Tuesday, December 15, 2009

WAIT ON THE LORD

Hey, bloggers...thanks for all the feedback here and on Facebook from Sunday...and thanks for all the calls, texts and e-mail (btw, at the time of this posting there is some issue going on with the church mail...don't know what it is, but I know they're working on it)...I haven't responded individually to any of your messages, but I've read them all...sorry the streamers are so upset about recent changes, but, in all honesty, the issue at hand is much larger than just that one area...please allow me to get my thoughts together and process all that is happening in my life and ministry right now...as soon as I can, I'll write and post something that will address all your concerns and suggestions...in the meantime, know that I love and appreciate you all (thanks to those of you who have bought The Gospels In The Now...hope you're enjoying it)...


Why would you ever complain, O Jacob,
or, whine, Israel, saying,
"God has lost track of me.
He doesn't care what happens to me"?
Don't you know anything? Haven't you been listening?
God doesn't come and go. God lasts.
He's Creator of all you can see or imagine.
He doesn't get tired out, doesn't pause to catch his breath.
And he knows everything, inside and out.
He energizes those who get tired,
gives fresh strength to dropouts.
For even young people tire and drop out,
young folk in their prime stumble and fall.
But those who wait upon God get fresh strength.
They spread their wings and soar like eagles,
They run and don't get tired,
they walk and don't lag behind.


(Isaiah 40:27-31 - The Message)

21 comments:

River said...

Living in faith is hard. Been doing it most of my life. God has always seen me through. He will see CITN through also. Our Mission is only beginning. We have a voice that will be heard. Keep up the faith.

Word Verb - lation add on re = relation. add on n = nation
We have a nation relation.

Anonymous said...

Jody Adair said...

Praying for CITN....Will miss streaming, that's how I was introduced to this fine church...

RWS said...

Remember Church is not a building but church is all of us. So no matter what as long as we stay together,keep our faith and love each other it doesn't matter were we meet at, that will be church. However GOD will see this thing through. Church is relationships so like a Marriage you work on it and work through the bad times and stay together, SO WE are with you Bishop no matter what !!

Benard said...

Bishop,

Whatever situation it may be, may be others have used the streaming and blog to go personal, it hurts. Us in here we are with you, in fact we'd a moment to pray for CITN last Sunday's main service, you and your family.Soon all will be okay.

Like you vehemently noted in Isa : 40, lets wait upon the lord without loosing a single drop of our faith, let's all be positive that a great result will emanate from any challenges.

With God all things are possible.

Good day,

Benard Nadiope.

Anonymous said...

John W. Brumlow said...

All is well in our new day. All was well done in days past. That well is the living water flowing from within that quenches thirst and never runs dry.

Anonymous said...

Jere Luck said...

Hey Bishop, I apologize for even worrying about the streaming! This is not about that. After I posted that, I thought "geez, we might have to close the doors". Uhhh, that's a little bigger than the streaming issue. Sorry! It was just a gut reaction following the service on Sunday. I'm praying for you and the miracle at hand! I love you and all my CITN family.

Anonymous said...

Mike Collins said...

Jere no reason to apologize for streaming going away - it is actually a compliment - that it is that important to you/us.
I enjoyed streaming myself and will miss it - Downsizing is a fact of life in this environment - I have done the same in my household - I know it is for but a season - see you online again soon Jimbo :)

Anonymous said...

I love reading these verses from The Message... "God doesn't come and go. God lasts" I love that!

I'm remembering today that it's all working together...I'm breathing in peace from the Holy Spirit and believing the very best has yet to come!

I love you CITN!!!

Anonymous said...

Silent Night by the Trans Siberian Orchestra is playing right now and its so peaceful to me.... All is calm, all is bright...

I thank God for Church In The Now, Bishop and his amazing staff. I'm thankful for all the beautiful faces that I see each week. I'm thankful for the relationships that have been born b/c of CITN...CITN brings light to Conyers, GA. I'm so thankful and trust in Him and know that its going to be ok... no matter what...

Karl said...

Grace and peace to you Bishop... all is well.

Waiting on the Lord also means that you are waiting on your Shepherd. He is the owner, and He is in charge. It may be that He, as Shepherd, is scouting the land as to which direction for us to go. Give Him some room, settle down sheep...we still have pasture and we still have water, and we still have a shepherd.

Bishop, from your own writing I send out this reminder..."Today I will drink from the fountain of living waters-the artesian well of joy that flows in my life EVEN IN THE MIDST OF HARDSHIP and persecution. With joy I will draw water from the wells of salvation, and I WILL BE HAPPY EVEN WHEN I SHOULDN'T BE (according to the natural world). My joy comes from a supernatural source and provides me with supernatural strength.
AYITN - December 12, #5.

Wait on the Shepherd...listen for His voice...and stand still, and see the salvation of our God!

