Brian Becker: here I go

As a pastor I'm not a big fan of preaching other people's messages.  In fact, I honestly can't think of the last time I used a book to directly influence a message series.  That all changed this week as we dived into Vince Antonucci's new book "Guerrilla Lovers: Changing the world with revolutionary compassion".  I think this book is a perfect fit for our students at truelife church, and I can't wait to see the impact it makes.  I bought 10 books today for my leaders, and I think you'd really enjoy Vince's humorous, yet compelling writing style as he challenges us to reach people with intentional love that exposes the gospel of Jesus.  You can get it on Amazon here.  Do it, and join the Guerrilla revolution.

Agree or disagree:

The right people + The right vision + The right target + Bad timing = disaster.

In terms of timing, what would have happened if they had engaged 5 seconds earlier, or 5 seconds later?

I've been fortunate enough to be accepted into Dream Year.  A chance to really pursue & investigate what could be.  The following is from my DY Coach, who explained what DY10 is all about:


I'm so thankful that I have a pastor/boss who is challenging me to grow this year and allowing me to pursue avenues such as DY10 to truly seek out God given dreams!  You don't have to be in Dream Year to move towards the fulfillment of your God-given dream.  Decide now to grow.  Decide now to take initiative.  Decide now to pray and then respond to God's leading.  It truly can be a DreamYear for us all.

So...I'd love to hear your story.  What's your Dream, and what steps are you taking to see it become a reality?

It is the glory of God to conceal things,
but the glory of kings is to search things out.
- Proverbs 25:2

The search for "God's will" seems to be at an all time high in the midst of my friends and family members at this very moment. I don't ever remember a time that so many people were seeking direction involving jobs, relationships, relocation, education, retirement, and overall direction in life. The resounding question is: "God! What do you want me to do?!?"

For some this question is birthed from dreams of what could be and should be. For others the question comes because of unexpected circumstances forcing a new direction in life. Ultimately, it doesn't matter how the question got there, the fact that it's there puts an intensity back into our prayer to glorify God and make wise decisions about our future.

As I seek out direction for my own life and family here are some things I'm beginning to realize:

1. God won't just tell you what to do. He's into relationship, not management. He wants you to seek out the answer by investigating, praying, and wrestling with Him. He must be your ultimate counselor above all (Proverbs 25:2; Psalm 16:7; Psalm 32:8;)
   
2. God is ok with you asking for confirmation before proceeding with big decisions. Moses asked for a sign (and another, and another - see Exodus 4), Gideon asked for a wet fleece - then a dry one (Judges 6). Jonathan asked for specific conversation (also known as smack talk) from the Philistines (I Samuel 14). Some see this as a lack of faith, but God knows you. His dreams are big - really big, and if it doesn't shake you to the core and ask for confirmation, you probably haven't heard from God in the first place.
   
3. God put people in your life to give wisdom - so seek their counsel. Just make sure they are the right people - there are way too many "yes-men" who don't have discernment, and way too many people who will discourage you due to their own lack of faith. (Proverbs 15:22; 11:14; 20:18)

Books have been written on this subject, but really it comes down to this: Be willing to wrestle with God and wait for his guidance. Struggle on the fine line of moving out in faith vs moving out in foolishness. I believe God loves a wrestler (see Jacob in Genesis 32).

God's will IS a big deal. What you do with your family DOES matter.

Don't just sit around and wait for an audible voice...
Don't just take a guess and do something...

Get busy and wrestle - and let God show you his will as you seek Him. He will counsel you, he will give you a sign, and he will confirm it through godly people...and then you will move in faith and confidence into the destiny of your life.

Have you ever switched ingredients accidentally in a recipe? Have you ever measured out salt for the flour and flour for the salt? I think we can all agree that a pinch of flour and three cups of salt in a recipe for cookies would make a pretty nasty cookie!

If your Christian life was a cookie, what ingredient would prayer be? If we were honest, I think prayer would be like a "pinch of salt" in the recipe rather than "3 cups of flour". For me, it's so much easier to focus on strategy, leadership, mission, etc. But I know in my heart it's time to re-read the original recipe because all too often our cookies aren't turning out too great. As I read through the book of Mark, I see Jesus trying to reveal the true recipe God designed for us.

