Teaching, hearing, and learning

As you can tell from the list of books on the right, I have been reading 7 Practices of Effective Ministry by Andy Stanley, Reggie Joiner, and Lane Jones.

Last night, I read an illustration in the book that sparked some thoughts. . .

My son’s first year in high school was an education for me . . . I was drilling my son on a Shakespearean drama when, about one o’clock in the morning . . . he looked at me and said, “Why do I need to know this?” . . .

“Do you know what I really need to know? . . . I need to know how to dance. Homecoming is in a few weeks, and I think that’s something that is important to know.”

. . . People attend churches every week and listen to someone teach Shakespeare when what they really want to know is how to dance . . .

I totally understand what he is saying here, and I totally agree.  If we are studying through every single word of the Bible, but aren’t dealing with the issues that are affecting peoples’ lives . . . we’re leaving people with information they will probably forget before they walk out the door.  How many of us really remember the stuff we learned in high school?

BUT, I also disagree on one level.  There are some things that I learned in high school that I really remember.  And, if I admitted them to you, you would think I was crazy for remembering them.  Some of them are from Shakespeare.  Sometimes the problem is not knowing what to teach, but knowing how to teach whatever it is that you have to teach. 

The things I remember from high school are the things I learned from teachers who really understood the core issues.  When I had a teacher that could go through a Shakespearean drama and help me see that the characters in that drama dealt with the same issues teenagers deal with today, and that some of them made horrible choices, and others made wise choices, Shakespeare was a whole lot easier to read.  When I took a psychology class and had a teacher who was a stand-up comic on weekends, he taught us about Pavlov’s dogs, subliminal advertising, and all sorts of cools stuff.  Most of which we didn’t even realized we learned, because he contextualized everything to the 20-30 of us students in the room.  I didn’t know how much I learned until I had to take a similar course in college . . . one that was incredibly boring and I might have failed if I hadn’t already learned so much.

When we read or teach the Bible . . . if we are trying to teach a bunch of stories about what a bunch of old, dead people did a real long time ago, it’s not going to get very far.  BUT, if we teach those same stories, and highlight the fact that they are testaments to God’s greatness and ability to work in ANY circumstance, including the financial strain you are under, or the problems you are facing in your marriage, or the question of what God wants you to do with your life . . . AND, more importantly, that all these stories point us to the love of God expressed ultimately through the death, burial, and resurrection of his Son, Jesus . . . suddenly, that same dead story has life and meaning for us today.

The reality is, if students are not learning what they need to know, it’s usually no more than 50% their fault.  The other 50% of the responsibility falls on the teacher to teach the information in a way that the student can hear it and learn it.  Hearing and learning are 2 vastly different things.

What are we trying to teach the people around us?  Are we communicating that information in such a way that they can both hear it and learn it?

New page:

Look up!

There’s a new permanent page on APK’s Attic:

Church Planting

This page will be the front page of the developing vision for a new church plant.  Emily and I have been praying all summer about this possiblity, and I am now working on putting together some elements of the vision in graphical form.  Right now, the page is a placeholder, but I will be adding more information soon!

Fall is coming!

Everyone that just read the title of this post either got depressed or excited.  Yes, the summer school break is almost over.  Families are starting to show up back in town.  College students are moving in.  Mission trips are pretty much over.

If you like school and everything that happens during the school year, then you are one of those people that got excited.

If you dread school and everything that happens during the school year, then you are one of the people that got depressed.

If you are not in school, have no kids, and have a full-time job not related to education, like me, it doesn’t make that much of a difference to you . . . Or does it?

My day-to-day life isn’t much different in July than it is in October or some other part of the year . . . but each week when Sunday rolls around, I realize that my situation is not what most people experience.  Momentum at Journey has been building all summer, but there have been a few key people missing each week for vacations, mission trips, and other summer activities.  When we show up on Sunday morning, it’s honestly hard to know what to expect.  Yesterday, it looked like most of the families are getting back in town.  A good number of the college students will be back either this coming week or the week after.

I am really excited . . .

