Let There Be Light

We had a great group of 30-40 people at church last night helping put up the Christmas trees and lights. We have 14-16 trees in the sanctuary and the one tree that reaches to the ceiling in the atrium.

Christmas music was playing, cider was flowing, people were laughing and having a great time together. Last year, it took the team days to put it all together. With the help of several small groups, we were able to do it in three hours, instead of three days!

Spiritual Renewal Retreat

Amberly and I are excited about the spiritual renewal retreat we’re participating in this winter. It’s going to be a time of prayer, seeking the Lord, worshipping at various churches, reading, relaxing, and planning for the future. The retreat will last five weeks, January 23-February 28. Dan Weber inadvertently said six weeks when it was announced a few Sundays ago. It really is only five weeks. And, we are putting together five great services for CLA during that time—you’ll barely miss me!

When I told my mom about the retreat, she was worried something was wrong with me or the church. I assured her, as I do you, that nothing could be further from the truth. We’ve seen more people attend and make decisions for Christ than any other year. I’m more convinced than ever that Des Moines is the city that God has called us to reach. My family loves Des Moines and Christian Life Assembly. This is one of the best boards I’ve ever worked with and our team is closer than ever. The motive isn’t that something is wrong, the motive is that things are right! I don’t’ want to mess that up by moving forward in my own ideas or my own agenda. That’s why I want to get away for a while, after the pattern of Jesus, to pray, to think, to renew my spirit about the future of our church.

I’ll be praying for you, worshipping in churches that have the type of multi-site ministry I believe God could be leading us toward, attending two very important conferences, and working on the vision master plan for the future. While part of the time will be devoted to rest and relaxing, these 35 days are not time off, they are just time spent differently—praying, fasting, reading, attending chapel at Southeastern University, and planning for the future of Christian Life Assembly. I believe the results of these five weeks will be felt for the next five years. It’s time to gear up for the next phase of what God wants to do. That always begins with prayer and seeking the Lord. That’s the point of the spiritual renewal retreat.

So, don’t be nervous like my mom. Be excited for what God will put into my heart and yours during those 35 days.

What a Weekend!

We started the weekend by picking out our Christmas tree. It's a family tradition. We head out to the Howell Tree Farm and pick through hundreds or thousands of uncut trees to find the one the five of us agree on. We went with pine, instead of fir. This is a big change for us. We're hoping it works out. We'll get the tree next week and decorate it the day after Thanksgiving.

After that, it was off to children's and adult Christmas musical practice. The boys (Grant and Corbin) are both in The King is Coming to Town. Amberly is singing in Christmastime.

After that, it was a bite for lunch at Sonic and on to Grant's basketball game. After being down at the half 12-8, we came back and won 20-14. It was phenomenal. What powerful defense in the second half!

Sunday, we gave away 500 turkeys as part of the Great Turkey Give Away. Two great services with over 800 people present between the two. We wrapped the weekend up with a movie: Santa Claus 3, The Escape Claus. It was a fun time with the kids.

What a weekend!

Risky Living

Sunday, we talked about difference makers. There were four ideas that caught out attention:

1. Difference makers live out of their own suitcase.
2. Difference makers live with the end in mind.
3. Difference makers live to be a blessing.
4. Difference makers live risky lives.

With that idea of risky living in mind, let me give you a few quotes:

"You've got to jump off cliffs all the time and build your wings on the way down."--Ray Bradbury

"The pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."--Winston Churchill

"Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties."--Erich Fromm

"A rut is nothing but a grave--with both ends kicked out."--Vance Havner

"Restlessness and discontent are the first necessities of progress."--Thomas A. Edison

"I am always doing that which I cannot do, in order that I may learn how to do it." Pablo Picasso

Winning at Life

Picture a baseball diamond. To win the game, you've got to make it around the bases. Home plate is the starting point and the ending. Think of home plate as your relationship with God. It's where you get your purpose and your power.

First Base--Winning with yourself. This has to do with character. To make it to this point, you've got to raise your IQ (integrity quotient). You've got to win the battle within--building your character, undstanding your gifts, living your strengths.

Second Base--Winning with people. This has to do with community. You value people. You create life giving relationships. You bless people.

Third Base--Winning with situations. This has to do with competence. Here, you win some battles. Your strategy works. Your ideas take flight. You figure out how to make it work.

That brings you back home to where you experience the purpose and power of God in your life again.

For more information on these ideas pick up the catalyst groupzine.

Confessions of a Pastor

This is an interesting post from Gary Lamb, pastor of Ridge Stone Church. What do you think?

