But that’s not the entire verse… “Be still, and know that I am God! I will be honored by every nation. I will be honored throughout the world.”  The entirety of Psalm 46 is written to those caught up in a chaotic and troubled world (sound familiar?) Those who find healing in God’s refuge and peace through His strength are then invited to “be still and know.” It is a commanding call to understand at our deepest level the central theme of all Scripture, the end game of God’s plan. He does not say, “I hope” or “I might,” but rather “I will be honored.” It is the promise that at the end of days His glory will be fully and compellingly made known to all.

God’s highest description of Himself in the limited scope of human vocabulary is simply “I am.” So the call to stillness is a call to remember the attributes of God. “Be still and know I am [is] God.” It’s a call to remember His nature and ways are defined by holiness, and ours are defined by sin-weakened flesh. It’s an invitation to understand the unfathomable depth of His love for us in Christ. It’s a request to embrace His sovereignty over both our life in this moment and over all creation for eternity. It’s a reminder to quiet oneself and listen for the whisper of God’s voice.

To know that God is God is to appreciate as much as we can the extent of His glory: intellectually, spiritually, and emotionally. Stillness leads us to remember that the reason for everything — our existence, Creation, salvation in Christ — is all for God’s chief end (His highest purpose) of glorifying Himself.  And in the still moment, we can reaffirm our own purpose, so succinctly stated in the ancient words of the Westminster Catechism: “The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever.” 

John Piper notes that our human-centric view is unsettled by the conclusion that God’s chief end is to glorify himself. Yet for God to glorify anything above Himself would be wrong — if it were possible in the first place. But God in His grace has chosen to include us in His glory through Christ. Connecting with God’s glory in stillness compels us to remember that “…when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.” (Colossians 3:4)

As I got started in this new year, I began thinking of all the things I would like to accomplish in life and ministry. A few are new dreams, others are the continuation of existing visions; some are still in the category of figuring out if it’s a directive from God or just a passing thought. Yet when I think of all the things I need to do, let alone want to do, I get overwhelmed pray for strength and wisdom. After all, God-size dreams require God-sized resources. But I will also hear God say in my heart, “If I show up, who get’s the glory… you or me?” 

It’s far to easy to ask God for help glorifying ourselves! But I’ve realized that it’s liberating to look at things not in terms of “how much can I get done” but rather, “how can I most glorify God?”And so my desire, my resolve, is to more deliberately find times of stillness to marvel at the fullness of God’s glory, to let it orientate my heart and will to His purposes — and to make sure I’m reflecting His glory, rather than trying to make my own.

God is accelerating the revelation of His glory as the gospel is reach people in every nation at a more and more rapid pace. He is bringing redemption from sin and new life in His Kingdom. The glorious thing about God’s glory is that when He reveals it both in us and through us, we experience joy and fulfillment! And so it continues to be a great privilege it is to experience and expand God’s glory with you.

Our world is moving at a rapid pace — quite literally. Even if you are sitting perfectly still, in a minute our planet will have traveled over 69,000 miles through space. We’d all be motion sick if God had designed the laws of physics a bit differently! But even here on earth, within that minute there have been 5 earthquakes, 360 lightening strikes, and 3.3 billion gallons of water emptied into the Amazon River.

On the internet, data can theoretically travel at the speed of light — fast enough to circle the globe 450 times in a minute. On Facebook, 800 million users —  more than the population of Europe — upload 148,849 photos and post over 510,404 comments every single minute. On YouTube, over 48 hours of video are uploaded in the average minute. And at the same time, there will be over 98,000 tweets on Twitter and 694,445 searches on Google. Not to mention all the e-mails (many of which seem to end up in my spam folder…)

The world is getting more crowded as 250 babies are born each minute… but 113 of them will be born into poverty. There will also be 107 deaths in a minute — 10 malnourished children, 3 others from HIV/AIDS. And because over 4.5 billion people in the world do not know Jesus, many of those who die in this minute will enter a God-less eternity.

Numbers help us understand the larger world around us, even though sometimes they are so big or abstract that we cannot get our minds around them. Yet God can, and does, every single minute of every single day. Not only does He know 7 billion or so names, but He also knows the hearts they represent. He sees the lives destroyed by sin, the reflections of His image bent and twisted beyond recognition. But the Father also longs to transform them into the image of His Son, Jesus Christ.

