Stone Speak A symposium on worship, arts and the prophetic,
here and across the pond...

She had visions from God with instructions that she was to recover her homeland from the English. She was martyred at the age of nineteen for leading the French army into battle against the British, and was responsible for the coronation of the “Dauphin”, the prince who would be king, Charles the VII. The title “Dauphin” literally means “dolphin” and is the French equivalent of Prince of Wales, a title relating to the heir of the throne. Joan of Arc is considered a heroine of France.
As a young girl of thirteen, Joan began to hear the voice of the Lord. She had rarely heard His voice without seeing bright light. According to historian, Robert Lacey, “After hearing her,” recalled one eyewitness, “the would-be king appeared radiant.” Joan led the Dauphin’s army into battle with skill and clarity about her mission.
As stated in the book Great Tales from English History, “The fascination of Joan’s story is that a teenage girl should have persuaded ever-widening circles of people to agree with her that the King of Heaven had chosen her to bring reparation to the kingdom.”

We read such stories, legends and tales of heroes and heroines with an almost distant gleam of thrill and excitement. Stories like this and those of giant slayers are only the reality of today’s movies, right? But what if you were called to change history or to advance history? What if you were like Moses, called to deliver a people from slavery after 400 years of crying out to the Lord? Such tales seem more and more uncommon today. In fact, there seems to be few true history makers in our modern era that create that air of adventure and passion as those of the past. What would it take to be a history maker? When hearing God’s voice, what has he called you to do that is bigger than your image of yourself, bigger than your imagination?

In this season of the crossover, we must first realize that we have come into a new age, an age like no other. We are living in a time of history in the making. We have entered a new epoch--which means this is the dawn of a new appointed time. As God’s people, we have a role to play in the advancing of this historic moment. The changing of the guard implies that a fresh anointing has come, a new move of the prophetic is on the horizon and an increase of God’s government is about to be revealed. With this window of opportunity in 2011, we must each ask ourselves how will we respond to the unfolding of events this year and what will it take to crossover into the new realm of the season we are in? Consider the following:
•    You are not a spectator
Many of us have come through a time of preparation and testing as we have waited on the promise God has for us. This past season has been like those who wandered in the wilderness awaiting entry into the promise land. Now that the promise has come, we can still be a bit bewildered about what to do and how to make the crossover into the new. We are on new ground with new circumstances. There is no spiritual map that has led us to this point. If we stand and do nothing, we are mere spectators. At one time in Joshua’s journey he saw God part the waters, but in this new place, the waters didn’t part until the people of God made the move to crossover.

So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (that is, the Dead Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground. Joshua 3:14-17

It is a brand new day, and like Joshua, the situations and circumstances of life have changed. With the promise at hand, it requires us to no longer wait but to respond. This is a year of action and stepping into the waters as we experience God’s new plan.
•    You have to have a story
I love a good story. I am always excited to hear something amazing about expeditions, daring feats and tales that are handed down as epic events in history. When I was young, I would read these stories imagining myself as the character who slayed the giant, won the battle, or got the prince. As we grow older and time passes, imagination like that seems to be in vain. Yet, the Bible is clear that we need to believe He has so much more for us.
However, as it is written:

“What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived” -the things God has prepared for those who love him. 1 Corinthians 2:9

At times, it is hard to fathom that we are Bible characters, but the story didn’t stop after the book was written. We have a role and a responsibility to step into the pages of history. This role is more profound then any time in history.

These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. Hebrews 11:39-12; 1-3

As you crossover into the new, there is an expectation that you will begin to walk out the promise. It will require you to come out of the wilderness of the past and to see things with fresh eyes. It will mean laying down old traditions and embracing change. With the shift in thinking, there will be new expectations. As was told to Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, ”You are not in Kansas anymore.”

 On the evening of the fourteenth day of the month, while camped at Gilgal on the plains of Jericho, the Israelites celebrated the Passover. The day after the Passover, that very day, they ate some of the produce of the land: unleavened bread and roasted grain.  The manna stopped the day after they ate this food from the land; there was no longer any manna for the Israelites, but that year they ate the produce of Canaan. Joshua 5:10-12

•    Live out your assignment
In order to fulfill your destiny, you must complete the assignment you were promised. This takes a lot of focus and faith to believe that God is using you for something much bigger than you have ever considered. He wants you to be a history maker. When we think less of ourselves than the image God has for us, the tendency is to doubt the promise and work it out ourselves.

