Shaniqua & Nemo

So, last night we challenged the young adults at Generate Jr. High to encounter God and live out what it truly means to be a disciple.

Their goal for the Apathy series is to pray for a loved one or friend that they want to invite to Monday nights.

One of our interns picked up these goldfish for us. Last night Generate Jr. High ended up naming them Shaniqua and Nemo. I walked into my office asking myself, "Do I really need to feed these guys?'' Vince says I do if I want to keep them alive until the end of the series.

What do you think? Do I want to keep them alive?

STOP

Thorns are anything that distract us from God.

A relationship with God simply cannot grow when money, sin, activity, addictions or commitments are piled on top of it.

The phrase, "to stop," is built into the literal meaning of the Hebrew word Sabbath.

When we stop, we can embrace our limits and we remember that God is God and is indispensable. We realize we are His creation and that the world continues to work fine when we stop. He manages quite well without us having to run things

Stopping to embrace God has truly become one of my favorite practices. It enables me to constantly reconnect with Him throughout the day and to remember that He is on the throne and I am not.

Trust in His creative hands and let His voice be louder than the rest today

"Be still and know that I AM God" PSALM 46:10

Apathy

These last couple of weeks have been incredible here at Generate Jr. High and I am honored that I get to be a part of a great ministry like this.

This month holds big things for Generate Jr. High and I want to keep you updated on what's happening.

We are launching our Apathy series tonight! I feel as if this generation has grown stale and lacks concern, excitement, motivation, and passion. Throughout this series we will challenge this generation to cry out to God and passionately encounter Him.

We will begin to dig deeper into the meaning of discipleship and will be cultivating this mentality throughout the community of Generate Jr. High.

The staff and leaders are diligently praying that you will find family here and want you to know that you are loved beyond measure.

Distracted

There are so many things that distract and control us day in and day out. Is God completely ruling your heart or have the cares of the world distracting you? How big is your God and are you fully devoted to him?

1 Kings 18:21- How long will you hesitate between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him.

Cast away anything that controls you.

Are you a Shepherd or a Hireling

Here at Generate, we have created a culture that puts people over programs or some would call it loving our neighbor as yourself. The question of the day is: Are we truly living out the two greatest comandments of all time? Are you a shepherd or a hireling?

JOHN 10:12-13 He who is a hireling, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, beholds the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep, and flees, and the wolf snatches them, and scatters them. He flees because he is a hireling, and is not concerned about the sheep.

Put on love today! "A lake cannot reflect the beauty of heaven unless it is calm"

Greg Laurie

This was my devotion this morning. Praying that we can hand the baton off to this next generation.

Let us continue to look at the heroes that made it possible for us to know our Lord. It's up to us to do the same for this next generation.

The apostle Paul was called by God to bring the gospel to his generation. He had the most unexpected conversion in human history. He previously set himself to effectively destroy the Christian faith but when Paul, known as Saul of Tarsus, met the living Jesus, that all changed.

But get up and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen but also to the things in which I will appear to you; rescuing you from the Jewish people and from the Gentiles to whom I am sending you, to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the dominion of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me. ACTS 26:16-18

We all have a calling that He has asked us to fulfill. So excited to reach this generation.

Generate Jr. High

These last couple of weeks have been incredibly moving for me at Generate Jr. High. Ronny Roa is an incredible leader and one of my best friends. It is amazing to see the way that God used him and Natalya to establish Monday nights.

I am very excited to see what God has in store for Generate Jr. High. God has placed a calling on my life to take over the ministry on Mondays and has blessed me with a great team and family.

In the midst of this, Ronny and Natalya have followed God's calling on their lives to take over Generate as a whole. Let's continue to pray for them, for Cody Padrnos and Generate High, and definitely for the Generate Jr. High!

Don't forget about Grad Night next Wednesday, June 2nd, at Generate and the Black and White party on Friday June 4th.

My Utmost For His Highest

I've heard about this book for years but never picked it up until just this last month, and its changing my life!

I'm not usually much for devotionals but this one in particular is so insightful that I can't help but be drawn to it every morning.

