Dear Friends,

It has been a long time since I last posted.  So many reasons…  I look forward to being more consistent in the future.

In recent months I have been thinking a lot about the DNA of the church that I lead called Risen King Community Church.  What are those things that we especially focus on and are passionate about because of who God is and what He has done for us?  This pondering turned into a sermon series that has gone over well with the community I serve.  If you would like you could check out the sermons and even download my outlines and small group discussion questions at: www.risenking.org/podcasts/index.htm

The titles are:

We abide in the Lord!
We announce the Good News!
We worship!  (Sermon by Aaron Wardle)
We welcome the broken!
We equip the saints!
We go where the Lord leads us!
We help others get to God!

This Sunday I will be continuing the RK DNA series with a focus on the fact that Risen King is a community of disciples who are both hungry for the Word AND thirsty for the Spirit.  This is a really important DNA element to me, especially as I’ve increasingly discovered how common it is for believers to have their spiritual worldview shaped in church cultures that may be out of balance.  No matter what the official statement of faith may be, in many settings it seems that in order to have a strong emphasis on biblical truth you have to choose to do without a balanced focus on the power of the Holy Spirit.  In other settings it seems that in order to have a ministry that is unapologetically open to the supernatural you have to choose to do without a solid commitment to biblical preaching and sound doctrine.  At Risen King you do not have to choose!

I’ve grown to appreciate this more and more over the years.  After I got saved as a sophomore in High School I was immediately encouraged to read and study the bible.  I loved it and for the next six years gave myself dutifully to it.  But increasingly I grew a deeper longing for more than just discipline and obedience in my spiritual life.  Without ever wanting to let go of the Word as a functional priority I honestly desired an encounter with God’s supernatural presence.  I wanted to personally experience the Holy Spirit’s joy, love and power I had read about for so long in the pages of the bible.  And so I was no longer simply hungry for the Word.  I was thirsty for the Spirit.  I didn’t know how to describe it then, but I wanted to be a truth AND power disciple of Jesus.  This was the quality of discipleship that Jesus described and invited his followers to embrace.  I’ve grown to appreciate that this was the quality of discipleship that every generation was commissioned to pass on to the next.

I’m so grateful that you can love the Word and also long for the Spirit.  I’m so grateful that you don’t have to choose.  An honest reading of the Word will cause you to thirst for the Spirit.  And when the Spirit does indeed fall upon you, it is so important to remain strongly rooted in the truth of God’s Word.  Truth AND Power…the genius of the “and”!  That’s what we’re committed to at Risen King, and if you happen to be in Redding this weekend, that’s what I will be talking about this Sunday.

All the best!
Bill

Let me know what you think!  Leave a comment.

PS – Check out our upcoming conference called Kingdom Healing.  It will be hosted at Risen King Community Church on February 28-March 2, 2011.  For more information and to register for this event go to: www.rkconference.org.