How to Fix Your Meetings

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:

1. 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!)
   
2. 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.
3. 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...

1. You accidentally enter your password on the microwave.
2. You email the person who works at the desk next to you.
3. 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

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.

1. 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?
   
2. When the church becomes as valuable to us as the stock market, we'll do something about the decline.
3. 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

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.

1. 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.
2. Take 10-when you return from your conference ask for 10 minutes in the next staff meeting to summarize your experience and new learnings.
3. 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

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:

1. Responsibility has to come with authority. Has to.
   
2. Our environments have to be permission-giving. Experimental even.
3. 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

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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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

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.

1. 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.
2. 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.
   
3. 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

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:

1. "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.
2. “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.
3. "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

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:

1. 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.
   
2. 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.
3. 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

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:

1. 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.
   
2. 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.
3. 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

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

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

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

How To Measure Success in Ministry - Part 1

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":

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

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

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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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

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 here. Obviously I'm only including my favorite 3. :)

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

Favorite Christmas Traditions from Childhood

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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

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:

1. 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.
   
2. 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.
3. 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

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.

1. 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.
2. 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)
3. 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

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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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

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:

1. 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?
   
2. 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.
   
3. 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

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.

1. 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?
2. 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.
3. 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?

Life Is Short

I spoke a couple of years ago on this theme, and considering my recent post about almost dying, I think it's an appropriate time to post something on the subject. My sermon was based on the words of Moses in Psalm 90:10, 12. He wasn't at a real good place in his life, "As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, or if due to strength, eighty years, yet their pride is but labor and sorrow; for soon it is gone and we fly away…So teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom." Three things to learn from this passage:

1. The “27,740” Principle - that's the number of days in 76 years. The average life of copper wire is 20 years. The average age for a cat is 15 years. The average life of a dollar bill is 18 months. The average life of a painted line on the road is 3-4 months. The average life of a pro basketball players shoes is 2 weeks. The average life of a tornado is 10 minutes. The average life of a person in America is approximately 76 years or 27,740 days. So far I've used up about 13,380 of mine- almost half- and I subtract one more off the total with every sunset. And so do you.
2. The "Time Flies" Principle - Moses says that soon our time is gone and then we fly away. I read a quote one time that said something like- in childhood, time creeps, as a teenager, time walks, As a young adult, time runs, and during adulthood – time flies. I look no further than the size of my kids to be reminded how quickly time flies.
3. The "Make it Count" Principle - Moses turns to prayer and asks God that He teach us to "number our days." The truth is, our days are already numbered, we’re just not aware of it most of the time. And when you come across people who are aware that their own days are numbered, their perspective is totally different than the rest of us. They’re working on making every moment count on the important stuff. I pray I will follow suit.

"Our souls are not hungry for fame, comfort, wealth, or power. Those rewards create almost as many problems as they solve. Our souls are hungry for meaning … we want our lives to matter." -Harold Kushner

Kids Questions that Adults Keep Asking

There are some questions that we ask as kids that we continue to ask throughout adulthood. Here are three:

1. Why? Ever been around a three year old that asks "why" about everything? Sometimes out of curiosity and sometimes they don't really care, they just zone out and keep asking for the sake of asking. Sometimes I think adults keep asking, "Why God?" "Why did you let this happen to me?" "Why couldn't my life have turned out differently?" because we either don't have the guts to admit to knowing the answers or we're afraid to walk forward courageously in faith. For some, our questioning becomes an excuse for our inertia.
2. Are We There Yet? Kids are impatient on trips - so are we. We are used to instant gratification. We forget that God is in the process of making something in us and He isn't quite done yet. It seems that God is often less concerned with our final destination than He is with who we are becoming along the journey.
3. Do I have to Share? We are mortified when our kids don't share and are blatantly selfish while playing with other kids. We insist that if they have two of something that they give one to the kid who doesn't have anything. It's just common courtesy. I wonder what runs through God's mind when He looks down on those of us with a lot refusing to share with those who have little? "Immature selfish brats..."

Any other good childhood questions that we can't seem to let go of?

Things I Learned from Almost Dying

All right, I mentioned this in passing a couple of weeks ago, but figure it's time to expound on my experience. I was driving back to Erie on Rt. 85 near Greenville, SC by myself. It was about 5:30 PM, during rush hour on a very busy highway. I was going about 75 mph along with everyone else - it was a fast moving bumper to bumper traffic pattern. I passed out and ran into a guard rail in the median. I regained consciousness as my head and shoulder were being slammed into the driver side door and window. Here are three things I learned.

