Loved getting to toss the ball to Quest’s Worship & Arts Pastor Sharon Clements this weekend to teach on a great truth that’s meant to reorient everything in our lives: God Made You to LOVE You. How are you doing at receiving that love this week? Here are Sharon’s reflections:

This past weekend, I got to do something that I rarely get to do: I got to look out at thousands of people & offer the Capital-T Truth that can change EVERYTHING – the truth that God is absolutely crazy in love with us – for real.  It never gets old to see the lights come on in someone’s heart when they take this Truth seriously.  Here is a little bit of what I saw…

1. Every time the band took the stage, it was a constant reminder of God’s Love this weekend – a love that never fails and a God who jealously & relentlessly pursues us. And in Imagine Me, we got a glimpse of the possibility of really living as if all the voices of insecurity & failure were just gone. Way to go, music team!

2.  That drama hit a little close to home as Slim’s character was bombarded by the voices of his past that told him how incapable & inadequate he was.  Then, Justin stepped up to tell us his story of God’s love drowning out all the other voices… it gave us such hope for what’s possible.

3.  Hearing that God’s love isn’t a “once upon a time” kind of love, but a love that sacrificed EVERYTHING to clear out the sin & wreckage & of our lives was reorienting for so many people. It was like we leaned in to catch a glimpse of the Father’s love for us – a love that has memorized our faces – and a love that gave up His only boy to rescue us.

4. Matthew 3:17 is a passage and a realitywe will NEVER recover from as a church.  Hearing the story of Jesus’ baptism and picturing the Father parting the clouds to tell His boy how much He loved him was incredible.  Then to see the room realize that the God of the Universe was parting the clouds for them so they could hear those words spoken over them was priceless. It felt like we were believing it all a little bit more this weekend.:)

5. I loved how it hit the room that God is NOT OKAY with us coming close to His love but never experiencing it.  The picture of the Publisher’s Clearinghouse Check hanging proudly on the wall – uncashed & unspent – is one I’ll never forget. God wants us lavishly receiving & enjoying the most expensive gift that has ever been given… the remarkable, unfathomable gift of His Love…(not just admiring it from a distance).

6.  I was so excited to hear story after story of the real work people did asking the question, “how do you do at living in the experience of God’s love?” Shaky foundations were exposed – barriers of insecurity, comparison, accusation, fear & unforgiveness were dealt with, and people chose to listen to God’s Voice… emerging in a deeper, truer experience of God’s love for them.  If you’re not done with this question yet – finish it!  God has gifts waiting on the other side!

7.  I saw us get our hopes up this weekend.  For all the mistakes, for all inadequacies, for all the failures & all the voices that taunt us, we got our hopes up that God is still nuts about us.  That He might be captivated by us.  That we are worth what He was willing to pay for us.  What if it were really true?!? Well, newsflash:  it IS.  And it changes EVERYTHING.:)

8.  By the end of the weekend, we’d seen people give their lives to Christ in the Landing, on their knees at the cross, unable to budge from their seats, running to the front… they just had to experience the love of God for themselves. And they did.   (By the way…Beth, leading you straight to Jesus on Saturday night was an unbelievable privilege for me!)

9.   On Sunday afternoon, I got to have a front row seat in seeing the Church being the Church as we welcomed Quest’s New Media Director Matthew Benson, his wife Stacey, and their kids to Lexington!  As the moving truck came around the corner, 100+ Questers welcomed this long-awaited family with tears, cheers, prayers & tangible expressions of service & love as we settled them into their new home.  Welcome, Matthew – this is going to be the adventure of a lifetime! You won’t believe the gifts He has in mind for you!

10. And speaking of gifts, I got a priceless one that ended up bookending my weekend over the last several days.  On Friday night as I was wrapping up my prep for the weekend, I was invited to be a part of the Uprising Leadership Team. Then Sunday afternoon, we had our very first meeting.  I can’t tell you the hope that is stirring in my heart for what’s about to be unleashed. Thanks, Pete, for hearing God’s heart beating for this one… I think it’s going to change the world.

Wednesday night we held our very first baptism in Quest’s new auditorium, and it was REMARKABLE. Almost 1,600 people came out to celebrate stories of life transformation, and we celebrated hard! It was an incredible night…from the sound of Fused students in the balcony cheering on their friends and leaders, to the videos nearly 100 miraculous stories being celebrated…hope and life were spilling out all over in the room.

