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FIRST WORD

Passion, God Dreams and the Future of RELEVANT

ately, I’ve been having a lot of meetingswith our team talking about the future ofRELEVANT. We’ve been looking honestly atwhat we do, why we do it and how. We’vebeen taking a fresh look at our spiritualmission, the dreams God gave us and what

He’s sparking for our next season. It’s been transformative.

It all started because, if I’m honest, I’ve been in a seasonwhere God has really been getting my attention personally.Things felt off, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.

So, I started taking inventory. Was my heart honestly ata place of spiritual passion and intimacy? Was I growingspiritually? Was I serving and giving and loving others well?

At RELEVANT, was my influence in our environment onethat pointed people to Jesus? Was I leading from a placeof dependence on Him? Was our company focused on ourspiritual calling above all else?

Being honest with myself, some things needed to change.As it sometimes happens in life and work, areas had gottenoff-track, and it started with me. I needed to intentionallypursue the Lord with reckless abandon again. I needed tomake Him the tangible top priority in my life. Everythingelse had to be secondary.

The journey I’ve been on has changed everything. I’mspending time in His presence, in the Word and worshippinglike I haven’t in a long time. I’ve embraced new spiritualdisciplines. I’ve made changes, and I feel a spiritual passionand clarity I haven’t in a while.

And, of course, it’s affected RELEVANT. God has beencalling us out of our comfort zone, challenging us to take

a new look not only at what we do, but why and how we do it.

Let’s admit, it’s easy to coast. In the beginning, when God sparks a dream in our hearts, more often than not we have no idea how to pull it off. We’re completely reliant on Him, and He uses that.

But somewhere along the way, we start to figure out what we’re doing. It works, it has impact and many times we stay there.

We start to live our lives not out of a place of dependence, but of being able to do it on our own. Our motives are good—we’re doing it for God—but that’s when things change. God is always doing something new. Are we pursuing His heart and following His lead?

Personally and at RELEVANT, we’ve been dismantling everything and seeking the Lord’s will all over again. I don’t want our future to look like our past. I don’t want to look like my past either.

I want nothing but to only be in His will, making a difference for the Kingdom. I want to challenge a generation to love Jesus and go change the world, whatever that looks like.

And wouldn’t you know, God is birthing some exciting (scary) new dreams. The best part? I have no idea how any of it will play out.

But I’m continually reminded of one thing: Every day, in every season, God just wants our heart— for us to listen, and be willing to obey when He speaks.

What happens after that, thankfully, is not really up to us.

I WANT NOTHING BUT TO ONLY BE IN HIS WILL, MAKING A DIFFERENCE FOR THE KINGDOM. I WANT TO CHALLENGE A GENERATION TO LOVE JESUS AND GO CHANGE THE WORLD, WHATEVER THAT LOOKS LIKE.