wonderful Counselor

                           almighty God

                                     everlasting Father

                                                          Prince of Peace

and He emptied himself, coming in the form of a servant…

   and He will be called Jesus…Emmanuel, God with us…

       and at the name of Jesus, every knew will bow and tongue confess that He is Lord of all.

               and when I (Jesus) have been lifted up I will draw all men to myself.

                      and through His sacrifice we have been made holy, the sacrifice of the body of Jesus, once and for all.

                             to the Lamb that was slain, we cry Holy, Holy, Holy!

                                           MERRY  CHRISTMAS!

this has been a good year in spite of the economy, in spite of some political upheaval for many of us, in spite of the failures of some leaders, despite the failure of some ministries, in spite of it all, God is still God, he’s not abdicated His throne, i do not despair over who is president or not president, i will pray for him, i do not despair over what preacher has fallen and how, i do not despair that men or women are out of work – God promises the righteous will not go hungry, i do not despair that church plants close – i wish they didn’t but that is the nature of the work we do, i do not despair that some foreign crazy dictator has nukes – i pray that Israel will take care of them. God is in control and I trust Him.

in the last year, WRC has grown, more baptisms than ever, more changed lives than ever, WRC has built wells in Africa, started house churches in Cuba, done mission trips to Charleston and Jamaica, WRC has allowed families in need of money to reach into a bucket and get whatever their hands can hold, WRC has led the efforts of 38 churches to complete 300+ projects in the community, WRC has helped 100’s of families to have food, shelter, and clothing this year, WRC has partnered with community organizations that care for families through food distribution, clothing distribution, mothers that have lost children, mothers who have been convinced not to have abortions, athletes, done one of the largest one week sports camps in America for elementary children, partnered with Samaritan’s purse to clean out 100’s of flood ravaged homes, have helped another 12 churches launch in three states and all around Atlanta, walked with a church plant through a difficult transition in their lives, helped families through programs such as divorce care and grief share, helped men and women through addiction recovery programs, children’s ministry, student ministries, journey groups, new prayer ministries, and God provided every step of the way, did we reach budget, no, but did we not do something, i don’t know what it was. Praise Him for provision.

looking forward – Brian will present the vision for 2010. I’ve heard a little of it and i can’t wait for you to hear it on January 3rd. God has great things in store for WRC. More Mission Trips – Cuba, Brazil, Burkino Faso. More Church Planting and Multi-Site. More and bigger Community Makeovers. Reaching more people with the gospel than we can imagine.

Church Planters, Pastors, whoever you are Dream BIG! Our God is bigger than our plans, our abilities, and our finances. I pray you have all your wishes for Christmas answered just the way you prayed them and that your 2010 will be your most productive ever. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.

i know i’m a day late and a dollar short but…CONGRATULATIONS TO REVOLUTION CHURCH, CANTON, GEORGIA, NAMED A NEW PASTOR YESTERDAY! WELCOME JASON GERDES!

most everyone knows the struggles that Revolution has endured since May of this year. some thought that Revolution would not make it without the pastor that started them. in case you have been off the planet for the last 7 months, the pastor had a moral indiscretion and left. some churches, especially church plants would have caved.

i want to give props to a few folks. first, and this is going to surprise you, it is a testimony to the former leadership that he built a church of people that in spite of his failures, did not fail. i continue to pray for the former pastor. pray that he has genuinely repented, and will be restored to ministry one day. God has given him great gifts in communicating the gospel to lost men. the church needs more like him if he is living in a right relationship to God and has accountability to someone other than himself.

second, i want to give a shout out to Tim, Preston, Chad, Thad, and the rest of the staff at Revolution. CONGRATULATIONS! when some thought you guys would fold up and give up, you hung in there. GREAT JOB! these guys have endured some pretty harsh criticism and judgment. they have endured the questioning of their leadership. they have endured doubt. they have endured questions about their maturity, leadership, character, etc. etc. but they have won the battle. they held the church together when in human terms they could have folded and no one would have blamed them. i applaud you guys. thanks for making “church” happen every week.