Here is just a taste from todays entry:

"Don't get impatient with people, remember how God dealt with you - with patience and with gentleness; but never water down the truth of God. Let it have its way and never apologize for it. Jesus said. 'Go and make disciples,' not make converts to your opinions."

Cinco de Baptizo

Make sure that if you are coming out to Generate this Wednesday night that you invite and bring your friends and family!

We have a night planned that will give everyone an opportunity to experience the public declaration and profession of faith in Jesus that so many thousands have done this past year!

Praying for those that will be there tomorrow!

Hearing God

This past week, we announced that Tony Wood and his wife Bre heard the call from God to take the incredible DNA of Crossroads and Generate out beyond the gates of Orange County!

We are excited for them and the direction that God is taking them in the next year.

Natalya and I are completely blessed by God and how He has placed a call on our life as well. The call is to step into a much larger role in Generate and take over the teaching every week, one that we are excited to embrace.

In the midst of all this one thing is certain, "While we are uncertain of the next step, we are certain of God" and as Oswald Chambers says ,"To be certain of God means that we are uncertain in all our ways, we do not know what a day may bring forth."

We are all very excited for the future of Crossroads and the story that God is busy writing!

Please continue to pray for Tony and Bre, Natalya and I, and of course all the staff here at Crossroads.

Only Forgiven

I have to be honest, the more and more I read in the Gospels of Jesus, the more I'm left asking, "how can anyone truly make contact with Jesus and not be changed?"

As we talk about how the world views the church as a "bunch of hypocrites," I think it's NOT because of what we are teaching, but it's exactly the things we are teaching that may attribute to this lack of real transformation.

You have undoubtably seen the shirt or the bumper sticker that says, "I'm not perfect, I'm just forgiven," plastered all over the back of minivans or youth groups everywhere. I believe that this subtle misleading theology has done more damage than good, and before all you bible scholars get in an uproar about salvation and justification issues let me explain.

Dallas Willard in his book "The Divine Conspiracy" sheds some great insight into this issue which I believe we need to consider. If we ONLY see the interaction with Jesus as merely forgiveness of sins, then we can only expect to see the benefits of this exchange when we die.

Is this the "life and life abundantly" that Jesus was talking about? Certainly not! Any interaction with Jesus must leave a mark in our life that causes us to interact much differently with the world around us.

Maybe we need to put more effort in showing and teaching not just the forgiveness of sins but instead what the reconciled (friendship) life with the Creator of the universe should look like!

Forgiveness of sins was a given...Getting up and walking is our part.

Make sure you laugh

Sometimes life gets a little to serious and you need to stop and laugh.

This is a blog by Kevin Keigley that I read once in a while to keep my sense of humor.

Here is his latest post:

One of the best things in the world: reaching into your pocket and feeling the $50 bill you made for mowing your neighbours lawn
One of the worst things in the world: reaching into your pocket and being stung by a box jellyfish and knowing you have only a minute or so to live

Sticks and Stones

Last night we talked about gossip and the way it can consume and destroy everyone it touches.

We've all no doubt heard the old saying "Sticks and Stones can break my bones but words can never hurt me." But recently a young girl by the name of Phoebe Prince took her life because of the things that were said about her and she took her own life because of it.

Im convinced now that "Sticks and stones can break my bones but words can cut deep and kill me."

Who am I? I have no respect for justice. I maim without killing. I break hearts and ruin lives. I am cruel and malicious and gather strength with age. The more I am quoted, the more I am believed. I flourish at every level of society. My victims are helpless. They cannot protect themselves against me because I have no name and no face. To track me down is impossible. The harder you try, the more elusive I become. I'm nobody's friend. Once I tarnish a reputation, it is never the same. I topple governments and ruin marriages. I destroy careers and cause heartache and sleepless nights. I wreck churches and separate Christians. I spawn suspicion and generate grief, make innocent people cry on their pillows. Even my name hisses. I am gossip.

Get Your Feet Wet

Have you ever wondered if God was really going to provide?

We ask in prayer, but do we truly believe that He has gone before us on our behalf or has it just become routine for our walk of "faith" to ask and not really expect provision?

It does however, require some effort on our part to see God’s provision realized in our life.

