Here are my random thoughts, observations and insights from yesterday followed by Justin’s message notes.

• No matter what campus I’m at, I’m always missing the others and wishing I could be everywhere at once.
• I recognize that I wear my team out with details on Sunday mornings.  Some things you just have to coach in the moment, but there are other things that can wait.  I’m trying to learn to save what can wait and follow that up with good overall feedback on Mondays.
• I’m amazed and excited by the fact that the more campuses we have the more we rely on volunteer leaders to really lead and run the show.  We should have volunteer leaders already leading at this capacity, but multi-site has forced us to really equip leaders that way.  Did I mention I’m thankful for our volunteers?
• Justin continued our Chronicles series with the parable of The Two Debtors.  I have never heard anyone tell the story of the woman who washed Jesus feet with such passion and beauty.  Truly powerful.  The notes won’t do it justice so be sure to go listen online.

The Two Debtors by Justin Davis

Luke 7:36-50

When Jesus looks into this woman’s eyes, she feels love for who she is, not what she does.

An absence of gratitude allows religion to replace relationship.

What word would you use to describe your relationship with God right now? 

Numb, guarded, repetitive, distant, absent, controlled, exhausted, dull, beat up, disappointed, mechanical, uninspiring

Has gratitude for grace leaked out of your life?

When God doesn’t react the way we think he should react, we’re quick to question Him.

It’s hard to be overwhelmed by grace when you’ve convinced yourself you don’t need it.

We are the big debtors in this story.  We’re in the biggest need of grace.

What we need to bring Jesus:

Gift of Repentance. Religion can put you at the table with Jesus but only repentance will put you at his feet.

Gift of Adoration. When was the last time you shamelessly adored God?  Does your worship to God reflect your gratitude for grace?

He who has been forgiven of much, loves much.

Will you bring Jesus your gift of repentance and adoration?

I spent my day at the Nashville campus today serving as the Worship Assistant.  I love this role because it provides me the opportunity to help set up our teaching pastor and to finish out the service with opportunities for people to respond and connect.  You could say I just did “announcements” but I always hope I can make it much more about helping people connect.

Before I give you the notes from the message today, I thought I would give you some additional highlights from today at the Nashville Campus:

• So proud of our worship team.  For those of you that don’t know, our entire band is made up of extraordinarily talented VOLUNTEERS every weekend at every campus.  These guys & gals are amazing.  Today we hit a hiccup and our drummer wasn’t able to be here, so our keyboard player (who also is an excellent drummer) changed gears, moved to the drum kit and brought his keyboard with him.  He played BOTH drums and keyboards for all four services!  That’s crazy dedication!
• After the 3rd service, I had the opportunity to reconnect with Gloria.  Gloria was one of the amazing people we met during flood week.  Her neighborhood was one of the hardest hit by the Nashville Flood just a little over 2 months ago and honestly Gloria still is struggling to figure out what to do.  I was so honored to pray for her, but left that conversation burdened by the work that still needs to be done to help families like hers get back on their feet.  Please pray for Gloria this week.
• We celebrated over a dozen baptisms today in our services.  Somehow this expression of a changed life never gets old to me… and I hope it never does.

Blake’s message today about The Good Shepherd was a powerful reminder of just how passionately God loves us.  I’m not sure we get it.  At least, I’m not sure that I get it.

Blake made one statement in his message that really stuck out to me.  He said “The mark of a true leader is self-sacrifice.”  Read his notes, ponder that statement and then let’s talk about it.

The Good Shepherd by Blake Bergstrom

John 9:24-25

Are you aware of the spiritual stories happening all around you?

Do you ever allow your agenda to get in the way of what God is doing?

John 10:1-5

Sheep trust the voice of their shepherd implicitly.

Sheep don’t need cowboys they need a shepherd.  The shepherd has earned the right to be heard.

What voices are you allowing to lead you?

Do you recognize the voice of God?  Are you listening to the voice of your shepherd to lead you?

John 10:6-10

Are you about sacrifice or self-promotion?

Do you represent the Cross or are you simply a hired hand?

John 10:11-14

The mark of a true leader is always self-sacrifice.

The Good Shepherd wants to tend to your every need.  Do you trust him?

The enemy is a thief, a robber of life and of love.

Do you understand that Christ is jealous for you?

Click here to view the embedded video.

Do you really truly understand just how deeply He loves you?

One of the greatest monsters that I wrestle with in my leadership is being confident in the calling and gifting God has for me.  I battle the usual suspects of insecurity, fear and playing the comparison game.

