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.