Derek's Blog

My favorite comments to hear after a sermon

2012-01-13T11:21:00.010-05:00

I hear all kinds of comments after a sermon - I always love the feedback even if it's less than positive! There's always the old standard, "good sermon Pastor." It's always nice to receive encouragement of any kind - so I don't want to discourage those who might pull this one out on occasion. But there are some post-sermon comments that really get my attention. Here are a few of them.

1. "I was re-reading the passage you preached from ... "
My prayer always is that Sunday's sermon will drive people to the word of God. I pray that it would compel them to read on their own. That the treatment of the scriptures would have been intriguing enough for them to look into the Bible themselves.

2. "That specific part of your sermon helped me to change the way I ..."
One of the driving goals of preaching is life change. Only the Holy Spirit can accomplish this in a person's heart, but I believe that the Spirit uses the preaching of God's word as change agent in the hearts of believers. I believe that there are specific parts of every message that God has hand-crafted for certain believers that will be a catalyst for change. We are not supposed to be just hearers, but do-ers of the word.

3. "Can you explain what you meant by ..."
I like to view most sermons as the start of a conversation. For those 35 minutes on Sunday I realized that the conversation is very one-sided. But I always pray that it will continue. Sometimes it continues with me, which is great, but most often it continues in small groups or over coffee somewhere. When people push back about a certain point in my sermon it gives me a chance to either explain further what I meant or to learn from the body of Christ. I'm still learning and working out my faith as well.

3 F's of inviting someone to church

2011-12-20T10:38:00.003-05:00

Christmas is a time when people who don't normally go to church will consider going to church, especially if someone they trust invites them. We always encourage our folks to be inviters at Christmas time (without being weird and overbearing Christians!) Here are a few tips for a good invitation to church ... and since I'm a cheesy pastor ... they all start with "F".

Friends and Family – invite people that you’re already in a relationship with. No handing out invitations at the mall or going door to door to people you don't know. Every one of us has a circle of people that we love and respect – at work, in your neighborhood, in your family, at your gym, from your kids’ sports teams. Pray for them and invite some of them to join you on Christmas Eve.
Facts – it's important to have an idea what’s going on in the services and some key information to share when you make your invitation. Be specific when you invite them – offer to meet them somewhere or come with them. Tell you're guests what to expect, what you'll be wearing, etc. Know some facts. Use an invitation card (we have plenty available for Christmas Eve). Here are some facts about this year at Grace; Christmas Eve services are at 1, 3, 5 PM at McKean worship center; 7 pm at Harborcreek High School; and then 10 AM in the Commons at McKean on Christmas morning. We're asking folks to choose one of the 5. Music will be relevant to the service. Derek is preaching live at all, Brian wrote an original song that is fantastic, we will be singing Christmas carols, we'll be inspired by an original video by our video team. There is childcare at all of them except the Sunday morning service.
First-hand account – while you’re inviting them, tell them about how your involvement at the church has been important to you. Tell them how the church has made a difference in your life. Your credibility (not the church's) will be what ultimately compels them to come.

I'm praying that many people will find the hope of Christ this Christmas as a result of a bunch of Christians who had the guts to invite them.

I took a 50% pay cut this week…

2011-12-17T00:22:00.002-05:00

This past week was one of the most heart-quickening weeks in my 18 years of ministry. It started on Monday when our Central Team at Grace Church got another discouraging financial report about November. We are in a $22K hole already this fall (our fiscal year starts in September). What’s concerning is that historically the fall tends to be a strong financial season for us. We don’t fully understand these giving trends since other indicators are generally good – attendance is strong, we’re constantly hearing stories of life-transformation, many are experiencing forward motion in their faith, our people are active and engaged in serving the community, etc. Certainly, there are some new realities that we can’t ignore; the economic downturn, a bit of a turnover in our membership due to some recent transitions, a very young demographic that we’re reaching. (you can read the letter we sent to our congregation here).

We needed to quickly create some margin in our budget so that ministry can continue as planned. We believe strongly that God has called us to do the things that are in our budget this year. We also can’t keep going further and further in the hole and considering using our line of credit to fund ministries or salaries until things turn around. I was not ready to move toward ministry reductions (we would have to eliminate an entire department) or staff layoffs (I believe we have the right people on the team). And truthfully the ultimate answer isn’t cutting staff or ministries – it’s moving the people of our church toward generosity in their giving. But how does one do that? Our leaders decided to lead the way.

In order to spark a movement of generosity at Grace, Kim and I talked and prayed and decided to reduce my salary by 50% during the next three months. I also proposed this to our Central team and our staff... voluntary salary reductions. I was overwhelmed by the response. On average our staff is taking a 20% pay reduction over the next 3 months until we right the ship and figure out what’s going on. I was moved to tears so many times last week as I got reports of what staff members were doing. In addition, our elders started sending emails – some of them are committing to increase their giving up to 50% and 100% during this time. It’s as close to Acts 2 as I have felt in a long time. All of the leaders at Grace, including Kim and I, are going to feel this deeply. Everyone made a sacrificial decision that will lead to a different kind of Christmas this year.

But among all the other options, here’s why we chose to take the approach we did.

Church leaders must lead by example. As church leaders, we can scold our churches into generosity, we can preach them into generosity, or we can lead them into generosity through our example. This decision by the leaders at Grace was a clear demonstration to our church that we believe in our mission to the core. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 11:1 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ. Our leaders stepped up to the plate this week and said to our church, ‘follow us as we follow Christ.’
The church must solve problems in community. The impact of this past week on our staff is immeasurable. The most frequent response I got from staff members was “thank you.” What a strange response from people who just had their salaries reduced for three months! Why would they be thankful? I suppose everyone was aware that we could have simply started laying people off, but instead we chose to address the problem together – all hands in (We may eventually still need to consider layoffs, but at least we gave it our best shot first). As we walked through this hands-in-the-middle moment together, our staff is as close as we’ve ever been to one another. There are stories of staff and their spouses sharing deep and intimate moments together as they considered what they would sacrifice for the cause. We are better for having turned to community first and tried to solve this problem together. It reminds me of Acts 4:32 - All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.
Church leaders must embrace opportunities to sacrifice for the sake of the gospel. Jesus has always called his followers to sacrifice. He said in Luke 9:23, whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. Sacrifice means giving to the Lord whatever He requires: our time, our earthly possessions, our energies to further His work. Christians have always been tried and tested to see if they will put the things of God first in their lives. And I’m convinced that we are most like Jesus when we choose sacrificial generosity. This week the leaders at Grace Church were put to this test, and they stood up.

I pray that many more in our congregation will also stand up – and learn the beauty of sacrificial generosity.

Day 4 - Q&A with the Haitian People

2011-10-06T23:58:00.002-04:00

Today was my last full day in Haiti. There are many mixed emotions.

Yesterday we spoke to our second English class made up of adult Haitians who are mostly professionals or students. They are highly motivated to learn English. When enrollment opens up, people line up around the block to sign up like they're trying to get tickets to a rock concert. Dan and I got to share our stories and talk about our families and our occupations to two different classes this week. I got some interesting questions about being a pastor:

Favorite questions I got from the ESL Classes

What do you think of our country? (this was asked in both classes)
What time do your church services start? How long do they last? (they laughed hard when I told them how 'late' we start at 9:15 and how 'short' our services are 1 hr. 15 mins. Some churches here have services at 6 AM and they last many hours.)
What are the differences between your church and the church in Haiti?
How do you handle 'rival' churches and 'rival' religions?
What was your best and worst moment in ministry?
What size is your church?
How do people watch your sermons on video - how do you record it? Can I watch your sermons on the internet?
What do you think are the signs that Jesus is coming back soon?
How many Haitian members are in your church? (I was asked this in both sessions)
Does racism still exist in America?

More detailed info about my day

I got to talk to Kim and the Kids last night and so it made me miss them all the more. On the other hand – this country does something to you. The people are profoundly beautiful. It has been a joy to encourage many of the believers here. To remind them that there is hope, that God is not distant but close by. And to be reminded of these things by them. My heart has been encouraged and my faith has been strengthened.

Day 4 was a good day. We trekked half way up the mountain to what the Americans call the ‘Prayer Tree’ – the Haitians call it the ‘Fasting Tree.’ There is a local prayer meeting that happens at the tree every Thursday beginning at 6 AM and lasting until mid afternoon. It was started over 20 years ago by two sisters who continue to lead it faithfully. Hundreds of people come and go throughout the day to pray for their needs and to pray for Haiti. There is a small sound system that is used for the leaders to guide people in and out of times of corporate prayer, singing, and private prayer. The tree is a mango tree with an exposed root system that makes for plenty of seating. Fortunately I had Wadner there to interpret all of the prayer instructions that were coming over the microphone.

We were there during a time when people were encouraged to bring their requests to God. There were prayers for those who needed healing, those whose family members were sick or dying, those who were hungry, prayers were offered specifically for those who couldn’t sleep at night, throughout this time people were consistently encouraged to wave both hands toward heaven. Then there was a season of celebration and praise. Passionate singing, dancing, hand waving, greeting one another, swaying – all prayers were being offered at the same time so a low rumble of exultant voices was being raised to heaven. It was absolutely beautiful. Our praying is weak in America.

Then I was asked to come forward to pray into the microphone for Haiti. I was honored. Wadner came with me to interpret – during the introduction it was noted that I’m the Pastor of the church who sent Bud and Jane and Miss Kate to Haiti – there were oohs and aahs from the gathering because our missionaries are so loved and respected throughout this whole region. I prayed for the redemption of Haiti – that the Holy Spirit would claim this nation for his name and his renown – I prayed that the enemy would be held at bay in Haiti and that God would continue to raise up leaders who would bring renewal and revival to this land. I couldn’t match their intensity, but I’m confident that God also heard my prayer... even though I’m sure my faith is small compared to these great souls.

We spent some time before lunch making the rounds with some of the missionaries to try to capture some of their day to day activity on video camera. When they come back to Erie to report what’s going on – they sometimes bring pictures or videos but never seem to have pictures or videos of themselves in action (for obvious reasons)! So we wanted to capture some of that.

While we were out at one of the schools – we got word that the child my family sponsors (and his mother and Pastor) had arrived to meet me. We were 45 minutes away because this meeting wasn’t supposed to happen until the afternoon (time is a bit fluid here). So we hurried back while they waited and I got to meet Sander. It wasn’t exactly a Hallmark moment – but still deeply rewarding to meet him. We had a major language barrier so we couldn’t really communicate, he was very shy and not sure what to think about this whole thing, but I found out that he likes soccer and math and is doing very well in school. He and his mother also had met Jesus through the program that he was in. I gave him a kids Bible in Creole – and some gifts that I had brought from the states. My kids had made some pictures and there was a picture of our family. He and his mom were both very appreciative.

We then met for about 3 hours with Pastors Miguelson and James to discuss the church to church partnership some more. It was greatly encouraging – I heard some things that I was waiting to hear. They weren’t afraid to tell us that some of our ideas were not good ideas. They said that they would not hesitate to back out of the partnership if it was not serving their goals or our goals. They, like us, are interested in an equal mutually beneficial relationship that will expand God’s Kingdom. We nailed down some specific next steps and timelines. We walked through a SWOT analysis with them which helped to give us a good understanding of where they are at as a church and we both agreed to move forward with the partnership pending some conversations with both of our leadership teams (elders, ministry leaders, etc.)

We then shared a Q&A time with our second adult English class which was taught by Kate (questions included above). At dinner time we went out with 3 Haitian young men for a night on the town. It was a great time. We went to a local restaurant for dinner - drove by a stadium with a huge local soccer match going on - saw a revival at a downtown church and got to witness first-hand how Cap-Haitien comes alive at night. More than that we had an absolute blast with Miguelson, James, and Wadner (ti Lo-Lo)! We laughed hard and long and continued to establish what I believe will be a deep and lasting bond. The guys shared some good-bye speeches with us that were very touching and gave insight into their hearts. These are godly young men who are going to be instrumental in bringing the light of Christ to Haiti.

I look forward to the future together. Tomorrow - we travel home...

Day 3 - Modern Day Heroes

2011-10-05T23:58:00.002-04:00

I woke up to roosters crowing this morning and knew that a good day was ahead!

Over these past couple of days something has happened again and again that has simply blown me away. Everywhere I go people know of Grace church and the people of Grace. When they hear I'm the pastor there - stories come pouring out of this person or that person who has impacted their lives from Grace. I am swelling with a godly pride about the over 100 people from Grace who have visited this island over the past 10 years. Obviously these accolades have nothing to do with me but everything to do with the faithful people of Grace who have made the decision to invest in others. I'll give you a few examples.

1. Kate - a longtime member of Grace -retired teacher - in her 70's. She has been in haiti for 9 years with no intentions of leaving anytime soon. She has brought the gift of education to hundreds (maybe thousands) of people. She's like a folk hero everywhere I go. And Erica is Kate's friend and counterpart at the school. She's not from Grace originally but we tease her that she has been 'grafted in.' We support her work here!

2. Bud and Jane - Jane has given the gift of schools, and organization, and child sponsorships. Bud fixes everything in his sight. If you work with your hands and like to get greasy and never imagined yourself as a missionary - trust me there is a place for you... don't shut God down because of dreaming too small.

3. Don and Debbie - they have brought the gift of love and a variety of kinds of support and care for the people of Haiti and our missionaries. Everytime their name comes up it is with deep honor and respect.

4. Meg - the mention of those 3 letters M-E-G - brought cheers at the clinic here - her legacy of praying personally for each patient and the deep personal interest she took in every life - even when things were busy - lives on as legend.

5. Pam - again at the clinic Pam's name is honored because of her diligent work and fundraising and coordination in getting an X-Ray machine here and working.

6. Pastor Mike - he has spearheaded many of our teams and efforts here and he is deeply loved. His intentional prayers and many acts of love for the people of this country are held in high esteem. I visited your special prayer circle today, Mike.

I could go on and on and on, but just wanted to say thank you to the modern heroes who have encouraged and inspired so many people and who have made a lasting mark on this island. Thank you for extending Grace's reach to the ends of the earth and for representing The Church and Jesus the head of The Church so faithfully.

This was the main thing I wanted to say- but if you'd care to read some more details about my day today - feel free to continue. I just understand that my reflections are wordy and most people who read blogs have short attention spans! Check back tomorrow for some reflections about our last day here.

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Day 3 - Fresh bananas for breakfast was a great treat (there are banana fields right next to where we are staying) - they have so much flavor when they are fresh.

We then waited for a vehicle for transport to the seminary. I was scheduled to speak at their chapel service this morning at 10 AM. Several cars were out of commission today with Bud scrambling around from vehicle to vehicle trying to get them running. We finally got a ride with another missionary couple (Bud and Cindy) who were also traveling to the seminary for their Creole classes. With diesel fuel nearly $7.00 per gallon - they carpool as much as possible.

Our trip there (my longest van trip since being in Haiti) included views of the usual street vendors, lottery booths, and peopel milling about - but because the trip was longer we also got to see some rice fields, and pasture land, and the mountainous scenery is still breathtaking. If you didn't know differently, you'd think you were in Hawaii. We came across the location of a leading witch doctor - his house was marked with many high-flying flags to let the waiting world know he was there. Also the roads are filled with so many potholes that even the shortest trip involves jarring jolts that leave you wondering if you've dislocated something.

The seminary is beautiful. It contains the fingerprints of many people from Grace who have worked there over the years. It is a state of the art facility, with a beautiful modern kitchen, multiple buildings with classrooms, offices, dormitories, etc. We arrived 2 minutes before chapel was scheduled to start, but we were the first ones there. I was relieved since I was the guest speaker! Pretty soon some 60 well-dressed seminarians began filing in - a variety of 1st through 4th year students. The next generation of pastors and ministry leaders... the hope of Haiti.

The worship was powerful and passionate - I didn't understand a single word but understood the Spirit in the room in the most familiar of languages. I shared from 1 Timothy 4:12 - and the importance of setting an example for the believers with their lives - of being men worthy of following and imitating. I encouraged them that if Jesus could change the world through 12 faithful men, that he can certainly change Haiti with 60! Dan and I spent some great time with Matt Ayers - the Director of the Seminary and I was blown away by his love for the scriptures and passion to teach theology. We got to sit in on one of his classes - a Q&A study session for an upcoming test on Romans 1-4. Just to give you a glimpse of the level of engagement and learning - here were my two favorite questions: 1) which is justification more dependent upon; grace, or faith, or both? and 2) What is the connection (if any) between God's creation ex nihilo and the virgin birth?

We then ate a great Haitian lunch of corn gritz and pureed black bean sauce. I'm a picky eater, but once I got over my texture-phobia the food was delicious. We had some more discussion with Matt about the seminary facility's potential role in our church-to-church partnership since they have turned out many of the pastors in the region and have a heart for ongoing training and development. There is much potential here to be explored.

We came back to our headquarters and as Dan and I were discussing more detail about the church-to-church partnership, in walked Pastor Migueloson. We had an hour-long improptu conversation that was very instrumental. At every turn I am convinced of the strong fit between our churches.

We visited Dr. Rodney, the doctor at the clinic, who just returned from a hospital stay of his own after nearly dying. He was literally nursed back to life by one of the visiting Doctors with OMS. It was an honor to pray for him. God will heal him soon.

