INTELLIGENT PEOPLE ASK QUESTIONS

I have just spent a week down in Sydney at our networks Church Planting School. It is a huge thrill for me personally to have input into future church plants or transitioning churches. Sitting down over coffee talking church gets my heart pounding, being around other church builders gets my heart pounding. But every now and then you come across the one or two that just don't get it. They don't ask the right questions and they don't listen to the right answers. There are many reasons why some people grow healthy churches and some never get them beyond a home group size but there is one reason that again was revealed to me this past week. Its found in the following verse from Proverbs:

Proverbs 15:22 (NLT)
Plans go wrong for lack of advice; many counselors bring success.

Some people just don't ask for counsel. They are afraid of being challenged or hearing something negative about what they are doing, so they avoid it, thus staying internally small.

The counsel we never got could have made the difference on whether or not we were a success or failure.There are some people that I feel I could go up to and give advice on certain things anytime and anywhere. There is a feel about them that they are open to discuss their situation and open for input in any way. Some people ooze teach ability and humility that invites counsel.
But there are others that I would never dream of giving advice or counsel to.
They never ask you what you think about their circumstance. They always have a reason to justify why they are the way they are.
They have a leave me alone, I don’t need your help feel. Back off I am in control.

Sometimes people around you have had placed in them through experience the very thing that your plan is dying from the lack of.

There are some who say that they are seeking counsel when all hey are doing is looking for approval for what they have already decided to do, there is a big difference.

So how about you?

Are you openly seeking counsel so that your plan, your life, your relationships can be the best or do you shrink back whenever someone questions your plans?

THE RIP

We are on our staff retreat down at the Salt Mantra resort at the moment and having a great time. Its good to get the team together away from the pressures of church life and have some outsiders come and speak into us. I think all of us start off full of passion and zeal about serving God but sometimes along the way it’s easy to slide into professionalism without His presence. At the moment I am watching my son and his friend Mitchell surfing in some really ugly waves. The ugliest part is the rip that is pulling them down beach at an alarming rate. Like these kids trying to paddle against the rip we as leaders never wake up one day and decide to give up, not trust God, stumble morally, hate church, lose touch with who we are, but we “drift” into it. Drifting is probably the main reason why most leaders fall out of love with what they do, they don’t want to, but it happens gradually, like a slow current it pulls us away from where we first entered the water (or our calling).

DRIFTING IS BEING CARRIED OR DRIVEN SLOWLY BY A CURRENT, TO WANDER AWAY FROM A FIXED COURSE, TO MOVE AIMLESSLY FROM ONE PLACE TO ANOTHER.

Hebrews 2:1 (NIV)
We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away.

It was obviously a problem for New Testament leaders as well as us today. The writer tells us to “pay more careful attention”, careful attention to what though?
ACHIEVEMENT IS THE RESULT OF YOU PROTECTING YOUR FOCUS
I think the best way to protect yourself against drifting is by establishing reference points. A reference point is like when we go to the beach and there are 2 red and yellow flags that mark the area that life savers would like you to swim. Get in trouble between those flags and help is on the way, get in trouble outside them and they may struggle finding you.
A reference point is simply our personal boundary markers that indicate when we are starting to drift.
Some could be:
*Regular church attendance
*Tithing
*Telling your family daily that you love them
*Hanging out with friends
*Waist measurement ( Maybe you are a 34 but if you reach a 38 then a little alarm goes off and motivates you back to the gym)
All of us are prone t drifting! So let me encourage you to discover your “driftability” and set a few reference points around it so that we won’t drift away.
Speaking of drifting I cant see these kids at all now!!

STOMACH GROWLS

Yesterday marked the first day of our 21 days of momentum, which is Elevation Church's 21 days of prayer and fasting. Life is filled with love hate relationships. I hate going to the gym but I love the results that come when you are finished. I sometimes don't feel like working but love to spend money. I don't like to fast but love what fasting does for me. People always have said, "After 3 days you wont be hungry". Now I have done some long fasts before and not once have I had a relief from hunger, in fact it stalks me day and night. I notice every ad on T.V for fast food, I can smell food from several kilometres away, there was even one time that I almost ate my dogs plate of Pal...I could see those chunky meaty pieces. Anyway what it accomplishes in me is way better than a hot chicken with steak fries and gravy with some hot bread...there I go again.

I was reading this morning in Genesis 21 about Abraham. 100 years of age when his promised child came to pass, now that's a long time to wait for a promise. I get impatient having to wait days sometimes yet Abraham kept hope in his heart that God hadn't put him on the shelf and forgotten him. God give me that kind of faith!
I think that's what I like about fasting it places my soul in the "High Alert" stage and stirs me to pursue Him and demand His attention. I think God loves it when we chase him with a relentless passion that refuses to give up.
"Pursuit is the proof of passion", we will chase what we are passionate about. Think about it, what do you need to do today to kick start your 2008?

I went to the movies yesterday to see the long awaited I am legend and I wasn't disappointed but be warned it is a guys movie, definitely don't take your girl there for a first (or it will be your last) date. The rest of my family hated it as they don't see Zombies as realistic...please pray for them.

Tomorrow is church where we are kicking off a series called "Discovering the will of God" in the morning and "Supernatural" (hmmm zombies) in the evening.

