We've Moved...Come With Us!

The Awaken Church blog has moved to a new host. We will be using this blog as a communication center with our team in Columbia and our support network in and outside of Columbia. Also, we will use this blog as our temporary website until we launch our full site in early 2009.

Our web address is still AwakenColumbia.com, but our subscription feeds have changed. If you have been subscribed via email, you will need to re-subscribe. Click here to re-enter your email address and begin receiving updates in your inbox.

If you are following Awaken via an RSS reader, our new feed is:
http://feeds.feedburner.com/AwakenChurch

So, update your subscription and follow the journey of Awaken Church as we seek to join God in the transformation of people, our city, and the world!

Changes & Updates Coming

We are so excited about what God is up to in Columbia! Over the last couple of months, God has been giving us clarity in vision, sending us people ready to be missionaries in our city, and giving us opportunities to serve and engage people who are far from God.

Right now, we are focused on raising the necessary funds to launch Awaken Church and on building the foundation team that will go on mission together to start the church. We are blown away at how God is providing already - it's just more confirmation of what He is doing in our city and the part that He wants Awaken Church to play in it.

Over the next couple of days, you'll see some changes on this blog. We want this to become an easy communication for people in Columbia and people from outside of Columbia who are praying for and financially partnering with Awaken Church. So, we're going to give the blog some facelifts and start posting quite regularly with stories, prayer needs, and ways you can be involved in Awaken Church.

Thanks for your encouragement and prayers to this point - our city is waking up!

The Vision for Awaken

"The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel." - Jesus, Mark 1:14-15

This was a bit of a head scratching statement for those who heard it. Surely some looked around for a great palace and the tremendous military presence that they were certain would accompany the promised Messiah.

Instead, the guy that had been slinging a hammer in his dad's carpentry shop for most of his first 30 years said, "Hey, that kingdom you've been looking for is already here." Jesus' opening statement for His ministry set the perfect foundation for the 3 years that would follow.

The One who had all authority, power, and knowledge did the exact opposite of what everyone thought. He preached good news to the poor. Shared meals with tax collectors and sinners. Told stories about His Father's obsession with the one who is lost. Touched lepers. Shared water with an adulterous woman. Laughed with children. Fed thousands for free. Loved and nurtured 12 ordinary men and called them His disciples. Washed the feet of His betrayer. Died a criminal's death. Beat death, sin, and hell.

Instead of founding a kingdom driven by power, Jesus founded one built on humility. Instead of founding a kingdom obsessed with wealth, He founded one built on sacrifice. Instead of founding a kingdom of "me first," He founded a kingdom of "you first."

And that kingdom is still at hand.

Sure, it's hard to see these days. There's virtually no behavioral or values difference between those who say they follow Jesus and those who don't. While Jesus was irresistible, those of us who follow Him in the 21st century have become quite resistible.

Anti-homosexual. Judgmental. Hypocritical. Boring. These are some of the first perceptions non-Christians have of Christians as reported in the book, unChristian. What happened to the kingdom Jesus founded...the upside-down, alternate, counter-cultural kingdom of humility, service, grace, and love?

What if we could see the kingdom of God at hand in Columbia, SC? What if everything that is wrong was made right? What if people who call themselves followers of Jesus actually tried to act like Jesus? What if Jesus-followers realized they need to repent as much as those who are not Jesus followers? What if we lived with the expectation that God is already at work all around us and that He is inviting us to join Him?

Awaken is a community of people who live for the "what if."

We are a community of people seeking to adjust our lives around the life, mission, teachings, and Lordship of Jesus with the hope that as we do, others who are close by will be awakened to see the irresistible Jesus of the Scriptures in us.

Awaken is not a place to go as much as it is a people to belong to. We have been called to live out the good news of the Kingdom of God in such a way that every man, woman, and child in every niche of Metro Columbia would have repeated opportunities to see, hear, and understand the gospel of Jesus. Our dream is that church would happen in every place where people live, work, play, and serve.

