The Uprising is underway…and God is moving! Hundreds of pastors and church leaders are being wrecked for the gospel – remembering why they went into ministry in the first place…something seismic is happening in the hearts and minds of leaders!

So grateful for my friends Clayton King, Derwin Gray and Pete Wilson who are here igniting the Church and her leaders to join in the Uprising God began 2,000 years ago. Don’t underestimate the difference a day makes. Listen for the Voice of God. And if you’re not in Lexington for The Uprising today…please pray for what God is doing. When He shifts a leader’s heart…EVERYTHING changes!

Praying this dangerous prayer with every Uprising leader today:

“Jesus, I invite You to do everything you need to do in me so that You can rescue lost people through me.”

The Uprising is just 3 weeks from TODAY, and I’ve got to tell you…I believe the difference this day could make is off the charts! What God has in store for us could transform our lives, our ministries, and the world!

So many days of our lives go by and we barely remember them. But some days – if we will let them – have the power to transform us forever. Jesus is waiting to meet with you here at The Uprising, and He’s got important, shifting things for everyone who walks in the doors.

Not long ago I caught up with 2012 Uprising main stage speaker, Clayton King, at NewSpring’s Unleash conference. Just spending an afternoon together, I was provoked. Clayton is a teaching pastor at NewSpring, the campus pastor at Liberty University and a well-known author. He’s a great guy who you’ll want to hear from. More than that…this is a man who is crystal clear on God’s heartbeat for the gospel. I think God’s going to use him to ignite something new in many of us.

Listen to what he has to say about The Uprising coming up on April 19th:

Uprising Clayton King & Pete Hise from theUprising on Vimeo.

Don’t miss what God wants to do in you this April at The Uprising! Learn more about other main stage speakers, labs and pre-conference workshops here. Or register here, now.

What a weekend…what a series! This past weekend was one of the most evangelistically fruitful weekends in Quest’s history. The ground literally felt slanted toward the cross. So many people came home. In service after service, people just kept responding to the whisper of God…coming to the cross, laying down religion and entering into a relationship with Jesus.

• God’s appeal is so clear. For all the things we’ve been told God wants for us or from us over the years, the simple truth is this: God’s desire is to KNOW US. His will for our lives…His plan for us is to be in a right relationship with Him. For every single one of us, this gap is the key to bridging every other gap in our lives.

• Still, a conspiracy has persisted through every age proclaiming, “You can do this on your own. You can construct your own path to God. You don’t need to rely on Christ….you can know Him thru means other than the Cross.” This conspiracy (that the Church has too often been an accomplice in perpetuating) seeks to lull us into settling for less than real relationship.

• Many of us have met God…we’ve had a conversation, or shared an experience, but we don’t know Him. Dr. J & I had a conversation in Vegas. We do not have a relationship. We’ve met, but we don’t know each other!

• When you’re in the GAP, instead of knowing Him intimately…you find yourself settling for Intimacy Imposters.
• Works – Things we do for God as if being busy for Him ever pleased Him or gained us His love.

• Information – Rather than know Him, this imposter compels us to fill our heads our intellect, with His stats, laws, history, theology, teachings until we have more info than we can use. A full head won’t cover for an empty heart. 

• Experience  -  So many of us have cried out to God for forgiveness when we really messed up, hope when things were dark, for healing, guidance, provision…for HELP! But when the storms blew through and the sirens stopped & the sun came out again…the emotions moved on too.

• God never designed you to live on Intimacy Imposters! He wants a RELATIONSHIP with you! He doesn’t want a conversation or a one-night stand, He wants your heart!

• Intimacy impostors are at the heart of religion, but religion doesn’t love you. Why would you give your life to it one more day?

• As I walked the room at the end of each service, I looked into so many of your eyes and you were so ready to say YES to Jesus. And you WENT FOR IT!!! I loved seeing you stream toward the cross – humbly and honestly – stepping into the relationship you were made for!

What we witnessed this weekend felt like it was out of the pages of the book of Acts. What happened once can happen again. All glory to God.  I am out of my MIND thrilled for so many of you who divorced “religion” and stepped into a real relationship with Jesus this weekend. It was breathtaking! This is just the beginning…

How about these words to mark your life at the conclusion of this remarkable series? “I Believe in God, AND…I KNOW HIM!!!”

