A Year of Preparation

                             So a new year is upon us again.  2015!  2014 has been definitely challenging for us.  Things haven't happened in the way we thought they should.  There has been unforeseen challenges and hurdles.  We have felt the sting of disappointment and let down.  We have had things thrown at us that were misguided, inaccurate and out of left field.  If I am being open, honest and vulnerable, I have spent the last half of 2014 struggling with defaults.  I feel like the proverbial ostrich that has stuck his head in the sand (even though ostriches don't do that) and have let myself "go" in many ways.  God has been speaking to me on this.  I can't let that happen anymore.  It is time to pick myself up, dust myself off and focus on the things that are in my grasp and in my control.  Me...  I need to begin to work on me again.  Physically, spiritually, mentally, emotionally.  I need to be the warrior I am meant to be.  I work in parallels.  All areas of my life move together.  If I am being disciplined and training myself in some areas it flows into other areas of my life as well.  That is a good thing.  So it is time to GO!!

                              The dreams are still there.  The desires are still there.  Many of them are not in my control and the demand needs to be on God to open doors in His timing, not making them line up with my timing or how I think it should work.  That is another form of discipline we need in our lives.  So if I can't worry about my dreams and desires and trying to make them happen, what do I need to do?  I need to prepare myself to walk into these things when it is time.  Perhaps even I can speed up the process as I prepare myself?  All I know is that I want 2015 to be a year of preparation and bettering myself.  I want to be all I can be through partnering with Jesus in my refining process and disciplining myself to see it through.  By the end of 2015 I want to be a lean, mean, fighting machine in the Spirit, in the natural and every other aspect of my person.  I want to be a force to be reckoned with.  I want there to be presence when people are around me not because of me per se, but what God has done in my life...because of the capacity I have grown into...because of the atmosphere I carry.

                           In many ways, I want to be my version of the legacy that my mother carried and left for me to step into.  She left a mantle that I felt God tell me I was meant to pick up.  I cannot do that with my head in the sand.  I cannot do that by being complacent and not applying the work ethic and effort needed to go to the next level.  I NEED to do this.  For me, for my kids, for my wife, for my friends, for the people that could be on the other side of an encounter with the Holy Spirit through me.  Whether it is encouragement, prayer, a prophetic word, a message, a joke, a hug, etc...I want to be impacting to all those I cross paths with.  That is my prayer.  But I know it is on me to do my part to get there...I know God will be faithful to do his part.
     
                         This is NOT a New Year's Resolution.  Far from it.  This is decision to be who I am supposed to be.  The end of the year is just a good time to reflect and see where you need to change, adapt, remove, add, stop...  This has been on my heart for over a month and NOW is as good a time as any.  This is going to be a long, hard road but it is going to be a great road and great journey.  Let's get started...

Norway, Europe and Dreams...

               I have taken a long hiatus from writing down my thoughts but felt inspired to do so now.  I am a man of big dreams and I am not apologetic for that.  I feel I possess the adventurer spirit.  I relate with those that also carry that spirit.  In the same breath, I struggle with trying to "make" things happen.  Over the years I have learned that timing is everything.  If you try to "make" something happen and it is not the right time, you usually end up with a bruised and bloody forehead from running into brick walls.  Sometimes you need to wait until a door appears.  That would require patience.  Ouch! Not always an easy virtue (or fruit of the Spirit).  So what do you do when you have deep yearnings and dreams that well up from the depths of your spirit?  Pray. Intercede.  Process.  Dream.  Keep it in front of you but don't obsess over it (as I can do).  Trust (God).  Obey. 
                 