1. The way I laugh can actually make me pass out. If you know me, you know I love to laugh - sometimes hysterically. Something funny came on the radio in the car and I laughed at the same time I was yawning - and bam! I was out. I have felt the sensation of being light-headed before while laughing - but I've never actually passed out - until now.
2. Close calls lead to a lot of personal reflection. After crashing there was nothing for me to do and no where to go other than to get back on the road and keep driving. The car was drivable although the driver's side was pretty demolished. I drove the remaining 11 hours home and had a lot of time to take inventory of my life. Thinking about Kim without a husband and my kids without a dad messed me up for a few days. My mood was a bit more somber in the days following the crash. I wasn't even aware of it until people started commenting. I have made some life commitments with myself since.
3. God has something left for me here. There were two things that allowed me to narrowly avoid death. If I had regained consciousness any sooner than I did - I am certain I would have tried to jerk the car back onto the road - I would have been obliterated. I had also fortunately just taken off the cruise control. If the cruise had been on - I would have hit the rail and carromed back into traffic. It would have been ugly. There is more for me to accomplish on this earth - and I'm pretty committed to chasing whatever it is that God has for me next.

Carpe Deim... life is a gift... may God be pleased with how we use our moments. Anybody else have a brush with death?

Best Movie Endings: Part 3

This ended up being a more suspenseful finale than I had anticipated - but a crazy weekend pushed this to a Monday post.  Anyway - you can see my 9th, 8th and 7th favorite movie endings here and the 6th, 5th and 4th  here. Here are my top 3 favorite movie endings.

1. The Usual Suspects - This gets my top spot because it was the first movie I watched that made me truly appreciate the twist ending.  Verbal Kint (Kevin Spacey) walks out of the Police Station, and the detective begins to look around his office and see all the items that Verbal used to craft the story of the movie -and with the drop of a coffee cup and the correction of a limp - Keyser Soze walks off scott free.  The voiceover to close it out is, "...my guess is, you'll never hear from him again... The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist ... and like that... he's gone."
2. The Game - This movie is really high on my list of favorites and the ending is a big part of it.  I love psychological thrillers and this is a doozie.  Micheal Douglas - shoots his own brother and predictably jumps to his death.  As he's in flight, his life flashes before his eyes, he falls through the glass ceiling and lands on the inflated "X", "Happy Birthday Nicholas!"
3. Shawshank Redemption - The beauty of this ending is really in the writing of the voiceover in the final scene.  The words come from "Red" (Morgan Freeman's character). The final scene starts with Red saying, I guess it's time to "get busy living or get busy dying." He breaks parole and sets off to find his escapee friend.  As his bus meanders through the counryside he says, "I'm so excited I can barely sit still - I think it's the excitement only a free man can feel - a free man at the start of a long journey whose conclusion is uncertain...I hope I can make it across the border... I hope I can find my friend and shake his hand... I hope the pacific is as blue as it has been in my dreams... I hope..." Great last words... love it.
   

Best Movie Endings: Part 2

This post constitutes my 4th, 5th and 6th favorite movie endings. See the introduction and movies 7,8, and 9 here. Here are the next three:

1. Rocky I - not only was this a serious bonding movie as a kid with me and my dad, but the series has been a favorite of mine over the years (except Rocky V which was terrible!) The reason the first movie ending was so great is because Rocky loses to Apollo at the end. It doesn't fit the fairy tale ending mold even though Rocky puts up a valiant fight. I can still hear "Adrianne!" ringing in my ears.
2. Good Will Hunting - Ben Afflec and the boys go to Matt Damon's house as they've always done and this time he's not there - he's finally left to chase his dreams. Afflec goes back to his car - his friends switch seats in the car when they realize the front seat is now open - and Robin Williams reads the letter from Matt Damon, "sorry, I had to go see about a girl." Great ending to a great movie.
3. Braveheart - after the famous beheading scene with William Wallace laid out for all to see and screaming "Freedom!" the narrator describes what happens as the saddened Scottish soldiers gather on the hillside. "Wallace's body was torn to pieces, his head was mounted on London bridge, his arms and legs were sent to the four corners of Britain as a warning... but it did not have the effect that Longshanks planned." Then you see Robert the Bruce gathering his troops, "You have bled with Wallace - now bleed with me." And the crazy undermanned Scottish army throw the claymore and go charging into the field screaming, "they fought like warrior poets, they fought like Scottsmen, and they won their freedom..." I'm ready to suit up right now and battle the Brits myself!

Top three are coming tomorrow...any guesses?

