The Nehemiah Project

I just left Youth Quest 2009 in Greensboro, NC. I had the incredible privilege of being under the teaching of some of America's GREATEST pastors, preachers, and teachers. Steven Furtick, Ron Luce, Chris Hill, and the worship of Steve Fee. Not to mention the great relationships that were formed.

But, something began to turn inside of me during these meetings, that I didn't like. I began to feel a sense of anxiousness, or uncomfortable feelings. Why? Not because these guys did a bad job or said something that I didn't agree with, in fact they brought the HEAT, every single time! Then why?

That was the question I asked myself throughout the weekend, then Monday night (the last night) I realized and understood why. Simply because, the dream and passion inside of me began to twist and turn. Why didn't I like it? Because it had been a while since I'd really felt it MOVE!

I have a dream and passion to speak to teenagers by the thousands, and help them understand what a REAL relationship with Jesus Christ is, and to help them unlock explosive destiny. I WILL NOT STOP UNTIL IT IS ACCOMPLISHED!!!!

So, again, why was that a bad feeling? Simply because it was inside of me, it began to move, and suddenly I realized something incredible...EVERYTHING that has happened and is happening is setting me up for the passions/dreams of GOD!

I realized that a man by the name of Nehemiah also had a dream and a passion that was placed inside of him at a young age and it hurt him to the core. There were times where he would push the dream and passion back and it wouldn't hurt anymore. BUT, there were also times when something would take place, or he would sit under some teaching/leadership that would MOVE that very dream/passion!

And Nehemiah quickly began to see something extraordinary...EVERYTHING that led him, big or small, to serve under the king, was setting him up to complete the dream/passion that God had placed inside of him. And Nehemiah was then, because of his obedience, released to complete BIG things under the name and power of the King of Kings!

But, just as Chris Hill said last night in his service, we need to go to Jerusalem and sit, until we receive the POWER! The power is in the timing, and the timing is the power.

I'm a person that dreams big, and a person that has a big passion. I'm currently a youth pastor, and will be for a while longer, I'm sure (God willing), but I have a lot of dreams, some of which have taken place, some of which will take place.

- Become a full-time evangelist

- Write a book

- Draw a picture for THOUSANDS of God lovers of what a God lover REALLY is

- Plant a church

- Become the best follower of God that I can be

- Become the greatest husband for my wife that I can be

- Become the most fun/incredible father in the world

- Become a mentor and leader to people near and far

- MORE...

I don't dream, wish, or desire these things simply because I want to be "famous" or "known" but because I believe God has given me a gift and a voice and the ability to relate to people in order to use.

I REFUSE to let ANYONE or ANYTHING take this away from me. As Satan will surely try to use whatever means necessary to take it away, I REFUSE to give it to someone or something that didn't give it to me in the first place!

I made a vow last night, God will always direct my steps, perpare my voice, and impart my knowledge. And I will begin taking steps even today, to begin working towards the passions/dreams God has placed in my life! Will you?

Doctors

1 Timothy 1:8-11 and Luke 5:31-32 are both parallel verses of scripture. Not only are they parallel but they are also incredible challenging.

What if I were to tell you that possibly, just maybe, what we know as church today isn't necessarily what Christ set it out to be.

See these verses have shaken my theology and way of thinking. After reading these something hit me, and hit me hard... what if what I've known and done for 23 years is just the TIP OF THE ICEBERG? What if, just for fun, church today, as it is seen and portrayed is nothing more than a resting place for everything else?

These verses clearly relay a very important and incredible message: I (being Jesus) didn't come for those of you that know me, I came for those who don't! So, where does that leave the ones that do know Him? IN CHURCH! What about the one's that don't know Him? OUTSIDE OF CHURCH!

We've created a culture that believes that church is where you go when you are saved, sanctified, and filled with the Holy Ghost. If you aren't all 3, don't come in until you are. What would happen if each and every church, would take ownership begin to work within the confines of the original church?

Imagine with me, just for laughs, that the church was this:

- An encouraging, inspirational learning place to come weekly with other believers to be FED.

- A place to come and equip each other to do the REAL work.. OUTSIDE of the church!

- A place that didn't care about HOW we reached people, as long as we did.

- A place of desire and passion that longed for the heart of God in order to touch the heart of people?

Jesus ran after and sought God with angst, and power, and might many times during his short stay on this Earth, all for one purpose, to touch the hearts of the lost, and connect them to the heart of the Father.