We're not a reaction to more traditional forms of church. We're not trying to prove anyone wrong. We're not trying to stick it anyone. Our desire is to make the gospel accessible to those who are the most resistant to church and in doing so, partner with other gospel-centered churches and communities to see Metro Columbia transformed by the power of the gospel.

This journey is just beginning. If you're in Metro Columbia and want to know more, feel free to email us at awakencolumbia@gmail.com.

Worship & Communion Gathering TONIGHT!

40 days ago, we began a season of prayer where we begged God to change us so He can use us to change our city, state, nation, and world. Tonight, we're joining together to celebrate all that He has done in the last 40 days to answer that prayer.

We'll gather tonight at 6:00 pm in the Children's Building at North Point Church to worship, pray, share stories, celebrate communion, and look ahead to what is next for Awaken. Childcare will be provided.

As we gather tonight as a community to worship and celebrate, feel free to invite and bring friends that are curious about Jesus, Awaken, or both! We'll finish around 7:15 pm...and who knows, a random dinner gathering might break out!

God is on the move...tonight, let's celebrate Him and commit ourselves to be His hands and feet!

Day 38 & 39: Matthew 27 & 28

Our journey through the Gospel of Matthew concludes with the two most significant events of Jesus' life and mission and the events that form the very foundation of the Christian faith.

In Matthew 27, we read Matthew's account of the crucifixion of Jesus.  Without the suffering and death of Jesus, there is no atonement for our sin. Without the blood of Jesus, there is no forgiveness. Remember where our journey began..Isaiah 53 prophesied the abuse that Jesus would endure on our behalf. Isaiah said that it was God's will to crush Him...that forgiveness and grace might be extended to the world. All sin - past, present, and future - was atoned for and paid for on the cross at Calvary. All of your sin and all of my sin has been forgiven by the bloody death of Jesus.

But if Jesus remains in the grave, then He's just another prophet and Christianity is just another religion. Matthew 28 is Matthew's account of what happened after the death of Jesus. It is Jesus' resurrection that separates Him from every other religious leader. It is the resurrection that separates Christianity from every other religion. It is the resurrection that gives us new life, not just a "get out of hell" card! Jesus died and was raised so that you and I could live...really live, both in this life and for all eternity!

And of course, Matthew's gospel concludes with Jesus' commissioning of all those who would follow Him. Our mission is clear - as we go about living our lives, be about the work of making disciples. After all, Jesus is at work drawing every man, woman, and child to Himself and He calls you and me to join Him in that work. He calls us to lead new believers to publicly declare their faith in baptism and teach believers to do everything He has taught us to do. Invite people into your life...let them see your good deeds up close and learn how to do the same. As Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11, we should invite others to imitate us as we imitate Jesus.

Jesus commission was not just to do it close to home. He calls us to take it to the nations. He calls us to take His gospel to the billions who live in this world who have never heard the name of Jesus. At the same time, He calls us to take the gospel everywhere we go - to the places where we live, work, and play and to the people we know and don't know in these places.

Jesus closes His commissioning with some of the most encouraging words He could have ever uttered. He promised that as we go about taking the gospel to the nations and making disciples, He is with us every step of the way! The only way to ultimate intimacy with Jesus is to join Him in His mission of making disciples...not only do we get to be a part of His mission, but we know Him better and more deeply in the process. Wow!

Reflect on the sacrifice Jesus made on your behalf. Reflect on the life Jesus offers you because of the resurrection. Are you fully embracing the life He offers you...the life He purchased for you in His death and resurrection?

Are you joining Jesus on His mission to make disciples? How can you be the hands and feet of Jesus today?

Day 35, 36, & 37: Matthew 24, 25, & 26

As we move through the final week of our fast, it correlates with us reading through the last days of Jesus' life on earth.

In Matthew 24, Jesus reveals some of the signs that will accompany the end of the age and His return.

In Matthew 25, Jesus uses the imagery of parables to teach what will happen at the final judgment.

In Matthew 26, Jesus shares His last meal with the disciples, prays in the Garden of Gethsemane, is arrested, and stands before Caiaphas where He is mocked, spat upon, and beaten.

