Top 18 quotes: 2014 Global Leadership Summit

This week for the 6th year in a row Grace Church hosted Willow Creek's Global Leadership Summit. It continues to be one of the most important events in my own development as a person and a leader. Here are some of my favorite quotes from this year's Summit. They are in no particular order.

1. If you know the right thing to do, and you don't do it, that for you is evil. -Ivan Satyavrata
2. When it looks like everything is going wrong, embrace the darkness. God is preparing you for a greater role in his unfolding story. -Louie Giglio
3. Gaps exist all over our countries, cities and villages. Gaps today are wider and more destructive than they've ever been. God is still asking, "who will stand in the gap" -Wilfredo DeJesus
4. I want to know the God that makes my mom this happy. -Tyler Perry
5. Going through tough times makes us humble. Humility isn't a character trait that we develop--it is a byproduct of being with Jesus. -Louie Giglio
6. Any time you find yourself stuck, there is always a crucial conversation that needs to happen that's not happening. -Joseph Grenny
7. We often believe the myth that we have to choose between telling the truth and keeping a friend. -Joseph Grenny  
8. Crucial conversations can become a trust-building accelerant toward intimacy for our organizations, teams, or families. -Joseph Grenny
9. I'm tired of hearing about "servant leadership" -- because I don't think there is any other kind. -Patrick Lencioni
10. You can't be too vulnerable as a leader. People expect us to be competent, but they don't want us to be perfect, they want us to be human. -Patrick Lencioni
11. Our identity can get wrapped up in being a leader--and this is a problem when it crowds out our higher identities as a child of God, a parent or spouse. -Patrick Lencioni
12. Stop the madness in group work and team brainstorming. This is torture for introverts. Use a hybrid approach: let people work alone, and then come back to the group to share. -Susan Cain
13. You can't tell anything about a leader when the sun is up, when times are good. It takes a crisis to really discover a true leader. -Jeffery Immelt
14. The highest calling of leadership is to unlock the potential of others. -Carley Fiorina
15. Leaders with the highest level of vision and passion often have the lowest level of awareness of the spirit of the team surrounding him/her. -Bill Hybels
16. Every meeting should contain the three M's: 1) Move something ahead; 2) Modify the plan as needed; 3) Motivate your team. Make sure they leave encouraged. -Bill Hybels
17. If we invite the Kingdom of God to where we are (business, politics, etc.), I believe God will take over and we will begin to see better societies. -Allen Catherine Kagina
18. Each one of us is more like orchestra than a soloist. We must learn to negotiate with our inner team. -Erica Ariel Fox

VISION 2016: Update on 5 Initiatives

In September 2011 – our Elders laid out a 5 year vision for Grace Church that includes 5 initiatives that we will chase together through the year 2016.  I've written a series of blog posts to update you on where things stand.  Here is a list of the posts all in one place.

#1 - 3 More Multi-site Locations

#2 - 50 Local Churches Serving the Erie Community

#3 – 2 Global Church to Church Partnerships

#4 – 936 Weeks of Partnering with Parents

#5 - 212 – Raise the Discipleship Temperature

VISION 2016: 212-Raise Discipleship Temperature

In September 2011 – our Elders laid out a 5 year vision for Grace Church that includes 5 initiatives that we will chase together through the year 2016.  Here's a quick update:

INITIATIVE #5 - 212 – we will raise the temperature for life-on-life discipleship to the boiling point so it is normal for people to become reproducing followers of Jesus by owning their personal growth.

• Our most recent commitment to discipleship at Grace is the church-wide experience we’re in together called E100.  This effort to encourage our entire church to engage daily with the scriptures is proving to be life-changing for many. Individuals and families are finding their chair and owning their personal growth by regularly connecting with God through his Word. This practice, over the course of five months, will fundamentally change the spiritual temperature at Grace.

• Also, we have recently recruited over 40 small group leaders to begin new groups at Grace. Many of those leaders are currently leading groups who are engaged in E100. Our desire is that as people connect in groups – that they will build spiritually-charged relationships with other believers that will lead to vitality and accountability.

• We have made it very easy to find and get in a group with our new group finder feature at our website. 
• Celebrate Recovery launched this fall at Grace and has had a healing effect on the nearly 60 people who attend each week. The CR groups provide an important discipleship component for those who attend. 

