Champion Life Magazine Summer 2012 by Champions Centre

SUMMER 2012

CHAMPION ife M

GREATER THINGS

IGNITE

GOD’S VISION

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Visit championscentre.com for more information on weekly service times and our event calendar. Bellevue 425 • 289 • 1878 Tacoma 253 • 475 • 6454 Follow us on Twitter @kevingerald @sheilagerald @cctacoma @ccbellevue

GREATER THINGS

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recognizing the great, grand and glorious in your life

ALL THE GREAT THINGS ARE SIMPLE, AND MANY CAN BE EXPRESSED IN A SINGLE WORD: FREEDOM, JUSTICE, HONOR, DUTY, MERCY, HOPE.”

FEATURES

— WINSTON CHURCHILL

1 0 GREATER BY STEVEN FURTICK

EASTER

10 GREATER:

1 7 HIS KINGDOM OR MINE BY TODD GRIGGS

words 22

2 2 WORDS TO LIVE BY FOR GREATER THINGS IN YOUR LIFE

BY KEVIN GERALD

IN THE KNOW 6

Easter 3D Recap

Team Spotlight

20 Champions Foundation Update

IN EVERY ISSUE

SUMMER 2012

CHAMPION life M

GREATER THINGS

LET’S TALK

YOU TO US

CHAMPION FINDS

REAL LIFE CHAMPIONS

K. WISE

IGNITE

GOD’S VISION

ABOUT US Champion Life Magazine purposes to equip people to live successful Christian lives.

SUMMER 2012

E XEC U T IVE PU B LIS H E RS Kevin Gerald & Sheila Gerald

E DITO R-IN-CHI E F Jodi Gerald-Cameron

S E NI OR P ROJ E C T MANAGE R ART DIRE C TOR

Jen Mueller

Dallas Drotz, Drotz Design

CONT RIB U T ING E D ITORS

Abbie Buck, Corianne Burton,

Andrea Dashiell, Kim Ludwick, Stephanie Jannsen, Raelynn Poulin, Leslie Powell, Judi Shackett, Mark Stewart CONT RIB U T ING P H OTOGRAP H Y

Tawnya Hood, Beauty of Life

Photography, BJ & Kathy Garcia, Ardorlit Photography CONT RIB U T ING G RAP H IC DE S I GN CONT RIB U T ING W R IT E RS

Venessa Koehn & Mickey Elliott

Kevin Gerald, Jodi Gerald-Cameron,

Todd Griggs, Steven Furtick, Michael Poulin, Bekah Mandt DIST R IB U T ION

Share Your Story

P RODU C E R

Kim Ludwick

Champion Life Magazine is produced by Kevin Gerald

Communications (KGC). KGC is a department of Champions Centre in Tacoma | Bellevue, WA, a non-profit organization.

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LET’S TALK. “I TELL YOU THE TRUTH, ANYONE WHO HAS FAITH IN ME WILL DO WHAT I HAVE BEEN DOING. HE WILL DO EVEN GREATER THINGS THAN THESE, BECAUSE I AM GOING TO THE FATHER.” - JESUS CHRIST It’s time for summer here in the Northwest! We may deal with some cloudy skies throughout the year, but there are few places as beautiful as Western Washington in the summertime. Maybe it’s the sunshine—or maybe it’s the time of year leading up to our annual Team Church Conference—but it seems like anything is possible, and God is for us so who can be against us! God is always on a course of greater things, so we are keeping our focus on “Greater Things” for the summer and throughout this year. What we need to realize, though, is that greater things are not necessarily the newest and most original thing. Most of the time, we experience greater things by staying on a pathway of doing the right things at a higher level of competency and commitment. Get encouraged to travel to that next level in our lives on page 22. You’ll also be inspired by our great friend, Pastor Steven Furtick, to believe that God is calling you to something greater in your life. Instead of getting caught up in a trap between the vastness of God’s vision for our lives and the normalcy of “good enough”, ignite something greater in your heart (page 10). Pastor Steven is joining us for TC12 this year and we can’t wait to hear the word God is putting on his heart to inspire and challenge us (For more info on TC12 see back cover). We’re excited to bring you a new feature to CLM, Champions Centre Team Spotlight. This issue, we’re highlighting CC Creatives. Find out what “Six Days of the Incredible” means when it comes to creating a collision between creativity and the message of Jesus (page 8).

P.S. Tell us your story at championlife@championscentre.com.

It’s time to celebrate some great wins from the past few months in the life of Champions Centre from Easter 3D going international (page 6) to celebrating life change in a real life champion (page 26). Remember, there is greatness in you! Let’s move to greater things in our lives, in our churches, in our communities! You have a part to play—so allow God to work in you and through you.

SUMMER 2012

YOU TO US Awesome message on Mind Monsters! I battle with Mind Monsters and that message really helped our family. With God on our side, this teaching and book, our eyes are opened and now can recognize them. I know we can over come these Mind Monsters as they come at us. — Alicia H.

Pastor Kevin is always refreshing and inspiring, he brings the word of God in a way that goes straight to my heart! I brought a friend for her first visit to Champions Centre and she loved, loved, loved it. Such a great place to worship and introduce God into people’s lives! — Sarah O. I’ve been attending Champions Centre for a short time. Pastor’s books, messages and CDs are making me a better Christ follower. I love that Champions Centre has a huge heart for the lost and un-churched and that an invitation for Christ has been offered every time. I love pastor’s frankness and honesty. I could go on and on…I feel so blessed and honored to have found this wonderful church. — Randy S.

HONOR UP, HONOR DOWN, HONOR ALL AROUND.

