It reminds me a lot of the typical churchgoer.  On the outside, we look fine.  In fact, others can look at us at times and see what seems to be a perfect life.  But the reality is something much different.  Many of us live with a parasite.  A parasite that eats away at us slowly but surely.  We may look fine on the outside…but eventually…the effects of the parasite will manifest itself.  For some of us the parasite is guilt.  For others it is hurt.  For others yet…it is some other form of brokenness.

Here is what happens.  We live with our brokenness deep inside.  We don’t show it to others and we certainly don’t talk about it.  We just let it eat us up inside.  We may not think that our parasite is causing any harm…but the reality is that your brokenness is keeping you from growing with God.  In the same way that what my son eats will be rejected by his body…your brokenness rejects the spiritual food that you ingest throughout the week.

Yesterday at The Grove we discussed how we can “START OVER with Better Relationships”.  Jesus seems quite clear that our relationships with others influences (and maybe dictates) our relationship with Him.

“You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’ But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brotherwill be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.

We know that broken relationships negatively impact our relationship with God…but what about the other forms of brokenness that we carry with us wherever we go?  What about yours?

The 99% have been in the news for quite some time now.  Occupy Wall Street.  That is the catchy name they have.  The whole story is intriguing.  The groundswell that is the movement.  The passion of those involved.  The noise that they have made.  I am not overly concerned with the 99%.  I am more concerned with the 82%.

The 82% is a group that never forms a picket line.  They don’t occupy anything other than your office, your neighborhood, and your home.  You wouldn’t really know it.  They don’t speak up.  They don’t even acknowledge that that are a part of the 82%.  They simply live their lives…silently wondering if they will always be a part of the 82%.  Because the reality is…they don’t want to be in that group.  They may not realize it…but they want out.

Odds are…you were in their shoes at one time.  In fact, you may still be a part of the 82%.  The Grove is committed to reaching out to anyone who is in the 82%.  Maybe that is you….maybe there is someone in your home, your neighborhood, or your office that is in the 82%.

At The Grove…we are committed to changing the world.  And the biggest impact we can have is to impact the 82%.  I am so excited for Sunday.  Because on Sunday…we begin to address the silent issue of the 82%.  Join us…and see how the 82% impacts you…and more importantly…how you can impact the 82%.

I am so excited about our partnership with Living Water and Incredible Pizza Company to make this happen.  Everyone is excited about the impact we could make on the world from our little spot on the map.  It costs approximately $5,000 to provide a well for clean drinking water.  I think we can raise enough money to put in two…maybe three…maybe a dozen wells that will save lives!

At The Grove, we are committed to changing the world.  We are committed to dreaming big and we are committed to being extravagantly generous.  No matter what happens in the future…lives will be blessed because people at The Grove reached out to impact the lives of others.

This holiday season we are doing something really cool.  We have created a partnership with Incredible Pizza Company in Greenwood Indiana to provide clean drinking water for the many people who are dying because of lack of access to clean water.  We are doing this through Living Water International.  Here are some of the details and a video to help you understand what Advent Conspiracy is all about.

1. We will be taking financial gifts to this cause on our website.  100% of what comes in for this cause will go toward this cause.  This will be set up in a matter of days.
2. We will be selling $10 game cards for Incredible Pizza Company.  The are valued at $10 and sell for $10…and 50% of the proceeds from the cards goes directly to the cause.  If you are going to buy them anyway…buy them from us and change the world.
3. On December 22nd, we will be holding an event at Incredible Pizza Company.  Not only will you be able to donate to the cause at that time…but 15% of what comes through the doors that evening will go directly to the cause.

We are so excited about the opportunity we have to be a part of this great mission!  We will change the world!  And that is not negotiable.

Too often we live our lives telling ourselves that we are not good enough…that we are unloved…and that we simply don’t matter.  We do this a million different ways.  Sometimes we actually say it and other times we are more subtle.  We compare ourselves to people on TV or in magazines and, to ourselves, tell ourselves that we are not good enough.  We look at the challenges ahead and convince ourselves that we are not capable…so we never try.

There are countless ways that we tell ourselves that we are not good enough…but there is one way we can know that it is all a bunch of lies.  Psalm 139:14 says, “I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”  This may be hard for us to believe about ourselves but when we consider that we are created in the image of God…it all makes sense.  You see, nothing else in creation gets to attest to being made in the image of God.  When God created you….He took His time on you and made you uniquely.  In creation the heart of God was poured into the soul of man.  You are His craftsmanship…you are His masterpiece…you are His child.  And for that very reason…you are fearfully and wonderfully made.

