Not Quite Heaven on Earth...

What an amazing day yesterday. It is such a privilege to do what I do and see what I see. Yesterday could not have been better at The Pursuit in my mind. As I walked out, exhausted after preaching for the last time, I said to a couple who was serving, "It shouldn't be this fun." (I've always said that our worship services should be the closest thing to heaven on earth. I think for many people church feels like 'the other place'!) We talked about how, believe it or not, heaven is going to be so much better.

I told them that the biggest difference for me will be that there won't be any pain between Sundays. This life is filled with trouble. The enemy is relentless in his attack. If you are struggling, know that heaven is coming soon. We will see that day when there will be no more crying or pain or tears. We echo the words of the apostle John closing out the book of Revelation, "Come, Lord Jesus."

Deja Vu...

A couple of weeks ago, we had one of those "defining days" at The Pursuit. (I think this Sunday may be one as well for many of us!). We pour our hearts into the summer every year, knowing that our people are out inviting and new people are moving into the valley. It also helps us to hit the ground running for the fall instead of spending September "ramping up."

The discouraging thing is that we realistically are missing 30 to 40% of our attenders any given Sunday because Idaho is apparently too beautiful of state to resist. With the incredible feedback we got from the service from Aug. 2, and the knowledge that so many have missed it, we are doing our first "Deja Vu Service" on September 1 at 6:30 p.m. We are going to do the exact same service, music and all, for all of those that missed it.

I have no idea how many will come but this will be a great experiment for two reasons. One is that we may do these from time to time (or maybe just every fall with the top Sunday of the summer). It could be a great way to get us all on the same page. The other part is that we are fairly confident that we are going to run out of space with four services sometime this fall (in spite of my efforts to use challenging "hypocrite-repellent" messages of late). One of our ideas —to reach those that no one else is reaching, you have to do something that no one else is doing—is to do an additional service time on Tuesday nights.

There are a lot of people that work or are out of town on weekends. Would they come to church on Tuesday nights? Could we get enough volunteers to come back to run our Kidz and hospitality ministry? We have no idea. But, if there was ever a body of believers that would do whatever it takes to reach some more, it is our Pursuit family. We'll know more in a few weeks!

Defying the Odds...

I am currently on vacation in Winona Lake, IN, which is the town where I went to college and seminary. I was running tonight around the campus and remembered when I used to jog when I was in college. That was more than 15 years ago. Most of you probably would think that running was much easier then, but it wasn't.

Odds are, the older you get, the more out of shape you become. At 37, I am in the best shape of my life. My waist is smaller than it was in high school and I am stronger than I've ever been. I have been overweight my whole life and I am finally approaching the way I have always wish I could have looked and felt.

What changed? I finally really desired to be in shape. Oh, I assure you I had thought about it and made temporary attempts many times in the past. I'd try different routines, gyms, fad diets, but ultimately the desire for food and laziness always won out. Not any more. I am defying the odds.

Statistics say that the larger a church gets, the more inward focused it becomes. It doesn't have to be that way. As we get bigger, our chance for impact increases all the more. What do we need to defy the odds? Desire. We just have to want to reach the world more than we want to enjoy our own comforts. Let's not just "wish" that we could be a church that changes our valley and the world. We've got God living in us. Let's just go do it!

The Gift of Evangelism...

I never thought I had it. In fact, I was pretty sure I didn't. God never seemed to use me to bring people across the line of faith. It is actually somewhat comical to me that people seem to give their lives to Jesus after they leave our services, not during it in response to something I say. I finally figured out that evangelism isn't just "closing the deal" so-to-speak, but it is any conversation or action that brings people a step closer to Jesus. I do have the gift of evangelism. God uses me to create space and opportunity for people to move closer and closer to a decision to follow Christ. It is rare for me to be a part of someone actually crossing the line, but I am grateful to play the part that I play.

My wife Angela, on the other hand, should be nicknamed "The Closer." Since we moved here to Boise, she has been able to walk with many as they get closer to that point and then be there to lead them in prayer as they turn their lives over to Jesus. She was able to pray with another one of our neighbors this past Thursday (listen to The Pursuit Podcast "Wake Up the World - Part 1" to hear the story. Keep a tissue close by!). The way God uses Angela is nothing short of amazing. But God doesn't always use her in the same way either. It is as if God is reminding each of us that it is all Him.

