The beauty of my friends is that I don’t see or speak with them every day. They are not tainted by my past thoughts, actions, or words–they only hear and see the present. They can speak to me based on where I’m at, rather than through the lens of where I’ve been. It gives me a fresh perspective and keeps me from being stuck in my shortcomings or fears. They encourage me and discourage me…they compliment and criticize…they teach and they learn…they listen before they speak…they love and never hate.

I’m still amazed at how many people I have been able to consider friends. I have four really good friends that I have known since my high school & college days. These have proven to be my friends no matter what is going on or what could come between us. However, these friends aren’t Christians. They are not in ministry. To them, something like me struggling in my finances causes them to immediately go back to my time when I made a six figure annual income from a business I had built from nothing and say something like, “Just go back and work on your business again.” In other words, their responses to my situations are usually worldly in nature. I can’t expect anything else from them. I can’t make them truly understand my calling and the ups-and-downs that go with that. However, in the past year I have been connected with some really great people that have helped me with my perspective as a Christian and a church planter–even as a husband and father.

I ask that you pause and consider something for a moment. Think about those around you that you consider to be your friends. How do they speak into your life? How do you speak into their lives? Do you call upon them only when you need something? Do they only call you in troubled times? Can you feel and hear their presence even when you are not together?

I truly believe that the people we surround ourselves with are very important. In addition, who we are to other people is equally as important. Surround yourself with people that will speak the truth to you, not just lift you up and make you feel good. Find people that won’t leave you when you no longer serve as a benefit to them. Be connected to people that don’t always see things the way you see them and learn from each other. Through this process you will end up with people that you can truly consider to be your friends. There is so much more I could say about this, but it is the unwritten parts of this story that cause us to reflect on the special and unworthy things we can only experience through our relationships with good friends. We will always have God and family, but it is rare to find a friend that we can always count on.

May you be as blessed and humbled as I am through friendships.

How many times have you said to someone (or yourself) that you wish you could do something to help make a difference? After saying that, how many times have circumstances or excuses come between your thoughts and your actions?

After being asked to partner with Michael Harrison, Steve Harrison and The Community Fellowship in Virginia and then hearing an announcement while attending New Hope South Bay, I felt compelled to join the cause. No more waiting for Mark to get back with me as to what he needs. I’ll trust that he will use the resources in the best way possible and just pledge to give him some financial support. He informed me that as of last Saturday he was still about $8,000 short of meeting all of the expenses for his cross-continental round trip. What I can give won’t even make an impact in that, but if we join together and give a little, combined we may see this need met and a lot of lives impacted through love and dignity. It’s 24 cities and 8,598 miles all in 49 days!

Won’t you join me in supporting Mark Horvath and his invisiblepeople.tv tour across the country?

• Partner with Mark and donate via PayPal here
• See if Mark is stopping at your city by clicking here
• Learn more about the road trip by clicking here
• See stories of homelessness by clicking here
• Contact Mark Horvath directly for other ways to help or to offer encouragement via facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mhorvath or email: roadtrip@invisiblepeople.tv

In the end, no matter what people say, often they are selfish at heart and when I can no longer contribute to something they lash out or just distance themselves. It feels like there was never any respect for my contribution–no acknowledgment of thanks–just disappointment in how they handle themselves.

I’ve been asked several times by people if I have been disappointed at the small numbers of people that have attended our public preview services for Revolution Church Sacramento. Since the preview services were more for our benefit in helping to get unified in vision, participate in something like One Prayer that showed unity within the body of Christ, and letting people know we were more than just a conversation in someone’s living room, I am not disappointed at all. Others may have been disappointed, but their perspective would be out of context of what I expected from our time together in June. For me, the truly disappointing thing has been when others have been there for me when I was giving of my time and talents to help them, but left me cold when I wasn’t there for them. I guess I’m more saddened than disappointed, but disappointment is a by-product of putting our faith in others based on present circumstances when it is inevitable that some will just end up showing themselves to be fair weather friends.

