BrianIngraham.com | ASPIRE

I was reading Ed Stetzers book, “Planting Missional Churches” and came across this:

“…The top three qualities people look for in a church (whether consciously or subconsciously) are good parking, nice women’s restrooms, and excellent child care.”

When I read that I had to laugh. We don’t have any parking, we do have a bathroom, and as for child care… well, Heather is fantastic but it is definitely time to step it up.

What I do see when I look at our church are people who genuinely desire to become godly men and women. People who love Jesus. People growing in hunger for the word. I see a passion. A fire. Faith. People who dare to hope… to believe. A people on the brink of overflowing into the west end. It is exciting.

I love the people in our church and am blown away by God’s goodness in bringing us all together… what a great, ever increasing body of Christ!

What do you love about your church?

In Floyd McClung’s article entitled Apostolic Passion he defines apostolic passion as:

“A deliberate, intentional choice to live for the worship of Jesus in the nations. It has to do with committed to the point of death to spreading His glory. It’s the quality of those who are on fire for Jesus, who dream of the whole earth being covered with the Glory of the Lord.”

His article goes on to state three things that help cultivate apostolic passion:

• Apostolic Abandonment: In living in a world of competing passions, if we do not die to self we will end up with other passions by default.
• Apostolic Focus: “The greatest enemy of the ambition to see Jesus worshipped in the nations is the lack of focus.”
• Apostolic Praying: Commitment to be an intercessor for humanity. Lots of daily praying…
• Apostolic Decision-Making: “There are too many over-fed, under-motivated Christians hiding behind the excuse that God has not spoken to them. They are waiting to hear voices or see dreams, all the while living to make money, to provide for their futures, to dress well and have fun.” Apostolic decision-making is a choice to be dedicated to the proclaiming of the greatness of God by how we live and what we do whether we have a specific call or not.

It is always a good time for a heart check. How are we doing in the cultivation and living out of apostolic passion in our day and appointed places to live?

I was reading Exodus this week and this one thing in Chapter 33 just jumped off the page.

Moses is talking to God and he says, “What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”

He was talking about “God’s Presence.”

May ‘God’s Presence’ once again distinguish me and the people of the kingdom of God from all the other people on the face of the earth.