2011 goals

I'm taking a little time to think through what I can accomplish this new year with God's help. It's just too easy to float through life unintentionally. God has called us to so much more. Maybe they are spiritual goals, financial goals of giving or saving or maybe personal goals of health or family. I have heard it said that the first 90 days of a year will set the tone for the rest of the year. In other words, what you begin and make strides toward in the first 90 days, will most likely be carried through.

time

This week we are starting a new series called "Time-Out." Just as a player or coach calls a time-out to refocus, ask questions or get a new plan, so are we going to take a look at our lives. Here are some questions that I want to pose;
- How much time are you wasting?
- What is important to you and do you really invest your time there?
- Are you the person you want to be?
- Are you living out God's plan for your life?
- Are you investing your life's time and energy into the right thing?
- What changes do you need to make?
- How and when will you make them?

little things

It is truly the little things in life that matter. I loved spending a couple days hanging out with my family and doing nothing but just being together. Telling stories and re-living old memories, to just sitting with my kids while watching a movie. It's the little things that all add up. I enjoyed taking some time off.

master

What master's you? Are you controlled by anything? Here are some questions that might reveal if you are:
- Can you go a week without it?
- Do you arrange your schedule and money around it?
- Have you hurt other people because of it?
- Do you make excuses or it?
Your honest answers will reveal the truth.

Find your master, find your freedom.

worry

I read that "worry is a control issue." That is so true. When I worry, I have to realize it's because I don't trust. Trust that someone or something won't come through or worry that God doesn't have it all under control. That hurts, but I believe that to be true. I am trying to eliminate worry from my life by trusting more.

see far?

Constantin Brancusi said, "To see far is one thing; going there is another."
How many of us see where we want to be, but just can't get there? I have been there plenty of times myself. I think the keys to getting there are planning, courage, action and tenacity to stay with it. I tell my kids, if something were easy, everybody would be amazing at it. But the truth is, not many people want to work hard enough to get there. Will you?

different

What will be different about 2011 for you? Are you heading in the right direction? If you keep heading in the same direction, will you end up where you want to be? Are you satisfied with who you are becoming? Have you done everything you want to do in life? Are you achieving your potential through Christ Jesus?

So what are you waiting for?........Go change the world!

sir

I played basketball at a church nearby that uses it as an outreach to guys in the community. I had a couple firsts last night. I was playing with all younger guys who play a lot of ball. A couple times during the night, I had guys call me "sir." I have never been called sir and suddenly realized I was the oldest guy by 10 years on the court. Then, when another other team was choosing who to guard, I was referred to as "the white man." I got a good laugh out of both. I don't think they have ever played with a guy who smiles, introduces himself to the guy he's guarding and even compliments the other team on a good play. Just for the record, the games last 8 minutes and the winning team stays, we played 6 in a row. Not too bad for an old white man!

Daniel

Reading today in Daniel 6, where the political leaders around Daniel were so jealous of him that they were digging deep to find dirt on him. The Bible says, "They could find no corruption in him, because he was trustworthy and neither corrupt nor negligent."
They could find NO dirt on him. He was that much of a man of integrity. He was neither corrupt nor negligent. Not corrupt, meaning that everything he did was honorable and not negligent meaning that there was nothing he wasn't doing that he was supposed to. Daniel is a great role model for all of us.
How deep would someone have to dig to find dirt on you?

puzzle

Leadership is a puzzle. Your trying to find the right pieces that fit in the right holes. It is an incredible challenge that takes time and sometimes trial and error. But when the right people are in the right places, it creates a beautiful picture. Right now, I am working on defining some of the smaller pieces of the bigger vision, in order to give us a picture as the goal.

keeper of the culture

As a leader of something, I am the Keeper of that Culture. I can blame others or situations and circumstances, but ultimately it is my responsibility. Today in our staff meeting, I will be asking what kind of culture have we created in our different areas? Is it one where leaders have opportunity to rise to the top and lead? Is it one where people are stifled? Does our culture free people to dream and use their giftings for God, or push them into a box? Whatever the reality is....I am responsible for it.

God's name

Craig Groeschel said, "The way you address God or refer to Him just might reveal the depth of your intimacy with Him. Or your lack of."
That really made me think of how I address God. It's funny, I can tell by the way someone pronounces my name, if they know me well or not. So can God. When we spend time with someone and truly get to know them, many times we have nicknames or terms of endearment for them. We do this because we are on a different level of closeness or intimacy. Can you say that about God? Can I?

the past

"The past is passed." If we could only live this way. What is in your past, the keeps coming back up?

do

I was reading this morning about Paul and how he was content in and through all situations. Whether he had nothing or he had an abundance. The key for him was he didn't focus on what he didn't have, which leads to a selfish way of living. Rather, he kept moving toward what he was called by God to do. His focus on what he had to DO, kept him from focusing on what he did not have. I want to live my life that way as well.

sympathy

I shot a half racked (would have been an 8pt) buck on Monday morning back in my old stomping grounds in St. Clairsville Ohio. I'm taking 12 other guys from my church this weekend to hunt in Waverly Ohio. We got a cabin in a state park and we will have a blast no doubt.

Anyway, I read a quote that made me think this morning. It said, "divine sympathy without action is worthless." I feel one of the problems with Christians in the U.S. (and I lump myself in this), is that we see something or hear about some evil in the world and we feel moved emotionally. The problem is, that is as far as it really goes. Yes, we may even talk to others about it, then we both shake our heads, but never do anything about it. What good is it if we never ACT. I want to put some action to my sympathy, because pity without remedy is a tragedy.

hunting season

My blogging has slowed down due to being so far in WV that even a phone signal can't be found. I got to hang out in a cabin with my dad, brother and 4 new hunting buddies. We had a blast and bagged 9 deer between the 7 of us. I came home with 2 big coolers full of meat. I actually save some of my vacation to get out in God's creation. For me, it is a mini-sabbatical. I find myself needing this time of peace, quiet and no Internet. Being alone in the woods has a way of recharging my batteries. I love this time of year.

the woods

Today I spent the day with my 2 boys in a ground blind hunting deer. Special thanks to our guide Dave who was a great host. They each got to fire their first shotgun. Now granted it was a small 410, but they thought it was awesome!. We saw nothing all day, which if you ask me is how it should be. Otherwise, they may think hunting is easy. There was some valuable lessons passed on today about becoming a man. Everything from how to handle a firearm, hiking through some tough to terrain to realizing that not everything comes easy in life. All together it was a great day.

consumer

I'm thinking this morning about myself as a consumer. A consumer is one who...well....consumes. I'm reminded of this every week as I roll my overstuffed garbage can to the end of the driveway. The question I am asking myself is, how much do I consume compared to how much do I contribute? The vast majority of Americans consume only and give nothing back to this world. When my life is over, what will I have contributed? What I consume selfishly for myself will die with me. So I'm asking God to show me how and where to give of what I have been entrusted with. Are you a consumer or a contributor?

love revolution

What would happen if a handful of believers were to give themselves to the cause of Jesus Christ? People that everything they do, say, think, spend money and time on, was for the cause of Jesus. A group of believers who were constantly looking around them for where God wanted to show His love next. Where every person they came in contact with, they would show the love of God. Can you imagine what would happen if these lovers of Jesus, were so full of Him that they spilled out everywhere. WE WOULD CHANGE OUR WORLD. We would have a love-revolution. This is what we are chasing....so let the love Revolution begin!

live rich

I want to live rich. I want to be generous with everything that God has given me. If I really believe that God is the provider and that with the measure I give, it will be given back, then what am I waiting for? God is convicting me personally of selfishness. I have bought into the "American Dream," of living in luxury and for myself, and I'm praying for God to change me. I want to live like my FATHER is THE KING...because, HE is. How about you, do you live rich?

spare?

I came across a great quote today about giving. "What can I spare, or what will it take?" Too many times, I give from what I can spare. I don't truly give sacrificially. I may think it is sacrifice, but I know nothing of true sacrifice when it comes to giving. Yes, I tithe, I give to missionaries, to the building of our new church and even to strangers who are in need. But God is convicting me today, that I only give away what I can spare. As long as I continue to give from what I can spare, I will continue to live in God's blessings in accordance to how I give. This must change if I want ALL of God. Jesus change me.

revolution

God is wrecking me. I have never been so hungry for more of Him. I just want to fall in love with Jesus. I want all of Him that He will allow me to have. I desire nothing more than to see our whole church fall in love with Jesus. My prayer is that this next year as a church will far exceed our first 4 years combined. We will be a church known for it's radical love. Jesus...start it with me!

I sense God starting a revolution in our City. A revolution always begins with a few who are sold out. The message then goes viral and when people will buy in with their whole lives.....a revolution erupts. May a revolution of Jesus Christ and His love erupt in our City from C3 Church.

Michigan Youth Convention

I was again incredibly honored to speak the Michigan Youth Convention. Jeff Kennedy (the DYD) is like a spiritual father to the students of his state. The youth pastors there are solid and it shows in the students. The students were hungry and Jesus was in the house. God did some amazing things around the altars in the services and I pray those students take it home with them. I was blessed to play a small part of what Jesus is up to in Michigan.

the state up north

This morning I'm off to michigan to speak their statewide youth convention. I'm both humbled and honored to be a part of it.

