Mark Johnston

Sunday Recap

Sunday was a great day at The Journey!

·         The band and some of our leaders met before the first gathering for prayer.  We set the tone.  Something’s happening.

·         Many of our guests from Friend Day returned!  I talked with a bunch of people who are quickly plugging into life at The Journey; experiencing transformation through what God is doing here.

·         From the first note, the band rocked!  They led us in worship – top-shelf, God-ward worship.

·         God spoke simply and powerfully through reThink Love.  The story of Pete challenged those of us who tend to put ourselves on probation – instead of fully trusting Jesus to forgive us.  We laid our fishing nets aside to become disciples.  At the end of the message in both gatherings, hands shot up all over the auditorium as people decided or renewed their decision to fully follow Jesus.  That’s what it’s all about!

·         Sign-ups for our fall semester of Life Groups began!  It’s going to be a kickin’ fall as we connect for friendship and spiritual growth.  If you haven’t signed up for a group yet, go to http://www.yourjourney.tv/lifegroups.html right now to begin connecting.

·         We stuck around in our new café.  Conversations were held; laughter was heard; acquaintances were formed… which is exactly what we had in mind when we renovated our campus this past summer.  We’re creating environments where people can do life together.  Thank you for giving generously toward Life Investments (you can give online at http://www.yourjourney.tv/giving/The_Journey_Online_Giving.html)

·         And the best thing about Sunday?  We’re going to do the whole thing all over again in seven days.  In between, we’ll grow spiritually; then, when we gather next Sunday, God will do all kinds of new stuff in our lives and in the lives of the friends, family members, neighbors and coworkers we’re inviting (have you noticed?  They’re coming back).

This fall’s going to be outrageous.  We’re going to grow spiritually like never before.  There’s an incredible prayer and fasting focus that’s only three weeks away (stay tuned).  We’re developing leaders, seeing a growing number of volunteers, and reaching people for Jesus.  Go Journey!

Scaredy-Cat

What would you do right now – big and audacious, honoring to God – if you weren’t afraid it would fail?

 

Why don’t you just do it?  C’mon, scaredy-cat:

 

Develop a plan for promotion on your job, baptize it with prayer, and then present it confidently to your boss – even if you’re afraid the answer will be “no” (“no” has two letters… it can’t hurt you).

 

Start walking around your development praying for God to send a hell-busting revival to your neighborhood until people all over the place start finding Christ – even if you’re afraid you’re not spiritual enough to rise to the occasion (you are every bit as spiritual as you need to be; it’s about him, not you).

 

Invest in somebody around you, making their life better and their prospects brighter – even if you’re afraid they’ll surpass you in the eyes of others (give your life away for the sake of other people and you’ll never lack friends or fame… the right kind).

 

Take a step of faith toward Jesus: do something you know he wants you to do or stop doing something you know he doesn’t want you to do (do the next right thing and he’ll bless you for it).

 

Introduce yourself to a coworker and invite them to The Journey – even if you’re afraid they’ll brush you off as a religious nut (if you are a religious nut, I can’t help you; but if you’re genuinely following Jesus, it’s worth the risk).

 

Love your wife (recklessly and tenaciously and ridiculously) – even if you’re afraid it won’t save your marriage (your love is a powerful enough force to change the world, not to mention your marriage).

 

Give something away; not just metaphorically, something tangible – even if you’re afraid it will reduce your bottom line (life is more than a “bottom line;” it’s a journey of growth and gratitude… hording halts it, giving accelerates it).

 

Start something that’ll blow Jesus away with how much value it adds to his world – even if you’re afraid it will flop (when my kids try something big to impress me and don’t quite succeed, I pat them on the back rather than kick them in the butt… Jesus will respond the same way to you).

 

Your fears aren’t going to go away.  But your guts can make you live so loud your fears are drowned out.  And when your guts are emboldened by the power of God at work in your life… your fears don’t stand a chance.

 

So we say with confidence,

"The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid.

