Really Officer?

So I'm on my way back from getting some stuff out of the outdoor trailer at the Boys and Girls Club because we can't set up until 9:00 tonight since there's a basketball tourney. Anyhow, I was just cruising along and not paying attention when I notice a police car coming the other direction turning on its lights. It makes a U-turn in the road so I slide to the side so he can pass, but....he doesn't. He pulls in right behind me. [Claude happened to be following me and made a few passes and took pictures - how sweet]

He asked me if I knew why he was pulling me over and I honestly didn't so I said no. He told me I was going 61 in a 45. That kinda surprised me and it must have showed since he asked if I knew that and all I could say was I just wasn't paying attention. Again, honesty ends up being the best policy though. I hope Claude got a good laugh out of it. All I got was a warning.

I didn't tell the officer I was a pastor, but if he was paying attention he may have figured out I at least go to Discovery Church. Look on the warning and you can see that my license plate is "DSCOVERY"

Glimmer of Hope

So far this year, my Saturdays have been anything but enjoyable. I love college football and cheer for Ol' Notre Dame. At 0-5 now there's not much to cheer about. Yet today, I saw a glimmer of hope. Sure they lost to Purdue (not a throwaway team) but they moved the ball and defense, while not stellar by any measure, did good enough to at least keep them in the game until the fourth quarter.

My take-a-way is that it's not how bad (or often) you lose, it's how hard you work to improve. Without a doubt, ND has improved. Without a doubt, some things at Discovery have improved. And I'm certain that we've worked really hard to get to where we're at and are planning on working even harder to move ahead.

I'm not saying that Discovery is a losing team - not by a long shot. But I'm trying to redeem what's been a terrible season for the Irish and learn a few lessons I can apply to where I'm at. Maybe you need this reminder too. Regardless of what's already happened, the only thing you can influence is the your future - so work hard, improve and we'll see what happens when we get there.

Momma Always Said...

A friend sent this to my wife and I had to share it with you. Makes me so happy to have Lora on my side and as a mom to my kids. See if you recognize any of the lyrics coming from your house.

I can almost guarantee that watching will be 3 minutes worth of your time (some of you won't get it and maybe never will, but oh well) Enjoy.

Words That Will Break A Father's Heart

I'm tucking my oldest daughter Sarah into bed last night and after I pray with her I lean over to give her a hug. She gives me an extra squeeze and in the process gets me off balance so I end up leaning on her pretty good - sort of like squishing her. I give her a kiss and tell her I love her and she says, "Daddy, you're fat" Not what I was expecting out of that tender moment.

I tell her I'm sorry for "squishing" her and she proceeds to look at me with this cute little grin and say, "Daddy, your REALLY fat". I didn't know I squished her that much.

I try to take the high road and explain to my impressionable young daughter that it's not nice to call people "fat" and that I'm not really fat, I'm just bigger than her. She takes it in, thinks about it, smiles her princess smile at me and says, "No Daddy, you're fat."

If she wouldn't have been smiling, I might have had to sit on her for real and taunted her by saying, "who's fat?" But I kissed her again, laughed, picked up by broken heart and left.

Pregnant?

I know for many of you reading this, you saw the title and quietly said to yourself...."there's no way." You, my friend, would be right. There is absolutely no way. If you need a little recap or reminder, you can read about it HERE and HERE.

But this isn't about me. No, today I had lunch at the Carolina Pregnancy Center. They invited some pastors from the community out to see their center, to share what they do and most importantly, to feed us (joking). It's a great place. We've done what we can to help them out since we started Discovery and support them whole-heartedly. Obviously with five kids of my own I'm pretty pro-life and think we should do whatever we can to love people who are struggling with these decisions.

I hurt when I heard a couple stories of people who came to the center and decided to go through with having an abortion. I found some comfort in hearing that those same people still felt loved and accepted by the center staff. The center offers more than just pregnancy testing and ultrasounds. They offer classes, clothing, and tons of other resources including post-abortion counseling. And all of it they offer wrapped up in the love of Christ - without fear of condemnation.

