Mark Marshall

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Category Divine Purpose

Divine Purpose

Letters to the Dones…pt1

Just Wow!

I have contemplated, prayed, meditated over this part of my journey for several years now. I read and studied many articles, and books, some of which are: Churchless – George Barna Group, the Rise of the Nones – James Emery White, Church Refugees – Josh Packard, Exodus of the Religious Dones – Josh Packard.

I have been in deep intercession for these people, because for all tense and purposes I have found my self in this place. While I believe people who served faithfully, contributed their time, talent and resource to something that did not end they way they dreamed. So where do they go from here? What do they do with all of their spiritual experience and pursuits. Are we supposed to say well that was good while it lasted? Are we going to just ignore it like it never happened? Was is it just a bad dream? 

Please understand at the outset I am NOT talking about a church, or any church in particular, but rather the church in general. The church I go to has been a huge blessing to me, the people are amazing, and the Bishop is a definite father of the faith of which I wouldn’t still be here without them.

I loved and served the church my whole life. I so desire that it succeed it’s mission to build a spiritual community for the healing of our nation. These letters are about the DONES and their relationships to and through the churches. I can’t shake my devotion and love for the church. Everyone around me is checking out, or becoming a consumer of Christianity but I still remain hopeful that she will play a major role in the end of time. My desire and hope is that we somehow gather the DONES and love them back to life by hearing their story! These letters are years and years in the making, I needed a platform to tell my story. It’s not to offend anyone, but rather to inform everyone of what I am seeing and sensing. I met with my Bishop a few months ago, and I asked him if the current consumerism of the church was going to change, and he told me definitely it was going to swing back to more spirituality, I of course was thrilled to hear.

I have come to find out that you can outgrow the modern church, when you get to that place to where you want to explore the boundaries of spirituality, there is no longer a use for you. No matter what you have contributed, you must stay within the confines of the established purpose. If you try to color outside of the lines of the establishment, you will be shunned and avoided. The church in America has always been a “What have you done for me lately?” kind of entity. What you accomplished in your past or for the organization if of no consequence or merit.

Building a long term legacy and retirement plan of spiritual things will be difficult in the modern church. I mean you walk into a church today as a new person, you really never get a glimpse of those who sacrificed yesterday for what you freely enjoy today.  You might be recognized in some religious way whether through some token appreciation day, or your photo might be on a wall: but your true story will never be heard.

That’s a little of what is missing in the modern church, the sense of saintly sacrifice and history. The modern church is so edgy and relevant, there seems to be no room for ancient artifacts and history. It seems relevance has taken precedence over reverence. It’s become fresh paint, catchy slogans, and lighting, cool programs and great sound. But knowing how to have a cool service and knowing how to experience the living God in a deep way are not always the same. And to that end I begin this portion of the Dones Letters with this, ‘Thank you for your Sacrifice!’

Being an older person in the church and faithfully serving and giving my life, my hopes, and dreams, my resources, and all I have for 35 years; I feel sometimes like it must have felt when the Vietnam Veterans came home. There was no parade, no monument, no recognition of service for years and years. It is that feeling of being used, neglected and forgotten that I speak to right now. 

You are the ones I have been intercession over. You are the ones that God is seeking. Those that have become an invisible reality to the church. Let me please interject; I know what it means to give all to a church and or spiritual group and come up empty. The sting of that reality happens when you decide to leave and no one calls or reaches out! The reality when people actually want you to go!  In the Church Refugees book, every single person they interviewed were people that paid their tithes, served, ministry committees etc. But when they finally left the church not one single person was called. Not one single person….saying it again so you can grasp that.

Let me please interject here two thoughts:
1. The church is super great at the front door; greeting, welcoming you, embracing you into the fold and eventually placing you within the organization. But what it desperately lacks is the humility and grace to restore and reach out to those broken or struggling within the system. They 100% will embrace the sinner or the ones who are brand new. They 100% are not equipped to the deal with flawed saints.

Galatians 6:1 “If you see a brother fall into something, you which are spiritual RESTORE such a one in the spirit of meekness and humility.”

Most of the progressive modern churches have data and numbers on visitors, and transitioning visitors into members, members into servants, and servants into leadership etc. But very few keep data on the back door. They may know who has left the church, but they most likely do not know the WHY they left, therefore restoration is beyond them. I somehow feel in a strange prophetic way that those who learn from the back door will be able to transition into tomorrow. 

You know the back door will be the most important door in the future. Because according to George Barna on the research of the millennials, is that only 3 of 10 will continue in the modern church system the way it is currently constructed. Meaning that only 30% of the people ages 22-37 will be in the church functioning in the next generation. 

However the resources of the Dones that go out the backdoor far exceed the 70% that the church of tomorrow will miss out on. I am convinced that if the Dones had another level, or different version of church and community; the longevity of the church would be secured forever. They don’t NOT LOVE GOD! they just can’t do the form of church that it currently is in, consumerism and ministry mindedness has gotten in the way of just doing life together.

2. The DONES are extremely hard to love and reach out to! I sat down 4 years ago and wrote down the DONES that I personally know and have been in spiritual relationship with. In about 2 minutes I wrote down 55 names! These are names that shook the world at one time, not going to church, not interested, or mad about it. Moved on!

What I know about the DONES is they still have that passion for the things of God! They still believe, they miss worship, and they desperately miss the community life in it’s purest form. But I’ll say it again for those in the back can here; ‘DONES are hard to LOVE!’