We then went to the Wednesday bible study for the missionaries at Kate's house, and it was a sweet time of deep study of the scriptures (Matt Ayers led us through John 7) and a time of worship and sharing prayer requests. I wrote down every request and plan to share some with you (without personal details). I think it will be a great teaching tool to compare and contrast with our context the kinds of things that people who are on the front lines of ministry are praying about.

We had a great dinner tonight and on my way back to the house we're staying I received word that a young Haitian man was waiting to speak with me. He is a young man who is engaged to a young woman who is a friend of mine and member of Grace. He was nervous to say the least - we had a wonderful conversation and made plans for dinner together tomorrow night. He'll be taking Dan and I out on the town for an evening in Cap-Haitien. I can't wait.

We talked for hours with Bud and Jane tonight, and I'm finally getting around to putting together some of my thoughts. Oh and I got to talk to Kim and all three of my kids tonight on the phone. I miss them terribly so it was a great encouragement to hear their voices.

Please pray for tomorrow. I'll be visiting the Prayer Tree in the early morning (a sacred spot where Christians come to pray every Thursday for their nation), we'll be meeting again with Pastor Miguelson and Pastor James to continue to frame out next steps for our partnership, and then in the afternoon I'll be meeting the family of the child that my family sponsors through Starfish Kids.

I have very mixed emotions. Tomorrow is our last day here. We leave Haiti early Friday morning. Dan and I covet your prayers.

Day 2 - Issues/Opportunities- the Haitian church

2011-10-04T23:57:00.001-04:00

It is difficult not to fall head over heels in love with this place and these people.

This computer/internet connection is not allowing me to post pictures or videos here. I really wish I could so you could see for yourself. All in good time.

Today was day 2.
Breakfast at 7:00 this morning – I tasted the freshest pineapple I’ve ever had. It was like candy. Then I had the privilege of meeting Ti Louie (small Louie) and touring the radio station that he runs. There are over 150,000 portable radios in distribution in Haiti that carry this one station that brings the gospel, and training, and worship music, all across this fine Island. It’s a brilliant ministry. I had the honor to share some thoughts at their staff morning Bible study and prayer meeting. There is discouragement among their ranks. Equipment is breaking, funds are short, and many are nervous about their jobs. I spoke to them from Romans 8:18-25 about ‘hope.’ In its biblical form it is far more than just wishful thinking and crossing our fingers, hope is deeply rooted in the identity of God. The foundation of hope is the promise of God to be with us. I pray that God used it to bring encouragement and,… well… hope.

We then got to tour the school where several of our missionaries teach – it is an English speaking school so it was fun to be able to communicate with the Haitian children who were fairly fluent in English. During their lunch break, I got to play soccer with the kids and kick the ball really high in the air to their oohs and aahs (I’m not a very skilled soccer player – so kicking it as hard and as high as I could was the only thing I could think of that might impress them ) They also loved looking at pictures of my kids on my Iphone. The girls thought Ayden was adorable and the boys wanted to play Angry Birds.

We then visited the clinic that we’re associated with. Last year Grace and Hamot Hospital teamed up to ship a used X-Ray machine for use in this clinic. Last month we were able to send a technician down who was finally able to get the machine properly working. It was awesome to see it in action and to see the joy on the faces of the workers who are finally able to diagnose internal injuries when before it was a bit of a guessing game.

I took a long walk for some prayer and reflection and was able to jot down some thoughts that I’ll share another time. Dan and I also got to talk a lot more about some ideas that have been brewing in regards to the church-to-church partnership. We will be meeting with the Pastors again at lunch time on Thursday to discuss next steps. Please keep us in your prayers.

I then visited an adult English class that one of our missionaries, Kate, teaches. It was an advanced class for college students and professionals. I introduced myself and had a chance to field questions. There was a lively discussion about a number of church-related questions. It gave me a chance to share and it gave them a chance to practice their English – so it was a win-win.

Finally we were honored to be guests in Kate’s home for dinner. We dined with Kate, Erica, Bud and Jane (missionaries from Grace and supported by Grace). I was amazed by their accounts of God at work in this country, I clumsily tried to encourage them and let them know how valuable their work is. I learned a lot about Haitian culture from them that will affect how we approach the partnership. It was a great day. I’m getting some thoughts together for tomorrow as I’ll be preaching at the chapel service in the morning to 55 seminarians. I’m less intimidated since I preached today using an interpreter. It’s not as bad as I had anticipated.

Yesterday I promised to post a few of the issues that our potential partner church believed were the leading issues in their church and community. So here they are:

Leading issues/opportunities of the Eglise Evangelique Baptiste Sion:
1. Training – they are longing for training of all kinds – ongoing ministry training for the people in their congregation (leadership, worship, children, youth, couples, finances, etc) as well as basic life training of all varieties.

2. Education – They provide a Christian school at their church, but it hasn’t had great traction because people have their children working instead of going to school.

3. They believe they have a resource in the women of their church who have time and skills to start small businesses. Generally in Haiti women don’t work but Miguelson and James believe they can break new ground in this area because some of their women are willing and able to try new things. They have toyed with a very basic micro-finance model within their church (the pastor gives a woman a goat – and she sells products related to the goat – and when the goat has babies she gifts the baby goats to some other women in the church.) This concept obviously needs to be developed.

4. Once per month meal ministry. They had been in a habit of celebrating a meal together as a church one Sunday per month. The pastors were buying the food for everyone. For most it was their only meal on Sunday. They did it in conjunction with communion and it resembles the early church practice of the celebration meal. They have run out of funds to continue this ministry. We are hoping to help them figure this one out since food is such a basic need in their community.

I just wanted to give you some brief insight into some of the issues that we’re exploring and lean on your prayer support.

Day 1 - First Impressions of Haiti

2011-10-03T23:36:00.001-04:00

We arrived in Haiti at 9:00 this morning. It was a great trip –everything was smooth. Dan is fantastic to travel with. We woke up at 3:30 AM to catch our flight – so right now at 10:00 PM I’m a little tired! But I wanted to capture some thoughts. We drove around right away to check out some new schools that had just been built in some of the remote regions around Cap-Haitien.

We then met with Pastor Migueloson (38 years old) and Pastor James (32 years old) to discuss a potential partnership. Our advance teams did a great job in selecting these Pastors and this church, The Eglise Evangelique Baptiste Sion. Their hearts were so aligned with our hearts it nearly brought tears. We talked for about 2 hours about our respective churches and our dreams for the future. It was interesting that they have been framing their vision thoughts around the year 2016 which I also recently did at Grace. We then went and visited their church. It is a second story open-air facility with basically one room and a small office. They have about 100 people worshiping with them. Their dream is to have 2000 in the next 5 years. I love big dreams! But they’re not just empty dreams, they have plans and strategies to accompany them. I’ll try to post tomorrow about what they perceive their biggest community needs and challenges are. Very fascinating. Even though there are dramatic cultural differences between our churches - many of the challenges and issues are exactly the same. Our conversation flowed easily and passionately!

Then we walked the neighborhood with them. If there had been any hesitation about the partnership before that – it would have completely evaporated as I watched how people responded to them in the streets. They were the heroes of their community. It was a really beautiful scene. We got to enter several homes and pray with some of the members of their church – several who were sick or dying. One particular woman stood out. She was a former prostitute who recently found Christ at their church. She has been healed and restored from her former life- she is the woman Jesus would have hung out with. When we started praying for her, she immediately fell to her knees and then her face on the ground in honor and humility before God. Jesus is alive and well in Haiti.

Some initial observations:
1. It is incredibly hot here. Even though it was only around 90 degrees today – the humidity was stifling. And it's buggy - there are bugs almost covering my laptop screen as I'm typing right now and I'm in a full sweat just sitting here typing!

2. The constant poverty is overwhelming. I know this is cliché but it’s something you can’t understand until you see it. It’s not just the level of poverty but the constancy of it. I have read that Haiti is a “4th World” country because the poverty is so pervasive that they will never be able to get themselves out of it on their own. It was shocking to fly in on the island and overlook breathtaking mountains and beaches that looked like they should be covered with multi-million dollar condominiums and resorts with nothing but poverty as far as the eye could see.

3. The people are beautiful. They are well-dressed, hard working, quick to smile and even quicker to extend a hand or a hug in greeting. As we walked the streets, it could have been very awkward and gawky and instead it was very natural because of peoples' friendliness and acceptance. Even though Americans are rarely allowed in the homes of Haitian people because they are proud and don’t want their poverty ‘on display’ – we were welcome because we were guests of their pastors. Deeply honored.

4. There is spiritual oppression here that’s unexplainable other than appealing to the existence and activity of God and Satan. We heard story after story of the spiritual activity in this area. It’s real.

5. These missionaries are modern-day heroes. The people who have given the rest of their lives to this island have blown me away. I want to have their love and devotion to the Savior when I grow up.

Please pray for me tomorrow as I’m speaking at the Radio Station. I'll be speaking from Romans 8:18-25 on 4 Habits of People with Hope. I’ll also be visiting the school where our missionaries Kate and Erica teach. Looking forward to a great day.

Some goals for my Haiti trip this week

2011-10-02T23:37:00.001-04:00

Tomorrow morning at 4:30 AM - Dan Palmer and I will arrive at the Ft Lauderdale aiport to prepare for departure on a small charter plan into Cap-Haitien, Haiti. It is a city of about 190,000 people on the north coast of Haiti. Grace church has been involved with this city for the last 10 years sending over 100 short-term missionaries and also sending several full-time missionaries who still reside there. We will be visiting Haiti this week with some very specific objectives.

1. Interview Pastor Miguelson and Pastor James and allow them to interview us in order to explore a church to church partnership with their church in Cap-Haitien. They pastor a church that is respected in the region and has influence on many other churches and pastors. We would love to pool influence, resources, and expertise in order to continue to bring the gospel to Haiti.

2. If it appears to be a good fit for partnership, our next step will be to explore exactly what that partnership would look like and how it would impact the lives of individuals in each of our congregations. This can't just be a leadership partnership, but one that is felt and experienced deep into the seats in our churches. If it doesn't seem like a good fit - we will begin to investigate other partnership options.

3. Encourage the missionaries. There are full time missionaries from Grace Church stationed there including Bud and Jane Dennington and Kate Zlotnicki. We also have a relationship with many of the missionaries stationed on the OMS compound as well as the Ayers who serve as leaders of the local seminary. I'll be sharing with the seminary students as well as on the local radio station. We hope to be an encouragement to the local missionaries who have given their lives to serve in a very difficult situation.

I'm also planning to visit the child that my family sponsors here through Starfish Kids. It's going to be a blast to meet him and his family in person. My kids have drawn pictures and sent along gifts for he and his brothers and sisters. I can't wait.

3 reasons to be baptized

2011-08-19T23:31:00.001-04:00

We're celebrating baptisms this weekend at Grace. I believe that baptism is a critical part of an obedient Christian life. I also feel strongly that the Bible indicates that it is believers who should be baptized. An oft repeated phrase throughout the New Testament is "repent and be baptized" - which seems to indicate that baptism is something that we must choose to do. I felt so strongly about this that 15 years ago I was baptized as a believer even though I had been baptized as a baby early in my life. Baptism is a symbol of a person’s total identification with Christ and allegiance to him. But more than that – it is a public declaration -a way of identifying that the person being baptized is now welcome in the community of faith. Here are 3 reasons I think baptism is so important:

Jesus commanded it. Baptism is an act of obedience - and for many Christians it is their very first act of obedience. Jesus was clear about this, "Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19)
It is a primary tradition of the church. From the very beginning of the church, believers in Jesus have been baptized. In getting baptized, you are demonstrating to the church that you have made a commitment to follow Christ. ”What are you waiting for? Get up, be baptized and wash your sins away, calling on his name” (Acts 22:16)
Jesus himself was baptized. As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:13-17) - There was really no other reason for Jesus to be baptized other than to be an example to us... (oh yeah and for God to split the heavens open and show the world that this was His son...).

It's not too late - if you're still interested in being baptized this weekend at our 9:15 or 11:00 services in McKean - let us know here. Do some more reading in Romans 6 if you'd like some more theology on the subject.

Game Day Thoughts: August 14, 2011

2011-08-14T23:20:00.006-04:00

I'm an old football player, and Sundays can be something like Game Day. As a Pastor, it's the day the church convenes for worship. It's the day many of our staff plan for all week. Kids are learning, youth are worshiping. It's the day our teams at Grace are on high alert and in full-service mode. Here are a few of my highlights from today:

1. Focus on the Holy Spirit - This month we are turning our attention to the Holy Spirit at Grace and it has been very impacting for me. This week I realized how great my need is to be 'filled with the Spirit' as I live my life day to day. Our services were very powerful this weekend as we incorporated some time to pause and reflect on the Spirit and then worshiped as Nathalie Martin expressed the song Indelible by Brooke Fraser in a beautiful worship dance. Worship was intense and we closed with the song Awakening as we cried out for the Spirit of God to be awakened in our lives. Here is a little clip from Grace Harborcreek as Dustin, Bryan, and Kaley and Pastor Mike close out the service.

2. Second Date - I got a chance to check in very briefly on our Second Date reception following the 9:15 service. I got to meet a bunch of people who are very new to Grace. To hear them bubble over with excitement about their first impressions is infectious! One woman said something that I hear quite often - she said "Every time I come here I cry." (I always check to make sure it's not the preaching!) She's experiencing the Spirit of God and trying to put words to it. It's a beautiful thing. I also heard there were a handful of families checking out some next steps at Second Date in Harborcreek as well.

3. 80+ Luncheon - Pastor Al organized a luncheon reception today for the people in our church who are over 80 years old. They were encouraged to bring some guests with them as well. It was so cool to go table to table in that room and shake hands and give hugs to the people who are the solid building blocks upon which our entire church is built. It was their sacrifice, their bold prayers, their encouragement, their sacrificial giving, their positive attitudes that have allowed us to be where we are today as a church. Joel Nelson (a missionary who grew up at Grace) was even with us to share some memories about growing up at Grace and how things have changed over the years. It was wonderful to see these pillars of faith - with generations of their family gathered - giving thanks to God for how he has blessed their lives.

I love our church.

If you were at Grace this weekend - what was one of your highlights?

Leadership Summit Day 2 Highlights

2011-08-13T00:22:00.000-04:00

The 2011 Global Leadership Summit is in the books. I'm so proud that Grace Church is associated with this event. We had nearly 300 leaders from a variety of different organizations and over 30 churches from throughout the region. The conference blog is here if you'd like to catch up with some of the backstage information and session summaries. I'm including my favorite quotes from each speaker on day two along with a link to Tim Schraeder's blog summaries of each talk - he does a great job capturing each speaker with thorough notes.

Mama Maggie Gorban - Silence yourself to listen to God. Silence your tongue to listen to your thoughts. Silence your thoughts to listen to your heart beating. Silence your heart to listen to your spirit. Silence your spirit to listen to His Spirit. In silence you leave the many... to be with the One.

Michelle Rhee - I would much rather have anger than apathy (in the people I'm trying to lead).

Henry Cloud - Don't let someone else's character problems stop your vision.

John Dickson - Some of the most inspiriting leaders in all of history had no structural authority. Sometimes you don't need the power to hire and fire to change empires or individuals. You don't need the keys to the kingdom to have impact on the kingdom.

Pat Lencioni - In order to be vulnerable as leaders we must overcome the fear of being embarrassed. When we're leading/serving others- we sometimes have to do things that could embarrass us. We have to ask questions that might make us look stupid.

Erwin McManus - The church needs to reclaim its place as the incubator of God-given talent and potential inside of every human being. There is no better way to live than to redeem the image of God in every human being.

If you were at this year's Summit - what was the most impacting moment for you?

Leadership Summit Day 1 Highlights

2011-08-12T00:19:00.003-04:00

This was one of the best first days of the Willowcreek Global Leadership Summit since I've been attending the conference. It was a great mix of practical leadership advice, stretching vision ideas, and personal inspiration and challenge. I'm including links to Tim Schraeder's notes from each session since they are very thorough along with my favorite quote from each keynote speaker of today.

Bill Hybels - Are you naming, facing, and resolving the problems that exist in your church or organization? Leaders call problems 'problems' and then turn over heaven and earth to try to solve them.

Len Schlesinger - We have been educated to believe that failure is a dirty word, but failure doesn’t mean “game over;” it means try again with experience.

Cory A. Booker - The world you see outside of you will always be a reflection of what you have inside of you

Dr. Brenda Salter McNeal - A mutli-national, multi-lingual, multi-racial church was born in Acts 2. From the beginning the church was a global movement. Are we going to be global Christians?

Seth Godin - If failure is not an option... then neither is success.

Steven Furtick - Having good ideas doesn't make you a visionary, it makes you a daydreamer. The difference between the two is having the courage and audacity to act. If the size of your vision isn't intimidating to you, there is a good chance that it's insulting to God.

Getting the most out of conferences

2011-08-11T11:00:00.002-04:00

We are hosting the Willowcreek Global Leadership Summit this week at Grace Church. It is

a tremendous event and has had a huge impact on our church over the years. As an

occasional attendee at conferences of this sort, I'm always looking for ways to leverage the

time most effectively. I was reminded of some advice I received a few years ago from my friend Bob about getting the most out of conferences. Here are a few thoughts that I found

most helpful.

