Recently I was on board a beautiful new boat with a friend. While the boat looked absolutely stunning from everything I could see, the owner told me it was time to pull it out of the water and see what unwanted debris was hanging on under the surface.
As any boat enthusiast knows, this is about the time of year when owners pull their boats out of the water and check for those things that are not easily seen from the top. Over time, various forms of debris accumulate on the hull. Foreign particles and parasites attach themselves to the hull, hoping for a free ride, but creating increased resistance to the smooth flow of water and slowing down the boat itself.
We all experience this process of build-up, sometimes in ways that are slow and difficult to detect. Inaccurate beliefs, unhealthy assumptions, lack of faith, succumbing to criticisms and feeling defeated may cause us to slow down and limit our effectiveness. We may even become numb to our original values, dreams and passions. A job loss, financial pressure, low self-esteem and feeling stuck can literally feel like barnacles on our hull that drag us down or stop us from moving forward.
Maybe it’s time for you to strip the boat. Put yourself in dry dock for a day or two and commit to removing all the debris that has accumulated on the hull of your life. Take a fresh look at where you are and where you are going. Hopefully you’ll uncover those old childlike dreams once again. The vulnerability of stripping down to the hull may feel threatening, but it’s not as threatening as continuing to drag along through life with the weight of unfulfilled dreams and the baggage of misdirected activity.
Business, relationship, financial and health failures often bring us to a point where we feel dead in the water. And yet it is often in this forced cleansing process that we have the freshest opportunities for new, invigorating growth. Embrace these times as opportunities for reflection, rest and meditation, confident that on the other side will be renewed strength.
Is there an opportunity you think you may have missed due to barnacles on your hull?
We just booked our hotel rooms for next weekend's getaway to "Backstage-Elevation" in Charlotte, NC!
The itinerary looks like this: 6 REVOLUTION Church Launch Team members will speed down to Charlotte on Saturday, attend the brand new Elevation Church Matthews campus 6PM service. Then, Sunday morning at 5:30 AM, we'll join the Elevation crew for set-up at Providence High School, stay for the service, then speed back to Ohio. We'll only be gone for about 36 hours, but we expect to learn A LOT!
Why Charlotte? Because Elevation Church is one of the fastest-growing churches in America. At less than 4 years old, their church attendance is over 5000 people. Pastor Steven Furtick and his staff are wild and crazy, and will do anything (short of sin) to see that people far from God are filled with life in Christ. We love that about them! We've been to Elevation twice in the last 6 months, and we LIKE what we see!
Why does this matter? Because in order to reach people around here who don't do church, we have to do things that aren't currently being done in churches around here.
We love learning from the best! That's why we do road trips...so that people will be connected, empowered, and transformed thru Jesus.
Carlos Whitaker says: "I believe this video annihilates the idea that people want to show up to an event (church) and stand in rows and be sung and talked to. Safety is overrated. People want to be a part of something big."
We agree. Ohio Valley-GET READY FOR SOMETHING BIG!!
Hey All! Just dropping you a little note to let you know that although the blog has been quiet, things are DEFINITELY on the move in the REVOLUTION department! The Directionary Leadership Team has been hard at work on a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff that will make Revolution come to life!
Our team has made several advances over the past few months and God is continuing to open new doors for us each week. Recently, we have:
legally organized our movement by acquiring an EIN from the IRS. We are officially named “Revolution Church”
opened a P.O. Box (P.O. Box 644, St. Clairsville, OH 43950)
opened a "REVOLUTION Church" Bank Account and PayPal account and have began accepting tithes and offerings from our supporters (all contributions are tax-deductible)
begun the process of filing our 501(c)3 (non-profit) paperwork, as well as Articles of Incorporation application
issued our Belief and Values Statements (see website), Strategy, and Leadership Structure (complete with Financial Secretary & Treasurer)
started a weekly Bible Study that is growing & fun
been holding weekly organizational meeting with our leaders to update each other on progress and to plan our advances
planned a launch date (monthly preview/practice services beginning in March or April, then weekly services begin next Fall)
found an EXTREMELY viable and ideal location that will be perfect for reaching our target audience and fulfilling our mission and vision. (We are currently waiting for a decision to be made as to whether or not we will be able to meet in that location on Sunday mornings as well as what it will cost. PRAYING HARD ON THAT ONE!)
Most importantly, we continue to meet new people who have "given up" on church. They long for a place like REVOLUTION. We continue to pray for those that don't yet know Jesus and that we can continue to meet people and build relationships with those who need to hear about Him most.
In the coming days, we will post some detailed information about our values and strategy for reaching unchurched people in Belmont County. Make sure to check back often!
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