WWYD if YOU Started a Church Tomorrow?
There seems to be no lack of opinion when it comes to what the Church Is / what is Should be / what it Could be / what it must Never be. Everyone’s got an opinion, conviction, dream, or idea. This is your chance to share yours!
What THREE things (and only three) would make your Imaginary Church a truly Remarkable Church?
- ______________________________
- ______________________________
- ______________________________
We’d love to get as many different and diverse thoughts, opinions, and convictions as possible. So share your thoughts, and dreams. Invite your friends to share theirs. Who knows, you may just learn something about yourself, about others, and about God’s heart and dream for the church.
The Rules:
- Keep it brief.
- Keep it kind.
- Keep it inspired.
- Keep it inspiring.
- Keep it to yourself, and you may end up keeping someone from hearing the thunderous whisper of God.
We’re serious. We’d love to hear from you…like all of you…including you.
3 Easy Ways To Start A Church From The Comforts Of Your Own Home!
Let’s face it – building a brand new Church from scratch takes a divine sort of insanity. It is a faith filled, knee knocking, miracle requiring endeavor. You’d be crazy to want to do it. Trust us…we know.
That’s why we would like to offer you the opportunity of Starting a Church without ever having to leave the comforts of your own Home…or stable paycheck! Here are THREE EASY WAYS for you do to just that.
- 1) Commit to PRAYING once a day through the month of December for Soul City Church and for the City of Chicago. Seriously. We’re asking you to pray BIG PRAYERS to a BIG GOD who can do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine. If you would like to explore how to be a part of our Prayer Advocacy Group you can click HERE
- .
- 2) Direct a portion of your TITHE or YEAR END GIVING towards the Start of Soul City Church. This is one of those Unique opportunities that your financial faithfulness and generosity can quite literally make a HUGE and tangible difference. You can make a COURAGEOUS One Time Investment by clicking HERE. Or you can make a CONSISTENT Investment by going HERE.
- .
- 3) Invite Jarrett & Jeanne to SPEAK at your Church, Weekend Service or Retreat. Inviting them to speak at your Church can meet a very real need for Their Family as well as meeting a very real need for Your Church. I believe they call this a Win Win. To inquire about a potential speaking opportunity for Jarrett or Jeanne click HERE.
There you have it. THREE EASY WAYS that you can be a part of the Start of Soul City Church. We would absolutely love to have you join with us in whatever capacity you can. We are grateful for anyone and everyone that comes alongside of this unique and powerful vision.
thanks.
Sabbath Saturday
Today the Stevens Family and the Soul City Family choose to Sabbath.
- We choose to Rest instead of Work.
- We choose to Trust instead of Hustle.
- We choose to Sip coffee instead of Pound it.
- We choose to Talk instead of Tweet.
- We choose to Refill instead of Pour out.
- We choose to stay in Jammies for as long as possible instead of getting Dressed.
- We choose to Sabbath instead of just taking a Day Off.
It’s Sabbath Saturday. See ya Sunday.
It Really Is Well…Really
I am not afraid to admit that I regularly talk out loud. I’m sure that people driving past me on the street wonder if I am OK – but that’s OK with me. Talking a loud has always served as a healthy method for me in making sure that the things that are internally floating around in my heart and soul are able to come out into the light and get some fresh oxygen. It lets my fears breathe – and it allows my concerns to somehow become right sized. I have come to realize that if I keep them inside they often feel bigger and much scarier than they really are.
So today I let them out to play and as I listed them off to God I had the hymn “It is well” playing in the background and my list actually came out an entirely different way today. They started as a list of fears that I traded in for a list of peace. I am sure that I will need to keep speaking this truth out loud – one blog post of declaring that my soul is OK with all of these fears most likely won’t accomplish perfect peace.
So if I pass you in the car and you see me talking out loud – yes I’m a little bit crazy – but most likely what you are seeing is me declaring that God has won – Christ prevailed – and it continues to be well with my soul!
- It is well with my soul that our house has not sold and we have not
- secured a renter yet.
- .
- It is well with my soul that we still have a long way to go in our
- fundraising efforts.
