The preacher and revivalist George Whitefield once wrote, “It is a poor sermon that gives no offense; that neither makes the hearer displeased with himself nor with the preacher.” When was the last time a message you gave provoked reaction?

Let me be clear, provoking a reaction is not a ‘good’ in and of itself. Talk-radio provokes reaction… but often not in a good way. However, when we preach Jesus we always provoke reaction because Jesus always provoked reaction. The philosopher Peter Kreeft says, “Those who meet Jesus [in the Gospels] always experience either joy or its opposites–either foretaste of heaven or foretaste of hell. Not everyone who meets Jesus is overjoyed. But everyone has a powerful reaction.”

May your people be provoked!

Think about…

1. Differentiate between how our cultural understanding of Jesus differs from the Jesus we encounter in the Bible.

2. Express how the Bible challenges all worldviews and ideologies that do not begin with Jesus Christ as their starting point.

3. Help your people understand the idols in their culture–idols that they might not know are there.

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this video was originally posted on The Resurgence.

Normally, I wouldn’t write a long blog post pitching a book. However, when a book literally changes my life, it’s time to write a post.

Yesterday, I wrapped up my 2011 reading list with Sun Stand Still by Steven Furtick. Furtick is the 31 year old pastor of Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC. Furtick’s tremendous faith, commitment to vision and sensitivity to God’s voice has helped grow this church to 9,000 members. For five consecutive years, Outreach Magazine has called it one of America’s fastest growing churches.

So, how did this book change my life? Let me just share one of the opening sentences:

If the size of your vision for your life isn’t intimidating to you, there’s a good chance it’s insulting to God.

Yikes.

And it doesn’t stop there. He has in his cross hairs the boring, lackluster, faith-less lives most of us live. The story traces the idea of Joshua’s prayer in Joshua 10:12, when he literally spoke to God and commanded the sun to stand still. This level of faith and audacity is simply not evident today. In fact to many of us it’s uncomfortable, or even insulting and irreverent to imagine this type of faith.

But, as Furtick writes:

Of course, every believer in Jesus has a measure of faith—it’s the prerequisite to salvation. But after that, if we’re honest, we think of faith primarily in terms of a spiritual thought or a comfortable feeling.We hope it’s enough to get us to heaven when we die. But in the meantime, it’s barely enough to keep us praying, giving, and going to the eleven o’clock service. Let me ask you: does the brand of faith you live by produce the kinds of results in your life that you read about in the biblical stories of men and women of faith?…The chasm we see between our mundane spiritual experiences and the overcoming faith we read about in the accounts of biblical heroes is downright discouraging.

Refreshingly, his cry for greater faith doesn’t trend toward selfish, indulgent ambition. However, he is not shy about trusting God for the promises that he, as Author of Creation, could only bring about. Furtick himself is a testament to this, as his commitment to faith has allowed for a life that completely defies his age or experience.

This book began reconditioning me to actually believe that God is in my corner and desires to use me for great things. Some of my big takeaways?

• The pursuit of holiness can easily become the pursuit of safety. Sure, it’s good to relentlessly kill idols in your life. But the moment your afraid to step out, is the moment you don’t understand God as father and we, his children. To ignore your big dreams and visions for fear of being selfish, can mean ignoring an open door from the Lord. It’s not bad to desire to be used for great things in your generation. Audacity can be Holy.

• Stop qualifying your prayers and dreams so the religious people in your small-group won’t attack you for being selfish. Complacency balks at audacity. Often, when your prayers and dreams are so big that they feel preposterous, you’re getting close.

Let me leave you with Furtick’s overview of Sun-Stand-Still type faith!

Activating Faith: This is all about rejecting passivity and fear. Look at the stories of faith in the Bible, is there any doubt that God is calling us to audacious living? Why do we have these examples?!

Approach God with Boldness: Come with confidence, calling on God based on his proven faithfulness to men like Joshua. Do you realize God’s desire is for faith-filled living? In fact Scripture says, “without faith, you cannot please God” and newsflash…this isn’t referring to faith for salvation.

Ask for what seems Impossible: If we have the audacity to ask, God has the ability to perform. Believe God for things that are too big for you to accomplish alone. And stop with the, “if it’s your will” speak. For most of us, this is a mental “out” that we give ourselves to lessen the blow if God doesn’t come through. Instead, believe that God is at work on your behalf. And trust him to answer, whether it’s yes, no or later.

