20-hit update

We’ve been back from Baltimore since Tuesday, and I haven’t even had time to write an update.

That’s the nature of vacation, isn’t it?  You have a great time relaxing, being rejuvenated, reconnecting with your wife, etc. etc. etc. . . . and then you get back to the piles on your desk at work . . .

Well, here’s the update:

1. Emily and I are convinced that we will be locating to Towson, Maryland . . . Probably around January.
2. We fell in love with the community, had a great time talking with some locals while attending some local 4th of July events.
3. I made some connections in architecture.  One in particular was extremely positive and I’m looking forward to how it all works out.  Having a job in the area would give Emily and I a ton of peace to know that God is at work.
4. Enjoyed the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra set to fireworks a whole lot more than dealing with the crouds and rain for a merely good fireworks display at the Inner Harbor. 
5. Inner Harbor fireworks had two launch-points — most from Ft McHenry, and some from a barge in the harbor.  Either one would have been bettern than Auburn’s usually are.
6. Spent a lot of time driving around in a silly little KIA . . . but we got to know the area well and have zeroed in on a couple of specific communities within Towson to watch for a house/townhome to meet our needs.
7. It’s more expensive in Baltimore, but not quite as much as we had originally expected.  I’m hoping I can find a job that will fill in the difference. Would be nice to get full-price on our house here as a help . . . and One more outside job, like an average-sized house plan would pay off one more debt before we go . . . anyway . . .
8. We took a lot of things slow for our vacation.  Emily is getting bigger.  I am excited to be a daddy!  Less than 10 weeks left!  It’s funny how walking around with the cutest pregnant lady ever becomes an automatic conversation-starter.
9. Drove through Towson one night . . . passed 4 Starbucks stores with no more than 3 customers.  Obviously not a good place to meet people during the evenings on a holiday weekend in Towson.
10. Went to church at another fairly new church in the area.  Am glad to see them doing what they are doing . . . but was also glad to see that they are a different flavor than our vision, so we’ll be able to reach different folks and impact Towson together. One of the pastors said he would hook me up with a local ministerial association that really wants to get things done.  I would love an opportunity to network with other local pastors to Transform a city and region!
11. Towson University is in Towson . . . They are the Tigers and have an Auburn Drive on campus.  That MUST be a sign from God!
12. Several possible meeting locations came to mind . . . but actually getting into them may be a challenge.  This will be a God thing!  So many possibilities, I’m confident we will be able to grow at least one relationship to opportunity.
13. Already have a location in mind for a church office.  Awesome location, and it’s pretty cheap, too!  Long-term issue, but couldn’t believe the possibility fell in my lap!
14. Spent tons of time just praying as we saw  people in neighborhoods, walking down streets, navigating through the mall, filling a ski-slope to watch fireworks, etc.  The area won’t be an easy area, but it already feels a bit like home.  People need a life-changing encounter with Jesus.  I want to be the delivery man to take it to them.
15. Was glad to see Roxie healthy when we got home (was sick when we left).
16. Roxie was definitely glad to see us.
17. Roxie is being very dilligent to protect Emily’s growing belly.  Definitely not a typical Chihuahua.  Curious to see how she does with Katie when she is born.
18. Was extremely glad to have absolutely no contact with my office while I was gone.  First time since we started the company 3 years ago that I was 100% unplugged from the office.
19. Since our vacation, God has just been working on my as I read the Bible like He hasn’t done literally in years.  I’m getting really fired up for everything that is happening over the next several months.
20. I’ll be glad to get back to Journey Church tomorrow and see what’s up with our new series, “WAKE UP!”

Well, I hit 20, so I need to stop. More later.

So You Think You Can Dance?

Well, as you read this, I’m on vacation.  I actually wrote this post before I left, but time-delayed it to appear after Wednesday’s episode of So You Think You Can Dance?

I started watching this show because Emily loves dance.  However . . . the more I watch it, the more I realize that EVERY CHURCH PLANTER LEADER OUGHT TO WATCH THIS SHOW!

Why?

I’ve been reading a lot lately about communicating the never-changing truths of the Bible in ways that the culture understands.  You have to understand your culture so you can communicate Truth in their language.  Don’t change the truth . . . adjust the way you communicate it . . . Translate it for your people . . . I am convinced that Jesus was a student of the culture as much as a student of the Scriptures . . .

ANYWAY, I started listening to various types of music lately.  Sometimes I wonder what those far from God get out of the songs. So You Think You Can Dance helps me know.  A large number of the dances are set to popular music.  More than that, a lot of the dances demonstrate the choreographer’s understanding of the music.  Their interpretation through dance is a clear communication of what they are getting out of the song.

