Great Friday Afternoon

Took Friday afternoon off. It was a great time. I beat Grant 22-20 at XBox College Football. He was Texas. I was Kentucky. That's the only time Kentucky is going to beat Texas in football.

Then, we all went to Jordan Creek Mall and took in a movie--Nim's Island. Morgan and I shared M and M's. It was great to sit beside her because it was a movie about a father and daughter.

Next, we went to Barnes and Noble. Each of the kids got a new book--Angelina Ballerina, Magic Tree House, and a Ted Dekker novel. Amberly and I wanted a book about 500 places to take your kids before they grow up, but decided to check it out at amazon, instead.

After that, food court. Wendy's. Chick-fil-a.

Tomorrow...chocolate chip pancakes. Nothing better.

What's It Mean to Trust?

If I trust you, what does that mean? What does it mean for you to trust me? Here's a great definition of trust from The Five Dysfunctions of a Team:

• Trust is the confidence among team members that their peers' intentions are good and that there is no reason to be protective or careful around the group. In essence, team members must get comfortable being vulnerable around each other.

I trust you when I don't have to be protective or careful around you. I trust you when I know you're looking out for me--even when I'm not in the room.

New Message Series

We just wrapped up a creative meeting where we planned out the message series from now through September. Here's what we're looking at:

• Urban Legends: Debunking Spiritual Myths (We're going to look at four urban legends and find out if they are fact or fiction.)
• Irresistible (This is the summer message series based on Colossians. We'll re-discover the Irresistible Jesus and learn how to become a church of irresistible influence.)
• Unstoppable (This four-part message series is set for August as we seek to become an unstoppable force for good in our city. This will lead up to our 14th anniversary and our launch of a second service.)

There you go. If you purchase a cd set of a recent message series, you can e-mail tamra@lifenow.org. You can pick up a copy of Jesus 1.0, The Greatest Comeback Ever, Fusion, and so much more.

Bored.com

Did you know there's a website called www.bored.com. If you have absolutely nothing to do, you can go there and waste plenty of time. Let me give you a three more time wasters:

1. Worry.
2. Fear.
3. Comparison.

Seven Temptations Pastors Face

Perry Noble, a pastor from Anderson, South Carolina, posted these six temptations at http://www.perrynoble.com/:

1. Selling out God's vision in exchange for a paycheck.
2. Trying to please everyone.
3. Thinking that working harder will solve the problem.
4. Sacrificing their family.
5. Not delegating their weaknesses.
6. Avoiding conflict.
7. Not spending personal time with God.

At different points over the almost 14 years at Christian Life Assembly, I've battled all of these temptations--never at the same time, but at different points. The temptation to please everyone was great at the beginning. Back then, we were just looking for bodies to fill the seats and help unload the van. During the building project, the temptation was to sacrifice family time. Interesting stuff.

Five Marketing Mistakes Churches Make

According to Tony Morgan in Outreach magazine, there are five common marketing mistakes made by churches:

1. Promoting your church instead of generating a response.
2. Making a promise you can't keep.
3. Trying to be all things to all people.
4. Thinking other churches are your competition.
5. Promoting programs that compete with one another.

To read the complete article, go to http://outreachmagazine.com/library/webexclusives/ND07webexTonyMorgan.asp

3 C's of Hiring

We're currently looking to add an administrative assistant to the team. As we do, we look at three specific qualifications:

• Character. That's the first step in any hire, especially in a Christian organization. Now, character includes integrity, but is more than that. Character is the ability to meet the demands of reality. Does the person have the character to meet the real demands of the position.
• Chemistry. Does the person fit the team? Do they fit the environment? Are the in agreement with the vision and even more the values of the team?
• Competency. Can the person complete the tasks needed. Beyond that, do they have the competencies of a learn because the tasks to be completed five years from now will be radically different than those of today.

Style and Substance

I've been thinking about worship style and substance. It seems to me that there are a variety of worship styles--liturgical, contemporary, emerging, acoustic, electric, and urban. What I'm wandering is if we mistake the style for the substance. If we don't like the style, do we say that there's no substance there.

For a long time, I've been a proponent of identical services. Tomorrow, we'll have 9 AM and 11 AM. They'll be identical in style and substance. What I'm wandering is this--could they be different styles and have the same substance.

