thrive community

As I type this article, I’m reminded of how much I love my MacBook Pro. It’s the greatest computer on the planet. It does have a few things in common with the inferior Windows PC: they both have a keyboard.

One button in particular caught my attention yesterday. “ESC” or the “escape” button. Since I work on a Mac, I have to use it around 90% less than my PC counterparts. But, none the less, it still offered me a little bit of comfort for some strange reason. I know it’s there just in case I get into something that I need immediate “escape” from on my computer.

Wouldn’t it be great if life came with an “escape” button? What a relief to know that if we got ourselves into something, we could just hit a button and we could get out of it and even start over as if nothing ever happened?

Through many difficult and painful experiences, I know all too well that life doesn’t work that way. I got myself into some real pickles that I may have thought at one time were just accidents. But just like when my Mac seems to have “screwed itself up” and I want to say it’s my computers fault, we don’t get where we are in life on accident either. Sometimes, things may “happen” to us because of our ignorance or that are honestly beyond our immediate control. But most of the time, things “happen” because of our choices and they do what choices do: they direct us to where we are today.  It’s more than just geography, unforeseen circumstances, lucky breaks or an “act of God” that forces it’s influence on us and that may be beyond our control. I’m talking about our heart and our character. They have the greatest influence in us. They direct our responses to the forces around us and are within our ability to choose.

No matter the resulting consequences, whether positive or negative in our estimation, our present reality is a direct result of living what we believe. What we do is what we really believe, not what we think or say we believe. There’s no “escape” from seeing the results of our beliefs being realized right in front of us – our integrity.

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Without volunteers, the ministries within almost every church in the world would come to a screeching halt. Each and every volunteer is vital to the overall success and health of every ministry.

At Journey Church, our philosophy of volunteerism is to present each person a voice into ministry as well as respect, authority and responsibility. There is an attitude that is prevalent among many churches that a volunteer is subconsciously seen as a position of low-level leadership. We believe it to be the contrary.

Leadership is influence. Every volunteer position is an incredible opportunity of shared leadership with the staff and elders of the church. From those who serve during our weekend services to those who actively serve on behalf of our faith community, volunteers are connected to and represent the vision, passion and mission of Journey Church. Every volunteer “adds to” or “subtracts from” the credibility of our church and the message we seek to convey through words and actions.

There’s a point of immaturity that rises from our hearts when we misunderstand the level of influence we have as a volunteer. It involves the statement: “Well, I’m only a volunteer.” If you’ve said that in the past or feel that in the present, may I encourage you to look beyond the people and the circumstances around you. There is a deeper issue that’s transpiring in your heart and it’s imperative that you see it.

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It’s been a while since my last post, but there’s good reason. No, there’s a great reason! My long, awaited daughter from China, Jaida Li, is finally here!

She is 16 months old, a tiny peanut of 18.5 pounds, a load of laughs and is the most easy-going kid in the world.

Jenny and I have been in the adoption process for over four years. It’s been a long season of waiting. Waiting on paperwork to be done, governments to process them, money to be gathered and God to work on us through the process.

There were days that Jenny wanted to quit. There were days that I wanted to quit. But when one of us was down, the other would offer encouragement that kept us going. And now, having returned from China about three weeks ago, we can now see with our eyes and know in our hearts that the struggle has been well worth it all, and more.

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I’m proud to officially announce my new devotional book, EXPRESSO. It’s been a work of “devotion” for the past few months. I began writing it the day after we received our adoption referral for Jaida on December 23rd. As a tribute to my dad, I made the official publishing date of EXPRESSO for March 20th, 2010, my dads 77th birthday!

When it comes to following Jesus, there are so many things that can overwhelm us and keep us from moving forward in our faith. For the new believer as well as the seasoned follower, the business of life can demand a pace that leaves little room for God. Even when space is created for spiritual development, it can be difficult to find a trustworthy grip on how to express faith in a meaningful way.

Sometimes all we need is a new opportunity, like being given a devotional book to refocus our attention on God and get our lives back on track. The passion behind EXPRESSO is to help stir a fresh desire for God’s Word in the heart of the spiritually thirsty and help them discover simple, yet practical opportunities to put their faith into practice.

My prayer is that EXPRESSO will truly energize the faith of those who read it. My hope is that it will create encouraging conversation between those who chose to read it together.

Copies of EXPRESSO can be purchased from my personal publishing site: http://openskypublishing.com. Thanks to all who have already purchased the book. I would love to hear about your experiences as you read it.

Blessings!

Jason

My friend, Barry Odom had this youtube link on Facebook that describes the missional church in a simple way. I thought it was worth passing along. Let me know what you think.

Jaida Li

December 23, 2009 started off as an ordinary day but little did we know Christmas was coming early and we would be receiving the greatest Christmas present ever.