When I was a kid, I’d often hear people talk about being “called into mission.” Guess what? The Bible is fairly clear that if you believe in Jesus, and you have still have a pulse, then you’re called into missions — every minute, every day. And it’s great to have a heart for your community or nation, but the reality is that we live in one of the most evangelized countries in history with only 5% of the world’s population — and there are over a billion people who haven’t even heard of Jesus. “But how can they call on Him to save them unless they believe in Him? And how can they believe in Him if they have never heard about Him? And how can they hear about Him unless someone tells them?  And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent?” (Romans 10:14-5)

My point isn’t to say “drop everything and go” — that’s God’s job! Rather, I’m challenged to think about how few and precious our moments are here on earth — and the urgency of the spiritual situation that numbers can only begin to describe. (And if you’re looking for an opportunity, why not become an online missionary?)

Within GMO, we have a proven capacity to reach over 1,000,000 a day with the gospel — or 694 a minute. Consider the words of the Lord in Habbakuk 1:5: “Look around at the nations; look and be amazed! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn’t believe even if someone told you about it.” And it’s happening every minute, every day!

Like most video projects, this required a balance between quality, application, and affordability. While we are ultimately distributing the video via webcasts and Skype calls, I wanted to make sure we could get a good looking picture with decent sound. Even with a simple webcam, a little bit of lighting and a decent microphone go a long ways to improving things… here, I went just a bit further.

With the help of my Indianapolis co-worker Aaron, the installation involved:

• A pipe rig to hold the lights, camera, and computer.
• 3 florescent light fixtures (with daylight color temperature lamps so we didn’t have to block out sunlight), and 1 LED fixture for the hair light.
• A 21″ iMac to serve as the video encoder, which we can remotely controlled from the main studio.
• A 4-year old HD video camera — the first one I bought for GMO, now retired to webcast duty.
• A basic wireless headset mic — I went wireless because I didn’t want people tripping on wires.
• Ikea LED light strips behind the office TV monitors to create a colorful background.

In a sense, the church — and all believers — should be in a constant state of reformation. We must continually comparing our lives and practices to the truth of God’s word. And never before has this ongoing reformation been more important. I am convinced that internet-connected technologies are a God-ordained tool that He wants to use in fulfilling the Great Commission. Yet I often find myself con if we — the church, and myself most of all — have the Biblical convictions necessary to meet this opportunity.

Somewhere, somehow, there is a mysterious balance of God’s sovereign will and our free will. The question I see before us is this: how can we be the best stewards possible of this moment in history? I believe that the simple answer is wholly and unreservedly embracing the true Jesus, the Jesus of the Bible, the Jesus that has changed both hearts and history.

A few weeks ago, I was at lunch with some fellow GMO staff members when we started talking about something fun to do for Reformation Day (which, of course, lands on a more pagan holiday). I had been thinking for a while how we can make the whole person of Jesus Christ more central to our online mission work. And thus was born the idea of writing these “theses” for the digital mission; core principle I believe we must embrace to succeed in the opportunity God has given us.

Because the internet makes everything faster (and I couldn’t come up with 95!) I limited it to 95 divided by 3 — roughly 31.7. And in this Twitter-sized world, all are under 140 characters — and I’ll be tweeting them today wiht the #iReform tag. My prayer is that these would only glorify God and advance His saving work, so I humbly present…

31.7 Tweetheses for the Digital Mission

1) We must reaffirm Jesus’ definition of eternal life: All of God lives is in Christ, and all of Christ can dwell in us.

2) Jesus Christ is beyond human comprehension and can never be limited to theological constructs or personal experience.

3) For the sake of all, we must continually ask if the Jesus we claim to love, know, and serve is the authentic one.

4) The Jesus of the Bible is not the Jesus many are following, or want to. Yet he’s the only one worth following.

5) The omniscient God the Father foreknew and predetermined how the internet would be used in His redemptive plan.

6) The digital mission may not reach every person on earth for Christ, but it could facilitate a movement that will.

7) Fulfilling the digital mission may cost more in labor and finances than all previous eras; God is capable of providing.

8) The heart of the digital mission is not technology, but the spread of God’s glorious, holy name to the nations.

