Ten Things I’ve learned About the HS This Past Year

Ten Educational Moments of the Holy Spirit in the Last Year

1. A sentence of worship written in my journal everyday allows the Spirit to permeate the day (from an assignment I gave to Cell groups)
2. God is at work in every minute, every situation. Trust me. (From a conversation with Rich Fifield)
3. The prophetic word of “a hatchet chopping off parts of us” has become so true. (During a prayer time at worship on the first Sunday of 2010)
4. One person consistently leading in prayer by the Spirit can invigorate an entire church. (From one person after the Holy Spirit weekend leading prayer every Sunday morning in creative, communal and even liturgistic ways)
5. In crisis God speaks a word of change and trust to move me into new areas of growth and leadership. (During a ride home from Canada after ten days of vacation where God sorted priorities of our family, He gave courage and clarity to Rhonda and me to send her back to school full-time for an education degree.)
6. God has gifted specific people with the seemingly mundane and mortal gift of administration so that the gift transforms the administrator into an example of serving love, catalytic impetus and transformational effort. (Watching Mary Kennedy administrate the Holy Spirit weekend with a total effort of environment, prayer, preparing people, advertising and working far enough ahead to bring the most people ever to one of our Holy Spirit weekend: a total of 42 people)
7. Speaking in tongues is both a gift to break chains of lethargy and dark clouds of loneliness, yet can become a curse of legalism and living in a rut like any other discipline. (From my personal times of prayer)
8. Waiting for God to speak is as imperative as active studying, meditation and worship. (From struggles with my Bible study in Quiet Times this past year, and crystallized in the first chapter of Francis Chan’s, “The Forgotten God.)
9. God integrated his Spirit into my life from the beginning to orchestrate safety nets of moral boundaries, life long primo supportive friendships with people who are passionate about living under Christ’s Lordship both intellectually and spiritually and giving me friends and family who have taught me financial discipline.
10. Praying for people’s salvation releases God to bring people to places where they are ready for God’s grace, correction and training in righteousness. (Confidential info…)

Endless Swimming

1 Timothy 1:8So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, 9who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. 11And of this gospel I was appointed a herald and an apostle and a teacher. 12That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day.

What keeps our three kids swimming endless laps for hours a day? Have you ever tried swimming for three or four hours?

What makes our girls (HS Senior and College Sophomore) get up at 4:30 a.m. to swim and lift weights for two hours, and then come back for another three hours in the afternoon? I don’t ever have to tell them to get out of bed!

Every few months there is a monster swim meet.

The swimmers live for meets. The meets GAUGE their effort in swimming endless laps. The meets keep them swimming. They get faster. They beat personal times and school records. They keep on swimming endless laps. The ribbons do NOT keep the swimmers coming back to the pool after a meet. Much more is needed than a silky ribbon with writing on it.

Now, here’s the question: What keeps Christians swimming “endless laps”? I mean, what keeps a Christian wanting to get up early and meet with God, or go to church every Sunday? What motivates the endless laps of giving generously or serving others? Why would anyone plod through the difficulties of being part of a Christian community?

What is the GAUGE that Christians use to let them know they are doing the right thing, getting “faster” or honing their skills? In swimming terms, where are the MEETS? I know there are rewards, and Paul tells us to run like someone running for the prize, but the endless laps can get tiring and maddening.

Sunday morning worship is not the guage. Sunday attendance is an illusion. On Sunday morning only a handful of “swimmers” are “in the water.”

How does church leadership know if their “swimmers” are getting “faster”? We simply cannot take attendance as a good indicator! We all know horror stories of people who have attended Sunday morning and Wednesday night services, but cannot “swim.” One pastor I know had become a Christian only after he had finished seminary and had started his first pastorate!

Around these parts, fall “Revivals” act like gauges. Some churches have annual “Leadership Conferences.” Summer Vacation Bible Schools act like a gauge for many churches.

I think that Jesus was very clear about what gauge to use. He sent his disciples out while he could oversee their efforts. He told them he was sending them just like the Father had sent him. He commissioned them right before ascending into heaven. He sent his Spirit at Pentecost to empower them to do what he did.

A swim meet measures the advancement of a swimmer by placing him/her in a situation that “tests” their ability. Jesus devised “tests” for his disciples. He asked them questions, sent them out and brought them into awkward and painful situations with him like the cleansing of the temple and going into Samaria to find the “woman at the well.” In the early church, the disciples continued these “tests” by sending out missionaries, taking younger Christians with them on church planting trips and going into awkward situations like Greek temples and crowded marketplaces to talk to people.

Jesus upset comfort zones to “test” people’s faith. The gauge is simple: how much is there a WANT TO go into the discomfort zones? Churches will lose members this way, but it is Jesus way. Endless meetings aren’t a gauge most of the time. Our discomfort zones will test what we know, feel and believe. They prove if our “relationship with God” is real or a placebo. They test our spiritual muscles to see if we have swum or standing on the sidelines.

How have you entered a “discomfort zone” recently to test your faith?

Milepost 12/30/09

How “religious” is your state?

If your state is more religious there is a better chance you’ve been married multiple times! It’s called “The Larry King Effect”.

Five must see movies (and I’ve never seen or heard of them).

How to use a church building for discipleship and know that your sermons are effective. It’s an article called “The Sprawling Missional Campus.”

My latest food creation, Vegetable Fried Bread Melange, which came on the spur of the moment on a day off when I could treat Rhonda to a delicious lunch date together. It’s healthy, too.

Read through the Bible in 2010. Choose from 20+ reading plans!