By substance, I mean more than just depth. Here's a definition of substance: that of which a thing consists; physical matter or material. By mistaking style for substance, I mean that we think a service has to have the same style or it cannot possess the same substance.

Here's the question: Could a church offer three services with different styles (say, acoustic, liturgical, and electric-guitar driven), but have the same substance in each--passion for worship, captured hearts, and the presence of God?

If the answer is no then critics are right to suggest that the DNA of the church is split into by the various styles because they have different substance.

If the answer is yes then the critics are wrong. The services could be very different styles and have the same substance--flowing from the DNA of a church bent on worship.

Just some thoughts.

Add Some SOAP to Your Devotions

Here's a four-step plan for your devotion time:

• Scripture. Develop a reading plan for the Scripture. If you don't have a plan you'll fly between the gospel, Proverbs, and Psalms. A plan gets you to all the Bible--in a year, two years, it doesn't matter.
• Observe. In a journal, write down what you observe happening in the Scripture you're reading. Who? What? Where? When? How? Why?
• Application. What is God saying to me through this passage?
• Personal Prayer. What do I need to say to God because of this passage?

Giant Easter Egg Hunt and Passion: Journey to the Cross

Over 500 kids officially registered and over 1,000 volunteers, kids, and parents participated in Des Moines' Greatest Easter Egg Hunt last Saturday! The weather was a little chilly, the ground, a little wet, but the hunt was a lot of fun.

Plus, we passed out hundreds of flyers about our Palm Sunday presentation: Passion--Journey to the Cross. This was such a different presentation from years past, but it was filled with the message of the cross. I loved it.

My thanks to Vanessa for organizing the Giant Easter Egg Hunt and TJ for leading up Passion. They and their workers all did a tremendous job. Thank you so much.

Passion: Journey to the Cross

We just got home from Passion practice. It's going to be great. If you're in DSM this Sunday at 9 AM or 11 AM, I want to invite you to come by. It's full of cool drama, great music, and the message of the power of the cross.

I hope to see you there.

We're Going to Nationals

As I mentioned last week, Grant (our 12 year old) entered the Iowa District Fine Arts Festival in the category of short sermon. You have to write and preach a sermon around a theme--and it can only be five minutes long.

Well, this was his first year and we were hoping for a Superior rating, but he wound up with a Superior with Invitation. That means he's invited to the National Fine Arts Festival in Charlotte, NC, starting August 3. We're so proud of him. He did a great job!

He scored 115 out of a possible 120 points. In fact, one judge gave him a perfect 40!

Grant's First Sermon

I heard Grant (my 12 year-old) practice his short sermon for Fine Arts Festival for the first time yesterday. I was impressed. He must get it form his mother--she made better grades than I did in homiletics back at Central Bible College.

It amazes me how well he memorizes stuff. I messed up in a Christmas play at White Oak General Baptist Church when I was 7 or 8, and have been afraid of memorizing ever since then. I was Joseph and forgot to ask if there was room in the inn--that, and wearing a ridiculous bathrobe ended by drama career.

When Will it End?

I need some global warming to invade Iowa! We were up to 63 degrees yesterday. I saw my grass for the first time since November. It was a great three hours. Then, last night the arctic freeze rolled in. Today, it's 22 degrees with a low tonight of 9.

I'm hoping and praying the snow will be gone in time for our Giant Easter Egg Hunt outreach March 15. I bet the pastel eggs would stand out in a blanket of white snow. I bet---I don't want to find out, though.

What Does a Leader Do?

What do leaders do? In what activities does a leader engage? What are the core competencies of a leader? In some recent reading, I came across the three primary functions of a leader:

1. Diagnose. This is a cognitive function--the leader knows where the organization is located in space, time, and spirit in relationship to the mission/vision. How far are we from the vision? How long until we reach the next point? What's keeping us back? Have we taken a detour? What is the speed with which we're moving? How are people's attitude/participation with the task? The leader is constantly evaluating and diagnosing to understand where the organization is on the space/time/spirit continuum.