1. Note Taking. Keep a running list of thoughts and notes from each general session and breakout workshop. If possible take your laptop so you can email and live blog what you are learning. I like to take notes for application and action instead of content when there are reliable bloggers who are blogging content (a common occurrence at most conferences). I

have found that they capture content far better than I ever could - so I just need to be responsible for what I'm going to do with the information.

2. Daily Wrap-Up. If you’re with a team use meal times and breaks to debrief your learnings/insights. Group discussions always yield great understanding of the session/topic,

you get to hear other point’s of view. Include insights from these debriefing times in your notes.

3. What do you think we need to think about? Good conferences raise questions, great conferences cause us to question and evaluate what we’re doing. Be sure to write down

what questions you’re beginning to ask, questions you believe we should be asking,

questions worth asking. Plan to incorporate these questions into future meetings with

your teams when you get back home.

What older leaders should know about younger leaders

2011-08-11T01:25:00.009-04:00

I ran across this post from Brad Lomenick of Catalyst fame about older leaders understanding younger leaders better. At age 40 I find myself in the middle of this spectrum between young and old. We have worked hard at Grace to continue to stay young with our staff hires and our volunteer leaders. It is so easy for churches to allow their ideas, their methods, and their programs to become outdated and stuck. We want to avoid this by creating ample opportunities for young leaders to be involved in leadership roles in our ministry. I have seen the truth of Brad's post first-hand as I've worked with young leaders. I picked the three insights from Brad that I resonated with the most (Brad lists 14).

1. Willing to work together - young leaders are more willing to collaborate than any other generation before. They trust each other. Really. And see collaboration as the starting point, not some grandiose vision of teamwork that is far off in the distance. Collaboration is now the norm. Many young leaders don’t care who gets the credit- it’s way less about WHO and way more about WHAT.

2. Authenticity and humility wins - trust is incredibly important. Leaders won’t have followers going forward unless they trust them and see that they are authentic and real. Authenticity is not only important to the next generation; it’s a requirement. The next generation wants to follow leaders who are willing to admit that they don’t know it all.

3. See social justice as the norm Leaders who care about the poor and lean into causes and see the social gospel as a key ingredient to following Christ are no longer seen as the exception. Young leaders see taking care of the poor and sharing the Gospel as BOTH crucial to the advancement of the Church and of God’s Kingdom.

If you are an older leader, what are some insights/experiences you have had in working with younger leaders? Younger leaders, what would you add to this list?

A Poem for Dads

2011-06-18T01:44:00.002-04:00

I wrote this poem when Caleb was a toddler... he's 13 now. Fatherhood certainly changes as kids grow up. Whatever stage your kids are at; dads don't forget the amazing responsibility you have to instill the higher callings of faith, and character, and humility in your children. This little poem takes me back to when he was wobbling around many years ago. Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there. May God be with you as you lead your children.

A Dad on One Knee

a dad on one knee, eye to eye with his little one

speaking, deeply, without forming a single word

a dad on one knee, casting off cares of his grown-up life

prestige, deadlines, trumped by grass-stained dress pants

a dad on one knee, creating otherwise impossible chances for

hugs, high-fives, and larger-than-life wrestling matches

a dad on one knee, descending from his usual lofty place

tickling, smiling, learning from this new-found perspective

a dad on one knee, giving pointers to the next football star

teaching, coaching, secretly rooting for much more than skill

a dad on one knee, beside the bed during scary nights

comforting, softly, slaying the terrifying shadow monsters

a dad on one knee, clumsily humming bedtime songs

singing, holding, praying that time will take the long way

a dad on one knee, nervous about the outcome of his best attempt

waiting , watching, heartstrings stretched to their limits

a dad on one knee, emulating his Redeemer gone before

humbly, sacrificing, knowing this posture has eternal consequence

a dad on one knee, eye to eye with his little one

speaking, deeply, without uttering a single word

Are people glad to see you coming?

2011-06-03T10:36:00.001-04:00

I heard a quote recently that said, "would you rather lighten up a room when you enter it or when you leave it?" If you are a leader, and you are leading in a God-ordained way, then most often, those you lead will be glad to see you coming around the corner. This applies to your workplace, to your neighborhood, to your family, to your team, etc. Three things should happen in those that you lead when you walk into the room...

They will be refreshed and ready to grow when you are around. They will not dread your presence.
They will look forward to seeing you. You will add energy to their day and not drain energy from it.
They will be filled with hope and not despair. They know that even when it is dark in their world you’ll come looking for them.

For those who are not leading teams of people, try applying these 3 criteria to your kids or your spouse... how are you doing?

Combating Workaholism

2011-05-31T23:15:00.001-04:00

We went to Arizona for vacation this spring. It was my first 2 week vacation in many years. The vacation allowed me to reflect and re-prioritize. Workaholism is something that I've struggled with throughout my career (although I feel like I've made some good strides since the old youth ministry days). There is a great article at Relevant Magazine that has a list of 10 ways to break through workaholism. You can read the whole article here. I've grabbed 3 of their suggestions to highlight here - the content from the article is in italics.

1. Observe the Sabbath

Because of my job, Sunday isn't a good Sabbath day for me. But Friday is the day that I try to reserve for Sabbath. I don't think the main point is the exact day, but that one day out of seven be set aside for rest and reflection. I've tried to be much more intentional about how I spend my Sabbath day in recent months.

After God had spent six days creating the earth, He rested on the seventh day and sanctified it. In Exodus 20: 8:10, we’re instructed: “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work”. This isn’t just a suggestion—Sabbath observance is the fourth of the Ten Commandments. Going to church and then coming home to plug in your laptop so you can work the rest of the day just won’t cut it. If you know there’s a big meeting or a final coming up at the start of the week, push yourself hard on the previous Thursday and Friday. Bottom line: If a day of rest is good enough for God, it’s good enough for you, too.

2. Unplug From Technology

I chose not to take my laptop on our vacation. This was a good decision. It allowed me opportunity to slow everything down by removing the constant flow of information.

Dr. Bryan Robinson, author of Chained to the Desk, calls technology “the opium of our generation,” and few of us can claim we’ve never felt something of a rush when using a tech toy. But just because you’ve got a new, flashy cell phone, Blackberry or iPhone doesn’t mean you have to answer it, even if your company’s paying for it. Weekends and evenings are what the “ringer off” setting is designed for, so use it. You won’t be able to check work email if you don’t plug in your laptop, and let’s be honest: What could have happened at your job that’s so urgent it needs your immediate attention at 11 p.m. on a Saturday night?

3. Stop Procrastinating

This is one that I need to continue to get better at. It is the #1 contributor to my workaholism. When I'm staying ahead on projects and deadlines my workflow is much more manageable. I've been a life-long procrastinator -and just this year I've started to leverage my calendar and pre-planning to try to combat this. I'm forcing myself into a schedule that keeps the procrastination to a minimum and helps me to work ahead.

Responding immediately to friends' and colleagues’ voice mails, IMs, Facebook posts, and emails adds up, eventually creating a mountain between you and what you need to get done before the end of the day. Leaving projects until the last minute can be even worse, as it creates unnecessary pressure and can leave you unprepared for that important presentation to your boss. If you plan ahead, particularly for big projects, and block off time daily during which phone, IM and email are off limits, you’ll have no problem getting tasks finished.

What are some tips that you have found helpful in combating workaholism?

3 Reasons I believe in online giving

2011-05-30T00:47:00.000-04:00

We have been encouraging the people of Grace Church to explore the possibility of online giving. You can set up your online giving to Grace over here. Kim and I have used this method of giving for years and I really believe in it. Here's why:

1. First Fruits - So many people take care of themselves first financially and then give God the leftovers...if there are any. Many people approach the offering time at church like they are tipping God after enjoying a good meal themselves. The bible commands the opposite approach. God should get our first and our best. The Old Testament talks about the concept of giving God our "first fruits" (a reference that makes the most sense in an agricultural context but the principle still applies to us). Proverbs 3:9 says Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops. Setting up an online giving account allows us to set aside our first fruits for God; to fund God's kingdom before funding our own.

2. Intentional Worship - For many Christians, the act of giving in church is an afterthought. They find themselves rummaging through their wallet or purse in the middle of the service trying to find a few bucks to throw in the plate. Again - the bible commands a better way. 2 Corinthians 9:7 says, Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give. There is a heartfelt intentional decision that is involved in cheerful giving. This decision should happen in advance of the actual worship service. Online giving allows us to decide in advance what percentage of our income we will give to God and forces us to be consistent in that giving. Some would argue that the act of dropping a check into the offering plate is the true act of worship and giving online removes this symbolic gesture. I would argue that it's just as worshipful to intentionally decide up front to give regularly, consistently, and generously.

3. Convenience - And last but not least it is simply more convenient to give online. It allows us to be most consistent in our giving. We can be certain that we are giving even when we're out of town for a weekend. It removes the dreaded "I forgot our offering again" moment that plagued Kim and I for many years! We are an online generation that rarely carries cash or checks anymore. Most of our financial transactions happen online. In addition to being personally convenient, it is also more convenient for the church. It is more convenient for the church to process online contributions, it simplifies the financial records the church needs to keep, and it saves time for our volunteers who count and process the offerings every week.

If you have never considered online giving I would encourage you to give it a shot.

Scriptures to help you prepare for Good Friday

2011-04-22T12:33:00.001-04:00

Is. 53:5-6

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

1 John 2:1-2

But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

Romans 6:3-7, 11

Don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin—because anyone who has died has been set free from sin… In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

We skipped church and did this instead...

2011-04-22T01:38:00.004-04:00

Last month our family traveled to Arizona for vacation. We had never been out west so we took the opportunity to spend most of our time in Sedona with a day trip to the Grand Canyon and sandwiched by a couple of days in Phoenix. We spent most of our time hiking and climbing which was really fun. There are some great hiking trails in Sedona that are well marked and have varying degrees of length and difficulty. Our trip was Tuesday to Tuesday which meant we were in Sedona over a Sunday, and normally we would visit another church when we're out of town. However, this time we decided to do family church in our room. Kim quipped that it was one of the advantages of traveling with a Pastor! Anyway there were three parts to our little liturgy and it was really cool.

1. Discussion of the Bible - We read some scriptures and had a little discussion about how life is like a 'path.' There is a concentration of scriptures about 'paths' in Psalm 119 and because we had just been hiking so much these were very relevant. We talked about some of the critical components that made our hikes successful. Some of the stuff the kids came up with were things like; we had a map, we had a plan, there were some markers along the path, it was light out, we had each other and could talk about which way to go when we got off the path, we had taken the proper supplies with us, etc. We tied these things back into how to be successful as we walk the path of life. The importance of the Word of God as our map and lamp, the Holy Spirit as our guide, the importance of Christian community to help provide accountability and direction when we lose our way, etc. It was really cool. You should read Psalm 119 sometime and check out how much great advice there is about walking the path of life.

2. Prayer - I asked Kim to pray as we wrapped up and she offered an amazing prayer that summarized some of the things we had just talked about from the Scriptures. She also prayed individually over each of our kids and over me about specific things that we were each facing. There is something very powerful about a mother's prayer for her family. It brought me to tears.

3. Worship - We decided that during the 25 minute drive to the restaurant for breakfast that we would pass the ipod around the car and let each person choose a worship song during the drive. So we blasted With Everything and Your Name and Our God and sang at the top of our lungs driving with the windows down, a warm breeze blowing through the car, with beautiful red mountains on every side and blue skies overhead. It was a profound time of worship for all of us.

It was a very special and memorable time for our family. One that we won't soon forget. It also led me to a renewed commitment to having regular family devotional times together. All our kids are at ages where they can fully participate in an intelligent conversation about spiritual topics. I would never recommend missing church on a regular basis, but on occasion something like this can be really powerful for your family.

Have you ever had a memorable 'family church' experience?

Where does anger come from?

2011-04-21T15:46:00.005-04:00

Christian counselors claim that some 50% of the people who they counsel are dealing with issues related to anger. Anger can shatter communication, tear apart relationships, it can ruin our health. Some people have left a wake of wounded people in their past because of their anger. And for some – they’re not the angry outburst type – but they have held on to anger for many years and it’s like a cancer that kills their ability to love people and worship God and it’s rotting away any opportunity that they have at healthy relationships moving forward.

However, anger is not just damaging, it can also be good; even godly. In fact, Ephesians 4:26 - BE ANGRY, AND yet DO NOT SIN. The bible acknowledges that we will be angry and there are things that should fuel a righteous anger in us (when we see cases of injustice for example).

As best as I can tell there are three major originators of anger (this is not scientific but simply from my experience).

1. Unmet needs (usually unspoken) – this is prevalent especially in marriages

2. Feelings of violation/ injustice/ humiliation

3. Lack of control/ Fear

What are some other causes of anger? What did I miss?

RECAP: Why is Grace launching a second campus

2011-04-18T23:46:00.002-04:00

I just completed a 6 part blog series about why we at Grace Church have decided to launch another location in Harbor Creek on Easter Sunday, 2011. I just wanted to get some links all in one place for those who may want to peruse the posts. God is at work and we're excited to see what He has in store for us as our journey continues as a community of faith!

Part 1: What motivated us to start a new campus?
Part 2: What are the advantages of starting new campuses?
Part 3: Why did we choose Harbor Creek?
Part 4: What unacceptable realities fuel this effort?
Part 5: What guidelines are we using to help us launch a church from scratch?
Part 6: Why are we using sermons on video?

We're 6 days away from launch and I couldn't be more excited. The team is ready, the word is out, big prayers have been prayed, now we're just waiting for God to show up in power when this new expression of Grace Church convenes for the first time.

Game Day Thoughts: April 17, 2011

2011-04-17T22:49:00.001-04:00

1. Stories. Our theme this morning at Grace was "the gospel still works in 2011." There was no official sermon, but at each campus we heard 4 different life stories from people who have had their lives radically changed by Jesus. It was amazing. We traced some of Jesus' encounters as he was making his way to Jerusalem to die for humanity. It has always amazed me that on his way to rescue the whole world, He still had time for individuals. We read about the woman at Bethany, Zacchaeus, and the 10 lepers who were healed by Jesus. In the same way - God is still at work in the lives of individuals. I was so inspired to hear from Michael and Christine Yost, Erika Zerkel, Heiden Ratner, Roy Nordin, Eve Wozniak, and Jon Coyne. (I wasn't able to hear the stories of Penny Roose and Michelle Pfeifel in the Commons but heard they were strong). I love to hear about how God is at work in the lives of our people - and these were powerful stories of the strength of the gospel at work today. Awesome.

2. Grace Harbor Creek visit - I hosted the service at 9:15 at Grace McKean and then picked up my family and hustled out to Grace Harbor Creek for the 11:00 service. It was our last preview service before the official launch on Easter Sunday and it was my first visit since we've been in operation out there. Wow, was I blown away. The team was on point - so friendly and energetic at every turn. The facility was beautiful - totally transformed from a high school into a church. Pastor Mike and Dustin were fantastic - they brought truth and insight into every part of the service. Melanie and all the support teams were so focused - they were still taking notes throughout the whole experience evaluating and adjusting so that by next weekend all the bugs are worked out. If you live in Wesleyville, Lawrence Park, North East, or Harbor Creek and you don't have a church home, I want to invite you to join us at Harbor Creek High School next Sunday at 11 AM for Easter Service. It's going to be awesome. I was amazed to see years of prayer and planning finally coming into focus at Grace Harbor Creek ... humbling.

3. Final Preparations - I just sensed a final mood of preparation for Easter. As I looked at all the cards hanging around each worship space with names of friends and relatives and neighbors on them - I believe the people of Grace are more serious than ever about inviting folks to join them at church next weekend. There is a prayerful anticipation about what God is going to do in our midst. I can't wait! This week...

Good Friday Service

6:30 PM on Friday the 22nd at Grace McKean only

Easter Services

9:15 and 11:00 at Grace McKean (please attend at 9:15 for crowd considerations)

11:00 at Grace Harbor Creek

Click through for some more details here

If you attended worship services today - what were your highlights?

Why is Grace Launching a Second Campus? Part 6

2011-04-15T12:17:00.003-04:00

Why video preaching?? I have been posting some thoughts on why Grace is launching a second campus in Harborcreek this Easter. This is the 6th and final post in the series. Today's post has to do with one of the more progressive decisions that we made about this new campus. We will do the majority of our preaching through the use of video. Everything else in the service will be live - we have a full band that will lead in musical worship each week, and service hosts who will welcome people, and a designated campus pastor who will provide leadership, counseling, and supplemental teaching to that congregation. It will be a live (and lively) worship gathering - and when it comes time for the sermon it will be via video on a large screen. So I want to answer a series of questions today that flow from the larger question:

Why Use Sermons on Video?

Isn't video impersonal?
Attending church at one of our campuses will be a very personal experience. Ushers and greeters will greet personally, our campus pastor (Pastor Mike Watson) and worship leaders will personalize every aspect of the service, and the video sermon will just be another resource that they will use to bring the gospel to every person who walks through the doors. But it's true that video can feel impersonal. We've tried to counteract that by the way we do video. I think it allows for the most personalized of all video approaches. We pre-record the sermon video earlier in the week specifically for our campuses. I much prefer this method over just recording one of our other services where there are people in the room, because it allows us to personalize the message to the people who are watching via video and to look right at the camera the whole time. The people watching the video don't feel like they're just overhearing us as I talk to somebody else, but we're talking directly to them.