I don't believe when the church was established it was to be a holding tank of doctor's or a place for people that are perfectly healthy to come and be "hypocondriacts" who act like something's wrong, when if we would simply grab the POWER and RELEASE of God, those problems wouldn't be there anyway.

Church should be an equipping place, not an acting place. We should come here to equip and help others worship, learn, grown, and move... but at some point, it's time to stop arguing and fighting over petty things and get our butts out of our well-formed seats and DO SOMETHING!

I've grown up in church and been involvled in ministry for 8 years now. I've seen/heard/experienced a lot. But, what if, REALLY, church was just the tip of the iceberg?

I think we do an injustice when we make our members and our fellow people believe that the ministry and connection to God is done INSIDE the church, when in all reality, it should be done OUTSIDE the church, and discussed INSIDE the church.

When the Philistines set up to fight the Israelites, and the Israelites lost, the Philistines stole the Ark of God. 5 tribes later, they FINALLY got some divine revelation...if we aren't HONORING God, there is judgment. The Philistines didn't want the Ark in order to HONOR it, they merely wanted to HOUSE it. Judgment was cast for HOUSING, blessings were REIGNED down for HONORING!

My question is really simple for me and everyone else out there: What am I doing? Am I really seeking to work within the confines of the church AND outside of them? Or am I comfortable simply HOUSING the presence of God (Ark of God)? I believe people that are completely RUINED for God, can't help but think, THERE'S GOT TO BE MORE TO IT!

(by no means am I "slamming" or demeaning the purpose of church, I am simply understanding there is more than JUST church as we know it. I believe church is great and important, when connected with the heart as well)

Doing Things Differently

You know, in the story of Cain and Abel, Cain did something very tricky. He lured his brother, Abel into a field where he could murder and then bury his brother in the field, where he thought no one would know. He said "Hey, Abel, come here, let me know you this. Meet me out there." Then as Abel showed up, little did he know that his life was ending shortly after.

A lot of times, I believe churches and church people do that. I believe we will ask someone to come check out something great in our fields, meet us there. There's great worship, great preaching, great friends, come check it out with me! YOU DON'T WANT TO MISS THIS! And when they come to the "field" or the church, they are left out to dry, not knowing that in just minutes their lives may end. How will they end? They could be shunned, they could be frowned upon, they may not understand something, they may be asked to sit in another seat because "my family sits here every week". I believe churches have become people and places to HOUSE the presence of God rather than HONOR the presence!

What does that mean? That means, we like to come to church and get the goosebumps because the air conditioning is too cold (HOUSING), but when it comes to welcoming/caring/loving someone new or different it's a chore (HONORING). The blessings of God come when we HONOR, not HOUSE! See 1 Samuel 4-6.

I believe that we as a church need to come back together as a BODY not a denomination. We need to unify the means by which we all believe, Jesus Christ, and allow HIM to be our guardian and our love.

People say, "we can't be too seeker", "Atmosphere doesn't matter", "GOD is the draw"... which there are parts of each of those statements that I agree with, I also understand that Joe Blow out walking down the road that doesn't care about God isn't going to be drawn by God, he will be drawn by the HONOR of the presence, exhibited by the relationships, culture, and love in the church and the church people.

I believe we need to all realize one thing: Christianity isn't about perfection, it's about relationship! To have a successful relationship, it takes investment, intimacy, and sacrifice... 3 things I think a lot of us have forgotten. But I think God is calling us back to!

So what will I do? I will refuse to allow myself to simply HOUSE the presence, I will descipline myself to HONOR the presence. I refuse to be so stuck on a tradition that I can't see the importance of people, drawn together by the love of Christ! Whether that means a new song, a different atmosphere, or something else isn't up to me, that's HIS decision!

Never Let Go

I was watching one of my favorite shows the other day "Dirtiest Jobs" and they were doing a show in Alaska. And as these cars drove on the ice, the ice would break and consequently the cars would sink. Well, somehow, they would be down there long enough for it to ice over, and then the DOT would end up having to remove these vehicles. They showed the process of the removal and it was really interesting.
As I began to think about this just today, I realized something. There's some of us out there who have dreams,passions, desires, and a "push" inside of us that maybe we had forgotten about. Maybe it's been buried or sunk for a while, and maybe it's time for the DOT to remove it.
Nehemiah has always been a great story to me. This guy, A CUPBEARER FOR THE KING, had a dream/passion bigger than him. And it would not let him go. He thought about it, prayed about it, eat/slept this passion, and he even cried about it. It was so noticeably "ruining" him that the king noticed and pursued a conversation with Nehemiah about this. When asked Nehemiah began to pour his heart out to the king, which in turned granted him permission and provided a way for him to accomplish his passion.
GOD removed from inside of him what had been festering and "baking" in his spirit for a while. One thing about it though, Nehemiah NEVER let his dream completely sink, he was just waiting for the right equipment to remove it.
WE (I say "WE" on purpose) need to make sure that our dream never gets sunk in an icy ocean. If it has been, we should "seek" so we can "find" in the frozen graveyard of dreams...

