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.