What John shared during this breakout is some great stuff (John’s the pastor at my church and he’s been sharing this stuff for many weeks now). In some ways it comes across as fluffy stuff we hear in a lot of churches out of the mouths of a lot of pastors. The difference here is that this stuff is really happening and has happened at Gateway. John shares story after story of people coming out of ever imaginable situation and getting reconnected with God. John shares insight on how the church today can connect with a culture that has become very disconnected with God.

The most important thing we can do is to prepare the soil… the environment. God is the one who will cause growth. That God causing growth isn’t our responsibility.

The soil is dirty and messy. Am I willing to get my hands dirty? In order to see this generation/culture come to Christ and grow in his love, I MUST get my hands dirty.

Jesus hung out with the messy people of his day (tax collectors, prostitutes, outcasts) and the religious leaders had a problem with this. (Matthew 9:1-13)

Jesus didn’t come form the righteous. He came for the messy and the broken.

How do we create this environment?

1. Cultivate the soil with grace giving acceptance.

Are we leading others to see others with the eyes of grace?

In Acts 15, the church decided to remove the barriers for the gentiles and make it easy for them to come to faith. We find ourselves in a similar situation. Are we making it easier for those in our culture to come to faith?

In every culture, there are cultural barriers to faith. What are yours?

2. Create authentic confessing communities.

James 5:16. When we confess we can begin to heal.

Grace wasn’t given to get people into heaven, but to connect people to God once again.

Soul Revolution and the 60-60 experiment

I know that as a staff member, I’m getting ready to spend the next 4 months in the soul revolution experiment. I’m very excited about it. Too many times we make growing spiritually too complicated… a list of things to do or not do. Jesus actually clarified this. He made it really simple. He told his disciples to abide in him. Stay connected to the vine. When we stay connected, we’ll produce MUCH fruit. The 60-60 experiment is about staying connected to God throughout the day and seeing how God begins to work in your life.

If you’re interested in how this looks, visit the official blog/community site here.