9) We must anticipate Christ’s imminent return, acting with urgency because each day hastens His full revelation.

10) Only if Jesus is raised up in all His fullness can this singular opportunity in the Great Commission by fully realized.

11) Fulfilling the digital mission requires virtually connecting local churches to a global, Christ-centered movement.

12) Missional efficacy in every age requires a continual, deliberate focus on the supremacy and sufficiency of Jesus Christ.

13) The greatest strategy and most powerful tool is indwelt, sold out believers recklessly committed to God’s glory.

14) Success is not dependent on business principles or ministry strategies, but clearly, deliberately revealing Jesus.

15) Failure should be neither feared or dismissed; we either didn’t take God seriously, or we misinterpreted the outcome.

16) The mission will succeed if we abandon ourselves to an extraordinary God uses ordinary believers for supernatural work.

17) A true, lasting decision for Jesus occurs when a person is captivated by Him as Savior and abandoned to Him as Lord.

18) Any message, strategy, or tool not centered in the person of Jesus Christ is inherently and irredeemably un-Christian.

19) Strategies that build bridges to the gospel must purposefully reveal Jesus; He is effective, not the strategy.

20) Jesus calls people to himself out of the religions of deception and self worship; He is an unashamed proselytizer.

21) The great barriers to the gospel aren’t culture, language, or resources but the pride and self-will writ in our DNA.

22) The cost of following Jesus may differ across a digital link; we must present the Jesus worth following at any price.

23) Truly sharing Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit results in a personally redemptive revelation of His glory and love.

24) Jesus is not a handyman who fixes problems; He is a redeemer who cuts out the old life and replaces it with a new one.

25) People do not receive spiritual content online as they do secular content; the Holy Spirit changes the dynamic.

26) We anticipate opportunities in emerging technologies, but know that that man’s plans may not be the one God intends.

27) “Secular” knowledge is useful for the mission, but we must remember God habitually confounds the wisdom of the wise.

28) All online believers online are digital missionaries and must consider how every shared bit reveals or obscures Jesus

29) Christ followers should be the most creative, innovative, and brightest of all; in us dwells the Creator Himself.

30) The Holy Spirit’s power and the internet’s reach are not excuses for being a poor, hapless, or lazy communicator.

31) In this great mission, we must remember it began in an obscure region with a homeless preacher leading ordinary men.

31.7) No Christ-follower should tolerate the fact that in the 21st century, billions still have not heard of Jesus.

Sola Scriptura! Sola Fide! Sola Fratia! Sol0 Chriso! Sole Deo Gloria!

In the Great Commission, Jesus instructs his followers to make disciples by teaching all that he had commanded. We read in Acts 2:42 that after Pentecost, “All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching…” But what did they teach? First century Jerusalem didn’t have a Christian bookstore filled with Bible study guides, theology texts, or inspirational books. The disciples taught what they knew from three years of  firsthand experience with the truth-speaking, miracle-making, cross-suffering, alive-again Son of God. For them, and for us, the good news is not simply the knowledge of Jesus; the gospel is the person of Jesus.

As we studied the first eight chapter of Romans last summer with our interns, it occurred to me how our faith was not centered on the knowledge of Jesus but it was Jesus himself.  In Romans 6:5, we read, “For if we have been united with him [Christ] in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his” [emphasis mine].  To borrow from Leonard Sweet and Frank Viola in The Jesus Manifesto, Jesus is the alpha and omega, the beginning and end, of the Christian life.

Colossians 1:15-20 declares the supremacy of Christ, the maker and sustainer of all things. The words of verse 19 are mind-boggling: “For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, and through him God reconciled everything to himself.” But then in verse 27 we find something that would seem heretical were it not written by God himself — “Christ lives in you.” This comes together in 2:9-10, “For in Christ lives all the fullness of God in a human body. So you also are complete through your union with Christ… All the fullness of God is in Christ, and all the fullness of Christ is in us!

The call to “receive Christ into your life” is a inaccurate statement; in Christ the, old life dies and a new one takes it’s place (2 Corinthians 5:17). More accurately, we should say that Christ brings us into His life. Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” This is a statement of identify, not knowledge  — He didn’t say “I know…” but rather “I am…”  The good news is not about theology, morality, or worldview — no human understanding could adequately capture the infinite Christ. And the gospel not even escaping the punishment of sin and getting into heaven. The good news is Jesus, through whom we are given the uncaused life of God Himself. We share in all that is Christ’s to share.

