"Generation Z" is here and What You Need To Know

If you’re working in youth ministry, college interns or college ministry then it’s time to get acquainted with “Generation Z.”  Some also call them the “Wii generation, Post-millennial, or Homeland.”  If 2004 is the supposed ending point of the Millenial generation then "Generation Z" young people are in your ministry ... right now. 

Why is this significant?  Because they are different than the millenials and have some unique themes and traits that are specific for them.  So we must learn how to relate to them, inspire them and grow them or we could lose them.  Pastors specifically take notice of these unique characteristics as many are sitting in our congregations right now and are desiring to be used, be more involved and desiring to grow closer to God.  The content below is insightful and hopeful will inspire you to think critically on how you might want to program your families, organizations and how to lead these up-and-coming  leaders. 

I’m taking some other articles and pasting them together for you to understand what this landscape looks like as they have articulated it best than having me to rewrite it ... they've done a concise job (sources: Tony Morgan and Chase Abner).   Take a look below and see what stands out to you and take a note on how this affects you and your relationships with Generation Z:

5 Unique Themes of Generation Z:

They will be the most racially diverse generation  

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the United States will become a majority minority country by 2043. The fastest growing demographic in Generation Z is biracial. Immigration also continues to bring in new religions, races, and nationalities. If we are going to be relevant, our churches and campus ministries must reflect the many shades of students on campus. This is true of our leadership composition as well.

They will be more numerous than Millennials

While Millennials have outnumbered both Baby Boomers and Generation X, Generation Z is set to become the largest generation. This means the college-age cohort of this generation is going to continue for some time. Also, research shows that one out of two from Generation Z wants a college education. But there is a twist. These kids are growing up in an age of education transformation and many of them will spend more time at community colleges, early college programs, and online than ever before. We will need to adjust assumptions about where these college students will spend the bulk of their time, and figure out how to reach these education pioneers.

Raised in an Age of Authenticity

 In his magisterial book A Secular Age, philosopher Charles Taylor shows how we in the Western world have moved to an age where expressive individualism is how we authenticate meaning. It’s a world which can be summed up as “bare choice as a prime value, irrespective of what it is a choice between, or in what domain. . . the only sin which is not tolerated is intolerance.” Gen Z is growing up with 58 choices for gender on Facebook and gender neutral pronouns at colleges (“Ze has a great GPA,” for instance). Bruce/Caitlyn Jenner as a Vanity Fair pinup. Everyone gets to choose and woe be zir or hir who is seen as intolerant.

Social Media Natives

  Gen Z has grown up in a world of computers, internet, and smartphones. They are tech natives who love to create content not just consume. Never before has so much information been readily available for distribution, cross-reference, and debate. Not only are Obama and Trump fact-checked after or during a speech, but so are you. Gen Z is also part of a global youth culture where friendships cross national boundaries through social media and easy, often free communication. They are influenced by people from around the world, yet can also influence like never before.

Crisis Marked

Having grown up in the War on Terrorism in a post-911 world that was also wracked by financial turmoil and ever increasing tuition costs, these students have seen their older siblings without jobs or back at home. Neil Howe, creator of the term Millennial, calls them the Homeland Generation. They are also realists in many ways with a leaning towards entrepreneurial creativity. In a Sparks and Honey survey, 42% said they wanted to work for themselves. They are getting back to basics and understand the need for financial security. A college education is important to them, but they don’t want huge debt hanging around their necks. There are a lot of choices in education now, and they are creative in how they hack education.

When it comes to learning, members of Generation Z:

 

1. Are graphically driven

2. Dislike lectures, tests and classrooms

3. Are constant multi-taskers

4. Value instant feedback

5. Generally do not take the time to determine the reliability of information

6. Thrive in collaborative environments

7. Are wired for fast delivery of content

8. Desire a customized education experience

We love "the new young christians" of today.  This is what The New Young Christian vision is: To mobilize young believers to live their personal mission and love others around them to affect society for common good.  That's what we see.  How we do it, or our mission, is by inspiring callings, transforming communities and restoring culture.  We talk about a lot of issues like dating, pornography, sexual identity, etc.  If you want to know more about us by reading part of our Manifesto, click here and connect with us anytime.  We'd love to connect.

How To Get The Year You Want In 2017

Let's face it:  2016 was wild ride.  So every new year we get an opportunity to reflect, look back and take a fresh crack at another chance to make this year the year that goes down in the history books as one of the best.  

17 Thoughts on How to Get the Year you Want:

1.  You can be dreaming about the big moments but but it starts from obeying in the small moments.  

2. The quality of answers you are getting this year is dependant on the quality of questions you're asking this year.

3.  Listen wisely by turning off the right voices at the right time.   The “non-God” voice in your head is discouraging and can derail you.  It sounds like this: “You can’t do it”; “You are a not good enough”; “You won’t make it”; etc   The outside voices that are harmful or toxic are the ones that are divisive, dishonoring and discouraging.

4.  Passion usually leads you there but there wil be times when discipline will have to lead you…and that’s usually when you “don’t feel like it.”

5.  Take action when you're lacking support or expertise because It’s not always going to be accessible when you need it.

6.  Don't allow shame to ever be a motivator.

7.  Take time to recalibrate where God has taken you and where you are going.

8.  Today’s decisions create tomorrow’s conditions.

9.  Being overwhelmed by God keeps you from being overwhelmed by circumstances

10.  My conduct is more important than what I accomplish.  The reality is some days you're going to win some and some days you're going to lose some.

11. Pay attention to patterns and not isolated incidences.  Just because you didn’t make it to the gym by the end of the day or finish the book by the end of the month doesn’t mean it’s game over.   

12.  Stop trying to change your circumstances and start guarding your confidence.

13.  You have radical permission to be yourself.   

14.  Never underestimate the power of taking a daily 15 minute “Sabbath” in your day to rejuvenate and refresh. 

15.  Your success cannot be given, bought or entitled…period.  Because you won’t be satisfied.

16.  Show me your tribe and I’ll show you your future

17.  Today is yours to own so don’t’ transfer owndership to anyone else … take ownership right now. 

Any I'm forgetting or that you would add?

New Priorities For A New Season

As this holiday season approaches we are all reminded that this year is closing and a new year is beginning.  I am a dreamer.  I want to succeed at my career.  I want to help as many people as I can.  I want to be the best father.  I want to be an amazing husband.   I have a bucket list.  I'm ambitious (I got through the whole season of Stranger Things in a week)...so I need to prioritize.  

What makes it hard to prioritize is all of the decisions I have to make throughout my day.  Who do I text back?  Who needs me more right now?  How do I help my kids?  Who do I move to next week because I overbooked my week this week?  

My iPhone has a 1000's of songs.  My TV has hundreds of channels.  My job has many decisions I have to make on a daily basis.  My family has a lot of spontaneous dance parties and someone has to make the "ultimate playlist" ("Drake Making a Pizza" is my latest).

A "chosen generation" must master the art of "choosing God" in the midst of living in a culture where the choice to do so much (stream an album, download a podcast, FaceTime a friend, answer a text, like an instagram, etc) is constantly bombarding #thenewyoungchristian.  What you chose to do each day determines what you prioritize each day.

 

SOME CRITICAL PRIORITIES TO START THIS WEEK FOR THE NEW YOUNG CHRISTIAN:

1.  Learn contentment in everything

There is always a draw towards bigger and better.  The challenge will be being content with who God made you to be and where God has placed you (Philippians 4:12-13).  Comparison kills contentment.  Plain and simple.  So stop comparing yourself, your calling and your successes to everyone else.  The reality is your one "yes" to God means that everyone else was a no accept you... God chose you.  That makes your life trajectory different than your bro down the street, different than the church down the coast, different than the leader across the ocean, etc.  Your obedience will look different than everyone else but the blessing is guaranteed.  If  you're going to compare yourself to another person...then compare yourself to Jesus.  Obedience is the "spiritual force" that makes you into His likeness.

“Your obedience will look different than everyone else but the blessing is guaranteed.”

 

2.  Move past your disappointment

You have probably figured out that once you accept Christ, your life doesn't magically get easier.  In fact, you're not alone in seeing that life seems to get more difficult and messier.  You will have setbacks in life as a Christian.  People will disappoint you.  As a leader and influencer, you will have critics that will show up in your life.  It will be easy at times to isolate yourself, wall yourself up, shut down or give up on your faith.  Not only that, you won't understand "why God is allowing this" throughout your life.  A thriving spiritual life is not found in isolation.  You are not defined but what they have done to you but what Jesus has done for you.  

I can guarantee this:  you won't fully understand the big picture...but rest assured there is one.  There is a greater vision at work that you can't see That's why you have to write that vision down, simplify it and run hard and fast with it (Habakkuk 2:2).  Keep the vision of your calling from God in mind and push forward, regardless of the obstacles which come your way.

“A thriving spiritual life is not found in isolation. You are not defined but what they have done to you but what Jesus has done for you.  ”

3.  Seek wisdom first

If you haven't read proverbs in a while read it.  The wisest man who ever lived talks about how wisdom is the priority of his pursuit.  Even the the Psalms say "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" (Proverbs 1:7, 9:10; Psalms 111:10).  Wisdom isn't just reading the Bible.  It is memorizing Scriptures.  Scriptures that aren't used as "Biblical Bumper Stickers" you slap on a situation but when the Word of God  becomes  embedded into who you are, into your relationship, your situations and your life.  Wisdom is pursuing relationships in your life who have gone farther, built bigger or lived longer.  Wisdom is not being right in every situation but doing right thing in every situation.  Blessed are the peacemakers...so pursue peace and be the wisest in your organization. 