I love preaching. The best book that I have ever read on the subject is by Andy Stanley called "Communicating for a change". He say that all communicators have to know what the “A-HA” moment is. Its the part of their message that gets you most excited.

For tomorrow morning its "Do I believe that Gods guidance is the cause of my movement or an effect my movement causes?"

Do I believe that God gives me a map and its my job to find where and what it is? Or do I believe that God doesn’t do maps but gives us a compass, and that compass is the inbuilt guidance system of passions, gifts and leanings.

Remember back to when the latest fad was the WWJD jewelry and clothing? I have to make a decision “What would Jesus do?” In some ways this thinking has hindered the church because it has sat back to afraid to move unless it’s what Jesus exactly wants.

Psalm 37:23 (NLT)

The steps of the godly are directed by the Lord. He delights in every detail of their lives.

Notice its the steps..I believe that God gives us an inbuilt guidance system that directs us as we move. So go on step out you never know where it may lead you.

I AM...?

The weather is so bad here that all fireworks and new year celebraions have been cancelled which is going to make it a long night for someone like me who struggles staying awake past 10pm. So what can I do now? There are no decent movies out. Its 3 days and counting, that's how long until Will Smiths new movie "I am legend" comes out here at the Gold Coast. Its been a while since my taste buds have been aroused with the release of something that isn't another chick flick but a movie that seems to be filled with enough testosterone to run a small city. Basically its a story about a plague that hits the world and leaves one survivor living in New York who realizes that he isn't alone.
The title of this movie is great it kind of reminds me of another person that was big on the "I am" statements. Throughout the bible Jesus continually was telling people who He was.
I am the vine, I am the way the truth and the life, I am the bread of life, I am the light of the world, I am the door, I am the resurrection and the life and many more.
One thing that is at work here is that Jesus always spoke out who was and then walked toward those words. He didn't wait to feel like He as the "resurrection and life" He spoke it out and His life went toward those word pictures that He painted of Himself.
Our inner dialogue is what we listen to most.
We are doing a series in our evening services this coming February called, "Identity Theft" and we are wanting to help people know who they are. Most of us somewhere in life have had our identity threatened or erased (Jason Bourne) so we struggle today with our insecurities and fears.

Proverbs 29:25 (Msg)
The fear of human opinion disables; trusting in God protects you from that.

So this New Years eve complete this statement, "I am.....?"
Ugly, fat, stupid, useless or do you want to begin to see yourself as someone of worth, beauty, character and strength. Your "I am" will determine you 2008.
Have a great new years eve celebration and see you next year.

I LOVE WIND

Zech. 4:6 (NIV)
So he said to me, "This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the Lord Almighty.

These past few days the Gold Coast has been hammered by almost cyclonic winds that are set to worsen over the next days. Beaches are being eroded as the waves and winds pound the coastline. And in amongst it all there are the few local crazies who love to be out amongst it all to catch that one (maybe their last) good wave.

In preparing for church this morning I was reading about a different kind of wind that blew in amongst the disciples many years ago and empowered them to go and make a difference in their world. We had our end of year anointing service today. Its where we lay hands on every person and anoint them with oil for the year ahead...it was awesome.
I have been "leading" in some form, in church now for over 22 years and still know nothing that cures peoples complaints, discouragement, anger, lust or any other anchor that tries to weigh us down than a touch of the Holy Spirit. As we prayed for people today tears flowed for some, peace for others and strength for all. Life can bring some fairly brutal blows, we need God in our lives. As a pastor I need God to help me pray (I don't like to), I need Him to help me love people (I don't want to), to stand against temptation (I want to give into it) bottom line is...I need God.

DONT START ALLOWING THE FIRE OR ZEAL IN YOUR LIFE TO DIE DOWN AND DONT ADJUST YOUR LIFE DOWN TO ACCEPT THE LESSER FIRE AND FLOW OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

This coming year 2008 lets not try and do it in our own strength, let the wind blow over and through all of us and lets live a God conscious life.

WHO'S FAT

Three weeks ago I had an appointment with my doctor for a total checkup. Body mass, blood tests, fitness, stress and a couple of other tests that are better left between me and him...if you know what I mean. Today I went back for the 30 page report that he had created to inform me on what is going great and what needs some tweaking. Fortunately most is fantastic and I am a fine speciman of Australian manhood. This check up is all about prevention because as we were all told as kids, prevention is better than cure.
Today for lunch I met with friends of mine who pastor a great church in a country town called Kempsey and we were talking about how many of our friends who started off with a fire for God and were at some time working in a full time capacity, sadly many now had left their spouses, walked away from the church, grown bitter, fallen sexually or just become tired in the race.
If prevention is better than cure, if we really believe that, then why don't we allow our lives to be a little more transparent? Why cant we take a risk and open our inner world of thoughts and struggles to people that we trust? Is that the problem...trust? Insecurity and rejection are never far away from each of us..it stalks us because it likes us.
One of the characteristics of leaders in this generation is their openness and vulnerability, they aren't afraid of admitting their own issues. Not from a "I'm a loser your a loser so lets lose together", attitude, but from the strength that comes from confronting our inner demons with faith and allowing Gods searchlight through accountability with TRUSTWORTHY people to keep us in the zone. So come on take a risk prevention really is better than cure.