Right People, Right Place, Right Plan

Read 106 pages of a new book yesterday by an author I've never read before. It's Jentezen Franklin--Right People, Right Place, Right Plan. It's about discerning the voice of God. In my prayer time today, I focused on allowing the Holy Spirit to connect with my spirit in five ways:

1. Asking God to stir my spirit--give me a holy discontent for the lost, for ministry, for the church.
2. Asking God to lead me by my spirit--to follow the gentle nudgings of the Holy Spirit throughout the day.
3. Asking God to put help me purpose in my spirit--not just decide things in my mind, but purpose eternal things in my spirit.
4. Asking God to compel me by his spirit--to so bind me to his will for my life that I don't want to and can't break free from it.
5. Asking God to give me peace in my spirit--we make tons of decisions everyday. I need peace in my spirit t show me the right decisions.

He said something I have believed for a long time, "Just because a door is wide open, it doesn't mean you are supposed to walk through it. This is where you need the Holy Spirit's guidance." Wow. What a thought.

Powerful e2 Conference

This year's e2 Conference was over the top. We had record attendance from pastors across the state and Mark Batterson really challenged us to be lion chasers. John Palmer opened up his heart and shared with raw authenticity about "Mistakes I've Made and Lessons I'm Learning." It was powerful. Thank you to these two men for hearing for equipping and encouraging the Iowa Ministry Network.

God at the Box Office--Starting This Sunday

We launch a brand new message series this Sunday--God at the Box Office. The stained glass window of the 19th century has been replaced by the movie screen of the 21st century? Is there any room for God at the Box Office? What are the questions popular movies are asking and answering and what does the Bible have to say about those questions. We'll take a look at four movies starting this Sunday:

• Sunday, September 23 Star Wars


• Sunday, September 30 Transformers


• Sunday, October 7 Walt Disney's Meet the Robinsons


• Sunday, October 14 Pirates of the Caribbean

See you at the box office!

Worship at the River

Join us this Sunday for Worship at the River at the Simon Estes Amphitheater in downtown Des Moines. Don't forget to bring a lawn chair or blanket. Childcare is available in the Potomac Room in the Embassy Suites Hotel, adjacent to the amphitheater.

It's going to be a fun service with new music, drama, and the message--Cross that River.

See You There.

Creating Culture

I'm reading an interesting new book called By Design or Default: Creating a Church Culture that Works. Of course, the principles can apply to any home or business as well. Here are four insights about church culture--whether created by design or default:

• Your culture is your packaging and presentation of the Gospel
• Culture determines who attends your church
• Whatever a culture is--it grows.
• A created culture is always evolving

In a different chapter, he talks about becoming a culture-creating leader. There he gives six practices of culture-creating leaders:

• Serve with humility.
• Endorse God's plan of abundant life.
• Exude a high value on individuals.
• Set an example of excellence.
• Proclaim that God is faithful.
• Communicate the life giving nature of God.

Barthalow Blog

Here's the link for the Barthalow blog to find out what's happening in India. There are some cool pictures. I talked to Jonathan last week and he's doing great--facing the normal challenges of culture shock with monkeys on the roof, ants in the bed, no water for days, and a 20 minute hike from your house to a car. I have an even greater respect for missionaries after talking with him.

Here's the link. You can only look--you can't post responses. Or, at least, I couldn't figure out how.

http://web.mac.com/barthalowsinindia/iWeb/Site/Welcome.html

General Council Report

Here's the update from General Coucil. Our slate of officers looks like this:

General Superintendent--Dr. George Wood (new)
Assistant General Superintendent--Rev. Alton Garrison (new)
General Secretary--Rev. John Palmer (new)
General Treasurer--Rev. James Bridges (not up for re-election at this council)
World Mission--Rev. John Bueno (returned to office)
US Missions--Rev. Zollie Smith (new)

There were a couple of intersting facts in this list of officers:

Zollie Smith is the first African-American to be elected as an officer.
Dr. George O. Wood is first person with an earned doctorate to be elected superintendent.
John Palmer is the second officer to have pastored First Assembly in Des Moines (Charles Crabtree was the other).

Gone on a Jet Plane

I talked with Pastor Jonathan Barthalow just a few minutes before they boarded a flight to Newark, New Jersey and then on to India yesterday afternoon.. They are really excited about this next step of missionary service. A lady from the church in Memphis rented them a limo so they could ride to the airport in style. I'm so proud of how they are following the Lord's will for their lives. They should be landing in India in any minute now.

