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What my kids are thankful for…

Many of you know by now, that my family just got back from the beach. On the way home,  we brainstormed about all the things we were thankful for, regarding our vacation. Here’s what the kids had to say:

• “I’m thankful that Jesus gave Daddy a job that pays enough money that allows us to go on a Dolphin Cruise on the Sea Blaster.”
• “I’m thankful that God gave my daddy a couple of days off so we could take a break together before school starts back.”
• I’m thankful that we got to ride on a boat and swim on the ocean.”
• “I’m thankful that we got to see our Grandparents.”
• “ I’m thankful for getting the opportunity to get to ride go-carts”.
• “I’m  thankful for getting to go to THE TRACK”.
• “I’m thankful for Mimi and Pawpaw letting us use their pool.”
• “I’m thankful for getting to spend some family time”. (It really was mentioned this late in the conversation).
• “I’m thankful that Jesus gave us the money to buy stuff” (Most of Madison’s thankfulness was about money).
• “I’m thankful for having a great time.”
• “I’m thankful for a good drive home.”
• “I’m thankful for getting to see dolphins while standing on the deck of our condo.”
• “I’m thankful for great weather at the beach.”
• “I’m thankful there was a sandbar every day on the ocean.”
• “I’m thankful Jesus let the sea shells come up on the beach every day.”
• “I’m just thankful we got to take a vacation.”
• “I love you” (OK, this has nothing to do with their thankfulness, but a lot to do with mine).

What God’s really looking for…

What is it God is really looking for from you and me? What really brings a smile to His face? Here it is:

“I don’t need the bulls you sacrifice; I don’t need the blood of goats. What I want instead is your true thanks to God; I want you to fulfill your vows to the Most High.  Trust me in your times of trouble, and I will rescue you, and you will give me glory.” Psalm 50:13-15 (NLT) .

In this passage, God lets the Israelites know that all their religious activity is great, but what He’s really looking for is the heart BEHIND all the religious activity they’re involving themselves in.  There are two things in particular God is looking for when we seek to worship Him. God said: “What I want instead is your true thanks to God; I want you to fulfill your vows to the Most High.” In other words, what God is REALLY looking for from us is a grateful heart; and an obedient heart! God just wants me to be thankful for all He’s done and doing for me; and obey what I already KNOW He’s called me to be and do!

Obedience and Gratitude. The sacrifices God is REALLY looking for. If you want to make God smile today, just start telling him all the things you’re thankful for. Then tell Him that it’s your desire to take Him at His Word and do What He says in in His Word! If you will…even though you may not see it…He’ll be smiling…

The problem with Vision…

These days, God is planting a bigger vision in my mind heart fro our ministry and our church. I feel God calling me to look up and count the stars, just like He did Abraham, and get a glimpse of the bigger potential he has for men and our church!God does this from time to time in my life. However, can I be honest with you? God regularly do this in my life, because over time, the problem with vision is that:

• Vision leaks.
• Vision shrinks.
• Vision dies. 

See, the problem isn’t often RECEIVING a vision from God. It’s maintaining the vision that God has placed in our hearts and minds! Why does the vision seem to leak, shrink, and die? Several reasons:

• Fatigue
• Failure
• Fear
• Other people
• The length of time the vision is taking to become reality

That’s eth problem with vision. At least, it’s a challenge. The challenge is that we don’t just go to God one time and then go try to live out the vision on our own! We have to stay connected to God to keep the vision alive and moving forward! What about you? Is the vision alive? Passionate? Moving forward? If not, the answer may be simpler than we realize! Jesus said: “If a man remains in me and I in Him He will bear much fruit” (Jn 15:5). If you’re struggling maintaining the vision: stop, go back, and reconnect with Jesus, and watch the clouds clear your view to the  stars, and God will remind you that you’ve still got potential!