So for the church to reach back out to you and hear you, it’s going to take a miracle. That miracle I am asking for is just an opportunity to hear you.  There are some DONES on my list that I pray over all the time, but I can’t even get a phone call back, you reach out to them and they just can not give you any time.  I see you as hurt, not finished, and wanting something but not able to trust again, and I totally get it. But I come unarmed. I have no agenda but to love and know you, to hear your story.  I mean spiritual things are so far off their list. It’s frustrating, so don’t blame the church for that!

You’ve either built a barrier against spirituality in all forms, or you have moved onto something that replaces your divine community. 

I feel in my heart of hearts that God isn’t through with us. I believe there is another level of community and spirituality that we can pursue together without the organized part of american church life. But I sit here in my sacred space praying for you and believing God to show me the next step.

Let me close this portion of part one of the letters to the DONES with this thought:

When you run to insulation against the abrasive judgmentalism of the the church, you run the risk of living in isolation. Whether you run from the judgemental opinions or even being totally ignored like you do not even exist you are in isolation.  Isolation is a very hard place to recover from. Because you live in a forgotten place, it’s safe, but there is no life there it’s a spiritual wasteland. No exchange of spiritual energy from others.

Most times I feel like Clark Kent. I have my own sign business of which I am so grateful for, but 98% of the people that I deal with have no idea whatsoever that I am SUPERMAN! on the inside. I have no expression or group that helps me see the real me about me on a daily basis. I have become a mere mortal, along with the trappings of that boring life.  I mean used to the deaf hear, blind see, and hearts are made new again! But those days seem far a few in between.  It’s an unbelievably lonely and painful place. But I still have my suit! I’m ready to break it out!

I’m working through the years and years of spiritual abuse and pain from the church, but I still believe in God and fundamentally in the true church.  She is my mother, the one that borned me. She gave me space to learn and grow, she fed me, she clothed me, she brought me to the Kingdom. 

I am hoping some people that read these letters will feel the same way too, and we can begin to rebuild and discover what is our spiritual next. If not I will live within my own spirit and memorialize yesterday to the next generation. Work my business, worship in my own sacred space until my time of exit comes, I will yet praise him no matter who it irritates….

 

Divine Purpose

Naked and Not Ashamed 1



Some of the most profound truths that I have learned and am still learning comes from the first story in Genesis. In our spiritual journey and pursuit of our Divine I.D. this is our beginning. The book of St. Thomas, Thomas asked Jesus when will be the end and what will it look like? Jesus replied, “If you want to know the end you must first go back to the beginning, because there you will find the end.” With that thought in mind I submit the thoughts from the beginning.

I have searched this beginning portion of the scriptures for many years. I still glean from it. It relates to so much in real time with our modern every day lives. That’s because spiritual things, concepts, and realities aren’t affected by time and space. If something today is a spiritual reality and truth it will be the exact same 100 years from now, it will just fit within the modern era.

Genesis 2:25 “And they were both naked the man and his wife, and were not ashamed.”

This is what I call our created Divine Identity. We were naked but not ashamed is our created I.D. Later on we will see that our human I.D. became fractured and we were still naked and somehow became ashamed and disconnected. We see that Adam was put in a deep sleep in verse 21-24, and Lord God took a rib from him and made a woman. God brought her to him and Adam said, ‘This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh… In this divine created state Adam and Eve were NOW connected. Meaning in the most divine way, they were present together in the NOW. Now is the only place God really flows, He exists in other realms like the past, and future, but that is only for our benefit. But to walk with the Father and in Spirit will always be in NOW dimension. It would be counter productive to try to engage the Manifest Presence of God without being ‘Present’ yourself. Yet I am afraid so many are today, seeking Presence without being present. We have become so distracted and disconnected that many people have to pay people to listen to them tell their story, because so many of us are so caught up in the current of life. Somehow religion has crept in and deceived us to think it would be good enough to be in Presence without actually engaging and being ‘Present’. When you think about it, Adam was removed from the Garden, not only for his ‘sin’, and for yielding to his wife’s enticement (soul), but I believe strongly that it was because they ‘HID’ from Presence. They no longer could remain open and present in Presence. I mean think about it, the thing that removed them from the Garden reality and Divine presence was their inability to be present. With all of our distractions and internal things going on, it is easy to show up in Presence, but ‘Not Bring Our Hearts’. As being a former Prophetic Revivalist, I can tell you without a doubt what would bring revival to your churches and lives; just be broken enough to be present in Presence! That will bring and awakening and reviving to your souls and churches.

Adam and Eve were naked and not ashamed because it was the Divine Created reality by design. But also it was because they were Connected Divinely. It’s what my parents would say about a couple, “They are joined at the hip.” Adam and Eve were Divinely connected to Divine I.D. reality in their relationship with each other, with God the Father, and with their own selves.