4.  Be faithful...starting now

The "next" will always call out for you.  Especially if you are talented, gifted or have a platform that gets recognition.  In our culture we have a tendency to overvalue "15 minutes of fame" and undervalue faithfulness.  We curate 140 characters on twitter but don't cultivate character in our relationships.  Faithfulness is an attritbute of God.  Faithfulness is a fruit of the Spirit.  Opportunities are everywhere.  Success is valued but can be misleading.  Succeeding at the wrong thing could be your biggest failure.  That's why it's important to steward your "now" well because it is training and shaping for your "next."  Don't take shortcuts.  Shortcuts "cut short" the work of God on your life.   Grow where you're planted.  Become grounded and develop a root system.  I was out to dinner with a great friend this weekend and we were talking about the unseen parts of our lives are so critical and rarely celebrated.  We don't celebrate the prayer lives of others, we don't instagram our "dad diaper changes" so mom can take a few minutes breather, we don't periscope our devo lives consistently to show the world we know how to seek God, etc.  What's underground isn't as celebrated as what's on our platform.  The reality is roots precede fruits.  To bear great fruits you need great roots.  Stay grounded and focused and watch God bring your future to life.  

“The reality is roots precede fruits. To bear great fruits you need great roots.  ”

5.  Ground your theology in Jesus

There are many out there who will be happy to shape your theology for you. There is a lot of spiritual content on the internet (how did that "blood moon" turn out for you?).  I’m not suggesting you stop growing in knowledge — in the “deeper” things of God. You should always be growing. I am suggesting you never get beyond the simple child-like, overwhelming awe of who Jesus is and how He loves you and what He did for you on the cross. Center your beliefs firmly and completely around the person of Jesus Christ.  Discipline your life to do as Jesus would do. Invite others to follow you as you follow Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1).   Let the grace, truth, love and hope of Jesus guide you in all you do and your life will have a beautiful simplicity to it.  

6.  Invest in someone else

Making disciples is the mission of Jesus He gave.  There is a relational difference between teaching a crowd on the weekend, having a Bible study in a community group and spending quality time with a few people.  Jesus model of living involved crowds, community and core.  Jesus thought being devoted to a few was time well spent to make a global impact that would last generations.   Who are you spending time with?  Who are you mentoring?  Not only that....but who is mentoring you?  It's not only beneficial for them but you will have a group of people who you can count on to pray for you, encourage you and inspire you.  Also...be teachable.  Fatherlessness surrounds so many of us.  Not just paternal but spiritual fatherlessness.  Could the reason we lack "spiritual fathers" is we don't know how to be teachable sons and daughters...so we live as orphans making same mistakes over and over again.  Resulting in lessons not learned and a generation of broken people trying to find health but never truly finding it.  Invest in others but also allow others to invest in you.

“Could the reason we lack ‘spiritual fathers’ is we don’t know how to be teachable sons and daughters...so we live as orphans making the same mistakes over and over again.”

Are their any priorities I'm missing?

5 Must-Do Disciplines In Your 20's

If I were in my 20’s again, there would be some practices and disciplines that I would build into my everyday life as The New Young Christian.  I would execute these disciplines regularly that it would become natural for me decades later. 

Here are 5 disciplines The New Young Christian should start in their 20's:

 

1.  Journaling

When I became a Christian at 22 years old, I didn't want to forget what God was telling me.  So I bought a notebook and began to write Scriptures down.  From there, I also began to write short prayer phrases down.  From there, it has become a discipline where I don't go anywhere without my prayer journal.  Let me tell you what this was not:  A "Dear Jesus Diary" where I share my heart secrets and talk about what I want in my future spouse.  Nope.  Although that's not wrong by any means, for a dude in his 20's like me at the time, that was not what I was aiming for.  For me, this was and has become, a daily practice where I simply have a blank page in front of me and I ask God to "speak to me."   I write down verses that stand out to me, I write down impressions that I believe God is speaking to my heart, worship song lyrics that "I can't shake" that I believe is the song of God to my season, etc.   Impressions in prayer that seem to come to mind that I keep praying.  God commands us to write what we see and hear and run forward with it (Habakuk 2:2).  I have realized journaling what I see and hear in devotions, sermons, conferences, etc, are "vision reveals" where God pulls back the curtain of his plan to reveal to me who I am, what I'm doing and where I'm going.  I have also developed a part of this habit that I say, "speak Lord" and whatever I perceive God speaking to my heart, I write it down.  This has allowed me to develop a listening ear to hear God's voice regularly and most importantly recognize that voice so when I'm out with others (leading, loving, speaking, encouraging, etc) I recognize God's counsel when it comes (John 10:27).  Because of this habit that I started at 22 I now have a collection of journals that I will give to my son and daughter as part of my spiritual legacy.  My children will have years of journals to see what God spoke to their father not only about me, but our family and about them! 

2.  "Tribing"

This is my own word that I use to define and rally those relationships that are meaningful to me, that champion my current season and that dream with me for my future.  Seth Godin, from his book Tribes, says this about these relationships, "A tribe is a group of people connected to one another, connected to a leader and connected to an idea....  A group needs only two things to be a tribe:  a shared interest and a way to communicate."  I break my tribes down into some of the following categories:  Inner Circle (those who I am most real with), Mentors (mature relationships who have permission to speak into my life), Models (who is doing what I am doing ahead of me and doing it well), Timothys (those who I can speak into, encourage and inspire who will outlast me),  The Prayer Circle (those relationships that I can share prayer needs with who I know pray and hear from God), to name a few.  Friendships often start early. And take work. In my 20's, my relationships seem to have deeper meaning and importance to me. I need people who can speak into my life who know me well.  So make sure to surrounded yourself with the right friends.  Let those in your tribe be from all walks of life.  They may ormay not be the people from your 20’s, but be on the lookout for relationships that have potential to inspire you and for you to inspire. 

3.  Giving

You can never be too early to start giving.  What are those areas of your life that move you to tears, move your heart and go make a difference in your family, community and world?  I have always been drawn to ministries and causes that help those who are orphaned or alone.  Now my family and I have developed and give weekly to our"Cause Cooperative."  Our family Cause Co-Op funds our personal causes and charities that have an intentionality in developing the heart of the fatherless, orphan and the abandoned.  This includes child sponsorship, monthly cause support and even a generosity fund that we can give from if we encounter someone with a need.  Not only does this allow is to diversify our generosity but the singular cause focus is leaving a memorable legacy for my family that we can look back on that my children will always remember.  I have realized generosity is one of the most rewarding parts of my life.  To own and champion a cause that is close to you and your family's heart will establish a legacy of generosity that starts with you that will outlast you.  Let your Cause Co-Op become a staple in your friendships and family. I highly recommend starting this discipline early before the world and all its demands attempts to take the ability from you.

4.  "IDing"

Specifically here I’m referring to understanding your identity by who God designed you to be and living out this identity in the world.  Mark Batterson, mentor and friend to me, has always said to me, "No one can worship God like you or for you."  That means that when you are truly yourself in the Kingdom, that's when the Kingdom of God is being the most complete and most recognizable as Jesus.  There are many versions of me:  the ME others want me to be, the ME I want to be, the ME I don't want to be, etc.  But there is a version of ME that God wants me to be and that's what I'm desiring to become.  This me is not mass-produced like a greeting card in a Target with multiple cards exactly like it, each behind one another at every target in the nation.  No...I'm not a mass-produced creation but a masterpiece creation.  Unique, one-of-a-kind, valuable and ready to be shown off to the world (Ephesians 2:10).  Because I live in Arizona, what it takes to grow a cactus would kill a Marigold.  This is why comparing yourself to others is never healthy.  What you need to make you grow into who God wants you to become is going to be different than what it's going to take others.  Discover your gifts and talents.  Take spiritual gifts tests and see what hits the top of the list and also be aware at what's at the bottom.  Take the Strengthfinders test to highlight what makes you flourish.  And always remember, all of this means nothing unless you start with your identity as a "son of God" or "daughter of God" first.   Start there and see what God will reveal to you about your gifts, talents, calling and place in God's Kingdom.  This discipline of identifying who I am regularly will cause me to be more secure the older I get and the result is a greater confidence to do what God wants me to do.  When you discover who God wants you to be you won't want to be anyone else.

5.  Honoring

 This discipline is honoring others is rare.  It seems one of the biggest battles the next generation has to fight against, is the feeling of being entitled.  Now, I think it's easy to make sweeping statements like, 'this generation is entitled' and point the finger at others and not really understand the deep rooted issues.  Entitlement is the belief that I am exempt from responsibility and I am owed special treatment.   I think the best way to battle entitlement is to honor others.  Honor says I am going to take responsibility and esteem, give respect and special credit to the other person with distinct worth.  Find those around you who have wisdom,  accomplishment and leadership and recognize what they have done with sincere gratitude.  Most of the time these individuals will be older and have some expression of authority so not only submit to them but pray for them.  Hebrews 13:17 says this about honoring those around you, especially those in spiritual authority,  "Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you. In life, there will always be those who will have authority over you and experience beyond you. Don't be jealous of their position or place but celebrate them.  When you’re young you can be guilty of thinking you know more than you really know.  You can be in charge and not under submission...and that's a dangerous thing.   There is always something to be learned from another person’s experience you don’t have.  The older you get, the more you realize how much you don’t know. The experiences and wisdom from others you collect over the years from honoring others will add value, inspire you and make you wiser. 

Any you would add to my list?

How To Speak Truth In A "Post-Truth" Culture

We live in highly emotionally charged environments from time to time. 

“Don’t tell me the facts about Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump…because how I feel about my candidate is more important to me.” 

“Don’t tell me the facts about Kanye west because I believe….” 

“The story about Colin Kaepernick is not accurate because I think….” 

“I feel superman could clearly take out batman with his super speed before batman could even fire a kryptonite bullet because….”