Love you.


ps. I believe the Lord takes pleasure in the prosperity of His servant...(you, me, CITN)

Anonymous said...

This writing was done by my cousin several years ago. I believe Bishop will enjoy it and it is extended here for all because this is a large part of what Bishop's teaching reveals about the God man, Jesus the Christ.


As thoughtful persons contemplate the de- frocking of Jamie Creech by the United Meth- odist Church last week in Nebraska for per- forming a same-sex union ceremony, perhaps questions of the meaning reconciliation will arise.
Among United Methodists the term “reconcil- ing” has come to have a special meaning, des- ignating (unofficially) congregations that wel- come persons of all sexual orientations—as they are. I wrote the meditation below some years back as I wandered through the Scrip- tures trying to grasp reconciliation. I wondered what reconciliation would mean to God and from God’s point of view.

A Prologue of God:

The desire to create is a thing often misappre- hended by humankind.
What rarely is noticed is that, while a fable has its high and low points, where the lowest points become the highest, if the fable is worthy, the fable is yet one with a beginning, and one with an end.
Witness.

A Poem of God:

Dwell too long upon a Word; it begins to lose its Meaning.
A Word becomes a Mark standing for Nothing, in particular. I once spoke a Word, for I desired to Create.
I then knew My Word had become Not Myself, but something Other, and I desired that I and My Word should again be One, for I can desire nothing Other.
I longed for the silence, the selfsame silence I had broken because I desired to create, for the silence was One.
And yet I spoke as now I speak, giving form to that void which was not Myself, and calling it beautiful in many ways.
And hence, I spoke again, and where there had been two, there was a Many whose name is Legion, and the more there were, the further was I from Myself.
What are They that I should watch Them, gather all that was Me back unto Myself?
Yet, I could become Other than Myself. . . be- ing for a time that Other which is not Myself; then could I in time gather Me back unto Myself because I was yet not Myself, but that Other I had become in My place?
I desire it, though it be undesirable that I should become Other than Myself; for that Other whom I should become, inasmuch as that One is not Myself, is not One at all, and thus only desires One thing for all that, I can no less stand in the place of that Other, as a Word can stand in the place of what It desires.
A Word which gathers things unto Itself, recalls and secures them in itself forever.

An Epilogue of God:

This I will do, and so have I acted.
There have even so been More and More, the Manys countless as the minutes, but this mo- tion does change its direction: where there have been More and More, there shall be Fewer and Fewer, their difference gathered in the Selfsame Thought Thinking Myself.

And then All are One in My Word, when My Word has recollected All, I shall have gathered them unto Myself every One; I shall have again become complete as I am.

By Randall Auxier, Prof. of Philosophy at Oklahoma City University. Auxier is an active lay member of Crown Heights United Methodist Church in Oklahoma City.

Pamela H said...

All is well. For some reason I have peace about this F word associated with CITN. I should be freaking out because my life is CITN - so what is the deal? Maybe I am in denial? Or maybe I just know His Will - will be done. All is well!!!! Standing !!!!

Should be freaking out,
Pamela H

PS - I still might freak out.

Anonymous said...

All of this really makes me sad.

(Def: "affected by unhappiness or grief; sorrowful or mournful") I am that the place that me and my family have been an active part in, that my children only know as church, is in the situation that it is in.

BECAUSE of the (Def: deplorably bad; sorry: a sad attempt) despicably sad attempt of people to step up and BECOME CITN.

BECAUSE, and, I may be going a little nutso here, that we have a congregate people that (gasp) may be supporting elsewhere, but coming to get the TRUTH here, knowing it is the "mom-n-em" mentality that keeps them in that cycle.

Sad, I say, just sad.

And, that it is the same "20%" who are reading this that none of this applies to.

Therefore, I too will wait on the Lord to do some mighty work in the hearts of the people. "All come".

Anonymous said...

Hello CITN Family. I am expecting to have our mail server up and running by tomorrow (Wednesday), late afternoon. It has been a tough trouble and has taken a lot to resolve. Please pray and agree that the BACKUP is a good one and the fix will work. Oh, and bring someone to Church this week.
Calvin

Anonymous said...

listening to Rich Mullins "Calling Out Your Name" this morning and this Church was heavy on my mind. The song says "I feel thunder in the sky / I see the sky about to rain / And I hear the prairies calling out Your name" - I was struck by the thought of dark clouds overhead and rumblings of storms to come but in fact what actually happens is a rain of blessing, a show of God's awesome strength and provision and mercy at the same time - and the prairies calling out Your Name.

Anonymous said...

Loving, praying and standing firm for the move of the spirit of support revelation in the people of this church.

This is the season of miracles and ours is at hand...can you see it yet?

Dont leave us just yet Bishop.

Anonymous said...

