#2 – Works for the applause of heaven and not for the applause of men.

#3 – Seeks God for direction instead of merely asking Him for permission.

#4 – Doesn’t pretend that he has all the answers.

#5 – Seeks to submit to the Spirit instead of constantly grieving Him.

#6 – Understands that he will go insane if his goal is for everyone to understand him.

#7 – Is willing to repent when he is wrong…and do whatever it takes to make things right.

#8 – Puts personal preferences aside when making decisions that will impact the church.

#9 – Has a sense of desperation for God…fully understanding the reality of John 15:5.

#10 – Refuses to compromise the vision…even when it may be convenient to do so!

Bonus:  Doesn’t have the majority of comments on his own blog.

#2 – When the church becomes content with merely receiving people that come rather than actually going out and finding them…in other words, they lose their passion for evangelism!

#3 – The focus of the church is to build a great church (complete with the pastors picture…and his wife’s…on everything) and not the Kingdom of God.

#4 – The leadership begins to settle for the natural rather than rely on the supernatural.

#5 – The church begins to view success/failure in regards to how they are viewed in the church world rather than whether or not they are actually fulfilling the Great Commission!

#6 – The leaders within the church cease to be coachable.

#7 – There is a loss of a sense of urgency!  (Hell is no longer hot, sin is no longer wrong and the cross is no longer important!)

#8 – Scripture isn’t central in every decision that is made!

#9 – The church is reactive rather than proactive.

#10 – The people in the church lose sight of the next generation and refuse to fund ministry simply because they don’t understand “those young people.”

#11 – The goal of the church is to simply maintain the way things are…to NOT rock the boat and/or upset anyone…especially the big givers!

#12 – The church is no longer willing to take steps of faith because “there is just too much to lose.”

#13 – The church simply does not care about the obvious and immediate needs that exist in the community.

#14 – The people learn how to depend on one man to minister to everyone rather than everyone embracing their role in the body, thus allowing the body to care for itself.

#15 – When the leaders/staff refuse to go the extra mile in leading and serving because of how “inconvenient” doing so would be.

“Being filled with vision doesn’t always mean that God is inspiring us…but rather that He’s disturbing us!”

AND…I can’t get that thought out of my mind.

My fear for those of us in ministry is that we don’t want to be disturbed…we want things to come easy, for the dots to always connect and for the story to always have a happy ending.

BUT…the more I read the Scriptures the more I see that the visions that resulted in the biggest impact were the ones that were the most disturbing to the people who received them.

• Moses was DISTURBED that a nation was enslaved…and for 40 years he dedicated himself to God’s vision.
• David was DISTURBED that Goliath mocked God and Israel…and he walked where no one else was willing to walk to try what no one else was willing to try.
• Nehemiah was DISTURBED that the walls had been torn down in Jerusalem…and he established a plan and relentlessly followed through on all that God had put in his heart.
• Esther was DISTURBED that her people were going to be destroyed…and she placed personal preference and comfort aside and risked her life in order to do what was right.
• The prophets in the OT were DISTURBED that people were living in rebellion against the voice of the Lord…and were willing to be unpopular so that His truth could be proclaimed.
• Paul was DISTURBED that religion was trumping a relationship with God…and ultimately gave his life for the spreading of the message that Jesus, not religion, saves.

Great leaders are the ones who are willing to allow God to disturb them, to bother them…to make the vision so personal that they don’t just think about it…they feel it!!!

We aren’t called to seek comfort, affirmation from others, convenience, popularity, personal preferrences and safety!  The leaders that we admire in the Scriptures didn’t…and JESUS NEVER modeled that for us!!!

We are called to be disturbed!

I am praying that God will raise up more and more leaders who lead out of a burden rather than boredom…

Who lead out of conviction rather than convenience.

Who lead out of vision and not just “wishin!”

Who lead with passion rather than apology.

We are called to be disturbed…to be broken over the things that break HIS heart!!!

Disturb us God!

Normally I don’t get into weird things like ghost stories and such…but when I arrived at church yesterday morning our security team that reviews footage were FREAKED OUT because of what they saw and heard that our camera’s revealed!

This is actual security footage from Saturday night…not really sure what to make of it…but about 10 seconds or so into the video you can see AND hear something that, well, I can’t really explain it…see what you think. (Look and listen closely when the camera begins to focus on the front row.)

