One Day Away... NO FEAR!

We are now just one day away from our Clarity Kick-Off event at the Magicopolis theater on 4th St between Broadway and Santa Monica! The team is ready, the people are coming, the guests are awesome, and God is gonna rock the house with the power of truth, and life change will happen! We even have a man in a banana suit, holding a Clarity sign, dancing on the sidewalk in front of the theater. I don't know about you, but that's all I've ever wanted in a church :)

If you're in the area, come!... this is something you don't want to miss. If you're not in the area, pray!... this is something only God can do.

Wow, I am excited, not afraid. I fear God more than I fear anything else... so that means I honor Him be believing His word when it says not to fear, not to be anxious, that He will speak through me, that He is the author of this, that He is the champion of this, and that He will build this!

Explanation

For those who check this blog... you'll notice I didn't post for over a month and now just posted several. In December/January, I began blogging on the new www.claritylife.org site instead of here. So I just decided to copy and paste all the recent ones into this blog as an update. From now on, I will update this one whenever I write on the Clarity site. So you can check either or.

Leadership / Servanthood Thoughts from the Forefront

1. I have already had several major plans fall through as a pastor and leader for Clarity. And yes, my hopes and dreams seemed to hang on these plans as if they were all I would ever do. Some of these were plans that already had other plans and people built around them, so when they fell through, there were wider ripple effects. My first reaction to the fall through is always like a punch in the gut. Just recently I began to pray after a disappointment. I was actually holding my daughter and speaking out loud to the Lord. Much like the psalmist, I began with honesty, morphed into declaring who God is, and landed with a profound "in the moment" truth that is like an unmovable rock to rest my weight on....

"My plans will not stand. But the plans of the Lord will stand forever and ever and ever. And this work was His idea and will come to fruition according to His plan. He is our life and church planner!"

2. I have also already felt the inclination to blame others for what I thought wasn't getting done. This is something leaders fall into often. We must always remind ourselves not to blame, but to honor God by honoring what He has given us and where He has placed us by beginning with how WE can be the solution. Is it the teams fault or the in-effective leaders fault... usually the in-effective leaders. Pastors, be pro-active not re-active. Ask God how you can pastor, encourage, unleash, and speak into your team. Don't wine and blame.

3. Our marriages have been under more pressure than ever. We are noticing ourselves getting frustrated quicker, reacting more harshly, and blaming. So we just had our first marriage / pre-marriage retreat for all our couples. It was great to let the WORD wash over us again in regards to our roles, what love is, and how marriage needs to be honored (Ephesians 5, 1 Corinthians 13). Difficult truth is always necessary to move forward in health. Cherish it. Repent constantly.

Randomly Listed Systematic Pre-Ordained Miracles in LA

After being here for one week and realizing it was a loooong shot (pretty much an impossibility) to get approved for any housing based on zero proof on income, we began to pray. Not long after that, we met a Christian realtor who loved us and this vision (more importantly, she loved Jesus) and pulled tons of strings for us (the couples) to get approved for a perfect condo based on no bank statements and a simple document showing Clarity support. She prayed over us as we signed the lease! Impossible made possible by God. Jessica and I prayed with tears our first night as we went to bed.

Just two days before the single guys had to be out of the church offices where they had been for three weeks, I met a man for a lunch appointment. This man pursued me for the meeting. I had been praying and burdened for where the guys would stay, because all I had lined up was a place for two of the four all the way out in Long Beach. So we were down to the final hour. Well, I worked up the guts to ask if he knew of a place where the guys could stay. Turns out, he and his wife just became empty nesters, have two open rooms, an open full bath, want to use their house for "Kingdom of God" purposes, and live just two blocks from our new condo in Santa Monica! The guys move in tonight!! I wept over this one. It was so out of left field, just in time, and unexpected. I had nothing to do with this. It was God reminding me that this is His work. Thank you God for doing it and the Randles for being willing and open!

One of the couples we met here bought us a membership to Costcos and hundreds of dollars worth of groceries. A couple weeks after that, a pastor that is supporting us connected us with a food pantry that filled one of our cars with about $1,000 worth of food and toiletries and told us to come back for more.

