Eight weeks ago I introduced a series that has become one of my favorite of all time: Letters to a Fractured Culture. Sort of jogging through Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, this series has opened up incredible truths from God’s heart:  He has chosen us & longs to adopt us into His family. We can be rooted in His love. We are called and favored. Everyone who runs to Him makes it. And so much more…

In just 51 days, we have seen more life transformation than most people see in a lifetime. And this is just the beginning! Justin McCarty, Quest’s Assistant Pastor & part of the Quest teaching team, touched a deep nerve this weekend as he concluded the series, challenging us to be bold in sharing our faith. (If seeing Jesus Freak live on our stage & hearing Niki’s story of her grandfather coming to Christ didn’t convince you, I trust Justin’s sermon stirred you up!) I am so proud of my staff…that I can go on vacation with confidence, leaving critical things like teaching in my team’s hands. Quest really does have the best staff on the planet! Thanks for bringing it, Justin.

Here are his reflections:

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The past 8 weeks have been so transformational for our church! We’ve seen things we wouldn’t have believed, even if someone had told us about it. (Habbakuk 1:5) It’s been an incredible ride and it was an absolute privilege to conclude this fantastic series, Letters to a Fractured Culture, with the weekend entitled “Bold.”  Here’s what I saw…

1. Jesus Freak - For the first time in 10 years, the Quest band pulled out the smash hit from dc Talk – and knocked it out of the park!! It was incredible – every service people were on their feet dancing and singing, Anyerin & Jon were singing & rapping like Jesus Freaks, and Moise & the Capoeria crew were sparring on stage! It was loud, raucous, and unforgettable!

2. Just when we thought “Jesus Freak” couldn’t have gotten any more amped up, Amber Wedding ran onstage during the 11:55 and started taking on the Capoeria guys! When I saw that, I couldn’t resist – I grabbed a cowbell and joined in with the band. What can I say? I had a fever – and the only prescription was more cowbell!

3. People’s responses to my challenge to consider the ratio of living 90 yrs here vs. being dead forever were great.  Sometimes it was with a laugh, sometimes it was with a degree of seriousness, but it’s like we all got a glimpse of how ridiculous it is to not put focused time & energy toward considering our own mortality.

4. In light of so many deaths in the media this past week – Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson – I could sense how eager people were for clear direction on what happens when you die. I could clearly sense the relief and security people felt when someone simply gave them the truth from the Bible. Those references are amazing; go check them out: Romans 14:10b-12; Revelation 20:12-15; Matthew 13:41-43; 2 Peter 3:9-10; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; John 3:16; Revelation 21.

5. Moving beyond the intellectual facts and asking “Will you let the eternal stakes grip your heart?” was an amazing moment every service. I watched people do some real grappling with the truth that heaven & hell really do exist, and real people go there forever. Whether it was sorting through their own eternity or dealing the implications for people they love, it was going to real places.

6. The truth that people will respond couldn’t have been clearer! During the 10:22, our bass player, Chris Hall, ended up in a conversation in the atrium with someone who was practically begging to respond to Jesus. While trying to make sure he got back into the auditorium on time for the next song, Chris got to boldly lead this man to Christ! Way to go, Chris! Still not convinced? One woman who came with her son for the first time this past weekend left the church and got all the way to Beaumont Centre (several miles away) before she responded to what Jesus had been doing in her heart while she was here. She promptly turned the car around, drove all the way back, and ended up giving her life to Christ in the prayernasium during the 11:55! I’m telling you: people really will respond!

7. People were floored when I declared the amazing truth of what we’ve experienced in just a few short months.  Almost 10,000 people have come to Christ through the ministry of QCC – but did you know that almost half of them have been since February?? It’s jaw-dropping! And it’s all evidence of the remarkable love and faithfulness of God – it’s His heart & power that’s making all of this happen!

8. Watching people respond to my admission that 15 years ago I was making fun of the song “Jesus Freak” was fantastic. The transformation that Jesus can orchestrate in someone’s heart never ceases to amaze me. Fifteen years ago I was antagonistic & cynical toward bold followers of Jesus – but this past weekend I was the one on stage, urging people to be boldly in sharing the amazing news of His wonderful kindness and love. Sometimes Jesus really does target the people who mock the loudest!

