next level

I know that God is wanting to take our church to another level in 2012. In order for that to happen, I have to go to another level. I feel that God is calling me to a deeper prayer life with Him. Making this a reality will take more than emotion or hunger, it will take discipline. I have set down to work out my weekly schedule in order to organize what I truly deem important and prayer is at the top of the list. I'm praying that 2012 is our greatest year yet in Loving people to LifeChange!

personal prayer retreat

Yesterday afternoon I showed up on the Heartland campgrounds to spend some time with Jesus. I try to do this at least once a year to seek God for His vision for my life as well as the church He has allowed me to Pastor. It's a time to evaluate the past and plan for the future. This is a time when I try to give God my complete undivided attention....except for while writing this post......

Christmas

We had a great Christmas. Our 2 Christmas eve services went well and Christmas day was incredible just being with family. Our house was full of our family, food, presents and nerf gun wars. Life is so much better when we take time to be grateful for the little things.

die daily

This life with Jesus is all about us dying to our flesh in order to live in Christ! I had to ask myself today, what have I died to lately? What fleshly desire am I currently burying? And if I can't think of one...am I really denying myself, taking up my cross and following Jesus. My walk with Jesus must be daily and that means "death" to myself...daily. Ouch.

what are you?

Are you an encourager or a discourager? Does your life instill hope or hopelessness in others? Do you build people up or tear them down?
To discourage someone is easy: Do nothing. Say nothing. Be negative. Encouraging on the other hand takes some work. I learned the power of encouragement from my Father. People like to be around my dad for the simple fact that he makes them feel better about themselves. He is a Pastor, so on a weekly basis people at his church line up to shake his hand, receive a hug or just a kind word following each service. Many will wait for 20+ minutes for this opportunity because it is that important to them.
How do you know if you are an encourager or a discourager?
- Do people gravitate to you?
- Are you intentionally looking for ways to build others up?
- Do others smile often around you?

Be an encourager this week?

notes from Hope Matheny

This morning in our C3LI (Leadership Institute, or pastors in training) we had Hope Matheny who has served in leadership at C3 since the beginning. She is an amazing woman of God and a business woman as well. Here are some of my takeaways from her teaching on Conflict Resolution.
- Division/Conflict is a spiritual battle and must be approached, prayed through and treated as such.
- Everyone walks in with their view of the truth...even if skewed.
- If there is conflict, it is due to either fear or pride.
- Chase the truth fiercely.
- To deal with conflict effectively, we have to deal with our own hindering issues first.
- I have no right to anger within a conflict.
- I must guard against myself trying to control the situation and must rather seek God's Will in the circumstance.
- I must be aware to the fact that the enemy may be using me to bring or contribute to the conflict.

looking ahead

Next week I'm heading to Heartland Conference Retreat Center for a personal prayer and planning retreat. I'm looking forward to getting away and spending some time with Jesus and to seek His face for the vision and clarity. It's probably a weakness of mine and many other leaders, and that is to get away to think and pray.

Christmas Sweater Sunday

This Sunday is C3's annual "Christmas Sweater Sunday!" It could be their favorite Christmas sweater, ugliest, prettiest, one with a story or just one from grandmothers closet, but whatever the case it's going to be fun! We will award a prize and have the congregation vote in each service. We have a couple people who take this pretty seriously. It's gonna be a blast.

powerless

Feeling powerless is a decision. Think about that. It's a decision that we make, to give up. The Bible says that "with God, all things are possible." Therefore, we are never powerless. Rather it is a decision to hope and trust in Christ or not.

giver or taker

Are you a giver or a taker? This applies in so many areas of our lives. How about emotionally? Are you the person that is in constant emotional distress and takes from everyone around you? Or how about in time or energy? Do you drain others or pour into them? We can look at financially, at our jobs or in any situation. So are you a giver or a taker?

target

Have you ever wondered when we get to heaven and look through God's lens on our lives, if we missed the target? I'm wrestling this morning in prayer by asking God if my target for success is His target? How much of my life is truly lived out for Him and in honor of Him and how much is selfishly for me? Then the responsibility of leading church and helping guide others toward Jesus. I know that I am heading in the right direction, but I just don't want to hit the target, I want to nail the bullseye. I'm praying for wisdom and clarity from God as I want my will to be His Will.

be present

Tonight we had a ManUp event at C3. Gary did a great job leading the discussion on "Being Present." In a culture where busyness and multi-tasking rules, we talked about how we can lose the distractions and truly focus on what is important. We do that by BEING PRESENT.

temptation

One of the first steps to beating temptation is recognizing something as temptation. Too many times we can't see, or don't want to admit that something is temptation. If we can with God's help identify what is temptation in our lives, we can then deal with it appropriately. Is there an area of temptation in your life that is undercover?

attention

Whatever has your attention has your worship.

Attention is one of the most sought after things on the planet. All day long, people and things are trying to get ours. It is really a battle to give our attention to the things that matter most. We must guard it and become good stewards of it. For truly, whatever has our attention has our worship.

ManUp hunting trip

15 guys from C3 church headed to Waverly Ohio for a 2 night, 2 day deer hunting trip and we had a blast. We had several guys who had never harvested a deer. There was some great guy bonding as well as a lot of lead flying. 3 deer fell and all had a great time. The weather was perfect and the terrain was rugged. Every guy at least got to shoot at a deer, so we couldn't have asked more than that. But the most important thing was a bunch a guys who love Jesus got to hang out together and make some incredible memories.

our hearts

It's amazing how God uses circumstances, problems, stress, success, failure, money and life to try to deal with our hearts. God is constantly trying to shape our hearts to look more like His. This is a lifelong journey. How's your heart? What has control of your heart?

starting point

"Always start with WHY...not WHAT."
WHAT is being done, should flow from the WHY it is needed. Wrestle to find the WHY and the WHAT then becomes intentional. The WHAT should fulfill the WHY. I hope that came out right.

craziest race

I forgot to blog about this, but I really have to. Last Saturday I ran the toughmudder.com in Indiana. It was the craziest race I have ever been a part of. 40 degrees and 20 mph winds didn't help any. The race was 10 miles through the badlands of huge hills that were made out of a sandy gravel. The obstacles were everything from going underwater and under a wall in a huge container full of ice water to army crawling in tunnels, to carrying a log on your shoulder for 1/4 mile. Others were the huge walls you had to scale, the cargo nets, the mile of waist high freezing swamp water and their signature electric shock with hundreds of charged wires that you had to run through. It was very tough and I still don't have complete feeling in one of the ends of my fingers. (perhaps some frost bite) I ran in the elite heat and placed second. I will say this, you never truly know who you are until you have pushed yourself to your limits. For it is then, that you see who or what you really are.

time away

Some of my most relaxing time of the year is around Thanksgiving. I keep back a couple vacation days for this time. I just got back from 3 days in the mountains of WV doing some deer hunting. It poured rain the whole time, but I still enjoyed just getting away to a place where cell phones don't work and no one has heard of the internet. I was blessed to come home with 2 coolers full of meat. Thanksgiving morning I ran a small 5k and won the first prize...a frozen turkey! Today will be spent hanging with my family and playing nerf wars and eating some good food. I am so thankful for all that God has given me. I want to enjoy all the blessings of life.

one shot

We only get one shot at this thing called life. One life to live however we choose, but someday we will be held accountable. I can't imagine when we stand before God and all the distractions and busyness of life are removed. We will then see with different eyes, the perspective that God sees. I wan't to live for that day...and I only got one shot.

challenge

As a church, we are in a constant change. The great thing is, people are constantly experiencing the LifeChanging power of Jesus. The hard thing is, as we continue to move forward, we have to change in order to continue to stay ahead of the growth. Change is tough and very demanding. Those who won't pay the price of change, experience the consequence of apathy and decline. Both have a high price tag. One is paid up front, the other is demanded on the back end. It's our choice wether we pay now or later.

Family fun

This weekend I got some great time with my kids. On Saturday, I got to hang with my 2 boys and one of their buddies the majority of the day. We played nerf gun wars for a couple hours and then I quarterbacked for a 3 on 3 game of football in the front yard for a couple more hours with them and some neighborhood boys. Then Sunday afternoon, it was just me and my little princess. I took her on a daddy daughter date to Graeter's Ice Cream. I'm blessed to be a dad and am loving this season of life. Upward Basketball season starts next week and I'm excited to coach my son Kross!

risk and failure

It seems to me that each one of us either leans to risk or caution. If you lean to risk, you lose quite often, but when you win, you win big. If you lean to caution, you very rarely lose, but when you win, it is usually small. Risk equals more losses but bigger wins, while caution equals fewer loses but smaller wins.

