today

Today I got up and hit the gym, met with 3 other pastors of growing churches and just had lunch with Gary and Pickerington's City Planner Tim. It's crazy how much good dialog I was in before lunch was over. Whenever I go into a meeting or just meet with someone, I always try to think through a few things. Things like, what is the outcome I want to see. Another would be, what information am I wanting to communicate to the other party AND what can I learn from THEM. Usually after I leave a conversation or meeting, I think through what I could have done to have made it gone better or more productive.

drop it

In life, we are always trying to fit more in. In our minds, "more" usually translates to "better." But, is this really the truth? I know personally when trying to improve my life, I'm always looking at what more I can ADD. The question I have hardly ever consider, is what am I willing to QUIT doing in order to make my life better? What are the things that I am doing that are GOOD but not GREAT? How about you?

community groups

We are about to have a Community Group leaders meeting to give some info and training for our upcoming new groups that will start in August. We run our small groups (no more than 12 people) on the school calendar. They are the lifeblood of our church. We firmly believe that people grow when they are reading the Bible, interacting with the Holy Spirit and doing life with other believers. When true "Community" begins to happen, it is powerful. Accountability, true love, faith, and more begin to happen when God's people are in unity. We know that the bigger C3 gets, the smaller we must become. People long for authentic relationships and a place to belong and we will do our best to facilitate that.

u can have what you want

I believe that as a follower of Jesus Christ, I can have as much freedom in/through Christ as I want. I know many Christians who live in all kind of bondage and chains. The Bible is crammed full of promises that belong to every follower of Jesus, yet many choose not to walk in them. I can't imagine the conversations when we get to heaven so bound, only to see what could have been ours while we walked the Earth. Are there any chains that you are bound by? Maybe it's fear, anxiety, worry, depression, unforgiveness, the list can go on and on. You choose how you live.

vision steps

Every time you present something new or want to see a change, you are casting vision, whether you know it or not. Many times we run into conflict because we are wanting to change something people are comfortable with or even something that was originally their idea. Andy Stanley gives 3 steps to cast vision correctly:
1. Define the problem - Why do we have to change?
2. Offer a solution - Here's what has to be done to fix it?
3. Reason why it has to be done now - It has to be urgent.
At C3, we also go through different steps according to how much people are vested or apart. Example would be that our board (ELT) is always in on the beginning discussions and then we go to our Key Leaders and then Partners (our members) before it ever goes to the congregation. I have found that people are usually "down" on things they are not "up" on.

quote

Tom Peters said "Chaos and uncertainty are market opportunities of the wise." Think about it, when these things happen, it is setting the stage for a leader to step in and succeed. In times of chaos and uncertainty, it drives people to seek for answers and solutions. Whoever steps up with clarity or a plan, is then followed and hailed the leader.
In your current ministry or situation, is there some chaos going on that needs someone to step up and bring clarity? Be that person.

- We are signing the loan papers today and the ball is about to start rolling very fast to build our new 500 seat sanctuary. I am pumped!

A Great Fathers Day

Yesterday was a lot of fun at C3 Church. I had the privilege of having my grandfather and father here with me. We played a 3 song bluegrass/southern gospel medley with upright bass, mandolin and guitar. The look on our peoples faces was priceless! The we each took 10 minutes and shared what had been "handed-off" to us by your fathers and what we have done our best to "hand-off" to our children. After each of us spoke, we handed a relay baton to the next generation. At the end, we all stood on different size podiums to show how we all stand on the shoulders of the generation before us. I even brought my son Kaden out and handed my baton off to him. When all the dads left, they were each given a baton and left with the truth that "WE ALL HAND-OFF SOMETHING!"
In the last service my Grandfather gave me his 1940's Gibson electric mandolin! What an incredible blessing/heritage that he has passed on to me! I will have these memories for ever!

we got it

We got the loan approved for C3's new building! It was a little tougher than first expected seeing the the first bank that told us how much we had to raise in a building campaign and legally how to set ourselves up, ended up denying us. We even went over and above what they asked for and they still denied us. That was a tough pill to swallow. We then were looking at another bank with higher interest rate and not as much as we needed. It seemed like the only option.....UNTIL GOD came through came with another bank, good rate and terms. That bank approved us today! It's awesome to think that this is GOD's church and we are just privileged to be a part. Can you say FAVOR!