How I feel is more important how I think.  What I personally believe is more important than facts, accuracy or the whole story.  My feelings, my emotions and my personal beliefs have more validity than the certainty, correctness and the actuality of a person, situation or an event. 

This is the danger for the young person navigating the complicated landscape of media and information outsourcing.   Not just that but this complicates the spiritual landscape as well: 

“I feel God wouldn’t create a hell because God is love so….”

“ I think the Bible is really just a book so I don’t believe that when God said ….”

“I believe that Jesus wasn’t a real person but an ideal person because….” 

These thoughts will take you down a path of duplicity.  Each thought a false a narrative that is building a fake backdrop to a fictitious life with make-believe characters. 

Every year, Oxford Dictionaries' lexicographers decide on a word that points to the year's biggest trends or changes in the English language.

“After much discussion, debate, and research, the Oxford Dictionaries Word of the Year 2016 is post-truth–an adjective defined as ‘relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.'”  Oxforddictionaries.com

Post-truth is defined as an adjective "relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief," according to the dictionary.

Oxford Dictionaries noticed a rise in the use of the word during Brexit and the 2016 US Presidential Campaigns, but really, “the concept has been simmering for the past decade,” said Oxford Dictionaries. 

This trend and nomination is reflective of the tendency in our culture that we care more about how something makes us feel that the truth about that something.  Obviously this word is applied primarily to politics but it also can apply to faith and religion as well.  The spiritual truths in the Bible have potential to lose their potency in a post-truth sanitized culture.  Truth will always be truth.  That cannot change.   Water will always boil at 212 degrees regardless of how you feel about it.  But does this mean how we approach how we share our faith has to change? 

At the beginning of the Acts 17, Paul is speaking to fact-driven Jews who valued truth. Knowing this Paul speaks to their familiar Old Testament scrolls and begins to make a methodical case for Christ being the prophesied Messiah. But in the second part of Acts 17 we see a shift: Paul preaching to truth-eschewing philosophers in Athens.  These pundits and thought leaders were proud of their complicated nuanced beliefs that oftentimes were not consistent and would compete with one another.

Acts 17 is similar to what we see and experience today with culture and those who attempt to shape it.  A truth that shifts when it’s conveneient to our feelings, to our beliefs and to our ideas. 

How do we speak truth in a complex “post-truth” culture like ours?

 

1.  Establish a relationship on common ground

“So Paul, standing before the council, addressed them as follows: ‘Men of Athens, I notice that you are very religious in every way,for as I was walking along I saw your many shrines. And one of your altars had this inscription on it: ‘To an Unknown God.’ This God, whom you worship without knowing, is the one I’m telling you about.”  Acts 17:22,23

Instead of shaming them for their false beliefs and gods, Paul does something that we also can do:  find common ground.  He doe this by asking about, listeningand a acknowledging their “Unknown God.”  This is his common ground. 

We can do the same.

Ask questions about what that person admires, enjoys and believes as you attempt to engage with them.  Humbly ask questions, then look for signs of admiration in what they are talking about and We equip them to ask questions in a humble way in order to establish a relationship and discover what they believe. Then look for things they can admire (i.e., the altar to the unknown god).  Ask about it and find the common ground in it. 

2.  Find voices in culture that they respect and consider as truth

“For in him we live and move and exist. As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’”  Acts 17:28

Paul quoted a pagan poet to make a spiritual point. We ought to do the same. For us, this can be using things like music lyrics to popular songs or movie scenes to help make a spiritual point.

If they love spirituality…so do you.  Your “center” is Jesus.  If they are talking about a movie, find out it’s theme.  Celebrate the themes of redemption, forgiveness, honor and sacrifice…all Biblical themes (don’t worry about rating, language, etc; you’re finding common ground remember?)  Find spiritual themes behind music songs and celebrate those themes (Coldplay, Mumford & Sons, Sufjan Stevens, etc)  .  Observe supernatural themes and redemptive analogies in tv and movies (American Horror Story, The Walking Dead, etc).  Use culture to speak to these things.  If you feel you can’t watch it but you hear others talking about it, then do easy research.  There is enough on Wikipedia and other entertainment sources to give you an understanding so that you can have some knowledge about these cultural pieces even if you don’t know the show. 

3.  Share the Gospel and your own story as an emotionally compelling story

In Paul’s Gospel presentation he unveils the Lord as a loving Creator (v. 24-26), a caring God (v. 27-29) and a just God (v. 30-31.) These descriptions of God create warm feelings as well as a good kind of tension. That is to say, God is loving toward His creation, but is also the Judge over our sin.

Paul’s description of the Gospel provides an emotionally charged and spiritually compelling story that invites the audience in to ponder what he is saying. He puts the tension center stage by illustrating how the Judge of sin sent his own Son to die in the place of a planet full of spiritual criminals (v. 31.)

According to David Mamet, every great drama has three essential components: “Yes, no…but wait!” The Gospel has all three components.  There’s a “yes!” This is when a loving God created us to be with him. There’s a “no!” This is when we blew it by sinning and can’t bridge the gap back to a holy God through good deeds. There’s a “but wait!” This is when that holy God sacrificed his only Son on our behalf!

The same is with your testimony, your story…your drama.  Break your testimony down into 3 areas:  BC, conversion, AD.  What your life was like “Before Christ” (share a piece of your life that was difficult-depressed, prideful, bad relationship, family divorce, etc).  Then share what that moment was like when you found Christ and what He did in you in that area (share your prayer, your moment with a friend, your time in a church or small group that you prayed and Christ entered your life or when your faith became real to you).  Finally, share how that area of your life is different now.  The pain of divorce is filled with the peace of Christ, the suicidal thoughts are less or completely gone because of Christ, your pride is replaced with a desire to serve others like never before, etc). 

The more we can tell the Gospel and our own emotionally compelling masterpieces, the more effective we will be at reaching those steeped in a post-truth culture. 

Sharing Your Faith More and More

Sharing your faith in public is the tension we feel as Christians.   And to be honest, I think that tension is only going to be pulled tighter and tighter as culture drifts from it’s Christian center.   Making Christianity more foreign to outsiders of faith more and more. 

But Jesus inserted Himself into a Roman culture that didn’t have a Christian center either.  It was actually hostile towards Christians.  But yet, Jesus doesn’t come across in Scripture like he is “forcing his convictions upon us.  Jesus preached some of the hardest messages, yet crowds continued to flock to Him.   Part of the reason I think that faith isn’t potent in our culture is because we get nervous when the term ‘evangelism’ gets brought up.  Even recently, surveys point to an overall decline of self-identified Christians.   

But faith is still shared. 

Here are 4 things to remember as we continue to share our faith in a faith-resistant environments:

1.  Think both attractional and incarnational in the age of the “nones”

People are focused and will continue to focus their energies and efforts toward targeting seekers through attractional models of evangelism.  Inviting people to your church to worship together and experience a wonderful spiritual experience.  My church does this well. But as more young people are growing up with no awareness or little religious memory, people may find the attractional model more difficult to appeal to outsiders.  Followers of Christ must learn how to embody the love and service of Christ in their workplace, neighborhoods and friend circles.  This incarnational model is simply being, doing and telling good news where we live and work. 

2.  Cultivate a greater passion for mission

Pastors are not the only ones who are called to the mission of the church.  A pastor’s role is to equip others to the work of the ministry of sharing your faith with others.  Pastor’s should model how to articulate faith to those who are outside the church by how he/she references outsiders of faith during your weekend experiences.  You should feel comfortable bringing an unbeliever to your church and pastor because they will model love, actions and words that will draw your unbelieving friend closer to Jesus.  Replicate that passion to those around you.  People in the seats on Sunday mornings are never meant to be merely consumers of religious goods and services.  We need  all of God’s people engaged in God’s mission, from their neighborhoods to the nations.

3. Articulate a clear understanding of the gospel

Sharing the Gospel should not feel like a “I have to do” but an exciting “here’s what Jesus did!”  People don’t need self help but to deny self, take up the cross and follow.  People don’t need to “turn over a new leaf” but to “live a new life” in Christ.  We must articulate a message of faith that expresses Christ dying on the cross and resurrecting.  The resurrection of Christ is one of the main hinges on the door of evangelism.  Even the Bible says that if there is no resurrection from the dead, our faith is futile and is worthless (1 Corinthians 15:14).   So don’t share a message that doesn’t involve the cross and resurrection of Jesus. 

4. Focus on discipleship

God made us to grow and gave us an ability to receive growth. This can only happen through intentional awareness and leadership on the part of both leaders and church attenders.  Evangelism is moving someone one step closer to Christ.  How you grow closer to Christ will also be how others you impact grow closer to Christ.  So don’t neglect your own spiritual growth.   How you hear from God, study the bible and grow in community will inspire you to share what you are learning and experiences with others so that you can invite others into your thriving life. 

#blunt on success

Stop trying to measure success by comparing yourself to everyone else.  Someones else's success can't be your's because their yes to God isn't yours.  Success will not always be your outcome you want in a situation but your success will always be YOUR YES to God in a situation.  No one can worship God like you or for you and if your life is an act of worship then your choice to to say yes to God when He calls is the simplicity of success in a world that is full of comparisons and contrasts.  Your trail of yes to God will look different than those around you but the blessing is guaranteed.  

“Success will not always be your outcome you want in a situation but your success will always be YOUR YES to God in a situation. ”

"Your best" plus "God's bless" equals "your success."  So do your best with what you have with those around you with God's blessing.  Success is praising God despite the day or the outcome.  Success is blessing God despite how you feel or the mood of the room.  Success is honoring those around you whether they deserve it or not.  Success is moving past mistakes.  Success is forgiving an offense.  Success is rising above a disappointment.  Success is keeping joy from being stolen.  Success is fueling your fire to keep going when it's tough.  If you don't try you will miss out.  See...you're more successful than you think. 