                When it comes to dreams I feel like sometimes it can be a tightrope walk...being fully where you are but allowing yourself to dream and pray into where you are not yet.  Especially when the dreams can coincide and run parallel with each other.  Lisa and I are in the pre-launch phase of C3 Church Comox Valley and are currently walking out the planting process of this church.  It is awesome and challenging at the same time.  This is a dream in motion.  This is where our heart it.  We are living it.  I also have a dream and vision for ministering in Norway.  I have a huge passion for the country and people as my heritage comes from there.  It is deep in my spirit.  I have no idea how this will look and how it will work.  All I know is that it is there.  All I know is at some point I am supposed to go there and partner with the pastors and people there in some capacity.  Does this take away from what we are doing at C3CV.  No.  It will come out of the life and anointing that is being birthed at C3CV.  I can see C3CV being a huge part of this dream too.  I also see ministering at other churches in Europe and a strong tie being built there.  But it will be out of what God is doing in us at C3CV.  But a big piece of my heart is with Norway.

                      So how will this come to be?  I have no idea.  Will I all of a sudden get an invite to come out and do something.  I don't know.  Will we have to dream together as a team and work towards bringing a team over there in the future.  Maybe, but I don't know.  Do I need to know?  I don't think so.  I have to trust and obey.  Saturate the dream in prayer.  Focus on where we are at and what we are doing now...what is right in front of us.  Wait for God's timing to open the doors and make a way even when we can't see it. 

                      So what about those yearnings that feel like birthing pangs?  Acknowledge them.  Use them to motivate you in prayer.  Listen to the rumblings of the spirit.  I keep hearing words that check in my spirit.  I was listening to a podcast of C3 Church Calgary West where Ps. Graham Fletcher was speaking and mentioned Norway and God doing a work there.  My spirit jumped.  Talking on Facebook with Ps. Ruben Meyer from C3 Church Fredrikstad and working on building relationship he mentions that Ps. Lorne Tebbutt has a heart for Norway...hmmmm?  Listening to other podcasts from other churches in C3 Europe I feel a pull.  At the C3 Americas 2014 conference, Ps. Chris Pringle was sharing (and moving in the Spirit) and talked about cutting out pictures of your dreams and posting them where you can see them and pray into them.  That resonated with Lisa and me.  For C3CV and more. 

 

                        I will continue to pray, process and share my heart.  I am believing for big things over this next year and a bit.  Things will blow open.  It will be a season of reaping the harvest and connecting people to a more full and rich life that only comes through the revelation of Jesus and our identity in Him.  Freedom, holiness and relationship equals life changing transformation.  If anyone wants to pray along with me and walk along side me, let me know.  I am always up for that.  Until next time...keep dreaming and remember to trust and obey. :)

- Vaughn

 

The Great Adventure

 

Sometimes we come up to a season of change.  I have had many times of change in my life.  Many moves, many jobs, many different scenarios happening.  Change is an important part of life.  As we transition into new things, it allows us to grow and stretch.  The funny thing is, we usually don't like to change or have change.  I am very much a creature of habit in many ways.  I like routines.  I like consistency.  But there is a part of me that contradicts that part that like things to stay the same.  It is the adventurer part of me.  The part that wants to explore new worlds and try new things.  It is the part of me that likes the unknown. 

So now we are in the middle of a transition and change.  New job, new vision, new focus, new adventures ahead.  So how do we approach all this "new".  Dragging feet, grumbling about how we hate change?  Or are we going to dive head first into the new adventure and be excited about what will be even if it is hard and challenging.  I choose the latter.  We will be taking on a big, tentatively daunting task (church plant), but it is also going to be exciting, refreshing and a welcome challenge.  I like being challenged and being able to rise to the occasion.

Despite talking about change, I am also experiencing a homecoming. I have had one homecoming when we came back to the Comox Valley which has been awesome!  The newest homecoming is returning to C3 Church which is my "tribe".  A place where I feel I can really be me to the fullest.  Same language, same style, same focus, same heart, same culture, same DNA.  I am looking forward to really being able to get back into the fold with the people and reconnect in a greater way.  It is going to be an awesome ride!

For some reason, the song by Steven Curtis Chapman is in my head "Saddle up your horses, we got a trail to blaze" (The Great Adventure).  I feel like I am stepping into what God has really called me to do.  It will not be easy but anything that is worth it rarely is.  I am excited to see where God takes us and who is coming along for the ride.  It is going to be a fun 2014!  I am so thankful for amazing friends and family to walk this out with.  Stronger together!

