Seeing as God Sees
By Brian L. Powell

            What is missional?  It is seeing as God sees, period.  Being missional is having a heart for people wherever they are in life.  We cannot be a missional movement if we cannot grasp God’s perspective of people.  That means much more than having a “missions department” in the local church.  Being missional is when we see and identify that God is doing something and then we go and join him in whatever he is doing.  Jesus started something.  He started a missional movement.  He started when he met people where they were in life and embraced them at that point.  If we are an extension of Jesus then we have to help people cultivate their faith and find God at their point of need.  However, in out systematic and structured way of doing things we often expect people to come and find Jesus among us.  Jesus never taught this principle anywhere.  He instructed us to go and find people and allow them to see God in us through the way we live our lives and love other people.  He didn’t instruct us to build nice buildings and then hold a service and hope people come in and discover God’s plan for their life.  Sadly, in many cases that is all we do.
            Jesus modeled relationships with sinners and the community at large, but we discourage relationship outside the church community.  Why? because we are afraid of the repercussions, rumors and accusations from our fellow “brothers” and “sisters” in the church.  Thanks but no thanks.  Jesus was accused of being a sinner himself; the religious crowd said that he was the friend of sinners – and he was.  He hung out at parties, with prostitutes, adulterers, the low class, the crooked and perverse, the revolutionaries that wanted to overthrow the government, the rejects, and many other questionable people of his day.  Why did he do this?  It wasn’t to join them in their sin; it was to point them to God and show them the way out of their sin.  He wanted to model a new way of thinking about and practicing life.  His fiert message: Rethink your life!  That is a missional message.   That is seeing as God sees.  

Rethink Your Life
By Brian L. Powell

            I have a Honda Element.  Yes the “box car”.  I’ve heard all the jokes: it’s a clown car, it’s a box on wheels, it’s a Fred Flintstone-mobile, yaba-daba-doo.  I love it, in my mind every time I get out of the car I’m getting out of the box.  I ride, I think, I pray (with my eyes open of course), and then I get out of the box and feel great.  “Get out of the box” – I love the sound of that.  It’s been a cliché over the years, but for me it’s been brought to life in my thinking as of late.  I like to ride with the windows down; the wind is like the breath of God blowing on my face.  This free feeling liberates me.  There is nothing like being liberated in your thinking.  For years I’ve felt like I’ve been forced to jump through hoops and give all the right answers.  Today I am a pastor myself, and I’m serving in the church and I’ve been guilty of making people jump through hoops.  My dilemma: is hoop-jumping religious or relational?  I say forget the hoops, get out of the box, and build a relationship with people.  This means we must rethink our lives.
            To repent accurately means to rethink.  It means to change your mind.  I know the traditional definition, “to turn away from.”  However, it’s deeper than that.  You have to change your mind before you can turn away, because if all you do is turn away and you fail to change your mind, ultimately you will turn back to your old ways.  Repentance means to reconsider your paradigms.  It means to reorganize your course in life.  To a great extent we have lost that mindset in the church.  We cannot relearn anything unless we discover how to trust God and people again.  Yes, I said “again”.  We have lost heart with our fellow men and women of the faith, and we say we know God but we do not act like it.   We have not been trustworthy.  Being like children means that we must develop a hunger for knowledge and express a desire to grow in our relationship with God and others (greatest commandment).  To repent means that we must consider that we might be wrong in some areas, and maybe in many areas.  And that’s alright.  It’s just part of the journey; it’s part of the experience.  It’s far time we consider unboxing our thinking.  It’s far time that we consider unwrapping a new way of thinking about God, society, culture, and the church, not as an institution, but as a living relational organic entity.  It’s Alive!