Joshua was told to be courageous and not to fear what would come next because God had gone before him and prepared the land to be taken. But, notice in chapter 3, God did require that the Levite priests take the ark down to the water in faith and put their feet in the Jordan, which, by the way, was raging at the time of year!

When they did take that step, it says that "the waters rose in one heap" and that the priests and 2,000,000 people were able to cross on "DRY GROUND!"

That last part gets me. See, God cares enough that even the ground, under a river that had been running for thousands of years, was completely dry so that they could cross easily and not turn into a "running-of-the-wildabeest mudfest." That’s provision!

But crossing the river does take action. Get your feet wet today!

Hope is Hard

If there was ever anyone in scripture that suffered through some tough times it was definitely Paul.

Constant scourging, ridicule, persecution and Roman prisons were the norm for Paul, yet when you read his letters you see that he had great joy and hope constantly through it all.

So how did he find this? I think that for most us, when we think about HOPE we think it comes quickly, or is right around the corner and we just need to do one thing and then BAM we have hope! However, in Romans 5:3-5 we see that HOPE is not and instantaneous response to us when we need it, in fact Paul lays out what it takes to see HOPE realized: "tribulation brings perseverance, perseverance brings proven character, proven character brings HOPE."

You see, God is in the business of making you the person He wants you to be, and often times that process is not easy. In fact in can be quite horrible in the moment but He promises that through it all He will give you a HOPE that will not disappoint(vs5)!

Integrity First

I have been thinking a lot about this topic recently, given the current climate of our culture and the fact that it appears to be missing in almost all aspects of life.

Im talking about INTEGRITY.

It seems like most of us recognize real integrity when we see it, in fact I would venture to say all of us really appreciate and value integrity no matter how big or small. Think about this; when a store is willing to honor its products and stand by its guarantee, most of us are probably shocked.

However, we arent the least bit surprised when its the other way around. So what has happened?

Proverbs 28:6 says "Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than he who is crooked though he be rich." I have this lurking suspicion that our culture has traded integrity for riches, or fanciful ideas about what will better our personal status or agenda, all the while relinquishing integrity at the highest cost!

Are you seeing this in your areas of operation? Lets choose INTEGRITY at any cost, even when its painful for us or of no initial benefit to us.

Here we go again

Ok, so I took the last few weeks to decide whether or not my blog was actually worth writing considering the following factors: Followship and Influence vs. Time to write.

My conclusion is, that if anything it will teach me to disciplined and also help me to become a better story teller so for that I'll continue to write.

I do want to say thanks to everyone who has followed or read my blog, taking the time to read my random thoughts and be a part of God's story that He is writing in my life.

Excited for whats next!

Replica

Here is the comp for the next series...

Excited to dig in and find truth. Join us at 630 pm Monday nights.

Couple of things

Hey just a couple of things I wanted to share with you that I am praying about and hope that you would join me in this prayer:

1) Pray for the campaign and our weekly tithe. The truth is that we live in a generation that has lost the meaning of giving FIRST to God what is rightfully His then we can give elsewhere.

2) Please be praying for our next series "REPLICA Religions That Promise Hell" There is so much deception in this world right now concerning what is actual truth and I know that satan will not go down easily.

Excited for whats coming...

Its been a while

I know its been a while since the last post, but I have taken some time to reflect on my writing, the content that I post and the story that I am telling. I feel like I have been "Under Construction" so to speak...

I think that its easy with blogs and facebook to constantly be putting out information but how often do we take time to receive information? How much am I reading and spending time growing and learning?

Im excited to start up again with some new ideas and better content...hopefully ;)

Stay tuned

Relationally Bankrupt

Continuing in Part 2 of our dating series, Im continually blown away by how many people I talk to that cant figure out why they are single or cant seem to make a relationship go the distance.

For the most part, when I talk with them and begin asking questions, the truth of why they are single becomes increasingly clear...They have NO plan!

Proverbs 21:5 says that "The plans of the diligent lead surely to advantage..." and having a plan when it comes to dating will go a long ways in determining not only your own success but also the success of the relationships you enter into.

The problem is that people are either too lazy or unwilling to take a few days and pray and plan, and thats where part 2 of Proverbs 21:5 comes it, "but everyone who is hasty comes surely to poverty." Most move blindly and way too quickly in relationships ending with disastrous results...RELATIONAL BANKRUPTCY...