With their own selves they were in a Divine space because their nakedness brought no shame, guilt or lack in their minds. They were naked and not ashamed to me speaks to first and foremost about their lot in life, their self image and relationships. These seem to be things that affect our concept of Divine I.D. Our relationships, our position and condition in life, and our own self image diversely affect our Divine Identity perception. I read an article on world statistics that said America was 31st in Math, Science and Technology in the world standards, yet they were 1st in Self Esteem! I find this so comical. We play a good game with our masks in America but our self esteem and image is very fragile, we have to coach ourselves constantly to keep it going. We spend a lot of time, money and energy for others to motivate us in the same way. And this would all be good and well if people would include their spirituality in their ‘finding’ of themselves. I mean to try to find and create the best version of ‘you’ without including God or some Divine sense of reality would be impossible. I believe the ‘sin’ or mistake done in the Garden of Eden was when man tried to take the things of God by his own power. This is the crust of religion and the ultimate plan of the adversary. To get man to discover himself without God. To make himself in his own image and not God’s. But God did not allow him to eat of the Tree of Life in that state.

There was no such thing as a shame storm in their world up to this point. Can you imagine a world to where you are enough in every situation and circumstance. I mean a place where you can truly embrace yourself the way you do others. You can Think Out Loud, on the inside, to your most inner self; the very things you tell others to do. What I discovered in this passage was the usage of the word naked in the Hebrew.

Genesis 2:25 “…were *naked and not ashamed.”

*Naked here is an adjective meaning to be unveiled, naked, no cover. Means to be bear with nothing to hide. And being not ashamed is a great picture of the freedom in being vulnerable and open with nothing to hide. They were living in their created I.D. But after they ate of the tree of knowledge of good and evil their perception of their nakedness changed profoundly. We will cover this in part two of this thought.



Divine Purpose , Kingdom Community , Personal Growth

Am I Friend Enough 2…

I have contemplated and mulled over this thought for a couple of years. This idea of becoming and being a friend is pretty special these days in the world we live in today. The definition according to the online free dictionary is:
FRIEND

1. A person whom one knows, likes, and trusts.
2. A person whom one knows; an acquaintance.
3. A person with whom one is allied in a struggle or cause; a comrade.
4. One who supports, sympathizes with, or patronizes a group, cause, or movement:
I guess I’m older now and really assessing the value of true friendships. I remember hearing a message by my pastor some 30 years ago, still ringing in my spirit; “You can’t love someone fully and truthfully unless you love what they love!” What a statement, and in the same breath he said, “You can’t save someone at a distance, you must get close.”
And when you think about it our great friendships have been stained with religious ideologies, that don’t really serve anyone. People are more interested in ‘their thing, their faith, their stuff, etc.’ I fear our friendships have been distorted because there are some if not most that actually think ‘Principles are more important than people’. I do not or ever will but into the idea that your belief and doctrine is more important than people, I am pretty confident in saying that Jesus lived that model over and over.
What Jesus really did in His short time was to show people how important they are to the Kingdom. NOT STUFF. One of the last great revelations He spoke to His tribe was the fact that He saw them as friends. If we would learn to truly love and quit projecting a great something beyond the next hill, we probably would find the garden that we are all looking for.  Beloved there is no higher form of connected Kingdom life outside of friendship. It is truly your gift to humanity. Jesus was actually friend of sinners. He was able to live out the ‘Love the sinner / hate the sin’ because He was a friend first.
Word History: The relationship between Latin amīcus, “friend,” and amō, “I love,” is clear, as is the relationshipbetween Greek philos, “friend,” and phileō, “I love.” In English, though, we have to go back a millennium before we see the verb that we can easily connect to friend. Frēond, the Old English source of Modern English friend, is related to the Old English verb frēon, “to love, like, honor, set free (from slavery or confinement).” Specifically, frēond comes from the present participle of the Germanic ancestor of Old English frēon and thus originally meant “one who loves.” 
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
I love here how the term friend and love are so closely related. I fear that in our culture today that has been tainted and lost in translation. I mean with social media we have now learned how to be a friend without the commitment and love that is necessary to be said friend. I have like 1000 facebook friends, I follow most of the people and interact as much as I can, but I have few friends in the real world that I can bend their ear, share my stuff, or even get a cup of coffee!
With that being said I can’t tell you how many ‘friends’ I have that know nothing about my heart and direction. These are acquaintances I have come to find out. Over the years people have loved my ‘gift’ but not necessarily me. I am sure many people feel the same way. I have learned in my short career that I would never surrender my ‘gift’ to any one or group that didn’t want a relationship to me and my family as a person. At one time in my life there were seven pastors and leaders from five different states that were wanting me and my family to move and be a part of their work. I was so confused, but very excited. You know for once you think your hard work and life’s achievements are paying off. Only to realize these people were more interested in building their own thing. Not one of them actually wanted to know what made me tick, or motivate me. My greatest test and struggles have been the result of pursuing these relationships, only to be stripped and left for dead.
Today I have the most amazing Bishop to my soul. He and his team have loved the ‘hell out of me’. I am learning how to be loved for who I am and not what I can do for a group. Believe me it’s foreign to me so please be patient, I’m facing the light and running towards love. My Bishop is the truest friend I think I have ever known, I aspire to be like him when I grow up! I have known him twenty plus years, and he is so purposeful, and kind. He is one of the few that sat down with me and listen to my story with a heart of pure love, no judgement, but rather compassion and love. No matter where I am in my walk, or where he is in the world; time and time he has texted me to check on me or answer….
I strive to be like him, I haven’t arrived by no means. But I am aware that I have short comings, please remember me in your prayers. Honestly I believe this kind of love is what the Kingdom is all about. I was talking to a friend of mine Sunday, and I said, I hate it that most people run around looking for a miracle or revival, when the real miracle is sitting right in front of YOU! I told him that I was so ready for people to re calibrate their directives. I said, ‘So many people are wanting to be healing etc, yet all I can do really is love; it’s up to God alone to heal’.
I am purposing to become a better friend by becoming easier to love. I am using my ‘Lent’ season to commit to those who call me friend. I mean at the end of the day, isn’t that what everyone wants? To those I have let down, misguided, and left hanging; I do love you very much, but I have a lot of untangling to do. I will fulfill my obligation to be a friend to those who call me that!
MM+
When You Love Someone
Bryan Adams
when you love someone – you’ll do anything
you’ll do all the crazy things that you can’t explain
you’ll shoot the moon – put out the sun
when you love someone
you’ll deny the truth – believe a lie
there’ll be times that you’ll believe you can really fly
but you’re lonely nights – have just begun
when you love someone
when you love someone – you’ll feel it deep inside
and nothin else can ever change your mind
when you want someone – when you need someone
when you love someone…
when you love someone – you’ll sacrifice
you’d give it everything you got and you won’t think twice
you’d risk it all – no matter what may come
when you love someone
you’ll shoot the moon – put out the sun
when you love someone
Divine Purpose , Kingdom Community

