RETREAT!!!!

I totally agree with Steven Furtick:  Why do we call them “Retreats?”  Steven calls their staff planning trip a “Staff Advance.”  He says it’s because the church of God never retreats.  AMEN!

Anyway, I am looking forward to this weekend.  Bro Al Jackson, pastor of Lakeview Baptist in Auburn hosts a retreat for “former Lakeviewers in vocational ministry” each year.  Historically he did it in the winter, but he changed things up a bit this year.

I’m looking forward to catching up with some guys I’ve known for years.  I’m looking forward to seeing what God is doing in churches all over the USA and world.  AND, since I actually am on the leadership of a church this year, I am looking forward to being built up and prepared for more effective ministry.  I am also looking forward to the opportunity to begin building some ministry relationships to help with the church planting vision down the road.

I’m also looking forward to this weekend because Connection Groups continue following the service on Sunday!  See you there!

And yet another reason to look forward to this weeked:  Monday is a holiday and Emily and I have absolutely nothing planned.  We’ve been “doing” every day lately, so we’re just going to “be” on Monday.  Woo hoo!

Back to basics . . .

I’ve spent most of my blogs talking about what God is doing around me and the stuff He’s leading me to do.  I haven’t spent much time talking about what God is teaching me in the midst of everything that’s going on.

Since Emily and I started going to Journey about a year ago, I’ve really been selling out to the “simple church” idea.  So much so, that I’ve been spending my personal study time seeking “simple faith” instead of the complexity my life had grown into.  Lately, I’ve been simplifying my faith by studying through some of the Gospels, reaquainting myself with Jesus . . . simple relationship stuff.  I finished John last night, and began Luke this morning . . .

As I read through the foretelling of John the Baptist’s birth . . . something struck me . . . We all know that John’s purpose was to prepare the people for the coming messiah (Jesus.)  But we often skip over the HOW God was going to use him to prepare the way . . .

Luke 1:16-17 gives us a picture: “And he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God, and he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready for the Lord a people prepared.”

Notice he didn’t say “turn the hearts of children to their fathers.”  He said, “turn the hearts of the fathers to the children.”  That struck me.  Children don’t generally need their hearts turned to their fathers.  They tend to idolize their parents until they are convinced not to.  If we are going to make an impact on people . . . if we are going to lead large numbers of people to Jesus, we need to help fathers take an interest in their children.

Fathers who take an interest in their children can identify better with a God who is called “Father.”

Children who have fathers who take an interest in them have a desire to run to a heavenly Father who can care for them inifitely more than their fathers can.

Don’t get me wrong.  I’m not saying we need to “DO” anything before we can be saved.  I’m not saying we need to “DO” anything to be saved.  In fact, I would suggest that in communicating, we identify the need, and communicate that only through Jesus can they really accomplish the kind of Father-Child relationship God desires. I’m saying that what we teach, communicate, and encourage people to do can make a profound impact on their receptivity to the Gospel and how we can reach them.

Sunday recap.

Today was a great day at Journey!

I was standing out in front with Phil, one of our Growth Group Leaders, before the service.  As we were standing there, it almost seemed like we had more guests than we had regulars.  That’s pretty exciting!  There were several college students, young couples, and families that came.  A few for the first time, some for the second or third time.  All-in-all, it meant that the service was pretty full.  We added a row of chairs before the service started, and most of them wound up full, too.

I am passionate about following up with these folks and encouraging them to get involved in Growth Groups.  I keep telling folks that people who get into a small group within 6 months of coming to a church are 85% more likely to still be there at the end of that 6 months.  Now is the perfect time to get them involved . . . Connection Groups are underway, which is our opportunity to bridge the gap between Sunday Morning and our midweek groups.  We are launching another new group, which gives us more space to involve more people.  Two of the groups could still use at least one more couple to really solidify as a group . . . so if you are interested, or want to invite someone, there’s definitely room for more!

Oh, and the music is definitely getting more consistent.  I am definitely pumped to know that when I invite a disconnected person, I know the music is going to rock.

We’re working hard to improve the environment in the children’s ministry.  It’s really looking cool, and we’ll eventually get it so the light isn’t washing out the screen . . . but it’s definitely getting better.

This is going to be an awesome fall, and I am pumped.

I’m a Christ-follower (Part 4)

No, there’s no silly video to go with the title of this post . . . this is a me-confession moment.

I’ve been thinking a lot about those videos this week. I’ve walked a long, crazy road over the course of my life, and I have to confess — I’m a recovering Christian.  I spent most of my life as a 110% Christian.  Let me give you a little picture:

In high school and college, almost every T-shirt I ever wore had a church or Christian-related message on it.  Some weren’t that great.  Yeah, many of them were from events I attended, but I also had some real crazy ones.  I had one that referenced James 4:7. It was a black shirt with bright orange letters that said “RESIST the devil” (with “submit to God” small underneath it.)  Oh, and don’t forget the “bloody T-shirt” that I had that was a very graphic depiction of Jesus on the cross with blood stains all over it (my mom hated it, so I wore it until it fell apart).  For more formal occasions . . . Yes, I had some Christian ties.  I kept one as a keepsake if you don’t believe me.

I very rarely listened to secular music.  I know more about the secular music I grew up with now than when it was new.  Seriously. Some examples of my craziness with music:  I got FLAMING mad one time when a friend put a secular music station on MY radio during a Christian activity (Thank you, Perry, for calming me down).  Another example: About 1:30am one morning in architecture school, I was the only person in my studio, so I cranked up a pipe organ concert as loud as my radio would play it without distorting it.  I have always loved contemporary music, but I also really appreciate the old-school stuff, too.

I won’t even bore you with the plethora of Christian activities I was either involved with, or more likely was a leader/organizer.  Both in high school and college.

