Anthony Trask » Kingdom

Thank You’s, Part 1

Anthony — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 00:53:37 +0000

I have some AWESOME leaders and volunteers serving with me at Fellowship Church!

I want to spend this week pointing out some people that I’m thankful for, certain individuals that if I had an entire church full of, the entire city would be reached with the Gospel.

Now inevitably I will forget all sorts of great people who it is an honor to serve with, but I just wanted to take some time to honor some people that have really been on my heart and have gone above and beyond in serving the Kingdom.

REPEAT- Do not get your feelings hurt if I do not write about you- you’re awesome too, this is just a five day sampling of some great folks.

Day #1:

Jeremy Allen:

I had the privilege of walking Jeremy through premarital counseling with his wife, Jennifer a little over a year ago, and the privilege of performing their marriage ceremony. We all hit it off right away as friends. I never expected them to become a part of our church as a result of the marriage process, but that’s what happened. Over the past year and a half, I have watched Jeremy grow leaps and bounds in His walk with Christ, and it has been nothing short of remarkable! The changes God has made in his life are so awesome and evident!

Jeremy’s desire to be involved in ministry, and to serve the local church, is awe-inspiring. If he sees something that needs to be done around the church, he does it. He doesn’t say it needs to be done. Doesn’t ask if it should or could be done. Doesn’t ask someone else to do it. Jeremy sees a need, takes initiative, makes a plan of action, often purchasing materials that are needed with his own funds, and sees the need through its total completion. He doesn’t leave a project half-finished, and doesn’t leave a mess behind to clean-up.

Recently we covered the windows in our church’s auditorium with black plastic (that Jeremy provided) underneath of our vertical blinds to help control our stage lighting. Jeremy wasn’t satisfied with the black plastic, and one day, without asking, I saw him start bringing in plywood, cutting it down to fit the windows, and inserting custom made panels into every single window- Wow! Thank you Jeremy.

In fact, right this instant, I am typing this blog from a desk that Jeremy custom-made, just for me!

Over the past year, it’s becoming obvious that God is calling Jeremy into ministry, and I, as his pastor, want to help him see that calling through. As a result of God’s calling and empowering, and Jeremy’s awesome ability to connect with children; he has recently become Fellowship Church’s Kid’s Pastor. And he’s been tailor-made by God for this position. I am so excited to where he and his wife Jennifer take our kid’s program, and excited to see what else God has in store for them as a couple- in life as a whole, and in ministry.

Something For You?!