Community Award

Today, I'm having lunch at the Chamber of Commerce businesses luncheon. It is cool being the only church/pastor because they usually ask me to pray! This is an award luncheon and I have been informed that C3 Church is being given the "Community Award" by the Chamber. There is nothing like getting an award for showing the love of God, from the very people that you are trying to reveal Christ to. God is good!..............I hope it's a trophy....I love trophies!

inability

God is not surprised by your inabilities! Why then do we try to put a front up with God and others about our inabilities an imperfections? What if we were just honest about who we are and what we are weak at? What about even our strengths, which compared with God are huge weaknesses. Either way, God knows me better than I know myself and I have nothing to hide. Anything I have, or don't have I owe it all to my creator!

your picture

What picture do you carry of yourself? In other words, how do you see yourself? Other than how you see God, this is one of the most defining questions for our lives. It is a filter for how we see others, situations, circumstances and life in general. This is how 2 people can look at the same exact thing and see it 2 completely opposite ways. One may see a problem as immovable, while another staring at the same problem may see an incredible challenge. Much of life comes down to how we see ourselves. So, what picture do you carry around of yourself?

interns

Tomorrow, C3 has 2 sharp interns coming to spend the summer working with us at C3. We will do our best to give them experience in a wide variety of ministry. They will be working with all 3 of our current paid staff members on different days, as well as youth and children ministries. My prayer and goal is that it is a win/win.

seasons

It is always important to know what season you are in and what season is coming up. C3 Church is has just walked through another crazy season of growth. Now going into the summer, things have leveled off a bit. This is not a bad thing, but actually natural and much needed. As the leadership of C3 Church, we are using this season to prepare for the next. In the fall, with our new 500 seat auditorium soon to be built, there is no doubt going to be some fast growth. If we have not structured (or planted) wisely, we will not be able to handle (or reap) the growth that is coming. Every season has a purpose. The key is to maximize each season for greatest effectiveness.

recovery

Today, I was thinking about a valuable lesson I have learned in running that applies to life. Some people start running and everyday try to run faster than the day before. They see gains early on, but soon hit a wall and will not be able to get past it. The reason is because to run fast, you have to run slow. My easy/recovery days are slow and light, so that on my hard workout days, I can push my body to the limit. The better I have rested, the harder I can push and the faster I get.
Today as I sat lounging in my backyard with my kids, I thought about how this was a "recovery" day, so tomorrow (Sunday) I can run full tilt. As hard as it is to slow down, I must learn to be good at both.

my morning reading

Reading "Axiom" by Bill Hybels. I love the 2-3 page chapters of proverbish nuggets. He posed a question: What is the greatest contribution I can make to ???? (C3 Church for me) in the next 6 weeks? Now take that list and narrow it down to the most important 6 things. Make those your focus for the next 6 weeks. I've got my list.......I gotta go and get working on them!

rubber snake

We bought this big 18ft bubble like pool from our neighbor who was moving for $25. It's the real deal, chlorine, filter and everything. The kids are loving it! The only bummer is it has attracted some messy disgusting ducks. Ducks are beautiful in a lake, but disgusting for a pool with feathers and droppings. After scaring them away a few times, we had to try something else. Yep, the "rubber snake" on the ladder gig. It is actually working! As bad as those ducks want to take a dip in that crystal clear watering hole, they won't because of that rubber snake!
I often think about what keeps me from living the FULL life that God wants me to. It either comes down to fear or distraction. Personally, God has been challenging me to live in such a way that requires trust in God or failure is inevitable.

