insecurity

I'm amazed at how insecurity effects most people that I know. Sometimes I'm even surprised at the people I thought had it all together, still wrestle with insecurity. At other times, I also have to look in the mirror cause it's me. I will be honest, with planting 6 churches this year, commissioning 100-150 amazing key leaders to go and nearly $100k to get them started, can push some insecurity buttons. Through all this though, we are seeing God continue to bless our church as we multiply the Kingdom of God! What God showed me the other day was that all insecurity is either pride or fear and both are not from God. So when I begin to feel insecure, it is a red flag to again lay it all before Jesus. The bottom line is my insecurity is wrapped up in selfishness and pride and both are SIN. ouch.

God's problem

Does God have problems? I mean, can't He do what He wants, when He wants to? It still baffles me that He chose to use humans as His chosen instruments. One of God's problems is that every city, town or village doesn't have a life giving church. At C3, we are joining Christ's mission to seek and save that which is lost. Our heart is to multiply life-giving churches all over Columbus...Ohio...our Nation and the world. In doing so, we become part of God's solution to His problem in loving people to Jesus.

more

Last night, we had a worship night with some teaching on worship as well. We almost had a full house of people assembling just to worship their God. I really felt like our churches worship went to another level. I could sense a hunger for His presence. I'm praying that our church is a church that hungers after the things of God and that we lose our taste for the things of this world. May we be a church that desires....MORE of Jesus. Do you want more?

Leverage Conference

I had an incredible 2 days at the Leverage Conference, put on by the Ohio Church Multiplication Network. Connected with some incredible people and got to hear and pick the brains of some high caliber leaders. As those who are farther along than me shared their experiences, I felt like they turned a light on in a hallway and that I am now able see more clear and continue walking with more confidence. If your teachable and hungry, other people can take you farther, faster.

Leverage

Tomorrow, we are taking a small group of leaders up to a small conference called "Leverage." We will rub shoulders with some sharp world changers in a small group roundtable format. Our goal is to comeback with the tools and some answers to our questions that we have, in regards to launching a church planting network we are calling C4. We will be trained in how to give assessments to new potential church planters and how we can best structure it from those who are paving the way. We are believing that God is going to allow us to launch the C4 Church Planting Network, whose goal is to not only plant new churches, but help them plant so many churches that they launch their own church planting network. I'm praying this will help us put together some of those pieces. God is about to explode this thing!

blessings

I have had the honor of doing 2 funerals in the past 3 days.  It really challenges me to never take for granted each day I have.  They are gifts from God to enjoy Him, His creation and His blessings upon my life.  When you sit down and actually count your blessings, it will change you.  My prayer is for God's help to be a good steward of everything He has given me, and to use what I have to be a blessing  back to Him.

pace

As long distance runner, I have learned a few things about pace.  Almost every race, you have that newbie toe up to the line and at the crack of the gun, take off as fast as he can.  The adrenaline is pumping, the crowd is cheering and the cameras are all snapping.  The let down comes after about 1/4 mile into the race, when he realizes his legs are filling up with lactic acid and that he has gone out way too fast.  This once enthusiastic runner, goes from the front to the back quickly, never to recover.

I am learning as our church continues to pick up speed, that I must continually monitor my pace.  I am a running a marathon and not a sprint.  It's hard to continually look ahead and remember this, but with God's help, I would like to be doing this for a long time.  I continually ask myself, "How much longer can I run this pace?"  I am the only one who can take care of me.  I want to be healthy in life, marriage, family, ministry and with Jesus.  It's at times a very tough balancing act.

important

I think we could all agree that everyone likes to be around someone that makes them feel important.  I was blessed to have a Dad that specializes in this.  It doesn't matter who he is talking with, what their background, their age, how much money they make, he always makes people feel important.  Because of this trait, people like to be around my Dad.  The other key to making people feel important, is to really mean it.  People can spot a fake a mile away.  Personally, I hate it when people make someone else feel important, but they have an ulterior motive.  My Dad makes people feel important, because he truly sees them as important.
Do you see people as important and do you treat them as important?

hardest thing = greatest thing

"Many times, the hardest things that can happen to us, may be the greatest things that can happen to us."  
- The truth is, the soil of our lives is some of the most fertile, during times of pain and suffering.
- We almost always learn more in the hard times, that in the easy times.
- Resistance, just like a muscle, makes us stronger in the long run.
- When going through a difficult time, allow God to reveal what needs changed inside of us and allow Him to do it.
- Embrace obstacles, for they are many times God's teachers.

investment

A question that was posed in a meeting yesterday that grabbed my attention.  "Are we living a life of worthy of the investment, that has been poured into us?"
Even if we feel that we have not been poured into by parents, leaders, etc, Jesus gave His life for us.  Another question would then be, "is the life we are living, worth Christ dying?"

The Call of God

The Call of God is His responsibility, but the development of that Call is ours.

What am I doing with what God has entrusted to me?
Am I developing the Call, gifts and resources that God has entrusted to me?
Am I taking responsibility for what I have, by utilizing for His Glory?

What did you expect?

My devotional this morning asked the question, "what did you expect?"  Many times when things get rough following Christ or leading a church or in ministry, we begin to complain.  But really, what did we expect?  I mean dying to ourselves and taking up our cross and following Jesus is not easy.  Jesus never said it would be easy and when we look at His life, we see suffering.  If our King was crucified and we are His servants, what should we expect?  If we are going to follow Jesus in obedience and allow Him to shape us, it's not going to be easy.  But in the end, if we accomplish His Will for our lives and truly know Him, it will be all worth it.

Perseverance

Perseverance.  This is an easy word to say, but a hard word to live.  Perseverance is the toll that must be paid, in order to travel where very few have gone.  Many fall by the way as the journey gets long and the road gets hard.  But those with perseverance find a way.  For me, my motivation for persevering is different depending on what it is.  In an Ironman triathlon, it has been, my inner will or what story are my kids going to tell about me someday.  With ministry, it has been, I just want to make myself trustworthy to God and I want to honor His name.  Why do you persevere?

motion

Jeff Leake says "Don't just do something, start something in motion."

I want to live this.  To live thinking intentionally about where and how I am stewarding my time, talents, influence and resources.  That everything I do is not just an end all, but rather going to create movement that continues on even after I walk away.