I was reading something that Kem Meyer wrote and it really got me thinking about what we do in churches everyday. This was in the context of a discussion about treating people as if they’re smart, rather than telling them what they should think.

Kem said, “Nobody likes to be controlled. They like it when you get them thinking, but not when you tell them what to think.” “Remember, products and services are ‘bought,’ not sold. You can’t sell what people aren’t asking for.”

Agendas. We all have them. Without them, most of what needs to happen wouldn’t. Because many of us don’t really have one for our lives, other people’s agendas become our own. That’s frustrating, isn’t it? When someone else’s schedule, priorities, goals, ambitions, passions, laziness, vengeance, need for a sale, _______(fill in the blank), becomes the thing you have to focus your time, energy, and resources on, it robs you of opportunity to focus on your own.

I have watched this happen in churches. A church down the street or across the Nation is involved in a campaign to eradicate World Hunger, (or insert any one of ten thousand things here_______. Social Justice activities abound in this category, but don’t leave out prayer ministries, 40 Days campaigns, VBS, mission trips, etc.), so it now becomes the new thing your church must focus on. Noble cause(s), but is this the ministry God wanted your church to resource?  Or, has someone else’s agenda once again trumped your church’s?

Children do this all the time to parents. Employers to employees. Cats to weak-willed, gullible people. Pastors to their wives. Credit card companys to their slaves/account holders. And on and on it goes. Our/their agenda becomes your/my agenda. Basically, it’s telling people that they aren’t smart enough to have or lead a life of their own and/or that they aren’t important enough to have one of their own.

So, it’s no wonder that the Gospel becomes the victim in all of this. Whether by being beaten against someone’s head until they accept it, by being left out entirely for fear that someone might believe you are forcing your agenda on them, or by being ignored because the other agenda items seemingly have more weight/importance/urgency.

McKay, Davis, and Fanning in their book, Messages:The Communication Skills Book, write, ” We generally expect that other people experience things the same way that we do. It’s very difficult for most of us to truly accept that our experience isn’t universal. But the truth is that other people have different reactions, experiences, and feelings from ours.”

Is that ever true?! “It’s very difficult to accept that our experience isn’t universal.” This is why people get ticked when you don’t seemingly support their cause, or at least you aren’t as emphatic as they expect you to be. It leads to arrogance, prejudice, entitlement, victimhood(woe is me), and victimization.

Just a challenge to stop and think about what you are communicating to others. Are you telling others that your agenda is more important than they are? Are you expecting everyone to think, feel, and believe what you think, feel, and believe?

I was reading some stuff that Francis Chan wrote that really got me on my knees this morning. During the last four to five weeks I have spent a lot of time with some people who were desperate for help. Francis’ words resonated. In context, he is discussing Christians who don’t really live surrender lives.

We worry, strive, and grieve no differently than unbelievers. While it is true that we are humans like everyone else, it is also true that we are humans with the Spirit of God dwelling in us. Yet, whether consciously or not, we essentially say to God, “I know You raised Christ from the dead; but the fact is my problems are just too much for You and I need to deal with them by myself.”

Ouch! Have you been there? I mean, if God is truly sovereign and dwells in you, shouldn’t you expect to be different from everyone else? My challenge to you this week is to shut up and move over. More often than not, we get in the way of God doing things in our lives because we are talking and controlling our own actions.

I’m not talking about personal responsibility for sin, I am talking about living a spirit filled life. You know, where you impact people, where you sleep well at night, where you are Christ to the world. I believe a spirit-filled and spirit-led life are the key. Psalm 97:12 (NLT) May all who are godly rejoice in the Lord and praise his holy name!

What kind of life are you experiencing? Is it a godly one that leads to praise? Is it a life empowered that overcomes? The Spirit of Truth indwells you. My prayer is that today is your day. That today you live in the freedom and peace that comes through a spirit-filled and spirit-led life!

McKay, Davis, and Fanning wrote the following in their book, Messages: The Communication Skills Book.

“Nearly everyone has trouble listening openly. You don’t want to hear your sacred cows reduced to hamburger. You don’t want to face certain facts about yourself. Nor do you want to believe that an unlikable person has said something worth thinking about. You naturally want to argue, to shout it down.”

Just curious, how well are you listening? You’ve heard me say that when we have no anticipation, there will be no revelation. When’s the last time you heard from God? Do even expect him to say anything to you anymore? He’s probably trying really hard to get you to hear him. I am afraid that most of us have some massive spiritual wax build up on our ears.  

He may be trying to use your spouse, kids, debt, boss, pastor, small group, lonliness, neighbor, anger, compassion, or the one person that drives you crazy. When’s the last time you spent some time with God? Just the two of you, not you, him, and the radio or iPod. Just the two of you.

