this little light of mine

This is the seventh of 21 posts serving as a devotional and prayer guide building up to the launch of creativecommunity.tv on Saturday November 6th.

“This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine...” Come on, put this journal down and do the hand motions while you sing, “Hide it under a bushel, NO! I’m going to let it shine.”

That’s a great childhood song that most of us sang growing up in church. I think the words are a little off though. It’s the phrase “this little light” that I take issue with. Why as Christians do we always think that we’re the underdogs, the small, and the insignificant? We marvel at the technology and ingenuity we see all around us, but are content to sing silly songs about how small our little light is.

Our little church, our little impact, our little corner of society, our little move of God; it all makes me think that the problem is we have little faith. Isaiah 58:10 gives us a better description of our light: “if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.”

Maybe the problem is not the silly song we sang in Sunday School, but instead that we have a small picture of God’s power because we have spent a small amount of our time, resources, and energy investing in the lives of the hungry (no condemnation, I’m just saying...)

So ask God to enlarge your vision, but also be prepared to enlarge your heart by making room for those that are hungry and hurting around you.

Read Isaiah 58: 9-10

red blinking light

This is the sixth of 21 posts serving as a devotional and prayer guide building up to the launch of creativecommunity.tv on Saturday November 6th.

“For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of talk, but of power.” - 1 Corinthians 4:20.

I recently switched to AT&T for home internet service. I signed the contract, bought the equipment, filled out the rebate forms, and then asked when my service would be activated. The answer shocked me, they told me that I wouldn’t have power for almost a month.

The wireless router is plugged in and ready to go, it just has an annoying red light telling me that service isn’t available yet. For many of us, we have that same red blinking light over our lives. We struggle with feeling like we don’t have very much power in our relationship with Christ, and we feel like we’re not ready and available to serve others.

The truth though is that it’s not our skills and ability that mark our effectiveness, it’s our ability to allow Him to work in us and through us. He’s created you with a uniqueness that makes you powerful. Technology, the arts, spoken and written word, and simple relationship building can all be effective ways to reach people with the message of the cross.

So know today that if you’ve signed the contract and given your life to Him, then you have instant and immediate access to his throne. Remember, in your weakness, His strength is made possible.

Ask God today for the the confidence and faith to be the person that He’s created you to be and to empower you to minister to others through your unique gifting.

Read 1 John 3: 16-20

God's mystery

This is the fifth of 21 posts serving as a devotional and prayer guide building up to the launch of creativecommunity.tv on Saturday November 6th.

Have you read the phrase in the Bible, “the mystery of God?” It’s found several places in the New Testament and every time I read that phrase, I feel like I’m about to discover some secret key to knowing God. My oldest son Jace has a children’s Bible that has a red card that you hold over certain sections, allowing you to read what at first seemed hidden.

A few years ago the church world was enthralled with the “Bible Code.” This was the idea that God had hidden secret messages throughout the Bible telling about key historic events that have happened in history and would happen the future.

All of us want to be in on the big secret, so what is God trying to tell us when he says there is a mystery? In Colossians 2:2, the mystery is revealed: “My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God, namely, Christ.”

That’s the big mystery, that your sins have been redeemed and you now have life eternal with God, through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. There’s no hidden secret, in fact it’s so simple that many still can’t understand. For so many of us, we describe salvation as a complicated, confusing obstacle course that only the fit can maneuver. But that’s not God’s way, his way may be less travelled, but it’s a free gift.

Ask God for clarity to present the simple message of the cross in a clear yet powerful way to those around you.

Read Colossians 2: 2-5

say/do ration

This is the fourth of 21 posts serving as a devotional and prayer guide building up to the launch of creativecommunity.tv on Saturday November 6th.

“What is your say/do ratio?” That’s the question someone asked me the other day while I was in Westport. They went on to say that if we didn’t close the gap between what we say and what we do, that creativecommunity.tv would never effectively minister in the Westport community.

Of course, this person doesn’t know you or me at all, they were just making an observation. But many times we do think out-loud, express our opinions openly, and even give others challenging advice, yet never expect to take action ourselves.

The problem is, people start to doubt our authenticity if we continue to have a wide gap in our say/do ratio. We only focus on how to communicate love, truth, and compassion while we forget that we’re called to actually demonstrate it. In 1 John 3:18 we’re warned about “...not loving with words or tongue, but instead with actions and in truth.”

