Welcome to the Victory Blog

The journey to today for Victory World Church has been, and still is, a force of faith. In all the ways this ministry has evolved over the years, faith is one thing that stands out as a constant.  It took faith to write the vision and actually work toward it, faith to stand firm on Christ-like values, and faith to live victoriously according to the Word of God.

How much weight do those same three V’s – vision, values and victory – carry in your life? How much do you trust God to give you a vision and help you walk it out? What about your values? When’s the last time you compromised even a little bit on what you say you believe in? And how often do you wait for circumstances to line up before you step out in faith? These are all vital questions you need to address as you move toward becoming a fully committed disciple of Jesus.

You really do have what it takes to live victoriously, just as this ministry has done throughout our 22 years. Start by re-visiting your vision, or writing one for the very first time. By the power of the Holy Spirit, you have the mind of Christ to be stubborn about sticking to your vision, your values and your victory!

Click here to get more!

You don’t need a big, outgoing personality to be able to relate to people. You just have to genuinely care about others and make them priority. If this is a struggle for you, find all the encouragement, guidance and wisdom you need in the radical love of Jesus. It has the power to transform us into radical relators.

When we’re God-inspired in such a way that we make it a point to add value to people, no matter how undeserving the world labels them, we become radical relators like Jesus. How could He accomplish the extraordinary by relating to people in an ordinary way? Ordinary wasn’t sufficient enough. He had to be radical in his interactions with others in order to reach them, and He let love take the lead on His mission.

Pastor Colleen’s extension of the Radical Love message highlights several examples of how we can relate to people more radically, like Jesus. Watch it here.

I can have it all… Really?

“I can bring home the bacon, fry it up in a pan, and never let him forget he’s a man. Cause I’m a woman.” The 1980s ad for perfume is one of the audio/visual examples used for the night. It is fitting since, we, as women have been taught (at least since the sexual revolution) that we can have it all, and have it all at the same time. Tonight is about the dangers of believing that myth.

As with any Chick Chat meeting, the women have come out in droves. It is a virtual potpourri of femininity. Women of all ages and from every culture and socio economic background, and educational experience have come to get the knowledge offered by a successful panel of women which include Pastor Colleen, Shaunti Feldhahn, a bestselling author, speaker and nationally-syndicated newspaper columnist, and Valorie Burton, also an author and certified personal and executive coach. The teachings tonight come not just from their own personal experiences but also from years of study and what may be hundreds, if not thousands, of interviews with women at various stages in their lives.

Sitting in the V1 auditorium, the atmosphere is all abuzz with excitement. There is a joyous sense of relief as the panel discussion becomes clearer to the audience and we as women realize we don’t need to kill ourselves trying to gain it all in one season. We can forgive ourselves and not hold onto the guilt we feel about not being able to achieve in Corporate America while baking homemade cookies and pies for the PTA. It’s about give and take. This is the final Chick Chat of 2011.

We are reminded that it is good to have it all but we won’t have it all in one season.  Valorie tells us about the “hedonic treadmill.” She explains that on this treadmill you are chasing after what you think you need in order to be happy. Once you get it, you are happy. But that happiness is fleeting and off you go on the treadmill again chasing the next object of your happiness. She explains what scientists call “decision fatigue” – the idea that it is good to have choices but too many choices can overwhelm and depress.

How do we, as women, become successful? It all depends on your definition of success. The women in this room have differing opinions. For some it is happiness, comfort and spiritual motivation. For others it is love and support from family. Some say it is the balance between fulfillment and priorities or the success of their children.

Here is what this writer took from the meeting — satisfying your needs will make you happy, but how do you truly know what it is you want?

1) Ask questions of yourself

2) Be honest with yourself

3) Be thankful and appreciative for what you have at the moment

Remember that there are certain tradeoffs you make in order to be happy or successful. Some of us have given up on some things in order to have other things. Some of us have made mistakes that have gotten us where we are today.  Be able to forgive yourself and don’t place your measure of being a woman on what the media tells you it is.

The words of wisdom from the night are prolific and powerful.  Valorie says, “There has got to be an answer for modern women because God would not leave us with a Bible that gradually becomes obsolete.”