Has he been speaking and you’ve been assigning his comments to someone or something else? Do you think the evaluation at your job had any message from God in it? How about the last conversation you had with your kids, spouse, or neighbor? Could God actually be speaking to you all the time, but you are missing it?

It reminds me of the story of Adam and Eve in the Garden after they had eaten the fruit that God told them not to touch. It’s a great lesson. When you aren’t listening to the Father, you’ll hear the voice of the enemy.

I want to challenge you today to get alone with God and ask him to help you hear. It may be that he wants to slaughter some of your sacred cows. He may want you to face up the fact that you aren’t healthy -physically, emotionally, financially, or spiritually. He may want you to reconcile or at least consider the words of someone you are at odds with.

Don’t let yourself get caught naked (nek-ked) like Adam and Eve. Listen.

In our new series (“What Is Truth?”) we are trying to expose some lies that our enemy throws at us. I’m always concerned with the “so what” behind each message and series, so I’ve been asking myself some questions and praying about how we would respond as a church. Those questions are below.

• Am I even open to the possibility that I could be wrong in my beliefs?
• Would I have the courage to modify/change my behavior if I were shown my interpretation of Scripture was off/wrong/jacked up?
• Are there things keeping me from honestly investigating/examining my beliefs? (Trusting God to follow through on His promises, concern for my reputation or worry about being booted from the circle of believers I presently belong to, will God ask/expect me to do something that I just don’t want to do, I might actually stand out and not look like “non-Christians”, etc.)

Anytime we begin to examining what we believe, things get tense. We believe what we believe because we believe it is truth. Otherwise, we would believe something else to be truth. In Christendom, we aren’t really fond of the idea of investigation/examination. Our typical approach is to proof-text (eisegesis) and bring a preconceived meaning into the text we are reading. We hear a preacher or teacher we like and we adopt their concept/ideals/teachings, and as we study the Bible we expect (make) it to support those preconceived notions.

So, we want this series to help/enable us get real with God and discover the truth He has revealed in the person of Jesus Christ, through His Holy Word, and with the power and leading of His Holy Spirit.

www.dpchurch.net

Spend some time praying about your response to these questions and a new, empowered, and courageous life for our church as we live truth before our neighbors. 

Nothing spiritual here, just some folks cracking me up. This just might be my dream job (actually, I’ve always wanted to be Game Show Host). Enjoy. I’ll try to keep up and let you know who actually got the job. Click the pic.

God’s truth is black and white and even though there is no gray area, that’s where so many of us live today. We prefer to live by the concepts or facts we wish to be true, rather than those known to be true…the gray area. Join us beginning October 11 as we learn to navigate the space between true and trueish.

Planning on taking our teens on a retreat this Fall to Eagle Ranch Falls Zipline Course. Watch the videos!

During last week’s message, I challenged you guys to take a personal spiritual inventory. I have looked at more than a dozen and want to suggest you try the following. It’s from Lifeway and allows you the opportunity to not just evaluate, but to also put in place a plan of action to become more healthy spiritually.

http://www.lifeway.com/lwc/mainpage/0%2C1701%2CM%25253D201277%2C00.html 

When you get on Lifeway’s site, you’ll need to click the box you see on the side.

Remember, “don’t just be hearers of the word, do what it says!” James 1:22

The new website is up and going. New content for families in the Kidzone.

www.dpchurch.net

Thanks to Factor 1 Studios for doing such a great job for us!

Our Connect Groups (small groups ministry) kicks off the week of September 6. As a new church, we are starting with four offerings.

Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University will be lead by Craig and Holly Anderson

More than 70% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. Over 35% of Christian marriages end in divorce, and money problems are the number one cause. FPU is a biblically based accountability curriculum that will teach you to manage God’s money and resources in a godly way. It empowers  you to make the right financial decisions to achieve your financial goals, teaching you to eliminate debt, build wealth, and give like never before. On average,
families reduce their debt by $5,300 and save $2,700 in just 91 days.

Crazy Love will be lead by Mike and Rhonda Page.

“Sometimes I feel like when I make decisions that are remotely biblical, people who call themselves Christians are the first to criticize and say I’m crazy, that I’m taking the Bible too literally, or that I’m not thinking about my family’s well-being. . . When people gladly sacrifice their time or comfort or home, it is obvious that they trust in the promises of God. Why is it that the story of someone who has actually done what Jesus commands resonates deeply with us, but we then assume we could never do anything so radical or intense? Or why do we call it radical when, to Jesus, it is simply the way it is? The way it should be?”

 For anyone 50 or older, the Young At Heart group will be lead by Phil Gold.

 This group is for anyone 50 or older and will meet on Wednesdays at 10am.

Starting Point will be lead by Phil and Jamie Gold.

New to DPChurch? This is where you begin. This Connect Group explores the foundations for a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, explains our structure and strategy, and provides opportunities for you to become involved in DPChurch’s ministry. This is a requirement for membership at DPChurch.