Go slow and plan...

Great Leadership

The value of a leader is based on his or her willingness to be in the trenches with those they are leading. If a leader is not willing to dig a ditch or get shot at during battle then the likelihood that others will follow is slim...

Read this post from Michael Hyatt and was blown away...Read for yourself here.

Taking back our eyes

Ive been really moved lately by the "Eye Sex" generation that we live in now.

As Matthew 6:22 says that your "eye is the lamp of the body" and some of the studies I have been researching about the way that violence in the media can affect not only development of children later, but even how they perceive violence around them.

Studies are showing that more and more people have become desensitized when it comes to what pain and violence is today. Now transfer that to how much "Sex Marketing" is around us and its no wonder why we see women and men devalued for nothing more than objects to be lusted for.

The truth of Christ's words 2000 years ago continue to ring true now, as we sit smack dab in the middle of a generation that has allowed our hearts, souls and minds to be filled with contempt for humankind.

Lets take back our eyes and not allow them to rest until we've focused so hard at the cross we see nothing else!

30 Minute Reality

After reading the statistics that, 75% of teens are having sex before the age of 20 and the CDC reports that there are over 19 million new cases of STD's occurring each year in students between the ages of 15-19, Im convinced that its the churches time to teach the truth about SEX.

We live in the MTV generation that sees reality happening in 30 minute segments of cut and produced television and instant gratification of any desire or want is the goal in life.

The truth is that things like teen pregnancies, abortions, STD's and rape can last a lifetime, and this shortsighted view of 30 minute reality continues to gather more and more victims every day.

We must take a stand and choose not to live in 30 minute segments of personal gratification put live in eternal satisfaction from the One who gave it all!

Hours and Counting

Completely excited to kick off our new series in just a few hours and share some of Natalya and my experiences through dating and marriage.

Just a few thoughts to think about for tonight:

1. Do you see yourself the way that God sees you?

2. Do you see the people you date the way that God sees them?

See ya tonight!

2 tickets to nowhere

Ok, ok...So I chose to be practical and by my wife (girlfriend at the time) brakes for her birthday...But hey, I was thinking about her safety!

This post will prove that we have both have had our share of mistakes when it comes to birthday gifts gone wrong.

I love comedy, and I have a few comedians that I would love to see live, one of which is Brian Regan. My loving and thoughtful wife took note of my wishes one day and decided that she would purchase me tickets to go see him live for my birthday.

Now, I was extremely excited to see those tickets, so you can imagine my surprise when I noticed the location of the venue. For those of you who aren't familiar with California geography, let me explain.

You'll notice in the picture that the tickets are for Redding, California which my lovely wife confused with Redlands California. The difference between those two places? Oh about 10 hours worth of driving...Needless to say we never made it to the show and couldnt get the refund as tickets are non-refundable.

Looking back we had some great laughs about that and I love my wife to death and I am so thankful that she loves me and has the patience to deal with me. God has truly blessed our life and mishaps like these make our marriage fun and exciting. I will share more on Monday at the launch of "Guys dont be creepy. Girls be kind."

Thoughts from my wife!

I love my husband dearly, although we have only been married 5 months, I have learned to love every little quirk that I have discovered so far. Next week is the launch of a new series for Generate Jr. High called, “Guys don’t be creepy, Girls be kind.”

We are both looking forward to it, and today at lunch we began talking about some of the times I have not reacted “nice” in our dating relationship. Last year for my birthday (my first birthday as boyfriend & girlfriend) Ronny took note of what I needed. He is a very practical guy and noticed the brakes on my car were bad. So being the awesome practical boyfriend he handed me a red box that said Toyota, unwrapped, and inside, brakes for my car.

I understand that brakes are expensive and that I DO need them to drive my car, however as girl, brakes is not what you imagine to get when in your mind, your relationship is a fairytale and you expect a white horse and carriage ride (with a live jazz band on the corner). Ronny had no idea I felt this way until a year later when I exploded on my birthday the following year. A very not nice reaction, when he was simply trying to take care of my needs as I do neglect my car.