Signs, Signs, Everywhere Are Signs...

The popular song by The Five Man Electrical Band, (don't ask how I know that), hits a chord with me. It always has.
"Signs, signs, everywhere signs, blocking out the scenery, breaking my mind. Do this, don't do that, can't you read the signs?"
If you think about it there are signs everywhere. Arbys, McDonalds, Payless Shoes, Target, Wal-mart, the local car wash...signs ARE everywhere. But what if there are other signs everywhere, only the can only be seen by certain people. You know, kind of like "I see dead people", except it's "I see weird signs".
1 Corinthians 10:13 "No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it."
That scripture has been turned into a quote time and time again. What if the part of "...will provide the way of escape also..." isn't just talking about hard times, but just life in general. Stick with me.
You know we go through things in life a lot that aren't necessarily "hard" or "tough" they are just, well, situations for lack of a better term. And what if while we are seeking our loving Father for direction, guidance, and such things, he is showing us signs. Signs that only we can see if we are close to our Father and sensitive enough to realize He has a big plan for us, beyond what we can imagine. You know what I'm talking about. That sign that tells you over and over again not to be with that guy/girl, or that sign that tells you that what you're about to do isn't the smartest decision, and God's showing us signs that only we can see.
The deal with signs is really kind of a simple thing though: we can listen to them or we don't really have to. I mean think about it, you see a "Wet Paint" sign, you can touch the wet paint or not. It's your call, the sign is just a warning.
What if the words of the Five Man Electrical Band song "Signs" really does have a spiritual meaning to our lives and our relationships with our Father. So, as we go through life, and if we have a working relationship with Christ, I think it would almost go without saying that it would be incredibly smart for us to look for the signs that are "blocking the scenery and breaking my mind."

Paris Hilton's New BFF

This week I begin a new series in The Experience called "HIS New BFF". It is based on the new, extremely stupid, series of shows by Paris Hilton called Paris Hilton: My New BFF. There are 18 people, 16 girls & 2 guys, that backstab, talk junk, hate, and despise each other just to get the attention of Paris Hilton, of all people.

Well, as I flipped by this show the other night on MTV and I began to watch the few minutes I could stomach, I realized why I was so disgusted by the show. It wasn't because Paris Hilton had anything to do with it, or even the people that were involved it was simply the idea of what people were willing to do to gain the approval and attention of one PERSON.

Then my mind flipped to the Youth Pastor in me...am I trying to gain the approval of people or of God? Would I be willing to do all of that and more just to hang out with God a little bit? Just to be in His presence for a few moments of my life? And then I asked myself, would anyone else?

We will pay $45 for a Univeristy of South Carolina football ticket, or $9 to go see a 1 1/2 hour movie. We will make the sacrifice of rearranging a schedule just to appease our boy/girlfriends, yet will we do that for the creator of the heavens and the earth?

My pastor said something quite interesting today. "If we won't praise Him, we're dumber than rocks. Jesus said that." After looking at him like he had lost what little bit he had, He said "The Bible says that the rocks will praise Him if we won't." And then it made sense. We ARE dumber than rocks if we don't get it!

I'm concerned by the lack of desire, passion, and action that our lives show towards the God that sits on a throne, and has praises sung for Him every minute of every day, yet He still desires for us to sit in His lap and love Him. He has EVERYTHING, but He WANTS us.

I once heard a quote that went like this, "Happiness is not getting what you want, but wanting what you have." That's the great thing about God. If we are made in His image, and He calls us to a new and higher level of happiness and joy in life, doesn't that mean that He is happy and joyous. If he is happy, by the above quote which I sincerely believe in, then He wants what He has. He has the believers in Christ, yet there is a sense of loving and longing for others that He hasn't fulfilled. God, the Father, creator of the universe longs for YOU and I to be in that relationship with Him.

Yet, we would rather do everything we can to spend time with anyone but Him. My question is: will I do anything I can to spend time with Him? Will I love Him that much? That is a question that can't be answered in a simple yes or no, only in action.

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