8 Things Open Minded is NOT

I have had a lot experiences and thoughts about open mindedness. I am fully aware of the fear people have concerning those of us who have ventured out in uncharted waters of thought and process.  Open mindedness is not something you usually equate to religious people.  But certainly Spiritual people have learned to embrace new things, thoughts, and realities. I am pretty sure I could write books on this subject, but I will give you the cliff note version.

When we used to travel all over I remember one of my biggest challenges was the Leadership.  I have always never been satisfied with the status quo.  I have always sought new ways of doing things, thinking things, system updates etc. So coming into churches and leadership training I would always bring new ideas to the table.  I quickly learned that it wasn’t difficult to get the people to think new things, but my number one challenge was the thought processes of the leadership and people.  Someone asked me during a radio interview about what is one of the things that are my biggest challenges in working with churches. I told them, ‘The hardest thing to change is the MIND’.

And lets face it, we all have experienced change in our lives. We will go through that process of change either via the way of Love and choice, or suffering the reality of fighting the will and choice.  The most important thing in our lives is our thoughts. It is the key to life, freedom, and spirituality. It is the only channel for change of any kind.

Romans 12:2 And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.

So here are the 8 Characteristics of Open Mindedness:

1. An open mind is NOT merely a gullible mind.

2. An open mind is NOT necessarily a skeptic against the norm or against the established realm.

3. An open mind is NOT: not open to Change: All change and new perspective come from a space of open mindedness.

4. An open mind is NOT merely being relative or siding with current culture.

5. An open mind is NOT wishy washy; and or lacks a backbone.

6. An open mind is NOT having a (non opinion).

7. An open mind is NOT: not believing in (non Essential Truths, or the Concreteness of them)

8. An open mind is NOT a non spiritual reality.

Divine Purpose , Kingdom Community

Polarization of Humanity

I have been contemplating the thought; humans have no patience or endurance and therefore have long left the idea of a spirituality that actually practices. Aesthetic is so vital to the experiential realm of true spirituality.  Today’s society is transforming from the idea of hearers, to feelers.  At least the pendulum is swinging back to a spirituality that has experiences along with the concepts.  St. Symeon the Theologian says that, “Only through the experiences of God is He truly ever known.”

Today’s version of spirituality and conviction for life breathing decisions has come down to hearing.  You see the phases of spiritual constant renovation must go something like this: 1. Experience the presence and inward / outward reality. 2. Contemplative inward knowing beyond knowing, which leads to supernatural expression through practice. 3. Thinkers on a more educated life level, putting all of the pieces together for the logically dissemination to the masses. 4. Hearers are very easily ad-hearers, and become believers on hearing only platform.

This cycle will continue to come to the end of concepts and get reformed over and over again via the same process. The depths of reality of the Presence and awareness, can not be logically explained / taught. The true Spirit life can not be packaged for the masses!

I read  from a great book, “The Naked Now”, by Fr Richard Rohr,  ‘Humans tend to think because they agree or disagree with the idea of a thing, they have realistically encountered the thing itself.’  This strikes a chord in my heart. I fear the majority of our beliefs are based loosely on teachings or sermons from a Sunday morning service someone, and most of our theology too. The lack of practice and community, contemplative prayer and old fashion study and devotion, even void of experience, is a recipe for a people unable to see with eyes wide opened.

This totally happened to Adam, in Gen 3 He hid himself with his wife, from the presence! With their fragmented perception they could no longer make sense of the mystical union. We certainly still struggle with it today, our fragmented polarized perception has produced just over 50% divorce rate. That was still a mystical revelation of the relationship of Christ and the church.

My life changed some 13 years ago again! I got born again again! I became not afraid for once in my walk, and turned over every stone that I had been taught about God and spiritual reality. I measured them in the light of my new place. I can assure 32 years later I am much closer to KNOWING …than when I first believed.

People ask me all the time how I come to this realm and thoughts. I tell them its easy:

Get rid of your polarized identity, of good and evil. Reconcile both on the cross, and learn to walk free from the duality of this lower realm.
Learn to see all as one!
Endeavor to See God in ALL things…….and surrender to who we all say who God is…………selah

Divine Purpose

How I became Open Minded…

As God has blessed me, I have lived a humble but fruitful life. I have had the  opportunity to be a part of many notable miracles, served under some mighty men and women of God. Have had great success in the Business world, but my greatest of all achievements is definitely my family and who they have become as people.

