Category Archives: Letters to 217

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Leadership 101 – Humility

When I think of Martin Luther King Jr. I think of humility.  He devoted his whole life to equal rights and the ending of racial oppression in our country.  He won the Nobel peace prize at the age of 35. Amazing.  People who stand for peace are usually humble people.  This should not be so difficult but we know how difficult it can be for us.  Was Martin Luther King Jr. perfect, not at all!  But we look back at his life and look at his moments of reconciliation and peace as the most humble moments of his life.  His well known I have a dream speech carries so much humility with it and it motivates me to jump on board with his vision.  Humble people are those who promote peace which makes them attractive.  It is why the message of Jesus is so powerful, so much humility.  I want to stand for humility and be a broker of peace.  This is one of my most important roles as a Christ follower.  It is spiritual leadership at its simplest form.  Spiritual leadership is dependency on Jesus.

humble leadership makes sense to people

“Before his downfall a man’s heart is proud, but humility comes before honor.”  Proverbs 18:12

When a man displays humility it is plain to see.  I love being around people who want nothing in return, no accolades or credit, no recognition or expectation.  We are wired as people to naturally expect something in return.  No one likes to be around people who know it all or think they are better than everyone.  People who lead according to their needs and fail to look out for those they serve, are on the edge of a downfall.  There is a strict warning for when we feel our heart tending towards pride.  When this happens, words and credit may come, but truly the honor becomes lost.    Humility is a beautiful thing and yet, I don’t want the title humility.  Once I claim that title I become proud.  Spiritual leadership is dependency on Jesus.

All The Answers –

I am tired of people who have all the answers.  What blesses a ministry, a work place, a home, is humility and integrity.  I’ll gladly take a person who is humble and who has integrity over big vision any day.  Show me unconditional loyalty with no entitlement and I will naturally want to walk alongside you.  A lot of people have vision based on ego, but this is corrupt and evil.  If we depend on Jesus we get his vision and develop our trust in him.  As a leaders, before I release and call someone a leader, I want to see if they can serve someone else’s vision.  I must follow, then maybe I can lead.  Spiritual leadership is dependency on Jesus.

5 Weeks of training

Over the next 5 weeks at 217church, our main topic will be training in leadership. This week we start with spiritual leadership.  What’s next for us as a church family?  Whatever it is, one thing is for sure, we better get this one right…Spiritual leadership is dependency on Jesus.

What is one simple action step you can take in order to cultivate humility in your life?

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Prayer – Just Open Your Mouth

When it came to prayer, I have to admit, I never used to think I was very good at it.  It always seemed difficult for me and I always struggled with thinking prayer was for those really spiritual people who were obviously more in tuned with God than I was.  I locked the idea of prayer up in a group study or a public worship service.  Especially during extended times of prayer, the distraction and seeming competition of, “who can pray the most holy prayer” really began to annoy me.  But then I discovered something, God didn’t care how holy I sounded or how many really cool theological terms I used while I prayed.  He just wanted me to OPEN MY MOUTH! preferably in PRIVATE. 

Kneeling is a powerful position
Getting desperate enough to pray is right where God wants us.  He wants to teach us to open our mouths.  In the car, walking the dog, sitting alone in a coffee shop, in a park, in a chair on my deck.  It doesn’t matter where I am, prayer could happen at a moment’s notice.  As a church this is an incredibly important week for us because we are going to rediscover as a church that prayer is a primary work of the people of God and He wants us to talk to Him.

 

“Restore us to yourself, O Lord that we may be restored.” Lamentations 5:21  (Jeremiah’s desperate prayer for the city)

Here are some simple benefits of Prayer…

  • Character – God wants to restore us to him through building our character.  Continual prayer builds character.  So many times we only pray when we need something.  Isn’t it annoying when the only time you hear from someone is if they need something from you?  That is called manipulation and usury. The more time I spend with Jesus, the more my character deepens and increases.  How you pray determines your character.  How you pray defines your relationship with God.  If you only approach God when you “need” Him, God is not your God, he is the last resort to bail you out.   OPEN YOUR MOUTH OFTEN, He will never grow tired of hearing your voice.  Your character depends on it.
  • Confidence – Can we just keep prayer simple for a change?  Here it is:  Tell God what you think, how much you love Him and ask Him what to do. The next time you are tempted to do a “performance prayer” slap yourself and remind yourself God wants you to come to Him as you are.  You can approach Jesus with confidence boldly!  It’s not about your Vocabulary but your VOICE!  OPEN YOUR MOUTH   “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Hebrews 4:16
  • Clarity– Without the voice of God you will operate on the “best guess” system.  You will be lost, always living in the FOG of the next decision . You will look to others first, yield to popular opinion and then most often take the path of least resistance.  Jesus gives clarity and always is true to the Bible as the source of clarity.  In Jesus’ own words, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’ Matthew 4:4  OPEN YOUR MOUTH AFTER you have closed it long enough to LISTEN to Him!

