J.R. Lee

I was in a conversation recently when I was asked the following question about someone I know very well.

“Tell me what distinguishes him from so many others”.

I had never been asked that question about this particular person so I thought about it for a few moments before answering…

1.  Good communicator?  Yes.    Distinguishing characteristic?  No.
2.  Good leader?  Yes.  Distinguishing characteristic?  No.
3.  Engaging Personality?  Yes.  Distinguishing characteristic?  No.

After a couple minutes of thinking through some of the potential answers, I blurted out the following.  ”The distinguishing characteristic of that man is that when I am around him it is evident that he has been with Jesus.  As a matter of fact, I want to be more like Jesus every time I am with this person.”

I am not sure that there was a greater compliment I could have given him.  I am not sure there is a greater compliment that anyone could ever give us.

That said, what is our (yours and mine) distinguishing characteristic?   I am not sure what it is right now but I know what I desire for it to be.

Acts 4:13 When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.

I am out of town until Friday; however, I wanted to give you a heads up on something we are doing this weekend because I need your help!

At Freedom Church we believe that God has called us to impact the world with the Gospel. We believe that the message of Jesus Christ can and will change lives!

• No matter how far you/they have gone…
• No matter how bad it’s become…
• No matter how long it’s been…
• Our God can make ALL THINGS NEW!

We have seen it happen hundreds and hundreds of times and that is going to continue this Sunday in a powerful way!  Here’s where I need your help.

You do a fantastic job week in and week out by bringing friends and family with you but beginning this week I want all of us to step it up even more.  The next couple of weeks are going to be some of the most powerful we have ever seen and I want as many people in our city as possible to experience it with us!

• Make phone calls.
• Send invites via Facebook/Twitter.
• Do whatever you have to do.

Let’s pray that the people we bring with us will be impacted by the message of Jesus and I guarantee your life will be impacted in the process as well.  You don’t have to do this alone.  God is with you in your invitation!

Acts 1:8 And you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

I love what God is doing during this season and I look forward to seeing you – and those you bring with you – on Sunday!

The 2012 Reading List is as follows. I think it’s a good mix.

1. EntreLeadership
2. Erasing Hell
3. Great by Choice
4. Unusually Excellent
5. Jesus + Nothing
6. Him We Proclaim
7. Jesus in the Present Tense
8. Gospel (Greear)
9. Getting Naked (Lencionni)
10. BuzzMarketing
11. Christian Beliefs
12. Surprised by Grace
13. Loving People
14. Barbarians to Beurocrats
15. 5 Temptations of a CEO
16. Switch
17. Bondage Breaker
18. The Reason for God
19. MoJo
20. When People are Big
21. OutSmart
22. Running on Empty
23. Cross Centered Life
24. Spirit Led Preaching
25. Today we are rich.
26. QBQ
27. Holiness by Grace
28. Credibility
29. Lord, Teach us to Pray (Murray)
30. Secret of Success in Christian Life (Moody)
31. Common Sense (Paine)
32. A Retrospect (Taylor)
33. Table Talk (Luther)
34. Divine Mentor
35. Grace Abounding (Bunyan)

I’ll leave about 5 slots open for books written by friends of mine and/or a new release.  Anything else you think I should add?