Best Movie Endings: Part 1

I'm preaching a sermon this weekend called "The Fugitive" and it has reminded me of the powerful ending of that Harrison Ford movie from the 90's. It was one of the great endings to a great story in film. It got me thinking about movies that I love that have great endings - and it didn't even come up in the top 3 or so on my list. I'm going to do a rapid-fire three part post of my favorite movie endings - in essence it will be my Top 9. There are some classic movies with great endings like Citizen Kane, the Godfather, Planet of the Apes, Star Wars, Bladerunner, One Flew Over the Cukoos Nest, etc. But I'm going to stick to movies that I've seen as an adult that were made within my generation. These are movies that either have great last lines, emotionally powerful conclusions, or cool twists at the end. So here it goes - this first post will contain my bottom three choices (in essence #'s 9, 8, and 7):

1. The Fugitive - This storyline was so well-conceived, and I remember being completely invested as I watched it unfold. From the jumping off the dam scene to the big raucous in the convention hall the action didn't stop. So when Tommy Lee Jones took the cuffs off of Harrison Ford in the squad car at the end, I literally had a physical reaction of relief.
2. Fight Club - As a Pastor, I'm not sure I'm allowed to include this movie on my list, but here it goes. The story has always fascinated me, and the multiple personality twist at the end of this movie is what makes it list-worthy. As Tyler Durden (Edward Norton) watches the city crumble before his eyes at the end after his band of terrorist blow the city to bits, he tells his lady friend, "you came at a very strange time in my life..."
3. Saving Private Ryan - as Ryan visits the cemetary as an old man and reflects on the men who had died saving his life, the only words he can muster to his wife and family are, "Tell me I'm a good man," he so wanted to live up to the price that was paid for his life. This is a redemptive theme that I've used in a sermon before. There is an indebtedness that comes when someone gives their life for yours.

Stay tuned for the middle three on my list in Part 2 and then my top three movie endings in Part 3.

Categories of Thankfulness

Happy Thanksgiving everyone. There are a few different categories or even levels of giving thanks that I've been pondering as we head into this holiday tomorrow.

1. Thankful for the things we have. This is the traditional question that we ask and answer around our Thanksgiving meal each year, "what are you thankful for?" And there are many, many things to list. From our family members to our ipods we have more than we could ever know what to do with. I'm sure every person reading these words could come up with a hearty list.
2. Thankful for things unseen. This category is a little harder to capture because it's less concrete. Things such as the mutual trust that is exchanged like a commodity within a friendship, the forgiveness that has been extended in a relationship on the mend, the compassion that is felt for someone who is hurting, the compelling love of an active God. These things may not be as close to the tip of our tongues around the Thanksgiving table, but they are deeper and richer and more soul-expanding than the items in the first category.
   
3. Thankful for our difficulties. It takes a broad perspective to get our hearts around this one. But it is one of the evidences of a spiritually healthy person. Someone who can give thanks even through difficult times knowing that on the other side of the trouble - they will have grown and learned and been formed into something that couldn't have been without that experience... and God will still have been faithful.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.

About Meetings

Some people enjoy meetings and some people hate meetings.  I happen to lean toward the enjoyment side of things - but I don't like calling them "meetings" when they are with my team members at Grace.  "Meeting" has such a negative connotation to it.  I'll have to come up with some creative name for them - maybe you can help with that. I had a few such sessions with team members at Grace today, and tonight I reflect on some reasons why I tend to enjoy meetings:

1. People are smarter together.  This is almost always the case.  We typically come to much smarter decisions when we work with like-minded but diverse team members than we would have dreaming something up on our own.  I love the collaboration and results that come from working together toward a common goal.
2. Meetings are launching pads for progress.  Since I've been a working man, I've always considered the word picture of a launching pad when it comes to meetings.  Words exchanged around the table of a group of leaders are not empty words - they will eventually impact lives. That's why I try not to take any meeting lightly.  It's pretty amazing to see an idea through from the 'concept phase' with a small group to the 'implementation phase' that affects thousands.  It's quite humbling actually.
3. Meetings allow me to invest in the lives of people.  Email exchanges, conference calls, written proposals are all good - they are effective and efficient means to get things done.  But, there is nothing like sitting eyeball to eyeball with someone - catching up on their life for a while, and then rolling up our sleeves to solve a problem, birth and idea, or facilitate a change together.  It's a really cool dynamic when it's working.

Got any creative new terms I could use instead of "meeting?"

To Those From Warmer Climates

As I was shoveling this morning and as we are bracing for yet another lake effect snowstorm, I was thinking about some of my friends from the south. We have some fun at each others' expense regarding the weather. So, if you live where the weather is consistently warm (and by warm I mean above 40 degrees for the majority of the year) there are a few things that may surprise you about the snowier regions of the country. Here are three of them:

1. We think we're tougher than you. That's right I said it. People who live in frigid places like Erie, PA think they're more rugged than the rest of the country. We chuckle inside as we hear you talk about your problems thinking to ourselves, "yeah but you've never shoveled out of a lake-effect snow dump of 18" in 6 hours." Even people who used to live up north, but now live in warmer climates, still think they're tougher than the rest of y'all.
   