Last night, I was telling my 6yr old Kross where I was going. His face changed to a meaner look and he said, "but we don't like michigan." (As a huge Ohio State Buckeyes fan, I have taught him to despise michigan...ha) I had to laugh and then explain. We love people from michigan, we just want to pummel their football team.
It's a scary thing raising kids. I can see how hate and prejudice can easily be passed down to the next generation. What are you passing on to your kids?

aways moving

Are you always moving? It seems that many people in life, come to a point where they stop moving. They no longer grow, the hunger to reach farther is gone and complacency sets in. It could be after a failure or it could be after a success. What we do after both of those is key to who we become and what impact if any, is made by our lives. To put it simply....keep moving.

It's sooo simple

At times while praying, I get overwhelmed by God. Today, I had the overwhelming realization of how simple following Jesus really is. It really all boils down to one word.....LOVE. If I know Jesus, then His love will flow from me. If I have allowed Jesus to have all of me, then it is 2nd nature to love EVERYONE. Love wins in every situation. God's love is more powerful than hate, unforgiveness, pride, anger, you name it, love will always triumph. Following Jesus is all about love. I want to make living in Jesus' love a top priority in my life.

God is on the move

I felt we had a great Sunday yesterday. BeckE Medina spoke and did a great job talking about being love-able and the worship went well. God is doing some cool things in our Sunday night prayer as well. I can sense our church being drawn closer to Jesus. This next Sunday we are celebrating C3'se 4th B-day and we are going to give our b-day away!

love appropriately

God is love. If I am becoming more like Jesus, then I will have more of His love. I had to ask myself, am I truly growing in love for Jesus and others? If I can't say yes, then I have to ask if I am just going through the motions of being a follower of Christ. Love is what separates Jesus from every other so called god. Have I let His all consuming love truly transform my life? This is the journey I am on.

one sentence

If you had to define who you are in one sentence, what would that sentence say? If others had to define you in one sentence, what would they say? What do you want to be know for? Go be that.

dissatisfaction

We many times think of dissatisfaction as a negative thing, but it can actually be a positive thing. Positive in the fact that dissatisfaction can lead us to change. Many times we won't move or change unless the dissatisfaction of where we are becomes so great, that it overcomes our fear, laziness or whatever may be standing in our way. What are you dissatisfied with?

convicting

A Pastor of a Chineese Church visited America and toured several bigger churches. Churches, most people would consider very successful. At the end of his time here, the one who brought him here asked what he thought of our American churches. To this he replied, "it's amazing what your churches can do without the Holy Spirit."
That comment has been haunting me. How easy it is to put so much time and energy into all the stuff that does not matter, when the core of all that happens should be done working with the Holy Spirit. I want the Holy Spirit leading and moving at C3 Church. I have been praying and fasting and God is birthing in me a fresh new vision that I am still working out and will try to share in a couple of weeks.

meaning

People seek meaning. Do you provide it? (Seth Godin)

As the "Church" we have the true meaning for life....Jesus. We have the "meaning" everyone is looking for. Are we effectively presenting Jesus through our lives and our churches?

thot

Seth Godin says, "the commitments you make determine who you can become.....and the commitments you honor define who you are."
ex. I have a friend who has never ran before in his life, until he made a commitment to run a marathon. He finished his second one this weekend. His commitment to the training has determined what he has become, (a marathoner) and his honoring of that commitment is helping to define who he is. What commitments do you need to make and honor in your life. DO IT TODAY!

little things

- THE LITTLE THINGS, REVEAL THE HIDDEN THINGS. -
I have seen it played out, time and time again, when people cheat or cut corners in the little things, it usually is a revealer of who they have become. It's only then a matter of time until something bigger comes along, and the person who breached integrity in the small areas, will do the same in the larger ones. So guard your little decisions, for they will soon become you.

spiritual energy

There are several gauges in life that we have to watch, one of which is spiritually. I have come to learn that my spiritual energy is in direct correlation to my time in prayer, my time in the Word and my walk in obedience. If I am missing any of those, my spiritual energy will lag. How's your spiritual energy level?

detour

If I truly believe that God is directing my life and ordering my footsteps, then shouldn't I look at detours in my day as direction from God? It could be a traffic jam that unknowingly saved me from an accident, or running into someone at the store and encouraging them. Whatever the case, I think we look at detours as a waste of time, when in fact it could be God directing us.

I do believe that God is leading my life and this week want to start looking at detours as God perhaps setting something up for me to be used for His Glory.

determined

God is taking myself and our church through a time of transition. I feel like I am wrestling spiritually, until I feel that God has given me some clarity. I am determined to fast and pray until I have heard from God. My heart is for God's Will to be done in me and C3.

chew

I heard a great quote today...."eat it, before you tweet it." We live in a world where so much information is constantly being exchanged. The problem is, we never take any time to digest any of it. We just quickly pass it on. I want to take some time to chew and digest new information in order to continue growing personally.

Road Trip

Today our staff will jump in a mini-van and head to Atlanta for the Catalyst Conference. I'm excited to learn and grow personally and to hang with our crew for a couple days. It should be a great time.

a new season

God is so good. Sunday night we had an amazing night of prayer. I really felt that God is wanting to bring C3 through a new season spiritually. Everything up to know has been foundational for what God is about to do and prayer is the key to open this next season. God is also stirring up in me a new deeper hunger for more of Him, that I am praying will spill over into our Sunday mornings. We have to have Holy Spirit moving in our church...if not, we are only a club doing a program. I want so much more for our church. People come here with burdens, pain and hopelessness, and we serve the ANSWER and His name is JESUS. May C3 be a church where Jesus resides and has His way.

C35k

Special thanks to all our C3'ers who made our 5k a success. It was a beautiful morning, fast course and some great people. We had several first time runners finish there first race. We raised about a $1,000 to put toward a scholarship for under privileged girls in our area to go college. A good time was had by all.

blah

Today, I feel blah. I think it's in days like these, that you see who you really are. I'll be honest, I have a couple of these days a year and it's on these days, I can feel a negative attitude trying to come through. For me, it brings to the surface my flaws that I need to work on and continually give to Jesus. So...I choose right now to change my day, get my focus off myself and back on Jesus Christ.
Wow...I already feel better....thanks for walking me through this.

Forum

Fort the past 3 days I was able to be a part of the the Ohio Ministry Networks, "Forum" conference. I was honored to lead the worship there with some great friends and good musicians. I truly enjoyed the teaching of the teachers and gleaned some great wisdom from their words and their lives.
Side note: It's easy to be teachable when you go to a conference for the reason of learning and are looking to do so. It is another level to be teachable all day, every day by everything around you. How teachable are you? Can you only learn from certain people at certain times?

buffalo

There are not too many people who can look out their windows and see buffalo roaming in a field. We live across the street from a farmer who has 2 buffalo. It's amazing to think that these creatures at one time roamed the land in huge quantities. To the American Indians, the buffalo were their chief resource for survival and day to day life. They would use close to every piece of the animal for something. The Indians also had an incredible respect for the buffalo.
In the US, we are blessed to live in a country and have an economy that even in a low time, is light years ahead of the rest of the world. The sad thing is, most Americans aren't grateful or even have a clue how blessed we are.

everyone

This Sunday, we are talking about "everyone." We want C3 to be a place where Everyone is known, Everyone is needed and Everyone is changing. Can you imagine a church like that? We will attempt to do this by helping Everyone plug in a Community Group (small group). This semester we have 18 groups launching. Small groups are the glue that keeps our church together and they help sustain LifeChange. I can't wait.

premeditated

If you are a Buckeyes fan, I'm sure you have heard about the the Ohio Univ. mascot tackling Brutus the Buckeye before last weeks game. The kid who did it is now banned from any Ohio University Athletics and OU staff have apologized. The crazy thing is, this kid said the whole reason he tried out to be the mascot was to tackle Brutus. A lot of time, effort and planning went into that stunt. I have no clue where I am going with this blog other than....God knows our motives and someday, they will all come out for the the world (or 104,000 Buckeyes fans) to see.

weighed

Reading this morning in Daniel where King Belshazzar saw the writing on the wall and then got the interpretation. The one part of that interpretation was that "You have been weighed on the scales and found lacking." For this king, it was his pride and arrogance.
That made me think, when God weighs my life, what does He find? How about yours?

community minded

- Last Wed, our youth ministry (Pulse) had a 150 students show up for "Burrito Night." Chipotle donated 225 burrito's to help make this possible.
- Last Friday night we parked over 275 cars on our property for the HS football game. We gave each car a $1 bill for parking on our lot. Their expressions were priceless.
- October 2nd, we are having our 3rd annual C35k run. All the proceeds are going back into a scholarship fund for local students.
- October 23rd we are having our Fun-O-Ween at C3. We will have inflatables, hayride, chili-cookoff, cornhole, free food, carnival games, popcorn and cotton candy amongst other things.....and it's all FREE.

