Accountability

I heard a great definition for accountability at lunch today:

Accountablity is giving the necessary information before it is required!

That's a great thought.

Sermon Length

In our staff meeting this week, we talked about the ideal length for a sermon. So far, hare are the lengths for the messages I've preached at Bethel:

• Candidate Sunday--35 Minutes
• First Sunday--32 Minutes
• Second Sunday--37 Minutes
• Third Sunday--49 Minutes
• Fourth Sunday--44 Minutes

I think sticking in the 30-40 minute range is a good goal. The problem is the clock is way up in the balcony and I can't really calculate very well in my mind, while preaching. I'm just glad, I cut it back to 44 last Sunday and broke the increase trend. By the ninth Sunday, it would be up to three hours at that rate of increase. :)

Our Choice: Life or Death

Sunday, we wrapped up the series Building a Life Giving Church with the message Our Choice: Life or Death. Here are the notes:

Understanding the Passage
1. The Choice--Life or Death
2. The Conditions--It' s Not Too Hard
3. The Counsel--Love the Lord, Walk in His Ways, Obey His Commands

Applying the Passage
This is the central battleground in spiritual warfare.

How Do I Choose Life?
1. Bless instead of curse.
2. Submit instead of rebel.
3. Redeem instead of reject.
4. Include instead of exclude.
5. Love instead of hate.

Let love live!

Leadership Forum

Last night's Leadership Forum was amazing! There was an energy and an excitement in the room as we talked about how Bethel is being positioned to make a difference in the community. Two thoughts kept coming up over and over again in the meeting--potential and reaching the lost.

With the location, facilities, and most of all people God has blessed us with, there is no limit to what God can do in us and through us as we partner with him to make a difference in this region. I'm excited about what is ahead.

Now, we start a series of meetings with volunteers from 15 different ministry groups to listen and learn about the ministry potential and function at Bethel. From there, we build a Dream Team to help us discern the call and vision God has for this church in this city. We want the right people in the right place with the right plan!

Silver or Bronze? Which is Better?

I read an interesting article this morning that confirmed a suspicion I had. People who win the bronze medal are happier than those who win the silver. Why? Because the silver winners are thinking of what could have been--comparing themselves to the gold medalist. The bronze medalists think of what could have been--comparing themselves to those who didn't medal at all.

If I win silver, I wish it had been gold. If I win bronze, I'm thankful I made on the medal stand at all. Interesting stuff. Shows the power of attitude and perspective.

Shawn Johnson Wins Gold

I could not be happier to hear that Shawn Johnson won the gold on the beam at the Olympics. I was so proud of her three silver medals, but was hoping she would come home with a gold. My son Corbin took gymnastics at the gym where Shawn trains. She is so nice and a straight A student.

She did America and Iowa proud. I can't wait to watch tonight!

Way to go, Shawn! Three silvers is amazing, but three silvers and gold--that's what I'm talking about!

Drinking Iced Tea

After 14 years in the north, we're back in the land of sweet tea. Here's my breakdown:

• McDonald's--Way too sweet
• Olive Garden--Sweetened with peach syrup (yummy)
• Bojangles--Almost perfect.

We bought a 1/2 gallon of sweet tea from Bojangles. It's our favorite. Now, to find a great Mexican restaurant.

Our Power: The Spirit or The Flesh

We finished the third message in the Building a Life Giving Church yesterday with the message Our Power: The Spirit or Flesh. Here's the outline:

Choosing Our Power Source
1. The Holy Spirit
2. The Flesh

Contrasting the Power Sources
1. The Spirit Leads to Freedom/The Flesh Leads to Bondage
2. The Spirit Focuses on Jesus/The Flesh Focuses on Self
3. The Spirit Produces Fruit/The Flesh Produces Works
4. The Spirit is a Creator/The Flesh is an Imitator
5. The Spirit Leads to Unity/The Flesh Leads to Strife

Connecting to Our Power Source
1. Be Filled with the Holy Spirit
2. Walk with the Holy Spirit
3. Practice Lifestyle Warfare

Rick Warren...America's Pastor?

It seems God continues to extend Rick Warren's influence. Sunday night, he's moderating presentations by both John McCain and Barack Obama at Saddleback Church. According to what I've heard, each candidate will be asked questions by Warren for approximately 45 minutes. It won't be a debate in the sense that the candidates will answer questions separately.

Here are a few of my observations:

1. Warren seems to be continuing the honorable tradition of Billy Graham of speaking life into the political process without endorsing a particular candidate or party.

2. Both candidates must think they have a great opportunity at receiving the vote of evangelicals or they wouldn't be appearing at Saddleback Church.

3. Warren's influence seems to be increasing because of God's favor. He was on the cover of one of the major weekly magazines last week and now this. With that influence, he becomes a greater target for the enemy. I think it would be great if we would pray for him as this Sunday night special airs--that God will use him as a voice of righteousness and protect him from the destructive plans of the enemy.