Read Derek's other posts about Vision 2016:

#1 - 3 More Multi-site Locations

#2 - 50 Local Churches Serving the Erie Community

#3 – 2 Global Church to Church Partnerships

#4 – 936 Weeks of Partnering with Parents

#5 - 212 – Raise the Discipleship Temperature

VISION 2016: 936 Weeks Partnering With Parents

In September 2011 – our Elders laid out a 5 year vision for Grace Church that includes 5 initiatives that we will chase together through the year 2016.  Here's a quick update:

INITIATIVE #4 – 936 weeks of partnering with parents in shaping Christ-centered families

• Stories are rolling in about the impact E100 is having on families as parents and children partner in reading the Bible together.  One family is even opening up their home and their child is leading a small group of other children to discuss the E100 readings.  
• Plans are in the works for our second Parenting Summit on Saturday, April 26. I’ll be kicking off the event with a special message for parents and we will provide some very helpful and practical workshops for real-life issues parents are facing.  It’s going to be a great day.

• GraceKids has an average weekly attendance of 209 kids! The GFX ministry has been a great innovation that provides events that connect families with each other and offer an opportunity to invite new families to Grace. 
• GraceYouth leaders are meeting with students at their practices, over ice cream and school tutoring. They are currently partnering with 11 families for in-depth one-on-one Biblical training of their teens. And several GraceYouth leaders are having coffee with parents to “dream and pray” for their teens.

• You can find more information about all things ‘family’ at our website. 

Read Derek's other posts about Vision 2016:

#1 - 3 More Multi-site Locations

#2 - 50 Local Churches Serving the Erie Community

#3 – 2 Global Church to Church Partnerships

#4 – 936 Weeks of Partnering with Parents

#5 - 212 – Raise the Discipleship Temperature

VISION 2016: 2 Global Church Partnerships

In September 2011 – our Elders laid out a 5 year vision for Grace Church that includes 5 initiatives that we will chase together through the year 2016.  Here's a quick update:

INITIATIVE #3 – 2 global church to church partnerships

• Our 3-part strategy for our partnership with Grace en Sion is progressing. From the start we said that this partnership would move forward in 3 stages: school, church, business.

• We started with a concentration on the school because we believe that it gives Grace en Sion the best chance to be financially self-sustaining. The school has increased from 7 students to 142 students in the last 2 years. For many of these children, it is the only chance they have for food during the day, for a shower during the week, and to hear about Jesus during the year. You can get involved in sponsoring a student through our Facebook page.

• A team of 17 people from Grace Church recently returned from Haiti. During their 10 trip they were able to; throw a Valentine’s Day banquet for the parents of the children at Cowman School, host a parenting conference for those same parents, lead worship at Grace en Sion Church, teach and share love with the kids at the school, paint the Dennington’s home, volunteer whenever needed at the clinic and orphanage, encourage the pastors and leaders at Grace en Sion. It was a fruitful trip. 

• Currently we are exploring additional church partnership options. 

Read Derek's other posts about Vision 2016:

#1 - 3 More Multi-site Locations

#2 - 50 Local Churches Serving the Erie Community

#3 – 2 Global Church to Church Partnerships

#4 – 936 Weeks of Partnering with Parents

#5 - 212 – Raise the Discipleship Temperature

VISION 2016: 50 Local Churches Serving Erie

In September 2011 – our Elders laid out a 5 year vision for Grace Church that includes 5 initiatives that we will chase together through the year 2016.  Here's a quick update:

INITIATIVE #2 - 50 local churches serving the Erie community

• We had over 400 people at our last ServErie Saturday representing 24 churches and organizations.  We’re expecting to see over 1000 participants during the month of July as ServErie partners with Billy Graham Evangelical Association and “Rock the Lakes” for two community service events. We believe that this partnership will allow us to surpass and expand our goal of 50 ServErie partner churches.

• We are currently exploring ServErie partnerships with inner city schools through the Erie School District. We believe that this can expand our capacity to serve the families of our city.
• You can follow the latest happenings at our Facebook page. 

