meetings are the best

i am not going to lie, i have an appreciation for meetings. i want to try and explain this secret love i have for meetings the best i can. i have a few friends who have been very vocal in sharing their disdain for meetings and this is not any kind of attack on them, or to try and persuade them to re-think meetings.

1. challenge

typically, in the meetings i attend, there are many things discussed and if all goes well at the end of the meeting there are things that are assigned for me to do. this presents a great challenge to be proactive (even if i am not excited about doing the particular assignment). i love the feeling of a good challenge, especially if it is attainable.

2. accountability

i love the book of proverbs. in the many years i have spent reading it over and over i have grown to appreciate the message of discipline and submission. meetings present for me the arena of growth and opportunity for measuring my attitude. in meetings i gain a sense of accountability and i think this is necessary for anything to function, people holding each other accountable to those things that need to get done. no one wants to be the one lagging behind, am i right?

3. unity

meetings bring unity to the big picture of the organization/business/operation. everyone gets an opportunity to hear and listen to what the other is doing or not doing. this provides a sense of achievement and accomplishment (or if you are not getting things done the healthy kind of guilt). moving forward, getting things done, progress, isn't that a good idea for the world?

4. communication
i don't need to expound on this much. this word alone goes along way. don't confuse communication with talking a lot. i thinking talking a lot is what people HATE about meetings. however, much is accomplished and clarity is guaranteed with communication. even bad-news communicated is better than no communication at all. if no one communicates everyone will be left to assume, and you know what assuming leads to, right?...assumptions. or as it is put another way, it makes an ass out of u and me.

i am sure there are plenty of other smaller points to be made, but i wanted to throw out reasons why i like meetings, in general.

have a good day.

smaller focus for the bigger picture

my time here in belgium has been short but simply fantastic. i do, however, think about my life in texas, all my friends, of course my family, and i can quickly get homesick. they mean the world to me. i would not trade any of them for anything.

liz and i moved here to belgium for ministry purposes. we had desires to be world changers and saviors of dying movements. we longed to influence the region with a sight to transform the continent of europe. i wouldn't say we strategized to duplicate the stateside success that we had grown to appreciate in its entirety. i will say that we would've been foolish to start from scratch and attempt to re-invent the wheel.

our vision upon our launch here included a team. many of you may know them. team ministry is always preferred to lone-ranger effort. that is, i prefer team ministry. i am aware of many leaders who have pioneered on their own and have followed the lord's desires and as a result found great success for the kingdom of god. i have always felt that as my calling, to work with a team. since liz and i moved here we naturally found and built relationships with those already laboring in the land and those who have emerged since our work began.

since our launch we have experienced a shift in focus. part of this is due to the team we moved here with are now back in the states continuing on into what god is calling them for the next season. for my family this has required we shift a focus and aim our sights in a different direction, but with the same idea of declaring the kingdom of the lord.

honestly, we didn't realize the impact of the shift until the last few months. since then, we have been working towards making an impact on the local church level. with the team we were able to do many, many things. some of the things we did well and some we should've done better, but over all we were traveling with a different mindset. we did camps, church prayer nights, led worship around europe, preached, prophesied, and a number of other not so extravagant things. but it HAD to change for me and my family.

one of the biggest lessons i have learned concerns expectations. i had them moving here to belgium, i had them when i ministered with the team, i had them as the team began transitioning out, and i have them still. god has taught me to have expectations, and even more specifically for this year, to constantly engage myself in the battle of not doing things just because they have always been done that way. rigid traditions have a hard time moving most of the time, i have learned that they usually break because of their stiffness and end up irreparable.

it is very common to meet someone who has an opinion of the church (that's not really news). this opinion is shaped by the expectations, the expectations are shaped by perception. i have learned while living in belgium, when my expectations fail, or are not attained, it is imperative to look first at my perception. i evaluate my perception, to see if it is in the right place? most of the time if my expectation is crushed it isn't because of an outside influence as much as it is a perspective that was wrong to begin with. this is the hard thing to do when you want to change the world, because everyone else is the problem, not you. but when expectations go south train yourself to first evaluate your perception of the problem; look at the implications of what you are expecting. i can't tell you how many times my evaluation has led me to a life-changing shift in how god truly sees me. i want so badly to perform for him and meet his approval of my plan to change europe for him, that is not what he is asking me to do. a faulty perception, especially in ministry will skew your expectation EVERY time. things aren't changing fast enough, i am not able to raise enough money right now, the church sings songs from 20 years ago, they all use computers from 1995, no one is listening to me, everyone is too complacent, everyone is too old, the young people don't want to do anything, and the list goes on and on. god is using these experiences to shift my focus for HIS bigger picture.

when your expectations aren't met, shift your focus to yourself, evaluate your perception. as a result, might find that whatever you are doing right then and there...you are so content to just be used by god that the results (especially after failed expectations) would not discourage your determination.

