shawnlovejoy.com

Rodney & Sarah Anderson...

Rodney Anderson joined our Ministry Team in December of 2000, the first year in the life of our church. He had just finished college, did not necessarily feel called to be a Pastor, had never worked for a church, and had never really spoken in front of a crowd of people. He was 21 yrs old. The first year of our Student Ministry, he took four Students to Summer Camp.

Nine-plus years later, I could not be more proud to watch as he has grown into the man, the Pastor, husband, father, and friend he has become! His leadership, his passion for ministry, and his teaching gifts have been evident to all. I would love to think I've been able to play a small part in his growth. 

Just so you know, Rodney and I have ALSO been talking for probably close to 2 years about God's calling on HIS life, his spiritual gifts, and what God might want to do in and through him in the future. Over a year ago, due to some transition in our Student ministry, I asked Rodney to invest back into our Student Ministry and bring some consistency to the ministry, while we began a search for man of God who felt called to lead and set strategic direction for the entire Student Ministry. Rodney does not share this unique call on his life, but because of his love for me and our church he accepted the call over a year ago as our Student Pastor for the second time with a mutual understanding that when the new Student Pastor got here, we would figure out together what his next role looked like here at MLC.

To Rodney's credit the average, tenure of a Student Pastor is 14-18 mos. He has been the Exec. Student Pastor for 7 out of the 10 years of our church! That's a testimony to the great ride we've had together!

In the mean time, within the last couple of weeks, God also dropped a GREAT opportunity into Rodney's lap and tapped on his shoulder with a clear call to another ministry post. He has accepted that position and will be joining the Ministry Team at Buckhead Church in April. He will be here through the end of this month. He will be working within the Student Ministry there, but actually won't have a ton of interaction with the actual Students, but will be involved in the Leadership Development aspect among the adult volunteers in that ministry. I think this unique position, and even the urban context, fits Rodney's gifts and wiring so perfectly and I know He will bring great value to this ministry. 

WHAT NOW? We are actually in the 4th quarter of our Student Pastor search and hope to make a big announcement soon regarding our new Student Pastor, so students and parents, hang in there! In the mean time, great Student Ministry leaders like Buck & Beth Webb, Michael Cheek, and Crystal Corn are locked and loaded and will lead this ministry over the next several weeks.

On the other hand, I must also say that will also miss Rodney so much! He has been one of my best friends for almost 10 years and my teaching partner for half of that! He will be missed in my life and our ministry. However, we BOTH feel this is 100% God's will for the future of our ministries and churches, and we're excited about our futures! 

NOTE: Regardless of what anyone thinks, we are great friends, and plan on staying that way! For now, Rodney will continue to live in our community and drive to Buckhead and I plan on continuing to pick his brain for my messages from time to time! 

Our church and the Student Ministry is what is is thanks to Rodney in many ways!

Rodney, I love you, man, and I am thankful for the incredible time we've had together! God's going to use you big time!

Mountain Lakers, leave your encouraging comments HERE for Rodney & Sarah Anderson!

Chad & Autumn Ward...

Yesterday two young men who I've done ministry with for a decade announced God's call for them to new ministry fields. Stay tuned for a post about one of my great Ministry Partners, Rodney Anderson, and his wife, Sarah. In this post, however, I'd love to talk for just a bit about my friend and ministry partners Chad & Autumn Ward. 

Chad and I have been friends since we were kids and started this church together as the two first Pastors.  He has led our Children's Ministry for 8 out of the 10 yrs of our church! Many may not know, however, that he also has worn ministry hats in Guest Services; Growth Groups; Creative Arts: and even Student Ministry! God has used he and Autumn in my life and ministry in ways many will never know!

However, we have both felt for a couple of YEARS now that God was doing some unique work in each of our hearts and that it was possible that the day may come one day when He called us to different places. That simply happened quickly within the last month, and I am thrilled to hear about all that God has done in DROPPING THIS OPPORTUNITY IN THEIR LAPS!