As I was thinking about this post, I decided to look for some quotes on the topic of disappointment. It turns out they were just what I needed and I hope that they help you have a new perspective on disappointing times and situations as well:

• “The size of your success is measured by the strength of your desire; the size of your dream; and how you handle disappointment along the way.” –Robert Kiyosaki
• “Disappointment to a noble soul is what cold water is to burning metal; it strengthens, tempers, intensifies, but never destroys it.” –Eliza Tabor
• “We must accept finite disappointment, but never lose infinite hope.” –Martin Luther King, Jr.
• “People look at you and me to see what they are supposed to be. And, if we don’t disappoint them, maybe, just maybe, they won’t disappoint us.” –Walt Disney
• “One’s best success comes after their greatest disappointments.” –Henry Ward Beecher

Through it all, we will never please everybody and trying to do so will lead not just to disappointment, but also to frustration and failure. We should always hope for the best in others, but know that there will be times when we let our expectations get in the way. In the end, disappointments are a fact of life and as the quotes above indicate, can be used to make us better and stronger. After going through some disappointments recently, I’m greatly anticipating some success as I position myself with where and whom God calls me.

As I think about the situation I am presented with and what this person is saying, I have to step back and realize that it isn’t a time for Christianeze. It wasn’t my citation of Bible verses that caused him to see me as a giving person. It wasn’t my public prayer that showed him my strength in times of adversity. It was me just being me and him seeing who I am that brought this about.

I need to consider that while God is the Creator of the universe and has all power and authority to do anything–that we can do all things with Christ who gives us strength–this may be a case where some medication could be the best way to intervene. Maybe just listening to him speak and letting him work through the emotions of anxiety could be the best way to begin.

It’s so easy to throw the Bible at him and tell him that he is feeling this way because he has a God shaped hole in his heart that only God can fill. I could ask him if I could pray for him in his presence. Too often I think we as Christians resort to this as our first line of action. We fail to use our gift of listening and compassion to help go through the messy times that we are faced with as humans. We try to immediately put our trust in God by pointing to him and then running away hoping he will just impose his will immediately and then we can celebrate the victory without getting our hands dirty. In the end we can come across as cold and programmed rather than loving and compassionate. God didn’t become the answer to  our lives until we were in a place when we could listen and realize God was there for us. We can’t just name drop Jesus and then flee believing that Christ will supernaturally become like a psychologist and have a spiritual dialog with others. Are we propaganda machines? Are we like car salespeople trying to get people to come into our showroom, only to turn them over to Christ the closer and stand back and watch him do everything?

In this situation I am going to be who God created me to be and seek to be compassionate and understanding. I am going to trust that God is ordaining this time and that his gospel will be made known. However, I am going to trust that one of his purposes for me was to be in situations like this and be patient, trusting that he wants to work through me, rather than without me. Trusting that in God’s master plan I don’t have the burden of setting a goal to lead other people to recite the sinner’s prayer. I will trust Christ that he will give me wisdom, patience, humbleness and the strength to be there for this person and let him know he is more than a statistic in my baptismal. That as God knew the number of hairs on this person’s head and knows his name, that he will lead me and let Christ shine as he fades me into the background. The process is beginning with prayer and through that I know God will reveal how to proceed as he softens this persons heart and draws him closer into his presence.