Those are my thoughts for this moment.  I have a feeling there will be more and they will be more regular.  Feel free to make comments and share your thoughts with me as well.  Until next time...

Christians and Art...

So remember when the church used to lead the way when it came to art? That was a long time. Christians and the church used to be the biggest influence and have the most impact in art. Music, painting, sculpture, dance...now the church is set on segregating itself from the "world" instead of leading the way in creativity. This seems really backward to me. Since God created the creative, shouldn't His inspiration be the most wonderful and influential? But instead the church chooses to not associate with the community but wants to keep its version of art to itself. You dare not be influenced by current trends and new developments in art. You dare not sound similar to "secular" music. Well dancing is sinful isn't it? I have heard all these comments from people in the church and it saddens me. My heart is for the church to go back to leading the way and influencing the art community, music industry, dance community and then I could guarantee we would see a shift in culture and style which would point towards God and His Spirit. Do we, the church, understand what it means to be in the world? We are supposed to be in there like a dirty shirt not hiding in our buildings. We need to be influencers not irrelevant. We need to encourage our kids to take over the art community as well as other area an let them know it's ok to express their God influenced creativity and spirit in the world. Let's get back to being leaders in our world. 

Vaughn

P.S. I know this was a sweeping generalization and there are those already doing this and I commend them! 

Parents Need to Step It Up!!

So I recently posted a link from Fox News in which a writer wrote about the narcissistic generation we are raising.  I was in total agreement with this article.  I am sure I have talked about this many times before.  As someone that works with youth and young adults I see it consistently.  I also find myself at times falling into the trap.  So if we were all honest, I am sure we would all be in some aspect of agreement with this notion.  Fair enough.  But what do we do about it?  There is only one place in society I can see change coming from.  Parents.  Parents need to be waaaaaaaay more involved.  Parents need to be parents and stop worrying about being your kid's friend.  Your sole job as a parent is to parent.  I would offer up that being "friends" with your son or daughter could actually be harmful for them.  I was not friends with my parents.  They were authority figures.  They were leaders.  They were advisors.  They were police.  They were providers.  They were disciplinarians.  They were instructors.  I could probably list a bunch more of roles they played in my life.  I would not include friend in any of them.  Were we friendly.  Of course.  Were we close.  Yes.  Did we enjoy hanging out together and doing stuff.  Yup!  Were we friends?  No.  We were family.  They were my parents and I was their child.  It worked really well.  It was the way it was designed to be.  Once I became an adult did our relationship change a bit?  Sure.  They became more of a consultant position I could go to.

I don't subscribe to the idea of giving our kids lots of privacy and space.  My grandfather, who was a terrific father and grandfather as well as a police officer, gave my mother this advice.  Check your child's room regularly, know where your child is as much as possible, know their friends and who they hang out with.  Basically, be intrusive.  Did my mom do those things?  Yup!  Did she find things in my room I didn't want her to?  Yup!  Was I better for it?  Yup!  I recommend those things for all parents to do.  Know where your kid spends time and who with.  Do regular room checks.  Check their computers and follow what they are doing.  You can even get software to check up on them so you know what sites they are going on and what they are doing online.  Be intrusive.  Don't give them unnecessary privacy that will not do them any good.  Be extremely involved in their lives whether they want it or not.  Don't be their friend.  Be their parent.  Squash their narcissistic tendencies and teach them to have respect for others, to act properly, to serve others, to work hard and be full of character and integrity.  This is best gift you can ever give your child.  The gift of a real parent.  Do what is best for your child not what they want.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/01/08/are-raising-generation-deluded-narcissists/