Recently we created an honor board and asked our church family to show all the champions in our world how much we love and appreciate their hard work and dedication to our country and our community! Here are some of the responses:

Mr. Murphy, High School English Teacher He was passionate, creative, brilliant, and pushed me to offer my best. He is the reason I decided to teach. — Nichole M. Eric Briggs, US Air Force Thank you for almost 20 years in the Air Force. Thank you for your sacrifice and service. You rock! — April B.

Brian Coburn, Sheriff Deputy Thank you Brian for your 23+ yrs of service, risking your life to keep our communities safe. We HONOR you. — Kim L.

Garrett Smith, Pierce County Fire & Rescue I want to thank you for your over 25 years of dedication to West Pierce County Fire and Champions Centre. — Greg S. Michael Hosey, US Army A leader & soldier, Michael your sacrifice, love for your country & friends will never be forgotten — Latasha Y.

POST YOUR APPRECIATION OF HONOR HERE: CHAMPIONSCENTRE.COM/HONOR

WATCH HONOR VIDEO

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Jan Washburn, Elementary School Teacher Who stays in the same classroom for over three decades? Thank you, thank you for the countless seeds you’ve planted! — Jo K.

Jason Fortenberry, US Army Thanks for all you do by serving our nation at the Pentagon... You’re missed at Champions Centre. — David Y.

WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

DO YOU HAVE FEEDBACK OR A STORY TO SHARE? CLM WELCOMES YOUR COMMENTS. PLEASE WRITE US AT: championlife@championscentre.com MAIL: Champion Life Editorial 1819 E. 72nd St. Tacoma, WA 98404

Now Available Mind Monsters are those negative thoughts we all battle, the creeping shadows in the corners of our minds that feed our insecurities, worries, and fears. They will steal your life…if you let them. But there is good news! You can take control. In Mind Monsters Kevin Gerald shows you how to recognize destructive thoughts, take them captive, and use biblical truths to overcome them.

Available at

EXCLUSIVE HARDBACK EDITION available through kevingerald.tv (also available at Amazon.com, Barnes&Noble, Christianbook.com)

Mind Monsters is the perfect title to a book that will show you how to kick out negativity and transform your life. So many struggle in this area and don’t realize how quickly and effectively they can have freedom and a mind that works to its optimum.” —Leon Fontaine, Springs Church

“In Mind Monsters, my good friend Kevin Gerald helps readers clearly identify those things that keep us from thinking right. And as he teaches us how to eradicate the negative, he also helps us discover what it takes to focus on the positive so that we can get the most out of life. —Ed Young, Fellowship Church

EASTER RECAP How it all started.

hree churches came together in December 2010 and began brainstorming what it would be like to see the Cross & Resurrection of Jesus in 3D and how they could create an original short film. Indiana based church, Family Christian Center, City Church Chicago in Illinois and Champions Centre, partnered together to produce HISTORY Easter 3D in order to create a relevant illustration of the Easter story that people from any generation will appreciate. It created quite a buzz and all three churches had record breaking attendance with a 40-60% increase at Easter 2011. In 2012 more than forty churches in nine different nations experienced HISTORY Easter 3D. Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a look at some highlights: (for more go to www.easter3d.com)

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“We are so thrilled and excited that our town responded to the invitations! Thank you very much for this film.” - Jezreel Ramirez Centro Crisitano Monte Sion, San Luis Rio Colorado Mexico “We had our biggest Sunday ever... We did simulcast into 3 auditoriums. It worked great!” Anthony Greco “Easter weekend was Calgary Life Church, Alberta, Canada a huge success for us and we appreciate the partnership with your church.” Marcus Mecum 7 Hills Church, Greater Cincinnati Area

OTHER PARTICIPANTS:

Nations: 26 US States Represented, Philippines, Mexico, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, France, United Kingdom, South Africa, India

“The Easter 3D really helped us promote a big event that would draw people that were far from Christ. Thank you for making this available to other churches, like us, so we could leverage it as a HUGE win for the Kingdom!” Trey Rose The Exchange Church in Austin, TX

“We got a lot of great feedback from our community. When our people told them 3D, the response was like “What? Serious?” That was so much fun for us and we know it really ministered. THANK YOU” Doug Shuff Cornerstone Church, Southaven MS “Thank you for this tool! This Easter was a record attendance for us at our church with 1400 attending. Dennis Varty Church on 99, British Columbia, Canada

“The video was an important part of our Easter program and allowed us to reach out beyond our church community.” -Pastor Brodie Kalamen, Kelowna Christian Center in British Columbia

SUMMER 2012

TEAM SPOTLIGHT: CC CREATIVES

Six Days of the Incredible BY SUE ZIMMERMAN Creative Director

t seems like the new Holy Grail for our churches these days is the quest for creativity. There’s just something really magical that happens when creativity meets the message of Jesus. Yes, when we get it right in marrying the two, it can make us feel something that we’ve either never experienced before, haven’t felt in a long time, or something we long for at our core - a closeness to the very heart of God. Because, if you haven’t ever thought of God as being creative, just read the first chapter of Genesis. I can’t imagine what it would have been like to watch the world and everything in it come to life. It probably would have just been the most out of control, ‘ridiculous’ production I could ever conjure up in my mind. But there it was....six days of the incredible, followed by one gigantic day of rest! (Kind of sounds like a conference if you ask me.) :) So let me start at what was the beginning of this quest for creativity in our church community. About 3 years ago, right around Easter time, we kept going round and round on the topic of people coming in late to church (complaining about it is probably more accurate!). So on Easter weekend, we decided we were going to come up with this killer opener in the first five minutes of service, and talk it up leading up to that week so that people would want to be there right when service started. Out of that weekend, what we