C3 is here to show the love of Christ to our Community and if we ever forget that we are here for those outside our walls....then shut the doors.

revitalization

Today, I was on a skype call with several pastors from another denomination that has a desire to help struggling churches. I love the fact that it's not about A church or A denomination, but it's about the Kingdom of God. I am seeing more than ever a heart to work together as the Body of Christ to reach the lost and I'm honored to be a part of that.

strength

In our culture, it is an unsaid rule that strength comes from action. I am learning though, how to find God's strength in rest. I am not saying that being lazy and doing nothing brings rest. Rather to trust God and when He says run, I run and when He says rest, I rest. The key is hearing and remaining in His Will. When I live there, whether running or resting, I find His strength.

grace

I'm sitting on a committee that deals with ministers who have fallen morally. The goal is to restore them personally and eventually help them back into to ministry as well. As we walk through these situations, the amount of grace given to these individuals is in direct proportion to their heart of repentance and truly owning the wrong they have done. Grace flows through humility.

weight

When someone speaks, the weight of their words will be determined by truth of what they have said and the level of influence of the one speaking them.
How much weight, do your words carry?

loyal

"I want to be more loyal to the future, than I am to the past."
I heard that said and I think it carries some weight. I love the past, I love my heritage. I have been blessed to grow up in a Christian home with great parents and was raised in church my whole life. These things are foundational in my life, but I never want them to keep me from trying something new to reach more people for Jesus. Some of the things that worked when I was a kid, do not work now. I never want to be tied to a method, but rather to THE MESSAGE! It's not about what I like or prefer as much as it is, "what is most effective?" I want to be more loyal to the future than I am to the past.

blocked

I believe I am experiencing so much of God's blessing. I do my best to put Him first in my life, my family and my finances and have reaped the benefits of it. God's blessing and provision is never too short, but when it seems it is blocked, we need to give something away. Giving removes any blockage from God's Blessing. Giving, frees us from greed so money is never in the first place in our lives, where God should be.

path

God wants to help us find and walk on the path that is most pleasing to Him, not the path that is most pleasing to us. They are very rarely the same path. One deals with comfort (ours), the other deals with growth which means change which means uncomfortable at times (His). What path are you on?

trust

Last night, I walk in my kids bedroom just as they are about to put their younger cousin in a drawer underneath their bunk bed and shut it. There was a high risk of smashed fingers, panic and pain. So I broke that up and shared what could have happened. My 5 yr old little Kali said, "If daddy said to do it, I would trust him, but no one else." I walked out of there feeling great that my little girl would trust me, even though she was unsure.
That's how I want to be with my Heavenly Father. I want to trust, even when I am unsure.

a great day

Today, I spent my day at home with my family, my parents, my grandfather and brothers family. It was great just to hang out, eat food, play some music and just be together. It amazes me how fast life passes us by. Watching our kids play together seeing how much they have grown always baffles me. When it comes to raising kids, I've heard it said, "the days go slow, but the years go fast." I want to enjoy every minute of life that I can. I never want to give part of my life to petty arguments or worrying over stuff, but rather enjoy all that God has given me.

faith and feelings

Last night I was talking to a friend about feelings and how it affects faith. Our faith in Christ and His truth is our anchor in times of storms. As we are walking through struggles our feelings are up and down and all over the place. We must not allow our feelings to make decisions for us, but rather the truth. As emotional beings, there will always be feelings to contend with, but when it comes down to it, we must be anchored through faith.

seasons

I was running the other morning and saw a couple leaves fall to the ground and thought about seasons in the life of C3. We will turn 4 years old in November....crazy. We have just walked through a season where several people have been called away from C3 from either jobs, ministry positions and to be a part of other church plants. I can honestly say they were all on good terms and I wish them well. It is still hard to see some great friends leave, but it's not about C3 Church or me, it's about the Kingdom of God. At the same time though, we have had several new families start attending at C3, and they are beginning to jump in. There is a lot of sharp people who are incredibly gifted who are getting plugged in. We are about to step into a new season in the life of our church and we are excited about what God is doing.....and even more excited by what He is about to do.

tonight

I still enjoy connecting with students. Tonight I will travel to Niles Ohio to speak at Next Valley (nextvalley.org) youth ministry. I'm excited to be a part of their "September to Remember." It will be a long drive and a late night, but I'm praying that God changes lives tonight.

giver

God is the most extravagant giver in the universe! If we are truly His followers, then shouldn't we be givers as well? Not just with our finances, but with our time, talents and energy as well. I mean, why should God give you more, if you are only going to keep it for yourself? Are you a giver?

To or From

Are you running TO something or FROM something? Many people are running FROM things like their past, lies, consequences or fears. They live as the one who is hunted. There is no rest or peace for they know that if they stop, they will have to face what is chasing them. Then there are some of us who are running TO something. If that something is Jesus and we keep our eyes focused on Him. They we will live a life that continues to grow in love, peace and joy and the closer we get to Jesus the more things that fall off of us.
Are you running TO something or FROM something?

love appropriately

I want to love appropriately. There are some who need more love than others and some who need love showed in different ways than others. My heart is to love others as Jesus would, and do so in the way that they can best accept.

leave no doubts

I had this put on our sign at the church. This can be taken so many ways. For me, I want to leave "no doubts" with the way I live. With my integrity in both the big and the little things in life is one big area. Another would be with my communication to others, as far as delegating or what's expected on both parties. I am making an intentional effort to communicate more clearly. Do you leave doubts?

stuff

Yesterday, we spent the whole day laying straw on our new grass seed on the side of our hill and behind the church. Then I got to play in a double header one pitch softball game for C3 in a City league. This morning I went to our Area Ministers meeting and afterward met to plan for a Columbus wide church leaders meeting conference. I can't wait to head home tonight and play with my kids in the yard.

giving and receiving

God desires to give us more, we are just not able to receive it.

I know that with my kids, there are certain gifts that I cannot yet give them because they are not mature enough to handle them. As they continue to grow, the better and more valuable the gifts become. The same way with our Heavenly Father, the more we grow spiritually, the greater we can receive from Him.

7th string

I am the 7th string drummer for C3 Church and this week I am playing. This is the first time in almost 4 years where they have needed me to play the drums on Sunday morning.
I am excited about where our worship is going at C3. We have some amazing people and we just had an "all worship" meeting where we shared new structure, vision and our plan to get there. We will be implementing auditions, new sound system tweaks, forming of individual bands and more. It is an exciting time in the life of our church as our worship is now being lifted to a whole new level.

excellence

I believe God is calling us to excellence, not perfection. There is only one who is perfect...and that is God. I want to strive for excellence in everything I do. I want to do everything as unto Jesus and give it my very best. If I can say that I gave my very best, than I am satisfied. Giving my very best means that I have adequately prepared, using everything God has given me and then looking back to see what I could have done better the next time. Just like I tell my kids, "I only ask that you give your very best!"

delegation

I read a great book in 1 hour called "If you want it done right, you DON"T have to do it yourself!" It's all about the power of delegation and here were the main points:
1. Prepare beforehand
2. Clearly define the task needing to be completed
3. Give a clear time frame
4. Define their level of authority (recommend, inform and initiate)
5. Identify checkpoints of when you will review the progress throughout
6. Debrief

Simple, but incredible info...........if it's applied!

offensive prayer

Today while reading and praying, I was convicted about my prayers. How much of my prayers are defensive and reactive compared to how many are offensive and proactive? Not to say that praying for needs or current issues is wrong, but it shouldn't be all that I pray. I want to pray things into existence. I want move heaven with faith for things that are God's Will but have not happened yet. I want to play offense for the Kingdom of God and push back the darkness. How much of your prayer life is offensive rather than defensive?

owned up

Funny how right after I write my last blog, the guy owns up. We had been trying to get in contact with him for 3 weeks and heard back nothing. He explained the whole situation and did have some great excuses. I'm just glad he owned up and now we can move forward. Praise God.

own up

It bothers me to no end when people don't own up for something they are clearly responsible for. We are using a contractor for some personal work around our house whom we caught in a lie.....and he knows we know it. Now he is avoiding us like the plague cause he is afraid to own up. We have all made mistakes in life, but in my book there is a whole lot more grace and forgiveness given when you admit you did wrong and apologize from the heart. Sometimes owning up can be a tough thing to do, but in the end, it is the right thing to do. I have usually found over the years that if I own up as soon as I have done something wrong, it makes life much better. Much of the stress is thinking about confronting someone or admitting something. It's usually never as bad as I had imagined either.
Is there anything you need to OWN UP for?

keep em alive

We have made some great memories as a family on our vaction. We have swam almost every day and had a blast living with no real agenda. My goal now is to talk about the fun we've had together. I will do this on occasion to keep these memories alive for years to come.

rest

Enjoying my vacation with my family. Learning to find strength in rest. Sounds simple, but its easier said than done.

vacation

We are finally at our vaction destination. Huge thanks to keris mom and step dad who let us hang in their little place on a lake. With a dock, fishing, pontoon boat, canoe and a grill, what more does a family need. My kids will no doubt beup early and will spend the whole day in the water.

it's not your money

When it comes to tithing and giving of our money, God is not interested in our money, but rather in our TRUST in Him. It's funny how we trust God with our souls, but not our money. It's all about faith and trust. Do you really trust Him?

the most important week of the year

On Wed, will begin the most important week of my year. A week where key investments are made for a lifetime. A week where I personally, must fulfill my God given responsibility. A time of strengthening and bonding with the people who are closest to me. Because of this week, I will be able to operate at a higher capacity for the rest of the year. Especially at this season in my life, this week is the most important.....it is my vacation!
I can't wait to spend a week with my family doing nothing but spending time with each other. My wife told our 6 year old that he was going to get a whole week full of "daddy time." He was jumping up and down and going nuts! I'm already talking it up with my kids about how much fun we are going to have. Sometimes the anticipation is the best part.

fun

Thursday night, I got to lead with some of our great C3 musicians as we played a 25 minute set on the main stage at the Violet Festival. It was awesome to play on a big stage with some great friends. Special thanks to all the C3'ers who showed their support. Then last night (Fri) I ran the parade 5k (placed 4th) and finished just in time to we ride in the parade on a float and played music again. We also handed out helium balloons with our logo, info cards, candy and C3 tattoo's. It was a lot of work and a lot of fun. Today....nothing but time with the family.

proof

I read a line today that hit me in the face. They were talking about churches and how to measure whether or not they are being effective. If you want proof of effectiveness, LOOK AT THE DISCIPLES. Wow! What more proof do you need of whether you are succeeding or not? God is challenging myself and C3 to take an honest look at what kind of disciples we are making and how much do they look like Jesus.