I've always struggled with how to handle this issue from the stage. I talked with too many women who would skip church on "Sanctity of Life" Sunday because they felt beat up instead of cared for. Just this past Sunday, I was telling about my experience teaching in DC when partial-birth abortion began to emerge as a topic of debate. I briefly described a newspaper ad that had some diagrams and made sure to say that I wasn't talking about people who've had abortions, and that God loves them anyway. Still, I got a comment about being insensitive. I don't know how to talk about it, be honest, truthful and respectful, without upsetting people. Don't even know if it's possible.

Anyhow, just know that wherever you live, there is most likely a center near you that is all about lifting up life and loving on women and men in difficult circumstances. They could use your help, support and prayers. And every little bit matters.

So Encouraged

Just a few minutes ago I got the report summary of this week's prayer requests that were turned in. I'm so excited that people are sharing their needs, burdens and cares for other people and at the same time I hurt. I hurt for some of the stuff people are going through and am more determined than ever to help them find a way to plug in so they'll have an "outlet" and won't have to feel like they're going through life alone. Here's just a small sampling of what people wrote down for this week only

• Pray as my wife and I seek a better solution to our financial needs
• Please pray for our marriage
• Friend's family, the mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer
• Pray for me right now, because I'm going thru "hell"
• Pray for my kids. They need prayer right now.
• Pray for a part time job to come along
• Friend in a car accident and person they seriously injured
• CF patient who needs double lung transplant
• [Someone] struggling with depression

The best part is that I know the God of the universe. He has a relationship with me and so many others and we have the privilege of going right to him with these concerns. He cares. Does that mean everything will turn out just the way WE want it? No. Does it mean that things will turn out just the way that HE wants it? Again, no. Here's the deal though, God wants to hear about our needs, wants, desires, hopes, problems, hurts, hangups and anything else we want to talk to him about. And he wants us to hear him and know that he cares. He cares about us. He cares about you. He cares about the people who turned in these requests. So let's pray in faith together and see if we can't move some mountains.

If anyone else has anything they'd like us to pray for, send an email to info@discoverychurchonline.com and we'll add it to our ever-growing list.

Flexibility

I'm a pretty flexible guy and church planting has forced me to stay that way. I honestly think we can make God laugh when we tell him our plans and how we want things to happen. Just think about this... we meet in rented space (our third space in less than 2 years), we set up and tear down every week with different people helping and sometimes at different times and even different days), we have no office (unless you count a lot of the local restaurants), we often can't let people know about things until only days (or even hours) before, and the list could go on.

Here's a few ideas about surviving with flexibility,

• Understand that a schedule is a guideline, not always a strict timeline so allow for changes
• Be willing to say "yes" to things you don't want to do and allow others to say "no" even if it messes up your plan
• Always acknowledge that there might be another way to accomplish you goal
• Think in terms of contingency plans (what will we do if...)
• Expect changes, don't fight them
• Learn to laugh at yourself
• Practice saying things like, "It's all good" and "we can make it work"
• You can depend on people but you need to trust God

What are some of the things that you do to help you deal with the constantly changing state of your life?

"Freak" of the Week

Didn't get this up earlier, but that's not the point. This guy totally rocks. He's a PA, works in a different county and just picked up a second job at an ER. On top of that he's married, has three daughters that he has to take to soccer and other stuff, and he's leading one of our Outlets. He came early to set up for our neighborhood party last week and then stayed late to help set up at church the same night. He prayed door-to-door for people in a neighborhood during Second Saturday Service, filled in for Claude while he was out and totally just gets it and why we're here and what we're doing.

So this is our "Freak" of the Week:

Todd Wallace

Why We Say "Real"

I've noticed a lot of churches have picked up on the idea that authenticity, honesty and being real matter. For far too long, Christians and those in the church have been more like plastic people than real people. We've painted on smiles Sunday morning as we head to church with our family, only to quickly wipe them off when people find out we're getting divorced and they had no idea. We quote Bible verses so we appear like we've read the Bible recently and are continuing to grow, even though we learned them in some discipleship class years ago (or worse, decades ago as children). We even condemn Hollywood and the depravity of today's media, while all the while we've added our $7 to the weekend box office and share our favorite lines from the raunchy TV show we watch weekly.

