revolution church

John Eldredge Authored Wild At Heart and Leads Ransomed Heart
The Following is an excerpt from his monthly newsletter.

Suffering is rising (as if you hadn’t noticed). I’m not just talking about the world tearing itself apart. Some of our closest friends, beautiful, holy people have been through an immense amount of suffering these past few months. Stasi and I have as well. I’ll bet if you pick ten people in your world, more than six have suffered deeply in the past year. At some point in this life, suffering will come crashing down your door, and most of us have not been prepared to deal with it.

Peter says, “arm yourselves” for suffering (1 Peter 4:1). Indeed. We had best arm ourselves. How? Well, he goes on to say, “do not be surprised…” when suffering comes (vs. 12). But we are surprised. It sends us reeling. There is not even a close second to the power of suffering to distort our views of God, and to get us making loads of agreements we should not be making. The collateral damage can be worse than the suffering itself. Step One in arming ourselves is simply this: We must not let it throw us. We will suffer. It should not surprise us.

When Jesus knocks Saul off his donkey on the Damascus Road, and turns the raging Pharisee into the most powerful apostle of all, he sends a man to pray for him: “I will show him how much he must suffer for my name” (Acts 9:16). Paul would later write that we are all co-heirs with Jesus, “if we share in his sufferings” and in fact that we cannot know the power of his resurrection if we do not also know “the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings” (Rom 8:17, Phil 3:10).

There is a popular theology out there that goes something like, “If you are a Christian, you can avoid suffering. You can learn to live only in the place of blessing.” It is a devastating heresy. Because suffering will come, and then what will you do? It shakes your faith in God, because you thought it wouldn’t come, shouldn’t come. It gets you scrambling; it can level you for a long time if you thought you’d escape it. This is why Peter says, “arm yourselves.” It is going to come.

It would be good to pause and clarify why suffering comes. The scripture says that some suffering comes because we’ve made foolish decisions. This is NOT the only reason, but it is one, and it ought to cause us to want to walk more intimately with God in order that we might avoid it. Suffering caused by foolishness is avoidable suffering. But what happens for most people is this: They live their life as they would like to live it – making the decisions they would like, the plans, trips, relationships, financial choices, lifestyle choices – and then, when the consequences of their foolishness hit, they get mad at God. Foolish (or simply independent) suffering can help shape your character, make you a wise person, drive you to God. So he’s not going to prevent it. No good parent would.

Then there is the suffering that comes simply by living in a broken world. Our bodies are not what they were meant to be, and sometimes this brings deep suffering. People around us are not what they were meant to be, and their foolishness and sin can bring us deep suffering. It isn’t you. It isn’t God. It’s this broken world.

And then there is the suffering that comes because you are a friend of Jesus. I would place here not only persecution (which can come from family, friends, and churches as well as governments). I would also place spiritual warfare here as well – because that comes to you as a result of taking God’s side in this war. (So, if warfare isn’t part of your worldview, this will really mess you up because you’ll blame something other than the enemy.) After warning that our enemy is a lion looking to maul us, Peter says our brothers and sisters around the world share in this suffering (1 Peter 5:9). It helps to name it – it is suffering.

And yes, the scripture also teaches that some suffering comes into our lives from the hand of our Father (Hebrews 12:1-13). But be careful – don’t assume all suffering therefore is from God. Which brings me back to “arming ourselves” for it.

Be very, very careful how you interpret your suffering. Where is this coming from? How must you deal with it? Can it be overcome? Don’t jump to conclusions. Interpretation is critical. Pay attention to how you are interpreting this.

Beware the agreements that get in. This is where the enemy can maul you. Things like, I’m blowing it, God has abandoned me, this is because of my sin, this is their fault, and a host of others. If you’ve been making these agreements, you will want to break them. They rip you apart.

Seek breakthrough. Too many Christians simply fold, and give way to suffering. Pray against it; pray hard. If it is warfare, you can shut that down. Much healing is available, too. Don’t simply surrender.

And when breakthrough is not coming, listen carefully: “For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows” (2 Cor 1:5). The suffering of Jesus overflows into our lives. This is a great honor – though I confess, I did not see it so until recently. Are not the sufferings of Jesus the very thing we most worship him for? What an honor it is for him to allow us to share in them. And we do share in them, whatever the “blessing” theology might try to say. The promise here is that his comfort is also available. We cry out for the comfort of God. He may not heal your body, but he will heal your wounded heart; he will comfort, and it will be our greatest treasure.

