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From one dreamer to another,

Julian

Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

Band-Aids never lead to breakthroughs.

Though it’s so much easier to put surface solutions on deeper issues, surface solutions don’t work.

Real change only occurs when we are courageous enough to face the truth.

You are a Super-Hero.

In fact, we are in the season of superheroes.

Just look at the movies that have come out this past summer and the past few summers. Green Lantern, Thor, Iron Man, Batman, Spiderman, Captain America, X-Men, the Avengers, it seems as if every other week there is another movie coming out.

There is something about Superheroes that resonate with people.

They have always spoke to me. Growing up I loved comic books, heroes, villains, and their amazing stories. I had stacks and stacks of comic books (and still have boxes full of them!).

I even had a super hero alias. Somehow I acquired an old green, hand-me down jacket that had a ton of pockets. To me, I it looked like a spy jacket.

When I put on the jacket, I would change from Julian Newman, mild mannered elementary school kid, to ‘Stunt Man Joe’ (I don’t know why I chose that name!) defender of the weak and powerless.

Stunt Man Joe could do just about everything. He was strong, agile, with super-speed and incredible powers.

The craziest thing was, when I was wearing the jacket I wouldn’t let anyone call me by my real name. I was ‘Stunt Man Joe’, thank you very much.

But as silly as my boyish foray into superhero-dom was; I think there was something deeper going on that I didn’t realize.

Because I was/am, (and you are too!), genetically, specifically coded for the extraordinary, and performing amazing exploits by the awesome power of God.

In your cells, heart, and spirit you were created with a desire to be great, to overcome, to release your inner-hero. The scriptures tell us that those that know their God would do mighty exploits. The whole expanse of the bible is full of people using super powers:

• Sun Standing Still
• The Red Sea Parting
• City Fortress Walls Collapsing
• Super-Human Strength
• Super-Human Speed
• Teleporting from this place to that place
• People calling down fire and fire coming from their mouths to consume and burn people up.
• People rising from the Dead and Flying into Heaven

If any of that sounds far fetched to you, it’s is all in the bible! And to take it further there is a chapter in 1 Corinthians 12 there is a detailed list of super powers called spiritual gifts that God gives to His sons and His daughters.

That is why we have great dreams, great visions, and great futures.

Question: Do you know you are a hero? Is there an amazing vision burning in your heart, a fiery passion for something greater for your life and for your generation?

To fully activate your Heroic destiny there are three disciplines every Hero must master:

1. The DISCIPLINE OF WORSHIP- Give God honor and praise no matter what.
2. THE DISCIPLINE OF THE WORD-Make God’s ideas the source of your life.
3. THE DISCIPLINE OF THE WEAPON-Use God’s ideas to fill your thoughts and strike down the lies of the Devil.

For video of my latest talk about heroes, click here:

‘HEROES’.

“Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.”
-Luke 4:14

Before God catapults us into a time of feasting, He will call us to a season of fasting. He minimizes before He maximizes, He decreases before He increases.

In Luke 4:14, Jesus came to the city bursting with power, stepping into extreme favor recognized by the whole region. This was His destiny, the very reason for which He was born.

But this period of ‘feasting’ was preceded by an extended term of fasting.

Jesus was pressed, tested, and tempted while alone in the wilderness. With no food, no friends, and no comfort, Jesus could only rely on the Word and the Presence of God.

Stripped of every external crutch, He was forced to stay true to what mattered most. This prepared the Messiah for seasons of more, through trial in a season of less.

Can you relate?

God-given dreams of destiny and grandiose visions of the future pulsate deep inside you. And as awesome and amazing that these dreams and visions are, holding onto them can be so painfully difficult.

Because no evidence that the dreams will ever come true or even a percentage of the visions will come to pass can be seen. All doors of opportunity have seemingly closed, and every possible key has mysteriously disappeared.

You are tempted to think God is against you.

But God never breaks us down to destroy us, He only breaks us to build us. Without a time of fasting, we would be tempted to trust the feast (the dream, the vision, gift, etc), rather than the God of the feast.

God loves to release His children into their destiny. But in order to succeed long-term in a period of favor and blessing, we must learn to fully trust His Word and His Presence.

Those that don’t go through the Fast, will always lose sight of God in the midst of the Feast.

Fasting precedes feasting so we can feast in the power of the fast.

{F.Y.I : Jesus didn’t need preparation the way we do, just like He didn’t need to baptized as a sign of repentance (among other things) while He was on earth. Jesus never sinned and was fully God in human form at all times, living a perfect life.

