(Scott Hodge is introducing Dave Gibbons)
(And here comes Dave... All my comments will be in paranthesis)
(Dave's reading a wanted ad from Craigslist ... It is seriously tragic)
Craigslist: Most women are artificial ... At least I'm being up front about it
"Your looks will fade, but my money will go one forever."
Response to Craigslist: "You are a depriciating asset."
Past the humor of this craisglist ad, we all have a desire to connect
We want to not only know, but be known
What are the connecting points to society?
Each generation needs to come up with their own nomenclature
Platform of pain: How we reach those around us
There's a great emphasis in America on strength and size ... particularly in the military
We've designed our churches in the same way: How big are our buildings and our staff?
What is 80% of our budget went to helping those in the city and 20% went to operational staff instead of the other way around.
What are the real numbers for success in your church? What if success in your city meant declining numbers... Less divorce, poverty, etc.
We've become barbarians in the way we treat the margins of our society
When the East looks on the West in how we treat the elderly they see us as barbarians.
Maybe our metrics are skewed so then our communications is skewed.
I woke up in the morning, way early, and Isaiah 6 was just beating on my soul:
bit.ly"Lord I'll go, send me!" How many times have we heard this at missions conferences? But have they ever completed the chapter? We usually end at verse 8.... Do you see what's after those verses?
When there is personal revelation of your weakness it releases more fully the power of the Holy Spirit.
If you don't talk about the pain, you'll see a consumeristic culture continue
Confession and repentance brings healing because it shows the heart...
How are you dealing with the stumps in your life? City? Church?
When we deal with the stumps, the holy seed is planted
bit.lyOur attitude towards pain plays out in our spiritual disciplines
Even secular companies will put aside the assessments and listen to the person's story that's sitting in front of them
Assessments are only windows inside of a person (strengthsfinder, etc.)
We're not listening to the people's story and meeting the Holy Spirit therre
We're just steamrolling them into our programs
(Sheesh. That's heavy. And true)
Prophetic prayer is the key to unlocking pain and meeting the Spirit there.
We don't have time to hear people's pain, do we?
It's not one size fits all, we ask what the Spirit is doing and customize something for them.
Let's re-assess our assessment process.
Train your people to listen to others story ... Teach them to listen to the Spirit and customize a plan for them,.
(This is like water to my dry soul right now!)
"Your dad was having an affair." No, that can't be true!
(Telling the story of how he found out his dad was cheating on his mom)
My dad died a year and a half ago ... MY dad came back to God 20 years after the affair.
Why, LORD? The LORD allowed me to go there to allow me to see the stump in my life ... So he could produce a holy seed
You're not sure what to do in your ministries anymore ... God's going to plant a holy seed
The revelation of your brokenness will release the power of the Holy Spirit.
Prayer: Give me more of you, Holy Spirit.
(And Dave is out.)
