Hey there OVRevolutionaries! I received a "Sweet Tweet" today from Perry Noble. Here it is:

"Fear will cause us to sit around and make up scenarios that COULD happen.....Faith will cause us to fully engage in things that SHOULD happen!

We have to be making moves each and every day, that are taking us toward the vision that God has for us. Faithfully stepping our every footstep towards Jesus and sharing HIM with people. Our Faithful actions in building HIS church will multiply, grow and gel together, to become something more amazing than we could ever dream of, as long as, we keep our sites on only HIM!

Wanna be part of an Ohio Valley Revolution?

Well-many of you are talking about the Up-and-Coming REVOLUTION Church, so I thought I'd blog a little update for ya!

The Directionary Leaders are hard at work, behind-the-scenes, working through all of the sometimes exciting (sometimes monotonous) processes, forms, and systems that it will take to bring REVOLUTION to life! We are working on Discipleship Plans, New Believer processes, By-Laws, Articles of Incoporation, Mission statements, etc. We ARE making headway on those things and...

drum roll...

we have completed the required documents and we are now a "real" church!

We have a Federal ID number and a checking account. (What can I say-it sounds simple, but it's a BIG deal to us and a BIG deal to Belmont County!) All conributions are now tax-deductible. We will soon add "online giving" to our website for your convenience. Thanks in advance!

In other news:!--You can now follow us on Twitter @OVRevolution and FaceBook! Make sure you share the link with your friends!
--Our website information is being updated regularly! Check back often!
--We are currently funneling all people interested in Revolution through our Sunday night Bible study. PLEASE do not wait for Sunday services to express your interest. We need you now. When we launch our Sunday morning experiences, we plan on launching large (around 200 people) and we will NEVER get there, if everyone waits for a Sunday morning before they check us out.
--"CONTAGIOUS: A study of the Book of Acts" begins August 23rd. If you want to know more about REVOLUTION, we need you there! Contact me at jessica@OhioValleyRevolution.com for more info!

Exciting stuff is happening daily! Stay tuned!

by Shaun King of Courageous Church:


Yesterday I received emails from two total strangers about our church.
The first email was pretty harsh and proclaimed that I was “shortchanging the Gospel” by making church and Christianity “sound fun.” The author ended her email by stating, “I am obviously not your target audience.”
The second email was the polar opposite. Here’s an excerpt:
“I’ve been reading about your church. I am not really sure where my religious views fall, I really just mix a lot of ideas up, but I am not a Christian. I do however find your church to be an amazing example of what I feel church of any religion should be. You inspire me to give church another chance.”
Here’s the thing…the first email was a blistering critique from a seasoned, lifelong Christian. I could get bent out of shape by what she thought, but to her own admission, she is not who we are trying to reach.
The second email was from a person that is on the fence with God and the church and made a total heart connection with our style and strategies. This person epitomizes our target audience.
At the end of the day you have to know who you are and you aren’t. In some ways, I actually saw the critique of our church as a compliment because it confirmed that we are successfully projecting ourselves just the way we planned. When you know who you are(n’t) you can take a lickin’ and keep on tickin’

Not that I thought you guys needed to hear about a couple of emails from Courageous Church, but I would like everyone to hear that this project (ultimately, Revolution Church) will eat, sleep and breathe this mentality. People of the Ohio Valley that are far from God, but yet know that there is more to life than what they are experiencing, will be of utmost importance to us! We are about people that do not know Jesus. Wanna be part of an Ohio Valley Revolution?

Just wanted to say that God is so wonderfully faithful!

We discussed some "areas of uncertainty" the other night (not "obstacles", since He's bigger than anything we call an "obstacle"). And by yesterday, the paths were made straight and the answers weren't just clear, but they were really, really good solutions!

And I love it that our team was thrilled, but not surprised! After all, we operate out of the certainty that this is God's vision for a church, not ours.

Glory to God- It's an honor to do Your work!

FOOLS FOR CHRIST by Mark Batterson:

PERFECT!

It seems like the people that God uses the most are the people who are willing to climb trees like Zaccheus or get out of boats in the middle of the lake like Peter or follow stars like the Wise Men or chase lions like Benaiah! Translation: they are willing to look foolish.

I Corinthians 1:27 reveals God’s modus operandi: God deliberately chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise.

Nothing has changed. God still uses fools.

Faith is the willingness to look foolish. And the reason some of us have never experienced a miracle is because we're not willing to look foolish. If you aren't willing to look foolish God can't use you. Why? Because God uses the foolish things. So let me say it like it is: if you aren't willing to look foolish you're foolish.

Don’t tell me Noah didn’t feel a little foolish building an ark when rain wasn’t in the forecast for another 120 years! Don’t tell me David didn’t feel a little foolish going to war with a slingshot. Don’t tell me Benaiah didn’t feel a little foolish chasing the king of the beasts. Don’t tell me the Wise Men didn’t feel a little foolish when Jewish border agents asked them the reason for their visit. Don’t tell me a professional fisherman named Peter didn’t feel a little foolish stepping out of the boat in the middle of the lake. And don’t tell me Jesus didn’t feel a little foolish hanging half-naked on the cross in front of him family and friends.

But faith is the willingness to look foolish. And the results speak for themselves. Noah was saved from the flood. David defeated Goliath. Benaiah killed a lion in a pit on a snowy day. The Wise Men found the Messiah. Peter walked on water. And Jesus was raised from the dead.

So I was doing dishes today, listening to the new Elevation Worship CD (which is wonderful), and thinking about some conversations that I'd had recently.

That's when it hit me.

It really, really hit me.

"We're starting a church with no money, no pastor, no denomination, and no building."

In the Ohio Valley.

No wonder some people look at us like we're crazy! What are we thinking???

And then it hit me. "We ARE crazy! We're really, really crazy!"

Crazy about the fact that there are people in the Ohio Valley who have yet to find a church where they fit.
Crazy about the fact that there are people going through life, just doing the best they can, trying to be a good person, all in their own effort, without the hope or help of Jesus.
Crazy about the fact that too many people are ok with God, but have lost faith in the church.
Crazy about the fact that a church that does things that have never been done before has a wonderful opportunity to reach people that it has never reached before.
Crazy about the fact that it doesn't have to be this way!
Crazy enough to care enough to want to make a difference!

We ARE crazy! And I love it!

We are doing something SO CRAZY that if God doesn't bless it, it will be impossible!

We're making it all about Him, and we're trusting that He will provide what we need to make it happen for Him and His glory.

And we'll do whatever it takes to see that happen.

From PerryNoble:

#1 - Am I loving “social networking” more than Jesus?
#2 - Am I loving my particular brand of theology more than Jesus?
#3 - Am I loving my particular worship style more than Jesus?
#4 - Am I loving my platform more than Jesus?
#5 - Am I loving attention more than Jesus?
#6 - Am I loving facilities more than Jesus?
#7 - Am I loving opportunities more than Jesus?
#8 - Am I loving ritual more than Jesus?
#9 - Am I loving success more than Jesus?
#10 - Am I loving the ministry more than Jesus?
Basically…am I loving ANYONE or ANYTHING more than Jesus!

Jesus has got to be the at the center of all we are trying to accomplish! Whether it is a life-changing revolutionary church, or the relationships in our life-at home or work. What areas of our life do we need to re-adjust to put Him first?