I did marry the most incredible, wonderful, and sexiest man alive, but we are both still learning how to bless one another when it comes to birthdays. Be sure to come this Monday night as Ronny shares how I messed up with one of his birthday gifts!

Q&A after thoughts

I wasn't sure how this whole Q&A thing would go last night but after seeing what happened, Im convinced that we as a church should do this more.

I think that, in our normal liturgical routine of things we forget how many new, unchurched people come through our doors, sit through our service and leave never knowing why we do what we do.

For some people that have been coming, it opens up a whole new door for them to see the people on stage playing and singing as normal and not some super hero christian rock star. The environment that is created is truly one of family and for that I would do it all over again.

If you havent put much thought into explaining why you do what you do, maybe now is the time to start brainstorming cool ideas how to deliver that information.

Worship Questions

Have you ever wondered "Why we lift our hands during worship?"

Have you ever asked yourself "What is the purpose of worship?"

I think that sometimes as a church, we forget that new people are always coming through our doors and how much of a service we take as routine, but for the visitor it can seem confusing.

Tonight, we hope to answer some of your questions about worship and why we do what we do!

Guys Dont be Creepy...

Ok everyone so here it is, our new series for Generate Junior High "Guys don't be creepy, Girls don't be kind."

We will be hitting the obvious, dating, relationships and sex, the way that God designed these things to be. Make sure you let your friends know to be there as we hit things that churches tend to miss.

See ya in a few weeks for the Launch...

People of Prayer

Excited to talk about this in a few weeks and challenge the next generation to prayerfully give like they have never given before.

Check out this post from Tony Wood and what we as a body will be doing for 2010!

The Suffering Problem

It seems like Haiti just cant catch a break, with another aftershock that rocked them after the apocalyptic magnitude 7 quake that decimated the country just a few days ago.

Of course there are always those people that use this tragedy to leverage their argument against the existence of God. The claim from people is how a "Loving and good God could not exist if He allows that kind of suffering to happen." It's the same thing we heard after the Tsunami that killed 250,000 and after Hurricane Katrina that destroyed New Orleans.

What intrigues me about those comments is that, in them, is a sense of "fair play" or "justice" and that people, should not suffer or be excluded, die of hunger or suffer tragedy. However, evolutionary theory and natural selection depend on death and destruction to separate the strong from the weak, and so these things should just be natural.

So, by what basis do those people judge what is horribly wrong, or unfair and unjust? In those claims they assume that there is some standard of what is right or wrong or fair and just.

I am, like everyone else saddened by the tragedy in Haiti and never like seeing people suffer, but what I am sure of is that my God, who is real, is also sovereign and just and has reasons for things beyond what my small human mind can comprehend.

So I will put my trust in the Lord and not trust my own logic. Proverbs 3:5

What do you value?

I read this incredible blog yesterday from Justin Kownacki about how we as a culture put value on things based on what we choose to look at.

It was an eye-opener to me on culture and how it shapes us in ways that are not always apparent. For instance, when you wake up in the morning, is your first response to check twitter, facebook or email as opposed to checking news lines to see what kind of devastation is occurring in the Middle East, or how human trafficking is becoming a back yard problem in America?

Take a look at this post for yourself and see if you are as surprised as me.

http://www.justinkownacki.com/2010/01/18/you-are-what-you-choose-to-care-about/

Scary Thoughts

Have you ever been reading in your quiet time and been hit with something so deep that you cant even keep reading? You're forced in that moment to stop and really pour over what those words mean to your life.

It happened to me yesterday and Im still working through what it all means. In Proverbs 17:3 it says that, "The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, But the Lord tests the hearts."

I dont know about you but that hit me like a ton of bricks! Im sitting there asking myself, "Why am I doing all this?"Am I a preacher cause I love hearing all the accolades and praise from people, cause in some way it validates who I am? Or do I do it simply for the name of Jesus Christ?

In 1 Cor 3:9-15 that our works and deeds however great WE think they are will be tried by God to see what the true motive and heart behind them was. When I stand before God on that day, I cant lie! I cant say that I did it solely for Him when it wasn't.

