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New Website

2011-04-22T14:05:59Z

Well it took a few months but the new site is up and running. With all the changes ahead of us this new site is almost symbolic of what we hope for the future. We are moving the Ignite Academy from California to Virginia and with the increase in awareness about the program across the country and the questions that are coming, we are working very hard to get the word out.

The move to Virginia has so many reasons as to why it is the right thing to do. 1. Ignite has had the incredible support and blessing from the leadership at LIFE Pacific College while we have developed and implemented this new two-year junior college experience. However the time has come, with the growth of Ignite, to move off the LIFE campus. To Robert Flores and his team at LIFE, we will be forever grateful. 2. The Foursquare Church has been an overwhelming support to the implementation of this vision. Several years ago Foursquare operated a four year Bible College (LIFE East) in Christiansburg, VA. After closing the school in 2003, a conference center (CrossPointe) was developed on the site. In discussing the move of Ignite off the California campus, Foursquare leadership asked that we prayerfully consider re-igniting the Christiansburg campus with college students again. It is a beautiful facility and the perfect opportunity for a shared partnership and vision. 3. There is a growing trend among this next generation of leaders, where high school graduates are looking for college learning opportunities where hands-on, practical experiences are imbedded into the program. Ignite does just that. And the young people on the East Coast are excited that something is being developed for their part of the country. 4. Of the current applications 25% are still from the West Coast, and 25% from the Mid West. We are encouraged by the interest of young people across the country for the expansion of Ignite and the implementation of a total East Coast experience.

Please keep us in prayer and please consider contributing to the vision and future of the Ignite Academy. We have come so far and it has been because of the continued blessing and guidance of God, key leaders who have stood behind us (especially Glenn Burris and Tammy Dunahoo), families who have trusted us with educating and training their young adult children, and countless friends. We are grateful.

Welcome

2011-01-08T23:46:00Z

Some time this morning new students will be arriving both for the Ignite Academy and for LIFE Pacific College here in San Dimas. Move in day is always a day of discovery. Meeting new students, new students meeting new friends, parents hugging and saying good by to their kids being dropped off in the dorms…sometimes for their first extended experience away from home. And in it all is a sense of accomplishment, the reality of life moving on as young people step out into a world that is new and exciting, yet challenging and somewhat daunting. For me it is a day of amazement. Having a dream, a vision so strong, a desire to teach and to lead, to form and to disciple, becoming a reality in the form of parents and students who have caught the vision and have placed their trust in your hands. Because they believe you have heard from God, have sought His plan, have diligently applied task and structure to a vision. And so with God’s help, guidance and wisdom here we are again. The beginning of a new semester. The next step in moving forward with a dream. And so, to our new Ignite students, who are becoming part of a community and a learning experience that has proven to be something special….welcome! Mike

Wise Men Still Seek Him

2011-01-06T23:48:00Z

Today being the 6th of January is the traditional Day of Epiphany. The day of revelation, sudden unveiling, manifestation. It is the day traditionally recognized as the day the Wise Men miraculously came upon the nativity scene in Bethlehem by following a star in the sky. It is the day that culminates the traditional 12 days of the Christmas season. And today, like most other days, starting in my typical morning place, thinking about the day ahead, thinking about the weeks and months ahead, the changes that are coming (that I know of) and the challenges we will face (that we know not of), my prayer is for a fresh revelation of God’s purpose and plan for my and my families lives, and for the lives of those I work with and serve. Not a “new” revelation but a fresh revelation. And the thought that came to mind was that in the complexity of this “day”, in the challenges we will face, with the weight of the task at hand, it is in the simplicity and vulnerability of a baby in a manger that I will find my strength and the answers I will need. The simplicity of who He is and the Life that He represents is where all wisdom can be found.

Stand Up Stand Ready

2011-01-04T23:53:00Z

What do you believe and why do you believe it? Merely because you have been told something? Or because you have come to know it by what you read, by what you hear, by what you see, by what you have personally experienced? Like many of you I have had a week off between Christmas and the New Year beginning. I have taken the time to rest and enjoy one of my Christmas gifts, a ten episode documentary by Ken Burns on the Civil War. I was moved. Sure, I was inspired, and I learned some things, and I have have been challenged in my thinking. However the more I learn the more I want to know. And I do not want to merely observe and learn, I want to learn and do. I want what I am learning to be the basis for what I am doing.

