Who is Ecclesia Project? It’s you.  It’s the church.  It’s the Bride of Jesus.

We are a Band of Believers. We are a band with multiple singers, guitarists, drummers and sound technicians.  We are artists, imperfect, yet called as beloved.  We are a church that is not defined by a specific building or denomination.  We are the kingdom of God, citizens of eternity and ambassadors on this earth.

We are people from multiple different churches—coming alongside the local church to serve them through intercession.

We are local Intercessory Missionaries serving your church through passionate prayer.

We are all different sizes, shapes, and colors. We are a generation that is hungry for more.  We are a people that know God is bigger than we could ever imagine.  We are company of priests, prophets, pastors, teachers, leaders, apostles, servants, lovers, brothers, sisters—all bound to the radical love of Jesus.  We are sons and daughters of the Father in heaven. We are saved by grace. We are loved by God. We are the bride of Christ. 

We are fighting that this generation would take its rightful place in history in Jesus Christ.  We believe that the infallible Word of God should influence the culture or ethos of this generation—not the word of Mtv or ESPN.

We believe every believer is called to be radically loved by Jesus, and to reciprocate that radical love back to Him.  We believe revival comes through radical prayer. 

We come from all different churches to corporately pray for our generation in this hour.  We pray for revival, pastors & leaders, and for the Kingdom of Heaven to invade our land.

We believe if you know you are saved-that you are a part of God’s ecclesia—called out and eternally marked by the Blood of Jesus Christ. 

We are leaving fear and religion by the side of the road.  We are running hard to see a generation released to pursue their God-given dreams, for revival to come, for UNITY to truly take place, and for love to be our banner.

We are going hard at this even if we are imperfect and don’t have all the answers.

We want to promote, celebrate and share with the world what God is doing in YOUR lives.

We want to provoke people to be violent in the Spirit.

We believe God is using the Ecclesia Project to lift up a Clarion Call to this generation that Intimacy with Jesus is context for life.

We are partnering with the Holy Spirit to help establish a House of Prayer in the Northwest. We want to mobilize multiple prayer meetings throughout our cities, asking God to break in with power over our families, churches, businesses, campuses, Hollywood, and everywhere else.

We want young people to know that Ministry is not defined by a pulpit; that Ministry can be as a school teacher or graphic designer or as a break dancer.

We want to serve and honor the local church.

We are inviting you to ask God what your Ecclesia Project is.  We are asking God that you would join this movement.

What is UP y’all!?

EP Out of the Box was amazing.  it was amazing because Jesus showed up. 

BIG shout out to all our staff/volunteers that made it happen. 

i want to preface this post with this statement–we are after Transformation not Sensation…the transformation of hearts, not sensational meetings.

the Lord has graciously allowed us insight into how His spirit was changing lives. 

i was granted permission by this person to share this email i recieved…person will remain anonymous.

i wanted to share this too encourage you and also show you why we do what we do at E.P.

“I just wanted to say that for me personally, EP Gatherings seem to be
extremely significant for my spiritual growth, and I wanted to share
with you the craziness God’s brought.
This past gathering was life changing. I despise “spiritual highs”..
not really.. but I just don’t like how we’re always so jaded and we
don’t believe in permanent change. Like we doubt so much that God’s
touch will last… At least the majority of the people I know feel that
way. And so did I until Saturday.
God revived me. And now it’s not just that all barriers between Him and
I are broken and I have a constant spirit of worship. That may fade
through inevitable dry seasons. But that night a truth was embedded in
me. I know it will last eternally because it is a truth- I am loved. I
am his most precious, most favorite child.. as is everyone else, but He
loves me as me. In that sense I am His favorite. I never grasped that
concept before.
That changes everything for me.
No more attacks from the devil saying that I am worth nothing, that I
have nothing to offer to anyone, that I hate myself. It was an answer to
an eight-year-long prayer.

He is ..
beyond words.”

Be Blessed. Know You are Loved.  Know He has destiny inside of you.

djang.

First–sorry I have been so absent on blogging.  I work a full-time job, lead EP, a Youth Pastor, family of 3 rugged boys and a beautiful wife, and i’m finishing up grad school.  It gets a bit busy :T

God loves to promote the God-given destiny inside His people.  He made us to be the light of the world; to shine in our culture.  You have a purpose, and you also have a promoter whose name is Jesus.  He wants to raise you up to shine His glory on the earth–to be a testimony of His goodness.  We often can get in the way by trying to ‘get there’ on our own strength and will power.  Sometimes we need to lay down and do nothing.  Sometimes doing nothing is the hardest thing in the world.

