Somebody help me!!!Only a week to go until we move and hold Easter services with what I hope will be a bunch of first time guests. The good news is that Claude is back. The not so good news is that there's still a lot left to do to get things ready. Most of it is decor and layout design along with building some stuff so we can convert the Boys and Girls Club into a church. We'll get it all done I'm sure.
Was very impressed with the quick work of Group Imaging this week. They're the people who print all our signs and they do a great job. We had to replace the road banners because of graffiti and they're here already. I'd highly recommend them.
I'm also excited about the book we're giving away to everybody who comes on Easter. It's a short little book that's about 100 pages (so Claude can read it) and is an easy read. It ties in great with the new series we're kicking off and with Easter too. It's called "How Good Is Good Enough?" and EVERYONE who attends this Easter will get a copy so let's hope there's a lot of people. Invite your friends and family and we'll see you on Easter.
Still working at taking Wednesdays off, and I've done pretty well today (aside from a dozen phone calls, 4-5 emails and a trip to the post office to take care of the mailers we're sending out). Still, Lora's always wanted to live the "Little House On The Praire" life - make her own clothes, grow her own food, etc. Me, the closest I get is "fresh" fruit and vegetables and hand-me-downs. But that doesn't matter since I'll do almost anything for my wife.
That means that I borrowed a roto-tiller and spent a little time tilling up the ground. We're starting small this year, but I'm actually excited about it. There's just something about growing your own food. It's going to be a bit of work though - and that's why we have kids! Roots and vines need to be pulled and stuff planted. Maybe by the end of the weekend.
After I got in and showered, I checked out the news and guess what? There was a tornado about 4 miles away and 1.5 - 2 inch hail just up the road! And all we got here was a bunch of thunder and a few sprinkles. Go figure. All in all it was a great day for gardening.
Just got word from the mailhouse company. They'll go out tomorrow. The first of two new mailers to nearly 20,000 of our closest neighbors. It's always a risk, but when we used direct mail in conjunction with our launch last year, we connected with a number of people and more than a handful are still with us today - a year later! I can think of four right off the top of my head that we baptized. I'd call that a good risk.
I don't know if this will connect with people or not, but we figure that we'll at least get people to turn the card over and read about a church that cares about people and their success in life, in their marriages and family, at work and in their finances. The Bible talks about all of that.
I better make one thing clear though, I'm not talking about the kind of success that gets televangelists in trouble and that is all about the bling bling. We'll define success correctly and build off of that. Can't give it away by telling you everything now, but I like how we're presenting this and am really looking forward to it. Things seem to be falling into place.
After recognizing last week as being a spiritual battle, I went to bed only to wake up and drive to the school to set up for Sunday services and be greeted by kindergarten quality art work on our signs. On top of it being poor quality, the content was terrible - apparently, somebody doesn't like "us."
The sad thing is, I can totally understand why someone might not like "us." When I say "us" I'm referring to the collective group of people who identify themselves as Christians, not just those who attend Discovery. You see, Christians can be bad for the church.
Jesus didn't come to make us Christians, he came to make us disciples, people who learn from and follow Christ. Just read through Acts (particularly 11:26) The early believers were disciples before they were ever called "Christian" yet today, a lot of people who call themselves "Christian" don't come close to following Christ the way a true disciple would, should or could. But hey, at least they're "Christian" right?
That's why I can understand someone spray painting our sign. They may have run into a few so-called Christians who just ticked them off and left them with a bad taste. Of course there's also the possibility that our 'painters' are some goofball juvenille delinquents too. Either way, this all just said to me that the work we're doing matters. There's people out here in our own back yard who have no idea of the transforming power of Jesus Christ - if we have our way, sooner or later they'll experience it for themselves. Until then, it's back to the battle.
It's been one of those weeks.
I've had to remind myself a bunch this week that I'm not fighting other people or anything like that. The battle that's been raging this week is obviously spiritual. I'm sure it's been that way all along, but I've found someone or something to focus on and complain about.
Church planting can be such a tough job. The list of things to do for any pastor is miles long, and that's partly our own fault, but I think it's another mile or two longer if you're a church planter.
First, you don't know who to trust because nobody has been there longer than you and you're still trying to figure it all out.
Second, there's fewer places to "hide" since a lot of us work from our homes or at Starbucks.
Third, finances are much more unpredictable so how do you "know" if you can pay for this or that ministry or even the pastor's salary.
Fourth, nobody wants to fail, and if a church plant doesn't work there's fewer excuses available. Can't blame failure on tradition, the deacons/elders, location, music wars or things like that because all that's been determined by the church planter!
Lastly, it's the front lines of war. The spiritual battle is toughest where the Kingdom of God is advancing and having an impact on people and places Satan once influenced.
