Blog Archives | Pete Hise

4 Responses to Jesus

December 6, 2011

We find ourselves in a season that comes every year. You can feel it everywhere. Christmas is right around the corner – and like every year, we click into the routine of it all – maybe because we love it, maybe out of habit. But what if we didn’t do that this year? This past weekend we turned the page of our “Jesus” series to Christmas, asking Jesus to open our eyes to the new thing He wants to do in us. Because at its core, Christmas is new. A new era, a new day, a new dispensation of grace…the presence of God among us.

GOD IS WITH US.

In our darkness, God responded to us.

To a world that had largely forgotten Him, Jesus showed up on the scene…in person. Long before we knew to cry out for Him, He came for us. The story of Christmas is really a love story. God is a loving Father eager to do whatever it takes to get our attention so that we’ll receive the gifts He has for us. God shows up on our doorstep, personally…not just 2,000 years ago to Mary & Joseph, but to us.

How will you respond to Jesus?

Take some time this week and self-identify your response to Jesus. Analyze over the past few years/seasons which of the following is most like you?

A Willing Spirit (Mary): God shows up unexpectedly with a turn Mary never saw coming. God’s plan that would wreck her plans. And Mary responded with a willing spirit. “This wasn’t my plan, but Your pick is now my choice.” Is that you? When Jesus shows up – sometimes unexpectedly, how do you respond?
Indifference (The Innkeeper): He’s in every Christmas drama, but he’s is not directly in Bible. When Jesus showed up at his door, he had no room for Him. He was busy, his life was crowded, his attention was on other things. Jesus was on his doorstep and he did not recognize Him. He didn’t send Him far, but He never let Him get too close. How do you respond to Jesus? Do you put Him off? Is your response indifferent?
Pursuit (The Wise Men): The wise men were looking for signs of God in their lives and when they saw them, they tirelessly pursued Him for years. They put aside lesser pursuits and went all out to pursue the One who was pursuing them. They were determined not to miss what Jesus was doing in their own lives and in the world. Are you expectantly looking for Jesus to move in your life? Are you looking for Him? Ready to respond…to pursue Him?
Threatened (King Herod): God showed up in the most approachable way we can imagine and even then, Herod lashed out. He was afraid. He didn’t like what he perceived as a challenge. In his self-consumption and fear, he did everything in his power to KILL Jesus and to kill His work in the world. He was so caught up in building his own kingdom, He tried to destroy the King of Kings. How do you respond when you feel out of control? Are you afraid of what God’s presence might do in your life…in your family? Do you grasp for control any way you can?

You can choose how you’ll respond to Jesus this Christmas. You can throw off your old responses and let Jesus do a new thing in you. I pray you’ll choose a willing spirit, not indifference. I pray you’ll pursue Jesus, not your own kingdom. Jesus has been working hard to get your attention. Since that first Christmas, God has been reaching out and calling out to you as the Unexpected voice of love and hope and redemption in your broken world. How will you respond?

Playing to Win

December 2, 2011

Around my house we’re not in the NFL (yet:)) – and the playoffs come around a little bit earlier. A few weeks ago I watched my son’s middle school football team square off against a team that destroyed them during regular season. They came into the game ready to play like they’d never been beat…and they WON. On the field, anything can happen.

Tim Tebow doesn’t look like he should be winning, but he does…week after week. Green Bay shouldn’t have been in last year’s play-offs, but they won the Superbowl and now they’re stronger than ever. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers has led them to an undefeated this season so far, but he knows what this game is like. When asked if the Packers (11-0) could run the table, Rodgers has said his goal is to “focus on being 1-0 every week.”

And that is a lesson every leader can learn from. It’s tempting for leaders to run on the accomplishments of former days – or to cave faced with the failure of yesterday. But especially in the Church, if we believe what God has entrusted to us matters, we can’t afford to let the past cut in on us…the wins or the losses. The stakes of the game are massive…real people’s lives and eternities hang in the balance.

Don’t give up after a bad game, leaders. And don’t try to ride on the coattails of yesterday. Everything is still on the line. If God has called you to lead, then LEAD. Play to win…in whatever arena God has entrusted to you. (It won’t be easy, but easy’s not what you signed on for.)

How about being 1-0 this weekend?

Why Persistence Matters

November 29, 2011

As we celebrated Thanksgiving around our table last week, we thanked Jesus for the remarkable ways we’ve seen Him and experienced Him this year. I hope you’ve experienced Him like never before — His lavish grace, His astonishing pursuit and His overwhelming love. We’ve seen pictures of Jesus that have taken our breath away!