#Instagramspiration

The best thing you can do as #thenewyoungchristian is discover who you are and how you're made

Stopping Unstoppable Sin Part 2

Many of us struggle with those seemingly "unstoppable sins” —those entrenched, persistent, difficult-to-dislodge sins that continually bug us as we do our best to follow Christ.   If you missed our set-up for part 1 of this 2 part entry, check it here to get you up to speed. 

 

 

4 WAYS TO STOP UNSTOPPABLE SINS IN YOUR LIFE:

1. Hate it.

A pure hatred for what this sin is, is doing and is going to do is .  The emotion of hate is powerful when in the right context When we bring Christ into the context of our sin we feel the need to be saved from it.  In the case of unstoppable sins, when we bring our sins into the context of Christ, we feel the need to hate it.  

Psalm 97:10 says, 

"You who love the Lord, hate evil.  He protect the lives of His Godly people and rescues them"

When you hate something, you are gripped with an emotion that is powerful.  So channel that emotion towards the power of sin.  Fight power with power.  We have to feel the magnitude of our sin and be gripped by its stench and repulsed by it's actions.  Sin turns healthy marriages into abusive and relationships.  Sin turns good men into porn addicts.  Sin takes trusted friends and turns them into hated enemies.  If we pass over sin lightly with shallow applications of grace and flippant prayers of forgiveness—we will probably never get around to the serious vigilance required for killing it. Truly subduing sin requires properly resisting it.

So take a moment to stop and examine for a second that sin that you can't seem to beat.  Really look at it, what it can do to you and how it will affect your relationship with God and your relationship with others.  If you can't stop being offended, sin's most corrupt end-result of living offended...loneliness.  If you can't stop looking at porn, sin's most corrupt end-result of continued porn in a marriage......divorce.  So get mad, get angry and hate it...hate the sin that cleary hates you!  In  Surprised by Joy, C.S. Lewis, says that “the surest means of disarming an anger or a lust (is) to turn your attention from the girl or the insult and start examining the passion itself.” Stopping unstoppable sins often requires this uncomfortable, honest reflection and acknowledgement on what the sin is doing within us.

2. Starve it.

I remember seeing the film, A Beautiful Mind.  In this film Russell Crowe plays Nash, a brilliant mathematician who came up with the game theory of economics and won the Nobel Prize, decades later, in 1994. At age 31, he develops schizophrenia and suffers a mental breakdown.  Imagine being diagnosed with schizophrenia and told that several of your friends aren't actually not real. He genuinely misses talking to them.   So how does he deal with his battle of the mind ... he simply chooses to ignore them.  

He says this in the film, 

"I just choose not to acknowledge them. Like a diet of the mind, I just choose not to indulge certain appetites."

Even at the end of his life, he still sees the delusions, but they have lost their destructive power over him.  What if you chose to put your mind on a diet.  Choose today to not indulge.  Choose today to not even acknowledge your sinful desires—starve them of your affections and your attention, and they grow weaker.

There is a similar principle at work in our struggle against sin—the more we indulge in it, the more of a grip it gains over us.  But, as with any addiction, the less we feed it, the weaker it becomes. James says it well, "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.  Draw near to God and He will draw near to you" (James 4:7).  I love this Scripture because it's not just, "DON'T DO" but right after those two words the next two are "DRAW NEAR."  You need to not just to avoid but you must also take in.  We would agree an unhealthy diet is to stop eating.  That's anorexia.  A healthy diet plan is to stop indulging  what's unhealthy and fill up on what is good for you.  

3. Corner it.

Sin, like any other evil enemy, thrives among its allies (bitterness, unforgiveness, discouragement, etc are some that come to mind). To wage effective war against sin, therefore, we must deprive it of the opportunities for it to gain strength with it's partners.  

Most sin lives and lurks in environments where it gains strength from it's partners.  Lust and deception go together.  Unforgiveness and bitterness go together.  Betrayel and mistrust work together.  So remove the partner from it, corner it and don't let it escape.  In other words when sin wants to find more strength from other areas of dysfunction in your life, then corner it so it can't strengthen itself.  Isolate it and place it under the authority of Jesus so it can never return.  

This means we need to study the particular triggers of sin in our lives.  Most of the time it's a partnership of sinful emotions partnering with sinful habits.   Lust is greatly weakened when it cannot appeal to fatigue, emotional need, loneliness and shame. It’s more difficult to succumb to envy when you’re soaking your heart in your heavenly inheritance. Sinful resentment often melts away when you are spending time with exceptionally kind, forgiving people.  Basically, an effective fight against a unstoppable sins will often involve thoughtful consideration to your sleep, exercise, diet, emotional life and relationships.

4. Overwhelm it.

In the gospel, God has given us the resources that we need to deal with unstoppable sins.  The first is patience.  The gospel means that God has “perfect patience”for us even amidst our struggles with nagging sins. In the Bible, 1 Timothy 1:16 says,

"But God had mercy on me so that Christ Jesus could use me as a prime example of his great patience with even the worst sinners. Then others will realize that they, too, can believe in him and receive eternal life."

To stop unstoppable sin in our lives, we need to know that God has not given up on us. Even when we have lost patience with ourselves, God is a patient father, always calling us back to Himself.  

The second is grace.  The Bible also says in Romans 5:20, 

"As people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant."

If you feel like I can't stop it, this sin is too strong, God reminds us that to counter the growing strength of sin is an even more potent strength of grace that is growing to counter sins effect on you and in you.  God knows what you need so let grace triumph!

Finally, God gives us power.   The power to overcome unstoppable sins (2 Timothy 1:7). His Spirit gives us strength beyond ourselves with which to fight.  His all-satisfying presence gives us the promise of a sustainable and lasting joy. However strong the unstoppable sins may seem, it is truly possible in Christ to “not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Romans 12:21). 

 

Stopping Unstoppable Sins Part 1

I wish when you repented of a particular sin, it was gone forever.  Never to return.  I felt that way about the toilet swirl in my bathroom.  

When I was little I flushed a lot of things down the toilet.   There were many times I would rip toilet paper and make them into small boats that would meet their imminent doom.  I would pretend that "ominous swirl" was a "whirlpool of death" that would devour toilet paper boats, popsicle sticks, my green army men, an action figure or two, hot wheel cars, etc...never to be seen again.  

Unless it was too big.

Then I had a choice to either force-feed this porcelain monster a second time or dry my tortured items off for future play.  Sometimes my mom would come in and find some of these fun items floating lifelessly in this germ-saturated abyss.  I guess what I thought was gone forever had a way of not staying gone for long. 

Sin has a way of not staying away for long.  

When you repent, Jesus does remove it as the east is from the west.  But for some sins, when you think it's gone, you find yourself dealing with it again.  Repentance is normal for a Christian.  But after a few days, weeks or months you suddenly faced with that reality that some sins are harder to get rid of than others.  What you thought you flushed away is floating back to the surface again.   

The Bible describes sin as a ruthless, defiant force in our lives:

Sin deceives you (Genesis 3:13)

Sin desires you (Genesis 4:7)

Sin destroys you (Genesis 6:7)

Sin wages war over you (Romans 7:23)

Sin entices you(James 1:14)

Sin entangles you (Hebrews 12:1)

Many of us struggle with those seemingly "unstoppable sins” —those entrenched, persistent, difficult-to-dislodge sins that continually bug us as we do our best to follow Christ. 

The gospel gives us hope that ALL sin, even our unstoppable sins, can be both forgiven and subdued. But because sin has such persistence and power, we got to be vigilant in our struggle against it.  Since sin is so vicious (the Bible says the wages of sin is death) then why would we expect such a comfortable and easy battle with it?  If sin's purpose is to fight us to the death then we have to have the same tenacity to fight sin to the death. 

The truth is our hope is in Jesus.  What we think is unbeatable or unstoppable is beatable and stoppable because of Christ's work on the cross (1 John 1:9).  

So why do some sins persist and harass us after we confess?

Let's break this down.  There are 3 parts to how we are made as human beings.  We have a body, soul and spirit.  This is true according to the Bible: 

"Now may the God of peace make you holy in every way and my your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless until our Lord Jesus Christ comes again."  - 1 Thessalonians 5:23

Your Spirit is your connection to God. It's your ability to receive and connect with God.   It's the part of you that communes with God.  It's the part of you that speaks to God.  It's the part of you that hears from God (Psalms 104:29; James 2:26; Ecclesiastes 12:7).  

Your soul is different.  It's separated from your spirit.  Even the Bible talks about the soul and spirit being distinctly different pieces of your spiritual design (Hebrews 4:12).  Your soul is basically who you are—your mind, your emotion, and your will. But the function of your soul is to express God.  Mary did this when her "soul magnified the Lord" (Luke 1:46-47).  Your soul is your mind, will and emotions. It's you being you in the world.  

Your body is just that.  Not much to explain here other than God made you...and He made you unique (Psalm 139).  

We are a spirit being, we live in a body and we possess a soul. Period.  The person inside of us is our spirit. Our soul consists of our mind, will and emotions. Our bodies are obviously what we live in while we are here on earth.

Here's what happens at salvation:  

First, at salvation your spirit is made new.  It's pure and it begins a constant and unbreakable communion with God that can never be impure again (2 Corinthians 5:17, Romans 6:2-6; Ezekiel 36:26, 11:19).  This new connection is how you connect and relate to your creator.  

Second, at salvation, your soul begins transformation.  In other words, the day after your salvation, you may still have a bad thought, make bad choices and have a bad propensity towards certain things.  As your spirit is connecting to God and you are hearing Him speak and direct your life, your mind begins to think more like Christ, you become more aware and start living a self-controlled life, your unhealthy choices start become more spiritually healthy (you want to start reading the Bible, you long for your next church service so you can pray, you start singing worship songs on your own because you long for the presence of God, etc).   

