Will Davis Jr.'s Blog, page 8

The Liberating Joy of Living with Enough

I recently had the pleasure of talking to the 100 Huntley Street audience about the benefits of moving toward enough. Or, about the surprising benefits of living with less.

The interview stirred my passions once again for this great and liberating topic.

Here’s the 12-minute interview in its entirety.

If you want to know more about moving toward enough, click here.

 

Dear Pastor, Want to Lead a Mega-Church? Here’s how.

Dear Pastor,

I want us to rethink the mega-church.

By definition a mega-church is a church that runs 2000 or more people in average weekend attendance. And while mega-churches seem to get a lot of attention, it’s still the church of 200 or less that dot most of the American landscape and even more importantly, is most common around the world.

I have nothing against the mega-church or the mega-church pastor. The pastors I know that lead such churches are very godly men and are some of my closest friends.

I just think that setting apart a church because of its attendance alone isn’t a wise thing. The fact is, and my friends that lead large churches would agree with me, how many people a church is currently attracting may in fact be the least reliable indicator of what God is or isn’t doing in the congregation.

I know that from experience.

We (Austin Christian Fellowship) ran 300-500 as a portable church for years. Then, we borrowed several million dollars from a non-Christian agency, built a building, and jumped by 1000 people in about two years.

I wasn’t any more godly, I wasn’t praying any more or better, I wasn’t more anointed, we weren’t doing more for the poor or winning more people to Jesus. We had simply indebted ourselves to a secular institution and built a really cool building. And suddenly, all the homeless or migrant Christian sheep in Austin wanted to hang out in our new place–at least for a while.

We are asked to be listed in one of those “fastest growing churches” lists that church growth watchers love to publish. We declined.

I was shocked at how “successful” we had become just by building a new facility. There’s nothing wrong with facilities, but I don’t think buildings, budgets and butts in the seats are what God is going to ask me about when I stand before him.

So I’d like to propose a new measuring standard for those of us who lead churches, and it has nothing to do with attendance and number of assets. It’s impact.

It’s changed lives.

How about we start celebrating mega-impact churches?

Churches that decide to lead their congregants to adopt every child in their county’s foster-adopt program
Churches that strategically plant in difficult and impoverished parts of town
Churches that readily share resources with other churches and ministries in town
Churches that cover every day of the year with 24 hour prayer
Churches led by bi-vocational pastors, who punch a clock 40-50 hours a week and still somehow find the time to pray for the sick, serve the poor, evangelize the lost and preach anointed messages on Sundays
Churches that pick one non-profit in town and basically make sure that they have whatever they need in volunteers and funding, even at the cost of the church’s own ministry.

It’s churches like that, churches that will never make the covers of the church growth magazines and whose pastors will never be asked to speak at the circuit conferences, that are the real mega-churches.

Why? Because they’re mega-impact churches.

And the last time I checked, that’s what Jesus was calling every church to be.

Pastor, do you want to lead a mega-church? Then start today. Be a mega-impact church.

Give money away. Bless others. Cover the calendar with prayer. Put other churches and pastors first. Measure impact by life-change instead of nickels and noses.

That’s mega-impact, and that’s something you can become today.

Seven Ways to Extend Grace to Others

For years I battled with extending grace to myself and to others. These struggles tend to go hand-in-hand. If you don’t let grace rule your life, you won’t let it rule your relationships.

The good news is God freed me from my bondage to legalism, albeit through the school of hard knocks. I learned to offer grace to others and not be so quick to judge their motives or behaviors.

What about y0u? How are you doing in the extending grace department?

How can we learn to offer grace to others? How can we grow comfortable with other Christians that may feel differently about theology or worship styles or maybe even moral issues like drinking or types of music? Here are a few suggestions…

Give other Christians permission to be different from you.

You’re not the only Christ-follower in the world, and neither are you the most committed. Your way of loving Jesus is neither the only way nor the best. If you don’t know that, your Christian world is way too small. Get comfortable with the wonderful biblical reality that Jesus has followers all over the world who are different from you.

Keep your mouth shut and pray.

