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.