Tonight I have been bumming around the internet and I’ve found some interesting numbers. It would seem that as I near my return to Prague come the end of the summer God is placing some interesting desires, visions and etc. in/on my heart/soul/mind. Since I felt God calling me to Prague long-term, one of the questions in my mind was, “How can I best be used to build the Church in Czech and Europe at large?” The answer that has resounded in my heart is work with Athletes in Action. But beyond that I see myself being part of church planting and pastoring. I don’t want to get into too much of this in this post, but do be praying that God would focus in on what He is doing with this in my life in the days, months, and years ahead.

Anyway, read this interesting study about the spiritual condition of Europe:

Europe is both the most Christian and the least Christian place in the world today. According to this study, 72.7% of Europeans would label themselves as Christians. Does this mean that more than 2/3 of Europeans are following Jesus Christ and are concerned about the people around them? The answer is a resounding no, no, no, no, no. According to this study, only 4.2% of Europeans follow Jesus and are actively concerned about the people around them following Jesus. While most of the world has a church for at least every 5000 people, this study estimates that there is only one Gospel Oriented church for every 27749 people in Europe.

Is there a hope for Europe? The study goes on to estimate that if given a clear and relevant presentation of the Gospel, only 3.8% of Europeans would begin to follow Jesus and join a church. To make matters even worse, the rate of church planting is estimated to be moderate to poor- about one new church planted for every three hundred existing churches.

Interesting, huh? I’ve been in so many discussions as of late with people about how we CANNOT forget Europe! I am an “equal opportunity” guy when it comes to the Nations. God’s heart beats for every tribe, tongue and nation; therefore, I, we, must be an “equal opportunity” people when it comes to the Nations! It would seem that the American Church has narrowed its scope to something other than “every“! May God stir in hearts in Europe! For more information about this study, Czech out the European Spiritual Estimate site. Praying for a Revolution in Europe!

So I like birthdays because it means I can get a new book or two! (I really love books!) One of the “birthday books” I got is Piper’s book, What Jesus Demands from the World. Here is a quote that spoke to me as I thought about my life prior to knowing Christ:

Look away from yourself. Seek from God what He alone can do for you. Moral improvement of the old you is not what you need. New life is what the whole world needs. It is radical and supernatural. It is outside our control. The dead do not give themselves new life. We must be born again – “not… of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:13). That is what Jesus demands of the world. (pg. 39)

Recently, as the days past and I neared the big 27-year-old mark (in reality I know it’s not that big!) one of my favorite people in the world, Cindy Smith (my pastor’s wife), asked me, “So what did you think you would be doing at 27? Or what did you think life would like or what didn’t you think life would look like?” I didn’t get to answer Cindy’s question, because we were at a friend’s wedding and there were far too many people there! So here we go, I figured it would be something fun to blog about. So here are some of my 27th Birthday Reflections (see last year’s reflections, click here):
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This week’s quote of the week, goes along the same vein as last week’s, and it comes from blogging pastor Scott Hodge. It’s good!

The difference between creativity and innovation is the difference between thinking about getting things done in the world and getting things done.

“Creativity THINKS up new things. Innovation DOES new things.”

So let’s try this one again, (this an attempt to get some feedback!) What INNOVATION is bubbling around in that mind and heart of your’s. Let’s hear what God is doing!

I am one of those guys that has many (too many probably) RSS feeds to several blogs! One of them is a guy named Joshua Longbrake who has written a bunch for Relevant.com and also has an heart for traveling, life-change, Eastern Europe, and a lot of other things that strike a cord with me. I actually found his blog while he was touring Europe for three months or so and blogged about his experiences. Anyway, read his blog! He recently posted a cool entry about story and the stories behind the faces we see each day. Here is part I liked, but make sure you read it all (click HERE).

But everyone has a story. Everyone has a past. Everybody has been shaped by something. One parent. No parents. Economic situation. Rape. Culture. Orphaned. Pain. Struggle. Lack of pain and struggle. Death. Divorce. Privilege. Popularity. People are shaped by situations and the people that surround them.

Everyone has a story.

And when you know someone’s story, it changes everything, doesn’t it? Your friends who act certain ways, ways which would annoy you if they were from a stranger, are given grace because you know them. You understand them. He acts that way because of this. And she does those things because of that. You understand. Everyone who knows them understands.

In the last few days a pastor in D.C. has been mentioned twice in two completely different contexts! His name is Mark Batterson and he is pastor of National Community Church in Washington, D.C. and he wrote a book that I’m told that I MUST read, In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day: How to Survive and Thrive When Opportunity Roars. Well, in the midst of a couple of hours of support calls (please pray for these as I’ve not got much concrete stuff set up yet) I found his blog and found something entitled The Lion Chaser’s Manifesto. It was extremely encouraging to me as I am in the midst of something bigger than me, that if God doesn’t show up in will fail! So here it is! I pray it moves you too!

Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-ordained passions. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes. Keep seeking God. Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks. Expand your horizons. Accumulate experiences. Consider the lilies. Enjoy the journey. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Live like today is the first day and last day of your life. Don’t let what’s wrong with you keep you from worshipping what’s right with God. Burn sinful bridges. Blaze a new trail. Criticize by creating. Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks. Don’t try to be who you’re not. Be yourself. Laugh at yourself. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away. Chase the lion!

rev·o·lu·tion – “A willing of the unimaginable to the imaginable.” – unknown

What are you dreaming about today? What unimaginable thing is God calling you, with His power, to bring into the imaginable? I’m dreaming and praying… So let’s put the comments to work! Fill the world in! (or at least the small readers of zACHhARROD.com!) Let us know what revolutions for the Kingdom of God are you dreaming up? May the Lord lead us in the steps of Jesus the greatest revolutionary ever!