Allow me to direct your attention to a skit that will tell you this same message in a very different way.

I go to a gym where there are a lot of…how do I say…muscularly dominated individuals who spend a lot of time in the gym and have for many years to reach the point in which their forearms are the size of my thigh.  While they work out and watch themselves in the mirror, staring at their biceps upon each strenuous curl…I am not impressed.  Don’t get me wrong.  I am impressed by the success they have had.  But…the fact that they are doing what they are doing…not that impressed.  I am impressed by a different group.

I am impressed by the overweight, out-of-shape, and out-of-breath individuals who strap on their sweatbands and work their tail off to regain their health.  The body-builders don’t impress me because going to the gym comes easy to them.  It is their thing.  The ones who are trying to shed 100 pounds…they impress me because they are stepping out of their comfort zone to make a radical positive change in their life.

Many of us could learn something from them about our approach to our relationship with Christ.  Sure we can go to church on Sunday morning…post a couple Godly statements on our Facebook account…and consider ourselves good.  But…that all comes pretty easy for us.  What is more difficult is stepping out of our comfort zone and being a part of a team…joining a ministry…or making a commitment to be a part of something that is about helping other people.

This is why I am so proud of our Launch Team members at The Grove.  These awesome people have stepped out of their comfort zone and became a part of something beyond themselves…and their lives are changing in great ways.  If you are connected with The Grove…are you ready to step out of your comfort zone to better yourself and enter into something bigger than yourself?  If you are not connected to The Grove…are you ready to take that step at your church…or any church?

Numbers are an interesting thing.  We watch them…we monitor them…and we critique them.  We do it in every area of business.  We do it in finances, we do it in advertising, we do it in politics, and we do it in churches.  As a pastor there is always a slight tension.  You want to see lives changed…but that is hard to count at times.  What is easy to count is attendance.  I can tell you how many people attended the past two Preview Experiences at The Grove.  And, once December hits, I will be able to tell you how many people were at each experience in November.  Is it simply because I am driven to have a huge church?  Not at all.  We count people…because people count.

Each and every person who comes through our doors is loved by God and important to God.  For that reason alone…they are important to us.  So, we count people.  It doesn’t tell us much about our spiritual depth.  It does not tell us much about how good of a preacher I am…even though I know that I am awesome!  (Please note the sarcasm dripping from those words).  It simply tells us how many people are giving us a shot to be a part of connecting them with God.  I think that is an important thing to measure.  If there are 100 people in an experience…that means there are 100 dearly loved, important, and God-gifted people in our midst who are at least open to experiencing God.  In one respect, it is nice to know how many people are being impacted by The Grove.  In another respect, it is awesome to know how God is entrusting The Grove with His dearly-loved.

While we count the individuals, I also do another type of count.  I call this my “guest scan”.  While the congregation is worshipping to the fine leading of Brock Moreau, I step back and look at the people there and ask myself one questions: “How many of these people do I NOT recognize?”  At the first Worship Experience I recognized everyone.  At the second, I was blown away at how many of them I did not recognize.  This tells me one thing.  People are inviting people!  They are not all coming because of me.  They are coming because a friend, family member, co-worker, neighbor, or some guy on the street took the time to invite them to church.  This tells me more than any official count could ever tell me.  This tells me that people’s lives are being changed.  This tells me that they enjoy their experience at The Grove so much that they want to share that with others.  When a church has that kind of momentum behind it…God will do amazing things!

I am so excited to see how many people I will not recognize this week.  I would love to see 50% of the congregation to be people I don’t know.  Are you coming to The Grove?  If so, who are you inviting?  Who in your life are you willing to share The Grove with?

The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery.  In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?”  They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him.  But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger.  When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.”   Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground.  At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there.   Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?”  “No one, sir,” she said.  “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.” (John 8:3-11)

It is interesting to me that Scripture tells us that the Pharisees made the woman “stand in front of the crowd”.  It is as if they are placing her front and center.  As if they are saying…”Everyone look at her.  Look at this horrible person!  Look at her sin!  Now, the question is…what do we do about her?”  It is interesting to me because sitting right there is Jesus!  The Christ…the One who can actually do something about this situation is just left on the sidelines.  The Pharisees placed the sin on center stage and asked Jesus what they should do with her sin.  Do you see the problem?