Abraham fell facedown; he laughed and said to himself, “Will a son be born to a man a hundred years old? Will Sarah bear a child at the age of ninety?” And Abraham said to God, “If only Ishmael might live under your blessing!” Then God said, “Yes, but your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will call him Isaac. I will establish my covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard you: I will surely bless him; I will make him fruitful and will greatly increase his numbers. He will be the father of twelve rulers, and I will make him into a great nation. But my covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah will bear to you by this time next year.” When he had finished speaking with Abraham, God went up from him.
Genesis 17:17-22

You are a Bible character called to do great things. As you crossover into the promise that God has spoken over your life, walk in boldness with the belief that God is about to make history, and He is going to use you to fulfill it. You, too, will have a story to share that will go down in history and bring glory to God.

Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you… Luke 1:1-3

History Maker

Is it true today that when people pray
Cloudless skies will break
Kings and queens will shake
Yes it's true and I believe it
I'm living for you

Is it true today that when people pray
We'll see dead men rise
And the blind set free
Yes it's true and I believe it
I'm living for you

I'm gonna be a history maker in this land
I'm gonna be a speaker of truth to all mankind
I'm gonna stand, I'm gonna run
Into your arms, into your arms again
Into your arms, into your arms again

Well it's true today that when people stand
With the fire of God, and the truth in hand
We'll see miracles, we'll see angels sing
We'll see broken hearts making history
Yes it's true and I believe it
We're living for you

he first 9 Vision & Destiny Insights and accompanying prayer:
Every single human being has been created by God to know Him, love Him, and be loved by Him. In God’s extensive and extravagant love are His unique plans for each of us.  When we come to be cognizant of those plans we are experiencing His calling on our lives. When we begin to move into those plans we begin to experience destiny.
The following 9 insights and prayer are intended to be simple, yet powerfully effective, to help each of us journey towards the fulfillment God has for us. Please feel free at any point to pray the prayer. And feel free to pray your own personal version of it often. It is built around several of God’s great promises. As we communicate with Father God, we don’t use scripture as incantations but we do constantly use it as our platform, grid, and wisdom to know (and pray) God’s kind intentions for each of us.
1.    Vision & Destiny Insight #1: One of the greatest lies satan uses to hold people back is “as it has been, so it will be”. This lie can get ingrained into one’s thought patterns to the point where one’s identity and future is always determined by the past disappointments & failures. God has more for those who love Him than can even be imagined. (1 Cor. 2.9)
2.    Vision & Destiny Insight #2: God not only sees you in Christ, He sees you and calls you according to the calling (destiny) He has for you. In John 1 Jesus acknowledged Peter’s current name of Simon, (“reed like” and “shifting sands”). Jesus then said you shall be called “Peter” which means a rock. (Christ like, as Jesus is The Rock). God knows our current issues but always sees us according to His finished work!
3.    Vision & Destiny Insight #2, con’t. God sees you according to His calling(s) on your life. His vision of you, as you move towards His vision, makes room for the mistakes He knows you will make on the journey. Abraham & Peter made mistakes in not fully trusting God between the times they were called and the times of fulfillment. God’s vision for you is situated between His all knowing & His mercy/grace.
4.    Vision & Destiny Insight #3: God’s great plans for your life were established in His sovereign will before even one of your days began. (Psalm 139.16 & Jer. 1.5) Despite what seems like random & even bad circumstances in life He is working past & through all of that to bring you to a banqueting table- even if you are surrounded by enemies. Your job, like Enoch, is simply to walk with God! (Genesis 5.22)
5.    Vision & Destiny Insight #4: Your destiny in God is unique. God is never a paint-by-numbers artist. While He is always the same in whom He is, He rarely does the same thing, the same way twice. His destiny for you is as unique as your fingerprints, vocal chords, and eyes. The spirit of religion, which is fear based, breeds conformity. God, the creator of creativity, releases uniqueness out of love!
6.    Vision & Destiny Insight #5: Walking out your God given destiny is intended to be unique. Due to the mix of your primary motivational gift (Rom.12.6-8), your God given passions, and gifts (natural & supernatural) the odds are there is no one else exactly like you! And that is due to God fearfully & wonderfully creating YOU. Religiosity demands you blend in. God desires you to compliment the whole by you being you!
7.    Vision & Destiny Insight #6: For clarity’s sake, it could be said there is a difference between destiny & calling. Destiny is God’s will for your life. Calling is the recognition that you have experienced the leading/voice of God’s Spirit calling you into His primary will for you in life. The former is already given. The latter you need to experience and respond to. The first is true of every one, the second is only realized by those in Christ!
8.    Vision & Destiny Insight #7: Along the journey (of destiny) God will, from time to time, do miracles in your life. Because God purposely causes His destiny for you to be unreachable without His amazing grace He will, from time to time, allow you to be surrounded by impossibilities. He is merely setting you up for miracles as you learn to place dependence on Him, which in turn releases His miraculous grace
9.    Vision & Destiny Insight #8: As you grow (mature) in Christ you will find God’s destiny goals for you are not merely the ones He initiates. As you delight in Him (adapt your ways & goals to His) He expects you to have faith that He desires to bless your desires. (Psalm 37.3-7) Maturity involves trust, commitment (prayer & obedience), and last, but not least, resting in the truth that He desires to prosper you soul!
10. Vision & Destiny Insight #9: Keys to determining God’s goals for your life: 1) There will be accompanying faith, despite the challenges. 2) You will experience God’s peace. 3) It will call for miracles on God’s part for fulfillment. 4) There will be mature Christians who will help confirm it as time goes on. 5) It will provoke a growing passion within you. 6) You will feel over your head! 7) THERE WILL BE OPPOSITION!!!
Praying into your destiny (don’t forget to personalize it):
Father God, Father of all glory, and the God of my Lord Jesus, (Eph. 1.17) I trust you and thank you today for the amazing promises you have made me. Thank you for fearfully and wonderfully creating me in your image. (Psalm 139.13 & 14)). I ask that as you teach me of yourself and your ways you will lead me and guide me by your Holy Spirit (John 16.13)) into the fullness of your kind intentions for myself and my family. Thank you that your intentions are to give me a hope and a future not plans for destruction. (Jeremiah 29.11) And thank you for the ultimate gift of Jesus- that by His life and love and sacrifice on the cross I can know and live an abundant Holy Spirit filled life. (John 10.10) Thank you that these plans are filled with your amazing creativity. They completely exceed all that I can think, hear, or see. (1 Cor. 2.9) Thank you for your great grace for me to live life as Your Son (or daughter). (1 John 3.1) Thank you Father that as I enter into the destiny you have created for me I can reflect Jesus and your love to all I meet.
In the powerful Name of Jesus,
Amen.

