Foolish Acts

As a church planter, I think I have a new and fresh understanding of what it means to live in the “fear of the Lord”. I really don't mean that in an arrogant "knowledge" kind of way... it's really a type of confession. It’s a constant and crazy mix of confidence and intentionality wrapped up in a little bit of insecurity and wonder. And God’s hand or presence being removed is my greatest fear. I guess that’s why my study today in 1 Samuel 13 struck such a chord with me. Two verses stood out like they were written in a different font:

"You acted foolishly," Samuel said. "You have not kept the command the LORD your God gave you; if you had, he would have established your kingdom over Israel for all time. But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought out a man after his own heart and appointed him leader of his people, because you have not kept the LORD's command." 1 Samuel 13:13-14

What more can you say? There is a ton of power in these two verses. In these words are both found (1) hope and (2) consequence. The hope is that God is not passive... He is not detained... He will not only SEEK out a man after his own heart, but He will find one in David. He'll find it in the least expected: a young shepherd boy. The consequence is that since Saul did not seek God out prior to going to battle or prior to selecting his men, it would not be him labeled as one who sought after God's own heart. He tried... after the fact. He tried to commit to the Lord something he had already done. But it was too late.
So as church leaders our promise of hope and our warning of consequence is this: May we always be those who seek after God's own heart. And may we never venture forward prior to God's leading or void of His way.

Faithful to the Promise

The first time I ever heard of Steven Furtick was last Thursday. The timing was right before he was to go on stage at Catalyst, a Cultural Leadership Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. Craig Groeschel introduced him as a 28 year old who started a church in Charlotte, North Carolina... and in the following year or two it grew to over 5000 people.

So, of course, I wanted to hate him. No one can do that unless they sold their soul to the devil, right? Or even worse... compromised the message of the gospel. Surely! Right?

But if I heard them right, they said that through their ministry over 1000 people were baptized in the last year. Kinda killed the "transfer growth" theory. Then they mentioned other ridiculous things that were happening there which honestly, made me jealous to the core (not really, okay kinda) ... so I just decided to wait and cast judgment after he took the stage.

Then He took the stage. Yup, I hate him. He had on a sweet jacket. Jeans were suspect. bleached and spiked hair. I mean, who does this guy think he's fooling? We're veterans for crying out loud and this guy is a kid (okay, I got him by 8 years, can I say that?) Worse yet, he kinda has that side-ways Matt Damon smirk.

And He started talking. What first looked like arrogance quickly sifted into the confidence of a strong leader. He was brilliant. Anointed even. And he moved me to the core. There were some fairly simple thoughts shared. But the Spirit and energy was fresh and it was real. If anything... as a church planter... I was encouraged. I was also reminded of the journey... and of hope.

Here's my deal: It takes all kinds. Whether that manifests itself as a rapid growing church or one that gives away more than it keeps... as long as Jesus and those that don't know Him is center... whether that's attractional, seeker, missional, whatever... I pray we all use our gifts and CALLING in the way God intended. On this day I was encouraged... a gift that I don't even know if Steven has.

Thanks Steven. Good stuff.

Some quotes…

· Between the promise of God and the pay-off is the process.

· When you are struggling through what seems insignificant to you, hang on to the promise of God.

· Be faithful in the process. Don’t get your eyes on the “big” thing or the “successful” place—just be faithful in the process.

· After David was anointed, where did he go? Back to the fields to be faithful in his role as a shepherd boy.

· There’s got to be more to life than putting money in a 401, buying a boat, and then dying.

· Be faithful. Be faithful Be faithful.

Good to Great

Last week my staff and I spent a few days in Atlanta at Catalyst, a Cultural Leaders conference focusing on the next generation of church leaders. I can't help but post some thoughts from Jim Collins (Author of "Good to Great" and "Built to Last") on Building a Great Church. Here are just a few thoughts from his talk for those of you who couldn't make it.

· Within every organization or company that is great…you will find a culture of discipline.

· Most overnight successes are really about twenty years in the making.

· It took 7 years for Sam Walton to open his 2nd store. It took Starbucks 13 years before they had 5 stores.

· How do the great typically fall? It’s not through complacency. It is typically over-reaching that derails great organizations. Going too far, too fast.

· A great organization is more likely to die of indigestion of too many opportunities rather than starvation of not enough opportunities.

· #1 sign of over-reaching and the start of decline: When you grow beyond your ability to have the right people in the right seats on the bus.

