Chase the Lion, Discipleship, Ministry, Worship, Wrestling With Scripture

Chase the Lion Week 2 Notes

This week, our Chase the Lion series challenged us to Face our Fears. If you have not read In the Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day I highly recommend that you pick up a copy today. I hope that I am doing the material justice and I hope that you will find these notes encouraging as you stare down the lions in your life. Remember, we serve a God that is greater than any 500lbs Lion of a problem. God is bigger than your biggest failure and stronger than your strongest habit. Freedom from fear and discouragement is found in His mighty arms. Face your fears with the courage of Almighty God!

Chase the Lion: Facing Fears
Fear is a real and powerful emotion. There is no getting around this fact. The problem is that Satan knows this and uses fear and discouragement take away our spiritual trust and faith is our Almighty Father. Satan want to neutralize us spiritually.

“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8 TNIV)

When we live in fear we basically press pause on the DVR of our lives. We live in a way that keeps us from moving forward and we get stuck in bad attitudes, poor mistakes, and debilitating sin.

I’d be willing to bet that our man Benaiah was not fearless. When you are staring down the barrel of a spear or up against 2 warriors or facing a 500lb lion fear is definitely part of the equation.

I think too often we look at our Biblical heroes and ascribe to them an aura of fearlessness and otherworldliness. We mistakenly believe that we could never live lives as rich and full as Moses or Elijah or Peter or the Apostles. They were strong. They stood their ground. They were fearless. Really?

– We forget that Moses stuttered.
– We forget that Elijah, immediately after defeating the 400 prophets of Baal, fled like a little school girl because Jezebel threatened him.
– We forget that Peter sank in the sea of Galilee.
– We forget the apostles scattered after Jesus was arrested.

Unfortunately, we cannot fully live God-honoring lives if we are paralyzed by fear.

The good news is that we serve a big God! Our God is bigger than anything that threatens you or frightens you. The key to living a full life isn’t in becoming fearless but in putting your trust in a God that is bigger than your biggest fear.

Did you know that we are only born with two innate fears? The only fears that we are born with are the fear of falling and the fear of loud noises. That means that every other fear- from the fear of going to school (didaskaleinophobia) to the fear of puppets (pupaphobia)- is learned or picked up somewhere along the way.

But if fears and be learned than they can be unlearned. This is great news!

Scripture gives us some some lessons about unlearning fear.

“If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.” (1 John 4:15–18 TNIV)

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.” (John 14:1 TNIV)

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you” (Colossians 3:15–16 TNIV)

“I write to you, young people, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one.” (1 John 2:14 TNIV)

Lion chasers aren’t fearless. Lion chasers have just let God help them unlearn fears that were keeping their lives stagnant and captive. Don’t let mental lions keep you from experiencing everything God has to offer. The fear of uncertainty, the fear of embarrassment, the fear of failure, the fear of the past- these all loose their power because they are exposed by the Light.

When we put of faith and hope and trust in God fear is overtaken by courage. Courage is doing what is right regardless of circumstances and consequences.

Despite fear, Jesus had the courage to face the cross. He was able to do what is right regardless of circumstances or consequences because he trusted the Father to carry him through. Fear had no power over Jesus because fear has no power over our God.

Have you given fear too much reign over your life? Are you afraid of your past? Be strong and very courageous! Are you afraid of your mistakes? Be strong and very courageous! Are you afraid of the unknown future? Be strong and very courageous!

Don’t let fear separate your from the life that God has in store for you. Be strong and very courageous! Put your hope in God!

Discipleship, Ethos, Jesus, Ministry, Remarkable

Making Jesus Famous

If you have not read The Tipping Point, Blink, or Outliers than you are probably unfamiliar with one of the greatest storytellers and one of the most brilliant writers around- the great Malcolm Gladwell. Gladwell’s latest, What the Dog Saw and Other Adventures, is a collection of his favorite articles written for The New Yorker. Gladwell has the uncanny knack of drawing you into something that is at first mundane and somewhat uninteresting. However, you quickly begin to find a hidden nugget of wisdom or truth right smack dab in the middle of a story about Hush Puppies or airline disasters.

That’s why it came as no surprise to me that as I was reading his article about Ron Popeil last night I was reminded of the most important truth for authentic God-honoring ministry- the key is making Jesus famous.

You don’t know who Ron Popeil is? I’m certain that you know about his greatest product to date: The Ronco Showtime Rotisserie & BBQ. The tag line is unforgettable: (Say it with me) Just Set it & Forget it!!! The Showtime has sold millions of units and made a billion dollars all because of a twenty eight minute and thirty second informercial filmed and financed and starring Ron Popeil. According to Gladwell, Popeil “didn’t use a single focus group. He had no market researchers, R&D teams, public relations advisers, Madison Avenue advertising companies, or business consultants. He dreamed up something new in his kitchen and went out and pitched it himself.”