I know. You’re looking around and you see your friends ‘getting there’.  Maybe they got that dream job, that dream wife/husband, or has the cool Worship Leader spot.  So of course, you want to do all that you can to ‘get there.’  Just stop. Breathe. and Listen to Abba Father.  He is Faithful.  He created you to be an answer to someone’s problem.  Stop getting in the way by trying to do it on your own.  He will make you a light because He wants you to shine.  And sometimes…that’s the hardest thing to do.  To not kill the crazed king [Saul] because he is jealous of your calling to be the rightful King.  To not freak out when Pharaoh and his army are closing in on you to bring you back into slavery.  But like Moses said–Be still and let the Lord fight for you.  When He fights you Win. Water splits and you walk into the promise. 

We at EP want to embody that.  We want to promote radical lovers of Jesus and what God is doing through them….After all, we all have our own project! [more to come on that with another post]

God beat us to it!  Check out Spirit 105.3, with Larry Lomax who promotes David Cho and Ecclesia Project.

Go here: http://www.spirit1053.com/content.php?contentID=30#listen

And then click on David Cho’s song: “May the Words”

Be blessed and will I see you at EP’s Out of the Box this weekend?????

much love yall.

djang.

“Be STILL and know that I am God.” Ps. 46:10

I find it extremely interesting that God relates the knowledge of Him with the command to Be Still.

It’s hard for me to be still. I’m on vacation, so this carnal weakness shouted more loudly than otherwise.  Vacation is nice because you actually schedule time out of your life to not work; instead, to just rest and spend time with family.  Not working means Not producing.  What you’ve done is created an environment where you inevitably face the strange and unknown of Being Still. 

I thought knowing You meant more heartfelt worship & devotion before your throne? I thought if I want to know You more it meant that I spend more hours in scripture?  I thought it meant more prayer?

I think it does…But I also think the Lord is saying there is a dimension of knowing HIM that can only be experienced in stillness. 

I love talking with my boys.  When I come home from work my heart longs to see how a day in preschool land went.  I love to hear what excites them; even if it is just a story about Obi-Won Kenobi, Diego, or Rock Band.  I love doing things with them. On this vacation we got to do a lot together—Sea World, Disneyland, and lots of swimming.  In fact, it was a friendly reminder that I need to be Doing more with them.

But then I also realized that I love just Being with them.  There are moments, unfortunately few & far between, where I don’t have a sermon to prepare, a report to turn in, or a basketball practice to take them.  It’s just me and one of them, maybe in the car.  The car is moving, the world is moving, but in a sense we are Being Still—we are just together with no agenda.  Or, maybe I’m putting one of them to bed and I just lay there with them. 

Sure, no words are spoken.  No daddy talk is given.  No advice about school is given. But we are there with each other.  In other words—we are Still but very Present with each other.

We’re getting to know each other more in that present stillness. 

That’s the stillness I want with Jesus, the Father and the Holy Spirit.  I’m not saying, complaining, or asking about anything.  I’m Still—but I am Present with Him.  A Stillness that revolves around a  stark conscious awareness that God is right there with me. 

Maybe He doesn’t say anything; But, I am getting to Know Him More.

Be Still and Know that He is God.

Have you seen the show Man v. Wild? 

BEAR

It’s a reality tv show that follows an ex-member of British Special Forces, who throws himself into the abysses of the wilderness.  No, I’m not talking about places like Yellowstone National Park-more like the Sahara Desert.  He is thrusted into these places with one agenda–To Survive. 

He makes fires with flints, catches wild animals with home-made weapons, and eats crazy stuff like animal poop.  He’s like superman. 

I mean, his name is Bear Grylls for crying out loud.  What kind of guy has the first name “Bear” ?

Man v. Wild does, thats who.

But, reports state that he just got injured in Antartica.  Bear Grylls is not immune to accidents.  He is not indestructible.  He is not immune to mistakes, failure and stupid decisions. In fact-he’s a sinner like the rest of humanity.

What am I trying to say?

That we all need Jesus.  Even Bear Grylls.

