Where life happens!

Where Life Happens!

Recently on a flight leaving Orlando, Fl, en route to Nashville, Tn, I was dog tired and ministry pooped to a pulp. A man sits next to me, and for the next two and a half hours engages me over the disappointment he has felt with Barack Obama. (Let me say from the outset that this is not some political shot at our current president, so please keep reading.) After an hour of listening to Tony, I was amazed at how cynical our country has become over the current crisis we are facing. People’s trust level is at an all time low. There is no faith in government and no faith in church leaders. Everywhere I go people are using this time to vent negativity at the culture. After listening to Tony for an hour, I asked, “Do you think there is a political solution to our problems?” Tony’s head dropped. “NO” he emphatically stated. He then said with a statement and a question, “It starts with the heart!” and in the same breath, “What do you do”? My response was “I am a cultural architect.” “What the hell is that?” he asked. I told him that I have the blueprints for cultural change, so I read the blueprints and then implement them into the lives of people. He was fascinated and I had his attention for the next hour or so.

I asked him a question that I ask wherever I travel. “When you hear the word ‘Jesus’ what do you think of?” Tony’s response was, “Suffering. Why did he have to suffer?” What a great open door for the Gospel to be shared! We launched into a conversation about Jesus that was candid and honest. In fact, it was downright stimulating. Then came the dreaded question: “What about the word ‘Church’? What do you think of, Tony?” Another scathing answer came: “Business. In fact, big business,” he exclaimed. Tony, a professed catholic, ranted about the extreme wealth of his own church. What about people? When did the church stop caring for people?

With the few minutes we had on that flight I shared with Tony the concept of doing church where life happens! Tony was truly captivated. I asked him where he spends most of his time other than work and home. He said that he spends most of his time at the club house at his housing complex. “What if you did church there?” I asked. He said, “I would be there and bring all my friends.” Friends to the unconvinced...I hear this from many people all of the time.

While the church waits for the unconvinced to come, there is an entire world of people who are waiting for us to come to them. When Jesus left the world, His departing words were, “ Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations”.

Think of how church is defined today with our places, our music, and our language. So we ask the unchurched to come into our world and let us educate them. When Jesus became flesh, He became one of us. Our focus in 2010 is to enflesh the Gospel and become Christ-like to the world. To love them, to serve them, to embrace them. To give life away through His message “that God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but rather through Him the world might be saved. (John 3:17)

That’s where life happens!

Peace, Mike

Feed Me

Feed Me

Our family has been blessed in the last year with 2 of the most beautiful grand children. Our oldest daughter Mary and our son-in-law Tim have a daughter named Emmy. She is beautiful, and such a great baby. My youngest daughter Leah and son-in-law Tommy have a son named Baylee. Truly the happiest child on the planet. He laughs and smiles at everything.

I was noticing Baylee the other night when we were out having dinner. He was feeding himself. Now to say that he handled himself with a lot of manners was an overstatement. There was applesauce all over his mouth, and he stuffed cheese pieces in one at a time. It wasn’t pretty, mind you. But he was feeding himself.

Over the years that I was pastoring, I recall having multiple conversations with those who were exiting our church. I often heard this statement: “I’m just not getting fed.” Now to be honest, that statement use to send me into orbit. I could feel my face turning red. I would typically, as my wife would say, “get too upset”, which was something she would say to calm me down as I over-reacted to something one of my kids had done. NOT getting fed, huh? Well, I did feed them, and I could envision myself stuffing food in their faces! I recall shrinking in fear whenever someone would ask me if we could meet for lunch, fearing that they would use those same words: “I’m not getting fed”. Well, I have truly matured in these last few years, and I am much more compassionate in regards to those who are being developed. Therefore (with a much healthier perspective), I would like to share just a few thoughts on this subject.

Typically, our modern-day spiritual diet of “getting fed” is Sunday morning. One question is, what if I only ate one meal a week? In a word, malnourished would be the answer! Secondly, when I eat, what does my diet consist of? Cotton candy and hershey bars? You’re either going to be diabetic or overweight. Thirdly, at what point do I learn to eat on my own, and truly what does feed me? As for my grandson Baylee, he was eating on his own at 14 months!

