Thursday, April 29, 2004

Origins
Headed to the Origins conference next week. Should be a great time. Travelling with our youth admin/catalyst, a young adults pastor, and a youth small groups coord. Great group of people.
Also found this link from someone who went last year. Nice set of notes.
In preparation, one of them gave me a CD to listen to from Erwin. Intense, my notes are below.
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I sam 14

biblical change agents

redepmtive XXXX
the longer we live the more we want to hold on to what we have
to live impetuously
not to protect what he had but to expand
an expansionist - driven by urgency
jonathan was an expansionist
paul was a protectionist

the resources of God
the authority of God
the urgency and passion of God
put those three in the same people

a biblical context for what we must become for God's future
8 characteristics of a biblical change agent for God

1 - take initiative
amazed at how many christians are passive about God's will

we are egocentric about God's will for our lives
the center point is MY life

the people that i know that initiate -
they look at humanity, they see the brokenness, their hearts
are transformed by the longing of humanity
they stop saying 'God what is your will for MY life'
they say 'God I want to make a difference in someone elses life'
they stop worrying about what their life is supposed to be about
they worry about what God wants done in human history
they ask, 'God what is on your heart?'
they ask, 'What is breaking your heart Lord, what do you want done?'

Amazing how God can shape a life when they move based on what
they feel is on God's heart

2 - understands and uses influence
use the influence properly
Jonathan does not wake up his father
does not wake up his army
understands appropriateness

some people feel like they are powerless to make change
trying to bring change up instead of sideways and down
God doesn't hold you responsible for influence he doesn't give you

there are people in your life that are living passive apathetic lives
because you are

how come this new person is taking on some much responsibility?
'the kingdom of God is not a labor union'
when a person comes to Christ and recieves the urgency of Christ,
their influence expands

a holy life is not a passive life
i don't do drugs anymore
i don't beat my husband anymore
salvation and transformation is not just about what you do not do anymore
Christ was ressurceted not to stop you from doing something but to get
you to do something

people with intense characters are the leaders
the way you expand your influence in the kingdom is that you deepen your character in Christ

3 - operate in the realm of uncertainty
jonathan wakes the armor barer up
when Jonathan says, "Perhaps the LORD will act in our behalf"

you never absolutely know
become a risk taker for God

willing to live in the realm of uncertainty

some things we know certainly:
Jonathan understands who God is - that is certain, concrete
do you wait to act until you have concrete evidence?
paradigms sound like the concept of faith
two levels of faith:
a - God speaks to us and its outside of our experience
God calls us to a level of living outside of our experience
God inviting us to where we have not been before
the realm of possibility

b - in the realm of the impossible
beyond the explainable
Sarah's faith and Mary's faith
the church normally identifies faith as anything outside the realm of our possibilities
God is calling us to live in the realm of the impossible
when we begin to live in the impossible, when God does not do it, we fail

4 - they embrace inherent dangers
v. 8
cross over towards the men, but let them see us
we are afriad to declare anything that is from the Lord
we are afraid to risk anything that might fail
won't we ruin God's name?
when you work with the poor, every single day is a test of viability
the Bible has no promise in it that you and i will survive this war,
but we will be part of the victory celebration
are we willing to inherit the dangers of glorfying God in the impossible?

5 - strategize from an advance mentality
the high place is the strategic place
high ground
God is calling us forward, never backwards, never stationary
it's not hard to avoid God - think small, dream small, live small
as soon as you start thinking big - God becomes involved
Jer 33:3
the impossiblity zone is the God zone
it's over when you decide you have to give your life to something bigger
than yourself

knowing that God always calls you to more
ideas are a dime a dozen
biblical risk taker doesn't just cast vision
a person who allows Jesus to incarnate his life

6 - they draw others into the movement
they don't live alone
they don't see the battle as theirs - they see it as the Lords
the 2nd most outstanding soldier was his armor bearer
other people take note, but they don't understand


7 - is a person who God uses to bring communal help
there is a lot of brokenness and dysfunction
kingdom risk takers make people healthy
they move people to health
a critical missing ingredient in humanity - we were created for mission and purpose
created by God to live with intention
the less intention we have, the more broken we become

God heals them when they get into the battle
if we as God's people will move together with courageous faith,
that we will see multitudes come to Christ and find healing in the battle



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