Currently having a great conversation via twitter that started with this initial question:

How would you answer? Before you do, here are some snippets of additional dialog that you may consider as well:

So, should one tithe to the church? Is a tithe 10%? Should giving be considered a tithe? Can one–in a biblical sense–give to those in need outside of the church and consider that their tithe…thereby not giving to the church as well? Your thoughts are appreciated.

I’m still reflecting on my last session with Pastor Tom Morgan, my spiritual director. [For those of you haven't considered meeting with a spiritual director, or may not know what one is, please check out this overview] Tom has a great way of sitting back and hearing me out, then helping clarity rise to the surface simply by asking, “Where is God in all of this?” Having operated for so many years with a strong calling to plant a church, it is so weird–sometimes frightening–to not be driven by this calling. Through my time with Pastor Morgan, I am beginning to embrace this unknowing feeling of not sensing a clear call to action. As I release myself from the burdens of seeking finite and absolute direction from God, I believe that I am being filled with something even greater. It’s a new calling and one that I don’t have much experience with. I believe that God wants you to reflect on this calling for your life as well. No matter what you feel about your ministry and how called you are to pursue it, take a look at a far greater and superior calling found in 1 Peter 2:9-10:

⁹But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. ¹⁰Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Your calling is to come out of the darkness and into the light. To live a life transformed through your faith in Christ, by his grace, to love God and love others. Yes, God’s calling which is superior to any calling you may operate under is to be in eternal relationship with him. God loves you and asks that you love him in return. He cares more about you than he cares about your ministry, sermon prep, long hours in prayer for your church members, etc. First and foremost you must have a strong relationship with God first.

I have always known this, yet have been so busy looking for signs and confirmations of how to move forward in ministry, that I have put ministry ahead of my relationship with God often. Now, as I have come to embrace the fact that I have excluded myself from formal ministry in favor of having some intimate time learning of how my Creator wants to know me more, so that I can in-turn know him more, I can experience the highest calling ever placed upon my life.

Your ministry, family, community, church…those are all important things to be called to. I don’t want to discount that. However, if you put those things ahead of your personal relationship with God through Christ, then you are setting yourself up for some lonely days and a lot of failures. God called  you to himself first. Honor that calling above all others and you can know with certainty that you operating under his will and that he is pleased.

Saw a tweet from Exponential yesterday from my friend Jenni Clayville:

“LOVE is to risk. When we play it safe, we aren’t being like Jesus.” –Alan Hirsch

It caused me to reflect on how often we (his disciples) see Jesus in so many different ways. Some may say it’s a reflection of the various aspect of Jesus as he goes about meeting our needs or calling us closer to him, but I would disagree. I think regardless of how we feel Jesus is speaking to us, we always think of it from his perspective of loving kindness. However, in reality, Jesus was a risk taker and game changer! He challenged the authority and even the traditional rules of the holy sabbath day. Jesus was rarely in a place that would be considered safe. So, if we are truly following him, then if we find ourselves in safe and comfortable places, is Jesus really just one step ahead?

I’m reminded of the Nooma Video titled Dust. It’s titled Dust because back in Jesus’ day rabbis had followers that walked with them everywhere in the hopes that they would learn some great piece of wisdom. Rumor has it that they followed so closely that even while going to the bathroom a rabbi could expect a disciple to be at his side in fear of missing out on something if he weren’t there. They had a saying back then:

“May you be covered by the dust of your rabbi.”

Which in essence meant, may you so-closely follow in the footsteps of your rabbi that as he walks, the dust that gets kicked up from his sandals covers you. Pause for a moment and process that. Take any of the gospel accounts of Jesus that you can think of and imagine following him that closely. You’ll realize that Jesus was a very dangerous man in his day, and he has called us to follow him into those areas as he covers us in his holy, loving, empowering dust.

First of all, let me clearly state that I do not lead worship by vocation and that these are merely observations. However, do know that I have studied the worship/arts ministry extensively and am someone that believes the worship leader is almost equally as important to the church as the senior pastor.

Here are 6 things I’d like to say to worship leaders:

