Pastor Steven Furtick

This 4th of July is going to be fun. I’m going to teach Elijah what a bottle rocket is. Fireworks give me flashbacks. From ages 13-17, I worked at a fireworks stand. For 2 weeks surrounding the 4th of July, I sold Roman Candles, Sparklers, Ground Bloomers, Pop Rockets, and innumerable various other items designed to be lit on fire and blown up.

Selling stuff that blows up is every 13 year old boy’s dream, right?
I got a discount on the fireworks, of course. So wouldn’t you assume I spent half my paycheck on fireworks for myself? I didn’t. In fact, I ended up hating fireworks. Having some dude in a Rusty Wallace hat ask me 30 minutes worth of questions about what every firework in the stand does, and having to make up as many creative angles as I could think of to tell him: “You light them on fire and they blow up” kind of took all of the joy out of pyrotechnics in general.
By the end of 14 days of selling fireworks for 12 hours a day, I didn’t care whether I ever saw a firework again. These days, when our family is at a fireworks show, and everyone else is oohing and ahhing, I’m yawning and looking at my watch.

The principle:
Over exposure means under appreciation.

I sometimes worry that I will get so used to what God is doing at Elevation that I’ll stop appreciating it. I hope not.
I hope I’ll always be impressed by the fireworks display around here.
Well over 500 salvation decisions in the last 5 months (!)
Well over 400 baptisms within 3 weeks (!)
2 campuses and almost 2000 people in weekly attendance in 17 months (!)
Inboxes full of stories of life change: marriage reconciliation, deliverance from sexual addiction, renewed purpose…

I hope I never yawn and look at my watch during the fireworks… because I’m used to it. May God continue to light us on fire and blow us away!

Happy Independence Day!