2. Adapt. The key to great coaching is the half-time adjustment. The team planned to pound the ball inside, but the defense continues to sag in with a 2-3 zone. Nothing is going into the paint. Can the coach adapt the game plan to take advantage of the open outside shots? Will he manipulate his defense to create more transition baskets to open up the game. That's what the leader does--he constantly makes half-time adjustments with the resources at his disposal. The leader who makes the right adjustments comes out the winner at the end of the game. While diagnosis is a cognitive function, adaptations is an intuitive function. There's often a gut feeling of this is what we need to do next to knock down that barrier and get back on track.

3. Communicates. This is the process function. The leader communicates the adaptations to the team in a way that they 1) clearly understand and 2) are motivated to participate. For that to happen, he needs to understand the process of change in an organization, how much change he has in his pocket, and what motivates the key members of the organization.

In the end, these are the three primary tasks of leaders--whether they are leading a home, a church, team, or a business. It doesn't matter if you lead a company that makes computer processors or home loans, these are the three jobs of a leader. It doesn't matter if you're leading a fifth grade basketball team or the Kentucky Wildcats, these are the three responsibilities of a leader. This is the leader's job description.

Coaching Kids to Be Leaders

I've started a new book by one of my favorite leadership authors--Pat Williams, an executive with the Orlando Magi. This one is about Coaching Your Kids to Be Leaders. In it he give seven marks of leadership:

1. See a Vision

2. Be a Communicator

3. Build Good People Skills

4. Build Good Character

5. Build Confidence

6. Be Bold

7. Be a Servant

The book not only reveals these seven keys to leadership, but talks about how to mentor and motivate your kids to be leaders. With three kids (Grant-12, Corbin-7, and Morgan-4), I am excited to put the principles of the book into practice.

A New Personal Low

I'm excited to report that I reached a new low--I'm down to 221 pounds. That's 26 pounds from my peak weight of 247 just after Christmas. I have a goal of getting to 210 by June 1, 2008. According to what I've read that that's the top range of weight for my height. I'm 6'2".

What's my secret--well, 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting didn't hurt. Since the fast, Amberly and I have tried to cut out eating out as often, reduced sugars and breads, and made an increased effort to eat fruits and vegetables. Plus, I can count on one hand the number of Coke's with a lime have had in 2008. And, I can count on no hands the number of King Size Reese's Peanute Butter Cups I've eaten.

I've done 30-45 minutes of cardio five days a week since the start of the year (excluding the 21 Days of Fasting). I fasted exercise during that time.

If I can do it, you can do it, too.

Yesterday, I added weight training to my cardio workouts. I kind of feel it today. I may have to head to the chiropractor. :>)

Cool Websites for Church Planters

I've been collecting some cool websites for church planters--Here are some of the top sites:

www.vision360.org

www.newchurches.com

www.church-planting.net

www.churchplanting4me.com

www.brandingshed.com

www.churchplanters.com

There are so many more resources available to planters now than when we launched CLA--it makes you want to try it all over again!

Forward 2.08.08

We're in the final days of the 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting and my thought for today has to do with pressing on to the end. We've come so far and we have just a little bit to go. I am so proud of so many people who have tried fasting for the first time. It's exciting to hear the stories about what God is doing in their hearts and lives. Let's keep pushing forward and finish strong here at the end.

Let's come to church Sunday expecting a powerful service marked by God's presence. I'm going to talk about The Power of the Second Touch. This message is going to wrap up our Wonderfully Well, Blessed, and Highly Favored message series. It may be my favorite message of the entire series. You'll be able to purchase the complete series immediately after the service.

I can't wait to see you Sunday.

February Book of the Month

This month's Book of the Month in the Connections Resource Cener is Seven Pillars of Health by Don Colbert, MD. While it's not the primary focuse at all, there are health benefits to prayer and fasting.

I started working out again a couple of weeks before our fast. Since that time, I've lost 23 pounds--from 247 down to 224. Now, I want to keep living a healthier lifetyle and Colbert's book gives a 50 Day plan for that type of lifestyle. According to Colbert the seven pillars of health are:

1. Water

2. Sleep

3. Eat living food

4. Exercise

5. Detoxification

6. Nutritional Supplements

7. Reduce Stress

You'll be able to purchase the book this Sunday.