Sunday on Monday (1.9.2011)

Thoughts from yesterday @ The Quest ...

* Seriously amazing day in the life of our church community. Celebrated God's FAITHFULNESS to our church over the past 5 or 6 years since we began! So many great stories to tell of all God has done and is doing. If you missed it, you can check it out here.

* Loved listening to the Steele's share their story of life transformation! A testimony to God's faithfulness and moving in the life of this church community!

* Our band is simply amazing. Great worship yesterday.... as it is every week. So thankful for an amazing group of dedicated and gifted musicians who share their gifts and talents with our church community!

* Bob and Beth Farris showed up for one of our services. Bob is our consultant for the Imagine Building Campaign we are in. He and I have established a close friendship. Joy to have them worship with us yesterday!

* Grand opening of our new facility "The Gathering Place." This facility is incredible and a huge blessing. We are very excited about its use for our youth and other groups, and also to be a place of outreach to the community around us. Join us this Friday night, Jan. 14, for our UNPLUGGED CONCERT SERIES, 7 pm. Bring a friend, especially if they don't know Christ or have a worship community they are a part of. Great opportunity to introduce them to an informal and safe environment to connect with others.

* Speaking of our new facility - we have an amazing team that serve so selflessly and pulled off our grand opening and day of celebration. I am SO THANKFUL for servant leaders who love God and people and do whatever they can to demonstrate that!

* Mentioned to the church about a new series that begins this coming Sunday, Jan. 16 - called "The Irresistible Invitation." I am STOKED about this series. It is going to be powerful, beyond just hearing, though ... it is going to challenge me and our whole church community to become more IRRESISTIBLE to the world around us ... as we live out our lives for Jesus. The Gospel is missional and outwardly focused. Our lives must be the same. Don't miss this series!

Have a great week!

JOHN

Sunday on Monday (12.12.2010)

Thoughts from yesterday...

• Preached on "peace" from Luke 2. Talked about the PATH OF PEACE being 1 - peace with God, 2 - the peace of God, and 3 - becoming a peace-maker. Challenged everyone to move along the path of peace towards God.
• Had a couple join The Quest at the early service. Loved the words shared when they joined. They talked about finding God through community. That's what it's all about!!
• Great worship design meeting. Stoked about some upcoming series at Quest!
• Belize Celebration last night was pretty incredible. Hearing people share stories about God's work in them through this experience was amazing. So thankful for this partnership!
• Went home very tired. Long day of great ministry!

Sunday Thoughts

Noticed that several pastors/leaders blog about random thoughts on Sunday afternoons. Kind of free flow thinking. I like that and am getting in on the action! So here are some thoughts about the past day ...

• Was great to be back in my regular routine today. Haven't preached to my Quest community in 2 Sundays in a row! Love Forrest Page and Mike Freace and so thankful they brought incredible messages in my absence. But man, good to be back today!

• I need to practice what I'm preaching! Slowing down and "rethinking Christmas" is way easier said than done. I'm working hard on creating space in this season for what God wants to do in my life.

• I love our staff at Quest. They are amazing people. They love God and they truly love people and being in ministry with people. Quest is what it is because of amazing visionary leaders who want to see God do even more!

• I'm excited about Christmas Eve. Going with a whole different spin on the Christmas story that a friend shared with me the other day. Blew me away, and hope to blows you away as well! Bring a friend!!! Christmas Eve is the one day - more than any other - that people outside the church are most open to invitations to come be a part of a church community. We need to take this opportunity to truly love and care about the people around us!
  

• Leadership requires vision. I'm learning this more in the past year than ever. And that vision can only come from God. My conjuring up vision is worthless. I need God's vision. We all do. And along with this - leadership can be lonely. Sometimes we feel like we're out on the front lines and like no one is following. It is those times that we must trust in God and surround ourselves with accountability and people who will continue to walk the journey with us. We cannot do it alone.

Hoping you have a great week!!!

John

Upcoming Series at The Quest

Beginning a new series at The Quest this Sunday, Sept. 19. Join us at 9 am or 10:30 am as we explore how to have healthy relationships by establishing "boundaries" in our lives.

New Series

QC begins a new series this Sunday - April 25 - "The Simple life / live for what matters most." Join us at 9 or 10:30 am!