After having read all of Matthew's account of Jesus' life up to this point, the final days become that much more emotional. Anger, sadness, fear, and more flood our hearts as we read the account of the final days of Jesus' life.

How do these chapters impact you? How is God calling you to live differently? How is He calling you to worship Him differently?

Day 32: Matthew 23

"For they preach, but do not practice."

In today's reading, Jesus gives His most obvious and direct rebuke of the Pharisees and the brand of religion they taught and lived.  He begins by warning His followers not to mimic the lives of the Pharisees because they do not practice what they preach. Then He pronounces seven woes against the Pharisees. To use a term we're fond of in Awaken, Jesus dropped some hammers!

Read Matthew 23 and journal your thoughts.

If we're honest, we're more like the Pharisees than we'd care to admit. How do Jesus' words to them convict and challenge you? What do you need to do today in response to Jesus' words?

Day 29, 30, & 31: Matthew 20, 21, 22

Apologies for technical and admin errors on the blog over the last few days. We're back on track now...hopefully you didn't get too far off track!

In Matthew 20, 21, and 22, the scene begins to change. In Matthew 20, Jesus once again predicts His death and resurrection. In Matthew 21, Jesus enters Jerusalem and cleanses the temple. In Matthew 22, the Pharisees turn up the heat on their plots to arrest Jesus while His parables speak more about the eternal Kingdom. The miracles and healings take a back seat to the teaching and signs of the impending Cross, resurrection, and perfected Kingdom that is to come.

What stands out to you from these three chapters? What verse(s) really speaks to you? What verse(s) requires the biggest adjustment in order for you to live more like Jesus?

Click comment and share what God is teaching you and how your life is changing as a result!

Day 28: Matthew 19

Jesus teaches on two very difficult subjects in today's reading.

Divorce was a huge issue when He spoke these words and it is a huge issue today. The heart behind the teaching...marriage was God's idea, not ours. We take an authority that is not ours to take when we end a marriage for reasons other than the one Jesus spells out here - sexual immorality. People who live in the Kingdom of God know that marriage is a huge decision and do not enter a marriage without much prayer and counsel. People who live in the Kingdom of God believe that "I do" means "I do...forever" and order their marriage and lives accordingly. If we are to have a voice of influence in this matter, then Jesus followers must make better decisions when it comes to entering a marriage relationship and must show greater resolve and commitment when it comes to making a marriage work.

Wealth is the other big issue Jesus deals with in this chapter. Do you know how to be rich? If not, then you better figure it out because you are rich. Chances are pretty high that you make more money than 98% of the rest of the world. And, as you know, often times the more money you have and the more stuff you have, the more complicated life becomes. People who live in the Kingdom of God manage and spend their money differently. They live with less so they can give more. They know that all they have is given by God to be used for His Kingdom.

Read Matthew 19 and journal your thoughts. Feel free to share some of your thoughts and questions here in the comment section.

In the areas of marriage and money, we have tremendous opportunities to set an example of what living in the Kingdom of God looks like.

Day 25: Matthew 18

In today's reading, Jesus teaches us how to be great in the Kingdom of God, how to deal with temptation, who the Father searches for and rejoices over, how to handle conflict in relationships, and what it means to truly forgive.

The answers reveal more of the upside-down, alternate Kingdom that Jesus founded, lived in, and invites us to live in. Read Matthew 18 and journal your thoughts.

How do you need to humble yourself today?

What drastic step do you need to take to deal with temptation?

Which of your non-Christian friends are you going to spend intentional with this week?

Who do you need to pursue reconciliation with?

Who do you need to forgive?

Big, life-changing questions if we answer and respond with honesty and obedience.

Day 24: Matthew 17

If you've been a Christian for very long, you have undoubtedly heard someone use the phrase "mountaintop experience." The phrase usually refers to a season of life or a specific experience when you felt especially close and connected with God. The prayer that accompanies such an experience is usually for it not to end. But often, as soon as it came, it's gone and not much changed for the long-term.

