Awkward Questions about Jesus

Thanks to Tim Stevens for this priceless piece of cinematography.

Innovate Highlights Part Deux

Had a great second day at Innovate. Here is what Francis Chan, Ed Stetzer and Perry Noble had to say. No notes from the afternoon session because I spent that time with Jack Bauer saving the world.

Francis Chan

Honestly, I just could not keep up with the guy, he spoke with both passion and speed and I would have missed the experience if I stopped to take notes. The only written note in my moleskine during this session was his remark that "I always think I'm funnier than other people."

In order to check out his entire Innovate message head over to www.innovatechurch.us. It is worth the click.

Ed Stetzer

-We need to live gospel-centered, repentance-filled lives.

-If Satan cannot compromise our beliefs, he's more than happy to compromise our character.

-Secret sins are only that way for a short time.

-Your sin can sap your church's spiritual power.

-The Church's toleration of sin distracts from the mission.

-A return to God's mission begins with a repentance towards God's standards.

-Just because your life is filled with sin, does not mean you have to be comfortable with it.

-Sin grows and will define your life if you do not confess it before God.

Perry Noble

-Q1: What is it that God wants to do in my church?

-Q2: What are the barriers that stand in the way?

-Q3: What do we want to celebrate?

-The older son (Luke 15) was so busy doing the work that he had no time to commune with his father.

-It takes time and effort.

-If we want to reach the world, we have to work hard to get it done.

-You can't lead by personal preferences.

-You can't enjoy the blessings of God when you are focused on what God is giving others.

-The older son had no idea what he had access to.

-"...but we had to celebrate!" Luke 15:32

I'm looking forward to some more challenges this morning...

Innovate Highlights

Here is some of what I'm learning at the Innovate 09 Conference.

Eric Geiger (Simple Church):
-Everything else is drowning out the sweet smell of the gospel.
-Drift never corrects itself. It always needs to be addressed.
-"Religion is the deep default of the human heart." -Martin Luther
-View discipleship as a whole process not just a part.
-You do not want to compete against yourself.
-Behavior from important people in the organization that is contrary to vision overwhelms the entire process.
-Remove the clutter.

Kerry Shook (Fellowship of the Woodlands):
-It's not the size of the church that is important, it is the life change.
-Q: What would I do If I knew I only had one month to live?"
-Q: What would I do if I knew our church only had one month to live?
-Live passionately. Love completely. Learn humbly. Leave boldly.
-Are you allowing God to do everything He wants to d0 in in your life and ministry?

That was yesterday, now today begins with Francis Chan and closes with Perry Noble. It should be good.

Learning from Others

There are a few conferences I get to go to.
There are many more that I catch online.
And there are a whole bunch that I catch via live blogging...

Here is a sampling of what I missed at Catalyst West last week:

“Lukewarm pastors build lukewarm churches.” – Craig G

“Never compare yourself to anybody….but learn from everybody.” - Warren

“Forget time management….it’s about energy management.” - Warren

“You can’t win your enemies to Christ…you can only win your FRIENDS to Christ! - Warren

“I’m addicted to changed lives….that’s my agenda” – Warren

“When you create something great you will create conflict.” – G Kawasaki

“The higher you go in any organization the higher the complexity and uncertainty.” – Stanley

“Retreat to your vision.” – Stanley

“You can be uncertain as a leader…but you can not be unclear” – Stanley

“Inventors must stay in a state of denial” - G Kawasaki

Thanks to Buddy Creamans for the insights.

The Stages of the Masculine Journey

On Tuesday evening I got to hear John Eldredge speak about much of what is in his newest book Fathered By God. If you enjoyed Wild at Heart, you'll be drawn in by FBG as well.

Here is just some of what I walked away with that evening:

• There are six stages of the masculine journey, the first of which is boyhood.
• During boyhood we live "in a world made safe by your father."
• This is when we seek the answer to the question: "Can I do it?"

• At about age 13, we enter into the cowboy stage and begin to ask "Do I have what it takes?"
• If we don't get the answer we long for, we tend to then avoid risks and simply settle for the status quo and camp out in what we are already good at.

• During the ensuing warrior stage we enter into a grander battle, that of good v. evil.
• It is now that we need a mission, we need to know that we are powerful and dangerous and we need to develop inner discipline.
• Eldredge comments that "The way God trains the warrior is by putting him into battles."

• In our early 20's we enter the stage of the lover. Although it takes a woman to awaken the heart of a lover, this stage is not primarily about romance but about the awakened heart.
• "Men hide in reason and logic but it is in the heart that we find action--faith, hope, worship, love, convictions..."
• "I run in the path of your commands because you have set my heart free." -King David

• In our 40's we enter into the king stage which may be the most difficult of all.
• The question is: When can you trust a man with power? The answer is: After he has been initiated, then he is worthy.
• God wants to take you back and initiate you.