• There is something intrinsic to small churches that I am really enjoying. Having a chance to be more-relaxed and knowing everyone by name makes it feel more like what I feel church should be like. As you all know, I don’t believe church should be a destination. Revolution Church Sacramento does not feel like a destination, but more like a starting point.
• I was blessed to know that I look like one of the Muppets (watch my facebook page for pictures). Can you guess which one?
• I realized that when people gather together in the right spirit, that even being subjected to a room that is literally 90 degrees it doesn’t have to affect one’s mood. Some of us had been in the building for 3 hours before our service started and the worship team was under hot spot lights and everyone really seemed to enjoy being there together. It was one of those experience I will always remember and reflect upon.
• Our friends from Xaris Church led worship tonight and it was really amazing. Enjoyed the change of pace with the fuller, edgier sound. These guys helped me out for the last youth ministry praise & worship night I led on Friday, led worship at Xaris Church Sunday morning and then came out to help us Sunday night. The Xaris team is always ready to help us out and I am forever indebted to them. We closed things out with some loud, worshipful singing! Thanks to Danny Lo, Carter Hom, Bryant Hom, Galen and Brad for their service tonight. You are permanently etched into the history of Revolution Church and we honored to have you be a part of preview services!
• When someone’s mind is somewhere else it really can be obvious.
• Wasn’t sure how well a last minute revision to the message in order to look at the life and death of Michael Jackson from the perspective of salvation rather than idolizing & memorializing him would be received. Got some great, positive feedback so I’m encouraged that it was the leading of the Lord and that he was pleased.
• I didn’t find out until 11:30pm that I read a Scripture verse in my message while another Scripture verse was displayed on the screen.
• Numbers of people in attendance do not indicate the health of a church. I’m not just saying that because we have intentionally started small. This month has been a valuable time of learning, observing and discernment.
• I must do my best to not use Christian language as I continue to reach out to our city.
• When living life as the church, it’s not about hierarchy or orderly service…it transcends all of that when people care about each other and truly enjoy being in their presence.
• There is no one like our God! For greater things have yet to come, and greater things are still be done in this city.
• As introverted as I am, I have learned to really appreciate and enjoy opportunities to meet new people and value the stories each of us have.
• I don’t know if I am ever going to not cringe watching myself speak on video.
• Had the subject of coordinating an arts program to give back to the community through the gifted worship musicians we have been blessed with at Revolution Church so far. Need to give that some more thought!
• Thankful for all of the prayers of all of my friends that have stood with us all month to see the start of Revolution Church become a reality. Together we are strong and without our friends and prayer partners none of this would have been possible God does call his people to pray so that he may respond. God really did respond in some amazing ways. It may take some time for it to be realized by some of those that connected with us, but some powerful and wonderful things happened this June and I will never be the same as a result.
• Relived some memories of my junior year of high school doing the moonwalk with my classmates. It was Michael Jackson that first introduced it in 1983 and it will forever be a part of pop culture.
• Everyone in the world, regardless of age or ethnicity seems to know of Michael Jackson. Imagine the day when everyone in the world, regardless of age or ethnicity comes to know Christ as Lord!
• Annette & Gary may quit their day jobs to become comedians…they were that hilarious tonight.
• Grateful for LifeChurch.tv and all that has happened as a result of One Prayer 2009! To have the blessing to listen to Jentezen Franklin, Francis Chan and Steven Furtick with less than 20 people attendance just couldn’t happen any other way. We were tremendously blessed and one day I hope to see us at Revolution Church be able to give back in some way as well.
• Lots left to think about, but going to wait until our team gets together and sorts through our public preview service experience and how we’ll look as we move forward in the coming month.

Writing open thoughts in a public forum such as this blog is quite different than posting something anonymously. My name and persona is attached to every blog I post. I’ve felt that being who I am online as I am in-person would help bless others and let them get to know my thoughts even though we may never meet face-to-face. Additionally, blogging tends to be therapeutic for me. I get to write out my thoughts and hope that by sharing them it may encourage someone else or let them know some of my pain as a warning to not do as I have done.

The negatives of living life online have begun to make me a little weary. Fortunately, I have yet to find anyone that has sent a negative remark to me on any of my blog posts, and some of what I post could easily be considered controversial. Through grace I have escaped a lot of things that could discourage me through being open and honest in my writing. Today am I beginning to question whether much of what I write is just becoming noise in the blogosphere. I’m wondering if trying to post every day, or at least 4-5 times per week makes sense any more. Heck, even this post is me being public in something that probably didn’t need to be made public.

I’ve decided to scale back a bit on my blog. It’s something I told myself I was going to do earlier this year. Rather than write out thoughts that may just add to the clutter and noise (see Kem Meyer, I am trying to be faithful to your brand) I’ve changed my perspective and am going to start a personal journal. It goes against a previous post I made here, but it just feels like the right thing to do now. In the past, the more I engaged in the better I could think and see through a lot of stuff. The more transparent I was, the more people could see me as being real or relevant. However, at this point in my ministry, I feel I need to step back from a few things and this blog will be one of those things. Less frequency and more focus means less clutter, less noise. Writing thoughts in a personal journal still offers the therapeutic benefit without the risk and hazards of being online so much and thus not lending to all of the noise that already exists.