9. Maybe one of my favorite lines of the whole message: What if a genuine Jesus Freak is just a radically convinced person? If you’re actually convinced of who Jesus is and what He’s up to in this world, it’s hard to be anything but bold in talking about Him. Love compels you! Pete’s unforgettable line “you can’t unsee what you’ve already seen” rings so true. When you know you’ve been cured of spiritual cancer, it can make you a little freakish to people unaware of the cure.

10. What do you need to be convinced of? Is it that Jesus is the cure? That the stakes are eternal? That people will respond?  I hope Questers and everyone in this internet community will consider the underlying cause in any hindrance to their boldness in telling others about the truth of who Jesus is and what He can do in the human heart. There’s a world that’s dying to know – and it’s not right to keep the cure to ourselves!

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What a way to start to the second chapter of Quest Community Church! This series was just so powerful…from Chosen to Rooted to Bold. If you missed a week (or you’re just discovering Quest for the first time), click here to watch this series online. It has the potential to change your life!

P.S. Can’t wait for My Generation…the new series launching this weekend!

On vacation, as I rest and recover from the richest season of ministry I have ever experienced in my life…life just continues on as usual without me. And one of the implications of life…is death. If things can live, they can die. There is no avoiding the basic biblical truth that this world is not all there is. The Bible has much to say about eternal worlds beyond this temporal and passing scene. In these worlds to come people will live out their eternal lives…whether in heaven with Jesus or in hell separated from God for all time. This is theology 101.

That being said…let me take a turn. On Thursday news began to surface that Michael Jackson, “The King of Pop” had stopped breathing…that he had in fact died. And on exactly the same day, Farrah Fawcett died after a very public battle with cancer. On the same day, two huge stars, celebrities…even icons…passed from this life into eternal life. Jackson, considered by many to be the greatest single musical force ever…released Thriller in 1982, and it went on to become the greatest selling album of all time. Fawcett was one of the original Charlie’s Angels…known around the world simply by her first name Farrah. She became a huge sex symbol and her famous red bathing suit photograph is the best selling pin-up poster ever made.

Chances are that at some point between 1977-1982, they were considered by many to be the biggest male and female celebrities on the planet. And while Farrah’s stardom was far eclipsed by Michael’s, they both caused flocks of people to follow them, stalk them, cry over them and try to be like them. But who would’ve guessed that in 2009 they would both be once again the dominant headline across our country? Heck…their lives and deaths were so on people’s minds that the servers at Twitter crashed from all the traffic.

So many people are heart-broken…really hurting. So very sad. It is too complex to understand the why behind people’s emotions. I mean very few people really knew these two folks personally. Are most upset because someone they admired is gone? Are they crying because with Michael’s and Farrah’s deaths it seems an era has passed? Are folks broken because it causes them to reflect on the temporary nature of their own lives? Perhaps it is some of all of these.

When I heard the news myself, I too was sad. I grew up in the era in which both of these people rose to stardom. I knew all the words to the songs from Thriller. And I not only loved Charlie’s Angels, I was once sent home from school for wearing a t-shirt with Farrah on the front in her red bathing suit. But as I considered my sadness over this news, it was clear to me why I was sad. I was sad because I don’t know these people personally and therefore I don’t know if they were ready to die. I can’t say I have any knowledge that convinces me that these two people who were worshiped by millions actually themselves worshipped the One, True God.

I am sad because celebrities are adored by millions, but really loved by so few, known by so few. Did they have people in their lives who loved them enough to tell them the truth: that they needed a Savior, that God loved them and sent His Son to die on the cross to pay the price for their sin, that they needed to humble themselves by seeking Christ’s forgiveness and surrender to Him as the Lord of their lives? Did anyone help these two icons who lived privileged lives prepare for their eternal lives?