I remember the night that the new Texas Stadium opened up, I think that they hosted an OU vs BYU football game, I’m not sure.  At halftime they asked Jerry Jones the Guru and owner of all of that monstrosity; “Jerry is this your crowning achievement?” His reply was no, my greatest crowning achievement of my life is not this Billion dollar stadium, but the 7th grade season in football I got to coach my son, THAT Jerry says, was my crowning achievement.”

That rang true for me. We moved to Michigan in the summer of 2000, in a strange land, with no family, support, or friends. We went on faith and hope. I can say it was totally a God thing the whole way, I made friends for life.  One thing I was blessed with as an independent business owner, is being in control of my schedule.  The boys were in the 4th grade when we moved there. I always played and still love all sports. My boys were so awesome at it. I began volunteering on the fourth grade team in football. After football then came baseball, I volunteered. Then after that came summer basketball, I became a coach as well. You see I was blessed to not only attend, every single sporting event for my boys, from 4th grade to college, I was blessed the opportunity to coach them as well.  I was able to move from little league, to Jr High, to High School, which I count as a huge blessing. If I died today I would be a fulfilled and happy man believe me, I have been given so many blessings and opportunities that most will never see in a lifetime.

My greatest blessing to date is knowing all of my sons, and wife are all humanitarians, full of love for all mankind. They have no judgement in their hearts, and are not prejudice in any way. This I am the proudest of in all my life. This brings me to reality that brought us to this path. Since the fall and winter of 1999 I was  invited by force, to become a mystic with an open mind.  My wife and 3 young sons had lost all of our income through ministry. We were betrayed and rejected by prominent ministry friends.  At the time for a few months after we lost all of our house and cars, we were living in a two bedroom apartment on the campus at Stillwater OSU.  We had no car, my wife took a taxi to work to cook at a sorority house, and I caught rides to work part time remodeling a kitchen for an awesome friend. We were paying 25.00 a month for rent, because of the graciousness of an amazing woman who still thought I was a man of God in spite of what others thought. I mean I have no way to convey to you the history, the magnitude of being lied about on a daily basis, etc…but all the while maintaining an amazing walk with God that honestly I havent seen the like since.

I believe open mindedness is truly achieved through a series of events that force no other course of action. As long as your ducks or in a row ( or appear to be to all those around you) Im sure you think Im nuts; honestly you are supposed to, move on and we will see you later on. If you think I’m crazy, or a loose cannon it’s all good, you are just not ready.  But to those who have been through some things that don’t fit any of your models of training, not understanding of what has happened, then you are at the right place and the right time. Let me tell you the magnitude of events that may cause you to ‘Open your eyes NEO’, from the Matrix movie. We had a prominant minister friend steal my data base of all of the contacts I had, they had spread damning lies about me and my ministry team. Consequently all of the meetings I had booked for two years straight for every weekend was cancelled. Every single pastor cancelled, without the exception of two, which are still great friends of mine for life. Not one single person called to see how we were doing, or etc.

Believe this………..EVERYONE LOVES you when you are winning…….. NO ONE wants to be associated with a shady loser….You will find your friends when you have nothing to offer them by way of fame or recognition, or pay….believe me, and if there is a great call on your life you may walk the same shoes.

The beauty of the whole story is; it created an open spirit and mind within my heart! I began to question everything and every one that I believed in. My criteria for love, and truth and for what was important changed dramatically. I began the journey of the open mind / open heart.

Divine Purpose

Discovering the RealU 4

Today I am pondering the possibility of discovering your true identity apart from manifesting your destiny. When I say discovering your divine identity I am not merely talking about the mental ascent to understanding. But rather in the revealing and being who you know you are at your core. With this thought in mind then I can see how walking out your destiny or purpose is closely linked to walking out your divine nature. This journey has taken me quite a while. I started out by the realization that I even had a divine nature. In the beginning of my process I just wanted to follow Jesus. I never dreamed that this journey would take me to this place!

Here is my process so far: Following Jesus was certainly the beginning and of course I still do that today. But it evolved into a great hunger to do the works and do what He did, I mean after all He did promise us that we could do His works. After years of that pursuit, I began to desire to be like Him. I wanted, and still do, to be more like Him in His response to humanity. I can only imagine how awesome it must have been to sit and eat a meal with Jesus back in the day. I am certain you would just feel empowered, loved, not judged, and embraced all by His very essence. I have felt this many times over and over again. But I honestly began the pursuit of Heart of God, not just His works.

This wound up being a twenty year journey so far. I haven’t mastered the Character of Christ just yet, but I certainly am a million miles from where I was. When I was young and zealous in the beginning, everyone could not deny my consecration and passion. But they were turned off by my nature and rough judgemental spirit. I know it’s hard for people to believe that really know me. But years ago I wasn’t the person I am today. That is why I tell people you don’t need Jesus to become a good moral person. It seems we have shrunk the whole of Christianity into being ‘blessed’, avoiding troubles, helping a few poor people along the way. But the underlying message has become, a true Jesus follower is a good moral person! This concept should be a given! I mean honestly you can have Jesus in your mind and heart, but the real question is does He have yours? I mean do you have the Spirit or does He have you? I have met and had very hurtful encounters from people who were followers of Jesus, and filled with the Holy Spirit. It is not those that have the Spirit that determine sonship. On the contrary, St. Paul says, “those who are LED by the Spirit, THEY are the Sons of God.”