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now call the “First Five” was born. It was so successful in getting the church there on time, that Pastor Kevin decided we needed to do it every weekend for awhile and see if it stuck. Now, I’m not gonna lie, for our Creative Team to go from doing an “item” every now and then, to a full-on creative opener every weekend, kind of made us all swallow hard and have an “OMG” moment. But I can tell you that this one move took us farther than any plan or program we’ve implemented in a long time! It made us have to think harder, research more, plan strategically, rehearse better, and PRAY that it all worked! And three years later, we still do a First Five to start every weekend service. Last year, however, we started feeling that ‘stuck’ feeling again. The same few people were cultivating and outworking the ideas, and we weren’t making headway with expanding our creative base. A friend of ours from Fellowship Church, Pace Hartfield, happened to be here visiting with Pastor Ed Young. He took some time to sow into our core creative team and share some of the things they had in place to help grow their creative teams. I can honestly say that was like striking gold! If I could list some of the leading creative minds in ministry today, of course Ed Young Jr. would be at the top, so we literally took the model laid out for us and made it our own.

We partnered several Champions Centre Departments that would fall under a ‘creative label’ and formed CC Creatives, which consists of: • Worship Department • Media Department • Sound Department • Marketing Department What we found is that all of these areas heavily impact weekend services, and they are better together than they are apart. Forming CC Creatives allowed an avenue to welcome new talent and team members into these areas by providing a few times per quarter that we open up to the entire church to come out and check out our creative teams in action. We start with a coffee house feel where people can hang out and get to know

each other, then have a session all together with some worship, and a teaching thought designed for creatives. After that we move everyone into breakout sessions where they can meet the directors and teams and get a feel for how they can become involved. Many of our teams have found really specialized and talented volunteers through these nights - let’s face it, some creative areas need people who bring a specific talent or skill set to the table, and those people can be hard to extract out of the masses of church life. Also, by providing an identity for ‘creatives’, it became more of a community to belong to rather than just something we did. If you’re reading this article and say “Wow, I want to know more”, then I’d encourage you to email cccreatives@championscentre.com for more information. We talk about being relevant a lot around here at Champions Centre. And using the most cutting edge kinds of creativity in God’s house is just a natural extension of deep desire to reach people with the gospel in every way possible. So as we dig deep and bring our best as creatives, I believe that God adds the incredible!

SUMMER 2012

GREATER: DREAM BIGGER. START SMALLER. IGNITE GOD’S VISION FOR YOUR LIFE.

My new book, Greater, is about igniting God’s vision for your life. Many of us are trapped between the enormity of God’s vision for our lives and the numbing mediocrity of good enough. In this excerpt from Greater you’ll be inspired by the example of Elisha who was stuck, just like many of us, in monotonous, mundane living until God called him into something greater. >>> There’s nothing glamorous about Elisha’s first appearance in the pages of Scripture. He’s no miracle worker, no prophet, no sage. We see no evidence that he’s even a holy or devout person. He’s just a guy plowing a field: He was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen, and he himself was driving the twelfth pair. (1 Kings 19:19)

BY Steven Furtick

CHAMPION LIFE MAGAZINE

Plowing is backbreaking work. Not only can Elisha taste his own sweat; he can taste the very smell of the oxen. He has dust and dung caked in his hair and coating his nostrils and lungs. When you spend every day plowing, the smells and scenery are always the same. Monday you have a ringside seat for oxen rears. Tuesday if you look out the window to your right, more oxen rears. Wednesday’s in-flight entertainment? Oxen rears. Thursday you click on www.oxenrears.com. Friday’s special? More crust and filth for you from master chef Oxen Rear. The next Monday you get up and start the cycle all over again. It might sound bad, but plowing with oxen pays the bills. On the day Elisha receives the calling that ignites God’s greater vision for his life, he’s shuffling to the slow pace of the ordinary as he always has: Wake up. Get dressed. Get the plow. Drive the oxen. Cough up dust. Eat lunch. Drive the oxen. Cough up dust. Get clean. Eat dinner. Go to bed. Wake up the next morning. Start it all over again. There is nothing wrong with good hard work. Some scholars think the twelve teams of oxen belonged to a wealthy landowner and Elisha was the man in charge of them all. So what his job lacked in sex appeal, it made up for in stability. It was consistent work, consistent scenery, consistent smells, and there were days when Elisha was swept up in the intoxicating tyranny of the familiar. But every morning as he steps into the slow crawl behind the plow, he is not just chasing the oxen’s tails—he is chasing his own. Can you relate to that kind of work? To that kind of life? I can. When I was a teenager, I spent my summers cutting the grass and digging the graves at the local pet cemetery. Although I never buried an ox, my routine didn’t vary much: Wake up. Get dressed. Grab the shovels. Dig the holes. Transport the beloved pets. Bury the beloved pets. Eat lunch. Weed-eat around headstones. Replace the flowers inadvertently destroyed. Get clean. Eat dinner. Watch television. Go to bed. Wake up the next morning. Start it all over again.