People in general (me included) spend so much time consumed with this temporary life, but not nearly enough preparing for their eternal lives, the life that will inevitably come. Celebrities more than anyone have insulated lives radically consumed with the affairs of today, and they rarely plan for tomorrow. If I as a pastor need to be reminded from time to time…what chance do icons have?

I will be praying for the masses of hurting people left in the wake of losing Michael and Farrah. I will be asking Jesus to meet them in their sadness and hurt. But I will also be asking Him to help us all use this tragedy as a wake up call…that this history marking event can be a marker in each of our lives that helps us all focus on tomorrow.

Jesus, help all of us remember the day, June 25, 2009, when our icons died and when we all began to live our lives preparing for our eternity.

(We apologize for the delay in this posting – we were experiencing technical difficulties with our site.)

Over the last few days as my family and I have been settling into our vacation, we’ve been thanking God for what we’ve gotten to be a part of over the last 10 days. We will never recover. The letters, emails, texts & messages keep pouring in from people who can’t believe what God’s been doing…in their lives, in the lives of people close to them…and in the lives of thousands they’ve never met. I can’t get over the truth that this is what it’s like to see the gospel ADVANCE by thousands! What in the world?!?

Are you seeing it? People He’s pursuing with His great love are running to Him…and MAKING IT! So…let me add my voice to Helen’s from this weekend: Make the most of every opportunity! (Eph. 5:16) Live as God’s chosen, favored and called sons & daughters…advance…and let Jesus shine through you this summer. He longs to do the impossible in us and through us! I can’t wait to hear all the stories!

Here are Helen’s observations from this weekend…we got to watch it from the road & loved it!

1. A visual picture of a spiritual reality… from around the auditorium, musicians and artists played their prospective instruments. A drum in the far right corner of the room, a bass in the back, and Justin banging a cow bell from the sound booth. And then it happened…movement. All of them focused forward advancing toward the stage as Robbie sang Switchfoot’s “Love is a Movement”. I know these artists and what their lives represent. Watching them come together is exactly what happens when the love of God is poured out through individuals who decide to not do life alone but connected, together, in community. What a picture!

2. We met Wednesday night… My new friends (a husband and wife) have been coming to Quest for only weeks. I was walking through the crowd (of 1,800 people!) at our first-ever “Outdoor Tailgating Baptism” and met them for the first time. Their words rang so loud in my heart, “We’ve been looking for a church just like this!” They listened that night to over a 100 stories of life transformation as each person stood and shared how Jesus rescued them the moment they opened their heart and received Him as their Savior and Leader. That night, when Pete gave the invitation to do the same, they stood to their feet and gave their hearts to Jesus. As I taught from the stage this weekend, I saw their eyes and they were alive, hungry for all Jesus has for them… amazing, another life changed forever by the love of a Father who goes all out to bring His lost kids home.

3. A dog… yes, you read correctly! It’s one of the first, I do believe! But our great drama team actually had the most precious yellow lab in the script. Of course our drama team was amazing but as a dog lover, “Molly” stole the show in my book!

4. Hands again… We’ve seen lots of hands raised over the past week. We saw 1000′s raise their hands at Ichthus and then dozens on our campuses as they surrendered their lives to Christ. But this weekend, when I asked, “Who had the gift of serving at Ichthus last weekend?,” there were again too many hands to count. But what stunned me was the look in people’s eyes. You could tell it was a weekend they’d never forget. Serving does that to us.

5. Loving people by reconciling them to God… When I told the story of Alix, the teenager I had the privilege of leading to Christ as Ichthus, it was still in the auditorium. I think what hit our hearts was the truth that there’s not great way to love someone them to be an agent of reconciliation in their lives.

6. A paved walkway… For months now men, women and children have sacrificed a comfortable walk to church for the sake of making room for more. And this weekend we sacrificed a little less as we got to walk, not on gravel, but on a paved walkway. We can see advancement happening everywhere!!