Anthony — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 07:09:52 +0000

Several years ago an amazing church was planted in my city. The founding pastors were passionate about seeing God’s Kingdom advanced. The location of the new church plant was prime. The music was hands-down the BEST in town. The messages were solid and Biblically content-driven. And the turnout to their services, for this area, was nothing short of amazing.
The crowd they were drawing was young. Many young people from the city’s established churches started attending this church on Sunday evenings, because they heard that it was the cool place to go, while still continuing to attend their home church on Sunday mornings. Because of those factors, the monies filtering into the church through tithes and offerings were minuscule compared to the number of people attending services each week.
So the proportionately small number of “older” young adults and the handful of middle-aged and older adults were crucial to the spiritual maturity and financial stability of the church.
The main founding pastor, who had drawn most of the people there in the first place, moved away quickly to work at a large church in another state; leaving behind his qualified partner to solely pastor the new congregation.
When he left, people still stuck around. In fact, the church moved into a decent permanent building and officially joined an influential church network.
But the buzz about that church has almost completely diminished in town. I no longer know anyone who goes there. So I have absolutely no idea what’s going on there any longer, although I believe that they are still doing well and doing great things, and I wish them the very best.
The reason I am writing about this church, though, is because I was talking to someone the other day who is friends with a young financially blessed family who was involved in this church during the early days.
The wife in this family was telling my friend that once the main founding pastor left, they took inventory of the successful church plant only to be faced with the reality that the church was completely filled with younger adults. She and her husband, upon this realization, determined that there was nothing at the new church for them, and left to go to a church where there would be “more for them.”
This information made my heart cringe a little. A church filled with young adults is rare in today’s world and is something that most pastors long for (or at least should). But this family felt that there wouldn’t be anything “for them” in such a church.
This couple’s sediments reflect the problem with the American Church very well. Church to many, if not most, has become something that’s not about glorifying God or advancing His Kingdom, but rather something that is all about them: How comfortable am I there? How can the Church serve me? Will I like the music? Will the message inspire me and make me feel good about myself? Will I be able to feel God’s Spirit on me? Will there be people there like me who I can get along with?
Me, me, me…My, my, my…I, I, I…
This young growing church plant could have benefited greatly from the involvement of this young, mature, financially stable family. And this family would have experienced much blessing and a mighty move of God through their potential involvement in and sacrifice for this new church. They could have mentored and ministered to dozens of young Believers and used their influence amongst their friends and colleagues to help grow the church’s reach to young families and other “older” young adults. But instead they left because there wasn’t enough there for them.
And when this young family left, where did they go? They went to a large church in town that is known for being upper-class and filled with middle-aged to older adults. This church that they now attend is filled with people who were once heavily involved in ministry, but who can now blend comfortably into the crowd. It’s a decent church with some decent leaders, but from what I can see, they keep things pretty comfortable- Modern music, but not too modern or edgy, and definitely not too loud. Good teaching, but definitely more inspiration than conviction. And no real urgency for participation or involvement, but lots of opportunities to fit in with the crowd without being noticed.
Bottom line?
Church IS NOT about us! It’s about being a part of a community that glorifies God and advances His Kingdom- period. And when we take part in community like that, not only is God glorified and His Kingdom advanced, but that’s where we find fulfillment and blessing.
So if you’re a part of a church that exists to glorify God and advance His Kingdom, has solid leadership leading the charge, and is starting to make headway in doing so; don’t get upset because there’s nothing for you! This was never about you to begin with! It’s always been about God and those far from Him. So forget about yourself, find a place to serve, and get to work! Then you’ll find lots of things within the church for you that meet your needs. Because our greatest needs are met when we forget about our needs and serve.
Jesus didn’t call you to blend in, He called you to stand-out to bring Him the glory!

Running Into The New Year.

Anthony — Sun, 03 Jan 2010 06:34:06 +0000

I started the New Year with a 3 mile run in the pouring down rain. The wind and the rain whipped acrossed my face as I pushed my body away from home and back.
It was torture, it was invigorating, it was worship.
As I began to think of the New Year, thoughts began to flood my inner ears- that’s that whose possesion I do not know.
The Words wrang through my mind as the rain beat on my face:
“2010 will be a year in which I am most glorified in you!”
“2010 will be a year in which My Kingdom will be advanced like never before in your community!”
“This will be a year in which you will grow more intimate with your family!”
“2010 will be a year that your community will be served like never before.”
I don’t want to say that this was prophecy for sure, because I am not sure. But I do know that the thoughts and words that echoed through my soul were not unBiblical and would certainly be pleasing to God if they came to fruition.
As I meditated on these words I realized that in order for these things to happen- for God to be glorified, for His Kingdom to be advanced, for my family to grow more intimate with each other, and for my community to be served like neve before- that I will have to be ‘most satisfied’ in Him.
I am scared and I am excited. So be it Lord. Let this be a crazy year all about you!

I Want

Anthony — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:21:02 +0000

As Christmas approaches; there are many things that I want:
An Amazon Kindle
A MacBook Pro
An External Hard Drive
A DSLR Camera
An Electric Razor
Bose Hardphones
Etc…
But that’s all just stuff!
A lot of times when I go to funerals, and when eulogies are read and people get up to say something nice about their departed loved one, I hear about how the person loved to fish, krochet, hunt, make quilts, and what they did for a living. These things are not bad things, but they’re definitely not THE things you want to be remembered for.
This past week I went to a memorial service for a dear friend’s mother. And at the heart of the eulogy and every nice thing someone had to say was,” (this woman) loved Jesus and had an amazing prayer life.”
That was awesome. It made me think about what I want to be remembered for- that I liked to watch movies and do stuff on the computer; or that I loved Jesus and completely devoted my life to Him?
And with my Christmas wishlist in mind, what I really want is:
A New Heart conformed to the heart of God,
A Humble Spirit,
A Complete Filling by the Holy Spirit to move boldly on His behalf,
To Please God with my entire being,
To Advance God’s Kingdom by being involved in leading thousands to Christ,
To Motivate and Empower Christians to be the Church and to lead those they come into contact with to Christ.
To Love my Family with all that God has given me so that they love Christ and those around them,
and To Know God More through the Reading of His Word and a Connection with His Spirit.
This is what I really want for Christmas-although an Amazon Kindle would be pretty sweet.

