I Have Been Seized By The Power

Leadership In The Church Is Not Entrusted To Successful Fund Raisers, Brilliant Biblical Scholars, Administrative Geniuses, Or Spellbinding Preachers...but To Those Who Have Been Laid Waste By A Consuming Passion For Christ - Passionate Men And Women For Whom Privilege And Power Are Trivial Compared To Knowing And Loving Jesus.

There Is An Essential Connection Between Experiencing God, Loving God, And Trusting God. You Will Trust God Only As Much As You Love Him. And You Will Love Him To The Extent You Have Touched Him, Rather That He Has Touched You.

What Makes Authentic Disciples Is Not Visions, Ecstasies, Biblical Mastery Of Chapter And Verse, Or Spectacular Success In The Ministry, But A Capacity For Faithfulness. Buffeted By The Fickle Winds Of Failure, Battered By Their Own Unruly Emotions, And Bruised By Rejection And Ridicule, Authentic Disciples May Have Stumbled And Frequently Fallen, Endured Lapses And Relapses, Gotten Handcuffed To The Fleshpots And Wandered Into A Far County. Yet, They Kept Coming Back To Jesus.

The Ragamuffin Rabble Are The Unsung Assembly Of Saved Sinners Who Are Little In Their Own Sight, Conscious Of Their Brokenness And Powerlessness Before God, And Who Cast Themselves On His Mercy. Startled By The Extravagant Love Of God, They Do Not Require Success, Fame, Wealth, Or Power To Validate Their Worth. Their Spirit Transcends All Distinctions Between The Powerful And Powerless, Educated And Illiterate, Billionaires And Bag Ladies, High-tech Geeks And Low-tech Nerds, Males And Females, The Circus And The Sanctuary.

The Gospel Declares That No Matter How Dutiful Or Prayerful We Are, We Can't Save Ourselves. What Jesus Did Was Sufficient.