Guilt & Grace
by Brian L. Powell

            We’ve all experienced it.  It’s that feeling of worthlessness that comes over us when we do the wrong thing.  It’s terrible.  But what is it?  Where does it come from?  It’s guilt and shame, but what does guilt want?  Guilt isn’t always easy to pin down; sometimes we can feel guilty and worthless and not even know why.  Sometimes a sense of shamefulness comes upon us and we can’t really pin it down to a concrete sin or wrong behavior.
            What does guilt do?  It exposes a longing for grace.  I thank God for guilt.  It is a built-in mechanism that says, “hey, something’s wrong and you need to make it right.”  It’s the Spirit of God speaking to our conscience.  What we need most in those times is just to know that God loves us, affirms us, and accepts us just as we are.  That’s where grace comes in.  We need to know and believe that the love of God is unconditional, that no matter what Jesus loves us!  Romans 8:38 – “For I am persuaded that nothing can separate us from the love of God…”
            Everybody is looking for grace.  There is an organization in Los Angeles called the Apology Sound-Off Line.  It is a telephone service that gives its callers the opportunity to call in and confess their wrongs.  Two hundred anonymous callers call the service each day leaving sixty second messages.  What are these people doing?  They’re looking for grace.  We’re all looking for grace, whether we know it or not, whether we want to admit it or not, we’re looking for love, acceptance, and forgiveness – that’s grace.  The good news is this: God’s gives grace freely.
            Lewis Smedes of Fuller Theological Seminary identified three commons sources of crippling shame:  (1) secular culture; (2) graceless religion; (3) unaccepting parents.  Secular culture teaches us that a person must look good, feel good, and make good, and when we don’t do it we feel rejected and abandoned; it’s crippling shame.  Graceless religion teaches that we must follow the rules at all times and failure to do so will result in judgment, both in society and in eternity; it’s crippling shame.  Unaccepting parents say things like: “aren’t you ashamed of yourself!”  They convince us that we will never meet their approval; it’s crippling shame.
            On the other hand God’s grace is everywhere.  If we look hard enough we will see it all around us.  Grace is in every breath we take and every move we make.  Grace is the foundation of every relationship; grace is health, love, faith, goodness, beauty, and so much more.  So, why don’t you start letting the guilt point to the grace and then head off in that direction? 
            LIFE IS GRACE.  Remember that every morning when you get out of bed.

The Mouths of Babes
By Brian L. Powell

            Jesus says that unless we become like little children we cannot see the Kingdom of God.  That is an interesting choice of words.  Why little children? because little children are always depending on their parents for guidance and nurture and everything else in life.  Little children cannot “do” for themselves. They need other people: preferably a mother and a father (sometimes not).  They are dependent on others for their survival and existence.  In the same way Jesus is saying that we must also learn to become dependent on him as our source of strength and survival.  Children are teachable.  Children are full of questions.  A good parent is there to guide the child and answer the questions. 
            I recently received an e-mail and in the subject line was the title: “Through a Child’s Eyes”.  The e-mail had pictures of questions that small children had written on pieces of paper.  The questions included: Dear God, instead of letting people die and having to make new ones why not keep the ones you have now?  Dear God, I went to this wedding and they kissed in church, is that OK?  Dear God, in Bible times did they really talk that fancy?  Dear God, I think about you sometimes even when I’m not praying.  Dear God, I’m, an American, what are you?  Dear God, please send Dennis to a different camp this year.  Dear God, maybe Cain and Able would not kill so much if they had their own rooms, it works with my brother. 
            Out of the mouth of babes, right?  Listen to the innocent issues they bring up with sincerity and honesty, with no agenda.  They talk about death and life, romance, nationalism, difficulties in loving people, research, enemies and resentment, even hatred toward another person and how to discover solutions.   Does God hear these prayers?  You bet he does, because they come from a pure heart, a heart that is searching for real answers.  Today, more than ever, offers a time where it is safe to search; a time where it is safe to ask questions.  It is a time that resembles the days of Christ, the time of the early church martyrs, of reformation, of spiritual awakening; it’s been done before with tremendous results and God is up to something new.  Are you ready? 

