I get tired.  It’s true!

I know I’m part of some pretty awesome stuff.  I’m partnering with God to write history.  But I still get tired.  Sometimes I even go beyond tired and get self-centered, petty, and prideful.

How does this happen to me?  Well, there’s this really leaky stuff called passion and, when I let it dwindle, I notice that serving becomes less about partnering with Jesus to fulfill a vision and more about, well…me.

Passion is so important in ministry because it fuels us to keep serving, giving, and dreaming.  Passionate people seem to have the energy to keep going after others have cooled off towards the calling.  Passionate people are also contagious and seem to draw others into the vision naturally.  John 2:17 tells us that Jesus was passionate about God’s house and look at the crowds He drew!

So how can we stay passionate?  Here are a few things I’ve learned from James 4:8-10:

Stay close to God in prayer.  When we move close to God, He moves close to us.  Letting our prayer life get cold is like letting the car run out of gas and hoping the whole trip is downhill.  You know it’s not that easy, so pray, pray, pray.

Purify your heart.  Are you letting things that aren’t so “excellent and praiseworthy (Phil 4:8) into your entertainment diet?  Does it seem to take longer to move past offenses these days?  It may be time for some spiritual house cleaning.  Regular times of self-examination and repentance can be really refreshing as we experience God’s grace and forgiveness.

Humble yourself.  Check your gut.  Are you really serving in humility or is pride creeping in?  Pride is touchy, thinks it knows better, and bristles when given instruction.  Pride takes the joy out of serving!  It’s not fun for you or anyone serving with you!  Humility takes joy in simply serving the King.  God lifts us up when we’re humble.

Stay astonished.  Boredom, touchiness, and being put out by the commitment it takes to fulfill the mission is a good indication your passion needs a resurrection.  Luke 24:32 says, “They said to each other, “Didn’t our hearts burn within us as he talked with us on the road and explained the Scriptures to us?”  That’s where I want to live, in a state of passion and astonishment to what God is saying and doing in my life and my surroundings!

So how about you?  How’s your passion pulse?

My prayer for you is for passion, astonishment, intimacy, and honesty.

In Jesus’ name.  Amen

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“I just want to know God’s will.”  “I just need some clarity.”  “I want to make sure I’m not missing God’s plan for me.”

Ever find yourself saying these things?  I know I have, many times.  Heck, I’m the king of “I just want to be in God’s will.”  In fact I’ve spent entire seasons of my life (sometimes lasting a year) trying to determine God’s will for me.

It can be a really unpleasant place to be, this position of in-between, uncertainty, and longing to know what to do next.  After all, we just want to make God happy right?

Although I can’t sit here and tell you exactly how God wants you to spend your life, I can tell you a few things that I’ve learned that will help you discover His plan without losing your mind in the process.

Learn to trust.  A cry for “clarity” is often an indication that we really don’t trust Him.  We want to see more clearly, but that’s because we don’t have faith that our lives are really in His hands.  Learn to accept uncertainty with grace and believe that He will not abandoned you to fumble around in the dark.

Do something. Sometimes we put the brakes on serving or committing to anything for fear that we won’t be available once we figure out what God’s will is.  Stop being so selfish!  There are bigger needs out there than the warm fuzzies you’re seeking.  Don’t you believe that God is big enough to move you on  when He’s ready to reveal His plan?  1st Peter 4:10 tells us to use our gifts to serve others.  To not be serving is to be out of God’s will, so serve.

Pray. To say that you’re “seeking God’s will” but to not be praying is simply lying about what you’re doing.  You’re just worrying about your future.  Seriously, there’s no single act that will bring you closer to discovering God’s will than praying.  In fact, God’s will is that you pray!  (1st Thessalonians 5:18)

Cultivate intimacy with the Father. In times when God is not offering you a plan or a map, He is offering you Himself.  Don’t mistake his silence for indifference.  It’s a call for intimacy and, in time, you’ll learn to cherish that quiet intimacy more than anything else.

God’s will is a call to become. At the end of the day, Father God is far more interested in who you are becoming than what you are doing.  Focus on becoming all that He created you to be and the doing will come naturally.  In fact, you may even find yourself stepping into His plan without even realizing it!

One last thing: God is not cruel.  He is not playing “find the plan” and deliberately making it hard on you.  He’s not high fiving the angels saying, “look at that idiot trying to find my will.”  His will is not a needle in a haystack that you have to find or God will be unhappy with you. He loves you and wants you to experience “life abundantly”.  He may even have several options for you to choose from.  He probably even wants you to have a wonderful time exploring them!

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It’s been a year and a half since we began considering our next step.  We’ve prayed, thought, been to conferences, taken assessments, sought wise advice, and waited patiently (and sometimes not-so-patiently) for God to speak to us.  We’re so excited to finally go public with it!  We’re planting a church!

A little history
In August of 2009 the ministry I was working for had to release half of its staff for financial reasons.  I loved my job there and continued to travel, speak, and lead prayer events even after I left the prayer center.

When I was faced with the task of deciding what to do next with my life, I thought I’d tackle the process from a different angle.  Instead of going into panic mode and getting another church or ministry staff job, I chose to wait.  I started a business so that I could have a measure of flexibility and still pay the bills.  I also did something I’d never done before when making a major life decision.  I sat down with my wife and children and told them that we were all going to pray and make this decision together; that we would let God lead all of us instead of simply moving ahead with my own big ideas and expecting the family to go with it.

I knew it was going to take time and I knew It would be difficult, but I chose to wait until we all heard from God (including my 7 year old).

A Ridiculous Idea
Shortly after our family meeting, I got together with my pastor to ask for prayer for our situation.  During our conversation, he asked me how I felt about church planting.  I laughed and said something about that being the LAST thing I wanted to do.

I had already been down that road in Ireland and in the U.S..  It was grueling, frustrating, and unfruitful.  I didn’t know at the time that there is some really good church planting resources out there and organizations that offer terrific support.

My pastor asked me to pray about it and he sent my wife and me to a conference for those just thinking about church planting (I didn’t know there were conferences like that).

After months of praying, people began making comments to me like, “I sure wish someone would plant a Vineyard Church in our community.” and “I would so be there if a Vineyard started here.”  A friend of mine, who had no idea that church planting was even an option for me, had a vision of me starting a church.

Believe it or not, I was still resisting the idea until…

A Powerful Confirmation
My wife came to me and said, “I think we’re suppose to plant that church.”

“I’m not so sure of that.”, I’d say.

This went on for months!  Then one day, I was working in my office.  It was a small room right off of the play room.  I could hear my three boys talking enthusiastically about something and I listened in.  They were talking about starting a church!  They took turns talking about what kind of childrens’ ministry it would have and what the youth group would be like.  They were totally on board and I was following close behind them.

Just a few days later, my wife and I attended another church planters conference.  This time, the national church planting director approached us out of the blue and invited us to dinner.  He spoke a powerful word into our lives and I was sold.  I knew it was what we were supposed to do!

A Bright Future
So here we are!  We went public with the plant during Sunday service this week.  We have a great pastor who is amazingly supportive (I love the fact that we have a mother church).  We’re assembling a launch team and we’ll have our first church service in the fall.

We don’t have  a location yet, but we know we’ll be on the west side of Moline or the East side of Rock Island.

We have a long way to go, but we have this AMAZING God who called us to it and is faithful to do His part in this lofty venture!

Please consider partnering with us with your prayers.  We need people who will lift us before God’s throne regularly.  The task is great, but He is greater still!

Thanks so much!

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