A few weeks ago at Quest we looked at the question “Why Didn’t Jesus Fix the World?” And in a marking time together, we began to understand that Jesus didn’t come to fix the world but to redeem it. This weekend we looked at the why; why Jesus redeemed the world and why He’s so persistent.

The short answer: because of you, and because of me.

Transformation Pastor Helen Musick helped us understand that WE are the reason why. The world only has value in it because we are here. That’s why He persisted all the way to the cross – the agent of redemption – and that’s why He persists today, why He is holding back time. And that’s why He calls us to be persistent as well.

Jesus was – and is – persistent because we truly matter to Him, because we matter that much to Him. It’s incredible to think that we have such value to God. Even in our brokenness and sin, we matter. Do you know that is true for you today? Do you the people in your life matter like that to you?

Jesus knows the danger of our foolishness and carelessness. Luke 15 tells three parables of lost items: a sheep, a coin, a son. The sheep was lost because of foolishness and the coin because of carelessness. There’s real cost to being lost. Where has it been costly in your life? Jesus wants to meet you there. He’s not disappointed in you – He wants to find you and restore you.

Jesus knows the stakes of our choice. We make choices every day but there is one choice that impacts not a day but eternity. Jesus knows the stakes of eternity, of heaven and hell. It’s why He was persistent to the point of dying a criminals death – death on a cross. He took our sin on His shoulders to make a way out for us. He knows the stakes for you — and for the people you love. And He will not stop short – He won’t quit. He will do everything possible to help us choose LIFE.

He loves us. Some of us play a game with our kids, saying, “Know how much mommy (or daddy) loves you?” Then with arms open as wide as they can go, we declare, “Sooooo much.” John 3:16 says, “He loved the world so [sooooo] much…”

Love is the motivating force behind His persistence. It’s at the root of every gift, every intersection, every discipline, every offering and every message of He brings you.

In His persistence, Jesus drew me to Himself. No one is beyond His reach. Don’t give up hope. Not for yourself or for those you love. Some of you just reached out to your families over Thanksgiving like never before. Know this: Jesus will not give up His pursuit. He loves your family far more than you do and He is always working to draw them to Himself. He will persist until the final curtain is drawn. He is patient, gracious and kind, giving every opportunity for us to turn to Him.

For those of you who don’t know Him yet – those who’ve never received what He did for you on the cross, I’m praying you’ll respond to His pursuit and run into His open arms today.

Persistence matters because people matter to God. You matter.

Abandon your “fake jesus” for good

November 22, 2011

This was a different kind of a weekend at Quest. We were in challenging territory as we took a ‘no-holds-barred’ look at the real Jesus – the One who always stirred things up. In the same way, this weekend stirred things up for many of us as we looked at why Jesus is so polarizing.

Jesus not just a kind, gentle compassionate moral teacher. He was not very well-liked. He was not well-behaved or well-received. He drew crowds, but He also repelled them. By the end of His life, He was not overly popular, or even very successful by the world’s standards…few followed Him. Fewer still stood by Him. He was not predictable, safe or manageable. Jesus was far more like His cousin John-the-Baptist than like the religious leaders of His day. A wild-man, rather than a comfortable cleric. If you look up the word polarizing in the dictionary, it says it is something that causes opposing points of view…then it shows Jesus picture. He always kept things on edge. If you encountered the real Jesus, I’m not sure you’d want Him in your life group or in your homes. I’m not sure you’d want to hire Him or want Him in the seat next to you when you’re worshiping. Jesus was raw. Jesus was polarizing. THEN & NOW.

When Simeon encountered Him as a baby 2000 years ago he said this about Jesus, ““This child is destined to cause many in Israel to fall, but he will be a joy to many others. He has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose him. As a result, the deepest thoughts of many hearts will be revealed.” (Luke 2:34-35)

Jesus always stirred it up and it’s been said that it’s often in the places we’re stirred up that we experience the most spiritual transformation. I think that’s true. I encourage you to spend some time here.

Jesus dismissed the spiritual gray in the world. He turned the lights on and evicted the haze of spiritual confusion. He was crystal clear in every conversation, in every encounter. He is God’s dividing line of clarity in the world.

Through What He Said (turn the other cheek, bless those who persecute you, your sins are forgiven!)… What He Did (healing the blind, feeding the 1000s, turning the temple tables upside down, confronting the religious leaders!)… and What He Claimed (I am the WAY, the TRUTH & the LIFE…no one comes to the Father except through ME), Jesus was determined that we would not miss Him…that we would not confuse Him with just a soft-spoken, mild-mannered moral teacher. Jesus was fierce and strong and bold. He drew crowds and He repelled them. He took on the sin of the whole world and He defeated death itself. Jesus is like no one else in the world!