Just since we've been here (about three weeks)... three churches have picked us up for monthly support and blessed us with prayer, possible missions teams, and one time offerings.

The Teen Challenge Ministry Institute is sending experienced workers to volunteer at our first several Clarity kick off events. They are also sending us missions teams of 25 and of 50 to help with outreaches. Other churches and individuals are coming to our kick off events to help fill our need for volunteers.

I could keep going, but I am tired. I will write more later.

God calls, sends into conflict, ensures victory, and intends possession. The question is how we react.

Journey Lessons Part 3: Good Compared to What?

I'm already here in LA but have a few other lessons from the cross country journey that slapped me across the face... I'm compelled to share. This one will be short, but sweet...

One of the most annoying things that happens on the highway is when you go to pass someone in the right lane and then they start to speed up, right!? Then you proceed to battle it out mph by mph as each driver's pride swells. Maybe it's just me but I tend to speed up even more just to show them I'm committed. But then we're both going too fast and prime for some problems.

Well, thankfully I didn't get any tickets or have any accidents, but I did realize this fact. We usually gage our speed based on the speed of those around us. We may be coasting in the right lane going five under, but when someone flies up behind us and starts to fly by us, we realize we're crawling and need to kick it up a few notches.

Some of you are coasting WAY below your potential and calling, but don't realize it simply because you're comparing yourself to under-achieving and mediocre slackers. It is so important to get around people that are way better than you and more disciplined than you at everything you do. It will be the most uncomfortable, ego-busting thing you ever do, but you will finally grow.

At one point the prophet Jeremiah was complaining to God about how all the wicked people around him were prospering and he and his people weren't. God showed him no pity and answered this... "If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses?" Jeremiah 12:5

God calls you to run with horses, not mere men... supernatural speed. Get around those who are doing it, be humbled, fail, get up, and learn to run with them!

Journey Lessons Part 2: Is Your Cross Crap?

I had a great plan to leave at 5 am on Sunday morning for our cross country trip. This was perfect because the baby and wife could sleep while I drove and made a huge dent in our first days journey of 12 - 14 hours. Well, about 40 minutes into the trip, I had a gasp moment and realized I forgot to leave the signed form that was required for the moving company to pick up our packed trailer on Monday! So with much frustration I exited off Route 80 and made a u-turn to head back home.

After returning home to drop off the document, and after about an extra hour of driving, I noticed for a second time a cross on a hill off the side of the highway. I had seen it the first time, but this time it struck me in a whole new way. It was as if God was saying, “You don’t really get it! Do you understand what the cross really means in your life right now? I paid the full price! By my blood being shed you have all authority in heaven and earth to walk as a righteous man and make a difference wherever you go. Walk in it now! You cannot begin this journey without this power!” I broke down, received it, rose up, wept, and had an incredible time of fellowship with my God!

I have noticed a trend in my walk with God... my greatest revelations almost always come through my greatest frustrations. It’s as if God enjoys getting my attention by me not getting my way... or maybe that is the only way he CAN get my attention. Either way, I end up thanking Him for my difficulties because they lead to triumphs.

If your understanding of the cross of Jesus Christ doesn’t lead you to an admission of desperate need and an empowerment of holiness and authority, than it is crap. You can easily slip into a subconscious mindset that you don’t really need the cross and/or that you don’t really have what the cross gives you. Call on the name of the Lord, confess your need, put your faith in Christ... you have NO condemnation, NO need for the completion of a process for you to talk with God again, NO fear, NO timidity... and you DO have complete purity, you DO have complete power, you DO have a mission from God, and you DO have everything you need to complete it.

Journey Lessons Part 1: Is Service at Your Core?

This will be a series of posts of the lessons I've learned around this cross country move. God always speaks to me when I feel the most pressure and frustration, and there's a lot of that with a big move, a big step of faith, a lot of people, and a lot of uncertainties. So enjoy.

Two of the side jobs I did when I was on staff at Lighthouse were taking the chairs out and putting the chairs back in the 15 passenger vans and trying to cut hundreds of cd inserts with absolute perfection with a paper cutter. These were not the responsibilities I looked forward to. The chairs would always be put in wrong first, have to be moved, sometimes twice, and seemingly take forever. The cd inserts were tedious and mind numbing. God would always use them to check where my heart was. Was it about being on a stage or serving for the sake of the kingdom?