Pastor Colleen says, “Every created thing has a reason it was created. We are all called to do certain things. You cannot operate in ways that you were not designed.”

Shaunti broke it down as such:  “We are made in God’s image, created as women, and finally, created as you. Where those 3 things come together is your calling, what you are built for, where you thrive.”

This life is about having choices and making the right ones. Where is God leading you?

HER LIFE WORKS is a new ministry created by these three dynamic women of God. It will begin on January 20 and is designed to teach women how to apply the Bible to their daily lives. The ministry will meet and be broken down into groups of like-minded women, with entrepreneurs in one group, single moms in another group, etc.  Essentially, the ministry will help women to access one another and to navigate successfully and spiritually. Look for HER LIFE WORKS at the beginning of the year.

If God’s Spirit lives in you, you can meet His standards. That’s why He’s on your case — because He loves you and not only has He appointed you to change, but He has empowered you to turn things around in your life. Your struggle may consume you, seeming impossible to beat or just bigger than anything else you’ve ever had to face, but there’s nothing stronger than the pull of the Heavenly Father who wants you.

The key to living morally pure is directly connected to how you handle conviction. God reminding you over and over about your flaws and your struggles is not an imposition. It’s a sign of His devotion to you. Another sign of His love is the Holy Spirit who will help you overcome those struggles, if you’ll just surrender.

Pastor Colleen asked a very important question this weekend:  Do you really want to get good at drowning out the voice of the Holy Spirit? I know that’s not what you want.

Listen to her entire message on living morally pure. It’s attainable. It doesn’t mean you’re perfect. It means you’re looking your corrupt nature square in the eye and taking it on, with the Holy Spirit’s leading. “Those who are under the control of the corrupt nature can’t please God. But if God’s Spirit lives in you, you are under the control of your spiritual nature, not your corrupt nature.” (Romans 8:8-9 GWT)

You can live morally pure.

Don’t blow Your Budget…

Your emotional budget that is…. Even before I made it out of the building on Friday night I had begun using my “emotional currency.” As I awkwardly held a piece of Tiramisu in my hand and stood in line for a napkin, the woman in front of me backed up, putting her elbow into my dessert, and then looked at me and moved away without so much as an ‘excuse me.’ I could have easily adopted the “Oh, no you didn’t” attitude, but that would have been wasted “emotional currency.” Instead, I just smiled as I thought about the message we’d just heard. Then I caught up with her and used my napkin to wipe her elbow clean; an emotional investment I was glad to make.

Hello ladies. Did you attend the last ChickChat? No? Well, you missed a treat. And I’m not just talking about the Tiramisu. The night was hosted by Pastor Colleen and she ministered to us as only a true girlfriend could. The topic for the night explored why we, as women, are exhausted emotionally. Many times we blame our situation or make excuses that a certain person caused us to react a certain way. By reacting in “that way,” we cause ourselves to become drained emotionally.

Pastor Colleen equated it in terms of money, which made the audience sit up and take notice. She explained that the same way money can be spent, lost, stolen, wasted or invested, so can your emotions. She gave us various examples of situations and different ways of dealing with them. Pastor Colleen explained that we are given so much emotional currency on a daily basis, and we must learn to build it and budget it. If we don’t, we run the risk of an emotional NSF and over time, becoming emotionally bankrupt.

Examples were used that described different interactions with the people we deal with every day—your employer, your spouse, your toddler, your teenager, a friend, and a stranger. By showing us everyday interactions with the people in our lives, Pastor Colleen pointed out the “emotional energy” spent, lost, wasted or invested in the ways that we deal with each situation. That Friday night, so many women saw themselves wasting “emotional energy” in the neck rolls and finger wagging that comes with the attitude of not being stepped on… or stepped over. It took Pastor Colleen’s ChickChat to point out that we are not “pushovers, but overcomers.”

Doing a quick examination of situations as they develop and dealing with them in a positive manner at that time, we are investing our “emotional currency” and putting an end to some of the stress that we’ve dealt with when we otherwise cop an attitude and waste our energy or spend from our emotional budget unwisely. Another lesson taught that night is that as women, we feel we have to deal with situations when they are really not situations at all. So we are creating situations which are also wastes of our emotional energy.