Derek's other posts about Vision 2016:

#1 - 3 More Multi-site Locations

#2 - 50 Local Churches Serving the Erie Community

#3 – 2 Global Church to Church Partnerships

#4 – 936 Weeks of Partnering with Parents

#5 - 212 – Raise the Discipleship Temperature

VISION 2016: 3 New Multi-Site Locations

In September 2011 – our Elders laid out a 5 year vision for Grace Church that includes 5 initiatives that we will chase together through the year 2016.  Here's a quick update:

INITIATIVE #1 - 3 more multi-site locations

• Things are heating up in preparation to launch our next location in West County. Malcolm Beall has signed on to be our Campus Lead. He brings a rich family ministry history and a great familiarity with the area, as well as a passion for Christ and great leadership ability. He, his wife Angie, and 'baby Mal' will be leading the charge in West County. 

Malcolm and Angie Beall on their wedding day

• March 16 we’ll be having our first gathering for those interested in the West County location. Come out to our Multi-Site Ministry fair that evening at 6:00 to hear all the details.
• We also shared the exciting news that our own Pastor Brian Lusky will be personally investing time at our West County location during the initial start-up phase until a great worship team is built. Chrissy Cole came to us from Australia where she spent time learning and leading worship at Hillsong Church, and will be leading musical worship at Grace McKean. 

• We also just launched an improved website and Grace Online that will prove to be a powerful ministry tool as we launch additional sites.

Please pray for God's direction as it relates to a specific location in the West County. We are certain that He's leading us there and now need a place to gather in His name!

Coming posts about Vision 2016:

#1 - 3 More Multi-site Locations

#2 - 50 Local Churches Serving the Erie Community

#3 – 2 Global Church to Church Partnerships

#4 – 936 Weeks of Partnering with Parents

#5 - 212 – Raise the Discipleship Temperature

4 Things You Need to Know about Grace Online

Here is a quick summary of the recent blog series I wrote on the top 4 questions about Grace Online:

•       Part 1: Why are we doing it? 
•       Part 2: Who are we trying to reach?
•       Part 3: Is this a substitute for physically attending church?  
•       Part 4: What will an online service be like? 

And here is the quick and dirty on some details:
Starting on Sunday, March 2, 2014, Grace Church is launching a brand new worship experience for an online audience called Grace Online. To start with, the service will air 5 times per week and we will adjust from there as needed. The first service time will be on Sunday, March 2 at 11 AM.

To begin with, weekly service times will be:
Sunday - 11 AM and 7 PM
Wednesday - 7 PM
Saturday - 11 AM and 7 PM 

All services will be identical. Please invite your friends - all are welcome!

Grace Online Part 4: What will an online service be like?

Starting on Sunday, March 2 Grace Church is launching a brand new worship experience for an online audience called Grace Online. To start with, the service will air 5 times per week. I'm sure we will adjust from there. The first service time will be on Sunday, March 2 at 11 AM. This series of blog posts will give some rationale and back story for this new ministry endeavor. 

What will an online service at Grace Online be like? 

Unlike some other online worship services, ours will be specifically crafted for the online audience. All service elements will all be recorded ahead of time, but will be specifically created for Grace Online.  Elements will include:  

1. Sermon – the preaching pastor at Grace will record that week’s sermon for people who will be watching via screen. There will be sermon notes available for those who wish to take notes. 
2. Musical Worship – our worship and media teams are recording and producing songs that will be used to inspire worship as people watch online. The words will be on the screen so that viewers will be able to sing along or simply meditate on the content of the song as it plays. 
3. Online host – each week a service host will walk viewers through the service encouraging people to engage and introducing different service elements and action steps. 
4. Service Elements – creative videos, life stories, meditative moments will all be regular features. 
5. Chat/follow up – A care team will always be present to interact with viewers in the chat area and will be available to provide spiritual guidance, prayer, and advice for taking a next step. 
6. Giving – there will be a button available for people to financially support Grace Church and to worship God through giving. 
7. Prayer – there is a convenient way for anyone to request prayer at any time during the Grace Online worship experience. 
8. Invitation – we will be encouraging every person who attends Grace Online to invite their friends to join them as well. People will be one click away from letting others know about Grace Online via Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, or email. 

      Grace Online Blog Posts:

            Part 1: Why are we doing it? 

            Part 2: Who are we trying to reach?
      Part 3: Is this a substitute for physically attending church?  
      Part 4: What will an online service be like? 

Grace Online Part 3: Is this a substitute for physically attending church?

Starting on Sunday, March 2 Grace Church is launching a brand new worship experience for an online audience called Grace Online. To start with, the service will air 5 times per week. I'm sure we will adjust from there. The first service time will be on Sunday, March 2 at 11 AM. This series of blog posts will give some rationale and back story for this new ministry endeavor. 