Mediocrity

Recently I've been struggling with mediocrity as it relates to my own personal life, church life, and even denominational structures. It seems that so often I am willing to settle for less than God's best for me personally, in my church, and even in the Church at large.

Mediocrity keeps us from the things of the Kingdom. In our personal relationships with God, our marriages, our families, our churches, etc. God is not a God of mediocrity, but of passion and vision and advancement and growth of His Kingdom. His Spirit is ready and willing to move in our lives and churches if we will but wake up to Him.

May we be people who do not settle for mediocrity. May we be people who are ignited with a passion to see God's Kingdom on earth.

Belize

Spent about 5 days in Belize just over a week ago. My church was exploring long-term missional relationships that we can set up. Planning to take teams to Belize twice a year beginning this Fall.

The picture above is me with guy named German Garraldo. Very excited about the potential relationship we are setting up with him and his ministry in Belmopan (the capital city of Belize). German owns a garage/road repair business. He is turning his business facility into a church facility, where he can hold worship gatherings, community events, as well as house young people with no other place to go. He literally taking "church" to the people in his city. Pray for him and for his ministry. Pray for our church as we explore the potential relationship we might have with his church.

Very excited about the next steps of this endeavor!

Drink Coffee. Do Good.

Drink Coffee. Do Good. Really? Yes - it's true. "Land of a Thousand Hills" coffee is Rwandan coffee where a good bit of the money used to purchase the coffee goes right back to Rwandan coffee growers to help them and their communities. Rwanda is a country that just a decade ago was torn apart by genocide. This coffee company is doing what they can to help bring financial stability and even reconciliation to the people groups of Rwanda. And you and I can help .... all the over here in America ... by just buying and drinking this coffee. Check out more about it at www.drinkcoffeedogood.com.

My church just started using this coffee last week. Good cause. Good coffee.

Father Daugther Meetings

My 10 year old, Morgan, and I have been have "father daughter dates (or meetings)" every Friday for about 2 years now. Time is spent reading the Bible, discussing it, praying, etc. This past week we added a new dimension to our times together. I'm seeking to help her establish a regular and consistent "devotional time" with God every day. So now one of her goals is to read the Bible and pray every night before bed. She only got 2 of 7 days last week ... but it's a start! Very excited about this. Can't think of anything more important I can do as a father than to love my daughter and to help her learn to love and be loved by God by spending time with Him consistently.

We're going to say it

Starting a new series this Sunday @ The Quest. We're going to SAY the things that many of us are THINKING, but for whatever reason we're just not saying. For example - "I'm not the person you think I am" or "I need help" or "I'm mad at God for (fill in the blank)."

The church has created a culture where we're just not permitted to say some things that really need to be said/addressed.

I love addressing controversial things!

Big Boys

Last night as I was putting my twins to bed (Drew and Ty - just over 3 years old) I had them kneel down beside their new "big boy" beds to pray. We've never done that before. I usually just lay with them in their beds, say a quick prayer for them, and that's it. But for whatever reason, decided to switch things up last night. It was crazy! By that I mean - they did it - and did it so well! They knelt there, folded their hands, and repeated line after line that I prayed - probably for about 2 minutes or so. I was absolutely blown away.

Made me realize something important that relates to all of us. We need to be pushed spiritually. If we just settle for the same old stuff - we will never grow. When I pushed my boys to grow spiritually - they did - even at 3 years old.

I'm 37. I've gotten comfortable with my spirituality. Have you? Let's push each other to grow.

Sabbath

Wow. Forgot how much I need "sabbath" - the Biblical concept of "rest" (instituted by God Himself in Genesis). Been in Pennsylvania visiting family for a few days. Staying through Thanksgiving. Been a great time to relax. Refocus. Find my center in God again. Makes me realize that I need this more in my life daily. No matter "where" I am. Need to take the time to "be still" / Sabbath.