The stories we heard were all different…the journeys they represented were unique. But at some point every single person’s story, they talked about coming to a common intersection where they encountered the pursuing love of Christ, had a chance to respond…and chose to receive Him. Wednesday night, they went public for Jesus…the One who went to the cross for them. And hearing their stories, another dozen or so people encountered His love for themselves and came running home to Jesus. This is church. This is why we do what we do!

To those of you who were baptized…thanks for going for it! Thanks for telling your stories and pointing people to Jesus. You gave so many people courage and hope. I’m awfully proud of you.

Every single day at Quest, we’re discovering more and more the dream of the local church. When we sing Where You Go I Go and come to the line We will not forget who You are and what You’ve done…we mean it more all the time!

This weekend, I watched a true reflection of Jesus’ heart as Quest gathered around Transformation Pastor, Helen Musick and her family, as they faced the death of her father. Helen had been scheduled to teach us this weekend, so we had a rare opportunity to let the whole church watch Bill Hybels commendations for us from our building dedication. It was an honor to host this world-renown leader, pastor and author…and personal mentor to me…to dedicate this building, and I was thrilled for Questers to get to hear his message again this weekend. Bill’s talk was a perfect way to begin this series, Axiom…helping define who we are as a church and who we will be. (Thanks, Bill!)

Here’s a glimpse of what I saw:

1.  Seeing Seth and Jon as real life transformers was a blast! Optimus Prime and Bumblebee in church?  Only at Quest. Not just for fun…this took hours and hours of work on the part of talented volunteers. The point? Transformation just matters that much.

2. The song, drama and dance where we saw Chris Padgett in chains being set free and brought to life in vibrant color was a picture not just of what could be, but a real life picture of Chris’ rescue. His parents cried with us after the service as they thanked leaders for building a church where their boy could live that story out in real life. Transformation like that is priceless! (Thanks, Chris! You inspire all of us.) As you read this do you find yourself bound by chains of some type? Know that Jesus can set you free too.

3. Talked to lots of guys who had an awesome time at Men’s Retreat this weekend. I heard Justin & Brad’s talks were fantastic. Congrats to Michael Riensche & his team who led this for the 180 men who had a blast at retreat. Sorry for those of you who got injured during Capture the Flag. I especially feel bad for Joh Evans who just found out he isn’t in his 40s any longer. As some of the men are now saying, Joh your limits!

4.  I loved taking a moment to celebrate the life of Commander Denmark.  Grieving and celebrating with someone who pours themselves out for us like Helen was a great example of knowing and being known in community. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. (Rom 15:12) It’s the Church working right.

5.  Seeing Bill Hybels, the one God used to inspire me to start this church, speechless on our stage (again!) was a reminder of the reality of what God is doing in this place. He said it best when he told us this church is rare in all the world.

6.  I watched as Questers drank in every drop and took notes like crazy as Bill gave us his four commendations: to have a heart for people, to live out the power of the local Church in true community, to sacrifice willingly and joyfully for the Bride, and to listen and respond to the whispers of God. It sounded a lot like Quest, didn’t it?

7.  I watched your faces as Hybels ended his talk with his prophetic words… that our best days are in front of us, that Quest can rock the world, and the world needs rocking. You believed him! (So do I.) So let’s go for it Questers…let’s receive these commendations and rock the world for Christ.

8.  After the service, I got to listened to Bryant Evans tell his story of what happened on men’s retreat… how God was knocking at the door of his heart and how he finally surrendered. Seeing the tear-filled eyes of his dad (my great friend) who got to lead his long-shot son to the feet of Jesus was a huge answer to prayer. I watched as others close to this family borrowed courage from them to pray for their long-shots. There was hardly a dry eye in the circle as Bryant described his new eyes and ears, and as we thanked God together for His tailor-made pursuit of Bryant. Friends…never forget…Jesus loves those you love more than you do. He gave His life for them; don’t think for a second He isn’t working around the clock to make clear His love for them.

9.  I got to talk to SO MANY people who haven’t BEGUN to recover from last weekend – brand new Christians still in awe of their brand new hearts, four-month old Christ-followers talking about being caught off-guard by the memories of those moments that just won’t leave their minds, long-time pioneers – dirt-throwing fools – crying together over what we’ve just witnessed, and it’s just the beginning. We’re not getting over this one any time soon, Questers.

10.  Hugging and crying with Helen, Gordon, Timmy, Kathy, Eric, Andrew, Nathan, Laura, John and listening to the story of those holy moments with their dad when he passed from this life to the next was  transformational. In the words of 14 year old Eric…one minute the man they were holding was with them, and the next, he was in the presence of the One we live this whole life for… something none of them will recover from. Hearing how close to Jesus this family feels, and how surrounded by community they’ve been, I think this is how it’s supposed to go.

