big picture

I was putting up the letters on our sign the other day and turned to walk away until I decided to step back and see it from the bigger picture. I soon realized that the words were not even and it looked out of place. So, I quickly went back and fixed them. This is like life! Sometimes we get so into our small little world, that we fail to see the bigger picture. At C3, it is pivital that we realize that every small ministry and person is a piece in a bigger picture of the overall vision. But many times that is hard to see when you right in the middle of it. We must continually step back and reevaluate how what we do fits in the bigger puzzle. Sometimes we need to make adjustments that will benefit the bigger picture. So, have you thought about how what you do fits into God's bigger plan? Maybe take some time to step back and look at the bigger picture.

interns

They have arrived! The newest addition to the C3 team....Thad and Trevor, our interns. These guys are gold! They have moved here and are living with a family in the church in order to be a part of what God is doing. During there time here, they will get their certified ministers license through the Ohio School of Ministry and will be trained in many facets of church leadership. Our heart at C3 is to raise up leaders who will make a difference in this world. Both Thad and Trevor feel a calling by God to be in the ministry in some form. They have already done so much and will not only work with us but with the ministries of the state level as well. Both have jumped in head first and we are excited they are on the C3 Team. They are the beginning of a larger dream to have an intership/leadership training program for younger leaders to grow and develop into all that God has called them to be.
I believe Jesus was very intentional about who he was discipling. With only 3 short years of ministry on this earth, He did His best to put the majority of His time into 12, who would change the then known world. Then shortly before leaving, He instructs His disciples to go and make more disciples. So His model was that of intentional discipling. Who are you discipling? Who is pouring into you? Food for thought.

Verizon experience

CRAZY! Today I'm walking in the Verizon store just as they were opening and something very strange was going on. As I'm opening the door, the lady behind the counter looks at me with this slight panic look and waves her hands at me not to come in. I couldn't see the rest of the store, just her face and her attempt to stop me from entering. I'm thinking is the joint being robbed, hostages, bombs, what? So I stopped, didn't go in and let the door close. I'm walking quickly to my car thinking, what should I do? If I call the cops and it's nothing, I've wasted others time and maybe some embarrassment on my part. If I don't and it is something, I would regret it forever. So I called the police and watched the door for a while and then ran some other errands. I came back 45 minutes later to fine that all was well. I found out that the manager had left the front door cracked open all night and the workers showed at 10am and couldn't get the front door alarm sensors to shut off. The clerk who came in the back was stopping me from tripping the censors. Whew! But it got me thinking about my choices, how they could effect others and how they play into eternity. How many decisions have you regretted making or not making? The clarifying question for me this morning was...."What will be the right call 5 years from now?" Better safe than sorry in this case.

Seeing God

This was the view from the back porch of the little cabin we stayed in. Walking out on that deck you can only hear birds singing and the wind moving through the trees. In a place like that (for me anyway) I feel so close to God. It was almost as if God Himself was out on that porch saying "Can you see me now?". I could feel the presence of God amongst His creation because there was a sense of "wonder". The kind of "wonder" I think that get's lost in the crazy rush of life. The "wonder" that you must stop, take a deep breath to appreciate. The "wonder" that speaks deep within your soul that can only come from a Maker to His creation. God speaks to me through His creation, but what about you? How does God reveal His "wonder" to you? And...are you taking time to recieve it?

10th Anniversary trip

Currently, my Keri and I are sitting in a Pizza shop in Gatlinburg, TN. We are on a getaway for our 10th anniversary, to a quaint little cabin, nestled high up in the Great Smokey Mountains! (Thanks Julie for the cabin!) It is soooo beautiful and we are totally relaxing and enjoying the time with just each other. We are recharging our batteries and detoxing from the fast pace of life. We all need this right? But why is it so hard to drop everything and get away. Sometimes we neglect the most important things in life (usually our family) to continue to run this crazy pace. In my case, God told me to love my Keri and my family and that He would build His church.

pain threshold

I think it was CS Lewis who had a quoted saying how pain was life's megaphone, and I think he is right. Pain shapes us in so many ways. With my ironman triathlon aspirations, I add smaller amounts daily to prepare for the great amount on race day. With my role as a pastor and leader my pain threshold is the limitation for how far C3 will go. My pain threshold must continually go up, if this church is to grow. Decisions must be made that will be pivital to growth or decline. We all have a pain threshold but don't realize many times when we have hit it. Whether it is allowing something to continue that should be ended, or dealing with someone on a tough issues. When this is the case, the vision takes a back seat to the pain we fear. In order to increase our pain threshold, our vision must be bigger than our pain. It is so easy to lose the big picture in the tyranny of the urgent and we try to bypass the pain in order feel better now. In doing so, we void God's vision because of our low pain threshold. Where is your current pain threshold? Is it limiting you from doing the right thing?

Ironman

Development or fulfillment that is the question. Or can you have both? I am currently training for an Ironman triathlon. It breaks down to a 2.4 mile swim followed by a 112 mile bike ride and finished up with a 26.2 mile run, for a total of 140.6 miles of grueling pain. I am currently developing my skills and fitness in the different areas to hopefully accomplish the goal in September. There is no way anyone should ever attempt to do something like this with out the prior development and training. But we do this in life. We want fulfillment now! We want it without work and don't wan't to invest time. Now by doing so, our level of fulfillment will never be where it could have been had we taken the time and energy to develop. In my life, I'm focusing on developing myself as a child of God, husband, father, pastor, leader and triathlete to name a few. In doing so, I am reaping some fulfillment now, but am looking forward to even greater fulfillment years down the road. Jesus said "you reap what you sow". So in what areas of your life are you developing?