· It is the undisciplined pursuit of more that will kill an organization.

· We need to spend more time on who and less on what. If you have the right who, they will figure out the right what.

· The people who do well in difficult, unpredictable situations are never any better at predicting the future than anyone else.

· We are in turbulent times. The years 1945-2000 were an anomaly. The convergence of stability and prosperity. It is unlikely we’ll see this again in our lifetimes.

· The greatest CEO’s from the greatest companies in history had one distinctive characteristic that separate them from other leaders. The trait is HUMILITY. Humility is the key to level 5 leadership.

· If it is about you…you will not build something great. And only you know if you are all about you.

· If you make your church dependent on your powerful personality…you are being irresponsible.

· It may take 30 years to build a reputation. It only takes 30 seconds to destroy it.

· Every generation needs to determine their own practices to passionately adhere to the values that cross through all generations.

· Everyone on your team should be able to articulate their responsibility and not just their title.

Moral Authority

“Simply put…” said Andy Stanley, “…moral authority is maintained when your creed matches your deed”. Individually this is both simple and profound but also true. Culturally and corporately it is as well.

I love Andy Stanley. Not because of his success (while that doesn’t hurt his credibility) but because of his posture. I’ve never sensed arrogance from him. His words always seem to come from a pure place. He always seems to share something profound that simply resonates with my spirit… better yet, I’ve never heard him stick his foot in his mouth (which is rare among such highly scrutinized church leaders of today).

And he’s convinced that moral authority has everything to do with how people view whether or not we do what we say is important to us. Because if we don’t, we lose respect (credibility), and when we lose respect, we lose our ability to influence (lead).

As a church leader, this is an important thing to understand. Andy exposed the fact that we do not have an official authority over anyone. We may think we do, and many times we operate as if we do, but we really don’t. If we lose the respect of our members, they just leave. If we lose the respect of our staff, they can do the same. They may last for a while, but eventually we lose our influence and ability to lead them.

Most unchurched or de-churched people aren’t reading our church purpose statements, values, and doctrinal statements to see how we’re different one from another (Other Christians who treat the church like a buffet line at Luby’s do, but not the unchurched). They somehow just know that Christians are supposed to love others and not judge others. To them, that’s our true “creed”, it’s ironic that our reputation in the secular world is the exact opposite. Ed Stetzer wrote recently in “Lost and Found” that a massive majority of unchurched and de-churched claim hypocrisy and judgment as their number #1 and #2 reason they stay away from the church. That’s a problem. We’ve lost our moral authority in the eyes of many. To them, we’ve lost their respect. The result, we’ve lost our influence with many. Our cultural reality is that this is how the “church” sits with the majority of the unchurched in America.

Today I'm reading in 1 Samuel 8. In it we clearly see that the sons of Samuel had lost the respect of the people as well as their moral authority. Inevitability their moral influence was compromised. Their deed did not match their creed. Verse 3 says, “…his (Samuel’s) sons did not walk in his ways. They turned aside after dishonest gain and accepted bribes and perverted justice.”

They had lost their Influence… their credibility… and their power. And so the people called out for a different kind of leader. They called out for a King.

But in our nature to make everything about us, let’s not lose our perspective. God reminds us that this condition is not fully conditional. This loss of influence was directly impacted by the degrees of separation of the nation of Israel from their God. Not just the lack of influence of Samuel’s sons. They were already one click away from falling… and the loss of the Judge’s moral authority was the tipping point. This is evidenced through verses 7-8, “And the LORD told him: "Listen to all that the people are saying to you; it is not you they have rejected, but they have rejected me as their king. As they have done from the day I brought them up out of Egypt until this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so they are doing to you.”

Israel was big, and as they say, “the bigger they are the harder they fall”. Even a small ripple can have a massive impact. As Leonard Sweet put it, “Big trees fall over in a storm; the little and mid-sized trees are best equipped to stand and sway in the storm”

I don’t think they knew why they felt they were in a vulnerable position, they just knew that the leader and process they had, they no longer had confidence in.

We are in a similar position in the American church today and most certainly in our post-modern culture. Our personal gods are numerous. Money, position, pride, success, the list goes on and on. And moral authority is often questioned. I would venture to say most feel we are one “click” away as well. And in these moments of felt crisis and uncertainty, the world needs to see the church rise in their influence. We don’t rise by our words and creeds alone, we rise through God’s truth and our actions… it’s HIS creed and our deed.