Before you spout off to someone about their behavior, or worse, before you spout off to a third party about that someone’s behavior, pray for them. If you’ve got a problem with another believer’s actions or beliefs, take it up with God. But don’t talk about it.

Remember that God is still working on others, and on you.

Philippians 1:6 reminds us that salvation is a process. No one is ever completely saved and sanctified until he gets to heaven. So give him some room to not have fully worked out all his pre-Christ wrinkles. He’s not perfect, and neither are you.

Practice the discipline of confession.

Confession is good for the soul. It’s also really good for a legalist. Being brutally honest about your own sin gets you in the habit of not trying to spot that speck in your brother’s eye while you’re tripping over the telephone pole that’s protruding from yours. Getting real about yourself will keep you from getting on the case of others.

Keep your mouth shut and pray.

Did I mention that you should never slander or gossip about another Christian? Don’t talk about him, pray for him.

Know the difference between the Gospel according to the New Testament and the Gospel according to you.

It’s good that you have strong convictions about certain things, and you need to live your life accordingly. But not all Bible-believing Christians agree on everything, especially when it comes to what’s right and wrong. Classic “grey matters” like drinking, dancing, music styles, worship styles, types of dress and make-up for women, what’s permissible entertainment and what isn’t, home schooling versus private versus public, and even political persuasions may not be as clear-cut as you think they are, or as you may want them to be.

Be biblically literate enough to know where the Bible draws clear lines around certain beliefs, practices and behaviors, and where it doesn’t. God may indeed convict you that a certain behavior is wrong for you. But that doesn’t mean it’s an open and shut biblical case. So don’t judge others who believe differently.

Keep your mouth shut and pray!

Did I mention that already?

Want to know more about overcoming legalism? Check out my best-selling book Ten Things Jesus Never Said, and Why You Should Stop Believing Them. 

We Get to Do This

Greetings Friends, I pray you are well.

I had the privilege of attending the Chicon Pregnancy Resource Center annual fundraiser last night. If you don’t know, CPRC is a world-class women’s health and ministry center in the heart of East Austin. The ministry is only three years old and is thriving. ACF is up to our ears in volunteer and financial support for CPRC, and I couldn’t be prouder. It’s time and money well spent.

We get to do this.

The prayer event at Iglesia Familiar Ebenezer last night.

At the same time, while I was at the CPRC event, hundreds of Austin pastors and leaders, most from the Hispanic community, gathered to worship and pray over our city. There is a major movement of prayer in our city, and ACF is right in the middle of it.

We get to do this. 

Two weeks ago I was in Uganda with fifteen other ACF staff and volunteers, ministering to pastors, their wives, and church leaders along with their youth and children. Every time I turned around I saw the fruit of ACF’s 50% giving strategy. It was humbling, inspiring and encouraging.

We get to do this. 

Right now, a dozen ACF women are serving other women in Nicaragua. They traveled at their own expense to care for and love on some amazing Nicaraguan women. It’s humbling to think about.

We get to do this. 

Tonight, I’ll be speaking to over a hundred ACF men at our annual men’s summit. This men’s event has had HUGE impact in men’s lives over the last decade. It has brought many to Christ, brought many more back to Christ, freed others from pornography and other addictions, moved others toward maturity in Christ, pushed others into Christian leadership, and made us all better husbands, sons, fathers, brothers and Christians. Yea God.

We’re housing, feeding, pastoring and educating orphans in a remote part of Uganda.

We get to do this.

And finally, this weekend we will gather with over a thousand men and women to worship and honor our King. We will be talking about God as the perfect dad and encouraging spiritual orphans to come to him and find the rest and security they long for.

We will have copies of A Man Who Told Us the Truth available for purchase at all communities for $10. I’m asking you to buy four copies–one for you and three to give to the three people you’ve been praying for.

It’s going to be a great weekend.

We get to do this.

Let’s Go Shopping In God’s Kingdom Store

The Kingdom of Heaven is like . . .  a grocery store. I know that’s not very spiritual sounding, but work with me here.

As you move up and down the aisles of God’s Word, you see all sorts of things you need or want in God’s store. If they’re promised in the Bible, then you can have them.

Things like . . .

