If you haven’t read John Ortberg’s latest book, “The Me I Want To Be”, I highly recommend that you stop what your doing (’cause I’m about to ruin…) and head to the Soul City Store and grab it right now.  It’s that good.  It’s that important.  In a sense it reads like a Cheat Sheet to the Transformational Mission of Soul City Church….a very very well written Cheat Sheet.

It explores the idea that there is a ME that I not only want to be, but that God has actually created me to be.  And one of the questions John asks is, “How would I want the Me I want to Be respond to…” What a brilliantly simple question.

How would I want the Me I want to Be respond to…

-       This huge disappointment that just blindsided me.

-       The fear I feel that I will always be alone.

-       My apparent lack of care for the poor

-       This strained or broken relationship.

-       The lack of discipline in my life

-       The temptation that has been staring me in the face all day

I know it may sound like a Stuart Smalley kind of concept, but I challenge you to practice it today.  To Reflect on the fact that there is a YOU that God has made you to be.  And to begin Responding to your life from that truth.  To actually start living (by God’s grace) into the life he created you for.  To being the You that God created you to be and to settle for nothing for less.

Let us know – Have you read the Me I Want To Be?  What did you think?  How can a church help people become who God created them to be?

A while back I (Jeanne) read the fabulous book INFLUCENCER with the Buckhead Leadership Team.  The author thoughtfully proves that when it comes to influence that the two primary questions that everyone asks before any kind of significant change / transformation is…

IS IT WORTH & CAN I DO IT?

And they need a story, many stories saying - it is possible!  That’s what Soul City Church is trying to do when it comes to Cultural Influence – Be a community that tells the story that Transformation is possible with Jesus!

A cheap tool that most of us use to change others expectations is the use of verbal persuasion because it is convenient.  Talk is easy.  Talk is cheap.  But stories of transformation provoke. They create a vivid picture that TRANSFORMATION IS WORTH IT & IT CAN BE DONE!

Those are some of the most profound and simple lessons that I am learning as a leader right now – I can talk about influence, cast vision, I can fund raise, and I can create systems and structures – but does my life tell a compelling story of authentic dependence and a life of transformation.  That’s where I believe my greatest influence comes from.

We long for Soul City Church to constantly be telling stories of Transformation.  We pray that every time someone encounters our community its as if they are on a Field Trip of Transformation.

So, the question is – How might you and your community take a Field Trip of Transformation together this week?

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As you may have figured out after seeing the girl at Starbucks with the big black X on her forehead – Today is Ash Wednesday.  The start of Lent.  A season of Preparation, Introspection, and Devotion as we move towards Easter Weekend.

Instead of breaking down Lent, we thought it would be best to point you to one of the BEST Daily Lent Reflection Guides we’ve found.  It’s from an organization called CRM (Church Resource Ministries).  It’s a collection of Daily Readings from a book they printed a few years back.  They are incredible.

We’d love for you to join with Soul City in this journey as we prepare together for Easter.

You can get your CRM Lent Reflections HERE.

It would be really cool for you to Comment and let us know that you are doing this with us.

“During those days, I, Daniel, went into mourning over Jerusalem for three weeks. I ate only plain and simple food, no seasoning or meat or wine. I neither bathed nor shaved until the three weeks were up. (Daniel 10:2-3, The Message)

Aside from the Not Showering part , we followed the fast as literally as we did dependently.  In the midst of Christmas Parties, our own Fund Raiser, and a Giant 5 Gallon Tin of Popcorn from my parents, we stayed true to our fast.

We did it to focus our body, mind, and soul on the presence and provision of God.  In a season when we are raising hundreds of thousands of dollars for Soul City Church, we didn’t want to forget where it all comes from and who it all belongs to.  It’s one of the most important spiritual discipines I have ever embarked upon and one that I will repeat regularly.  Here’s 3 things I learned along the way.

1. Satan is real (kinda already knew that) and uses Resistance as one of my Greatest Temptations. The day before the fast, I looked for every possible way I could cut corners, opt out, quit while I was ahead.  Jeanne’s response to me was both Simple and Succinct- If you feel that God is telling you not to do this, than I will fully support it.  (I don’t think Satan planned on Jeanne M. Stevens)
2. Food is the Cause and Solution to all my Problems.  In just 31 days I uncovered how deeply rooted is my belief that I am Chief Dispenser of Comfort to my life.  And food is where I find comfort.  Instead of staying in the tension I escape to whatever “little comfort” will take me away from the place where God tends to do some of his greatest work.
3. The thing you are most afraid of, may be the very place God is inviting you…and He will give you the strength you need.  This was perhaps the greatest thing I gleamed from God throughout this process.  The first two days were hard (slurred speech not being the least of it), but every day after I literally felt like I had exactly what my body needed.  I honestly never felt weak or overly hungry.  My body was at peace (which had a wonderful ripple effect on my mind and soul).  For anyone who’s ever finished a race or an impossible assignment or task, you know what it’s like to step back from it all and say, “Look at what I just did”.  Only difference on this one is that I step back and say, “Look at what God just did.”

