Decisions
that define us:
We
have decided that teaching the Gospel without demonstrating the Gospel is not
enough. Good preaching, good
doctrine, being good people, it’s not enough. We have decided that having a good church club is not
enough. Good fellowship, it’s not
enough. Just being a member of that club, it’s not enough. We have decided that having good bible
studies is good, but not good enough.
That just making it to Heaven is not our goal; and that knowing about
God without truly knowing and experiencing God is meaningless! We have decided that having good
programs is not enough. That
change without transformation is intolerable, and staying the same is not an
option! We have decided that
gifting without character is futile.
We have decided that singing songs without worshiping is hollow, and
having meetings without God showing up is pointless. We have decided that having faith without works is not
enough, and having works without love in not acceptable. Our function comes out
of our relationship first with the Father and second with each other. We have decided that reading about the
book of acts without living the book of acts is unthinkable. We have decided that confident faith is
good, bold faith is better. We
have decided that hearing about the Holyspirit without experiencing Him is
silly. That believing in His
presence without seeing it manifested in signs and wonders is hypocrisy; that
believing in healing without seeing people healed is absurd; and that believing
in deliverance with out people being delivered is absolutely ridiculous. We’ve
decided to be Holyspirit filled, Holyspirit led, and Holyspirit empowered. Anything less doesn’t work for us. We have decided to be the ones telling
the stories of Gods power, not the ones hearing about them. We have decided that living saved but
not supernatural is living below our privilege and short of what Christ died
for. We have decided that we are a
battleship not a crewship, an army not an audience, special forces not spectators,
missionaries not club members. We
have decided to value both pioneers and settlers; pioneers to expand our
territory and settlers to build on those territories. But we are not squatters; people who take up space others
have fought for without improving it.
We have decided to be infectious instead of innocuous, contagious
instead of quarantined, deadly instead of benign. We have decided to be radical lovers and outrageous
givers. We have decided that we
are a mission station not a museum. >>>>
Therefore,
we honor the past but we don’t
live in it. We live in the present
with our eyes on the future. We see past events, successes, and failures as
stepping stones not stop signs .
We peruse learning in order to be transformed not learning in order to
know. We are people of engagement
not observation. We focus on what
could be not on what is or what has been.
We are not limited to the four walls of this building; our influence is
not restricted by location. Not
even the Nations are out of bounds.
We are more concerned about how many we send out in the world then how
many we convince to come into the building. This building is meant to be filled, and it will be, but it
will not be the measure of who we are or the measure of our effectiveness. We raise up world changers not tour
guides. We train commandos not
committees. We are a people of our
destiny not our history. We have
decided it’s better to fail while reaching for the impossible that God has
planned for us then succeed in settling for less. We have decided that nothing short of His kingdom come and
His will be done in our world as it is in heaven will satisfy. We have decided that we will not be
satisfied until our world freaks out and cries out, “those who turned the world
upside down have come hear too.�
These
are some of the decisions that define who we are as a community and how we live
our lives. These decisions are not
destinations but rather journeys.
Journeys along an ancient path, we have not found some new way. But rather rediscovered a path as old
as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The
same path followed by Moses, Joshua, and Caleb, Paul, John, and Peter. The path followed by the first century
church, a church that revolutionized the culture of the first century and
beyond. It’s a path that will
impact the world we live in today.
It’s a path of bold faith, believing that what God says is really true
and acting on it. It’s a path of
outrageous generosity, giving our life away in order to demonstrate His
kingdom. It’s a path of radical
love, loving God with everything in us and loving our neighbor as ourselves. It’s a path of liberty, freedom, and
healing. On this path you will find
significance, purpose, and destiny.
It’s a path less traveled however.
It’s not a path only available to a select few, but to who so ever will
may come. It’s for people of every
nation tribe and tongue, for those in any occupation or vocation. No matter where you are in your life
journey there’s room on this path for you.