I was in my office a week ago today and the arts team surprised me with something that blew my mind. I haven’t been able to hold it together one time watching it since then.

As we step out and trust God ACTIVELY in every area of our lives…from our sex lives to sharing our faith to our money…THIS is what’s at stake. THIS is the fruit of the work of God in a place where people believe Him and put their faith into action.

Questers…I wanted you to have the chance to see this again. And Uprising pastors and leaders, I wanted to give you a sneak peak of what you’ll see and experience at The Uprising on April 19th with me, Clayton King (teaching pastor at NewSpring Church and campus pastor at Liberty University) and Derwin Gray (the Evangelism linebacker and founding pastor of Transformation Church) and other Uprising faculty.

This is the WHY behind everything we do at Quest Community Church:

Happy Valentine’s Day! (How about THAT for a picture of what real love does in the lives of real people!)

I just got to spend several days with some of the leading pastors of the Christian & Missionary Alliance, and it spurred me on to hear the stories of what God is doing in their midst. I’m so thankful we get the chance to partner together to reach people for Christ and build cultures of redemption.

Here’s a confession: I never knew it was possible. I came to Christ in a culture where churches were NOT advancing, where no one was finding hope in Christ and the idea that the capital “C” Church could be a redemptive force never crossed my mind. I just never knew it was possible. But then…thanks to the work of the Holy Spirit in my life and the influence of one of my mentors, I fell in love with the Acts 2 Church.

The revolution that happened through the local church 2,000 years ago is still possible today! It’s not only possible…it is actually happening. The picture of the Church we read about in the first pages of the book of Acts can come to life here and now. We CAN create loving cultures of redemption… It happened once. It’s happening again.

I cannot believe the church I get to be a part of…a church where the lonely are enfolded, the broken find hope, addicts find freedom, marriages are healed, and real people discover Jesus for who He really is. It is beautiful and messy and unbelievably breathtaking. The stories literally bring me to my knees. Doctors and homeless people serve side by side. Stay at home moms and those in the adult entertainment find healing at the foot of the cross together. Those who have been rescued, who find hope in Christ, become rescuers themselves. I just never knew His bride could be this beautiful.

When we launched as a church we would read the pages of Acts over and over again, camping out in the description of the church in Acts 2. I would read the last line of that chapter, “And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved,” and beg Jesus to make it so here. Now we live in that reality.

What God can do through really ordinary men and women is beyond anything we could hope or ask or imagine. 2,000 years ago Jesus launched something remarkable through a small, unimpressive group of people. They weren’t the smartest, the strongest or the most-educated…but they were people who had been with Jesus who lived with His heart beating in their chests.

God used them to launch a revolution. And He longs to do the same through us…in our churches, our communities, our world. He sends us out with the same mission today that He sent the disciples out with thousands of years ago…a simple, singular mission that captures His heart…to seek and save the lost.

The revolution that started 2,000 years ago is still alive today. Join me Thursday, April 19th in Lexington, KY for The Uprising. Come be reminded why you went into ministry in the first place. I can’t wait to partner with you!

• Register now for Super Early Bird rate: $59 (Only now through Feb 1st!)
• Church Planters: $59, Senior Pastor’s Spouse: FREE, Groups of 5 get 1 Ticket FREE!
• Speakers/Presenters include: Derwin Gray (“Evangelism Linebacker”, Transformation Church) and Dr. Gary Benedict (C&MA President)

Need a reminder of why we do what we do what we do?

I Have Decided… from Quest Community Church on Vimeo.

Questapalooza came this year just before the rain took over Lexington. The fields were dry. The sun was shining. And God SHOWED UP!

For a full year, I prayed for those who would make their way out onto Quest’s field for Questapalooza 2011. And I was joined by teams of people preparing and asking God that many would experience Him here. 100s of volunteers spent 1,000s of hours getting ready, teams went all out preparing the field, bands gave fantastic performances, the Word of God went out…and 1,000s came! I loved watching people I care about take Jesus up on His offer to exchange their brokenness and sin for His life and forgiveness. It was remarkable. Seeing prodigals and pretenders respond to God’s free offer of grace and forgiveness never gets old!

Congratulations to all of who you accepted Christ at Questapalooza. You are the whole reason we exist as a church!