I’m going through a lot of transition and change and I feel as if God is directing me through a narrow, blind curve on my life’s journey. If I get distracted by everything I see along the side of the road, I will veer off course and crash. If I focus on the road in front of me it is a little unsettling to not be able to see ahead of the curve. However, this is where I am and it is for a reason. It is time to shed some things that have been important in order to be more faithful to ministry and to my family. I can’t do everything that time allows and I won’t do things for the sake of making others happy.

Repeat after me: Less clutter, less noise. Less clutter, less noise. Less clutter, less noise. I promise this time.

How do you think most people in society would respond to that question? If you’ve been asked it before, you probably didn’t receive it favorably. If you’ve asked the question before, the conversation probably came to a halt shortly thereafter. Do you know why? In a nutshell, it’s because it comes across as if you are either selling something like Amway, or you are being asked to buy into something, such as Amway.

Amway is a huge, global company. Funny thing about it is that it really isn’t about a product. It’s about getting people that will go out and tell others about how lucrative it can be and teaching them how to get others to do the same thing. It’s not the product, but the sales pitch that is king. It all sounds so corny, but there is no mistaking that it has been effective for some people. As successful as Amway has been, there is a huge stigma associated with it. When someone comes up to us and starts to pitch Amway we immediately try to find out if they are Amway salespeople and then do our best to flee the conversation. In the past, Amway representatives have gone to using deceit in order to make their pitches. They won’t outright say it’s Amway they are selling and are evasive in order to get you to take the next step. However, regardless of the tactics, we all have our idea of what Amway is and how it infringes on our time and why we would never be interested in it. Thousands of people make millions of dollars per year promoting Amway, yet we won’t even give it 15 minutes of our time. You know I’m right!

Now, think about how we approach evangelism of our faith. The way we “invite” people into a conversation with an agenda of getting them to make a commitment to seek the Lord. How we put our faith in hoping we can somehow give a polished enough presentation that others will be able to make a commitment to a grandiose god without any substance. We tout him as the answer to everything in a world that isn’t looking. We ask the question hundreds of times hoping that we will be invited to the top producers banquet in heaven someday.

What if you asked someone to accept Christ as Lord and they agreed–dropped to their knees and prayed right on the spot. Success, right? Well, when you present Christ as if you were presenting Amway, it is only temporary success that has no eternal impact. Imagine being the Amway salesperson getting someone else to sign on the dotted line and committing to sell it for you. When they are unsure of what they are doing, lack confidence because they weren’t really given much truth, and get beaten down from rejection, they will stop selling Amway as they no longer see any benefit. In the end, it was just a bunch of hype. We preach salvation so people won’t go to hell, yet when hell is no longer real to them their salvation becomes irrelevant.

Gregory Boyd has a chapter in The Myth Of A Christian Religion titled The REVOLT Against SECULARISM. In it, he describes this style of evangelism as a sales pitch:

We can be saved–which these people think means we won’t go to hell–simply by reciting this magical confession. We’re basically purchasing fire insurance with a magical prayer.

Boyd goes on to explain that Webster’s Dictionary defines a lord as: one who has power and authority over others. Therefore, when someone confesses that Jesus is their Lord, they should be confessing that Jesus has power and authority over them. Boyd claims that if someone confesses Christ as their Lord, yet does not submit to his power and authority, then they are contradicting themselves. He says it’s as if they are saying they are a married bachelor or a round square. Pastor Boyd affirms:

No wonder Jesus asked, “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do the things that I say?”

The simple truth is that when the Bible promises us that if we confess Jesus as Lord we will be saved, it’s not telling us how to get cheap fire insurance by reciting a magical salvation formula. Rather, it’s stipulating what kind of relationship we need to have with Jesus to participate in the healing and wholeness of God’s reign. This relationship, by definition, must be one of submission. We are saved when we authentically surrender our life to Christ, enthroning him as Lord.

Once the confession of Christ as Lord is made, it starts a journey of being in submission to his power and authority. It’s a journey because we have to look at the long-term significance of an eternity with Christ, yet we can only do so one step at a time. Boyd describes it by saying “Our lives are nothing more than a series of present moments strung together. The only thing that is real is now.” How true that is!

How can we profess Christ as the magical answer to the world’s problems if we Christians live our lives filled with problems ourselves? Don’t you know that the world sees us as hypocritical, brainwashed and judgmental people? If we did, why would we live our lives outside of Christ yet feel the need to invite others into a life with Christ?

