How do you view the relationship between EASTER and the CHURCH? It occurred to me recently that many Christians might consider Easter no more than a high attendance weekend.

That thought made me sick to my stomach.

Do we gather to boast big numbers?  After all, it is common for us to celebrate our attendance after a huge day.

Do we gather to SEE and BE SEEN?  My family will definitely take it up a notch fashion-wise on Easter weekend.

Why do we gather on Easter?  Why not scatter and mobilize into the community?

Because as Christians… We WORSHIP TOGETHER.

What is more natural than to gather together to celebrate and remember our risen Christ?  Also, Easter is one of a few opportunities to see MASSIVE life-change.  We see more family trees transformed on Easter than perhaps any other weekend during the year.

If you are new to Keystone, we are ADDICTED to life-change!  Easter is a major celebration of life-change and an opportunity to SEE LIVES CHANGED!

Don’t force an EITHER/OR mentality regarding worship and mission… They swim in the same pool!

Inviting someone to church with you on Easter IS MISSION!  Helping people find life in Christ is not secondary to meeting their physical need.

This Easter we will have literally hundreds of volunteers who will help thousands this weekend by serving their kids, parking their car, or warmly greeting them.  THIS IS MISSION!

Serve it up!  Bring your best worship!  I’ll see you this weekend!!!

2 years ago we began a spiritual journey at Keystone Church.  We named it LAUNCH.

I love it when we journey together as a spiritual family to do the impossible.  I remember well the stress and uncertainty two years ago as we saw our campus limitations.  It was easy to imagine turning people away.

Usually, a journey like this will include a very specific vision: build a building, buy some land, or start an additional location. We didn’t have a clear direction in any of these options.

Instead, God wanted us to strengthen our faith by funding the VISION itself!  Our vision is to lead everyone to experience a passionate life in Christ.

I preached through every element of that vision and we all committed to bring over $1 million over and above our normal giving.

In just 2 weeks, we will complete this journey of faith.  We are almost 80% there!

More importantly, it’s been SO ENCOURAGING to SCOREBOARD the results:

November 5/6 we will finish this awesome journey. How we finish LAUNCH will impact how we begin the next great Keystone chapter.

Don’t miss it!  It’s going to be A-MAZING!

A pastor I admire a great deal has coined the phrase “next level-ology.”  Today I want to borrow it to make a point for our Keystoners.

Last night at our ‘CG CONNECT’ event I was able to talk to SO MANY people who are new to Keystone.  The conversations varied and I truly enjoyed it.  Hearing the stories and journeys inspired me greatly.

One talk was LIFE CHANGING.  I had the incredible opportunity to lead a first time guest into a relationship with Jesus!  Together, with one of our Keystone staff, we prayed through Romans 10:9,10 and she BEGAN her eternal life with Jesus.

As I recounted the event with Susan later, I remembered a pivotal moment in the conversation.

I ASKED THE EXTRA QUESTION.

Here are my questions and how the convo basically unfolded:

• Is church new to you or have you done this before?
• Are there any questions about God that you bring with you here to Keystone?
• Today, did you feel God speaking to you specifically?  Did you feel anything?
• What would keep you from crossing the line of faith tonight?

At that point, my guest began bringing some roadblocks to her faith… questions that she hasn’t resolved.  I was sure we were off-road into the jungle of apologetics and ALMOST said this:

Keep coming.  Keep asking.  Keep seeking.  God will show himself to you and I will pray for you… Could we pray now?

Instead, our discussion went this way:

You can have a life of faith WITH questions or you can have a life WITHOUT faith WITHOUT questions… I urge you to begin your walk with Jesus TONIGHT.

Followed by:

What would hold you back from beginning a relationship with Jesus TONIGHT?

At that point, she explained that NO ONE HAD EVER TOLD HER HOW!!!!  That’s what she wanted all along!

Here is my point: Fearlessly ask the extra question.  One more impulse.  Go the extra mile.

YOU NEVER KNOW THE IMPACT THAT AWAITS!!!

Thank you Jesus for getting me out of the way.  I almost delayed or diverted her searching heart from finding you.  Help all of us engage others spiritually to unlock life change!

At Keystone, we beg God to “trust us with your broken people.”  That means that God will position you to make a real difference in someone’s life.  When that magical moment happens… What do you say?  How do you share Jesus with someone else?

Check out this brief video that will equip you TODAY to make a difference in someone’s life FOR ALL ETERNITY!

This past weekend I spoke on the REALITY of hell.  I frequently mention hell in my talks… usually in verbal zingers like:

Hell is hot, heaven is not

or

We are plundering hell and populating heaven

But, I took the entire weekend to talk about the sobering reality of hell.  The craziest part of the talk was its CONTEXT… in the middle of a series about the GOOD NEWS of the gospel (KICKS)!!!

Why would I do this?  Am I sadistic?  Do I get a kick out of others being damned?

Here are a few reasons why I was COMPELLED to preach on hell:

• Jesus spoke about hell… a lot.
• I must be more concerned about God’s approval than the favor of friends.
• Where the Bible is clear, I must be clear… The reality of hell is clear.
• I didn’t want to.  This exposed a thread of ‘people pleasing’ in me that I had to PREACH through in order to have integrity with God.
• Recognizing the reality of hell builds health in the person and in the church.
• Sometimes to get to the GOOD NEWS you have to STARE DOWN the BAD NEWS.
• We must have an URGENCY at Keystone to reach those far from God.

The result: Major momentum coming out of the weekend.

One first time guest approached me afterward and blew my mind!  He was initially put off by the topic and resigned to just ‘get through’ the talk.  Yet, as he listened, God spoke to him in a powerful way.  His compassion for others was renewed and his determination to make a difference was ignited!  Good news for sure!

Don’t pick and choose the verses in the Bible you like… Face the hard truths and they just might release you to your potential!

If you have a relationship with Christ, what prevents you from sharing it with others?  Intimidation?

The NUMBER ONE culprit behind our INTIMIDATION INSANITY?  Fear.  Afraid of others’ opinions?  Afraid of the repercussions? Fear that you will say the wrong thing?

Here is a POWERFUL passage of scripture that I shared recently at Keystone:

“The members of the council were amazed when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, for they could see that they were ordinary men with no special training in the Scriptures.  They also recognized them as men who had been with Jesus.”

Acts 4:13

If you have had an experience with Christ, you are qualified to share it!

A PhD in Bible does not qualify you to share your faith with someone else (they were ordinary men with no special training).

God will open a door DAILY for you to help others.  PRAY for opportunities to share your God-story.

Leverage YOUR LIFE for LIFE!

When you get stuck in a situation that seems over your head, BE HONEST!  “I don’t know” is a phrase that’s REAL.

People are more interested in your authenticity than your answers.

Remember, at the end of the day, YOU aren’t the one who changes people… God changes lives!  He’s looking all over the world for PRIESTS to a world in PAIN.

You are MORE than qualified!