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As you can tell by the inactivity on this blog and lack of personal posts over the last year, all I have wanted to talk about is Freedom Church. Two weeks from now we celebrate our 1 year church anniversary and its hard to find the words to describe what we have experienced in the last 50 weeks. Started in an apartment and a laundromat, moved to a Karate Dojo, expanded into an Irish Pub, and as of last week, are now meeting in the local high school… incredible. By the grace of God and the power of His Spirit we have witnessed:

270 first time decisions to follow Jesus made on a Sunday morning.

100 people baptized in water.

Last Sunday still brings a tear to my eye. 756 people attended our two Easter morning services with another 2,500+ joining us for the “Biggest Egg Hunt in the Valley.” We are all floored. 61 adults gave their lives to Jesus that day. It was one the most incredible miracles I’ve ever seen. Here is the video. As you watch, please consider saying a prayer for the volunteer team of staff, leaders, and workers, that made this day possible. God is good.

Everyone has a worldview.

It is impossible to not have a worldview. Even if you think you do not have a worldview or haven’t decided what your worldview is, you still have a worldview because you live in the world and view it everyday. This view includes how you see God or don’t see God, what you believe is right and wrong, what you consider valuable or insignificant.

And the crazy thing is, you are right.

From where you are standing, this is your point of view.

Now, lets stand next to each other and view the world together. When I turn on the news to view the world, this is what I see:

• 1 billion people on the planet do not have access to clean or safe drinking water.
• 36 million deaths each year are caused by noncommunicable diseases
• 27 million people are trapped in a form of human slavery and trafficking
• 7.5 million children under the age of 5 die from malnutrition and mostly preventable diseases, each year

I view a world that is falling apart.

Are you seeing the same thing I’m seeing? Are you viewing the same world I am viewing? Do you think others see this world too and would agree? Is it safe to say that a universal worldview exists that includes recognizing that the world is falling apart faster than we can put it back together?

Broken pieces tell a story. Thirst points to water.

And our ache for a better world clues us in to a world that either once existed or will exist one day.

Universal Worldview: The world is not as it should be; the world is not as it could be. Christian Worldview: The world is not as it should be; the world is not as it could be.

This sounded like a much better idea 8 weeks ago when I was standing in the hallway outside a conference in San Jose on my cell phone…

One week from today, I am going to get in a cage and fight another man to the point of knock out or submission in an effort to raise $6,000 in ticket sales and donations. All proceeds go toward a tribal church plant in Papa New Guinea and 1000 backpacks full of school supplies for kids in our community.

Three reasons why:

1. If I help Justin Rees and his family finance this move to Papa New Guinea jungles to translate the Bible into the native language… I don’t have to move there with my family to make sure they hear the Gospel. I can stay home!
2. Every year about this time, right before school starts, single moms stress out on how they are going to buy new school clothes, new shoes, and new school supplies for their kids in time for the new school year. What a great opportunity for the Body of Christ to step in and help.
3. Ultimately, I am a missionary to the San Fernando Valley. I have been called to reach the most unlikely demographic of any given Sunday morning church service: Men between the ages of 20 and 27. MMA is the fastest growing sport in America; dudes love the UFC. This isn’t just a cute idea to raise money, this is a strategic effort to develop inroads into a social framework of fathers, husbands, brothers, and sons of our community. These same men who crave significance, join the military, and lay down their lives for their country are the same men I moved my family to the Valley to reach with the Gospel. Just give us one of them. We will train him up, disciple him, and show him how to lay his life down for the greatest mission of all time.

Shoot, if I get knocked out… we still keep all the money from the ticket sales for the backpacks. And if my preaching is lousy the next morning, people will understand.

Hope you will consider buying a ticket to support! There will be 4 big matches that night; you will get your money’s worth. Click here to register through our website. www.notyourmomschurch.com

If you can’t make it to the event, but you still want to support the backpack drive, you can give online through our website at http://freedomchurchsfv.com/#/give

The Freedom Church train has left the station and now we are all holding on for dear life!

12 weeks ago we started a brand new Sunday morning church in Chatsworth California, Freedom Church. We launched BIG on Easter Sunday, gave away 200 bikes to kids in the community, packed out the Irish Pub and Karate Dojo where we meet with 300+ kids and adults, water baptized 25+ new followers of Jesus right outside the pub on the busy boulevard, and then proceeded to hold our breath until the following Sunday. If you have ever been apart of starting a church, you know what I mean by “holding your breath.”