We’re talking about multiplying Growth Groups again!  Yes, keeping groups going for the summer, but on a relaxed schedule, has allowed us to grow the ministry, build momentum, and get ready for the doors to blow off this fall!  BUT . . . please pray, because I need some more leaders to step up to the plate in order to have maximum impact.

Our weekly attendence at worship and at JourneyKidz has also gained momentum through the summer.  I am excited to see what happens when everybody gets back in town . . . Not to mention some new ministry opportunities we will have to involve more people.  Are you on a ministry team at Journey?

Have I said that I am excited about what is going to happen at Journey this fall?  If not:  I AM EXCITED!

This week, and 4 Seasons?

Wow!  I am getting really bad at keeping up with my blog . . . I need to work on this.  It’s hard, because I haven’t been taking my computer home at night, but I’m always in 5th gear here at the office (Except now at almost 4pm on Friday)

Anyway . . . it has been a REALLY crazy week for me . . .

Work - I’ve been trying to gather as much information as possible, as fast as possible, on the largest project I’ve ever done . . . so that I can hand it off to the contractor to get as accurate a cost estimate as possible.  I’m almost at a stopping point to just wait and see where the numbers fall . . .

Family - Emily’s family left Tuesday morning, so it’s been recovery from the full house ever since . . . mostly for Emily, but I have felt it, too.  Also, my great-uncle Cliff died last week . . . we’re not going to make it to Florida for the funeral, though.

Journey Church - Eric and I met this morning for a brief meeting to discuss Growth Groups for the rest of the summer and into the fall.  I am really excited about how the groups will be able to be a little better defined, more focussed, and expanding.  We also discussed potential future leaders and how to reproduce the folks we have.  We also discussed some other church-related stuff upcoming this fall.  I am looking forward to the momentum push we are coming up on.  This fall is going to be awesome . . .

Future Vision - speaking of Summer and Fall . . . I have been spending a good bit of time working on a Church Planting vision.  I had put together about 80% of a vision about 4 years ago, code-named “Worship Community.”  The goal of the vision was to simplify what I knew about church as much as I knew how . . . but I didn’t know how.  Honestly, I did a pretty good job for what I knew, but I have learned so much this past year that I totally abandoned the vision to start a new one.  Or at least I tried to.  I worked on about 3 or 4 different options, but I kept getting stuck, or it just felt too awkward to communicate it clearly.

Last night, I couldn’t sleep, so I got up to pray, think, and vision.  I went back to the “WC” model I had developed. I don’t think the name is going to stick with me, but the tag line might: “Bringing people together to exalt the living God.“  I started there and began to work on a new vision.  I read Simple Church a few weeks ago, which got me thinking . . . now, I’ve been reading 7 Practices of Effective Ministry.  This has helped me start with the goal of a church vision (what is a “win”), and then organize how to get from where people are to where the vision wants them to be (clear process, easy steps, etc.)

I wound up coming up with a vision that is cyclical in nature (reproducing) and based on the 4 seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall.  The vision allows me to explain the entire church structure in about 30 seconds. I am really excited about it and will be spending the next few weeks putting it into graphic form so I can share it with some folks and get their feedback.  As it gets refined, I will probably create a second Church Planting Vision on the Church Planting Vision page at BuildingChurch.net to help get folks involved.

Confessions, Family, etc.

Well, it’s been a few days since I did an update . . .

Emily’s mom, sister, and her sister’s boyfriend are in town from Austin, Texas.  There’s staying with us, so we’ve had a full house.  We haven’t done anything spectacular, but we’ve had a decent time together. 

With all the crazy commotion at home, I honestly haven’t had much time to myself to pray and seek God about some stuff that has been weighing on me lately.

I’ve paid a bit of a toll for it, and some folks have noticed.  Eric asked me during setup yesterday if everything was all right, because I didn’t seem quite like myself.  I told him I really wasn’t and gave him a partial answer as to why, but didn’t really get to explain what all was going on.

I guess the timing is pretty good, though.  Eric is doing a “Confessions of a Pastor” series, talking about the struggles he deals with every day as a Christ-follower.  The reality is, Eric still deals with daily issues, I still deal with issues, and every other Christ follower out there still struggles with issues they would prefer not to have to admit to . . . every single day.