2. Snow gets dirty fast. If you've never been around a lot of snow you probably don't know this little tidbit. A big snowfall is only a postcard-worthy winter wonderland for a very short time. After that the plows pile it up along the streets in a big brownish dirty ole' pile because of the salt and brine that are put on it as a melting agent.
   
3. Staying warm is all about layers. I can always spot the people who have moved here from somewhere warm because they're the one's with the huge puffy coat on and a t-shirt underneath. Five or six layers of shirts and sweatshirts beats one big coat any day.
   

Great Questions from My Kids

Kids spew out some amazing questions. Kim and I have been really bad at documenting this kind of stuff. While we have invested a ton of time and love into our kids - we haven't been the greatest at keeping records, locks of hair, special papers, quotes, videos, etc. But despite our inability to save up this sort of stuff, here is a good question from each of our kids from over the years.

1. What are you thinking about mommy? Caleb (now 11) from when he was 22 months. This one might not seem that incredible, but Kim and I were amazed for weeks that Caleb asked this question. Partially because he was our first child and we didn't realize how perceptive kids are. But mainly because he was barely able to talk, and was still aware of Kim's ability to think about something other than his next need.
2. Have you ever kicked a monkey in the crotch? Chase (now 7) from when he was 3. This question came out of the blue from the back seat of my car on the way home from preschool. I almost drove the car into a ditch. My answer, "I've never been close enough."
3. Why does poop make plants grow? Ayden (now 4) from when she was 3. She asked this as I was raking some manure into our garden at the end of the fall getting it ready for next year. My response, "because that's the way God made it." That's my answer for the ones that really do stump me...

Red Flags from Pre-Marital Counseling

I've done a lot of weddings in my 15 (yikes) years as a Pastor.  I'm estimating that I've done around 40 weddings now.  Along with those weddings comes an awful lot of pre-marital counseling.  Here are three red flags that I've come across during my pre-marital counseling sessions.

1. We want to keep our finances seperate.  I'm not saying that this arrangement can't work.  But regardless of any financial wisdom in such an arrangement - the relational message that it sends is divisive.
2. We've never had an argument.  If a couple gets to their wedding day and hasn't had an argument yet - they're not ready to be married.  You have to know that your partner can fight fair before you commit the rest of your life to them.
3. Once we get married he/she will change this behavior that I don't like.  I'm amazed that really smart people actually think this will happen.  Read my lips - nothing gets easier after you're married.  If it's bad now - it will get worse (not better) after you get married.  Marriage is an amazing gift, but it takes tremendous commitment and hard work to make it great.

Reasons to Come to Grace this Weekend

If you read this blog and live in Erie- this would be a great weekend to check out one of the services at Grace.   If you already attend Grace this should not be the 1 in every 4 weekends that you don't come!  Here are three quick reasons why:

1. Mike Watson is going to tear it up with his message this weekend.  He's going to be giving a clear and simple presentation about why Jesus came.  Mike is one of those guys that was deeply changed by the love of Christ.  Jesus took his life that was really screwed up and made it whole.  It will be an awesome weekend to bring friends too - the more the merrier.
2. This is our big Thanksgiving Outreach weekend.  The church has seriously shattered expectations.  Last I heard - we had raised almost $27,000 to provide Thanksgiving dinner to those in need this year.  That is unbelievable!  Last year we raised $17,000 and thought that was ridiculous.  Our facility will be abuzz this weekend with hundreds of people volunteering to pack bags to be sent out into the community on Monday morning.  Check out some pictures from last year.
3. You can pick up your tickets for The Sounds of Christmas.  Our annual event that is going to be absolutely breathtaking this year.  It will also be coupled with a brief celebration of Pastor Al's 30 years at Grace.

3 Quick Things

OK - so I'm updating the feel and flavor of my blog. Up to this point I have written about general musings of life and leadership and God stuff. That variety will still be there, but I'm going to use the unifying principle of 3's. So from this point forward I will either have 3 points in each blog or I will do 3 part blog entries. If you look at yesterday's post I was practicing - it was the third post in a three part series AAAND had three points in it. Yes - that's right - I went mental ninja on you. Anyway- most of my posts will begin with an introductory paragraph like this one and then move to the 3 points. So today I present 3 quick reasons to organize my posts around 3 Quick Things:

1. People like lists - blog readers can tend to be lazy and are more likely to scan lists vs. reading whole paragraphs. Lists also are more interesting, look neat, keep thoughts succinct, are more likely to be linked to, and help to organize concepts.
2. Three is a good number - you have the whole Trinity thing but then you also have the little pigs, amigos, stooges, blind mice, wise men, ring circus, strikes you're out, etc. etc.
   
3. I'm a Pastor OK? - and the whole stereotype of Pastors is that they have three points for everything. So I'm just gonna go with that.

What do you think of my new format?