1. Be responsible: Do you know why most churches lead off with a set of worship songs before a sermon is given? It’s a way for people to toss out all the junk they brought into the service and start presenting themselves before God. When people have had a chance to open up their hearts to God and forget about the cares of the world, they are more open to hearing and understanding his Word.As a worship leader, God is entrusting you with the church to help lead them into a spirit of worship. Unfortunately, I see a lot of worship leaders that are very gifted musically, yet aren’t taking the responsibility of leadership seriously.
2. Connect with the church: I can’t tell you how many times I have been in a church service and watched the worship leader worshiping God so deeply that their eyes were closed and they were disconnected with the rest of us. For anyone in the service not singing, they were watching one person singing worship and not drawn into the experience. Open your eyes people! While you may think you can lead by example, you can’t get people to follow you unless they get cues to do so. Draw them with your eye contact and expressions. Let God use you to help bring others into a spirit of worshiping him.
3. It’s not a competition: You are not there to compete with the preaching pastor for time in front of the audience. Going over-the-top for the sake of attention really robs God of his time of worship. As long as the music is stopped and people are listening to you speak, the longer God goes without worship. Please do engage your people and give them verbal cues for lyrics, maybe a quick scripture verse comment as you play the lead-in of a song, but please don’t try to be the center of attention by storytelling. It’s all about honoring God with our worship, not about you.
4. Know your people: One of the things that worship leaders may do is get too repetitive in a song. If your people will follow you and give their worship to God, by all means keep doing that. However, often times I’ve seen worship broken when people are asked to repeat a chorus five, six, eight times. If you’re leading, but your people aren’t following, you’re really not leading. If you feel God moving you to repeat a chorus numerous times, watch how your people respond. If they disconnect and start watching you to see when you’re gonna get to the next song, please don’t take them to that place in the future.
5. Cast the vision: While it may be your senior pastor that casts the vision for your church, know that you too are responsible to share that vision with the people. The songs you select can be very important to this. For example, the church plant I lead is called Revolution Church Sacramento. We have two songs that really speak to our vision. Our vision is: We seek to be a church of transformed people that God may use to help transform the lives of others in the Sacramento area. So, one of the songs that speaks to this is Revolution by Starfield, which ties into our name. The other song is God of This City by Chris Tomlin, which speaks to God moving in the hearts of people in our city and a call to the church because greater things are yet to come, greater things are still to be done in this city. Your song selections can help reinforce the vision of your church. Of course, above all else, the songs must honor and glorify God and help reveal Christ
6. Impart your personality: You are unique and you bring that to your church. If you are a naturally bubbly person with a lot of enthusiasm, let that shine in your worship. Be expressive, compassionate, loving, passionate…whatever it is that is you, share that in your worship. It helps to make you more authentic–which actually helps to keep you from being a distraction to worship–and causes people to want to connect with you and worship God together with you. Don’t just be a figurehead on stage singing to God, let people see the real you!

What would you add to this list?

As I ponder what’s next with the call God put in my heart to share the love & grace of the gospel of Christ, I am reminded of the powerful and thought-provoking words of the song God of This City by Chris Tomlin and how I was moved to tears when I first heard this song. The chorus tells us:

Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done here

Won’t you take a moment to watch the video and let this song speak to you today?

[youtube]u008Ksx3mBU[/youtube]

You’re the God of this City
You’re the King of these people
You’re the Lord of this nation
You are

You’re the Light in this darkness
You’re the Hope to the hopeless
You’re the Peace to the restless
You are

There is no one like our God
There is no one like our God

For greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
Greater thing have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City

There is no one like our God
There is no one like our God

For greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done here

There is no one like our god
There is no one like our God

[Chorus]
Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done in this City
Greater things have yet to come
And greater things are still to be done here

On page 274 of The Divine Conspiracy, Dallas Willard writes in regards to Jesus’ discourse in Matthew 7:13-27:

You enter this kingdom community, he first points out, by a narrow gate. That is, there is a correct way to enter, and not just any approach–the “wide way that leads to disaster”–will succeed (vv. 13-14)

He then goes on to say that those leaders that are to be trusted are the ones who actually learn to do what Jesus taught was best. That in calling Jesus Lord or doing great works in his name is simply not enough.

Willard contends it’s about hearing and obeying:

• “The one who hears him and does what he says accordingly builds the house of his or her life to be totally indestructible. The house is built upon a rock, not upon sand, where the winds of life will knock it down.”
• “The narrow gate is obedience–and the confidence in Jesus necessary to it”
• “The fruit of the good tree is obedience, which comes only from the kind of person we have come to be (the ‘inside’ of the tree) in his fellowship.”
• “Doing what he said, beginning from ‘believe on him whom God has sent,’ we step into the flow of God’s ways, we ‘enter the kingdom of the heavens.’”

Willard concludes that “in actually doing what Jesus knows to be best for us, we build a life that is absolutely indestructible, ‘on the Rock.’” The Rock of course being Christ.

The narrow gate is about doing the will of the Father and not about doctrinal correctness! For all of us that spend so much time studying and debating doctrine, do we sometimes disregard discipleship and living the life we are called to live so that others can see us as continuing to be learners of what Jesus taught, so that we may be trusted? Isn’t it really about being obedient to the Father, living in the grace of Christ’s sacrifice for all, as we give ourselves to him as an act of spiritual worship?

It’s amazing to me that through a simple question so much information can be found through study and research in order to confirm an answer. I was asked the following question by a Korean friend:

What should be our attitude toward multi-cultural church? Should we seek it out or just build a church without actively seeking it?