We must learn that the world around is a secular one. Gregory Boyd explains that the word secular comes from a Latin word saeculum, which means “the present world.” That a secular worldview is one that focuses on the present physical world and ignores or rejects the spiritual realm. If this is truly the world we live in (and it is!) then we must learn how to be more relevant in our actions and words. We must come to understand that it’s not about heaven or hell, but it’s about the beauty of a kingdom that puts other people ahead of ourselves and trusts in a Lord with power and authority. That we can have a relationship with this Lord and be in his presence every second of every day. To know that he is actually calling us on a journey with him in an imperfect world that can be made perfect through his reign. We are to seek first the kingdom of God, not just a desire to be in heaven instead of hell. Just as God wants a relationship with you, he calls us to seek a relationship with others. We should look upon people with love and kindness rather than prospects for a sales pitch. We should seek to explain to them the truth and the daily struggles that go along with our relationship with Christ, rather than churn people out as disciples of a well-orchestrated sales pitch machine.

God is definitely asking us to share his love and describe our life with him to others. He is actively working through you and I in this world so that he may be made known to it. However, please don’t take this to be an agenda. Don’t be cliche. Know that it’s about much more than words…it requires action based on our submission to Christ. We must take the time to listen to his direction, discern what needs to be done, and trust that his power and authority will be made known to those that we come in contact with. God isn’t the CEO of Amway and he shouldn’t be reduced to a sales pitch. Boyd closes the chapter by writing:

As we grow in our capacity to live under the reign of God moment-by-moment, we increasingly manifest the beauty of his ever-present love while revolting against the ugly secularism that afflicts or world.

This is the heart of the Kingdom of God

This is the heart of the revolution we’ve been invited to participate in.

Viva la revolution!

After watching Steven Furtick preach yesterday for our One Prayer series at Revolution Church Sacramento, I was pondering something he said. In essence, it was kind of an attack on my manhood. Indirectly, of course, but it still was what it was. Pastor Furtick used an illustration of his 3 year old son being afraid of bugs. He shared that the bug was so small compared to the size of his son, that he was so big compared to his son, and that God is so enormous compared to any of our problems. However, Furtick wanted to eradicate his son’s fear of insects because he was a male and males shouldn’t be afraid of bugs. He then poked fun at himself for exercising to a yoga video and curling weight to show his manhood to his son. It was all very lighthearted and not intended to be mean, but it brings up the question as to what it means to be a man.

I know of some women that can out-lift me in the weight room. I also know of women that are better leaders than I am and also many that make way more money a year than I do. I also know women that aren’t afraid of bugs (including my wife). Does that make them men?

I could go on-and-on and cite Biblical references as to what role men are to play in the home and in the church. However, I want to put this into a purely societal context in the year 2009. I truly believe my reference for manhood has been dramatically changed from what other males are going through today. My dad was the sole provider for our household when I was growing up. He taught me how to throw a baseball, shoot a gun, catch fish, how to punch someone in a fight, the proper way for a manly handshake, and reinforced over and over again in a loud, manly voice about how boys aren’t supposed to cry. As a man, I was never to show weakness of any kind. My dad was a man’s man! He was a hard working middle class guy that worked hard to support a family and instill character in his (adopted) sons. He was also a Mr. Fix-it kinda guy. With his help and the help of our neighbor who was a mechanic, I rebuilt the engine in my car at age 18.

I get lots of comments (from men & women both) about my firm handshake when I meet them. People are amazed at my ability to grab some tools and fix almost anything. Some can even see through my current fat exterior and see that I used to lift weight and was very muscular. Do these things make me a man?

I remember a time in my seminary when we visited a mega church in Arizona with a pastor that specifically targeted men for his church. He told us that churches were feminine because it was mostly women that attended services. Lots of flowers, pleasant songs, picnics, etc. He called out a guy that was pretty metrosexual in our class and jokingly (on not so jokingly) used him as an example of what this was doing to men. We as men were becoming girly. In order to attract men to the church, men needed to do events like Nascar screenings, sporting event ministries, and car shows. Funny thing is, less than a year later the metrosexual person this pastor called out in our classroom was solicited to become a worship leader at his church.