UNGRACE?
by Brian L. Powell

            There’s nothing you can do to make God love you more; there’s nothing you can do to make God love you less; that’s grace!  Jesus said that whatever you do for the least you do for God.  That means that the way we love and treat others is how we treat God.  The Bible teaches that God’s love is so immense that we can’t even comprehend it.  All we’re asked to do is love God back and love others more than we love ourselves.  It’s the law of servanthood and it’s all about grace. But it’s not that easy is it?
            Grace means that we give even when it hurts. We love when it hurts. We forgive when it hurts. Over the years churches have tried to out-perform each other; but I wonder what would happen if churches were trying to “out-grace” each other?  What would the world look like if the church really began to love unconditionally?  Give unconditionally?  Forgive unconditionally?  How rare would it be for us to be so in love with Jesus that without judgment and criticism we were trying to let the world see God’s gift of grace in us?
            Grace is stronger than vengeance; it’s stronger than racism; it’s stronger than hate.  However, sadly in a world desperate for grace the church sometimes presents more “ungrace” than it does grace.  Grace isn’t about the letter of the Law; it isn’t about the rulebook.  Grace is about accepting someone right where they’re at and loving them the way God loves and allowing God to change their behaviors not us!
            We have to live in the world, but we are called to live above the methods of the world.  In trying to do that we have assembled an imaginary “rulebook” that is the standard for living.  Christ met people wherever they were at in life –  prostitutes, liars, beggars, thieves, the worst of the worst –he accepted them and showed them love, forgiveness, and grace.  Do we?  Do you? 
            I want to make it clear; I believe as we grow in the Lord’s grace that we will further abandon the things of the world.  The lifestyle will become more and more refined as we walk with the Lord. However, it’s not the abandonment of the world that brings us to God.  It’s the grace of God that enables us to abandon the world.  And it’s a process at best.  God is gracious and he’s called us to the same lifestyle.  Are you contributing?

The Answer is Ancient

       The supermarket song of the postmodern man: “Newer is Better!”  Ancient peoples engraved their beliefs on monuments of stone, but our credo is inscribed on cardboard boxes in grocery stores.  I mean, how can you argue with anything that is “new and improved?”  No doubt about it, our labels tell us that things are getting better all the time.  I just bought a box of “new and improved” Raisin Bran and also noticed that many other boxes of cereal advertised upgrades as well.  They say it, so it must be true, right?  What about the commercial that says: “if it wasn’t true we couldn’t say it on TV.”  Really?  They never lie on TV, right?  It must be so because this is the indisputable doctrine of all things postmodern: “Newer is Better.”

       Let’s all chant together: “Newer is better. Newer is better. Newer is better.”  There now.  Do you feel better now that we’ve done our liturgy at the altar of the postmodern “Now” and agreed together that newer is better?  Are you sold yet?  That newer things are always better than older things?  This is as sure as version 9.0 is always an advance over version 8.0, and 9.5 is even a touch better than 9.0.  It’s a technological axiom of truth that must be believed: newer is better!  In essence the older version of life is never as good as the newest version; this is a foundational philosophy in our postmodern world.


       All of the above is a load of foolish bull dung!  Marketing ploys have brainwashed mankind and the church is hot on the heels of the marketing movement.  We’ve allowed advertisers to formulate our philosophies of life.  Do you want the truth?  Can you handle the truth?  In many ways the postmodern mindset is arrogant, ignorant, and superficial.  We must reject it.  One of the errors of arrogant modernity has been to yield to the seduction of the world.  People fall under the spell of “all things postmodern” and in turn focus only on the present; they have a hard time learning from stories of past victories.

       I heard a great preacher once make this analogy: “What is ‘now?’  The point is that its definition is problematic.  When does ‘now’ arrive from the future and how long is ‘now’ before it slips into the past?”   What this teaches us is that “now” is an illusion.  We talk about living in the “now” – but in reality we live in memory and imagination – past and future.  In essence it’s the memory of what you have experienced (past) that gives meaning to who you are (present and future).  Those who are seduced by the postmodern “now” cannot hear the song of history because meaning requires context and context requires memory.