Ironically, Jesus answered these questions. In the Gospels, in Matthew’s account, Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4). There is a novel concept. Read it and do it. Simple enough huh? Of all the sermons we preach and hear, when do we act on what we heard?

When Jesus was dealing with the Samaritan woman in John 4:34, Jesus made a revolutionary statement:

“My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.”

Jesus was telling His disciples that the key to being fed was giving their lives away. Try it, and like Baylee, it might be messy. But the reality is if you’re not being fed, maybe it is because you are not getting involved in the lives of others.

Maybe we need to exchange our empty lives, by filling ourselves by serving others. In return we might just get stuffed.

For the Quest,

Mike

Changing the world one life at time

Have you ever noticed just how many one-on-one encounters Jesus had throughout his earthly journey? There was woman at the well, the healing of the blind man, the calling of Matthew...the list could go on and on. In the hustle and bustle of busy American culture, are we aware of that one person who God has put right in front of us for a possible divine encounter? With so much emphasis on larger churches and bigger is better , I believe if we could just embrace a less is more mindset, we would be more and more effective as kingdom agents in this world.

As I gauge the pages of the New Testament, I am amazed at how many instances Jesus spent time dealing with just one life. Most of the people He met or dealt with were in some kind of crisis. Just think your daily encounters with humanity! How many people do you personally come into contact with who are need of love? How about prayer? How about healing? How about a kind word? How about a timely word?

I love the words of John 17:21: In the same way the Father has sent Me into the world, so I also send you into the world . In other words, Jesus mission was really simple; He simply came into the world for those one-on-one encounters with people. The kingdom simply spreads through a viral encounter. The woman at the well influenced an entire city through her Jesus encounter (John 4:28-29). Matthew threw a huge sinner party (Matthew 9:10-11). When was the last time we had one of those? A sinner party! How about the madman who was possessed with a legion (you know, the guy who had so many demons that they couldn t count them)? Yeah, that guy! After his Jesus encounter, it says He begged Jesus that he might follow Him; however, Jesus sent him to the Decapolis, which was a region of ten cities.(Mark 4:18-19)

In LifeQuest, we focus on this simple principle. We can change the world one life at a time. Just this past year our experiences could take volumes of writing. I could tell you story after story of Jesus-encounters: at coffee shops, college campuses, in living rooms, in small venues and large, in church services, in pubs... wherever and whomever. This is what Jesus has called us too.

In our church growth days, we all asked the question: how will we grow this church? In other words, what is the strategy that we need to get people to the building? When we begin to think marketing, we have left Kingdom living. When churches puts this above our compassion for humanity, then people become a commodity instead of an asset. We stop thinking about kingdom advancement and start thinking strategy. Jesus thought assignment and target. This was His strategy.

His assignment was to GO! His target was people. Everyday encounters. Think about this! Three years of His life was walking around where people were. Who is that life that God has put in front of you today? Whoever it is, that one might change the world.

Peace,

Mike G

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A legit healing no BS (New York Deli Style)

A legit healing no BS (New York Deli style)

My new favorite eatery is the New York Deli in Redlands. I mean really legit food. If you love middle eastern food, I highly recommend the joint. Great Phillycheese steak. Seriously could eat there everyday. Really cheap.

A few weeks back I struck up a conversation with a young Syrian girl who works there. I noticed she had a nasty red look in her eyes. You know, that bloodshot look when you have pink eye. I asked her if I could pray for her. Awkward was the feelin I got from her, but she relented and allowed me to pray.

This past Saturday I was there in the evening, and one of the other servers told my wife that I prayed for this young girl. She told us that the next day the eye infection was gone! Marie is the server who was telling my wife and I that she thought it was a bunch of bull @#%% when she heard that I prayed for the young girl. Marie is part Turkish and part Greek, and was dropping the BS word right and left. She finally told me she had a horrible infection in her fingernail but didn’t believe all this healing BS. As I was leaving I asked her if I could pray for her finger. As I took her arm, I prayed as tears formed in her eyes. I asked Father to reveal His love through this as a sign of His love for her. Marie was speechless.

Can’t wait for this Tuesday and my chicken caesar wrap to see what Jesus has done in Marie.

Chow,

Mike

ReJesus

ReJesus

Spent most of my morning yesterday at Cal State interacting with college students. What really caught my attention was the interest there is with the person of Jesus. I enjoyed a conversation with 2 young Latinos who ironically had heard me speak recently at a gathering of Latino churches.

