What if 2019 was YOUR year to radically grow in your intimacy with Jesus and your understanding of who you REALLY are?
Happy 2019!!!
What kind of tin-foil-hat-wearing-nutjob-show is this?
No
regrets!
Capturing the data from this previous media/radio adventure.
We are nearing the completion of our one year contract with KKNW 1150 AM. Upon much prayer and conversation, we have decided not to renew our contract.
For twelve months, every Wednesday, from 3-4 PM we flooded the air with Jesus centered supernatural content.
Two weeks ago I went into the studio to record a show with Paul Graves. A lady was waiting for me at the door.
“Are you the pastor?” She asked.
I must have had that “pastor” look. After confirming her suspicion, we agreed to meet after the show.
She informed me that when she first heard of my show, she thought, “What kind of tin-foil-hat-wearing-nutjob-show is this?” Then she listened to it.
“These guys are Holy Spirit filled, Jesus loving, believers!” She said. She was so excited because she works for the finance department at the station and she knew that there isn’t any other content like ours on the station. I believe this was a gift of encouragement from the Lord.
Ever since I was a little kid, I’ve always wanted a radio show. This adventure has been a dream come true.
I want to thank everyone who sowed into the show. So many of you made contributions. Thank you! Your gift helped us do something that may have never been done before, host a Christocentric Supernatural Show on a secular radio station.
I also want to thank Seattle Revival Center, who made a monthly contribution of $150 a month. I believe we planted large seeds in a field where there’s not a lot of seed.
To be transparent, I didn’t go into this with a long-term sustainability plan in play (basically I didn’t have a business plan). I knew the cost up front, and I knew that Supernaturalist Ministries could afford to take on the financial risk for the first twelve months. I had hoped for advertising opportunities, but I didn’t have the plan or the time to pursue them.
If I were to do it again, I would assemble a team to help me strategize a vision, advertising, marketing, evangelism, and community plan up front. It could have been far more successful and sustainable if I had first assembled a team around the vision, and then executed the concept with the team.
I share all these things not because I feel bad.
Honestly, I have no regrets.
It has been a stinkin’ blast.
I share these things because maybe you are about to take a leap of faith to co-create with the King on the Earth. I hope that some of the things I learned can equip you for the jump.
Maybe you are about to take a leap of faith that may have a hefty price tag on it.
For us, the price tag was $10,000 for a year of programming.
That’s a significant investment.
I am still totally in love with audio as a media platform. In fact, more now than ever, I am in love with podcasting.
Podcasting is the coolest thing ever. I can record ninety-minute shows. **[My latest podcast with Charlie Shamp](https://soundcloud.com/isupernaturalist/the-future-belongs-to-the-fearless-charlie-shamp)** is over two hours!!
I love long-form content, but we also produce short shows. For example, we have some shows that are only eight minutes long.
With a podcast, you don’t have to wait until 3 PM to listen to it. You listen to it when you want to listen to it. You can listen to it in your car and then pop on some headphones and take it with you as you walk into the office.
So, I’m going ALL IN with my podcast.
I’ll be buying some awesome new gear so I can have a three mic studio at the church. I want to continue to host transparent, supernatural conversations for the purpose of connecting, equipping, and promoting emerging supernaturalists on a global level.
Thank you for partnering on this journey with me. Your emails, messages, and conversations light me up.
I’m looking forward to partnering with you to instigate a movement of honest and powerful supernaturalists; a generation of Elijahs and Elishas.
I look forward in cheering you on as you take risks and create stuff on the Earth that has never been done before.
Life is such a gift, and we get to share it together. We are alive, in the same generation, for such as time as this. Let’s shake some things up.
Blessings,
Darren Stott
Accumulative Effect
“Wassup guys?! My name is Jeff.”
Jeff is ripped. His biceps are larger than my legs. He’s got no shirt on. The guy is rocking eight-pack abs.
That’s right, stinkin’ eight.
If I had Jeff’s body, I’d never wear a shirt.
“What’s up, Jeff?!” I think in my head, “What are you going to tell me that’s going to make my abs look like yours?”
“I’m going to show you something to do every single morning.”
The YouTube video continued. I listened intently. Jeff is about to recommend a new daily routine. I love routines. Just tell me what to do Jeff.
“I promise, if you do this, it’s going to help you a lot. You’re going to improve your posture, you're going to improve your abs, and you’re going to improve your grip strength.”
Nobody cares about grip strength Jeff.
He then turns around proceeds to hang from a pull-up bar in his closet for two minutes.
Here’s the deal, Jeff keeps saying these words, “This daily exercise is going to have an accumulative effect.”