Suffering can do enormous damage in our lives, but it can also do enormous good. It shapes our character; it drives us to God; and it loosens our grip on this world. The entire posture of the Christian life is that while much good is available to us now, our great good is coming in the next chapter. Most of us have set our hopes entirely on our life working out here, now. (Notice your reaction when it doesn’t!) This, too, will tear you apart. It will break your heart. Suffering causes us to re-evaluate where our hope lies, and to move it to where it belongs.

From: John Eldredge’s Monthly Newsletter.
Ransomed Heart  • P.O. B ox 51065 • Colorado Springs, Colorado 80949
http://www.ransomedheart.com/default.aspx

For years I read about God’s people entering The Promised Land, the land flowing with milk and honey, the land God told them to go to, the land God was going to give them, and somewhere in the back of my mind I thought, if only I could get to my Promised Land, then things would be better.

God’s people were called to the land flowing with milk and honey.  It sounded wonderful. It always does. But they had to occupy the land, getting there was just the beginning, now it was time to listen to God and fight for every inch that belonged to them. 

When Israel came out of the barren desert to occupy the Promised Land they had to cross a river that was at flood stage.  It wasn’t easy, just ask the Levites. They had to wade out into the raging flooded river carrying the Ark of the Covenant.  Only when they stepped in did God open the river for them to cross on dry land.  Their first steps into the Promised Land were steps that led to the walled city of Jericho.  If they simply did what they knew, they would have failed.  But God showed them a way that had never been heard of, a way that was unique to them, a way that He would be glorified.  God had them march around the walled city.  The Ark of the Covenant, it’s gold covering and cherubs glimmering in the sun was ordered out front.  It was followed, silently, by the trumpeters, and then the throngs of people.  As they marched the view from Jericho ’s walls had to be interesting.  The representation of Jehovah God, the Ark of Covenant, shining, reflecting a blinding light from the sun, as the people of God slowly disappeared into a rising cloud of dust.  By the end of their, God-prescribed march, all eyes were on God.   When we do things God’s way, we will disappear and God will shine. 

Is God showing you a new direction, a promised land if you will? Know this… It will be a land of Giants.  Giant problems, giant fortifications, and giant people that don’t want you to take the new place God has given you.  But if God has called you there, He will go with you.  Listen to Him, because he is going to tell you to do things that don’t seem normal.  He’s going to show you ways that can’t possibly work.  He will place Giants in front of you so you have to listen.  The land of milk and honey is yours, if you’re willing to possess it.

Would you cancel Sunday Morning Church for a football game?  What if was the biggest football event of the year?  Since Revolution Church meets on Sunday night as our main event and we don’t have a regular Sunday morning church service, in essence that’s what we’ve done.  We’ve shut down our main event church service for a football game, and why? …to reach people for the Kingdom of God.

The Ministry of Super Bowl is something I’ve been involved in for a long time.  My first experience was over 20 years ago at a great church in Beaumont, Texas.  We watched it in the gym and we preempted the commercials with Saturday Night Live commercials.  After all, you can’t have those beer commercials running at church (even if they are the most entertaining commercials of the year).  I’ve done Super Bowl parties almost every year since then. 

So what does all that have to do with ministry?  Well it’s about reaching people that normally wouldn’t attend church.  Believe it or not church has a reputation of being boring, judgmental… even stuffy.  So when you throw a party, people get to meet you in a different light.  It’s easier for attendees and supporters to invite their friends to a party… easier than say inviting them to a church service or a Bible study.  Not that we shouldn’t invite them to those things, but the reality is some people will never come even when invited to those.  But they will come to a party. 

As I mentioned, I’ve done this for years at churches.  It was always an easy event that took just minimal planning and minimal marketing.  This year is different.  I don’t think I realized how different it was until I sat down with some new attendees to plan this year’s event and began to explain why we were sponsoring the Super Bowl party at Tabu Coffee with little to no recognition for our effort.

My explanation began with who we are as a church.  It included a scale that illustrates where people are on a scale of -10 to +10 in their relationship to God.  The point in the middle, zero represents the moment of salvation.  +10 represents a fully devoted follower of Christ who is aware that everyone fits on the scale and it is their job to help people move up on the scale.  -10 represents the people who are opposed to religion, Christianity, Christians, and in turn, God in general.

