2017: YOUR BOUNCE BACK YEAR!

A mustard seed of faith. A seed so small but packed with so much potential. A mustard bush can grow to over nine feet and completely take over a garden. But what I find most amazing about the mustard seed, is that if you transplant it, the plant will grow stronger. Big deal right? But the place from which the mustard seed started will begin to grow again. Mustard seeds germinate so quickly that it is almost impossible to keep them from growing in their original spot.

What does this have to do with faith? I believe that Jesus was saying, is that even if your faith gets shaken or uprooted. Even if people and circumstances take what seems important. If you have even a mustard seed of faith, you will bounce back! Your faith, no matter how small, is all you need to bounce back. And every time you faith gets uprooted, you get stronger. You learn to trust Him more. 

I am not sure what 2016 held for many of you, but perhaps your faith was shaken, tested or perhaps you even doubt or felt your lost faith! But I believe 2017 is your bounce back year. This is the year that you remember that a measure of faith has been planted in you, and no matter how small it may appear right now, if you will fertilize the ground just a little (the fertilizer is God's word) then no matter what the seed of faith will begin again.

 Be encourage your faith is not based on what you feel, but by the fact of what is true. Feelings are most often false, but facts (God's Word is always true)

So as you begin 2017 encourage yourself with these three thoughts:

1. Jesus is with you and He has all power. (He is Emmanuel and He has been given all power)
2. God is Over You! God is Under You! He Will Go Before You! (check out Deuteronomy 33:26-27)
3. God has given you are measure of Faith! (Not matter how small your faith may appear: You have faith for this)

This year may you cultivate your faith! May your faith grow nine times stronger than in 2016! May this be your BOUNCE BACK YEAR! 

Make today great!
Pastor Ed

P.S. Be sure to check out our website: revministries.squarespace.com or get our mobile app by searching in the app store for Rev Ministries!

The Year That Wasn't Suppose To Be

I did not foresee this being a part of my life. I did not believe at 53, I would be starting over. I thought I would be settled by now. But God did not create me to be a settler, but a trailblazer.

Many of you know this, some may not, but after 13 years of pastoring CrossRoads (now The Driven Church), I step down. I can honestly say I did not know what the future had in store, then again do any of us. But I wasn't sure if I wanted to keep doing this pastoring thing. To much pain, hurt and heartache. To many times of saying goodbye, (or not), to the ones you have come to love. How many more times could I ask my family to do something new.

But a dear friend told me, "What seems like the darkest time in your life right now, you will thank God for in the days ahead." Thanks Claude. The darkness is beginning to fade and the light is beginning to shine.

Last August a group of Do Overs ask if I would like to blaze a trail with them. To see what God wanted to do with a group who truly just wanted to Love God and Love People. So thanks to a dear friend who is now looking down on us from heaven (Dr. Bob), we met for the first time on August 4th in the Upper Room. The numbers were small, but then again we should not "despise small beginnings."

Over the next couple of months we continued to meet in the Upper Room. But it has been said that what God originates, He orchestrates. And He did just that. We were given the opportunity to start meeting in what use to be a well known "pool hall," here in Etown. What better place for a group of Do Overs to meet and invite their friends.

So we began the task of renovating this pool hall into a place where we could set out to "change the way people see Jesus and Sundays." The name of the ministry is Revolution, which at its core ask that we drastically change the way we think and act. Yes this was a place for trailblazers. A place to love people where they are, not for who they are not.

So on January 4th, 2015, at 11:07, the transformation was complete and we opened the doors for our first gathering. What a first gathering it was. We were blessed to have 175 people join us that morning. Many were guests, but many have stayed and many others have come to join us. Currently we have about 170 who call Rev their home. I am truly humbled but God's goodness and His Grace.

So now one year later we are preparing for our One Year Celebration on January 3rd, 2016. If you are reading this you are more than welcome to come and celebrate with us. God has given us a very specific assignment: Love The Lowly. The lowly are those who have been hurt, are hurting, need help or hope. The lowly is no respecter of race, status or gender. Each one needs to be loved.  We can't expect others to follow Jesus until you/me/we treat them like they are made in the image of God. Everyone who breathes is made in the image of God. So since everyone matters to God, they must matter to us.