3 months later and we are waist deep in CHURCH. And that is a good thing. I love church. The videos, pictures, website, and testimonials all make Freedom Church and our adventure look so polished and fun! But the truth is, half the people from the launch never showed again, there are baby Christians pooping, peeing, and snotting all over each other, the hype is dissipating, marriages need restoration, hearts need healing, and people… every last one of us… need raw, relentless discipleship. Normal stuff. CHURCH stuff. Sometimes I ask myself, “When are things going to stabilize around here?” Haha. What a silly question. As long as there are sick people, God will use His church as the hospital. And I am honored to pastor a hospital.

These testimonies were compiled before our launch, but the story stays the same.

90 days in and more than ever I am floored by God’s grace, the power of the Gospel, and the amazing “dream team” that is crazy enough to give their lives to these people and this mission, week in and week out. (you know who you are )

Chicks may have 9 different “BFF” girlfriends, but every dude has at least one “wing-man.” A wing man is your partner in crime and your roll dog. Despite weather conditions or flight risks, every time you hit the skys, you know your wing man has your back. He is your roll dog; till the wheels and the hubcaps fall off. But you also know that every time you get together, you better buckle up because you will most definitely find yourself going on a ride!

I was in ATL awhile back at a pastors’ conference when I ran into a fore-mention friend in the hotel lobby. And when I say “ran into him,” I could mean literally because he is a giant of a man. Erik lives in Norway and he is a beast. In some circles he has earned the name “Erik Van Doom” due to his ominous stature and earth shaking voice. He has made a career of missionary adventures taking the Gospel to uncharted territories- adventures so scary, M. Night. Shamaylan would reject the screen play. He has hands the size of catcher’s mitts and shaves each morning with the blade of a battle ax. He’s tougher than Chuck Norris, more resilient than Jack Bauer, and more interesting than the Dos Equis guy. Lets just say that when I lay in bed at night, I imagine Erik driving a Viking Ship to work on Mondays… it just feels right.

Honestly, when I ran into Erik by the elevators that day, it didn’t take us more than 2 minutes and bear hug to devise our next adventure; shark diving at the Georgia aquarium. Did I mention the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta boasts the largest tank in the world with 8.5 million gallons and hosting hundreds of species of fish and sharks, including whale sharks (40 feet!) hammer heads, sand-sharks, and to my dismay… SAWFISH.

I don’t remember much of the details of the scuba/snorkel training class. Or what I was thinking when I signed my life away on the simple two-page waiver. I can’t say I even remember if the water in that tank was cold or not. All I remember is that when I slid off that dock into the shark tank… I made SURE I was right next to my wing-man, Erik. I can’t be sure, but I believe he was carrying a trident spear.

As we swam “buddy-system” across the tank, our group eventually began to break formation. It was getting too difficult to monitor the distance of our designated partner and still take in the full panorama in the foggy goggles. I eventually drifted away from Erik and his size 14 fins just enough for my tunnel vision to open for a better view. And it was at that moment I saw the scariest looking creature I have ever set eyes on… a full grown, dark brown, beady eyed, 11 foot sawfish swimming toward me.

To this day, I don’t know why I broke formation to get a closer look. I should have swam toward Erik, not toward the beast. It was a mistake and I paid for it. The saw fish aka “chainsaw face” lunged straight at me. I put my hands over my face just in time as he took 4 or 5 lightning fast jabs with his nostrum. It happened so fast, I don’t know how a I blocked my face in time.  It felt like someone took a baseball bat to my forearms. The sawfish knocked me into another diver and then as quick as it had started, it was over.

That attack shook me up pretty good. I was scared, disoriented, and bleeding a little bit inside my suit. But I didn’t get out of the tank. Im not going to lie, the remaining ten minutes of that dive were the longest 10 minutes of my life, but I didn’t get out of the tank. I just stuck close to Erik.

I share this story because it is time to wade into treacherous waters once again. My family and I have officially moved to the San Fernando Valley to start a church in 2011. After a year of leading Bible studies in homes, water baptizing in pools, and serving local families through ministries such as “Laundry Love,” we are planting in Chatsworth California. Much like the shark tank, it would be foolish for us to take this dive without some wing-men on the journey. That is why I am asking for you to consider partnering with us on this adventure in one of the following areas.

• Join us! Sign your life away on the waiver and jump in with us. We need volunteers, musicians, children’s ministry helpers, set-up tear down crew, etc.

• Give financially! Money makes the world go around and we are trying to impact this world. We are a legitimate fully fledged 501C3 non-profit organization. This means all gifts made out to “Freedom Church” are tax dedcutible.

• Join our prayer team! We aim to build a prayer team of 300 warriors. Commit to pray for us and you will receive regular email updates on how things are developing and situations that need specific prayer.

To partner in any of those ways, write a separate email to JusticeColeman@gmail.com so we can add you to our team of wing-men.

Lets change the world together and start a revolution of Jesus followers in the San Fernando Valley.