SUMMER 2012

For a few summers I kept in step with the monotonous march of the ordinary. And on one level, there was nothing wrong with any of it. Every teenager needs a job. Doing the same stuff over and over again is a good thing in many instances. Routine is a vital and biblical component of our relationship with God. It’s also the key to maintaining a marriage, holding down a job, staying in shape, and achieving many other desirable goals. That’s not the kind of repetition we need to be rescued from—it’s a kind of discipline we should embrace. What we need to be rescued from is baseline mediocre living that causes us to settle for “good enough”. Regardless of who you are and what you do, succumbing to mediocrity will sabotage your spiritual vitality. You may not notice it at first, or even for years. But sooner or later, complacent Christian living hits the point of diminishing returns. Your life isn’t tiding you over as effectively as it used to. You’re frustrated and irritable. You’re feeling tempted in ways you can’t share with your men’s group. And you see only one solution: get back behind the plow. But mindlessly plowing is not your future. Your situation is reversible. You are not consigned to an empty existence. You can start living a greater life. Because there’s something different about today… It was an ordinary day for Elisha—just like today is for you—when the predictable beat of his ordinary life was interrupted, and everything changed. The interruption didn’t happen the way most of us think it should. God’s interruptions rarely do. Elisha didn’t go to a career fair or meet with a life coach to talk about some new possibilities. Elisha wasn’t looking for a different kind of life. And get this—Elisha wasn’t praying. He was doing the best he could with the life he assumed he’d been handed. But God had been watching Elisha. Hundreds of miles away from the tyranny of the plow, God had been talking about Elisha behind his back, and the gist of the conversation was that God had something greater for him. A divine calling beyond his imagination. Enter Elijah. You probably know Elijah one hundred times better than you know Elisha. He’s the guy who faced down the prophets of Baal in something like a religious steel-cage match and called fire down from the heavens. Elijah is the Mick Jagger of Old Testament prophets (translation for thirteen-year-old girls: he’s the Justin Bieber of Old Testament prophets). Recently God had told Elijah to appoint Elisha as his successor (1 Kings 19:16). In obedience to God’s instruction, Elijah makes his way to the field, searching for his successor. Elisha doesn’t know it yet, but the great prophet Elijah is in his neighborhood with plans to anoint him as the nation’s next prophet. After that encounter nothing will be the same. The presence of Elijah, in what seems to be an ordinary situation, will thrust Elisha’s life in an extraordinary new direction. The Bible says: Elijah went up to him and threw his cloak around him. Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah. (1 Kings 19:19–20)

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Did you see that? Apparently Elisha doesn’t hesitate. He lets go of the plow and runs after the elder prophet. Not that he has much time to decide. Notice that Elijah is not stopping by for coffee. He doesn’t sit down with Elisha to have a leisurely chat about the weather and the kids and new plowing techniques. He doesn’t ask Elisha if he’s really happy doing what he’s doing, doesn’t ask him about his deepest, darkest secrets or what he dreamed of doing when he grew up. And that’s because he doesn’t have to. God has already told him that Elisha’s days of mindless plowing are about to end. Even though Elisha doesn’t have a clue. God is often working behind the scenes of your life, orchestrating His destiny for you. Even though you don’t have a clue what He’s up to. Just because you haven’t heard God call your name or tell you specifically what to do with your life doesn’t mean He’s not conspiring great things for you. I guess you could say God likes to sneak up on you. You’re marching along to the beat of the ordinary. Then one day the ordinary is interrupted by a calling. That calling can change everything, if you discern it. When Elijah throws his cloak—his mantle of ministry—onto Elisha, he doesn’t even talk to him. And yet more is communicated in that cloak falling on Elisha’s shoulders than anything Elijah could have said over a hundred cups of coffee or a thousand hours of conversation. The cloak, a simple item fashioned out of wool or animal skin, communicates this message: “You weren’t meant for this, Elisha. You weren’t meant to spend the rest of your life staring aimlessly at oxen rears. God has something else for you. He wants to break you out of the tyranny of the familiar and take you into a life full of unpredictability and wonder. Your life can be greater.” The cloak spills over Elisha like a tub of ice-cold water, waking him up from the monotony of the life he had, waking him up from the tyranny of the familiar. When the prophet’s cloak lands on the plowman’s shoulders, it’s done. Elisha has been chosen as successor to the most famous prophet in Israel’s history. But now the real choice comes. Is Elisha going to choose the greater life that God has called him to? Or spend his life looking at rears? This is a man used to the slow rhythm of plowing with the oxen, a man used to the cadence of the field. For a man whose life was built on a slow rhythm and familiar routine, Elisha does an extraordinary thing: He takes off running. Steven Furtick is the founder and lead pastor of Elevation Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, named by Outreach magazine as one of the fastest growing churches in the nation. As author of the book Sun Stand Still, the heart of Steven’s message is audacious faith and how to approach every experience from a visionary perspective. As a young voice in the Church with wisdom beyond his years, his passion for seeing God’s purposes fulfilled in our day is igniting a fire in the city of Charlotte and throughout the United States. Greater releases September 4th, 2012 It can be purchased at Amazon, or any book retailer. More resources are available at greaterbook.com SUMMER 2012

CHAMPION FINDS

Follow Forward (2 CDs, DVD) The Great Invitation to follow Christ’s model of what it meant to have others follow Him was simple: “take up your cross and follow me.” We must be willing to ask ourselves, “Am I following Christ?” Our highest calling is to know and be known by God. Our earthly duty is to reflect His truth in our lives. Today, will you make the decision to truly follow Christ?

Local 253.475.6454 ext. 361 Toll free 888.935.6914 Online kevingerald.tv

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Life is Better when Confidence is Bigger (4 CDs, DVD) You don’t just feel better with confidence; your life actually turns out better. We pray better, serve better, work better, give better, communicate better, and relax better. Whatever you are capable of doing, you can do better with confidence.

CHAMPION FINDS

It’s Ok to not be Ok (2 CDs, DVD) It’s not about being perfect. The truth is, we all have struggles and there is no better place for you then God’s Church. Jesus came to bring a full life to each and every one of us. Take time to begin your journey to becoming okay.

