Dominate Defined

Over the past few months you have heard me say, "I want to dominate this city with the love and grace of Jesus Christ." But what does that mean? Let me explain.

I remember walking through the ruins of an old city in Israel. We can upon a huge rock formation that looked like the old city gates of Christ's days. During the time of Christ this formation was the hotbed of pagan worship. Thousands of people would come to worship in pagan temples. I remember standing there at the very place where Jesus walked amongst a lot of people who were far from God. Jesus didn't run away from the pagans, prostitutes, murderers, thieves, and irreligious...no, he ran to them. Imagine the disciples standing there looking at all the idol worship, all the prostitution, all the ungodly behavior that was so popular and accepted. They must have been so overwhelmed. It was in this environment that Jesus says, "The gates of Hell will not prevail" against the church.

Now think about that phrase, "Gates of Hell." Gates are a defensive not an offensive weapon. Gates were used to keep a city from being overwhelmed. Jesus tells us that Hell is to be on the defense...his church should be on the offensive. We are not to retreat but to DOMINATE. We are to believe that God longs to do some God-size things in and through us. We are to work hard to find ways to love people, grow people, feed people, heal people, and dominate this city with the best weapons we have...love, grace, and encouragement.

It is my passion for all of us who attend Piedmont to not give up on our families, our office, our friends, and this city. We will "dominate" when we all love like there is no tomorrow, invest in those who are around us, give of ourselves to better someone else, and when we never stop inviting others to come with us to Piedmont. That is what it means to "dominate." It is not about becoming the cool church or the "better" church but it is beating hell in this city and becoming a church where constant life change is a reality.