One of the two asked me what it meant by following Jesus? How can we follow someone who we can’t see? Great question I responded!

What does it mean to follow? Is it rules? Is it a creed? Is it going to church?

I find the later statement interesting. When I asked these 2 young Latino’s if they knew Jesus, they both responded “that they went to church”.

Spending some time reading a book by Alan Hirsch called “ReJesus”, Also reading the Gospel of Mark in tandem with ReJesus. I am wondering have we lost touch with Jesus? Just sayin..........Have we substituted our passion for church, doctrine, witnessing(whatever that is), you fill in the blank? As Larry Crabb says “ the only passion that will not destroy us is our passion for Jesus”. Thoughts?

Mike

Interested in God Not Religion?

Amazing day today at Cal State San Bernardino. The title above were some 150 plus cards we passed out today as myself, Iz, Jared, Brit, Jen, and Rebecca had interaction with a few hundred students.

Really eye opening. A young man approached me and poured his heart regarding his mental health. He stated he has cried out to God. Wants to know more about Jesus.

2 young Latino freshmen asked me about what it means to follow Jesus and could I teach them. Really cool stuff!

After 3 hours of interaction, prayer, and some rejection. LOL. I find it interesting that Christians want to know what church you are from, Catholics say they are interested in Jesus and Religion, other very humorously hostile professed to being humanist. The secular kind one young man professed. I questioned one young man over what it meant to be an atheist as he was running away.

All in all great when over 150 people agreed to pray for their campus, their friends, their professors, and yes even Obama. We desire to see a Jesus/prayer movement Saturate the campuses of Southern California and then the nation, then the world.

A massive prayer meeting is in the making.

Peace,

Mike

24, Jack Bauer, and Something to Die For

24, Jack Bauer, and Something to die for.

This past summer after dealing with the already-seen reruns and the great bore, baseball, Kathy and I decided to take on the 24 series on DVD. Now I had heard much concerning the show starring Keifer Sutherland. Being a self-confessed “Lost” fan, I knew that not much could steal my loyalty. Well, it is with much hoopla that I confess that 24 has stolen my affections. Action, drama, great acting, excellent writing...to say the least. Even on vacation Kathy and I were saying, “ Just one more episode” which sometimes would take us into like 3 in the morning. “Addicting” was a comment from a friend, “Guilty” I confessed.

Jack Bauer is a rogue agent for CTU(counter terrorism unit) always on mission to save the world from some terrorist threat. In season 6 Jack is released from a Chinese prison in which he has been in holding for 18 months. His release comes with a great price; he is released under one condition. He is placed into the hands of a terrorist whose family was killed by Bauer. Jack’s associates are heart broken when handing him over to a terrorist cell who have in their possession a nuclear device which could be detonated in Los Angeles. What follows is a heart wrenching exchange between Bill Buchanan (who is the head of CTU) and Jack. Bill apologizing for what seems to be certain death for Bauer, Buchanan is in agony for the many times Jack has sacrificed for his country. He even questions Jack regarding why he didn’t give information to the Chinese government so he could be released from torture and imprisonment.

Jack Bauer’s response was chilling to me and the purpose of this writing. He declared to Buchanan these words: “If I would have died in China it would have been for nothing. I want to die for something”.

Now you’re thinking this is another article about dying for Jesus, right? Wrong! We Christ followers here in the west know little or nothing about this subject. So no, I’m not talking about giving your life for Jesus. This isn’t about things that are really worth dying for. Think about that for minute! Death! Dying! Sounds romantic, huh? Not to me. What about you? Something or nothing? My translation is what is worth living for!

Often in western Christendom we hear a lot about loyalty and commitment. Many things are asked of us to define our loyalties: sign this card, take this class, give a 100% commitment, tithe, show up on Sunday, invite your friends. This is how this is translated. This is how we define commitment.

I find this interesting. Jesus never talked about these kind of things. NOT at all. He defined a life of loyalty by the willingness to lay your life down for your friends, caring for widows and orphans, taking the good news to the poor. Rubbing shoulders with the outcast. Being like Him. Doing what He did. Alan Hirsch calls it the “conspiracies of the little Jesus’”.