So what does this mean for our community?  This Sunday will be unlike any other gathering we have ever experienced at 217church.  We will have the opportunity to boldly approach Him through the power of Jesus as a community in unity and ask for some pretty deep stuff…Healing will happen this Sunday.

Our church is heading into a season of praying some desperate prayers!  We have so many decisions to make and God’s vision is getting clearer and clearer for us every day.  Jesus loves this community more than we can possibly understand and we are on a mission to show people Jesus…Something Big is about to happen and it starts inside your heart.  God wants to do something deep in you so he can do something HUGE through you.

Don’t miss this Sunday…

Don’t be shy, OPEN YOUR MOUTH!

 

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At The Crossroads…Decision Time

Six years ago it was decision time and the pressure was intense.  It was either move to New Jersey from Oregon or stay where we were and wait some more.  Do we leave everything we know including family and friends?  Do we jump into an unknown city with unknown people where we literally knew not one of the 9+ million people in the state of New Jersey?  Before we made the decision to move as a family from Oregon to New Jersey there were so many unknowns.  Would anyone like us? Are we doing the right thing?  I remember sitting on my deck with my bible open early in the morning asking God for direction.  I have never been more in tune with trusting God and wanting to be close to Him. Even then, it was an incredibly difficult decision.  What made it even harder is there were people who told us we were making the wrong decision.

Being at a Crossroads can drive you to total dependance on God

Maybe it isn’t leaving a geographical area but it could be a different type of major decision.  What major decision is on your radar and what are you going to do?  Go left or right there is no other choice.  You are on the hot seat and there is uncertainty.  What will you do? 

“And the commander of the Lord’s army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy.” And Joshua did so.” Joshua 5:15

Joshua needed to get this one right.  It was time for their first battle at Jericho and the whole nations blessing depended on a sound decision.  I love what God says to start the Crossroads Conversation.  Essentially, “You better get right before Me first if you expect me to talk to you and lead you.”

If you are at a Crossroads, here are some things to consider…

  • Have You Heard God Out? – Go ahead and try to make a decision without consulting God and waiting on Him and you will get a GIANT MESS!  It may not look messy at first, but sooner or later you will end up realizing your own pride has ruined you.  I implore you if there is a MAJOR decision coming, LISTEN!  Marriage, buying a house, selling something, moving from one place to another, no matter what the decision is, you have to listen.  Anyone can talk themselves into the “logical” decision.  Stop using your mind and let God mess up your life.   
  • Are You Running From Something? – I have sat with many people in times of major decision and NONE of them have EVER admitted to me they were running from God.  EVER!  Were they? I have no idea, but I do know that denial is a major issue in CROSSROADS MOMENTS.  Come clean!  God will let you walk away, but He won’t stop trying to get your attention.
  • The Illusion of Control – The truth is you don’t control things!  Everything is under the control of God.  We make our plans and quite honestly, sometimes I think God laughs at them.  We think we are providing for our families with our great talents and gifts but God knows it is His provision. The thing about God I have realized is He will love us no matter what, but we can miss out BIG TIME on a blessing if we choose to control rather than yield to His control.
  • The Need For Courage – Stop thinking about it and just do it.  Your life is so short.  Try it!  What are you so afraid of?  Obviously, God does not tell us to do things outside of His Word, nor will he call us to sin, but if you need courage, ask God for it.

This Sunday 217church is all about A Fresh Vision!  I absolutely cannot wait to share the vision for us that God wants to bring his poeple out of ‘EXILE’!   “He will keep you in exile no longer.” Lamentations 4:22. Each one of us has been given an incredible opportunity to walk alongside Jesus, but for some of us, we are in exile. It is time for deliverance, it’s decision time.