“Accumulative effect.” There, he said it again.
An accumulative effect is the state in which a series of repeated actions have an effect greater than the sum of their individual effects (according to a Google definition).
In my own words, it’s compounded momentum that’s made possible only through consistency.
The Lord has been speaking to be about consistency and the importance of doing things daily, and as I’ve been practicing new daily routines, I am seeing results or compounded momentum.
I recently heard Drew Houston (founder of Dropbox) say, “If your workout time is not on your calendar, you’re not working out.” I smiled because mine is, and there are about four people who get to see how much I’m squatting on Monday mornings. Those four people get this email. That cracks me up.
I had a workout routine that was supposed to be able to generate results with just two trips to the gym each week. I was faithful to the method for about six months, and I didn’t see much change. I switched up my routine to a daily routine (four days a week) and immediately I could feel the difference.
Where do you need to grow?
What do you need to change?
Where does your life need a pattern interrupt?
Where do you need some accumulative effects?
If you take the time to answer these questions, you will see that the answer may be found in new daily routines, otherwise known as habits.
My recommendation is that you don’t invent a routine. Find one. Find one that REALLY works. Don’t be content until you are seeing measurable results in your own life.
I would recommend that you don’t just listen to your opinionated friends. Seek wisdom from a professional like Jeff. If they don’t have the eight-pack, don’t bother writing down their abs routine (this is just a metaphor, apply to your own context).
Maybe you’re not excited about the things of God anymore. Who do you know that is? What do they do? What do they read? Who influences them the most? Find out, and set up your daily routine.
Maybe you’re depressed. Get on Google, get on YouTube, and get to your doctor. Get obsessed with your holistic joy strategy and setup your new daily routines.
You are at where you are at because of your consistency, or lack thereof.
I have to remind myself that the system isn’t rigged. There’s no supplement for consistency. I don’t get to blame people for where I am at. I have to take responsibility and redeem each and every minute that the Lord has given to me.
If the words “consistency,” “daily routine,” and “accumulative effect” is not a part of your vocabulary, and you are unsatisfied with your current geography, allow your frustration to drive you to the store so you can buy a day planner.
Don’t expect your parents, your employer, your pastor, or your spouse to be your manager. Manage yourself. Manage your time. Manage your soul. Self-management is not a threat to the Lordship of Christ, in fact, self-control is actually a fruit of the Holy Spirit.
Hang like a monkey from a pull-up bar. Make yourself a grass smoothie. Soak in the presence of God for twelve minutes before brushing your teeth. Swish coconut oil around in your mouth (without swallowing) for fifteen minutes. Practice the piano for thirty minutes. Write five hundred words. I don’t care, just do it, and do it daily, and you will see accumulative effects.
Let me know what you think. I’d love to hear what you’re up to. Email me at darren@seattlerevivalcenter.com.
Keep up the good work guys!
Much love,
Darren
Embrace the Process
Hardship is better than Harvard.
Believe it or not but the lessons you have learned through life's processes could not have been taught in a classroom. You learned not by listening, you learned by living. You survived, and now you’re stronger, wiser, and far more humble.
There is the kind of knowledge that you receive by reading good books, and then there is the kind of wisdom that is embeded into your DNA through time and relationship. It’s aged revelation, it’s valuable, and it's costly.
Our God is the Lord of the process. He is continually inviting us into a sequence of steps and actions where we get to learn about our inherent neediness for divine companionship.
Yep, Jesus was right when he said, “Without me, you can do nothing.” How else can we develop intentional dependency outside of the process? We are not talking about a soul quest for identity or significance as much as we are about the journey to the face of God; the very process and path into intimacy with Him.
It’s easy to get frustrated when God doesn't answer our prayers the way that we had hoped. We often think that the purpose of prayer is to get God to answer our requests real-time, but this isn’t the entire purpose of prayer.
There are times when Jesus prays, and the Father doesn’t answer his requests, and he’s the son of God.
The model given to us for how we ought to pray is The Lord's Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13). When you pray, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven,” most likely you aren’t expecting an immediate answer right then and there.
Why?
Because we understand that the Lord’s prayer is a declaration of intent that instigates a Heavenly and holy process; the ushering in of God’s glorious Kingdom.
Maybe you’re not going through hell. Perhaps you are going through a process.
Maybe this isn’t the end. Perhaps it’s the beginning.
Maybe this season won’t define you forever. Perhaps it will pivot you the direction you were created to go.
Another word for process is journey, and another word for journey is adventure.
What may seem like constant delays and disappointments may be an invitation from the Father to go on the adventure with Him. Sure, God could give us what we want, but sometimes we forget that there’s something that HE wants, something that HE is requesting, and that is for us to enter into deeper intimacy with Him.
