ChrisTrethewey.com

IGNITE: Prayer Partnership

2012-05-30T10:02:44-07:00

There are moments when in the middle of the chaos, you can sense God's presence in such a real way. What we are experiencing at Renaissance right now is one of those incredible moments. The obstacles we face are significant, but the opportunities in front of us are even greater! God is truly moving within Renaissance in a significant way. It is because of your personal commitment to the everyONE that we are experiencing a movement that God is greatly blessing. Your absolute resolve to take a relational risk by inviting your friends, family and co-workers is inspiring. Every weekend I have the privilege to meet someone or get an email from someone who has experienced Renaissance for the first time. Lives are being changed. Marriages are being mended. Broken people are experiencing healing. The disenchanted are rediscovering a place where God is alive. People are discovering a life-changing relationship with Jesus. I love seeing God at work and I hope you do, too! That’s why it’s got to be all about the everyONE.

Over the next 30 days, please link arms with me and pray! God is moving in such a significant way within Renaissance and it is such an honor to be part of the lives that are being changed.

Here is the 30day Prayer Partnership guide. Click on it to download.

5 Words in 10 Seconds

2011-11-21T04:00:00-08:00

5 WORDS in 10 SECONDS

I asked a group of approximately 80 people, all connected to Renaissance Church, a simple question.

When you think of Renaissance, what are the top 5 words that enter your mind?

I then set a simple guardrail around this question. Only take 10 seconds to do this. I didn't want people to over think it. I didn't want people to over analyze it. I just wanted to get a quick "blink"response on what the most important and impacting pieces about Renaissance.

Here are the results:

This showed me two important insights:

1) Revealed the unique qualities of Renaissance.

2) It revealed areas that I need to start teaching on.

Both insights, priceless.

Art, the Bible, and an Eruption of Color

2011-11-16T05:00:00-08:00

Renaissance Church had an incredible opportunity to have artist Tom Clark be part of our weekend services (11/13/2011). After every message, I turned for a moment and stared at the canvas. I was personally inspired by Tom's ability to take a passage of scripture and allow his creative inspiration to explode onto the canvas. He connected words, emotions, and the clear inpsiration of the Holy Spirit in an eruption of color.

The core passage I taught from was Acts 9:1-16 and I focused on Paul's journey to go from a life focused on himself to a life radically comitted to following Christ. You can listen to the Message here.

CHALLENGE: Read through the passage as you look at all three of these paintings. The journey will inspire you.

Finding Faith in Rock N' Roll // Beatles Edition

2011-10-03T19:24:14-07:00

Chris Trethewey

SIMPLIFY!

2011-07-21T10:52:16-07:00

"Our life is frittered away by detail . . .simplify, simplify."
~Henry David Thoreau~

There are great written masterpieces that have been scripted over the years. They have woven their way into societies and have become the bedrock of cultures around the world. There have been transformational speeches that have been inked and articulated that have deeply moved people to overcome impossible challenges.

There were 4543 words in the original constitution and an additional 1458 words in the Declaration of Independence. There are 783,137 words in the King James Bible. Great literary works such as War and Peace, The Great Gatsby and Hamlet consists of thousands of carefully crafted words which inspire, confound and create new thought.

But when you think about words that change the world, I think about simple statements - phrases - that move, inspire, invoke, and create change within a person. One of the most famous speeches ever spoken was on August 28, 1963. Martin Luther King' passionate - 17 minute - 1651 word vision can entirely be narrowed down to 4 simple words, "I Have a Dream!"

Think about these simple statements:

Power Corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
~Lord Acton~

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
~Sun-Tzu~

You must be the change you wish to see in the world.
~Ghandi~

When you are in love you can't fall asleep because reality is better than your dreams.
~Dr. Seuss~

I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.
~Martin Luther King~

These are simple statements, meticulously crafted, that have been imprinted into people's hearts in a timeless continuum. These phrases have captivated the hearts of people around the world. These phrases have power to move even the most obstinate minded to head into a new direction.

How do you as a communicator take a chapter filled with great thought and chop it down to a succinct page? How do you take a page of precise thought and chisel it down to a paragraph of thought provoking intrigue? Then, and only then, how do you force that paragraph down to a laser focused phrase that will be etched into the hearts and minds for centuries to come?

Each word matters. Each word has the force to create significant impact. Each word has the ability to transform thought. Craft each word with the expectation that it can change the world.