Feature creep is the rapid expanding of features in a product such as Extra features go beyond the basic function of the product and so can result in over-complication, or "featuritis", rather than simple design.

There is a temptation to want the latest and the best in what we interact with.  There is a love of newness and improvements, but are these upgrades actually useful?  About six months ago I experienced the excitement of iWork '10 on my work computer.  Mostly because I needed to maintain compatibility with my coworkers, but having just finished taking in the keynote video I knew beyond a doubt that I was about to step into a new evolution of office software.  I clicked the Pages icon and experienced a welcome video of true awesomeness, teleporting me into a new era of word processing.  I closed the video once it was done and what did my eyes see?  Essentially the exact same thing that was there in iWork 09... and 08... and 07.  Each year there are these minor additions.  In the past four years, I think there is really only one new feature, dynamic outlines, that I actually use.  So I must sit and ask myself, was the resources I spent on this upgrade a sound, stewardly decision?  Or did I weaken my available resources by taking on something that was unneeded?

I consider the ramifications of these principals when we evaluate our churches.  It is easy to feel we constantly must offer more and more programs, new opportunities, new methods, and new ministries.  Is there a risk that churches can contract "featuritis?"  With a constant push for new things, will the older, established ministries and programs suffer?  With limited time, manpower and resources we must really evaluate what is the core of a church and ensure that anything new that is created will reinforce the vision and mission of the Kingdom.  Minor programs might come and go, but if those new things begin eating away and destroying the core, then these programs risk becoming parasites that blur what Christianity is all about.

This is not to say that a church cannot change, but rather when planning new endevors, a serious consideration must be made to what will this new idea take away from.  The average American church member will only participate in approximately 2 events a week.  With this in mind, if you are wanting to start something new, what will people stop going to in favor of it?  There may be some new people come on board, but it is highly likely that parts of the core that supported other aspects will reallocate themselves.  With this reallocation, has the kingdom become stronger through diversity?  Or has it become spread thin and frail?

What do you think? Is feature creeping in the church a serious threat?