Your life – the epic emotional rollercoaster that it may be - is an adventure by which you get to discover the layers, the complexity, and the simplicity that is your Father’s heart.
Don’t miss the opportunity to learn who God is from God Himself. Life’s greatest lessons can be gleaned from the King of all Kings when we have taken the time to get to know who He truly is.
There’s more at work than what you feel or see.
There’s more at stake than what you know.
Embrace the process.
Let me know what you think. Hit me back at darren@seattlerevivalcenter.com.
Blessings,
Darren
War Room
(This blog is not about your prayer closet)
(This blog is not about your prayer closet)
The revival meeting was in full throttle. The new SRC subwoofers were thumpin’. My Pastor-buddy, Keith Kippen, had just arrived.
I greeted him warmly by shouting in his ear, “How are you doing?”
“I’m doing great!” He responded, “I need to tell you about something later on.”
“You fed a dumpling to a fawn?!” I barked back with a puzzled expression.
“No! I need to tell you something really cool after the service.”
“Okay!” I still hadn’t heard a word he said, so I smiled and winked and went back to worshipping Jesus.
When we had a moment to catch up, Pastor Keith began to tell me about this revelation that he had received out of 2 Corinthians 3:1 where it says, “In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established…”
His new understanding of this text is that if something new is going to be established, there need to be witnesses.
The example he gave was for marriage counseling.
“I don’t do any counseling now unless the couple comes in with witnesses, such as another pastor, elder, or friends, who can then speak into the matter. These "witnesses" will then be able to continue to walk with them, to support them, and be there to help hold them accountable.”
Internally I honored and received this tip, and externally I stamped it with my signature approval, “So good bro.”
Skip a beat.
The lights turned on.
I am not anti submission at all. I am surrounded by amazing, Godly, mature, and experienced leaders who will graciously mama-bear-paw-smack me if they need to.
I have also seen how counsels can sometimes shoot vision out of the air as if it were duck season.
Without taking on too much shame regarding projects in the past that have failed, I realized that if something is worth creating, maybe it’s worth building with the next forty years (arbitrary number) in mind.
I’ve made some pretty cool sand castles, and when the waves came in, they fell over.
Proverbs 15:22 says, “Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers, they succeed.”
What this text is saying is that if you want to establish something successful, get many wise eyes on your plan.
My fear of inaction has been my excuse for solo execution. Solo execution creates a vacuum into a weird and lonely place.
So, I’m trying to get used to a new form of creativity called community, wherein the context of building cool Kingdom stuff we can all contribute to solving problems before they show up.
Because this is new, the old way of doing things is always trying to get me to backslide. My planning meetings are getting larger, but we are building more healthily.
I’ve been working on a book for two years now called Counterfeit Fruit, but I’ve been stuck and haven’t been able to finish it. The book is outlined, and I have around thirty thousand words written, but something doesn’t feel right, and so I’ve lost the inspiration and direction needed to finish it.
One idea that I had recently was to go back to chapter one and submit it, along with the outline, to people that are gifted teachers; have them study and critique the structure and sequencing of the section. If they can show me what works and what doesn’t, perhaps chapter one could become the template for the rest of the following chapters. Additional advisers could help this plan succeed.
Here’s my advice. If your output it zilch, just do something and get some sort of production moving, even it’s lame. Nothing ever begins amazingly.
If you are producing, but the quality and efficiency of your work need to be improved, or if you have a project that is going to be expensive (the amount of energy or finance required) first gather your diverse and trusted advisors and meet up in your war room.
What do you think? Hit me back with your thoughts, projects, and revelations.
You are loved (and amazing)!
Darren
How to confront your critics
I was in my groove last Sunday. I don’t want to brag. I’m just saying.
You know when you puncture an underground revelatory oil pocket?
I hit one.
Here’s how it works for me. I find myself saying stuff while my brain is saying, “Wait, whoa, where is this coming from and is it legit?”
What I was saying was actually flying smack dab in the face of what I have previously taught and been taught regarding criticism.
The question I asked was, “What if Peter had not responded to his critics in Acts 2?”
My answer was, “We may not have had a book of Acts.”
Every good Bible School student has been taught not to respond to their critics, but I would wager that over half of the book of Acts are sermons from the apostles in response to criticism.
Back to last Sunday.
I found myself on a soapbox somewhere in the woods on a random rabbit trail stating, “Maybe the Church is at where it’s at because we have avoided responding to our critics for the past sixty years.”
There are three ways that most people react to criticism.