The disciples had a similar such experience in Matthew 17. Peter, James, and John experienced something no one else had at that time or has experienced since. They had the ultimate mountaintop experience! It was so good, Peter wanted to make arrangements for them to stay a while.

Yet not long after leaving the mountain and the amazing experience, they could not do a simple thing Jesus had given them authority to do. In His rebuke, Jesus called them a "faithless and twisted generation" because of their lack of faith.

The same guys that didn't want to leave the mountain struggled to follow Jesus on the ground. Isn't the same true of you and me?

We never want our favorite worship song to end. We remember that retreat or camp or worship service that we never wanted to end. We want to feel close to God.

We've all had those "mountaintop experiences"...but what if the ultimate mountaintop experience doesn't even happen on "the mountain?" What if it happens on "the ground?" What if it happens without the glamour and the lights and the angelic choirs? What if it happens in simple acts of faith and obedience?

Read about the mountaintop experience of Peter, James, and John and the subsequent events in Matthew 17 and journal your thoughts.

Are you looking for mountaintops or opportunities for obedience and exercising your faith?

Day 23: Matthew 16

"But who do you say I am?"

After a visit from Jesus, people in a city had to make a decision about Him. Was He really the Messiah? Was He the return of Elijah or one of the other prophets? Jesus asked the disciples what others said about Him. Then, He turned the question on them: "Who do you say I am?"

That is THE question for you and me today. If Jesus is Lord and Messiah, then everything changes...everything.

Read Matthew 16 and journal your thoughts.

What does your life say about who Jesus is?

Do you believe that Jesus is at work building His church, even among people that don't look or live like you? Do you believe that He can and will use you to bring that work to fruition?

What does it look like for you to deny yourself and take up your cross today?

If Jesus is Lord of your life and mine, then everything changes. Everything.

Day 22: Matthew 15

What really defines a person? Is it the way he honors tradition or by what comes out of his life? This was the subject of yet another conversation between Jesus and the religious leaders.

For the Pharisees, it was about tradition. To which, Jesus asked, "Why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?"

We also catch Jesus showing compassion to those who often received little or none.  And, He feeds a mass of people again with just seven loaves of bread and a few fish. What in the world was it like to follow Him around?!

Read Matthew 15 and journal your thoughts.

How is your tradition getting in the way of real life? Is the product of your life...your whole life...honoring God?  Or, are you just concerned about following a certain routine regardless of the lack of transformation in your life?

Who around you needs to receive compassion today? How can you show and give it?

Day 21: Matthew 14

We've moved past the halfway point in our 40 Day journey of prayer & repentance where we are begging God to change us and begging Him to use us to change our city. Hopefully, you spent some time over the weekend reflecting on what God is doing to awaken your heart to what He is up to in and around you.  If not, be sure to take some time today to do so and share your story here on the blog. A post dedicated to stories will go up later today and you can comment there.

In today's reading (Matthew 14) from the gospel of Matthew, we catch Matthew's accounts of two of Jesus' most famous miracles - feeding the 5000 with 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish, and walking on the water to join the disciples who were far out to sea. 

Put yourself in the disciples' shoes as Jesus handed them the bread and fish to distribute to the people...or imagine being one of the hungry people waiting on food and wondering if there would be enough for you. You had to be confused, nervous, and a little skeptical of what Jesus was up to! Yet, everyone ate, everyone was full, and a lot of leftovers were collected! It was a question of trust, not resource. How is Jesus calling you to trust Him?

Or what if you were on the boat in the middle of the sea when all of a sudden, here comes Jesus walking on top of the water?! First, He feeds 5000 people with so little resource. Now, He's walking on water! Are you like Peter and willing to step out of the comfort and security of the boat to join Him? Again, it's a question of trust.

Following Jesus into the kingdom is a question of trust. There is no doubt Jesus will call us make uncomfortable decisions in order to see His kingdom at work. What do you need to do today to put your trust in Jesus to work?

Day 18: Matthew 13

"The kingdom of God is like..." A planted seed. A mustard seed. A fine pearl. A buried treasure. A fine pearl. A net.  Using a series of parables, Jesus teaches the disciples and others who gathered around about the Kingdom of God.