The Spirit has challenge me lately to reclaim the person of Christ — and not just the understanding of Him — as central to my life and mission. Any action or message, personal or corporate, that is not centered in the person of Jesus Christ cannot be called “Christian.”

In the introduction to Jesus Manifesto, the authors noted that each great awakening has been marked by three re-discoveries in the church: the authority of the “living word” (which is Christ), the supremacy of the living Christ, and the Holy Spirit’s role in manifesting Christ in our world through us. From here, my mind immediately leaps to the need for this understanding in our mission.

Jesus said, “When I am lifted up from the earth, I will draw everyone to myself.” (John 12:32)  I am convinced that the opportunity presented in the internet age of the Great Commission can only be realized if our message is simply and completely the person of Jesus Christ. And like the first disciples, we can only truly share the One that we know ourselves.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I’ve been trying to find some profound or at least sentimental thing to say about this point in time… but words are eluding me. The rush of activity this summer has kept me from reflecting on this as much as I’d like — but even that would not guarantee that I’d find a succinct way to sum up my thoughts.

Ten years ago, in late June 2001, I arrived in Fort Collins, Colorado to attend new staff training for Campus Crusade for Christ. Since my path to that point had been far from “non-traditional,” I was arriving two weeks into it, not knowing what I was getting into — or much about the movement I was joining. I simply had a deep belief this was the direction God was leading. My return to Fort Collins again this summer for Crusade’s biennial staff conference will mark my 10th anniversary on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ.

When I joined staff in 2001, the heart of my calling was the vision God gave me for using internet technologies to help fulfill the Great Commission. It is still my vision today — but it is far larger and more vibrant than it was even then. Never could I have imagined where my pursuit of this vision would have taken me — physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Nor could I have imagined that within a decade I’d be part of a ministry like GMO that is having such a huge impact — and has the potential for so much more.

If I’m given to thinking this time has “flown by,” I only have to stop and ponder for a few minutes all that God has brought about in and through me. And I’ve been blessed to meet and serve alongside a throng of incredible brothers and sisters in Christ.

My gratitude for this decade of ministry is first and foremost to God.  A significant thread woven into my experience so far has been the faithful prayers of others. So many times I’ve seen God show up and heard a whisper in my soul, “this is because someone is praying for you.” I am blessed and humbled by the faithful support of my ministry partners — my dear friends and family — who have joined me in this work.

Every step in my journey has also been one of faith as I have trusted in God to provide for my financial needs. It is still an almost daily challenge to have confidence in both the Lord’s ability and intent to provide. But for 10 years, I’ve seen God come through time and again as He has been faithful even when I have been faithless. The Lords provision has come through the generous and even sacrificial giving of my team of partners. There are even a good number that have been with me almost since the start. As I think about those who have given to my ministry over these years, whether they have done so once or every month, I am awed at how God has provided.

I am confident that the dollars invested in my ministry thus far will produce a great eternal return.

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I am deeply thankful for each of my ministry partners; yet one in particular who has been an especially significant part of my first 10 years of ministry. On June 30, Jesus welcomed my Grandma Cook into His Father’s house. She was a truly incredible who woman demonstrated great love and perseverance in her 91 years. To know my Grandma was to know a force of nature. And Grandma was very generous in sharing the means that the Lord had given to her and my grandfather. While I don’t think she ever really “got” what I did in ministry, it was important to her because it was important to me — and she gave accordingly. By faith, I know that Grandma now understands, as we all hope to someday, how her life has impacted so many others.

One sure sign of summer for GMO Silicon Valley is the arrival of a new batch of interns. Six college students and one recent grad have joined our office for an 8-week adventure as part of the Silicon Valley Summer Project.

Even though GMO spun-off from Campus Crusade for Christ earlier this year, we have continued to partner with the campus ministry’s summer project program. This is my third year directing this project, and we’ve seen the highest ever interest and participation. Justin and Kristina, two of my GMO Orlando co-workers, have come out to help this summer. Also joining us are Chris, Katie, and Sarah from the GMO SV office.