Those are some scary thoughts that really have me praying and asking God to reveal my motives and heart and to purify me so that I can work wholeheartedly for Him. If you've never asked those questions I challenge you to ask them.

Anger Issues

Ive been really broken over this topic of anger and how, at times, it can permeate my soul and suck the life right out of me if I let it.
I've had some pretty intense and even embarrassing moments in my life where I have let anger own me and my actions and I will be sharing some of those on Monday, but Im interested to hear from you.

Have you had those moments where in just a few seconds anger consumed you, but shortly after you realized how unbelievably ridiculous it was. Maybe you've had something happen to you that you let sit and stew in your heart till it robbed you of all your energy.

Please feel free to share...Im curious if Im just alone in this...

UnHappy Meal

There is a video floating around, that if you have not yet seen it, showcases what I think is the growing trend of how we deal with anger in our society.

The video shows a woman upset because her hamburger was not quite the way that she ordered it. She proceeds to fly into a fit of rage causing over $1,700 worth of damage to the McDonalds restaurant.

Ill explain more on Monday, about how anger, when allowed to sit inside of us can cause us to act out in sometimes violent ways, ultimately leading to a vicious cycle of anger that never ends.

Paul said in Ephesians 4:22-23, not to let the devil have a chance, and by letting anger sit inside of you, you've left the door wide open!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r9znFOdX5W4

The Real Me

So I was challenged by my a good friend (Mike Foster) to change all my pics that I have as profiles for Facebook, Twitter and my blog, to break away from the overproduced and slightly unrealistic pictures that most of us have.

Its a great challenge from the People of the Second Chance to get real and stop putting up fronts in our lives.

So, now I challenge you!

Preview of Generate Junior High

Im excited for tonight as we talk about the openness of the Kingdom of God and how those wide spaces allow us to live free of our problems and pains.

Check out this video of the passion from Junior High and the next generation

Narrow Places

Have you ever noticed that when you look through a narrow window, you only get a small perspective of what's really out there?

How about when you get stuck or placed in a narrow spot like and elevator or small space and become claustrophobic? It causes fear and panic sets in, to the point where some of us lose all of our ability to think rationally or logically.

If you've ever been in that spot then you know that in order to get out of that place, you must change perspective or location. Choosing not to focus on what is directly in front of you.

Jesus in His Sermon on the Mount did that very thing for the people standing right in front of Him. They were caught up in a very narrow place where it seemed that there was no hope for them, they were poor, destitute, outcast, spiritually depraved and without a glimmer of hope in the world to experience "heaven" according to the worlds eyes.

However, Jesus quickly assured everyone that around them was the availability of the "Kingdom of the Heavens" if they would only rely on Him for everything (Matt 6:33). This radical change in perspective opened up a wide place for those willing to have the heart transformation necessary to see that kingdom among them!

Are you stuck in the narrow places right now? Rely on Him and find the wide places to change perspective!

Open Kingdom

Murderers and molesters, drug lords and pornographers, war criminals and terrorists, the perverted and filthy, all of whom if we get real honest, wouldn't really feel comfortable having at our home, let alone the idea that they could be in heaven with us!

As I have been reading and understanding the "open-ness" of the Kingdom of Heaven that Jesus proclaimed, I'm blown away at how Gods grace can transcend all races, ethnicities, backgrounds and socio-economic status. I mean we can easily see our failures as something not too far from the grace and mercy of God, but when it comes to those listed above, we aren't so sure.

But thats just it! When Paul said in Romans 8:39 that there was "NOTHING that will be able to separate us from the love of God..." he really meant it, as funny as that sounds.

While I'm sure that statement will upset some, the truth of Jesus' message is that if you would extend your hand towards Him and rely on Him for everything, you can freely enter into the Kingdom of Heaven.

Its true that earth has no sorrow that Heaven cant heal, the best part is that you don't have to be dead to experience it!

99 Problems pt2

Super pumped about tonights launch of "99 Problems" and to get back to the full swing of things!

Just a few thoughts as we head into tonight:

1) What are the things in your life that have held you back from the relationship and life that God has for you?

2) Have you seen your physical body as the instrument with which to see God with?

I will give a clearer picture of what all that means for us tonight! Ill see you then...