God's Will

As I read God's Word I see where He says that as a believer He will make my paths straight and that He will instruct me and teach me in the way I should God. Also, that If I acknowledge Him in everything that He will direct my paths. But I never read where it will be easy. I think it is a misconception to believe that if God told me to do something, then that means it will be easy. Although that would be nice, that is simply not the case. God cares more about who we become than our temporary comfort and it's through times of trial where we grow the most.

safe people

Everyone needs someone who is safe. We all need at least one person that we trust enough to share our hearts secrets and dreams with. Someone that can hold us accountable and speak truth to us, and we will hear it because we know they love us and have our best interests in mind. Do you have someone in your life who is safe?

kaden's at camp

I have run many camps for many years and now to have my own kid at one is crazy. I have been praying for him this week that he connects with God like never before. Also, that he makes some friends and comes home wanting to go again every year. As I dropped him off, I was nervous for him. I'm looking forward to hearing about his week at camp.

simple

Simplicity brings rest.
Why do we have to make life so complex and busy? The older I get, the more I realize what is important in life. What is important in life is less and less. The more simple life is, the less stress and the more I can enjoy it.

generations

The generations need each other. For our churches, the older generations bring the values and the younger bring the methods. The older bring the wisdom and resources where the younger bring the energy and passion. The younger needs the spiritual covering from the older and the older needs a generation to pour into that will live on after them. We are the body of Christ and we need each other.

church life

Gary and I are spending 2 days at a "church life" cohort with 20 other pastors in Ohio. We are discussing ways to strategically lift our churches to the next level in order to reach more people for Jesus Christ. The guy leading it has some amazing wisdom and insights. I want to be a student of learning and growth.
On another note, our softball team that has won every other game by the 10 run rule....lost tonight. It's amazing how sometimes everything falls apart. Losing is no fun...but it does show your attitude and sportsmanship.

July is the month for weddings

I have done 3 weddings in the last 3 weeks. I have enjoyed walking with each of the couples and being a part of their journey together. Kali (my 4 year old) asked me where I was going a while back and I said to marry someone. Her little face sank as she said, "I thought you married mommy!" I had to laugh and reassure her that mommy is the only one I'm married to, but that I was going to do the ceremony for another couple. I have ingrained in my kids that this ring on my finger is my promise to them and their mommy that I will never leave them, unless Jesus takes me to heaven.

value

The way we determine somethings value, is by seeing how much someone is willing to pay for it. To think that God the Father gave His only Son's life for us, should make us feel incredibly valuable. Besides, His opinion is the only one that really matters anyway.

in/out

Sin pushes us to look inwardly at ourselves and our inadequacies, where faith leads us to look outwardly toward Christ and others.

be quiet

I have a hard time sitting still and being quiet. I don't know if it is my ADD or my need to constantly be doing something, but I wrestle with this. I have been intentionally trying harder to just quiet myself before God and listening. It goes against everything in our culture and in me to do this, but I want to "be still and know that HE is God!"

Dr3am night

Tomorrow night, we have our bi-annual Dr3am night. This is where we share the current state of C3 and where we are going as a church. We are excited to share with all C3'ers what God has been doing behind the scenes and how we are structuring for growth. Some more amazing teammates have jumped on the team and are taking key roles and running with them. We are now putting in place the structure necessary for C3 to continue to move forward to make a greater "Dent" for the name of Jesus Christ in Columbus. I'm excited to recast the vision that God has entrusted to our church. Tomorrow night, 6:30 at C3.....all are welcome!

LeBron is gone

The whole City of Cleveland and the state of Ohio is bummed to see LeBron James go to Miami. I still think it is amazing that people cry and lose sleep over him leaving. Now don't get me wrong, I wish he would have stayed and I hate to see him go, but put it in perspective. We are making a huge deal over a person who is really good and taking a round ball and putting it in a basket that is hung 10ft off the ground. We give our money and willingly give our precious time to show our allegiance to our team. Someday, this all won't matter. So if your still crying over LeBron leaving, realize that Jesus is still on the throne and He's THE REAL KING!

good to be home

Gary and I had a good trip to DC for a couple of days to connect with other church planters from across the country. I got the chance to run around the Washington Monument yesterday! It was a beautiful morning.
There was a questions that Mark Batterson posed that I really liked. He said, "Is your vision greater than your resources?"
I think too many times we allow our circumstances and situations to define the size of our dreams for the future. We look at what we have and see how far we are off of what we want something to be. The problem is because we have "something" and that "something" becomes our focus. We would probably be better off having "nothing," because then we have "nothing" but God to look to.

My prayer is that I won't allow limited resources to hinder the vision that God is placing in my heart. Because where He gives the vision, He also gives the provision.

multi-site forum

Gary and I are spending a couple days in DC at a church planting forum. We are excited to hear from other churches and leaders who are making a dent in their cities for Jesus Christ. I'm praying we leave here even more excited than ever to expand C3 in order to reach our city. We hope to learn from others mistakes and success and praying for God's wisdom and creativity to be imparted to us by the Holy Spirit.

July 4th

C3 Church will be entering our float again in the Pickerington July 4th parade. We will be passing out candy and rocking it out with a live band playing.
I always enjoy July 4th because of what it stands for. My dad imparted patriotism into me as a young child and it has grown over the years. Now I try to do the same for my children. I will have them look at an American flag and I'll tell them that men and woman have and still do give their lives for what that flag represents. It represents FREEDOM. Also, that there are people in this world who would want to take away that freedom and at times we must fight for it. May God continue to bless the USA.

diverse chemistry

Yesterday we had a full-team meeting. We just increased the size of our team by adding 3 more stellar key players! As I looked around that room I saw a lot of diversity, but yet we have great chemistry. The leaders around that table have amazingly diverse gifts and personalities, but b/c we are all focused around one goal and purpose and continue to allow God's grace to abound, we have incredible chemistry. Every player fills a different role with their passions and giftings. God has sent us some amazing leaders in order to make a greater DENT in Columbus for the name of JESUS CHRIST! We are preparing....and preparation precedes blessing.

understanding

The more I understand, the more I love. The more I get to know and understand who Jesus is and His amazing love for me, how can I not help but to love Him more. With others, as I hear their stories and see their perspective, I am also able to love them at a deeper level. Whether I connect with their pain or their joy, that understanding helps me love them in a deeper way. Thus, the more I understand, the more I love.

Bible reading experience

So my oldest son Kaden can't sleep the other night and I told him to read his Bible for a while. I walked in about 10 minutes later and asked what he was reading about. He was in the OT and said he was reading about a woman who sacrificed her kids and was going to have to walk around naked and something about she was a prostitute.. WOW...I said...uh...hmm....hey let's get you reading in the book of Matthew about the stories of Jesus. I had to laugh.

carpenter ants

Today, I get a call from my wife telling me there is a swarm of ants in our house surrounding one of the baseboards down stairs. I bought some spray and we took care of them. But, we are also seeing a few dead carpenter ants here and there. After researching we have learned that they are much tougher to kill. They only come out at night and never move in large packs. Carpenter ants are also very destructive as they eat the wood in your home and can do some serious damage if left alone. The good thing is they reproduce slowly. The key in removing them is to find the main colony which is usually outside and can be up to 200 yards away. What is in our house is a satellite colony.
In other words, what we are seeing is not the root of the problem, but a symptom. If we find and deal with the root of the problem, the symptoms will go away. The same is true in life.

path

If you stay on the path you are currently on, in 5 years from now, will you have grown in your love for God and others, or farther away? The responsibility for the outcome of this question in my own life, lies squarely on my shoulders. My love for God and others is my responsibility.

Fathers

It's amazing the responsibility that God has given to Fathers. I'm looking at my kids and beginning to understand the enormity of my role in their lives. A big portion of their confidence, security, self-esteem and outlook on life, comes from me. They look to me for love, discipline and to tell them WHO THEY ARE. The best thing I can try to relay is WHOSE THEY ARE. They are God's Children, created special and for a purpose. I want them to walk with Jesus early. "Knowing who you are in God produces security and security produces confidence." (Banning Liebsher)

guided life

How much of our lives do we truly allow the Holy Spirit to guide? I would love to see the percentage on that for my life. I desire for it to be 100%, but I know it is not. I believe that being guided by the Spirit of God all comes down to surrender. I think many times we will surrender certain areas of our lives to God, but not others. We may be trying to totally surrender to God in the area of our spiritual lives, but then don't ever even ask for wisdom in our business decisions. The problem is, we all live holistic lives where everything overlaps to form who we are. The goal is to surrender our entire lives to God, in order to live a fully guided life.

