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For the past few months, I’ve been being coached by Admiral Ed Allen. He’s given me one of those slice and dice personality tests and leadership profiles followed by lots of sound counsel. It has been very, very beneficial. His style in coaching is different from what I’m used to, and took some getting used to. BUT, once I began to understand, it’s been really, really good. One of the big things he’s pushed me on is “constantly narrowing.” That’s nothing new. That’s always been a challenge. He’s helped me understand at a deeper level because of all I’m involved in how that when I don’t narrow my focus I wind up with less results and energy drains. The more effective you are at what you do, the more you have to constantly narrow because with effectiveness comes more opportunity.  The question is, is it the right opportunity. When you engage something you don’t just look for immediate productivity--which has to be there--but also multiplication of what you are doing that leads to future productivity.

I look at the teaching style of Jesus and our learning style here in the West and all our talk of “redefining” church is still incredibly sick.  After all the books, conferences, etc. where is the light at the end of the tunnel? Could it be that much of our attempt to “heal” the church is actually making us sicker? Are all the conferences, etc.  a drain? Jesus was a peripatetic teacher. That means He walked around as He taught. He was busy doing ministry and the way you learned was to hang out with Him--not go to His seminar, or read His book, or visit His blog!

There are two important questions we are not asking today that we need to be asking.  Where’s the fruit? Does the fruit remain? Books and seminars should be reflections of what we are living out and fruit that is remaining--not theories, ideas, or future projections. This is the Jesus way of learning. You learn by digging in the dirt and thinking while you’re out in the hot sun, following Him in bringing reconciliation to the world--not sitting in a cozy room or coffee shop snuggled up with a good “change the church” book. Does the church need to change? Would I look better if I dropped 20 pounds? Duh! I think we need …

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How could I have seen yesterday topped!!! We entered our new building with 3000 strong. The energy and excitement was just incredible. Perhaps it was because it’s been 22 years in the making and we did it. My big sister and her husband was here as was Chris Seiple, my son his wife, my daughter from Baylor and a friend, a young diplomat from Hanoi, Phuc, Shadrack, Aaron from Vegas and I could go on and on and on.

We did the right thing in having two services.  Our new Worship Center is three times larger than our old one--from 600 to 2000 seats. I remember when we moved to the site, within three months we were in two services.  We started with two services in this one! We had parking headaches but we’ll have those fixed by next week. The building was beautiful, even though very simple, and everyone was just walking around like a deer in headlights.  It will take some getting used to. We have two long hallways with incredible art--most people didn’t realize it, they just stumbled into them.

I’m so proud of all our staff.  They just did a truly awesome job, especially Mark Kimmel the Administrative pastor who put it all together.  He’s worked very, very hard and we are sending Mark and his wife to Italy. To top it off, Chris Grant brought me the first two copies of my book, The Multiplying Church, but I wound up giving one to my sister and one to Bob Buford.  I dedicated the book to Bob Buford and Al Weiss.

I’m a very grateful man.  The writing, speaking, preaching is all good--that’s what lots of preachers do. But, to get to see our church plant all the churches it has planted. To get to be a part of engaging a nation like Vietnam has been awesome. To see our members work in Haltom City in some of the depressed areas has been good. To be connecting specific churches and groups to specific nations has been beyond any dream I ever could have had. We spent a fair amount of time in prayer in the worship services yesterday praying for nations, people, ministries, and things we’re involved in--it was good.

Now . . .  down to business . . .

Sunday we begin our new schedule - we’ll have two worship services one at 9:30 am and one at 11:00 am. I can’t imagine what it feels like to preach just two times.  It may not last very long--I hope it doesn’t! Sunday night at 6:00 pm we will have a special dedication service. Lots of people will be baptized, the Lord’s Supper, lots of music, testimonies, celebration and I’m going to bring a short list of what God has done the past 23 years and what and where I see Him leading us the next ten. Any and all of you in the area are welcome to come. Get there early.  We’ll start on time and the doors will be closed for some special effects and things--you don’t want to miss any of it. It’s an incredible room.  Even though it seats over 2000, it feels warmer than our old facility of 600. It’s like an amphitheatre inside. The platform comes out to the middle of the room and the chairs look at one another--not necessarily head on to the stage. It was fun walking around, preaching, and interacting with people last week. We did a sneak peak for NorthWood people.

