I love the way the Lord seems to be using the MBC body over the past few months. We started out this year with a mandate from the Lord “Let your light shine in 2009.”

The sense that I had was that the Lord wanted to use US to touch this City in a very real & practical way.

The bible says in Matthew 5:16;“Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.

I believe when we use our God given talents coupled together with the compassion of Jesus we will find ourselves striving to help the people around us.

Since Jesus no longer lives on earth he chooses to use his people to demonstrate his heart of love & kindness. You have heard it said that “we are his hands and feet” and I believe that God wants to use you to touch the hearts of the brokenhearted.

I am encouraging everyone at MBC to embrace a servant’s heart & look for ways to give your life away on behalf of others! What act of kindness can you and I offer to the people we see & come in contact with?

There are all kinds of opportunities to be a blessing and lighten the heavy load that people are carrying.

Besides the many outreaches that we are offering as a church, there are also some Citywide Outreaches that are available. One of which is the “Touched Twice Clinic” being offered on March 7^th at Calvary Gospel Church.    

If you would like to volunteer to help provide the man-power needed for this extraordinary event…the website is www.touchedtwicemadison.org/wb/

 I encourage you to roll-up your sleeves and get involved.

 It’s going to be a great year!

Kids helped by the free Dental Clinic

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Vickie and I just returned from a great “get away” in the mountains of New Mexico. We flew into Albuquerque and drove the three hours North to a small village nestled in the Colorado Rockies called Red River.

We were there to relax, unwind & read. But I must admit I had “fresh powder” on the brain. You see Red River is a skiing village and I couldn’t wait to buy my lift ticket and hit the slopes. 

After we checked into our room I went out on the patio and realized that our room was just a few yards from the chair lift. Needless to say I was ecstatic! Then I looked up (strait up) the mountain at one of the ski runs and realized this is NOT Wisconsin.

They make the hills BIGGER in the Rockies I thought. I must say I really enjoy skiing but I like having all of my limbs and being able to walk without a wheel chair more.

So I decided to take it slow and just “discover” the mountain before I took on any of the challenging black diamond runs (blacks are the most difficult).

So the first day I did the easier slopes and worked my way up to some of the more challenging runs. By day two I was sore but really up for some tougher stuff. So I took on the intermediate blacks and felt really good about it. On day three, I was ready for the BIG slopes and I spent the day taking on everything that Red River had to throw at me… I was on top of the world and I felt like I had conquered some of my fears.

As I was ridding up the chair lift towards the end of the third day the Lord reminded me of the story of David and Goliath. It was similar to what I had experienced the past few days. In the biblical story the giant mocked and taunted the armies of Israel on a daily basis. That’s kind of what I felt the BIG slopes did to me the first day.

But David, though he was just a young man was able to step up to the plate and take on the giant striking him dead with just a sling and stone to save the day.

What many people fail to recognize in the story is that before David could take on the giant called Goliath he first had to build his faith & courage by conquering the lion and bear. You see, it’s the small “faith challenges” in life that helps to prepare us for the big stuff!

I must admit that overcoming BIG downhill slopes and double black diamonds are not to be compared with conquering Goliath or some of the real challenges we face in everyday life but I do think it has application.

When we are faced with any obstacle or challenge in life if we will simply trust God to see us through that situation our faith will grow. Then if we will take the experience we have learned from the smaller victories, we can apply it to bigger challenges and before you know it you will become a “Giant Killer.”

Now I’m not saying everyone should go out and buy a pair of skis, fly to the Colorado Rockies and take on the biggest “Black Diamond” you can find. But I am saying that no matter how BIG the challenges are that stand in your way never let fear “intimidate” or “control” you!

(2 Timothy 1:7) For God has not given you a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind.

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Madison has been our home for almost eight years now and everyday we thank God for sending us to this awesome place. 

Like Dorothy of the Wizard of Oz… there is “no place like home”

When Vickie and I moved to Madison we had a strategic mandate in our heart from the Lord. We sensed Him speak a word while in prayer which kind of went like this…“Don’t focus solely on building your own church but rather focus on building the City Church Philosophy in the entire region” 

In case you are not familiar with the philosophy, here it is; “there is only ONE CHURCH in the city, we just happen to meet in different places.”

Don’t you love that idea? That simply means we are united to our precious brothers and sisters in Christ even if they don’t all attend MBC. Unity is a powerful attitude for revival to sweep this region. It is there the bible says, God commands His blessings, even life evermore! (Psalm 133:1-3)

When we first arrived in 2001, I remember making a concerted effort to reach out and build relationships with other pastors. I must admit the concept of the “City Church” was somewhat foreign.

But what was interesting to me was even though many of the pastors were not familiar with the terminology they were familiar with the desire to unite their hearts with other pastors to do something unique in this region for the Glory of God. 

I’m convinced that the enemy has had a hold on this city because of insecurities among leaders in the past. When leaders are more interested in protecting their “turf” than advancing the Lord’s work the enemy wins. For decades pastors have lived in separation and segregation doing their “own thing.”

But a new day is dawning in Madison; pastors from many theological backgrounds are embracing one-another and uniting their hearts for the sake of advancing God’s Kingdom.

Two Sundays ago MBC had the honor of having Tom Flaherty, pastor from Mad City Church speak to us on the subject of “experiencing the presence of God.” It was awesome.

This past Sunday I had the privilege of speaking at Mad City Church. We had a wonderful time seeing what God is doing at that awesome church. As many of you know God has used that church in a powerful way over the past 12 years and we are thrilled to be partnering together with them as well as with other churches to be God’s hands & feet in this city.

Also, we are seeing an unprecedented amount of people coming to the Lord. These past four weeks we have watched well over 100 surrender their hearts to the Lord including 50-60 at Mad City Church this past Sunday when I gave the alter call.

I believe the increase in “spiritual freedom” is directly tied to the increase in “spiritual unity.”

On March 15^th from 6:00-9:00 PM there are over 30 churches coming together under one banner to “Seek The Lord and Worship Him who is Worthy.” Lake City Church has agreed to host the gathering and our worship team is one of the three teams that will be leading us into His Throne-Room. You won ‘t want to miss this.  

I can’t wait to see what God is going to do over the next few months!

So yes, as you can see, the “City Church Philosophy” Continues to Prevail in Madison… to God be the Glory!

Click here to listen…

Click here to listen…