Red Alert (5 CDs, DVD) A red alert is a heightened sense of awareness. This series will challenge you to be alert of the decisions you can make for positive relationships in your life.

Greater Things (4 CDs, DVD) Greater things originate when we continue to do the right things at a higher level of commitment, diligence and passion. Think at a higher level, embrace your core values and let them become part of who you are, which will launch you toward greater things!

RESOURCE YOURSELF AT KEVINGERALD.TV

Go online to find a wealth of resources, including free videos from Kevin Gerald and MP3s of messages. SUMMER 2012

MINE HIS KINGDOM

SUMMER 2012

HIS KINGDOM OR MINE

WHEN WE TAKE THIS APPROACH TOWARDS AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS—THEN EVERYTHING M

any people would call it an intervention. Looking back I can see a series of events that came together to completely alter the direction I was going.

When I first realized I wanted to be in ministry I thought it was all centered around being on a stage speaking with thousands of people listening to every word I had to say. I was captivated by this thought. I loved it and wanted so badly to be a part of that idea of ministry. I was consumed with the thought of building my platform, my stage, and my life. Luckily God intervened. My mentors and leaders began shaping my focus; they challenged me to build God’s Kingdom, not mine. Jesus was very specific when it came to this topic of building our own personal kingdoms or God’s. In Matthew 6:33 He says, “...seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you...” Here He gives us the blueprint to a fulfilled life, building His kingdom, and while that happens God in turn builds up our lives. It may be easier said than done. I want to deconstruct this verse a bit and get to the core to help us truly build God’s kingdom. The first word that pops out at me in Matthew 6:33 is the word Kingdom. Jesus isn’t referring to a physical structure or hierarchy. “His Kingdom...” refers to the culture of Heaven and He’s challenging us to bring that culture or ‘Kingdom’ to earth. Jesus presents this thought in Matthew 6:10 when He teaches His disciples to pray: “your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” This is very important. Jesus wants the culture of heaven to be the same culture that is here on earth today. He encourages us throughout His word to make His Kingdom the center of our lives. This is what my pastor, Kevin Gerald, likes to call Kingdomology. Kingdomology is a culture that is gracious and inviting, open to those lost and broken looking for answers, it is a culture that recognizes differences and embraces them. To build God’s Kingdom we are to open up our world, not condense it down.

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To fully understand Kingdomology we have to understand that we have the right or authority to rule over a kingdom. As a student pastor I get the privilege to lead young people weekly in a salvation prayer to ask Jesus into their lives. One major statement I ask them to repeat is “Jesus be the leader and the Lord of my life.” This is a statement which gives Jesus the authority in our lives. For every person that has ever prayed this prayer you were faced with a choice to relinquish your authority to your own Kingdom and give it to God. Like I said before sometimes it’s easier to say “lead my life Lord” than actually allow Him to do so. Think of it this way, say you’ve been praying for a financial breakthrough, and something big comes along that will blow open the doors of funds to flood into your life, business or church but you have to cut corners to make it happen and not be fully integral about the deal or situation. You can begin to rationalize that you’ve been praying about it, that this deal would position you for great financial increase which you believe is God’s plan for your life. After all it’s not that big of a deal, just a small corner to cut or one little lie. But suddenly you will find that you are taking back the crown of authority that you gave to Christ because the reality is He is not leading your kingdom any longer, you are. This can become evident in so many decisions in our lives: the spouse we choose, the friends we have, the church we attend, the commitment we give, our financial decisions, and the list goes on. I encourage you to ask yourself, who is actually the leader and the Lord of your life? “Jesus be the leader and Lord of my life” can’t just be a sentence we say once but a choice we make daily. In Bible college there was one word that would always make me nervous. That one nerve racking word was “righteousness”. I would hear that and think I’m never going to be righteous, I’m too messed up and and have made too many mistakes. As I began to study what righteousness is it really began to ease my mind. I learned that it is not about perfection but a way of life.

HIS KINGDOM OR MINE

JESUS—WHEN WE CRAVE HIS KINGDOM

ELSE FALLS INTO PLACE.

Righteousness means integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness, correctness of thinking and acting. So when Jesus says seek my righteousness He is saying seek My ways, My thoughts, My actions, My way of living, and the way I think towards you. The word SEEK translated into greek is the word zāteō which means to crave; or demand something from someone. There is a major difference between wanting something, looking for something and craving something.

making it a very difficult task for her to get close to him. As she got closer to Jesus she realized she wouldn’t be able to get to Him so she dropped to her knees and began to crawl on the ground to touch the hem of His garment. Crawling through the mud on her hands and knees she finally touched His garment and something happened. She was healed! I love Jesus’ response, “Who touched me?” I can imagine the disciples’ thoughts, “Really? We are all touching you! There are hundreds of people around, everyone is touching you.” But, Jesus’ response is the key to this. He said, “No I felt power come out of me.”

A craving causes you to do things out of the ordinary, to throw off restraint and hindrances to get to what you want so badly. That is the way God wants us to pursue Him--with a reckless abandon! Not worried or concerned about what may happen or what people may think or wonder how will everything work out. He wants to be pursued with a passionate craving that can only be filled by Him.

There is a difference between just trying to get around Jesus as though He is a celebrity and craving Him as though He is your everything.

I don’t think there is a better example of this craving than the woman with the issue of blood. (Luke 8:40-48) This poor woman has been sick for 12 years, spent all of her resources to find a cure, and has dealt with the ups and downs and the heaviness of being sick all the time. Her mental outlook on life had to have been so broken and tired that depression began to set in. Then she hears stories of people being healed, the dead being brought back to life, the blind seeing and says, “If I can just get around this man that is doing all of these wonderful things maybe, just maybe I can be healed.”