7. I feel new… those were her very words and they were true! I ran into a woman who had just days earlier prayed and received Jesus into her heart. She was looking for words to describe how she feels now but was unsure what to say, as she hasn’t been acquainted with a lot of specific teaching in the Bible about what someone experiences when they become a Christian. So, unknowingly, she said to me, “It’s really weird. I feel like I’m new!” I explained to her that actually that was true and the Bible says those words exactly in 2 Corinthians 5:17, “The old is gone and the new has come!” Her heart was even more encouraged as she learned that what she is experiencing actually is true!

8. Kirk Franklin in the house… Justin McCarty, you amaze me! I’ve never seen anyone rap, move and sing with such soul! I love watching our Assistant Pastor, man of many talents, rap Kirk’s songs. I think even Kirk would be proud!:)

9. People waiting in line to sign up as Summer Serve begins… When I said, “Summer is a season, it was never meant to be a lifestyle,” I knew I was hitting a nerve in the room. Questers were true to form, taking the opportunity to advance in their call and step up and say “yes” to serving around our great city! I can’t wait to see what is unleashed in our community as we reach out and serve Lexington and Frankfort in really concrete ways this summer.

10. The Church doing what she was meant to do…advance. In case you’ve missed it, Quest is an advancing church. And the way a church advances is by helping people come to new life through a humble, sincere prayer to let the cross be the payment for their brokenness, allow God to replace their heart of stone with a new heart of flesh, and give their lives away to follow Him completely. That’s happening through our church. That’s happening through YOU!! As our hearts advance, so does the beautiful Bride of Christ. Keep advancing with every step, friends!

P.S. I just had to include one extra highlight from this weekend…Friday night I got to witness a 4 Year Anniversary that brought tears to my eyes. Every Friday night for four years now several hundred people come from all over our city to find freedom and recovery at a ministry called the MAT. I lead this ministry and it is such a privilege…and a picture of God’s redemption in my life. The Holy Spirit gave me the name the MAT out of a story in the gospel of Mark chapter 2. For four years I have been like those who witnessed the man in this story be healed by Jesus, and take up his mat and walk. I’ve been “amazed.” And like them, “I’ve never seen anything like this before.” At our 4 Year Anniversary I saw 300 people gather together to celebrate addictions snapped, marriages restored and entire families rescued from collapse. I saw 300 people who were once caught in the chains of addiction, lust, anger, unforgiveness, now openly share about and celebrate the One who took all that away and gave them new life and new beginning. Congratulations, everyone! (If you have areas of your life where you need freedom and recovery, you are always welcome at Quest…and at the MAT!)

I am heading out the door right now!  I am going out to the field in front of the church where hundreds of folks are tailgating…playing volleyball, throwing the football, grilling out…eagerly awaiting…BAPTISM! I am going out to stand in pools of water with the other Pastors and Elders of Quest Community Church to help 120 people follow Jesus into the waters of baptism.  These folks have given their lives to Jesus and now they want to go public in proclaiming their commitment to Him.  Unreal…there is nothing quite like the Bride of Christ.  Awesome…I’m walkin’ out.

If you are in driving distance of Lexington, KY come on out (or watch live online at questcommunity.com)

Let me begin by telling you this…since beginning this blog only 3 months ago and more specifically the weekend reflections column That Just Happened, I have never been in the place I am right now.  As I write…I am changed…impacted…morphed by what I saw this weekend…changed in ways that feel miraculous to me. This past weekend I spoke on Saturday night at Ichthus.  This is a Christian music festival which concludes with a talk that presents the Gospel and invites a response from the 15000+/- attendees.  I was asked to prepare/give that talk.  What God chose to do was seismic. My observations…

1. When I said “1, 2, 3, stand” and thousands actually stood, I nearly lost my mind, my breath, my balance, my tears, etc…  I don’t know (yet) how many stood but I do know there were thousands…more standing than sitting.  MIRACULOUS…REVIVALISH…HOLY! I am undone.

2. The Bible says that heaven rejoices more over the 1 who is lost being found than the 99 that are already His.  Then what happens in heaven when literally thousands of 1′s come rushing home???