Quote of the Week

Here's the quote of the week--"The world is wide; and I will not waste my life in friction when it can be turned into momentum." (Frances Willard)

What a great idea--life is too short to be lived in friction with everyone and everything around us--let's turn that friction into momentum and move the agenda of the Kingdom forward in our lifetime.

Nice Post by Mark Batterson at Future A/G

Here was an interesting post by Mark Batterson at www.futureag.blogspot.com:

Here are ten characteristics I'm looking for:

1) Spiritual intensity--a raw heart for God
2) Non-conformist--appreciates our history but also challenges the Status Quo
3) Doesn't just speak in AG cliches--fresh thoughts and fresh methods
4) Imagination--more concerned about creating the future than repeating the past.
5) Contexual Intelligence--keen ability to understand the times ala the Tribe of Isachaar.
6) Proven track record of pastoral leadership--someone who's been there and done that.
7) Humor--someone who can laugh at themselves
8) Neotenic--young at heart regardless of age
9) Innovator--believes that there are ways of doing church that no one has thought of yet.
10) Missional--huge heart for missions and church planting.

Future AG Blog

As some of you might know, the future of the Assemblies of God will be dramatically impacted in just three weeks as we cast ballots for the offices of general superintendent, assistant general superintendent, general secretary, and executive director of world missions. There is a unique blog that asks what characteristics should be looked for in a leader for our movement. It's a pretty cool way to dialogue about the future.

Take a look at http://futureag.blogspot.com/.

Men of Steel: Champions Tour

The second week of the Men of Steel: Champions Tour was just as phenomenal as the first. We have four small groups of guys that meet together each Wednesday morning at 6:30 AM. We eat a little breakfast, hear a talk, and then get coached in our small groups. The lessons come from the book Who Wants to Be a Champion by NBA executive Pat Williams. It's great stuff--all wrapped up by 7.30 AM.

Today's lesson was about speaking the right kinds of words. It challenged us to go 90 days without any negative words coming out of our mouths. What a challenge! I think I'm going to take the challenge and see what happens.

Spiritual on Your Own?

We talked about fusing brotherly kindness with our faith yesterday. I am more convinced than ever that you can't be spiritual by yourself. It's in the context of relationshps--particularly a marriage and family--that my spirituality gets worked out into my life. It's easy to be spiritual in a cave by yourself, alone with God. It gets harder when you throw people into the mix. People who disagree with you. People different from you. People who disappoint you.

I'm convinced we can build healthy relationships that spur one another on to real spiritual growth.

LIke a Lobster

Yesterday, Amberly, the kids, and I went to Valley View Aquatic Center. It was a blast. Four water slides, two pools, and a lazy river. I used SPF 50 Sunblock--but it didn't block. Red as a lobster, but it was a fun, four hours with the family.

Dick Hardy is in the Blogsosphere

My good friend Dick Hardy of the Hardy Group is blogging. Check out what he has to say at www.dickhardy.blogspot.com.

I LOVE America!

I can't wait for I Love America this Sunday at 10 AM. We finished our final planning meeting for the service. The final part of the service is a drama depicting how Francis Scott Key wrote the national anthem. It is powerful. It combines live drama, multi-media, and, of course, the national anthem. I literally wept as we listened to the story. It is powerful. I'm so thankful for the men and women who have given their lives to serve the rest of us. That reminds me of another song we're doing--Freedom isn't Free.

Sunday Recap

What a great summer Sunday service we had yesterday. If you missed it, let me recap the four principles of perseverance:

1. The start is always exciting.
2. Exits come early and often.
3. You're don't finished until you say so.
4. If you don't quit, you can't lose!

This Sunday is our special "I Love America" presentation. It's going to be great! We'll keep the Fusion series going for two more weeks, including this Sunday.

Build the tracks!

Do you know why we don't have a train running through any of the 40 acres our church owns? It's really not that hard of an answer. No train comes through because there are no tracks!

If you want the train, you've got to build the tracks. Trains only go where there are tracks. The idea came to me during a meeting with a team member. I kept asking why we didn't have certain things happening that I had asked about for weeks--even months. It's not that he didn't want it to happen. It wasn't that he didn't have the skill or personnel to make it happen. There just weren't any tracks. There was no system in place to make it happen. If you want the train to come to town--you've got to build the tracks.