Last month at our Cultivate Her event in Nashville, I shared the story of Deborah and the confidence she displayed in her calling.  Deborah is one of my favorite leaders from scripture and I’m continuing to unpack layers of her leadership that fascinate me.

If you need a refresher on the story, hop over to Judges chapters 4 & 5.

Here are some key things I find in this story:

• Deborah is Judge of Israel during a time when Israel is being cruelly oppressed by the Canaanites
• We know she’s married and that she holds court under a palm trim on a hill (sounds like a nice office)
• She gets a command from God for Barak to rally 10,000 men and face the Canaanite army
• Barak refuses to go unless Deborah goes with him
• You never see Deborah waiver; she continually reminds Barak that God promised he would give Sisera, the commander of the Canaanite army, into his hands.
• Chapter 5 is their victory song

I wish the writer of Judges had been a bit more descriptive about the relational and emotional dynamics going on behind the scenes in this story.  The writer tells us what happens and the decisions that Deborah makes, but doesn’t give us a ton of insight into how she felt or what she was processing through each decision.

It’s at this point that I start trying to place myself in the story.  How would I have felt?  What would I have been afraid of?

Here’s what I observe to be the keys to Deborah’s confidence:

1) She had EARNED INFLUENCE.

Deborah was a prophetess and judge of Israel at a time when it was highly unusual for a woman to serve in such positions of leadership.  It makes me think she must have had some significant influence to have been appointed to these positions to begin in.  She also must have displayed consistency of character, love for people, sound judgment, etc in her role as Judge.  Barak and the 10,000 leaders were willing to follow her lead and trusted what she said was God’s command.

2)  She displayed INCREDIBLE STRENGTH

I can’t imagine living in the times that she lived in.  Israel was weak, defenseless and far from God.  I suspect moral was low and hope was barely a flicker.  But Deborah had hope and a vision from God and out of this she summoned the strength to still the voices of doubt and timidity, and as one author describes, “called the people to battle, leading them out of idolatry and restoring their dignity as God’s chosen ones”.

3)  She showed CONSISTENT HUMILITY.

It seems like it would have been easy in her shoes to try to take the credit.  God gave her the command, so she could have easily told Barak, “God told me and you to lead the army”, but she didn’t.  She told Barak that God had called him to lead the army.  At that point, she probably had no idea what her role would be.  She was turning the power and the potential glory over to him.

I also love that in Judges 5:7, Deborah doesn’t refer to herself as judge, prophetess or leader.  She describes herself as “a mother in Israel.”  She didn’t need to prove herself or remind others of her positional power.

4)  She was FAITHFULLY OBEDIENT.

Deborah drew her confidence from her relationship with God.  God gave her the directive for the battle with Sisera and she didn’t lose sight of this even in the heat of it.  Judges 4:14 says “Then Deobrah said to Barak, ‘Up! For this is the day in which the Lord has delivered Sisera into your hand.  Has not the Lord gone out before you?’” After the battle was finished she and Barak sang a victory song in which they repeatedly thank God.

Deborah’s story is such a key reminder to me of God’s faithfulness through our obedience.  I’m sure she didn’t sign up for all that her leadership would demand, but her confidence was in God’s power, not her own.  She was pursuing His glory, not hers and as a result the people she led experienced freedom for 40 years.  That’s remarkable influence!

What challenges do you face in being confident in your calling as a leader?

Ever been in a season of life that you just don’t like?

Maybe it’s a new job that isn’t what you expected?

Maybe it’s a season in your child’s life (like the terrible 2’s) that you wonder if you both are going to live through?

Maybe it’s being single or single again?

Maybe it’s a relationship with a family member or friend that for as much as you try to get it right, it’s just all wrong?

Ever been in one of those seasons where you’ve been trying so hard for so long that you just want to quit?

Walk away.

Give up.

I’ve had my share.

There have been seasons of my life when it has taken everything in me to push through and stick with it.

I didn’t want to.  I really didn’t want to.

I’ve literally begged God to fix the situation.  To let me give up.  To release me from the frustration and the pain.  Usually he doesn’t let me, and I find myself reflecting on this verse:

2 Corinthians 12:7-10

⁷To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. ⁸Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. ⁹But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Although my circumstances may be different from Paul’s.  They say that Paul’s affliction may have been physical.  Maybe for you it is.  Maybe it’s metaphorical.  But either way, I think the thing that most captures my attention when I read these verses is this part:

⁸Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. ⁹But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

I think sometimes God allows us to live in the discomfort of a season or circumstance because He is up to greater work than we can see.  It’s for His glory, not ours.  It’s for His power and strength to be seen… even if it’s just for us to see.