Adolf Hitler was well received by the members and leadership of the German church when he became Chancellor in 1933. His rhetoric on Christian restoration, morality and traditional values were believed to be a “gift of mercy from God’s hand”. However, in the days that followed, his actions (a new constitution on the unity of the church requiring subservience to the Nazi regime and superiority of the Aryan race was introduced) revealed his true agenda and intentions. On this day, January 4th in 1934, German theologians like Karl Barth, Martin Niemoller and Dietrich Bonhoeffer stood up and took a stand, presenting a declaration against the Nazi government based on what they believed and why they believed it. And it cost them dearly. In the words of Dr. George Grant, “They kept alive the independent proclamation of the Gospel”. Similarly, in Acts 4, we read how the disciples stood up and stood ready, and how their stance was supported by their actions. They were willing to pay the price, standing up for what they had come to believe, by what they had seen and what they had heard…what they had come to know to be the Truth. There is a lot to know and therefore a lot to learn. However, based on what I have seen and what I have heard to this point, I am standing up and standing ready.

Good Day to Get Going

2011-01-03T23:52:00Z

It’s Monday and it’s January 3rd. The beginning of a new year, the beginning of a new week, the beginning of a new semester with Ignite Academy, the beginning of a transitional season for so many of us at very personal levels. Allow me to share with you what is filling and impacting my head, my heart and my actions on this amazing day of new beginnings. On this day in history the Protestant Reformation began with Martin Luther being excommunicated from the Catholic Church (1521); Washington routed Cornwallis at Princeton for the first Revolutionary War victory for the Americans (1777); construction began on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York (1870); The tomb of King Tut was discovered in Egypt (1924); The March of Dimes campaign to fight polio began (1938); Alaska was admitted into the US as the 49th State (1959)… And I read Luke 3 where John the Baptist is preparing the way of the Lord, and Acts 3 where Peter and John raise up a lame man who had been in that condition since birth.

I’m going to trust in the Lord, wait on the Lord, lean on the Lord, feed on His faithfulness, delight in Him and Him in me, dwell in His presence, while He works His purpose and desires for me (Psalm 37:6). Because it seems like a good day to discover something new, to step out for the right cause, to build something new, to continue forward in preparing the way of the Lord, to have a victory in battle, to look for the one person who could use a hand in getting up and walking for the first time in a long time… If history repeats itself, then today sure is a good day to get up and get going! Mike

Physically and Spiritually

2010-08-04T22:52:00Z

The crowd had gathered and they needed both physical and spiritual food. They were hungry…for both. The resources to feed them were right in front of the disciples but they didn’t know it. When Jesus asked “where” will we get the food, one of His disciples counted the money. Jesus hadn’t asked “how” will we get the food. Another disciple counted the loaves and fish in hand. We all know the story, Jesus multiplied the loaves and fish and fed over 5000. He multiplied the resources in hand, met the need, with more left over than what they started with. (John 6)

In these tough economic times so many of us are faced with a similar dilemma as the disciples. We see the needs of people “out there” and we have a desire to serve those needs. We recognize that the “Bread of Life” will fill every spiritual hunger, but we often forget that He is also the source for filling every physical hunger as well. For the physical we too often look to the natural and count the resources in hand only to discover that we don’t have enough. We recognize the need, we carry the burden, we labor in figuring out solutions and we tire in our efforts and become discouraged. Jesus didn’t ask His disciples “how were they going to buy bread” but rather He asked, “Where will we buy the bread”? Where will the resources come from to meet the needs of hungry people? What do we have in hand that when placed in Jesus’ hands He is able to multiply? When I consider what needs to get done as I commit my life to the Lord, and then I look in my wallet to count what I have available to get it done, I realize that I’m short…there’s not enough to meet the need. However, when I remember that the work is the Lord’s work and I am being given opportunity to partner with Him in it, not expected to be the one to provide for it, then I am more ready to place in His hands what I have so He can multiply it to meet the hunger of people…both physically and spiritually! Have a great day Fully Ignited! Mike

In My Head

2010-08-01T22:52:00Z

Well, I couldn’t sleep. Tossed most of the night. The cares of this world from time to time seem to win the battle at hand…in my head. In my head the resources don’t seem to match the needs; the personalities don’t match the tasks; the objectives don’t match the overall goals; the behaviors don’t match the culture…In my head. In my head is where I rationalize and strategize. In my head is where I do the math and count what I see and have directly in front of me. In my head I don’t factor in faith, because in my head I’m working with what I have…in my hand…what I see.

