GlocalNet

This year I’ve spoken at several Universities.  I’ll be speaking at chapel at Hardin-Simmons University today and tomorrow Pepperdine in LA.  It’s all on the subject of globalization and engagement.  One of the things I’m absolutely convinced of - is that this is the most incredible time to be in your 20’s.  Here’s why:

1.  The world has globalized and travel lets people get around like never before.  This generation is going to see the world like we saw individual states in the U.S. when I was a kid.  This will further make thing “global” in their thinking. 

2.  You can commmunicate like never before.  Chat rooms, blogs, social networking sites are going global which makes long distance international relationships more possible than ever before.

3.  You can make a difference in the world.  People in this age group are selecting their jobs based on their passions like no time in history.  Being able to use your job to not just make a buck - but serve humanity is no longer a dream but a reality for so so many.

4.  Learning about God from different cultural perspectives, and even the differences in other religions helps us understand our own so much better.  I think this could have an incredibly positive impact on discipleship and how we grow in our faith. 

5. ???????? you fill it in . . . . .

This past week I’ve read three books by friends who sent them in advance for me to read and interact with.  They are going to be incredible books.  Mark Galli, a traveling buddy,  has one coming “A Great and Terrible Love: A Spiritual Journey into the Attributes of God” - it’s fantastic.  One is by my good friend Alan Hirsch called ReJesus.  The other is on Organic Leadership by long time friend Neil Cole.  I gave them all 10’s. 

But here’s what I’m excited about - enough talk and writing about church - Jesus is the answer not just for the world - but for the Church - Today!!!!!!  The greatest ministries and stories in the world today are not about “church growth” or “ministry” or even “church planting” (Heresy!) for that matter - but are about Jesus.  We are talking about everything but Him.  We are talking about him, around him, doing work in his name - but I’m convinced know him or recognize him personally very little. 

I hear about lots of research projects, and information gathering - but little of personal worship, prayer meetings, and revelation that God is giving people beyond nuts and bolts of “church.” 

We’ve got to get back to Jesus.  Not long ago a pastor came to see me wanting to know about T-Life and how we make disciples.  He had been to a conference of a large church that admitted though they’d grown by thousands they didn’t make disciples and their church wasn’t spiritually healthy.  So, they came up with a new program to make disciples after their research project and were already marketing it - while they were trying to implement it in their own church. 

He asked me what I thought - he was going to use their new process.  I asked him, “They admitted what they had done didn’t work?”  “Absolutely!” he responded.  “So based on that have they made disciples?”  I asked.  “Not to this point,” he said.  “And, you are going to use their stuff when it hasn’t been proven yet?” 

I am convinced if we prayed and worshipped daily encountering the living Jesus - just half as much as we read books, attend conferences, and study other churches - we would see a movement of God such as we have never seen and the church would be awakened once again.  Everything …

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The Church Planter’s Wives Blog will be going live sometime today.  We had a small technical glitch that made it not go live this morning, but it will be up this evening!  You will be able to find by scrolling over the “Blog” menu above, then click “CPW Blog”.  We are very excited about this new tool and look forward to seeing many new readers coming on board!

People sometimes make fun of Dallas-Fort Worth being the buckle on the Bible belt.  It isn’t anymore.  It’s unbuckled.  The stats are in and church attendance is around the 17% mark - in northeast Tarrant county where I live it’s probably more like 9%.  We think because we see churches and some of them big that we are churched.  We are not.  A lot of the shelves (pews) are empty in those stores!  The ones that are full are often filled with people looking for a different kind of church - not Jesus!  If we were “churched” anywhere near what we were just 35 years ago at a minimum we would have to double the number of churches out here. 

For some pastors that would freak them out - more competition!  We need to shift our mindset from one that says “I pastor a church to reach this community . . . ” to one that says “I pastor a church to create communities of faith in this community all over.”  One thinks like a preacher/pastor the other a missionary/mobilizer. 

We were the most wicked place on the face of the earth just a little over a hundred years ago.  Downtown Fort Worth was called Hell’s half acre.  Gun fights, brothels, gambling, you name it - it was there and out of control.  Most people didn’t venture there.  It was the last jumping off point till you started out west to nowhere.  Godly?  Not hardly. 

Then, a group of Christians and pastors had enough.  They became convicted and started starting churches right in the heart of Hell’s half-acre - a revival began to come - Southwestern seminary came on the scene - and the rest is history.  We became the Bible belt not because of our holiness, but because of our sinfulness and a sense of desperation a few people had a century ago. 

It’s time for us to once again have a burden for our city.  There’s not a greater place to live than DFW.  There’s not a more strategic city to live than DFW in the US, and for some reason the world. 

When the passion for Jesus is gone and you have the relics of religion left over - buildings/structures/organizations - then it looses its power and becomes counter productive. 