God is a big and powerful God.  As Eric talked about yesterday, the power God used to redeem us from our sinfulness is the same power He makes available to us every day to overcome and make it through all the struggles we face.  Whether those struggles are sin, relationships, outside pressures, God is big enough to handle them all.

These daily struggles are here to remind us how much we need God . . . we can’t do it on our own.  I would also add that even when we are fully dependent on God, we still need each other to help us stay focussed on Him and reliant on Him . . . Pray for me.  Pray for Eric.  Pray for each other as we seek to be fully devoted and passionate followers of Jesus Christ.

Growth Groups, Ministry, and Meeting Needs

It’s Thursday, so I thought I should write a “Post Growth-Group” blog . . .

Summer is crazy for everybody, so our group got started a little late, and then ran a little late . . . but we had a good discussion and also took some time to share prayer requests. 

One person in the group mentioned that they were talking to someone who didn’t feel like the church was helping them in a certain situation . . . I’m honestly not sure if the person is in a Growth Group at Journey or not . . . but this is one major reason why Growth Groups are SO important at Journey . . . Ministry to each other takes place in the small group setting. If the particular Growth Group is unable to help, the group’s leadership can ask the church leadership to step in and help.  Just remember, even at Journey’s current size, it is impossible for the leadership to know everything that is going on in everyone’s lives.  If you’re not in a Growth Group, you are missing out on our primary avenue of care and communication.

If your Growth Group is not meeting your ministry needs, have you talked to the leader about it?  If you are a Growth Group leader and have ministry needs in your group that your group can’t meet, have you talked to me or Eric about it?

Are you in a Growth Group?  If not, send me an email and I’ll get you hooked up.

God is really doing some awesome things at Journey . . . I am really looking forward to what He is going to do this fall.  I believe it is going to totally transform the church and our Growth Groups.  Are you praying BIG?

Baptisms make an awesome week!

It’s tuesday evening, I’m about to leave work, but I have to write a quick note, because I haven’t said much about how awesome Sunday was this week . . .

After 6 scheduled baptisms, I was excited enough . . . but we had to do just one more for someone who came forward Sunday morning . . .

I met Brian and Tena last fall when they started coming to our original Growth Group at our house.  Brian said some things then that made Emily and I wonder if he wasn’t considering whether or not he had been baptized as a believer . . .

On Sunday, Brian thought that maybe this never-ending struggle was keeping him from hearing God clearly, so he decided to get his baptism right.  I am super excited for him and can’t wait until tomorrow night’s Growth Group to hear how his week has been!

Afterward, our entire Growth Group went to Durango for the awesomest Mexican Food in Auburn . . . It was only Brian and Tena’s second time there, but the rest of us eat there so often they know Emily and I’s orders, and know the others fairly well, too.

Anyway . . . a great start to the week, so I’m looking forward to hearing what our Growth Group leaders have to report from their meetings this week.

God is so good! 
(here’s a pic of Emily, me, Brian, and Tena)

2 Years . . .

Two years ago today, my life changed forever.  I quit my job of 3 years. Emily quit her job of one year.  We ran off to Texas to get married. 

In all honesty, I was already planning on quitting my job to help start a new company, and Emily and I had discussed how much her job was messing up her mental state, so we were planning on her quitting, too.  The timing was just right to do it all the same time as our wedding.

The past two years have been an amazing two years of huge decisions and God’s grace.  I can honestly say I can hardly remember the 29 years I lived before I married Emily, and I can not imagine life without her now.  I look at her and see the most amazing, beautiful, sexy wife a man could ever want to be married to.  I see a woman who seeks to be the epitome of the biblical godly wife in ways I can not even describe.  The way Emily takes care of our home, supports me in all the crazy things I do, and seeks to impact the community with God’s love is unbelievably humbling. 

I have always been convinced that behind every great man of God is a woman on her knees.  If you see God doing amazing things in me and through me, I am convinced that it is because Emily is behind me, praying me through everything that is thrown at me.

