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!

As a Christian, have you ever felt stereotyped?  Do you see the “I’m against EVERYTHING” people on TV, invoking the name of God while hating everyone else?

So many of those who attract the most attention seem to have a dominant message: BAD NEWS.

At Keystone, we are joining so many churches in an effort to change our message.  It’s a RETURN to the GOOD NEWS, the GREAT NEWS in the Bible called “the gospel.”

The GOOD NEWS is summarized as this:

The crucified and risen Jesus Christ is Lord!

1 Corinthians 15:3-6

• It’s important to BELIEVE this GOOD NEWS.
• It’s vital to meditate/marinate on this GOOD NEWS.
• This GOOD NEWS should shape our BELIEFS & worldview.
• The GOOD NEWS is that Jesus is our SAVIOR… taking our sins upon himself.

Jesus is NO LESS than our SAVIOR… but he’s much, much more!

The GOSPEL/GOOD NEWS calls Jesus our LORD (Christ).

Romans 10:15 says

How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!

The bible is CLEAR: Jesus is our SAVIOR and our LORD!

Once we receive new life in Christ, it’s time to put on our GOSPEL SHOES!

Don’t confuse this: You don’t put on your SHOES without the GOOD NEWS!

• You can’t balance the scales between your good/bad deeds.
• You can’t work your way into favor with God
• Works-based religion leads to UTTER EXHAUSTION or COMPLETE PRIDE.

Good deeds are the RESULT of a relationship with God, not a WAY TO  a relationship with God!

So, let’s get with it – GOOD NEWS / GOOD SHOES!!!

*This post is a summary of my weekend talk… check it out HERE:

I’m not sure exactly when I picked up this nugget of truth, but it has made a major difference in my life: Do the HARDEST task FIRST.

Your DESIRES can become the greatest enemy to your success.  If you only do those tasks that fulfill you emotionally, you are DOOMED.  Life is filled with actions that we would rather put off.

There is an easy explanation for this BEAT DOWN: It is our BROKEN WORLD!  Check it out:

And to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, ‘You shall not eat of it,’ cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life; thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you; and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread…

Genesis 3:17-19, ESV

Work is HARD… You can’t escape it!  Stop pursuing those things that ONLY bring you pleasure… The purpose-filled life is paved with DISCIPLINE! One could define discipline as DOING THE HARD THING FIRST!

Do you want to know the hardest work you’ll ever do? Check this out:

Paul said to Timothy:

As for you, always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

2 Tim. 4:5 ESV

The HARD WORK of bringing others to Jesus is something that many of us would rather do LAST… NOT FIRST.

Do we really believe that Jesus is the hope for all creation?  Do we really taste the joy of our salvation?  If we did, wouldn’t we want others to experience it as well?

Evangelism is HARD WORK.  At Keystone, we do this work FIRST.  It is followed with a strengthening of the believer (hard work as well… but most people love learning and applying the scriptures to themselves).

Too many churches are content to grow primarily through EXCHANGE GROWTH (transferring other believers from other churches) or GENERATIONAL GROWTH (having babies and almost conversions happen in the kids ministries).

Join us as we passionately follow Jesus in his MAJOR RENOVATION PROJECT to ‘Make ALL THINGS new (Rev. 21:5)!’

This weekend we are launching a new series, KICKS. I am convinced that if you really invest in these messages, OTHERS will thank you!

You see, we are ADDICTED to LIFE-CHANGE at Keystone Church! We just can’t get enough of it.

It is SO SATISFYING to hear the stories of lives impacted by Jesus, marriages healed, and families united. Yet, in order to experience so much transformation… it requires massive investment! It’s HARD WORK to change the world!