Claude was right, even though I believe man steps in and does things at times that is out of God's will, I am finding that sometimes the darkest days can lead to the brightest of futures. Today I thank God for the darkness, because I see His light is shining brighter than ever before!

Make it a great day!
Pastor Ed

21 Day Fast: The Beginning

So today we begin our 21-day Fast! I am so excited for each of you who choose to fast. Remember this is personal, so whatever type or length of fast you choose is between you and God. And every attempt is a win! Even though it is personal I do believe that fasting is both powerful and empowering.

Our definition of fasting is: A spiritual discipline refraining from food to focus on God. With that being our starting point I am reminded of what Jesus said on in His sermon on the mount, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled." 

The purpose of fasting is to bring you into a deeper, and more intimate relationship with God. To hunger and thirst for righteousness, is to desire more of Him and less of you. Jesus said that when we do this, we will be both blessed and filled.

Today as you begin and you fight against the real battle of hunger pains for physical food, may your desire for intimacy with the Father and spiritual food overwhelm you. Today may you be encouraged even in your beginning!

Remember on this first day to:
Pray and stay in God's Word, Psalm 20, Isaiah 58, and Psalm 47
Drink lots of water
Expect headaches; hunger pangs; and cravings for food, sugar and caffeine
Play praise and worship music as much as possible.

Love you all and I am praying for each of you as you begin this journey. May you be encouraged and empowered today!

Pastor Ed

A Moment

A MOMENT!

What if you could capture one moment of your life which one would it be?

But better yet what if that moment still lie ahead of you? How would you prepare for that moment?

Almost a year ago 26 people began tore prepare for that moment. Unsure of what lie ahead they prepared.

A MOMENT!
The word for moment is derived from the word "atomos". Yes where we get the word atom.

That is the mystery of a moment. They are small enough to ignore, but big enough to change your life forever. Because they are so small we can often overlook them and even miss them.

And moments do not seem to come at convenient times. Like the moment that you are sick and someone comes needing help to remove a splinter from their hand. To overlook it is to miss a sacred moment.

Life is the sum total of what we do is those moments. And we have created words to describe these moments: instant, flash, blink, twinkling of an eye, split second, minute. Blink and the moment of opportunity is gone!

So that is why how we choose to handle the moment is key to unlocking the adventure hidden in the moment. Our choices can unlock our DIVINE MOMENT!

For some choices change our lives forever!

The thing about moments is that time often consumes them and moves on.

The only choices that live are the ones that are taken. The right choice made can become your defining moment.

So a year ago 26 people made a choice to follow God for a week on His adventure to a little village in Honduras.  And in the week, in that moment choices were made, choices to:
Hug a child
Give a sandwich
Put a child on your shoulder
Sing happy birthday
Climb a mountain for the sake of prayer
Hand out medicine
Hold a hand while a splinter is being removed
Paint a door or a wall
Patch a roof
Carry a brother who became sick
Laugh, cry, sing or be still
Snorkel in the Caribbean or be follow Christ in Baptism in that same Caribbean

These are the moments of Team Grace. These and others like them a the moments that will live on. They will serve as our defining moments. The moment that we wait for and prepared for. The moment when everything changed and our lives will never be the same.

So this morning our prayer is that you will walk with us, worship with us and, make sure to take in and enjoy this moment.

Starting Fresh

One of my favorite quotes is, "Untended fires soon become a pile of ashes." I find this to be so true in the realm of ministry. As hard as you try sometimes you just get tired. Perhaps the word try is the key word here. Many times I have tried to keep a fire burning only to find that I didn't have anything to ignite the fire with. So I try on my own to blow or fan the fire into flames. Hard work I have found. But if I have an ignitor, say gas or kerosene the fire starts quickly and when ample wood is placed on the fire it burns slow, gives a brillant glow and gives warmth to those around.

