Looking For God In Unexpected Ways

Mountain top experiences can be exhilarating and inspiring. They set a fire in our souls and we leave the mountain ready to tackle the world. Unfortunately, mountain top experiences don't happen every day and they fade quickly. All of us allow life to take over our every day lives. When life happens we tend to miss out on the little things that God may be doing or saying in our lives.

The prophet Elijah was running for his life and found himself on Mt. Horeb. The Lord asked him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" He wasn't where the Lord wanted him to be. The Lord also chose to speak to Elijah in an unexpected way. Apparently, Elijah was used to hearing from God in big, miraculous ways such as the wind, earthquake, and fire. But the Lord wasn't in any of those ways this time. This time He chose to speak to Elijah through a still, small voice.

Instead of waiting for the few mountain top experiences, allow God to speak to you in that still, small voice. Look for God to speak in unexpected ways. Running has always been a spiritual experience for me. Today I ran and the Lord spoke to me about evangelism and the church I lead. Most of us expect God to speak to us early in the morning while everyone else is still asleep or during a worship service or during a conference. These are good place to hear from God but what about the unexpected ways in which he speaks.

If you're really yearning to hear from your heavenly Father, then look for him to speak to you in unexpected ways. Expect him to speak to you in unexpected ways.

What are some of the unexpected ways God has spoken to you?

The Decision

It's amazing that NBA can get more attention during it's off-season than baseball. All of this attention was because of one man, LeBron James. Regardless of your opinion about the news circus that followed his decision or the 'special' TV show put on by ESPN, there is a redeeming quality to this story.

James had tons of people grabbing at him. Every team, city, and fan wanted him to come to their city. Around 5 or 6 different teams courted James like they were looking for their future mate. Most commentators felt sorry for the people of Cleveland, OH the city where James was drafted and the state where the child prodigy was born and raised. Everyone in that state of Ohio wanted their beloved first son to stay home and bring them a championship.

Instead of folding and doing what everyone else wanted to do, James did what he wanted to do. He didn't allow people to make his decision for him. He could've easily crumbled under the pressure of trying to please everyone else. But he didn't. He made the decision that was best for him, his family, and his career.

People pleasing leads us to nowhere. People pleasing causes us to waste energy doing things that don't matter. It also affects our identity that we can only find in our heavenly Father. In people pleasing we lose ourselves and try to conform to everyone else's image of who they think we should be. In trying to please everyone, we end up pleasing no one. It's impossible to please everyone at all times.

If God has given you a task or an idea, then go out and complete that task or see that idea become a reality. It may not be the popular thing to do but go against the grain when you know that its God calling you to the task or its a God breathed idea. Decide to fear God more than you fear man. Don't fold under the pressure of doing what everyone else wants you to do. Don't fold under the pressure of doing what everyone else thinks you should be doing.

Excerpt from Greater Boston Vineyard's 40 Days of Faith - Fasting

You might have noticed that when people really wanted something from God in the Bible, they almost always fasted.What does fasting do? Fasting tells God and our own spirits that we really are desperate for God to meet some need or hope that we have.
Though fasting—in any fashion (and we’ll talk about some options in a minute)—is, by definition, hard, it’s actually meant to be a joyous opportunity. Suddenly we’re really serious about something with God; we’re really expecting him to come through; we aren’t just playing around. That can often be exhilarating!

What are options for fasting?
Well, first off, fasting often involves abstention from food in some way. In shorter fasts, that can be a total abstention from food. These are usually called “water fasts,” because water is the only thing going into us. For the most part, I don’t recommend these at any length beyond a week’s time, because after that, health problems can ensue. (Clearly God can speak and call you into anything—but I’d just be aware of the risks if you water fast for more than a week, and be in good touch with a doctor. You can also feel free to call our church office for more suggestions about fasting.)
Also, I do not recommend water fasts if you’ve ever suffered from an eating disorder. Those in our midst who’ve suffered from eating disorders historically have a difficult time separating this sort of fasting from the very motivation that drove them to the disorder, and thereby risk serious health problems. There are other great fasts that will do you a lot of good, if you’ve been in this situation, and can I ask that you’d pursue those?

Other food-abstention fasts involve imposing some sort of conditions on our eating over a period of time. (Some folks prefer not to call these “fasts”—reserving that title for water fasts—but prefer to call things like I’ll suggest here “consecrations.” Choose whatever terminology works for you!) This can involve anything from giving up some beloved food item for a time (desserts or sugar or caffeine being popular favorites) to something more challenging, like the so-called “Daniel fast,” which involves abstaining from everything but vegetables.

