We had an incredible time on last week on vaca in Maine. We usually take a crazy vacation somewhere we’ve never been before, but this was the first time in 15 years we revisited a park. Acadia National Park is one of our Fav 5 places we’ve been. We camped, hiked, laughed, got on each others nerves, but most of all build some great memories together as a family. I can’t wait to share some of the stories.
The Fam on top of Beehive Mountain.
READING: John 15-20
HABITUDES IMAGE NINE: A Farmer Builds the Barn on the property before the house, because it will pay for the other structures. Leaders determine the critical transaction that enables everything else to happen.
LEARNING: Being a city boy, this is about the closest I’ve ever come to a barn. The door that made the “Moo” sound was worth doing over and over until mom said, “Stop it!”
When I was just began volunteering in the church, one of my youth mentors would often quote proverbs 14:4 when planning youth activities, “Without oxen a stable stays clean, but you need a strong ox for a large harvest.” He would say in order to reach youth, it’s got to get a messy around her. He always kept the critical transaction in the forefront of our mind…it’s not about the building, it’s about the people.
Here are My Barns:
Spend some time really praying through this one. Think of all your tasks in your ministry area or your team. What is the critical transaction? What’s the make or break function that’s the hub for success? Where do you need to invest in barn building?
READING: John 11-15
LEARNING: Always ask the price before you get in the cab. As leaders we need to count the cost and prepare in advance before we set out on a journey.
Good Leaders see where God is taking the team before the team sees it. Great Leaders also see the upcoming challenges and difficulties the team will have to overcome before they get there.
Good Leaders know a price will have to be paid to reach the goal. Great Leaders identify the time it will take and the skills that will have to be developed for the team to achieve the mission.
Good Leaders set out to achieve great things for God. Great Leaders have the perseverance and tenacity to follow through until the very end.
What area of your life is God moving you from a good leader to a great leader?
For some inspiration to move from good to great…rent “Apollo 13.” One of the best movies on leadership.
We’re going behind the music with the worship band to ask the question, “What do I worship?” You might be surprised by the answer. Do you spend the same time and energy toward God as you do with sporting events, concerts or even your Wii? Are you as fanatical about showing your praise for God as you are about showing off your house? If not, then maybe you’re worshiping the wrong things.
Join us for Fanatic
Sunday July 20 & 27
As part of The Love Guru message, I rewrote Wedding Vows if they were based on the popular notion that love is a feeling.
“I, in the presence of God and these witnesses, take you to be my wife/husband,”
“to have and to hold from this day forward”…as long as I’m feeling the rush that I’m feeling right now.
“for better, for worse”… unless someone comes along who I’m more excited about than you and I feel is a better fit for me than you.
“for richer, for poorer,”…preferably the richer, because lack of finances will strain our relationship to the breaking point.
We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. I John 3:16
Kathy and I went on a date night to see “The Love Guru” last weekend (it wasn’t very funny) and it got me thinking. “Is real love a feeling or a choice?” Almost every movie, song and TV show celebrates the popular notion in our culture that you just “fall in love” with someone. The Bible says real love is not based on emotions, but real love is a choice. Emotions and are part of love…but real love is a choice. You don’t fall in love, you choose to be in love.
Think about it. You don’t just fall in love with someone. You choose to spend time with them. You choose to be close to them. You choose to vulnerable to them. You choose to be open and honest with them. All of these choices you make lead to falling in Love. The truth is feelings follow actions. Read the rest of this entry »
You now have a second opportunity…to open their eyes so they may turn from darkness to light. Acts 26:18
Two Epic Worship Experiences @ 9:45 & 11:15
Epic Church…you reached out…you invited…and God moved. Things got crowded around Epic this spring and in order to make room for new people in the community, Epic is adding a second worship experience. This will provide space so an ever-increasing number of people can discover both the light of Christ in their life and their unique role in God’s story.
When Will the Services Begin? September 14th
I was cleaning out stuff in the basement and found all my long forgotten college notebooks. The journals from Rhetoric Class were like a snapshot of my life I’d forgotten. My visioneering exposition entry from February 2, 1986 blew my mind. It read…“1996 My Life: I would like to say I would be off on some mission to Africa preaching about Jesus or out somewhere helping someone, but those probably won’t come true.”
I lived in Ghana, Africa from 1993-1995 as a missionary doing just that. It really knocked my socks off. Even with that self doubt at the end of the statement…God is faithful. Ephesians 3:20 ” Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work” within us.”
What “immeasurably more” dream do you have for 2018? Share your dream.
READING: John 6-10
LEARNING: Once again this Habitudes Lesson is chocked full of crucial and practical insights. In 1 Corinthians 12:1-27, Paul shares some of the most profound words ever said about the church. You can sense the urgency in his voice. He wasn’t just waxing philosophical…this is a real dilemma…real people with real disagreements. He knew people have a tendency when a tension develops to gossip, criticize or even take their ball and go home. In the kingdom of God, we need to check our egos at the door. Our natural tendency is TO THINK my opinion is the best, TO VALUE my contribution above others, TO PLAY only if I get something out of it and TO ONLY WORK together if it benefits me. This probably was happening in the church at Corinth and Paul says this is not how Christ’s church works. You now have the Holy Spirit to unite you together. These three insights jumped out at me.
1. You are uniquely gifted, but don’t celebrate yourself. You were gifted NOT for your glory, but God’s.
2. Others are uniquely gifted, so value the way Christ made them. You need them and can’t survive without them.
3. Coming together as one for Christ will take unnatural humility, uncommon commitment to each other and unrelenting commitment to Christ who is the head.
When the church is working together as one for Christ, there is nothing better in all the world. Now read 1 Corinthians 13…it wasn’t written for weddings. It was directed at the church!
God @ the Box Office Series began last Sunday with one of my favorites movies as a kid, Indiana Jones. Whether it was the search for the holy grail, the arc of the covenant or even aliens the movie connected with our desire for live a life of adventure. My ending scenes of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade always rock my world…”The PENITENT man bows before God,” “He choose POORLY” and “Let it go.” In some ways a good movie it like a modern day parable that gets you to think about the choices you are currently making in life. In this scene Elsa knows that the Cup of Christ can’t pass the seal and be removed from the cave, but she goes for it anyway and it doing so ignites an earthquake.
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