Through His death, resurrection, and ascension, Jesus became the reigning King. He is worth living for! When we began to demand loyalty to organizations, clergy, and churches, we usurp the place of the rightful King. When we demand loyalty from God’s people and define it by anything that isn’t producing Christlikeness, we become idolatrous. Men build their own kingdoms and define loyalty by how committed people are to their agenda.

Then, when their kingdom is threatened, they place unrealistic demands on God’s people. As Peter wrote in his epistle “The stone the builders rejected has now become the Cornerstone”. Scathing! We actually can build something in the name of Jesus and reject him in the process.

When Christians see Jesus as Lord, the idols of comfort and security and safety and convenience are severely tested. Jesus as Lord meant something to first century believers. It was a call to live the Life. That, my friends, is something to die for.

For the Quest,

Mike

A People or a Place?

A People or a Place?

Growing up in the deep south for much of my young life, I was very conscious of going to church. I recall all of the times I felt dragged, bribed, threatened, and warned by my well-meaning parents. To me it just didn’t click: an hour on Sunday, and if you were really spiritual, you would also go to Wednesday night prayer meeting.

Today there seems to be much discussion of this question: “What is the church?” Valid question! I have been having many discussions lately over this subject with seekers and serious church-goers as well. In our western context of church we have always seemed to focus on defining things and then carrying them out. We seem content with going to church rather than being the church.

Let me state that I believe that Jesus loves the church, regardless of her expression. For many, the church is a place or building that we frequent. For some it’s living rooms, and for others it’s cafés and coffee shops. Whatever your expression might be, it is apparent that the church in the west is in a paradigm shift. Now, this article is not some kind of reaction to fear, or a last days article, or even “life is over as we know it because there is a democrat in the white house”. This is a simple plea to rediscover the mission of Jesus in the world. (Church and mission, you say? Aren’t those 2 mutually exclusive things? I don’t think so.) Let’s just look at Jesus and His words about this sensitive subject.

Most of us, from our cultural upbringing, define church as a place. However, when defining church, Jesus uttered these words from Matthew 16:18:

“I will build my church, and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it”.

When Jesus used the word “church”, what was he saying? Well, He was defining a people, not a place! The word Jesus used was the word “ecclesia”, which simply means “the called out ones”. Isn’t much of the Bible defining a people called out for a purpose? As Charles Spurgeon says, we experience 2 conversions: “the call to come out of the world” and “the call to go back into to the world”! When it comes to church and mission, we see this whole way of life lived out in Jesus Himself. He took 12 men and basically sent them out to do church with the people they came in contact with. As I write this article, I sit at my office, which is a coffee shop in Southern California. I spent the morning with a young man who is very proficient in studying buddhism, I prayed for a young middle-eastern girl who had an eye infection, and I visited with some friends from the Fox Theater who recently asked our LifeQuest core team to cleanse their building from evil spirits. My point is that when all we do is define church as a place, we lose our passion for mission. Defining church as a people who are touching lives and seeing change happen brings liquid motion. When we embrace the Jesus model of church, we come in contact with all kinds of people. When Jesus entered the church of modern day Jerusalem in Luke 4:18, we see in Jesus the passion for church and mission.

The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,[a] To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed;
These verses contain a revelation of the people of God on mission.

1) We are a people of presence. (The Spirit of the Lord is upon us.)

2) We are a people of proximity. (The poor, the broken hearted, the captives, and the blind are our target audience.) Know anyone like this?

3) We are a people of proclamation (To preach the gospel)

In this passage from Luke 4 we see Jesus upsetting the status quo by challenging the church of His day to leave the comfort and security of their 4 walls and touch lives. Instead of defining ourselves by a place, maybe we need a fresh and easy connection to a hurting world to rediscover church.

For the Quest,
Mike

Atrophy

Atrophy

Since the inception of Lifequest, I have found that I have been a real sluggard in the exercising department. Just recently I returned to the gym to discover just how out of shape I had become. Although I could give you some of my crazy workout regimens of the past years just to impress you…naw…won’t do that. I have been an avid gym rat for the last 20 years. To my amazement, I realized after a few short visits how much better I feel. I am not as tired as I was, I am hungry for healthier food, and my Arnold body is coming back…well a least 2 of the last statements are true.