3. 10 of my favorite lines the Holy Spirit gave me: “Jesus didn’t come to make you good…He came to make you His” and “Everyone who runs to Him, makes it” and “Saying a prayer doesn’t make you a Christian, meaning it does” and “Why would you take your sin and guilt home with you when you can leave it here with Jesus” and “The question isn’t IF you’ll live forever, its where” and “YET” and “Jesus was the Father’s best shot at convincing you He loves you” and “1, 2, 3” and “Hundreds, I mean thousands of people are standing!” and “Only do this if you want Jesus, no other reason, just Jesus.”

4. Re-read #3…WOW

5. Athena was as willing and eager as an angel…the Everything drama is so freaking anointed…Amber connected to people’s deep heart & soul by depicting people’s struggle to find Christ.

6. Lots of others sing the worship song He Loves You…but something happens when Anyerin (Quest’s Worship Director) sings it…it’s like Anyerin leads us and we sing like we believe it…like the Father really means it…like both! Well, I’m not certain of my point except to say when Ani sang it before my talk God was really present.

7. I loved looking out over that field of thousands…God did something in my heart and for that talk I felt as though God had entrusted me with His most precious gems…His kids…many found…but many lost…like He entrusted them to me to love, serve, teach, lead. I could tell He was going to move powerfully on that crowd.

8. So many people stood at “1, 2, 3″ that I felt led to ask those people who were actually receiving Christ as the Savior and Leader of their life to also raise their hand to heaven and then pray out loud…that little receipt may have made it a bit tougher to come to Jesus but it sure made clear to folks what they were really doing.

9. When I got off stage I went to the tents where I had directed those who had just received Jesus to go immediately after praying. I was concerned…why would they go…why bother…they had just prayed to invite Christ into their hearts…they were psyched to stay in their groups and celebrate with friends…the next band was coming out…etc…regardless of all these realities many people did go…I don’t know how many…but I was at the tent from 9ish to 11ish and people were still coming.  Lines were wrapped down the hillside & around other tents.  I congratulated dozens and dozens of these brand new Christians as they waited to get into the tents and they were so pumped.  Person after person…ages 10-50 would just look me in the eye and say “I invited Christ into my heart today” over and over and over!!!  It was one of the most remarkable experiences of my life. I will never forget it…

10. Quest volunteers…you blew me away! Thank you to the artists, musicians, singers, technicians, pray-ers, tent workers, and everyone else who laid down your lives to make Jesus famous this weekend. The 500 of you  served  with such a pure and sacrificial love…Jesus was shining through you everywhere you went. I couldn’t get over your hearts in all of this. I don’t think we could have done it with even 499…every single one of you were essential. Thanks for representing Him to thousands & helping lead SO MANY to Jesus! I’ve never been more proud of you or loved Questers so much! Heaven looks different because of you.

P.S. We showed the video of Saturday night at Quest on Sunday morning and more than 40 people received Christ! Jesus just never quits!

I have never spoken to 15,000-20,000 people before…not when they were all together, in one place, at one time.  This feels exhilarating.  It is an adrenaline rush for me not only because of the size of the crowd…but the magnitude of the potential. I will stand up with a single goal…to Make Jesus Famous.  You see, when Jesus love and sacrifice and heart is made clear to folks they tend to want Him.  When we cut through the misunderstandings & misrepresentations to who Jesus really is…He is so attractive people find Him almost irresistible.

Tonight as I speak to the masses at Ichthus I will do so with the goal of honoring Jesus and provoking these kids to Run to Him! And when they run to Him they can know that Ps. 18 promises that “everyone who runs to Him makes it.”

I told you Ichthus was a blast…even for a bunch of kids too young to be there…but they’re in and they aren’t holding back.  Even my 5 year old in the foreground is rockin’ out. Watch out Quest Community Church…you think church is wild now…wait until this bunch is in charge.

I have just come from a huge field in Wilmore, KY that holds a Woodstock-style music festival called Ichthus. It is a Christian festival where approx. 20,000 youth from around the country will come for 3 days of concerts and talks. I have the privilege of closing out the festival by serving communion to thousands of people and then giving the final talk. I have spent months anticipating this Kingdom opportunity. I am begging Him to use my vocal chords, heart and earnest prayers to draw hundreds…even thousands to Himself.