I will miss them more than anyone else in our church will, but I can not selfishly hold on to them and keep them from becoming all that God has called them to be! When Chad and I began working together, I had never been a Sr. Pastor, and HE had never worked for a church! To see what he and Autumn have become as ministry leaders is AMAZING and I am elated to send them out for greater impact! Chad and Autumn will be around for a while, through the end of April. They will be joining the ministry team of Watermark Church between Canton & Woodstock, in May.

The avg tenure for a Pastor in America is 24-30 mos. and it is a testament to Jesus, his mission, and our relationship that we have worked together for almost 11 years now. What we've enjoyed together has truly been unique. 

Chad & Autumn, I love you; and Mountain Lake walks on your shoulders today. Thanks for 11 great years! Can't wait to hang out with you and celebrate soon!

NOTE: Regardless of what anyone might think, Chad and I are great friends, if not even better, now that we know we can JUST be friends again! We're excited about that! We might even watch more Alabama football together this Fall now that we don't work together!

BTW, we have also known this transition in Children's Ministry was coming for some time and have been diligently in the search for a Children's Pastor since the 1st part of the year, and plan on having a new Children's Pastor in place later this Spring!

In the meantime, Mountain Lakers, leave your words of encouraging comments to Chad & Autumn here, now!

10 weddings in a day…

Today at Mountain Lake, we had 10 couples who’ve been living under the same roof for some time, actually get married at Mountain Lake in our worship services!  Our church celebrated their commitments to give in to God’s design for marriage by throwing them a FREE wedding!  Click here for more on what we did for the couples. Their stories are so moving!

Derek Habecker & (Pika) Munoz:Told me their love for God is the main reason for their decision to get married today. They’ve discussed marriage in the past but thought that wasn’t possible because of the financial aspect. Told me they are looking forward to growing in their faith in our church for years to come.

Joseph Blackwell & Samantha Barnes: Told me that when they first met, it was love at first sight and they soon became inseparable. They’re excited about having the wedding they could not otherwise afford. Now that we have this chance to prove their love and be better prepared for their son that will be here soon!

Jeremy Dispain & Diana Ferrer: Have been together going on 3 years. They have a beautiful son named Isaiah and a beautiful daughter on the way! They’ve been wanting to get married for quite sometime but didn’t feel like they could afford it.

Kyle Tangle & Tiffany Hayes: We met at Olive Garden where Tiffany was working. Been together for 6 ½ years. Were scheduled to be married once before, but the wheels fell off relationally; today was take two and they made it!

John Woodward & Jackie Fine: Both work in the ER @ Northside Hosp. Began to hang out with each other thru some mutual friends in spring of last year and went on their first official date in mid-summer. They told me they’ve been coming to MLC for a few months; and are grateful for the opportunity we’ve given them to take the step of getting married today.

Rajeev & Ezhilarasi Nedumaran: Both born in India. Parents still live there. Been attending our church for just a couple of months. Unique situation. They didn’t choose to get married to each other, buy they are. Their marriage was totally arranged by their parents. They got to take one walk together before getting married. But they told me they have since come to love each other deeply and are so grateful for the opportunity to make these vows to each other today!

Kurt Dressel & Susan McClean: Been together 15 yrs and have attended MLC for a years! First, Susan and the kids started coming; then Kurt started being dragged along. They’ve all sense fallen in love with Christ and our church. When I announced the wedding a month ago, they started getting txt msgs from Nikki their teenage daughter that said: “You guys have to do this!”

James Kaney & Sandy Hunter: Been together for six years and engaged for the last two. They told me they’ve often talked about asking me to marry them; but circumstances kept making them put marriage on the back burner. They told me that when I announced the wedding, they both looked at each other and knew…this was God’s calling.

Josh Salyers & Madison Chastain: Joshua proposed to Madison on their 18th birthday; That was a year and a half ago. Joshua, however, was the victim of an accident that almost cost him his life soon after that. Madison agreed to move in with him to help him during that time. Josh is back to health, now, but they still haven’t gotten married. So when they heard about this day, they told me they couldn’t pass up the opportunity to have the marriage they’ve always wanted.

