This is a definition of church.  Help me interact with it and let me know what you think about this.

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I am in San Francisco for a few days taking a seminary class.  The class is called Intro to Church Planting.  Really it should be titled something like, How to Be a Missionary in Your Culture.  This isn’t a class about best practices but rather a class on theology of church and how we fit into it.  This first day we have heard from the professor and from a guest speaker who just came back from an amazing experience in Thailand and Burma.

The Western church is not getting it done here in the west and if you think you can argue this point… you cant.  I mean if we take Hirsch’s example in his book “The Forgotten Ways” we seem to do church for only 12% of the population in the US.  And even if we do church the way we know it REALLY WELL we will still only do it for 12% of the population.  So, here we are planting more church for 12% of the population.

My question is what does a church look like for the other 82% of the population.  Or for even another 12% of the population and do I have what it takes to reach them?  How can I be a part of seeing Jesus become the savior to the people I love so much, the people of Tucson Arizona?

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It is something that cannot be fully understood. To an outsider it looks as if we are talking to thin air. If we are praying in “our head” (as my 6year old daughter says) we often think, “Are we going nuts, talking to ourselves?”

I am preaching a series on Prayer at Epic Church. I am taking some of my conversations with my daughter about prayer and preaching about them. This week I am preaching about, “Praying Like Jesus Prayed”.

Can I be honest here? Ok. Even though I am a pastor I mess up. Sometimes I mess up big time and others they are small enough that no one really notices. But, when I mess up and yell at the crazy driver in “the other car” my daughter is quick to point out. “Daddy, Jesus loves that person too. You really should be nicer to them.”

She is 100% correct. Well, when it comes to prayer and me teaching my daughter how to pray and the importance of prayer she insightfully asks, “Daddy, how did Jesus pray?” And my theologian of a daughter also cocks her head and asks, “If Jesus was God then why did he pray?”

These are the questions I am wrestling with as I prepare this weeks sermon on prayer. I hope you are seeking your Father in Heaven this week though prayer. Drop me a line if you have any insight into these questions or even how you have dealt with them with your kids.

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Christians, when they have lived up to the highest ideals of their faith, have defended the weak and vulnerable and worked tirelessly to protect and strengthen vital institutions of civil society, beginning with the family.

We are Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christians who have united at this hour to reaffirm fundamental truths about justice and the common good, and to call upon our fellow citizens, believers and non-believers alike, to join us in defending them. These truths are:

1. the sanctity of human life
2. the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife
3. the rights of conscience and religious liberty.

Inasmuch as these truths are foundational to human dignity and the well-being of society, they are inviolable and non-negotiable. Because they are increasingly under assault from powerful forces in our culture, we are compelled today to speak out forcefully in their defense, and to commit ourselves to honoring them fully no matter what pressures are brought upon us and our institutions to abandon or compromise them. We make this commitment not as partisans of any political group but as followers of Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen Lord, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

Here is a Southern Baptist Seminary President and member of the Gospel Collation on why he signed his name to the declaration.

I am of personal conviction it is so much better to state what I am for instead of making a case about something I am against.  This declaration is just that.  It brings about the convictions of Bible believing followers of Jesus into the culture of today.  I am laboring in my city to see her a better place.  To see her made good though the obedience of followers of Jesus.  And to that end I have placed my name on this declaration.  And not only do followers of Jesus value this three things covered by the declaration but so do many others in my generation.  It is time to take a stand and declare we value the family.

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27 So God created man in his own image,

in the image of God he created him;

rmale and female he created them.

It is my belief that God created all men with the same worth and value. God values each of us the same. And we see from the book John:

John 3:16

16 “For hGod so loved ithe world,9 jthat he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not kperish but have eternal life.

We know that each person is loved and valued the same from God. I fully believe this and I ask God often, though I am sure not often enough, to allow me to have the mind and heart of Christ and that I would see creation as God sees his creation.

I made a poor decision this morning while preaching at Epic Church. I made the choice to call Christians who try to do their own plans and try to pawn them off as “God is leading me” yet it is in direct contradiction to the Bible, Morons. I should not have called anyone a moron.  Everyone no matter what the believe still have value.  No one is more valuable to the Father than any other and we should not try to assume otherwise.

Yes, I said if you are saying God is speaking to you yet it in contradiction to the Word of God you are a moron. Here is the transcript starting in the 39^th minute:

Starting in min 39:00 of the sermon, I am speaking:

“Why Mormons are heretical and demonic influences and that allah is a demon. As you look at this and you grab at and look at their doctrine please pray in light that they are very powerful spirits, they are gods with a lowercase g.”