“I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it.” – Romans 7:18-20

This guys sounds like a schizophrenic.

And the crazy thing is, this is an excerpt from a letter written by pastor who had never even met the group of people to whom he was writing.  Is this really how you want to introduce yourself?

“Nothing good lives in me… the evil I do not want to do – this I keep on doing.”

If we haven’t met, my name is Justice. I also, am a pastor and schizo.

I have had a rough last few days. I have been sinning left and right and in return, confessing and repenting left and right.  If I told you the nature of my mistakes, you might laugh it off at their insignificance. Basically, watching the kind of movies Jesus wouldn’t, saying things Jesus wouldn’t, and thinking about things Jesus wouldn’t. But at the end of the day… today… my spirit hurts.

“For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do–this I keep on doing.”

My spirit hurts. But here is the worst part.

It is the night before Easter and I am getting in bed about to set my alarm for a 10:45am morning service tomorrow, when I remember that a friend of mine from a local Spanish church invited me to a 6am Easter morning service.  I have never been to a 6am Easter Morning service in my life… not to mention one in another language.  And here is the thought that goes through my head tonight.

“I have had a rough few days giving into sin. And even though I don’t speak Spanish and probably won’t understand a single word, I should get up early and go to the 6am service.”

I want to THROW UP just typing that right now.

I am more of a wicked mess than I ever realized when the day comes that I think for one second that going to an extra church service on Easter Sunday in some way earns additional points toward my righteousness!!!

AS IF JESUS CHRIST’S DEATH ON THE CROSS AS PENALTY FOR MY SINS IS NOT ENOUGH TO WARRANT FORGIVENESS FOR MY SINS!!!

The Almighty God of the entire universe loves us so much that He gave His only son, Jesus, to die on the cross as substitute for OUR sins. The moment we try to add anything to that is the moment we must realize that we have missed the Gospel.

It was good enough the first time, He doesn’t need to do it again.

“Thank you Father for showing me how valuable I am to you by making such a sacrifice. And thank you for forgiving me for all my sin… and all my future sin.”

I am still going to go to the 6am service.  But not as “penance.”

But because I GET TO!

ITS FREAKING EASTER MORNINGI! THE DAY JESUS CONQUERED DEATH FOR US!

I COULD SING ABOUT THIS ALL DAY LONG!

Last month I was asked to write a short article that would go out as a prayer guide to all the leadership of the denomination in which I am so blessed to consider myself included. I was incredibly honored and after much prayer, these are the 600 words I felt each leader should read.

Did Jesus have dry seasons?

Did Jesus ever have one of those days when He said to Himself, “Man, it doesn’t matter how much I read my Bible, the Father just seems so far away right now.”

Sometimes I think God is playing “Hide and Go Seek” with my soul. And in a weird way, that encourages me. If God promises that He is a “rewarder of those who diligently seek Him,” (Heb. 11:6) then at least I am comforted in the fact that He is faithfully waiting for me somewhere.

And I think Jesus clues us in on that “somewhere” just days before He death.

Once Jesus got to Jerusalem, He knew the clock was ticking. If His people hadn’t figured out that He was the Messiah by now, there was no time to waste. So He marched straight into the temple courts and pulled out His old whip.

Imagine what was going through everyone’s minds at this point? Years of ministry and miracles, the triumphal entry into the city, the clearing of the temple, and now here He was standing at the capital of the nation of Israel and the very epicenter of Jewish faith. Could this be the Christ? Is the Kingdom of God at hand? Are we about to witness a revolution?

And right when everyone is on the edge of their seat, Jesus puts down His whip and shares three of the scariest parables about the Kingdom of God ever recorded; each one ending with a group of people who don’t make it in and are left to suffer eternally.

The last parable is particularly haunting. But what has He got to lose? Jesus knows He will be laying His life down at any moment, so He calls it like it is.

“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left” (Matt. 25:31-33, NKJV).

We know the story well. There are those who know the King already and those who don’t. Yet, both are surprised when they discover that they do know Him!

“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me’” (Matt. 25:37-40, NKJV).

When we seek out the lost and feed, clothe, visit, and invite them; we don’t do it for God. We do it to God.

God doesn’t identify with the person who does the good works, God identifies with the person who receives the good works.

Is He beckoning us to a deeper, more experiential encounter with Him? Is there a greater dimension to “knowing” the God of the universe that we might be missing?

The cry of the Father’s heart, even in His last days before the cross, is that we would know Him. Maybe He is playing “Hide and Go Seek.”

If He is and if you are in a dry season and can’t seem to find Him, start with the lost. He would say that is where you will find Him and He is already there waiting for you.

Prayer Focus: “Lord, we want to find you. Will you help us?”

Justice Coleman
NextGen Director
Greater Los Angeles District