I had just left Gateway Church in Southlake and was headed elsewhere when the Holy Spirit prompted me to do another search on my phone. And there was Keystone Church, 13 minutes away with a service in about 35 minutes, at 6 pm.
I missed it the first time as I drove west on whatever Southlake Blvd turns into as it goes into Keller, but I circled back.
After being directed to regular parking, instead of turning my flashers on for 1st time visitor parking, I was greeted by three different people as I walked in and the first thing I saw was a "VIP" first time visitor set up. Going into the sanctuary and finding a seat, I saw that every seat had a first time visitor "VIP" info card on it. And the first thing I remember anyone saying from the stage was, "be sure to fill out your VIP cards".
So I was pretty sure I had just entered the home of a church growth specialist, so I was concerned whether the quality of the ministry would match the quality of the marketing.
After some well done congregational worship, with a great interlude where the female worship leader explained the importance of body language to worship, the presumed church growth specialist took to the stage.
I later learned that his name is Brandon Thomas, and, from the inner leaf of his book handed out at the VIP center, he has a Phd in church growth, I never before knew that there was such a thing.
He was one of the best preachers I've seen lately, and remember I go to 3-6 church services in a typical weekend. He uses a style of ostensibly presenting both sides of the argument and then proclaiming one the obvious winner.
He had the congregation chanting "In My Power" soon into the sermon and many probably knew what was coming- "In His Power". This could have been a great sermon with a great theme except that it does not appear that Pastor Brandon truly operates in His power.
For 2/3 of his enlightening and entertaining sermon, I was starting to think maybe Pastor Brandon does operate in God's power. Then he made it, by his own words, obvious that he does not, at least not in the full, completely life changing power of God.
I love that he strongly encourages note taking, so I was not alone in taking notes. But after some very good, and well explained material from Galatians, Pastor Brandon dropped a few nuclear bombs that, spiritually, blew everything up for me.
A direct quote from my notes, "When you become a Christ follower, he makes you new". Close to accurate, but not so. This is a common fallacy in today's Evangelical churches. Transformation does not happen immediately after a decision is made to follow Jesus, that is a process of sanctification, and it may take many years, if at all. A few moments later, Pastor Brandon, referring to the same concept, used the phrase "all of a sudden".
In my experience, after 25 years of calling on the name of Jesus, what does happen "all of a sudden" is that the Holy Spirit descends on you as it did to those in the upper room at Pentecost. It is only then that you are "born from above" which is the better translation of what Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:3. I have personally met only a few who testify to a similar experience, all after years of following Jesus.
By His grace, we can come to know His salvation and call on His name as a human decision. But only by Him, through the Holy Spirit, can we be born from above. Pastor Brandon's later comment that "you're never free from conflict" is another testimony that he, as skilled and committed to Jesus as he certainly seems to be, is not yet born from above.
For fully in Christ, my experience is that I am never in conflict and that I carry His peace that passes all understanding with me wherever I go. The day this occurred, all of a sudden, is by a huge factor the very best day of my life. It is the first real day of my life as before I was still in the death of sin, fighting a daily battle in the spiritual war that He has already won for all.
So my advice to Pastor Brandon is to keep on using your gifts of God to lead your up and coming church, while you carefully examine your own heart to see what you have not yet laid at the feet of Jesus, that he may find you approved in working out your salvation unto sanctification and give you His full power that he may build His church. I sometimes compare it to getting a promotion, but really it's having an entirely new life, in Him.
The power of Jesus is not turning it up to 11, it's like turning it up to 1100 or more. Nothing draws people like seeing Christ in you, as you have given all to make room in your heart for Christ. Suddenly things just continually happen all around you, building your faith even more as you realize how much power God has and that He wants to use it on your behalf in order that His Kingdom may come, on Earth as it is in Heaven.
Trey
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