There are moments in the life of the church where the Holy Spirit does something so substantial that we are changed at core levels. This weekend was one of those moments and one of my top three weekends in Quest’s history. Here’s just a glimpse of what I got to see:

1. You may or may not know that the series “U Asked For It” is something I’ve been dying to do for over a year. And when we finally got to do it…it was our very first series in Quest’s brand new facility. The beauty of this series is that as we solicited your questions and responded with answers from God’s word…we were living out the heartbeat of Quest Community Church. QCC exists to transform unconvinced people into wholehearted followers of Jesus. I just love that as we opened our doors so much wider…that we were right in our sweet-spot as we hit your questions. What a “first series” in this space “U Asked for It” has been!

2. Watching as dozens and dozens of rescued people took the stage with words of transformation as the band played Switchfoot’s Awakening…made it so hard to stand up and speak. I was so undone by the reality of the rescues God has accomplished in this place. When I said, “We are all designed to be in a story like that one” I could feel hope stirring in the room. I am convinced that God’s power to change a life is absolutely limitless when we come to Him with an open heart.

3. Answering the question of the week in the very first few minutes of my talk was like breathing life into the room: Can you really know for sure where you stand with God? The Bible is so clear on this one…YES! In fact it’s on a very short list of fundamental questions of life that are essential for you to be exceedingly clear about. Yes you can know where you stand w/God!

4. I watched hundreds of Questers grapple with Jesus as He redefined so much of what’s happened in your lives as we walked through the Gift of First Things (maybe He’s not answering our questions because we’re not asking the right question), the Gift of Exposure (God won’t hesitate to give you the gift of exposing your true heart because He knows what hangs in the balance!), the Gift of Evidence (when we humble ourselves and get honest with God, there is real evidence that points to where we stand with Him), and the Gift of Choice (If God is distant…it is never Him…it’s ALWAYS us! We choose.) His gifts are always for our good…

5. What Jesus unpacked for us as we walked back through the stories of the younger and older brother in Luke 15 was priceless. When I said, one son went off deep end and everyone knew it, and the other imploded and no one knew it, the reality of their hearts was crystal clear. Luke 15 is one of my favorite passages in all of scripture, and it was SOOOoooo alive to us this weekend. I watched some of you sit with tears streaming down your faces realizing how rescued you really are. And I watched as others of you, sometimes sitting just one seat over, wrestled with the truth that you were the older brother…with your arms crossed outside the party, refusing to go in. I think my heart broke in a brand new way as I talked about the Father coming outside and begging the older brother to come in!

6. So many of us underestimate the drop off, but we were all designed for the Cross Road. I talked to scores of you who caught a glimpse of the spiritual reality of your life in this picture. I hope it is forever burned in your hearts and minds! I’ve waited for 15 years to use this picture in a talk…God surely told me to use it at the right moment in time.

7. The story of Jimmy meeting his Compassion International sponsor in front of 13,000 people at Catalyst last week left me undone more and more every time I told it. Jimmy understood his own rescue in such an undeniable way; he could not contain himself when he finally met his rescuer face to face. I could feel Questers losing their composure as Jesus used Jimmy’s story to bring our own need to be rescued to life!

8. I can still hear the sounds of seats flipping as I made the offer for people to stand to receive Christ on the count of three. In every single service, the sight of people standing in every section of the room took my breath away, but what I got to witness in the 11:30 worship experience was like nothing I’ve ever seen. For those of you who’ve wondered what it must have been like to see Cracking the Code with your own eyes, that moment felt more like it than anything else we’ve ever witnessed as a church! The Holy Spirit was moving all over the room in such a Holy way. People just kept standing and kept standing. It was truly remarkable, and it felt like the Uprising was happening before my own eyes. Spiritual pride was shattered and more than 70 people in that service alone prayed out loud together, on their feet, with their hands raised to heaven as they finally surrendered their hearts to Jesus! I felt like I was watching that moment with all of heaven!

