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

HOW TO DO YOUR BEST WORK

When you work, don’t waste your time.

Build with the right ingredients, and for the right reasons.

There are too many people taking cheap shortcuts. Creating microwavable widgets for twenty-five cents in hopes that they will be sold for big money at the dollar store.

I’m not referring to literal product development here (unless you are literally developing a product – in that case, I’m totally referring to that) as much as I’m referring to projects that are requiring you to make the best choice possible.

When faced with a decision-making process, are you picking the easiest or the wisest route?

Too many times in our homes, the marketplace, and the church, we choose the path of least resistance. Avoiding drama, fierce conversations, and potential conflict. While we think we are keeping the peace we may actually be compromising our own effectiveness by enabling destructive patterns to continue.

So how do we hold ourselves accountable to make the wisest decision possible, even if it’s the hardest and perhaps the most unpopular?

We need a starting point.

See below:

“The starting point for acquiring wisdom (or, making the best decisions possible) is to be consumed with awe as you worship Jehovah-God. To receive the revelation of the Holy One, you must come to the one who has living-understanding.”

Proverbs 9:10 – The Passion Translation

If you want to produce work on the Earth that is of the highest quality and caliber, do it unto the Lord. Make decisions not in light of what people think, but rather, make the best decision in light of what the Lord thinks.

Many will pass up a fortune in an attempt to make a quick buck.

Why?

They didn’t begin by acquiring wisdom from the one who has “living-understanding.”

There is divine brilliance available for the one who realizes they have the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16).

What problems are you facing?

What is the problem behind the problem?

What is the root that is instigating the pain that is keeping you awake at night?

Bring the data to the Lord.

Don’t be afraid of the pain or potential pain. Fear God, and before God, ask, inquire His guidance, and then prepare yourself for solutions that are beyond your creative bandwidth.

Hope this helps.

Blessings,

Darren

Our destiny demands that we de-clutter

I’ve been taking classes online recently. I’m learning how to organize my email; move all my digitals assets off of hard-drives into a cloud, categorize and subcategorize the files, and automate time-consuming online processes.

The thought of doing this was absolutely daunting, but I was thrilled to find out that there are systems that have been developed to help people optimize their digital lives.

Cleaning my digital house has been a blast. I even cleaned up one of my email accounts yesterday from two thousand plus emails down to zero.

You may wonder why I would invest money, time, and energy into doing something like this. I’ll tell you. Even though I know where to find my stuff, I can’t truly delegate and outsource because I’ve lacked organization.

I’ve been meditating on soul bandwidth recently. Asking questions like, “How much is too much?”

I’ve realized that without proper efficiency I cannot truly collaborate or delegate, which means I have to try to juggle a lot of balls.

Juggling kills dreaming. Just saying.

When we lack organization, we usually spend most of our time managing crisis in the present, versus engineering Kingdom change in the future.

So I’ve consolidated all my domains into one hub. DarrenStott.com is a one-stop shop for my radio content, podcasts, information on events, blog posts, and more.

All my email addresses are now going to one secure email account and are organized and systematized so my virtual personal assistant can help save me countless hours of time that’s so easily wasted in an inbox universe.

I believe that things first take place in the natural and then the spirit, therefore this is all one big prophetic drama for the de-cluttering and optimizing of my body, soul, and spirit.

As I free up soul bandwidth, more of my heart becomes available for my family, my leadership teams, my church, and my region.

If we want to be agents of cultural renewal, then we must intentionally commit ourselves to be renewed; purging any chaos that may be attempting to control us.

Our destiny demands that we de-clutter, and get focused.

Directives:
1.) Locate your metaphorical or literal junk drawer and organize it.
2.) As you clean house declare the act a prophetic drama.
3.) Communicate what you’re working on with others. It will inspire them to follow suit.
4.) Share your hacks.

Blessings!

Darren

The tree fort

I once made a tree fort with my kids just shy of our property line, in what is technically city property, and using trees that weren’t the best trees for making a tree fort. But, we did it anyway.

It was a lot of work, it took a lot of time, and it cost me some money.

One year later the city knocked on our door to inform us that they would be knocking down our tree fort.

All that work, all that time, and all that money ended up getting torn down as well, and guess what, I have no regrets.

I thank God that I did not take the time to consider the workload, the costs, or the amount of energy required to build that fort because if I had, I might not have done it.