Thank you Father for this new room but thank you that no building has ever defined us. May we define the building by our ongoing mission with you. May we use that building not primarily to gather - but to scatter thousands. We’ve done hundreds - I pray now for thousands that are starting churches, serving around the world, touching society in all her domains through disciples who are transformed and transforming. I pray for our young sons and daughters - continue to raise them up Father - as doctors, lawyers, educators, plumbers, technicians, pastors, salesmen, politicians, diplomats, engineers, artists, all of them - may some of the greatest leaders of the next generation come from our ranks of mobilized disciples. May our greatest legacy never be a building or the attendance number on Sunday - but our sons and daughters, who emulate “your kingdom” here and now.

Ok - so I told you I was going to give you my opinion on how to solve this - what do I have to loose - no one else has fixed it!  So here goes .  .  .  .  .  .

1.  Jesus is the only hope.  That may sound depressing, but to me it’s actually exciting.  This means no human being will get credit - only God.  From what I saw, the Jews and the Muslims are at one another’s throats and each has their coalitions.  Minorities have an unusual influence at times to bring other parties together for peace.  I believe Christians in the Holy Land could play that role. 

2.  Messianic Jews and Palestinian Evangelicals will be the ones to lead the way.  They both love Jesus and are not tied to the Christian power structures or historic churches in the Holy Land - which has become very political as well.  When a Jew and a Palestinian who have both accepted Jesus and love him live in peace because they are true brothers - what an incredible example.  I’m still moved thinking of arriving in Tel Aviv and driving straight to a Messianic congregation and hearing a Palestinian pastor preach and seeing them publicly embrace - and it was sincere and real.  Where else do you see groups of Palestinians and Jews meeting and embracing?  First, they model - that’s how they gain credibility.  Then - they work together and find a way.  These issues will be solved not by outsiders, but by insiders who find a way to live together. 

3.  People to people diplomacy is the only diplomacy that has any long term sustainability.  There is too much rhetoric and hate in “religion” these days - even among Christians.  We must as Christians never compromise our convictions as to who Jesus is.  This calls us all the more, not to isolation, and feelings of superiority but of humility, love, and engagement.  I met with Muslim leaders, Jewish leaders - all were ready to partner on projects of mutual human concern.  What NorthWood experienced in Vietnam changed us so much - it works.  If we start engaging on the human level - it will change everything. 

4.  Sects, groups, etc. will have to reign in their own extremist.  When ANYONE from someone’s “family” publicly begins to talk …

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This morning about 50 of us from NorthWood gathered at our new worship center and went in and prayed over the building and facility that is about to open.  We wanted our first service in the new building to be a prayer meeting.  Tonight and this weekend - unknown to most unless you read my blog - we are going to have our worship services in the new facility - but keep old times and do it with a couple of guitars and very simple audio, etc. - there is still much to be done.  But we want to give our people a week before our “grand” opening to find things.  From reading my blog and other things - people sometimes think I’m a house church leader because I challenge the established church so much or Asian because I speak of Vietnam so much - I am neither.  I am a white mega-church pastor! 

Most new churches want a big auditorium like this first - it’s what they live for.  In the early days it’s what I dreamed about.  Instead of being first - its perhaps one of the last “big ticket” dreams of a new church to have - 23 years after starting!  Many of you know the story how God broke me and in that breaking we began to discover the Kingdom of God - what it meant to live it practically and as a church.  This was when we began to start churches here in America and engage in society in Vietnam.  This is what has made NorthWood what she is - not any building or location we’ve ever had, not the preachers or staff - but the people and the mission.  The mission isn’t a building or a Sunday event - it’s much more than that.

So here we are this morning - 50 of us praying and sensing God’s presence.  We’re kneeling, walking, sitting, talking, sobbing, praying out loud, praying in groups - all of it.  I’m up in the highest section of seats praying down over the seats that will be filled and I notice a sticker on a piece of the furniture “Made in Vietnam” - I couldn’t believe my eyes. 

No statement could be truer of any church in America - I began to pray out loud and thank God for what he had done in …

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Can the seed of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God work in Jerusalem? It must. If it can’t work there it can’t work anywhere. E. Stanley Jones wrote that the reason the Gospel of the Kingdom spread like it did was because it started in Jerusalem. Had it started in Galilee it may have only been viewed as a cult or another would be messiah, but the fact that it took root in Jerusalem--the hardest place for it to take root--meant that it could and would work anywhere. If the Gospel only works in the easy places, then how strong is the Gospel. But if the Gospel is the Gospel, then difficulty is no issue.

Where in the world is there anymore conflict? Where would more glory to God be brought than if Jesus were to be the determining factor of peace in Israel? In terms of war, conflict, destabilization, there is no place on the face of the earth more important than Jerusalem and Israel. If you solve that problem, you solve much of the problems of the Middle-East. I know, many middle-eastern nations use that just as an excuse. Well, let’s take that excuse off the table.

