Mike Edmisten Follower of Jesus. Husband of Nicki. Father of Ryan & Brock. Communicator of the Word.

Give Up to Go Up 1

Almost every church claims that they want to grow. They've read The Great Commission.  They know that Jesus has called His church to grow.  So they claim that growth is what they want.

Unfortunately, in a lot of these churches, it never leaves the realm of a theory. Growth never moves from theory to reality because far too many churches are unwilling to pay the price required to make growth a reality.

This week, I'll be posting several things that churches must be willing to give up in order to go up.  If the leadership and the church as a whole aren't willing to give up these things, then they have placed a cap on their growth potential.

It's not enough to say, "We want to grow." The words must be backed up with solid action.  If we are unwilling to make the hard and necessary sacrifices, then growth will always be an elusive and unreachable goal.

ACC Annual Picnic

Our annual church picnic is this Sunday, August 30 at Woodland Lakes Christian Camp.

One thing to note…we made a last minute change to the schedule.  We did have some swim time scheduled, but the weather forecast is saying that the temperature will probably be around 70° this Sunday! (My kind of weather!!!!)  Since we're not official Polar Bear Club members, there will be no swimming. If you don't like it, take it up with the weatherman!!!

You can see the schedule and the rest of the details on our website.

ACC Church Picnic

We have a blast every single year.  You don't want to miss it.

Get Them To ACC This Sunday

Do you have a friend who is outside of Christ?

Get them to ACC this Sunday.

Do you have a family member who needs Jesus?

Get them to ACC this Sunday.

Do you know someone who is put off by religion?

Get them to ACC this Sunday.

Do you have a friend who is jaded and cynical about religious people?

Get them to ACC this Sunday.

Do you have a friend, family member, co-worker, etc. who is probably headed for hell unless something changes?

Get them to ACC this Sunday.

We are ripping it open this Sunday.  We are going to slice and dice religion until there is nothing left of it.  By the time we're done, the only thing left for people to see will be Jesus.  Everything else will be stripped away.  The grace, mercy, and love of Christ is all that will be left…because that is all that we need.

Get them to ACC this Sunday.

Offensive Like Jesus

A word of warning…if you are a religious person, I'm bringing a Word from God this Sunday that is going to anger you.  It's going to offend you.

Our Stories series is rolling along and our story this week is The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector (Luke 18:9-14).  I'm not sure that Jesus ever told a more controversial, more offensive story than this one.  And God is going to use this story to blow us up this Sunday!

There are some messages when I think, "Someone might be offended by this."  And then there are other messages when I know that someone WILL be offended by this.  The message this weekend fits into the latter category.

But Jesus didn't worry about who He offended. He brought the truth of God, and if it offended the religious types, so be it. He didn't come for them, anyway. (See this passage if you don't believe me.)

I know I'll offend some people this weekend.  But that's not where my focus is. I'm not worring about the person who is offended.  I'm praying for the person who will be saved!

I'm absolutely convinced that's what Jesus would do.

I Can't Believe I Get to Do This!

Yesterday, I asked Brian, "Can you believe you get to do this for a living?"

He smiled and said, "No, I can't."

Me neither.

I can't believe I get to preach.  And not only that…I get PAID to do it!

I get to lead God's church…and I go home with a paycheck each week!

I have a front row seat to watch God change lives…and I'm "on the clock" while it's happening!

There are times in ministry where you just want to quit.  It can be an unbelievably hard road to travel.

But then, there are a whole lot of times where I just sit back in awe that I get to do this for a living.

Happy Thoughts

I promised yesterday that we would have some happier thoughts on the blog today.   Here we go…

Jesus loves you.

Jesus died for you.

Jesus rose for you.

Jesus is coming back for you.

Nothing like the simple truth of the gospel.  If that doesn't put a smile on your face, then something is wrong!

A Big (And Kinda Sad) Day in the Edmisten Family

August 24 is usually referred to as "Mike's birthday"…probably because I was born on that date in 1977.

But this year, August 24 carries far more significance than simply the day that I turn 32.  Today is Ryan's first day of kindergarten.

This is a very bittersweet day for Nicki and me.  I'm experiencing a lot of different emotions that I didn't expect.

On the one hand, I'm very, very proud of the young man that we're raising.  He blows me away with his mature view of things.  He teaches me something almost everyday.  He loves the Lord with every bit of his five-year-old heart.

I know he's ready to take this step.  I know he needs to take this step.  But there is a big part of me that doesn't want him to take this step.

