Of course, we're always talking about ways to measure Mosaic's overall health using this kind of strategy, but I began thinking about the Key Performance Indicators that show how my overall spiritual health is doing, personally.  What would I measure that indicates where I am spiritually speaking?  The first thing that came to mind will probably surprise you, but I'm convinced it is my most useful indicator:  How consistently I am in bed by 10pm.

I think about life as a pastor, my spiritual wellness hinges on my alone time with God.  My alone time with God hinges on my ability to get up early, and my ability to get up early hinges on whether I am in bed by 10pm.  I don't require a ton of sleep; usually 6.5 hours is more than enough and I usually wake up on my own without an alarm.  

The other thing I've noticed about my sleeping habits is this:  Nothing good ever happens to me, spiritually speaking, after midnight.  In fact, the opposite is true.  I'm spiritually weak and therefore, vulnerable to temptation and spiritual attack when I'm physically tired.  If I stay up late, I sleep in.  My morning is rushed and usually my time with God gets squeezed into insignificant drivel before I'm forced to conform to the demands of my schedule.  It's a vicious cycle because once this happens, my sleep cycle begins to shift, I don't get sleepy until later, which means that I will again go to bed later (nothing good happens after midnight) and thereby, wake up later, etc., etc.

On the other hand, in the mornings, I am most spiritually refreshed.  I find God easily in the quietness of the morning when even the refrigerator is too loud.  I think better, pray better and am able to meditate on His word so much more clearly.  Giving God the best time of my day is an investment that I have seen pay off in so many ways!

So, I've come to conclude that my greatest, consistent spiritual battle rages in the discipline of going to bed early. Who would have ever thought it?  Boy, as I write this, I also conclude that I have become such an old fart!

So now you know how to pray for me.  

Our good friend, Daniel Henderson, says that prayerlessness is our “declaration of independence from God.” And if we want to show God that we are doing this in our own strength and in our own confidence as mere humans, all we have to do is to stop praying. Scary thought, isn’t it?

I believe God is preparing for us a tremendous season of ministry; with many powerful blessings already germinating. With this in mind, I am challenged in my own personal life to be prayerful, humble and dependent on Him. This is a difficult battle, for we have an enemy that is fighting against us every step of the way. We must likewise increase the weapon of prayer to counteract the strategic forces meant to kill, steal and destroy.

On Wednesday, October 5, at 7:00 pm we’ll be holding special prayer service, led by our elders. We are asking for volunteers of all ministries, regardless of the position, to attend and be prayed over. Please plan to attend, so that we can corporately petition our Heavenly Father to bless this upcoming ministry year. Childcare will be provided.

Remember, “nothing of eternal significance can happen apart from prayer!” Come and be a part of shaping eternity.

This Wednesday at 7:00pm, we are privileged to have Josh and Lauren Kinder coming to our Elders’ Prayer Service to give a testimony of God’s protective, healing hand through the traumatic birth of their precious son, Luca. Come and hear what many, including the doctors, are saying is a real “modern day miracle.” Here’s a synopsis of what you’ll hear about.

Everything had gone smoothly for Lauren up to a point in her labor. Initially, she tried not to panic when the nurse could not find the baby’s heartbeat on the monitor.  And after several very long and tense minutes, doctors and and nurses sprang into action and began quickly prepping Lauren for an emergency C-section.

Baby Luca was extracted from the womb and immediately placed in Neonatal Intensive Care. While he did have a faint heartbeat, it was unknown how long he had been without oxygen. It is surmised that the placenta prematurely ruptured and left the newborn without enough life-giving amniotic fluid. The doctors prepared the Kinder’s for the worst as it appeared as though his kidneys were not functioning correctly, and a special cooling cap was placed on his head to slow down brain damage. The doctors were not at all optimistic about Luca’s condition.

The Kinder’s put out a call for prayer and the body of Christ responded en masse. The rest, as they say, is history. Our God heals! Come and hear how the Kinder’s perspective on faith and prayer have been forever changed as their child was pronounced totally healthy less than a week later.