Now, I don’t have sons, but I honestly believe that if I had I would have wanted them to be manly and play sports and be tough. However, I don’t see a lot of that in the younger generations today. Gender is becoming very neutral in some ways. Men on American Idol are being talked about based on what eyeliner (aka “guyliner”) they use. Men don’t seem to be as adept at fixing cars, mowing lawns, catching fish or being strong. Women on the other hand have become more independent, physically stronger, and not afraid to challenge the leadership of men in some situations. We even had Hillary Clinton make a very strong run to be the Democratic Party’s nominee for president of the US last year.

Is being afraid of bugs really considered a true test of manliness in 2009? Call me old fashioned, but I really think we in America are suffering from the loss of gender roles. Not in the context of whether men are better-equipped to do something than women–this has nothing to do with equality. I just think that with all the strides forward our nation has taken in the last 20 years to be more equal between the sexes, that we are now moving toward a homologous, gender-neutral society where there is less distinction between the sexes. Gone are the days where Tom Selleck, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Clint Eastwood or John Wayne are looked upon as overtly masculine and appealing. The qualities that made them manly men are insignificant. The qualities that my dad instilled in me seem to be dying.

Is a gender neutral world really what we should be striving for? What are the implications when sex/gender no longer have any insignificance in our society? Am I the only one giving thought to this in our society?

• We were able to go through with our worship set even though it was our smallest gathering to date. This honored God and I know he was pleased! Not many people get a chance to face this situation. It was a blessing in disguise for our team.
• I had a chance to hear Annette throw down some rhymes today. I like the way she raps, “yo, yo, yo!” We need more Asian hip-hop artists in Sacramento! :)
• Being smaller today allowed us to be more-relaxed. It was fun time and we engaged in some good fellowship. I don’t want Revolution Church to be stodgy & traditional. Talking about running 10k’s, and about our studies, and joking around together…what a great way to prepare ourselves to worship our God together! I may put up some clips on our vimeo site :)
• As always, Steven Furtick brought it all today! I’m wondering if there is ever going to be a time when I watch Pastor Furtick preach a message and I don’t get emotional and get teary. I just get so jacked up hearing this man speak! His enthusiasm for the local church and his love of God is incomparable. God wrecks me every time. Steven Furtick and I may never meet in-person and he may not know me by name, but I guarantee you that people in Sacramento are going to know the saving grace of Christ Jesus because of how Pastor Furtick has influenced me and my ministry. I will never be the same!
• I’m so indebted to the kingdom-minded team of Craig Groeschel and staff at LifeChurch.tv. One Prayer this year has been crazy good and has been a great way for us to introduce Revolution Church to Sacramento during our public preview services this month. Much love always to Pastor Craig and the amazing team at LifeChurch.tv…we will be forever thankful that we could grow in our faith and grow closer together through your making resources such as One Prayer available to small churches such as us. For those of you that have my blog for any length of time know how grateful I am for Craig Groeschel’s kingdom heart and for all that he has spoken into my life and ministry. Someday I hope we as Revolution Church Sacramento have a chance to give to others as LifeChurch.tv has freely given to us.
• I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: We have an unbelievably gifted and big-hearted worship team for our public preview services and I am awed in their presence. I’ve been to several churches as part of my seminary studies and through my travels. I know some churches with thousands of people in attendance on a Sunday that don’t have the cohesiveness and spirit of worship that our team has. God so answered our prayers for this aspect of our ministry and I am completely humbled that of all the ministries in all the world that he would put together this outstanding team for our preview services. As Pastor Furtick shared tonight, God is GREAT!
• We finally got all of our sound system issues resolved today! It sounded really nice and we are ready for our guest worship team from Xaris Church next Sunday. Wow, how we got some low budget, used equipment from ebay to perform like this could only be the result of a GREAT God! Wow!
• As it was Father’s Day, I had to get together with my daughters after service so I missed hanging out with our church for dinner. It really felt strange to me. Seriously, I am wondering how I am going to respond when we stop meeting Sunday nights after next week and go to gathering for small group gatherings in homes for two months. I can honestly say that I am going to miss our church after our preview services. It’s making me feel a little sad at the moment.
• As we conclude week three with just one more week to go for One Prayer, I know that we could not have realized this time without the strong prayers of some great people that have partnered with us throughout the world in prayer. Combining the prayers of our partners along with those from over 1,800 churches participating in One Prayer makes for some abundant favor upon God’s house and his people. Prayer is being lifted up and God is responding in awesome ways. When we can recognize his hand in the little things we can come to expect his hand in the bigger things.
• Hearing Steven Furtick’s testimony again about how Elevation Church got its start always gets me excited. When people see him speak and learn that he is a senior pastor the first thing people comment about is how young he is. So beautiful to see God work in all sorts of people that will pursue him in faith. Young or old, loud or quiet, tall or short…God will use the least of his people at times to speak power into people’s lives. Praying that God will continually do that as he grows our ministry here in Sacramento. Can’t wait to see how things come together for us!
• The text I studied and prayed over last week in Philippians really spoke to me tonight. On the surface it may have seemed like tonight was kind of uneventful, but I feel that we had much to rejoice about and many to be thankful for. Tonight we stood in unity and it wasn’t about theology or mission or worship style–we were truly brothers and sisters i Christ and it was a wonderful time to be together.
• After having the video messages from some gifted preachers being received so well this month, I’m going to have to step-it-up for next Sunday. Hoping I don’t disappoint anyone…please pray for me.