What Would Happen?

Anthony — Sat, 28 Nov 2009 21:36:57 +0000

What would happen if our eyes were opened to the world all around? What if , like Balaam or like the command of Elisha, we could see God’s heavenly hosts battling all around us?
What if we could see the spirit of darkness at work in the lives of those in our community?
What if we really understood that a God who loved us so much sent His Son to become sin on our behalf and die a brutal death so that we could be made right with Him?
What would happen if the gates of hell were opened and we could see the spirits of our loved ones suffering apart from God for eternity?
What would happen if the throne room of God became visible and we saw people and creatures from every nation, tribe, and tongue bowing down to worship the Creator God Who was, Who is, and Who is to come?
What would happen to our churches if we had just a glimpse of these things of eternal consequence?
How would our worship be effected? How would our holiness be effected? And how would our evangelism be effected?
What would happen if God spoke a Word that revealed just enough of these things to set man’s hearts ablaze and change the world?
The answer? He has. Most of us have a dusty old book on our shelves recording this Word from God, yet it hasn’t changed our lives hardly at all. But a few revolutionaries get ignited by this Word and become world-changers!
What would happen if your eyes were opened by this Word?

Notes from Leadership Journal, Part 2- Keepers of the Tank

Anthony — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 23:26:39 +0000

Sadly, the Church has become consumed with being ‘Keepers of the Fish Tank’, rather than being FISHERS of men!

We become so inward focused, that it’s hard to know what to do when someone new wanders into the tank.

We’ve created our own sub-culture in the tank that the new fish we are trying to catch cannot relate to.

While the early Christian Church adopted cultural practices of the ancient Roman and Jewish worlds to catch new fish for Christ and ultimately let Christ transform them, we have expected the fish outside of our tank to adopt to the culture of our tank before they are welcomed and can be transformed by Christ.

This is the exact opposite of the Biblical approaches of evangelism by Jesus and His early followers. And it is the exact opposite practice of Christians in countries where Christianity is spreading like wildfire and churches in America where new believers are being welcomed into the Kingdom in astronomical numbers and revival is happening.

Election

Anthony — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 21:11:46 +0000

Why are the Republican’ and Democrat’ Parties called parties anyway? There’s not a lot of partying going on is there? There just seems to be a lot of bickering, fighting, and mud-slinging.

I have no problem with either party, but I’m sure glad that this year’s campaign ads are done with. I’m also glad that Jesus is not into politics- You’re shocked?!

For hundreds of years the Israelites were anticipating a political hero to be the Messiah and to rid their land of oppressive governments. So when the Messiah did come in the form of a homeless Galilean drifter during the time of the Roman Empire and didn’t show up on a white horse with a sword leading an angelic army to Rome to kill Caesar- the people were surprised and most of them, even to this day, didn’t recognize this man; Jesus, as the Messiah.

In Matthew Chapter 4 Jesus was offered all the kingdoms of this world by the devil and He immediately declined and basically advised the devil that life is about worshiping God, not political power.

Jesus came to preach good news to the poor, proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, release the oppressed, and to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. His interest is in restoring our wrongs through His death, burial, and resurrection, not promoting or setting up an earthly kingdom that will ultimately pass away.

In John 18 Jesus says;” My kingdom is not of this world.’ And as followers of Christ we need to realize that our kingdom is not of this world either.

We have a hope that Jesus is setting up an eternal kingdom, right now, for us where peace, justice, and righteousness will dwell forever under His authority. His is a kingdom without taxes, stem cell research, abortion, cloning, impeachments, immanent domain, or social security. His is a kingdom that will not be ushered in by Democrats, Republicans, Independents, Greens, Reformed, Constitutions, Libertarians, Socialists, Nazis, Communists, Pacifists, or Pansexual Peacers. His is a kingdom that will not be lead by conservatives, liberals, unions, minorities, majorities, or sexual orientation. His is a kingdom that is being ushered in by the pouring out of His blood and the power of His Holy Spirit. This is what we are to focus on and look forward to.

But for now, we do live in a broken world with broken issues. And we live in a fortunate country where we have the privilege to vote. So if you voted- thank you. And if you didn’t- exercise your privilege next time.