The Progression of Sin: Part 3 - Reverse the Curse

There is a simple act that God put into place to counteract the progression of sin. It is confession. Mastering the art of confession will lead to other critical things like repentance (changing behavior), and humility (changing attitude), and the ability to resist temptation (changing thinking), etc. But the starting place is confession. Three quick things about confession:

1. Confession is agreeing with God that we have done something wrong; that we’ve either done something He says we shouldn’t do, or failed to do something He says we should do. No intermediary is necessary - we can go directly to God with this
2. The scope of the confession should match the scope of the sin. Sin should be confessed as widely as it affects others. Private sin requires only private confession to God. Personal sin that involves others requires interpersonal confession to the people involved. Public sins (those that affect a large group of people) regrettably must be confessed publicly as an example and as a warning to others.
3. Confession should be specific. We have a tendency to throw all our sins in a big pile like dirty laundry and ask God to forgive all of it. There is power in getting painfully honest: God, I told those people I was late for the meeting because the traffic was bad. Truthfully I just procrastinated and didn’t give myself enough time to get there. I knew that I was going to be rushed before I left. Telling them that it was traffic was a lie. I am a liar. Please forgive me. Usually the root of sin goes even deeper than that. The reason that I lied was that I wanted to control their impression of me. I wanted them to think better of me than is real. The result is that now I am living an image rather than living in reality. And it is an image I'm going to have to work to keep up even if it's not really me.

The Progression of Sin: Part 2

Yesterday's post covered the progression that leads up to the act of sin - today we pick up with that act and then look at the effects. Read part 1 first.

4. Disobedience (3:6b) - …she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.

• This is the act of sin. Sin is a violation of God’s design. When desire is coupled with deception and doubt, our actions will be affected. We will eventually act on our intake.

5. Shame (3:7) - Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves.

• Compare this verse to Genesis 2:25, “they were naked and they felt ‘no shame.’” Shame is built in to all of us at some level and it is ten times more powerful than embarrassment. Raw shame causes division between people and between us and God. It leads people to turn inward and build boundaries. Suddenly it was more natural for Adam and Eve to hide from each other than to "cleave" to one another as per God's design. Shame is powerful force.

6. Fear (3:8-10) - Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the LORD God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the LORD God among the trees of the garden. But the LORD God called to the man, "Where are you?” He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."

• The unhealthy response to shame is fear. Specifically the fear that someone will find out about our sin. Fear causes people to try to hide from God. Again, this progression fights agains the natural response that God created in people. Suddenly it was more natural for them to run from God than toward Him. This is the first time that hiding ever happened.

7. Scrambling (3:11-13) - And he said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from?" The man said, "The woman you put here with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it." Then the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?” The woman said, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate."

• When shame and fear are combined, people panic. We no longer care what happens to anyone else – it’s self protection time. People "scramble" differently – but it always involves doing things that don’t make sense. We hide, we build walls, we blame others, we lash out in anger, we turn to addictive behavior, we start to ooze selfish negativity.

Tomorrow a word about the very practical activity that God has given us that will stop this negative progression of sin in its tracks.

The Progression of Sin: Part 1

Each month - the staff at Grace has been going through some personal discipleship stuff together. We just finished our third such training at our meeting last week. We discussed the danger of sin and temptation as a leader, and the power of confession to counteract the advances of sin. In the first part of our study we walked through the progression of sin as outlined in Genesis 3. Today I'll list those that lead up to the act of sin itself - and will conclude the list tomorrow.

1. Deception (3:1) - Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, "Did God really say, 'You must not eat from any tree in the garden'?"

• There is a deceiver who knows our vulnerability. His strategy is to strike at the relationship between people and God. It is amazing to imagine how powerful the force of deception must have been to make unfallen people fall, and sinless people sin. It is a very powerful force. All sin begins by believing things that aren’t true - this is deception.

2. Doubt (3:4-5) - "You will not surely die," the serpent said to the woman. "For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil."

• Doubt takes on two forms. First we begin to doubt sins consequences, “I can get away with it – in fact, I’ll be better off if I do it." And second, we begin to doubt the goodness of God. We begin to believe that all the good things God has given us are not quite good enough.

3. Desire/Enticement for that which I don’t have (3:6a) - When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom…

• Desire by itself is a good thing, but not when it’s paired with deception and doubt. When the heart is deceived, the head begins to doubt, and the eyes become an accomplice to sin. The forbidden thing began to look good and desire took hold of Eve. This is lust - giving in to that which is "pleasing to the eye." We can lust for things like power, greed, success, fame, thrills, stuff, people, etc.

2 Years From a Teenager

Caleb turned 11 years old on Monday. He woke up this morning - on his birthday - to a winter wonderland. Ironically, there was also a big snowstorm the day he came into the world 11 years ago. I'll never forget Kim's call to me at work from the hospital saying, "We're going to have a baby today - swing home and pick up my bag on your way down here." (She was at the doctor's for a regularly scheduled checkup - only to find that she was already dialated and ready to have a baby).