1.) The Worldly Reaction
The world says, when you get critiqued, defend yourself. Do whatever you can to save face. Your identity, brand, and reputation are all you have. If someone is going to tarnish that, take them down!
2.) The Religious Reaction to Criticism
The religious reaction to criticism is usually radically passive-aggressive. The one being criticized would ignore the criticism, privately stew in their anger, and then release a venomous response in their following Sunday morning message to their congregation (not to their critic).
3.) The Gospel Reaction to Criticism
In the book of Acts, the Apostles defend themselves real-time. Peter’s response to the mockers is followed by an alter call whereby they actually convert and become believers. This is how the New Testament was birthed, by Peter correcting the critics (as they had believed a lie and they weren’t going to get away with it).
Why is it that most Christians avoid responding to their critics?
Because it’s personal.
When we get critiqued, it actually tests the foundation of our very identity. For many Christians, when they get verbally socked below the belt, the last thing they want to do is respond, unless by nature they have an aggressive personality (which in many cases, aggressive people actually deserve the criticism).
If you have been through seasons of attack, then you know just how personal and hurtful it feels.
And yet, as personal as it feels, it’s not.
Remember, “We don’t wrestle against peeps, but against creepy cosmic demonic principalities hovering in realms of compromised dark shiz.” – Ephesians 6:12 (The Darren Translation)
These attacks aren’t personal. Your yelper is just a puppet being used by The Fly Lord to shut you up and down.
So, what should you do?
1.) Respond directly to your critic (and do it quickly).
2.) Get in touch with your critic directly (i.e., call, text, email, drive to their house and pound on their door at 3 AM.)
3.) Remind them of what they said and inform them of where you “felt” they were wrong.
4.) Go ahead and let them know how it made you feel, “That really hurt me, bro!”
5.) Communicate to them the consequences of their attack against you.
6.) Share your desire for absolute truth and mutual understanding.
7.) Ask them to remove their criticism from public forums such as social media and give an update in light of the conversation and mutual understanding.
What if that goes bad?
Go ahead and call your apostle, pastor, or mommy. Lol.
Don’t have any of the above?! Email me at Darren@seattlerevivalcenter.com. I’d love to help you process.
Lastly, it is very possible that your own unwise choice provoked the attack.
Humble yourself and engage with the above steps.
Lastly, confront your critic for any inappropriate ways that they attacked you.
Reference the three million scripture verses in the Bible that communicate the importance of love and relationship, and ask them why they chose to be a bully instead of a brother.
Make sure that you get an answer.
Regardless of the outcome, forgive.
Forgive, forgive, and forgive.
Then give the whole thing to the Lord.
The only way to make sure that you never get attacked is to hide in your closet for the rest of your life, play it safe, and read every article and book you can by Fred Rogers or Barney (yes, the purple dinosaur is an author).
Remember, that the more like Jesus you become, the more people may want to crucify you, so surround yourself with lots of crazy wise people who will tell you the truth (especially the truth that you don’t want to hear) and when the haters come, convert them.
Hope this helps.
Love you guys!
Darren
Get Help
I haven’t felt that I’ve needed help.
My subconscious mantra has been, “I got this.”
Even though I’ve totally pinned, “Work Smarter, Not Harder” somewhere on my PIB (Pinterest Inspiration Board) I haven’t known how to apply the sound byte.
Despite never admitting to being busy, I will admit that I do a lot of contrasting tasks.
The diversity of my daily duties are so different that delegating has seemed like an impossibility, and yet my mentor, and the Holy Spirit, have been harping on me, “Darren, delegate, darnit!”
This is where we need to pause so I can bring some explanation.
The most efficient part of my life is at Seattle Revival Center where I serve as a pastor. I am a part of a diversified and gifted team where I am held accountable for my workload, and my team will literally demand that they take tasks off of my hands. Pastor Anthony will set up a quarterly meeting with me where he graciously confronts me and then takes responsibilities and oversight off of my plate. Linda and Jeannette (our SRC giants of administration) literally give wings to the vision of the church.
There are areas of my life outside of the local church where I am able to serve a diversity of extraordinary influencers who may never step foot in our sanctuary - areas of life where I need help.
Wow, I just said it. That felt so good.
Are you able to say it?
Try it on for size, “I…….. need…….. help.”
Here’s a list of things you may be doing:
• Laundry
• Cleaning
• Organizing your home
• Printing directions
• Scheduling appointments
• Sorting mail
• Errands
• Booking travel
• Returning emails
• Organizing digital files
• Updating computer software
• Creating a logo
• Transcribing a video
• Posting on your social media
accounts
• Writing a blog
You might say, “Hey, wait, those are things that I can do.”