Yep, we've been and often still are, famous for living in the Land of Contradiction. Maybe I should use a more Biblical term....the Home of Hypocrisy?

So what does it mean to be "real"? I can't answer that for everybody, but for me it's about being honest, transparent, vulnerable and open. Just this week I was at a church planter's forum where we were talking about the role of a pastor. A few were saying the pastor needs to keep a distance and be careful around people because he's the pastor. I couldn't disagree more. I think the pastor needs to be real where ever he is. He should be no different in his home on Tuesday night than he is at the ball field on Thursday than the golf course Saturday and speaking on Sunday. He should relate to people where they're at, but love them (like Jesus) too much to let them stay there. He shouldn't be afraid for people to find out that he's human and struggles sometimes too. Having a "pastor persona" only adds to the compartmentalization of people's faith - why else would they act different around the pastor? Faith should be integrated.

What got me going on all this was an email I got from someone who comes to church without their spouse. They've been coming for months and their spouse hasn't - mostly because they don't want anything to really do with God now. So I get this email....

Thank you, too, for being willing to befriend just about anyone, making everyone feel welcome, and although I know it is really who you are, sometimes you don't know how much it means to the people you reach. I have sat back for months to absorb everything, to figure out if I can 'trust' what I'm hearing/seeing, but I have really come to enjoy being part of the church and meeting new people and making new friends, better friends. I've briefly [mentioned that] it's been a rough couple of years for us, but we promised each other that 2007 would be a good year and it has been and church has been a big part of that for me, and I want [my spouse] to feel some of it too

That's what we mean when we say "real." We're sharing "real" answers. We're dealing with "real" lives. We give people "real" opportunities. No more plastic people, no more Sunday-only living, no more pretending, playing or faking it. Let's keep it REAL (authentic, unaltered and believable)

Planning Ahead

I'm a pretty easy going guy who doesn't mind changes that happen mid-stream. I figure just make the necessary adjustments and move on. But one thing I'm learning as a leader is that I can't just wait to plan. There's an absolute difference between being spontaneous, and being disorganized.

I'm still learning this lesson, but I find myself thinking more and more about the future and what's coming up. For instance, this morning my mind was thinking ahead to a PARTnership party at the end of October, Creative Team planning meeting in November and ideas for 2008. In the past, I would have been so focused on the "now" that later was barely a blip on my radar screen. And people could probably tell by looking at my ministry.

Here's some of the things I try and make sure I'm planning ahead for...

• message series (we're planned through the end of the year, but I'm already getting nervous not knowing what's coming up in 2008)
  
  
• staffing (I've been paying attention to growing churches, and they all say 'staff ahead of growth' - since we're growing, we're talking with a couple people who are most likely taking the huge step into church planting)
  
  
• community events and connections (if it was just about us, I wouldn't worry about this, but how can we tie into what's happening around us, connect with more people and point people to Christ)
  
  
• budgeting and expenditures (we can't be effective without knowing when and where to spend money - I still don't feel like I've got a handle on this - it's tough since it's not "my" money. It's important to be responsible with what God's people and God himself has entrusted you with)
  
  
• family time (if I don't plan time specifically for my family, I'll find a way to be busy. That's why every Friday is "special day" and Lora or I take one of the kids out for breakfast alone - and today is my turn)
  
  
• growth and learning (you can't always plan when or what you learn but you certainly can make sure you expose yourself and your team to growth opportunities on a regular which is why we make sure we attend church planter roundtables and conferences like Catalyst and Unleash)

I'm not the best at any of this, but I see the value and I think I'm learning and getting better all the time. At least I hope I am.

Don't Get Beat Up By An Armless Man

Maybe there's something wrong with me, but this headline just struck me funny. I mean, who writes this?

Armless Man Will Not be Charged With Head-Butting Death of Ga. Man

Football Lessons

Aside from learning that I'm not as young as I used to be, flag football is teaching me some other things too.

• The older I get, the more I just enjoy playing. Don't get me wrong, I don't "enjoy" losing, but I'd still rather play and lose than sit around on my rear end.
  
