Joshua Burnett

The robins egg Savannah found in our front yard (Taken with...

Wed, 30 May 2012 14:35:58 -0400

The robins egg Savannah found in our front yard (Taken with instagram)

Me and my son around the same age (Taken with instagram)

Mon, 28 May 2012 19:12:11 -0400

Me and my son around the same age (Taken with instagram)

This scares me probably every other day when I visit my...

Sun, 27 May 2012 17:19:22 -0400

This scares me probably every other day when I visit my basement… (Taken with instagram)

Hanging with the kiddos! Love Grady’s face (Taken with...

Fri, 18 May 2012 11:05:19 -0400

Hanging with the kiddos! Love Grady’s face (Taken with instagram)

Haggadah for Our Seder services this week! (Taken with...

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 17:41:38 -0400

Haggadah for Our Seder services this week! (Taken with instagram)

In Federal Hill with a team of students from Southeast Christian...

Tue, 27 Mar 2012 15:06:09 -0400

In Federal Hill with a team of students from Southeast Christian church who are learning about church planting today! (Taken with instagram)

Have you seen the Kony 2012 video? This is one of the most...

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 00:41:00 -0500

Have you seen the Kony 2012 video?

This is one of the most powerful videos that I have ever seen. It speaks of empowerment and of making a difference by coming together to do something that seems impossible for one person to do on their own.

I have done a small amount of research that causes me to be cautious of Kony 2012 (you can find an interesting article here - http://visiblechildren.tumblr.com/, you can also find Invisible Children’s response to this article here - http://s3.amazonaws.com/www.invisiblechildren.com/critiques.html)

But that is not the point that I want to make. My point is this - what they have done is amazing. Their youtube video Kony 2012 went live on Monday March 5th and today (March 7th) it has over 11 million views. That is astounding. And their follow up process… their website, the t-shirts, bracelets, videos, technological user friendliness to get you to take action (i.e emailing a politician or tweeting at a celeb) is unbelievably amazing. To say nothing of the viral allure of their take it to the streets campaign.

They have clearly articulated what everyone who deeply believes in something and has any understanding of the connectivity of our world today knows / wishes they could bring off… and they have set the stage and in all likelihood will accomplish their mission of raising awareness, capturing their audience, and moving them to action.

As someone who deeply believes in something I admire them. I admire how they have strategically set themselves up to accomplish their goal to raise awareness of Joseph Kony. And I think that there is soooooo much that I could learn from them.

The first thing that I admire about them is their excellence. Everything they do is excellent. Their communication, the video, their website, their products, even their call to action. People want to get on board with them not just because it looks cool or is trendy (although they are to be admired for creating that as well) but because it is obvious to everyone that they have put a ton of thought, energy, and effort into making this whole thing work.

In the church we need to have this kind of commitment to excellence. Why? Because excellence validates our cause. It shows people that we truly care. It motivates people to join us. In everything that we do at Revolution I want it to be excellent, because whether you agree with our cause or not… everyone appreciates excellence. Excellence in my opinion is not something that the church has been historically known for and this drastically hinders our message. We must change this. In every area of the church we need to be excellent… from the parking lot greeters, the Local Revolution Leaders, to the band, to every service event that we do. Our excellence speaks to how much we believe in our cause.

The second thing that I admire is their communication. The video is amazingly well put together. Their message and call to action is simple, clear, and concise.

We need to clearly and creatively communicate our message. There litterally is not a more important message in the world. As compelling as it is to think about stopping Kony… nothing is more important than the gospel. Nothing is more compelling than the gospel (God took our punishment so that we could have life forever with Him). Eternities hang in the balance.

Clarity and creativity drive action. Sometimes in the church we sacrifice clarity in order to avoid offending people. Other times we sacrifice creativity because we have forgotten / overlooked / have become apathetic to the gravity of our message. The reality is the gravity of our message should motivate us to move past worrying about offending people and motivate us to try to clearly communicate with people in a way that reaches them. This is one reason why I am excited about Feed 100,000. We are expressing the gospel by demonstrating what people who follow Jesus do… in a non-threatening way.

We need to strive to find more and more ways to creatively and clearly communicate the message of the gospel to the world! (have an idea? email me! josh@revolutionannapolis.com)

The final thing that I am going to write about that I admire is their unity. The viral campaign would have never worked if they had not worked in unison with everyone who was bought into their cause. The church could learn something from them on a macro level and a micro level. 3.2 Billion people on planet earth say they love and follow Jesus… and yet rarely do we work together. We need to get better at this… their move to unite democrats and republicans is genius. We need to move beyond our differences as christians and work together to show the world who Jesus really is!