At least that is how it makes sense in my head.

become a miner

We have all had many life experiences, some good and some bad and many neutral. Sometimes we zip through them so fast in order to keep moving on, that we don't learn all that we can from them. What would happen if we sat down and took some time to again walk through our life's experiences with the lens of "What lessons were there for me to learn from?" How many things should we have learned that we didn't, only because we never took time to dig them out?

stalled out

I've been seeing a trend in spiritual growth in newer believers. Someone far from God comes to Christ and their lives begin to change. They accept forgiveness, grace, mercy and love. Their relationship with Jesus is all about themselves, just as it would be for an infant or young child in the natural. After a couple of years, their is a propensity to stall out. The reason is because their has to be transition from "what can I get," to "what can I give." Unless this transition is made from inward to outward, new believers will stall out in their faith. Our spiritual growth process must at some point turn from Us...to Others. We are redeemed to fulfill HIS mission and that is to reach the lost.

not found

I've been after a certain deer for the last 3-4 years. The first year, the day after the season, I see him while in my car. The next year, he walked under my stand while it was still dark, then out to a field where I could make out his antlers. Another year, I saw him as I came out from my tree stand, and he watched me from the top of a hill. Yesterday, he appears out of nowhere and I was able to get him stopped and quickly launch an arrow. I hit him...but after several hours searching could not find him. I will go back out and look again, but I am just sick over this. I been blessed to have harvested over 30-35 deer in my lifetime and this is the first one I have not retrieved.

something that matters

Start something that matters. What are you waiting for? Who's permission do you need? What obstacles are standing in your way? Why have you waited so long? Do something that matters.....today.

John 14:12

John 14:12 - "Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father."
We will do greater things than Jesus, not because of the QUALITY of the Spirit of God on our individual lives. For we all know that none of us walks sinless like Jesus. We will do greater things than Jesus because of our QUANTITY of the Holy Spirit poured out. In other words, Jesus was in one place at one time and we "Christ's Disciples" will be all over the world.

- idea from Radicle Together - Platt

Emyth

Reading a great secular book on leadership called the "E Myth" by Michael Gerber. It has been great so far. I'm only a couple chapters in, but am already relating to the tension between the Entrepreneur, Manager and the Technician. It is almost exactly zeroing in on myself, our staff and the "tension" that is almost always present. The key is realizing that the TENSION IS HEALTHY AND NEEDED to continue to move forward, while at the same time appreciating what each brings to the table.

DTR

Define The Relationship. In the book "Not a Fan" it is brought to light. Your on your first date with a girl and she wigs you out by saying, "we need to define the relationship." But think about this with Christ. I was challenged to Define My Relationship with Jesus. Am I really a Follower...or just a Fan? Is Jesus really my everything, or just an Add-On in my life? How much do I really trust Him? Am I willing to joyfully give up everything just to know Him better? This week, I have been challenged to Define My Relationship ....with Jesus. I know what I want it to be...and I am not there.....yet.

spiritual warfare

When it comes to spiritual warfare there is no such thing as a draw, we either win or lose. I'm asking myself personally as well as for my church, how much pushing back on the darkness is really going on? Pushing back the darkness is helping people experience FREEDOM that can only come through Christ. Are we just a show or a parade with unloaded spiritual weapons? Or are we truly uses all that God has given us? What percentage of our lives are TALK...and what part are actually WALK? That's just where I am at right now. I want ALL God has for me and C3!

mission

We are on this Earth for a reason...and that reason is not us. We are second and Christ is first. Which means the things on God's heart, should be the things on our heart. How much of your time, money and energies are spent on Christ's mission which is to seek and save the lost?

passion

All passion comes out of anguish.
Think about what you are truly passionate about. It was usually birthed out of pain, which led you to have a strong desire to create change. What are you passionate about and why?

life

What have you sold your life for?
Everyday we give up precious time and life pursuing something. Is what we are pursuing, worth the trade off?

ManUp

We had an incredible men's retreat from our church this past weekend. THere were some times for prayer, teaching, friendly competition and even a high ropes course. I love being a part of a church where our guys are really opening up to each other and beginning to pray and encourage one another. We have a group of guys desiring to start a men's revolution at our church. I'm excited to see where this goes.

I O

When I normally hear I O .....I figure I must have missed the O H. But I O also stands for Instant Obedience. I want to instantly obey when I hear God speaking to me. If not, I allow myself or the enemy talk me out of doing what God has asked me to do. Delayed obedience is disobedience so I want to INSTANTLY OBEY!

heart

I'm reading a book right now that is smacking me in the nose and I can't wait to digest it, pray through it and then share it with my church. It's called "the Blessed Life" by Robert Morris. It is the best book on generosity that I have ever read and God is using it to change my life. I'm only halfway through it but here are a couple great quotes or ideas:
- How you respond to God's blessing on someone else, reveals the condition of your heart.
- Tithing is not really giving, it's returning.
- Tithing is a test.
- If something is wrong under the Law...can it be right under Grace?
- The first fruits are the "trigger for the blessing"
- Money is neutral, it's a tool and a test.
- It's not about money...it's about our hearts
- How much of a grip does money have on our lives?

confession

My name is Konan Stephens and God has delivered me...today...from a poverty mentality. A poverty mentality causes us to be ashamed of the blessings of God. It associates "wealth" as coming from the devil. My Keri and I are givers. Always have been and always plan to be. Because of this, we live a very blessed life. I would continually find myself making excuses for God's Blessing in my life. (I'm not talking about "prosperity" gospel..not even close) I have grown up in a culture that says Pastors should be poor and I have lived that way for years. From now on, God's blessings in my life will lead me to GRATITUDE and not shame. God's blessings are a by-product of being generous and I will do my best not to constantly make excuses for what God has blessed me with. God knows that material things don't have a hold on me. Honestly, if our house burned down tomorrow and we lost all our stuff...it wouldn't make me lose much sleep. All I have is HIS anyways and it's only on loan to me. I am grateful beyond measure to my God who has blessed me in EVERY way and I give HIM all the praise! I will from here on out...walk in my new freedom.

today affects tomorrow

What we do today, shapes tomorrow. What we do today, will either be built upon or cleaned up tomorrow. The Bible says what we sow, we reap. Intentionally sow, to intentionally reap.

Road trip

This morning our staff will all load up in a van and travel to Atlanta for the Catalyst Conference. I'm not sure what is better, the long ride conversations and team bonding or the actual conference. We did this last year and had a blast. I'm believing for God to accomplish in us what HE desires. Bon Voyage!

facts and feelings

"You not only have to confront the brutal facts...but the brutal feelings as well."
In leadership there are many facts that are hard to deal with. Some facts about ourselves or the organizations we lead are not very positive. These facts can be brutal and it is our responsibility to create and execute a plan to get us out of it. The flip side of that coin is the personal insecurities and feelings that must be dealt with those facts. The hard thing is that many of the facts point directly to our failure or lack. We must be strong enough to admit when we are wrong and courageous enough to make a change.

the leader's weakness

The leaders weaknesses are also the churches weaknesses.

The enemy knows that like in any war, if he can take out the commanding officer, it will affect the whole command under his leadership. So the enemy's plan is centered around the weaknesses of it's leadership. The enemy of our souls will continually check the doors of our hearts and minds to make sure we have locked them and if not, he will take advantage of it. I have learned as well that the more God entrusts to you as a spiritual leader, the greater the attacks and spiritual weight. So, I must guard my weaknesses with tenacity and allow Christ to be strong IN and THROUGH my weaknesses.

together or alone

I'm seeing that the key in leading is to get the people / plan / resources all heading in the same direction. For most of us we have people heading one way, the plan another and the funding still another. If we can align all 3 of those in the same direction, we will move forward. Are your people, plan and funding all heading in the same direction?

spinning

We attended the "Forum" conference this week and it was really good. Randall Ross and Dr. Sam Chand were the speakers and they were incredible. Gary and I got to be the airport pick-up for Dr. Chand. I appreciate him answering our questions and investing in us. I feel like I have just drank from a fire house and am now doing my best to digest and apply. We now have the tough job of turning "information" into "transformation."

gaps

In life there are "opportunity gaps." Today I am cashing in on one of those gaps. I asked to pick up the speaker of a leadership event from the airport. I now have the privilege of spending 2 hours with one of the top 30 leadership guru's on the planet. I want to be the best chauffeur he has ever had and I come ready with questions to pick his brain. Dr. Sam Chand has been leadership hero of mine for quite some time and I'm honored beyond measure to spend any time with him.
What opportunity gaps are you missing?

The Word of God

I heard a great word from a friend the other day that is so true. He said that "the only weapon the devil has against you is God's Word." The enemy comes to God and says, "they have unforgiveness and therefore I (the enemy) have the right to torment them and I can even extend a curse on them to the 3rd generation." That is a scary and powerful thought. If on the "right" side of God's Word, we live in victory and can use the Word of God against the enemy. But if on the wrong side of God's Word and living in sin, the enemy can use the Truth of God's Word against us. Which side are you on?

strength and weakness

"The greatness of your vision exposes the depth of your weakness."