• Around age 55 or so, we then step into the stage of the sage.
• As a sage we may look after a smaller kingdom but we wield a greater influence.

As I walked away from this casual talk, I prayed "Father, show me what you are doing, father me through the stages of my life."

Flutter: The New Twitter

It is just so darn hard to keep up...

Servolution

Here is our most recent press release highlighting what we are doing around Destiny...

LEESBURG, VIRGINIA. MARCH 18, 2009 -Churches all over the world are joining together for a SERVOLUTION-a 7-day movement during the week between Palm Sunday and Easter that is geared towards serving local communities. Healing Place Church launched SERVOLUTION-a revolution through serving-which has evolved over the last 16 years while serving the Baton Rouge community in south Louisiana with events like free water give-a-ways, disaster relief efforts, and homeless outreaches. Now, with over 140 churches on board, representing almost 300,000 people, the culture of serving has spread from state to state, and the week of SERVOLUTION has become a focus for many.

In Leesburg, Destiny Church is launching a week long Food Drive in front of the Bloom on King Street and then giving that same food away to bless local families. The Food Drive in front of Bloom goes from April 6-10 and the Food Giveaway is on Saturday April 11th at the Public Safety Center on Plaza Street. “This is our opportunity to help meet some real needs in our community” comments Todd Erickson, a pastor with Destiny.

From California to New York, from Peru to New Zealand, churches around the globe are joining 7 days of SERVOLUTION in order to impact their local communities through small deeds done with great love, which comes at a time in the economy when people are in need of hope and encouragement.

“We believe in serving the local community; it’s our DNA,” said Greg Wigfield, Lead Pastor of Destiny Church. “We are actively pursuing the hurting, the forgotten, and the poor to show them a God who is passionately in love with them."

For information go to Destiny Church or Servolution.

The Dating Game

I am so glad to not have had to play the Dating Game over the last 21 years....

Follow this link to a very funny Labor Day Dating Game.

My favorite quote is near the end..."the maps".

Posted using ShareThis

Two Books are Making Me Think...

Right now I'm in the middle of three books and two of them are really challenging me...

Killing Cockroaches and Other Scattered Musings on Leadership by Tony Morgan

I'm reading Tony's book as a pdf since it has just begun to ship this week. My advice to you is to be the first kid on your block with a copy of this comical, yet challenging treatise. There are some great stories on these pages and there are also some significant challenges to take to heart. I can guarantee you that you will find something in here for you. Cockroaches is written in a short chapter format, so if you are one to read on the subway, in between traffic lights or on the throne, then you can handle this book.

For those who are leaders in a church context or if you are aspiring to become a leader in a church setting, then get this book and learn some practical principles from Tony as well as some of the key thought leaders in that area.

Lasting Impressions, From Visiting to Belonging by Mark Waltz
I can say this about Lasting Impressions: it has helped me to do my job better. Mark brings clarity to what often becomes a murky gray area. It seems obvious to me that churches would lay out clear steps for people to grow in their relationship with Jesus, but it ain't as easy as it sounds.

Lasting Impressions will help you to encourage people to move from the public to the social to the personal and then ultimately to the intimate relationships that will challenge them in their relationship with Jesus. Mark's words will help you to, as it says on the back jacket, "honor God as you offer your best to your people--and your community".

The third book I'm currently into is The Year of Living Biblically by A.J. Jacobs. The Year is an often off color "Super Size Me"-like look into biblical rules and regulations. Don't get me wrong, I'm liking this book, but the other two are really bringing challenge to my world.

Economic Downturn?

How has our current economic downturn impacted your company? your church? your personal budget?

Have you had to update your logo like Apple might?

Check These Guys Out...

www.ministrymonkey.com

Gregisms

On Sunday, Destiny began 40 Days of Love. This week Greg gave us a message called "Our Greatest Goal". Here is some of what he had to say:

• I'm your love doctor today.
• If you had one month to live, how would you feel about your (love assessment) grade?
• The best use of life is love.
• Even after becoming Christians, we still sin.
• The reality is people will forget all about your work and accomplishments.
• You already know more than the greatest doctors and physicists knew 100 years ago...we've got to change what we do.
• The best time to love is now...you thought I said the best time to leave is now, but those are just our singers coming up front...

If you missed this week's message, you can listen here.

Weekend Snapshots

Annapolis was cold but beautiful this weekend. We had a great time!

This is NOT the boat we stayed on this weekend.

Neither is this one. 