Forgiveness
Healing
Power over demons
Provision
Life transformation
Removing evil leaders from office
Calming of storms
Raising the dead
Salvation of the lost

Anything you see in God’s Word, anything you long to be true about you, your family, your city, your church or your nation is available in God’s Kingdom store.

I’m inviting you today to go shopping with me in God’s Kingdom store. Our families, our cities and churches certainly need what the Kingdom offers, and it’s up to us to make it available to them.

Will you go shopping with me?

There are a few things to know about “purchasing” things in God’s Kingdom store. The rules there are a bit different than, say, shopping at Walmart or Target.

First, the currency is prayer.

Your money will do you no good in God’s Kingdom store. In fact, the only way your money matters in God’s Kingdom is when you give it away. Otherwise, it’s of no value to you or God.

The way you buy things in the Kingdom is through prayer. Prayer is the purchasing agent, the gold standard, the highest commodity in God’s Kingdom. He or she who prays will have much purchasing power in God’s Kingdom store.

Second, some things cost more than others in God’s Kingdom store.

Some of the things you long for in God’s Kingdom are relatively easy to purchase. Think about it . . . Jesus was still able to do a few miracles in a village where there was basically no faith. And given that you can’t be saved without having at least mustard seed faith, then all Christians already have some purchasing power in God’s Kingdom.

There are things we could have right now–the salvation of a friend, the healing of a relationship, freedom for an addict–if we would simply pray.

But the truth is that some things cost more than others in God’s Kingdom store. Jesus told us that some things require prayer (ongoing prayer) and fasting. They’re not so easily purchased. They’re not for the fainthearted in prayer.

I’ve been praying for the salvation of one friend for over forty years. As of today, he’s still not a believer. We’ve been praying in Austin for Lake Travis to be filled to its full level of 681 feet for nearly seven years. Today, it sits at just about three feet below that level. It’s not quite there.

These things cost more in prayer.

Third, there are no price tags in God’s Kingdom store.

We never know how much something is going to cost. God doesn’t tell us. He puts no price on the things we want or need.

It’s probably good that he doesn’t. If we knew how much some things were going to cost us, we might never start praying for them.

Instead, God just tells us to start praying–to start paying into the Kingdom store with our prayer and fasting. He tells us to pray and pray and to not lose hope.

And then one day, the Kingdom register rings and God says Enough. And just like that, our friend is saved or the lake is full or the addict repents or the healing comes. In when that happens, the cost seems irrelevant.

Some of you are praying and waiting for things that are very expensive in the Kingdom. You’ve already paid in years of prayer and fasting. Don’t stop now. You may be only one prayer away from purchasing what you need from God’s Kingdom store.

Finally, revival is when things go on sale in God’s Kingdom store.

This is when the prices come down and the things of the Kingdom seem to cost almost nothing. It’s a fire sale, a Kingdom fire sale. But that’s another topic for another day.

Yea God.

ACF Missions

Leading children to Jesus in Uganda

How To Respond When A Christian Sins

Manuel was of the most gifted worship leaders I’d ever met. He was a highly skilled musician, but also had the unique, unpretentious ability to draw in a congregation through music. He made worship warm and fun.

I was a young church leader in a start-up church. Manuel came along at the exact same time that I was praying and looking for a worship leader.

Manuel was more than a good musician; he was also a great guy. He had been a Christian since childhood and had a meaningful relationship with God. His faith seemed strong and sincere. When he led worship, it was obvious that he was singing to a God he knew personally. That attracted me to Manuel, and we became friends. I really enjoyed working with him. Our congregation loved him as well, and our church growth increased as soon as Manuel started leading worship for us.

And then Manuel met Sarah. Sarah was several years younger than Manuel. She started attending our church at the suggestion of her sister. She joined the choir, and she and Manuel became an item almost immediately.

Manuel and Sarah dated for several months. At first, Manuel seemed happy and relatively unchanged by his new relationship. But as the months ticked by, Manuel became despondent. His entire countenance changed. He didn’t seem as happy or carefree. He also started taking more and more Sundays off. It was like he suddenly didn’t want to come to church anymore.

Something was up with Manuel, but I wasn’t sure what. Had I been more experienced and discerning, I would have known that Manuel was struggling with his own shame and God’s conviction. Unfortunately, shame was winning.

