A Day in the Life of a Lemon

I’m going. How about you?

At the end of Craig’s Message he read this prayer and it was awesome! This is only part of it, I found it here.

May God bless you with discomfort at easy answers, half truths, and superficial relationships, so that you may live deep within your heart.

May God bless you with anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may work for justice, freedom and peace.

May God bless you with tears to shed for those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, and war, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and to turn their pain in to joy.

And may God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you can make a difference in this world, so that you can do what others claim cannot be done.

• She is speaking with such passion and excitement it is amazing!
• One act of obedience at a time. She had no idea what she was getting into
• We are a bunch of “Grace Junkies” but we don’t extend it to ex-cons
• David was a murderer – but we don’t call him a murderer
• Haven’t received one single return to prison stat
• 98% employment rate
• 5 guys making over $100,000 after prison
• 70% are donors back to P.E.P. they teach these people who have been takers their whole life and have turned them into donors
• Wow had to stop taking notes and just pay attention. I’ll post notes later from my friend Everett!

Favorite part – a guy who just got out of jail 4 hours ago quoted Jesus, “those who have been forgiven much will love much!” then he said, “I have a lot of love!”

• The Gospel is not about making converts, its about making disciples
• We have transformed our ministry from truth to therapy
• Wish we took our jobs as seriously as marines
• Survey the Field
• Serve the troops – train and equip them, because they are going into battle
• Then give them a bigger vision
• Follow me
  • Your job is not to pander your people, it’s to lead them
• %57 of evangelicals said Jesus is not the only way. I believe that’s the stat he said
• There is a misunderstanding of tolerance
• Law of non-contradiction (Aristotle)
• We are fighting for life on every front
• Culture is nothing but religion incarnate
• Are we currently in babylonian captivity?
• I’ve been to top and bottom – Office of the president and in a jail cell
• contend for the faith, and entrust it to the saints
• What is Christianity – 5 non-negotionables
  • God is
  • The Bible is authoritative, inerrant word of God
  • The Fall
  • The Incarnation
  • Didn’t hear it

 IT! 

• How many of you have been to a church and it was dead? They didn’t have… IT
• What about going to a place where you felt God and knew they had… IT?
• Started in a two car garage students met in closet… Every week students came out of the closet
• They didn’t have the stuff that most people think we need to have a church.
• Every week people came to know God and invited their friends because they didn’t have the stuff they thought they needed… they had what they needed… The Spir-IT!
• It’s something more than just the Spirit – to say the people who don’t have it don’t have the spirit would be insulting
• New York Campus has seen %145 increase in a year – the campus he attends is the only one that has decreased = %3
• What is it? The answer is = don’t know
• God makes IT happen. We can’t create it, we can’t reproduce it, we can’t manufacture it, it can’t be taught, but it can be caught, it’s not a model, it’s not emergent, purpose driven, seeker sensitive, it is usually brought by more than one person, but usually one person can kill it 
• You could say, “IT Happens!”  but often it doesn’t
• Good news = if you don’t have it, doesn’t mean you can’t find it
• Bad news = if you have it, you may not keep it
• Acts 2:42-47 - 
  • They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Four qualities that are most often there when IT is present:

•  Laser Focus – most people today said more ministries/events is better. I believe better ministries is better.  Jim Collins asked, “what can you be the very best at?”  In order to reach people that no one is reaching, you’ll have to do things that no one else is doing.  But to do things that no one else is doing, you can’t do what everyone else is doing!  Planned abandonment!  
  • Started examining ministries. Concert ministries was just entertaining other churches people.  Don’t do 
  • Cut all but 5 things.  Worship, Small groups, kids ministry, student ministry, missions.
  • What are you doing that you need to STOP doing.
• They see opportunities where others see obstacles
  • You have everything that you need to do all that God wants you to do.
  • You don’t have what you want or what they think they need, you have what you and they need
  • What if I said you need to raise 100,000 dollars by Friday? Couldn’t do it.  What if I said you have to raise 100,000 for a shot for child otherwise they will die? YEP!  Overcome the obstacle!
  • He often provides where God doesn’t provide.  They had to see something they couldn’t see.
  • What is God trying to show you through your greatest limitation?
• They are willing to fail
  • Failure is not an option… I agree, “It’s a necessity!”
  • Peter couldn’t have done what he did if he hadn’t failed!  He failed walking on water, he failed by denying Him, but he succeeded feeding his sheep! 3,000 were saved!
  • They failed starting two campuses in Phoenix and ended up having to merge them
  • There are two steps to failure.
  • The Mule – shook of the dirt, the dirt started piling up at his feet and he started stepping up.  SHAKE IT OFF! STEP IT UP!
  • What has God called you to do that you are afraid to attempt? When are you going to do it?
• They are led by people who have IT!
  • You need to have IT for your ministry to have IT!
  • Before long ministry started to kill IT!  It became less about building his kingdom and more about building my church.  I started preaching messages that would bring people in instead of pleasing to God
  • I tried to be Rick Warren – but I’m accidental.  I tried to be Joel Osteen – but I’m not that happy!
  • When you have IT in you, it starts coming out, and other people with IT will come to you
  • We start to try to acquire the things we don’t need to have IT
  • God showed me I had became a full time pastor and a part time follower of Christ! DANG!
    • I stopped reading other books, and started just reading the Bible. I went to another country and held a baby that would probably die after I left.  I started fasting again!
    • Let God break your heart again!
    • If you read this say a prayer for Mike. A guy Craig has been ministering to for 4 years and still hasn’t accepted Christ!
  • If you don’t have it what are you going to do to get it?

WOW! Go here and buy his message if you are a church leader. It should be up here later.