Be Strong and Courageous

Need Courage? Here are a few verses on courage to finish up our Courageous series on the life of Gideon. Allow the Word of God to speak His courage into your life.

• So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the LORD your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.” Deuteronomy 31:6

• No one will be able to stand against you as long as you live. For I will be with you as I was with Moses. I will not fail you or abandon you. “Be strong and courageous, for you are the one who will lead these people to possess all the land I swore to their ancestors I would give them. Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the instructions Moses gave you. Do not deviate from them, turning either to the right or to the left. Then you will be successful in everything you do. Joshua 1:5-7

•  This is my command—be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” Joshua 1:9

• “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Don’t be afraid or discouraged, for the LORD God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. I Chronicles 28:20

•  Yet I am confident I will see the LORD’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living. Wait patiently for the LORD. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the LORD. Psalm 27:13-14

• So be strong and courageous, all you who put your hope in the LORD! Psalm 31:24

• But Jesus spoke to them at once. “Don’t be afraid,” he said. “Take courage. I am here!” Matthew 14:27

• Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. 1 Corinthians 16:13

• You know how badly we had been treated at Philippi just before we came to you and how much we suffered there. Yet our God gave us the courage to declare his Good News to you boldly, in spite of great opposition. Thessalonians 2:2

Can You See IT Clearly?

Chapter Four of IT was loaded with ideas that really stretched my thinking about vision and challenged me to creatively figure out better ways that we can communicate Epic’s vision.

At Epic, we believe God is writing an epic story in this world and every single person has a crucial role to play. Discover your role in God’s story.

Truthfully, casting vision is an area that I always feel I’m lacking. This year we talked about the vision for the next few years (Imagine: Epic 2015), but I know we could do a much better job casting the vision every week. After reading a chapter like this, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. However with everything strive for the ideal, but live in the real. Christ is not calling Epic to be an ideal church, but a real church that’s He is building one brick at a time.

The section that really hit home for me was, “If our CSI Martian knew nothing about your vision and observed everything you do all week long, what would he conclude? And would he say ‘That church is all about someone named Jesus’?” (p.44)

What personally hit home for you in Chapter 4?

Four Questions to Clarify God’s Will

Often times people ask, “How do you know if God is directing me to do something or it’s just my idea?” Here’s are four questions I ask when I’m praying for discernment about something & testing an impression to determine if it is from God or from me.

1. Does It Agree With the Bible?

God is consistent. He will never contradict His word and will never ask you to ignore or disobey what His word says. 

2. Does My Church Family Affirm It?

God never meant for you to make a major decision in life on your own. He wants you to get help & advice from wise mature Christians who are grounded in the faith & have a little more Bible under their belt than maybe you have.

3. Who Will Get the Glory? Me or God?

God is not in the business of leading people in ways that are self-serving or self-promoting. If you get an idea of how to achieve instant fame, instant wealth or instant comfort it’s not from God. It doesn’t matter how noble the cause, if you think you are better than someone else for doing this, it’s not from God. God’s vision is always about giving Him the glory, not us.

4. Will This Stretch My Faith?

God is always leading us out of our comfort zone to a place where we are more dependent on Him & more committed to Him. He is always growing us & leading us forward in our faith.

Bringing IT into Focus

I’ve been part of equipping people to lead small groups for over 15 years. Often leaders talk about how amazing their small group is…how committed the people are to each other, how much they are growing spiritually & how close their community is. But when we unpack what makes their group great, what we find it’s not any of the the external things. It’s is not the study materials, the lively discussion or the location…it’s NOT even the people and their commitment to each other. What makes a great small group is that Jesus shows up when they meet.

The IT that makes a great small group is the same IT that makes a great church…the fact that Jesus shows up.

“That’s why we have to embrace the fact that God makes IT happen. IT is from Him. IT is for His glory. We can’t create IT. We can’t reproduce IT. We can’t manufacture IT. IT is not a model. IT is not a system. IT is not the result of a program. IT can’t be copied.” (p.27)

IT isn’t the result of external factors, it’s internal. It’s Christ in us & the Christlike qualities He produces in us (p. 31).