When we began Revolution Church it was with a keen heart toward the people who are on the -10 end of the scale.  My experience has led me to believe that most -10 people are not unaware of God, but rather have had a bad experience with religion.  Over the last several years, God has introduced me to people who in their encounters with Christians, they have been verbally berated, physically abused, hosed down (literally), had rocks thrown at them, and been pushed away because they didn’t measure up to the religious standard of the moment.  I met people who, in my early relationship with them, said their belief in God amounted to “In the beginning man created God.”  Subsequently I learned from them that sexual abuse that was ignored by the church led them to their statement.  I met a man dying of cancer who told me about being hosed down when he tried to attend church.  He recounted an experience as a young adult going to church in his hippy garb, long hair, frayed bell bottom jeans, looking very out of place among the suits and ties.  As he approached the building a man turned a water hose on him and told him to come back when he cleaned up.  Individuals whose family members had such strict religious rules and regulations, that their normal life, with normal struggles, assigned them to Hell.  I also encountered couples in the gay lifestyle who tried to attend church, only to have rocks thrown at them.  Every one of these people was rejected in one way or another by those representing God.  These are some of the hardest people to reach for the kingdom.  For the most part they will not go into a church outside of a wedding or a funeral.  When they encounter religion, or even real faith in God, they run.  So in our innocence we decided to start a church targeted to them.  We had no idea how difficult it would be.  These are people who are so wounded they run from us and others like us.

We do church, in a coffeehouse.  It’s not a Christian coffeehouse.  It’s as secular as any independent coffeehouse in the world.  They let us use the stage on Sunday night. The arrangement allows us to be a church in a public setting.  We get to be “a church on their turf.”  It’s very different.  Since September of 2010, when Tabu Coffee opened, we have done church just about every Sunday night.  And every Sunday, we have people figure out what is happening, they get up and walk out.  Some almost run.  It’s been one of the toughest things to deal with in this ministry of “church on their turf”.  But it goes with everything Jesus taught us. 

If you remember, Jesus was meeting with Nicodemus after dark.  The passage includes the verses of John 3:16 (I wonder if we’ll see that guy holding up the scripture reference at the Super Bowl).  It’s the one that states, “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in Him should not parish but have ever lasting life.”  But as Jesus continues his conversation with Nicodemus He says something that gives us our life work as followers of Jesus.  In its simplest form, if we are like Jesus, we will be light in a dark world.  By being light in a dark world, one of two things will happen.  People will be drawn to it, or they will run from it.  So life becomes simple.  Shine and watch for people who are drawn to it.  Then teach them about the light inside of you.

So on Sunday night when church begins and people figure out what is going on, some of them run.  But the amazing part is, every week some of them stick around.  It’s been fun to watch the reactions and the body language.  Some will sit typing away on their laptops with the headphone plugged in.  Some will continue working, but unplug one ear phone.  And some will stop what they are doing and engage completely in what is being said.  One even sat with his back to the stage, programming his new phone.  After church I always go around and meet the people who seem to have been “caught by church” but stayed for the whole time.  Their reactions have run the gamut from, “Oh it didn’t bother me at all” to “Everything you said tonight spoke to me.” The guy with his back to the stage loved it.  Every week we are meeting people who are disconnected from God and we are becoming that reconnection point for them.  The rejection of people walking out is still really hard to deal with, but by the end of the night we get to see God working in lives, and drawing people to Himself through the light of Revolution Church. 

 So… back to the question… “Why would we sponsor a party with little to no recognition for it?”  In light of everything said above, it is simply for the opportunity of inviting friends, rubbing shoulders with people who don’t attend church, and being light in a dark place.  If they find out that we sponsored the event by providing decorations that will be great.  But the more important thing is that we create opportunity for the light of God to work in and through our relationships.  So… at Revolution Church we are committed to going into the world and being light.  We know from experience that some will run, but we exist for, and are committed to those who are drawn to it.  I for one hope we always exist in their space.

More than just not showing up when I want him to in the way I want him to, it feels like he actually makes things harder than they need to be.

And I’m not just talking about the times when I’ve made some mistake and life cascades down in a thousand broken pieces. I’m talking about times when it feels like you’re on the same page as God. When we feel close and tied up in him and things are good.

Suddenly something comes out of left field. Something we didn’t expect. Something we didn’t see coming. A death in the family. A job loss. A sickness that swoops down like a vulture. And with no rhyme or reason we find ourselves with the odds stacked against us. We find ourselves in the land of the impossible.

We’re not the only ones either. Look at the story of Gideon. He was hiding in a hole when God called him forth to save his people. God kept reducing the army smaller and smaller until Gideon had no chance. To Joshua, he suggested a Louis Armstrong approach to Jericho, something that most generals would consider a bit impossible. Even Paul was an odds against you choice for the model of all missionaries to come.

If you had one human to pick for your Christian team, Paul “the hold the cloaks while Stephen gets stoned” guy, probably wouldn’t be your man. And Christ was no exception to God’s penchant for the impossible. To a culture expecting a warrior, a mighty savior to storm the gates and bring freedom, a baby was sent. A defenseless baby sent into a manger feels like an impossible way to bring about a change.

