I am teaching a workshop for guys tomorrow at the Florida Christian Youth Convention on 2 Samuel 23: 8-39 on David’s Mighty Men. I found this great post that breaks down this passage and breaks down the definition of mighty in Hebrew.

“As David grew into this position of leadership, we see him surrounded by MIGHTY MEN. These men are honorable, loyal men who had proved themselves and their loyalty to God, the king, and their country on the battle field. The word translated as MIGHTY MEN literally means that they were manly, strong, vigorous, brave, and mighty.”

I am going to talk about being the men/ guys that God has called us to be based on being MANLY, STRONG (and self-controled), VIGOROUS, BRAVE and MIGHTY. What great attributes for a Christian guy start working toward.

I wanted to share something from my Bible time the other morning. I am reading through a 30 day guide of Jesus’ life and ministry. The other morning I was reading from Matthew 8 and Luke 7 and in Luke 7: 11-15 is says, “When Jesus saw this His heart overflowed with compassion.”

We have been teaching our daughter about compassion lately. There is a Publix in town that pretty much always has someone with a sign in need of help around. Usually we will run through Taco Bell or Sonic (which are close by) and get them something or a gift card to get something they like to eat. We talk with her about the fact that when we see people in need whether on a street corner or a friend or family member we need to do something about it (that’s having and showing compassion).

As I was thinking about that verse and praying about it that morning, it dawned on me that to live out Philippians 2: 1-11, and to have the same attitude that Jesus had and tie that into the compassion He had on the widow who lost her only son, I should be living my life always on the watch for people in need of compassion.

What about you?
Do you live your life looking for ways to show compassion?
Are you leaving a legacy to your children of being a compassionate person?

Parents and those who will be parents one day, you have the single biggest impact on your child’s spiritual development and they are watching you to see how you live out what the bible talks about. What better way to live it out in front of your children or those around you than this Christmas season to no matter where you are, what you are doing or how busy you might be than to look for ways to be compassionate to those in need?

Brian Houston - Preparing Future Generations (my title for his message) Ps 45:16- “Instead of Your fathers shall be Your sons, Whom You shall make princes in all the earth.”

A prophesy of Jesus to the Israelites: you won’t always look to your fathers (Abraham, Moses, Elijah, David) but that you will one day honor the Son (Jesus) and make Him prince of all the earth (Ben Boles interpretation of this verse). But Brian used as a way of looking to honor future generations of the church to make sure we are preparing future leaders and reaching the lost in future generations.

Fathers= Proven and Predictable (not in a bad way) Sons= Unproven and Unpredictable (in a way that worries older leaders who want to go down proven and predictable paths for the church)

In the church we want to fall back on proven, tried and tested successes. But we Jesus who to the Jewish leaders was unpredictable and was leading the people in new ways that they didn’t approve. In John 4 we Jesus doing things that Jewish men didn’t do (1) talk to a woman who wasn’t their wife or relative (2) talk to a Samaritan.

Predictable in loyalty, reliability, what we believe, in our word, commitment is our friend. But predictability is an enemy to creativity, innovation and influence (of future generations).

So much of the church is not yet seen (in ways we haven’t done things and in people groups we haven’t had to adapt to reach (1 Cor (:19-22))

We as leaders cannot just read we have to think. He told a story about a guy putting together a piece of furniture and was having a hard time and a guy walked by and asked if he could help and after a few minutes began to arrange all the pieces and started putting it together. After he was finish the first man asked how did you get that from the directions and the guy answered I cannot read I just had to think about it.

You can only be experienced in the proven and predictable but leading into the future is going to take chances in the unproven and unpredictable.

Culture is our servant not our master. Keep the main thing the main thing.

We’ve got to step into what God has for the future of the church.

Better to be a history maker than a historian.

Saturday Night - Paul Andrew - When God Takes Over The Services

2 Chron. 5: 13-14- “Indeed it came to pass, when the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord, and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying: “For He is good, For His mercy endures forever,” that the house, the house of the Lord, was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord filled the house of God.”

It came to pass…
1) Be As One- Do we understand meaning of unity? Jesus prayed that we one (Jh 17:21), He says that the world would believe that God sent Jesus because of our unity. At the heart of community is a true sense of unity: standing for the people around you.

2) Make one sound- end of vs. 13 they lifted up their voice (singular) not their voice(s) which happens when a group of singers and musicians get together normally you hear their differences in this vs. they were as one.

3) Lift Up One Voice- Ps 133- “A Song of Ascents. Of David. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil upon the head, Running down on the beard, The beard of Aaron, Running down on the edge of his garments. It is like the dew of Hermon, Descending upon the mountains of Zion; For there the Lord commanded the blessing— Life forevermore.”

When we actually are as one (unified) the spirit of God will take over and His presence be such a cloud of witness that we won’t be able to do anything but stand in awe of Him.

What are you doing to contribute to being one voice in the body of Christ?

I wanted to share the things that were said at the conference that stuck out to me and really nailed home what they were talking about. We bought the CD’s of all the sessions and workshops so if you would like to barrow them let me know.

Friday Night - Phil Dooley - There’s A Breakthrough Coming In Your Life

Phil 3:12- “forgetting the past and pressing forward toward the goal” Eph 3:20- “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us.”

Being obedient to God prepares you for the breakthrough He has planned for you.