I know plenty of unbelievers, Hindus, Buddhists, and Muslims who are amazingly loving and good moral people. So that criteria alone can not make the determining factor. You can be a good moral person, and still miss the nature of Christ in every area. I mean a good moral person, goes to work, provides for his family, doesn’t lie, cheat, and pays his taxes. But he can still be full of envy, bitterness, poison, gossip, and back biting. So in my mind the pursuit of Christ Conscienceness and the purpose of becoming a Follower of Jesus has more to with ‘becoming’ in Nature. Some of the best advice I got from my mentor years and years ago was hard to swallow but it saved my life.  My spiritual father and mentor at the time told me that I was way too rough around the edges, and I was teaching the letter of word, but missing the spirit of it completely. He said, “I want you to spend the next few months and read nothing but the ‘RED LETTERS.” I was obedient and the rest shall we say is history.

Reading those red letters for those months changed my whole life. It launched me in to the next step of the process which went from wanting to be like Him, to BE Him! I know this doesn’t fit into the religious boxes of most, but I have been observing and watching on sidelines for years. The concepts have to be revealed and shared. I can just hear my old self saying, “Now come on nobody can be perfect, there is only one Jesus.” Well that is true, Jesus is the summation of the Son of God becoming the Son of Man. St. Athanasius said, “The Son of God became man, so that the sons of men might become the Sons of God.” So in this light it is not a stretch for me to pursue the possibility of becoming not only ‘like’ Jesus, but to become Him. And let me say we can not only do this, but it IS the High calling of God in Christ. We can only pursue this place by the grace of God, the Life of the Spirit and in the Spirit of Christ. Another great saint of old said, “The more I know thee, the more I know me.”

You can not enter into this zone without being one with humanity. As a matter of fact if you are eating the tree of knowledge and evil still you will think I’ve lost my mind and crazy about now. But the greatest mystery of all is to manifest Christ in you the hope of glory. We will not consistently manifest the works and heart of Jesus without striving to do them as Him. Remember this concept; Jesus was not crucified for doing the miracles alone. He was crucified primarily because He said God was His Father, and that He was one with Him.

So the pursuit for me has become to manifest and discover the REAL ME. The Real Me is my Divine Nature where the seed of Christ dwells. Since I am one with Him, and reconciliation has taken place. We are in Him and He is in us. So in my divine nature manifestation it will reveal the Christ in me! What a mystery!

My Process:
I wanted to follow Jesus for all He had done for me
I desired to be like Him
I pursued to the possibility to Be Him
I am on a discovery to know and reveal the Divine Nature Me
In this I bring Heaven to Earth

Back to my subject intro. It is futile to pursue your destiny apart from being. They are one in the same, and will take you to the same place. If you get to the place of manifesting and walking in your destiny, take a look at your nature I bet you have changed!

Divine Purpose

1. All of us have the divine ability to create
2. You find your destiny and or purpose in your passion
3. Very few will make a living at what they are passionate about (not entirely)
4. Manifesting purpose and meaning to the world is a journey (it’s revealed in the art of being and doing, not a destination)
5. Squandering your gifts and talents will bring torment and distress to your life

1. “I’m not very creative” doesn’t work. There is no such thing as creative people and non-creative people. There are only people who use their creativity and people who don’t. Unused creativity doesn’t just disappear. It lives within us until it’s expressed, neglected to death, or suffocated by resentment and fear.

The only unique contribution that we will ever make in this world will be born of our creativity.

If we want to make meaning, we need to make art. Cook, write, draw, doodle, paint, scrapbook, take pictures, collage, knit, rebuild and engine, sculpt, dance, decorate, act, sing it doesn’t matter. As long as we are creating, we are cultivating meaning
(The Gifts of Imperfection, Brene Brown Ph.D., L.M.S.W. pg 98)

We all have the opportunity to create and bring gifts to the world. Most of us pre-judge our ability or the fact that no one would enjoy our gifts. So consequently we just do nothing about it. There is a great reward for manifesting and creating in this dimension. That reward is the overwhelming sense of added value to our lives. I think we all have it within us to help others by serving, or creating things that make their lives a little bit better. So with that thought in mind I would like to offer this new way of looking at our destiny and purpose. I found this new concept quite refreshing on looking at our lives.

When we were younger the teacher and our relatives would ask us, What we wanted to be when we grow up? Now as adults people don’t ask in those certain terms. I have been full-time in my own business and ministry since 1994. It hasn’t always been easy, but I have met so many wonderful and interesting people. I have had the opportunity  to travel quite a bit. Here is the new version of the old question. When you get on a plane it’s very interesting to watch people. That’s really what I love to do the most, meet and watch people in their environment. I always joke with my friends about the two-hour relationship I have with someone between cities on a flight. It is very comical, sometimes I am just too tired and I want to say to them, “you know what I’m sorry but this relationship isn’t going to work for me, because we are just going to break up after this flight.”  I am just teasing, I have made actual friends that I still keep in contact with on flights. I have learned about some really cool important stuff. I have actually been on flights with like 85 team member cheer squad! Talk about an exciting trip. I have been on flights with celebrities. I have sit next to moms, priests, business owners, first time flyers, music moguls, college coaches, NBA Coaches, trainers and the such.  You name it in eleven years of constant flying you will see about everything.