I am so glad we did it.  I am so thankful for what God did in me through it.  You may have never fasted before or may be in the middle of one right now.  Whatever your exposure and experience with fasting, I am convinced that it is one of the most tangible forms of Transformation we can participate it.  The math of the whole thing is brilliant – I take something away, God gives me something greater in it’s place.  I would highly recommend that you ask God the simple question after reading this post – “Father, what are you inviting me to let go of so I can better cling to you?”

The question is NOT whether or not God is inviting you to Fast, but rather WHAT is HE inviting you to Fast from.

It says, “When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?”  He asked this only to test him. For he already had in mind what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “It would take almost a year’s wages to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”

I never noticed that tiny interaction between Jesus and Philip before, but I literally felt like I experienced that conversation first hand with Jesus in that moment.  I am a lot like Phillip.  I am an optimist that appreciates reality.  While I tend to think of best-case scenarios I also believe that a leader needs to define reality and then help people see how to get to where they want to be.  So much like Phillip – If I saw the hungry crowd and the kids lunch and I would have realistically predicted that it would take exactly 1 year before we can feed them all.

What I often overlook is that Jesus loves taking obvious situations and turning them into things that seem straight up impossible.  For those of us that have ever been in a situation where you felt like all you literally have left is for God to come through – you know what I’m talking about.

I will be vulnerable and honest – Most days I feel like Philip.  I look at our situation, I look at what we have in the bank, I look at our meager 5 loaves and 2 fish and my optimistic and practical self settles into reality instead of believing that Jesus already has in mind what he is going to do.  He already knows and all he wants is for me to be faithful to bring what I have to the equation.  So this past month we have been bringing every fish and loaf of bread we can find to the table – knowing that Jesus already knows what he is going to do with it.  So today be encouraged and reminded.

• Jesus already has in mind what he is going to do with your finances.
• Jesus already has in mind how he is going to remedy the relational pain and complexity that you are facing.
• Jesus already has in mind how to turn your fears into opportunities for Faith.
• Jesus already has in mind how he wants to use your talents and gifts.
• Jesus already has in mind the best solutions to your problems that seem too big.

So we are gonna keep bringing our Little Lunchables to Jesus.  And we believe that some of you might be able to be a part of what Jesus already has in mind to do with it for Soul City Church.  There are 2 days left in this year – maybe you can help us add some more fish and loaves to our Year-End Start Campaign.

Click here if you want to see what Jesus can do with what YOU bring.

He’s right.  As much as it breaks our hearts, our little guy is gonna keep turning numbers…and there’s nothing we can do to stop that…believe us, we’ve tried.

All of us Keep Turning Numbers every year, every day, since the day you were born.  But here’s the crazy thing –  just because you’re turning numbers does not mean that you are GROWING. Everyone Turns Numbers, But Not Everyone Grows.  In other words – Just because you’re Older, that doesn’t mean that you’re getting any Better.

This lies in great tension with not only what Jesus Promised (Life to the Fullest) but with what Jesus Expects (Grow and Bear Fruit).  How is it that we can go year after year and still be as selfish / as angry / as bitter / as addicted / as insecure as we were the year(s) before?  Especially for those who know and follow Jesus?  Does it seem like something might be off?

What if we worked as hard for our GROWTH as we do to our attempts to stay young?  What would it look like to ask God to give you Growth Goals for your life this Year?  This Month?  What if Growth is what WE actually lovingly held each other to each year?  What if our questions were no longer If We Grew, but rather How We Grew.  Imagine what you’d have to actually celebrate at your Birthday?  Imagine how you might approach this next year.

Imagine your life Growing, as opposed to just turning numbers.

Our collective human story begins with some dirt… complete nothingness. Dusty brown soil that God took into his hands and blew on – that is what formed who we are – our soul.

• God formed Man out of dirt from the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life.  The Man came alive—a living soul!
• Genesis 2:7 (Message translation)

As God’s breath reached our soil of nothingness the soul was birthed and the most beautiful relationship between God and humanity was formed. The bond of dependence between the creator and His creation began, a bond that was never meant to be broken – but sin brought separation and humanity has been trying to breath on its own ever since. We want to help people recognize and return to what they were created for – DEPENDENCE ON GOD.

Soul City Church is committed to helping people live from their Soul. We believe that as we dig in the soil of our lives we discover who God created us to be and we learn to live the life God originally intended for us. To do that we know that Soul City Church needs to help people in the journey of identifying their basic soul needs and then walking with them on the road of transformation. There are more reasons why we choose the word “SOUL” to be in our name – but this is the primary vision for us – Helping people LIVE & LOVE & LEAD from their Soul.

So here are just a few of our basic soul needs….

The Soul needs

• The soul needs breath
• The soul needs intimacy
• The soul needs healing
• The soul needs truth
• The soul needs forgiveness
• The soul needs Encouragement
• The soul needs love
• The soul needs inspiration
• The soul needs creativity
• The soul needs beauty
• The soul needs relationship
• The soul needs comfort
• The soul needs hope
• The soul needs affection
• The soul needs affirmation
• The soul needs commitment
• The soul needs security
• The soul needs safety
• The soul needs acceptance
• The soul needs correction
• The soul needs council
• The soul needs perspective
• The soul needs vision
• The soul needs reminders
• The soul needs understanding
• The soul needs sleep
• The soul needs food
• The soul needs laughter

These are just a few.  There is much more.