David Klukowski & Theresa Gordon: Been together for about 2 years. Started attending MLC in January; Told me they felt like this marriage will help solidify their commitments to God, each other and their children. They told me they felt very blessed to be able to honor God and His plan for their family and continue to grow their faith.

Awe-dacity

“A deep sense of awe came over them all, and the apostles performed many miraculous signs and wonders.” Acts 2:43

The book of Acts says that miracles were happening in the community in around the church 2000 yrs ago with such magnitude and consistency that a sense of AWE (reverence; fear; shock; amazement) fell across the entire community!

In the days ahead, I believe that God is daring us to BE the people of God like this! I believe God is daring us to BELIEVE this can actually happen in our lives, our church, and our community!

Over the next few weeks and months, God is going to lead our church in a corporate spiritual journey that I believe will change our church forever.  We’re calling it AWE-dacity. Will you commit to make the journey with us?

To begin to share all the BIG NEWS related to this journey, you are invited to our upcoming AWE-DACIOUS WEDNESDAYS: he next two Wednesdays, Mar 10 & 17. We’ll eat together. I’ll share my heart with you. We’ll dream and pray together. Get here! Don’t miss out on all that God is about to do around here!

 

Awe-dacious Wednesdays:

Wed Mar 10

Wed Mar 17

6:45 PM

Why we’re talking about SEX in church…

This Sunday we kick off our controversial (and potentially life changing) series called LOVERS.  People have asked, so here are just a few reasons WHY we’re talking about this:

• Sex is NOT a sin! It’s not dirty; or gross! It’s a gift from God!
• We must talk from God’s perspective. The world’s not ashamed to share THEIR perspective! The longer sex remains a taboo subject in church, the longer people will misunderstand the desires God has given them.
• Not having a place to talk about our desires forces us to express them underground and inappropriately. We must talk about this!
• The average Middle school boy is could be already addicted to porn.
• Porn is a 12 Billion a year business in America. That’s more than what Americans spend on professional football, basketball, and baseball combined. Want to know what America’s REAL favorite pastime is?
• 1/3 of all children in America are now born outside of marriage.
• Sex is more dysfunctional IN marriages than ever before because of the sexual dysfunction in one or both spouses’ pasts. We need healing from our pasts so it doesn’t affect our futures!
• Sexual abuse is more common in children these days  because of sexual dysfunction in marriage. 
• Married couples are not enjoying sexual intimacy and romance the way God desires!  Just one reason why divorce rates are so high!
• Sexual intimacy in a marriage is the best way to affair proof our marriage!
• God made sex and gave it to us!! We just need to know how to express our desires according to His design! That’s what we’ll be learning to do!
• This is NOT a marriage series; but a series about men; women; and how to meet the needs of each other in a way that honors God. SO this series is ultimately about worshipping and obeying God! Think we ought to talk about THAT in church?

Prepare yourselves: We are calling for one of the greatest, but  most  radical spiritual commitments we’ve ever called for this Sunday.  Get here! Spread the word!

Our Ministry Team’s Core Values (pt.1)…

Over the last ten years, Our Mountain Lake Ministry Team has been bound together by a set of core values. So many CHURCHES I know have core values these days. Great thing. However, most Church staffs/Ministry Teams don’t have a clear set of values they covenant to live by. Mind you, when we started Mountain Lake, we didn’t sit down and decide what we WANTED our values to be. We actually sat down as a leadership team about six years ago, and IDENTIFIED TOGETHER the values we saw bubbling up in our team environment every day. Here is what we wrote down:

The Mountain Lake Ministry team values:

• Community: We do life together
• Honesty: We share the last 10% of what we’re thinking.
• Teamwork: He help & serve each other regardless of job description.
• Loyalty: We have each other’s backs.
• Execution: We do what we say we’ll do.
• Resourcefulness: We’re thankful for what we have and do our best w/ it. 
• Sacrifice: We’re wiling to pay a price to do life and mission together.