Perfect, Anon at 6:24 and Anon at 2:43, "Therefore, I too will wait on the Lord to do some mighty work in the hearts of the people. 'All come'." YES!

I normally post with a name here but for this post I'm using anonymous. This is the only place I can do that. Facebook and ITB have faces so this is the only place I can speak and reveal some things I'd rather keep personal, say some things Bishop might not say and also let the thoughts be considered for themselves, without any baggage.

First, I'm a giver. Like Pastor Scott, I used to be a member of Takers Anonymous but somewhere along the line I realized taking was a lower level of selfishness and a higher level selfishness existed and it was giving. I give and tithe here because I want CITN to be here for others just like it was here for me because of the giving of people who were here before me. I give extra so that the streaming will be here for people who cannot be in the building and because I know that the whole world needs this teaching more than it needs its necessary food.

Anyone reading this already knows they can bank on the fact that this teaching will change the world and it will come through Bishop Jim and his unique gifting. And, the truth is, it could come from anywhere in the world, especially with technology being what it is. But what about you? In the "It's a Wonderful Life" tradition, it's tempting to wonder "what would Conyers be like if CITN had not existed"? Bishop is not the one who needs to know that, he already clearly knows. It's us that needs to learn it. Does every person at CITN realize how important YOU are? Do you know that YOU are in the movie, right now, having Clarence show you the effect of what it's like without you? A foreclosure looms and that isn’t all.

I heard some say, "Well, I'll sit on the curb and listen to Bishop preach." And I heard, "The building's not important, we'll start again somewhere else."

All that is valid and could happen, I guess, (though I question the stamina of those who would "sit on the curb". For real? In the rain?) but, consider this: what if Bishop decides to open an orphanage on the other side of the world and start with a whole new generation from the beginning and THEY are the ones who change the world? Will you wish you had let the Christ become real here? I will, but my giving cannot do it all by itself, which appears to be the point. What if Bishop decides to shut down the blog and Facebook and focus 100% on the kids in that orphanage, on the other side of the world? The truth is, if you’re still thinking only of yourself, he’s left behind some valuable work you could “live on”. Have you bought it? Bishop’s lead us all to develop a relationship with God so that He could sustain us? Are you there yet? But what about that Christ thing? How often do you think you’d remember the potential that was never realized here, in THIS building?

Most of us think, man, COME ON guy who’s gonna write one big check! One guy is not the Christ. So here’s a math lesson for your consideration: 1,000 people giving $60 a week is $60,000. I think that’s the number that was mentioned on Sunday. Times are challenging, so maybe there’s some who can only give $30. There’s probably some who can give $90, so that’s still $60,000. Every check counts. Every week. Are you listening to Clarence?

Sheri Travis said...

That is brilliant anon. 7:10!!!So simple...Bishop, u should paste that on fb. I've read every post numerous times. When I try to write the floods come on & I can't see to type. We are committed to this ministry. I LOVE tithing!!!I'm not kidding either. I love CITN & Bishop's teachings.This is the greatest ministry in the world!!!Maybe we should do a month of prayer where we have our people praying on the property 24/7? This is the field of dreams.

Northern Light said...

I believe in CITN and in Bishop & P. Debye.

I believe there's trouble in the air.

I believe the air can change, as the wind does blow.

I believe that people can give, a little, a lot, something.

I believe everyone matters and everyone counts.

I believe the streamers matter.

I believe the ITB people matter.

I believe Bishop knows what he's doing and needs our support as long as this season endures.

I believe I will be blessed by being able to be ITB for the New Year weekend and I believe we all will have CITN in 2010 ~

Give, Live, Believe.

Peace,
NL

Anonymous said...

Amy Hamrick siad...

Bishop, Sunday was a blow to my heart as I am sure you have been feeling. I walked out feeling the reality of it and went there in my head. There is no way those doors will ever close. You, that church saved my life in a time I could barely make it from one day to the next. I mean there were times that all I knew to do... was come sit in the church and cry (you know when I speak of). I am not sure how it will happen but it is all going to be fine. I do have peace about, and I hope you do the same. No matter what happens I love you and the church and all you stand for. I am alive and in my right mind because the word that you speak and thank you for doing it. Merry Christmas!!!!

Anonymous said...

Anon 2:43 here. Funny, It's about the same time as yesterday that I check in. When I actually get it posted is another story.

Anon 7:10, WTG!

Can the greeters stand at the doors, and with handshakes and hugs they so generously give, hand each and every person an envelope as well, and encourage giving?

I get it--times are challenging-- having to wonder what sort of Christmas miracle is going to happen for Santa to make a showing for my kids is not stopping me from giving!

We have an SOS on our hands! Save our souls! (Done) Save our 'ship! (As in Bi-shop) Save our standing in this community (for the beautiful truth and manna we receive) Save our streaming! (for our world-wide congregates)

C'mon people, be an instrument of change.