You Have My Attention: When God Breaks In

Posted on by Chris Euler

image26About 2 months ago, I remember thinking to myself, ‘I can conquer the world!’

I honestly believed there was nothing that could hold me back and nothing that I could not accomplish. I felt like I had the ‘correct’ answers to everything.

Don’t get me wrong, I have seen God do extraordinary things this past year – some of which I cannot even explain! I have been a part of a student ministry that is absolutely flourishing! There is a barely a week that goes by that we do not see students come to know Christ or baptized! Our numbers have drastically increased and our leadership is stronger than I could ever imagine!

On a personal level, 2014 was a challenging year, but also a fruitful year. Our family saw God work in ways that did not make sense – many times when we least expected it. We saw a 3-year debacle over our house on the east coast of Florida end via 2 phone calls over the course of 48 hours. We proceeded to sell the house  for more than we were asking within 4 weeks! We feel blessed beyond measure for the health and joy we have experienced this year!

I truly believe that there is nothing impossible for God, but my pride often gets in the way. I fool myself into believing that there is nothing too powerful for me to accomplish as well. I take the place of God and attempt to accomplish things on my own, ultimately missing what He has for me.

I like to think I am a strong leader – organized, efficient, capable, empowering, and competent. I also tend to think that my character and integrity is most often Christlike. Now, yes, there are those times that my pride and arrogance gets the best of me and, just like Paul, I struggle doing what I know I am not supposed to do and not doing what I know I am supposed to do.

About 3 weeks ago, I was quickly reminded that my ability, my strength, my energy, and yes, even my mind is a blessing from God, the one who gives and takes away. There is nothing I can accomplish outside of who He is. There is no fruit I can produce outside of His love, His character, and His will!

At 1:55 pm on Sunday, December 14th, I came stumbling out of my bedroom and went into a grand mal seizure that lasted about 3 minutes. I tripped over my 4-year old son and ended up falling onto our tile floor. In the process, I also dislocated my shoulder, which is causing me constant pain. As a teenager, I was diagnosed with adolescent epilepsy and was on medication for about 16 years. This past year was the first year that I have not taken any medication, and I was under the assumption I was in the clear – until about 3 weeks ago.

I feel like I have been to more doctors over the past 3 weeks than the past 10 years combined. My wife has become my chauffeur, because legally I am not allowed to drive for 6 months. I am also dealing with the effects of my body getting used to epilepsy medication again, which has caused me to be an emotional basket case on more than one occasion.

It has been a rough few weeks, one that has humbled me and opened my eyes to where my priorities need to truly be. I have been forced to do nothing. My wife even went to the extent of asking me how it felt to have my independence taken away. If it were not for the inability to process my thoughts into words quick enough, I would have responded with some sarcastic comment back at her.

I have realized that I do not have this thing called life figured out. I do not have this thing called leadership figured out. I do not have student ministry, family ministry, or my own relational life figured out. Unfortunately, I have not reached perfection, and if you ask my kids, I still have a long ways to go!

But I do know one thing for sure – God has EVERYTHING figured out!

His love casts out all fear

His grace His sufficient

His mercy is new every morning

Great is His faithfulness

He is MY rock and MY redeemer

He is the beginning and the end

He is the Good Shepherd

He is the great I AM!

And at the end of the day, He has all the answers to all the questions. He has my future in His hands. His purpose for my life far exceeds anything I could ever desire or imagine. I am His vessel, living out the life He has called me to live!

There were several factors that went into me having a seizure and there are still physical, mental, and emotional consequences I am working through. But I truly believe it was God trying to get my attention. I veered off course just slightly and was allowing my pride to take the place of what God had in store for me.

It doesn’t take much of a change in direction to miss what God has for us. For Peter it was taking his eyes off Jesus’ eyes. He was walking on water, with Jesus in his vision, but his eyes were not focused on the Savior’s eyes. For David it was a quick second glimpse off the patio that caused his eyes to lose sight of God’s eyes. For many of us, we feel like we are right there, doing exactly what God is calling us to do, but our pride has caused us to veer just slightly off course. God is in our vision. We believe we are moving towards Him, walking with Him, and living as He has called us to live. But, there is a difference in focusing on the direction of Jesus and focusing on His eyes.

Think of it this way… if I want to drive from Cape Coral, Florida to Buford, Wyoming, simply heading west may not get me to my final destination. Even though Wyoming is constantly in the direction I am headed, getting to my exact location takes more precise accuracy than simply heading west. God is not generic, He is specific. He has a clear plan for each and every one of us that requires us focusing directly on His eyes!