Eventually, after several weeks of Manuel’s hit-or-miss behavior, he asked if we could get together. When he walked into my office, I knew something terrible had happened. I’d never seen a man so consumed with guilt and shame. He could barely look me in the eye. He tried to speak, but often had to stop because he was crying so hard. It wasn’t an act; Manuel was in serious trouble and in extreme pain.

Finally, the words came out, “Sarah’s pregnant.” Suddenly, everything made sense—the sporadic church attendance, the despondency—it all lined up. Manuel and Sarah had been sleeping together and now she was pregnant. He hadn’t wanted to come to church because of his own sense of hypocrisy and his desire to avoid the presence of God with his people. And now, it was as if every bright spotlight in the world was aimed at Manuel. His sin would be broadcast for everyone to see. He had become “one of those people” who fails morally and is a Kingdom headline. He hated himself, he was embarrassed and alone, and he wasn’t sure what to do next.

What do you say to a fallen Christian in a moment like that? How do you respond? I knew that the first words out of my mouth to Manuel were critical.

I let the words “Sarah’s pregnant” hang in the air for just a moment. I was stalling, praying in my spirit for just the right response. What would Jesus really say? How would he respond? Then the words came,

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, period.”

At that moment, that verse (Romans 8:1) became my favorite Bible verse. It says in just a few beautifully inspired words the entire message of the Gospel. The power of speaking those words to Manuel forever marked me. Jesus taught us that truth sets free, and in that moment the truth of Romans 8:1 brought some much-needed hope of freedom into Manuel’s dark world.

I probably need to say here that the “no condemnation” offered in Romans 8 isn’t the same as approval or condoning. Paul (the author of Romans) wasn’t saying that sin wasn’t a big deal or that God somehow just winked at the sins of Christians and there weren’t any consequences. That’s not what Romans 8:1 means.

But it is saying that when we’re up to our ears in sin, shame and condemnation won’t be what God gives us. Instead, by his grace alone, he’ll tell us that we can do better. He’ll remind us that such behavior is inconsistent with the new nature we have in Christ, that we are slaves to righteousness, not sin. He’ll tell us that he has great plans for us and that we should aim higher. He’ll offer us forgiveness and call us to repent. He’ll remind us that we are still his children, and that we need to run to him, not from him, in times of trouble.

When I released the truth of Romans 8:1 into the spiritual atmosphere of my office, the heavy stench of shame and guilt were instantly replaced by the healing aroma of God’s grace, mercy and hope. Manuel started crying even harder, but his tears were different. For the first time in many weeks Manuel felt the safe and gentle embrace of his Savior. God hadn’t condemned him. And knowing that, Manuel suddenly gained the strength to walk out whatever lay ahead.

Friends, whether you’re the person in sin or the believer who us helping another deal with a moral failure, you need to be reminded of this eternal truth: It’s God’s kindness that leads to repentance (Romans 2:4). Not God’s wrath or judgment, but his kindness.

We need to call those trapped in sin to repentance, but we always lead with grace and mercy.

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, period.”

Three Reasons Talking about Jesus is Worth the Risk

I’ve started handing out copies of my new book, A Man Who Told Us the Truth. I’ve given copies to my unbelieving neighbors and a few copies to some Jewish friends who work out at the same gym as I do. It’s been exhilarating so far.

Not only is it the fulfillment of a decade-long dream to have this resource available for spiritually inquisitive people, but it also feels good to be doing something tangible for them. These are all people that I care about and pray for.

I’d like to encourage you. I know you have people in your life that you pray for as well. I know you have friends, neighbors, classmates, roommates, colleagues and family members that desperately need to know Jesus. I also know that if you’re like me, bringing Jesus into a conversation can be a downright terrifying experience.

I know the fears:

What if I say the wrong thing?

What if I push them further from God?

What if my timing is all off?

What if? What if?

So in the name of alleviating those fears and moving you to action, here are four reasons why talking to others about Jesus is well worth the risk.

First, it adds passion to your prayers.