So we have to move past having good intentions and start bearing good fruit. Ask the lord for creative strategies that will enable you to demonstrate His heart, and close the gap between your say/do ratio.

Read 1 John 3: 16-20

what is God's will?

This is the third of 21 posts serving as a devotional and prayer guide building up to the launch of creativecommunity.tv on Saturday November 6th.

“What is God’s will for my life?” This is the #1 question that most Christian’s struggle with. “Who do I marry?” “What college do I attend?” “How do I know which decision to make?”

Of course there’s nothing wrong with asking these questions. The problem is the premise of these questions. As if all the universe is on pause, waiting for us to figure out our purpose in life. The better question is: “God, what is your will for mankind and how can I get my life aligned with it.”

What if we reread the Bible and reprayed our prayers with a focus on God’s will for humanity and not just our own lives? Is it possible that God’s will for our lives can actually be found by serving His will for others?

This is the ultimate message of the cross: to lay down our lives, our dreams, and our passions and take up God’s heart for humanity. In the process, we don’t lose ourselves, we find out that God has uniquely “tooled” us, gifted us, even created us to fill a specialized role for the Kingdom of God.

Pray and ask God today what His will is for those around you, the people you want to minister to, and the people you want to reach.

Read Ephesians 4: 7-13

weeping over your city

This is the second of 21 posts serving as a devotional and prayer guide building up to the launch of creativecommunity.tv on Saturday November 6th.

“As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace, but now it is hidden from your eyes.” - Luke 19:41-42

Jesus’ ministry on earth only lasted 3 years. During his ministry, he taught in synagogues, ministered healing and deliverance in the streets, held large meetings on hillsides, and instructed his disciples on a daily basis.

The common theme of Jesus’ ministry was one thing: people. And in Luke we get a personal glance of his heart towards the city he held closest to his heart. As he approached the city of Jerusalem, a city largely unmoved by his ministry, his reaction was compassion.

What’s your perspective to those who aren’t in relationship with Christ? Do you look at areas of our city, areas where people gather who seem far from God, and respond in judgement or are you moved in compassion.

The effectiveness of our ministry in Westport will be based on our level of compassion for God’s people. And when we say God’s people we don’t mean church people, we mean the entire culture and community of Westport. Ask God to give you compassion for our city and the areas that we would see as areas unmoved by Jesus’ ministry.

Read Luke 19: 28-44

life.motion.existence

This is the first of 21 posts serving as a devotional and prayer guide building up to the launch of creativecommunity.tv on Saturday November 6th.

In 1st century Athens, a city that pioneered philosophy, the arts, and technology, a people who introduced a new form of modern government called democracy, and established a legacy in architecture and sculpting, there remained one area that they admittedly remained novice. Surrounded by great achievements and the ideological hope that they had truly made life better for generations to come, they were haunted by a confused picture of who the true God was.

The Athenians were not atheist who disbelieved in God altogether, nor were they deist who believed in a creator who had vanished after creation. They believed in God, they just didn’t know who God was. They even went so far as to build an altar on which was inscribed, ‘To an Unknown God’.

I’m not sure what your perception of God is, but mine is summed up in 7 words recorded by an ancient king named David. “He parted the heavens and came down.” I not only take comfort in those words, those words describe who I see God as. His desire is to part the divide between heaven and earth, and come down to reveal himself to mankind.

Paul summed it up for the Athenians by stating, “In him we live, we move and have our being…for we are His offspring.” Our prayer is that individuals and families in the Westport area would (re)discover their unknown creator. That they would have a personal encounter with a Savior who parted the heavens to have a relationship with them.

Read Acts 17: 24-28

creativecommunity.tv

We’re excited to announce that this fall, we’ll be leading several individuals and families to plant a new church in Kansas City’s most eclectic community, Westport. Westport is a city center positioned between the Country Club Plaza and Kansas City’s revitalized downtown. More than starting a new church, the mission of Creative Community will be to birth relationships with the Westport community, demonstrate the fullness of the Kingdom of God, and to train and develop future leaders for the cause of Christ. Simply put, our mission is Life, Motion, and Existence.

This is more than an announcement; it’s a call to arms. We need your participation and want to invite you to partner with us. In the next few days we’ll have information on our website: www.creativecommunity.tv. We need to raise initial capital and also secure monthly donors to help us budget this ministry for the first twelve months. We also want to develop a strong prayer network as we endeavor to lead an unprecedented move of God in our city. Follow the next 21 posts that will serve as devotions and prayer guides pertaining to our launch on Saturday November 6th.