Whatever other pictures you’ve had of your “fake jesus,” whether it’s…

Happiness jesus… (here to meet your needs, do as you’d like & make your life happy)
Homespun jesus (a jesus you’ve crafted out of what your grandmother always told you mixed in with your own ideas)
Fix-Me jesus… (a genie always ready to come fix you up & make you all better)
Green jesus… (more concerned with saving the planet than rescuing people)
Right Wing jesus… (who shockingly always votes republican & who always agrees with you)
Co-dependenant jesus… (who perpetuates your emotional brokenness)

I want to challenge you to become so discontent with the “fake jesus” you’ve crafted to meet your needs that you would pitch him forever. Whoever he is, if he’s not the Jesus we read about in the pages of scripture, he is an imposter and he will ultimately leave you disappointed or disillusioned.

The real Jesus is the only One strong enough to confront death and free you from it’s power. He is the only One who can heal your heart and make you whole. He is the only One through whom we receive forgiveness of our sins. He is the One who heals marriages, breaks addictions, restores families, makes stingy people generous and unfaithful people faithful. I pray you’ll consider the real JESUS on His own terms.

Jesus didn’t come to repair you & make you happy. He came to redeem you & make you whole. The question is: do you want happiness or wholeness? If it’s wholeness, you’ll come to Jesus on His terms…as He really is. If it’s happiness, you’ll manipulate, emasculate and shrink him until it’s til not Jesus at all. It’s your choice…happiness for a day or wholeness for a lifetime.

I pray you’ll choose wholeness. I pray you’ll choose the real Jesus.

Extreme Unity

November 21, 2011

Extreme Unity… not a topic the enemy is thrilled to have discussed in the local church. Earlier this year Transformation Pastor Helen Musick taught on this topic and she was red-hot! While she spoke, a storm that felt like it could take out the city passed over QCC – it felt like a physical reality of what was happening in the spiritual world as God fought for this topic to ring out.

For 12+ years as a church, we’ve lived in a culture of redemption where from the beginning, unity was a non-negotiable. I believe it is an essential ingredient in why more than 12,000 people in the U.S. alone have come to Christ in 12 years here. (And not with out a few storms here and there!) Unity is something we fight for because there is an enemy for fights against it, an enemy who knows and fears the power of unity. The enemy knows if we will be the answer to Jesus’ John 17 prayer, people see who He really is and why He came…they’ll see that the Father loves US as much as He loved His own boy! (UNREAL)

Need a little review? Here’s some great questions Helen gave us when she taught on this topic. I hope they’ll help you see how you’re doing in this area:

Extreme unity actively works for unity and is marked by a love that is reckless and irrational.

Extreme unity lives without lines.

What are the lines in my heart?
Who is it that I find difficult to accept because they are different than me?
Where are there lines in my heart that keep me from loving recklessly and irrationally?

Potential Action Steps: Seek to add value to everyone you meet today.

Extreme unity joyfully honors those that lead.

Do I find myself critical because of my perceptions and preferences regarding some aspect of the church?
Do I pray for those God has given the position of leadership?
Do I joyfully honor those that lead me?

Potential Action Step: Write a letter or make a phone call to thank a leader in your life for building into you.

Extreme unity assumes the best and is quick to forgive.

Do I take things personally and find myself easily offended?
Am I able to love others by assuming the best of them?
How quick am I at forgiving?

Potential Action Step: The next time you’re unsure of someone’s motives or you’re feeling offended, actively BELIEVE THE BEST.

Will you choose to be an answer to Jesus John 17 prayer? If you do, you’ll find His love irresistible through you and to you!

Was Jesus’ Mission a Success or Failure?

November 15, 2011

After 5 weeks of the “Jesus” series we’ve got some serious momentum! If you haven’t gotten to attend or at least listen/watch these past weeks, get caught up and make sure you don’t miss another week. God is doing something powerful in our church as we continue to get a clearer picture of who Jesus really is. This past weekend was no exception!

Assistant Pastor Justin McCarty brought us the message, along with our fantastic artists (strongly supported by one afro-sporting, eight-year old rapper!). Here are a few of his reflections:

Special thanks to all the musicians, dramatists, dancers and those that told their personal stories this weekend — you helped us experience the mission & heart of Jesus in brand new ways. And a big shout to Carson Hise who not only rocked Tobymac’s “Momentum”, but did it all on his 8th birthday — Happy Birthday, Carson!