Gladwell makes it perfectly clear that in the informercial- in any of his infomercials- Ron Popeil is decidedly not the star. The product is the star! Ron built a product that is designed well- designed in such a way that the user can see “the magic happen” and Ron simply shows the thing off. He lets the machine sell itself!

So what does that have to do with making Jesus famous? I am NOT comparing Jesus to a stupid rotisserie or even saying that ministry is about selling Jesus as a cheap product. Repeat: I am NOT comparing Jesus to a stupid rotisserie or even saying that ministry is about selling Jesus as a cheap product. Heaven forbid that I reduce the King of Kings to a thing like that! However, I have learned a valuable lesson from Mr. Popeil.

As a minister of Jesus Christ the greatest way for me to make Jesus famous is to allow people to see more of Jesus than they see of me.

Jesus said that when He is lifted up, then He will draw everyone unto himself. (John 12:32) That is a powerful promise! The power of love was made evident when Jesus was lifted up on the cross. The power of new life was made known when Jesus was raised from the dead. As Jesus ascended into heaven the power of mission was given to us. The power of Jesus is still best understood and radically experienced when we lift Him up to a dying and broken world.

If we would lift Jesus up higher than our churches, higher than our ministries, higher than ourselves… If we would make it our goal to make the name and person of Jesus Christ more famous than ourselves… can you imagine what would happen?

Do you want to make a difference in the lives of others? Do you want to see marriages healed and families strengthened? Do you want to see people released from lives marked by fear, greed, pain, and sorrow?

Than get out of the way and lift high the One who can really change broken lives.

Lift up Jesus Christ- put Him at the center of your ministry and life- and let him be the star.

Bible Study, Discipleship, Ethos, Life, Prayer, Small Groups

A Prayer for Small Groups

One of my go-to ministry resource sites is Simply Youth Ministry. Their stuff is so great and highly customizable that I find myself going back to them time and time again. In my inbox this morning I saw their weekly training email and I found a wonderful blessing: A Prayer for Small Groups. I wanted to share this with everyone because I think it is a wonderful prayer and reminder that discipleship happens when a small group of believers gather together to “do life together” in the presence of Almighty God. In these small groups, God is glorified, faith is fostered, people are cared for, and the Church marches on!

A Prayer for Small Groups
by Kevin Mahaffy, Jr.

Father, today as our small group meets
I pray that each person will feel your heartbeat
May they know they are special, they’re cared for, they’re loved
Your kingdom come, on earth as above

Our time together, though not long only short
May it seed true communion with You in our hearts
Help us see Your image inside of each other
Teach us what it means to truly love one another

Away from the big, the loud, the flash
Just a few of us here to share and to laugh
To discuss Your Word, to share and go deeper
To talk real life and be our brother’s keeper

Praying for one another as we journey through life
May we encourage each other to reflect Your light
Let us always be inclusive, welcoming, warm
A safe place for all in the midst of life’s storms

Lord we all come from a myriad of places
Give us wisdom and kindness and grace and patience
Thank you for unity in the midst of diversity
Make us one in Christ, true Christian community

Bless those abundantly who have opened their home
Upon their house, God we pray Your Shalom
May it be filled with laughter, with joy, and with vision
In return for their giving, God we pray Your provision

And let us, O Lord, never ever forget
That there’s someone else out there who has yet to connect
Your eyes and your mouth to see and invite
That not one, O Lord, would be alone in the fight

It’s a mystery to me why they seem to be Your preference
But amazingly in the end small groups make a great big difference
Life on life, Jesus you modeled it back then
So I’ll do the same, in Jesus name, Amen.

Discipleship, Leadership, Ministry, Resources, Wrestling With Scripture

Chase the Lion Week 1 Notes

This past Friday, I had the honor of helping to kick off a new men’s Bible study at our church. I am teaching through one of my favorite books, In the Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day by Mark Batterson. Week one is the introduction to the study and I wanted to post my notes here on the blog as well. My thanks to Mark Batterson for his material and for his passion to see God’s people become fully engaged disciples. My hope is that these notes will encourage you to draw closer to Jesus in the midst of your challenges and struggles.

Chase the Lion Week 1: Defying Odds
Your view of God- how big or how small He is to you- will determine your spiritual future. Ask yourself: How big is your God? As A.W. Tozar said, “A low view of God is the cause of a hundred lesser evils. A high view of God is the solution to ten thousand temporal problems.”

The story of Benaiah is found in 2Samuel 23:20-23. Benaiah was not the odds on favorite in any of these situations. Out maned and out speared, not to mention the specs of the King of the jungle- Full grown lions weigh 500lbs and run 35 mph. These were crazy scenarios that would make many of us turn tail and run! But not Benaiah. “You have to admit: these victories look pretty good on your resume for the head of security for the king of Israel.”