I am amazed at how many memories of Ryan's early childhood are flooding my mind.  Far too many to list here.  And with every memory comes the realization that those days are gone.  Over.  Forever.

I know we'll make it through today.  Every parent that I know has survived this day, and we will too.  But I'd be lying if I said this was a good day for me.

Sorry for the rather melancholy post today.  But this is where I am at this particular moment. We'll shoot for happier thoughts here on the blog tomorrow.

Sunday Night Reflections

What the heck happened this morning? I'm still trying to figure it out.

This is the only way I can describe it…God took over.

Due to vacations, family emergencies, and illness, our worship ministry was working with a skeleton crew today.  And it was amazing!  They knocked it out of the park!

And then, during my message…I'll say it again…God took over. I said and did some things that were totally unplanned.  Well…they were unplanned by me.  God had this planned all along.

In our second service, we had four unannounced, unforseen decisions, including people rededicating their lives to Christ, transferring their membership to ACC,  and a baptism to top it off.  It was surreal.

And all of this happened on a day when I thought the message was going to be pretty weak compared to the last few weeks.  Shows what I know.

But even before I stepped onstage, there was a feeling that started to take over my mind and heart.  A feeling  that something was going to happen.

I was sitting backstage, listening to our kids rockin' out in worship downstairs in KidZone.  At the same time, I was also listening to our band light it on fire in our adult service.  And I really felt God say, "You just need to get out of the way today.  I'm going to do some amazing things right before your eyes."

He did.

Intensity

I've been on Tony Horton's Power 90 program for about a month.  The workout regimen comes with two DVDs.  One to get you started, and one to use when you're ready to get more intense.

I just moved up to the second DVD this week.  Honestly, I probably stuck with the beginner circuit for about a week longer than I should have.

It's all about intensity. For the workout to be successful, it needs to be intense.  And, while I was still stretching myself on the beginning circuit, it was losing its intensity.  I had mastered quite a bit of it. It was time to go the next level.

What I found was a much more intense workout experience.  I sweat a lot more.  The workouts are longer.  The exercises are more difficult.  But that intensity will bring the greater results I'm looking for.

Instensity isn't always fun, but it's how we grow in every part of our lives.  You want a successful physical workout? You need intensity.

You want to become more proficient in a certain discipline? You need intensity.

You want to grow in your walk with Christ?  You need intensity.

So often we pray for God to make our lives easy, when what we should pray is for God to infuse our lives with intensity.  We should pray for Him to place us in situations that stretch us…maybe even situations that scare us.

Instead of asking our church to make us comfortable, we should be praying for an intense level of discomfort.

Instead of approaching the Bible as a package of nice stories about good Christian boys and girls, we should approach it as the living and active Word of God (Hebrews 4:12).  "Living" and "active" are pictures of intensity.

So often we want our faith to be comfortable, convenient, and safe.  That's the gateway into lukewarm Christianity.  And if you want to know what Jesus thinks about that, all you need to do is check out this passage.

It's time to ratchet things up.  It's time for us to live with a godly intensity.

Amazing Things

"Joshua told the people, 'Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you.'" (Joshua 3:5)

Joshua gave the Israelites a command and a promise.

The command = consecrate yourselves.  For the Israelites, this meant that they had to wash their clothes. They also had to abstain from sex. It was all meant to purify and prepare the people for the move of God that was coming.

The promise = tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you. Joshua didn't say that God "might do amazing things."  He didn't say, "all indicators point to God doing amazing things."  He simply said that God WILL do amazing things.

What if the church took a page out of Joshua's playbook? What if we prepared ourselves, because we believe that God will do amazing things among us?  What would that look like?

It would look like a person who unashamedly invites a friend who is outside of Christ to church.  They pray about it, preparing themselves to invite their friend.  And then, the invitation is issued confidently because they expect God to do amazing things in their church…and they know their friend should be a part of that.

It would look like volunteers who are passionate about what they're doing.  Whatever their volunteer role is (greeting, worship band, children's ministry, seving communion, etc., etc., etc.) they have prayed about it before they ever walk through the doors.  And then, when they arrive, they expect that God is going to do something amazing through their efforts that day.

It would look like a church who stays focused on the vision God has for them.  Instead of getting caught up in political issues like health care and environmentalism, the church never sways from the vision. They prepare themselves, begging God to give them the vision.  And then they allow nothing to move them, because they believe God will do amazing things through the vision.

Joshua's formula is strikingly simple.  Prepare for God to move…and God will move.