In a world that encourages us to:

…seek comfort

…find the easy way

…play to your strengths

…live your best life, etc.

I think we find ourselves very restless with the thorns.  We think we deserve better and so we whine and cry and blame instead of trying to find a way for God’s power to be made perfect in our weakness.

I love this next part of verse 9, Paul says:

“Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”

Did you catch that?

“So that Christ’s power may rest on me.” There’s something very comforting about the idea of God’s power RESTING on me.

In the midst of your thorn, there is comfort if you’ll allow God’s power to be made known through your weakness.

How can you allow God’s power to be seen through your thorn?

I’m really enjoying our Chronicles series.  Although I’ve heard these parables before, I think sometimes it’s easy to brush over them and miss many of the points that Jesus was trying to communicate.  Justin did a great job with this one today.  I needed to be reminded of the power of a little seed… of a little hope!

The Mustard Seed & Yeast by Justin Davis

Parable – an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.

Matthew 13:31-34

Have you ever had an unmet expectation of God?

When you’ve had enough unmet expectations, you lose hope.

Just because you can’t see it working doesn’t mean He’s not working.

Unmet expectations turn into hope deferred and hope deferred turns into spiritual disappointment.

Small beginnings from an unlikely source = Irresistible growth

We have unmet expectations of God because we’ve placed our culture’s measuring standards on a kingdom that can’t be measured.

We miss mustard seed moments because we resent small beginnings.

God’s work is not always instant, but it’s inevitable.

Don’t lose hope.

Hope waits patiently.

• God’s timing isn’t always our timing.
• God is much more concerned about your character than your calendar.
• What area of your life do you need to wait patiently?

Hope lives courageously.

• Courage is not the absence of fear.
• Courage is overcoming fear with faith.
• Is there an area of your life that you’ve allowed fear to overtake your faith?

God has placed a list of dreams in your heart… they may be your mustard see moments.

Once the seed is in the ground, once the yeast is in the dough, it’s only a matter of time.

Jesus knows all about broken dreams.

Don’t give up.

Don’t lose hope.

Is there an area of your life that you’ve lost hope?  How can I pray for you this week?

My life feels very frantic right now.  I can’t really catch my breath and I’m constantly feeling edgy.

Ever been in one of those seasons?

I don’t like the feeling and I don’t like myself.

So, today while I was walking I found myself praying, “God, what’s the deal?  Why am I so restless, stressed, frantic and irritated?  What do I need to do?”

And just as that word “do” came out of my mouth, I felt God kind of stop me in my tracks and say:

“You don’t need to do, you need to be.”

“Be?  Be what?  How do I be?”

I don’t know how to be.

Be still.

Be calm.

Be quiet.

Be prayerful.

Be listening.

Be thoughtful.

To be means simply to “exist or live”.

In all my frantic-ness, I’ve forgotten how to simply live.

Psalm 46:10

Be still, and know that I am God.

John Ortberg says in The Me I Want to Be

My main job is to remain connected to God.  When my primary focus is being present with him, everything else has a way of falling into place.

That’s what I want to be.

I just can’t figure out how to do it.

How about you?

We wrapped up the Be Rich series today.  I told you this series would start some paradigm shifts for you.  Here are my notes from Pete’s message today.

New Math by Pete Wilson

1 Timothy 6:17-19

Proverbs 21:20

You create more margin in your money by either:

1. Making more
2. Spending less

You create more margin in your time by learning to say “no”.  What is normal (crazy, hectic, frenzied schedules) in our culture is no longer healthy.

What you do with your money here on this earth impacts what happens to you in eternity.  We don’t know exactly how, but we know that it will matter somehow because of what Jesus says.

Luke 12:13-21, 33-34

The problem: we believe that “more” is always for “me”.  As soon as I get a little margin of time or money, I believe it is for me.  We consume the margin for ourselves.

So many of our money issues are God issues.

We have to decide when enough is enough.

We have to come to grips with the fact that our identity is not in what we have, what we earn or how we rank.

Everything we own eventually becomes a pile of trash.

If you don’t declare in your life when enough is enough, enough will never be enough.

We’ve failed the test of prosperity because we’ve made it all about us/we’ve assumed it’s all for us.

The wise person is thinking beyond this life.

To break the cycle of “get, get, get”, I have to “give, give, give.”

How to Be Rich:

1. Admit your rich.
2. Don’t trust in it.
3. Become a systematic percentage giver of your time and money.
4. View it realizing there is more to life than this life.