We talk about these values ALL the time. We hold each other accountable to them. These values have governed our relationships as team members the last ten years and are one the main reasons why our church is so unified in our mission and love for one another ten years later! 

Questions for you…

What are YOUR team’s values?

Do you ever talk  about them as a team?

Are they written down?

Does everyone know them?

Is the team held accountable for them? 

BTW, at our upcoming churchplanters.com conference, I’ll be leading a breakout called: “Church Staffing 201.” I’ll be covering many of  Mountain Lake’s Best Practices when it comes to discovering, attracting, hiring, and leading ministry teams. 

Stay tuned as I unpack a few of our Ministry Team Values over the next few days…

Tenacity: A walk down memory lane…

Tenacity History Video from Mountain Lake Church on Vimeo.

What Urban Meyer would say to Pastors…

News about Urban Meyer, the Florida gators football coach, has sent shock waves of every kind through the sports world over the last few days. How could a guy resign in the midst of a highly successful career? How could he renege on the same resignation within 24 hours? Regardless of your opinion on the whole deal, I think ALL PASTORS could learn something from all of this.

In fact, I think if Urban Meyer had a chance to speak to pastors right now, I think this is what he’d say to Pastors.

• “Pastors: Don’t worry too much about things that don’t matter.”

I promise you that Urban Meyer was EMBARASSED that he had to be taken to the hospital for stress related symptoms after a football game.  Before we judge, pastors, I think if we’re honest, we tend to worry too much about things that don’t make a hill of a beans difference in the grand scheme of things. We worry way too much about lights, songs, buildings, illustrations, and what people think about us, and being edgy or contemporary.  God’s more concerned with us loving Him and loving people.  Urban Meyer resigned to focus on “faith and family”: Loving God and loving people. Regardless of what the future holds for him, he is learning NOT to sweat the small stuff. We could take some cues from Urban. 

• “Pastors: No matter how much you influence the lives of others, your most important job is being a spouse and parent.”

Here’s EXACTLY what Urban said in his resignation: "I have given my heart and soul to coaching college football and mentoring young men for the last 24-plus years and I have dedicated most of my waking moments the last five years to the Gator football program…”. In other words: “ I’ve influenced the lives of HUNDREDS of  people, but my family has gotten leftovers.” Urban confessed to what his children said when he told them of his decision to resign: “Finally, we have our dad back!” WOW. I wonder how many pastors’ kids would be HAPPIER if their dads resigned today. If so, shame on us!  Pastors, if Urban could talk to us He would say: “Make your spouse and your kids your best ministry, not your leftover ministry.” Thanks for that challenge, Urban.

• “Pastors: success will be ultimately determined by your physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual vitality.”

According to ANYONE’S measurements, Urban Meyer has been one of the most successful coaches in the history of college football.  Meyer's resume includes two national championships, two SEC titles, three SEC East crowns and three BCS bowls. The Sporting News recently named him "Coach of the Decade" after going 95-18 at Bowling Green, Utah and Florida. HOWEVER, if Urban Meyer could talk to us as pastors, He would tell you that He doesn’t feel successful right now.    He’s basically told us in the last few days that while the numbers look great, what he’d really love to be successful at is his health:

• Physically: Meyer, scarcely available for interviews in December, said last week he had lost "ridiculous amounts" of weight during the 2009 season because of illnesses and not eating. Quarterback Tim Tebow said recently that he warned Meyer to watch his health.
• Emotionally: His doctor has told him repeatedly that his chest pains ARE stress related.  He’s tired, burned out, and discouraged because of his health.
• Relationally: "He's really worried he's going to lose his family," one staff source told the Orlando Sentinel.
• Spiritually: Urban Meyer goes to church almost every Sunday. However, in his Resignation statement, He mentioned the desire to spend more time on “FAITH and family.” FAITH is evidently more than putting on our Sunday Best. Remember that, pastors.