I want to ask you a question today. Do you pursue Jesus as a celebrity, or crave Him as the only source in your life that can heal you, define you, make you better and give you meaning and purpose?

This is where the real story begins. She makes the decision to pursue her healing and find Jesus. However, Jewish law at the time would have had her stay outside the city limits never having access to the inner city. She would not have been allowed around men let alone touch them, and in doing so could have set herself up to be stoned to death. But, even knowing all of this she pursued Him anyway. When she finally found Him, He was walking quickly trying to get to another location to heal a sick child. He wasn’t just out for a leisurely stroll. Also, multiple men, including His disciples, were around Him

“Crave first above all else His authority and rulership and His way of thinking, living, and purity of life, and all these things will be given to you...”

BY TODD GRIGGS

When I first saw this it was like a punch in the stomach. I prayed right then that God would change my heart that I would crave Him in a whole new way.

When we take this approach towards Jesus--when we crave His Kingdom and His righteousness--then everything else falls into place. A new way for us to read Matthew 6:33 could be:

Jesus said He came to give us life and life more abundantly. I believe that it wasn’t just a lotto type statement, just scratch the ticket and life is easy. Instead, by craving the things of Christ we position ourselves for God to increase our lives in every area. There are greater things in your future, as you seek to build His Kingdom and learn His righteousness, that will be added to you!

SUMMER 2012

UPDATE

initiative HOPE: against human trafficking

Y FIRST MEMORY of learning about human trafficking was at Oxygen several years ago. Christine Caine was speaking and she shared her story about the birth of the A21 Campaign and her fight against this injustice over in Europe. The stories she told shook me to the core, yet it still felt so far away. Buy the necklace in support of Christine Caine’s ministry? Definitely. But that is where it ended for me. You see, my life is currently here in America—not in the dark underground parts of Europe where these atrocities take place. I pictured stealth missions to dark and dirty places in order to rescue these women from their captors—far from my reality. I left the conference with a broken heart but I felt like there was no more I could do for these women than I could save a starving child in Africa by clearing my plate. I was lost in a disconnect. Fast forward several years and there are tears strolling down my face in the middle of my sister’s 30th birthday party while my beautiful girlfriend relays what she is learning about human trafficking. My comfortable world shatters as I learn that this isn’t only happening in the dark underbelly of European cities, this is happening in my city. This isn’t only happening

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to women, this is happening to girls—Our girls. Research has shown Seattle to be amongst the top 3 cities in the United States where this is taking place, and the average age of entrance (when she becomes a human trafficking victim) for a girl is 13 years old. No matter how much I learn, this still seems unreal (I think denial works as a coping mechanism like that). However, it really doesn’t matter if it seems unreal, because for the girls who become a victim of human trafficking this becomes their current reality. What matters is that we— that’s right, you and I—have the resources to give her a way out, to provide her with a hope and a future. The answer lies with us.

“you may choose to look the other way, but you can never say again that you did not know.” -William Wilberforce, British politician, philanthropist and a leader of the movement to abolish the slave trade

note: The beautiful thing is that I am not alone in this fight. I began attending the anti-trafficking initiative meetings held by Champions Foundation and continue to do so today. This is where I am able to connect with others who share the same passion as I do to see human trafficking come to an end. God has shown himself faithful as our anti-trafficking initiative grows and we continue to take steps of faith in this area. We work to bring awareness in the community and increase education on the topic. More recently, we have begun building our resources in order to be a point of rescue and support for survivors. We also link arms with other groups in the community fighting for the future of our beauties. Washington State is leading the way in doing this, both in legislation and in efforts led by community action groups. Compelled by the same vision

[to see an end to human trafficking], we are experiencing unique partnerships between people and the state, between liberals and conservatives, between nonprofits and for-profits. This comes from a realization that the problem of human trafficking transcends our individual identities because everyone has a part to play in bringing these women and children freedom.

BY Rebekah Mandt

Champions Centre Volunteer, Champions Foundation Advocate

Go to www.facebook.com/championsredwithlove to join the movement and watch videos to learn more about human trafficking. Find out how you can host a “Coffee with a Purpose” by emailing info@ championsfoundation.com. By hosting a ‘Coffee with a Purpose’, you can spread education and bring awareness to this epidemic, which is an important step we can all take. *** This content was first printed in Oxygen 2012 Magazine

get involved: [like Champions Foundation on Facebook] [to give text ‘champions’ to 80888]

SUMMER 2012

greater things words to live by for

in your life

Have you ever paused long enough to consider that you may be just one great expectation away from a new and better reality? Oftentimes, the main

reason we experience less is because we don’t expect more! We look at the current circumstances and forget about the “Greater Things” God that we serve. God is always on a course of greater things; He inhabits the place of purpose and progress. “Greater Things” is not always something new, or something never done. More often, greater things originate in continuing to do the right things at a higher level of commitment, diligence and passion. “Great people aren’t great because they do great things, they do simple things greatly.”

BY KEVIN GERALD

Jesus encouraged the expectation of greater things. Jesus also encouraged his followers to attempt great things for God. He encouraged them to be daring, bold, to abandon smallness, to advance forward as His people and His church. There’s a reason Jesus said “greater things than this will you do”! We are to stay in the place of expectation, for the next season of opportunity and blessing. A great visionary, William Carey, once said “Expect great things from God, and attempt great things for God”.