If you want a great marriage--build the tracks of communication, dating, etc.

If you want to create a great worship experience, you've got to build the right tracks.

If you want a train, build the tracks for it to run on. Simple, but sure helped us.

Get a Reality Statement

I read of an interesting idea in a report by the Gallop Organization. It talked about how many businesses and organizations have a vision statement, but most don't have a reality statement. The reality statement defines exactly where they are at the present and what it's going to cost to get to the vision.

It kind of goes along with the idea of orienting toward truth included in Henry Cloud's excellent book Integrity. You've got to know where you are before you can get where you're going. Too often, we live in the fantasy world of the vision, instead of the real world.

Reminds me of what Warren Bennis says, "The first priority of the leader is to define reality." Pretty good thought, uh? It's like when I was lost in Boston. I had a vision for where I wanted to go, but since I had no idea where I was...it was awful hard to figure out how to get there.

Kansas City....There I Went

Amberly and I drove to Kansas City to pick up her grandmother and aunt from Oklahoma at the airport. Wouldn't it be great if Southwest flew into Des Moines so we didn't have to do that 2.5 hour drive. It's great to have them here for a visit.

Her aunt asked, "What do you do when somebody yells 'Preach on' during the sermon." I told her we were too far north for that to happen!

A Just as Scary Thought

I've been thinking about the quote a couple of posts ago--Most Christians are a major tragedy away from giving up on their faith. I think it's true. Here's an even scarier thought--Many Christians are a minor inconvenience away from giving up their faith, or at least their church. If something goes wrong in a relationship, if the worship music isn't right, if someone doesn't call them back then they can easily give up church altogether. How do we build more commitment into the hearts of people?

FUSION Series Off to Great Start

We've had two great services the last two weeks with the launch of the new FUSION message series. We're talking about fusing seven qualities with our faith to release a new energy in our lives. So far, we've looked at goodness and knowledge. Sunday, we're taking a look at the idea of self-leadership. It should be good. I look forward to seeing you there.

What is Leadership?

Here are a couple of definitions for leadership. Do they seem to fit? What are they missing?

Robert Greenleaf
"The essence of leadership is the desire to serve one another and to serve something beyond ourselves."

Bill Thrall
"Leadership is influencing others. When one life touches another--in a family, community, organization or culture--the effect is called influence."

Joseph Jawarski
"Leadership is about the release of human possibilities."

Bobb Biehl
"Leadership is knowing what to do next, why it is important, and bringing the necessary resources to bear on the need at hand."

How does this definition change if it is for "redemptive" leadership?

It's a Scary Thought

I was listening to Ken Ulmer, pastor of Faithful Central Bible Church in Los Angeles, preach a couple of days ago. Something he said really struck me. He said, "Most Christians are one major tragedy away from giving up on their faith."

Is that really true? If the economy went south, if their child developed a disease, if their marriage fell apart, are most Christians just that close to giving up on God? Are we that fair weather in our faith? It does imply that as pastor/leaders we need to help people understand the real deal about real faith and help them develop a theology of suffering that guides them through the trial. Interesting thoughts.

Got My Grades!

I got my grades for the pre-course work I turned in--about 45 pages of reports on reading before this two-week doctoral residency. Got an A. I don't think this doctoral work is easier than master's work, but it centers in on exactly where I am as a leader and where we are as a church and ministry network. Plus, I'm about ten years older. It just makes more sense now!

A Divine Melting Pot

Our Doctor of Ministry cohort is a melting pot of denominations, ethnicity, and geography. Sitting right around me today are four great guys:

• Allen, white guy, Southern Baptist, North Carolina
• Lance, African-Canadian guy, Episcopalian, Toronto
• Danny, Korean guy, Toronto
• Great, white guy, Baptist of some kind, South Dakota

Within all of that diversity, there is a great common factor--a desire to lead God's people into becoming all that God created them to become! It's a great group.

Boston 4 Detroit 2

Last night, four of us in the doctoral program took the train into downtown Boston and watched the Red Sox come back from being down 2-1 to win the game 4-2 with a three-run homer from a guy hitting .194. Wow. What a comeback.

It was so cool being in a stadium I'd seen on television all my life. We sat near the Green Monster--watched on ball just make it over the monster by one inch. It was amazing.