As Christians, we cannot get caught up in our own abilities that we miss the priorities God has mapped out before us. Our first step (or in some cases 5, 20, or 50 steps) often has to be backwards. We must reset our priorities and schedules in order to focus on what is most important.

We have to remain faithful to God’s leading, no matter how uncomfortable or inconvenient that may be. And at the end of the day, we must never forget that no matter what happens, God is in completely control and He has EVERYTHING figured out!

God has my attention, and my prayer is that He either already has or gets yours! We not only need Him, but we must want Him more than anything this world has to offer. I am committed to seeking Him more this year than ever before. My Lead Pastor put it perfectly, ‘Our faith becomes stronger through our intimacy with the Father’

May this year, we grow more intimately in love with Jesus. May He truly remain our first love in everything – every situation, every event, every circumstance, and amongst every relationship!

Missional Student Ministry According to Jesus

Posted on by Chris Euler

UP-IN-OUT-logoRunning from event-to-event, weekend-to-weekend can be extremely draining! Many pastors and ministry leaders face burnout and exhaustion because of the lack of vision and direction. We live lives and carry on with ministry out of what ‘looks good’ instead of what God truly desires of us. What would it look like for you to do as Jesus did and talk as Jesus talked – to live your life as He lived and to lead your ministry as He led?

3DM focuses on the Up, In, and Out lifestyle of Jesus. In other words, He prioritized His relationship with the Father, focused on creating a culture of discipleship within those closest to Him, and carried out a life of outreach and mission beyond His social comfort zone. What would it look like for us to do this within the context of our ministries?

God has been challenging me over the past few weeks to truly abide in His presence. It is not that I was completely missing the mark of His calling, but there are definitely areas that need pruning. I need the Father’s direct sunlight, while allowing the shade and comfort of the Holy Spirit to infiltrate my entire life.

Our relationship with the Father places focus on the ‘why’ behind the ‘what.’ In other words, we are able to find true purpose and meaning to our lives when we abide in His love. When we experience authentic spiritual growth, fruit will appear that we did not even think was possible.

As we look up and answer God’s calling on our lives, we must not miss the community He has placed around us. Many of the students and young adults I work with want relationships, but they don’t want commitment and accountability. In other words, they want the fun, but not the challenge; they want the fruit, but they don’t want to experience the pruning process.

God puts specific people in our lives to hold us accountable. He also places a responsibility on our shoulders to establish a culture of discipleship within our families and ministries. Are you being used by God to see lives transformed within your sphere of influence? When it comes to the impact we can have, it is not always about the large numbers. Typically, we will have far greater impact on fewer people than on large crowds. We must start small as we dream big!

As we grow closer to the Father and create a discipling culture, we will not miss the opportunity to share Christ with the masses! We will focus on the lost, spend time developing a vision for outreach, and live as the hands and feet of Jesus. We will see people as Jesus sees them, instead of how our ignorant human flesh sees them. We will be quicker to forgive and slower to lash out in anger.

Our mission must begin with a growing relationship with the Father, where we truly find ourselves abiding in His presence. As we do this, a culture of discipleship will be created, and we will ultimately live out as His hands and feet to a broken world!

One of the things that I have been specifically wrestling with is how this lays out into the vision of student ministry. I am in the process of a major project – evaluating all aspects of student ministry directly from the perspective of missional living.

I have narrowed it down to three basic questions that I am hoping to lay out over the next few weeks and months in book form.

  1. What does it look like to authentically lead students into the presence of the Father?
  2. What must happen within the four walls of our ministry in order to create a successful culture of discipleship?
  3. How can we see a true revolution take place within our communities, schools, and homes?

I would love to hear any and all feedback in regards to how you see this happening, specifically in the context of Student Ministry!

7 Habits of a Healthy Family

Posted on by Chris Euler

Slide1In Revelation 2 & 3, John gives us a glimpse of what a healthy church should look like. Jesus writes letters to 7 churches, encouraging them for the work they were doing, while challenging them in specific areas of needed growth. I believe we can take each one of these letters and gain 7 habits of a healthy family!

1. Keep your love for Christ at the center of everything – The church of Ephesus had lost their first love! As they persevered and endured difficult times, they lost their passion for who God called them to be. Jesus challenged them to remember and live by who He was and what He endured on their behalf.

There are moments within each one of our families that we are faced with extremely difficult circumstances. As I think through the past three years, I often wonder, ‘what’s next? What else could go wrong?’ We find ourselves standing in the shoes of the church of Ephesus. Although we despise evil, we have lost focus of Christ at the center!