How do we really make disciples? (part 2)…

In this part 2 post, we’re answering the question: “How do we REALLY make disciples “ in today’s church?  This series of posts is intended to encourage and challenge church and ministry leaders across the country, but I pray God uses it in the lives of those of us at Mountain Lake, as well! Yesterday I said that if we really want to know hot make disciples in the church today, it behooves us to look at Jesus’ disciple making process, because He made pretty good disciples! Yesterday, we said that in Jesus’ disciple making efforts, Jesus focused on fruit, not meat. But also, in His disciple making efforts:

Jesus focused on the unqualified, not the qualified.

Who were the types of people Jesus picked to make disciples out of them? People like Levi? Matthew?  Are you kidding me? If you were looking for a gut to build eth Christian movement on, it would NOT have been Levi! He was a crook that worked for the government, partied a lot, and hung out with the wrong crowd!  the very fact that Jesus was hanging out with him during the early days of His ministry got Jesus a bad reputation! Rumors swirled about Jesus just he was hanging out with Levi! What’s funny is that when Jesus heard these rumors, here’s how He responded to them:

Mark 2:17 (NLT) ¹⁷When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call sinners, not those who think they are already good enough.”

In other words Jesus was letting the religious people of His day KNOW that He was not hear to hang out with people who already thought they were QUALIFIED to hang out with Jesus, but those who knew they weren’t!

Levi was just an example. None of the other disciples were qualified for ministry BEOFE they met Jesus.  Jesus really didn’t pick any qualified people for his movement! They were all unqualified!

If this was the case with Jesus, why is it that in Jesus’ church today,  most of our discipleship efforts seem to focused on the already qualified? If Jesus qualified the unqualified,  why must people be “qualified” spiritually to serve in our churches?

So…If we want to make disciples like Jesus, the focus of our discipleship efforts need to be on the same types of people Jesus focused on: unqualified people! Can I just tell you that At MLC, we actually believe that qualifying the unqualified makes better disciples! In fact, our best disciples and leaders are often formerly unqualified disciples?! 

For all of us, however, if we’re honest, our churches need to rethink the focus of our discipleship efforts from time to time, and ask ourselves some hard questions:

• Can “unqualified” people easily enter our spiritual growth process?
• Are there places for “unqualified” people to serve in our church?
• Are the people we’re  focusing all of our discipleship efforts , the types of people Jesus focused on?
• Are the people we LISTEN to as we design our discipleship process  qualified, or unqualified?
• Understanding that qualifying the unqualified is not just an event, but a process, how am I going to help formerly unqualified build an ongoing, personal relationship with Jesus?

Hope all of this helps!  Give me your thoughts!

How do we REALLY make disciples? (part 1)

So much is made of the question today in churches: “How do we make disciples?” “How do we help people grow spiritually?” I’ll admit  the answers come harder than the questions, and I’ll admit that not even pastors agree on this issue. However, if our goal is to be more like Jesus Christ, then don’t you think it would behoove us to examine more closely how Jesus made disciples and try to emulate Him? I think so.  So…what was the focus of Jesus’ disciple making? In this series of posts, I’ll talk about a few.

First of all, Jesus focused on fruit, not meat.

If you want to talk about some jacked up terms in our church society today… it’s this idea of getting more “Meat of the word” and the desire to go “Deeper” in our churches and teaching. I understand that God wants all of us to grow spiritually and that should be a desire all of us have as followers of Jesus. However, you want to now what most of our people’s ideas of discipleship are in our churches?

 

“Feed me!” “ I want more meat!”

Suffice to say, I don’t think this is the picture Jesus had in mind, when He said: “Come, follow me.” I don’t think Jesus had in mind the hoard of Christian consumers  in our country running from church to church; sermon to sermon, and Bible Study to Study, looking to “be fed” and “go deeper”!

I actually think if we would take our cues from Jesus, we would stop trying to feed each other and start teaching each other to feed ourselves! Baby bird don’t get fed by their mother forever!  We don’t need more Biblical information to follow Jesus.  We need to start teaching people to apply what they already know and kick them out of the nest to fly on their own! Don’t most people already know more of the Bible than they practice? I know I do.