       Christ-followers are called to a two-dimensional lifestyle: (1) a positive reception for the past, and (2) an optimistic endurance for the future.  The past/future tension puts “now” in a more humble perspective.  We must realize that it is God’s melody that brings meaning and it’s not all about the proverbial “now.”  Only when we catch the melody will we become aware that it causes us to look forward to resolution. 

       The truth is offensive to the postmodern mindset.  What is the truth: human history reached its climax 2000 years ago.  So, does the past matter?  For a relationship with God it’s all that matters; we now merely live in an extended epilogue of God’s divine plan.  Newer is better?  Not everything works that way.  Our message is a glorious song of old.  Our message entails what God has done, is doing, and will do.  Our message is one that is lived out in the tension of past, present, and future.  I’m not down on progress; all I’m saying is that technology does not have an equal connection with the fundamental facets of humanity.  This will preach: human improvements are the result of connecting human beings with the Kingdom of Jesus, because Jesus is the Messiah.  He is the solution for problems on a global and individual level.

       Christ is not new and improved; He’s the same yesterday, today and forever.  Modern technology is insignificant to the things that really matter, such as: faith, hope, love, holiness, peace, joy, mercy, virtue, etc.  Technology is good, but not the answer.  Technology is new, but the answer is ancient.  And if the ancient answer to postmodern problems offends.  So be it.  In 2008 RFN will focus, in a more extreme way, on the Ancient of Days, because the answer is ancient!

Pastor’s Perspective: "Make My Life A Prayer"

“…But I am a man of prayer.”  This is what David said in Psalm 109:4.  The Hebrew language could have essentially been translated into English – “I AM PRAYER.”
Prayer is a mystery.  Prayer is the most supernatural of all spiritual mysteries.  Prayer is the primary and essential essence of spirituality.

In the past people have asked me, “Pastor, did I pray OK?”  My response is, “Did you pray from your heart… if so then you prayed OK.” 

Spiritual people pray…  Material people do not…  Do you pray?

Prayer is deep calling unto deep.  Those with depth and vigor in their soul pray; shallow-souled people do not pray.  This is not to say they do not hope for things from God, which is probably only an occurrence that they may mistake for prayer.  To pray is to believe in miracles and the working of the supernatural in our lives.  John Wesley said that God does nothing except through prayer.  That means that we cannot even move the heart of God in our situations unless we pray.

Prayer is unique unto itself.  It is not like righteousness or holiness or humility or faith or hope or love.  Prayer is not a state or an attribute.  Prayer is communication.  It is communication between a person and God.  God is the one life-form with which we can communicate with at any given time.  All a person has to do is express their communication to God and it is prayer; that is exciting.

A person cannot pray better than they are.  A selfish person will pray selfishly.  A proud person will pray prideful prayers.  A covetous person will pray greedily.  An angry person will pray with wrath in their hearts.  I think David understood prayer better than anyone else.  It is not because he was better than anyone else – he wasn’t.  It was because he prayed about every situation and he seemed to always be authentic and genuine; essentially he was true to himself when he prayed.

Be yourself when you pray…  What you are is what you pray…  To God you are not just a living-thing or a doing-thing; you are a praying-thing.

This sort of prayer captures the heart of God.  That is why the Bible teaches us that David was “a man after God’s own heart.”  God loves and adores a life that is lived before Him in absolute sincerity, even if it is filled with deep failures and mistakes.  I think the best way to understand God’s apparent affection for David was David’s openness and honesty before God.  David prayed genuinely about everything.  To be able to say, “I AM PRAYER” is no small achievement!

Make My Life A Prayer,
Pastor Brian L. Powell

Pastor’s Perspective: "Compassionate Gossip"

To gossip is to speak in a way that raises questions about another person’s character.  Gossip is a conversation behind someone’s back, which puts them in bad light.  In church leadership we are continually assessing situations, which always includes people.  However, as servant-leaders, we must also remember that it is not our job to criticize, but only to try our best to serve others and come up with positive solutions in a constructive way.