the best follower

Currently, I'm an assistant coach for my 5yr olds T-ball team. Although I have been the head coach before, my goal now is to be the best assistant coach in the league. I will do whatever I'm asked to do by the head coach. My job is to make him and our team look good. Right now my responsibilities are mainly keeping the bench (full of 5yr olds) in order and getting them ready to bat. I really feel that to be a good leader, you have to be a great follower. You reap what you sow and no matter what leadership position you are in, there is always someone above you that you are called to serve. In some cases it may only be God. Another thought is that the higher you move up in leadership, the greater the servant you are called to be.

faith

I got a great question from my reading today in the book "Crazy Love." So here it is: "What are you doing right now that requires faith?" I mean really think about it. Many times we live in such a way that requires no faith and we surround ourselves with people who are just like us. Today, I'm asking God how I can step out in faith.

praying together

Sunday night we get together to pray as a church. We have had anywhere from 40 to 5. We had several people come to pray who had not been there to pray before. I love to be around other people when they pray. You can tell a whole lot about a person, by how they pray. You see how comfortable they are praying, but most importantly, you can see their heart for God. After walking out of that time of prayer, I felt a closer connection with each person there.

kids

I'm watching my oldest son play a baseball game (no wife..this is an important detail) while trying to keep my eye on my other son and little girl as they play. That's when my little girl runs over to me and says "Daddy, look at my rock!" She opens her hand and their in her little palm lies a hardened weathered piece of dog poop! I just started laughing as I told her what it was. Her face went from total joy to disgust in a split second. So not having any bathrooms or Purell, I told her to do what any other dad would tell her to do, "just wipe your hand on the grass!" She did and went right back to playing. Man, I love having kids!

I love quotes

"Our greatest fear should not be failure, but that we succeed in things that don't matter."
- When I ponder on that I think of someone spending their lives climbing the "corporate ladder" only to find it leaning against the wrong wall. Or climbing to the top of the ladder they have chosen and finding it empty at the top. I told our Executive director and close friend Gary the other day, that we were investing some of the best years of our lives in this church plant at C3. I want my life to count for something in eternity. The only way that I can do that, is by influencing other people toward Christ, because in 20 years after I die, no ones even going to remember nor care who I was.....that's a sobering thought.

Tiger Woods

Today I got some free tickets to go to the Memorial Golf Tournament in Dublin Ohio with some friends. We had a great time and got to see Tiger up close as he birdied 2 shots. It was crazy to see how many people were following to watch him. It was like the Verizon guy with his network in the background ....literally! Tiger is amazing at the game of golf. No doubt he will go down in history as the greatest golfer ever. It's kind of crazy though when you put in in perspective. He can hit a little white ball the farthest and straightest, consistently. That is his gift and perfected talent and people pay big money and line up just to see him do that. Really, it is a form of worship. Everyone is looking for something or someone to worship. I totally respect Tiger for what he can do, but all my worship belongs to the ONE who is EVERYTHING.

arrogance

In the book "Crazy love," Chan says that "worry and stress reek of arrogance." Wow, that is a perspective that I had never heard. Stress and worry are saying to God that our problems are too big for Him. That our situation is an exception to His Word and His promises. So who's worrying and stressed?

awe of God

Reading the book "Crazy Love" by Francis Chan, and it is really challenging with my perception of God. I will be honest and say that my perception of God is flawed. It will always be flawed. How can I as the created, ever fully understand or comprehend the CREATOR? I hope that as I have grown in my relationship with God, that I understand more and more about Him, but I will never know or understand Him fully while on this Earth. You gotta check out this video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Ya12I036lg

Shake hands

I was disappointed in the Cleveland Cavs losing to the Orlando Magic. Are Cleveland sports team cursed? Ha, I doubt it, they just have not been able to put it all together. I was bummed at the fact that after the Cavs lost the series, that Lebron James did not go shake the hands of the Magic. He said later, something like, "you don't shake the hand of someone who just beat you up. C'mon...really? It's a game, you played your best (James did play well) and lost, so MAN-UP and shake hands. Lebron is usually a class act, but this just gives a bad example to kids who admire him everywhere. With great influence comes great responsibility.