Atrophy is a word used to describe a body part that is wasting away. The causes are poor circulation, poor nutrition, and a lack of exercise. I have noticed in my absences of working out that I was encountering atrophy in different parts of my body. My joints were starting to ache, and when I consumed anything unhealthy (especially in the sugar area), I would become very fatigued. For those who say that 50 is the new 40: that statement made me realize that I felt more like 50 was the new 60! (You might be wondering what the method to the madness is that I am rambling on about!)

Our passion in LifeQuest is to see a Jesus-centered people/movement. Not that we have mastered anything! However, being a Jesus-centered people/movement means that we have a passion for seeing churches planted and people empowered. I question why the church here in the west is in a state of atrophy. The body is just wasting away! It may be due to improper nutrition, or maybe just a lack of exercise overall! I find it interesting in Paul’s writings how his way of handling the churches’ problems are so different than the way we handle them today. In Corinth we see an array of church dysfunction. All kinds of crazy and wild things were happening! Corinth was alive with spiritual gifts with uses and abuses.

Thank God that Paul wasn’t an alarmist. He was confident that even in its dysfunction that it was important not to shame the church, but rather further empower it. I am not making excuses for sin or dysfunction, for they are a present reality. However, Paul laid down some crucial foundation to insure that the church was empowered to be released to overcome atrophy. We read in 1 Corinthians 12:1-6:

Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be ignorant: 2 You know that[a] you were Gentiles, carried away to these dumb idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I make known to you that no one speaking by the Spirit of God calls Jesus accursed, and no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit.4 There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are differences of ministries, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God who works all in all.

Notice Paul’s words “it is the same God who works all in all”. Paul had confidence and faith in the ever-present Holy Spirit to impart life to the body. When people discover that church is more than listening to sermons, tithing, working in children’s church, etc. (you fill in the rest), a synergy of life comes to God’s people.

Gifts- a grace-filled gift is given by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the indwelling Charisma. Each member of His body has received these gifts to exercise them on behalf of building up His body.

Ministries- Paul uses a word here that we are not unfamiliar with. It is the word “diaknois” where we get the word “servant” or “waiter” .This is the same word that was used in Acts 6 regarding the deacons. Paul tells the church that gifts and ministries flow in proper circulation when they work in unison to serve each other. As Jesus said, “The Son of Man came to serve, not to be served, and to give His life as a ransom for many”.

Activities- another thought-provoking word. This word is translated as energy. When God’s people discover their gifts and ministries, an amazing energy flows into the body. Church then becomes more than what we do on Sundays; church becomes a people empowered to live out the mission.

In an age of testing, strength finders, spiritual gifts assessments, programs, and classes that enable people to further explore their ministries, maybe we should just let the Holy Spirit do His thing in a simple, organic way. We never see Paul telling the churches we need special classes to help people discover their spiritual gifts. So how does this happen? Steps, right? How-to’s? Gifts, ministries, and activities are a manifestation of His love. As our human bodies cry for exercise and movement, even so Jesus’ body is asking, “Isn’t there more to my existence?”

Peace,
Mike

My Gospel

My Gospel

Paul the apostle was bold enough to include in his writings the phrase “My Gospel”. At first glance, that doesn’t seem too earth shattering, does it? However, a closer look at Paul reveals something about his passion for the Gospel and the Gospel alone. As we read in 2 Timothy 2:8:

8 Remember that Jesus Christ, of the seed of David, was raised from the dead according to my gospel.
I often wonder if our Gospel is the Gospel that Paul preached. In a day of man-centered messages, do we here in 21st century America capture the essence of the Gospel? Let me state emphatically that I believe that there are no problems with the Gospel foretold in the Scriptures. However, maybe we have some missing components of the Gospel. Paul seemed in every difficult church situation to turn the gaze of the church he was mentoring back to the Gospel. The Gospel was the solution for heresy in Galatia, for division in Corinth, and everything that plagued the early church. Paul brought the infant church back to the basics of the Gospel. I would like to offer some insights into some very simple but yet profound basics of the Gospel that might be missing in our Gospel.