When we think about making an impact on the unchurched world, we should shape our efforts from this posture. That's our hope at Austin New Church. That it would shape our starting point. When we don’t, we’ll see that our target is really other believers or existing church, not the lost. When we look at those who are skeptics of faith, we should acknowledge their true starting point and meet them there. That’s what Jesus did. He went to Samaria. He went to the Sheep Gate Pool. He went to the temple to address the Pharisee’s. He went to the wedding party. He went to the Tax Collectors house. And His creed matched His deed.

One final thought. Isn’t it interesting that the Israelites said, “Give us a King to judge us”. Yet when that’s what they ultimately got (Jesus) they rejected him? We have a heart problem. We know what we need. We know what we ought to do or have. But without a heart transformed, we just don’t have the “want”. If we could somehow remember that, we’d stop pointing the finger, we’d claim a humble posture, and I think we’d discover more of God than ever.

Okay. That was probably three blogs in one.

The Power of One

Could you imagine going at life alone? I simply cannot.

“Then all the Israelites from Dan to Beersheba and from the land of Gilead came out as ONE man and assembled before the LORD in Mizpah. The leaders of all the people of the tribes of Israel took their places in the assembly of the people of God, four hundred thousand soldiers armed with swords.” Judges 20:1-2

Friendships, partnerships, and teamwork make almost anything possible and it makes the journey more enjoyable as well. And they’ve got your back. When an injustice is done, there’s nothing quite like having a friend or colleague fight for you. Israel did this. In Judges 20 we see assembled an army of 400K men ready to rock. It was in the following verse (vs.3), that they finally asked, “So tell me what happened”. They were ready to defend before they even knew what they were defending! All they needed to know was WHO they were fighting for… the WHAT seemed very secondary.

There’s nothing quite like being on the team that accomplishes so much. The U.S. Army knows that, it’s why their new recruiting slogan is “An Army of One”. The idea appeals to each of us at gut level. So much more can be accomplished when we work together. Much more than any one singular entity, no matter how great, in partnership we are that much more productive. And in different kind of ways.

I’m reminded of this recently at ANC (www.AustinNewChurch.com) and our South Austin Cares (www.SouthAustinCares.org) relief efforts during Hurricane Ike. Because we are a new church (5 months old), we are pretty lean so we were able to mobilize quickly, take in evacuees, rally our resources, and make a HUGE impact immediately. But then after a week and a half of going “all out” we all realized how spent we were. And I mean “spent” in every sense of the word. That’s when our partnerships fell into place. At the beginning we had moral and directional support through some great counsel from my friend Alan Graham (www.mlfnow.org) , were given our first opportunity to serve through a call from the Austin Baptist Association (www.austinbaptist.org), and away we went, a hundred miles an hour.

Then as the days went on, our houses filled up, our trailers filled up with supplies going to Houston, and our partners and friends began to give to our efforts… where our resources were running out, our relationships with Vista Community Church (www.thevistacommunity.com) , Generations Church (www.gen-church.net) , some amazing parents rallying together from my son’s soccer team (Go Scorpions!), and individual members of Austin New Church, we were able to continue (and even expand) our efforts.

When the time came to realize we had done almost all we could do…and develop a sustainable relief strategy… it was an easy transition to point all our people and incoming resources to our more established partner ministries like Mobile Loaves & Fishes (www.mlfnow.org) and the Capital Area Food Bank (www.capitalareafoodbank.org) . Amazing. Like an Army of one… never missing a step.

I’ve been reading a ton of books lately on the condition of the church. Almost every study and survey tells us that people are leaving the church, as we know it, in droves. Mostly because people feel the church has become irrelevant and an insignificant contributor to their faith. Many claim not to be rejecting God, they are rejecting the institutionalized church. George Barna predicts that in 15 years, “House Church” will represent the majority throughout America. There are many reasons for this, some I even agree with, most I understand, but what I don’t get is the lack of connection with the greater body of Christ. It seems to me we are missing something when we do our own thing, especially if our motivation is control. Maybe that desire comes from being burned, feeling like your church is out of control, or whatever… but that seems like we’ve reverted back to the school-yard and saying, “I’m taking my ball and going home.” This is definitely not a team attitude, definitely not a good starting point, and definitely not the posture you want in casting a vision for something new.

Scripture tells us that we should rejoice when Christ is preached in “all” forms and ways. Paul wrote that. So I’m not critiquing the House Church (or any form of church for that matter) as something wrong. As long as Christ is proclaimed, I’m good. I’m just basking a bit in the amazing partnerships we currently have, seeing the benefit of network, and realizing that I couldn’t dream of doing it any other way.