“They were created by God and have fallen and belong to Satan. They are very powerful and you need to guard your heart and you need to guard your mind. Read them and contrast them with what we know to be true. Seek wise council. God does not contradict himself.”

“If you say, “Well the Holy Spirit is telling me there really isn’t the Holy Spirit, there really isn’t Jesus and there really isn’t God. He’s not going to go against his word. It’s not going to happen.”

39:50

“That’s a whole another sermon for another time. For all your people who say that, “God is leading me”. Well show me your verse. I don’t have one I just feel it. Well you’re a moron. Quit eating BK late at night. The problems with this is that modelism denies the relationships within the Trinity.”

Then in the 42^nd minute of my sermon I used the word, “moron”, again. I said that I would sound like a moron to some when asked about who send me I just reply, “I AM.” Here is the transcript from this:

42:50

“There is yet one God and he is the Lord. He is I AM. That’s pretty flippin’ sweet if you think about it. “How are you to describe me” “God how should I describe you?” “Just say I AM.” I’m going to sound like a moron that you’re God and I AM” I AM is God.”

As a preacher of God’s Word and a herold of the King I should be wise in the way I chose my words. The word, moron, is not up lifting even harsh. I should have not have called Christians “morons” who misuse the calling of the Holy Spirit. And I should not have called myself a moron for trying to describe God to others as saying that God calls himself, “I AM”.

I have a lot to learn as a communicator of God’s Word. I will write more late but please forgive me for using the hard word moron in these contexts.

You can listen to my sermon this morning here. http://www.ustream.tv/recorded/2423642

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A number of you contacted me and shared how you want this kind of person in your life and that I am lucky to have a person like this.  Let me be honest, I am just finding this again.  You see a couple of years ago my dear friend moved to pursue Jesus in another area of the country.  It damaged me for sure.  Then just this year another dude I was close with moved away too. And let me tell you it SUCKED!

I have not wanted to let another friend in close to me just for the fear that they would move away.  But, let me tell you I needed to push past this self made fear and pursue authentic relationships where I am asking other men the hard questions and men are asking me the hard questions in return.

I came across this as a guide for time together with a trusted friend.  A friend who is concerned with you becoming more like Jesus.  You take time and each answer these questions and then seek Jesus in prayer for each other.  Hope this helps you in some way.

Neil Cole:

1. What is the condition of your soul?

2. What sin do you need to confess?

3. What have you held back from God that you need to surrender?

4. Is there anything that has dampened your zeal for Christ?

5. Who have you talked with about Christ this week?

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So much is going on in my life right now I can’t really verbalize it all.  But, one thing I do know is that Jesus is up to something in my life.  He is doing a work in my life.

As the scriptures say, ” ¹⁷ Iron sharpens iron and one man sharpens another.” http://ref.ly/Pr27.17

I had an outstanding time today with a friend. You see all too often we forget to have meaningful relationships. Relationships were we can just talk openly and honestly. Where we can confess sin. Where we don’t have to have it all together. That was one of those meetings today for me.

If you don’t have someone, of the same sex, where you can put all walls and facades down and away; I encourage you to ask Jesus for such a friend.

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Isn’t that the Gospel message?  Not that we did anything, but that because of a deep unfathomable love Jesus has taken all of the crap of our lives and lives everywhere upon himself so that we may experience freedom.

Enough is Enough.  Lust and Porn are so entrenched in our culture.  I can’t even begin to think how or where to start to reverse the tide, but I tell you this - my life will be focused on Jesus and I will fight to the death for my purity.  Purity with Jesus.  Purity in my marriage.  Purity in my relationships.  I must allow Jesus to work within me and though me.

What are you going to do?

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Focus 1 - Our Focus Must Be On Jesus Christ. (Hebrews 12)

Epic Church must focus on Jesus Christ.  As I prepare my sermons to the church I love so much I always ask myself this question, “How will this sermon glorify Jesus and allow Him to be the focus of our time together?”  (John 17) This too is the focus of all decisions regarding all things Epic Church and all things Team Rasmussen.  To be honest, sometimes I feel like I fail, just being honest.  Without a doubt, if Jesus is not the focus of our lives and church, we will fail.  And fail BIG TIME.

It sounds kind of silly to write a post or even say out loud that Jesus must be the focus of our church.  I mean it should go without saying.  Right?  Well, one would think so.  It would be like a baseball game without a hot dog, or a church planter without a Mac, chili without beans.  You get the point, just sounds totally ridiculous.

