ChrisTrethewey.com

5 Words in 10 Seconds

5 WORDS in 10 SECONDS

I asked a group of approximately 80 people, all connected to Renaissance Church, a simple question.

When you think of Renaissance, what are the top 5 words that enter your mind? 

I then set a simple guardrail around this question. Only take 10 seconds to do this.  I didn't want people to over think it. I didn't want people to over analyze it.  I just wanted to get a quick "blink"response on what the most important and impacting pieces about Renaissance. 

Here are the results:

This showed me two important insights:

1) Revealed the unique qualities of Renaissance.

2) It revealed areas that I need to start teaching on.

Both insights, priceless.

Art, the Bible, and an Eruption of Color

Renaissance Church had an incredible opportunity to have artist Tom Clark be part of our weekend services (11/13/2011).  After every message, I turned for a moment and stared at the canvas. I was personally inspired by Tom's ability to take a passage of scripture and allow his creative inspiration to explode onto the canvas. He connected words, emotions, and the clear inpsiration of the Holy Spirit in an eruption of color.

The core passage I taught from was Acts 9:1-16 and I focused on Paul's journey to go from a life focused on himself to a life radically comitted to following Christ. You can listen to the Message here.

CHALLENGE: Read through the passage as you look at all three of these paintings. The journey will inspire you.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Finding Faith in Rock N' Roll // Beatles Edition

SIMPLIFY!

"Our life is frittered away by detail . . .simplify, simplify."
~Henry David Thoreau~ 

There are great written masterpieces  that have been scripted over the years. They have woven their way into societies and have become the bedrock of cultures around the world. There have been transformational speeches that have been inked and articulated that have deeply moved people to overcome impossible challenges. 

There were 4543 words in the original constitution and an additional 1458 words in the Declaration of Independence. There are 783,137 words in the King James Bible. Great literary works such as War and Peace, The Great Gatsby and Hamlet consists of thousands of carefully crafted words which inspire, confound and create new thought. 

But when you think about words that change the world, I think about simple statements - phrases - that move, inspire, invoke, and create change within a person. One of the most famous speeches ever spoken was on August 28, 1963.  Martin Luther King' passionate - 17 minute - 1651 word vision can entirely be narrowed down to 4 simple words, "I Have a Dream!" 

Think about these simple statements:

Power Corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.
~Lord Acton~

 Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
~Sun-Tzu~

 You must be the change you wish to see in the world.
~Ghandi~

When you are in love you can't fall asleep because reality is better than your dreams.
~Dr. Seuss~ 

I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear.
~Martin Luther King~

These are simple statements, meticulously crafted, that have been imprinted into people's hearts in a timeless continuum.  These phrases have captivated the hearts of people around the world. These phrases have power to move even the most obstinate minded to head into a new direction. 

How do you as a communicator take a chapter filled with great thought and chop it down to a succinct page? How do you take a page of precise thought and chisel it down to a paragraph of thought provoking intrigue?  Then, and only then, how do you force that paragraph down to a laser focused phrase that will be etched into the hearts and minds for centuries to come?

Each word matters. Each word has the force to create significant impact. Each word has the ability to transform thought.  Craft each word with the expectation that it can change the world. 

 

 

What direction should you go?

Have you ever been at a place in life where you know change is on the horizon? You can sense there is going to be a shift in the direction of your life. You absolutely - positively know that God is moving in you. You desperately want to follow His will for your life. You pray. You seek wisdom from those who pray. You do all the "things" that you think you should do to gain clarity on the direction you think you might should go in (did that make sense?). . .and you get to an intersection of life with a sign that looks like this.

Which direction should you go?
Which path is the right one to take?
What decision is the right one? 

I think about this 18-24 month journey that I have been on. Countless hours of prayers. Conversations with trusted friends that have spoken wisdom into my life.  Trudging through an unceasing onslaught of unhealthy mental gymnastics that tried to dominate my thinking. Desperately fighting for moments of quiet so that I could hear God's voice clearly.

Then I stumbled upon this verse:

"Pray that the Lord your God will show us what to do and where to go.”
Jeremiah 42:3

Ah, in all God's simplicity was this one verse that brought clarity to my journey.  God will show me. God will give me a direction. God will outline a path. My life is in God's hands . . .and His path is perfect.

Did I still push on doors to see if they opened? Yes.  

Did I still seek out multiple opportunities to see if they were the right path? Yes.

Did I still try to control my path? Yes. (Which is never real effective.)

Did I still continuously discover out of the box possibilities? Yes.

But . . .my prayer became real simple. God show me where to go and what to do. I prayed that prayer repeatedly with absolute expectation.

Guess what? He did.

Q: What verse has helped you as you have sought God's will for your life?