decisions that define us

so...this is something that carter showed me, and the more i read it, the more it sinks in as something that i want to be a part of...

"Decisions that Define Us"
David B. Crone


We have decided that teaching the gospel without demonstrating the gospel is not enough. Good preaching, good doctrine, being good people, it’s not enough.

We have decided that having a good church club is not enough. Good fellowship; it’s not enough. Just being a member of that club is not enough.

We have decided that having good bible studies is good but not good enough. That just making it to heaven is not our goal, and that knowing about God without truly knowing and experiencing God is meaningless.

We’ve decided that having good programs is not enough. That change without transformation is intolerable, and that staying the same is not an option. We’ve decided that gifting without character is futile.

We have decided that singing songs without worshipping is hollow and having meetings without God showing up is pointless.

We have decided that having faith without works is not enough and having works without love is not acceptable. That our function comes out of our relationship: first with the Father, and second with each other.

We have decided that reading about the book of Acts without living the book of Acts is unthinkable.

We have decided that confident faith is good: bold faith is better.

We’ve decided that hearing about the Holy Spirit without experiencing Him is silly. That believing in His presence without seeing it manifested in signs and wonders is hypocrisy. That believing in healing without seeing people healed is absurd. That believing in deliverance without people being delivered is absolutely ridiculous.

We’ve decided to be Holy Spirit filled, Holy Spirit led, and Holy Spirit empowered, anything less doesn’t work for us.

We have decided to be the ones telling the stories of God’s power, not the ones hearing about them.

We have decided that living saved but not supernatural is living below our privilege and short of what Christ died for.

We have decided that we are a battleship and not a cruise ship. An army not an audience. Special forces, not spectators. Missionaries, not club members.

We have decided to value both pioneers and settlers. Pioneers to expand our territory, and settlers to build on those territories, but we are not squatters: people who take up space others have fought for without improving it.

We have decided to be infectious instead of inocuous. Contagious instead of quarantined. Deadly instead of benign. We have decided to be radical lovers and outrageous givers.

We have decided that we are a mission stations and not a museum.

Therefore, we honor the past, but we don’t live in it. We live in the present with our eyes on the future. We see past events, successes, and failures as stepping stones, not stop signs. We pursue learning in order to be transformed, not learning in order to know. We are people of engagement, not observation. We focus on what could be, not on what is or has been. We are not limited to the four walls of this building, our influence is not restricted by location. Not even the nations are out of bounds. We are more concered about how many we send out into the world than how many we convince to come into the building. This building is meant to be filled and it will be, but it will not be the measure of who we are or the measure of our effectiveness. We raise up world changers, not tour guides. We train up commandos, not commiters. We are a people of our destiny, not our history.

We have decided that it is better to fail while reaching for the impossible that God has planned for us than to succeed in settling for less.

We have decided that nothing short of His Kingdom come and His will be done in our world as it is in heaven will satisfy. We have decided that we will not be satisfied until our world freaks out and cries out, “Those that have turned the world upside-down have come here too!”

These are some of the decisions that define who we are as a community and how we live our lives. These decisions are not destinations, but rather journeys. Journeys along an ancient path. We’ve not found some new way. But rather rediscovered the path as old as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The same path followed by Moses, Joshua and Caleb, Paul, John, and Peter. The path followed by the 1st century church, a church that revolutionized the culture of the 1st century and beyond. It’s a path that will impact the world today. It’s a path of bold faith. Believing that what God says is really true and acting on it. It’s a path of outragous generosity, giving our life away to demonstrate His kingdom. It’s a path of radical love: loving God with everything in us and loving our neighbor as ourselves. It’s a path of liberty, freedom, and healing. On this path you will find significance, purpose, and destiny. It’s a path less-travelled, however. It’s not a path only available to a select few, but to whosoever will may come. It’s for people of every nation, tribe and tongue, for those in any occupation or vocation. No matter where you are in your life journey, there’s room on this path for you.