When we place our sins as the focal point…we lose.  Every time….we lose.  But, we tend to do this.  Time and time again we place our sins and shortcomings front and center…and we place Christ on the sideline.  I don’t think we do this intentionally.  We have simply watched it done in churches, in our homes, and in the lives of those around us.  I guess it has become the status quo.  But what if the status quo was different?  What if we turned things around?  What if we placed Christ at the center rather than our sins?

With Christ at the center, we would be focused on His forgiveness, His grace, and His mercy.  Those all sound much better than our sins.  When we place Christ at the center, there is no sin that can withstand what Christ offers.  Maybe the Pharisees would have acted differently that day if they really knew who Christ was.  Maybe, if they knew who Christ was…they would have focused on His ability to forgive rather than her ability to sin.  What if our churches took this approach?

At The Grove…it does not matter what baggage, pain, past, or present reality you bring with you.  We don’t focus on that.  We focus on Christ and His ability to radically change your life.

After a day or two…I begin to miss them like crazy!  I miss holding my wife.  I miss playing with my kids.  Most of all, I just miss having them here.  Unfortunately, when they arrived home, I was gone.  I had meetings and things to do.  It was not until after 8:00pm that I arrived home.

The kids were ready for bed sitting on the couch with mom awaiting my arrival.  As I came through the back door I wondered what the greeting would be like.  I mean, my kids just spent 3 days at Nana and Papaw’s house…so did they even miss me at all?

I guess there is a part of you that hopes they did.  You hope that they have been sitting at home waiting for me to get home so they could give me a huge hug.  That is what we want right?  I think that is what we all want.  We just want to know that we are important.

Well…I walked into the kitchen and looked in the living room.  There they sat with big smiles on their faces.  Canaan and Maggie scurried off of Melissa’s lap as fast as they could and ran to give me hugs.  Canaan was pushing Maggie away because he wanted daddy all to himself.  We hugged and sat on the kitchen floor together for 5 minutes or so.  Melissa even came over and greeted me with a hug and kiss.  And…there we sat…all on the kitchen floor…just loving on each other.

For the rest of the evening, Canaan was attached to my leg and I felt like I was the most important person in the world.  It was great!

Ultimately, we all want to be greeted that way.  We want to know that we matter.  We want to know that when we are not together…someone misses us.  And…I think if we are honest with ourselves, we hope the same thing about God.

We hope that we are important enough to God that He will run to greet us when we arrive.  That He will hug us and express His love for us right where we are.

The good news is that He will.  Every time I experience the welcome from my family, I think about the Prodigal Son and how Jesus used that story to describe how we are welcomed into the household of The Father.

But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. – Luke 15:20

Take some time and go read Luke 15.  How does it relate to you?  Have you been welcomed by the Father like that?

There were times tears began to build.  There were children who said, “Sometimes I go to bed hungry.  I am used to it.  But my little brothers and sisters cry loudly.”  As a father, this wrenches my heart.  No child should ever have to endure what some of these young children have to endure.  There are stories of hunger, stories of families stuck in slave-labor, sex trafficking, drugs, neglect…and hopelessness.

Of all the comments that tugged at my heart, there was one that caused anger, frustration, and deep sadness within me.  When asked the questions, “If you could ask God for one thing…what would you ask for?”  In response a child responded, “I have many desires.  I have many dreams.  But, I know that my dreams will not come true.  So, I want Him to make me not have dreams.”

Even as I type it, my eyes begin to tear up.  Are you kidding me!  No one in this entire world should ever get to the point of wishing that they could not dream.  As a father, there are many things that are negotiable…but my children will never be stopped from dreaming and, at the same time, I will do everything in my power to ensure that they will believe that those dreams can come true.  To see such a young child lose hope in their future saddens me like nothing else.

God has created each and every one of us to live a great life.  It is very sad that there are children in this world who have lost hope to the point of not wanting to dream.  However, maybe the most tragic thing of all is that many people in our own communities have convinced themselves of the same thing…and have stopped dreaming.  When we stop dreaming…we stop living.  And when we stop living…we stop being the people that God has created you to be.

If you want to learn more about 58: visit their website at www.live58.org.