Designed to Be Innovative

Of the five ideas I shared a couple of weeks ago, the one that got the least "amens" was the thought about being designed to be innovative--that we not grudgingly accept change, but we look for opportunities to change. Why is it that people don't like change. Here's what I think.

• Growth means change.
• Change means loss.
• Loss means grief.
• Grief means pain.

So, for most people, change equals pain. So, I think that's why most people resist change. I try to look at the first sentence more than the last. To grow, I've got to change. I remember the year we changed locations, changed to small groups, and changed the entire staff. There was some loss. We lost some staff. We lost some people. There was grief and there was pain. But, there was growth in our purpose and vision. Let's commit to be designed to be innovative.

Honor to Whom Honor is Due

We were excited to have John, Debbie, and Bethany Palmer with us at church yesterday. We wanted to honor them for their 21 years of service to Des Moines First Assembly and all of Central Iowa. John was an incredible encourager and mentor to me as we started Christian Life Assembly 12 years ago. I was thrilled to see the great reception our church gave them. Way to go in honoring those to whom honor is due!

Driven by Eternity

Every church is driven by something. In fact, everybody and every organization are driven by something. The question is, "What's driving you?" Some churches are driven by tradition. Some people are driven by money. Some organizations are driven to make life better for people. In our talk about what kind of church we want to be in the next 12 years, I talked about becoming a church driven by eternity.
What does that mean? It means that our decisions are driven by eternity, not time. It means our priorities are driven by things that last forever, not just for a moment. It really means that we still believe that heaven is real and hell is real, and that people still live in one of those places for an eternity after they die.

Difficult to Ignore

One of the ideas I talked about Sunday was developing a church that is difficult to ignore. The greatest fear of every pastor who desires to make a difference is this: Would anyone notice if our church did not exist?

My goal is for Christian Life Assembly to be a church that is difficult to ignore. How do we do that? Here are some ideas for the next 3-5 years?

• A complete media/technology outreach through podcasting, revamped website, TV commercials, etc.
• A greater commitment to invest and invite people to church, equipping each member to invite a guest a week.
• Events that extend our influence into more and more people's lives--such as our Great Turkey Give Away.
• A multi-site ministry with campuses in the inner city and the western suburbs.
• Servant evangelism strategies like repainting schools, distributing soda at intersections, etc.

Let's be a church difficult to ignore.

A Constant State of Improvement

Leaders are learners and leading organizations are learning organizations. My goal is for our church to be in a constant state of improvement. We need to always be looking for the next step in our journey. How do you do that? By asking this question often: What one thing could I do in the next 90 days that would have the greatest impact on my life or organization? At CLA, we apply that to all of our five purposes:
Reach
Grow
Connect
Serve
Worship
We also seek to be constantly improving through our relationships with each other and on the team and ministry champions, as well as ministry colleagues. After all, the Bible says, "As iron sharpens iron so one man sharpens another." Let's develop a constant state of improvement in our lives.

In Oklahoma

Amberly, the kids, and I are in Oklahoma for Amberly's grandfather's funeral. I am assisting Pastor Don Barnes of Lawton First Assembly of God in the funeral. Currently, I'm working on my message. I'm going to read out of PaPaw's Bible. The cover is worn with his own thumbprint and inside is a picture of family. That's what his life was about: faith and family. Thank you for praying for us.