Why come watch a screen when I could watch church on TV from my couch?

This question is based on a grossly underdeveloped view of what church is supposed to be. If someone thinks that the sum total, the sole purpose, of going to church is listening to a 30 minute sermon then Grace is probably not the church for them... we set the bar much higher than that. The truth is, you can't live in deep community with others on your couch, you can't utilize your God-given spiritual gifts on your couch, you can't participate in life-giving worship on your couch, you can't serve the community with other believers on your couch. Church is so much more than a sermon! When we invite people to church we are inviting them into Biblical community and to be part of the great cause of Christ in our generation. The sermon is just one very small component of that experience. If you come to Grace you won't stay a spectator for long - the stakes are too high!

How can you possibly address specific needs of a congregation via video?

This will be an ongoing responsibility of our campus pastor. He will still be a prophetic voice in his congregation. If there are specific needs that must be addressed in his congregation, he will have the freedom to address them in a variety of ways.

There will be mini-teaching moments in each service in which he can address particular topics.
He will have freedom to stand up after each video sermon and help the congregation to process through the application of each message.
Each campus pastor will be part of our preaching planning team and so the needs of each location will be taken into account as we plan series.
He will have regular opportunities to preach live at his location at which time he can craft and nuance the message to the specific needs of his congregation.

However, all that being said, truth is truth. The Word of God is the Word of God. There is a little nuancing that needs to happen based on congregations - but if I write a sermon based on the Bible I could generally take that message and deliver it in Erie, Warren, Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Haiti, etc. And the Word of God remains constant and true. It reminds me of a passage in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that says, "no temptation has seized you except what is common to man." There is a commonality to our experience in this life that the word of God addresses with amazing accuracy.

Aren't you just jumping on the bandwagon and trying every new fangled idea?

We definitely want to utilize all available technology for the advancement of the gospel. Throughout history, the church has leveraged available technology for this purpose. The invention of the printing press dramatically affected the Reformation by getting the Bible into the hands of individuals. The Apostle Paul utilized the latest available technology, letter writing, messengers, and circular letters to advance the gospel. These circular letters were teachings and admonitions that were intended for multiple different churches (similar to our video teaching). One church would read the letter and then it would be sent on to the next church in the region. I'm convinced that if Paul had access to video technology he would have used it to the hilt! If the early church had said, “we’re not going to listen to Paul through his letters, he has to be here in person,” the church would be in a whole different place.

Isn't this just about Grace or about Derek trying to build an empire?

This gets a little chuckle out of me because I shudder to think of how pathetic and insignificant a 'Grace Church empire' or a 'Derek Sanford empire' would be compared to the actual Kingdom of God being advanced! This one is a simple 'no.' Our goal with this initiative is to reach more people with the gospel - and we believe to the bottom of our souls that this is the best way to do it. It's important to note that we will still be using a team preaching approach. So some weeks I will be on screen but other weeks it will be Brian, Mike, Al and others. This isn't about building an empire around one personality, but simply using the technology available to us to reach more people.

Some benefits of video preaching:

Unity –it’s important to us that there be a unified preaching voice at Grace. Nothing will hold us together like the unified proclamation of the word of God. We will be in the same sermon series most of the time, studying the same scriptures and having conversations around the same truths from God's word. This is one of the ways that our church in multiple locations can stay connected with one another.

Wisest use of the Campus Pastor's time and energies - video preaching allows the campus Pastor to focus more time and energy on pastoring and leading his new congregation. We want to utilize our Pastors to their full ministry capacity. The average sermon takes 15-20 hours to study, write, and deliver. So, to have 2 different pastors duplicating efforts each week in sermon preparation isn't the best use of our resources. There is too much ministry to be done for us to be duplicating efforts.

Supporting resources - Having all campuses receiving the same sermon content allows us to write excellent materials (small group studies and individual studies) based on that sermon that can then be utilized at all campuses. You can check out some samples of these supporting materials here. If we had different sermons going on at all of our locations it would be too difficult to keep up with quality support resources.

Clarity - We currently use video preaching in our Commons Service at our Grace McKean campus and one of the positive responses we have gotten is the ability to see facial expressions and emotion on the screen that you can't see when it's live and in a larger room. Studies show that over 63% of communication is non-verbal (hands, eyebrows, facial expressions). So the larger image allows the person watching to pick up on some of those communication cues that they would miss in the larger room.

We are excited about this initiative. We believe with our whole hearts that this is what God is calling us to do. On Easter Sunday 2011 - the adventure begins.

Game Day Thoughts: March 27, 2011

2011-03-27T22:01:00.001-04:00

I'm an old football player, and Sunday is like Game Day. As a Pastor, it's the day the church convenes for worship. It's the day many of our staff plan for all week. It's the day our teams at Grace are on high alert and in full-service mode. It's game day. Here are a few of my highlights from today:

1. It was the last day for our Grace Harbor Creek core team to officially worship at Grace McKean. It's amazing to me that this day has arrived. Next Sunday this team will be worshiping at Harbor Creek High School for some preview services leading up to our official launch on Easter Sunday. We spent some time gathering around, laying hands, and praying for this team. I was reminded of this passage of scripture in Acts 13:2-3 and the rich history that is before us as we embark on this new endeavor. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. After the services today, teams moved all of our supplies into storage rooms in Harborcreek and practiced their first setup in the High School. Next weekend a new adventure begins. God help us!

2. Bryan Auton - I always love to see how God brings people to our church. I'm a firm believer that God knows how to make churches. He brings people at the right time with the right gifts right on time. Bryan is from Atlanta and he and his family moved to Erie last year. Bryan led worship this morning and did a great job. He and his family are headed to Grace Harbor Creek and I'm excited to see what God will do through them. Bryan and Kaley are an example of a family who came in and sought the Lord and got involved. I was really proud to serve alongside Bryan and the team this morning as they led the church in worship.

3. "Step Up. It really had nothing to do with my sermon this morning but I felt so impressed by God to challenge the church to step up today at the beginning and the end of my sermon. This is a huge month for us. We're headed into uncharted waters. We are going to be sending out up to 100 people to Harbor Creek and we're going to feel a bit of a void when that team leaves. It's time for the people of Grace to step up. We need to pray bold prayers, make bold invitations to our friends and neighbors, have deep conversations. Some who have been sitting on the sidelines need to step up and serve, some need to step up and go to Harbor Creek, some need to step up in their preparation and participation in corporate worship, some need to step up and grow in their faith and stop accepting their tendency to coast. It's time. And I'm convinced we're ready.

This week we also launched a new website. Our communications director Danielle did a phenomenal job with this project and re-thinking our web presence while being one church in multiple locations.

We are heading into Romans 10 for the next two weeks if you'd like to read ahead. It's going to be a great journey as a church as we head toward Easter.

Some biblical principles about money

2011-03-24T00:45:00.000-04:00

Money is a huge issue on the news, in our country, in churches, and in families. Just a big issue. It plays a negative role in greed and pride and comparisons and power and self-worth and well... you get the picture. It can also have a huge positive impact as it is shared and used for good. The Bible has a ton to say about money and our use of it. There's a cool post over at the Stirred Up Leadership Blog about some principles of the wise and biblical use of money. I picked my three favorites and you can read the other 7 over there if you'd like.

The ultimate goal of frugality is generosity. It’s wise to save and we’re called to live a lifestyle of moderation and contentment. But it’s not just so we can amass more money. It’s not just to accumulate and consume, accumulate and consume. It’s so we have more to give to those in need and to give to causes that advance the work of God in the world.
Our culture lies – very persuasively! The big 3 lies are: 1) Things bring happiness, 2) debt is expected and unavoidable, and 3) a little more money will solve all my problems. We shouldn’t be surprised by the lies and temptations – they are part of the epic struggle between the Kingdom of God and the kingdom of the world. Be conscious of the need to refute them – the means to do it is all around us if we look for it.
We really are not owners of anything, just caretakers… and all we have is a gift from God. In earthly terms, yes, we own things. We have deeds and titles. But in eternal terms the earth and the fullness thereof belong to the Lord. And the means by which we acquire possessions (our minds, healthy bodies, talents) have come from God. Further, one way or another, we will lose all those earthly treasures, either while we’re here or when we die.

3 Stages in every great work of God

2011-03-19T11:39:00.000-04:00

From the great missionary Hudson Taylor...every great work of God goes through 3 stages:

It's impossible
It's difficult
It's done

What great work is God preparing you for that looks impossible right now?

Why is Grace Launching a Second Campus? Part 5

2011-03-18T12:31:00.000-04:00

I have been posting some thoughts on why Grace is launching a second campus in Harborcreek this spring. Today's post is for you ministry strategy geeks. It's an inside look at some of the structural grids we have used to think through how our two campuses will operate and how they will remain unified despite their differences.

1. IPOD's
This was a concept that we borrowed from a book that our team read together called A Multi Site Church Road Trip. It is a grid that helped us to think through what programming we would offer at our Harbor Creek Campus and in what order of priority. The acronym stands for:

I - Initial (programs that we will offer in full at launch)
P - Priority (programs that we will offer within the first 12 months)
O - Optional (programs that we will offer as we are able)
D - Discouraged (programs that we never intend to offer)

Then we listed out all of our ministry areas and passed them through this grid. So, we looked at Worship, Tech, Staff, Guests, Groups, Kids, Students, College/Young Adults, Community/Missions, Facility, Budget, Preaching, Communications, Volunteers, Adult Education, etc. and decided what we needed at launch, what we needed within the first year, what we would offer as we were able and what we would never do. This construct was very helpful in thinking through the scope of our programming.

2. Alignment vs. Contextualization
This is a grid that we learned from my buddy Dan Nold at Calvary Baptist Church in State College. It's basically an acknowledgement that when you launch a new multi site campus some energy comes from alignment with the launching church and some energy comes from the freedom in contextualizing ministry for the particular community that you're in. Some multi site approaches like LifeChurch and Newspring tend to lean toward alignment while others lean toward contextualization (almost to the point of a church plant). We want to walk this balance. To seek alignment where it makes sense so our campuses don't have to re-invent the wheel in different areas. But also, to seek contextualization where it makes sense - so that they can use strategies to reach the Harbor Creek area that are different than the strategies we are using to reach McKean/Millcreek.

Alignment and contextualization are two wheels on the same axel. If you only have one you’ll be going around in circles. Some things that bring alignment are vision, mission, values, whole-church events, and words/names that are used to describe programs and ministries. Some things that bring contextualization are methodologies, community-specific events, worship service elements, etc.

3. The 5 C's of Clarity

This final construct speaks to how decisions are made between campuses. We are very clear that for the ministry staff at Grace Harbor Creek authority flows vertically through the Campus Pastor (Mike Watson), and influence flows horizontally through ministry counterparts at Grace McKean. But how do ministry decisions get made on a day to day, week to week basis? We've come up with the 5 C's of Clarity.

COLLABORATION - the first stop is just to collaborate with ministry counterparts at Grace McKean. Most decisions will be made at this level. Children's team leaders from Grace Harbor Creek will meet regularly with Children's team leaders at Grace McKean and most of the week to week decision making will happen at this level.
CONSTANTS - if there is not clarity on a particular decision from simple collaboration - teams will consult our campus constants. Each ministry has a list of 3-5 constants which are ministry values that will carry through to all campuses. This constants contain the basic ministry philosophy for each department and should clear up most decisions.
CHURCHES - we are developing a list of mentoring churches - one for each ministry area - who are also doing multi site church. If there is still cloudiness about a decision that needs to be made in, say, our guest services ministry department, they will have a mentoring church contact that they can email and ask what that church does in this particular instance. There is no reason for us to re-invent the wheel when so many other churches are doing multi site ministry successfully.
CAMPUS PASTOR - there are some decisions that will need to come to the Campus Pastor to make a call on. He will have a finger on the pulse of both the church and the community and should be able to be a final tie-breaker in any decision that is having trouble coming to resolution.
CENTRAL STAFF - finally some of our staff will be acting in a central role. That is - they will not have duties associated to only one specific campus but will have responsibilities to all campuses equally. This small team will serve as a leadership team over the whole multi site movement at Grace. The Campus Pastor will be able to come to this team at any time for counsel or advice on specific ministry decisions that will affect the whole church. There will be times when this team has to weigh in on decisions because they will have church-wide implications.

Feel free to post any thoughts or questions and I'll be happy to interact with you. And if you're a church leader who is considering going multi site let me know. We've learned a lot through this process and have gathered tons of information and are very willing to share!

On Easter Sunday 2011, Grace Church will launch a second campus in Harborcreek, PA. We will meet at the Harborcreek High School at 11:00 AM each Sunday.

More than wearing green and getting drunk

2011-03-17T13:22:00.002-04:00

Modern day St. Patrick's Day festivities are a reminder to me that our tendency is to take things that are deep and sacred and make them trivial and silly. The fact that we memorialize an unbelievable Christian saint by pinching each other and getting hammered is just plain stupid. In an attempt to reclaim St. Paddy's Day I want to suggest a few things that we could learn from St. Patrick. These are the kinds of things that March 17 should remind us to celebrate and imitate. I read a book last summer that I would highly recommend called Movements that Change the World. It includes a chapter on Patrick that is very enlightening. Addison paints a picture of St. Patrick that is so compelling it made me want to be like him when I grow up! Here is a little background and then three lessons we can learn from Patrick through excerpts from this book by Steve Addison.

Some Background
Patrick lived a privileged life growing up in Britain. He was born into the Aristocracy and his father was a Roman Magistrate. This meant that one day Patrick would rule a part of Roman nobility in Britain. When he was 16 though - his village was invaded by raiders and he was kidnapped and taken back to the pagan land of Ireland where he was sold into slavery. He lived the lonely and difficult life of a slave for the next 6 years. Before his abduction Patrick did not believe in the living God - but as a slave Patrick came to see the hand of God at work all around him. His land of captivity had become a land of freedom in God. He would stay out late into the night in the forests and mountains to pray. He would rise before dawn to pray in the icy coldness of the Irish winters. This was his delight because the Spirit of God was burning in him. The rest of his story will be told through 3 lessons I think we can learn from Patrick.

1. God speaks through whispers if we will listen.
One night during his captivity in Ireland, God spoke to him in a dream and revealed that there was a ship waiting to take him home to Britain. There was one small problem - 200 miles of dangerous territory lay between him and his escape. But he made the journey and returned home as a runaway slave. He resumed the life that he once knew with his family. But again, God had different plans. Patrick awoke one night to the voices of people he had known in Ireland crying out, "we beg you to come and walk with us again!" Their cries pierced his heart, God was calling him to return to Ireland and he did. Over time he was ordained as a priest and then as a bishop despite his limited education and experience. God took the initiative to transform a teenager into an apostle compelled by the Spirit to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. The slave boy had become a slave of Christ and an apostle to Ireland.

2. The work of God can't be contained by religious institutions
Patrick's lack of formal training contributed to his openness to trying new methods that were not approved by the church at the time. His heart longed to reach the "barbarians" beyond the borders of civilization. By contrast - the church of the Roman Empire was not interested in taking the gospel beyond their own borders. He traveled throughout Ireland to remote and dangerous places to preach, baptize converts, and raise up clergy for new churches. Thousands of Irish people turned from their pagan idols to serve the living God. Many of these converts joined Patrick's missionary band. He gave the Irish the gift of non-Roman Christianity. He liberated Ireland without the backing of the Imperial power. Despite his role in the conversion of much of Ireland, Patrick's worst critics were the bishops in Britain. Patrick's approach was to de-centralize the church and remove the power from the bishops in large urban centers and give it to the rural and tribal people. The Roman leaders did not approve. Rome had the resources but Patrick's followers had the zeal - and they could not be stopped.

3. Christianity is a missionary movement and every Christian is a missionary
In the Celtic church life revolved around the monastery. Most monasteries were in remote places and their inhabitants withdrew from the world. Patrick would transform this concept. Under Patrick's influence, wave after wave of Irish youth flooded into monastic life. Patrick re-imagined the concept of the monasteries and organized them as sending centers. The Irish church took on the character of a missionary movement. Each outpost made decisions in adapting to local needs and opportunities in their immediate region. Celtic monasticism was highly flexible, adaptable and transplantable. Ireland had no major cities, but the monasteries grew rapidly and became the first population centers - they were hubs of unprecedented prosperity, art, and learning. They were led by young men who once would have given their lives in feuds between clans, but now gave their lives to plant the gospel wherever Christ led them. For centuries, Ireland became a base from which Christianity spread throughout the British Isles and to much of western and northern Europe as these young monks followed the call of Christ on their lives.

How this rich history ever turned into shamrock shakes, leprechauns, and getting wasted, I'll never know! I pray that this day will remind us of these lessons, of the life of this great man of God, and how we might follow Christ more fiercely.

Why is Grace Launching a Second Campus? Part 4

2011-03-09T11:47:00.000-05:00

I will be posting some thoughts throughout the next week on why Grace is launching a second campus in Harborcreek this spring. Today I want to very simply put forward a few statistics that as a Pastor in America - I'm having a hard time swallowing without doing something about it. These stats come from a class that I took last summer at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Chicago called "Church Planting Boot camp."

3 UNACCEPTABLE STATISTICS

During the past 30 years on average 4,000 churches close their doors each year while only 1,500 new churches start. This is called 'losing ground'
The 3rd Largest Mission Field in the world is the U.S. (next to India and China) with 200,000,000 un-churched people.
If we continue to follow current trends, by 2050 there will be half the number of professing Christians in the United States as there are right now.

