oneness

God is one (Father, Son, Spirit) - he is fully united and exists in perfect harmony.  there is not any division or strife or friction in the trinity.  Jesus said in mark 12:29, “listen, the Lord your God is one…”  his will has always been that we would experience life as he does - to live as one together.  Jesus prayed hours before the cross that God would make us one (see john 17).  His prayer still echoes and in my opinion has only partially been answered.  when will we fully unite with each other and experience the oneness that Jesus prayed for?  why does the enemy fight non-stop against us uniting and becoming one?  

remember the tower of babel?  genesis 11:5-6, “but the Lord came down to look at the city and the tower the people were building.  look!  he said.  the people are united, and they all speak the same language. after this, nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them!”  we know that God came down to confuse the languages and mercifully dealt with prideful men that had set themselves up against Him.  but the point i want to make is this - when people unite and all have the same vision and start speaking the same words of faith - nothing they set out to do will be impossible for them!  seriously think about this.  God said that when we unite, become one and all start believing, working and building together that we can do the impossible.  the enemy knows this! no wonder his mission is to divide us and attempt to fill our relationships and churches with contention and disagreement.

this is why unity is so incredibly important and why we need for “oneness”.  two years ago, when mary and i launched the summit, we agreed that we would stay current with each other and with others.  what i mean by this… is that… we would not allow anything to just get swept under the rug and we would deal with issues, disappointments, challenges and problems right away.   

after last weeks summit leaders advance - i sense that God is making our leadership team and our church one (and i wholeheartedly believe that nothing is impossible for us.  i’m so excited about the future and can’t wait to see what happens next.  i’m convinced that God will (at least) double the summit by the end of the year.  we are called to reach outsiders and help others get closer to God.  together we can accomplish this… but remember… it’s all starts with oneness.  so lets continue to unite, fully become one, and attempt the impossible!  may God use you to answer Jesus’ prayer - may God use you to bring a spirit of unity to those you are called to do life and ministry with.

i expect God to unite everyone at the summit so we fully experience acts 2:42-47:

they committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers. everyone around was in awe—all those wonders and signs done through the apostles! and all the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, holding everything in common. they sold whatever they owned and pooled their resources so that each person’s need was met and they followed a daily discipline of worship in the temple followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful, as they praised God. people in general liked what they saw. every day their number grew as God added those who were saved.

09′ leaders advance

this past weekend we had our first summit leaders advance in dana point, ca - and it was incredible!  we had six other couples join us and the plan was to build relationships, strategize together, cast vision and pray.  i had all these big plans to inspire the team, challenge them to step it up and do their part to help our church go to the next level.  but God had other plans!

mary and i thought it would be a good idea to take the first 30 minutes and go around the room and have everyone share what they appreciate about everyone else (the basic “circle of love” team building exercise). so we picked the first person and began.  what happened next was unlike anything i have ever personally been a part of.  the Holy Spirit orchestrated 3 hours of uniting our hearts and we all experienced an uncommon outpouring of encouragement.  as a direct result of this diving encounter I have fresh strength, renewed joy and a greater expectation that God is going to use us to reach people and touch lives like never before.  

“Christ makes us one body… connected to each other.”  Romans 12:5 (GWT)  only God can unite a leadership team and make them one.  our job is to focus on what we have in common, not our differences. we need to choose to encourage one other and purpose to never criticize.  we have to stay current with each other and practice God’s methods for conflict resolution.  God uses us to encourage one another and give each other strength.

i feel so connected to each of our leaders now.  i’m so thankful that God showed up this weekend and messed up my agenda.  i can’t wait for the next summit leaders advance.  i pray God unites you in a supernatural way to the people he has called you to do life and leadership with.  start today by speaking words of encouragement (in person, e-mail or a note) to someone in your sphere.