At salvation, your body is still experiencing the effects of sin.   You will still get a cold, get sick, experience sickness and disease.  You may receive a miracle from God and get healed at your salvation experience as well.  That is not a guarantee but can happen and has happened with some Christians.  But the good news is, day after day, your bodily breakdowns become a prayer moment for you to draw closer to God for you to experience supernatural power of healing in your body.  

So here's what happens throughout your Christian life:

Your spirit continues to connect to, give to and receive from God through daily Bible reading, prayer, church, etc.  You begin to hear God's voice more and you begin to have revelation on the plans and purposes for your life that God is showing you.  

Second, your soul is being transformed bay by day to be more like Christ.  You begin to change way you think about others, how you see your job, how you lead your family, etc.   Your soul (mind, will and emotions) are being refined daily as you spend time in His presence, as you learn to think like Him and behave like Him and love like Him (1 Peter 1:22-23; Romans 12:1-2).  Over time as you get closer to God, your bad thoughts, negative emotions and unhealthy choices  will become less and less.   You are reading the Bible more and more, you crave worship more and more, you long to serve and bless others more and more, etc.  When you arrive in heaven, your soul becomes brand new and you will fully be alive as you see and experience the true and unhindered revelation of Christ. 

Third, your body will continue to decay because or sin.  Sickness and disease will continue to infect our world but we will experience miracles along the way and healings along the way.  God will restore, preserve and sustain you along your faith journey through prayer times, altars at church, miraculous moments where God does a restorative miracle.  But you won't receive your new body till heaven and that's when it becomes brand new just like your spirit and soul ... never to experience the decay of sin ever again.   It's not until we finally get to heaven that we are promised a new body that will be congruent with our new spirit and purified soul (1 Corinthians 15:54-57).  We can experience heaven on earth with our bodies when God chooses to heal our bodies but our complete healing comes in heaven.  

That unbeatable sin seems unbeatable because you know that God is right and sin is wrong.  You know He is pure.  You know He is true.  You believe He is all you need.  But your soul - the part of you that knows and believes you need this, is in process or in "transformation mode."  It is not fully there yet.  Your soul is caught in a tug of war.  You know you need to choose God but you crave the old pleasures of that old life that you gave to Jesus when you died to self on the cross. So in a moment of weakness, you "give in" and choose wrong.  Your sprit that is connected to God knows this and you sense and feel the conviction of this in your soul and the affects of this choice in your body.  

Your soul is not fully transformed in this area of sin yet so you will screw up from time to time.  This doesn't mean you don't love God or that your salvation isn't secure (because nothing can separate you from the love of Christ according to Romans 8:31-39).  It just means there is a part of your life that is unfinished where God is working out your salvation (Philippians 2:12). This  incongruent moment when you love God but you long for something or someone else other than God  is when we face that sin and it appears unstoppable.  It seems unstoppable because you've prayed and ask God to forgive you but you do it anyhow. 

The Bibke speaks about this in Romans 7:21-25

 Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!

God understands.  God gets it.  

But it still is eomotionally and spiritually draining.   

Here's the good news:  You can stop an unstoppable sin.  

Here's 4 ways to stop unstoppable sin.

Part 2 is next...

 

Following Jesus When I Don't Feel Like It Part 2

Following Jesus when you don't feel like will likely be one of the first tests you walk through when you start to follow Christ...and these testing moments will continue.  If you haven't read PART 1 of this post you can read it here.

Spiritual living isn't void of feelings.  Spiritual living relies on feelings to affirm and confirm what God is doing and refuses to make feelings the primary source of God's will for your life.  The primary source of God's will for your life is and always will be obedience.  

Jesus made that absolutely clear when He said if we love Him we will obey Him (John 14:15-31).

Matthew 26:33-35 speaks about Peter who is a great example of a Christian whose emotions and obedience are in  alignment.  Peter is following Jesus and doing ministry with Jesus.  To the point where he emotionally outburst, "

33 Peter told Him, “Even if everyone runs away because of You, I will never run away!”

34 “I assure you,” Jesus said to him, “tonight, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times!”

35 “Even if I have to die with You,” Peter told Him, “I will never deny You!” And all the disciples said the same thing.

Peter and all the disciples are obediently following Jesus as close as possible.    They are also emotionally charged with passion and excitement for who Jesus is and what they will do for Him.  These are similar to our moments when we follow Christ with our own passions and our own exciting, "I will never deny You moments" :  At a worship experience and we are shouting out lout with all we have that we love our God, when we are sharing our faith at a coffee shop boldly and fearlessly, when we pray with someone at school or work and we don't care what others around us think, etc.  

But then we see a moment when we see Peter feeling like we do sometimes.  Peter, like us, has a moment where his own feelings about how he feels about himself and how Jesus feels about himself are misguided and not truly reflecting who Peter is and who Jesus is  

After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?”

“Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.”

“Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him.

Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

“Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.”

“Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said.

A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”

Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.”

Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.   John 21:15-17

Peter felt Jesus didn't love him...but He did.  Peter felt Jesus was mad at him...but He wasn't.  Peter felt he wasn't worthy...but he was.  Peter felt he was unforgiven but he wasn't.   Peter felt he wasn't worthy to be a disciple (went back to old profession of fishing)...but he was to be the disciple leading the outpouring in the upper room in Acts.  He didn't feel like "the rock" but Peter realized that moment that how we feel about ourselves and how we feel about God isn't always true.  Peters misguided feelings are finally aligned with God.  Peter obeys God from that moment forward to obey the command of Christ when He said, "Feed My sheep."   Peter wasn't feeling it but Jesus certainly was.  

Finally we get one of the best highlights from Peter's ministry when he is preaching in Acts 2 and thousands come to Christ.  Passionately feeling it and purposefully obeying the call of God on his life that Jesus spoke to him in his early days, "Upon this rock I will build my church" (Matthew 16:18).

Obedience and feelings don't always line up.  When we don't feel it but we are doing it it's like our feelings are dragging.   Maybe I'll say it this way:  

Our feelings have to catch up to our obedience.

Maybe that was the problem with Peter.  Peter was with Jesus.  He was following him from the boat to the shore, talking and eating together...but was he feeling the vibes?   No.  He was doing what Jesus asked but his feelings didn't catch up to His obedience.  Sometimes Jesus will call us closer to Him to pray, to love, to worship, to give to follow and we just need to obey because eventually our feelings will catch up and we will know because not only will we be doing the work of Jesus but also we will be feeling it as well.  Jesus said it best,

My sheep listen to my voice: i know them and they follow me.  I give them eternal life, and they shall enter perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.  John 10:27-28

How to not let your feelings get the best of you:

1.  Remind yourself that a loss of feelings doesn't mean a loss of faith.

I don't call my dad every day.  If I don't feel like I love my father every day it doesn't mean he doesn't love me every day.  I see my dad a few times a year but our love doesn't change and my feelings don't change.  God is my father and i'm His son.  Nothing can change that.  God is not a Father who abandon's and leaves you orphaned.  Quite the contrary.  He adopts you into his family and nothing can separate you from his love (Romans 8:15, 31-39).  So if you feel like God doesn't love you,  trust in the strong bond of the Father's love that he will not leave you. And even you cannot remove yourself from Him.  He's you're Father and he loves you unconditionally.  

2.  Be all in with God because God's all in with you

We may not always believe in us but God always believes in you.  What He starts He finishes.  The good work He begins in you is also the faithful work He completes in you (Philippians 1:6).

He's not like me when I'm trying to build an empire state building puzzle.  After I build it for a while, the border, then i'm out.  I'm not the guy who has the puzzle on the table for 6 weeks and delightfully shuffles over to the 10,000 piece nightmare and say to myself, this is so relaxing staring into a pile of chaos.  So I'm notorious for pulling out.   God's not...He's all in and will finish what He started.  

3. Know how God feels about me is different than how I feel about me sometimes

Just because you don't feel like you are worthy doesn't mean God doesn't think you are.  Just because you don't think you're worth the fight doesn't mean God isn't fighting for you right now.  Your perceptions and feelings about you are going to be different than how you feel about you.  

4.  Respond to God's promises than reacting to your feelings

God makes these promises to you when you don't feel like worshipping or praying for seeking God:

When you seek him with all your hearts you will find Him (Jeremiah 29:13)

When you press on to know Him, He will come to you like spring rain (Hosea 6:3)

When you come to jesus, your heart hunger will be satisfied (John 6:35)

5.  Remind yourself when we are faithless He is still faithful

Even though I may not be loving God like I should every day, God is still loving me.  2 Timothy 2:13 says, "If we are faithless he remains faithful, for He cannot disown himself."  In the midst of my uncertainty he is certain to be with us no matter what

6.  Do what you used to do

When was the last time you were "on fire for God?"  What are you doing during those times that give you passion to keep going?  You're reading your Bible, spending time in prayer, hanging with other Christian friends, in Bible study, staring your faith?  Start doing those things and watch your feelings change

7.  Walk by faith and not by site.  

We walk by site.  We walk by feelings.  We walk by hearing.  We walk by feelings.  But God's best for us is to walk by faith as often as we can (2 corinthians 5:7).  Obedience is visible expression of our faith.  So follow God in obedience and see Him more than you ever thought you could.

8.  Don't live passively

The key here is refusing to be passive and making a conscious decision to do what’s right. Being passive means you wait for an outside force to move you or to feel like doing something. Use your will to choose what’s right. And pray for God’s grace to give you the ability to do it.

Following Jesus When I Don't Feel Like It Part 1

Let’s be honest, there are times when it is really easy to follow Jesus, and then there are times when it is really difficult.

