My Life

I just got done posting about some thoughts I was having. I was reflecting on what God wants to do with me. Then I see this picture my wife just took of my kids eating lunch outside. It may not mean anything to anyone else, but I don't care - it's my life.

This is my daughter Sarah. You can't tell but she's wearing a mermaid costume over her clothes. She just got the sunglasses from Grandma yesterday, and as I'm typing she comes in and asks if she can eat somewhere else because "the sun is just too bright"

I hope and pray that as she grows up, she continues to do things "her" way and doesn't worry about how silly she looks or what other people might think. I hope she never colors inside the lines, dances to music only she can hear, and loves people that others ignore or put down.

And I promise that I don't care if she wants to wear a sequinned mermaid outfit over her clothes when we go out in public.

Something To Think About

Was reading earlier this morning and I can't get this out of my mind. It's Psalm 86:11

Teach me your way, O LORD,
and I will walk in your truth;
give me an undivided heart,
that I may fear your name.

I keep thinking that David wasn't asking the Chief Priest to teach him, he was asking the Lord himself. It's really got me feeling frustrated and free at the same time, because so often people are looking for churches and pastors that will teach them something. I've got no problem with that...in fact I expect the same thing. The problem comes when people expect the pastor or church to teach them everything. If people aren't learning and growing on their own, no pastor or church will really be that much help, because those are secondary relationships. The primary relationship needs to be a growing one with Christ - where he's teaching, he's challenging, he's changing our minds and hearts.

I'm frustrated, because I get tired of people asking and expecting the church and pastors to provide everything. A lot of parents do it by expecting the children's or student ministry to practically take their place in the spiritual education of their kids. The depth of their involvement consists of "whadya learn today?" Adults do it when they talk about "depth of teaching." I'm not saying don't study the Bible, but I am saying it's not a trivia book where you can learn some cool facts others might not know. It's for life-change and if we already aren't putting what we know into practice, what sense is there in going "deeper"? It'd be like heaping more responsiblity on people who already aren't being responsible.

I'm also feeling free. Free because I can study for ME. Free so God can teach ME, not so I can teach others. So teach ME Lord, that I will walk in your truth and give ME an undivided heart. Keep ME from looking to the crowd instead of looking to Christ. The crowd has problems, for that matter, the crowd is the problem. I can't focus on the problem and make much difference. When I focus on the answer, when I focus on Christ, when I learn from him, I feel free to actually make a difference and free to share what God's been teaching ME.

Good To Be Back

The family and I had a great time in Washington D.C. Even though it was cold and windy the first few days, Friday and Saturday were beautiful. The kids had a blast and logged a lot of miles in their walking shoes.

A lot has changed and been added since Lora and I lived at Andrews AFB right outside D.C. 10 years ago. We checked out the new stuff. Loved the museum and interactive stuff at Mount Vernon (Washington's home). The Marine Corp Museum was impressive as was the new Air and Space museum out near Dulles Airport. Cool part about that one was our docent (tour guide) was a retired three star general! Loved it, loved it, loved it.

I haven't taken time like that off for a while. I do admit that I checked my emails once during the week and answered the phone three times, but other than that I was totally checked out of work mode. I've promised Lora and myself that I'll do that on a regular basis - next break is in June.

And then, not having to speak today was nice too. I got to sit with my wife! Dusty did an outstanding job. You should listen to it. Taught a PARTnership class last night and recognized a couple dozen new PARTners this morning. Heard nothing but great things about Discovery helping out with the Carolina Pregnancy Center's Walk 4 Life - Wagner Fields (the center director) even stopped by the house to say thanks.

I just love that I can be gone and things not only get done, but get done well. It's good to be gone, but it's good to be back too!

D.C.

Usually whenever I see DC I think Discovery Church, but for the next few days it's going to be our address. We're headed to Washington D.C. to visit some friends and visit the nation's capital. Don't know how much I'll be blogging so figured I'd make it plain as to why posts are limited....I'm checking out with my family for some much needed family time.

Sweet Music

Saturday mornings at the Ebeling house are "house blessing" time. Everybody has at least one chore to do to help make sure the house is clean and organized and that mom or dad don't need to do everything. We throw on some praise music and hop to it cleaning bathrooms, vacuuming and dusting. Some mornings go better than others - good attitudes, good jobs. Others not so much.

I'm upstairs and hear the praise music blaring and I'm hearing some strange accompinament sounds. It's my little girl playing some metal bowls like drums using forks. She's banging and singing away. Most people might hear it and pull their hair out thinking it's too annoying, but to me, it's music to my ears to hear my children expressing their praise to God through music - even if it's with mixing bowls and forks.

Focus

I have a condition I call "distraction attraction." It seems like there are times when I'll find anything and everything to work on except what I need to. This happens too often for me. I'll know I need to make a difficult phone call or really invest some energy into solving a problem, but because it's going to be hard, I do something else more enjoyable - read, browse, eat, play, joke, text, email, whatever.

I had one of those moments just now when I was reading Perry Noble's blog andI got smacked upside my head. You can read the blog HERE, but basically I'm being lazy and not performing up to the standard that God's set or even that I'm capable of. The audience of one seems to be me instead of Him and that needs to change. Another of his posts convicted me earlier this week and I just need to be done chasing turkeys. I've lost some focus.

Actually had a similar conversation this morning about focus, clarity and organization and it's clear that I'm lacking in each area to some degree. That's frustrating, but it's something I already knew I tended towards. I also know I need to do something about it.

Somewhere along the line I've messed up and started to make things a little bit more about me. It's not. Discovery Church isn't about me. Being a pastor isn't about me. Seeing lives changed isn't about me. Making an impact isn't about me. There's only two things that Jesus said were the most important and I'm glad I've been reminded to put my focus back on that. God's called me to love Him first. That takes discipline and focus. Then, because I love Him, he tells me to love others. That means I can't do my own thing first and offer leftovers. I need to focus on the the task at hand. Time to focus on the W.I.N. - "What's Important Now?"

All About Impact

Got a nice email from someone today talking about how IMPACT was the word of the day on Easter. It really was and I'm glad they understood that message. Since we're talking about success, we needed to define success in terms of the big picture and we did. Basically, success isn't just about achievements...it's about IMPACT.

It's easy to see. Take Tiger Woods for example. He didn't win the Master's on Sunday, yet nearly everyone considers him one of the most successful golfers of all-time. Why? Because he's made a huge impact in the golf world (and beyond). Of course he's won a few times along the way. Christ is the same way. Sure he was a great teacher, healed people, did other miracles, but the real measure of his success is the IMPACT he's made on this world. It's huge. People's lives are still being changed because of who Jesus is and what he's done. That's IMPACT.

All this has me wondering whether or not Discovery is a successful church or I'm a successful church planter. Some things have been achieved - we've launched, we've grown, I've raised enough support to provide for my family, we've added staff, etc. Success though is measured differently - are lives being changed? What about the community? I think slowly but surely we're helping to bring about change and we're starting to have an IMPACT, but I also think we have a long way to go.

The bottom line is that it doesn't matter how much we have going on and what we achieve in terms of numbers or anything else people might use to say that I or Discovery are successful...what matters is IMPACT.