Steven Furtick's Blog, page 84

The New Rules of Resolution

Every year we start the same way. We vow to do things differently. To make this year better than the last. We resolve to change. And we start strong; with the best of intentions. But inevitably we fall short, settling back into mediocrity and habit for another year. We need to reframe the way we think about resolutions. And it starts this year. Join us for our new series, The New Rules of Resolution, as we uncover five facts that change the way we change.

You can join us in person at one of our seven Charlotte-area locations, or online at the Elevation Network.

Don’t Put Jesus First This Year

As we begin to make our lists, priorities, and resolutions for 2013, here’s a strange suggestion – don’t put Jesus first this year. Seriously. Don’t. Now before crying ‘heresy!’ and picking up some stones to throw, check out this clip from Pastor Steven, as he explains why putting Jesus first limits His influence in the other areas of our lives.

Celebration and Anticipation

There’s a tension that exists whenever God has moved greatly in the life of a person or church. It’s the tension between looking back and looking forward.

Celebration and anticipation.

Both must exist. Together.

But what usually happens is we specialize in one of them at the expense of the other. Some people really celebrate what God has done, but they don’t anticipate the next thing He wants to do. Others really anticipate what God’s going to do, but they don’t celebrate what He’s done.

According to the way God wants it done, He commands both.

Commemoration is equal parts celebration and anticipation.

You can see this in Joshua 4 when God tells the Israelites to put down stones in order to commemorate their passing through the Jordan River. The purpose was for it to be a reminder of how God had led the people through the desert for forty years and through the Jordan. It was a symbol for what He had done.

But it was also looking forward to the Promised Land and taking possession of it. It was a symbol for what He was about to do.

Celebration and anticipation belong together and flow into one another. And we need to be good at both.

It seems trivial, but it’s not. I believe this is one of the main reasons Elevation has seen God move mightily in the past five years. We make every attempt to celebrate passionately and adequately when God blows us away. But we also really try to anticipate how He is going to blow us away next and plan accordingly.

We’re trying to live in the tension. You need to as well.

Some of you are too busy dreaming about where God is taking you next to appreciate how far He has taken you recently. Stop for a moment and celebrate.

Others of you are so busy celebrating what God has done in your life that you’ve yet to realize it’s just a taste of what He still has to do in you and through you. Stop for a moment and anticipate.

Commemoration is equal parts celebration and anticipation. Learn how to do both well and don’t be surprised when God gives you more things to commemorate.

Originally posted on January 20, 2011.

Timeless Christmas Recap

The birth of Christ was unlike anything else in the history of human existence. It’s not over-dramatic or exaggerated to say that it literally split time. Our world is forever separated by the time before Christ’s birth (BC), and the years following (anno domini – AD). And when the the Magi saw the star stop over Bethlehem, it announced to the world that the Savior had arrived. A dividing line in history. For our Timeless Christmas worship experience, Pastor Steven preached about the dividing lines in our lives – when everything changed forever.

Elevation Creative: In Your Presence (Christmas Piano Remix)

For this creative element, our worship team took an original worship song, “In Your Presence,” combined it with the Christmas classic “O Come All Ye Faithful” and used all parts of a grand piano to create a fun, unique video we showed during our Timeless Christmas worship experiences.

What Christmas Means For Christians

Today is Christmas. A day when all Christians should celebrate, praise God, and thank Him for His love. Because on this day, in a dirty barn in a small town, our Savior was born. Jesus. Immanuel. God with us. A birth that forever changed the course of human history. And as Pastor Steven reminds us in this clip from ‘Code Orange Christmas‘ God wasn’t just with us on that day over 2,000 years ago – He is still very much with us today.

Elevation Creative: Code Orange Christmas

The first Christmas was very different from the Christmas we celebrate today. There were no presents under the tree. There were no carols and jingle bells. Chaos and oppression ruled an entire nation. Tension and frustration were setting in. A weary world was desperately searching for hope and salvation. For our 2011 Christmas Worship Experiences, our creative team re-imagined that one unassuming day where everything changed forever.

There are still opportunities for you to join us this year for a Timeless Christmas. Click here for times and locations.

It’s Time

It’s time. Christmas Eve is just days away. Jesus has come. Light has entered the darkness. Hope is here.

Over the next few days, millions of people are going to be packing out hundreds of thousands of churches across the nation. Countless people are going to find life in Christ and see their destinies dramatically change in an instant. And God is going to be glorified through it all.

As we get ready to do the most important and significant work in the world this week, I have a little advice for pastors. And really anyone involved in making a Christmas worship experience happen:

Don’t worry about being cute or clever. Just boldly present the Gospel and clearly invite people to respond to Jesus. People who are lost aren’t going to tweet about a cool or corny line they hear about Jesus. But they will tweet about it when they meet Him. Pray every second you can. Have faith that He is going to move in ways you can’t even imagine. Be ready for when He does.

And have fun. This is why you got into the ministry. This is why you serve at your church. Enjoy it.

I’m praying that God would give all of our churches a seemingly impossible, logic defying, God glorifying harvest this week.

We have the greatest news in the world. And it’s news that simply must be told.

It’s time. Hold nothing back.

Go big. Be bold. Be clear.

Watch God move. Then celebrate like you never have before.

Originally posted on December 22, 2010.

Join us this year at Elevation Church for a Timeless Christmas. 34 different worship experiences. Click here for times and locations.

Elevation Creative: Hope Is Coming

As churches, it’s our responsibility to teach the Bible and the life-saving message of salvation. But familiarity can be one of our biggest hindrances, especially when it comes to the Christmas story. And while the original Christmas may have been over 2,000 years ago, it that doesn’t change the impact that the birth of Christ had on the course of human history. For our Christmas Eve worship experiences in 2010, our creative team wanted to show a modern interpretation of this timeless story to give a fresh perspective on the meaning of Christmas.

The Kidney: Understanding Generosity At A Sacrificial Level

Very few of us really understand true generosity. Some of us give back to God through our tithe. We also give with our time and abilities. But most of our giving is done with a certain level of convenience. We don’t understand what it means to give sacrificially. At a level where we feel it. A level where we need God to step in. Rarely do we we ever get to that point in our generosity.

Recently, two of our volunteers went through an experience that required great faith and sacrifice, and challenged our church to reach beyond ourselves and our own comforts to understand generosity at a sacrificial level.