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Some might think that after more than two decades of experiencing God’s favor at Champions Centre that we would be ready to coast along as one of the largest churches in the Northwest… but I dreamed of a day when we would be in the position to make an ongoing and widespread impact for Christ. Great victories are behind us and huge opportunities are ahead of us! Something powerful begins to happen when we raise the level of our expectations. This causes us to do what we haven’t done, and then we experience something new and greater in our lives! Imagine what can happen if we expect greater things, and start paving the way for them in our worlds. We are to be a carrier of the greater things that God wants for us, for our families, and for our city. Becoming a carrier of greatness begins with this idea of raising our expectations for greater things to happen. We can choose to be carriers of greatness in our everyday lives by allowing God to work not only in us but also through us. God, in His sovereignty, has chosen to work through us to bring about His will on earth. Without God, we can’t… and without us, God won’t! I like to think about it like this: God wills that we would will for His will to be done in our lives.

WORDS TO LIVE BY

What greater things has God placed within you?

How can you become a carrier of those greater things in the world around you? Proverbs 4:23: Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life. Luke 6:45: A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.

Here are some words I’ve prayed over our lives and our church for several years. My hope is that these words speak to you. That you explore them, pray over them and give them a place of high value in your life! When we embrace words like these they become part of who we are. They become more than a word on a page and it translates to you and I becoming the hands and feet of God’s nature: a community with heaven’s culture.

life:

We value a Church that exudes a life-giving spirit through passionate praise and a vibrant, positive and exciting atmosphere. Jesus knew exactly what He was here to do. He came to bring an abundant and full spiritual life to the world. When we are connected in prayer, praise and have God’s word and promises fresh in us, it will flow not just to us, but it will flow through us. When I take in God’s spirit and God’s word and renew my mind, not only do I experience life, but I become a life-giver. Imagine how much greater our lives, our families, our cities would be if we carry this value of LIFE—a sincere love and appreciation for life itself—out into our worlds.

leadership:

We value the equipping of people to lead, succeed and increase their influence within our community. Jesus has called all of us to be leaders. When He gathered 12 disciples, He used a lot of metaphors to convey leadership in and through them. He called them “fishers of men”, “light of the world”, “salt of the earth”, a “city on a hill” just to name a few. We’re on the earth to influence people in the right direction. We tend to think leadership is positional, but leadership is not positional, it’s relational. In its purest form, leadership is influence. When you’re influencing someone, you’re leading them. We’re all created to lead. Another aspect of of being a good leader is to be a good follower. Nobody does leadership 24/7! When you follow, you’re actually leading people in the art of being a good follower!

relevance:

We value ministry that is socially significant, age relevant and adapting to the interests and needs of each specific group. One of the major reasons there’s a lack of interest in Christianity today is that common, everyday people assume it has little or no relevance to the SUMMER 2012

WORDS TO LIVE BY

So here’s what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your

sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead, fix your attention on God. You’ll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you, and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity, God brings the best out of you, develops well-formed maturity in you.

ROMANS 12:2

life that they are living. Originally, the Hebrew people (our spiritual ancestors) were all about integrating God into their everyday lives. But the worldview had shifted to the Greek’s worldview in the days of Jesus. They separated God from everyday life, studied him as “the God above the clouds.” They made observations about God, argued the mysteries of God until God became something only scholars could relate to. Jesus came to make God relevant again to the common person; to help the common person integrate God’s ways and will into their everyday life. I want to encourage you to keep it real. Keep God practical and relevant. Make Jesus a part of your everyday life .

excellence: We value excellence in life and ministry as the only attitude that honors God.

An excellent life flows out of an excellent spirit. When we have an excellent spirit, we will want the best for ourselves, for other people, our community and the house of God. A spirit of excellence is often the difference between good and great. When we have an excellent spirit in us, we won’t be content with saying “that’s good enough” in regard to anything. That spirit of excellence will always be encouraging us to do more, give more, help more, love more, serve more! Michael J. Fox said it great, “I try not to confuse excellence with perfection. Excellence I can reach for, perfection is God’s business.”

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team:

We value teamwork that promotes a shared purpose and is expressed by people of diverse social, economical and cultural status, connected as the family of God. If we are going to do what God has called us to do, then we are going to have to work together to get past the distractions of selfish ambition and the “if I can’t do what I want, then I won’t do anything” attitude. Selfless ambitions look different… unselfish people are just thankful to be a part of God’s team. They are continually finding ways to give back; they seek to add value to everything they do. It’s not about us, on our own. Every part is important to the other. We are God’s team working on God’s dream.

commitment: We value commitment that is demonstrated in regular attendance, generous giving and consistent dedicated involvement.

WORDS TO LIVE BY

“when we embrace words like these they will become par t of who we are .” Here’s why we are strong advocates of commitment: because Jesus is. “No man can serve two masters.” “If you want to be my disciple, take up your cross and follow me.” These are things Jesus said. A fully committed life is the only life for a Christ follower. The greatest experiences of your life will only happen in a place of full commitment. Unfortunately, commitment is often viewed negatively and commitment-phobia is very real. So many people want to keep their options open. But, the greatest things in life are only experienced with and through commitment. Something happens in a lifestyle of commitment that cannot happen any other way. What is being held back in your life, because you have yet to fully embrace a lifestyle of full commitment?

honor:

We value honor as the core that all of our other values pour out of, and we encourage everyone to honor up, honor down, and honor all around with freedom and confidence. We strive to be not only people who honor God, but people who honor people, places, positions, protocol, etc. One thing to always remember: unexpressed honor is not honor. Here’s a few things about honor: Honor is not silent; honor is audible. Honor is visible. We honor God with our worship; we honor God with our giving. We honor at work. We honor in our community. We honor on social media. Let me just say this: just because you can say something, doesn’t mean you should! The truth is, honor causes everything to elevate. Strive to be someone who honors up, honors down and honors all around.