Caleb is an amazing kid. He's overcome a bunch of adversity already in his short life with his many allergies growing up and continuing battle with asthma. I can sum up Caleb best by quoting his teacher in our recent conference with her. She said, "A teacher gets the privilege of having a student like Caleb about once every 10 years." He's consciencious, brave, he stands up for what's right, he's a good influence on his friends and siblings, he already loves the Scriptures, he's an amazing big brother, he's respectful and trustworthy, he's honest, he's smart and funny. He's the whole package. What a great kid - happy 11th birthday to my firstborn son. What a gift he is to our family.

The Scariest thing about This Election

We all know there is media bias - it has been very evident this election season. I suppose it's something that we've come to expect. It has been tolerable as long as one of the branches of government was led by Republicans. In that regard it can be justified as a necessary "check and balance." My concern is that if all three branches are controlled by Democrats and the media is also left-leaning - the system is set up for corruption. Not because the left is any more corrupt than the right - but if the balance of power is already tilted one way and then the the media jumps on that side of the scale too - it makes for an interesting scenario. Check out this study of this year's election coverage.

My Little Girl is 4 Today

I can't believe it - 4 years ago on Halloween night - Kim sat at our door passing out candy as she was in labor with Ayden. We were both hoping that she could hold off until after midnight so that we didn't have a Halloween Birthday. Of course my wife is amazingly controlled and was able to hold out until about 3 AM. I remember the night very well. We did the Halloween thing - tucked the boys in bed - had Kim's mom come up to the house to spend the night and snuck off to the hospital. Caleb was suspicious that something was up - but we didn't want him to be worried or up all night - so we didn't really tell him that it was all going down. Chase drifted off into oblivion like his normal-laid-back self.

Ayden Joy is the perfect name for our girl. Ayden means "fiery one" and joy means... well ... "joy." She is the perfect combination of both. She knows what she wants and can be assertive and even demanding. But she is also the happiest little kid and very funny. I never thought having a little girl could do to me what it's done (despite the warnings of many dads with daughters) - but it has. I'm amazed at how precious she is to me. I'm posting a little shrine in honor of my big girl - 4 years old today!

Multi-Site Church - Part 1

A couple of weeks ago in my sermon "Outside the Walls" in the We Will Tell Revisited Series I talked about our plans as a church to launch our first satellite campus in the next 12-18 months. We are planning to launch a multi-site model in which Grace would have a number of satellite campuses around the region. I wanted to use a few posts to unpack the multi-site concept. Some of the info in this post is thanks to the Acts 29 Network.

What Is a Multi-Site Church?

• A Single Church
• With Multiple Worship Services
• In Multiple Locations
• Some use live speakers and some use video venues

Advantages of a Multi-Site Church vs. a Church Plant

• Oversight by One Board
• One Budget
• Allows the church to maximize it's staff
  
• Shared Resources

Why initiate a Multi-Site Church?

• Evangelism Potential
  
• A Creative Way to Manage Growth
• A Strategy for Reaching Different Communities

Our intention with our first multi-site would be to use live worship and live preaching, but that the satellite would use the same sermon series, website, ministry philosophy, etc. We are taking a look over at the Harborcreek/ Wesleyville/ Penn State Behrend area right now to see what God might be up to. Stay tuned...

Thoughts on this Weekend

This weekend at Grace was amazing! We have such an awesome church. Here are some thoughts:

• We had the largest non-holiday attendance in our history as a church. We had 1017 people at church this weekend. That rocks! Keep bringing, keep inviting, keep watching God change lives.
  
• We did our version of "cardboard testimonies" this weekend and it brought the house down. I'm serious when I say that this is only a small portion of the stories that are being written at Grace these days. What a great reminder of the life change that is happening all around us all the time.
• Al did a great job talking through what it might have been like for the Acts 2 church to celebrate their existence one year after Pentecost. It was a new angle that was really intriguing to think about.
• Despite the difficult decisions and conversations we've been having about some changes at 9:15 - many of those 9:15 folks were at church and still engaging with what God is up to. I'm looking forward to getting a "task force" together to keep working toward implementation of the new weekend service arrangement.
• Met with Josh last week - we are trying to connect with everyone after their 3rd visit. He was a 3rd time guest that I met at Starbucks last Wednesday. It was awesome to hear his story and meet his fiance after services on Sunday.
• It was also great to catch up with Jim following the services and provide him with some resources for a talk that he's giving at his school. God will continue to use Grace folks to spread His fame around the Erie region and it's always a privilege to be a part of that!
• I can't believe that we've been in our new facility for almost a year! Dave's video tribute to our 1 year anniversary was very moving and it set the tone for the amazing services this weekend.
• Brian and his teams were awesome. Who Can Stand is one of my favorite Brian Lusky songs and one of my favorite worship songs period. Don't miss the worship event that is coming next weekend. It is going to be a blast to both honor God with our worship and to be a part of a live worship album recording session!
• Got a chance to meet with Jim, Matt, and Sam on Saturday to talk about small group leadership and personal spiritual formation. It is so fun to hear what God is doing through our groups that meet all over the region during the course of any given week. This is where spiritual growth happens!