On a micro level we as a church need to be united by this common cause as well. We need to work together in every way whether it be Sunday, during the week in Local Revolutions, or in serving others to see more and more people come to know Jesus! We need to “stop at nothing” to see this happen. 1 Corinthians 12 talks about how we have one Spirit who works uniquely in the lives of every christian with one goal… more people coming to know Jesus as Lord and Savior. Therefore we have one vision! Let’s work together to make it happen!

Numbers Matter!

Tue, 14 Feb 2012 01:20:00 -0500

Fifty-four. That is the number of people who came to Revolution for the first time and filled out a communication card… in January.

For a church that is just shy of a year and a half old that is pretty awesome. Revolution is experiencing a ton of new people showing up on Sunday mornings and we are really excited about that.

Eighteen. That is the number of people who filled out a communication card for the second time at Revolution in January. That is actually pretty awesome too. We know that Revolution isn’t for everyone and having one third of the people that check out the church come back is pretty incredible.

As I think about those two numbers it reminds me that numbers do matter. Sometimes in church we try to be “spiritual” and say things like, “Well, the numbers aren’t the important thing…” and I have said this before. But, I have come to believe that, really, numbers matter. They matter A LOT.

About a year ago, I was talking to a friend and fellow church planter named Carl Kuhl. Carl is the pastor of Mosaic Christian Church in Colombia, MD. We were talking about how our churches were doing and I believe I said something like, “numbers aren’t really that important.” And I remember Carl stopped and looked at me and said, “Really? Do you really believe that?” Now at this point I was thinking to myself, “I don’t know. I just thought that is what you said if you were spiritual”. I mean I can remember growing up hearing people say things like this.

Carl went on to say something that I will never forget. Since then anytime I have had a similar conversation with someone about this subject, I too have passionately corrected them if they downplay the importance of numbers. Carl said this (or something like this but I will put quotes around it anyway. Carl don’t sue me for misquoting you if you read this), “I think that numbers do matter. In fact I think that they may be the only thing that matters, and here is why: numbers represent people.”

There it is. #’s = people. People that God loved so much that he sent his only Son to die in their place. He took our punishment. To bring us hope of life lived in relationship with God, literally forever. This is why I am passionate about the “numbers” at Revolution. This is why I am stoked about fifty-four and eighteen and why I am praying that those numbers would increase every month!

Think about this: If we continue to have the same number of people show up for the first time each month for all of 2012, we will have 648 visitors at Revolution this year… that is incredible. If we have the same number of second timers each month, and for fun lets just assume that these people decide to stick around, Revolution would grow by 216 “numbers” this year. This would mean we would have over 400 people attending Revolution weekly by December. Which would mean, hopefully, we would have 400 people who being led into a revolutionary relationship with Jesus (which is why we exist)!

One more number to throw at you - Fifty-nine. Fifty-nine percent to be exact. That is the number of people who say that they found Revolution because of a friend or family member. Now that is amazing and I have to say it makes me love this church so much, because people go to churches for a variety of reasons. But, the number one reason people stay is because they form a relationship. When the majority of people who are coming to Revolution are coming because of a relationship that means we are already #winning!

Our mission is: to lead people into a revolutionary relationship with Jesus. Great job Revolution. So far… so good! Let’s keep it going!

The watch slap bracelet. I almost bought this for you...

Wed, 04 Jan 2012 09:39:49 -0500

The watch slap bracelet. I almost bought this for you Kenny… almost (Taken with instagram)

Spent time talking church and hanging out with my friend Will...

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 14:28:27 -0500

Spent time talking church and hanging out with my friend Will Rogers this week. Will is the executive director of the Global Missions Health Conference (www.medicalmissions.com - if you care about the world you should definitely check this out!). He is also the founder of Declination North (www.declinationnorth.com). We had some incredible discussions about how to be the church! We also took time yesterday to meet with will as a staff to talk about the strengths of our team an how we can work together even better than we already do.

Big thanks to Will for being willing to come spend time with us, lead us to some exciting plans for Revolution, and give us some great advice!

Cheese sauce for Mac and cheese night at Local Revolution!

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 17:11:10 -0500

Cheese sauce for Mac and cheese night at Local Revolution!

Wrap up to the god(s) series...

Sat, 29 Oct 2011 23:36:48 -0400

So we just finished up the god(s) series and throughout this series we talked about how the best way to remove the idols in our lives is to worship the one true God. If I were to put a weak point to this series (at least in the sermons that I preached) it is the lack of illustrations of what it looks like to worship God with all of your heart. I wanted to pass along the best “illustration” that I can for you.

I want you to go to this link and watch this video. This is Ben. His daughter Chaia is in the hospital and her heart is failing. I have never, ever, seen anyone with this kind of love and worship for God. Watch and be challenged. Read his blog. Pray for Chaia. Worship the One and Only God!