For example, when I am in a worship service and the song is powerful and moving to me then it’s easy to follow Jesus.

When I am sitting on the beach watching the sun rise, listening to the waves and looking at the ocean contemplating the peace and beauty of God, it’s easy to follow Jesus.

When I am sitting on my patio with a cup of coffee in my hands reading my Bible with my new Hillsong record on...it's easy to follow Jesus.

But …

Let someone be driving in the fast lane when they should be in the slow lane…

Talk behind my back and then forgive you for it...

Guy in front of me with 12 items in the 10 items or less lane....Oh, hail to the no.

These are meant to be funny...and to poke fun at how life is challenging in small ways as a Christian.  But what about the harder times in life when "I'm not feeling it" :  

When I'm reading Scriptures and when they are supposed to be the life-giving Words of God they just feel like words on a page to me...

When I'm praying to God who is my creator and Father but it just seems like I'm talking to myself...

When I'm worshipping in church and others around me are enjoying God and I just seem to be singing a song and I begin to wonder if this is all real...

There are times when it's hard to follow God and here's the simple reason:  I am not feeling it.  I don't feel like I love God.  I don't feel like worshipping.  I don't feel like reading my Bible.  I don't feel like going to church.  I don't feel like praying.  Again, I am simply not feeling it. 

And here's the difficult part:

Feelings come across so genuine.  Feelings are usually so authentic.  Feelings are so strong and they get me so emotional.  They are so vivid.  They seem so tangible.  They seem to validate who I am and what I am doing.  Which makes them easy to trust.   

But they are also misleading.  

Their are days and seasons when you feel like you love your spouse and then there are days when you don't feel it.  Because life happens:   You have to clean the house; you have to go to work; you have to change a diaper; you have to pay bills; you have to get up early or you are running late; you are short-tempered; you haven't seen each other in a few days...and the grind wears on you.  Ask me if I love my wife like I did on our wedding day when we are in the middle of a fight, the answer would be "not feeling it."  But ask me if she is the love of my life and I would say yes before you can finish the question.  Our marital love is a spiritual decision that started on my wedding day when she said yes. I chose Heidi when I felt like it and I choose her during the times when I don't...but I still choose her and always will.   I don't let my feelings dictate my marriage but I let my covenantal choice I made 19 years ago remind me that she's the one and all I need.  I can't fall out of love with her because I never stumbled into it but I chose her to be my love as she chose me.  My emotions don't disqualify my marriage when it's tough but my emotions affirm my marriage when we are close.  The point:  I don't always "feel" like I love my wife but I have chosen to commit myself to her even when my feelings don't match up.   My feelings where telling me that I didn't love her because I didn't "feel it" but the reality is our marriage is for life and I love Heidi more than anything in this world. 

There are days I don't feel like I love God.  But I am in a love relationship with God that isn't based on how I feel for the day but based upon the faith that God gave me to love Him and live for him 24 years ago.  So i trust my covenant  more than I trust my feelings or my emotions.  

But does that mean I shouldn't feel emotion or be emotional? 

No.  

God is emotional and has feelings.

If we are made in God's image, then we also are emotional and are supposed to have feelings.  Here's how God feels about spiritual things:  

God feels anger:  Psalm 7:11; Romans 1:18

God feels laughter: Psalm 37:13; Psalms 2:4

God feels Compassion:  Psalm 135:14

God feels grief: Genesis 6:6; Psalm 78:40

God feels love:  1 John 4:8; John 3:16

God feels hate:  Psalm 5:5; Psalm 11:5

God feels joy:  Zephaniah 3:17; isaiah 62:5

And the biggest point of it all:  God came into our world to know every temptation and every feeling and emotion we can experience but the difference is that as a human being... He didn't sin (Hebrews 4:15) while feeling everything we felt.  That's what makes God so trustworthy and understanding about your emotions and your feelings about a situation:   He knows what you're going through emotionally because He is emotional, He made you emotional and He knows what emotions you're feeling right now.  

We can live from faith to faith (Romans 1:17), strength to strength (Psalm 84:7), grace to grace (John 1:16)...but not from feeling to feeling.  

If you live from feeling to feeling you are in danger of "emotional living."  Emotional living is the opposite of a spiritual life in Jesus or "spiritual living."    So how do you know you are emotional living?

Here are some dangers of "Emotional Living":

Danger #1:  I don't feel God so God's not with me or cares about me.    Emotional living says if you don't feel God then God is either mad at you, upset at you or doesn't want you.  Spiritual living understands nothing can separate you from the love of Christ (Romans 8).  

Danger #2:  I'm feeling it so I better jump in and just do it.   Emotional living leads you in the wrong direction because what if what you are feeling isn't true...now you're heading in the wrong direction.  Spiritual living puts a reliability on God's wisdom and counsel and you choose not to make abrupt hasty decisions but calculated wise decisions with the right counsel. 

Danger #3:  I feel it's right so it must be true.  Emotional living doesn't tell the truth.  Emotional living wants your emotions to speak first and then let truth back-up what you're feeling.  Spiritual living relies on Scripture to confirm and affirm the truth of a situation.  

Danger #4:  I feel it strongly so this must be my reality.  Emotional living encourages that the only tangible and reliable substance to your faith is your tears, your joy, etc.  Spiritual living understands that what you feel right now is now what is actual.  

Danger #5:  I feel like I am the only one that understands what I am going through because no one feels it like I do.  Emotional living isolates your feelings to be unique to you and that no one in your community could possibly understand.  Spiritual living relies on your community for support and prayer to help you navigate the decision or the season. 

Danger #6:  I don't feel like praying or reading my Bible so God must not be real.  Emotional living makes your spiritual life dependent on having a feeling to back up every spiritually good desire.  Spiritual living understands that faith is critical for moments when you don't feel like it and that faith sustains you till the next time you do. 

Spiritual living isn't void of feelings.  Spiritual living relies on feelings to affirm and confirm what God is doing and refuses to make feelings the primary source of God's will for your life.  The primary source of God's will for your life is and always will be obedience.  

Jesus made that absolutely clear when He said if we love Him we will obey Him (John 14:15-31).

Part 2 is here....

But this is the problem for Christians, our obedience sometimes outpaces our feelings.  Their are times our feelings are in perfect step with out obedience.  But there are also times when our "yes" to God happens and our feelings haven't caught up to our yes yet.  

So how do we follow Jesus when we don't feel like it?  That is in part 2 coming up next....

Stop Telling Me I'm Judging You When I'm Loving You

I love my friends.  A lot.  They mean the world to me.  And I also live in the tension of wanting my community to get along.  I am the kind of person that wants everybody to get along.   I have the kind of faith that doesn’t want to exclude people.   It bothers me when someone hurts another person.  It frustrates me when someone doesn’t like a church, group or another person ...or me.

If you agree with any of the above statement now I'm going to move you into the WE category....We also live in the tension of not wanting to offend others around us.  When we hear about our friends having sex with their partners, getting drunk on the weekends or simply seeing our friends moving in a direction that isn't healthy, we are now faced with the decision to either let them "keep going" or have the hard conversations.  And when we do, the response of some of our friends is this:  

"Who are you to judge me?"

A caring decision from a loving friend to have the conversation about this past weekend's behavior now becomes an episode of Judge Judy and you are the harsh judge declaring a sentence and a fine for their conduct...when all along you were just wanting to be a good friend because you truly cared for them.  

Obviously their are friends that don't care for you, don't have your best interests at heart or love you and you can dismiss them. But I'm talking about those who are in your community that you have a general respect for them and a general trust with them and you sincerely enjoy being around them.    These friends in your community took a sincere moment, stepped out nervously and brought something to your attention that they saw as harmful, hurtful and damaging to you and your response is ... "don't judge me."

The reality is they weren't judging you...they were caring about you.  

I've had to have these conversations before and when I do, it's tough.   When I have had to have these tough conversations with my friends, my heart is to never to offend them or hurt them... they're my friends! That's the last thing on my mind! 

But I do want to talk to them and help them.   Because I love them and want the best for them.  That friend in trouble must have forgotten how hard it was to get the courage and the strength to have the conversation to even approach this and when I do...their response is to accuse me of judge and juror.  

I'm here to say to those of you who have said to your true friends to "stop judging me" you were wrong.  They weren't showing you judgement but showing you graciousness.

 What is graciousness?  

Graciousness is having a forgiving attitude and a compassionate posture while walking in wisdom with those who belief’s, attitudes and opinions differ from yours.

Of course the Bible says it best:

“Live wisely among those who are not believers and make the most of every opportunity.  Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone.”  Colossians 4:5-6 NLT

Your friends were not being judgmental towards you but they were being gracious towards you.  What does it mean to be gracious:

Have a forgiving attitude.

A gracious person doesn't see your wrongs but sees you righting your wrongs.  They see a future for you that is for your good and betterment!   A forgiving attitude means they are forgiving and looking past the behaviors, issues and actions that are warranting the conversation you're having. There are not seeing the issues because the forgiving the issues but they are seeing you.  I’m not saying you have to walk around saying “I forgive you” to every friend who is on the wrong track.  What I am saying is when your attitude is, “I won’t hold it against you when you have a different belief than I” you are wanting to continue to go relationally farther with that person despite their beliefs or their behaviors.  A judgemental friend has an unforgiving attitude. They can't look past your issues and will hold that against you.  When they see you they see your issues and they see your sin and choose to not see you apart for your issue.  But a  gracious friends sees what God sees: a future you that has you healed, whole and thriving.  Even though they know that what you are doing is wrong they choose to not hold your sin against you but forgive you and the issue instantly because they love you. They don't let it offend them but they choose to be like Jesus and continue to love you despite the sin.   They recognize that what you're doing is wrong but cannot let you stay that way.  Who doesn't want a friend like that.  Friends who practice graciousness aren't holding it against you but ... maybe you are holding something against them or even yourself.  Stop judging your friends and yourself and start forgiving.  Even though you have different views you can still have a conversation and stop letting your issues get in the way of your friendship. 