You want to not only know what you’re people are listening to, but what they are HEARING in what they are listening to, So You Think You Can Dance can give you a primer into the hearts and minds of the culture.

Bible Reading update

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while, you know I’ve been reading through the New Testament.  It began with “getting reacquainted with Jesus” as I read through John, then Matthew, Mark, and Luke.  I read Luke last so it would springboard directly into Luke’s follow-up, the book of Acts.

I cruised through the book of Acts, energized by the stories of life change as the church exploded across the known-world at the time. At the same time, it depressed me as we find ourselves today just complaining about our circumstances and coming up with excuse after excuse as to why we aren’t seeing God power at work in transforming lives like we read in the book of Acts.  I haven’t figured it out yet, but I keep asking myself, “What do I need to do to open up the conduit for God’s work and power in the world around me like I read in the New Testament?” 

How about you?  What do you need to do?  Do you have any suggestions for me?

As a side note, there’s something at the end of Acts that has often puzzled me.  In Acts 25, Paul appears before Festus.  During this appearance, Paul pulls his “Roman Citizen” card an appeals to Caesar.  Festus replies, “To Caesar you have appealed; to Caesar you shall go.”

But, as the story plays out, at the end of Acts 26, you find this statement, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.”

What if Paul hadn’t made that appeal?  Would he have been killed in Jerusalem (probably.)  Would he have gone about more missionary Journeys to Italy, Spain, Africa, and beyond?  Would he have never made it to Rome, where he longed to go so bad?  Was appealing to Caesar a “free ticket” way for him to finally get to Rome?  Did Paul’s appeal to Caesar force him to live the rest of his life in chains or under house arrest, when it might not have been necessary?

All these are intesting questions to ask . . . But the best part is this:  God used the circumstances to advance the Gospel (See the rest of Acts).  In all honesty, it didn’t matter if Paul’s appeal to Caesar was really the best course of action.  We serve a BIG God, and He has the ability to use any situation we are in to His advantage.  I don’t have to worry so darn much about whether I need to go this way or that way.  I need to pray, draw near to God, and take a leap of faith.  He’ll lead me in the right way, and He will use it to make His name famous.

Prayer Helps . . .

In this week’s Growth Groups Travel Guide, I promised that I would have some helps for developing an incredible prayer life.

Here’s the links to each of those helps:

Prayer Helps:
A.C.T.S. Acrostic Guide Information
Praying Through Scripture Information
Prayerwalking Information 

Within the next few days, these helps will also be listed on the BuildingChurch.net web site at the following location:

http://buildingchurch.net/discinpers.htm#Prayer

New Series!

It’s late Thursday night . . . and I’m sitting at my computer looking over Eric’s notes for this weeks’ message.  I’m really excited about this next series . . .

We’re talking about PRAYER.  Ok, before you put your head down and catch some Z’s . . . Seriously.  I am PUMPED about this series.

I grew up in church.  I was around praying people my whole life.  But my second year of college, my entire perspective on my faith changed.  I had a roommate, Jonas, who was an incredible intercessor.  Anyone who knew Jonas would say, “You can’t be in prayer for 10 minutes with Jonas without your prayer life changing forever.”  For me, living with Jonas for 9 months didn’t only change my prayer life, it changed my entire life.

I’m really pumped about this series.  I might be sharing some of my own story about my changed perspective toward prayer as I prepare the Travel Guides in the coming weeks.  We’ll have to see what direction we go . . .

I’m also jacked up because this series is leading up to EASTER, which is only 4 Sundays away!  Who are you praying for that is far from God?  Who are you praying and inviting to Journey for Easter Sunday?

Evolving Day 1 Recap

We’re in Atlanta. Day one of the ChurchPlanters.com EVOLVE! conference is now complete.

Before I do a recap . . . continue to pray for our friends in Prattville . . . Mike Mozingo stayed at home, but he sent some of his staff. They don’t really want to be here. The conference is great, but there’s a heart-wrenching need at home. There are a few families in the church that got hit hard by the tornado. There’s also a big opportunity to reach out to disconnected folks. Mike and the parts of the staff that did not come have rallied the church and are making an effort to reach out to the community in a time of need.

Back to the conference:

In the main sessions, Shawn Lovejoy and Steven Furtick both really challenged me. 