Don't come to church this Sunday

I'm feeling like I need to tell folks not to come to church this Sunday .... unless they want to be confronted with the truth and the need to change. We're doing a "Thanksgiving" theme ... but we're talking about American consumerism as it compares with world hunger, poverty, etc. Just one of the stats I'll be sharing is that a child dies every 6 seconds from hunger in our world. During the course of my sermon/message Sunday - about 350 children will die around the world. Because of lack of food. I wept as I wrote that statistic into my message this week as I sat at a local coffeeship drinking my more than $2 cup of coffee (by the way - half the world's population lives on $2 per day). I wept because I AM NOT DOING ANYTHING ABOUT IT. BECAUSE IT IS NOT AN EMERGENCY TO ME. How can children dying not be an emergency to me? It would be if it was my child. I would never allow it to happen to my child. But as followers of Jesus Christ and His Way, we are called to view all children as His children. Our children. The reason children are dying is because we are not responding to the way and the call of Jesus. It doesn't matter enough to us. I must change. God help me to change.

So I hope and pray no one shows up Sunday. Because if they do, they will never ever be the same again. They won't be able to be.

Relevance

Just ran into a guy outside our church facility with a backpack shouting out something as he walked by - something like - "down with the new world order." I was inquisitive, so I walked over to him and asked - "what are you saying?" He said it again and then proceeded to talk about "the new world order," another group called "the illuminati," and a couple other groups I can't recall. He talked about how they are trying to take over the world, etc. I asked him - "Brother, what do you believe?" He told me he believed "in Jesus, the Christ." I said - "well so do I." I asked him why he didn't just talk about Jesus and His love if he's going to walk around shouting stuff, and he told me that Jesus is going to come back to this earth "angry" and full of "judgment" for these groups. I challenged him, asking if that is really what he believes the central message of Jesus was - judgment for a few select groups of people. He said "yes." I told Him I believe Jesus' central message was of the Kingdom and of love. I challenged him again saying that his speaking just didn't seem to be relevant, and because of that, people wouldn't listen. He then murmured a few things and turned and walked away. Interesting conversation.

It makes me realize that each of us is a "picture" of Jesus Christ to the world. What we say and how we say it reflects Jesus Christ, if we are claiming to follow Him. Man, we need to be responsible with this message and really be sure we are reflecting Him. Running into that guy today was a good thing for me. I'm challenged to look at my own life and ask myself - "What am I saying about Jesus with my life?"

Daddy Daughter Dates Update

One of the coolest things I started doing as a dad over a year ago is taking my oldest daughter, Morgan, out for a "date" every Friday. Actually, it's a very intentional discipleship time where we talk about God, life, etc. Got the idea from a guy named Mark Batterson, pastor of NCC in DC. He had blogged about doing something like this with his son. I started this when Morgan was 9 --- now she is 10. I'm planning on doing this with each of my children when they turn 8 (I have 4 kids --- going to be busy!). Not sure at what age it may end. Just want it to be natural. Over the past year Morgan has read a couple books of the Bible, as well as several other books, she's learned more about praying, and serving, and even learned some pretty deep Biblical concepts/words. I believe that it is my job (along with my wife) to invest in my children and share with them God's truth, etc. It an awesome responsibility.

Wanted to share the "system" Morgan and I have developed over the past year. We spend the same time every Friday out at a local cafe or restaurant where she gets a "treat." Her favorite place is Starbuck's (some of you are like "sure" - you think I brainwashed her - but I'm serious - not that I complain when she chooses it!). We spend about 30-45 minutes together. The first 10 minutes or so is just talking about life, etc. Then we get into her Bible reading assignment. I have her read 2 chapters of the Bible a week. She handles it just fine. Right now she is reading the Gospel of Matthew and Psalms. She did all of Genesis already, along with a couple shorter books. I have her underline stuff in her Bible (I let her pick out any Bible she wanted when we started all this) that she thinks is cool or makes her go "wow." I have her put question marks by stuff she doesn't understand. Lots of question marks at her age - but makes for great conversation. After the Bible section, we talk about a second book she is reading. I have her read another book along with the Bible - one chapter a week. She's read several this year - 2 CS Lewis Narnia books, a kid's version of "Pilgrim's Progess," a book about Corrie Ten Boom, one about Esther, and several others. We talk about that for a bit. Then we make go over the prayer list she made out the week prior. We talk about the prayers God may have answered, or didn't, or if we aren't sure if He did. Then we make a new prayer list for the coming week. Anything she wants to pray for. After that - we discuss what we call her "Serve Challenge" - every week she decides something she will do for someone else. Could be someone in our family, a friend, anyone. She has to accomplish that thing during the week. We talk about how that went, then think up a new creative thing to do for someone the next week. Just recently we've also added either scripture memorization (key Bible verses about God's love, her identity - girls can struggle with that, etc) or we have a Biblical word/concept she learns about. For instance - right now she's learning about the word "Trinity" and how that relates to the Father, Son, Holy Spirit.