There’s no better way to fire up your prayers than talking to people about Jesus. It’s not so much that you might say something wrong and forever chase them away from God. God is bigger than that. God has been using humans just like us–frail and sinful though we may be–to win people to his Son throughout history. You are not the exception to that. He will use you.

It’s more about the stakes being so high. When you’re talking to someone about Jesus, that is the most important conversation he or she will ever have. Eternity really is in the balance. You know that you need God to anoint the conversation, and that makes you pray.

And any time you pray, good things happen. Or better said, God things happen.

Second, God honors obedience.

Jesus commanded us to disciple others in his name. He told us to be about the business of spreading his Good News wherever we went. It simply isn’t optional for us. Thus, when we talk to people about Jesus, we’re being obedient. And I pray you know by now that God HONORS obedience. He will honor your obedience, not just in your life but also in the lives of the people who you share Jesus with.

Third, you will mature and become more confident.

I had the opportunity to participate in a discussion with some atheist leaders a few years ago. Three Austin pastors sat down with three world-renown atheists for a discussion of our respective world views. The event made international headlines. (Read my blog about it here.)

I was absolutely terrified going into the event. My prayer was basically, Oh God, please don’t let us wreck 2000 years of Kingdom work in one two-hour conversation.

But what I found in the discussion were three human beings with whom I had much more in common than I would have ever thought. They each had hopes, dreams, fears, struggles and baggage just like I did. I walked away knowing that I had talked to three brilliant atheist spokespeople and lived to tell about it. The Kingdom had not collapsed.

My confidence, not in my own communicative skills, but in God’s faithfulness and in the power of the Gospel, soared. It energized me. That’s what happens when you talk to people about Jesus–you’ll become more confident every time you do it.

Finally, you might just change their eternity.

Basically, there are no risks in talking to people about Jesus. We don’t save people; God does. That’s why there’s no risk. The Bible is filled with promises about the efficacy of God’s Word. It can’t fail.

Rather than chasing someone away from God, which is what Satan will tell you is going to happen, you may just help them find God. Can you imagine that moment in Heaven when you stand face-to-face with the people you helped get there?

Friends, the only risk in talking to people about Jesus is in not talking to them.

Get out there and mix it up. You’ll be amazed at what God will do and at just how receptive people really are.

 

 

 

 

Important Updates

Greetings friends, I pray you are well.

I apologize for being so silent on my blog the last two weeks. I’ve been in Uganda working with our mission partner Arise Africa International training many of their pastors and church leaders. It was, as you would expect, an amazing time and I will be sharing much more about it in the future.

In the meantime, expect me to be getting back to a regular writing schedule next week.

Here are two important things I want you to know:

I begin a new teaching series at Austin Christian Fellowship this weekend.

It’s called A Man Who Told Us the Truth and it’s based on my new book by the same title. If you are an ACFer, I’m asking you to pray for your unbelieving friends and family to visit ACF during the series and to come to faith. I’m also asking that you get them a copy of the book and ask them to discuss it with you.

If you’re not an ACFer and/or you live somewhere else in the country or around the world, you might want to watch the videos with your unbelieving friends and family and discuss them together. I can promise you that the messages will create many points for great dialogue about Jesus. You can access the videos on Vimeo here starting next week.

The book that inspired  for the series, A Man Who Told Us the Truth , is available for immediate purchase on Amazon.

You can purchase it here. The book is available in both Kindle and paperback and will soon  be available in audiobook. You can also purchase the Small Group Discussion Guide here.

If you are interested in orders of 20 books or more, stay tuned to my web site. I will soon be offering bulk orders at a greatly reduced price.

Ok, that’s it for now. But before I go, here’s a little Ugandan worship for your listening pleasure.

http://willdavisjr.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/MVI_2669.m4v

 

 

 

A Man Who Told Us the Truth Ready for Purchase–Only $10

Friends, I’m happy to share that my new book, A Man Who Told Us the Truth, is ready for purchase. It is currently only 10$ on Amazon.

It will also be available in Kindle and audio versions soon.

A Man Who Told Us the Truth is a Christian book for non-Christians. It’s the perfect resource to read along with your spiritually curious friends, classmates, family, co-workers and neighbors.

God is going to use this book to bring many into a relationship with his Son. Will you help me get it in the hands of those who need it?