infrastructure

When I look in the mirror I see a very "slender" (not skinny...lol) individual. Although I am 6'3'' in height, looking at my skeletal structure, it's easy to see that I was not meant to carry a lot of weight around. If I were to gain 100lbs of muscle or fat, my frame could not carry it.
Looking at C3 and where we are heading very quickly with our new building going up, we could realistically double in a matter of weeks when the doors are open. If our infrastructure can't handle all the weight of new people through community groups, assimilation to get involved, feeling cared for, etc, we will crumble. Thus the reason for staffing not for where we are, but for where we are going.
I think it's crazy how we as church leaders pray for MORE, but aren't in the place to be good stewards if God were to come through. Rather, we should be like the widow in the Bible who rounded up as many containers as she could to be filled with oil, THEN GOD FILLED ALL SHE HAD PREPARED. What are you preparing for God to fill?

incredible song

I watched this song on youtube and wept through the whole thing. I was overcome with how much God loves me and the lost. You have to check it out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JoC1ec-lYps&feature=related

from my readings

This morning I jumped to the book of Ecclesiastes and meditated on Ecc 7:14 which says "On a good day, enjoy yourself; On a bad day, examine your conscience. God arranges for both kinds of days so that we won't take anything for granted."
- The phrase the "God arranges both" got me thinking about how God shapes us. Just like with weight training or running, I push hard and tear muscle and then back off to let it repair stronger than before. On my next bad day, I want to ask God what I can learn from this. This verse also challenged me to savor the good days because they are a gift from God. So be thankful for whatever kind of day you are having....b/c they are both from God.

C3's new hire

C3 would like to welcome Brent and Starla Salyers to the team! Starting September 1st Brent will come on board as our "Family Life Director." He will work with our current kids classroom directors to take our kids ministry to the next level. In the main C3 Kids Church room we are looking to have live characters with an interactive stage with doors and puppet stages built in. The teaching will be done interacting with the live characters and he will help get us there. Brent will also work with our current Youth Directors to help them continue to move forward as well. His third area to oversee would be with our Community Groups.
I have known and worked with Brent and Starla on several occasions and have grown to love them. It is amazing being able to build your dream team......and we've only just begun!

faith like potatoes

Keri and I just finished watching the movie "Faith Like Potatoes," and all I can think is....my faith is so small. Why do I dream so small when the God I serve is so big that He is limitless? Why do I allow my human limitations to shrink my view of who God is and what He is capable of? The world has yet to see the impact of one believer who's life was totally surrendered to God. May we live lives worthy of the price we have been bought with.

interns leaving/parade/race

We have been incredibly blessed for the past 6 weeks to have 2 amazing interns spend their summer with us. They have worked tirelessly on a wide range of projects that have helped C3 to continue to move forward. We are going to miss Coryn and Jordan more than they know. They have truly blessed us and now feel like a real part of the C3 family! We have to say goodbye to them tomorrow!
The Violet Festival parade went well. We had around 40 C3'ers walking and ended up handing out 1,000 balloons and a boat load of candy. Our band rocked it out again on our float and our people had some great conversations with others asking about our church. Also, I finished 4th (10:56) in the 2mile "Downtown Dash" that ran the parade course and got a medal....i love medals. It was cool having a ton of people cheering you on the whole time.

Fast and Furious

Today, we met with the sound/light/video professionals to figure out what is needed and what it will cost....ouch! Today, we have had a church full of students and our interns helping get our parade float done. We are attempting to fill and hand out 1,200 helium balloons with our C3 logo and website on them. I am running the 2 mile parade race 15 minutes prior to the parade starting and then will keep on running to our float and walk it again. It should be fun.
It is awesome to see our building coming together at hyper speed now. It will up and running before we know it! Also, I have been praying and hammering out our 5 year vision for growth and expansion. That kind of thinking gets me fired up!.....that's all for right now.

buidling is happening

I look out the window of C3 and can't help but see bulldozers, dump trucks and backhoe's! I can't believe that we are finally building. Some would say that we are moving extremely fast for a new church plant, but for me it almost feels slow. They have already demolished much of our current parking lot and will have the new parking lot in gravel by Sunday! It is truly exciting to be a part of a church that is growing and moving forward.

Violet Festival

Starting today our city is having our 3 day Violet Festival. There will be more than 40,000 people show up to be a part of the festivities. C3 will be represented throughout the weekend at that "Family Fun Tent," the parade with a float and perhaps a couple runners in the Downtown Dash 2 mile run. I love the "small town" feel of Pickerington. I love my city.....and am praying for God to use us to help change us.