This weekend was unique because the question “Was His Mission a Success or Failure?” actually came down to our answer. Jesus accomplished exactly what He set out to do: securing redemption by His death on the cross — but the ultimate success of the planet wide movement of redemption rests in our hands. In John 17, Jesus made it clear that people will believe in Him because of how we represent Him!

Here’s a recap of the 3 questions that helped zone in on how we’re contributing an answer to this week’s question:

Is His heart becoming your heart?
Is His mission becoming your mission?
Is His sacrifice becoming your sacrifice?

Also, here were a couple of key lines from this past weekend that really seemed to resonate with lots of folks:

The plan of redemption begins with what appears to be failure.
The whole story about you hasn’t been told yet.
If the mission of redemption was worth the life of Jesus Christ, it’s worth yours!
Most of us will not be required to give our lives for the cause of Christ in a single moment, but all of us are called to give Him our lives one moment at a time.
God’s ultimate gamble: Will we relinquish the grip on our own lives and give it back to Him?

So grateful to Pastor Pete for the chance to bring this message this weekend! And can’t wait to have him back on stage this coming weekend as we tackle a topic that will definitely stir things up: Why Was Jesus So Polarizing?

Why Didn’t Jesus Fix the World?

November 8, 2011

I can recall in both my undergraduate and graduate work studying the topic of theodicy and the philosophical implications of what was called problem of evil — the challenging topic of why bad things happen to good people. After being a pastor for many years, I now realize this topic, more than most, can spin us off of our axis and detour us in our spiritual journeys. Pain has a way of shipwrecking our faith and hijacking our experience of God’s love like nothing I’ve seen. Hurt and disappointment can quickly cause call someone to call God’s character into question.

I was eager this week for a chance to speak to this topic (as I have many times in the past). The reflections and reactions of what God accomplished this week have been so encouraging. If you weren’t at one of our campuses or able to worship online with us (Saturday at 5:55 or Sunday at 9:30 and 11:30), here’s a link to the Quest website where you can watch it yourself. I encourage you to go there and listen since I won’t be hitting everything here – just the highlights.

I’d like to bring up two key points on this topic from the weekend:

God sees our pain and our struggle, and He hurts when we hurt. It’s central to character of Christ to weep with those who weep and laugh with those who laugh. You are dearly loved by the One who made you. He is eager to step into the experience of our lives — as is commensurate with His desire to have deeper and deeper intimacy with everyone who’s willing. You are not alone in your tears. As Psalm 56:8 says, “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle.” In fact, Jesus wept over Lazarus with with Mary and Martha, even though He knew He was about to raise him from the dead. He enters in because He cares and He loves us. You matter to Him.
While we would love Jesus to fix the world…and more directly, fix our lives, and we pray prayers to that end, the New Testament is abundantly clear it was not Jesus’ mission to FIX the world, but to REDEEM it. Jesus always has a deeper work in mind. As we saw this weekend in Mark, chapter 2, He was far more interested in healing the broken man’s soul more than his body, but He lovingly did the latter also. Millions have experienced the same over the last 20 centuries – a healing and redeeming of the soul. Sometimes while Jesus is healing someone’s inner world, past, marriage, and identity, sometimes He also fixes their life (directly and sometimes indirectly) as a result of the deeper healing…the deeper work of redemption. Rest assured in your life, there’s a deeper healing to come. Jesus has a deeper healing, a deeper intimacy and a deeper work in mind for you.

No one is outside His reach. No one is beyond His redemption. He wastes nothing…neither the good or the bad in our lives. He will use it all to draw us to Himself…to redeem us and to build intimacy with us. In tears and in laughter, He enters in with us and reminds us of His great love.

After this great weekend, I really hope I’ll be someone who cries out for the deeper work Jesus has for my life – more than seeking after quick fixes. Bear in mind, Jesus is the Savior of the World, preparing us for the world to come. He is neither a genie handing out wishes or a vending machine where we push a button and what we want drops into our lives. One day every living being will see Him for who He really is, and on that day, as we read in Revelation 21, He will make all things new. He will heal everything that’s been broken — in “only Jesus” fashion. He loves us too much to give us any less than Himself — the Savior of the World, the Messiah — the healer of our hearts and the redeemer of our souls.

p.s. Part of the beauty and joy in this remarkable church are the people I get to to do this life and ministry with…people I never saw coming. They are such gems to my life and ministry. There is no better example of that than Dani Anderson, who is celebrating her six year anniversary as my assistant this week. Dani does an amazing job, serving me, my family and this church. She and her husband Chris are just remarkable people. If you see Danielle this week, wish her a happy anniversary – she makes a huge difference for the kingdom.