Their expectation of the kingdom was big, powerful, overwhelming, and forceful. Through the parables, Jesus tells them that the kingdom is in the places where you least expect it, among the people where you least expect it, and that it comes to the surface in ways that you wouldn't expect.

Read these parables in Matthew 13 and journal your thoughts.

What does the kingdom of God look like around you? Where is the small, undiscovered, often overlooked place/life where God is at work?

How is God inviting you to join Him? It might seem small, but if it's for His kingdom, it can change the world!

Day 17: Matthew 12

In case you haven't noticed, there is a constant tension between Jesus and the religious leaders known as the Pharisees and the scribes.  It seems that in every "episode," Jesus is doing something that turns their religious laws upside down. Several such instances occur in today's reading.

Read Matthew 12 and journal your thoughts.

How is God calling you to leave a life of rules and religion and join Him in His kingdom work?

Day 16: Matthew 11

A bold question. A stinging rebuke. A call to rest.

John asks Jesus, "Are you the one who is to come or shall we look for another?" Strange question since John was the forerunner of Jesus...he prepared the way for Jesus' arrival.  Why does he doubt now that Jesus is, in fact, the Messiah? Wonder if the world around us asks the same question of Jesus today?

Jesus gives a sharp rebuke to the cities where He had preached and given hope to the hopeless, yet the city was left unchanged and unrepentant. To whom much is given, much is expected. Are you repenting and changing as a result of the work of Jesus in your life? Your family? Your neighborhood? Your office?

Jesus gives a call to the meek, humble, broken, and weary...He invites them to come to Him and find rest for their souls. What does this rest look like for you? What robs you of the rest that Jesus offers you?

Read Matthew 11 and journal your thoughts.

Day 15: Matthew 10

Some have said that Jesus was the greatest leader ever to live in human history. Instead of picking the elite, He hand-picked ordinary, uneducated men to be His followers. They weren't just followers...Jesus would hand over the keys of His revolutionary mission to these guys.

In today's reading, Jesus gives them authority and sends them out to preach the good news of the Kingdom of God. Read Matthew 10 and journal your thoughts.

Where is Jesus calling you to go today? To whom is Jesus sending you? In the same way He told the apostles to not be afraid, He calls you and me to not be afraid, but to trust and follow Him into mission. Jesus invites you and me to preach and live out the good news of the Kingdom where we are, as we are going, and among those who are around us!

Day 14: Matthew 9

A paralytic walks. Two blind men are given sight. A woman is healed from a disease she's had for 12 years. A little girl's life is restored...after the people laughed at Jesus for even trying. A mute speaks. Jesus stumps the Pharisees again. Jesus hangs out with tax collectors & sinners after calling a tax collector to be one of His disciples. Jesus casts a vision for the harvest.

All this happens in Matthew 9. Read the scriptures and journal your thoughts.

Jesus can do anything.  He can use you to do anything He wants to use you to do. How often do you laugh at or write off the things He calls you to do?

Are you engaged in the harvest? Are you joining Jesus in the work He is doing to offer hope to the harassed and helpless who are far from Him? Do you have good friends who are not yet Jesus-followers? Are you broken over lostness?

How do you respond to Matthew 9?

Day 11: Matthew 8

Jesus is a rockstar now. When He finished the Sermon on the Mount, the scriptures say that the crowd was amazed at His teaching...and it was no small crowd. Thousands heard Jesus' teaching and their amazement caused them to follow Him to see what would happen next.

Today, we read about what happened next in Matthew 8. Read the scriptures and journal your thoughts.

If I had a crowd of thousands following me after a sermon, I'm not sure I'd even notice the people Jesus did in Matthew 8, much less stop to give them hope. Jesus did and He calls you and me to do the same. Look for the person or people in your life that need a shot of hope today.

Or, maybe you need to trust Jesus in the middle of a great personal storm.  In a word, Jesus made the waves and the wind cease...and He can do the same in your life.  But, there is a lesson He wants to teach you through your storm. Can you discover that today?