- .
- It is well with my soul that we are still trying to figure out our living
- situation in Chicago.
- .
- It is well with my soul that we have more unanswered questions than we do
- defined answers.
- .
- It is well with my soul that I regularly feel unqualified for the task
- that God has clearly called us to accomplish.
So what is on your list today that needs to come out from the darkness and breathe so that you can also say – “It is well with your soul?”
And if you get a chance go to ITunes to get my friend Todd Fields CD – I have had this song on repeat all day. Thanks Todd for being a part of my story of trusting God today!
God Doesn’t Need You…
There is a Dangerous sort of Delusion that sets in to the mind of anyone who has dedicated their life to Following and Serving God. It is the belief that God NEEDS me. God NEEDS me to do things for Him. God NEEDS me to tell more people about Him. God NEEDS me to change the world. We somehow subtly fool ourselves into believing that God is lucky to have us. Where would He be without me? How would all of this get done if he didn’t have me?
The truth however is this - God Doesn’t Need You.
- God didn’t need you to speak everything into existence.
- God didn’t need you to rescue the Israelites.
- God didn’t need you to bring Salvation to the world.
- God didn’t need you to start the Church.
- God didn’t need you to write the Worship song that made it on to Time Life’s Ultimate Worship CD.
He simply didn’t need you to. He does however offer you something better than NEEDING you…He LOVES you.
- God LOVES you despite your unbelievable unlovableness
- God CHOOSES you against all odds
- God USES you to Join with Him in His redeeming work of love in this world
What if you freed yourself to living and loving from this beautiful truth today -
God doesn’t need you…He LOVES you.
Chicago…A New City
The following is pulled from the Front Page of the Chicago’s Pastors Alliance. Our good friends Alvin Bibbs and Daniel Hill are a part of an amazing movement to see God Transform Chicago into the city He desires for it to be. I challenge you to read this (like…all of it) and take 5 minutes to dream about and pray for Your City. Pray that you would be a part of what God and others are doing to help it become the kind of city that is a blessing to this world.
CPA’s prayer is:
That some day, there will be a plethora of prevailing, wholistic, multi-cultural churches and communities that fully represent a City with broad shoulders. Through these churches, the Holy Spirit will empower its Pastors and leaders to eradicate homelessness, unemployment, improper educational structures and systems, unfair housing practices, and the class system as we know it today.
This New City will represent the words found in Matt 5:14: “A City on a hill cannot be hidden.” In our City, Chicago, lights will shine so bright that no one will be able to focus on the texture or the tone of each other’s skin. The barriers that divide different races and ethnic groups will be eliminated. Our City, Chicago, will be salt and light to others who will marvel and wonder “How in the world did they pull that off?”
Our City, Chicago, will no longer lead the way in decaying buildings, churches, communities, and families. And our Father in Heaven’s heart will be filled with joy and gladness and His angels will rejoice and be glad.
A New City, which genuinely believes in the power of the local church as the true instrument of change and hope for the world. A City where all of God’s children, regardless of gender, race, socio-economic status, or position, are welcomed and treated equally under God and under the law. A New City that truly is committed to the fact that God can and will make things right.
…And in the end, all of this came about because a small band of courageous and radical Christian leaders trusted God and each other long enough to try and make a difference!
amen. and amen.
We are not starting a Church…
…we’re EXTENDING it.
The language of Church Planting / Church Starting is ubiquitous. I use it all the time. You’ve probably used it or heard someone else use it as well. It’s the language that has settled on top of a movement that is 2000 years in making and has been part of the Blueprint of our Existence on this planet throughout all of Eternity.
We are not STARTING a Church…
- We’re Continuing God’s original idea. HIS idea…not ours.
- .
- We’re acting out of OBEDIENCE. I wish this was just some cool idea we had, but the truth is, this is what God has asked us to do for HIM in this season.
- .
- We’re JOINING up with God and Others. We’re not the FIRST PEOPLE to bring this revolutionary idea to our city. Many have gone before us, are working alongside us, and will continue on long after we’re gone. (thanks Steven Furtick for this reminder)
- .
