Something I Read Today

This post is from Steven Furtick, lead pastor at Elevation Church in Charlotte, NC. We both graduated from North Greenville College, but I haven't had the opportunity to meet him yet. But I know God is blessing his ministry and thousands of lives have changed in the process. Enjoy! And remember "Information without application and transformation is an abomination!"


Excellence: An inside jobSeptember 24th, 2009
…He overlaid (the ark) with pure gold, both inside and out, and made a gold molding around it…-Exodus 37:1-2

The ark of the covenant represented the presence of God. It served as the storage center for the Ten Commandments, and was Israel’s most sacred possession. It makes perfect sense to overlay the ark with gold on the outside. Everybody’s going to see that part every time it makes a public appearance. Obviously, we want to do everything we can to make God look good, and to represent him well in front of others.

But why bother overlaying the inside of the ark with gold? Wouldn’t silver suffice? Is that really necessary? Isn’t it a bit opulent? Extravagant? Wasteful? Secondary? Unproductive?
Not for a purpose as important as the presence of God. Only the best is acceptable.

I recently challenged our staff to find as many ways as possible to overlay the inside of the ark-the part of our ministry that no one sees-with gold. To give great effort to the hidden details. This doesn’t come naturally.

We’re good at getting our crap together in the high traffic areas of our ministry:Music, lighting, production, videos.But do we overlay the ark with gold in the places no one sees?Are we prompt? Do we keep our spaces clean and organized? Is our communication timely and clear?
Let’s make it more personal. Do I overlay the inside parts of my personal life with gold? Do I speak well of others at all times? Do I monitor my private thoughts…even though they aren’t projected on the big screen? Do I wear the SuperPastor cape on weekends only, or am I a loving, kind, thoughtful husband and father Monday through Friday?

It’s important to give our best to the seen and unseen places in our lives and ministries. Here’s an axiom for reflection:

When we honor God in the places no one seesHe will honor us in the places everyone sees.

Excellence is an inside job.

Vacation

We're having a great time on vacation here in Orlando. It's been a very relaxing time with my family, and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to spend this uninterrupted time with them. The only thing I hate is that it is coming to an end so quickly. But we will not be thinking about that just yet. My wonderful wife got us tickets to Arabian Nights for this evening and then we are headed back to see the big mouse tomorrow.

Faith Comes By Hearing

This past year I was introduced to a Christian organization called Faith Comes By Hearing. This organization has an interesting ministry. They partner with Wycliffe Bible Translators and others to put the Word of God in the "heart" language of all the nations in audio format. They do this because so many of the worlds population are illiterate or are from oral based cultures. But the best thing is that they work in producing the bible in the heart language of these people. It's not that they can't speak another language, but that it means so much to the people when they hear about Jesus in the language of their birth.

HGBC is participating with Faith Comes By Hearing beginning Monday, September 14. That Monday we will begin listening to the New Testament in 40 days. We will be handing out FCBH audio versions of the NT in the KJV and NIV for adults, along with a kids version as well. All it takes to get through the whole NT in 40 days is 28 minutes a day. I have been sampling some of the work over the last few days and I love it. The listening time is made very enjoyable because it is dramatized. It's very moving to hear the Scriptures in this format, and I can say that the time flies by. I can't wait to do this with my family at home along with my church family beginning in just a few days.

I encourage you to get your audio copy of the NT and take the 40 day challenge. I believe we will all be changed as we listen to God speaking to us through his word this way. If you want to get a preview go to http://www.faithcomesbyhearing.com/. You can find a live stream of the entire NT there. I am also looking forward to demonstrating for you the "proclaimer" which is the device FCBH uses in the jungles, etc... to share the Scriptures with those in need of the Savior. It is solar powered and up to 300 people can listen at a time. We will be taking several love offerings in participating with FCBH. It costs $25,596.00 to produce the whole NT in a language or $948 for each book of the NT. I would love for us as a church to be able to help with at least 2 books of the NT.

I pray that as God blesses you through this time in his word that he will place within you a great desire to help with this magnificent endeavor. God bless you.

Pastor Mike