Candy Hearts

I don't know about you, but I love these things. I admit, I have issues when it comes to these hearts. Eating just a few is out of the question. When I was younger even researched to see if there was a Necco club I could join.....but I never heard back. Although I did learn that there are over 100 sayings on the hearts and that they have made over 250 BILLION hearts. Also, if you put all the hearts ever made, back to back it would wrap around the world more than 40 times. That's all for needless trivia for now. One thing I love about these hearts is seeing what is written on the hearts. I'm even making my Keri a love note by pasting some hearts on a paper. (she don't read my blog enough to see this....dial up at home!) Let me ask you, what is written on your heart? Is it something other than Jesus Christ? Is it pain or bitterness? Perhaps, something or someone else has the headline on your heart. The Bible talks about us "guarding our hearts, for they are the wellspring of life."

Enjoy your Valentines Day!

There it is! One of the most amazing meals on the face of the planet, the Chipotle burrito. A symbol, a statement, a trademark and for me, and addiction. The other day as I was admiring my favorite meal and I began to think. (Scary thing I know) Why does it taste so good? I then had an epiphany! (HA) It tastes sooo good because it is a mixture of several kinds of food. Tortilla, rice, beans, tomatoes, cheese, meat, the list can go on and on. They work together in unity to form an addictingly delicious taste. It is amazing to watch C3 Church beginning to form that same kind of UNITY! We have some very different people who add to the amazing flavor our new thriving church. God is building His Burrito and He is bringing in new ingredients every week.......I'm getting hungry again....gotta go.

Evolve Youth Ministry

Awesome! Yesterday, C3 Church launched our Youth Ministry last night. We had 40 in attendance with leaders! Corbin Huffman is taking the reigns and working with an incredible youth staff. Our new church plant actually has 8 former youth pastors here. So Corbin will definitely get all the help he needs. Yesterday as well in the main service, we mentioned that we are looking to going to 2 services because we are growing. It is truly amazing to be a part of something like this. God's favor is on C3 church in an incredible way! We just keep moving forward knowing that God never gives a vision without following it through with His provision!

Gary

There he is, one of the major players God has called to accomplish the "Dent" in this world! Gary was hired on full time by C3 Church this past Monday. His title is "Executive Director". He is the one who make sense of all the madness. We had talked about planting a church a couple of years ago when it was a "dream". Now we are living the realty! God is in this thing, no doubt! This is a big step in the future of C3 Church and only God knows how far this dream will go. But until we pass from this earth, we will chase what God has entrusted to us with all of our being. Dreaming big!

What are you dreaming about?

frozen pipe

Yesterday, it happened! A frozen pipe busted in the ceiling of our office area at C3 church. Thank goodness Gary was there to turn the water off and get it cleaned up. Had he not been there, it could have been an insurance call for sure. We have now taken some measures to ensure it doesn't happen again. One of which is to trickle the water when it gets real cold. Moving water does not freeze and in so doing, can't expand and break the pipes. I think that is alot like us as Christians. As long as we are moving forward and pursuing God all is well. God is pouring in and we are pouring out. The problem comes when there is no movement and we become frozen. When this happens we usually have some pressure issues that we will take out on each other. In churches, I have seen that when the people lose sight of the big picture (Great Commission) and begin focusing inward, they turn on each other and an explosion ensues. Then there is a mess that will continue until the movement begins again. How about you? Do you have some pressure issues, and are they because there is no movement in your life?

Seattle Starbucks

Got a couple hours to hang in Seattle. So I had to find a Starbucks. I was with a college student who didn't know where the closest one was. I told him that I had heard that you never have to walk more than a couple of blocks to find one in Seattle. So we walked a block and sure enough found that sweet nectar from heaven. Of course as most people from Ohio, I probably looked like a total tourist while getting my picture. We actually even had some people laughing at us, which I of course made the most of. I love to experience different cultures and cities, but THERE IS NO PLACE LIKE HOME. There is such a comfort that comes with familiarity that draws us back to what we know. Just make sure you step out of your box once in a while to live life a little bigger.

White Pass Washington

WOW! Yesterday, I left Columbus Ohio at 8:35am on a plane for 5-6hrs and arrived in Seattle, jumped in a car for another 4hrs to get to this campground out in the middle of the wilderness. I went for a run early this morning and the views were breathtaking. I feel so small running next to the snowcapped mountains on a winding dirt road surrounded by enormous pine trees. I don't know how anyone can see something like this and not believe in God. It was like the land was shouting praises to their KING in perfect silence. God is soooooo good.
Last night we saw God do some cool things in students lives as we talked about "labels". Who or what do we allow to label us, and how does God see us? The students then wrote on some labels what others have spoken over them that God would disagree with and then ripped them up.

family day

I'm flying out tomorrow morning for Seattle to do a winter camp for a buddies church in Renton WA. So I'm taking a day off to just spend with my family. Plans for today, not many. I used to struggle taking a day off knowing that I had so much that still had to be done. I really try now to focus on my kids and wife on days like these. They are truly the most important things to me in this world and God did say for me to love my family and that HE would build HIS church. I am continually working toward balance. So I gotta go and hang with my most prize possessions. Peace out!