Suffice to say, pastors, if Urban Meyer could and would address us today, he would have a lot to say; and we would have a lot to think about; and MAYBE a lot to repent of.  Thanks for the challenge, Urban.  You’re on the verge of getting it right. Don’t blow it. I prayed for you today.  We’ll be watching and learning from you; and so will THOUSANDS of young men and women: including me. I just hope that you’ll be able to find some pastors around you that will model the way for you.

3 Things I’ve learned about preaching…

In part 3 of this series, I want to talk abut perhaps the most important thing I’ve ever learned about preaching, and that is the fact that:

3. Preaching is empty without passion and authority.

Passion comes from spending enough time with the Scriptures I’m teaching on that God has captured ME through them FIRST. Passion comes from an urgency of knowing that THIS MESSAGE might be the message that brings someone to faith in Christ. Passion comes from a moving of the holy Spirit in my life in such a way that I can not HELP but raise my voice to some extent when I talk about what he has laid on my heart. Passion comes from my own emotion. Passion comes with my own confessions and willingness to become vulnerable as the preacher on the platform. Passion comes from understanding that everyone in the crowd that day has showed up HOPING that the preacher possess some answer, some hope, some level of intimacy with God that they do not currently possess!

Authority comes with understanding that I AM GOD’S  MESSENGER to the church.  He has called me to speak for Him. He as asked me to be the spiritual leader.  He has commanded me to care for the flock that He’s given me. He has celled me as and Elder to be able to teach, and as I do, to allow my life to preach on a daily basis. He has called me to live above reproach, so that I can speak with moral authority when I preach. He has called me to model the way. He has called me to speak with boldness and authority and to love for the applause of Him, not the applause of men.  he has called me to preach in such a way that people are impressed by HIM,  not ME.  He has called me to rebuke, encourage, and lift people up with good teaching. He has anointed me, ordained me, and given me the privilege and power to proclaim His Good News. I need to preach like I believe  He has!

I can say all the right things and make all the correct interpretations, be funny, be impressive, be loud, and be engaging. However, if I have not preached with passion and authority, I have failed?  A sermon without passion and authority is like  coke without the fizz.  These days as I am finishing up prep work for a message, I ask myself: “Where’s the fizz?” Where’s the heart? Where’s the urgency? Transparency? Challenge?  Emotion? Call?  Pastors, let’s PLEASE covenant together that we will preach without passion and authority! It may be our greatest opportunity in ministry to worship Him!

Are you a cookie cutter church?

As churches, we don’t create the vision for our churches. We discover it. From God.  As church leaders, to discover  God’s vision, however, means we have to search and listen for God’s clear voice regarding His distinct vision for the church we lead.  This is why, by the way, I get a little concerned by some of the current trends I see among many new churches in ripping THEIR vision statements off other church’s websites or trendy pastors’ blog sites!

I have seen too many “cookie cutter” vision statements lately on new church plants’ websites and blogs.  You know what a cookie cutter does, right? A cookie cutter makes the next cookie look just like the last one. That works well for Christmas cookies, but not well for church planting! Church planter: Does your church look just like every other church plant? If so, why are you planting it?  Why not just join theirs? 

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not against Pastors learning from one another and even rubbing off on one another.  My fear is simply that many of us are not willing to do the “hard  work” these days of being still and patient for long enough to receive God’s vision for our churches!  If we’re getting our vision for our church from another church, then we’re getting it from the wrong place! Visions come from God, not another church!

Many of us as Pastors could use this Holiday Season to get away from the busyness and the grind (and even our people) for a little while to GET WITH GOD and DISCOVER HIS UNIQUE VISION FOR OUR CHURCH!  While we cut cookies this year, let’s commit NOT to be a cookie cutter church this next year!

By the way, Will Mancini, author of Church Unique will be speaking at our  churchplanters.com conference  Feb 22-23: “Velocity”. He’ll be talking about HOW we as a church can discover, communicate, and implement the unique vision God wants us to have. Get registered now!