Marc Estes

I thought I would just take a moment to share about our recent trip to Romania. We have been here for the past few days and seeing God moving in great ways. Romania is definitely ripe for the Gospel.

I am traveling with Pastor Poncho Lowder, our Lead Youth Pastor at CBC, along with a great friend from Catskill, NY, Pastor Calvin Ortiz. Both of these guys have preached some great messages and touching many lives.

We are speaking at a National Youth Pastors Conference that has attracted young people from all over the region. There are about 500-600 young people and leaders in attendance which is a great number due to the small numbers of Charismatic believers in Romania. There is definitely some momentum taking place.

Last night, we had a great move of God, with many people healed. God did a very special work in the lives of many people. In addition there were many salvations along with hundreds coming forward to consecrate their lives to the call of God on their lives.

We will be doing a leaders seminar on Saturday and speaking to the Salem Church on Sunday. It is a full week and we would appreciate your prayers.

Stay tuned!

I came across this daring prayer written by Sir Francis Drake, that challenged me deeply. To be honest, to pray a prayer of this magnitude will have huge ramifications. However, the challenges you may face in praying such a prayer, just might make you the person you are intended to be. God often times gets us to do what we don’t want to do, that we might become who we were destined to become. Often times a cost is attached. My charge to you today… pray this pray and then hold on for what God will do for you!

“Disturb us, Lord, when we are too well pleased with ourselves, when our dreams have come true because we have dreamed too little, when we arrive safely because we have sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when with the abundance of things we possess, we have lost our thirst for the waters of life; having fallen in love with life, we have ceased to dream of eternity; and in our efforts to build a new earth, we have allowed our vision of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly, to venture on wider seas where storms will show your mastery; where losing sight of land, we shall find the stars. We ask you to push back the horizons of our hopes; and to push into the future in strength, courage, hope, and love.”

One of the greatest measurements of leadership maturity is how well you do serving another person’s vision. Most of us today function in some form of support role, which requires us to be committed to being a team player to fulfill a vision that is not our own.  Brailing your way through this process will create character or catastrophe depending on your approach.  As an executive pastor of a fairly large multi-site mega church, I have had the wonderful privilege to sit at the table with some of the greatest leaders in the nation, as well as serve under one of the brightest minds in the body of Christ, Frank Damazio.

It is obvious that the leadership style and philosophy established by the senior leader has a great bearing as to what role you will ultimately play and the level of input you are allowed to interject into the development of the vision itself. However, you will also play a crucial role as to how you function in your r0le and respond/react to the decisions that affect your life personally and the area of ministry in which you serve.  Over the years, I have learned the art of finding fulfillment in serving in a support role and can honestly say that it is possible for a leader to find great contentment  serving in this capacity.

Recently, I came across a book that had a great affect on my perspective of support ministry leadership. The book is entitled, “Leading from the Second Chair,” and is written by Mike Bonenm and Roger Patterson. These two guys forged out some great principles from living out the principles in which they share.  If you feel that you are called to be a leader and are serving a senior leader, may I highly recommend that you get this book and devote some time to devour that truths outlined in this great book. 

Here is a link for you to check this book out a little further. Hope this helps!

Sitting at the mall can make for a very entertaining afternoon. Watching people is one of my favorite past times. People are just interesting to watch. They come in all shapes, sizes and colors. Yet the most entertaining part is how most people work so hard to desperately impress those around them, when in reality no one is even watching or really cares.  If you really want to get a reality of this epidemic on steroids watch the red carpet at the Academy Awards! Now that is the treat that keeps on giving all year long!

What is it in us humans that cause us to do crazy things to gain the affirmation of others? Is it our need to feel important? Are we begging for attention? Is it our insatiable need for belonging to something bigger than ourselves.  Here is a great story that will make you laugh about a guy on a mission to impress a fellow worker.

A major was assigned to a new office on a military base. While he worked to set up his office, a private knocked on the door. The major quickly picked up the phone and motioned for the private to enter. On the phone the major said, “Yes, General Schwarzkopf, I think that is an excellent idea. . . . No sir, that’s fine, you feel free to call me any time. I’m glad I can help. . . . Yes sir, I will, and you give my best to your family as well. Thank you sir, and a good day to you too, General Schwarzkopf.” As the major hung up the phone he turned to the private and asked, “What can I do for you, private?” Sheepishly, the private mumbled, “Um, sir, I’m just here to hook up your phone.”

The most important truth you will ever understand is that you will be most accepted and loved and when you decide to just be you. No strings, no gimmicks, no fireworks, bells or whistles, just you being you. Those who I have grown to love and respect the most are those that realize that life isn’t about impressing others, but about living life for others. You will find the greatest happiness in life when you start to live life beyond yourself instead of attempting to live life for yourself. When you get out of the way, it is amazing how good you will feel about you, and the surprising conclusion will be that you will no longer have to spend all your time attempting to impress others at the mall!