Advance toward the Answer: Furtick calls this “push while you pray”. Audacious faith doesn’t throw up prayers and hope God answers. It means you are willing to become the answer to your prayer. Joshua commanded the sun to stand still, but notice how he marched through the night to be in position to defeat his enemies? Make moves.

Give God Glory: God loves the glory that comes from the success of audacious acts of faith. In fact, the more audacious, the more the glory he can receive. The stories can be ours to tell, the story itself is always about Jesus.

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this post can be originally see on Charlie’s blog Do Life Big.

5. Relax. (You shouldn’t feel the pressure anyway.)

A lot of pastors feel stressed before giving a message. It’s understandable–it is a weighty honor. But it should never be an overwhelming burden. If it feels like an overwhelming burden, you are trying to take God’s role from Him. Let God be about the growth and change.  He’s better at it. Paul tells the Corinthians, “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.” (1 Corinthians 3:6)

God makes things grow. What does that mean? The pressure is off. Our responsibility is to plant, water, and create an environment where growth is possible.

Here’s how the prince of preachers, Charles Spurgeon, put it:

“The power that is in the gospel does not lie in the eloquence of the preacher otherwise men would be converters of souls. Nor does it lie in the preacher’s learning; otherwise it could consist of the wisdom of men. We might preach ‘til our tongues rotted, ‘til we should exhaust our lungs and die, but never a soul would be converted unless there were mysterious power going with it – the Holy Ghost changing the will of man. O Sirs! We might as well preach to stone walls as preach to humanity unless the Holy Ghost be with the word, to give it power to convert the soul.”

Think about…

1. Pray a short prayer before writing your message acknowledging that you ultimately have no power with regard to eternal things. Acknowledge your dependence and ask God to do His work.

2. Pray a short prayer before giving the message. Acknowledge dependence, ask God to do His work.

3. Pray afterwards. Acknowledge dependence, ask God to do His work.

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Click HERE for parts 1,2,& 3 of this series.

The reality is there are a limited number of things in this life that absolutely everyone on this planet knows and understands.  Pain is one of them.  We all experience it at some time or another.  However, while this pain may look different on the outside from person to person, it’s always incredibly real to all of us on the inside.

One of the greatest truths I have learned thus far is that the things that break us do not define us.  Our value, our true worth, comes from the One who knows us best and continually wants better for us.  This world was created for us to thrive and love each other in; it wasn’t meant to bring us pain.  You know those thoughts that creep into our minds and fill our hearts late at night with loneliness or despair or shame? We can be sure they do not come from our God of Truth.  Taking refuge in His protection and intentions for us to experience hope, confidence, and community, is like diving into an endless sea of peace and grace– one that will wash away our past and never let us drown in our fears.

A few years ago, I realized that I was not invincible to the effects of a broken home and an addict father.  I had to consciously make decisions every morning to continue down the same path I always knew, or find a better way for myself.  In deciding to learn more about addictions and how they affected my family and me, I found myself involved with the amazing community of people at To Write Love on Her Arms (twloha.com).  Every day I was engaged in other people’s stories– stories of pain similar to my own and of pain I had never previously imagined.  And yet, there was a beautiful redemption in every single conversation that centered on the need for hope and other people.

We need other people in this life to carry us when we cannot carry on alone; to be God’s hands and feet and to share in our greatest joys and accomplishments.  

I fully believe that in others we get to see small glimpses of the One who made us all, and in that we find hope.  Hope that we are never truly alone, hope that help exists, and hope that even though the world may have dealt us a bad deck of cards we can still win a round.  The more we share our individual brokenness with others, the more others will find the strength to do the same.  And what a comfort it is to know that we are all in this together.

“Even the saddest things can become, once we have made peace with them, a source of wisdom and strength for the journey that still lies ahead.”

-Frederick Buechner

As I sit and think about what has happened within the Alliance Youth family over the last four years I am overwhelmed. According to recent data, 40,000 students every year benefit from the youth ministries of our local churches. Over the last four years (with the help of two LIFE conferences) we have seen hundreds of students come to Christ and commit themselves to the vision that God has planted so firmly in their souls. Thousands of students have traveled across the country and across the seas in order to bring the hope of Jesus Christ to a lost world. Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been given by students for the benefit of God’s Kingdom here on this earth. Those numbers are staggering and we should all be so encouraged by what God is doing with our students, but even with all the amazing things that are going on, I am often left wondering—what is next for the “next generation?”