As someone that has way more experience on this subject than me, I contacted DJ Chuang and got some insight from him, which he posted on his blog to illicit feedback from others to help as well. Then I started finding that through following blog links that this is a subject discussed a lot within the Asian-American context. As an Asian-American, this interests me a great deal. It seems that there is quite a lot of debate on the issue of having segregated Asian churches in the US or whether we should strive to be an amalgamation of one body within one homogeneous church.

For me, I really feel more comfortable in a multi-cultural church. I want church to be about loving God and loving others and being in-service to my fellow man rather than being served. I feel like being in an ethnic church makes it more about one’s heritage rather than about serving others. In a Korean church, the context of the message is going to be presented in a way relevant to the culture of Korea. Food will cater to Korean taste buds. So, what if God sends a Mexican family to a Korean church? Well, maybe they will connect, but most-likely I think they will feel out of place. Even if they connect, the church is probably so inwardly focused on reaching other Koreans than unchurched Mexican, Caucasian, African-American, Argentinian (etc.) people with the saving grace of Christ for both the Jew and the Gentile, that they will miss out on connecting others to the church and subsequently to the gospel of Christ.

One thing that puts me up against a lot of others in ministry is that I believe church was never intended to be safe and comfortable. The minute it is, where do we need to seek Jesus? If the church is feeling all warm and fuzzy then why would they want to venture out and attract those unlike them to be a part of their community? Jesus called upon the disciples to be challenged and always learning and growing. They were put in situations so risky that at times their life was dependent on whether or not they would be willing to die for their faith in Christ. I don’t think we can truly comprehend this idea in modern-day America.

Looking at the church and it’s amazingly rapid growth under oppression and persecution, it causes me to wonder something. They are Chinese and don’t really have options to worship in multi-cultural churches, but if religious freedom came about, I’m wondering what would happen. As a country that just hosted 200+ nations for the Olympic Summer Games and is reaching out to the US, Middle East & Europe and adopting some of our cultures into their way of life, would they really want to be just a church to the Chinese?

If we are to expect the kingdom of heaven to reign here on earth, will there be ethnically separated churches on that day? Are their segregated streets with segregated worship spaces in heaven? I seriously doubt it! So, we might as well realize that Christ has only one bride and it has nothing to do with our birthplace or skin color. It has to do with our love and faith as we set out in the journey to follow Christ.

For more thoughts, some of which go against my thoughts in this post, take a look at:

• Churches should stay segregated: http://waynepark.wordpress.com/2008/08/07/churches-should-stay-segregated/
• I could write pages and pages on this: http://www.randplaty.com/2008/08/06/i-could-write-pages-and-pages-on-this/#more-223
• Does a multi-cultural church need to be intentional?: http://www.djchuang.com/2008/does-a-multiethnic-church-have-to-be-intentional/
• Asian-American churches…the wave of the future?: http://www.randplaty.com/2008/07/26/asian-american-churches-the-wave-of-the-future/
• In class today: Mosaic Church: http://nextgenerasianchurch.com/2007/10/16/in-class-today-mosaic-churches/#more-352
• Why many Amerians prefer their Sundays segregated: http://eugenecho.wordpress.com/2008/08/06/why-many-americans-prefer-their-sundays-segregated/

I’ve been praying hard about a lot of things lately. Some days I wonder if I’m on-track with what God’s will is for my life. Some days I wonder if I am doing all I can in ministry to see others being discipled and new believers coming to know Christ for the first time.

As I was praying today the two questions that came with immediate answers were:

1. Could I really ever do anything outside of God’s will for my life?

2. What is God’s will for my life

Could I really ever do anything outside of God’s will? I really don’t think so. Even the bad things I’ve done can be used to bring glory to God. It’s crazy how some of those things have worked out, but it just points to proof for anyone that wants to believe that God obviously is in control of everything. In fact, this idea is revealed to us in Matthew 10:29-30 (AMP):

29Are not two little sparrows sold for a penny? And yet not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s leave (consent) and notice.

30But even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

If it were not for God, I could nothing. He knows the number of hairs on my head, therefore he must know what I will do.

As for what is God’s will in my life? Man, I really pray about that a lot. However, I think that is pretty clear. It came to me tonight. Ready to know what seems to be the secret every Christian wants to know? The answer is that God wants me to worship and honor Him all the days of my life and that I am to love others as I want to be loved myself. Christ is in me because as He loves me, His Spirit can move through me to love other people. Loving God and loving others is really what God’s will is for our lives. Jesus explains this in Matthew 22, verses 34-40 in the New Century Version like this:

34When the Pharisees learned that the Sadducees could not argue with Jesus’ answers to them, the Pharisees met together. 35One Pharisee, who was an expert on the law of Moses, asked Jesus this question to test him: 36″Teacher, which command in the law is the most important?”