We were awakened by a phone call at midnight last night. Another girl that Angela has been pursuing and for whom we have all been faithfully praying crossed the line of faith last night! It was truly the perfect end to a perfect day. God used Angela's recent friendship and my message on Sunday to ready her and then prompted another staff member at The Pursuit to invite her out to talk after service where she prayed to receive Jesus as her Forgiver and Leader. There was another party in heaven for someone for whom we have been praying!

I don't care which part I play, whether it is a first, middle or final link in the chain that brings someone to Jesus. I just know I want to play a part. Any part. I just want God to use me.

And It Did Not Rain...

I just got home from Merrill Park today after enjoying five hours of dry weather on a day that it was supposed to rain. God has been known to make it rain (or not rain) both in Scripture and in my life as a result of prayer. With our renewed emphasis on prayer of late, we really believed that God would prevent the rain as a result of our prayers.

As the week went on and the forecast continued to call for rain, we continued to pray. I refused to accept a "backup plan" insisting that God would allow us to have our Outreach BBQ. There were too many of us inviting unchurched people personally and I simply couldn't imagine how God would get the glory in letting it be cancelled. I even told one person I invited that we were praying that it would not rain. God's reputation with those that didn't know Him was on the line.

Last night at our God First Friday service, it poured. As we stood around afterwards we continued to pray. We said we would make a judgement call in the morning, but that if it was raining we should probably cancel. I woke up anticipating it being dry in faith, but looked out the window to see a steady rain. I looked on facebook and saw all of the "come rain or shine" invites and talked to the staff and we decided to go for it, even in the rain. I actually told my wife jokingly, "I guess prayer doesn't work."

On a day with a 60% chance of showers, it was dry for our entire event! It stopped as they finished setting up and was perfect weather for the entire time. It rained all around us, but Eagle stayed dry. I can't believe I actually doubted God, not that He had the power, but that He would answer the specific request. I figured that He let it go to the last minute just to see if we were willing to get a little wet to try to reach this valley, then He shut off the rain for us. Glory to God! Let's continue to pray and continue to reach out. By the way, just after everything was unloaded back into our building, it started to pour! As if we needed God to show us it wasn't a coincidence. We already knew it was all Him.

Glad I Obeyed...

Yesterday marks the six year anniversary of the day God said, "Go." As a campus pastor in Moorpark, CA, I knew that someday I was to go somewhere where I didn't know anyone and plant a church. That was God's call on my life since reading The Purpose Driven Church when I started seminary several years earlier. My mentor frequently asked me, "If money were no object and you could do anything for God, what would you do?" My answer was always the same. "Go somewhere where I don't know anyone and start a church."

I had settled into my role as a campus pastor but had started to feel like I was delaying my call for no good reason. I was listening to Bill Hybels speak on May 19, 2003 in Camarillo and he mentioned that he was 51. That's the last thing I remember from his talk. God asked me if I was still going to be a campus pastor when I was 51. "No way, God. I'm not going to put it off for 20 years." He replied, "How about when you are 41?" I couldn't imagine waiting another 10. I heard very clearly, "Then go."

I got back to the office that afternoon, informed my mentor that it was time to go, and pulled out an atlas and laid it on my desk. "God, where in this country do you want me." By that evening, when I took my wife out to dinner to share what I was feeling, I already felt like the Treasure Valley in Idaho could be the place to which God was calling us.

What if I had said no? I can't even imagine what I would have missed being a part of. As always, I am glad I obeyed. It is always in our best interest, both in this earthly life and for eternity's sake, to do what God says.

"God, give me the strength to keep saying yes, no matter how challenging the call."

It Used to Be Enough...

Prayer has always been foundational at The Pursuit. When we started meeting in our house, I thought it would be cool to pray every week for every person that was coming. When I would meet someone that I invited or with whom I began a relationship, I would add their name to the excel spreadsheet. As we grew, I just never felt like it was okay to stop that practice. Now that excel spreadsheet has 866 households. The elders all share the load, but everyone still gets prayed for every week.

I've often wondered how much less God would have done here if we hadn't bothered to pray the way we do? But I don't think that the way we have prayed in the past is going to be enough for what we are asking God to do in the future. We need to pray more. We need to express our dependence on God more.

I am excited to preach on prayer for two weeks starting May 31. I don't want people to ever think that God did what He did at The Pursuit because of our talents and abilities. I want it to be an obvious work of the Holy Spirit. We're starting something new in a few weeks. God First Fridays. I can't wait.