Catalyst: Thermostat

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Thermometers vs. Thermostats
This is a picture of leadership: people are either thermometers or thermostats. They will merely reflect the climate around them, or they will set it. Leaders develop values and principles to live by and set the tone for others. They’re pace setters.

VERSE: Luke 6:46-49

LEARNING: I first heard this analogy back at the Catalyst Conference in October and it was a 2×4 moment with God (you know those moments where you are knocked upside the head

30/30: Safe Prayers. Dangerous Prayers.

Leonard Sweet in his book “Jesus Drives Me Crazy” states the #1 problem of church today is numbing normality. Jesus didn’t do things in a normal way. He didn’t come to make things safe. He didn’t die to make your life comfortable. It has taken thousand of years to take the teachings of Jesus, the dangerous and radical teachings of Jesus and make them normal.

In the book of Acts the disciples of Jesus were faced with persecution, experienced death threats and jail time. But the interesting thing is the ONLY prayer that is

TeamVelocity: February Edition

DATE: Wednesday, February 6
TIME: 6:15-6:45 Family Dinner
6:45-7:30 Teaching
7:30-8:30 Teams
PLACE: Hart Middle School
KIDS: Childcare Provided

It’s an opportunity to develop friendships, grow spiritually, connect on a serving team and discover your vital role in God’s story. If you are new to Epic or you’ve been coming for a while, this is a perfect next step on your journey.

Dads. Daughters. Dance.

Sometimes there are moments in your life that are pure joy. Last Friday was one of those nights…the Girl Scout Daddy Daughter Dance. My youngest daughter, Hannah and I had a blast. She had so much energy, I was worn out by the end. Chicken Dance. Thriller. Butterfly Kisses. If there was a prize for the least dressed up couple at the dance, we would have won it, but it didn’t matter…we had each other.

The night reminded me of a song that heard a few months back called Cinderella at the Steven Curtis

30/30: Cloverfield. Difficulties. The Best of You.

My daughter and I got to the movies to last weekend to see the long awaited release of Cloverfield. We love suspense movies and after the first trailer a year ago they had us hooked. It’s pretty much Godzilla meets Blair Witch Project…a definite great movie experience. Don’t worry I won’t give away any movie spoilers. I hate that!

The movie took a human approach to the disaster. It’s more about the characters IN the story, than the special effects, the destruction and even the monster. In the face of difficulty they could have chosen to run away from the disaster to safety, but they choose the difficult path of running into danger to help someone in need. It was about their perseverance in the middle of a disaster.

Difficulty can bring out the WORST in people…disagreement, disappointment and discouragement. But it is often that same difficulty that has the potential to bring out the BEST in people…courage, faith and perseverance. Actually

The Game: Feb 3 @ Epic

On Superbowl Sunday, we’ll follow up the A2: Dangerous Church Series with a special football theme weekend focused on Acts 29. We’ll move from living as a spectator to an “on the field” player for Christ.

Special Guest Speaker:

Chris Desjardine, MAF Pilot and Missionary to Indonesia.

Catalyst: The Golden Budda

IMAGE: This principle teaches us that leaders cannot perform well if they fail to see the gold inside of them. Good leaders take personal inventory on their God-given gifts. This shapes their self-image and consequently, their results. We must align our self-esteem with our potential-not too much, not too little. What you see is what you get.

VERSE: Psalm 139:13-15

LEARNING: In Spiderman 2, Uncle Ben says to Peter Parker, “Where there is great power there is great responsibility.” You have been been entrusted with incredible God-given gifts and abilities by Christ. His primary reason that He gave them to you so you could use them to impact this world for Him.

30/30: Yours. Mine. Generosity.

Last week I experienced the joy of chaperoning my daughters 4th grade trip to the state capital. Nothing like sitting on a bus with 30 kids to give you new appreciation for working in an office. When you ask the kids, “What was their favorite part?” The Capital Dome. The Governor’s Office. The Historical Museum. The top two answers are always: the bathroom on the bus and the gift-shop.

As Hannah was looking around the gift-shop with the $10 I gave her for souvenir, she realized that her good friend didn’t have any money. “Dad can I use some of the money to buy something for Tanesha?” It’s in those moments you feel like you must be doing something right as a parent. Yes, that’s my daughter…

Tough Question: Angels and Demons?

Someone asked me the other day if all the angels were good in the beginning, how could they sin? What happened? For all you deep thinkers out there…this one’s for you.

The Devil and Evil Angels are real…Luke 11:15-19 “But some of them said, “By Beelzebub, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons.”

Motor City Rocks!

This entry will definitely date me. The other day I was looking up some music from the 80’s and ran across an incredible website dedicated to preserving the music of Detroit Bands from 1980-90. They’ve got info and mp3s. Gnarly Dude!