Jason Gerdes, i got to spend a couple of hours with him as Revolution and Jason was seeking God’s will. Jason has led a student ministry at one of the premier church plants in America. his student ministry was as large as Revolution Church. he has recruited and built leaders. he has dealt with difficult people. he has been through some of his own storms. God has prepared him for such a time as this. he is not the former pastor by any stretch of one’s imagination. but he is a man that God has prepared to lead this team.

i know some of you out there thought you were the man. i know some of you personally. i read some of your plans. some of them looked good, but Revolution is a different church. all of those i knew that sent in their ideas or resumes, or indicated through email that you would like to be pastor of Revolution or have your church take Revolution as a campus, etc. it was just not the right plan. i spent some hours with the staff over the last few months. i really love some of you guys but it just wasn’t in God’s plan.

i have already heard that one of the guys that wanted to be pastor of Revolution has criticized the selection of Jason to both the former pastor and the current leadership. just a word, scripture warns men who would tear down a servant of God, perhaps you should be praying instead of criticizing.

i’m praying for Jason. praying for wisdom, grace, mercy, the gifts of leadership and discernment, praying that he will be full of the spirit at every meeting and every worship service, and every time he steps in the pulpit he will have a word from God, praying that he will love Canton more and more. i’m going to leave you with a parting word from Jason, “I want Canton to be shocked by Revolution’s love for them, not by our words.” Jason, as we say in GA, sic’em.

reading “searching for God knows what” by Donald Miller. to me better than “blue like jazz.” personal preference.

challenging thought from yesterday’s reading. in the last chapter of John’s gospel, when Jesus asks Peter, “Do you love me more than these?” is it possible that Jesus was talking about the big haul of fish and the meal they just had together. in other words, “do you love me more than you do these creature comforts?” huge difference than “do you love me more than these (disciples)?”

what, who is challenging you right now?

in case you haven’t heard the clinical reports for Matt Chandler came back as a malignant cancer. the doctor indicated they were unable to get all of the mass. Matt will be exploring next steps and treatment options with his doctor soon. please keep Matt, his family, and the Village Church in your prayers.

if you are a church planter or a pastor and you are not using this season to draw people in then you are not very wise. I almost said a fool but that was a little harsh. so we’ll stick with not wise.

we Christians, gripe and complain about Target, Walmart, Kmart, and Kroger saying Happy Holidays but then we neglect to use this time to draw men to Jesus. I don’t get it. Serve, Plan a special service, Send a Card. Do Something!

and that something is not some little pithy saying on a board outside your church like “Jesus is the reason for the season.” don’t just sit there. God has given you a cool time to get His name out. don’t waste it.

i was watching the history channel the other night. the theme of the show was about the first castle built in England. the first castle built in England was built by Julius Caesar. here’s a part of the story…

Julius Caesar had the head of the armies of England trapped on a mountain. he divided the men into teams of 10. 2 men would stand guard, 8 would work on the “castle.” the castle was in fact a wooden fence erected around the armies of England. the first fence was 11 miles around the perimeter. after the first fence for the castle was built, trapping the leader and his army. Caesar led his men to move outside of their camp and build another fence that stretched 26 miles around the perimeter, this fence served to keep any reinforcements from coming to the aid of the English leader.

around the second fence he built a series of ditches and moats. in each of these ditches weapons were planted. some of these weapons were very diabolical. there was one where small iron hooks were embedded into the ground and covered with straw and ground material. when the English marched into/ran into the trenches the iron spikes would go up through their feet and trap them and they became easy targets for the Roman archery soldiers.

here is the comment from an expert on medieval weapons.  “this is an act of aggression and that is what castles are for. Castles are weapons of conquest, built not for defense but of conquest.” that is a huge difference in how most of us look at castles.

a few years later Emperor Constantine built a fort that became Constantinople the seat of the Roman Empire and where the Roman Empire became “Christian.” it stood for 1000 years. this fort was built as a place of safety. it worked for a long time. eventually the muslims found the weapon that would destroy it. and ultimately the Empire fell.

two lessons for me. 1. the church was built not as a fortress of safety but as a place of attack to surround the enemy. remember Jesus said, “I will build my church and the gates of hell will not prevail.” ATTACK! 2. when the church becomes a fortress of safety eventually the walls crumble. i am not a military man so i may be speaking out of turn here but it seems to me in my history of 50+ years that the wars that the USA has fought on the offensive we have destroyed our enemy. when we become the police state we have not done quiet as well. armies are offensive in nature. aggressive, seeking the enemy to destroy.

from these lessons, when the church stops being aggressive in seeking out the enemy and turns in on itself, the church begins to fall. the enemy “satan” has the church right where he wants us.