Jesus was about reconciliation--not war. Not saying there are not just wars. I am saying when I read or hear leading “evangelical” TV personalities, pastors, and evangelist and others calling for unilateral strikes on nations “in the name of God,” I shake my head. I have a hard time picturing Jesus sitting behind the control panel of a missile launching site! Our first response must be reconciliation. Isn’t this what we’ve been called to do?

I was visiting with a Congressman and he was in a prayer meeting of believers in government praying for the peace process, and one intercessor literally began to pray against it! How can that be? What Christian religious insanity would pray against peace. That goes against everything Christ taught and practiced.

2Cor. 5:18 Now all these things are from God who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 20Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, …

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Yes, they really exist! I wanted to post a picture, but didn’t want to make their life anymore difficult than it is, already. They love God, they are evangelical, they were born in different parts of Israel and the West Bank, their families have been there for centuries and millenias and they are the most effective representation and the best hope of Jesus Christ in that part of the world today. My meetings with them were beyond incredible. They have suffered rejection, abandonment, and isolation for one simple reason--they were born Palestinians. One leading evangelical who met with them a couple of years back was happy they were Christians but at the conclusion of the meeting told them they needed to move to Jordan or somewhere else. How absurd and utterly ignorant of the Great Commission and God’s call for all peoples.

One of the pastors told me, “We are the only nationality in the history of Christianity where other Christians have told us we should leave and are the obstacle to the fulfillment of the Great Commission. Instead, they would rather work with non-believers who have rejected Christ who are not involved in the Great Commission instead of working with us.”

There are some Muslims that have made life difficult for them and there are some Israeli’s that have made life difficult for them. But, the greatest rejection, and most painful of all, has been that of their Christian brothers from the church in the West. It’s not just rejection though, it’s oblivion. Most, in the West, do not realize that there is a growing and emerging church in the West Bank, despite all the thousands of Palestinian Christians that have come West. There are about 3,000 Christians that live in Gaza. Many of them could leave and live here, but they feel called to stay to be witnesses to Christ. Their life is very difficult, but if they leave who will share the light and love of Jesus? I met 8 pastors in Bethlehem. I was impressed with every single one of them. They are educated, effective, and passionate. They are closer to the culture than anyone else. Does Jesus love Palestinians and Jews? Does He want there to be a light and witness whether men accept Him or reject Him? Were there conditions to who could fulfill the Great Commission or was it …

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I get 6 weeks of vacation a year but it’s impossible to take. With all that I’m involved in it’s a nice gesture on NorthWood’s part, but just not possible. Nikki and I wound up with a space of 10 days right after Christmas. We’ll be entering our new building - which will be January 27th!!!!! Lots of projects and works. One book (The Multiplying Church) will be out in a month, another I have to write in the next 6 months so it will be a crazy time. I’m about to be involved in some things in the West Bank, and, as a result, I’ll be there in a few weeks for many meetings with many different players. I didn’t want the first time I see the Holy Land to be in and out of meetings. So Nikki and I, in celebration of my soon to be half-century mark, decided to go slowly and experience it together as tourist. We did and it was incredible. HOWEVER, it was impossible just to do that alone.  We wound up meeting with Palestinian evangelical pastors and leaders, among them Bishara Awad the President of Bethlehem Bible College. We met with Messianic Jewish believers and worshipped with them.  It was very moving though we went straight there from the airport upon arrival. I “accidentally” wound up meeting with the main Islamic leaders there.  Spent two hours in the home of Dr. Ekrima Sa’eed Sabri, orator of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, Chief of Islamic Supreme Committee, in other words the top dog there. Spent an evening with a couple of U.S. congressmen. I was stunned, overwhelmed, blown away.  Words can’t describe this incredible wall being built around Bethlehem and the entire West Bank--it’s twice as big as the Berlin Wall. It literally broke my heart. On the inside of the gate, there was a lot of graffiti on it like “Made in the USA” and quotes from President Regan saying, “Tear down that wall Mr. Prime Minister.” I went for the past but was shaken by the present. There is an incredible sense of hopelessness there. I’ll write more this month--maybe every other day. I’m convinced Americans have no clue as to what is happening. There are sane voices from the Jews and the Palestinians, but sadly they get shouted out by the extremist from both sides. One thing I am absolutely convinced …

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If you are planning on attending our Turbo Training on Febraury 7 & 8, you need to register!  Only 4 weeks of open registration left!  You can register HERE and find details HERE.  Turbos are open to everyone!  Hope to see you there!

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