What can man do to me?" (Hebrews 13:6 – NIV)

RePete - Part 1 - Podcast

 

Yesterday was Friend Day at The Journey.  It was awesome!
Our guests were treated to valet parking, an amazing Journey Kidz experience (including the now-famous moon-bounce), and mouth-watering food. They experienced the launch of rePete, and media, music, and message that were life-changing.  And above all else, people took steps toward God.
I was one of them.  Because in the midst of reaching out to others, we reached up to God and into ourselves.  And we grew spiritually.  We reWound one more time; knowing that next Sunday, we begin skipping to the next song (a link to the message is attached to this blog if you want to experience it again or for the first time).
If you brought a friend, follow up this week and invite them to return with you this Sunday as rePete continues.  If you took a step, take another one this week... and another and another.  If you're praying for a sweeping work of the Holy Spirit at The Journey like I am, don't stop.
It's coming. 
Yesterday was a life-changing day.  The beginning of a life-changing fall... at The Journey.
As iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend (Proverbs 27:17 - NKJV).

Check out more podcasts at: www.yourjourney.tv/podcast

Rare and Compelling Interview with Connecting Pastor

Friend Day & The Golden Girls

Begin

I thought you might want to begin this day with praise and a reminder of who you are in Christ; so I wrote this paraphrase of Ephesians 3:1-11 this morning. Be blessed.

I offer the entirety of my praise to God, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed me, my family, and the body of believers he’s connected me to with every spiritual blessing: reconciliation with God, the happiness of a life now filled with divine potential, and the hope of a bright future.

He has placed us in a realm of living that can only be referred to as “heavenly,” joining us forever with Christ. Even before he created the world, God deeply loved you and me and chose us (amazingly, just as we were), in Christ – intending fully to shape us into holy people, perfect from his perspective.

God determined back then, before we were even born, to adopt us into his own family. He brought us over from our side to his through Jesus Christ. It was his desire to do this from the very beginning; and nothing could have pleased him more.

That’s why we praise God so openly and shamelessly (doing it even now), thanking him for the divine grace he has drenched us with, who belong to his beloved Son.

Think about this: God possesses such an exorbitant amount of mercy and grace that he bought our way to a free life with the blood of his Son. This is how he forgave our sins – think about it! He has offered all of his kindness to us, mixing in all wisdom and insight, and pouring the whole wonderful blend onto and into our lives.

God has opened our eyes to his previously inexplicable plan regarding Christ the Messiah; a plan that, when it has reached its ultimate expression, will make our Father grin from ear to ear. And this is it: when the right moment comes, he will draw everything together under the leadership of Christ… everything in heaven and everything on earth.

And make no mistake about it – because we are forever joined to Jesus, and because he chose us before birth to be adopted into his own family, we have an inheritance coming our way! Doesn’t that make you want to praise and trust this great God even more, the one who makes everything play out according to his plan?

Feet

John 13:1-5 – It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.

The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him (NIV).

He washed Judas’ feet. Judas was about to betray him.

He washed Peter’s feet. Peter was about to deny him.

He washed James’ and John’s feet. James and John wanted to be great in the kingdom, and they’d foolishly argued about it when he’d earlier tried to explain that his death was coming.

Jesus could’ve berated these guys as a sorry group of disciples: betrayers, deniers, pushers and shovers. But instead he took a bowl and water and a towel.

And he washed their feet.

While our culture continues its red-faced bickering and fighting; while people betray God and each other; while the world denies Jesus… I pray that those of us who sense we have been given power by God will quietly fill bowls with water and wash each other’s feet. And the feet of the undesirable, the unwanted, the unlikely. The feet of the people we work with, live beside, are related to, and see around us all the time.

The greatest expression of power is service toward another – one who cannot repay or perhaps even fully recognize our generosity. To act this way – to be this way – we must brim with holy love; and a longing to show it to its full extent.

Jesus was about to speak of his own broken body and poured out blood as the substance of a new covenant, bringing salvation to humanity. He started by washing their feet.

We have a hard message to give the world. Sin is killing them. Jesus wants to save them. His body and blood have made a way.

Perhaps the best way to begin is with a bowl, some water, and a towel. To think, pray, speak, and live in a way that washes the feet of the people around us. Selflessly. Generously. Even when it feels like we're participating in the prelude to our own death.

