21 Days of Prayer and Fasting

Christian Life Assembly is engaged in 21 Days of Prayer and Fasting through February 10. As part of that I will be posting insights and ideas from my time of prayer and fasting as daily devotional material for the remainder of the fast.

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 The stained glass window of the 19th century has been replaced by the movie screen of the 21st century?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.

Why a Daughter Needs a Dad

One of the gifts Amberly got me for Christmas was the book Why a Daughter Needs a Dad. I started reading the 100 reasons a daughter needs a dad and became a babbling brook of tears as I thought of my beautiful almost three-year old girl. Here were some of my favorite reasons:

• A daughter needs a dad who doesn't mind when she steps on his shoes while dancing.
• A daughter needs a dad so she'll know what it's like to be somebody's favorite.
• A daughter needs a dad to tell her truthfully that she is the most beautiful of all.
• A daughter needs a dad to be the standard against which she will judge all men.
• A daughter needs a dad so that she'll have at least one hero who will not let her down.
• A daughter needs a dad so that when no one else is there for her, she can close her eyes and see him.
• A daughter needs a dad to carry her just because she wants to be carried.
• A daughter needs a dad to build a loving house on a foundation of wisdom and understanding.
• A daughter needs a dad to stand with her on the day she marries the man she hopes will be just like her father.

It's Christmas Time at the Reynolds

What a beautiful Christmas Eve service! The sanctuary was filled with candlelight and hundreds of people celebrating Christmas. I love the Christmas Eve service because it's an opportunity to invite friends and family who might not normally attend church.

After Candles, Carols, and Christmas Eve, we headed over to Amberly's parents for Christmas dinner with her family--her brother Gentry and his wife Kelly along with their two kids (Adrian and Aidan) came in from Indiana. It was great. Santa even stopped by and surprised everyone!

It was a great day for celebrating with family.

The next morning we woke up and opened gifts together, just the five of us, when all the sudden the door bell rang. It was Steve Davidson bearing gifts--delicious homemade cinnamon roles from his wife Angela. It was a great Christmas morning surprise--and tasty, too!

Iowa Supreme Court

What a great honor I had yesterday to witness the investiture of Brent Appel as the newest justice of the Iowa Supreme Court. Brent has served Christian Life Assembly as our church's attorney for the past couple of years.

Governor Vilsack appointed him to the court in October with the installation yesterday. Governor Vilsack administered the oath of office in front of the entire Iowa Supreme Court, Lt. Governor Sally Pederson, Governor-elect Chet Culver, Lt. Governor-elect Patty Judge, district judges, court of appeals judges, federal court judges, and Brent's family and friends.

I had never been in the courtroom of the Iowa Supreme Court, but it is beautiful room in a gorgeous new building across from the Iowa Capitol building.

Merry Christmas!

We thought we'd have fun with this year's Christmas card. See you at Candles, Carols, and Christmas Eve, Sunday at 4 PM.

A King is Coming to Town

If there is a more hilarious, high energy, high-impact children's presentation around, I dare you to show it to me. Those kids did great. And, the kid dressed up like the Elvis impersonator. Whose kid was that? I bet he got it from his mother. Look for pictures to be posted tomorrow. They did a great job. Plus, people made decisions for Christ. That's what it's all about.

The 12 Days of Christmas Have Begun!

I'm starting a new tradition this year. I'm getting Amberly a gift for every day of the 12 Days of Christmas. It started today with a $5 gift card to Sonic Drive In. There is nothing more exciting to my girl from Texas than a Route 44 Big Drink Dr. Pepper with extra ice. If she play it right, she should be able to get three with the gift card and think of me with every sweet, sugary, sip!

Toys for Tots Was Tremendous

We had over 1,700 people attend the four presentations of Christmastime this past weekend, gave out nearly 2,000 toys, and over 300 people responded to the altar calls. It was a great weekend! The presentation was filled with fun and beauty. I loved hearing the "oohs" and "ahs" when the snow machine started up. It was phenomenal!

Special thanks to everyone who made it possible.

Confessions of a Pastor

In his new book, Craig Groeschel shares some amazing stuff on dropping the pose and getting real with God.

Here are some of his confessions:

1. I can't stand a lot of Christians.

2. I have to work to stay sexually pure.

3. I worry almost all the time.

4. I hate prayer meetings.

He's so real and so funny at the same time, then he gives great lessons that he's learned to overcome the things that he's talking about. I'm loving it!

Toys for Tots

Our Toys for Tots outreach is this weekend. So far, we have registered nearly 800 kids to receive two toys each. We rented a Ryder truck to pick up the toys. We're doing the giveaway at two different services this Saturday, 4 PM and 6 PM. I can't wait!

Five Brackets for Tournament of Books

So, I need 80 books to start out with to get down to the five I'm going to read on the Spiritual Renewal Retreat. Since the purpose of the retreat deals with mind, spirit, and bodyI want books that deal with all three areas. Instead of East, West, Midwest, and South, we need five brackets to match the retreat theme, with one book winning out of each bracket. Here are some ideas for the five brackets:

Spirituality
Leadership
Personal Development
Relationships
Culture
Biography/History/Philosophy
Church Life

We'll have to first narrow down the brackets and then fill each of the five with 16 seeds and let the tournament begin.