I want my God given vision to be so much greater than me. If it's not, it's way too small. Following a God given vision can be very intimidating because of the enormity of it. A great vision requires that we keep our eyes totally focused on Jesus and His strength. When I compare my limited abilities to the magnitude of a God-sized vision, I realize how incompetent and incomplete I am without Christ and His power in my life.

around you

How do people people feel when they are around you? Are people encouraged or discouraged? Do you tend to talk more about yourself, or turn the conversation toward them? What would happen if we could begin to live to encourage and help others to go to another level just by being around us? We could change the world.

loyal

I want to live my life more loyal to the future than to the past.
(this is the week of the short posts)

C4

theC4network.com

The movement has begun.

tested

Love is not love, until it is tested. Integrity is not integrity, until it is tested. Courage is not courage, until it is tested. Many things in life cannot be proven, until they are tested. So when you are going through a time of testing, take a look at what it is proving and disproving in your life.

rollin

I'm amazed to watch the Favor of God move. Today, the governing board of the Assemblies of God voted to approve 5 new church plants for Ohio, 3 of which will be affiliated with C3 Church. I firmly believe that God has called C3 to be influential in planting 50 new churches in the next 20 years. This begins the ball rolling by supplying financial resources to these new planters in order to make their church planting dream a reality. I'm humbled and honored to play a small part in what God is doing. .....It has begun!!!!!!

tested promises

God's promises are tested by trials. Really, I guess it has to be this way. Otherwise, how would we know God's promises are true unless they are tested and tried. This requires faith on our part to hold onto the promise of God, even when we step beyond our limitations. We will never know the full power of God, until we ride out the storms while clinging to His promises that prove true.

miracle

As I look at the Bible, the life of Jesus and the miracles that God performed, I see a consistency. The miracles always came when there was a lack natural resources. I think sometimes we pray for God to supply a miracle, the whole time we are stockpiling resources. We pray for God to give us more, while He is waiting for us to use what He has given us, then He will supply the miracle. Otherwise, where is the faith. God's miracles always begin, when we get to the end ourselves. Our ending place, is His beginning place.

serving

We have this false mindset in the body of Christ today. A young person the other day said "I can't really enter into worship unless it's a certain band." Wow. We have made following Jesus all about serving ourselves. I think the church has fallen into this trap as well. While we do want to attract those far from Christ and love them to LifeChange through Jesus, we must be careful to not keep people in the mindset that the church exists to serve me. As a church we must move away from "how can we serve you," to "how can we HELP you serve." Serving is essential to following Jesus. Jesus HImself was the greatest servant of all and we look the most like Him when we are serving.

why a leader

I have heard some leaders complain about how hard it is to lead a church or organization. When the truth of the matter is this, if there were no problems, there would be no need for a leader. That's why we as leaders must embrace the discomfort of leading. The leader must embrace the pain as it is his calling.

hero or zero

Last night I was playing in the outfield in our softball game. We are up by 2 runs, with 2 outs in the last inning. One more out and we win the game. The batter hits a bloop over the infield and I take off running as fast as I can to get to it. I have a decision to make. Do I go for the catch and win the game? Or do I slow up and catch in on the bounce? If I go with the latter we would be tied and could still lose. I decided in that split second to go for it. I'm running as fast as I can and extend my glove as far as I can. The ball hits the end of my glove.......and falls out...ZERO. Bummer. We lose. I've been on both sides of that coin, but yesterday, I lost. Man I hate losing. But in the next game, I would give anything to be in that same situation. I guess that is the competitor in me. It's not just about how you win, but how you let losing affect you. For me..this loss will drive me forward.

motive

I have met many church planters that want to plant a church for the wrong reasons. Several have been burnt by insecure Senior Pastors or just the whole church politics game. They leave those churches with some bitterness burned in their hearts. Then these planters go out to plant church with a "Im going to show them" attitude. They have totally missed the whole point of "love." If we are planting a church or doing any kind of ministry out of anything other than love for Jesus and His people, then we are missing it. Why are doing what you are doing? Are you trying to "prove" something, or is everything you are doing full of God's love?

It has begun

God has started to bring the dream of C3 being influential in planting 50 churches in 20 years, to life. We are excited to partner and help mother Doug and Stephanie Garasic of the becometheMovement.com. We will be sharing this with the church by having them in to speak on October 2nd. Also, we will be partnering to help the Bill and Lynn Themelaras from Covenant Church in Pittsburg, plant in Westerville Ohio. Today, we are also blessed to have another amazing couple going through their church planting assessment here at C3 as well as I'm having coffee with yet another sharp church planting prospect. All that to say....God is about to blow this thing up and we are getting closer to taking the City of Columbus for the name of Jesus!

disrespect

We have all been on both sides of disrespect and it is no fun. When someone is disrespected, they give themselves permission to question th other persons motives and character. Disrespect breeds all kinds of distrust and negativity. As leaders, we must guard not only our heart but also our words and actions towards others.

captive

Reading a cool parallel of God's people today and that of the Israelites in Egyptian slavery. In Exodus 1, we read where the most powerful man in the "then known world" was fearful of the Israelites who were multiplying quickly. Pharaoh said, "we must deal with them wisely....lest they leave this land." Why would he be afraid of a nation of shepherds? Because he knew that his power over them was based on a lie. If the Israelites only knew who they were and the power through God that was theirs, they would be unstoppable. The same is true for us today. The only power the enemy has over us is based on a lie and carried out because of our ignorance of God's Word. It's time that we as believers stand up in the authority that is rightfully ours as Children of the Most High God!

staff reading

Right now as a staff at C3 we are walking through the book, "A Tale of Three Kings," by Gene Edwards. Ouch! We are having some great discussion on brokenness. I love the one chapter that talks about how God used Saul and his persecution of David, to crush and remove the Saul INSIDE of David.
We all have some Saul (pride, jealousy, bitterness, etc.) inside of us and God uses people and situations to remove it from our lives. If we push back and don't allow God to do the necessary work in our lives, then the outcome will be disastrous. Who are what is God using in your life, to destroy the Saul in you?

faith

Are you standing in hope or walking in faith? Hope is great. We all need it, but it can not replace faith. Rather, it should in operation working hand in hand with faith. As we continue to walk in faith, we have a hope that helps fuel our faith.

pride

Today, I had one of those moments from God that it's hard to put in words, because it was more of a feeling or realization...but I will still try anyways. I was walking out of the gym early this morning and thinking about how ridiculous pride is, in comparison to how big God is. How can I seriously take pride in anything that I have or have done, when you compare it with who God is? I am so small and insignificant in comparison to God...and it's incredibly humbling to dwell on.

opponent

Reading Sun Stand Still and preaching a message series by the same name. I'm loving the book by Steven Furtick. It is increasing faith inside of me.
A thought from the book. "You would never see how strong God is, if there were no opponents in your life for Him to overcome."

Many times we as believers try to shrink God to the size of our biggest problems. Because we feel it is out of our power, then it must be out of His. Nothing could be farther from the truth. The truth is that God wants to reveal His power in our lives by giving us the strength to over come the things that are too big for us. There is no opponent, addiction, enemy or power strong enough to stand against our God. The same God that resides in YOU.... Let's not only say we believe that...but let's live it out.

Champs

We finally did it! We won the coveted Pickerington Church League softball title! It has been one of the goals of our 4.5 year old church. The road has not been easy. I remember our first year we won only one game. To this year, we only lost one game. We played the top two teams yesterday and beat them both by more than 10 runs. It was one of those great moments, especially with a couple of the guys who know how far we have come. A few have been here from the beginning when we were really bad. Next year the goal is to win both the men's and co-ed city league as well. We have the worlds best general manager (Yousef) and hope to extend his contract another 3 years...lol. He is one of the only guys who is MORE competitive than me...but still is a great sport. So for now, we will enjoy the great season!

important

This week is one of the most important things I do all year. It's my families vacation. We are chilling at a place on a lake and doing nothing but spending time together. We are swimming, canoeing, pontooning and fishing. We literally caught 48 fish today. Our kids are having a ball and we are making memories. I cherish this time.

miracle

"Sometimes we get to see a miracle, other times we get to be the miracle." (Furtick)
Either way, God gets the glory. Seeing a miracle is easier that being one, because being one means we are forced to wrestle through the miracle working process. Miracles always start with problems and opposition. The greater the problem, the greater the miracle.

opposition creates opportunity

If we didn't have opposition in our lives, how we would have the opportunity to see God's power in our lives? The greater the opposition, the greater God's power can work in our lives. We all want the stories of God's miracles and power in our lives, but that only comes through opposition.

growing together

Once I had a mentor who shared one of his greatest regrets in life. He said he regretted that he and his wife didn't grow together. over the years. My mentor had been rubbing shoulders with some amazing thinkers, had read a ton of books and had grown a great deal. His wife on the other hand was stuck at home raising the kids and didn't have the same influences on her life. He felt like in the areas of leadership, perspective and intellect, they had drifted apart. I want to make a conscious effort to grow along with my Keri so that we can continue to minister side by side.

powerful sin

Reading "Sun Stand Still" which is a great read. Furtick make a statement which says, "The most powerful sin in your life, is the one that is unconfessed." That is a very true statement. It doesn't really matter what it is or how big we think it is, if it's not brought to Christ, it will keep us prisoner. Unconfessed sin loses it's power when it is brought to the light of confession and repentance. As Followers of Christ, we are to live in freedom. Freedom is rightfully ours because we belong to JESUS!