That’s the problem.
When we believe that we are the only ones who can nail the never-ending and ever-growing list of tasks that need to be done, we delay our destiny appointments and usually end up giving up on our dreams because we just don’t have time.
If you are going to be a supernatural cultural Kingdom influencer, then you need to GET HELP.
The thought of getting help has always been this romantic and radically expensive sounding idea. The cost of hiring help has always been the deterrent. My old-school programming loop sounds like a broken record, “Why would you hire that out when you can do it yourself?” This statement doesn’t take into consideration my hourly worth nor does it honor what I could do if I had more time and bandwidth of soul.
Once I got past the poverty mindset for getting help I quickly learned that expenses weren’t necessarily the biggest reason for not delegating. I started learning a lot about myself. I work as an artist, not an engineer. I stumble through processes of elimination, trial, and error computing, discerning the layers, over and over, and until it just “feels” right.
Whether I’m cleaning the house (which I’ve done before), or editing my podcast; I’m not following a set path but always trailblazing, re-creating, and trying to evolve something. This makes empowerment almost impossible. My systems are not sequenced enough to be communicated clearly.
We all know that repetition is the key to cognitive retention. If you want to learn how to do something new, break the task down into micro movements and then repeat those movements, again and again, until they feel natural.
I’ve been recording my movements in a journal; trying to answer the following questions:
What do I do?
How do I do it?
When do I do it?
I’ve been making tutorial videos (via screen capture on Quicktime) and learning how to use project management applications.
I’ve been learning how to communicate what I do and how to trust others to do it for me. I’m excited because I’m learning that doing new things doesn’t have to equal more work.
Our inability to delegate will negatively affect how we parent, how we disciple, and how we interact with our spouses. Empowering people requires communication, correction and caring for those we are entrusting.
• The Bible begins with the Lord creating a helpmate for Adam.
• Jesus began his ministry by recruiting his helpers.
• Jesus instructed the apostles to wait for The Helper (AKA Holy Spirit) before starting ministry.
Help - even if you hire it - is an invitation for relationship and partnership, and if you are going to be used by God, then you are going to need a lot of help. Get used to asking for it.
Email me if you’d like some help with additional resources.
Blessings!!
Darren
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As always, please stay in touch, let me know what you're up to, and send me your testimonies, prayer request, etc. You can email me at darrenstott@seattlerevivalcenter.com.
Thanks for reading! Have a wonderful weekend, all,
Darren
The Future of the Supernaturalist Radio Show
We are nearing the completion of our one-year agreement with 1150 AM KKNW.
It has taken some time to build trust with the spiritual seeker community in the Pacific Northwest region. It feels like we are just now getting traction and seeing fruit.
Recently we received an invitation to launch a syndicated show on ABC Network in Southern California; the same network that aires the Dave Ramsey show. It is also a "secular" network where we would be able to air gospel-centered, supernatural content on a weekly basis.
We are being told that this the only radio show of this nature on the West Coast; a non-religious, entertaining, supernatural bridge show.
Should we continue the show in the Seattle market? Should we pull the plug? Should we expand the footprint of the show?
These are my questions right now.
Funding is another major factor, and I want to be transparent, so you know how this all works.
I haven't been aggressive to seek sponsors, investors, or partners. I like to create content. I am not particularly eager to sell it.
The Supernaturalist Radio Show was birthed by a mission, not a business plan.
Our mission was to create a show that celebrates what God is doing on the Earth, that educates spiritual seekers and helps the listener discover their TRUE identity and destiny.
I received advice from a friend up front. He said, "Focus on creating an amazing show and don't focus on selling stuff. Earn the trust of your radio audience."
It was good advice, and I have no regrets.
As we move forward, funding becomes more critical.
I want to thank Seattle Revival Center who have generously sponsored the show each month for $150. This has been an incredible blessing.
Supernaturalist Ministries funds the rest, which is an additional $650 each month; this is funded by my speaking opportunities and book sales.
At this point, I am reaching out to those who love and believe in the show who would consider sowing into it.
I am also open to potential sponsors (churches, authors, content creators, etc.) as long as I believe in their product and we have alignment in our values. With that said I'm merely putting that out there and am not going to be soliciting sponsorships. I don't have that kind of bandwidth.
Supernaturalist Ministries is a 501C3 and is submitted and accountable to the International Fellowship of Ministries.
I've created a link that gives an opportunity to sow a one time gift into the show. You can give ten bucks, you can pay for a show, or you can even donate to cover a month of programming costs.
CLICK HERE TO SOW INTO THE SHOW
Much love!
- Darren