All in all it's just an awesome time to be at Grace. To have a front row seat to see what God is doing through our church and all over the city is amazing. This is only the beginning.

This Weekend is Going to Rock

This weekend at Grace is going to be unbelievable. The church is gathering to celebrate our one year anniversary in our new building, and to celebrate the many changed lives that have occurred since our move. It is going to be moving and powerful and a "can't miss" service! We will also be re-committing ourselves as a church to the vision that God has laid out for our future. Our dream is to continue to reach out to more people and to see hundreds and thousands of more lives changed and affected by the scandalous life and death of our savior. At the end of the services this weekend we will be inviting people to commit money to this vision. It is going to be a beautiful expression of devotion and commitment to our Lord. It's going to be awesome. Get there early and be eager for what God will do. The cardboard testimonies segment is going to be off the hook!

Long Stretch

Sorry for the long blogless stretch - I'm ready to re-commit to some consistency here. I have to get more consistent in order to get ready for the blog section of the new Grace website which is getting ready to launch in a week or so. The last several weeks I've been busy working on some changes that will affect Grace for a long time. It's a really exciting time to be at the church. Want to keep the momentum and innovation going so that we don't become a barrier again to what God is trying to do at Grace. We waffled around decisions before for fear of hurting feelings - can't do that any more -the stakes are too high.

Anyway - I'll post some leadership learning from my most recent trip to Newspring in South Carolina and Tony Morgan's coaching Network this week. But the first one is just a funny exchange that happened over our lunch break.

What Tony actually said, "Hey Jack, how do you like your Mac Air?"
What I heard... "Hey Jack, how do you like your back hair?"

I'm thinking - holy crap - Tony really gets close with his mentor-ees - above and beyond the call of duty if you ask me...

How to Study the Bible

I find it such a privilege to preach the word of God at Grace. This past sermon was an absolute uphill struggle the whole week. At 3 AM on Saturday morning I found myself still wrestling with my manuscript and got the point of pretty much ditching it and starting from scratch. God used the preparation to point out some shortcomings in my own life and my own walk -so part of the struggle was just letting God do business in my heart.

Anyway - it was a message about the importance of the disciplines in our efforts to follow Christ. The word "discipline" comes from the word "disciple" so the two concepts are pretty intertwined. I challenged the church to practice their faith by committing themselves to become "deep of soul" when no one is looking. To commit to a training regiment so that when it comes time to live, and make decisions, and stand up for Christ, and do the right things in a relationship - that they will be prepared and free to do the right thing.

Midway through the sermon I threw out an offer (totally short notice and without even having a room reserved) to come back on Tuesday night for a 1 1/2 hour training session on how to study the Bible. 96 people came back on Tuesday! I was blown away! I offered a bunch of resources that night and talked through two study methods that really work with any passage of Scripture. One is called the inductive Bible study method and is geared more for a deeper study of the word - the other is called, well I'm not sure there is a name for it - but it is more of a devotional study method. I plan to offer the session again sometime. Shoot me a comment here if you want me to email you a packet of the stuff that I handed out that night.

The 5 Year Getaway

So from the time Caleb (my oldest) was 5 I decided that I was going to do an every 5 year getaway with each of my kids. We'll do 2 days and 1 night away from home doing some different stuff that they love to do and just hanging out for a couple days without the normal distractions. I have found it to be helpful in unlocking the hearts of each of my kids and getting to have conversations about stuff that we don't usually to talk about in the course of everyday life. This past weekend I took Caleb who is now 10 and on his second go-round of this getaway, to watch the Browns and Steelers in a Sunday night football game. We stayed overnight with some dear friends from college who also have kids and a PS3 - so that was killer for Caleb. Then we went to Dave and Busters the next day for some video game madness. It was a great football game in the remnants of Hurricane Ike (60 mph wind gusts at the stadium - it was so cool), and just an awesome time together all around.

Anyway - one of the conversations we had was about life goals. I talked to him about the passage in Luke 2:52 that is the only passage of Scripture about Jesus' developmental years when he was on earth. It simply says, "And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men." It's such a complete picture of development in a short verse.