Trans Am

Driving down the highway today and I saw an older guy driving a Trans Am. You could tell that he was feeling pretty cool about himself and his car. It got me thinking about how much of the quality of our lives, comes down to what we think about ourselves. If we feel cool, attractive or accepted in our minds, then our lives are are so much better. Have you ever seen the guy wearing something so far out of style that he thinks is still cool? For him, in his mind, it is cool and he is the only one he has to live with. So much of life, is what goes on in our own heads. Today I salute the "Trans Am old guy!"
Wow....I hope that ramble even made the slightest bit of sense.

home

Sunday, Keri and I literally lounged most of the day in a hotel room. We we so lazy, I almost felt guilty! That night we had a good service at Calvary A/G of Lynnfield MA. We jumped on a plane from Logan airport (Boston) and returned home. It's amazing how much you can miss your kids when you are gone for a week! It's good to be home. I feel refreshed and am ready to hit the ground running. Speaking of ground, the bulldozer was at work on our property today and I can't wait to see it first thing tomorrow morning!

emergency room

Today, we had the day off in New Hampshire and we were heading to the mountains with some close friends, when we stopped at a pizza place for lunch. I was eating with my good friend, when he complained of being hot and stood up to walk around and then almost collapsed. I grabbed him and set him down as he was about to pass out. All of this happened within 5-10 minutes. Looking into his eyes I could tell he was out of it. There happened to be a doctor eating next to us (thank God) who jumped in and took over till the squad got there. The doctors are still running tests, not sure what it was. So we chilled out in the emergency room most of the day. Crazy! I'm just glad that didn't happen on top of a mountain where we were headed. God was truly looking after him.

We are in a nice hotel now and speaking tomorrow in a church near Boston.

camp is over

Keri and I have had a great week of camp up here in the mountains of New Hampshire. The kids went after God this week and the leaders were great. It has really been a relaxing week for Keri and I both. I mean we actually slept in a couple of days! It's funny how hard that is for me to do.

As I watched the students roll away in vans and buses, I couldn't help but think how long their fire would last. This morning for the final challenge, I encouraged them to stay connected (John 15). That the enemy of their soul will try to rob them of what Christ just planted in their hearts. My prayer is that they will go and bear much fruit.

bike ride

Today, I went for a bike ride in the mountains of New Hampshire. I was tempted to walk out in the woods and get lost for a couple of days. ha! The view here is breath taking. Keri and I are enjoying ourselves being here with some amazing leaders and teenagers. We are staying through this weekend and preaching in a church near Boston. Saturday, we will hang with some of our good friends that served with us as our camps directors in Ohio.

New Hampshire

This week I'm in New Hampshire speaking a youth camp. It is so beautiful here and the mountains are just breath taking. I'm also excited to have my Keri here with me. Can you say "no-kids?" Anyway, today, we will go rock climbing which should be cool.
God has been doing some cool stuff in these kids lives so far, and we are praying for more.....man I love camp!

ground breaking

We had a great service yesterday and officially broke ground! I love our church.....and we've only just begun!

1.1 million

Today, Gary and I signed on behalf of C3 Church for a loan of 1.1 million. We break ground Sunday on a 500 seat auditorium that attaches to our current location. It is a truly exciting time in the life of our young church. Peoples lives are changing and we have grown very quickly as a church. We are also internally restructuring for the growth that we anticipating with this new addition! Like I tell our staff and team all the time.....we've only just begun!

raise your level

This morning, I ran a speed workout with a couple of my buddies as normal, but today
we had a college runner show up. He is on a different level and buried us all. I was bummed at first to the fact of getting smoked, but then realized that my times were faster than weeks before, because of him. So I actually pushed harder, trying to keep up with him. I'm always telling my kids that losing isn't a bad thing, as long as you get better. That every time you play someone better than you, you get better. That's why I love to hang with people that are sharper than me, because they help me think, pray, dream and lead at a different level.

the leader

People look to the leader for many things. Where are we going? How and when will we get there? How much will this cost? What part can I play? Why are we doing it this way? The list can go on and on. Those things are all external, but much of the culture and DNA of an organization, is formed by how the leader lives. When those who follow want to know how much integrity to have, how hard they should work, how to interact with others on the team, they will look at the leader. The leader is always modeling more than he/she can ever imagine. People here what the leader is saying, but more their actions ALWAYS speak louder than words.

FREEDOM

I think many times that we take for granted the freedom that we have in our country. It's easy to forget the lives that were willingly laid down to gain it and keep it. It means so much more to those who come to our country from another country. We have it so good and don't even realize it. As a dad, I am doing my best to instill in my kids that our Freedom wasn't and isn't free. Every time I see a flag, may I think on what it represents and the sacrifice that was made to fly it.

float update

We placed 2nd place in the "non-commercial" division. They even gave us a plaque! We handed out over 400 C3 helium balloons and a ton of candy. It was a blast. I had my kids walk with me and hand out candy in the parade.
Also, next Sunday we officially break ground! MidWest Church Construction is even giving us an engraved shovel. I can't believe that we will finally be building next week.

float

We are hard at work putting together a float for the Pickerington July 4th parade. It will feature our very own C3 band rocking it out live through a generator while they make their way through the streets of our little city. We will be handing out C3 helium balloons and candy....all in our C3 shirts. It should be fun. Any C3'ers wanting to jump in, just let me know.

down at the river

Last night we and the Fowlers drove down to southern Ohio to hang with some friends at their place on the river. We are having a blast just chillin out and playing some cornhole. We're praying the sun comes out. Our kids are having a great time. I'm enjoying friends and family!

your character is always showing

Whether you know it or not, your character is always showing. It reveals itself in the little things all day long. Things like how we react while driving, interacting with people and what we do when no one is around. Character is revealed in greater measure when the "heat" of adversity is put to us. We then see who we really are. Much like integrity isn't integrity until it costs us something, character is unknown until it is tested. What is your character you are showing, saying about you?