give up to go up

below is a post i totally hijacked from james ridgers blog -  http://www.jamesridgers.com

i was planning on sharing this info, but he did such a brilliant job - here it is …

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The Change

I will be transitioning out of leading the worship ministry at The Summit over the next couple of months and in to something new and exciting at The Summit.

The Reasons

There are a few reasons, the biggest and most obvious being because God wants me to. Trust me, I’ve fought the flesh on this for a couple of months because I love being a musician and I love leading the music and the worship at church and I love the team of amazingly talented people that I get to lead. But nobody wants to end up like Jonah, right? Sometimes it sucks to obey God, but even when that’s the truth, the reward, whatever that is, will be far greater than my pathetic human wants and desires.

Secondly, it’s no secret that Rhonda and I have been spending our Friday nights at Saddleback’s ‘Celebrate Recovery’ ministry for a while. Through the process and involvement and learning and all that goes with that ministry, we’ve developed a deep desire to see people set free from their hurts, habits, and hang-ups. Seeing the struggles that people had during the ‘My Secret’ series at The Summit last year was an alarming eye opener that we all struggle with issues from our past and our present that we need to overcome. Rhonda and I will ultimately be launching and leading a Celebrate Recovery ministry at The Summit.

There are other smaller reasons that contribute to this; my job is requiring increasing focus and dedication, Rhonda and I have a desire need to spend more time together, we want to be serving and leading together etc.

The Clarity

This is a healthy change. No, really. This is something that Rhonda and I decided upon before talking with Scott & Mary. It’s really that simple. This is something we asked for, not something that was asked of us by anyone.

Once we’ve found a new worship director, you’ll still see me in the band from time to time, just not every week, and not as the band leader. I’ll still be playing, probably every few weeks or once a month or so; the musician in me won’t let that die.

Also, this doesn’t mean I’m stepping away from serving or stepping away from leadership. Rhonda and I will both still be deeply involved in serving and leading at The Summit, just in a different capacity.

The Next Step

This is where you can help. Obviously we need to find a replacement for me. There are various avenues and resources available to us, but the best thing we can all do is pray for God to bring us the right person, and to give Scott and I the wisdom needed to fill the worship director position. Please pray with us for all this and for a smooth transition.

That’s enough for now. I’ll have some more posts coming this week expanding on a few thoughts that I’ve been mulling over as a result of this. The truth is that I’m incredibly excited and incredibly motivated by this.

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i’m so proud of james and his sensitivity to follow God’s lead and take a risk.  i know how much james loves to play, sing, lead and build the team.  mary and i have found ourselves at the crossroads of incredibly tough decisions and have learned that when we GIVE UP WE GO UP! 

“Risk your life and get more than you ever dreamed of. Play it safe and end up holding the bag.”                Jesus, Luke 19:36 (MSG)

values-driven

at the summit we have 7 core values (they are listed below).  after hours of discussions (with mary and our leaders) we were able to clarify what was really important to us and identify what we would put our ministry focus on (and where we would spend our energy and resources).  

Jesus was values-driven!  he valued people and devoted his entire ministry to reach and rescue the broken, lost and hurting.  our values our ultimately inspired by Jesus.  to get the results that Jesus got - we have to value the things that he valued.  

all my thoughts lately have been toward (our value of…) reaching outsiders.  i’m seeking God and asking him for wisdom on how the summit can be salt and light on campus at uci and in irvine/oc.  i sense God encouraging me to get everyone at our church aligned and living our our God-inspired values.  i realize this will not happen overnight and is not easy to do.  when the summit’s values are fully understood and echo in the heart of every member - we will start seeing God move in a powerful way.  

“make me very happy by having the same thoughts, sharing the same love, and having one mind and purpose.”  philippians 2:2 (ncv)  i’m convinced that we will see our church grow massively as we unite and become values-driven.  our values have made us alive with God’s love for people.  our values are the personality of our church.  our values are based on God’s Word and are eternal.  our values when lived out will change our hearts, our church and our world.

Summit Values:

1.     Biblical Authority

God has spoken to us through the Bible and we recognize it as the final authority for our lives

·      Is your life increasingly governed by God’s Word?

2.     Intimacy with God

God desires to have an intimate relationship with each of us.

·      Is your relationship with God growing?

3.     Reach Outsiders

We are empowered by the Holy Spirit to share God’s message of love          and forgiveness.

·      Who are you reaching out to?

4.     Relevant Environments

Every environment should make it easy for people to connect with God in a creative and meaningful way.

·      Are our gatherings appealing, engaging, enjoyable, and helpful?

5.     Life Together

Belonging, accountability, care and spiritual growth happen best with  relationally-connected believers.

·      Are you in a small group?

6.     Servant’s Heart

We are most like Christ when we serve others and give of ourselves.

·      Where are you serving?

7.     Next Generation

We are committed to reach children, youth and college students – they are       the future leaders in our church and in God’s kingdom.

·      Are we successfully impacting younger generations?

something greater

jesus walked up to men and said, follow me, and i will make you… they dropped what they were doing and immediately followed him.   jesus met a woman at a well and said, follow me, and you will never thirst again… she tossed her bucket down and ran to get her friends.

we were all wired with a hunger for something way bigger than ourselves.  i want to be the kind of leader that offers something bigger to anyone that is willing/called to follow.  i recently realized that God has brought together an incredibly gifted bunch of leaders to the summit.  a month ago we met at our advance and God supernaturally united us and brought incredible encouragement to all of us.  i believe the reason God united us was for a purpose - to do something that will outlast us - to make a difference for eternity. 

proverbs 29:18 says, “if people can’t see what God is doing, they stumble all over themselves; but when they attend to what he reveals, they are most blessed.”  i think the biggest issue at the summit is that we fail to see what God is doing with us and don’t comprehend the overall significance of our individual contributions.  my prayer is that we would remember that what we do will have eternal results.  this past sunday, 5 people gave their lives to Christ.  this was a direct result of all of our individual contributions that helped to create the atmosphere where the Holy Spirit could change lives.  

Jesus often conveyed to his followers the significance of what they were doing.  he spoke time and time again about purpose, calling, talents, hard work and the long-lasting benefits of them giving their lives for something greater than themselves.  i think he had to constantly remind them, because they forgot.  

for me it is crystal clear - God desires to use the summit to decrease the lostness at UCI, in irvine, and in orange county.  his will is that every man, woman and child would have repeated opportunities to hear the good news in a relevant and meaningful way.  i pray that God gives every person at the summit a vision of something greater than themselves.  i pray you fully understand how important your individual contribution is to your local church and to God’s kingdom.  live for something way bigger than you!