• He grew in wisdom - mentally
• He grew in stature - physically
• He grew in favor with God - spiritually
• He grew in favor with men - socially

So we used that verse as a jumping off point and we talked through some of our goals in each of those areas for the next year. Caleb really enjoyed the conversation and really wrestled through some stuff that he wanted to see happen in this next year in his life. Here were a few things he came up with.

• Mentally - straight A's all 4 quarters of this year
• Physically - at least 60 minutes of active play every day
• Spiritually - read his Bible before bed every night with me and fully engage by asking questions
• Socially - reach out to one particular kid in our neighborhood of another ethnicity who doesn't really have any friends here yet.

Here were a few things that I shared with him for me:

• Mentally - take one Master's level class again beginning this Spring
• Physically - lose 10 lbs before October 17
• Spiritually - journal my application portions of my personal study of the Scriptures
• Socially - invite 3 different neighbors to our house who haven't yet been in our home by Christmas.

All in all it was a great time for us together - and when I kissed him good night tonight and hung out in his room for a bit - there was a whole new level of closeness, trust, and spiritual fervor. Mission accomplished.

Some Takeaways from Tony's Coaching Network

As some of you know, I traveled (by car) to Anderson, SC last week as I was invited by Tony Morgan from Newspring Church to be part of a coaching network for Executive Pastors and other guys in that tier of leadership in their churches. It was a great experience. It was the first of 6 trips down there for mentoring, accountability, and mutual learning from some really smart and very amazing guys. You can check out some pics of Newspring at my flickr site. Thought I'd post some leadership takeaways from the event - some general and some personal.

1. The church across this country is in good hands judging by these guys I was with - they are smart, humble, hungry for God, and ready to lay everything on the line to do church right.
2. I have to be more disciplined in blocking my time for effectiveness. I need to do a better job in achieving a good flow to my week between tasks and people.
3. Aside from things that only I can do -every other task that comes to me I should be asking, "who can I empower to do this?"
   
4. One's area of greatest strength is usually also their area of greatest vulnerability.
5. Leading Up: what are some things that I can do to help my boss be more effective?
6. Leading Laterally: I should always be putting myself in a position that will bring out the best in my peers.
7. When it comes to creating and executing new ministries - everything is an experiment.
8. Leadership often involves letting people make their own mistakes even if you can foresee problems ahead. Parents do this with their children all the time.
9. Any inter-relational issues within a staff are only compounded when a church decides to go multi-site.
10. A great question to ask staff members regularly is, "what are you doing this week that you shouldn't be doing?"
11. As close as I am to him, there are some things that a Senior Pastor goes through that I simply can't relate to from my current chair. I will never know the burdens that he carries until I've sat in that chair.
    
12. Books I need to read soon: Death by Meetings; What Got You Here Won't Get You There; Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It; Execution: The Art of Getting Things Done (this is a re-read)
    

Back From Vacation

Well today was my first day back in the office after an extended vacation - just over 2 weeks (this also explains my lackluster blogging during this same period). We had a great time. I have an absolutely quality family. Wow. We went to Plum Island in northern Massachusetts for the first part, then on to Boston for a few days, and then back home to work on several projects we have going on right now.



Some observations from our trip:

1. My family is killer. I know I already said it - but my wife and my kids are the best on earth. We had a blast together.
2. My pace is a little too frantic. This was the first beach vacation we've taken as a family. The change in pace was crazy that first day. Going from 100 mph to 0 mph is a shock to the system. I sat on the beach shaking the whole first day!
3. The Atlantic Ocean is cold in northern Mass. even in August. Can you say "no feeling in your extremeties?"
4. The sunrise and sunset on the island were both beautiful. I was able to take in both. A close second to Presque Isle in Erie.
5. Ayden is a girlie girl. I don't know how it happened becuase Kim is not that way... and ... well... neither am I. She played Barbies with her cousin for hours on the beach and spent a lot of time stuffing sand in her bathing suit in "all the right places."
6. I had access to some of the best seafood in the country and yeah... still really don't like it. But if you batter it and fry it and I can at least get it down...
7. We had the best pre-trip prayer. I asked the kids to pray for our trip as we were pulling out of our neighborhood - the boys tore it up - great prayers about safety and fun and relationships - Ayden prayed, "God, help our house to not catch on fire while we're gone."
8. There are so many things I love about big cities. Everytime I'm in one I fantasize about living there - probably aint gonna happen - I like where I'm at more.
9. I love Grace. I always have a lot of time to think and reflect on ministry and church while I'm away. I wouldn't trade our church, our ministry, our future for any other.
10. It's good to be home. Vacations are lovely- but it's nice to be in our own house - our own bed - our own life rhythms again.

I'm heading off to South Carolina for a coaching network with Tony Morgan tomorrow. I'm totally pumped about it. I'll have more to report after that I'm sure. But for now - it's good to be home - that is - until I leave for South Carolina in the morning...