Why, does this happen? Why does God stack the odds against us? Why does he make life so impossible sometimes? I think the answer is simple:

Human impossibility amplifies God’s glory.

When we are up against the wall, when our resources are gone and our hope is dwindling and the odds are mounted high all around us, God gets to step in.

And he gets to shine brightest when the night is darkest.

That’s what he did with Moses.

In Exodus 7:3-5, God lays out his plan.

“But I will harden Pharaoh’s heart, and though I multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt, he will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt and with mighty acts of judgment I will bring out my divisions, my people the Israelites. And the Egyptians will know that I am the LORD when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.”

Those are difficult words to hear when you find yourself lost in the land of the impossible, because God is promising it is going to get even harder.

You think it was bad making bricks all day as a slave? I’m going to harden Pharaoh’s heart and he’ll force you to also find the hay to make the bricks from here on out.

You think I’ve been loud before? I’m going to multiply my miraculous signs and wonders in Egypt, but he still won’t listen. It’s going to take “mighty acts of judgment,” not tiny acts, but mighty acts. And it’s going to be hard. The night will be dark. The skies will fill with hurt when the firstborns die in Egypt, but then, only then, will the Egyptians know that I am the Lord when I stretch out my hand against Egypt and bring the Israelites out of it.

I think God brings us to the land of the impossible because it shines us. It reveals his glory in a way that shallow water never could. Nations are rarely swayed through tiny domestic miracles. Families are rarely changed through quiet acts of wonder. And Moses knew this. In Exodus 33:16-17, he asks God, “How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”

In the next chapter God answers him as he makes Moses’ face radiant. It literally glows with the glory of God. It physically, tangibly lights up with the wonder and awe of the Lord. This, this is how we will be distinguished from all other people on the face of the earth, in how we reflect God’s glory.

The night will get dark. You will try to be a loving parent to a teenager who does not seem to love you back. You will stand in the gap between love and divorce and it will feel impossible. You will lose a job that you thought you’d always have. You will face opportunities that feel like mountains.

And when you are there, when you stand in that place, you will shine. For God’s glory. For his name. For his might and power, you will shine.

Because in God’s economy, the impossible is a gift, not a curse.

And it always amplifies God’s glory.

A repost from: Stuff Christians Like 

The lights down low, only low lit neon and candles glimmered;  The smell of fresh coffee in the air; The sound of worship;  Sunday night at Revolution Church, was one of the most organic experiences of God that Nacogdoches has to offer.  As one the members of Revolution Church, let me tell you, there are few words to describe what was felt that night.  We are getting closer and closer to our vision becoming a reality.  God is moving and we just want to be a part of his work.  Joshua

“Faith is deliberate confidence in the character of God whose ways you may not understand at the time.” Oswald Chambers

We’ve been studying Faith. And God is stretching us in ways we never imagined. If you’re ready to learn about God’s way of Faith, join us Sunday at 6pm.

After long dry spell…  the web site is back up and bug free.  Sometime last summer we got a bug on the site that prevented us from updating anything.  Well it’s fixed, and there’s a lot to tell you about.  This adventure of planting a church in a secular coffee shop is about to become a reality.  I can’t even begin to tell you what a journey it has been.  I talked with my buddy Jason tonight about his quest starting www.swarmforce.com.  We agreed that our lives have been like the scariest rollercoaster you’ve ever ridden.  In any start up there are exciting highs, and thrilling moments that make you just want to throw your hands in the air.  But in starting something from an idea that few have tried there are also the deepest of lows that feel like the Runaway Mine Train going subterranean.  It’s still thrilling… but it can be very dark and confusing. We both agreed that we wouldn’t trade the ride for anything else.  I think for both of us, following God out to the edge, out beyond our control, is very liberating.

Watch for more posts soon…  I have a lot to tell you about Revolution Church, and Tabu’ Coffee.

Nacogdoches, Texas – I can’t even begin to tell you how excited we are about living in this wonderful city.  Everyone we’ve met has been kind and friendly.  Starting a church can be a difficult and lonely adventure, but God has provided for us.  We have new friends, our children have new friends, and we have a church that God is beginning to grow.  We will be hold church services in our home, until we out grow it.  If you’ve been following along and wondering when you should come check us out, now is a good time.  Everything is beginning to come together.  Childcare is available each Sunday night.  On Thursdays we have Bible Study at Java Jacks.  We are currently studying “Experiencing God, Knowing and Doing the Will of God“.

What a great video. Don’t miss how it ends.

Click this link to view the PowerPoint from the Fair.  It will start automatically and loop until you press the Esc Button.

 the-pineywoods-fair-1