Swaziland

I've got some more information on our planned trip to Swaziland this summer.  First of all, space is limited for this trip.  Ten is the magic number, and since I'm going that leaves 9 spots left.  If I take my oldest, you can do the math, there's just 8 slots open.

The money we're collecting will go to help set up a solar-powered well in Maloma - an area deeply affected by a drought the last three years and where the situation is so bad that people who are alive while you're reading this, will die before we finally arrive in July because they don't have access to clean water.

Unless something changes, the dates are gonna be July 31 - August 10.  We'll fly out of Dulles in DC, head to Johannesburg and then to Swaziland.

The cost still isn't (and won't be) totally nailed down, but early estimates are between $2500 and $3000 for the 11 day trip.  Remember, we live in a fairly stable and predictable country, but no guarantee what costs among other things are going to be like in Swaziland in 7 months.

Start praying for Swaziland and us now.

Problem Solved

Since making the switch to Apple, one thing I've noticed is that they tend to solve problems and innovate with useful ideas.  Sure, they've got some of the "cool factor" stuff but beyond that is a stable, functional set up.  I've told Lora that when we replace our desktop (which won't be too long) we're getting an iMac (now if I could just get that iPhone I keep hinting at!)

Since we don't have any official office space, we spend a lot of time emailing documents back and forth and when you mix in people who don't have or use a Mac and need things in Word or some other format, you can see where it might get to be a pain.  We've toyed with googledocs but it just didn't work for us (our problem for sure, not google - it's a great app).  We've dreamed about office space.  We've tweaked and tried to improve our communication.  I think the time has finally arrived.

From what I've seen, iWork '09 will finally solve our problems.  There is a share option that will upload any document to iWork.com AND create it in multiple formats (.doc, .pdf) for people who don't have Pages.  Most likely this is how we'll distribute extra small group material, how we'll "group think" through the series planning process, coordinate and review messages and keep certain "system" files (the processes for getting certain things done) updated.  Can't wait.

See?  Problem solved (and this is just the first release)

Shared Leadership

I generated a fair amount of input, discussion and even some more questions from THIS POST and that's great.  What I'm excited about is that the wheels are already in motion to build up the leadership structure of Discovery so that whenever an issue that effects the spiritual life and health of Discovery's people comes up, there will be others who can help discern how best to deal with it from a biblical perspective.

Since we've started, most of that critical input has been coming from pastors who are outside of Discovery.  These guys have prayed for and otherwise supported what we've been doing here and have also been "in the trenches" much longer than I have so they have perspective and practical examples they can share as well.  Starting a church from scratch had me very careful about putting people into leadership too soon.  1 Timothy 5:22 talks about not being too quick to appoint spiritual leaders and it's been just over 2 years so I think we've waited long enough.

I'm excited because there are a few men who have demonstrated a love for the Lord, a faithfulness to the work and they have confronted me on occasion so they are definitely not "yes men", but spiritually-minded men who only want to make sure that whatever we do, we honor God and lead others to do the same.  So in the next couple weeks, we'll finally begin meeting, discussing, praying, and hammering out the details of how SHARED leadership is going to work at Discovery.

Can't wait to see how this is going to make me, Discovery and all involved stronger.

Getting Ahead

Today the staff and myself are headed out of town for a couple days to get away and plan more of the details of 2009.  I'm already excited about stuff that I know about and really looking forward to getting more details nailed down.  The good news is we're starting in April and going from their so I already feel like we're ahead.

I'll be honest, I feel like it's taken me this long to just be able to breathe enough to plan that far out.  There's been so much to do to get Discovery started and I know we can be that much stronger and better, but I feel like I've been distracted some by all the crazy details I never really planned on.  Don't get me wrong, we planned - and we saw very clearly last year how God can (and does) work through our prayerful preparations.  Amazing honestly - and all God (we had no idea some of the "stuff" that would happen).

I feel good, but I also feel a bit a pressure.  A lot depends on me being disciplined and working ahead.  I'm learning, but it's really not my strong suit.  That said, I'd like to ask for your prayers as we head into planning and as we start this year.  Pray for me, pray for the staff, pray for this city and the people we're going to love, serve and reach this year.

Here's a glimpse of some of the things in the works this year:

• New leadership team (not staff changes, just including more people in the leadership loop)
  
• Outlet (small group) improvements including 'homework' and better discussion guides
  
• Parenting classes (no we don't know it all, but we can help and encourage)
  
• Mission work in Swaziland this summer
  
• More serving opportunities right here in Greenville
  
• Partnering with more local community organizations (like we already do with Care Pregnancy Center, Hope of Glory, etc)
  
• Helping start another church here in Greenville (soon too)

And none of that counts stuff that we'll be teaching on and going through - that by itself is enough reason to be stoked, but put it all together and it's looking to be a GREAT year.

Thoughts On Worship

Every week, we give everyone the opportunity to write a question or comment that we'll address before the service is over.  I never know who writes what.  Today there was one that I really appreciated and I'm not sure if I totally handled it well (despite the reassurances and encouraging comments from a number of people).  Maybe I should wait, but I think I'll process this outloud.

Here's the story.

The service today went well.  The music was good.  It was loud.  There were haze and lights.  We sang Never Stop, I Am Free, I Will Hold On, God of This City and Let God Arise.  It was loud.  The bass was thumping, the lights were shining, people were singing.  Did I mention it was loud?

The comment simply said (as best I can remember) - "I didn't come here for a rock concert.  I thought we were here to "worship""

Sometimes I read comments, sometimes I don't.  I felt like I needed to address this.  Now, I don't know if the person who wrote it did so because it was loud, because of the lights and the haze, because the rest of the room was dark, because it was electric guitars and drums, or because of the style of music we played.  So I'm not 100% sure what they meant.  But here's what I said (again, as best I can remember):

We play this music, use the lights and all that stuff because that's how we express our worship.  If you're coming here expecting us to give you what you want in terms of worship, you have a misunderstanding of what worship is.  Worship is what we give to God.  It's our response to Him.  It's about what we give, not what we get.  I don't think we're doing anything that dishonors God, that blasphemes Him or is sin.  If you don't like how we do this, Discovery might not be the best place for you, and that's ok.  But we do the best we can to offer this to God, to give God our best and this is how we do it.  I hope you can appreciate that and that it makes sense.

Some people clapped, others gave me positive comments afterwards, but I had a conversation after that really brought up a good point, and that's what I'm struggling with right now.  I had just finished spending 40 minutes talking about how Discovery is intent on becoming the OTC church.  The church Of This City, but also the church people reach for when they need help (the Over-The-Counter church) and here I was saying if you don't like it, we might not be for you.  Now I understand that OTC medication isn't one-size-fits-all.  You don't pick up hemorrhoid medicine for your headache, and cough medicine won't do anything to help you get rid of your warts.  So how does this fit with worship and us being the OTC church?

I honestly don't have the answer.  I'm glad the question was raised.  Is there a difference between personal worship and corporate worship?  Should there be?  If so, what is it and how does that or should that come across in our music and our Sunday presentation?  Great questions - think you can help by sharing your thoughts?  I'd love to hear them.

One Last Look Back at 2008

Just found this while I was cleaning out stuff from my computer.  I think I posted it early, but just in case you missed it....

I have to tell you, we bought one of these and we love it.  She really is just like it says on TV!  Although she's run out of fertilizer and isn't quite as efficient when it comes to being an alarm, she's still a great buy!

This Is Just Crazy!