This reminds me that when I try to fan the ministry flames without relying on my God-given ignitor, the Holy Spirit, ministry becomes stale, dull and too much like work. Just as a brightly lit fire gives vision to the area around it so does the Holy Spirit give vision and power to those who put aside their way and depend on His ways.

Recently I read about the blind man in Mark 8 who Jesus healed. Actually this is the same blind man that Jesus touched twice. The Bible says that Jesus took the man by the hand and led out of the village. Perhaps before the Holy Spirit can fan our flame or give us new vision, He must first get us out of the familiar and lead us out of our comfort zone.

After Jesus gets the man out of town the Bible tells us that Jesus spits on the man's eyes and laid hands on him and asked, "Do you see anything?" The man responded, "I see men, but they look like trees, walking." I believe that this was the first step in fanning the flame into vision. Many times when we start out we are go to quick and  like a fire not properly built, we burn hard and fast and then we are but a pile of ashes. I believe the term used is "Burned Out." Sometimes time we get the vision, sometimes we begin the race, but what we need to do is to slow down and wait for the "SECOND TOUCH." We need to let Jesus bring it into clearer perspective.

The next part of the story tells us that Jesus this time laid His hands on the man's eyes; and the man opened them and his sight was RESTORED, and he could see EVERYTHING CLEARLY.

I find it hard to believe that 25 years ago I received that first touch from Jesus. And many times, more times than I would care to mention, I have found myself trying to fan the flame by my own strength. I get tired and it is then that I rely on the Holy Spirit to do what only He can do. But as I come into the second half of my life and my calling, I want the second touch. I am thankful for the first touch, when the vision was placed in me, but to be honest, I have become to comfortable with just seeing a shadow of what the real vision is. I want to receive the second touch. I want my
vision to be completely RESTORED and see it as CLEARLY as God has always intended for me too. I don't want to finish my days sitting cosily by the fire, but by letting the Holy Ignitor continue to fan my flame so that when I am gone I won't be just a big ole pile of ASH!

Just saying!

Time Moves To Quickly

Kristin and her Mom. Two Beautiful Women

4 days! I can't believe that is all that is left in the high school career of my youngest daughter. Seems like just yesterday she was climbing in my truck and I was taking her to pre-school. Now she gets in her car and takes herself. I miss those days when I would take her and the talks that we would have. I often wonder if I cherished them enough. I hope and pray that I listened enough.

I am going to miss watching her put on the softball or basketball uniform, of which she took such pride in wearing and representing her school. I am going to miss the the stories and her unique way of telling them. She has always been one who loves a good story.

But now the time has come for her to start to spread her wings and begin to fly. This fall she will begin a new adventure as she heads off to college. She will get the opportunity to play some more basketball at Kentucky Christian University, you can keep up with her by clicking on the link below. http://athletics.kcu.edu/node/825  I am sure there are new friendships to be made andmore stories tobe told, but most of that will be done over the phone or via Skype. I am going to miss watching her face light up and I am going to miss having her come up and give me a hug just because. I am going to miss my Lil Punk. I am so proud of her and all that she has accomplished and the beautiful young woman she is becoming, but I know that God has a plan and a purpose for her life and I so look forward to watching her grow into that calling.

So for now I am going to enjoy the next four days with her. And then I am going to take trip to Honduras with her, a trip she has wanted to take since she was able to say Honduras. And then I am going to do everything I can to make her transition to the next phase of her life as simple as possible. I love my Lil Punk and she is my favorite (18 year) and yes she forever will have her dad wrapped around her finger, but she has taught me some valuable lessons about how much my Father loves me. So I am going to enjoy these next four days and all I can learn, as we live, laugh and love together.

Way to Long

Can't believe how long it has been since I have written on here! So I will try again to stay up to date on here. This week has been full already. My oldest daughter turn 21, I celebrated my 25th anniversary with one amazing woman, I am in preparation to go on the Emmaus Walk and then leaving for a trip to Honduras. So will gone I hope catch up on here with my thoughts and adventures.

John Wooden lived his life by seven principles. One being, "Make today your masterpiece." This is a choice we have. So let's go and make today a great one.