But as a model and sacrificial substitute for human beings, He walked as a human completely submitted the the Father and the leading of the Holy Spirit as an example for all of us. That is why the writer of Hebrews could say Chapter 4 verse 15, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.”}

In my neighborhood there are joggers, walkers, and bikers on the move almost 24 hours a day. But there is one jogger that especially stands out. Every time I see him I smile.

It is a man in his mid-forties who runs while pushing a stroller, while his 10-12ish year old son jogs beside him. What makes me smile is that he wears rugged jean shorts (with a belt) and no shirt.

No he isn’t ripped. No he will never be featured on the magazine covers of Men’s Health or American Fitness. He is just a regular dude that runs.

But the other part of the picture is what make me smile more.

His 10-12ish year old son also rocks belted blue jeans shorts while he runs bare-chested next to Dad.

And like Dad he probably isn’t going to grow up to win a body building championship. But he runs with his father, follows his leader, and does what his leader does.

I am challenged by this neighborhood father and son, getting their daily exercise.

You should be too.

Challenged to consider who well I am follow my Leader, Jesus. Am I following Him closely and doing what He does?

Am I following Jesus well enough to act like Him, think like Him, and look like Him?

True Jesus followers go way beyond the mental decision to follow Him. True Jesus followers change their entire lives to pursue and identify with Him.

They run with Jesus, follow Jesus as leader, and do what Jesus does.

Today, on September 17th 1973 a little baby named Julian was born in Camp Pendleton, Ca to Leon and Gloria Newman.

I want to thank my parents, family, and all of my friends for all the Happy Birthday wishes from people all over the country via Facebook, Twitter, E-Mail, Text, etc.

I sincerely appreciate it. You all are a huge blessing.

A special shout out to my wife Tiffany of 16 years (Wow! That long! We’ve known each other for 20 straight birthdays!) who is provides such a sweet melody to the soundtrack of my life.

“Where vision lacks, chaos reigns.”

I went into Borders bookstore a few days ago. It was a strange experience. It was both happy AND sad. Happy because of the amazing deals I got on a bag of books (80% off), sad because Borders is going out of business.

Borders was by far my favorite book store. It had style, incredibly comfortable seats (for reading and/or studying), and a huge array of books (Yes, I know that they weren’t able to jump into the digital e-book space quickly enough which is a major reason they are going out of business. I am a HUGE e-book guy myself!). I’ve have spent many hours reading, writing, preparing weekly talks for Renaissance in Borders bookstore.

So when I walked in last Saturday and saw the mostly empty shelves and the crowds of scavengers milling about, I was sad. It was as if an old friend was leaving forever.

Beyond my emotional feelings of nostalgia, there was something else I noticed:

A complete absence of vision that touched everything. This absence created a vacuum that could be seen, felt, touched.

This vision vacuum was TANGIBLE: There was no air conditioning and the place was sweltering hot.

This vision vacuum was VISIBLE: One of the employees (a manager, I think), historically a model of polite professionalism in prior moments, went outside and sat on the ground, smoking a large cigar just feet from the front entrance.

The vision vacuum was UNDENIABLE: Asking a question of the cashier, after I receiving a terse reply, he tossed my books to me, while a lady friend stepped behind the counter and gave him a passionate hug.

Nearly everywhere I looked, I saw this vision vacuum playing out.

When vision has departed, there is no momentum for movement. And when we stop moving, whether individually or organizationally, we die.

That’s why there was such disarray and lack of control in the store. There was no vision to keep things glued together.

As the Teacher in Proverbs says, “Where there is vision, the people perish”.

In other words, zero vision = zero life.

Stuck and floundering in your day-to-day, your family, your marriage?

No momentum in your business, organization, or area of leadership?

Chances are, somewhere along the way you lost the vision.

Though losing vision is tough (unlike Borders), you can find it again.

Retrace your steps. Reread those old journals. Remember the reason why you got in this (marriage/relationship/friendship/business/industry/ministry) in the first place.

If you can remember the reason, you can rediscover your vision.

Start looking. Start searching. Start remembering.

Today.

When I’m not being a husband, father, blogger, I have the tremendous privilege of fulfilling the role as Lead Pastor at Renaissance Church (renchurch.tv).

We are a unique community that exists to tell the sacred story of Jesus Christ, painting a vision of hope that speaks and restores a broken generation into the Father’s original intention.

Through creativity, authenticity, service and the supernatural we desire to demonstrate the love of Jesus in a manner that shows how every life can become a work of beauty in the artful hands of God.

Get the weekly Messages from our brand new podcast here (This week’s talk focuses on breaking free from yesterday to launch full force into God’s vision/future).

Renaissance Fan Page Here.

While on my regular run I came to an elevated overpass with a wooded area underneath.

Crossing over, I happened to look down into the trees and was treated to an incredible surprise: A medium to large male deer with huge antlers! I was so shocked I stopped and said, “Whoa!”