I have narrowed the groups of travellers into groups: business, leisure (family), school or sports, or vacationers. I remember way before laptops and the iPods there was cassettes and or conversation. Being from the midwest doesn’t help because we all know how friendly we are. When you travel in the northeast it is a little different. The people are a lot more business minded and rigid. Striking up a conversation with them isn’t usually necessary. But in this arena for those few moments here is the new version of the what do you want to be when you grow up question.

The first thing we usually ask each other is, 1. Where are you headed today? 2. Are you travelling for business or leisure? 3. WHAT DO YOU DO (for a living)?  That question of ‘what do you do’ has puzzled me. I mean it’s like a measuring stick in others’ minds of your value and or worth.  And let’s face it, not all of us have an interesting comeback and or a way to impress the person asking the question. I love my friend so much he travels all over the world and is a president of a corporation and he is a very interesting, genuine person with loads of wit and wisdom. I would be proud to answer the question of what do you do if I was him. But sometimes the answer to what do you do (for a living) isn’t always a measuring stick for who I am as a person! And I don’t want to be put into a box of someone else’s opinion of who I am as a person or my worth or value. I mean I learned a long time ago that if I said, I work in the church field, or minister it would hardly fly as a conversation starter. Our two-hour relationship would usually never get off of the ground. Primarily because of  people’s pre-conceived ideas of the church world in general.

So with that in mind I would say well, I’m a motivational speaker, or I’m a dreamcaster, or visionary. These are all true. I remember a few years ago I would get so frustrated with the whole conversation and say crazy stuff like, I’m a counselor on Radio. Which was all true by the way, I was on the radio for a good while. But I found myself not wanting to be in a box. I don’t want my worth to be measured in a sound bite of what I do for a living. I don’t want to be measured by which section I sit in on the plane, or how I am dressed for the day, or which new phone or electronic gadget I use. I have rebelled against the system it seems my whole career. I just didn’t want to be put into the box and limited to what others would determine what my worth would be. There have been times I have worn suits, because of my meetings upcoming and time schedules. There are other times I wear coaching sweats and flip-flops in first class.

It wasn’t until I discovered the concept of living in the slash. The honest truth, when someone asks us what do we do, our response should be, “How much time do you have?” Aside of my duties of being a father, husband, friend, son and leader. I make money from being a web designer and mentor and trainer and speaker. But even in all this it’s not the sum total of who I am. So many of us might think of what we do to make money or jobs as the primary thing of importance and anything else we do to create meaning is secondary and not a part of who we are.

Marci Alboher wrote a book called, One Person/ Multiple Careers: A New Model for Work / Life Success. If you were to ask my wife she would say, I’m a Research Assistant, Grad Student, (gardener) (photographer) (book lover). But in Marci’s book it is about living within the slash and not parenthesis. It would be Research Assistant / Grad Student / Gardener / Photographer / Book Lover. This concept gives more value in our lives towards the things that bring meaning. I’ve said before few of us have the opportunity to make money doing what we love, but it doesn’t make what we love any less important or valuable. So in this concept you can live within the slash.

Examples might be, fisherman/documentary filmmaker/singer, or accountant/blogger/ musician. Or how about lawyer/chef/cartoonist. When I discovered this concept it opened a whole new value system to my being. My slashes are becoming many but it’s becoming more of a whole expression of the answer to, “What do you do?”

In this present time here is my answer: I’m a Mentor/Leader/Trainer/Minister/Prophet/Deacon/Writer/Singer/Songwriter/Musician/Psalmist/Football Coach/Theologian/Mystic/…

What are you?

Divine Purpose

Discovering the RealU 2

I was talking to one of my sons a few months ago about what he wanted to do for a living, and or career. I found his response and logic quite different from what I expected. His reply was, ” I want to get involved in some kind of schooling that requires the least amount of time and the most pay”. You know we have been trained to think this way in our carnal perspectives. Some people try to find jobs, some seek careers with benefits. Remember years ago that if you had a steady job and health insurance and 401k then life couldn’t be better. The only problem is benefits costs more, and cover less. Investments are shaky, and it’s not even a good reason at all to work. Not to mention the idea of doing something that gives meaning and purpose.

I’m not saying we shouldn’t work and provide for our families. But now being fifty and knowing what I know about life and regretful choices I have made concerning my career; it’s painful to think my son has this ideology. It’s like I am going to try to find work and or career based upon my own personal evaluation of my current abilities. I was so pained to know that my son was trying to shrink all of his ambition and creativity in life to a job. That is such a carnal ‘safe’ move. The truth is I know for a fact if he went to school, learned a trade and entered the grind of life with credit, debt, and benefits he would end up miserable in about 20 years. I am trying to help him avoid that at all cost. I mean just think if you were 20 years old again, with no debts and a clean slate what kind of life you would plan and shoot for. I can tell you I could paint you the most color picture of what I would like to accomplish, I definitely wouldn’t be painting with just two colors.  So many want to play life and career safe, and stay in all of the lines. Some even venture out and color with not just black and white, but with the 8 basic colors of the color wheel! Well lets don’t throw a party just yet, my printer is supposed to be able to print 16 and even 32 million color variations! Just think of the colors that we can’t even see.