Is Grace Online a substitute for physically attending church?

Let me start by saying that the breadth and depth of ministry that can be accomplished online is amazing. At Grace, we believe that real connections and real relationships can happen in an online environment. However, we also believe that being the church involves physically gathering together. Therefore, our goal is that Grace Online be a front door into church life, but not a final church destination. One of our goals will be to connect people who attend Grace online to a local church in their area, whether that is a Grace physical location or another like-minded local church. Here is why:

1. Spiritual gifts. The church needs you! Many people are looking for what they can get out of a church. But the truth is – a relationship with a church is not one-way. Each individual also brings something to the church that only they can bring. Namely their spiritual gifts. Some of these spiritual gifts can be used in an online environment and we will encourage people to get involved in Grace Online. But some require a person’s embodied presence to be most effective.
2. One anothers -  if going to "church" once a week was just about gaining what you need spiritually to make it through another week, then tuning in online would be just fine. But the purpose of church is so much broader than that. It is about corporate worship, praying and studying the Bible together, serving one another and reaching out in mission together. In fact the New Testament commands the church to practice 39 “one anothers.” These can't be done in isolation.
3. Ordinances – Jesus commanded his followers to observe two ordinances (some churches call them sacraments) and both are intended to be enjoyed in community: communion and baptism. Some churches have tried to find ways of including these ordinances in their online worship, but we believe for a church to be a biblical church that there must be a physical expression of these ordinances. 

         Grace Online Blog Posts:

            Part 1: Why are we doing it? 

            Part 2: Who are we trying to reach?
      Part 3: Is this a substitute for physically attending church?  

       Thanks to Tim Stevens and Marc Cortez for their thoughts on this. 

Grace Online Part 2: Who are we trying to reach?

Starting on Sunday, March 2 Grace Church is launching a brand new worship experience for an online audience called Grace Online. To start with, the service will air 5 times per week. I'm sure we will adjust from there. The first service time will be on Sunday, March 2 at 11 AM. This series of blog posts will give some rationale and back story for this new ministry endeavor. 

Who are we trying to reach?

1. Friends and family of Grace who don’t have a church. We still believe that a personal invitation to Christ and to church is the most effective means to reach people with the hope of the gospel.  We want to provide another resource for those who are attending Grace to share what God is doing with their friends and families, both in town and out of town. Our online services will allow those who aren't quite ready to step into a physical location to check out an online experience in a safe and non-threatening environment.
2. People who can’t attend church. There are people who can’t attend church for a variety of reasons. Some consistently work on Sunday mornings, some are out of town in business or vacation, and others are physically unable to get out of the house to come to church.  We will offer services multiple times each week, so that people who can’t attend church during traditional times can still experience worship and teaching every week.
3. People in future multi-site areas. As we continue to plan for more multi-site locations, our online service will expose people to Grace Church long before we have a physical location in that area.  It will allow our advance teams to host small groups and provide a resource to fuel bible studies and ministry events in that community.  
4. The whole world. It sounds weird to say that, but the truth is there is no limit to who Grace Online can reach. The internet has over 2 billion users worldwide making it the largest and most accessible mission field in the world. It is more possible today than it’s ever been in history for the church to fulfill Jesus’ call in Matthew 28 to preach the gospel to all people. We want to do our part. 

         Grace Online Blog Posts:

            Part 1: Why are we doing it? 

            Part 2: Who are we trying to reach? 

Grace Online Part 1: Why are we doing it?

Starting on Sunday, March 2 Grace Church is launching a brand new worship experience for an online audience called Grace Online. To start with, the service will air 5 times per week. I'm sure we will adjust from there. The first service time will be on Sunday, March 2 at 11 AM. This series of blog posts will give some rationale and back story for this new ministry endeavor. 

Why are we doing this? 

