nostalgia
I went back to Waxahachie yesterday through today for SAGU's Campus Days.
It's the first time I had been back since we moved to Sherman almost 4 months ago.
I was honestly sad as I drove through Red Oak and into Waxahachie. I had a bit of nostalgia as we drove past The Oaks and the Whataburger where we would hang out for homegroup and after Seven.
There's a lot I miss that I came to love over the past 4 years.
And being back in the middle of it all reminded me of it. Labels: personal
unreached students
According to a 2005-2006 report from the Texas Education Department, there are right at about 8000 students in Grayson County.
We'll generously subtract 1000 students since there are more churches here than fast food places. That leaves approximately 7000 unreached students in the surrounding schools.
Thrive. We gotta go to work.Labels: leadership, thrive
slow down
Geez, life slow down for just a second so I can catch my breath.
Seriously.
I've been trying to blog for the past week but have always been interrupted or had to take care of something pressing.
Can you believe it is April? Well, pretty much. But this year needs to slow down.
Labels: personal
copy cat
I am so excited about the series we are in at Thrive, "The Mask." It's incredible. We are dealing with different fronts and walls we throw up as defense mechanisms or as a response to hurtful situations.
This week we are tackling the issue of conformity. It's such a huge issue that we want to hit right on the head. Looking at God's design for our lives and understanding his creation can be so freeing. We don't have to be anybody else, but who he uniquely created us to be. We need to confront the lie of culture [and even our friends] and open up and make ourselves known.
All of us start out as one-of-a-kind originals. But we slowly become chameleons of others around us. We have to find ways to let our originality show to others.
Why copy others, when you can be yourself?
Labels: thrive
jerks
I've never quite figured out how people think they get ahead in life by being jerks. They'll cheat on a deal or give you a proposal way overpriced or simply tell you what you need to do... in a very bold way. I guess they think they can bully their way around and get what they want.
Specifically, I'm talking about businesses and even ministers. It seriously blows my mind. I lose all respect and they have certainly lost my business or support.
For instance, my first week in my ministry position I called to cancel a guest speaker scheduled by the previous pastor. Not only was I really not interested in this speaker, he also just didn't fit into my plan for the year.
The guy basically chewed me out over the phone and told me how immature I was and how I lacked people skills.
Ok, whatever.
This is coming from a guy who doesn't know me and is yelling at me over the phone. Talk about people skills.
Good relationships/ partnerships are built upon trust and honesty. I will almost never go with someone who has mistreated me for no apparent reason. Businesses and organizations do well by creating raving fans and establishing right relationships where there is mutual trust and understanding. They succeed over the long haul.
You wanna know who gets my support. Those people who aren't jerks.
In reality, it's not me who needs them. It's them who need people just like me.
*edit for clarification: I'm not venting about one particular event, just over the rudeness of leaders in general. I've encountered a couple in the last few months, so it was finally time to write about it.
Labels: leadership
texan but not by choice
I'm legally a Texan now.
After a couple of months of living in Sherman, Lacey and I finally got our car tags and driver's license changed over to the Lone Star State.
They ripped us for $400. Something about a new resident tax that was almost half of the charge. Ridiculous.
Legally, I'm a Texas resident. But I'll never be one at heart. I just can't do that. Labels: personal
momentum
Thrive is slowly building momentum as a group.
From an incredibly fun all-nighter to a sweet new stage and new speakers, things are happening and are exciting. We are also working to utilize leaders who are already on board and work to recruit more leaders to enable us to multiply the impact we are having.
Students are catching it slowly but surely.
Momentum isn't always around, so I want to ride this wave and ride it until it ends. Then we'll simply hop on another one as God creates.
God has big things in store for Thrive.
It's exciting as a leader to see the strategy for the vision slowly becoming a reality.
Labels: leadership, thrive
the mask
We are starting a brand new series this week called The Mask.
I can't even begin to tell you how excited I am about it.
We will focus on the facades people put on to fool everyone else. From apathy and conformity to hypocrisy and the attitude that "I've got it all together," we all wear masks at some points in our lives. We want to focus on this idea in March and understand that we can never truly be used by God if we are covering ourselves up. We can never be who God wants us to be if we aren't even living as ourselves.
But God's design is that we live real lives with the support of others. I think this is going to be a great month for Thrive.
I actually changed the direction for this month about four times before we finally settled on this. Good thing for a great wife with wisdom, creativity, and great ideas.
Otherwise, sometimes I would be up a creek without a paddle.
Labels: christianity, thrive