We are a gift to one another. Thank you, God.

A Great Offense

Okay, this is going to be a weird twist of thought. But here it goes: We should learn from our enemies (The Philistines). What was the lesson to be learned in 1 Samuel 4? They saw a serious threat, they acknowledged how serious it was, and they attacked it with all they had. They didn’t dig in and create a stronger defense, instead in their fear, they “strapped it on” and attacked. Check it out:

“When they learned that the ark of the LORD had come into the camp, the Philistines were afraid. "A god has come into the camp," they said. "We're in trouble! Nothing like this has happened before. Woe to us! Who will deliver us from the hand of these mighty gods? They are the gods who struck the Egyptians with all kinds of plagues in the desert. Be strong, Philistines! Be men, or you will be subject to the Hebrews, as they have been to you. Be men, and fight!" So the Philistines fought, and the Israelites were defeated and every man fled to his tent. The slaughter was very great; Israel lost thirty thousand foot soldiers.” 1 Samuel 4:6-10

This week I had an opportunity to hang out a bit with Hugh Halter and Matt Smay, authors of “The Tangible Kingdom”. I love being challenged from guys who live their faith out of the box. I love it when I’m forced to ask questions I might not normally ask. It’s good to increase our exposure, even if we don’t agree with everything. Many times it can open our eyes and take us places we wouldn’t have gone on our own.

Hugh was sharing from Jesus’ instruction to Peter in Matthew 16 where He said, “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will NOT overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." Matthew 16:18-19

His thought was that as we think about the Kingdom of Heaven, many times we think of it as standing in opposition to the Kingdom of Hell. But that is not what Jesus called it. He didn’t call Hell a Kingdom. Jesus said that instead we should see it as a gate. He said the “gates” will not overcome the church. He drew light to the fact that the gates were keeping us from passing through and experiencing the Kingdom of Heaven. It’s not something we should just “avoid” and stay clear of. He reminded us that they are a serious threat to our advancement. Our typical response is to “Defend” our faith, our ways, our church, our tradition, our methods… but what we need to be doing instead is seeing the threat for what it is and go on the offense. Like the Philistines, We need to be thinking about ways to ATTACK this threat because it is something to be concerned about, not something to be passive about. We should take it seriously, identify the problem, rally our troops, and attack.

I guess what he is saying is that the “best offense” isn’t always a great defense… sometimes it really is a great offense.

I love it that the Philistines realized the magnitude of their threat. They were legitimately scared. So many times we are overtaken because we underestimate the strength and cause of our strife. Especially in leadership, we at times deceive ourselves. It’s too easy to pretend everything is okay. Julia Duin, religion writer for the Washington post in her book “Quitting Church”, said that in all her research the most baffling thing to her was the fact that Pastors were in denial of what’s going on in the American church culture. If the pastors are in denial, their flock will be too. It’s too easy to get tunnel vision and defend our path. I heard once that the greatest threats to the church is when we don’t think we are in crisis, when we pretend everything is going great and it’s not. When in fact the church thrives in crisis. Just look at countries where church is “underground”. They hold some of the largest churches and are experiencing some of the greatest revivals in the world.

But let’s look at us for a moment. Forget the stats that say many are leaving church. Let’s take a moment to look at those who remain. Since I can remember the typical thought is that 20% of the church is doing 80% of everything, not just the giving, but the leading, the serving, living on mission, etc… in some churches it’s 10% doing 90% (and it’s been this way for a long time). Guess what? If our main goal is to make disciples and to equip the body for works of service, then what we’re doing is not working. To 80% of our people, what we say is really irrelevant to their lives. Hearts are not increasingly changing and compassion is not increasingly growing. We’ve lost ground for those who leave, for those who stay, we’re simply maintaining 20%. Are we okay with that? If any of my kids came home with a 20% on their report card, I’d have a cow. That’s not even close to being acceptable. We’re only perpetuating it if we don’t address it. It’s a fact that people are leaving the organized church in droves… let’s start looking deeper at the why. Let’s start asking some tough questions. And let’s start listening to the answers.

I believe we need to look at the big picture of what God is doing in the Kingdom, and fight. We already know the answer to who wins. Jesus said the Gates of Hell will not prevail. So let’s attack them.