For the last 50 years emphasis on student ministries here in the United States has been overwhelmingly intentional. Churches have molded and adapted themselves to care very specifically for students along the different pathways of their lives. Children’s ministries have come to be a major contributor to the mission of the church while student ministries have helped redefine the rules of overall church engagement time and time again. Yet even with all of this intentionality the church still experiences a lack of engagement with the young adult population. In my estimation the church is hemorrhaging and we are dangerously close to losing an entire group of believers aged 18-30 (aka. the next generation).

This is nothing new to any of us in youth ministry. As a matter of fact this is nothing new to anyone in the church—especially the leadership, yet despite its “elephant-in-the-room” persona, very few are doing anything about it. The simple reason nothing is being done is because far too much time is being spent on trying to figure out how we got here.

“Is the lack of young adult engagement in the church the fault of individualized approaches to youth ministry? Is it because our churches as a whole tend to be out of touch with current philosophical and cultural trends? Is it because our church’s Facebook page hasn’t been updated since April of 2007?”

The answer to all of these questions is yes, and no. Churches can always be more progressive, but the church wasn’t established to be the pinnacle of information technology. Sure it’s helpful to understand how people think and what dictates their understanding of right and wrong, but isn’t the church supposed to be a body of renewed minds anyway? And yes, youth ministry can be highly individualized, but at the end of the day it’s hard to find the one-size-fits-all Sunday morning program that hits every generation right where they’re at. Regardless of who’s fault it is for the spot we’re in one thing is for sure, if we are not intentional about bringing up the next generation of believers within in our churches we will find ourselves at a cross-road like no other in the history of the North American church.

For this reason the National Office is making the call for change. Over the next few months I will be transitioning out of the National Youth Office (Alliance Youth) and moving into a brand new position as Director of Envision Culture (starting July 1st). Currently you may associate Envision Culture with an International Conference or as the office of Envision Trips (short-term missions) but going forward the Envision Culture office will encompass all of these endeavors and so much more! It is my hope that Envision Culture will play a major role in the life of the local church—through training and resources for discipleship, church planting and mobilization. All of this with an aim to mobilize the next generation for Kingdom change.

As the Alliance Youth office will no doubt be in flux over the next several months I want you to know how much I have truly enjoyed being your National Youth Director. The last two LIFE conferences have been truly remarkable (and planning for the next LIFE continues to go very well) and our ENvent schedule for 2012 is flourishing under district leadership! I also believe that we are networked more than ever before—now thanks in part to our brand new website. I want to encourage you to continue to take part in the community of Alliance Youth by being an active participant on this new site! (Please take some time and thank Christian Ostrom for all of his hard work on getting this website online over the last six months. Great work Christian!) There will be more information on the Alliance Youth office transition (as well as the future direction of Envision Culture) on the website in the months to come.

I want to thank you once again for all that you do for the youth in your church –but more importantly for who you are! I will continue to champion your work as we seek to provide a greater engagement for your students beyond High School.

Be encouraged. Change is in the air.

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this letter was recently sent out in a news letter to our Alliance Youth family. If you wish to receive updates from the National Youth Office you can sign up on the Home Page!

After some solid quiet… and some solid stillness… and some solid listening… I began to suspect that God would like me to dedicate myself further to my kids. It’s not that I sense I’ve been failing them, or that I think I’ve been neglecting them or leading them astray… It’s that I suspect I have not recently been as attentive to their long-term formation as I should be.

In a way it could be said that God is not “for me”.

More accurately, especially considering my identity as a child of God, is that God is “for me to praise God”.

Also more accurately, especially considering my identity as a father of my children, is that God is “for me to share with my kids”.

Whatever it is that God has entrusted to me is to be returned to Him and is also to be imparted faithfully to my children. All the substance of what makes me who I am is for the sake of God’s glory and for the enrichment/edification/equipping of my children.

So, today, I am committing to playing more nerf battles in the basement, reading more books on the bedroom floor, smiling more smiles at the dinner table, asking more questions on the couch, listening more patiently in the car, serving more intentionally at dawn, visioning more for the future on my knees, and praising God more verbally throughout the circumstances of every day.

^“6These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. ⁷ Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. ⁸ Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. ⁹ Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.” | Deuteronomy 6

Impress. I am to “impress”… Not “impress my kids with how great I am or what I can do”… I am to “impress” God upon my kids. My goal should not be that they would end up like me… as if I want to impress them with myself. My goal, instead, should be to provide a constancy of environment (sit at home, traveling on the road, going to sleep, getting up, working, thinking, entries and exits) whereby my children are saturated with God’s patterns for life. I want my kids to be impressed with God.

