Vision (Part 1) - The Problem

Vision is a must for the church. Everyone knows (or hopefully knows) that the Bible says without vision the people perish. As humans we need to know, where we are going? What we are working towards? Vision gives us direction, purpose, meaning, and guidance. As a leader, it is my job to ensure that people understand, embrace, and work towards the vision God has given to His Church and, more specifically, what is the vision God has given to me as a leader. In the book, Making Vision Stick, Andy Stanley helped me to refine, verbalize, and add to my vision for Austin and the church plant. So over the next few days I am going to spell out the vision for Austin and the church we will be planting. Let me know what you think because this is a vision in progress.

Vision (Part 1) - The Problem
Entering into college was a unique time in my life. For the first time, I was "on my own." I didn't have anyone telling me I have to do this or that. The authority I thought I had was me. Naturally, with this type of thinking I began to drift away from the church and from God. The extent of my church involvement was going with my parents to a church service when I was in town, which was about one to two weekends a month. Slowly I began to drift further and further away from my faith. Life was a party and a study. The party was on the weekends and the study took place during the week. I did both intensely.

Looking back this time in my life is very insight to me now. As I gaze into the past, two things really began to stick out to me. First, I had no friends, acquantices, or peers that were living missional lives for Jesus. No one I knew even attended a church service on a regular basis. No one talked about God, Jesus, or the church. College seemed like such a disconnect from the environment I grew up in where the church played an important role in life. Second, no churches, except for one I became involved in late my Senior year, reached out or had an impact on the college life. We were being left out on our own. From my view, the church was almost in a life-less state during my years at college.

But in reality my story isn't all that unique. Millions of people in my generation in the U.S. have no involvement in the church. In fact, the largest segment of the population that is missing in the church is between 18-35ish. Unlike me, most of these people didn't have a "Christian up-bringing." They have NEVER been connected to a church! They have never fully heard Gospel or seen it fleshed out before! The church has done a terrible job of representing Christ and reaching the younger generations.

Here are a couple of major issues with the church:
-The church, as a whole, has done a terrible job of representing Christ
-It’s lost Christ’s love for people (inside and outside the church).
-It’s lost the servanthood mindset.
-It’s lost its’ passion for the mission of Christ.
-The church has become this inward-focused country club.
-The church has traded its' children for its' traditions. (Ed Stetzer)

There are huge implications of this. As these generations grow older, they become the leaders and the parents of our world. Yet, they will not be intimately connected with Jesus. America will then find itself in the same position that Europe and Canada are in now. They are spiritually anemic places. Jesus and the church have been literally removed from their culture.

Ultimately, the gen-X'ers and the younger generations want nothing to do with Christ or the church. Heaven, we have a serious problem!

Standing in the Gap

Prayer is one of the areas of my life that needs to deepen tremendously. If your anything like me, prayer always gets thrust to the side. I don't do this intentionally. My life seems to get so busy that prayer and dependence upon God, not myself, gets pushed to the side. Prayer is neglected to the morning, before meals, and at night. Yet, Paul tells us to have a prayer life that has no beginning or end because it continuously takes place. I think he realizes that prayer and dependence is central in the economy of God. Prayer has this mystical power that unleashes the power of God, when it is in accordance with God's will and nature. Without this power (without God's hand and intervention), we run around trying to accomplish everything on our own. To do this in church planting is sure failure. I have to be operating through and in prayer every moment of the day.

Not only do I need to examine and deepen my own prayer life, but Heather and I need others to pray for us. We have heard stories of marriages being ruined through the stress of planting churches and spiritual attacks. The last thing I want is to hurt and/or permanately damage my relationship with my wife and best friend, Heather. We have also heard stories of church plants doing more damage than good in a community. The point is Heather and I are going to the front of the battles lines. And above money, resources, and any other tangible thing, we need prayer. We need people who will be dedicated to lifting Heather and I up personally on a daily basis. We need prayer for the church plant. We need intercession. Intercession literally means going between or standing in the gap. It is praying to God on behalf of another. I am going to ask people to stand in the gap for us, our marriage, the church plant, and Austin. There is so much value in others praying for us. Also, I am committed to do the same for others.

Please let me know if you are willing to stand in the gap for us and the church plant in Austin. I want to build a prayer base, where Heather and I can frequently send prayer requests.

For tomorrow...

Since in my last blog I pointed out Joshua's initial mistake in leading the Israelites, I want to give him some credit on this one. Today I read an incredible statement that he made to the God's people. After the sending of spies to Jericho, Joshua is preparing to lead the Israelites across the mighty and flooded Jordan River. During this preparation, he tells them, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you." (Joshua 3:6) In other words, GET READY BECAUSE YOU ARE ABOUT TO SEE HOW BIG AND POWERFUL GOD IS.

At this point in my life, I find myself finally at the edge of the Jordan River too. My life is at a critical juncture. I am at a crossroads of sorts. For years, I have told people to have faith in God...just trust Him...seek HIM. But now I have to put those statements and thoughts into action. Now that advice is going to have to flesh itself out in my own life. The question that finds itself at the forefront of life now, is how BIG AND POWERFUL is my God? See Joshua seemed to have a sense of God's omnipotence. He understood that in order to take over the land promised to him and his people, God was going to have to do some pretty amazing things.