we must keep on the offensive: evangelism, church planting, loving and serving our neighbors, making a difference in the community. we have to meet satan on his turf: taking good news into wherever he has sought to destroy the family (divorce, adultery, finances, etc.), the individual (addictions, alcohol, drugs, pornography, self esteem, depression, sickness, etc), or the church.

i am really tired of the complaints about “someone didn’t say merry christmas” are they believers? is the store representing itself as Christian? or “they didn’t pray in school” have you noticed the lifestyle of some of these teachers. i don’t want them leading my children in prayer. we want non-believers to act like believers. why should they?

be on the offensive church, attack injustice, not your rights but the rights of the oppressed and the abused. child labor laws were created because the church saw an injustice and did something about it. stop complaining…live and love like Jesus…then the devil trembles, we surround him and he is defeated. that is a true fortress of offense. the church needs to learn how to use the building as an offensive fortress and not a defense.

just had coffee with a friend. he had sought to plant a church but just discovered that he was probably not a lead pastor type. thinks, and i agree, that he is probably an executive pastor or something of that type. he would like to stay in church planting. if you’re in the Paulding/Cobb area and are planting a church give me a call and i’ll hook you up if you’re looking for someone to help in this area of ministry.

we also talked about other strategies that might fit his style better. we’ll see where God is leading. i think God will use my friend in ministry. i’m glad ministry is not a one size fits all. God gifts individuals to build the body in different ways. i will be interested to see if what we talked about fits him.

here’s the deal, he has a great heart and wanted to pass along whatever he could to another church plant. he is sending equipment that is probably worth about $15000 dollars to another church plant… FREE. don’t call, it’s already a done deal with another WRC church planter.

God  has a way of working these things out. where one door has closed He opened a huge door for another church plant. God is at work in both of these guys lives. i am so blessed to be a part.

got an email from my friend James Wisener today. TrueNorth Church in Calhoun, GA is gearing up for launch. James and his team have already added around 50 people to their core group. he’s doing a great job in a small town. expecting great things.

in January TrueNorth will be one of 4 churches that will launch that completed the training in the WRC School of Church Planting. allow me to run down the list:

January 3, TrueNorth Church, James Wisener, Church Planter/Pastor. Calhoun, GA. will be meeting in an historic old theater in downtown Calhoun. if you live in that area check him out between football games! www.myTrueNorth.cc

January 17, Hope Church, Maurice Stargell, Church Planter/Pastor. Morrow, GA. will be meeting in the Clayton County School Performing Arts Center.  i had lunch with Maurice yesterday and saw their meeting facility…WOW! also a quick word about Maurice. Maurice is an African American that has a dream of doing a multi-cultural church plant. he has gathered around himself a team of people reflecting his desire. www.hope-church.tv

January 24, Genesis Church, Tim Grandstaff, Church Planter/Pastor. Avalon Park, (Orlando) FL. will be meeting at Timber Lakes Elementary School in the UCF neighborhood. Tim has done a great job of connecting with people in the area. www.genesischurchorlando.com

January 31. The River Church. Todd Magouryk, Church Planter/Pastor. West Ashley (Charleston) S.C. meeting @ Orange Grove Elementary Charter School. Todd has built a team of over 50 adults leading up to their launch. www.riverchurch.com

if you know people in these communities you need to connect them. These are 4 guys that God is going to use to rock their communities. Pray for them. Support them. Send your friends.

next Saturday the West Ridge Church School of Church Planting (we’ve got to get a shorter name) is finishing up the most recent class of church planters. churches from Brazil, Alabama, and East Atlanta have been involved.

i love these classes because there are always a few AHA! moments when a light comes on in the church planters mind that says, “I never thought of that” or “I can do that.”

some guys attend the class after they have started and i almost always hear from them, “We had to change direction on a few things.” it is our hope that we give church planters some tools that will help them begin ahead of the curve as they plant the church. i know i wish i had had someone to offer me such training.

we sent invitations to 14 church planters over the last several days. if you are interested it is not too late. first step is to go to www.churchplanterprofiles.com and take the series of tests (make sure you choose West Ridge Church as your agency). this will help you determine if you have the gifts, personality, temperment, strengths, and spiritual gifts that make most church planters successful. second step is to go to the WRC web site: www.westridge.com/churchplanting and register to attend. the question is,” do i attend if i fail the test.” you may be the one that needs to attend the most. we can’t change your personality or temperament but we can help you with skills and knowledge that will perhaps take you  a level or two higher. 

if you’re in the area and you’re planning on planting a church i encourage you to check it out.