9. From the 5:55 worship experience Saturday evening until long after 5:55 Sunday evening, people were running to Jesus…processing their stories, humbling themselves, and honestly put first things first, and examining the evidence in their hearts and lives. By the end of the weekend, at least 140 people had given their lives to Christ!!! (in that number…6 people were online, 6 people were at our Frankfort campus, 4 were in Australia…) Un-freaking-believable! I didn’t leave the auditorium until Sunday at six…and conversations kept happening until long into the night there and all over the city in life groups. This is why we exist as a church! And just in case you were wondering…since opening our doors to 1000s of people through Imagine2 on September 5th…661 people have placed their faith in Jesus…been forgiven of their sin and filled with His love. WHAT JUST TOOK 6 WEEKS TOOK 6 YEARS WHEN WE FIRST LAUNCHED!

10. Some people I love very, very much were included in the 140 who gave their lives to Christ this weekend. I’ll talk more about that later, but here’s a glimpse of something our video crew caught for us…this is what it’s like to watch someone go from death to life before your very eyes! Incredible!!! (I lost my mind over both of you, Jamie Lea & Seth!)

ps. I just love when our music team & video team come together to do Bittersweet Symphony…don’t you? The band + orchestra + the video portrayal of what the Church is meant to be = BREATH-TAKING!

This weekend we witnessed the miraculous before our own eyes. For hours the auditorium was packed after the 11:30 worship experience. We celebrated the dozens and dozens who stood with me and give their lives to Christ during the service. And then all afternoon the cheers just kept coming as people who were still processing and examining the evidence in their lives surrendered their hearts to Jesus. It was remarkable. We were laughing, crying and celebrating like we were celebrating with all of heaven. Here’s just a glimpse of what I saw as 135 people came home:

In the words of Bill Hybels, this is not normal. Congratulations, Questers…and welcome to the JUMP!

p.s. Watch for more weekend reflections soon!

I pray that as you launch into your next steps in your journey with Jesus,  your roots are going down deep in God’s love. Your life was made to find its meaning, stability and purpose in one grand truth: You are A DEEPLY LOVED CHILD OF THE MOST HIGH GOD. Your heavenly Father is unbelievably pleased with you. Not because of anything you’ve done or will do. But because you are His beloved child!

And a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, and I am fully pleased with Him.” – Matthew 3:17 (msg)

p.s. Watch Quest live online tomorrow as a great reminder of what Jesus has done in your life! (Sunday @ 9:30 & 11:30am EST). And…if you’re just kind of following along this blog, but you’re not so sure where you stand with Jesus…get here or watch online!

Jesus didn’t forgive and adopt you just to make you happy. He claimed you to make you a holy barbarian for His name and His purposes. Listen to these incredible words from Jesus Himself on what it means to be a follower of His…

Luke 9:23-26 – Then He said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be My follower, you must put aside your selfish ambition, shoulder your cross daily, and follow Me. If you try to keep your life for yourself, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for Me, you will find true life. And how do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose or forfeit your own soul in the process? If a person is ashamed of Me and My message, I, the Son of Man, will be ashamed of that person when I return in my glory and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels.

Spent the day at Catalyst in Atlanta with 13,000 leaders and a bunch of my Lead Team. God is doing some awesome things in churches and leaders all over the country, and it’s fueling to spend time with this insane, fun crowd getting ready to go all out making their mark on the world.

That said…I’ve got to tell you. Catalyst is getting me SO PUMPED for The Uprising, Quest’s Leadership Conference coming in early 2010!! I cannot tell you how out of my mind I’ve been that God has said it’s time to pull the trigger on this! We announced The Uprising publicly for the first time at our Building Dedication last week (thanks, again, Bill Hybels, for coming to dedicate our new auditorium!), and I know the Holy Spirit is in something when He just KEEPS pouring out ideas and lighting a fire under me like this.

I can’t WAIT!!! Go to The Uprising and sign up for more information. I’ll be posting more details as we have them!

What do you prize? What is most important to you? For all treasures in your life, be sure you prize God beyond all. Reorder & eliminate to make Jesus your first love.

Mark 12:28-31 – One of the teachers of religious law was standing there listening to the discussion. He realized that Jesus had answered well, so he asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’  The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”

For those of you in your first 30 days with Jesus, I want to remind you…your walk with Christ is not a sprint…it’s a marathon. Your entire life is a journey in knowing Jesus and becoming known by Him. He has so much in store for you and He loves doing this with you!

If you haven’t given your heart to Jesus yet and you’re just following along in this journey…you can run to Him today! He is ready and waiting to receive you, forgive you, make His home in your heart and give you a new life! (And if you’re really just not sure where you stand with God…get to Quest this weekend!)

Philippians 3:12-14
I don’t mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection! But I keep working toward that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be. No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven.