Super Bowl Sunday

We keep running into a man named Steven Furtick. Actually, he is just a kid -- turned 28 on Tuesday of this week. Steve is the lead pastor at Elevation church in Charlotte, NC, and the reason that we feel so drawn to him and his church is that they started exactly at the same time that we did at The Bridge with the same intentions to change the world for Jesus Christ. If you guys think I am whacko, check out this blog by Steven http://www.stevenfurtick.com/elevation/i-promised-you-a-good-comeback%e2%80%a6/. Now I am not proposing that we start saying things like, "Who do you think you are, Simon 'freakin' Cowell?" But these serious church planters are a different breed; they have a God-ordained DNA that is very passionate about Jesus Christ and ALSO very passionate about finding people who are far from God and introducing them to Him. What I am finding out is that I am not alone in this world in feeling like we do not have time to focus on things that -- while they seem important at the time -- really are rather insignificant compared to how much Christ wants us to experience His Kingdom while we are here. I have this DNA, and I think most of you who will read this do also.

Steven Furtick is where we got the idea to start our capital campaign with the "Bridging Back" effort where we gave away a week's offering. The difference was in the risk factor. When they gave away a week's offering of $40,000, it left them with nothing in the bank -- zero. They almost had to take out a loan to make payroll the next month (however, it is more likely their staff would have worked for free like they did the first 6 months of the church). We did it the safe way -- gave away our $5,000 from reserves; we had a lot of money in the bank. How was God honored by each effort? I think God poured open the floodgates of heaven for Elevation's risk by receiving a 3 year commitment of 6.4 million dollars for a building that they have not even planned yet and for land that they do not even know where it is yet. I am very proud of The Bridge's $126,000 3-year commitment, but I think we have become safe. We did not risk; we did not trust that God would take care of us. The good news is that it is not too late. I think that God has been speaking loudly to some of you to join in the cause with a little more risk (maybe a lot more). There are probably 60,000 people not going to heaven in St. Francois County and I say that we take the Gospel to them all. There are over 200,000 people in Jefferson County and they are next as we are looking to plant the next Bridge up there somewhere in 2009.

At first glance, Elevation is dominating The Bridge as a January 2006 church plant. In January, they have averaged 3,100 in attendance at two sites. Why are we at 80% capacity in blessed little E-Hall and only have one site? They got their second site up and running in a school with less than a month of planning. They risk; we play it safe. Things are not all gloom and doom for The Bridge though -- LET ME BRAG ON YOU A LITTLE! I thank God for every one of you and I think that you are all awesome! At the church planters conference in Atlanta this week, we received quite a few check lists of what makes a successful church plant. We have probably 90% of those in place now. Just a little tweaking and we are in superb shape. We have been a little too safe and let a little 'biting and devouring' from Galatians 5 just plain slow us down. That must stop. Let's be unified and be risk-takers for Christ. By the way, Elevation's 3100 in worship in a county of 877,445 (0.35%) as compared to our average attendance of 480 in a county of 65,000 (0.73%) means that per capita, we are kickin' Elevation's hindquarters by double. That won't last long if we don't pick up the effort to deliver Christ to the rest of our county by storm. Lastly, we also have two other things in common with Elevation. We started completely from scratch financially like they did (big risk -- not one penny from a denomination, or church planters group, or anybody), and our staff worked free for a period of time to get the church off of the groud. That is church planters DNA! Do you have the DNA?

While you are figuring out what else to do, please get on your face and your knees and pray. Tell God who you believe He is, better yet, who you know He is; praise Him for every -- and I mean every -- large and small blessing in your life. Thank Him for every trial that you are going through. Thank Him for all of His provision in your life. Take just a little time and ask Him for what you need and for what others need (praying for yourself and others should take only about 10% of your prayer time), and then shutup and listen. Pray to hear from Him as you pray through the scriptures and then be quiet and listen. We talk too much -- let's listen. I have bumped into no fewer than six references to the book "Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire" in the last week. This book is about prayer revolutionizing a fouled up world for Christ's Glory. God used page 23 to call Steven into what he is doing now. It is worth your time to read. Oasis has it; Amazon.com has it; I have a couple of copies. I suggest that you join the masses (all 6 of us) and read it this month. King Jesus is going to change the world through our little group; let's grab on and enjoy the ride. If you want to pray with me, I will be at the Oasis every Thursday at 5:00 to pray through the Scriptures. You are welcome to join me, but don't expect me to talk to you because I am not there to drink a Latte; I am there to listen for direction about how to do our part to bring these people to Christ.

On his two-year anniversary video http://www.stevenfurtick.com/uncategorized/two-year-anniversary-video/, Steven says that every Sunday at Elevation is the church's Super Bowl. I understand what he means by that. He means that we should never give God anything but our best. I am planning on being a little nervous at 6:00 am on Sunday when I hit my knees for the first time that day praying that all of you become a little more Christ-like on this day (I pray that for you everyday after I pray it for me), and that some people who were bound for hell when the morning began will be bound for heaven when the day is done. How about that for a Super Bowl Sunday? How about that for some purpose? Who are you supposed to hogtie and bring to church Sunday so that they can experience the magnificent Gospel of our Christ Jesus?