new homegroup horizons
Homegroup numbers in Seven have steadily been up this fall.
In October, homegroups reached a new level.
We averaged over 400 people in homegroups. And our biggest week was 418.
It's so exciting to see that we are closing the gap on the number of students in Seven and the number of students in homegroup and that we are connecting more people into homegroups.
Labels: seven
erwin mcmanus interview
I'm a huge Erwin McManus fan. Not because I think he is perfect, but because I love his creativity, philosophy, thought process, and innovation. He never ceases to push my mind or cause me to really think.
I read this interview from Infuze Magazine last week, printed it off, and read it again. He's pushing the envelope of following Christ in a good way.
Here are a couple of quotes I love:
"I think being a human who lives a life that others might be interested in and attracted to and having a journey that others feel is authentic and really connects to God. That's really why I'm here. I'm trying to live out the life that Jesus talks about, hopefully in a context where people will go, "Maybe this is real."
"One of the great challenges is that people don't really care what I know or believe or have been trained to teach. It's very intuitive. They decide whether you've actually met God, even when they don't believe. They are people who end up going, "I think this person is in an experience living in a dimension that I'm interested in. I'm unsure if it exists but I'm willing to stay long enough to find out."
"We created Awaken as an organization to focus on unleashing the potential in every human being. We didn't want to be resisted by people saying, "You're a church. You can't come into these institutions. You can't come to these organizations. You're not allowed in this arena." So we created a non-profit organization that focuses on unleashing the creative potential in every human being and we help people without God begin to see how they're uniquely designed. And we're so convinced that if we can help people see that they're created in the image and likeness of God, they will be drawn to relationship with Him."
Labels: christianity
confirmation
I love when God confirms things, and it always seem to happen when we are doubting the most. God never ceases to amaze me with his impeccable timing.
I was in a Church Planting Seminar this morning at school. Nothing that special about anything; I was just there to learn what I could. I get up to leave when one of my professors tells me that God just spoke to him to tell me I was a church planter.
I know this. Most everyone who knows me know this about me. Church planting is what I want to do; it's the dream inside of me. There are just times where I doubt myself and my capabilities.
But God proves that he knows me personally when he confirms our biggest dreams in seemingly normal situations through unlikely sources.
Labels: christianity, personal
book review
I finished up In a Pit with a Lion on a Snowy Day last night.
It really is a great, well written book.
I would say that every person has big dreams we barely tell anyone... and that may even include ourselves. I know for me personally I get scared about what God has called me to do and feel so incompetent and inadequate to handle some of the things. It's scary because I don't even know how to articulate these dreams; they are just in me waiting to be unleashed and chased after.
But if I sit back passively and miss the moments, the regret that I will have for the rest of my life will always be in the back of my mind.
I love what Mark Batterson says in this book. Our greatest regrets will not be our sins of commission (the things we do), but our greatest regrets will be our sins of omission (the things we didn't do). I know this is true for me. I forget about the acts that I've done, but I'm always left wondering "what if?"
If you haven't picked up a copy of this book yet, I would highly recommend it to anyone to read. Labels: books, christianity
modernizing churches
Why is it that people have updated to contemporary amenities in their homes and love to modernize the aesthetics, technology, etc., but there is such a big fight to prevent this change from happening in their churches? And the key word is prevent. I know places that literally will put up a fight to prevent certain changes from taking place.
It's ironic isn't it?
Labels: christianity
new homegroup
Homegroup multiplications are incredible... when done right. They break up a large group of people to provide more space and more opportunities to bring friends. There are a lot of complications when our homegroups run 15-20 consistently, such as rides, people feeling disconnected, and people feeling unimportant.
We welcome a new homegroup into the world this Sunday night. Fuse.
It's led by two great leaders who I can't wait to work with-Courtney Cox and Matt Williams.
I know they are both going to do a great job pastoring these students. I really can't wait to see them build another homegroup.
Labels: seven
following before leading
I think most people who lead in the church circle deal with a couple of common general struggles. One of them is a struggle in staying consistent in time spent with God. I hear this from a lot of people, and it's something I have dealt with personally. It's extremely easy to think "my job" is to simply lead. One thing I've learned (and learned the hard way) over the past couple of years is that I have to be a follower of Christ before I can be a leader.
