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Special Thanks To Johnny Roten
Johnny,
Great job on the new webpage bro. You are the man.
Russ
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Launch in the Morning
I am so wired that I cannot sleep. We had a donor dinner tonight served by our launch team. They did a unbelievable job serving our staff and our donors. The dinner was catered by Willow’s Bistro and the food was amazing. But what topped everything was a group of people who were committed (giving) to the vision of Sparking a Revolution of Life Change through Jesus. Powerful! I felt like we were in the upper room (Mt. Castle @ the Milton Rhodes Center for the Arts) praying for Pentecost tomorrow. Pastor Nathan and Pastor Whit did an excellent job communicating our story to the donors. Brooke Robbins (Elevation Girl) as we call her did some stage design stuff that blew my mind. Who knows what is going to happen tomorrow. Two years in the making and in less than eight hours REVO Launches. All praise to God for all he has done to get us to this point. I pray that we glorify him big tomorrow.
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REVO LAUNCH in 3 days..
Two years of prayer and planning and we are finally here. As I look back over the last two years two words come to mind over and over. Favor and opportunity. God all along the way for REVO has extended favor in finances, people, resources, relationships, and family. Time and time again he has opened and closed doors at the right time. He has blessed our families, our staff, and our friendships. It has truly been amazing to see God work in such a real-time way. Because of his favor we have had opportunities to share the gospel in unexpected places, forge new relationships, and influence the city of Winston in a positive way. Now as we approach launch I pray that we will stay in his favor and seize every opportunity that God entrusts to us. A chapter is ending and a new one is beginning over the next few days. I pray we will enjoy each page and look with anticipation to the chapters ahead.
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We have been entrusted with an opportunity.
In the past few weeks after one of our pastors Whit shared with the staff this idea that “we have been entrusted with an opportunity.” I have been constantly reminded as I work that everything I do is a tremendous opportunity to either further the Kingdom of God or to further my selfish desires. If we all sit back and analyze our lives most everything we do is self seeking. For example: I want my coffee this way, we look at ourselves first in a group picture, and do not dare cut in front of me in any sort of line. However, when you begin to see everything you do as an opportunity to MOVE FORWARD in your life by moving the Kingdom of God forward it changes things. You study harder, you take every conversation seriously, you prepare more for speaking opportunities, and you look for ways to invite people into your life. Your days go from auto-pilot to all hands on deck. Let me warn you however. If you make the shift and stop missing opportunities you will be tired at the end of the day. But I say it is better to be tired and know you did something worthwhile than to be rested and have no points on the board. What are your thoughts? You can reply at www.discoverrevo.com.
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The power of the invite.
I am learning more and more as we approach our launch service in February the importance of inviting others to be a part of your life. It is not just about inviting people to church but it is about inviting people into your life. Your life is the greatest gift that you posses. Inviting others to be a part of that gift is life giving to you and to them. Christ said to his disciples “Come follow me” and that meant more than just listening to sermons and studying scripture. It meant come a share life with me. Meals, travel, fishing, fun, work, and sacrifice. Society says that the church is irrelevant, judgmental, and hypocritical. Jesus was none of those things. When we huddle and play Jesus to each other (the American Church) no wonder the world says those things about the church. Invite someone to your life and say “come follow me”. You may be surprised when they find your life relevant, accepting and authentic.
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Sitting by the Fire.
I have a good friend who I respect tremendously joined me for a fire last night to talk about life. We talked about money, shared dreams, family, and community. My friend has unlimited potential and whatever he puts his mind too he is going to be great at it. He and I share a lot of the same values and in many ways we are similar. Even though we do share some of the same values he would admit that we differ on our thoughts about Jesus but we are both willing to have a conversations about him.
Despite these differences he has been an unbelievable friend to REVO this past football season. He gave the church his personal tickets to Wake games so that we could give them away to others. He could have kept them for himself but instead he decided to be generous. I am blessed to have him as a friend.
Last night while we were talking about life I was sharing my salvation story and my friend said to me. ”I don’t mind you saying that to me because I know that you believe it.” Man if you are reading this thanks for saying that. Church when we are real with people and they know we want something for them and not from them they can tell. My friend reminded me that people expect us to talk about what we believe in. To not talk about it is to be fake and unreal. To my friend I say thanks for reminding me to speak often about what I believe to be true. I hope we get another chance to sit by the fire.