I remember the day I gave my life to Christ on November 12, 1982. I have never recovered from His rescue that night. You don’t have to either! Your heavenly Father has always longed for you to run to Him, and when you did, He swept you up into His arms. Congratulations on the best decision of your whole life!

Tell everyone! Find a great church and become a part of a community who will help you sink your roots deep into God’s love…and get to know the One who rescued you!

I’d love to offer you some daily encouragements in these early days with Christ. If you’re interested, go to twitter.com/petehise and follow me there to receive special daily tweets as you begin your brand new life in Christ! I’ll begin posting Your First 30 Days With Jesus twitters this week.

I’m so proud of you…all of heaven is celebrating you and so am I.

p.s. If you don’t have a great church home yet, you’re invited back to Quest this weekend. It’s our Fall Kick-Off, so it’s a fantastic time to dive in and get involved, and we would love to have you. Whether you’re just exploring faith in Christ or just gave your life to Christ, you would be our honored guests.

p.p.s. Students…you’re also invited to FUSED this Wednesday night at 6:30! I hear they’ve got fantastic things planned…don’t miss it!

What a weekend! Where to start?! Questers…your inviting WORKED! And Jesus showed up in a remarkable way!

• We heard from more people this Easter…”This is like a dream!” The back-up at the bridge…doing four services…the feel in the room…125 going from death to life! REMARKABLE!!!

• Fathers and mothers, sons and daughters, friends and co-workers…all encountering God in remarkable ways. Wow!

• Loved talking about the father in the earthquake digging out rocks to get to his son. A gorgeous picture of God digging through the rubble of our lives to get to us!

• I loved hearing this quote…“Do you remember when we opened the building and there was a backlog of cars streaming in? Well, this morning, the cars are past Meijer…10 & 15 minutes out!” People waiting in line to worship!

• That balcony blows me away! It was gorgeous to be using this building and our Imagine2 sacrifices for exactly as they were intended! Hope was spilling out in Lexington, in Frankfort and around the world on the web!

• Husbands & wives gave their lives to Christ and walked the bridge together…fathers & sons, mothers & daughters…so many lost kids all getting close to the cross to thank the One who rescued them!

• I hugged so many men who were emotional as they gave their lives to Christ and surrendered to the control of another!

• Luke 15 is the best story on the PLANET – two lost sons – two lost boys from opposite ends of the world spiritually – it covers everybody on the planet…and lots of us this weekend. That’s Amazing!

• The new understanding we got of God’s grace talking about Kezazah was substantial. Breaking the pot onstage and seeing the broken pieces before our eyes gave such a clear picture of our brokenness and of the father’s heart!

• I loved telling my mom’s story…she had no idea her story would ever help people come to Christ.

• I cannot WAIT for the Man Series! Bring EVERYONE you know…ladies, don’t think, “Why just for the men?” This will help you more than you ever believed. Bring you man. Invite like crazy. It’ll be man-style and it will be so beneficial. You’re going to love it, ladies. It’ll be like you get to look in on what men talk about when they’re alone. Guys…this one is all for you. You’re gonna love it.

I love our church…I love you, Questers. This is going to be the best year yet!

God’s sacrifice, our sin, the cross, the empty tomb…I’m undone all over again every time I come face to face with Jesus’ remarkable sacrifice on the cross.

As I’m working away – writing, praying and preparing for Easter weekend, I can’t get over what He did for me – personally. I will never recover from His extravagant offer of love…His sacrifice. Nothing in the universe compares to His singular act of love that Good Friday 2,000+ years ago. Nothing comes close to His extraordinary love. It is beyond anything I could have ever hoped for.

Are your hopes up this Easter? God has more in mind for you than you could possible begin to imagine. I don’t know where you are on the road or where you find yourself on your spiritual journey, but Heaven’s hopes are up for you…for the people you love…for our cities and our world.

Luke 14:23 says, “Go out 2 the roads and country lanes and compel them to come in…” I want to encourage you to DO IT. Invite everyone you know…invite everyone you come in contact with between now and Easter. Let’s SPILL OUT HOPE into this hopeless world.

I’m cheering you on as you go all out inviting and getting ready, Questers. Pray for me as I finish my talk and make my last invites. I can’t wait to partner with you this weekend for the most remarkable weekend we’ve ever experienced together.