lottery theology

I think that most people are hoping for a lottery theology when it comes to the things of God. In other words, we want to sacrifice little, and then right away be used incredibly by God. This is not how God rolls. God knows that without trials, pain and experience there is no way we can carry the weight of the incredible things He wants to do through us. God has to do things IN us, before He can do things THROUGH us..

your life

What is your life about? What is the cause that you are living for? Is it just to selfishly exist, or something greater? We all need something that we pour our life's energy and resources into. This cause must be bigger than us and it must be from God. When the time allotted us finally ticks off the last moment, what will we leave behind? Will we have made an impact in someone else's life? What can you give your life to, that will still be making a difference 50 years from now? We only get one shot at this.

me

"The size of your vision will be determined by who you believe God is."
Think about this statement for a moment. A.W. Tozer said, "The most important thing about you, is what comes to mind when you think about God." Wow. With God there is no limiting factor, because He is limitless. The only limiting factor is us! Does my perception of God change who He is? No way. But, my small limiting thinking does limit my faith in what God can do through me. So really the only limit on what God can do in and through me...is me.

crazy

God is moving a lot of pieces in the background to begin the movement of C3 planting churches. We met with another incredible couple and talked about what could be. I am really sensing that God has given us the "green light" to begin this new chapter. 2012 will be a monumental year for C3 Church. May God answer our prayer of 50 churches planted in 20 years!.....and when it happens, He will get all the Glory!

video games

I listened to a podcast today about video games. I never thought of myself as a video gamer until a question was posed. Do I have any games on my phone and do I play them at least once a week?
Video games fly under the cultural radar but are huge shapers of it. Think of all countless hours that our kids are in front of the screen with the controller in their hands. Why is it such a big draw? They can live experiences that they never would be able to in real life. There is also the teamwork (community) aspect of playing games together. Also, it's one of the only "fiction" things you can do and say "I did this." You can't say that about reading a book or watching a movie. Good or bad, they are teaching a generation. How do video games affect you and what will your response be?

success

Success is different for all of us. Some think that success is solely how much money you can accumulate or how much power a person can have. Maybe it's how much stuff they can buy or how nice they look, but is that real success? Could it be so much more than that? I know for me it is. So let me ask a couple of questions:

- What is success for you?
- How do you define it?
- How do you measure it?
- How do you know if you have achieved it?
- What are your plans to achieve that success?
- How can you prepare yourself or position yourself to achieve what you define as success?

For many people, they go through life without ever defining the target of what they are living for. Don't be that person.

fear and insecurity

"Our greatest fears are usually rooted in our personal insecurities." (Furtick)
How many times do we allow the deep fears we wrestle with inside, to hinder what God is trying to do in us. Everyone I have known has had some form of insecurities. Some are easy to see, by the way people talk, act and dress. While others are harder to see, in things like thoughts and motives. Regardless, they can hinder what God wants to do in and through us. Get the root of your insecurities and through God's strength dig them out. Christ has given you everything you need.

time

I'm currently reading 3 books, one of which is Steven Furtick's, "Sun Stand Still." He makes a quote that has stuck with me. He says "Time can talk you out of your dreams."
How many times have we felt God speak very clearly to us, but fail to act quickly. The longer we wait to act, the more unclear and less urgent that the need becomes. Many times there are several smaller steps of preparation that lead up to fulfilling our life's Call or mission. A couple of initial questions would be:
1. What do I need to do to prepare for what God is calling me to?
2. What is the first step to being living in obedience toward fulfilling that Call from God?

Again, I think the key is action in the right direction. Obedience is the key. God may say to wait, and if He does we better obey. Most of the time though, He says "go".....and we choose to stay.

summer lull

As a four year old church, we have been able to see trends in attendance, giving, serving, etc. The summer time is a time for vacations and nice weather to be outside as well as a time for weekend get aways. I think it is easy for a staff to relax some as well. While this may be the case for a couple weeks, I really feel the summer should be a time of preparing for the upcoming Fall, when people get back on a normal routine with school and work. Summers should be a time to "re-load." We are preparing as a church for this next chapter in our churches history....and it will all start this Fall.

take aways from jury duty

Here are some take aways:
- Real community can happen with about any group of people (the jury).
- Think through, how could my decisions or actions be portrayed by a prosecuting attorney?
- It's a humbling thing to make decisions that affects other peoples lives.
- It's hard to make objective decisions without letting my emotions sway the facts.
- Tension can be a good thing.
- Truth is truth, and will always surface to the top eventually.
- We need to continually look to the future of where our current direction is taking us.
- The decisions we make affect generations to come.
- Everyone is one decision away from going to jail.
- We are all accountable for our actions, whether in this life or the one to come.

luckiest man alive

I have been chosen AGAIN for jury duty and have to report tomorrow. 13 months ago I was chosen to sit in a 4 day trial that was thankfully thrown out early. And now I have been chosen again. I told them that I served 13 months ago and found out the rule was within the last 12 months. As lucky as I am...I'm considering playing the lottery...ha.

it's coming

Yesterday, it was incredibly exciting to have a cookout at my house and sit around the table with potential church planters from C3. To talk and dream about launching a movement of church plants really gets me fired up. I am sensing that as a church God is about to rip the lid off. My prayer is that with in 20 years, we are influential in the planting of 50 churches. AND...our goal is to be a "Grandparent" church in 5 years. In other words, one of our church plants, plants another church within 5 years.

transmitter

Thinking today about how we are a transmitter for Christ and His love. The source of the signal (Christ) is incredibly strong. The issue comes down to how well I'm connected to the source and then how clear I relay it back out. So it really comes down to me. Am I in a place to hear and receive from God and then how much will that continue to look like Jesus after it goes through my filter. Too many times, what we are transmitting does not look like Jesus b/c it has been tainted by us.
What are you transmitting?

a plan

We are now working on setting up some tracks to train, equip, launch and resource church plants and planters. Our heart is to create a plan with steps that are easy, obvious and intentional. This is much harder than it looks, but incredibly necessary in order to make a substantial difference. We are now creating the paths that I pray will soon become an 8 lane super highway from which we will launch new church plants. Jesus may it be!

Christ

It's amazing when you look at current events as well as history and notice certain consistencies. When a nation is built upon God as the foundation, it flourishes, is blessed and the people enjoy freedom. When it's built on any other false god or way of thinking, the country lives in oppression, violence and unrest. It's tough to watch our great country which is founded on God, slip farther and farther away from our roots, which is Christ. As Christians, we must do our part to be salt and light through the love of Christ.

prayer

You can tell a lot about a person by what they pray. You can decipher how big or small they believe God is. Or how about how they view themselves in relationship with God. Many of us are praying very small and weak prayers and we are praying them to the God who created the universe. This is GOD we are talking about! Nothing is impossible for HIM. Why don't we really believe that? If we did, wouldn't we pray more and differently? I want to pray big prayers that only God can answer!

mule

Mule - the sterile offspring of a female horse and a male donkey, valued as a work animal, having strong muscles, a body shaped like a horse, and donkeylike long ears, small feet, and sure-footedness.
- The mule is a great worker and has some great attributes, the only problem is, it can never reproduce. The scientific reason is because the odd number of chromosomes. The point I want to make today is this, how many of our churches and believers are like the mule. We look good, we work hard and even accomplish some good things, but we are sterile. We aren's seeing people come to Jesus Christ! As I read the book of Acts, the power of God moved through the "average" believers, who were anything but average. It was normal to continually "live Jesus" and to to share Him with the world. Are you spiritually sterile?

accelerated

It's amazing how much spiritual growth I saw in our people on our 7 day missions trip. People were blossoming spiritually right before our eyes. For many, they came out of their shell, while for others they uncovered new gifts. Love was flowing out of people like never before. It seems to me that for many on the trip, they grew as much spiritually in a week, as most people do in a year. I firmly believe that every believer needs to go on a short term missions trip! It will change your life.

unBELIZEABLE

WOW! We had an amazing trip. We had hundreds of kids and on the bigger nights had close to a thousand adults come to the services. Our ladies connected in a huge way with the woman of Belize in the morning Bible studies as well our nurses administering health and information. Our band blew it up, as they had never heard nothing like what we played. On one the big days we had 4 inflatables, snow-cones, popcorn and pop. They had never seen anything like this in the history of their small village. We held the entire weeks events at the Christian School and had the blessing of 6 Pastors and their churches. God brought some incredible unity and we were blessed to be a part of it. God did some amazing things in us and in the the lives of our Belizian friends.

Belize

Tomorrow morning bright and early, 42 C3'ers will jump on a plane to head to Belize to do missions work. We will do some medical stuff with our nurses as well as ministry by doing a huge week long crusade with everything from kids to woman's to mens to youth ministry. At night our band will play and I will preach. We are praying for God to move in power. Please pray with us for God to move in a huge way. I'll try to jump online if possible for updates.

promises and trials

"God's promises are tested by trials."
If you don't believe that to be true, then try to live one out. For one, the enemy will do all that he can to keep us from living out the truth. Secondly, God's promises are activated when we step out in faith. Faith is needed in order to get through trials and still hold on to the promises of God.