I have known Emily less than three years, and have now been married to her for two years.  I have seen her grow spiritually in that time in ways that make me love her in a totally new way.  As the grace of God burns brightly in her eyes, she is far more beautiful to me than the day I said “I do.”  And the growing relationship with God that we share causes me to love her far more deeply today than those two simple words could have ever expressed just a short 24 months ago.

I love you, Emily, and am looking forward to many more years of growing deeper in love and appreciation for you!

Saturday night . . .

Wow.  I just finished the Travel Guide for Growth Groups this week.  I am really pumped.

This week, Eric challenged us to practice the ancient tradition of fasting.  Emily and I have experienced several spiritual breakthroughs during fasts in the past, so I am really excited to see folks tomorrow and hear what God has done in their lives this week.

Emily and I also fasted some this week.  Not as intensely as we have in the past, but that’s mainly because we just got a big breakthrough a few weeks ago during a really intense fast.  This time, we were seeking God for further direction and confirmation of what we heard before.  While we still don’t have a specific road sign from God saying “This is it,” we do believe he has clarified the direction a little bit and has definitely confirmed what He said before.  I will add that we have only seen a hummingbird in our yard 3 times . . . one was last year at the end of a major fast when we received a big answer . . . and twice this week.  I’m not big on worldly symbolism, but I do find it amusing that hummingbirds supposedly have at least 3 possible meanings: 1- A messenger of joy. 2- getting to the heart of the matter and clarifying and issue. 3- a symbol for accomplishing that which seems impossible.  All three of these could be applied to our current prayers.  Some of it is just crazy superstition . . . but I do believe that God can give us little signs for encouragement.  He is sovereign over all creation, so I don’t think it’s too big for Him to blow a litte hummingbird into my yard just at the right time. I look forward to the message being delivered, the issue clarified, and the impossible being accomplished.  God is so good!

(I will add that we now have a hummingbird feeder in our yard, so I probably won’t be quite so moved by seeing them in the future.)

I am also excited about tomorrow because Eric will be finishing up the Remember series by talking about Baptism.  At the end of the service, we will be baptizing people.  In fact, we have some people already scheduled, but we are also going to be prepared for anyone to decide to be baptized on-the-spot.  THIS IS AWESOME!  I’ve never been a part of a church that has done this before, but the stories I’ve heard from other churches have been unbelievable.  (Such as Mountain Lake, Ridge Stone, and Elevation.) This one service could be an incredible turning point for Journey.  A few big decisions tomorrow could totally change the momentum and bust open the floodgates going in to the fall.  I’m praying for something BIG.

Wednesday Road Trip . . .

I just got back from a road trip with Eric . . . I’m going to have to work a couple extra hours to make up for skipping out on work today, but it was definitely worth it . . .

Eric and I went to a church-planter’s round table discussion in Millbrook.  Essentially, this is just an opportunity for a group of church planters to sit and discuss the good stuff and bad stuff that is happening in their particular churches, and how we each can learn from each other.  We also share what books we are reading, and miscellaneous other stuff.  As we each bring our stories to the table, it is an opportunity for each of us to learn from each other and develop our abilities to lead.

This is the second time I went with Eric to this particular group . . . but with everything that has been going on with Emily and I really sensing God moving us more into ministry, the opportunity to be a part of this group was something I was willing to toss my schedule for.  I’m glad I went.  Hearing from these other guys at various levels of development in their churches is a great blessing.  I am convinced that the #1 reason why God stopped me from planting a church in 2002 was because I wasn’t connected to other church planters enough and I would have crashed and burned out there as a lone ranger.

I thank God for Journey Church and the connections I’ve created as a result of being a part of Journey.  I also thank God that the vision I have for church is a whole lot different than it would have been if I had moved forward 5 years ago.  God’s timing is a whole lot better than mine . . .

The road trip is also a great opportunity for Eric and I to talk about strategy and what is happening at Journey . . . We both are really excited about the baptisms on Sunday . . . I’m excited because I get to help get people that choose to be baptized on Sunday processed and ready.  I am pumped that a church at the level we are is making enough impact to baptize as many as we have in our first 10 months.  This is really awesome, and I can’t wait to see what God is going to do on Sunday.

I’ll let Eric write about our little “bonus adventure” during our road trip today . . .