Leadership Metaphors

Today in class we're talking about leadership metaphors. Every leader has some type of metaphor for their leadership style. That metaphor communicates to the mission and structure of the organization. There are four common types of metaphors:

• Machinery
• Biological
• Cognitive
• Relational

A biological metaphor can be found in the Bible--the Body of Christ. We've all heard the phrase, "It runs like a well oiled machine." That would be a machinery metaphor.

Metaphors are often translated into symbols that are displayed.

As I think about this, I wander what metaphor we've been operating with at Christian Life Assembly? I'll get back to you when I figure it out.

Core Competencies of Leadership

Today, we focused in on core competencies of leaders:

• Self-leadership
• Character which leads to credibility
• Strategic intent (understanding the context)
• Clear communication

It was amazing as we looked at the answers people gave to the question, "What are you looking for in a leader?" The list was eerily similar to 2 Peter 1.5. That's the text for our new message series, "Fusion." It's all about how to add power to your life. You're going to love it!

I Made It On Time

I had a much better start to finding my way to class in Boston today. Yesterday, it took 2.5 hours as I wandered through town. Today, I made it in 35-40 minutes. So, that's a little bit of improvement.

Kingdom Builders Report

We had a great weekend with our Kingdom Builders initiative. Together, Kingdom Builders and the Army of Faithful Believers committed $100,160 to key projects to be completed in the next year! Thank you for stepping out in faith!

Sitting in Class in Boston...er, Roxbury

I was over one hour late to the first day of class at my doctor of ministry program. My mapquest took me to 90 Warren St., Boston. I needed to be at 90 Warren St., Roxbury, MA. It took multiple phone calls to finally get me to the right Warren Street. It was a great tour of Boston, though. I hope it gets better from here.

Personality Tests

I just had a to take another personality test. I hope they find out that I have one. It was for my doctoral degree. The first residency for this degree starts next week--it's all about the leader as a person--personal development kind of stuff. I think that's a key idea that we miss in our effort to find the four new ideas or the one magic key to growing our church or organization.

Maxwell has said it for years--you grow the leader, you grow the organization.

I don't' want to be the lid on the growth that God wants to bring to Christian Life Assembly or to the Iowa Ministry Network. I want to keep growing. It may be discomforting at times to look at ourselves as the leadership lid in our organization, but we've got to do it.

Army of Faithful Believers

I'm excited about this weekend. We're asking each member of our church family to step up to the plate and help us move the kingdom agenda forward in our city. There are three levels of participation:

1. Tithers--Giving ten percent of your income to the Lord. Everyone who signed a membership covenant agreed to tithe regularly to the Lord, but we want to renew that commitment this weekend and invite new tithers to join us.

2. Army of Faithful Believers--These are folks who commit to an amount more than their tithe, but less than $2,500 in a twelve month period. Their giving helps propel the agenda forward (for example, parking lot, signage, TV commercials, etc.)

3. Kingdom Builders--These are folks who commit to give their tithe, plush $2,500 or more over the next twelve months.

These ideas allow everyone to partner together at the level God puts in their hearts so the church can accomplish its mission in the city.

Kingdom Builders

We're launching Kingdom Builders, a brand new ministry at Christian Life Assembly, this Saturday night with a kick off event at the Science Center of Iowa. The purpose of Kingdom Builders is a provide prayer and financial support for capital improvement items at the church--big ticket items, we call them.

Some Kingdom Builders investments will include:

• Expanded Parking Lot ($50-$60,000)
• New Signage at the drive and intersection of Fleur and Highway 5 ($10,000-$15,000)
• New Equipment for KidsCount and elevate Student Ministries ($10,000)
• Worship Experience Upgrades--Audio and Video ($10,000-$15,000)
• Television Advertising ($40,000)

The number of Kingdom investment opportunities depends on the number of families who sign up to be a Kingdom Builders--giving $2,500 or more above their tithe in the next twelve months, as the following chart implies:

• 10 Kingdom Builders=$25,000
• 20 Kingdom Builders=$50,000
• 30 Kingdom Builders=$75,000
• 40 Kingdom Builders=$100,000
• 50 Kingdom Builders=$125,000

If you attend CLA and haven't signed up for the Kingdom Builders' Kick Off Event where you'll learn more about this exciting opportunity, e-mail Vanessa at vanessa@lifenow.org right away so we can get a seat reserved for you.