WWJD

Yesterday, I had the privilege of having coffee with the originator of the WWJD bracelet. She is an amazing lady and minister who lives in Dublin and holds the patent. It was birthed out of a heart to point people to Jesus. As I began to think about it, it really is amazing how an individuals idea could literally become a household slogan. It's staggering to think about all the thoughts that were turned toward Christ because of a simple idea. Talk about influence! I have begun praying for God to give me greater influence, that I may use it to point people to Him.

abundance

God is a God of abundance and has set forth Truth's and principles in spiritual life as well as in nature. An example would be, "you reap what you sow." In other words, if you give, it will be given back to you with increase.
I have found that it is easy for me to give when I have excess, but what about when I just have enough or am in need? This is where faith comes in and this is where God may test us. We must realize that God is a God of abundance and that He looks for those who will be a channel through which He can give through. The problem is that for most of us, we hoard everything we get our hands on. Or we live as if there isn't enough to go around or to be generous. When this happens, we live selfishly and take God out of the equation.

bucket list

What do you want to experience on this Earth before you die? Why not make it happen? We are blessed to live in a country where almost anything is possible. I started my bucket list when I was 21. We called it the "summer of the bear" after the movie "Legends of the Fall." That summer, my best friend and I lived homeless, jumped out of an airplane, traveled on a sponsored paintball team and jumped out of a moving car off a bridge (do not try this at home) and truly made some memories. My goal now is to scratch off 1 goal per year from my current bucket list. All this to say, I believed part of who we are is because of our past experiences. Why not be intentional about putting ourselves in experiences that have the potential to break our fears and enjoy this life that God has given us to the fullest? What's on your bucket list?

Kennebunkport Maine

Today, my Keri and I are in Kennebunkport Maine. I'm doing a midweek wedding for a couple friends and fellow C3'ers. They have truly blessed us by having my wife come with me. It is beautiful up here. The sun is shining and it's a cool 70 + degrees. I've already had some fish and shrimp. I went for a run this morning and ran by former President Bush's summer home. I'm so grateful for this experience. Personally, I want to live my life enjoying every moment and experience that God allows me to have.

The original Mud Run

I had a blast on Saturday running the Mud Run. I have to say, I have run a lot of races, but this was by far the craziest. With all the rain, it truly lived up to it's name. My boots felt like they weighed 10lbs each. The obstacles were awesome and it was great to share the experience with my amazing wife who finished 5th in the ladies competitive division and some good friends. I was fortunate enough to take home the overall title. Check it out at http://www.theoriginalmudrun.com/results and join us next year.

Mud run

This Saturday, my Keri and I and a group of C3'ers are running the "Original Mud Run." It is a 6.2 mile race with 30 bootcamp/mud type obstacles. You have to wear combat boots and cargo pants. It should be a lot of fun. I always love a good challenge and this may be the closest I'll ever get to being on my favorite show, "WipeOut!"

leadership is simple

Reading the book "Exponential." Dave Ferguson says, "Leadership is as easy as listening to God." Wow. Why do we make it so hard? Am I listening for God in every situation? How much easier would my life be if I were?

Building the team

Yesterday, we had an amazing couple come in for the final interview for our children's director position. With 3 services, they got to see and experience every aspect of our kids rooms and main service. Time will tell how this all plays out. We are just praying for God's Will in this process.

soil and seed

Soil will only produce whatever is planted in it. Much like a persons heart, it can only grow what is planted in it. We are the one's who determine what gets planted in our hearts. Whatever is planted, will soon bring forth fruit. What is planted in your heart?

Truth does not change

Truth does not change with time. Truth does not change because of how we feel. Truth is not changed by circumstances. If it is truth, in a world that is is easily swayed and moved, truth remains the same. Jesus said, He was the Way, the TRUTH and the Life. If my life is built upon the truth of Jesus Christ, He is the solid Rock which is my foundation. There may have times where I have been shaken upon the Rock...but the Rock has NEVER shaken under me!

coach

Yesterday and today, Gary and I are spending the whole day at a Pastor's Coaching training. The material has been incredible. Now, the key is to apply this information. I have found that the faster that I apply new information, the more likely I am to have it become a part of who I am.

rights

The deeper I go in my walk with Jesus, the more rights that I give up. My life is becoming less about me serving my selfish desires and more about serving God and others. This can be tough when as a believer I have "the right" to do something that is not contrary to Scripture, but will abstain from something because it may offend another person. When I realize that personally as a maturing believer that my "freedom" in Christ can still be "sin," if I selfishly do something and knowingly offend a weaker person. My freedom in Jesus has not been given to me in order to serve myself, but rather to serve others. (Galatians 5:13) Just as Jesus did not come to be served but to serve, so I must strive to do the same. (Matt 20:26-28)

effort and blessing

God asks for our effort and we need His blessing. It still both baffles me and humbles me that God chooses to use us as His instruments to reach the world. He uses our efforts which without Him would fall miserably short. This is why we can't live without His blessing. His strength is what turns our natural efforts into the supernatural which He works through. We humbly give our effort and God graciously gives us His blessing.

multiply everything

"Multiply Everything," is to become a core value of everything that we do as a church. Can you imagine if every disciple of Jesus, every leader, Pastor and church were to multiply themselves? The world would be changed by the power of Jesus Christ. This week I am meeting with some potential pastors within C3. They have a call of God on their lives and we are going to do our best to develop that and then in the future launch them into ministry. I am praying that we can multiply the Kingdom of God through investing in leaders who will turn around and do the same with others. My heart is to see C3 become a grandparent very soon. In other words we plant a church that plants a church.

quote

James Allen said, "You will be as small as your controlling desire, as great as your dominant aspiration." As I look to apply this to my life, it causes me to ask myself some tough questions:
- Do I have any area's that control me? In other words, is there something I can't go a week without?
- Is there an area of my life, that I wouldn't want the whole world to see?
- Do I have some kind of problem going on in my head, whether negative thought, insecurities or wrong motives?
- Is there a dominant aspiration in my heart and is it God honoring?

blindspots

We have all heard of the blind spot while driving. You go to change a lane and fail to see a car in that small area missed by your mirrors. Hopefully, you just get their horn and not their bumper. The same is true in life, we all have blind spots. For us spiritually, we are deceived from seeing the truth because we are blinded by our own selfish desires. Have you ever wondered what blind spots that you personally have? It is easy to pick out others blind spots, but very hard to identify our own. Even when others may reveal our own blind spots to us, they are still hard see. Today, I'm asking God to reveal to me my blind spots.

spiritual - human

Many times we are wrestling with spiritual problems with a human shell.
Much of the problems of the world are really spiritual problems coming through mankind. There is no doubt a spiritual battle going on for God's most prized possessions...people. Most can't see the battle because of being spiritually blinded by the enemy of our souls. What spiritual battle is going on in you or around you?

simple is reproducible

I've really been thinking and praying about multiplying the Kingdom of God through church plants. I believe the key is simplicity. We make it too hard. I believe that if someone has the Call of God on their life, they really don't need anything else to plant a church. Anything that man can give them is secondary to what God has Called them to do. My heart is to create a track that helps resource future ministers with any wisdom and resources that we have gleaned through our experience. The key is going to be to keep it simple and easily reproducible.
I look at the disciples in Acts discussing what rules they should place on the new Gentile converts. They decided that if they are saved by "Faith" then they should not make it hard for people to come to Christ with a lot of rules. Through this simplicity, The Movement began!

quit running

No...I have not quit running! Although, I have met many people who continue to run instead of staying and working through the hard times of growth that God wants to bring. It's a truth in life, we get stronger through resistance. It's true for our muscles and also our spiritual life. Too many people though, run when times get tough. Instead of dealing with offense, pain, conflict or hard questions, they will run to another church, or town to start over. The problem is, they have never dealt with their real issues and continue to add to the pain and hurt. Their issues are then buried again until something happens to tear open the wound, in which case they will run again. It's time we all quit running and deal with our pain, hurt and flaws.

your agenda

Who sets your agenda?
Have you ever really thought about this? Who is the one who tells you how to spend your time? Are you spending your life in the area of your greatest gifts? Are you making the world a better place by your efforts and what you are giving back? Perhaps we need to take a look at who we are and where we can make a difference. Then, set our agenda in order to make the greatest difference with our life. What is your agenda..and who sets it?

Network Conference

I got to spend the last couple days at Network Conference for all the Assemblies of God ministers in the Columbus Convention Center. It is always good to see close friends and catch up on what God is doing around the state. I also, got the privilege to pray over some newly ordained ministers, which is always incredible. This year we had some open discussion in smaller rooms on some controversial topics, which I thought went well. All in all I am honored to be a part of this fellowship that is striving to change the world for Jesus Christ.

theater religion

Has the church created a "theater religion?" One where people come and sit, give a little money, are moved a little emotionally and then leave and go about their lives unchanged? How many disciples have the people in our churches made? Are the majority of people in our churches in America really experiencing life change?