Back: Marquita, Chris, Phillip, Me, Tre, Annie, Hussain, Justin 
Front: Kristina, Katie, Amber, Sarah, Micah

All of the interns, except one, are involved with Crusade at their universities.  Phillip just graduated and returned to us as an alumnus of the 2010 project. Marquita is a computer science major originally from Idaho. Hussain, our first international student, hails from the Middle East; he became a Christian through Crusade at his university in the US. Micah is a communications major from Alabama. Tre is a film/video student in Michigan.  Amber studies electronic media, is joined by her fellow North Carolinian, Annie, who is a creative writing student.

Most internships involve mundane things like making coffee or running errands. But we do things a bit differently at GMO — somewhat out of necessity, but mostly because we want to instill in each of our interns a vision for how God can use their skills and education to impacts others for Christ. The work they are doing is significant, and we intend for them to make a valuable contribution to the GMO mission.

Our internship program involves more than just 9-to-5 office hours. I’ve been leading our weekly Bible study on Romans 1 through 8. Each intern is also serving as an online missionary, and we’ll be doing some other outreaches as well. We’re doing some fun stuff as well — like trips to Yosemite and LA.

As I write, we’re in the middle of our third week together and I’m blessed by how well the group has come together as a community. Working, playing, and fellowshipping with our interns is a great joy (…and a lot of work).  I’m grateful for the skills each one of them brings — and it’s encouraging to see their excitement about what God is doing through GMO. Please pray that the Lord will continue to work in them and through all of us this summer.

GMO’s vision is to give everyone on earth multiple opportunities to know Jesus. When I talk about my own call and drive for ministry, I relate my desire to be part of the historic opportunity God has given us in the digital age. At a big-picture level, “opportunity” neatly packages a bunch of ideas and vision. Yet we risk using the word so much that it becomes an uninspiring cliche. Taking time to unpack the “opportunity” reminds us of the truly unique and wondrous moment into which God has sent us.

The dictionary defines “opportunity” as “a favorable juncture of circumstances” or “a good chance for advancement or progress.” We are seeing spiritual need — as ancient as our race and yet freshly revealed every day — intersecting with a revolution in human connectedness driven by unseen bits of data. Before us is not merely a random “chance” to advance the Great Commission, but the latest phase — dare we say even the home stretch — of God’s redemptive plan.

Our opportunity is grand, historic, and global. But it must be understood at the level that God is most concerned with: the deepest corners of an individual’s broken heart. Virtually every news story — from international politics to a local school controversy — is somehow a consequence of sin. Yet only that which is personally significant or grossly outlandish seem to get our attention. The billions of headlines in God’s newspaper include our lonely co-worker, neighbors on the verge of divorce, an abused child in the ghetto — every person living outside of relationship with Him. God already knows the world is going to hell in a hand basket; He wants to rescue as many as possible before it’s to late.

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?  faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the Good News about Christ. (Romans 10:13-14, 17 NLT)

Less than 200 years ago, a missionary leaving for Africa would pack his or her possessions in the coffin that would bring him home; life expectancy on the field was about 2 1/2 years. (A fact that gives me pause whenever I feel like complaining…) Even today, Christians are sacrificing lifestyles and relationships — and yes, their lives — to advance God’s kingdom. They are the ground forces in the battle; our ability to rapidly reach large numbers people rapidly through the internet is the air force. Our cause becomes clearer and our mandate bolder as we clearly see our Prince masterfully marshall His forces for an all out assault.

Many have offered great predictions for how the internet would reshape the world. Some visions have come true in one fashion or another; other developments have caught the world completely by surprise. Consider the now-deposed leader of Egypt; who could have imagined even two years ago that the internet would be the pivotal in his defeat. Yet we’ve only begun to see the changes that technology will bring. Yes, some of this will be disquieting and even harmful; but at the same time, the door may open even wider for us to share the gospel apart from the traditional limitations of time, culture, geography, or politics.

An “opportunity” is, by nature, bound by time and circumstance. Jesus speaks to us out of John 9:4 (NIV), saying, “As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work.” In the US and other countries, we have favorable a environment in which to flourish. Governments have not really figured out how to regulate the internet, but they will continue to try. We are God’s appointed stewards for this opportunity. We don’t know what time of day it is — dawn, noon, or dusk — but it is daylight, and it’s our task to work with diligence.

Click here to view the embedded video.