back in april i attended an boutique conference called the Q conference where we were introduced to several presenters on a myriad of topics selected to heighten our awareness and challenge our creativity as we consider our role in shaping culture.
this is where i learned of TOMS shoes and became aware of several other initiatives that are taking place in america.
so...
while at the conference, we saw a special pre-release viewing of the movie bella
bella has won pretty much every major film award for an independent film that you can win, including the toronto film festival. see website for all awards and synopsis of movie, theaters, etc.
"there comes a time in everyone's life when something happens that changes them forever an their life will never be the same."
st. louis is one of the market cities to show the film. the film just released yesterday... its showing at st. louis mills 18, chesterfield galaxy, st. charles 18, etc.
if you get a chance to get out the movies... you need to see this film!
so much of creating culture is about appreciating the past yet focusing on the future. i was reminded of this yet again by Mark Batterson.
this reminds me of our context and our current culture at the REALM. it seems as though that this is a hinge point not only in our history at the REALM, but also currently in america. i believe that we will be able to look back at this time in history and remember what was and know that we had to make decisions to "become."
it is so easy to remain... it seems that regardless of the pressure and the pain to remain, there is still a comfort of sorts to remain in what is recognizable. the fear of the unknown causes the freedom of the unknown to be allusive and unreachable; or so it seems.
this "unknown" brings with it a new language where the "tired" words of yesterday don't translate anymore. a new lexicon is needed to decipher the words of this unknown world. we will be missionaries in this world... this world is tomorrow... this world is now!
will the church be willing to go there?
will we be willing to go there?
may we travel together well...
may we become what we have been called to become...
may we become together...
it's said that if you can count the amount of TRUE, AUTHENTIC, REAL friends on one hand... you are blessed.
what about you?
are you a good friend?
what do you think it means and takes to be a good lasting friend?
what does it take for a friendship to be lasting?
it is good to be with friends, in the truest sense of the word and in the truest description of what the word means. we are here in nashville and heading off to atlanta this afternoon.
got your attention?
the longer i am a pastor, the more i become aware of the need for something like this... if you are of the male gender... this is for you! a good friend of mine, the youth pastor over at harvester christian, david merhle is bringing in the guys from xxxchurch.com in to bring the realities and dangers of what porn can and will do to your mind, your future, your life! boys, this stuff is no joke! YOU NEED TO GO TO THIS EVENT!
the details:
November 3
8 to 10 a.m.
@ Harvester Christian Church
Ticket cost is $8
Pancake breakfast & speakers
the speakers:
As a young pastor in southern California, Craig Gross began to notice a recurring theme among those he cared for - a struggle with porn. Craig decided to address the root of the problem; this led him to start XXXchurch.com.
CRAIG GROSS
XXXCHURCH.COM
David Dean is a Christian comedian who brings more than comedy to an event ... he brings truth! With experience from Second City School of Improv in Chicago, David has a great wit and ability to communicate scripture to people. Wayne Rice, cofounder of Youth Specialties, says: "It's rare to find someone who can both tickle the funny bone and touch the heart at the same time."
DAVID DEAN
COMEDIAN & SPEAKER
it is absolutely incredible to see the collaboration and cooperation of the groups to come together... this makes me smile! I know that i saw 2 Rivers, fbc st. charles, fbc st. peters, and many more! we were amazed to see that 175 students showed up from the REALM to attend the seminar.
i love collaborating with other groups...
Brian,
thanks for setting this up throwing the invitation out to us bro...
thanks... i pray that the choices and the decisions that have been made will be lasting and authentic!
remember... we will meet at the REALM and leave at 6:00 to go to calvary to attend the silver ring thing seminar. $8 at the door if you have not turned in your slips already... remember that you NEED your parent to sign your permission slip in order to be on the bus to go over to calvary.
i am excited to hang with the guys at calvary and do this event together. this is going to be incredible!
when we realize that in fact we are broken and we need a rescuer... when we realize that a giant rescue has been planned and god wants to put the pieces back together... we begin to understand the signifcance of this relationship with christ.
this is the gospel... this is the good news... that God wants to put the pieces back together.
this video is the rescue...
may we begin to understand that WE ARE THE GOSPEL... that we represent the good news and story of God putting it all back together again...
in the past several years, a little more at a time i have become more and more tuned and aware to what is going on and happening around the world. by this i mean the social injustices and reality of what it means to be socially aware outside our little st. charles/st. louis bubble.
two years ago we teamed up with several groups to raise money to build a well in africa for a village that would give them clean water and begin to alleviate the spread of disease for generations to come.
this past year, we teamed up again and held the first ever TOMS shoes event that for every pair of shoes we bought, one was given to a child in need somewhere in the world.