Sounds like alot, but she has pretty easily worked this into her life and has become much more disciplined. Two things I'm praying come of all this ---- 1)She falls in love with God her Father and learns the discipline of spending time with Him that will last a lifetime, and 2) She knows her earthly daddy loves her and spent time with her consistently. She definitely won't remember everything we talked about. That's not the point. But to know she is loved by God and by me is something I'm praying desperately for.

How do we measure effectiveness in the Church?

I admit it. I struggle with numbers in the Church. A crammed house on Sunday mornings and I feel great. A less than full worship attendance on a Sunday and I leave feeling like I'm less than God has called me to be. WHY? Because we've been taught and conditioned by THE CHURCH to measure effectiveness almost completely in terms of numbers. Oh we talk a good talk (I include myself in this) about the true measure of effectiveness being about way more than numbers - with things like actual changed lives, people serving, people becoming "missionaries" to the communities we live in, etc.... but the reality is this is far less true than we make it out to be. If we're honest, we'll have to admit it's mostly about numbers. Leave the changed lives and other stuff for other churches.

But I can't help but think about Jesus in the Gospels. Here's a church planter who couldn't rally but about 12 close disciples, and maybe a hundred or so beyond that --- in THREE YEARS! Didn't Jesus read our books? Doesn't He know what an effective church looks like? Doesn't He know it's all about Sunday morning worship attendance?

Wow. I long for the Jesus-experience. Where the focus is God's will for changed lives and the building of relationships that eventually truly change the world.

Some will argue (I've done it) that numbers are important because they demonstrate people "attracted" to the Gospel, etc. I believe that. I think numbers do demonstrate health. But my point is that THIS is all we really focus on.

Really think it's time we re-evaluate what EFFECTIVENESS really means in the Church today.

Upcoming Series

Starting a new series tomorrow at The Quest Church. Talking about how men and women are created differently by God ... on purpose. Going to be a great series. Looking at what God's purposes are for the sexes - as it relates to simply living in the world, being a husband/wife, father/mother, etc.

Missio Dei

"Missio Dei" is a Christian/Latin term meaning "the sending of God" or "the mission of God" (I like "sending" better). Preaching on that this Sunday at QC (Quest Church). The term was coined by Karl Hartenstein in response to Karl Barth and his emphasis on "actio dei" ("the action of God") --- all of this according to wikepedia.com.

In 21st century American church culture, we tend to speak of "mission" as something we "do" (example - we have "Missions Committees" or we go on "Missions trips", etc.). However, the Biblical concept of church and mission has much more to do with WHO WE "ARE" ... not in what we "DO." The term "missio dei" places emphasis on the reality that mission is born out of the very nature of God. It is WHO HE IS. And because of WHO HE IS, God acts be "sending" (Missio). Think about it - God SENT His Son ("missio dei"). And now because of this, Jesus invites the Church to participate in the "missio dei" --- we are invited to become part of the mission of God in the world we live in. In this sense, Church IS a mission. We don't DO missions. We are participating in the very nature of God in the world. We are the hands and feet of Jesus to the world.

This is revolutionary for the modern American church. But if we are to become the Church we are called to be ... we must seek what God would make us... and not what we want to simply become on our own. I pray that we would be SENT to participate in the "missio dei" in the communities we live in!

Michael Jackson

The Michael Jackson phenomenon has been very interesting to me. So much is being made of his life, his music, his impact on culture. I even heard one person - an official spokesperson for him - say that his was a life of "love" more than any other life there ever was. Interesting.

From the outside I see his life as very sad, really. He was a young boy who seems like he was forced to grow up so fast (being thrust into the entertainment world at such a young age). But when he became an adult, he seemed so childish. Almost a reversal of how life is supposed to be lived. I have to imagine that much of this was a "retreat" into himself because he was unable to relate to the world in a mature way. His childish act was just a way to cope.

We are an interesting culture. Why do we get so obsessed with this kind of stuff?

I'm just wondering....