• Passion for His presence.
• A deep craving to reach the lost.
• Sincere integrity.
• Spirit-filled faith.
• Down-to-earth humility.
• Brokenness.

I found that list worth personal reflection & self-examination in my own life. What hit you in chapter 3?

Some Have IT, Some Lack IT.

Reflections on Chapter 2 -  It: How Churches & Leaders Can Get IT and Keep IT

When I was in junior high (yeah I know that’s old school for middle school), every week I went to sit for an hour in the church library for what was called confirmation class. It was a small church, so a group of us seven kids gathered with the pastor so he could teach us the life-changing truths of Scripture. The only problem was this…it was really boring. I mean really boring. All we thought was, “When is this droning on & on going to end? When can we go play football on the church lawn?”  But since it made our parents happy to check that “confirmation box” off our spiritual journey, here we sat week after week.

Thinking back…how could talking about this God who changes lives, who interacts with us personally, who redeems us for all eternity and who calls us to a life of purpose …be boring? What was missing? We were missing IT.

Honestly, “the missing IT” was the Leader. He didn’t want to be there any more than we did. He read through the lessons with little enthusiasm and no excitement, so we all completely zoned out. The class came across as a passionless duty on his weekly “to do” list. It wasn’t personal…it wasn’t applicable…it wasn’t life changing. Actually he told us he didn’t even feel called to be a pastor. He only became a pastor because his dad was a pastor. Sad…but true.

Some people have IT and some people don’t.

When Christ calls you to lead, you get the opportunity to reflect the way Christ has personally changed you. You get the privilege to helping people know about a God who is passionately pursuing them and has a unique role for them in His kingdom. What is better than that? Nothing. What is more exciting than that? Not a thing. That should awaken a passion in your soul. That should get you out of bed in the morning.

“A person surrendered fully to Christ gets it. And once a person has it, he can’t keep it to themselves.” (p. 25).

What impacted you personally in Chapter #2?

Epic Wednesdays…Be Present!

God’s 2012 vision for Epic is huge. He is calling us to advance His kingdom & His mission forward, but it will only happen if we are…

• fully present in this divine moment.
• fully present with each other.
• fully present with our Savior.
  
• BE PRESENT

EPIC WEDNESDAYS A monthly Epic evening to BE PRESENT in the moment to recharge your spiritual batteries, reconnect with God’s vision & build teamwork with others. Whether you’re new to Epic or have been coming for a long time, this night is for you. Dinner will be served. Childcare will be provided.

Winter / Spring Dates: Feb  8, March 7, Apr 11, May 9

• When: Wednesday Nights,  6:30-8:30pm
• Where: Hampton Elementary (1/2 mile from Emagine) 530 Hampton Circle  Rochester Hills, MI  48307

It: Chapter #1 – Where Did It Come From?

A number of years ago there was a show “The It Factor,” which followed aspiring actors as they pursued their careers on stage or screen. Some had it. Some needed to find it. Some needed to find another career.

Craig Groeschel brings that same insight to ministry  and leadership in “It: How Churches and Leaders Can Get It and Keep It.” Each week I’ll be unpacking a few insights on every chapter and posting them weekly. Epic’s leaders are reading It as well, so I’m excited to hear the ways that Christ is speaking to them through the book.

In chapter 1, Craig explains the humble beginnings of Life Church with overhead projectors and exploding lights. They didn’t have all the stuff the church has now, but but there was one thing they did have. “Those few people were off the charts excited about Jesus” (p, 15). What hit home for me is how easy it is to get caught up in all the external stuff that goes into communicating the message of Christ (buildings, logos, technology, environments, websites, etc).  I’m not saying all that stuff isn’t important to do ministry in the 21st Century. The church must be relevant to the world we live. But with that said…All of that stuff is all UNIMPORTANT if we’re not off the charts excited about Jesus. He is why we are here. He is our focus. He is why people come. He is why people come back. He is It.

What hit you from chapter #1?