Father I pray for my city.  I love my city.  You …

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A key piece to our Church Planter Training that we do here at NorthWood is making sure that the family is the most healthy component in the journey.  To do this, we include the families in the entire process.  Several months ago, a wife of one of our Church Planters from Superior, Colorado decided to make a Facebook group dedicated to Church Planters Wives.  It grew very quickly, just confirming something we already knew… there are thousands of Planters wives out there looking for some support.  Niki, Bob’s wife, has a wonderful ministry to wives and her ‘right hand gal’ is Amy Colon, this very same person who began the Facebook group.  So, beginning tomorrow, we are starting a blog just for you wives!  Amy Colon is the main author, with Niki being a contributing editor when her schedule allows. 

So tomorrow you can find the CPW blog by scrolling over the “Blog” button at the top of this page and then clicking “CPW Blog” in the sub-menu.  We are very excited about this new resource and can’t wait to see what God does with it!

Who would think labor day would be such an incredible weekend for a church but it was for us.  You have to go to the http://www.northwoodchurch.org web-site and listen to the message - he was given a standing ovation.  Later in the evening he talked about men and marriage and leadership and it was awesome.  We love you John Jenkins!

Nikki and I were at the Del Coronado for a meeting and we enjoyed ourselves.  It is an old hotel from 1888 and the largest wooden hotel in the U.S.  Two nights the fire alarm went off - kind of scary - but we survived! False alarms both times. 

One morning as I ran on the beach I ran with a group of navy recruits - I praised them the whole time and talked to them like I was their training sergeant!  I later saw a group of navy seal recruits doing training off the coast.  I could see warships and one day a submarine out in the ocean from the beach - obviously it was not submerged!  At the encouragement of Ed Allen I’m reading Lone Survivor - it’s about a Navy Seal and a mission where he was the only one to survive - he is a Texan. 

When I see and read stuff like that I get inspired.  Maybe I should have been a soldier.  When I look at the Great Commission I feel the same sense of passion, enthusiasm, and abandonment for people to know who Jesus is and to see that transforming power. 

I believe it’s entirely possible that the Great Commission could be fulfilled in the next 20 years - how?

1.  Using all human tools at our disposal - airplanes, internet, domains of society, and resources people have.

2.  Using all spiritual power at our disposal - the Holy Spirit, prayer, making disciples with this in their DNA (are they a disciple if this is not in their DNA?), each person using their gifts and calling.

3.  Merging #1 and #2 - if we do that - it’s a done deal!

Omar and Elise Reyes’ oldest son married in Waco this last weekend.  Nikki and I went and hung out a while.  I got to see the wedding which was beautiful.  We hung out with Jill, she wouldn’t let me take pictures!  Wound up eating in the same restaurant as the new interim President of Baylor, David Garland.  It was the “Elite Cafe” where Elvis used to eat when he was at Fort Hood.  We then hung out at Baylor and visited all our old spots when we were students.  It was fun!

There’s been a whole lot of people meet Jesus this weekend at NorthWood - baptized a lot of people - saw God do some cool stuff.  Great worship service with Mazhar - just an incredible weekend.  There’s no one that has been a greater blessing to me personally than Ric Burkhardt.  He was trained as a wrestler under the Von Erick’s - and then became a referee.  He’s been on TV shows and lots of other things - also on the pay per view matches.  A couple of years ago he accepted Christ as his personal savior.  He turned 50 last week and I got to go to his party.  This is me and him - in another picture I got to visit with 2 other young guys that are wrestlers that were out of their costumes!  I’ve seen them fight before - they put on one incredible show.  Danny Matthews is on the left and on the right is Scott McKenzie.  I still don’t get it all - they have matches with no rules no holds barred - so why do you need a ref Rick?!!!!  Happy birthday man - glad you and I are in the same family!

Mazhar Mallouhi was incredible last night.  We met and he told his story.  He spoke on the Kingdom of God and what it meant to live it.  He and I like reading a lot of the same people I found out.  He talked about the best way for Christians to connect with Muslims.  He also spoke a lot on what it meant to be a follower of Christ.  Here are some things he said that really stood out:

1.  Let your life be your message.  It is not debate, but it is letting someone see the life of Jesus alive in you - your faith alive that becomes the message. 

2. Own your own experience.  Don’t allow others to color it or shape it for you.  It is a journey for all of us - enjoy and learn from your journey.  Americans are driven from church to church, program to program, personality to personality - be driven to Jesus. 

3.  We love the book (the Bible) but we should love the author of the book more.  I lives should be a reflection of who Jesus is. 

4.  Love your neighbor first.  We can try to love Muslims and others, but we must love those we are closest to and nearest.  If we do that, we will love Muslims, Bhuddist, communists and everyone else!

5.  Often we confuse religion with culture.  The Middle-East was Arabic long before it was Islamic.  To be a Muslim follower of Jesus - means I am submitted to God following Jesus.  Someone asked him, “Can you be a Muslim Christian?”  To which he asked, “Can you be an American Christian?  How do you do that!” 

There was much more - but what stood out for me - and stood our for me when I met him in Beirut a few months ago was more than anything, it was about following and loving Jesus.  Isn’t that what it’s always about?

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