"everyone wants a revolution. no one wants to do the dishes"

this got me real good. i think mainly because of my current situation and the struggles i have with my view of the meaning of ministry and radical christianity.

less manipulation

within the depths of my heart you would find a longing for a continual flame to burn. the flame that just seems to slowly tenderize my passion for the lord in every area of my life. all aspects, all words, every action, and every reaction i eagerly anticipate to become consumed with this fire until my entire being is formed to the image my creator intends.

often times, as a worshipping aspect of the ministry, it is a risk going into an opportunity not knowing anything about the partners in ministry, namely the speaker. there have been some very embarrassing moments as expectations of what the speaker is desiring are completely misunderstood by the entire worship team. you can see it, sometimes you can feel it, and more times than not you can definitely hear it. it is frustrating to witness these awkward moments when it is completely apparent that the flow of the spirit is missed and the anointing in the service is dropped. please, as one believer to another, do not under appreciate or underestimate the power of the spirit's anointing. especially those of you who aspire to be involved in ministry that puts you in different places at a moments notice.

last weekend there was yet another clear demonstration of the value of this flame for the believer. traveling around and doing ministry in many different cultures, on different continents, with different people groups, age groups, all with theologies ranging across the board one thing must remain essential in order for the proper effect to take place. it is the move and flow of the anointing of the holy spirit that makes the work seamless and the connection between worship team and unknown speaker operate in unity. we witnessed this working in amsterdam this last weekend. not knowing the speaker from the barista at starbucks didn't seem to interrupt what god wanted to do in the lives of young people. all we needed was a look from him to know how loud to get, to change the dynamic, to go big, to go quiet and all of this as we are moving in the anointing that is poured out by the spirit in the moment. after the service chatting with the speaker his comment rang loud and clear with me, "it is so good to work with people who can sense the anointing and move with it." it was as if we had clearly communicated with him beforehand our song list, or style, and who was leading our team.

the greatness of the meeting was confirmed by the spirit and the anointing that flowed. the connection of words from the speaker and songs from the worship team were confirmed by the spirit and the anointing that flowed. the changed lives of the young people was done only through the work of the spirit and not the manipulation of the speaker or worship team as the anointing flowed.

praise the lord for such an opportunity. i thank him for granting me the eyes to see this magnificent demonstration of his power and gearing me up for the next great manifestation through the anointing of his spirit. my heart is highly anticipating his next move!

this was the year...

i am trying to find this balance. i like balance, i think it is healthy, i see balance in some of the most fundamental elements of creation and humanity in general. obviously there is a steady dose of imbalance; the daily news presents that message quite clear. but i am trying to look past that, consequently, looking past the loudest message (which is not always god) is an ever important task of walking according to the spirit. the created order, however, does illustrate a brilliant picture of balance according to our heavenly father: just enough light, just enough darkness; just enough oxygen, just enough carbon dioxide; just enough acid, just enough alkali; just enough regularity to make life somewhat predictable, just enough surprises to make life unpredictable. "in this way, god makes a unique environment in which each one of us is ideally capable of making the spiritual progress each of us is called to make" (bread and water, wine and oil). it is a my grace is sufficient kind of mentality.

my worldview has been shaped with this idea that i have to look outside myself for answers to certain questions. my experience is limited, so i ask someone else, older and wiser, but likewise, their experience is also limited; better than mine but still limited. i need the authority of the word of god in my life.

conventional wisdom is a teacher and lectures me on many things: don't touch the stove, dress appropriately for weddings, don't drink red bull at 9pm when i should be winding down. conventional wisdom instructs more on the bigger issues of life as well: don't marry a witch, teach my children the concept of sharing and giving, etc.

so with conventional wisdom is their a balance? i guess more so along the lines of conventional wisdom and faith. are these two things going to line up always? are they mutually exclusive? i struggle sometimes with the balance of conventional wisdom and faith. my mind wants to separate them. not that i will make them enemies of each other but i will struggle at times to decide whether a certain decision is wisdom, faith, or just plain lunacy. because wisdom tells me that right now is not a good time to venture into the borders of iran. it would take an incredible amount of faith to go. and reading the great testimonies of our biblical heroes sometimes doesn't help either. but then i come to a part where a man who, while in captivity, will not defile himself with the kings choice foods and as a consequence, he flourishes; testifying to wisdom and faith in harmony.

around this time last year, liz and i received the news, from her body, that she was pregnant. it was shocking, surprising, and a little scary. we certainly did not plan on getting pregnant, it just happened. a few weeks later we realized she must have had a miscarriage because again, her body told us. my spirit at that time, in all honesty had a sigh of relief. i wasn't ready to do the parent thing again. i kind of feel bad for even saying that i had a sigh of relief. well a few weeks ago her body spoke up again...she right now is 12 weeks pregnant!

well, when liz told me i could tell she was a little excited about this. me?...well, i am ok now but it is stretching me. and here is why...

this was the year we would be potty training titus and no more diapers (parents know this landmark is monumental)

this was the year both of them would start school and the house would be empty

this was the year my work day would be open for me to start pursuing and building projects within ministry

this was the year my wife was going to finally be free from a 9-5 job and be by my side IN the ministry daily

this was the year the ministry we had envisioned before we moved would take a clearer form

i am not at all upset about a child, having to love something else, or the gift of a life. these things don't shake me. in fact, i am the type of person who is not concerned with introducing a new and unexperienced life into a world that is so teeming with wickedness. that challenge doesn't bother me. the criticism i might receive from those who look at the actual ability to get pregnant and look at the glass half full optimism is not what this is about, so you can save that comment.

we honestly were doing almost everything we could to ensure a pregnancy would not happen. yet despite our efforts to guarantee it wouldn't happen, it did. i know that is not coincidence but god. it's funny because i still feel "this was the year..." and my faith tells me that this year is not over, but my conventional wisdom says something completely different. so, yeah, balance...

a new song in my mouth

i am just now realizing how much guitar playing i am doing.

sunday mornings at christian center

morocco

conferences

explosion (renaissance)

fusion

ravi zacharias event

explosion (explosion band)

when this sort of thing begins to happen, not because i have to as much as i want to, my heart becomes overwhelmed with what the lord has given me and the means he has provided to reach an end. i delight in giving back praise and honor through music to my creator who has given me such talent to begin with.