As parents, we must never lose sight of what Jesus did for us! As we continue to focus on who He is, our love for Him will grow, no matter what circumstances come our way! Is Jesus at the center of your family? Does He shine through your words and deeds? Do you react to circumstances remembering how Jesus suffered for you?

2. Trust that God has your back – The church of Smyrna was about to face major persecution. Revelation 2:10 says, ‘Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer.’ They had already faced several other trials, including major poverty. Here was a church that understood how to persevere through adversity, yet Jesus challenges them to not be afraid of whatever persecution may come their way.

What difficult circumstances is your family facing? Are you ever afraid of the ‘what if’? Many of us have lived through those ‘what if’ moments – the times that life does not make sense and nothing seems to go right. Honestly, I fear the day something horrific happens to one of my family members and am blindsided by the unimaginable circumstances of life!

The health of a family cannot be based on possessions or circumstances, but in a trust that God has our back no matter what! He is there for us in the midst of the most difficult times! He promises to never leave us or give up on us. His love covers any fear we may have in regards to the ‘what if’ moments. We must rely on Christ for strength in the moments that are easy and in the ones that do not make any sense!

3. Allow God’s Word to influence your family – Jesus’ third letter was to the church of Pergamum, which found itself in the middle of evil Greek culture. They surrounded themselves with idol worshippers and allowed culture to influence them instead of living for Christ in the midst of culture. Jesus promised to fight their battle for them.

What do people see when they look at your family? Do you speak, act, and live differently than families engulfed in today’s culture? We must allow God’s Word to influence the life of our families. Instead of looking solely to culture, Oprah, modern television, or today’s greatest parenting book, we must allow God’s Word to lead us as a family on mission! It cannot be the latest, greatest idea that leads us as parents and families, but the truth of God’s Word!

4. Setup boundaries based on God’s Word – The church of Thyatira was accomplishing great works in the name of Jesus Christ, but lacked boundaries. They fell into Satan’s lies and deceits as they allowed sin to consume their leadership.

Is your family so focused on doing God’s work, that you will extend your boundaries beyond the direction of God’s Word? Our grace-filled freedom in Christ does not give us the right to sin! We must establish boundaries that keep Jesus at the center of our families. Our relationships must be built around Christ, not on the wisdom of the world.

Thyatira’s place of worship had become a center for sexual immorality. I have come in contact with so many families that have been broken because of sexually immoral actions. In order to live as a family on mission for Christ, we must not fall into the traps of Satan! We must solidify boundaries based on God’s Word in order to keep ourselves from sexual immorality!

5. Be vulnerable and real – To the average person within the community, the church of Sardis appeared alive, but on the inside they were dead! Their actions lacked authenticity. They wanted the spotlight, but lacked faith in Christ. The members of Sardis were fooling the community into believing they had their act together!

Is your family great in public, but a disaster behind closed doors? Do you appear to have your act together when around others? Are you serving alongside your spouse, but talking about getting divorced? We may be able to fool those around us and even ourselves, but we cannot fool God! He knows our family’s heartbeat, no matter what others may think or say about us.

As a father and husband, I have experienced growth in the midst of vulnerability. We must be real with those we come in contact with. I understand there may be times we have to put on a good front as we walk through difficult circumstances, but those around us must also see that we are real people in need of God’s grace!

6. Remain faithful in the little things – The church of Philadelphia was blessed with opportunities to impact their community for the cause of Christ! They were forced to rely on God’s strength and trust in His guidance. God was protecting them from trials and holding them tight. Because of their commitment to Christ, their community was going to experience a radical transformation! Jesus did not have anything against this church because of their obedience to Him. He was going to use them through His strength, not because of what they had or could do.

As a family, are you remaining faithful in the little things? God desires to use you in ways you could never imagine! But he first calls us to remain faithful in minor circumstances and rely on His strength for everything. As Christ remains at the center of our homes, God will bless and use us in ways that do not make sense! Remain faithful in the little things and God will come through in mighty ways.

7. Get off the fence – The seventh and final church, Laodicea, was living on the fence. Revelation 3:15 says, ‘I know your deeds: that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish that you were either one or the other!’ They were living in shame, with one foot in a relationship with Christ and one foot in the world. They based their relationship with Christ on their riches and possessions. Jesus despised them because they were not truly living for Him!

Too many families struggle because they feel pulled in multiple directions. We have become so wrapped up in our busy schedules and possessions that our faith is wavering around Christ instead of centered on Him! We must not live lukewarm lives!

A healthy family strives to have Christ at the center! As the spiritual leaders of our homes, we must never lose sight of who He has called us to be!