Our church is at a crossroads. It is time to make some major decisions about how we grow and new townships to reach.  Will you pray with us as we seek God’s face in His will for 217church?  The journey is about to get really interesting!

What will you do at the CROSSROADS?

 

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Keep on Pursuing

My son Titus has a new hobby, collecting baseball cards.  Over the last few months a day has not gone by when he has not talked about his new favorite hobby.  He is living, eating, and breathing baseball.  Statistics, rookie cards, hall of fame induction dates…If this keeps up, in a few years, Titus will be a walking baseball encyclopedia.  Something happened and I’m not sure what it was, but ever since the day he received his first cards, the boy won’t stop asking for more.  It doesn’t matter where we are: Vacation, Target, heck we could be in the car in the middle of the desert and Titus sooner or later would ask me, “When are we going to get more cards?”  At first it annoyed me, but now, it just reminds me that my son is intensely pursuing a vision.  To know everything possible he can about baseball and to acquire as many cards as possible.  He is PURSUING me relentlessly for MORE CARDS!  I mean really, it is quite amazing.

Titus’ latest acquisition / Jim Rice 1975 Topps Rookie Card

If there is one thing I need to hear and sense on a daily basis, it is that God Is Pursuing Me.  He is always trying to communicate with me, always trying to help me see things from His perspective and always willing to listen to where my heart is.  He is constantly asking me to take more risk, change something and come alongside Him in what He is doing.  As a matter of fact, my biggest fear is that I would lose touch on how to listen to God. 

His faithfulness to us is NOT dependent on our faithfulness to Him.

When you feel helpless and even like God has given up on you, try this…

  • Wait on the Lord – STOP!  Wait!  You have to calm down and realize that your timeline is not God’s timeline and it won’t be.  Stop freaking out!  The closer you get to God the more you learn to be faithful in the little things and will wait for him to do the work in the big things.  Learn the discipline of sacrificing short term instant gratification for long term gain.  There is something to be said for waiting a VERY long time for something. Don’t fall into the trap of saying, “God hasn’t moved YET, so it must not be His will.”  maybe God is saying “NOT YET”  GOD IS PURSUING YOU!
  • Hope in the Lord – I have seen so many young pastors, leaders give up on ministry, their families and their calling.  They live with this idea that they have to be in control and after a while they lose hope!  Things are probably not going to go your way 100% of the time!  But don’t lose hope.  This scripture once got me through a time of despair and doubt:  Isaiah 40:29-31
  • Seek the Lord – Don’t stop asking!  Be persistent and beg God for His plan for your life to come to it’s full fruition.  This means you will probably have to listen like you have never listened before.  Cut out the distraction, think like you haven’t thought before and lean on His understanding. Go ALL-IN with GOD!  Jeremiah 29:13 “You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”

This Sunday 217church is all about a God who is faithful and PURSUES US! (Lamentations 3:21-23) Even when we absolutely ruin our lives and deviate drastically from his plan for our lives, HE STILL PURSUES US!  This is crazy, I would have given up on me by now, but God hasn’t and He won’t.  He won’t give up on me, His church and His plan for humanity.  If we pursued God like Titus is pursuing baseball, wow! We would be closer to His heart for us!

Today, live in the reality GOD IS PURSUING US…

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Feel Someone’s Pain

It’s been almost 20 years since I completed Marine Corps boot camp and I will never forget a powerful lesson I learned.  “You can only move as fast as the slowest person.”  In a powerful moment on a long hike, I saw one of my friends falling down from exhaustion and a friend and I stopped to help him. We literally pushed him and all his gear up the hill.  We wanted him to make it more than he did I think. He just needed someone to help him get to the top and once he did he was a new man.  It helped me realize what it meant to FEEL SOMEONE’S PAIN. So who needs some help getting to the top of their hill?

Sometimes feel like I can never do enough.  When I think of all the problems and issues facing our community, I feel rather helpless.  What can one person do in order to bring meaningful change to a life?  Sometimes it means you don’t have to do much more than simply listen, but one of the deepest truths to realize about life is you are not alone in your pain.  As a matter of fact, God wants us to feel our own pain and the pain of others in order to fully understand His love.  One of the most difficult things to do is to engage pain and not run from it.  It is perfectly natural to want to rid yourself of pain as soon as possible.  But the deeper the pain and hurt it seems the deeper the learning.  Why do we want to run from pain?  Here are a couple things to do when you FEEL THE PAIN.  It is okay to FEEL THE PAIN and we must do something with it. 