Shawn challenged me to raise the bar on self-discipline.  I couldn’t survive in architecture, while working as Growth Groups Coordinator at Journey Church, and still work on a vision for a new church in another state if I wasn’t somewhat disciplined.  I’ve been working hard over the past several months to develop a more standardized schedule to keep my life in order.  Shawn’s talk challenged me to continue the efforts I have been making, and to seriously think about a couple more things I can do. 

Steven slapped me silly today.  In his breakout session, he challenged us about growth.  Our problem isn’t capability.  It’s capacity.  Using an illustration from the Old Testament, he challenged us that God will keep the oil of annointing flowing as long as we keep bringing empty jars to fill.  If we aren’t seeing the result we believe God wants to bless us with, it’s because we ran out of jars before God got done blessing.  Sometimes I find myself coming to God with a mug that will fit conveniently in my cupholder, asking Him to fill it with oil to bless what I am doing.  He’s faithful.  He fills it.  Quite often, my cup overflows.  But, it’s still just a cup.  When was the last time I looked at my convenient little mug, punted it, and found a keg for God to overflow?  Why not a swimming pool?  I’ve been reading a lot lately to sharpen my skills as a leaders.  This is good and needed . . . but more than anything, I need God to enlarge the capacity of my heart to handle the blessings he wants to pour out into me to transform a city and culture with His love, compassion, and wonderful news of abundant life in Jesus!

But Steven didn’t stop there . . . OH, NO . . . Steven had a major session to follow . . . I’ve been working on the vision for a church plant in Baltimore for about 9 months now.  I ought to be ready to birth a baby.  BUT, I got thinking.  Most people know that I am a principle-driven person.  I’m not going to copy what someone else is doing just because it’s cool.  I’m going to look at the principles behind what they are doing and try to reinterpret the principlesto fit my context and giftedness.  But as I sat and listened to Steven today . . . I started to wonder . . . is that far enough?

The vision that develops in me for a church in Baltimore needs to be a vision placed inside me by God.  It needs to ring with my heart, my giftedness, my passions, my personality, and most importantly - MY FAITH IN GOD.  Is the vision I am working with now truly from deep within me, a burning passion wrought by God?  Or is it a creative compilation of a smorgasbord of principles I’ve seen other places, with a “stamp of biblical approval” attached to it?

I’m honestly a little scared to admit that I don’t know the answer to that question at this moment in time.  The very fact that I do not know without a shadow of a doubt the answer to that question, to me is a sign to get on my face before God and do some real business.

Things I do know:

1. I have a burning passion to plant a church.  I got away from it for almost 5 years, but each time even a hint of church planting brushes across the radar screen, my life has gone crazy.  I just can’t get away from it.  I physically can do other things, like design church buildings . . . But I can never be fully content doing it.  I’ve tried to fool myself into it.  It just hasn’t worked.  I know without a shadow of a doubt the God has called me to build His church, and the church is NOT the building . . .
2. I want to plant a church that is focused on one goal: Take people who are far from God and connect them to God and His church.
3. Connecting to the Church is more than attending functions.  I yearn for authentic community. The Church for too long had confused spending time together with community.  Community is so much more than just doing stuff.  It is genuine care and concern.  It is sharing dreams and visions and helping each other accomplish those dreams.
4. This one goal can not be focused on a single community.  God has marked me with a passion for the nations.
5. I can not do it alone.  God has wired me to influence influencers.  I have mentored guys whose ministry has outgrown mine.  I consider this a blessing.
6. I’ve been a wimp about calling others to grab hold of the vision.  I have a network of folks who have said, “I’ll pray about it.”  You know what that really is?  That’s Christianese for, “You have more faith than I do.  I can’t take that big of a step.  I’ll pray for you, but my life is fine just the way it is.”  That means: I am not challenging peoples’ faith enough.  WARNING:  The next time one of those prospective team members tells me, “I’ll pray about it,”  they’re liable to get a Sam’s Club-sized can of, “When are you going to allow your prayers to stop being a hindrance to the answer to your prayers?“  Get off your knees and do something!  Take a step of faith!  I’m a HUGE fan of praying things through . . . but you gotta start seeking and knocking and not just asking!
7. Hypocrisy is not an option.  If I’m going to call people to take a leap of faith, I have to jump off a few cliffs along the way.
8. I have taken way too much time to write this extremely long post.

more to come tomorrow.

Sunday evening thoughts

We had a good Sunday today.  We’re looking forward to getting up early to go to Georgia for the ChurchPlanters.com EVOLVE! conference.  Emily went to bed a little early to catch up on some rest, so I went into my office to pray, think, and look forward to the week ahead.