  
• I've got "Daddy ears" now and can always hear my kids (even in the middle of man coverage)
  
  
• No matter how old you are, you still have to play through the pain sometimes
  
  
• The guys on the team get it. Before AND after, two different guys initiated a short prayer. I've been on church teams before and too often it's all about the game.
  
  
• Sportsmanship is next to godliness - yep, it's that rare now-a-days
  
  
• Flag football is an open door for inviting other people to interact with believers and hopefully investigate Christianity
  
  
• My kids think I'm cool
  
  
• I think cheerleaders would be awesome (I wonder if Lora knows where her cheerleading outfit is)
  
  
• Even though we lost, at least we scored an offense touchdown - it's more than Notre Dame can say (let's hope that changes this weekend though)

Catching Up

Been out of the blog world a few days. Time to catch up.

Set up a big tent and some kiddo inflatables in our yard

It didn't rain on Saturday when we had the party so that was good. I only have pictures of when it was set up and a couple when it first started - switched cameras so don't have any good crowd pics or pictures of Elvis (yeah, you read that right). All told, it was a good day even if we didn't see quite as many as we were hoping for. Had about 100 people come by so not bad.

We had people register and gave away a couple iPods

Davey and Janelle sang (until Elvis came)

Then Sunday we had another capacity crowd. Filled up the parking lot and had to pull chairs out again. Good stuff. Almost 180 people there this week. That gives us a great average over the last 4 weeks - 168. Something's going right. It musta been God, because early on Sunday I did NOT feel like speaking AT ALL. I was frustrated and not focused. It helped a lot to go to the "upper room" and spend some time praying. God reminded me about who he is and how much he cares - not to mention what I'm serving for, so I felt refreshed when I did finally go out and speak.

Got an email from one of our guests that said this...

We just wanted to say thank you for ministering to our son while he is in college at ECU. We visited your church this past weekend while visiting our son. We were very impressed all the way from the red carpet, to the friendly people and to the delivery of God's Word. We felt at home even though we had never been there before. Maybe that is because we are all a part of God's family. Your church is very different from ours here at home. We are more traditional with a little contemporary thrown in. But we all serve the same God and preach the same message of the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, and that is what is most important. We were hoping our son would find a good church to attend while in college, and we feel that he has found one. You seem to have a lot of things going on and a ministry that reaches out to the community. Thank you again and we hope to visit again over the next four years.

Yep, it's why we do all the stuff we do each week. Why we have a party all day Saturday and then spend hours setting up for Sunday on Saturday night. Because it matters. Sure, this particular email isn't from someone far from God, but it is from someone who's concerned about their family being far from home. Glad we can be "home" for a few years.

My son Tanner at the plate

The other thing occupying most of my time is baseball. Had a full week last week and no different this week. Good news is I can play in our flag football game on Wed. because nobody has a game then this week. At least I'm assuming I can play. I've still got knots in my muscles because I'm officially old now. Now if we could just get the rest of the guys who signed up to show up - I think some thought this was a casual "whenever you feel like it" kinda league. We discovered that it's not when we scrimmaged last week. I don't like losing, but I don't like apathy even more. Doesn't represent well.

Alright, this is plenty long, but I'm caught up. Out.

Rain, Rain Go Away

When I went to bed last night, a strong line of thunderstorms was headed right this way. We set a big 20x40 tent up out in the yard and I was a little worried it would bite the dust if the wind blew since we put it up ourselves and I have no real idea how it's supposed to be put together. Woke up numerous times all night, heard the rain, and the wind, but refused to get out of bed until morning. So when 6:30 rolls around and I wake up I still refuse to get up, choosing instead to pray something of a nursery rhyme prayer like "rain, rain, go away"

God answers prayer. Finally got up around 7, checked the tent and the weather, and the rain looks to have come through (almost 2 inches overnight) and the tent is still up. It's a little damp out, but should be a great day. Still don't know what (or who) to expect, but be praying that we can meet some new people and offer some joy, hope and peace (along with a burger or dog). Everybody needs friends and people they can count on. Glad I've got a God who cares for me personally.