And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed." Mark 1:35

And when he had entered the house, his disciples asked him privately, "Why could we not cast it out?" And he said to them, "This kind cannot be driven out by anything but prayer." (Mark 9:28-29)

And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seasts of those who sold pigeons. And he would not allow anyone to carry anything thorugh the temple. And he was teaching them and sayng to them, "Is it not written, 'My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations'? But you have made it a den of robbers. (Mark 11:15-17)

"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours." Mark 11:24

I think Jesus was concerned because he saw a powerless people trying to accomplish God's mission. If I'm not mistaken, we believe in prayer WAY more than we actually spend time praying.

Reading about prayer, thinking about prayer, believing in prayer, watching other people in prayer - it's not the same as actual time spent in prayer. Let's get back to the original recipe. Let's put the priority of prayer where it should be, and see things happen that have been needing to happen for a long time. The world is overdue for a really tasty cookie!

"And when they came to the crowd, a man came up to him..." Matthew 17:14

Wow, the very first phrase that I read from the Bible today lept out at me...go back and read that simple verse again, and focus on the location of Jesus...if we're not amongst a crowd of people, it is impossible for people to come up to us, and it is only in the crowd that we see God's miracles performed.

Where was Jesus? Amongst the crowd.
Where are am I? Amongst the four walls of my comfortable life - secluded from the crowd.

We must...I must...not live my Christianity inside the four walls of my life - I must go enter the lives of other people. It's ironic that as a pastor I find myself going days without encountering anyone in "the crowd" because I'm too busy spending time with other believers talking about and dealing with believer stuff. Ick. Why are we so good and repeating the words of Jesus but so bad at repeating the steps of Jesus?

How about some help here...

Jesus was amongst the crowd...Where are you?
How do you get into the lives of "the crowd"?
How can believers re-prioritize and find themselves in the same place Jesus would be?

Last night we took about 20 people to Clackamas Town Center Cinema to see "We're All In This Together" a feature film documentary from Hillsong United about reaching a wandering and wounded world with the action of love and the message of Jesus. This movie was revolutionary for this reason:

For too long Social Justice advocates have left out the necessity of Christ as the cure, and for too long Christians shouting "repent" have left out the necessity of compassion as the cause. The I-Heart film blended both, giving us a clear picture of how our message and our actions must be seemlessly tied together.

Here are my favorite quotes:

• The future will be written in the way we respond to the moment in front of us
• The church does not exist to meet our needs but to meet the needs of the world around you
  
• "You can choose to look the other way, but you can never say you did not know." - William Wilberforce
• You don't have to travel across the world to make a difference, just walk out your front door!
• The most terrible poverty is loneliness and the feeling of being unloved. - Mother Teresa
• history will never be made till you recognize where you fit in HIStory, see a need do your part & meet it the best you can
• If what happens inside the walls of church doesn't make an impact on the streets around it then maybe we r missing the point
• "5 corporations control 90% of what is seen in the world"
• Jesus is the ultimate expression of God's love to humanity.
• The love of God cannot be measured but it can be demonstrated.
• If you are not part of the solution you are a part of the problem.
• “I can’t stand your religious meetings. I’m fed up with your conferences and conventions. I want nothing to do with your religion projects, your pretentious slogans and goals. I’m sick of your fund-raising schemes, your public relations and image making. I’ve had all I can take of your noisy ego-music. When was the last time you sang to me? Do you know what I want? I want justice—oceans of it. I want fairness—rivers of it. That’s what I want. That’s all I want.” - Amos 5:21-24, The Message
• What we are not, He is
• Isaiah 58:9-10 - ”If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, and 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.”
• Injustice and indifference walk together hand-in-hand.
• Talk is cheap, put feet to your vision

We're headed to our leadership retreat today - this film and our response will be much of our discussion - yet what we truly need to do is talk less and "be" more. We need to "be" the sequel to this film. God help us.