Here are some tangible ways we give LIFE-CHANGE a priority place at Keystone:

1. We pray about it. Prayer reveals your passion. God will honor your prayers, if they align with his passions!
2. We talk about it. Each staff meeting we remind ourselves of the people and their stories.
3. We beg God for it. If we are running out of new life-change stories, WE BEG GOD to trust us with his broken people… We will pray as a staff for more opportunities to help others.
4. We plan for it. Each service includes a FILTER for the unchurched or de-churched. We don’t assume biblical knowledge of basic characters, for example. We lay out bridges (songs, jokes, videos, illustrations, etc.) to bring the good news of Christ to interested ears. We also have strategic ‘harvest weekends’ that mobilize the church for evangelism.
5. We anticipate it. We believe that many will be spontaneously baptized, so we have everything ready for them. We are not SHOCKED when God moves… we are BLOWN AWAY!
6. We fund it. Mailers, Community-wide events, Street Teams, and many more strategies are funded for life-change. We put our money where our mouths are!
7. We empower it. This one is HUGE. We have many things at Keystone designed only for believers (community groups, men’s/women’s groups, communion gatherings, etc.). By doing this, we are empowering evangelism through TRAINING, ENCOURAGEMENT, PRAYER, SCRIPTURE, etc.
8. We evaluate it. We hold ourselves accountable at a staff level to a 1/10 ratio. In other words, for every 10 people you see in the lobby on a weekend… at least 1 of them has been baptized this past year. This is not a biblical mandate, but we believe it honors the biblical mandate of Matthew 28.

How can you EMPOWER life-change on a personal level?

I recently talked with one of our Keystone staff about being MAXED OUT.  What do you do when you feel MAXED OUT?

1. Thank God for your job. Seriously.  It’s better to be overworked than underemployed.  That’s the sentiment I hear from many who are still searching for their place in this difficult economy.
2. Push back from the table. Take any kind of time to catch your breath.  It may be 30 minutes, a morning, or a well-deserved vacation but you MUST have space to evaluate your work flow.
3. Clarify your CONTEXT. Often busyness is the result of thriving in an upward environment.  I can’t find an ‘explosive growth church’ whose staff is not stressed!  It doesn’t exist.  It’s important to acknowledge the reality of your pace rather than WISH it away.
4. Schedule breathing sessions. Schedule a morning in a different context.  If it’s possible, get clearance to work at a bookstore or coffee shop for a morning.  It could JOG creativity and provide some rest for the soul.
5. Invite others into your work flow. You have to be selective here, but try to identify someone who could help you become more efficient in your work.  WE ALL have room to grow… let someone else help you.
6. Call on Jesus! This one TRUMPS all others.  I tell my staff this ALL THE TIME.  This is not just a well-meaning sentiment.  Right here is where the RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD.  Allow God to re-wallpaper the walls of your mind.  Experience deep renewal that only comes from time spent in the presence of God, empowered by the Holy Spirit.
7. Take notes. As you spend time in the presence of God, reading the bible and praying… TAKE NOTES!  God will INSPIRE your socks off.

At the end of the day… IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU!  You CAN’T do it all.  You aren’t SHARP ENOUGH, SMART ENOUGH, or DILIGENT ENOUGH.  We ALL need Christ.

MAXED OUT? Go to the MASTER!

Recently my three year old came to my room crying. She had been in a MOOD all morning. “Ava just hit my elbow!” She whined.

(BTW, who ever coined ‘terrible 2s’ just hadn’t gotten to the 3s yet!)

“I’m sorry, sweetie…” I said empathetically.

She then proceeded to frown at me and storm out of the room.

We can often relate to God in the same way.

Have you ever gone to God with a complaint against another person, and then it seemed like NOTHING happened? You sought their discipline, hoping for things to equal out… and they didn’t?

The Psalms are FILLED with cries like this:

Arise, O Lord, in anger! Stand up against the fury of my enemies! Wake up, my God, and bring justice! (Psalm 7:6)

God is always GOOD, RIGHT, and RIGHT ON TIME.

His timing may not be our timing… but his timing is always RIGHT.

King David would fill these Psalms with complaints against his enemies, but he would also have sweet vindication:

You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings. (Psalm 23:5)

My sweet little girl came into my room for justice. I gave her comfort. She left with neither.

When you think you are leaving God empty-handed of JUSTICE, perhaps we are refusing his first gift of COMFORT.

Don’t leave God EMPTY HANDED!