1. Mission: One aspect of our mission as a church is to make more disciples of Jesus. This involves telling more and more people about the love and hope and joy that comes from a personal relationship with Christ. This mission drives us.  One of the amazing things about the internet is its massive reach. The internet has over 2 billion users worldwide. 239 million Americans are on the Internet. 114 million Americans are browsing the Internet on a mobile device. 107 million Americans have smartphones. 59 million Americans have tablets like the iPad.  The average American spends 32 hours per month online.  This makes the internet one of the largest and most accessible mission fields in the entire world.
2. Technology: We believe in using technology for the purposes of the gospel. The church has always had a dubious relationship with technology. Each time a new technology was introduced, the church has usually been slow to embrace it. In the 14th C –the first organ was used in a worship service and was considered to be of the devil. In the 16C the newfangled printing press was viewed by some as a threat to the gospel. More recently radio, and movies, and television have been run through the same gauntlet.  But think about the historic impact of an instrument like the organ in churches. Remember how the printing press was used to make the gospel available to the common person and how great Christian communicators like Billy Graham have used radio and TV to spread the gospel around the world.  We want to utilize all technology available to us to spread the good news of Jesus to the world. The internet is our latest technological tool. In 1 Corinthians 9:22 Paul says, “I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some.” The internet is one of our current means to save some.
3. Opportunity: God has blessed Grace with teams of people who are passionate about creative arts, music, technology, video production, etc. Luke 12:48 says, “Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required…” We believe that this is true for our church. God has blessed us with people who are gifted in these areas and we believe that these gifts weren’t meant to be kept to ourselves but to be shared with others so that God can receive more glory. So, one of the reasons we are doing Grace Online is because we can. God has positioned us to do it.

5 Most Important E100 Resources

Grace Church is embarking on a really cool journey together. We're reading through the 100 essential bible stories starting in Genesis and ending in Revelation in a challenge called E100. For many people this will be their first jaunt through the bible from beginning to end. And although we won't be reading every chapter and verse, the sweeping themes of the scriptures will be apparent. There are 5 readings a week for 20 weeks. This is a challenge for anyone who hasn't made a regular habit of reading the bible. That's why we are providing lots of resources to help everyone along. In addition to your bible, I've included the top 5 resources you will need for this journey.

1.  The E100 Reading Guide (or punch card). The engine of this whole movement is individuals and families spending personal time in the bible, so it is important to have a plan.  You can download the PDF version of this for $5 here.  It's also vital to find your chair - that is - the place in your house where you can regularly meet with God. You can search Facebook at #wheresyourchair to see some pictures of people's chairs.                                                              

2.  A Small Group. We believe that it's critical to go through this adventure with a group of people who are also committed to the challenge. That's why we have created nearly 40 new small groups for this initiative that meet all over our region on various nights of the week in people's homes. If you are interested in finding a group you can contact Steve

3.  E100 Equip Class. Each Sunday at 9:15 and 11 AM at Grace there will be a class designed to help understand some of the back story of the readings for that particular week. This will be especially helpful for those looking to dig deeper in their readings and for small group leaders to get a jump on that week's content before their group meets. These videos will also be posted during the week at our vimeo site so that anyone can catch up on the material.  Here is the video from week 1. 

4.  E100 Sermons. It's important for you to stay connected with the teachings each week. Don't worry, if you miss church you can find the sermons online here and stay up-to-speed. 

5.  Mid-Week Video Devotional. Every Wednesday we will post a 2-3 minute video to encourage you and inspire you to continue on in that week's reading. This is a good shot in the arm to get you through 'hump day' and to finish strong each week. You can find these videos at Grace's vimeo page and they will also be posted on Facebook and Twitter. 

Questions to Help You Evaluate 2013

Do you have a system that you use to evaluate last year and prepare yourself for next year?  Scott Hodge posted a very helpful blog post a few years ago that helped me to clarify the end of the year malaise that can set in during late cold December evenings. Scott provides an excellent practical framework to look back and look ahead. 

I've picked a few of my favorite questions to ask.: 

1. If the last year were a movie of your life, what would the genre be?
2. What did you accomplish this past year that you are the most proud of?
3. What was missing from last year as you look back?