10-15%

I heard a quote a while back that continues to drive me to remained focused. It said, "Only 10-15% of ministers that graduate from Bible College will finish in ministry well. There are so many pitfalls, serious spiritual attacks and temptations sent by the enemy on Christian leaders to take them out. My mind was brought back to this quote today after hearing of another minister that I respected who fell morally. Personally, I want to continually look at all God has blessed me with that I have to lose. I want to live with some healthy "fear" of what I have to lose. A minister who failed morally said it best when asked when he fell out of love with Jesus in order to commit this sin. He said, "I never fell out of love with Jesus, I fell out of fear of Him." In my head, that says it best. I personally want to have a healthy balance of love and fear for God.

Holy Spirit

This is our final week of a 4 week series on the Holy Spirit. This week we are talking about being "filled" or "baptized" in the Holy Spirit. It is through salvation that Holy Spirit enters our lives and through baptism in the Holy Spirit that His power is released through our lives. It is sad that this point of the "baptism in the Holy Spirit" has brought dissension rather than unity among churches and denominations. My take is this; if it's in the Bible and God never changes and He said I could have something from HIM....I want it. I want all of Jesus that I can have and I will purse Him with all that I have.

preparation

Today, we are meeting for some more planning about our small groups. Our "Community Groups" are the glue where people connect with God, others and to our church. We are implementing a brand new structure for the Fall and are excited about where this is going. I believe it will take C3 to the next level. It's all about leading people to LifeChange!

wrestling

Believe it or not, I was the 8th grade, 95lb county champ in wrestling. (Of course I normally don't mention that, for some unknown reason there was no one else in my weight bracket.) I still have the sweet medal I proudly display in my rarely seen basement. But wrestling is a tiring sport that challenges your stamina. Wrestling makes you stronger and increases your endurance. That is why I love wrestling with God and His Word. I love it when God challenges me and my thinking and I am forced to wrestle in my prayer and thinking. I may walk away limping, but I am blessed for it, because I am now walking closer with Jesus. Are you wrestling?

love

"Love is the power that can transform the world."
The problem is, we only extend it to the people we know. What would happen if everyone would extend love to everyone? IT could be anything from letting someone "in" on a long traffic line, to holding the door for someone to lending a hand when needed. I am going to try this week to go out of my way to show love not just to those I know, but those I don't....because love has the power to transform the world.

IF

Francis Chan was right on when he said, "If the Spirit of God is really living inside of us, then we should be doing things no one else is doing and if the Spirit of God is really living inside of us, we should not be doing the things that everyone else is doing."

We can talk all we want, profess a whole bunch of stuff, but the proof is in our lives. Proof like how we treat our family, how we react and how we think and act toward other people. If we are followers of Jesus Christ, then we have a certain measure of the Holy Spirit in our lives. That measure is in direct proportion to our level of surrender. What measure of the Holy Spirit is in your life....and would your family and those who know you agree with your answer?

lowest point

We have had a lot of ponding on our parking lot, especially after a big rain. We are blessed to have a guy in the church with a bulldozer who is moving some dirt around for us. The goal is to create a lower point right off the back of our parking lot in order to hold the water in the grass instead of on the blacktop. We know that water always flows to the lowest spot by following the path of least resistance.
I have found this is true in life as well. Negativity always flows to the lowest point and ponds there. If a person is always negative, negativity has a way of finding them and staying with them. If a person is positive, they keep moving forward to higher ground. There are times a positive person may get wet, but it will only be for a season. What kind of person are you?

roots and fruit

My wife and a friend spent 6 hours in our new flower bed digging up bushes last week. They had pulled out several smaller ones and then were about to attempt to pull out some large tree-like bushes that were 7ft tall. I had run home for a few minutes and said I doubted they could do it. They tried for a long time before relenting and calling for a friend with a truck to pull them out.
The problem was that the roots were in too deep. I have heard that the general rule is, what you see above the ground is pretty close to what is buried under the ground. When it comes to our spiritual lives, we better have as much root under the ground as we do fruit above the ground. If we don't, it is just a matter of time before the tree of our lives come crashing to the ground. Our roots of spiritual disciplines and integrity, must be able to hold the weight of our Calling and giftings.

rite of passage

My oldest son is now is 9 and ready for his first rite of passage. The other night after all the kids were dozing off, I snuck in and got him up to watch Lord of the Rings. I will have to do this for at least 12 nights. We had some great discussion already and we are only 1 hour into it. Last year at bed time I told my boys the whole trilogy which took over a month. It was great, there was a certain part that my son thought he had seen. He must have a great imagination.

the gifts

The gifts that are given by Holy Spirit are much needed in our lives and churches today. I believe God is wanting to do something new in our church and wanting to take us to the next level in our adventure following HIM and in reaching our city. I think sometimes the gifts of the Holy Spirit get a bad wrap because people get in the way. They do this by making it more about themselves than about Glorifying Jesus Christ and this is sad. BUT, just because there is MIS-USE, does not mean it should lead us to DIS-USE. We need the power of Holy Spirit now more than ever operating in our lives. I am believing for an authentic move of Holy Spirit within our church, and we will know it is real when everything that is done is pointing to Jesus Christ and not to ourselves.

room

I have traveled to several developing nations and have found that they have a rule when it comes to public transportation...."there is always room for one more." I have been riding where I thought there was literally no-way possible that someone else could get in the vehicle and then 3 more people somehow find a way.
This is true in our lives as well. We cram so much in, it is uncomfortable and nothing gets the proper attention. It's sad to say that we cram Jesus right in there with everything else and sometimes He is shoved to the back. Personally, right now I am trying to make more room for Jesus in my life. More time to pray, read and listen. How much room do you have for Jesus in your life?

5ft 4in

Today was cool! I got to shop with a professional decorator who attends C3 and pick out the furniture / paintings and decor for our foyer and cafe. I'm almost afraid to say this...but I kind of enjoyed the whole process. I did learn something valuable today. I asked her at what height do you know to hand the pictures? She said the standard was 5ft 4in for the middle of the painting. Good luck applying this to your life, if you do come up with something, let me know.

the mix

At home when I give my kids juice, I water it down. One, because with my kids it doesn't take much sugar to set their energy levels through the roof and secondly, because the juice lasts longer. The key is, how much I water it down. The more water I mix in, the more it lessens the strength of the juice and the reaction on my kids. The same could be said for how much I water down the power of Jesus Christ in my life, with myself. "I must decrease, so He may increase." What's your mix?

District Council

I had a great time at the Ohio District Council. It is always good to see friends from all over the state. I had the opportunity as the presbyter (overseer) of the Central area to be a part of the Ordination service and to pray over my friend Mark. I account that as truly a high privilege. I still remember when I was ordained and prayed over by the leadership. I literally felt like I could take on hell with a squirt gun and win!......and I still want to live that way today.

together or alone

"Alone we go fast, together we go far."
When alone, decisions are fast because there is only one opinion to convince. When together, the hard work of casting vision has to be done well and then caught and bought into. BUT, when the vision is caught and together a group of people begin running in the same direction, they can carry a greater load at a greater pace, for a greater distance.

too old

Tonight at District Council, the speaker Dan Betzer gave a great quote. He said something like, "You know you are too old when you become more enamored with your memories, than with the hope of your future.
I never want to live in the past. I want to be grateful for all the lessons learned and cherish the memories, but only in order to build on them. The moment we stop dreaming, we stop living. May we never lose our ability to stop dreaming.

the hard work

Today, our team again spent another day locked in a room with a white board hammering out clarity of vision. The goal was to give every staff member clear roles and lanes to run in. It's amazing how hard that is and how much time it takes, but it's necessary to move forward with effectiveness and efficiency. After 3-4 total days of discussion and healthy debate, I think we have the next level for our church mapped out. Most of what was talked about was structure and will be felt in a few months as we continue to move forward to accomplish God's Will for our church. I can't wait to see how this all pans out.

proud of C3

I am very proud of our church. This past Sunday we took an offering for a single mother in Ecuador who's bamboo house is falling over. Everything she had of value was stolen and she was left with nothing. For $500 we can build her a new house. We raised enough money to build 7 houses! I can't wait to contact our missionary there and let him know to find more single mothers that we can bless. It's awesome to be a part of what God is doing in and through our church.

authority

As a believer, God has given us authority through Jesus Christ. The problem is that most believers never use it. Jesus gave us His authority in Matt 10:8 to heal the sick, raise the dead and cast out demons. That is power! I want to walk in His power and authority that Christ Jesus has given me. I think too many Christians whine in prayer, rather than praying in authority. From this day forward, I am seeking God's Will and then praying it with His authority.

reject apathy

I want to make this one of my life's goals, to reject apathy. It is so easy to slip into my calloused mode where I fly through life and forget why I am really here on this planet. I am here to reveal the love of Jesus....to people. God help me to keep my heart clean and open to be open to be used.

back home

The trip was amazing. It never ceases to amaze me how I always go to give, but return feeling that I was the one who received. I am so proud of our team. Everyone gave of themselves and worked very hard without ever complaining. We built some amazing friendships with our new friends from Ecuador as well as on our own team.
Every time I see poverty, it always gets to me. The conditions that people were living in, tears me up. God forgive me when I complain or mumble about my cell phone battery dying or running out of hot water when showering. The world is a big place with so many people, and they need to hear and see the love of Jesus Christ.

more Ecuador

We have worked our hearts out in the intense heat of this amazing country. Working with the locals has been a blast. No doubt they have never met a group like ours. We make everything fun. Today, we will work part of the day and hopefully go shopping in the later afternoon. So far, the trip has been incredible.

