My Pursuit

This page is for those who also find themselves “in pursuit” of King Jesus and His Kingdom.   Luke 12:32

After spending some time thinking about how to present this page, I finally felt it best to just begin and let the Spirit do the work.

I am convinced God will do anything necessary to speak to us.  He goes to extraordinary lengths to help us “communicate” with Him.  Communication is at the very heart of relationship, thus God’s emphasis on it.  At the end of the day, our only goal should be to KNOW God, not just know “about” Him.  Jesus came to demonstrate to us His own Father.

In my own walk, there have been many people, resources, tools, and experiences the Holy Spirit has used to “reveal” the Father.  This page is a somewhat simple way of trying to share some of those influences.  It is an attempt to provide a “short list” of reading material which has helped me see Jesus more clearly on my own personal path toward the King.

To begin the path, there are a few personal revelations which I would like to share:

• Jesus did not preach the same gospel we proclaim today.  His “gospel” was the “gospel of the Kingdom”.  While His message *included* the salvation message, it was not just limited to that single revelation.

• One of the greatest avenues of Kingdom expression will be through marketplace (business) ministries.

• The “church” has nothing to do with buildings, programs, and positions.  It has everything to do with being a relational, face-to-face, shared-life community of believers who make up the “spiritual” organism most refer to as “the church”.

• Discipleship is a lifestyle of dying to self and earnestly striving to hear the Spirit and be obedient as we walk together with other believers using our gifts to share the love of God we have received.

In order to comprehend the Kingdom which Christ is establishing we must realize it is spiritual in nature.  It will affect the natural kingdoms but only as it is comprehended and expressed by those destined to walk in it.  It is the Father’s desire to give us the Kingdom (heavenly lifestyle now).  Since this Kingdom is spiritual, it MUST be comprehended with spiritual eyes and ears.  Ron McGatlin at OpenHeaven.com has an article discussing this most important step.  There are multiple “Kingdom Growth Guides” but the first lesson is paramount.  If we miss it, we will ultimately have to come back to relearn it.

My SHORT list of articles, books, etc which have helped me:

1. Kingdom Growth Guides (especially Lesson 1) – OpenHeaven.com
2. Irresistable Kingdom – Chip Brogden (TheSchoolofChrist.org)
3. Multiple postings by Clay Sikes (Lighthouse Prophecy)
4. Re-Imagining Church – Frank Viola
5. The Crucified Ones – Charles E. Newbold, Jr.

Books which have profoundly affected me (in addition to those above)

• Houses that Change the World, Wolfgang Simson
• Eternal Church, Bill Hammon
• Restoration of Apostles and Prophets, Hector Torrez
• Pagan Christianity, Frank Viola and George Barna
• Marketplace Christianity, Robert Fraser
• Heaven’s Underground Blueprint, Brett Jacobsen (ChristIsAll.org)

Individuals who have influenced me:

• My wife (a profound teacher and lifetime friend)
• Pete Oddo (words are insufficient)
• Craig Gleerup
• Clay Sikes (LighthouseProphecy.com)
• Ron McGatlin (OpenHeaven.com)
• Charles Newbold, Jr.  (charlesnewbold.com)
• Ras Robinson (fullnessonline.org)
• Don Atkin (donatkin.com)
• Harvey Kirby (my brother-in-law who taught me to think “outside” the box)
• …. and the multiple members of this shared-life community I refer to as my spiritual family (The ekklesia – church) – you know who you are.

Most of all I am thankful to my King, Jesus Christ, and His Holy Spirit, which provides revelation, illumination, and the empowerment to live and be in relationship with our creator.

Together, we are being transformed into His image, corporately, the one new man, Jesus Christ.