Small Church...Big God

I saw a roadside sign at a church this week that said, "Come to a small church with a big God." For some reason that sign just hit me the wrong way and I've been trying to figure out why. Here are some thoughts:

1. If you have a big God then why do you have a small church? Sure, success is stewardship. A church in Climax Springs, Missouri will probably be small because it's a small place. But this church is in a city of 200,000 people. And, it's not a new church. It takes the average new Assemblies of God church four years to reach 100 people in weekly attendance. It took us three--81, 99, 110 were our first three year's average.

2. Are they proud of being small? Is there a mindset that says to be big you have to compromise? You have to do something that appeals to people--meaning you have to water down the gospel? Is small pure and big polluted? Is small an attribute that attracts people?

3. What is small? I have no idea how many people attend the church, but I think it's over 125. In the Iowa Assemblies of God, there are only 25 of the 130 churches above 125 in weekly attendance. So, if you're above 125 are you really small? If you're above 200, you're in the upper 20% of all churches across the nation. This church isn't Assemblies of God so I can't check their attendance in our handy dandy church book.

4. Does the sign really reflect the philosophy of the church or did someone just think it was a cute thing to say? This happens all the time in churches--we really don't have a clear message that we send out through all of our media--roadside signs included. We don't always think through the message that we send to the culture or how the culture interprets our message.

Just some thoughts.

Going on a Jet Plane

I just finished booking my airfare for a trip to Boston, where I start my doctoral studies in redemptive leadership and organizational development. I head out May 13 for a week of classes, come back for the weekend of May 20 at CLA then head back for one more week of classes.

So far, I've read over 2,000 pages of leadership material and am writing five different papers to get ready for the residency. After the residency, there's a 15-20 page project. After three of these residencies and projects, I'll be done. My goal is to have my doctorate by the time I'm 40 and so I'm on track for now.

Kicked Out of Jordan Creek Mall

TJ and I were filming a video clip for the Cantaloupe message series at Jordan Creek Mall this morning when a security guard approached and invited us to leave the mall. Apparently, no filming is allowed on the mall property? Who knew? :)

Fortunately, we got all the footage we needed. So, come to Christian Life Assembly this Sunday to see what the mall doesn't want you to see. That's quite a plug, isn't it?

Happy Administrative Assistants Day

I have two great administrative assistants--Vanessa Schaad at Christian Life Assembly and Gloria Bradshaw at the Iowa Ministry Network. I want to tell them both thanks for all of their hard work. They both are tremendous and gifted women. Thanks for all that you do.

I realldy do appreciate them both, but I also know Vanessa's mom always reads the blog and wanted to be sure to score some points by mentioning her daughter!

Two Great Resources

At this year's district council, we're giving out two new cd's to all of the pastors: Breaking the 125 Barrier and Breakdown or Breakthrough.

If you're a pastor and would like a free copy of each of these leadership lessons Cds, please e-mail me at pastor.glenn@lifenow.org and we'll send you one right away.

Congratulations, Tom!

My good friend Tom Jacobs was just elected superintendent of the Iowa Ministry Network of the Assemblies of God. He replaced Richard Arrowood who is retiring after serving eight years as the superintendent and eight years as the secretary-treasurer. Tom is committed to the mission of equipping and encouraging Pentecostal leaders and churches to fulfill the great commission.

One of the things I've learned from Tom is that all ministry flows out of relationship. I think that's a critical insight, even more valuable during this transition time for the Assemblies of God. I look forward to looking with Tom to creative some life giving relationships all across our state.

Break Out to Break Free

Looking forward to Sunday. We're doing the third message in the series Breaking Free. This week we're talking about breaking free by breaking out. The big idea is that you've got to change your environment if you want to change your future. In other words, if you want to get where you're going you can't stay where you are. Israel had to get out of Egypt if they were going to be free, and so do we.

This has been a great series. There are two more steps to freedom after this: break up and break through.

See you Sunday!