The freedom to ask questions

New series begins at our church community this Sunday, June 7. Polled our church to discover what questions they have related to God, faith, life, etc. Here are the top 5 themes:

1 - Why ... SIN? (Why can't I stop, etc.)

2 - Why ... SUFFERING? (more specifically "Why do some suffer more than others?")

3 - Why ... PRAYER? (How does it work? Does God hear me, etc.)

4 - Why ... IS GOD (HIS WILL) SUCH A MYSTERY?

5 - Why ... HYPOCRISY IN THE CHURCH or Why ... ISN'T THE CHURCH ACTING LIKE THE CHURCH?

Jon and Kate Thoughts

My wife and I have twins. So one of the TV shows that has been interesting to us is "Jon and Kate Plus 8" on TLC. At first I was hesitant to comment on this family's situation because I think they need their privacy, etc. However, at the same time, they have opened their lives to our culture by having a television show chronicling their family's life together. I believe their current situation (marital struggles) deserves voice - especially since they are Christians.

First - I exhort Christians to pray for them if we are going to do anything. Not to destroy them with our words, gossip, etc. The Body of Christ is called to love and work for reconciliation of relationships. Pray for God's healing in their relationship and marriage and family.

Second - Learn from this family. One of the things they have said publicly is that they place their children first. While this is admirable, I don't believe it is biblical. In Genesis we learn that the marital relationship is the most important human relationship we have. Many people will debate this point - I pray we do it in love - about whether or not the marriage comes first or the children come first. But I believe that God has designed the world in such a way that in a family - the marriage relationship must come first. A child's greatest need is to know that mommy and daddy love each other. They need to see it. To say that we can separate or divorce and not affect our children is not possible. My pray for Jon and Kate is that they place their marriage first. Their children want and need this. If we truly desire God's best for our children, we should always work to reconcile our marriages.

Third - I'm a man. I approach life and marriage as a man. Biblically and experientially, I have learned that it is my responsibility to "own" my stuff and my shortcomings, and to work to be a better man/husband and to fulfill my wife - in other words ... make her happy and secure. Now I realize that she has responsibility to receive this ... but I have the responsibility to give it. I believe so many men in our culture do not own our problems in our marriages AND we don't take it as our responsibility to fulfill our wives. We blame them. So my final thought is that we as men need to do everything we can to love our wives and fulfill them. How far does that go? Biblically it says we are called to "love our wives as Jesus Christ loves the church." We'll quote this verse, but will we live it out? I'm not trying to be all "pie in the sky" here. I know life can be bad, real bad. Marriage can be tough, real tough. But that doesn't negate God's call on husbands to love our wives as Christ loves.

_____

I pray my words aren't seen as criticism or gossip. They are not meant to be. I hurt for this couple and for all couples struggling in their marriages. Let's be the Body of Christ and lift them up and encourage them and even hold each other accountable to Christ's call to love sacrificially.

How we THINK

New series at our church this Sunday - about the MIND and how we THINK. Don't think (no pun intended) I've ever done a series like this. Should be challenging.

As I've been studying I've been looking at OT Jewish thoughts on the "mind" and also how the Greco-Roman world perceived the "mind." Interesting stuff. Won't go into it in detail here, but Biblical teaching infers that Jesus-followers are given a new mind/way of thinking - but that it is something we must submit to. What I mean is that it doesn't just "happen" to us. We must participate in the renewal of our minds (Romans 12:2).

I think this is one of the most difficult things for us as Christians. Actually BELIEVING in our minds/thinking that we are changed/new. Our hearts like the idea, but our minds battle against it. Like a tug-of-war in our heads.

Looking forward to teaching on this. Good stuff we all need to hear and apply.

"WHY?" series

Starting a new series in a few weeks @ Quest. Wanting to know what questions people in our church community have. So we're asking them to finish this question: "Why ______________?" If you have a "why" question, and would like to submit it, feel free to leave a comment with your question!

The best thing

There's so much I love about being a part of my church community, but nothing beats watching people's lives forever changed. 2 Sundays ago at our late worship gathering, 7 people came forward to be baptized for the very first time. Totally spontaneous. Wasn't planned. 6 others reaffirmed their faith and made a recommitment to follow Jesus. The last person baptized was a little girl named "Hope." Beautiful day.

I'm back!

Took about a 3 month sabbatical from blogging here.... but I'm back!