Women's retreat

Sat, 15 Oct 2011 00:50:51 -0400

This weekend 30 ladies from Revolution are on a women’s retreat in Rehoboth beach. I am truly excited to hear all of the amazing things that God is going to do on this retreat. I would like to ask you to pray for these ladies. Ask god to make himself especially known to them in the next 48 hrs. Ask Him to soften their hearts to hear from Him!

Looking forward to hearing a bunch of stories of women who heard from God and made some awesome new friendships!

Peace beyond understanding

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 23:44:30 -0400

Peace beyond understanding:

In Philippians 4 the apostle Paul talks about a peace that goes beyond understanding. verses 6 and 7 say this: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

I have never seen this truth (the truth that God’s peace can guard your heart) more evident in anyone than Ben and Shaina. Their daughter Chaia is in the hospital right now and will have tests run on her tomorrow that have drastic implications on her life. I implore you to go to this link and read / watch the blog entries and to PRAY FOR CHAIA!

Want a good marriage? Follow these 12 rules for...

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 12:16:42 -0400

Want a good marriage? Follow these 12 rules for “fighting” fair. When Sarah and I were just 16 we attended The Song of Solomon Conference which was taught by Tommy Nelson. This was the foundation of our relationship and I am convinced it is not only the reason we ended up getting married but also is why we have a strong relationship today (11 years later)!

I have recommeded these rules to numerous people lately so I figured I would pass them on en mass.

In case you can’t read them from the picture they are as follows:

1. don’t speak rashly (don’t let your temper get the best of you)

2. don’t confront your mate publicly

3. don’t confront your mate before the kids (don’t damage them by arguing in front of them)

4. don’t use the kids (don’t try to get your kids to take sides!)

5. don’t say, “you never…” or “you always…” (“you” statements in general are designed only to hurt and not to bring about resolution… in conflict resolution is the goal… not hurting your mate)

6. don’t get historical (leave the past in the past… deal with the issue at hand)

7. don’t raise your voice (winning an argument by domination never results in resolution… ultimately your marriage looses when an argument escalates to this point)

8. don’t call names (name calling is only designed to hurt… not to resolve)

9. don’t mention family (saying things like, “you are just like your father/mother” again… just designed to hurt and guilt… not to bring resolution)

10. don’t win (the goal of conflict in a marriage is resolution… not winning. When the marriage wins everyone wins. When one spouse “wins” no one wins!)

11. don’t condescend (this is one that I personally struggle with! AVOID AT ALL COSTS!)

12. don’t demean (go for resolution not winning!)

13. never force a quiet mate to talk (Sarah added this one. Give some time if your spouse needs to think about the issue)

These rules have helped Sarah and I avoid hurting one another for the last 11 years. I hope they are great for you too! It is good to keep this list handy so that you can refer to it and give each other some grace to say, “rule 11 Josh… don’t condescend!”

Happy conflicting!

Revolution was incredible today! Actually God was!

Sun, 25 Sep 2011 22:41:15 -0400

Today was an awesome day in the history of Revolution Annapolis! We had 3 baptisms and we launched a second service! Our highest attended day so far excluding launch and easter! Pretty incredible to watch God work! Huge thanks to everyone who made it happen. From Matt Murphy putting together an awesome set, to the band rocking the set in a way that can only be described as worshipful, to Ted making it sound great, to Linda making sure that everything in the room looked great, to Pam and Dan firing the slides at the right times, to Mikey B lighting the room, to our guest ministries team making sure people felt welcome, to Amber and RA Kids team making the translation to two services look easy, to our production team members like Rob, Amy, David, and Mike making sure everything came in got setup and made it back down to the truck! Also
a BIG thanks to Scott and Tim for working tirelessly to make sure that we were ready to hit the ground running today!

I love OUR church!

Guess who slept through the night last night???

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 07:08:11 -0400

Guess who slept through the night last night???

Just had a great run with Joey Tomasoni! He is the pastor of...

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 07:06:34 -0400

Just had a great run with Joey Tomasoni! He is the pastor of Downtown Hope which is a church plant in Annapolis. He and DH have been a huge encouragement to me and to Revolution!

Today revolution hosted a back to school bash for bates middle...

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 22:36:41 -0400

Today revolution hosted a back to school bash for bates middle school! We had the Ravens bird and the Orioles bird there to greet the kids as well as the RA team. We also had @Timcaptain rocking the mic, he did a great job of making the kids feel welcomed! Also all of the teachers received goodie bags. It felt good to say thank you to a bunch of teachers and faculty who rarely hear it! Great morning!

So I decided to change the layout of my blog...

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 22:31:34 -0400

I decided to change the layout of the blog… I am now using a tumblr blog because it seems to be easier to post to and it links up with social media a little easier. I am planning on posting some of my old posts from the previous blog here in the next few days.