“Sincere concern” is no excuse for an unbridled tongue.  Regardless of how innocent our motives may be, raising questions about another person’s character still damages their reputation.  We must handle all issues regarding other people with sensitivity, because it is our job to love God first and love others second.  Sometimes we justify our gossip because we believe that what we say is unadulterated truth!  Where does the idea come from that words are only gossip if they are not true?  Bottom line: gossip destroys reputations and hurts people, whether it’s by accident or intentional. The most famous excuse for gossip is: “I only mentioned it because I was concerned.”  If personal concern was an excuse for gossip, then 90% of all gossip would be justifiable.  In reality, if the one speaking the gossip was legitimately concerned, they would have come to the person they gossiped about and spoke to them directly.

The only way to handle an unbridled tongue is the way prescribed in Mathew 18.  The one initially speaking the gossip should be corrected and sent back to be reconciled with the one they are gossiping about.   Restoration should be made in front of a witness and established as a “good thing” in the sight of God and our brothers and sisters in the Lord.  It is our job to protect our church and be men and women irrefutably identified as “Christians” – that means we follow the life principles of Jesus Christ as prescribed in Scripture.

In His Service,
Pastor Brian L. Powell

“True Measure of Success”

What is the true measure of success?  Popular thought declares that success lies in what we do and significance is discovered in who we are.  It’s also true in modern church culture; we honor people based on what they do more frequently than based on who they are.  This is not how God operates.  We too should adjust our perspective if we are going to function in the full blessing of the Lord.

Almost every worldly measure of success is based on what can be accomplished: e.g. – how much money you can make (how large your budget is), the kind of house you live in (how “BIG” the church is), how quickly you climb the corporate ladder… and the list goes on and on.  No question: we are an accomplishment-oriented society. “Doing great things and winning great prizes!”   We have it backwards.  Doing great things does not equate “BEING” a great person or a great church.  Biblically speaking, God never measures people by what they “DO” for Him, but only by what they “ARE” for Him.  Significance with God is solely based on the inner character of an individual.  That is what true holiness is all about.

So, is what we do important?  Of course it is.  However, who we are is far more important to God; because He measures by the size of the heart.  I enthusiastically believe that if we will continually focus on the status of our heart that everything else will be worked out by God.  Some of you may be tempted to think, “Look what we’ve done.”  I say “NO WAY! – Look what we’ve become and look what God has done!”   Let us consistently be a place of prayer, a place of worship, and a place that is hungry for God’s Word.  I declare that if we will be faithful to the basic calling of Scripture, God will bring increase in our lives. We can look at this as a “road to recovery” or we can view it for what it really is: BREAKTHROUGH!

My challenge: “be anxious for nothing”… if we will continue to be what God has called us to be, he will continue to do what his Word promises that he will do. Let’s move forward with confidence, believing that every step we take is directed and ordained by Jehovah-Jireh (God our Provider)!  

“Growing Pains”

Why do we do what we do?  Is it because we are use to the routine? Or is it because we believe that God is using us to build his kingdom on earth?  Is it the “good programs” that are drawing new people to the church or are people interested because we offer something real and genuine?  As of late God has been challenging me to be more of a proactive leader.  He has laid these tough questions on my heart.  Ultimately, as a pastor my challenge is: do we keep doing what we’ve always done, because the results aren’t that bad… or do we redirect?  And if we redirect, will it be considered change for the sake of change, or do we really need to push for new direction within the body of believers.  My heart is searching for the heart of God. I ask myself, “Am I just doing a job that is expected of me or is it because I’ve heard from God and I’m fulfilling the Great Commission and in turn we are witnessing spiritual transformation?”  I refuse to settle for anything less than hearing from the heart of God.

I believe that everything we do must result in the transformation of sinners.  The mission and message must be twofold: (1) salvation; and (2) victory in the believer’s life.  There is nothing in the life of the church that is more important.  This also means that we must be deliberate and strategic in developing a true discipleship movement.  And therefore, if we really are dedicated to authentic discipleship as presented in Scripture, we will see growing pains. WHY? Because the Spirit of God challenges people to step out of the mundane and into the miraculous… out of the ordinary and into the extraordinary… out of the boring and into the adventure of a lifetime.  Most people don’t want adventure, they merely want comfort.  Like never before God is calling me out of my comfort zone. 