Yesterday we took a long hike to the end of the island.  As we forged our way through the lava fields, tide pools and the towering dormant volcano behind us, I was enraptured with the incredible beauty of God’s creation.  Everywhere we turned there was evidence of my Creator and His majestic creation.

It is amazing how us feebly-minded believers can get so busy in the rat race of life that we lose sight of all God has created. Once again I find myself slowing down and enjoying the beauty all around me and learning some important lessons from God Himself through His creation.

One of the amazing sights of our journey yesterday was the monstrous waves that continually crashed along the rigid shore line. These mammoth size walls of aqua-blue water reminded me of God’s relentless love for us. His love is never failing and constantly beats upon our shoreline and works to break of the rigid edges of our carnal nature. Just like the waves never stopping and coming in a variety of sizes and intensity, so His love never stops, one wave after another, in varying degrees of intensity depending upon the season we are walking through.

Take some time today and slow down a little and look around you. God just might speak to you in an amazing way through His amazing creation.

Each year, my wife and I try to get away and spend some time together alone away for the pressures and challenges of life. Although we are very passionate about what we do, time alone together is important in maintaining a thriving marriage. This year we landed in Maui.

Over that past few days we have enjoyed casual drives to various places on the island. Our convertible has helped make the drives enjoyable, despite the sudden rain showers. We have just chosen to leave the top down. After all, we are from Portland.

Our favorite place this trip is Lahaina. We have spent a great deal of time walking around the town, eating at our favorite eatery, Kimo’s, and even splurging on some Lappert’s Ice Cream. We have seen dozens of whales and have some great pictures from our hike today to southern Makena lava fields. The waves were spectacular.

Tomorrow we will go to Mama’s Fish House, watch some surfers on 30 ft. waves and the head off to a magic show. We will also do a whale watching trip this weekend so Susan can get some great pictures.

Next week, we will get back to our usual blogging, but thought I would just change the tempo this week to fit the spirit of the week.

Marc

Several years ago, Dr. Ruth Berenda and a group of fellow psychologists rediscovered the dramatic power of societal pressure. In an experiment they invited ten teenagers into a room where three charts were displayed. Each chart had three lines of different lengths. The group members were asked to raise their hands when the teacher pointed to the longest line on each chart. One teen in each group did not know that the other nine teens had been instructed to raise their hands when the teacher pointed to the second longest line. The lone teen frequently looked somewhat confused but cast a wrong vote with the other nine students. Dr. Berenda’s data revealed that 75 percent of the teens allowed peer pressure to override their own better judgment.

We all need the affirmation to choose what is right rather than what is popular, which is much easier said than done. I am firmly convinced that the reason so many are persuaded by their surroundings, is their lack of identity in who Christ intended them to be. Many today allow the voice of society to define their value and worth, which always ends in disappointment. It is amazing to see what people are willing to risk losing for the sake of gaining the ‘approval’ of others.

Yet God’s view of you will allow you to be a persuader, not persuaded. We are first and foremost to be God pleaser, not a man pleaser (Eph. 6:6).  If we focus on what pleases God and how He values us, we have a great chance of not being persuaded and manipulated by the world and it’s opinion of us. Here are my top ten faith-builders which describes what God says about me!

1. I am God’s child.
2. I am God’s friend.
3. I am adopted into His family.
4. I am complete in Christ.
5. I have a future and hope.
6. I am part owner of God’s Kingdom.
7. I am a citizen of heaven.
8. I am significant.
9. I am special.
10. I have a purpose.

The next time that you are tempted to do something to impress someone else, ask yourself the question, “Am I being persuaded or am I persuading.” You might even print out this little list and  put it in your wallet or purse. It just might save your bacon one of these days!

I was greatly moved by this video and the evidence of God moving upon the country of Haiti in their darkest hour. This is one video that didn’t make it to the top of the evening news, but has made it to the top of my blog for sure. With over 1,000,000 people praying and fasting for three days, 3,000 confirmed salvations of which 101 voodoo priests were saved, is worth passing this move of God on to those that doubt that God can work “ALL THINGS for his good.”  Please click below and pass this post on and let the nations see our God moving in Haiti!

I am excited to add a new dimension to my blogging experience by offering some free resources that I believe will help you in developing yourself as a leader and those around you. It has always been a passion of mine to strengthen young leaders. Although I will be the first to admit that I don’t have it all figured out myself, I still would like to share what I have with those who might find the information useful.

I just added a new page to my blog, “RESOURCES.”  I have posted about ten different resources for you to use. There are some leadership notes, and Evangelism Handbook and a few charts that I have mentioned in previous blogs that have been frequently requested.

I would really like to see if these tools are helpful for you. Would you PLEASE review them and give me some feedback. I would really appreciate it.

Pastor Marc