Take A Look At This Lesson from Peter!

Matthew 14:28 "Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water." "Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?" And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, "Truly you are the Son of God."

My favorite lesson to learn from Peter in this instance is this;

It takes great faith to step into the unknown.

Every day is a Great adventure into this place called the "Unknown".

The "Unknown" is a place filled with questions of success, failure, timing, will, acceptance, deliverance, favor, or perseverance.

What "Unknown" is God calling you to today? What "Unknown" has He placed in your heart?

The late Pastor John Osteen of Lakewood Church said to a Pastor friend who was contemplating starting a church, "step out, and see if God breathes on it". Great advice.

Do what Peter did...step out! Take that step of faith...stay focused on HIM! Don't loose sight of HIM....reach out your hand to HIM....trust in HIM!

Jesus will always be there to take your hand when you need Him the most. When He does....He will be glorified in your situation.

This is a great lesson for Christians, Pastors and Church Planters alike.

This life is a great adventure.

Come on..."Step Into the Unknown"!

Peace!

I have to admit it. I love it when people speak or write with candor and conviction. I love it when they don't pull punches or hold back. When did the church decide it needed to be "politically correct" on everything? Why are most Christians a bunch of mealy mouthed, weak kneed people afraid to speak out or take a stand for what is right?

I especially like Pastors who will speak their minds and take a stand. Some of my fav's, (two of which just happen to be contributing authors to Relevant Christian) are my good friend Timmy Gibson who pastors Olathe Life Fellowship in Olathe Kansas, Chris Elrod the pastor of Compass Point in Lakeland Florida, and Steve Furtick who pastors Elevation Church in Charlotte North Carolina.

Be sure to check out Steve Furticks blog about "Who We Are"

Keep it up guys. I wish that all pastors, (and Christians) where as brave as you are.

Let's be Revolutionary!

I have been contemplating blogging on Servant Evangelism for some time but have always come up short. However, I recently read an article on the subject of Servant Evangelism and it got me thinking.

WE as Christians, for the most part, have forgotten how to "evangelize" the world. It seems we have focused on doing the "big church" thing of "just get them in the door and we will do the rest". I know. I am on staff at what is considered a "mega" church and have heard that term many times.

How much more effective could we be in reaching the world if WE would begin to "evangelize" our world. When I say "our world", I mean our spehere of influence. Our friends. Our neighbors. Our family. One by one. I want to find out!

Read this article on Servant Evangelism and tell us what you think">

I am a born and raised Christian, though I am not really that proud to admit that many times these days. Not because of my personal faith and trust in Jesus Christ, or the Bible or God but because there are too many wacky Christians out there who give us "some-what" normal Christians a bad name.

I live in Kansas City, and there is an area downtown called the Plaza (a cool place for a romantic horse carriage rides, great shops and a ton of great fountains) and when you go there on a Friday or Saturday night you will encounter the guy I affectionately call, "the plaza preacher". This guy is a piece of work to say the least. He is a megaphone preacher guy. He condemns everyone to a hot hell and has the huge sign to promote that beautiful message of hope and love for those who are lost.

This is one of many reasons I am finding it difficult to "like" Christians. Yes, I of course in reality love Christians, shoot I am one! This is just my way to VENT my frustration over the Pharisee type Christian who violates the John 8 scripture where Jesus has a women caught in adultery thrown at His feet to judge. And if you know the story, Jesus of course DOES NOT judge her to a hot hell. But He does address those Pharisees who brought her to Him to judge by saying, "ye without sin cast the first stone." Thank God that didn't happen today, because I truly believe some Christians would be throwing stones. And that my friends is what bites my tail! Christians who think they stand in the position as Jesus perfect and able to cast stones.

The interesting thing about Jesus was that HE was perfect and had the right to cast a stone, yet He did not! And He is the ONLY one who could have done so, and been justified.

I also hear people say to me that we're trying too hard to reach the lost! ( I am laughing here) hello, ahhhh yes we are! And that is a problem why?

Read the rest of this article at www.relevantchristian.com

Today's non-Christian 20- and 30-somethings are big fans of Jesus but are less thrilled with His followers and the churches where they worship. Pastor/author Dan Kimball reveals their six most common perceptions of Christians and the Church, what they wish church was like--and why you should be listening to these emerging voices.

Every now and then, we experience an epiphany of some sort that drastically changes our life's course. For me, it's an extremely vivid memory of what happened when I took the time to step outside the busyness of ministry and listened to some college students from what was known to be one of the more anti-Christian campuses in California. It was these "pagan" students who gave me such incredible hope for the Church.

I was leading a young adults ministry we had recently started at the church I was on staff with at the time, and occasionally during worship gatherings, we showed man-on-the-street video interviews to set up the sermon. For an upcoming message series on evangelism, we decided to go to this college campus to interview students and hear firsthand their thoughts about Christianity. We asked two questions: "What do you think of when you hear the name 'Jesus'?" and "What do you think of when you hear the word 'Christian'?"

When they answered the first question, the students smiled and their eyes lit up. We heard comments of admiration such as, "Jesus is beautiful," "He is a wise man, like a shaman or a guru," "He came to liberate women." One girl even said, "He was enlightened. I'm on my way to becoming Christian."

What an incredible experience! These students on the very campus I kept hearing was so "pagan" talked about Jesus with great passion. However, when we asked the second question, the mood shifted. We heard things like, "Christians and the Church have messed things up," and "The Church took the teachings of Jesus and turned them into dogmatic rules." One guy said, "Christians don't apply the message of love that Jesus gave," then jokingly added, "They all should be taken out back and shot."

(To read more of this article, go to www.relevantchristian.com)

-EXCERPTED from Outreach magazine, "Features," March/April 2007
Copyright © by Outreach magazine. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

I like to think of myself as a progressive thinking christian. However, I have been accused of being a rebel. That's okay, as long as you understand why I feel the way I do.

Is there something that won't let you sleep at night, that keeps you tossing and turning (and driving your spouse crazy!) The thing that eats at you and has a way of coming up in every conversation. Bill Hybels calls it your "holy discontent". It is the thing that gnaws at you until you feel as if you just have to do something, to improve something, to create something. It is that ONE thing that WILL NOT leave you alone.

That, my friends, is where I am. I am at that place where I can not ignore my discontent any longer!

I have been in the ministry (in some form) for over 25 years and to some I am an "old timer", but I feel that I "think young". I am never satisfied with the status quo ( and yes, I know this drives some people crazy....if you're reading this....you know who you are).

I once read that the definition of insanity is "doing things the same way and expecting different results". There has never been a truer statement.
What we have to understand is that culture is cyclical. It is in a constant state of flux. Changing constantly. "The more things change, the more they stay the same" has been spouted too many times to count, but is this statement true?

For the most part, churches are having trouble reaching today's generation. Why? To me, the answer is simple. We continue to do the same things over and over and expect them to reach different people, or generations.
I recently read that the one thing today's generation wants more than anything is genuine relationships. They want to be reached on their level with a genuine concern for their well being. They want integrity and truthfulness in the relationship. They are very open to Jesus, they just don't like the church. They see Christians as fake.
I have members of my family who will tell you that they are Christians but WILL NOT go to church. Why? It stopped being relevant to them. We are not reaching them on THEIR level.

This is what I want, more than anything, a way to reach and impact people in my community in a positive, life changing way. Not just bring them to church, but bring them to a relationship with Jesus Christ. The one who genuinely cares for them.

Basically, I am sick of the "same old church"!

Rebel, or progressive thinker? You tell me!