and since then... i have heard so many stories of people changing lives around the world because they believe in being a part of something bigger than themselves... playing a role in a larger global story... don't you think its time that we (the church) start being the church...
recently i caught wind of a story that made me sit back and say... "wow". there is an organization called to write love on her arms that was created to be a voice in the pain and hurt and dark world of suicide, depression, and cutting.
this story of a girl by the name of rene is a story that resonates and screams in the hearts of so many people, yet no one will ever know. the real question that we need to ask ourselves is... do we even really want to know?
i hope that we never become a place where people think that they have to have "it all together" to come in. i hope that we never become the place where we close the door some and open it to others. i pray that people come to find rescue. i pray that people come to find jesus.
will we be the church...
will we (the REALM, the church, people who call themselves followers of Christ) care about people?
RESCUE IS POSSIBLE...
there's no perfect people here...
just a bunch of broken people searching for rescue in the hands of jesus...
RESCUE IS POSSIBLE...
F
(NOTE: this video is a REAL and RAW story that includes some mature language)
story is the language of the heart...
story is the narrative of the soul...
... and if we are not careful we will miss it!
that is the new shift that has taken place for me over the last year... the ability to look at life through the lens of story. if i am not careful i measure my and our success based on numbers and attendance... but the real truth, the real success lies behind the stories.
i just had a conversation with someone who was struggling with the decision to remain the same or to become what they know they should and could be, and who they want to be. it inspired me to see that god is at work... he wants to do something... he doesn't want us to remain... he wants us to become...
wow... there is such a clear sense of disturbance in our community right now... (by the way, that is a GOOD THING!)
people are beginning to be disturbed to become the thing, the person that we have been called, have been invited to become. doesn't that sound incredible? that we have been invited to become this person that God, the creator of everything, wants to use?
when you have become disturbed... the response is simply "USE ME."
"God, use me... use us"
two small... but dangerous prayers...
Will you allow God to disturb you?
Will you allow God to use you?
have you ever prayed a prayer that "messed" you up?
i have recently started praying a prayer that has "messed" me up...
see, what happens when we realize that have awaken one day to find ourselves somewhere we no longer want to be... something needs to get messed up, something needs to mess you, me, us up.
"disturb me."
"God, disturb me..."
i pray that this becomes the prayer mantra of my life...
when you realize that you are indeed living in that "place" and have become consumed with the invitation to remain there in its stench and lifelessness, and there seems to be an inability to leave but also desire to say good-bye... which will you choose?
to remain or to become?
ignorance is no longer an option... you now know! you know that you are there, you know that you don't want to be there, you know where you want to be... at least not here... what will you choose?
have you ever gone through life and found yourself in a "place" that you just don't want to be?
the second question that naturally comes to mind is...
how did i get here or there?
unfortunately, we know this "place" all too well... apathy, complacency, self seeking, controlling, lazy, vision-less, direction-less, mediocrity, status quo... and everything else in between.
sound familiar?
i know it does for me and i hate that place... that place is filled with the stench of death. that is not our home... that place is not for you, or me, or us.
the invitation is to open the door and walk OUT of that place...
don't stay there...
i am here down in atlanta attending the catalyst conference... this question was posed to us today in the conference... what is your next move?
often times we get caught up in the all the hype of being "super christian" and all the rules that are associated with the label that we neglect the power of NOW! what i am trying to say is simply not to miss this moment and the influence you can have in this moment.
3 of the last 4 years i have attended a conference in atlanta called catalyst... it is a leadership conference where the experts in the field and the innovators of modern leadership gather to discuss and motivate the next generation leadership in america. Capital A-mazing conference!
new series hitting the gathering on wednesday nights this month. the series name will be "etc"... signifying that we will be continuing with where we have been in september... there is more to know and understand.
"Et cetera" literally translated from the original latin means... "and the others".
What about the others?
everyday... you, me, we have the opportunity to influence at a high level just being us. nothing special, nothing extra, just you being you!
So... what will happen to the "others" when we live life this way?
when we look back over the course of the last month we quickly see that throughout the book of luke and the more specifically where we explored, jesus began to describe what this life is supposed to look like when seen through his eyes.
we are to be different... (OK got that)
we are to build solid foundation in him... (OK got that)
we are to live life together helping each other make this a reality (OK got that)
when i move, we move... (OK got that)
when we move, "they" will see that and begin to understand what it means and looks like to be a follower of christ... (OK got that)
in thought and in concept, i know that we got it... i know that we think we understand, that we think we know... but really the point that jesus was really trying to get through and get people (us) to understand was simply...
YOU NEED ME!
you have one leg to stand on, and that leg is ME!
we need him... without him, we know that the end result is complete and total destruction.
