Douglas and I are very pleased to annouce that this week we are honored to have Kary Oberbrunner as our guest blogger. He is a pastor, author, speaker and life coach. Kary has written books such as “The Journey toward Relevence”, The Fine-Line and others. Here is explains his journey and attempt to address the needs of our currennt society and how we are impacted by it when we should be impacted by what lies ahead in eternity.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it. Revelation 2:17

Secret, Secrets, they’re not fun:

Secrets, Secrets, Hurt Someone.

My brother, sisters, and I used to chant this little phrase as kids.  I was more of a joke than anything.

My firm believe is that most leaders do not know who they are. And if they’re honest, they’re deathly afraid of their followers discovering this truth.

So  my Question to you is:

DO YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE?

I used to write names on my arms and legs with a knife.

Back then, I was a pastor.

But I was also a self-injurer.

Completely unsatisfied with the names the world gave me–names like pastor, seminarian, and counselor–I craved a deeper name, a name that more accurately reflected who I was created to be.

Still, all I could come up with were shameful names, cuss words to be exact.

I failed to realize that I couldn’t carve out a different name on my own.

Rather, I needed to hear my Secret Name from the lips of another.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it. NIV Revelation 2:17

My life changed when I discovered my Secret Name.

The cutting stopped, and the negative self-talk ceased.

We all have one–a Secret Name that is. The Bible tells us so. Yet few of us know ours. Ignorantly, we’re stuck, caught up in the “Name Game.”

Using the story of the biblical patriarch Jacob as a backdrop, I am calling you to stop accepting the world’s labels and start wrestling with God to discover our true identity. Jacob spent years living out the meaning of his earthly name: “deceiver.”

Caught up in pretending to be someone he wasn’t, he was unaware that God would build a nation through him, unaware that Jesus would be one of his descendents, unaware of the lands he would inherit. Then he heard God speak his true name and the future God had for him unfolded. 

I also wish to  remind you that we’ll be unable to discern what God wants to build through us until we discover how God has seen us all along. In Your Secret Name, readers will find the courage to abandon what they know in order to become who they were born to be.

Homesick for a place you’ve never been.Fumbling your way back to the One who made you.

I invite you to join me on a journey March 15, 2010. I’ll reveal how you to can discover Your Secret Name.

For now, I leave you with a video that I think will shed some light on the mystery. I’ll look for you in a week at www.yoursecretname.com

YOUR SECRET NAME – SITE LAUNCH 3/15/10

Author Website:
http://www.karyoberbrunner.com