That’s why Jesus said: “Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them” John 13:17 (NIV). In other words,  applying God’s word to our lives was MORE important to Jesus that KNOWING what to do.  It still is! Jesus Himself didn’t value meat. He valued fruit. That’s what we need more of!

That’s why the focus of our disciple making efforts at Mountain Lake aren’t FOCUSED PRIMARILY on new information (even though we teach new information all the time); but our focus is primarily on transformation through the application of God’s Word.

So each week our Bible Reading Guide focuses people’s spiritual development on the same issue we’re talking about on the weekends; so people’s “quiet times” actually have something to do with our church services!

Then, during the week, all of our small groups discuss the weekend message and talk about how they might APPLY what God said to us on the weekend!  No, our plan’s not perfect. We’re not making perfect disciples. yes, I believe we should teach people the Bible.  I’m just not as interested in what people KNOW about the Bible as I am in how much people are doing what it says. I’m interested to see if their knowledge is it’s moving them to love and serve people more. I’m interested to see if their knowledge of eth Gospel has moved them to form relationships with people disconnected to Jesus. I’m happy to say, by the way, that  around here, that’s  happening all the time, and I love it!

I agree with Jesus.  Fruit. Not meat. that’s where it’s at. Fruit is Deep. Loving God. Loving people. If you want to follow Jesus just start loving people inside the church and outside of  the church. that’s deep! Fruit is more important than meat. The sooner you realize that the happier you’ll be!

Stay tuned for part II of  “How do we really make disciples?” tomorrow…

A Scripture that’s formed my life…

 

“But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.”Acts 20:24 (NLT)

God has used this verse to form my life and ministry for years! The first time I “got” what this passage said, it REALLY shook me up!

“My life is worth nothing? Unless I’m doing exactly what God’s called me to do?” Wow. Heavy. That part has always driven me to make sure I’m receiving clarity from God about the specific work He’s calling me to do!

However, I began to realize that we “mystify” too much sometimes what it means to learn and know God’s will for our lives. God’s will for our lives is largely the same, regardless of who we are or what we do for a living! The work assigned us by the Lord Jesus is to tell as many people as possible the Good News about Jesus! That’s what our entire lives are supposed to be about! If we’re not doing THAT, our lives are worth nothing!

I’ve come to realize that nothing is as important in my life as sharing Jesus. The rest of  my life and successes don’t matter unless they’re connected to sharing Jesus! What about you? Are you wasting your life? Or carrying out the work assigned you?  

The two things I’m praying for as a parent…

There are two things I’m praying for more than usual these days, when it comes to honoring God as a Dad in the lives of my kids: Kid-Energy; and Kid-Connection. I’ll unpack these a little:

• Kid-Energy: Psychologists literally have a name for the type of emotional fatigue we feel at the end of our work days. They call it “sunset fatigue.” By that, they mean that many of us are so emotionally spent at the end of the day, we have nothing left to give our families! relate? One of the things I’ve been praying more for these days is Kid-Energy. I just want to have my game face on for my kids when I need it. I have literally been asking for Kid-energy! I want to be “ALL THERE” for my kids and be able to sustain the physical, emotional, and spiritual energy to love, play with, and  and lead my kids!

• Kid-Connection: It has recently occurred to me that my kids aren’t babies anymore! Hannah is 10 and showing all the signs or pre-teenism (pray for me); Madison is 6; and Paul is 4. these days, the tickle game and cartoons alone, aren’t enough for my kids. I need to connect with them on a relational level and get inside their heads, hearts, dreams, fears, and questions about life, even things like sex! So I’m praying for Kid-Connection moments. Moments where I can connect with each of my kids on a deeper level.

As soon as I finish this blog, I’m off to get some new tires put on the van with my son Paul. Kid-Energy. Kid-Connection. That’s what we need as parents. Agree?