Our Mark: Innocence or Victimization

Sunday, we finished the second week of the series, Building a Life Giving Church with the message, Our Mark: Innocence or Victimization. Let me recap the differences between innocence and victimization:

1. Innocence Leads to Life/Victimization Leads to Death
2. Innocence Leads to the Lord/Victimization Leads to Other Lords
3. Innocence Leads to Joy/Victimization Leads to Judgment
4. Innocence Leads to the Future/Victimization Lingers in the Past
5. Innocence Leads to a Beautiful Spirit/Victimization Leads to a Bitter Spirit

Here are the times I'm tempted to abandon innocence in favor of victimization:

1. When someone brings me their offense.
2. When I have been wronged.
3. When my rights have been violated.
4. When I am criticized.
5. When I am right.
6. When another believer is found in sin.

It was a great Sunday. If you missed it, you'll be able to pre-order the entire cd set or dvd set, starting this Sunday.

Date Night...Finally

After weeks without a date, Amberly and I finally went on a date night last night. It was great. We found a wonderful sitter for the kids and we were out the door.

We drove to a plantation, rode the ferry across the James River, walked around Colonial Williamsburg, and had some great dessert. Then, we looked through books about Virginia history at Barnes and Noble just outside the colonial district.

As we rode on the ferry, we could see the Jamestown Settlement--the first English settlement in the New World. For people who love history, this was a great date. By the way, the picture is of the Governor's Palace in Colonial Williamsburg.

Three Meals--All at Home!

For the first time, our family ate all three meals in our new home. Alright, I did eat breakfast at church with the men, but everyone else ate every meal at home! That's a major accomplishment. It means:

1. Amberly was finally able to go stock up on groceries. We could only move canned goods--no meats, frozen foods, perishables, etc.

2. The kitchen utensils, pots, pans, etc. are all finally unpacked. We had 244 boxes to go through to unpack. We're almost done.

3. And, most importantly, I was able to go buy a new propane tank for our grill! I love to grill so I was loving it last night.

We've eaten out so much in the last few weeks, it's crazy. It was great to sit around our kitchen table again and begin to feel at home in our new house--and it was a lot less fattening!

Prayer, Men's Breakfast, and Life Giving Church Series

We had a great prayer time last night at Bethel, wrapping up three days of prayer and fasting. There is no way to overstate the importance of these times of prayer and fasting--they form the foundation for a life giving church. Speaking of that, here are the message topics for the next three weeks in our seris Building a Life Giving Church:

• Tomorrow--Our Mark (Innocence or Victimization)
• August 17--Our Power (Spirit or Flesh)
• August 24--Our Choice (Life or Death)

I'm looking forward to meeting a great group of guys in a couple of hours at my first Real Men's Breakfast. I'll be sporting the shirt they gave me last Sunday. See you there.

Superior in Short Sermon at Nationals

Grant did a tremendous job at nationals! He earned a superior rating from the judges! Amberly and i are so proud of him! He worked hard and did a great job! We were also thrilled that my mom and John and Debbie Palmer were able to be there to see him. John is the general secretary of the Assemblies of God, but took the time to see our son preach. I really appreciated him and Debbie taking the time to be there!

Grant, great job! I love you!

We're in Charlotte, North Carolina today for Grant's Fine Arts Festival presentation. He's doing a short sermon based on Acts 1.8 and this year's world missions' theme: Everywhere.

His presentation is at 11.20 AM. My mom has come over from Kentucky to see it and we had a great time hanging out yesterday. We went to the Billy Graham Library. That was inspiring. Then we went to the science center and took in an IMAX movie about Greece and toured ruins from Pompeii. Not as inspiring, but interesting.

If you can pray Grant before 11.20 AM. After lunch we're heading back to keep unpacking boxes and get ready for Sunday.

Living in the Tree of Life

We launched the series The Life Giving Church with the message The Two Trees. Here's a review:

1. The Two Trees
--The Tree of Life
--The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil

2. The Primary Mark of Each Tree
--The Tree of Life (Innocence)
--The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (Victimization)

3. Comparing the Tree of Life to the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil

• Tree of Life/ Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil
• Innocence/Victimization
• Stimulation of Life/Destruction of Life
• Joy/Judgment
• Obedience/Disobedience
• Abundance/Barrenness
• Living in the Spirit/Living in the Flesh
• Fruit of the Spirit/Works of the Flesh
• Healing/Hurt
• Hope/Despair
• Life/Death

Here's the big question, "In which tree am I living?"

Night Sounds

I'm doing something I wasn't able to do in Des Moines. We had a great deck on the back of our home, overlooking Easter Lake Park. The only problem was mosquitoes. They are attracted to me like Donald Trump to money. I could never sit out there at at night.

In our home here, we have a screened porch on the back. So, here I am testing it out to see if mosquitoes can fit through the screens. So far, so good. All I feel is the breeze and all I hear are the sounds of cicadas. Grant's sitting out here reading, while I look over notes for tomorrow.

In the Office..Getting Closer at the House

This is my second morning in the office at Bethel Temple. Yesterday, I made great headway on the message for Sunday. I'm going to launch a series called, Life Giving Church, with the message The Two Trees. My goal is to develop a common language to talk about ministry, relationships, and church life. I'm looking forward to it.

By the way, we got the kids' rooms done last night, along with the kitchen--everything, but hanging pictures. This afternoon, I'll help Amberly with the living room and our bedroom. Maybe we'll have the house set up by Saturday night.

I've know one thing--moving is for the birds. I'm not anxious to do it again any time soon!