I will be blogging my way through Ichthus, so come back often for the Ichthus scoop.

But here is the real scoop…Helen Musick (Transformation Pastor at Quest) just gave the opening talk of Ichthus. She did just great…after a slight rain delay she gave a strong talk to get the spiritual ball rolling. There weren’t as many people out there as I would have liked…but it was like her words were getting the ground ready for the thousands and tens of thousands who will be there soon.

I can’t wait for Saturday (not to mention all the great speakers and bands between now and my time). I am asking and believing God is going to go crazy and that a small army of kids are going to be changed forever as Christ makes His home in their hearts. Please pray for clear skies…no more rain…especially on Saturday afternoon/evening.

That Just Happened is a weekly column of observations about our worship experiences at Quest Community Church…the most amazing church in the world! This weekend we continued in our series, Letters to a Fractured Culture, and we were led by our own Transformation Pastor, Helen Musick. (If you haven’t seen the service yet, watch it online soon!) Helen has the privilege of teaching us about a dozen times a year, and we love hearing from her!

Here are Helen’s observations from this weekend…

When Pete handed me week 4 of this series, I was thrilled. To teach on a weekend at Quest is always a gift and entrustment that fills my heart. But when I saw the passage I was teaching from, Ephesians 4: 1-3, I knew this was especially from the heart of Jesus. “I beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling…for you have been called by God.” Wow, the thought of 1000s of people understanding the reality that Jesus has called us and equips us to be His hands and feet to a watching world takes my breathe away. This weekend, I watched Him call us up to live counter-cultural lives so that His light shines out to our fractured culture in such a way that they are drawn to Him. What a gift!

Here’s what I  saw this weekend…

1. I didn’t see her, but she was there! My cousin Bennett from North Carolina came to church at Quest online this weekend. She emailed my brother Gordon and told him she was compelled to live her life in a way that serves God more fully. Amazing…we’ve known each other for years and now we can worship together through the gift of our live web streaming!

2. Very few open seats… As I looked out over the 10:22 I was amazed to see people standing on the back wall and so few seats open throughout the auditorium. I have the opportunity to look over the auditorium often, but something felt “fuller” than usual to me. Yeah, it was the fact that there were lots of people, but there was something in people’s hearts that felt full, too…something of a deeper desire to be called to the next.

3. A church full of people ready to lead lives worthy of their callings. Wow, we were so ready to hear this message. After the first four weeks of Letters, we came in knowing exactly who we are in Him-that we are chosen by God to belong to His family, that we are favored by God, that He makes us one regardless of gender, socioeconomic background, race, ethnicity, political affiliation…whatever it may be, His love unites us all. And we came in rooted… strong and confident that we are loved through and through by the One who made us and called us. We were ready. We are ready. For we have been called by God.

4. The back of performance being broken. Performance and living a life worthy of our calling were never meant to go together. People get this mixed up all the time. They say things like, “I’m a Christian now, so that means I go to church, read the bible, help others. I don’t do those things I used to do. I’m trying to live like Jesus wants me to live.” So you try harder and you do the right thing, but when you do, you’re running on a fuel that can never sustain you. Performance was knocked on its can this weekend as we heard we aren’t called because we try hard, but because we TRUST FULLY IN HIS GRACE.

5. The power of a “yes.” It’s interesting how God uses our kids to help us understand simple principles of truth.  Obedience is one of them. I love it when my kids “just say yes” to my request, it fills my heart!  So what if we “just say yes” to God? I saw people getting, maybe for the first time, the power of their “yes” to God. Their “yes” to forgiving, getting out of debt, not having sex outside of marriage, serving on a ministry team, not looking at porn, getting rid of material thing that has captured your heart, sharing Christ with a particular person…we almost always know the thing God is calling us to say “yes” to. And people just got it. They saw the power that kind of “yes”-out of love for the One who called them-would mean to their “ordinary” lives and to a watching world dying to see the extraordinary. Just “yes.”