37Jesus answered, ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38This is the first and most important command.39And the second command is like the first: ‘Love your neighbor as you love yourself.’ 40All the law and the writings of the prophets depend on these two commands.”

It’s not about setting my mind to doing more ministry or the right kind of ministry, but if I love God and worship Him and love others then I will be doing His will and I will see the kingdom of earth on heaven and I will know which open doors to walk through and recognize the righteous path to follow on my journey here on earth.

Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven.

…the spirit of unity within the body of Christ will continue on! This series has touched me in unintelligible ways because it has shown me that God can do anything and will use anybody all for His glory and purpose. So many things are underneath the surface, but I know that God will bring my experiences to the forefront of my thoughts at the right time as He continues to use One Prayer to help us be a catalyst for change in Sacramento and for drawing people closer together.

With the conclusion of the One Prayer series yesterday (wanted to write this earlier–hence the title–but now it’s actually Monday), here are some of my thoughts:

• A ton of competition on the preaching this month with me concluding the One Prayer series after our church got to experience video teaching from Ed Young, Jr., Steven Furtick, and Perry Noble. Not to mention that I’ve got Gary Lamb of Revolution Church in Canton, GA on-deck for our mid-week core group gathering this week! I definitely wasn’t up to the task, but I believe God came alive in me and broke a spirit of intimidation today so I’m on my way Big Boys of Preaching! :)
• God sent us a church today to lead our worship time and to join in fellowship and they thought they were a small church until they met us! No matter what you think, there is always someone with less.
• Del Paso Union Baptist Church saved the day! Not only did they breathe life into our church like a holy tornado, but they were the most amazing, attentive, appreciative, joyful, and encouraging group of people I have ever had the honor and privilege of speaking to. They allowed me to get my “preaching shoes” on and let loose with a little heat in the name of love. I will never, ever forget your act of service for us as we were just starting out and God is gonna bless you to overflowing because your hearts (and actions) are in the right place!
• I found out there is a little fire burning within me that needed to be unleashed through some uplifting preaching. Lord, reign in me, reign in your fire, reign in me again, and again, and again…I need you and can’t do it without you.
• The revolution has begun, and some people are gonna wanna stop and get off. I’ll just have to trust the Lord and not be reactionary.
• As crazy as it seems to me, it was pretty evident that some in our church took a bit of a competitive spirit for some reason. I’ll need to seek God to find away to get that spirit cast out and sent away permanently as there is no place for it in Christ’s church, ever!
• I had no clue how much difference the house would feel when people received and responded to the preaching of the Word of the Lord. Wow, was I ever riding a wave of feeling fulfilled and with purpose today, even though the day started of less than desirable through my inability and ineffectual in the worship.
• So many words to describe the events today, but the one that keeps popping into my head and making me feel giddy is: F-U-N. Today was unbelievably fun and there was true joy in my heart for my God and for His people. I don’t think I would have ever imagined using the word fun to describe a church service, but it isn’t it supposed to be a celebration experience? No question, when it’s working on all cylinders it is indescribable joy in the finest hour.
• I love being around others that love God! I need to keep that kind of joy when I am around others that don’t love God. I love people that don’t love God and try to connect with many that do not share my faith, but I don’t always have the same joy when that love isn’t mutual to the Lord, and that must stop.
• Israel Houghton songs really speak to me and minister to my spirit in ways that no other songs can do. Praise you Lord for Israel and New Breed and their music!
• No matter what successes I witness, nor how affluent the community is that God puts me in, He always seems to be calling me back to my roots and never forgetting where I came from.   I feel like things will take me back full-circle and I will find myself right back where I started. If that’s the plan, I’m ready Lord! May your will be done regardless of where my human eyes want to take me.
• Lord, please send us some worshipers that want to pour their hearts and souls into loving you through songs and leading others to share in the blessing that comes only from worshiping you in spirit and truth. We are thirsty for some authentic worship that can be led by the King of King and the Lord of Lords and not through human means. No matter what, I praise you for all who surround me and pray that You will continue to cause us to grow together and become all that You plan us to be.
• If God is for us, who can be against us? Revolution Church Sacramento must be from God, by God, and for God…no if’s, and’s, or but’s. It’s GO time!

Saw this video reposted over at Alastair Vance’s blog and I’m processing it in my mind right now. Most of it speaks on things in exactly the same way I think, but some of them kinda hurt a little, like when I play electric guitar power chords to add a fresh sound to our worship team and get some of the young people connected, but I don’t hit some of the lead notes just right…does this cause me to hinder the church? Is it better that I not play? At the very least, this gives me some more things to pray about in addition to my prayer time for the churches around the world during the One Prayer project.

Watch the video and I’d appreciate your thoughts, whether you lead worship or just worship from the seats of your church: