Teri and I are honored to serve the great State of Mississippi. We are adjusting
to an entirely different role of ministry. Our goal is to shepherd people with the
heart of a pastor. Upon receiving the call to serve in this capacity, the Holy
Spirit immediately reminded me of the word SHIFT. This word has been
embedded deep within my spirit for a couple of years. Shift means to transfer
from one place or position to another. Obviously, my family and I have been
engaged in a major SHIFT, but this goes much deeper than a literal move to
another location and position. I believe the Holy Spirit is speaking over the
entire state of Mississippi. There is a SHIFT coming!
A SHIFT can be a powerful thing. One small SHIFT in the ocean floor can
trigger a tsunami that can wipe out an entire nation. The 2004 Indian Ocean
tsunami was among the deadliest natural disasters in human history with over
230,000 people killed in 14 countries bordering the Indian Ocean.
A SHIFT at the right time can be the difference between winning and losing the
race. In the same way, when God initiates a DIVINE SHIFT. It can lift a church
to a whole new level of effectiveness. This SHIFT can cause a congregation to
come into its own, to discover its purpose and experience a new level of power.
This is my prayer for Mississippi. God give us a SHIFT.
The Biblical foundation of the SHIFT can be found in Ezekiel 37:1-14, Ephesians
2:4-7
Scripture Comparisons:
Ezekiel: “Son of man can these bones live?”
Paul: “We were dead in our transgressions
Ezekiel: “Behold I will cause breath to enter you that you may come to life.”
Paul: “Made us alive together with Christ.”
Ezekiel: “…They came to life and stood on their feet.”
Paul: “…Raised us up with Him.”
Ezekiel: “…”An exceedingly great army.”
Paul: “…Seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”
Seated in this text means: to sit down; to set in place; to appoint; to
settle in; to continue.
God has a place of effectiveness for our state and when He brings a DIVINE
SHIFT in our lives, He lifts us up and “seats” us in that place. It is like shifting
gears into overdrive. We will move to a level that we have never entered into
before. This same SHIFT will happen in our churches. In Ezekiel, it happened
with an entire nation. God has promised that He is bringing a SHIFT to His
church, and when churches experience the SHIFT, they are lifted to a whole
new place of purpose and power. A church that has encountered a DIVINE
SHIFT can affect towns and cities. People who were once unreachable will
be reached. Problems that have seemed like impossibilities become possible.
The whole atmosphere of your church becomes contagious. It is time for the
Church of God in Mississippi to become an unstoppable force. It is time for a
DIVINE SHIFT to occur in this state again.
HOW DO WE SHIFT
SHIFT??
Live from the inside out: Draw your identity from the God who lives on
the inside of you. Living any other way produces people and churches
that are unhappy all the time. They feel guarded, victimized, and
paralyzed.
Love from the outside in: People on the outside need a church too.
We must love and care for people who may not like us, may not talk like
us, may not act like us.
Labor from the inside out: We have to lock arms with one another
and do ministry together.
Lift from the outside in: Every church is affected by the winds and
storms of life. Face every day focused on solutions, not problems. Look
for the solution in every problem.
STEPS TOWARD SHIFTING:
Rethink our methods of operation.
Realign our ministries with our mission.
Refocus our attention back on the harvest.
Refuse to be satisfied with anything less than results.
Our state is approaching the SHIFT with great anticipation. Here are the
areas the Lord has spoken to me concerning the vision. We will take the
word SHIFT and make it our point of emphasis as long as we are the
administrators of this state. We will use an acrostic for the word SHIFT. We
will be encouraging every church to become involved and engaged in
helping Mississippi SHIFT into alignment.
Chris Moody
State Administrative Bishop