Monday

Honor & Future Dreams or Control & Rebellion

I had some really good seared salmon last week.  It was Melissa and I's anniversary (we celebrated nine years!) on tuesday and we had the chance to go out on a much overdue date night.  Neither of us are huge raw fish fans.  While sushi is a favorite, we've been spoiled by american precooked dishes that lighten the load so to speak.  It's funny how I have to make a conscious choice to follow thru on eating raw fish after I order it, whether a seared filet or served rolled up in rice.  When done correctly, I enjoy it tremendously but there's still that hesitation that is encountered.  I wonder how difficult it would be if I had grown up eating it all my life?  I'm not scared of grease laden fried chicken, maybe I should be? (thank you southern cookin'!) Anything that is new or different than what has been typical within our sphere of influence will always trigger flags in our brain.

It's natural to reject new thought.

Our brain has a powerful ability to reject new things from our conscious realm and push back into known paths that have been traveled year after year thru the subconscious.  Let's face it, our brain likes to keep things as comfy as possible.  98% of brain power is used to facilitate the subconscious realm.  That's a lot of energy placed towards keeping our mind free. The challenge comes when we experience something that is vital to our future and our subconscious isn't feeling very hospitable.  The attempted rejection of new thoughts and ideas can be overcome, but really taxes our brain to forge new paths.  This in turn allows old paths to gradually grow back in that we would not find them as easy to go down.

New thinking is a choice consciously reinforced.

I was in Chicago a few weeks ago at a leaders meeting.  Banning Liebscher spoke of his love for revival history and how that so many great things have happened in the midst of these eras.  He mentioned that one of the many desires of his and Jesus Culture as a whole is to see the restoration of spiritual fathers and mothers and that their increase in numbers is mandatory for a movement to be sustained. One of the losses in previous movements was the lack of unity between generations.  The older generation generally has a greater desire and need for honor.  Because of the sacrifice of forging new paths (without the support of generations before them or father figures) and counting the cost of birthing what was the beginning of their dreams, it can be challenging to release the favor that you never found for yourself or even know how to give favor if you've never walked in it.   Meanwhile, the younger generation longs for those who've gone before them to embrace the dreams that are in their heart a help them discover the means to see those become reality.  A generation without dreaming has a dead future, so the challenge seen throughout history is young people won't stop if they don't have support.  Then end result:  we have new trails being blazed but with a wake of destruction left in the dust.

Two great desires of worthy generations... one huge divide.

Honor and future dreams.  Let's just be honest.  Leaders go first.  Movement without self-control just does as much damage as good because it's always partnered with a conclusions of disappointment and protest.  This is fruit that rivals what it really looks like to walk in the spirit.  The question has to be asked of how do spiritual fathers and mothers teach and raise up honorable sons and in turn receive their dreams?  We have a fatherless generation on our hands.   One in three children in America are being raised without a father role active in their life while some stats say over 40%.  Believers (the church) are going to have to step in to help fill the gap of fathering in a powerful way and it can't be in a way of control because that will always lead to rebellion.   The essential value of allowing there to be choice that always benefits those who are learning from the fathers has to be in place.

Control always produces rebellion. So who has the greater responsibility in producing a healthy movement? Leaders or dreamers?

Like every time I eat raw fish and have to reaffirm my decision to order it by then eating it (and then being reminded about how good it is), the fathers of this era are going to have to learn what it looks like to father in a new way and constantly reaffirm that decision with action.  A movement is on our doorsteps as a greater revelation of Kingdom is being given to the church.  Fathering isn't fathering when it produces protest, confusion or separation. It should produce honor, peace, righteousness and more importantly... love.  Give and it will be given.  Fathers? Sons? it's time to unite and merge our hearts.

Generational Events that support this message:
:::ACTIVATE:::
Awakening

Thursday

Breathing life into Generation ONE!

Thanks for taking the time to stop and read this post.  I really want people to understand what it is that God has placed in my heart in the last few months.

I'm excited to see all that God is allowing to come together in this season of discovery and enlargement.  Melissa and I have never seen God and His favor like we have in the last 8 months.  wow.  Favor in all things.  Finances, Healing, Revelation, and even more importantly with dynamic relationships.  I'm overwhelmed at the relationships that God has brought into Melissa and I's life.  They've been lifelines... helping us to see His goodness in the midst of every situation.

Generation One is coming along tremendously.  We are launching a summer mini conference series themed ::ACTIVATE:: .  I know this series is going to be powerful.  It's starting on June 24th and will follow in the months of July, August and September.  I'm looking forward to having guest Stuart Greaves from ONEthing in town as a guest speaker along with myself for this first event.  The Lord begin to speak to me that His church was about to have a breakthru in their identity.  He told me that if a message of His love and goodness could be released, that we would see unity between the generations and as a result renewal would be sustained.  As I continued to seek out what this would look like I began to be inspired with three essential expressions or movements that will be needed.  ACTIVATE. EMPOWER.RELEASE.  Each of these experiences represent upgrades to who we are and our effectiveness to actually live out a life of "greater things."

ACTIVATE:  This has everything to do with the presence of God.  I can only think of how powerful the experience of Moses was to actually dwell in the presence of the almighty God, but even greater to call Him friend.  Those who find Him in His presence will become His companion.  The presence is the beginning of our encounter that God is real.  In His presence we find out what He's really really like.  This leads to a message of Individual identity as it relates to God.  There is a strong reinforcement of the prophetic as well.  This helps us begin to see ourselves the way that God sees us.

EMPOWER: This experience is really about equipping believers with the understanding of how their call relates to their identity.  Strong teaching is needed on five fold ministry, spiritual gifts and corporate Identity.  This essentially is our toolbox to operate from.

RELEASE: This could have easily beeen mobilize if any other word.  It simply speaks of what it looks like to live a life that always has us in His presence.  Knowing who we are as well as knowing what tools we have to be a living demonstration of His goodness towards those in our realm of influence.   It's the sending that we're all called to on a daily basis and answers the question of "what does it look like to share the goodness as Jesus did, in our modern era?"  With truth and a supernatural experience.

I believe that the increase of young revivalists along with committed Father's and Mother's in this season will build a bridge for a sustained visitation like none other.

These are some of the core themes that resonate within Generation One and others.  I look forward to be a conduit for fresh streams to find their way into our region that we could see our city rise like never before.  What a great story it is going to be for us to share...

More to come soon...


www.iamgenerationone.org