- We’re a part of a RADICAL MOVEMENT of God. Not just building buildings. Not just managing programs. Not just doing a job.
- .
- We’re LIVING out the way of Jesus in our city and inviting others to do the same. The Church is the MEANS to life with Jesus, not the POINT.
I need to be reminded of this everyday. Perhaps you needed to be reminded of that today as well.
The Hardest Thing To Do = Do Nothing
Today is a Sabbath Saturday for Stevens Family Inc and Soul City Church. It’s 1 day out of 7 where we STOP. REST. REFLECT. REFILL. And TRUST God to do what is his to do in the first place.
When I don’t Sabbath I assume one of two things (if not both):
- I’m the ONLY ONE who can do all of this
- It ALL depends on me
- The First Assumption precludes OTHERS from the work God called has called us to in community.
- The Second Assumption precludes GOD from the work He created us for.
So instead of doing that…today, we’re choosing to do nothing.
Happy Sabbath!
Bow Down to Nothing But God (pt. 4 of Idol Week)
So this week we have looked at a few ministry idols.
BUSYNESS, COMPARISON, & SUCCESS being the idol you worship.
If you did not have one moment where you related to any of these idols then I invite you to please call me so that you can tell me what it’s like to walk on water! There could be many more idols that I have not mentioned and the ones that I have mentioned have lots of different forms and faces, but these are some of the ones that I have most recognized in the world of ministry because they are some of the ones that I have most recognized in myself. Many of us in ministry have invisible altars that define who and what we truly worship. The things that exist on our disguised platforms of preference are the forces that drive our intentions, decisions, and actions. We are called to a life of having no other god’s but the one true God, yet we continue to bow down to a wide variety of golden cows.
You don’t have to turn to far into the pages of scripture to see idol worship all over of the place. The very first sin of the Bible was a form of Idol worship. Adam and Eve were not content with who they were and with all that God had given to them. They selfishly wanted to be like God so they put themselves ahead of their maker and took the apple. The second they yanked that Granny Smith from the tree they made their desires more important than God and therefore they made themselves an idol. Any time we put someone or something ahead of God we worship an idol.
And God spoke all these words:
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. “You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God
- Exodus 20:1 – 5
God made it explicitly clear, He has an issue with Jealousy. Not the kind of immature jealousy where a guy won’t let his girl-friend talk to another guy. It’s the kind of healthy jealousy that the maker of the universe is entitled too in not wanting to share His alter with our self made idols. Even though God clarified his desire for the human race you can span from Genesis to Revelation and the universal tendency to place value on something or someone in a way that rivals the love and affection that only belongs to God is stained throughout the story of humanity. From Baal to Buddha people have been bowing down to man-made gods for centuries. So who are we to think that we aren’t capable of being idol worshipers ourselves? And if we are… what do we do?
“So if you’re serious about living this new resurrection life with Christ, act like it. Pursue the things over which Christ presides. Don’t shuffle along, eyes to the ground, absorbed with the things right in front of you. Look up, and be alert to what is going on around Christ—that’s where the action is. See things from his perspective.”
Colossians 3:1 – 2
Maybe today is a day to come clean with the idol(s) in your life. Maybe today is the day to start to pursue the things of Jesus – pick your eyes up, be released from the things that are absorbing you right in front of your face, confess your need for grace and bask in the freedom and truth and hope that you are free in Christ and you need to start living like it.
So if you want – leave a comment and let us know the idol that you are renouncing in your life and how you are going to live a life that only worships the one true God.
Bowing Down to Success (pt. 3 of Idol Week)
If you are even remotely familiar with “Strength Finders” than you are probably aware of what someone with the Achiever strength looks like. Acheivers live in a state of constant drive. Every day is a new opportunity for accomplishment. There’s no doubt that the Achiever has an important God-given strength and is vital to the movement of ministry. But I have found in my own life that when the desire for achievement is motivated by the personal “SUCCESS” or affirmation cleverly hidden beneath the task – the achiever begins to dabble in some good old fashioned Idol Worship.