It is so fitting that today, my last day living in the Poconos, after I've been off staff at Lighthouse for 7 months, and as I depart to LA to launch Clarity and run full into Jesus; I find myself putting chairs back in the van (with several necessary repositions and difficulties) and trying to perfectly cut cd inserts... all after packing and loading everything we own for three days. I had to laugh (after dealing with the frustration) at the thought. I am thankful to serve and practice God's presence in all that I do.

Easily said, not easily done. We're in it together.

New Year, New Decade, and New Job Description

Jessica, the baby, and I have been traveling like mad people... whether it's been Clarity stuff or last visits with family before the move, we feel like we live in the car. I am a master at setting up and breaking down Novi's Pack n Play, Jessica is a master of loading dozens of baby outfits and toys into one bag, and now we are about to drive 12 hours a day for four days across the good ol' U.S. of A... beginning at 5 AM this Sunday. Pray for us and the whole team of 11 as we finishing packing, load the big 28 ft trailer, say last goodbyes, and hit the road.

A few days ago Jessica and I we were discussing this new year, new decade, and new job description. Now, our job has been and always will be loving Jesus and making disciples after him, but often we enter into new strategies, challenges, and locations regarding this job. I I also think we grow in the amount of influence God gives us as we go forward with integrity and character, staying focused on the core... His Word, prayer, and loving Jesus numero uno.

In the next decade I will go from 27 years old to 37 years old. Jessica will go from 22 years old to 32 years old. Novi will go from 5 months old to 10 years old. These will be defining years for our individual and family lives and we are holding nothing back. What will this decade be for you...? Go all in this year and this decade for the sake of all the people you can and will influence, and for the sake of Christ!! Be dangerous! Maybe crazy! Maybe audacious! A great idea means nothing without good execution. In other words, your words and dreams mean nothing without an action plan.

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive and go do it. What the world needs is people who have come alive.” H Thurman

“You can’t go wrong going full on into Jesus.” JR Mahon

Do Not Be a Christmas Goober

Most of us have certain songs, movies, locations, functions, clothes, etc. that we have come to intertwine with the Christmas season over the years. Many of us have looked with great expectation to those things to bring us warmth, memories, and/or happiness at this time of year.

While these things can lead to great and wonderful reflection (which they should), they can quickly become harmful when they become our hope for future joy. Future meaning tomorrow, the next day, or the next day. They will certainly be found wanting in the end.

Do not be a Christmas goober. A Christmas goober is someone who wants and wants and wants and wants all for themselves. Not just presents, but feelings. This year, do something that is for the interest of someone else that you normally would not do. Something supernatural. Not just a nice present, but something that may make you feel uncomfortable, but needs to be said or done.

Pslam 23 says, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want."

Mark Batterson and Going Primal

I just received Mark Batterson's new book "Primal" as a free gift from him to lead pastors. First of all, that is an admirable thing to do. I believe he gave out thousands; all as a way of saying thanks to pastors. I plan/hope to remain focused enough as we launch Clarity not to loose the roots of personal generosity and kindness. It may sound funny to say that in planting a church you are in danger of losing those core qualities, but I believe it to be true. It's not hard to slip into being a full time minister and a part time follower of Christ... something I NEVER want to be.

"I couldn't help but wonder if we have diluted the truths of Christianity and settled for superficialities... The quest for the lost soul of Christianity begins with rediscovering what it means to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strenth... Think of it as love to the fourth power." - Mark Batterson

Get the book at evotional.com.

Marriage Matters

It has been said, "It is easiest to be a phony follower of Christ at church and it is hardest to be a true follower of Christ at home." This rings very true for me, especially as my family expands now to a wife and little baby girl. As pressure and responsibility increase, it is so important for me to humble myself before my wife and commit to grow. Charisma (not that I have that much) won't get me by in my home life. I am learning that it is essential to put just as much (probably more) energy and effort into my marriage and family as it is any church plant, message, or job.

So if this applies to you too, lets put our focus where our focus ought to be... on the ones that God has entrusted to us and to whom we have made a beautiful covenant in love.

My beautiful wife, Jessica... now the most wonderful mother to our daughter, November.