I Love December

Here are a few things I love about December at CLA:

The Leading Ladies Tea (December 2)
The Lighting of the Christmas Tree (December 3)
Toys for Tots Giveaway (December 9)
Christmastime (December 10)
Kids Christmas Musical (December 17)
Candles, Carols, and Christmas Eve (December 24)

I can't wait! We're up to 750 kids signed up for Toys for Tots. I bet we get to 1,000 before it's done! If you want to volunteer to help, e-mail Vanessa at clagsecretary@aol.com. Thanks.

Books for Spiritual Renewal Retreat

I'm thinking about what books to read during my spiritual renewal retreat, January 23-February 28. I want to do a book a week, so that would be five books. I should set up a tournament of books to get down to the final five. Here are some I'm looking at:

Off Road Disciplines by Earl Creps
Spiritual Leadership by Henry Blackaby
A Tale of Three Kings by Gene Edwards
Christ Plays in 10,000 Places: A Conversation on Spiritual Theology by Eugene Peterson
Creating Community: Five Keys to Building Small Group Culture by Andy Stanley
Holy Ambition: What it Takes to Make a Difference for God by Chip Ingram
Church in Emerging Culture: Five Perspectives by Leonard Sweet, Andy Crouch, Michael Horton, Brian McLaren, and Erwin McManus

Well, there are the first eight for our field of 80 that will get narrowed down to five. I can't wait for the brackets to come out!

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!

Time to go to the DMV

I looked at my driver's license yesterday and discovered that it had expired! So, I'm heading down to the Department of Motor Vehicles. We'll find out if the stereotype of a slow-moving government agency is accurate or just a myth.

My only question is this: If my license is expired can I drive there legally to get a new one?

Hmmm?

Reconnecting to God

As part of our i/e series, where we're focusing on intimacy with God and effectiveness with life. Those are the two greatest goals for every believer. Last Sunday, we talked about how to reconnect with God after we've blown. David's experience with Bathsheba served as the model. There are four steps on the road back:

1. Humility--We've got to realize that there is no negotiating with God. We come to the table with nothing. There is no reason for God to forgive us other than his grace and mercy.

2. Honesty--We've got to come completely clean with God. Most of us share as little as possible to get the forgiveness we need. We can't do that if we want to reconnect with God--we've got to get everything out in the open.

3. Heart Change--David needed a new heart so he didn't do what he did before! He asked God for a pure heart, a steadfast spirit, God's Spirit, and the joy of salvation. Those were the weapons he needed to face the challenges ahead.

4. Hope--We aren't marked by our mistakes, we're marked by the promises of the future.

Mom Cow

My five-year old is learning so much in kindergarten. In fact, there are two words he can written in addition to his name: mom and cow. Today is his mother's birthday, so he signed his card for her. Then, he addressed the front.

Amberly was very impressed when he pointed out that he had written mom on the front by himself. Then he said, "I was going to write mom cow. But then I thought that would just be silly." It was great. We died laughing.

Relevant Tour

I'm excited to be working with Central Bible College on the 2007 Relevant Tour. It's a series of one-day leadership events to be held at 15 cities across the country. We're lining up some of the most effective Assemblies of God ministry leaders to be a part of these one day events--guys like Mark Batterson of National Community Church in Washington, DC and Randal Ross, pastor of of Calvary Church in Naperville, Illinois. I think they are going to be cool. I'm honored to be the chairman of the team putting it all together.

Smartest States

According to new studies, Iowa ranks as the ninth smartest state--ahead of neighbors in Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Illinois. Interestingly, Kentucky ranked 31st, moving up four notches from 35th last year, while Texas ranked 24th, dropping one spot from last year.

Who was number 1? Vermont.

Who was number 50? Arizona. (Too much heat bakes the brain.)

For a complete listing, here's the link:

http://www.local6.com/education/10097048/detail.html

What's Your Starting Point

Where you start has a great deal of bearing on where you finish.

Goliath started his day at the point of defiance. He came to defy God and his army. He ended his day, lying on the ground with David looking down on him. Defiance destroyed him.

Saul started his day in fear. He was dismayed by the giant. By the end of the day, he was no longer afraid of the giant; instead, he was afraid of David. He lost his future to fear.

David started his day in faith. He believed God could help him defeat the giant. And, he was right. He ended his day with the giant's sword in one hand and the giant's head in the other.

Where you start has a great deal of bearing on where you finish.

Happy Boss' Day

So, here's the front of the Boss' Day Card from our team:

Bosses are such important peopel that we have a special day for them...

So, here's the isnide of the card:

Don't get too excited though--we also have a special day for groundhogs!

They are assuring me that I am better than a groundhg, however. I may just go underground for the winter.