Paul seemed to focus on these.
1) An Indwelling Christ

Christ in you, the Hope of Glory. In a day with so much focus on our needs as humans, we seem to forget the power of His resurrection that now dwells within us. Paul stated in Romans, “Let the same Spirit Who raised Jesus from the dead dwell in you. And it will quicken your mortal body.” Jesus is telling the disciples “it is to your advantage that I go away; unless I go away the Comforter will not come”. In essence, Jesus was stating that when He leaves the Spirit will come and dwell within us, and actually make His home in us!
That’s Gospel, my friends. Christ Jesus possessing you and I. Let’s exchange our emptiness for his fullness.


2) The Greatness of Jesus

In regards to the statements Jesus made about Himself, let’s include them in the Gospel. Here are a few:
Word of God
Light of the World
Alpha and Omega
Bread of Life
Way, Truth, and Life
Resurrection and the Life

I was recently at a Thai restaurant with some friends having dinner. As I approached the cashier to pay the bill, I asked the lady if she was a Buddhist. A young man standing near spoke up and said, “She is, and I am a Hindu”.

Sensing I had an open door, I quoted 3 former religious figures:

Buddha said “There is no Truth”
Mohamed said “ I am still looking for the Truth”
Jesus said “I am the Truth”

Those words pierce the heart and proclaim the greatness of Jesus in the Gospel.

3) The Eternal Purpose of God

Paul’s Gospel started with God’s purpose instead of man’s need. Man has need, no doubt. But as we read Ephesians and Colossians, Paul uses these words in his writings: as we read from Ephesians 3:11:

“…according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord”

What does Paul mean by this? God’s intention is to reveal the reason Christ Jesus came. It wasn’t just so we can manage sin. His purpose is to bring us into the fullness of his Son. The purpose that Jesus came was to connect us to the Father in reality of relationship.

I liken God’s eternal purpose to watching the Star Wars movies. You’re introduced to all the characters in episodes 4, 5, and 6. But it’s not until you see 1, 2, and 3 that you understand the fullness of the movies. In our case, the Gospels in the Bible are the middle of the drama, and Ephesians and Colossians show us God’s purpose before creation, and thus we see the whole picture of God’s eternal purpose.

I pray that our Gospel will become Paul’s Gospel.

Peace,
Mike

Together

Together

Yucaipa, CA

LifeQuest celebrated its first "Together" time Sunday March 1st at the Old Church in Yucaipa, CA. Together is a time when all of the churches, friends, and partners of LifeQuest come to hear what God is doing in the movement that we are part of.

Our LifeQuest core team felt it was important to create the same atmosphere that we have been experiencing in home meetings for the last 2 months. So we set up in the downstairs of the building where it feels like a big living room. We packed over 75 people in the room. From the outset we could sense God's pleasure and presence. The room was filled with voices expressing their praise to God for his goodness and grace. As the music ended the worship continued as our churches gave thanks to God for his work in their local expressions. From Lake Arrowhead to Yucaipa, from Indians, Pakistanis, and Hispanics we saw the mosaic of God's people from every nation, tribe, and tongue expressing what his mighty works are in the earth.

Much of my life in Christ has longed for a 1 Corinthians 14 encounter. The encounter that Paul says, "Whenever you gather, one has a psalm, a hymn, a word, but let everything be done decently and in order.” There was such freedom that many spoke out in prayer. Prophecy flowed to encourage those in despair. The Word of God was proclaimed from John's gospel. Art was used as an expression of worship. The artist’s conception declared the healing of the heart for several women who were in need of release from hopelessness.

A vision was cast to see new churches planted in Los Angeles, Palm Springs, and other parts of Southern California. Much thanks goes to a great group of Jesus lovers and followers. As the movement grows, we look forward to celebrating with all those who want to follow Jesus into the mystery of his kingdom.

Peace,
Mike

The First Trimester

Starting a new venture seemed a little crazy to my family and friends in uncertain economic times. Even one friend said to me "You've got to be crazy or you have really heard from God". Hopefully both was my response.

After traveling the world in 2008 I sensed God was leading me and my wife Kathy on a new venture which has now become LifeQuest. Along with a few other brave souls we launched out in December of 2008. We are now in our first trimester of a new birth of what we are calling a church planting movement.

Since I have never been pregnant for me to speak of birthing anything is probably an insult to most women who have. So I will not even at the risk of being somewhat knowledgeable even dare to whisper anything that would catch the ire of women across the globe who have endured 9 months of childbirth.

