Shared with the Vivid Church peeps this AM that God seems to be calling an increasing number of people to a time of pursuit and consecration.  

I truly believe that the month of May will be a critical time of investment and sowing.  May will be a pivot point in this year.  

The Bible instructs us in Isaiah 55:6 to “Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near.”  There are times when God is in motion and we must get in on what He is doing.  

There is a set time to plant and make investment.   Together, we are committing ourselves to seek God throughout May in unprecendented ways expecting unprecedented harvest, unprecedented breakthrough, and unprecedented impact.

Ever felt like there was something missing, but you just couldn’t put your finger on it? 

You’re not crazy. You’re hungry.

In our current study series “Hunger”, we are discovering the symptoms of hunger, its function in our lives, how to properly respond to it, and how God uses it to draw and lead us.

Chances are you’ve probably received one. More than likely you’ve given one. I’m talking about the “Facebook Maybe”.

It all starts out so simply. You receive an event request. You look at it and realize that you would like to support the person or cause hosting the event. But you also know that you are not going to attend.

You have 3 choices. Select “Yes” and not show and hope they never bring it up. Select “No” and hope they don’t take it personally. Or a third option. The ultimate choice for commitment-phobes – “Maybe”.

I only realized how much I’ve relied on the “Maybe” when responding. “Maybe” I’ll be at your midweek Bible Study in Pennsylvania. Maybe. Except for the fact that I live in Jacksonville, FL and will not be purposefully planning on attending. BUT if I were to find myself suddenly transported there, I might choose to attend your gathering.

“Maybe” I’ll show up for the event for the group that I’m not even really a part of. Maybe. But I don’t really expect to suddenly change my plans at the last minute to intentionally surround myself with a bunch of people that I don’t really know. But I might.

Starting to see the value of my “yes” being a “yes” and my “no” being a “no”.

Don’t fall into the easy trap of answering “Maybe”. If you are truly unsure, wait until you have an answer then respond. If you must decline, then acknowledge it, but also leave an encouraging note to indicate your support.

P.S. This is directed at no one in particular other than myself. Trying to improve on some bad social networking habits…

I was watching PBS recently (as always) and saw a great episode of Nova titled “Arctic Passage“. It detailed the failed Franklin Polar Expedition from the 1850’s.

Outfitted with the best 19th century technology, Sir John Franklin set out on a journey to navigate a northwest passage through the Arctic waters north of Canada. It was a journey with a thousand horrible decisions and even worse outcome.

As the ships were crushed under the immense pressure of the surrounding ice, Franklin and his men decided to abandon them and set out on foot to safety. They were able to convert the dingys into sleds which they used to haul their gear and belongings. One of these sleds was actually recovered by archeologists.

What might you expect to find in a sled of polar explorers making their way overland to safety? How about brass buttons, button polisher, books, and silver plated silverware? Rather than focus on the things needed to survive in their new environment, they continued to hold on to the trappings of Victorian England. So much so, that archeologists estimate that each of the sleds weighed more than 1400 pounds.

But there fate was almost officially sealed before they even left port. Their choices of provisions reflect the popular tastes of the time, but were grossly unable to sustain the men in their time of need. Among the provisions were 9450 pounds of chocolate, 3684 gallons of concentrated spirits, 7088 pounds of tobacco. All things to be enjoyed and make life better, but not able to fuel a crew of men pulling 3/4 ton sleds across arctic wilderness.

If this was not bad enough, the literal killer was found in the technology that they thought would actually be their life saver. Included in the provisions were 33, 289 pounds of tinned meat. The revolutionary canning method would allow meats to be transported without spoiling and guarantee the men sustenance in the gravest of conditions. With one major drawback.

Forensic testing found that the men did not only die of exposure to the Arctic weather, but that most of the men were struck with severe lead poisoning. Studies proved that the food they had consumed had been tainted with lead. The lead came from the tinned meats.

The cans would be soldered closed and the soft metal used to seal the cans would taint the meat with lead. The men were already poisoned and sentenced to death before the ships were ever encased in ice.

I watched in amazement at the thought of trying to tackle foreign environments and situations from a traditional, cultural mindset. Sitting in London, the answers to their needs would be easy to solve. Faced with frostbite, scurvy, and lead poisoning, they quickly found that the culture of London did not translate to the Arctic.

It’s easy to scoff at the idea of dragging 1400 pound sleds full of novelties and trinkets across the frozen ground, but I wonder if we don’t often do the same thing? Why do we burden ourselves with so many needless weights when we are trying to survive in a new culture/environment?