So why am I so suprised by the battle that rages? I don't know. I guess sometimes I'm like most Christians and think that since I've trusted Jesus, everything should just be alright. That was stupid.
Thought it would be a good idea to recap some of the weekend service and here it is already 4PM on Tuesday. Either there's too much going on or I just have too many good ideas and not enough skill to pull them all off. Have to say we've gotten rave reviews over Sunday's after-church potato dinner. We ended up not being able to use the schools ovens so we grilled 'em. Wow, yum. Good thing we had a huge grill though. We did all 150+ potatoes at one time. Based on the comments and feedback this is definitely a repeat event.
At the end of each service whoever is speaking answers any questions that people may have written on their connection cards. We had two this week (although we missed one of them on Sunday) Here's the short answers, which, by the way are simply my opinion, interpretation, understanding or whatever you want to call it. I believe in open dialogue and so if someone has a different opinion, let's hear it. We can be Christian without being clones.
Question #1
"Why do you say: Father, Son and the Holy Spirit if they are all one in the same"
Great question. This one is really about the Trinity which is something we will never fully understand, because we will never fully understand or comprehend God. Nonetheless, we use those different names because 1) the Bible refers to God in these ways and 2) God refers to himself in these ways. The Bible refers to God as a "father" in many places (here's a couple Psalm 68.5, John 16:27-28, Ephesian 4:4-6), Jesus called himself the Son of God (Luke 22:70) and the Holy Spirit is also God (Acts 5:3-4) So the short answer is we refer to the one God the way He does - by using different names of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Question #2
"Are you ever going to address the gifts of the Spirit, such as speaking in tongues"
We will speak on the gifts of the Spirit, but I can't say when for sure. We've touched on it but haven't focused on any particular gift(s) simply because we focus on what unites us. Paul did the same thing when he acknowledged all different kinds of gifts, service nad works, but the same God (1 Corinthians 12:4-6). The important thing is that we all have been given a gift and we're expected to use it (whatever that is). If you'd like to get a head start on studying this though, read through 1 Corinthians 12-14 and Ephesian 4.
We'll see how this little Q&A works here. Hopefully in the future I'll be able to get this up there quicker and closer to Sunday.
Last week we let everyone know that we were after church on Sunday and that we were serving having dinnerhumongous spuds. We got the potatoes in, but they're not quite as big as I'm used to seeing. Either way, one of these monsters should fill you up. Especially when you add all the delicious toppings that are going to be available from standard butter and sour cream to chili, bacon, mushrooms and cheese. Hope everyone is planning on eating.
If you're wondering what's the deal with potatoes at church is, I can't tell you yet, but I'll give you a hint of what you'll see in church on Sunday. If you know, don't ruin the suprise for everyone. The picture is not an exact representation and I have no idea who the little girl is...I just found it on the internet.So, come prepared on Sunday and see if you can figure out before you come what this picture and potatoes have to do with learning about the Holy Spirit. And for those out there who say it has absolutely nothing to do with church and shouldn't be included, I simply disagree. Spectacular things happened with Jesus all the time and he taught through those events, sometimes without even speaking. It's called an object lesson, and we've got one planned for Sunday. Don't miss it.
I don't know how else to say this, but something is wrong. No, it's not with me (at least not yet) and it's not with the church. Something's wrong with my little baby girl - Hannah. While I certainly appreciate being able to work from home rather than having to go to an office, there are also some challenges that are associated with this setup. Namely, the potential for constant interruptions. Like today.
Hannah has been having "issues" lately and we don't know why. She's been fussy, crabby, crying, screaming and otherwise a real pill to be around unless we're shoving food in her face, holding her or taking her out for a walk. She's been to the doctor and checks out ok. She's just being irritable. I guess this is just one of those times where parents (me in particular) just don't "like" their kids, because I'm not wanting to even be around her or hear her or deal with her.
Does that make me a bad dad or am I just one of the stupid ones who's willing to admit that I don't always like my "cute little kids"? Either way, it doesn't matter. Something is wrong with her, I can't fix it and it's driving me crazy (not to mention my wife).
I'd be open to any suggestions on how to handle this or cope with this. I should have it down by the fifth kid, but I don't. Help, Lora and I need a break from the noise.
I just finished reading couple of different books this week and can wholeheartedly recommend both of them. The Big Idea had me staying up late trying to finish it on Sunday night. What I love about it is that it's simple. One message, one main idea, one point - for everything, everybody, everywhere. Kids, students, adults, small groups, the message - everything revolves around the same big idea each week. It's one of things I've been trying to do at Discovery, and now I've got some "how to's" to help out.