• Even though the Philippian church was supportive of Paul and gave him cause to rejoice always, it is clear that in Philippians 4:2-3 NIV that there was some strife going on with some of the leadership. If you’re looking for the perfect church, you will always be looking as it does not exist!
• Jesus is coming back and we should live as if we believe it to be true. We may not know the exact day or hour, but Christ has promised to return and Paul reminds us of that in Philppians 4:5 MSG. We must act now and not presume that since there is always tomorrow we can relax. 
• Even though there is emphasis on the financial gifts Paul received from the church in Philippi, he makes it clear in Philippians 4:11 that he is not in need and trusts in God to provide for him in all things. With money comes a lot of things, especially a sense of entitlement. May we never be afraid to say no to a big donor that asks for things in return. May we always trust in God that he will send his provision to us in proportion to what we need. He is always right on time!
• In Philippians 2:25 Paul talks about sending Epaphroditus to help the church in Philippi. In verse 19 he mentioned sending Timothy. I am reminded that God has sent who we needed to support us in the time of our preview services. Whether we move forward as an actual launch team and core group remains to be seen, but I will never forget the things our group have done to get us here. They’ve worked hard to put their best foot forward for small gatherings on our Sunday preview services and God will honor that and their worship in the future. We all need help and when the right people come our way we don’t always count them as blessings. Team Revolution, please know that I am blessed beyond measure and indebted to each of you!
• Philippians 3 AMP was a big chapter for me. It is a reminder I need to remain humble and put no confidence in my flesh or in others. Everything must be from God and for God, done in a spirit of reverence and humility. It’s been a long road for me to become humbled before my God, but he has been working on me from my first days as a new creation in him and he is continuing that good work in me this day. 
• God has started something good within us at Revolution Church Sacramento. For some it may be the start of an amazing journey with us and for others it may be the start of a new journey in a new place or in an old place with a fresh, new perspective. Regardless of where we each go when our preview services finish next week, we have been put together for a reason and it’s been a great time! The presence of the Lord has been upon us and I am being stretched, shaped and prepared to keep pressing on towards the goal with clearer insight on how to move forward. 
• Church planting has been difficult and easy, fun and painstaking, at times second nature and other times a battle of wills. Through it all, it has given me a sense of purpose and a deep inner peace that nothing else has ever done for me. It is so strange to me to think of future successes owing all things to Christ who gives me strength rather than immediate, tangible rewards from my business experience. It is a place that brings me great joy and I can freely admit that if another day ever comes in my time with Revolution Church Sacramento, I stand here right now with no regrets and only love for my fellow human being and a joy in knowing that the world has already been made a better place through our actions. 
• As it is written in Philippians 2:17-18: “But even if I am being poured out like a drink offering on the sacrifice and service coming from your faith, I am glad and rejoice with all of you. So you too should be glad and rejoice with me.” Friends, let us rejoice and be glad together! To the people of Revolution Church Sacramento, I pray that we will be rejoicing together for years to come. Your sacrifice and service has made me so proud of your hearts for the kingdom and your love and grace.