6. Broken hearts for a watching world full of anger and mistrust for the Church. The videos broke our hearts as we heard people hurt by the way they’ve seen Christians live their lives. It was a reality check for us as representatives of His Bride to know that people are actually pushed away from Jesus by the way they see His followers live. As we saw how people were hurt by hypocrisy and heard the anger in their voices toward the Church, our hearts broke. How will these people know Jesus? How will they be drawn to Him if His followers don’t respond and live the life they were called to live?

7. “I am called.” Thousands of people raised their hands and I heard them say the words, “I am called.” People who have given their lives to Jesus and know it. I saw the hope of the redemptive power of the church come alive as I heard thousands of people acknowledge their calling before the One who called them. What will our city, our state, our world look like with an army of thousands who are called to live extraordinary lives for Him?

8. Amazing worship! People worshipping like children before their Heavenly Father. A whole room full of people singing the words “I will live, a child in awe of you” with hearts that meant it. They were humble and eager and ready to do whatever it takes to let the watching world know that this life is anything but ordinary. They sang as people head-over-heels in love with the One who set them free…people ready to let others know by the way they live that He can do the same for them.

9. People understanding the connection between love and obedience. A life of obedience is based not on fear, but on love…and His love was compelling so many this weekend! We don’t obey to get His love; we obey BECAUSE of His love in our hearts. Obedience is a response to His love in our lives. He asks us to obey because it is what is best for us and He loves us. And as we submit to His authority and follow the path He has for us, we experience His love more fully. As we grow in that experience, we WANT to follow, obey, submit and it leads to a life that is beyond anything we could have ever known on our own.

10. Hands down… When I asked for those who identify themselves a followers of Christ to raise their hands, lots of hands went up and lots of hands stayed down. What a gift! Quest really is a place where people are free to investigate the faith and be honest about it! I am in awe of those Jesus has entrusted to us to help make Him known, clear and irresistible. Hands-down people are special guests to me…you are why we do what we do.

If you were to ask me to make a list of the top things in life I would like to do/see this side of heaven, I could tell you a few:

• See both of my sons (5 & 10) become men after God’s own heart and live out His expansive plans for their lives
• Do my part as Pastor of QCC to see her reach her redemptive potential…igniting a movement of churches who’ll do whatever it takes to reach lost people
• See some people I’ve been praying for give their lives to Jesus Christ
• Learn to scuba dive and dive the Great Barrier Reef
• Get back in football shape (running 6 minute miles and benching 300+lbs)
• Go to the Superbowl and cheer on the Dallas Cowboys as they become world champions again
• Enjoy unforgettable times with my wife and kids building a priceless love between us
• Open thriving Quest Campuses in Cincinnati, Louisville, and on the campus of the University of Kentucky
• Hold Conferences that empower and equip Pastors to lead churches effectively as they lead barbaric lives for Jesus
• Get past enduring growth points and frailties and look a whole lot more like Jesus

While this list is far from complete and many additions could be made, there is something that surely must be added right away…something I consider a huge honor and privilege…something I only have to wait five more days to do.  God has given me an unspeakable gift.  This coming Saturday evening I will stand before 15-20,000 teenagers.  I will share with them the most important truth in the universe.  I will do my best to convince these people that God loves them so much that He sent His very best…that Jesus died for them…that they can have a real, living, intimate relationship with Him.

The truth is…as I anticipate, prepare and pray for this gift that fits right in my list of “Top things I’d kill to do before I die” …telling thousands upon thousands that Jesus wants to make His home in their heart…I am undone. Most things on such lists never actually get lived out.  In five days I will do all I can to make Jesus famous, and while looking at these awesome thousands…I will be begging God to do all He can do as I live out a dream come true.

I invite you to join me in prayer in this “top” life moment.  Pray that this becomes the singular top moment in the lives of thousands of teenagers and youth workers.  Pray that they believe Him through my words and choose to place their trust in Jesus.  Pray with me all week as I prepare…and let’s ask God to do more than we will dare to ask or hope in thousands of lives…this side of heaven.