The Heart of a Pastor - Part 1

Monday Morning Reflections...

• By far, one of the best Sundays we have experienced at newhope in quite some time! The transition to three services was/is exactly what we needed. It just fills good to have space again.
• We have some of the best volunteers in the world! In my opinion, the people in the blue/red/black shirts rock for God!
• I don't know if I can quite communicate this but God was all over the Word yesterday. I don't mean "me." I mean, despite what I was saying or trying to do with the text, God's Spirit was doing His own thing in, through, and among the people. It was a jaw dropping day for me as people kept approaching me letting me know how God spoke and moved directly in their lives/circumstances. I guess that is why Paul told Timothy, "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness, so that the man/woman of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." (II Timothy 3:16 - 17)
• Lots and lots of guests these days - WELCOME.
• We desperately need more diversity in our Worship Arts Ministry. Truthfully, I can't stand it when I look on the stage and everyone is white and I look in the congregation and I see the beautiful diversity of God's creation. Plain and simple -- our stage should represent our congregation/community. Curtis and I, and all the other WAM members for that matter, would love to see this change. Some of our teams have diversity but ALL of our teams need diversity!
  
• Pulse, our senior high student ministry, was off the chain yesterday. In the last three weeks, that number of students has quadrupled! It was definitely the right move to bring the Pulse down from 4:30 pm to 10:10 am.
• I cannot seem to shake this head cold/congestion. It's going on two weeks now -- enough already.
• "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline." (II Timothy 1:7) Put that one to memory!
• If you go by the church office today it will be very quiet. I invited everyone on the senior staff team to take the day off. We have been running very very hard and with the travel last week, needed a break. Please remember to pray for your pastors/staff.
• I am finding it very hard to talk or move this morning. :-)
• It's time to start bass fishing!
• Please pray for the search team reviewing resumes and interviewing candidates for pastor/staff positions at newhope. There are lots of resumes and some excellent candidates! Pray for wisdom, discernment, guidance, and providence/favor.
• I need to stop this post and rest. :-)
• Thank you Jesus for Sunday and another week!

The Heart of a Pastor, Pt. 1

We launch into a new series in the morning called, "The Heart of a Pastor!" I looking forward to hunkering down and just plowing through II Timothy over the course of the next three weeks. This is a great book in which Paul is speaking his heart to young Timothy and yet, the Word is relevant and applicable for us two thousand years later!

In preparation, go ahead and read II Timothy 1:1 - 2:7. When done, say a prayer for yourself. Pray for me. And pray for our church! Then, get up ready to lean in and Worship Jesus on a beautiful Sunday morning!

Celebrations are at 8:30, 10:10, and 11:45 am.

Peace and much love...

Unleash Download

Unleash 2010 was really strong this year. Everything seemed extra relevant and just what our team needed to hear. I love this church and their amazing volunteers. They really know how to serve and create amazing environments for pastors and leaders to grow. Thanks Pastor Perry and the Unleash gang!

Here are my notes from session #1. They are raw and jut as I took them. You might find a typo or two and incomplete sentences but I am A-OK with that... :-)

Joshua 5 - four factors that help leaders lead boldly and jump into leadership with risky faith:

1. Desperation Factor –

Joshua 5 - ¹ Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the LORD had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until we had crossed over, their hearts melted and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites.

² At that time the LORD said to Joshua, "Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites again." ³ So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites at Gibeath Haaraloth. ^[a]

Leadership is hard! Joshua was called to circumcise 600 K men b/w the ages of 20 – 60.Can you say, "OUCH."

In Genesis 34 – 2 men killed a whole village with spears b/c of the pain of this dealio.

God had them circumcised b/f they entered the promise land. That would have been safe, predictable, and organized but NO – God was teaching them how to be desperate and reliable, and broken b/f they entered. God wanted to MARK them and make them desperate for God!

QUESTION – when was the last time we were desperate for God? God wants us in uncomfortable circumstances so we are desperate!

If you are following God, your back will always be against the wall financially! Lead with faith!

Without faith, it is impossible to please God!

2. The Sacrifice Factor –

² At that time the LORD said to Joshua, "Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites again." ³ So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites at Gibeath Haaraloth.

Can you imagine what the men felt like when he came and shared this vision/word from God? Have you ever preached a message when no one said amen? He was a great leader to be able to get this painful vision across.

Everyone LOVES progress in the church but few people like sacrifice. If we want to get where God wants us to go, we have to be willing to sacrifice. In particular, we have to be willing to sacrifice:

1. Our comforts – God uses comfort to make us complacent. Are we more concerned with attendance than repentance?

We should not be so concerned with people “Enjoying our services” – maybe God wants to make them mad or angry! It is OK with people being VERY uncomfortable! This church has to be OK with lost people acting lost! They can have as many tats as they want, pierce whatever they want pierced, talk like they want etc…JUST BE THANKFUL THEY ARE IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD!

ILLUSTRATION: Man praying to receive Christ, said, “Jesus I am not worth a damn. If you can save me, I want you in my life!” That is a salvation prayer and yet, many of us need to stop worrying about the word he said and praise God for his salvation and Jesus in his life!

2. Our Conformity – they are far too many churches trying to conform to denominational headquarters. Most denominations are dying. Why do you want to conform to something that is dying.

Don't say you are missional – of course you are – you are the freaking church. Of course we are attractional – if not no one would be here!

3. The Recognition Factor – I love the Jesus in Revelation – the ultimate fighter Jesus who kicks butt and takes names.

Joshua would have never talked to Jesus if he had recognized Jesus. When Joshua recognized Jesus, it was face plant time b/f the King of Kings in Worship. The problem is we have to many leaders who don't recognize Jesus. In Matthew 16:18 – it is His church! Don't let powerful people intimidate you. Jesus is the most powerful man in the church! PERIOD!