The other one I just finished yesterday and it's called The Blogging Church. Really very practical with a number of helpful insights and questions that you should answer before starting a blog. I've got a little tweaking to do and I think it'll help me in the long run. If you want to know about blogging, why and how...it lays out a great case for using blogging as an effective ministry tool. Pick up either of these....you won't be disappointed.
It's 5:30 and I spent most of the day with the rest of the staff with a plan on hammering out the rest of the year's schedule and more specifics about what we'd cover on Sundays, in our Outlets and with students and children. It didn't go like I was thinking when I woke up this morning and planned it back when. Well, not everybody was there on time (try 30-60 minutes after we "started") and focus only lasted until lunchtime. After that, with food in the bellies and months of planning left, everything (or should I say everybody) threw in the towel.I'm not the most organized guy, and I'm pretty good when it comes to procrastination, so when I'm leaving here less prepared for the future than I'd like (but still almost two months out), I'm disappointed. It's a lot of work to get ahead, and hard to get in a groove. What's worse is I just finished reading The Big Idea and it paints a picture of how it could be (and it's close to how I'd like it to be) and we're not there yet. I'm just praying what we do is good quality and makes a difference in the lives of the people we connect with.
Not too long ago, I remember talking about the "rich young ruler" who had a conversation with Jesus where he was told to sell everything and then follow Jesus, but he left sad because he was so rich. That event set the stage for Jesus saying that it's easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than a rich man to get into heaven and then follow that up with the statement that all things are possible with God.
I like what Jesus has to say but still feel bad for the guy who has done everything but can't get close to Jesus because he's still holding on to some of his "stuff." I've even thought that it was a little mean of Jesus to call the dude out like that (even though I understand why).
My opinion changed when I read a few words I'd never noticed before in Mark 10. Just a little description in verse 21. "Jesus looked at him and loved him..." He wasn't calling the guy out, he was loving him?
How often have I thought that God was just calling me out, making me look stupid or trying to teach me another lesson (oh goody) and thinking he had it in for me, yet, the whole time he only loved me? How many other people think that when Jesus (or Christians for that matter) take the time to point out the "one thing you lack" it's just them being judgemental or almost showing off how perfect they are? I'd never considered that love was involved, mostly because when it happens to me I feel so, well, unloved. I'm sad, like the guy in the story. He left sad because he was rich, but the real reason he left is he didn't want to change. Too often, neither do I.
I've expected it for some time now (almost 6 months to be exact) and it finally came. I got the call and a firm date that says we'll be moving to the Boys and Girls Club (BGC) in April. That leaves us less than a month to get things ready.
Our people have been great in raising about $5000 for chairs (which is still half of what we've been shooting for). But here's the great news. The Church At The Mall which started the GRF which helped start Discovery has said they will loan us as many chairs as we need indefinitely and for FREE! And they'll deliver them! That's a relief.
Still, moving from the school to the BGC will require some "help" to set a mood for worship. In practical terms, that means we need staging, lighting and some other "ambiance helpers" (curtaining in particular). And since we're moving right at Easter, we really need to capitalize on that and are trying to figure out how to incorporate a direct mail component (it worked great for launch last year so we'll do it again) All told, we're praying for about $20,000 extra to be provided this month (actually in the next couple weeks if we expect the 'stuff' to be here in time). So please add that to your prayer list.
But to top this off, I just talked to a church friend who said he just drove by the BGC and noticed 4-6 firetrucks around the place. Considering there were some church arsons a little over a month ago, I'd hate to see this place burning. If it did, I'll be officially freaking out.
Mondays are staff meeting days. Today we're meeting at Panera Bread again. Why? For starters, it smells good. It's got free wi-fi. Cinnamon Crunch Bagels. Unlimited coffee refills. And it's a change of pace from one of our homes or apartments. Besides, don't know how often people are in this place reading outloud from the Bible....I figure we just add to the ambiance.
On Wednesday we had one of our Lord's Supper (Communion meals) that we do at Discovery. It was a great time with good food. We do it a little different. Instead of having it at church during a church service, we set aside time in the middle of the week to come together as a family of believers and eat together, pray together, sing together and remember what Jesus has done and is still doing for us. The church provides the meat and the people bring the rest so it's like a pot-luck. We must have been hungry because we ate almost all of it up.
I like to make it something worth coming to and so we set the tables and prepare the place before people get there. It's not too fancy or anything, but we want to be prepared and honoring of our guests and Christ. We served Rotissary chicken and whatever everyone else brought. Thought it was fun to let everyone carve their own bird right at their table too. After dinner we shared a few stories, celebrated communion and sang a couple songs. The people were wonderful in helping to clean up. Everything was taken down, cleaned up, packed up and loaded up in about 40 minutes. I love this church!
Here's one of the songs that we sang....I love it.
Somebody help me!!!