*stop trying to live life like it’s you, and only you, against your shortcomings, weaknesses, and the world. Stop trying to be like Bear and conquer wild beasts and extreme weather.  God is on your side and He wants to fight for you.  Don’t be like Bear and try to conquer alligators and goat testicles.

If I was Bear, I would take out my cell phone and tell a helicopter to take me up outta this mess. 

Take out your phone cuz Jesus is waiting for your call, and ask Him to take you up outta your mess.

His grace is sufficent.

Father-

I ask in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ, that waves and waves of clarity would strike the minds, hearts and spirits of your people.  Speak to the church through profound insight, discernment and clarity through your scriptures.  By your mercy, will you uproot the man-pleasing and political spirit that is deceptively infiltrating your body.  May a generation rise up to stand in the precise footholds you have prepared for them.  Thank you Jesus.
Amen.

I remember during one of my first seminary courses we talked about the importance of establishing a Vision Statement for your life.  Seminaries will teach you about the importance for establishing a Vision for your life, ministry and or ecclesiology. Leadership seminars also preach the same principle to companies and businesses throughout the earth.  

I think it’s good bc a Vision will direct and it will also restrain you.  

But i think there is a temptation for us to establish Vision Statements centered primarily out of the goal of profitability.  For example–I want my business to gain x amount of $ in 5 years;so this is my Vision Statement…or…I want my ministry to reach this many people specifically catered towards a specific demographic; so, this is my Vision Statement…

There is a man in the Bible who had a revolutionary Vision Statement for his life.  His name was David.

He makes a Violent Declaration over his life in Psalm 27.

“One thing I ask of the LORD, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to seek him in his temple.”

That was David’s Vision Statement for his life.  

It wasnt a Vision Statement to be the best king or to build a ministry.  It was a Vision Statement to direct his heart towards the beauty of Jesus.

It’s revolutionary bc that sort of Vision demands that you lay your life down.  But that’s what love does-it compels you to lay your life down for another. 

Father, I pray that you would raise up a people who are radical enough in love, to establish a Vision for their lives, that is not obsessed with self-gain or profitability…but instead to be obsessed with you Jesus. May we direct our hearts, our eyes, and our time to seeking your face. Amen.

Will you pray that with me?

AW Tozer said the following: 

“There can be no merit in human conduct, not even in the purest and the best. Always God’s goodness is the ground of our expectation. Repentance, although necessary, is not meritorious but a condition for receiving the gracious gift of pardon which God gives of His goodness. Prayer is not in itself meritorious. It lays God under no obligation nor puts Him in debt to any.He hears prayer because He is good, and for no other reason. Nor is faith meritorious; it is simply confidence in the goodness of God, and the lack of it is a revelation upon God’s holy character.”  

We must establish our theology on the biblical understanding that God is really, really good. ”Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.” [Mk 10:18] When we operate under the revelation of the supernatural Goodness of God, our spiritual disciplines and behaviors become dramatically influenced and inspired.

Our expectations to receive from God must be inspired from the understanding that we only receive from God because He is so good-not because of our moral competence.  We don’t receive because we pray more than the other Christian, or because we went on more mission trips than our neighbor-we only receive from God because that is how He rolls.  

This accomplishes three things:

1. It extinguishes the religious spirit from your Spiritual Disciplines (praying, studying the Word, giving, fasting etc.)
2. It establishes your heart to correctly steward God’s gifts upon your life.  [Look at the prodigal son who received His inheritance from His father, but His heart was not correct and therefore he was unable to steward the inheritance.  But when he ran back to the Father, the Father was able to shower gifts upon His son-despite the son's catastrophic moral failure- and his son received it with an understanding that what he received was purely out of the compassion, mercy and goodness of His father--which acted to establish the son's heart to steward his fathers blessing.]
3. It gives you fire behind your times of prayer, study, and fasting.  Prayer without a revelation of God’s goodness will turn into self-motivated times of self-promotion–(I’m praying so I can become a better Christian etc.)

“Jesus is not a leader who sits back passively when His people are being hurt or oppressed.”

Even when the opposition is sin inside of us, He is committed to destroying everything that would seek to come against His Bride.

When speaking to the Church in Pergamos, He described Himself as the One who has the sharp two-edged sword in His mouth.  He promised this Church He would fight against them if they would not turn from their unrighteousness. 

He is a zealous God, and He will not be silent about the sin that destroys our hearts.  He will not restrain the zeal He has for us; He will arise and fight on our behalf.”