I haven't wanted to post this...I have avoided it all day...I'm not proud of it but we all make it mistakes...I have tried hard to not do this...I gave into peer pressure that is all I can say...I am very ashamed...I could start by giving you excuses:

There are no streetlights in my neighborhood

I was lazy and didn't feel like walking

I thought what I was doing was better

But they would be just excuses and would not justify what I did.

I have always prided myself on the fact that I don't do a lot of churchy stuff and yet I did this. I actually feel dirty from this.

So what is it that I did? I am so ashamed I can barely type it.....
I WENT TO A CHURCH FALL FESTIVAL!

There I said it. I know you probably think less of me but what can I say? I fell off the wagon. I gave in. I'm a loser.

I will say this: It was awful.

I knew it was wrong. I was so ashamed I actually went to the next town over from me where no one would see me. That is sad. :)

Like most things I go to that involve church, I will say this: The church again proved why they aren't reaching people. This thing was awful. I was embararssed to be a christian and to think they thought they were reaching people without a church home.

If you would have asked this church they would have told you this was their big thing for the community. No, it was their big thing for Christians.

Why can't the church get "it."

Here were some things I noticed that were just flat out sad.

1.) Candy - To kids this is the most important part of Halloween. It is for me as well. When you showed up you registered and they gave you a little sandwich bag with candy in it. That was it. We rushed home where Ashlyn could go door to door and she got more candy on our street then she did there. That is very important for a 4 year old. After it was done she told me how fun it was and next year let's skip the festival. I want my kids growing up digging church not thinking it is lame.

2.) Christianize - Man the christianize language was in full affect. Why do people get saved and then they decide to talk weird? If I met another Bro. so and so I was going scream. If someone called it Harvest day instead of Halloween one more time I was going to punch them. Unchurched people think we are weird because we are.

3.) Excellence - It was sad. This is a large church but I could have honestly done a better job. The inflatables were sad, the games were lame, and the candy...well I already shared that. This church truly had the opportunity to show the community a great time and that church could rock but instead they showed them that the church is always lags behind the world in terms of excellence.

4.) Costumes - No scary ones. I understand they are a church BUT if you are reaching unchurched (that was their goal) then let them come and accept them and maybe let them see you aren't LAME! There was a dude carrying a snake around and security was escorting them away. Now, I don't want a snake around either but the snake seemed under control.

5.) Pastor - He was very sissyish. More and more pastors are very sissy men. They are so prim and proper and can't relate to people. I think people now expect their pastor to be that way and that is one of the reasons men don't attend church. I have A LOT of thoughts on this but I will post that on another day. I truly felt if I punched him he would break. I listened to him talk and again who talks like that? His wife had big hair too. Not cool. :)
I could go on and on but you would think I was being a jerk. I am not trying to be but I can't believe I relapsed like this.

My point is simply I am ashamed that I went to this thing instead of hanging out in my neighborhood and doing what I do best which is chilling with those who don't go to church.
I am worried about the church. Overall she just doesn't get it.

Challenge the Process

In an article in the catalyst groupzine, Andy Stanley writes, "Leaders must challenge the process precisely because any system will unconsciously conspire to maintain the status quo and prevent change. It is the nature of things organizationally not to change in a healthy direction. It is the nature of things organizationally to find a happy place and stay there forever and ever and ever and ever."

I think that's why most churches stop growing around 120 people. It's a happy place. You can pay the pastor full-time, afford a building, and have enough people for a viable social network. It's a happy place. Leaders, though, have to challenge the process that allows us to stop at happy places!

The trick is to challenge the process without challenging the organization. We don't want to alienate those we are attempting to lead. It's a tight rope.

What Lurks Beneath?

There is within each of us a sinful nature that lurks beneath the surface. Sunday, we discovered how this monster works and ways to combat it. There are seven steps in the temptation/sin process according to James 1.13-18. Here they are:

1. The Look--We get distracted from God and start looking at potential pitfalls.
2. The Lust--We begin to have a passion for the thing we've looked at.
3. The Lure--We are drawn away by the disguised picture of sin we develop.
4. The Conception--We conceive a plan for how we can turn the thought into reality.
5. The Birth--We do the deed.
6. The Growth--Most sin grows because we can't "each just one" as the chip commercial says.
7. The Death--In the end, sin destroys us.

There are three antidotes to the monster:
1. Focus--Resist the look and lust by focusing our spirits on the Lord.
2. Facts--Combat the lies of the lure with the facts: there is no such thing as a secret and you can't do it just once.
3. Flee--Once you are in the conception and birth stage, the only answer is to flee! Run, baby, run!