What seemed like the worst experiences for Benaiah ended up being his big break. God used the most difficult situations in Benaiah’s life to mold him, prepare him, and lead him through to greater things.

Trusting in God to deal with and carry us through our most difficult challenges, experiences, opportunities, and failures requires us to have the proper perspective of our Heavenly Father. He is the creator and sustainer, he is the victor, he is God above all. He is bigger than an 500lb lion of a problem.

“Chasing lions is not about some foolish act of dumb courage, it is about defying odds because we believe in a God who is bigger than what we can comprehend or control.” – Mark Batterson

I want to challenge you to a paradigm shift. Maybe, right now, God is using your toughest challenge to teach you something, to take you to the next level, to reveal himself more fully to you. Are you going to have the courage to go after what God has called you to? He has called you to:

– Have an intimate and deep relationship with his Son, Jesus Christ.
– Fully rely on the Holy Spirit to guide and direct you
– Build strong, healthy families that honor God
– Determine, with His help, to have a rock solid, fire proof marriage
– Leave a legacy of faith that passes down through generations

“There are some parts of being a dad that I can’t outsource if i want to raise Godly kids. There are elements of my marriage that may seem insignificant. But in reality, they’ll determine whether my marriage is won or lost.” – Steven Furtick, pastor of Elevation Church

Everyday, we are faced with seemingly insurmountable odds. The world wants to see us fail- if we fail then they believe that our God fails. Fear not! Christ has overcome the world! (John 16:33; 1Cor 1:18; 2Cor 4:1-18)

The Courage to Defy Odds begins with the proper perspective of who God is and what he is capable of. The proper perspective than drives us to humility before God because we know that while we cannot handle these obstacles on our own, God is fully capable of delivering us through any situation we might face. Even though this runs counterintuitive to the way we want to operate, we must submit to God because his thoughts are not our thoughts, and his ways are not our ways. (Isaiah 55:6-9)

Questions for this week:
Is God bigger than your biggest problem?
Is God bigger than your greatest fear?
Is God bigger than your worst failure?

Live Music, Music, Popular Culture, Remarkable, U2

Scenes from U2360

I had an absolute blast at the U2 concert on Monday. Unfortunately, my camera battery died halfway through the show so these are the best of best shots I was able to capture. I cannot explain to you how great this show was. U2 has ruined all other bands for me.

I was able to catch them in Atlanta last week and the show was great. the Dallas show however, was over the top! The energy level was amped up, Bono’s voice sounded crisp, and the whole thing was just that much better. What an experience! See ya next time boys!

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General

Recharge

I’m off to Catalyst in the morning. This conference is always one of the big highlights of my year and I am very much looking forward to a chance to connect with God and to recharge the old batteries.

This year the conference is completely SOLD OUT!!! 12,000 of my closest friends will be gathered in the arena for a few days of worship and incredible speakers. I think I am most looking forward to hearing Matt Chandler, Francis Chan, and Reggie Joiner. This looks to be a great couple of days.

To kick of this great week I’ll be seeing U2 tomorrow night in the Georgia Dome. It doesn’t get much better than this. Life is sweet!!!

Discipleship, Ethos, Jesus, Worship, Wrestling With Scripture

14 Jesus Did Not Say

Perry Noble is a great young minister in South Carolina. He is the pastor of NewSpring Church and he maintains a great blog. I find myself there several times a week reading his thoughts on ministry, parenthood, and leadership. Yesterday he wrote about 14 things that Jesus did not say but, for what ever reason, our culture often believes he said them. Often times we give weight and credence to these lies because our actions live them out.

Let’s avoid these mistruths and perversions of the message of Jesus and boldly proclaim- in word and deed- the powerful truth of the Son of God.

We get things messed up from time to time…especially the words of Jesus…here is what He did NOT say…
#1 – “They will know you are my disciples by your theology, and the arrogance that accompanies it.” (John 13:35)

#2 – “Dream really small dreams and make sure you never ask for anything big!” (John 14:12-14, Psalm 2:8)

#3 – “If someone doesn’t believe just like you believe…make sure to do all you can to attack, criticize and beat them down as much as possible.” (Mark 9:38-41)

#4 – “Be tolerant of everyone…I am one of the many ways to God.” (John 14:6)

#5 – “Make sure you make the church about you…that you are served well…please, don’t do anything that might cause you any type of inconvenience. My goal is for you to be happy!” (Matthew 20:28, Luke 9:23-24)