Don’t waste your “emotional currency.” Once you blow the budget, you’ll have nothing left to give. Remember that it is yours to invest or spend wisely.

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We want to hear about what God has done in and through you at Victory. Whether long or short, complex or simple, your story is worth hearing, and there are others who need to hear it. Won’t you please consider sharing your story with us? If you’re willing to do so, please click the Share Your Story quicklink above, write your story, upload a nice photo (if you can) and click submit. It’s that simple. Now, don’t be shy. God’s given you a story for a reason! Share it today!

The life of Rahab gives each of us hope! Yes, she was a prostitute, traitor, liar and more, but look deeper and you’ll see that she was a believer whose faith in God was faith in action, which is something we can all learn from. Rahab had only heard about God and His glorious works and that was enough for her to lay it all on the line for Him. At the moment she took in the spies for hiding, she began a new life for God (Joshua 2).

Pastor Colleen taught on this heroine of faith this past weekend and exhorted us to look at others through the lens of possibility and not the lens of scrutiny. While Rahab’s past was less than desirable, she didn’t let that cloud her vision for today. When the God opportunity showed up, she went with it regardless of the risks involved. She was brave to do it, but even more important than that, she was obedient.

This message is filled with hope for those who have been deceived in any way by the shame of their past. If Rahab came back to give us one piece of wisdom, she’d likely say, “You are just one choice and one action away from a different life.”

There’s more to learn from Rahab, the unlikely chosen one. If you’ve heard this message, it’s worth getting in your spirit again. Click here to listen and begin focusing on right-now moments.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve received hundreds of questions about marriage and family from people in our church. Obviously, we can’t answer them all, but as we looked at them, we saw a lot of them were similar – many people asking questions about the same things. So, we distilled these down to the most frequently asked questions and sought to address them during our services. Here are some more of these questions, which Colleen and I addressed this past weekend:

1. We’ve been married several years, but my husband has never led our family spiritually. How do I, as his wife, help him become the man of God he was created to be? (This was the number one most common question asked by married women. And, it wasn’t exactly worded like that; we had to clean it up a little bit, if you know what I mean.)
2. I’m single and having a difficult time finding anyone who’s marriage material – either very immature, don’t take care of themselves, or not committed to God. Is there anything I can do to be proactive?
3. We started our marriage the wrong way, and now have so many issues, it seems impossible to reconcile – no sex life, argue all the time, don’t have any feelings for each other – is it possible to improve, or should we just give up?

You can hear our answers to these questions – some of which might surprise you – by watching the following video:

Over the past couple of weeks, we’ve been collecting your toughest questions during our services and online.  We’ve gotten a lot of really great questions about marriage, divorce, infidelity, being single and parenting. (In fact, they’re still pouring in, and you’re welcome to submit more online here.)

And this past weekend, during our services, my wife Colleen and I addressed the several of the questions you asked most frequently:

• What does a biblical dating relationship look like? How “far” is too “far” physically?
• What are the consequences vs. the blessings of being married on paper, married only on paper or just living together?
• What are the parameters that allow divorce? Can a person remarry if divorced? How long should I wait after being divorced before marrying again?
• How can a marriage be restored when one or both parties have been unfaithful?
• What are the top qualities that make a marriage strong and/or make a family work?

As we thought about these questions and prepared to address them, we dove into the scriptures to see what God had to say about these issues – and there’s quite a bit. And, we thought a lot about our own lives and the lives of many people we’ve ministered to over the years – some good, and some…well, not so good. As we did so, the wisdom and goodness of God’s answers to these questions was clear. Not surprisingly, his ways always lead us to greater joy and blessings.

So, if you want hear the answers to these FAQ’s of Family Life, watch the video of our services this past weekend by clicking here. Whether you’re married or single, there’s something that will help you grow.

