When it comes to organizational leadership, I’m a pretty big nerd. I love hearing how a coach runs a team or how a CEO leads a Fortune 500 company. Hearing the details of their day-to-day operation and decision making begins to show the culture behind the product. The details reveal how seriously the organization takes their mission and how much they value what they do.

I was reading Exodus 24-27 this morning when – to be honest – I hit a patch that I began thinking to myself, “This is pretty stinking boring.” It was in Exodus 26-27 when it starts laying out in excruciating detail how they were supposed to build the Tabernacle and everything in it. Everything down to the materials used and what artistic emblems would be embroidered on the curtains is given.

I literally stopped and asked out loud, “Why in the world is this in here?!” And then it hit me: because the details matter! As Exodus carefully lays out exactly what God wanted in his house of worship, we begin to see how much God values our worship and giving Him our absolute best.

That’s why at OneLife we try our hardest to dig deep into the details. It’s why the band practices, and volunteers come to VIP meetings. It’s why we have trainings for volunteers, structure our worship services with intentionality, and carefully plan everything from each individual sign to the kids rooms and even down to each row of chairs.

Because details matter.

And in those details we display to our God how seriously we take him and how much we desire to offer him our absolute best.

Last week I was cleaning up my office and ran across an old spiral bound notebook. I flipped through the pages and was amazed at what I saw.

In the pages of this notebook were prayers I had written years ago. Prayers for my future wife. Prayers for friends and family. And prayers for a “future” church that I would one day start. Reading these prayers – that are now answered prayers – was an unbelievable experience that led me straight to worship and straight to more praying! If God had shown me his faithfulness in all these ways, why stop praying now?!

Writing down prayers, also called prayer journaling, is as old as the Bible itself. In fact, reading the book of Psalms is like finding King David’s prayer journal. As you read this book, seeing what David was asking God to do in his life and what he was thanking God for at different times, you find an incredile example of prayer journaling. Psalm 45:1 even gives us insight into how writing down our prayers can be beneficial when it says, “Beautiful words stir my heart. I will recite a lovely poem about the king, for my tongue is like the pen of a skillful poet.”

As we end the first week of our 21-Day Prayer Challenge, I encourage you to start a prayer journal. Do it in a notebook or type it on your computer. Each day, write your prayers as lists or even like writing a letter to God. Record what you are thinking, what bold prayer your are “circling,” and even what you are struggling with. One day you will look back on those prayers and see the power of being a circle maker when you see how God has truly answered those prayers!

Don’t forget that as you pray and write down those prayers, the two we are focusing on during these 21 days are your personal “Jericho” and our church launching into this season of multiple locations. I know that as we do this together, we are going to experience incredible transformation.

Let’s write it down as we go, so we can give God all the glory when we look back on the great things He has done!

Well, God was right! When we obey him, He takes care of us.

Three months ago I challenged OneLife to a 90-day Generosity Challenge. The premise was simple: give God your first ten percent like the Bible tells us to do, and if He doesn’t take care of you like the Bible says He will, then OneLife will give you every penny back.

Some people look at me like I have four heads when I tell them we did this. But believe it or not, churches do this somewhat frequently and we definitely weren’t the first. The reason for a Generosity Challenge is to take away every excuse. If someone thinks they can’t afford it, then we’ll take that excuse away, too, by promising to give them their money back if they go broke! We can do this because we know God will provide like He promises.

More than 100 families committed to take the challenge, and when all was said and done around half of them took it seriously by sticking to their commitment. And as expected, every single person who honored God with their first ten percent saw God take care of them! Not one family asked for their tithes back because God didn’t pull through for them.

The stories have been incredible, and we’ll be sharing some of those in the coming weeks on Sundays and on the blog. If you look back on the past 90 days and see that you missed sticking to your commitment, start now! Put God to the test like he tells you to do and watch him take care of you! If you already did that and saw God do great things in your life by taking care of you – please let me know!

As we move into a new season as a church of opening a second location and helping more churches get started, it’s going to take all of us being obedient to doing what God says with our finances. Fortunately for us, He will then do what He promises and take care of our needs every step of the way!

Don’t miss the chance to experience that!

Don’t forget to automate your tithes to help you stay disciplined! Do it today at onelifeknox.com/give.

Three years ago, OneLife Church was getting geared up to have our first preview service. I remember the feelings of excitement and anticipation of being one of the first people to experience this new church as being overwhelming! The reason I remember them so vividly, is I am feeling them all over again!

In 8 weeks, OneLife Halls will launch making us one church in two locations. It’s scary, exciting, and a huge rush all at once to be essentially starting a new church all over again! I walked into the building yesterday as it is being framed and drywall is going up, and I could “see” what it’s going to be like as hundreds of new Christ followers gather to worship. It fired me up!

So I want to invite you to join me in this experience. Especially if you live in Fountain City, Halls, Coryton, Maynardville, or any other North or East Knox communities. We are praying for 100 of you to make OneLife Halls your place of worship. Not only that, but we want you to be in your community reaching those you work and live with on a daily basis. The best way to do that is go to church in your own community!

So I want to invite YOU to be one of the first 100 to make up OneLife Halls. A launch team of close to 50 is already meeting, so we simply need 50 more of you to say, “Yep, I’ll be there on August 19 and beyond!”

If that’s you or you just want more info, go to onelifeknox.com/halls, and if you’re gonna be one of the first 100, simply fill out the form there to let us know!

So now that you’ve budgeted for giving God your FIRST ten percent, and you automated it so that it is given whether you remember your checkbook or not and whether you are at church or not, what’s next?!

The easiest – yet hardest – step. That’s what! Trust.

Jesus talked about money and possessions more than heaven and hell combined. He told a rich, young, successful leader that he would have to sell everything he had to follow Jesus. Jesus praised an old widow for giving her last two pennies to the offering. He even purposelly sent his disciples out on mission without any money in their pockets. Why did he teach all of this and more?

Jesus wanted these people – and he wants you and me – to trust him more than our money. And he promised that if we did, he would take care of our needs. He said, “So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”

If you have a problem giving to God what he asks of you financially, Jesus teaches that it boils down to an issue of trust. It’s as if you are saying, “God, you can’t really have all of me because I don’t trust you enough to take care of me.” Or for many of us, what we’re really saying is, “I’m not willing to sacrifice my wants for what you ask of me, Jesus. Thanks for sacrificing for me – but I’m just not willing to do the same for you.”

As we take this Generosity Challenge together, I am praying for you like crazy to take this big step of trust. Because I know what you will see is God take care of you like never before, and grow you like never before.

If you haven’t officially signed up for the Generosity Challenge, go here and do it now! From this point forward you’ll receive weekly encouragement, updates, and info about how your sacrifical giving is changing lives. The next 90 days are going to change our church and your life! I can’t wait to see it happen.