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Blessed to Bless Others Genesis 12:1-3
In this Thanksgiving season I can’t help but think about Genesis 12 when God calls Abraham. More and more every day Anna and I realize how blessed we are. For instance I woke up this morning in a warm bed in a warm house that is placed in one of the warmest (socially) neighborhoods in Winston. I have an daughter that God gifted Anna and I with in a period of seven days, and when you ask her whose girl she is she always says “daddy’s girl”! Awesome! I have great parents and so does Anna. We have more than we need financially and we are part of a team of people who care for Winston and love Christ. Basically we are blessed in every area of our lives and yet somehow we want more for us instead of others. During the last few weeks God has given us tons of opportunities to bless others. It has been a refreshing two weeks. It was if that is what we are designed to do. It is funny how we forget so easily this simple principle that God is declaring to Abraham in Genesis. I am learning that when we use our blessings to bless others the opportunity to proclaim Jesus is easy. When we don’t the message is canned and judgmental. Blessing others builds relational equity and lays the ground work for future conversations. Jesus would give a command or model something and then say the following. Go and do this and you will be blessed if you do. I have new friends this week because we shared a blessing with others. At the end of the day outside of my family the most valuable thing I posses is my relationships with restaurant owners, tattoo artists, ball park staff and local teachers. They bless my life in ways that a static bed, house, or possession can never do. Church go bless someone during this holiday season and be thankful for what you have instead of dreaming about what is not yours anyway.
Love Big!
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Washing Cars
A few months ago when Anna and I had just moved to Winston-Salem we lived in an apartment complex on the west side of Winston-Salem. We had only been in town for a few weeks and knew no one since we were the first family on the REVO Team to move to Winston. At the apartment complex you had to wash your car in a certain spot where they provided a hose and vacuum. Anna’s car was dirty from all the travel and it had been neglected because of our move so I took it down to wash it. While I was there I took notice of a young guy who was washing a car and doing a great job. The car was very clean and the tires were shinny. You could just tell that he really took pride in his work. I kept watching and I noticed that people would come by drop their car off and leave their keys with the young man. To me this communicated so much about the guy washing the cars. It was obvious that he had gained the trust of the people in the apartment complex and that people admired his work. I spoke up and introduced myself to Jerome who is now one of my close friends some six months later. Jerome and I kept running into each other and he helped save our apartment from burning down a few weeks after we met because we left rice on the stove and Anna returned the favor with some homemade goodies. Jerome and I served together and I had a chance to spend a lot of time with Jerome as he moved from one apartment to another, brought things back from Atlanta, and hung out with the REVO Team. This past Sunday Jerome returned the favor and served hard at our first preview service by setting pipe and drape and running our parking team. But what is cooler than that is that he gave his life to Christ after playing ball with Whit and Nathan on Monday night in the parking lot of the Polo Road Gym. Tuesday night of this week we had birthday party for Jerome to celebrate his new birth in Christ and as I was leaving he reminded me that our relationship started with a couple of guys washing cars almost six months ago. Jesus modeled for us this idea of “as you go” be about seeking the kingdom of God and engaging the world. The next time you are washing your car take a look around. Who knows what God may do with two people washing their cars?
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TILT WEEK
This week in Winston-Salem is all about TILT. Tilt week is a where REVO hosts youth groups to come and serve in the city of Winston. This year we have two youth groups represented. We have a church called Oak Point from Anderson, SC and Harris from Greenwood, SC. We will be serving in the morning at soccer camps and in then afternoon we will be working with the Rescue Mission downtown. We got started yesterday and it has already been an awesome start. The students and the team prayed their way into the city and back. We passed potential buildings to meet in and businesses where the REVO team work. We stopped along the way and prayed for guidance at these places where ministry is or may be beginning.
Thoughts for the Week:
How can we turn this city on its axis with the Gospel?
How can we as a team allow our hearts to be broken for the people of Winston?
We have got a lot of work to do in the city and it begins with one life at a time.
REVO has an amazing team that is giving sacrificially to be in the city to serve this week as volunteers.
I pray that I move one step closer to becoming a pastor of the REVO team.