How much of our own cultural irrelevance is found simply in the fact that we refuse to stop pulling our boats?

Was headed to bed the other night and flipping the channels when I got fascinated by a documentary on PBS called “Ferrets: The Pursuit of Excellence”.

The documentary followed a group of ferret owners at the Buckeye Bash Ferret Show.  These were not just any ferrets.  They were show ferrets.  Ferrets of the highest caliber who had been bred to compete and be judged.  

I started watching out of a bizarre wonder that people would spend that much time grooming, and thinking, and working, and daydreaming about ferrets.  

It seemed to me like a weird little community, but then I realized that is was just like every other sub-culture.  You can change the subject, environment, and lingo, but it’s the emotions that are the same.  

There is nothing different about the “Ferret people” that isn’t exhibited by a group of guys who are cheering on their favorite team, or people who are fans of a certain series of books, or folks like me who are hopelessly addicted to LOST.

We all have lingo and terms that are foreign to people who are on the outside.  Cover 2 and Mike.  Lothlorien and Hogwarts.  The Hatch and the Dharma Initiative.  These are all cultural shorthand within our respective sub-cultures.  Anyone who isn’t a part doesn’t understand.

These respective sub-cultures are made up of people who are looking to connect; people are wanting to be a part of something.  Where they are safe to share their passions and joys without the fear of ridicule.  

More thoughts to come on sub-cultures and how they might relate to the Church.  But first, what sub-cultures do you participate in?  College football?  Are you a Mac fiend?  Cars?  Shoes?

Whether we know it or not, we are all a part of some  sub-culture.

So earlier today via Twitter and Facebook, I had solicited thoughts on the worst widely known Christmas songs. Now I love me some Christmas music, but some of it is pretty dreadful…

But I thought I would be remiss if I didn’t share my favorite Christmas song.

Hands down, all time fave, makes-me-stop-everytime-I hear-it… Little Drummer Boy

The thing that always gets me is the idea of not having a physical gift to bring like others may, but instead offering talents and abilities. “I’ll play my drum for Him, I’ll play my best for Him, Puh Rum pum pum pum!”

And with that, I wanted to share with you a video a Twitter friend shared with me…

Trent Austin from Lifechurch.tv’s Edmond campus!

Woke up with this question bouncing around my head this morning…

What are you waiting for?

As I was coming up in church there was always a sense that we were waiting on God to bring revival or to do something stupendous to that would be like flicking the first spiritual domino in a long chain of dominoes. Always hoping that we would be able to say “I was there!” when whatever hocus-pocus took place.

It was something that we all hoped for, but I’m not sure we really expected. Like Santa, the Easter Bunny, or Keiser Soze… But we continued to march in place wishing for it to come.

But that leads to the real thought I’ve been pondering…

We’ve never had to “wait for God” on things. It’s always been us. God has never held us back from advancing the kingdom or moving forward. It’s always been us, slouching towards greatness, but too afraid or weak to really try.

I don’t believe there has every been a time where we’ve been so pure and put together that we are simply at the starting gate waiting for God to arrive.

I believe God has great dreams for us and this world. But, let’s not naively think, that He is just biding His time. We are not waiting for the great “end-time revival”. We ARE the great “end-time revival”.

Heard this song just the other day in a service and was amazed at how fresh it was… Passion never grows old! It’s amazing what focusing on and meaning what you are singing can do to a song that many would consider old…

And the verse is what wrecked me…

I want to take your word and shine it all around.
But first help me to just, live it lord.
And when Im doing well, help me to never seek a crown.
For my reward is giving glory to you.

Let’s add intention to our ability when we worship.

So,  my bride and I had come to an interesting place in our journey with God.  We found ourselves in a position of watching the world around us change dramatically.  Things and places I thought were definite suddenly became question marks.  

And all the while God has held our hand and continued to walk us through.

It’s important to understand that the sudden changes were not an indicator of things being wrong or people being in compromise.  Actually, the exact opposite.   It was simply the ending of a season and the transitioning into a new one.

And God has shown Himself faithful the entire time.  

All of that is said to simply say.  My bride and I are stepping into our new season.

We believe that God has spoken to our hearts to launch a church in Jacksonville, FL.  Preparations have begun and we continue to believe God for all of the people, the personnel, the resources, the wisdom, and the favor to execute this vision.  

You can find out more about Vivid Church at www.vividchurch.tv.  Updates are also available via Twitter.

I will continue to share my thoughts and ideas on this blog while providing information about the vision and ministry launch on the VC blog.

If you think about us, please pray for us!  The best is yet to come!