Happy Birthday at La Hacienda

I was sitting there eating my fajitas while talking with a couple about their upcoming wedding. We were having a great meal. Then, it happened.

The wait staff turned into a group of mariachi singers, placed a sombrero on my head and a dessert in front of me, and began to sing. It was great. I turned four shades of red. It wouldn't have been too bad, but it wasn't my birthday.

I looked around the restaurant. There were five other families from our church there! I have my suspicions!

1000 Turkeys

In team meeting yesterday, we talked about this year's Great Turkey Give Away. The tendency is for events like this to grow stale over the years. Here's what we're doing to make sure that doesn't happen this year:

• Give away more turkeys than every in three services 8.30 AM, 10 AM, and 6 PM
• Emphasize people in our church family inviting those who have made a difference in their lives to come to the 10 AM service to receive a free turkey as a way of saying thanks at Thanksgiving.
• Connect our guests at the 8.30 AM and 6 PM service to the KidsCount Bus Ministry in a significant way. We want to leave that day with 250 new prospects for our bus ministry.
• Involve more people than ever in the event throughout he 40-Hour Famine to raise funds for the event and in the event itself.
• Promote the event to various media outlets before the event happens to see if we can't leverage a little publicity for the Kingdom.

I'm excited and looking forward to the greatest Great Turkey Give Away ever.

How Many TV's are in Your House

The average American home now has more television sets than people--a threshold crossed within the past two years, according to Nielsen Media Research. There are 2.73 TV sets in the typical home and 2.55 people, the researchers said.

In the average home, a television set is turned on for more than a third of the day--eight hours, 14 minutes, Nielsen said. That's an hour more than it was a decade ago. Most of that extra TV viewing is coming outside of prime time, where TVs are on only four minutes more than they were 10 years ago. The average person watches four hours, 35 minutes of television each day, Nielsen said.

I'm all for a good show, but I wonder what could be accomplished with part of those four hours, 35 minutes?

New Website

Christian Life Assembly has a new website, designed by Rich Greene, our church planter at Life Church in Iowa City. Rich is so gifted at the tech stuff, plus he's doing a great job leading that new church to life. Here's the site: www.lifenow.org. Go take a look!

Micro-manager vs. micro-auditor

In his book Never Again, former Attorney General John Ashcroft says that President George W. Bush is not a micro-manager, but a micro-auditor. That means that he asks questions that probe whether the priorities are being accomplished, but doesn't micro-manage those strategies.

Here are some questions for leaders to ask to help see if all the priorities we agreed upon are being accomplished:

• What decisions do you need from me?
• What problems are keeping you from reaching your goals?
• What plans are you making that we haven't discussed?
• What progress have you made?
• On a scale of 1-10, how are you personally? Why?
• How can I be praying for you?

Next 90 Days

My goal is to continue to move the ball down the field--in a Kingdom mindset of course. With that in mind, I constantly ask the question, "What can I do in the next 90 days that will make the greatest impact for Christian Life Assembly?" Here's what's on my 90 day priority list:

1) Select a Reach Champion to advance our reach agenda.
2) Develop the third phase of the Edge leadership training course.
3) Lead our Fall/Winter outreach events (Great Turkey Give Away, Christmas Eve service, etc.)
4) Develop priorities and budget for 2007.
5) Distribute 100 yard signs with revamped website (www.lifenow.org)
6) recruit 20 people for the Tommy Barnett Pastor's and Leader's School
7) Develop Edge retreat idea.
8) Re-vision our CLASS Night approach
9) Hire acoustical engineer to review our sanctuary and train our AV team
10) Re-invigorate First Impressions team

Can I Have the Interpretation, Please?

Here's a little recap of Sunday message.

If we want to live life well, we must interpret life correctly. Much of our ineffectiveness in life is the result of misinterpreting life. We talked about four guiding principles to help us interpret life correctly:

• God is good...no matter what!
• Eternity is the measuring stick.
• Give people the benefit of the doubt, instead of doubting their benefit.
• It's always too early to quit!

In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day

I just finished reading the first chapter of In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day by my friend, Mark Batterson. All I can say is "Wow!" This book could not have come at a better time for me. I'm ready to unleash the lion-chaser within.

Here's the scoop on the book. Your greatest regret at the end of your life will be the lions you didn't chase. You will regret the risks not taken, the opportunities not seized, and the dreams not pursued. Stopping running away from what scares you most and start chasing the God-ordained opportunities that cross your path.

In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day is inspired by one of the most obscure yet courageous acts recorded in Scripture (II Samuel 23:20-21): Benaiah chased a lion down into a pit. Then, despite the snow and slippery ground, he caught the lion and killed it.

Unleash the lion chaser within!

Mark Batterson graduated a year after me from Central Bible College. Mark turned down a full-ride scholarship to the University of Chicago to attend CBC. He and his wife Lora planted National Community Church in Washington, DC. He is a good friend and a great writer. You can order the book at:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1590527151/ref=pd_rvi_gw_1/102-0829645-4497768?ie=UTF8

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.