Because we also know we’ll live again.

So we wash feet.

In-Laws

Warning: I’m about to publicly embarrass my in-laws.

Roger and Linda Halsey… My kids' Pop-pop and Mom-mom… My wife’s father and mother… have acted with reckless, unexplainable, over-the-top…

…generosity toward us. Again.

Five months ago, we found out Conner’s therapy was going to start costing us a lot of money. A LOT of money. More than we have (we did the math numerous times). My father-in-law and mother-in-law have stepped in time and time again since then to help us with unexpected expenses that would’ve otherwise grounded us.

And today, they did it again. The radiator in our Mitsubishi went kaput. $377. My in-laws called. They’re paying for it.

Thing is, they’ve been doing this kind of stuff for a while; even before we hit this tight spot. They have a long track record of pitching in, helping out, and showing up when we’re facing something financially tough.

They aren’t rich. They live in the same house they lived in when my wife was born 19 years ago (thank me later, baby). They don’t have a financial secret stash or steady stream (so don’t call trying to get in on the action – don’t even think about it, you're not related). In fact, we probably should be taking care of them, not the other way around. And when they need us to, you’d better believe we will. But for now, they love God, love us, and feel compelled to help.

And I’m very, very grateful. I love you Mom and Dad. There’s no “in-law” after that title in my eyes.

May the LORD make you increase,
both you and your children (Psalm 115:14 - NIV).

What is Your Superpower?

This past summer (can you believe that? This PAST summer!) The Journey experienced God and grew as followers of Jesus through a unique series: What is Your Superpower? We dialed in on the role of the Holy Spirit (the power and presence of God). Like a skilled optometrist, God clicked through a series of lenses over a period of seven weeks until we all said, “aha! I see it now!”

What did we see that had the potential to change EVERYTHING about our lives? That as believers in Jesus, we’re superheroes for God – seemingly ordinary people gifted with extraordinary abilities, hiding in plain sight until our superpowers are required.

We’re filled with the power, gifts and above all else, responsibility to change the world around us by simply following the leading of God in our everyday lives.

We believe in God and his power. We ask him what he wants us to do. We listen. We do what he says.

Simple. Super-powered.

Did you miss a weekend? Or are you a subscriber from a different city or state or country? Or maybe a show-up-every-Sunday Journey-ite who wants to revisit the simple but transformational truths we unpacked? Good news: you can hear it all (or hear it all again) by visiting www.yourjourney.tv/podcast

Spend some time in What is Your Superpower? Because fall is here. Jesus is here. And you’re here. It’s an amazing combination.

I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you (Psalm 119:11 – NIV).

Preach, Preacher

I’m sitting in the office at my in-laws working on tomorrow’s message. The sun is beginning its descent; but the Son is rising in my spirit. (If you subscribe to this blog, it's probably already Sunday morning... and my work had better be done!)

By now, the series was long ago decided, each weekend thought through and themed… the text has been explored, the visuals chosen, the research completed… What’s left is to put the pieces together, write the manuscript, and more than anything, pray like crazy for God-sized power when I walk up on that stage.

Jesus Christ thoroughly invigorates me during these Saturday evening sessions, as I pray and prepare to do what I was divinely called to do seventeen years ago.

Preach.

I don’t think you or I can fully comprehend what God can do through preaching. Preaching is foolish, silly, ridiculous stuff from a purely humanistic perspective: 35-40 minutes of words strung together, spilling out of a flawed human being who has no earthly right to tell other people what God thinks and what we all should do about it.

But empowered by God, from the mouth (and gut) of a called person who has heard from heaven, it absolutely transforms lives. It pleased God by this thing called preaching to save people who, as the Word of God is being boldly and wisely and humbly proclaimed, begin to believe it – and believe in the one who authored it.

Tomorrow I’m gonna preach, baby. With all my God-granted passion, with all my made holy by him heart – with the backing of the Holy Spirit and the affirmation of angels.

And it’s gonna change somebody’s life. Maybe yours.

Preach, preacher.

Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe (I Corinthians 1:21 – NLT).