We’re operating with the full support of Christ Triumphant Church, Senior Pastors Alan and Carol Koch, and their leadership team. They’re partnering with us to plant this church by providing oversight, financial support, and the resources needed to ensure the success of this ministry. We will have an ongoing relationship with them and Ronnin and I will continue providing leadership and ministry at Christ Triumphant Church.

Please prayerfully consider partnering with us by giving, serving, and praying. In the next few weeks we look forward to continuing to communicate with you about the vision of this new ministry.

Haiti Response

Sunday at church, we played this video and received an offering to support Jim Akers, founder of Christian Relief Ministries, as he leaves for Haiti this week. He's partnering with Friendships as they prepare to ship humanitarian aid to Port-au-Prince.

Today we're announcing our plans to partner with a local organization to prepare and ship thousands of meals to Haiti. This is a city-wide effort of churches and organizations, but is being led by young people in our area. $30 and one hour volunteered = 150 meals sent to Haiti. Visit our church website for more information.

Our church responded in a huge way and our funds have already been sent. Just minutes ago, I read about a 6.1 aftershock that went off near Port-au-Prince, once again shaking the entire region. Remember to pray and continue "pleading for the privilege of helping out."

Burn it, Crush it, Ground It, and Throw It - Moses Style

"Also I took that sinful thing of yours, the calf you had made, and burned it in the fire. Then I crushed it and ground it to powder as fine as dust and threw the dust into a stream that flowed down the mountain."

- Deuteronomy 9:21

Moses knew how to burn a bridge, in this case a sin bridge. He brought out a four-part attack on the Israelites' plaguing sin problem, enabling them to capture God's promise for their lives. If you don't know the background of this story and the destruction that this golden calf brought on his nation, you probably think that Moses was overreacting.

But Moses knew far too well that this calf represented his nation's reliance on self and an unauthentic devotion to God. See that's the problem with sin bridges: They enable us to go back and forth between our devotion to God and our reliance on self, but remove all traces of authenticity from our lives.

Did the Israelites really want to worship a phony cow and put their futures in its hands? Of course not, they just wanted a fix until Moses returned to lead them again. In your life, when hope seems dim, promise lost in a fog, and you feel yourself reaching for temporal relief, remind yourself of this contrast: while Moses was climbing a mountain to find God, his people were building an idol to substitute God.

Those things in your life that have become sin bridges, are really endless detours around the life God has for you. So I encourage you to deal with it Moses style - burn it, crush it, ground it, and throw it. Even though yours isn't, you'll find His grace is sufficient.

Pleading for the Privilege of Helping Out

"You do so well in so many things - you trust God, you're articulate, you're insightful, you're passionate, you love us - now, do your best in this too."

-2 Corinthians 8:7 Message Bible

Paul wrote these words to the Corinthian church to serve as an acknowledgment of their good deeds and also to challenge their lack in something else. What was the "something else"?

Earlier in the chapter Paul described the churches in Macedonia who were facing "fierce troubles" that were "pushing them to the very limit." This was a trial that Paul said "exposed their true colors". But it was their response under pressure that caused Paul to write the Corinthians.

Paul states that the trial the Macedonians faced triggered them to "an outpouring of pure and generous gifts" and that they "gave offerings of whatever they could - far more than they could afford!" In 2 Corinthians 8:4 Paul says that they "pleaded for the privilege of helping out in the relief of poor Christians."

My heart is heavy for our Haitian brothers and sisters whose nations is in ruins after the recent earthquake, but I am proud of the Christian community's immediate response of grace, mercy, and aid as we, "plead for the privilege of helping out."

Want to give? Here is an organization that has already mobilized teams and is currently sending aid: Global Missions

Adios May

May is long gone, along with school, cold and rainy days, and my favorite TV show Lost.  Saturday the family and I kicked May to the curb with style and said hello to hot summer days.  We spent the day hanging out in downtown KC and had a great time.  Living here the last four years, I've really fell in love with this city.

Before we moved here, Ronnin and I always thought of Kansas City as the ugly step-child of St Louis.  (That's especially insulting if you've been around St Louis much)  Why does Kansas City have the bad rep?  I'll never forget spending time with someone in San Diego last year who seriously asked me if cows run around on the streets of our city.  Well round me up a saddle because Cow-Town has one my heart.