• We launched our singles series entitled, “Don’t Get Married Until…” today…and it was a BLAST!
• My prayer for this series is that singles will view being single NOT as a sickness, but rather as a season that needs to be embraced in order to learn all that God desires to teach them.
• We have A LOT of singles at our church…and I have a heart for them, that Jesus would be EXALTED in their lives and that they would view marriage as something to be held in high regard…and not merely a license to have sex!
• Today we talked about, “Don’t Get Married Until…You Hear From God.”
• Dating out of convenience rather than conviction will lead to compromise–EVERY time!
• Following Jesus doesn’t mean we compromise when life gets tough…but rather we establish convictions that are based on Scripture and stand by them, even when it seems like things aren’t going our way.
• If we are desperately seeking God…that means we are NOT desperately trying to convince God of what we want!!!
• God WILL make it clear as to who He wants you to marry, trust me, HE WANTS YOU TO GET IT RIGHT MORE THAN YOU WANT TO GET IT RIGHT!
• God wants to bless His children…so, if you are dating “a curse” then understand that he/she is NOT want God wants!
• The BEST THING for some singles (and engaged couples) is to SLOW the HECK down!
• “But Perry, we’re already sent out the invitations to the wedding and…”  STOP IT…if you are not sure, if you haven’t heard from God…then STOP!  Trust me, the money you spend recalling the invitations will be much less than you will spend on the divorce lawyers!
• If a dating relationship is immersed in worship then it can’t be immersed in wickedness.
• If a dating relationship is based on sex before marriage…it will be incredibly difficult to establish intimacy after marriage!
• (The talk about sex in the message today was fun…and intense…and necessary!)
• The last place single people need to run to for advice on marriage is other single people!!!  Seek out the advice/wisdom of people who are walking where you want to walk one day…who ARE married and have been for quite some time!!!
• It was SO exciting to share the news about our Christmas offering today…I am pumped out of my mind about what God is doing at our church.
• It is SO amazing how God has blessed our church and allowed us to move forward over the past two years…despite going through the worse recession we’ve seen in our lifetime.
• AND…there’s MORE to do!!!
• Had nearly 1,500 people register for Unleash (in March) before the early bird deadline of $39 expired (we had 200 register for that rate this time last year!)  We are expecting to sell out…so…I would register ASAP if I were you!
• Looking forward to talking about, “Don’t Get Married Until…You Are Willing To Be A Man” next week!!!
• AND…I’m looking forward to speaking at Clemson’s FCA this Thursday night!

That’s about it…going to bed!

Who are you bringing with you?

IN FACT, I believe the opposite…I seriously believe the churches best days are ahead of her.

Acts 2 wasn’t something that happened that we are supposed “to get back to,” it was where we STARTED FROM…and should be FOUNDATIONAL and not just some ideal we strive for…

And I’m seeing that!

I see leaders stepping up and leading with CONVICTION and PASSION…and begging God for HIS permission instead of begging committees for their approval!

I see Jesus being preached and repentance being demanded…and people RESPONDING in droves because THE GOSPEL, not some non-eternal agenda, has taken center stage.

I see churches being planted and video campuses getting started by people who are more interested in seeing birth given to babies rather than trying to resurrect the dead.

I see networking taking place like never before…where people are reaching across denominational lines and loving and learning from one another.  (THAT didn’t happen 15-20 years ago!)

I see the potential of a worldwide revival like that has NEVER happened right in front of our eyes!!!  The internet was not given so we could view porn…but rather as a TOOL to advance His Kingdom.

I see passion in church leaders being unapologized for.

I see churches and leaders that are NOT AFRAID to take risks and do things different in order to reach people far from God.

I see churches buying into the SCRIPTURAL idea that people do not have to be perfect to come to church…and just because they are in church doesn’t mean they are perfect either.

I see churches embracing the fact that the pastor isn’t the one who is supposed to minister to all of the people…but rather it is the BODY that is supposed to minister to the BODY!

I see churches stepping up in their communities and not just being a mouth that speaks out about what it is against and for…but being hands and feet and serving those in the area.

I see “non-professionals” (you know, fisherman, tax collectors and tent makers) leaving the marketplace and entering the ministry…and making a difference!

I see people inviting their friends to church because they understand they won’t have to apologize the entire time because churches are actually embracing that if we are doing something for Jesus then we should give it our best!!!

I see religion being rejected so that it no longer matters what you wear to church!

I am seeing it…for those who think it’s over for the church, I’ve got news for you…Jesus is still Lord, the tomb is still empty and the church is STILL HIS PLAN!!!

Church…we’re not called to play “prevent defense,” let’s PREACH CHRIST, BEG HIM FOR SALVATION TO FALL LIKE RAIN…AND RUN UP THE SCORE!!!

#2 – Celebrate the past WAY more than you anticipate the future, thus becoming a museum and not a movement!

#3 – Allow those who have never actually done anything for Jesus dictate to you what they believe you can and can’t do for Him!

#4 – Listen and repond to every critic.

#5 – Wait until everything makes perfect sense before you make a decision.

#6 – Spend more time on blogs than you do in your Bible.

#7 – Become more agenda driven than GOSPEL driven!

#8 – Actually believe that EVERYONE must be 100% happy with every detail.

#9 – Vote!

#10 – Become angry/jealous over what God is doing at other places and become hyper focused on all of their problems, thus overlooking your own!

Sign up for Unleash 2010 are already WAY beyond what we had anticipated!!!

We’ve sold out every seat for the past two years…and it looks like the same is going to happen this year!

SO…why am I blogging about it?

Because Saturday is the dealine for the early bird registration…

Seriously…it’s $39 per person (AND that includes a lunch from Chic Fil A!)

(After Saturday it goes to $59 per person)

We intentionally priced it low AND made it a one day deal so that pastors and church leaders could bring as many volunteers with them as possible!

Here is the link if you want to sign up…seriously…it’s $39…what are you waiting for?

Our band at the Anderson Campus is doing a LIVE CD recording!!!

The doors open at 6:00…the concert begins at 7:00…

NO TICKETS NECESSARY…it’s FREE (and by free I mean free…we won’t be taking a “love offering!”)

We’ve been wanting to do this for YEARS…and FINALLY it’s time!!!

SO…if you want a seat I would suggest that you get here early…we’re expecting a PACKED HOUSE!!!