Then I have to look at my life as the Pastor of a church. How many disciples am I making? Who am I growing in their faith outside of a Sunday morning service? Have I taught and demonstrated how to truly be a disciple and how to make disciples?

Questions for us all to ponder.

opportunities

Many people wait for opportunities to come to them, while others seek to create their own. I want to be someone who creates more opportunities than I will ever find waiting on me. Are you waiting on opportunities....or creating them?

Easter 2011

We had an incredible Easter Sunday. Several people gave their lives to Jesus and we had a ton of guests. We had to go to 3 services so we tried a 7:15am early service....and learned that they don't work for us. HA. I'm kind of glad, because I don't have to get up early. The 2nd and 3rd services were very full and we broke an attendance record with 724 people! God is so amazing! Starting this next Sunday we are moving to 3 services which will be 8:30 / 10:15 and Noon. We are praying for God to continue bring us people far from Him, so that we can "love people to LifeChange."

sports

I got to play some beach volleyball on Thursday night with some friends from C3. I used to play back in the day but never in 50 degrees and wet sand. My toes were literally pale white....but we won all 6 games! I also got to run a local 5k on Saturday and got my first win of the year! I can't wait for Monday when our C3 Men's team has it's first game. At 36, I'm realizing there will come a point where I will start slowing down, but I am going to fight that as long as possible. Tomorrow is Easter and I'm excited to see what Jesus is going to do. I wept while I was writing my message knowing that there will be those there on Sunday that don't know Jesus. I'm praying for Jesus to blow it up. We are doing 3 services, 7:15, 9:15 and 11:15.

offense

This morning I was reading an older book called, "The Bait of satan." John Bevere gives some great teaching on being offended. It's amazing how many people take the bait by being offended and then allow the enemy to ruin their spiritual lives or at least stunt their spiritual growth. I can always tell how spiritually mature someone is, by how much it takes to offend them. It's never the Jesus in us that get's offended, it's our flesh. Many people will keep moving from church to church every time they get offended. It's like continually pulling out a tree by it's roots and then trying to replant it. #1. It never grows deep roots. #2. The tree's growth is either stunted or the tree dies. Roots grow deep through hot summers and strong winds. Have you taken the bait of "offense?"

failure

"You are the only person that can label you a failure." There is a big difference from failing and being a failure. It really comes down to how you see yourself. I think the key is never getting under your failures, but rather staying on top of them. When I fail, I can let it bury me or stand on it so I can reach higher and farther. How do you see failure?

failure

Easter Sunday, we are going a different route. I am kicking off a series entitled, "FAILURE." I will be tying it in to how for a season, the world thought that this "Jesus" had failed. Even his closet followers thought this. They were confused, scared and swimming in what they perceived as failure. The one who they gave everything up for, was now gone and they were in hiding. BUT, with God, "FAILURE IS NOT FINAL." God used this perceived failure to change the world! It was through what the world saw as "failure" that SALVATION was brought to all mankind. With God, failure is NOT final!

great weekend

We pulled off a great 20,000 Eggstravaganza, even with some crazy weather. I'm so proud of our amazing C3'ers. Then Sunday, we had a great crowd for our last 2 service Sunday for a while. After church, I went on a date with my little girl Kali. We went to McDonald's, the dollar store then rode bumper cars, inflatables and a carousel at a nearby mall. I love that little girl. Then back to the church for a meeting, pre-marriage counseling and a "Starting Point" with 12 new potential C3'ers. God is good and I feel amazingly blessed.

simple

Why do we make everything in life so difficult? Life according to Jesus is really simple. Love God, love others. I want to live my life simply, although it can be hard to do. Life can get complicated very quickly. What if we could commit to simply loving God and loving others and enjoying the blessings of God on our lives. That's my goal.

owned

This week, we are talking about being "owned." It may be as severe as hardcore drugs to something as small as coffee. The truth is, the majority of us are "owned" by something. Here is a revealing question, "Can you go a week without it?" If you say NO...enough said. If you say, YES, but it will hurt, that reveals a lot as well. As a follower of Jesus, we are not to be a slave to anything. So, what OWNS you?

20k

Last night, we had over 100 people who came out to stuff 20,000 eggs with candy for out big Eggstravaganza this weekend. It was a blast! In the past, we have had over 2,000 people show up for this event and 40+ of them return for the following Sunday morning. We are praying for no rain!

Last nights stats:
- 100+ people
- Stuffed 20,000 eggs in 56 minutes
- That's 6 eggs per second

I'm sure that is a new World Record!

I am my greatest obstacle

The greatest obstacle to you achieving your God given purpose and dream, is you.
I am the one that hinders me the most. God's power is unlimited and He has no boundaries and He does not change. The problem is, the box of limitations that I build for myself. We all have a tendency to shrink if we are not intentionally growing and trusting in Jesus. With God's help, I must break out of my small thinking and allow Jesus to do great things in and through me.

where you are

Trials and tests will reveal where you are. They will reveal where you are spiritually by what it takes to knock you off your feet. Also, when the heat is applied to our lives, the junk inside of us rises to the top. So, where are you?

measure

Measure what matters.
I know I spend a lot of time on things that don't matter. Other times, I may think I am doing well, but many times won't do the hard work of measuring how I'm doing. What would happen though, if we measured what really matters? This means going through the hard work of figuring out what we value and what is really important in life, then figuring out ways to measure it. Once we have this done, we now have a scoreboard for deciphering how we are doing.
An example would be church. Most pastors look at only attendance and offering, but that only gives a piece of the picture. We want to look at how many salvations, baptisms, how many people in small groups, how many give financially and how many are actively serving. These things are what matter most to us because they all tie in to spiritual growth.

3 services

We are having some great problems at C3, with our parking lot being over crowded and a couple of our kids rooms are maxed out! Last month alone we had 47 guest cards turned in. Some of those were individuals and others were families. Coming up on our big Eggstravaganza 20,000 egg hunt and Easter, we are expecting even a greater influx of guests. So, we are preparing to go to 3 services starting on Easter. We want to remain ahead of the curve and to be ready for what God is gong to do. For Easter, we will continue with our 9:15, 11:15 services and add a (almost sunrise service) 7:15. Then in May, we will go to a 8:30 / 10:15 / Noon services. We are praying for God to continue doing what He has begun at C3!

80 percent

I read a quote today that says that 80% of churches today are either shrinking or have plateaued. There is too much on the line not to do something about this. The Church has to change or we will become obsolete. People vote every week with their attendance as to if we are adding value to their lives. I know the problem is not Jesus or the Gospel...so it must be us as leaders.

Healthy churches, need to plant healthy churches. Healthy Pastors must be raising up other healthy Pastors. Church planting is the most effective way to reach people for Jesus Christ. God is birthing some big ideas in my heart. I'm praying about ways how to raise up leaders and then believe God to supply the resources to launch them to turn this world upside down. This is the hill I want to spend my life living and dying on.

addition vs. multiplication

I'm reading a great book entitled, "Viral Churches" that is challenging my thinking. Do we have an addition mentality or a multiplication mentality? Addition to the Kingdom of God is good, but multiplication is better. Right now people come to C3 and are loved to the LifeChanging power of Jesus Christ. That is great! BUT, how many people are we having then go out and lead someone else to Jesus and walk with them as they are discipled? I wish I could say a lot, but I can't. We must become a church that raises up disciple makers who raise up disciple makers who raise up disciple makers. My job as a pastor, is to raise up other pastors who do the same thing. Our job as a church is to reproduce other churches. My job as a disciple of Jesus, is to raise up other disciples of Jesus. Cause truly, you are not mature, until you are able to reproduce.....man....I need to go pray.

response

"It's not your situation that gets you down, but your response to it." - Rick Warren
This statement is so true. Our response is key to how we live our lives. I've seen 2 people walk through the same things and one let's it drag them down, while the other rises higher. It all comes down to response. Situations in life are like a wedge that either drives us up or down. The choice again is ours. Do you let situations or other peoples actions control your emotions and feelings? Just remember, you control YOUR RESPONSE.

nerf wars

My kids are on Spring Break this whole week, so I decided to take advantage of that. Last night we made our living room, dining room, and foyer a giant NERF war zone. Then we turned all the lights out and played. It was awesome! My kids are getting sneaky. This was another great memory that I will have with my kids. I want to be intentional as they grow up to create memories together that we can remember forever.

the problem

This morning while praying, God began downloading vision of the future into my heart and spirit. I'm about to come unglued! It's so much bigger than me or C3 Pickerington. One statement yesterday by Brian Bolt from Pittsburg Outreach, just keeps echoing in my head. He said, "Money is not the problem, it's leaders." In other words, God owns "a cattle on a thousand hills" (Biblical reference to God owns all the resources in the world) but He has called me to raise up disciples. A disciple of Jesus is someone who does what Jesus did and that is lead people to the Father. I am working through ways of how best to train up leaders to plant churches and then trust that in the right time, God will send the money and resources to accomplish His Will. But how can I ask God to pour into something that I have not yet prepared?

farm league

Today, C3 hosted a "Church Multiplication Gathering" of likeminded church planters and leaders. I came back to my office charged up. Brian Bolt, of Pittsburg Outreach came and shared. He has a huge heart and is tearing it up by planting Recovery homes that turn into church plants. He talked about how he has a "farm league" for developing pastors and leaders. They have a path of trusting them with more and more, the whole time pouring into them. I am thinking through forming our own "farm league" for C3 and it would look like this:
- become a small group leader
- lead a ministry or serving opportunity
- become an associate pastor on staff
- plant a church or site

Children's Director

We are looking to hire a full-time Children's Director at C3. If you are interested or know someone who is, the job description is on our website at www.myC3church.com. From there, you can send a resume if you think you fit the bill.