When one person hurts we all hurt.

  • Pray – Ok, I know what you are thinking…Wow that’s it?  You wanted me to read this post for you to say, “pray”  What I have found is that many people have locked up prayer in a religious ceremony or weekend gathering.  Prayer was meant to be a living and breathing active relationship between God and his people.  At your deepest moment of crisis, you will most likely pray.  Why not start now and start investing in your relationship with Jesus before you FEEL THE PAIN?  Most people if you ask if you can pray for them will simply say, “sure.”
  • Partner – YOU MUST NOT ISOLATE YOURSELF!  I have seen so many people dealing with pain and doing it alone.  Not only is this not helpful, but it isn’t biblical. Galatians 6:1 says, “bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ.” If you are alone in your pain find someone else to walk with you. In addition, if the only persons junk you have is your own, your not really following Jesus.  FEEL SOMEONE’S PAIN! I didn’t say everyone’s pain, but find just one and carry their weight with them.

The Lamentations series @217church is in full swing.  There was something about receiving communion last week together and confessing the sins of the city together that changed us.  This Sunday, let’s remember we are not alone.

It’s okay to FEEL SOMEONE’S PAIN…

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A Year of Progress

As we come to the end of the school year, I want to take this opportunity and just say a HUGE Thank you to my church for an amazing year.  You truly have been “The church for people who aren’t here yet restoring lives one person at a time!” Here is a brief synopsis of what has happened among us over these past two years…

  •   Total Baptisms: 115
  •   Avg weekly attendance: 370 people
  •   Total given to 217church vision in 2012: $300,789.11
  •   Total Small groups: 20 strong in 12 different townships!

girl power / serving together

So Where do we go from here?

This summer we will be studying through the book of Lamentations, a book often overlooked and dismissed.  We will see how God can turn our despair into hope.  Don’t miss June 24th, the first week of this series, as we will have a special gift for each person.  Here are the topics:

  •   June 24th – A Desolate City / Blueprint Class 1:30-3:00 pm
  •   July 1st – A Sorrowful People
  •   July 8th – A Faithful God
  •   July 15th -A Fresh Vision
  •   July 22nd -A Desperate Prayer / Combined Baptism with Element Church!

…SAVE this date…DO NOT MISS SEPTEMBER 23, 2012  We will Unveil BIG NEWS about new additional 217church worship services in another township!

217kids Camp August 7-9

Our kids camp is always a highlight of our summer as community kids come together and have an incredible time of fun and learning about loving God and loving others.  This year’s theme is “Heroes.”  If you want to serve, or are ready to sign up contact arlynet@217church.com.  Here is what you can expect at 217kids camp:

  •   Awesome fun and games
  •   Great teaching from the bible
  •   An Interactive learning experience
  •   Adults who are all about kids

217youth summer events

The summer schedule is set and more than ever Pastor Kevin and the middle and high school team is ready to rock the house!  Here are the key dates for the summer!  Any questions, contact kevin@217church.com.

  • June 29th- All Youth Belmar Beach Day
  • July 11th- High School Bowling/Laser Tag Night
  • July 13th- Middle School Bowling/Laser Tag Night
  • July 18th- All Youth Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Trip
  • July 27th- All Youth Seaside Beach Trip
  • August 8th- High School Pool Party At John Snee’s
  • August 10th- Middle School Pool Party At Jennifer D’Mauro’s
  • August 17th- All Youth Belmar Beach Day
  • August 24th- All Youth Fun Plex

This next season is going to be incredible and I can’t wait to see the fruit of it all…

Josh

 

 

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Lose That Weight!

Over 100 people took the weight challenge last Sunday at 217church!  We are counting up all the pounds we lost and then we are going to have a HUGE party June 3 to celebrate what God has done!  Did you know that more people will die from heart disease this year than any other cause? Why? We eat a lot of junk! The truth of the matter is most of us treat our bodies like a human dumping ground as opposed to a temple of the Holy Spirit. We “calorie up” with sugar saturated drinks, eat way to much fast food, and exercise for some of us consists of going for a run…from the couch to the refrigerator. This is not God’s best for us. God cares about our bodies and he wants us to take care of what He has given to us. Tired of those extra few pounds you are carrying around?  Sick of low energy days and unhealthy habits?  Do you have high cholesterol or high blood pressure?  Have you had enough?  It’s time for a heart change, a literal one! It’s time to ask God, “What do you want me to do with my body?”