I started reading Psalm 62 and then over to John 3…and was reminded that it isn’t what I have in my hand but what I have in my heart. “For God alone my soul waits in silence;
from him comes my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken” (Psalm 62:1-2). “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven” (John 3:27). Once again the Word of the Lord reminds me that it isn’t what I see that counts but what I don’t see. If I could see it I wouldn’t need faith. To paraphrase Francis Chan, if everything I have in hand made life comfortable, then why would I need the Comforter? In my heart I know that every need is met by Him, every truth will be known, every challenge addressed, every question answered. This truth resonates to every corner of my being. It isn’t blind faith because I’ve been here before and the anticipated solution(s) I have seen before. The results don’t always look exactly like what I was expecting, but at the end of the day the need was met. So, it is to God alone that I turn to and wait, knowing that everything I (we) need will come from Him and Him alone. It sometimes takes me awhile but I get there…I get it…I know it…even in my head. Have a great day! Fully Ignited, Mike

The Tables Are Turning

2010-07-31T22:51:00Z

The image in John 2 of Jesus flipping tables over, obviously a physical expression of His zeal for the house of the Lord and His anger against improper activity within the same, has more to say about worship and the character / person of Jesus to be worshiped than it does about whether or not it is a good idea to have bake sales or rummage sales on church property. Arguably, the service being provided by the merchants selling animals to be sacrificed, as a convenience for travelers coming in to the temple to worship for example, was probably a good thing. The problem wasn’t so much what they were doing but rather the fact that the activity of commerce in the Court of Gentiles (a likely location within the outer wall of the temple complex) would have been a detraction from or a distraction to Gentile God-fearers or Gentile seekers who had come to the temple to worship.

The character of Jesus and His zeal for His Father’s house, exemplifies not only a zeal for the perfection and presentation for our worship focus, but also His compassionate desire that nothing would keep or distract seeking individuals from coming to Him to worship. What are the activities in our lives, and quite possibly very rational, arguably necessary and helpful activities for the conveniences of our day, that unfortunately may be a distraction or prevention for seeking individuals to see Jesus through our own personal character? Jesus desires that people would come to Him and that they would find Him in their seeking. And He has given us the opportunity to be a reflection of Who He is and His character by how we live our lives and conduct the business of our day. I believe the tables are turning where true reflection and opportunity for true worship will be the order of business for our lives. Mike

Where to Go-What to Do

2010-07-30T22:51:00Z

This morning I was reading in the Book of John. John the Baptist was speaking about Jesus, the Lamb of God. The next day as Jesus walked by, John pointed at Him and declared, “Behold the Lamb of God”. A couple of men who had been followers of John started after Jesus, who turned and asked them what they were looking for. The men responded by asking Him where He was going/staying. Jesus invited them along, showed them where He was staying, and the result was the realization by these men that Jesus was the promised and long anticipated Messiah.

The question today in so many circles is, “Where do I go, what do I do?”. The answer of course is different for everyone with so many issues and factors coming in to play. However this morning I was reminded that there really is one answer to one question that matters. It isn’t the “Where” or the “What” but actually the “Who”! The question then that we need to be asking isn’t where should I go or what should I be doing, but rather “Jesus, where are You going? Jesus, what are You doing”? We talk about Jesus, we teach people about Him, we even declare Who He is while pointing people toward Him. In the discovery as to what we should be focused on for ministry though, we need to be asking Jesus where He’s going and where is He staying. Seeing what He sees, in alignment and in step with where He is going is where we want to be and what we should want to be doing.

Vacation Mode Fading

2010-07-30T22:50:00Z

Even though there are still a few weeks of summer left, the transition from relaxed-vacation mode to “I have so much to do” is pressing its way upon me. The Ignite leadership team has spent the past few weeks visiting camps and talking with prospective students for our program. The interest remains high and the enthusiasm among incoming students already registered for this coming fall is growing. We’ve got an amazing group of young people joining us this fall (there are still a few spots open) and we’re getting ready! We’re going to be adding some additional elements to our website in the days ahead (Paypal capabilities for online payments and contributions, consistent daily/weekly blogs and updates, a Leadership Ignited Newsletter link, and much more). Help us spread the word about this fantastic opportunity to become more knowledgeable in the Word of God, more familiar with the voice of the Lord, and stronger in Spirit led walk while serving the Lord and His Church by serving others within the local community and around the world. Please be praying for Ignite! Mike