Ecuador

We started building yesterday. We are working on a bathroom, a water station and a church building. The heat over here is intense. We are working in a very poor area. Yesterday it rained, so we had to carry all the materials up the hill to the work site on our shoulders due to the mud. We also had to push the cement mixer up the sloppy muddy hill...crazy. The heat is very intense and the sun is nothing like ohio. our team of 17 is doing great and we are working hard. Funny, the computer keyboards are different over here so i may not totally type this out correctly and it spell checks everything in spanish.

First day in Ecuador

Today, we went out to the sight where we are building their new church. We did their 4th service ever for this new church plant. We blessed every kid and parents with gift bags full of everything from toys to toothbrushes to deodarant. It doesn't matter how many times I see extreme poverty, it still gets to me. We are working with a missionary and his team who are planting a new church outside the big city in the slums. We are building a bamboo frame church, bathrooms and running a water line. It is going to be some serious manual labor in the intense heat....I can't wait.

another journey

We got everything in our new house yesterday in the move. I appreciate all the help of friends and family. This morning myself and 16 others are boarding a plane to Ecuador for a C3 missions trip. I'm excited to be a part of what God is doing in Ecuador. We are supposed to have wi-fi so I hope to update regularly.

measure

Every believer has a measure of the Holy Spirit in their life. That depends on how much of ourselves we have surrendered and how much we have filled up. This measure effects every area of our lives. What measure of the Holy Spirit do you have in your life?

wrecking me

This morning in my prayer time, God is wrecking me. I feel personally that I'm hitting a spiritual headwind. I know that we must be doing something right to get this kind of attention from the enemy. This morning God is beginning to do something new in my heart. I feel a renewed sense of vision and passion to lead others to LifeChange. I also, feel that God is going to lead our church into another level with Him. I'm praying and believing for incredible things to come as we learn to walk in our God given authority.

stuff

Sunday we had our last Ecuador meeting before the trip, getting everything packed up and ready. I then headed to Sandusky Faith Memorial to play with my family Bluegrass band, Roadkill! We had a blast. This morning, Gary and I headed to the Church Life Cohort with Dr. Wayne Lee. It is incredible material that we are going through. It is cool to be able to walk through this stuff with my Dad and Gary.

We move into our new house this Friday and then I leave for Ecuador on Saturday. It is crazy times!

nothing

Today, me and the family are doing absolutely NOTHING. Next week starts the softball/baseball madness for 2 months where 3-4 nights every week will be taken up by mine, Keri's, Kaden's or Kross's games. Also, we are officially homeless and staying with some friends until Thursday when we close on our new house and officially move-in. I'm really starting to miss having a desk and an office at the church. The last renovations should start in 2 weeks and finished in 5-6 weeks. Also, I and 16 other C3'ers leave for Ecuador to do some missions work in a week. But besides that, there is nothing going on.....at least for today!

instrument

We are servants of God and an instrument that He works through. It's amazing to me that God chose to accomplish His diving purpose in the the world through us. I personally want to live everyday knowing and living out loud the fact that I am an instrument of the most High God. The more I am submitted to Him, the more my life plays out His Will on the Earth. Everyday I come into contact with people that need to experience Christ's love and power through me. If we are all instruments, what kind of music do you play?

lost

Yesterday, my computer hard drive crashed. I thought I was backing everything up on our server, but it looks now as if it wasn't. So everything I did for the past 3-4 years is now gone....forever. The people at the Apple store gave me a new hard drive and software and had great customer service. And so is life! I guess I'll need to come up with new ideas and can't rely on anything from the past. I choose to look at this....as a new chapter in my life, but you can bet, I will backup everything from now on.

painfully incredible

Wow! What an incredible experience to run in the Boston Marathon. With well over 27,000 runners, I placed 4,232, in a time of 3hr 18min. I hit the wall with 4 miles to go and slowed down considerably, but gutted it out regardless to finish. As I crossed the line, I could barley stand up but after eating and drinking something, I soon regained my composure.
The fan base there is mind blowing! The Boston Athletic Association puts on an incredible race. I will have these memories for a lifetime. It was a life goal to qualify for and then run the Boston Marathon. I now have the medal and have conquered the course, although right now I feel like it has conquered me...ha. I have a hard time walking and will move a little slower for the next few days...but the pride, lasts longer than the pain.

ready

Yesterday, we went into Boston for the Marathon Expo to get my race number and shirt. It was "wicked" packed. (Boston terminology) This morning I spoke at a Methodist Church in Rhode Island. What an incredible group of people. I had a great time. I am staying with some good friends in Heath and Kim McCoy at the Zion Bible College. Tonight I will load up on spaghetti and sip on some water while watching TV. Tomorrow I have to be at the train station at 5am to get me to Boston by 6am and on a bus full of runners to head 26 miles out of the City. They make a big deal out of this race here and I can't wait to take part in the race tomorrow. I bought a Boston Marathon jacket, but WILL NOT wear it, until I cross the line!

Boston here I come

As I sit in the airport about to board a plane for Boston, I am starting to get excited! I will pick up my registration today, preach at a church tomorrow, run the Boston Marathon on Monday, speak at Zion Bible College on Tuesday and then fly back. OK, back to the race. One thing I love about racing, is that it is a battle within myself, especially with marathon. The key is pace and knowing yourself. If you spend too much too early, you will not recover and the crazy thing is, you won't know how you've done managing that till around mile 20. The same is true for life. As far as pastoring C3 Church, I am in it for the long haul. The question for all of us is; How much longer can we continue to run this pace?

working toward

What are you currently working toward? This path week we talked about how our direction not intention determines our destination (Andy Stanley). We are all moving down paths in every area of our lives whether physically, spiritually, socially, professionally, the list could go on and on. Why not become intentional and set some goals and then begin to work toward it? This weekend I leave to run the Boston Marathon. It has been a lifelong dream. This has been 2 years in the making to train, hit the qualifying time in another race, train again and now run it. In every area of our lives we need goals and then a path, something to work toward. If not, we will always take the path of least resistance. But it's the path less traveled that produces the rarest treasures of life!

pull your weight

I love competition and over the years have played on a lot of sports teams. I have been the best player on the team and also the worst player on teams. My goal though, was to be a key contributor to the team. Making the team better has always been my goal. Wherever we work we are on a team. On every team there are those who are out front pulling the team and then there are those in the back being dragged, but most are in the middle. Where do you see yourself? Better yet, where do others see you? Are you someone who not only pulls your own weight but also picks up others slack as well? Or are you the one who everyone has to drag?

Control

Faith is the opposite of Control. This is why we wrestle many times when trying to follow Jesus. If I am truly living a life of faith, then I am not in control, but rather put my trust in the one who is. I have faith that God sees more than I see and farther than I see. I have to trust that His main concern is not where I am, but where HE is leading me. I relinquish control of my life in order to live a life of faith and obedience.
What area of your life do you struggle releasing control of to God?

1 week

I'm pumped! In one week I will run the 26.2 mile Boston Marathon. I have been training for the past 18 weeks just for this race. All those long runs in the single digits temperatures will now be paying off. This may only be for my mom, but I wanted to throw this out; The Boston Athletic Association has a way to follow individual runners through texting or email. They do this with a chip on each runners foot. Anyone wanting to follow me can do so by going to this website: http://registration.baa.org/2010/cf/RegAthleteAlert/pg_AthleteAlert.cfm?mode=preentry&snap=96427233& OR go through their main website at baa.org. Then you can just type in my race number which is 6410.
My goal is to run all my miles between 7min - 7min 15 sec. That is 8.5mph on the treadmill. My goal is to run a 3hr 10min marathon. Please pray...I'll need it! lol

The key to our freedom is found in one 2 letter word. The reason we are enslaved to something is because of our inability to say NO. It could be a habit, an insecurity, allowing someone else to hurt us, whatever it is all boils down to our inability of using this word. What an incredibly powerful little word, that if used correctly could be the key to our freedom. This is where God's power helps us carry it through. God has given us everything we need to live in freedom through Jesus Christ. He is waiting for us to put action to His Word and walk in His power. Go ahead....try it out...NO!