Not on our watch...

On Easter Sunday 2011, Grace Church will launch a second campus in Harborcreek, PA. We will meet at the Harborcreek High School at 11:00 AM each Sunday.

Why is Grace Launching a Second Campus? Part 3

2011-03-07T12:37:00.000-05:00

I will be posting some thoughts throughout the next week on why Grace is launching a second campus in Harborcreek this spring. Today I answer the question, "Why did we choose Harborcreek?"

WHY HARBORCREEK?

1. We believe God is calling us there

Again, not to over-spiritualize, but from the first moment that we began to discuss a second campus, it was as if God was burdening our heart for the Harborcreek area. So we started the ball rolling. But any exploration of demographics, community studies, etc. came after we had already decided to go there. The decision to launch in Harborcreek has been confirmed every step of the way - most recently in meeting with a number of pastors from the Harborcreek area. The reception from them has been great and the possibility of partnering with some of those churches is strong. There are a number of good and healthy churches already in Harborcreek, but still loads of people to reach (see #3 below).

2. There are lots of current Grace families who come from there.

Our best estimate is that we have 162 families from the Harborcreek area who call Grace their church home. Currently these families are driving 15-20 miles each way to come to church. Instead we're going to bring church to them! We're not assuming that all of those people will attend Grace Harborcreek, however many of them will. And it's much easier to fully enter in to the life of a church if you don't have to drive across town to get there! These families give us a good starting place - and they're also an indicator of the kind of people we might reach out to in Harborcreek.

3. There are too many people in Harborcreek without a church home.

Our studies indicate that there are approximately 25,000 people within a 10 mile radius from the center of town in Harborcreek who don't have a church home. We're hoping to put a dent in that number...

On Easter Sunday 2011, Grace Church will launch a second campus in Harborcreek, PA. We will meet at the Harborcreek High School at 11:00 AM each Sunday.

Game Day Thoughts: March 6, 2011

2011-03-07T00:10:00.001-05:00

Sunday is Game Day. As a Pastor, it's the day the church convenes for worship. It's the day our staff plans for all week. It's the day our teams at Grace are on high alert and in full-service mode. It's game day. Here are a few of my highlights from today:

Grace Harborcreek worship launch in the commons - Today nearly 60 people gathered for worship in the Commons at Grace to do church. This is the team that will launch a campus in Harborcreek starting next month. They're using this month to continue to build community and camaraderie among the team, practice setting things up and working together, and discover the roles that they will fill in making church happen in Harborcreek. They had a great launch - the spirit in the room was great - and God is building His church.
Stories - today I spoke on the text in Mark 4 where Jesus calms the storm. You can catch up with the sermon and resources here (will be posted Monday 3/7 sometime due to my coughing fit at 9:15). I got to tell the story of my friend Kristin and her journey through the storm of losing her husband far too soon. As I preached today, I became aware of deep heart-work going on in the room. Despite the fact that I was really sick, coughing up a lung, and sounded like I had the voice of an ax-murderer - the Word of God did its thing with the help of the Holy Spirit. I found out after the service as people came forward that there are stories in the works through some of the people of Grace that are incredible. People spoke to me about getting clarity on storms that they are navigating, new levels of courage that they are achieving in walking with others through storms, new heights of faith in Christ, and one particular person who recently went through the unspeakable pain of a spouse who committed suicide - approached me to let me know that they are willing to tell their story to the church. So they might help others who are going through difficulties. God is at work in a big way in the lives of people at Grace. I was also moved by Heiden's introduction to the Lord's Supper today. This college student/athlete is going to have a huge kingdom impact.
Mid-Course Correction - This may seem minor to some but I've been around Pastors enough who have dysfunctional teams to appreciate this little moment. In between services a few of our staff had about a 3 minute conversation about a video element that we did at the 9:15 service that seemed abrupt and disrupted the flow of the service. We instantly pulled it from 11:00 with no questions asked. No drama, no egos, no agendas, no bickering, just action. Tomorrow morning the decision will be reviewed to see if it was the right one, but for now I'm just loving the unity and single-mindedness of our team. That kind of stuff makes me very happy ... and grateful.

There was also an amazing thing that happened tonight at GraceYouth. I won't spill the beans here because there is a letter going out to the church tomorrow with all the details. Let's put it this way - the future of that ministry is a little clearer these days... stay tuned.

I will post a recap of the sermon and some other stuff later this week. If you were at Grace this weekend - what were some of your highlights?

Why is Grace Launching a Second Campus? Part 2

2011-03-05T08:00:00.048-05:00

I will be posting some thoughts throughout the next week on why Grace is launching a second campus in Harborcreek this spring. Today I answer the question, "Why would we launch a new campus instead of, say, starting an additional worship service or even planting a church?"

WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES OF STARTING NEW CAMPUSES?

1. A multi-site approach to starting new campuses leverages our strength.

We can build on the strengths of an existing healthy church at Grace McKean. So we will utilize central leadership (Elders), centralized budgeting, centralized preaching and teaching, centralized communications (website, printing, etc.), centralized systems and processes, centralized administrative support (phone, supplies, publications, etc.) while at the same time allowing for freedom in innovation to specifically reach the Harborcreek community. For the new campus, some energy comes from alignment and some energy comes from contextualization. So where it makes sense, we'll align and where it makes sense we'll contextualize to specifically reach Harborcreek. Multi-site campuses have a much more healthy success rate (nearly 90% survivability) than church plants.

2. Starting new campuses is the most effective way to reach new people.

There is a direct link between the age of the church and the effectiveness of reaching out to un-churched people.

3:1 - In churches 3 years and younger it takes three people to reach one un-churched person on average.
7:1 - In churches between 3-10 years old it takes seven people to reach one.
89:1 - In churches ten years or older it takes 89 people to reach one un-churched person.

On average for established churches (older than 10 years) it takes $100,000, 100 people, and 1 year to reach 1 person for Jesus. They gain the vast majority of new members by transfer growth from other congregations. By contrast, the average new campus (younger than 3 years) gains most of its new members (60-80%) from the ranks of people who are not attending any other church.

3. Launching a new campus forces us to develop new leaders

One of the traps a church can fall into - even a growing and thriving church - is to keep asking the same people to do all the work. The same names keep emerging on every list to lead ministries. Starting Grace Harborcreek is forcing us to develop leaders. New leaders will run ministries in Harborcreek and new leaders will need to replace the nearly 100 people who will be leaving Grace McKean in April. We're throwing ourselves into this new initiative and new leaders must step up and we must equip them for ministry. Every church labors to develop and disciple new leaders, but new congregations do it faster. They have to.

On Easter Sunday 2011, Grace Church will launch a second campus in Harborcreek, PA. We will meet at the Harborcreek High School at 11:00 AM each Sunday.

Why is Grace Launching a Second Campus? Part 1

2011-03-04T00:25:00.002-05:00

I will be posting some thoughts throughout the next week on why Grace is launching a second campus in Harborcreek this spring. Today I answer the question, "Why?"

WHAT MOTIVATED US TO START A NEW CAMPUS?

1. God is leading us to do it.

The leaders of Grace believe that this is what God is calling us to do at this time. This may sound overly spiritualized - but it is absolutely the leading reason. Our staff and Elders have been in a season of waiting prayer for over 2 years now - and we are in 100% agreement that the time is right to take this step. This move is fully in line with our mission, 'to make and to be fully devoted followers of Christ.' We believe that at this point in time the best way to reach people who don’t yet know Christ is to start new campuses. God has confirmed this decision dozens of times and in amazing ways during the past 6 months. The time is right.

2. Grace is ready to do it.

Grace Church is ready – we are resourced to accomplish a new campus on many levels. The giftings and the spirit of our people are evident. We have risk takers, many potential new leaders, an abundance of talent, and a church at Grace McKean with solid staff leadership who can resource the ministry staff at a Grace Harborcreek. Our church stepped up during a fundraising effort this December and raised $100,000 to get this new campus off the ground. Pastor Mike Watson - who will serve as the Campus Pastor at Grace Harborcreek - has been on our staff for nearly 15 years and is so ready to do this! He will carry the Grace DNA and is ready to lead the charge.

3. We are rejecting the temptation to coast.

Grace moved in to our new facility just over 3 years ago. It was such a monumental effort and was such a relief when we finally arrived. We took a big risk. The tendency in churches is to not take another big risk for a while. Just relax, enjoy the fruits of your labors, soak it in for a while and coast. We refuse to coast. Grace has a long history of playing offense and not defense and we want to carry on that tradition. We want to keep pressing forward, keep taking risks, keep making sacrifices to reach more people. The gospel is worth it.

On Easter Sunday 2011, Grace Church will launch a second campus in Harborcreek, PA. We will meet at the Harborcreek High School at 11:00 AM each Sunday.

Game Day Thoughts

2011-02-13T20:42:00.001-05:00

Sunday is Game Day. Not because of the NFL or NBA or any other sports. But as a Pastor, it's the day the church convenes for worship. It's the day our staff plans for all week. It's the day our teams at Grace are on high alert and in full-service mode. It's game day. Here are a few of my highlights from today:

1. Baptizing my son Chase - What an honor it was to baptize my 9 year old. He started asking some deep faith questions over the summer - and decided it was time to take the plunge. I wish you all could have been in my office before the services this morning as we prayed together.

I prayed that God would use this moment and this experience to breathe faith and love into Chase. That no matter what he will go through in his life - the highs and lows, the disappointments and victories - that he would be able to point back to this day as a marker and a reminder of God's love and faithfulness to him. I'm excited to see what God has in store for his life - he's such a cool and unique kid. Here's the video.

2. Next Step Coaches at work - We had a really cool response after both services today. Lots of people came forward to take a step in their relationship with God. I'm already getting some intense emails of God at work. After 11:00 in particular it was so cool to see some of our leaders and Next Step Coaches kick into action having conversations with the folks who came forward to do business. These coaches are part of a new initiative at Grace designed to help personalize the discipleship process for people. We recognized a while ago that the spiritual journey is an individual one and that God is a hand-crafter and not a mass producer. We want to provide coaches or personal spiritual advisors at every step of the journey for people. We need more coaches - if you're interested in serving in this role you can contact Doris for more info. There is an informational/training meeting coming up this weekend. This is one of the most important ministries in the church right now. As we continue to grow as a church - this will help to personalize people's experience at Grace - and help them to progress in their faith journey in a way that makes sense for them.

3. Multi-Site Team lunch meeting - following the service today we had a meeting with all the Grace Harborcreek team leaders and their ministry counterparts at Grace McKean. I presented some information about the ways in which the two campuses will stay connected at the ministry level and how each ministry (kids, youth, small groups, communications, etc) possesses constants that will keep our ministries on track when we're in two locations and will assure that each campus will still feel like Grace even if there are some differences in how we do things. It was awesome then to hear the chatter around tables as these leaders interacted and began the collaborative process of starting a new campus at the most basic level. I'm so pumped for Easter when we launch Grace Harborcreek. The stage is being set for a solid new body of believers who are passionate about doing the work of Christ in this world.

On to a new week - will be sermon prepping on Monday and Tuesday. I'm preaching on the Parable of the Sower this weekend. Sometimes the familiar passages are the hardest ones to preach. This one has a very difficult section about Jesus teaching in parables in order to cause confusion and not understanding - it will be a challenge to bring meaning and understanding to that concept.

If you were at Grace this weekend- what were some of your highlights?

Things you should never reveal on Facebook

2011-02-11T23:18:00.003-05:00

Yes... Facebook is huge. Most of you are reading this right now because you followed a link from Facebook. I have found it to be an unbelievable way to connect with people and a great tool for ministry purposes. I ran across an article by Kathy Kristof over at CBS's Moneywatch that includes some no-no's when it comes to posting things on Facebook. I picked what I found to be the most interesting 3 things to never reveal:

Vacation plans. There may be no better way to say “Rob me, please” than posting where you're headed and how long you'll be gone. Post the photos when you return.
Confessionals. You may hate your job; lie on your taxes; or be a recreational user of illicit drugs, but this is no place to confess. Employers are now frequently checking social networking sites to determine who to hire — and, sometimes, who to fire.
Risky behaviors. You take your classic Camaro out for street racing, soar above the hills in a hang glider, or smoke like a chimney? Insurers are increasingly turning to the web to figure out whether their applicants and customers are putting their lives or property at risk, according to Insure.com.

There are some other obvious one's in the article. But what are some of the more dangerous revelations that you've seen on Facebook?

Stages of following Jesus

2011-02-07T15:38:00.000-05:00

Pastor Al's sermon yesterday reminded me of this truth. In his ministry on earth Jesus called his disciples to three successive stages of followership. The stages increased in intensity the more time they spent with him. I think the stages are still relevant today...

Come and see ... who I am.
Come and abide ... with me.
Come and die ... to yourself.

Churches need to understand that there are people in their church at all these different stages and create opportunities for people at each stage.

Which looks goofiest?

2011-02-04T23:16:00.000-05:00

Please vote 1, 2, or 3... I have a feeling it's going to be a landslide.

Grace Values 7, 8, 9

2011-02-04T11:35:00.000-05:00

As we have embarked on launching Grace Harborcreek - one of the exercises that has been very valuable for our leaders is re-clarifying our values as a church. These are the things that define us, that carry our DNA, that ensure that whether you walk into Grace McKean, Grace Harborcreek, or any of our future campuses that you will recognize the church as distinctly Grace. In my State of the Church sermon I talked through these 9 values and will briefly outline them in this 3 part series of blog posts. You can read part 1 here and part 2 here.

7. We gather in groups because we're better together

Acts 2:42ff paints a picture of the early church meeting in the temple courts and also meeting from house to house – there were both large group gatherings and small group gatherings.
Just going to a worship service is not enough - it's too easy to be anonymous.
True life change happens in smaller groups - whether they're groups of 25, 12, or 2.
At Grace we are investing tremendous time and energy to provide resources that go along with our weekend services so that groups can meet during the week to discuss what they are learning on the weekend. Check out these resources at our sermon series archives (click on the 'details' button to see the resources).

8. We will do anything short of sin to reach people with the gospel

Some say Grace is too outreach oriented – I’m not sure that’s possible when we think of the stakes.
Of all the things that a church does, reaching people with the gospel is the one thing that we won’t be able to do when we get to heaven. We’ll be able to grow in intimacy with God, fellowship with other believers, serve others, worship God, but we won’t be able to reach the lost.
As a church we will always walk in a healthy tension between growing up those who are here and reaching out to those who aren't here yet.
The 3rd Largest Mission Field in the world is the US. (next to India and China) with 200 million people who are unreached.
Over the past 30 years an average of 4,000 churches close their doors per year while only 1,500 new churches start. Christianity is losing ground in America.
The church must maintain a very sharp outreach edge and must refuse to get comfortable.

9. We're real people, no masks, no games.

Finally, we just really value being authentic.
We’re committed to shooting straight - using real language to talk about faith, not hiding our faults, apologizing when we do dumb things, taking on real subjects head on, etc.
Our Pastors will not preach from a pedestal but will relate as fellow travelers on the journey. Always willing to preach the hard truths of the scriptures but bringing ourselves to the table too.
We refuse to play the game of putting on our Sunday best and pretending that everything is OK. So, it is important for the people of Grace to be open to share real stories of struggle and triumph, sadness and joy, despair and hope.

Grace Values 4, 5, 6

2011-02-01T11:35:00.001-05:00

4. We participate. We're not just spectators.

Church is not a spectator sport.
Many churches have the 80-20 rule - where 20% of the people do 80% of the work. This is completely unacceptable.
Christians don’t go to church – they are the church. And they bring the church with them wherever they go.
Role of a church staff is not to do all the work of ministry but to prepare God’s people to do ministry. (Eph. 4:12)
You were created for ministry, and if you miss your ministry, you miss the reason for which you were created.
Serving is far more satisfying than sitting.

5. We give because Jesus is radically generous.

The early church mirrored the generosity of Jesus (Acts 2:42ff) and so should the modern church.
In general, Christians are no more generous than their non-religious counterparts. This should never be.
A lack of generosity is not a money issue, it's a heart issue. It's a sure indication that hearts are not being changed by the gospel.
Strategic, systematic generosity is the answer to greed.
Jesus is not a killjoy when it comes to money, He simply says that there’s a better way to live. A way that leads to peace and joy and not this crazy turmoil that so many people are in trying to play the game that says 'accumulate and consume, accumulate and consume.'
God's design was for His ministry in the world to be funded by the overflowing generosity of his people as their hearts are being changed, so we will never resort to gimmicky shortcuts like spaghetti dinners and raffles.

6. We serve our community, expecting nothing in return.

Would our community care if our church didn’t exist anymore?
The church exists for the community and not the other way around.
Jesus said throughout his teaching that one of the things that will distinguish his followers from the non-followers, is that their hearts are going to beat fast for people in need. Their hands are going to be busy trying to do something about it. Their wallets are going to reflect a willingness to stretch and sacrifice for those who continually live with less.
We hope to focus our efforts in the coming years on defining and getting after the 3-5 unacceptable realities in Erie... those 3 to 5 issues that the church can't just sit back and allow to continue. Not on our watch.