You will be greatly encouraged by this testimony and we will pray for each other following the Kinder’s testimony. Come and lay your own burdens down and beseech our Heavenly who is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond what we can ask or think.

 On Thursday, July 7th, a large crowd gathered at the Summit Church for the quarterly Citywide Evening of Prayer.  God continues to bless us in such a powerful way!   These quarterly prayer gatherings are gaining much momentum since we began scheduling them last Fall. 

I had no idea what kind of crowd to expect in the middle of July; the heart of vacation season.  We originally had not planned on having one through the summer at all, but the overwhelming response after the May Evening of Prayer was that we needed one in the middle of summer.  We were so blessed to see so many from numerous churches gathering for prayer and worship. 

Mosaic's own James Wafford led an outstanding multi-church worship team.  God's presence was very thick as we worshiped and prayed throughout the evening.  People gathered in groups to pray for healing, pastors and ministry leaders were prayed for, at one point people flooded the alter to petition God on behalf of a difficult situation that needed God's direct intervention.  Even after the service was dismissed, the worship team kept singing and people did not want to leave. 

Why is this important?  We talk about The Church (with capital C) all the time.  These events are meant to give us a greater understanding of the Body of Christ in the city; it is a gathering of THE CHURCH AT LITTLE ROCK. This body, which traditionally has been fragmented, isolated and in competition with itself, is being brought together, healed and is on the journey towards Oneness. 

Did you know that the pastors of the churches in Central Arkansas now meet regularly for prayer, the worship pastors are worshiping regularly together, the missions pastors are talking about missions strategies together, and the youth pastors are focusing on citywide youth ministry?  Each group is talking about ways that we can build up the body together.  Of the pastors that I know, representing hundreds of years of ministerial experience, all agree that they have never seen a city come together like this.  It is a blessing and a tremendous work of the Holy Spirit to unite us across denominations, ethnicity and geography. 

Here at Mosaic, this is just one of many strategies that we have for the continuation of the building up of prayer in our body.  Weekly, we gather from 8:00-9:00 on Sunday mornings to pray for the service, our leaders and any other needs.  I can honestly say that the times on my knees in this time of prayer has been some of the most powerful prayer I have ever experienced.  It prepares me to worship and propels me to preach with conviction and with strength that is beyond myself.

Monthly, we gather for our Elders' Prayer Service on the first Wednesday of the month, beginning at 7:00pm.  We always end this service with a special time of intercession for the body.  It is an incredibly meaningful and refreshing time of prayer.  We're also opening up a monthly prayer time on the first Monday of every month at noon.  This traditionally has been a special time of prayer for our staff, but we are beginning to invite other ministry leaders to join us.

Quarterly, we meet with the Church at Little Rock and enjoy an Evening of Prayer with other believers.  The next one is scheduled to be September 8th, held at Fellowship North Little Rock, at 7:00pm. 

Come and join us for any or all!  God is on the move and this is your opportunity to experience Him in new and fresh ways.

Cesar was able to obtain an electric wheelchair in new condition from a local charitable organization and prepared to give it to Argentry. On the day that we were going to surprise him with it, a heartless thief hit him on the back of the head with a steel bar and took all his money! He was so discouraged when he first arrived at Mosaic and shared what had happened. Needless to say, God restored his joy with when Cesar presented him with the new chair! He was ecstatic and immediately donated his old electric chair back to the church.

Cesar stored his old chair until the proper time, which came last Tuesday. A woman from our community, Catherine, came in to receive food and asked Cesar to pray for a new electric wheelchair. At age 19, she had been shot and remained paralyzed from the waist down. She was pushing herself around in an nonelectric one after her electric one broke. After praying with her, Cesar went to retrieve Argentry's former chair and rode it out to her. She exploded with praise to God and could not speak as she simply lifted her hands in praise to God. As she rode around her new chair, the 100 or so people around her broke out in spontaneous applause and praise to God! It was a very worshipful and meaningful afternoon.

We have video of this event. Check it out!