Unfortunately it happens far too often in ministry. It can bring about great destruction, pain, and deep disapointment the longer it goes unrecognized and unconfessed. You may have experienced it personally.
- Has there ever been a moment when you have gotten to the end of your Sunday Service or Gathering and you were disappointed with the amount of people that showed up (or didn’t) and you found yourself exaggerating about or “rounding up” the amount of people that were really there (aka – “Pastor Math”).
- .
- Do you ever find that on the off chance you receive positive feedback from someone, your whole attitude about the ministry is good? But if (when) you get an e-mail from someone that is disappointed with a decision that you made then your general attitude about the ministry is bad.
- .
- Do the comments, suggestions, and opinions of others about your performance have a disproportionate bearing on your decision-making and your ability to actually listen to what God is saying to you about the ministry?
If so, than perhaps your own personal desire for SUCCESS has become an idol for you. I wonder how many of us who fall down at the feet of the Idol of Personal Success would have the guts to admit here? For those who can, you gotta remember this – You are not alone. Sadly here are far too many of us than we would ever imagine in this imaginary spiritual competition. And this is not what God created us for. But there is hope! It just means that something is gonna end up in the fire.
So, what can you do TODAY to recognize that this is you idol and throw that sucker into the fire as a sacrifice to God? That one defiant act can bring more glory and praise and delight to the one true God than you could ever possibly imagine.
Bowing Down to Comparison (pt. 2 of Idol Week)
The idol of COMPARISON is a trap that quickly entangles way too many of us. I know I have found myself smack dab in the middle of the ugly snarls of wishing something was different about my life as I look at the life of someone else. Comparison never puts us in a better place – in fact it always puts us in a losing posture. When you find yourself in the middle of comparison it either causes you to think too highly of yourself or too lowly of yourself.
Comparisons seem to happen all the time – especially in ministry. Have you ever found yourself in a conversation with another person and the whole time you’re talking you are internally comparing what you see or hear to your own life? You judge the intentions of their heart. You wonder if their life or ministry is really deep and helpful, or if its just good easy entertainment that keeps people coming back. You judge what you don’t really know to make yourself feel better about what you are doing. Could it be that your insecurity and fear of failure have become more important than the God who uniquely created you and called you to a unique purpose. Could it be that COMPARISON is your idol.
Think about if there is a person that you keep wishing you were more like or a person that you continue to judge –
Now, what might God be saying to you about the idol of comparison in your life? Maybe you need to deny the power of comparison in your life. Instead of feeding the idol, maybe you should instead bless the person that you continue to compare yourself to.
Bowing Down to Busyness (pt. 1 of Idol Week)
I think many of us would say that as we look around culture we easily recognize a society that is obsessed with all sorts of idols. The idol of money and material possessions. The idol of relationships. The idol of power and control. The idol of food, alcohol, and drugs. The idol of narcissism – wanting to do life according to your desires on your clock. I think you get the point.
Idol worship is not just an Old Testament problem. It is very much a problem of today, but I think those of us that work in full time ministry or volunteer at the church we try to escape with a free pass on this one, but I (Jeanne) believe that Idol worship is running rampant throughout our lives and throughout the church and over the next few days I am going to talk about some of the most popular idols in the church today.
The first idol is BUSYNESS – and yes I will begin by saying I am guilty of bowing down to this idol far too often.
- Have you ever had weeks where it seems like every moment is a moment of hurry? Off to the next meeting, always 5 minutes behind, trying to juggle a bunch of tasks that you know you should have said no too, disappointing people that are important to you, and consistently injecting your self with caffeine just so you have enough energy to make it through the day.
- Have you ever had those moments when you leave your cell phone or calendar at home and you feel as though you don’t know how to function.
- Do people regularly start their conversations with you by saying, “I know that you’re so busy…”
Could it be that you have made busyness more important than the actual ministry you have been called to do?
Maybe BUSYNESS has become your idol.
What if today you denied the power that BUSYNESS has taken in your life? What would it look like for you to slow down and choose to Worship the One True God that is never too BUSY for you?