Grace Values 1, 2, 3

2011-01-31T16:46:00.003-05:00

As we have embarked on launching Grace Harborcreek - one of the exercises that has been very valuable for our leaders is re-clarifying our values as a church. These are the things that define us, that carry our DNA, that ensure that whether you walk into Grace McKean, Grace Harborcreek, or any of our future campuses that you will recognize the church as distinctly Grace. In my State of the Church sermon I talked through these 9 values and will briefly outline them in this 3 part series of blog posts.

1. We worship and pray to a big God who has big plans.

Worship is not just music, it's the full trajectory of our lives.
In corporate worship at Grace our goal is to ascribe greatness to God. Our hope is to create an environment where people can connect with God in all His glory.
The book of Acts provides a great study of the church at prayer- their prayer was defined by a sense of desperation for God to show up.
God's people must pray bold prayers because God has bold plans for us.

2. We teach the Bible - even the tough parts.

Our commitment at Grace is to teach Bible. We have a high view of the Scriptures and won’t pull punches or water it down when we teach it.
We're also committed that the scriptures are not only taught by the Pastors but from one to another within the church.
Those who are more mature should be instructing the next generation in the ways of faith.

3. We grow in our faith. There's always a spiritual next step.

There is an expectation throughout the scriptures that true followers of Christ will be making consistent spiritual progress. The theological term for this is progressive sanctification.

We recognize that every faith journey is different and there is no such thing as assembly-line spirituality. God is a hand-crafter, not a mass-producer.

But there is something common common to all Christ-followers no matter how new or how mature, there is always a next step toward Christ-likeness.

Our commitment at Grace is to provide spiritual coaches to help at every step as people pursue spiritual maturity. We've identified some of the common characteristics of growing disciples as

L ive in community
I nvest in others
V olunteer your time
E quip yourself

You can find values 4, 5, 6 here and 7, 8, 9 here

Game Day Thoughts

2011-01-30T22:15:00.001-05:00

Grace Harborcreek Worship Team- Whoa ... I'm not sure what to say about this. I was so blown away by the quality and presence of this team of musicians. This is the team that will lead worship at our brand new campus in Harborcreek launching this Easter. This was their first time playing together, they practiced for about 90 minutes on Saturday, and then just blew the roof off the place this morning. Each member was in their element. It was like a microcosm of the whole church - everyone playing their part, fulfilling their role. It was a beautiful picture. I was near tears several times. It was also a great reminder that when we step out and take risks as a church, that people will step up to the plate in roles of leadership. God brought the perfect people to this team. Even people who had been at Grace for a long time and never been involved in our music ministry. Suddenly this new initiative compelled them to get involved. I'm excited to see more of that as we move forward. You can follow progress with Grace Harborcreek and stay up to date on all our prayer needs at the Facebook page here. (You can also see a clip of today's worship team in action).
Open Sourced Service - I was really happy with our grand experiment to open source our services. I was so burdened this past summer with how to involve more people in our worship gatherings. So we opened it up - asked people to submit life stories, home made videos for calls to worship, offering moments, invited the people of Grace to give feedback on which songs to sing and some input on my sermon content. I loved the involvement - I loved the variety - I loved the energy from the guys at Mercyhurst College who called us to worship, the honesty of Nikki as she shared about a strained relationship with her mom, the faith of David who talked about God's faithfulness after his recent decision to be generous, Matthew's heart-felt prayer for me at the beginning of my sermon. I loved what God did in our midst through the people of Grace.
Commons Service - If you don't know - we have 2 services happening at 9:15 every Sunday. Our service in the Commons worships in a more traditional style than our Worship Center venue. They typically receive the sermon by video on the big screen in there. There are some amazing Godly people who worship with us there. I'm excited for Pastor Al to bring ongoing leadership to that congregation as we move forward. We had some special guests, the FOCUS Quartet, leading worship this morning. It was fun to peek in and see nearly 100 people worshiping God in that room. God has big plans for our Commons Service.
State of the Church - On the week of our nation's State of the Union Address - I thought I would give a State of the Church Address. To be honest it was an uphill battle all week in preparation. I couldn't tape on Wednesday as I normally do because it was coming so slow. We postponed taping until Friday. When I went in to my computer on Thursday afternoon at 4:30 to put the finishing touches on it - I discovered that all my work (nearly 20 hours) was gone - totally deleted. I won't bore you with the details, but after an hour on the phone with our I.T. guru it became apparent that it was totally un-recoverable. So on Friday morning I started from scratch, and worked until Saturday night at 6:30 when I taped the sermon for the Commons. Needless to say I took about a 2 hour nap this afternoon! Anyway- it was a blast to unveil our 9 values at Grace as we head into being a multi-site church. Although I had a few difficult things to talk about, as usual, the people at Grace were gracious in receiving the word, and motivated to action. The texts and emails are rolling in already from people who are ready to step up. I love our church and can't wait for the next chapter together. If you're interested you can check out the sermon here (you can also find some resources for personal study and for group study). I will also post a 3 part blog series this week covering our 9 values.

On to a new week - I'm ready for it!

If you were at Grace this weekend - what were some of your highlights?

Some thoughts on envy

2011-01-22T20:42:00.001-05:00

This past weekend I spoke on envy. Envy is an interesting sin because it's sneaky. People are often embarrassed to admit or acknowledge it because it feels a little Jr. High-ish. An overly simplified definition of envy is 'desire mixed with resentment.' Somebody close to you has experienced an advantage or benefit in life that you desire, and you also resent that they are enjoying it and you aren't. That's envy. It usually expresses itself in one of the following areas: money, possessions, position, and appearance. The main text I used was James 3:13-18. Here are a few of the main points.

1. Envy is the result of a fallen heart and mind (3:13-15)

James places envy squarely in the category of "earthly wisdom"

It proves to be a heart issue because it can't be solved in the external ways that people usually attempt. It isn't solved simply by getting more. If suddenly you had more, your envy would just shift to somebody else. There are always a bigger fish. It is also not solved by blaming or distancing ourselves from the people we are envious of. The problem isn't them - it's us - it's a heart that hasn't been fully changed by God.

It is also an issue of the mind. In order to conquer envy -our minds need to be renewed and transformed (see Romans 12:1-2)

Dr. Archibald Hart says “We cannot control our emotions directly, but we can influence how we are FEELING by changing our THOUGHTS.”

2. With envy comes chaos (3:16)

Envy will never produce harmony or love because it’s proud, self-seeking, self-serving, self-indulgent. It destroys intimacy, it destroys love, it destroys unity, it destroys fellowship, it brings discord, it brings absolute chaos.
It brings personal chaos - things like emotional restlessness, depression, consumerism and debt, prayerlessness.
It also brings relational chaos - it causes a distancing and pulling away from others, gossip and slander, and secretly rejoicing when the other person fails.
Envy is actually the sin that got Jesus killed (Matthew 27:18). It causes people to do all sorts of crazy things.

3. The antidote to envy is Peace (3:17-18)

Peace with God - Really, you're not upset with the person you're envious of - you're upset with God. At its heart envy says "God owes me." When you have the guts to get on your knees and say, “God I think you ripped me off,” is when you will begin the process of getting envy under control.
Peace with others - when James uses the word 'peace' in this passage - he is not talking about 'inner tranquility' like we think of peace. He is talking about a socially oriented drive that sought and valued harmonious living. More than just being happy with what they have, James is calling his readers to obsess about something larger and more noble than their neighbor’s property, or status, or spouse. Then there will be no room left in our hearts for envy.

I'm looking forward to another great weekend at Grace as Pastor Al closes out our series on "FEAR"

Before MLK got to the "I have a dream" part...

2011-01-17T01:17:00.000-05:00

I love words. And I love it when people use them with skill and passion. Martin Luther King Junior was a genius when it came to the words that he used to convince a nation that the time had come to change our perspective on the issue of segregation in this country. If you haven't read the speech in a while, I would encourage you to take a few moments and read the full text of his "I have a dream" speech here or you can watch the full 17 minute video here. The last half of the speech contains the most famous content. But the beginning is equally as brilliant. I've included below a few of my favorite sections from the lesser-known first half of the speech.

We refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. And so, we've come to cash this check, a check that will give us, upon demand, the riches of freedom and the security of justice.
Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to make justice a reality for all of God's children.
In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred. We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again, we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force.

I pray that we will continue to make progress in the areas of justice and racial reconciliation in America. I'm so grateful for the work of Dr. Martin Luther King and the change that his words and his example enacted.

Game Day Thoughts

2011-01-16T19:39:00.001-05:00

One of those "God is at work" moments - It doesn't happen all the time. In fact I would say there have only been about a dozen moments in the last 15 years of my ministry like today. About 1/2 way through the sermon at 11:00 I just had the sense that God was at work in the room. Eyes and hearts were locked in and there was a sense that people were doing business with God and He was pressing them forward. It's very humbling to be in that moment. People responded with abandon at the end of the service. I could sense that people were ready to go earlier in the service when Brian and his team led us through The Stand. It continued on through to the end.
Membership - it's always awesome to receive new folks into membership. We have a powerhouse group coming in this time. I'm always on the edge of my seat to see how God will use the new folks that join our church. God is an expert at making churches and He knows just who we need right now. Congrats to those of you who joined our community today!
Offering moment by Danielle - This probably seems like a weird one - but one of my close friends and colleagues, Danielle, hosted our service today. She did an amazing job introducing the offering time. She explained how the offering isn't like membership dues, and it's not a tax, and it's not an insurance policy to get something that we want from God. We don't give so that we can receive - but we give because we have already received. Danielle accepted Jesus when she was a high school student in my youth group. I have had a front row seat to watch her grow and thrive over the years. Now she is on staff at Grace and it was so cool to watch her challenge and teach the church today during that time. Loved it!

I will post a recap of the sermon and some other stuff later this week. If you were at Grace this weekend - what were some of your highlights?

A parenting conundrum

2011-01-14T11:58:00.000-05:00

So take this 'totally hypothetical situation' and tell me what you would do. Let's pretend that your 13 year old son came home from ski club last night in 13 degree weather. And this same son told you that when they had arrived at the slopes earlier in the evening he found out his friend had forgotten a stocking cap, so he let his friend have his while he went without one for 4 hours of skiing. Would you:

Praise him for seeing a friend in need and meeting that need.
Punish him for being an idiot.
Mumble something under your breath in total confusion at the moral dilemma and kiss him goodnight.

For the record, I did #3. I'm a horrible father.

Simple questions for debriefing an event

2011-01-12T11:41:00.000-05:00

Today our staff will gather. It's our first meeting since Christmas and we'll be doing some evaluating of our Christmas services. We have used these simple questions to debrief events for a few years. They seem to allow us to get the necessary stuff on the table without getting too far off track.

What went right?
What went wrong?
What was missing?
What was confusing?

Ok - I know that was four things and I usually do things in three... we'll all survive! I wish I could give credit here because these questions came from someone I talked to somewhere (I didn't come up with them myself) - but I have no idea who! If it was you, feel free to claim them.

Do you have any good debriefing questions that have worked well in your organization?

Counterfeit Forgiveness

2011-01-11T12:37:00.000-05:00

We talked about anger and forgiveness this past week at Grace. I didn't have time to get into some material that I would love to have dealt with. One of the topics I left out was the temptation of counterfeit forgiveness. That is, the stuff that feels like forgiveness but is only a cheap imitation. My thanks to Dr. Ralph Wilson for this excellent material.

Counterfeit 1: Excusing

Forgiveness is the opposite of excusing. It reaches beyond excusing. As CS Lewis says, Forgiveness says, “Yes, you have done this thing, but I accept your apology; I will never hold it against you and everything between us two will be exactly as it was before.” But excusing says, “I see that you couldn’t help it or didn’t mean it; you weren’t really to blame.” If one was not really to blame then there is nothing to forgive. In that sense forgiveness and excusing are almost opposites. Of course there may be a mixture of the two. Part of what at first seemed to be the sins turns out to be really nobody’s fault and is excused; the bit that is left over is forgiven. If you had a perfect excuse, you would not need forgiveness; if the whole of your actions needs forgiveness, then there was no excuse for it.

Counterfeit 2: Minimizing the Hurt

If our primary reaction when we're harmed by another is to tell ourselves feebly, It really didn't hurt that much, there are times it just doesn't wash. Unless we see the difference between acting as if the injury is minor, and pardoning one who has hurt us deeply, we will eventually find ourselves unwilling to "forgive."

Counterfeit 3: Blind Trust

Forgiving isn't the same as trusting. Forgiveness is given, but trust is earned. To someone faced with a person who perpetually breaks his promise, C.S. Lewis prescribes forgiveness: "This doesn't mean you must necessarily believe his next promise. It does mean that you must make every effort to kill every trace of resentment in your own heart--every wish to humiliate or hurt him or to pay him out." But to trust again, well now that may take some time.

What are some other counterfeit forms of forgiveness?

Anger and Forgiveness: Sermon Recap

2011-01-10T16:13:00.000-05:00

I spoke on Anger and Forgiveness this week at Grace. The over-arching question of the morning was Do you control your anger or does your anger control you? Anger can be good – it can even be godly, but it can also be very destructive. We looked at Ephesians 4:26-32 to gain some perspective and explored 3 contrasts to help with a biblical understanding of anger.

1. Righteous vs. Unrighteous Anger

Ask yourself: what kinds of things make me angry?
Unrighteous anger = silly things like getting mad about sports and grocery store lines and self-centered things like jealousy and revenge.
Righteous anger = deep-seated, determined and settled conviction –it is anger when God’s name is being scarred
Takeaway: your circumstances don’t produce anger, your heart does. Let God change your heart. As our hearts are changed - so too will be the kinds of things that make us angry.

2. Responding in Anger vs. Reacting in Anger

Ask yourself: how does my anger express itself?
Anger is an emotion, not a behavior. We may not choose the emotion, but we get to decide on our behavior. An initial feeling of anger may rise, but we are not obligated to respond in an reactionary way.
If you find yourself reacting with rage or bitterness or slander - it's a warning sign that something unhealthy is going on in your heart.
We are like God when we’re "slow" to anger.
Takeaway: Slow down your anger - create some space- and then remove the unhealthy behavior and replace it with healthy actions. If you get physical in your anger then find a positive physical alternative - if you are verbal, find an outlet for verbal positivity.

3. Forgiveness vs. Un-forgiveness

Ask yourself: What do I do with my anger?
Forgiveness is the antidote to anger - it is the key to relational healing even when, and maybe especially when, other person doesn't deserve it at all.
Forgiveness is the way Jesus. When we don’t forgive we are out of step with our leader.
When we hold on to anger it is like keeping an open account that says "you owe me." Forgiveness says "I’m deciding that you don’t owe me anymore." Forgiveness closes the account and breaks the power of anger.
Walking in un-forgiveness is lethal. It's like taking poison and expecting the other guy to die.
Takeaway: Don’t carry anger for another season...cancel the debt. Go directly to the person - make a phone call, send and email, set up a time to get together. It's time.

Dangerous questions I asked my kids last week

2011-01-10T11:55:00.001-05:00

Did you kiss a girl this week?
What do I do as a dad that you can't stand?
What do you think mommy and I are thinking when we look at each other?

What are some questions that you ask your kids to help you stay engaged in their lives and/or to keep you growing and improving as a parent?

Game Day Thoughts

2011-01-09T20:14:00.004-05:00

Open Sourced Service - we let the cat out of the bag about our open sourced service on January 30. I'm really excited - I'm not aware of another church like ours trying it. In recent months, I've been really convicted about the need for the people of Grace to participate more in our corporate worship experience and to take 1 Cor. 14:26 seriously. So we're going to try it! If there is a passage of scripture that has been meaningful to you that you'd like to share, maybe a story of something that God has been up to in your life, even an encouragement for the church before the offering time we'd love to hear it. You also have the chance to give some feedback for my sermon and to help select the songs we do that day. Check it out.
Pre-Marriage Class -I love each time we launch a new pre-marriage class. Nearly a dozen couples coming together for an 8 week experience of learning and growing together in preparation for a life of marriage. It's always so awkward the first week - it's funny. Soon they will be talking and laughing and learning together with Scott and Miriam at the helm. I heard the other classes launched well this morning too. It's not too late to get in on one of them that's of interest...
Second date - I'm so proud of this team that helps people connect at Grace each month - I peeked in on them after 11:00 and it is such a blast to see vibrant and meaningful conversations going on in an effort to help newer people to find their way into the community at Grace. The Second Date team is only about a year old and has launched this brand new ministry. They have successfully made changes and adjustments as needed to make Second Date a very meaningful experience for people.

I love my church! Week 2 of this series on Relational Healing was very cool as we explored Anger and Forgiveness. I'll post sometime this week on a little sermon recap and some additional material that I didn't have time for today.

If you attended church this weekend (even if you weren't at Grace) What was a highlight for you?

Haven't heard from God in a while? ... try this

2011-01-06T12:00:00.003-05:00

Sometimes we need conversation starters with God. Like a divine ice-breaker. Often our prayers are very one-sided with us asking for a bunch of stuff and then getting mad at God when He doesn't give it all to us. I have enjoyed some incredible times of "listening prayer" armed with only these three questions, 30 minutes of silence, and a pen and notebook. Ask the question and then listen for what He says, listen to how He prompts you, write everything down and sort through it later.

What is the next step in developing my character?
What is the next step in my family?
What is the next step in my personal ministry?

Do you have any questions that help you listen to God?