The truth is, we didn’t just build a tree fort, we made unforgettable memories; memories that were worth every drop of sweat and every dollar spent.

Sometimes we spend way too much time considering all the negative practical factors for why we shouldn’t do new and amazing things. We get burnt out in the consideration process before we’ve done anything.

If you can relate to the above, here are two directives:

1.) Stop analyzing everything to death!
2.) Start already.

So what if it’s a lot of work. So what if nobody likes it. So what if it sucks; at least you started.

What are you waiting for?
Begin, and figure it out as you go.

Do we really need MORE rules?

Little Bobby is angry because his mommy has just informed him that it’s time to turn off Octonauts. Bobby identifies the closest weapons cache he can find, a bucket of blocks. In his indignation he begins World War III, hurling the wooden projectiles at his mommy while repeatedly yelling, “TV ON!”

Mommy lunges for the cupboard and pulls out a lid that belongs to one of her largest pots, flexing it as if she were Wonder Woman and this was her shield. Diverting the flying blocks she slowly makes yardage towards her son while screaming unloaded threats, and after calculating the distance and risks, she throws away her shield and pounces on her son like a cheetah, pinning his throwing arm under her mommy belly. He begins to cry (an adorable little boyish cry) in defeat. He’s so cute when he’s humble.

Meanwhile, daddy selfishly works in his quiet cubicle, sipping on a green tea latte, listening to his favorite Deftones album that is discreetly playing in the background. It’s too much for mommy to think about that right now. Bobby’s behavior is undoubtedly an indicator that daddy works too much.

Mommy slowly unpeels herself off of little Bobby who is still sobbing.

“Honey,” she calmly speaks. “We don’t throw things.”

One last bolt of anger rages shoots through Bobby, and he lunges back for the blocks. Mommy once again pounces like a ninja.

The blocks aren’t the problem.

They are just toys that have become weaponized. If Mommy throws away the blocks in hopes of having a safer home, Bobby will only find something else that can be thrown.

Throwing the blocks isn’t the issue either.

If mommy punishes Bobby for throwing things, next time, his method may adapt, and mommy may have to face an evolved form of retaliation, like a homemade catapult.

Well then, should mommy put on her psychologist hat and go five kinds of Doctor Phil (or Danny Silk if that’s more your thing) on her son; diving into the layers of generational issues that may be accounting for little Bobby’s behavior? Probably not.

What then is a better solution?

Determining and creating the kind of culture that you want in your home – preferably using Heaven as your blueprint.

Life can become a series of compounding widgets and apps; little hacks in behavioral modification and cultural manipulation that make life tolerable and yet desperately unfruitful.

Surface level tweaking demands no accountability, and yet significant micromanagement. At a certain point, a parent won’t even be able to keep track of all the rules they have to create to maintain order.

Consider the marketplace. Many times job descriptions are used to control people’s production versus empowering it; barking orders and delegating tasks lists in the same way that one may command Siri (the robot lady who talks to you on your iPhone) to send a text message.

Treating people like artificial intelligence only prepares them to be replaced by AI in the coming years. Healthy cultures and corporations celebrate one's freedom to make choices, be creative and break through barriers thereby making history.

We’ve got to get out of the weeds and start seeing things from Heaven.

What is the culture of our home, work, church, neighborhood, city, and nation going to look like on our watch?

Don’t begin at home, start in Heaven.

What does the culture of Heaven look like? Now reverse engineer it, frame it and state it.

Leaders don’t need to wear themselves out trying change the culture when they can create new contrasting cultures.

I often tell my children, “In our family, we don’t throw fits. If you were in a different family, then you might get away with it. We are Stotts, and God has big things in store for us.”

My destiny is not personal at all. It’s corporate and generational. The call of God on my life isn’t individualistic; it’s apart of a legacy linage. I have to create a culture in my homes because the culture we create is what will hold me accountable.

When our leadership consists of mostly behavior tweaking, we are passively teaching people how to hack standards and perform at the minimum level required, but when we communicate our desired culture, and then uphold the measures necessary to achieve that result, we are actively displaying the dynamics of the Kingdom that can transform nations.

We don’t need more laws or more swimming pool rules. We need culture creating leaders. It's time to engage heaven for the transformation of the Earth.

Culture > Behavioral Tweaking.

Culture > Behavioral Tweaking.

When our leadership consists of mostly behavior tweaking, we are passively teaching people how to hack standards and perform at the minimum level required