3 things a Christian parent has going for them

 Parenting is one of the areas in life where people are the hardest on themselves.  This past weekend we had our first every Parenting Summit at Grace Church.  I was privileged to give a short talk to open the Summit. Here are some notes from my talk: 3 things every Christian parent has going for them:  

1. A God who is for you

• If you follow sports- it’s always awkward to see athletes claiming that God helped their team win. We’re left wondering does God really take sides like that?
• You can be sure of this – if you are a Christian and a parent – God takes your side. He wants you to succeed with your kids. God cares about your kids more than you do.
• There have been so many nights after I have screwed something up with my kids; whether I said the wrong thing, lost my temper, stared at my phone too much, when I come to God in prayer. He always meets me, teaches me, rebukes me, encourages me. He is there to grow me through my failures as a parent. The greatest resource you have as a parent is a God who is for you.
• Romans 8:31 says, If God is for us, who can be against us?
• When Caleb was born it wasn't that beautiful birth scene that Kim and I had imagined.  In fact, people started to come in with equipment to get him breathing.  He was whisked off into ICU. I realized in that moment that his life and his existence were not under my control.  I remember God whispering, “Caleb is yours… but he’s not really yours.  You’re going to raise him – and you’re going to bring him to Me.”
• Jesus said to a father who asked for his son to be healed “bring the boy to me.”  What if that defined your parenting?  I believe that is what God is calling us all to do as parents… bring the child to me. He said let the children come to me. God loves children – he loves your children. He is for you!

2. A role you are called to

• It’s no accident that you’re a parent. Even if you had a "whoops" baby – it wasn't a "whoops" to God!
• Psalm 127:3-5 says, Behold, children are a gift of the Lord. The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the children of one’s youth.
• The fact that your children are yours to care for was God’s idea. They are a gift given to you by God. He knew you could care for them – He knew that you had the exact raw materials, the right personality, the proper tools, to raise them from a state of complete dependence to complete independence and then release them back to God.
• He could have given your kids to anyone to care for – but he chose you. It wasn't an accident – he didn't mess this up – they were entrusted to you. This role that you have is a calling from God. And you have a very important role to play.
• What is the role? If kids are an arrow – the parent’s job is to aim them toward faith. (see Deuteronomy 6:4-9)
• Family is the major vehicle through which God extends faith. Faith is not passed through institutions or empires or governments or even churches.
• Which means your role is not just to put a roof over their heads, or teach them how to ride a bike, or to give them good education, or to help them succeed in sports. All those things are good and fine. Your role is to point them toward faith in the God of the Bible.
• If you're an accountant or engineer or line worker or teacher or welder, they could replace you tomorrow. But you are the only one who can be a parent to your kid, and God knew that.  He planned it that way. Parenting is a high and holy calling.
• You’re the one with the greatest shot at influencing their faith.

3. A community to support you

• Hebrews 10:24-25 says And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
• One of the things parents struggle with is feeling alone.
• I've been with some parents who when we get on the topic of kids will only talk in hushed tones. It is as if they have never admitted to anyone that their kids might have a single problem. They've been so busy keeping up the image that it forced them into isolation.
• As part of a church like Grace - we get to be more of an open book – there are others who care about our kids. There are adult role models that we can point our kids toward. There are other parents that we can talk to and events like this help to carry on the conversation.
• More than ever our church is committed to partnering with parents. Getting resources in their hands, providing environments for growth. You don’t have to do this alone.
• Reggie Joyner said, “There are two powerful influences on the planet – the church and the home. They need each other. Too much is at stake for either one to fail.” 
• We are trying to provide more and more resources to parents.  Things like the weekly Parent Cue, toolboxes, 936 Newlsetter, etc.  We also have a great Facebook page devoted to parents
• That’s what today is all about! Creating an environment where you can come and take it in and meet other people, so that you know you have a community that's here to support you.
• Our dream is that you would say, “yes I have this sacred calling called 'parenting,' yes I have a God who loves me and is for me, but I also have some people in the flesh who are here to love me and support me and encourage me and cheer me on and provide me with resources to help me do this better.

I was rock climbing on a youth trip some years ago.  Let me just tell you personally that it is scary to be caught in a situation where you’re climbing, and you realize that you're on your own because all the equipment that is supposed to be supporting you comes off. It's terrible when you don’t have a functioning support system. It's very scary.  Compare that to rock climbing while having all the right equipment.  It still might be scary –but it’s more of a 'thrill' kind of scary than a death-wish! The same is true for parenting, it makes a huge difference knowing that you have the right support system in place: a harness (a community to support you), a karabiner and rope (a role you've been called to) and most importantly a person anchored to the ground (a God who is for you) – so that if you fall and when you fall – it won’t be a fatal blow. These three things will work together to catch you and give you another shot. 

My favorite comments to hear after a sermon

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

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". 

1. 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. 
2. 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.  
3. 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…

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. 

1. 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.’ 
2. 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.
3. 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.