OCMN

Thursday, I get the opportunity to travel to Cleveland to speak at an Ohio Church Multiplication Network church planters gathering. I love getting together with other church planters for the fact that the vast majority are out of the box entrepreneurial thinkers. People like this sharpen and challenge me. I can't wait to meet some new friends. My prayer is that I will have something to share that they will see as valuable that will help them further spread the name of JESUS! May our lives be all about making HIM famous!

daily readings

I came across a great quote by John Lake which said," A man's life will be of the character of his thought." Just thinking about how every sin starts in the mind and that our lives will end up following our thoughts. Many times someone will make a major unwise decision that totally changes their lives. What must be realized is, that this action was already committed multiple times in their thoughts. Where we allow our thoughts to wander, is eventually where our actions will follow. The Bible says. "to take captive every thought." I want to let God continue to purify every thought I have.....and that is a process.

obstacles

We were back again in the library conference room today for another 6 hour meeting with our executive staff. Today, we were looking at what obstacles we would be facing in order to grow to the next level as a church. We went through an exercise that creates the dialog to answer the question of what obstacles need to be addressed. Walking away, we defined reality in a couple of areas of need and a plan of what to do next. Now we only have to make it happen.

Easter

We had 2 great Easter Services at C3 this Sunday! Several guests showed up and out teams did amazing. We broke a new attendance record with 620 and still had some room in our new sanctuary. I love our church!

droid

Today, I got set up with a new "droid" phone. It is seriously unbelievable what all this phone can do. I'm actually a little scared to make sure that I control it and not let it control me. The amount of information now at my fingertips is ridiculous. There is a fine line between staying connected and wearing an electronic leash.

proud dad

We did do one more egg hunt today. It was mass hysteria! Having organized and run big events in the past, I knew what was about to happen when they said GO! Sure enough, it happened. I literally lost my 6 year old for 10 minutes, but my kids had a blast. I grabbed my 4yr old Kali and we sprinted out of bounds to come in the other way and she filled her basket to overflowing! Afterward, I was a proud dad to see her looking in other kids baskets and then giving her eggs away to at least 3-4 other little kids who had gotten nothing. She gave away half of her eggs. Other parents couldn't believe it. I told her that she made Jesus smile!
Also, I placed 3rd in the 5k in a time of 17:19. I am encouraged though that I am faster at the beginning of this race season, then I was at the end of last years.

day off

I took my day off today rather than my normal Mondays. It was sunny and 80 degrees and I even got sunburned I played with my kids all day in the yard and had a blast. Tonight we went to a pastor friend of mines egg hunt for his church. They did a great job with it and they even had a helicopter drop some eggs on the field. My kids had a blast.
Tomorrow morning we are heading to another egg hunt that also has a 5k run for me and a fun run which my kids are dying to run. Fun for the whole family!

Easter Sunday

I love Easter! I love Easter because of not only what we celebrate, but WHO we celebrate! Jesus Christ, His death and His Resurrection. On a church level, I get excited because of the large amount of people who normally don't attend church, who will this Sunday. This is the superbowl of Sunday mornings. This may be one of the only times they hear about who Jesus Christ is. I'm praying for God to show Himself powerful and draw people to Himself.

structure

If you have no structure, you will never be able to support and sustain growth. I think every church leader wants their church or ministry to grow. The problem is, we have not done the necessary work in preparation to hold the growth. Yesterday, our Executive Staff locked ourselves in conference room at the library all day to reconfigure our org chart in order to go to the next level. If you are not out ahead of the growth and planning for it, you will never get there. A couple questions to ask yourself:
1. Are you intentional with the structure and direction for what you are leading?
2. What prep work, must be done in order to move to the next level?
- What are the obstacles hindering you? - What/who can you mobilize to help you get there?

another term

I was re-elected tonight as the Presbyter for the Central (Columbus) Area Ministers Network. I am honored to serve these pastors for another 2 years.
I am looking forward to tomorrow as our Executive Staff is going to lock ourselves in a room with a white board to strategize for the the next level. We aren't coming out until we got a plan.

great all around weekend

Our 20,000 Eggstravaganza went amazing! We did not get an exact count, but there were more people here than last year. Our team did incredible! Our Sunday services went well and we did have several new guests. Last night we also had a new Starting Point class for those interested in how to get more involved with C3. God seems to be bringing us some sharp people to link arms with us to reach this City. Altogether, we had a great weekend.

30 percent

I'm a part of the "Church Life" cohort with Dr. Lee and truly enjoying it. He gave a statistic, that in order for your church or ministry to move to the next level, you have to recruit, train and place 30% more people. Of course that is much easier said than done. I think many of us want to grow whatever we are leading, but either won't or don't know how to recruit and train others to be able to help handle any more growth. It's like wanting to get a bigger plant to put in a tiny pot. Even if there was some quick growth, it couldn't be sustained. How are you preparing for growth in what you are leading?

tension

"There has to be tension, in order for there to be movement." Even for us to move from the comfort of our lazy boy, there has to be tension. Our muscles can no longer remain in a relaxed comfortable state, but must have tension applied in order to move.....(to get more chips..ha). The same is true for our churches or whatever we lead. If there is going to be movement, there has to be tension. Too many times we look at tension as a bad thing, rather than a necessary thing to get us to where we want or need to go. If your not experiencing some tension, I would ask, are you moving? On the flip side, if you are experiencing tension, just make sure that you are directing it in the direction you want to go.

Eggstravaganza

This Saturday morning is our EGGstravaganza! We will have 20,000 eggs, 3 big inflatables, carnival games, popcorn, cotton candy and free pictures with the Easter Bunny. This event keeps growing and this year we could easily have between 1,500 - 2,000 people on the property. Following our big events, we normally have 40-60 first time guests show up the next day for church. Going from that straight into Easter, who knows where we will land. I'm excited because we now have some more room with our new sanctuary in place. Time will tell, but we are praying for greater things which are yet to come!

church life cohort

This week I went again to the "Church Life Cohort" with Dr. Wayne and Sherry Lee from Southeastern University. They have put together some amazing information that if put in to practice, can help a church of any size in any location become healthy and see growth. Their model has been tested on and has seen some incredible success. I am enjoying this journey together with 20 other pastors in Ohio. I feel I got a handle on the bigger picture and now I can't wait to jump into the nuts and bolts of it.

head or heart

I love March Madness and the NCAA basketball tourney. As I am filling out my brackets I have a major problem. Do I go with my head or my heart? My big issue is when it comes to my Ohio State Buckeyes. There are times where they may not be as good as I want them to be, and I play the "well...it could happen" card. I then usually look at them through the lense of my heart rather than what is rational. In life though, there are times I use both. Some decision if thought out, just make sense. While others are a toss up and I just have to follow my heart. But when both of those fail...I resort to my gut...of which I am trying to keep slim and trim....ha.

backwards

We usually look at backwards in a negative light. In my mind the only time you win going backwards is in tug-o-war. But, I believe for many of us, our backwards may be our forward. When God wants to do something great in and through us, we almost always have to go back to our foundation to do some work. If not, when God begins building our lives on the weak foundation we have put down, it would bring us to rubble. Although it is time consuming and many times painful, unless we deal with our deep rooted flaws, we will never be able to support all that God wants to do in us and through us. Backwards anyone?

trust not try

Our spiritual lives are all about faith. The Bible says, "without faith it is impossible to please God." When faith is broken down, it really all comes down to trust. Everything from salvation, to sanctification to healing to deliverance all come down to us trusting God's power to be at work in our lives. Could it be that we "try" way too hard, rather than just trusting God? I am learning that faith is less about me trying to force something and more about me letting the Holy Spirit lead my life. Could it be that the reason we may not see God move in power in our lives and churches is because we are either holding on to things too tightly to let go, or we are trying too hard in our own strength? I'm trying to move away from "TRY" and more toward "TRUST."

I got a guy

We have a guy in our church named, let's call him, "Jeff." He knows everyone who can do anything in our area. We are making it a point to always ask him first, before we buy anything. We were finishing a "sound" meeting where decisions were made to make purchases. We went over who was researching and buying what, when this guy walks in. He hears us say "sound panels" when he says "I got a guy." He went and picked up a $1,000 worth of sound panels for FREE!
I don't have to know everyone who does everything....I just need to know "the guy" who knows everyone who can get anything.

routine

I had a friend share with me on Sunday that, "a routine requires no faith." I love that thought. The more I began to think about that, the more I began to think of my life and how I want to live it. I want to be someone who makes actions of faith, "routine." Not routine as in boring, but routine as in, that's how I live my life continually on a day to day basis. I want to life a life of faith where if God doesn't show up, I will fail, but when HE does, HE gets all the credit and glory.

question

This week I have been wrestling with the question I am talking about Sunday. We are doing a series entitled "Can you see Him?" and I want to take it a step farther and ask, "Do you want to see Him?" Think about it. When we want to find something, we go looking for it. When that something is very valuable, we will drop everything to find it. For many Americans, I think we all realize something is not right, but with our affluence, we are able to cover up or try to pacify our need for God with "things." Those things act like a pain killer, and keep us from never really dealing with the root of the problem, which is our need for God. I also know this, in America, we can almost always get what we want. If I want a nice car, I could have one. I would be in huge debt, but I could get it. If we truly wanted to see Jesus, we would....but we don't. We are too busy settling for distractions and in doing so, miss out on the real life that only Jesus Christ can bring.