I made a big impact in the lives of a lot of Christian people.  Many of them still contact me from time-to-time telling me about the impact I made in their lives.  I hope God is using them mightily to advance His kingdom.  But notice what I said:  “I made a big impact in the lives of a lot of Christian people.”  I had the wonderful joy of leading a few people to Jesus, but it was not as significant as my lifestyle attempted to make it. If I have one chance to influence any of these Christian lives again, the one thing I would say:

Don’t be so concerned about being (or looking like) a great Christian. Be concerned about following Christ into the darkest, dirtiest places to reach those who do not know Him.

God is moving . . .

Hehe.  I am crazy.  I started writing the title of the blog entry, and thought, “God is moving . . . where is he going? How long did it take to pack his stuff? Didn’t he like the neighborhood, etc. etc.”  OK.  So, it’s Monday and my brain just ain’t right.  Anyway, back to the original reason for this post . . .

I just finished reading Eric’s Blog entry for today.  God woke him up at about 3am to really speak to him in a big way.  I’m excited to hear about it.  Incidentally, I woke up about an hour early this morning thinking about church stuff, too.  I didn’t get up, but I laid there in bed praying through all sorts of stuff, just listening to God. 

 I spent some time celebrating what God has accomplished this year.  I spent some time thinking through people and the relationships that are being built.  I spent some time thinking about how some of the people are a perfect fit for some ministry needs at Journey.  I spent some time thinking about how the vision God is in the process of giving me is both the same and different from the Journey vision God gave to Eric.  I spent some time thinking about how we don’t have because we don’t ask.  I spent some time thinking about the fact that a lot of our frustrations in life are because we didn’t wait on God, and just the time we give up and start complaining about it, God shows up.

I got up after the third snooze alarm (which is only one more than usual.)  But my moment didn’t stop there.  I went about my normal morning stuff.  Before I left, I sat down to do my normal Bible reading, but the tone seemed just a little different as I sat there reading and thinking.  I left the house just a couple minutes later than usual, but my 45 minute drive was filled with more thoughts and prayers.  My day started quite differently than usual.

And I think my attitude relfects it.  I arrived at the office to a series of emails dealing with problems that shouldn’t really be problems.  Instead of wanting to write a nasty email to deal with it, I started writing the email, but kept going back to change it to be a little more factual than annoyed.  As much as I wanted to be nasty, I just knew it wasn’t right and couldn’t bring myself to do it.

Anyway, I’m looking forward to talking to Eric about what God told him.  Even if it changes everything, I know God is moving.

Travel Guide preview . . .

Yeah, I know, it’s Sunday night and I am just now finishing the Travel Guide for this week.  Actually, it was a strategic move, so no complaining.

This morning was awesome!  College folks are back in town, and new ones are coming around.  The band absolutely ROCKED the house this morning . . . I am excited to think that this morning was just a taste of what worship is going to be like at Journey Church this fall.  I believe we’re getting more consistent, which will make it easier for folks to invite friends to come and experience Journey each week.  We are blessed to have some of the folks God has been sending our way.

Today was our 1 year anniversary.  Wow.  One full year of transforming lives in Auburn.  We’ve come so far!  We’re not the biggest church in town (yet,) but to look at how well developed each of the areas of our church have become, we are doing stuff very well.  The children’s ministry is really looking awesome, and we’re improving it every week.  Preschool is doing the same.  Journey folks are meeting people and inviting them to Journey, and they also invite people who come to Journey to be a part of a Growth Group or the youth program.  I am excited.  What we are doing, we are doing well.  I think we will have a lot of people “stick” this year.

I know one couple is now on board.  I talked to them this morning about Growth Groups.  They had been praying about being in a group for a while.  Receiving a personal invite to be in a specific group that matches their station in life was the little push they needed to make the jump.  Incidentally, it was an email from me inviting them to be in the group at our house . . . we went to lunch together and really clicked well.  I am really excited, because this is the one couple we needed to make all of the Growth Groups starting next week solid contenders for success in the coming year.  BUT, there’s still room for more, so sign up and get involved!

Eric and I have a lot of planning to do to make the Connection Groups as much of a success as possible . . . but the momentum is with us, so we’re both excited and just need to decide the best way to say what we need to say and accomplish what we need to accomplish.

I’m also excited because this busy fall kick-off craziness is almost behind me, so I can focus back on the future vision stuff.  God’s been welling it up inside me a lot lately, and the poor people who even mention it have been getting a firehose worth instead of a small drink of water.  Oh, and not just from me.  Emily gave a dissertation on it today, without me even in the conversation!

I am so glad I have a wife who is behind me 100% . . . correction . . . I am totally blessed to have a wife who is BESIDE me 100%.

Growth Groups Growing!

I am pumped for the fall!  Have I mentioned that before?

Anyway . . . last night, I had most of the Growth Group leaders over for a training time, in order to organize and step up what we are doing with Growth Groups.  I am amazed that we are ready to start another new group.  A couple guys have stepped up to work together to get this group going.  I am excited!  We still have some logistics to work out, but the Growth Groups ministry is growing, and it is getting people “stuck” to our church . . .

Statistics tell us that if a person does not get involved in a small group, they are very likely to fall away from the church within 6 months, but if they get involved in a small group, they are 85% more likely to stay and get involved.

SO . . . get in a Growth Group!  Recruit someone into your Growth Group!  Look for someone to invite to your Growth Group!  Connection Groups begin in 2 weeks . . . that’s when we will launch the new groups for this school year.  It’s the perfect time to get involved! Let’s blow the doors off this place!

I’m a Christ-follower (Part 3)

I’m a Christ-follower (Part 2)

I’m a Christ-follower (Part 1)

Thank you, Tyler for putting these up on your blog so I can copy you!