Middle Age

Last night we had our first (and only) flag football scrimmage before the season starts. It was horrible. We might have 15 guys on a roster, but we only had 4 there! That's right, everybody else was otherwise committed. That meant we had to borrow a few other guys from the other two teams that played before us just to fill our roster. It also meant that, with pretty much no idea on what plays we wanted to run on offense, we got slaughtered. OK 28-0 wasn't too bad considering, but nobody likes to lose.

I did learn one thing. I'm now a middle-aged man. I had thoughts of that earlier when I realized I was 35, but about 10 minutes into it, my fears were confirmed. I had muscle knots in my thighs that were bigger than my fist. They still hurt this morning when I woke up and even now if I flex them to move I can feel the pain. Yep, I'm middle-aged. Not only that, I noticed way more hair growing in my ears and out of my nose than I ever thought possible. So much I could harvest it. Talk about nasty. And finally, Lora tells me that when she trims up the back of my hair, she also practically shaves my whole back. Middle-aged Sasquatch has arrived!

The good news is Discovery isn't middle-aged. We're still new, fresh, full of energy and motivated to change this area. We don't have any tell-tale signs of getting older (like hair growing out our ears = old, never changing music and messages). We're in shape. And this weekend (about 24 hours from now) we'll see what happens when loads of people show up for a party at the pastor's house. Hope I can walk by then.

Could Be Huge!

So we've taken a bit of a risk this weekend. The church is hosting a little party (grilling, games, music, etc) and rather than a park or the BGC, we're doing it at my house. Zoiks! What was I thinking?

I'm sure people will come, but think for a second. If only half of our Sunday crowd shows up and only half of them invite some friends, we'd still have close to 200 people headed into my neighborhood and my front yard. That doesn't count my neighbors either. In fact, the ones across the street have opened up their yard for games and stuff too even though they've never been to Discovery.

I love the excitement (don't like the tension) and am looking forward to see what will happen. It could be huge! Come on by if you'd like.

What Makes A Good Church?

I've probably said it a million times in telling my story of how I ended up in North Carolina planting a church, but the short answer to the question of what makes a good church is - it varies. Not exactly a line-in-the-sand kind of statement huh? Maybe you expected something more spiritual or religious like - "Jesus makes a good church" - or - "strong discipleship makes a good church". I'm not saying those things don't matter, I just don't think there's a one-size-fits-all answer. Probably the only thing that can really make a good church is freedom for the Holy Spirit to work.

So when it comes to answering this, I tend to define it more in terms of what it is not. So the question is more like "what makes a bad church?" That's easier. A bad church is only focused inside on the people who are part of it, not the ones who aren't (in fact, they may be seen as a threat). A bad church has no vision for the difference it might make in the community where it exists. A bad church is always afraid to step on toes or offend anyone (especially other believers). A bad church makes decisions in secret and doesn't invite input, feedback or questions. A bad church has no plan for the future. A bad church has only good people as a part of it (yep, you read that right). A bad church votes more than it prays.

I could go on, but I won't. The only reason I'm even thinking about this is because today I've been encouraged. Encouraged by people who don't just love Discovery (a church) but love the Lord Jesus, are doing what they can to try and become more like him and want to make a difference (be the church). I got a few emails today from people sharing what God's been doing in their life since they started coming to Discovery. I love these people. I love this church.

So what do you think makes a good church? Or maybe it's easier to say what you think makes a bad one? Either way, leave a comment.

I'm Officially Cool Again

Nope, it's not an iPhone, it's better, and it's mine. I got so sick of battling my PDA locking up and having to reinstall stuff so I could keep my life organized that I finally broke down and bought a Smartphone. Now I just have to carry one device and all my cool toys and tools work on it. No, I don't know what I'm doing yet, but I'm more than excited to learn. And for all those iPhone fans, I didn't pay anywhere near $500 and I still get a $100 rebate.

Second Saturday Service

In just about an hour, we'll be meeting for Second Saturday Service. Got a few things going today (depending on who and how many come out) First, we've got a couple people that we'll be getting up with to stock their refrigerator and cupboard with groceries. One is a family that just a couple weeks back lost their 4 year old to cancer and another is a 21 year old single parent. Both contacts came through people at Discovery. I'm excited to bless them.