#6 – “Please, whatever you do, DO NOT tell people the good news…keep it to yourself! The reason I died on the cross is so that you could get into really small groups of people and talk about ‘deep things’ that aren’t going to help anyone when it comes to eternity.” (Matthew 28:20, Mark 16:15, Luke 24:48, John 20:21, Acts 1:8, Romans 10:14, Romans 10:17)

#7 – “Don’t EVER try anything new…don’t ever take a risk…don’t ever take a step of faith. Be AVERAGE!” (Isaiah 43:18-19, Hebrews 11:1, Hebrews 11:6)

#8 – “You can follow me and it will not impact your money at all!” (Matthew 6:19-24)

#9 – “Pray a prayer to get out of hell…and then live however you want.” (John 14:15, John 14:21)

#10 – “You can do it without me!” (John 15:5)

#11 – “I don’t expect you OR your church to be fruitful in any way.” (John 15:4)

#12 – “Isolate yourself from the world!” (John 17:15)

#13 – “Make sure there is a time when you question my word because it will one day be no longer relevant.” (Luke 21:33)

#14 – “Stop crying out to me in desperation…can’t you see I’m busy.” (Mark 10:46-52)

Link

Music

Put A Little Fixin On It

I am a huge sucker for 90s grunge and alternative music. Nobody epitomizes 90s grange and alternative better than one of my favorite bands: Pearl Jam. While most rock acts from the 90s have gone the way of the dodo, Eddie Vedder and company have continued to release album after album with great new material each time. Pearl Jam was the musical guest on the very first episode of The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien and they totally rocked out the first single from their latest release. The self-produced album, Backspacer, is a good mix of tunes and I’ll be giving it a very thorough listen on my road trip this week. Not only is the first single an upbeat rocker, it also has some great lyrics. I was taken by surprise with the over all positive and cheerful message of “The Fixer”. That first verse is pretty great.

When somethings dark, let me shed a little light on it
When somethings cold, let me put a little fire on it
If somethings old, I wanna put a bit of shine on it
When somethings gone, I wanna fight to get it back again

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, fight to get it back again
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

When somethings broke, I wanna put a bit of fixin on it
When somethings bored, I wanna put a little exciting on it
If somethings low, I wanna put a little high on it
When somethings lost, I wanna fight to get it back again

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, fight to get it back again
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

When signals cross, I wanna put a little straight on it
If there’s no love, I wanna try to love again

I’ll say your prayers, I’ll take your side
I’ll find us a way to make light
I’ll dig your grave, we’ll dance and sing
What’s saved could be one last lifetime

Hey, hey, hey
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, fight to get it back again
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Fight to get it back again, yeah, yeah, yeah
Fight to get it back again, yeah, yeah, yeah
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

The Fixer
Backspacer
Pearl Jam

Facebook, Ministry, Popular Culture, Resources, Youth Ministry

10 Ways to Use Facebook In Your Youth Ministry

Create a group page or a fan page for your youth group. This will allow you to send out group messages, post group photos, and create group events all in one place. Create a group today, invite your teens and their parents to join, and then begin building your group by adding some photos and creating an event for your Sunday morning class.

Send birthday messages to your teens and their parents. Facebook reminds you which friends have a birthday coming up. Post a quick birthday message on your teens wall and let them know that you are thinking about them on this special day.

Use your status to brag on your teens. In the status bar Facebook asks, “What are you thinking?” Let everyone know that you are thinking about your teens by posting a quick message about how well the retreat went or how proud you are of what they accomplished at the service project.

Encourage your teens with messages on their wall. Maybe one of your teens received an award or maybe they passed their driving test or maybe they are feeling hurt or frustrated. Posting a message that says “Way to go!” or “I’m proud of you!” on their wall let’s your teens know that they aren’t just someone in the youth group- they really matter to you.

Post photos from events and trips. Upload photos of your students on your wall or organize your photos into folders.

Tag your teens in photos. Facebook lets you tag the individuals in pictures. When you tag a person they receive a message that they have been identified in a picture. Tagging your teens in photos helps drive them to the photo and often they will comment about the event with memories from the trip.

Create an event to remind students and parents of things coming up on the calendar. Invite students and their parents to a devotional or a lock-in or your Sunday night worship event. Facebook lets you create an event page and send our invitations. The students can then RSVP giving you an idea of how many to expect.

Comment on the status updates from your teens. Reading your teen’s status updates gives you insight into what’s going on in their lives, what they are thinking, or what they are feeling at any given time. Comment on their status to engage them in conversation.

Use your profile pic to rotate in pictures of you and your teens.

Create an event page for a particular class or study and use that page to continue the conversation, thoughts, and lessons beyond the meeting time. Link to articles, post questions, or upload a summary of that day’s class notes to your Facebook event to help students process your Bible study throughout the week. You could also post thoughts or questions beforehand to stir up dialogue or prepare your teens for what you’ll be covering.

The Goal Is Soul