FIRST WORD a letter from the publisher
a new look not only at what we do,
I WANT NOTHING
but why and how we do it.
BUT TO ONLY
Let’s admit, it’s easy to coast. In the beginning, when God sparks a
Passion, God Dreams and the Future of RELEVANT
BE IN HIS
dream in our hearts, more often
WILL, MAKING A
than not we have no idea how to
DIFFERENCE FOR
pull it off. We’re completely reliant
THE KINGDOM.
on Him, and He uses that. But somewhere along the way, we
I WANT TO
start to figure out what we’re doing.
CHALLENGE A
It works, it has impact and many
GENERATION TO
times we stay there. We start to live our lives not out
LOVE JESUS
of a place of dependence, but of
AND GO CHANGE
being able to do it on our own. Our
THE WORLD,
motives are good—we’re doing it for God—but that’s when things change. God is always doing something
WHATEVER THAT LOOKS LIKE.
new. Are we pursuing His heart and following His lead? Personally and at RELEVANT,
L
ately, I’ve been having a lot of meetings
we’ve been dismantling everything
with our team talking about the future of
and seeking the Lord’s will all over
RELEVANT. We’ve been looking honestly at
again. I don’t want our future to
what we do, why we do it and how. We’ve
look like our past. I don’t want to
been taking a fresh look at our spiritual
look like my past either.
mission, the dreams God gave us and what He’s sparking for our next season. It’s been transformative.
I want nothing but to only be in His will, making a difference for
It all started because, if I’m honest, I’ve been in a season
the Kingdom. I want to challenge
where God has really been getting my attention personally.
a generation to love Jesus and go
Things felt off, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.
change the world, whatever that
So, I started taking inventory. Was my heart honestly at a place of spiritual passion and intimacy? Was I growing spiritually? Was I serving and giving and loving others well? At RELEVANT, was my influence in our environment one that pointed people to Jesus? Was I leading from a place of dependence on Him? Was our company focused on our spiritual calling above all else? Being honest with myself, some things needed to change.
looks like. And wouldn’t you know, God is birthing some exciting (scary) new dreams. The best part? I have no idea how any of it will play out. But I’m continually reminded of one thing: Every day, in every season, God just wants our heart—
As it sometimes happens in life and work, areas had gotten
for us to listen, and be willing to
off-track, and it started with me. I needed to intentionally
obey when He speaks.
pursue the Lord with reckless abandon again. I needed to make Him the tangible top priority in my life. Everything
What happens after that, thankfully, is not really up to us.
else had to be secondary. The journey I’ve been on has changed everything. I’m spending time in His presence, in the Word and worshipping like I haven’t in a long time. I’ve embraced new spiritual disciplines. I’ve made changes, and I feel a spiritual passion and clarity I haven’t in a while. And, of course, it’s affected RELEVANT. God has been
C A MER ON S T R A NG
calling us out of our comfort zone, challenging us to take
JULY-AUG
Publisher & CEO
012
2018