Thursday Midnight Rule

We started something new this week--the Thursday Midnight Rule. That means that everything for Sunday has to be completed by Thursday midnight. The idea is to not be pushing at the last minute for the service--to give us time to breathe and increase creativity. To get started, we made a list of everything that has to be done for a Sunday service to go. Here it is:

• Adult Technical Order Completed
• Adult Order of Service Completed
• Adult Music Pulled
• Songs put into Computer
• Backgrounds on Computer
• Christian Life News (CLN) Filmed, Edited, and Put on Computer
• All Props Completed
• All Videos Completed
• All Dramas Completed
• All Special Music Completed
• All Worship Team Members Called
• Message PowerPoint Completed
• Worship Folder Completed
• Worship Folder Inserts Completed
• Cd's for Bookstore Completed
• Café Prepared and Ready
• Message Completed
• CLN Written
• Study Guide Written
• Message Outline Completed
• Puppet Skits Written
• Rovercomer Skit Written
• KidsCount Worship List Selected
• KidsCount Technical Order of Service
• KidsCount E-mails to Volunteers
• Kid Volunteers Contact
• Nursery/Preschool Workers Contacted
• KidsCount Room Prepared
• Order of Service Completed
• Message Completed
• All Props Purchased and Completed

This list may not be all-inclusive, but it's a start. It doesn't include getting ready for The Edge, Let's Get Acquainted, or other special events. Church doesn't just happen. It takes a lot of people using their gifts to create a powerful worship service. Thanks to everyone who serves at CLA!

Great Leadership Book

During the sabbatical, I read Henry Cloud's book Integrity. What a great read. Don't let the title throw you--it's not about ethics, it's about leadership. He uses integrity in the sense of wholeness of character to meet the demands of reality. There are six components to the character required to lead according to Cloud. Here they are:

1. Establishing Trust

2. Oriented Toward Truth

3. Getting Results

4. Embracing the Negative

5. Oriented Toward Increase

6. Oriented Toward Transcendence

He unpacks each of these big ideas in creative ways throughout the book. It was one of the most creative books on leadership that I've read in a long time. For example, orienting toward truth means much more than being honest--it means defining reality in your organization, instead of living in a fantasy that makes you feel better as a leader. It's powerful stuff. Of course, you can order it from www.amazon.com.

He's Back!!

After being gone forever from the blogosphere....I'm back. It's probably going to take a while to get folks reading again after such a long absence, but I'm ready to start typing. After coming back from the sabbatical, it's been difficult to get back in the swing of things, but I'm ready to go.

A Few Random Thoughts

• Today, I kind of felt like some of you may have felt Sunday. I went to chapel at Southeastern University, expecting to hear Dr. Mark Rutland. Mark didn't preach, though. I had to listen to a guest speaker. At first, I was disappointed, but then decided that the Holy Spirit still wanted to speak to me even if it wasn't the speaker I expected.
• I've had the joy of hearing ten sermons since we started this sabbatical a week ago. Nine were live and one was on CD. All have been different speakers. All have been used by the Holy Spirit to renew my mind and shape my spirit.
• People here are complaining about the temperatures--low 50's. Let 'em move to Iowa!
• I ran into Dave and Linda Leeper at Walt Disney World Saturday. We were there with my mom and grandmother. Had to travel all the way to Florida to say hi to these great folks from Iowa! They read the blog so let me tell them Hi and I love you guys one more time! Dave, sorry we didn't make it to Gatorland for a plate of gator and tater, but it's still true--you never fail with food!

Book of the Week--The Leadership Game

Tom Mullins coached football for 15 years, amassing 128 wins at the college and high school level. Now, he's the pastor of a multi-site church of 20,000 members in Palm Beach County, Florida. He's written a book on leadership based on his coaching experience, The Leadership Game. According to Mullins there are seven responsiblities of leadership from coaching that apply to leading any organization:

1. Recruiting
2. Motivation
3. Momentum
4. Morale
5. Preparation
6. Game Day Adjustments
7. Celebration

Here were a couple of key thoughts:

• Preparation precedes momentum.
• The foundation of morale is hope.
• The four most important words to motivate people are, "I believe in you."

Harder Than I Thought

During this spiritual renewal retreat, I'm supposed to disconnect from what's happening at church to really connect with my family and the Lord. It's harder than I thought it would be! I had to give my phone to Amberly to keep me from calling yesterday.

I did call Russ Hixson today to ask a question about the arbitration, but all he said was, "I'm not going to talk with you about it! You're on sabbatical. We can handle it."

Apparently, I'm not as indispensable as I thought I was.

Spiritual Renewal Retreat

Amberly and I made it to Florida and have started our spiritual renewal retreat. We attended the first night of the Free to Soar Conference last night. It has tracks for pastors and for pastor's wives. My mother and grandmother are watching the kids while we go to the conference.