Have a compassionate posture.

A gracious person has a posture of compassion. A gracious person postures themselves by having a humble yet confident voice to share the truth of Scripture with love and respect.  Their motive is goodwill and kindness because it’s the kindness of Jesus in a follower of Christ that actually compels someone to reconsider their stance and opinion and move to a posture of repentance (Romans 2:4). A judgemental person doesn't have sympathy because their motive is proving they are right and desiring to tout being the expert in your spiritual matters. Like a spiritual umpire calling out your strikes and declaring you disqualified from running your race with God.  A compassionate posture reflects a sympathy for your misunderstood thoughts on life or their situation.  Not only do they hear and observe your misguided thinking but a gracious person has a strong desire to help your current situation.    They know, as a loving follower of Jesus and as a true friend, the words of Christ will always move you towards freedom from faulty thinking more than a good-intentioned opinion from the biased crowd.  

Walk in wisdom.

A gracious person walks in wisdom.  A judgemental person walks around as an expert.  They walk around giving you advice.  A gracious person desires to give you wisdom.  Jesus is your wisdom, “God has united you with Christ Jesus.  For our benefit God made Him to be wisdom itself.” (1 Corinthians 1:30).  Graciousness has the eyes to see beyond the crowds opinion and the wisdom to move you forward into your designed future that God has prepared for you (Proverbs 3:5-6).  How Jesus deals with differing opinions is how we should deal with opinions that are different from us.  Your gracious friend is going to be Jesus to you in the moment.  The ethic of graciousness is found in treating others like Jesus treated others without compromising the truth of Scripture.   And if they are talking to you about what you are doing that is different from what you believe, don't throw up the judgment word, but hear them out because what you hear as judgment might just be the wisdom you need that God is sending you through your friend to help you.   This posture of graciousness not only stops a judgmental thought in it's tracks but I think it overpowers it.  Forgiveness, compassion and kindness are words that unify and not divide.  I'd like to think of graciousness as being irresistible to anyone because of it's very nature of being kind about a cultural position or friends situation.   But it's not just showing kindness it's also being wise.  It's knowledge of what is true and right with insight and sound judgement.  

I've been recently talking about this my friend Lindsay Willis, leadership developer and entrepreneur, and she said this recently:  

“As this next generation of young Christian leadership, we get the love of God right and we get the story right but we don’t know how to speak truth.”

— Lindsay Willis

That's what I hope graciousness does...to help you speak truth. If you are in a situation and you have a friend that is confronting you about it, maybe don't play the "stop judging me card" and instead play the "thanks for loving me card" and watch your future and friendships be stronger than ever before. 

 

 

 

Founding Fathers Part 2 | The New Young Christian Manifesto

We are writing a manifest calling The New Young Christians to rise up and join our tribe.  Here is the beginning of our Manifesto here.

A revolution conceives an idea and births a message but a message dies if it’s not nurtured…if it’s not fathered.  The hills are taken.  The territory is secure. The leadership mobilized…because father’s are found.  The fragile beginning of a revolution needs founding fathers to inspire the masses, share the convictions and secure the future.  These leaders aren’t just visionaries and generals but founding fathers.  If you haven't read part 1 of our Founding Fathers piece you can read it here and the rest of our Founding Fathers portion continues below...

Just like the founding fathers of the revolution, Paul chose to revolt against the status quo.  Paul also saw the need to be a founding father against the backdrop of religion, it’s tyrannical rule and it's forceful superiority.  Paul chose to battle the idoloatry of his day by declaring that an unknown God can be known.  Paul chose to take territory that were once hubs of demonic activity and make them into hubs of dramatic conversions (Acts 16:16-18). Paul chose to establish a freedom to the masses that was a message to the world that Christ sets you free so stop living under the bondage of sin and dogma (Galations 5:1).   What the celebrities, politicians and religious leaders of the day were declaring was information.  It was cultural rhetoric looking to persuade the masses to align to it's void principles and empty passions.  We are bombarded by information in this day and age.  We have access like never before to unlimited information about our own cultural issues and religious beliefs and celebrity lifestyles.  Paul wasn’t interested in just spreading information but was asking for imitation. 

Imitation is different than information.  Information is words and imitation is actions.  Information is everywhere but imitation is unique.  Information may educate but imitation inspires.  This is where fathering becomes necessary for imitation.  Fathers help passionate believers move from being a messenger to an imitator; from a vent to a distinct voice; from a shout in the crowd to wisdom as a child.  Paul knew that for faith to flourish, he didn’t spread information but sustained imitation.   God endorses this in Hebrews,  7Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.  Hebrews 13:6-8

Fathers know their role that ownership of faith is the greatest force to advance faith.  Faith lives on and flourishes when we own our faith, own our battles and own our choices.  No one can worship God like you or for you.  It’s all you.  Spiritual fathers and mothers are living examples in front of you to inspire you and live out the example of what it means to follow God.  Founding fathers aren’t perfect but they are authentic, enthusiastic and ardent.  The greatest lessons you will teach and pass on will be your life lessons.  So be authentic, share your weaknesses and your struggles.  Talk about when you overcame and how you didn’t.  Share the ups and downs of your spiritual journey.  Passion is contagious so the more you reveal your enthusiasm about faith, social issues, spiritual concerns, others will line up behind you and say, “that’s me, too.”  When you own your faith and choose to live a confident life of imitation, you release a spiritual potency that is rare in most discipleship.  

Imitation is good but it doesn't stop there.  Founding fathers and mothers know that true sonship and devoted daughters of our spiritual family need one more crucial experience in their spiritual formation:  impartation.  The New Young Christian believes it’ s not only important to live by example in front of others but to live by empowering others or in other words, to put "in power" into others.  The latin meaning of impartation means "to give a part of you away to someone else." Paul had the desire for impartation in him as he was discipling others,  "I long to be with you so I can impart something into you.” (Romans 1:11-12) Paul's passion wasn't just to pass on information and live out imitation but to give impartation.  Impartation's purpose is to inspire spiritual gifts, express encouragement and the strengthening the faith of the one being imparted into.  Impartation goes beyond just mentorship. Mentorship is gaining experience but impartation is learning obedience. 

Spiritual sons and daugthers learn  impartation by becoming teachable so they can become who they were meant to be so they can do what they were meant to do and go where they need to go.  Impartation helps us to learn responsibility to go into places we couldn't go before.  Impartation helps us to learn authority to give us power to do what we couldn't do before.  Fathers don’t see themselves as achieving something but advancing someone.  Fathers care less about what you achieve and more about how you arrive.  Impartation advances you into your future.  The wisdom we gain from the experiences of others is valuable.   Discipleship is unique to Christianity because it recognizes those in need with a simple starting point of “you need a family.”  The New Young Chrsitian sees the necessity of "founding fathers" in a revolution to decree that everyone belongs to someone.  All have a home in this new normal so sons and daughters can grow and mature.  

How important is impartation as a young believer or as someone leading young believers? 

Founding Fathers Part 1 | The Manifesto continued...

We are writing a manifest calling The New Young Christians to rise up and join our tribe.  Here is the beginning of our Manifesto here and it continues below...

A revolution conceives an idea and births a message but a message dies if it’s not nurtured…if it’s not fathered.  The hills are taken.  The territory is secure. The leadership mobilized…because father’s are found.  The fragile beginning of a revolution needs founding fathers to inspire the masses, share the convictions and secure the future.  These leaders aren’t just visionaries and generals but founding fathers.

The term "founding fathers” refers to those who contributed to the development of independence and nationhood.   These men came together with a drive and a directive to unleash the power to the people.  There is something about putting power in the hands of the people that these passionate leaders understood and that God desired.  Jesus was clear when He said,  “I must go so that I can send power to you so that not only will you not be orphans but you will have power” (John 14:16-18).    Jesus is raising up spiritual fathers and mothers to nurture and empower a generation to live dependant on God and determined to love others.

Leadership you can trust is hard to find.  We live in a culture where we view those in charge through the eyes of skepticism.  From presidents to pastors, those that culture has deemed as trustworthy cannot be trusted.  From athletes to apostles, those that are given authority and value by those around us have platforms made of glass.  These fragile podiums can shatter with the smallest of blows.  To trust and believe in someone is hard for these young believers.  To open up to someone is difficult when you have been told to trust, believe and support those whose voices have value only to see their value drop when their issues rise.  No one is perfect but no one should be pretending and that’s the problem.  So we choose to distance ourselves from significant voices because we fear they will let us down again.  So we conclude, “it’s better to be around those I can see with my own eyes and hear with my own ears because that’s what’s believable to me.”  So unless I’m up close and personal…I’m distant and critical.  Unless those in our circles have experience, authenticity and trust…we chose to live abandoned and left to fend for ourselves creating a need for deep spiritual relationships.  This relationship void is ready for spiritual fathers and mothers to jump in and lead these young believers back towards belonging.

A lack of fathers and mothers leads to an abundance of orphans.  We live in an orphaned culture.  When the divorce rate rises then the potential for fatherlessness rises.  When unwanted pregnancies increase then the abandoned increase.  In an orphan culture the abandoned live by their own rules making the necessity of a mother or father not just obsolete but a joke.  The voices coming from the fatherless sound like this, “We’ve made it this far without them…why should we start now?”