The real question is – What does your “Soul” need today?

Soul City Sundays have been a rich time of community, worship, prayer, and spiritual development.  We have decided to focus for the next four weeks on the journey of Transformation and what it means for us to love God with all of our  HEART, SOUL MIND, & STRENGTH.  This past week we kicked things off with focusing on our hearts.

God deeply cares about the state of our heart because He knows that it is the heart that houses LOVE… and LOVE is the acid test of our real relationship with Jesus.  So searching the condition of our heart is essential to our transformational journey.  Yet we tend to shy away from it.  If we are physically sick we try and figure out what’s wrong – we go to a Dr., we take Medicine; we change a behavior so that we can remedy the problem.  But for so many when there is a heart problem, they simply don’t know what to what to do or where to turn.  The Bible says that the way to assess the heart is by searching it….

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.  See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Psalm 139:23 – 24

“As water reflects the face, so one’s life reflects the heart.”
Proverbs 27:19

The state of our heart is a reflection of the state of our life and is often that very reflection that shows up in our emotional and relational lives.  One of the very best books I have read on this topic is by  Pete Scezzaro - “Emotionally Healthy Spirituality” He says quite plainly

It is impossible to be spiritually mature while remaining emotionally immature.

:: You have probably seen many times – the man that can quote the entire book of Romans by heart and yet has remained emotionally dead to his family most of his life.

:: The woman who gets up every morning to spend time with Jesus and then goes and gets ready and progresses through her day with a spirit of duty and obligation to others and has never truly felt alive.

This is not what God intended – he intended that our Heart never stops growing and reflecting His love. But over time – many of us learn to PROJECT that which we actually REJECT in our lives and it has a direct impact in our emotional & relational life.

:: We don’t know how to express healthy emotion so we reject that about ourselves – push it down – bury it in our hearts and project a reflection of “Everything is OK”

:: We don’t know how to deal with the anger that we have towards an experience in our childhood so we reject the healthy processing and we push it down – but it ends up projecting in our life through a short fuse, or an impatient spirit.

:: We have a person that we know we need to forgive and instead of moving towards them we hold on and bury our contempt in our hearts and reject the work that God might be doing and therefore we project a judgmental spirit.

So what might it be in your life?  Do you…

:: Reject healthy Sorrow and Loss therefore you are unable to Project Brokenness and Repentance?

:: Reject Humility and therefore it is causing you to Project Pride?

:: Reject Joy and Excitement about life therefore it is causing you to Project a Bored and Complacent spirit.

:: Reject Peace and it is causing me to Project Impatience & Fear.

:: Reject Discipline and it is causing you to lack focus and purpose.

“God please turn my Fear into Faith, my Control into Trust, and
my desire for Comfort into Sacrifice.”

Today I hit all three speed bumps.  I realized how much I am afraid of when it comes to giving up our jobs and financial security.  I realized just how out of control I am when it comes to the fact that I can’t make someone buy our home, and I realized how I crave comfort when it comes to my lifestyle.

After flopping around in the reckless fear, control, and comfort for a while I was taken straight to the passage in Matthew where Jesus breaks it down for his disciples as to why they could not cast out a demon and said this…

He replied, “Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you
have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move
from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.
Matthew 17:20

So I went to my cabinets and grabbed a container of Mustard Seeds and asked God to give me that kind of faith, trust, and desire  for sacrifice today.  I put three mustard seeds in a bowl representing my fear, control, and desire for comfort – and asked God to turn them into faith, trust, and sacrifice.

How about you – What kind of mustard seed faith, trust and sacrifice do you
need today?

I (Jeanne) finally heard Gigi say “I Love you” this morning.  I’m sure to the average person it would sound like a 16-month old jumble of mashed up consonants and vowels, but to me it was clear – “I LOVE YOU” came out of her mouth all by herself.  She was probably able to say it because of 2 things – she hears it all the time and she it experiences it all the time. I pray that in her little 16 month old mind when she thinks of her parents she thinks of Love.

I have often times asked people – when you think of God what do you think He thinks of you?  Sadly, far too many people do not answer with LOVE – they answer with words like disappointment, distant, anger, etc.

The journey of transformation will always take us to the question of “what does God think of me?” and it is essential that we understand that it is impossible for God to feel anything other than LOVE for us.  I love how David Benner says it in his book “Surrender to Love”

“God’s love is never compromised by anger.  The presence of anger does not mean the absence of love – particularly in God.  Love is God’s character, not simply an emotion.”

Even at our lowest moments, even in our deepest sin – God never stops loving and it is His love that actually propells us on the journey of transformation to becoming the people that He created us to be.

This is most beautifully exhibited in the life of Jesus, even in his  moments of confrontation, moments of anger, moments of intense truth speaking he never stopped loving….

So today, simply be reminded :: LOVE IS GOD’S CHARACTER.  NOT SIMPLY AN EMOTION THAT HE FEELS TOWARDS YOU.

BE.Loved