Revelation and the Church

Has anyone read the book of Revelation in the Bible lately?  It is scary.  It is mostly about the judgement of sin in the world and then about renewing hope and making everything right for the rest of eternity.  So here is my question...Why is no one preaching about sin, judgement, end times, Christ coming back, tribulation, persecution, standing before God on the Day of Judgement, luke-warmness, true salvation, consequence for sin, proper theology, the Fear of the Lord, angels & demons, the spiritual world we actually live in, etc...  This is what I see in most churches today: weak theology being preached, nice feel good messages, just believe in Jesus and everything is fine, let's not offend anyone so people don't get mad and leave (stop giving), let's be politically correct, sin isn't too big of a deal because there is grace right?, let's not talk about the judgement, sin, repentance (TRUE repentance), offensive content of the Bible, accurate biblical translations, challenging truth that gives you only two choices - conform to the bible view or conform to the world view.
I have a ground breaking announcement for Christians and people that think they are Christians.  Here it is: the Bible is offensive!  The gospel is offensive!  Real Christianity is offensive! It is offensive because it goes against the world's view.  It has always been offensive and it will always be offensive unless you do what many denominations and churches have done...ignore what the Bible says and change your "theology" to be palatable, weak, non-confrontational, non-challenging, politically correct, accepting of everything that you want to do, and basically just a social club.  Which makes me ask: what is the point?  Either the Bible is the whole word of God or it is fiction.  All true or all lies.  I have seen and experienced enough to know in my heart that is has to be all truth. 
I feel we are doing people such a dis-service in our churches by not giving them the hard, honest truth.  God will judge us, God cares about the sin in our lives, we will be accountable for our actions on earth, God will spit out the luke-warm, there is more to salvation then just belief, we live in a very spiritual world and need to be aware of what is going on around us, we live in the same world as biblical times and everything you read is how it is now, we have just become numb to it.
I tell you, I am extremely worried about the state of people in the church.  I think there are a lot of people that think they are saved and are not.  I think there are going to be a lot of pastors and leaders that are going to have to answer for the horrible doctrine and teachings they have given to their churches and will be accountable for their souls being lost.  For myself, I pray that will be a speaker of truth, sound biblical doctrine and lead people to a true and real relationship with Jesus.  That will live a life beyond reproach in right standing with God.  That they (and I) will hear "Well done my good and faithful servant" when they stand before God.  They we will live in fullness of power, strength and influence in our communities and to the people around us.  I want to see miracles, signs and wonders to draw men's eyes to God.  I want to see people come into repentance, transformation and relationship with God.  I want to actually experience freedom from sin for myself and others around me and live in new levels of holiness.  I want to have crazy Holy Spirit times and be moving in the power of the Holy Spirit in my everyday life.  I want to push back the presence of evil and change the atmospheres of complete communities.  I want to see the end of the tragedies we witness everyday because there is a community of people praying and breaking down strongholds and strategies of the enemy.  I want to give hope and change to the younger generation who is so lost that they need to resort to then demonic attack on their generation of suicide, murder and self harm.  I want to them to experience Christ and to know that there is freedom from those things and don't have to be living in a fog and numbness of depression and despair. 
God, give me the strength and perseverance to walk this out in my own life.

A New Season...

Seasons change. We all know that. But what is going to be different in THIS season? It's a great opportunity to make some changes in your life. Some different choices, some different direction, some different attitudes. The questions always is: what are you going to do to make that happen? You have to take some form of action. It doesn't have to be massive but you need to start the ball rolling and build some momentum. I am planning on making some positive changes this season. Some health, some spiritual, some relational, some dream related. Ever season of your life is like a new beginning. A fresh start, a chance to correct your course and make some adjustments. I won't say start over as we need to learn from our mistakes and continue in a better direction than when we actually first started. It's pretty much a given that we aren't in the same spot when we started and even if we are a bit off course, we are still further along then if we didn't start at all. We need to stay positive and be persistent. Strengthen your will and your fight. Be a person of action and always putting others ahead of yourself as a servant. God promotes those who humble themselves and serve others. Anchor yourself in Him and cling to His truth even when you don't understand circumstances. Live out of your spirit not out of your emotions as that is where power and authority come from. Be full of the Spirit and give Him room to move through you as you will see signs and wonders. This IS a new season...what will you do with it? I want to see people transformed, set free, saved, healed, delivered, restored, renewed and set ablaze. It's time!! I will count the cost and make the choices I need to see this come to fruition. I believe!