We Are Not... Called!

I posted the first "devo" for Called yesterday (Here). It was the focus of what we talked about yesterday and my main hope for this community group. As God birthed the vision for this group I felt Him keep leading me back to Psalm 45:16 & 17. It says, "Your sons will become kings like their father. You will make them rulers over many lands. I will bring honor to your name in every generation. Therefore, the nations will praise you forever and ever." I felt like God was telling me that we are meant to be Kings like our Father. That we are meant to lead and rule and when done like we were created to, like Jesus, honor would be brought to His name and nations would praise Him. That is my hope. That we would realize we are kings like our King and that when we lead it is meant to bring honor and praise to His name. So that was the first part... essentially.

The other part of what we talked about is what our group would be. Or rather, what it would not be. As I was writing the vision for this group I really tried to articulate what it would be and kept coming back to what we were not. So here's what we're NOT...

We are NOT a Club. We are not there to simply hang out. Although we will fellowship, my prayer is that we commit to and develop meaningful friendships. Friendships that resemble brothers more than anything else. A brotherhood that you can call at 2am when you need prayer or when you need someone to rejoice in blessing and victories.

We are NOT a Bible Study. Not in the traditional sense anyway. We will study God’s word and seek what He has for us as individual leaders and as a group. We will seek not just to know more ABOUT God, but to KNOW God more. We will seek His purpose and His presence for us, our family and our city.

We are NOT an Accountability Group. We as a group should not expect more from each other than God does. Accountability is a vitally important aspect of community, but it can’t be forced or it won’t be authentic. It has to come as a natural result of developed trust. We’ll move towards accountability as God moves us. But accountability is more than just “Don’t look at porn”. It’s accountability to reading God’s word, to prayer, to family time, work commitments, sexual purity in and outside of marriage, responsibility, etc…

We are NOT a Community Service Group. Our goal in this group is not to go out and change Cheyenne. Our goal is to seek Jesus and let Him change us. When that happens we can’t help change our city. Pastor Jeff once told me, if we seek God to set us on fire with the Holy Spirit, people will come to watch us burn. The thing about that is, some will get too close and when that happens,they too will catch fire.

So, that's Called... or not Called.

I'm not,
Bruce

Tuesday Talks (CALLED Session 1)

Your sons will become kings like their father. You will make them rulers over many lands.  I will bring honor to your name in every generation. Therefore, the nations will praise you forever and ever.

~ Psalm 45:16 & 17 ~

There is so much in my heart for this group. With that said, in Session 1 I simply shared the vision that I felt God had given me for this group.

First and foremost there are some things that I know:

First, God so desperately wants the men of Cheyenne to rise up and be the MEN and leaders He created them to be. It is our job to CHANGE and SET the spiritual climate of our homes.

Second and I want to make this point absolutely clear, God ABSOLUTELY honors when women gather together and seek Him. Ministries like WOW do amazing work for the Kingdom. Here at Element we have some absolutely phenomenal woman prayer warriors and I don’t want to discount or down play any of the work that they do and the power they possess. But, imagine what would happen if the men took up arms for them. I truly believe this is not their war to fight. There are some great biblical accounts of women heroes, but biblically it is the men that are meant to be the guardians, the watchmen, the warriors. The women in our lives should be comforted with the knowledge that their men are willing to and do take up arms in defense of them, their families and their homes. THIS is what we, as MEN, are Called to.

Lastly, Every great revival (and I know I’m saying EVERY and that may not be entirely accurate, but it’s mostly true. And besides, I’m sure there were lots of strong women involved) started when men got together to pray. And they weren’t coming together to pray for revival. They were coming together to pray for themselves, for each other, for their families and church and city. And here’s the thing, God heard them and honored their commitment to answer their calling to lead.

Psalm 118:5 the writer reminds us that God answers us when we pray. It says, “In my distress I prayed to the LORD, and the LORD answered me and set me free.” Make no mistake that we, as Men in the church, should be in distress for our families and for our city. We live in a city that stands #1 in the nation for divorce, where we rank 23rd in the nation for teen pregnancy (we have a 65% state wide teen pregnancy rate), where 10% of our state lives in poverty, we have an out of control drug problem (with I25 being a main thoroughfare for that problem), there are people addicted to pornography, there’s abuse and all sorts of other crap. We LIVE in a state of distress. And when we get together and cry out to our God, He answers. And His answer is freedom. We receive freedom not to sin, freedom to lead the way we’re called to and in that He equips us to change the spiritual climate of our homes and of our city.

Read:
- Psalm Psalm 118:5 and reflect on what is means that our God not only hears our prayers, but answers them.

Prayer:
-  For God to make clear and solidify our calling as leaders and to point out areas where we lack in our leadership.
-  That the men of Cheyenne would rise up and lead their homes, work places, churches and the city.

Put into Practice:
- Set time aside each day (it doesn't matter when) and spend it in prayer to our God.  Remember, it's not about the things you say or how you say them, but just that you talk to Him.

Introducing...Tuesday Talks!

This last week started the new season of community at Element Church.  Starting this Tuesday, I'll be leading a Men's prayer group aptly named Called.  I don't want to go to deep into the vision God gave me for this group (that would ruin session 1 on Tuesday morning), but I'll tell you that it is focused on the calling God has placed on every man to lead.  As men we are Called.  We are called to be men of character, men of conviction, men of righteousness and Men of Honor (shameless plug for my friend Shane's group and Blog).  We are called to be leaders. In our home, in our work place, in our churches, and in our cities.  I'm super excited for what God is about to do in the men of Element and and Cheyenne.

Here's the deal... Called will be on Tuesdays (starting this Tuesday, September 6th) at 6 am in the Element Church Well.  All dudes are invited!  And, because I feel like I need to chronical what God does in Called and in an effort to write on a more frequent basis, I plan on posting a blog, every week called Tuesday Talks, on the stuff we cover as a group.  I'll include some sort of devo and maybe a weekly challenge or something, we'll see how it develops.  So stoked for Tuesday!

Called,

Bruce