Last week we had over 150 kids between the 2 services. We just finished renovating our kids space and everything is brand new. Our church is growing and will soon be expanding with other campuses in the future. We have an amazing team that works, plays and prays hard.

start and stop

What do you need to start doing? What is it that if you started doing would help you grow or make you more effective.

What do you need to stop doing? What is it that if you removed, would make you more effective or take you closer to Jesus or your family?

Try to come up with one of each.

More madness

This past weekend was crazy. Friday night I spoke in Kinsman Ohio at a youth rally and then my family and I stayed the night at my parents house. On Saturday night I spoke for my dad's churches "Volunteer Appreciation Night." We drove home late Saturday night and got up early for Sunday morning where I didn't speak but did lead worship. Then later that day I did pre-marriage counseling, a baptism class and led a prayer service. Then took Monday and spent the day with my wife and then when the kids got out of school I took them on an adventure through the woods.
I love to live life and ministry in high gear, but I am also learning how to rest well. Just like my running, I have easy days, so I can run faster. I used to feel guilty about taking a day-off. Now I feel guilty if I don't. Life is all about ebb and flow. I'm learning to find my rhythm and stay there.

the madness has begun

I love this time of the year! When the NCAA big dance has begun. I set my brackets and smile and grimace all at the same time. I love the passion these college teams play with. It is an all or nothing, leave it all on the field, play big or go home, tournament. It is a time for smaller schools to have the game of their lives and where the big boys at times are tripped up by the little guys. History is waiting....who will be the Cinderella story of this year? Time will tell.

Be a man

Reading this morning where David is giving some powerful words to his son and soon to be King, Solomon. In the version I read today, one of the things he said was a "be a man." I love it! God has given men strength for a reason. Our world shows men using their strength for personal gain, by degrading woman, abandoning children and living selfishly. That is not a "real man." A real man uses his strength to fight for the weak. A real man, cherishes his wife, loves his children and won't abandon them when things get tough. He is the one that when the whole world may be caving in around them, that says, "no matter what happens, we will make it through this." A real man can laugh, cry, and put his foot down when needed. His word is his bond, he gives honor to those who are deserving and lives a life that is worthy of honor himself. He can admit when he is wrong and apologize when needed. As a man and father, my role now is to model and instill in my sons what it means to be a man. That is a heavy responsibility, and I pray for God's wisdom.

tension

Throughout life, we deal with many problems and tensions. There is difference between the two. Andy Stanley says, "Problems are to be solved and tensions are to be managed." If we are trying to solve tensions and manage problems, it will be a tough go. Tension is natural and sometimes it can even be good, if it's healthy.

Pain

Watched a video message today that Craig Groeschel spoke at the Forum at Southeastern University on "pain."
He made a statement that as a Pastor I could relate with when he said, "If your not hurting, then you are not leading." In leadership, you are trying to rally people around a certain goal. This is very difficult when everyone wants to go in different directions and many times will do things that are hurtful to others, to either get their way or fulfill a need in their own lives. All that to say, the greater responsibility of leadership you have, the greater the stakes, the harder the decisions and the greater the pain.

winning

"It's not whether they think you've won, but if you think you've won."
There are times I have won first place in something, but deep in my heart, I know I did not give it my best. Other times, I didn't win the trophy, but I gave it every ounce of all I had. In my head, I won. Just like I tell my kids, "What's most important is, did you give it your very best?"

me

I read a quote today in the book by Bob Biehl: "What is it in me, that keeps me, from being a better me? I am wrestling to find the answers for myself. All of us has hang ups and personal obstacles, but seldom dig deep enough to find them. For those that do find them, very few have the courage to change.
God give me the wisdom and insight to see my flaws and the courage and strength to overcome them!

who

Whose life will be better, because you lived? Whose life can be better, by me focusing mine? What if you could focus part of your life on making another's life better? What difference could you make? When our lives are all said and done, the real difference we leave on this Earth, will be our influence in the hearts and minds of others.

love what Jesus loves

In the book "Viral Churches" it says, "Too many Christians love Jesus but not His bride or His mission. We're naive enough to believe that you can't love Jesus and neglect His wife."
When we love Jesus, we should love what He loves and that is His bride, the Church and his mission, the lost.

trust needs honesty

Trust thrives on honesty. When we live honest lives of integrity, we allow others to trust us. Without honesty, there is no real trust, but rather suspicion. I want to to live a life of honesty, even in the small areas of my life and ministry.

response

"It's not our situation that gets us down, it's our response to it." The truth is, life is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it. All that to say.....it's OUR CHOICE. Situations are a wedge that will either drive us down or up, we choose which direction.

maturity

I read today in the book "Viral Churches" that you know when a church is spiritually mature when it reproduces itself. I believe that this is the same for us as believers. We are not truly spiritually mature if we are not able to reproduce disciples. Jesus Himself gave us a very clear command when He said, "Go into all the world and make disciples." The question is, are we? Am I? Are you?

everything

Is God everything to you? If you were to take everything else away, whether possessions, health, even your family, is God truly everything to you? I want to get to the place, where I live as if God is truly everything in my life.

41

I'm incredibly proud of our church. Yesterday, I spoke on "fasting" and then challenged everyone to take some time this week and fast, meaning no food and seeking God. We had 41% of our adults agree to fast from one meal to 7 days. I believe that our church will be different because of His people chasing after Him. There is power in fasting and I'm looking forward to hearing what God does through this.

final game

Today was the final game of my sons 3-4grade basketball team, of which I am the head coach. I am amazed at how close I feel to these guys. We have bonded as a team and I have enjoyed the privilege of pouring into them. There is nothing more rewarding than to see them reach higher than they thought they could. I am so proud of our team and am better for this opportunity.

14 years

Tonight, my parents are coming in town to see the kids play basketball and cheer tomorrow and to baby sit for Keri and I tonight, as we go out for our 14th wedding anniversary. I love my Keri more now than I did 14 years ago. It's amazing when God is at the center of your marriage, and both people are genuinely trying to love the other more than themselves. Granted, we have our moments...ha...but I am the most blessed man in the world. I hope we have 114 more!

youversion.com

I love youversion.com. I have used it for an online Bible but now using it as a men's Bible study has been fabulous. To be able to check to see if other guys in our group are reading and being able to hold each other accountable. Not to mention, being able to share our comments has been great. They have so many different Bible reading plans to choose from. I have no prep for this Bible study other than doing my readings. We get together and discuss the truth of God's Word. Can you say LifeChange? And it is all FREE! Thanks to lifechurch.tv for blessing the body of Christ with this resource.

change

Healthy things grow, growing things change, change means movement, movement means friction and friction causes pain and uncomfort.
Now .....who is ready to GROW!

fasting

We had a great Sunday yesterday! Several people gave their lives to Christ, we had a great crowd and covered a heavy topic on the roots of our issues. This upcoming Sunday we are talking about fasting. This is the lost discipline of the American Church. Let's be honest, we love to eat and are addicted to food. I'm excited to open the Word of God and then challenge C3'ers to join me in a fast. Whether it is with me for a 3 day, or a 1 day or 1 meal, we all have to start somewhere. Fasting releases God's power and I'm looking forward to teaching on it....I just wish it didn't hurt so bad...lol.

what your made of

I coach one of my boys 3rd-4th grade basketball team. I am truly enjoying working with all the kids on my team. Today we we got down big, came back and then lost the game in the last period. They had some kid on the other team who had the greatest game of his life.
It was a great teaching moment for my team. I challenged my guys that you have to be a good winner and a good loser. When you win, you have beat pride and when you lose, you have to beat frustration or maybe anger. Both winning and losing will reveal what you are made of.