Quotes & thoughts from Leadership Network Gathering

Every time I get to Dallas and hang out with the guys in my Next Gen Pastors Leadership Community, sponsored by Leadership Network, God is loud in my life! I’ve once again this trip taken away ALOT to chew on. I’ll highlight here a few of the quotes and thoughts I’ve had:

• I think I got a new thought for  a message series: “Getting Life in Rhythm.”
• “People want to be generous. they just don’t know how. Help them!”  - Larry Osborne
• “Budget based on reality, not presumption.” – John Jenkins
• “The Bible says that to make a pledge and not keep it, is sin!” – John Jenkins
• “Balance is not Biblical. The Biblical pattern actually calls for  times of intensity and times of renewal. 
• “People can struggle with it if they want, but Sr. Pastors need more time for Rest and Renewal”  - Bruce Miller
• “The longer we do this, the more time for renewal we need.” - Bruce Miller
• “People’s mindsets do not change with changes in life station.”  - Osborne
• “Avoid the hot thing until the hot thing cools off.” Larry Osborne
• Jeremiah 12:5 (NLT) Then the LORD replied to me, “If racing against mere men makes you tired, how will you race against horses? If you stumble and fall on open ground, what will you do in the thickets near the Jordan?  In other words if the issues I’m facing now drag me down how can God bless me with MORE complexity? – John Jenkins
• “Move slower in the hiring process” – Jason Barr
• “Every time I’ve hired from without, it’s taken too long for them to believe I know what I’m talking about.” – Jason Barr
• “Push the staff to equip the laity.” Jason Barr
• “If you;re not happy with God’s effectiveness through you at 100 in attendance, you’re not going to happy with 10,000.” – John Jenkins
• “Don’t celebrate attendance. Celebrate the hand of God among His people.” – John Jenkins

It’s been great! Ready to head back to ATL today!!!!

Sunday Reflex 5/17…

I have to say I earned my paycheck yesterday! It was a head spinning day at Mountain Lake yesterday! A TON going on! I don’t see how heavily programmed activity based churches do it! We don’t do all that stuff and we STILL can’t keep up! Here are a few reflections on yesterday:

• Kicked off our new series called Point B. Lots of positive feedback. Really hit people where they’re  living.
• The point B life is a life that delivers on what Jesus promised.
• Everything about our ability to get to point B in our lives hinges on the strength and passion of our relationship with Jesus!
• It was GREAT to have Todd Nichols, our Worship Pastor back in the saddle after a maternity leave!
• Graduate Recognition Day. It was great to see our senior’s thoughts on how God has impacted their lives thru Mountain Lake!
• Hope you seniors enjoy the Red Bull and the Ramen Noodles on us, soon!
• Newcomer’s Lunch was great at the N. Forsyth Campus. Probably had the largest number of people EVER submit membership agreements at the end of our time together!
• David Putman did a great job sharing the vision with me. I love that guy. Honored to have you as my partner, friend.
• Louie Lovoy filmed baptism videos ALL DAY yesterday! I love the life change and I love the W.I.T. (whatever it takes) mentality, Louie!
• I had one hour between the end of Newcomer’s Lunch and Leadership Community!
• AT Leadership Community, we just celebrated all that God’s done in and around us in our ministries during the last year. It was awesome to hear our leaders celebrate all the life change and celebrating each other!
• Chad, Rodney and Louie did a great job on the swimming rules video!
• Last but not least, I hung out with my Growth Group at a Pool party, and the rain held off, so all the kids got to swim! Love my Growth Group! I actually enjoy hanging out with these guys!
• Once again, I think we made God smile yesterday at Mountain Lake! 

Leadership Community Song…

THIS IS HILARIOUS!

Thanks, Rodney and Louie!

Just a glimpse at the fun we’ll have at Leadership Community:

Sunday @ 4 PM!

Leaders, get here!

Or we’ll pray against you!