I recall every time my wife told me she was with child. I honestly felt as if I was thrown into the den of despair. My mind wandered to the how to's of life. How would we pay for this child? Working two jobs to make ends meet and then coming home to a wife who was so sick with morning sickness that it turned in to 3 months worth of all day sickness. I thought we must be crazy to do this 3 times in 6 years. But the byproduct of this struggle for us was what now has become 4 amazing children. Two grandchildren by the way my daughters Mary and Leah have between them 1 amazing new baby Baylee and our new grand daughter Emmy who is due in 2 months.

So here we are in the first trimester of LifeQuest. It has taken me back to those early days when Kathy was with child. Every emotion known to man from despair to excitement to fear to hope from anticipation to the what ifs. To the how are we going to do this? How are we going to pay for this? Some have ask why now?
Why at 50? Church planting is for young guys! You know people with energy! People who have been given alot of money and backing. So Mike are you crazy?

In this first trimester of Life Quest I have seen more life than maybe any of my other 30 years in church life combined. God's provision has overwhelmed us. The Spirit has empowered us. God has challenged me that this is a new day for the church. It is only those who are willing to risk that will see his power. Vision opens the door to the future. With all the zaniness of seeing God birth something new. I hope like never before. I see Christ as this wild missional messiah as Alan Hirsch puts it. Please follow along with us as we enter enter into Trimester number 2 real shortly. This ride is only for those who are willing to take risk.
Peace,
MG

Whole lot of shakin' goin on

Last night we had the launching of LifeQuest Lake Arrowhead. We truly had an amazing night of people interacting around Jesus, His word, prayer, heart to heart, tears, words of predictions and great worship.At one point in the meeting I (Mike Giordano) recalled many predictions concerning God moving in the Mountain communities of Lake Arrowhead, Crestline, and Running Springs Ca. I asked the 25 or so people to stand as we prayed together for a new movement of the Holy Spirit in that region. As we stood to pray we made a proclaimation about God moving and making good on his promises. The place we met begin to shake. Laughter erupted in the room. Now living in Southern California for 17 years rarely do you see Californians laughing when a earthquake happens. Typically it is run for your life. Truly it was an ACTS encounter. God moved powerfully the rest of the evening. There were shouts of joy believing we just experienced a sign and wonder.Those of you who know me know that I am not or aleast I think that I'm not a creepy crawler follower of Jesus. You know one of those who sees Angel faces in boxes of macorni, one of those God tells people about every red moon that the this is the beggining of the great tribulation.Simply put God sometimes confirms his word by signs and wonders. Hebrews 12 states "Everything that can be shaken will be shaken, so the things that can't be shaken must remain. Since we have received a Kingdom that cannot be shaken Let us.................. Acts 4 after an intense arrest of Peter and John the apostles prayed for the continued move of God and to exalt the name of the precious one Jesus. It states the place the met shook. If I can be so blunt in the birthing process of God doing a new thing he can once more shake the heavens and the earth. When a simple band of believers met last night and prayed for God to fulfill his promise of a move of God and the place shook and we did not fear but rejoiced. A renewed sense of joy filled the hearts of God's people. Yes I believe as Joshua if God can make the sun still so he can continue to make a mockery of the enemies of God. Why can't God send an Earthquake as a sign and wonder? By the way know one was hurt and minimal damage was done. For those who think when God moves there are no aftershocks. However don't forget the book of ACTS in general. It tends to be messy.As the winds of changes blow across our world there is a new refreshing wind blowing in the church of Jesus. This is but the beginning of a new day of shaking. God is shaking the governmental, economic, social fabric of our society. This could be one of the finest hours of the church. When God shakes things we hold on to We discover the things that really become important to us. People are looking for real life. Those of us who follow him will we hold on and cling to the one who shakes all things?Peace he says in the midst of whole lot of shaking goin on.We are preparing for a move of God as this shaking will continue. When we hear move of God what does that mean? It sounds so creepy huh? Well maybe it means that we must become a mobile people again. People who move with God as he moves. A people who say Lord I will trust you in the unknown. Hebrews 11:8 talks of Abraham going out or moving not knowing where he was going. Letting go of all things such as debt, security, and safety these things we middle class americans tend to cling to.It's a new day.PeaceMG



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