Here I sit thousands of years later and my story isn't all to different. I know the calling God has placed on my life...to go and make disciples and to baptize and teach them through church planting, which if you know anything about church planting it one of the most difficult and stretching things one can do in "ministry." That's the call, but can I stand and tell those who are going to partner with Heather and I in this endevour, "Prepare yourselves, for tomorrow God is going to be doing some pretty amazing things." We have to expect God to show up in mighty and powerful ways. Left on our own we can expect to fail. As I said in the last blog, Jesus has already promised to be with us, so why wouldn't we expect amazing things to take place?

Blind Confidence

Today, I read the beginning of Joshua. Something really just stuck out in the story to me. After Moses, who lead the Israelites out of Egypt and had been their only leader, died...God has a conversation with Israel's new leader, Joshua. Now Joshua is taking on a huge role. He is not only leading millions of people to the Promise Land, but he is going to lead the Israelites into war with the people already living their. He not has to be leader spiritually, but he is the commander and chief. In the conversation, God tells Joshua things like, "I will give you every place where you set your foot, as I PROMISED Moses," and "be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I SWORE to their forefathers to give them. Did you notice anything about these statements? God SWORE and PROMISED the land to the Israelites. But right after this conversation with God, Joshua sends out spies to check out the area. Why would he even need to spy out the area? Did God tell him wherever you place your foot, I'll give you that land? But Joshua needed more than just God's word.

Isn't it interesting that God's Word and promises sometimes aren't enough for us to step out blindly? We feel like we need something more. In Joshua's case, he needed God's promise and spies. For us, we need God's promise and _________ (fill in the blank). We all do this is in some or another. For me as a church planter, I need God and financing...God and a missional core group...God and a sound system...God and a worship leader...the list goes on and on and on. All church planters at some point feel inadequate, unusable, and resourced-out. In order to replace or comfort these emotions, we need God and something else. But sometimes I just need to slow down and remember Jesus' words to His disciples, "...go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them...and teaching them...And surely I AM WITH YOU ALWAYS." Ummm, so as I go to reach, disciple, baptize, and teach the city of Austin Jesus is actually with me. Do I need really anything else? NO! God has given me the ultimate promise that he is with me and I don't allow that to be enough for me. Now just because he is with me doesn't always more the results turn out as I expect them to, but Heather and I are not going alone to Austin. We are bringing with us the King of Kings. That is where my confidence must lie, not in anything else.

I truly believe that stepping out blindly on God's promises is directly connected and intertwined to our confidence in Him. If we feel that God's Word and promises aren't enough, then do we even have the right view of God? Is He really God in our eyes, or just another supernatural but limited being? I know who I serve. The God that created the cosmos and is sovereign. That's why I can say that I have blind confidence.

Spiritual Vibrations

So Heather has been gone for two days now. (She didn't leave me, she just went to Florida to go to a wedding and get her car to drive back) I am kind of getting lonely because my wife/best friend is gone. But I've turned my focus full-force to church planting, reading, and getting to know the culture of Austin.

Austin is a really different city to say the least. My first perceptions of Austin were that consisted of cowboys, longhorns, tumble weeds, conservative republicans, country-music, BIG things (since everything is supposed to be BIGGER in Texas), and football. But to my surprise it is nothing like my originial thoughts. In fact, it is a young, hip, weird, cultural-changing, liberal, music-infested city. From what I hear it is the #1 creative city in the U.S. and #2 in being the most liberal (next to only San Fran). I'm not sure how they measure things like that, but I believe it from everything I am experiencing and seeing. Austin is even home to the largest University in the U.S. - Univ. of Texas. Everything from our current President to Lance Armstrong to Stevie Ray Vaughan find their roots in Austin. It's a city that seems to have a disproportionate and large influence on the U.S. and western culture. Sitting here I wonder how much different Austin would be if restoration and revival broke out here? I wonder what the city would look like if the power of the Gospel began to be unleashed? I wonder not only about Austin, but also how much different the U.S. would look like if these things took place in Austin? Would the U.S. feel the spiritual vibrations of Austin? What about the world? I have this gut feeling that God is doing some pretty incredible things here and the world is going to hear the voice the Christ followers in Austin very soon. I am humbled to be a part of it.

This thing is way bigger than me, so my deepest prayer is that God would use Heather and I in way that is beyond our talents, giftings, and dreams so that the world would hear and experience the Gospel of Jesus.

Peer pressure and missing peers

So after some indirect pressure from the other church planters at HCBC, I have given way to becoming a blogger. This is a good thing, though, because I want to keep people updated with our lives in Austin and just process some internal thoughts/emotions. God has already been doing some cool things and connecting us with some awesome people. We are pumped up about being used by God to expand His Kingdom through church planting. There is energy and enthusaism in participating in something that is much larger than ourselves. To see that Austin is going through spiritual restoration and we've been called to be a part of this - is beyond my wildest dreams. My love for the city and people seem to grow daily.

Although, I will say this - we are missing some people badly. It's hard to move away from individuals that you are so deeply and intimately connected with. A piece of Heather and I remains in Lakeland with family and friends. Doing life with people is a beautiful and life-changing thing. There are so many people from Lakeland that have made a significant impact on my life and I will cherish the time with them forever. From former students to mentors, I have been shaped by so many people. But when God calls, we must follow. Now we find ourselves in the midst of God's powerful movement to bringing Austin back to himself. What can I say? I miss home tremendously, but Austin is the city from me.