It was a typical winter day with light snow showers which I always enjoy. With not much to do and, like everyone else, not much money to spend, Jenny and I would venture out to spend the day together for some window shopping at the mall after an early lunch.

The mall parking lot was packed because of all the Christmas shoppers. I dropped Jenny off near entrance of the mall so she could go ahead and put our names on the list at our beloved Cheesecake Factory.

I had to drive out to the south forty where I still had to wait for a parking spot. I hustled back to meet Jenny in the busy restaurant where we were seated in a small booth after a short wait.

Opposite of those around us, we were in no great hurry and just wanted to enjoy being together and enjoying the food. After being accosted by grinches at the table across from us, our waitress came over and greeted us with a smile. Wanting to be totally opposite of the “mean” table, we tried to put our waitress at ease, letting her know we were in no hurry.

Normally, when we dine out, we eat more than any human should be allowed to consume. Wanteing to watch our spending and our waists, we intentionally ordered slowly and ordered less. A couple of appetizers and some potato soup would hit the spot on this cold, snowy day.

Our waitress brought out the soup and our conversation turned to the consuming, yet repetitive topics around our long-awaited adoption. Over this four-year long process, we’ve waded through so many emotions, from feeling hopeful to feeling discouraged like it would never happen. After the second year, we actually had the hard conversation to determine whether we were going to quit or keep going through the international adoption process. We were in too deep to quit and too stubborn to give up. So, circling back in our conversation to the girl we longed for was a normal part of our lives. The adoption referral could come at anytime but we were still feeling like it was still so far out of reach.

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In light of Gods forgiveness towards us, it’s important that we remember to give grace in the same way it’s been offered to us.

What do you think?

Our perspectives of what it means to be loved is greatly influenced by how people have treated us in the past. For most of us, we are fortunate to have received grace in extreme ways from friends and family who show care for us the most. But even with our closest relationships, there have been conditions to its delivery.

The goal of God is to shape our hearts to be like his, especially for those of us who are followers of Jesus. The more we come to know his heart, the more freedom we will find to express the love we discover there.

The conditions for which God is willing to express his love are boundless in comparison to ours. The Bible clearly illustrate God’s unlimited grace towards those who need it most. God’s desire to reach needy humanity with his love takes precedent over any perceived limitations the average person may see. God is willing to do whatever it takes and leaves no doubt that his love for us is inexhaustible.

In the story of the prodigal son, Jesus is trying to illustrate to the Pharisees and the teachers of the law that God loves sinners in spite of their sin. Jesus takes the opportunity to paint an extreme picture explaining how far God will go, no matter how far “the sinner” has gone.

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Grace. What a powerful word. It’s even more powerful to those who understand the depth of its meaning from personal experience. The great exchange where weary souls can finally rest.

It is finished. Three beautiful words. They, too are words of rest but are also words of beauty that, once understood, will release joy and worship. The great exchange where weary souls are finally free.

Rest and freedom are the fruit of a life that understands the “good news” that Jesus spoke of. For some reason, the fruit of the “good news” in most churches actually looks like bad news. I know the words are spoken the same, but the end result in their parishioners lives looks nothing like rest and freedom.

You see, most people who profess to follow Jesus are not really free. There is an unconscious enslavement to a lifestyle of “proving their worthiness to God” and have yet to realize they don’t need to anymore.

What we don’t realize is that God is more excited about this idea than we are (Eph. 1:5). Yet our tendency is to keep working to get His “thumbs up” for our inferior attempts so that, by some means, we can get Him to like us more. We are enamored and distracted by our own efforts, hoping they will draw God’s favorable attention, all the while He’s trying to get our attention by pointing to the cross.

What we have here is a failure to communicate, and I don’t think God is the one who needs a better hearing aid on this one.

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Following Jesus means that you’ve signed up for a life-long journey of change. It’s a relationship that will directly confront your character, conduct and calling for the rest of your life.

We all go through different seasons of our lives where change comes easy and the outcomes are seamless and painless. It runs in parallel with who we are, what we desire to do and we are able to live happily with it. But other seasons of change are hard to endure under the weight and pressure it places on our life. The confrontation of change can be harsh, debilitating and deadly, especially when it comes to the issues that lie deep in our soul.

I’ve been dealing with a season of change as of late, not because I’ve been confronted by it, but because I sought it out first. My wife and I have been going to counseling for a few months. We’re going, not because we have a bad marriage, but because we want our good marriage to be even better. The longing of our hearts is to have uninhibited intimacy and are willing to fight for the heart of each other and fight for our own heart to be free and full so that we can love each other the way God intended with full acceptance, full emotion for each other and with full trust. But the freedom we desire comes at a price we must be willing to pay.

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