Last weekend, “Mama was in the house.” That is, my beautiful wife Colleen gave the messages in our services. And, if there’s anything she’s passionate about, it’s health. What does our health have to do with our walk with God? Well, I’ll let her answer that question:

Some things don’t add up. Although we are one of most civilized, technologically advanced and prosperous nations in the world, spending more on healthcare than any other country, the US ranks only 29th in overall health worldwide (According to the Association of Public Health Professionals). Now, 1 in every 4 Americans is obese. The fastest growing health issues in the nation stem from this, especially type 2 diabetes. We cannot continue to make poor health style choices that violate the health needs of our bodies and expect to be healthy! We must stop the practice of self-sabotage.

Why are we in the shape we are in? Lack of vision and insight into God’s ways. There is something about vision causes us to live differently! When we have a true connection with God, we see so much more. His Word becomes much more than list of do’s and don’ts – it is life to us! It satisfies and sustains us. God wants us to have a passion for health, a zeal for life!

Do you think that it’s possible to get to that place? What will help us get there? PASSION – for God, for what he wants for your life…which includes a passion for health. Don’t believe me? Read 1 Thessalonians 5:23: “I pray that God, who gives peace, will make you completely holy. And may your spirit, soul, and body be kept healthy and faultless until our Lord Jesus Christ returns. (CEV, emphasis added)

Where do we begin? How does a passion for health play out? Well. It starts by making some changes, especially in those practices that have gotten us off-track. Here are five Passionate Practices to start working on that will get you back on target:

1. Dedicate your temple to God daily.
2. Look to Jesus first to satisfy your desires.
3. Choose what is pleasing to him.
4. Be transformed rather than conform.
5. Steward his temple with love.

Remember, we belong to Him, and today is the beginning of something…the rest of our lives. What are you going to do with yours? Don’t you want to be totally devoted to him in spirit, soul AND body? If so, you’ve got to get a passion for your health. Take a moment to ask God to show you any area for which you need to repent in regard to your health. Then, reconsecrate and dedicate yourself to pursuing his highest purposes for your life.

And this was just some of what she said this past weekend. If you want more, you can watch or listen to her whole message online here. You will definitely be challenged if you do!

In this final message of  our Parables Series, my wife, Colleen, brought a powerful and stirring message about preparedness taken from Jesus’ parable of the Ten Virgins from Matthew 25. In this parable we meet five wise and five foolish virgins, all with lamps filled with oil awaiting the arrival of the bridegroom. Unfortunately for the foolish, who didn’t bring extra oil for their lamps, the bridegroom’s arrival is delayed. As the evening progresses into night, the five wise virgins continue to await the arrival of the bridegroom with eager anticipation while the foolish fall asleep. Inevitably, the bridegroom arrives and all ten rise to trim their lamps and prepare to light his way, but only five have enough oil. As the foolish head off to purchase more oil, the wise accompany the bridegroom into the wedding feast. When the foolish arrive back to the feast, they are not let in and the bridegroom responds to their pleas with, “…I don’t know you.” What a tragic ending for the foolish virgins, if only they’d prepared themselves.

What about you and I? Are we ready for the midnight call? On the day that the Lord arrives, will we find ourselves prepared and accompanying Him into the wedding feast, or pleading with Him to let us in even though our lamps were without oil? 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3 shines a light on where many believers are in this hour, “You know very well that then the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. When people say, “Everything is safe and sound!” destruction will suddenly strike them. It will be as sudden as labor pains come to a pregnant woman. They won’t be able to escape.” Many today are living in a false state of security, comfortable with ‘grace’, relying on someone else’s faith to ‘get them by’, and generally believing that the gates of heaven are wide enough to let everyone in – forgetting that Jesus warned that the way is narrow and few will enter through it.

Are you prepared for the Lord’s return? Is your life one of faithful, pure devotion or are you relying on someone else’s faith and just hoping it’s enough to ‘get you by’? We have to evaluate our lives and our relationships with Jesus, asking ourselves the hard question – are we more like the foolish or are we more like the wise? The wise were prepared for the darkness, kept enough oil to last in the event of the bridegroom’s delay and refused to get complacent and sleep because the recognized that His arrival was imminent and didn’t want to be caught off guard.

I encourage you, if you’ve not listened to this message, do so now. You can’t afford not to.

To view on video click HERE.

To listen only, click HERE.