I spent a good bit of time praying through some compassion-related stuff that I’ve been thinking a lot about lately.  As I have been praying about what our “target segment” will be in Baltimore, I am also praying through the most effective way to reach such a segment.  I can’t escape the “target segment” that Jesus had during his ministry.

But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matt 9:12-13)

We have committed ourselves to intentionally develop a church plant that will focus on people who are far from God.  We don’t want to plant a church for Christians.  But, in a culture that is increasingly antagonistic toward the Church (not necessarily the Gospel, but the Church), how can you reach people who are far from God?

Jesus knew the answer.  People with big needs are more receptive than those who don’t have needs.  As we focus on our “target segment,” we need to prayerfully consider a “subtarget” of people with a big need.  Whether that need is related to alcohol/drugs, financial issues, loneliness, or whatever . . . concentrating on a significant need will help us gain respect among our larger segment, and will draw people closer to Jesus . . . Because we are BEING Jesus to them, not just PREACHING Jesus to them.

I’m not a mercy-driven person.  I think back to my time in seminary as my colleagues would laugh at my inability to identify with shut-ins and people in the hospital.  The humor I once found now is a bit tragic.  God gives different people different spiritual gifts.  I will never change my position on that.  It’s Biblical.  BUT, we should never use our lack of giftedness as an excuse to be un-Christ-like!  I have done this as it relates to compassion.  I’ve allowed my heart to become hard.  I’m praying earnestly for God to soften my heart toward a specific need in the target segment of Baltimore He is calling us to.

As I write this, I am watching the news.  Less than a mile away from Journey Church, Millbrook, AL, an apparent tornado has ripped through Prattville, AL.  A person I consider a good friend and mentor, Mike Mozingo is the pastor of Journey Church in Millbrook.  We are supposed to meet up at the conference this week. As I read the news online and watched it on TV, I had to pause and pray for Mike and his ministry.  I don’t know if the situation in his area will keep him from making it to the conference or not.  I imagine that if it does, the opportunities he may have helping the people in Prattville and Millbrook at this time may be immensely more valuable than a bunch of big-wig church planters talking about the good stuff God is doing in their ministries.

I’m looking forward to hearing from these guys.  I usually go to these conferences listening for some great leadership principle I can seek to apply to my life.  Leadership principles are good, but I have a little bit different ears on this year.  I want to hear how their churches are “being Jesus” in what they are doing.  Is their success the result of “being Jesus” to their area?  I know Gary Lamb and some of the other guys are really reaching disconnected people.  I want to listen for the clues to making that step . . . not how to build a bigger and better church . . . but how to reach those far from God!  I grew up as a church nerd.  I need help!

Woah!  This post got kinda long!

Reacquainted with Jesus

As many of you know, I’ve been working my way through the Gospels for several months now.  I study through about a chapter a day, sometimes less.  Anyway . . . I have worked through John, Matthew, and Mark.  I just started Luke this week.  I’m calling this extended study “reacquainted with Jesus.”  It’s been a long time since I read carefully through the Gospels, and I figured “where better to start getting myself prepared for ministry than with Jesus?”

Probably the one thing that has stood out to me over and over is Jesus’ compassion.  Jesus was a strong leader–people followed him.  Jesus was an incredible communicator–people listened to him.  Jesus was incredibly courageous–people were astonished by him.  All these are great qualities of a leader and people strive for these qualities.  BUT, how often do we honestly look at Jesus’ compassion as a mark of a truly great leader. 

Reading through Gospels, I am convinced that Jesus was a strong leader because he had compassion on people.  I am convinced that Jesus was an incredible communicator because he has compassion on those he spoke to.  I am convinced that Jesus was incredibly courageous because his compassion for instilling truth in those around him compelled him.

I can read a lot of books about becoming a better leader.  I can read a lot about communicating more effectively.  I can read about how to overcome fear and be a courageous leader.

I don’t think you can become more compassionate by reading a book.  You become more compassionate by watching the people around you and responding to their needs.  True compassion takes practice.

I am convinced that learning to open my eyes and ears to what is going on around me and responding with the compassion of Jesus is the key to being a great leader as we venture out to plant a church.  I need to practice compassion.

What about you?

True Religion (4 of 4)

It’s Saturday, so I need to finish up the “True Religion” series before we start a new idea at Journey tomorrow.

To recap, we’ve been doing a blog follow-up series on Matt. 6:1-18.  We asked the question, “What if Jesus preached this passage today?  What religious activities would he talk about?”