wisdom:

We value the pursuit of wisdom through the Word of God that directs us to a principle-focused, balanced and successful life. Wisdom brings favor because wisdom is thinking at a higher level. Knowledge is not the same as Wisdom; rather, wisdom is the application of knowledge. Wisdom is not as much the question of “what do I do”, it’s the question of “how do I do it”? How do I get to the next level? How do I better support my leaders? How do I respond to this business opportunity? How can I break my prayer life out of the rut it’s in? The beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding. (Proverbs 4:7)

Then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. PHILIPPIANS 2:2-4

SUMMER 2012

REAL LIFE WATCH MIKE’S STORY HERE

y name is Mike, and I’m a recovering alcoholic. I suffer from low self esteem and I lost my faith in God at a point in my life. I got married in 1975 and started to raise a family. I found out that my wife had had an affair. I kind of took most of the blame for that. I didn’t think that my behavior as a husband or a father was very good. Soon after, my wife found a lump on her breast. They did a biopsy and they found out that she had stage 3 breast cancer. While she was recovering, my son, Mikey, and I had decided we were going to plant her a little garden. That day, my neighbors up the street were having a party, a pool party, and he asked me if he could go, and I said, “Yeah, it’s okay.” About an hour later, my daughter called

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and said that Mikey had drowned. They had begun performing CPR on him, and as they were putting him into an ambulance, they said, “We got a heartbeat,” so I remember thinking maybe it was going to be okay. Later at the hospital, the neurologist came in and told me that my son was brain dead. So, we had decided to take him off of life support. I was devastated. I didn’t know what to think. I kept asking myself, “Why? Why?” Mikey was gone, and we were just trying to get on with my wife’s recovery from her cancer. Every day I was watching my wife slowly die. I remember taking her to the hospital one afternoon towards the end. She passed away the next morning. It was January 5, 1992. Watching my other two kids, Alan and Bryana, going through the process of her dying, after they had just lost their brother, it was pretty devastating; and I didn’t know how to handle it outside of just drinking more. After a few years passed, I had worked at Southwest Airlines close to my fifth year, and I was drinking a lot. I was lonely. I felt like I just

M I K E P O U L I N ’ S O N E D AY

CHAMPIONS

“

AT CHAMPIONS CENTRE I EXPERIENCED—ON THE FIRST DAY WHEN I WALKED IN THE DOOR—MY “ONE DAY.

needed some companionship. Then, I met Raelynn (Rae). One day, I asked her to go out with me, and she did. It was 2001, I found myself falling in love with her. I kept the alcohol problem that I had hidden to myself. I didn’t know if she noticed it, but after a while, we found ourselves both drinking together…in excess. As time went on I noticed my back was really tight, so I was introduced to a doctor, Alex Zylstra. And following the consultations and the x-rays, he just asked me how I was spiritually. I don’t know why he asked me that, but he just did. I said, “Not well, at all.” And, he invited me to go to Champions Centre, so we did. We came to Champions Centre on a Saturday evening service. We walked in and we kind of looked at each other going, “This is like…everybody’s

”

really nice and positive here.” Then, we listened to pastor’s message which is something that I must have needed to hear because it was on “My Greatest Power is My Power to Choose,” and to choose life. At Champions Centre I experienced—on the first day when I walked in the door—my “One Day.” That was my day. That day that was made for me, and it renewed my faith. It brought me closer to God and to Jesus, because I had never really had a personal relationship with God. When I kept coming back to church, I was getting that relationship I don’t think I ever had in my life. I feel that Rae was brought into my life, because in her way, she was hurting too. He blended us both together so that we could find Champions Centre, and have both of our lives saved.

SUMMER 2012

K. WISE Follow Forward Can you imagine standing face to face with Jesus and having Him ask you to follow Him? What does “The Great Invitation” to follow Christ really mean or even look like? Jesus would often look people in the eye and say to them “follow me.” Everyone is somewhere in their relationship with God. Wherever you are, I am asking you to not be satisfied with where you are, but to “follow forward.” Follow forward is just making the decision to take your next step in your relationship with God. Then, as you follow forward in your own life, take the opportunity to lead others to do the same. “As Jesus was walking beside the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon called Peter and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the lake, for they were fishermen. ‘Come, follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will send you out to fish for people.’ At once they left their nets and followed him...” Matthew 4:18-20 Some of the best things happen when we take simple steps that are unplanned responses to unexpected opportunities that God gives us. For example, little did these guys know that their immediate, obedient response to following Jesus would impact their lives forever! Their response meant that they would be known for being a part of the twelve disciples and that they would even help write the Bible that would impact millions of people for eternity. However, the invitation to follow Christ doesn’t provide a complete and detailed description of the road ahead. Jesus didn’t exactly tell them what would happen next, he just said “follow me” and the Bible says they (James and John) immediately left their boat and father and followed him—not having any idea of what was in store for their futures.

Here’s what you can do to respond: 1.

At once they left their nets and followed him...

Raise your awareness to the Great Invitation of Jesus. 2. Recognize and take your next step in your walk with God. 3. Expect “Greater Things” for your life and people around you. 4. Experience multiplied joy as you lead others to do the same. Everyone is invited to follow Christ, but many people make up excuses and put off making the most important, eternal decision they could ever make. I encourage you to not be like so many people who get stuck in a place of good intentions but instead, to take action. Wherever you are on your personal journey—respond to the great invitation and follow forward!

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