Just finished a couple of great session. One was with Bishop Dale Broner of Atlanta, Georgia. I took about ten pages of notes on the top of quantum capacity. One of the things he said really struck me:

"God is a moving entity. He's always doing something fresh. So, we've got to be listening to his voice for a proceeding Word. The greatest enemy to a new move of God is the last move of God."

That's a primary reason for our spiritual renewal retreat: I want to hear a "proceeding" word from God for our church family. I'm excited about what God has done, but more excited about what God is gong to do next!

Elvis, Barry, Conway, and Lynnard Skynnard

I had a great day yesterday. Took Corbin to school. Worked at the office. Had lunch with Amberly. Then, I got in the car and travelled to Iowa City where I interviewed a potential church planter and met with Rich Greene, our church planter in Iowa City. From there, I headed to LeClaire, Iowa. Pastor Jeff Crowder and I led that church's annual meeting. Jeff is doing a great job in revitalizing that church.

Then came the ride back to Des Moines. I left LeClaire and merged onto Interstate 80 at exit 306, knowing that exit 140 was a long ways off. I talked on the phone for a while. I listened to preaching on my ipod. I listened to Hillsong on my ipod.

Around 10 PM, though, it was all I could do to stay awake. No sermon or worship chorus was cutting it.

So, we had to dig deeper into the ipod. That's were I found Barry Manilow at the Copacabanna. It's still the hottest spot north of Havanna. Then, Elvis begged to Let Me Be There and told Johnny to B. Goode. After that Conway Twitty and I did a duet to Hello Darling. By this time I was waking up and thought I was ready for Lynnard Skynnard. For the final couple of miles, we belted out Sweet Home Alabama as I pulled into my sweet home Iowa's drive way.

After ten hours of driving and meetings, I was home. Sometimes, you've got to do what you've got to do.

Vision 20.20 (Serve)

The fourth purpose at Christian Life Assembly is SERVE. By 2020, we envision a church...

• With 150 life giving ministries where people serve according to their SHAPE (Spiritual Gifts, Heartbeat, Abilities, Personality, and Experience).
• 80% of the congregation involved in ministry, according to their SHAPE.
• A School of Ministry, effectively equipping men and women for significant service, making a difference with their lives.

In order to reach these goals, in the next two-five years we will...

• Identify, Recruit, Equip, Deploy, and Support 65% of the congregation in ministries that fit their spiritual SHAPE.
• Hire a senior associate pastor to lead the grow, connect, worship, and serve purposes.

Vision 20.20 (Grow)

The third purpose of Christian Life Assembly is Grow. Here's what we envision by 2020 to help the church family grow into their full potential:

• A fully-developed Life Institute, equipping beleivers to fulfill their purpose, including a School of Worship, School of Leaders, and School of Ministry.
• A Master's Commission to equip young people to serve in ministry.
• Hire a senior associate pastor to lead ministries for Reach, Connect, Grow, and Serve.

In the next two to five years we will take the following steps toward that vision.

• See 100 people complete the School of Leaders
• Develop curriculum and launch School of Worship
• Launch Master's Commission

Chase the Lion!

Here is a lifestyle motto I've picked up from my friend Mark Batterson, pastor of National Community Church and speaker at this year's e2 conference in Des Moines. You might want to print it out and post it on a mirror or refrigerator. You can pick up a copy of his book In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day at the Connections Resource Center.

Quit living as if the purpose of life is to arrive safely at death. Set God-sized goals. Pursue God-ordained passions. Grab life by the mane. Go after a dream that is destined to fail without divine intervention. Keep asking questions. Keep making mistakes. Keep seeking God. Stop pointing out problems and become part of the solution. Stop repeating the past and start creating the future. Stop playing it safe and start taking risks. Expand your horizons. Accumulate experiences. Consider the lilies. Enjoy the journey. Find every excuse you can to celebrate everything you can. Live like today is the first day and last day of your life. Don't let what's wrong with you keep you from worshipping what's right with God. Burn sinful bridges. Blaze a new trail. Criticize by creating. Worry less about what people think and more about what God thinks. Don't try to be who you're not. Be yourself. Laugh at yourself. Quit holding out. Quit holding back. Quit running away. Chase the lion!

