#Catalyst2014-Change Makers-Day 2

Loved this quote from Lysa Terkeurst

“No time spend recording God’s faithful presence in our lives is ever a waste!”

My blogging is simply another way for me to “record God’s faithful presence” in my life; thus NO TIME IS WASTED! My prayer for “The Blog”(sounds like The Blob-and I can’t help but laugh every time I write it:)  is that it draws people to Jesus for themselves, encourages them in their walk with Christ and inspires them to “record God’s faithful presence” in their own lives!  Deut. 10:11 says “Take your journey before the people…” and The Blog is just a way of “taking my journey before the people!”   There is nothing special about “my particular journey” but there is something CRAZY SPECIAL ABOUT MY GOD! “Seek ME and you will find ME is you seek  ME with all your heart!”(Jer 29:13)  The cool thing about “my GOD” is that HE IS SO AVAILABLE TO ALL!  I believe He loves it when we use “personal possessive” when we refer to HIM!  HE refers  to us as HIS!!!! Choose HIM!!! You will never be sorry!

Journaling with Jesus has truly transformed my life! Notebooks of stuff no one will ever see but me and Jesus(of course until I die and then my kids can have at them:)-prayers, conversations, verses that have jumped and sang, poems (yes poems:), stories, dreams, questions, words of life over Jay, my kids and their future spouses and children, friends, family, and future hopes, just to scratch the surface of the pages filled! It may seem silly to some but to ONE it means the world!  No time was wasted-WRITE ON!!!

“Put on your NEW nature and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like HIM.”
Col 3:10

This verse captured my attention this week in Scripture. God is continuing the theme of “Change Makers”, as I bring Catalyst back to my home and my city.

***I am about to take you GOLD DIGGING with me, as I pick apart this verse:)

I am immediately aware of the fact that action is required on my part. “Put on the NEW (OR CHANGED) NATURE” that is now within me implies that I could “have something” and “choose not to wear it.”  Once I asked the Holy Spirit to abide in me, HE was responsible for the “NEW NATURE” deposit but I must choose to “PUT IT ON” and let it “RENEW”(outward reflection of  the inward change) me, as I learn to know my Creator.

So, how do I learn to know my Creator?

Now that I have HIS Spirit within me, I have a Holy Interpreter, who gives wisdom and revelation, as I read the Scriptures. Without the Spirit abiding within me, I could, at best, glean head knowledge from The Bible. Having the new nature within and letting it renew the outward appearance, now enables me to “learn to know the Creator” through divine revelation. The divine revelation brings out HIS GOD COLORS IN ME, which is the transformation!( not just an information download)

All that to say-I am suited up from the inside out, in the process (which is forward change) of knowing my Creator. The more I know HIM, the more I change into HIS likeness!

“I’m starting with the (wo)man in the mirror
I’m asking her to change her ways
No message could have been any clearer.
If you want to make the world a better place
take a look at yourself and make that change!”

Change starts with ourselves and true change comes only from the abiding presence of The Holy Spirit! Saying “YES” to Christ is the catalyst to a personal rebirth that ripples for eternity!  Committed to “whittling the log” in my own eye before going after the “eyelash” in yours!!!

#CATALYST2014-CHANGE MAKERS-DAY 2

Creating a Community of Change Makers-Craig Groeschel

In Mark 2:1-5 we see the story of the 4 friends who take their paralyzed friend to Jesus.  They can not get in the door so they get CREATIVE AND THEY LOOK UP-the roof it is!  When we are “desperate” to get to Jesus, we will do “ANYTHING SHORT OF SIN” to get to HIM!  We will get creative and WE WILL LOOK UP!

**Church used to lead the way in creativity and innovation–Today people are astounded when the church has “quality” creativity!

SO HOW DO WE CREATE (AS A COMMUNITY OF CHANGE MAKERS) A CULTURE OF INNOVATION:

***LIMITED RESOURCES + WILLINGNESS TO FAIL + INCREASING PASSION TO SHARE CHRIST = EXPONENTIAL INNOVATION

A) Limited Resources-When resources are limited, it is often a catalyst to thinking  “outside the box”  or to looking at things” inside the box” in a new light!

**Our natural inclination is to say -We can’t _______ because we don’t ________!

**BUT A COMMUNITY OF CHANGE MAKERS SAYS : We CAN _______ because  we DON’T________!

*Sometimes GOD guides by what HE WITHHOLDS!   God is more interested in what we NEED than what we WANT!

**IN CHRIST WE HAVE EVERYTHING WE NEED TO REACH EVERYONE HE WANTS US TO REACH FOR HIS KINGDOM!!!

B) Willingness to fail: FAILURE IS A NECESSITY TO STRETCH US AND MOLD US INTO EVERYTHING GOD INTENDS US TO BE! If it was too easy, then we could take the credit!

*Our natural inclination is to say, “Failure is NOT an option!”  –Fear of failure stops us from taking RISKS and Fear of Failure is leading without FAITH!!!