Questions small group leaders should be asking

2011-01-05T12:00:00.002-05:00

If you lead a small group at your church, here are a few questions that you should ask on a regular basis:

What are the various needs within our group and how can we collectively meet those needs?
What needs to be encouraged and what needs to be confronted within our group?
Where does the Word of God need to be brought to bear?

How can you Love your Enemy?

2011-01-04T07:30:00.004-05:00

I think one of Jesus' most difficult commands is to love your enemy. Do you have a family member, a co-worker, an acquaintance who you can't stand? They are the person who opposes you, or annoys you, or thinks they're better than you, or who has hurt you deeply. Here are a few practical suggestions to begin the work of forgiving them... it may even lead to loving them.

Determine what you think they owe you and then cancel the debt - Decide what it was that they took from you. What do you believe they owe you? Be honest, there is probably nothing they could do to make it right. The work of love and forgiveness is up to you. So, make a list...then cancel the debt, decide to forgive. Take list and burn it – bury it. Determine that he/she doesn't owe you anymore.
Speak kindly to them and about them - I heard one time that when it comes to conflicts that rage like fires, each of us carries both a bucket of gasoline and a bucket of water. We get to choose which bucket we'll use. Our words can ignite the flames of anger or they can begin resolution. David, when he spoke about Saul (who was trying to kill him), was overly gracious with his words.
When the opportunity presents itself to take them down ... don’t. There will come a time, in many cases, when the person who hates you most, the person who has hurt you, gossiped about you, spread lies about you... there will come a time when you will have an opportunity to take them down - to deliver the kill shot to their reputation. Don’t do it. That’s the time you must be a blessing.

This is the meaning of Christian love.

Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For, "Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech." 1 Peter 3:9-10

Thanks to John Ortberg for his inspiration for this post.

Why I go to my own Church when I'm on Vacation

2011-01-02T20:08:00.011-05:00

I attended church at Grace this past weekend. This is not earth-shattering news since I'm the Senior Pastor there. What makes this time different though, is that I was on vacation. Many Pastors use their vacation time to visit other churches. I do this on occasion too. There are tremendous advantages to attending other churches while on vacation. You can relax, not feel the crunch of people issues and worship details, you can scout out what other churches do well and bring some of those ideas back to your own church (and if you attend another church locally, you can also say hello to folks who have left your church to attend that church - which is always an interesting encounter!) But when I'm in town I love going to Grace as a normal attendee because...

Community -I'm not just the 'hired help' at Grace, but I'm part of the covenant community there. I absolutely love my church and I miss it when I'm not there. I miss the people, the corporate worship, the preaching. When attending Grace while on vacation, I get to sit out in the seats in a different section of the worship center, and worship alongside members of my church family. (I almost scared the life out of one guy who came in late and scooted in next to me without realizing it- you would have thought he saw a ghost when he finally looked over and saw it was me).
Family - I love going to Grace with Kim and our kids while on vacation. It demonstrates to them the value of covenant community. But more practically, usually I have to leave early to get to church, so I'm not part of the pre-church routine with Kim. But on vacation weeks I can go into their rooms and wake them up, make them pancakes, help get them ready, drop them off at the front door while I park the car, etc. I know many people take these moments for granted... but not pastors. (I also found out the hard way that it's not acceptable to offer all the kids gum in the car on the way to church... it's the little things!)
Team Support - I love to come to Grace and support our teams while on vacation. It allows me to experience the friendliness of the ushers when we walk in and the hospitality in our children's ministry. I get to fully participate in worship (and sing especially loud) without having to think about what's coming next, and I get to sit under the teaching of some of our great pastors. It's a different perspective and vantage point by which to experience the life and character of our church.

I would highly recommend that all pastors carve out at least one or two weekends a year where you use your vacation to attend your own church.

Innovations that mattered to our parents

2010-02-13T19:05:00.003-05:00

Innovation is going at a crazy pace right now. Sometimes it's difficult just to keep up. Staying "stuck" in the past is almost not even possible anymore because things are changing so fast. There was a great post last month by Jarrett Stevens talking about some quickly outdated innovations. I included 3 here.

The Encyclopedia - Knowledge for the masses! 26 giant books with tiny print. Can you imagine an encyclopedia salesman today trying to make a living? Too outdated too quickly and too complicated to easily update.
The Phonebook -this was a huge step forward from the switchboard operator but it turns out is too limited by being localized. It also has to be updated every year with a new 18 lb. 1384 page waste of paper.
The Home Phone - Again, a great innovation in it's time (we had a party line when I was a kid) - but still too restricting in that calls were limited to "when I am home...not on another call... and willing to stand still long enough for our conversation!"

These things have already been replaced by innovations which themselves will soon be replaced by new innovations. Great stuff Jarrett and thanks for the insight. You can read his full post and his candidate for #4 here.

What are some other innovations that are fading fast?

Daddy Christmas Tips

2009-12-08T16:37:00.006-05:00

With Christmas fast approaching, families can get caught up in the craziness along with the rest of the world. As a dad I can find myself being reactive and not proactive when it comes to making the season meaningful and memorable for my family. Mark Driscoll had a great blog post with some ideas for dads this Christmas - I picked my favorite three and then included the link for the other 13.

Dad needs to give experiences and not just gifts. Dad, what special memories can you make this holiday season?
Dad needs to ensure his family is giving generously during the holidays. Dad, who in need is your family going to adopt and bless?
Dad needs to carve out time for sacred events and experiences to build family traditions that are fun and point to Jesus. Dad, is your calendar ready for December?

Check out the rest of them here

Why Remembering is Important on Memorial Day

2009-05-25T21:35:00.011-04:00

My grandfather’s name was Jack. I didn’t call him grandpa, I called him Jack. Even his own children (he had 6) weren’t allowed to call him “dad” until they were grown and out of the house. And so when they were at the beach or at the store or in the neighborhood and they wanted to get his attention, they didn’t yell for dad, they yelled “Jack,” so that he looked like one of the brothers and not the father.

Jack was a man of few words, and most of those words would not be appropriate for me write here! I didn’t know Jack deeply. What I knew of him was that he was hardened and somewhat distant. He was stubborn and opinionated. He didn’t like to be around people much and he certainly didn’t trust them, he kept his distance. He kept the thermostat in his home set at 60 degrees in the winter and he hated dogs and sauerkraut.

I found out as I got older that there were some events in Jack’s life that factored in to these personal traits. In 1945, Jack was flying a bombing mission over Germany, when his plane was shot down behind enemy lines. He was captured by enemy soldiers and taken to a small cell where he was kept as a P.O.W. He fought and survived. And fortunately the war ended while he was in prison and he was released to come home.

Our country was built on courage and strength of men and women like my grandfather. If Jack hadn’t been so courageous and strong, I literally wouldn’t be here because he wouldn’t have come home and wouldn’t have conceived my father and on and on. I can make that connection directly, but the connection is there indirectly for all of us. What if at some key moment in our history as a country, our troops had failed? What would it be like in America? Would you and I even be sitting here?

I'm disappointed in myself because I rarely think about what Jack did. I’m forgetful. My very existence was threatened by one key point in his history and because of his survival, I’m here. And I hardly ever think about that. We are a forgetful people. That’s why it is important for us to designate days and holidays to help us remember. Today is one of those days.

There are many examples in scripture of God using days, and markers, and holidays and festivals to help people remember important parts of their heritage. Like a string on a finger, God reminds us to remember. God created our brains so that we can tuck away memories. And then in an evocative way, in an instant as we remember, we are able to bring the past into the present and to live deeply in it. Remembering the past should do three things for us:

It should force us to live in reality. We have a tendency to sugar coat the past or forget it all together. But truly remembering will ground us and center us and remind us of what is really going on.
It should lead us to gratitude. My blessings as a Christian and as an American are so deep and so rich that my heart should be filled with gratefulness. Emerson said that if the stars came out only once a year, everyone would stay up all night to behold them. But we have seen stars so often that we don't bother to look at them anymore. We have grown accustomed to our blessings.
It should move us toward faith. God has allowed us to move through difficulties as a nation much like he has to many of us as individuals. Just as He has been faithful in the past - He will continue to be faithful. That should inspire faith in us.

Why do you think remembering the past is important?

3 Reasons to keep my marriage with Kim thriving, the sacrificial love burning, and lifelong devotion always before us...

2009-05-21T15:16:00.002-04:00

Caleb (age 11)
Chase (age 7)
Ayden (age 4)

Three Things I Love About My Mom (Part 2)

2009-05-13T17:26:00.008-04:00

Read Part 1 here.

2. She taught me to pursue a "because God said so" kind of faith.

One of the most oft-repeated phrases of most moms is "because I said so." My mom said those words her share of times for sure! But mom often took it one step further and instilled in me a "because God said so," faith. The leading question, spoken or unspoken, when making a decision was, "what would God want us to do?"

I had the distinct advantage of growing up in a home where faith was a very active influence. My parents truly decided to follow Christ wholeheartedly when I was 5 or so, so my formative years were filled with an energized faith component.

Dad was discovering the adventure of life-altering changes from a hot-tempered, foul-mouthed football coach to a radical follower of Jesus. And mom was discovering the joys of following Christ day by day and involving herself in the ministry of a local church and life-giving Christian relationships.

I love the passage in Luke 5 when Jesus approaches the disciples, expert fisherman, and gives them some fishing advice. You can imagine how this encounter could go south. A carpenter telling fishermen how to fish! But I think Luke 5:5 contains 5 words that can transform a person's life forever. It comes in Peter's response to Jesus giving him this advice, he says, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets."

But because you say so...

What a great lesson in obedience. Everything inside me is saying, "I don't think this is right, I'm sure you're wrong Lord, this is my area God - this is my job, this is my family, this is my purchase, this is my decision ... but because you say so.

Mom taught me this same lesson - that success or failure as a Christ follower is contained in my ability to get my head around those 5 words.

Three Things I Love About My Mom (Part 1)

2009-05-10T11:41:00.007-04:00

There are two things that every one of us has in common no matter where in the world you're from. One is that we’re all going to die. The other (which is slightly more encouraging for most) is that we all have a mom. My mom is amazing. I just want to remember some of the things that I’ve learned from mom that have served me well over the years, and I hope that reading my ramblings will encourage you to do the same.

1. She taught me about her middle name.
My mom's middle name is Joy. Cynthia Joy Sanford. I am in a long line of generations who make their eyes disappear when they smile. I inherited this trait from my mom. Whenever we smile - our eyes go away. And I'm proud to say that it happens a lot. My mom taught me joy.

She taught me to have a sense of humor, that laughter is an ally. She taught me to not take myself too seriously. If you know me at all - you know that I love to laugh. I got this from my mom. Moms, one of the greatest gifts you can give your kids is a demonstration of what joy looks like. Bring joy to your homes.

We named our little girl Ayden Joy Sanford. There are already signs as she gets older (she's 4), that her eyes will be disappearing too.

3 Questions to Ask Before You Judge Someone's Behavior

2009-05-02T09:58:00.004-04:00

I deal with sinners up close and personal every day - so I've got some experience. OK, OK - my main experience with this issue comes from being a sinner myself. But this week I dealt with a situation in which one person was judging another person's behavior, pretty harshly, from a distance.

It made me think of a few questions to ask before we jump in the arena and start judging other people's behavior:

Do I know their story? There is always a back story to someone's behavior. Usually the more we know about a person's story, the more compassion overtakes judgment.
What would my reaction be if I liked them? Usually we judge people from a distance that we don't really care for. Replace the person you are judging with your best friend and see if your attitude doesn't change.
What if the sin they were struggling with was the same one I struggle with? Most of us tend to be fiercely forgiving of our own shortcomings. It's easy to judge someone who is a drug addict when you don't deal with drug addiction yourself. Imagine that their sin was your sin of choice and hopefully a little more patience will develop in you.

How to Fix Your Meetings

2009-03-29T23:35:00.003-04:00

Seth Godin had a great post on this topic and listed out 9 ways to get serious about your meeting problem. He admits that these ideas are simply marketing - just a show to demonstrate to your team that you are serious about getting your meetings under control. I'm going to try a couple of his ideas. Here were my three favorites:

Understand that all problems are not the same. So why are your meetings? Does every issue deserve an hour? Why is there a default length? Bring an egg timer to the meeting. When it goes off, you're done. Not your fault, it's the timer's. (OK I combined 2 here!)
The organizer of the meeting is required to send a short email summary, with action items, to every attendee within ten minutes of the end of the meeting.
Create a public space (either a big piece of poster board or a simple online page) that allows attendees to rate meetings and their organizers on a scale of 1 to 5 in terms of usefulness. Just a simple box where everyone can write a number. Watch what happens.

Good stuff. In your estimation what are some keys to getting meetings under control?

You Know You're Living in 2009 When...

2009-03-22T22:22:00.003-04:00

You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.
You email the person who works at the desk next to you.
You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home to help you carry in the groceries.

Thanks to Kem Meyer for the post - you can read some more at her site.

A Few Quotes from UNLEASH Session #1

2009-03-12T12:57:00.004-04:00

Perry Nobel, the Sr. Pastor of Newspring Church, threw it down in the first main session of the UNLEASH conference that I'm attending right now. Here are three good quotes.

How many of you grandparents in the crowd would give your life to see you grandchildren come to know Jesus? ... How many of you would give up your music style?
When the church becomes as valuable to us as the stock market, we'll do something about the decline.
Christians have consistently used prayer as an excuse for inactivity.

There were a bunch more - but I'm limiting myself to three! If you were at UNLEASH feel free to add on your best quotes.

Making the Most out of Conferences

2009-03-10T20:51:00.003-04:00

As we're getting ready to head out for the Unleash Conference for Church Leaders tomorrow - I have been pondering how we can make the most out of this learning experience. One of the challenges that people face is in translating the content, the experience, and the application of all we’ve gained from our time away. My friend Bob Bickford compiled a good list of suggestions to make the most out of training opportunities and conferences. He talks about some of the obvious things like good note taking, using meals to debrief with your team, networking with other like-minded leaders, and good post conference evaluation. But I picked three of the less obvious recommendations that I thought were helpful.

What do you think we need to think about? Good conferences raise questions. Be sure to write down the questions you’re beginning to ask and the questions you believe we should be asking as an organization.
Take 10-when you return from your conference ask for 10 minutes in the next staff meeting to summarize your experience and new learnings.
Divide and Conquer-if you attending the conference with a team, cover multiple sessions and breakouts rather than sticking together…this maximizes your learning and also makes the debriefing sessions varied and interesting.

Any other helpful advice for maximizing the impact of a conference?

How To Spark Initiative in Those You Lead

2009-03-09T00:19:00.001-04:00

Ben Arment had a great post this week about this important leadership topic. His premise is that "nine times out of 10, when we complain about lack of initiative in those we lead, it's because we've unintentionally put a lid on it." He lists 5 ways to spark initiative... as always... I picked my favorite 3:

Responsibility has to come with authority. Has to.
Our environments have to be permission-giving. Experimental even.
Invite them to the table. People don't try when their opinions don't count.

You can check out the other two here.

Things I Enjoyed at Grace Today - March 7-8

2009-03-08T21:10:00.005-04:00

We had a great weekend at Grace. Although we were missing a big segment of our college students due to spring break - it was still a phenomenal time with great energy and passionate worship for God. Al was on point, the band was rocking, Gary got dunked, there was "magic" happening in the children's wing, but here are a few of the other highlights for me:

Shawn and Stephanie's testimony video - I think we will have this posted at our vimeo site sometime soon, and you need to see it. Stephanie is pregnant with a baby boy named Benjamin who will not be able to survive outside the womb once he is born. It is a moving story of faith and hope.
Teaching S.H.A.P.E. - This was week one of our new SHAPE class and it is going to be tremendous. I love the makeup of the class and am pumped about what will happen when this class is unleashed with the knowledge of how God has wired them to serve.
Launch of our new strategy to encourage people to arrive on time - I know this is a nerdy Executive Pastor thing to get excited about, but we chose Daylight Savings weekend to unroll our strategy. A new countdown video at the beginning of services, closing of main doors immediately when service starts, ushers redirecting people to use side doors when the service is in progress, etc. The days of allowing lateness to distract those who are on time are over!

Grace readers - what were some of your favorite moments from this weekend?

Ways to Fail as a Team Leader

2009-03-05T15:19:00.004-05:00

Church leadership requires a very high level of skill because in most cases the leader is working with volunteers. And recruiting and motivating volunteers requires a completely different skill set and a different level of leadership savvy than recruiting and motivating paid employees. I read a good article by the guys at Leadership Transformations on this topic. You can read all 10 ways to fail as a team leader here. I picked 3.

Fill your team with people just like you. Surround yourself with people who think like you do and share similar strengths and weaknesses. Could there be a more ideal team than one made up of multiple versions of you? A variety of gifts and skills on a team is incredibly important - we have such a great mix here at Grace.
Ask someone to do a specific job, and then do it yourself. Micromanagement is one of the surest ways to fail as a team leader. The team leader who aims to fail must avoid empowerment at all costs. If you want it done right, you’ve got to do it yourself.
Conserve affirmation. You don’t want your team members to become arrogant. Use affirming remarks sparingly. Try to space them out as much as you can. If possible, only tell your people you appreciate them once a year at the Christmas party. This is one I have to improve on - I think very highly of my team so often, but am not always quick to express that affirmation.

