amazing couple and they have been so kind to us, and have helped us so much to understand our roles better. Sheila spent some time talking to Kristine tonight and showed that she genuinely cares about us and the house that God has called us to build. I also have been able to spend some time with Paul Scanlon (The pastor from England that preached the message on others) and I feel very blessed to have had that opportunity. We have met so many great pastors here from all over the world and I just know that God is giving us these great connections so that we can build His kingdom. I thank God for this amazing experience and feel that what He has been speaking to me for the past couple months was confirmed and clarified this week.

I do life with some of the greatest people in the world and I am looking forward to getting home and seeing you all again. I am so excited about what God is doing in all of our lives right now. We had nine visitors in church again on Sunday! I ask you all to believe with me and work together to see 100 baptisms in the next eleven and a half months. I know that seems like a lot but I believe that God would be glorified by it and that His kingdom would be advanced.

I will catch up on some of the conference highlights later this week but today I want to remind you to start praying for the weekend service. Also I want you to start thinking who you could invite I have a few people I am going to talk to. Also come to the service prayed up and ready to serve, with an attitude of expectancy! I am so happy that I get to do life with you!

Monday at Team Church

Man, I prayed in the morning service a couple weeks ago that God would give us an encounter like Isaiah Had where in Chapter 6 He said woe is me I am undone. God is messing me up, I am undone. As I have been writing on this blog, God has been really stirring something in my heart that I think is huge, and that something is a deep passion and concern for those that have not yet connected with Jesus. well this week is not helping me shake that stirring, in fact it is stirring it up even more. I am sitting here and I just can't wait to see what God is going to do through us to help these people meet Jesus. Anyway, here are a few highlights of tonight.

1. Kevin Gerald opened with this, God touched our lives and said, tag your it, and left us to pass on the good news to others. Who have you touched with your life? Who are you going to touch?
2. Craig Groeshel was up next and He went right at it with a challenge to all of us to believe God for great things. some of the major points were as follows.
3. We all dream positive dreams, but without some sort of action and a plan, we will never achieve the dreams we have. Without a vision people perish.
4. From Acts 20:21- 24 he taught 4 things we could expect in walking into God's vision for our life. First Spirit's Prompting in verse 21 it says that Paul was compelled by the spirit. Secondly we would encounter Certain Uncertainty in verse 22b it says that Paul was going, not knowing what would happen. The third thing that we would encounter was Predictable Resistance it says in verse 23 that prison and hardship awaited Paul. so first we would sense the Spirit prompting us to do something then as we stepped out to do it we will have that feeling of uncertainty followed by resistance and if we would persevere then God would give us Uncommon Clarity.
5. He closed with this prayer that was prayed by Sir Francis Drake in 1577

Disturb us Lord

When when we are to well pleased with ourselves.

When our dreams come true

Because we have dreamed to little

When we arrived safely

Because we sailed to closely to shore.

It is my prayer that as a church we will dream, dreams so big that only God can accomplish them. That we would pray prayers that would make God smile because we need Him or we have no hope. That our hearts would break for the things that break the heart of God. i pray that we would be a church that makes a difference.

Sunday Night Reflections

Just had dinner with the Flemings, the Geralds, and the Scanlons. I feel like it was the best Christmas ever and it is only August. I am so amazed at the blessing of God in my life and I just feel that His hand is upon us as a church. The people that He has brought into my life are just amazing. We got to Hang out with Steve and Beth all day (They are such a God send to Kristine and I) then tonight I was sitting beside Paul Scanlon at dinner and right across from Kevin Gerald. I think I am going to faint. Any way here are some of my thoughts for today.

1. God is really in love with People and we should be to.
2. The question is not, can God love people who sin? It is, can we love them?
3. The church should exist for those who are not yet reached.
4. Including all people in our circle of love as a church will mess with our routine
5. Our routine needs to be messed with.
6. God is really in love with people and we should be to.
7. And last but not least, God is in love with people and we should be to. (did I say that already?)

Here are some questions I am asking myself.

1. How do we become a church that is inclusive for all?
2. How serious are we, really about reaching the unchurched?
3. What price am I willing to pay to see God's dreams fulfilled?
4. Who else is there that is willing to pay the price with us?
5. God do you still make dreams come true?

I am so excited about what God is doing in my heart and life right now and I just know that as a church we are standing at the edge of something great. Please pray that Kristine and I will learn what we need to learn to go to the next level in our life and leadership.

Team Church Conference

Good Morning! We arrived in Seattle safely last night just in time to take in the evening service here with Paul Scanlon. Wow, when God gets on you about something He just keeps going at it, doesn't He? Here are a few of the highlights. He was teaching out of these verses.

Mat 21:28 "Tell me what you think of this story: A man had two sons. He went up to the first and said, 'Son, go out for the day and work in the vineyard.'
Mat 21:29 "The son answered, 'I don't want to.' Later on he thought better of it and went.
Mat 21:30 "The father gave the same command to the second son. He answered, 'Sure, glad to.' But he never went.
Mat 21:31 "Which of the two sons did what the father asked?" They said, "The first." Jesus said, "Yes, and I tell you that crooks and whores are going to precede you into God's kingdom. MSG

1. Some people seem to be saying a big Yes to God and end up saying No.
2. Some people seem to be saying a big No to God and end up saying Yes.
3. Everyone should get the opportunity to give God a big Yes or a big No.
4. Some of the people that you have been spending so much time getting to say yes (They seem like the kind of people that would say yes) will end up saying no. Some of the people that you would never ask (They seem like they don't need , don't want, or don't deserve God) will end up saying a huge YES to God (most of us know someone like this that did)
5. Invite everyone!
6. Be a likable person (get rid of your nastiness, or arrogance) it gives a person a better chance of accepting your message.
7. Be compassion driven, rather than comfort driven (we generally want to reach out to people that are like us ) God wants us to reach everyone!
8. The church is a person you meet before it is a place you go.

I will post as much as I can through this week and I will finish my "Thinking Big" post soon also. We are praying that God is doing great things at Jubilee this morning!