We'll also be doing a little bit of garbage pick up and/or neighborhood prayers. Some people might think that prayer isn't really servant evangelism, but it's actually the first way we should be serving people (even though we usually don't take prayer requests and tell people we're praying for them, we just do it)

So for those that are coming, thanks. For those that are sleeping or doing something else....catch us next time. October 13th we'll be partnering with another community organization and serving them as they serve others. You'll want to be involved.

"Freak" of the Week

I tried to hold off on posting this, but I think I have to or I'll explode. And for those with limited imaginations, the "Freak" of the week is a good thing and an honor I bestow on people. This guy was already a PARTner of the month (someone recognized for outstanding attitude and service) and he just continues to rock.

A couple weeks back he told me that his job just moved him over to a new project they were behind on and that he'd be on 7 - 12's probably through October. That means he'd be working everyday, 12 hours a day, for the next 2 months. But has that stopped him? NO!

He was actually at set up before me last weekend and he stuck around for a couple hours working like a dog to help us get stuff set up. I tried to send him home to get some sleep, but he'd have none of it. The dude couldn't even make it to church because of work, but he comes to set up!!

Because of that attitude and servant's heart....MARK MONTGOMERY - you're the Freak of the Week!

By The Book

Have you ever picked up and read your Bible and then felt like, "no way...I did NOT just read that" That's kinda how I felt this morning when I was just reading over John chapter 3. Now I've probably read that section 60 times, but for some reason I didn't feel so good when I got to the end.

Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him. John 3:36

It's like another "good news/bad news" passage. Good news if you believe, bad news if you don't. I guess it really put things into perspective for me this morning. If people reject and don't obey Jesus (the Son of God) things don't end pretty. I've watched "Cops" enough to know that when a big guy gets angry, it's not pretty and somebody always ends up hurt and bloody. If that's the case here, imagine if God (the biggest of the big guys) ends up angry with you. Talk about a beat down.

There are just way too many people around here (and where ever you live) that are "cruisin' for a bruisin'" and as a pastor and a Christian I feel like I need to step in and do something, say something. Will everybody listen? No, some people are just stupid (again, watch "Cops" and you'll see what I mean). But there are still a lot of people who have no idea what kind of danger they're in.

So do we sit on the sidelines and watch?

Do we lie to them and tell them everything will be ok if you just believe whatever it is you believe sincerely?

Do we shout at them and point out how bad off they are - picket, protest and refuse to patronize the "bad guys"?

Maybe if we really believed the good news ourselves, we could share it more effectively with others. John 3:16 is good news, and so is 3:17. Good news isn't focused on condemning, looking down on people or even feeling sorry for them and how "lost" and "hell-bound" they might be. Good news is that Jesus loves us and didn't come to condemn us (or even point out our faults) but to set us free. Free to really live life. Free to love.

Don't you think Jesus came to save us from ourselves instead of from himself? We're the reason we get into trouble. We're the ones who do stupid things. Just ask the people who get their 15 minutes of fame on "Cops"

No Labor Day

Happy Labor Day! Happy to report that church yesterday rocked! Had a good number of guests and fresh faces and even though we dropped off a little, I'm guessing we still had 140 or more so that would be considered a win for me. Not only that, but since I stepped on some toes about getting involved in service and ministry opportunities, I was encouraged to hear that some people will simply be "getting steel toed boots." In other words, they know they need to hear it and aren't upset or offended, but are feeling convicted and ready to at least consider making the necessary changes. I'd say that's good news.

So with that said, I'm off to loaf. Yep, no school, just playing with the kids, and a "No Labor" day at our house. Enjoy yours.

It's Finally Here!

I feel like I've been waiting forever for this, but it's finally the first official "college football weekend" and I'm so excited. ECU travels to Virginia Tech for what's sure to be an emotional start to the season. I just hope everyone is honorable and respectful. I'm excited to see Notre Dame start their season. Should be interesting and a real test of Charlie Weis's team-building and focus this year. We're certainly not a pre-season favorite and it could be a long year, but don't count us out yet.

So, off to baseball practice (again - for the 6th straight day) and then home to finish up a few things and settle onto the couch to enjoy the 2007-2008 college football season. Finally.