What are some other ways you've seen team leaders fail, or that you as a team leader have failed?

Leadership Axioms

2009-03-04T12:05:00.001-05:00

On my last trip down to the SC (that's South Carolina) - I listened to a podcast by Bill Hybels about his new book Axiom. I had just purchased the book and wanted a little primer before I got into it. It was excellent. Hybels defines axioms as carefully-crafted phrases of just a few words through which leaders can communicate a complex concept, value, or a learned leadership lesson, and these axioms become part of the organization’s culture. They are short repeatable sound bytes that help organizations develop a common leadership language and value system. Here are three that caught my attention:

"Can I have an umbrella of mercy?" - We have actually used this one for some time at Grace. It's a phrase that was hatched by the Willow Arts team. It means, “I’m going to propose a high-risk idea, and something in me wishes there was an umbrella of safety over my head to protect me from bad reactions.” Everyone in leadership has felt the emotional risk that comes when a new idea is put out on the table. This phrase asks for some grace from those listening to "hear me out" without judgment.
“When something feels funky, engage.” - This was a new one to me, but it resonates deeply. Often when leaders are walking around, they pick up on a hint of something funky going in a particular department. Sometimes they tend to avoid addressing it and hope it will go away or resolve itself. That usually never happens! When something feels funky -even if you can't put your finger on exactly what it is - it's time for a leader to engage.
"Check your ego at the door" - Colin Powell developed some axioms that are called the “Powell Principles,” and this is one of them. Hybels noted how every part of this axiom is memorable — especially the visual imagery of arriving at a meeting, walking through the door, checking your ego like a coat, leaving it behind, doing your business, and picking it back up when you leave.

What are some leadership axioms that have been helpful to you?

Socialism and Girl Scout Cookies

2009-02-27T15:55:00.003-05:00

A young girl scout (who will remain unidentified but is close to our family) recently went out and sold over 250 boxes of girl scout cookies. She worked her butt off selling cookies (her mom did too!) in the hopes of fully paying for her activities for the rest of the year. She sold the most in her troupe while some other girls sold 10 boxes, 20 boxes, 30 boxes. In the end the leaders announced that all the proceeds that were raised would be distributed evenly among all the girls regardless of how many boxes they sold. The girl who sold 250 boxes would have to pay as much money to attend events as the girls who sold 10 boxes. A couple of observations:

Socialism is demotivating - the top seller girl's response to the situation was, "in that case, next year I'll just sell 10 boxes." The idea of having those in authority over you taking that which you worked hard for and redistributing it to others who have not worked as hard breeds bitterness and laziness and it is extremely demotivating.
Socialism is fundamentally different than and far inferior to generosity - I've always been intrigued with Acts 4:34-35 that says, "There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles' feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need." At face value this looks like socialism. The one big difference is that this redistribution happened as a result of the generous hearts of motivated individuals - it wasn't legislated by the apostles. Think of how much better the girl scout scenario would have been if the girl would have been encouraged to share her earnings with the other girls, and then wrestled through the heart issue of generosity. Generosity is contagious once a person tastes it.
Socialism has historically failed as an economic system - While it promises prosperity, equality, and security, it has historically led to poverty, misery, and tyranny.

So what's your favorite kind of girl scout cookie? wait... what?

3 Questions Innovators Should be Asking

2009-02-27T00:11:00.003-05:00

I've mentioned here and elsewhere that I'm just finishing a book that has been very good called The Invention of Air. It's a little outside the genre of books I normally read but has been a fascinating one. It's a narrative centered around the life and innovations of a pastor in England in the 1700's named Joseph Priestly - a kind of lost figure among the founding fathers of America. He was highly influential in the lives of Franklin, Adams, and Jefferson. He was also a key figure in other fields -he played a critical role in the discovery of pure oxygen, the discovery of ecosystems science and the process of photosynthesis, he was the founder of the Unitarian Church, and as I said earlier, played a critical role in the politics of the American Revolution. Not bad for a life's work. I must say plainly that I believe that theologically he is a heretic in the first variety. Nonetheless I've learned a lot from the example of his life and one angle has centered around the process of innovation. Inspired by the life of Joseph Priestly here are three questions I think innovators should be asking themselves:

Am I creating enough down time to innovate? The spikes in Priestly's innovative genius and influence occurred during the seasons of his life where he had the most free time. I know there are limits to this in our modern reality. Most of us can't just work 1-2 hours per day like he did and devote the rest of our time to innovation, invention, and new ideas. But there are smaller ways that we can create space and time to innovate. I need to be diligent about creating more.
Do I have people around me that will help to give my ideas wings? Priestly was a part of the 18th Century British coffeehouse culture which proved a gathering place for very smart and like-minded thinkers from a variety of disciplines who gathered regularly to share and build upon each others ideas. Priestly was incredibly unselfish with his ideas and far less concerned about getting credit than getting at the truth of the next big innovation.
What are the fatal flaws in the existing models? Priestly consistently looked for inconsistencies in the current ways of thinking, be it chemistry, or thermodynamics, or theology, or politics. And then let his curiosity run wild as he explored other methods, theories, or explanations for what was happening. These alternative explanations ultimately led to paradigm shifts in all of these areas.

What are some helpful questions that you ask to fuel your innovative side?

Reasons Disney is So Stinking Successful

2009-02-17T23:24:00.003-05:00

1. Every employee is in customer service - all the way down to the guys changing the trash bags. It's amazing how committed they are to this.

2. They manage the quality of your experience from beginning to end. They leave absolutely nothing to chance. They built their own highway system down here for heavens sake. Just to make sure that the feeling you get when you drive through those arches and the signage to get you to the right places is absolutely perfect.

3. They're a cult ... or something... I mean it's just scary... these guys are going to rule the world someday... and I for one... just might follow them...

Courage Is

2009-02-12T22:43:00.001-05:00

Been collecting some quotes about courage lately for some reason. Here are three of my favorites.

"Courage is knowing that you are indestructible until God’s work is done." unknown
"Courage is going from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm" Winston Churchil
"Courage is being scared to death but saddling up anyway." John Wayne

How To Measure Success in Ministry - Part 1

2009-02-10T23:09:00.007-05:00

If you are not in ministry - you may not understand how difficult it is to resist the temptation to measure a ministry's success based on "nickles and noses." These two factors can't be ignored (giving and attendance) - but they have become the obsession of many a church leader. Our staff went through a time of training and study today and the topic of success and failure in ministry. We unpacked 1 Thessalonians 2:1-6ff which contains the only usage of the word "failure" in the New Testament. Paul said that his ministry to the church in Thessalonica was "not a failure." He then goes on to list some unusual evidence to support his argument. He doesn't talk about numbers of converts, or start up churches. He mentions 3 marks of "success":

His own character (2:3-11 - the bulk of Paul's argument is based on the purity of his motives and character.)
The gospel was preached (2:2)
Lives were changed (2:14-15)

Thanks to conference notes from some folks who attended Innovation 3 which became a great launching pad for our conversation.

Things I Like About our New President

2009-01-26T23:30:00.001-05:00

I may not agree with all his policies and I'm sure there are still many difficult times ahead, but in these days of enthusiasm and hope - I've been considering a few things that I like about President Obama.

1. He uses words well. If you know me, you know that I love words. I love when things are well crafted - and I'm anal about wordsmithing my messages when I speak. His speeches have been amazing throughout the campaign and inauguration. And with his words, President Obama has the power to envision, embolden, and inspire an entire nation. And with those same words he has the ability to do great harm (as we all do). I pray that he wields his most powerful weapon with wisdom and skill.

2. He uses technology well. It is well-documented that Obama's presidential campaign has changed the paradigm of how to run for office in the United States. His use of email, social networking, youtube, and a variety of other technologies has been astounding. And not just for fundraising purposes but for vision casting, soliciting feedback, building momentum, creating intrigue, it's been fascinating to watch. He will hopefully provide unparalleled access to the White House and the presidency through technology.

3. He's an African American. This is a weird to say that I like about him in that it is not a character quality or something that he has chosen. However, in talking to a number of my African American friends - the affect that President Obama's elecion has had on the mindset and psyche of young black kids across this nation will only be known a few generations from now. All I know is that it seems to have unlocked something in their minds that will allow them to dream bigger dreams, and that makes me happy. I pray that starting now, those dreams will begin to have a positive affect in cities and towns across this great land.

No bashing on this blog- so what are some things you like and admire about our new President? Also, stay tuned for a post about some things that I like about George Bush...

Reasons to Come to Grace on Christmas Eve

2008-12-23T23:19:00.002-05:00

If you are in Erie I would urge you to get to one of our Christmas eve services tomorrow - they're going to rock! I would also challenge you to bring someone along with you - even if they don't usually go to church. Grace has a way of surprising people who haven't been to church in a while with comments like, "can you do that in church?" Our services are at 4:30, 6:30, and 11:00 PM. There is free and secure nursery care available at the first two services. Here are just three of the reasons you should come:

The music - I would stack our musicians at Grace up against the best in the region. The music is going to be awesome. At 4:30 and 6:30 our band will put a modern flare on all the traditional Christmas carols along with a song that they are performing that is going to really blow you away. At 11:00 a vocal team will be singing through an even larger selection of carols and inspirational Christmas songs.
Creativity - all our services will be highlighted with creative elements that will inspire your faith and make God happy. We will put a new twist on the traditional candlelighting ceremony, and my very own Ayden will be making a really cute vocal appearance which I can't wait for you to hear! We also have some video elements that are just amazing. 11:00 is going to capture your imagination with dramatic readings and participatory elements. It's going to be awesome.
The message - Pastor Al and I have taken great care to prepare a challenging and inspirational message to everyone who attends no matter where they are at on their faith journey. I will be speaking at 4:30 and 6:30 and Al will be bringing it home at 11:00. You're not going to want to miss these services -get there early- we'll see you there.

Top "Memo" lines on a tithe check

2008-12-22T23:33:00.000-05:00

I came across a top 10 list on Monday Morning Insights that made me laugh. It was a top 10 tithe check memo line notes. You can check out all 10 her e. Obviously I'm only including my favorite 3. :)

$1 less for every minute past noon.
Casino winnings.
For voice lessons for the worship team.

Favorite Christmas Traditions from Childhood

2008-12-20T22:44:00.002-05:00

Making hard candy - we would always make multiple flavors of hard candy during the holidays to have around the house and to give away to friends. I loved how the cinnamon made the house smell but liked the taste of root beer the best.
One present on Christmas eve - we would draw names on Christmas eve and open the present from that person. It was a cool way to satisfy the itch of anxious children.
Fondu - I don't remember when it started, but my family often would do fondue on Christmas eve. We experimented with the oil and cooking meat in there, with the cheese and dipping hard bread, and with the chocolate and dipping fruit and stuff.

What are your fond traditions from when you were growing up?

Favorite Things to Do on a Day Off When the Kids Are in School

2008-12-18T22:39:00.002-05:00

I have some vacation days that have accumulated throughout the year that I now need to use up in December and January, so I'm doing something new (because I have to). I'm not taking them all in one big chunk - I'm spreading some out on Mondays and a Thursday during December. Today was one of those days and I was reflecting on a couple of things I like to do on a day off while the kids are at school:

Do stuff with Kim - it's fun to be able to run errands together, go to the grocery store, do projects around the house, etc. Kids often don't allow us to just do simple "us" stuff that we used to do before we got outnumbered by rugrats.
Manual Labor Projects - I love to get out and do projects. Because I work in an office most of the time and work with people - I love to get away from both (no offense people) and do projects that are a physical challenge and have a clear completion goal. It is sometimes hard to see objective results when dealing with people because most relational situations stay in a permanent state of development. So on days off I love to start something and finish something and see the result. Often #1 and #2 happen together because Kim builds houses and often wants me to help her with her latest house project.
Head to the gym - I always try to hit the gym on a free day and pick up a raquetball game or a run. I typically catch up on some podcasts that have been backlogging or blast music into my skull and sweat like crazy.

What are some of your favorite "free day" activities?

December Coaching Network Learnings

2008-12-16T16:20:00.003-05:00

As some of you know I have been a part of Tony's coaching network at Newspring Church in Anderson, SC. for about 4 months now. There is a picture and some more details about the guys in an earlier blog post here. Here are a few of my takeaway quotes from last week. This month's topic was Communications and Sermon Planning.

When people don't show up to your stuff - it's usually not a marketing issue, it's a ministry issue. The easy thing is to announce it louder and more often, but that doesn't address the root problem that your ministry event is not very good.
In most churches the pain of change is higher than the pain of ineffectiveness, so they refuse to change and continue to be ineffective. (from Simple Church)
Leaders must avoid the two extremes of micromanagement and neglect –one way to walk this line is to continually cast vision. (also from Simple Church)

Prayer is Hard

2008-12-15T10:00:00.000-05:00

This is difficult to confess as a pastor - but prayer is hard. I've always been a good Bible study guy because it's objective, it's concrete, it's easy to measure. Prayer has always been more difficult for me because it is the opposite of all those things. Plus, it's so personal with God it's threatening. Because maybe He's going to ask me to actually change something about the way I'm doing my life. In the past couple years I have made some good progress in the area of prayer - here are a few of my learnings:

Pray out loud - this may seem a little weird but it has helped me a lot. If you do this around people you will look nuts (which is not always bad), but I would recommend a quiet room somewhere by yourself for a designated amount of time. It is much more normal to just talk - much easier to stay focused. Approach prayer like a conversation.
Follow my mental wanderings - for years I was frustrated because during prayer my mind would wander to other, seemingly unrelated, things. Now instead of trying to clear my mind of all that stuff - I use it as a springboard. Maybe God is bringing those things to mind because they are the very things I'm supposed to be praying about. Now when something pops in my head I just go with it. I pray about that thing - give it back to God - try to discern if there are other things I should be praying about in and around that topic- and then move on.
Listen to God - after doing these first two things I'm usually at a place where I've said what I needed to say out loud to God. I have also followed my mental wanderings wherever they lead. This finally leaves my mind clear and focused. Instead of saying Amen, I stop to listen, and ask God what's next for me. This is the part that gets dangerous because God does speak- we just usually don't stop long enough to listen. He challenges me, encourages me, corrects me, rebukes me, loves me, laughs with me, expresses disappointment in me, pushes me, etc. Then I have to decide whether I will obey or not - but at least there no room to question what God wants - He has made himself clear...

Anything that has been helpful for your prayer life?

Invasion of the Canadians

2008-12-11T23:26:00.001-05:00

On a clear day, we can see Canada across the lake from the beaches in Erie, PA. The shores of Ontario are 34 miles from our shores in Erie. I like to think of us as the first line of defense against any Canadian onslaught that might come against our great land. When you think about it we are a key cog in the National Security wheel. No season of year is as dicey in this regard as Christmas time. With the convenient excuse of "no sales tax" the Canadians cross the border and invade Erie by the busload each winter. We may regret allowing them to move about our country so freely and shop and eat and drink and whatnot...they are sneaky those Canucks. Here are three recent sightings:

Kohls - My mother in law saw a large bus emptying at the front of the Kohl's department store in Erie. She approached one from the emerging legions and discovered that they were all from Toronto. I wonder if the word "kohls" is some canadian military code word...it sounds kind of Canadian, eh?
Buffets - the buffet restaurants in Erie have been overrun with the foreign visitors as of late. C'mon you can't use the sales tax excuse on buffet restaraunts people. I looked it up -there is no sales tax on restaraunt food in Canada.
Starbucks - I saw a busload emptying near Starbucks the other day. Seriously? They have their precious Tim Hortons for heaven's sake - what the heck are they doing in our Starbucks? There must be reconnaissance and surveillance going on for some future initiative...

I'm not trying to be an alarmist or anything but the first time I see a Mounty trotting down the street - I'm calling Homeland Security...

Ideas to Jump-Start Your Spiritual Life

2008-12-09T01:19:00.000-05:00

The majority of people out there believe on God and believe that there is a spiritual component to all of us. Many people have given up on the God of the Bible because they had a crappy experience with church or with Christians sometime in their past. Many people have not given up on the God of the Bible but still have a languishing spiritual life because they haven't been intentional about nurturing this part of themselves. They spend much more time on physical health, occupational health, familial health, emotional health, and while these things are important they are not as critical as the spiritual side of us when it comes to our true fulfillment and purpose. Here are three ideas to help jump-start a faltering spiritual life.

Take a regular half day away - go somewhere away from all media and technology and use the time to pray, write, reflect, ponder, take inventory, confess the junk in your life. I often ask God the question, "what's next for me?" What's next in my own personal/spiritual development, what's next in my family life, what's next in my job?
Adjust your input - most people are addicted to media. Media can be a very positive thing if we utilize it to allow soul-expanding content to enter our hearts and minds. About two years ago we cancelled cable at our house (although we still get some channels that we watch). Some great sources of spiritually enhancing content are: youversion - the bible for i-phones, podcasts of godly pastors/speakers, blog subscriptions to people who will challenge and stretch your thinking on a regular basis. Use your media intake to expand your soul and not just as a mindless outlet.
Find a spiritual partner/ mentor - this takes some initiative and some guts, but if you don't have someone walking your spiritual journey with you, you likely won't progress. Most of my Christian life has been shared with like-minded travelers who served as sounding boards, confidants, truth-tellers, and butt-kickers.

What's your logical next step toward spiritual progress?