I see all sorts of churches put their focus on something other than Jesus.  At times in my life have been focused on other things rather than Jesus.  Some churches put their focus on doing good things, giving a lot of money, building the best worship service, having the coolest artwork, having the best music and the list can go on and on.  But, we must - let me say it another way; WE MUST have Jesus as our central focus in all we do.  (Matthew 6:33)

This does not negate the need for other things to compliment our focus but they must not be the driving force behind what we do.  It must be Jesus.

The message of the Gospel and person of Jesus will permeate all we do as Epic Church.  Jesus lived a perfect life, died a gruesome death, fulfilled scripture, has given us hope, a future, a purpose, a heaven, and the list could go on and on.  (1Cor 15)  Because of Jesus we have Epic Church.  Because of Jesus we have a story.

What does it look like for a church to be focused on Jesus?  (Acts)
I have been asking this question for months.  What does Epic Church look like when it is focused entirely on Jesus Christ?

For Epic Church when we focus on Jesus we will see radical life-change and authentic community.  (Acts)

Look out for number two tomorrow.

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You can find more about Epic Church HERE or check us on on:

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OH YEAH!!!  And I got to hang with a member of Stand By Red 5.  He hooked me up with a FREE CD.  This band is HOT!  Check em out at: http://www.myspace.com/standbyred5 You can follow them on Twitter too at: http://twitter.com/StandbyRed5

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4_1RFJo8xE

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I am excited to be an American for sure.  July 4th.  Fireworks.  Food.  Friends.  I am really looking forward to being with friends this evening at the Jackson’s clubhouse.  Being a Pastor I long to see relationships being built.  A lot of times the church expects deep relationships to be build by ensuring people are there on a Sunday morning or even at small groups, and while I do feel those are important, relationships are strengthened during special events.  When you are sipping a cold beverage, hot dog in hand, talking about the latest NBA trade and the daily results from the TDF; relationships are made.

I am also excited about the next series starting Sunday at Epic Church.  It is called Man to Man.  Preaching from the Bible, I will strive to bring a message from Jesus about how a Man should live.  If a dude was sitting eye to eye, knee to knee with God over a cup of coffee, what would God say?  And before all of you start Twittering or emailing me saying, “Isn’t a better title for this series ‘God to Man’, I know and maybe even you are right.  But, from THE man to A man is what we are looking for here.  I am jazzed about this Sunday though.  Looking at 1 Timothy 4!

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It was about 10 years ago I had the honor of first meeting Jennifer’s side of the family.  The first group I met besides her Dad, Mom, Brother and Sister was Team Wulz.  I met them the summer of 1999 when Jennifer, Justin Spargur and I were road tripping it to Michigan to work for the summer.  I had just received the news on my birthday that my father had died and the very next day I met the Wulz Family, May 29th 1999.

They are loving, compassionate, fun, light hearted, active, generous, and so much more.  They are a joy to be around.  Richard, RoRo, Eric, Rachel, Emily and Lauren.  Yeah, I know they can make up a team for court volleyball.  I am very honored to have gained them as family and friends.  It is funny to see the circle of life in things.

The second time I met Team Wulz was in Enid, Oklahoma at Grandma Schmitz’s house for a Christmas celebration in 1999.  Imagine around a 1,500 square foot home and over 27 people living together for a week.  It was totally chaos filled with joy.  Anywho, Rachel, Emily and Lauren were around 6, 3, and 3 years old (respectively) and full of energy.  They would use me as a jungle gym and I would chase them though the house.  They would dog pile on top of me and it was a “hoot” to say the least.  Now, 10 years later I have a 6 year old daughter, Madison, so adores Rachel, Emily and Lauren so much.  And you know what?  They love Madison too!  It brings so much joy to my life to know that I was able to play with Rachel, Emily and Lauren when they were young and now they in-turn are having so much fun playing with my children.

My intention tonight was to write an insightful blog about what I am reading and how it is changing the way I relate to the Gospel and Jesus but I felt moved to share with you how much this family, Team Wulz, means to me and my family.

It is my hope that you too have family out there who, like the Wulzs’, brings you great joy!

I am off to bed.  Tomorrow is day 10 of the Rasmussen/Houchin summer 2009 family vacation.  We have descided to say an extra day here in Plano Texas.  This means we will be hitting the road on Wednesday and getting home, we hope, on Thursday.  Until tomorrow…

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It was cool to check out Epic Church online today until their feed went down.  I am excited for the near future of Epic Church.  There is a lot of work to be done but one thing is for sure, we cannot loose sight of Jesus or the power of the cross.  We must all be willing to submit to God’s authority and repent of our sin and wickedness in order to be conformed more to the image of Jesus.

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