In the end the only thing that matters is increasing heaven’s population. The greatest eternal value that we can invest in is making Christ-following disciples.  I’m ready to get uncomfortable and experience growing pains for Jesus’ sake.  I’m challenging all of you, as kingdom-minded people, come and let’s see what God wants to do.  I truly believe that we have only skimmed the surface of what lies ahead as Christ-followers.  Let’s go and let’s grow!

Pastor’s Perspective: Unstoppable!

The New Testament Church is Unstoppable! That is great theology. The word, “Unstoppable” means that one is relentless and will not be hindered from producing positive end results in connection to the quest at hand. We are on a spiritual journey at RFN. We have embarked on this voyage together, and in this circle of true fellowship we are unstoppable… this message is declared in the Book of Acts, chapter 28. 

Allow me to comment on the final word of the Book of Acts, “Unhindered.” Not every English translation reflects the sentence arrangement of the Greek. However, Luke brings the story to a close by utilizing the word akolutos. The word means, “Unstoppable.” That is the best description one could ask for in describing the NT Church in the Book of Acts – Unstoppable. You could fight against them, discriminate against them, persecute them, burn them at the stake, or feed them to the lions, but you could not stop them! They were determined to turn the world upside down for Jesus, and they did.

NT believers changed the world, and we are called to follow in their steps. We believe the same gospel, we preach the same message, and we have the same commission and the same Holy Spirit as the early church. We have the power and anointing to perform the same works and accomplish the same feats, because we serve the same all-powerful God!

Many theologians have distinguished that Acts does not actually conclude; it merely stops. How ironic that it stops with the word, “Unstoppable?” Can something actually stop that is unstoppable? Acts did not end, nor shall it ever end; Acts is eternal and you and I are now living out the remaining chapters. The assignment of turning the world upside down with the gospel of Jesus Christ does not end with the first generation of believers. Instead, it carries on from generation to generation and is sustained by all who will continue and endure in the journey of faith.

If ever there was a story of Renewal, Victory, and Increase it is discovered in the Book of Acts. RFN is helping write the eternal Book of Acts.  We should treat our experience in the life of the church as editors of a well-written story. Therefore, if we make mistakes, we should use the power of forgiveness and confession to “white-out” those parts. If certain ministries fail to produce fruit we should “revise” the ministries for future use. If some pages are misplaced or damaged we should help restore them for “publication.” Yes, our lives are all part of the story… how does your chapter read?

In His Service,
Pastor Brian L. Powell 

“Get Busy Living”

Maybe you’ve heard the true story of a 70 year old man who was found dead sitting in front of his TV in his New York home. He had been dead for more than a year and the TV was still on. The dry air in his home had mummified his body. He had family who lived nearby, but he was estranged from them and therefore, had no contact. He lived alone, so no one really noticed. This lonely man actually turned into a TV watching mummy.

I believe that this is an astounding analogy for the state of modern man. So many people are estranged from their family, living alone, with nothing more to do in life than watch TV. Who would be aware if you died tomorrow? How many people would miss you? Would your death go unnoticed? Would people remember the life you lived and the legacy that you’ve left behind or is there a legacy? I guess the primary question is: are you really living at all? 

From an outward appearance this man’s death was not very different from his life. Sitting alone in front of a TV is not what I would call being alive. Think about it, you can even do it when you’re dead. It’s sad to think that this man was living a life that was so similar to death, that even when he died, there wasn’t much of a difference. So what is the message?

LIVE!  LIVE LIFE!  LIVE LIFE NOW!  LIVE LIFE NOW FOR JESUS!

Turn off the TV, repent and ask God’s forgiveness, reconcile with your family, make some new friends, seize the moment and live! If you just sit there in your estrangement and loneliness with nothing but a TV for a companion, you are barely alive – I mean, even a mummy can do that. Bottom line, it’s your choice: get busy dieing or get busy living!

In His Service,
Pastor Brian L. Powell