house stuff

Today, I took my day off and Keri and I went to sign a lot of new house papers. I had to sign my name at least 100x's. Another praise the Lord was seeing what we get back from taxes and it was a good bit above what we thought! God is so good. That will help cover some of those things overlooked in the buying and moving process. It's so amazing that when you put God first in finances, He truly does miracles. We are living proof.

presbyter meetings

Yesterday and today, I am a part of a meeting of overseeing pastors that make decisions for the Assemblies of God churches in Ohio. It is truly an honor to have input with leaders of a network of and churches to make a difference for Jesus Christ. I continually pray for wisdom and creativity as we walk through different issues.

sold and bought

It is a crazy exciting time in the life of myself and family. We are just entering a new church building with all the excitement. Now we just sold our current house, for what we were asking....and today bought another house that was bank owned in foreclosure closer to our church. The fact that we got what we wanted for our existing house was a MIRACLE. Now getting this amazing house for what we did, is another MIRACLE. I hope this is the house that we will retire in someday.
Having no other debt, we made a budget and with low interest rates, desperate banks with too many houses and God's favor, we got it! Every time I pull into my new driveway, I'm going laugh and thank God for our miracle house.

race season has begun

Today, I ran my first race of the year. It was an indoor duathlon, where I had to run 15min / bike 15min on a bike trainer and another 15min run around the track. They decided the winner by looking at how much distance you covered. I did the same race last year and was surprisingly faster this year! I won the race and am off to a good start for the year. Competing is a passion of mine because I get to battle myself. I am my greatest competition.

flag

We have a lot of fun at C3 as a staff and a team. One thing that we have as part of our culture is "the flag." The "flag" is the challenge that is thrown out there when someone says they have done, or can do something that is a little far fetched. Case and point: A member of our team said how they could do 15 chin ups! Immedietely, another team member threw the "flag" and said "NO WAY!" I took it a step farther with my "flag" saying that I don't think they could even do 10 chin ups! The perimeters were set and the competition was on. Soon a chin up bar was in place over a door frame and the truth came out. I won't say the outcome, but I will say this, if you roll into C3 and claim to be able to do something...you better be able to back it up. HA!

small thing lead to big things

Today as I'm running 17 miles outside with a buddy, I began to think about WHY I'm doing all this. Why do I get up 6 days a week before the sun comes up and torture myself incrementally in greater and greater measures? Because I want to do something that 99% of the worlds population cannot do....and that is to qualify for and run the Boston Marathon. The past months I have been doing small things that others aren't willing to do, in order to do something big, that I normally couldn't do. It's all about the small things, leading to the big things.

small groups

Our Community Groups are the life blood of C3. We had a great time at ours tonight. It is awesome getting to know new people. I see the importance of our small groups becoming greater and greater as we continue to grow. We are moving from a small church to a big church and in doing so people can get lost in the crowd. As we get bigger, we must get smaller. Everyone needs relationships with other people. We need people who care for us, love us and hold us accountable. Life is all about relationships.

memorial

Saturday night we had a memorial service for a true woman of God from C3. Her name was Wanda and she went to be with Jesus at 88 years old. Her family would help her in the doors and to her seat every week. You could see her dancing during worship while holding on to her walker. Her family said she loved "rock n roll worship." All those present at her memorial service shared how she walked with Jesus and prayed continually.
Driving away, it really challenged me to look at my own life. Wanda left an incredible legacy behind to her family. I talked about a quote from Covey that says, we can give 2 things to our family, wings and roots. I want to give both.

humbling

I love Fridays, because I am all alone at C3 as the all the other staff take their day off that day. Today, I spent some time with Jesus just sitting in our new sanctuary. It really is overwhelming and humbling to be right in the middle of what God is doing. To watch our young church grow and to see Jesus change peoples lives is a dream come true. It is a excitingly scary thing when I realize that this new sanctuary will not be able to contain all that God is going to do. On occasion, God gives me glimpses of where we are going.....and I sit in His presence speechless. All I can say is...we've only just begun! The DENT will be made....and a city will be impacted for the name of Jesus Christ!
"If God is for us, who can be against us!"

HE heard my cry

This morning I show up for my 3rd straight day of jury duty. They then call us out of our chambers and announce that the dispute has been settled and that we are free to go. Thank-you Lord!

I do have to say that I learned more of how the judicial system works and I met some new people on the 10 person jury. Also, it was funny that someone from C3 was on the jury to. So, back to the office....and now 2 days behind!!! ha.

my duty

I am currently serving a 5 day sentence in jury duty. 5 DAYS! No cell phone, no texting and no internet, how does one function? I am now forced to try to get all my work done at night after the kids are in bed, while still training for the Boston marathon. This morning I was up at 4:20am and running by 5am to get in my 20 miles before a 5 minute shower and off to the HALL OF JUSTICE. I guess as long as this a once in a lifetime experience, I will take it.
PS - I would love to be a lawyer just to question the witness!...or at least badger them!

jury duty calls

Tomorrow I have been selected to show up for jury duty. When they ask me my occupation, I'm thinking about saying "minister" and "ALL THE LAW BREAKERS DESERVE TO DIE!" lol. I'm sure that would get me out of there quickly. OR I could say, "WHATEVER ANYONE DID IS UNDER GRACE AND CAN BE FORGIVEN, AND WE SHOULD DO THE SAME." Ha. I am bummed though, that I am missing our monthly pastor meeting in our new sanctuary.

whirlwind

This past weekend was awesome! We were in our new sanctuary and it was electric. We have an amazing team of C3'ers that pulled this thing off. Everything from getting all the technical stuff ready to cleaning, it took a ton of man hours to pull this thing off....but we did. As we looked around we realized one problem...it was built too small. God is doing something amazing in our church and peoples lives are changing as we continue to keep Jesus as the focal point. I'm excited to see what happens as we ramp up to Easter.

Olympics

I love the Olympics! I cry sometimes as I stand at attention with my hand over my heart as the medals are given and the United States National Anthem is being played. Being a "very" amateur athlete, I can only imagine the hard work and dedication that goes into the performances we see from our couch while eating chips. The countless hours in practice, the very early mornings, the right foods, the list can go on and on of what they have sacrificed in order to be the best. It inspires me to push harder and run faster in every area of my life. I love the Olympic Games!

the dream lives on

Tonight, Gary and I had a meeting at a place called "Rule 3." Rule 3 is a really sharp restaurant/bowling alley/wii rooms/ and video arcade all in one. It was created for families and it is a great asset to our community. The owner, who I knew casually, passed away 5 days ago in a tragic car accident. We pray for his wife and 4 young children that he left behind.
I spent some time reflecting on his life as short as it was. Tonight at Rule 3, I looked around and saw the place close to full, taking part of his dream. Although he passed from this Earth, his dream and vision is still alive and will continue to live long after him and affect peoples lives.

I want to live my life in such a way that my life's influence will point people to Jesus long after I am gone.

the journey begins

Today, we begin interviewing for C3's first site pastor. Again, we are moving to a "1 church, many locations" model, in order to make a "dent" in Columbus. Our heart is to surround the 270 belt-loop around Columbus with video venues. That meaning the main teaching is video of the main campus and everything else is live and duplicated from C3. By doing this, we can expand our church without dumping millions into more buildings, by renting facilities. The site Pastor that we are looking to hire will be the Pastor of that church, which is an extension of our main campus. By doing this, we are able to reach more people in a broader area. God has given us incredible favor and growth and our heart is to reproduce that all over the city. We want to dream so big, that only God can pull it off. We are praying that God will direct us today.

no new building yet

I was bummed that we were not in our new building yet, but this looks to be THE WEEK. If not, we are in trouble cause we are tearing down our old sanctuary to put the stuff in the new one. It shouldn't be a problem, but you never know. We have several C3'ers who are here now and helping us clean everything to get ready for Sunday. Hopefully we will be saying good bye to drywall dust for a while...that is until they begin remodeling our current space for kids rooms. So pray we get into the new sanctuary this week!

day off

It is amazing having all our kids in school at the same time. This is a first for Keri and I and we take full advantage or our 3 hours of solice, one day a week. Today, we worked out at the gym, hung out and then picked up the kids and went sledding. It was a great day. I topped off the day by marrying a great couple in a small wedding in our new sanctuary....before our first service. How cool is that?

area pastors meeting

Today, I met with 5 other like minded ministers from our area to discuss how we can make Jesus famous. I love that there is no "competition" feel between any of us. In fact, there are times we talk about those who keep bouncing around to each of our churches and at times get a good chuckle. We have gleaned different things from each other and many times one pastor may have the answer for another guys question. I think God smiles when His children can put their own agenda's or differences aside and work together for the KINGDOM of God. It' not about an empire....it's about His Kingdom!

empty pentecost

I am reading a book on the life of John G. Lake that is challenging my socks off! (almost literally) With Lake moving in the power of the Holy Spirit on an daily basis and then seeing those who called themselves "believers" who are filled with the Holy Spirit, he said "our hearts will never satisfied with an empty Pentecost." The day of Pentecost in Acts Chapter 2 was a revolutionary moment for the disciples that changed their lives and our lives forever. After they were filled with the Holy Spirit, they literally changed the world. If the Spirit of God truly lives in our lives we should be different and if not we only have an empty pentecost. The power of God that so changed the lives of the early disciples is still at work today and is available to ALL believers!