So do you believe that you are rich?  What is one thing you can do this week to live richly?

Justin Davis continued our “Be Rich” series today.  Such an important discussion that we’re often too afraid of to engage honestly, especially in church.  I appreciate Justin’s transparency today.  Be challenged but be encouraged!

Leftovers by Justin Davis

There is no correlation between money and peace.

What is the best financial advice you’ve ever received and did you take it?

Those of you that are rich will always have something competing for your heart.

If you don’t view yourself as rich, you won’t take Jesus’ principles to heart.

I Timothy 6:17-19

Be rich in good deeds and be generous and willing to share.

The greatest barrier to doing good is margin.  We have to intentionally create the space in our lives to live generously.

We are rich in time and money, but we aren’t always purposeful with them.

Create margin in your time.

• We equate busyness with significance.
• We’re rich in activities, meetings, appointments, etc
• You can be rich in busyness and bankrupt in good deeds.

Create margin in your finances.

• We equate possessions with wealth.
• You can be reach in possessions and bankrupt in generosity.

You will have to choose this.  You will have to be intentional about this.

Rich people plan ahead.

If you don’t plan ahead, you will be giving God and others the leftovers.

If you don’t plan ahead to give God your time and your money, you will be giving him leftovers.

Rich people purposely give away their time and money.

1. Pre-decide to give your time in service.
2. Pre-decide to be a percentage giver.

Rich people don’t operate in the urgent, they operate in the important.

How you treat money reflects the priorities of your life.

Determine to trust God with your time and money.

When you give God and others the best, God somehow allows the leftovers to be satisfying and sufficient.

Are you being purposeful with your time and money or are you giving God and others the leftovers?

Today we kicked off a brand new series “Be Rich”.  Looking forward to this one!!  I feel a major paradigm shift coming our way!

Who’s Rich? by Pete Wilson

We’re talking about how to BE rich, not how to GET rich.

I Timothy 6:17-19

This passage is geared to a very specific group of people -  the passage says “command those who are rich”

Rich people have unique responsibilities, problems and situations.

Who are these rich people that God is talking to?  Most rich people don’t know they are rich because they always find someone else who is richer than they are.

PROBLEM – Rich is a moving target.

If you have a combined income in your house of $37,000 you are in the top 4% of wealth in the world.  If you have a combined income of $45,000 or more you are in the top 1% of wealth in the world.

God has blessed me with more than I need.  I am rich!

If you are rich, you should be grateful.

I shouldn’t feel guilty about being rich because everything I have has been placed in my hand by God.  I need to learn to be grateful.

The more money you get, the more important you feel.  We blend our identity with our wealth.

Your wealth is not who you are, it’s just something that you have.

Proverbs 18:11

Ecclesiastes 5:10

The #1 competitor for your heart is money.

Matthew 6:24

Every day I battle the temptation to lean into money for my identity and my safety.

There is zero correlation between money and peace.

Are you going to choose to lean more into money or into God?

Questions to Consider:

1. Which of these statements creates the most anxiety in you?  There is no God or there is no money in the bank.
2. Is the fear of not having enough impeding you ability to give?
3. Do you have money in the bank but no peace in your heart?
4. How hard is it for you to do the right thing when you know it’s going to cost you?

I’ve been reading through I Corinthians lately and this morning I stumbled upon the “love” chapter.  I started to quickly skim through it since I can recite this chapter with little effort.  I’m sure my good Christian school education made me memorize this chapter one February long, long ago.

But as I began to patronizingly read it, I started to slow down.

I know what scripture says love is, but just knowing doesn’t mean I’m doing it. Just knowing it hasn’t automatically turned me into the greatest lover, so I felt convicted that I needed to take a minute and camp out here.

I started writing out in my journal the phrases describing what love is and I tried to rate myself on how well I display that characteristic of love from 1-10.  1 being very poor.  10 being I totally love like Christ would.

So, let me challenge you to do the same.  Take the following phrases and rate yourself.  Even better, ask someone you love and trust to rate you too.  Perhaps God will reveal a little more about your heart and take you on a journey to loving more deeply than you ever have before.  I’m praying that’s what it does for me… and for you too!

Love…

• is patient
• is kind
• does not envy
• does not boast
• is not proud
• is not rude
• is not self-seeking
• is not easily angered
• keeps no record of wrongs
• does not delight in evil
• rejoices with the truth
• always protects
• always trusts
• always hopes
• always perseveres
• never fails