What I saw my son doing was trying to make a career choice based upon his natural ability, and what he thought he was good at. He never even considered that it might be possible to actually plan and achieve a career path with his dream involved. I honestly think so many people are miserable in our country because things just didn’t pan out the way they had hoped. I also think that the financial crisis is a blessing from God to get people out of their dead-end jobs, and move towards creating meaning and purpose as opposed to just existing. So many are refocusing and redefining themselves in this hour. I have a suspicion that the next ten years of our lives we as people will do more for humanity than the previous fifty!  So what do we do if we have a good job with benefits, and like the work and provides for our families and lifestyle? How do I convert that into meaningful work? Do I have to go back to school or change careers?

The answer is NO! You know the carnal mind will always choose the path with the least amount of risk, and the most sense of certainty. But faith is a scary journey! But then there is plain old stupidity. I mean it’s confusing to me how people go from supporting their families and then all of a sudden quit everything to minister, and not even have any where to minister. So lets take a deep breath here and soak up some thoughts. The truth is we all have an aching deep in our  being to create something, and or do something that has meaning and or significance. The Destiny message has been revealed and we are definitely on board, but no one ever tells us what that looks like or how you get there! What if I told you that you can ‘have’ your cake and ‘eat’ it too!  Let me help you see something; if you can see these things you will become more ready to move forward.

1. All of us have the divine ability to create
2. You find your destiny and or purpose in your passion
3. Very few will make a living at what they are passionate about (not entirely)
4. Manifesting purpose and meaning to the world is a journey (it’s revealed in the art of being and doing, not a destination)
5. Squandering your gifts and talents will bring torment and distress to your life

Divine Purpose

Discovering the RealU

“What do you want to be when you grow up?”  I suppose there is not an American alive that hasn’t been asked this question, either in Kindergarten or First grade. I’m thinking today of what the answers might have been when we were young and full of hope, and faith. I remember in my class there were replies of  Teacher, astronaut, Football Player, Singer, Business Owner, and even the President.

Today I am wondering how many of us ‘became’ what we wanted to be when we grew up? Were we told that we can be anything we want, but without ever explaining or teaching how that might ever happen? Or maybe you are still like me, I still often talk to my wife about what I want to be when I grow up. You see I haven’t reached my full desired goal so that must mean that I am just not grown yet?

I think there is a mistake made continually in the fact that we equate what we do with who we are. But on the same note what you do can reveal a bit of who you really are at your core. If you do from a place of being. My classic example would be that of Adam. He was created as a living soul, which is better translated as a ‘living Being’. After the fall he became a “human doing’. In other words in the Garden he did and worked from a place of identity, but outside of the garden he worked from a place of doing, which always leads to a need for identity. Our carnal fallen culture is constantly ‘doing’ to discover their divine identity. But it is so misleading and a terrible trap. The carnal mind is our false sense of self. This form of identity is always equated with doing, and having. The more quantitative you do or have, then surely you are in full assurance of your identity.

So how did we get from ‘being’ to ‘doing? I think it was from the changing culture and times over the years. Over the years our forefathers after the Great Depression were just grateful to have jobs. Most of them farmed and supplied to industry. This ushered in the Industrial age where people and families grew up manufacturing plants, making cars, steel mills, and everything imaginable. This was a great foundation because it afforded the children of these ‘Job Minded’ people to give education to their children. In the old days is was very rare that someone would actually not retire in the job that they had done for thirty or forty years. Now a days, its more on the rare side.

After our forefathers children went to school, many of them became our parents, and ‘career minded’. You see the career minded group was playing into the false sense of being, more like doing. I am what I do, and or what I have, and even who I know. You see back in the old days people would pick ‘Jobs’ based upon talent and ability.  So they would try to apply for Jobs that they could do, and hopefully do it really well, and long enough to receive some benefits. The ‘Career’ group is more focused upon the pay and benefits. This group would go to school based upon probable need in the future, and benefits and pay scale. While longevity is still the goal, but not without stepping-stones of merit along the way.

When I was in High School we were required to take aptitude test that would somehow formulate the best job, or career choice. It was a grueling three-day test to help the counselors help guide you in the right career path. I think it was a military backed test so, pretty scary really. They were probably trying to sway the brainiacs, luckily I wasnt in the radar. So after you find what you might be good at, then you were to find the schooling and training to help you fulfill what you are good at. Then hopefully negotiate a pay. The biggest issue I feel cheated about in this journey some 35 years ago, was the counselor never asked me what are you passionate about? It was always work based, like what do you think you could do, or like to do. In other words lets test your skill set, and find the best paying job.

But there is a new generation rising up. They might work a job for pay just to get by or pay the bills, they realize that is a life-sustaining event. I read somewhere for the first time in history there will be more educated people working in fields of life that they weren’t trained in for the first time in History. I think it was a rather large number. Like 60% or higher will work in a field they weren’t trained in. Example of a Financial executive gets offers from IBM or some company, with good salary, benefits. But he will choose a non-profit sector start-up to help suffering people in other countries. Believe me when I tell you this in not an isolated event, this is the movement of our generation.

Our forefathers wanted a job, their children and children’s children wanted a career, but this group wants to make a difference and live their passion!  When you think about it, when you choose to live your passion you actually are making affirmations and answering the questions of ‘What to you want to BE when you grow up, not DO!’ The only thing is most people don’t get paid to live their passion, but its the only way to live an authentic life, and discover the real U. The next blog I will go into more detail about that I’m talking about. Until then Grace & Peace and share this please!