And to do so, I’m compelled today, I believe by God’s Spirit, to kick my dedication to my kids further into gear.

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to read more of Ken’s work check out kencastor.com 

It’s common to want to be a ‘good speaker’–it’s understandable too. Though unchecked, this desire could lead to building your message on a funny illustration, a video segment that you find compelling… or a whole host of things that provoke… but are not the Word. Illustrations are good, provided they illustrate the Word, not replace it. 

Hidden behind the desire to be a good speaker is often a deeper desire to be loved, accepted and treasured. However, if our desire to be loved overtakes our desire for the church to love Jesus we will lead our people into troublesome territory. They will become religious consumers and we will be constantly unsure of whether we are good enough.  

Ideally, the question that should be leading us in our times of prayer, preparation and planning is not, how can I speak well, but rather, how can I feed well. This involves making Jesus and the Bible central, to every message. It means constantly bringing the Gospel into a crystalline focus. 

This means realizing, again and again, that preaching is a vocation far different from the actor and but not unlike the cook. Our primary location is sweating in the kitchen, not performing in the lights. Like Peter, we are called to feed the sheep, realizing that they are not ours but the Chief Shepherd’s (John 21:17, 1 Peter 5:4). 

Think about…

1. Do I desire to be a good communicator? If so why? What is my main motivation? 

2. What is the role of a story or illustration in my sermon? 

3. How can I lead my community–through preaching—to a place of loving Jesus more fully?

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“But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed […]

He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;

He was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth […]

For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.

Today we rest at the feet of Jesus. We remember the blood, the pain, the torn flesh, the tears, the sweat, the disfigured face, and the last breath. People ask… ‘how can one rejoice in such agony??’ It is simple. Because in His agony.. the fullness of God is revealed. In His agony… the full revelation of His grace is seen. Like a Lamb, our great King was lead to the slaughter.

Today I pray that I might more fully understand this great mystery, ”To know nothing [...] except Jesus Christ and him crucified.”

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A song for Good Friday:

Oh my soul, oh my Jesus
Judas sold you for 30, Iʼd have done it for less
Oh my soul, oh my Saviour
Peter denied you 3 times, I have denied you more

As the nails when in, I was standing right there
As you breathed your last, I shook my head and I cried

Oh my God what have we done
We have destroyed your son
Oh my God what have we done
We have destroyed your son

And the blood ran down, I was standing right there
And the water poured, I shook my head and I cried

Our hearts are the most complicated things we will ever own. 

They can feel huge and soft and vulnerable, open for any and all to pass through.  Other times they sink in sorrow and cry out, or barricade themselves behind cold and fear.  They are life-sustaining, not only to our bodies but to our ability to love others well.  And they shrink and swell with every tragedy and miracle that crosses our paths.

But in the midst of their complications that will never be fully understood, there is one simple truth we can rest in completely:  Our hearts bear the image of the God who formed them.

You, my darlings, possess hearts that were woven together by Perfection Himself.

Ladies:  That desire to be loved?  To be sought after and valued?  It reflects God’s longing for us to seek after Him, and mirrors our purpose in Creation—to worship our Maker.  We want to be chosen; to know and be known.  We fanaticize of a romance and beauty and secrecy we’ve yet to see, and we feel the absence of our desires coming to fruition in every fiber of our beings.

But often we forget that how we feel only begins to echo how our God feels towards us.  What a comfort it is to know that we are not alone in our desires, and that they exist within a plan to grow closer to our Lord.  Therefore, we must listen closely to the beating of our sweet hearts and follow their rhythms towards Him.

In the depths of your heart is where God speaks.  It is the closest thing within your physical self touching the One who made you, and it is where He does His best work.  So when it aches, cringes, beats faster, lightens, swells and smiles, you must pay attention to its movements carefully.  And when you feel it change, others may not understand where it is leading you, but remember that it is unique to your relationship with God and who He made you to be.  Pray for wisdom, and allow God to use your heart to guide you in His will.

I am convinced that God doesn’t place dreams in our hearts aimlessly, and that He longs for us to find ways to use our desires for the good of the Kingdom.  So, if you’re feeling lost or unsure tonight, take some time to talk to Him.  Like a father delighting in the triumphs of his children, the God I know wants more for our lives than we could possibly comprehend for ourselves.  And I believe it is His hope for us that we are always craving more, that we accept the tasks we wouldn’t normally choose to do, and that we lean on His strength and understanding.

“‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord.
‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.’”