20.20 Vision (Connect)

The second of our five purposes is Connect. By 2020 we envision a church:

• With over 200 small groups connecting people in life giving relationships throughout central Iowa.
• With a fully-functioning coffee house and bookstore that provides an atmosphere where people can connect in informal settings.
• With Men of Steel and Leading Ladies ministries that conduct catalyst events that open doors for people to invited hundreds of people into their small group and church.

To see that vision accomplished, in the next five years we will:

• Recruit and train leaders for 30 additional small groups.
• Hire a senior associate pastor to lead connect, reach, grow, and serve ministries.
• Begin the second phase of construction on our current facility that will include an expanded bookstore and coffees shop to provide connection opportunities.

20.20 Master Plan (Reach)

At Christian Life Assembly, we have five purposes: reach, connect, grow, serve, and worship. By 2020, our vision for fulfilling our purpose of reaching people looks like this:

• A multi-site church with 3-5 campuses throughout central Iowa with between 2,000-3,000 people attending each weekend.
• A church with a fully-integrated media ministry reaching central Iowa and beyond through television, radio, internet, podcasting, and all new technologies.
• A church committed to world missions--giving over $1,000,000 each year to world missions and involving at least 25% of the congregation in 8-12 missions trips each year.

Within the next five years, we will take the following steps toward this vision:

• Launch two new sites for worship--an inner city site and a site in the western suburbs.
• Hire a senior associate pastor to oversee Reach ministries, as well Connect, Grow, and Serve.
• Take the first steps into media ministry through televisions spots, podcasting, blogging, and other available means.

For more information on multi-site ministry, you can take a look at http://www.multisitechurchrevolution.com.

20.20 Vision

The pastoral team, deacon board, and ministry champions have been developing a 20/20 Vision Plan for Christian Life Assembly. It's a picture of what we think our church can look like in the year 2020, along with five year, three year, and 90 Day goals to get us there.

Starting next week on the blog, we'll be releasing some of the creative and energizing ideas about where we think God is leading us as a church. You're going to be excited about the vision God is placing in our hearts.

Leadership Idea of the Week

Here's this week's Leadership Idea:

The only thing a leader can't delegate is final responsibility.

Leaders can delegate tasks, assignments, portfolios, projects, almost any aspect of his role. The one thing a leader cannot delegate is final responsibility. In the end, the leader is responsible. That brings two thoughts to my mind. The leader has to surround himself with the right people to delegate tasks to. Second, the leader has to implement the right systems of communication to insure those tasks are completed properly.

Interpret Life Correctly

One of the principles we talked about in a series of messages a few months ago was interpreting life correctly. We miss out on so much when we misinterpret life. This week, our church family faces the shocking news that one of our deacons suffered a brain anuerysm and died at 57 years-old. In fact, he died two years after his wife who had a congenital heart condition.

It's so important for us to help people interpret these things correctly. Let me give you some misinterpretations that Christians can buy into during times like this:

1. We shouldn't mourn or grieve because we know our loved one is in Heaven. The Bible says that we don't mourn as those without hope. It doesn't end the sentence with "We don't mourn." It's that we mourn, grieve, and weep, but with hope--not without hope. I have meet Christians who refuse to allow themselves to cry becuase they think it's unspiritual. That's a misinterpretation that will cause grief to surround you more and more--not less and less.

2. If we had prayed more or had more faith, our loved one wouldn't have died. That puts the power of life and death in our hands, not in God's. The Bible says in James that we pray the prayer of faith, but the Lord raises up the sick. Why doesn't God heal every sick person? Because it is still appointed to man once to die, according to the Bible. I believe in miracles, but I trust in Jesus. Not everyone we pray for will be healed, but we keep praying. And, we don't get disappointed and lament powerless faith, blaming ourselves or each other. We believe in miracles, but we trust in Jesus.

3. God isn't good. God is still good no matter what. Is it God's will for our loved one to be healed? Yes. Then why doesn't he? Let's start at the root. Was it God's will for Adam and Eve to sin? No. Was it God's will for death and sickness to come into the world because of sin? No. Was it God's will for our loved one to fall prey to that death and sickness? No. But, that's the course that humans charted when we allowed sin, death, and sickness into the world. So, what's God doing about it? He sent his son to die so that we can live not only in this world, but in a world to come with no sin, death, or sickness. He gave his all to redeem us from the curse of sin. That's why I can still say that God is good all the time.

It's important to interpret life well. If we don't, we'll wind up blaming God, blaming others, or blaming ourselves.