Some of My Notes

...some of my notes from the last web series video in the "Dead Without You" series called "Rubber Meets Road." View the full message at claritylife.org. (sorry for the wrong lettering and numbering)

1. Religion is the enemy of the gospel....
2. Religion says I obey, therefore I am accepted. Gospel says I am accepted, therefore I obey. Both are trying to conform to the life of Christ, but for two utterly different reasons. They can look very similar.
3. Four distinct differences...

1. How they react to suffering

1. Religion- I must have messed up. Or God owes me, After all, I’m a good tax payer.
2. Gospel- God is allowing this, but I trust Him to work it for good. This is not my home.

1. How they react to criticism

1. Religion- As a religious person I must think of myself as a good person, because after all, I am earning salvation. So criticism hits me hard and personally attacks my effort.
2. Gospel- I am imperfect yet made perfect through Christ. Yes, I stink, but in him, I don’t, and neither do you so lets go.

1. Who’s in control

1. Religion- I am earning this through hard work therefore I have my rights. God can only ask so much of me, after all, this is my life.
2. Gospel- If this gospel is really true, I lose all my rights in him, while gaining a kingly inheritance at the same time, and God can ask anything of me at all!

1. How they view others

1. Religion- Acceptance is based solely on how hard I work, therefore, I must look down on the those I perceive as lazy and/or ineffective. There is an identity factor I’m looking for, maybe rich, maybe good looking, maybe having perfect doctrine or the perfect ideas, maybe being the best, etc. I scoff at all those beneath me.
2. Gospel- Since this is acceptance is a free gift I could never earn, I offer it to others freely without disdain or disapproval.

1. Accept that you are accepted and then work as one who has been given all things freely unto the one who gave it to you!
(Thankful for ideas borrowed from Tim Keller)

Rubber Meets Road

“You’re better off backing a mediocre idea that is brilliantly implemented than a brilliant idea that is badly executed.”

-Georges Doriot (Harvard Business School Director)

In other words.... you could have the best idea in the world, but without good execution, it is worthless. I have been thinking a lot about this truth as we are about to embark on a cross country move in the pursuit of an idea... that is, the Kingdom of God, the love of Jesus, the launch of a new church community, and the shifting of a culture. We could have all the best intentions and still end up accomplishing nothing if we are lazy or lukewarm. We must be obsessed with doing all things with excellence as unto the Lord of the heavens and the earth.

You can view the new video "Rubber Meets Road" and watch the full teaching at claritylife.org.

Check it!

The Humanity of It All

I have heard it said, "Ministry would be great without all the people."

I have also heard that after a long day of dealing with the human condition, one pastor said with a sigh, "I have been peopled."

These statements are very funny and soberingly true. When it comes to reality, we always have to deal with people. Sometimes we have a great vision that seems to only include faceless individuals that have no opinions, do not get offended, always tithe, always have a heart of service, do not stink, are not eccentric, and always have the greater good in mind. That's a church I want to be a part of!

In reality, the closer you get to people, the more you can smell their bad odors.

This does not mean we should throw the whole vision away! It means we must understand that no matter how much we try to be spiritual and Christ-like, there is still a humanity to this thing. The key is that love covers over a multitude of sins. The key is that our salvation is not a product of perfect religious living, but the gospel of grace. The key is that the beauty is in what God raises up from the ashes.

So learn to see past the humanity of it all into the potential of it all!

Dedication and Much More...

Today we dedicated Novi at the Lighthouse with lots of family and most of the Clarity team present! It was so much fun and she was adorable. We also got her on video seriously laughing for the first time.

My wife, my daughter, and I spent a week in LA recently and saw God open huge doors in the SoCal AG District, with some possible housing, with some possible students, with a radio station, and just in general as new Jesus followers in the area. Thanking Him for laying out the steps before us. Also got to hang with Nik Petrakis which was sweet...

Then Ryan Connell and I spent a day with Elevation at the Impart event in Charlotte, NC and loved every minute of it... learned a lot, got a lot of ideas together, and spoke a lot of vision.

Pray for us as we head to Florida this week for meetings and services regarding Clarity. It will be a long and FUN drive with my wife, my baby, my brother, and my sister in law.