memory or imagination

Memory or imagination? Do you do life, and for me ministry, out of memory or imagination? That's why I love doing this church plant. Nothing has been "always done that way in the past". So we are always currently operating out of imagination, although we are always somewhat hindered by what we know or have seen. But the question is at what point will our now "new" church begin to struggle with this issue? Only time will tell. But how about on a personal level? Am I, are you, one who is operating totally out of memory or imagination? Maybe the better question is, where does God want us to operate from?

America's #1 Easter Candy!

I don't know if that is a true statement but they are probably close. Personally, I hate these annoying little things ever since my Easter baskets growing up were cluttered with them. It was always a "I'll trade you 7 peeps for a piece of chocolate...no, how about a tootsie roll?" But what makes this candy such a hot item is that they took another idea to another level. What is it actually? It's a mis-shaped marshmellow with some colored sprinkles and a dot for an eye. They package this stuff and sell it to parents and kids who are suckers for this stuff. (Can you sense the surpressed childhood anger..ha!) But what we can glean from the peeps is, that being creative does not always have to start from scratch, but can take another idea in a different route. I have also learned that the more I use my creativity, the more that comes.
If you attend C3, wait till you see this weeks video announcements.......peeps were harmed in the making of this film.

Brownie Points

I went with a Leadership class here in Pickerington to a Brownie Company called "Brownie Points". We got to hear from the owner and founder. Her story was one of determination and inspiration. She never quit and poured her time, money, energy and passion into this with all she had. She worked crazy hours and baked her fingers to the bone and all of this our of her small apartment in a high rise in New York City before moving here to Pickerington. She pursued her dream and is now living it! Never give up on on your dream, especially if God has given you one, you won't be fulfilled doing anything else. I'm living mine.....are you living yours? What needs to change in order to pursue your dream?
Oh by the way, I'm the tall one on the left.

Can you be trusted?

Reading a book last night that got me thinking about trust. My question was, can God trust me? And if so, how much can He trust me with. Once, when growing up, I lied to my dad and what he said after that killed me. He said, "Buddy, I won't be able to trust you until you prove through time that you are trustworthy." This hurt me bad, and was an incredible lesson. I think many times we ask God for certain things. Usually, we don't as for bad things, but good things. But the real question is, can God trust you? Honestly, right now I couldn't trust my kids with a big bag of candy. They couldn't eat just one! The whole bag would be gone and then they would be sick. (This has already happened) So I guess I will trust God that he knows me better than I know myself and sometimes protects me by not giving me what I want. But in the meantime, I will do all I can to be trustworthy to my heavenly father.

2 Services

Yesterday, we had our first Sunday with 2 services and it went great! With both services we were actually around 215 without double counting the one's who stayed for both services. Special thanks to our C3 teams that did a great job with having to multiply all our Sunday morning ministry positions! It is incredible to be a part of such a great team. I love our church! We are truly experiencing what the analogy "Body of Christ" really means. Everyone is jumping in with their area of giftings and passions. When there is this kind of UNITY, we actually complete each other............and speaking of unity, Gary shaved his head as we take another big step forward in an all bald staff. Ha!

worship

Today I worshipped God, but not in a way that you would expect. This morning oldest headed off to kindergarten and my Keri took Kali to the doctor while I stayed home with my 3 year old boy Kross for a couple of hours. I find that I usually don't get to spend that much time with only one kid seeing we have 3, so this was a special occasion. We played "daddy monster", nintendo, army men, indoor paintball (no real guns of course) and had a blast. That little guy had his dad's FULL attention. Usually during this morning time I am in the sanctuary of C3 praying and worshipping God. But then I felt God say, "this is your act of worship". When I'm loving my family, I'm fulfilling my role as a godly father (or at least doing my best) this is my act of worship. The Bible says in Colossians 3:17, "Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord." What daily times of worship have you overlooked or taken for granted?

Pickering

I walked a graveyard today to survey it for a beautification project for the city. I am a part of a community leadership group that has taken this on as it's project. It is right as you come off the interstate and enter into "Pickerington". This cemetary is where some of the first settlers to this area are buried. As I was walking it, I thought of those who were buried there and what there lives mean 135 years later? Will anyone be effected by what I did in my life.....50 years later? Apparently, this guy made some kind of statement because the town I now live in bears his name.
Live to make a difference!