What does Physical health look like for us?

“whoever loves discipline loves knowledge…” (Proverbs 12:1 ESV)

Most of us eat what we want, when we want and we use the argument, “it’s my body, so I will do what I want with it.” This is not true, it’s a lie from the culture.  It’s not your body, your body belongs to God and he desires for you to use it to glorify Him.  Discipline can create a marvelous dependance on God as long as your motivations are correct.  but most of us struggle with the nasty ‘D’ word, DISCIPLINE. Here are a few things that helped me as I have started new habits and increased my own discipline factor.

  • Be Honest With Yourself- That means we have to address the brutal facts.  You can’t get to where you want to go unless you are honest with where you are.  Know these 5 numbers.  Your weight, waist, blood pressure, blood sugar, & cholesterol.  Get a good doctor to help and monitor these vitals and prevent disease!
  • Don’t Compare – Nothing will discourage you more if you try and compare yourself to other people.  Some people are gifted to be vegans.  Some people are genetically predisposed to be thin.  Stop worrying about everyone else and what the magazine adds tell you to be and seek God for his plan for your health and nutrition.  What worked for someone else may not necessarily work for you.  Seek God!
  • Take it Slow- One mistake we usually make is we pull the plug and make drastic changes all at once.  Then we fail miserably and pile on the guilt later and claim, “we tried.”  Unfortunately, most of us want instant results and instant gratification.  It didn’t take you a week to gain that extra fifty pounds or have high blood pressure so it is going to take more than a week to remedy the problem.
  • You Need A Buddy – Seriously, don’t even try and change a major habit on your own.  You need the support and accountability of a friend who will let you succeed and sometimes fail without piling on the guilt.  You need someone who you can model your health after and someone who will celebrate with you.  Isolation = failure.

Treating our bodies well is not an option, its a requirement of those who want to follow Jesus!  The big target on the wall is writing a LIFE TRANSFORMATION VISION for your Physical Health.  You should be doing this in your small group this week. Pray, then write the God inspired vision He has given to you, then make it happen!

“I urge you therefore brothers in view of God’s mercy to present your bodies a living sacrifice, this is your spiritual act of worship.”        Romans 12:1-2

You are a part of something incredible!  Credit Cards are being cut up, debt is being paid off, people are giving at levels that we have never seen before at 217church!  Are you maximizing your life for the advancement of the message of Jesus?  This Sunday is about nutrition and exercise!  Post your workouts here and be encouraged!

I have to admit, this is really fun!

Josh

 

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What Makes Churches Grow?

I have been asked the question and done a lot of research about what makes churches grow.  I have talked to other pastors and leaders and have a passion for helping people succeed in their mission.  I want all our churches to grow!  Not just ours but EVERY CHURCH IN HAMILTON!   Here is the punch line, it’s what I believe…Churches grow when PEOPLE start growing.  Some people would say, what do you mean growth?  Are we talking about people on Sunday? People in groups?  It could be, but I think those numbers are the by-product of people who care deeply about inviting their friends into their lives to share authentic Gospel community.  Does that mean inviting them to “church”?  Yes.  Does that mean inviting them to my small group?  Yes.  It means to be known and to know others. When we invite people into our lives with intentionality, they realize we want to walk through life with them.

So What does growth look like for us?  Let me give you a few words. I think this following verse sums up what we need:

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” John 13:34-35 NIV

  • Family – You got it, a tight family.  That means we have each others back! That means our church is like a reality TV show and everybody is watching.  In John 13 Jesus tells us loving one another is the key to church growth.  It is a measurable leverage to achieve health. We must all ask Jesus the question, who is it in our community, in our work place, in our neighborhood who you want us to make a disciple of?  This is the definition of a missionary, “sent ones.”  It’s not just crossing a body of water, but may involve crossing the street. When was the last time your neighbors came into your life?  True biblical mission starts with a deep love for one another on display.
  • Intentionality – You have heard the phrase, “if you aim at nothing you will be sure to hit it.”  If we aren’t intentional about loving one another, growth won’t happen.  This is what our groups are all about, Love. This isn’t not a program driven approach but a people driven approach.  If you are in a group, your group becomes attractive when you love intentionally.  Here is a practical way to show it.  Adopt a single mom into your group, then help her and provide for her needs.  Watch her kids, mentor her children.  Her children are your children.  Become intentional.  Through “Live Differently” God is asking us to be intentional and take some faith filled risks.