How? How about with the methods Jesus mandated we live. How about starting with love and compassion. How about putting people before process and keeping them there. What if we took the time to evaluate where the greatest physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual needs are in our city and make a plan of attack to both meet needs and make disciples. How about we make the sacrifices to show genuine concern for others. How about a concern for the least of the least, those without hope. How about we pour into people as if we truly loved them as we love ourselves. How about we give of ourselves for others and not just our personal agendas. We’ll have to consciously fight for that, because of our selfish nature. How about we listen to the other part of Matthew 16 where Jesus reminded us that on this rock, if we trust His ways, HE not us, will build His church. He gave us the keys to the Kingdom not to "our" church.

Jesus knows this goes against our fleshly nature. This is a battle we all struggle with daily, but as leaders we must work diligently to lead people towards this. It's not only worthy of our efforts, it's biblical, and it will work. This is a battle I find myself in the middle of, and I’m not going to stop fighting.

Raising Godly Boys

Today I fearfully consider the position of a father. Even more so as a Pastor who has boys.

“Eli's sons were wicked men; they had no regard for the LORD.” (1 Samuel 2:12) This blows me away. What a profound and awful statement to be said of anyone’s children, much less of a man committed to the Lord.

Here are some thoughts from Mathew Henry on this reality, “Eli shunned trouble and exertion. This led him to indulge his children, without using parental authority to restrain and correct them when young. He winked at the abuses in the service of the sanctuary till they became customs, and led to abominations; and his sons, who should have taught those that engaged in the service of the sanctuary what was good, solicited them to wickedness. Their offence was committed even in offering the sacrifices for sins, which typified the atonement of the Saviour! Sins against the remedy, the atonement itself, are most dangerous, they tread under foot the blood of the covenant. Eli's reproof was far too mild and gentle. In general, none are more abandoned than the degenerate children of godly persons, when they break through restraints.”

And the opposite which is said of Samuel, “Samuel, being devoted to the Lord in a special manner, was from a child employed about the sanctuary in the services he was capable of. As he did this with a pious disposition of mind, it was called ministering unto the Lord. He received a blessing from the Lord. Those young people who serve God as well as they can, he will enable to improve, that they may serve him better.”

God, make me the father I need to be. Protect my boys from the world. Protect them from my scars and inability. Make them into Godly men, who become Godly husbands and fathers themselves. Make them men who “serve you as well as they can” that you might enable to improve, and that they may serve you better. Amen.

The Withholding

Sometimes God withholds, when He does, often the gift is even greater than when He gives. That doesn't mean I like it. At least in the moment, but this isn't a new thing for God. Think for a moment the season when Hannah was unable to get pregnant in 1 Samuel. As if that wasn't enough, others piled on, adding to the pain.

“This went on year after year. Whenever Hannah went up to the house of the LORD, her rival provoked her till she wept and would not eat. Elkanah her husband would say to her, "Hannah, why are you weeping? Why don't you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don't I mean more to you than ten sons?" – 1 Samuel 1:7-8

You can’t help but see the obvious pain Hannah is experiencing. In this time period, to bear children was one of the most culturally significant things a woman could do, and Hannah was unable. She was tormented not only by this reality, but also other women.

Yet in her pain, she had a husband who loved her much. In fact, scripture leads us to see that he loved her most and had felt deep empathy for her (vs.5). And she missed that. I guess my short thought for today is to make sure in our moment of thinking about what we don’t have, that we don’t miss out on what we do have.

With the 700 Billion dollar bailout on everyone’s mind, I’ve heard from many evangelical leaders that although this could have a terrible financial impact on many, it could be one of the best things that could happen to our personal faith and the corporate church. I don’t know if that is true… or if that is even part of God’s agenda. Certainly any trial can sharpen our faith. But, as I said at the beginning, the one thing I do know is that sometimes God withholds, when He does, often the gift is even greater than when He gives.

What about Women

Women are an amazing gift from God. If we see them as anything less, we are idiots. Women are a critical part of not only our lives, but also the church. It’s been that way from the beginning. Their commitment, intuition, and influence are at times, simply unparalleled. It’s a shame when we think of them as anything less than those who “together built up the house of Israel.” I can’t help but hear the story of Ruth and Naomi and think about the impact women of the world, from Phoebe of the NT to Mother Teresa. God has used their faith to radically impact the Church as we know it.

“Then the elders and all those at the gate said, "We are witnesses. May the LORD make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, who together built up the house of Israel.” – Ruth 4:11

And what about our own “personal” world? If it wasn’t for the faith of my Mom, I don’t know where I’d be. If it wasn’t for the faith of my wife… geeze, I can’t even imagine.