God knows the need for not just fatherhood but spiritual fatherhood.  God raised up Paul became a father in the faith…a founding father that crafted a message of depending on Christ for salvation and spiritual formation.  Paul would have seen the abandonment of children in his Roman culture due to their physical imperfections when juxtaposed against the high prevalence of perfectionism in Roman culture.  Yet the message of family and belonging that has always been present from the beginning and throughout Christianity was compelling to those who called themselves Christians.  Many Christians would adopt the discarded around them and make them sons and daughters of their own. 

The 7th Hill: Find and Follow Your Family

We are revealing our Manifesto of who we are as The New Young Christian.  If you haven't read part 1 of our passion piece read it here.  

We are called to a revolution.  Not a revolution from something but for something.  This revolution demands us to charge the hills, stake our flag in the ground and never give it up.  No matter what is charging at us or trying to overtake us, this is the ground we battle for that we don’t relinquish easily.  There will be a societal clash of arms on these hills because these are not just good ideas but solid ground to defend from the intimidation around us.  When we take the hill, we keep the hill because there is no going back to normal once we do.  The taking and keeping of these hills secures the spiritual future of you and those around you us fight and never give them up. 

These are the hills The New Young Christians will take or die trying. 

Hill #7:  Find and Follow Your Family 

The New Young Christian knows who you spend the most time with is who you will be most like.  You were never meant to live life alone.  Find your family in the faith.  Biological or spiritual...it doesn’t matter.  Fathers are needed.  Mothers are necessary.  Brotherhood essential.  Sisterhood critical.  We believe family models the spiritual relationships God knows you need to survive and to grow.  We start this world being sons and daughters first and then most of us grow up to be fathers and mothers.  We lack spiritual fathers because we never learned how to be a sons and daughters.  So we pursue sonship.  We devote ourselves to become daughters.  Family started with God and is God’s idea.  God modeled the ideal relationship of Father and Son with Jesus.  That’s our standard.  It’s how we choose to relate and love each other in the Kingdom. We are not an organization or an institution but a family.  God calls his sons and daughters and we respond by calling Him Father. 

“We lack spiritual fathers because we never learned how to be a sons and daughters. ”

Sons are meant to be home.  Daughters are meant to be cherished.  “Home” is whenever and wherever we come together as lovers of God.  We don’t run from home as prodigals but we run to the arms of God’s love and acceptance of us despite what we’ve done or where we’ve been.  Success in life is not what you do in life but who you do life with.  Successors are the fruit of your success.  What you pass on to those coming behind you is the true measure of greatness.  If Jesus says greater things you will do when I go, then our heart is for those coming after us to do greater things than us because leaving a legacy is our destiny.  Find family and you find faith.  You’re more than the sum of your parts.  We can accomplish more when we partner together.  We become more when we become family.

7Remember your leaders, who spoke the word of God to you. Consider the outcome of their way of life and imitate their faith.  Hebrews 13:6-8

The Sixth Hill: Live Flawed And Move Forward

We are revealing our Manifesto of who we are as The New Young Christian.  If you haven't read part 1 of our passion piece read it here.  

We are called to a revolution.  Not a revolution from something but for something.  This revolution demands us to charge the hills, stake our flag in the ground and never give it up.  No matter what is charging at us or trying to overtake us, this is the ground we battle for that we don’t relinquish easily.  There will be a societal clash of arms on these hills because these are not just good ideas but solid ground to defend from the intimidation around us.  When we take the hill, we keep the hill because there is no going back to normal once we do.  The taking and keeping of these hills secures the spiritual future of you and those around you us fight and never give them up. 

These are the hills The New Young Christians will take or die trying. 

Hill #6:  Live Flawed and Move Forward

The New Young Christian believes you have the right to be in process.  A transparent life before God leads to a transformed life before you and others.  We believe in creating a culture where you don’t have to have it all figured out but a willingness to trust in the midst of doubts.  We choose to live with imperfection than with indecision. Decide today to have forward motion while in the midst of imperfections and implications.    If you’re overwhelmed then you are in the right place with God.  If you’re not up to the task, then you’re the right person for the job.  No perfect people allowed makes you the perfect person God wants to use.

“You just can’t forget that in your weakest moment God is still the strongestest”

It’s a lot easier to agree with the promise God gave you than it is to agree with the process God is giving you.  So we choose to embrace the process. The struggle is real and so is Jesus. You just cannot forget that in your weakest moment God is always the strongest.  Stop trusting casually and start trusting radically. God is not an ideology or a just a theology but a personality.  A person that beckons us to  trust-fall into His arms than crash onto a slab of rigid concepts, weak ideas, or sharp religion. 

“It’s a lot easier to agree with the promise God gave you than it is to agree with the process God is giving you”

 We remind ourselves constantly:  God is faithful, God is good, God is true, God is miraculous, God is loving and God is evermore. We may not always believe in ourselves but rest assured God believes in us.  So we fight to discover and hold onto the value in God’s love for us than in our love for God.  Making God’s love for us not only our source but making us complete for our future. 

Be yourself #instagramspiration

The Fifth Hill: Find Common Ground For Common Good

We are revealing our Manifesto of who we are as The New Young Christian.  If you haven't read part 1 of our passion piece read it here.  

We are called to a revolution.  Not a revolution from something but for something.  This revolution demands us to charge the hills, stake our flag in the ground and never give it up.  No matter what is charging at us or trying to overtake us, this is the ground we battle for that we don’t relinquish easily.  There will be a societal clash of arms on these hills because these are not just good ideas but solid ground to defend from the intimidation around us.  When we take the hill, we keep the hill because there is no going back to normal once we do.  The taking and keeping of these hills secures the spiritual future of you and those around you us fight and never give them up. 

These are the hills The New Young Christians will take or die trying. 

Hill 5:  Find Common Ground For Common Good

The New young Christian believes that when good abounds for the benefit of others society flourishes for the benefit of us all.  The spreading of common good that is rooted in selflessness and sacrifice so that when it appears it’s bright for everyone to see and it’s source undeniable (Matthew 5:16). All actions of The new Young Christian are tied to a thread that is all connected to one another for all things to work together (Romans 8:28) for good. We align ourselves with our creator to remind us of who we are and the value of those around us. We don’t have confrontations but conversations.  We are here to win hearts not arguments.  We choose to be an inviting person more than a convincing person. We understand how you communicate is just as important as what you communicate.  So we’ve chosen to suffocate the desire to be right and breathe life into the areas of life where we can right wrongs. 

“We choose to not see barriers but opportunities for us to rally around the themes that can do the most good: love, honor, peace, humility, kindness, forgiveness an hope. ”

We believe graciousness overrules tolerance at the end of the day.  Tolerance says "you be you and I’ll be me" but graciousness says "a better me is a better we."  We position ourselves to have a forgiving attitude and compassionate posture while walking in wisdom with those who’s attitudes’ and beliefs differ from ours because it’s just the right thing to do. That’s why forgiving quickly is one of the most potent ways to share your faith and show other Christianity really works.  We understand we may not always agree but we choose to not see lines drawn in the sand but we see a hands full of sand poised to work together to sculpt and create something never been made before. We choose to not see barriers but opportunities for us to rally around the themes that can do the most good:  love, honor, peace, humility, kindness, forgiveness an hope.  

“We don’t have confrontations but conversations.”

True joy is not found in pursuing our own desires but pouring ourselves out to fulfill the desires of others.  We choose to keep our lives open because being good neighbors is our desire and creating a better community through radical hospitality makes our homes one of the most sacred places in our neighborhoods to experience Jesus.  We choose to be collaborate with mission and business to see the marketplace become a source of spreading ideas to change for the world.  Acceptance is more paletable to culture than resistance so we choose to accept people where they are and influence people to where they could be in Jesus.  So we choose to resist a culture of self-indulgence so we can live in self-denial modeling revealing the very essence of Christ who perfectly modeled this for us.  Morality is cultural but Godliness is eternal.  We believe finding common ground for common good causes society to flourish and hope to abound. 

“Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.”  Hebrews 10:24 

The Fourth Hill: Be Storymakers and Storytellers

We are revealing our Manifesto of who we are as The New Young Christian.  If you haven't read part 1 of our passion piece read it here.  

We are called to a revolution.  Not a revolution from something but for something.  This revolution demands us to charge the hills, stake our flag in the ground and never give it up.  No matter what is charging at us or trying to overtake us, this is the ground we battle for that we don’t relinquish easily.  There will be a societal clash of arms on these hills because these are not just good ideas but solid ground to defend from the intimidation around us.  When we take the hill, we keep the hill because there is no going back to normal once we do.  The taking and keeping of these hills secures the spiritual future of you and those around you us fight and never give them up. 

These are the hills The New Young Christians will take or die trying: 

Hill 4:  Be Storytellers and Storymakers

The New Young Christian understands that your story, their story and God’s story must be told.  Every name has a story & your story matters. 

We believe the greatest story to be told is the Good News to a generation that is surrounded by corrosive words and erosive ideology.  Jesus has come to bring life to the fullest to a generation that knows a pseudo life that is masquerading itself as a  grafted life only in the end to be a disappointing life.   

“We refuse to claim our biography’s but choose to declare our testimony’s. ”

We overcome our life trials by the truth of the story of Jesus and the script from our lives that declares this story true.  So we refuse to claim our biography’s but we choose to declare our testimony’s.  When we choose to live out a better and greater story, its undeniable potency of our authentic chapters of life grips the hearts and minds of our communities to reveal to others God is not only real but the author, perfector and finisher of these novels.

“We suddenly find ourselves moving from storytellers to storymakers.”

As they encounter our lives, as they read our hearts they discover the author, Himself.  He takes the pages of their lives and begins to script a different story.  We suddenly find ourselves moving from storytellers to storymakers.  Dreaming big for the what could be for you, your community and our God.  These stories may not be perfect but are happy in ending.  Hero’s are made.  Evil is conquered.  Love is found.  A “the end” with a disclaimer that says it’s only the beginning.