For longer fasts, I’ve sometimes done a “one meal a day” fast. It’s pretty much what it sounds like. The key is to actually eat a smaller meal than you normally would at the time, and to make that “it” for the day. If you ever know I’m on a “one meal a day” fast and it looks after awhile as if I haven’t lost an ounce, have a little talk with me.
People often pursue “juice fasts.” Again, this would customarily apply to shorter fasts, but it’s just like a water fast, except you’re allowed to drink juice, which will keep your blood sugar up and actually allow you to function at near-normal capacity.
Are there any non-food-related options?

You bet! Fasting from television is a popular choice for folks who aren’t fasting from food. Or computer games. Or catalogues. Or whatever you’d notice. These can really involve, under God’s direction, doing without anything that feels costly to give up for a season.

I’ve heard about fasts (or, again, “consecrations”) from criticism! The point of fasting is that, under God’s direction, we’re feeling desperate for something and we direct that desperation towards God. It’s just hard to truly be desperate for God and what he might do for us when our bellies are full and all our needs are abundantly provided for.
What does it mean to fast “for” something?

If you fast, I’d encourage you to let God know, frequently, what it is you’re fasting for which, I’d think, would at least tie into the “what do you want Jesus to do for you during a specific time period?” category. So, for instance, during one long fast I realized in, like, Day 3 that I didn’t really have a specific focus for my fast, and I asked God. He seemed to tell me that it was a fast primarily on behalf of a close friend of mine who was really far from God. Not long thereafter, that friend plunged himself into a life of pursuing Jesus for the first time in his life.

Does fasting help us lose weight (and I know you’re asking that on behalf of a friend)?
Isn’t this one of life’s colossal bummers? The answer, from all reputable sources, is, “No, not really.” There are 2 problems that keep this from being, for most people, about weight loss. First, once we’ve fasted (from food) for awhile, our metabolism slows way down (a good thing if we were ever to face famine!). Second, sadly, it seems to be human nature that, whatever weight we lose in fasting, we quickly put back on once we resume our previous diet. One national level leader who’s known for his frequent long fasts actually seems to have gotten significantly more overweight as the years have rolled on.
Now, the upside of this truism is that we really can let God know that we’re doing this because we want deeper desperation for and connection with him. This really is about more than body image.

Conference Junkie

I love going to conferences. I went to my first conference in 2000 and absolutely loved it. That first conference was a Men's Conference and God did a real work in my life. Ever since then I have thoroughly enjoyed attending church planting, leadership, denominational, and children's ministry conferences. I love the experience of learning from others in a large group setting. I consider myself a lifetime student. So, learning from others is something that I will always do.

This past week we attended the Vineyard Eastern Region conference. As usual it was a blast. I even got a few songs for us to sing in church. But more importantly God did his work in me. That's what makes going to a conference so special for me. I get to experience God in a different setting, outside of my church. Changing settings to encounter God can be extremely refreshing. Receiving prayer by from other pastors is one of the best experiences at the Vineyard conferences. Something really happens in the spiritual realm when someone who can relate to your situation prays for you.

One of the biggest works God did in me was during the last session. John Elmer, Syracuse Vineyard Church, spoke on connecting people to Jesus. The church is in the business of connecting people to Jesus. AMEN! God was already working on me in this area before the conference. He has already been working on some of the people in our church. Yesterday was the culmination of his work over the past few months. So, now it's time for the rubber to meet the road. One part of my calling as a pastor is to see people grow closer to God, this includes people who don't know him. It's time to refocus on connecting people to Jesus.

We have set a goal to have 50 people connect to Jesus over the next year. It's time to accomplish that goal! Please pray for us to reach this goal as a church.

Why We Exist

Earlier this year I read an excellent book about simplifying the way we do church. The book is titled Simple Church. That's an appropriate title for the content. One of my major takeaways was condensing our mission and vision statements into one simple statement. I doubt very many people, if any, in our church could recite either statement. Since changing the statement, it's hard for me to recite either of them.

After discussing with some of our key leadership, we decided on the new statement. CRV exists as a multicultural community that encounters God, connects with others, and serves our neighbor. If anyone wants to know what our church is about then there are only three words to remember: Encounter, Connect, and Serve. That's what we want to do as a church. We want to encounter God through our weekly worship service. We want to connect with others through our Life Groups. We want to serve our neighbors. We want to do all of this in a multicultural environment.

The feedback I have received from this statement has been very positive. I like the statement and will start making this statement a natural part of everything we do as a church. This statement will affect our weekly announcements. Now only the things that highlight the statement will be announced. All other announcements will be handled through ministries, Life Group, and other methods of communication. This statement is currently being used to formulate our goals for the next year. I'm going to teach on the statement in the January.

In short, this new statement has caused more excitement in me. It's helped me to be more focused. It has made planning and budgeting FUN! That's something I never thought I would say. I plan and budget out of necessity, not because its fun. But now its fun because I plan and budget according to making our vision become a reality.