**BUT A COMMUNITY OF CHANGE MAKERS SAYS: FAILURE IS A NECESSITY!

**Our greatest lessons come from our biggest failures!

*If we blame ourselves for decline, we will eventually take credit for the growth!   SUCCESS is defined by WHO HE says I AM!

*Failure helps us learn the ingredients for success.  The pathway to our greatest potential is pressing through our greatest fear!  Do not internalize the voice of the enemy!

*Who is better to preach on forgiveness than one who has been forgiven much!!!!

*Failure is an EVENT-it is NOT a permanent stop!!!

C) Increasing passion to share Christ for GOD’S GLORY!—It is not about US-it is all about HIM-HIS GLORY!

*Not sharing Christ is not an option!  The church, when it is inwardly focused, is basically saying to the outside world, “You can go to hell!”

**Back to Mark 2- roofs were made of thatch and manure back then-SO we need to remember that is often takes “digging through MANURE” to get to Jesus!  If we are not “inconvenienced” sometimes, maybe we are not as desperate as we thought we were to see others saved?

*Are we willing to do ANYTHING SHORT OF SIN to reach people for Christ???

*If we are not called a “cult” every now and then,  if we are not “offending the Pharisees” every now and then-THEN WE ARE NOT DESPERATE ENOUGH AND WE ARE NOT DOING EVERYTHING SHORT OF SIN TO REACH PEOPLE FOR CHRIST!

MAKING CHANGE-ANDY STANLEY

1) Craft a laser-focused vision statement-MEMORABLE IS PORTABLE!

2) Cast it over and over -YOU CAN NEVER REPEAT THE VISION TOO MUCH!!!!

3) Organize to your vision statement-EVERY AREA MUST POINT TO THE VISION OR THE AREA MUST CHANGE OR BE GONE!

***one key to making change is helping your team see that you are not giving something up BUT you are gaining something BETTER!

*ILLUSTRATE IT AND CELEBRATE IT!!!!

*The worst place to talk about something you want changed is around the “thing” you want changed! INSTEAD-Point them to something BETTER!!!

***CATALYST LEADERS ARE LEADERS WHO LOVE THE LOCAL CHURCH!!!

3 Things for the LOCAL CHURCH:

1) The church should be the safest place on the planet to talk about ANYTHING, even same-sex attraction!

**If the Local Church does not talk to students about hard stuff, they will get bad advise often from bad people!j

Do we agree that these things are true:

-community is good for students

-church is good for students

-Jesus is good for students

-there are students who believe they are gay

*If we, as the local church, agree that the above statements are TRUE , then we MUST address the hard topics, and homosexuality is one of those hard topics!

**Andy Stanley polled his congregation and ,without exception, every self-identified gay person said they had prayed for the Lord to take it away.  And most were still wrestling with an “ENORMOUS UNANSWERED PRAYER’!

**SO APPROACH THIS EXACTLY LIKE YOU WOULD ANYONE WHO COMES TO YOU WITH “AN ENORMOUS UNANSWERED PRAYER!”

2) The church must stop expecting OUTSIDERS to act like INSIDERS, while INSIDERS are acting like OUTSIDERS!

JESUS DOES NOT TAKE SIDES-JESUS TAKES OVER!!!

*If we start to dumb down what is clear, where does it stop!!! Jesus raised the standard so HIGH-that WE NEED A SAVIOR! BUT HE ALSO PROVIDED HIMSELF AS THE SAVIOR NEEDED!

*As long as we look for loopholes, we lose our credibility!!!

***Live this way!!! Gal 5:22-23-LOVE-JOY-PEACE-PATIENCE-GOODNESS-GENTLENESS-FAITHFULNESS-KINDNESS-SELF-CONTROL

*KINDNESS is a game changer!!!…against such things there is no law!!!

*Concentrate on becoming the BRIDE OF CHRIST-being known by what we are FOR not what we are against!!!

3) The church MUST STOP letting culture steal our students!

1 Cor 9:22-23-“To the weak I became weak, to win the weak.  I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some.  I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.”

**What is this next generation worth to you?

**Will you do ANYTHING (SHORT OF SIN) to win some?

Matt 18:2-3-“He call the little children to him and placed the child among them.  And HE said,”Truly I tell you, unless you CHANGE and become like little children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven.”

**If the church programming turns away the “children” , then we are making them stumble!  (Matt 18:6-If anyone causes one of these little ones -those who believe in ME-to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.”

***IF OUR CHILDREN ARE LEAVING THE CHURCH-ITS TIME TO CHANGE THE CHURCH!!! LET’S FORFEIT THE NEED FOR A MILLSTONE AROUND OUR NECKS AND “WHITTLE THE LOG” IN OUR OWN EYE!!!

WHO ARE YOU?

WHAT BREAKS YOUR HEART?

***LEAN YOUR GIFTS AND TALENTS INTO THE THING “YOU MUST SEE CHANGED” IN YOUR GENERATION!!!