So today, in a world that de-values the role of women… I simply celebrate them. I celebrate and thank God for their ministry. I’m thankful for my wife Jen, who followed God’s calling and found His favor as an author and speaker. I pick on her sometimes and call her “Jen Hatmaker .com” (especially when she’s getting bossy). But I’m truly thankful for her ministry and all she’s contributed to my life and ministry. She’s more than a compliment to me, she’s the perfect gift.

Fella’s out there… you hear me?

Ruth 1 “It Still Hurts”

Ruth 1 – Brandon Hatmaker “It Still Hurts”
Austin New Church – South Austin Cares
Friday, September 26th, 2008

"Don't call me Naomi," she told them. "Call me Mara, because the Almighty has made my life very bitter. I went away full, but the LORD has brought me back empty. Why call me Naomi? The LORD has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me." – Ruth 1:20

It’s so easy to skip over Naomi's pain in chapter one and go on to the story of Ruth and Boaz. Naomi had lost her husband and both of her sons. No one should have to outlive a child, needless to say both of them. I cannot imagine the grief that would cause. But don’t forget her husband had died as well… Naomi had no person to heal with but her daughters-in-law. This was real pain.

But we know how the story goes, right? We know how God literally redeems the situation and a son was born whose lineage just two generations later would birth King David, and eventually Jesus. Although those victories were born out of extreme pain, Ruth would have never married Boaz with out the death of a son and husband.

It’s so easy to look at someone else’s pain and say, “Just trust God, He is faithful”. It’s easy because it’s true, and especially when it’s someone else’s pain. But although we know God will be proven faithful… it still hurts and we should never forget that.

So Today I'm thinking of all those I know who are in pain. I think of all of those who are suffering in this moment who have lost a loved one, are from broken homes, have broken relationships, are jobless, maybe homeless, are living under circumstances that are from things that are out of their control or even those that are from personal mistakes, for those experiencing consequences of others actions, the list goes on…

May God comfort you in your season of need. Forgive me if and when I have ever neglected your feelings. Forgive us as the church when we are not understanding or worse for not responding to your pain. May God teach each of us how to humble ourselves and care for one another. May God give us compassionate and empathetic hearts as we wait for His rescue and healing.

Judges 17 “Mediator”

Judges 17 – Brandon Hatmaker “Mediator”
Austin New Church – South Austin Cares
Friday, August 19th, 2008

“So he returned the silver to his mother, and she took two hundred shekels of silver and gave them to a silversmith, who made them into the image and the idol. And they were put in Micah's house.” Judges 17:4

It would do us good to stop reading for a moment and think what it might have been like to live under the Old Covenant. The people knew the needed a mediator between themselves and God. It's amazing what they’d do to fill that gap. Anything really. Idol worship was one of the biggies.

We do the same thing. If you think about it, every void we have is designed to be filled by God or His ways. Yet the world offers a substitute for it all. Whether it’s relational, physical, or emotional. The substitutes are temporary, self-focused, and inadequate…. Yet mostly tangible, so we chase after it. They are idols. They are the “mediators” between us, and the completeness we crave.

God is everything that is good. He is everything that is pure and righteous. He is everything that is complete. I’m thankful today that under the New Covenant, we have a mediator. We don’t have to make it up and hope it honors God. We already know the answer.

“For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” – 1 Timothy 2:5

Judges 15 “Jawbone”

Judges 15 – Brandon Hatmaker “Jawbone”
Austin New Church – South Austin Cares
Wednesday, August 17th, 2008

“As he approached Lehi, the Philistines came toward him shouting. The Spirit of the LORD came upon him in power. The ropes on his arms became like charred flax, and the bindings dropped from his hands. Finding a fresh jawbone of a donkey, he grabbed it and struck down a thousand men.” Judges 15:14-15

Quick thought for today: I’m so tired from this week’s festivities. In light of the recent Hurricane in Houston, we’ve been hosting dozens of people in our homes… making supply and relief trips to the coast… and I’m simply spent. It’s funny how I feel a little useless today (I know it's just cause I'm tired... I can be honest too, right?). I'm feeling a little overwhelmed with the journey in thinking about all there is to do in our community, world, and even our church… yet I found encouragement in these words.

Surely if God can use the Jawbone of an ass to do his work, he can use any of us. That’s a pleasant thought, huh?