He jumped from the trees and posed for a few moments.

He stared at me.

I stared at him.

He stared at me.

I stared at him.

Then he was gone.

I stood there still frozen. I was in awe of this ‘Discovery Channel’ scene that I stumbled onto. I couldn’t help but think about the many times I ran over this bridge and never noticed anything out of the ordinary.

There is a good reason I didn’t, of course. I never really took the time to look down. And if I did, I didn’t really look. I just glanced and kept going.

I never had the eyes to see because I was so preoccupied with how far I still had to go, the podcast I was listening to, the shiny cars speeding by.

My eyes were blind to this other world that existed right under my feet.

I wonder how often this true when it comes to the extraordinary things that God wants to show us. So preoccupied with this and that, the hustle and bustle, we are blind to this whole other world that exists just beyond us.

Yes He has the power to open the eyes of the blind. But in this instance He isn’t looking to perform a miracle, He is simply looking to us to open our eyes.

He has already given us eyes to see.

We just have to open them and take a look.

It is hight time for us to open our eyes and see what God has always wanted to show us.

I went to the Apple Store to get my iPhone checked out and my daughter’s Mac looked at. On my way in I noticed a little establishment by the name of See’s Candies.

When I saw the ‘See’s’ sign, I paused and smiled.

I love See’s Candies. I practically grew up on Mama See’s candy. I can remember walking into my grandmother’s house as a little child at Thanksgiving and Christmas. There would be a gigantic 2 lb box of these little chocolate delights sitting on the coffee table.

They’d call out to me with a little candy shrill, “Eat me. Eat meeeeeeeee!!!!!!!”

And the initial 2lb box was just the beginning. There were other boxes hidden in the house that hadn’t even been opened yet (and that doesn’t include the classic Peanut Brittle!).

And that was only ONE Grandmother’s house! I had two and the other Grandmother did the EXACT SAME THING!

IT WAS HEAVEN ON EARTH!

To this very day I can name almost every candy in a ‘Nuts and Chews’ without even looking at the ‘cheat sheet’ (included in every box).

When I saw that gorgeous black and white sign, in just a quick moment…I went back home.

My mouth told me that I needed to go back home again. I deserved it. I had been a good boy. I love my children. My wife. Jesus. I wave and smile at the neighbors when I see them. I eat my vegetables. I hug my mother when I see her. I take my garbage out on time. I buy fireworks for Fourth of July.

As you can see, I’m a prime candidate for a little chocolate treat (or two!).

I really deserved a little bit of Mama See’s home cookin’. Home was just around the way in that little bitty candy store. I just needed to step inside. It was no crime. It wouldn’t hurt anybody. Home is a good place, right? So what if I had recently made a new commitment to a healthy diet and regular exercise?

I just needed a few Butter Scotch Squares and Cashew Brittles and everything would be just fine….

“I’m Coming Home, I’m Coming Home, Mama See I’m Coming Home..”

Then I stopped myself. I fast-forwarded to how I would feel with a quarter ton of chocolate sitting in my stomach. I imagined how sick I would be. I envisioned the sheer disappointment in losing fitness focus. I reminded myself of my commitment.

So I steeled myself and just kept walking.

When faced with temptation (whether candy or something more sinister):

1. Fast Forward to the end.
2. Remind yourself of who you really are and where you are going.
3. Keep Walking.

Maybe sometime in the future Mama See’s and I will get reacquainted. But right now I’m going to focus on my goals and just keep walking.

You know what you can do. But what can God do?

God has given you a dream, a vision, an incredibly impossible idea. It is so far out there that it can’t be seen with natural eyes.
The type of vision that can only be seen with eyes closed.

It’s strange, it’s different, it’s wonderful.

It’s also impossible.

This is the place where the Dreamer usually decides to:

a. Quit.
b. Try to accomplish the BIG dream with small strength.

The quitters live life with regret, and those that don’t (attempting to spark a Divine dream with human power) become bitter with frustration.

But there is better option:

c. Ask God to accomplish the dream through you.

‘C’ option people fast, pray, and cry out to God for His help, strategy, and favor. They don’t size the dream according to their limits, they measure the dream according to Him.

And He…is limitless.

Yes, your dream is impossible. But God makes the impossible possible every single day.

Here is your assignment:

1. Ask God to remind you what He has called you to and what He has created you for.

2. Thank God for His dream for your life.

3. Praise God for His ability to accomplish His dream for you and through you, in spite of you.

4. Write down the first few things that come to your mind after you do steps 1-3. (Don’t consider YOUR capacity when you do this. Keep your focus on Him.)

5. Do this for 30 Days straight and watch what happens.