And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.  (Phil 4:19)

Yes, we have no shortage of newborns! Throwing their proverbial hats in the ring this past week alone were Elisabeth and Cesar Ortega (Gracie, born 06/10/11), Josh and Lauren Kinder (Luca, born 06/09/11) and our newest of all newbies goes to Karl and Tyfnae Benz (Charlie, born this morning! 06/15/11). These fabulously exhausted parents covet your prayers for their new families as they recover and transition the little tykes to their homes.

These three continue adding to the long list of newborns of late! Counting all the births over the last six months or so, our church has increased its membership by over 1% in newborns alone! And the pipeline remains full with several others nurturing buns in the oven, if you know what I mean.

All this goes to say, "HELP!" Michelle Mazique, our MoKids Nursery Coordinator, is up to her ears in babies and needs your help. If you would like to help nurture these innocent, new lives on Sunday mornings, please make contact with Michelle sooner than later. Also, if you would be interested in delivering a tasty meal to these new parents, would you please contact one of the fine coordinators listed below? Thanks!

Jennifer Harrison (Meals for the Ortega's): jandjforever04@gmail.com, (501) 515-1661
Donna Head (Meals for the Kinder's): headw@sbcglobal.net, (501) 223-9821
Molly Utter (Meals for the Benz's): uttermk@gmail.com, (501) 912-5354

And speaking of new birth, did you see all the hands raised last Sunday during Pastor Ant's powerful message on Jesus' encounter with the Woman at the Well? If you were one of the ones that raised your hand, would you let me know? We would like to help you get on a path that will lead to your spiritual growth. We've heard a lot of very positive excitement about the new Encounters With Christ series and Pastor Mark continues the series this Sunday with "A Walk To Emmaus." If you ever miss a Sunday, check out the Sermon Archives page on the website and get caught up!

God continues to move!

I just left the Czech Republic Missions Team at the Little Rock National Airport as they prepared to czech their luggage and go through the arduous security process of an international flight. Scott Kemph, fellow member of Mosaic’s Missions Team, along with other family members and friends gathered under the escalators for a final sendoff prayer time with team members Lonnie Brown, Leslie Goyer, Laine Munzberg and Deb Sadler. The team was super-pumped about going and ecstatic about the way the Lord provided. Just yesterday, the day before they were to leave, the remaining financial support came through the mail and via a phone call, totaling exactly what was needed!

God is so good. Isn’t that just like Him to be "last minute" according to our own perspective, but always on time? I’ve noticed so many times in my own life that He rarely operates at the pace I desire ... but He’s NEVER late! His timing almost always stretches my faith and at times drives me crazy as my own impatience and unbelief begins to interfere with what He has called me to do. Peter describes God's timing like this:

But do not let this one fact escape your notice, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day. The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance. (2Pet 3:8-9)

Peter is specifically referring to the Lord’s return, however, God’s perspective on time is made clear. He does not operate in the same arena of time that we do. He operates independently of time, but is sovereignly cognizant of what we need and when we need it. Seeing Him provide for the Czech Team in such a peculiar and comprehensive way just affirms, in my mind, that this trip is according to His plan. Some would have cancelled the trip two weeks ago when the team still needed more than $4000, but these faithful four Czech Team members kept believing that God wanted them to go.

For what do you need to trust Him? Have you given up on Him because He has not worked according to your timing? Can your faith outlast your patience? More than likely, He is simply waiting; wanting to show Himself as the great provider so that little doubt remains that He is the one that did it. Just remember, to Him who is able, one day is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day!

By the way, here is a Czech Team Daily Prayer Guide for you to use over the next two weeks. Also, the team will be providing blogging updates as they encounter internet access, so czech it out and PRAY FOR THEM OFTEN!

Well, the apocalypse didn't happen last Saturday, as predicted by a few misguided, former prophets but several of us did experience an "a-pie-calypse" the previous Sunday. No, we didn't vanish in the blink of an eye, but we did disappear under a very tasty sheen of dairy-whipped topping thrown by many of our own sons and daughters and other disgruntled members of Mosaic that were willing to pay real money for the opportunity to cast the first pie.