My relationship with God has to be priority. And it's not a "well I do this, so I can be a better leader" thing. Before I lead people, I must be a follower of Christ.
Our paradigm is so easily shifted, and the tendency is to create an idol that we call leadership. We erect it in the name of reaching people and growing ourselves. It's what the natural side of our lives simply does when kept unchecked. But our leadership hinges on our intimacy with Jesus. If God doesn't lead us anywhere, where are we leading people? If we aren't daily praying for God's Kingdom, are we just working to build our own?
To build God's Kingdom I have to choose following before I choose leading. I must choose to pursue God and to know Him intimately. If I know God then I cannot help but lead. I will be compelled to love people and reach them with who God is. I will be compelled to create and teach and fulfill roles because that's only natural when I follow God. Otherwise, it's all to easy to exist and compete to build my "resume."
But before I lead people, I must be a follower of Christ.
Labels: leadership
credentials
Here's an update on this:
I was in Arkansas for my credentials with the Assemblies of God this weekend. I had to sit through a meeting on Monday night and then be interviewed on Tuesday morning.
We could not have drawn up a better interview committee. Lacey and I had a really good connection with all the men, so it was smooth sailing.
Labels: personal
your car is on fire...
I'm in Arkansas this weekend and the next couple of days seeing family and getting my ministerial credentials. After the meeting tonight in Little Rock, Lacey and I went to Chili's to get a molten dessert. They are one of our favorites together.
There was a Barnes and Noble next door, and we saw my friend Nathan's car in the parking lot of the bookstore. So, we decided for a little joke.
I called Nathan about 5 times (to no avail... good thing it wasn't really an emergency) and sent him a text that he didn't answer. It was time to go inside and find him.
I ran up to Nathan and yelled frantically, "Nathan, your car is on fire!" We both ran outside to see his car sitting there perfectly in the parking lot... not on fire. Nathan freaked out.
Nathan got mad. Lacey and I laughed extremly hard.
Labels: funny, personal
the tension of building church
I read this post this morning at Leadership Blog: Out of Blur and my heart just screamed "yes! this is it."
Rick McKinley was speaking at a Catalyst lab and offered these thoughts:
"As pastors, we are tempted to build the church,” he said. “So we send out postcards to targeted Zip codes and we promote church programs.” But that misses the point, he argued. “Our job isn’t to build the church. We’re supposed to BE the church, and build the kingdom.” He emphasized that the kingdom is to be experienced NOW, on earth, as Christians exemplify godly living, but he also pointed out, as the recent school shootings demonstrate, that the kingdom is also “not yet.” God’s kingdom won’t be realized in its fullness as long as such sin characterizes our world.
He identified why many U.S. churches don’t “get” the kingdom. The first reason is our individualistic culture. Ours is a “me and Jesus” spiritual life, disconnected from Creation, environment, relationships, and our surrounding community. Another reason is our tendency toward dualism: church vs. culture; sacred vs. secular; spiritual vs. physical. And ignoring the integration of those elements.
I agree with Rick on so many levels, especially on the invididualistic culture part. I think what this mindset has done is create such a competitive nature among pastors, church leaders, and other churches. It's focusing on numbers and material things, rather than having a Kingdom mindset. And it's killing the Western church as a whole.
God has called us to build His Kingdom, yet so often we are more concerned about building our own. I know that's the natural part of me. But one of my favorite Scriptures is where John says, "He must increase, and I must decrease."
If we aren't decreasing, Jesus isn't increasing. This is the heart of serving God. Less of me, more of Christ.
Labels: christianity, leadership
great new release
A lot of people have been looking forward to the release of Mark Batterson's new book.
As of right now... it's on the market. And you need to get your copy today.
I'll even give you the link to Amazon.
We all have missed opportunities and have regrets. But the truth is we only have one life and not enough time to sit around worried about our past. There are new opportunties, new risks to seize, and a life before us that we can truly live.
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.
Start chasing what God has created you for and chase the lion.
Labels: christianity