God's blessing

It's amazing how much God gets blamed for. He gets blamed for the consequences or our choices and that of others choices on us. People get mad at God because He won't bail them out or give them a miracle out of a rough situation. Many times, God get's brought into the equation, when we have no other options. But the truth is, God will bless what you give Him. I have truly experienced God's blessing in my life and here is why; Keri and I have placed God at the center of our marriage...blessed....the center of our finances through tithing and offerings...blessed....major decisions by seeking His Will...blessed. How can we go to God and ask Him to bless something that we won't give Him?

let down

I know there are times where I have felt like I have let God down. The truth is though, I can never let God down, because I am not the one who is holding Him up. That truth for me, takes a weight off my shoulders. God is God and HE is the one who holds up everything. He carries the weight of the universe on His shoulders, not me. I can rest in that.

growth blocker

I feel that growing a church, is a lot like a potted plant. First, God is the one that brings the growth. With that being said, there are many things that can hinder that growth. It could be the water intake, too small of a pot, no sunshine or maybe the soil is not good. Many factors come into play. If everything is healthy, then grow is natural. When it comes to the church, I believe it is the same way. It's our job as the leadership to identify the growth blocker and to deal with that. For C3, we just expanded our kids sanctuary seats and now kids space, but now our growth blocker is our parking spaces. Unless we get creative and deal with this issue, our growth will be hindered. What is your greatest blocker to growth? Start there to remove what is hindering your growth.

storms

Good stuff from my reading by Rick Warren:
3 kinds of storms:
1. storms we bring on ourselves
2. storms God causes
3. storms others bring upon us

What not to do when in a storm:
- Don't drift - from what you know is right
- Don't discard - your values and truth
- Don't despair - or give up hope.

- Our test of our faith is in times of crises.

From another book this morning:
"The hotter the fire, the stronger the steel."

look and find

It's amazing how we usually find what we are looking for. This is true for so many areas of our lives. If your are looking for good in me, you will probably find it. If your looking for negatives in me, I'm sure you will find as well. We find what we are looking for. So much everyday is oblivious to us or we pass by unnoticed, simply because we are not looking. It is true, when you seek, then you will find. You know what your seeking....by what your finding.

don't run

Rick Warren said; "It is never God's Will for me to run from from a difficult situation."
Think about it, when we do run, we will still have to face the situation. It may only look different, but it will be the same. We have to realize that God is trying to do something IN us. He is wanting us to learn to trust Him that He is more than enough for any problem. Are you running from something?

fear

Fear has a way of disabling us. Fear forces us to shrink to inactivity and crushes any faith to take a risk. I make my kids face their fears all the time and push through them. I also personally try to intentionally run into my own fears. May we never allow fears to hinder what God wants us to accomplish and ultimately become.

equation

Event + response = outcome.

We may not be able to control all the things that happen to us or around us, but we can control our response. We are the only ones who can ruin our lives. It is our choice how we allow things to affect us. It may be the same event in two peoples lives, but how they respond to it, makes all the difference.
Is there an area of your life you are not taking control of, but rather allowing it to control you?

ambition

We all have ambition. Some have more, some have less. Ambition is what pushes people to achieve amazing things or the lack of, which keeps people from ever even attempting anything. The key about ambition, is the motive behind it. Motive is what makes ambition either good or bad.
On a scale of 1-10, what is your level of ambition and how are your motives?

kalahari

My family and I just got back in from our yearly ministers retreat / pastors kids retreat at Kalahari indoor water park. We get a rate under $100 and water passes for the whole family. It was a blast. The time together as a family is priceless and it is good to get away and be refreshed personally. The drive back was a little dicey. We went from snow to freezing rain and ice to just plain rain. It took a little longer to get home, but we made it home safely. Thank-you Jesus. I can't wait to work my first day in my new office tomorrow.

Construction is done

I am so excited. After a year and a half, the construction on our building and renovations are finally over. Our C3'ers are now working hard to get all the finishing touches of decorating and new kids stuff in place. All of this will culminated Feb 6th for our big Friend Day. After each service, we will have an "open house" feel, with tours through our new building. We are now in the place to be able to grow to the next level as a church. I feel that God is about to take us to a whole notha level!

in hiding

Tonight, our house was host to Chicks Chat and Chocolate, which is a monthly get together with our C3 ladies. The only privileged information that I know is that they talk and eat chocolate goodies for long periods of time. So tonight, my 3 kids and myself barricaded ourselves upstairs in a bedroom with a TV and some video games...oh and popcorn too. We tried to stay hidden and let a house full of ladies carry on, laugh and chat. Most likely, my house will be occupied and loud until after midnight.

un-inpiring

How many people do you have in your life that are truly UN-INSPIRING? Those who suck the life and anything positive from your life. They have a way of turning even good things into a negative. Nothing is ever good enough and the glass is always half-empty. People like this have a way making life miserable. But....it is their choice!

Choose wisely.

moving

Today, we are getting a couple guys together and moving all our office and some kids furniture out of storage and to the church. We are now only days away from being completely finished with our building. NO MORE DRYWALL DUST! I haven't had an office in about a year and half, but should by the end of this week. I'm so pumped.

door openers

Today I attended the viewing of the wife of one of the men who believed in me enough to open a door that has been pivitol in my life. I had a chance again to thank him and his beloved wife for seeing something in me, that I may have not been able to see in myself. I think it is amazing how God uses those in authority to open doors for the next generation and for that I am eternally grateful. As I reflect on how influential others have been in my life, I must ask myself, "who can I open a door for?"

Friend Day

We are pumped about February 6th which is our Friend Day! Our building and renovated kids space will finally be finished! We are celebrating as a church and inviting our friends to be a part of it. We will have open house tours of the newly renovated kids rooms and offices. For the first time in over a year and a half, we are now in the position to grow by loving more people to LifeChange. To sum it up in one word.....BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

comparison

I think it is human nature to compare with each other. We compare everything from our looks to finances to talents. The sad thing with comparison is, it hardly ever has a positive outcome. The outcome is usually either pride or low self-esteem. Pride, for the fact that in our heads we place ourselves on a higher level than others. Low self-esteem for the fact that we usually compare our weakness to others strengths. So, JUST BE YOU AND ENJOY WHAT YOU HAVE.

pressures or priorities

It's been said, we either live by pressures by priorities. Do we allow the pressures of everything to bombard us and and stress to our lives, or do we give of ourselves to only what is priority?

milk

Humans and animals start off their lives with milk. The Bible talks about us as baby Christians drinking milk rather than real food. All babies start out on milk, but can't stay there as they grow. Milk is pre-digested food. We must learn to feed ourselves and digest our own food and not be dependent on others forever. So...what have you eaten spiritually this week and has it been pre-digested food?

What does Jesus think

People ask each other all the time how they are doing. The other persons response is almost always, "good" or "fine." Maybe the better question would be, "How does Jesus think you are doing?" Chew on that for a while...I know I am.

action

I've heard it said, "true commitment only begins when you take action." If there is no commitment without action, what are you truly committed to?

tweaking our vision statement

A vision statement sets the direction. It is the reason for being, it's the goal, and what is trying to be accomplished. As a church, we really feel that God is leading us to tweak our vision statement to better reveal who we are and why we exist. Our old one was, "Leading people to LifeChange." But our new one will soon be, "Loving people to LifeChange." This is why we exist as a church! As a church in love with Jesus, love should be what distinguishes us from the world. Our lives should be so different because of our relationship with Jesus and our love for others that it should compel people to Jesus. Our heart is to LOVE others to Jesus Christ and He will bring the LifeChange.

keep kids side only

As I pulled into the parking lot this morning, I read on our church sign reader board, "keep kids side only." I'm scratching my head and wondering if some kid picked the lock and change the words around. Every week, I tell our admn, what to have a C3 volunteer put on the sign. I had told her to keep the one side the same, that says our newly renovated kids space is almost done. She relayed the message to the one who put up..."keep kids side only." and shared what to put on the other side. We all got a good chuckle out of the misunderstanding.

I think it reveals a great point that, even though it may be clearly communicated and understood, as the information gets passed farther from the source, it can get clouded.

honest

I was talking to our contractor Rob this morning as the drywall in our new kids rooms are going up. We were talking about inspectors and how they can make your life easy or tough. Rob says he gets along with all of them because he's honest with them. He said the key is to not "act" honest, but "be" honest. What a great quote. If our honesty is only an act, when exposed it will do more damage than if we had not tried to mask our lack of integrity. So don't "act," just "be."

conflict

I want to give you the best conflict conversation opening I have found. It is non accusing or threatening and can lead to an easier conflict resolution. By starting off the conversation with, "help me understand...why or what." If that is said with the right body language, it can help diffuse many of the issues and ill feelings in order to keep them from escalating and hopefully lead to a peaceful and calm resolution.

offense

Why do we get offended? Personally, when I feel attacked or take offense to something that was said or done, the first thing I look at is ME. Why did that offend me? It offended me b/c I have a piece of my "flesh" (carnal / sinful nature) for the offense to grasp onto. If I am totally "hidden" in Christ, then there is no offense. In fact, I can tell how spiritually mature someone is, by how much it takes to offend them. I'm having a dialog with another maturing believer right now, about a point of tension that could easily lead to offense on my part or his. But, because Jesus is bigger in both of us, we can have a discussion in love without being offended. How refreshing! Honestly, we probably won't agree, but we can agree to disagree, agreeably. So put your "flesh" to death and lose the offense!.....sorry if I offended you...lol

love God

This morning in my reading, I came across the quote, "IF you have trouble loving others, you have trouble loving God."
- Jesus said, we would be know by our love. My true love for Jesus is lived out in my love for others. If I truly love Jesus, then I will love what He loves....and that is people. People are the reason He went to the cross.
Are you really in love with Jesus? Then prove it, with your love for others.