When was the last time our team just go away and focused on Jesus!?

¹³ Now when Joshua was near Jericho, he looked up and saw a man standing in front of him with a drawn sword in his hand. Joshua went up to him and asked, "Are you for us or for our enemies?"

¹⁴ "Neither," he replied, "but as commander of the army of the LORD I have now come." Then Joshua fell face down to the ground in reverence, and asked him, "What message does my Lord have for his servant?"

4. The Strategy Factor – A big lie in the world is that one size fits all. Do NOT buy into what experts say we should do. Listen, but then run it through our own filters. Here is the best strategy – LISTEN TO GOD – DO WHAT HE SAYS!

See Joshua 6:1 - 5

In the church world, we should be far more concerned with the supernatural over strategy. As the leader, seek and find God’s vision first and then deliver and depend the supernatural. God has the corner on the market of supernatural. Seek Him first! (Virgin birth, fish and chips, death and life…”

“If numbers are not important don't count your offering anymore.” NUMBERS ARE ALWAYS IMPORTANT! Never stop going after lost people and NEVER start believing small is better. It is a lie straight from the pit of hell!"

Do NOT depend on strategy – DEPEND ON HIM! We want God to do things so out of this world that we don't know how and the only explanation is GOD!

If you can fully explain what is going on in your church God is probably not doing much. The standard answer should be, “We don't know…” :-)

We should always be able to say, "There is more where that came from…we have not seen anything yet!"

He never said I want something – He wants EVERYTHING!

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IN OUR CHURCH IF EVERYONE WHO SAID THEY BELIEVED DECLARED, "GOD, YOU CAN HAVE EVERYTHING – LET’S ROLL GOD!"

It would shake the foundations of the world people! Let's roll God!

Leadership Summit

What do the following speakers/authors/pastors have in common?

Jim Collins – Author
Tony Dungy - Prior coach for the Indianapolis Colts
Terry Kelly – Author
Andy Stanley - author and Pastor of Northpoint Church
Jeff Manion - Pastor in Michigan
Blake Mycoskie – Tom’s shoes
Dr. Chau – Chinese Speaker
Dan Pink – Past White House Speaker
Christine Caine – From Hillsong Australia
Adam Hamilton – Pastor in Kansas
Jack Welch – Interview with Jack Welch
TD Jakes – Closing message


ANSWER - they are all speaking at the Leadership Summit August 5 - 6 and newhope church will be a satellite location for this event! Mark your calendars - it will be INCREDIBLE!

An 8 year Picture/Video Montage

Here's a picture/video montage we showed in Worship Sunday for Vision Day VIII. Thanks to everyone who submitted pics. AND THANK YOU JESUS FOR EIGHT YEARS!

The Power of Influence and the Desire of Wannabes...

So, my family has taken to the Shaun White phenom, AKA as "The Flying Tomato." If you don't know this dude, I wonder what planet you live on but that is a different post altogether. :-)

Shaun White has taken the sport of snowboarding to "A Whole Nutha Level." The man is amazing. He is the trailblazer/pace-setter for this sport. He is creating ridiculous and sick "tricks" and other athletes are following suit and the sport is becoming more and more admired and popular throughout the world. (Unlike Curling - that too is a different post altogether but I have to say good people, Curling is NOT a sport :-))

At any rate, my three big kids and I "Got the heck out of dodge" the other day and we are skiing at Snow Shoe Ski Resort in West Virginia. The slopes and weather have been perfect and the get away is just what I needed!

The first day, as we were getting our ski rentals, a dude came walking through the room and I yelled, "Hey...look guys...there's Shaun White." Needless to say, it was NOT Shaun White. But I could tell it absolutely made his day. Later that afternoon, as we were cruising the blues and tackling the black diamonds, a man comes by me on a snowboard and my first thought was, "Dude, The Flying Tomato is here!" At the bottom of the mountain, down at the lifts, I realized this was not the Shaun White.

By this point, I am starting to notice a trend that I did not expect. I started looking around and there were long haired snowboard dudes everywhere! And so I asked a Snow Shoe Resort worker about this phenomenon and he proceeds to tell me that they had never seen anything like like it before. He said thousands and thousands of Shaun White "Wannabes" are hitting the slopes this year!

Here's the point - Shaun White is so BIG right now that young men all over our country are taking up the sport of snowboarding, growing their hair out, coloring it red if they don't already have red hair, and hitting the slopes. He is raising up a generation of young men who want to look like him, do what he does, talk like he talks, and be known for what he is known. That, my friends, is the power of influence!

As Christians, we too have someone that should so capture our attention and admiration that we too want to look like He looked, do what He did, and be known for He was known. His name is Jesus!

We don't need to model our lives after some athlete, but Jesus Himself. As believers, we study the Word, find Jesus therein, and model our entire lives after the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus! In fact, when people see us walking through, they should exclaim, "Hey, that man/women looks like Jesus...he/she walks like Jesus, talks like Jesus, and does what Jesus did when He walked planet earth 2,000 years ago." How cool would that be and how would our influence for the Kingdom of God increase if this were the case!?

Is there any resemblance in your life? Do people ever encounter Jesus when they encounter you? Are you a Jesus wannabe? I know it is typically not cool to be a wannabe, but He is One God/Man I want to unapologetically spend the rest of my life emulating and trying my best to look exactly like...

¹If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, ²then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. ³Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. ⁴Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

⁵Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:
⁶Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
⁷but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
⁸And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
⁹Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
¹⁰that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
¹¹and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

¹²Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, ¹³for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. (Philippians 2:1 - 13)