These next days of Live Differently at 217church will be life changing!  Growth doesn’t happen overnight but you have NO IDEA how one simple act can transform someone’s life.  Every single interaction matters! Let’s love each other 250 STRONG in SMALL GROUPS!  More love = More growth!

It’s a privilege to do this together,

 

Josh

 

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Easter is Here! Get the Word Out 217church!

It TIME 217church! I’ve never felt this much momentum in the history of our church for a weekend.  It’s the beginning of our LIVE DIFFERENTLY SERIES!

Why are we making such a big deal of this? It’s all about the PEOPLE and God’s love for US… Here is how you can help create a BUZZ!

People find 217church through you, and I think we are on the brink of some pretty incredible stuff!!  This is Central New Jersey, where we haven’t seen a church planting movement in decades.  However, you are starting something BIG!  You do an AMAZING job when it comes to reaching your friends and family members who do not know Christ and bringing them to church!  I talked to someone just last week who was a friend of a friend of a 1st time visitor just TWO WEEKS AGO!  We have seen 90 baptisms and we are just getting started.

There are a few days left…YOU can get involved and help us spread the word about Easter at 217church…

  • Go to our 217church Facebook Page and become a “fan” if you are not already.
  • Share the link to our Easter Services Event on Facebook Here on your facebook page!  Use the Invite button to invite your friends.
  • Put a link to our Web Site which has our service times.
  • We have created EGG HUNT AT THE THEATER on Easter at 11:30am for kids. Invite your neighborhood kids & families!
  • Tweet about the site and Facebook pages above with a link and a hash-tag #217Easter12.
  • Pray like crazy that 2 Corinthians 5:17 would become a reality and that people would become new creations on EASTER SUNDAY!
  • Re-tweet and link to this post to help people get the word out about Easter at 217church!

It’s going to be the BEST EASTER EVER!!!

You are a swift and potent social media force!  LET’S DO THIS!

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Getting Healthy – Spiritually

Do you want to be healthy?  Yes, of course!  It’s a no brainer.  As a matter of fact, The question is not whether or not we want to be healthy, but will we make the tough choices in order to be healthy.  As we enter into the Easter season in a few short weeks, I want to take time to introduce you to four key areas of health we will be tackling through the Live Differently series.

What does spiritual health look like?

“It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17 NIV)

Going to Dr. Isn’t fun.  As a matter of fact I avoid him at all costs.  But it is something I need to do from time to time.  During this series we will introduce the concept of a Life Transformation Vision. (LTV)  Writing and implementing a LTV will be like a prescription for health God writes for us.  In each area of health focus you will have the opportunity to listen to God and write a vision that will inspire you to be healthy.  A vision that will lead your life guided by the Holy Spirit that lives within you and encouraged by those in your small group.  As a matter of fact, we want EVERYONE to be in a 217group throughout this whole 50 days of Live Differently.  How will you make the most of each Life Transformation Vision?

Be Honest – You can’t get to where you want to be until you have an accurate picture of where you are.  Take a snapshot of where you are and then move on. God wants us to grow and be connected to his vision for us.  (John 15)

Be Open- Never stop learning what God’s word says.  Be humble and yield to what God’s would say to you. Listening is a powerful too increase your health.  Immerse yourself in God’s Word and he will surprise you with a fresh vision and renewed calling.

Be Proactive- Take a risk and make something happen.  Start a habit, but whatever you do, be bold.  Our bold steps of faith will lead to health.  No one gets healthy by continuing to do what they are doing. (I think they call that “insanity”)

Spiritual health is not an option, its a requirement of those who want to follow Jesus

28 Him we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom, that (A)we may present everyone (B)mature in Christ. 29 For this (C)I toil, (D)struggling (E)with all his energy that he powerfully works within me.  Colossians 1:28-29