We finish up the series by discussing the “religious activity” of evangelism . . .

Evangelism

When you share your faith, do not be like the hypocrites. For they schedule their evangelism and target people with no regard for the person they are targeting. The number in a book is their reward. Instead, invest in peoples’ lives quietly, living an exemplary life before them, taking advantage of the opportunities to share truth day by day. Then your Father who sees your quiet influence will reward you.

Churches spend countless hours in “Evangelism Training Programs.”  There’s Evangelism Explosiong, F.A.I.T.H., L.I.F.E., Share Jesus Without Fear, and countless other programs out there to help Christ followers know how to share their faith.  The premise behind each and every one of these programs is necessary.  We need to spend time helping people understand how to share their faith in Jesus.  Additionally, many of these programs offer a scheduled time during the week to go out into the community and practice sharing your faith.  This offers accountability to be about the business of sharing your faith.

However, recent research has shown that the results of these efforts may actually be doing more harm than good.  (If you want more on this, go buy and read UnChristian– it’s a must-read for 21st Century American Christians!)  People who are outside of the Christian faith see our “scheduled” evangelism as being EQUAL TO Mormons and JW’s coming and knocking on doors.  You know how YOU feel about those groups . . . People see us the same way!

The other big cmplaint revealed in UnChristian is that this tactic makes people feel like they are a target . . . That we only care about them to get them to agree with us.  The reverse should be true . . . We should want them to agree with us because we care about them.  The only way to overcome this is not to turn every conversation into a “you must accept Jesus” message.

When my wife (I love you, Emily!) comes to me with something she’s struggling with, she doesn’t always want me to “fix it.” Sometimes she just needs to vent. Sometimes she just wants me to hug her and let her know I will be with her through the situation.  Sometimes she does want a word of wisdom.  Sometimes she really does want me to fix it.

Our relationships with outsiders should be approached the same way.  The key word: LISTEN!  Listen to what they have to say.  Try to empathize with them.  Try to understand their perspective.  Demonstrate you genuinely care about them and what they think.  THEN, you will probably get enough of their respect to actually share the Gospel with them in a meaningful way.  You may even get a response.

I’ll be honest.  I’m really bad about this one.  It’s a lot easier for me to talk to people cold-call about Jesus.  It’s harder to talk to people I know.  THIS IS REALLY STUPID!!!  I mean, for real.  If the Gospel is really as important and essential to true life as I claim it is, I wouldn’t worry about losing a friendship like I do with people I know.  AND, if the Gospel is truly about expressing the LOVE of GOD, I would want to build relationships with them in conjunction to sharing the Gospel.

I’m a real idiot on the evangelism thing.  This last topic was last for a reason, because I need your prayers to help me see people the way God sees them.  My maturity as a Christ follower depends on it.  My future in ministry depends on it.  My ability to influence the world around me depends on it.

Until next time . . .

True Religion (3 of 4+)

I’ve gone nuts this week.  Sorry for the delay in part 3 . . .

We get back to Matthew 6:1-18 and ask, What if Jesus taught this passage today?  What would he talk about?

Today, we suggest:

Discipleship and Bible Studies

When you study the Bible, you must not be like the hypocrites who chase after every source of information available so that their knowledge amazes the people around them. Their knowledge is their reward. Instead, study your Bible carefully, expecting God to transform your heart. And your Father who knows your heart will reward you.

Studying our Bible is a vital “religious” activity.  After all, the Bible is the record of God’s revelation of Himself to us.  Everything that we can know about God comes from the Bible.  However, in many Christian circles, our definition of “discipleship” has become the quest to attain more knowledge or to work through a checklist of specific tasks/studies, etc.

Additionally, many times our Bible Studies actually care very little about what we’re studying in the Bible.  I know one church that is so enamored with one particular Bible Study author that they will cancel all other studies when the author comes out with something new.  It doesn’t matter that the author is leading them to study.  It’s all about the author.

As previously mentioned, sometimes we develop some in-depth “discipleship program” to walk through.  Is this program teaching information?  Is it teaching folks nebulous “how to’s” without putting it in a practical context to result in life transformation? 

At Journey Church, the leadership often says that if Christians would truly apply even HALF of what they already know, they would change the world.  Instead, we spend our time trying to gain more knowledge and it never fully makes the jump to transforming our lives.

True Bible Study results in a transformed life . . . not just around your Christian friends, but a transformed life that shines at light in the world.  That’s what a true discipleship looks like.  That’s what TRUE RELIGION looks like.