1 Sam 17:17-21- “And Jesse said to David his son, Take for your brothers an ephah of this parched grain, and these ten loaves, and carry them quickly to the camp to your brothers. Also take these ten cheeses to the commander of their thousand. See if your brothers are well, and bring some token from them. Now Saul and they and all the men of Israel were in the Valley of Elah, fighting with the Philistines. And David rose early in the morning and left the sheep with a keeper and took the provisions and went, as Jesse had commanded him. And he came to the encampment as the host was going out to the battle line, shouting the war cry.”

David the “little cheese boy” as Phil referred to him as was being obedient and diligent in his work, vs. 20 David rose early to do the work asked of him.

Breakthrough happens when in your heart you realize somethings not right and you want to do something about it. David heard the insults to God that Goliath and was tired of waiting for the Israelite army that had been on the battle line for 40 days and did something about. God used the culmination of all the experiences David had being obedient taking care of his father’s sheep to slay the giant. But it wasn’t about David.

Breakthrough is never really about you.

1 Chron. 20:4-8- ” And after this there arose war with the Philistines at Gezer. Then Sibbecai the Hushathite struck down Sippai, who was one of the descendants of the giants, and the Philistines were subdued. And there was again war with the Philistines, and Elhanan the son of Jair struck down Lahmi the brother of Goliath the Gittite, the shaft of whose spear was like a weaver’s beam. And there was again war at Gath, where there was a man of great stature, who had six fingers on each hand and six toes on each foot, twenty-four in number, and he also was descended from the giants. And when he taunted Israel, Jonathan the son of Shimea, David’s brother, struck him down. These were descended from the giants in Gath, and they fell by the hand of David and by the hand of his servants.”

Breakthrough is about glorifying God and when breakthrough happens in your life others step up and come along and do the same.

So my question is are you being obedient to God or are you solely looking for a moment where you do something great?

[tags]Hillsong United Conference, Phil Dooley[/tags]

Please read all the way through. Tonight and tomorrow a group of us that work with or volunteer in the adult service and youth service worship teams are headed to Orlando for a worship conference lead by an amazing church from Australia’s worship team. I cannot wait.

First let me preface this whole post by saying that worship is not a day of the week or solely done through music and singing, but that music can be one of the most powerful ways in which we worship and experience God and from that angle I come at this post.

My hopes for the our teams is that we will first experience God through worship tonight and if we cannot nothing else we learn this weekend matters. I tell the youth team all the time you are the “lead worshipers” not a lead vocalists or musician. And if the lead worshipers cannot experience God then how can we lead others to do the same. I hope that we will all walk away with a better understanding of what worship truly is. I hope that we will learn new methods of leading other in worship, ways we have never done before or even thought possible. I hope we will learn ways to engage the lost through worship and help them experience God for the first time. I hope we are challenged and disturbed (in a good way) that we are not doing enough to help people experience, engage and interact with God because of what we are doing through our time of praising God through song and music.

I tell you these things not just to give you a little insight as to what we are doing and ways we equip volunteers for ministry but to get you to start thinking about what are you doing to grow in all that you do.

I am a life long learner. I know that I’m not the end all be all for youth ministry, children’s ministry, church work, people skills, conflict management, volunteer recruiting, equipping and maintaining, of being the best husband and dad, friend and family member (the list could go on and one) but I try all the time to learn better ways of doing the things that I do in my life. Are you? Conferences are one way of learning but so are books and magazines, resources of the web, continued education, talking with experts or just friends that may have experience doing something that you don’t. Be a life long learner, create a plan for learning and work towards being a better _________ (fill in the blank) because of it.

Have a great weekend!

There is a new movie coming out in just a few weeks called “The Golden Compass”. It is receiving a lot of press and scrutiny from the media and especially Christians. The author, Phillip Pullman is an outspoken atheist and in 2003 told “The Sydney Morning Herald”, “My books are about killing God.”

We want to to make you aware of this book and the intentions of what conservative British columnist Peter Hitchens labeled Pullman “the most dangerous author in Britain and described him as “the writer as the atheists would have been praying for, if atheist prayed.”

What does this mean for us Christians?
-Nothing. The devil is attacking us on every front already.
-We should not be afraid of this movie. Great conversations can be had if we are well informed about what he is talking about in his books. We can talk with our children about how we the devil works in ways to make sin look good and attractive (like in a movie or popular book). 2 Timothy 4:2 (NIV), Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.

Please checkout these websites for yourself and make a well informed opinion of Pullman and his books so you can tell your friends and family.

Snopes.com
-http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/compass.asp
The Catholic League -http://catholicleague.org/catalyst.php?year=2007&month=October&read=2322

As I was beginning my thoughts on the name and purpose of the student ministry I had just been called to lead here at CCDS the senior minister left and then dealing with the day to day running of the church office took the majority of my time in this new ministry, and while some of the frame work of where I think God is leading the student ministry had begun to fall into place the outer skin never really got finalized in my mind in those early days. With 10 months under my belt, lots of praying and some great conversations with Steve (our new senior minister) about where where we thinks God is leading the entire church and also the guidance of some churches that have come before us and where they landed recorded thought the research published in The Simple Church a book about churches de-cluttering the church and returning to focus on a simple process of making disciples, this is where I’m at.

With many conversations still to be had this is where I have landed for now. A student revolution transforming lives through: Loving God, Loving People and Serving All.

On of my favorite quotes is from Thomas Jefferson, “Every Generation Needs A Revolution”. Don’t worry this isn’t a political revolution or a coup attempt on church leadership but against the norms of the world and what it tells us to be as teenagers today.

Next week we’ll look a little bit more on what it means to be a student revolution transforming lives looks like and how it is accomplished through loving God, people and service.