Thank You!

November 2, 2011

After a day full of advancing meetings, concluding with one of my top highlights of every month — sitting down with the board of Quest Community Church to reflect on where God has taken us over the last months and look ahead to His plans for us in the future — I just had to take a few minutes to write a special blog.

Quest Community Church…it is such an honor to be your pastor. I am so grateful to God that He’s given me this privilege. I was completely undone by Pastor Appreciation Month. The cards, letters and expressions of gratitude where you just lavished me and thanked me blew me away. I was so grateful. You are so kind, everyone. I absolutely am the most fortunate pastor on the planet…I get to point people to Jesus, help them ask Him into their hearts, grow in Him and then we get to do this life together.

I love this church and I love this community. I’m so grateful for you all. Thank you.

And…thank you for the ways you showed your appreciation for all of your pastors on our staff. They are the best pastors in the world, so let me just give a shout out to them: Pastor Sharon, Pastor Justin, Pastor Helen, Pastor Dave, Pastor Jimmy, Pastor Kenny & Pastor Brad, I am so proud of you. You are the best Pastoral Team in the world. I know our church’s best days are out in front of us. Heaven has huge plans and I believe God is just beginning His work here…can’t you feel the tremors? I love you all and I’m so proud of you.

Thank you, everyone, for the ways you’ve gone all out in honor this past month. I’ve been so blessed by you. Thank you.

Jesus: How Heaven Sees Him

November 1, 2011

This weekend was absolutely awesome. My prayer as I got to step up in our Jesus Series was that the Holy Spirit would help me to make Jesus clear, because I really believe more than anything that if people see Jesus for who He really is, they’ll want Him.

Sometimes when our picture of Jesus is too small — when we just think of Him as a carpenter or even the One who would die on the cross — we lose the picture that He’s the One heaven worships…a remarkable deal, don’t you think? Heaven worships Him around the clock. With all the amazing beings worshipping Him, seeing Him for who He really is…more than our homeboy or co-pilot…He is the Son of God, the Savior of the World, the Lamb who is worthy of all worship and all praise.

I wanted our response to Jesus to expand, to be bigger. I wanted us to see beyond our smaller pictures of Him this weekend. I was thrilled to hear from so many of you who were so thankful for this weekend, so changed by it. So many of you wrote or found me to say you’d never seen Him like that before. I heard from so many of you saying, this changes the way I’ll see Him from here on out…go for it! Worship Him for the magnificent Son of God He is. Wherever you are in your journey…make Him your everything. He’s the answer to your marriage problems, your financial problems, your son’s drug addiction, your daughter’s image issues, your purpose issues, your midlife crises, your fear of tomorrow, your worries of today.

In fact, here’s a link: Jesus: How Heaven Sees Him. I’d love for you to go watch this service again today. If your hair on your arms didn’t stand up when people were reading Revelation in different languages, I’m not sure you were awake. UNBELIEVABLE service. I’m so overjoyed I was there. I think this ranks up there as one of one of our most transformational worship experiences and one of my favorite services of all time.

He is so magnificent, so beautiful, so worthy of our worship, our praise and our lives. Don’t you love having seen Him like that? Join in heaven’s worship, my friends. You were made for it!

Three Steps Toward Audacious Faith

October 26, 2011

In Matthew 14, Peter takes a step of faith that has wrecked me as a leader. Peter did what no other human in history has ever done besides Jesus Himself…he walked on the WATER. He stepped into an audacious faith and went places with Jesus no one else has ever gone!

If you want to walk on water with Jesus, you must do these three things:

Obey Jesus. Go where He tells you to go. Follow Him into the unknown. Peter and the other eleven disciples were in the boat in the middle of a storm because JESUS sent them there. Peter was right where Jesus told him to be!
Recognize Him. Faced with terrifying circumstances, Peter recognizes Jesus for who He is…the One walking on the water in the middle of the storm.
Respond to Jesus. Critical piece to understand about audacious faith – it’s not faith in you, it’s faith in Him. You are not called to have faith in your own ability or character or skills, but to put your faith in the One who walks on water.

If you want to step out in audacious faith, you’ll need to position yourself well – following the Voice of the One who is the same yesterday, today and forever – but is never predictable. When you hear His Voice – or when you see Him out on the water – RESPOND. He may take you out into deep water, but you might just find yourself WALKING ON WATER. Whatever the audacious step of faith is that Jesus is calling you into…get confirmation that He’s in it, and STEP OUT. There is nothing like it in the world!