We chose to stick to land and with the help of Hotwire 

we pretended like we could afford the Westin for the weekend.

Chick and Ruth fed us a great breakfast in perhaps the smallest booth we've ever sat in.

We had an incredible time away and are already planning

next year's anniversary excursion.

Husbands, love your wives...

Every time I read Ephesians 5 and get to the admonition: "Husbands love your wives", I can't help but think about the start of a Nascar race: "Gentlemen, start your engines". But I digress...

Although I have not done this nearly enough in my 21 year marriage, I am convinced of the great value of farming out the kids and getting away with your spouse on a regular basis. For Maureen, this is one of the most practical ways for me to show her how much I love and adore her. 

So, tomorrow, on our 21st wedding anniversary, we are heading over to Annapolis, Maryland to "get away from it all" for a little while. No pets, no kids, no jobs, just us.  And thanks to Hotwire we get to stay at a four star hotel at a roach motel price. I look forward to making this investment into my marriage this weekend.

What are you investing in this weekend?

Someone is probably watching...

Check out this LINK.

And the moral of this story is, don't sell bumper stickers at your church.

This is funny stuff...

The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c

Ed You

ng

Colbert at Christmas
Colbert Christmas DVD

Green Screen
Bill O'Reilly Interview

I like it when a totally legitimate pastor gets air time on a great show like Colbert!

Are you with me?

I'm seriously considering a half marathon this year but am enjoying the easy pace of my morning 5k.

I've been in this place spiritually as well and know that sometimes you have to shake things up to make it fresh. Maybe a different routine, praying in a different place (or out loud), engaging in a fast, or memorizing whole chapters of the Bible.

Whatever it is, if you want to reach big goals, then you have to do some radical things. For me to reach my half marathon goal, I will need to increase my morning run distance and to gain more of God's heart, I will change how I pray by praying through some of the classic Scriptural prayers and making them mine.

How about you?

Also known as the elevator test...

I'm reading through a pdf copy of Tony Morgan's new book Killing Cockroaches and came upon this question on page 29:

At Destiny, I think we have this one down: 

-From your Sunday morning experience, you can head to 101 to learn more about Destiny or to Starting Point to engage in conversation about your growing faith. 

-From there you can connect with others in a more social Married Life Live event or at a Men's or Women's event. 

-And then, the place where we hope everyone can grow, is in our message-based Life Groups where we go deeper with Sunday's message together in groups of 10-14.

Now, would you like paper or plastic?

I'm a sucker for something free... VII

After every high school swim meet, my daughter's swim team converges on our local Ihop. I wonder if they have a meet on Tuesday, February 24th? (which, as everybody knows, is Free Pancake Day at Ihop). 

Give a little cash to the Children's Miracle Network and enjoy your stack of three pancakes....I'm guessing the swim team will.

Would you use your coffin as your luggage?

I'm reading a book by Mark Batterson called Wild Goose Chase and in the Chapter 7 (Coming out of the Cage of Fear) he talks about a group of early 20th century missionaries called "one way missionaries". They were called this because they packed all of their earthly belongings into coffins and purchased one way tickets when they departed for the mission field. They knew they would never return home.

The story is told of one such missionary named A.W. Milne who felt called to a tribe of headhunters in the New Hebrides. All the other missionaries to this tribe had been martyred but that didn't keep Milne from chasing the Wild Goose. He lived among the tribe for 35 years and never returned home. When the tribe buried him, they wrote the following epitaph on his tombstone:  

"When he came there was no light. 

When he left there was no darkness."

How will my epitaph read?  How about yours?

2009, The Year of the Budget

My wife and I have spent 20 years in and out of family budgets. Ok, mostly out of. We've not gone bankrupt or lost a home but we have not been wise stewards either. That stops with 2009.

My short term goal is that by the end of this weekend, we will have a workable budget that will help us to save and give more. I'm looking to Joe Sangl to help us through this process and I'm looking to God to guide our decisions and give us discipline.

What are you doing this weekend? Wild Card Football?

New Year, New Moleskine

"No one pours new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins.
-Jesus in Luke 5:37-38

As 2009 starts, I'm 201 pages into my current 236 page Moleskine notebook. The good steward of our planet in me says to go ahead and use up the 35 remaining pages but the New Year equals new beginnings thinker needs me to break open the cellophane on a new notebook.

I've chosen the latter and as I begin this cathartic experience I'd like to invite you to ask God what he has for you in 2009. Dream big and write those dreams down so that you fill the pages of your life with the richness of an overflowing relationship with God. 

After all, He is the one who said "I came that they might have life, and have it to the fullest." My prayer for  you is that your 2009 is full.